ode to the ohio

ode to the ohio                  

impervious to
the whining motors, and trash,
the queen still reigns.

her simple message
skips over what seems solid
and gets on with it.

momentus power
presses her journey forward
rarely in reverse.

only blocked briefly
by the sleeping hands of those
chained by delusions.

mighty ohio!
seemingly soft and gentle,
you're no tamed creature,

straining at your depths,
through undercurrents of death
and resurrection.

heed the call oh kings,
boatmen, and hopeful shepherds,
her voice guides us all:

let go, let life flow,
drop the illusory ways,
be. simplicity.

7.21.14

Releasing the Imagination: Remembering Maxine Greene

This post will be a departure for me. I'd like to share my recollections about a woman who has made a profound impact upon my life. This past week we lost two incredible women - poet and activist, Maya Angelou on the 28th of May, and then Maxine Greene on the 29th. While most will recognize Maya's name, fewer will know Maxine's. As the tributes and eulogies for Maya Angelou continue to accumulate, those for Dr. Greene are just starting to trickle in. I would like to offer my personal recollections and memories of her to perhaps inspire you to take a look at her wisdom and life's work as an educational philosopher .


While I was teaching in the Pittsburgh Public Schools, I had an opportunity to attend Lincoln Center's Aesthetic Education Institute in New York City on two separate occasions. The first year, I heard Dr. Greene give a lecture during the institute. Everyone seemed so excited to hear her this renown scholar from Columbia Teacher's College. I half expected a large and imposing woman to appear, however I was completely unprepared for the strength, passion, and clarity that came from Maxine. She was in her 70's at the time and in a wheelchair. After her hearing her talk I truly understood why everyone spoke her name with a level of respect that bordered on reverence - she was not only the preeminent scholar in her field, but a fireball of ideas, knowledge and wisdom, holding the attention of everyone in her presence.

The next summer I returned to New York to take a salon style literature class with Dr. Greene. I didn't know what to expect, but was excited to learn directly from her. The five mornings we spent discussing pieces about the holocaust were difficult content-wise but incredibly transformative,  professionally, ideologically, pedagogically, and personally in the ways they forced us all to stretch beyond our comfort zones.

Maxine charged into the discussions of fiction head on, assuming them to be works of art for consumption, sharing, and analysis. She capitalized on key ideas to break open the hard shell of our collective interiors - in order to get us each to stretch a little farther than we ever had before. Weaving together quotes from great works with personal anecdote and questions, she swirled around and around ideas each morning. Never quite arriving at a particular answer or solution, Dr. Greene showed me the joy of the journey as opposed to the destination, and of travelling with others of diverse backgrounds.

In the next few years, as I contemplated a dissertation at the end of my doctoral coursework, I focused in on a translation of Maxine Greene's collected works. Dr. Greene's impact had so profoundly transformed my thinking and being as an instructional technologist, I used a qualitative method called philosophical inquiry to unpack all that I'd internalized. I was fortunate that Maxine not only approved of my appropriation of one of her book titles (Releasing the Imagination), but she blessed and supported my attempts to translate her ideas into language that technologists might recognize and utilize. Having seen the power of aesthetic dialogue in my own classroom, I was eager to share the magic of Maxine's methods with a broader audience. I was deeply grateful to talk and correspond regularly with her as I tackled the work.

Two years after the completion of my dissertation, I returned to NYC one more time to take the salon class with Maxine. This time I brought her a bound copy of the completed dissertation, which she graciously accepted. That second week with Maxine was just as delicious as the first - big and bold ideas were chewed upon by a group of willing participants, all while sitting in the living room of her apartment overlooking Central Park.

As I have continued my personal journey with technology, delving into other philosopher's writing, the lessons I learned through exploring Maxine Greene's theories has been critical. In coming to clarity around some of her most archetypal ideas, I have been able to see deep connections between the arts, myths, legends, and in religious and spiritual texts. Maxine's ideas of "releasing the imagination," "opening," "awareness," "wide-awakeness,"  and "seeing things as if" can serve us all on our personal journey of growth, development and self expression. I will continue to share her ideas in this blog, and welcome you to read more about Maxine's life and work too!

With deepest gratitude to Dr. Maxine Greene, for all her wisdom, dedication, and imagination.  Thank you for all you did to lead the way for us all.  You will be missed!  Dr. Maxine Greene: 12-23-1917 - 5-29-2014

Footprints: Mindfully Creating Your Digital Image

The Story

With the weather in western Pennsylvania so temperate and beautiful, I decided recently to take my daily walk on a local trail. It was beautiful day, sunny and quite hot, and my feet felt sweaty. So I decided to take my boots off and walk barefoot for a change!

As I started down the trail, I found I had to pay close attention. The previous day's heavy rain had made large ruts on the path. That, combined with lots of mud, made the trip down hill both challenging and exciting. It also made it quite easy for me to see the footprints of all the critters who had travelled the same path earlier in the day.

I moved forward cautiously, making sure each foot was solidly planted before lifting the alternate foot. It took me back to a time when I was hiking with my mentor and she advised me (on a similarly treacherous incline) to "put my brain in my feet." Her wisdom, combined with my mindful movements, helped me to arrive at the bottom of the trail in one piece!

The Technology

Its been a few months since my last post. I've been busy building my consulting business, doing some online work, and collaborating on a new community project. That has left little time for keeping up with my blogging!

With my clients I've been focused on making mindful changes to their digital footprints. We have been exploring the questions:

• Who created the footprints of you online - who is responsible for that digital image?
• Is it the image portrayed online how you see yourself - or want to have others see you?
• How can your image online be changed - what steps will you take to accomplish the goal?

Based on the answers, we sit down and craft a plan of action - and then we choose tools to match the goals. After setting up the digital tools, my clients begin the task of generating new and more aligned content. They aim to matching the image they want to share, creating and posting new content. Part of my ongoing work is to monitor, support, and encourage the organic re-creation process.

Connections

If you've been this blog for some time, I bet you can make the next step yourself. Can you see the connections between the barefoot hiking story and the technology portion of this post?  Can you combine the wisdom of both - becoming mindful, slowing down, recognizing the impact that you have in creating your own life, your own lived reality?  Can you see how noticing the footprints you've left behind will help you to "get your brain in your feet" and take charge of creating the mindful digital image you want?


One of the ways I facilitate this process with my clients is by employing a simple three step process:

1. Take a long hard look at your digital image.   This means Googling your name in various ways and clicking through ALL of the content pages that come up in the results.  Without looking at everything that's out there, you won't really know what message your footprints are sending to the world.
2. Decide how you would like to change your digital image.  This means making lists of what you like and don't like about the content that shows up.  It also means deciding what you want people to know about you, and thinking about how you would like to alter or improve the image that's already there.
3. Create a plan of action, stick to it, and put accountability measures in place to ensure you achieve your goal.   This means creating new content, learning to use new digital tools to share that content, and sticking to a daily or weekly plan of adding new material to the web.  If you want to see change - you have to take regular action to make it happen.  Consider asking a friend or partner to check up on your work to make sure you keep your momentum going.

With my clients, we begin each new meeting by reviewing progress made and talking about any roadblocks or changes we'd like to make to the action plan.  I also have started using Google's new "alert" feature to monitor key words related to my clients names, their businesses, and their digital content.  The alerts send me an email any time new content is posted using those key words - so I know when my clients have been working (and when they have not).  I encourage you to try out these steps for yourself and see how you are able to modify your own digital footprints!

PS:  If you haven't walked barefoot in the mud since childhood, consider giving it a try again! You don't know what you are missing!

Images courtesy of: http://pixabay.com 

The Thank You Note: Taking Mindful Action

The Story

My neighborhood has an Abitibi paper retriever. It is a large bin which allows us to dispose of paper for recycling, then providing the homeowners association with a modest monetary refund. I keep a bag near my desk to collect the plethora of junk items that appear in the daily mail to deposit in the bin.

Yesterday I received a thank you note which I may hang on to for a while. With email, texts, and Facebook, as my main modes of written communication, I was delighted to receive this personal correspondence. Far more interesting to me however, was the source of this letter.

The card, handwritten on recycled paper (I confirmed it by smudging the ink with my finger!) came from a CREDO wireless employee named Andrew W. In response to Verizon's recent actions to alter net neutrality regulations, I had decided to change my phone carrier. The handwritten note was sent to welcome me to CREDO, to thank me for my business, and describe the impact that the company has had in supporting non-profits worldwide.

The Technology

The story of Verizon and the US Court of Appeals has been in the news the past few weeks. On January 14th the court reversed its ruling on "net neutrality" - or the role that businesses may play in regulating the flow of information over the internet. There have been plenty of stories which portray the unfolding situation as yet another instance of big-brother or eventual doomsday, while others have compared it to the changes which occurred with cable TV when pay-per-view and premium channels were added. With all of the press it can be hard to know which way is up.

Certainly, as our technologies continue to evolve and change, so will business' responses to profit from them. While we may not yet know the full impact of the Court of Appeals' decision upon our freedoms in accessing the Internet, we can be sure that things will continue to change. In an era where many feel their voices cannot or are not being heard, it can be challenging to know how to respond mindfully to these sorts of global concerns.

The case of net neutrality is complex with no apparent "right or wrong" answers. I believe, however, that there are ways we each can respond mindfully to the litigation, helping the big Internet providers to understand our preferences for the web to remain open and free. They include: changing Internet and/or cell service providers, signing net-neutrality petitions online, sending our own hand-written notes to key players, or dreaming up new ways of doing things in an open source and humanistic manner.

Connections

One only has to look in the paper, turn on the TV or scan the Internet to see global stories of doom and gloom. From issues on wall street, to genetically modified food, from Obama care concerns, to women's reproductive rights, there are many areas for which we may have justified concern. How do we remain positive in the face of such challenges? And how might we make a difference as a single human being on a planet of over 7 billion?

Many of the great wisdom teachers remind us, "You are the only one who can do something.  Do that one thing that you can do." It is not always apparent what that one thing might be. I would suggest we consider utilizing our technologies to help us in that area.

Personally, I am choosing to work on becoming more mindful of my technology usage, and seeking out ways to support those who are finding their own particular gifts or ways to benefit the planet. I encourage you to think about how your technologies can impact the causes you care about - from blogging about your ideas or about how you are making changes, to seeking out new collaborations and diverse opinions, or signing petitions or making donations to non-profits working in the trenches. I urge you to choose something and to make a positive, mindful contribution. Good luck!

Images of the Internet and Earth courtesy of Pixabay:  www.pixabay.com 

Flute in the Woods: Tools to Support Mindfulness

The Story

I recently came across a photograph of myself on a backpacking trip with friends. We had hiked several miles downstream one late fall weekend to a favorite spot of the kayaking locals. It rained the whole time we walked, and by the time we got to the cave where we planned to sleep we were grateful for the warm fire and shelter of the tons of rock overhead.

The next day as we hiked back out of the gorge, we stopped at vista to watch the boaters make a run over a substantial waterfall.  Together we dropped into silence, watching each kayaker summon the courage to run the falls.  As each slipped into the current, shooting the falls, we would join the gathered boaters in a tremendous cheer for the beauty and courage displayed!

Later the three of us took time to sit quietly on a rock in meditative contemplation. After a few minutes of breathing and prayer I decided to bring out one of my flutes. The photo is an image one friend took of me as I allowed the music of the rain, the cave, the woods, the trees, and the boaters, to flow through me, in a celebration of the magic of the weekend!

The Technology

Taking time in the woods is one of the ways I enjoy practicing my mindfulness with and without technology.  In many cases I leave my devices at home or in the car, intentionally unplugging for a set period of time.  While I often take my iPhone along for safety sake when I hike, I generally only pull it out for an occasional photograph.

So how do we create the more mindful space for ourselves in the day to day business of our work and home life?  How can we create some of that quiet, sparking, magic in the moments that feel more usual, busy or routine? There are several ways in which I have begun to explore using my technology to intentionally support my mindfulness practices.

Mindful Magazine has a new subscription service called Mindful Interrupters. Each day in my inbox I receive a short, one line suggestion for becomming more present in the moment.  I have also begun to explore apps to support my practice.  Currently my favorites include: a meditation timer, meditative music, and a new free app called Stop, Breathe & Think, created by an organization called Tools for Peace. My next plan is to try some software called Freedom that allows you to lock out the internet for a set period of time, allowing you to bring full attention to the work on your computer.

Connections

The connections between my flute, mindful apps, and other supports are that they help me to practice bringing mindfulness to each moment. While many believe that mindfulness is mainly practiced "on the cushion" - and it certainly can be - the purpose of meditation for me is to help me locate joy into each moment, through quiet and open attention. Looking for ways to involve my tools into this practice is one way I help myself to cross pollinate the practice, to make it more automatic and authentic.

Author John Kabat-Zinn defines mindfulness as, “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgementally.” By bringing space to the moment, stopping habitual routine or thinking, I become increasingly able to feel peace and joy. Victor Frankl once wrote, "Between stimulus and response there is a space.  In that space lies our freedom and our power to choose our response.  In our response lies our growth and our happiness."

Taking time to walk in nature, to make music with friends, to watch others engaged in sports - all help me to be present in the moment. Connecting my technologies to the same purpose is allowing me to explore presence in the times when I need to be or choose to be plugged in. Breaking my technological habits, making mindful choices of what to use and when fits well with my personal goals for increasing my mindful awareness.

Meditation image courtesy of Pixabay: www.pixabay.com

Frozen in Our Tracks: Dependence & Planned Obsolescence

The Story

This week the temperatures have been the coldest on record in my area. Sub zero wind chills have necessitated school cancellations and adjustments to nearly every one's routines to compensate.  This includes the various feathered and furry creatures who congregate at the bird feeders outside of our home.

Last night, with a new dusting of snow, I noticed how pristine and clear the various animal tracks were on the driveway. I was curious to see if I could identify those who had gathered earlier to partake of the seeds and suet. I was able to identify various bird prints, squirrel, and deer prints on the driveway.  Beneath the feeder, however, it was harder to identify individuals as the mass of impressions looked more like the remnants of a dance party!

Seeing all of the tracks initiated a series of questions in my mind. What responsibility do I have to ensure the animals come to the feeder continue to have seeds to eat? What would happen if the seeds ran out? (I've read elsewhere that birds who get used to a feeder can actually starve if you do not continue to put out seeds for them to eat.) I also thought about the tracks and about whether they make particular birds or creatures more vulnerable to their predators.

The Technology

The other day during the cold snap my iPhone went on the fritz - the "swipe to open" feature was not working. This challenge meant I was unable to answer incoming calls or to access any of the apps or data stored on my phone. In my previous "New Snowfall: Fresh Start" post I shared the story of a friend's iPhone quitting and explored the possibilities for starting over with a clean slate. Now needing to heed my own advice, I decided to mindfully explore the problem with curiosity.

I first stopped at my phone carrier's local office. The young staff woman worked through a set of checks in order to determine that the issues were related to hardware (as opposed to the troubles being the responsibility of the service provider). She was helpful in suggesting several options for getting help locally. I then went to a local coffee shop to read through the Mac Forums to learn more about the problem, and to see if I could resolve it myself.

After unsuccessfully trying some potential fixes for the issue, I decided to visit the Apple Store. I booked an appointment online and arrived to a space that felt very different than any of my prior visits. I was greeted by multiple workers who were focused on selling me a new device, prior to attempting to diagnose and repair my malfunctioning touch screen. My question to the "genius" assigned to my case about her knowledge of the term "planned obsolescence" produced a confused look and then our subsequent move to a table where it said " it would be quieter." After some discussion I did choose to purchase the phone replacement - and to subsequently rethink my current relationship with smartphones in general, and with Apple specifically.

Connections

Synchronously this week, a friend posted an image on Facebook that commented on the disappearance of pay phones. According to the Pew Research Center 56% of adult Americans now own a smart phone - with those not owning a cell phone at all, down to 9% of the population. Smartphones are not only popular, they are enticing, creating what I would call an addiction in their affordance of access to a constant diet of amusement and information.

In many ways, the birds and squirrel's extreme reliance on the bird feeders this week is like the challenges I had with my iPhone. Many of us have become accustomed to having a smartphone and no longer pay for a land line - hence the disappearance of the pay phone. When my phone was out of service, while I had other devices to get to the internet, I had no alternatives to respond to my incoming calls.

In other ways the two stories are different. Where the birds and squirrels I'm supporting this winter still retain their wild ability to forage for food (I hope!), I believe we humans may be on the verge of becoming frozen in our tracks. Without pay phones or land lines, we are easy prey for the phone companies and cell phone creators. When our "food source" mysteriously disappears, we are forced to purchase plan upgrades and replacements - at what feels to me to be an alarming rate.

I recommend its time for a thoughtful responses - to encourage the creation of new options other than upgrades and purchases. I would enjoy hearing about your ideas in how we might proceed. I'll share my responses as I mindfully construct my own steps forward.

Phone booth image courtesy of Pixabay: www.pixabay.com

Christmas Decorations: Is One Way the Best?

The Story

Its the week after Christmas and I've begun to think about taking down the holiday decorations. As I was out for a walk this morning, I decided to take a closer look at my neighbors' selections this year. Throughout the town home community there are still many remaining signs of the holiday.

Some of my neighbors appeared to favor the simple, adorning their decks with strings of white lights. Others displayed bows, flags, ornaments and wreaths. And a select few seem to love everything about the holiday, placing a wide variety of signs, symbols and colors around the perimeter of their dwellings.

In the habits of decorating I also noticed patterns related to individuality and collaboration. In some cases, the decorations were unique, individual and singular. Some neighbors appeared to have collaborated in color scheme or theme. In at least one case, an entire group of homes had created a unified display of bows and lights for their combined unit.

The Technology

In working in education for over twenty-five years, I have seen the many different ways that we engage with and utilize technology. Often times humans employ a large group mentality. We use the technologies that are given to us, in the ways that we are directed by those in leadership positions. This style of useage often creates results that are more uniform and predictable.

For many years, as a member of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), I saw another familiar pattern. At the annual convention, presentations often focused on creative uses of technology - on what was perceived as new or "hot." This stance had the impact of creating a group of users who based their practices on replicating the popular or innovative.

The third means of engaging with technology might be defined as highly individualized. In this stance, technology users are more intuitive, unique, and less status driven. These sorts of individuals engage with the technologies of their choosing in the manner which best fits their lived situation.

Connections

The two examples this week have many similarities. They both contain clues into understanding ourselves and the ways in which use experiences to relate to one another as human beings.  Each example illustrates how we each choose to collaborate with a group, replicating the ideas of others, or maintain our individuality.

In thinking about these three categories, I began to think about why we seek to describe and compare our lived situations in the first place. I believe one of the reasons is a common desire to understand and make sense of our world. Creating categories supports our understanding in the same way that metaphors provide us cognitive frameworks to connect to our prior knowledge to new and novel situations. 

I believe, however, that there is a potential challenge to consider in our over use of categories and descriptors.  So often I see myself becomming trapped in a particular way of seeing, being and knowing - of assuming that the way in which I perceive or "decorate" my world is the only or best way to do things.  As we each begin the process of taking down Christmas decorations, I invite us to examine the motivations behind our particular way of doing things. In this New Year, may we each find ways to become more mindful of our use of technology to connect with others and retain our individuality.

2014 image courtesy of Pixabay: www.pixabay.com