Monthly Archives: November 2013

Deep connectedness and affection between men during times of war

Posted on by

A story about the gentler side of males

As the 21st century begins to unfold, so are cultural attitudes towards sexuality. I have made this the subject of other blogs. However, I have decided this blog should be a separate item because I feel the material I am introducing provides a strong pointer to what I feel is the hidden side of men, which I feel contemporary culture, for whatever reason, seems to be determined to smother. I have no doubt the same repression applies to women as well. It is against this background that I feel this little story needs to be shared. It is about men at war during WW2 and how they form powerful bonds between each other, including deeply affectionate ones that at times included sexual expression. Having read about the wartime stories of men during other wars I feel my words today do not relate solely to WW2.

During WW2, the Americans took many thousands of pictures of relaxed men as they prepared for new battles and waited to travel to the front lines. Furthermore, journalists from the time recorded many volumes of ancillary stories from individual men. These included the more intimate moments of those military men who were prepared to speak about them.. I feel no more words from me are needed. I rely upon both the distributors’ reviews as well as independent reviews of two particular books on the topic entitled “At Ease: Navy Men of World War II” and “Men of WW2. Fighting men at ease” to relay their personal observations of these books as well as commentary from readers as well. The independent reviewers and commentaries are included in the pdf file attached. I feel it is important to note the thousands of intimate photos of American men and women at war I talk about have only began to be released over the last few years. They were largely denied public access immediately following WWII. Perhaps there is a message for all of us here. The author of both books is Evan Bachner.

Distributor’s commentaries:

Item one: Navy “At Ease…”

“In the years following World War II, images of comradeship, particularly of men being physically close, largely disappeared from the public record. But, as these stunning photographs attest, ordinary American men in the extraordinary circumstances of World War II were affectionate, winsome, and playful – disarmingly innocent in a time of cataclysmic peril. Led by photography giant Captain Edward J. Steichen, the U.S. Naval Aviation Photographic Unit was organized during the war to record the daily experiences of Navy men all over the world and to provide newspapers and magazines with images to promote the American cause. The unit’s photographers, which included Wayne Miller, Horace Bristol, Victor Jorgensen, and Barrett Gallagher, took thousands of pictures of soldiers as they relaxed, trained, prepared for the next battle, and waited. This book brings together more than 150 of those photographs culled from the National Archives, including many that have never before been published. Whereas World War II imagery tends to be dominated by combat photography and monumental depictions of weaponry, these photographs offer a rare, intimate look at the Navy men themselves.”

Evan Bachner (Author), Wayne Miller (Photographer), Horace Bristol (Photographer), Victor Jorgensen (Photographer), Barrett Gallagher (Photographer).

http://www.amazon.com/At-Ease-Navy-Men-World/dp/0810948052

Item two: Military generally “Men of WWII…”

The long awaited follow-up to the original At Ease presents 160 new, never before published photographs of WWII Navy men. These photos are not the combat photography we’re so accustomed to seeing; here are disarmingly winsome and playful pictures of sailors and soldiers at leisure, displaying an innocent affection for each other that is practically unthinkable today. This was a time when men had no reservations about showing their devotion to their comrades through physical contact, and the included photographs are truly snapshots of a lost era. This volume includes photos from the National Archives by Edward J. Steichen, Wayne Miller, Horace Bristol, Victor Jorgensen, Barrett Gallagher, and many others.

Pictures taken by the Naval Aviation Photographic Unit capture the fighting men during their time of just being men who are away from home and loved ones, who form bonds of friendship while putting their lives on the line for their country. The majority of the shots taken were of the men during their free time. It is a great montage of men relaxing together, playing, exercising, taking their meals, and a wonderful collection of photos showing the individuals dealing with their circumstances in the best way they could.

This book as well as its predecessor AT EASE are wonderful books.

http://www.amazon.com/Men-World-War-II-Fighting/dp/0810992876/ref=pd_sim_b_1

For further reviews of these books:

Editorial Reviews for at ease navy ww2

 

Albert Einstein fully trusted his intuition

Posted on by

Some people live almost entirely by intuition

These are the sorts of reasons Einstein was a scientific genius

Quotes:

“I believe in intuition and inspiration. … At times I feel certain I am right while not knowing the reason. When the eclipse of 1919 confirmed my intuition, I was not in the least surprised. In fact I would have been astonished had it turned out otherwise.”

“I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution. It is, strictly speaking, a real factor in scientific research.”

“When I examine myself and my methods of thought I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge.”

“Invention is not the product of logical thought, even though the final product is tied to a logical structure.”

“I believe in intuitions and inspirations. I sometimes feel that I am right. I do not know that I am”

“Perhaps we live best and do things best when we are not too conscious of how and why we do them.”

“Indeed, it is not intellect, but intuition which advances humanity. Intuition tells man his purpose in this life.”

“An intuitive child couldn’t accomplish anything without some knowledge. There will come a point in everyone’s life, however, where only intuition can make the leap ahead, without ever knowing precisely how. One can never know why, but one must accept intuition as a fact.”

“Fairy tales and more fairy tales. [in response to a mother who wanted her son to become a scientist and asked Einstein what reading material to give him]. The mother protested that she was really serious about this and she wanted a serious answer; but Dr. Einstein persisted, adding that creative imagination is the essential element in the intellectual equipment of the true scientist, and that fairy tales are the childhood stimulus to this quality.”

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift.”

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein

Metaphysical support for mental health improvement

Posted on by

The metaphysical science connection in addressing mental health problems

Mental health is a complex realm of medicine. I have learned it is generally thought by mental health practitioners that it is difficult to raise with their clients whether or not they have religious or spiritual beliefs. It is supposed this area of medicine is outside their training and wider cultural experience. It is more likely than not when persons make contact with professionals for assistance with their emotional problems they are nearly all treated by practitioners as being merely depressed. This label then becomes a permanent part of a patients clinical records. However, I have formed an opinion it is not unreasonable for mental health practitioners to subtly ask patients if they have any formal beliefs in metaphysical phenomena such as a deity, ghosts, heaven and the like. I feel if such questions were asked of patients it would help mental health therapists to more rapidly determine the more pertinent nature of their patients health problem. I am suggesting here simple meditation may be the first appropriate level of corrective therapy in lieu of an anti-depressant. If readers have an interest in the possible connection between mental health and metaphysical type phenomena two articles written by Dr. Andrew Powel may assist in their investigative efforts.

http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/pdf/powell_QP_WSMS.pdf

The Link Between Bipolar Disorder and Stress

Posted on by

Over many years researchers have identified the link between bipolar disorder and stress. This link has also been confirmed by tests done on the connection between child abuse and bipolar [cited in a separate article in this blog]. One researcher has identified the significant role of extreme anxiety in the initiation of manic episodes. This researcher also found there is a link between stress abuse and the hypothalamic-pituitary axis. In other words severe stress can detrimentally impact upon endocrine systems and associated hormonal activity. I have observed the life experiences of one person who’s life time medical condition seems to have been impacted upon this way, including with tumors. I feel some readers may not appreciate this connection.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00098/full

 

Is it Possible to Have a Good Death?

Posted on by

A forum for people to relate to about dying and death

Over the centuries different religions have evolved ars moriendi, ‘art of dying’ process for assisting the dying prepare for the final moments of their lives. Although I have written articles about the final act of dying, including one titled ‘What is death’ in a blog written in my webpage. I have never ventured to discover what sort of secular services may be available in the community to assist people to begin to prepare for their demise. There are two references I draw reader attention to that they may find are assets in their preparation for the final act of dying. In my opinion a good starting point would be to learn about a new ‘death café’ movement that is encouraging people to commence talking about dying. It is becoming an international movement. It claims its aim is to assist people to have a better experience of death.

A second reference point I found was a presentation mounted by the ABC online. It is part of a wider ABC health story feature. The article talks about what is a good death and is there such a thing? The article also talks about both good deaths and hard deaths and what either may mean to both the dying person and also their loved ones. It is rather a lengthy piece. However, I feel it is probably good reference material for those that may feel it could be useful one day. The respective url’s are:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-15/death-cafe-brisbane-end-of-life/5018806

http://www.abc.net.au/health/features/stories/2013/09/17/3850443.htm

The fantastic philosophical mind of Albert Einstein

Posted on by

I believe that you are likely to be stunned by the scores of Einstein quotations that I am presenting on your behalf today

There is little doubt most persons would have heard of Albert Einstein. In some quarters he is regarded as the most intelligent person that has ever existed in human history. From my limited reading the science community seems to think both Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein should be considered of equal ranking.

I confess that only of recent times have I become better acquainted with the life and times of Albert Einstein. I cannot comment on his scientific genius because obviously I’m totally ill equipped to do so. However, I make the following comments. It seems to me Einstein was a very simple man at heart. He was ruthlessly honest, honest to a degree his peers were often bemused by his views about life, and to a certain degree, his scientific beliefs as well. This is more so towards the end of his life. There is little doubt Einstein was eccentric. He wore high boots to disguise the fact that he did not like wearing socks. He believed any genius he may have had was derivative merely from both intuition and a dedicated desire to think and not common sense. He had a deep inner faith about a life hereafter and frequently talked about his firm belief about the existence of a fourth dimension and one day he would meet his friends there. Einstein was also a dedicated father and deeply moral man.

Einstein always believed in a God figure and never hid this fact. He was not interested in what God is, but he did care to know about what God was thinking. I have learned Einstein was also a prolific writer about life values and life meaning. Many of his views deeply resonate in my own inner self because the manner in which Einstein wrote about life seems to me as though he is actually a key part of reality. Another way of looking at what I am attempting to say it is as though Einstein was the spokesperson for all we commonly refer to as reality.

It is for these reasons I have dedicated extensive time and effort to prepare the list of Einstein quotations. My only wish is that I could have prepared and presented the material a little more professionally. However, I request readers extend understanding to me in this area. I make no secret of the fact I clearly identify with all philosophical ideas Einstein presents to us in his quotations. To me his life and his works are quite miraculous. I cannot help but believe in every one of them.

Please click here for Special messages from Einstein