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Perhaps some future system of categories will
enable us to understand how to skip playfully
from frame to frame -- each frame a style of understanding the present condition. Perhaps life
could then be lived somewhat like the children's game of hopskotch? The I Ching could even
be seen as providing one such map interrelating frames -- couild one but understand it as a
whole. The art of the game would be to avoid undue attachment to any frame -- and to gain a
sense of what it means to move. Is it in this way that we would discover the nature of
velopment? |
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I feel the edge of something. The depth of what I don't know, the
deepness
of my own underdevelopment is where I speak from. iDocument my
exploration and dissection of it. On the right are the projects I am working
on currently. On the left are those individuals who are closest to me as
iExplore this cutting edge.
The problem is not one of being this or that in man, but rather one of
becoming human, of a universal becoming animal: not to take oneself for a
beast, but to undo the human organization of the body, to cut across such
and such a zone of intensity in the body, everyone of us discovering the
zones which are really his, and the groups, the populations, the species
which inhabit me. The branches are four frames that I am using as scalpel
and anesthetic, while this map is my operating table. |
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Construct Program
A Construct program generates an artificial
Matrix-like space in which related programs can be
loaded and operated. It provides the framework on which other Matrix- based programs
function. Two of these, Loading Programs and Training
Programs, are described separately on
this page. |
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Loading Program (PL
7)
A loading program is a specialized Construct program which
is instrumental to a successful run
in the Matrix. With it, a Resistance group can prepare for their foray by loading weapons, gear,
clothing...anything they might possibly need during their time in the Matrix.
Despite the seemingly-boundless potential of
such a program, there is one significant limit to
what it can create: Only items for which it has a digital model can be generated. Thus, an item
can't be created in the Construct if it has no 'real world' counterpart in the Matrix campaign
setting. (At the GM's option, characters with the Computer Science-program skill might be
able to overcome this limitation, given enough time and ambitious research.)
It's important to note that existing items of
higher progress levels can be generated in the
Construct and brought into the Matrix. However, if such an item (or a special ability) is
observed by a mundane character in the Matrix, it draws the attention of an Agent very quickly.
For this reason most wise heroes leave their high-tech toys at home when they make a foray
into the Matrix. |
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Training Programs (PL
7)Training programs vary widely in design and purpose.
One may
generate a sparring chamber within the Construct that serves as an arena for martial arts
training; another may create the illusion of a bustling city street to teach a character how to be
vigilant concerning Agents and their abilities. Training programs convey a bonus to any Teach
skill checks related to their purpose, based on their quality: (- 1/-2/-3). |
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Enhance Programs
Enhance programs in the Matrix campaign setting
operate in a significantly different fashion
from the standard ALTERNITYrules:
1) A character equipped with a Matrix Interface Jack has
no need of a Reflex device in order to
make use of enhance programs. They rely on the user's own neural pathways to provide their
benefit.
2) Enhance programs are run from a dedicated
Matrix computer and apply their benefit to a
character via his Matrix Interface
Jack . The skills generated by these programs
are written
directly onto a character's brain.
3) The use of skills aquired through enhance
programs does not cause damage of any kind to
the user, whether used in or out of the Matrix. However, they can cause minor stun damage to
the reciever at the time they are 'uploaded' into his or her brain. Have the player make a
Resolve-Mental resolve skill check after each time period that passes during the uploading
process (see number 5, below), with stun damage determined by the result of the roll. Any
success results in no damage. Failure causes 1d6 stun points of damage. A critical failure
causes the character to be knocked unconscious with the loss of all stun points.
4) Instead of the step bonuses that they provide
in the standard ALTERNITYrules,
enhance
programs of the Matrix setting provide skill ranks instead, according to the following chart:
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Program Quality:
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Skill Rank:
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Marginal
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Broad Skill Only
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Ordinary
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Ranks 1, 2, 3, or
4
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Good
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Ranks 5, 6, 7, or
8
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Amazing
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Ranks 9, 10, 11,
or 12
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An enhance program requires a number of storage
memory slots equal to the rank it conveys.
Marginal quality programs require one slot of storage memory.
5) Enhance programs take a variable amount of
time to download into a character's mind,
depending on the level of skill they convey. Treat the process of using an enhance program as a
Complex skill check rolled by the operator. (Use either Knowledge-computer operation or
Computer science-programming.) Each skill check advances the process only one stage,
regardless of the level of success achieved, and the time required for each skill check is outlined
below:
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Skill Rank:
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Upload Time:
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Broad Skill only
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One phase
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Rank 1
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One round
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Rank 2
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30 seconds
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Rank 3
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1 minute
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Rank 4
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15 minutes
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Rank 5
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30 minutes
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Rank 6
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1 hour
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Rank 7
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2 hours
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Rank 8
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3 hours
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Rank 9
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4 hours
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Rank 10
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5 hours
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Rank 11
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6 hours
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Rank 12
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7 hours
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The process of uploading these skills can be
halted at any time, and resumed where it left off. If
the operator achieves a failure on a given skill check, the specified time has elapsed, but the
skill rank has not been gained. A critical failure on the part of the operator causes the character
to lose one rank of the skill instead of gaining one during that period of time.
6) Skills aquired artificially through the use
of enhance programs are 'semi- permanent.' They
remain etched into the character's mind indefinately, but can fade unexpectedly under stressful
use. If the hero experiences a critical failure using a skill aquired or improved through an
enhance program, he or she must make an immediate Resolve-mental resolve skill check to
determine how many ranks of the skill are lost: Critical Failure: All ranks of this skill and its
broad skill are lost. Failure: All ranks of this specialty skill are lost. Ordinary Success: 2d4
ranks of the skill are lost. Good Success: 1d4 ranks of the skill are lost. Amazing Success: No
skill ranks are lost. Skill ranks purchased with achievement points are not subject to this
penalty. (See number 9, below.)
7) Within the Matrix, physical skills (or other
skills) aquired through enhance programs carry no
additional penalty due to their specal nature. In the 'real world,' however, a character suffers a
3-step penalty to the use of enhanced physical skills until they are aquired the 'hard' way. Once
a skill rank is purchased with achievement points, it is no longer subject to this penalty. (See
number 9, below.)
8) Once learned, a skill can not be intentionally
deleted.
9) A skill rank or broad skill aquired through
the use of enhance programs can be "reinforced"
by spending half the number of achievement points the skill would have normally cost, rounded
up. Ever after, the skill is considered to have been aquired naturally. |
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The Ten Oxherding Pictures
From Manual of Zen Buddhism, D.T. Suzuki
By Shubun (15th Century)
1. Undisciplined
With his horns fiercely projected in the air the beast snorts,
Madly running over the mountain paths, farther and farther he goes astray!
A dark cloud is spread across the entrance of the valley,
And who knows how much of the fine fresh herb is trampled under his wild hoofs!
2. Discipline Begun
I am in possession of a straw rope, and I pass it through his nose,
For once he makes a frantic attempt to run away, but he is severely whipped and whipped;
The beast resists the training with all the power there is in a nature wild and ungoverned,
But the rustic oxherd never relaxes his pulling tether and ever-ready whip.
3. In Harness
Gradually getting into harness the beast is now content to be led by the nose,
Crossing the stream, walking along the mountain path, he follows every step of the leader;
The leader holds the rope tightly in his hand never letting it go,
All day long he is on the alert almost unconscious of what fatigue is.
4. Faced Round
After long days of training the result begins to tell and the beast is faced round,
A nature so wild and ungoverned is finally broken, he has become gentler;
But the tender has not yet given him his full confidence,
He still keeps his straw rope with which the ox is now tied to a tree.
5. Tamed
Under the green willow tree and by the ancient mountain stream,
The ox is set at liberty to pursue his own pleasures;
At the eventide when a grey mist descends on the pasture,
The boy wends his homeward way with the animal quietly following.
6. Unimpeded
On the verdant field the beast contentedly lies idling his time away,
No whip is needed now, nor any kind of restraint;
The boy too sits leisurely under the pine tree,
Playing a tune of peace, overflowing with joy.
7. Laissez Faire
The spring stream in the evening sun flows languidly along the willow-lined bank,
In the hazy atmosphere the meadow grass is seen growing thick;
When hungry he grazes, when thirsty he quaffs, as time sweetly slides,
While the boy on the rock dozes for hours not noticing anything that goes on about him.
8. All Forgotten
The beast all in white now is surrounded by the white clouds,
The man is perfectly at his case and care- free, so is his companion;
The white clouds penetrated by the moon- light cast their white shadows below,
The white clouds and the bright moon-light- each following its course of movement.
9. The Solitary Moon
Nowhere is the beast, and the oxherd is master of his time,
He is a solitary cloud wafting lightly along the mountain peaks;
Clapping his hands he sings joyfully in the moon-light,
But remember a last wall is still left barring his homeward walk.
10. Both Vanished
Both the man and the animal have disappeared, no traces are left,
The bright moon-light is empty and shadowless with all the ten-thousand objects in it;
If anyone should ask the meaning of this,
Behold the lilies of the field and its fresh sweet-scented verdure. |
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The Zen Ox-Herding Pictures
By Ruben Habito
Today we begin a new series of teishos or dharma
presentations that I would like to offer as a
series. For our subject matter I would like to address what in the Zen tradition is called "The
Ten Oxherding Pictures." This is a set of ten calligraphic works that portray the different stages
in the journey to the realization of the truth, or the realization of the true self.
Today I will give a general introduction, summarizing
each of the ten so that we have a broad
picture. I'd like to begin by recalling that a teisho, a Japanese term that we are employing, is not
to be construed as a lecture or as an intellectual explanation. As the Chinese/Japanese
characters imply, it is an offering (tei), that is recited (sho), in the context of Zen practice. It
is
meant to highlight one of the four cardinal precepts of Zen, namely, "pointing directly to the
human mind." The four cardinal principles of Zen are:
1)
it does not rely on words or letters;
2)
it is a special transmission outside of scriptures;
3)
it points directly to the human mind, or to the core of our being;
4)
it opens our eyes to see our true nature thus enabling us to become an awakened one.
And I'd like to refer you to the book, Healing
Breath, in the second and third chapters, which
also give some further background explanation.
The teisho deals mainly with the third; namely,
it points directly to our human mind, that is, the
concrete situation where each practitioner is. So its intent is really to address each individual, at
the heart. Ideally speaking, it should be offered one to one. But since we are here together as a
group, we offer it as such, rather than repeating the same things over and over in one-to-one
meetings (dokusan). The hope is that although there are different stages in the journey for each
one, there will be at least a set of offerings that could be nourishing or that could serve as a
pointer for each of the practitioners here present.
A talk in the Zen context, which we also call
a dharma talk, is given with that pre-supposition
that it is a communication from heart to heart, in the process of awakening to the truth, in the
process of discovering the dharma. The term dharma, which is now employed in English also, is
sometimes translated as truth, sometimes translated as "that which is" or sometimes it is
translated as "the way." But just to look at the etymology, "dharma" comes from
the sanskrit
"dhr." This verb dhr means "to hold" or "to sustain," and the noun form
becomes dharma, which
means, "that which sustains everything as it is" or "that which makes everything in this
universe
what it is." So we can translate this word dharma as "the truth of things," or "that
which makes
everything just what it is." So we look at each and everyone of us here today and we can see
that we are the body of that dharma: the dharma is all of us. We are all part of this whole
interconnected set of phenomena which we call the universe. That is what a dharma talk is all
about: things, just as they are. We try to enrich people's lives to let everyone see that we are all
intertwined, and we are trying to open our eyes to the dharma in us, or the dharma as us.
Please don't take it as simply a set of mental or intellectual explanations. That is why we
discourage note-taking. That is because it is not meant for the mind or the intellect alone, but
instead it points directly at one's human core. Each one is invited to listen in a way that one
keeps asking the question that motivates each one to practice: "Who am I?" "What is reality?"
That is the underlying dynamism that we would like to keep in mind as we listen to a teisho.
And so, I begin. These teishos are not meant
for public or general distribution but are directed
to those of us who are practicing in the context described. They are not something to be
listened to out of curiosity or just to learn new ideas, but precisely as an offering to point to
where you are in your practice.
We will look at the ten oxherding pictures precisely
to help us mirror where we are in our
practice. As we do so, in one or other of these stages, we may have a sense of recognition-
"That's it! That's what I am!" And with such a recognition, we are enabled to go on deeper
and
therefore to understand that next step we need to take, precisely based on our realization of
where we are.
But one other preliminary point in looking at
these ten oxherding pictures is to realize that they
are "stages" not in the sense that the latter stages are superior to the earlier stages. We
see them
precisely as an invitation to take a full circle. They are invitations to us to see where we are in
the circle. But this should not lead us to think, "Ah, I'm better than that one because I am in
number six and that other person is just in number three!" So we are not to see it in a way that
bolsters our ego. On the other hand, we need not demean ourself and say, "Oh, I'm only in
number two, whereas others may be in number six or number seven." And so on. We are
invited to see it as a full circle, where we are in a community together, and we are finding our
place in this community in a unique and irreplaceable way.
So with that in mind I would like to first of
all make a comment about the circle that is common
to all of the ten oxherding pictures. The circle, as we may know from our understanding of the
Zen tradition, is a representation of our true self. And it is written in Chinese or Japanese
calligraphy in a way that is not exactly mathematically perfect, that is, in a way that every point
is equidistant from the center. Instead, it is written given all the contours of the human hand who
wrote it. That itself, with all the contours, is supposed to be the manifestation of perfection, not
the mathematically correct figure where every point in the circle is equidistant from the center.
The circle is drawn by a human hand, with a brush, and is perfect just as it is. And one other
feature of this circle that you will note if you really look at genuine Zen work closely is that it
is
not a closed circle. There is always a slight opening somewhere and that indicates that it is not
something that is contained in itself, but opens out to space, to infinity.
With that in the background, we can look at
the circle, as an invitation for us to ask, "Who am
I?" and "How can I discover that true self as represented by a circle in me in a way that
I can
see myself also as open in that dimension of infinite?" And if you take the cue from the circle
it
also represents...nothing. Precisely because there is nothing in it, it is also perfect and complete,
just as it is. So these two elements-fully empty and yet totally replete-just as it is-is the picture
of our true self. The first picture depicts a little child who is supposed to be perplexed, or is
searching for something. "In the beginning, suddenly emerged from confusion." Another
description of this same first picture of a child just beginning to open its eyes and wonder about
things is the "the awakening of the fact." So it is the first stage in the awakening process
asking
the question: "What's this all about?"
This is already a very significant step. Before
the first stage there is already a kind of
awakening, namely, a mind that begins asking questions. One becomes aware that one is
perplexed in asking "Who am I?" "How can I live my life in a way that is truly meaningful?"
or
"What is the meaning of all this?" Before arriving at this stage, perhaps we have been asleep
many years, taking things in life for granted. We were once a child, then a teenager, and then
we move on to adulthood, just following the normal stages and routines of human living. We
may have gotten married and have started a family, and so on, then suddenly, at some point in
our lives, we begin to ask the big questions. It may come when we are thirty or forty or even
fifty. Or, it may come for some of us at an earlier age. The child in the picture represents that
stage that now begins to awaken and ask, "What is this all about?" So the asking of the
question leads us to seek some form of practice that will enable us to pursue those questions. I
will describe this more fully in the next talk.
The second stage is described as "finding
the ox's traces." Now one gets a sense of where one
may go in pursuing that question and is inspired to go on further. The ox here is a symbol of the
true self in the same way that the circle also is the true self. And so now one sees traces, like
hoof prints: "Oh, there must be something that makes this life worth living, so let me see what
it
is." One begins asking more questions and may begin reading some books, going to talks on
spirituality, and so on. Or one may go to a religious center, or join a group to pursue some kind
of practice that will deepen our sense of awareness and goad us on in our search.
The third stage is the sighting of the ox. Perhaps
we may not yet see the whole ox, but we may
glimpse its tail, or some part of the ox, that makes us sure that the ox is certainly there. But yet
we haven't seen it fully yet. The glimpse just whets our appetite, and leads us to go further. In
the Zen tradition, this third stage is known as the initial opening, or kensho experience. This is
the initial experience of awakening to the true self. We may have only a brief glimpse-but at
least we know that it is there. Now we know, not just from hearsay or from others who have
seen it, or not just from deducing it from the tracks we may have seen or the ox manure we
may have smelled along the way. But having directly seen it, we know that it is there and so we
are given a new impetus to follow it. And so for those of us who may have had a new
experience like this, so suddenly, coming to us like this, we may say, "Now I've got it! Now, I
have this kensho and so I'm fully in the Zen light!"
Well, I've got news for you: that is just the
beginning of it. The sighting of it may still relapse into
a memory and therefore, well, if it becomes just an ego trip ("Now that I've seen it."), you
may
think you can claim yourself as an enlightened person and that will mitigate against the journey
itself. So, that's why in our center we do not make such a big fuss about that initial experience.
It is like an initial sighting that should simply draw us on to look further.
The fourth stage is now the catching of the
ox. After having sighted it we go closer to it and are
maybe even able to lasso it and as the picture in one version shows, the little child holds a rope
around the ox's neck. Now, we have the ox closer at hand. But still the ox is unwieldy and it
can still run away from us. It is still not under control. We have a rope that can enable us to
keep it in tow. But still we have to continue to exert effort to enable it to stay there and not to
run away from us.
The fifth stage, then, is one in which the ox
has been tamed somewhat, and we are able to live
in peace with it. It even follows us, and we are leading the ox along the path. We are now a
little more accustomed to practice, and are now beginning to experience a sense of peace, a
sense of joy. An inner satisfaction begins to make itself felt in our daily life, manifesting itself
in
our way of being more compassionate and being more thoughtful of others, and so on. And we
begin to receive the fruits of the practice with less and less effort on our part.
The sixth stage is riding the ox home. We are
now able to feel that we are on our way home.
We can ride the ox and it doesn't try to jump and throw us away like a bucking bronco
anymore. It is now fully one with us, and we are comfortable riding the ox. But still, there is
more to come.
The seventh stage talks about the ox forgotten:
leaving the child to simply sit there and meditate
deeply. So now, even the ox is gone. At this stage one is no longer thinking about oneself, no
longer having to pursue words like "dharma" or "enlightenment" and so on. We are
home and
we don't need to think about looking for something else. We are comfortable where we are.
At the eighth stage, both the boy and the ox
are forgotten. There is an empty circle represented
here. There is no longer any ox, that is, no longer any sense of conceptualizing "truth" or
"dharma" or "true self" or whatever. There is also no subject (I, me, mine) attempting
to
conceptualize or verbalize those terms. Both the subject and object are gone. In the seventh
stage, the concept of truth, God, holiness, dharma and so on have disappeared, and you're
simply living life in its pure simplicity. The eighth is a stage where even thoughts about yourself
are no longer there. In some versions, of the oxherding pictures, this eighth stage is given as the
last stage. The ten stage version, however, has a subtlety that we are also invited to consider.
The ninth stage is described as a return to
the forest. Now, after having forgotten both the
object and the subject, what appears? There's a bamboo shoot, there is a plum blossom, a
rock beside a gently flowing stream. Further than that we don't see. Just the realization of the
way things are, as they are, in their naturalness. It is simply realizing that plum blossoms are
there, and they are just what they are. All the things in life accepted, taken just for what they
are.
But the tenth stage is the fullness and completion
of the full ten stages. And what does this
depict? Here we see the child again, in playful mirth. In India the statues of the Buddha are
usually emaciated, giving a sense of asceticism and world-renunciation, of transcendence. In
China, however, the pictures of the Buddha are always associated with mirth and laughter and
gaiety. So he is depicted as a very roly-poly person, always laughing and happy. And so the
Chinese diety of happiness and mirth came to be identified with the figure of the Buddha. So
this tenth stage is experiencing that sense of joy and mirth and playfulness in one's daily life, no
matter what. Another depiction of this stage is the return to the market place. We are back in
the concrete struggles of our daily life. And yet, we are now able to live them, live right in the
midst of them, with a sense of playfulness. We transcend our struggles not by escaping them,
but by plunging ourselves right into them with a new sense of freedom and a sense of humor
and a sense of acceptance.
We will develop each of these stages with greater
detail later. I have here tried to offer a
summary of the ten oxherding pictures in a way that may help us realize there are different
stages along the way, and that we need not get stuck on any particular stage saying, "There
now I am complete." But we can truly say, "It is good to be, every step along the way."
We
keep coming back full circle: it is always the child in us that is the one who draws us to all this.
So what we are invited to do is-keep returning to that child in us, that is truly the one who can
partake of the gifts of being. And as we can see from the title of the book written by the
Japanese Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind Beginner's Mind, that is the place that we are
always invited to return, that is, come back full circle to where we have been all along. There is
no sense putting on airs, thinking, "Now I've advanced along the path." Yet again, we need
not
downplay our practice, thinking, "I still have a long way to go." We can realize both aspects,
but yet we also realize that it is a circle that we are invited to simply plunge ourselves into and
open our eyes to. As we do so, we know that at every step along the path, there is a fullness
that we can experience. And yet, it is a fullness that doesn't let us stop there, but motivates us
to take the next step, from fullness to fullness-through a continual process of emptying.
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'The heart of dialogue is a simple but profound
capacity to listen...not only to others but also to
ourselves and our own reactions... We often pay great attention to what goes on in us, when
what is actually required is a kind of disciplined self- forgetting...you must create a space in
which listening can occur.'
Good listening requires that we slow down, that
we learn to recognise and manage how we are
listening now, which is often from within our memories, a 'net of thought that I cast on a
particular situation'. (There is a section on 'the ladder of inference', the process by which we
jump immediately from limited observed facts to wide conclusions based on internally held
memories, biases and assumptions - and then act as if the whole conclusion were based on
fact). It also requires that we learn to look for evidence that disconfirms or challenges our
preexisting point of view, not simply for confirmation. Finally, and perhaps most difficult for
organisations, it requires that we slow down, an anathema to those who are hooked on quick
and 'efficient' decision making
one should only speak when one has something
worthwhile to say.
When silence communicates
Though technologies serve to connect us when
we're not physically co-present, they spend a
great deal of time, we hope, being silent. Now this silence can mean something, or not,
depending on a number of factors. Thus even a silent phone can have us pacing with
anticipation.
One of the most important parts of any conversation
is the silence. Silence can serve many
functions in a conversation and how you manage it determines your level of sophistication. Here
are some points to keep in mind about silence in communication.
1. Allowing silence in a conversation puts pressure on the other person.
It's conventional in the US not to allow any sort of extended silence in a conversation.
Therefore, to allow one puts pressure on the other person to "fill air time". Some interviewers,
for instance, use this technique to see what will happen. Often the person will "spill" -
saying
exactly the thing they didn't want to say.
2. Silence can indicate hostility.
Withdrawing, "stonewalling," and pouting in silence are ways some people handle anger.
Such a
silence can be pulsating with bad feelings and elicit anger on the part of the other person.
3. Silence can indicate disagreement.
While it's almost never an indication of indifference, silence can indicate that the other person
is
having negative emotions. When we experience anger, fear, or embarrassment, our thinking
brain shuts down. We sit there fuming, unable to speak; enraged and unable to find words;
afraid and scared speechless. Some people are "flooded" with these emotions, and unable to
respond.
4. Silence can indicate profoundness, such as awe or horror.
Sometimes when we're listening to someone else, we hear something that leaves us speechless
because it really goes beyond words. Listening to someone talk about a dreadful trauma
they've endured, or a beautiful, almost-sacred interaction with another human being, or a
description of an awesome natural event such as a sunset or a volcano eruption are examples.
Somehow when we listen to such things, the ordinary "Oh" and "Wow" and "That's
awesome"
don't seem enough, and so we fall silent.
5. Silence can indicate respect.
In some cultures more than others, silence indicates respect. A young person may be expected
to approach an older person or a person in authority and remain silent until recognized,
acknowledged and spoken to.
6. Silence can indicate contemplation.
The more introverted your communication partner, the more likely they will think before they
speak. Extraverts discover what they're thinking and how they feel by talking. Introverts figure
it all out inside their own head and heart before giving voice to it.
7. Silence can be intentional rudeness.
Because of the nature of normal conversation in the US, allowing an extended silence can be
perceived as rudeness. It can also be meant that way. Refusing to reply to the other person is a
way of ignoring them.
8. Silence can be the creation of a listening space.
When you are profoundly listening to someone, you create an open space for them to talk into
that's almost palpable. Good listeners know how to do this, and it can be learned. It's an
openness that you transmit through nonverbal means.
9. Silence can be an indication of empathy.
When we're really tuning in to how the other person feels, we're listening more to the tone of
their voice, cadence and speed rather than the actual words, so reply with words may not be
the most appropriate response. Sometimes sounds are more attuned ... a murmur, a sigh,
sucking in the breath in shock, soothing sounds, clucking (tsk tsk), or shaking the head and
going uh, uh, uh.
10. How you manage silence in conversation is an important part of emotional
intelligence.
Excellent communicators can allow silence when it's effective or called for; can avoid being
pressured into "spilling" when silence is used manipulatively; offer silence as a gift or
sign of
respect; interpret the silence of others appropriately; understand how other cultures use silence;
mindfully regulate the use of silence; and are comfortable with silence and understand its many
uses.
The Sound of Silence ... Use Pauses for Powerful
Presentations
by Chris King
When we are presenting, and especially when we are new to speaking
in front of
audiences, we often speed ahead — afraid of leaving blank spaces. Successful
sales people know the power of silence. As presenters, if we learn to use silence
and pauses to our advantage, we will not only reach our listeners more effectively,
they will also understand and remember our messages more readily.
Begin with silence. It takes “guts” to stand in
front of an audience after being
introduced without saying something immediately, but this can prove to be one of
the strongest ways to get their attention and to create rapport. Lee Glickstein, a well
known speaking coach and speaker from Mill Valley, California, suggests that we
start our presentations by standing quietly, making eye contact with audience
members, letting them make contact with us, and then once everyone is
comfortable and waiting with anticipation, start with a dynamic story. You will be
amazed at the level of attention this produces.
Pause to develop relationship between you and your listeners.
During a
pause, the speaker is more like a listener. This is a time when both are listening
and the speaker can take note of the audience’s quality of listening. We might
realize that as the presenter we need to change course and tell a story or possibly
ask for questions. If, however, we don’t take a moment to evaluate reactions and
interest, we might just forge ahead without maintaining the audience’s attention.
Pause with purpose. There are many times throughout a presentation
a pause
can add emphasis and/or give the listener a chance to ponder, or even laugh.
When we have just made an important point, a startling or unusual statement, or a
call for action, participants need a moment to take notes, think about what we just
said, or catch up. Even though we can hear words faster than anyone can speak,
we do need time to think about what was said and then form our own ideas. If, as
presenters, we give participants enough time, they will be much more likely to buy
into what we are presenting than if we just keep on moving fast forward with the
information that is so familiar to us. I have also heard speakers who make a
humorous statement and then don’t let the audience members have time to “get it”
and laugh. People need time to laugh. And laughter is important because it bonds
the audience and speaker.
Transition with pauses. As a speaker with content, you have
many different
points to make. But if you jump too quickly from one point to another, you will leave
your listeners behind or confused. When this happens, they will oftentimes “tune out”
and you have lost them for the rest of your presentation. A well-placed pause will
help you and them prepare for the next portion of your presentation. I suggest
picking transitional sentences as carefully as your openings and closings, and then
taking a moment of silence for the ideas in these sentences to take hold before you
launch into the new point.
Pause for a show of confidence. The confident pause is an earmark
of the
accomplished speaker. The courage to stop the flow of words is an act of trust in
the power of your presence, your nonverbal communication, and your relationship to
your listeners.
Intonation and Voice
A message can be added
to the words we are using in a spoken sentence by using an
intonation in our voice. This will let the receiver know what way the message needs to be
interpreted.
For instance a question
such as "why have you not told me this before now?"
can be
communicated in a variety of ways by using different intonations. In this way we can add
expressions such as anger, disappointment or happiness to the actual words. When talking on
the phone we can not make use of body signals like gestures, facial expression and touch. The
receiver can not see our body language and therefore we often compensate for that by putting
more emphasis on the way we use the intonations in our voice.
Ahs, hums, hesitations
and pauses
Our conversations are full
of ahs, hums, hesitations and pauses. These guide our
conversations and provide spaces for us to think and feel. They occur more when the subject is
difficult or emotional or when we feel unsure of ourselves. If a public speaker addresses the
audience for the first time, it will be noticeable that his/her speech gets more and more fluent
as she/he speaks longer. This occurs only if there are no negative body language signals from
the audience. This gives the speaker confidence, and by becoming more confident his/her
speech will become more fluent. A good speaker will pay attention to the body language
signals from the audience and if possible adjust the speech accordingly -or adjust the way
he/she delivers it.
Hearing emotions in a voice
It is possible to hear
emotions in a voice. Our voice will tremble if we are feeling emotional and
still need to/ want to continue talking. The tremble can indicate various emotions and can be
interpreted differently by men and women, as well as by each individual. It is important to keep
in mind that the situation, as well as gender and culture, can play a role in determining those
differences. Some people use noisy actions such as clearing a throat or coughing when they
find themselves in a tense situation. Spontaneous coughing and throat clearing occurs a lot
more at official occasions when there is a request for silence! The whole range of emotions and
ways to express them is not only closely related to the intonations in our voice and body
language but also to our breathing. For example, think of when we sigh, laugh or cry.
Silence
Silences are another important
aspect in communication. A whole web page could be written
about the role of silences in our communication. When we are silent we are also
communicating! What we communicate depends on what kind of silence it is. Mostly the
subject of the conversation plays a major role in this. Again, the time in between words provide
feeling and thinking space for people. Generally, the more emotionally loaded the subject is,
the more silences we need. To not talk, to be silent
in company when there is a lot of talking
is an art in itself. Many people tend to think that when there is a silence there is just nothing
more to say. Not true! It often means that people are trying to figure out something intuitively
about themselves or the other(s). Quite often too they are noticing something about the body
language of the other(s) and are paying attention to that.
Silence to be intimate
with others
Sometimes people need silence
to work out how intimate they want to be with others. Silences
in group conversations are difficult to handle for a lot of people. They make them nervous, or
they feel that they have to say something and can get embarrassed if they have nothing to add
at that moment. It is at moments like these that we all say strange, stupid or boring things and
later wonder why we did that - or worse, dislike ourselves for saying such stupid things! The
weather, or other standard socially acceptable superficial conversation topics, is often used to
fill up those gaps. It's always good to have a few standard comments up your sleeve in case of
acute embarrassment. People who do not like to talk about a particular topic for whatever
reason will use a silence or break in the conversation to create a distraction by changing
topics. In the therapeutic world, silences are often used to give someone the opportunity to
become more aware of themselves or what they have just said. If it is in a group, then silence
can indicate a level of comfort and intimacy as well as distrust. Again, it depends on many
other factors how the silence is interpreted. Silences can make some people feel threatened.
Of course, when there is a silence it can be threatening, as everyone becomes more aware of
his or her own body and their body language - especially if they have read this web site about
it!
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Theoretical Frameworks
Brummett, B. "Towards a Theory of silence
as a Political Strategy." Quarterly Journal of
Speech 66 (1980): 289-303. PN4071.Q3
Strategic silence occurs when people
expect talk and get none, an act which draws public
attention. Silence is relative to what might be said. Strategic silence draws the attribution of
fairly predictable meanings: mystery, uncertainty, passivity, and relinquishment. Because it
carries predictable meanings independent of contexts, political strategic silence is unlike other
forms of silence or nonverbal communication. Denial of talk, as in strategic political silence,
almost always means mystery, uncertainty, passivity, and relinquishment. Actions of silence of
Nixon and Carter are given as examples.
Bruneau, T.J. "Communicative Silences:
Forms and Functions, Journal of Communication.", 23
(1973): 17-46. P87.J86
The nature of silence is an imposition of mind,
as an independent signification ground for speech
signs, as a relationship to mental time (as opposed to artificial time), and as it relates to
sensation, perception and metaphorical movement. There are three minor forms of silence: time
silence and Slow-time silence; Interactive Silence; and Sociocultural Silence. Bruneau
establishes a basic theoretical framework concerning the relationships of silence to such
processes as sensation, perception, mentation, social interaction, and cultural communication.
Our conceptions of time, based almost exclusively on clock time, may be preventing us from
inquiring into the meaning of silence. Encoder and decoder manipulations and imposition of
silence appears to be the medium of metaphorical movement, and others have implied that
silence is the basis for metaphoric extension.
Dauenhauer, BP. Silence: The Phenomenon and
its Ontological Significance. Bloomington:
Indiana UP, 1980.
Perhaps one of the most often cited theorists
on silence, Dauenhauer posits silence as a
complex, positive phenomenon that is not simply the absence of something else (something he
credits poets to have known "throughout recorded history"). By building on Max Picard's The
World of Silence, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, and Marcel, Dauenhauer builds a well-
developed account of both the phenomenon of silence and its ontological significance by
assuming that silence is always connected with discourse. He describes three kinds of silence
(intervening silence, fore-and-after silence, and deep silence) which have four characteristics in
common: 1) silence is an active human performance which always appears in connection with
an utterance; (2) silence is never an act of unmitigated autonomy; (3) silence involves a yielding
following upon an awareness of finitude and awe; and (4) silence is peculiar in that its yielding
binds and joins participants. The ontological issue is not whether silence makes sense, but just
what sense does it make. What holds good for discourse holds good for all types of human
performances, including silence. Both man and world are syntheses of two irreducible, but non-
self-standing, components which are not contraries of one another. Rather, these components
are simply other than one another. Being is the interplay of the play of these two components in
man on the one hand and the world on the other. The components of this sythesis, this dyad,
are named the "determinate" and the "nondeterminate." Signitive performances play
a privileged
role in the manifestation of the sense of both man's Being and that of the world. And among
signitive performances, performances of silence enjoy a certain primacy.
Ehrenhaus, Peter. "Silence and Symbolic
Expression." Communication Monographs 55.1
(1988): 41-57. PN4077.S61.
Using the a study of the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial,
silence is posited as a potential human
response to all forms of symbolic expression. The memorial becomes an architectural instance
of "object-silence": silence is viewed more broadly as the absence of usable forms of symbolic
expression (or our inability to use meaningfully those forms of symbolic expression which we
encounter). This view of silence also affords a greater opportunity to study ways in which
silence-as-encounter becomes personally meaningful. Grounded phenomenologically, the essay
indicates how the object-silence of the Vietnam Memorial is politically strategic—it is an object
of silence without a political message.
Jaworski, Adam. The Power of Silence: Social
and Pragmatic Perspectives. Language and
Language Behaviors. Ser. 1. Newbury Park: Sage Publications, 1993.
As a structural study of silence, Jaworski is
more interested in how silence works than what it
is. He overviews the research already done on silence in linguistics, and then he presents the
role of silence in politics: control, manipulation, and oppression. Silence may be viewed not
only as a linguistic or communicative category present in interpersonal, social, and political
discourse but also as a mode of expression in the arts. Jaworski also argues that the concept of
acoustic silence can be extended to visual media.
Kalamaras, George. Reclaiming the Tacit Dimension:
Symbolic Form in the Rhetoric of
Silence. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994.
In the wake of poststructuralism, silence has
most often been cast as the "bad guy," a void
promising some mysterious concept of transcendence but, in the process, robbing speaking
subjects of the ability to construct meaning and, thus, the means to personal and cultural power.
As a composition and rhetorical theorist, Kalamaras explores how the practices of both
language production and silence are reciprocal rather than conflictive. He locates silence within
composition theory as meaningful and authenticates it as a genuine mode of knowing. As such,
silence is a condition of emptiness that is, paradoxically, full. By drawing on Eastern mystical
traditions, silence becomes a reciprocal, fluid model, which positions the many aspects and
layers of paradox as complementary and generative rather than conflictive and debilitating. His
goal is not to appropriate the understandings of poststructuralism and consume them under the
rubric of mysticism but rather to grant new validity to the condition of silence in current Western
discourse theory.
Luhmann, Niklas. "Speaking and Silence." New
German Critique 61 (1994): 25-37.
Only for the system of society that includes
all communication does the silence produced along
with it become a problem. Any other social system formed within society can start from the
assumption that communication also takes place I the environment. What is not said in the
system can still be communicated by other systems on other occasions with different words,
concepts, metaphors. This does not apply to society. Its environment remains silent. And even
this characterization is still one of communication and one with reference to communication; for
in reality, silence is not an operation outside of society but only a counter-image which society
projects into its environment, or it is the mirror in which society comes to see that what is not
said is not said.
Scott, Robert L. "Dialectical Tensions
of Speaking and Silence." Quarterly Journal of
Speech, 79.1 (1993): 1-18. PN4071.Q3
Beginning with an attempt to create a discourse
based on classical Chinese texts, Scott
eventually divides silence into three basic forms: attentive silence; terminal silences, and silences
that punctuate discourse. It is a mistake to think of silence as a passive state; it is, rather, active.
Silence interacts with speech; each is vital to the presence of the other. As a co-creator of
meaning, a listener is quite different from the passive receiver suggested often in modern
communication theory (or the Western tradition). Silence symbolizes hierarchical structures as
surely as does speech. Verbalizing a negative calls attention to a possibility. It becomes
thinkable, whereas silence leaves it in the realm of the unthinkable.
Tatsis, Nicholas and George Zito. "The
Social Meanings of Silence." American Sociological
Association (1992). Abstract. 13 Apr 2001 <http://newfirstsearch.oclc.org>.
Silence is an essential mechanism of social
interaction, but the sociological literature on silence
is sparse. An attempt is made here to establish a perspective for the exploration of silences of
both objective & subjective varieties. Insights from Georg Simmel, Georg Lukacs, Michel
Foucault, and others are employed to suggest areas of investigation.
Empirical Studies
Baldassare, Mark and Cheryl Katz. "Measures
of Attitude Strength as Predictors of
Willingness to Speak to the Media." Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 73.1
(1996): 147-58. PN4700.J7
Attitude strength plays a significant role in
predicting willingness to express political views.
Using presidential pre-election surveys and Noelle-Neumann's spiral of silence theory, the
authors link the public's willingness to be interviewed to three factors: those who have greater
interest in politics; those who have extreme political views, and those who have paid attention
to the election (the factors which the authors identify define "attitude strength").
Bruce, Douglas Roger. The Rhetoric of Silence,
the Silence of Rhetoric: A Critical Analysis
of the Campaign for a Moment of Silence in the Public Schools. Diss. University of Iowa,
1985. Abstract. 12 Apr. 2001 <http://newfirstsearch.oclc.org>.
Silence is a dialectical tension between presence
and absence. Silence consists in both the
absence of sound or discourse and the presence of a series of unstated rules for forming
discourse. At the time of this dissertation, half of all states have laws authorizing moments of
silence for public schools. When silence is construed both as a simple absence of sound and as
the presence of prayer, the controversy over school prayer becomes ironic. Bruce traces this
controversy from its roots in the Engle and Schempp decisions by the Supreme Court in the
1960s through recent court rulings which have overturned "moment of silence" laws. Thus,
when one gives voice to the now-silent Supreme Court decisions, one confronts an ironic
dialectic between what the Court said and what they now are held to have said.
Dindia, Kathryn. "Antecedents and Consequences
of Awkward Silence: A Replication Using
Revised Lag Sequential Analysis." Human Communication Research 13.1 (1986): 108-25.
P91.3H85
This study replicates McLaughlin and Cody's
(1982) study of antecedents and consequences
of awkward silence, a study which concluded that behavioral sequences before silence in dyads
with multiple silences were characterized by a pattern of minimal response by one participant,
and by the presence of question-answer adjacency pairs. This study uses a revised lag
sequential analysis and sixty undergraduates (30 male, 30 female) enrolled in the introductory
communication course at a large midwestern urban university in order to prove that laughter
and acknowledgement were important antecedents to awkward silences.
Jaska, J.A. and E.L. Stech. "Communication
to Enhance Silence: The Trappist Experience."
Journal of Communication Winter (1978): 14-18. P87.J86, 28
In 1969, the Trappist monasteries changed their
rules concerning silence: in a period of a year
the monks transitioned from an era of mandatory silence to one of limited interpersonal
communication. The authors studied this transition in 1970 through interviews, observations,
and questionnaires conducted in seven abbeys, hypothesizing that, given the choice, the monks
would seek out the company of their brothers, would communicate more, and, in the process,
they would gain greater self-awareness through the responses of their brothers. Seventy-eight
of the 90 monks who responded felt that there was much more or quite a bit more awareness
of self after the change. Twenty-one percent felt that there hand been no change, and only one
monk felt that he knew much less about himself. The increased communication also lead to a
greater perceived understanding of one another and more intimate relationships. The monks
also reported that knowledge of oneself and interpersonal support and acceptance by the other
can lead to more effective silence. Separation, loneliness, and misunderstanding between
persona leads to frustration and a diminished ability to lead a contemplative life.
Orai, Natsuko. Use of Silence in Japanese
Discourse. Diss. Michigan State University, 1998.
Abstract. 12 Apr. 2001 <http://newfirstsearch.oclc.org>.
By investigating the use of silence in Japanese
private discourse, and taking into account
variables such as gender difference and the degree of intimacy between the participants, Orai
concludes that the more intimate the relation is between the speakers, the more silence is used
both in length and in frequency in Japanese private discourse. In addition, female pairs use
longer pauses than male pairs, and the number of pauses in the conversations of mixed pairs is
greater than those in male pairs, and smaller than those in female pairs. Silence is treated in this
study as a component which structures discourse in much of the same way as speech does.
Lustig, Myron W. "Computer Analysis of
Talk-Silence Patterns in Triads." Communication
Quarterly28.4 (1980): 3-13. PN4071.T61.
Through computer-assisted techniques for analyzing
talk-silence behaviors that are applicable
to groups larger than two, this study analyzes talk-silence behaviors on triads. Subjects with
differing levels of communication apprehension were assigned to mixed-sex triads for a
conversation. Each person's voice was tape-recorded on separate channels and then
simultaneously sampled four times per second to determine if a vocalization was occurring.
Results demonstrate that high-apprehensives talked less, less often, and were interrupted less
often than low-apprehensives. Future research on talk-silence patterns might include
investigations of other predispositional and interactive variables, including dominance, affiliation,
communicative predisposition, self- and other-perceptions, task constraints, prior interaction
history, and the imposition of setting or context on interaction.
Tannen, Deborah and Muriel Saville-Troike, eds. Perspectives
on Silence. New Jersey:
Ablex Publishing Corporation, 1985.
Silence is most often an out-of-awareness phenomenon—the
ground against which the figure of
talk is perceived. By reversing polarities and treating silence as the figure to be examined
against the grounds of talk (as well as other actions or events), we aim to heighten awareness of
this universal aspect of human behavior while at the same time emphasizing its complex nature
as a cultural phenomenon and its richness as a research site. After an overview to the research
already conducted, the book moves from the micro level (silence as malfunction) to the macro
level (interaction structured through talk vs. interaction structured through silence), and to move
concentrically from the familiar and close at hand (silence and skulking in the classroom) to the
less familiar and more distinctively different (the silent Finn). As an interdisciplinary collection,
this book also means to chart the uses of silence across contexts, cultures, and academic
disciplines.
Symer, Carole Joan. Impact of Silence: A
Discourse Analysis of Black Box
Miscommunications of Three Fatal Flights (Aviation Accidents). Diss. New York
University, 1999. Abstract. 12 Apr. 2001 <http://newfirstsearch.oclc.org>.
This study explores acts of mitigation, aggression
and silence, shifts in consciousness, and
disruptions in personal authority found in three separate "black box" recordings taken during
the
last minutes of flight. The researcher identified implications for the development of training
models for teams operating in complex, multi-task environments.
Application of Theory
Clair, Robin Patric. Organizing Silence:
A World of Possibilities. Albany: State University of
New York Press: 1998.
The title refers to the ways in which the interests,
issues, and identities of marginalized people
are silenced and how those silenced voices can be organized in ways to be heard. It also
represents the complex, dialectical, and paradoxical aspects of silence and voice. Through the
lens of an aesthetic perspective, Clair presents research on silence through Gramsci's
theoretical work, as well as through research on sexual harassment in the workplace and the
university. Clair concludes the book with an example of an organization that takes upon itself
the task of organizing silence so that all its voices can be heard.
Fredericksen, Elaine. "Muted Colors: Gender
and Classroom Silence." Language Arts 77.4
(2000): 301-8.
Children who speak up in class—those who
make either positive or negative noise—tend to
receive more of the teacher's attention. Teachers who understand what silences children are
better able to help them find their voices and, consequently, help them receive a more
individualized education. There is ample evidence to suggest that the reactions and behaviors
associated with the marginalization of girls also hold true for other student groups, including
handicapped students, feminized males, and ethnic and racial minorities. Fredericksen lists four
causes of silence in girls: girls are socialized to be polite; girls are afraid to break the norms;
girls lack self-esteem; and girls are angry. She then suggests ways to help break the silence of
girls: discuss socialization; foster norm-breaking and risk- taking; use cooperative pedagogy
to
teach reading and writing; and allow the expression of anger.
Haarsager, Sandra. "Choosing Silence: A
Case of Reverse Agenda Setting in Depression Era
News Coverage." Journal of Mass Media Ethics 6.1 (1991): 35-46. P94.J68
The power to influence decisions is inherent
in newspaper practices of publishing or withholding
information about significant events—creating profound ethical questions. The two major
newspapers in Seattle provide an example of selective coverage of the Great Depression. Area
unemployment that reached 25% and bank failures were ignored, as were social implications of
such events. Haarsager questions the moral implications of strategic silence, or reverse agenda
setting, as a means of encouraging broadened discussion of the implications of such selective
coverage.
Jones, Jeremy. "From Silence to Talk: Cross-Cultural
Ideas on Students' Participation in
Academic Group Discussions." English for Specific Purposes 18.3 (1999): 243-59.
PE1128.A2E761
Within the context of academic group discussions,
non-native-speakers (NNS) of English face
native speakers (NS) who have to interact orally with them. The danger this article highlights is
not miscommunication between these two types of speakers, but noncommunication, since it is
characteristic that NNS respond to the situation with silence and reticence. To combat this
problem, the author suggests that teachers "give room" to NNS students in the ongoing
conversation, and that NNS students be given explicit instruction in the role and ethos of group
discussion. This can be done by teaching and learning the salient norms of group discussion
such as the role of gaze, back-channels, judicious use of overlap that does not invade another's
turn, overlap strategies such as sorry and no, go ahead, and face-preserving strategies
used
during polite disagreement. Culture of the student should also be investigated.
Kurzon, Dennis. "The Right of Silence:
A Socio-Pragmatic Model of Interpretation." Journal
of Pragmatics 23.1 (1996): 55-69. P106.J66.
The right of silence is a basic right in the
Anglo-American criminal justice system; it reflects the
primary task of the prosecution to prove their case, and until they succeed in doing so, the
accused is innocent. But, of course, outside of the courtroom silence is interpreted all the time,
and usually to the detriment of the silent person. Although the response to any verbal stimulus,
not necessarily a question, may be silence, Kurzon limits the paper to the absence of answer to
a question because that is the case met most often in the legal context—when the police or
lawyer is faced with an accused or suspect who refuses to answer. The essay attempts to
discover why such silence is too often interpreted as guilt. By presenting a socio-pragmatic
model of interpretation of silence that will include socio- psychological and linguistic (pragmatic)
components: intentional silence and intentional silence as a sign of group loyalty. Through
recorded transactions between police and the accused, Kurzon concludes that decisions as to
the guilt or innocence of the accused are usually arrived at after interpreting silence by the
accused as hiding information: namely, guilt.
O'Keefe, Carolyn Elaine. Silence: Its Functions
and Meanings in Communicative
Interactions in the Culture of the Classroom (Classroom Culture). Diss. University of
Washington, 1991. Abstract. 12 Apr. 2001 <http://newfirstsearch.oclc.org>.
By videotaping classrooms, taking notes during
observations, and interviewing students and
teachers, this study attempts to answer the question, "What are the functions and meanings of
silence in the context of the classroom as interpreted and utilized by teachers and students from
two achievement levels (high and low), and how do the individual interpretations of silence by
the members of this specific speech community influence the success of the interactions
between students and teachers?" The results indicate that participants were able to express a
range of features, uses, and rules for the interpretation of silence used in the classroom. Results
also indicated that achievement level does not necessarily effect the successful interpretation of
silence but a lack of rule sharing among the participants does. Silence, then, is more than an
absence of sound. It is filled with meaning, meaning that can be disclosed only by the
participants who use and experience it in the communicative interactions of their speech
community.
Yard, Margaret. "Silent Women: Women's
Silence." American Sociological Association
(1993). Abstract. 13 Apr 2001 <http://newfirstsearch.oclc.org>.
Located in virtually every category of the social,
silence reflects different special & temporal
notional positions. Silence as a social phenomenon has two major forms: (1) political or brutal
silencing, being prevented from speaking or hearing by terrorism, threat, or physical force; and
(2) cultural silencing, the killing of desire or taste for discourse, a self-imposed autoamnesia
whereby individuals and groups silence themselves. Women's body, historically, is objectified
as Other, inimical to civilization and discourse, hence, mysterious and innately silent. To
proceed in a new era, it is necessary to identify and dispel cultural forms of silencing with both
its autoimmune and amnesic aspects, and in its professional and administrative forms.
Overviews and Reviews of Literature
Besnier, N. "Conversation: Quantity." The
Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics. Ed.
R.E. Asher and J.M.Y. Simpson. Vol. 2. New York: Perganon Press, 1994.
Individuals, social groups, and speech communities
produce different amounts of conversation.
Different amounts of talk are normatively associated with different contexts in all speech
communities. Any integrative definition of "amount of conversation" must take into consideration
not just quantity of linguistic form, but also the amount of referential, social, and affective
meaning communication by form.
Cappella, J.N. "Talk-Silence Sequences
in Informal Conversations." Human Communication
Research, 6 (1980): 3-17. P91.3H85
Capella reviews research relevant to talk and
silence sequences in informal social conversations
in terms of individual consistency in talk and silence across and within conversations. Capella
postulates four models of talk-silence sequences: the Markov models describes within-
conversation sequences; the Independent Decision model describes across-conversation
sequences under the assumptions of perfect consistency and independence of action; the
Incremental model relaxes the consistency assumption of the Independent Decision model; the
Regulation model relaxes both the assumptions in the Independent Decision model,
incorporating the possibility of mutual influence between partners rather than independence.
Johannesen, R.L. "The Functions of Silence:
A Plea for Communication Research." Western
Speech 38 (1974): 25-35.
A seminal article on silence, Johannesen surveys
the research and speculation on the role of
silence in human communication in order to encourage further investigation. The functioning of
silence is examined in four contexts: (1) Its role in human thought processes and cultural
development; (2) its role in purposive, everyday, interpersonal communication; (3) its role in
political and civic life; and (4) its role in pathological settings such as counseling and
psychotherapy. He concludes by posing several questions for research on silence.
Saville-Troike, M. "Silence." The
Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics. Ed. R.E.
Asher and J.M.Y. Simpson. Vol. 7. New York: Perganon Press, 1994.
At a societal level, patterning in the use of
silence generally relates to dimensions of social
organization, to community attitudes, and to such macro-functions as social control, ritual
interaction with the supernatural, and establishment or reinforcement of group identity. At the
level of individuals and small interacting groups within a society, patterning of silence occurs in
relation to expression and interpretation of personality, and to micro-functions related to
participants' purposes and needs. A basic distinction should be made between silences that
carry meaning, but not prepositional content, and silent communicative acts which carry their
own illocutionary force. Appropriate participation in communicative events requires recognition
of the components which are likely to be salient to members of the speech community within
which the event occurs.
The Spiral of Silence Theory
Lasorsa, Dominic L. "Political Outspokenness:
Factors Working Against the Spiral of Silence."
Journalism &Mass Communication Quarterly 68.1 (1991): 131-40. PN4700.J7
Political outspokenness is affected not only
by one's perception of the climate of opinion and
one's gender, age, education and income, as Elizabeth Noelle-Neumann (author of the spiral of
silence theory) argues, but also by one's interest in politics and level of self- efficacy, the
obstrusiveness of the issue, extent of media use, and by certainty of views held. By surveying
624 individuals in Austin, Texas, the authors question the helplessness of citizens in the face of
public opinion as presumed by the spiral of silence. Those interested in politics (and attentive to
political news) tend to speak out, regardless of the climate of opinion.
Lin, Carolyn and Michael B. Salwen. "Predicting
the Spiral of Silence on a Controversial Public
Issue." Howard Journal of Communications 8.1 (1997): 129-42. P87.H68
Audiences whose opinions do not coincide with
their perceived majority opinion tend to
maintain their silence rather than speak out. By looking at the public debate concerning whether
the U.S. should adopt English as the official language the authors find evidence supporting the
spiral of silence theory—that media presentation of social issues are often regarded as the
barometer for public opinions by the audience.
Shamir, Jacob. "Speaking Up and Silencing
Out in Face of a Changing Climate of Opinion."
Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 74.3 (1997): 602-14. PN4700.J7
This study tests the spiral of silence theory's
assumptions concerning overt expression of
opinion. The research uses a panel study design to examine the effect of a changing climate of
opinion on who speaks up and who silences out over time and changing circumstances. The
study found that general political involvement is most important, and also various socio-
demographic characteristics of people are more powerful than climate perceptions. Over time
this relationship does not hold, and the study focuses on political discontent and value
expression considerations. By studying Israeli changes in public opinion on the questions of
territories and peace, Shamir demonstrated that this pattern of opinion expression does not fit
the spiral of silence theory, and if fact shows a reversed pattern. |
|
Men don't do:
and women don't do:
|
|
The vaulting horse as it is called is four feet
high, five feet long and eleven inches wide. The
runaway is three feet wide and eighty two feet long The vault is performed by both women and
the men but the women's vault is perpendicular to the runaway while the men's vault is parallel
to the runaway. The gymnast runs down the runaway and somehow tumbles from the
springboard and hits the vault with his/her hands and does a variety of twists and saltos and
tries to "stick" the landing. Even though the Americans did not do as well on the beam
(Dominique Moceanu, Shannon Miller) Kerri Strug stuck her landing and won the team medal
for the US.
Vaults in women's gymnastics are grouped into
four categories and can be performed in
different body positions, such as tucked, piked or stretched. The groups are:
1. Forward approach vaults
without a flip
2. Forward approach vaults with a flip in post-flight
3. Vaults with a ½ turn onto the horse and a flip in post-flight
4. Vaults (with or without flips) from a round-off onto the springboard.
A
successful vault begins with a strong, accelerated run. The best vaulters explode off the
board, raising their feet up over their head with tremendous quickness during the preflight
phase of the vault from the springboard to contact with the horse. During the support phase
(when the gymnast pushes off the horse) the judges are looking for proper body, shoulder
and hand position and an instantaneous repulsion.
The
second flight phase and the landing are critical areas. Watch for the height and distance
traveled, as well as the number of saltos and twists. In addition, gymnasts must "stick" their
landing, by taking no extra steps. Usually the more saltos and twists, the higher the difficulty
value of the vault.
The vaulting horse stands 120 cm tall and is
35 cm wide by 160 cm long. The runway is 1 m
wide and a maximum of 25 m long. All mats surrounding the women's apparatus are 12 cm
thick.
The previous "vaulting horse" was replaced
with a "vaulting table" two years ago. This new vaulting table
features a larger, softer surface that is considered much safer for the athletes. Both male and female
gymnasts use it.
A successful vault begins with a strong run. During the
pre-flight phase of the vault, the best vaulters
explode of the board, raising their feet up over their head with tremendous quickness. Watch for the
distance traveled after the repulsion off the vaulting table, as well as the number of flips or twists
the
gymnast performs before landing. These add to the difficulty value of the vault, and if performed well,
will
be rewarded with high marks from the judges.
Dynamism, power and precision in the rotations
characterise the different flight
phases.
The gymnast has a run-up of 25 meters (maximum).
Running at maximum speed, she has to hit the
spring board right to the millimetre, then go into a
flight phase after an explosive take-off from the board, followed in tenths of seconds by a short
but equally explosive support phase on the apparatus.
A second flight phase follows, as high and far as possible, with rotations and long or breadth
axis turns (saltos and twists) to be ended by a good and secure landing.
Instead of the traditional vaulting horse, the
new vaulting table was used for the first time at the
2001 World Championships in Ghent. This vaulting table (height 1.25m, width 95cm, length
1.20m) shall not only offer a better security but allow the gymnasts to realise in the best
possible way the technical difficulties of complex jumps. |
|
The floor exercise is performed on a padded
carpet forty feet by forty feet. Unlike all the other
apparatus the floor exercise has music for the gymnast to tumble and dance to. Gymnasts are
required to four passes from corner to corner and covering all other parts of the floor. They
must also include an acrobatic pass with two saltos. The routine lasts between seventy and
ninety seconds. I think Dominique Moceanu's floor exercises are the coolest, since they are so
original and different. I wanted her to get a medal for her floor exercise but I was glad that at
least Dominique Dawes did.
 The floor routine must be choreographed to music,
lasting between 70 and 90 seconds and
covering the entire floor area. The gymnast must use acrobatic and gymnastics elements to
create high points in the exercise. These include two acrobatic series, one with at least two or
more saltos in different directions; an acrobatic-gymnastics series; and a gymnastics series.
Throughout, the gymnast must harmoniously blend these elements while making versatile use of
floor space changing both the direction and level of movement.
The quality of grace may be disguised by movements
of playful theatrics, but look for a dancer-
like command of music, rhythm and space. The gymnastics elements should flow freely into
each other while the leaps cover impressive distances and the pirouettes and turns add
excitement to the music.
The area of the floor exercise is 40 feet by
40 feet.
Apart of the dynamic change of difficult acrobatic
and dance-gymnastics elements, the harmony
between the exercise and the music plays an important role, as well as the expressiveness and
elegance of the gymnast. The exercise should have a high artistic value; therefore the
choreography should correspond to the character of the music and the gymnast's type.
The floor area has a dimension of 12m x 12m.
According to the Regulations, the exercise may
not last longer than 90 seconds. |
|
Both can Vault and Floor Exercise.
Women:
Uneven Bars Balance Beam
Men:
Horizontal Bar Pommel Horse Rings Parallel Bars
Men need strength for rings and pommel.
Women need flexibility and balance for uneven bars beam.
Men can only work with one bar at a time because they can't throw themselves to the
next thing
with such trust. So there is only one and when there are two they have to be parallel. Just like in
real life. |
|
The beam, or the balance beam is my personal
favorite, even though it looks extremely difficult
to even stand on it and not fall off! If anyone can, Shannon Miller can, who got a individual gold
medal on the beam. The balance beam is only 4 inches wide and fifteen feet long and four feet
from the ground. The gymnasts are required to have two acrobatic flight elements, turn of one
leg of at least 360 degrees, a leap with great distance and height, and an element close to the
beam. Gymnasts also include tumbling and different dance elements.
The beam routine must last between 70 and 90
seconds and cover the entire length of the
beam. The gymnast must use acrobatic, gymnastics and dance movements to create high
points, or peaks in the exercise, consisting of two or more elements performed in a series. An
example of an acrobatic series is a cartwheel into a back handspring into a back salto. A
gymnastics series might consist of a turn, followed by a split jump.
There are seven few special requirements on
the balance beam: one acrobatic series including
at least two flight elements; a turn on one leg of at least 360 degrees; a large gymnastics leap or
jump with great amplitude; one gymnastics/acrobatics series; one gymnastics series; an element
close to the beam, and a dismount with a minimum of a "B" value for team competition, "C"
value for all-around competition, and "D" value for event finals. If any of these are missing,
a
deduction of 0.20 is taken
The overall execution should give the impression
that the gymnast is performing on a floor, not
on a strip four inches wide. Watch for variations in rhythm, changes in level (from sitting on the
beam to sailing high above it), and the harmonious blend of gymnastics and acrobatic elements.
The balance beam stands 120 cm high. It is 10
cm wide and 500 cm long.
The main characteristics for the beam have to
be a well-developed sense of
balance and a great power of concentration. A good exercise includes acrobatic and gymnastic
elements and series, with harmonic connections resulting in special highlights. The gymnast is
expected to present a dynamic change of saltos, turns, leaps, jumps and balance elements.
The beam has a length of 5m, a height of 1.25m
and a width of only 10cm.
According to the Regulations, an exercise may
not last longer than 90 seconds. |
|
The uneven parallel bars are two bars eight
and five feet off the ground and three feet apart
from each other. Height of the bars can be adjusted. Gymnasts usually start on the low bar and
move to the big bar. The gymnast is required to perform two release moves. The gymnast goes
from bar to bar and does different swings, handstands, and at the end dismounts and tries to
"stick" the landing. Whenever I think of the uneven bars I think of Svetlana Khorkina who
I
think is the best in that event.
The uneven bars, demands strength as well as
concentration, courage, coordination, precision
and split-second timing. Watch for the big swings that begin in handstands on the high bar,
incorporating multiple hand changes, pirouettes and release elements.
The routine must move from the low bar to the
high bar, incorporating many grip changes,
releases and re-grasps, flight elements, changes of direction, saltos and circle swings through
the handstand position.
The entire routine should flow from one movement
to the next without pauses, extra swings or
additional supports. Each routine must have two release elements.
The low bar can be adjusted to between 148 plus
or minus 3 cm tall while the high bar must be
between 228 plus or minus 3 cm tall. The bars can be adjusted to a maximum of 150 cm apart
from each other.
The uneven bars are one of the most spectacular
apparatus in women's artistic
gymnastics. It requires force, courage and coordination with the numerous grip or bar changes
and rotations. An optimal exercise is characterised by an original combination of different
elements as flight elements, rotations and movements above, below or between the bars.
As the name says, the height of both bars is
different; the lower bar has a height
of app. 1.65m, the higher one of app. 2.45m; the distance between both bars can be of up to
1.80m. |
|
Alchemical Sequences
Jung returned to a full investigation of sequence
towards the end of his life with the monumental
Mysterium Coniunctionis and Aion. This time, though, the sequential appearance of symbols
was placed in the context of the medieval symbolic system of alchemy and the symbolic system
of astrology. Interestingly enough, with Symbols he started from the personal and worked
outward. With Mysterium and Aion he starts with systems and works toward the personal.
In
effect, Symbols was an investigation from content to context while Mysterium and Aion
are
investigations from context to content.
But what led Jung to the study of alchemy? Why
should a person turn in the middle of the
twentieth century look back in time almost five hundred years? Jung provides a good partial
explanation in the essay "The Alchemical Tree" from his book Alchemical Studies where
he
said we "must turn back to those periods in human history when symbol formation went on
unimpeded, that is, when there was still no epistemological criticism of the formation of the
images, and when, in consequence, facts that in themselves were unknown could be expressed
in definite visual form. The period of this kind closest to us is that of medieval natural
philosophy."
Mysterium again is outwardly a book about
the correspondence of symbols in alchemy with
psychological development. But again, underneath this, it is really a book about the sequential
appearance of symbols within the entire process of alchemy. Mysterium is arguably the most
important yet least accessible book Jung ever wrote. Many have read this in a careful manner
yet come away with the realization that something extremely important has been said but
understanding little of what exactly this was. It needs to be remembered that it was written after
Jung's near fatal illness in the 1944 when Jung was simply concerned with working out his own
thoughts and caring less who might understand them.
Fortunately, there is a type of "Cliff
Notes" for Mysterium in the publication of a lecture series
given at the Jung Institute of Los Angeles by one of the foremost Jungian scholars Edward
Edinger. There are two volumes in this series. One is a relatively thin little unobtrusive volume
called The Mystery of the Coniunctio: Alchemical Image of Individuation. The second is
the larger "Cliff Notes" called The Mysterium Lectures. The first book relates Mysterium
to the
Rosarium Cycle discussed below. The second is a chapter by chapter analysis and explanation
of Mysterium. Both are published by Daryl Sharp's Inner City Press of Toronto, Canada.
As Edinger notes in The Mystery of The Coniunctio,
Mysterium "revealed that the arcane
practices of alchemy were a profound reflection of transformations that take place in the
personality on the journey toward wholeness, and that the same imagery turns up in modern
dreams." As Edinger explains, the coniunctio "is the end result of the alchemical procedure
when the opposites are successfully united." The psychological parallel to this, is "the
broadening of consciousness that goes hand in hand with the process of individuation."
Alchemy offers a type of visual representation
of the dreams of the scientists of the 15th
century. The materials they used were part of this dream. As Edward Edinger notes in The
Mysterium Lectures, "The alchemists were fired with the beginnings of the modern spirit of
inquiry, but yet, as investigators of the nature of matter they were still half asleep. So, in their
zeal to investigate those newly opened vistas, they projected their fantasies and dream images
into matter." As Edinger remarks, "In effect, they dreamed a vast collective dream using
operations and materials as imagery and subject matter for that dream. Alchemy is that great
collective dream, and what makes it so important for us is that it's the dream of our ancestors."
One of the key works Jung based Mysterium
on was an alchemical text titled Rosarium
philosophorum. This text consists of a series of symbolic pictures which are reproduced in the
Edinger book. The pictures represent the Rosarium Cycle or a sequence of psychological
events that repeat themselves over and over. They are cycles. As Edinger remarks, they are
meant to illustrate the events going on inside the alchemical flask or the containing vessel.
Edinger notes that the alchemical vessel symbolizes three different psychological contexts: 1) a
process within an individual 2) a process between two people and 3) a process within a group
or community, a collective process. The "vessel" that contains them needs to be defined when
looking at the Rosarium pictures. The sequential stages of the pictures are the following:
-
The Mandala Fountain
- Emergence
of Opposites
- Stripped
for Action
- Descent
into the Bath
- Union,
Manifestation of the Mystery
- In
the Tomb
- Separation
of Soul and Body
- Gideon's
Dew Drops from the Cloud
- Reunion
of the Soul and Body
- Resurrection
of the United Eternal Body
As Edinger notes in The Mystery of the Coniunctio,
the pattern of the Rosarium pictures
represents symbolically the stages of a dynamic process in the objective psyche. The pictures
are meant to illustrate events going on in the alchemical flask. |
|
According to Joseph Campbell,
the late expert on myths, the primary
function of myths is "to supply the symbols that carry the human spirit
forward..." That function can be seen in Campbell's myth cycle, the
pattern of the adventures experienced by mythic heroes.
Heroes, people with special
talents or gifts, first separate from the world, departing
from their everyday life patterns. Next, the hero has an initiation into a source of
power, experiencing trials and victories. Finally, the hero returns to society, bringing
to it the powers gained through the mythic adventure. In reintegrating into society, the
hero may be either honored or rejected by
other
Sequence Of The Hero's Journey
One of the crucial sequences examined by a number
of scholars is the mythic journey of the
hero in myths and literature over the ages. The most famous and well known study of the hero's
journey is Joseph Campbell's Hero With A Thousand Faces. The legendary mythologist was
better prepared than other investigators to examine sequence because mythology (unlike
symbolism) is greatly concerned about the sequence of events in stories.
Through his research, Campbell discovered a
basic sequence in the journey of the hero in
mythology and literature. This is well shown by the outline of the book:
"The mythological hero, setting forth from
his commonday hut or castle, is lured, carried away,
or else voluntarily proceeds, to the threshold of adventure. There he encounters a shadow
presence that guards the passage. The hero may defeat or conciliate this power and go alive
into the kingdom of the dark (brother-battle, dragon-battle; offering, charm), or be slain by the
opponent and descend in death (dismemberment, crucifixion). Beyond the threshold, then, the
hero journeys through a world of unfamiliar yet strangely intimate forces, some of which
severely threaten him (tests), some of which give magical aid (helpers). When he arrives at the
nadir of the mythological round, he undergoes a supreme ordeal and gains his reward. The
triumph may be represented as the hero's sexual union with the goddess mother of the world
(sacred marriage), his recognition by the father-creator (father atonement), his own divinization
(apotheosis), or again—if the powers have remained unfriendly to him his theft of the boon he
came to gain (bride- theft, fire-theft); intrinsically it is an expansion of consciousness and
therewith of being (illumination, transfiguration, freedom). The final work is that of the return. If
the powers have blessed the hero, he now sets forth under their protection (emissary); if not, he
flees and is pursued (transformation flight, obstacle flight). At the return threshold the
transcendental powers must remain behind; the hero re-emerges from the kingdom of dread
(return, resurrection). The boon that he brings restores the world (elixir)." (Campbell 245, 246)
Brief explanations of each step of the Hero's Journey.
Departure
The
Call to Adventure
The call to adventure is the point in a person's life when they are first
given notice that everything is going to change, whether they know it
or not.
Refusal
of the Call
Often when the call is given, the future hero refuses to heed it. This
may be from a sense of duty or obligation, fear, insecurity, a sense of
inadequacy, or any of a range of reasons that work to hold the person
in his or her current circumstances.
Supernatural
Aid
Once the hero has committed to the quest, consciously or
unconsciously, his or her guide and magical helper appears, or becomes
known.
The
Crossing of the First Threshold
This is the point where the person actually crosses into the field of
adventure, leaving the known limits of his or her world and venturing
into an unknown and dangerous realm where the rules and limits are
not known.
The
Belly of the Whale
The belly of the whale represents the final separation from the hero's
known world and self. It is sometimes described as the person's lowest
point, but it is actually the point when the person is between or
transitioning between worlds and selves. The separation has been
made, or is being made, or being fully recognized between the old
world and old self and the potential for a new world/self. The
experiences that will shape the new world and self will begin shortly, or
may be beginning with this experience which is often symbolized by
something dark, unknown and frightening. By entering this stage, the
person shows their willingness to undergo a metamorphosis, to die to
him or herself.
Inititation
The
Road of Trials
The road of trials is a series of tests, tasks, or ordeals that the person
must undergo to begin the transformation. Often the person fails one
or more of these tests, which often occur in threes.
The
Meeting with the Goddess
The meeting with the goddess represents the point in the adventure
when the person experiences a love that has the power and
significance of the all- powerful, all encompassing, unconditional love
that a fortunate infant may experience with his or her mother. It is
also known as the "hieros gamos", or sacred marriage, the union of
opposites, and may take place entirely within the person. In other
words, the person begins to see him or herself in a non- dualistic way.
This is a very important step in the process and is often represented
by the person finding the other person that he or she loves most
completely. Although Campbell symbolizes this step as a meeting with
a goddess, unconditional love and /or self unification does not have to
be represented by a woman.
Woman
as the Temptress
At one level, this step is about those temptations that may lead the
hero to abandon or stray from his or her quest, which as with the
Meeting with the Goddess does not necessarily have to be represented
by a woman. For Campbell, however, this step is about the revulsion
that the usually male hero may feel about his own fleshy/earthy
nature, and the subsequent attachment or projection of that revulsion
to women. Woman is a metaphor for the physical or material
temptations of life, since the hero-knight was often tempted by lust
from his spiritual journey.
Atonement
with the Father
In this step the person must confront and be initiated by whatever
holds the ultimate power in his or her life. In many myths and stories
this is the father, or a father figure who has life and death power. This
is the center point of the journey. All the previous steps have been
moving in to this place, all that follow will move out from it. Although
this step is most frequently symbolized by an encounter with a male
entity, it does not have to be a male; just someone or thing with
incredible power. For the transformation to take place, the person as
he or she has been must be "killed" so that the new self can come into
being. Sometime this killing is literal, and the earthly journey for that
character is either over or moves into a different realm.
Apotheosis
To apotheosize is to deify. When someone dies a physical death, or
dies to the self to live in spirit, he or she moves beyond the pairs of
opposites to a state of divine knowledge, love, compassion and bliss.
This is a god-like state; the person is in heaven and beyond all strife.
A more mundane way of looking at this step is that it is a period of
rest, peace and fulfillment before the hero begins the return.
The
Ultimate Boon
The ultimate boon is the achievement of the goal of the quest. It is
what the person went on the journey to get. All the previous steps
serve to prepare and purify the person for this step, since in many
myths the boon is something transcendent like the elixir of life itself, or
a plant that supplies immortality, or the holy grail.
Return
Refusal
of the Return
So why, when all has been achieved, the ambrosia has been drunk,
and we have conversed with the gods, why come back to normal life
with all its cares and woes?
The
Magic Flight
Sometimes the hero must escape with the boon, if it is something that
the gods have been jealously guarding. It can be just as adventurous
and dangerous returning from the journey as it was to go on it.
Rescue
from Without
Just as the hero may need guides and assistants to set out on the
quest, often times he or she must have powerful guides and rescuers
to bring them back to everyday life, especially if the person has been
wounded or weakened by the experience. Or perhaps the person
doesn't realize that it is time to return, that they can return, or that
others need their boon.
The
Crossing of the Return Threshold
The trick in returning is to retain the wisdom gained on the quest, to
integrate that wisdom into a human life, and then maybe figure out
how to share the wisdom with the rest of the world. This is usually
extremely difficult.
Master
of the Two Worlds
In myth, this step is usually represented by a transcendental hero like
Jesus or Buddha. For a human hero, it may mean achieving a balance
between the material and spiritual. The person has become
comfortable and competent in both the inner and outer worlds.
Freedom
to Live
Mastery leads to freedom from the fear of death, which in turn is the
freedom to live. This is sometimes referred to as living in the moment,
neither anticipating the future nor regretting the past.
Notice that the adventure of the hero involves
three major stages, or sequences: departure,
initiation and return. Within this three-stage structure is the critical aspect of separation
embodied in the departure of the hero. Initiation cannot take place without this departure or
separation.
1) Departure = separation from the world
of humans
-
The Call to Adventure
- Refusal
of the Call--not required, and may or may not actually put a stop to the
adventure
- Supernatural
Aid--protective figure supplies amulet (or whatever)
- The
Crossing of the First Threshold--encounter with guardian/monster
- The
Belly of the Whale--womb-image/self- annihilation
2) Initiation = trials and tribulations/rite
of passage
[involving some or all of the following?--not too clear]
3) Return: benefit to group/human race
(selflessness)
Sequence As Archetype
The startling commonalities between stages of
cycles from areas such as religion, history,
mythology and psychology suggests a number of other possibilities. The most important
possibility is that position in cyclic sequences may be a key patterning criteria for archetypes,
that small handful of major organizing symbols like masculine and feminine around which
numerous other symbols are attracted to. The particular sequence itself may represent an
archetype.
For example, one of the key symbols appearing
early in sequential stages is that of mother. The
archetype of mother is related to basic psychic states such as unconsciousness and unity.
Associated with the symbol of mother is the idea of separation. It is separation that presents
itself as the crucial psychic challenge during this stage in individual development. The separation
is for the "hero" of ego consciousness to break away from unconsciousness and become
conscious. Joseph Campbell calls this stage the "departure" of the hero on his mythic journey.
In the Christian archetype, this stage is the annunciation. In the Rosarium Cycle of alchemy it
represents the emergence of opposites. In Symbols, Jung terms this stage the "origin of the
hero." Neumann sees this stage as "the hero myth."
The crucial point is that the psychic challenge
of separation occurs before other stages such as
union or initiation. The problem of union assumes an initial separation and the psychic goal of
the two parts (really the consciousness and the unconsciousness) to become one again.
The problem of union does not go in the stage
when the archetype of mother dominates psychic
development. One of the first key challenges for the psyche of the child is to separate not to
unify. The inability to move through sequence leads to neurosis and complexes.
It is this psychic goal of separation from mother
that forms the central archetypes in the life of
the individual and also the evolution of mankind as a whole. As Eric Neumann and Jung point
out, the stage of individual childhood has a symbolic correspondence to the stage of cultural
childhood. The "mother" during the early stage of human history is nature itself and the
collective psychic challenge for mankind is to separate from "mother" nature and move towards
the masculine archetype of consciousness and culture.
The images which dominate this stage are therefore
based around separation and the
emergence of duality. They are not images of union. Through research of people like Jung,
Campbell and Neumann, these images were found to be present everywhere with the cultural
world, in all religions and all mythologies. It is the period of "departure" or the beginning
of the
journey of the "hero" away from unconsciousness and towards consciousness. The journey is
from darkness and night to light and day. It is from the unity of one to the duality of two. It
represents the "emergence of opposites" and not simply an simply another "emergence"
but
importantly the first emergence of opposites. Through the individual life there will be the
emergence of many opposites but the archetypal pattern is at this stage because it is the first.
Relationship Of Sequence To Contentual
Symbols
What are we really getting at here? Are we moving
in any direction or just going around in
"cycles?"
We return to our central hypothesis that symbols
express themselves as the leading products
and events of popular culture rather than in dream images or visions from fringe elements of
culture. The question becomes whether America is influenced by an encompassing cycle with
popular culture proceeding along a sequential path between archetypal stages in this sequence.
Or, as many post-modern theorists would have us believe, whether America is proceeding on a
straight linear evolutionary path, growing away from unconsciousness towards increasing
consciousness and the segmentation, differentiation and, perhaps ultimately, chaos that comes
with this.
It is our hypothesis that America is proceeding
along a sequential path. It is a hypothesis that is
subject to being tested by documenting the dominance of particular products and events within
culture at certain points of time and then exploring commonalities and correspondences among
them. Then determining the archetypes represented by the dominant products and the particular
stage in the cyclic sequence the archetype represents. Knowing the stage of the current
sequence will tell us where we are in the cycle. It will tell us where the cycle started and where
the cycle will end. Importantly, it will tell us the next major archetypal symbol or stage within
the sequence. It is this archetype that will serve a patterning function towards products and
events of popular culture operating much like a magnet.
Perhaps brilliant marketing and advertising
is behind our culture's most successful products.
This is the current mantra key "players" in the advertising and marketing game, those producing
products of popular culture, would have us believe. They have a vested interest in us believing
them, that they alone are the magicians behind the creation of successful products.
But is success the result of conscious actions
(like advertising and marketing) or unconscious
forces? Do we create the dominant contentual symbols of our age or does the process of
symbolism create them? Advertising and marketing may really have very little to do with
product success. More important to success may be the degree of alignment between the
product and the symbolic sequence. In fact the degree of alignment might be the ultimate factor
which determines whether a product rises to the top like the movie Titanic or sinks to the
bottom like the ship Titanic. In a world operating within the laws of symbolism, innovation
becomes more about alignment between symbolic content and context then newness and
uniqueness.
Our past book Symbolism of Place argued
that context was far more important in
communication than content. A key analogy used was communication within the context of film.
We have discussed some of this previously in this book under the section titled "Symbolic
Duality & Opposition In Film" but it warrants talking about some more because analogy is often
the best teacher when traveling into unexplored territory.
In a film, one can define contentual symbols
as the action, actors, props and dialogue of the
film. This would be the car the hero drives, the clothing he wears, the words he speaks and the
tone he speaks them in, the events that happen in the scenes. The contextual symbols of a film
can be defined as the place which contains the content, the time of the day, year and period
and other subjective qualities we have discussed such as color, space (inside, outside, above or
below) weather phenomena and elements (water, fire, air, earth).
A crucial component of communication in the
cinematic context is the alignment or
correspondence between the context and content of the film. This means between the
contextual symbolism and the psychological state of the hero. Symbolism of Place advanced
the argument that communication of the hero's psychology in films is best communicated
through context than through content. The better context was at symbolizing the inner state of
the hero the more effective the film was at communication.
But effective cinematic communication needs
a simultaneous alignment between context and
content during the course of the story action. One setting may be an effective context in the
context of a one act play or a short story but seldom is one location effective in a film.
Locations need to change to symbolize the psychic progression of the hero and the hero's
psyche needs to match these locations. This is what we term symbolic alignment. It is very
similar to what has been known as the "law of correspondences" in symbolism.
For example, suppose a film's goal is to move
the hero from a state of sadness to a state of
happiness. Proper symbolic contextual alignment suggests that the place and time settings move
simultaneously with the inner state of the hero in order for there to be proper alignment between
context and content. This probably means that contextual symbols for sadness need to be
introduced at the beginning of the film and contextual symbols for happiness need to be
introduced at the end of the film. The place and time setting at the beginning might be a deep
valley at night during the winter. The place and time setting at the end might be a mountain at
dawn at the break of spring. In our example, misalignment would occur by reversing the above
scenes by placing a sad hero on top of a mountain and a happy hero in a valley.
The symbolic dualities are contained in the movement from the valley to the mountain, from
night to day, from below to above, from feminine to masculine. (This is certainly not to suggest
that the feminine archetype is associated with a state of sadness!) One of the key elements of
drama is contrast between the beginning and end of a story. The contrast is greatest when the
change is the greatest. A hero who begins in a sad state and ends up in a sad state has little (if
any) drama. Context that begins in a valley and ends in a valley has little drama. But a hero that
moves from sadness to happiness in a context of a valley to a mountain has a potential for much
greater drama.
Admittedly, we have simplified things greatly
with our analogy of symbolism to films. But things
need to be simplified to better make our point.
Sequence And Popular Culture
Sequence are relatively easy to identify within
the popular symbolism of film. But can they be
identified within the broader context of popular culture which film is part of? Might popular
culture as a whole be viewed using a method similar to the analysis of film structure. In one
scenario, dominant products might take on the characteristics of the film "hero" in their
"heroic
voyage" through product life cycles and sequences from the beginning of cycles to the end. The
"audience" becomes those who select the product by such means as buying it, spending time
with it, selecting it (such as visiting a web site) or voting for it.
This is an important question not only to advertisers
and marketers but to anyone trying to forge
an understanding of the confusing, chaotic and segmented post-modern world we live in.
This question is beginning to be answered with
the application of the cyclic and sequential
cycles to specific cultures and specific periods of history. With the work of Strauss and Howe
and approaches like The Fourth Turning, a solid foundation is provided for revisioning
American history from a cyclic perspective rather than a linear perspective. Seeing America
from a cyclic perspective is close to creating a symbolism of popular culture. From research
into the history of American generations going back to the 15th century, the authors make some
startling predictions for what is ahead in the "fourth turning" of the new millennium. Symbolism
becomes a tool to predict the future as well as a methodology for explaining the present.
New research from Yankelovich Partners on generational
marketing takes symbolism even
closer to culture by suggesting that a number of key products and values are constellated
around the three key generations of America. The generations are the "matures" (born before
1945), the "boomers" (born between 1946 and 1964) and the "Xers" born after 1965.
The research is contained in the book Rocking
The Ages by Yankelovich Partners J. Walker
Smith and Ann Clurman (1997) and separates the three generations by various key products
and defining ideals and values. For example, Yankelovich research indicates that the defining
idea for the "matures" is "duty"; for the "boomers" it is "individuality"
and for the "Xers" it is
"diversity."
The report takes concepts such as what work
means to the various generations, the leading
brands, the key television programs, major technology and memories. For each of these areas
the research indicates various broad cultural experiences or values. The report goes a long way
towards connecting products to generations and providing a foundation for a symbolism of
popular culture.
The research into the meaning of symbolism moves
forward, itself perhaps some form of
symbol directed not always by conscious forces but unconscious forces. It moves forward in
the absence of its wise old prophets like Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell. The presence of their
heroic and bold speculations in a post-modern world of conformity is an increasingly rare
phenomena.
But their memory burns strong with great intensity
in the hearts of all those who knew them
personally or know them spiritually. To the post-modern citizen, rushing through life and seeing
little more than advertising headlines or blockbuster films, their works are considered occult,
their knowledge a hidden, secret affair. And indeed it is to those who rush through life looking
at labels rather than the context of the labels. Their insights like the magic of the magician which
is never really hidden but rather just a little out of the spotlight of conscious attention. In the
shadows of sideshows and off the main stage where the action takes place.
Nothing is ever really "hidden" though
in the sense that it is covered up. Rather it is hidden
because it is in the context when attention is focused on content. It is all there to see if only we
would shift our gaze just a little, outward, upward and all around us and rather than inward and
downward.
http://www.rpgmud.com/WorldBuilding/Mythopoets/tmm.html
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If you consider each of the three movies as
one of the three parts of the Hero's Journey, you
may see something like the following:
I. DEPARTURE - The Matrix
1. Call to Adventure
- “Wake up, Neo”
2. Refusal of the Call
- “I don’t believe it.”
3. Supernatural Aid
- The Oracle
4. Crossing the First Threshold
- Neo dies
5. Belly of the Whale
- Smith's belly
II. INITIATION - The Matrix Reloaded
1. Road of Trials
- pick one... Really the whole movie is one big road of trials!
2. Meeting with the Goddess
- The Oracle
- Persephone
3. Woman as the Temptress
- Persephone’s kiss
4. Atonement with the Father
- The Architect
5. Apotheosis
- “Holy s--- he caught her!” … “I’m not letting go. I love you too damn
much.”
6. The Ultimate Boon
- “I can feel them.”
- Negative boon? – “We won’t make it.” “We have to try.”
III. RETURN - The Matrix Revolutions
1. Refusal of the Return
- Mobil Ave. “What would you give…?” “Anything.”
2. Magic Flight
- The Logos
- The Mjolnir (Hammer)
3. Rescue from Without
- EMP
- Deus ex Machina
- “He fights for us.”
4. Crossing the Return Threshold
- “Inevitable”
5. Master of Two Worlds
- Cross of Light
6. Freedom to Live
- Ending in the park
...WHEW! Well, I could go on... but I will leave it to you; I am interested in this in particular:
How can the Hero's Journey apply to other characters? Especially Smith, Trinity, Morpheus?
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Anyone Can Play:
hopscotch method
There is one metaphor of study and reading that complements the idea of the tunnel,
moving
through air rather than earth. Instead of "cutting across," it hops over the structures on
the surface.
This is the ancient and widespread children's' game of hopscotch. Although reading is tunneling in
one sense, the reader must be enabled to experience the pleasures of flight - the jump or leap, the
logic of pulling together the most disparate pieces of experience into unexpected sequences.
The idea behind hopscotch
has been variously employed by artists and scholars for at
least a thousand years, but direct reference to the common children's game has seldom
been acknowledged. Perhaps the most hopscotch-like method was employed Ramón
Llull, the Catalan mystic and scholar who advocated a memory system emptied of all
representational content. Unlike the classical systems described by Dame Francis Yates
in her popular work, The Art of Memory, Llull's best memory systems contained no visual
cues, no architectural spaces, no helpful images or names. Circles inscribed within circles
rotated to produce unexpected juxtapositions. This "Zen-like" method aimed at a religious
and transcendent use of memory. Apparently, fragmentation as a discovery method was
not an unusual proposition in Llull's day. Because books were so valuable before the age
of movable type, owners would think nothing of "improving" their precious texts by cutting
out or pasting in pages - just the opposite of what one might think, given the shortage of
paper, laboriousness of manuscripts copied by hand, and the great expense, which led
books to be chained to lecterns in most libraries. It was common for ordinary books to be
"re-composed" by their owners, and the result was a hopscotch of texts, ideas, and
images.
 The best diagrams of Llull were, some say, the basis of the final design of the Venetian
friar, Giulio
Camillo, who wrote of a memory theater that endowed the user standing on its small stage the
ability to recall anything from the entire uvre of classical, Hebrew, and Christian wisdom. The key,
wrote Camillo, lay in understanding not the connections but the separations, modeled on the
Cabala's theory of the separation of the highest, the third soul from the two lower souls. The user
of
Camillo's theater stood on stage, reversing the usual audience relationship. Images or documents
were placed in the auditorium seats. The customary theatrical gaze reversed, the mnemonicist was
looking at "the gaze itself," divided into its genetic parts according to an evolutionary
scheme.
Hopscotch might seem at first to be a radical program flaunting the narrative's obligation
to linear
temporality, but the technique simply underscores time's self-revisionary nature and its conspiracy
with memory. This does not reverse the standard view of memory as a "recollective" function,
it
simply "rotates it ninety degrees," as it were. Looking in as if "from the side,"
one sees the
"enthymemic" dimension - the audience's role - that is normally viewed head on. The "point"
of the
point of view, seen from the side, becomes visible as a line. This is not revolutionary and certainly
not limited to the insights of reception theory. As early as Anton Dürer's famous engraving of
"The
Artist and Model in the Studio," audiences have been considering their own complex role.
The art historian Richard Bernheimer has shown that Dürer's rotation was not
an isolated conceit.
As in paintings of Mary's ascension, painters conventionally used the auditorium to show heaven
as ranks of seraphim, cherubim, saints, and apostles concentrically ranked seats. The role of
looking is looked at. When we see heaven, in these cases; the artistic process, as in Dürer's case;
or the universe, as in Camillo's case, it is the audience's dimension we see. Corollary to this
reversal of the gaze, is Llull's original discovery - that time is memory, memory is revisionary, and
revision is, like hopscotch, a fractalizing and randomizing process.
The Argentine novelist
Julio Cortázar used both the word (rayuela) and the technique
outright in his famous novel of the 1960s. Cortázar's novel can be read in the usual way,
but a "table of instructions" printed in the front of the book suggests an alternative order
that leaves out some chapters and revises the order of others. The film director
Michaelangelo Antonioni adapted another work by Cortázar, the short story "Blowup,"
which employed the hopscotch idea as a psychological motif. The film's own hopscotch
style of filming begins with a reversed gaze (we watch a photographer) and ends with an
impossible/Real impasse - a tennis game with a non-existent ball. The photographer has
given up his pursuit of a "projective" account of a murder he detected accidentally.
Hopscotch has figured in architecture as well as film and literature. Bernard Tschumi's
Manhattan
Transcripts of the 1980s used a hopscotch style of inquiry (also beginning with a murder mystery!)
employing a graphical notation system that mixed events, spaces, and motion.
More recently the architecture
theorist Marco Frascari, following the 18c. Italian
philosopher Vico, argued for applying the ancient sources of the hopscotch idea to
contemporary architectural problems. The point is to turn acts of radical transformation
into a dimension of space and/or time. The view of the audience's gaze, the emptying of
memory into itself, and the "rotation" of reality into a recollective dimension can be
represented by a "line" that cuts across the projective reality of events. It is a "dry
line"
(because of its melancholy connections), showing where meditation goes when it
succeeds. This is also the line of Hermes, whose own melancholy genius shows how it is
possible to permeate boundaries with a mystery understated by its graphic simplicity.
The mystery story's sturdy mechanisms of time and space, its tricks of gluing the
audience to the
artwork, and its twisting topography of time and clues foils any linear approach but still demands
an order of study equal to its structural rigor. The mystery story, if anything does, demands a
hopscotch method. In other words, every leap has its number, and cross-roads are marked with
stones (herms).
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Hopscotch
by Dagonell the Juggler
Hopscotch began in ancient Britain during the
early Roman Empire. The original hopscotch
courts were over 100 feet long and used for military training exercises. Roman foot-soldiers ran
the course in full armor and field packs to improve their footwork, much the same way modern
football players run through rows of truck tires today.
Roman children drew their own smaller courts
in imitation of the soldiers, added a scoring
system and "Hopscotch" spread throughout Europe. The word "London" is often written
at the
top of hopscotch courts to make the court reminiscent of the Great North Road, a 400 mile
Roman road from Glasgow to London frequently used by the Roman military.
+-------+-------+
+---------------+
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6 |
| 3
| 4 | +---------------+
|
| | |
5 |
+-------+-------+
+---------------+
|
| | |
4 |
| 2
| 5 | +---------------+
|
| | |
3 |
+-------+-------+
+---------------+
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| | |
2 |
| 1
| 6 | +---------------+
|
| | |
1 |
+-------+-------+
+---------------+
English English
The game is called "Marelles" in France,
"Templehupfen" in Germany, "Hinkelbaan" in the
Netherlands, "Ekaria Dukaria" in India, "Pico" in Vietnam and "Rayuela"
in Argentina. The
English term "Hopscotch" comes from "hop" meaning "to jump" and "escocher",
an Old French
word meaning "to cut". The latter word is also where we get the term "scratch",
as well as
"scotch a rumor" (or scratch it out) and "butterscotch", a hard candy that's made
in large sheets
and then "scotched" or cut into small pieces.
Each player has a marker, usually a common stone.
The first player tosses his marker into the
first square. The marker must land completely within the designated square without touching a
line or bouncing out. If not, or if the marker lands in the wrong square, the player forfeits his
turn.
+-----------------+
+---------------+
|
| | H E A V E N |
|
H O M E | +---------------+
|
| | | |
+---+---------+---+
| 8 | 9 |
|
| | |
|
| NEUTRAL
| +---+-------+---+
|
| |
|
|_________|
| 7 |
/\
/\ |
|
/ \
6 / \ +---+-------+---+
/ 5 \_____/ 8
\ | |
|
\ /
\ / | 5 | 6
|
\ /
7 \ / | |
|
\/_________\/
+---+-------+---+
|
| |
|
| NEUTRAL
| | 4 |
|
| |
|
|_________|
+---+-------+---+
/\
/\ | |
|
/ \
2 / \ | 2 | 3
|
/ 1 \_____/ 4
\ | |
|
\ /
\ / +---+-------+---+
\ /
3 \ / |
|
\/_________\/
| 1 |
| |
+-------+
Monte
Carlo American
If the marker toss is successful, the player
hops through the court beginning at square one. Side
by side squares are straddled, with the left foot landing in the left square and the right foot in the
right square. Single squares must be hopped into on one foot. For the first single square, either
foot may be used. Subsequent single squares must alternate feet. Squares marked "Safe" (or
"Home"/"Neutral"/"Rest"/etc.) or "London" are neutral squares
and may be hopped through in
any manner without penalty.
When the player reaches the end of the court,
he turns around and hops back through the
court, hopping through the squares in reverse order and stopping to pick up his marker on the
way back. Upon successfully completing the sequence, the player continues his turn by tossing
his marker into square two and continuing in a similar fashion.
+-------+
| |
| REST |
_|_______|_
/ \
/ NEUTRAL \
\ /
\___________/
| |
| 7 |
| |
+---+-------+---+
|
| |
|
5 | 6 |
|
_____|_____ |
|
/ \ |
|/
NEUTRAL \|
\ /
\___________/
| |
| 4 |
| |
+---+-------+---+
|
| |
|
2 | 3 |
|
| |
+---+-------+---+
| |
| 1 |
| |
+-------+
Italian
If, while hopping through the court in either
direction, the player steps on a line, misses a
square, or loses his balance and falls, his turn ends. He does not get credit for completing the
current sequence and must start that sequence again on his next turn. First player to complete
one course for every numbered square on the court wins.
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The virtues and vices can be imagined as presented as an array such as with hopscotch
or as a
mandala. Then, as in hopscotch, or a Scottish sword dance, the art is to shift appropriately around
the array in response to particular challenges. As with a horoscope, or a Myers-Briggs
psychological profile, the dancer starts from a particular "poise" in the pattern of potential
moves --
or maybe remains frozen into one! To move, the dancer must activate and deactivate specific
attitudinal controls associated with a succession of virtues -- compensating for destabilizing
tendencies associated with any emergent "temptations".
The above arguments suggest that it is extremely unlikely that transformative processes
can be
designed and implemented through container thinking alone -- although some new kind of container
may be required. It even suggests that exploring this challenge cannot be achieved by
straightforward means. As one might expect, it is at least as much art as science. These two
seemingly blocked avenues of approach clarify the basic dilemma. It would seem that both have
vital strengths and dangerous weaknesses. The only way to move further forward is to be highly
suspicious of both and to alternate between them, counterbalancing one by the other, since one or
the other must necessarily be used. The following paragraphs, therefore, endeavour to alternate
between a "flow approach" (right-hemisphere) and a "fixity approach" (left-hemisphere)
-- although,
as in the sword dance, a four-fold alternation might be more appripriate lo living a meaningful
lifestyle.
Of great interest in the right-hemisphere approach are the guarded attempts to define
the
essentially paradoxical nature of the outwardly incomprehensible possibility of creatively
transcending the limitations of the two basic modes. This is typified by Zen literature and the
associated practices. These claim the merit of deliberately avoiding the traps of proliferating sets
of
symbols characteristic of the container thinking of other cultures. Such sets of symbols tend to
create the impression that transcendence is possible through them rather than through identifying
with the awareness from which they emanate as a set. The disadvantage of the Zen approach is
that it is so individualistic and paradoxical as to be virtually inapplicable to social transformation.
Of great interest for the left-hemisphere approach is the cognitive implication of
the current
challenge of plasma physics in relation to fusion reactors for power generation. A plasma is an
electrical conducting medium consisting of positive and negative charges forming a neutrally
charged distribution of matter. A plasma is unique in the way it interacts with itself, with electric
and magnetic fields, and with its environment (If the states of matter are defined in terms of
relationship to the environment, plasma is the fifth state. The others are: solid, liquid, gas, and
reacting elements (e.g. in fire). 99% of the matter in the universe is in the plasma state.**). Its
properties depend on the collective behaviour of the constituent particles, as distinct from the
individual.
"The
tetralemmic model which has been developed in oriental logic stipulates the
existence of four lemmas:
(a)
affirmation
(b)
negation
(c)
non-affirmation and non-negation
(d)
affirmation and negation
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Then I saw it again and it had multiple layers like a wide ladder.
After I woke up, I realized the ladder was very similar to the diagram of the Tree
of Life that didn't
have huge circles on the lines like we see in pictures of it these days.
A recent crop formation is pictured on the left, above. The depiction on the right
is one version of
the ancient Tree of Life. The Tree of Life, of course, is mentioned many times in the Bible, from
the
beginning of the Book of Genesis to last part of the Book of Revelation. One who eats from this
Tree, according to the Bible, is given "eternal life." The above diagram of the Tree of Life
is part of
an ancient tradition called "Kabala." Other spellings of the word include, kabbala, cabala,
cabbala,
quabala, and qabbalah. This is generally known as a special Hebrew tradition, the occult
philosophy of certain Jewish rabbis, especially in the Middle Ages, based on a mystical
interpretation of the Scriptures. Many scholars believe that the tradition is much older; that it traces
back to the ancient Egyptians and Sumerians.
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1. I
