Sailing By Ash Breeze

Carry on, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham is a wonderful story about a self-educated young mathematician named Nat. At the age of 12, Nat receives indenture papers and has to work as a bookkeeper for 9 years.  His hopes of a Harvard education are dashed.  He quickly learns, though, that he must "sail by ash breeze" or be "becalmed" and stuck in chandlery forever. 

Nat comes from a family of sailors and lives in the port town of Boston.  He learns the sailing analogy of sailing by ash breeze the first day of his service.  A friend explains, "When a ship is becalmed--the wind died down--she can't move--sometimes the sailors break out their oars.  They'll row a boat ahead of the ship and tow her.  Or they'll carry out anchors and heave them over, and the crew will lean on the captain bars and drag the ship up to where the anchors are heaved over.  Oars are made of ash--white ash.  So--when you get ahead by your own get-up-and-get--that's when you sail by ash breeze" (pg 48).  Nat could have easily  chosen to be "becalmed"--depressed because of his situation and now unreachable dreams--but he took a different path. 

Nat started reading and writing.  He filled many notebooks with notes, copied the Almanac, taught himself Latin and French and Spanish all while he was indentured.  After completing his service, Nat becomes a sailor and teaches the other sailors about navigation.  He figures out different ways to explain things and writes down what works.  He discovers different ways to navigate.  Nat decides to write a book that will be understandable by every able seaman full of correct tables and charts.  He is often told by his captain to "Carry on, Mr. Bowditch." 

Nat is a fantastic example of someone who isn't dependent on another person to get ahead.  He decides what he wants and works to meet that goal.  How often are we like Nat Bowditch?  Do we stick to a goal, even when obstacles pop up?  I would like to have the opportunity to study like Nat and to have his same desire for knowledge.  I try to study every day, but unfortunately I often let things get in my way.  Making the time to study is hard work, being becalmed is easier, but being stagnant means no growth.  Growth is important, so I will strive to "sail by ash breeze."

Surviving Winter

The Fourth Turning by William Strauss and Neil Howe is a history book that talks about the cycles of history.  The authors believe there are 4 cycles, or turnings, that have repeated themselves throughout all of recorded history. 

• The first turning is a High, an upbeat era of strengthening institutions and weakening individualism, when a new civic order implants and the old values regime decays.
•  The second turning is an Awakening, a passionate era of spiritual upheaval, when the civic order comes under attack from a new values regime.
• The third turning is an Unraveling, a downcast era of strengthening individualism and weakening institutions, when the old civic order decays and the new values regime implants.
• The fourth turning is a Crisis, a decisive era of secular upheaval, when the values regime propels the replacement of the old civic order with a new one.  (page 3)
 

The authors compare these turnings to the seasons, the first turning being spring and the fourth being winter.  According to the patterns they have seen in history, America is about to head into the 4th turning--winter.  They predict that "real hardship will beset the land."  There is a possibility of war and a ruined nation.  Reading these paragraphs scared me, but then I read this: "Yes, winter is coming, but our path through that winter is up to us."

 

That line made me think of The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder in which Laura and her family survive a 7 month blizzard.  How were they able to survive?  Can I use those principals to help my family and myself survive the future winter? 

 

One of the first things I notice about Laura's family is that they remained positive and grateful.  Pa started his morning singing, the older kids didn't complain for the sake of the the younger kids, and they were grateful for the little mercies like fresh butter or plenty of potatoes.  It is so hard to be positive when life is difficult, but the Ingalls family made a choice to be happy.

 

Laura's family also had ingenuity.  When they ran out of fuel, Pa and Laura braided hay to use in the stove.  Ma made a new lamp for light and sourdough instead of yeast for bread.  They lived on 2 meals and went to bed when it was dark to save food and light.  They found different ways to do things.  Ma commented that they had gotten dependant on new inventions.  I love having technology and modern conveniences, but I'm trying to become more self-reliant. 

When the Ingall's family learned that it was going to be a hard winter, they moved from their shanty to town.  They thought being closer to people would help.  Pa was able to hear news from the train, buy grain, share ideas and help others.  The girls were also able to attend school for a short amount of time.  But, most of the time they were stuck in their house, not even able to see past their front window.  They had to rely on each other.  They showed how having a strong family can help you survive difficult times. 

Another way they survived the winter was through hard work.  They stayed busy.  Pa did his outside chores and, on days with good weather, he hauled hay.  Ma and the girls did the inside chores.  The girls worked on school assignments, they read and recited, played games and did what they could to keep their minds off the terrible storm.  I think, if given the opportunity, they would have served the other members of their community.  I have been taught the importance of work and am grateful to parents and grandparents who have shown that example. 

Though I'm not looking forward to the difficult times I believe are ahead, I hope that with a positive attitude, some ingenuity, family and friends, and a little hard work I will be able to survive. 

 

The Atonement is Powerful

So few people understand the power of the atonement.  At least I didn't, until I read The Continuous Atonement by Brad Wilcox.  I grew up a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I was taught about the atonement and how to use it to repent, but I don't think I really understood how far reaching it was until recently. 

"Christ makes all the difference.  He requires us to repent, but not as part of paying justice--only as part of helping us to change."  Repentance is changing who we are.  It is the process of becoming better--more like Christ.  Repentance needs to be a daily pattern in our lives. 

Brad Wilcox says that knowledge of the atonement is "the difference between merely existing and truly living, between stagnating and progressing." He writes about our ultimate goal in life. If it is just to return to live with God, then why did we leave in the first place? Our goal needs not to be with God, but to be like God. The atonement does more than just erase our sins, it makes us better than before.  "The atonement is not just to cleanse, but to complete; not just to comfort, but to compensate; not just to liberate, but to lift."  I love the idea of change.  It is something we learn from reading classics.  As we read and discuss great literature, we notice how the characters have changed and start to apply how we, too, can change.  Repentance is the process of change.

The atonement shows mercy.  When Adam and Eve took the fruit, God put a sword in front of the tree of life.  The sword was His mercy.  God wanted them to repent of their sins, not live forever in their sins.  He wanted them to have immortality AND eternal life not just immortality.  Immortality and eternal life together are better than immortality alone because those who receive it will be spending eternity with those they love and those who just get immortality will spend eternity alone.  The atonement allows for mercy to overpower justice.  But it isn't automatic.  We need to do the work.  We need to pray, humble ourselves, be charitable, have patience, repent and bear our afflictions.  (Alma 42)

The atonement is more than just for repentance.  President Packer says "the atonement is an ever-present power to call upon in everyday life."  It covers us when we feel worthless and inadequate, when we feel lost and discouraged, when we feel abused and hurt, and when we feel defenseless and abandoned.  This is the part of the book that resonated most with me.  When I'm feeling angry, I can turn to Christ and ask Him to take those feelings from me.  When I'm feeling inadequate, I can pray and ask Christ to lift me.  When I'm sad or alone, Christ will be there as long as I ask.  So many times I have forgotten this and suffered alone.  Now I pray to remember and can be found on my knees many time during a day.  The atonement is a precious gift that Christ has given to everyone.  Don't let it be a waste.  Remember to use it.

8 Minute Meditation--Weeks 7 and 8

this picture doesn't have much to do with my post,
but I thought it was funny

Week 7--Loving Kindness
This week was a little weird, but the idea was nice.  It was a technique to "nurture a richer and more accepting relationship between you and your heart."  It included a chant  that was to be repeated over and over for the entire 8 minutes:  May I be happy.  May I have ease of being.  My all beings be happy.  May all beings have ease of being. 

8/7 I love that I can lay down for this one.  Saying something really helps me focus, except that by the end it is really boring and I start to wander. 
8/9 I feel so silly with this one.  It makes me laugh.  I find it's easier for me to focus when i say it out loud, but that probably isn't what he had in mind--he wants me to practice releasing my thoughts, not avoiding them. 

Week 8--Combination Platter
This technique combined several other techniques.  It is supposed to be a more advanced technique, but I think it was my favorite.  Anytime a thought, body sensation, sound or visual image in came into my mind, I was to label it and move on. 

8/13  I changed my  labels from just "talk" to "thought" and "sound".  It was easier for me to separate them that way.

Sunday was the last day of my 8 week meditation series.  Should I continue?  For a majority of the nights, I felt negative about the experience.  I rarely felt like I was getting anything out of meditation.  I couldn't wait until I was finished with what I committed to do.  Monday night I didn't meditate and felt a little guilty about it.  Today I finished reading the book and have decided to continue.  The first line of the last chapter reads, "The ultimate goal of 8 Minute Mediation is to empower you with a way of being--not for just 8 minutes a day sitting on a chair, but the millions of other minutes that comprise your life." 

My goal at the beginning was to find peace and to enjoy the moment.  I find that I never focus on what I'm doing, but think about all the other stuff that needs to be done.  I need to be present.  I think what sold me, though, was the Loving Kindness extension.  Meditating and chanting for other people to help me feel differently toward them.  Something that I could use right now.  I'll keep you posted on my experiences. 

The 5000 Year Leap

I recently finished reading one of my first brushes with politics.  I've read a few things by Bastiat and had many conversations with Jonathan, but have mostly avoided this area.  I finally buckled down and read The 5000 Year Leap by Cleon Skousen.  My knowledge of politics and the founding father's has grown a little, but I'm a long way from becoming well-read. 

The book lists 28 of the Founders' principles that changed the world; 28 ideas that made our nation.  I struggled to understand all the principles, but I hope with more exposure and study I can gain a better understanding of these ideas.  For now I'd like to list a few things that stood out to me. 

• Natural Law is universal and eternal.  According to Skousen natural law "cannot altered.  It cannot be repealed.  It cannot be abandoned by legislators or the people themselves."  All laws must be measured by God's law.  Our unalienable rights are examples of natural law, as is no taxation without representation and the right to bear arms.  We should be governed by law, not by the whims of men. 
• We will only remain free if we are virtuous and morally strong and elect virtuous and moral leaders.  Benjamin Franklin says "only a virtuous people are capable of freedom.  As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters."  Virtue must be continually taught in the home and in the church.  The founders also believed that public office should be a position of honor not of high pay in order to attract people of virtue.
• God is important.  "All things were created by God, therefore upon Him all mankind are equally dependent, and to Him they are equally responsible."  
• All men are created equal and the job of the government is to protect equal rights not provide equal things.  We had a great discussion on this principle today while listening to A Little Princess.  After learning that her father had died leaving Sara with no money the school mistress removed Sara from the school and had her earn her board and act as a servant.  She treated her poorly.  After 2  years Sara and her school mates learn that Sara is still rich and that it was all a mistake.  One little girl expresses her dismay at how poorly Sara was treated even though she was really rich.  I asked if it was OK to treat people different just because of how much money they have or how they look.  I said I thought it was right for Sara to work for her board now that she could no longer pay for it, but it wasn't right for the people at the school to treat her any different just because she was now a servant.  Everyone has the right to be treated fairly and kindly, but that doesn't mean that we all should get the same things. 
• We have the unalienable, natural right to life, liberty and property.  Bastiat says "Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws.  On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused me to make laws [for the protection of them] in the first place."  The right to life and liberty is secure only if the right to property is secure. 
• "The right to rule is actually in the people and therefore no person can rightfully rule the people with out their consent."  That was said by Algernon Sidney in 1663 before he was beheaded by King Charles II. 
• The United States should be a republic not a democracy.
• Freedom to try, freedom to buy, freedom to sell, freedom to fail. 
• "To the greatest possible extent, problems should be solved on the local level." 
• Thomas Jefferson said in his inaugural address that he wanted "friendship with all. . .alliances with none." 
• The government should protect the role of the family.  I recently listened to a speech by Oliver Demille.  At the beginning he talked about how people have a focus.  In the past it has been the belief that kings have to divine right to rule.  I can't remember what he said our focus is now, but he talked about the current debate for out next focus: individualism vs families.  I believe in the importance of the role of families and want to fight on that side. 

There was so much more information and I hope that the more I get exposed to these ideas, the more I'll be able to understand them. 

8 Minute Meditation--Weeks 5 and 6

Week 5--Gracious Declining
This week's technique gave me more practice in "refraining from engaging unwanted, frivolous, and negative thoughts."  I pretended that each thought was a door-to-door salesman that kept trying to get my attention.  My job was to first focus on my breath, then open the door, look at each thought, and then decline to let it in. 

7/23  For the past 3 weeks I have been wanting to focus on my breath again and now that I am, I don't like it.  I'm just not "getting" it.  I know he was that the only bad meditation is no mediation.  I'm not sure that is true.  I started out doing this because it was part of the class with a slight hope that it would do something, but now I'm just doing it because I said I would do it for 8 weeks.  I grudgingly set my alarm and get into position.  I thought that my attitude would change over time.  I am trying and I will keep trying and hoping for 4 more weeks.

7/24  better. . .for a little in the middle. . .gotta remember to return to the anchor point

7/26  how am I supposed to "get" anything out of meditation if I keep turning away my thoughts?  I can't have an "a-ha" moment.  I think I need to go back and read the beginning about the benefits and reason for meditation. 

Week 6 Private Screening
During this week, I brought my attention to my "mind screen"--the place in my thoughts where my visual images seem to be projected.  When thoughts arose, I would notice them and then return to my "mind screen". 

7/30  Oooh!  I might like this one.  :)  But almost every image provoked a thought and vise-versa.

8/1  No images today--only thoughts.  I kept trying to go back to the screen, but was blank. 

8/4  I changed my mind--I don't like this one--thoughts and images are too closely related.  Plus I saw a scary image tonight.  It caused me to stop, open my eyes, pray and hum a hymn. 

8 Minute Meditation--Weeks 3 and 4

Week 3--Noting Body Sensations
The anchor point for this week was the constant motion throughout my body.  I didn't need to find or name the exact location of the main body sensation, just note it and direct my awareness to it. 

7/9 I "ping-ponged" to different aches and pains in my body.

7/10 At lease with breathing I had something "solid" to anchor to.  I'm not sure if I'm noting my body right--I bounce from one ache to another.  Nothing "lights" up.  Maybe I'm just noticing the different sensations and focusing too early and not giving anything a chance to "light up".

7/13  I tried something different t for a few  minutes--I tried to "find" each body part.  It was the best part of my 8 minutes but it didn't last very long and doing it twice didn't work.  I'll have to try slower next time. 

7/14 Noting body sensations has made me aware of how achy and stiff my bod is--this isn't a favorite.  :)

(Side note--In the next chapter I learned about a monk who had the inability to accept his discomforts.  That was my problem during week 3--I made judgement about my sensations.)

Week 4--This Magic Moment
This week's technique was about being present in the moment.  It was about being here now instead of elsewhere or elsewhen.  I was supposed to label my thoughts "past" or "future", release it and notice the space around it.  That space is the present. 

7/16 My type 2 nature wants more details, but I hear my husband say "don't make it harder."  I want to know how to surrender, how not to resist thoughts, how to allow things.

7/18  There are about 2 minutes when I might be feeling "present".  I am able to release my thought and I feel like I'm swinging in the space between past and future.  I have to label the thought--think "past" or "future", then think "release" then say to myself "enjoy the space left behind".  That helps.