572 Matching Annotations
  1. Mar 2017
    1. Today as a teacher I am working with the UK, Poland, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Japan, the USA, Brazil, Cameroun. 5 years ago, I was only concerned with a room of twenty five students at one moment, today I am concerned with perhaps something over a 1000 or more students and teachers who are all over the place.

      Changing role of teacher

    2. I am now perhaps half French.

      Ever more French....

    3. a writer...(now, I come to think of it, I could say that now, I had never assumed that costume before)

      Writer.

      Blogger at least.

    4. The Spaceman Episode

      Childhood identification with multiple roles.

    1. Suddenly people in my institution appeared to be taking what I had to say seriously..to almost trust me.

      Credit recognition identity

    2. I met with my friend Marcin Kleban. After a twenty minute discussion we started a project of 40 language teachers and learners, he trusted me.. I met with my friend Blaise Ngandeu, I was able to learn about Nexus Analysis from my friend Maritta Riekki.

      connections attachment identification

    3. I met Catherine Cronin, I think first in London and then again in Plymouth, I met Mary Anne Reilly, we spoke over dinner about Nomads, about Rhizomatic Learning. I felt connected. I felt that I could communicate, I felt nurtured. I was not al

      mentorship leaders community

      Herein lies the problem of confidence - that feeling of being an imposter (imposter syndrome) others have the possibility to connect - photos of people smiling in exotic places.

      Jealousy.

      Feeling of being part of something...but a part of what?

      Problem of recognition.

      Problem of being disheartened.

      Problem of barriers..

      Also that feeling of not wanting to be disconnected from local reality - not wanting to be a satellite.in heaven.

      Feeling of others being a cosy clique.

      Not wanting to play career games in academia.

    4. Without her, nothing would have happened. I would have remained isolated probably, unhappily in a disconnected classroom.

      The importance of connecting with others like us...

  2. Feb 2017
  3. Nov 2016
    1. 16, he killed a man who had raped his younger sister. Little record exists of the next four or five years of his life, during which time he changed his name to Francisco

      Poncho villa changed his name to Francisco from age 16-20

  4. Sep 2016
    1. By treating particular identities as “subject matter”instead of facets of personhood – by claiming that queer characters can “distract” from a central story, as though queerness is only ever a focus, and not a fact – you’re acting as though the actual living people with those identities have no value, presence or personhood beyond them.
    2. Identity is the micro level: the intimacy of self-expression coupled with the immediacy of belonging.
  5. Aug 2016
    1. the response is always, "What is the LGBT community going to do about this?" But the LGBT community doesn't run the schools where queer kids are being bullied, raped, and abused. The LGBT community can't shut down those "houses of worship" where LGBT kids are abused spiritually and their straight peers are given license to abuse them physically. The LGBT community doesn't parent the vast majority of LGBT kids. So the question shouldn't be, "What is the LGBT community going to do about this?", but rather, "What is the straight community going to do about this?"
  6. Jul 2016
    1. and the significance of choices among language uses.

      I'm reminded of something Shondel said in our Ed Linguistics seminar: choosing a register or dialect of speech is not like choosing a color of a car. There are serious identity-psychological implications of these choices.

    Tags

    Annotators

  7. Apr 2016
    1. THE IMPERSONAL LIFEJoseph S. BennerI AMTo you who read, I speak.To you, who, through long years and much running to and fro, have been eagerly seeking, inbooks and teachings, in philosophy and religion, for you know not what ---Truth, Happiness,Freedom, God;To you whose Soul is weary and discouraged and almost destitute of hope;To you, who many times have obtained a glimpse of that "Truth" only to find, when youfollowed and tried to reach it, that it disappeared in the beyond, and was but the mirage of thedesert;To you, who thought you had found it in some great teacher, who was perhaps the acknowledgedhead of some Society, Fraternity or Religion, and who appeared to you to be a "Master", somarvelous was the wisdom he taught and the works he performed; -- only to awaken later to therealization that that "Master" was but a human personality, with faults and weaknesses, andsecret sins, the same as you, even though that personality may have been a channel throughwhich were voiced many beautiful teachings, which seemed to you the highest "Truth;"And here you are, Soul aweary and enhungered, and not knowing where to turn ---To you, I AM come.Likewise to you, who have begun to feel the presence of that "Truth" within your Soul, and seekthe confirmation of that which of late has been vaguely struggling for living expression within;Yes, to all you who hunger for the true "Bread of Life," I AM come.Are you ready to partake?If so, then arouse yourself. Sit up. Still your human mind and follow closely My Word hereinspoken. Or you will turn away disappointed once more, with the aching hunger still in yourheart

      The message clearly points out that it is speaking to me! And asks me to still my mind and listen.

  8. Mar 2016
    1. Can I run my own identity server? Yes - the reference implementation is sydent and you can run your own ID server cluster that tracks 3rd party to Matrix ID mappings. This won’t be very useful right now, though, and we don’t recommend it. If you want your server to participate in the global replicated Matrix ID service then please get in touch with us. Meanwhile, we are looking at ways of decentralising the ‘official’ Matrix identity service so that identity servers are 100% decentralised and can openly federate with each other. N.B. that you can use Matrix without ever using the identity service - it exists only to map 3rd party IDs (e.g. email addresses) to matrix IDs to aid user discovery.

      This will have to be even more precisely specified, documented, tracked, communicated, developed, ...

  9. Feb 2016
    1. Because even if you don’t have a conscious one, you’ve been living one.”

      Sometimes it's hard to see a narrative for our lives. A good place to start is "themes". Start becoming conscious about what common ideas or threads keep popping up in your life. From there, figure out what's common about the common, give the disparate themes some coherence and/or direction, and you've got not only a narrative of your past, but a direction for your future, perhaps even a mission for your future, and if you're really lucky, in this process you might find out which "character" you are/want to play too!

    1. ShowTix4U.com.

      Danger! Be sure to use https: if you buy tickets here. You can use the whole site via http: and then you are not safe. Check for security incidents online before you use this site.

  10. Jan 2016
    1. One of the drawbacks of anonymity on the Web is romance scams. Scammers set up fake personas on social media. They often use photos stolen from a real person's accounts

      When the same person has their photos stolen repeatedly, Facebook could prevent this easily. But they don't.

    1. It is not pleasant to sacrifice your illusions. And again, this is why it is imperative for you to connect with me frequently, if not absolutely constantly, so as to have the opportunity to stand in the presence of your Sanity, your unflawed experience of what is Really going on, because you will be able to catch the feel of Joy which will further illuminate You to you as Who You truly Are, and thus promote greater willingness to release, without reason or thought, the fantasy you.
  11. christmind.info christmind.info
    1. The thinking which the fantasy partner or false sense of self has engaged in will be replaced with the Knowing which has been constituted of the direct experience of your Self. When it has seemed as though you were talking with me and drawing upon the infinite Knowing, you have been connected to You, and it has constituted the substance of You, even though as long as you were identifying with the fantasy sense of yourself it has seemed as though you were not connected with yourself and who you were was becoming less and less significant.

      The more I let go of my illusions my sense of self "will be replaced with the Knowing which has been constituted of the direct experience of your Self."

    2. Now, it is important for you and I to speak regularly, as we are doing, because just as meditating reminds you of the experience of centeredness, our conversing reminds you of the nature of the experience of Knowing, which provides you with the clear perspective of the pleasure of It, the Integrity of It, the naturalness of It, and the fact that in the experience of It there is no loss of any experience of Self, including, as I said, identity and identification—what might be called mind and body. The experience of It does not convey or substantiate the sidekick, the sidekick’s judgments, or the sidekick’s sense of separation. You must be reminded of this because it helps to substantiate to you the desirability of not being fragmented, the desirability of not experiencing fear, the desirability of not being “bumbling,” the desirability of not experiencing incompetence, the desirability of releasing the sidekick.

      Raj speak about the importance of being reminded of what is real.

    3. Absolutely everything, all form, is simply the expression of the movement of Knowing, the movement of Self. Abide with the Knowing, and be from the Knowing, and all form will identify Being, because there will be no misidentification of Self to cause a preoccupation with form. I mention this because you must be very clear that in shifting from thinking to Knowing, you will not become unconscious of Self, and you will not become unconscious of body. It is just that Self and Body will not be identified with body! Again, it is just that Self and Body will not be identified with body. The simple fact is that self-consciousness and body-consciousness become secondary, and ultimately nonexistent in the Act of Knowing. And yet, consciousness, with full identity and identification will be experienced—another key point!

      "Absolutely everything, all form, is simply the expression of the movement of Knowing, the movement of Self."

      and

      "you must be very clear that in shifting from thinking to Knowing, you will not become unconscious of Self, and you will not become unconscious of body. It is just that Self and Body will not be identified with body!"

      and

      "The simple fact is that self-consciousness and body-consciousness become secondary, and ultimately nonexistent in the Act of Knowing. And yet, consciousness, with full identity and identification will be experienced."

    1. The experience of personality is, indeed, the effective block to the experience of Individuality, of Identity. Again—and this is imperative now—if you are not “channeling” me, then be in touch with me constantly. I will not be imposed upon by your constantly dialoguing with me, even in the midst of your relating to others and engaging in daily activities.

      In this I hear of the importance of listening to our true Self, our Being..

    2. What is significant here, and what has been significant about the past nine years is that you have engaged in Listening. You have not engaged in as much dialoguing as would have been helpful, but by virtue of your willingness to allow me to address others, you have put yourself in the position of relating to “the Real world,” to Reality. You are now able to consider looking at the fact that Reality is where you Are, and that you are different from the perceptions you have held so dear about yourself called the ego, the sidekick, “bumbling Paul,”—a personal, private sense of self that has very little to do with Reality. You are able to embrace that concept, which is actually the Fact, without significant fear—reluctance maybe, resistance, yes, but with little fear, and now with some active curiosity.

      A personal, private sense of self has very little to do with Reality.

    3. It is the experience of being Who you Are that I am promoting, and not an “intellectual knowledge.” Indeed, to quote Susan, if I were to sit here and say “Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,” and you did not miss one moment of the “blahs,” but were attentive to them, the essential dynamics of Awakening would be present, because you could not hear the “blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,” from within your defenses. Thus the experience of being in your right Mind, even though it would not be complete, would be Actual, and that is the way the weight gets shifted from the unreal sidekick that seems real to the real Friend that seems unreal, and the real You that has seemed nonexistent.

      It feels as though Raj is sharing here about the 'journey', beginning to hear guidance and this is Actual, Real even though still taking the journey....

    4. Remember—and this is the key of our conversation today—it is the act of being in dialogue, it is the event of being connected, and not what happens during the connection, which constitutes the bridge that allows you to move from the ego sense of self to the Conscious experience of Who You Are. Indeed, you can ask me to simply say, “Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,” when you are afraid of the content of what you might hear, because it isn’t the content but the connection that constitutes the bridge.

      "it is the event of being connected, and not what happens during the connection, which constitutes the bridge that allows you to move from the ego sense of self to the Conscious experience of Who You Are."

      ? Real dialogue is not about what is said?

    1. You see, as long as you think “Bumbling Paul,” the sidekick, is the real you, your divine Self-hood will seem to be your sidekick, the fantasy partner, the intangible, insubstantial essence—the ethereal you. This displacement is being healed, requiring you to invest yourself in the “unreal” 2 and abandon the “real.” 3 That is how you let go of the ego. This is how you become Sane. You see, I am not riding around in your hip pocket. The “you” that thinks I am is riding around in the hip pocket of You. And You and I are brothers. You hear me instead of your Self because your sidekick cannot acknowledge You. Indeed, this is an Awakening, or healing of mental illness—confused identity—and will affect and consume every perception of your existence. One is never selectively insane. Misperception colors all of one’s experience.

      Raj shares that to let go of ego the displacement of seeing the ego as self instead of Being as Self needs to be healed. To re identify with Being, true Self.

      Confused identity is the cause of mental illness!!

    1. No. Your Being is intent on being Itself and knows how to be Itself perfectly. When you have experienced this, you will be able to trust your Self implicitly.

      I can trust and relax and trust my heart.

  12. Dec 2015
    1. If “form follows function,” then it is imperative that your attention be on the function and not the form. What is the Function which you see as the unfolding of daily activities? It is the unfolding of Your Being, identifying and fulfilling Itself as Itself. Activity, money and profit are all aspects of that identification. Money—income—is not the end goal of it all. Every aspect of your day identifies your Being, and not any one is more important or less important than another. Work does not generate income. Being generates work and income and leisure and growth. Yet, not any one of these things exist for their own independent purpose or identity. They identify Being, and Being is the Alpha and Omega—that which is and is identifying Itself completely and successfully. It is the flow of Being which is the Function. It is identified by the forms which constitute your daily activities. Your need is to identify yourself as Being and not as form.

      The Function of your daily activities is the unfolding of Your Being Identifying itself as Itself.

      Every aspect of your day identifies your Being and not any one part is more important than another.

      The Flow of Being is the Function. It (the Flow?) is identified by the forms of your daily activities.

      Your Need is to identify yourself as Being, not form.

    1. Stay with the Fact that your Being is totally present. THAT’S FACT. Your Being is totally functioning. THAT’S FACT. Your Being is being totally successful in fully identifying Itself. THAT’S FACT. You are not a small part of the totality of God’s Universe. THAT’S FACT. And you are not part of God’s Universe, because God is the only Identity you have. Therefore, your Being is infinite and cannot be contained. Do not let yourself be coerced into accepting the pea-sized concept of Identity called three-dimensional man. You must stay with the Infinity of your Being, together with Its Omnipresence and Omnipotence. You are all of It. It is all of You. God is the only thing going on. it is the Happening. Do not buy the hypnotic suggestions being put forth by “ego.“

      Being is present, Being is your Identity, **Being is infinite and cannot be contained.

      You are Infinite - Do Not allow yourself to be coerced into accepting the pea-sized concept of identity as 3d man.

    1. notion that your identity comes from within you and not from someone else

      Not very interactionist, though. Sounds quite far from most ideas about identity in sociology and social psychology. But, hey, it makes sense in context.

    1. Your focal point must remain at that within Point wherein you are constantly aware of being as Conscious Being, not as the operator of a business, or the promoter of a service. You must let the business and the service be what they will, as the ever-fluid manifestation of that living Being which You Are. Do not let what “occurs” become the repository of yourself. This is because Your Self, being infinite, cannot be confined to any manifestation or visibility which It evolves for Its identification. Yes, in your terms, it would mean a dispassionate, uninvolved experience of what is appearing. You must learn to get your satisfaction from being What You Are as Conscious Being, rather than what you appear to be by virtue of what is done three-dimensionally.

      You are not what you do - you are Conscious Being. Do not identify who you are by what you do.

      This Links directly to WOM "Who are you?".

      Quote: Do not let what "occurs" become the repository of yourself.

      Let what you do be as it is, the ever-fluid manifestation of that Living Being which You Are.

      Learn to get your satisfaction from being what you are a Conscious Being rather than what you appear to be by virtue of what you do.

  13. Nov 2015
    1. On the other hand, Identity, when It is perceived to be the expression of the Universal, omnipresent divine Mind or Intelligence, is capable of expressing Itself on a sustained basis—so sustained that the word “eternal” is the only word that describes It. It is so substantial by virtue of Its Nature as Intelligence, that It is called Omnipotent.

      Identity is the expression of the Universal Divine Mind.

    2. There is only one infinite Life/Principle, one infinite Identity, infinitely expressed and seen as all that exists. It is what constitutes the center and circumference of Being—Your Self as you experience It, Susan’s Self as she experiences It, and my Self as I experience It. Its omnipotence or strength is constituted of Its absolute omnipresent Integrity, which is Its Intelligent Nature. it is not thrilling or exciting when contemplated from an egotistical standpoint. But It is satisfying in ways that are so meaningful that they cannot compare to the “thrills” of the ego. It also has this benefit: The satisfaction is eternal and unchanging.

      In our Being there is far greater meaningful satisfaction than any ego thrill or fix.

    3. On the other hand, Identity, when It is perceived to be the expression of the Universal, omnipresent divine Mind or Intelligence, is capable of expressing Itself on a sustained basis—so sustained that the word “eternal” is the only word that describes It. It is so substantial by virtue of Its Nature as Intelligence, that It is called Omnipotent.

      Because our True Identity is an expression of Divine Mind it naturally sustains itself.

    4. It is very important to realize that Identity is something far different from ego. Identity is what exists before ego can seem to be formed. Yet, once ego develops, Identity becomes practically invisible. This is because ego supplies one with a “high,” a thrill, an excitement which Identity does not.

      Our true Identity is our Beingness in 4d..... it is eternal and exists before ego develops in our human experience. Once the ego develops though we loose conscious contact with our true Identity in the 3d experience..

    5. There is only one infinite Life/Principle, one infinite Identity, infinitely expressed and seen as all that exists. It is what constitutes the center and circumference of Being—Your Self as you experience It, Susan’s Self as she experiences It, and my Self as I experience It. Its omnipotence or strength is constituted of Its absolute omnipresent Integrity, which is Its Intelligent Nature. it is not thrilling or exciting when contemplated from an egotistical standpoint. But It is satisfying in ways that are so meaningful that they cannot compare to the “thrills” of the ego. It also has this benefit: The satisfaction is eternal and unchanging.

      There is only one infinity Identity infinitely expressed and seen as all that exists. It is what makes up the center and circumference of Being.

      Identity is not exciting when compared from an egotistical standpoint.

    6. It is very important to realize that Identity is something far different from ego. Identity is what exists before ego can seem to be formed. Yet, once ego develops, Identity becomes practically invisible. This is because ego supplies one with a “high,” a thrill, an excitement which Identity does not.

      Ego obscures Identity. Ego supplies a thrill, a high, that Identity does not.

    7. April 29, 1982 Thursday

      Review this chapter - there's a lot in it.

    1. It is always us that is holding onto some comfortable sense of limitation with which we feel some sense of familiarity. The active agent which holds us back is actually our own refusal to let go of the known for the Unknown. This reluctance is entirely due to an adopted belief that we are what we appear to be—finite, separate, an independent “intelligence” that exists “inside” this finite object called a body, a potential victim of an unpredictable environment. Yet, the finiteness, separateness, independence, and unpredictability are entirely inherent in the partial view of the Actual conscious experience of Being which is going on. If it weren’t going on, there couldn’t be a misinterpretation or misidentification!

      Quote: The active agent which holds us back is actually our own refusal to let go of the known for the Unknown.

      I have misplaced my identity and believe that I am separate, existing inside a body, vulnerable, etc. This misidentification comes from a partial view of what is actually going on (the conscious experience of Being).

    1. She does, indeed, have a Guide. Her apparent earth age has nothing to do with it. She is a total and complete individualization of God.

      We all are a complete individuation of God

    1. Do not misunderstand me. To know Who You Are, What You Are, and that You Are Where It’s All Happening is, indeed, Divine Fulfillment of Purpose. It is to be One with God. It is to flow with the Divine Energies. It is to be One and in Harmony with the Great Works of Divine Intelligence. BUT, IT IS ABSOLUTELY NORMAL!

      It is incredible yet simply as it is....

    2. Such a sanctuary is in some ways a satisfying experience, but you can’t pull a sanctuary behind your car with you everywhere you go, or pull it into a building on a wagon just so your place of living as Conscious Being can always be with you. If that is the only means one has, then one must work with what one has, but it is most certainly limited. I am glad to see that you are discovering that you can function intuitively out from Mind as Conscious Being. This indicates a rapid integration of being consciously aware of Who You Are, What You Are, and that You Are Where It’s All Happening.

      It's all happening right here with me in this moment regardless of where ever I find myself and I can be Conscious of this...

    1. By “understanding” I mean real, actual felt, experiential awareness of the Physiology of that Body. You will never control your environment if you think the environment is the Image which you call the three-dimensional world. The three-dimensional world is Pure Image. The distortions you see in it are not in it. They are caused by your ignorance of the workings of the Source, of which the Image is just an image.

      What I see with the human eyes is just Image...

    2. Not having realized that what you call “body” is Image, and not Body, and not having realized that Body is Consciousness, You, you have ignored the lesson about the Reality (Source) of the Image that can only be learned by understanding the True Body.

      So what I think is the body is really only image whereas Body refers to my Body of Consciousness...

    3. The inner strength gained by the specific awareness of Who You Are, What You Are, and that You Are Where It’s All Happening, is the only way for you to move forward at the new level that you are entering into.
    4. I want you to continue to rely on the inherent Intelligence of Your Being to reveal Itself in clearer and clearer evidence; AND I WANT YOU TO BE AWARE THAT IT IS YOUR BEING “DOING ITS OWN THING” that you are observing.

      It's me, it's inherent in me, I am it, the unfolding evolution..

    5. It is time to become aware of the “physiology” or anatomy of your mentality. Be attentive to the process of what you call inspiration, intuition, psychic awareness, enlightenment. It is not something happening to you at all. Rather, it is You happening as You.

      I am the inspirations, intuition, psychic awareness and enlightenment.

    1. PAUL: Okay. I know that all of me has to be present and functioning… RAJ: Don’t add that “but.” Stay with the simple Fact you have just stated. The “but” is the hooker! “All is infinite Mind and Its infinite manifestation.“1 There aren’t any “buts” about it! Being is “neither behind the point of perfection nor advancing towards it. It is at that point and must be understand therefrom.“2 It will never be understood from the standpoint of the three-dimensional frame of awareness (ego). You must stop looking for clues, helpful hints, or reassurances objectively. Being doesn’t need them, and “ego” only needs them in order to hook you. Remember, as you “do battle,” that there is no battle going on at all. It is a process by which you are becoming less slipshod in your self-identification. It seems as though it is an attempt to influence you in the direction of misidentification, but you are at a point where the thrust truly cannot reach you because you are hidden in the Secret Place of the Most High. You have experienced It.

      “All is infinite Mind and Its infinite manifestation," so any 'buts' is the ego attempting to hook.

      Raj tells Paul that Being can never be understood in 3d, ego and it is pointless to look for hints or reassurance. That the ego only looks for these things to rehook, to attempt to influence in the direction of mis-identification.

      Raj again refers to the 'battle' and clarifies that this is the process of becoming less fooled by the attempted seductions of the egoic mind towards misidentification.

      Being is my Identity!

    1. Do not indulge in the mistaken belief that it is going to be anything less than hard work, Paul. Accept that right now! Do not look at this “stage” of your growth as being peaches and cream. Do not indulge in self-pity or indignation at it not being easier since you “know the Truth” and are “having these conversations with me.“ Realize right now that indignation and self-pity are ego, ego, ego right down the line. You’ve got to not give a damn about whether it’s easy, hard, pleasant, unpleasant, quick or slow. These are all three-dimensional, “ego-bound” concepts. Even if they seem to parade as your feelings or thinking, do not “connect” up with them. I reiterate, Paul: Plan on it being hard work! Fight the fight! Follow through to the end wherein “ego’s” claims become the nonsense that they are, just as when HAL began reciting nursery rhymes and singing children’s songs. Do not misunderstand. I am not saying there is a real fight. I’m not saying there is a real antagonist. I am saying that if you don’t behave as though there were one—if you don’t tend to follow through “come hell or high water”—then you will be lazy and slipshod in your approach. One way or another, ego will insinuate itself into and as your self-awareness, because it is a habit through long years of apparent Self-ignorance.

      Raj seems to be really nailing it here..... he shares that remembering our real Identity isn't easy, it is hard work and he encourages Paul to really keep going no matter what.....

      Raj reminds Paul that to let go of concepts such as easy or hard though, to let go of the feelings associated with them, this is all 3d ego...

    2. Stay with the Fact that your Being is totally present. THAT’S FACT. Your Being is totally functioning. THAT’S FACT. Your Being is being totally successful in fully identifying Itself. THAT’S FACT. You are not a small part of the totality of God’s Universe. THAT’S FACT. And you are not part of God’s Universe, because God is the only Identity you have. Therefore, your Being is infinite and cannot be contained. Do not let yourself be coerced into accepting the pea-sized concept of Identity called three-dimensional man. You must stay with the Infinity of your Being, together with Its Omnipresence and Omnipotence. You are all of It. It is all of You. God is the only thing going on. it is the Happening. Do not buy the hypnotic suggestions being put forth by “ego.“

      Raj really clearly spells it out here.... Being IS my only identity..... it IS the ONLY identity I have.

      God IS the only thing going on...

      And do not be fooled by the ego....

    1. Form does not supply Being with anything, whereas Being supplies Itself with all form. It is the initial misidentification of form as function that fouls everything up. Our limited viewpoint, taking itself as the center and circumference, is the flaw.

      It is when I identify with form that I loose sight of the truth of who I am which is Being.

    2. Every aspect of your day identifies your Being, and not any one is more important or less important than another. Work does not generate income. Being generates work and income and leisure and growth. Yet, not any one of these things exist for their own independent purpose or identity. They identify Being, and Being is the Alpha and Omega—that which is and is identifying Itself completely and successfully. It is the flow of Being which is the Function. It is identified by the forms which constitute your daily activities. Your need is to identify yourself as Being and not as form.

      I love how Raj speaks in such a practical way..."Being generates work and income and leisure and growth."

      And Raj clearly shares that "the flow of Being which is the Function".

    1. You have not made the distinction between you as Fourth-dimensional Man, and you as three-dimensional conglomeration of thoughts, concepts, physical reactions, emotional reactions, et cetera. You are going to have to be very alert now, because more often than not, the mythical structure called “ego” is going to be in the process of dissolving. Much like HAL, the computer in the film, “2001”, there will be subtle, insistent, plaintive pleas. There will be an even seemingly human capacity to imply that it is capable of truly fearing its own demise. You must realize that ego is a fraud from the beginning, and you must learn to properly identify your Self as Being, Itself, and not as “ego.“ So that there is no confusion, whatsoever, about this process, it had better be clear to you that you will have to listen to, and even seemingly experience, whatever charade is attempted by this false sense of individuality as it gives up the ghost. You will have to remain unmoved and steadfast in the proper identification of your Being. Ego is what Jesus referred to as “the devil,” being a liar and the father of it. It is imperative that you understand that there is no other evil. The only sin there is is the misidentification of one’s Self as “ego” rather than Being, as Conscious Being.

      Raj calls the 'ego' mythical here which is interesting. In psychology there are three aspects of the ego, the id which focusses on basic biological needs and desires. It is there at birth. The ego which is conscious, the the rational part of personality which emerges in infancy and the superego which begins to emerge from 3 years is often referred to as conscience. This is referenced Freud's Psychosexual stages of development in lifespan theory. I generally resonate more with Eriksons Psychosocial stages of development.

      In our humanity the ego fulfils the purpose of functioning in this 3d experience, I feel it is neither bad nor good.... it supports the individuated human experience. In the ego though we only identify ourselves as a body mind with no deeper recognition of self other than the development of conscience. This 'operating program' for our human experience is geared with a security system to keep this body mind, this organism safe. This is the job given to it to do and it does it well. Our security system, the trauma response which is inclusive of the fight, flight freeze response responds to real or perceived threat.

      The flight, fight freeze is in the id, it is an honest response, yet in adulthood it can go into ego with perceived threat and include reaction, yet in itself it is intrinsicly occurring as a neurbiological response....

      There is much to this. Too much to share here in this space.

      I wonder that Raj calls the ego mythical because the body mind is not in Reality who we really are, yet we are having a human experience. It is our identification with ourselves as the egoic body mind that is disolving.

      In time as we come to experience, to know our Being in 4d, to learn our True identity is not the body mind. The ego wants to maintain its authority and resists our journey to remember our true identity, pure essence, Love in form, Being.

    1. Designing, selling, and buying face parts are not simply leisure activ-ities; they are core activities driven by Whyvillians’ interest in their online represen-tation of who they are and who they possibly could become

      Does anyone else find it strange that students are playing a game where the ultimate goal is to buy/sell virtual identities?

    1. our view, her emphasison control meant that she sought out the learning resource that allowed her the greatestcontrol over the learning experience. In this case, the learning resource was her brother

      This straight up, 100% reminds me of lpp and the concept of apprenticeship. Rachel is becoming a part of a community, but using the expertise of her brother to also become an expert in the game. I wonder if she began being exposed to the video game by just observing her brother?

    2. heseparate worlds viewholds, in different waysfor different writers, that game play is a world apart of people’s other activities in everydaylife.

      so what impact does this have on identity, community involvement, learning? so many questions....

    1. Why

      I have a lot of questions about online identity v. in person identity and how that shapes communities, individuals, etc

    1. public-by-default, private-through-effort mentality.Because of this public-by-default framework, most teens won’t bother to limit the audience who can see what they consider to be mundane conversations on Facebook.

      how does this shape identity? If your online personality is different than your in-person personality, how does that change your behavior, how you relate to others, etc?

    1. You are very fortunate that your concepts of right and wrong, good and bad, goal or purpose, are not coming to fruition because, when they do, they continue to support the false sense of ego, thus keeping hidden your true Identity.

      My concepts (belief) of right and wrong, good and bad, support the false sense of ego and keep Identity hidden.

  14. Oct 2015
    1. Now, youth .were drawn to dance, drama, and other forms of art as a means to form strong, safe group affiliations

      This is more about "art and identity", but for sure the argument of bodies-(1)->arts-(2)->identity-(3)->learning can be made. I mean, for the mentioned forms of art (1) is kind of obvious, (2) is their argument, and (3) came strong in previous readings.

    1. We were walking along Washington Avenue, the main street that runs through the town, past the Town Hall that looks like a castle, and the duck pond. I don’t remember what we were talking about or if we were even talking, but I remember his face, bloated and red and angry. He stuck that face out of the truck that slowed down as it passed, then he threw a lit cigarette at us, two teenage girls – her 16, me 13 – and said, “Go home, n*ggers.” We jumped away to avoid getting burnt and stared at the truck as it sped off. She started crying, a quiet, blubbering cry that shook her shoulders. I stayed quiet the rest of the walk home. The following year, a black girl who was all of a shade darker than me told me I didn’t know prejudice – “because you’re not black.” She pursed her lips and shook her head. I thought back to that lit cigarette and that bloated, red face.

      A woman sharing the complexity of her identity as a black latina. Being seen as a "n*gger" by white people, yet not being accepted as black by African Americans, while at the same time her latino family refuses to acknowledge her blackness because of their negative perceptions on blacks.

    1. The purpose of the fieldwork reported in this study was to describe the ideals that surrounded learning within team life and to capture—primarily through detailing the language of activities—manifestations of the environment of learning that the specialized domain

      I am linking this right away with the AA article and the excerpt in LPP. Particularly because of this focus on language. "How to talk like a ..." has a lot to do with "being a..." according to both LW and these authors. Thus it seems that language, it's development, and its use, in particular ways supports particular identities.

    2. youngsters who play Little League baseball know that is not the way "real" baseball players talk to each other.

      A first reference to identity as there is a shared language that they will see to be missing in the cartoon

    1. preferenceemerging in Mitchell’s narrative regarded hisdevelopingidentityin amateur astronomy

      Interesting that "preference" or "long term goal" of developing the identity of amatuer astronomer dialectically influences his other goals and preferences, which influence his practice, which help him achieve that goal.

    1. During this same practice, Octavia and anotherstudent took responsibility for leading the practice of the elementary school "club"team that practiced with them.

      We discussed in our group the following: are you still learning if you are now teaching? We decided yes, as you are learning to take on a new identity of "teacher." Additionally, is the ability of being able to display your knowledge the final step in learning? If you can't prove you've learned (in this case by teaching) then have you really learned what you were supposed to learn?

    1. and many others have conceived people's actions and their individual development within the larger frame of a historically assembled, socially and culturally constructed activity.

      Each activity/event/etc has impact on our lives, thus forming and re-forming our identity constantly

    2. Was that person's intent gaze a sign of witchcraft directed at me, a mark of interest in the color of my dress, or simply an accidental glance, looking through me to the thought beyond? Was she (at this time, in this place) acting as a witch, an admirer or critic, or an uninterested bystander?

      Here something as simple as a "gaze" can have different meaning depending on the figured world the person belongs to, although the member themselves may not have re-defined the meaning of "gaze," it could be an outsider who has re-defined the meaning, but this still affects the identity of the member.

    3. ormer lives and their current temptations, are revalued because they signify experience and place in a world that differs from that of the non-alcoholic

      How people understand themselves in relation to their figured world informs their identity, but certain things may have been defined differently BEFORE they were a member of this figured world. But now that they are a member, they can "revalue" events and re-define terminology to fit it into their figured world.

    1. but that this was sometimes unproductive because youth need supportto develop certain skills necessary for political action

      Again, here is a connection to retaliation identity. For student to be connected with the CoP, and function within it, it is necessary for the leaders to be a relational resource in order to "sustain participation in different learning situations"

    2. Youth were those who were of high school age. Adults were those whowere older than 18 and worked as staff members for the organization. With the ex-ception of executive directors, most adults were younger than 24.

      This somewhat arbitrary cutoff is interesting to me in relation to identity (of course 18 is an arbitrary cutoff all over the country for various reasons). It makes me think of Holland and the idea of there being different roles and positions with in figured worlds, but in this kind of situation, all one needs to do is turn 18 (and probably graduate high school) to move up and acquire a different position. 18 and 24 is not a big age difference,, so what IS different between the youth and an adult? How does their identity vary that allows one to receive a higher /more prestigious role? Ans why are leaders typically close in age I think it has something to do with the fact that relational resources are stronger when the age gap is closer, especially in the opinion of youth.

    3. One of the first decisions about processhad to do with group ground rules about behavior. Youth defined unexcusedabsences, spelled out how many warnings students should receive for absences,specified the consequences of disrespecting others, and differentiated acceptablecurses (directed toward oneself) from unacceptable curses (directed toward oth-ers).

      These "rules" were probably informed by their own prior experiences in classrooms, but I don't expect that they were exactly the same or just a reflection - I've done this exercise in community agreements with classes and usually students create really radical responses to traditional rules that they have had issues with in the past. It also seems to create a sense of community, accountability, and ownership of the classroom space - all play into agency and identity formation

    4. Also, they view their role as temporary, “fad-ing” over time to enable youth to take progressively more responsibility for activi-ties

      This suggests the evolving identities of the students - similar to Rogoff's examples of learners eventually taking over or jumping in on work when they are ready

    5. Monique’s comments reflect a strong sense of identification with the work

      The move from student who organizes to organizer, as I spoke of in a comment above

    6. Although some adult sup-port may be necessary for youth to achieve political goals, too much involvementmight undermine their initiative or lead to a slippery slope where adults end upco-opting youths’ roles

      Hence, not allowing youth to be fully engage in the type of identity construction they need in order to take leadership of the organization. Reading this through Nasir, et al.: too many ideational resources can lead to less impact in cases like this.

    7. It emphasizes how adults help to structure children’s developmental tra-jectories and also the active participation by children in these processes.

      Thinking through this with a Holland et al lens, Kirshner might say: Those trajectories become embedded within a figured world which develops new identities.

    8. The data were compiled in apublished report that had professional features—it had a glossy cover, it had beenedited for grammar and punctuation, it presented evidence in support of the resolu-tion, and each section included policy recommendations. For example, one pagediscussing student leadership included pie charts showing student support forgreater leadership and also included specific recommendations, such as trainingstudents to be able to sit on school decision-making bodies.

      Undoubtedly this is a reflection of the formation of identity as well. I'd be hard-pressed to think that this is what students found to be the most compelling way to present information, but certainly it matched perfectly with ideas that they had about what a "professional" report ought to look like.

    9. Alonzo,the Youth Rising coordinator, told me that he wanted organizing to be an attitudethat youth brought to their peer interactions outside of the program and not justsomething they did when they were at Youth Rising.

      Another clear example of the importance of identity formation. This is not an exercise in getting the students to come together for a time to work around organizing, but rather, to see themselves as community organizers in their daily life. Very similar to the discussion around the importance of personal stories to get A.A. members to identify themselves as alcoholics, not simply as people who attend A.A. meetings

    10. But because so much of the workwas performed collaboratively with adults, youth had fewer opportunities to prac-tice and master skills on their own, which makes it challenging to draw inferencesabout their learning. This does not, however, mean that they did not learn. Rogoffet al.’s (2003) description of “intent participation,” for example, suggests that theprocess of attentively observing an activity is a central part of the learning process.Opportunities to observe, listen to conversations, and engage in shared endeavorswith adults may be meaningful even if they do not lead to independent perfor-mance.

      Rogoff would probably argue that joint work helps youth develop identity in ways that the other GP don't because it involves both keen observation of and active participation in the environment.

    11. Second, unlike either facilitation or apprenticeship, joint work rarely includedelements of a youth-centered environment, such as skill-building workshops or ef-forts to foster group belonging. Aside from periodic check-ins at the beginning ofmeetings, there were no team-building activities. The TRUE project resembledwhat one might expect a planning process to look like in a workplace or commu-nity group, in which the primary goal is to complete the project successfully ratherthan to teach, mentor, or counsel certain members.

      This paragraph has me rethinking the pros/cons of joint work. It does seem arguable that by" throwing them" into a context that most resembles what an adult activist group would look like/how it would run, TRUE is treating youths as full participants without the youths having to do any apprenticing. Looking at it like this makes the other two forms feel more like the youths are "learning what it would be like through supported simulation" - kind of a schooling of youth activism, where as in joint work they are "learning by being treated as an activist".

      Might the type of guided participation lead to a different formation of 'youth as political' identity?

    12. The facilitation ap-proachcreated opportunities for youth to participate in a variety of leadershiptasks. Youth participants routinely initiated the meetings, explained the agenda,and helped keep the group on task.

      This finding seems to support the idea that more student involvement and less hierarchical adult control leads to more access for students to participate and, potentially to form identities of "youth activist" in their own terms.

    13. Differences between facilitation, apprenticeship, and joint work.

      This table has me thinking about Holland (Chapter 5) when they talk about the directive force of figured worlds.

      On page 100 they write, "thoughts and feelings, will and motivation are formed as the individual develops. The individual comes, in the recurrent contexts of social interaction, to personalize cultural resources, such as figured worlds, languages, and symbols, as means to organize and modify thoughts and emotions."

      How might the level of youth versus adult engagement impact the individual's development? (Identity specifically, their place in the FW of youth activism). Holland et al argue that recurrent action/interaction in social settings is key to identity formation. It seems a different kind of "youth activist" identity would be formed depending on the type of guided participation most used.

    14. Unlike in YELL or Youth Rising, in TRUE adultsand youth treated me as a regular participant in the conference planning process—Iwas expected to offer opinions, vote on decisions, and implement necessary tasks

      Identity of Researcher-participant blurred in observation at TRUE. Kirshner adds below that this gave particular insight into aspects of division of labor and access. Ties here to being a "participant observer" in our own independent observation projects...if possible, how might "being involved" like Kirshner was, shed new/different light on learning there?

    15. One unique aspect of youth activism groups, however, has to do with an em-powerment discourse that assigns political significance to the distinction betweenyouth and adults.

      So being a part of "youth activism" is partially about or results in developing a particular identity? Maybe even an identity that will impact future identity development when they age out of the youth bracket?

    16. I define jointwork as a form of collaboration whereby adults participate alongside youth, likeapprenticeship. But, unlike apprenticeship or facilitation, in joint work the envi-ronment is not youth-centered. During this phase of the project there appeared tobe little effort to position youth as leaders of the project, distance adults from theproject, or operate as if one group or another were supposed to be in charge.

      I think the lack of wanting to make the youth members hold leadership roles, hinders their identity development. On the one side, I like that the environment is not altered to be youth-centered, but on the other I do not like the clear cut lines that is created when thinking about leadership roles. (By me, I am referring to how I have understood Kirshner's lens)

    17. adults sought to hand over progressively more re-sponsibilities to youth organizers. Although adults did not fade from active moni-toring to the same extent as those in YELL, they did invite youth to help shape thedirection of the campaign and play a variety of leadership roles.

      Is this more along the lines of what time of mutual involvement Kirshner was referring too? I feel like this is almost the perfect middle point in aiding in identity development of youth.

    18. Instead,adults shared political views with youth, pitched in to complete campaign tasks atkey points, and participated in most decisions. I describe this form of guidance asapprenticeship: Adults were veteran activists who participated in the same en-deavor as novices, while nevertheless structuring activities in ways that were sensi-tive to youths’ skill levels.

      Sometimes I read this and think of mutual involvement, and other times I read it and think more of leadership from the adults. I also don't know if I agree of the term apprenticeship as it makes me think of lpp.

    19. As one adult said, to a chorus ofagreement from others, in a debrief meeting, “I’d prefer for us to be like referees,help youth come to their own beliefs, rather than prod them towards ours.

      Is there much involvement from the adults to be like peers to the youth? I think Kirshner would want to focus on that .

    20. Youth-centered activities include team-builders designed to foster group belonging;workshops designed to improve youths’ skills or understanding; and participantstructures, such as small-group activities, designed to foster participation from allmembers. Activities in facilitation and apprenticeship were typically youth-cen-tered, unlike those in joint work.

      I don't know how much Kirshner would appreciate this, because it is an alteration in the context to make it youth-focused which doesn't necessarily promote mutual involvement with social partners, but only mutual involvement with their peers.

    21. Michelle, the program director, ex-plained that she saw her role as supporting youth in making decisions but not mak-ing decisions for them.

      Promoting an environment where children can make their own decisions

    22. Adults across the groups expressed their desire for youth to take ownership ofthe campaigns, in the sense that youth would care about the campaign goals andtake initiative to carry them out, rather than just follow the leadership and guidanceof adults.

      This is something I think Krishner would agree with because it encourages mutual involvement, and given youth members many times to participate and take ownership of the cause.

    23. In a youth empowerment context, adults are frequently viewed as obstacles toaccess rather than exemplars to emulate, for example by making decisions withoutthe input of youth (Hogan, 2002), creating only token opportunities for youth par-ticipation (O’Donoghue, Kirshner, & McLaughlin, 2002), or promoting punitivepolicies toward minors

      The identity development of youth in this aspect, how I view it, is VERY limiting. In this example, their social partners are not necessarily pushing the youth to accomplish more.

    24. Through interaction with public officials and community members, such groupschallenge social constructions of youth of color as apathetic or uninvolved

      This includes mutual involvement from the individual and their social partner, but does this limit minority youth to only thinking they can be involved in youth activism at this level?

    1. They are also venues where people forge collective identitiesand extend their solidarities beyond their immediate familiar circles toinclude also the unknown, the strangers.

      People are using their built environment to form connections with others who share the same passion or interest.. this can be seen almost anywhere, not just the streets.

  15. Sep 2015
    1. It is notjust an accumulation of skills and information, but a process of becoming-to become a certainperson or, conversely, to avoid becoming a certain person"

      I really like this quotation. It highlights for me a big part of the issue with schooling - the focus on skills, tools, tricks, and information as "objects" to be obtained. No where in there does there seem to be thoughtfulness about the student as a person, just as some empty vessel to be filled.

    2. The resources were made available to athletes by virtue oftheir presence in the physical space and through one-on-one interactions with CoachJ. Additionally, ideational resources were often conveyed as students were explicitlypositioned into particular roles with respect to the events at which they wouldcompete in meet

      Coach J is the gate keeper, the mentor, who needs to provide the resources for a student to engage in building the identity of a track athlete. Therefore, he is the identity gate keeper. Why, therefore, examine this through the lens of resources instead of merely habitus or "cultural toolkit?"

    3. Specifically, it makesthe case for a treatment of learning and identity that considers them to be intimatelyrelated to one another but also to be distinct processes. Thinking about learning andidentities in schools in this way might support a clearer conceptual understanding ofthe relation between learning and identity that does not conflate them or view themas unrelated.

      This article, as I understand it, provides arguments that identity and learning are intimately related, but not that they are distinct processes. While I agree with this statement that I highlighted, I wonder in what ways we can look to studies like this one to provide the nuance Nasir and Cook are looking for and claiming. It seems that Holland et al.'s description fits more with an understanding that identity and learning are not distinct processes.

  16. newclasses.nyu.edu newclasses.nyu.edu
    1. He does not figure his life in AP!s terms. He views AA as a measure to take when things get really bad. He does not share the set of values and distinctions that unites other AA members. The identity of "alcoholic" does not affect his actions, or his perceptions of self, beyond his drinking behavior. Andrew has never stayed in AA for more than one year, although he has been in treatment for alcoholism four times and in and out of AA at least three times

      Andrew's identity did not contain Alcoholic in the AA terms yet. Therefore he was not engaged in the figured world of AA. Is this the only way one can be considered a part of a figured world in this analysis?

    2. Apparently the story was consciously developed from the beginning as a vehicle for presenting an experience or person with whom the prospect could identify

      How is this different from and/or the same as other socio-historical. cultural forces that drive the reproduction of this figured world of being an AA alchoholic? What about other figured worlds? Is this conscious social step, prescribed in literature that all must read and listen to in order to be part of AA figured world, truly indicative of the forces of reproduction behind other figured worlds?

    3. We conceive this step as devaluation, rather than diffusion, as Schwartz and Merten call it

      Interesting to move away from diffusion, which implies moving across a boarder, as a solution does across a membrane in diffusion, to devaluation which implies possible further connection;

    4. It is a transformation of their identities, from drinkil1KJ1on-alcoholics to rion-drmldng alcofiO!ics·, a_�n:::d:_,:lt:.:a::l�le::;c:.:-ts::__. ���-�"--·--�·-'-" ·-----��.�-=---�----���·�� . --how they view and act in the world.

      Why does it need to be that way? Why label something that is unnecessary, especially when it will not produce positive result for the individual's identity?

    5. Telling AA personal stories also helps members identify with one an­other in ways that are harder to document. As a public event, one that is not only observable but material and co-participatory, the telling encom­passes body practices, including vocalization, that realize structures of affect and disposition. Not only social theorists, from Durkheim and Mauss to Bourdieu, but any participant in such performances would tell you that the fellow-feeling born in these ceremonies is a powerful means of identification.

      The personal story is a force in many directions for the figured world of AA, especially in creating and shaping identity of members.

    6. In the formation of." ne� identity an individual comes, with the social -eiicaiiiagemeni··-�u.d:i�sist�n��-.-�L2r.����,--.. r<itmemrei: the�l.v�ild.. in new ways·, an:d··rcql'osifioii:' llerself and emotionally invest herself in that world. Indlviduals-UoThis through particiPating in -group activities, learning to· produce and enact cultural forms particular to that world, and taking up these forms as devices for mediating their own conception of self and world.

      It's important to remember that identity formation is an ongoing process in relation to the figured worlds that a person is participating in.

      Often times we think of identity as static - either you have it or you don't - and that it can only be measured through observing practice. I think that this reading is encouraging us to be wary of those assumptions.

    7. I personal storie , oldtimers in AA tell their own life stories or partcll them-=Their drinking histories-and how they came to be involved in I AA. These stories contribute to cultural production and reproduction in three ways. First, they objectify many cultural elements-the beliefs, propositions, and interpretations-that new or potential AA members learn through listening. Second, by virtue of their" narrative forms, the stories realize a model of what alcoholism is and what it means to be an alcoholic. This model, in the absence of a well-defined, well-elaborated model shared by the wider culture, provides a basis for potential mem­bers to identify themselves as alcoholics, through comparing their lives to those in the stories. The storyline also provides a basis for labeling others, as others compare the lives of suspected alcoholics to the AA lives. Third, the AA story is a tool of subjectivity, a �p.ediat:ing-.de¥-iG€ for s�standing: As the AA member learns the AA story model, by listening to and telling stories, and comes to place the events and experi­ences of his own··· life into the model, he learns to understand his own�l.ife1 as an AA life, and himself as an AA alcoholic. The .l'ersonal_st"l}'_!s_a cultural vehicle for identity formation.

      Storytelling is among the oldest traditions we have to pass on cultural norms - here AA is using that format to encourage members and prospects to identify with each other and see their own lives in each other's stories.

    8. his transformation takes place througl:l rei11_terpret�ion, as_.'!'<:"lber_u<>_m� to 11nders�nd thatthdrpasts have b�en a progr�ssion ofalcoholi£ d,:lllk!!lg_;md_alco­holic -behj.vfor.

      Emphasis on the fluidity and process of identity formation

    9. identity reconstitu��Q11- i!l AA. takes place through reinterpreta-tion ()(self and of one'slif�, and that the major ve!ITCTefonhi:Sremferpretation_IS-illeAA persg11�1 story

      Key piece - formation of a new identity. With reinterpreation comes the element of accountability to oneself, as well as the in-group and newcomers of the figured world

    10. This is why, as members often say, "AA is for those who want it, not for those who need it." AA members must agree to become tellers, as well as listeners, of AA stories.

      Entering into the AA figured world as a "non drinking alcoholic" must be an intentional choice.

      I'm curious though what the authors would say about close family and friends of "non drinking alcoholics" - do you need to form an identity as such to enter (struggling with word choice here) a specific figured world?

    11. There are therefore two aspects important to membership in AA: qualification as an alcoholic, based on ones past, and continued non-drinking behavior, or effort at not drinking, which is a . ne ation of the behavior that first qualified one for membership.J

      Self-Identification, can't form identity based off other people's experiences, realities (hitting rock bottom and becoming motivated versus family/friends requesting person to join AA).

      for "non drinking alcoholics) - the identity is formed as a response, it's reactionary

    12. 1_3tiid�ll�!.tz" Jn<::��ll:'_"'.ay a E::��."�.�'.'i<:rst� himself, an� is often viewed by others, at leasUru;main situatigps-a ��Q_Q:[§eTt. ih�i�<in�be:taidy���;;;;;:,tly-aehie,ve�

      Clear definition of identity - culturally, contextually situated

    13. Alcoholics are a labeled group of people who behave inappropriately after drinking alcohol.

      I don't understand this - labeled by others after acting "inappropriately" AFTER drinking? I feel like the label is more contingent on the act or habit of drinking, rather than only after... Guess this speaks to the disagreements and lack of a clear definition of alcoholism

    14. No distinct line runs between "so­cial" or "normal" drinker and "problem drinker" or "alcoholic," and different sectors of U.S. society do not agree on what these terms mean.

      Connects to Goodenough in the previous chapter: that there is no uniform, constant, or coherent set of meanings that applies equally in every situation. It must be situated culturally and contextually.

    15. S�the defi!lition of an alcoholic is not agreed upon in the wider society, arriving at this i�t�;:pretatlon -�revent�-is-a process negotiated between the drinker and fhose arouncrller-:1\A stories provide a set of_c:riteria by which the al�o­lioliccailbeTclentified.

      Who defines these criteria?

    16. Our identities are not just shaped by our knowledge and interpretations, but how our knowledge plays off of cultural knowledge. The reading claims that for some "self-understanding" is transformed. Is this creating prototypical members of this group?

    17. but his self as an alcoholic.

      Is AA the figured world and alcoholic is the identity? So this means once one become a member of AA, they take on a new identity as well

    18. He does not figure his life in AP!s terms. He views AA as a measure to take when things get really bad. He does not share the set of values and distinctions that unites other AA members. The identity of "alcoholic" does not affect his actions, or his perceptions of self, beyond his drinking behavior.

      Andrew seems conflicted by his figured worlds. Though he acknowledges his alcoholism it is not how he identifies. For Hank, AA became a surrogate family (by way of his descri[tions of "Who am I?"). Andrew, though lonely, does not allow AA to serve that purpose for him. Is it a self fulfilling prophecy of lonliness that he is holding on to? An identity he wants to cling to?

    19. The stories are used in what is simultaneously a social and a cognitive and affec­tive, personal process. In the process of identity formation, the AA mem­ber undergoes a kind of reorientation in her self-understandings, a de­tachment from identities subsisting in other figured worlds, followed by the reconstitution-a process not only of learning but also of valu­ation, indeed elevation-of an identity predicated within A& world. She accomplishes this transition primarily by reinterpreting her life as an AA story.

      I am intrigued by the example of AA members as they are adopting an identity without the traditional role models, ex: teachers, parents, peers.

  17. newclasses.nyu.edu newclasses.nyu.edu
    1. This context of flux is the ground for identity development. It sets the conditions for what we called in Chapter 2 the authoring self-what in Chapter 8 we will expand to call the "space of authoring."

      Within the theoretical frame of figured worlds, this looks to give space for individual/shared agency.

    2. Figured worlds are evinced in practice through the artifacts employed by people in their performances.

      I think this is fascinating and very interesting, but also that it is missing the other people included in a given context. I think both, together, are what help form the identity

    3. These socially generated, culturally figured worlds, many linguists believe, are necessary for understanding the meaning of words.

      I read this and I think, "what came first the chicken or the egg?"

      Can you have worlds if you don't have words to define them? Can anyone have an identity if we have no words to use to describe our identities?

    4. nipnll!ted JQ__p..Q)nt to other social feelings

      It is being weird with the highlighting. What I want to highlight is "Meanings are manipulated to point...to participation in that scene. I think it is important to note here that a child's choice to engage in a particular environment/scene is also based on previous knowledge of the situation.

    5. continual participation

      This idea of embodiment through continual participation is a theme that runs throughout all of the readings - and also connects back to LPP.

      The learner only becomes a master of a figured world by immersing themselves in it, first peripherally, and then more and more actively (see the descriptions in chapter 4 about the development of individual's AA story). Ultimately, if successful, they come to identify with the world and see themselves as a part of it.

    6. lt. Discourse (or discursive) theory emphasizes many of the aspects of cultural resources that we discu

      Cultural artifacts don't need to be material - pronouns as artifacts (example of ta/you). I'm thinking more about pronouns as artifacts, I'm curious what the authors would have to say about communities creating their own gender neutral pronouns in response to the gender binary (examples: ne, ve, ze, xe). Imagining and creating artifacts into being, learned within social interaction

    7. the as-if character of possibility that marks fields (and figured worlds) is not an indifferent, "mental" abstrac-tion1 an "imaginary" in its usual sense, but a social rea"!!ty that lives within by relations of power.

      I'm excited to see more discussion about power and privilege in these chapters - I felt like this has been lacking in previous readings

    8. There is, Goodenough con-no uniform, conslstf.nt, or coherent set of meanings-no "cul-ture"-that applies equally in every activity.

      Reminds me of the need for culturally responsive pedagogy - the teaching curriculum v. learning curriculum

    9. Identities

      Identities as products(?) of participation in figured worlds, thus identities are representative of larger sociohistorical circumstances.

    10. They remain multiple, as people's trajectories through figured worlds neither take one path nor remain in the ambit of one cultural space, one figured world

      Identities will change, depending on the figured worlds one encounters.

    11. of social positions defined only against one an-other

      Social positions don't exist alone, the comparison to others informs the social position (you can't have a king without any subjects) and social positions greatly affect one's identity

    12. Cultural schemas or cultural models are stereotypical distillates, gen-eralizations from past experience that people make. They are akin to what Crapanzano (1990), speaking about the processes that maintain the self in continual change, calls "arrests"-representations of self at a particular time that people try to reassert, even under new conditions.•

      I think it is necessary to be grounded in some practices and habits, and repeated, somewhat predictable, responses in order to form an identity.

    13. The conceptual importance of figured worlds has been emphasized in anthropology for some time. Hallowell (1955a) argued that individuals live in worlds that are culturally defined and understand themselves in relation to these worlds. In a classic article, :'The Self and Its Behavioral Environment," he n

      Can you live any other way?

    14. It is certainly not divorced from these happen-ings, but neither is it identical to the particulars of any one event. l!.1§Jm_ abstraction, an extractio

      Sounds like "schema" from the psychology world.

    15. It is this compe-tence that makes possible culturally coustituted or figure-d consequently, the range of human (1985) points out the cleilnue lmk between Play worlds-and institutional life. Fantasy an game play serve as precursors to participation in an institutional life, where individuals are treated as scholars, bosses, or at-risk children and events such as the granting of tenure, a corporate raid, and the self-es-teem of at-risk children are taken in all seriousness. But to see imagina-tion extended so is simply to recognize that it pervades cultural life.

      Children role-play, mimicking roles they are familiar with. This is true for adults as well. People get into realtionships that are familiar to them, like abused people with an abusive partner. This is a strong case for modeling. It's interesting that the figured world, though threatening, becomes so much a part of their identity that they maintain it rather than avoid it.

  18. newclasses.nyu.edu newclasses.nyu.edu
    1. We believe this key transition that occurs in both schemes is best recast as identification-the formation of a concept of self as an actor in the system.

      "culturally devised system" what everything seems to be coming down to

    2. nli.e less expert women tended to repeat the words and follow the direc-ons of others. They had less of an overview of romantic relationships; hey had to work harder to come up with responses to romantic situ-1 ations. Not surprisingly, those who were less identified with the world of romance, and for whom it was less salient, also were less expert in / JP.anaging relationships.

      This follows the structure of the AA story in chapter 4 - less experienced members first needed to hear others' stories and come to identify with the AA narrative before they could coherently tell their own story.

    3. Her feelings about socialites--and her distaste when she thought about herself as one-made ·identification with the world of romance at SU difficult for her.

      We often think about the things we want to identify ourselves with, but how many of our actions/decisions are shaped by avoiding identification with another group.

    4. For the women we studied, the cultural interpretation of romance became salient and compelling as their expertise with romantic relation-ships increased and as they came to form an engaging interpretation of themselves in the world of romance

      Within identity processes - reinterpreting the self and their location in the world

    5. This suggests that involvement-the salience of and identification with the cultural system of romance-codeveloped with expertise.

      Identity (and saliency of identity) is developed with expertise in a field. There are varying degrees of identity saliency - within multiple and simultaneous figured worlds.

    6. Those who ap-peared to be less knowledgeable or less expert closely copied and took direction from others, attended to relatively circumscribed aspects of relationships, and had difficulty generating possible responses to roman-tic situations.

      Participatory learning through observations (romance as an apprenticeship) - this identity as something that evolves

    7. ;, our neo-Vygotskian developmental approach, thoughts and feel-ings, will and motivation are formed as the individual develops. The individual comes, in the recurrent contexts of social interaction, to per-sonalize cultural resources, such as figured worlds, languages, and sym-bols, as means to organize and modify thoughts and emotions.

      definition of culture for this context - in contrast to other anthropological positions. Motivation is developed within social processes

    1. vǝ­oOĔí±ǝ ǝ/ǝǝ9ŸÑƍĶǝ œ$ǝ ǝ Zǝ  ǝǝ  ǝ3gǝu "ǝǝǝ "ǝ  ǝ ǝ    ǝǝ ǝǝǝ ƎƠƕř ǝ Fǝ ǝ ǝ ǝ ǝ ǝ   ^ǝ  ̧ǝ ǝÒ  $ǝ)į ǝǝ ǝ ǝ ǝǝ ǝǝ Gǝǝ  ǝ ¹ǝǝŎǝ  Ó ƱķůÔl·ǝĤÕ őƊŝ ŏ İŹǍǝ ǝ$ǝǝĥ ǝ    hǝQǝǝ ǝ&ƲƏŗŘDžŽß«ǜdžÖǝ‘Đ²ýú&sşƪǝƞlû‚ŖLJLj×ØŐǝĞƀljNJN

      Children role play, mimicking roles they are familiar with and that shapes their identity. This is true in adults as well. People get into relationships that are familiar to them...ex:the abused getting involved with an abusive partner. This makes a strong case for modeling.

    1. Another began to examine built forms as metaphors for complex social and symbolic relationships: the Irish country- men's "west room" (21) or the French peasant "parlour" (393).

      "complex social and symbolic relationships"

      touches on how we are giving an identity to what we have built around us; we've found a specific purpose for each thing.

    2. Another key area of research has focused on the relationship between individual or group identity and housing

      Depending on how many people are involved in the use of an area, the dynamics can change

    1. historical political boundaries of the native Americans

      We view the world in these simplified 2D representations of clearcut political entities. Fredrik Barth and Benedict Anderson have said quite a few important things about these issues of maps and boundaries.

    1. A very fundamental property to maintain in ontologies are the identity criteria. There is fundamental work by Nicola Guarino et al. about making ontological distinctions based on identity criteria, which led to the DOLCE ontology. For the Semantic Web, we must try ensure two things: a) that different parties see one thing as one, both at the same time and diachronically b) that things have well-defined properties.
    1. all representations have essentially the same information content. And what we mean by "essentially" allows in fact some wriggle room, and in the end it rests on a common understanding between publisher of the information and quoter of the URI. The sameness we are after is the sameness of information content. That is what is identified by the URI. That is why we say that the URI identifies that conceptual information content, irrespective of its particular representation: the conceptual work. Without that common understanding, the web does not work. Some people have said, "If we say that URIs identify people, nothing breaks". But all the time they, day to day, rely on sameness of the information things on the web, and use URIs with that implicit assumption. As we formalize how the web works, we have to make that assumption explicit.
    2. It demonstrates the ambiguity of natural language that no significant problem had been noticed over the past decade, even though the original author or HTTP , and later co-author of HTTP 1.1 who also did his PhD thesis on an analysis of the web, and both of whom have worked with Web protocols ever since, had had conflicting ideas of what the various terms actually mean.
    3. an HTTP URI may identify something with a vagueness as to the dimensions above, but it still must be used to refer to a unique conceptual object whose various representations have a very large a mount in common. Formally, it is the publisher which defines the what an HTTP URI identifies, and so one should look to the publisher for a commitment as to the exact nature of the identity along these axes.
  19. Jul 2015
    1. It’s the nature of Twitter to not research further, we all know, but if that nature is influencing the way we run museums, school lectures, and conferences, the future might be more bleak than any of us dared to predict.

      It would be worth interrogating what it is about "the nature of Twitter" that makes this so.

      I think it has to do with the intersection of a number of things:

      • 140 character limit
      • Broadcast and re-broadcast that de-couples the Tweet from the authorial context
      • Sub-tweeting and shaming as attire and slacktivism

      I'm sure that's only the surface.

  20. Jun 2015
    1. Most people reading this will already be fairly tolerant. But there is a step beyond thinking of yourself as x but tolerating y: not even to consider yourself an x. The more labels you have for yourself, the dumber they make you.

      The only counter-argument that comes to mind for me didn't form itself until I had read this last paragraph a few times.

      If your identity marker connotes tolerance then it hopefully has the opposite effect. Insofar as the experience of marginalization promotes empathy such identities might be good evidence for intelligence, and I do think individuals who feel oppressed or marginalized tend to empathize with others who suffer for different, marginalized identities.

      These identities will only breed stupidity if the individual feels a competition for scarce resources that overwhelms their empathy, whence the perniciousness of the belief in zero sum attention economics as a greater threat to activism than inaction, ignorance, and exhaustion.

  21. May 2015
    1. A path is not composed of positions. It is nondeeomposable: a dynamic unity, That comil/ulty of movement is of an order of reality other than the measurable, divisible space it can be con­ firmed as having crossed.

      Again...another instance in which identity/position is subordinated to movement and emergence. Placing the position before the movement result in logical aporias, but forgoing identity/position is to acknowledge movement.

    2. Gridlock

      I find myself thinking here about intersectionality, and about a certain critique of identity politics which seems to target those whose identities are marked. White men e.g. can critique and transcend the grid, while those whose positions in it are sites of political organizing are accused of reifying the grid. Not sure if Massumi is even in that neighborhood...

    3. Of course, a body occupying one position on the grid might succeed in making a move to occupy another position. In fact, certain normative progressions, such as that from child to adult, are coded in. But this doesn't change the fact that what defines the body is not the movement itself, only its beginning and endpoints. Movement is en­ tirely subordinated to the positions it connects. These are predefined. Adding movement like this adds nothing at all. You just get twO successive states: multiples of zero.

      This is very much like [go with me on this one] an organizational chart that breaks down an organization's hierarchy. All the nodes are specialized and individual (person/position) but the lines are all the same. Thus...movement (of succession/information designated by the connecting lines in that org structure) is elided in favor of positions/identities within that organization. Verbs are lost in favor of the nouns.

  22. Apr 2015
    1. There were actual politics at stake, and it would’ve been an ridiculously dangerous move to substitute identity affinities for political analysis.

      Yes!!! Reminds me of this quote from Graeber's "Democracy Project": https://instagram.com/p/tjcYY9Og32/?taken-by=tilgovi

  23. Nov 2014
    1. There is also no easy way of informing an author that someone has commented on his or her work, especially if he or she is not a Hypothes.is user.

      Yeah...tricky part is finding the author of a web page in the first place.

      Pondering

    2. Allowing users to submit more information about themselves will make communication easier.
  24. Sep 2014
    1. Starts off on a difficult foot by attempting to deny common conceptions about how advertising works, and even legitimizes their function, but comes full circle to strong indictment of the insidiousness of brand ubiquity.

    2. Avoiding ads doesn't help much either. Because brand images are part of the cultural landscape we inhabit, when we block ads or fast-forward through them, we're missing out on valuable cultural information, alienating ourselves from the zeitgeist. This puts us in danger of becoming outdated, unfashionable, and otherwise socially hapless. We become like the kid who wears his dad's suit to his first middle-school dance.

      Unless you accumulate friends who also avoid ads, who think you're less cool for having allowed yourself to be exposed to them or for deploying them too conspicuous as social signaling, at least when that brand is not favored by that scene. Ironically, of course, most scenes are simply favoring different brands, because it's hard to accumulate any significant set of material trappings that aren't branded.

    3. If I decide I want to be more outgoing, I could just print a personalized ad for myself with the slogan "Be more social" imposed next to a supermodel or private jet, or whatever image of success or happiness I think would motivate me the most.

      The issue with this straw person is that there's a very real repulsion people experience at perceiving themselves being manipulated. Advertising works best when we aren't thinking much about its effects.

    4. Cultural imprinting is the mechanism whereby an ad, rather than trying to change our minds individually, instead changes the landscape of cultural meanings — which in turn changes how we are perceived by others when we use a product. Whether you drink Corona or Heineken or Budweiser "says" something about you. But you aren't in control of that message; it just sits there, out in the world, having been imprinted on the broader culture by an ad campaign.

      Yes! Whence the emotional inception. If you don't buy that product that says you're super cool you are then filled with anxiety about whether you're cool. Etc.

      What's being described here isn't some other way in which advertising works other than emotional inception, it's the mechanism of that inception.

  25. Aug 2014
    1. Of course, the radical feminist position that masculinity is natural and healthy, and femininity artificial and harmful, is also inherently sexist

      Of course. That's an important theme. It's as though it's being suggested here that radical feminists chose this view, when I think it's more correct to say that they are reacting to it.

    2. In contrast, she mentions and quotes a total of four trans women (zero from books), and two of them are quoted to supporting the radical feminist position.

      Might one argue that since these feminists feel their fight has been co-opted and, despite the many ways trans individuals are less assured of their safety and rights than cis women, the radical feminist is actually the more oppressed insofar as identity politics has left them behind? In which case, might we celebrate that time is given to this minority rather than criticize the piece for being one-sided?

    3. frequently providing physical descriptions

      I count only three instances, none of which are offensively dwelling on appearance in the way that media often is scrutinizing women's bodies. One of these descriptions is particularly well meaning: it is given only to color the story of abandoned transition with the image of hormone-induced stubble. To mention that there are physical descriptions of any of the activists in the piece here is obvious pandering.

  26. May 2014
  27. Feb 2014
    1. the Persians claim Asia for their own, and the foreign peoples that inhabit it; Europe and the Greek people they consider to be separate from them.

      Hdt. 1.4 The Persians separate themselves distinctly as people of Asia from the people in Europe.