Eps 60: The Science of the Imagination and Fascination

boating

This week Spark My Muse has hit a milestone. 30 episodes of Soul School and 60 regular Episodes! It also marks a big shift for things moving forward. The show will be far more collaborative and listener-driven.

This week, I have posed some specific questions for listeners/supporters to help decide some new and  important directions and decisions for the show. More questions will follow in the weeks to come. To participate, co-create, collaborate, give input, make suggestions, and be a part of this new era, put some skin in the game. It only takes $1 and you can make BIG difference.

Decide on guests, events, swag, and a lot more. You make the calls.

Ready? Here’s the link.


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This week, I welcome Jim Davies, an associate professor at the Institute of Cognitive Science at Carleton University. He is the Director of the Science of Imagination Laboratory, and the Author of “Riveted: The Science of Why Jokes Make Us Laugh, Movies Make Us Cry, and Religion Makes Us Feel One with the Universe.”

You can share an audio snippet by clicking the red and white clammer logo below.


 

SHOW NOTES

MIN 1:20
Where do the pictures in our visual imagination come from?

Do blind people have a visual memory?

MIN 6:00
The literal details and the meaning and symbol parts of the brain

Can computers imagine or learn to?

MIN 9:30
3D Environments

Neuro modeling simulation of thoughts and imagination.

MIN 14
Jim’s book called “Riveted”

Rules of art form and folk wisdom are they backed by science?

Cognitive science of religion and why we find anything interesting.

MIN 19
The genetics behind the desire for connecting with something greater.

MIN 22:00
What surprised him most in his research?
60% of religiosity is determined.

MIN 23:00
Groups that have religion outcompete groups that don’t
Moral code so you don’t cheat your neighbors.
Pro-social.

The Kibbutz secular vs religious

Prayer and meditation helps you cope with stress.

MIN 27
Why jokes make us laugh.
Social signals about danger.

MIN 28
about why offensive jokes might be funny

LINK TO SPARK MY MUSE
EPISODE 30 on the Science of humor
WITH NEUROSCIENTIST Dr VINOD GOEL

MIN 30
Our brain doesn’t really sense what is fiction or reality 100%

The “Finding Nemo” story

36:00
Jim’s TEDx talks

37:30
Planning bias and completion times


 

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Eps 59: Desire and Rhythm of Life – Return Guest Shane Tucker


On Sunday April 24 Spark My Muse will be 1 year old!
HOORAY!
Thank you to everyone who has helped by listening, with encouragement, and with gifts to keep the Spark My Muse show going.bestcake

To celebrate there will be some very interesting things happening in the….
#weekofSPARKle —stay tuned!

Want to send a small birthday gift?
Click to give, the baby Spark a present.


 Today, I have a return guest!
My soul friend, Shane Tucker.
He has a new book and you can get it free.
Today we converse about it and Irish culture
–two fire-makers are sparking things…what’s not to love?

Scroll down for essential links and show notes.

Shane-@-Ross-2012-M


SHOW NOTES

MIN 1

Shane is an Anglican Priest and Soul Friend – a fire-maker of souls – sparking fire for souls!

“Being a best friend you’ve always wanted.”

• Link to my 1st episode with Shane (if you haven’t heard it yet)

Rhythm of Life book link

Intersection of Arts, Faith and Culture

MIN 5

Dreamers of the Day

MIN 6:30

Classic Principles (walk with me)

Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience

MIN 9:30

Distinctive Practices (work with me)

Two Distinct calls of Jesus:

Walk with me & Work with me

MIN 12:00

Photography in the book

and introspective questions within the book

Stirring desire which is fuel for the journey.

The good, the true, and the beautiful

MIN 15:30

Selfish or corrupted life practices

Dallas Willard

VIM

• Vision

• Intention

• Means (resources and tools -practices and disciplines/space makers for God to rush in)

The process of transformation.

MIN 19

Abundant life and freedom

MIN 20

Offering what little we have up to God and into the world.

MIN 22

Dream Out Loud (book)

…is about the 2nd call on our lives building for the Kingdom of God.

Ode by Arthur O’Shaughnessy

Ode

We are the music makers,

And we are the dreamer of dreams,

Wandering by lone sea-breakers,

And sitting by desolate streams;

World-losers and world-forsakers,

 

On whom the pale moon gleams:

Yet we are the movers and shakers

Of the world for ever, it seems.

With wonderful deathless ditties,

We build up the world’s great cities,

 

And out of a fabulous story

We fashion an empire’s glory:

One man with a dream, at pleasure,

Shall go forth and conquer a crown;

And three with a new song’s measure

Can trample an empire down.

 

We, in the ages lying

In the buried past of earth,

Built Nineveh with our sighing,

And Babel itself with our mirth;

And o’erthrew them with prophesying

To the old of the new world’s worth;

For each age is a dream that is dying,

Or one that is coming to birth.

 

A breath of our inspiration

Is the life of each generation;

A wondrous thing of our dreaming

Unearthly, impossible seeming —

The soldier, the king, and the peasant

Are working together in one,

Till our dream shall become their present,

And their work in the world be done.

 

They had no vision amazing

Of the goodly house they are raising;

They had no divine foreshowing

Of the land to which they are going:

But on one man’s soul it hath broken,

A light that doth not depart;

And his look, or a word he hath spoken,

 

Wrought flame in another man’s heart.

And therefore to-day is thrilling

With a past day’s late fulfilling;

And the multitudes are enlisted

In the faith that their fathers resisted,

 

And, scorning the dream of to-morrow,

Are bringing to pass, as they may,

In the world, for its joy or its sorrow,

The dream that was scorned yesterday.

But we, with our dreaming and singing,

Ceaseless and sorrowless we!

The glory about us clinging

 

Of the glorious futures we see,

Our souls with high music ringing:

O men! it must ever be

That we dwell, in our dreaming and singing,

A little apart from ye.

For we are afar with the dawning

 

And the suns that are not yet high,

And out of the infinite morning

Intrepid you hear us cry —

How, spite of your human scorning,

Once more God’s future draws nigh,

And already goes forth the warning

That ye of the past must die.

 

Great hail! we cry to the comers

From the dazzling unknown shore;

Bring us hither your sun and your summers;

And renew our world as of yore;

You shall teach us your song’s new numbers,

And things that we dreamed not before:

Yea, in spite of a dreamer who slumbers,

And a singer who sings no more.

 

A wondrous thing of our dreaming,

Unearthly, impossible seeming-

The soldier, the king, and the peasant

Are working together in one,

Till our dream shall become their present,

And their work in the world be done.

 

And therefore today is thrilling,

With a past day’s late fulfilling.

And the multitudes are enlisted

In the faith that their fathers resisted,

And, scorning the dream of tomorrow,

Are bringing to pass, as they may,

In the world, for it’s joy or it’s sorrow,

The dream that was scorned yesterday.

 

For we are afar with the dawning

And the suns that are not yet high,

And out of the infinite morning

Intrepid you hear us cry-

How, spite of your human scorning,

Once more God’s future draws nigh,

And already goes forth the warning

That ye of the past must die.

 

Great hail! we cry to the corners

From the dazzling unknown shore;

Bring us hither your sun and your summers,

And renew our world as of yore;

You shall teach us your song’s new numbers,

And things that we dreamt not before;

Yea, in spite of a dreamer who slumbers,

And a singer who sings no more.

 

MIN 25:30

The book title’s connection to the band U2

Streets Have No Name

Always

MIN 27

Hope in Irish culture and in the music. The folk music expresses sadness and joy together.

MIN 29:30

JRR TOLKEIN

eucatastrophe 

“ a good undoing”

a joy that brings tears–a sudden glimpse of truth.

MIN 32

The Trips Shane Guides to Ireland

Featuring ancients stories, heroes, and revered saints, landmarks, pubs, and historic features.

Find Shane on Twitter:

@dreamingbig

His website: artistsoulfriend.com

EPS 46: Community Life and The Power of Confession (part 2)

As promised this is the part 2 with Tammy Perlmutter about Communal Life. Below are photos from Tammy.

To hear PART 1, click HERE.

Listeners asked questions about the particulars of communal life and I had questions too. Tammy and I recorded another episode and we also discuss the terrifying and powerful concept and discipline of confession in a way you may not have heard before.

This is a good one!

• Scroll for the detailed show notes by the minute, and please, please, please, share this episode with others!


SPARK MY MUSE is a twice-weekly broadcast!

Friday episodes are longer conversational ones with guests. Find the full list here.

Wednesday episodes are shorter, potent ones called “Soul School” with homework for you overachievers–you know who you are. Find the full list here.

Spark-LIVE: Catch some of the Spark LIVE-as-it-happens. The LIVE discussions with friends, viewers, and guests are on interesting topics about 3 times per month. They are great. Catch the Replays you may miss here at the website.

• To join in for the LIVE events you Sign up HERE; (YES they are FREE).
BUT! follow me on Twitter for links and info too. (Some discussions are listed elsewhere with with colleagues on their accounts and not on mine, so I’ll tweet out links.)

Show Notes

Tammy Perlmutter is a talented creator who lives (along with her husband and daughter) with the intentional community of Jesus People USA, a commune of Christians that dates back over 40 years.

tammy

MIN 2:
Q: What is the hardest part about living in community for people who first come to live with you?

MIN 4:
Q: How does the “common purse’ work? Can you make your own money and keep it for things you want to do or must everything you make go into the common purse?

MIN 8:
Q: How are conflicts dealt with?

MIN 10:
Q: How do shared meals, food, and cleaning work?

MIN 13:
Q: Personally, what is the hardest part about living in community and what’s the best part?

MIN 15:
Q: What are the main challenges and needs within the communal setting?

MIN 17:
Our Lady of the Mississippi Abby, Dubuque, Iowa.

Being an oblate near Chicago.

ladyofMissi

MIN 21:
On being downwardly mobile and simplifying things, and considering the essentials in our lives and relationships.

MIN 26:
On why Tammy started writing.

MIN 30:
Cornerstone Magazine 

MIN 32:30
Explaining “the gift of going first”

MIN 37:30
“Confession feels like a fever breaking.” (Lisa)

Jean Vanier

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

MIN 39: The power of confession to create breakthroughs.

“Confession is discipleship.”

Creating trust and community.

Depression and sin dissipate when exposed to community and life together.

MIN 44:
Tammy’s final thoughts on community. Being, not just doing.

MIN 48:
The invitation to those of us not living in communal situations.

PHOTO COLLAGE from TAMMY:

Jesus People USA is a self-sustaining , tent-making community. We support our home, church, and ministries through businesses we have created.

Jesus People USA: A church & an intentional community, living together, creating a place to discover who you are and to be challenged to live an authentic life in Christ.

Wilson Abbey: Community. Faith. Art. Concert venue, theater, art gallery, conference center in Uptown, Chicago.

JPUSA Internships: 3-12 month internships in specific businesses and ministries.

Group Missions: Bring your small group, church, youth group, family!

Cornerstone Community Outreach: Homeless shelter

The Rummage Room: A re-sale boutique whose proceeds go entirely towards Cornerstone Community Outreach.

Uptown Tent City: Providing protection, support, and material needs for homeless living under the viaducts in Uptown.

Zeppelin Design Labs: Avant-Garde Audio and Electronic Products.

Grrr Records:The home of Glenn Kaiser, GKB, The Crossing, Leper, Aracely, Exegesis, Resurrection Band (aka Rez), Anti-World System, and many others.

Everybody’s Coffee: Professionally-trained baristas devoted to making delicious, soul-warming, fresh brewed fair-trade coffee and urban artisan baked goods.

 

Nine3Nine CreativeA web and graphic design business doing top quality, cutting edge work. 

Belly Acres Designs: High-quality screen printing.
Deeply Rooted: A Gathering. A one-day faith and creativity gathering in Chicago for women, taking place in May and November.
 
Photos:
#1 Worship

#2 Fellowship

#3 Work

#4 Social Justice

#5 Art

#6 Music

1.JPWorshipCollage

2.

JPFellowshipCollage

3.JPFellowshipCollage

4.JPJusticeCollage

5.

JPArtCollage

6. JPMusicCollage


Dear listener,

What did you think about this episode?

• Have you too been guilty of ditching situations, relationships, and people when things get messy, uncomfortable, or inconvenient?

• What has helped you live a more authenticity community-minded life?

• You can share your thoughts at the Spark My Muse group page here.
If this topic interests you, listen to the episode with activist Shane Claiborne who started the intentional inner city community in Philadelphia called The Simple Way. HEAR that here. 

The Many Lives of the Hippest Street in America

What if YOU lived on the coolest street in America?

Ada Calhoun writes for the New York Times, (and has written for O magazine, The New Republican, The Atlantic, and Cosmopolitan, among others). She grew up as the daughter of 1960s Bohemians who came to live in the East Village during the Bob Dylan era.

Maybe the most ubiquitous thing about the most famous (and infamous) hip section of New York City is how commonly people declare that it’s not as cool as it was before. And strangely, there’s a 100 year- history of just that thing.

Calhoun researched the 400 year history of New York in the St Marks area and she has written a fascinating book called St Marks is Dead which is an excellent commentary on the idea of “cool” as well as a glimpse into one of the most culturally powerful streets in the U.S.

Ada Calhoun / Author
Ada Calhoun / Author

Her book “St Marks is Dead” can be found here.


A peek at The East Village

SHOWNOTES:

MIN 1:00
The background for her article that went viral “The Wedding Toast I’ll never Give”

1:30
Realism for love and marriage.

2:30
The “and yet” philosophy of paradox in life and love.

3:00
The big flight fight.

4:00
Ada’s mother says, “The way you stay married is you don’t get divorced.”

5:00
The marriage “toolbox” for staying together only had a bent screwdriver and tweezers.

6:30
How her parents’ marriage defied the odds.

6:50
Thinking of a spouse as “family”.

8:00
Thinking of marriage, not as a dating phase, but as becoming family.

9:00
There’s going to be joy and pain both.

11:30
Ada’s parenting book about how you should ignore all the parenting books and look at your kid and figure out who they are, instead of worrying about being the perfect parent:
“Instinctive Parenting: Trusting Ourselves to Raise Good Kids”

12:00
On growing up as the child of 1960’s Bohemians of the Bob Dylan era in New York City’s East Village in the St Mark’s Place neighborhood and being one of the only kids in the neighborhood during a time when it was not child-friendly. (Many fires, the AIDS epidemic hit the area hard, drugs, junkies, homelessness and tent cities, prostitution were all nearby).

18:00
Working at the Austin Chronicle

19:00
On being a journalist in New York City

On her new book “St Marks is Dead: The Many Lives of America’s Hippest Street”

20:30 High rent, and neighborhood changes to St Marks Place cause people to wish for the way it was. They feel betrayed.

Ada researched and found that each generation had the same experience throughout the last century.

21:30
Malcolm Cowley: “Bohemia is always yesterday.”

22:00
What St Marks Place is like in 2015.

23:30
(Lisa) My first experience in New York City.

24:30
Complaining is the one constant in NYC neighborhoods.

25:30
Hippy boom, punk era, DIY art scene, then the GAP moved in in the late 1980s, then the tv show Kids era, then the Bloomsburg era.

26:30
Answering: Where in Manhattan is the artistic cultural hot spot now?

27:30
once a franchise moves in….

29:00
The franchises that opened and then closed in the East Village.

31:00
Places she recommends on St Marks Place. 3rd Avenue to Avenue A: 3 blocks that ends at Thomkins Square Park.

33:30
The median apartment costs more than a million dollars.

36:00
Neil Patrick Harris in Harlem and the upswing of that area.

37:00
Music, and art and going outside can happen in NYC public schools now.

39:00
What was St Marks Place like 400 years ago?

39:30
St Marks Place, the church, is the oldest place of continuous worship in New York City.

40:00
About the racial tension and the hippy priest in 1969, named Michael Allen who was kicked out of St Marks Place.