A World of Possibilities

Always loved this idea – a world of possibilities, and now, it has exploded.  Yes, exploded for me.  My understanding of world is so much larger.

I am taking a course from Princeton University, through coursera.org, delivered by David Spergel – Imaging Other Worlds.  It was the title that initially lured me in and I am amazed that I have stayed.  It turns out to be a lot of mathematical equations and scientific principles, which quite frankly I would normally run away from.  However, David Spergel, is amazing.  I am captivated, challenged and more curious than ever.

For a quick overview, a 54 minute video go to www.pbs.org/nova.   Yes, 54 minutes and I hope you are as enthralled with the journey as I am.

Imaging Other Worlds has really made me ponder how limited my thinking can be. 

            What I don’t know, I don’t see. 

Yes, I see stars in the night sky.  I am lucky enough to go out with an Astronomy Group here in Oman to view the night skies through some very powerful telescopes.  But even this did not prepare me for the wonders of the Universes - millions of star and millions of planets.  I was still understanding Science from my school days and seeing only our sun and our solar system.  This has completely changed. 

I remember as a University student being completely disenchanted with Sciences when I was told that it has now been proven that dinosaurs are warm blooded not cold blooded as I had been taught and believed.  At the time I was not ready to have my way of thinking of the world challenged or even worse, proven to be false!

            What I don’t know, I don’t see.

 Now I know there are millions of other planets, perhaps other life forms on these planets and even though I cannot see them I now envision them in my mind’s eye.  

            Is this where it starts?

Back to this earth.  If I can envision it , I can do it.  I can start today by throwing off my self-imposed limitations and see what might come forward.

I was out on a snorkeling and camping trip a few weekends ago.  Whilst happily snorkeling around a fairly quiet part of the Island I was suddenly taken aback.  It looked like a giant rope attached to a piece of coral.  I immediately stopped, sensing danger although not sure why.  This piece of rope scared me.  So I happily changed direction and snorkeled elsewhere.  Upon getting back to shore I asked the other snorkelers if they had seen the rope.  They informed me quite seriously it was not a piece of rope,  it was a very large jellyfish.  It could cause quite a bit of harm! 

    What I don’t know,  I don’t see!  Rope/jellyfish

Leads to another interesting question.  Ok, so there are many stars and planets up in the sky and many forms of life in the seas, all of which I am only starting to become aware of.  What else?  What is it in my everyday mundane existence that I don’t see.   What do I see only as what I expect to see? (rope/starfish)   Perspective is everything. 

Psychologist and author David Hawkins, in his book, Power versus Force, tells a story of a man dressed in ragged clothing, not shaven, standing on a street corner in a well to do neighborhood.  I may not have this exactly correct but here goes.  He tells us that how we see the world is how we see this man, it depends on our state of consciousness.  Here’s what I remember from the story.  If we have a state of lack/fear we see the man as an intruder, perhaps a robber, going to break into the homes and steal.  If we are in a state of love, we see him as a poor man who needs our help and sympathy.  We feel condolence, seeing him as someone less than ourselves who needs our help.  If we operate from a state of power, where everyone is equal, we see a man and wonder what kind of interesting stories he has.  Note, this is a different definition of power than is commonly held.

                                                                       Perspective  

 Redefine a world of possibilities by removing your self imposed limitations.  

What do you see?

Experience the Mystery

I booked a Mountain Crossing for the weekend hoping for a time away and refreshment.  I met Rebecca, tour manager and guide supremo, early in the morning for a quick coffee before the adventure began. For more info on Guide Oman http://www.facebook.com/TheGuideOman , great pictures of the trip posted here.   It was another sunny and warm day in Oman, very warm, the temperatures up in the high 40 degrees C this past week.  The mountains offer refreshing cooler temperatures in the summer.  Evenings can be as cool at 17 degrees C. WOW!

Met up with another 43 vehicles and our adventure began.  Up the first mountain, lunch, down the mountain and begin the ascent of the second mountain.  Stopping part way for the night, set up campsights, dinner and of course great conversations, music and a campfire.  And yes, I had to put on a shawl for warmth!

The following day offered “the experience of mystery”.  It began in the morning with some unusual company for breakfast.  We were visited by the beasts of the desert,  camels.   A small family arrived first, Mom, Dad and one child.  The young camel was quite frisky and we couldn’t get too near it.  Mom and Dad however allowed plenty of petting and pictures.

Then over the sand dune arrived a herd of five very people friendly camels.  They marched straight into the campsite!  Lots of petting and pictures again.  One of the camels eve discovered the buffet table and had to be chased away. 

Our visitors

Unfortunately the camels have been people acclimatized and are looking for the food offerings, not always the best food for camels.  The Omani owner of the camels arrived in his truck and monitored the interactions but stayed a fair distance away.   Camels are expensive animals and although they roam the sand dunes freely, the owners feed them ensuring their return each day.

Breakfast done, campsites packed up and camels headed home, we began our ascent down the second mountain.    

First stop,  Malis Al Jinn. 

From Wikidpedia:

Majlis al Jinn also Majlis al-Jinn (meeting/gathering place of the Jinn), local name: Khoshilat Maqandeli is the second largest  cave chamber in the world, as measured by the surface area of the floor. It ranks higher when measured by volume. The cave is located in a remote area of the Selma Plateau at 1,380 metres above sea level in the Sultanate of Oman, 100 km south-east from Muscat.  Majlis al Jinn had grown in popularity as a BASE jumping site.  Access to the cavern is only through a free descent of one of three vertical entrances in the ceiling, formed by water seeping through the weakened marly limestone in the zones of fracturing. The two largest entrances are called Asterisk (Khoshilat Beya Al Hiyool) and First Drop (Khoshilat Maqandeli), the smallest is Cheryl's Drop (Khoshilat Minqod).[4][7] Entrance depths:[3] Cheryl's Drop - 158.2 meters. Asterisk - 139.6 meters. First Drop - 118.0 meters.

Geologists put the age of the cave at 50,000,000 years. 

Majlis al Jinn, is also know as the Meeting Place of the Spirits.  Soon after we arrived, the local young boys arrived with their bags of Za’atar for sale, a local mountain grown herb of the species wild Thyme.  Za’atar is a very popular spice in the region and one of my favorites is Za’atar Croissants!

Next stop, the BeeHive Tombs, fascinating.

Wikipedia:

The earliest stone-built tombs which can be called "beehive" are in Oman, built of stacked flat stones which occur in nearby geological formations. They date to between 3,500 and 2,500 years BCE, to a period when the Arabian peninsula was subject to much more rainfall than now, and supported a flourishing civilisation in what is now desert, to the west of the mountain range along the Gulf of Oman. No burial remains have ever been retrieved from these "tombs", though there seems no other purpose for their building. They have only superficial similarities with the Aegean tombs (circular shape) as they are built entirely above ground level and do not share the same tripartite structure - the entrances are usually an undifferentiated part of the circular walling of the tomb.

A few of us entered one of the restored tombs through a small passageway.  Standing alone in the tomb, looking up at the sky through the opening at the top I felt surrounded with wonder.  Who used these tombs?  BC and before Islam?  Why here?  What was the purpose?  A few of the things we will never know for sure but the sense of wonder I experienced was very real.  It is like a shift in perception to a different reality, timeless and nameless.  Although it seemed like a long time it was only a short time. 

 Back to the present!

Can you see the villas?

We gathered and began our last descent.  Here we were treated to a spectacular view of a tiny villa nestled in the valley with Jebel Aswad (Black Mountain) as the backdrop.  The colors and natural beauty were breathtaking, beautiful and mysterious.  Standing amidst this natural beauty is good medicine for the soul.  For me it puts everything into perspective;  really, how big are my current problems!

Next leg of the journey took us through Wadi Tai’een, breathtaking scenery and flowing water.   A wadi is dry riverbed that only contains water during heavy rains or an intermittent stream.  Here playfulness was on the agenda.  Driving through small pools of water in the wadi and laughing as the 4x4 was covered by the spraying water!  Oh what fun connecting to the playful kid that is in each of us and allowing it to play!  Great fun!

Next a cool swim and lunch further down the wadi.  Everyone departed for their respective homes from here.

I loved this connection with the mystery of life in many ways on this trip. So much more than the original plan of refreshment.  

Life’ s like that!  Experience the mystery!

Universe or Multiverse

I just watched a TED talk by physicist, Janna Levin:

http://www.ted.com/talks/janna_levin_the_sound_the_universe_makes.html

Inspiring! Thought Provoking! And- for me- mostly Question Provoking!

On a recent trip to Kenya, on a wildlife safari, we were lucky enough to encounter eight lions resting in the sun after a recent feed of zebra. What unfolded in front of us was fascinating.

The hyenas approached and made a circle around the lions. Then the vultures came and made a circle around the lions. Everyone was waiting his or her turn. If they got a bit aggressive and made a move towards the carcass of the zebra, one of the lions would stand up and let them know it was not time yet. The hyena/s would retreat.

We passed by the same scene an hour later and there was an additional layer of complexity added. The zebras had gathered on the opposite side of the road and were stomping their feet to show their displeasure at the death of one of theirs.

It struck me that this scene was similar to the way our workplaces, communities, cities, countries and world are organized. A micro version of the macro complexity.

After watching Janna Levin’s TED Talk I wondered if the same applied to space. As the unknown becomes known, is it more of the same? Or will there be a new order?

So many questions, so few answers.....

As a coach I love the powerful question, the question that make me think/see things differently.

Can we move from our concept of a Universe to a Multiverse? Where does this take us? What new thinking do we need to survive in a Multiverse? Do we need new thinking?

I would love to hear your thoughts/questions on Multiverse. benita@coachbenita.com

Adventure in Oman

Another delightful day in Oman!

This time it was a sea adventure. Just a reminder that Muscat is built between the Al Hajar mountains and the Gulf of Oman, 60 km long and 5km wide. So pick your adventure! Mountains, desert, city or sea.

This day I was delighted to be part of a sailing adventure put on by Oman Sail. What a joyous renewal! Sailing was a big part of my life in Saskatchewan, Canada for many years. I owned a small dinghy and spent many weekends and holidays sailing the numerous lakes in Saskatchewan. I remembered the bliss of the wind on your face and the smell of the waters. Although this time it was salt water!

My sailor's legs were a big unsteady but the passion for sailing and the sea were as bright and vibrant as ever.

Thank you Oman Sail!

Thank you Women's Guild for organizing the day!

Thank you Lois for the pics!

And next......a mountain adventure

This picture is taken from the ruins of the ancient village of Fanja, about 20 minutes from Muscat. What a view - date palms, the new village and the mountain!

I was invited to tour the remains of this ancient village with two locals and a tour operator interested in eco-tourism. One of the locals was a wealth of information on the area. Fanja is fed by natural springs from mountains and is lush and beautiful. The tour operator (a lady) and I took the opportunity to try out the local bath embedded in the mountain. It was a hot spring on a very hot day but was so refreshing! One of the ladies from the village provided us with sweet cool water from the mountain springs. It was delicious and a life saver in the heat of the day!

This may one day be the Venice of Oman!

Once again I am filled with gratitude for this beautiful country and the amazing opportunity to live and work here.

"All experience, to borrow an expression of the mystics, is bounded by the boundless. Every step on our journey adds to what we know but it also reveals there is no end to knowing."

James P. Carse, Breakfast at the Victory