Adam Blatner

Words and Images from the Mind of Adam Blatner

Table of Contents:

Autobiographical

Ego-Centricity

Have you noticed? Other people let you down, clearly because they don’t care for you enough to really try! But this is mistaken often because: (1) we believe they should try. (The idea that they don’t care is too far to be considered a possibility). Or maybe (2) they are trying but can’t (the idea […]

Equality? Wow.

I hadn’t been aware that I had been harboring elitist sentiments until a Unitarian church service that valorized sports. Then I realized that I had subconsciously thought of my own interests as superior—but when I looked again, I realized that a theme that is no interest to 75% of the people is hardly superior in […]

Expanded Identity (Beyond Reality)

One of my many facets is not entirely human; really more elfin. One might phrase it as Adam is coming out of the closet as an elf—or at least partly an elf. There’s another part of me that goes by the name of Herb, who is a bit slow and socially impaired. Most of me […]

Expanding Ur Life

For those who might want to enjoy and expand their perspectives, check out the other web-blog postings on this site. (For those as busy as my wife, never mind. Who has time?) For those who are in-between and want something more substantial than the boob tube to stimulate their mind, I volunteer to be your […]

Experimentations

David is here! Yikes! Hide! Seriously, we’re experimenting with what I can do on my computer. Wowsie Woozy is the sprite of astonishmentality. He looks something like this: Isn’t this something? Sometimes I call upon him to as it were underline what’s up, exclaim appropriately at the wondrousness of it all. Now I can use […]

Explaining “Dimensionality”

I call my theory of reality, my metaphysics,  “dimensionality.” The word suggests that some things are better understood as operating at different dimensions. Thus, some truths are best understood as applying to certain dimensions, and there is “more-yet” that is so at a higher dimension. For example, consider solid geometry. In dealing with a sphere, […]

Far From Decrepit

Interesting word, decrepit. I realized at 79.3 that I’m approaching it, decrepitude, but really hardly. I took a class over the last month called “A Matter of Balance” that focused on ageing and falling. And it’s true that I feel less ambitious to attend all sorts of conferences. But I’ve been folk dancing pretty steadily […]

Feeling That I’ve Really Lived

If I think about it, I have indeed really lived. Curiously, I don’t often feel this way. Indeed, I have a mild neurotic complex that suggests gently in feeling tones that I haven’t. Thank goodness, it’s very mild: I’m pretty well balanced; but I’m cleaning up mild complexes. It never ends, you know. At times […]

Final Letter

I thought I’d post this now because in the future I may be too forgetful, preoccupied, or disabled  to do this. So (possibly way in advance): It was great, and now I’m finished. Thanks for all you’ve all done. Most of you have been friends who’ve helped me.  Admittedly, some few of you haven’t liked […]

Folk Dance Sprites

Life as we know it is infused with vital energies from the cosmic ground of being, and humans tend to anthropomorphize, to personify, to imagine these as gods and angels, faeries and sprites. Of late (the last 300 years) we have moved towards de-animating life, making it more a machine, blind forces that have no […]

Folk Dancing as Soul Celebration

One of my goals is to encourage people to re-own their participation in the arts, in drama, singing, the visual arts, poetry, various kinds of dancing and movement, all in a spirit of play. These are powerful vehicles for vitality and authentic self-expression. Ballroom dancing (learning cool steps!), square dancing (also called “friendship put to […]

Folk Songs

I was lucky enough to live through the era of folk songs and learned thousands of songs, folk songs, kids’ songs, ballads, funny songs, rounds, Broadway tunes, etc. Although the cartoon strip portrays an old geezer in a nursing home, most of the old geezers I know are independent! They live on farms, are still […]

FOMO Comments

This came across my “desk” in the mail, and I mostly agree: Have you heard the acronym FOMO?  It stands for “Fear of Missing Out,” and a popular hashtag. Personally, I’m not sure I ever experienced FOMO, even in my younger years, but I know now, with age, I feel entirely justified in my lack […]

Fruit of the Soul

I like mandalas, and this one by Leslie Kell titled “Fruit of the Soul” appeared on the cover of a little magazine titled Austin All Natural in August, 2012. The lower figure shows an enlarged view of the center of this piece. Lovely, and I want to acknowledge Ms? Kell as one of many who […]

Further Evidence of Paradise

Well, if not paradise, it’s pretty great to us. My home town of Georgetown, Texas, north of Austin, in the middle of the state, has been listed as one of the 10 best American suburbs.  We’ve been here about 14 years, at Sun City, Texas.

Gary Larson, Cartoonist

This is the non-anniversary of Gary Larson’s retirement, which was around December 1994. Gee, it occurs to me that many people have grown quite up without knowing about this wonderful cartoonist. He introduced a madcap style of  cartooning that has been followed by others. When he left I felt bereft, but I just found two […]

Gathering Thoughts

It has been a busy month: My wife Allee and I presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama (ASGPP). I offered a plenary talk that reminded folks that these approaches are not only about psychotherapy, even though I acknowledged and honored that realm of application. Indeed, it is […]

Gemeinschaftsgefuehl

This mouthful translates from the German, a feel for the togetherness-group, a social club. Alfred Adler, the individual psychologist and physician, used this term as the pro-social alternative to egotistic competition, trying to be one up. He saw it as the primary alternative to neurosis—and I agree. “I get to help” is one of my […]

Geometry

For a while I was into geometry. Contemplating geometry was amazing! Mind-Expanding! So G’d’s glory is there implicit in everything! I’m not talking about the literal G-d of the Bible, of Jewish, then Christian history, but the Beyond-the-Beyond, the Becoming Everything. True, the mystics in the Western religions intuited this, but then re-folded this intuition […]

Getting a Shot

When I was little I was sickly and saw the doctor, it seemed, a lot. When I saw this peanuts cartoon I was strangely touched. I don’t remember hollering like this, but I sure do remember asking a lot of questions. It occurs to me that I wasn’t able to keep the anxiety hidden all […]

Getting Older

What an interesting journey. I’m lucky to have a very intelligent woman whom I love dearly—my wife, Allee—join me in reflecting on what’s it all about, and more, how shall we play it. It’s enormously complicated, but two themes emerge promi-nently: divesting, also known as lightening up, and downsizing. Part of me strug-gles against this: […]

Getting on Someone’s “List”

I was just solicited for a role that I’ve dropped almost two years ago, and really moved away from in the decade or more before that. It’s so easy to get on some-one’s list! That associates to phone solicitations, too. Although I’m gradually disconnecting from professional involvements, they are not disconnecting from me. But it […]

Getting Ready to Move to California

All has been a-flurry! We sold our house in Sun City Texas and are planning to move to mid-coastal California, San Luis Obispo, half-way between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The railroad stops there, and we hope to use it more. So much “stuff” to pack. It’s our precious treasures! It’s our crap! It’s mixed. […]

Getting Sick, Getting Better

In the first few weeks of January I had a cold (not a flu) that still depleted my energy and appetite and even after the respiratory symptoms cleared up after about 2 weeks I have felt draggy. But more, I’ve felt that everything seems too much, a bit overwhelming, a steep hill. There’s been a […]

Goals for Now (and 2013)

I just asked a friend, “what are you trying to achieve at this point in your life?” Then realized: What a question! Ask it of yourself! So here I offer some provisional answers: 1. Love my beloved wife, Allee, and give her a wonderful life; and enjoy being with her as she becomes ever happier. […]

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