Kung Hei Fat Choi ~ Happy Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year

Year of the (Fire)Rooster

Chinese New Year, known in modern Chinese as the "Spring Festival" (simplified Chinese 春节; traditional Chinese 春節; Pinyin: Chūn Jié) in Mainland China, is an important Chinese festival celebrated at the turn of the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar. Celebrations traditionally run from the evening preceding the first day, to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first calendar month.

In the Gregorian calendar, Chinese Lunar New Year begins on the new moon that falls between 21 January and 20 February. In the Chinese calendar, winter solstice must occur in the 11th month, which means that Chinese New Year usually falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice (rarely the third if an intercalary month intervenes). In traditional Chinese Culture, lichun is a solar term marking the start of spring, which occurs about 4 or 5 February, which is the median date of Chinese New Year's Day. To determine whether a year has an intercalary month, one only needs to check whether Chinese New Year is within the month of January.

The New Year festival is centuries old and gains significance because of several myths and traditions. Traditionally, the festival was a time to honour deities as well as ancestors. Chinese New Year is celebrated in countries and territories with significant Chinese populations, including Mainland China, Hong Kong (officially as Lunar New Year), Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Mauritius.

Often, the evening preceding Chinese New Year's Day is an occasion for Chinese families to gather for the annual reunion dinner. It is also traditional for every family to thoroughly cleanse the house, in order to sweep away any ill-fortune and to make way for good incoming luck. Windows and doors will be decorated with red colour paper-cuts and couplets with popular themes of "good fortune" or "happiness", "wealth", and "longevity". Other activities include lighting firecrackers and giving money in red paper envelopes. Among about one-third of the Mainland population or 500 million Northerners, dumplings (especially those of vegetarian fillings) feature prominently in the meals celebrating the festival.

The traditional Chinese calendar follows a Metonic cycle (like the modern Jewish Calendar) and returns to the same date in Gregorian calendar roughly. The names of the Earthly Branches have no English counterparts and are not the Chinese translations of the animals. Alongside the 12-year cycle of the animal zodiac, there is a 10-year cycle of heavenly stems. Each of the ten heavenly stems is associated with one of the five elements of Chinese astrology, namely: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. The elements are rotated every two years while a yin and yang association alternates every year. The elements are thus distinguished: Yang Wood, Yin Wood, Yang Fire, Yin Fire, etc. These produce a combined cycle that repeats every 60 years.

The Rooster is tenth in the Chinese zodiac. Each year is related to an animal sign according to a 12-year cycle. Years of the Rooster include 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, and 2029.
2017 is a Fire Rooster year.
In Chinese element theory, each zodiac year is associated with one of five elements: Gold (Metal), Wood, Water, Fire, or Earth, which means that a Fire Rooster, for example, comes once every 60-year cycle.

The traditional Chinese calendar is organised around the movements of the moon.

Babies born in the new year, as well as those born in 1957, are fire roosters – said to be trustworthy and responsible with a good sense of timekeeping.
Roosters are said to be the most motivated animal in the Chinese zodiac and always put their careers first.

Babies born this year will be well suited to becoming a journalist, soldier or surgeon – according to traditional beliefs.

Families will wear brand new clothes, usually head-to-toe in red, to symbolise a new beginning and to ward off bad fortune.
Red envelopes containing money are often exchanged to scare away evil spirits.
The amount given must be an even number as odd numbers are associated with funerals.
To mark the new year grand fireworks displays will be held and Chinese people will set off firecrackers for several days.

The loud bangs are thought to ward off bad spirits.
Read more HERE and HERE

According to tales and legends, the beginning of the Chinese New Year started with a mythical beast called the Nian. Nian would eat villagers, especially children. One year, all the villagers decided to go hide from the beast. An old man appeared before the villagers went into hiding and said that he's going to stay the night, and decided to get revenge on the Nian. All the villagers thought he was insane. The old man put red papers up and set off firecrackers. The day after, the villagers came back to their town to see that nothing was destroyed. They assumed that the old man was a deity who came to save them. The villagers then understood that the Nian was afraid of the colour red and loud noises. When the New Year was about to come, the villagers would wear red clothes, hang red lanterns, and red spring scrolls on windows and doors. People also used firecrackers to frighten away the Nian. From then on, Nian never came to the village again. The Nian was eventually captured by Hongjun Laozu, an ancient Taoist monk. The Nian became Hongjun Laozu's mount.

The first day is for the welcoming of the deities of the heavens and earth, officially beginning at midnight. It is a traditional practice to light fireworks, burn bamboo sticks and firecrackers and to make as much of a din as possible to chase off the evil spirits as encapsulated by nian (Chinese: 年) of which the term guo nian (simplified Chinese: 过年; traditional Chinese: 過年; pinyin: guònián) was derived. Many people, especially Buddhists, abstain from meat consumption on the first day because it is believed that this will ensure longevity for them. Some consider lighting fires and using knives to be bad luck on New Year's Day, so all food to be consumed is cooked the days before. On this day, it is considered bad luck to use the broom.

Most importantly, the first day of Chinese New Year is a time to honour one's elders and families visit the oldest and most senior members of their extended families, usually their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents.

For Buddhists, the first day is also the birthday of Maitreya Bodhisattva (better known as the more familiar Budai Luohan), the Buddha-to-be. People also abstain from killing animals.

As with all cultures, Chinese New Year traditions incorporate elements that are symbolic of deeper meaning. One common example of Chinese New Year symbolism is the red diamond-shaped fu characters (Chinese: 福; pinyin: fú; Cantonese Yale: fuk1; literally: "blessings, happiness"), which are displayed on the entrances of Chinese homes. This sign is usually seen hanging upside down, since the Chinese word dao (Chinese: 倒; pinyin: dào; literally: "upside down"), is homophonous or nearly homophonous with (Chinese: 到; pinyin: dào; literally: "arrive") in all varieties of Chinese. Therefore, it symbolises the arrival of luck, happiness, and prosperity.

For the Cantonese-speaking people, if the fuk sign is hung upside down, the implied dao (upside down) sounds like the Cantonese word for "pour", producing "pour the luck [away]", which would usually symbolize bad luck; this is why the fuk character is not usually hung upside-down in Cantonese communities.

Red is the predominant colour used in New Year celebrations. Red is the emblem of joy, and this colour also symbolises virtue, truth and sincerity. On the Chinese opera stage, a painted red face usually denotes a sacred or royal personage and sometimes a great emperor. Candies, cakes, decorations and many things associated with the New Year and its ceremonies are coloured red. The sound of the Chinese word for "red" is in Mandarin homophonous with the word for "prosperous". Therefore, red is an auspicious colour and has an auspicious sound.

Flowers

Plum Blossom - symbolises luckiness

Kumquat - symbolises prosperity

Narcissus - symbolises prosperity

Bamboo - a plant used for any time of year

Sunflower - means to have a good year

Eggplant - a plant to heal sickness

Chom Mon Plant - a plant which gives you tranquillity

Kung Hei Fat Choi 🙏

I was a big fan of Andy Lau, and later, Takeshi Kaneshiro. 

Below are a few old favourites. I haven't watched these in years. Might have to see the New Year in with a movie. 😍

Moon Warriors - A Forlorn White Rabbit - Andy Lau

As Tears Go By - Andy Lau

A Moment of Romance - Andy Lau 💗

Lavender -  Takeshi Kaneshiro

Beauty Song Dance - House of Flying Daggers
Takeshi Kaneshiro and Andy Lau

House of Flying Daggers

I think one of my most favourite scenes is when he pauses

on his horse after riding off and turns back. 💕

Did you know?

Jade, or Yu, has been prized by Chinese people for over 7,000 years. Its value is comparable to gold and diamonds in the West. Many Chinese women believe that jade is closely related to the human body and the jade “qi” energy and the body “qi” energy flow between each other. They also believe that jade helps balance the body and that the colour of the jade will either enhance or fade out due to the person’s health, mood and body condition. Therefore, in order to keep the jade closely tied to their bodies, many women wear jade bracelets on them for a lifetime as they believe the jade bracelet will protect their soul and body. Once put on, jade bracelets are left on for years, or even decades. They should be worn on the left arm. When purchasing, choose a bangle that speaks to you, as it's believed that jade is alive and will attune itself to your energies. Only you should wear your piece of jade.If it becomes cloudy or dull, it indicates there is a lot of negativity or illness being absorbed.

Chinese parents often give a jade bracelet as a gift to their daughters as a symbol of their love and protection. The wisdom and mystery of jade is passed down from mother to daughter as folklore. Jade is understood as being a symbol that represents the virtues of compassion, courage, justice, wisdom, and modesty.

But what if the jade bracelet breaks? Does it mean that the person is ill or sick? Not at all. In fact, it is the contrary. If a woman’s jade bracelet breaks apart, then that means something terrible was about to occur, yet the jade took the damage. In other words, protecting her. Because of this belief, many Chinese women would wear jade bracelets as they believe that jade bracelets would help protect them from accidents.

I used to wear a green jade bracelet and it broke clean in half. It was replaced with another of lavender jade. I haven't worn it in years as nearly lost it in a swimming pool on holiday, luckily my son found it. Since then it has stayed in the jewellery box. While creating this post I remembered the tale and wanted to share it with you. 

Lavender Jade is one of the rarest forms of Jade. It has a gentle energy that is said to soothe, balance and heal and to bring joy, inner peace and harmony. Lavender Jade is believed to put you in touch with your emotions and to encourage moderation and delicacy when dealing with emotional matters. Some say Lavender Jade is a stone of the angels. It is the ultimate "Dream Stone," revered in ancient cultures, as well as today, to access the spiritual world. More HERE

Love and light,

Trace

xoxo

Artist Alessia Iannetti.

www.alessiaiannetti.com

Alessia Iannetti was born in 1985 in Carrara and attended The Academy of Fine Arts where she studied with Professor Omar Galliani. She inherited his skilful technique of graphite on wood panel, and the “stigmata” of the most fascinating contemporary illustration which can be seen both in her perspectives and in her cinematography framing, made of blacks and whites, and of endless shades of greys, restoring the perfection of depth to monochrome and drawing. 

Her dreamscape and surreal Neoclassicism ranks her as one of the most interesting artists of the New Surrealism and New Pop art scene. 

She urges our eyes towards an intimate, other dimension, whose rational parameters are upside down, as if in a dream. Where silence tells of a feeble flap of wings, of a hidden heavy heart in which beauty’s many colours live, and that is ready to implode to bring them to light.

Alessia Iannetti

Fingerprint of the Soul

In 'A Carpet of Purple Flowers' I mention the soul in various ways, one being when a soul connects to a baby in the womb at the time the fingerprints are forming ~ The soul imprints on the body/skin - time of merging.

In this post, I wanted to share some explorations of the soul. Having an open mind, these topics really intrigue me and get my imagination flowing. Since childhood, I've always question things and curiosity sends me deep into research mode, which leads to - What ifs? 😉 

The main question here being, if a soul exists, when does it enter the body? Would there be a sign in the blending of non-matter and matter? It was then that I remembered the uniqueness of the fingerprint. I researched quite a bit and below are some of the more basic questions; 

• Why do we have fingerprints? 

Fingerprints are a result of distinct ridges on the skin that do not change over time and are unique to each person. Even identical twins do not have the same fingerprints. Our fingerprints develop while we are still in the womb.

• What is their purpose? 

There was no definite answer apart from the idea that they may have evolved so we could grip things better, like under water, but the long-held notion that fingerprints marks help us grip more firmly appears to be wrong. Instead, a new study finds that the marks actually reduce the friction between skin and surfaces. More HERE

• When were fingerprints first used by society as identification marks?

Fingerprints have been found on ancient Babylonian clay tablets, seals, and pottery. They have also been found on the walls of Egyptian tombs and on Minoan, Greek, and Chinese pottery, as well as on bricks and tiles from ancient Babylon and Rome.Fingerprints were used as signatures in ancient Babylon in the second millennium BCE. Chinese officials were impressing their fingerprints into the clay seals used to seal documents. During China's Qin Dynasty, records have shown that officials took hand prints, footprints as well as fingerprints as evidence from a crime scene.

• Fingerprint and Photograph Records Destroyed?

The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 amended the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE), to allow the police in England and Wales to indefinitely retain your DNA profile and fingerprints (collectively referred to as ‘biometric information’), if you have ever been convicted of an offence; this includes receiving an out-of-court disposal such as a caution, warning or reprimand. Equally, the legislation identifies a number of occasions whereby your biometric information will be deleted from national police systems (PNC, NDNAD and IDENT1) if you were not convicted of a recordable offence, provided specified time constraints and other criteria are satisfied.    

Read more HERE

You can apply for the deletion of records from the Police National Computer (PNC), National Fingerprint Database (IDENT1) and the National DNA Database (NDNAD) under the Record Deletion Process as defined in guidance issued by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) entitled Deletion of Records from National Police Systems. HERE

• What happens to fingerprint identification/records after death? Are they destroyed? 

There are now laws requiring the government to keep records for a certain amount of time after a person's death or after a certain event. Also, since most government records are either completely digital or a hybrid of paper and digital, there's less motivation to purge a record.  The FBI keeps a permanent database of fingerprints of all persons ever arrested in the U.S. These are never destroyed.

Link to a PDF file HERE on DESTRUCTION OF DNA PROFILES AND FINGERPRINTS from www.gov.uk 2015.  Fingerprints may be destroyed when the individual reaches seventy-five years of age or after notice of the person's death. Request of record destruction PDF form HERE 

Science Notes:
A person's fingerprints are formed when they are a tiny developing baby in their mother's womb ~ "friction ridges", the faint lines you see on your fingers and toes. Each fingerprint develops in phases as a fetus grows, forming a unique pattern of ridges, arches, whorls and loops.

This occurs during the second and third months of pregnancy when the fingers are developing and the fetus is between 1 inch and 3 1/2 inches in size. The overall growth rate of a fetus and placement of the pads on developing fingers helps to determine where the future identifying skin indentations will be placed.

The third and fourth months of gestation find the skin of a fetus transforming from thin transparency to a waxy coating. It is during this time the middle layer of skin, called the basal layer, begins to outgrow the inner dermis and epidermis skin layers. The buckling and folding of this skin layer is partially responsible for the unique stresses in fingertip pads that become visible as development ensues. By the time a fetus is six months old and approximately 12 inches in size, his fingerprints and footprints are fully developed.

More HERE

Below are a few sources of information I found on the subject of fingerprints and babies ~

Different cultures offer a range of time frames as to when a child's soul first visits the fetus and sets up house in the mother's womb. Some say, a soul may choose a mother and hover around her during the first four months but it may be indecisive about locking into the womb until the last trimester. After the initial visit, the soul's presence may be continuous or the soul may come and go until birth.

• Satguru Sant Keshavadas -- The soul, with its reflection called ego, holds its memories, or tendencies, the mind-stuff, or Chitta, and enters into those parents who have an indebtedness of karma for its birth. When the planetary conditions are favourable to its karma, the soul, with the help of the linga sharira (astral or subtle body), enters through the father's seed into the mother's womb. There the soul prepares its gross body according to its prarabda karma, or predestination. 

• Ayurveda -- The soul enters the fetus twenty-two days after conception, but life is there from conception. The emotions develop after four months. The mind begins to function during the fifth month as the fetus wakes from the sleep of subconscious existence. The intellect develops in the sixth month.

• Sikhism -- The soul puts in a reservation for a particular body at conception but doesn't enter for 120 days. During this four or five month period, parents can change destiny by reciting sacred chants and attracting a higher soul.

• Islam -- The Rooh (soul) is blown into the foetus. Hadith states that the Rooh is blown into the fetus after 120 days, but there are other Ahadith that state the Rooh is entered after 40 days.

Extra Notes:

• "Does man think that WE cannot assemble his bones? Nay, WE are able to put together in perfect order the very tips of his fingers."   Quran                                                                             [AL-QUR'AN 75:3-4] This also fires my imagination thinking of artificial biological creation ~ always inspired by science and mythology. 

• When it is time to assume a physical body, a light appears signalling the continent the soul is destined to be reborn in ~ unknown

• The challenge to prove reincarnation using scientific methods, such as DNA analysis, which may show that certain portions of DNA sequencing are unique to an incarnating soul.  Reincarnation cases demonstrate that facial features remain consistent from one lifetime to another.  This observation suggests that the soul provides an energy template, like a hologram around which the body forms.  Just as an orthopaedic doctor utilises a bone stimulator to shape bone, it appears that the soul projects an energy template that shapes the body and in particular, facial features. This template may also prove to program certain portions of our DNA. Reincarnation research demonstrates that personality traits, passions and talents appear to remain consistent from one incarnation to another, which may also be reflected in DNA. Independently-researched cases which demonstrate these principles of reincarnation were studied by the late Ian Stevenson, MD, of the University of Virginia. For the past forty years, Dr Stevenson, a former Chief of Psychiatry at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, has studied children who spontaneously remember past lives. Source HERE

• Cellular memory ~ A variation of body memory, the pseudoscientific hypothesis that memories can be stored in individual cells. In epigenetics, the idea that nongenetic information can be passed from parents to offspring.

Source HERE

Can a mother receive guidance from a baby throughout pregnancy via dreams, visions, and non-linear conversations?

In a book called the 'Cosmic Cradle,' there is an interview with a mother who said she knew her three children before they were born and they acted exactly the way they felt to her while they were in her womb. Link HERE

Interesting Facts:

1. Fingerprints form in the womb at 22 weeks and after that, all they will do is expand as you grow. Therefore, it is possible that a fingerprint 22 weeks after conception could be used to identify a 50-year-old criminal.
2. Once the fingerprints have developed, their pattern will remain the same. Even if your baby gets a cut or other superficial skin damage on the fingerprint, it will grow back in the same fingerprint pattern.
3. Some other animals have evolved their own unique prints, especially those whose lifestyle involves climbing or grasping wet objects; these include many primates, such as gorillas and chimpanzees, Australian koalas and aquatic mammal species such as the North American fisher. According to one study, even with an electron microscope, it can be quite difficult to distinguish between the fingerprints of a koala and a human. Koalas' independent development of fingerprints is an example of convergent evolution.
4. Other forms of biometric identification utilising a physical attribute that is nearly unique to humans include iris recognition, the tongue and DNA profiling, also known as genetic fingerprinting. 

I could go on forever adding to this post but I think I've covered the essentials on showing how I research a topic and how a simple idea can spark new areas/plots in a story. It's fun mixing science and mythical/spiritual topics, letting the creative juices flow.

Love and light,

Trace

xoxo

At Your Fingertips

Types of Learning Styles

You might think that there’s only one way to learn something - and you would be wrong. You may not have known that you can boil down the various ways of learning into different styles, and new research shows that these different learning styles may even be deduced from fingerprints

Human behaviour specialist Scott Black took Harvard professor Howard Gardner’s research and put it into practical use, creating one of the first measurable and predictable ways of determining a person’s overall learning style.

The process starts with your fingerprints. Within 24 to 48 hours, Black can produce a 36-page report that identifies eight different intellects and how you personally process visual, auditory and kinesthetic information.

There are five different things that are unique to each person on Earth - the cornea of the eye, a person’s DNA, a “brain map,” a person’s own life experiences, and their fingerprints.
Fingerprints are easier to see than a brain map or DNA and yet they are intimately connected to specific lobes of the brain, determining how people learn and process information.

The Linguistic Learner
The linguistic learner is one who learns best through linguistic skills including reading, writing, listening, or speaking.

Sometimes, it’s a combination of these methods. So, for example, if a linguistic learner wanted to tackle a new skill, their best method of learning would be to read about it, then listen to an audio recording and take notes on it. Finally, concretizing it would require speaking about it and, possibly, writing about it extensively.

Not surprisingly, some of the best teachers and professors are linguistic learners. It’s in the nature of the profession.

The Naturalist
The naturalist learns by working with and experiencing nature.

If this sounds a lot like a scientist, it’s because that’s how scientists learn. The naturalist loves experiences, loves observing the world around them, and captures the best information or knowledge through experimentation.

The Musical or Rhythmic Learner
The musical or rhythmic learner is one who learns using melody or rhythm.

Like a musician learning how to play by listening to a piece of music or a drummer who hears beats in his head and on the street from arbitrary sources before putting it together in the studio. But it can also be a person who learns best while humming, whistling, toe-tapping, tapping their pencil on the desk, wiggling, or listening to music in the background. For this person, music isn’t a distraction but instead actually helps the learning process.

The Kinesthetic Learner
A Kinesthetic learner is a person that learns best by actually doing something.

These people are also scientific in nature and must interact with objects in order to learn about them (or learn about them in the best way possible).

According to FamilyEducation.com, some of the most common kinesthetic-based jobs are those in the arts, manufacturing or creative fields like physical therapy, dancing, acting, farming, carpentry, surgery, and jewelry-making.

None of these careers could be done without “hands-on experience.” Many of these jobs, with rare exception, are also trade professions that require an apprenticeship or shadowing.

The Visual or Spatial Learner
A visual or spatial learner is a person who learns best if there are visual aids around to guide the learning process.

For example, someone who can learn best from diagrams, pictures, graphs would be a visual or spatial learner. These people tend to be technically-oriented and enter engineering fields.

An example of this type of learner would be a person who becomes a computer engineer or programmer. In fact, according to the educational organisation Simplilearn, there are over 20,000 professionals who have been trained in programs like the CompTIA Strata training program.

But, the best students are those that are visual or spatial learners. Why? Because being proficient in programming and IT requires that you be a strong visual or spatial learner.

Almost everything having to do with computers is conceptual and so it relies on graphical or visual representations of components that can’t actually be seen (e.g. bytes).

The Logical or Mathematical Learner
The logical or mathematical learner must classify or categorise things.

They also tend to understand relationships or patterns, numbers and equations, better than others. These are obviously engineers, scientists, mathematicians, and other technical professions.

The Interpersonal Learner
The interpersonal learner is someone who learns by relating to others.

Often, these people share stories, work best in teams, and compare their ideas to the ideas of others. In a sense, others help them think of new ideas of their own. They are often naturally good leaders as well as team players. You often see these people in various fields of psychology or social sciences.

The Intrapersonal Learner
The intrapersonal, as opposed to an interpersonal learner, is someone who works and learns best when they are alone.

They set individual goals that are challenging, but not impossible. They are also motivated by internal forces, rather than external ones. They are often introverted individuals, but not always. These people often enter creative fields, become entrepreneurs, and sometimes small business owners. But, they are usually in fields or industries that allow them to work without direct supervision.
Source HERE

Interesting fact:

Fingerprint of the Soul 

Visible human characteristics, such as facial features, tend to change with age, but fingerprints are relatively persistent. Finger and palm print features have never been shown to change their unit relationship throughout the life of a person.

Love and light,

Trace

xoxo

Art by Catrin Welz-Stein

'I write better than I speak'

Spoken versus Written Language

"Does writing down what I think and saying what I think activate different parts of the brain and neuropathways?  I have an easier time writing than I do speaking." ~ Unknown

Written and spoken language can exist separately in the brain, a new study from Johns Hopkins shows. 

"Actually, seeing people say one thing and -- at the same time -- write another is startling and surprising," Johns Hopkins cognitive science professor Brenda Rapp told the website Futurity. "We don’t expect that we would produce different words in speech and writing. It’s as though there were two quasi-independent language systems in the brain."

Futurity, a nonprofit website that shares university research, explains, "While writing evolved from speaking, the two brain systems are now so independent that someone who can’t speak a grammatically correct sentence aloud may be able write it flawlessly."

The study, titled "Modality and Morphology: What We Write May Not Be What We Say," was published in the journal Psychological Science. HERE

Spoken languages are stored/encoded on the left side of the brain, whereas writing is controlled by the right side of the brain. For a more in-depth discussion of V.J. and the lateralization of speaking/writing, read a highly recommended 1996 article published in the New York Times, “Workings of Split Brain Challenge Notions of How Language Evolved”, written by Sandra Blakeslee.

Left Brain Vs Right Brain

The human brain is made up of two halves. These halves are commonly called the right brain and left brain, but should more correctly be termed ‘hemispheres’. For some reason, our right and left hemispheres control the ‘opposite’ side of our bodies, so the right hemisphere controls our left side and processes what we see in our left eye while the left hemisphere controls the right side and processes what our right eye sees.

The concept of right brain and left brain thinking developed from the research in the late 1960s of an American psychobiologist Roger W Sperry. He discovered that the human brain has two very different ways of thinking. One (the right brain) is visual and processes information in an intuitive and simultaneous way, looking first at the whole picture then the details. The other (the left brain) is verbal and processes information in an analytical and sequential way, looking first at the pieces then putting them together to get the whole. Sperry was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1981.

In general, the left and right hemispheres of our brain process information in different ways. While we have a natural tendency towards one way of thinking, the two sides of our brain work together in our everyday lives. The right brain of the brain focuses on the visual, and processes information in an intuitive and simultaneous way, looking first at the whole picture then the details. The focus of the left brain is verbal, processing information in an analytical and sequential way, looking first at the pieces then putting them together to get the whole.

Left brain thinking is verbal and analytical. Right brain is non-verbal and intuitive, using pictures rather than words. The best illustration of this is to listen to people give directions. The left brain person will say something like “From here, go west three blocks and turn north on Vine Street. Go three or four miles and then turn east onto Broad Street.” The right brain person will sound something like this: “Turn right (pointing right), by the church over there (pointing again). Then you will pass a McDonalds and a Walmart. At the next light, turn right toward the Esso station.”

Though right-brain or non-verbal thinking is often regarded as more ‘creative’, there is no right or wrong here; it is merely two different ways of thinking. One is not better than the other, just as being right-handed is not ‘superior’ to being left-handed. What is important is to be aware that there are different ways of thinking, and by knowing what your natural preference is, you can pay attention to your less dominant side to improve the same.

Source HERE

Learning Styles

Did you know there are four primary learning styles: visual, auditory, read-write, and kinesthetic. People learn using a variety of these methods, but one method is usually predominant.

Scientists and psychologists have developed a number of different models to understand the different ways that people learn best. One popular theory, the VARK model, identifies four primary types of learners: visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic. Each learning type responds best to a different method of teaching. Auditory learners will remember information best after reciting it back to the presenter, while kinesthetic learners will jump at the chance to participate in a hands-on activity.

After researching the statement 'I write better than I speak',  it led me to reflect on the time that I suffered epilepsy, Grand Mal, in my late 20's/early 30's. My medication was incorrect for around three years (prescribed meds for Petite Mal) so the fits continued and my life changed dramatically. 

You can read more about Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) HERE

My memory isn't as good as it used to be prior to epilepsy and I forget how to spell simple words when writing. It doesn't matter that I've spelt the word correctly before, or that I do know it, something just stops the connection to grasp it again. ~ Other days, I can't get my words out correctly when trying to verbally explain something and mentally I reach for that word I was going to say, but evades me. It's frustrating as I flounder around to find the word and concept I wish to express but for some reason I can't think of how to translate my thoughts into spoken language at that particular time. This can happen in writing, too. 

Disorganised information retreval/language, e.g. getting words mixed up, having a word on the 'tip of your tounge', seeing something and knowing that you KNOW what it is, but not being able to actually think of the name of the item/object at that time. Apparently, this very much depends on if you are left hemisphere dominate for language. 

Because of these issues I tend to use many visuals as aids in my writing, such as pinterest boards for characters and places. It helps me snapshot the bigger picture and certain scenes. I've always been a very visual person but the after effects of epilepsy and now, hypothyroidism, I rely on this aid even more greatly. It has been interesting and educating reading the different reasons for 'I write better than I speak'. Coonclusion ~ Each person is unique and sees things/works in a different way. Many areas relate to the subjects mentioned above, but mingled with personnal experiences, we are more complex than textbooks/specialists/professionals can equate. 

💜 Embrace your uniqueness. 💜

Awareness - Read more of Hypothyroidism HERE

Note:

Dostoyevsky, the 19th-century Russian novelist, who himself had epilepsy, gave vivid accounts of apparent temporal lobe seizures in his novel The Idiot (HERE) 

The title is an ironic reference to the central character of the novel, Prince (Knyaz) Lyov Nikolaevich Myshkin, a young man whose goodness and open-hearted simplicity lead many of the more worldly characters he encounters to mistakenly assume that he lacks intelligence and insight. In the character of Prince Myshkin, Dostoevsky set himself the task of depicting "the positively good and beautiful man". The novel examines the consequences of placing such a unique individual at the centre of the conflicts, desires, passions and egoism of worldly society, both for the man himself and for those with whom he becomes involved. The result, according to philosopher A.C. Grayling, is "one of the most excoriating, compelling and remarkable books ever written; and without question one of the greatest."

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky, sometimes transliterated Dostoevsky, was a novelist, short story writer, essayist, journalist and philosopher. More HERE

Love and light,

Trace

xoxo

Video Beauty ~ Visual Storytelling

Music "Lane Moje", Serbian composer Željko Joksimović

The woman in the video is Mumtaz Mahal and he is the emperor Jahan which built Taj Mahal as a tomb for his wife. When she is on the boat she is dead(the pass rite) and she is going to Taj Mahal, her tomb.

Persian princess by Mehran7fox 

Mumtaz Mahal (April 1593 – 17 June 1631) "the elect of the palace" was a Mughal Empress and chief consort of Emperor Shah Jahan. The Taj Mahal in Agra was constructed by her husband as her final resting place. She was born as Arjumand Banu Begum in Agra, to a family of Persian nobility.

She died in Burhanpur in the Deccan (now in Madhya Pradesh) during the birth of their fourteenth child, a daughter named Gauhara Begum. Shah Jahan had the Taj Mahal built as a mausoleum for Mumtaz Mahal, which is considered to be a monument of "undying love".

The Taj Mahal is the final resting place of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan. Many to describe Taj Mahal as feminine. The imperial court documenting Shah Jahan's grief after the death of Mumtaz Mahal illustrate the love story held as the inspiration for Taj Mahal.

The Taj Mahal was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for being "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage". Described by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore as "the teardrop on the cheek of time", it is regarded by many as the best example of Mughal architecture and a symbol of India's rich history.
In building the Taj Mahal, Shah Jahan promoted the use of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones.The tomb is the central focus of the entire complex of the Taj Mahal. It is a large, white marble structure standing on a square plinth and consists of a symmetrical building with an iwan (an arch-shaped doorway) topped by a large dome and finial. Like most Mughal tombs, the basic elements are Persian in origin.The most spectacular feature is the marble dome that surmounts the tomb. The top is decorated with a lotus design which also serves to accentuate its height.
The calligraphy on the Great Gate reads ~

"O Soul, thou art at rest. Return to the Lord at peace with Him, and He at peace with you."

Read more HERE and HERE

 

The video really resonated with me. There are certain aspects that remind me of the characters from my stories, especially Enna (The Butterfly Bridge). The subtle spiritual elements stirred me and when the palace came out of the waters, it blew me away, as this is so similar to something I've visualized/written for one of the books. The deep undying love shared in a timeless place, and the flowers, represent, for me, the ethereal realm I created called 'Calageata' (swan-gate). This is why I had to share the beautiful video here. Enjoy. 😍

💕

Love and light,

Trace

xoxo