Anita Lewis

Now

Current status: (~updated 2024-09-02)

  • I found out today that the RSS on this site was messed up. (Thanks Andreas!) I generate the site using Jekyll from markdown files. It very clearly says in the instructions: “Typically you’ll use ‘jekyll serve’ while developing locally and ‘jekyll build’ when you need to generate the site for production.” I’ve been using ‘jekyll serve’ almost all the time. I know better now.
  • I went back to have a look at Khan Academy. I’ve been sending a donation monthly for years, but it’s been over a year since I was last there. I had started two groups of lessons: Physics and World History. I’ve resumed working on them to see what I know and what I don’t know. Lots!!
  • Learned how to use Rclone - see if it works with this test

Reading:

  • Stopped Reading at 37% of On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinsser and at 16% of When Brains Dream: Exploring the Science and Mystery of Sleep by Robert Stickgold and Antonio Zadra. The first author seemed so high on himself and the second book was so deep in the weeds that I was drowning.

  • Finished The Way of Chuang Tzu by Thomas Merton and Processmind: A User’s Guide to Connecting with the Mind of God by Arnold Mindell. Both were very deep and very good. I may have understood some of each and some may clear up later as I go through life experience.

  • Still reading When Fragments Make a Whole by Lory Widmer Hess. I’m taking it slow. This book is unusual. Each chapter presents first a healing miracle of Jesus as seen from the perspective of the one who is being healed. We see how they got to be in their condition and get a feel for their experience during the healing. Then the author gives some insights into the actual text that isn’t the general slant I’ve heard. She’s done some thinking and research on this as well as on the first part. And last we see some of the author’s life experience that has ties to the miracle story.

  • I started 4 books to fill the gap created by finishing 2 and dropping 2:

    • The Comfort of Ghosts by Jacqueline Winspear (Throwing in a bit of fiction)
    • The Wisdom of the Desert by Thomas Merton (for the group reading starting on September 12th)
    • Merton’s Palace of Nowhere by James Finley (read it before, but there is mention of Chuang Tzu in it and it’s due a re-read anyway)
    • The Inner Work of Age: Shifting from Role to Soul by Connie Zweig (heard she is Jungian and deals with shadow and also I’m old and can use the inner work of age.)

  • I still have In Ascension by Martin MacInnes on hold at the library. Estimate wait is 6 weeks down from 10.

Depth and Mysticism Study Group:

Ups and Downs:

  • I’ve been writing a bit and it’s getting to be rather fun and interesting. Most of it is just for me as I think things out, but I’ve put a couple things on the blog. “The One Thing in my life” tells a bit of the impact the study group on The Way of Chuang Tzu had on me.

  • Riding the Roller Coaster: Emotion & Contemplation Workshop. Beginning 9/29 I’m attending 5 weekly meetings on Zoom considering some new (& old) stories about the meaning and purpose of emotional response. That sounds like “ups and downs”!

  • Here in Florida we are in that time of year for a couple months when we look at the National Hurricane Center Map of the Atlantic Ocean every day. Not so bad where I live away from coastlines.

What I might want to do someday:

  • Digital art for my personal expression not likely to share - I got a Wacom tablet years ago and have hardly used it.
  • Learn more BASH scripting and maybe read a book I have on Perl. Looking for more ability do little jobs with data and also just to have the fun of learning and and writing code.