[p2p-research] beyond "road burn-out" : what is (y)our story ?

[Dante-Gabryell Monson]

Hi Paul. Thanks for these suggestions. Indeed,I was trying to express some
symptoms,and context related to them, at a certain level of abstraction. I
recently read a profile I wrote in 2000,aged 18, after my return from 2
years of living in east and south east Asia,and realise I seem to be right
on the track of what I wanted to do. Next step is the setup,convergence, and
reproduction of small scale distributed solutions. Before finding out about
Michel B. & p2pf, I liked to call them "non structures",ans yes,  I agree
with not excluding participation from hierarchical structures, as long as,
from my humble opinion, it supports the non structure with its resources
without controlling it. (Such as for example IBM supporting Linux
development.) So, yes, Nomad bases,different flavour of hacker spaces,
potentially being one part of supporting such non structure,such movement,
such paradigm, which you all here seem  to be documenting very well,and even
in mplementing. My current challenge now is to stabilize, use my radical
experience to empower others, but find more resources for it, returning to a
stage I already experienced, creating partnerships with various "power
structures" while knowing certain dynamics well enough, as to prevent
support to turn into specific dependency and control,maintaining diversity
of interdependencies.  / The whole journey I took somehow makes sense to me,
although it also lead to certain symptoms such as some interesting burn
outs, leading in some cases to surrendering.I felt like expressing it,
sharing it. / The parallel with circus nomadism could be interesting.
Including the"family"/tribe aspect of it-although I feel that the kind of
nomadism I may have experienced is a more Individualistic one,while at the
same time being focused on empowering a cause (a personal need?)greater then
ones own personal needs. One that feels a personal solution comes also
through contributing to potential systemic solutions.  I feel I can share
this interest and approach with at least a few people on this list.
Recently I question myself on the type of"personality types" that are
perhaps moat enthusiastic about developing p2p prototypes, and how they
create synergies with each other. Secondly,I wonder what type of
personalities may flourish more through increased p2p paradigm. / Hmm,
writing this from my mobile...getting used to it...

On Nov 1, 2009 1:35 PM, "Paul D. Fernhout" <pdfernhout at kurtz-fernhout.com>
wrote:

Dante-

Politically speaking, why do you (or anyone else) not have some claim on the
fruits of the industrial commons by fact of existence as a human being?
http://www.basicincome.org/bien/aboutbasicincome.html
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=basic+income+as+a+human+righ

Also regarding money, fixed abodes and so on, consider Manuel de Landa's
points on a balance of meshworks and hierarchies:
 http://www.t0.or.at/delanda/meshwork.htm
"Indeed, one must resist the temptation to make hierarchies into villains
and meshworks into heroes, not only because, as I said, they are constantly
turning into one another, but because in real life we find only mixtures and
hybrids, and the properties of these cannot be established through theory
alone but demand concrete experimentation."

Too much random meshwork may be as bad as to much structured hierarchy?
Humanity lives best in the comfortable zone between fire and ice. Between
chaos and order. Naturally, all people are tuned a little differently. Some
are very comfortable more towards extreme chaos, some more comfortable
towards extreme order.

So, just musing on this, not suggesting you change, but what if we ignore
that human rights issue, and build on the idea you mention of
inter-dependency. So, what are you supplying on your side? Teaching?
Entertaining? Could you formalize that and put a little more structure in
your life and a little more hierarchy? Not saying you'd want to, just a
thought. Maybe you could enter some sort of profession where a stream of
people pass through your life? Even being a doctor? :-) But, might some
foundation fund you as a traveling educator? Or you might find life
interesting at a university as a student in theater arts or something. You
must know a lot about people by now, bot for performing and writing. Also,
have you considered upgrading your entertaining skills for life on the road?
Like learning to do Mime? Or magic tricks? Or, if you don't already, some
for of musical instrument? Or if you know one, learn more, and learn more
styles. Lots of musicians bemoan a life on the road even though they get
paid for performing; but maybe some might enjoy it more than others.
Successful authors also tend to be ones who go to book signings everywhere,
so writing a book and then promoting it across the globe might be another
possibility.

Anyway, just some thoughts. Life and action entail risk. We make our choices
about what risks we take and what ones we avoid, based on our subjective
assessment of the world, our relations, and our abilities and resources.
Hitchhiking is a physical risk, but so is despair through boredom (all sorts
of health issues there). You make your choices and you take your chances,
same as everyone.

Maybe you could become a traveling educator on the importance of vitamin D?
 http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/
"Technically not a "vitamin," vitamin D is in a class by itself. Its
metabolic product, calcitriol, is actually a secosteroid hormone that
targets over 2000 genes (about 10% of the human genome) in the human body.
Current research has implicated vitamin D deficiency as a major factor in
the pathology of at least 17 varieties of cancer as well as heart disease,
stroke, hypertension, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, depression, chronic
pain, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, muscle wasting, birth
defects, periodontal disease, and more."

Seriously, you might read that site in depth, and you might spread the word
in your travels, and save hundreds or thousands of lives from cancer, mental
illness, osteoporosis, influenza, and so on. Then you could feel even better
about a sense of reciprocity with the world, which we all tend to need to be
healthy, even if we don't need all exchanges to be one-for-one. Not quite
being a doctor, but it doesn't take ten years to get a degree before you can
help people, either. :-)

Another health issue to study may be fasting:
 "Learn how to escape the dietary pleasure trap!"
 http://www.healthpromoting.com/Articles/articles/PleasureTrap.htm
"""
Once in awhile, a person may actually become aware of important dietary
knowledge. Despite the tremendous commercially-motivated misinformation
campaigns waged by the dairy, cattle, and processed food industries,
sometimes a person actually comes to understand the truth about diet. At
such times, determined individuals might attempt to change their diet toward
whole natural foods—in spite of dire and unfounded warnings from their
families, friends, and doctors.
 But along the way, they are likely to be met with a formidable
obstacle—their own taste neuro-adaptation to artificially-intense foods.
This challenge is depicted as Phases IV and V, wherein a change to less
stimulating foods typically will result in a reduced pleasure experience. In
the early stages, this process is dramatic because natural foods often are
not nearly as stimulating.
 Scientific evidence suggests that the re-sensitization of taste nerves
takes between 30 and 90 days of consistent exposure to less stimulating
foods. This means that for several weeks, most people attempting this change
will experience a reduction in eating pleasure. This is why modern foods
present such a devastating trap—as most of our citizens are, in effect,
“addicted” to artificially high levels of food stimulation! The 30-to-90-day
process of taste re-calibration requires more motivation—and more
self-discipline—than most people are ever willing to muster.
 Tragically, most people are totally unaware that they are only a few weeks
of discipline away from being able to comfortably maintain healthful dietary
habits—and to keep away from the products that can result in the destruction
of their health. Instead, most people think that if they were to eat more
healthfully, they would be condemned to a life of greatly reduced gustatory
pleasure—thinking that the process of Phase IV will last forever. This is an
extraordinarily deceptive and problematic situation that I describe as a
“pleasure trap.”
"""

See also:
"The Pleasure Trap: Mastering the Hidden Force That Undermines Health &
Happiness"
http://www.amazon.com/Pleasure-Trap-Douglas-J-Lisle/dp/1570671974
"""
A wake-up call to even the most health conscious people, The Pleasure Trap
boldy challenges conventional wisdom about sickness and unhappiness in
today's contemporary culture, and offers groundbreaking solutions for
achieving change. Authors Douglas Lisel, Ph.D., and Alan Goldhamer, D.C.,
provide a fascinating new perspective on how modern life can turn so many
smart, savvy people into the unwitting saboteurs of their own well-being.
 Inspired by stunning original research, comprehensive clinical studies, and
their successes with thousands of patients, the authors construct a new
paradigm for the psychology of health, offering fresh hope for anyone stuck
in a self-destructive rut. Integrating principals of evolutionary biology
with trailblazing, proactive strategies for wellness, they argue that people
who are chronically overweight, sick and ailing, or junk food junkies aren't
that way because they're lazy, undisciplined, or stuck with bad genes. The
authors reveal that most are victims of a dilemma that harkens back to our
prehistoric past-"the Pleasure Trap."
 Drs. Lisle and Goldhamer then call upon their clinical experience,
scientific investigations, and a recent revoution of understanding in human
motivational psychology to provide you with solutions for the challenges of
keeping on a healthful course-and how to make the most of your life.
"""

Scientific research about both vitamin D and fasting have been done, showing
remarkable health effects for preventing disease and extending life. Between
the two, getting enough vitamin D is more important and an easier thing to
explain right now. So, maybe start with that and build from there. I mention
fasting in part because it also may be a skill you have learned, and reading
more about it might be interesting and personally useful.

Anyway, you obviously must have strong skills as an educator and entertainer
already, so maybe just go with it, but perhas accepting just a little more
formalism (not a lot, not a "slippery slope", just an issue of healthy
balance)? :-) Calling yourself and educator and entertainer about, say,
alternative health issues like Vitamin D and fasting, and printing up some
business cards with that on it, might at least make it easier to explain
your life to your mother. :-)

Now there are a lot of other alternative health issues that are quackery.
I'm not saying pedal those. These two issues, vitamin D and fasting, I can
point to scientific evidence that say they are good things for most people.
And just these two, especially vitamin D may help prevent many tragedies.

It may even help prevent the flu:
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/newsletter/vitamin-d-and-h1n1-swine-flu.shtml

Basically, as we all spend more time indoors, as we are taught by
dermatologists to fear the sun and wear sunscreen, and as we drive instead
of walk or bicycle, Vitamin D deficiency has become a true epidemic in the
USA. It may literally be costing the USA hundreds of billions of dollars a
year in extra health care costs, plus untold suffering.

As people feel worse from Vitamin D deficiency in various ways, they may
even spend even more time indoors, given less energy and a need to use the
computer to escape other issues.

Dr. John Cannell suggests that the US RDA for Vitamin D is about ten times
too low, because it was set decades ago for healthy bones, not a healthy
immune system (cancer) or a healthy brain (autism, depression).

And, the darker your skin in the USA, and the farther north you live, the
worse the problem, as Curtis Duncan notes here:
"Why Michelle Obama is More Likely to Die From Breast Cancer than Hillary
Clinton"
http://curtisduncan.blogspot.com/2009/10/why-michelle-obama-is-more-likely-to.html

It is true that too much vitamin D supplementation can be a problem,
(although it may be a lot less toxic than is widely thought:)
 http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/vitaminDToxicity.shtml
and we all need to eat well eventually. Underlying health issues can a/-o
make either vitamin D supplements or fasting problematical in some rare
cases  (as can even psychological issues, like anorexia or bullimia as
regards fasting). But that is part of what you would need to study too, and
maybe have some progressive doctors you talk with, too. But you don't need
an MD to do that. Just a few days of study on the internet, plus fact
checking with some (progressive) medical doctors for increased confidence,
asking them about these websites and related studies, might be enough to
make you an amazing educator on these things (in an entertaining way).

Just telling a lot of people about the health benefits of those two things
could change the world is a very positive way, and would provide undeniable
value to anyone you interact with, as you help people you meet resist the
worst parts of the commercial/industrial world that is negatively effecting
them unknowingly. That change is something anyone might be proud of to have
helped with, as you pass on all the gifts you've received in your life to
others, and maybe even help others to see the value in their doing the same
in passing on gifts they get.

Anyway, maybe you do some of this already, I don't know; I'm just trying to
be helpful and pass on the gifts I've received in my life from others. :-)
And that also helps me feel good about myself. :-)

I get that "passing on the gift" terminology in relation to helping with
self-respect from the Heifer International:
 "Pass on the Gift"
 http://www.heifer.org/site/c.mpJRLVNxEoF/b.4860935/
"Together we have truly built a global chain of giving — passing on time,
money, caring, animals, education, training — all ingredients for building a
better world. With your support, Passing on the Gift will go on in Heifer
projects year round."

--Paul Fernhout
http://www.pdfernhout.net/
http://www.beyondajoblessrecovery.org/


Dante-Gabryell Monson wrote:

> > > Hi All, > > I feel like sharing this message with personal views I sent
> to the nomad > base list...
> of what motivates my intention to support nomad bases<
> http://nomadbase.org/>
> ,.
>
> *Note : For translation to other languages, I suggest using
>
> > http://translate.google.com/ to copy/paste and translate.* > * > * > *De
> : Hinweis: Für die Übers...
> p2pfoundation <http://p2pfoundation.net/> or open
> manufacturing<http://www.openmanufacturing.net/>
>  ,
> revolving around ideas of openness. <http://www.openmanufacturing.net/>
>
> > > I did not leave Brussels yet, but I will, after writing this message. >
> > I try to set my mind ...
> ahimsa <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahimsa> approach , by Satyagraha (
>
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satyagraha - in german : >
> http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satyagraha )...
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> p2presearch mailing list
> p2presearch at listcultures.org
> http://listcultures.org/mailman/listinfo/p2presearch_listcultures.org
>

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