Mastermind Blog

  Fertility “The state of being fertile or fruitful; the quality of producing in abundance: fecundity; productiveness: as, the fertility of the land, or (more rarely) of a breed of animals, a race of men, or an individual.” --American Heritage Dictionary   My highest priority at this time of year is fertility.  All things that require fertility must be considered when growing a garden, a lawn, a park, or just a terrarium.  Then of course, I want eggs that can be hatched into baby chickens.  Fertility means high levels of productivity.  I also want the daffodils and the crocus to multiply, the fruit trees to bloom so that they can be pollinated. I am struck by the incredible balance of nutrient rich soil.   I am also spellbound by the cycle of nature.  I have literally watched Hardpan Hill Farm transform into Emerald Aisle Farm.  There is another form of fertility that is in full swing around here and that is my abundance of c...

  We all have deeper aspects to our personalities than we might want to admit.  I found better words to describe myself than I got from the people around me.     Meyers and Briggs Personality Test There is some information on the Internet that shines a negative light on the Meyers and Briggs Personality Test.   This first one makes me laugh.   “The Meyers and Briggs personality test is not predictive.”   Predictive is a word that suggests the complainer expected the test to tell fortunes.   The test does not tell your future or your fortune.   The next one says, “Phycologists don’t use the Meyers and Briggs test.” This one also makes me laugh because psychopathology which is explored by therapists is not about standardized personality traits.   My therapist did not treat me based on a test.   She treated me based on the issues that were rife in my life.   Another comment, Meyers and Briggs test rates at 50% after a 5-wee...

Human Rights  In 1906 Upton Sinclair published a book called The Jungle.   Upton Sinclair was called a muckraker because he went into the depths of Chicago and wrote about the unspeakable things that were being done to immigrants and the poor.  I suggest that you read this book or at least read a synopsis of it. Jacob Riis photographed slum life and wrote an essay called How the Other Half Lives.  Yep, it's an old essay.  If you think things are bad today, take a look at this piece.  It is another reason that the US strives to have regulations and services to lift people beyond this sort of poverty.   Ida Wells, a black journalist, documented lynching in America.  Nice to know that you could take a black person out and hang them if you had a good reason, or not. Ida Tarbell was incensed after reading an article that said women were not intelligent because there were only 300 patents introduced by women.  She traveled to the US paten...

  GMO's, Glyphosates, Gut Health Good morning!  Welcome to February 2021. What does an overweight cat have to do with anything?  Gut health is the answer to that.  People and animals have the same reactions to GMO's and antibiotics.  This is a deep topic where I could go on and on but instead of me doing it, I have inserted a link just below the picture of my parent's adopted cat, to one of my favorite pod casts.  Rich Roll interviews a broad range of people on health issues, about the books they've written, and much more.  This interview of Zach Bush, M.D. is extraordinary and can be easily listened to while you drive, do housework, or clean the garage.   Sincerely, Carmen Davis

  Happy New Year! I will start the new year of 2021 with a new pair RockRooster work boots! They will arrive in the first week of January.   I have tried a few expensive brand boots and many pairs of cheap boots.   The boots that work best for me are wide boots, with a zipper and laces.   Steel toes are nice but not essential.   Big 5 has had tan Quick Response boots in men’s size 9.5 for several years.   I go through a pair in a little over 6 months with daily wear outdoors in all weather. I need high tops for ankle support, zippers to get them on and off quickly so that I can run to the bathroom without tracking mud through the house, and laces so that I can create the custom fit to support my ankles and not squeeze the bone spur protruding up from my left foot.   I need the width for my bunions and room to install my bunion support insoles.   Even though it is possible that my bunions are a genetic issue, they don’t seem to be handed to me by...

  Manipulation Manipulation is a tricky word.   It can be used to describe a way to shift gears in your vehicle, the way a toddler will grin up at Daddy to get him to smile back, a chiropractor manipulating a joint back into place, the way a politician or a preacher presents their take on something, the way a dog coerces you to go for a walk, or the way slot machines are programmed to ultimately get more money than they lose. Some of the elements I list in this article are going to trigger your anger and past guilt.   I want to make it clear that the reason I am choosing this topic is because of the way we use these elements on ourselves.   We can’t change our own self talk until we see how it’s done.   Instead of blaming ourselves for something that has been modeled for us by our parents and society, we need to acknowledge that it is a manipulation and that we can learn to honor ourselves by adding new tools to our toolboxes. Bullies target your weaknesse...

  Entre chien et loup  (Ontra shy loo) means “between dog and wolf”.  This represents twilight where it could be difficult to discern the difference between the dog and wolf.  I immediately pictured a dark shadowy night, fog rolling through twisted trees, and a warm fire where men toast themselves.  Looking up toward a knoll where reflective light of a neighboring campfire spot lights a slinking dog.  It morphs into a wolf as it melts into the night.   I am caught by that metaphor in regard to my life right now.  Politics, corporate medicine, insurance companies, the media.  There is a fine dance, a delicate rendering by a graceful elephant that we admire as it performs for us while behind the scenes the bill for the services rendered is calculated by the weight of the elephant.  This is not a tirade about anything.  It is simply a reflection of flame from the fireplace in the mirror.  A level of seeing.  Not comprehe...