Winning Words 9/9/11
“Your mind will answer most questions if you learn to relax and wait for the answer.” (William Burroughs) My surprise! I thought W.B. was the inventor of the adding machine I once used. Instead, this William is his nephew, a famous writer and member of “The Beat Generation.” The truth behind the quote is of no surprise to me. If we just relax and wait, the mind will do wonderful things. ;-) Jack

FROM JS IN MICHIGAN: I always thought that thorough research was a good precondition before one sat and waited....too many just sit and wait and then there idea is based on vacuous thinking!!!////FROM JACK: It is presumed that a question is in one's mind prior to relaxing and waiting for an answer.////MORE JS: Thomas Edison said something like "A new idea is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration"....don't remember exactly how it went but I think you can get the idea....My debate coach always insisted on the same thing. He always stressed the same thing. He knew that we wouldn't win because we were smarter than the others....most of the top debaters were pretty bright....but only if we knew the question better than they knew it....I don't dispute your understanding that inspiration is important and sometimes comes from simply letting the mind wander....but I think it needs some input before it begins to wander....otherwise we will have what the church has so often....sessions in which we all share our ignorance.////FROM JACK: Maybe you've put your finger on my problem....Too much dreaming.

FROM SH IN MICHIGAN: My question for today is "Do I watch the television news or do I just turn it off?" Right now it's off. Is it just in my own mind or is this latest terrorism threat being sensationalized? Thanks for your WW from a member of "The Beat Generation". The Beat Generation got older but we experienced a thing or two back then too and survived it.////FROM JACK: Re: TV News--Not much waiting for an answer. I'll turn it on, if I want to see ads for medications for The Beat Generation.

FROM HAWKEYE GEORGE: Don't we call that meditation?////FROM JACK: Yes, that's probably right for the religious crowd. Too much waiting and relaxation can often turn into snoozing.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY: The answer to most of my questions come at 3 am when I'm sound asleep. My friend and I try to remembering names, places, and things. Many times I remember them in the middle of the night. I pop right out of bed and right the answer down. I guess your mind is better at trying to find the answer or even sometimes the question! (BTW....my first job at the bank was on a Burroughs adding machine. It was a huge thing and hard to work.) ////FROM JACK: Some of the best problem-solutions come during the middle of the night. Doesn't the brain ever go to sleep?

FROM PL IN MICHIGAN: I'm still waiting!////FROM JACK: First, you need to relax!

FROM NL IN FLORIDA/INDIANA: HI JACK: THAT TOOOO IS VERY TRUE AT LEAST FOR ME.////FROM JACK: A great combination for you...a probing mind...and time to relax and wait.

FROM ILLINOIS LIZ: "Sleep on it." How many times it works!////FROM JACK: Such simple advice! "Snap decisions" sometimes work like a mouse trap.

FROM PLAIN FOLKS CHESTER: I have a cartoon hanging in my office of two buzzards sitting, in-wait. on a tree limb. One is saying to the other, "Patience my ass, I'm gonna kill something." Maybe I'll try it your way.
////FROM JACK: Impatience can be regretable, especially when driving. I know.

FROM PH IN MINNESOTA: my father spent 34 years with old Burroughs Company. pretty good outfit for the most part. its fascinating how Burroughs, Ford, Edison, Firestone, etc. we all contemporaries and all were rather creative geniuses.////FROM JACK: Those guys also went camping together, and their trailer (one of the first of a kind) is on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan. For them, it was NOT all work and no play. I wonder what they talked about when they were together?

FROM BLAZING OAKS: Is the Beat generation like the DOO-WOPS? (Oop-Shoop, Shang-A-Lack-A-Cheek-A-Bock: The Earls, Remember Then)..:-) I think your quote is probably true. It seems the subconscious mind is always at work. And solutions or answers occasionally do pop into our minds, once we've "let go". //// FROM JACK: We've been fascinated with the exploration of outer space. Inner space might be even more fascinating. The "Beat Generation" seemed to be the antithesis of the "Cleaver Generation." Non-conformity was their style...drug experimentation...Eastern religions...open sexuality.