Bucky's "University"

A story

2008-09-04T21:00:00.000-07:00

There was once a Wise Old Man, who lived alone in a Dark Cave in the hills. Legend has it that he was very wise, and many people seeking enlightenment would go to him to seek answers to their problems, or just to find answers to questions they may have about anything in life. His reputation reached far and wide, and it came to the ears of a bright but brash young man.

Hah! I must go and visit him with some friends. Let me prove him wrong, in front of some people who will be my witness.

Hmmm......I know what I can do
I shall ask him to explain to me what is Wealth.
I heard that he said that Wealth is our Technological capabilities our know how to take care of all of humanity, at a higher standard of living that man has ever experienced, without ecological offense to our environment, and without disadvantage to anyone" Hmmm......bullshit. How can it be when about 35% of humanity is still living in misery and want. I think I got him there.

The day came. Sir, you are wrong. How can you say Wealth is....................It's Academic. It's idealistic at best. But it's wrong.

To be continued

It's dark in here......

2008-09-03T23:58:00.000-07:00

Hmmm....Last Sunday (August 31st 2008) at MacRitchie Reservoir Park, during our Bucky Gp session I was sharing and explaining Buckminster Fuller's definition of Wealth.

Interestingly immediately one of the participants attacked point-blank the explanation, saying it was WRONG. Unless we can show this person evidence of this wealth having trickled down to the have-nots of our world, this Wealth thing by Buckminster Fuller is WRONG.

I felt that this was a challenge,....... to be put on the spot, to defend the definition of Wealth, as the Know-how capability to take care of all of humanity, without ecological offense and disadvantage to anyone.

Immediately some fellow veteran members were seemingly coming to my defense. Put on the defensive, they seemed to be pleading to the person to be "reasonable."

However, instead of countering the attack, with trying to explain, even with the best of logic, one could not possibly convince the person otherwise. I took a different tack. I pointed out that the thinking processes which we work with though useful, has it's limitations.

It will only arrive at the YOU ARE WRONG, which mean of course that I'm right. This logic, derived from the Greek philosophers of Socrates and Plato, unfortunately cannot help us in our discussion.

The attacker pointed out. Human Nature is such, greedy, selfish, fearful and hoarding, uncaring for the plight of others. There are billions of people who are Have-nots.

I agreed with the attacker. We can't change human nature.

Like a flash the story about Human Nature came to mind.
"What kind of people are you likely to find?"

A young man was studying about Human Nature. And one day he thought to himself, perhaps he should go and ask the wise old man, who spends his days sitting by the city gate allowing people to come and consult him on any matters.

As this young man approached the old man at the city gate, he observed a traveller going up to the wise old man, and asked him: "Excused me sir, what kind of people live in this city?"
The old man replied him with a question: "What kind of people live in the city where you came from?"
The traveller said: Oh, they are kind, loving, generous people.
The old man answered: "That's the kind of people who live in this city"
Thanking him the traveller smiled and moved on.

Before the young man could approach the old man, another traveller came up to the old man. He ask the same question. "Sir what kind of people live in this city?"

Again the old man responded: "What kind of people live in the city where you came from?" Oh they are wicked, thieving, cheating type."
The Wise old man replied: "That's the kind of people living in this city"

Suddenly the young observer of the conversations had his "lights' turned on. He realized that human nature is neither good nor bad. However whatever what one looks for one will find it. Whatever we look for in others, we will find it, "good" or "bad". Afterall end of the day, all are but reflections of ourselves.

Hmmm.....reminds me of the song "Reflections" by Christina Aguilera. (from the movie Mu-lan.)

As I reflected on the episode that morning at MacRitchie, I realized that most of the time humanity is in darkness, like living in a gargantuan dark cave. Somebody comes along with a light, and somebody else will try to blow out the light and say, see I told you it is DARK IN HERE. you try to light up again, and this person will try to blow out the light, and say See I told you, It's dark here.

Do they want to see the light?
No I'm not sure about it. They may want to complain about the DARK, but they don't really want to see the light.
"However there may be some who comes along and say: Ah, I see you have some light here, that's good, let's make it brighter, so that we can see better, clearer."

So the logic of the Greek Philosophers, the thinking processes they conceived is but only a shaft of light which can help us see a little better in our huge "Dark Cave." But I'm sure there are others who have opened up new shafts of light to help us see better in our "Dark Cave," like Buckminster Fuller and Einstein. But could we be ignoring the new "lights" coming through?

Hmmm.....how could I make this into a little story to tell? Just like the story of the Traveller and the old man!

Perhaps you can help.......Thanks

Which is more powerful? Nature or Nurture?

2008-08-10T07:50:00.000-07:00

Are you born with talents, skills which will make you successful in life?

Or can one born without special talents and skills, learn them, nuture and apply them to becomes successful in life?

Perhaps there's no final answer to this question. The debate will go on.

Some will say: Necessity is the mother of inventions. The circumstances creates the man. It's about Nuture, One's "environment" make one who he is! And that's true too.

So if you have to choose, which side do you stand on?

Personally, I believe Nuture is more powerful than Nature.

Why?

Because All is environment! Because all our experiences, our beliefs, our culture, the perpectives, the concepts or mental structures we carry about in our mind, our mindsets, they all becomes what I would call our internal environment. They are very powerful shapers of our behavior, besides our external environment. They determine how we respond to events around us and thus our "success" in life.

Our experiences?
Some of the world "greatest" leaders became who they are because of having gone through some life or death experiences in their lives. Emperor Shi Huang Ti. Genghis Khan.....the circumstances, the harrowing experiences created the man. Usually they resolve to destroy anyone and anything that stood in their way of achieving "absolute" power and success.

Our external environment?
If we live in a bustling city, our behavior we be different from if we live in the slow countryside. We rush about in the city, probably have shorter tempers. We take things slowly in the country, nothing much to fret over with.

Even Genetic factors are shaped by environment.

Nuture wins the Day!
If that's so, so what?

If I don't like what's happening in my life, I can do something about it.
I can change the concepts, the mental structures I carry about in my mind, my internal environment and change my life.

Nothing is predetermined and certainly not by the genes. Ones beliefs created by circumstances, and by Nuture, is more powerful and is the key to success in life.

Not convinced?

Actually Bucky is convinced that we're all born geniuses! And our childhood environment, from the people around us, to our physical surroundings de-geniuses us! In fact he shared about Dr. Benjamin Blooms study and authority on education. If we can describe the environment of a young child's life, Dr. Bloom can predict to about 90% accuracy whether the child will grow up to be a delinquent of society or will make it through to University and "success" in life.

Paradoxes of Life?

2008-08-10T06:33:00.000-07:00

We live in a Paradoxical World/Universe. Embrace them.

Here are some of them

On the search for Absolute Truth? The Only Absolute Truth is that there is no Absolute Truth

On trying to find Security and Certainty? The Only Certainty is that there is No Certainty

On Rules To find solutions to the complex challenges humanity face today? The Only Rule is to Break all rules

On Living life seriously? The only thing one must observe in life seriously, is not to take oneself too seriously

On Man's search for Permanency in Life? The only permanence is that nothing is permanent.

On Change? Change is the only constant.

Dear Reader, If you have some Paradoxes to share please do so. Thanks

How to think like Buckminster Fuller?

2008-07-27T01:58:00.000-07:00

(The following discussion, assumes that you will find it very worthwhile to learn How to "think" like Buckminster Fuller?, because even the great Dr. Albert Einstein said this to Bucky, "Young man you amaze me. I have no idea of the practical implication of my discovery E=MC2")

Think like Buckminster Fuller??

Okay, so I've been researching into this phenomenon called Buckminster Fuller since around June 1994....and if I've done my due dilligence......... on second thought, I'm not sure if this would be the best question to ask! Huh?

Why?
3 main reasons!

1. Our "Thinking" imprisons us.
In his final book, Cosmography, in the opening chapter "Dawn of Einstein's Universe" Bucky said that "We're still living in the Dark Ages. We're are still living in "prisons". These prisons have no chains, no bars, no walls, no locks. As I thought about what he said, I realized that we are locked in by the very way we think, perhaps by the very thoughts, the concepts, the words we use. We're trapped, "locked" in the box, unable to get out. We're locked in by our culture, our education, the beliefs, the hidden assumptions that we are unaware that we're living in, by our reflex-conditioned behavior.

So "Thinking" in this sense may not get us out of the many quandaries that the humanity and the world in general is trapped in.

2. When we think, we are somebody else.
Bucky also felt that, when we think, we're not original, not who we truly are, not unique!
He said, and I quote "A lot of people think or believe or know they feel - but that's thinking or believing or knowing: not feeling.
Almost anybody can learn to think or believe or know, but not a single human being can be taught to feel. Why? Because whenever you think or you believe or you know, you're a lot of other people: but the moment you feel , you nobody but yourself."

So our thoughts originated from our accumulated knowledge, through our formal and informal education, through somebody else's thinking. Bucky would prefer that we be ourselves. Looked like we have abdicated that role to others, or that the world had seemingly conspired to think for us.

So?
To be ourselves, and to "think" originally, we must feel. Nobody can teach us how to feel. In Feeling or sensing. we may be closer to ourselves, and to the truth.
(Bucky was born with poor eyesight and he relied on his feeling or sense. For example he relied on his sense of smell a lot, with regard to people.)

3. Do your own thinking

Yes Bucky said. Do your own thinking!
Don't follow his thinking, don't think like him.

Explain.....!
Bucky felt that he had not been effective in his endeavours in his life, because he was always following someone else's exhortations. He was always living the beliefs foisted on him which he accepted half-heartedly, because some well-meaning elder had told him so. Generally the elders, the so-called authorities of our life have always dismissed us from doing our own thinking. They claim to know better. However this is not necessarily true.

Bucky then decided to discard the beliefs, the thinking of others, he decided to start afresh, he chose to live his life base on his personal experience, and discover for himself his own truths.

When he did so, his life turned around from that of "failure" to "success"
How so?
His first daughter Alexandra had died in his arms at the age of 4. and his business of building houses was bought over and he was sacked as it's President, he was bankrupt.
He was on the verge of committing suicide on the shore of Lake Michigan, when the thoughts came to him: "You need not await temporal attestations to your thoughts, you think the truth."
In other words, you need not wait for others to give you permission to think, you do your own thinking.

Looking back at his life, at his chronofile, a diary, a journal, a log-book of his past, and Bucky saw the changes happening around him. He saw his life in relation to the changes, the world going from the visible materialistic world to the invisible world of electronics. He observed the changing behavioral patterns of our environment, he began to feel and sense "things' differently, he began to perceive "things" differently, he began to operate from direct experience.

He began to question and relook at things, which we had taken for granted.

He observed Nature and he realized that Nature was not only efficient, nature was also effective. He saw that Nature was Doing MORE with LESS! He began to discover principles operating in the Universe, in Nature.

His life turned around and became productive,

He decided to commit his life to humanity, by making the environment more favorable to the new life yet to be born, probably because of his 4 year old daughter who died in his arms.
He decided to redesign houses, not so much from the point of re-design for the sake of it, but because he saw the need to improve the living environment by apply the Ship building Arts to the home-front. He came up with his Dymaxion house, a house that literally that hung from a pole, which were Dwelling Machines

If Think like Buckminster Fuller mean don't follow his thinking, then in what way can my above question "How to think like Bucky help us?"

2 ways:

Bucky shared: I never try to reform man, it's too difficult, I re-form the environment. Bucky saw that it is extremely difficult to change our mindsets, our thinking, which have been quite set through many years of life experiences. It's difficult to change people's thinking by telling people my ideology is better than your ideology. My way is better than your way. I'm right you are wrong!" Your "opponent" will dig-in and stand his or her ground. "What do you mean? Who say you got it right? They won't change their thinking.

1. Re-forming the environment?
How so?
Bucky used to say that if you want to teach people a new way of thinking, don't bother trying to teach them. Instead, give them a tool, the use of which will lead to new ways of thinking.

A more effective way to "change" Thinking and behavior is to develop a new tool for use which no one would quarrel with, which they can use. A new tool to work with Re-forms the environment.

2. Another better strategy to "think" is to "see" things differently. Perception! Bucky had an amazing way of shifting his perception. Again, it's due to the fact that he was born with very poor eyesight. Paradoxically Bucky was of far-sighted, he could not see near. He was born crossed-eyed and could see into the distance. So he relied on his coke bottle bottom glasses, and his other senses. And so he perceived and sensed things differently from 99.99999% of us.

So it's really about PERCEPTION!

Perception is better than thinking. Perception is seeing. And when we perceive or see differently, we think differently, then we can do differently.

Perception can help us get out of our prison, out of our box.

We've discovered some powerful Buckian Strategies here.
Which is?
1. Go about living life, discovering your own truths, based on direct experience. 2. Re-look at things around us. 3. Ask Questions. 4. Change thinking and behavior by changing environment with TOOLS, 5. See differently, Perceive differently.

So the better question instead should be "How do we "see" or perceive like Bucky?" Or how do we sense/feel like Bucky?

This may be the most important Question you'll ever need to ask in your life!

Choose to have happen in 2008?

2007-12-24T13:47:00.000-08:00

Hmmm......what would I choose to have happen in my life for 2008?

It's the time of the year to take stock of how things have gone for 2007, and thus set some Vision and Goals for myself for 2008.

On December 2008, (yes December 2008, one year from now when I look back, take stock and expressed my grateful thanks)...... in relation to my Bucky workshops and other related workshops.......the following have taken place in 2008
1. A long-term, one year "Bucky" program for Robert's Staff
2. A long-term, one-year "Bucky" program for Junior's stable of businesses
3. 6 Bucky Workshops programs for Ramlea 07 participants
4. Taught 3 Bucky workshops for DC's M&Y program in China
5. 6 Goal-setting workshop for schools and organizations and public individuals........

6. Published my book Bucky's "University"
7. Bucky "Board Game" A Giant room-size board, like a giant chessboard. Teams play on it.
they have to do the tasks specified on the space in which they stand. (Why? Dare to Think and Imagine the Outrageous things................. they have to move through the board, do the tasks to win)

Afraid to share? No!
Don't believe they can happen? NO!

More thoughts soon.........afterall that's what Goal Setting is about......isn't it?

Be interesting to see what has happened.......I realized some very interesting events would have taken place, not quite exactly as set, but the Vision would have have had tremendous impact as a result of the creative tension, it put into effect.

Universe supports you?

2007-12-20T06:06:00.000-08:00

You know.....I often ask myself this question, (in the back of my mind)....... about the repeatability of experiments......does this apply to Life, specifically to my Life in relation to the Generalized Principles of Universe?

Bucky lived his life as an experiment with his own life, and called himself Guinea Pig "B". His life was proof of the validity of the Generalized Principles operating in Universe, like the Generalized Principle of Precession. Like all scientists who do experiments, he had faithfully kept the records. See his chronofile.

Thus the statement: "The Principles revealed themselves upon the decision and commitment made. " probably came from him.

Though I wasn't strong in my chemistry in my school days, however since experiments are repeatable, SO will I be able the repeat similar experiments in my life, and experience the Generalized Principles of Precession that Bucky experienced?

I was in Kuala Lumpur, as I had committed myself to participating in RAMLEA.

As a result, interestingly Universe does move to support me.....even to the point of helping me get my return seat home, on a Coach.

What happened?
I had decided to return on the Monday morning by catching the train from KL Central railway station. Oops! Fully booked. Huh? I was shocked! What? Sold out!!
What do I do next? I asked the counter girl selling tickets.

After some persistent questions, the counter girl told me. "Go to the Old Railway station, or Pudu Raya, or Bangsar."
Talking to myself in my mind, I said..."I don't know where the Bangsar coach station is.....I've taken the coach at Old Station, but Tickets would probably be sold out too, Pudu is a terrible place....lots of touts.....I'll go to Old Railway station and take my chances."

As I walked away, I had a change of mind......might as well try out something untried..... I'll go to Bangsar.

I asked for directions...and found my way... like as though I was participating in the Amazing Race.... only to be disappointed....the counter girl at the Bangsar coach office said as a matter of factly.....ticket all sold!!!

Huh!? Oh No!

Alamak! What do I do now? Well no choice.....I pulled my luggage out and decided, looks like I'll have to grab a cab and go to the Old Railway station.
I hailed a cab, it didn't bother to stop.
Suddenly someone called my name....."Joo Hock!!"
I turned around.... it was Jerome Tan....from Executive Directions.
I shared with him my predicament, and said what I intended to do next.
His advice....NO.. wait here......asked them to put me on the wait list....because usually there are "no shows".... some people make reservations but don't turn up

Okay I'll try.....at worst no tickets.... I'll take the chance.
When it was time to leave, I got my seat on the coach.

I had never expected Jerome to "turn up"....call me....and tell me what to do. The Universe does work in mysterious ways.
No doubt about it...the Generalized Principle of Precession confirmed.
.

Being practical?

2007-12-18T02:28:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend (Dec 13th to 16th 2007) I was in Kuala Lumpur attending a seminar called RAMLEA, organized by Malaysian Institute of Management, and sponsored by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.

Anyway more importantly is that someone asked me about Buckminster Fuller, is there anything practical that can one can use after learning about him. I don't blame her, most of us are conditioned to ask such a question, What practical use can I get out of your "Bucky workshop"?

It's can be quite challenging.....to answer this question, in a sense. In part because are in their own paradigm.
So people seemed to feel that "Bucky" thinking and ideas are impractical, idealistic, but not useful.

This reminded me of a recent program I saw on TV, perhaps it was on Discovery Channel.
It was about the inventors and innovators like Alexander Graham Bell who invented the telephone. When it became possible to send messages through a wire, an entrepreneur of the day, worked to have cables laid out in the Atlantic Ocean to link London and New York. It was a bold and massive project. However there were limitations. The electrical pulses of messages could only travel one way, one at a time. Very limited in it's usage. Other innovations came along, the co-axial cables. However usage was apparently still limited.

Meanwhile there was a palour trick which was discovered in early Victorian England, where light can be shined through a flowing spout of water out from a water tap, with total internal reflection. It looked like a flowing glowing cable of water. Very nice, but seemed like of not much practical use. (Just like the thinking and ideas of Bucky Fuller to many many people besetted with their mindsets)

However subsequent technology came along with glass. And marrying the two ideas, fiber optics was invented.

Today it is fiber optics technology which carry the billions of electrical pulses of our Internet World.

What am I saying here?
Do not dismiss Idealistic thoughts and ideas......which may seem useless at the moment.....

When the pure scientist discovers something...... the so-called practical down-to-earth people may dismiss their work as impractical.
However what has happened actually, is that the discovery of pure science, has put on the shelf, their "canned discovery" ready for practical use by the applied scientist.

This is the use of "Bucky Workshop" thinking and ideas. Seemingly impractical blue-sky stuff, but that's how very useful practical artifacts are invented.

And the world have to really thank the Blue-sky scientists for the quality of life it enjoys today.

Bucky use to say something like this, (not his exact words)....Go fishing.....do your own clear thinking, and one out of one hundred thousand persons, will come up with an invention that will benefit the rest.

"Be IMPRACTICAl, it's the most practical thing to do today" so says Joo Hock. Ha ha

Why Bucky's "University" ?

2007-12-09T06:40:00.000-08:00

2. This will go under the section: How my life changed as a results of "doing Bucky"?

So I had the audacity to entitle my blog Bucky's "University"? Must be giving some people the shivers, the creeps, goose bumps, whatever......ha ha.....(but at times I'll have to take the attitude "who cares"...........otherwise I'll never get around to doing anything)

Why so?

"Doing Bucky" put me back on the path to real learning. Learning not for the sake of the paper chase, but for the love of it. Most importantly I have discovered my own learning strategies and tactics to learn, which is what I intend to share here.

Before I do so, I have to take you back to my formal schooling. I find it hard to give any credit to my formal schooling though I was from a so-called "one of the highly reputed" school. I guess I didn't have the good fortune to encounter an inspiring teacher during my school days. I have to admit that my real education was after leaving school, through my own "self-education" more so through "doing Bucky." "Doing Bucky" meant studying Bucky through reading and re-reading his books, conducting Bucky workshops and putting myself out on a limb, doing Bucky Group projects, and writing this Bucky Blog which are quite outside my professional capabilities.

Let me illustrate:
I read a fair bit. However my reading is more than just reading. I actually study the books that I'm reading. Meaning? If I felt that a particular book is worthwhile reading, I read and study it many times over till I know it quite well that I could share about it. Some of his (Bucky's) writings are really daunting task to read, which requires tremendous effort to understand them. You know what I do?

If the book is really "heavy" and intimidating, which can put me off it, I literally take my book apart. I tear out the pages to read.

On Saturday Dec 8th 2007, I was sharing with my customer and friend Alan John, how I take my books apart to study it, which of course seemed babaric and uncivilized to Alan. Ha ha

Alan John said that's a terrible thing to do. You "murder and mutilate" your book. It's "criminal." Well, thank you, that's a compliment to me! Heh Heh.
See, I'd rather have a book that's "chewed" up and I've acquired the knowledge from it, than have a nice looking book sitting pretty on the bookshelf.

What made me come to such "uncivilized" tactics?

It all started with my most precious book, a Buckminster Fuller's book entitled "Critical Path". It was reputed to be a very challenging book to read, and as tried to lug the thick book around the binding began to split, (I gave up trying to glue it back together) I might as well take it apart, chunk it down to bite-size, for "chew-ability." So I tore out the pages, and carried the pages of the separated out book about with me wherever I go. I read them in moments when I'm doing something else, like riding on the MRT, waiting for the buses or trains, or walking in the streets, on even standing in queues in the bank, rather then finding the right moment to sit down at a fixed place or "proper" time to study or read. I don't think I'll ever get any reading done if I try to do so, there's always distractions or I'd get sleepy.

So what?
Well, I really cover so much reading or studying and picking up the knowledge that I'm seeking.

These days, as a further learning strategy, I'd even look out for opportunities to share what I've learnt, to practice what I've studied. How? I "teach" or rather share about what I've learnt in my Bucky workshops, my Bucky Gp session, with friends etc. Blogging is also an excellent way to share and learn.

Another strategy I've adopted in my studying was to see the authors whose books that I'm reading as being in "communion" with them. They have become my invisible "spiritual" companions, sharing their thoughts with me, at my beck and call, any moment, when I needed them, over and over again. First thing in the morning when I wake up, when I'm sitting on my "throne" heh heh, and the last thing at night by my bedside. They don't complain.

So I'm no longer just reading. I'm having a great time with Bucky, or Krishnamurti, or Anthony deMello, or Paulo Coelho, even Charles Handy, etc etc. When I "commune" with them, it meant I read at least 80% of the many books they've written.

Trust me if you really want to educate yourself, these strategies work. Certainly for me at least. You might want to do so.

We need to make learning an integral part of our life, because things around us are changing ever so rapidly. There's an explosion of knowledge.

Then came the realization, the Bucky Group which has been Meeting weekly since June 1994 is a University of the Universe, of Life

The thought popped into my mind: Why not have a Blog on the web as an extension, an Alternative "University?" A by-blog documentated Bucky's "University" where we can be who we are, no right or wrong, where mistakes are okay, there are no failures, because everything is subjective, where we can learn what we want to learn, at our own pace, for the joy of it, than have it dictated to us by some formal University out there who are more interested in making money (can't blame them). There are many possibilities.

That's what many people really need in life. As Bucky said, "We need to be returned to be the scholars we were meant to be." So? DO IT YOURSELF!!

The Bucky Blog ensued from the spontaneous informal activities of the Bucky Group. That's why I decided to entitle my blog, Bucky's "University" being that it is what a true University should be, where real learning occurs all the time and is informal.

Buckminster Fuller get full credit for re-starting me again, inspiring me to pursue my self-education, relentllessly.

? Bucky Group and my Vision......

2007-11-12T00:26:00.000-08:00

On Nov 3rd and 4th 2007, Medard Gabel of BigPictureSmallWorld conducted his PersonPlanet Leadership program for members of the Bucky Group – Singapore, and friends.

An important aspect of his program includes ferreting out our Vision for our Business, our Life and our World. This at times may seem like a challenge, as we don’t really do things like this.

Whatever. . . as I reflected . . . .I realized I’ve shared these thoughts of mine before, which now, I felt was a Vision, and have come to some extent made it a reality for the Bucky Group. However it was not communicated in writing, so here it goes again.......

. . . . . .my Vision for the Bucky Group.
(I’d like to use the metaphor of a Jazz Orchestra to paint this picture of my Vision)

Metaphorically speaking, the Bucky Group is a very much like a “Jazz Orchestra” composed of people who are engineers, architects, managers, professionals whom I’ve liken to “musicians” “singers” etc, each “artistes” in their own right, coming from all walks of life.

What we do?
We come together to Discuss, Share, Play and Learn, and that is to “make our Music, sing our Songs, dance our Dance like a Jazz Orchestra.” In the process we discover and live our passion, thus we are Being a positive contribution to the World.

Why and How we do it?
From Seminars, workshops and programs, many of us learnt to “make our music, sing our songs, dance our dance,” in other words we learnt Principles to live by, which are “Tools”, to improve our lives, the lives of our loved ones and our fellow human beings. However, more often than not, we forgot to, or don’t use them.
Example? I know many friends who know how to use the tools of Mindmapping, but they don’t apply them.

In the Bucky Group we’ve created the Space and Time (we have the Venue, and have set aside the time, created a on-going "program" and most importantly are committed) to practice these “tools” and live these Principles, as we discuss, and share, and inspire each other and personify the Principles and the Values, that we are passionate about.

Metaphorically, in our “performances,” we can go solo, do duets or quartets or as an orchestra. Some of us “play” the drums, some a trumpet, some the piano, in a sense.

Like a Jazz Group, each one is in his or her own right a leader. We can lead from any chair. Everyone is an “A.” (for Awesome)

So “Visionally” speaking we, the Bucky Group, are the “Music, Song and Dance” of the Universe.

At the end of the day, the Bucky Group became the un-intended artifact invention of Dr. R. Buckminster Fuller, a tool which purpose is to "support" one in one's initiatives to make the World a better place for all of humanity.

The Bucky Group the "Jazz Orchestra of your Life" and the World?

Makes a lot of sense, doesn't it?

? 20th Century Leonardo da Vinci....

2007-11-08T05:19:00.000-08:00

Why was Bucky also called the Leonardo da Vinci of the 20th Century?

Let's see. He invented the following.........

1. The Dymaxion House, a house that hung on a pole.

2. The Omni-medium Transport, which subsequently became known as the Dymanxion Car.

3. The Wichita House.

4. The One-piece Stampable Bathroom, aka the Dymaxion bathroom

5. The Geodesic Dome.

6. The Fuller Projection aka the Dymaxion Map.

7. The Radomes for housing radar equipment

8. The Fog-Gun which produce atomised water for cleaning purposes

9. Rowing Needles, a kind of rowing water-craft

10. The Geoscope.

11. The World Game

12. The Octet Truss

13. A brake system for cars.

And more. His Ideas and Inventions were ahead of his time.

There are also many metaphysical tools which he conceptualized. Like the Generalized Principles operating in Universe

? Up or down......only in and out!

2007-10-26T07:59:00.000-07:00

Imagine!

You've been hard at work. It's late. You're in your car driving on the expressway, heading home. You're feeling quite tired.

Though feeling drowsy, and wanting to get home faster, you felt it was safer to just maintain cruising speed, afterall at this time of the night there are police patrol cars out to catch speedsters, so you thought.

90 kph. your speedometer is moving steadily. your speed is increasing steadily, 100 kph, 110 kph, then you realized though maintaining cruising speed and not accelerating your car is picking up speed . It seemed to take on a life of it's own.

The street lights were whizzing past you faster and faster to a blur.

Hey, your car has gone up to 300 kph, 400 kph, it's taking off. It's flying. Wow.
You're recovered and fully alert.

In moments, you could see the city lights in the distance. You're out into space.

Your car has transformed into a Spacecraft. As you look back at Earth, you saw the curvature of the horizon, Wow, Earth is spherical. Wow we really live on a Sphere, you realized.

Hey where is up? where is down? Then self answering, you realize there's is no up or down.
How can there be when we live on a sphere.

There's only in and out! In to the center of the Earth, out to anywhere.

That's what Bucky is about, tuning in to the reality of our Universe

? Bucky Group as a Social Enterprise....

2007-10-22T09:19:00.000-07:00

I've been approached to talk about my Social Entrepreneurship at a workshop.

So in preparation I thought I'd share with whoever will read this, how my being a Social Entrepreneur came about.

3 important questions........

What do I believe in?

What is my passion?

What am I willing to really commit myself to?

These are perhaps some of the very relevant questions, that led me to being a Social Entrepreneur.

Why and How?

Firstly, because I've found something that I really believe in. Something that made sense to me. And that's a phenomenon called Dr. R. Buckminster Fuller aka "Bucky" (His Work, his Ideas and Thinking, His Philosophy )

I began to share and champion all about "Bucky", the Generalized Principles by which he lived by.

Interestingly, people began to listen to me, as my sharing struck a chord with them. They saw value in them. They asked me to give talks to them about Bucky, and with their colleagues and friends.
Obviously, what I shared about Bucky had also made sense to them too, and had added value to their lives.

I had inspired and touched lives.

It was exciting. I realized that I had discovered my PASSION.

I felt that here was something that people needed to know. It will help them re-invent their lives.

Why so?
Most people were quite lost. This became obvious when the financial crisis hit Asia in 1997. Many lost their jobs. They didn't quite know what to do.

Soon, I decided to COMMIT myself to sharing about Bucky, conducting my Bucky workshop sessions, and leading the Bucky Group, whatever it takes.

The Bucky Group became a Social Enterprise, a spontaneous Learning organization for adults, who are interested in furthering their Life-long Learning.

Learning was made fun again.

We also created the Space for us to live out the principles which we learnt at workshops and seminars.

We meet twice weekly, on Saturdays and Sundays mornings.

It initially started of as a learning group of the M&Y graduates.
Today we accept anyone keen and have the desire to learn. Some who have graduated from my Bucky workshops have become regular attendees of our Bucky Group session.

We' are non-profit. We are here to help people re-invent themselves, through going back to "school" on their own.

We organize activities. This is my Social Entrepreneurship.

Thanks Bucky, for these thoughts

Pt 8 Generalizing a Creativity, Innovation Technique

2007-10-21T06:47:00.000-07:00

My observation is that Generalizing is a Creativity and Innovation Technique. Sometimes they refer to it as the Laddering Technique.

When one generalizes, one "climbs up the Ladder" to get a big picture view, look out for general concepts.

Then one "goes down the Ladder" and apply the concepts in new ways, to create specific new products. One tries different combinations, to adapt to market needs. That's Innovation..

Generalizing: Health food, important good bacteria for the digestive system. Yoghurt
Generalizing: Something cold and irresistible? Every would enjoy. Ice-cream

Combine the two? Yoghurt with / in Ice-cream
Result? Irresistible Yummy Yoghurt

Make sense?

? Pt. 7 On Generalizing & Generalized Principles

2007-10-13T07:56:00.000-07:00

Can we live successfully by these Generalized Principles?
Yes.
Bucky certainly lived a quality life by the Generalized Principle of Precession.

How can we make precession happen?

We need to take Individual Initiatives.
That's what Bucky did.

That's the key to precession.

So what happens?

Taking intiative firstly is how we create our life, design our future.
When I took the initiative to R&D into Bucky, and to share about his philosophy, his works, I realize that I began to create my own future. I did things and enjoyed life in a pro-active way.

Taking intiative obeys the principle of momentum.
When I took on those intiatives, like being the catalyst for the Bucky Gp in it's learning activites, the Bucky Gp began to take on a life of it's own. Once set in motion, many things began to happen.

Taking initiative is regenerative, returns resources, and energy to you
The Members of the Bucky Gp began to support me in way quite unexpected. They passed me books on Bucky. Even my friend who lives in San Francisco sponsored my trip to The Bucky Institute when it was at Santa Barbara

? Pt. 6 On Application of Generalized Principles

2007-10-11T08:22:00.000-07:00

Big deal about Generalized Principles!
So what?

The Application of Generalized Principles is artifact invention, technological breakthroughs.

When man was able to isolate the family of the 92 “chemical” elements of Universe,
he discovered that these element, when re-combined in new ways, they resulted in new “materials” which not only were able to give higher “performances” but less resource materials were needed. It was major breakthrough!

The higher performance in new materials, like new alloys made Powerful Jet engines possible.
Rocket engines became possible.
The extremely high performance materials for the re-entry nose-cone of the Space Shuttle made regular Space travel possible.

See Bucky's book Critical Path

Without these New Materials, which is technology, a great deal of the above capabilities of man were not possible

It was the Synergy of the re-combination of the different and diverse elements in different ways, which gave birth to much more superior performances of the physical resources with less of the materials used.
Bucky called it “doing more with less.”

These are all in a sense Artifact Inventions, the technology, the application of Generalized Principles

? Pt. 5 On Generalizing & Generalized Principles

2007-10-08T18:53:00.000-07:00

Give another Generalized Principle?

Okay here goes, (and an important one)

The Universal Law of Precession!
Aka the Generalized Principle of Precession

Precession?

It was discovered by Bucky that Universe has 6 degrees of Freedom.
Or 6 fundamental motions.

What could these “Freedoms” or motions be?

Well firstly there is Orbital motion
Secondly there is Rotational or axial spinning motion
Thirdly there is Expansion – Contraction motion
Fourthly there is Inside-outing motion. (Turning inside-out)
Fifthly there is Torque motion.
Sixthly there is the non-obvious PRECESSION motion.

Precession as a Generalized Principle?
True in all instances, No exception to the rule?

Precession in Physical Universe?
1. The Earth orbits the Sun precessionally. Though there is a gravitational force pulling Earth towards the Sun, at 180 degrees, Earth precesses around at 90 degrees from the direction of pull.
2. Similarly negatively charged Electrons precesses around the positively charged Protons.
3. An Electric current is generated moving in a coil of copper wire, at 90 degrees to the inward-outward motion of a bar magnet

Precession in Nature?
4. A stone dropped into water, the waves precesses outwardly.
5. Honey seeking bees go for it goal, does it’s true purpose, at 90 degrees cross-pollinating the flowers,
6. Fish swim forward moving its tail side-wise
7. Snake slithers forward moving side-way

Precession in Human Socio-economic behavior?
Precessional effects (the un-intended side-effects of man’s fight for his survival) as a result of preparing for the next war, research and development is initiated.
And the un-intended side-effects were:
8. Refrigeration for keeping meats fresh on long ocean voyages was invented as a result of the invention of battleship
9. Air-conditioning was invented, also as a result of the battleship.
10. Similarly Radio
11. Internet, the result of silent communication in the military, secrecy needed for communication

Precession in Sports?
12. Golf. When hitting the ball, you face 90 degrees away from your goal
13. Olympic Hammer thrower, releases the hammer at the point which is 90 degrees away from goal, in order to reach the intended direction or goal
14. Tennis, hitting the ball, side-wise, 90 Degrees from Goal.

Precession in Business?
15 .Anita Roddick’s Bodyshop did not advertise, but her Bodyshop took on Social and environmental issues, received national and international publicity and thus became a very successful in the skin care business.

Precession in Life?.
16. Dr. R. Buckminster Fuller lived his life “precessionally,” not trying to earn money for a living, but as an 55 years experiment with his life to find out what needs to be done, which nobody is doing, which Universe or nature wants done. His mission was To Make the World work for total humanity without ecological offense or disadvantage to anyone.

Other ways of looking at Precession?
1. Aka Unintended side-effects
2. Aka Resultants (Action ,reaction, resultant)
3. Aka Side-wise
4. Aka Yielding at 90 degrees
5. Aka True Purpose 90 degrees to your goal
6. The effects of bodies in motion on other bodies in motion

What powerful secrets can Precession teach us?

Precession for Personal Success?

To get your Goal your Personal Success, do your true purpose

What’s could possibly be your True Purpose?
Add-value to yourself
Add-value to the lives of others, in terms of their protection, their nuture, their education, their accommodation, their freedom
Do what makes sense
Conscious evolution instead of sub-conscious evolution. Be aware of operating from "programs" and stop coming from your program. Not easy. Heh heh

? Pt. 4 On Generalizing & Generalized Principles

2007-10-07T02:10:00.000-07:00

Most of us when asked: “What is Synergy?” tend to answer in the following way:
“Synergy means 1+1=4, 5, or 6. . .

Not incorrect. However Synergy could be better explained.

It is observed that when two parts hydrogen and one part Oxygen combine, we get H2O, Water. Water, a vital life giving resource, resulted from the combination of two different gases.
Quite unexpected!
What happened here?
Synergy!

Or take Sodium, and Chlorine.
Sodium a soft combustible metal, and chlorine a poisonous gas. When they combined as sodium chloride, what do we get? We get NaCl, Table salt, something necessary for our diet and is being used as a food preservative.
What had happened here?
The phenomenon, Synergy occurred again.

Bucky use to share the example of the alloy of Chrome, Nickel and Steel.
The tensile strength of each separately is 60,000 psi, 70,000 psi and 80,000 psi respectively
The sum of its total strength at best is 210,000 psi, if considered separately, and added.
However as an alloy it was found that its strength was 350,000 psi. An unexpected increase of 140,000 psi. Synergy again!

All the “things”, the products we experience are combinations of elements, compounds.
Synergy.

The quality of our life today is owing to the Synergy of our Know-how capabilities, (our compounded experience over milleniums of learning by trial and error) with our physical resources. Our ever growing technological know-how has enabled us to "do so much more with so much less" we can now take care of all of humanity at a high standard of living, said Bucky.

Universe is Synergetic. Everything is a combination of elements, to give us life enhancing products which benefits us. Life is Synergetic.

Bucky use to define the phenomenon of Synergy this way.
“Behavior of whole systems is un-predicated by the behavior of the parts considered
separately.” Or the Whole is more than the sum of the parts

Thus Synergy is a Generalized Principle. True in all cases. No exceptions.

Hmmm....seems like we've discovered "something" absolute! Ha Ha

? Pt. 3 On Generalizing & Generalized Principles

2007-10-05T08:31:00.002-07:00

What is the process by which we arrive at Generalized Principles?

Bucky shared about this. It goes something like this:

With hands gesturing, Bucky said “I take a rope” (There is no actual rope.)
But in your mind, you imagine a rope.
Any kind of rope. Hemp, Manila, cotton, or nylon. Doesn’t matter.
You know it’s a rope.
So that’s a 1st degree generalization.

Next Bucky said I tense it. With hands gesturing, he “pulled” the imaginary rope taut, saying.
"Whenever I tense it, it compresses at it’s girth."
Then Bucky said: Tension and compression co-exist.
That’s a 2nd degree generalization.

This is my add-in here:
Next perhaps I pick out a cup beside me. Looking from the outside, I see that it is convex.
Looking into the inside of the cup, I see that it is concave. I say “Convex and concave co-exist.” Another 2nd degree generalization.

Next I pick out a bar magnet. With another magnet I experiment, and learnt that one pole of the magnet is positive, and it’s other pole is negative. I say “Positive co-exist with negative.” Another 2nd degree generalization.

From the three example of the co-existence of “complementary opposites”,
I say “Functions of a system co-exist .” That’s a 3rd degree generalization.

Generalizing further from the above-mentioned 3rd degree generalization,
I say: “Unity is plural, at minimum two.”
We get a 4th degree generalization

Generalizing on the 4th degree generalization
I say: “Fundamental complementary”
This is 5th degree generalization.

(see Bucky's book - Utopia or Oblivion)

Could I go another step further to generalize on the 5th degree generalization?

Perhaps it's “Relativity”
6th Degree Generalization?
(This coming from me, is perhaps what should be included. Bucky shared out to 5th degree only)

This is how Generalized Principles are derived.

So what? What's the significance of this process?

We realized the function of humanity in Universe, our Mind propensity to generalize, to abstract is being the syntropic process of bringing back order to Universe, which is seemingly going into disorder, randomness or chaos. Humanity is doing the complementary, inverse phase of Universe.
We have a function afterall!! Yippee!

(Btw, Bucky pointed out that, that are no solids. Nothing really touches anything. Physical reality that we experience is “energy” coming together in pure principle. Pure principles interacting give us our “energy”)

? Pt. 2 On Generalized Principles - Order in the Chaos?

2007-10-05T00:51:00.000-07:00

Do you know that Man as Mind tend to generalize?

It may be said that man using his Mind has a natural tendency to generalize. Perhaps to the point of making sweeping statements. (Afterall a Thought, a word, is an abstraction, describing an experience, which is a generalization.)

Like say my this Statement: “All Wars since the beginning of time has been fought over resources, be they Food resources, in order to survive” And someone in the audience will quip that “wars were fought over religious issues.” Seems like there’s an exception to the statement I made.

Whatever, it may be noted that Man tend to generalize. As in my above statement.
But why? Because his Mind is inherently seeking order, looking out for the orderliness in the chaos.

In fact Bucky asked this question? What is Man function in Universe?
Do we humans have a function in Universe? Otherwise Universe wouldn’t need us.

Bucky observed that physical Universe always has it’s complementary processes.
In other words, if there is entropic phase somewhere in Universe, there must be a syntropic phase somewhere else to complement the entropy. For example, he noted that the Sun gives out it energy by radiation, seemingly going into randomness, into disorder or chaos.
Where in Universe could be found the complementary function?

Earth seems to be one the collecting point, of the sun energy, radiation. The radiation is impounded by our vegetation, photosynthesis, converting the photons of energy into orderly complex hydrocarbons, which are consumed by our zoologicals, etc.

However, the ultimate is Man as Mind seeking order, by way of his generalizing. Einstein’s E=Mc2 is demonstration of the Mind of man, seeking order out of the chaos. This is man’s prime function in Universe, to find inherent order in Universe, to GENERALIZE.

This is what I have learnt from Bucky

? Pt. 1 On Generalizing & Generalized Principles

2007-10-04T01:30:00.000-07:00

I was once asked by Robert Koh who participated in one of my Bucky workshop.
Can you explain “What are Generalized Principles?”

He felt that some people in the audience may not have fully understood what Generalized Principles are, as shared about by Buckminster Fuller. He was doing me a favor. I appreciate it.

Firstly what is Generalizing?
In the “Arts” when one generalizes, one is making a sweeping statement, which is frowned upon, because others disagree as they feel that THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS to the statement made, regarding one's observations of one's experiences.

However in “Science” when one Generalizes, he is making a statement on his observations of his experiences in which there are NO EXCEPTIONS, he has observed a common thread running through the experiences under consideration.

It is thus considered a Law.
Thus Generalized Principles is a scientific term for Universal Laws of Nature. NO EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULE.

10 + 1 "things" I believe in?

2007-10-01T18:43:00.000-07:00

1. About God?
God is not some Super duper omni-potent Being somewhere out there in some realm of Universe, watching us who needs to be kowtowed to. And that if we don't kowtow to this God, we will be punished. My thoughts and thus my mind is totally inadequate to fully comprehend this Integrity, this "Being" humans generally refer to as God.
However I can only say my feeling, and belief is that we are all manifestations of God.

2. About Human Beings and Life?.
As human beings, we feel and seem to experience ourselves in the flesh, however we are not things. Under very powerful super nano-micron-microscope (if there is one) we are all but empty space. Therefore the physical beings that we are, are like holograms formed to give physical manifestation of a consciousness, the Integrity, the Life that animates this "hologram" being.

3. About Universe and humanity's place in it?
Universe is teeming with life animating the myriad physical forms, the extra-terrestials, which we have never yet encountered, including us Earthians, Humanity and the creatures that lives here on Earth is but one teeny weeny part of Universe. It is a testing ground for whether humans, given consciousness, awareness, including ego, can discover and evolve itself to higher level of consciouness Or whether human despite his consciousness, his ego can violate the laws of Universe and destroy itself, perhaps including Earth. I believe that human can make it through, as there are manifestations like Buckminster Fuller who comes along to demonstrate and transcend our ego-selves.

4. On Self.
I believe that believing in myself is important, and to do so is believing in this Integrity God-Spirit which manifest this life and animates this physical being given the name JooHock, as well as all of humanity, past present and future.

5. On Being Different
I'm here to be different in order to make a difference for my fellow man. (that's why I'm UNIQUE).And to do so, I have to Dare to be myself, which is quite a challenge in an environment that tries to make me conform to it norms.

6. On Being Free
I believe in Freedom for all, (Freedom is Wealth) and in order to be Free, all Man and I need to be aware of the "programs", the conditioning put in us by society to control and "imprison" us. I believe we are a walking bundle of programs, and we need to be able to be free from them. That's being FREE. Not easy!

7. On Buckminster Fuller
If ever there was anything in my life that I can say that I really believed in, it would be this.
Prior to my "encounter" with Bucky, I was a very skeptical person. Never could I say that I could trust anyone, nor believe in anything. Since I learnt about him and from him I'll admit that I believe in Bucky, what he shared, his experiences. He made sense to me. He had no personal agenda, nothing to "sell" me. He was Integrity personified. And that's also why I am committed to share his philosophy, his works, etc., through my Bucky sessions, with my Bucky Group and also my Bucky Workshops.

8. On Reality
I create my own reality, which is subjective.

9. On Paradoxes
The Great Consciousness, that designed this Universe, designed it perfectly, with paradoxes to give humanity constant challenges. When he solves a problem successfully, he encounters within that success, another set of inherent problems, which needs to be solved.
Why?
Otherwise humans will get bored, and he will be complaining of his boredom.

10. On What I'm here for?
To make my Music, Sing my Songs and Dance my Dance, through my Bucky workshops. And if they touched lives, great. If they benefit by them, fine. They did it themselves. I'm just doing my thing. Ha Ha.

10 + 1. On Rule #6
Not to take myself too seriously.

Bucky Workshop Touching and changing lives?

2007-09-23T08:18:00.000-07:00

On Thinking Out of Box, Bucky Workshop

An unsolicited testimonial

Hi Joo Hock,

Thank you for the insightful and inspiring sharing about Bucky's philosophy. You have elevated my perspective and broadened my horizon about life.
I felt like a different person when I stepped out from the seminar room.
Gratefully yours,

Siak Cheong

(Fri 10th Dec 2004)

Blue-skying Bucky?"

2007-09-20T21:02:00.000-07:00

My customer and friend came by to do her hair. Frances Fuller.

As ususal a chit-chat ensued.
In the conversation we were having, I shared about my working on writing a book, entitled "Buckyfully yours...."

She also shared that writing her own book has been on her mind, that some of her friends and students have asked her write her book on what she has been teaching, her Rainbow Healing, sharing her tools to help her students learn and use these tools to help themselves.

I then shared with her about how I gave Mr. Mak the idea of creating a game to help people learn "entrepreneurship. (see earlier blog - practical benefits of studying Bucky)

Frances immediately caught on. She felt it would be a marvellous idea to create a Game for her students to learn what she has in mind to teach them, her knowledge and her Rainbow Healing techniques.

She recalled that I had also given her a tool which she now use in her classes, to explain and teach about "energy flow." I had shown her the Icosahedron, (learnt from Bucky) and immediately it struck her that that was what she had been looking for.

Two marvellous Serendipity Experiences?

The Result?
I will be working with Frances on this project....creating a game for her "work"

Why I share this?
This is another practical benefit of "studying Bucky"

The interesting thing is this...... if we go around asking "So what can I benefit from Bucky, otherwise I wouldn't want to waste my time with him.....?" well I guess one would not get the serendipity experience.

Something suddenly, unexpectedly clicks.

Studying Bucky seemed like Blue-sky research. However out of the Blue-sky comes a bolt of lightning, and idea, afterall the "charges" the "energy potentials" have been building up.

Bucky himself was a blue-sky researcher.

As shared in an earlier blog: Bucky said: "I did not set out to design a house that hung from a pole, or to manufacture a new type of automobile, invent a new system of map projection, develop geodesic domes or Energetic Geometry. I started with the Universe - I could have ended up with a pair of flying slippers."

It just may be most worthwhile to be "Blue-skying Bucky?"

The "Bucky process?"

2007-09-12T08:57:00.000-07:00

Johnson came by and a discussion cropped out. He asked me a question on the "processes" which Bucky used.

I decided to posed myself another question: If one could learn "processes" from Bucky what would that be?"

Then self-answering, the following ensued:

Bucky shared:

"I know I live on Earth at present, I don't know what I am. I know I am not a category, and thing a noun. I seem to be a verb, a evolutionary PROCESS, an integral function of Universe."

We feel ourselves as like things. We are not. We are a process. That's Bucky's perspective.

So perhaps the first "thing" that Bucky could teach us, is that of "shifting our perspectives."
And shifting our perspectives is a process.

Like the zoom lens of an SLR camera, going from panoramic wide-angle to close up, our perspectives changes. Bucky in particular suggest going BIG PICTURE, and taking the Long Range.

So one of his Strategy is the BIG-Picture strategy.
The other of his Strategy is forecasting far into the future.

These are my first thoughts on the processes of Bucky, more should come........

Practical benefits of "studying" Bucky?

2007-09-09T03:32:00.000-07:00

Some people do wonder and ask me. “Joo Hock, what can anything one “learns” from Bucky have any practical application in one’s work? Or in one’s life?

These are question often in the back of our minds, and I’ve often been confronted with them.

So I asked myself: "What is Bucky about? How can his philosophy help me in my life? Can anything that Bucky shared or taught be useful today?...... in the real world, in real life, where as Stephen Covey said, the rubber meets the road?"

Good questions. . . . tough questions . . . . My answer? An emphatic YES!

Why?

Because Bucky is a wellspring of Ideas.

Today the currency of the new economy is IDEAS! Isn’t that right?
Today the capital that we are talking about is not physical capital. Today it is metaphysical capital or what we call Intellectual Capital, which is our real asset, our real Property. That’s the real Wealth.

The world’s richest men, like Microsoft’s Bill Gates, what does he own? Intellectual Capital. Technology as software systems.

Alan Grove's (of Intel) Wealth, I understand, is also in Intellectual Property Know-how, found on a tiny piece of silicon microchip, about the size of which can fit into the palm of your hands, or perhaps even the size of your thumb.

Ideas!

In 2000 – 2001 when I was President of my Rotary Club, I had the privilege of being Guest of Honor at the Installation Ceremony of the Board of Directors of their Interact Club. At that event I met the Principal of the Institute of Technical Education, a Mr. Mak.
I took the opportunity to share with Mr. Mak a little about Buckminster Fuller. He found it interesting.
When Mr. Mak left his Institute to run his own Workshop and Seminar Business, teaching Innovation and Creativity, he asked me to join his idea brewery.
I have high regard for him, his sharpness of mind, his relentless pursuit of excellence, and thus I have great respect for his openness and willingness to ask for and accept feedback. He’s a very entrepreneurial person. Feedback was critical to his work.

Mr. Mak who had been researching into Entrepreneurship shared that he had intended to write a book on Entrepreneurship. He asked me what I thought?

In my feedback, I told him that I believe there were many such books in the market. "What makes him think that his book is going to sell? (He could take negative feedback)

Mak asked me what would I do? I replied that if I were him I’d invent an Entrepreneurship game. Like a Board Game. I shared that it would be a useful tool to teach Entrepreneurship, in a fun way, as learning such abstract concept of Entrepreneurship should be made fun.

I produced the prototype copy of the Game, it was refined and fine-tuned, through play testing and as they say the rest is history. The Entrepreneurship Board Game was produced, and it was played in many schools, bringing the various concepts of Entrepreneurship to our youngsters, hopefully igniting the Entrepreneurial Spirit, giving then a headstart
.
More importantly is the question: “How did this Idea of Game come to me?”

I’ll give the credit to Bucky. Thanks to Bucky’s World Game!!

Bucky felt that instead of War Games exercise by the world’s military, to find ways to fight and destroy the imagined enemy effectively, Bucky thought it would make sense to initiate World Game, which would find strategies to “Make the world work for total humanity, without ecological offense and disadvantage to anyone.”

I wanted to invent a Bucky Game that teaches Bucky’s thinking, his philosophy and ideas.
Thus in trying to give the participants powerful thought tools, to solve complex problems they faced in their lives, their work, the challenges they encounter, instead I invented my Bucky workshops Games, and of course this Idea of Game, helped Mr. Mak invent his Board Game.

Like I told Mr. Mak, “ He provided the Egg, I provided the sperm.”

But that’s really “Bucky,” a multi-purpose “Swiss Army knife”, a tool, a "zoom-lens" of re-framable perspectives, and thus a Wellspring of fresh Ideas.

As Bucky himself put it, “ I did not set out to design a house that hung on a pole, or manufacture a new type of car, or invent a new projection map of the world, I started out with Universe, I could have ended out with a pair of flying slippers

Are these not the practical benefits of “studying” Bucky?

Values of Bucky?

2007-09-04T08:16:00.000-07:00

Hmmm...... a good question which I posed to myself.....kept me thinking....

What values did Bucky live by?

If Bucky had 5 Core-values what would they be?

Reflecting......I felt that the Values of Bucky were:

1. Freedom.....as demonstrated through his artifact inventions, and mentioned in his definition of real wealth.

The ideas and design of his autonomous dwelling machines (Dymaxion House) were to give humanity Freedom. One can decide to go anywhere one wish to live, have one's dwelling machine delivered there, by air, and with a black box, one can live comfortably. The black box and dwelling machine, recycles your wastes, it self-cleans, etc., in other words it's autonomous.

Wealth (in my own words) is humanity's know-how capability to take care of X-numbers of people for Y numbers of forward days in terms their protection, nuture, accomodation, education, and their FREEDOMS.

Thought-wise and behavior-wise, Bucky was a non-conformist.

So definitely, FREEDOM is one of the values of Bucky.

2. His self-disciplines....as shared in his book....Critical Path, the Self-disciplines of Buckminster Fuller

Bucky Valued Self-discipline.
There were about 19 or 20 Self-disciplines which he lived by which enabled him to achieve what he did, not trying to earn money for a living, but doing what he felt Nature or Universe deemed needed to be done. He thus lived his life as a 55 year experiment with his own life, which was productive and successful.

3. Integrity....
3.1 Doing one's own thinking
3.2 Speaking and operating from direct experience
3.3 Having the courage to go with one's own mind, and not just follow the crowd

Bucky Valued Integrity.
He shared that Integrity meant Speaking and Operating from Direct Experience. It also meant doing one's own thinking. Finally it meant having the Courage to go with one's own Mind.

4. Personal Experience

Bucky valued Personal Experience.
His definition of Universe (the shorter version): "Universe is the aggregate of all of humanity's experience, which has been apprehended and communicated to self or others."

5. Mind discovering Generalized Principles

Bucky thus also Valued the Mind. Mind as distinct from the brain. Mind (not the egoic mind) which is able to discover invisible relationships of the energy events of our Universe. Mind which is able to Generalize, and thus postulate Generalized Principles operative in Universe.

From my perspective, these could be the Core-values of Buckminster Fuller.

Bucky value-added to humanity and Universe because he dared to live in congruence with his own values. His Values (as listed above) became the context of his life.

Down to Earth?

2007-09-02T18:04:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite Bucky quote:

Scientific design is linked to the STARS far more directly than to the earth,

Star-gazing?

Admittedly.

But it is essential to accentuate

the real source of energy

AND CHANGE

in contrast to the emphasis that has always been placed on keeping man "down to earth"

Down to earth???

Bucky - futuristic and idealistic?

2007-08-31T09:01:00.000-07:00

Dannis Teo, one of my fellow Rotarian wrote:

"Buckminster Fuller (Bucky) does seem to have taken a Global view of Events on Earth, and his philosophy, thinking and ideas seemed very futuristic and idealistic."

JooHock:

Yes, Dannis, you are right.

However, Bucky could be observed in a sense, as a being, from another planet, an ET phenomenon watching humanity from outside Earth, and seeing the folly of man. He sees from very different perspectives.

In my “studying” him, I felt that Bucky took more than a bird’s eye-view, a helicopter view, or even a satellite view, he took a Universal view.

From such perspectives, he saw that our Earth could be "seen" as a Spaceship orbiting our Mothership the Sun, which gives us our energy by radiation and gravity, at approx. 66,000 miles per hour, while spinning on its axis at approx. 1000 miles per hour on the Equator.

So congrats, we are "astronauts" on board a uniquely designed Spaceship, a spaceship called Earth.

As we orbit the Sun, we realize the the Sun does not rise or set, how can it, when we are spinning and orbiting the Sun?
We are actually rolling over to sight the Sun, (the sun is not rising), as it comes into view, and as night approaches, we roll-over to obscure the sun from our view, we experience Sun-clipse, (the sun is not setting). This might seem like quibbling over semantics; however this is more in line with the reality that was discovered more than 500 years ago, by Galileo.
However, even in this day and age, we still seemed to be quite stuck with a paradigm of the Dark Ages.
We still talk of “up” and “down”!!! There is no “up” or “down”. How can it be, when we live on a sphere? There is only IN and OUT. The pilot flying his plane come in to land, and flies out to anywhere.
We are still very much living in a lot of misinformation and thus is mis-oriented.
Bucky in his book, “Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth” tried to bring us the Truth of the “new” realities. This has been extremely difficult, most of these realities are invisible to us.

We are pretty much stuck in our old mindsets, and refused to let them go.
Our mindsets especially with the older generation, who have gone through the hardship of war and deprivation, is that of SURVIVAL. They experience lack, and not abundance. We have to hoard, destroy food crops if the abundant harvest bring down prices of the commodity.

It is a mindset of scarcity, made worst in 1810 (sic) by the dictum of Thomas Malthus, who knew that Earth was a finite spherical planet, NOT land that extended to infinity, that “there is never ever going to enough for us because mankind seemed to be growing at exponential rate, while resources are finite, or if they are growing, it’s only at arithmetical progression.” On top of that Darwin’s dictum of “survival of the fittest” seemed to strengthen Malthus’ case.

So what happens? Nations appropriate resources to build out their weaponry, depriving their citizens of a reasonably good life. Example? Stalin’s USSR, Mao Tse Tung’s China, currently North Korea. The amount of “monetary wealth” spent on arms is in the region of trillions of dollars per year. Among the biggest culprit? USA!! Humanity seemed to have stuck to a self-fulfilling vicious cycle of Scarcity.

It is therefore a tremendous challenge to humanity to breakout of this vicious cycle.
Bucky saw that the world is “shrinking”. We now circumnavigate the world in a Space capsule in 2 hours at the several times the speed of sound. We now tele-communicate with the rest of the world at the speed of light. It has now become a One-town world with the rest of the world as your backyard. We also have the technology to blow ourselves out to “thy kingdom come”. It is now no longer a “You-OR-Me” world, it is now a “You- AND-Me” world, we either make it together kind of World, or NONE at all. Through his books and talks around the world he did his best to bring this message across.

Bucky saw that politics and religion will not solve the problems facing humanity. They only resort to war.

So you are right, and I quote you here: “Unless a way can be found to conceptualise his philosophy and ideas into a system or methodology that circumvents conventional thinking, the world's problem will remain”.

Bucky approach was via Design Science Strategy. A happy bloodless revolution.

Design artifacts that “Do More with Less”, higher performance with less resources. His Dymaxion Houses, his Dymaxion Car, his Geodesic Domes, etc were practical application of the Generalized Principles operating in Universe. He sought to redesign the “environment”, provide humanity with the necessary tools that if used, would obsolete their old ways, and thus change their behavior to benign ways.
Via the Generalized Principle of Synergy, application of our “know-how,” and “know-what” capabilities to our limited resources we could do so much with so little resources, we would realize that there is Abundance for total humanity. (Economists have not included this knowledge in their Text-book yet.)
One of the biggest problems is because we are playing a big casino game on board our Spaceship Earth, where money has been de-linked from its original function as a medium of exchange, representing value of our real-wealth life-support resources. In this financial game, it is still a Win/lose game, the stock market is but just one example. There is no life-supporting real-wealth created.
Humanity will go unprecedentedly into crisis after crisis, forcing him into emergency. And perhaps at this point, humanity, receiving his wake-up call rudely, will adopt the artifact inventions, the tools, put in place by Bucky, and hopefully man will emerge from his emergency.

Bucky initiated the World Game, a logistic game, and working together with an inventory of world resources, human trends and needs, the Game sought to highlight the state of affairs in the world with up-to-date information, invisible trends, and had it played to help man find ways to make the “World work for Total Humanity, through sustainable development, without ecological offense and disadvantage to anyone”
What came out of the World Game was the realization, that Electrical Energy is Real Wealth. If we could link-out the world with an Electrical Energy Grid System, bringing cheap electrical energy to poor parts of the world, we would raise their standard of living, and stabilized population growth.

Don't believe it? Imagine if right now, all the power stations of the “have” nations round the world were shut down, say due to some natural disaster, the standard of living would drop to zero. Almost everything would grind to a halt. You would realized and agree very quickly electrical energy is real wealth.

For Electrical Energy, we could tap into solar power, wind power, hydro-electicity, tidal power, wave-power, geo-thermal without relying on fossil fuels and atomic energy. There is abundance! We are just tapping a fraction of a fraction of a percentage of these Renewable Energy resources. And we have the know-how, the technology to do so. The people making money with money are obstructing these initiatives, because they have invested much in the current infrastructure to allow them to be obsoleted
Nature has designed our atomic-power plant, the Sun, and place it 93 million miles from us. Why? It’s deadly radiation could kill us quite instantly. If we rely on atomic energy, its like burning our house in deep winter just to keep warm.

Turning to your point about Eastern business, providing jobs during bad times, I’m not so sure. In China, they are so Money-mad, I’m not so sure if they really care about their workers, or the people who use their products.
China is going all out making money at the expense of all care and concern for others. Poor quality products for their customers, low wages, and at the cost of the health of their workers, pollution of their environment.
One of my customer, a Mr. Tan in the Printer Ink Ribbon industry was cursing at how China Chinese do business, they cut their prices to such a level to kill their competitors.
Of course, this does not absolve Western business from their unscrupulous practices. Bucky does not condone their ways. In fact in his book Critical Path, he decries the US and “western” business ways too, including their financial systems, governments, their politics, etc.

Because of his Universal perspectives, seeing things very differently, he became a wellspring of ideas. When he was working for Fortune Magazine, some accountant complained that this Bucky does not produced much but spends his time in the organization talking only. The executive who hired Bucky pointed out ever since Bucky was hired, many of the staff writers became more productive as a result of their chatting with him. They picked Bucky brain and mind for ideas.

Some Ideas in the business world, attributed to Bucky?
The HSBC tagline on their advertisement "The World's Local Bank" probably came from one of Bucky's phrase "Think Global, Act Local."

In my Bucky workshops what I do is introduced people to the Generalized Principles which Bucky has gleaned from his experiences. With these principles we have to find application in our present context, to find new solutions to the challenges facing us.
Examples:
1. Generalized Principle of Leverage
2. Generalized Principle of Synergy
3. Generalized Principle of Precession
The books I’d recommend you to read, if you wish is:
1. Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth
2. Critical Path
3. The Grunch of Giants

Perhaps at the end of the day we need to have the courage to:
Dare to be Futuristic and Idealistic
afterall we're born of the stars.

Conscious Evolution?

2007-08-29T01:47:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, at MacRitchie while discussing "Bucky's Utopia or Oblivion, the following ensued: Can humans ever design a computer that can actually "think" and operate beyond it's programming? In other words can a computer in future ask an original question?

Apparently Bucky shared that it has happened, that the computer did ask an original question, albeit a simple one. He gave an example of a computer doing two tasks simultaneously. Say it is playing Backgammon, and Checkers. With Backgammon it plays at a higher speed. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. It makes a move. While play checkers, it plays it at a slower pace. Tap. Tap. It makes its move on the checkers board. In the process of playing the two games simultaneously, it will come to a point when it "speeds" coincide. The computer has to ask itself which Game should it play first, what its priority? It then decided that it would make the move on the Backgammon first, as it's program tell it that Backgammon is a more sophisticated game.

Wow....the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI)!!!

A "Task" accomplished perhaps beyond it's programming?

It seemed thus that it may be possible for the computer one day to help man think and ask original questions, solve problems for man?......... HOWEVER Man must be able to design a computer as complex as his Brain.

At the moment, Computer is a differentiator, able to sort, arrange, process information at very high speeds, millions of info per second, and give us the answer we're seeking. In this aspect, the computer will replace man as the super-specialist. The computer will not however replace man as the Integrator, the generalist.

So Bucky said this may not happen so soon, not for a long long time, perhaps NEVER.

Reason? Well Man's own computer which is his brain, contains all the "programming" ever since man walked the Earth, encountered challenges, made mistakes, began to ask questions, reflect, postulate a theory, test out the theory, learned by trial and error, shared his experiences, and thus compounded his know-how capabilities. His Know-how capability wealth, which is stored in his brain memory bank (as subconcious programs) grew exponentially. He differentiated out, and re-Integrated the learnings from his vast wealth of experiences.

However Man's brain was also pre-programmed. And he operated from this program. It was also subconscious.
He was designed with the urge to pro-create, and also with designed in hunger and thirst, he hunted for his food, sourced out fresh water.

Man has been evolving subconsciously, as he still pretty much is today.

Thus, just the super-complex Task for him to be able to create a Computer with a program similar to his Brain, and as powerful and super-duper-complex as his, is unlikely.

Computers can be trained, like in robotics, programmed to learn, with the learned information stored in its memory chips, and there is much progess in this field of AI, however it's still programming, it's still the brain.

Similarly animals brains learned. By the process of training, animal were programmed to behave in certain ways, like the circus elephants, the horses, the dogs, etc. Once trained, these animals operated from their "trained" subconscious programs.

Majority of human beings are similarly doing so, operating from their subconscious program, without quite being aware of it. As Bucky called humans: "Honey money seeking bees"
That being so we're still pretty much a product of programming, evolving subconsciously.

We need to shift, into Conscious Evolution. Being aware..... Using MIND (as distinct from brain)
That's the real challenge.....facing us today

The 2nd Experience? A Conversation with Manoj Sharma of Differworld....

2007-08-21T09:11:00.000-07:00

Manoj :
I didn't quite understand why he (Bucky) used the term Minimal Consciousness in the following phrase (which I read at least 10 times)
Minimal consciousness requires time,
As a non-simultaneous sequence of experiences.

Did he mean "at minimum consciousness requires times" or "a small amount of consciousness" and would love you insight.

JooHock:

1. To me, I felt that Bucky here meant, "at minimum, consciousness requires time....

Manoj wrote:

As for…

Identified the basic increment of time
As being a second.

… a quote which has always piqued my interest. (which is why I requested the whole context from you) I fully understand Bucky's genius as identifying the measurement of time in the second. And what I am curious about is who is the other genius who coined the term "second" as we probably have used for as long as there have been clocks. And for that matter where did the term minutes and hours come from? It would be easy to assume that minutes is a play on minutes (small quantities) but what does "hours" means? Human & Ours? Any idea?

JooHock:

2. It's interesting to note the use of 60 in the clock. As in 60 second make a minute, and 60 minutes make an hour. I wonder if this has any connection to the Chinese calendar, of one complete cycle in a persons life, which in 60. The Chinese have 12 animals in the Chinese "Zodiac" sign. They are, Year of the Rat, the Ox, the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Snake, the Horse, the Goat, the Monkey, the Rooster, the Dog, and the Pig. However they also have the 5 Elements of Earth, Water, Fire, Metal, and Wood. So this makes a total of 60 years for complete cycle. That is why with the older generation of the Chinese, one celebrates one's birthday, in a big way only when one reaches 60. Not like these day when parents fuss over small kids, and celebrate their birthdays.

Interestingly, the numeral 12 also occurs often in the Cycles. 12 x 2 = 24 hours in the day, as a feature on our clocks. I wonder if they are connected to the 12 moons of a Year.

One thing is certain, Bucky felt the ancient civilizations of India and China, perceive Nature as cyclical, that Natures' behavioral patterns is inherently cyclical.

"Western" civilization tend to think more linearly, which perhaps stems from their perception of "things" being linear.

Manoj:

Time, relativity and consciousness
Are always and only co-existent functions

My understanding of Time, Relativity and Consciousness are only as 2 actually Consciousness and Relativity off which there are 3 fundamental relativities as I see them – Relativity of Time, Relativity of Space and Non-Space & Non-Time Relativity, which is not to be confused with Einstein's Space/Time) As there definitely would have been a need for relativity for consciousness to appreciate itself and at minimum it would have been a relativity of space and time.

Joo Hock:

3. As to this point, I don't quite catch your question. However I will forward you the next portion, the continuation of Bucky "sharing" which may clarify his thoughts, and your question above.

Manoj:

And respectfully (and you know how much I like a good thought provoking Bucky discussion) I find it difficult to accept his conclusion of…

All mono-logical explanations of Universe
Are inherently inadequate
And axiomatically fallacious.
There can be no single key
Not unit building block of Universe.

JooHock:
4. My apologies, it should read: NOR unit building block of universe

My understanding is that: There is no single building block of Universe. As Universe is inherently systemic. "Systems" if my understanding is correct, means plurality.
So even, what we see as ONE, is at minimum still TWO.
The ancient Greek Philosophers were seeking out the fundamental one starting point of the building block of our physical Universe, which are the atoms. But from Bucky's perspective even the atoms are plural, comprising the protons, electrons, etc.

True Purpose?

2007-08-20T08:11:00.000-07:00

San San wrote:

Thanks for the enlightenment, Joo Hock. It does really help, in part.
The second question I have for you is, perhaps one that you may not be able to answer. How do I know my true purpose? I have various talents but to which do I devote the focus to?

Joohock's:

Yes this is a tough one.

True purpose?

Bucky said: " The significance of you will forever remain obscure to you. But you may assume you are fulfilling your significance if you apply yourself to converting all your experiences to the highest advantage of others"

I would replace significance with purpose.

So it reads: The true purpose of you will forever remain obscure to you but you may assume you are fulfilling your true purpose if you apply yourself to converting all your experiences to the highest of others.

It may sound dismal. Because it sounds like you WOULD NOT really know what your true purpose really is.

If that is so, then one would never ever really know what is one's True purpose.

But don't give up hope

Perhaps there are some ways to discover what's our true purpose...........

The following questions could help you decide
1. What's your dream?
2. What are you passionate about?
3. What can you, or is your value-add to others?
4. What's your talents?

Finally you probably have to make a DECISION for yourself on what is your True Purpose.
You have to assume then your True Purpose, go ahead and do something

Some other pointers about True Purpose?

Bucky looked at the Big Picture, at Universe, and asked this question: "Do we humans have a function in Universe?"

He observed that every phenomena in Universe has its complementary phase.

He observed that Universe has an entropic phase. Like in our Solar system, our sun, (which is a star) goes into randomness, disorderliness, as it give out its energy, as radiation, of light. He said there must be a complementary phase, somewhere else to bring that randomness into order. He observe that our Mind does that function. Man as Mind, function in Universe is syntropic. bringing order to seeming disorder.

How so?

Humans as Mind are generalists, generalizing. this generalization is the bringing back to order of entropic Universe.

Example?
Einstein famous equation, E=MC2 is a 6th degree generalization, bringing orderliness. and is syntropic. Bucky felt that this is one of our true purpose.

Finally, from Bucky's perspective (in my opinion)........
How do you know your True Purpose, for you as an individual?
That's what you really want to know.
An important question then is:
Are you doing real wealth creating work? Work that supports life? If you are, you should be on your True Purpose

In his speech on "Integrity" Bucky said ( I am writing this from memory): "Humans are in final examination. Do we have the courage to go with our Mind, or do we just go along with the crowd?" If we do, humans will continue in Universe...... (the Mind here refers to our Mind as being capable of discovering relationships, the invisible behavioral patterns of all phenomenon, all energy events in Universe, NOT of the Egoic mind as used by writers like Eckhart Tolle, et al )

Using our Mind might lead us to our True Purpose?

Can your True Purpose change?
YES. And it's okay to change.
Universe is in perpetual motion, constantly changing, regenerating itself. Change is normal.

Can you help the Wasp get out?

2007-08-19T00:54:00.000-07:00

Imagine.....

A wasp, which may give you a nasty sting, if provoked, has flown into your home. It was searching for a safe spot in your house to build a little hive, to lay it's eggs, and breed it's young.

As you have left your sliding glass window open in a small vertical slit to one side, it has flown its way in, quite by sheer chance.

Being a highly spiritual person, you believe that all life is sacred, so you wouldn't want to kill it, by swatting it or whatever. You are however afraid that it might give your little four year old daughter ( or say your niece) a nasty sting.

After it has surveyed your house, for it nesting spot, it is trying to fly out by the window but couldn't find the narrow slit opening of your sliding window.

YOUR SLIDING GLASS WINDOW IS STUCK, and you couldn't open it further, to help the wasp to fly out.

(Btw, as it flew in by the window, it was looking for it way back out by the window but cant' find the small vertical slit opening)

You want to help it get away, NOW.

TRY AS YOU MAY, YOU CAN'T OPEN THE WINDOW FULLY AS THE WINDOW IS REALLY JAMMED.

How can you help it get away?

Hear from you?

Will share my answer with you later.......

Money or Sense?

2007-08-18T01:37:00.000-07:00

San San wrote:

Hi Joo Hock, scanned through your blog, with a question for you... How come it's not possible to make both together? (money and sense) Why does it have to be mutually exclusive?

My reply to San San

Thank for visiting my blog, and thanks for your question.

Perhaps what is relevant here is to put in context Bucky’s statement “You either make money or make sense, they are mutually exclusive.”

Bucky experienced and observed that the money system was no longer linked to the life-supporting system which is our real wealth. (Electrical energy is our real wealth. Anything that enhances life, give you quality of life, that’s real wealth.) (See Critical Path, Ch.6 World Game page 198, para. 3)

Bucky had for example developed and built prototypes of his Dymaxion Car in the 1930s, which is an excellent car ahead of it’s time, considering the technology available then. It was superior performing car, which can carry as many as 11 passengers and gave much more mileage to the gallon of fuel. Walter Chrysler of the Chrysler Corporation was excited and approved of Bucky’s Dymaxion Car. He himself had wanted to develop such a car. He came to a tentative agreement to manufacture the car for Bucky. Then suddenly all was quiet. They decided to shelve the idea.
(Check this out in Lloyd Steven Sieden's book, "Buckminster Fuller's Universe")

What happened? Why?
Apparently if Bucky’s Car was produced it would jeopardize the profitable second-hand car market, which was financed by the banks. It could cause some serious problems for the banks, the finance industry. The bankers had persuaded Chrysler NOT to go ahead with production of Bucky’s Car.

It was a Car that made sense, and created wealth, being fuel efficient, and of superior performance in its functions.

However the people in the financial industries, the banking system have hijacked the money system and are controlling and playing the game of money. They decided that it would be detrimental to them. They scuttle it.

In the Financial "Money Game," it's a "I Win, You Lose" game. In the Casino, they (the Casino operator) Win, You Lose.

Another example? Take our stock market. Do the values of the stocks and shares listed on the stock exchange around the world reflect the true values of the listed companies being traded on the markets? Generally NO!! It’s all about what they call market sentiments. Nothing much connected to the fundamentals of a company, its actual performance, etc

Companies may be doing badly due to poor management, however if market sentiments are good, the value of its shares can be high. That’s what the Bulls and Bears are about.
That’s why stock market do crash and people who lose everything do commit suicide

The Stock market is just one big Casino. They encourage people to speculate, to“gamble” in this “legalized” casino. They call it trading. Who really controls it? The people who control the financial system, the money system, which has been totally disconnected from the life support systems of Real Wealth. It's a Win/Lose game.

Is Bucky therefore against making money? No far from it. My belief is that he would have said “Make Sense first, then make money.”
So don’t get Bucky wrong. Nothing wrong with making money, however MAKE SENSE FIRST. In other words, “Do your true purpose first, then you’ll get your Goal, your money to support you in your work.”

That’s what Bucky did with his life. He lived his life as a 55 year experiment with his life, not trying to earn money for a living, but doing his true purpose, (making sense) he found himself living on the edge, being supported only in the nick of time, PRECESSIONALLY.

Bucky played Win/Win. He value-added.

Money or Sense?

Real Wealth?

2007-08-14T18:43:00.000-07:00

Real Wealth is life-supporting Wealth.

What's that?

Real Wealth should protect us.

Real Wealth should nuture us

Real Wealth should accomodate us

Real Wealth should educate us

Real Wealth should empower us, giving us greater FREEDOMS

Will be back to elaborate on the above.

The Second Experience?

2007-08-12T17:48:00.000-07:00

Wait a second?
Gimme a second?

What’s a second?
But of course, You know the answer.
It’s a measurement of time, the smallest unit of time.

But hang on, why do we call it a second?
Why don’t we call it something else?

Can you figure it out?
Give up?

Well Bucky shared this in his book Intuition.

“Consciousness dawns
with the second experience.
This is why consciousness
Identified the basic increment of time
As being a SECOND.”

Bucky added:
“Not until the second experience
Did time and consciousness
Combine as human life.”

So?

Hmmm. . . The SECOND EXPERIENCE . . .
AHA!! Now I get it. And this is the more significant point that I can learn here

I realize that when I want to be able to really understand something, and thus be able to share a thought, an idea effectively, I need to be truly conscious of it, and that requires a second experience.

That explains why in many of my “learnings”, especially from the experiences of others, (like Bucky), through their books, I need to not only “study” it more than once, I need to revisit several times.

Why?
We think we know, but do we really know? I found out that I didn't really know. Because the first time the "learning" didn't register.

That's why Buckminster Fuller repeats what he shares of his experiences, many times over, in different books of his, in different "settings"

I also take the opportunity to share the thoughts, ideas in discussions. And re-visit the thoughts, ideas, again and again, if possible, if I really want to know and understand them.

Perhaps I may add: “Aha! comes with the second experience” and more.........

Go for a SECOND Experience?
It may be an excellent idea.................

Comments:
August 17th 2007
Clara, Dylan's mum wrote:

Joo Hock,This is so true and really strikes a chord with me! The other day whilst I thought I already know something about myself, I had this conversation with a landmark forum graduate really deepened what I got. Thanks for writing and sharing your thought-provoking blogs!

JooHock's reply: Thanks Clara, appreciate your feedback

On Mass Attraction & Precession?

2007-08-10T08:16:00.000-07:00

Buckminster Fuller stated:

"Mass Attraction and precession
provide the first scientific means
of elucidating social behavior.
When human affect one another
metaphysically,
the least thoughtful
goes into local system orbit
around the most thoughtful.
When human tense one another
physically
The least strong
falls into the other,
“Falls” in Love.
When they repel one another physically
The least strong is rocketed
Into remote system orbit."

I do ocasionally share the above “quote” of Bucky, (which some find not easy to grasp). Many who heard it the first time goes: " Huh?"

My interpretation of what Bucky is saying here:

The most thoughtful among us generate an energy field, which can be very powerful, which draws others into orbit around us.

An example?

The Bucky Group!

Through it’s learning activities, it has generated a energy field, just like a magnetic field which attracts people. These people will orbit around it, to learn from it . And if they align their personal agenda with the objectives of the Group, they will stay with the group.

We are often attracted to people who are strong metaphysically, who are knowledgeable, who are thoughtful and has wisdom, without our being aware of it. This is powerful realization.

Bucky showed us, in a sense that the behavioral patterns physical Universe, has its parallels in our human social behavior. The physical Universe may thus be use as METAPHORS as our thinking tools and can serve to help in the understanding of our behavior, our relationships. Which indeed it has been so as observed

Our great thinkers throughout the ages have used examples from Nature to explain things.

Bucky took it one step further. He used the gravitational behavioral patterns of our protons and electrons, our atoms and molecules, to enlighten us on our own social relationship behaviors.

Thus I have used these behavioral patterns of physics, which are the behavioral Principles of Nature and Universe to provide us clues for effective understanding of our relationship to our fellow human beings.

If we use these Principles to guide our action, not easy though, they become powerful tools for our use.

Make your music? Sing your song? Dance your Dance?

2007-08-05T02:49:00.000-07:00

I remember telling my friend Manoj that I feel "we're here to make our music, sing our song, dance our dance"

That's what I get to do in the Bucky Group.
That's what I get to do in my Bucky Workshop.

And I say to the participants.......Make your music.....Sing your song.....Dance your dance
you'll be a happier person for it.....at the end of the day....no regrets.

Okay what do I really mean?

Express our thoughts. Share our ideas. Go to MacRitchie reservoir and discuss Buckminster Fuller. Sing your song, even if you're out of key, it's okay, and after a while you'll get better.

In 1990, I went on a semi-backpack tour of Europe, by myself. Yes, alone.

I did Bexhill, UK, Paris, St. Blasien, in the Black Forest, and Oberammergau, and Wald, Zurich, Switzerland, many other place in Europe. I observe that the people there in St. Blasien, there in the town square were making their music, and the Buskers all over the cities, were making their music, singing their song, dancing their dance.

What I really admire about these people is that they are just ordinary people, like myself, doing so. They accepted themselves as they are. They add colour to the place.

Hmmm............... and what's really neat here, one does not have to wait for other to give us permission to Make one's Music, sing One's Songs, Dance one's Dance.....you never quite know what contribution you could make to the world...........if nothing else your "fragrance"!

So get out there, and join in the "parade"? You may Make a Difference.....

Make my million first - then I can be.......?

2007-08-04T07:29:00.000-07:00

Guess in a relatively fast paced place like Singapore, where money is very important, that's true, one has to make one's money, and if possible one's million first, before we consider other things, like......as some friends told me.....
"I got to achieve my first million before I can join you guys, (the Bucky Group) then I can go about doing the learning and the fun activites of the Bucky Group,"

Hmm......sometimes I wonder if they'll ever get around to it. Eventually they get so caught out with trying to make money, they never quite get around to joining the Bucky Group, and perhaps may miss out on life, especially here in Singapore. Can't really blame them, money, security first.

Afterall, one can't live on love, fresh air and sunshine or the Bucky Group.

Forget about dreams, forget about passion.....forget about the Bucky Group......work, earn the money......make the millions

Unfortunately, as pointed out already, one never quite seem to get there, besides, they also keep reminding you that there's never gonna be enough for you for your "retirement" in your old age.
Ha Ha...."Money no enough"...does that sound familiar?

So one soldiers and struggles on, to keep one's head above the rising waters.
Those dreams, those passion, they go on the backburner, they're forgotten. Life has passed you by.

Isn't it paradoxical that in going for the money, so that we can live the life we want to live, we miss out on life?

I am reminded of what I saw many years ago, at the home of my late good friend Ken Armstrong, in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, on a fridge magnet, it read: "Life is what happen to you while you're busy making plans".

Like travellers on a journey, one can get so caught up with trying to make his seat so comfortable, that one forgot to enjoy the scenery. What a pity!

I marvel at some people like JK Rowling (of Harry Potter fame) or Paulo Coelho (the Alchemist fame)
They lived their dreams, they went for what they were passionate about. And they made their millions too. Hey....wait a minute....is that really possible?

It's like asking: " Can one have one's cake and eat it too?"

Perhaps these days, with satellite TV, the World wide web and Internet, it is possible!
Why? The possibilities, the opportunities are there. Power to do, to be....... is in the hands of the ordinary gal or guy, thanks to technology, the playing field is levelling.

So perhaps when we go about daring to live life, to live our dreams, go for our passion, we might find that we might just make our million........though we may not really need to make the millions......

Why?
Because we lived out our passion our dreams even without them.

Hmmm.........Perhaps we can eat our cake and still have it

Still need to make your millions first?
Don't blame you.........

The Bucky Group..........a model that's redefining "success"?............ the "space" where you may live your dreams, your passion.......

Money, Fame and Power.....Happily ever after?

2007-08-03T08:39:00.000-07:00

You've become one of the richest man in the world. You are a billionaire. Oh.... well, Multi-millionaire? And you'll be happy ever after? No problems in your life? True or false?

You're a famous 'artist." You gained world renown. And now you're living a fairy tale ending....happy ever after......No more problems in your life? True or false?

You are one of the most powerful person in the world. Well not really. But you are the Chairman of a larger mutli-national corporation. You have tremendous power in your hands. And so now you live happily ever after. True or false?

Perhap after some hard reflection, you'll realize, that even though you may be rich, famous or powerful, hey you still have problems in your life, a different set of problems. No you're not necessarily happy. You still have your fears. Like losing your money, your possessions. You still have problems. You suspect that the reason your "friends" are so nice to you because they want your money.....you're lonely, you're actually quite miserable. You drown yourself in drinking.
Hmmm.....you not really happy, are you?

Power, the people around you.... they don't want to tell you the truth....they tell you what you want to hear. Shit, all these toadies, these yes men.....makes you angry .......happiness with all your power?

No you still have problems... don't you?

If that's so.....money, power fame they don't really equal happiness... do they?

Hah.... perhaps we've discovered a generalized principle here......the generalized principle of problems.......happens in all situations

and if you can be happy even with all the problems you facing, you can be happy anywhere, whatever you are doing, whatever you are being.

So if you're not happy in what you are doing right now, as in your work, not happy with the home you are living, the society you're living in, What make you think you'll be happy doing something else, living in another country or place?

Not very likely at all. Why?

Because who you really are goes wherever you go. Only until you can change the who you are being..... then why.....you can be happy anywhere, doing anything

Congrats....you have found the key to true happiness.... I guess that's why the wise people say it's an ATTITUDE.

Like the lotus flower, so serene so beautiful, can grow in the seemingly filthiest of places.
Poor people can be and paradoxically happier than rich people. Rich people?They fight over inheritances, property....that's why lawyers go laughing all the way to the bank. Ha Ha

Make sense?

Passion for sharing Bucky?

2007-07-29T03:12:00.000-07:00

Recently, Lan, (one of our Bucky Gp member) felt that I should share: Why "sharing Bucky" was and is my passion.

And so here goes......

I operate and manage a Hair Salon, The Hair Affair with my brother. I worked very hard. Eagerly.

My colleagues, my brother Quek, and my associate Cheong were like "partners" with me.

I had the C's. One of which is the knack of "connecting" well with my customers, and thus many not only became life-long customers, they often became friends too. Afterall, I was also consistent with my work, too.

Soon I was very popular, and finding myself working "harder and harder," as I worked on Sundays and Public Holidays, resting on Tuesdays. We were at Centrepoint.

But my colleagues were taking it easier, especially my good brother, afterall he was into golfing....and addicted.

I was getting frustrated. That's not how it was meant to be.

One day, on my off day, at home, I did something quite uncharacteristic of me.

I wrote a short little note to God. It went something like this" Dear God, need help, please help. Not communicating well with my brother." I signed the note put it into a box, and hid it under my pillow. And kind of forgot about it.

One of my customer, Maurice whom I shared some of my woes, recommended, me to this seminar. After some feet dragging, I decided to sign up.

At this Seminar, they shared about Buckminster Fuller. How he dropped out of Harvard University, not once but twice, how his life was a big mess, and he stood on the shores of Lake Michigan contemplating suicide. He however at the last moment decided to commit Ego-suicide. That was the turning-point of his life.....and as they say the rest is history.

At the seminar were touting his book Critical Path as the most difficult book to read. You need another book with you, called the dictionary to read it.

I gave a cursory look at the book, it looked intimidating and I decided that it was not for me. However at the end of the seminar, a fellow participant, Siew Bee came to me, offered it "saying Joo Hock, you can keep it with you till I need it.

Never one to resist a good offer, I took it. Flipping through the pages, I spied his "Self-disciplines of Buckminster Fuller". I came across his claim of his "Direct experiential evidence of God". Whoa!! Here was someone whom I consider as a first rate scientist, meticulous in the way he describes things, and coming upfront to declare his direct experience of God. (See Critical Path)

Normally I shied away from talking about God, but soon I found myself going around telling friends, here look at this guy, a first rate scientist, talking about God. Without realising it, I got hooked on Bucky. A friend, Robert started inviting me to give talks about Bucky.

People started saying, if you want to know more about Bucky, go talk to JooHock.

It was regenerative, as the energy and resources began to feedback on itself, propelling me into doing more intensive studying and researching into Bucky. I began to do my Bucky workshops.

Afterall the best way to learn something is to "teach" or share it!

One day, while sharing spontaneously at one of my workshop, it dawned on me, that I had written a note to God, asking for help. Here was HIS (God's) answer, sending me "Bucky".

Why? Because Bucky made sense to me. I've been a very skeptical guy, nobody could quite convince me of anything, until Bucky.

I began to source out anything and everything about Bucky, from the library. And interestingly, many friends and people came forward to help me.

My life began to change, as I began to climb this "Mount Everest" call Bucky

Thus my passion for learning and sharing Bucky......

And the principles reveal themselves upon the passion .....

Comments:

Clara Dylan's mum wrote:

Wow, Joo Hock,I never knew this was how you started on the Bucky journey! Thanks for sharing and maybe I'll start flipping through my almost untouched copy of Critical Path afterall - the God connection being of particular interest!Clara

JooHock's response:

Hmmm......I' ve got people who would want to buy your copy of Critical Path. Ha ha.

Now that you know, you must get it out and start reading.......

Sustainable?

2007-07-26T08:26:00.000-07:00

Recently at the Tribute to Buckminster Fuller event (July 13th to 15th 2007) at Penang Hill, Malaysia, I observed that the KEY word that came up frequently in the keynote speech by Datuk Seri Lim Chong Keat, was sustainability.

Why?

Because in my opinion, Bucky used to talk about and was very concern about sustainable development, in relation to our resources and our environment. Can our environment regenerate itself at the rate with which we consume its resources?

At the rate which we humans are consuming our resources, depleting our forests, polluting our rivers and ocean, just to name a few, is Mother Earth able to SUSTAIN us?

Talking about SUSTAINABILITY, I felt that this idea of "sustainability" applies very much to the Bucky Group Singapore!

Why? The reason is that many "learning" groups (they have decided to meet regularly after having met and became friends through the M&Y seminar) have started, but they all fizzled out after a short while. They were unsustainable.

And many who have heard about us, the Bucky Group, often wondered, how did we sustain ourselves over the many years (since June 1994), and is in fact thriving? Some have asked me so.

There have been several reasons.

We have sustained ourselves firstly we wanted to read and understand Bucky's book Critical Path. That was our main focus, we orbited around this objective.

Secondly, we were keen about exercise. Healthy walks, jogs or runs at MacRitchie Reservoir were part of our objective.
.

But most importantly, we or at least, I personally decided that I am committed to being there at MacRitchie every Sunday to "do Bucky," rain or shine.

Like when it was raining quite heavily on a Sunday morning, and I was there, despite the rain, I receive an sms from Su. She asked me if anybody else turned up. I replied, that there are three of us. Great Spirit, Bucky and me.

We make it work. And other things began to happen for the Bucky Group. It gathered momentum. It regenerated itself. The Impossible began to happen, like make the World a Better place. And the world is a better place, even if just one of us changes for the better, because of the Bucky Group.

Results?
Fourteen members of the Singapore Bucky Group turned out at the Tribute to Buckminster Fuller event, which prompted Medard Gabel to remark that "it is of cosmic importance that he met with the Bucky Group!"

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has!" So said Margaret Mead.

Sustainable? It's a commitment

In the END.....is it OKAY??

2007-07-16T23:32:00.000-07:00

When I visited Penang Hill in March 9th & 10th 2007, to conduct a Bucky Workshop Session at Datuk Seri Lim Chong Keat’s Bellevue Hotel, my customer and friend Mary and her husband Chris invited us (Vasu and I) to her house at Batu Ferringhi. What caught our attention, was this phrase written on a whiteboard in her home for her 3 precocious and musically inclined daughters.
“In the END, IT’S OK .....
If it’s NOT OK, it’s NOT THE END.”

We like it very much. It’s struck a chord with us.

Perhap, I intuitively felt that it goes well with this story by Anthony De Mello, shared by him in his book Awareness entitled “Good Luck or Bad Luck, who knows?”

Well it’s the story of the Chinese Village Farmer.
Do you know this story?

A village farmer lost his horse. It ran away, when the barn door wasn’t closed properly.
The neighbors pitied him. “Bad luck.” Now he had no horse to help him in his farm work.
Well, as it turned out, a couple of days later, the horse came back, and attracted a strong young stallion back with it. “Lucky chap” the neighbors said.
His only son, trying to train the new found horse for work, tried to ride it. The horse being wild, bucked and threw him off. He fell badly and broke his leg.
Poor fellow, “Bad luck” once again “now the son can’t help with the farm chores”, said the neighbors.
The following day, the Emperor’s Imperial army marched into the village and rounded out all the able young men for military service. Seeing the farmers’ son with his leg broken, they excused him.
“Lucky chap” the neighbors said.

“Good luck or bad luck, Who knows?” the farmer thought.

"What is good luck seem to be bad. What can be bad luck turned out to be good."

Now I would add that “In the End it’s okay. If it not okay, it not the end.”

This reminded me or our Bucky group recent visit to Penang Hill (July 13th to 15th) for the event to billed as "Tribute to Buckminster Fuller" organized by Datuk Lim Chong Keat, and his staff.

But first I want to thank the Bucky Group members and friends who came along to support the event, and they took it very well despite the “little” challenges. How so?

Firstly, there were some chaos on our arrival, at Penang, in the morning. After some commotion to arrange the transport to Peggy’s uncle farm for their world famous durians, we made it. (Found out the location of the place, after figuring out his phone number, got several taxis and finally got there. Some members were getting impatient) Phew!

Lesson learnt? A good case of experiencing the order out of the chaos.

“NOT OK? IT”S NOT THE END!

Next it was "finding" our way to Penang hill. Our taxi driver friend was more interested in taking us for sight-seeing which we’re NOT interested. After some to-ing and fro-ing, we made it.

Here’s come the kicker: Accommodation-wise we were given a “campy” bungalow almost as bare as Old Mother Hubbard’s cupboard. Spartan, save the beds to sleep on! Location? The boondocks! 45 minutes walk. Bad luck?

Hmmm. . . if not for this location we would not have done the scenic long walk. We’d be too lazy to do so, to work off the many meals we seemed to be eating. Not a bad thing really. And the Bucky group were well trained for this, hiking MacRitchie Reservoir on sundays, etc. Good luck?

So, after one night at the "campy" bungalow, and some feedback, the kind lady at Bellevue took intitatives and made accommodation available for us at Bellevue instead.

3 rooms available? The ladies grabbed them all.

Bad luck to the guys?
As it turned out we’re later had room no 1. Five of us shared Bucky’s room

Food-wise, it was a case of bad luck, good luck again. Our meals got better by the moment.

Despite some murmurings, the Bucky group and friends were restrained and gracious. My heartfelt gratefulness you all.

Our Penang host and friends were profusely apologizing for their short-comings. It was a big event. They were coping their best under the weight. Like Dr. Ong Hean Tee.

Most importantly we enjoy the weather, it coolness, the mist wafting and caressing our faces.
Most importantly we enjoyed the tea and scones, at the English country manor.
Most importantly we’ve made new friends, the staff of Bellevue, who did their best to make our stay memorable.
Most importantly we had several good session with Medard Gabel.
Most importantly we learnt that good luck or bad luck, who knows?
It’s how we take it,
So IN THE END, IT’S OK. . . . . . . .IF IT’S NOT OK, IT’S NOT THE END

Do your own thinking?

2007-07-02T18:06:00.000-07:00

The Bucky Group meets twice weekly to share, discuss, and learn.

Fairly recently a Ms Chia Siew joined us, the group.
She speaks eloquently. She speaks her mind. That's good.

"Do your own thinking!" She would chop the air with her left hand, (hmm...she must be a "lefty" just like me.) and exhort the fellow members in a vehement tone.

No doubt about it. Bucky would have approved of it. Afterall Bucky did his own Thinking, and wrote about it, in his Self-disciplines of Buckimnster Fuller (see Critical Path)

Sound easy? Perhaps it's the hardest thing to do!!!
Why?
Because when one "thinks", he is somebody else, and NOT himself.
Since childhood we've been taught to think. If that is so, how can we be original in our thinking? Why? Because we've been thinking someone else's thoughts! How can we think our own thoughts?

e.e. cummings wrote a poem on that. (see Critical Path)

How then can we think our own thoughts?
Through our feelings, our sensing.
That it's!
It is only when we feel, (sense) that we are ourselves, for we cannot be taught how to feel, to sense. And when our thoughts springs from our feeling, our sensing, then it is truly original.......I feel

(This feeling here is not of the emotion type of feeling)

Do your own thinking? Or feeling?.....Or sensing?.....
I sense

Beyond the illusion of money??

2007-06-27T00:49:00.000-07:00

I often have "great arguments" with a friend of mine, Benny Ang who is an IT expert. And out of these arguments some truths may emerge.
So here's perhaps is a "truth" which I feel like sharing, emerging from one of those "arguments":

Imagine.....

What, or how would you feel if you woke up tomorrow morning, and as you switched on the TV to catch the morning news, the headlines was that “Property Prices in had gone up in general by 60%.” ?
"Don't really quite believe it!!" You muttered to yourself in your mind.

The news reported that the type of apartment which you’ve now live in and owned is now worth $1,200,000. Yes 1.2 million dollars!!!

Then a phone call came in. Your friend, a property agent, was on the line. "Hey, I have someone offering to buy your property for 1.4 million dollars."

You bought it 20 years ago for $114,000.
Wow, you’ve made a windfall. You’re over the moon.

YOU FEEL RICH. Really in high spirits. Calls for a celebration.

"Give me some time to think about it, a discuss it with my family." You responded.
You thought you hold out a little longer, maybe somebody will come along and even offer you more, like 1.5 million dollars.

Four days later, suddenly, the stock market, triggered by some financial scandal in China, took a precipitous fall. CRASH!! As the scandal unravelled, massive sell-out in the China stocks spooked financial markets across the world. The local market took a severe beating.
News headlines reported: “Property prices plummets”. Overnight, your property value has dropped by 80%.

You really feel angry. Feel really lousy. SHIT! Should have sold. You cursed.
You really feel down. SUDDENLY YOU FELT POOR.
Why?
You felt that you have lost something substantial.

Some people have jumped from their high rise building, committing suicide. They felt they have lost everything.

What really happened here? Has anything really changed?

Nothing much really. You still have your apartment. You life still goes on as per normal.

Isn’t it interesting how the value of some thing external that you "owned", can affect you so much?
Isn’t it just an illusion?
But it seemed so real!

Isn't it really just a belief, that the value of something you owned had gone up?

We live on beliefs, on perceptions, they might in a sense be illusions.
But our lives, our happiness, do depend on them. They have lot’s of power over us. Why? I wonder?
Perhaps here again it’s our environment, our metaphysical environment. Which is?
Our “programs” in us! Our conditioning.

That’s why even guys like Warren Buffet, though a billionaire, live simple lives. Just like the guy next door. Doesn’t matter if the market is up or down.

Perhaps Warren Buffet may be "in AWARENESS" and he is beyond these money illusions?. . . I wonder.........??

Make sense?
Some truth from it?
Can we live our lives beyond the "Illusion of money"?

What's your question......??

2007-06-26T18:30:00.000-07:00

What my Question?

Apparently in order to start the wheel of learning, British business guru Charles Handy suggested that we start with a question, then come out with the Theory, the answers to the question, then test it out, the Theory, and finally reflect on the what one has learnt. This way we change.....because in learning, true learning we change.

So what my question?

On asking this, I realized I don't really have a question, not an original question, anyway.

Then I realized that I've subconsciously believe that the answers are already out there. Somebody, the people who write books, have already found out all the answers to all the world's questions, all the possible questions, that one could possibly ask have been asked. Hmmmm.....I wonder?

So I don't ask questions.....I just go around looking for answers, which someone has discovered,.... to their questions. And I just accept them. Wow...another hidden assumption in me. That other already have the answers for me

Do I have my own original question?
Perhaps I need to ask, what the unique problem for me that only I have the answer, that only I can solve.......perhaps that will help me find the question..... that will lead me to my quest...I wonder....

So what's my question?

And What's your question?

Care to share your thoughts?
(that's the beautiful thing about blogging, I can put my thoughts out to you..............and you can reply....if you wish....thanks

Inclusion??

2007-06-21T00:04:00.000-07:00

Yup, one of the "I - secrets" of Bucky was Inclusion.

Really?

What's Inclusion?

Firstly it about the way we think. We've been conditioned by habit from young to think only for ourself only. Afterall, its survival of the fittest.

So we think exclusively for our survival needs. Even today at this moment I still do fall into the conditioned habit of exclusive thinking

Intuition?

2007-06-14T18:08:00.000-07:00

Following up on my 6 "I" secrets of Bucky........

We discuss the first "I"..... Intuition.

Apparently Bucky relied on his intuition a lot. In fact he wrote a book, entitled "Intuition". He also refer to Intuition as Cosmic Fishing. In other words he relied on his "feelings" his "senses".

So what is Intuition?
One thing is certain, Intutition is illogical. It's outside of logic. Doesn't make sense.

Intuition does not rely on "present" knowledge, as in knowledge which are basically hidden assumptions, masquerading as formal education.

Example? Sir Humphrey Davies, Michael Faraday's boss, could not accept Faraday intuitive feel that an electric current create a magnetic field which deflects a compass needle. Davies knowledge got the better of him. He thought he knew better.

Some call intuition a "hunch," or gut feel.

Another thing for sure, Intuition is one of those difficult to define, difficult to pin down, slippery phenomenon.

It's one of those "not that", and "not that", and "not this" kind of idea, by which you arrive at a closer understanding of it.

Perhaps why intuition is not so prevalent in a sense is because of you know what?

Yup, we're trapped by our mindsets, or assumptions. That's not too bad if we realize it. The problem is we're not aware, of our mindsets, and we are more often than not, operating on our hidden assumptions.

And of course, the people around us make it worse. They "check" you.
Don't really blame them. They are trying to help. They think they know better. Usually this is because of their "formal education".

Hmmm..... that's is the paradox of education. Perhaps they build mindsets around us, and lock us out of our Intuition.

My experience is that Intuition is that little voice, which comes when we put aside a problem that we've been working on, and which there's no answer.

The little voice in us, tell us if we listen to it.

Like, I suddenly realize that I was suffering "hyperacidity" which the doctor misdiagnose as food poisoning. The thought popped into my mind, that I could be suffering hyperacidity. I checked out the internet.
Yes, sounds like a confirmation from the internet info. I went back to the doctor, got new medicine, and immediately after the first dosage, felt the difference. My info was from my experience. Can't really blame the doc.
They couldn't be thorough enough.

Next topic? the next "I" word......Inclusion. Watch for it

The 6 "I" Secrets of Bucky??

2007-06-10T01:59:00.000-07:00

Did you know that Bucky had secrets?
Really?

Wow! Intriguing!!

Yup! Do you know what those "Secrets" are?

Well I called them the "I" Secrets of Bucky. They are words which starts with the letter "I", which describes some of the personal "principles" which he lived by.

Want to find what they are?
Okay good.....

Well, try and find out what those "I" words are by filling in the blanks in the paragraph below which I've put together about Bucky. Yes that's right those words start with the letter "I................."

"Committing ego-suicide, by dropping the “I” of his ego, and gaining "I.............." , Bucky practiced "I................" By taking Individual "I...............", he used his "I................." to reform the environment instead of trying to reform man, through the strategy of artifact "I...............", he became "I..................." personified."

See how many words starting with the letter "I" about Bucky that you can figure out.

Not bad! Well done!
If you familiar with Bucky, you would have got some of them.
If not, it's okay.

Want to know what's my "answers" for you?
It's okay, your answers don't have to coincide with mine. More importantly is that you've tried it. You've played the game!
Congrats!! High 5 for you!!

Okay scroll on,
and see below..........

"Committing ego-suicide, by dropping the “I” of his ego, and gaining Intuition, Bucky practiced Inclusion. By taking Individual Initiative, he used his Imagination, to reform the environment instead of trying to reform man, through the strategy of artifact Invention, he became Integrity personified."

What could I learn from and/or how could I apply these " I-principles" or "I-secrets" to my life?....... you ask.

Before I proceed to give you answers, well perhaps you would like to share your thoughts, your reflections on them with me?

What you feel would be your answers regarding those words, those "secrets", those principles,
1. Intuition, 2. Inclusion, 3. Initiative, 4. Imagination, 5. Invention, and
6. Integrity

Perhaps you might even have another "I" letter word to describe Bucky?

We'll talk on the blog.... and I give my take on the those "I" word "principles"

Hear from you.......through your comments. Thanks

June 27th 2007 (Wednesday)

I like to include another "I" principle which I felt Bucky demonstrated. Know what that is?

Well it's "I" for Intention.

"With INTENTION for the benefit of total humanity, and by taking individual INTITATIVE, Bucky used his..........."

Climbing your Mount Everest? & Precession...

2007-06-05T08:12:00.000-07:00

"Climb your Mount Everest?"

I generally "take my hat off" to people who do "outrageous" things, challenging things, like they go rock climbing, over sheer cliffs with 90 degrees drop, or they go sky-diving, bungee jumping, you know extreme sports, the kind which kind of make climbing Mount Everest seemed almost like a walk in the park. However if you ever watch documentaries of Mountaineers doing their assault on some of the world's highest peak, one would realized this is not child's play. Many do die in their attempt.

Well what I'm suggesting to you here is that you don't have to put your life on the line, but you can still climb your own "Mt. Everest."!!!

Huh??? You do a double take. Climb your own Mt. Everest??

And what is climbing your own Mt. Everest? You ask.

For me? Study "Bucky"!!
I'll admit, it's not easy. It's like climbing Mt. Everest, a big challenge.
Trust me though, that it's worth it. It's a fruitful challenge.
Why?

Well one thing for sure, the challenge will change you, like it does for me.
The precessionary effect of such an attempt will yield unexpected happenings in your life.

Like what?
I was approach to write and I got paid to be an author.
I was ask to design a game, and I got paid for that.
I was invited to conduct workshops and was remunerated.

I have done many other unexpected things in my life.

I created the Bucky Fun workshop.
I created many Games.

So trust me, find your own "Mt. Everest" to climb. Make that your goal. No make that your PASSION! Make that your LIFE! Then do it. And you'll discover your true purpose. Then Enjoy the Precession that comes along!

Bucky lived his life precessionally, we can too. Go for it.

Dare to be Outrageous??

2007-06-03T05:59:00.000-07:00

On June 1st evening, I attended a Networking event. (You know nowadays everybody seemed to be organizing Networking events.) It was entitled "Connection Night". They had a couple of speakers. One of them was a chap whom I shall only refer to as DW.

For a not highly educated guy, he was a good speaker. Very animated. Humourous. Lively. Spoke without notes, without Powerpoint, I really thought he was good, for the fact that he had only passed Secondary 2, and that he had, at certain points of his talk just "gasak" (anyhow do) his facts. (I know because I was very familiar with some of the knowledge he shared, but who cares!)

He said he was "CRAZY", NOT mad.
Yes I seemed to have observed that he does "crazy" things. Like he's not the "sober" kind of speaker.
Perhaps what he really meant was HE WAS OUTRAGEOUS!

That's the way to standout among the crowd. Do outrageous things. And you'll be noticed, and you will be successful, in whatever you are doing, like in business.

I guess that's how entrepreneurs like Richard Branson make their mark. The press love them. And they get free publicity. Better than any advertisement.

So if you want to be "successful" in whatever task you commit yourself to, ask yourself, HOW TO BE OUTRAGEOUS? and DARE TO DO IT!!

He said that most people suffer from a disease call "FV"!! Know what that is?
It's Face-Value!
So we especially Chinese are "pai-seh". We'll maybe we lose out then.

DW is "FV" disease free. He Dared to be Outrageous!!

(Today apparently he makes his money by conducting workshops. He learns by attending whatever Seminars and workshops that seemed worthwhile for him, to learn from other trainers. As he said he does not read. He did not complete his secondary school education)

I take my hat off to him. I learnt from him. It was worth the time and money I spent there that evening, I'll admit.

Generalists vs Specialists?

2007-05-29T07:52:00.000-07:00

I'm using this blog as a means to explain and share what I feel is my powerful thinking" tool", (aka Bucky) to people.
"Bucky" as a tool is a powerful thinking tool??

Okay, here we need to be like Einstein, use our imagination, even stretch it.

Like for example, see "Bucky" as a superduper camera on timer!!

Like how?
Imagine that we go back to the year 1250. And we set our "Bucky" camera (tool), with very special film, on timer, the camera shutter opens, and remain open for about 800 years till 2000.
1250 was the year when the first chemical element arsenic, was isolated by the alchemist of the day as they try to turn lead into gold.
Imagine then that subsequent isolation of chemical elements were then captured on this timer camera. What then appeared on the film over time was a horizontal trajectory line which climbed vertically, like an exponential curve if plotted on a graph.

What is then the significance of this super 800 year long snapshot?

It had given us a profile of Humanity's Industrial Revolution, (see his book Critical Path)
Huh?

A line showing the isolation of the 92 members of the family of chemical elements, which began from approx 1250 to the 2000 appeared on the picture.

This line, graphically portrayed on the time-lapse film, revealed an exponential curve. When this line is superimposed on the Industrial revolution, and interpreted, what a couple of invisible phenomenon began to appear

1.the invisible phenomenon of Accelerating Acceleration,
Meaning? Change is taking place at a faster and faster rate!

2. the invisible phenomenon of "Doing More with less."
Meaning? Technology is growing ever more powerful, in terms of performance, and using less and less resources.

That’s the beauty of Bucky, he was able, using his "third eye," to see things from a totally different perspective, and make what was invisible VISIBLE.

This is what’s really happening to our world today, accelerating acceleration, and doing more with less. These abstract concepts, these invisible phenomenon (BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS) are becoming more popularly recognised and talked about.

The isolation of the 92 members of the family of chemical elements were the physical elements, which basically dealt with the physical world.

What appeared was an exponential curve, first running horizontally on the x axis, to rising very steeply into a vertical line and suddenly it disappeared. Perhaps if we extrapolated further, it meant that we’ve gone off the vertical line, into the invisible, into the abstract, which is the metaphysical, we have entered the realm of the Pure Principles of Universe.

So today, we’ve come to the isolation of the metaphysical world of principles. And that is what is Bucky about. Isolation of Principles, what he called the Generalized Principles operating in Universe. Bucky thus discovered and came to the conclusion that Universe is pure principles, which interacting together, the Principles coming together to give us our Energy Events, the physical world that we experience. Like the Generalized principles of Synergy, of Leverage, of Precession, of Interference, of Similitude, etc

So what? What is the significance of all this, to you and I?

It is ALSO perhaps the awareness, the realization of our MIND. Because as Bucky puts it, MIND discovers the Generalized Principles. (see Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth by Bucky).

We've discovered that who we truly are is MIND. Brain and muscles are just "machines", like our computer.

Any other significance of all this to you and I?

That we were meant to Generalists and NOT Specialists.

As Bucky put it, Over-specialization leads to extinction.

We see it in our World of work today. The highly specialized worker in society is rendered extinct, is obsoleted by technology. Many people that I know of, who were working in the banking industry lost their jobs due to swift advancement in Information Technology, or simply put.......computerization!

So?

We must become as what Charles Handy calls it Portfolio people, or as Bucky called it Generalists.

Because we have MIND as distinct from Brains. This MIND is not the ego or programmed mind. This Mind is the MIND which discovers the invisible relationship of Energy Events of Universe, of our World, which we recognize as our human experience.

In order to stay relevant to our changing environment, driven by technology, we have to engage our MIND.

Through observing, reading, reflecting, writing, learning, doing......
become the Generalist, and the scholars that we were meant to be, otherwise Nature would have equipped us with specialized ability. Instead Nature equipped us with MIND for general adaptability....

End of the day it really meant we got to go back to school, back to continuous learning, only this time, we self-educate.

Most importantly we've discovered and is using a very powerful "tool for thinking" that is "BUCKY"

Perturbation?

2007-05-21T16:56:00.000-07:00

Have you been perturbated?

Perturbation? What's that?

In our Revisit the Money & You principles, our group discussed this behavioral pattern in nature. It was recognised by Prigogine in his observations. The behavioral pattern, this process was then conceptualized and named "perturbation". It was derived from Illya Prigogine's research and discovery of energy systems. It was called "Theory of Dissipative Structure". This is a process in which change, or rather transformation can occur in energy systems.

In nature there are open systems and closed systems. And all are energy systems. Open systems are predominantly animate systems which inter-exchange energy with their environment, like human beings. Closed systems are relatively inert inanimate systems like rocks which do not inter-exchange energy with their environment.

When systems absorb energy they can become unstable, as more and more energy is loaded into the system, they become so unstable that transformation take place. This is the perturbation process which people go through in life, when real change, transformation occur.

Examples? When water is brought to its boiling point, it is transformed to steam.

When your mind is stretched, loaded with real learning, by self, transformation occurs. You experience and see things differently. You are transformed.

When you experience major crisis in your life, transformation occurs.

In the world of work, technology creeps up on us quietly, catches us
off-guard, obsoletes our job.....we have to change....otherwise... we're obsoleted ourselves...

Terminology to describe this are "continuous change" and "discontinuous change." Continuous change is predictable change. Discontinuous change is unpredictable change.

Seems like this process is irreversible.
Yup, once one is transformed one can't go back to the before.

You're Perturbated?
May be a good thing. Afterall nature, the Universe is always transforming........

Bird's Nest and the Benefits of Bucky Gp?

2007-05-21T07:03:00.000-07:00

Just a short little blog, this time to share with you about our Visit to a Bird's Nest Farm

On Sunday, May 20th a small number of Bucky Gp members from Singapore visited a friend in Johor Bahru, who is in the Bird's Nest "Farming" Business.

Not only were we treated to breakfast at his home, we were also given an education in the health benefits of Bird's Nest.
If I'm not mistaken the early Chinese explorer's to the SouthEast Assian region have discovered Bird's Nest and known of this health benefits.
Probably the Chinese Emperors and Empress who were seeking the Elixir of Immortality must have found that the Bird's Nest gave them good health and longevity that is why literally the bird's nest is worth their weight in gold
The Bird's Nest were produced by Swiftlet's which were nesting their young. After the young have flown, the Nests were harvested, and cleaned by some secret processes.

Thereafter our education, we given an excursion to Batu Pahat, to see the Bird's Nest "Farm". It's really a cosy Bird Hotel, where the Swiftlets come home to roost.

Apparently this Health giving Bird's Nest business is a multimillion dollar industry.

Our host shared that investment opportunities in the business etc. is possible, if we were interested.

As I reflected on this event, I realized the above event was possible because of the sustained and committed learning activities of the Bucky Group Singapore.

Therefore some benefits of the Bucky Group in this Age of Entrepreneurship are?

1. Opportunity for Real Friendship through sustained Fellowship
2. Opportunity for real Learning, real Change,
3. Opportunity for service and business relationship
4. Opportunity for New Experiences.

This is real WEALTH

Comment received:

Hi Karen,

I have problem trying to reach you, as I do not have your email address. The notification about your "comment" does not allow me to email you directly.
Anyway you can follow-up on Bird's Nest info with Boon Siong at drtanboonsiong@hotmail.com

5 tips to read Critical Path?

2007-05-15T17:48:00.000-07:00

This is an excellent book by Buckminster Fuller (Bucky), which summarizes humanity's history in Universe, and gives one a glimpse of the Generalized Principles operating in Nature, in Universe, by Bucky's experience and perspectives.

Because he prefer not to be understood than be misunderstood, he had written it in his own style (described as Fullerese) that people many found him difficult to understand and follow.

Here are 5 tips for those who would like to read it.
1. Trust that you will get insights into "what is truly happening in our world today". Bucky gives you new perspectives, which makes sense.
2. Be obsessed about it. Talk about it with friends, or anyone who cares to listen.
3. See Bucky as your invisible friend and companion, always with you, ready to share his thoughts with you through his books.
4. Take the book apart, literally, carry just a few pages with you in your pocket, which you can pull out at any moment to read it, like when you are standing in queue, while you're waiting for some service.
5. See "Bucky' as a tool, a powerful thought tool (I call him my multi-purpose Swiss Army knife), which using it, can help you see complex problems in a newer perspective, and thus you can solve them.

Success?

2007-05-13T17:27:00.000-07:00

My friend Lincoln posted me this thought:
"Always ponder why people who are successful with one thing and cannot duplicate their success in another."

Hmmm....if the above thought by Lincoln is true, then what I can say is that there are lots of assumptions here

So let’s talk about SUCCESS.

In immediate response to the above statement, perhaps it may be said that Success like Truth, is a pathless land, each one must live his own truth, travel his or her own road of Success. No path can ever be the same. And if that is so, one person’s path of Success cannot be duplicated by another. and also that path of Success cannot be repeated. Why? Because things have changed. The environment have changed.

a person who is successful with one thing may not be able to repeat this success again. The circumstances have changed

Also no two persons can, or are ever the same. Each is unique, and even though they come from same background, their experiences are never the same because they respond differently to their environment. Already their paths are different.

Like Buckminster Fuller’s definition of Universe:

Scenario Universe is the aggregate of all of humanity’s experience, which has been consciously apprehended and communicated to self or others, with the non-simultaneous, always and only partially overlapping, non-identical, always complementary, weighable and un-weighable ever-omni-inter-transforming energy events sequences.

If the above statement boggles you, don’t worry about it. What it boils in to is:

Each of us is a little “Universe,” non-identical, always complementary, in other words UNIQUE.

Our path will be different from others. We can live by the same “Success” principles, however the outcome, the results could and would be different. There are many variables in the "Success Formula".

Make sense?

Success?
Perhaps we need to redefine Success.
What really is Success?

Firstly, that implies that we are failures to start with. I have to earn money, I have to earn the right to live. I have to earn the right to be successful. Powerful society’s conditioning! Some other guy wants you to feel that you are less successful, until you have all the money in the world, all the fame in the world, all the power in the world, then you’ll be successful and happy.
Why? So that perhaps they can sell you their “Success” formula, to become some kind of billionaire, and however if one falls for it, then they go laughing all the way to the bank. Ha Ha. They become billionaires because many fall for the false hope they are selling, people pay them good money, which make them so.
Dont' believe me! Just take a look at the numerous "Get rich" ads in the newspapers. I wonder how many really got rich from their schemes??

Let's take a look at the so-called Successful people, which by general society's definition are the "Money-rich" people. They are supposed to be happy because they are money rich. True?

Not true.
Why?
There are plenty of people out there in the world who are money-rich beyond most ordinary people’s dreams, yet they are NOT happy. A Billionaire shipping magnate’s daughter, money was like a curse for her. She can never be sure if her friend truly care for her or her money. Or a famous money-rich Hong Kong actor who committed suicide.
And people who have fame? Princess Diana, was she ever really happy?
Or power? People in power live in fear and they have body-guards to protect them, especially politicians.

So, we’ve been condition by the people who wants to make money, that money and material things mean success. That power means success. that fame mean success, that relationship mean success.

And that if we don’t have these "things" we’re failures?

Wealth is Success.
Here I share Buckminster Fuller's definition of Wealth.
It's our know-what and know-how capabilities to take care of X number of people for Y number of Forward days in terms of our protection, our nuture, our accomodation, our education, while removing our restrictions, increasing the range and depth of our explorations, giving us greater Freedoms.

Success is realizing our True Wealth, which is what Bucky has defined.

And if that is so?
Then we have to realize that we’re already successful. The fact that we are healthy, and can enjoy a simple meal, and we have friends around us who accept (and we accept ourselves, warts, moles and all) us for who we are, not what we have, that we can laugh at ourselves, and have a good night sleep, that we are free to live our possibilities, we’re truly successful.

Btw, Cosmic evolution is turning our "environment" inside-out, enabling greater freedoms to a growing percentage of humanity to live their possibilities.

Don’t let others condition us otherwise.

WestGirl said...
Hi JooHOck:Absolutely, AGREE w u on ur definition of Success and Wealth?. ...'n never allow others to condition u otherwise'... hmm well said n a good reminder fr a person truly with Success n Wealth...
May 15, 2007 7:45 AM

Freedom and Buckminster Fuller?

2007-05-07T07:46:00.000-07:00

When I launched myself into my "journey of Doing Bucky" (which became my passion) since 1994, ie R&D-ing Buckminster Fuller, I began to conduct my Bucky workshops, afterall, they said that the best way to learn something is to teach it to others, even though you may not really know it well.
I also initiated the activities of the weekly Bucky Group sessions.
It was the start of my new true journey in my life, a journey of real learning. I began not to JUST "study" Bucky only, I also went into studying the writing and thoughts of other eminent thinkers and doers, in the likes of people like Anthony de Mello, Krishnamurti, Charles Handy and many others (see my profile)

In due course, I have found that "teaching" Bucky is a challenge. Already studying him is a daunting task enough, can you imagine "teaching" or rather sharing his Thinking, Ideas and Philosophy?
If ever, I taught by lecturing about an aspect of his work, I will surely do one better than the doctor trying to cure you of insomnia. Trust me, I can put you to sleep in 2 minutes.

So I have been mulling over how, for example on How to share about the Generalized Principle of Precession, a principle by which Bucky lived his life. It is one of the 6 Degrees of Freedom and perhaps the most important Generalized Principle that Buckminster Fuller can share with us.

I realized I have to make a game out of this.

The 6 degrees of Freedom refer to the possible motions of physical Universe. How can I demonstrate them? Or rather how can I help the participants of my Bucky fun Workshop discover it for themselves? Then they won't fall asleep....ha ha

Got it!

Imagine. You have been a warrior, and one day you saved your King's life. Being grateful he decided to grant you whatever you asked for, whatever you value, ask and you'll be given it. You thank your King, and you asked him for some time to think about it. He said, take your time, you don't have to decide immediately.

But what to ask for? Hmm... you don't really know!
Ah.... I got it, you thought to yourself.........I will go to the town square and ask to wise old Man whose name is Bucky. He should be able to give me good advice.

So the next day, you went. Dear Wise old Bucky, you spoke, I saved my King's life and in gratitude he would grant me anything that I would ask for. What I should ask for that is really of value?

Freedom! That's what you should ask for!
Freedom? But I've been a Warrior all my life, I have served my King all my life, I don't know what freedom is. What do I do with my life when I'm FREE?

Yes, that is true, replied Bucky.
Then Bucky pulled out from his side, a small bag, and opened it.

Then Bucky said, "Your purpose in life is to live your True Purpose. However you can only live your True Purpose when you are living in Freedom."
See this object, go and find out what are it's possible motions, it's degrees of Freedom, and when you've finally found them, go and ask your King to grant you Freedom. That's the first thing you must do.

And you will know what to do with your life.......

Bucky added: "Do you know why you should ask for Freedom? Because that's your birth-right."

All the Great Teachers of humanity, from the ancient times to the 20th Century, from Jesus Christ to the likes of Mahatma Gandhi, they came to set us free. But it is true, 99.99% of human beings do not know how to be free. They fear freedom. They don't know what to do being FREE.

Like we are being set free from our slavish ways, from our earning a living, (which assume that we human beings are failures and must prove our right to live) by technology, and we are fighting it.

When you've discovered these motions, these degrees of Freedoms, come back and tell me what you learnt, then go and ask your King for it, then you'll can truly be free.

You took the object into your hands, thanked the Wise old Bucky and went off.

Participants explore the Object and discovers its Motions, it's 6 degrees of Freedom, and the significance of the Freedoms

Debrief:

One day, as I was conducting one of my my Bucky workshop sharing my perspectives of Bucky's "6 degrees of Freedom" which is basically, that there are only 6 Fundamental Motions of Universe, it struck me that Buckminster Fuller was aligning himself to the intentions of Universe.
He was trying to free Man from his old ways of living. He saw that Human beings were expanding his "to-ing and fro-ing," his range of travel on Earth. He saw the Cosmic Evolution was freeing man from his muscle bound work to that of using his Mind. How so? Automation was taking over the repetitive work that he was doing, like in the car assembly line of the automobile industry in the production lines of the factories. Bucky observed that Cosmic evolution seemed intent on freeing man from his robotic and slavish ways. Man as Bucky said was born with legs and not with roots.

Then I realized that man doesn't want to be Free. Not that he doesn't really want to, but that he doesn't know how to. He is afraid of Freedom. He doesn't know what to do being FREE!!

However when man is truly free, his Mind will be clear, he will discover his true purpose and live it.

Explain!
Some time ago, I watched the Movie "Shawshank Redemption." Great movie. What I liked about it?

It's the story of Andy Dufrane being convicted of murdering his wife (of which he was framed). Anyway he went to do hard time in Shawshank Prison.

There he met Brooks and Reds. They were fellow convicts who had been there much longer than him and knew the ways of prison life and how to survive the gaunlet of gang warfare and the brutalities of the prison guards. Reds, who became his friend, was "prison smart."

Reds respected Andy because in his own way, Andy though beaten up, was able to stand up to the prison gangs.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I take you to what I felt is to me the more significant part of this movie, the story of Brooks.

Brooks?
Brooks was the old man who had spent a good half of his adult life in prison. Prison became the only home he knew. He was made the prison's librarian, which Andy Dufrane initiated and set up for the inmates.
However, when it was time for Brooks to be released, he didn't want to leave, he had gotten so used to prison life, it was all he knew. The routine. To avoid leaving he tried to attack a fellow inmate with a knife, so that his release would be revoked.

However he was "saved" from his desperate attempt, and he broke down. The prison authorities were kept out of this, and Brooks was released.

Brooks however was a broken man. All he knew was the routine of prison life. Prison was security he had known. The outside world, the unknown, the freedom was tough. Brooks couldn't take the "verbal and mental" abuse from his fellow workers in a supermarket which employed ex-convicts. He hanged himself, at a half-way house for ex-prisoners.

Well, as I reflected, it struck me of what happening in the World today. Many of us living our life in our little prison called our "work", clinging on to the security of the known, but living lives of quiet desperation.

However Cosmic evolution, through technology, is changing our environment, and at the same time is freeing humanity. That's what going on.

We are being freed from the tyranny of organizational life, by technology. Why and How so ?
"Unfortunately" or fortunately, depend on how you see it, technology is turning our World of work inside-out. Or as some put it upside-down. What it means? Technology is wreaking changes in our work environment, relieving us from our muscle and brain work.

How do we earn a living? How do I survive? You ask. That's why many resist technology.

The "prison" of the life-long career is being obsoleted. But many are unprepared. Life in the "prison" of the life-long career was all we knew. We have become so conditioned to that "prison" life we don't know how to be free. It may be said that we actually fear freedom, because freedom is unfortunately the unkown.

Even the "core rules" of our lives are shrinking, in other words the "rules" of life are lessening. The "space" of our lives are expanding. This is the space of possibilities. We are moving into greater opportunity to live out our potentials, the possibilities, to have greater Freedoms

"So give us back our prison," our rules, our Cage, we don't mind of course, a golden gilted cage, though still a cage, we demand
Isn't this a real shame?

Dr. R Buckminster Fuller perhaps was a harbinger of this freedom to come. He demonstrated it, deciding not to earn money for a living, instead he lived his life PRECESSIONALLY, as a 55 year experiment with his own life, doing what he felt needed to be done, doing his True Purpose and trusting that Universe would support him. It's tough, not for the faint-hearted.

Remember the song? "Blowing in the Wind"

I would prefer this version now:
How many roads must a man walk down?
Before they call him a FREE man?.......
The "FREEDOM" my friend is blowing in the wind....
the Freedom is blowing in the wind........

So freedom is being thrust upon us via technology. Today humanity is being emancipated by the evolving technology from being a brain and muscle automaton to Man as Mind, the freedom to create his own life.
From subconcious evolution to conscious evolution with his Mind.

However the old paradigm to hold sway over humanity. We're still struggling to breakout of our reflex-conditioned behavior.

Do we dare step into precession?
LIVING life in Freedom is living PRECESSIONALLY, and thus doing one's True Purpose. (Precession will be explained in detail in another chapter)

Do we dare to be FREE?

Bucky Group & University of the Universe?

2007-05-06T07:35:00.000-07:00

1. An Introduction

A Warning. The Thinking, Ideas and Perspectives shared here may not go well with certain Mindsets. Enter at your own risk.
Advice and suggestion: Take it with an open mind. You do not have to believe or agree with the Thoughts shared here by JooHock. And please feel free to share you comments. Thank you.

Bucky Group?
Huh? What's that?
Sounds cultish!

A friend of mine once pointed out that the way I shared about Buckminster Fuller and his works, it sounded like the Bucky Group had become a cult.

The Bucky Gp. is named after the nickname "Bucky" of Dr. R. Buckminster Fuller.

Okay now you are asking: Hmmm....What is this Bucky Gp?

The Bucky Gp comprised about 20 like minded individuals who meets weekly to share and discuss the Works of Buckminster Fuller. Initially members were keen to study and understand Bucky's book, "Critical Path," which was reputed to be the most difficult to read. We couldn't resist the challenge! Hah! These people come from all diverse background, from engineers to lawyers, to entrepreneurs and even educationists etc. Then I took on the role of championing his (Bucky's) Thinking and Ideas, his Perceptions and Works. The Gp have been meeting since about June 1994. It's most important Value, is it's love for Learning.

(Btw, our Bucky Gp on Facebook boast a membership of more than 550 members)

So Buckminster Fuller? Who is he?
What is Bucky known for? Why should I accord him such an honour? True!
Afterall, Bucky said, "I'm just an ordinary healthy human being who chose to use his option to do his own Thinking, please don't make me out to be some kind of a Messiah. You can do this to Krishnamurti."
What is it then, that I have admired about Bucky, that made me give him such high regard?
What is it that makes me want to shout out to the World and say: "Hey you might want to listen to this man, this phenomenon called Buckminster Fuller!"?

I need to answer this, otherwise I might be misunderstood for according him almost cult status, which even he would have frowned upon.

I'll share 3 major reasons here, but of course there's more which you will learn as you read into my blog-book

1. New lease on life.
Well in my opinion, my life didn't make much sense, till Bucky came along. In my own small World, life was a work, work work, and make money kind of world. Not much meaning to it. My life changed, it was enriched by the new learnings and doings as a results of studying and sharing Bucky, I found quality of life.

2. Generalized Principles operating in Universe
As I studied deeper into "Bucky" I felt he was the one and so far only one whom I've come across, as a first class scientist, whom ironically the perspectives of life that he shared was a breath of fresh air that I could relate to. He was a non-conformist maverick thinker and many in the educational establishments would want to acknowledge him, because they may feel threatened in terms of their status by this iconoclast, who had conceptualized the idea of Generalized Principles and thus identified some of the many Generalized Principles Operating in Universe, and named them so.
Examples are Principle of Leverage, Principle of Synergy, Principle of Precession.
These terms, these concepts of course soon became popular, as many writer and business gurus soon learnt about them and used them.

Bucky felt that if we could re-apply the Generalized Principles of Universe, uncovered through trial and error aka experience, in new ways, we could up the performance of our physical resources, that we could take care of all of humanity, at higher standard of living without disadvantage to anyone and without ecological offense to our environment. He was probably the first proponent of Sustainable Development. Also he received 28 patents for his inventions, and was noted for his famous Geodesic Domes, his Dymaxion Houses, and Dymaxion Cars, etc.

In the process Bucky had also uncovered Nature's operating system, developed a mathematical system, which he termed Synergetic Geometry, aka Nature's Coordinate System.
(See his book Synergetic Geometry, an Exploration into the Geometry of Thinking. I will have to give you the link.)

However more significantly, and importantly to my mind is the fact HE LIVED HIS LIFE BY THE GENERALIZED PRINCIPLES, ESPECIALLY THE GENERALIZED PRINCIPLE OF PRECESSION. I will explain Precession in a chapter by itself.

Now one could share about these Principles like the way theories, formulas, ideas and concepts are generally taught in formal education, dry as bone and boring stuff.

However I've learnt, generally that when we are present with bare TRUTHS, we tend to reject them. However when Truths are delivered to us by way of a Story, we open our hearts and mind to them, that's why Great Teachers like Jesus and Buddha used parables to share the Truths we needed to learn.

So?
I intend to share the life stories of Bucky behind these Principles. By sharing the personality and the stories of the persons behind the Principles, they help us CONNECT with these principles. Principles become alive for us. This is VERY IMPORTANT.

Just like the way Eliyahu M. Goldratt of renown for his TOC, taught his Theory of Constraints, with the story of Alex Rogo.

As someone once said: The Universe is not made up of atoms and molecules, the world is made up of stories

3. Making Sense At the Global level.
Going by what's happening..... Global Warming, De-forestation, Poverty and Hunger, etc etc....despite the many Technological breakthroughs mankind has been making.....this is a senseless world.........again the voice of Bucky made a lot of sense. Wow, it look like I've some more explaining to do.
How so?
The World today is caught up in a Make Money as the be all and end all of the world. The economic imperative is first and foremost. Whereas Bucky said: You either make money or make sense, they are mutually exclusive. Bucky chose to rather Make the world work for total humanity especially for the future generation to come

So what are my Intentions here?

In Section 1, What I've learned from Bucky? In this section I will share some of The Generalized Principles of Universe which Bucky uncovered with stories and anecdotes about Bucky. This process will help make the principles come alive. As someone once said, the Universe is not made up of atoms and molecules, the universe is made up of stories. In sharing I will also gain deeper understanding of the Principles

In section 2, The Mount Everest I've decided to climb. "Doing Bucky" is like climbing Mount Everest, a challenge............I like to share my personal journey and reflection as a results of "doing Bucky" of how this has changed my perceptions, impacted and enriched my life. It's what I

In section 3, Other Thoughts to share...................I like to share with you about the Bucky Gp. a group of life-long learners who decided to join me in this journey to learn about the Generalized Principles that Bucky lived and worked with.

I'm sure there will be over-laps among the sections. I guess that's because we can see the same situation, the same event from several different perspectives.

But one thing is sure "Bucky" is not a cult! Not to worry.

So welcome to the Bucky Group & the University of the Universe

Capitalism and Buckminster Fuller ?

2007-04-25T07:32:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,

I'm writing this blog on a Thinking out loud basis, and I'll try not to be too lengthy in my writings, so that you may not find it too tedious reading it. You already have much to browse through on the Net. I will occasionally revisit my blogs and update them. I trust you'll enjoy reading them.

"You either Make Money or Make Sense, they're mutually exclusive." so said Buckminster Fuller.

In the 4 episode movie entitled "The Way We Live Now" which was very interesting, the Age of Modern Capitalism as we know it today perhaps began in Victorian England in the 1800's, with the centre of the World commerce being in the UK, and the might and power the British Empire was at its height. London was the "financial capital" of the world.
An appropriate setting for this movie on Capitalism. It gave me a better insight into how the "Capitalistic" world works, selling ideas, raising capital, playing the Games of money-making. And these Money "Games" seems pretty much the same to this very day.

What do I mean?

Mr. Melmotte, one of the main characters of this set in the financial district of London movie was a glib tongued businessman, who instead of doing real wealth creating work, like developing infrastructure, goods or services, on the opportunities presented to him, decided to "ponzi" scam the people around him.

I am reminded of what Buckminster Fuller shared in his book Critical Path, the chapter entitled "Legally Piggilly". In this Chapter Bucky shared how USA was hit by the GREAT Depression of 1929.

Why? What happened?
Businessman usually in cahoots with bankers went about their money making ideas, raising substantial capital to finance their hugh enterprise undertakings, and some made good. Meanwhile many others failed, through lack of experience, which is understandable, however there were also some who did reprehensible financial tricks, ponzi scheming others to fatten their own personal bank account, or for their own risky ventures.
During financial "high tide" the scammers ("rich" people who were using other people's money, they had nothing much of their own) were not exposed, however when the "financial tide" receded, those who scammed others, were left high and dry, exposed for their financial frauds

These financial people were playing the "casino-money" game, making money with money, which money was not meant to be, but a medium of exchange, a function of real wealth. No real life-support Wealth was created in their financial games. The Money system and the Wealth system were seperated.

This is what's is really happening in our capitalistic world today. Like what the "Bernie" Madoff guy did with his ponzi schemes, and sometimes they do get away with it.

On top of that, the politicians turn a blind eye, allowing the rich to get away with paying little or even no taxes, through financial engineering by the accountants. That's why the rich are getting richer, and well, the average working man are losing out. So in order not to lose out, well, one has to join in the game. Dangerous though. Just like an addicted gambler desperately trying to recover his losses, one loses even more.

What's worse is that big corporations scuttle the efforts of enterprising hard working people who come out with better ideas and inventions that could benefit humanity, if these inventions threatened their cash-cows. The automobile industry, the housing industry, and today even the pharmaceutical industry do this.
So that's what Bucky mean when he said Make money or make sense, they are mutually exclusive?

If that is so then what?
Make sense first, through Real Wealth creating work, then the money will surely come to support you, which Bucky experienced.

So Make Money or Make Sense?
Mr. Melmotte tried to make money without making sense and got caught out. He lost the Game. Mr. Montague in the movie made sense.

If you can get hold of the movie: They Way We Live Now, watch it, I think its worthwhile.

Check out the movie? Go http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0300879/

To know more about Buckminster Fuller go to:http://bfi.org/

Your comments or feedback is appreciated. Thanks