When one begins contemplating whether to share their anomalous experiences publicly, there are a number of questions it is wise to ask and answer prior to sharing. The first question is, of course, Should I? And there is no right answer to this question, as it is deeply personal and private for each person. But to those who are enthusiastic to open up and share, I strongly suggest caution and patience, for there are risks in such sharing that may not be immediately obvious, especially if blinded by the desire to reach outside of oneself in an attempt to find validation, understanding, or peace of mind.

For example, one's reputation is probably the most immediate personal aspect at risk. By exposing deeply personal experiences, such as those involving the anomalous, one will certainly be judged by society at large, including by family, friends, employers, coworkers, acquaintances, strangers, and so forth. Different people have different thresholds for how much or how little they value their privacy and their social reputation and capital. This is not a protest against sharing the anomalous, but a caution to pause and consider what it might mean for the reaction of others who encounter an inner truth and, in turn, for the person who shares it. For in the eyes of others, especially those who cannot relate, these two things are one and the same.

Another example is the potential harm the sharing may cause the people close to them, such as spouses, best friends, parents, children, and so forth. Even if one doesn't care or worry about how the sharing might affect them directly, it's still wise to pause and consider the possible effects on the people they care about. Our modern, highly toxic society is filled with piranhas scanning the web for prey—fodder for their subscribers and views—and the personal story becomes blood in the water.

One more risk is that of digital permanence. The internet does not forget, meaning that when the potential chaos and social media feeding frenzy has finished, that personal exposure never really goes away. Years, even decades, may pass, and the story once shared, and the names and words associated with it, will forever be enshrined in the growing digital footprint of humankind.

As I mentioned, I'm not encouraging others who have anomalous experiences they wish to share to remain silent, but I am suggesting that some pause and deep thought be given to it—for themselves and the people they care about.

The question of “Should I?” is the important first question, but it certainly isn't the only question, because any question about should must also ask why.

#Intermundia #Excultio

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By D. Bowman | Nomina Numina is a journal of my reflections, moments, and meaning-making between worlds. Reply by email.

Last time I read the longevity talisman as a portable eclipse: the sun above, the crescent below, and a line of stars between them, a sky the wearer carries on the body. This time I want to look at the two red arcs that curve down on either side of the moon. They are writing.

Look first at the letters. They are all the book's cipher characters, the same ones that fill its pages. The six-pointed star is A, and the sign that looks like a Greek phi is P. That P also tells us these are words spelled out in full, because a Greek alpha or omega has no P in it.

Read the left arc from the rim inward and it spells ALPHA. After the last A comes a little knot of crossed loops with a separate curl above it. That is the scribe's sign for et (“and”), the ampersand from the cipher key, and it sits between the names of spirits in the running text in the same form.

The right arc opens with a short trail of dots and then reads AGEMO, which is OMEGA written backwards. One small mark in the middle is faint, so I hold this reading a little less firmly than the left one. Still, no other word fits the letters.

AGEMO is how the book itself writes the name. In the blessing of the circle, where the text calls on the holy names one by one, OMEGA appears as AGEMO and ALPHA as APHAL, its letters shuffled. I wrote about this habit in an earlier post: the author was not content with the cipher alone and reversed or scrambled the sacred names on top of it. On the talisman the same hand writes ALPHA straight and OMEGA backwards. I do not know why the two arcs differ. The spirit names get the same treatment, and they will have a series of their own later.

Alpha and Omega, the first letter and the last. In Revelation it is a divine title, given in the first chapter and again in the last, and the Heptameron, which the Triangular Book seems to build on, has Alpha et Omega (“Alpha and Omega”) in the formula our book adapts for its blessing. The scriptural reading is the obvious one.

I have a second reading, and I offer it only as a suggestion. This figure draws an eclipse, and an eclipse has two ends of its own. The moon's path crosses the sun's at two points, the nodes, and an eclipse can only fall near one of them. French astronomers of the period called them la Tête du Dragon and la Queue du Dragon (“the Head of the Dragon” and “the Tail of the Dragon”). The book opens with its emblem, a winged dragon with a second small face at the end of its tail. On a figure of an eclipse, in a book badged with that dragon, the beginning and the end may also be the dragon's head and tail.

Next time: the three small gold letters at the foot of the figure. Two of them are clear. The middle one still has no agreed reading.

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JOURNAL 5 octobre 2026

Aujourd’hui on a aidé midori à rassembler les affaires de shieko. Elle ne veut rien garder sauf les photos et les petits cadeaux qu'elles se sont faits. Avec hayame elle se sent mieux chez elle, elle ne se sent pas prête encore à rester seule. On est allées tout donner à une association qui aide les jeunes femmes à la rue parfois mineures, on a fait aussi un don collectif au nom de shieko. Ne vous inquiétez pas pour nous, on se tient debout on s'aide on se voit quand c'est difficile. On va pas céder. On va pas faiblir. On va s'aimer encore plus fort.

Mon frère a téléphoné au juge qui lui a redit qu'il n'y a pas de crédits. Mon frère lui a même proposé de financer les frais de labo. C’est impossible et puis il y a aussi que ça a mobilisé trop de monde déjà, bref pas d'argent pas davantage d'enquête, même si la vraie famille le demandait et il a insisté sur vraie. Je ne commente pas ça. On va manger parce que la vie continue et que on va pas se laisser dépérir.

…

On va dormir, demain matin on se lève à 5:30 on travaille toutes. Midori aussi a décidé de reprendre son poste les médecins lui avaient prescrit 20 jours mais elle préfère pas, elle est très courageuse. On est là de toute façon toutes, on ne se séparera pas. On a un lien très fort maintenant et ça nous rend fortes. Ça n'a pas été facile de mettre les vêtements de shie dans des sacs mais il fallait le faire. Midori ne peut pas rester vivre dans un musée du souvenir. Elle a gardé les affaires de toilette et de maquillage, les papiers personnels, elle va les envoyer à sa mère seulement ce qui la regarde, de toute façon elle avait la plupart dans son sac... On a éprouvé une espèce de soulagement quand ça a été fini.

Mon frère a pris contact avec le temple pour qu’ils fixent la date de la cérémonie funéraire. La mère de shieko ne viendra pas elle ne veut pas nous voir.Son fils a réussi à la convaincre que tout était notre faute.

Le flic m'a envoyé une gentille lettre pour nous huit avec un mot personnel pour moi et une lettre formelle de condoléances à midori. Il a tout compris, lui, mais il ne peut pas faire plus, il le regrette énormément. Il a déposé sa demande de mutation. Je vous remercie au nom de la communauté pour tous vos messages, j'ai tout traduit on est très touchées.

#Shieko

On entend, de la chambre ou du couloir, la boucle morbide des nettoyeurs de l’abattoir, à plus ou moins vingt heures le passage du train des gens voyageant vers le Nord, et de quelques autres qu’on ne peut prévoir, chargés de vrac ou de gros caissons.

Dans le carré, mais débordant, un relief en demi-cercle de collines à larges flancs où des maisons disparates s’accolent au fil du temps, se touchent, tandis que les immeubles de standing, aux points les plus hauts, n’en vieillissent pas moins qu’elles. On note, du côté droit de l’œil, deux réservoirs d’eau, non loin d’où meurent les bêtes, quand à gauche il ne peut voir la tache bleue d’un groupe scolaire, sa laideur, ni la forme plus heureuse d’une villa en fortin. Sensiblement à la hauteur de soi, la portion du milieu est semée de bâtisses nouvelles, encore d’un gris ciment, sauf une, rose de porcelaine.

Sur les bords de la ravine, d’autres maisons s’étagent entre des manguiers. Dans l’un d’eux loge une colonie de hérons (Ardeola ibis) qui semble ne plus migrer, gardant par intérêt ou peut-être fidélité les bœufs dont on déterge, tout près, le sang. Jaillissent les éventails de plusieurs espèces de palmiers, dont l’inévitable Élèis de Guinée. [Quand l’œil regarde face à soi], le maigre stipe d’un aréquier divise l’image.

#Fenêtresurville #Didascalies

The chair is finally complete! It would seem that it was being assembled for Tiger's enjoyment all along.

Cairo's a big ass city, blessed not with one Ikea but two, one on each end. The one closest to me ran out of the chair's cushions a long time ago and wouldn't be restocking till next month. The other one had the cushions in stock, but when you order from Ikea's website, they only deliver from whichever branch is closest to you (...the fuck?). So I went ahead and trekked across the city to nab the damn thing myself and get it over with—And boy, it really is a big city. Felt more like making an out-of-town daytrip.

All I need now is a nice throw blanket and small pillow to make the setting complete (not sourced from Ikea as a small act of rebellion against the over-Ikeafication of spaces—says the man whose home is filled with close to 20 Ikea things).

#studio #cairo

I got around to trying the shoes on this weekend. I knew they were too big as soon as I saw them. I tried anyway because they were marked as the correct size. Unbeknownst to me, Vibram has changed its base pattern. I am saddened.

This new pair is simultaneously too long while also being extraordinarily difficult to get my feet into. The size difference is enough that my toes barely go into the toe section. My pinky toe does not make it. My heel shifts up and down as I walk. And my instep is not properly located. Because they have both narrowed and reinforced the opening so that it has zero give, I don't think I'd be able to get past the opening in a size down. It's really frustrating.

They've also made the shoes more narrow. There is no logic in doing that as it defeats the mechanics of someone who has spent years walking in such a manner. They weren't uncomfortable side-to-side once on, but using a shoehorn was a pain in the... posterior foot region. I think a size down would be too snug. Plus if the opening is never going to give, that would just get very annoying.

I am unsure what to do. I could possibly cut a notch into the opening of the smaller shoe, but that probably isn't a sound idea. Perhaps I could manage to cauterize the opening somehow, or stitch it. If it didn't work, it'd obviously make them non-refundable.

The thing is, that specific style is the only pair of boots or shoes that is comfortable for me to hike or walk distances in without taking a really painful toll on my body. The other styles I have just aren't made for it. Plus the shape of my feet has always made shoe buying a challenge. They've always been very petite, wide, and with extremely high arches, but now with my natural toe spread... I might be fucked. I don't walk in other zero-drop shoes because my feet tend to slide all over the place in them.

It's not the end of the world, but it's definitely a non-enjoyable variable in mine. I will figure something out at some point. Going back to “normal” shoes just isn't an option for me.

I've been awake all night, so I guess I'll take a nap for a few hours while the sleepies are hitting me. I really hope I can find a workaround. Other than that, it will surely be a most marvelous Monday. Let's see where and when today's dreams take me.

© 2026 AnOublietteofThought. All rights reserved.

Not proofread nor edited.

l’ve started to learn several new crafts with wool this year, but none impacts me as much as nålebinding, a craft where you use a wooden or bone sewing needle to create woollen objects like gloves, headbands or scarves.

Above is my current on the go project, a cowl.

I’m using a bone needle I’ve found on Etsy and I love it.

Nothing makes me feel as centred as this craft does, even crafts I’ve done for many years.

There’s just me, a needle and a length of wool, and a stitch that took me a while to learn.

I love that it is natural to me now, and even if I have several crafts waiting for me to finish them, this is what keeps calling for me.

And I let it.

Duyulan bir cami anonsu, “1,75 boylarında, 27 yaşında olduğu bilinen; mavi tişörtlü, siyah pantolonlu ve ayağında kırmızı terliklerle, “Fredrick” adlı erkek şahıs, “Şükûfe Hanım Hastanesi’nden kaçmıştır: Görenlerin camimize bildirmesi rica olunur, ödül $500.”

Böyle bir anonsla, böyle bir güne uyandı; duyduklarını birleştirmesi zaman alıyor: “Cami, Fredrick, Şükûfe Hanım Hastanesi ve 500 dolar.”

Uzun bir yürüyüş ardından sırılsıklam, vapurdan indiğindeyse yüzünde köpük baloncuklar, patlıyor… Karşısında havuç yiyen tavşan, onun yanında zıplayan kanguru, arkasında yumurtlayan tavuk: hepsi bir emeğin, “tahta tutacağında” hareket ediyor. Sokağın sesinden, iki şarkı kulaklarında:

“Mendilimin ucuna sakız bağladım, sakız…”

“Yağma yağmur, esme rüzgâr, yolda yolcum var benim…”

Eğlenceli bir gün. Ta ki, bir adamı denize karşı bir bankta “kira sözleşmesiyle” bulana kadar. Çiçekçi teyze nazar boncuğunu yakasına iliştirmekte, herkese söylediği o güzel cümlelerin aynısını söylemekte (yani kandırılmaktadır).

Bakışlar, bölünmekte: Güvercinler, serpilen yemler arasından “pır pır” uçmakta, bir yorgun emeğin çalı süpürgesi önünden geçmekte, uzun çorba sırasında beklenmekte, son çaylar yudumlanmakta ve bir çocuk tarafından fazlasıyla ağır bir yük taşınmakta; içinden bir şeylerin tam kopma anında:

Kız Kulesi tam karşısında dikilmektedir: Suret-i-İstanbul

Burada, insan hikâyeleri bol bulunur, manzaralar buruktur; lakin ruh doludur. Ruhu kaybedersek hâlimiz nice olur. Yarım kalmış simidin son lokmasını martılara attığı sırada, ayak bir ipe dolanmaktadır:

-Bir kanca dedi, kendi kendine, oltanıza takıldım, balık değilim, ipiniz dedi, ayağımda, nasıl kurtulacağım?

-Ah dedi misina, (terminolojiye hâkim değil).

Kurtardı kendini, bu şehre tekrar baktı; çok sevdiğinden fazlaca sıkılmış bir hâlde. Saçlarıysa birbirine dolanmış, yoluna devam etmektedir.

Seçilemeyen bir yüz, birden “Merhaba, nasıl gidiyor Türkiye?” diyerek gülüyor ve geçip gidiyor. Cevabı, duymak istemediği kesin, insanlar arasından bu soruya “seçilmiş olmasına” o da gülüyor. Anonsla başlayan böyle bir günün, varacağı yere hiç şaşırmamalı. Sonradan fark ediyor; mavi tişört, siyah pantolon ve kırmızı terlikler. Şükûfe Hanım Hastanesi’nden kaçan Fredrick, öylece geçip gidiyor.

I love a place where my coconut oil stays nice and loose.

The Complete Peanuts by Charles. M. Schulz 1993-1994, Seattle: Fantagraphics Books, Garry Groth, 2024.

“The university gave me a new, elagant classroom to teach in. Only one thing, they said. You can’t bring your dog. It’s in my contract, I said. (I had made sure of that.)”

Mary Oliver, “The Poetry Teacher” Dog Songs

Just came back from the concert, and honestly, I feel like I don’t have much to say right now compared to the notion of getting sleep. I did talk with someone today about living life in moderation and I realized that I feel like I really have achieved that goal in a lot of ways and I’m very proud of that.

𝐽’𝑎𝑖 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒́ 𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑒́𝑛𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑠, 𝐽’𝑎𝑖 𝑣𝑢 𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑠 𝑠𝑒 𝑑𝑒́𝑓𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑒, 𝐿𝑒𝑠 𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑑𝑒́𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑢𝑟 𝑇𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑒, 𝐸𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑑𝑒́𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑒𝑢𝑥-𝑚𝑒̂𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑓𝑢𝑖𝑟 𝑙’𝑒𝑛𝑓𝑒𝑟.

𝐷𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑗𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑎𝑖𝑠 𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑝𝑖𝑒̀𝑔𝑒𝑠, 𝐷𝑒 𝑙’ℎ𝑢𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑠 𝑗’𝑎𝑖 𝑣𝑒́𝑐𝑢 𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑠. 𝐸𝑡 𝑑𝑢 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑑𝑒 𝑙𝑎 𝑑𝑒́𝑓𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝐽’𝑎𝑖 𝑣𝑢 𝑛𝑎𝑖̂𝑡𝑟𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑠.

𝑁𝑜𝑛, 𝑗𝑒 𝑛𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑎𝑠 𝑢𝑛 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝ℎ𝑒̀𝑡𝑒, 𝑀𝑎𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑒 𝑞𝑢𝑒 𝑣𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑧 « 𝐻𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑖𝑟𝑒 ». 𝐽𝑒 𝑛’𝑎𝑖 𝑝𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑣𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑛𝑖 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑖𝑙 𝑛𝑖 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑒, 𝑆𝑖 𝑐𝑒 𝑛’𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑑𝑒 𝑛𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑑𝑟𝑒 𝑙𝑎 𝑚𝑒́𝑚𝑜𝑖𝑟𝑒.

Freundinnen & Freunde der Weisheit! Die Frage, ob unsere Persönlichkeit eher durch Gene oder durch Umwelt geprägt wird, beschäftigt die Forschung seit Jahrzehnten. Mittlerweile hat die Forschung einen komplexeren Blick auf die Thematik.

Heute zeichnet sich ein deutlich komplexeres Bild ab als früher: Weder einzelne „Persönlichkeitsgene“ noch einzelne prägende Lebensereignisse erklären zuverlässig, warum Menschen so unterschiedlich denken, fühlen und handeln.

Lange glaubte man, bestimmte Eigenschaften liessen sich direkt auf wenige Gene zurückführen — etwa Aggressivität, Extraversion oder Ängstlichkeit. Neuere genetische Forschung widerspricht jedoch dieser Vorstellung. Persönlichkeit entsteht offenbar durch das Zusammenspiel tausender kleiner genetischer Einflüsse, die jeweils nur minimale Effekte haben. Gleichzeitig zeigen Zwillingsstudien, dass Gene zwar eine wichtige Rolle spielen, aber keineswegs alles festlegen. Selbst eineiige Zwillinge entwickeln oft deutlich unterschiedliche Persönlichkeiten.

Überraschend ist auch, wie begrenzt der Einfluss einzelner Lebensereignisse zu sein scheint. Weder grosse Erfolge noch schwere Krisen verändern Menschen oft so stark, wie populäre Vorstellungen nahelegen. Persönlichkeit entwickelt sich vielmehr durch viele kleine Erfahrungen, Beziehungen und soziale Kontexte über lange Zeiträume hinweg. Forschende sprechen deshalb zunehmend von „poly-environmentalen“ Einflüssen — also einer Vielzahl kleiner Umwelteinflüsse statt einzelner prägender Schlüsselmomente.

Besonders interessant ist die Erkenntnis, dass Gene und Umwelt nicht getrennt voneinander wirken. Bestimmte genetische Veranlagungen können je nach Umfeld verstärkt, abgeschwächt oder sogar gar nicht sichtbar werden. Persönlichkeit erscheint dadurch weniger als starres Schicksal, sondern eher als dynamischer Entwicklungsprozess. Die Forschung deutet deshalb immer stärker darauf hin, dass Menschen formbarer und wandelbarer sind, als lange angenommen wurde.

Denkanstoss zum Wochenbeginn

„Es sind Persönlichkeiten, keine Prinzipien, die das Zeitalter bewegen.“ – Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)

ProductivityPorn-Tipp der Woche: Den Arbeitsweg sinnvoll nutzen

Wenn Du pendelst, kannst Du diese Zeit sinnvoll nutzen – sei es zum Lesen, Lernen oder zur mentalen Vorbereitung auf den Tag.

Aus dem Archiv: Schluss mit Meeting-Overload

Neulich in einem meiner Leadership-Kurse im Thema mündliche Kommunikation entspann sich eine unerwartet lebhafte Diskussion. Eigentlich ging es um das Thema Auftritt und Wirkung. Doch ein Teilnehmer meldete sich zu Wort und meinte mit hörbarer Frustration: „Ganz ehrlich, ich habe das Gefühl, die Hälfte meiner Zeit geht für Meetings drauf, die kaum etwas bringen.“ Sofort nickten mehrere andere, und schon bald tauschten wir Beispiele aus: endlose Online-Sitzungen ohne klare Agenda, spontane Ad-hoc-Meetings im Büro, bei denen am Schluss niemand wusste, was nun eigentlich entschieden wurde.

weiterlesen …

Vielen Dank, dass Du Dir die Zeit genommen hast, diesen Newsletter zu lesen. Ich hoffe, die Inhalte konnten Dich inspirieren und Dir wertvolle Impulse für Dein (digitales) Leben geben. Bleib neugierig und hinterfrage, was Dir begegnet!

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EpicMind – Weisheiten für das digitale Leben „EpicMind“ (kurz für „Epicurean Mindset“) ist mein Blog und Newsletter, der sich den Themen Lernen, Produktivität, Selbstmanagement und Technologie widmet – alles gewürzt mit einer Prise Philosophie.

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Disclaimer Teile dieses Texts wurden mit Deepl Write (Korrektorat und Lektorat) überarbeitet. Für die Recherche in den erwähnten Werken/Quellen und in meinen Notizen wurde NotebookLM von Google verwendet. Das Artikel-Bild wurde mit ChatGPT erstellt und anschliessend nachbearbeitet.

Topic #Newsletter