Saturday 16 December 2000

Pic of the day: It's bright and sunny, far away on the other side; but the waters run deep and cold.

Burning ears

I watch with great interest the relentless march of science. Not a month goes by that science can not report another great discovery: The birth and death of stars and galaxies, the interplay of forces that control the subatomic particles, the origin of species and of the consciousness. New rare diseases are uncovered, and new treatments. One would be tempted to think like the Lord God is reported to say in Genesis: Nothing will be impossible for them, whatever they decide to do.

So when will I get to know what makes my ears turn hot? Not only does the heat in my ears seem to switch off and on for no apparent reason, but lately I have even discovered that my left and right ear may do so independently! Usually the right is hotter, or turns hot first.

***

In some places they say that if your ears burn, someone is talking about you. I guess I cannot say for sure that no one is talking about me - I don't know many who would be interested enough to do that, but there may be someone - but I can't imagine why they would talk only about my right side...

My friend Superwoman and her fellow students are having a christmas party right now. She's perhaps wearing some of the stuff that we bought together back when she was here in Norway. But just because I'm thinking of her does not mean she is thinking of me. And particularly about my right side.

More likely is it my own thoughts that create the heat. I know that I sometimes feel heat and cold out of proportion to the temperature in the room. Now for instance it is 20 degrees celsius (that's about recommended indoors temperature) but my arms are shivering with cold and my ear is burning with heat. Are they thinking of different things?

The most plausible explanation may be the lamp that is above me to the right. It is based on the ancient light bulb technology, emitting far more energy as heat than as light. Not like the modern light sources which I buy myself - this is a gift from the Super family. A year or two ago, I think. That heat source is closer to my right ear; it is possible that the heat gradient is enough to explain the difference. As the heat on my right ear reaches a certain trigger level, it starts a process of runaway warming. I hear this happens to some planets we like to compare with. I never heard it about ears, though.

Science has some mysteries to catch up to, yet.

***

I guess it would be more likely that you talk about my back, and yes, it is at least itching. Burning may be too harsh. It is a lot less painful than yesterday, and for most of today was barely uncomfortable. It's almost too good to be true.

It is strange how much of the body takes care of itself without any micromanagement from the consciousness. In many ways, the body is a "black box" where we only notice the input and the output. I wish however that it had come with a comprehensive handbook. There are so many things that I know can be influenced by my thoughts and feelings, but I don't know how it works. Oh well. I guess I would have botched it, if I tried to micromanage all the details.

I do have a lot more body awareness now than I had as a very young man, though. At the time, my body just snapped to order. Now I don't know how far I can press it before it will collapse. Without thinking too hard of it, I am always aware of my heartbeat and my breath and my body temperature, even my blood pressure. If any of these change without a good reason, I wonder what is up. And to some extent they react to my observation. I'm also more aware of my digestion than I was before. But that's for another entry, if any ...

It's ironic, isn't it, that I grow more aware of my body the less time I have left with it? In some cultures, people just a little older than I start to draw back from this life and prepare for the next. When their children grow up, some Hindu men put on the robes of a beggar monk and leave their home, spending the rest of their life in pilgrimage. That makes kind of sense, if one really believes in an afterlife. (As opposed to just hoping very strongly for one.) Not that I am sure begging is the ultimate in piety, though. Your mileage may vary.

***

I had written a long gray entry about the plurality of the human mind, which is all well and good. But I think I have written about that repeatedly before, and there is also some other literature. But I've never written about how my ears can burn independently of one another, I think. Nor have I seen anyone else claim that. Then again, I can move my ears independently of one another too. They are highly mobile and I can actually wave them visibly, unless I am too tense. Perhaps I should have done something to carry on these unique genes after all ...? Oh well, a bit late for that now! :)