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As a spiritual teacher, my millieu is Tolkien-based Elven spirituality, which is formally recognized as a sacred tradition that's equally as viable as all the world's major religions, under the U.S. Federal Law Protections for Religious Liberty. The opening track of the playlist is my melodic interpretation of Tolkien's, "Galadriel's Lament", from the Fellowship of the Rings; the first book (or movie) in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. When I heard him recite it, I also clearly heard parts of it melodically--which were strikingly different from those Gregorian-esque lines that Donald Swann composed. So, I allowed the full Song to come through; basing the cadence of my melody on his recitation, to represent the melodious nature of the way Elven speech is described in his Middle-earth writings.

Scene: At the end of Fellowship of the Ring, as the Fellowship is leaving Lothlórien, Galadriel sings from her Swan-ship:

"Ai! laurië lantar lassi súrinen,
"Ah! like gold fall the leaves in the wind,

yéni únótimë ve rámar aldaron!
long years numberless as the wings of trees!

Yéni ve lintë yuldar avánier
The years have passed like swift draughts

mi oromardi lisse-miruvóreva
of the sweet mead in lofty halls beyond the West,

Andúnë pella, Vardo tellumar
beneath the blue vaults of Varda

nu luini yassen tintilar i eleni
wherein the stars tremble in the song of her voice,

ómaryo airetári-lírinen.
holy and queenly.



Sí man i yulma nin enquantuva?
Who now shall refill the cup for me?



An sí Tintallë Varda Oiolossëo
For now the Kindler, Varda, the Queen of the Stars,

ve fanyar máryat Elentári ortanë,
from Mount Everwhite has uplifted her hands like clouds,

ar ilyë tier undulávë lumbulë;
and all paths are drowned deep in shadow;

ar sindanóriello caita mornië
and out of a grey country darkness

i falmalinnar imbë met, ar hísië
lies on the foaming waves between us,

untúpa Calaciryo míri oialë.
and mist covers the jewels of Calacirya for ever.

Sí vanwa ná, Rómello vanwa, Valimar!
Now lost, lost to those from the East is Valimar!



Namárië! Nai hiruvalyë Valimar.
Farewell! Maybe thou shalt find Valimar.

Nai elyë hiruva. Namárië!"
Maybe even thou shalt find it. Farewell!"

When I first heard the term, "non-binary", I thought, "Wow, this generation is so intent on having a self-defining, gender stereotype defying term, they're not even aware of one that's already stood the test of time!" To be androgyne is to be a person who's gender balanced. As you'll read (if you read), the term applies to all demographics; cis, queer, and questioning. For those questioning, this article may be a godsend; it enables people to drop the question and just be themselves. There is a demographic for whom that questioning will only be lessened, but not alleviated; the trans community.

[Tangent] (Click the title to open the Primer)

A Brief (Impromptu) Primer on Gender Dysphoria

What's the difference between "transgender" and "transsexual"? THAT is one of the most difficult questions for trans persons to answer themselves. Look at two words; the difference answers the question. The former refers to non-genital shift of your socially-perceived gender to conform with your inner gender self-perception. The latter entails that too; however, it extends to the literal structure of your genitals as well.

Try to wrap your head around this for a moment:

If you're not transgender, do you remember how your bodily self-image matched the gender that was medically assigned to you by virtue of your anatomical sex at birth? Your natal body had a penis (M), or vagina (F) [if not born intersexed]; you grew up thinking and feeling you're a boy [if M], or a girl [if F], and you've been totally cool with that forever. Generally, gender norms in most societies aren't set in stone; there's a lot of variance. E.g., if you were a girl, you enjoyed looking and behaving the way most girls do, regardless of whether they're "tomboys", or "girlie-girls". If you were a boy, you could be an hard jock-head, or a soft sensitive type. Either way, by age 7, your gender identity is set; it's locked. Let's refer to that as your authentic gender. Either way, you had no problem when puberty hit, and your biology took control of your dominant sex characteristics--you were still tomboy, girlie-girl, jock-head, or sensitive type, as you were. You may have been straight, or lesbian, gay, or bisexual, however, there wasn't a fundamental schism between your medically-assigned gender, your authentic gender, and your sexual development. Getting into the nitty, let's focus on persons born female.

Now, imagine you're 4-6 years old and, intellectually, your eyes see that your body has a vagina; however, when you close your eyes and imagine your role in society, your self image decidedly matches that of most boys. You're just beginning to get a grip on the most fundamental differences between people at that age. You see that your body is genitally like girls, and for reasons you're not going to understand, much less be able to communicate, perhaps for another decade, or more, your constant self-image aligns with children who have penises. The usually very wide prepubescent gender variance amongst same sex persons enables you not to be emotionally consumed by the dichotomy between your inner perception of your sex, and your outer social role; however, there's a very critical psychological pressure cooking.

If your genes don't hard-preset your gender appearance, you may socially float; you know you're a "girl", and you also know you're He-Man, or the winner of some kind of male competition, or part of a winning male sports team. Then, puberty hits and your flat chest doesn't become a pair of strong pecs; it becomes a pair of squishy titties. Instead of slender hips and developing abs, your hips spread by 10%-40% and developing abs just ain't hap'nin' like boys because your body's preparing your uterus for childbearing. [Let's not even get into menstruation!] If you're a female-to-male (FTM) transperson, you're still fine with having a vagina; but all those other factors that decisively define social gender are diametrically opposed to your inner self image which you've had for nearly [or, perhaps more than] twice your lifespan at that time. If you're a FTM transsexual, you have the same kind of social role schism regarding your gender--but, your self body-image has a penis too--and the biggest trip is that you also have an imaginal* felt sense of having a penis. In both cases, something's gotta change.

It's the inverse for male-to-female (MTF) transgender and transsexual persons. Let's go one small step, for this conversation; huge leap for your understanding. Men, try to imagine feeling as though your body has a vagina, even though it's obvious to you that you have a penis; perhaps a cervix-long one--based on your heterosexual experience. Every time you stand up peeing, your brain is having a challenge because it's experiencing somewhat of a psycho-emotional schism; because it expects you to be sitting, or at least squatting as you're doing so. You wipe the tip when you're done, and your brain thinks you should be spending a bit more time, and paying a lot more attention to the whole wiping process. Feeling the tension of the schism as brain and gut tension, you know you're going to feel the same way even if you ARE sitting with your body as it is; so you pee the path of least resistance, not even adding head gaming yourself by sitting down, (if sitting's not what you're normally do anyway). That brain-gut tension extends to when you're wearing practically any pair of pants; your brain not expecting to need to adjust your 'nads to accommodate the garment. For the most part, when you're not asleep, your central nervous system is on constant alert as a consequence of the schism; to a greater, or lesser degree depending on a myriad of factors. At age 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8... 15, 16... 22, 23... 30... 57...--you;ve gotta accept carrying and living with that tension
60/60/24/7/365.25 ; or something's gotta change.)
That's Gender Dysphoria (GD).

        

The emotional
                        felt
                              sense
                                        of
                                            GD is akin to wearing a wet blanket and wet quilt and wet duvet and sopping wet heavy boots, along with a sopping wet wool hat everywhere, always; incessantly.
GD is a direct cause of chronic, acute depression and anxiety; even if the person experiencing it lives in a totally accepting natal family and community--depression which too frequently leads to substance abuse, in an effort to self-medicate away the gravity of GD. Too many times, it leads to suicide. When someone lives with GD, some kind of physical change definitely needs to happen.

Transgender refers to outwardly changing one's social gender presentation to match one's authentic gender. That's usually done by changing one's hair style, clothing style, (which may also entail wearing clothing that modifying genital appearance, e.g. wearing extra support tights to disallow the penis from bulging, or wearing pants with very loose crotches--for either gender), often also speech pitch and/or patterns, and perhaps wearing enough makeup to enhance one's gender-neutral features, tilting their appearance toward norms consistent with their authentic gender. It doesn't usually entail surgically changing one's genitals.

Like being transgender, being transsexual entails outwardly changing ones gender presentation to match one's authentic gender. However, being transsexual also entails changing one's sex characteristics too; perhaps not necessarily one's genitalia. Generally, that change always begins lightly; via hormonal therapy, male-to-female (MTF) taking estrogen to enable development of female breasts, wider hips, and much less dense muscles, or female-to-male (FTM) taking testosterone to enable development of facial hair, naturally lower voices, more slender hips, and much denser muscles. In most GD cases, that's enough; which solidly qualifies such persons as transgender--even with the secondary sex characteristics so modified. In many such cases, (i.e. mine), even after decades of hormonal therapy, and changing one's gender appearance and social [even professional] gender role, that gravity continues to be ceaseless. For us, ultimately, changing one's primary sex characteristics via Sex Reassignment Surgery, or Gender Affirming Surgery (SRS/GAS, ergo having vaginoplasty [changing penis to vagina], or phalloplasty [construction of a penis and permanent closure of the vagina]) is the only certainly alleviating resolution. Medically, only the latter transition definitively qualifies someone as transsexual; (nevertheless, since [according to Duck.ai] "the average cost of sex reassignment surgery SRS/GAS in the United States typically ranges from $20,000 to $300,000, depending on the specific procedures involved", most transsexuals are unable to have that benefit, which doesn't effectively disqualify them from being transsexual, if they've psychologically have been clinically assessed to decidedly match that profile).

ALL TRANSSEXUALS ARE TRANSGENDER; but, MOST TRANSGENDER PERSONS AREN'T TRANSSEXUAL. That fact makes it extra challenging for transsexuals because it can take a long time to be certain that one's experience of GD does, in fact, encompass a bodily change of sexual appearance as well, rather than just an apparent change of gender. AND, it's not something to try to sort out alone. For anyone to be totally certain usually requires a person to undergo (a) a year, or more of clinical therapy to determine whether one is decidedly living with Gender Dysphoria (GD), and (b) to what extent that may be operative. [End tangent]

In my effort to make sense of my GD experience, I was led to Dr. Harry Benjamin's "The Transsexual Phenomenon", one of the first formal scientific studies of transsexualism, (https://transreads.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2019-04-07_5ca961529c262_HarryBenjamin-TheTranssexualPhenomenon1copy.pdf), when I was 21. I experience a long series of totally resonant "Aha!" moments--and, there was something else happening within me that felt beyond that certainty; a button on which I couldn't put my finger. Several years later, I found Dr. June Singer's book, "Androgyny: The Opposites Within";  a strictly empirical scientific study of androgyny, (Anchor/DoubleDay paperback (1976/1977) — ISBN-10: 038511026X / ISBN-13: 9780385110266); finding it not only put my finger on that button, it mashed it to the max! Certainly, being born with a "M" as my designated sex, I actually inwardly saw my body as "F" since I was 4; however, I wasn't uncomfortable with my masculinity, and stereotypical femininity (i.e. the American version) seemed too self-limiting. I had spent a lot of my time during the previous decade finding ways to balance gender within, with very remarkable success, and Dr. Singer's book helped me to understand that part of my Journey as a very natural human experience that very few people allowed themselves to experience. I don't recall her ever mentioning "transgender", or "transsexual" in that book; (could've, and it's been too long for my recall to be accurate). Finally, I understood I'm an androgyne; it took a lot longer to clinically confirm my GD, and my transsexuality.

Close

  [End Tangent]

On Being Androgyne

A few years later, I wrote "On Being Androgyne"; as an illumination, rather than an autobiographical piece. The year before she died, my mother read it. When she finished, she looked at me and said, "Now, I finally understand you!" I'm grateful my showing it to her enabled her to do so! May it also help other parents to understand the true Nature of their androgyne kids.

If you're an androgyne, and your parents don't get you; enable them to read it also--
perhaps it will help them to finally understand you too.

(By the way, dispelling the stereotyping of MTFs as gay men who change sex to be with men as women, I know many MTFs, and almost all of them lived as straight men before transition, and only lesbian afterward.)

The Science of Transgenderism

"It's very rare that the natural world gives us totally clear-cut dichotomies...

The way people have traditionally thought about trans individuals is 'This is someone who for some reason thinks they're different sex than what they actually are'. What the neurobiology suggests instead is 'This is someone who has had the incredibly crappy luck of being handed a body that happens to be a different sex than who they actually are'.

                                                                                          Dr. Robert Sapolsky

Transgender Neurobiology with Dr. Robert Sapolsky -- (45-second, loud ad intro)

Neuroimaging Studies of Transgender People: A Critical Review - E. Kale Edmiston, PhD

You may download an excerpt of the GD primer portion of this page as a .pdf file

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I recorded songs tracks 9-15 in the playlist with my virtual band; TransAction. To differentiate between my Jazz and my Pop, I produce and perform my brand of Pop using only my middle name; Alyras..

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"Something About You" is a straight up lesbian come-on song. For me, the joy of the song is how is came to be. I was working as a techie in what was San Francisco's premiere data center, one night, and the groove came to me as I walking down one of its 2-block long hallways; at that tempo. The groove just slid into my mind, "(1) Doo-Doont (2), Doo-(3)Doont; (4)Doo Doo!". I sang the groove into my phone, and coded the MIDI tracks and fleshed out the song after I returned home. When I hear it, I always feel that initial--"Oooooohhhh!" that I felt and thought when the groove just locked-step with mine.

9. Somethin’ About You        (Language: English)

8. The Girl I Can’t Get To         (Voice/Piano -- both self-performed)         (Language: English)

"Hey, Cool!"--Waaay back, my son, Aryeh-Or [Aryeh-Or.com] told me I had no clue about how to write a good Hip-Hop song. To date, I've been songwriting longer than he's lived. I didn't argue; I just wrote and produced that, and let him hear it a few days later. He promptly apologized. [Check him out. :-D  As a thespian, author, and musician, he's definitely got tasty juice! ]

The inspiration for the song was a video clips of a shooting was between two rival gangs in Chicago; filmed from an high-rise window. I'm speaking to black Millenials and Gen Zs.

10. Hey, Cool!        (Language: English)

11. Give Me Your Time        (Language: English)

Back in the day, [thanks to the help of Richard (Dick) Rudolph, Don Freeman and Warren Giancatarino], John McLain wanted to sign Lenny Kravitz and me to A&M (as the "Black Lennon and McCartney"); while Jheryl Busby [head of Black Music] at MCA was offering me a solo deal with Universal. My manager, Brian Avnet, advised me to take the MCA deal. Thing was, MCA was buying Motown, and as soon as that deal was sealed, they began dropping artists who were more aligned with my music, (e.g Joe Sample, Stephanie Mills, Gladys Knight...), in favor of the teen market, e.g. Shanice, New Edition/Bell, Biv Devoe, etc. (Brian and I didn't see that coming). The month I signed,

• Brian went on a long hiatus, (for fam reasons);
• Dick had already bailed to produce Timothy B. Schmidt's solo album;
• Jheryl left to lead Motown;
• my A&R person bailed to another company; and
• my publishing lead also jumped to another publisher.

Everyone I needed to just get my feet squarely on the major label ground were gone--and the first thing I heard from the woman who'd been given my case, the second I sat down after going to her office to meet her, was, "I don't like your music!"  
                                                                    

[ In-my-face verbal abuse, from the jump--WTF was I supposed to do with that?!? ]

I'd signed the deal during an intense Mercury Retrograde (Merc Rx) cycle; which is how I learned about Merc Rx the hard way! The MCA axe hit lots of artists very hard. My understanding is that Stephanie put L.A. totally behind her and went back to performing on Broadway;--(Before moving to L.A., I used to sing through most of her "Sweet Sensation" album to warm up for gigs--if I could nail HER chops, I could totally rule on stage! lol). Joe suffered a major psych dive, (what we used to call a nervous breakdown) because of it; Gladys went back to Gospel music, starting a choir in Vegas. After a year of zero traction, increased debt, a 1 year old [Aryeh-Or] and a sibling newly on the way, I convinced the label to pay out my contract and went back to freelance.

Jump many years ahead. Lenny's crushing it :-D; and I'm raising my kids on a bookstore salary. [One of the best parts of that experience was my personally being able to assist Lisa Bonet when she came there to find books to help her to bring Zoe into the world in the healthiest, most balanced way. I simply led her to the great, spot-on books I'd discovered [and personally used very well to raise my kids, (up to age 5)], and some to which I'd been introduced there--and, apparently, those conversations bore great fruit!] This song, "Heavenly Virtue" is what came out when, (20ish years thereafter), its Lenny-like groove wafted into my mind. As soon as I was feelin' it, I thought, "This is the kinda groove Lenny likes rockin'!"; so, somewhat as a nod to him, I turned it into a full song; maintaining the groove the way I think he probably would, and evolving it the way I would.

The groove of the song emulates what I've heard of Lenny's music; the melody's all me.
(Maybe John was onto something?)

12. Heavenly Virtue        (Language: English)

I'd become bored with the Verse-Chorus-[same melody]Verse-Chorus-Bridge-Chorus (out) song structure. I mean rreeaally bored. So, being a composer first, songwriter second, (I'd written several orchestral works before turning to songwriting), I stepped back to see a bigger picture; initially, exploring songwriting in other languages. Then, I stepped back a few hundred years, and considered what's stood the test of time in Western music prior to the greater popularity of songwriting. The ternary structure, most evident in the sonata and symphony forms, ruled before then. That format is simple: A [introduction of melodic theme]--B [contrasting theme, usually slower]--A [effective repeat of the original theme]. I decided to develop an hybrid approach. The following 3 songs are part of the initial shift. (Then, I decided to follow my spiritual heart into exploring songwriting in the Elven language, Quenya; i.e. the one in J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings", and "Silmarillion". That's what I'm doing now.)

Representing it, I think (Portuguese) "Angie" is the best example of that foray's adhering to the ternary form. (Quenya) "I Calyala Latië" [#6 in the playlist] is an variation of the form; more consistent with my EDM heart space.)

I met (the Russian) poet, visual artist, etc., Nadia Mogilev, when we were living in San Francisco. We decided to explore songwriting together, starting with some of her poems. When she explained the significance of "Dve Rozi" (Two Roses)--i.e. in Russia, when you're in a romantic relationship and wanna end it, 2 roses in a vase is the unspoken message--I felt the depth of those currents; hence, the song.

13. Dve Rozi        (Language: Russian)

I had a crush on a French woman I'd hung out with in L.A., who returned to Paris. Hence, the title, which is "You in Paris and Me in L.A." in English

14. Toi à Paris et Moi à L.A.        (Language: French)

I wrote "Angie" somewhat academically; (although it was sparked by an actual, beautiful woman named Angie, whose voice was as soothing as gently-swift water flowing over a pebbled riverbed, and whose laughter was like lyrical birdsong--a short-time close friend who moved to Brasil, and got lost in the bifurcation of the waves of our lives.) I wanted to write a song in Portuguese, I don't speak enough of it to save my life; however, I had a couple great Pt. grammar books and dictionaries, and, (thinking of her), "Angie, esta cancao e de voce" (Angie, this song is for you!) was a phrase with a grip. So, I fleshed out the lyrics around that concept; then, I stumbled upon an old, i.e. 1950's b/w musical from Lisboa/Lisbon, heard and felt their accent with an odd sense of returning home--although I've never been to the EU. My accent is Continental, rather than Brasilian; as you'll hear in this, and in the way I sing Jobim's "Insensatez".

15. Angie        (Language: Portuguese)

People have been using AI to create music sung in Quenya, the Elven language introduced by J.R.R. Tolkien, mine is completely original, and I'm singing it. (In fact, I've never used AI to create music; aside from being totally authentic, the intuitive process is to delicious for me to do that.) The Quenya (Elvish) lyrics were all written by New Zealand's late, renowned Quenya translator, Rodger Francis Ashton-Smith. We were discussing exploring songwriting together, and I suggested he translate the entire Tao Te Ching, so we could use that body of work as lyric source; i.e. one song for each of its chapters. The next 2 songs, "Oiolumellë Er", and "I Calyala Latië" are from that expansion. We call our collaboration, "Ilúvamil" (Mother of All); respecting that it was She would enabled us to meet.

5. Oiolumellë Er          (Language: Quenya)         Project: Ilúvamil   

6. I Calyala Latië          (Language: Quenya)         Project: Ilúvamil

I composed the "Lótessë Medicine Song" after completing my sound healing training, with Silvia Nakkach @ California Institute of Integral Studies. For Tolkien geeks, Lótessë is the month of May, during which people who walk the Elven Spiritual Path annually explore personal relationship with the Valië, Nessa.

7. Lótessë Medicine Song – Opus 1 :: (Honoring the Valië, Nessa) :: Flutes & Chakapa

** Dr. Markus Altena Davidsen's "The Spiritual Tolkien Milieu: A Study of Fiction‐based Religion";
https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/binaries/content/assets/geesteswetenschappen/lucsor/englishsummary-dissertationdavidsen.pdf, and

    My, "The Way of the Elven Spiritual Path : Book II: Initiation";
https://www.amazon.com/Way-Elven-Spiritual-Path-Initiation/dp/B0B92KGTJK.

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IMHO, The Way of the Elven Spiritual Path : Book II: Initiation is both an excellently exceptional, full reveal of the Tolkien-based** Elven Spiritual Path, for all who are deeply drawn to it; and a premature expression of it as well. Frankly, it was a rush job; written in 2 months. In early June 2022, several astrologers were saying an astrological window (so to speak) was going to open that August, and all new spiritual understandings, processes, and/or belief systems that were codified and formally published during that window would successfully take root, and flourish as the Aquarian Age now unfolds. The Silver Elves have been writing about their sphere of Elven spirituality for decades; certainly, the world deserved to know at least a (by comparison) tad about the (Tolkien-based) Elven Spiritual Path; and the Path deserves that flourishing too. Only 3 people were qualified to write the book, one other two had obligations preventing them doing so, that they couldn't just park for 2+ months to git 'er done. So, I got 'er done; (First Edition first draft, at least, including a few typos--nonetheless, got 'er done, with all fundamental parts and particulars; on the last day of that window--publishing it with Amazon and ssssliding through the gate before it closed.) I'll probably release the Second Edition in 2027--along with the beginning of a series of new books also written to enable people to have a lived experience of Elven spirituality, and of Elven timbre of Life. The Elven Spiritual Path is fringe, yes; however it's not cultish, freaky, or weird. Like the world's major religions, it's fundamentally rooted and anchored in the individual's personal Relationship with the Divine Feminine (DF); with a particular added flavor. (Interestingly, like Tolkien, I was led to this Path via the Relationship I began with the DF in Christianity, albeit the American "Metho'-Bapti'-Evangeli-Pentacostalic", rather than the Catholic version.) The Legendarium reveals an innate, spiritual sibling-Nature humans have with Elves. Given a conscious, intentional, genuine actualization of that Nature, humans may integrate it into their microcosms and lives, being increasingly able to express Elf-like personal energy wherever we go--e.g. generally unf***able peace, balance, grace, holistic harmony with all of Nature and with all other spiritual paths arising from and expressing Love. The book teaches people how to do that, individually, on their own; with genuine Relationship and effect, and without affectation, or trappings of any kind that they can't have with them in the middle of a lake, wearing only their birthday suits. Alternate Purchasing Option The 501(c)(3) charitable trust, ElvenSpirit, parents and hosts content for the organization also named, "Elven Spiritual Path", (which is also such a charitable trust). You may receive an indie-published PDF of the book as a Thank you! gift when you help to advance that Path by donating $10 to the trust for that purpose. Click on either below-related image to jump to the Elven Spiritual Path home page, where you'll find the access link. Thank you!

I began creating cognitive enhancement media in 1987, when I translated the Mayan Sacred Calendar ("Cholq'ij", or "Tzolk'in") into sound. In the early 2000's I expanded the audio to include video; the colors being the tones elevated into the light spectrum. (I call that form of software "sonochromatic", sound+light.) In 2018, as I was going to release a seriously badass expression of it, not one, but all 3 of my laptops suddenly went to ultra-crawl, i.e. while they'd been exporting builds within an hour, suddenly they were taking 3 days to do so. It was a totally commercial project; for 2 MacBook Pros and a then brand new PC to be doing the same thing, apparently Hunab Ku (Source) wasn't havin' it--things dragged to the point where I completely missed my launch date, which led to great loss on my part.

So, recovering, I decided to develop derivatives using an entirely different fundamental structure; same principles, different Model. The new Model I chose was DNA. I'd come across research showing how the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching and the 64 codons of DNA have direct 1:1 correspondence--which means they are effectively 64 music chords; specifically, quadrichords (4 tones each). That made it mathematically easy for me to convert the Tzolk'in's code to conform to the new Model's.

Harmonic Tzolk'in/Cholq'ij

         

SonusLumine has 2 divisions, "BrainNeo", (which provides "Rebound!"), and "Synaptogenesys"; the latter being more advanced than the former insofar as it integrates portions of both Models. A few days ago, having rejoined the Tzolk'in Work, mainly to analyze it using AI, I released a new prototype called, "Harmonic Tzolk'in/Cholq'ij" on YouTube.

SonusLumine's products are all dynamic, whole brain synchronization and cognitive enhancement modules designed to radically advance neuroplasticity; particularly for persons who are experiencing post-traumatic brain recovery, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and other neurological conditions which are ameliorated by doing things that involve any form of pattern recognition-based therapy. Rebound! is free; as is Harmonic Tzolk'in/Cholq'ij. Synaptogenesys is a paid subscription service.

One brief comment about addiction to social media, (and, soon, AI):

Several weeks ago, at the University of Minnesota, I passed a group of Gen Z young women. Soon after I passed, one of them began exuberantly telling the others that she was simply going to use ChatGPT to do a critical assignment that was imminently due. "I'm just going to go to ChatGPT and have it whipped out in few minutes". I thought of backstepping and advising them not to go there, not to do that; however, I also felt that it wasn't my role, and went my own way.

As you've read above, I'm into AI; however, I'm a Boomer, which gave me the great advantage of being able to well-develop my Natural Intelligence (NI) before social media and AI came onto the scene. I OWN that; and I can rock the [bleep] out it! BILLIONS of people younger than 30 years old cannot say that! Why? Primarily, because they're addicted to social media, which isn't giving their young brains the stimulation necessary to develop true mental acuity; true brain power.

Me: Worldwide, are most people under age thirty in developed countries addicted to social media?

Duck.ai: Yes, a significant number of people under age thirty in developed countries are addicted to social media, with approximately 40% of young adults aged 18 to 22 reporting signs of addiction. This trend is particularly pronounced among teenagers and young adults, indicating a high vulnerability to social media dependency.
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aprilaba.com magnetaba.com  Worldwide Social Media Addiction Statistics

This is literally more serious than an heart attack--

an heart attack doesn't posit the acute possibility of national collapse due to en masse loss of critical thinking skills; (for any country so mentally dependent on social media as the United States has become)!

You need NI to get the most out of AI; and unless it's been dumbed down by social media, substance abuse, or abuse from others, NI isn't fundamentally affected by casual use of social media, or AI. Don't get me wrong; I'm not anti-AI. In fact, I've gone off the deep end with AI use; having my own AI lab, with a least 9 LLM models, so I don't need to use ChatGPT, Claude, Mistral, or any other online AI. During the past 19ish months, I've used AI to write 5 books, and am making great progress on getting a deep, peer review-level analysis of my SonusLumine media using it--massively intensive research for which AI was a boon for my NI. Because I already have both research and writing as well-developed skills, I'm able to pore through what AI has written for me, critically reading through the material, and very frequently correcting it, and helping it to help me more effectively. Without applying critical thinking to the process, I would be setting myself up for ridicule by anyone else who did so, and challenged "my work"; with applying critical thinking, I actually take ownership of the work; enabling me to do it better without using AI when AI isn't available. If I were looking for a job, that would very favorably set me apart from the crowd when the interview turns out to include 1/2 an hour to write a kick butt 5-paragraph essay about any given preset topic. 

If you're young, and feeling pressure to compete with your peers who are cranking out assignments using AI, (whether academic, or professional), do not take their easy route; you'll lose exponentially more than you'll gain by doing so. Heed my counsel; make increasing your NI more of a priority than increasing your use of AI, and watch where you're at in life in 20 years--while you're still young--compared to your peers who are not heeding it. I assure you, when you get to 2046, you'll be far better at living your best life by doing so than everyone who's thought they could fast track themselves by not doing so. The U.S. Navy Seals have a fundamental working principle: "Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast". Applying it to how you use AI, in contrast to your peers who don't, will save your quality of life from being in the pits one short generation down the pike.

As far as social media is concerned, I very strongly encourage you to watch long videos requiring critical thinking, and avoid shorts--shorts lower your attention span, which lowers your critical thinking ability, which increases the stress and anxiety you'll experience simply trying to live; which ultimately shreds your professional/commercial value and competitiveness. Even better--READ actual (old school) books; remember those?!?  Kindle being a reasonable substitute. At the very least, get into crossword puzzles, and make a daily practice of working some--even if it's only one, spread across several days. You may also freely use Rebound! [forever] to rebound from social media oversaturation, and super-rapidly build yourself a more dynamically resilient brain.

This isn't confined to human intelligence--THIS ALSO APPLIES TO AI!

  

A few days ago, I was listening to a Tristan Harris interview discussing AI, wherein he said that AIs trained on brain rotting content also acquired irreversible brain rot themselves. Doing my own due diligence to find confirming info and data, I didn't need to look far; I think I used "AI brain rot" as a search term, and immediately found a study done by scientists at Texas A&M University, University of Texas at Austin, and Purdue University, an article from Futurism expounding on it (which I printed as a PDF, because it has several follow-up links to some very interesting supporting pieces that might not be there when you directly access it). Now, I ask you, if brain rot is an across the board phenomenon, whether it's with NI, or AI, wouldn't it be wise to at least learn how to use AI in ways that don't advance it? Wouldn't it be wise to also learn how to use social media, (and, in fact, the entire social Internet), in ways that help to prevent you from acquiring it? Yes. And Yes.

Whether it's social media, or AI, whatever age you may be, don't give up your brain power. Own your brain; own your mind; own your life. Lose your brain; lose ownership of your mind; lose ownership of your life.

In this article, where AI wasn't quoted, AI wasn't used.