SoCS: The Medium is the Message from Journalism, to Psychics, SciFi, and Faith

Today’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is… “medium.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

When I read the prompt, I remembered something we learned in journalism class in the community college I went to before I decided to major in psychology. This was in the late 70s and I flirted with the idea of being a journalist. We went on a field trip to the newspaper and I was told that they better not hear of any of their journalists having their name on a petition, let alone, starting a petition, which I was known to do in my little community college where I got to be a big fish in a little pond. So I decided not to major in journalism because I might want to start a petition some time.

But back to the message which was, “The medium is the message.” That was a famous quote by Marshal McLuhan, probably in the early 70s or late 60s. When I saw the prompt and remembered the quote, I became curious and looked it up. That was at least an hour ago so I’m writing from memory in SoCS style and not breaking the rules. Not this time, anyway.

I now understand the quote, “The medium is the message,” a little better having read a brief summary that refreshed my memory. The message is made up of content and character. The medium of mainstream TV news, or even on-line news, has a sensationalizing character which affects the choice of words and content. Too much news can make us crazy. But we have a lot more control if we read the news, than if we watch one of the major networks at 6:30 PM. Oh, we can turn it off or change the channel, but reading or browsing gives us more choice about what we focus on. That’s why I try not to scroll on Facebook. Facebook is a medium which is part of media. Social media is plural. My FB page is a social medium.

Medium can refer to what type of substances I use to make art. I usually do acrylics, but have experimented with alcohol ink. Collage can be fun, then there’s mixed media.

Medium can be comfortable, an in between place on the thermostat or a setting on the stove. It’s the safest bet in most cases, unless you’re talking with a psychic medium.

I went to a psychic once. She said I had been imprisoned as a witch in a far ago past life, but that I was not a witch and never had been. I got this image of brick walls. I’d forgotten about that. It was like 15 years ago. There was a time when I thought I might become a Christian psychic. I bought this book about becoming a Christian psychic on my kindle but I seem to have lost it when I got my new phone. Never read it, but I’m still interested. I bet they (as in Christian psychics) recommend lots of preliminary prayers for protection. It’s not something I’d want to jump into without protection.

Maybe psychic ability is something science will be able to explain some day. There’s a reason why I can find a lost item (sometimes) when I shut my brain off and just tell my body to take me to it. We know stuff that we don’t know we know. Science feels safe when it can explain things. But some things do require faith. That reminds me of the movie, Contact, which is one of my very favorite movies.

In Contact, Jodie Foster plays a scientist who is an atheist. She has an experience with extraterrestrials but has no proof. Her friend and love interest is Palmer, a man of faith played by Matthew McConaughey. I love Ellie’s speech at 2 minutes into this clip. The movie (one medium) is based on a novel (another medium) written by Carl Sagan. Early in the story, they get a message from the extraterrestrials in another medium.

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For more takes on medium, and the rules, visit our SoCS host, Linda Hill at:

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Oct. 10/2020

Psychic Rustic Fairy Wears Elastic Waistbands While Avoiding Toxic People and Recycling Plastic (It must be SoCS)

Here’s Linda’s prompt for today:

“Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “-ic or -ical.” Find a word that uses the suffix “-ic” or “-ical.” Bonus points if you use both. Have fun!”

A list is developing in my head, and since we’re not supposed to plan much in the world of Stream of Consciousness, I better get to writing this post early.

The first word that came to me was psychic. I think I have some psychic ability. Maybe we all do, but business gets in the way. Or maybe it helps, like when I can’t find where I put something and tell my body to take me to it. I find the thing I misplaced when I’m not thinking in a linear or logical (bonus points!) way. I don’t know if that’s psychic. There’s probably a psychological (bonus points!) reason for psychic ability. But lets not ignore the spiritual realm, in fact lets, honor it. I’ve gotten vibes from beyond a few times.

Toxic. I’m trying to limit my contact with toxic people or situations. They might even be people I love. But I have to be careful not to become a recluse. Nah, that’s not going to happen. I do volunteer work and my husband will get me out of the house. But I do love to be home in my house or in my backyard when it’s not so hot and the mosquitoes  aren’t attacking me. I try to blow them off, but lately they’re getting on my nerves. I have to admit, I’ve smacked some of them when they get in my house. Facebook has been toxic to me recently, so I’m limiting my time there. I even set my phone timer one day for ten minutes and went to 15.

Elastic. I have come to appreciate elastic waist bands. More than I ever thought I would. Elastic waist bands are the bomb.

Rustic is my decorating style, with a touch of fairy dust. Rustic fairy, yep, that’s my style. It comes from my childhood tomboy  (though I don’t really like that word anymore so much) and my enjoyment of enchanted sparkle, butterflies, and the forest. Hope I’m not making you sick. Oh, well, too bad. This is my blog and that’s what I like.

 

Plastic. Now lets get serious for a moment. Plastic is a problem. Can you imagine life without plastic? I’m going to try. Some countries and cities are going to ban plastic. That’s okay with me. It will be a process. I wouldn’t mind friendly nudges. I almost never use plastic straws, unless I forget to say, “no straw,” and the person puts a straw in my smoothie with the paper wrapper on the top of the straw. I didn’t get mad last time that happened because I had gotten a gelato sample a few seconds earlier. I sometimes remember to bring my own reusable plastic cup or container from the Chinese food place. PLEASE stop with the styrofoam!  At least plastic is recyclable. So please recycle plastic!

The Saturday Stream of Consciousness is brought to you by Linda G. Hill. For more streams, visit:

https://lindaghill.com/2018/08/17/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-aug-18-18/

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing (typos can be fixed), and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. I will post the prompt here on my blog every Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The,’” or will simply be a single word to get you started.

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours. Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read all of them! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later or go to the previous week by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

8. Have fun!