Tag Archives: Word of the day

Word of the Day: Cosmogyral

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Cosmogyral: whirling around the universe.

I like the thought of whirling around the universe, spiraling through the galaxies in a playful weightless freefall.

It seems to evoke the ultimate surrender and that appeals to me, to belong to the sacred geometry of planetary orbits.

I envision the whirling not so much like a crazy fast dervish, but more like a butterfly ballerina, pirouetting from one flower to another to extract equal amounts of nectar and joy from each stop along the way.

Graphic credit to https://vocal.media/fyi/sacred-geometry-of-planetary-orbits

Word of the Day: Pareidolia

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Pareidolia: (n.) the instinct to seek familiar forms in disordered images like clouds or constellations; the perception of random stimulus as significant.

Pareidolia is a type of apophenia, to see patterns in random data.

Pareidolia is the tendency for perception to impose a meaningful interpretation on a nebulous stimulus, usually visual, so that one sees an object, pattern, or meaning where there is none, like the Rorschach inkblot test.

Studies have shown that facial features aren’t the only thing that we see when we come across an illusory face. It was found that we also see age, emotion, and gender – and strangely enough the vast majority of these funny faces are perceived as male faces, like the man in the moon.

I’m sure my neuroscientist DIL would have a much more scientific and intelligent explanation than I do, but I find it fascinating to discover faces or animals in clouds or common objects.

Check out these examples:

From Bored Panda

Word of the Day: Maitri

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Discovering new words is a constant joy.

Maitri: loving kindness and compassion for oneself, to reveal a profound essence that leads to personal growth, the ultimate self care.

Maitri is one of the four virtues of Buddhism, collectively known as Brahmaviharas or ‘the immeasurables’.

The term maitri can be translated from Sanskrit as loving-kindness or benevolence, The concept is central to the Buddhist practice of loving-kindness meditation and is also referenced in ancient Hindu and Jain scriptures.

Maitri was one of the themes of Buddhist teacher and author, Pema Chodron. In her book How to Meditate: A Practical Guide to Making Friends with Your Mind, she describes maitri as “unconditional friendliness,” not only towards others but towards oneself.

For maitri toward oneself, try this affirmation: “May I be happy, healthy, safe, and live with ease.”

Positive affirmations + the practice of infinite gratitude are two concepts I incorporate into my daily life.

How about you?

Boketto: Word of the Day

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Boketto is one of those magnificent Japanese words that doesn’t seem to have an exact English translation. 

Boketto is the act of gazing out into the distance with no specific thoughts, to lose oneself in the vast, mindless, horizon. 

I do it a lot, and for me, it’s a sort of trance; a spaced out, zen-like calm and meditative state.

Couldn’t you lose yourself right here above the Salish Sea gazing at the cloud-shrouded Olympic Mountains?

Word of the Day: Psithurism

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I love words and this is a good one.

Psithurism: a rustling or whispering sound, such as leaves in the wind; susurration [ sith-yuh-riz-uhm ] 

Example: Standing in the glade I heard a quiet psithurism, just straddling the line between music and noise.

Photo by veeterzy on Pexels.com

Susurrus: Word of the Day

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I love words like this, don’t you?

Susurrus is an onomatopoeic word; say it out loud and you’ll hear the sound — so many sibilant ssssssssses.

Susurrus – a low, soft, rustling, whispering; a low murmur or humming sound; think of the wind in trees or grasses, a stream or river, snakes, bees, or large groups of people speaking quietly to one another.

It’s also, apparently, a word used to describe a creature in some kind of fantasy game that I know nothing about.

Happy April!

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com