SYMBOLS

I think I was born with a book in my hand, though my mother swore that the book came a week later, along with my library card. Words have guided, supported, and informed my life for so long that I cannot live without them. Stories for language arts class gave way to poems for fun, healing, and expression. Several forays into academia led to research and publications, all while teaching others how to both read and write. For thousands of years, in hundreds of written languages, decoding tiny characters, symbols meaning nothing on their own, once spread across a page, can bring tears to the eye, a smile to our lips, laughter, anger, and inspiration. Billy Preston s line, Nothing from nothing, leaves nothing... falls flat in the presence of the written word, whose orthography, certainly nothing element by element, creates something truly when strung together. Currently living overseas, the people, culture, and the environment all around call out to be expressed and explored. I try to do both in equal balance.

The written word has always fascinated me. It's magical how particular symbols put in a certain order are capable of conveying such a tremendous amount of information to a reader. I enjoy writing as a means to create alternate universes, to provide a temporary experience that can create a lasting impression upon someone who is captivated by the extraordinary. In general, I am an ordinary person. I appreciate art (particularly paintings and digital media) and find myself in awe of other cultures. I enjoy spending time speculating as to the origins of the human species. But overall, I identify as a writer. Not because I have published works, but because I see the world through kaleidoscopic eyes. A random collection of colors and shapes, patterns and styles, changing on a whim every second. In a world of such beautiful chaos, writing my thoughts and dreams are the only way that I can attempt to make sense of it all.

Hi! My name is Sophy Laughing. I changed my last name to 'Laughing' because that's how I want to spend the rest of my life, how I want to leave the world, As my name suggests, I believe there is great wisdom in humor. The beauty of comedy is its subjectivity. There's something for everyone. It ranges from the sublime to the ridiculous, from the confidence of youth to the sobering central period of life, to the early luncheons hosted by silver-haired ladies, to one's ability to embrace Cicero's greatest contribution to the world, On A Life Well Spent. The lethal effects of life have affected me, but nothing as much as humor. Humor is an innovative solution, once you can find a problem to go with it. There's much to be explored in the field of humor, from the physics of humor, to humor's ability to heal the mind and the body, both. Humor lassos up eastern and western thought, and propels us back to the beginning of time. Ancient hieroglyphic symbols for laughing and jokes were shared thousands of years ago. There are biblical references to laughing, the Greek city-states inherited a tradition of professional humor from the Hitties, the pompous, bridge-building toga wearing Roman's, The Laughter Lover, dating back to the third or fourth century AD, contains some 260 jokes on stereotypes - the 'Å"egghead', or absent-minded professor, was particularly funny, as was the eunuch, and people with hernias or bad breath. I can hear Homer's gods from the Iliad, laughing now... From Chaucer to King Alfred to Shakespearian lines so lovely they make the senses tingle, the worlds' recognition of humor reflects the genius beheld in the levitational farce field. Henri Bergson, Immanuel Kant, Soren Kierkegaard, and even Freud recognized the power held in making others laugh. Jean-Paul Satre said that making people laugh 'Å"saved (his) life.' Being able to laugh saved my life!

Satis Shroff is a poet and writer based in Freiburg (poems, fiction, non-fiction) who also writes on ecological, ethno-medical, culture-ethnological themes. He has studied Zoology and Botany in Nepal, Medicine and Social Sciences in Germany and Creative Writing in Freiburg and the United Kingdom. He describes himself as a mediator between western and eastern cultures and sees his future as a writer and poet. Since literature is one of the most important means of cross-cultural learning, he is dedicated to promoting and creating awareness for Creative Writing and transcultural togetherness in his writings, and in preserving an attitude of Miteinander in this world. He lectures in Basle (Switzerland) and in Germany at the Akademie f¼r medizinische Berufe (University Klinikum Freiburg). Satis Shroff was awarded the German Academic Exchange Prize and also the Kulture prize of Green City Freiburg for his social engagement for the refugees and asylum seekers. Writing experience: Satis Shroff has written two language books on the Nepali language in German for DSE (Deutsche Stiftung f¼r Entwicklungsdienst) & Horlemannverlag. He is a contributing author on Boloji.com and writes regularly for The American Chronicle (www.amchron.com) and its twenty-one affiliated newspapers in the USA. He has written feature articles in the Munich-based Nelles Verlag's '˜Nepal' on the Himalayan Kingdom's Gurkhas, sacred mountains and Nepalese symbols, and on Hinduism in '˜Nepal: Myths & Realities (Book Faith India) and his poem '˜Mental Molotovs' was published in epd-Entwicklungsdienst (Frankfurt).

I am an original technical writer who will never copy and writes in his own style with accurate engineering and technical information. I am an Ex-IIT'an and a knowledgeable technocrat. I am a -- -- -- . B.Tech(Hons) in Electronics & Electrical Communication Engineering , IIT Kharagpur. My goal >> I am a technical writer to create and prepare clear, correct, concise and relevant written documentation to communicate technical information that is actually helpful to the ultimate end-user. I am able to create useful, most appropriate and rich engineering web content matters for websites. I have got fantastic capability to create and edit images, engineering illustrations, symbols and photos. You are welcome to hire my services to design or re-design your websites for clear headlines, great titles and attractive page contents. I also prepare User's Manual, How-to Manual, Instruction Manual, Documentation guides for Industrial & Domestic Products. I hate plagiarism and believe in recording academic citations in my documents.

Chuck Banaszewski is an artist/activist living in Phoenix, Arizona. He received his Ph.D. in Theatre from Arizona State Univ. in 2006. In Phoenix, he teaches theatre and film classes at local colleges while sharing time working for spraygraphic.com and sprayblog.net. Two websites dedicated to art, design, film, music, and activism. Also, Charles is very active in the West Coast art community as a photographer and supporter of the arts. My goal is to try to get people to think more about art, pop culture, symbols, fashion, and materialism without telling people the "answer" or what it means. I wanted to provoke thought.

Tessie Jayme is a Minister of the Universal Life Church, a Reiki Master/Teacher, and an eternal student of the multi-dimensional universe. She has studied: ~ Tarot-Card Reading ~ Handwriting Analysis ~ Astrology ~ Feng Shui ~ Palmistry ~ Numerology ~ Face-Reading Recently, she has designed her own 9-card set of Tarot Cards, and created beautiful calendar collages which have been imbued with the sacred Reiki symbols. She is also the author of a self-help book, BOOK OF YES, which reinterprets the Ten Commandments for the new millennium. This book interprets the ten rules as guidelines for self-empowerment, rather than as dictates from an all-powerful "God."

I worked heavy steel for 34 years. The last 7 years of which, I was an apprentice instructor teaching, Blue Print Reading, Basic Math, Use of torque Wrenches, Basic Layout, Safety Rule and Regulations, Safe Use of Hand and Pneumatic Tools, Weld Symbols, and Working in Confin

I joined the Army from Texas straight out of highschool and have been serving in the army band just over 2 years. I've been assigned to write many song lyrics for our Unit as well as designing unit symbols and have won awards for all the above. I will soon be going to UTSA t

America has lost the most beautiful "living symbols of peace" we had, that event turned my attention to serious non-fiction writing.

I am a spiritual director, holding an MA in theology, with an emphasis in spirituality. I ve worked with those still living within institutionalized religion and with those seeking a new home outside of it. Justice work has long been an integral part of my life, first in the Catholic Feminist Movement, then as a member of the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action, a community which resists violence, especially in the form of nuclear weapons. My experience in spiritual direction is broad, having worked with diverse age groups, sexual orientation, gender, and race. Steeped in the spirituality of great mystics, and conscious of the movement of the Spirit in my life, I seek to be a companion and guide to others who are committed to develop their spirituality.

Rick Borutta studied alchemical healing traditions with Lorie Dechar (www.fivespirits.com) and Benjamin Fox (www.anewpossibility.com) His own journey of personal transformation began in NYC theater, followed by filmmaking and a position with CBSNews.com, culminating in his use of astrology, writing and imaginative shadow work. Rick Borutta began his professional career in live theater. He managed productions across the globe for Tommy Tune and Elaine Stritch, with whom he appears in the HBO documentary Elaine Stritch at Liberty. His own non-fiction films include Beauty from our Hands, a Cannes Short Film Corner selection set in Cape Town South Africa. His first film Tomorrow is Today was created with classmates from Hunter College and the University of Cape Town. In the works is a third short SA film about a sangoma medicine man, and a feature-length narrative screenplay titled Let Me Be Sky. Other subjects Rick has produced for film include Kitty Carlisle Hart, Larry Kramer, therapy dogs and ghosts. Rick was a producer at CBSNews.com for five years where he created interactive media experiences for viewers including Backstage Live, special event pages and projects for 60 Minutes and 48 Hours. His experience with alchemical healing comes from participation in workshops at Esalen, Easton Mountain and other retreats in the New York tri-state area with facilitators including Lorie Dechar, Benjamin Fox, Kai Ehrhardt, Kevin Kortan and Christian de la Huerta. Active in LGBT community support, Rick helped create ANGLE – the Affinity Network for GLBT Employees – to support workplace diversity at CBS Corp nationwide. In addition, he supports www.mankindpride.com, as an out gay man volunteering time for The Mankind Project, an international men’s organization dedicated to men’s initiation into authentic leadership, power and inner growth. Rick lives in San Francisco, California.

Avon Representative former editor-in-chief of an online magazine TV producer

Twentysomething with an eye for the weird and wacky.

if i did not write, i would explode.

I'm a college student who is interested in theology, sociology, and peace/conflict studies (among other things). I eat, sleep, play, run, dance, and cry just like everyone else. Seriously.

Freelance prose and poetry writer from worcester, MA. Creative style not typically seen, uses real experiences with a twist.

Cynic, gadfly.

I went to graduate school to study Lingustics and cultural Anthropology. Now I live in a scrapped together sound studio with 4 goats, 4 cats, a dog named after beer, and a sony pd-170 camera. My wife gets the rest of the house.