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Wow. What a tremendous day. A widely anticipated historic day.

Instead of being all super insightful and/or humorous about this, I’ll leave that to the pros (HERE and HERE), but I do want to leave you with a couple of notes on today’s event.

I felt like the booing that occurred when Dubya was announced was uncalled for, classless, and detracting from an otherwise happy and hopeful celebration. It’s clear that Bush is leaving his Presidency with a dismal approval rating, but why would you boo someone on a day that isn’t even about him. Plus, I just feel that you should have respect for someone who ran your country for eight years, even if you don’t agree with the decisions he made.

What a perfect metaphor… Cheney in a wheelchair on his last day as VP. Not much else I can or will say about this.

My cousin made a simple, yet powerful, statement to me this morning as we chatted during the inauguration. She said, “I’m proud of my president for the first time in 8 years.” I couldn’t agree more. I liked Clinton as president, but I only followed his presidency in his last couple years because I was too young to make sense of any of it before then. I have trust in Obama. He is a good motivator and I am inspired by his optimism and resolve.

Obama’s speeches usually ‘reach’ me. Today’s was no exception and, like on election night, I got goosebumps. I can only imagine what it would have been like to be there in person.

Lastly, as I watched, or tried to watch the ceremony on the internet, it was clear that the world was on pause. Email and phone calls stopped, chats were closed, Twitter updates were silent, and the feed from CNN lagged about as slow as I’d seen in a long time. Was it that way when Bush 43 was put into office? I don’t remember, but all I can say is wow.

By the way, 44 is one of my new favorite numbers.

In reading The Field: The Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe, I learned of a study done by Karl Lashley in Florida in 1946 relating memory storage to quantum fields.

The study was designed to determine a body’s ability to remember something it was conditioned to do, absent the brain function that is generally thought to carry the memory of that responsibility. The study used rats as test subjects and trained them to make a leap over a can of water to get a food reward. Once conditioned, the rats were then surgically altered in attempts to blot out the memory.

The rats were then tested again to see if they knew, or remembered, how to make the leap. They in fact did. Even in cases where the rats were given severe brain alterations, they still knew how to make the jump. And when Lashley moved to a crude form of brain alteration - a curling iron - the rats, although exhibiting impaired motor skills, still remembered the routine.

The conclusion of the study was that the rats had somehow remained conditioned, which means they were storing memories in other parts of the brain, body, or elsewhere. This study opened the door for others that would follow, exploring the idea that the brain didn’t have localized memory stores - rather the memories were distributed throughout the brain, or even elsewhere.

I find this study very fascinating. It seems to be one of the first studies to open the door to the possibility that we interact with a special force, something that all things are connected to. Whether you call it God, the Zero Point Field, or the Force (if you are a Star Wars fan), there seems to be mounting evidence of some sort of existing energy that can be tapped into and communicated with.

The Field discusses many ideas of how we can harness the power of the Zero Point Field - light speed travel, time travel, extremely advanced medical treatments, remote viewing, and the influencing of inanimate objects. If any of these interest you, you’d enjoy the book. I am particularly interested in the idea that humans can learn to communicate across the Zero Point Field and use quantum physics for things that at the moment seem impossible, or at least improbable.

It sounds kinda crazy, but I think it is so cool.

Remarks of President-Elect Barack Obama
(as prepared for delivery, from BarackObama.com)

Election Night
Tuesday, November 4th, 2008

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It’s the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled – Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It’s the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

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10 Things I Think Now That the Election is Over:

1. I think the country has been aching for continuity for a long time (as many of the news stations have been reporting on). Obama won this election by showing the American people it doesn’t have to be the way it is.

2. I think McCain’s concession speech last night was the best speech of his campaign. As gracious as he was, his leadership really shined through.

3. I think Obama’s speech last night was fantastic. He acknowledged that the win wasn’t just about him and he was the most serene I’d seen him in a long time. Perhaps he was overwhelmed or in shock, but up on that stage, you could tell he is ready to fight for this country.

4. Although I am not old enough to have witnessed it in person, I think Obama is Kennedy-esque in his ability to rally the country as one nation.

5. I think Obama is the kind of leader that will actually inspire people. He talked last night about responsibility and, with his example, I think people will embrace personal responsibility more so than they have in the past. I know I will.

6. I think we are all lucky to witness this history-making, country-changing event. It seems that once in a generation something happens like this and not since Kennedy, MLK Jr., and other civil rights leaders in the 60s has there been someone like Obama to break the tired mentality of this country.

7. I think this was the first time I ‘felt’ something as I voted. If I had to describe it… in past elections, it felt more like a duty. This time, it felt empowering and like I was opening the door to a new era.

8. I think it’s silly that in a historical election such as this one, where an African American man (or half African American, at least), wins the highest office in the country, that a (blue) state can vote to change its constitution to ban homosexual marriages.

9. I think I am proud of Nevada for going blue. Not just did they go blue, but they trouned the reds in the big counties - Clark and Washoe. Nice work.

10. I think I am super-glad that the election is over. Two people in my life were incredibly into this election - one red and one blue. I think the red one won’t be coming to work today and I think the blue one passed out on his floor last night.

So… Wow! Can you believe it? We have ourselves a new President-elect Obama. After months of hard-fought campaigning, this country and the rest of the free world, has a new leader.

Congratulations, Barack Obama. Congratulations, Democrats. Congratulations, American people.

If you didn’t vote for Obama, for whatever reason, I’m sorry for your disappointment. But, Give the guy a chance to show you what kind of an executive leader he can be.

I believe his administration will move the country in a direction that will recapture our trustworthiness all over the globe and revitalize the American dream. If it does, this country will be a tremendously better place to live in eight years.