SPIN.

I used to love twirling around in circles as a little boy, making myself as dizzy as I could before I would fall sideways into the warm grass, giggling and groaning with ecstasy. As a “spiritual seeker type” of young man, I was captivated by the Whirling Dervishes, the Sufi order that counted the great poet Rumi as one of its members. I sought out their mystical celebrations of merging with the Divine Source through a deep meditative trance induced by careful gliding into a transcendent state. Ahhh.

Who doesn’t enjoy a good spin?

In fact, I see spinning every day in my work. Some people like to whirl themselves into a dramatic tizzy by repeating the same patterns, over and over again, until they either stumble upon deep meditative introspection or they crash into a brutal wall of frustration and anger.

I am also aware of the kind of spinning where people attempt to repackage their thoughts, behaviors and emotions toward less incriminating, less shame inducing places. This is a fascinating process to witness, as the spinner, much like the Dervish, can become intoxicated by their own circulating distortion.

And really, who doesn’t spin sometimes? Humans are indeed animals, deep down inside, and we have a strong survival instinct. I find that for most people, survival tends to be typically emotional rather than physical in nature. Why would I want to feel bad about myself? It is far easier to spin the facts or the feelings in a way that alleviates my own anxiety or feelings of shame.

Today, there is even a substantial amount of institutional spin. Corporations spin disasters or failed quarterly profits, governments spin misguided policies, wars and appointments. Today, Wiki Leaks’ Mr. Assange is being spun so hard he is sitting in jail right now and the folks that put him there want you to believe the spin is reality. Since when does Interpol extradite people for broken condoms?

Ah, the breeze is lucid, warm, dream-like as we turn and turn and turn.