Hello Out There

As my first post, I will set out to define what "From the Edge of the Milky Way" represents.

First, a little about me.  If you click on my profile you will see the following introduction (and don't worry if you don't know what all the terminology below means; jargon will be explained in the future):
"I am a mom of 3 wonderful children. I hold a BS in Music Education, a BS in Physics and Astronomy and an MS in Physics. During various times in my life, I have worked either as a teacher, musician, scientist or stay-at-home mom. I follow a "natural parenting" philosophy, preferring natural births, extended breastfeeding, babywearing, co-sleeping, cloth diapering and elimination communication. I am also a vegan, an atheist, an environmentalist, and a politically liberal person. I support alternative education: two of my three children attend a Montessori elementary school, and my third child will likely either be homeschooled or attend a Montessori school. I am fascinated by the idea of life on other planets, and have studied extrasolar planets as a graduate student researcher, confirming several transits of giant planets through my observations. My Publications: Master's Thesis: http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-08122011-222923/ Papers in The Astrophysical Journal: http://arxiv.org/abs/1008.4129
http://arxiv.org/abs/1206.5514"

Knowing the multi-faceted nature of my personality, as well as seeing the underlying threads that connect my various interests and philosophies makes it easier to understand the purpose of this blog.

What does "From the Edge of the Milky Way" mean?  It could mean several things:

1.  The story of how the Milky Way was named comes from Greek or Roman mythology (whichever you prefer), both of which depict some kind of goddess whose breastmilk came spraying out into the cosmos to form the Milky Way.  The reference to the Milky Way in the title of the blog could be seen to represent breastfeeding, as I am an advocate of breastfeeding (and currently a nursing mother). Breastfeeding can then in turn be seen to represent the "natural parenting" philosophy I follow.  I understand that not all "attachment" or "natural" parents are able to breastfeed, and I understand that not all breastfeeding moms follow a natural parenting philosophy.  However, so much of the natural parenting lifestyle can be seen as an extension of the breastfeeding relationship that I think it serves as a good emblem of my parenting philosophies.  Such extensions can be seen long after the child has weaned from the breast--even as my oldest child enters puberty, you can still see the qualities that originally were nurtured years ago by our nursing relationship when she was little.

2.  Of course we now know that the Milky Way is comprised of billions of stars, and that the place we inhabit in the milky way is actually near the outer edge of one of the spiral arms.  So quite literally, we earthlings exist on the edge of the Milky Way.  The significance of this reality is that I will argue that the things I discuss on this blog may seem "out there" but are actually quite "natural," as is our position in the cosmos ("out there" but "a natural truth").  This in fact is the crux of the premise behind this blog: that instead of my views being too radical or out in left field, they can also be seen as logical, natural, and realistic positions.

3.  My educational background in astrophysics and my research into extrasolar planets has given me the perspective that there are countless worlds just in our stellar neighborhood, and that there are likely to be a plethora of planets even just in our own galaxy that host a wide variety of exotic life forms.  Such a thought is at the same time exciting and worthy of self-reflection.  We may feel lonely out here in this elegant spiral arm, but we are not alone.  We are beginning the process of finding our nearest neighbors that share our rough position within the galaxy, and beyond us are billions of other stars, possibly with a wide assortment of strange planetary oases.  Taking this situation as a metaphor, those of us whose political, philosophical, and lifestyle identities are really "out there" often feel alone.  This blog represents a small attempt to reach out to others like me.  And at the same time, it recognizes the wild diversity of thought and lifestyles that coexist in the bustling metropolis of this intelligently-inhabited world.  And I am fascinated by those other lifestyles as well.  I have many friends from a whole spectrum of belief systems and I both respect each individuals' lifestyle choices and seek to understand them.  Many times, even if we disagree, we often gain insight from each other and our lives become richer from such an open dialogue.  Thus I welcome everyone to read, follow, and/or comment on this blog.  My only rule is that all commentary be respectful.  There is a fine line between sharing alternative viewpoints and engaging in senseless debate.  I will delete whatever I find to fall into the latter category.

I hope this post intrigues you and I look forward to further intellectual conversation.