My mom recently sent me this email explaining how 67% of Americans are dissatisfied with the way their country is going. The author explains that Americans are ’spoiled brats’ because we have so much to be thankful for (electricity, running water, freedoms etc.) and that rather than look at the bigger picture we should be grateful for what our leaders are doing for us. Here is my response. I encourage you to check out the original email from Craig Smith, but essentially it’s neatly disguised pro-bush propaganda. Remember folks, interpret all the information you are exposed to and then come to your own conclusions; don’t let anyone think for you.
Dear Mom,
I like the emphasis on seeing the good and appreciating all that we have. We are truly blessed to be alive in the most exciting time in all of human history. Life is an amazing gift and to be able to truly live in the magic of the moment is what God asks of us. Re-read the 9 steps of spirituality by Brother Wayne Teasdale (I believe i sent this to you a long time ago… i’ll look for it again and re-send it to you)….. When you truly achieve oneness with yourself, with the universe, you have reached step 8. At this point you realize that selfless servitude to others to help them along their spiritual journey so that they may also achieve the oneness/satori/the zen etc… is part and parcel of our own spiritual quest. This means making a difference in the people’s lives that mean the most to you… family and friends can gain much strength from each of us…. However, it also means creating change on a more massive scale. Analyzing the politics/policies/laws/ etc. that impact our fellow man’s ability to be free, to have their basic needs met, and to realize that a MUCH better future is very easily possible if we actually become active members of society is how we can influence change on a major scale that ultimately can help more and more of us wake up from our daze and start to live life passionately again.
In many ways the average canadian/american lives life more comfortably than the wealthiest kings of past eras. In many ways our culture/lifestyle is preventing many of us from fully realizing our potential. There is a massive rise of anxiety and attention deficit disorders, depression, suicide, workplace violence, addiction… According to a 1992 World Health Organization study we are 3 times more likely to become depressed than our grandparents were at our age. A quarter of the US population will experience some symptoms of depression during their lives. While we may have adequate drinking water, police protection, clean hotels, etc. we as humans are still in a state of evolution. We work 8-10 hours a day (many of us in a job that we despise), we come home exhausted, put a microwave dinner in the microwave, turn on the reality t.v. and deep inside wish we were alive. Sure this cozy lifestyle is better than a lot of places in the world that experience great political and military turmoil. But are we truly better off and more ‘free’ than that tribe that was recently discovered in brazil that may be one of the last tribes that has not been exposed to the ‘real world’? The old evolution has always been about the efficiency of society… the agricultural revolution, the industrial/scientific revolution…. the new evolution is about the evolution of the individual… the new evolution is about the individual’s growth in the spiritual, emotional, mental and physical realm. Quantum mechanics (science) has come full circle… science originally branched from religion to seek truth and rationality and to get away from faith based logic….. what science is telling us now is that the power of our minds, the power of love, the power of living life in harmony with ourselves and with each other is helping us to realize the potential of our evolution. We are in the dawn of the new era… the age of aquarius is upon us… the spiritual prophets and visionaries have spoken about this time since the beginning of time. This is a new era of human consciousness…. We need leaders who are truly in tune with humanity, with the planet, with themselves to guide us. The policies of George Bush and Stephen Harper are steeped in corruption and evil… they are not true leaders… They are not spiritually in tune with themselves, with the planet, or with humanity as a whole…George bush can go to church every single sunday but it doesn’t take a prophet to recognize that he is spiritually empty. We are all spiritual beings and we are no better or worse than any one else, therefore we cannot judge. However, we can recognize when someone is ‘in tune’ and we have to use our judgement when electing leaders, especially the leaders who make the most impact on all of humanity and the planet. We have much to be extremely grateful for, but if our good fortune is at the stake of someone else’s than we can not be truly satisfied until everyone has the same opportunities to be free and to pursue their spiritual journey. Killing the taliban and replacing them with warlords is not the solution… how long will it take before we wake up and learn from our mistakes? A visionary like Depak Chopra makes wonderful arguments about the political force of love and spirituality, and 4 years under the guidance and leadership of a man like him could make the whole world wake up. Big business, big agriculture, big pharma, big industry, big oil have benefited from spiritually inept, corrupt, dishonest, deceitful, evil ‘leaders’ like bush, reagan, harper etc. for too long. Unfortunately when a visionary leader comes into power in a country like venezuela or guatemala and tries to free their people from the chains of american ‘big’ interests, they get assassinated. The CIA has mingled in the affairs of every leader who displays courage, a desire for change, a desire to truly help the poor and disenfranchised and the CIA has readily admitted to doing unspeakable things. Read the book “Confessions of an Economic Hitman” to learn more about this, and to verify any doubts you may have. The countries that we love so much have done many horrible and unspeakable things around the world because of the greed and lust for power that our system creates. I love life to the brim; without living in a location as free as Vancouver I likely would not have evolved into the person that I am today. That being said, I think we need to look at the direction that we are headed in as a country and find the strength to do what is right…. in our day to day lives as well as on the political scene.
I have hope for obama. he sounds like he speaks the truth. I am also hesitant to place complete trust in him. I know that he is backed by a lot of very powerful men. I also know that he is upsetting a lot of very powerful men. I hope he is able to initiate major change, and I hope he is able to open up the eyes, the minds and the hearts of the American people to help America as a whole lose their ego. Disconnection from our ego is a very potent spiritual message delivered by many very wise spiritual men and women, and America as a whole needs to lose its ego. Gorbachev referred to it as America’s “winning complex”, the idea that America believes it is the best and needs to always win and be the best. This is a horrible trait in an individual…. arrogant, snotty, ignorant, bullyish, naive….. and it is very evident to the rest of the world that America displays these same traits in both their domestic and foreign policies. Neither America or Israel are any more God’s chosen people than the Australians, the Argentinians, the Bangladesh, the Rawandans, etc. and it is blasphemous to believe that. We are all God’s children, and until America the great wakes up, realizes that, and truly starts to act like that I will continue to be critical.
Yes we are extremely lucky… Yes there is a lot more goodness in our lives than bad… However, the arguments made by Craig Smith are redundant, superficial, and are part of the ‘old-paradigm’ evolution that needs to be subject to de-emphasis. Sure, pumping money and fear into a war on terror might protect us from terrorists this year, maybe next, maybe even the next year. But eventually we need to take a step back and critically analyze the real issues that are causing terrorism because this ’shield’ is artificial and will crack.
There are many authors, visionaries, poets, politicians etc. that communicate on a very deep level and are very worthy of all of our attention.
We have to live life in the moment… As much as humans require grouping for support and kinship, ultimately we remain individuals. For as beautiful as loving human community is, no grouping or partnership can fully define us. For our own benefit, we mustn’t let it fully define who we are or we get lost in the idealism of the collective. We must come to terms with our own identity and truly love OURSELVES before any partnership can truly blossom. Wisdom is attained when life is lived in the moment. Embrace the moment… for life experienced in the moment will produce the questions that must be sought – and, magically, the answers will be given. Live to YOUR own, unique, individual potential… when we align with other independent, wise, talented, loving individuals the group dynamic provides room for the individual to grow. When we are aligned in human community, we must let the LOVE that we have filled ourselves with overflow into each member of the group. The group as a collective, and the individuals within the collective, will benefit, grow and evolve. Take advantage of every moment; use it as an opportunity to learn/grow/share/love/evolve. Being happy and content in the moment will keep us from needless worry about the future.
Life with too much structure, too much direction, too much pressure inhibits our ability to be alive in the moment. We need to nurture spontaneity, not seek to destroy it. Don’t be afraid to drift with the tides; we will all reach our own shoreline eventually. Tear down the constraints of habitual routine… our heart, body, mind and soul operate optimally when they are FREE.
After contributing personal insights and thoughts to this blog, I’d like to share with you that I am far from mastering myself. That being said, I have made tremendous strides in myself (and seen the amazing results it has had in all aspects of my life) but I must confess that completely disconnecting from our ego is no easy task. I have achieved the state of shambala, I’ve reached the state of enlightenment…. I’ve had glimpses of life experienced in the ultimate zone…. but sustaining life in that zone is no easy task. I find that the hardest time constraining my ego is when i play organized competitive sports. It’s why I much prefer snowboarding (where I’m challenging myself and not an ‘oponent’) or bouldering with my buddies (and pushing ourselves to our limits) or playing hackey sack with myself than playing organized competitive sports. There’s something about the environment of competitive sports that I find very challenging… whether it’s my internal desire to win or the ego of my opponents, I really struggle playing competitive sports and remaining the master of myself. It’s so easy (and generally accepted) to jeopardize your integrity in order to win or satisfy the desires of the ego. I’m still working on this, and I’m not sure whether quiting competitive sports is the answer (and just removing myself from the negative atmosphere altogether) or whether overcoming my ego on the field by continuing to play is a challenge that I must confront.
I have already written extensively on this issue and one day I plan on sharing my insights into this topic by writing a book or a film. I’ll keep you posted.
When you get to the state in your life that you can perceive everything to be beautiful (some call it bliss, or shambala, or just being in tune with yourself) then the next step in our evolution is to provide the necessary assistance or opportunities for others to get to that same level. When communities of people are capable of tuning themselves in alignment with their spirit we will see the evolution of the neo-human, and this is when we will see de-emphasis on the old paradigm that is plagued by war and greed and other negative aspects of an ego-driven society. Instead we will see emphasis placed on loyalty, truth, freedom, justice, and our collective potential is fascinating. As ‘far- out’ as it seems, the idea of experiencing life simultaneously in multiple universes unconstrained by time and space is gaining mainstream momentum amongst the scientific community…. crazy shit isn’t it??!!
Only through disconnection with one’s ego is this possible, and convincing the masses to live life with one’s ego in check is obviously an up hill battle in today’s whacked-out, consumer-crazed society. Our media/culture/society (the MACHINE) does everything it can to promote an abundance of the ego, but if we listen to the wise spiritual men and women throughout history, they all teach the importance of disconnecting with your ego. Pride with humility; honour with integrity; selflessness and servitude to others… We can only truly reach shambala and flourish when we are free to become the master of ourselves. Spreading the messages of love, the goodness, health, positivity and living life to your potential is the only way to truly effect change and it starts with all of us on our various journeys. Your positive attitude and selfless servitude to others will rub off on others that you meet and through your interactions with others you will be able to show them the true light of their potential.
Peace and Love to all, with a special shout out to Rufus!
If we’re looking at the highlights of human development, you have to look at the evolution of the organism and then at the development of its interaction with the environment. Evolution of the organism will begin with the evolution of life perceived through the hominid coming to the evolution of mankind. Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon man. Now, interestingly, what you’re looking at here are three strings: biological, anthropological — development of the cities — and cultural, which is human expression.
Now, what you’ve seen here is the evolution of populations, not so much the evolution of individuals. And in addition, if you look at the time scales that are involved here — two billion years for life, six million years for the hominid, 100,000 years for mankind as we know it — you’re beginning to see the telescoping nature of the evolutionary paradigm. And then when you get to agricultural, when you get to scientific revolution and industrial revolution, you’re looking at 10,000 years, 400 years, 150 years. You’re seeing a further telescoping of this evolutionary time. What that means is that as we go through the new evolution, it’s gonna telescope to the point we should be able to see it manifest itself within our lifetime, within this generation.
The new evolution stems from information, and it stems from two types of information: digital and analog. The digital is artificial intelligence. The analog results from molecular biology, the cloning of the organism. And you knit the two together with neurobiology. Before on the old evolutionary paradigm, one would die and the other would grow and dominate. But under the new paradigm, they would exist as a mutually supportive, noncompetitive grouping. Okay, independent from the external.
And what is interesting here is that evolution now becomes an individually centered process, emanating from the needs and desires of the individual, and not an external process, a passive process where the individual is just at the whim of the collective. So, you produce a neo-human, okay, with a new individuality and a new consciousness. But that’s only the beginning of the evolutionary cycle because as the next cycle proceeds, the input is now this new intelligence. As intelligence piles on intelligence, as ability piles on ability, the speed changes. Until what? Until we reach a crescendo in a way could be imagined as an enormous instantaneous fulfillment of human and neo-human potential. It could be something totally different. It could be the amplification of the individual, the multiplication of individual existences. Parallel existences now with the individual no longer restricted by time and space.
And the manifestations of this neo-human-type evolution, manifestations could be dramatically counter-intuitive. That’s the interesting part. The old evolution is cold. It’s sterile. It’s efficient, okay? And its manifestations of those social adaptations. We’re talking about parasitism, dominance, morality, okay? War, predation: these would be subject to de-emphasis. These will be subject to de-evolution. The new evolutionary paradigm will give us the human traits of truth, of loyalty, of justice, of freedom. These will be the manifestations of the new evolution. And that is what we would hope to see from this. That would be nice.
The reason why I refuse to take existentialism as just another French fashion or historical curiosity is that I think it has something very important to offer us for the new century. I’m afraid we’re losing the real virtues of living life passionately, sense of taking responsibility for who you are, the ability to make something of yourself and feeling good about life. Existentialism is often discussed as if it’s a philosophy of despair. But I think the truth is just the opposite. Sartre once interviewed said he never really felt a day of despair in his life. But one thing that comes out from reading these guys is not a sense of anguish about life so much as a real kind of exuberance of feeling on top of it. It’s like your life is yours to create. I’ve read the postmodernists with some interest, even admiration. But when I read them, I always have this awful nagging feeling that something absolutely essential is getting left out. The more that you talk about a person as a social construction or as a confluence of forces or as fragmented or marginalized, what you do is you open up a whole new world of excuses. And when Sartre talks about responsibility, he’s not talking about something abstract. He’s not talking about the kind of self or soul that theologians would argue about. It’s something very concrete. It’s you and me talking. Making decisions. Doing things and taking the consequences. It might be true that there are six billion people in the world and counting. Nevertheless, what you do makes a difference. It makes a difference, first of all, in material terms. Makes a difference to other people and it sets an example. In short, I think the message here is that we should never simply write ourselves off and see ourselves as the victim of various forces. It’s always our decision who we are.
The ‘Alexander Technique’ is an approach for the self-prevention of unhelpful or harmful habits that interfere with the mental and physical conditions best suited for the health and functioning of the individual as a whole. Learning to inhibit one’s “too quick and unthinking reactions” and to maintain openness and balance as we go about our daily activities can have wide-ranging benefits. The various teaching methods used to teach the Technique (which include hands-on guidance by the teacher) are also referred to as the Alexander Technique.
The Alexander Technique is usually learned from individual lessons with a teacher using specialized hand contact and verbal instructions. The Technique is also taught in groups, often using short individual lessons which in turn act as examples to the rest of the class.[1] The Technique takes its name from F. Matthias Alexander, who first observed and formulated its principles between 1890 and 1900.
Benefits
Applications are subjective by nature; many testimonies exist on the Internet. Alexander Technique is regarded to be a helpful adjunct to traditional medical treatment regimens and not as a substitute.
Some regard the Alexander Technique as a first-hand experience of the reality of body/mind unity. Proponents believe that its practice results in improved awareness and descriptive ability, as well as improved ease of movement, improved balance, stamina and less muscular tension. Additionally, those who practice it often report that Alexander Technique gives them an enhanced ability to clarify their thinking, gain objectivity about themselves and free themselves from unintentional self-imposed limitations. Further, proponents see Alexander Technique as a way to use less effort for movement and thus perform more efficiently, feeling younger and moving gracefully.
It is curriculum in performance schools of dance[4], acting, circus, music, voice and some athletic training[5]. Suitable for those starting at any fitness level, it is also used as remedial movement education to complete recovery and provide pain management.
Although the Alexander Technique is considered by those in its field to be primarily educational—taught in a student/teacher relationship as compared to being a treatment regimen between client and practitioner—it is regarded by the United Kingdom National Health Service to offer an alternative and complementary management for many medical complaints. A partial list is: back problems, unlearning and avoiding Repetitive Strain Injury, improving ergonomics, stuttering, speech training and voice loss, coping with mobility for those with Parkinson’s disease, posture or balance problems, or to complete recovery from injury as an adjunct to Physical therapy.
Alexander Technique has also been known to help performers with getting past the plateau effect (despite trying, no improvement), performance anxiety, getting beyond a supposed “lack of talent” and to sharpen discrimination and descriptive ability. It has also helped people control unwanted reactions, phobias and depression.
Evidence of change is sought in verifiable outside feedback; using a mirror; by noting, comparing, or describing differences of the relative location of one’s eyes, balance or weight changes; a change in the sound of one’s voice or the effects on one’s objectives, props or environment.
Students often describe the immediate effect of an Alexander lesson as being an unfamiliar feeling of lightness or expansion. During hands-on lessons, most pupils report an immediate result of feeling less weighted down, despite their inability to evoke or sustain this state by themselves. Other reported experiences include altered perception of their voice or environment, noticing a change in self image, or having temporary disorientations of where their body is located spatially.
Gertrude Stein’s brother Leo called the Technique: “the method for keeping your eye on the ball applied to life”.[6]
The English novelist Aldous Huxley was strongly influenced by F. M. Alexander and the Technique so much so that he included him as a character in the pacifist theme novel Eyeless in Gaza published in 1936. [7]
The American philosopher and educator John Dewey was very favorably impressed by F. M. Alexander and the Technique. In 1923, Dewey wrote the introduction to Alexander’s magnum opus Constructive Conscious Control of the Individual.[8]
with the long weekend quickly approaching and many of us feeling the need to ‘escape’ from the rat race, I thought I’d post an extensive camping checklist that’s taken years to perfect (and is still a work in progress). Feel free to add anything that I forgot…
(Main character is walking along railroad tracks, beside a train. A guy jumps out of the train with a “Free Radio” t-shirt on)
Hey.
Hey.
You a dreamer?
Yeah.
Haven’t seen too many around lately. Things have been tough lately for dreamers. They say dreaming’s dead, that no one does it anymore. It’s not dead, it’s just been forgotten. Removed from our language. No one teaches it so no one knows it exists. The dreamer is banished to obscurity. Well I’m trying to change all that, and I hope you are too. By dreaming every day. Dreaming with our hands and dreaming with our minds. Our planet is facing the greatest problems it’s ever faced. Ever. So whatever you do, don’t be bored. This is absolutely the most exciting time we could have possibly hoped to be alive. And things are just starting.
***
(Main character is walking with a thin looking boy, who gradually turns into something else as he talks.)
A thousand years is but an instant. There’s nothing new, nothing different. The same pattern over and over. The same clouds, the same music, the same insight I felt an hour or an eternity ago. There’s nothing here for me now, nothing at all. Now I remember. This happened to me before. This is why I left. You have begun to find your answers. Although it will seem difficult, the rewards will be great. Exercise your human mind as fully as possible, knowing it is only an exercise. Build beautiful artifacts, solve problems, explore the secrets of the physical universe, savor the input from all the senses, feel the joy and sorrow, the laughter, the empathy, compassion and tote the emotional memory in your travel bag. I remember where I came from and how I became a human, why I hung around, and now my final departure is scheduled. This way out. Escaping velocity. Not just eternity, but infinity.
Not to sound too preachy, but here’s today’s words of love:
LOVE MORE, LIVE MORE, BE HAPPY, BE CONFIDENT, BE LESS MATERIAL, BE MORE WISE, and LIVE as FREE as you possibly can… all the while LOVE your LIFE and realize that we need to be in harmony with NATURE (and right now collectively our society is not) to be living life to our optimal.
So celebrate the beauty of NATURE today and strive to live your life from this moment on as in balance and in harmony with nature as you can. It will benefit not only you, but all of humanity and all of nature as well.
Not to sound too preachy… but I think one of the goals in life is to be internally happy, healthy, fulfilled, wise, at peace etc. and perhaps this ‘advice’ can help you attain inner freedom. With all of the crazy issues that we think are important to be conscious about, we can’t forget that freeing our soul, body, and mind are extremely important in our quest for inner fulfillment and purpose. Neglecting our personal health and happiness should not be compromised for any reason. If you can find relevance in your own life to these suggested ideas, and if they benefit you, then try implementing some of them in your own daily life….feel free to share with others too!
Peace and Love,
D-F(ng)s
1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant. 2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to. 3. Buy a DVR/TIVO, tape your late night shows and get more sleep. 4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, “My purpose is to ______today.” 5. Live with the 3 E’s: Energy, Enthusiasm, Empathy. 6. Watch more movies, play more games and read more books than you did in 2007. 7. Make time to practice meditation and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives. 8. Spend more time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6. 9. Dream more while you are awake. 10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants. 11. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts. 12. Try to make at least three people smile each day. 13. Clear your clutter from your house, your car, your desk, and let new and flowing energy into your life. 14. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment. 15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class, but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime. 16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card. 17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the energy vampires away. 18. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good. 19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. 20. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does. 21. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree. 22. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present. 23. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about. 24. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, and wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special! 25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you. 26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: “In five years, will this matter?” 27. Forgive everyone for everything. 28. What other people think of you is none of your business. 29. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time. 30. However good or bad a situation is, it will change. 31. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch. 32. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful. 33. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need. 34. The best is yet to come. 35. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up. 36. Do the right thing! 37. Call your family often. 38. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: “I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.” 39. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed. 40. Enjoy the ride. Remember that this is not Disney World and you certainly don’t want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.
On Monday, thousands of people in 84 cities worldwide marched for justice for Tibet–and delivered the 1.5 million-signature Avaaz petition to Chinese embassies and consulates around the globe. (Click below for photos.) Avaaz staff have engaged with Chinese diplomats in New York and London, delivering the petition and urging action. And a growing chorus of world leaders is joining the call.
China is on the fence–indicating an openness to talks with the Dalai Lama, while at the same time pressuring other governments to support its continuing crackdown. Each day, more leaders declare their stance. It’s time to redouble our efforts–click below to send a personal message to your head of state, urging support for dialogue with the Dalai Lama–and check out the photo gallery from Monday’s day of action!
Together, we’ve built an unprecedented wave of global pressure. The Avaaz petition is one of the biggest and fastest-growing global online petitions on any topic in history; since it launched on March 18, it has been signed by 100,000 people per day–an average of more than 4,000 per hour, day and night.
Politicians understand that there is power in numbers. We need to show them that they have more to gain by listening to their own people–and heeding the cry for help from Tibet–than by giving China a pass in the lead-up to the Olympic Games. Take action now
We’re privileged to be alive at a time when people anywhere can reach out and support people everywhere–instantly. If we have the power to make things better, we have a responsibility to act. Thanks for what you’ve done so far, for the people of Tibet and for a more humane world for all.
With hope,
Ben, Ricken, Graziela, Galit, Paul, Iain, Pascal, and the Avaaz team
PS – The more people sign the petition, the more powerful our call for change. We will hope to deliver it to the Chinese government again once we reach our target of 2 million signers. If you haven’t already, please forward the email below to your friends and family, and urge them to sign the Tibet petition!
I’d like to commend you for your efforts in living and promoting the messages and ideals of LOVE, peace, hope, human community, environmental stewardship and spiritual awareness. Collectively we need more cultural icons devoting energy to these worthy causes, and I’d like to thank you for staying true to your principles and not compromising your integrity, even as you have undergone both incredible scrutiny and success both in your career and personal life.
As you are well aware, our planet is facing many serious political, social and environmental issues. It is becoming more and more apparent that the coproratocracy – the alliance of corporations, governments and military- are leading us down a very dangerous path. It is also becoming more apparent that a non-partisan spiritual revolution/re-awakening is necessary now more than ever. The messages of LOVE and peace are universal and throughout the ages have been modeled by prophets and spiritually inclined wise men and women of all ethnicities. Every living organism is capable of experiencing the beauty and energy of an existence that is steeply rooted in love, and for those that still doubt the power and authenticity of love’s potential quantum mechanics is providing us with verifiable, scientific evidence that the power of the heart and mind are much greater than many of us have given them credit for. Read the rest of this entry »
The Fungus is doing a project on homelessness in Vancouver…. and here’s your chance to help out some good ol’ fashioned grass roots democracy! Our mission requires us to sift through some data – You Tube video clips and old media archives will help us convey the story of the Downtown Eastside – and we have a request! We would like concerned citizens to contribute stories, video footage, media archive reports/articles, and anything else, directly to us at TheFungus. Please send your material (or a link to access it) to us via a submitted comment to this post.
A few members of the fungus attended a Walsch lecture recently. I thought I’d copy and paste a little about him (courtesy of wikipedia). Check out his books on his approach to spirituality if this piques your curiosity.
Peace,
D.
Neale Donald Walsch was born in Milwaukee on September 10, 1943, and brought up as a Roman Catholic by a family who encouraged his quest for spiritual truth. He studied The Bible, the Rig Veda and the Upanishads. He says his books are not channelled, but rather that they are inspired by God and that they can help a person relate to Him from a modern perspective. The God in his books, for example, says that “there is nothing you have to do.” Walsch believes in a pantheistic God, who tries to communicate Himself as being unselfish. His vision expressed is of a New Spirituality: an expansion and unification of all present theologies; a refreshing of them, rendering all of our current sacred teachings even more relevant to our present day and time. He created Humanity’s Team as a spiritual movement whose purpose is to communicate and implement New Spirituality beliefs, particularly that we are all one with God and one with life, in a shared global state of being.
Philosophy:
There are parallels with Walsch’s philosophy and that of the Bahá’í Faith, although the Bahá’í Faith does not believe in pantheism. A possibly stronger connection is with Zoroastrianism, whose divinity Ahura Mazda carries many similarities with Walsch’s God, including the pantheistic angle. Also, there are similarities with early Gnosticism.
Career:
Before starting to publish these books in the early 1990s, Walsch suffered a series of crushing blows — a fire that destroyed all of his belongings, the break-up of his marriage, a car accident that left him with a broken neck. Once recovered but alone and unemployed, Walsch was forced to live in a tent in Jackson Hot Springs, just outside Ashland, Oregon, collecting and recycling aluminium cans in order to eat. At the time, Walsch thought his life had come to an end. Despondent, Walsch began his writings after working his way out of homelessness following a short-lived job as a radio talk show host.
In 2003, the film Indigo, written by Neale Donald Walsch and James Twyman and directed by Stephen Simon was released. It chronicled the story of the redemption of a grandfather, played by Walsch, through his granddaughter, who is an indigo child.
I would like to add a very important side-note (especially with regards to the recent posts I have made…. )
I think the most important skill we can develop today is the ability to think critically. The ability to absorb information and then ask the appropriate questions to (attempt to) ascertain the authenticity and validity of the information cannot be stressed enough. First and foremost…. learning to recognize the bias inherent in all sorts of media is vitally important. Certain media outlets are considered by “experts” to be more reliable and credible than others: BBC is considered by many to be the “spinach” of the media diet, while Fox news is deemed by many as the “fastfood” alternative. Media outlets are ‘regulated’, and are supposed to live up to certain journalistic standards. Whether these media outlets are being held accountable to these standards is anyone’s guess, but there certainly seems to be a lot of speculation that they are not. Reported incidents of ‘propaganda’ and factual distortion have been quite rampant over the past 60 years on many of the major news networks. That being said, I have seen some wonderful examples of truly investigative journalism from even the biggest media outlets. The problem, however, is that the ‘bread and butter’ of mainstream media’s quality investigative journalism is usually buried behind a main section article on Britney Spears, or is strategically located on a page with glossy advertising aimed at taking your attention off the targeted article. Regardless, understanding who stands to gain from the outcome of the article is usually a good place to start when becoming an informed, critically thinking, media consumer.
When viewing information on the internet we must also be extremely careful; being a completely unregulated source of media has its pros and cons. The credibility of internet ‘authors’ is always questionable. Are these people ‘experts’ on the given topic? What are their credentials? Why do they want me to believe their point of view? These are all good questions to ask and as you begin your quest for truth you will find it necessary to conduct further research to determine the validity of certain quotes, certain historical facts, certain details that could easily be manipulated. Read the rest of this entry »
So get out on your roofs with your friends and family, pass some love around, and absorb the mystical postive energy that an astronomical event like this dishes out in waves. Lunar eclipses were times of spiritual celebration, meditation and introspection in almost every spiritually organic culture. Get outside and soak it in.
The Human Potential Movement (HPM) arose out of the social and intellectual milieu of the 1960s and formed around the concept of cultivating of extraordinary potential that its advocates believed to lie largely untapped in most people. The movement took as its premise the belief that through the development of “human potential”, humans can experience an exceptional quality of life filled with happiness, creativity, and fulfillment. As a corollary, those who begin to unleash this assumed potential often find themselves directing their actions within society towards assisting others to release their potential. Adherents believe that the net effect of individuals cultivating their potential will bring about positive social change at large.
Commentators sometimes classify the human potential movement as being categorised under the broader umbrella of the New Age movement. HPM distinguishes itself ideologically from other New Age trends by an emphasis on the individual development of secular human capabilities — as opposed to the more spiritual New Age views. However, participants rarely make this distinction, and most who embrace the ideas of the human potential movement also tend to embrace the other more spiritual ideas within the New Age movement.
Christopher Lasch notes the impact of the human potential movement via the therapeutic sector:
The new therapies spawned by the human potential movement, according to Peter Marin, teach that “the individual will is all powerful and totally determines one’s fate”; thus they intensify the “isolation of the self.” [2]
I received this poem from one of the most inspirational 14 year olds one could ever meet after I lectured about the importance of love in one of my lessons. Too often we adults do not give children enough credit; we believe their values and ideals are naive and unattainable. I beg to differ….
“Love is kind and generous;
It is not jealousy or envy
Love is happy
Love is family and friends
Love is not hatred
It is not anger
Love is medicine, not sickness
Love is not opaque, but transparent.
Love is making the right choices
Based on your own judgement
It is not patronizing each other to do wrong.
Love is patient and affectionate
Love is loyal and honest.
Love is not lying to make yourself more interesting
“I think that the love revolution is something that starts within each of us. It starts right in our own spirits and from there it has to be something that we exercise in our homes, in our families, in our small communities, and then it grows outward. But the revolution is a discipline. It means that I’m going to let love rule my life. I’m going to wake up each day and I’m going to try my best to give love, to put some positive energy into the universe. And the revolution is the discipline to keep doing that every day, to love myself, to love God, to love the people that are around me and to just start exercising that within your own environment.” – Lenny Kravitz
Huge news out of Japan: a top newspaper is reporting a major shift in climate policy, and citing Avaaz members as one of the reasons why!
The paper reports that at a critical, high-level meeting on global warming, the Environment Minister held up Avaaz’s “Titanic” newspaper ad from the Bali summit–showing Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda, with Bush, steering towards climate disaster… along with a call for tough 2020 emissions targets, signed by 90,000 Avaaz members.
“The world sees Japan as a force resisting change! Are we okay with this?” the minister asked. The Chief Cabinet Minister suggested setting a target. Days later, Prime Minister Fukuda announced his decision: at last, Japan would set a 2020 emissions target!
This is a genuine victory. Japan is a huge polluter, a key Bush ally, and host of this summer’s crucial G8 summit. Congratulations to everyone for the positive role we all played!
Japan’s not the only example. Here are some other moments when rapid-response people power made a difference in 2007:
Burma: When news broke in October of the violent crackdown against protesting monks, Avaaz members scrambled into action. Within 96 hours, more than half a million people called on the Chinese government to intervene, and Avaaz ran the total count in a full-page ad in one of the most influential global newspapers. Shamed, China successfully pushed Burma to start talks with the UN and with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The Burma campaign continues to build.
Global poverty: When World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz’s personal corruption undermined the Bank’s programme to encourage good government, Avaaz members joined the cry for new leadership. With global media looking on, we hand-delivered 50,000 signatures to World Bank Headquarters. Wolfowitz resigned days later.
Global warming: In addition to the “Titanic” ad that moved Japan, more than 320,000 Avaaz members took action in real time during the Bali summit–successfully reversing Canada’s obstructionism and isolating Bush as he attempted to scuttle any agreement. While just a first step, the “Bali Road Map” set the stage for climate breakthroughs this year and next.
What urgent moments will 2008 bring? Some we can predict–most we cannot.
What we do know for certain is that the new year will bring serious threats and golden opportunities. We know that in those critical moments, acting quickly can make all the difference. And we know that if we all contribute a little bit now, we’ll be sure that whatever comes–and whatever is required of us–we will be ready.
Avaaz depends on Avaaz members like you to fund our campaigns. Don’t wait for “someone else” to step in–we’re it. To make a secure, online contribution to the 2008 Crisis Action Fund, just click the link below:
The question of whether humanity has a predilection toward the good is preceded by the question whether there exists an event that can be explained in no other way than by that moral disposition. An event such as revolution. Kant says that this phenomenon [of revolution] can no longer be ignored in human history because it has revealed the existence in human nature of a disposition and a faculty toward the good, which until now no politics has ever discovered in the course of events.-FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE
I think it does…. a few of us went down to the beach today when the rain stopped and the clouds kind of cleared, and we brought along a camera. As we started taking some sweet shots of the sunshine breaking through the dark clouds and reflecting off of the wet sand, we noticed a seagull that was just chillin. It was standing in a shallow pool and his (her?) body remained completely still for at least 5 minutes. Was he merely taking a moment’s break in his ongoing quest for safety, security, and satisfying his basic needs? Or was he pondering, perhaps contemplating the meaning of life? Perhaps he was as awestruck as we were at the amazing symmetry found in nature. As we stared out into the water, we noticed a family of ducks just chillin out in the water. They were bobbing up and down, back and forth, completely in rhythm to the lull of the ocean. Completely at peace….
The pace of life of nature is wonderful. How different our lives are…. perpetually rushing through the hyperactive business culture lifestyle that we feel is natural, yet in reality is completely out of touch with nature.
The incredible beauty found in nature and in life is anything but ’simple’… but the ’simple’ life (as our society loves to derogatorily call it) is so much more vibrant, gentle, compassionate, organic, and fulfilling than a life clung to material desires.
