the nucleus of ordinary moments

Have you ever wondered why the way we pay attention to ordinary life plays a critical role in our well being and the well being of others?

Numerous studies have been done detailing the adverse effects of stressful living. The way we eat, the way we work, the way we play and even the way we love can all effect our health in a detrimental manner.

Reading a child a bedtime story can be an ordinary moment that can end fraught with tension or disarmingly simple and meaningful. Why?

What triggers create the two different scenarios?

In terms of health research one of the most common definitions of a stressful situation is one "in which the demands on the individual tax or exceed their adaptive capabilities." Not being able to handle the situation is a primary indicator of stress having a negative impact upon the outcome.

The above example of reading a bedtime story might be perceived by one parent as fullfilling and by another parent as an overwhelming demand in turn making an ordinary event health producing for one person, but unhealthy for another.

And therein lies a problem.

The perception of such an ordinary event is what can be healthy or unhealthy.

As individuals we have certain mechanisms that we depend upon to help us navigate our world. We perceive the world in ways that might elicit a stressful or non-stressful reaction to ordinary daily activities....for some this is known as the fight or flight response.

So, can the way we pay attention in daily life play a critical role in our health and well-being and that of the health and well-being of others?

There are endless books, tapes and seminars available to teach you how to get out of being stuck in a tense, constricted, survival mode that keeps you in a constant state of chronic stress. Most books, tapes etc., focus on the following list that tries to wake you up to what you do while participating in ordinary events. Practicing the below helps you alleviate those daily tensions and enjoy the nucleus of ordinary moments.

Mindfullness
Practicing Peace
Opening your mind and awakening your heart
Harnessing the power of attention
Maintaining a Joyful Mind
Meditating
Practicing Compassion
Accepting yourself
Relaxing in the midst of chaos
Taking a deep breath

i tend to go for the last two as my primary stress reducers. Breathing and relaxing have turned what could have been stressful events into ordinary moments.

You are your own magician, you don't have to agonize endlessly, its really up to you to just pay attention.

You don't need to be manipulated into buying endless books etc. to teach you how to cope....just breath and relax and take it all in....and the rest will follow.

peace creates prosperity

The Institute for Economics and Peace published the Global Peace Index yesterday.

The country most at peace, Iceland, topped the list in the number one(1) spot with Denmark a close second(2), Canada placed eleventh(11), the US placed Ninety-Seventh(97), Israel came in One Hundred and Thirty Sixth(136) and Iraq is last at One Hundred and Forty(140).

If you would like to examine the entire list, the Global Peace Index can be found at http://www.visionofhumanity.org/gpi/home.php

For someone like me this was a wondrous place to examine and explore. It certainly speaks to my belief that the story of peace hasn't had enough supporters throughout history to create an environment where it prevails. For too long war has had the upper hand in the story of human behavior, but now, the economics of peaceful countries and their success has a voice.

A peaceful country creates incentive to invest. Countries with firm legal systems and an investment in the rule of law have stronger and more robust economies. War brings economic uncertainty and hence enhances investment risk causing capital flight (ie the investment dollars go somewhere more stable).

One of the primary individuals, Steve Killelea, at the Institute can be found expounding upon their economic discoveries concerning peaceful countries in a ten minute video.
http://www.visionofhumanity.org/gpi/news/40/video-press-conference-steve-killelea/
He is just one of many devoted humans that adds to the attributes of peaceful behavior over violent behavior.

"The study determined that there is a strong relationship between peace, business and national wealth. Initial research indicates there is a strong relationship between a nation's ranking in peacefulness and the size of its retail sector, stock market and tourism industry. A negative change in peacefulness can be used to calculate changes in market sizes."

The study has found that generally the more peaceful a nation the greater its per capita income and while most business entities don't want to operate in a violent environment, these same business can be more efficient and productive under peaceful conditions, creating more wealth.

The complete discussion of some of the aspects of the study can be found at:
http://www.visionofhumanity.org/images/content/Documents/2008%20GPi%20Discussion%20Paper.pdf

i think peace is a requirement for the furtherance of the human population in the future and it looks like the ability to create wealth and a prosperous life style may also be affected by peaceful conditions.

60 years of war

click here

Last week i couldn't find any time to write so instead i'm calling today a poem day..... so now..... you poor souls a poem by me.

Click here

click here to sign in
click here to download
click the arrow next to "Peace and Happiness"
you may need to click "sign out" first to find the directions to proceed

you can click here to review your options
you may want to opt out of the old world view and click here to opt in to positive reinforcement
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tell your friends, tell your relatives, tell your enemies
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this is your opportunity to use your passport to find your way home
click here to enable " Peace and Happiness"
click here to enable "Compassion and Joy"
click here to select your preferences from the Edit Menu.
Please be sure not to click "War"
click "Peace"
Click Here.

Peaceful driving

We all know how statistics can be manipulated to make a point in ones favor. Many times when discussing the atrocities of war those dying in car accidents are used as fodder to justify deaths directly caused as a result of a nations aggression.

We can all point to discussions with friends where the comparison of deaths resulting from our occupation of Iraq are nothing compared to deaths occurring upon our nations roads on a daily basis. The problem with this comparison is that those drivers who were killed chose to risk their lives by driving. All those drivers knew that driving incurs a certain amount of risk but they chose to take that risk to accomplish other goals.

The civilian casualties in Iraq did not choose to risk their lives.

They have no choice.

But this is not the thrust of this piece.

The thrust of this piece is to illuminate the other side of driving.

The peaceful side of driving.

What I have done is gather up the statistics for registered vehicles of all types. This number is approximately 250 million cars, trucks, buses etc. that are legally registered to use the nations roads. On average there are approximately 17,600 accidents a day leaving Two Hundred and Forty Nine Million Nine Hundred and Eighty Two Thousand Four Hundred (249,982,400)vehicles to go about their business peacefully.

Peacefully.

Every day, approximately 249,982,400 moving objects filled with peaceful human beings are on our roads driving orderly.

Think about it.

Hundreds of Millions of vehicles are driving our nations roads without mishap.

Why don't we ever see headlines screaming 249,982,400 moving objects on our nations roads exist without mishap every day of the year?

Every day of the year.
Think about it.

Why don't we hear this good news.
We don't hear this good news because it is better to keep you fearful.

may first

May day today, we are halfway between a solstice and an equinox the beginning of summer for some. To celebrate springs end a poem is in order.

spring soiree

walking hand in hand
to an event made to
mold minds for productive
life

she said

this is the spring
soiree, it is dinner
and a reception with
prizes.

Remember to look for peace today and everyday.

peaceful children

Peace is not impossible.

Peace plays a major role daily and is dominant in all cultures.

Peace will reign throughout the world someday when its story can be heard over that of the war story.

For too long the story of peace has taken a back seat to the story of war.

When speakers are spread far and wide, from all cultures in the world, relaying the same message, peace will prevail.

Peace needs to be pointed out so people can recognize it resides with us on a daily basis and is dominant in all societies, even those being ruled by dictators, even those that are war torn right now.

When you really consider peace it is not difficult to find and its story is very simple.

Peace dominates, not war.

People work for peace all over the world, but working for peace and pointing out how peace dominates are two different things.

Peace needs to be recognized everyday.

Look around you. Stop what you are doing right now and look around. Billions of people all over the world are going about their daily lives peacefully.

Peace is prevailing.

What is missing is the story of peace prevailing.

The story of peace has to take the stage now. It takes so little to spread the simple message that Peace dominates. Point it out, over and over. It is easy to point out for everywhere you look it surrounds you.

Peace dominates.

Say it and spread it and become a Speaker without Borders, a speaker who spreads peace by pointing out its dominance.

Say it.

Peace dominates.

Speakers without Borders

It has happened....so simple...so ordinary...so common for those wanting to spread goodwill throughout the world.

Already we have Doctors without Borders, Engineers without Borders, Teachers without Borders, Action without Borders, Reporters without Borders, Mothers without Borders, Words without Borders and now I am starting Speakers without Borders.

Today is the beginning there will be more to come.
Stay tuned.

visionary plants

Regularly i am in a rush when i hop in the car and go screaming backwards down the steep incline that is my driveway. Regularly i am in a rush to get home when i go screaming up the driveway, ending whatever activity took me away from home. Using the driveway is routine, a natural part of my everyday existence.

Driveways connect us with the world. Driveways create an impression about your home and way of life.
Driveways are a necessary evil that accommodate our comings and goings. They are something we don't ordinarily consider unless we are making them or repairing them for they are used mindlessly.

Every day i use the driveway to enter and exit my home. Everyday, the existence of one plant
creates an environment of happiness. This one plant constantly reminds me of how easy it is to create a positive attitude.

Visionary plants can have an affect upon one's psyche according to herbalists and researchers. They can touch us in ways that may change our lives. Visionary plants were usually ingested and or smoked and came to be synonymous with 1960's western hippie culture.

"The common denominator of this otherwise rich and ramified group of
phenomena is the subject's feeling that his or her consciousness has expanded
beyond the usual ego boundaries and has transcended the limitations of time
and space" (Grof 1985, 127-129).

Plants such as these can be powerful agents used to promote self discoveries....but smoking them or ingestion is necessary to create these visionary states. My plant only requires a glance for natures "voice" to speak.

i am not in any way shape or form a gardener. In fact i have a purple thumb when it comes to plants. i have an unusual ability to kill them off and recognize deep in my core that not all of us have the necessary attributes with which to grow plants. i excel in other areas and had i lived in a village would probably be employed making implements for daily living. Villagers would have wanted to keep me far far away from the garden for i may have severely threatened the food supply.

The special plant on my driveway is not strikingly beautiful, it has long trough like leaves a heavy stem and produces one edible fruit. But this one plant in the middle of my driveway directs me everyday to that peaceful place within which helps me work for peace outside myself.

My search today for information on driveways, visionary plants, shamans and pineapples finally lead me to a woman that is called the "Peace Pilgrim." That was her name and she wore a tee shirt that had it emblazoned upon her. She died in 1981 after having spent 28 years walking for Peace.


Some of Peace Pilgrim's own words:

"Do you know God? Do you know there is a power greater than ourselves which manifests itself within us as well as everywhere else in the universe? This I call God. Do you know what it is to know God, to have God's constant guidance, a constant awareness of God's presence? To know God is to reflect love toward all people and all creations. To know God is to feel peace within - a calmness, a serenity, an unshakeableness which enables you to face any situation. To know God is to be so filled with joy that it bubbles over and goes forth to bless the world." (2)

"No one walks so safely as one who walks humbly and harmlessly with great love and great faith. For such a person gets through to the good in others (and there is good in everyone), and therefore cannot be harmed. This works between individuals, it works between groups and it would work between nations if nations had the courage to try it." (3)

"There is a spark of good in everybody, no matter how deeply it may be buried. It is waiting to govern your life gloriously." Peace Pilgrim

Peace Pilgrim has a book that can be obtained for free at:
www.peacepilgrim.com
PS. i have done everything i can to make this link work but the blogger.com interferes.
Copy and paste it to get to the site.
Sorry....maybe it is too peaceful to work.
________________________
(1) Peace Pilgrim. Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in Her Own Words. 1991,
Ocean Tree Books,
Santa Fe, New Mexico. Page 27.
(2) Peace Pilgrim, page 87.
(3) Ibid, page 31.

Barack Obama

The internet is such an amazing place. It really is an amazing place.
In many ways it is more exciting than a library because of the ready access to unlimited reams of information, without ever having to leave your home.

i was cruising the internet highway looking up information about incivility. Characteristically incivility is social behavior that lacks good manners.

Wikipedia had a small piece about incivility which i quickly read. It was not very informative and as i was getting ready to try something else i noticed a list below the description which caught my eye.....i've decided to reproduce it because i'll bet there are a few terms that would catch your eyes also.

* Abuse
* Anti-social behaviour
* Anti-Social Behaviour Order
* Delinquent
* Deviant behavior
* Folk devil
* Harassment
* Hooliganism
* Incivility (on Meta)
* Juvenile delinquency
* Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour In Company and Conversation
* Yobbo

Being infinitely curious two links jumped out and insisted i click on them. Folk devil was first and off i went. i was so intrigued by the term that i have copied the description and display it here:

A folk devil is a person or group of people who are portrayed in folklore or the media as outsiders and deviant, and who are blamed for crimes or other sorts of social problems. (compare scapegoat)

The pursuit of folk devils frequently intensifies into a mass movement that is called a moral panic. When a moral panic is in full swing, the folk devils are the subject of loosely organized but pervasive campaigns of hostility through gossip and the spreading of urban legends. The mass media sometimes get in on the act or attempt to create new folk devils to create controversies. Sometimes the campaign against the folk devil influences a nation's politics and legislation.

The concept of the folk devil was introduced by sociologist Stanley Cohen in 1972, in his study Folk Devils and Moral Panics, which analysed media controversies concerning Mods and Rockers in the United Kingdom of the 1950s. The basic pattern of agitations against folk devils can be seen in the history of witchhunts and similar manias of persecution; in many predominately Protestant countries, there is history of anti-Catholicism in which many Catholics were seen as folk devils; minorities and immigrants have often been seen as folk devils; in the long history of anti-Semitism, which frequently targeted Jews with allegations of dark, murderous practices, such as blood libel; or the Roman persecution of Christians that blamed the military reverses suffered by the Roman Empire on the Christians' abandonment of paganism.

More recent folk devils have included the McCarthyite persecution of alleged Communists; Satanists and allegations of Satanic ritual abuse; blaming video games and violence, Goths, and other youth subcultures or musical genres for the Columbine massacre.

When i finished reading the above i decided something was missing. Shouldn't Islam be included as today's folk devil?

But Moral Panic had caught my eye. Moral Panic...what in the world could that be and i remembered it was linked with folk devil in the book written by Steven Cohen in the 1970's.
Apparently moral panic is defined in his book as:

Characteristic of "a condition, episode, person or group of persons [who] become defined as a threat to societal values and interests." [Cohen, 1987: 9] Cohen goes on to discuss the way in which the mass media fashions these episodes, or stylizes them, amplifying the nature of the facts and consequently turning them into a national issue, when the matter could have been contained on a local level.

Hmmmmm i thought...hadn't our country been brought to its heals by folk devils and moral panic when considering "terrorists, Islamofacists and Muslims.

i decided to move on to Yobbo and hit the back arrow until i could find the link. Well, i was surprised to learn it is a term that has been lengthened from yob. Now "yob" is "boy" spelled backwards and was meant to describe a male working class person in Britain.

As some may know Barack Obama was recently referred to as "boy" by a right wing pundit. A slur made with malicious intent in my book.

During the entire circuitous investigation on the net the one thing hammering away on my brain was that traditional media was constantly trying to define Barack Obama in terms of moral panic(he is a Muslim) a folk devil (he is black) but also a yob(represents the working man).

So far they have failed to marginalize him and that says reams about the man i hope gets the nomination for President.

fish and birdsong or "instructing the rich and saving the poor"

If you spend a little time tuning into the outside noises it becomes easy to understand that some early hominid probably tried to replicate the sounds he or she heard every day. Tapping on a tree or rock could produce sound as could clapping and shouting which was probably the first spontaneous music.

Music, as we know it, may have had its start with fish and birdsong.

In Florida, residents had become so distracted by sounds booming through their homes and apartments that they demanded the township do a study to determine where the noise was coming from. Fortunately, just before the commissioners were going to approve spending almost $50,000 to study the problem and eliminate it, a marine biologist contacted the board and told them it was the fish.

No one believed fish could be making the noise so the biologist gave them notebooks and had them record the time and duration of the noise. The dwelling owners jottings matched the recorded sounds he had been listening to with hydrophones under the water.

"The problem was black drum mating calls traveling at a low enough frequency and long enough wavelength to carry through sea walls, into the ground and through the construction of waterfront homes like the throbbing beat in a passing car." said Mr. Locasio, the researcher. "Their booming was like a water drip torture lasting for months."

Fish sounds have been documented as a way to attract mates, to show aggression and to express fear or distress, just like birdsong.

Males, in the bird world, have a responsibility to use song for calling out to other birds. The males do most of the singing and calling. When a bird sings it is generally done during a courtship ritual, he sings and sings trying to woo a female but when he calls he's really trying to stay in touch by remaining part of the flock and playing the role of protector.

I'm sure none of us would have trouble recollecting some song that has called out to us, that may have been used to woo us, or warn us of some action to come.

Music dates from the beginnings of the human race. It is one of the most ancient of arts
and can touch all of us deep in our core. It is a shared element that appeals to the whole bundle of perceptions that makes us distinct and part of humanity. Sounds from all genres and every part of the world can be incredibly melodious to the human ear. So melodious that even when we are not familiar with the sounds presentation at some base level of our humanity we can recognize and relate without knowing its history.

Like birdsong, humanities music can call to someone in the same manner a bird uses to call or sing to another bird.

Ancients thought understanding the language(music) of birds was a sign of great wisdom.

We aren't governed by birds.....but some inspirational music can make the most unmusical folks get up and move.

i was looking for an inspirational story that had a music component. Searching was not easy because there were so many but eventually i came across the donation of a piano to a hospital that had been built through many small donations. The piano became the centerpiece of the hospital lobby.
Here volunteers signed up to donate their time playing the piano for the hospital's patients and visitors.

All sorts of music is played throughout the day by the volunteers. Anyone can make requests creating an environment of divergent musical combinations. But what most struck me was when i continued researching the piano and came across the woman who had dedicated her life to this very same hospital. She had developed three vows that she lived by.

1. Purifing minds

2. Harmonizing society and

3. Freeing the world from disasters

Her guiding motto has been "instructing the rich and saving the poor."

Master Cheng Yen is a Buddhist nun that has spent her life trying to further her vows.

Following is a description of the work she has been involved in.

The Mission

Master Cheng Yen, a Buddhist nun from Taiwan, established the Tzu Chi Foundation in 1966. With its four major missions of Charity, Medicine, Education, and Culture, this organization has built hospitals, schools, and helped millions of people in need throughout the world. The Master's compassion for human suffering has moved millions of volunteers to serve selflessly throughout the world. She was awarded the Eisenhower Medallion for her contribution to world peace, and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Master Cheng Yen understands that misery in this world is not solely due to poverty, but, also, to a lack of meaningful purpose in life. She believes that the most meaningful life is one of service to those in need. It is with this understanding that the Master serves as both the head of the Tzu Chi Foundation and as its Buddhist spiritual leader.

What a wonderful speaker i found while investigating music. If you would like to learn more about her there is a more detailed piece at Wikipedia.

island time

A piece on Music has not come together so instead it is short bits day.

Island tameness....losing that instinct for wariness concerning potential predators. It occurs when you lose your defensive behaviors.

Bands to listen to:
Ruckus Collective
Newton Faulkner
Jens Lekman
AuRevoir Simone
Bonnie Prince Billy

Good Reads:
Shock Doctrine...Naomie Klein
Death and the Penguin...Andrey Kurkov
Kafka on the Shore....Murakami
Lemon Tree....can't remember author

Human beings have to work at shedding anger as a vehicle to achieve some theoretical endpoint.
Valuing kindness first before anger creates environments where anger can be got rid of in safety.

Patience and tolerance must be nurtured. We have now become so interconnected we can no longer put blinders on concerning the fact that we are all from the same pot.

If a prophets words don't stand up to scrutiny and reason they must be rejected.

We become attached to what others have. Release the attachment and find peace. Reason helps you reach that peaceful state.

Humanities Worst Foes
1. The sword(war, violence)
2. Greed
3. Lack of Compassion
Can the above be defeated through kindness and positive thought?

History is a commentary of Six Thousand years of masculine ineptitude. Unfortunately, women have been following behind with the buckets.

Sometimes the further we go away the deeper we go within.

Living water is the principle of life.

"We all inhabit this small planet.
We all breath the same air.
We all cherish our children's future.
And we are all mortal." JFK

"No matter how "profoundly repugnant" we might find our foes ideology or system of government, they are still like us-----human beings." JFK

A liar is someone who knowingly utters falsehood

Demonizing anyone destroys the ability for others to think critically about the demonizee.

To regret deeply is to live afresh.

Creative Capitalism can show others how to create those aspects of the wealthy world that can function in the poor's world to make them achieve more profit.

My "friend" is one who takes me for exactly what i am.

fairness is not a myth

Socrates believed that in order to know the world, or understand the world, we must first know ourselves. The path to knowing yourself began, thought Socrates, with rational thought.
Socrates thought that our emotions and our desires dwell in the irrational part of our being. He believed our physical senses ruled the irrational part while the rational part was governed by our true selves(our rational thought), which consisted of both the irrational and rational.

Decartes on the other hand believed that reason alone determined knowledge and this could be done apart from the senses. Many other philosophers spent long hours writing about rationalism, empiricism and naturalism in terms of man's identity, which was also wrapped up in the concept of God and the soul. Today philosopher's still struggle with man's identity and its relation to humanity in general.

Having only a rudimentary self taught take on past philosopher's views, i tend towards believing that we are a puzzle of perceptions, emotions, desires, physical senses, and rational thought that blend together to make us distinct but part of a set of circumstances that make it imperative that we learn how to navigate and exist amongst affiliated human beings. i believe we are all distinct but we still have shared elements of the above making us part of what we call humanity and that melting pot of commonalities we all share.

A simple commonality is our sense of fairness.

The idea of fairness may be instinctual in all of us. Notice i said "may" because this is a great area for disagreement. Some might cry that my statement is an irrelevant abstraction of the "real world." That instinct plays no role, but i would beg to differ. We do recognize when one is being treated unfairly by another. The fact that we don't always choose to act against the unfairness does not mean we haven't recognized it. We do recognize the injustice or unfairness but our options, or our "perceived" options, sometimes outweigh our actions.

i think we can all agree that life isn't fair.

Some of us wind up far more advanced in the game of life for the simple reason that we were born privileged.

We are advantaged from birth and that doesn't make life fair at the get go.

Recognizing the advantage we have can lead some to give back to those whose circumstances are less than perfect. Recognizing the advantage we can fight to create environments where the less powerful are given a voice. Recognizing the advantage we can actualize scenarios where we choose not to take actions based upon our superior position.

We can choose to let the disadvantaged "win".

Every day there are stories of horror and hope.

One man's tragedy becomes another man's reason for carrying the torch of peace.

A man who came of age in an occupied territory(Gaza), a man who spent time in jail, a man who used violence thinking it would achieve his goal, a man who has lost his daughter to violence, has revised his course through life and taken on the mantel of dialog instead of violence.

He has turned the other cheek.

He has asked all on the other side to look first at those they kill. Look first at them and understand their humanity. Understand how alike we all are. Understand that killing is not the answer.

Our enemy image in order to have a society is based upon myth. It is an ugly, mammoth myth, perpetrated by those seeking power. It has poisoned society for millenniums. We will fight, scratch and go mad, just to survive, is the myth.

The real story, that of fairness, continues to be buried. We can resurrect the story, we can detail its continued success throughout history. We can encourage all to speak about all the instances of fairness that occur on a daily basis.

Because Fairness is not a myth.

Check out this YouTube on Fairness
The Evolution of Fairness

food factories working overtime

According to my calendar and probably yours it is March. Typically in those areas north of the equator March means the beginning of Spring. Spring is a time for better things to come, of growth and renewal, longer days, and the beginnings of the warming trend that extends through the Summer.
Spring is the time to put things together and start the new planting with the extra daylight we all get to enjoy.

Autumn, in the Northern Hemisphere, is the opposite of Spring. Autumn usually starts in September and is the time of year that is associated with a cooling trend as we move out of summer and into winter. Autumn is a time when food, that has finally ripened, can be harvested, trees loose their leaves and the days start to get shorter.

We have both seasons occurring at once here in the islands, Autumn and Spring work together in the month of March. During March the rains stop and the land begins to dry out. Bright red, yellow and orange clusters of leaves flutter through the air whenever a light wind blows, festooning the island with carpets of brightly colored dried crunchy leaves. i love stepping on them this time of year.

While the leaves drop you can find locals picking guavas, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, bananas, eggplant and other fruit and vegetables that make their way to market.

As this is going on, new seeds are being planted by the winds, bats, birds and farmers. Bees and hummingbirds are buzzing around looking for something to pollinate. Everywhere you can see new growth, shoots poking their stems up through the earth, flowers blossoming on trees, all things rejuvenating and rejoining in a burst of new growth.

Change can happen...just look at how Autumn and Spring, so different further north work together here. Neither dominates. Autumn strips us bare and spring clothes us but here we can do both at once and find ways to compromise.

When the notion is self over everything else we thrust upon ourselves situations that do not transfer out into civilization. Working on how to help yourself, how to meditate, how to practice mindfulness, how to get ahead in your profession does not do anything for the greater good. It might help you feel better about yourself but how does it help move civilization forward? How do you get beyond the self and on to making the world a better place for everyone?

Well Autumn and Spring working together is an indication in nature that even opposites can and will find ways to join together to create a better environment.

They don't have to go it alone.

They are equal because no two things can be more equal.

We human beings are equal too...we can work together...we can make the world a better place......we just don't always understand this.

where do you live?

This speaker had a stroke. Her name is Jill Bolte Taylor and she is a neuroanatomist, one who studies the brain. While she was having a stroke she realized what was happening and her story is most amazing.
The video is 18:44 minutes long and well worth every second.