Lost in Translation

     Today is Martin Luther King Jr Day. Dr. King was murdered for the things he said & stood for. He was calling for a qualitatively different way of relating to ourselves, others, & life which a large proportion of Americans found & obviously still finds impossible to understand, disturbing & intolerable.

"Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power.
We have guided missiles and misguided men.
Our hope for creative living lies in our ability to reestablish
the spiritual needs of our lives in personal character and social justice.
Without this spiritual and moral reawakening
we shall destroy ourselves
in the misuse of our own instruments."                     Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. 

“Our goal is to create a beloved community and
this will require a qualitative change in our souls
as well as a quantitative change in our lives.”            Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

     Why on earth would roughly 40% of Americans - most of whom claim to be Christians - find such words intolerable? Maybe Cynthia Bourgeault, an Episcopal priest, provides perspective:

     “I became more and more intrigued and disturbed about why it was that Christianity, a religion that clearly has one of the most loving and inclusive gurus that’s ever walked the face of the planet, at its epicenter, should tend to develop itself in formats that were so rigid, exclusive & non-generous. And why didn’t people walk the talk? It became more and more of a heartbreak to me.
     So it was actually through reading Jacob Needleman’s “Lost Christianity” in 1980, that the first pieces began to come together. He said at one point, ‘telling people to wake up and be conscious, is like telling stones to pick themselves up, sprout wings and fly to the sea.’
     There’s a missing piece, and until you can get that missing piece online, you can’t do the teachings of Jesus. ‘If one aspires to live the beatitudes or any Gospel teaching it is necessary to establish the level of consciousness from which they emerge.’ is virtually a direct quote from Symeon the New Theologian in the 11th century, who was the first one to be on to the fact that the Jesus teachings emerged from a very high level of consciousness, and that until you could basically run that program, you are going to be constantly dumbing it down to a place where it’s basically an inversion of itself. So Needleman was onto the fact that something is broken in the way that we pay attention that keeps our consciousness scrambled, low, distracted, and not under our free command, and it's this that is constantly making hash out of the Gospel that Jesus was teaching."
     Cynthia Bourgeault - Oct 23, 2017 interview: https://batgap.com/cynthia-bourgeault/

      There are at least 2 levels of understanding anything: literal & metaphorical. Literal refers to an objective fact that can be observed & agreed on by any number of observers eg she was crying. A metaphor uses a comparison to make a point eg her tears were a river flowing down her cheeks. Our present industrialized consumer society is materialistic & literal, almost exclusively focused on the production & acquisition of material goods: digital devices, clothes, cars, houses, property, alcohol / drugs etc. "The one who dies with the most toys wins" is weirdly funny and the philosophy of a LOT of people. Discussing non-material matters - which requires metaphor - very often creates confusion, smouldering anger, up to & including violence & murder, among those who are simply not capable of understanding at this level.

"One of the great liabilities of history
is that all too many people fail to remain awake
through great periods of social change.
Every society has its protectors of the status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions.
But today our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake,
to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant
and to face the challenge of change."              Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Trauma - a Realistic Perspective

     "A critical component of ... the [Buddha's] Noble Eightfold Path ... counseled that trauma, in any of its forms, is not a failure or a mistake. It is not something to be ashamed of, not a sign of weakness, and not a reflection of inner failure. It is simply a fact of life. 
     This attitude toward trauma is at the heart of the Buddha's teaching, although it is often overlooked in the rush to embrace the inner peace that his teachings also promised. But inner peace is actually predicated upon a realistic approach to the uncertainties and fears that pervade our lives."

       Mark Epstein. "The Trauma of Everyday Life." Penguin Press, NY, 2013.

 

Optimism and Hope

      Huston Smith "recalled Czech president Vaclav Havel saying that ‘optimism’ suggests that we think things will turn out well, while ‘hope’ is a force that motivates us toward right action whether we believe things will turn out well or not. 
     And it was out of hope that Huston found motivation to keep working for change. We must, Huston argued, be like the doctors who fight to end disease whether or not they believe they will ever succeed. 
     ‘The fulfillment comes through doing what one can, not in wasting time predicting outcomes.’”

        Dana Sawyer “Huston Smith: Wisdomkeeper. Living the World’s Religions. The Authorized Biography of a 21st Century Spiritual Giant.” Fons Vitae, Louisville, KY, 2014. 

My Story - for Now

     "And that's the spirit in which I write, as a co-explorer, knowing that I'll probably see things differently as time passes and my questions get deeper still. I must be patient and remember the fragility of what I think I know. We have a duty to offer our own stories, however, just in case something we say does touch someone else in a positive way. Stories of struggle can be especially important, because we all struggle. In the same way, stories of how we have overcome our challenges might help inspire others to believe that they too can overcome."

       Rupert Ross. "Indigenous Healing. Exploring Traditional Paths." Penguin, Toronto, 2014.

Randy Charboneau

Our World Churns

     Eric Reguly's article in yesterday's Globe & Mail http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/stories-from-the-burgeoning-libyan-smuggling-industry/article24210483/ brings to mind how life continues to churn, like a blender, all of us, everything in this world. We're all interconnected. No matter where we happen to find ourselves at any point in time, it will all change, sooner or later, in this huge blender called life.
     Everything is in flux, flowing, changing, blending, coming apart, coming back together, flowing, flowing, flowing.

 

Basic Values - Trans-situational Goals, Guiding Principles

     "Schwartz sought to identify a comprehensive set of basic values that are recognized in all societies. He defined basic values as trans-situational goals, varying in importance, that serve as guiding principles in the life of a person or group.
     He theorized that basic values are organized into a coherent system that underlies and can help to explain individual decision making, attitudes, and behavior. This coherent structure arises from the social and psychological conflict or congruity between values that people experience when they make everyday decisions.
     values are likely to be universal because they are grounded in one or more of three universal requirements of human existence with which people must cope: needs of individuals as biological organisms, requisites of coordinated social interaction, and survival and welfare needs of groups.
     values ... focus on 
          • attaining personal or social outcomes,
          • promote growth and self-expansion or anxiety-avoidance and self-protection,
          • express openness to change or conservation of the status quo, and
          • promote self-interest or transcendence of self-interest in the service of others."
 
       Schwartz SH, Cieciuch J, Vecchione M, Davidov E, Fischer R, Beierlein C, et al. Refining the theory of basic individual values. Journal of personality and social psychology. 2012;103(4):663-88.

from Schwartz et al 2012 (see text above)

 

Nurturing Wisdom to Heal Cynical Immaturity

     "A country will be safe from terrorism when its relationships with all parties in all directions are honest, noble, and just. ... security comes from aligning our attitudes and policies with the behaviors that will bring out the best in others, rather than doing the very things that are sure to provoke or entrench them. It is a principle that works at every scale. Healing through the cultivation of change in relationship can occur with ancient adversaries, with the developing nations of the world, with the population that swells our prisons, or with alienated members of our own family.
     This is not idealism, it is rooted in a deep understanding of human nature."

       Olendzki A. "Unlimiting Mind. The Radically Experiential Psychology of Buddhism." Wisdom Publications, Boston, 2010.

     Mary Hynes and Rebecca Newberger Goldstein both giggled from embarrassment while discussing Plato's advice to live for beauty, truth and wisdom. They realized how idealistic these values sound in today's cynical, materialistic climate.  
       CBC radio's Tapestry "What would Plato do?": http://www.cbc.ca/tapestry/episode/2014/12/26/what-would-plato-do-1/

Photo by Russ Wiley   www.dpreview.com

Quality of Life for One, for All

     We're slowly but surely realizing that personal multidimensional wellness - physical, mental, emotional etc - is a basic requirement - NOT LUXURY - for success for our solo profession, our family, our company, our city, our nation, our species, our global village. The flight safety instructions to put oxygen masks on ourselves first, and then on our children, makes perfect sense.

     "Though organizational development is a huge and profitable business, studies show that more than 70% of organizational change efforts fall short of their intended goals. Why?
     Because most change efforts fail to take an 'integral approach' to the complex whole system change. 
     In order to develop agile, resilient, thriving organizations, we need to continually monitor and manage across both the inner and outer dimensions of our work, while investing attention to optimizing the personal, 'me,' and collective, 'we' dimensions that are critical to our well-being and success in every moment and interaction."

     Joel & Michelle Levey www.wisdomatwork.com

Philip Lanoue   www.dpreview.com

Can We Really Know Anyone - even Ourself?

     A senior meditation teacher once advised: "Only don't know."

     A definition of expert: "One who's incapable of learning."

     "The Renaissance is all about secret transformations. Human beings - we're not objects, we're not things. We are alive & changing every minute. Our very nature is change. Our very nature is transformation - which we forget, because we say "Oh that person is like that." And we forget they're like that today, but they could be like something else tomorrow, and maybe they were something else two weeks ago. 
     We keep actually putting labels on people and typing them. And in fact the one thing about human beings is that we're quicksilver, endlessly transforming and changeable." 

     Peter Sellars, American theatre director, interviewed by Eleanor Wachtel on CBC Radio:
     http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/Ideas/ID/2442656684/

Corner Store, Rome, Italy

 

Everything Changes, Constantly

     “Life comes in the form of opportunities, which are easy to recognize, after they have been wasted ... ”                Javan

Things Are Never Quite Right - Is it Life or Just Me?

     Freud hoped to cure his patients of their neuroses so they could reach what he felt was the optimal level of human functioning "ordinary unhappiness"!
     Advertisers insist that if we buy all their products, all the time, we'll be young, gorgeous, sexy, popular, energetic, successful & deliriously happy - forever. 
     Are you living "the American dream"? If your life falls short of a beer ad, you're probably disappointed at some level, even if you habitually put on a brave face. Most of us don't want to appear "down", since that would clash with the beer-ad-version of life we think we should be living. What's wrong with us? Is it depression? Why do things seem more like Freud described than our current ideas about what's "normal"?
     Is it possible that the ancient concept of "dukkha" is profoundly correct? See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dukkha
     Is it possible that we can learn to clearly appreciate reality AND markedly improve our quality of life (without having to buy, buy, buy ...)? See: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2014/04/526-monitoring-my-state-of-being-moment.html

Why Can't We "Get Through" to Some People?

     It doesn't matter how many times, or how many different ways you advise some people to modify their opinions & behavior, they insist on thinking & behaving as before, even though their behavior is disruptively offensive to the people around them. They're not ready to hear / see / feel reality.
     Learning is typically slow (& behavior change much slower), mostly through trial & error. Most of us are simply incapable of learning from other people's mistakes, we have to make them ourselves, suffer the consequences, sometimes for an entire lifetime. 
     We're far, far, far less wise than we think. We don't trust even our family & closest friends - we're the only ones who know! Then, only after we hit rock bottom, do we realize they were trying to help us, & we were stunningly stupid. Until then, hubris keeps us insisting that, contrary to all evidence & logic, WE ARE RIGHT, everyone else is wrong. So we "save face" - but only in our imagination.
     Yes, we've all been there, more than once! We're ALL slowly learning to walk upright - without dragging our hairy knuckles!!

     See: http://healthyhealers.blogspot.ca/2013/06/obviously-suffering-colleagues.html
     and: http://healthyhealers.blogspot.ca/2014/04/avoidance-health-care-professional.html
     and: http://healthyhealers.blogspot.ca/2013/06/transformational-learning-like-aging-is.html

 

megawatt298   www.dpreview.com

Individual Efforts Invariably Change Systems

       The origins of many health-care professionals' problems "are rooted in the environment & care delivery system rather than in the personal characteristics of a few susceptible individuals." 
       Shanafelt TD et al. Burnout and satisfaction with work-life balance among US physicians relative to the general US population. Arch Intern Med 2012; 172(18): 1377-85.
 
     The system is ultimately composed of a lot of individuals. How can each one of us best, most profoundly influence this group of individuals? While "changing the system" may be the grand political ambition, individuals influencing individuals - one-to-one, one-person-at-a-time - is the most common, realistic, effective method (even in the political arena - eg door-to-door campaining). And, the first person we need to change is our self. To paraphrase Gandhi, we bring about desired changes best by embodying these changes. By letting go of cynicism about "the system", we instantly have energy to invest in making relentless incremental changes towards our ideals.

      “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”             Mother Teresa

     With time and persistence, water wears away stone.

     See: http://healthyhealers.blogspot.ca/2012/12/health-harmony-meaning-navajo-wisdom.html

Ordinary magic, on our street, October 13, 2013

Comfortably Numb? Aging & the Fossilizing Mind

     "‘medical educators (human beings in general) are relatively unsophisticated at distinguishing between formative struggles that advance learning and adverse struggles that distract [from] or impede learning’. 
     To transform a transition from a threat to a learning opportunity, medical education (all educators) should assist (all) students and doctors in developing the coping skills they need to effectively deal with the challenges presented by new environments."

        Teunissen PW, Westerman M. Opportunity or threat: the ambiguity of the consequences of transitions in medical education. Med Educ 2011; 45(1): 51-9.

The child is grown
The dream is gone
I... Have become comfortably numb                       Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb

Enthusiasm, Energy, Zest for Life - What does all that Mean?

     We think of having enthusiasm, vitality, "a real zest for life" as equivalent to being perfectly well-adjusted, healthy and happy. But the sobering fact is that more often than not, we feel less than enthusiastic about things as they are. Why? Is this depression - something wrong with me?
     As we mature, we naturally transition through very different priorities - what made us happy (or sad) when we were 5, may have the opposite effect of us now, and vice versa. So our requirements for meaningful fulfillment continuously change, becoming deeper, more nuanced & expansive - a gradual shift from egocentricity ("me, myself and I") towards allocentricity & ecocentricity (the biggest picture we're able to engage). This is normal, healthy maturation - don't try to medicate it away - celebrate it, investigate it!

     See also: http://healthyhealers.blogspot.ca/search?q=chasing

 

Massimo Ripani   http://travel.nationalgeographic.com

Self-concept & Worldview & Crises

     “The change from storm & winter to serene & mild weather … is a memorable crisis which all things proclaim.” Henry David Thoreau

      “In the physical sciences, dramatic shifts to very different ways of thinking are common. In fact, they are regarded as essential.”
      Ramo JC. "The Age of the Unthinkable. Why the New World Disorder Constantly Surprises Us and What We Can Do About It." Little Brown & Co, NY, 2009.  

    

     Is our worldview / self-concept something solid we can hold onto and depend upon - OR - but a provisional model (paradigm) in a rapidly changing world? The more we identify with it as a solid, unchanging "me", "who I am", the more powerfully it colors our perception and influences our thoughts, speech & behavior. Our worldview / self-concept is the operating system (OS) of our life. Yet how conscious of it are we?

     Do we actively avoid examining our OS? Do we "keep busy" with work and distractions? Do we pursue "mindless fun", proclaiming "this is as good as it gets" - while "I can't get no satisfaction" plays in the background? Does being quietly by ourself provoke anxiety? And in the company of others, do we quickly fill silent moments to avoid dreaded "dead air"?
     My Dad, who lived for almost 86 years, witnessed his parents, 3 younger sisters, and all of his closest friends grow old, get sick, and die. Such traumas ("shipwrecks") can & do cause "the world as I knew it", including "who I thought I was", to disintegrate, numerous times within a lifetime. 
     “To undergo shipwreck is to be threatened in a total and primary way. … what has dependably served as shelter and protection and held and carried one where one wanted to go comes apart. What once promised trustworthiness vanishes." Lesser E. “Broken open. How difficult times can help us grow.” Villard, NY, 2005.

     Afterwards there are 2 options: shrivel up, cynical, vengeful & miserable OR construct a new, broader, more inclusive model of reality that can contain what just happened.
     "When we have been through a trial and survived it – or better still, transformed its terrors into revelations – then we begin to approach other adversities with a different attitude. Change and loss may still knock us off the horse, but soon we are back in the saddle, stronger & wiser than ever. As life progresses, and we continue to transform and refine our consciousness, we gain more insight and humility, greater strength of character, and deeper faith in the meaningfulness of life." Lesser E. “Broken open. How difficult times can help us grow.” Villard, NY, 2005. 

     PROACTIVELY studying one's worldview / self-concept is uncommon (avoided) in our society. Yet the millions of people who meditate, do precisely that - specifically to achieve greater & greater clarity about reality - how things actually are.

     Which works better, avoiding or facing reality? Is becoming a competent swimmer reasonable when only the timing & number of shipwrecks is unknown?

Photo: Veltchev   www.dpreview.com