Back to Balance

Today is Tuesday, April 23, 2013.  

The other day I watched a film event online called DO THE MATH, sponsored by 350.org.  It was a very powerful film.

Bill McKibben, one of the founders of 350.org, is an author, educator and environmentalist.  His book, The End of Nature, published in 1989, was the first book to explain climate change to a general audience.  It's too late to stop global warming, says McKibben, but we can still take action to stop it from becoming a global calamity. In order to do this, the people have to take on the fossil fuel industry directly.  This is going to be hard.  It's going to be uncomfortable.  As with all major changes, it's going to result in chaos before order is restored. That's change for you.

So what's the significance of the number 350?  Back in 1978, Dr. James Hansen, a physicist who is also trained in astronomy, began to study the planet Venus, a planet with carbon dioxide (CO2) and sulfuric acid in its atmosphere.  As almost everybody knows by now, that planet is incredibly hot.  It's temperature is that of molten lead.  He began to study the effect of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.  

Ten years later, in 1988, Dr. Hansen testified before the Senate that he was 99% sure that earth was being overheated by carbon emissions from the human use of fossil fuels.  Attempts were made to alter his work or suppress it.  His opponents tried to stop him from accepting speaking engagements or TV and radio appearances.   The fossil fuel industry was responsible for some of this, but  most shockingly, the senior management at NASA, Hansen's own employer, were found to be involved.  When the Big Guns are trying to suppress something, it's pretty obvious that there is some truth going around that they don't want the people to hear.  

In 2009, Hansen published his first book, Storms of My Grandchildren, in which he explained how the burning of fossil fuels is changing our atmosphere and the acidity of our oceans.  One of the effects of this change is the mega-storms that we have already begun to experience, hence the title of the book. 

There are four so-called "greenhouse gases": carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and the halocarbons, or CFC's (gases containing fluorine, chlorine, and bromine).  Methane persists for around 12 years.  Nitrous oxide lasts a bit longer, around 114 years.  The halocarbons can last anywhere from a few months to thousands of years.  

The lifetime of CO2 is hardest to determine, because there are several processes by which it can be removed from the atmosphere.  65-80% of the carbon released into the atmosphere gets absorbed by the oceans over time, up to 200 years.  This carbon absorption causes acidification of the oceans, which poses a definite threat to food chains in the ocean.  The rest of the carbon is released by even slower natural processes that take several hundreds of thousands of years!  Millions of years ago, these natural processes helped to maintain earth's natural balance.   The polar ice caps, which trapped some of the carbon in ice, have contributed to the stabilization of the planet's atmosphere.

How do we know all this?  There are thousands of devices that measure temperature and acidity at different points in the oceans.  Satellites orbiting the earth measure the thickness of the polar ice caps and variables in the troposphere (upper atmosphere).  Polar ice core samples have been studied to reveal conditions on the planet year-by-year, going back nearly one million years.  From these ice core samples, scientists are able to extrapolate the climate, ocean temperature, vegetation on earth and amount of carbon in the atmosphere at any given time.

When there is a balance between the amount of heat we absorb from the sun and the amount of heat that escapes out into space, sea levels, ocean conditions, polar ice caps, and climates stabilize and become hospitable to life. The effect of carbon pollution caused by humankind is 10,000 times more powerful than the slow, natural cycles that have maintained earth's balance up to the present.  When there is too much carbon in the air, the phenomenon known as "global warming" occurs.

I need to stop here to explain that by "global warming," scientists do not mean that all of earth is going to become tropical.  When scientists speak of the temperature of the earth, they are talking about an average figure.  If you take the high and low temperatures for each day and add them up, then divide by 2, you will get an average for the day.  If you take all these daily averages for one year and add them up, then divide by 365, you get the average for the year.  If you take these averages and add them to the yearly averages of many points around the globe – arctic, temperate, tropical, and equatorial – then you get the global mean temperature for that year.  These temperatures are measured in degrees Celsius, which is confusing to Americans, who are still using the Fahrenheit scale.  Note that through it all the cold places remain cold and the hot places remain hot.  Just because it is snowing in April in South Dakota right now, that does not mean global warming is a myth.  If you think that, you don't understand global warming.

In only a few decades, the global mean temperature has gone up by 0.8˚C.  This is an increase of only about 1.44˚F.  You may think this is insignificant, but think about the human body for a moment.  The body temperature for a healthy male (females body temperature is not stable, even in healthy females, so we'll just use the guys for this example) is 98.6˚F.  Think about what happens when you have a temperature of 99˚F.   You feel a little sick, don't you?  If your temperature goes up to 100˚F you have a fever, and if it goes up to 101˚F you are considered to be very sick.  A rise in temperature of only six tenths of one degree is enough to make you feel sick, and a rise of only 2.6˚F is enough to make you seriously ill.  Now... what makes you think the earth is any different? 

When scientists began to notice this relatively rapid rise, they agreed that a rise in global mean temperature should not exceed 2˚C.   What if it rose by 4˚C?  It wouldn't change things much in the tropics, but the poles would be much warmer.  The polar ice caps are already melting.  This is causing global sea levels to rise.  The dark meltwater pools are absorbing warmth from the sun, which white ice would  have reflected back into space. Fresh water is flowing into the sea, changing ocean currents and the living conditions for marine organisms.  The polar ice cap has already shrunk to less than half the size, as measured in square kilometers, that it occupied 40 years ago.  That's a lot of melting!  An increase in global mean temperature of 4˚C or more would result in the melting of the ice caps altogether.

For 300,000 years before the Industrial Revolution, the maximum level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 280 ppm (parts per million), according to data from those core ice samples I spoke of earlier.  In 1957, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 315 ppm.  It has been rising at a rate of 2-3 ppm per year.  It was measured at 393 ppm in 2011.  Today it is 397.34.  You can keep track of this number here. If the carbon dioxide level should be allowed to rise to 450 ppm, the arctic ice caps will melt completely over time, causing destabilization to the planet's ecosystems, and threatening life on earth.  Keep in mind how long carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere.  Earth's systems would be in complete chaos for centuries, if not longer.  When the permafrost starts to melt, it releases methane gas, an even more powerful pollutant than CO2.  If this happens, global warming will be completely out of our control. We can already see evidence of this imbalance in the superstorms and the intense flooding or drought that have plagued us in the past few years.  The longer we allow carbon pollution to continue, the harder it will be for us to reverse the process of destabilization.

Dr. Hanson has estimated that the maximum safe level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is 350 ppm, which is why organizations of environmental activists have latched onto this number. 

How can we reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air?  Already people are beginning to "go green."  They are re-using what they have, reducing their waste, insulating their homes, and driving more energy-efficient cars, and that's all to the good.  However, these things alone will not reduce the total amount of carbon emissions to any significant extent.  

We could use a rationing system for carbon emissions, but the public would never stand for it,  especially now, when many people are worried about the amount of government oversight into their private lives.  As well, it would be extremely difficult to legislate and enforce. Cap and Trade agreements are already in force, but they have not been to effective in reducing carbon emissions.  These agreements set a cap on the amount of carbon that can be emitted, and permits are sold to companies whose processes result in the emission of carbon.  The permits can then be traded.  The caps in place are too weak to be effective, because politicians cave in to the demands of Big Business, particularly Big Oil, and because the fossil fuel industry is opposed to paying increased taxes.  Remember, folks, these are companies that make billions of dollars in profits each year.  Moreover, Cap and Trade is complicated and expensive and bureaucratic, resulting in endless negotiations and expensive legal disputes.  Lobbying has resulted in all sorts of loopholes and exemptions, further weakening the original Cap and  Trade agreements.

Another method of reducing emissions that is being touted is called Fee and Dividend. A fee would be collected by an independent agency from all companies that emit carbon dioxide into the air.  This fee would be assessed based on the amount of carbon emissions for each company.  Then the amount collected would be divided by the number of adult citizens of the country and distributed to them as a monthly dividend payment.  This system is not being talked about much right now in the United States, but be on the lookout for it – or something similar – in the future.

We must do much more than simply reining in the fossil fuel industry in order to clean up our atmosphere.  We must completely replace fossil fuels with clean, environmentally safe sources of energy such as wind power, hydroelectric energy, and solar energy.   It will take a combination of all of these energy sources to succeed, and it will take a lot of people power.  350.org and other environmental groups such as Sierra Club will be working together to raise awareness and get more and more people on board.  

How will you help?  :-)

Storing and Releasing Stress

Today is Monday, April 22, 2013.

A few years ago, Harold Klemp, the spiritual leader of Eckankar, admonished ECKists not to store stress in the body.  Whenever we become aware that we are storing stress, we are advised to "let one thing go."  This might sound like a strange thing for a spiritual leader to say, but it's a fact that when we are under stress, it's hard to go with the flow and thereby accept the help and protection provided by Divine Spirit. It's hard to get a grip on our problems, much less solve them, when we are under stress.

The causes of stress are many, especially in our modern world with its hectic lifestyle.  One of the things that I was looking forward to when I retired was getting rid of all the work-related stress that I was under.  The last few years I taught, when I happened to meet my friends who were recent retirees, I noticed that they looked great, especially after a couple of years of retired bliss.  One fellow had missed so many days of his last year of teaching that I think he must have ended up working only half-time.  I remember also that he walked slowly with a cane that year, his body all bent over.  When I chanced to see him in the mall a couple of years later, there he was without his cane, and standing tall and straight. He looked fabulous.  That was the first time I really noticed this particular benefit of retirement, and I began to notice it more regularly thereafter.  I was surprised to learn that there are stressors in retirement, as well.  They just aren't as bad as the ones we are typically under when we are working. 

I know for a fact that stress was one of the causes of my cancer. I remember two or three times in the months before my diagnosis when I snapped completely, frightening some of my friends in the process.  I was frightened, too.  Still, I soldiered on without making very many changes until my body crashed.

What is it that ties us in knots?  There are some general causes that can apply to anyone. They include a threat to our safety, fear of the unknown or of a negative outcome in the future, uncertainty about what may happen in the future, and cognitive dissonance, or the stress we feel when we hold two conflicting thoughts in our mind at the same time.

Certain life situations cause stress:  the death of a spouse, family member, or close friend, a serious injury or illness, pregnancy, a new baby, an argument with a spouse, family member, a close friend, a colleague, or the boss, marriage, separation, or divorce.   Victims of crimes such as theft, property damage, and sexual molestation feel stress.  Those who live with alcoholics, drug abusers and those who do self-harm store a lot of stress, too.  Physical changes such as new work hours, a promotion with increased responsibilities, moving to a new town, or lack of sleep can cause stress.  So can a new school, or a new job. Being thrown in jail causes stress – that seems obvious – but even going on vacation can cause stress.  Money causes all kinds of stress, whether you have lots of it or not.  Investors store lots of stress when their investments go south in the stock and commodities markets.  

Since I am not married and have no kids, many of the things listed above are ones that I won't have to worry about.  I've had arguments with friends and family over the years, but I haven't had to deal with any incidences of crime or a family member with drug or alcohol problem. My health issues have always been a source of stress, however.  The whole cancer experience was a huge stressor on so many levels.  As a cancer survivor who is always cognizant that cancer can come back, I analyze each and every little ache and pain, wondering each time if this one is something I need to worry about.  Naturally, the aches and pains show themselves at night and keep me awake for hours.

Moving has always been stressful for me, and having to move twice in the last 12 months has been particularly hard on me.  Having to leave my teacher friends, writing friends, church friends, and flower arranging friends was tough, and I have been so grateful for Facebook, where I have been able to keep up with many of my friends.

Money issues have been big in retirement, too, because I've had to cope with a significant decrease in salary, which means I have to worry about paying the bills and that I no longer have the financial resources to get out and have some fun whenever I feel like it. 

When I think about the amount of stress I had at work, I am no longer surprised that my body responded by allowing cancer cells to grow.  For many of us, the amount of paperwork we are required to do can be very stressful, as is handling staff who don't pull their own weight or refuse to follow the rules.  Both of these were problems in my job.  I had over 90 kids on my case load at school, and the paperwork was enormous, including testing and data entry for each student and filling out report cards for parents, as well as internal reports for my department.  As the ranking member of the English as a Second Language staff at my school, I was responsible for what my less senior colleagues did.  I remember one time when the principal was so mad at something the other ESL teacher did that he called me into his office, yelled at me, and threw some papers at me.  Of course, he was doing battle with his own stress, and since I knew he was facing quadruple bypass surgery soon, I didn't escalate the situation by screaming back, even though I felt like it.  As a testing coordinator for my building, I was under orders to make sure that all of the rules were followed, no matter how dumb they may have seemed.  When I read about the big standardized test cheating scandal in the Atlanta schools and saw that several building test coordinators went to jail, I realized that the threats of reprisal if we didn't follow the rules was very, very real. 

Sometimes at work, we realize that we have gone out on a limb and are no longer getting support from our colleagues or our supervisor, and that's another source of stress.  That happened to me a few times in my career.  It is stressful  no matter whether we choose to forge ahead without support and risk failing miserably, or whether we backtrack and try to make as graceful an exit as possible. I experienced both situations, and neither one was comfortable.

When supervisors make changes without giving staff adequate time to understand and prepare for them, the stress level rises all around.  This happened every single year that I taught.  There was one period where the school district changed report cards every year, and the sixth graders had a different format report card for each and every year of their elementary school years.  Some years the teachers were not even shown the new report card until only two or three weeks before we had to have them all filled out for the parents.  It was a mess. Each year, some new initiative was piled onto our plates.  No wonder teachers burn out at the end of their careers!

Workers who are required to do boring or mundane work or who work long hours suffer from stress.  When there is lack of communication in the workplace, or bullying going on among the workers, stress levels rise. Dissatisfaction with salaries and benefits also cause stress.  My job was far from boring or mundane, in the main, but I do remember that I had to do a lot of copying and preparation of samples for kids to look at and from which they could model their work.  Fortunately, I was not affected by bullying, but I was affected by certain staff members who were on a very short emotional leash, and who were apt to lash out in anger over petty things.  The term "office politics" doesn't seem to fit public schools, but there are as much politics and office intrigue in public education as in the world of for-profit business.

A certain amount of stress in our lives is unavoidable, and if you think about it, a life totally free from stress would probably result in a fairly dull life with no adventure and no growth.  Looking at the graph at right, as long as we stay in the green and yellow areas and remember to maintain a balance between those two, we are fine. In a normal lifetime a person gets into the orange area a few times, but ideally this stage doesn't last long, and the situations that elicit this level of stress are few and far between.  When we enter the red zone, we become a danger to ourselves and to others.

Sometimes it's very obvious that we are feeling stress, but occasionally we go into denial about the level of stress we are under.  When this happens, we stay in the orange zone too long. As the illustration at left shows, there are four main areas in which symptoms of stress can appear.

In the body, stress leads to headaches, frequent infections and illnesses, skin irritations such as eczema, muscle aches and twitches, general fatigue, and trouble breathing.  When stress is held long enough it can lead to colds and flu, asthma, heart disease, stomach ulcers, and cancer. 

Symptoms of stress in the mind include excessive worrying and negativity, muddled thinking, impaired judgement and having trouble making decisions.  At night we are plagued by nightmares and resulting lack of sleep.

Signals of stress in the area of emotions include depression, apathy, alienation from our friends and loved ones, general crankiness and sudden bouts of anger.  Full-blown post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can result from extreme chronic stress.

Behavioral signs of stress include either loss of appetite or binge eating, loss of sex drive, insomnia, restlessness, smoking and drinking to excess, and being especially prone to accidents.

***   ***   ***   ***   ***   ***

A story I read on Facebook today clarified for me the point at which the various problems that crop up in our lives turn into stress.

"A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the 'half empty or half full' question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: 'How heavy is this glass of water?'

"Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.

"She replied, 'The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn’t change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.' She continued, 'The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed – incapable of doing anything.'

"It’s important to remember to let go of your stresses. As early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don’t carry them through the evening and into the night. Remember to put the glass down!"

***   ***   ***   ***   ***   ***

 OK, so how can we "put the glass down"?    

To prevent stress from building up and being stored in the first place, we can listen to uplifting music, learn to manage our time (and carve out specific periods of time for relaxation), spend time outdoors enjoying nature, practice yoga or t'ai chi in addition to other types of exercise, and meditate daily for at least 20 minutes, either at the beginning of the day or just before bedtime.

We can turn an interest into a hobby that will take our minds off stress in our work and at home.   We can treat ourselves to any number of spa treatments, ranging from a manicure and pedicure (and if you are male, this applies to you, as well), to a facial, various types of massage, or other treatment, such as hydrotherapy tubs, saunas, steam baths, a salt glow treatment, a or body scrub.  Rates for spa services are often lower in winter than in summer, and lower during the week than on weekends. 

For those who have the luxury of paid sick days or personal days, don't be afraid to take a "mental health day" or a "stress vacation" once in a while.  I did this several times during my teaching career, but I still wish I'd done it more often.  

The end of winter and early spring are a tough time for those of us who live in cold climates.  This year has been especially hard on many of us, psychologically.  The reason I started to think about stress was because I was getting kind of negative about today's forecast for 3 to 5 inches of snow.  I guess it wouldn't hurt to think about spending more time outdoors when the weather warms up.  It would also be a good idea for me to meditate more regularly and add a hobby.  I have actually started a new one: making bead jewelry.  I'll spend a bit more time listening to music, too.  There's no sense in letting the weather forecast unhinge me.  :-/

A Woman Awakened

Today is Sunday, April 21, 2013.

When sleeping women wake, mountains move. –Chinese Proverb

The Chinese built a mighty civilization. If you read their history, it may seem that men had the better end of the bargain, but the piece of folk wisdom quoted above captures the truth beautifully, and not only for Chinese civilization, but for humankind, in general.  There's a funny thing about folk wisdom: it's the kind of thing that cannot be erased by official versions of history written by those in power.  It is not the kind of thing that governments can exert control over.  It gets passed down from generation to generation without benefit of being written down, shown on TV, or posted as a status on Facebook. Of course, having proverbs written down in books and posted on social media isn't a bad thing.  It's just icing on the cake.

In a lot of indigenous cultures, women had quite a bit of power; if not equal power, they had complementary power.  Perhaps instead of the word power, I should use the word responsibility.  Women had certain responsibilities that were theirs and theirs alone, and everyone knew what would happen if the women didn't keep their end of the bargain.   In many cultures, even though women lacked political power, their influence in child rearing and the family in general was powerful.

Women have an influence on others that runs deep.  As on online blogger noted, when ordinary people get in front of a TV camera, they say hello to their mom. When kids want to ask their parents for something, they generally ask mom.  If you want to start a fight with a man, mention something negative about his mother.   Successful men often attribute their success to the women in their lives: mother, sister, wife.   

Our great-grandmothers could not vote, and their mothers could not own property or even open a bank account in their own name.  We've come a long way, baby.  So many things have changed, thanks in large measure to the oft-maligned women's liberation movement.

Years ago, when "women's liberation" began to surface in the national consciousness, some people thought it was all about women burning their bras, withholding sex from men, emasculating men in the workplace, or abdicating their responsibilities for childbearing, raising children, and homemaking.  Frankly, back then, what women were taking off was their girdles, not their bras, but I guess it wouldn't have been as powerful a statement to burn their girdles, and it would have smelled pretty bad, too, since girdles were essentially made of latex rubber.

Now, we know that empowerment of women means empowerment for all humankind.  We know that women are not interested in replacing men or emasculating them.  Rather, women are interested in being respected for who they are and not whom they are married to.  They want to be recognized for what they can contribute to life, beyond propagation of the species.  They are interested in being compensated fairly, not only in terms of salary, but in terms of benefits, specifically health care.  Women are interested in being fairly and adequately represented in government.  They are interested in having their contributions recognized in business, academics, science, medicine, law, the arts, and sports, to name a few.

A lot of studies that used to be cited to show that women lacked self-esteem or problem-solving abilities are now regarded as seriously flawed.  Newer, more rigorous studies paint a different picture. Here are some facts about women that have been backed by recent studies, with thanks to Cosmopolitan magazine, Ekaterina Walter, author, business and marketing leader and speaker, and Dee Dee Myers, author of Why Women Should Rule the World.

1. Women learn better and often do better in school at all levels.
2. Women have higher IQ scores than men, on average.
3. Women tend to keep their surroundings, both at home and at work, cleaner and more sanitary.
4. Women tend to handle the stress of a job interview better, possibly because they do more to prepare for them.
5. Women tend to survive more accidents.  This may be because we wear seat belts more often than men.
6. Women are not afraid to ask for help and seek solace from others, and we therefore tend to handle stress better because we create our own support system.
7. Women are more recession-proof.  Did you know that 80% of the people who lost their jobs in the current recession have been men? Part of this might be attributed to the fact that women still tend to choose careers in education and health care, areas with low unemployment rates.
8. Women are more likely then men to graduate from college.  Women now hold more bachelor's degrees and graduate degrees than men, and women comprise one-third of all MBA candidates.
9. Women tend to eat healthier - and this may be because mothers still tend to pass on their cooking skills to their daughters rather than their sons.  
10. Women have stronger immune systems, thanks to the presence of estrogen in their bodies.
11. Women live longer.  85% of all people over 100 years of age are women, and women tend to live five to ten years longer than men, on average.
12. Women are better managers in the workplace for a number of reasons that I'll go into a bit later.  Nowadays, businesses find that they are much more profitable with women on board in high-level positions. 
13. Women make better financial investments than men.  This may be because women tend to invest more conservatively, with a greater attention to long-term goals.  Half of all stock market investors are now women.
14. Women make governments more representative because they support family and community issues and they bring a women's perspective to all issues.
15. Women drive over 80% of the consumer economy in the United States; they are responsible for about 5 trillion dollars in sales annually.  In worldwide studies, 90% of women who earn money choose to reinvest their money in their families and their communities. 
16. Women outnumbered men on the U.S. Olympic Team for the first time in 2012, with 269 women versus 261 men. 
17. Women dominate social media.  There are 99 million more female visitors than male visitors to social media sites each month.  Women tend to spend 30% more time on social media sites than men, and 55% of mobile social media use is by women.  Some of this has to do with the way we socialized before the Internet.  We have always socialized in groups such as coffee klatches, ladies auxiliary groups, quilting bees, sewing circles and the like.  Social media and blogging sites give women a more powerful voice in all areas, but especially in the area of politics.
18. More and more women are starting and running businesses.  One report estimated that 187 million women worldwide run a business, and that in the United States, women are starting up new businesses at 1.5 times the national average.   Women make up 51% of working professionals, and many women earn more than their mates.
19. Women tend to agree with men on priorities in life, contrary to common belief.  92% of men and 96% of women want to stay healthy.  74% of men and 81% of women think it's important to be financially secure.  73% of men and 72% of women think it's important to have a fulfilling job.  Having children is a priority for 60% of men and 66% of women.  (Those who think that all women must want to have children are going to be shocked at that statistic.)   The biggest difference between men and women is the priority placed on religious faith or a spiritual path.  58% of men and 68% of women thought this was important.
20. Women are essential to making peace in the world.  When the negotiation teams include women, issues such as food scarcity and sexual violence are more apt to be addressed.  With their penchant for bridging gaps and building consensus, they make great peace negotiators. 

What are some of the qualities that women in general can offer?  According to Susan Nelson-Hoeksema, author of The Power of Women, women have four main areas of strength.  Their mental strength is flexibility and creativity in finding solutions to problems, and a focus on getting the job done, rather than having things done their way.  Women are more comfortable trusting their intuition when making decisions.  

Women's identity strength comes from their ability to maintain a strong sense of themselves and their values. Their sense of themselves has to do with who they are, rather than what or how much they have. Women deal easily with change and uncertainty, because they do not view changes as a threat to who they are.  

Women's emotional strengths are more well-known these days.  Women tend to understand their own feelings and the feelings of those around them.  They are able to anticipate the emotional consequences of life situations, which makes them uniquely able to make major decisions, because they tend to take the long-term view.  

Finally, women's relational strengths are important not only in the home, but in business and other areas of life.  Women are better than men in connecting with people and forming strong social networks that function as their emotional support.  They are good at communicating to their colleagues in business settings the values, purpose and importance of the organization.  They are good at inspiring, encouraging, supporting, mentoring and empowering others.  They are good at getting the respect, support and loyalty of their colleagues, and they are strong in developing consensus and working toward the common good.  Also, women tend to multi-task naturally.

It is critical now that women begin to "step into their power and call the world into balance," in the words of Marianne Williamson and Jeanne Houston, authors of The Hero and the Goddess: The Odyssey as Pathway to Personal Transformation. How can we do this?   One way is to enlist the support of men by letting them know that empowering women is not a losing scenario for them, but a win-win scenario for everyone.  All we want is a society where the sexes are equal but not necessarily the same.  Women are looking for ways to share our strengths with men in a complementary fashion. Here are some other ways to empower women.

We can insist on better health care for pregnant women, and encourage young women to eat right, because we know that good nutrition produces healthier, smarter children.

We can see to it that girls finish high school and that they have opportunities to extend their schooling if they wish to. 

We can support women's businesses whenever possible. 

 We can support women who are running for government office, whether locally, at the state level, or nationally.  (If you're conservative, join the Susan B. Anthony List.  If you're liberal, join Emily's List.)

Women can learn to be financially stable.  There are all kinds of classes about managing money. Check out Suze Orman or the many organizations now dedicated to helping women start new businesses.

We can volunteer to be mentors for girls and young women. 

We can buy products made by companies that pay their women workers fairly.  Shop at serrv.org, kiva.org, and tenthousandvillages.com. Also check out the Fair Wage Guide at worldofgood.com.

We can use our blogs, our Facebook posts, and our Tweets to tell our friends about initiatives that empower and support women.  (That's why I wrote this blog entry.) :-)
 

Commitment

Today is Saturday, April 20, 2013.

What is a commitment?  Some people think it's a type of relationship.  Other people say it is the same as a promise.  Some call the various appointments on their calendar commitments.

Commitment is an agreement or pledge to do something in the future.  As long as it is just words, it's still just a promise.  You can turn your promise into a commitment by setting an intention, making a plan, and following that plan, no matter what obstacles you meet along the way.  A commitment involves action.  It involves integrity (making your actions match your words, thoughts, or beliefs).  It means overcoming obstacles.  It means going forward, even though you may have some doubts.   

One of my friends who helped me learn to drive as an adult often used a phrase that I still hear in my head every so often.  "Commit and go," she would say when I was dithering about making a turn or a lane change.  I had already put my blinker on, and I had already ascertained that it was safe, so what was holding me back?  I had to take action – to make the turn or lane change – when I said I would.  Otherwise I would confuse the other drivers on the road.

As regards intention, I am not talking about the word as used in the saying, "He had good intentions," which is the same as saying, "He means well."  Rather, I'm talking about a clear statement of purpose or goal.  My experience with intentions is that there are various levels of intention.  Some people really do want to get a certain thing done, but they just never get around to it.  They will do it "someday," but as we all know, someday is not today.  Or they say they will do it "in the future."  The problem is that you can never do anything in the future.  You can only take action right now.  I've heard the highest level of intention called "zen intention," probably because the practice of Zen meditation takes a great deal of commitment.

I remember reading the story that was told to illustrate Zen intention.  It was the story of an egg seller who had a farm up in the mountains.  He would come down to a town in the valley to sell his eggs every Tuesday.  One day when he came, he noticed that the town seemed deserted.  He knocked at the door of one of his customers, but the person didn't want to answer the door, and shouted, "Go away!" from behind the closed door. 

When the egg seller asked why, the man told him that there was a war going on.  The egg seller had not been aware of this, his farm being quite isolated. 

The man wouldn't open the door, so the egg seller went away.   None of his other customers bought eggs, that day, either.  But the following Tuesday, he went down to the town and knocked on his customers' doors, even though he could hear shooting going on. 

"Why are you here?" asked the customer?  "Can't you see there is still a war on?"

"But it's Tuesday," said the egg seller, "and I always sell my eggs on Tuesday."  That's Zen intention.

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"Commitment is what transforms a promise into reality," wrote someone whose name we shall never know.  "It is the words that speak boldly of your intentions.  And the actions which speak louder than the words. It is making time when there is none.  Coming through time after time after time, year after year after year.  Commitment is the stuff character is made of; the power to change the face of things.  It is the daily triumph of integrity over skepticism."  The kind of commitment spoken of here demonstrates a high level of intention to meet the goal.

Charles Stanley wrote, "Too many [people] have a commitment of convenience. They'll stay faithful as long as it's safe and doesn't involve risk, rejection, or criticism.  Instead of standing alone in the face of challenge or temptation, they check to see which way their friends are going."   To me, this demonstrates a very low level of intention, because the people Stanley is talking about only seem to be doing something because their friends are doing it.

Marcia Wieder, who styles herself as "America's Dream Coach," says that in order to set an intention, one must have a purpose, or have something to aim at.   She says, that there are four steps to setting an intention.

1. Get clear about what you want and write it down. Not only do you need to know what you want to do, you also need to set a time limit for achieving the goal and write down every step that you need to take in order to get to your goal.  If you're not sure of the later steps, write down the first one, anyway, and add to the list later.
2. Share your intention with someone who will support you.
3. Do something right away to demonstrate your commitment to your intention. This is where intention becomes commitment.  Keep crossing steps off your list.
4. Pat yourself on the back for doing what you said you would and then, take the next step.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen."   But what does that mean?

William H. Murray, author of The Story of Everest, explains: "Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back – always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way."  This seems almost too good to be true, but many people, including myself, have found it to be true that when they have a clear goal that they have fully committed to, all kinds of synchronicities occur.  Some may believe that they are just coincidences, but they're not.  The things that happen are the result of the universe responding to their intentions and commitment.  And why not?  If all Creation is energy, then movement of energy in one part of Creation is bound to set off movement in another part.  This  just makes sense.

My goal is to write a blog entry each day for one whole year.  My purpose in doing this is to practice the craft of writing while doing some serious thinking and hopefully achieving some clarity in my life.  My commitment is shown by the daily entries that I have made so far.   I have also started to write a few blog entries in advance, to cope with disruptions in my schedule.  In other words, I am anticipating obstacles and getting around them proactively.

I have other goals that aren't doing so well.  For example, my goal, when I weighted 250 pounds, was to lose 100 pounds, no matter how long that takes.  My purpose in making that goal was to be healthier and to make my body feel better.  To show my commitment, I joined Weight Watchers.  However, I haven't really been as careful with what I eat on a daily basis as I was when I first started.  Sure, I've lost 20 pounds already, but I seem to have hit a plateau.  So now, to show my commitment, I will have to find a way to punch through that plateau.  Today I renew my commitment to healthy eating in general and paying attention to everything that I eat on a daily basis. 

To strengthen and renew my commitment, I need to watch my daily attitudes and moods.  I need to find a way to be proactive about getting past the obstacles of my own making, including mood swings as well as schedule changes.  They've actually been talking about this in the Weight Watchers meetings.  I simply haven't been putting any of their suggestions into practice.  That's the doing aspect of commitment that I lack.  OK, some clarity there. :-)

Connected

Today is Friday, April 19, 2013. 

In Lak'ech

(I Am You/You are Me)

You are my other me.

If I do harm to you,

I do harm to myself.

If I love & respect you,

I love & respect myself. 

- Mayan Inspired Poetry

The ancient spiritual paths and many indigenous cultures of the world tell us that we are all connected, not only to each other, but to the earth and to God and all those Souls who exist in the worlds of spirit.  Now physicists are starting to come to the same conclusion. 

Many Native Americans and other indigenous people, encouraged by grassroots organizations such as Idle No More, are beginning to share the wisdom of their cultural worldview and spiritual teachings on the Internet, particularly on social media such as Facebook and Twitter, where their message finds a worldwide audience.  One of their most important messages these days is that all human beings must take a hard look at where modern technology is taking us, and how our need for natural resources to power our many modern devices is affecting Mother Earth. Compared with those of us who participate fully in the modern cultural milieu of the industrialized nations, many indigenous people are hyper-aware not only of the damage that is being done to the earth, but the damage we are doing to ourselves.  They know this is true because a belief central to their culture is that all life, all of Creation, is interconnected.

What does this mean?  

Well, for one thing, all of  Creation is energy.  This includes not only all heavenly bodies in the Universe, including our Sun and our Earth.  This includes the entire physical earth, as well as its atmosphere, all plants and the physical bodies of all animals and all human beings.  It doesn't matter if we are talking about a solid, a liquid, a gas, or a form of energy such as electricity.  All is energy.  As Soul, we are energy beings, as well, so we are energy both inside and out. 

Neil deGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist and Director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York City wrote, "Recognize that the very molecules that make up your body, the atoms that construct the molecules, are traceable to the crucibles that were once the centers of high mass stars that exploded their chemically rich guts into the galaxy, enriching pristine gas clouds with the chemistry of life. So that we are all connected to each other biologically, to the earth chemically and to the rest of the universe atomically. That’s kind of cool! That makes me smile and I actually feel quite large at the end of that. It’s not that we are better than the universe; we are part of the universe. We are in the universe and the universe is in us."

 Even more importantly, we can be connected in one other way, and that is by means of our thoughts. When our thoughts are in sync with each other, we are able to work together.  Our thoughts have the power to bring us together or keep us apart.  Our negative attitudes about each other's culture and beliefs underlie our unwillingness to work together for a common cause.  It has been said that we no longer have the option of not working together, if we wish to keep from destroying the earth to the point where it is uninhabitable.  

You may say that there is no danger of earth becoming totally uninhabitable in our lifetime, and you would be right.  But if we continue as we have been doing, the air, water and soil will eventually become so polluted that it will be difficult for our planet to sustain life.  At this point, Star Trek to the contrary, we have no place else to go.  It is up to each of us to take responsibility for the continuation of life on earth, to do what we can now, in order to create a future in which our descendants can survive and thrive.  Not one of us is excused from this responsibility.

The author of a page called Native American Spirituality and Thoughts, who chooses to remain anonymous, posted this thought the other day:  

"In this jet age when almost "instant there" is commonly accepted, the world has become very small. The days of remaining in one's own birthplace are near an end, and those who never dreamed of traveling have adjusted themselves to it quite well.

"And with shorter distances between us and our neighbors, it seems our worlds should find more opportunities for mutual understanding. But we must realize that even though our material worlds may be easily crossed, our thoughts are worlds apart. Until we can bring together a thinking people with the desire to create living conditions that are peaceful and full of kindness, fast travel can waver between good and bad.

"A British novelist and poet, George Moore, said, "It is thought, and thought only, that divides right from wrong; it is thought, and thought only, that elevates or degrades human deeds and desires."

* * * * *

In order to advance the process of understanding one another, we must begin by going within to achieve inner peace.  How can we do this?  The most important way is to learn how to quiet the mind and meditate.  There are any number of ways to do this, and no particular way is best.  Each of us is unique.  Find a way to meditate that is comfortable for you and that fits your lifestyle and your spiritual beliefs.  Another important skill is learning to rest.  When we take the time to rest, even for only a few minutes, we can relieve built-up stress that we have unknowingly stored in our bodies.  Many highly effective people know how to take a catnap, a very short period of sleep.

Here are some other suggestions for achieving inner peace. Take steps to simplify your life and learn how to do one thing at a time, rather than multitasking.   Take responsibility for your life, and take every opportunity to rectify mistakes when necessary.  Live in the present, without thinking so much of the past or the future, because your only chance to take action is the present moment.  Try to step back when you feel the need to judge someone, or when feelings of anger, resentment, fear, or worry threaten to overwhelm you.  Do whatever it takes to get your feelings under control before taking any action.  Learn to re-program your subconscious mind to resolve fears and old beliefs that limit your perspective and your parameters.  Cultivate gratitude, happiness, contentment, and love within yourself.  Act with courtesy, dignity, and respect at all times.  Let everything you do be for love and love alone.

When we cultivate inner peace, we find that our level of tolerance for others increases, and we are able to coexist with others in a state of harmony.  This is the point at which we can work together for a common cause.  

Many of us readily subscribe to the belief that all human beings were created by God, and yet we often act as if we haven't really internalized this belief.  If we are all children of God, how can we hate and fear one another?  

When we listen to each other, we begin to realize that our priorities in life are not that same as others' priorities.  In and of itself, that is fine, but it's a good practice to run through our own priority list every so often to update it.  Many of us are operating on a daily basis with an outdated set of priorities that were formed in the past.  Some of these priorities, these life goals, were passed along to us by our parents and teachers.  Some were established by our choice of religion or spiritual path.  Some were adopted wholesale from the societal "norms" of the culture that we grew up in.  

These days, there are many people who have stopped to assess their lives critically.  Many of these have made major career changes in order to "get out of the rat race."  Some have exchanged one "rat race" for another, but the fact remains that many people nowadays have taken steps, both large and small, to simplify their lives and live more consciously.  One of the most productive things we can ask ourselves is, "Why am I doing this?"  When we stop to ask this question, we are sometimes forced to realize that we are doing many things simply because we thought it was expected, or because we thought it would make us happy.  When we release ourselves from the expectations of others, the expectations of society as a whole, we are free to choose our own path.  When we realize that what we are doing is not making us happy, we are free to consider other goals in life that are more apt to give us a sense of peace, purpose, and pride of accomplishment.

Photo credit: Anamak Photography

I don't know about you, but when I re-assessed my priorities, I realized that what I really want is to live in peace and plenty. I want to work together with others to live in harmony with each other and with the earth.  I want to leave behind the mindset of competition, win/lose thinking, and artificially created lack.  I want to live in a world where all life is valued and honored, and where obtaining and accumulating money is not an end in an of itself.   I want to live in a world where hate and divisiveness is replaced by goodwill and inclusiveness.  I want to live in a world where people do not fear that which is different.  I want to live in a world where people approach others respectfully and resolve their differences peacefully. 

I want to eat nourishing food free from modification and  chemical additives.  I want to live in a clean environment that is not polluted by hazardous chemicals.  I want to find clean energy sources that will not harm the earth. I want to find modes of transportation that do not contribute to harmful changes in the climate.  I want to live in harmony with all life, and I want to leave a light footprint on the earth.   :-)