A New Year

 Greetings to all!

As we approach a New Year, I am thankful for every new day and for the opportunities and challenges that the future may present. 

Although the current state of events may seem at times daunting, with much of the world and the various countries polarized and at war, these times may abound with opportunities and possibilities for evolution and growth. 

Real change isn’t always easy. The old ways often have a tight grip on us both personally and on a planetary level. And yet, what may seem difficult for us now is often obvious to the next generation. 

Those embedded in the old ways and attached to keeping the status quo sooner or later age and drop away. That which is difficult to change today might not seem so relevant in the light of a new day, year, or decade. 

History teaches us that changes deemed unlikely in the short term often inevitably occur in their own good time. 

The old ways may not let go easily, but will fall away like colorful leaves in the fall. They may have their day, but soon enough they make way for the new growth of spring.

The optimist in me knows that even when the immediate future appears bleak, sooner or later, just as it always has in the past, the growth of spring awaits.

Be of good cheer, and never lose hope and faith that the future holds Good as well as bad. 

As it has always been, so shall it be. No sincere effort ever is wasted. We create our future.

Happy New Year!

Namaste,

Daniel

Beliefs

 Many of the difficulties encountered when we try to reason with people who hold views different from ours arise not from flawed logic (on either side), but rather from what story, or sometimes rather who, you believe. This seems to be applicable to both local and world politics. 

It’s not about who you agree with, It’s often about who you believe, or who you choose to believe.

Although I have my personal beliefs, as hard as this is for me, I am trying to see and understand the apparent validity of the opposite position taken by a considerable percentage of our population. 

The more that I look, the more I see that people’s beliefs about human nature predisposes them to sometimes either accept or deny that which in more normal times might be considered to be factual evidence, on both sides. 

If wisdom is that which is gained through experience, then it becomes of paramount importance for us to create examples rather than arguments for our particular stances on these subjects, and have faith in the ability of the human spirit to rise to the occasion and recognize that which is right for them.

My mind keeps wanting to argue that which seems obvious to me, but this doesn’t seem to work. I see the same obstinateness coming from proponents with other views of what is real. 

The true work, then, must be to find something deeper, that which both sides must agree upon.

The Dalai Lama has said that we all share a desire to be happy. Perhaps if the attention is drawn away from the arguments of the head, and towards the feelings of our hearts, we might find some common ground, and find compassion for each other.

Based on this commonality, perhaps the seeds of something new might grow.

Perhaps the option of a meeting where both sides can agree may present answers to the impasse at which we currently find ourselves. 

What would Jesus Do?, or, What would Buddha Do?, … Fill in the blank and use your own Spiritual example that works for you…!

Music

“If there’s a World here in 100 years, one of the main reasons will be Music. 

It can leap over barriers of politics, and leap over barriers of religion and race, and people who never thought they’d be doing the same thing together will be listening and joining in, on the same song.”

            - Pete Seeger

Namaste, 

Daniel

Youtube, VR, and Blinding Glimpses of the Obvious

 Lately I sometimes find myself overloaded and pulled out of balance by all the highly polarized input to which we might be subjected to just living in the 21st century. 

I offer here a small sample of my attempt to balance this with a widely varied assortment of available programming found on the screen of what the Eskimos have sometimes called the “Talking Lamp”, our video screens. 

If we look for it, we may find many first person accounts/reports by travelers exploring and sharing their experiences. Sometimes the terrain described is actual geographical travelogue material; sometimes these reports may traverse the paths of scientific or sociological discovery, explicating discoveries in the realm of ideas. 

The refreshing and invigorating quality of these armchair travels that we may partake in is often generated by their lack of any specific propaganda or hidden agendas. We are not being told what to think, but are simply being shown what the presenter has found, without guile or subtle manipulation.

This quality may sometimes be found in good fiction. The presentation may allow us to draw our own conclusions, and sometimes offer us new options that might generate hope and sometimes more creative and positive mental pursuits than the tired ruts that channel our thoughts down the negative roads that often may control our thoughts and mental state.

Some samples of my recent Youtube viewing, which might be very different according to one’s taste, (including current events, travel records, music, hobbies, and assorted research found by googling various subjects), follow:

They are  varied, and some posts may be more to my liking than others. These are not meant to be recommendations, but rather a starting place for you to find what might excite you: 

Mat’s Off Road Recovery, Eva Zu Beck, Peter Santenello, History of the Universe, Trevor Noah, No Perfect Plan,  Playing for Change, Paul Simon, assorted Astronomy posts, American politics and Ukraine war updates, and much more.

         

Namaste, Daniel

A T'ai Chi Lifestyle

 Inflation, war, extreme political polarization, are just a few of the stressors prevalent in many of our daily lives. These and many other challenges to our mental, emotional and physical health seem to be noticeable more and more, especially as we rely these days on television, radio, and social media both to keep current and to entertain us and distract us from our own personal issues and stuff. 

These days T’ai Chi seems to be some good medicine to balance the constant drama that is available through the media. For me, sometimes watching the “Talking Lamp” (television, which for me often consists of commercial-free Youtube, sometimes current events such as American politics or the war in the Ukraine, and sometimes travel/adventure threads, often off-road or National park sojourns).

It can be a thin line between healthy relaxation, and an indulgence in escapism, getting caught up in dramas that are not here and now, which can sometimes rob me of time better spent involved in my own real life activities. 

Ideally there should be a balance between both active and passive pursuits.

It used to be said that “After a certain age it’s all downhill”, but the new paradigm, that seems much more optimistic, might be “Use it or lose it.”, which one can apply to physical, but also to intellectual or emotional pursuits. These areas for me might include interpersonal or community oriented activities.

As I grow older, I find that I have become a part of several communities, each of which may open the door to new and interesting possibilities and opportunities for growth and service. 

For the past year I have a renewed interest in astronomy, after a forty year hiatus, and last enjoyed in my youth. Recently the rainy season has slowed down my stargazing activities, but the door to a wonderful new community has opened and brought me new friends and activities that help me stay young and active.

Namaste, 

Daniel

Reframing

 Ta’i Chi may sometimes require different responses to maintain balance in different situations. Some situations may suggest a passive response, where-as other external environments might require a more active correction to restore balance. 

For one’s own inner balance, it might sometimes be useful to differentiate between anger or frustration, on the one hand, and righteous indignation, on the other. 

Righteous indignation, while appearing to be an expression of such out-of-balance states as anger/frustration, does not necessarily have to throw one off balance. Recognition of this might sometimes help to restore one’s equanimity and balance when viewed from a larger, more encompassing perspective. 

The following example, in retrospect, seems somewhat petty compared to what I have seen lately transpiring around the world, of a much more serious nature. I offer my sincere apologies to those suffering much more serious problems than that presented below. However, I report this example as something that might help those under extreme stress to find or maintain their balance under such adverse conditions.

Last month I picked up a paycheck for my occasional neuropsych testing work, and went to the bank to cash it. There were about four or five people in front of me in the line, but each customer seemed to take about fifteen minutes, even those who, like myself, only had simple transactions. When I arrived there were two tellers, but after completing only one transaction, one of the tellers closed her window, leaving only one.

After waiting in line for almost an hour, including some time I occupied doing some standing stretches, and later joking with the customers next to me in line that maybe they had run out of money, and couldn’t go on to the next customer until more came in. 

By the time I was close to the head of the line, I felt so irate that I expressed my displeasure and frustration aloud, and told a teller at the disabled window between customers that the manager didn’t seem to be doing a very good job of taking care of their customers. 

Usually I try to be a model of civilized politeness, and after I returned home and cooled off, I felt a little bit ashamed of my behavior. I felt that I had lost my cool. I felt that I had not behaved well, and this disturbed me. 

That evening, after some sleep, I awoke and found that I had reclaimed my balance. I realized that I had been concerned of what people must have thought of me. Upon consideration it occurred to me that perhaps, in retrospect, what I had said needed to be said. The bank was not treating its customers as they would want to be treated themselves, and nobody there except me had spoken up.

I had, by reframing the transaction, let go of my bad feelings that were keeping me from being in balance and was able to feel good about what had transpired.

Sometimes we just need to forgive ourselves for not being perfect, and be able to move forward in balance in order to present our best selves for the sake of the future that we create.

Namaste,

Daniel

Accepting Contrasting Ideas

 Once upon a time, it was thought that the Earth was flat. 

Before Galileo, the Earth was considered to be the center of the universe. 

Little more than 100 years ago, the size of our known universe was limited to our galaxy. (Before Harlow Shapley, the other galaxies were thought to reside within our own galaxy.)

More recently, the theory of tectonic plates, by which the continents were formed into their current state, was considered pseudoscience. 

Much that we accept as fact today, when it was first proposed, was met with scepticism by many, and was strongly challenged by those who held the accepted prior world view. 

As humankind moves beyond the boundaries of our planet Earth, one wonders what new understanding will be generated by what we find. 

Some new fields of endeavor to consider that might challenge our current views range from the cosmological (The new James Webb Space Telescope) to the subtle differences encountered in different gravity fields (Zero or variable G T’ai Chi?), and encompassing such varied and growing fields as those defining Life, Intelligence, Consciousness, and Communication, beyond our home environment.

My interest in this process, whatever the application, is to facilitate communication between differing sides, with both sides not only listening to, but also trying to see and understand any alternative postures, in order to perhaps gain anything of value from them. Both our democracy and our use of the scientific method might benefit from this.

Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis

The Law of Three, or the Dialectic method, suggests that by beginning with a thesis, and contrasting with an antithesis, one might benefit in many ways from any synthesis that might present itself.

(This, coupled with the law of Harmonics, The Law of Seven, might suggest the possibility of Generalization of the principles involved so that they might be applied in other areas and perhaps other scales.)

Unfortunately, particularly in the political arena, we sometimes get stuck before getting past the thesis - antithesis stage, mainly because of the extreme polarization often encountered due to attachment to a particular result. 

We might be able to see this more objectively in the scientific arena, which abounds with many historical cases within which one may find some possibilities for solutions. This might be useful in both the scientific and political arenas.

These thoughts might suggest some paths towards an alternative wherever extremely counterproductive or dysfunctional highly polarized situations are encountered.

They are offered here to possibly help in many arenas of discourse, be they personal, political, or ideational in nature.

With each passing day the world seems to be getting smaller, as the stakes grow larger and more global. 

Hopefully all of us, with all our differing views, may all find enough common ground to work out solutions and all live on this planet together.

 

Namaste,

Daniel

Consequences

 Well, it’s been a busy couple of weeks. Among the contenders, (not all bad), two plumbing problems, a carpentry repair, a brief and delightful house guest, several last minute schedule changes (some actually good!), and some unavoidable obligations. 

I can’t complain. Some people are having real problems, like having bombs dropped on them, or starvation. Hopefully we will all survive. 

Endeavors that move us forward in that direction are always welcome.

Our T’ai Chi practice suggests that practicing our form might bring good health not only for ourselves, but also to others, both near and far.

In the long run, concepts such as honesty and truthfulness, integrity, empathy, compassion, and generosity of spirit all reap positive results on many levels.

That actions and thoughts have consequences, both positive and negative, seems to be borne out by current  events lately in many areas. 

That which some may call Karma seems as simple as common sense to those whose view is not limited to short sighted solutions. 

Modern media, social media, website options and search engines, all contribute to a more transparent environment on both sides. Those who thrive on deceit are often caught in their own lies, while the truth is also more available to those who desire it. 

As the saying goes, “You pays your money and you takes your choice.”

With modern media options, sooner or later, the truth will out.

History will record both the honors and the dishonor due to the various players in due time.

Namaste,

Daniel

Seeing the Good

 My last few months’ blogs seem to have been colored by a response to global events. 

I feel that this month, rather than continuing in this vein, I might pray for the inspiration to somehow move forward beyond reaction and hopefully move us all toward a new and more positive future.

Speaking plainly, there will always be some crap in all our lives. The important thing to remember, that which gives us both Hope and Healing, is that thats’ not all there is in our lives. 

In the same world with war and disease, despots and injustice, there is also the magic of Creation, new discoveries every day, from astrophysics and the James Webb telescope to the microbiology of covid vaccines, from polluting energy to clean energy, from competition to co-operation.

Historically the old ways don’t always give in gracefully to the new. 

Often they die out of old age and their own weight, and are gradually replaced by the new.

It has been said that “If you build a better mouse-trap, the world will beat a path to your door.”

“You may say that I’m a Dreamer,

But I’m not the only One.”   -John Lennon

Namaste,

Daniel

Working With People

A Humanistic approach to group dynamics

Lately it seems that the world has arisen to a new level of challenges, that bring more stressors to the table than we might be used to dealing with in our lives before the recent ‘Perfect Storm’ of pretty much worldwide events that we now face.

These include: 1) the Covid pandemic, 2) a highly polarized political situation with little or no ability to compromise, in many countries, 3) an economic future that includes inflation, shortages, and a somewhat bleak future for many, and 4) most recently, a new war.

Strategies for dealing with these challenges may share a common difficulty, the inability of various factions to accept the other factions’ world view of what might be the best way to make things better. 

In each of these four arenas (health, politics, economics, conflicting ideologies),  we might begin by finding and concentrating on our commonalities rather than our differences. 

In each case, we begin with two alternative premises, each with its own scenario of how things  should be done. 

When proponents of divergent agendas interact, it can sometimes be difficult. Each side might have a different idea of what the priorities are.

In order to work together, be it in a work situation, a project in which the participants are volunteers, or perhaps within a political arena, things tend to go better when all involved parties concerns are accomodated.

Sometimes compromises acceptable to all are required and a pre-requisite might be that all involved individuals need to be willing to listen to the concerns of others and try to see what can be done to accomodate the other side in order that their own concerns will also be accomodated, to the point that all sides concerned may be accomodated.

Of course, this won’t work if there is no desire to make things better for all, as in a war of aggression, but it might be useful for many people of good intention but differing world views.

More simply put, people should help each other and support each other, in order that their own concerns might be treated similarly by those not sharing their own priorities and views.

The lesson to be learned from this is that we are stronger and more capable when we work together and support each other’s goals, even if they aren’t our own.

As my Mom used to say, 

“You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar!”, 

and also, 

“One hand washes the other!”

Jamgon Kontrul, in his The Direct Path to Enlightenment has said:

“Drive all Blames into one.”, (Let go of blaming, it usually doesn’t help.)

and right after that, 

‘Be Grateful to Everyone.”

Very Best to All!  (Mom also would say “This too shall pass.”),

Daniel

Making Room for the Future

 It would be nice if we might be able to start anew without first dealing with our past that we sometimes carry with us.

Some of the time we find that we need to pay our respects to each item in our closet before throwing it away when it no longer fits us.

At other times we may decide to just carry out our boxes of old stuff to the trash without a second glance.

Each situation is unique.

Circumstances may sometimes intervene.

A flood or storm, a war, a plague or illness might take our strongest attachments from us and not leave the choice to us…

T’ai Chi as a Prayer

Each movement in T’ai Chi may be considered as a Prayer, as a request for simplicity and economy that is made non-verbally to the components of which we are made, and that which resides within those parts.

As we move we are asking for cooperation, communication, and respect for all that lives within what we consider to be our selves. 

As we might observe if we look, no effort is wasted, and what we put into our endeavors is often what we get out of them, sometimes when we least expect such results.

Blessings to All,

Daniel

The Elephant in the Room

 I usually try to avoid discussing politics or other controversial subjects that might further polarize various factions, and thereby sometimes make things worse, rather than bringing things to a mutually beneficial solution. 

Current world events seem to have made this path a bit challenging.

I would like to write about the situation that has developed in the area around Russia and the Ukraine, and how tyranny and aggression inevitably must end badly for those who strive to take what is not theirs.

When Hitler’s regime acted thusly in the past, he was allowed to do much harm to those around him before he was stopped. In the name of fairness, and sometimes out of fear of the bully’s power, by the time sufficient action was taken, it took years to stop Hitler’s brutal aggression.

But I will not write more in this vein, as my intention must be to make things better, and further polarizing the world into armed camps might not achieve this.

If one was all powerful, stopping aggression when and where we see it might seem logical.

A psychological solution might present other options.  If one can remove the reward for such behavior, so that it doesn’t work for the aggressor, this might present other possibilities. When the behavior is not rewarded, and has no payoff, A better outcome might occur.

If one wants the wealth that another country has, removing that wealth might be a saner way to stop the stealth of that wealth.

In the current situation, perhaps ownership of the wealth within the Ukraine might be transferred to residents or partners in other countries who might be able to defend it. (NATO countries?). The owners of said Ukrainian properties might follow the lead of the Chinese, who have invested heavily in companies worldwide. 

Such diversified ownership might be much more difficult to steal by aggression.

 Murder and bombs might find proper labeling as war crimes when played out on this more international stage, and by having something to offer, the smaller countries’ larger allies might become more invested in stopping these crimes.

The reason the Ukraine is being attacked is because they have wealth. If they use this wealth to buy their freedom from aggression, it won’t be available to be taken, it will grow and they will prosper. 

Divest their wealth (Land, minerals, etc.) immediately, internationally, and it won’t be such easy pickings.

The countries that would not risk coming to aid the attacked would surely be more likely to take the risk in order to protect their investments. (World Bank?) Combined with economic sanctions already begun, this might be much more realistic than mere sanctions alone. 

If this seems like a fairytale, and not likely in the “Real world”, perhaps those more in touch with the practicalities involved might still be able to find some of this useful.

The key to it all is that it would work through parties working together in balance, without the further dysfunctional polarization that keeps us from working together.

Namaste (The Light within me salutes the Light within you),

Daniel

Healing

 Mr. Chow would sometimes say that there were three levels of T’ai Chi. At the first level we might use it to heal ourselves. At the second, we might be able to use it for self defense. At the third level we might be able to heal others.

Creating a safe space

During my internship as a mental health counsellor, a few years back, I worked with adolescents and kids who were in the middle. They were not in residential programs and, at the other end of the spectrum, they were not in a stable enough situation to come into a clinic for therapy. I traveled to their homes, schools, or met with them at a library near their homes that was able to provide a room for therapy.

The process of therapy often involved creating a space in which the patient could feel safe expressing their thoughts and feelings, sometimes through speech, but often through their actions, or ‘play’ therapy of various types. 

I later found that, if troubled people of any age were given the opportunity to ‘Let their hair down’, or let out what was bothering them, then they were less likely to need to act out their problems in school, at home, or in other, less appropriate situations.

PTSD like stressors seem to be endemic in many people’s lives in our modern world, and the need for a safe space in which people may find their balance seems more important than ever if our planet is to move toward healing. 

Part of  this process involves ‘not reacting’ to what transpires out of fear or anger, but instead, coming from our own place of sanity and balance. 

Sometimes this may be challenging. When someone throws their irrational anger and fear at us, our first impulse might be defend ourselves, or to run away, or to fight the anger with our own anger. 

Instead, what is required for the healer, no matter how difficult this is, is to not respond out of anger or fear. Sometimes, if we don’t react at all, the behavior doesn’t seem to work for them, and tends to be left behind. We call this healing.

When we forgive these expressions of anger in others, we may find that it is possible to also forgive our own imperfections, and find ourselves outgrowing them.

The balance we create within ourselves may thereby spread and heal others.

As Mrs. Chow used to say, “To teach is to learn twice.”

Namaste,

Daniel