It is generally agreed that the most important single function of government is to secure the rights and freedoms of individual citizens. - Ezra Taft Benson
So I read this legislation: The Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment Bill 2013. On the face of it, it looks like a hard line stance against people associating for the purposes of illegal activity. If you have been wondering what all the hoohah is about, here are a couple of salient problematic points.
1. Under the act: An 'association' can mean a group of 3 or more people gathered in association whether constituted ( as in a club or association ) or informal (as in a bunch of friends) whether legal or illegal. Bottom line this means a group of 3 or more people in any situation can be deemed to be in 'association'.
2. Police action is linked to 'proscribed offences' (from unlawful assembly, and riot to more serious crimes like drugs and murder) i.e. if you commit an a proscribed offence in association with 2 other people then this Act covers your actions.
If these fundamentals are fulfilled then you have committed an offence under the Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment Bill 2013. As such the courts are obligated to sentence you for the 'crime' and add an additional 15 years mandatory imprisonment above and beyond the initial sentence. If at the time your were an 'office holder' (this covers informal organisers, leaders as well as officials of a formal association) then you will also attract an additional 10 years mandatory sentencing (mandatory means the court has no discretion not to add this sentence).
So for example: If you committed armed robbery as the leader of a bikie gang, you might attract a sentence of 7 years for the armed robbery, 15 years manadatory sentencing as a member of the gang, and an additional 10 years as an official of the gang. A total of 32 years imprisonment with no parole considered on the 25 years extended sentence.
Any thinking, socially conscious person might be excused for thinking "Well if they were acting lawfully they wouldn't be in trouble... so throw away the key!"... To be honest, I am not far off that opinion either HOWEVER this is NOT the full story here.
If this armed robbery was committed with a bunch of mates you are acquainted with... you would also fall under the same rules of association.
You might still say "do the crime do the time". Fair enough.
3 teenagers who shoplift together... on my reading they would still fall under the rules of 'proscribed offence' and 'rules of association'....
Still you might say "throw away the key"... I might not disagree.
Now consider this article : Taking to the streets of Brisbane
Under the new act anyone participating in these protests, if they occured now, would attract mandatory sentencing of 10 years per person and 25 years for protest organisers. (keep in mind unlawful assembly is one of the proscribed offences in the act). Police and the courts do not have the discretion NOT to charge someone covered in this act. It is mandatory.
OK now I hear you say that's all history and we are smarter now? more enlightened?... hmm are we? ... Often it is actions like these that protest the status quo that has historically made the most drastic and positive changes in our society. As the saying goes...what we don't learn from we are doomed to repeat.
Most of the women's sufferage protests would have been illegal under this new Act. Women would never have got the vote, as the organisers would have been spending a life sentence in prison.
Women's Sufferage Chronology
There is a strong history of student activism in this country. Student protests are often ad hoc, emotional, responses to a diverse range of concerns. Often guilty of unlawful assembly, most of these protests would fall under the Act. If you do not obtain a permit (from the government) to hold a 'lawful' protest as a group then you will potentially be also covered by this Act. It would be a travesty to spend 15 years in jail for protesting a rise in student fees.
These out of control teen parties would also now be covered by this new act.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/technology/news/reforms-crack-down-on-parents-and-teens-to-control-facebook-parties/story-fniho3wq-1226675350420
http://www.themorningbulletin.com.au/news/party-safe-helps-avoid-problems/1990625/
Time will tell how this legislation will impact the average person in our (yes ours not the government's!) society. Whether the latitude in the Act will be exploited to control the population. (Keep in mind the government is OUR servant not the other way around). Let's hope little Johnny isn't caught up in a drunken teen party that gets out of hand, or anyone wants to gather in the Queen Street Mall to protest this government's new range of behaviour modifying legislations. If you do want to protest, make sure you do it alone, do not discuss it with friends, and make sure you have a permit to do so.
It begs the question. "If it is determined that the state parliament have breached the constitution, and as an association of peers will they be held accountable under the Act?" .. Ok that's bit tongue in cheek... but keep in mind this legislation was passed with no research, and no public consultation in three days of closed parliament. You will hear the government consistently quote "It is only a minority who are against this legislation, most Queenslanders are behind us" ... Again there is no research and no evidence of this. It is all just spin and hype. If you are one of those who accept that "if I think that everyone else thinks something then I might as well agree" then read no further. Turn off your brains you don't need them anymore.
On last comment: Politics has NO BUSINESS directing the judicial system. They are separated for VERY good reasons. This should worry us all.
If you would like to read this legislation in full click on the link below. This Act will be reviewed in 3 years lets hope some sanity is regained. I have my doubts. When has any government relinquished control once granted.
Link to the Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment Bill 2013
Caveat to the above: I am not a lawyer. I have no legal qualifications. I am just an interested observer as you should be.
Monday, November 4, 2013
Thursday, September 30, 2010
On awareness and healing...
Recently a friend asked me what my take on psychic awareness and healing is...
Firstly to separate the concepts... psychic? I don't like the term because it implies some 'special' ability for something I like to think of as a sixth sense which everybody posseses. The difference is that people who are 'psychic' or 'naturally psychic' are more aware of what they are listening to. I think children are naturally aware and we train ourselves out of listening to this sense... or perhaps simply begin to take it for granted as we become comfortable and implicit with the information...
The information we gain from our sixth sense is a bucket of awareness that sits outside of our physical senses... for example when you walk into your home after having been away... you know if someone has been there, is there or if your home is empty. If someone stares at you across the room... you can feel it. Mothers know when their kids are misbehaving... etc it involves intuition, interpretation, imagination and visualisation. When trained and understood I believe this we like to call psychic.
However the extension of this thinking is an understanding that we are not just physical and mental beings but also spiritual or energetic beings. I believe that true health is a balance between these three aspects of the human condition.
We are very familiar with the symptoms of physical ill health... pain, swelling, nausea.. etc. Mental health symptoms are also familiar and an accepted part of modern medical practice... yet even today with evidence to the contrary we often are oblivious to the effect of spiritual health to our overall wellbeing.
Sports people are very familiar with maintaining a balance across these three human aspects during intense training regimes. They will train and feed their bodies, learn skills and strategies to exercise their minds, and motivate and visualise to energise their spirit.
In regard to healing, I don't believe in psychic healing I do believe in tools to heal the body, the mind, and most definitely tools to heal the spirit and that by aligning all aspects in a positive direction that the maximum potential for healing can take place.
The health of the body can determine how we feel mentally, and how we feel mentally can determine the health of our body. This is generally accepted by modern medicine. If you however accept that we are also energetic or spiritual beings then you must also accept the extension that the health of our spiritual aspect can also affect our physical and mental health.
This is in no way a discourse on religion or its merits however most religions have a central focus on spirituality. Simply by merit of identifying our spiritual aspect we are able to bring into focus the integration of mind, body, and spirit. A successful maintenance program of physical, mental and enrgetic wellbeing with ensure you maximise your potential for good health.
So what are the tools of our three human aspects. For the body you will already be familiar with nutrition, hygiene and exercise. For your mind speech, learning and problem solving. Finally, for your spirit, imagination and visualisation.
Think about it. Feed your body and exercise it. Teach your mind and think. Imagine and energise your spirit by visualisation.
An Olympic sprinter will exercise and feed his body. This will increase muscle mass, it will train his body for a specific response to the activity of his event. He will learn the skills, feet positioning, strategies needed to complete the event. He will also imagine and visualise himself winning, breaking the ribbon, and standing on the podium. It is a accepted and encouraged integration of mind, body and spirit that will turn him into a medal winning athlete.
So the question is if this is what it takes to maintain an athlete at peak performance, why don't we apply the same methodology to our everyday lives. Maintaining our physical, mental and energetic well being is infinitely easier than what is required to create a world class athlete. The benefits of maintaining this balance far outway the effort involved and could hold the key to better health, happiness and longevity.
Something to think on anyway... and to be continued
Firstly to separate the concepts... psychic? I don't like the term because it implies some 'special' ability for something I like to think of as a sixth sense which everybody posseses. The difference is that people who are 'psychic' or 'naturally psychic' are more aware of what they are listening to. I think children are naturally aware and we train ourselves out of listening to this sense... or perhaps simply begin to take it for granted as we become comfortable and implicit with the information...
The information we gain from our sixth sense is a bucket of awareness that sits outside of our physical senses... for example when you walk into your home after having been away... you know if someone has been there, is there or if your home is empty. If someone stares at you across the room... you can feel it. Mothers know when their kids are misbehaving... etc it involves intuition, interpretation, imagination and visualisation. When trained and understood I believe this we like to call psychic.
However the extension of this thinking is an understanding that we are not just physical and mental beings but also spiritual or energetic beings. I believe that true health is a balance between these three aspects of the human condition.
We are very familiar with the symptoms of physical ill health... pain, swelling, nausea.. etc. Mental health symptoms are also familiar and an accepted part of modern medical practice... yet even today with evidence to the contrary we often are oblivious to the effect of spiritual health to our overall wellbeing.
Sports people are very familiar with maintaining a balance across these three human aspects during intense training regimes. They will train and feed their bodies, learn skills and strategies to exercise their minds, and motivate and visualise to energise their spirit.
In regard to healing, I don't believe in psychic healing I do believe in tools to heal the body, the mind, and most definitely tools to heal the spirit and that by aligning all aspects in a positive direction that the maximum potential for healing can take place.
The health of the body can determine how we feel mentally, and how we feel mentally can determine the health of our body. This is generally accepted by modern medicine. If you however accept that we are also energetic or spiritual beings then you must also accept the extension that the health of our spiritual aspect can also affect our physical and mental health.
This is in no way a discourse on religion or its merits however most religions have a central focus on spirituality. Simply by merit of identifying our spiritual aspect we are able to bring into focus the integration of mind, body, and spirit. A successful maintenance program of physical, mental and enrgetic wellbeing with ensure you maximise your potential for good health.
So what are the tools of our three human aspects. For the body you will already be familiar with nutrition, hygiene and exercise. For your mind speech, learning and problem solving. Finally, for your spirit, imagination and visualisation.
Think about it. Feed your body and exercise it. Teach your mind and think. Imagine and energise your spirit by visualisation.
An Olympic sprinter will exercise and feed his body. This will increase muscle mass, it will train his body for a specific response to the activity of his event. He will learn the skills, feet positioning, strategies needed to complete the event. He will also imagine and visualise himself winning, breaking the ribbon, and standing on the podium. It is a accepted and encouraged integration of mind, body and spirit that will turn him into a medal winning athlete.
So the question is if this is what it takes to maintain an athlete at peak performance, why don't we apply the same methodology to our everyday lives. Maintaining our physical, mental and energetic well being is infinitely easier than what is required to create a world class athlete. The benefits of maintaining this balance far outway the effort involved and could hold the key to better health, happiness and longevity.
Something to think on anyway... and to be continued
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Is it just me... ?
Is it a sad reflection of our society that we have such poor, insipid leaders? Is this the best our society can produce? The current election has already bored most people to tears with the lack of policy differentiation, and lack of genuine political backbone... Is this the election the nation just has to have? I, for one, can think of better ways to spend my time than watching two very bad actors play their parts, propped up by bad scripting.
It is disappointing to me that two experienced politicians like Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott believe that the average constituent is a moron. With slogans like 'moving forward' and 'fair dinkum' do they really believe Australian public is so naive and gullible? Even the most unsophisticated voter has very real issues they would like addressed. Issues that affect our day to day quality of life.
Let look at some of the BIG issues this election....
Boat People...
Our borders are under threat! No they aren't ... Our so called leaders know this very well. There is no flotilla of boats heading this way threatening our way of life. This is an issue of emotion and moral panic. Who of our brave leaders can best protect us from the nasty invading hoards?
Well dear reader... be informed. Boat people is an issue. It is a problem that needs a solution. It is NOT an election issue. Of the just under 5000 people who sought refugee status in Australia last year..(get ready) ONLY about 160 of those came here by boat. Of the balance most are illegal immigrants by virtue of arriving by plane (almost half) and the balance are people who try to immigrate by overstaying visitors visas. We should be more concerned about the 9000 illegal fishermen destroying our fisheries. We don't hear about the real problem, we hear about the fear. We are tempted to vote on these issues by our so called leaders watering down a standard political process that happens and is managed every year regardless of who is in government. Interesting though that both Gillard and Abbott are both immigrants ... Tony Abbott was born in England and Julia Gillard was born in Wales.
The fact of the immigration issue is that Australia signed a United Nation's agreement that designates us as a safe refuge for people escaping persecution and human rights travesties. This is as it should be... as 'decent' human beings we have an obligation to protect and defend the weak. Of those people who arrived by boat up to 80% were processed and granted genuine refugee status. However if you arrive by boat you will be interred in a processing centre until your refugee status is confirmed. If you are a refugee who arrives by plane you will be granted an immediate bridging visa, allowing you to live and work in the community while your claim is assessed. Only about 50% of refugees who arrive by plane are assessed as genuine refugees. So why dear voter are you voting on an election issue based on boat people? The easiest political motivator - fear.
Ask yourself, why is there a hot election issue about a couple of hundred boat people but we never hear about real australian issues like the estimated 105,000 homeless across the nation. Where are health issues like obesity, smoking, and alcoholism on our political agenda?
Is everyone sick of hearing about climate change... and then hearing our politicians continue to do nothing about it? Simple things? The Labour government tried (and failed) to deliver any substantial climate action. Gillard claims to have buckets of money for renewable energy if she is reelected, they will also roll out the national broadband network, and a computer for every student. We tend to ignore the fact that the previous Labour government used these promises when they first came into government and failed to deliver. Of course the liberal party just has no policy regarding climate change or renewable energy. So vote for the party that doesn't deliver or the part that has no ideas? Not much of a choice.
There are great projects struggling in this country and none of them include adding a new tax to our economy. One of the most simple was the making incandescent lights obsolete. Easy to do.. shares the load of implementation.. saved 0.14% of total carbon emissions .. forever. This dear voter is the tip of the iceberg there are many, many 'changes' in the way we live, manufacture, distribute, grow and travel and none of them require us to adversely impact our economic strength.
Of course then there is health. More beds, more hospitals, more doctors, more nurses!... How about healthier people! How about we regulate what goes into our foods, what we feed our kids, how much 'fast food' is allowed to be more confectionery than staples. Why are we still allowing people to smoke and then letting them get access to free health care. If you intentionally harm yourself... this will render most insurance claims void. However despite the serious and confirmed health problems of putting a cigarette in your mouth, or abusing alcohol knowing the confirmed damage it does.. we as a nation still fund an increasing health care bill. I am not advocating precluding sick people from health care.. but let's try to seriously fix the problem before it becomes one.
While on health let's talk about the economy. Labour's economic policy = spend money, make people happy, if we run out, cut low profile programs, add a new tax, increase existing ones or borrow it. Labour's attitude of 'gifting' money to 'needy' programs needs serious reassessment. It is already the nation's money and the government is 'in trust' to manage that money, not just spend it. Liberals have a tendency to run everything as a business which economically is exceptional... but not every worthy program has a financial return.. look at the BIG issue about paid maternity leave. Why do mother's have to fight for this? The formative months of a new born's life are proven to be critical to self esteem, self identity and confidence as a human being. This IS an INVESTMENT in mental health of both the mother/father and the child. Yet both parties seem to treat this like this is some sort of holiday entitlement.
However you vote this election don't get sucked in by the rhetoric. Tony Abbott is a Rhodes scholar with degrees in Law and Economics, and a masters in Arts. he is not a stupid man, nor is he badly spoken... watch the debate recently and you see a man who struggles to get his tongue around the words 'fair dinkum' even though he said this phrase more then 20 times. Julia Gillard is a well spoken, articulate woman who reads her script well, never completed her formal education but instead cut her degree short to work with the Australian Union of Students. My purpose here dear voter is not to disparage education and its value to a potential leader of this nation. It is instead to highlight that what you see is NOT what you are getting. I encourage you look deeper, take responsibility for your vote. God knows how any conscientious, concerned citizen can make a choice between these two candidates.
At least in Masterchef if you don't bake the cake right neither team wins.
It is disappointing to me that two experienced politicians like Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott believe that the average constituent is a moron. With slogans like 'moving forward' and 'fair dinkum' do they really believe Australian public is so naive and gullible? Even the most unsophisticated voter has very real issues they would like addressed. Issues that affect our day to day quality of life.
Let look at some of the BIG issues this election....
Boat People...
Our borders are under threat! No they aren't ... Our so called leaders know this very well. There is no flotilla of boats heading this way threatening our way of life. This is an issue of emotion and moral panic. Who of our brave leaders can best protect us from the nasty invading hoards?
Well dear reader... be informed. Boat people is an issue. It is a problem that needs a solution. It is NOT an election issue. Of the just under 5000 people who sought refugee status in Australia last year..(get ready) ONLY about 160 of those came here by boat. Of the balance most are illegal immigrants by virtue of arriving by plane (almost half) and the balance are people who try to immigrate by overstaying visitors visas. We should be more concerned about the 9000 illegal fishermen destroying our fisheries. We don't hear about the real problem, we hear about the fear. We are tempted to vote on these issues by our so called leaders watering down a standard political process that happens and is managed every year regardless of who is in government. Interesting though that both Gillard and Abbott are both immigrants ... Tony Abbott was born in England and Julia Gillard was born in Wales.
The fact of the immigration issue is that Australia signed a United Nation's agreement that designates us as a safe refuge for people escaping persecution and human rights travesties. This is as it should be... as 'decent' human beings we have an obligation to protect and defend the weak. Of those people who arrived by boat up to 80% were processed and granted genuine refugee status. However if you arrive by boat you will be interred in a processing centre until your refugee status is confirmed. If you are a refugee who arrives by plane you will be granted an immediate bridging visa, allowing you to live and work in the community while your claim is assessed. Only about 50% of refugees who arrive by plane are assessed as genuine refugees. So why dear voter are you voting on an election issue based on boat people? The easiest political motivator - fear.
Ask yourself, why is there a hot election issue about a couple of hundred boat people but we never hear about real australian issues like the estimated 105,000 homeless across the nation. Where are health issues like obesity, smoking, and alcoholism on our political agenda?
Is everyone sick of hearing about climate change... and then hearing our politicians continue to do nothing about it? Simple things? The Labour government tried (and failed) to deliver any substantial climate action. Gillard claims to have buckets of money for renewable energy if she is reelected, they will also roll out the national broadband network, and a computer for every student. We tend to ignore the fact that the previous Labour government used these promises when they first came into government and failed to deliver. Of course the liberal party just has no policy regarding climate change or renewable energy. So vote for the party that doesn't deliver or the part that has no ideas? Not much of a choice.
There are great projects struggling in this country and none of them include adding a new tax to our economy. One of the most simple was the making incandescent lights obsolete. Easy to do.. shares the load of implementation.. saved 0.14% of total carbon emissions .. forever. This dear voter is the tip of the iceberg there are many, many 'changes' in the way we live, manufacture, distribute, grow and travel and none of them require us to adversely impact our economic strength.
Of course then there is health. More beds, more hospitals, more doctors, more nurses!... How about healthier people! How about we regulate what goes into our foods, what we feed our kids, how much 'fast food' is allowed to be more confectionery than staples. Why are we still allowing people to smoke and then letting them get access to free health care. If you intentionally harm yourself... this will render most insurance claims void. However despite the serious and confirmed health problems of putting a cigarette in your mouth, or abusing alcohol knowing the confirmed damage it does.. we as a nation still fund an increasing health care bill. I am not advocating precluding sick people from health care.. but let's try to seriously fix the problem before it becomes one.
While on health let's talk about the economy. Labour's economic policy = spend money, make people happy, if we run out, cut low profile programs, add a new tax, increase existing ones or borrow it. Labour's attitude of 'gifting' money to 'needy' programs needs serious reassessment. It is already the nation's money and the government is 'in trust' to manage that money, not just spend it. Liberals have a tendency to run everything as a business which economically is exceptional... but not every worthy program has a financial return.. look at the BIG issue about paid maternity leave. Why do mother's have to fight for this? The formative months of a new born's life are proven to be critical to self esteem, self identity and confidence as a human being. This IS an INVESTMENT in mental health of both the mother/father and the child. Yet both parties seem to treat this like this is some sort of holiday entitlement.
However you vote this election don't get sucked in by the rhetoric. Tony Abbott is a Rhodes scholar with degrees in Law and Economics, and a masters in Arts. he is not a stupid man, nor is he badly spoken... watch the debate recently and you see a man who struggles to get his tongue around the words 'fair dinkum' even though he said this phrase more then 20 times. Julia Gillard is a well spoken, articulate woman who reads her script well, never completed her formal education but instead cut her degree short to work with the Australian Union of Students. My purpose here dear voter is not to disparage education and its value to a potential leader of this nation. It is instead to highlight that what you see is NOT what you are getting. I encourage you look deeper, take responsibility for your vote. God knows how any conscientious, concerned citizen can make a choice between these two candidates.
At least in Masterchef if you don't bake the cake right neither team wins.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
To my friends..
I have found a common theme running through many of my dearest friends lately and I am relating to it as well. This is for all my friends who I admire so much, who astound me with their energy to fight life's battles but sometimes feel they are not moving... change is ever present and if you feel you are not moving then it is only because you are at the centre of the storm.
"Oh dreary dreamer take the energy of your self denial and purpose it to a great fortitude, one that holds the attention of your soul. Deny your doubts and feel the fibre's of your life's pull... Take heart that your purpose is self evident and all it need's is your recognition. Be comforted that it is ever present regardless of your diversions. Take heart dear soul your life is filled with poetry, from the moment you wake the meter of your day is set, all you have to do is express the rhyme and find the words..."
"Oh dreary dreamer take the energy of your self denial and purpose it to a great fortitude, one that holds the attention of your soul. Deny your doubts and feel the fibre's of your life's pull... Take heart that your purpose is self evident and all it need's is your recognition. Be comforted that it is ever present regardless of your diversions. Take heart dear soul your life is filled with poetry, from the moment you wake the meter of your day is set, all you have to do is express the rhyme and find the words..."
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Just in time...
I struggle. Often I feel as if my feet are dragging through the mud of life. As I lift one the other is sucked deeper into the mire.
Our grandparents had the answer. "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today"... "A stitch in time saves nine"... "A rolling stone gathers no moss"... and so forth. I can still see my adolescent eyes rolling...
In each generation we gain a lot, but I also believe we lose wisdom. Technology allows instant access to information, technology, services and products. Our lives are convenient, and ready to serve. In the days of our grandparents, they worked for each gain. The ethic of working for gains was apparent, and self evident. If you didn't embrace it you didn't eat. The ethic of getting 'your ducks in a row' was not a matter of good organisation it was a matter of survival.
In our soft, welfare fuelled world where has the drive and competitiveness that kept us healthy and alive gone... Depression is rife... Obesity and diabetes is out of control... our love for our fellow man and our community is desensitised. We are sedantary, in fact energetically we have slowed down so much it is a wonder we are still alive. I despair for us. For our race.
It is time to regain our energy, our self respect, and our connection with life. Issues and problems have a way of clumping together to look bigger than they are. Like the bogey man in the closet, our brains love to over dramatise. I am consistently amazed at problems I solved, almost without effort after months of worrying and procrastination. The Chinese were thinkers. I love thinkers. If you ask the Chinese how to eat an elephant they would tell you 'one bite at a time'. This is also the secret to getting your feet out of the mud and regaining some sense of control in your life.
Identify each of your problems as individual issues, don't waste time with 'what if's' or 'if only's' you will only sink deeper. Once you identify a problem, identify the first thing that can be done about it. Now comes the big secret. DO IT! Do that one thing that can be done right now! Suddenly, like a ball of wool, the problem, that thing that has been holding you back will unravel. Follow the string through to the end. Let it go. This is important once a problem is solved, let it go! Visualise the end of that string being pulled out of your hands or cut with a pair of scissors. It is no longer your problem. Recover the energy you were wasting by worrying and relax. Of course then repeat until you can see the light.
Get your gumboots on and start chewing!
Our grandparents had the answer. "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today"... "A stitch in time saves nine"... "A rolling stone gathers no moss"... and so forth. I can still see my adolescent eyes rolling...
In each generation we gain a lot, but I also believe we lose wisdom. Technology allows instant access to information, technology, services and products. Our lives are convenient, and ready to serve. In the days of our grandparents, they worked for each gain. The ethic of working for gains was apparent, and self evident. If you didn't embrace it you didn't eat. The ethic of getting 'your ducks in a row' was not a matter of good organisation it was a matter of survival.
In our soft, welfare fuelled world where has the drive and competitiveness that kept us healthy and alive gone... Depression is rife... Obesity and diabetes is out of control... our love for our fellow man and our community is desensitised. We are sedantary, in fact energetically we have slowed down so much it is a wonder we are still alive. I despair for us. For our race.
It is time to regain our energy, our self respect, and our connection with life. Issues and problems have a way of clumping together to look bigger than they are. Like the bogey man in the closet, our brains love to over dramatise. I am consistently amazed at problems I solved, almost without effort after months of worrying and procrastination. The Chinese were thinkers. I love thinkers. If you ask the Chinese how to eat an elephant they would tell you 'one bite at a time'. This is also the secret to getting your feet out of the mud and regaining some sense of control in your life.
Identify each of your problems as individual issues, don't waste time with 'what if's' or 'if only's' you will only sink deeper. Once you identify a problem, identify the first thing that can be done about it. Now comes the big secret. DO IT! Do that one thing that can be done right now! Suddenly, like a ball of wool, the problem, that thing that has been holding you back will unravel. Follow the string through to the end. Let it go. This is important once a problem is solved, let it go! Visualise the end of that string being pulled out of your hands or cut with a pair of scissors. It is no longer your problem. Recover the energy you were wasting by worrying and relax. Of course then repeat until you can see the light.
Get your gumboots on and start chewing!
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Learn from history or repeat it...
The more I watch my three sons the more I learn about myself. I see three individuals, unique mixes and blends of both their mother and myself. A mix yes, but something new, a forging of a new layer, as a katana is forged layer after layer each finer and more precise than the previous.
I see myself, they are my mirror. Yet something more, more capable, more talented. It is in these moments that I believe a parent should rejoice. If you leave the planet, imbuing your children with more than you ever were... then I believe that, as a parent, you have succeeded..
Do your children, cope better, understand more, love more openly? Are they the better model? Yes? Be content. That is our job.
I used to relish being able to expose my children to the truth and lessons that I learnt, or didn't learn quickly enough, or perhaps not at all. Yes! I can save these children that I love, the grief of my mistakes. I was and still am naive in this regard. I still persist in trying to 'teach' my children life lessons. Offer them solutions to problems they are yet to face. It is futile. You cannot teach anyone anything they are not ready to learn. As the Chinese proverb teaches us... "when the student is ready the teacher will appear". I never understood this. Now I do.
As humans to learn anything in a life changing way, we must live it. Of course having information is important, being prepared and educated is important, but until you have context, and the experience to temper the need, learning is just information we remember. We must live what we learn to truly learn. This is the core of my belief.
Consider if as a child someone tried to talk us through how to walk before we were ready to walk, and before we had real need. Of course it seems laughable and backward. Why then do we persist in trying to teach children lessons about life when they have no context in which to understand? Now please don't misunderstand me, of course we teach our children daily... as we should as is our purpose as parents. Children develop the context to understand things daily, be patient because as the need arises, so you will be ready to teach it. Why believe that they will understand how to handle a fight at school or bullying, for example, until if and when they experience it. The experience is the context that raises the need to learn.
Consider how difficult as a child we found the grind of daily education. Yet as adults, when identify the need and desire to understand a certain topic we absorb information like a sponge. It is because our context has changed. Likewise as a parent you much watch, listen, understand and communicate with your children so that you can identify when the contextual change occurs and they are ready to learn.
When it does, apply now your own contextual experience, re-evaluate it, broaden your understanding of it, and examine how it can be improved... then share it with your child. In this way, we not only improve the understanding of ourselves but we ensure that our improved understanding is passed onto our children and they in turn will learn to improve and add to their own contextual awareness and understanding as the information is handed down over generations. Tribal communities understand this only too well and continue to share ancient wisdom through stories, rituals and fables.
So are we doomed to repeat history? I believe that the way to learn from history is to be ready or even precognitive when you see familiar circumstances repeating. It is not enough to just learn our lessons rote, we must be vigilant in our understanding of ourselves and the reflection of ourselves in our children. Then and only then can we move ahead watching our children mitigate our past mistakes and improve on our own struggle through life. Be happy for your children's successes and understanding of their failures.
I see myself, they are my mirror. Yet something more, more capable, more talented. It is in these moments that I believe a parent should rejoice. If you leave the planet, imbuing your children with more than you ever were... then I believe that, as a parent, you have succeeded..
Do your children, cope better, understand more, love more openly? Are they the better model? Yes? Be content. That is our job.
I used to relish being able to expose my children to the truth and lessons that I learnt, or didn't learn quickly enough, or perhaps not at all. Yes! I can save these children that I love, the grief of my mistakes. I was and still am naive in this regard. I still persist in trying to 'teach' my children life lessons. Offer them solutions to problems they are yet to face. It is futile. You cannot teach anyone anything they are not ready to learn. As the Chinese proverb teaches us... "when the student is ready the teacher will appear". I never understood this. Now I do.
As humans to learn anything in a life changing way, we must live it. Of course having information is important, being prepared and educated is important, but until you have context, and the experience to temper the need, learning is just information we remember. We must live what we learn to truly learn. This is the core of my belief.
Consider if as a child someone tried to talk us through how to walk before we were ready to walk, and before we had real need. Of course it seems laughable and backward. Why then do we persist in trying to teach children lessons about life when they have no context in which to understand? Now please don't misunderstand me, of course we teach our children daily... as we should as is our purpose as parents. Children develop the context to understand things daily, be patient because as the need arises, so you will be ready to teach it. Why believe that they will understand how to handle a fight at school or bullying, for example, until if and when they experience it. The experience is the context that raises the need to learn.
Consider how difficult as a child we found the grind of daily education. Yet as adults, when identify the need and desire to understand a certain topic we absorb information like a sponge. It is because our context has changed. Likewise as a parent you much watch, listen, understand and communicate with your children so that you can identify when the contextual change occurs and they are ready to learn.
When it does, apply now your own contextual experience, re-evaluate it, broaden your understanding of it, and examine how it can be improved... then share it with your child. In this way, we not only improve the understanding of ourselves but we ensure that our improved understanding is passed onto our children and they in turn will learn to improve and add to their own contextual awareness and understanding as the information is handed down over generations. Tribal communities understand this only too well and continue to share ancient wisdom through stories, rituals and fables.
So are we doomed to repeat history? I believe that the way to learn from history is to be ready or even precognitive when you see familiar circumstances repeating. It is not enough to just learn our lessons rote, we must be vigilant in our understanding of ourselves and the reflection of ourselves in our children. Then and only then can we move ahead watching our children mitigate our past mistakes and improve on our own struggle through life. Be happy for your children's successes and understanding of their failures.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Truth.
I think that we are faced with two problems... We work too much in our mind and... we have forgotten how simple truth can be, to feel, and to achieve.
Ah dear reader... le auteur... he has the answer. I am sorry to disappoint you but no. Like anything idealism is about truth... a single truth. Universal, idealistic and stoic. My truth... my answer will unfortunately be mostly unlike yours. It is your own journey that defines your truth. Ah! but who cares... universal truths are not useful... to us.. in our individual lives, are they?
Well of course the answer is yes, they are. It is by having a desire to understand universal truth that we develop our perception of, and our own unique truth. It is our personal interpretation of the universal truth that matters. Many people feel that because they are unable to obtain an understanding and grasp the ultimate definition of truth or of an ideal, that it is unreachable, and therefore useless. Worse, some individuals persist in taking their own truth and forcing it on those they perceive to be unenlightened, as if it IS the universal truth. Many a war has been fought over this form of human error.
The understanding we need to gain is that universal truths persisted before us, and will persist long after we are gone... They are timeless, they are not affected by our interpretation, they are not affected by our attempts to define them. We shall pass, truth will persist.
Let me illustrate.. If I was to be described as an honest man, is this true, is it a truth? No. Honesty is a truth. it is not negotiable. In the existence of a lie, honestly ceases to exist. So how given that all humans lie can I be described as an honest man. It is our personal truths, our acceptance of limitations to the universal truth, that allow this to be so. We collectively agree and accept that a certain degree of dishonesty is acceptable in a human being, that it is only aberrations to our collective agreement, that we describe as dishonesty.
It would be more accurate to describe me as "his level of dishonesty is not so extreme as to make me consider him a dishonest man he is therefore by agreement an 'honest man' " even though we know that not to be true, or truth.
It is VERY useful to accept that each of us possesses an interpretation of what is a common truth. Our human condition is rendered far easier by this understanding. Once we accept that everyone has, by nature, their own individual interpretation of what we all consider to be common truths, and by it being their nature, also their right. We suddenly understand that arguments over the interpretation of truth, are ultimately doomed. We each will interpret truth based on our desire, our discipline, our experience, and even our genetic makeup.
There is nothing to be done about it except accept that the personal search for truth is non negotiable, it is each person's right, in fact it is each person's obligation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)