Conscious Conception

On the subject of conception, is it that we are blessed with child or is it a conscious decision we make to conceive? many women I have known who are desperately trying to conceive are met with an abundance of hurdles that appear to be preventing the natural process of conception happening. It would appear that the more you think (mental conscience) the more hijacked the women becomes, and the ongoing arrival of the unwanted monthly cycle, seems to bring nothing but dread and upset....furthermore stalling the couple having their much wanted baby....frequently there are no definitive answers and it would appear as soon as the couple stop consciously trying to have a baby, 'voila' there he/she is...implanted in the womb, ready for the journey through to birth some 40 wks later

I think there is nothing more luxurious and gracious than having a relaxed approach to conception, deciding that it is for you both and allowing nature to do the rest, save to say, when medical issues are preventing a pregnancy.....however it is suggested by the medical profession, that the average couple will take up to 12 months to conceive. I am of the approach that if it is meant to be, it will happen, if you are relaxed about the reality of having a baby and enjoy the loving and being loved by your partner, then it makes sense that your body will be accepting to the miracle of pregnancy....

This is the point to cease contraception, obviously everyone to their own and advice should be sought ref, the contraceptive pill and hormone related methods, if a IUD is used then an appointment with your doctor should be made to have it removed.....commence folic acid as recommended by the medical profession 3 months prior to conception and up till 12 weeks of pregnancy, to help the prevention of nural tube defects.

But most of all know that it is right for you and your partner, know that you both are committed and bound, in producing this little miracle and nurturing and protecting him/her through life. Easing your baby into the world, not thrusting him/her into it. knowledge has brought much change and the return of natural nappies, and many organic and natural products allows for a purer essence in which to bathe our babes so to speak and swaddle them in naturalness.it makes sense does it not?...Nurture our babies at the breast and ensure dad has skin to skin contact as much as mum does.....starting from the moment of birth, the fundamental bonding fest...most of all create you baby out of love and bring him/her up secure within that love........

Love Foundations (To Share)

Thinking about it....what is love?...................

love is......the rise and fall, the foundation wall, surrounding your world.
The pick me up, when you fall down, then the staying with you without the frown, the replacement glass, after the smash, loving arms,surrounding you at the end of 'that day'....!

The insulation that encapsulates the warmth, the smile that lifts your day, the look that tells you, absolutely,without a doubt, 'it's ok!'... the acceptance and showing the way. it's the hope, the belief the truth, the crowning glory, the highest point the roof.....!

Most of all, it's that special connection, the wonder with fascination, the bud of creation, the being overwhelmed, coupled with, admiration and exhilaration, surrounding each other with inspiration. Dressing up, dressing down, trudging through mud in wellie boots, it's the becoming each other's, without a doubt,.... absolute, foundation, solid roots......!

Congruence

Congruence (Honesty from within)
Interestingly, people who struggle with finding answers and perceptions within their lives, seek therapists to aid this process. The key to the success of this interaction is the build up of trust between therapist and client.

Fundamentally the honesty within the material that the client reveals or shares! is the true source to improving their lives and the perceptions that are guiding their mind set...However interestingly I have noticed time over with people who claim to be the helpers....! in fact, repeatedly have un resolved issues of their own. Maybe not so within their working roles, but harboured in their own private worlds....it limits individuals growth and abilities to shine, mainly as congruence isn't always met head on.

To ensure you make the best of your abilities, talents and opportunities honesty is essential, be honest with yourself primarily and towards others, and the transition will become evident.We often find ourselves in situations, where we may be faced with opinions that we are uncomfortable with. This is a prime example of how we can be congruent with people... There you are listening to someone rattling off about some far from savoury subject and or having an opinion that is wide of your boundaries....! Perfect is the opportunity to express our feeling or understanding towards the subject...combining UPR (unconditional positive regard) at this point is a good marker and sets a good standing for your congruence.....

What is UPR? the basis of Unconditionl Positive Regard is the distinction between non judgment of the person,so acceptance of them, but addressing unacceptable and
negative behaviour.

.....Take for example the stance that " I don't necessarily agree with your comments and your approach, but obviously I respect your choice of opinion. however this is how I see it and wondered what you felt about that?!" then you are offering truth from your perspective and offering food for thought. that way you tend to leave feeling less "stressed" with comments that are far from your acceptance, yet you have offered an alternative perspective for the speaker to consider. You have expressed your inner feeling. Offered an opportunity for debate and or acceptance of your perspective, thereafter it is out of your control, but you have used congruence to express yourself.

In terms of the wider picture, where I reflect back to my earlier paragraph, it is not honest enough to promote ourselves as open books of positive splendour, when inside we are jostling with unresloved issues, to state that we are confident, then express or expose our lack of self worth or self confidence, is far from our true selves, it cannot be hidden, we become exposed so, take some time to work through the bits you wish to cast to one side, find a way of opening the shutters and letting the sun radiate around you and envelop you...let it's rays reflect off you and in turn bring light to someone else's life and in the meantime, radiate who we are, take charge of your congruence and in turn blossom as the person you want to be..............

The best and most active method of teaching is to show by example,
work with yourself and lead the way in helping others with congruence.

The role of a Doula (Trained birthing partner)

I am frequently asked 'what is a dealer?' no dear "I'm a Doula! not a dealer!!" what on earth is that? the dictionary states "mothers maid" one who cares for the mother!! for want of a better explanation a birthing partner offering knowledge, experience, support and nurture to pregnant ladies, their partners and families....including ante-natal/post natal support! I have included in my training specialist areas and top up support packages which, combined with my counselling training and breast feeding counselling, serve to offer an all round reassuring package to would be clients....thus allowing me to work with a variety of clients, with a variety of requirements and expectations!

Fundamentally, I like to build a relationship early on with the mum-to-be and her partner/family, we establish what the expectations are and then I tend to lean towards a 'de-brief' of any earlier birthing experiences, as each birth is unique as is every child conceived! therefore earlier disappointing labours need to be put to rest as much as is possible and trust built between you and the mum, towards a more positive birth outcome, this in my experience comes from the mere presence,of a woman who herself knows what 'she' is experiencing! the more bodily and self aware you are the more assistance you can be to a labouring woman.

Doulas work independently and are not medically trained, therefore we offer no medical advice although we discuss with clients the options laid down by the medical profession. Another vital area within our work, is to ensure the mother and father- to-be, have their birth plans followed through and are given informed choices, should any complications arise. I again have witnessed, interventions, that may not have been accepted, with better information and explanation,

In an ideal world, Doulas' would work with natural births and predominantly choose home births over hospital! I myself have experienced both. preferring and advocating home over hospital, save to say any medical reason that my baby would be in danger and therefore need medical intervention. However, I simply support whatever each individual chooses for themselves, although I feel if you are booking an epidural the minute you walk through the labour ward door, then inevitably your money would probably be best spent at a spa for recouperation, instead of employing my services, which are fundamentally in situ, to take you through a gentler and as near to natural an experience as we can achieve together. Ultimately, I am happy to support ANY type of labour, inclusive of caesarean delivery, As the purpose of my role,alongside, My personal goals, are to work with my clients,alleviating fear and be totally there for the expectant mum, supporting her individual challenges and choices.

Resulting in a more relaxed and enpowered mum, caring for her baby with confidence and dads benefit from the reassurance of an experienced, hand holder by his and his labouring partner's side, encouraging interaction and loving support to welcome his baby with ease into the world.....

Shopping Bags...

We have all heard about Modbury in Deven, being the first town in the UK to go completely plastic bag free. www.plasticbagfree.com
This week, Living Coasts in Torquay - a birdlife conservation centre, got a group of volunteers together, along with some scrap material and a few sewing machines and started making reusable shopping bags from a pattern supplied from www.morsbags.com - you can download the instructions and make your own!!! in 20 minutes you can have your very own unique shopping bag!!!
They then gave away the bags to the visitors at the centre, asking them to re-use the bags. Explaining how so many of the plastic bags end up in the sea where birds and other wild life either ingest or get tangled up in them. If we all do our bit, we could soon have a plastic bag free country!!!

Crevasse participation

Whilst at a party last Saturday I found myself invited into a round of Tarot card reading. Never one to shy away from others opions of what what's around the corner I choose my card.

'Participation' it was headed with. I thougtt I was (participating that is), but read on regardless. Notice the dusk, the end of the light of day and appeciate the setting of the sun, knowing it will soon return. The point was to participate in every moment of the day as if you've just been pulled from a deep ice crevasse to live another day.

'But that'll never happen to me' is often the response to that. But it happened to me twenty-five years ago. During the forty minutes or so I spent jammed down that crevasse I promised myself that if I ever got out of my seemingly hopeless situation that my life would be a bonus and I would appreciate every moment of every day, whatever may happen in life.

I guess the Tarot card was a reminder to me and all of us of the bonus of life, and perhaps to include in in our conscious living ways.

Damian

Spanish Living

The Spanish have had a conscious living approach for years, especially in southern Spain.

You will be pushed to find an open shop in the midday heat because the Spainish will be tucked up in bed. This is not just because of the punishing heat of southern Spain, but also because it is cool for everyone to be eating tapas and drinking wine at 3am.

This works for everybody, not because it's the law, but because the spanish have long been conscious of there own health and wellbeing and have adjusted their lifestyle to suit.

I have just got back from Marbella and noticed how laid back the Spaniards of the tourist areas are. It's out of peak season now so the reduced number of hoards of drunken Engish tourists may indeed help and one quickly learns the laid back drivers only consider red traffic lights important if the junction being crossed is reasonably busy.

Maybe the change of perception has come about since Spain's release from dictatorship of General Franco in 1975- freedom can certainly help one focus on the important things in life.

Perception

What is your perception of life?

Generally speaking, how do we see life, how do we distinguish between what is important and what is not?

In my twenty’s I was diagnosed with MS, but remembering I was the only person to ever be pulled out of an ice crevasse in Hintertux ski resort alive, my perception was challenged but remained positive about life. Always one to rise to a challenge, my transformation from rugby playing, surfing, skiing hero to the less physically mobile but much more developed emotionally and spiritually human being I am today has been made easier by remembering
how cool it is to be alive at all.

I guess the most important thing in life is living your to the life to the full and avoiding falling down whatever crevasse life may throw at you.

Let’s say the perception is like viewing life through goggles. If the tint of the goggles is blue, the world appears blue, if its black the world too 'becomes' black.

If you see yourself as a degenerative, incurable case, that’s what you’ll get. In the same way if you think life’s so positive and you’re really happy with how you feel about life, that’s what you and your life will be. Whilst it can be difficult or impossible to change reality, you can change your perception of it. By doing this you have in fact changed your own reality.

Damian Houston

A few words....

A few words from recently read books that I want to share with you.

Your spirits plan purpose was agreed upon before your present incarnation and is inscribed in every cell of your body.

Our directive from the Lord of Life is to reactivate what is lying dormant in your consciousness and awaken your Higher Self’s commitment to your true nature.

Always live with an open heart, compassionate, acceptance and unconditional love for yourself and all of the Universe’s Creatures and Creations.

Once a day has passed, that lesson is over and its time to move on to the next. Dwelling on what is gone is the greatest waste of our precious gift of life and serves no useful purpose what so ever.

Have compassionate acceptance and unconditional love and forgiveness every moment of your life. There is nothing more profound, greater or more urgent than this.

Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery and Today is a Present.

Divine Magic – The Seven Sacred Secrets of Manifestation – Doreen Virtue

How to Heal Toxic Thoughts – Sandra Ingerman

Soul – Lessons and Soul Purpose – Sonia Choquette

See through transparency

Gepetto, Jiminy and the Blue Fairy by Paul Wolf

(link to original article)

I can tell a lie, and so can you. In fact, lying is often preferable to the truth. It's good manners to lie. It takes maturity to withhold the truth.

Myprimetime.com readers who have voiced their love of a good lie on our discussion boards agree. They think Radical Honesty author Brad Blanton is headed for a life with only the cold hard truth to keep him warm.

Blanton claims that we are all duty-bound to speak our minds at all times - not just for our own sake, but for the sake of everyone on the receiving end of our radical honesty, including the obese woman in front of you at the check-out line, or the co-worker with the grating voice.

"I recommend that you hurt people's feelings, but that you stay with them until they get over it," says Blanton.

Let's see how long your boss will stay with you after you've insulted his wife at the company party.

"Eventually this person is going to realize that they've hurt everyone they care about or like and they will be literally alone," writes myprimetime.com reader Riverdale.

No doubt, alienation is the eventual outcome of practicing pure truthfulness. Civilized existence is all about lying. Cooperation requires we swallow our pride, turn the other cheek, let things slide and let others have the last word.

"Children don't know how to hold their tongue and it is something they are taught as they get older as they learn restraint," says marriage and family therapist Cindy McCrea.

She explains that honesty dwells in a field of checks and balances. Speaking the truth is like any other action that has impact, and its impact must be weighed.

While Blanton makes a strong case that dishonesty can cause stress, muddy true communication and even hamper personal growth, his argument falls apart when he fails to distinguish between acceptable lying and unacceptable lying.

We tell acceptable lies every day, and are probably the better for it. We tell them when our agenda is more important than the truth. Like when Al Gore, in his first debate with George Bush, said he never questioned his rival's qualifications for president, "only his policies." Gore then went on to talk about Bush's policies.

Was it a lie? Of course. He had questioned Bush's qualifications. But he didn't want to waste his two minutes on name calling when the policy differences were more relevant to the occasion.

What about sex? Now there's something worth lying about from time to time. Take Elizabeth Hurley who recently recanted her quote in Talk magazine, the one in which she says that ex-lover Hugh Grant was "less than adequate" in bed.

No doubt realizing she'd crossed the line, Hurley came back saying he was "fantastic" in bed. Someone was lying. In that she never insisted she was misquoted, but only said that there was confusion in the interview, we're guessing Hurley's the one with her pants on fire.

Transparency is (in) the air

The UK Core team has been wrestling with some practical implications of interacting transparently for the past couple of weeks. In the light of this I was intrigued to discover this post from Web Worker Daily (the comments are particularly interesting). The increasing use of social networking via the web has made the lives of many people much more transparent than they would have been a few years ago, but problems are arising because it is an unconscious transparency.

One of the commenters says,

“Don’t write it unless you would say it in front of 100 strangers, your mom, your best friend and your spouse/partner.”

Perhaps that could be reframed to: Don't do it unless you would do it in view of 100 strangers, your mom, your best friend and your spouse/partner.

An issue that is raised that was of interest to me is that there is a responsibility on the viewer of an activity to make conscious choices too. Do I need to know this? Do I want this level of intimacy? By our bravery in breaking our cocoons we force others to make brave decisions about what they want to know.

Another commenter links to a strong article by Molly Holzschlag about her experiences of being transparent in her professional life in IT and how that has benefited her career. These articles are coming from a more mundane approach than our venture, but they are dealing with the same issues we are.

We have embraced an idea that is coming to the surface here and we have with that a great opportunity for positive influence. We will need courage to follow this through but we are not doing this alone, and we have the key element of consciousness in our approach.

Molly Holzschlag includes a powerful quote in her article that is helping me in my battle for transparency;

Never apologise for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologise for truth.

Benjamin Disraeli

One day we will wonder why it wasn't always this way.

On a mission?

If you think a personal mission statement might be useful, but don't know where to begin, try this:

http://www.nightingale.com/mission_select.aspx

Bankruptcy and the universe

I think bankruptcy is the universe's way of saying wake up, slow down and do something worthwhile that makes you happy.

Be sure to pay all those that actually did a job for you, but don't worry about the money lenders- it's all part of their job.

It certainly worked for me, and this new life brings alot of laughter and fun, positivety and healing.

Why wait for your universal bankruptcy, why not follow your own conscious living path and have fun now?

Good luck,

Damian Houston

New social perspective

I love experiencing the forever changing environment we live in.

This morning I went to my local social security office to get a form I needed stamped and wow, I was I amazed. Gone were glass shielded booths and half drunk rolly smoking unshaven visitors (and that was just the women) of five years ago. Instead I was greeted by a modern, open plan environment with comfy seats to sit on whilst waiting and pleasant staff.

Gone was the victim attitude; it seemed you that whether you were there to try and get a better job or check on your benefit payments you felt respected and worthy of a posh job. One's perception of visiting the local social security office has changed to a business like place to help you better yourself, instead of just queuing for money.

The whole experience made peeling the parking ticket off my car outside so much easier to bear...

Damian Houston.

The Universal Law of B*ll*cks by Henk J.M. Schram

Thanks to Peter Shepherd at Metamorphosis (Tools for Transformation - www.trans4mind.com) for pointing to this:

The Universal Law of Bollocks by Henk J.M. Schram

These days you can hardly go through any articles, books, DVDs, movies, films, documentaries with regard to self-improvement or self-help without coming across at least one mentioning of some 'Universal Law'.

Suddenly, there appears to be a Universal Law for anything. Like we haven't got enough Laws to deal with already!...

(whole article)

....But the last thing you need are instructions that are either overly symbolic, or too complex to apply. What you want to keep things simple and straightforward. Or else you may get lost in the details. You want just enough straightforward knowledge for simple application of the principles, while still having a total view on the big picture that is comprehensive enough to not forget about any universal principle, or Law for that matter.

If you want to make life simple for yourself, to start pulling the right strings at once to create the life and destiny of your dreams, then don't waste another second on trying to find out every small, detailed, insignificant 'Universal Law' someone came up with today. You'll be like a cat chasing its own tail: a never-ending story that leaves you exhausted and depressed. Neither should you merely think positive thoughts and then wait for things to happen. There's a little more to it. Just a little, nothing complex, but still extremely important.

Just keep it simple. There are 6 main Universal Principles (or Laws) that cover all universal principles automatically. Attend to them all, which is a simple thing to do without much effort required, and you'll be off living more than your dreams before you can even consciously realize you created such an incredible experience!

Keep it straightforward and easy-to-apply. The game of life wasn't intended to be complex and difficult. The game was supposed to be simple and easy, and most of all FUN! And there's a simple road to it, and it's just a small decision away. Welcome to the Revolution...

Nicholas P. Kidd and Henk J.M. Schram are the instigators of the alleged 'Great Revolution', which provides the members with truthful instructions regarding the universal principles of life.

Barefoot Paths

I have just read an article in this months Natural Health magazine about Britain’s first Barefoot Park that has opened at the Trentham Estate, Stoke-on-Trent, www.trenthamleisure.co.uk It’s a playground for your feet, with lots of different textures to stimulate the feet, they say its DIY Reflexology. There are 7000 nerves and 26 bones in the feet!! That’s a lot of stimulation!! In the East Reflexology paths have been around for thousands of years, and according to the article ‘experiencing the sensation of different textures underfoot is invigorating’. And it reminded me that only last week while playing football with friends three young boys!!! I took off my sandals while running around on the grass, it was so enjoyable, I realised I hadn’t been barefoot on grass for a very long time. The feeling was WONDERFUL.

Watching Pretty Woman yet again last week!! Julia Roberts takes Richard Gere to the park and takes off his shoes and socks and makes him walk around on the grass barefoot, a workaholic who is always at his desk wearing a suit!!! Getting him to connect back with nature.

As a rebellious teenager I used to walk most places barefoot and I had forgotten how good it feels. It is so easy to forget our inner child, and not take them out to play, why not yours out today for a Barefoot Walk.

Also, in the article it talks about Elizabeth Marazita, a doctor of Acupuncture who has designed many Barefoot Paths in America, and has also developed and indoor mat!!! www.pathsofhealth.com like walking on a pebble beach in your own home!!!
And finally a quote from a book by Adele Coombs ‘Barefoot Dreaming’ Going barefoot is the gentlest way of walking and can symbolize a way of living – being authentic, vulnerable, sensitive to our surroundings. It’s the feeling of enjoying warm sand beneath our toes, or carefully making our way over sharp rocks in the darkness. It’s a way of living that has the lightest impact, removing the barrier between us and nature” so why not kick off your shoes and start enjoying today…..

Corinne's Video!

This is a short clip that was played to the copper beach team a while back in torquay

It was originally made as present for a friend (just a friend) on her birthday - since then it's become my most watched piece...

Its a fairly short clip for my animations being only 286 pictures long, made in stop motion using just simple plasticine, my phone and a cardboard box

If you want to know more about it, my work or me please email me

derrybradfordtydeman@hotmail.co.uk

or check out my youtube for more of my work (type derrybradfordtydeman into search bar)

'more-than-profit'

I read somewhere about someone setting up a 'more-than-profit' organisation.

Sounded like a bigger and more joyful take on the old 'not-for-profit' cliche, which was surely a somewhat sour reaction to profiteering.

More than sounds so much more engaging. Count me in...

Looking at leadership

1 - “Discover, deep at their inner core, why each member of your team is working in the job they are. Then you must feed that.”
Douglas “Yoda” Vlchek, Chief Wisdom Officer - DaVita Inc.

2 -“Have you thanked someone today for what they’ve done to help you achieve your vision for yourself and your team?”
Bob Hoffman , Executive Director, Organizational Development
Novartis Oncology

3 - “Leadership teamwork is about individual genius, collectively experienced. Don’t normalize eccentricity or brilliance. Orchestrate a way for people playing full out to do so together.”
Foster Mobley, Chief Executive Officer
The Foster Mobley Group: Advisors in Innovative Change

4 -“Let your actions speak much louder than what you say.”
Cliff Hakim, Career Consultant Author: We Are All Self-Employed

5 - “Be visible, articulate a clear vision, communicate in person often, walk the talk, listen, and respond in a timely manner.”
Jeff Peris, Chief Learning Officer - Wyeth

6 -“Know your business…know your people…have a clear vision and direction that you are able to communicate to your people. Be authentic, decisive, inclusive and most important, be humble.”
Tawfik Kamal, MD , Executive Director - Head of Strategic Marketing Capabilities
Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation

7 - “Find the people in your organization who are already doing what you wish others would do and make a big deal out of it.”
Keir Carroll, Performance Improvement Concepts

8 - “Self-awareness is critical. . . even in the executive suite. Be aware of what others (1) think of you and (2) say about you. Don’t criticize, judge or gossip about your peers, as your team will do the same. Be a role model and mentor for others . . . you will then truly lead by example.”
Kathleen Sack , Director Learning Programs - Tyco International (US) Inc.

9 Drop your need to be right all the time. Your whole purpose is to help others be right” Court Chilton, Principal -Court Chilton & Associates

10 - “No matter what results you are trying to drive through the organization, the culture will bleed through. It starts at the top, so if your senior leaders aren’t modeling teamwork, don’t expect to break downs walls anywhere.”
Deborah Slobodnik, Principal -Options Consulting, Inc.

11 - “Breakthrough performance is rooted in remarkable people. To attract, retain and leverage remarkable people YOU must weave the connection between their passions, their work, and one another.”
Dick Eaton, Founder and Chief Energizing Officer -Leapfrog Innovations

Surveillance, subjugation, personal responsibility and redemption through subversion: CCTV in London

London now has 10,000 state-funded CCTV cameras. This figure doesn't include cameras for traffic control or cameras controlled by private companies such as London Transport. The cost of installing and maintaining these cameras is estimated at £200 million over the past 10 years. Unfortunately they don't do their intended job.

Boroughs with more cameras do not have better crime detection rates:

[F]our out of five of the boroughs with the most cameras have a record of solving crime that is below average.

Indeed according to Nacro, a UK criminal justice charity, the money would have been better spent of street lighting which has been shown to cut crime by up to 20 percent.

I feel that a large part of the problem is to do with abdication of personal responsibility. There is a chain of deferring obligation that extends from the individual through the police and criminal justice system that if antisocial behaviour is recorded somewhere it will all be sorted out somehow in the end.

Technology is only a tool, and any tool is only as useful as it is effectively used. I am not advocating marauding bands of vigilantes taking to the streets, but the censure of our community is a powerful regulating factor for most people. For that to happen an act must be consciously and actively observed. We are ceding the power of our collective observations to an unconscious technological solution and in the process eroding the bonds of our community.

The power of observing antisocial acts is that it reveals the truth of the senselessness of the act to the miscreant. The taboos of our society are still there but they need to be maintained or they will wither and die. We don't need every minute of our day observed by machines. We need some crucial moments actively observed by people. It is revealing that street lighting that allows people to see better is more effective than CCTV in reducing crime.

There is one small benefit to all this surveillance. A group of filmmakers have drafted a manifesto for using these cameras to make films. The footage is available through the Freedom of Information Act and with a little ingenuity a story can be constructed.

The first of these films Faceless is due for release this autumn in the UK, and you can watch the trailer here.

Totnes leads the way

There was a poignant moment this week when - as well as wanting a solution to global warming - my youngest daughter also told me she wanted an ipod. As a kid, the former – had it been invented – would have surely featured on my wish list. The latter didn't bother me. These and other more worldly concerns were only to dawn on me in my early twenties – long after school and college.

Is it right I wonder to get schoolchildren concerned or even feeling bad about the alleged damage an industrialised minority of us are supposed to be doing to the majority of our environment? Whilst I'd love my daughter to grow up to be a responsible and useful adult, I really hate the fact that she may in any way have her childhood overshadowed or undermined by green guilt. To me, she's innocent and should in no way feel pain projected upon her by well-meaning adults.

There's a subtle, yet huge difference between being guilty and being responsible.

A local organisation living this distinction is Transition Town Totnes (TTT). Dear old funky town claims to be the UK's first to explore how we can prepare for a carbon constrained, energy lean world – in simple terms: how to survive if and when the oil starts running out, which some say could be any day now. If you consider how much of your own life is based on the consumption of fossil fuels, this is certainly a projest to keep an eye on, if not get fully involved in.

Very encouragingly, this is a community-led initiative which is working towards the creation of an "Energy Descent Action Plan" modelled on Kinsale's original idea of that name. "The thinking behind TTT is simply that a town using much less energy and resources than we presently consume could, if properly planned for and designed, be more resilient, more abundant and more pleasurable," say the local organisers.

This is a "timetabled way down from the oil peak", add TTT who strive to be inclusive, imaginative, practical and fun. With the emphasis on being fun and easy, this approach is not about being an expert, It's more about getting involved as well as the chance to "meet lots of interesting people, strengthen your community, and learn new skills."

Initiatives so far that take shelter under the TTT umbrella include an alternative currency - the Totnes Pound , and sub-groups that are looking at building, energy use, healthcare, food, the arts, transport, local government and economics. Of particular interest to me is the Heart and Soul group which is “exploring ways to support and inspire us through these challenging and exciting times”. Taking a good look at how we can prepare our hearts and minds for the predicted ecological and social shifts, they are dealing with the “psychology of change”. And in the face of energy descent, they recommend a “consciousness ascent” – good thinking.

“Many believe that transforming our world will mean a deep change of heart and mind, as the transition to sustainability goes far beyond the immediate practical tasks”, say this section of Transition Town Totnes. “Themes that have already emerged include understanding the psychology of the industrial growth society, reconnecting with nature, expressing how it feels to be alive and engaged at such an uncertain and critical time and creating community celebrations”.

At the official “unleashing” of TTT, speaker Chris Johnstone said: “the question is whether we start being ahead of the game, and actually start adapting before the price of oil starts going through the roof, before oil becomes more difficult to get hold of, or supermarkets have problems stocking their shelves. If we can adapt before that happens, then we're in a much better position to adapt to the changes rather than being defeated by those changes.”

Echoing the words of visionary Buckminster Fuller - "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete" – it’s good to see that Totnes are leading the way and engaging themselves practically, positively and hopefully; not succumbing to the stunning effects of the many gloomy, doomy messages that bombard us daily.

All power to this transitioning Totnes elbows…

“Totnes has an opportunity here to be ground breaking internationally. I have been talking about this idea of The Great Turning, that maybe in 400 years time, if humanity finds a way through, maybe they will look back at this time at the beginning of the 21st century as a crucial time, as the last decade of the Oil Age. Maybe they will tell stories about what happened in Totnes,” adds Chris.

The Heart and Soul group holds regular open meetings, discussions, workshops, and events to explore these themes and uncover new ones. To receive updates, email sophyb@btinternet.com or call 01803 863766.

You can shape the future of the music industry

There is a maelstrom of controversy around the use of bit-torrent and peer-to-peer file-sharing of music fulminating at the moment. There are (at least) two sides to the argument and perhaps the only thing that is clear is that the status quo will not stand.

On one hand the music industry is furious with the bit-torrent and peer-to-peer sites. They paint them as pirates stealing food from the mouths of starving artists. On the other hand the pirates say that internet distribution has changed things forever and that the old commercial models make no sense in the new world of interconnected information. The truth, or certainly a sane solution, lies somewhere in the middle.

It is somewhat disingenuous of the music industry spokesmen to claim to be speaking for starving artists. Although James Blunt often looks like he could do with a good feed I imagine he is well compensated for what he does. The real threat of the changes afoot are to the companies at the top of the music industry food chain. Bit-torrent in particular is a fantastically efficient method of distributing digital information. It cuts out the physical manufacture of CDs, requires no transportation and no retail outlet.

Following this argument through, peer network distribution cuts out a large part of the role that many music industry companies perform. So perhaps they are more worried about their own futures than where James Blunt's next hot dinner is coming from. It all sounds rosy at first. We can all strap on our tricorn hats and eye-patches and download anything we want, can't we?

Unfortunately not, or at least not yet with a clean conscience. While there may be some real marketing advantages to releasing music on peer network sites there is currently no direct way to extract any revenue and this once again swings the pendulum in favour of the waif-like Mr Blunt and his ilk. If you are already making money from your music and have access to the monetized distribution networks the peer network sites are a great meretricious marketing tool. Indeed the music industry is actively using them for research now as this article from Torrentfreak.com points out. But what of those fighting their way up the greasy pole how does this emerging model help them?

At the moment it doesn't directly though the potential is huge. The distribution of wealth through-the music industry is still based on the old models where much is done on guesswork. It has kept some cats fat, but it doesn't share the wealth. With the ability to track exactly what has been downloaded over the internet there is an opportunity to create a system where artists really are paid based on their popularity, where the medium of distribution is open to all and talent is rewarded rather than the size of your marketing budget. While James Blunt might be gaunt his marketing budget is not.

The infrastructure is emerging but it is not fully enabled or monetized yet. It could be on the basis of subscriptions or perhaps sponsorship. The solution is out there waiting to be discovered, and it will emerge. One day we will be able to download content for invisible (or even no) cost, all artists will prosper according to their popularity and the playing field will be level.

If this sounds like something you would like to happen then I would encourage you to actively engage with the process. Support sites like Amie Street that are proposing alternative distribution methods and don't accept the industry line that file-sharing is evil. Engage with the process and improve it.

P.S: It is unfair to single out James Blunt for ridicule. There are scores of corporate drones cranking out music by the yard for their paymasters. I just happened to see his tragic face on a billboard this morning.

Tools for Transformation

Big up to Peter Shepherd who created the Tools for Transformation site, newsletter and po - http://www.trans4mind.com

One of his readers puts it so well: "Just a quick message to say I think trans4mind is fantastic! In my opinion it is exactly what the Internet should be about. I knew something was missing in my life and trans4mind has helped me identify the pieces. It is good to see so much valuable self help information made available in one place!" - Jason

meme re:man

I'm a fan of the growing recognition of "memes", one of Richard Dawkins' better contributions namely "a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation" in his book The Selfish Gene (1976).

I found out about the idea in Randy Gage's book "Why you're dumb, sick and broke. . . and how to get smart, healthy and rich" - a different and arguably more accessible platform than the religious atheist Dawkins. See: http://randygage.com/products/sick-broke.html

Anyway, there's a new meme book; turbocharging the idea. Apparently, vMemes are the basis of a new book - Spiral Dynamics by Don Beck and Christopher Cowan.

Steve Dinan of The Esalen Institute says: "this is really a terrific book ... it presents, in fascinating detail, a spiral developmental model of worldviews. Beck and Cowan call these patterns of thinking vMemes (short for values-attracting meta-memes)."

More importnatly, "Beck and Cowan are more interested in lubricating change effectively than rejecting and overthrowing old structures."

You can find it at: http://www.spiraldynamics.com/index.htm

Connectedness and Copyright

I don't understand the concept of copyright. Atleast not in the work that I do. Absolutely everybody that I have met for any length of time, has contrinuted to who I am today and thereby the work that I am capable of doing and thereby any constructs or tools that my company uses, practices, implements.

It bothers me that a sense of belonging must be attached to the knowledge that one owns the rights over something. Why is it hard to feel that one can use something comfortably even when it is shared?

A reminder (from Joy and Suparna)

Copper Beech is about conscious living. And conscious living is anchored on the twin concepts of awareness and choice. Two faces of the same coin. Common sense tells us, if we get to know about something we get to choose. No information, no choice. No choice, no action. We are thinking of a world where we need to act out our choices that comes out of knowledge. We’ve got that worked out.

Choices can weight you down, choices can set you free.

Copper Beech seeks to provide a platform for like-thinking, like-believing, like-acting, like-feeling folks to converge, create, and collaborate. Out of the core comes the distant rumbling of a world turning itself inside out. We are a growing tribe of unapologetic, unabashed, and unassuming people who are willing to wear their hearts on their sleeves. We will log on to become members of social networking sites, be heard on the Radio, seen on TV, read on Magazines, be discussing on Blogs, scripting Wikis, building Conscious Centers and Cities. We are not here to change the world.

We figured if we change ourselves, the world still stands a chance – because – well, we are the world. We’ll be busy and chances are you’ll find us.

Where do we want to be 97 years from now?

There is a enchanting posting at Paleo-Future of French postcards from 1910 depicting a vision of life in the year 2000. I find visions of the future illuminate many subtle aspects of their time. These postcards evince a powerful belief that technology is good, and that mechanical means of performing manual tasks is preferable to humans doing the work. There are even machines for brushing your hair in the morning.

Some of the aspirations are almost universal to the idiom, such as individual flight that has evolved into the idea of jet-packs, some are dystopian such as the prediction of horses verging on extinction and some are brilliantly joyful such as the festival of flowers where people fly about in small craft hurling blossoms at eachother.

I feel these images give us a glimpse into the hopes and aspirations of the time. Where we are now is a very different place. Some of these wishes have been realised, in some form, we have video-conferencing and news podcasts now, but this innocent popular imagining of the future seems to be disappearing. There is a prevailing view that technology is something that happens to us, and that if anyone plots its course they are far removed from us.

Perhaps by engaging in these flights of whimsy we can shape our future. What kind of future do we want or think will be 97 years from now?

And on the 7th day...

And on the 7th day, Joy looked down on all the Copper Beech platforms and said...

God save us from scientism

There I was writing my newspaper column about “non violent communication” when, rather ironically, I became enraged by two stop press news items that knocked me off my perch in a fit of utter incredulity.

Just as I was adding the finishing touches to an article that espouses the need to acknowledge our deepest needs and act lovingly when it comes to getting the best out of ourselves and each other, I don’t mind communicating that I was incensed by the latest outbreak of what I call “scientism”.

First I hear a “ground-breaking” British study has found that artificial colours and commonly-used preservatives, such as those often found in sweets and soft drinks (do they still warrant the tag “soft”?) might be linked to hyperactivity in children.

And then, only moments later, a further news item (I use the term “news” with some resistance) which warns that children who have binge drunk by the age of 16 are more likely to use drugs when they grow up, turn into alcoholics and possibly end up with criminal convictions.

If you heard these items, were you tempted - as I was - to put your head through your hi-fi system? So much for non violent communication.

What’s more, I later found out that the findings of those ground-breaking scientists - namely a team at Southampton University whose results were published this week in The Lancet – are being taken so seriously, that the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) will be looking into the “possible link” between certain food colours and ill behaviour.

Furthermore, I gather the no-doubt earnest scientists also suggested that parents now have a simple tool to help them tackle hyperactive behaviour. Thank you - I must add that to my list that includes not playing on motorways and refraining from juggling with knives.

In the similar what-planet-do-these-people-live-on piece of work, researchers at the Institute of Child Health in London reckoned that in a long-term study of 11,000 British children born in 1970, those who drank heavily in their mid-teens encountered a wide range of social and medical problems by the age of 30.

Well I never. Lord only knows what an over-indulgence of those iridescent blue alco-pops might do to the average teen.

Not for the first time, I am reminded of Basil Fawlty who tells wife Sybil that if she were on Mastermind her specialist subject would be 'stating the bleeding obvious'.

I understand that we all have to have jobs and pay bills, but this sort of work and these sorts of “findings” are an insult to the intelligence, instincts and intuition of the people for whom they are presumably intended.

We know at a very basic level that blue sweets and industrial chemicals might not do our kids much good. And that if they go on to overdo it on the booze, it could bring about all sorts of nasty consequences; you don’t need a degree to see that let alone a well-funded, long-term research project.

And therein lies my beef - not with science not even with scientists - and the joy I imagine they get in endeavouring to understand how and why things work, especially when geared to the betterment of humankind and society. My complaint is levelled right between the blinkered eyes of “scientism” – the narrow-minded belief in the scientific worldview to the exclusion of other equally valid terms of reference, those subtler human faculties and inner knowing.

We just know some things and don't need a prolonged and rationalised trip around the houses to prove it. Only the most dead-from-the-neck-down types of people need the validation of this sort of research. And what about those binge drinkers who don't turn into social misfits or the poor kids who never got to try a blue Smartie, just for the fun of it? Life is more complex than those boffins would have us believe.

I sincerely hope that the work of these clearly well-meaning folks has been dumbed-down, trivialised or mis-represented. There must surely be much more to it than the hype that made the headlines this week.

Simplicity Syndrome

I was at a visioning meeting for a massive organisation yesterday. We were talking about where the organisation would be in the next five years and how it would get there. The feeling around the table was that the company should stick to doing only what is simple, on expansion; because complexity at scale is an invitation for chaos.

Here's the question I left with that day. Motivation is a complicated thing, love is, mistrust is, suspicion is...for a revolutionary idea to be scaled up, must it be simple?

Is it that transfer of learning is effective when the content is simple or is it when the content is relevant. However complex, if the subject is something one can relate to, isn't it what makes the difference between effective learning and fragmented or rote learning?

If the core of lasting and comprehensive learning is that the learner be moved by the content, then it follows, that the learner must allow the his/her Self to get involved with the content. That is the stuff that makes for effective process or pedagogy!

The engagement of the Self in the business of learning is unfortunately more often than not, not a priority. Even sadder is that this is mostly because the connection is not seen. Oh there is the regular fare about Value Education and Moral Education, but it translates into tokensim because of the disconnect between the learner, his or her Self, his/her reality and the content.

Clearly, there are tools for making this connect, which can be taught, explored, re-invented, devised, adapted; but first must be prioritised as part of the teaching-learning process in school at every level.

Must be a sign: five years 'til 2012 and I'm not ready

Coincidence, serendipity, synchronicity, fate, bad luck ... call it what you will, yet stuff happens that can make you go "hmmmmm".

Take this parking ticket (pictured). It clearly says: "Expiry Time - 20:12" and note it also says "Not Transferable".

Could the Mayans have been right? Is it all going to expire (untransferrably) in 2012?

And if they were so good at picking sell-by dates, how come they didn't see the end of their own civilisation coming? (Apologies to Stuart Wilde, I think?)

Any way, watch out for the signs and be of good cheer; you never know when your expiry time is coming (unless you're in a pay and display car park).

PS Is the goldfish another sign?

Spirituality - Brand India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Columnists/India_as_spiritual_hotline/rssarticleshow/2144462.cms

Diana dead, but the search continues...

Ten years ago, I was sufficiently inspired (or mad enough) to create something called the International Institute of Joy – an organisation dedicated to helping people find sustainable happiness.

Joy for me then, as now, defined as "happiness without a reason"; the natural state of human beings when our basic needs are met, beneath and beyond the petty concerns that increasingly dominate our minds.

Ten years to this very day, an article about my joyful work appeared in The Daily Mail under the heading: "Who's the Guru?" As it turned out, the piece showed up - full on - in the shadow of Princess Diana's death. As the nation descended into mass mourning, my call to "train your soul to find happiness" understandably got buried.

This is what it said: "As a race, we have forgotten how to enjoy long-term happiness. Many people think they can find it in possessions such as cars, houses and clothes. Society's over-emphasis on accumulating wealth means we are out of the habit of training our souls and minds to find joy internally through our peace of mind.

We can't sustain happiness by buying it through external objects. Achieving peace of mind and happiness involves changing some of our negative thinking, which often results from stress, and the way we organise our lives.

It is difficult to feel happy when our minds are dominated by emotions such as anger, worry and fear, which are common in today's society because we never seem to stop, or we slow down too late. They inhibit joy because, for example, anger leads to conflict; worry triggers illness and fear can paralyse our ability to feel free and make unprejudiced decisions. As a result, we feel frustrated and that something is missing in our lives.

We should use tools such as yoga and meditation to access the part of our mind where there is a source of joy, contentment and calm. Just setting aside some special time to be still, away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, is a good start. It's important to allow ourselves the time to consider what we want from life and to think about discarding what we simply don't need.

Retreats and workshops don't provide an instant solution, but they do allow people to step off the conveyor belt, removing them from their habitual choices in life. If you feel as though there must be more to life, then listen to yourself: there is. Be positive, don't be a victim and you can change your life.

It's about thinking 'Thank goodness it's today' rather than just 'Thank goodness it's Friday'." Ten years on, I largely stand by what I said as a younger, meaning-of-life-seeking sort of guy (even though it got slightly "journalisticated").

And as our collective mind is inevitably drawn back to the unresolved issues around Diana's death, I think it's still fair to say that our overwhelming concern as human beings is the search for happiness. A quest so publicly and painfully exemplified by the "Queen of Hearts".

Incredible list of personal development blogs

Are you looking to change your life? Awaken the giant within!? Live your hearts desire? Or just become the greatest human being that ever lived!? Well I've got good news for you.

I just came across what is probably the most comprehensive list of personal development blogs ever assembled!

http://priscillapalmer.com/priscillapalmer/2007/08/21/personal-development-list/

Just ignore the ones on Time Management because it'll take you all month to read through them all!

Four films about 2012 and the global consciousness shift

Just like buses, you wait for ages and then four come along at once! Four what? you ask. Four films about the shift in global consciousness of course!

Are they worth watching? I don't know I haven't seen them yet; however, I'm looking forward to all of them. Here's a sneak preview of four films that you can expect to see in your spiritual multiplex over the next year or so.

Time of the Sixth Sun

Teaser: "We have entered a critical time in the history of humanity...It's time to change. This film is about the shift in global awareness and the transformation of consciousness as we approach 2012." - View the trailer

From the website: "Time of the Sixth Sun is a multi-platform film project about the awakening and transformation of global consciousness, a witnessing of these times and the huge potential for change in the world …… in the way we relate to it and the way we live in it."

Speakers include: Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Credo Mutwa, Don Alverto Taxo, Maestro Tlakaelel, Lynne Franks, Dr.Maseru Emoto, HH Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Geoff Stray, Dr. Manjir Samanta-Laughton, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Carl Johan Calleman, Tom Kenyon, Carla Rueckert and many more. More from the synopsis

Website: http://www.timeofthesixthsun.com


2012 The Odyssey

Teaser: "Did you know that the Mayan calander comes to an end in 2012? Did you know that ther are other prophesies from all over the world that predict that something amazing is going to happen in 2012?" View the trailer

Speakers: José Argüelles, Gregg Braden, John Major Jenkins, Rick Levine, Sharron Rose, Geoff Stray, Geoff Stray, Alberto Villoldo, Jay Weidner More from the synopsis

Website: http://www.2012theodyssey.com


Shift of the Ages

Teaser: "This cycle of the ancient Mayan Calendar ends in the year 2012. This is the death of the 4th period of the sun...And the birth of the new 5th sun." View the trailer

From the website: "According to an ancient Mayan Calendar we are living in the last days of a great cosmic cycle known as the "Long Count." Traditionally, this is labeled as the Death of the Fourth period of the Sun and the Birth of the new Fifth Sun. The Maya keep accurate and detailed records of cosmic cycles, Earth's transitions and extreme changes in civilizations' collective consciousness. Indigenous traditions and world religions as well as Platonic philosophy view the current phase of existence as a harbinger of radical adjustment in our perception of reality. The birth of the 5th Sun signifies a "Shift of the Ages." More from the synopsis

Website: http://www.shiftingages.com


The Shift

Teaser: "A movie made by a movement" View the trailer

From the website: "A massive worldwide phenomenon is in progress, offering seeds of great hope for the future. Millions of individuals, organizations and corporations around the world are waking up and embracing a new outlook with an emphasis on their responsibility to contribute positively to our collective future. We are in the middle of the biggest social transformation in human history, The SHIFT." More from the synopsis

Website: http://theshiftmovie.com

Get a Certificate in Holistic Spirituality

Today I discovered that well known UK author and spiritual teacher William Bloom has just announced a course in Holistic Spirituality starting in October in London.

According to his website "The purpose of this pioneering, experiential and practical course is to explore and integrate the core practices of a holistic approach to spirituality...

..it aims to meet the growing professional need for spiritually competent people, whose approach is holistic. This is explicitly required in healthcare, education, human resources, leadership, community-building and all fields that require the skills of pastoral care. The vocational purpose of this course is to facilitate the training of spiritually competent people to a level of excellence that can be recognised by others regardless of their religious or cultural background."

Visit http://www.williambloom.com/pages.php?id=44 for more information

It sounds like quite an exciting course which I may enrol on myself.

There's an open evening, which I hope to attend, where you can find out more about the course, which is on the 21st September 7pm at Room 2A, University of London Union, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HY

Courage, Conviction and Consciousness

Courage, to me, was like a big wide-brush stroke - Intimidating, an immense gesture, diifficult to commit to, larger than life...and of course something I associated only with failure and guilt.

Then I saw 'Hotel Rwanda' - the story of a man who does not know he is courageous. He follows one simple rule. He only does what he can live with and does not do what he cannot live with. His actions are not so much the result of lofty ideals but just his effort to remain true to himself. His effort is to stay human. One step at a time, one foot in front of the other, without any more motive but to do what he feels will make it right, do whatever he can, with what he can, for whoever he can.

The film starts with a quote that goes something like this: 'When it is all over, you will not remember the harsh words of your enemies, but the silence of your freinds', (Martin Luther King Junior). It makes me wonder about the texture of courage and the double-edged power of acquiescence, the power of one silent voice, the self-knowledge that must be inspired by, the noise that drowns out quietness that it must come from, the courage to face that quiet.

The two signs of insanity:

The two signs of insanity:

1. Doing the same thing to get a different result, because...
   
2. If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got
   

Carl's dietary preferences (part two)

It's a little hard to make out, but this lunchtime delight - the Skinnie Minnie - is another excellent example of how wonderfully things are changing: healthy AND delicious food that's easy to find and fits in with your schedule.

I picked this healthy sarnie up in Boots, the High Street chemist no less. What's more, it's an award winner and rightly so...

At the last "Excellence in Food & Drink Awards", this sandwich, a delicious combination of tuna, olive oil, lemon juice, cumin seeds, houmous and crunchy fresh salad on wholemeal (all organic), was said by the judges to be "Fresh and delightful."

"Really tasty and the sort of sandwich you would only expect if you made it yourself. You can almost feel it doing you good as you eat it."

Hats off and mouths open for: http://www.freshnaturallyorganic.co.uk/

Education: The Construction and Un-Doing of Wonder

For the last two days, I have been attending a workshop. It is being run by an organisation called Jodo Gyan (www.jodogyan.org) for one of the largest players in Education in India.

What Jodo Gyan does and what Shahji, one of the principal researchers have been doing is trying to find ways to make Mathematics a relevant experience for children in school.

Listening to him and the work of Jodo Gyan, has been an utterly beautiful experience. The joy of seeing an nimble mind in action, humbly but dexterously turning everything you 'know' (have assumed to be true) on its head, without condescending to 'teach' you but just to share an experience or to invite you to explore your own experience, makes for a fascinating learning experience.
I wanted to draw attention to the model of engagement that so many of us have become much more able to articulate but so few of us can pull it off with grace that only comes from compassion and absolute humility.

Schools need to become spaces where the mind, the spirit and life can come together to breathe as one. Teachers unfortunately have little or no experience of this themselves, and so facilitators like Shahji make more impact by example than they do by what they teach.

If the magic ingredient is being connected to one's own Self enough to find a reflection of the Self in everyone and everything around us (compassion), and thereby be respectful and humble, therefore be open to learning and actually listen to learners for what they know, so the boundaries of what not to teach expand, then the basic ingredient of sustainable, responsive education is spiritual in its core.

At the core of Conscious Living, is to my mind, mindfulness and an acceptance of the possibility that there is an unknown. Classrooms of the future need to be those that encourage this personal reflection and the comfort/awe of being part of an unknown whole.Then, there will be a chance that 'fun' will cease to be an artificial construction supported with transient tools that are produced and instead become reminiscent of childlike wonder. Then, there is a chance that the complex melts away to give way to the simple (what we give special status today and call 'profound').

Institutionalised education systems, the world-over systematically gun for the exact opposite, today with a much more confusing veneer of condescension for the curriculum I am sharing as well as a supposed shedding of the hard-nosed commercialised packaging that they were initially designed for. So now we have a chaotic middle path that brings with it little understanding of the immense vocabulary/jargon that is used to describe it, as well as total lack of skill or courage to actually inquire enough to change it.

For me, it has been worth wondering about:
What is worth teaching?
What is the natural trajectory of learning for children?
What is listening?
Who is worth listening to?
What need be accepted?

Love those salad days

In the background, my garden; in the foreground, my dinner.

Twice this week, in mainstream supermarkets, I've found punnets of "living salad" - and I reckon you can't get much fresher or more nutritious (well, it could - and probably will be - organic, one day) than that.

It's delicious and a sign of how things are changing so fast. In fact, I reckon things are changing at an exponential rate now as we appear to be nearing conscious critical mass.

For the official news release, go to: http://www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/index.asp?PageID=422&subsection=&Year=2005&NewsID=549

Wasn't passionate about politics

I've avoided political campaigning in recent years - I've found it so negative and dis-empowering.

But (and it's a big but) I stumbled across John Pilger's new film on mainstream TV last week and was blown away. My heart was warmed, my imagination fired up and my tear ducts exercised.

Totally brilliant and utterly inspiring. Many people in South America are re-inventing democracy in a way the West only dare play at.

Check it out at: www.warondemocracy.net

Wake up to conscious living

Environmentalism, healthy living and spirituality seem to have all found a new home under the umbrella term “conscious living” – a phrase I’m finding myself exposed to a lot more lately. It seems people are no longer imprisoning themselves in an eco-warrior identity, muesli-munching ghetto or incense-burning bodily temple. More and more, I’d say, specialised alternative interests are giving way to a more rounded holistic approach to life that mixes and matches the myriad ways of feeling good, looking good and even being good – to oneself, each other and the planet.

Whilst conscious living certainly trips off the tongue a lot easier than the American version – “LOHAS”, standing for Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability - what does it really mean? If you are alive, and not in a coma or asleep, you must surely be living consciously?

Well apparently not. Being alive, some conscious living proponents might argue, does not mean you’re living very consciously. To them, life is about the choices we make. And furthermore, the consequence and quality of our choices is directly related to our level of consciousness – or how aware we are. And they might add: the more aware we are, the better the contribution we make to those around us and the world we live.

The simplest of examples is the now very lowly plastic bag. Ten years ago, most of us thoughtlessly packed our shopping into those apparently disposable carriers. Since our consciousness grew to understand that these items, carelessly used, are an environmental disaster waiting to happen, they are latterly shunned and outlawed in some shops and even whole towns.

Similarly, organic food and complementary therapies were once thought of as the choice of navel-gazing cranks, yet are now the preferred choice of many. How long until we say: “Why on earth did we allow ANY poison on foods?” Let alone allowing it to be unnecessarily shipped thousands of miles or grown under exploitative economic conditions. Things clearly change and what was once cranky becomes a more conscious and subsequently unquestioned choice.

This process allegedly prompted the 19th century philosopher Schopenhauer to say: "Truth always goes in three stages. First it is ridiculed, then violently opposed, and finally accepted as self-evident."

Seen another way, perhaps it’s those who live unconsciously who ridicule those endeavouring to live more consciously, ultimately waking up to the “self-evident” truth that perhaps the earth isn’t flat, maybe witches shouldn’t be burned and could it be that we can’t go on living with so little regard for the earth’s finite resources?

On a lighter note, my own definition of conscious living would recommend associating with what’s uplifting and inspiring in order that life becomes easier and more enjoyable. I promote living in the moment and going with the flow - being happy now, knowing that I’m doing my best and going in the right direction at least. What’s best and right however, only time will tell.

It’s also worth saying that living consciously is not an on or off matter; it’s a continuum, leading – some say – to the highest states of human experience. Whatever the theory, clearly life is about choices. If you disagree; that’s your choice. And when it comes to conscious living, the choice is yours; the choices are yours. Are you choosing wisely?

To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.— Albus Dumbledore (J.K. Rowling)

Those who know me will argue that I have used this forum improperly to glorify my cat, Minchy. My belief is that Minchy does provide us a lesson on Life. As a tiny kitten not more than 2 weeks old, she spent a week in ditch crying for help without food and water until we found her.

The malnutrition has had lasting impact on her bone structure, her spine, shoulder blades and pelvis are deformed and since her ribcage constricts her lungs, the slightest exertion causes her breathing difficulty. She must be in pain, but I have never known her to let on except once. She has more joie de vivre than Paris Hilton. Minchy teaches me, that it’s living with dignity that the tough one not death. It’s in this context that I asked you to read Shabry’s story.

Greener Living Expo

"Over 20 times more people worldwide are affected by floods than 40 years ago (perhaps July 07's floods in the heart of England bare testimony to this). The polar ice caps are rapidly melting and the rainforests, the 'lungs of the Earth', are being destroyed at an alarming rate.

We all realise that climate change is a real problem and needs to be addressed immediately. But what is the next step to take once you have realised that considerate living is your responsibility?

Our first pioneering environmental expo will take place on 9th and 10th of February 2008 in Exhibition Hall 1 of the Barbican. It will be a 'one stop shop' for regular people and businesses who want to live and work in a more sustainable way."

more

One minute wisdom by Anthony De Mello

Most people tell you they want to get out of kindergarten, but don't believe them. Don't believe them! All they want you to do is to mend their broken toys. "Give me back my wife. Give me back my job. Give me back my money. Give me back my reputation, my success." This is what they want; they want their toys replaced. That's all. Even the best psychologist will tell you that, that people don't really want to be cured. What they want is relief; a cure is painful.

Waking up is unpleasant, you know. You are nice and comfortable in bed. It's irritating to be woken up. That's the reason the wise guru will not attempt to wake people up. I hope I'm going to be wise here and make no attempt whatsoever to wake you up if you are asleep. It is really none of my business, even though I say to you at times, "Wake up!" My business is to do my thing, to dance my dance. If you profit from it, fine; if you don't, too bad! As the Arabs say, "The nature of rain is the same, but it makes thorns grow in the marshes and flowers in the gardens."

http://www.demello.org/article12.html

An Arrangement of Silence

Chopin

Time Comes

Once
Time comes
With Fate's touch
You detach

Like a leaf
Falling softly
To the ground
From a branch

Another side to the Green Fakers

The Green Hypocrisy Conundrum
I came across a post at Hugg this morning that really intrigued me. It reminded me of an overall question that’s been rattling around in my head for quite some time. Essentially my query is this - if a person/organization inspires positive change on the environmental front, yet falls somewhat short in their own activities, should their ‘hypocrisy’ outweigh all the good things they have accomplished?

read the rest at http://www.ecosherpa.com/green-commentary/the-green-hypocrisy-conundrum/

Green Fakers: Why eco-hypocrisy matters

By Jeff Bercovici

A few weeks ago, I wrote an item about Barbra Streisand, who was on tour in England. Though she's a big backer of environmental causes, and even offers tips for low-carbon living on her personal website, she was busted by the British press for touring in a private jet with a massive entourage that required 13 trucks and vast amounts of laundry—in other words, for sponsoring a traveling CO2 extravaganza.
I e-mailed my item to an editor at Grist, a popular environmental website and blog. The editor promptly sent back a sarcastic reply accusing me of "trolling for links by carrying right wing water." In his view, only conservative blogs would be interested in a snarky item about a liberal totem like Streisand; left-leaning sites protect their own. And here I thought hypocrisy was a non-partisan punch line.

Read the rest at http://www.canadafreepress.com/2007/global-warming080607.htm

A Hummer on the slopes of Mount Everest- Is nothing sacred anymore?

Dear All,
I recieved this mail below some days ago. I would be extremely grateful if everyone left their comments or mailed me their response to it. I was horrifed that the ministry of tourism is actually permitting this.
Thanks
Madhavi


As you might be aware, we at OutThere Adventurers are venturing out into the unknown. An attempt at a Guinness World Record. A ride to an altitude of more than 23,000 feet on the north slopes of Mt Everest. A successful attempt will beat the current record of 21,942 feet set by two Chilean adventurers on a volcano in the Chile-Argentina border in April this year. The attempt is going to be made on one Hummer H3 and two dirt bikes. In fact this will be the third World Record effort undertaken by Team OutThere and by far the biggest and most ambitious to date. More details on our expedition (which we call The Longest Mile) are available here - http://outthere-adventurers.com/TheLongestMile/thelongestmile.htm.

National Geographic is our television partner and will be telecasting the expedition over six hours through multiple episodes. And then there will be repeats.

A lot of people have approached us wondering how they can support us in our efforts. Well, this is an opportunity for you to share in our dream, support the effort and reap rich benefits out of the association. For just Rs 5 lakh, we will put up your brand logo on the Hummer. The benefits you will get out of this are as follows:

1 Your logo on the Hummer
2 Logo visibility during telecast on National Geographic
3 Credit in the end titles of each episode of the documentary
4 Logo on the backdrop during the press conference(s)
5 Acknowledgement on our web portal with link to your home page

We trust you will find this opportunity of benefit to your brand and moreover, join us celebrating not only the grit, spirit and determination of the Indian adventurer, but also sixty years of Indian independence. It will be a proud day for every Indian when the three adventurers hoist the flag on North Col and become the only people in the whole wide world to have taken their machines to such an incredible altitude.

Do let us know when we could come across and formalise your support towards this humungous effort.

www.OutThere-Adventurers.com

Nulla Dies Sine Linea

"Not a day without a line drawn." I was hoping to adopt this motto a long, long time ago, but somehow... many days passed without a line. Or rather - without a line drawn, a line that I would be conscious of, a line immediately visible.

Now I remembered this Latin phrase and decided to take it as my Conscious Living Blog motto.
So here is my first daily Linea, introducing itself and believing it won't be lonely!

Out of my head

It's not every day you go to a business meeting and end up "out of your head". That's what happened to me just recently.

As a preface to, as well as a foundation for the business at hand, a man by the name of Sanjai Verma showed us how to relate from our "hearts and hips", as well as our minds – the tool of choice for most meetings, for most people, in most offices - the world over.

By going beyond the very personal space between our ears, Sanjai gifted us with tools to help make us more creative, effective and open to the energy of others in the room.

On my way home from what was clearly a meeting more useful than most, and with tools to take away for use in the boardroom and beyond, I wondered what got Sanjai into this line of work. And in later conversation, I discovered that Sanjai was something of a spiritual explorer – going boldly where few dare to go.

"In my mid twenties I became disenchanted with my life as a financial controller and despite being physically fit and healthy, I never really felt happy within myself," confessed Sanjai who began a 4-year journey devouring books on religion, spirituality, yoga and meditation, who'd go to work to fulfil his "normal duties" and in the evenings and at weekends, read even more and attend various courses.

"During my journey I have trained in different types of massage, healing and psychic awareness," Sanjai explained. "Unconsciously, I was exploring energy work and delving into the subtle forces that shape our lives. I also met various gurus and found that despite them being regarded as 'enlightened', they didn't really impart any knowledge or tools that I could use on a daily basis."

"My understanding now is that we are all made of energy, a very vibrant dynamic and creative energy and that all of life's drama is simply a wonderful interplay of energy flowing," reveals Sanjai, after much lonely soul-searching and many ups and downs along his spiritual journey.

"Man is the only being that has been created to be able to 'step' outside of this energy," he reckons, "and in doing creates an ego which supports his uniqueness and individuality."

"Through the ego we have the opportunity to get completely lost in life. The further we go from our true nature, the lonelier we feel, and the more painful it becomes until there is an inner awakening which guides us back," suggests Sanjai who thinks we all have an inner being, soul or spirit to guide us.

The challenge, he adds, is to "listen to another part of us that can actually heal and make things easier, when we have become used to trusting only our rational voices."

"My personal experience with clients in the last eight years is that as much as we say we want to change, initially there is inertia, reluctance and distrust of actually letting go of the old ways of doing things and open to the new," said Sanjai whose combination of all the systems he's studied have given birth to something unique which he calls 'dynamic energy'.

"I am in the ongoing process of creating and manifesting a system that is easy and natural, and offers people tools to use on a daily basis in their personal and professional lives. The challenge is to make the journey back to your spirit - a wonderful and exhilarating experience."

"It is easy because all that it requires is that you become aware of your body, mind and breath. We know so little about ourselves on a subtle level because we are forever caught in our gross physical life. The most important aspect to all this is your breathing, something that you do every day without really being aware of it," claims Sanjai, convinced that Yogic breathing exercises, officially known as Pranayama, allow us to increase our lung capacity and efficiency, giving us access to previously untapped resources of energy.

"In understanding the natural flow of energy, we can find harmony and reap the benefits of better health, creativity and energy, rather than fighting the very forces that shape us. Swimming downstream is far easier than upstream, ask any salmon!"

"Living in connection with nature brings more respect for it and an awareness of your part in the whole dynamic of life," says Sanjai, the originator of "dynamic energy" which teaches us the value of living life directly as spirit, rather than as a human trying to be spirit. He's definitely onto something and - as for me - I'm out of my head much more these days.