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Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Humility
"Humility will not be served by lowering your sense of your own worth ([a] common misconception). To do that is simply to cringe, and cringers, beneath their lowly display, are rarely humble- more often they harbour an inadequately sublimated envy at what they see as others' good luck, which should have been theirs, had the world been more just. To be truly humble is to remain alert to the fact that, unless you're a castaway, your life unrolls amidst a tangle of reciprocal relationships, all of which demand some degree or other of discernment that can determine both justly and generously what is due to or from each. It is not humility to see only that your existence will import nothing to many people; neither is it pride to see that, for some, your presence may matter very much indeed. Real humility discerns and maintains an equilibrium between the two. To do its job properly it must solicit the assistance of both love and patience. Love has the best eyes, patience the best temper and tempering faculty. Humility defers wisely to both."
- Robert DiNapoli, from essay "Humility", taken from Arena: The Australian Magazine of Left Political, Social and Cultural Commentary, issue No. 134
Admiration
"ADMIRATION
Purpose:
To bring about growth through the desire to emulate desirable qualities. True admiration, if pure, brings joy.
Distortions:
Competition, then Jealousy, then Envy. (=wants to do as well as, then better than the admired one, to possess, then wants them to do worse than oneself at any cost, even if destroys what is desired.) Criticism and sabotage (in thought, speech or action) of the one envied, and self-criticism and self-hatred. ('Cassio and Othello' stance in life.)
Release:
...envy is a very poisonous combination of anger at the admired one, fear of one's own inadequacy, and grief at the loss of supremacy.
Transformation:
Forgiveness of self and other(s). Remembrance that one does oneself have the capacity to emulate the quality admired, as a latent potential in one's own Higher Unconscious. The decision to develop that quality in one's life. Gratitude and restoration of self-love.
Opportunity:
Qualities of the Higher Self [or one's own latent potential] seeking expression - Acceptance of oneself as one is at present without condemnation, even though one can see where improvements can be made. Unconditional Love. And the development of precisely the qualities perceived and admired in the other from within one's own self."
- from "Health, Joy, Love and Forgiveness", by the Psychosynthesis Foundation of Australia Inc.
Purpose:
To bring about growth through the desire to emulate desirable qualities. True admiration, if pure, brings joy.
Distortions:
Competition, then Jealousy, then Envy. (=wants to do as well as, then better than the admired one, to possess, then wants them to do worse than oneself at any cost, even if destroys what is desired.) Criticism and sabotage (in thought, speech or action) of the one envied, and self-criticism and self-hatred. ('Cassio and Othello' stance in life.)
Release:
...envy is a very poisonous combination of anger at the admired one, fear of one's own inadequacy, and grief at the loss of supremacy.
Transformation:
Forgiveness of self and other(s). Remembrance that one does oneself have the capacity to emulate the quality admired, as a latent potential in one's own Higher Unconscious. The decision to develop that quality in one's life. Gratitude and restoration of self-love.
Opportunity:
Qualities of the Higher Self [or one's own latent potential] seeking expression - Acceptance of oneself as one is at present without condemnation, even though one can see where improvements can be made. Unconditional Love. And the development of precisely the qualities perceived and admired in the other from within one's own self."
- from "Health, Joy, Love and Forgiveness", by the Psychosynthesis Foundation of Australia Inc.
critical mass
critical mass, let's say, of queer Muslims, making websites, let's say
of hybridised "Asian-'Western'" identities doing politik, perhaps
of bicycles storming roads, demanding justice for all killed by dooring,
victims of dominant ignorance and of otherwise poor social, cultural, political and urban infrastructures,
critical masses making meaning through amassing critical unity,
radical coalition in the service of egalitarianism, in service of
"The People"
"The Marginal"
"The Otherwise Forgotten";
criticalmass,
let's say, of progressive revisions, underway
obligatory ordinariness, making accessible not only
the fruits of liberty to those who may not yet have tasted it fully,
but also of
the ordinary victories of progressive radicalism
without the ugly cancer of fundamentalist extremism, with its own
myopias and tyrannies... "someone must always get hurt": how do I render this also essentially untruthful?
critical masses, let's say, of migrants of colour and indigenous nations in solidarity,
in solidary response to global Euro-/American- and (increasingly) Sino-hegemony,
of working classes linking arms reclaiming management of work,
all and so on and et cetera and ad infinitum
one world, critically amassing;
this is intentional,
not inevitable justice
of hybridised "Asian-'Western'" identities doing politik, perhaps
of bicycles storming roads, demanding justice for all killed by dooring,
victims of dominant ignorance and of otherwise poor social, cultural, political and urban infrastructures,
critical masses making meaning through amassing critical unity,
radical coalition in the service of egalitarianism, in service of
"The People"
"The Marginal"
"The Otherwise Forgotten";
criticalmass,
let's say, of progressive revisions, underway
obligatory ordinariness, making accessible not only
the fruits of liberty to those who may not yet have tasted it fully,
but also of
the ordinary victories of progressive radicalism
without the ugly cancer of fundamentalist extremism, with its own
myopias and tyrannies... "someone must always get hurt": how do I render this also essentially untruthful?
critical masses, let's say, of migrants of colour and indigenous nations in solidarity,
in solidary response to global Euro-/American- and (increasingly) Sino-hegemony,
of working classes linking arms reclaiming management of work,
all and so on and et cetera and ad infinitum
one world, critically amassing;
this is intentional,
not inevitable justice
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Digital Sangha
Facebook as Digital Sangha.
What is skillful action, in the context of Sangha?
What is right view, intention, speech and action?
How does living right livelihood factor into my expressions on Facebook?
What efforts do I make, what is the quality of my mind and my concentration that are integral to relating generously, wisely, lovingly and compassionately to my social network - as - Sangha?
No need to rush... anything...
Letting things emerge as they emerge... Breathing into things-as-they-are.
What is skillful action, in the context of Sangha?
What is right view, intention, speech and action?
How does living right livelihood factor into my expressions on Facebook?
What efforts do I make, what is the quality of my mind and my concentration that are integral to relating generously, wisely, lovingly and compassionately to my social network - as - Sangha?
No need to rush... anything...
Letting things emerge as they emerge... Breathing into things-as-they-are.
Friday, March 6, 2015
9.08pm thoughts
I've been sick the past few days.
Woke up in the middle of the night, two nights ago, with nightmares and fever.
I skipped work yesterday, as a result.
Today, I took a half day.
I have been reading Tim Soutphommasane's book "Don't Go Back to Where You Came From: Why Multiculturalism Works". It's very good.
Woke up in the middle of the night, two nights ago, with nightmares and fever.
I skipped work yesterday, as a result.
Today, I took a half day.
I have been reading Tim Soutphommasane's book "Don't Go Back to Where You Came From: Why Multiculturalism Works". It's very good.
Considerations of Spirituality
So I work for an organisation that focuses on spiritual care and spiritual health.
These are not easy concepts to explain.
A reflection on spirituality as an aspect of health and wellness. That one of the historical "homes" of spirituality has been in religion and in religious institutions. Of course, many religions and religious institutions these days are unfortunately less homes for spirit and more for homes for myopia, the maintenance of privilege, political regression, and an inability to remain present to evolving global realities.
All that said, some things that religions, religious institutions and religious leaders have done, that have been integral to any evolving definition of "spirituality" per se, have included:
- Ethics (e.g. a consideration of Old Age, Sickness and Death and the implications these considerations have on how we choose to live)
- Hermeneutics (textual interpretation in a community of practitioners)
- Ritual
- Contemplation/Reflection/Meditation
When I think of "spiritual health" in the context of a secular health sector, I think not only of the more esoteric aspects of spirituality (e.g. the "transcendent" or issues of "ultimate concern"), but also of health and medical ethics, hermeneutics in the sense of theological literacy when relating to patients and people living with chronic illness or degenerative disease, including more deliberate and mindful forms of ritual (including a reading of the extent to which a mindless ritual is already implicit in terms of access to health systems, e.g. intake forms, confidentiality statements, the taking of medicines, policies and procedures that delimit what sorts of movement or speech are possible, etc.), and moments of silent contemplation (with all the evidence-based promises of increased work efficacy and neurogenesis), integrated into the practice of health professionals, beyond just contact with patients/clients.
These are not easy concepts to explain.
A reflection on spirituality as an aspect of health and wellness. That one of the historical "homes" of spirituality has been in religion and in religious institutions. Of course, many religions and religious institutions these days are unfortunately less homes for spirit and more for homes for myopia, the maintenance of privilege, political regression, and an inability to remain present to evolving global realities.
All that said, some things that religions, religious institutions and religious leaders have done, that have been integral to any evolving definition of "spirituality" per se, have included:
- Ethics (e.g. a consideration of Old Age, Sickness and Death and the implications these considerations have on how we choose to live)
- Hermeneutics (textual interpretation in a community of practitioners)
- Ritual
- Contemplation/Reflection/Meditation
When I think of "spiritual health" in the context of a secular health sector, I think not only of the more esoteric aspects of spirituality (e.g. the "transcendent" or issues of "ultimate concern"), but also of health and medical ethics, hermeneutics in the sense of theological literacy when relating to patients and people living with chronic illness or degenerative disease, including more deliberate and mindful forms of ritual (including a reading of the extent to which a mindless ritual is already implicit in terms of access to health systems, e.g. intake forms, confidentiality statements, the taking of medicines, policies and procedures that delimit what sorts of movement or speech are possible, etc.), and moments of silent contemplation (with all the evidence-based promises of increased work efficacy and neurogenesis), integrated into the practice of health professionals, beyond just contact with patients/clients.
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