Amaryllis Belladonna
Immigration and Assumptions
The assumptions we make have consequences
Experiences, positive and negative, result in assumptions that drive policies, action and reactions, all of which have consequences for identity, for demonstrating—not just talking about—who we are as a people. A case in point is the current global immigration crisis.
The purpose of this blog is to reflect and appreciate through the contemplation of images, so my intention here is neither to judge nor offer solutions to this complex issue. Instead, I reflect on the assumptions underlying the creation of laws that drive decisions, which in turn have consequences. Atticus Finch’s closing argument in To Kill A Mockingbird, illustrates the power of assumptions.
“The witnesses for the State…have presented themselves to you, in this court, in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted, confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption—the evil assumption—that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women, an assumption one associates with minds of their caliber. Which gentlemen, we know is in itself a lie as black as Tom Robinson’s skin, a lie I do not have to point out to you. You know the truth, and the truth is this: Some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women—black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men. There is not one person in this courtroom who has not told a lie, who has never done an immoral thing, and there is no man living who has never looked upon a woman without desire.”
The science of whole systems and biological evolution support the long term viability of “inclusion.” Life evolves by creating novelty, variety. Despite the accommodations it requires, the dynamics of diversity propels evolution forward. Within all living systems there are cells that, for a variety of reasons, are or become toxic. To assume that all or most of them are toxic would be ignorant and dangerous—the body would turn on itself. In the human body, the immune system is the first line of defense, protecting it against toxic behaviors. The social equivalent of the immune system are law enforcement agencies.
When a society fences itself off from diversity, as the previous administration did, it severely limits its most precious resource—people with potential, and seriously weakens its resilience in overcoming adversity. The more diverse the members in a system, the greater the experience and intelligence available to find workable solutions to crises.
Persons, humanely treated, have constructive potentials that can be cultivated. Aside from the few bent on destruction, the vast majority of immigrants are highly motivated to make things better. Their intention is to build. Among them may be the next generation’s grand contributors. Closing out also fences in. In time, the “insiders” will experience limited resources and labor.
A compassionate people view themselves as a whole, interdependent system composed of individuals capable of manifesting both light and shadow, angel and devil, good and evil. They devise laws and put into place systems that attempt to minimize the darkness, but not at the expense of the light.
Of course, the world has changed dramatically since the days of Ellis Island where 450,000 people entered the United States in the first year. And of the 12 million admitted between 1892 and 1954, only 2 percent were deemed unfit to become citizens. Certainly, the American “melting pot” was more of a “cauldron,” but out of it came the scientific geniuses, captains of industry, artists, engineers, philosophers, educators, politicians, day-laborers and you and me—who built and continue to build the most powerful free nation on earth.
Destructive forces have always played, and continue to play a central role in biological, human and social evolution. It’s one of the ways that nature continuously renews herself. Now that humanity is largely directing its own and the planet’s evolution, it’s how we learn what works, what doesn’t and how to manage the shadow aspect within us and around us. Over the past four years we learned that a reactive and biased posture, operating from fear and exclusion only concedes more power to the forces of destruction. Negative thought and energy begets more negative energy.
The measure of a people’s strength is not their potential to blame, belittle or fend off diversity. It’s the ability to create a context wherein diverse people can live and work together safely, optimize their health, pursue an education if they want to and help each other to realize their potentials and dreams.
Breakdowns occur in nature and in life as pressures to pay attention, make a fresh examination of the situation and choose more wisely by considering the consequences of any action before it’s taken.
With regard to making judgments about any group of people, I repeat Atticus’ response to the evil, shadow aspects of human nature, made by the prosecution and bystanders.
We know the truth, and the truth is this: some people lie, some people are immoral, some people, irrespective of race, religion, national origin or worldview cannot be trusted. But this is a truth that applies to the entire human race. There is not one person in this courtroom who has not told a lie, who has never done an immoral thing, and there is no man living who has never looked upon a woman without desire.”
Holding a mirror up to one’s self encourages tolerance, fairness and compassion, qualities associated with light.
Begin challenging your assumptions. Your assumptions are the windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in awhile or the light won’t come in.
Alan Alda
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Email: smithdl@fuse.net
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A Paradigm Shift In Consciousness
Tenants of the shift to interdependence, unity and love
Diverse cells rise, become illuminated and enter a circle of light, expanded consciousness. Higher yet is the Great Mystery where infinite potential resides.
According to Mirriam-Webster Dictionary, a paradigm shift is an important change that happens when the usual way of thinking about or doing something is replaced by a new and different way. The phenomenon was defined and popularized by Thomas Kuhn in his 1962 book, The Structure of Scientific Revolution, where he argued that scientific advancement occurred in “intellectually violent revolutions” where “one conceptual world view is replaced by another.” Examples from the modern world include the Industrial Revolution, Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, the digital revolution, the internet, quantum physics, smart phones, artificial intelligence, robotics, gene splicing and nanotechnology.
Since the early ‘70s, authors and scientists have been writing about the coming “transformation,” describing shifts in consciousness from independence to interdependence, and from separation and fear to unity and love. It’s important to note that ten random people asked to describe the “current significant shifts in our ways of thinking” would result in ten different lists, possible with some duplication, certainly with different language and emphasis.
My research into paradigms turned up sites that specialized in business, political and economic shifts. Also, there were sites where individuals and organizations with particular agendas described both positive and negative shifts. Acknowledging my interest and philosophical biases—humanity’s evolving consciousness and a positive future—I list here a brief summary of the tenants I’ve been reading about since George Leonard published his book, The Transformation in 1973. (Amazon has the paperback listed at $768.00. The Kindle edition is $3.95).
Tenants Of The emerging Paradigm
Authenticity
To live authentically is to make choices based upon the deepest part of our being, rather than the opinions or expectations of others or society.
Balance
Whole-systems balance requires harmonizing components, all stakeholders. Harmony occurs more often when there is a balance between matter and spirit, and heart and head. “In a democracy, there is not a center. Rather, needs and resources are balanced for the good of the whole by all its parts.” (McFague, 2013). “A customer-centric store shifts the balance of power away from the merchant and toward the customer… it’s about empowerment of the individual.” — Jeff Bezos
Competition and Cooperation
“Evolution depends on competition and cooperation, on independence and interdependence. Competition and independence are both important to individual survival, while cooperation and interdependence are important to group, social and species survival. Individuals and their societies are holons at two levels of the same holarchy. These levels must achieve mutual consistency by looking out for themselves and working out between themselves a balance of competition and cooperation, of dependence and interdependence.” (Sahtouris, 2000).
Consciousness
The great wisdom traditions held that the universe is consciousness, the excitation of consciousness, the activity of consciousness and the experience of consciousness. It evolves in consciousness, and we evolve in consciousness. “I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative of consciousness.” (Max Plank, physicist).
Diversity
The great advantage of diversity is resilience, the ability to adapt to changing situations. For a diverse community to become resilient, it must be aware of the interdependence of all its members. As they are enriched, the community is enriched. (Capra, 2018)
Economics
Equatable economic systems need to safeguard the viability of the whole community. Only as they thrive will their members thrive as well. “This begins with sustainability and distributive justice, not with the allocation of resources among competing individuals. The community must be able to survive (sustainability), which it can do only if all members have the use of resources (distributive justice). This kind of economics is not value-free. Its preference is the well-being and sustainability of the full spectrum of holons, including the Earth.” (McFague, 2008).
Education
“We need to teach our children, our students, and our corporate and political leaders, the fundamental facts of life—that one species’ waste is another species’ food; that matter cycles continually through the web of life; that the energy driving the ecological cycle flows from the sun; that diversity assures resilience; that life, from its beginning more than 3 billion years ago, did not take over the planet by combat but by networking.” (Capra, 2018).
Energy
The laws of quantum physics indicate that the universe is constituted of energy. Energy is primal. Matter is derivative. There are far more information and potential in what we cannot see, than in what we do see. Space is not empty. (Laszlo, 2017)
Ethics and Integrity
“To retain a positive image, businesses must be committed to operating on an ethical foundation as it relates to the treatment of employees, respecting the surrounding environment and fair market practices in terms of price and consumer treatment.” (Horton, 2020)
Inner / Outer
“The inner world precipitates the outer world. Perceptions, beliefs and attitudes are a higher order than genetic endowment. Through perception and belief, we can modify 30,000 variations of every gene. Our perceptions and responses to life dynamically shape our biology and behavior.” (Lipton, 2008).
Interdependence
All living systems are interconnected and interdependent. “This interdependence of parts and the whole applies in both spatial and temporal terms… Anything that exists and has an identity does so only within the total network of everything that has a possible or potential relation to it. No phenomenon exists with an independent or intrinsic identity.” (Dalai Lama, 2005).
Life
“To live is to communicate life because life is essentially a spreading, growing phenomenon. Therefore, the more one communicates life, affirms life in one’s fellows, gives oneself to enhance their lives, the more one is alive, is truly living, and thus, is truly oneself.” (Bruteau, 1979)
Pattern & Trajectory Of Living Systems
Enduring patterns in the evolutionary process demonstrate that life moves inexorably in the direction of increased freedom, order, diversity, integration, novelty, complexity and consciousness. “Increasing diversification and integration are driven by selection. An understanding of the trajectory and causal drivers of the trends suggests that they are likely to culminate in the emergence of a global entity. This entity would emerge from the integration of the living processes, matter, energy and technology of the planet into a global cooperative organization. (Stewart, 2014).
Power
The paradigm of dominion, “power over,” is giving way to “power with,” the empowerment of others. The ideal structure for this is not the hierarchy but the social network, which is driven by interconnectedness. The network hubs with the richest connections and resources become centers of power. They connect large numbers of people to the network and are therefore sought out as authorities in various fields. Their authority allows these centers to empower people by connecting more of the network to itself. (Capra, 2018)
Purpose
“Our essential nature is identical to the central nature of the cosmos—pure consciousness, or love or spirit. According to all the major wisdom traditions, we are here to access, embody and transmit this divine consciousness into the world until material reality is made sacred—that is, until cosmic consciousness returns to Earth or, alternatively, until ultimate reality—God—returns to its original form of infinite oneness.” (Laszlo, 2017).
Spirituality
From an ecological perspective, “spirituality” is not about what gods we praise and how piously we do it, but about how our lives affect other human beings, including natural habitats and the Earth viewed as a living system. (Berry, 1999)
Stewardship
As members of one, whole and living body—the Earth—we are responsible for our actions concerning it. Acting responsibly means doing no harm and preserving, ideally promoting the health and well-being of all living things. Geologian Thomas Berry distinguished between an “environmental movement” that seeks to adjust the earth community to the needs of human beings and an “ecological movement” where human beings adjust to the needs of the earth community. (Berry, 1999).
Unity
The universe is one, a whole, living, creative, evolving, self-organizing and self-making system. “All evolution is a dance of wholes that separate themselves into parts and parts that join into mutually consistent new wholes. We can see it as a repeating and sequentially spiraling pattern of unity-individuation-competition-conflict-negotiation-resolution-cooperation-and new levels of unity.” (Sahtouris, 2000).
Worldview
“A worldview is a way of describing the universe and life within it, both in terms of what is and what ought to be… In addition to defining what goals can be sought in life, a worldview defines what goals should be pursued.” (Kiltko-Revera, 2004). Individuals who hold negative worldviews eventually demonstrate what does not work for the good, the qualitative sustainability, of the whole. Those holding positive views of the world have the potential to make lasting contributions.
Contemplation
Shifts is consciousness can be difficult for individuals. They can happen quickly, as when we adopt a more workable idea, or over a long time where we grapple with a concept that requires a worldview adjustment. For a society, nation or humanity as a whole, a shift in thinking that’s newly introduced requires testing. And that can take years, decades or longer because it upsets the status quo, established ways of thinking that are working for most people.
Throughout the testing period, when a worldview that was once successful starts to become toxic it meets resistance. The same with consciousness. Too many people may depend on it for life and livelihoods. For instance, when it became obvious that manufacturing industries were polluting the air globally with devastating health consequences the voices of concern and innovation, the emergents, were disregarded or drowned out by politicians, lobbyists and executives who made the case in support of the status quo.
But the status is never quo. Change is constant. And the emergents lead the way with more viable thinking, in part due to the increasing pressure of entropy. Unresolved breakdowns escalate into a crisis. Evolution favors the thinkers who, while adapting to changing conditions, find a better way to sustain and increase life. The more encouraging thing about a paradigm shift in consciousness is the realization that it’s both fundamental and directed. Everything emerges from consciousness and it’s always ascending. As Buckminster Fuller said, “You can’t learn less, you can only learn more.” Life is an ascent. The direction of evolution is onward and upward because that which becomes more complex becomes more conscious, centered upon itself. More aware.
This means that whatever drives learning, be it a crisis, innovation or aspiration, life eventually learns and grows. As conscious members of the web of life, human beings are now the leading edge of evolution. So it’s up to us to determine whether, how and how quickly we, as a species, will learn to live in harmony with each other, the rest of life and the planet.
References
Berry, Thomas. The Great Work: Our Way Into The Future. New York, NY.: Random House, 1999.
Bruteau, Beatrice. The Psychic Grid: How We Create The World We Know. Wheaton, IL.: Quest Books, 1979.
Capra, Fritjof and Pier Luigi. The Systems View of Life: A Unifying Vision. Cambridge, UK.: Cambridge University Press, 2018.
Koltko-Revera. The Psychology of Worldviews. Review of General Psychology, Educational Publishing Foundation Vol. 8, No. 1, 3–58. 2004.
Lama, Dalai. The Universe in a Single Atom. New York, NY.: Three Rivers Press, 2005.
Horton, Melissa. The Importance of Business Ethics. Investopedia, July 1, 2020.
Laszlo, Ervin. The Intelligence of the Cosmos: New Answers from the Frontiers of Science. Rochester, VT.: Inner Traditions, 2017.
Lipton, Bruce. In Daniel Goleman, Measuring The Unmeasurable: The Scientific Case for Spirituality. Boulder, CO.: Sounds True Publishing, 2008).
McFague, Sallie. A New Climate For Theology: God, the World, and Global Warming. Minneapolis, MN.: Fortress Press, 2008.
McFague, Sallie. Blessed Are The Consumers: Change and the Practice of Restraint. Minneapolis, MN.: Fortress Press, 2013.
Sahtouris, E. Earthdance: Living Systems in Evolution. iUniverse, 2000.
Stewart, John E. The Direction of Evolution: The Rise of Cooperative Organization. El Sevier Abstract, Vol. 123, September 2014, Pages 27-36.
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Email: smithdl@fuse.net
Portfolio: DavidLSmithPhotography.com
Photography Monographs (Click on the pages to turn them)
Awe
The feeling we get when touched by something vast
After watching the last episode in season three of Northern Exposure, I got up from my chair and for several minutes walked around exclaiming, “Awesome storytelling! Awesome writing! Awesome acting! Wonderful, awesome costuming! Fantastic location—how’d they do that? Atmospherics—awesome! Lighting—awesome!” Wearing out the word “awesome,” I searched for a higher, more expressive word, but couldn’t come up with anything better to express my joy. So I decided to look into it. And I’m glad I did.
Clinical psychologist Neil Farber defines awe as “an overwhelming feeling associated with vastness, reverence, wonder and at times a touch of fear; a sense of transcending day-to-day human experience in the presence of something extraordinary. Awe is inspired by objects or events that are considered to be greater than yourself such as genius, great beauty, extreme power, and impact or sublimity.”
Awe turns out to be an important feature of positive psychology. There’s recently been a wave of studies on its cross-cultural power. Psychotherapist Kirk J. Schneider says in his article The Sense of Awe Takes Center Stage, “the studies indicate that the cultivation of awe—above and beyond even happiness—can increase life-satisfaction, patience, volunteerism, gratitude and empathy for one’s fellow humans. The studies also suggest that the sense of awe can have beneficial effects on the immune system, on psychological problems such as anxiety and depression and disease in general. Finally, the studies are revealing the potency of awe to connect people to a nondogmatic, noncontrolling “higher power.” This power has had remarkable effects not only on the reduction of addictions but on a sense of the creativity and richness of day-to-day life.”
Dr. Schneider lists some of the conditions that favor the awakening of awe —
- The time to reflect
- A capacity to slow down
- A capacity to savor the moment
- A focus on what one loves
- A capacity to see the big picture
- An openness to the mystery of life and being
- An appreciation for the fact of life
- An appreciation of pain as a sometime teacher
- An appreciation of balance (e.g., between one’s fragility and resiliency)
- Contemplative time alone
- Contemplative time in natural or non-distracting settings
- Contemplative time with close friends or companions
- In-depth therapy or meditation
- An ability to stay present to and in conflict accept that “this too shall pass”
- An ability to stay present to and accept the evolving nature of life
- An ability to give oneself over—discerningly–to the ultimately unknowable
- An ability to trust in the ultimately unknowable
Awe is the source of all true art and science. — Albert Einstein
As I write, synchronicities keep coming. In that same episode of Northern Exposure, radio announcer Chris in the Morning quoted renowned mythologist Joseph Campbell who said, “Awe is what moves us forward.” Jennifer, our daughter, had just watched that episode with Jason, her husband, and they raved about it as much as we did. And a close friend of hers had just sent her an article, “How the Science of Awe Shaped Pixar’s “Soul.” Besides being instrumental in shaping the movie, the article had a link to Greater Good Magazine where awe was defined—“Awe is the feeling we get in the presence of something vast that challenges our understanding of the world, like looking up at millions of stars in the night sky or marveling at the birth of a child. When people feel awe, they may use other words to describe the experience, such as wonder, amazement, surprise, or transcendence.” Turns out, Greater Good Magazine was a wealth of information on awe. For one thing, it provided a list of its benefits.
Benefits
The research on awe has been demonstrated to have long-term effects on our minds, bodies and social connections.
- Awe feels good: Along with it can come a cascade of other positive emotions such as joy and gratitude, which are linked to greater health and well-being.
- Awe makes us happier: Research shows that people have higher well-being on days when they have positive experiences of awe, compared to days with no awe. In another study, participants who imagined viewing Paris from the Eiffel Tower reported feeling more satisfied with life than participants who imagined viewing a plain landscape.
- Awe encourages curiosity and creativity. People who experience awe find greater interest in abstract paintings, for example, and persist longer at difficult puzzles.
- Awe makes us more generous, encouraging us to help others even when it costs us.
- Awe helps us gain perspective.
- Awe is linked to better physical health: Awe-prone people show lower levels of a biomarker (IL-6) that reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease, depression, and autoimmune disease.
- Time seems to expand as we feel awe and immerse ourselves in the present moment, detached from our normal, mundane concerns.
- Awe sharpens our brains, encouraging critical thinking.
Michelle Shiota, associate professor of psychology at Arizona State University, specializes in the study of awe. “How often you experience awe depends on your mindset: how open you are to the novel and unexpected in your environment; whether you choose to seek out extraordinary experiences; how much you attend to the wonder and beauty present in everyday life. These all help create moments of seeing the world as a beautiful and amazing place.” If you’d like to learn How Awe Transforms the Body and Mind, check out her video on YouTube.
I notice that the experience of awe can be dramatic, as when I cried witnessing the beauty of Hawaii’s Napali Coast on a helicopter tour; paddling a canoe alone in the rain for an hour, down a narrow jungle stream in Belize. It can also be subtle, for instance, when I was overwhelmed to tears at the foot of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, seeing my daughter for the first time, sitting eight feet away from Ansel Adams showing us (RIT students) his exquisite photographs and sitting atop the Temple of the Inscriptions (Maya temple in Palenque, Mexico), feeling at peace and at home.
Jennifer experienced awe driving around Tuscany, flying over the Grand Canyon and observing the artwork in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. Linda, my wife, said she experienced awe every year when she entered the classroom and saw her freshmen students for the first time. I imagine that awe is a frequent experience for the astronauts who get to orbit the Earth. What about you? I’d love to hear your experiences of awe.
I noted that the experience of awe can be dramatic or subtle. What the awesome sunset, kind gesture, smell of a rose and transformative thought have in common is contact with the vast and mysterious. Whether inside or out, it’s like touching the soul. The airplane pilot’s poem tells about touching “the hand of God.” We either know it’s there or sense that it is. And then Boom! Confirmation. We get a taste of the numinous. At once, we know there’s more going on the universe than we can imagine. And greater experience lies ahead.
Create experiences that leave you in awe, for these will be the highlights of your life. — Ryan Blair, Entrepreneur and author Nothing To Lose, Everything To Gain
NOTE: The “Cicely” episode of Northern Exposure won a Peabody Award in 1993. The award is given to “recognize when storytelling is done well; when stories matter.” I consider the Peabody more prestigeous than the Emmy.
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Mythic Dancing
A form of expression that unites persons, community, culture and cosmos
Maya “Long Nose” dance. Dressed as the long-nosed Ek Chuah, God of merchants and patron of cacao, the dancer acts out the impregnation of Lady Xquic, daughter of a Xibalba (underworld) lord. The man on the left beats a drum. Ek Chuah has a rattle and fan, and there’s a humming bird nibbling on a plant in his headdress.The woman is apparently singing. The man on the right sounds a gourd-like instrument. In Maya art, extended heels indicate dancing. (Photo courtesy of Justin Kerr Rollout Vase Collection).
My wife and I have been replaying Northern Exposure, one of our favorite television programs. In Season Three, within an episode entitled Seoul Mates—where Maurice learns he has a Korean son—Marilyn Whirlwind, played by Elaine Miles, tells the Tlingit raven clan myth about how Raven brought light to the world. Toward the end of the program, she and a troup of natives in raven costumes dance the story to drums and flutes as she tells it again voice-over. Watching it, feelings of joy welled up and my eyes watered. I wondered why.
Marilyn Whirlwind: “A long time ago, the raven looked down from the sky and saw that the people of the world were living in darkness. The ball of light was kept hidden by a selfish, old chief. So, the raven turned himself into a spruce needle and floated on the river where the chief’s daughter came for water. She drank the spruce needle. She became pregnant and gave birth to a boy, which was the raven in disguise. The baby cried and cried until the chief gave him the ball of light to play with. As soon as he had the light, the raven turned back into himself and carried the light into the sky. From then on, we no longer lived in darkness.”
For one thing, cutaways showing the delight in the eyes of people in the audience made me empathize and appreciate the extent of the community’s coherence. It didn’t matter that many of them didn’t own the myth as part of their culture. And many viewers probably wondered if the natives in attendance believed the story was factual, or whether it was accurately told relative to the Tlingit oral tradition. The story I found online, Raven Steals the Light, was longer and far more detailed. But none of that mattered to me.
The long, black-beaked bird headdresses and costumes with feathers, the many Tlingit banners with abstracted bird faces, the bodies of the dancers painted black, the dancing and bird-gestures, music, drumming and rattling held me spellbound. Those in the audience and we who watched the performance on television were one, engaged in a culture’s connection to nature, the universe and how its features came to be. It made me want to live in Cicely, Alaska, a place where diverse people shared and debated substantive ideas and everyday human concerns. Considering that there’s a Northern Exposure Facebook page and a KBHR radio station in operation today, I’m not alone.
Catherine Bell, a religious studies scholar, writes that “The performance of ritual creates a theatrical-like frame around the activities, symbols and events that shape the participant’s experience and cognitive ordering of the world, simplifying the chaos of life and imposing a more or less coherent system of categories of meaning onto it. As anthropologist Barbara Myerhoff put it, “Not only is seeing believing, doing is believing.” Doing—mythic dancing—solidifies order, belief and identity.
The earliest evidence of ritual dancing comes from 9000-year-old cave paintings in India. It became widespread by the third millennium B.C. when the Egyptians and Maya and likely others, used dance as an integral part of religious ceremonies. As different as cultures are in their personification of earth forces and otherworld deities, it’s the quest for order and meaning that gave them an identity distinct from all others. Likewise in the modern world, we’re Christians and Buddhists, Americans, Italians and Japanese because of the stories we cherish.
It’s relatively easy to find dance performances that celebrate folk traditions and notable historic personages such as Alexander Hamilton, but these aren’t rituals. Anthropologists Emily Shultz and Robert Lavenda, writing in A Perspective on the Human Condition, say a ritual must fit four criteria. It must be a repetitive social practice, be different from the routines of daily living, follow a ritual plan and be encoded in myth. Merrian-Webster defines “myth” as “A usually traditional story of ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the worldview of a people or explain a practice, belief or natural phenomenon.” Mythic dancing then, tells how something of cosmic significance happened.
Curiously missing from the long list of creation myths, are those of the modern era. We certainly have many myths to tell—Adam and Eve, Moses and the tablets, Jesus changing water into wine. Why aren’t we dancing them? Turns out, there are many mythic stories in the history of Western Civilization beginning with the Greeks. But with few exceptions, we’re not seeing them danced or even celebrated. There seems to be good reason why. Old and New Testament writers regarded the physical body as “profane,” “corrupted.” Dance was considered an invitation to sin. One’s attention was more properly placed on the Soul or Spirit.
“For the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another.” (Galatians 5:17).
“The concern of the flesh is death, but the concern of the spirit is life and peace. (Romans 8:5-6).
“For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, nothing good dwells.” (Romans 7:18)
Later on, the “Church Fathers” took it to extremes in dogma. Regarding dance, a Catholic site, Tradition in Action, provides some history. The Jews incorporated dance as a means to express piety. King David danced before the Ark of the Covenant and some women danced to celebrate military victories, but men and women never danced together. “Dance largely degenerated under the influence of the Roman and Hellenic cultures. Later, in early Christendom, the bad leaven of pagan heathen dance led the Church to condemn dancing as unfit for Christians… The Council of Laodicea (363 AD) forbade Catholics to join in wedding dances. The Third Council of Toledo (589 AD) condemned dancing at the commemorations on the eve of Saints’ feast days and repeated the warning for Catholics to avoid participating at weddings where love was the subject of songs or dances. The Council of Trullo (692 AD) excommunicated any layman who participated in theatrical dancing; it also deposed any cleric who did so.” Continuing the trend, missionaries put a stop to the mythic (“pagan”) dancing of indigenous people everywhere.
So the separation of body from Spirit largely blocked many cultures from dancing their myths. Yet the Western world has many myths. Jewish & Christian Mythology lists some of them with descriptions. Throughout Central and South America, dancing is a prominent feature among Catholics today, but these dances mainly occur in the context of ceremonies and celebrations rather than mythic storytelling. After considerable research, I only found two cultures where mythic events are regularly danced today. Among several Native American tribes, there’s the Jingle Dress Dance,” the “Grass Dance” and the “Hoop Dance.” And the Aborigines have a ceremony called corroboree, where they meet and dance stories that depict the creation of human beings, animals, customs, law, lands, plants and sacred places.
Watching the Tlingit television reenactment of Raven bringing light to the world, I felt, as I often do reading about indigenous ways and wisdom, that we’ve lost something precious, a form of expression that unites us in a way that mass and social media can’t. I was touched. Literally, a connection was made between the dancers, the narrator, those in attendance, me and the cosmos. That’s why the tears of appreciation and joy.
The first function of mythology is to waken and maintain in the individual a sense of wonder and participation in the mystery of this finally inscrutable universe. — Joseph Campbell
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Acceptance
Receiving something offered; not resisting what is; going with the flow
It’s easy to accept a good thing when it’s offered, not so easy when life presents an upsetting or life-threatening challenge. Acceptance doesn’t mean liking, wanting or agreeing with what is, it’s a matter of embracing what’s happening because it has a purpose. Doing so, allows us to work on discovering why something’s happening so we can understand the cause and return to balanced living.
Easier said than done, especially for those who’ve lost a loved one, people who are hungry or starving, being abused, treated unfairly or struggling with physical or mental illness. The rest of us can offer them compassion and prayers, perhaps direct assistance or support if conditions allow. Whatever the challenge, we have a choice—to ignore the pain (whether it’s ours or someone else’s) accept or reject it. Ignoring maintains the situation and over time the pain evolves from a “whisper” to a “scream” for attention. Accepting what is, aligns us with reality and opens the door for positive action.
Everything that needs to happen happens exactly when it needs to because the intelligence of life is guiding our every move. Our real healing comes from the unconditional acceptance that accompanies this realization. — Jacob Israel Liberman, author, Luminous Life: How the Science of Light Unlocks the Art of Living
In The Power of Acceptance, Chuck Danes, independent researcher and founder of Enlightened Journey Enterprises, says “Resistance, although often “perceived” as being the means to avoid unpleasant and undesirable experiences, is in actuality the very choice that enables the unpleasant to become real… (it) only serves to draw to you more of the ‘unpleasant,’ the polar opposite of what so many claim they want.” Conversely, accepting what is allows us to attract what we want rather than unconsciously attracting what we don’t want. Danes continues, “Resistance becomes real by choosing a state of fear, doubt, worry and anxiety and the result is the attraction, manifestation, and growth of the thing resisted. Acceptance becomes real by choosing to accept the circumstances as they are, absent fear, doubt, worry and anxiety and all that can grow from this ‘chosen state’ are acceptable or pleasing circumstances.”
Getting To Acceptance
Consciousness is fundamental. Thought precedes and produces form. So every form, experience, condition and circumstance in our lives is a result of our thinking. Pain, discomfort and annoyances occur for two reasons. They’re a consequence of erroneous beliefs about ourselves, others and the world, thinking that’s out of harmony with the intelligence of the universe. Or they’re required by the soul, formulated prior to incarnation, lessons necessary for our evolution. In both cases, acceptance is a graceful path. In the former, we accept what is and work on changing erroneous beliefs. In the latter, we accept that the condition is necessary for growth and allow it to unfold as it will. Go with the flow. Resisting in either situation makes no sense. It just creates a lot of friction—in us and beyond us.
In her book, The Energy Codes: The 7-Step System to Awaken Your Spirit, Heal Your Body, and Live Your Best Life, Dr. Sue Morter speaks of acceptance. “When you really get down to it, we either embrace or reject everything in life. When we say or even think or feel, ‘This isn’t happening,’ or ‘I can’t accept this’—when we avoid looking at our reality clearly because we don’t like what we see, or when something happens that doesn’t live up to our conscious desires and expectations—we are rejecting it… When we are rejecting, we are disconnecting from our ability to metabolize life: to lean in, to release, to move on. Our resistance then becomes an interference or blockage in that spot in our system, and our flow stops there… It doesn’t go away.” So healing—unblocking— becomes necessary.
The way to change a circumstance or condition that’s intermittent or temporary is to become aware of both conscious and subconscious negative beliefs (I write them down) and replace them with positive beliefs, those that align with the energies of love, self-compassion, confidence, joy and forgiveness—and adjust our view of people and life in general. Because thoughts create form—reality—if I expect that bad things are going to happen, they will. If I believe things won’t work out for me, they won’t. If I believe money is scarce, it will be. Fear creates reasons to fear; hate creates reasons to hate; lack of self-confidence produces evidence of it, and feeling unloved produces that reality—but only so long as the negative beliefs or feelings persist.
Negative thoughts are transformed by becoming aware of them and immediately reframing them in the positive. From “I’m not…” to “I am…” When something triggers a negative thought, we turn it around and accept the positive. In this regard, significant progress occurs when we shift negative assumptions about life or the world into positive ones. (See my blog entitled “Worldview”). Examples of positive, health-promoting worldviews include the belief that ultimately, everything happens for a good reason, that there is perfection in being, yet progress still needs to be made in becoming, that all of creation is the Infinite Creator’s expression of love, that good and evil, right and wrong, true and false—all dualities—are two sides of the same coin, that 13.5 billion years of evolution shows us what works, that all is well and All is One.
My work is loving the world. — Mary Oliver, American poet
For photographers and other artists, especially empowering is the Jesuit imperative to “See God in all things.” Eckhart Tolle speaks of acceptance as “A surrender to the Now… strength, peace and serenity are available when one stops struggling to resist or hang on tightly to what is so in any given moment. What do I have right now? Now, what am I experiencing?… Acceptance means allowing; allowing unwanted private experiences (thoughts, feelings and urges) to come and go without struggling with them.” And there’s the familiar quote by Reinhold Niebuhr adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous—“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Heidegger said, “I care, therefore I am.” William Blake said, “I am in you, and you in me, mutual in love divine.” And Teilhard de Chardin wrote, “The physical structure of the universe is love.”
All that is required to realize the Self is to be still. — Ramana Maharshi, Indian Hindu sage
Higher Level Acceptance
Each of us is here for a reason. As noted, one of the main reasons has to do with fulfilling the requirements of the soul—karma. Beyond that, pain in the body-mind is a signal that our thinking and behavior is out of step with the vibrant wholeness that we are in reality. A line of thought that helps me get back on track both personally and socially, is remembering that those of us alive now constitute the leading edge of evolution. How we look physically, how we talk and behave, what we talk about and how we dress, our customs, beliefs, what we’ve built, what we’re working on, triumphs and tragedies are the legacy of all that and those who’ve come before us. Now, life is calling for us to move global evolution and the human project forward.
Will we accept our role in this? What are the kinds of thinking, building and relating that would benefit the next generation—and those to come? We know what lifts consciousness—love, joy, compassion, inclusion, collaboration, virtuous living and stewardship of our planetary home. And we are the generation of choice. Will we ignore the signals—the pains in our personal, national and global bodies that are telling us where different thinking and behaviors are needed. Will we resist and persist in dysfunctional thinking, valuing and behaving; create more friction and fear, producing more frequent and more severe breakdowns? Or will we accept the precepts of the wisdom teachers in all cultures and traditions, align with nature, adopt sustainable innovations and shift the kind and quality of our “doing” so life at all levels can thrive?
As noted, pain directs our attention to the locations of blockage or dysfunction. In the social body, these are the places of breakdown, including confrontations and disruptions of order. Allowed to continue, they get worse and become chronic, eventuating in a crisis, a threat to survival. Given the area of concern, what is the thinking and valuing, especially in the subconscious, that’s creating the disfunction? With a little reflection, the erroneous beliefs appear—along with right-thinking solutions.
It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters. — Epictetus
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I welcome your comments at <smithdl@fuse.net>
My portfolio site: DavidLSmithPhotography.com
Worldview
How we see the world, what we believe about it, creates our experience.
Human beings are meaning makers. Without having an anchor, a view of the world that makes sense of our existence, there’s little to no reason to carry on. As thinking and caring individuals who can rise above biological instincts, we have an urge to make something of ourselves by doing something that matters. Psychologist Artur Nilsson says the meaning we make, our personal view of the world and how it works, is what makes us unique in the animal kingdom.
Every man, whether he is religiously inclined or not, has his own ultimate presuppositions. He finds he cannot live his life without them, and for him they are true. Such presuppositions, whether they be called ideologies, philosophies, notions, or merely hunches about life, exert creative pressure upon all conduct that is subsidiary to them (which is to say, upon nearly all of a man’s conduct). — Gordon W. Allport, psychologist
Acquisition
A worldview or “gestalt” develops in the context of family and culture where we’re socialized to perceive, think and behave in certain ways. With observation, experience, education and hearing stories, we develop beliefs about ourselves, others and the world. And the subconscious mind takes in everything to shape our identity. Into the adult years, our beliefs are generally modified in response to the ultimate questions, challenges and mysteries of life—Who am I? Why am I here? Where do I fit? Is human nature good or bad? Who wins and loses? What constitutes success—wealth, fame, relationships, adventure, lifestyle…? What do I most want from life? Does the end justify the means? What happens when we die? The perennial questions.
The subconscious doesn’t discriminate between good and bad, right or wrong, healthy or not. Its job is to store and hold our beliefs so we can measure everything against them, accepting new information, ideas and experiences that are familiar and rejecting those that are unfamiliar or in conflict. Our beliefs are so firmly established, we’ll arrange to be right by rationalizing, lying, cheating or creating situations that confirm them. What agrees with us is right; what doesn’t is wrong. And that has considerable consequences—as we’ve seen in business and politics.
Writing in Psychology Today, Dan Mager says “For someone who is emotionally attached to the need to be right, all divergent perspectives, ideas, suggestions, and actions must be wrong. The need to be right convinces him or her of the correctness of his or her approach, thus justifying the means to have their way. When this dynamic is acted out, it creates suffering for those caught in its wake.” Keeping an open mind takes tremendous self-confidence, courage and a quest for truth because it requires putting a temporary “hold” on how we see the world and what we think is right.
(Worldviews) inform how we interpret, enact, and co-create reality. They are the fundamental ‘lenses’ through which we see and filter reality, and they interface with our perceptions of global issues in ways that are profound, persistent, and frequently overlooked. Worldviews not only tend to shape how individuals perceive particular issues and their potential solutions, they also tend to influence their willingness to partake in, or politically support, such solutions. Annick de Witt, founder of Worldview Journeys
Lesson to be learned
We don’t hear “worldview” being talked about much, especially not in the media, perhaps because it’s a very personal and complicated subject, and not many people could articulate their view of the world if asked. Appropriately, it’s the domain of psychologists and other behavioral specialists. But in light of recent history, particularly in the political sphere, there are lessons to be learned about mental health when it comes to leadership. For instance, a person can be diagnosed clinically as “mentally competent,” yet hold an unhealthy, even toxic worldview that lacks a moral-ethical compass. Globally, history attests to enormous human tragedies and national setbacks perpetrated by sociopaths. In every domain, neither wealth or celebrity status or charisma qualifies a person to lead.
How you imagine the world determines how you live in it. — David Suzuki, Emeritus professor of genetics.
Negative And Positive Beliefs
While the emphasis of this site is positivity and appreciation, this is an instance where insight into the negative as well as the positive can promote understanding—which can deepen appreciation. The following is borrowed from Psychology Backs the Power of Developing a Positive Worldview by Todd W. Hall, professor of psychology, Biola University, Los Angeles. He excerpted the following from Return on Character: The Real Reason Leaders and Their Companies Win by Fred Kiel.
Beliefs underlying negativity
False Views of Self
- It’s not important to understand what drives me.
- Personal meaning is derived from proving my success to others.
False Views of Others
- People are generally untrustworthy, so you should closely monitor them and not show kindness.
- Creating conflict helps you get at the truth of a situation.
False Views of Goals
- It’s better to focus on the short-term than the long-term.
- It’s better to avoid change unless I am in control of it.
“These beliefs are rooted in a lack of basic trust, lack of self-awareness, and lack of a positive sense of self-worth, which lead a person to constantly seek approval through achievements (an understandable coping strategy that doesn’t work in the long run).”
Beliefs underlying positivity
Healthy View of Self
- Personal meaning is derived from growing and stretching my natural talents.
Healthy View of Others
- People are generally trustworthy.
- All people deserve the same respect, regardless of job status.
- Most people grow and change throughout their adult life (A “growth mindset”).
- Everyone has core strengths that should be engaged.
- The best managers have good relationship skills.
Healthy View of Goals
- All businesses share a responsibility to contribute to the common good.
- Leaders generally desire to leave the world a better place.
“The virtuoso leaders in our study clearly illustrate that the most successful leaders focus on what’s right about the world around them.”
Dr. Hall elaborates four ways to develop a positive worldview, backed by psychology. I summarize them here.
1. Become aware of your filters and develop new lenses for noticing the positive.
2. Seek out new experiences that challenge your implicit negative beliefs.
3. Reflect on new experiences that challenge your beliefs.
4. Connect with people who speak into your life with wisdom and compassion.
What is your worldview? A Test
The Institute for Cultural Evolution (ICE) provides a Worldview Questionnaire designed to place us on one of four major groups—Traditional / Modern / Postmodern / Integrative. And these are described. The test was developed by Annick de Witt, one of the most respected researchers on worldview. By joining the nonprofit, nonpartisan organization (for free) you can get your confidential results (and then unsubscribe if you like). I didn’t do that. But answering the excellent questions was insightful in itself. Even if you don’t join, the ICE home page says, “At the very least, answering the questions is an opportunity to reflect on the distinct worldview frames that make up the political spectrum in most of the Western world.”
Love and fear represent two different lenses through which to view the world. Which I choose to use will determine what I think I see. — Marianne Williamson, author, A Return To Love
I believe worldviews are unique to each of us for good reason—nature and evolution favor variety. In living systems parlance, the more diversity in a system the greater its resilience and potential for adaptation, mutation and innovation. The same with consciousness. Consider that, over time, individuals who hold negative worldviews eventually provide examples of what doesn’t work for the good—qualitative sustainability—of the whole. That’s not a reason to praise or support negative views of the world, but the perspective gives us hope. We learn from our mistakes, personally and socially.
As more parents and teachers learn about the significance of a person’s worldview, the better they can foster positive perceptions in young people—the co-creators of tomorrow. While it’s important to prepare children for the world of family life and work, it’s equally important, arguably even more so, to assist them in finding answers to the perennial questions that empower them to be good, healthy, confident, successful and contributing human beings.
We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are. — Anais Nin, author and poet
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I welcome your comments at <smithdl@fuse.net>
My portfolio site: DavidLSmithPhotography.com
What’s So Critical About Critical Thinking?
It’s a vaccine against lies, disinformation and conspiracy theories.
My grandson, Ethan Miller, and I face off in a heady game of checkers.
In an era when untruths have been proliferating across platforms in the form of disinformation, misinformation, fake news, lies and conspiracy theories, it’s refreshing and hope-inducing to know that there’s a vaccine against the easy acceptance of what’s heard, seen or read. It’s called “critical thinking,” and it’s currently being taught in select schools, K through college.
I say “select” because some schools include it and many don’t. It’s a gap that’s decades-long, in part because “teaching to the test” took up so much of the curriculum there wasn’t time to add a class or teach critical thinking skills in the context of existing classes. Consequently, students that lack critical thinking skills remain susceptible to falsehoods, disinformation and conspiracy theories throughout their lives.
The critical thinking gap is one of the most significant, yet overlooked equity challenges in education today. — Colin Seale, author, “Thinking Like A Lawyer: A Framework for Teaching Critical Thinking to All Students.”
Frank Breslin, a retired high-school teacher in the New Jersey public school system, writes in a Huffington Post article, Why High Schools Don’t Teach Critical Thinking — “State education departments mandate that so much material has to be covered that critical thinking cannot be taught, nor can the courses themselves be critically presented. To cover the curriculum, courses must be taught quickly, superficially, and uncritically, the infallible way of boring students… It leaves students with the mistaken impression that there is little if any disagreement among scholars about what they are taught, as though what is presented is self-evident truth… Because students are usually taught only one viewpoint about everything, they simply accept the theory they learn on their teacher’s authority with perhaps little understanding of the reasons provided… The essence of an education—the ability to think critically and protect oneself from falsehood and lies—may once have been taught in American schools, but, with few exceptions, is today a lost art.”
Definition
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, critical thinking is “The process of thinking carefully about a subject or idea, without allowing feelings or opinions to affect you.”
Significance
Critical thinking wards against the immediate acceptance or judgment of an idea, opinion, event, policy, perspective or phenomenon, political philosophy or religious ideology, irrespective of the presenter or source.
It’s necessary because there are many people who, purposefully or not, and for a variety of reasons, tell and disseminate falsehoods. In part, we’re experiencing an “uncivil war” because the preponderance of our educational systems have been teaching students what to think rather than how to think—
To question whatever they read, and never to accept any claim blindly; to suspend judgment until they’ve heard all sides of a question, and interrogate whatever claims to be true, since the truth can withstand any scrutiny. Critical thinking is life’s indispensable survival skill, compared to which everything else is an educational frill! — Frank Breslin, retired high school teacher.
The Value
Critical thinking (CT) promotes attentiveness, a habit of inquiry, self-confidence, courage, open-mindedness, willingness to suspend judgment, trust in reason, evidence-based beliefs, and the desire to know the truth. By stepping back to look at an idea or situation from different perspectives, we gain an understanding and empathy for how other people think and decide. CT provides reasoning skills that form the basis of history, science and mathematics. It promotes democratic citizenship, which requires the ability to observe carefully and check emotions and prejudices before jumping to erroneous conclusions. It prevents baseless assumptions and prejudging, increases awareness of who and how language is being used and looks for both causes and consequences. Essentially, it’s a thought process that seeks the truth.
The Skillset
“Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.” (Foundation for Critical Thinking) The following are specific skills that are developed in thinking critically.
Active rather than passive thinking
Critical thinking is about being an active learner, a discover or wonderer, rather than a passive recipient of information. Critical thinkers want more information before accepting something as real or true. They question everything. How do you know that? What’s your source? Where’d you hear that? What’s it based on? What are the other possibilities? How can we make it better? If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If it sounds outrageous, beyond reason, it probably isn’t true. And if it’s out-of-character for someone, it needs to be investigated. Intuitions like these constitute “red flags,” signaling that critical thinking is required.
Open-mindedness
Among human beings, truth is almost never one thing and it’s never absolute, that is, holding for everyone, all the time everywhere. In pursuit of the truth, an open-minded person is willing to consider ideas and opinions that are new or different from their own, even to the extent of modifying or completely changing their point-of-view. This is commonplace for scientists, the foundation of scientific inquiry. And it’s what we expect in lawyers, judges, politicians and the criminal justice system.
Reserving judgment
It’s easy to accept something as true or factual, especially when it comes from an authority figure or someone we know and respect. But no one is infallible and we all tend to diminish, embellish or exaggerate, often to persuade, enhance the telling of a story, to telegraph that “I know something you don’t know” or to be seen as part of the in-the-know crowd. Reserving judgment on whatever is presented to us, gives us time to find or allow more information to either affirm or refute what’s been said, shown or written.
Gathering facts
In whole-systems terms, more information increases the resilience of a system’s functioning. The same applies to discovering the truth. As we gain information about an idea, event, theory or circumstance, the reality becomes more clear. Typically, this is done through question and answer interactions, the more and more diverse the people the better. As we know from police and detective movies, to prove that something is true, there has to be evidence—indisputable facts.
Sources matter
Credible sources are those that are credentialed to have direct knowledge and extensive experience with the subject or viewpoint we’re researching. Because we don’t have ready access to professionals on many issues, we go to the Internet and Google a question. Of the options presented there, critical thinkers will pay close attention to the source, indicated in the green URL address under the topic heading.
After the https:// designator is the source’s name, many of which are advertisers, publishers, information services such as Wikipedia, Linked In, Facebook and dictionaries. These are “Tertiary Sources.” They present summaries or condensed versions of materials, usually with reference to other sources. “Secondary Sources” are accounts written after the fact with the benefit of hindsight. They are interpretations and evaluations of primary sources. Secondary sources are not evidence, but rather a commentary on and discussion of evidence. “Primary Sources” are firsthand documents that provide direct evidence on your topic. (Sotheby’s Institute of Art).
We wouldn’t go to a carpenter next door to heal a toothache. Neither would we consult a dentist about creating a will. Edutopia, George Lucas’s educational foundation posted some very nice guidelines to help students evaluate sources on the Internet—
- Who wrote it and what credentials do they have?
- Why was it written?
- When was it written or updated?
- Does it help meet my needs?
- How is the site organized?
- What would be a good to-do list for the future?
Especially, I look for an answer to the second question—What’s in it for the source? How they benefit from your visit? As noted, I give more credence to individuals who have direct knowledge and extensive experience with the subject or viewpoint being researched.
Evaluating facts
When to our satisfaction the facts are in, we apply logic, a method of reasoning that involves a series of statements, where the truth follows from preceding statements that are all true. For example—
Dogs are man’s best friend.
I have a dog named Fluffy.
Therefore, Fluffy is my best friend.
The conclusion is false, not logical, on two counts: Not all men consider dogs to be their best friend. And most “best friends” are persons, not animals. Another—
Where there’s a gun in the house there’s the potential for harm.
We have a gun in the house.
Therefore, harm could come to someone in my house.
The conclusion is logical, true because the statements that precede it are true.
Considering the consequences
This didn’t turn up in my research on critical thinking, but it deserves serious consideration. The ideas, theories and perspectives we accept shape our life and the lives of those around us and the world.
Hypothetically, I move to a new town and am invited to the home of an acquaintance to watch a football game with his friends. In short order, the group tries to convince me that the moon landing was a hoax. They tell how the government, in cahoots with a movie producer, pulled it off as part of a scheme to beat the Russians to the moon. Another says that big corporations were in on it, reaping enormous profits on ancillary sales. They offer no evidence, but the ideas they present are many and they sound plausible. Driving home, if I take what they said somewhat seriously, the first step in my thinking process would be to apply a brief litmus test to see if their perspective would warrant some investigation. If I adopt their point-of-view —
- Would it make me feel good or bad about myself?
- Would it make me feel good or bad about humanity?
- Would it increase or decrease trust in our economic, social and political systems?
- Does the idea uplift or depress me?
- Would it move me further in the direction of love or fear?
- Would it encourage me to widen my circle of friends or narrow it?
- Would it boost my confidence in the way the world works, or diminish it?
- Would I want to speak about it openly?
- Would it impact my family life?
- If I accept it, what would I do about it?
If the answers indicate that adoption would be generally uplifting, enriching and good for my mental health I’d begin to take the next step—gather some facts.
The Good News
At Woburn High School in Boston, 60 new classes were added to teach critical thinking. Jeff Landers, CEO of Mind Edges Inc., an educational technology company that reviewed the system, concluded that “Critical thinking should be integrated into every course in every high school.”
Jason Singer, Principal at Kipp King Collegiate High School, San Lorenzo, California said “Our theory is that critical thinking wins the day.” CT is integrated throughout the curriculum, in a school that’s 85% African American and Latino. One of the students said, “To me, critical thinking means thinking beyond what you hear.” Jared Kushida, who teaches global politics, encourages the flow of questions. “I rarely go on for more than 30 seconds without asking a question, and I rarely stop at that one question.”
The Foundation for Critical Thinking is a comprehensive resource offering programs, conferences, events, media and materials to educators from the 3rd Grade on, including the institutions of science and engineering, business, health systems and homeschooling. It’s a “primary” source that offers on-line courses, guided study groups, webcasts and more. It’s a wealth of information. And there’s no charge.
Critical thinking takes time, of course. It’s so much easier to accept someone’s word or perception, especially if the issue generates heat and is in alignment with a group that invites us in. Trouble is, we act and promote what we believe. And it escalates. Personally, we start living the lie or unproven theory. And socially, these can build into a consensus reality where numbers of people will act on it. The raid on the U. S. Capitol building is a prime example of violent actions precipitated by false information and erroneous beliefs. By taking the time to think critically, the realities we create will be based on facts, on the truth. And when that happens, both the universe and our soul will support it.
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I welcome your comments at <smithdl@fuse.net>
My portfolio site: DavidLSmithPhotography.com
2020 — What Went Right
Within every social and global tragedy, the light of love, compassion, goodwill and truth shines through the darkness. Acknowledging it and appreciating its appearance demonstrates that virtue lives in the hearts of many people. It gives us hope for the future and a reason to persist in right thinking and socially constructive behavior. Seeing others with the courage to do what’s right, to make the world a better place, is contagious. From this perspective, I offer a sampling of incidents from 2020 that demonstrated the best in us.
Health
When the Coronavirus struck and people heard there was a shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), people around the world didn’t wait for businesses to step up manufacturing masks, face shields and coverings. Many took to making masks. Among them was an 89-year-old woman who sewed hundreds of them at her dining-room table. Later on, 3M and Apple pooled their resources to produce millions of masks. Joann Fabrics gave away material and supplies to anyone who would sew masks at home.
Eight of the top 10 most successful global responses to Covid-19 came from democracies. Success appeared to rely less on being able to order people into submission, and more on having a high degree of trust and societal compliance. Bloomberg
Through global collaboration, Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna researched and developed vaccines that were approved by FDA, all in record time.
Canadian scientists have cured diabetes in mice, raising hopes for a cure in humans. Frontline medical workers in every country were celebrated in many ways, from fighter-jet flyovers to people hanging out windows banging on pots and pans.
A FedEx worker disinfected a package for a girl who had an autoimmune disorder. Millions of people respected the recommendation of health experts to take precautions and not travel. Instead, many birthdays, holidays and weddings were celebrated with Zoom calls and parties.
99-year-old Captain Tom Moore raised over $42 million for Britain’s National Health Service by walking laps in his garden. Dolly Parton donated $1 million to help fund Moderna’s Covid-19 research. Their vaccine is 94.5% effective.
For much more on global health—not mentioned here—visit Future Crunch.
Helping
Stories abound of small and large acts of helping. Celebrities and talented everyday people performed free of charge on Zoom from their homes. Many celebrities and others supported family-owned restaurants and their employees by leaving beyond generous tips. A 17-year-old cashier paid $173 grocery bill for a senior shopper who was short on cash.
Worldwide, as people shuttered in place, they made the best of the situation turning to life-enriching activities such as home improvement, baking and gardening, activities that were demonstrated and shared on the internet.
In Canada, a moving company helped victims of domestic violence get resettled nationwide at no cost. A hotel in England opened its doors to homeless people, giving them odd jobs to do. In Paris and elsewhere, bookstores and restaurants were being saved by their customers. After completing a three-day medical emergency training course, Princess Sofia of Stockholm helped healthcare workers by carrying out supporting duties such as disinfecting equipment, cleaning, and working in the kitchen.
In Somerset, Massachusetts a police officer paid the grocery bill for two women who he found shoplifting. An oncologist in Arkansas forgave $650,000 worth of medical debt for his cancer patients. And in Maine, an electrician volunteering to fix an elderly woman’s light continued, enlisting the entire community, to repair her crumbling house for free. In Cincinnati, Ohio a stuffed puppy lost in the airport was returned to a family that spent days exploring the travel industry looking for their child’s precious friend.
When African-American Shawn Dromgoole was afraid to walk in his gentrified community, 75 neighbors walked with him sparking a national movement.
Many museums opened their collections to virtual viewing.
During the assault on the Capital building, quick-thinking congressional aides rescued the electoral ballot boxes before the mob entered the chamber. Otherwise, they would likely have been destroyed.
After the Capital building riot, Representative Andy Kim, Congressman from New Jersey, wearing a suit, cleaned up trash in the rotunda.
The Environment
Lockdowns in major cities substantially improved air quality by lessening carbon emissions through ground and air travel.
Ocean Voyages Institute removed 103 tons of fishing nets and plastic in each trip to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and a company that sells $20 plastic bracelets pulled 12 million pounds of waste from the ocean.
In France, a fusion reactor hotter than the Sun was successfully demonstrated. It will provide unlimited clean energy without waste. The University of York designed solar panels that increase light absorption by 125%.
In Halifax, Nova Scotia, just a day’s drive from New York City, life is unfolding much as it did a year ago because public health officials, not politicians, set the Covid-19 response policy and people mostly followed the rules on closures, gatherings and masks. A citizen commented, “We will make hard choices for each other, and sometimes when we do, the reward is a life we recognize.” Also, a company there turned 80% of the local plastic recyclables into lumber.
California paved state highways with a recycled plastic material that lasts three times longer than asphalt, and plastic bottles were being used to create solar-pavement panels for driveways that can power the average household.
Researchers announced that efforts to protect and restore the ozone layer have been “a thrilling success.”
Sweden closed its last coal plant two years earlier than anticipated. Austria is next.
Whales were spotted in the New York harbor. A large reef system, part of the Great Barrier Reefs in Australia, had a noticeable recovery. Belize increased its ecosystem reserve to 1,300 sq. km. to protect the coral reefs, and the Seychelles reported that one-third of its ocean waters (410,000 sq. km.) are fully protected. Future Crunch.
Peace
I selected the following information from reports in Future Crunch, a free Australian newsletter produced by “science communicators” that features stories of human progress. In whole-systems terms, they report on the “emergents,” individuals, groups and institutions advancing the leading edge of positive change.
The 2020 Global Terrorism Index reported that deaths from terrorism fell for the fifth consecutive year and that the terrorism situation had improved in 103 countries — the highest number of countries to record a year-on-year improvement since the inception of the index.
Italy abolished anti-immigrant decrees installed by former populists and reinstated humanitarian protection for migrants and refugees. The government has also cut the time needed for citizenship applications from four years to three. A public statement read, “Onward towards a country with more humanity.” The Local
Mexico changed its laws to prohibit holding children in immigration detention centers, shifting responsibility to the country’s family development agency, and Colombia allowed hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants to legalize their presence in the country through work permits.
Over the past five years, Germany has opened its borders to 1.7 million people fleeing war and persecution. This is arguably the greatest humanitarian act of the 21st century. The decision has paid off. In August, the country revealed that more than half of the immigrants are employed and paying taxes. Over 80% say they feel a strong sense of belonging. Guardian
Kazakhstan joined an international protocol on the abolition of the death penalty, the 88th nation to become a signatory, which fulfills a fundamental right to life and human dignity. The country’s head of state, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, quoted Kazakh poet and philosopher Abai, stressing the need for “love, compassion, bold actions, deeds and thoughtfulness.” Astana Times
Lessons being learned through the experiences of 2020
We are all interconnected and interdependent
One person, whatever and wherever the circumstances, can trigger a global pandemic. As of January 8, 2021, the Coronavirus has killed 1.9 million people; confirmed cases amount to 88.1 million. The United States has the most fatalities and the numbers are climbing. (BBC News). Just as one person can trigger a war or undermine democracy, so one scientist can stop a disease from devestating a population. For instance Johnas Salk who developed the polio vaccine.
Beliefs carry consequences
The internet is being used to express and spread lies and conspiracy theories—anti-establishment falsehoods—that stoke the flames of fear, mistrust, polarization and hatred in millions of people. Falsehoods are compelling because they explain the complexities of life in simple and emotional terms. Left unchecked and not countered with truth in public media, the flames combine to create an eventual explosion.
Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny. — Mahatma Gandhi
Elected leaders must be of high character
The worldview of those who would lead and represent a nation matters greatly. To not cause polarization and harm, these individuals must have a positive and constructive mindset and be morally grounded rather then egocentric. To be responsible, a leader will have a track record that demonstrates a commitment to public service and qualities of character that include honesty, empathy, caring, open-mindedness, eagerness to collaborate and unify, intelligence and wisdom born of experience.
Priorities matter
Health matters—failing that, nothing else can get done. Words matter—as Gandhi said, words beget actions and actions determine reality. Truth matters—without it, trust breaks down. And without trust, society breaks down. Consciousness matters—the more we act on purpose, the more our actions will be authentic and responsible. Black lives matter—discrimination weakens diversity, necessary for a system to be resilient and innovative. Education matters—the more we understand, the better prepared we and our children will be to make decisions that affect them and all of us. Responsible parenting matters—children who are loved, nurtured and educated grow up to be healthy, competent, contributing and fulfilled adults. Failing this, they can grow up to hate established values and norms of behavior.
Technology use has consequences
One person or a small group using the internet can hack into computers at all levels with grave consequences for individuals and social, financial and political systems.
There has been a lot of talk about 2020 being a “terrible” year. For millions of people it has been devastating. For the rest of us it has been frustrating, disheartening and depressing. Inadvertantly, the mainstream media has saturated us with news of multiple breakdowns and tragedies. In the larger picture—where these can be seen as evolutionary drivers pressuring us to correct our thinking, valuing and acting away from what doesn’t work to what does—it’s important to witness the resiliance of the human spirit, demonstrated by acts of caring, helping, learning and collaborating. In these, we see light dispersing darkness. And in these, we contribute to the light.
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I welcome your comments at <smithdl@fuse.net>
My portfolio site: DavidLSmithPhotography.com
What To Do When Your House Is On Fire
Responding appropriately to climate change
First—Be Aware Of What’s Happening And Take Action Immediately
From a whole-systems perspective, the key to managing complex living systems is to manage the parts in right functional relationship to each other. When this happens, the whole takes care of itself. With regard to climate, Earth is the whole and individual human beings are the parts—“members” of the Earth’s body. The proper function of members in a living system is to maintain their integrity—health, ability to communicate and collaborate with others, offer their unique contribution and make decisions that serve the growth and well-being needs of the whole as well as themselves.
The emergents—responsible individuals, activists, small groups and the worldwide network of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s)—are already responding appropriately, despite the hesitation or failure of governments and many corporate leaders to lead.
What can I do?
Shift My Perception
The highest priority need is a shift in perceptions. First and foremost, who am I? By virtue of being aware of ourselves, there’s a spark that makes us more than our bodies and thoughts. Its been observed that, within each of us are the archetypes of both devil (ego) and angel (soul). So we have a choice. Are my actions in tune with “The Force” or the “The Dark Side?” Is my being in the world making it better? Is what I do an asset or liability for myself, others and the planet? Do my opinions and prescriptions uplift and empower others? Or do they make people feel bad about themselves or humanity, helpless or less optimistic about the future? Am I choosing information and entertainment sources that uplift or confuse and depress me or my family?
Another, critical shift in perception relates to how we view ourselves in relation to the planet—if we think of it at all. Am I simply a decades-long passenger, here for the ride wherever it takes me? Am I just playing the hand I was dealt at birth? Or am I an engaged member of a living system, doing what I can to take only what I need, clean up after myself and keep the house in good repair for others. These are the “Earth House Rules” articulated by Sallie McFague in A New Climate For Theology: God, the World and Global Warming. She reminds us that the Earth is a home, not a hotel.
Am I doing what I can to take care of it, especially the spaces entrusted to me? In Healing Gaia: Practical medicine for the planet, scientist James Lovelock demonstrated that the planet is a living system, an entity that possesses all the qualities that define life. Am I treating her—the Earth Mother in Native American parlance—as the source and sustainer of my life? All life?
The paradigm of separation, fear, domination and competition have resulted in the blossoming of the human species—for many, but not most. That manner of thinking and acting has been so successful in creating wealth for the few in the “developed” world, it’s nearly impossible for financial and political interests to release their grip. It’s even hard for us to imagine a world no longer dependent on fossil fuel, nuclear energy, strip-mining, deforestation, ocean pollution and meat production. Yet that’s on the horizon, and it needs to happen soon—“it” meaning a 180º shift to the paradigm of unity, love and respect for each other, nature and the Earth. Clean and renewable technologies.
Like it or not, we are the generation of the shift. We will succeed together or our children and grandchildren will suffer serious physical, mental and emotional consequences, which in the near term (scientists predict two decades) is likely to threaten the survival of many and precipitate a serious reduction in the quality of life for everyone else.
Sixteen-year-old Greta Lungren said “We need to act as if our house is on fire—because it is!” When asked what she considered the core of her message, she said it’s for all people everywhere to engage in conversations about climate change. That’s key. The first step toward solving a problem is recognizing that it exists.
Vote For The Voices Of Empathy, Intelligence And Integrity
Another, perhaps the most significant, way to become part of the solution is to understand the beliefs and priorities of political candidates. What do they talk about most—the economy, jobs, energy, education, healthcare, etc.? At that level, every issue has one thing in common—money. To understand a person’s values, follow the money. What have been and continue to be their spending priorities and practices? And realize that none of the issues before us are going to matter in the long run, if we don’t first attend to the survival threats—the pandemic and climate change—that are calling us to responsible action on behalf of the whole system.
There is still time to affect substantive change. What it requires is electing individuals of integrity—intelligent and wise truth-tellers and collaborators who understand the seriousness of Coronavirus and climate change, make them the top priority and commit to taking responsible action immediately. To safeguard the health of all living systems well into the future, difficult decision are needing to be made by all of us.
Given that there will be resistance, a crucial roll for the United States president and other leaders is to tell the truth, define hot-button and misunderstood terms like “freedom,” “socialism” and “rights,” affect a shift away from fossil fuels and toward sustainable energy sources, frequently convey scientific facts and consequences to the public and empower citizens to become engaged in conservation, recycling and sustainable energy. With a shift in perception and attitude, the challenges we face can become the catalyst that unites us.
Recommendations By Experts
Sallie McFague (Ecologian): A New Climate for Theology: God, the World, and Global Warming.She suggests a fourfold practice.
1. Voluntary simplicity
2. Focus on the needs of others
3. Cultivate the inclusive Self—expand the circle of caring to the world and everyone in it
4. Apply the above at all levels of activity, personal and public
Charles Eisenstein (Ecologist): Climate: A New Story. “Climate change is inviting us to forge a different kind of relationship, one that holds the planet and all of its places, ecosystems, and species sacred—not only in our conception and philosophy, but in our material relationship. Nothing less will deliver us from the environmental crisis that we face. Specifically, we need to turn our primary attention toward healing soil, water, and biodiversity, region by region and place by place… We must enact a civilization-wide unifying purpose: to restore beauty, health and life to all that has suffered during the Ascent of Humanity… If I were pressed to offer a universal solution, it would be to see and treat the world as sacred again. As my friend Orland Bishop says, the sacred is something that requires sacrifice; that is, it is something we value—and would sacrifice to protect—beyond its use-value to ourselves.”
His Holiness The Dalai Lama: The Universe In A Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality. “Because of the profoundly interconnected reality of today’s world, we need to relate to the challenges we face as a single human family rather than as members of specific nationalities, ethnicities, or religions. In other words, a necessary principle is a spirit of oneness of the entire human species. Some might object to this as unrealistic. But what other options do we have?”
Brian Swimme (Cosmologist): What Is Enlightenment? Magazine, Spring/Summer 2001. “The solution to our crises: Reinvent ourselves, at the species level, in a way that enables us to live… not just with humans but with all beings—so that our activities actually enhance the world.”
Sarah VanGelder (Editor, YES! Magazine).“Small actions and choices can have major, although unpredictable, effects in determining what comes next. Among the possibilities is that the thousands of experiments and millions of choices to live more consciously will coalesce into a new civilization that fosters community, provides possibilities for meaning, and sustains life for the planet.”
Little Things Add Up
The following is a sampling derived from people committed to amending their lives in response to climate change. I offer it for consideration and with a tip of the hat to those who are already putting small things into practice.
- Take shorter showers.
- Fly less. Use video or phone conferencing for work meetings and gatherings instead.
- Travel by train or bus. On long distances, cars pollute more than airplanes.
- Turn lights off, except when necessary.
- Turn down the thermostat & wear sweaters in winter.
- Set the summer-time air conditioner a little less cooler.
- Shop close to home; ride a bike.
- Car pool or use public transportation.
- Make the vehicle you purchase a 10-15 year commitment.
- Improve the energy efficiency of the house
- Turn off the hot water heater while on vacation.
- Satisfy wants less frequently than needs.
- Purchase a vehicle that doesn’t burn fossil fuel.
- Only purchase shoes and other wearing apparel when necessary.
- Use existing materials of any kind before buying new.
- Borrow books and videos from the library rather than purchasing them.
- Never litter and pick up litter.
- Wrap sandwiches and other short-use foods in recyclable paper rather than plastic.
- Offer charitable contributions to NGO’s.
- Drive the shortest distance between two points.
- Turn off electronic devices when not needed for long periods.
- Cut back on meat, especially beef.
- Cancel subscription to a lawn care service—because it kills insects and worms.
- Buy organic foods as much as possible.
- Switch to ink pens or pencils, so not to use ballpoint pens.
- Never throw waste into a pond, stream, river, lake or any other body of water.
- Use fewer devices that require disposable batteries.
- Learn a trade in the solar or wind technology industries.
- When searching for a job, look into alternative energy companies.
- Use cloth rather than paper towels.
- Use natural cleaning products; ammonia or vinegar rather than Clorox.
- Never purchase anything with real fur, animal skin or leather.
- Use washable cloth rather than commercial diapers.
- Use existing office supplies before buying more.
- Mulch leaves in the Fall, don’t just throw them away.
- Use a printer and copier only when necessary and recycle the cartridges.
- Reading more; watch television less.
- Hold off buying the next generation smartphones—or anything—until it’s necessary.
- Recycle everything possible, and in appropriate ways.
- Recycle metals that are no longer needed; don’t let weeds grow over them.
- Use hand rather than power tools, especially not those that burn fossil fuel.
- Ask for paper rather than plastic cups and straws in restaurants.
- Borrow or rent tools rather than purchase them.
- Reuse binders, folders and mailers as much as possible.
- Reduce, ideally eliminate, single-use plastic bottles and other containers.
- Take cloth bags to the grocery store.
Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.
George Bernard Shaw
The Earth will not continue to offer its harvest, except with faithful stewardship. We cannot say we love the land and then take steps to destroy it for use by future generations.
Pope John Paul II
You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of a difference you want to make.
Jane Goodall
Email: smithdl@fuse.net
Portfolio: DavidLSmithPhotography.com
Photography Monographs. The pages can be turned in each book.
Contemplative Photography 
