Living in Times of Change - pathfinding a new future

A Lost Generation ?

2012-01-31T10:14:00.002Z

Listening to the news last night, some figures were being given of youth unemployment. With over 50% in Spain, 47% in Greece and 30% in Italy...these were really sad figures...and no doubt other countries in Europe have similar problems .... but what was more shocking was the comment from the newsreader. People are asking is this 'a lost generation'?
I felt this was a dreadful comment to throw in, in such an off hand, almost casual way....and to my ears, a callous comment Once again it reflects the level of breakdown in sensible society. Not only because of the figures, which are stark, but because governments are allowing this to happen. How can they not take this in hand, find ways to help, educate and train youth in a viable productive way ? And one way or another, create situations where the young can feel a useful and productive part of society?
Today's youth are tomorrow's leaders...and surely this has to be a five star priority issue.

The Gene Code

2012-01-30T10:07:00.008Z

Just had a fascinating conversation with a good friend whose grand daughters had just been visiting for the weekend. We were talking about the trend in many of the young using less and less grammar in their speech and the increase in 'text speech'. She told me of one of her relatives, who had an au pair come over from Sweden to learn English but found it impossible because the family with whom she was staying was using so little of English syntax! I told her that I had heard that in a couple of American States, they were stopping teaching the written language as part of the main curriculum and issuing laptops instead.

Then the conversation took a very interesting turn where we began to talk about recent research in genetics where they discovered that there is a specific gene to do with grammar. We posed the question whether the fall away in grammar is a 'retro' move in terms of our using our expressive capacity as human beings? Obviously it must have represented a huge step forward at some time in our genetic evolution. Whilst pondering that, we also asked ourselves the question whether there was an aspect in current communications that we miss altogether because it is so easy to see the down side of it?My friend said one thing she had observed in her grand daughters was a much more expressive use of body language as part of their listening to 'rap' Many of the words had an accompanying body movement which was somehow very 'inclusive' and 'communicative'...it seemed to bring the mind and body together more than perhaps formal verbal communication ...fascinating !

I found this quite a gripping conversation and feel it is an area that deserves a lot of consideration and much more research! It feels very important to be watching the trends and be open about what it all might indicate...to be constantly reaching for more intelligence and consciousness about what is going on in our world.

Galactic Plane

2012-01-26T16:08:00.003Z

There is a lot of hype at the moment about the solar system going through the galactic plane on 21st December 2012 and the possible cataclysmic consequences of that for the planet and all life on her.

Of course, it sounds dramatic and catches people's attention. However when one researches it a little, it becomes clear that it is not only misleading to talk in those terms, but also damaging because it brings with it a blind 'end of the world' sort of fear.

Alongside that, when the facts come out, it then leaves people thinking it was all a load of rubbish anyway, so inclines a person to dismiss the more subtle and intriguing changes which are going on within the universe...and that is very sad when one considers the massive opportunity there is in this window of history, for a progression in consciousness and new human possibility.

What's Happening to Time?

2012-01-18T09:06:00.006Z

One of the most frequent conversations I seem to be having right now is about time! So many people are fascinated by the way time seems to have speeded up.

And what's curious is, it is people of all ages and from many different backgrounds and circumstances who are talking about it!

From Xmas dinners, to coffee with friends to visits to the hairdressers, this topic is coming up again and again. Some folks are just puzzled about it, others intrigued, whilst some try to explain it away one way or another. One of the Xmas conversations went down the track that we are doing so many more things in the day, there is just not time to fit it all in. At work, someone suggested that as one gets older, each year is a smaller percentage of one's life, so seems shorter and therefore passes more quickly!

But for me, the conversation which intrigued me most was when my hairdresser asked "Has time itself actually changed?"

What a great question! And one which I'd love to hear what others might think about.

It reminded me of an article I had read in Australia in 1992 where some of the aborginal elders
had published an article saying they had come to the end of their old 'dreamtime' and had now entered a 'new dreamtime' One in which, it was important to let go of the past, forgive the wrongful aspects of their history, and find new more positive ways forward to build a more harmonious future between all the people in Australia and between people and the planet. Intriguingly in the very same week, I also received an article from one of the leading thinkers of the 20th century, Leo Armin, also writing about us having entered 'Newtime'.

All very intriguing !!

2012 ...endings and beginnings

2012-01-13T15:34:00.004Z

I 've been at the hairdressers this morning...always a great place for girl chat and was absolutely astonsished in talking to the young girl who works there to discover how widely known is the idea that 2012 is thought by many to be some kind of significant year in world history! What was rather sad was that all the reference that she and her friends had was in relation to it being the 'end of the world'! the lady doing my hair confirmed that, that too, was what her daughter had told her...a young very bright law student of 19.

Having been aware for many years that some cultures such as the Mayan, had their ancient calenders come to an end in 2012...it was a surprise to me to find how popular that knowledge has become but what a shame that there seemed to be no awarenes of the parallel idea that whilst we are in the time of 'endings' we are also in the time of brand new beginnings...new possiblilties, new evolutions .....with a whole new page in history to write.

It was fun and energising having a conversation with this young lady about that consciousness and I came home and thought yes, definitely time to start the blog again !!!

Emperor's New Clothes

2011-09-14T15:00:00.006+01:00

I was listening to a program on the world economy and the degree to which it is based on a 'virtual' situation --- i.e. money is lent that doesn't exist, there is no gold standard to back economies , countries with huge debts 'lend' huge amounts etc, etc, etc One of the presenters asked the fascinating question " Is it time to declare the emperor has no clothes?"

I thought what a brilliant question! How often do we bolster up our acceptance of ways of going on, when the brave thing would be to say stop, let's stop this nonsense!

A good example recently was one of the UK politicians who had just volunteered to put himself on a lie detector and came out clean as a whistle on every question. His point was that politicians can only lie so long as the voters put up with it. So, why not, cut to the chase, and if you want to be in public office, be willing to take lie detector test once a year. If you've nothing to hide, you've nothing to lose!

OK..maybe a bit draconian...but actually...he had a point ..there are always ways of drawing a line and saying 'enough is enough'. And once a stance has been taken, the principle applies. In previous times, truth and honour were important enough to influence public behaviour...and who is to say, that could not be the same again, if enough people won't have it any other way!

The Flip Side of the Coin - re-writing the balance

2011-08-11T13:29:00.005+01:00

Speaking with a friend in London yesterday, we were discussing the recent rioting. One of the more positive aspects which she was inspired by, was the response of the major part of the local folks to the destruction and chaos around them.

Her son lives in Hackney which was left in a right old mess, yet by 10.30 the following morning, the local residents had been out in force, shoulder to shoulder, clearing up their home turf. It brought together people of all persuasions..socially, religiously and racially ...who together just were not going to put up with the destruction around them.

It's sad and worrying that so few can cause so very much violence, but heartening that a much greater number of people feel so strongly against such degenerative behaviour and pull together to do whatever they can to counter it.

Voice from the elder generation

2011-08-10T15:00:00.004+01:00

I just had a call from a lovely friend of mine who is 83..a real elder of the tribe! She said she was thanking her lucky stars that she was young in the 1930s and 40s rather than in our present time.

That gave me food for thought as she had lived through the second world war, including the occupation of her country by the Nazis with all the resulting horrors.

Again, the same view was echoed to me as I've heard from so many different people over the last month.....that her fear was, that we are facing the beginning a serious breakdown of the stability we take for granted...that the current kind of western civilisation we have is simply falling apart.

It strikes me, if there is some truth in this, it is an incredibly important time to remain steady in oneself, to hold fast to our values and to do everything we can personally to maintain a good standard of life and living - one that, in whatever small way, could be part of the pioneering of a new way, a new time.

Unusual Behaviour in Queen Ants

2011-08-10T13:27:00.006+01:00

BBC Film crews have recently filmed some unusual behaviour in queen honey ants. Normally they are solitary workers and seldom work in conjunction with others.Whilst building her nest, the original honey queen was seen to be digging and building together with several other honey queens. Normally the approach of another queen would result in fighting yet in the film, they were working together, co-operated well and all have gone into the nest together to begin to lay their eggs.

Interesting! When looking at a changing world, the behaviour of insects, birds and animals is another facet to watch.

The Riots in UK

2011-08-10T13:05:00.003+01:00

Many people in the UK are reeling over the rioting of the last few days...and feeling horrified about the mindless violence and rapacious looting. It really does look feral...and many people are wondering why the army has not gone in with a heavy hand to nip it in the bud before it has reached this proportion.

However, this blog is not about that..but rather seeks to question what is it in the minds and hearts of those involved ( or absent) that allows such behaviour. The police, army and judicial systems may quell it with heavy measures, but the level of resentment that it has revealed is not going to go away by punishment. Some of the girls involved in the violence in London described their involvement as 'good fun' and felt justified in what they were doing because they felt the system was so unfair. Their lack of value for the safety of other people and the sanctity of their lives was chilling.

You really feel there is an undercurrent of unrest which is reaching boiling point and this is unlikely to be the last we see it surface. Understanding what it all means is hugely challenging .. and so very important.

Phoenix Arising from the Ashes

2011-08-02T10:13:00.003+01:00

It's been some time since I blogged and there has been so much happening in the world.

I was watching the news with a friend last weekend. The news items covered so many negative events...the shootings in Norway, debt and finances in the US, continuing events in the Arab worlds, more coverage from Afghanistan and on it went to issues closer to home. Conversations had between various business people talking about the inefficiency they meet day to day in banking, in industry, in government departments....

The person with whom I was watching turned round and made an interesting observation. He said...."there is no bringing our civilisation back to a reasonable standard of life is there? It's just too far gone the road of breakdown"

For him this was a really sobering and depressing thing to come to....and I could only agree with him about the direction he was detecting. However, I began to talk of living in times of transition from the old to the new...a time of a phoenixing ...and that the breakdown of one way of life was pre-cursor to another emergent one .......and yet he just couldn't see it or feel this new possibility. All he could see was the world as we know it falling apart, with no fresh hope appearing. I wondered how many people across the globe felt the same?

It made me wonder how is it that some people feel this new arising so passionately , attempt to respond to this new signal so intensely, whilst other people simply seem impervious to it? Is it the case that it is only those who are actively pioneering the new, who feel it ?

Knowledge v Understanding

2011-06-15T14:26:00.008+01:00

Thanks to some of my Facebook friends, I've recently been reading some items in the National Graphic News website..really fascinating articles and videos ..one about recent sun spot activity, another about predictions of sun spot 'hibernation' post 2013,
and another describing a young 'sun like star' in the constellation of Perseus, 750 light years from Earth "with jets that blast epic quantities of water into inter-stellar space"

In fact, I almost blogged about each of them separately and highly recommend a look at the site!

However, what I want to explore today is the fact of the amazing amount of knowledge we have about everything and everything...from the minutiae of atomic particles to the goings on in space.

So much fresh information flooding our brain cells....and yet the question comes up in me as to the value of more and more knowledge, whilst our understanding of some of the core issues of living still seems to be so minimal.

There seems to be such a brain hunger for more, more, more ...not only for facts, but also in so many avenues of living such as for money, possessions, entertainment, advertising, relationships, titillation .....that it seems that the 'more, more, more' syndrome can keep our lives shallow, rather than the deeper probe for the value and significance of who we are and what we have.

Six months on, in Kenya

2011-06-14T13:58:00.006+01:00

I did a blog back in March about a friend of mine who was working with a network called Feminenza in the area of Forgiveness in Kenya.

I spoke to her again this week about the results so far ...and delighted to hear about some very inspiring events. Some of the ladies who had been on the course had been meeting with some of the local tribal dignitaries and leaders and getting a very positive response from them.

One very practical example was of two tribes who at one time used to share a local market. For some time, after the recent outbreaks of violence between them, they have had to have two separate markets to prevent fighting. As a result of the ladies meeting with the local leaders, all have decided it's time to bring the market together again. Perhaps a small decision, but an important one.....because it is a practical attempt to leave the troubles of the past behind and focus on the future they want to build together.

Yet again, one can appreciate that it is often a few individuals' decisions and actions which can be the catalyst for others to come together to help build a better future. Real change begins in how we think and what we value.

All strength to them.

Idealism and Business

2011-06-09T10:07:00.005+01:00

Just reading this morning's post at work and delighted to read a letter to my good friend, Richard, whom I work with, thanking him for not only doing a great job producing a CD for someone, but for his inspiration in combining business and idealism....something the customer now wants to try to emulate in his own business.

I love it when one man inspires another ( or woman!) by not compromising his principles in whatever field of his life he is dealing in.

Isn't it amazing how any one individual can add to or subtract from the well-being of society...and often in an exponential way.

My next blog is going to be on a young Brahmin in India doing just that!

More on the Land of Pearls

2011-06-07T16:40:00.003+01:00

Sometimes India is called the Land of Pearls ...a rather romantic evocation....yet this last week, I keep coming across programs and articles about modern day India which are absolutely heart wrenching and haunt the mind, brutally realistic and far from romanticism.

This one was about the mentally ill in India, where it is still seen as a giant social stigma. Because of this many families simply abandon anyone with a mental problem where they wander the streets untended and uncared for, with no medical treatment. The program estimated there could be as many as 60 million Indians with mental problems.

It showed many people in very disturbed states ....sometimes with their children watching on helplessly.

As often happens, in the midst of an account of such suffering, there was one bright light in the programme. This was about a young Brahmin called Naryanan Krishnan, who has taken a position about this. From a wealthy Brahmin background, and facing a very lucrative career as a successful chef, Naryanan had a life changing experience in 2002 when he saw an old starving man in the streets of Madurai trying to eat his own excrement.

It caused him to take a position that he would help feed the mentally ill in Madurai, where he now takes care of about 400 people on a regular and daily basis. He has founded the Akshaya Trust which is publicly funded and has now managed to erect a building to provide shelter too.

He has been severely criticised by traditional Brahmins who highly disapprove of his physical contact with the Untouchables. In response, Naryanan said...

" they are human, I am human,, they are flesh and blood, I am flesh and blood"

What moves me about this is manyfold ...one is for his sentiments and his work, and another because it just demonstrates so clearly how one individual can influence so many others around them...can really make a difference....and how one strong minded person can be catalytic in inspiring other to rally too.

Forward the Future!

2011-06-04T17:19:00.015+01:00

I have many friends in the UK of different social, political and educational backgrounds.

One thing they all seem to have in common is a dissatisfaction with their own brand of politicians which only takes second place to their objections to the politician's opponents !Those of a right persuasion, are seeing all the blind spots in the Conservative approach now the Tories are actually in government whilst still railing at the problems left behind by the last year of labor administration. Likewise with those of a left inclination.

It's fascinating to me listening to the arguments and counter arguments. One can't help wondering if there is not a completely new political template to be found which leaves behind the worst aspects of both left and right, whilst looking to the inherent values and principles of each which can add to the quality and well being of humanity.

Is there a third way to be found ? A new approach, not based in power and politics as we know it , but a fresh approach which comes from a fundamental value for life on earth and the future of humanity? Wouldn't it be a great area to bring together some of the brightest minds of our times in an international summit which is looking towards the FUTURE, rather than simply addressing whatever current PROBLEM AREA is drawing them together?

Changing Times in India

2011-06-04T17:03:00.008+01:00

I watched an interview with the author Arundhati Roy on Newsnight last week about aspects of life in India in these times of change .. it has haunted me all week.

One aspect was about the growing gap between the rich and the poor. With India producing more and more millionaires, Mumbai has more per capita than Manhattan. Yet at the same time , there are millions and millions of people in dire poverty. The growth of the Indian economy is set to overtake that of China by 2013 at current growth rates.

Just one of the features Arundhati was highlighting was the plight of thousands of Indigenous Indians whose lands are being despoiled by the mining of bauxite. The bauxite, being porous, is also the key to the land holding water...and without it the land can't grow the food that's needed....a really vicious circle where the extraction of the mineral is going to make aluminium, bumping up the Indian economy, making a few people rich and leaving many of the poor in an even more desperate state.

As she said in the interview , Arudhati asks the question ...FOR WHAT? India hurtling towards a so called prosperous 'western style' economy at the expense of millions of its own people, so many of whom don't have even the basics to live?

She also talked about pockets of people who have quite a different vision of modernity ..those who appreciate the urgency and emergency situation of the planet.

Surely true progress can never be at the expense of humanity ....can never be just for the benefit of the few at the expense of the many?

Path Finding New Ways

2011-05-23T15:20:00.004+01:00

One of the challenges for being a pioneer of finding new ways forward is not sliding back into the past. This is one of these really interesting areas to explore as I opened up in of of my earlier blogs about recent events in the Middle East. New ideas, fresh winds blow through and create a vacuum, but as soon as a space appears, the old establishments rush in to fill the void!

One of the things I've discovered is that there is a lot more energy, more 'oomph' attached connecting to genuinely positive new influences, than when something is merely a kick against the past. You might say one is evolutionary, with that extra something else from the future whilst the kick against the past, is revolutionary with all the pitfalls of revolution which we have seen from history.

Thanks for all this sun!!

2011-05-04T10:02:00.009+01:00

Talking to one of my environmental friends yesterday threw out another reason to be grateful for all this gorgeous sun we've been having in the UK.

And it relates to the nuclear leaks at Fukushima in Japan after the recent shocking earthquake. Rain is carrying weak amounts of radioactivity into the eco system in various parts of the world ..but by default, that means the absence of rain here in the UK has been a real life saver for us, in that we have not had that same exposure so far.

The other interesting fact that came up in this conversation was that he and his family have been taking daily doses of Potassium Iodide , which he said builds up in the system as a protection against the body absorbing radioactivity. Not being much of a science buff, I headed straight for Google! And there is some interesting information on there, about how it was given out to 10.5 million children and 7 million adults around Chernobyl after the nuclear disaster there in 1986, as a protection against the thyroid absorbing radioactivity ...well worth a research.

To watch or not to watch?

2011-04-05T09:20:00.007+01:00

To watch or not to watch ?

Speaking to various friends recently, it seems some are absolutely glued to the international news programmes, eager to understand and follow events as they unfold. Others are frankly just finding it too much...too depressing and have decided to give it a miss for a while. As one friend put it.....just too much doom and gloom and nothing I can do anything about !

From the perspective of living in times of change, with the view that we are in times of both endings and new beginnings, the news very often highlights the breakdown of old ways and old patterns ...a necessary part of moving into something new.

The problem is that the influence of new thinking is often subtle to perceive, because it is very often quickly taken over by old thinking ....take for instance the wave of demands for reforms through the middle east. It certainly felt like a wind of change washing through country after country, often with the voice of young intellectuals talking about the need for respect, for humanity, for fairness. However, very quickly, as a vacuum appears in the establishment, other factions, whether they be religious, economical, military or political quickly step up to the mark and want to impose their views, their ways.

It's a real challenge in today's world, to find ways forward that are really new, bring fresh hope, have learned from the past and do not simply fall into a re-run of previous history with various vested interests looking to improve their own situations at the expense of others.

But then, isn't that the greatest challenge of our times?

Back to the Future or Forward to the Past?

2011-03-29T17:07:00.008+01:00

I watched a TV show recently on the concept of RE-WILDING, sometimes described as the return of natural habitats or the reversal of human 'domestication'. The program was highlighting various examples where top predators are re-introduced to an ecology to 're-balance' the eco system. The example of wolves in Yellowstone was cited as a very successful example. Other examples were re-introducing the panther to Florida to keep down the wild hog population, or brown bears back into the mountains of Northern Italy. Question is, how thoroughly has this been thought through? In the example of the brown bears, local villagers are furious as the bears are not only scavenging in the villages, destroying small businesses like bee-keeping and poultry farming by breaking in for bees and chickens to eat, but are now trying to break into houses too. Pretty scary stuff! But the thing which alarmed me most was another suggestion currently under serious debate as to whether they should re-introduce the African lion to Montana, USA. Can you believe that?It seems that there is such a large herd of wild horses that some scientists have come up with the bright idea that they should be 'controlled' by letting loose lions which in Africa like to eat zebras! There have not been lions roaming in the US for about 12,000 years!

I found this a very bizarre line of thinking ....surely if there is a population of wild horses, which can't sustain itself, then humans have the brains and ability to manage the situation? Haven't we, with all our technology and weaponry, already taken over as the 'top predator'? And if we won't do that, then hard as it is to say, nature will do it for us as the weakest horses will simply not survive and the herd will find a balance that works.

It struck me that humans love to play God in these situations, and even the examples which are currently cited as 'success' stories are only 15 years old....a blink of an eye in ecological terms.

The good news we don't hear!

2011-03-24T09:38:00.005Z

I have friends who live around the recent quake affected areas in New Zealand. Devastating as the experience has been, there have been some fantastic stories about the 20,000 students who have been going around helping people clear up the sludge and mess left behind. In fact, 300,000 tonnes of liquefaction needed to be removed from properties..
that is a lot of ****!

People can be so fantastic, especially when they pull together in a good cause to help each other!

Hypocrisy or Truth

2011-03-22T09:43:00.007Z

Like so many people, I've been closely following events on the world news on the unfolding situations in the Middle East and North Africa.Every news program I've watched has had people being interviewed who are talking about the double standards and hypocrisy of the world governments. I watched one very learned chap this morning who with all seriousness said that one of the ways to deal with the double standards was to ignore them! We have all become used to this double dealing and hypocrisy as normal...yet it is not so long ago where people ( rightly or wrongly!) actually believed politicians ..thought what they heard on the news was actually the facts. It seems today, everyone knows they have to read between the lines to try and work out for themselves just what the truth of the matter might be!

In rather stark contrast, I've been reading some of the writings of Laurens Van der Post where he draws evocative pictures of some of the ways of life and thinking in Old Africa. I found it so fresh and inspiring ..especially after the current news programs. Although an echo from the past, perhaps it could also be a call to the future? I certainly hope so! Here are some thoughts on 'truth' from 'A Story Like the Wind'

" No imagination has yet been great enough to invent improvements to the truth. Truth, however terrible, carries within itself its own strange comfort for the misery it is so often compelled to inflict on behalf of life. Sooner or later, it is not pretence but the truth which gives back with both hands what it has taken away with one"

The Japanese Earthquake

2011-03-16T15:48:00.003Z

It really is so very tragic to witness the human suffering caused by the recent earthquake in Japan. Not something one wants to blog lightly about, but rather a time of quiet reflection and consideration as to how one might be able to send some support.

However, there is one conversation which I've had with numerous people, from neighbours to friends to the post lady. It stretches across two very current realisations.

One is the power of nature compared to that of us humans. A calamity like this earthquake shows so clearly how small we are in the face of the power of the planet. It really shrinks us down to a more realistic size. The other talking point is realising that there are so many nuclear power plants around the world, and that whilst every precaution is taken to safeguard them, when a calamity strikes, the dangers of our technology can immediately pose a threat to people all over the planet at one stroke. This is a feature of modern life which has only been the case for a few generations and once again highlights that life today is so interconnected around the globe.

The danger aspect is one side of the coin ...but of course the other side of this same picture is how there can be a world wide to support and help those suffering in Japan. It immediately rises above considerations of country or race and evokes a humanitarian response to other members of the global human family.

In Transition

2011-03-12T15:34:00.008Z

Talking last week with one of my friends, we were talking over how helpful it is to view these times we live in, as a time of switchover, as a time of transition.

What does this imply ? It suggests we are at the end of one kind of civilisation and at the beginning of another. It means we are seeing the breakdown of many aspects of a way of life which is showing itself as no longer tenable or acceptable in these new global times. A good current example is the revolts against the old fixed ways of hereditary despotism and tyrannical leadership in the Middle East and North Africa. Some see it as a fresh and important new wind of change calling for basic human rights and respect - others as an end to a type of leadership which to many seems way out of date, positively medieval to many western eyes. Both a breakthrough and a breakdown.

To me, it's a nightmare watching the violence in Libya - but at least if I remember that it is part of the reality of transitional times, it gives a context in which to make some sense out of the chaos.

Forgiveness

2011-03-07T16:17:00.002Z

I had a visit today from a good friend who is just back from Kenya, where she and other members of a womens group called 'Feminenza' have been working with 21 women on the area of Forgiveness. Each of the 21 women in training are themselves involved in practical community projects and keen to improve their skills in this area.

I thought it was incredibly inspiring in many different ways. Firstly, that these women train for a month in order to be able to promote peace and forgiveness in Africa. Secondly that the women who travelled there from the UK and Holland also believed enough in the importance of forgiveness in the world to travel all the way to Kenya.

And thirdly to know, that each of those 21 women are now travelling back to their own communities to promote in very practical ways the importance of forgiveness in building a peaceful future. In a continent which has suffered so much from violence and tribal warfare, it's brilliant to hear of such pro-active work.

Many Overlays

2011-03-07T15:26:00.005Z

I remember studying history at school and university,and when learning about historical events or world crises, such as major wars, there were always clearly defined reasons and events which were recognised as being either the cause or the catalyst. A good example being the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, on 28 June 1914, which set in train a series of diplomatic events that was seen to lead inexorably to the outbreak of war in Europe at the end of July 1914.
In following the news today of unfolding events in the Middle East and North Africa,and having many discussions with people as to what is going on, it strikes me that we live in a time where there is such a range of interaction,
and intercommunication, where there is so much evidence of old patterns of social structure breaking down, and new ways appearing, that perhaps it is more sensible to stop looking for simple or single track answers.. So many people are arguing their viewpoint...for example, about the influence of Facebook , the influence of Islamic fundamentalists, the desire of the West for more oil, the bid for democracy, that the old despotic ways have had their time, the role of 'Anonomous' Hackers.... Perhaps it makes more sense to admit we really don't understand what is going on, but that the more we can appreciate the many overlays of influence in the situation, the more we can prompt new perception and perhaps get a glimpse into history in the making.

Beyond Polarisation

2011-02-17T13:17:00.008Z

In a time of change, so many diverse ways of thinking are around ...often with quite contradictory approaches.

I came across what appears like a dilemma of thought today, in scanning a magazine of recent releases in the 'alternative thinking' scene.

There were loads of books advocating the kind of thoughts that how we think ( either positively or negatively) is the major contributory factor to health and well being. Then another book which was advocating the flaws of this apparently positive way of thinking...the fact that it can so easily make people feel guilty about being ill as they have 'caused' the problem, thus compounding their problems, the reality that there are millions of children born into adverse conditions before they even have time to form their thought processes and therefore their illnesses cannot possible be explained away in these terms.

It struck me yet again how easy it is for views to polarise, to become in direct opposition, one to the other ...that one must be right and one must be wrong. How easy it is to become dogmatic in the face of the flaws in the 'opposite' argument.

This caused me to review how important it is to realise that we only ever have parts of the picture, and that to stay open to the ever growing truth of life is embracing the reality that at best, we only ever have a fragmented and partial view....it may need many different overlays on the same situation to come close to any true appreciation...particularly in a time like today where out terms of reference are expanding so rapidly.

In this particular stand off,surely one can accept that our mental and emotional states does affect our health dramatically, whilst taking on board that our cultural, physical and genetic background are a huge influence too. Life ranges from the physical, the mental, the emotional, the spiritual ....we are all unique individuals, yet appear in a particular culture and moment in history. Perhaps,one could say, some are privileged in that they can explore the wider range of human individuality and possibility whilst many others are severely limited by the needs of physical survival because of the place and circumstance of their birth.

Being Aware in the Moment

2011-02-15T11:54:00.009Z

My blog is all about living in times of change ...and of course it could be said - and it is said by many people - that that change is simply part of the cycle of life and living ....and this, in one sense, is very true. A month ago we were in the deep freeze of winter and now the snowdrops and daffodils are appearing with all the renewed vigour and energy of spring.

But that sort of change and cycle is expected, it's predictable, re-assuring and it tells us all is well, there is an underlying stability....

And that, of course, is so unlike much else that is happening today, like the changes currently unfolding in the Middle East, where events are unfolding with a kind of quicksilver re-activity..with protests and unrest contaging from one country to another with a rapidity which is extra-ordinary.

I had an email from a friend teaching in Bahrain with some of the local 'street' news he had heard there that doesn't necessarily appear on the screen here. Yes, we hear that protests are beginning in Bahrain too, but do we hear that The King in Bahrain has tried to bribe everyone by offering every household a thousand dinars (something like one and a half thousand pounds!!) Or that the Kuwaiti Emir has also offered every Kuwaiti individual a thousand Kuwaiti dinars (more than two thousand pounds?) Both offers in an attempt to keep the status quo!

What an extra-ordinary state of affairs! A world that communicates so quickly, that is reading the trends as best they can as they are happening ....and attempting to be pro-active. And as the above example show, pro-active both in attempting to prevent those changes or pro-active in bringing them about.

It is often said that history repeats itself, but surely the wonderful opportunity of today, is to learn from the past, understand today and to forge a better tomorrow.

The Search for Truth

2011-02-09T09:13:00.009Z

I had an email back from a young friend in Australia on yesterday's blog ...here is part of what he wrote :-

"Nice article on this subject. I've been following what's happening too. It's clear how biased the news is toward the downfall of the government being positive. I have an Egyptian friend who probably also has his bias but sees this as a terrible event completely manipulated by the Muslim Brotherhood. I think it's one of the great challenges of having mass media and instant communications, not only for people looking on from outside but especially for people in the middle of events to distill the truth from the torrent of biased information. How does a young student know that she's lending authenticity to an extremist group by protesting rather than (as she believes) trying to bring an end to a dictatorship"

It's so true, isn't it?
Everyone has their bias...and we know that whatever we come across in the media has a slant...so how does one begin to make sense of what is going on in the world?

No easy answer to that one! But, somehow realising that one has to make the effort to cover different versions of the same event ( sky news channels from around the world are great for that!) , try to detect what the bias is in each one, and as best one can, subtract a bit of that bias from what one hears ....and even what one thinks, as we too have our personal bias ! Watching the trends as well as the individual events on the news ..looking for patterns, cycles...talking it through with friends
All these will help in some way get closer to the truth of the matter...and perhaps too, recognising that none of us has the whole picture ..so never getting too dogmatic that we're right ...that might keep us open to the ongoing search and the next insight..

From the Past or the Future?

2011-02-08T10:45:00.003Z

Over the past week, the predominant story in the news is of Tunisia, Egypt and the knock on effects this may have on other places in the Middle East. I've had loads of conversations with friends about this and one of the aspects which jumps out is how differently people can add up the same events. Some see it to be the winds of change coming in from the future, beginning to knock down the fixed old ways of dictatorship and opening the doors of change to a way of government with more humanity, more dignity and more freedom. Others fear the events are being manipulated behind the scenes by Islamic extremists, and that what looks like a bid for freedom will be a lever for re-instituting fundamentalist values and be a pull back into the past. Others are of the view, probably both influences are at play ....and look on with uncertainty as to how events may unfold.

When you live in times of change,as we do now, with instant global communications at all levels from governments to the folks on the street, the speed and contagion with which events can happen is quite astonishing. Let's hope the current events lead to a really positive human outcome for the people living there.

The Un-changing Importances

2011-01-07T12:36:00.008Z

With all the severe weather in the UK, many people are realising that climate change is not theoretical but something which is beginning to affect us all, Having been without running water for some weeks at home ( along with countless others) it brings home just how vulnerable we actually are when weather conditions change and we are unprepared for it.

I heard from a friend with contacts in come of the latest climatology research that for the first time ever, satellites observed that the North Atlantic Drift had stopped for about an hour a few weeks ago ...something unprecedented to our best knowledge. Not being a scientist myself, I googled the North Atlantic Drift to understand the implications. It said that it is a warm current without which Britain and Northern Western Europe would have the same climate as Canada! OK...food for thought there ...and isn't it extraordinary that such important information doesn't even make the news?

More than ever, there is a growing sense that we are in somewhat unpredictable times ...and it is un-nerving for many.

Yet when times are difficult, it really highlights some of the unchanging importances..and in particular how important people are for each other ...the kindness, the caring , the helpful acts which count for everything in maintaining the quality and humanity of life ...just as they always have and always will.

And isn't it always so deeply re-assuring and encouraging when you walk out after the snow and see through the thawing ground, the snowdrop bulbs re-appearing

...hope springs anew always....and spring brings hope and new beginnings....surely such a great analogy for these current times!

Serendipity!

2010-12-08T15:36:00.003Z

After yesterday's post, by sheer coincidence, ( sheer coincidence??!!) I received today a link which takes us on a trip round the planet with views from a low flying satellite.

Just copy and paste the following for a great experience!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZObXgVNlRo&feature=player_embedded

Rising above the Local View

2010-12-06T21:23:00.004Z

One of the happenings of the last fifty years has been man's space travel. When we first saw photographs of the earth from space, it was absolutely awesome - our first view of our beautiful blue planet. Now we receive images regularly from all over the universe...of the planets, stars and galaxies.

Yet, I have been reading recently some of the quotes from some of the early space explorers and what their experience caused in them. It was really inspiring to me and I felt offered some real encouragement to rise above the local view ....so thought I'd share some on the blog.

Here are a few of them

" The first day or so, we all pointed to our countries. The third or fourth day, we were pointing to our continents. By the fifth day, we were aware of only one earth." Sultan Bin Salman Al Saud, Saudi Arabia

"As I looked down.....I watched the extent of one ocean touch the shores of separate continents. Two words leaped to mind....commonality and interdependence. We are one world. John-David Barton USA

" Having seen the sun, the stars, the planet, you become more full of life, softer. You begin to look at all living things with real trepidation and you begin to be more kind and patient with the people around you." Boris Volynov USSR

These are just three but there were hundreds of quotes , well worth researching 'space quotes' on google ...each one of them was so touching and moving.

Getting ahead of the action/reaction ...

2010-11-30T13:40:00.011Z

So much of human history has been based on a sort of action/ re-action. One person does X so another person does Y.....Perhaps the easiest to see examples of this are in countries, or religions going to war with each other....France's and Germany's history with each other is a prime example of this. Or another example is the church's reaction to the new discoveries of the Renaissance in the sixteenth century where they could only base their views against the dogma of the past and re-act to the new thinkers and brand them as heretics. Often, the really new arisings in history cause a major re-action as it threatens the old order. At a more local level, we all know the story of kids re-acting against their parents through the centuries....more of this action / re-action.

New science is confirming today what mystics and Eastern theology has propounded for millennium...that we are all part of an interconnected living web....how we think, how we re-act, actually alters what happens to us, and alters the world we live in ...so what better topic of contemplation for any thinking person than to consider what they actually want in their life....not only based against the past, but with a vibrant view to the future they would want to build.

I was reading a book recently, which dealt a great deal in revenge...and I found it poignant and profoundly sad. One person is offended by what they consider foul behaviour from another and then enter this tangled web of paying them back. They start to engage in the very kind of thing that offended them in the first place. In other words, they move away from who they really are, away from the best of themselves, and become more like the person or incident which has upset them. Expressions get used like 'what goes around comes around' but what a very unfortunate and personal adding up about the meaning of a profound statement which reflects the truth that life is accountable.

Something I personally find really useful is when I feel myself getting drawn into conflict...is to go through a three step process... See it from my point of view, then imagine it from the other's viewpoint, then thirdly try to find some third place, some neutral context to try to see something of the truth and flaws in both sides of the story , try to rise above the bias of both of us and find a new context within which to re-appraise the whole situation.

So, with a revenge situation , a person might pause when they feel themselves drawn into this to and fro, this see saw effect .."they did this to me, so I'll do this to them"....and stop and consider firstly perhaps what provoked the first action, secondly what they really think about the vengeful thoughts they are having, and thirdly the context might be what kind of future do they really want, and whether the consequences of their re-actions are where they want to be heading. This rises above the action /rea-action where one's past governs one's future and instead one's intention about the future pulls one's forward.

It's a much brighter and more positive energy.

And wouldn't it be so brilliant, if we collectively begin to build the history we want, and let the worst of the past stay right there..in the past?

The Ocean

2010-10-28T16:42:00.003+01:00

A friend today emailed me some fascinating facts about the ocean ...sent out by Conservation International

70% of the world's surface is covered by ocean yet only 1% of Earth's oceans are protected

1 billion people depend on the ocean for it's main source of protein

70-80% of the oxygen we breathe is produced by the oceans

90% of large predatory fish such as cod, shark or blue fin tuna have almost disappeared world wide. ..these top predators being an absolutely vital part in the food chain

1 in 4 of all marine species live on coral reef eco sytems yet already 20% of the worlds coral sytems have been lost and another 20% degraded.

The figures go on and on but rather than blind ourselves with figures and stats , how about considering that this state of affairs has only occurred because of the way people have thought, the kind of lack of value and forethought that has allowed
it to happen.....It strikes me yet again, how utterly vital it is for us to think as citizens of the planet, with respect for the whole eco-system and the part all life plays with it. To think with self interest, either individually or as a country is simply a non sustainable way of going on ...as the current trends demonstrate all too well.

New Discoveries

2010-10-26T12:39:00.003+01:00

Looking this morning at the online Telegraph's article about new species of plants and vertebrates discovered in the Amazon was very inspiring ..apparently over 1200 new species discovered over the past decade and another new one every three days or so ...many weird and wonderful exotic birds, spiders and animals....breathtaking really!

Chatting to a friend by email about this , his response was "Thank God we shall never know everything of the gifts that are around us. Similar discoveries keep an edge on our appetite to ever look forward"

What a great attitude, I thought... ( especially as the person concerned is not far from 80 years old)...to look beyond the thrill of the physical discovery and appreciate how important it is to keep that sense of search in the human faculty alive and active.

In many ways, compared to just a few centuries ago, we know so much about the physical world around us ...and such knowledge is widely available....but how much do we really know about the human faculty? Even today, scientists estimate we probably only use about 10 or 20% of our brain capacity ....so what a great search to find ways to bring more of it out of latency...to develop the new faculties this might release and discover the unknown possibilities of ourselves !

Ladies in Kenya - pioneering a more humane world

2010-10-16T09:58:00.006+01:00

I went to a very inspiring talk & slide show last night by Mary Noble, one of the founders of an educational organization for women called Feminenza who are working in Kenya in the area of Forgiveness and Reconciliation. They are going to be training forgiveness and reconciliation councillors, with the help of funding from Unifem, part of the United Nations.

Wow, what a very refreshing evening ! We all know what a very troubled continent Africa is, and particularly distressing is the ongoing conflict and violence between various tribes. The ladies who are gong to be taking part in this training are all women who are working on various initiatives such as schools, churches, peace groups who are intent on leaving behind the violence and helping build a new more unified and harmonious future. We saw slide after slide of those gorgeous bright faces, with eyes which reflected both the suffering they had gone through and the determination and hope for a better tomorrow.

You could feel too a deep humanity and bright spirituality. This feels so much the way of the world citizens of tomorrow...positively seeking to leave behind the cruel aspects of history and actively pathfinding new ways to build a kinder, more humane world.

All strength to them!

Permanent Influences

2010-10-13T16:57:00.008+01:00

I listened to a fascinating program on the radio this week about Beethoven writing the Emperor Concerto in 1809.

He was writing at a time when Austria and Napoleonic France were at war and Napoleon's army was actually shelling Vienna. All the court and dignitaries had fled from the city to safer climes, but Beethoven remained and whilst the battle was going on around him, wrote this most exquisite piece of music.

I found the program so thought provoking from several angles. One was that despite the turmoil of the war at that time, the aspect which still moves people most today is the music itself. Not the history, not even the composer but it is the harmonies and rhythms which have an enduring , almost 'permanent' quality. In fact one of the young men on air talked of the piece as something, which despite the ups and downs of living, this piece of music was something which brought strength and stability for him...something which improved the quality of life and upon which he could depend.

It caused me to wonder what it might be from our times which would endure,centuries later? Would it perhaps be that this was a time of intense change where amidst the turbulence and breakdown of various aspects of society, something new was also appearing ..something which heralded an evolution of consciousness, a real elevation for humanity ?

Finding New Value ...

2010-09-29T15:47:00.007+01:00

*
*
Driving to work today, I heard a report from one of the gardeners at the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew , speaking of the fear that as many as 20% of all plants are facing extinction, majorly because of human intervention in their habitats.

The person in the interview was obviously passionate about plants and attempting to evoke in us listeners a value for the part plants play in our lives. He went through a number of 'uses' from building to musical instruments to medicines, clothing and so on....and yes, one can only marvel at the multiple uses people have made of the natural worlds.

However, I couldn't help feeling that if we are to find a re-newed value in the world around us, perhaps it needs to start not in what plants do for us but in their own intrinsic special part in the planet's Eco system ..their own inherent beauty, and the laws of nature which underpin their existence.

*Photos copyright of Claire Zeevi

'Solar Maxima'

2010-09-28T13:13:00.011+01:00

It's a fascinating feature of life today that there is so much information in the press about what we might expect over the next few years, whilst at the same time very little clarity about the ramifications of the 'predictions'.

A recent example is the news item about expected solar storms ...some solar physicists, like David Hathaway of the National Space Science and Technology Center having predicted them to begin around 2010-11. Others like Mausumi Dikpati of The National Center for Atmospheric Research, in the news this week, predicting 2012 as the most likely time for the major storms. ( 2012..that year again??!!)

Both, however, are agreed that we can expect the most intense 'solar maximum' in fifty years. The next sunspot cycle is likely to be 30-50% stronger than the last one in 1958 which caused disruptions and increased Aurora Borealis sightings. With so much more technology of a sensitive electrical nature today, it's not clear just how disruptive the solar activity might be but it is expected to affect cell phones, GPS, weather satellites and many other 'modern technologies'...quite what that encompasses is unclear ...and one wonders just how much of an effect it might have on computers systems which play such a central role in every aspect of our society from finance, business, education, defence as well as health and social services.

Few aspects of Western society could run smoothly if we had glitches in the world of computing and technology.

For more details of the 'coming storm', as well as very interesting and readable info about the cycles of the sun check out http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2006/10mar_stormwarning/

Note: diagram above from the Nasa Science article

Reactivity and Sensitivity

2010-08-29T15:40:00.003+01:00

Recently, we seem to be more bombarded than ever with visual images of the pain and suffering that is going on around the planet, both human and animal. I had a circular yesterday through the post asking for donations to help mistreated donkeys in the third world, made all the more evocative by visual memories of recent TV ads for the same charity.

On the one hand, you can only say what a good thing that someone is doing something about animal cruelty, wherever it is, but it also occurred to me that in our modern world, there is an unfortunate side effect to the sheer volume of exposure we now have, from ads, to daily newspapers, TV, radio, the net and so on ......

It's a very natural thing to respond and help, when we meet suffering. And as an example, living in the country one simply does not ignore a suffering animal, no more than one would walk past a person in distress.

Yet, when over exposed to information of suffering, and knowing one can't respond to ALL of it, does it begin to shut us down? To cause us to anesthetize ourselves away from the empathetic feeling, because the feeling is too much, and does not lead to alleviating actions?

To boldly go where others have gone before!!

2010-08-09T21:39:00.016+01:00

Last night, I read about a fascinating experiment where a control group of non Japanese speakers was given three short passage in Japanese to memorise.

One was a traditional Japanese rhyme learned in Japan over centuries.Another was a newly composed verse.And a third was a random selection of non sequential words.

All looked and sounded fairly similar to non Japanese speakers.

The participants by far found it easiest to learn and memorise the traditional verse.

Now, why might that be? Does a set of words carry with it history, does the fact of other brains having learned the same words for centuries establish a pattern that makes it easier for others to learn it?

Is there some unconscious, unseen communication between brains ? Is there a hidden 'syntax' that is common to all languages, that sits behind the words in individual languages

Whatever the explanation, it's fascinating and yet another of those un-explained connections which don't quite fit in with a purely material view of the world!

"You can't step into the same river twice"

2010-08-09T21:20:00.003+01:00

" You cannot step into the same river twice, for fresh waters are forever flowing in" Heraclites

I've been revisiting a great book by Deepak Chopra recently...Perfect Health. A real inspiration in healthy thinking.

One of the analogies he used really caught me...we tend to think of our body as a "frozen sculpture" yet he likens it more to a moving river.

Here are some interesting body cell cycles.

Adipose tissue ( fat cells) fill up with fat and empty out constantly..so all of it is exchanged in about three weeks. ( Great aid for weight watchers to know the fat they feel won't be there so soon!!!) We get a new stomach lining every five days. Skin is renewed every five weeks. Our skeleton is entirely renewed every three months.

Every year about 98% of the total number of atoms in the body are replaced, something confirmed by radioisotope studies at the Oak Ridge laboratories in California.

That got me thinking how important it is to give ourselves the freedom to change and improve.....and somehow isn't it encouraging to know our body is in this constant flow of change itself, and that we can work in partnership with it ?

Bee Decline, Cell Phones and Electro-magnetism

2010-08-04T10:40:00.010+01:00

Last year, bee population in the UK went down by 17%, and in the US by 30%. Worrying figures indeed.

The reasons for the decline are still unclear....pesticides, parasite mites called varroa and climate change are often cited as major factors.

However there is interesting new research being done at Punjab university in Northern India, which believes that cell phones could also be in part to blame for the decline in bees. They fitted cell phones to the hives and powered them up for two fifteen minute periods each day. Within three months, the bees stopped producing honey, egg production by the queen halved and the size of the hive reduced dramatically.

Another study by Andrew Goldsworthy at UK's Imperial College, London is studying the biological effects of electro-magnetic fields, and also believes it's possible that cell phones may be affecting bees.

There is a pigment in bees ( and other animals) called cryptochrome, which is used for navigation. It is used to sense the earth's magnetic field and thus helps bees find their way back to the hive. The signal from cell phones disturbs the cryptochrome molecules, thus causing bees to get lost and not find their way back to the hive. Indeed Goldsworthy has suggested to UK communications regulators OFCOM that they change the phone frequencies to one which would not have this affect.

At the same time, experts on bees such as the scientific director of the International Bee Research Centre at Sussex University comments that although they appreciate that bees are sensitive to electro magnetism, they are unsure whether bees use the earth's electro magnetic fields in navigation...so even, the bee experts are unsure in this area.

It seems to me that there is an urgent need to understand more about the electro magnetic fields of the planet and how flora, fauna and human life interacts with it.

After all, if this is indeed an important factor in the decline of bees, our major pollinators, then there is no time to lose! Life is indeed an inter-related living eco sytem in which every part affects every other And we are living in a time when our understanding of the significance of being part of this living organism, is expanding all the time.

Yet when it comes to the possibility of losing our bees, it highlights our urgent need to expand our understanding in these areas.

Population Growth

2010-07-26T17:07:00.007+01:00

I've been re-reading some charts on the rate of population growth recently, and really it strikes me this is one huge 'elephant in the room' about which we must all surely be concerned....and particularly world leaders who are monitoring the global trends

Here are some figures taken from an article on Wikipedia
In 1500, estimated population was half a billion
In 1804, the world population reached about 1 billion
By 1927, it had doubled to 2 billion
By 1960, we were up to 3 billion
4 billion by 1974, 5 billion in 1987 and 6 in 1999

In 2009, the United Nations estimated would reach 7 billion by 2011-2012 .....( and the US census rates us currently about 6,858,200,000 so the 7 billion estimate is not far off ) On current growth rates the projection is to reach about 9 billion by the middle of this century.

One has to ask how on earth our planet can support these kind of numbers ?

Crop Circles

2010-07-26T16:42:00.005+01:00

One of the really fascinating aspects about Crop Circles is you almost never see them in the news!!!

It's hard to know quite what to think about them...but as they had come up in a conversation recently, I thought I'd do a bit of a google about them...and was absolutely amazed to see the number of 'photographs' on the net. Literally hundreds of them from as recently as this week..loads of them in Wiltshire, UK. That seems to be a very popular place for such events.

Now, many people dismiss them as hoaxes, and I'm sure some of them are ....but really, they are becoming so elaborate, one wonders how on earth they could be created so beautifully and in such short spaces of time. And if they are all hoaxes, why has the whole concept not been completely discredited? Attached here are a couple of photos of one in Southern Holland from last summer which is particularly stunning and evocative.

Question remains however, if they are not all man made hoaxes, what on earth are they.

'Faxes' from another intelligence ??!!!

Effect of Thought on Genetics

2010-07-14T16:58:00.008+01:00

I read an article on the web yesterday about recent research in Russia into the effects of thought and language on our genes

Absolutely fascinating ! Though not so surprising really as they are now confirming scientifically what has been understood in many circles for thousands of years.

That prayer, meditation and repetitive thought patterns have a definite effect on our very genes. Positive thinking can not only inhibit some unfortunate sequences of deterioration in our genetics ( think we call it healing!!) but perhaps even more intriguing, can also unlock sequences in what is called 'junk DNA'

Actually called 'junk' that because scientists can't yet work out what it's for!!!

In fact, it is estimated that 90% of our DNA is 'junk' ....that really got me to wondering just what that 90% could be for? Perhaps some of it is now redundant, but wouldn't it make equal sense that some of it is not yet activated ?

Doesn't that just remind you of similar figures that are estimated re the amount of our brain we currently use???!!!!

And it's fascinating too that the word E-Volution means literally to roll out..perhaps it's some of our latent DNA sequences which, when unlocked, open up the next stage on our long evolutionary journey.

Wonder what thoughts, what energy might be the triggers?

A Time of Transition

2010-07-14T15:44:00.006+01:00

Recently I've been working with colleagues on a new webinar series, 'Living in Times of Change' Today I've been researching one of the series about being pioneers in a time of transition

I find the idea of being 'in transition' very liberating indeed. It acknowledges the reality of our current society breaking down and a new one appearing and ready to be born. It means we can know the worst about the problems, but not be based in them. Leaves us open to a new vision, new energy, new thinking ....and of course a great attraction to work along side others who feel the same way!

It reminds me of travelling overseas...when you break a long journey in the transit lounge. Last time I travelled from London to Sydney, I spent a few hours in Hong Kong 'in transit' Great feeling...on the move, no luggage, no worries ..time to explore and knowing there was another plane to take you to where you want to be!

Well, living today, it's not like we know quite what plane we are going to get on, in the bigger sense, or necessarily quite where we will arrive, but it does have that same sense of adventure and movement ..the need to travel light and be ready for imminent take off!!

PS You can hear a recording of the first webinar in the series on the TFC website www.templatesforchange.org or use the link: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/470742048 if you would like to join in, free of charge, on the next one ...
Be great to get your comments and feedback!

Reflections

2010-07-12T13:59:00.008+01:00

Travelling to work this morning, I heard a radio show which gave me food for thought. Over half the planet's population now live in cities. That's a lot of people!!

The presenter was commenting on one aspect of difference which was the degree to which people in the countryside identified in a loving way with the place where they lived, compared to those in the city.

It got me to thinking about how important a sense of belonging is, and how fortifying ones home ecology actually is to one's general sense of well being. I know life in the cities is more stimulating & culturally interesting, and for many fantastic and enjoyable places to be, as well as economically more rewarding or just plain necessary, but I wonder what percentage of those city dwellers feel they are transient and without real roots?

And how many still manage to keep alive that healing connection with the planet and the natural worlds which is such an important and stabilising part of life in fast moving times?

Isn't it Amazing ?

2010-07-01T16:32:00.008+01:00

Isn't it brilliant that we have access to the micro worlds and the macro worlds?

One of the great benefits of modern technology is that we are admitted into worlds to which previous generations had no access.

We can appreciate the internal pattern of a cell, make comparison to the atoms spinning around the nucleus to the planets spinning around the sun ..allow our mind to be moved and stretched into the strange re-current patterns and templates at play within the universe.

Knowing that as we have new connective thoughts, so pathways form up in our brain .

I wonder if this ability of the mind to form these new pathways, in some strange way, helps build the inter-connectivity which scientists are discovering is a property throughout the universe? Is human consciousness part of the 'plasma' that brings it all together in a more intelligent, feeling way?

Updating our Psyche

2010-06-28T16:07:00.004+01:00

I've written before about how unique this generation is, in terms of being the first ever to be able to participate in evolution consciously...and each time I think about it, it still thrills me!! However, on the weekend I was reading a great book by Thomas Berry and Brian Schwimme, where another angle of this was highlighted.

Throughout history right up to industrial times, cultures acorss the world have had a view of life which has appreciated the significance of the repetitional seasonal cycles of life. This has an obvious outplay and signficance in the seasons, both with reference to the practicalities of farming and fishing, and also with a ceremonial appreciation of the vibrancy of the re-appearance of spring (eg May Day Celebrations) or the fruiting of the harvest in Autumn ( eg Harvest Thanksgiving Festivals) This offered a powerful rhythm and stability to life.

However, with the new understandings about evolution and history, we now know that not only does life progress through the seasons, but that there are also times when humanity goes through radical leaps of update and progress....where old is left behind and new enters the arena of life on earth.

I wonder what effect that has on our psyche?

Neanderthal Woman Mock Up

2010-06-23T15:44:00.002+01:00

Scanning through some articles on evolution and how previous species of humans may have looked, I came across this photo on the front of an old National Geographic. It was so unusual to find a computer mock up of a woman that I couldn't resist posting it on the blog...!!!

This has been recreated from cannibalised genetic material found about 43,000 years ago...and yes, they think some at least of the neanderthals had red hair!!!

Disturbing Fact

2010-06-23T09:47:00.003+01:00

I just got an email in this morning from 'Food Matters' ....a fascinating organization in the US who research the connection between diet and mental health.

They mention that 10% of the population of the US are on Anti Depressants of some sort ....isn't that an astonishing percentage ? The kind of issue one would imagine would be top of any political agenda in one of the world's wealthiest countries to understand and address? They also mention that with all the health warnings about skin damage from the sun, perhaps 3 out of 4 people in the US are not getting enough Vit D.

What a crazy sort of world we live in ? Seems so vitally important to re-address the values and importances which have lead to this state of affairs.

The freedom of being in one's own element

2010-06-23T09:27:00.006+01:00

Up, Up and Away!

I work on the ground floor of an old mansion house. This morning, when going upstairs to the kitchen to make some coffee, I heard some flapping sounds in one of the rooms, which is currently disused whilst repairs are going on in the ceiling

Somehow, a swallow had got into the room, and fallen into a large box and was flapping around. Covering the box over, I carried the whole thing to an open window, and tipped it on its side into the open air.

Thankfully, the bird was unharmed and swooped off into the air, displaying its marvellous acrobatic abilities!

It just struck me how important it is for any of us to 'fly' we really need to be in the 'element' or ecology that supports our excellence....and definitely need to get out of whatever box crimps our freedom !!

Who we are and have done..what we are and might still become ....

2010-06-21T10:18:00.008+01:00

Well, more from the mid-summer mountain contemplation !

One of the uplifting thoughts from this morning was about the importance of dwelling sometimes ..not so much on who we are and what we have done ( both individually and collectively as a human race |) but on WHAT we are and what we might still become.

Watching the sun appear up over the horizon, the spreading light, the rising warmth and witnessing the sheer awesome beauty of it all, was fantastic. The intensity of the colours as the sun lit them up ( the blue of the sky was unbelievably, breathtakingly, beautiful and so vibrantly alive!) the range of sounds which carried across the valley from the sheep, to birds....even, surprisingly, to my neighbour's noisy pack of Jack Russells miles away ....was stunning.

As the sun first appeared through light cloud on the horizon , it looked so tiny and yet in truth we know it is so huge, compared to the tiny blue orb where we live. In thinking of the perspective of the largess of the sun upon our small fragile planet, it made me feel how tiny I myself am in relation to all that.

BUT, what an incredible gift we, as people, can bring to this amazing table of nature's plenty, because we have the innate ability to see the beauty of it all, to feel the energy , to perceive the constancy and amazing engineering of the spinning spheres of our solar system....we, who are so minuscule....yet have this huge wonderful ability to bring it all together in our minds..to be the ones who see, who feel, who compare...who can give a response which is more than reactive to our survival and continuance, who can perceive the history of the universe and make forecast of its future. Sure, that choice and creativity means we can mess things up ( and we do) but it also means we have the capacity to learn from our mistakes, to take a new position and consciously build a brighter future.

Wow, must get up and watch the sunrise more often!!

Mid Summer Musings

2010-06-21T09:52:00.007+01:00

Mid summer today and what a gorgeous morning ! A friend and I got up at 3.15am and headed off to a nearby mountain moorland where we had a great view of the sunrise ..... very moving and much food for the soul!

We were fairly quiet over our respective flasks of coffee and fennell, interspersed with personal silent musings..and then exchanging about some of our reflections.

She had recently returned from a healing retreat in Bali where she had met an NGO who had been working in the Congo and was feeling rather overwhelmed by the scale of atrocities that people can perpetrate on each other. Indeed she was having to give up the NGO work as it was more than she could bear. My friend pondered about how many people might be giving up on humanity ever being able to live as a considerate, responsible part of the planetary ecology.

Just then across the valley, I heard a cuckoo calling out three times ( almost biblical!!!) My mind was caught by the timing of her question and the call from the cuckoo. It made me ponder whether some 'cuckoo' gene had gotten into the human genetic pool ..something which stands out as being equally incongruous with the natural humanity that most of us would want as the base platform for our lives on earth.

Reality and Virtuality

2010-06-21T09:33:00.009+01:00

I had a skype call yesterday with my two gorgeous grandsons in Australia. The youngest was delighted with a new little app on my son's I-phone and I have to say it was rather fun! He could press an egg on the screen and each time a different animal would appear. First a mouse, then a rabbit and next a fox and so on ....press, pop and another animal ..very more-ish for a three year old!!

However, at the same time, it gave me food for thought too ..each time he told me which animal it was, I had quite a different chain of connected images to go with the animal which related to events which had just happened in the last couple of day. The rabbit, for example reminded me of the one my cat had just brought in that very morning and was the first sight of my day, as I went downstairs and into the kitchen ....very real indeed!! The fox reminded me of a visit to a friend's place a couple of days earlier..he has two large ponds and the little strip between the stretches of water is a favourite run of a rather friendly fox..trouble is, it is also a nesting place for a family of what was a pair of ducks and seven ducklings..now sadly down to a pair of ducks and three ducklings thanks to the fox!

The ipod was giving instant thrilling instant images, whilst for me in the countryside, each animal was very much part of the chain of life and living with a very physical and inter-connected element to it.

I do wonder just what long term effects the instancy and dis-connected factor of virtual reality will have on the minds of the young? With the animal app, perhaps it was simply charming and educational, but what about some of the other more aggressive virtual games?

The soft and the harsh

2010-06-08T10:47:00.013+01:00

Like so many people in the UK, I've been shocked this week by the amount of death and violence reported on the news. What makes people lose it and turn feral, or feel they have the political right to kill another ? It seems to be a modern day phenomena that violence erupts like a volcano and then subsides again.

Even the report of a fox attacking two children in their beds seemed strange and un-nerving. Although we were told in the report this is not unusual behaviour for foxes, those of us who live in the countryside are well used to fox attacks of chickens in hen runs or lambs in the fields, but I've never heard of a fox going indoors, walking upstairs into a bedroom and attacking sleeping children.

Somehow the highlighting of the harsh caused my mind to be drawn to the tender side of life...and to follow are two snapshots of the kind of thing I mean ...

On Friday I took my cat to the vet and whilst sitting in the waiting room an elderly lady came in. She looked like she had suffered a recent stroke as one side of her face was crooked and her left eye drooping, and carried with her a large cage with a chicken snuggled comfortably on a blanket....she was totally focussing on the hen to the exclusion of the rest of us in the room (unusual at a country vet's) ..and you could just feel her care & concern towards her small avine companion.

The following morning I was sitting in a cafe having some coffee .. looking out of the window, watching passers by. Another elderly lady came along, obviously very arthritic and assisting herself with the use of a stout walking stick. She was accompanied by her mongoloid looking son for whom she had obviously cared his whole life. The bond between them was tangible..but what was so moving was that he was taking care of her, with his hand placed carefully on her back and steadying her as they moved along in harmony.

Somehow it is this tender side to life that to me seems at the heart of the special contribution that humanity has to bring to the table of life and living. That ability to exercise choice and consciousness to make the world a softer kinder place....

Just Imagine ......

2010-06-08T10:01:00.004+01:00

What sort of incredible intelligence could design the transformation of a caterpillar to a butterfly???

I started to write this article about the amazing story of imaginal cells .....and their role in the phoenixing of the caterpillar into a butterfly but somehow I felt myself being stopped short .....somehow the sheer fact of what is possible in nature moved me more than the science of it's process.

Change is such an intrinsic part of living and yet I know that there is a part of me ( perhaps in all of us?) that thinks things will stay more or less stay the same.

To quote a wise man of the 20th century, Leo Armin, "we live to change and change in order to continue to live"

And when I look at the butterfly, it reminds me that I probably cannot even begin to imagine what changes lie ahead .... but it encourages me to make space for the unthought,the unknown and the unimaginable ...and to welcome the idea of it.

Evolution of Consciousness or Conscious Evolution?

2010-05-27T11:08:00.007+01:00

An ever growing number of people today believe we are on the brink of a new evolution of consciousness

...but did you ever stop and think this could be the first time EVER in our long history, that it could also be a CONSCIOUS evolution. Because of our ever growing understandings of evolution, we can recognise the significance of our times and this great new wave of possibility.

We can 'read the runes' so to speak of the significance of a new kind of spirituality that transcends differences of race and creed, appreciate the possibility of living a more integrated and interconnected life, recognise that compassion, kindness and humanity are as much the hallmark of being human as our intelligence or creative capabilities. We can learn from our past....see the shortfalls of a materialistic civilisation or a culture which disconnects from the healing aspects of nature.

There are so many ways to 'catch the wave'

And we can choose to get into the water, and find the ways to surf ! It really is a bit like being in the ocean ..you know its bigger and more powerful than you, with it's potential dangers..but so incredibly exhilarating and enlivening !!

Imaginal Cells

2010-05-27T09:48:00.007+01:00

Many evolutionary thinkers today, such as Deepak Chopra or the 'Be the Change' presenters, are using the analogy of imaginal cells as a way to think about the gathering number of people who feel we are on the brink of a new evolution and are drawn to playing their part in this great spiritual adventure.

So what are Imaginal Cells?

We all know that butterflies begin their life as caterpillars, change to a chrysalis and metaphorphise into butterflies. It has to be one of the greatest mysteries and miracles of the natural worlds! But it's only recently I learned a bit more about the actual process of what happens ..and the following info comes form the 'sacred sites' website

When a caterpillar nears its transformation time, it begins to eat ravenously, consuming everything in sight. The caterpillar body then becomes heavy, outgrowing its own skin many times, until it is too bloated to move. Attaching to a branch it forms a chrysalis —an enclosing shell that limits the caterpillar’s freedom for the duration of the transformation.

Within the chrysalis a miracle occurs. Tiny cells, that biologists call “imaginal cells,” begin to appear. These cells are wholly different from caterpillar cells, carrying different information, vibrating to a different frequency – the frequency of the emerging butterfly. At first, the caterpillar’s immune system perceives these new cells as enemies. But the imaginal cells are not deterred. They continue to appear, in even greater numbers, recognizing each other, bonding together, until the new cells are numerous enough to organize into clumps. When enough cells have formed to make structures along the new organizational lines, the caterpillar’s immune system is overwhelmed. The caterpillar body then become a nutritious soup for the growth of the butterfly. When the butterfly is ready to hatch, the chrysalis becomes transparent.

Well, that is one fantastic story...is it not ? ..more fantastic than anything we could dream up ...and yet part of the reality of the world around us.

So the analogy being popularised is that those who are pioneering a new way for humanity are initially regarded as being 'intruders' and viewed in a hostile manner by the establishment. Yet slowly, initially in smaller cell groupings and then later by the groups clumping or networking together, they cease to be the intruders and gradually form the more dominant influence which becomes the foundation out from which a new civilisation can emerge..just like the butterfly does from the chrysalis.

There are many feature of this analogy which catch me but the one I want to highlight here which is totally incredible is that if what is being said is true, this is the first time EVER in the planet's history, when evolution is a conscious process. It's a spiritual adventure in which people are knowingly volunteering to be participant

WOW, now that is a real adventure into the unknown !!!!

A Stretch of the Imagination!

2010-05-26T13:19:00.010+01:00

Just imagine 40,000 years ago when modern man ( and woman!) were travelling and spreading around the planet

....could either the neanderthals or even the developing early modern man possibly have conceived how we might look like and live today? The changes in brain capacity, intelligence, art, music, literature, space exploration, modern technology and on and on ?

Yet, our understandings of history, geology, evolution and of course technology allows us today to travel down that time line and imagine for ourselves what life might have been like for them all those millenium ago !

They couldn't have imagined us because simply we were in the future....and not yet happened

Likewise, the generations which will live ahead of us are in the future and perhaps beyond our own imaginings....but what a great idea to open our minds to the reality that life does change, does evolve and make some space to contemplate along what lines the future might draw humanity....along what lines would we like it to be drawn?

Reclamation - don't throw the baby out with the bathwater!!

2010-05-11T04:05:00.008+01:00

One of the useful things about a sleepless night, is you can scan through half written articles on your laptop! Sometimes I come across somthing I wrote and it sparks again into my consciousness as an area to explore with others.

Tonight was one of those nights! I decided to post this one because it makes me mad ...and sad ...that so many young people today have thrown out the idea that a religious element in life has any relevance in modern day living. It's true perhaps we need a whole new template to discover afresh how to think about it all..and this is what prompted this beginning attempt!

The Reclamation : Religion without the power and politics - an inner journey between humans, the planet and the universe.

Throughout history, in every culture and every age, there has been a spiritual element in living. An awe, a respect, a sense of belonging within the greater picture of life on earth, the urge to play one’s part in the refinement and progression of civilisation, to express outwardly these inner feeling and longings.

There are so many examples stretching through the millennia …..

Our own culture in the 21st century is a unique situation…we have an extensive understanding of past centuries, access to religions above and beyond our own, a day by day communications media that keeps us up to date with world events, and world problems….and on top of all of that, most Western cultures are an absolute mixing pot of different nationalities and religions.

The horrors of what has been done in the name of religions are well known to most. The barbarities of the Crusades, the many wars being fought in the name of religion, the injustices of the caste system, genetic culling, modern day terrorism, the cover ups within the classic religions of perversities practiced within the cover of religious authority …the list goes on and on and on. No wonder that so many people today decry religion, deny its usefulness in society and indeed see religion to be a major cause of the problems in today’s world.

Yet often when people speak of religion in those terms , of course they mean religion in its classic sense. Religion that is embroiled in power and politics and centuries old ceremony and regalia, that seems somewhat bizarre to those outside the religion to which they are attached...and let's face it.... a lot of it is pretty weird!!

Yet, let’s try for a moment to leave behind the outer trappings of religions and look to what has been steady and consistent throughout our very long history since homo sapiens emerged. In all cultures across the globe, there are certain aspects that seem to be constant throughout the centuries though perhaps in today’s world seem to be in diminishment.

Some of those are a sense of belonging to the greater picture, an awe at the largeness of the universe, an urge to give thanks for the gift of life, a feeling of ones place in nature, the need to find ways to influence and refine our behaviour with values & principles, a desire to learn from and give respect to our ancestors. In different ways, cultures the world over, have sought this continuity and refinement. One of the features that makes us uniquely human is that non physical part of ourselves which has consciousness, makes choices and gives us our unique individual possibility. Some may believe this to be based in the soul or spirit, others may see it to be more to do with the mentality and the mind (and most religions would see it be a combination of both) but few would deny that it is this unseen and self forming part of us that gives us our unique identity as human beings, both collectively and individually. Most religions would have the view that the life we have now has the possibility of continuance…and that the quality of that next opportunity is governed by the life we lead today.

Those who today down-cry traditional religion, see this after life as a ‘threat or promise’ as a means of control by the authorities and no doubt this is a part of the picture. However, unless every culture and civilisation has simply got it wrong, this is only a tiny part of the picture

JUST IMAGINE

Just imagine for a few minutes, that indeed they had it right, at least in the fundamental part… that this life we live today can be a starter ( or continuation ) of a life which can extend for thousands and possibly millions of years…. That indeed the quality of our life today ……does indeed influence this next possibility? Then, looked at from outside, wouldn’t it be the case that our generation which bases itself so heavily in materialism and individual gain and stature, may indeed be making the biggest mistake of all time? In the West, some of the most publicised views about the 'afterlife' are the Islamic promise of Paradise for the elect, or for the Christians the notion of heaven and hell…both concepts which go back over thousands of years and indeed in their portrayal are part of the reason why so many young people today see it all in the same kind of context as ‘fairy tales’. The Hindus have an even older and perhaps more logical view that sees reincarnation and karma as the keystones to a series of lives in which all participate one way or another... However this too has had its controlling aspect within the caste system. One could go through all the major religions like this but in an age where we move beyond the differences of our religious heritage…is there a place to look which might unify some of these age old beliefs whilst leaving behind the out of date attachments which have caused so many to discard anything to do with religion ?

Some Things Don't Change !

2010-05-05T10:36:00.004+01:00

Coming in to work this morning, I was rather astonished to find a rather large crow had found it's way into the office and was wildly flapping around, trying to escape though a closed window. Not what you expect to find before the first coffee of the day !!

Understandably, it was flying into the glass again and again, and getting into a real panic.

I remembered the old country lore about birds, that as soon as dark falls, they go into complete 'inaction' mode! Dawn = wake up and dusk = go to sleep!

Approaching the bird carefully, I dropped my scarf over it, covering it's head completely so it was cut off from the light. Like magic, it became totally still in an instant, allowing me to pick it up and set it free.

Amazing! Isn't it great that in changing times, some things are delightfully consistent!!

Political, tactical ..or what do we call it?

2010-05-04T20:12:00.004+01:00

With a couple of days to go to the UK elections, an unprecedented situation is being talked about in very public terms on tonight's news, as well as being discussed between many private individuals.

Some of the poticians are quite publically implicitly advising people to vote tactically ....ie in closely run election seats, rather than voting for the party one supports, to vote for the party which has the most chance of ousting the party one does NOT want.

It all sounds very logical and I found myself having a similar thought process about my own vote.

Yet another part of me pulled back and thought how crazy this all is.

Politicians have increasingly lost so many people's confidences over this last year with the expenses scandal. Many young people think politics is a joke and take little interest. Even the word 'political' can be used to mean simply to do with politics or to imply responding in a way which is not frank, honest, straight forward, or has an unspoken agenda.

Now with an election looming, even the voters are being pulled into being 'political'!!

Isn't this all a bit topsy turvy and strange ?

Is there a contract with the planet ?

2010-05-04T08:55:00.006+01:00

I went walking yesterday with an old friend and she asked me the question

" What do you think is the contract with the planet ?"

Great question, I thought! First thing that came into my mind is that in human to human dealings, contracts come in quite a way down the line between people.....you don't just make contracts with strangers..it's not a casual sort of idea, but a binding agreement for future agreed dealings.

That got me to thinking about the deal between people and the planet and the degree to which there is already a 'bound in' situation from the simple fact that we are born onto and live within the 'laws' of the planet. A bit like kids without the option to leave home ( at least whilst we are alive in our physical form!!) The planet has supplied an 'all found' situation with all the conditions for life to continue, to refine and to evolute over the millenia. The right temperature, the right air mix, and so much more. We know that gravity applies, and we can't jump off a cliff and not drop to the ground!! In fact a lot of growing up is learning what are the rules! We touch something like an electric heater or hot kettle and immediately start to learn about fire, burning and the fragility of our own tolerance to heat!!

But what do we as people provide from our side of the deal? Well, what is immediately apparent when I stopped to consider this, was that everyone alive is part of the whole ...and there is no option to sit on the fence, to count ourselves out from being an active contributing 'resident' on earth. One way or another, we are adding something positive, or negative, to the current human and planet story. Even apathy or inaction is not sitting on the fence, but what we might elect to add to the mix.

Being good stewards of our 'home turf' is clearly part of an attitude which would have been second nature in a pre industrial society as the well being of the land, the flora and fauna would have interrlinked with our own survival and prosperity.

But what about other aspects we can add or take off the table ? Things like qualities such as kindness, fairness, creativity or a more negative range of input.

We are given so much with no binding upon our response ( we have free choice and can do what we like) but there is an implicit opportunity to engage in a life which can not only build and express our own individual strengths and characters, but improve ( or detract from) the quality of the growth of civilisation?

Is this part of a contract with the planet?

Beyond humanity

2010-05-01T11:24:00.003+01:00

I was out shopping yesterday and overheard a conversation between one of the ladies working in the shop and a couple of customers.

In truth it was a pretty shocking conversation where she was recounting an incident which had happened in a small West Wales market town this week. A young girl disappeared in broad daylight in the midst of M & S. Her parents were frantic but fortunately quick to act. The police were called and the store locked and thoroughly searched. The girl was found locked in one of the toilets with three men who had cut her hair and were disguising her ready to leave the store ...one does not even want to think what might then have ensued.

The lady recounting the dreadful story was herself both a mother and grandmother and it was clear she could hardly believe that such a thing was happening right here in what is mostly a very kind, friendly, rural ecology. It was the second time this week I had heard someone so incredulous at the cruelty which goes on in our world today, both at a personal and collective level, such as genocide.

In both cases the ladies were sort of shaking their head and saying that they could not even imagine another member of the same human race they were part of, having these kind of thoughts ...never mind carrying them out. Somehow it is even more horrific when there is more than one person's mind involved in cruelty, particularly to children. It adds their mental agreement and conscious intention to such foul behaviour and goes against every grain of the sapiens' of 'homo sapiens'.

It's almost as though parts of the human race are removing themselves by their behaviour from the right even to be called human or humane .....and reverted to a level below much worse than anything we see in the animal kingdom.

At a time when our thinking is becoming more global, and our thinking more collective, is there a real polarity appearing in the human race ?

Vocanic Eruption Disruption

2010-04-24T07:40:00.006+01:00

I am reading James Lovelock's 'The Revenge of Gaia' at the moment and find it very interesting .... though I find the title pretty ridiculous! Why would anyone want to ascribe 'revenge' - one of humanit'y most destuctive of negative emotional reponses to the planet?

However, that aside, being in the midst of the disruptions and aftermath from the recent eruption of the Icelandic volcano, one particualr sentence on page 13 jumped out to me in my nocturnal browsing.

" There is a small chance that the sceptics are right or we might be saved by an unexpected event such as a series of volcanic eruptions severe enough to block out sunlight and so cool the earth"

Food for thought!

Yet again, this recent event has brought home to me that as people we make our own affairs so important, make ourselves the centre of the universe, yet how easily we can all be brought to a standstill by the power of the planet.

Any irregularity has us talking and complaining for days...but what about the extraordinary constancy that we often take for granted ? That for millenia and for generations, human life has been supported and given continuous conditions to live, refine and evolute ? Things like the stability of the earth, the cleansing quality of water, the warmth of the sun or the very air we breathe.

LLanerchaeron ..a snapshot in time

2010-04-20T09:51:00.006+01:00

I visited LLanerchaeron on the weekend .. a beautiful NT property which evocatively encapsulates life in byegone days. It is a snapshot of the life of a Welsh country estate, and not only has a beautiful period house full of interest but has immaculately preserved servant's quarters, and working home farm, which I find quite fascinating. In the late 19th century & early 20th century, this estate was like a little village, and completely self sufficient, apart from tea and sugar which was dropped off by special stop by train from Harrods!

Apart from the gorgeous walled garden which is my top favourite and place I love to spend time, the kitchen always draws me and I enjoy sitting there on a wooden chair and imagining life in another generation.

One aspect particularly captivates me..this is the fact that every item in that kitchen, from the cooking range,long sturdy table, to the simple wooden chairs, to the earthenware jars, to the copper and wooden cooking utensils, were all designed to last for generations. I've spent many a happy hour in that kitchen, encouraging my mind to re-create life as it might have been. And one of the things which really impresses me is that aspect of being surrounded by things which are durable...it gives a sense of stability and security which is really rather settling to the mind.

In comparison, in our century, most items in a modern kitchen, has an in built shelf life. Washing machines, fridges ....all come and go with alarming speed! And even items which might last, tend to look jaded, a bit 'past it' and the general tendency is towards constant updating.

Again, I do wonder how this general sense of expendability, affects the quality of our lives today? And even our dealings with each other ?

Anabolic/Catabolic

2010-04-18T12:06:00.008+01:00

Having just been gardening this morning and cut down a box hedge which had taken about thirty years to grow (SORRY!) ..it caused me to think about why it is so much easier and faster to destroy things than to build or grow them.

I thought about the millions of years it has taken people to evolve to today and the sad reality that our generation has developed technology that could destroy us all in a matter of days. It's mind boggling, really.

I thought about how trust is built up over years between people, yet can be broken in an instant. About paintings that take years to be created, yet can be damaged in a second....houses that are built over generations yet can be destroyed by fire in a night.

And most everything of value, it seems, is so slow in appearing, yet so vulnerable and can be damaged so quickly.

So, what does that say to me ?

To take care of what is building in my life, and to be very careful and protective to look after what's there...else, by being careless either in my attitude or actions, something precious get's lost.

Particularly in a time when so much of our world is full of the 'throw away' and the expendable.

Fascinating fact over lunch

2010-04-15T15:11:00.004+01:00

Just had a lovely sunny lunch with some good friends and heard a fascinating fact from a lady who has a background in nursing.

In recent research, it's been shown that looking at an unwell person, strengthen's your own immune system.

Several things struck me about this (and I'm looking forward to reading the full article)

Firstly that it happens at all.....demonstrating yet again how alive and measurable are the interconnections between us all.

Secondly, one might expect to have one's own strength weakened by looking at another who is unwell and in a weakened state ..yet quite the opposite happens.

Thirdly, it strikes me how what a very kind state of affairs this is ....you put yourself out for someone who is unwell...and in some kind of magic kindness, your own immunity strengthens ..giving you both a better constitution and in turn of course more capability to help another who is in need.

My friend said her own experience as a nurse confirmed this many times over.

Makes me ponder whether some intelligence wants people to be helped?

More on Inter-connections

2010-04-15T09:54:00.006+01:00

Interconnections – becoming an active player

With the ever appearing results of research in quantum physics, modern science is slowly recognizing that there is an interconnected web of life and living. Yet for many this remains something of a dry and perhaps irrelevant ‘fact’

However, it seems to me this will be come an increasingly important and prescient reality for those who want to explore a new human consciousness in the 21st century. An awareness that what we both think and do has an effect on all around us, has a profound influence on our psychology and psyche.

But, let me backtrack just a little away from science …and relocate something a little closer to home. Isn’t it true that if we are around someone who loves and admires us, that it affects our well being, confidence and general sense of expansion and ‘can do’ ? And isn’t it equally true that if we are surrounded by folks who judge and criticise that it tends to shut us down and reduce both our self view and abilities ? Isn’t it true that some places just make us feel a bit down, whilst others always uplift and cheer us up? Isn’t it true that people who love their gardens produce the best blooms and display ?

It’s almost as though a person’s love and values increases the flow between one thing and another ….or to use a more scientific term, increases the 'conductivity' between them. This is a very interesting way of thinking about how to be more of a participant in the interconnected web, and is an area which I have researched and explored a lot with friends with similar interests over a few decades.

Here is a little experiment to try out …….

Have a glance at the following two photographs ..taken yesterday

Now, pause a moment and imagine for a moment a world without colour …everything in monochrome….

Now look again at the photos ..concentrate on the colour for a moment or two …is it having a different effect?

Bees and the Interconnected Web

2010-04-11T14:39:00.010+01:00

It was a great pleasure today to see and hear a couple of bumble bees buzzing around the plants in the garden today. Spring is really appearing out there!

The large decline in bee numbers is a real source of worry ...indeed in the US, their bee numbers are down so low, they have been importing bees from Australia. Einstein is quoted as saying that were bees to disappear from the face of the earth, mankind would have only four years left to live.

It's yet another reminder of the interconnected web of life...on a very practical level.

I find myself pondering a lot about this 'interconnected-ness' talked of for millenia by the mystics of so many cultures but now being proven as factual by new science. For me, it's not enough to know it as a cold fact ..I want to live with that sentiment as part of my daily consciousness. Wouldn't the world be a different place if we could all feel the reality that as we live, act and even think we are an active influence on the planet?

All the As

2010-04-10T08:11:00.007+01:00

I just started reading a fascinating book by a Cambridge doctor, Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride about natural treatment for the A syndromes which are affecting an ever increasing number of children....Autism, ADD, ADHD. The figures on the first page are somewhat shocking.

About 15 years ago, the number of children in Western countries was thought to be about 1 in 10,000. It is now being seen at what could only be decsribed as epidemic proportions.

According to recent UK Dept of Health figures, about 1 in 166 kids are diagnosed with autism. In the US, it's 1 in 150...in Sweden 1 in 141 ......
This book is looking at the relationship between disorders in the gut and mental problems..not only to do with kids and the A syndromes but also the growing cases of depression and schizophrenia in both childrena and adults....and the very successful treatments she conducts.

It made me both worried and furious when I read these figures. Worried for obvious reasons but furious because more politicians and leaders in society are not addressing an issue which to my mind is a red letter alert about a trend in our next generation...which after all are our future. One reads about alarming trends too in education where there are growing problems of retention and learning.

Surely these are issues which should make headlines ..and be of paramount importance for funding and research into why these trends are appearing...and at such speed.

First Time , Every Time

2010-04-09T13:31:00.007+01:00

Yesterday was a day where spring sings its arrival. From the first notes of the dawn chorus, to the rising of a sun which grew slowly in warmth and radiation, this was a day to remember.

Primroses opening yellow and pink , swallows swooping an exalted dance..and the soul could breathe in that vibrant energy and feel the renewal to and of which everything alive in the garden were both witness and players.

For me it was a mixed day of relax, contemplate and enjoy…..and some hard yakka in the garden ….weeding, clearing and planting.

In the afternoon, I took a short walk and was quite awed by how utterly energised the day felt…..everywhere I looked were signs of growth and new appearance….including the brilliant green of the newly growing grass and a gorgeous tiny shetland foal which had been born in the field, and was stumbling around and drinking from it’s mother.

It struck me that every spring is utterly new and unique, and to experience it, was for me an equally new and unique experience…like an absolute first time. I let my mind wander to how many springs there had been, over millennium …and just where does that energy come from ?

Trust in Trust

2010-04-06T08:30:00.007+01:00

Imagine a world without trust ..it's unthinkable really ...and yet our world seems to be full of important aspects, in which people openly admit to having a diminishing trust.

Politicians are known to be masters of spin and to get away with what they can, to stay in power, religious leaders have been involved in major cover ups of late...and on a personal level, gone are the days when a gentleman's ( or lady's!!) word was their bond!! Advertising is an open book for getting us to part with our money and anyone with any sense knows to be suspicious of what's claimed.

But how does all this affect our personal psyche and psychology?

When somone personally betrays our trust, does it cause us to trust less? The obvious answer is yes, and then we ourselves become part of the diminishment of trust in the world. It seems like a vicious downward spiral. And it will be if people do not make a deliberate decision in their lives to build trust.....to be part of the web of trust.

Having reached this part in today's blog, I took a bit of a pause as to where to go next with this ..into the realms of personal development, mental decision, realism about what can and cannot be trusted??? As I stood up from my desk, which is at an upstairs window, I caught a glimpse of what might have been the first swallow of this season.....exciting and so early in April!!

Now that took my mind down quite another track......and I felt in myself the trust that I have that the swallows will return from their thousands of miles flight from Africa. And I thought about their automatic trust in their own flying and navigation skills that will bring them back to the same village, the same farm and the same barn.. What a mind boggling feat ....and I find myself smiling and knowing there is such a powerful web of trust of which I can be part if I don't remove myself from it by being at difference.

My trust in it's trust...that's the way to go....

Matriarchal or Patriarchal?

2010-04-05T13:23:00.008+01:00

I met with some friends for lunch on Easter Sunday and was introduced to some very interesting 'friends of friends'...a South African couple who work closely with animals both here and in Africa.

The lady was talking about how many biologists are reviewing their theories of behavioural patterns of many animal species, ...and in particular to do with gender. She said that many are coming to the idea that the old view of the dominant male, established and maintained by brute force till overtaken, with his 'harem' of females was coming into question and that it was seen to be more likely that the paradigm seen with elephants is much more prevalent than hitherto imagined. This is where there is a matriarchal society with very strong family bonding over generations..... a much more altruistic and caring family picture of the wild than the 'dog eats dog' picture often portrayed. This was what she was finding in her own research with zebras.

When asked how people could have got it wrong, she said that for some centuries most of the naturalists were men and saw what they expected to see....male domination and behaviour more brutal than human's .....that with naturalists like Jane Goodall and Diane Fossey comimg on the scene in more recent years, new eyes and minds were on the case.

Well, I don't know enough about this new research to make too much direct comment till I find out more for myself ( though I do hope that indeed there is more co-operation and kindness rather than simple domination by brute force at play throughout nature) but several things really caught me.

One is how so many views about life on our planet are up for radical review right now, another was the reality that we all tend to look through our own 'biased' glasses... and the third that this new century is seeing a real re-balancing of the influence of men and women as thought leaders.

Values Shared

2010-03-31T16:38:00.008+01:00

One of the worrying aspects of the 21st century is a real corrosion of values. It's an issue which is being aired in many different fields of life, from education, to politics to family.

I had dinner last week with a good friend and this was one of the areas which came up in conversation. He described how, as a young man, he had worked in a mortuary for nine months ...and how well he thought that this experience had served him in life. He said that it had taught him one thing ... that to be alive is everything , and it's a good thing to remember each and every morning when we re-awaken and open our eyes, to value this great gift of living.

I agreed strongly with him on this ...before anything else, even if life gets rough, tough or whatever, simply to be alive is still the greatest of gifts. To be conscious, able to see, move, think, love and feel .....is a precious thing ...and yet how easy to take it for granted?

I thought afterwards how very strengthening it is, in life's ups and downs, to make time to share what we value with others who feels the same importance as ourselves.

Inter Connections...a little bird told me!!

2010-03-29T11:09:00.010+01:00

Over the weekend, I was feeling a bit down, ..as one does sometimes !! Out of the blue, two old friends from Australia skyped me .....the conversation was so uplifting ....exactly what I needed to hear at that very moment. Made me wonder about the webs of connection ...and somehow, you just know, yet again, that even when you can feel very alone...you never really are.

This morning, sitting in the office, I had a tap on the window ...a tiny little bluetit clinging on to the window ledge and looking at me, pecking away to get my attention. Having fed the birds for many years, I knew exactly what that meant and looked up to confirm that the birdfeeder with the fatballs was indeed empty!!!! But what a strange thing really, that a tiny ball of fluff with a brain smaller than my fingernail, knew what to do, to get breakfast on the table!!!

Another of life's great mysteries!!

Where is Home?.

2010-03-29T09:35:00.010+01:00

Monday morning and reflecting over thoughts from the weekend.....I watched Lark Rise to Candleford last night ... lovely 19th century period drama set in the Oxfordshire neighbouring villages of Lark Rise and Candleford. For the characters there, home was very clearly defined by life in the village. In earlier centuries in the UK, you would need a passport to move from one village to another.

Hard to believe in an age of world travel! Today, more and more people identify themselves as citizens of the planet ...global citizens with a world view of themselves and the people with whom they share their 'home'

Yet turning my mind to the stretch of this comparison from village to global, I wondered if my mind needs to stretch further to encompass the planet as part of the universe.

After all, it is simply factual that Larkrise and Candleford are villages in Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire is part of England , England is part of the planet, our planet is part of the universe.....

It just depends how far one's perception and identity travel....and of course whether this has significance and meaning to us personally....more on that later !

Work calls !!

Do we all make a difference to life ?

2010-03-28T08:39:00.011+01:00

I had a great Skype call with a couple of good friends in Australia yesterday.
We were talking about how someone could make a difference in the world .....and the question came up about how much difference could one individual make?

Not the kind of unusual 'stand above the crowd' individual who writes books, introduces new concepts and inventions, makes their mark as a politician, artist, musician or whatever...but just a regular sort of person...who believes in the bright side of life, wants a more humane future and who constantly makes a stand to be the best person they can be.....

I asked the question, do we need a context in which to be effective..whether that is one's family, work or being part of some kind of team or project .....a place to share the best of one's self and be a positive influence ?

The more I thought about it, the less comfortable I became with the question in the first place!!

A different view picture formed up in my mind..... which linked to some other thoughts.

Each person alive is a citizen of life .... lives , breathes and radiates into the air that we all breathe and share. So, whatever any individual does...whether as part of a bright regenerative quality kind of influence, or someone who adds to a degenerative curve of lessening value and humanity .....then of course we all make a difference simply by being alive.

I found that a very cheerful and encouraging thought!

After the call, I went out to do some gardening and the thought process continued....I could be out there just weeding away in my own little world, or go out there, conscious that I am a citizen of the world...and not living in isolation.

It was a great experience....bringing me closer to home with myself on the one hand but with a real feeling of expansion and belonging, being a part of something bigger, on the other!

The Certainty of Uncertainty

2010-03-18T09:27:00.009Z

Over the last few days, I have been reading various web articles on climate change.

The variety of views about it was , to say the least, somewhat bizarre, in my eyes. As someone who has been following the unfolding facts about climate change over the last couple of decades, including reading a fascinating book recently about the very worrying changing patterns down in the Antarctic, I was amazed to read that in a recent poll, the number of people in the UK who feel the climate issue is being exaggerated has increased, and that only 41% accept that it is largely man made. Even more astonishing, only 31% believe it to be a definite reality.

Then there is the government producing ads to try and increase public awareness....... now a couple of their ads have been banned as not being based on facts but on projections ....one of those ads showed the 'three men in a tub' ( as in rub a dub dub!)to illustrate rising water levels and danger of flooding.... Again I just thought it so odd, that while the government ( and all of us) are being faced with the most serious of crises...that firstly they have to hire advertising people to publicise it, and then secondly they are banned from putting it out, as it would be scare mongering, and too distressing and misleading......

How are the general public to know what 'on earth' to think about it all?

Then there was the BBC 'Earthwatch' reporting that from their World Service Trust survey, that although many Africans are noticing progressive change in their climate, the tendency is to ascribe it to a 'higher authority' One fisherman from Ghana was quoted as saying " When it comes to rainfall, God has changed his calender" MMMM.....That's another way of thinking about it!

Reading the three articles one after the other, made me pause and ponder .....

The one thing all seemed to agree on is that things are changing, we don't know quite how or why, and that the future is full of uncertainty -- is this the only thing that is certain !!??

Stability in unstable time

2010-03-10T15:20:00.004Z

One of my friends just had a look at this blog and pointed out the blog is about living in times of change - yet the last few articles are about permanence and stability ...Good Point!!

Yet, when one's boat is being rocked, it's sometimes good to have some places to go to in one's mind,where it feels safe and protected. Thats' why the blog has both aspects.

The Unchanging Vibrancy

2010-03-10T12:17:00.005Z

Hi again,

Well today is another stunning blue skied spring delight! Sitting here at my computer and resisting the pull to the great outdoors, I can hear the most gorgeous and vibrant of birdsong.

Even before the sun came out and the skies cleared, I noticed a few weeks ago the quality of the bird song changing. For bird lovers, it's unmistakeable when spring is 'in the air' Their song levels change and you can almost feel the overspill of that amazing vibrant energy which is transforming the latent winter landscape into the appearance of spring growth.

In a time when there are so many radical changes happening all around us, it is so encouraging to spend time not only considering some of the more permanent aspects of life and living, but experiencing it consciously and deeply. It can be so very refreshing !!

Another permanent line....

2010-03-10T09:01:00.008Z

Yesterday's blog about fathers and sons got me to thinking about the bond between mothers and their children....about how very powerful that instinct is to nurture, to look after and to see to the survival of the next generation. I am even told that some mother birds will sit on a nest of chicks and allow herself to be eaten, rather than abandon the warm eggs

It seems to be another of those 'permanent line' inbuilt influences that has ensured the survival of life over the millenia. You could say in the world of nature, it is an automatic instinct ...and my mind has to say, WOW, that is some automatic instinct and wonder what intelligence lies behind such a great drive!!

It got me to thinking too about how that plays out in our own human world ....and how much more creative mothers ( and fathers!!) can be in exercising their parental duties.....other qualities start to come to mind like love, warmth, kindness, selflessness, care and the list goes on and on....

What kind of civilisations would we have fallen heir to without that steady, generation upon generation, ongoing love of mothers and fathers to their offspring?And we are not just talking here about survival, but about a real refinement of life in all manner of ways.

Springtime Chat

2010-03-09T14:51:00.010Z

Well, what a day !!

March 9th and at last we can sit outside in the springtime light and feel the warmth of the sun on our skin

I am pretty lucky to work in a great country environment with people who are good friends. Today was a delight sitting on the 'sun warmed' wooden benches and having a conversation over lunch.

I was really caught by something one of my friends, Lucinda, was saying. She had been reading a book ..a kind of 'post apocalypse' one called 'The Road' ( sounds like a good read!)

She was describing people travelling through a rather bleak America but the aspect which was a shining light in a dark world was a look from father to son which was a beacon of pure humanity. A few of us talking together all agreed that perhaps the most important of all things in our human world, is the preservation and growth of this softer side of life ..the kindness, the warmth and compassion.

It got me to thinking too - just how many generations we could trace back where such a look might have passed from father to son. Each father working to look afer, protect and provide a better opportunity of those they would leave behind them. I've seen it personally in my own father's eyes, in the father of my son, and now my son to his son ....

What a line ...an almost permanent line that would stretch back to distant forebears and ....one hopes far into the future.

2010-03-08T11:32:00.009Z

GRASS ROOTS

On the way to work this morning, I listened to a program on Radio 4 ….it was talking about a rather unusual new phenomena called the ‘complaints choir’ !!! This is made up of people who are unhappy about aspects of their community or country who get together to sing about it !!! OK…now that is a bit weird …...but apparently a fast growing activity

Well, I ‘m not sure I would fancy spending my creative energy on what I want to complain about (!!) but what really caught me was the conversation afterward where the comment was made that it was yet another example of the phenomena of the 21st century that people want to be participant, want to have an influence, no longer want to take a back seat and are looking for new and different ways to have a voice. One obvious expression of this is the level of interactive possibilities there are on TV and Radio, where audiences become contributors to the shows. In fact a recent experiment, was a play which had three possible endings, in which the audience could phone in and influence which script should be followed!

A growing number of people in the 21st century seem to be looking for new ways to have their say and play their part in shaping society - more as part of a grass roots movement – seeking creative and constructive possibilities to bypass the usual hierarchies of power and influence.

This is a really interesting trend

2010-03-05T12:02:00.006Z

Forging a fresh relationship with the planet

One of the rather sad features of modern life is how so few people have real time with the healing qualities of the natural worlds. Indeed whole generations are appearing whose life is city based and whose leisure centres around the ‘virtual’ world.

Even for many of us who do love the great outdoors, our lives often run at such a pace, that even when we do have time, it’s not so easy to slow down and really BE WITH the planet

You know the scenario ….you think GREAT, I have time to get out for a gorgeous walk in the countryside, even if it is cold and has been snowing !! Out you go, and drive to your favourite spot. On the way, the journey passes with you haphazardly thinking about the week just gone, things you still have to do at home and stuff absolutely NOT to be forgotten when you get into work on Monday!!! Oh yes, and how much you are looking forward to getting OUT THERE !!!

And so the walk begins. Sun shining, snow melting, trees budding, birds singing …PERFECT!!!! But as you stroll on across the field, down the river path and up into the wooded copse, your mind is still racing around and flotsam and jetsam ideas drop in uninvited…that conversation that hacked you off at work, something your boyfriend said ( or didn’t!!) You notice some snowdrops just coming out ....gorgeous …and is that a woodpecker in the distance? Nice to be out and about!!

Then more thoughts appear about this that and the other. SLOW DOWN!!! You stop, lean against a tree, to enjoy the surrounds …..feels nice …check your watch, an hour to go.. …..need to think about turning back soon …… getting cold, fancy a coffee, stuff to do at home …..and again your mind moves from the beauty around you and back to the busy life waiting for your input !!!

I’ve had that happen so often……and something in me has longed for another type of experience …..but you know what, I’ve discovered it just doesn’t happen on its own accord. And there are ways to slow down, tune in and connect !!

More to follow!!!!

2010-03-04T13:41:00.017Z

Evolution and Revolution

Fascinating how similar those words really are ..just an R of a difference!!

In the late sixties and seventies, as a student, the big thing was to 'join the revolution' and there was a great sense of rebelling against the status quo. And on hindsight, perhaps that was part of reason for the short lived dream of that era. It was as much focussed on dissing the past, as on building a new future. And the word, revolution also means something going round and round, like the revolution of a wheel.
In truth, revolutions in the past have rarely worked and have often simply been a temporary bloodpath followed by more of the same. For example, Napoleon after the French Revolution declaring himself emperor!!

Evolution on the other hand, has quite a different connotation....the root of the
word means an unrolling or opening or in the case of a gas, a setting free ...the implication being that evolution is unlocking an inherent design possibility into reality. And of course it represents a real development leap into the future, not simply more of what has been.

So maybe the phrase for our time today in 2010, is

Join the Evolution ! .

Question to ponder is what can free that latent genetic potential in us?

PS For some interesting views on evolution, have a look at the John Edge articles on evolution on www.templatesforchange.com website - well worth a read!

2010-03-04T09:46:00.005Z

Consideration is one of the most fantastic aspects of humanity ....and the root of the word is a fascinating one

Consideration
Con = with Sidera - the stars

So consideration means literally to be with the stars .... wow!!

And let's think for a moment about what is involved when someone is considerate.
It means one person thinks about another's situation ..weighs it up and works out how best to respond in order to help others lives improve. It is not a knee jerk reaction, but something that involves a deliberate creative mental act.

Something totally unique to being human.

More on stability ....

2010-03-02T14:11:00.005Z

More on Stability ….in a fast moving world

A Small Contemplation

As we sit here today comfortably in our chair, we are perched on planet earth - a sphere spinning around the sun at about 18.5 miles per second or 66,600 miles per hour - the sun is spinning around the galaxy at around 135 miles per second or 486, 000 miles per hour. Yes, that is 460 THOUSAND miles per hour !! And as for the galaxy, well of course the milky way is moving too, at even faster speeds!!

It is quite a journey we are on.

Let’s not be blinded by figures , but let’s face it – that is a lot of movement!!

Yet we can walk around feeling perfectly stable, balance on one leg or place a
delicate glass on a smooth surface and it stays still ….

Now that is stability at a profound level. Doesn’t it make you too feel still and rather safe ?

2010-03-02T13:17:00.000Z

I heard a radio program last night on why are there so many apocalyptic films being made and why are they so very popular?

That got me thinking …good question!!!

Could it be that there is an unconscious instinct that we are in times of real change …..the end of one kind of civilization and the beginning of a new ? The problem with these kind of films is they tend visually to over emphasize the endings rather than something new ..not surprising as the new as not yet happened and it is hard to imagine life outside of today’s programming ….

It also prompted me to wonder how that affects the psyche of the young ….who live with this kind of ‘end of the world’ scenario both in fiction and also from the climate change and planetary crisis angle from a very early age. No wonder anxiety & depression in the young is on the increase….and worse.

All the more important for those who care to give some mind space on the new possibility and the new proposition…

Take a few moments …. .what kind of world would you want to live in ? …..Picture it….

How would people be with people ?
How would people be with the planet and the little people of the planet, the animals ?
What would you leave behind?

The Human Mind!!

2010-02-28T13:18:00.000Z

Isn't the human mind amazing??!!

What other living species has that unique ability to research, discover, and find out about the rest of the universe in which it is a part?

What other species is given the gift of being able to understand the history of its own species?

What other species can develop its own value sytem & make choices about its development and create new civilisations?

And above all we have the gift of consciouness .... which seems to know no limits (thus far!!) isn't this a marvellous gift ...and how can we make best use of it??

Ancient Hindu philosophy believed people have the possibility to be able to appreciate and connect to the wholeness of life....that there was a creative intelligence which had to move from pure energy and go into diversity to become the physical worlds we know. New science confirms that there is such a connectivity inherent in the universe.

Is this a major clue in how to think about evolution?

Why this Blog?

2010-02-28T13:00:00.000Z

My name is Christine Thompson ......like a growing number of people alive today, I believe we are in the most exciting time ever to be alive on the planet.....but also the most challenging and potentially worrying.

We seem to be on a crest of a new evolution, a new wave of consciousness ... I guess if you are reading this, you feel it too!! I won't go into all the arguments to support this right here but do have a look at the website www.templatesforchange.com if you want to get more background on some of my thoughts on this !!

In many ways, it is easy to catalogue the negative aspects of what is going on ....but what about all the more positive aspects ? The new spirituality, new consciousness, new intelligence? Is evolution really on the move? Are we part of it right now as we live ..the first human beings ever to have a conscious part to play in this dynamism of the universe?

The idea of this blog is to get a dialogue on the go...about what all this might mean!! A place to exchange thoughts, views , observations .......share inspiration and hope!

Stability in a Changing World

2010-02-27T12:11:00.003Z

What do you trust when everything is changing?

Part One

In the 21st century, we surf on fast moving and often changing currents…nothing seems sacrosanct….
politician’s misdemeanours are uncovered, religious leaders cover-ups are revealed, top financial folks screw up…..information about ‘everything and everything’ reaches us on a 24/7 basis. Two thirds of the world population is short of food or starving, whilst obesity becomes an epidemic in the other third. A growing percentage of marriages end up in divorce, child crime is increasing …it all seems a bit crazy!

Where does one look to for something sensible, something stable ? It might have been a few decades ago, we would have said look at the seasons , the cycles, the world of nature for a reliable steadiness…but even this seems to have gone a bit into the unknown. With climate change and fast changing weather patterns …yikes!! And we are told by experts that we have now entered into a mass extinction of flora and fauna where it is estimated maybe half of all our existing plants and animals may have disappeared by the end of the century.

So where do we find sanity, safety and sensibility?

Strange, it’s almost as though the only way to get there is by opening our mind and getting a context for all the stuff that’s happening…..

Breakdown and breakthrough….

As Ervin Laszlo puts it we are in a ‘tipping point’ …a time of break down on the one hand ( all the negative stuff above!) even the issues with the planet, the flora and the fauna ….are all contexted within this larger change. If we take a bigger span on history, it’s a fact that any time there is a new evolution appearing, it is always preceded by breakdown and extinction….In fact right now in 2010, it is estimated by the experts we are in the midst of the sixth major extinction on the planet.

If the experts are right, then extinction and evolution are bed partners ..but the one thing which we can rely on is that life does continue, life does refine and life does evolute ……….

Let’s say that again ..life does continue, life does refine and life does evolute……WOW!!!

And we are part of that line of appearance…….. the living edge of a very long line of history…..us today, as we walk and talk and live our lives….are part of this line and can either help or detract from its continuance, refinement and evolution.

And what’s more, we are a conscious part of it. One of the extra ordinary aspects of life today is that we are the first generation ever to be aware of the facts of these bigger cycles. With the discoveries of science and technology, we have access to so much education and information….from the minutiae of cellular structure to what’s happening out in the universe, from the history of our own nation and religious backgrounds to those of the rest of the planet. We have a unique opportunity to understand, to compare and to make choices. And the choices we can make, are perhaps more important than any our forebears have been faced with because the choices people and countries make, now affect every other part of life on earth.