Warriors for the human spirit

You don't have to judge others if they have not asked you to. You don't have to even if they have. You don't have to respond to gossip about people who are not present.  You don't have to read the social media posts your friends have posted.

You don't have to respond to comments on your appearance, your opinion or any other personal matter, unless it leads to caring and emotional support. If a comment is helpful to you a thank you is enough. 

You are not obliged to tell anyone what caused you to be upset unless you are part of a supportive team. 

We are not here to be entertainment for others. We are not a soap opera.

We are not units of measurable egos. We are not obliged to buy anything we don't want. You are not obliged to buy things you don't need to support the economy. You are obliged to weigh your purchases with how they support the community and environment. 

We are obliged to remember we are part of the earth and the family of sentient beings.

Your super power is being a witness to all that makes your life more beautiful, hopeful and sustainable. 

The difference between masculine and feminine is how each one functions in society and how each one is honoured and valued.

The difference between black people and white people is how each is treated, honoured and valued,  by the society they live in.

The difference between people of first nations and settlers is the values that influenced and sustained them.

None of these is cast in bronze. Values are not bought. 

Every century we struggle to  find the truth, to nurture it, and to keep it. If truth is purchased by power it becomes a lie.

We are learning how to find the real power in us to survive and nurture generations to come. 

Dylan Thomas reciting his villanelle 'Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Ni...

Manufacturing Consent

 A post from Fred Geurin on Noam Chomsky, one of the most important intellectuals in life today, has drawn up the list of 10 media manipulation strategies. Originally posted by Sara Perini.

1-The strategy of distraction

2-Creating problems and then offering the solutions.

3-The Strategy of Graduation.

4-The Strategy of Deferring.

5-Reach to the public like children.

6-Using emotional aspect much more than reflection.

7-Keeping the public in ignorance and mediocrity.

8-Stimulating the public to be complacent with mediocrity.

9-Strengthening self-guilt.

10-Knowing individuals better than they know themselves.

This means that, in most cases, the system exercises greater control and greater power over individuals, greater than that which the same individual exercises over himself.

§

from George Yancy, Truthout PUBLISHED May 7, 2021

"There has been “nothing comparable in American history” to the huge outpouring of protest unleashed by the murder of George Floyd, says world-renowned intellectual Noam Chomsky. Even at the very peak of Martin Luther King Jr.’s popularity, the mass protests that King led and inspired “didn’t come anywhere close” to the massive racial justice protests that have erupted over this past year, Chomsky adds."

This we should remember.

The Key to the Mental Illness of Our Politics

Ayn Rand, on her hero, wrote that he “has learned long ago, with his first consciousness, two things which dominate his entire attitude toward life: his own superiority and the utter worthlessness of the world. He knows what he wants and what he thinks. He needs no other reasons, standards or considerations. His complete selfishness is as natural to him as breathing.” 

The Rand family were devastated by the beginning of communism which used a concern for all as their reason yet focused from the ego of strong leaders. When Rand arrived in America she struggled to fit into a misogynistic world which didn't recognize her abilities.

The current situation in America comes out of trauma. The brutality of WWII on top of colonial violence. White Supremacy is the religion of a society that has lost its way. It seeks to punish and beat up, rape and demean the earth by destroying as much natural life as possible.

This is a kind way of saying we have all gone mad, grabbing as much of our broken toys as we can because we have been sent away from ourselves.

The rich and famous strongmen on our planet have learned how to complete the rape by making it illegal to love and nurture.

The military and police force are training men to dissociate from their feelings and their pain.

You Are A Planet

 You Are A Planet

on this planet

you might not remember

how you got here

or why

You have a map of nerves

under your skin

memories of pain

floods of disappointment

storms of anger

managing aches, desires

and crises

You rain with purpose

shine with knowledge

have a climate about you

Someone is looking 

for you

just you

Read out gently

offer yourself to planets

orbiting around or with you

this day

hold out your arms

and say

I am here!

Janet Vickers

please share

 

PASS IT ALONG - Transatlantic Session

Bob Bossin, folksinger of many years and much fame,  gathered friends from all over the world to contribute to this song. May wisdom overcome the hijacking of this planet for mining and logging. May we understand how important old growth forests are for our survival. And may we understand how climate change is affecting human culture along with all the other species.

Living On Virulent Empathy

 Living is a familiar word. 'On' as in living on planet earth, its plants, its air. 'Virulent' can mean 'poison', 'toxic' or 'a virulent strain of influenza'. 'Empathy' the ability to understand the feelings of another. According to Google dictionary.

Living on virulent empathy is more than feeling or expressing empathy. It is making the connection between people so we do not forget who we are.

We people of this planet have been educated and trained to fit into a system. Democratic socialism, neoliberal capitalism, patriarchy, misogyny, racism, all have their effects on how we feel about ourselves and each other. All vie for dominion over this earth through ways of influence, teaching, advertising and the use of fear.

We are subjected to patterns so that we feel we have the means to protect ourselves from suffering. Particularly the suffering of homelessness, starvation, violent attacks, war and fascism. Of course this is not working absolutely but then it's not intended to be a society where all good things work and all bad things are stopped.

We are under the influence of different interests, we have different interests so part of our daily patterns include persuasion. Having a system of beliefs which we attempt to persuade others they are the right beliefs for most if not all.

There is power (money) over our ideas even if we don't admit to it, or see it. Neoliberal capitalism tells us there is the invisible hand of the market, but it doesn't tell us the influence and pressure that goes into maintaining this as a system. It doesn't ask how investing in weapons and secret coups to influence governments elsewhere are good. It doesn't question the misery of lives lived at the bottom of the pecking order. 

Power is not intelligent. Sentient beings have intelligence and have survived war, starvation, disease and extreme weather for thousands of years by using their power consciously and asking how can we survive?

We have created religions, philosophies, political parties and global interests to juggle and weigh the various means of being in this world. We have stocked our waking days with thoughts and arguments on what is best and what is worst - a hierarchy of errors.

I have noticed my own belief change throughout the years. What should I achieve? What should I be and what should I not be?

Lately as I have watched intelligent beings and their institutions crumble I have come to believe that empathy for the feelings and health of others engages me in a way that is not harmful. I don't seek to be dominant or perfect or controlling. I seek to be part of this earthly family, connected, equal and always learning.

I would like to see media and institutions focus on a livable planet as a future goal rather than the various camps cleverly persuading each other to be more like them. If empathy became a virus spreading wherever we gather I think we might listen to and communicate with one another.