#733 Time for Intra- & Interpersonal Qualitative Change?

     "Einstein said that we cannot solve the problems of he world from the level of thinking that we were at when we created them. I think a lot of people embrace this concept, while underestimating what it really means. A different level of thinking means a different level of thinking. It does not even mean just a different kind of thinking. It does not mean a different emphasis in our thinking. It does not mean a more loving kind of thinking. It means what he said, a different level of thinking, and to me, that is what meditation brings.
      Meditation can change the world because meditation changes us. That is the point. The world will not change until we change. The state of the world is a reflection of who we are. The state of the world is the effect; the state of consciousness of human beings is the cause. Mahatma Gandhi said the problem with the world is that humanity is not in its right mind and that is what meditation addresses. It returns us to our right mind, and until there is this evolution in consciousness, we will stay locked in a fear based perspective in which we continue to see ourselves as separate from each other, and in which we continue to think we can do something to someone else and not reap the result ourselves."    Marianne Williamson

        Ed Shapiro, Deb Shapiro eds. "Be the Change: How Meditation Can Transform You and the World" Sterling Ethos, 2011.

Ancient Chinese Dragon

 

#648 Just This, Right Now

"You must live in the present,

launch yourself on every wave,
find your eternity in each moment."

Henry David Thoreau


"I awoke only to find
that the rest of the world was still asleep."

Leonardo da Vinci

 

WisdomAtWork.com

#616 Meaningful Living

     "What moves us to serve humanity, to achieve meaningful change, is genuine empathy; the capacity to feel the pain of others, to experience an intimate shared humanity, to accept discomfort and sacrifice in the path of a greater cause. In entering an authentic communion with others, we also discover a profound expression of our own dignity."

       Payam Akhavan, from the 2014 Vancouver Human Rights Lecture, "Beyond Human Rights: Building a World on Empathy."
       CBC radio interview: http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/episodes/2015/01/06/beyond-human-rights-1/

srb7109   www.dpreview.com

#505 One Continuum, Two States of Being

     Life can be a blur of busyness, commitments, deadlines, hassles & stress. It's easy to feel like a leaf swept away by a fast-moving river, unable to get out, not knowing where we're heading. It's easy to feel trapped, out of control, stressed, anxious & depressed.
     This is our basic, default level of consciousness - almost universal these days. Highly complex forces (social, political, economic, religious, military, etc) impact our lives, and we react to these as fast as we can, in order to survive. Truly serious, deep, meaningful, unavoidable issues - the existential facts of life (constant change, aging, sickness & death) - we ignore / postpone / suppress / repress as long as possible. See: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2012/03/88-avoidance-approach-dichotomy.html
     As life goes on, all of us periodically experience major traumas ("shipwrecks"), where our life as we knew it "falls apart."  
          Some of us implode, hardening in bitterness & cynicism, and may remain for life in this basic level of consciousness. 
          Others, after the same or worse trauma, open up, actively evolving, becoming stronger & wiser ("post-traumatic growth").
     See: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2013/07/361-beyond-stress-management-resilience.html 
     And: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/search?q=post-traumatic+growth

     Those who actively evolve their consciousness realize that ordinary life pursuits, with or without psychotherapy, only take one up to, but not beyond "ordinary unhappiness." This realization can arise gradually and/or abruptly in the wake of major trauma (eg serious illness, job loss, death of loved ones, divorce, etc). Some people prioritize & actively pursue wisdom and do their best to fully integrate wisdom into their every thought, word & action. For them it is clear that this course of action makes life absolutely worth living.

Vivek Prakash   http://photography.nationalgeographic.com

#371 Life as Therapy & Therapist

     "Therapeutic alliance is the prototypical common factor shared by nearly all psychotherapies. It is currently understood as involving

          1) an agreement between therapist & patient on the goals of treatment, 

          2) the tasks needed to accomplish those goals, and 

          3) a sense of a personal bond between therapist & patient." 

       Schnur JB, Montgomery GH. A systematic review of therapeutic alliance, group cohesion, empathy, and goal consensus/collaboration in psychotherapeutic interventions in cancer: Uncommon factors? Clin Psychol Rev 2010; 30(2): 238-47. 

     Isn't each one of us learning to become whole, healed, mature, evolved, perhaps even wise? If so, we each need to develop a therapeutic alliance with our life in this world, to 

          1) come to an understanding about the meaning, goal or purpose of our life;
          2) form a reasonable plan to accomplish this; and finally
          3) learn to consciously, open-heartedly embrace the "full catastrophe" - all that life brings us.
 
     "Free Will"? - see: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2013/07/373-how-free-is-our-free-will.html  

bijan64   www.dpreview.com