A friend of mine just told me this idea he had where tons of people would stand on street corners all over the city and sing the same song. I think that is such a creative thing to do. So, I'm game. It will take a lot of organizing and a lot of courageous people, but it will be such a blast. There are so many creative things we can do to make the world a better place, we are so lucky.
Peace in the world comes from peace within each individual. I strive to be at peace in myself so I can add to calm, loving joy in the world. Practice being happy. Share happiness with all who you come in contact with. And, be a leader for peace. Help to build social policy that supports people being at peace within. The bulk of the America Common Wealth currently goes to war and prisons. Coming from the stand point of wanting life to flourish on the planet and for humans to live wonderful fulfilling lives, spending money on war and prisons, is actually not the best use of our money. I can understand how many people have become confused about this issue. We all need to feel safe and secure. However, if everyone had their basic needs of food, water, shelter and health care, met, then people would feel more at peace within, therefor, not needing to react with violence.
We live in a world of Prosperity. Though, wars throughout history, and today, have always been fought because of feelings of scarcity. Since the developed world is held up by fossil fuels, and in light of China and other countries developing so quickly, as well as the limited nature of oil, some people in America are very nervous and believe it is necessary to wage war to secure the oil in the Middle East for America.
I, being an American, know that it is very easy for people in this society to live in fear. Though my country highly emphasizes freedom, what it values above all else is individuality. The consciousness of everyone for their self is very contradictory to making use of the prosperity the world has to offer. The current usage of Capitalism is only beneficial to the point where an individual is making a lot of money. So it is good that oil is scarce, because there is a high demand and a low supply, so the people in control of the oil can make a lot of profit. But, this doesn't serve everyone in the world, and that is who I care about.
Advances in technology would be best used making the world a better place, not by control wealth in the hands of a few. We have the technology to create cars with the use of robots, but instead of the profits going back to serve and provide for people in the community, people lose their jobs, and the money goes to a few. And what we see, instead of more relaxed people who can spend their time contributing to the world, are people without money committing crimes and going to jail because we have rules that say you can make money one way but not another. There are a lot of double standards in this system, for instance, destroying the environment that we all need for survival is accepted, but there is 'zero tolerance' for selling drugs. The fact is that neither of these things is beneficial to life on the planet, and both should be discouraged.
Individualism powers the consumer culture. Sharing is something that isn't often thought about past elementary school. Share things reduces that amount of stuff we need to buy. When people become more comfortable with sharing with their neighbors, there will be little reason for everybody to have their own vacuum, for instance. Sharing will also drive an economy that supports sustainability and peace. We have the technology to create infrastructures to make sure all are provided for, so all will have food and water, and health care. And when we use these technologies for others, rather than for personal gain, it will do wonders to relieve people of feelings of scarcity and the perceived need to solve problems with violence.
I can see an economy where people are motivated by doing the most for others. If not just for a personal feeling satisfaction in helping, but maybe for bragging rights. "I helped the world more, haha!"( just kidding) But really, we should all feel blessed and humbled by our ability to serve. All gratitude is due to the infinite creative energy that is within all and is all. For me it is most easy to think of God as being Life. Life is God, God is God, God is Life, Life is Life, All is Life, All is God. The purpose of life is to serve life, and, by the grace of god, that is what we are all doing.
Sat Nam! Thanks!
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Cease fire!
For peace sake! Like so many mothers say, "Be the bigger person." Being the bigger person is really hard, but we (humans) can do it. Cuz being the bigger person really just means being human. I encourage and am actively working to support a cease fire in the Middle East! As well as peace everywhere.
In Seattle, WA, 1999, I got to witness and take part in shutting the World Trade Organization meeting down. I had the opportunity to use civil disobedience to stand against something I know is wrong (i.e. not beneficial for life on the planet). I also got to understand what different peoples motives were for being there. The motives boiled down to either love of the planet and the life it holds, or hate for the WTO and what it is doing to the planet. Then, of course, there were the people trying to participate in the meeting, and the police whose job was to secure the perimeter. Members of the WTO tried to get passed giant 'red rover' lines of activists linked arm-in-arm, and the police tried to help them cross by breaking the links.
An interesting phenomena occurred time and again. Since the police were the direct antagonizers of the activists, it became hard for people to remember that the police are doing there jobs, just as we were doing our jobs. It stopped being an issue of standing against the WTO, and became and issue of standing against the police. This wise 'riots' issued. I got to experience tear gas in all of its glory. And old ladies being beat to the ground, and concussions bombs that knock the wind out of you. But, what was most peculiar was the dynamic of police and activists. I watched many times as peaceful protesters would be hanging out celebrating, being very festive and non-violent, and then the police would show up with their pepper spray and bean bag bullets, and insight violence.
Why was it so easy to rile people up? Couldn't the activists just do what the police told them to do? Justice and fairness and ego are among the answers.
I see this same dynamic happening in Iraq (not to mention many other places in the world). Foreign troops are coming into communities and arbitrarily telling the people what to do. This is a very difficult situation to deal with calmly. I was bullied once in Middle School and wasn't able to peacefully take the abuse, I lashed out at him in rage, till I realized I wasn't a fighter and got pretty tussled. I know what it feels like to be pushed around. With this said, the Iraqis need to be the bigger people. The US president is having a hard time letting go of his ego on this one (though, I am sure he will come to his senses eventually), so American troops will continue bullying people around the world, (of course the American people have plenty of power to stop this war and general bullying), so until Americans stop being bullies, the people with the greatest power of promoting peace are the ones who are being bullied.
The protest of the WTO assembly in 1999 would have had a much different impact on the consciousness of the world, if instead of protesters taking an us against them stance, they said "we deserve to participate in these meetings" and walked calmly and non-violently up to the police lines, where they would get cracked over the head with a billy club. This kind of non-violent activism is what got the Brits to leave India, and what got the statement "All men are created equal" to really mean ALL men (and women, too).
The American government says it is in the Middle East to promote democracy, but in order for that to actually happen they need to stop antagonizing people and start supporting them.
Cease Fire!! Stop the nonsense!
It is very easy for one group of people to villainies and dehumanize another, but we are humans, we don't need to do that. We can see that all life is sacred. We can honor diversity in every form. We have the ability to create peace and allow prosperity to flow. We just need to take an individual and collective stand and say, "We can do it!" and "Let's do it!" and "YEAH!"
PEACE!!!!!
In Seattle, WA, 1999, I got to witness and take part in shutting the World Trade Organization meeting down. I had the opportunity to use civil disobedience to stand against something I know is wrong (i.e. not beneficial for life on the planet). I also got to understand what different peoples motives were for being there. The motives boiled down to either love of the planet and the life it holds, or hate for the WTO and what it is doing to the planet. Then, of course, there were the people trying to participate in the meeting, and the police whose job was to secure the perimeter. Members of the WTO tried to get passed giant 'red rover' lines of activists linked arm-in-arm, and the police tried to help them cross by breaking the links.
An interesting phenomena occurred time and again. Since the police were the direct antagonizers of the activists, it became hard for people to remember that the police are doing there jobs, just as we were doing our jobs. It stopped being an issue of standing against the WTO, and became and issue of standing against the police. This wise 'riots' issued. I got to experience tear gas in all of its glory. And old ladies being beat to the ground, and concussions bombs that knock the wind out of you. But, what was most peculiar was the dynamic of police and activists. I watched many times as peaceful protesters would be hanging out celebrating, being very festive and non-violent, and then the police would show up with their pepper spray and bean bag bullets, and insight violence.
Why was it so easy to rile people up? Couldn't the activists just do what the police told them to do? Justice and fairness and ego are among the answers.
I see this same dynamic happening in Iraq (not to mention many other places in the world). Foreign troops are coming into communities and arbitrarily telling the people what to do. This is a very difficult situation to deal with calmly. I was bullied once in Middle School and wasn't able to peacefully take the abuse, I lashed out at him in rage, till I realized I wasn't a fighter and got pretty tussled. I know what it feels like to be pushed around. With this said, the Iraqis need to be the bigger people. The US president is having a hard time letting go of his ego on this one (though, I am sure he will come to his senses eventually), so American troops will continue bullying people around the world, (of course the American people have plenty of power to stop this war and general bullying), so until Americans stop being bullies, the people with the greatest power of promoting peace are the ones who are being bullied.
The protest of the WTO assembly in 1999 would have had a much different impact on the consciousness of the world, if instead of protesters taking an us against them stance, they said "we deserve to participate in these meetings" and walked calmly and non-violently up to the police lines, where they would get cracked over the head with a billy club. This kind of non-violent activism is what got the Brits to leave India, and what got the statement "All men are created equal" to really mean ALL men (and women, too).
The American government says it is in the Middle East to promote democracy, but in order for that to actually happen they need to stop antagonizing people and start supporting them.
Cease Fire!! Stop the nonsense!
It is very easy for one group of people to villainies and dehumanize another, but we are humans, we don't need to do that. We can see that all life is sacred. We can honor diversity in every form. We have the ability to create peace and allow prosperity to flow. We just need to take an individual and collective stand and say, "We can do it!" and "Let's do it!" and "YEAH!"
PEACE!!!!!
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Kundalini Yoga and Self Empowerment!!
The reason I decided to finish high school in India was so I could learn Kundalini Yoga and share it with the activist community in Portland, so we would be able to be as proactive and productive as possible. The most powerful tool that we have is ourselves. Kundalini Yoga is called the yoga of awareness, because it helps us be intuitively aware of ourselves and the world around us. It is a technology that can help us tap into the deepest power, to be prosperous, couragous, and to be able to keep up. In the age of Pisces, we were taught to look outside of ourselves for answers, for help, for health, for God. In the age of Aquarius we are to recognize that there is no separation between the creator and the creation, we are all one. "If you can't see God in All, you can't see God at all."-YB
In the mean time, we need to all work to make the transition to the Aquarian age as smooth and peaceful as possible. That is where Kundalini Yoga comes in. We don't have to wait to be our truest, most compassionate, uplifting self, we can be those things now. This may come more easily to some than others, but we can all take simple steps to make sure our organs and glands work properly, in order to have balanced blood chemistry, so we can be health, happy, and holy. Look no further than doing Breath of Fire, or Sat Kriya.
Kundalini yoga is the yoga of the householder, for people living in society to make it better. I know lots of activists come to a place of being burned out, there are actually specific kriyas to prevent burnout. Whatever ailment you may have, or skill you want to develop, there is most likely a kriya or meditation that you can do that focuses on it directly.
So get out there and take care of yourself, so that you can serve the world around you to the best of your ability.
"It is not the life you live, its the courage that you bring to it."-YB
Talk to you later. -R
In the mean time, we need to all work to make the transition to the Aquarian age as smooth and peaceful as possible. That is where Kundalini Yoga comes in. We don't have to wait to be our truest, most compassionate, uplifting self, we can be those things now. This may come more easily to some than others, but we can all take simple steps to make sure our organs and glands work properly, in order to have balanced blood chemistry, so we can be health, happy, and holy. Look no further than doing Breath of Fire, or Sat Kriya.
Kundalini yoga is the yoga of the householder, for people living in society to make it better. I know lots of activists come to a place of being burned out, there are actually specific kriyas to prevent burnout. Whatever ailment you may have, or skill you want to develop, there is most likely a kriya or meditation that you can do that focuses on it directly.
So get out there and take care of yourself, so that you can serve the world around you to the best of your ability.
"It is not the life you live, its the courage that you bring to it."-YB
Talk to you later. -R
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Yay! Blogging!
Well, I am a little behind the times when it comes to this whole blogging thing, but I hope to stay on top of the technology from here on out. So, I will start using this blog as a venue to share thoughts and stories.
To inspire others to get on the info-tech band-wagon here is a list of suggestions to make the most of the Information Age:
In the age of information, the entire global community is at your finger tips. As a result, many people are using the internet (the virtual community) as a substitute to interactions with their physical community. The purpose of the virtual community should always be to enhance your local and global physical communities. The web is an amazing source of inspiration and upliftment for people, but I think the real task is done by working with people hand-in-hand to make our world a better place.
With that said, here are some tools to enhance your Worldly Community using the World Wide Web:
First off, if you don't already have it, download Firefox as your Internet Browser. It is the most versatile and user friendly web browser available.
Create a Social Networking account. Myspace is the most popular, but there are others as well. Social Networking is a very useful way to keep in touch with people.
Start using Google and create a Gmail account. Look at the Options that Google has. If you don't know about Google Earth, you will be amazed. (I'm still amazed)
To be able to talk to friends all over the world, use Skype.
Create your own blog!
Use youtube.com / Google Videos.
I am here to work for world peace and universal harmony, so tools that make this job easier are very valuable. I am very grateful for the information age. I hope this info serves to keep you connected so you can go out and build your local community.
Talk to you later,
Rion
To inspire others to get on the info-tech band-wagon here is a list of suggestions to make the most of the Information Age:
In the age of information, the entire global community is at your finger tips. As a result, many people are using the internet (the virtual community) as a substitute to interactions with their physical community. The purpose of the virtual community should always be to enhance your local and global physical communities. The web is an amazing source of inspiration and upliftment for people, but I think the real task is done by working with people hand-in-hand to make our world a better place.
With that said, here are some tools to enhance your Worldly Community using the World Wide Web:
First off, if you don't already have it, download Firefox as your Internet Browser. It is the most versatile and user friendly web browser available.
Create a Social Networking account. Myspace is the most popular, but there are others as well. Social Networking is a very useful way to keep in touch with people.
Start using Google and create a Gmail account. Look at the Options that Google has. If you don't know about Google Earth, you will be amazed. (I'm still amazed)
To be able to talk to friends all over the world, use Skype.
Create your own blog!
Use youtube.com / Google Videos.
I am here to work for world peace and universal harmony, so tools that make this job easier are very valuable. I am very grateful for the information age. I hope this info serves to keep you connected so you can go out and build your local community.
Talk to you later,
Rion
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