A Life Worth Living

WHY

2012-01-27T23:44:00.001-08:00

Taken from the blog
Exposing The Truth

WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME . . . AGAIN?

"Why is this happening to me . . .AGAIN?!"
"Why is every relationship the SAME?"
"Are loving relationships even POSSIBLE?"

These are common complaints, often accompanied by a host of painful emotions, extreme bewilderment, and a desperate "Why are they doing this to me!! . . .Again?"

An instant later, the culprit will be judged and sentenced. Full of remorse, the separating parties cry, "If only you would change, I wouldn't have to leave!" Both parties, in their confusion, ask the same questions and reach the same conclusions, "I'm right! You're wrong! It's settled! Why argue?!" Each tells the truth but somehow they see opposite realities. The inconsistency of alternating from confusion to absolute judgment is seldom realized and the behavior that follows this mindset is usually bizarre.

In ancient times, this state of 'confused absoluteness' was known as "a house divided against itself." It is caused by the dis-ease, Blockage of Truth, a state in which one is locked into and can only see error. In this state, error is called truth.

Seldom does it occur to the confused mind that, "If I'm present in every experience of my life, perhaps I'm involved in creating my pain." Rarely does it occur to a mind to ask themselves, "If they're the one with the problem, why am I the one with the pain?" Only for a fleeting moment can this mind conceive that it might have set itself up for what is happening . . . Again!

Pain signals a self-imposed dis-ease, Blockage of Truth. A person in pain usually identifies who they think the 'guilty party' is - and it's always someone else - an opinion that is worshipped! An opinion that makes it impossible to see the truth! The typical solution is blame, guilt, and separation which initiate another downward cycle into more pain and deeper resentment.

Sound familiar?

There is joy and aliveness beyond pain and there are ways to heal the need to struggle! The primary requirement for healing is the ability to admit, if I'm in pain - I'm in error. This admission does not mean that the "other" person is freed of responsibility for their actions; it simply gives the person brave enough to take responsibility power over their own lives.

Responsibility, interpreted through a mindset of victimhood, tends to look like guilt, fault and blame - a totally invalid idea. The Truth about responsibility is that it is simply a tool that uncovers the hidden internal dynamics that lead to the confused absoluteness referred to earlier.

Next comes the willingness to do one's work - to take a different action based on taking responsibility. Out of Love of Truth comes the ability to tell oneself the truth and heal. This makes what the world calls "impossible," achievable!

Effective tools for self-correction coupled with a willingness to actually use them are critical to healing! Haphazard use of the tools will not produce the internal healing that is possible, nor the desired changes in relationships, health, or finances.

With the right tools, not only will healing occur, but, as a result of facing conflict with a responsible mind, a blame free mind, wisdom and empowerment will result!

A new mindset is needed to recognize and undo Blockage of Truth. One must redesign the personal thought system that has led to confusion, pain or loss. Healing starts with a 'renewing of the mind.' Though these ideas may at first sound crazy or impossible, thousands have healed themselves with the use of these tools.

Total explanation of this new, though actually ancient, thought system is not the objective here. That would take volumes. The goal is to give you practical, workable tools and a glimpse of the philosophy that backs them up. Another key to healing is an open mind.

YOU CANNOT SOLVE A PROBLEM WITH THE MIND THAT CREATED IT! Albert Einstein

The basis for all true healing, mental, physical and emotional, is knowing that the body is not real - it does not exist! Scientifically, this was best said by Albert Einstein when he said, "What we have heretofore called matter, is energy whose vibrations have been so lowered as to be perceptible to the senses. There is no matter!" Ancient teachings called matter 'appearances' and cautioned not to 'judge,' or be taken in by them.

What appears as a body is an energy field, integrated and organized by what is back of and superior to it. The field is not self existent and there are organizing principles behind it - principles that can be known and harnessed.

There are two basic qualities of organizing energy superior to and back of any energy field, including the 'body':
1. Integrative -expressed in humans as Love, enthusiasm, and joy which manifest as creativity, health, beauty and aliveness.
2. Disintegrative - expressed in humans as fear, blame, anger, criticism and revenge which manifest as pain, suffering and dis-ease.

The ancients called disintegrative energy 'sin' or 'defiling the temple,' cautioning that if these energies are stored in the "body," it violates the integrity of the host tissue, causing the deterioration we refer to as dis-ease. The wages, or result, of 'defiling the temple' is that the energy system decays and eventually dies.

This understanding and warning, which is usually interpreted as some kind of punishment or threat from the Creator, came from an energy based knowledge of physiology, not religious dogma!!

The beauty of recognizing and taking charge of these powerful, primary energies is that we are at choice. We are not their victims, but are the ones who put them in place and can change them at will.

The quality of these underlying energies, our choices, is the cause of everything - the health of our bodies, minds, lives, relationships and finances - every circumstance we seem to arrive at by accident or chance! And we are never the victim of cause, we are its determiner.

When involvement in our experience is denied, we hide the cause of that event inside of ourselves. We pretend we are innocent victims and can carry out that scam on ourselves because our denial has suppressed that part of the mind that is at cause. It is then, with these hidden disintegrative energies, that we create our lives. Again, the Ancients who understood these energy principles, warned, "Take care the heart (the unconscious) for out of it are the issues in life." Through our own internal, hidden dynamics we create our conflicts and dis-eases!

Pain and disease are helpful signals that warn that we are in error. Although reputed to be enemies, they are friends in disguise. Pain is never a sign of someone else's mistake. It is the body's 'error message,' a reminder that the quality of energy we are putting into our system is self-destructive.

Most people ignore the messages, drug the messenger (the body) and wonder why disease strikes. They wish someone would discover a 'magic pill' that would allow them to continue destructive habits and not pay the piper. "Let me hate, gossip, have fear and anger, put down and criticize whom I wish. Let me steal and be as cheap as a nickel! Yet, please, don't make me accountable for my words and actions. Let me ignore nutrition and eat junk, but please, PLEASE make me healthy, happy and abundant!" An insane wish!

We cannot engage in negativity and have health, anymore than a farmer can sow wheat and reap corn. It is a LAW that we always reap as we have sown!

Failure to be aware, response-able and release negativity leads to an endless succession of similar events. Hence, the agonizing question: "Why is this happening to me . . . Again?!" 'Premature positive thinking' (pretending all is well, when it's not), produces the same result. Appropriate and honest thinking is the goal. Self-correction follows naturally.

The only restorative processes are those which face and release stored negativity. The body can then use its own recuperative powers to rebuild.

LET GO AND YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE!
The steps to true healing begin by understanding that:
1. The purpose of life is to heal you and to bring you joy! Anything less is Self-Inflicted Nonsense.
2. We will define the output of the human mind as reality. In ancient times, called the 'mind of man.'
3. Pretending someone else causes your mind's disturbing output is projection.
4. Blaming another for your reality (the output of your mind) is irresponsible and the key to being a victim.
5. Thinking and feeling like a victim is self-destructive and compromises one's mental, emotional, physical, relationship and financial health.
6. Pain is the energy that results from holding onto disintegrative energy and/or negative thoughts. Pain warns of the need for tools to release stored negativity and create internal healing.
7. Forgiveness (changing your reality, the output of your mind) is the only PERMANENT solution.
8. Forgiving is NOT about others, rather, it is an internal healing process.
9. Understanding the principles behind transition is simple but not always easy.
10. It takes commitment and work to heal yourself of patterns that have continued, often, for generations!
11. The rewards are beyond what the mind in pain can conceive.

TRUE FORGIVENESS is the master release process, a tool that opens the energy field of the 'body' and liberates destructive energies from within. Once you actually understand Forgiveness, you will never forgive anyone again. Forgiveness is not letting another off the hook for their offenses. The root meaning of Forgiveness in Aramaic is 'to cancel, untie or let loose.' It is a tool for changing a reality in the mind.

To heal, identify disintegrative emotions or thoughts that reside within your 'energy system.' Own them as yours, although they appear to be caused by someone else. If you've had a particular conflict eighty-seven different times, with forty-two different people - notice you are the one who has been there EVERY time.

Your thoughts are the output of your mind and the realities from your mind reflect the energies held in your body. The output of a human mind tells more about the content of that mind than about the perceived world!

The next step toward healing is verbal release of the mental and emotional energies that make up repeating realities.

Say aloud, if practical, "I totally release from my life and body all feelings of ______."Be specific with your feelings (i.e. fear, anger, criticism, or pain). "I release the thoughts that _________."Be specific with your thoughts (i.e., Life hurts, No one loves me, or I'll never make it).

TAKE RESPONSIBILITY! The steps to liberty? Be accountable for your thoughts, emotions, and realities. It's your life! Recognize and undo disintegrative energies. Learn to Forgive! The person or event you think 'causes' pain only surfaces realities that are already within you. They have given you the opportunity to heal . . .Again! Take advantage of that opportunity!

Found these today:

2011-10-27T21:53:00.000-07:00

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure...

2011-10-26T23:11:00.000-07:00

full quote: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

From A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles"
by Marianne Williamson

Ram Dass interviews Thich Nhat Hanh

2011-10-15T23:54:00.000-07:00

What a priviledge to watch two wise teachers converse. :)

On letting go

2011-10-15T23:52:00.001-07:00

10 Inspiring Confucius Quotes

2011-10-15T03:39:00.000-07:00

1. "Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself."

2. "Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance."

3. "I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand."

4. "Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it."

5. "The Superior Man is aware of Righteousness, the inferior man is aware of advantage."

6. "Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart."

7. "Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do."

8. "He who learns but does not think, is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger."

9. "He that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools."

10. "If you look into your own heart, and you find nothing wrong there, what is there to worry about? What is there to fear?"

-Confucius, 551-479 BCE

Found this:

2011-10-15T03:29:00.000-07:00

One week of art by gab

S.N. Goenka Speech to the United Nations

2011-10-15T03:09:00.000-07:00

Give Peace a chance - Meditate - Experience Vipassana

Excerpt from 10-day Vipassana course. Goenka's discourse, day 4

What are YOUR values?

2011-10-15T03:02:00.000-07:00

"A life worth living can't be measured by the number of chances you didn't take, the distressing moments you avoided, or your allegiance to rules about feeling good. It's measured by the vitality that comes from living in accordance with you values and being willing to face both pleasurable and distressing experiences directly in the service of those values."

in:
The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Depression: Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Move Through Depression and Create a Life Worth Living (New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook) [Paperback]
Patricia Robinson Ph.D. (Author), Kirk Strosahl Ph.D. (Author)

We are God, We are Love

2010-12-29T00:52:00.000-08:00

The most important message we need to hear and know and remember:

Dark Side of the Lens

2010-12-24T23:10:00.001-08:00

DARK SIDE OF THE LENS from Astray Films on Vimeo.

-Let your heart beat the fastest...

On mourning

2010-12-04T23:37:00.000-08:00

by Robin M.N.

"You think you're over me, but you're not." she said, not unkindly. "It's not that simple, nor so fast. I know this. I have tread this path before, and the way is long and hard."

"You're right." he said. "I can't help but pine for the warmth of your smile. Your lilting voice, wrapped in mirth. The comfort found in your embrace. All of you, so pleasing to me. How could I deny otherwise? But none of these shall I receive again, now or perhaps ever. If I cannot convince myself that I can live without, how am I to live at all?"

"Loss is ever-present in our lives." she replied. "All is transient. Being human is mourning what has past, celebrating its memory and sharing its essence, so that it may live on within us."

"But you're not dead!" he exclaimed. "How do I grieve what remains, corporeal and out of reach?"

"I am not lost to you." she said gently. "Not really. Though our paths diverge, all that we have shared is woven into the fabric of who we are, and travels always with us."

He began to cry, softly. He said, "But my heart still aches for you, dear. How long will it hurt? And how can I bear the pain?"

"Grief is as a snowflake," she said, "and will take its leave only when warmed by the love we show ourselves. Find the love within, and grief, too, shall pass." At this, she took him in her arms and whispered in his ear. "Knowing only that you are loved, all can be borne."

He sagged against her, his tears flowing faster. His journey had finally begun.

Interbeing

2010-12-04T23:28:00.000-08:00

From: The Heart of Understanding: Commentaries on the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra
by Thich Nhat Hanh

If you are a poet, you will see clearly that there is a cloud floating in this sheet of paper. Without a cloud, there will be no rain; without rain, the trees cannot grow; and without trees, we cannot make paper. The cloud is essential for the paper to exist. If the cloud is not here, the sheet of paper cannot be here either. So we can say that the cloud and the paper inter-are. “Interbeing” is a word that is not in the dictionary yet, but if we combine the prefix “inter-” with the verb “to be,” we have a new verb, inter-be. The cloud and the sheet of paper inter-are.

If we look into this sheet of paper even more deeply, we can see the sunshine in it. If the sunshine is not there, the forest cannot grow. In fact, nothing can grow. Even we cannot grow without sunshine. And so, we know that the sunshine is also in this sheet of paper. The paper and the sunshine inter-are. And if we continue to look, we can see the logger who cut the tree and brought it to the mill to be transformed into paper. And we see the wheat. We know the logger cannot exist without his daily bread, and therefore the wheat that became his bread is also in this sheet of paper. And the logger’s father and mother are in it too. When we look in this way, we see that without all of these things, this sheet of paper cannot exist.

Looking even more deeply, we can see we are in it too. This is not difficult to see, because when we look at a sheet of paper, the sheet of paper is part of our perception. Your mind is in here and mine is also. So we can say that everything is in here with this sheet of paper. You cannot point out one thing that is not here-time, space, the earth, the rain, the minerals in the soil, the sunshine, the cloud, the river, the heat. Everything co-exists with this sheet of paper. That is why I think the word inter-be should be in the dictionary. “To be” is to inter-be. You cannot just be by yourself alone. You have to inter-be with every other thing. This sheet of paper is, because everything else is.

Suppose we try to return one of the elements to its source. Suppose we return the sunshine to the sun. Do you think that this sheet of paper will be possible? No, without sunshine nothing can be. And if we return the logger to his mother, then we have no sheet of paper either. The fact is that this sheet of paper is made up only of “non-paper elements.” And if we return these non-paper elements to their sources, then there can be no paper at all. Without “non-paper elements,” like mind, logger, sunshine and so on, there will be no paper. As thin as this sheet of paper is, it contains everything in the universe in it.

*This is a good link for more on the author. And here is the site for a description of 14 Mindfulness Trainings at the Order of Interbeing.

The Invitation

2010-12-04T23:04:00.000-08:00

by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

It doesn’t interest me
what you do for a living.
I want to know
what you ache for
and if you dare to dream
of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me
how old you are.
I want to know
if you will risk
looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me
what planets are
squaring your moon...
I want to know
if you have touched
the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened
by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know
if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know
if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations
of being human.

It doesn’t interest me
if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear
the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know
if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live
or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me
who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me
where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know
what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know
if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like
the company you keep
in the empty moments.

Visit Oriah's site here.

Auschwitz Survivor Celebrating Life

2010-08-25T19:20:00.000-07:00

Auschwitz survivor dancing to "I will survive" with grandson outside of camp.

Thanks to Raniah S. for the link.

Do not mourn for me

2010-03-26T02:48:00.000-07:00

When I die no one should miss me, no one should be sad. I want to vanish into the everything and nothingness where the root of all lies. Back to where I came from. I will never be alone: if I am not alone here, even less there!

When I die, there is no reason to cry, no reason to mourn. Not even for the usual 10 minutes people mourn for. For I have lived that way I've wanted. I have lived what I was meant to live. for i have enjoyed it, loved it, felt it. Yes, I have felt and I have loved. I have been both selfish and generous, self-absorbed and yet compassionate.

I am not afraid! Fear is unnecessary, redundant, and unwise. Death is nothing but our return to the womb of the universe, where there is boundless energy and unlimited potential. There we all are one, one and the same. There, we are not brothers and sisters, father and son, we are not friends or enemies, nor lovers or sinners. We are the source.

No! Do not mourn for me when I die. If anything, celebrate the instant that we shared in life.

Big Basin

2010-03-13T04:46:00.000-08:00

I lie down on the wet redwood forest soil and rest there for what seems a brief moment, long enough to cool down after a two-hour hike. It is a bright and rainy day. There is no wind and M. and I do not mind getting a little wet as long as it is not too cold. We stop here and enjoy the view silently, each at our own spot. I am afraid that if I rest any longer I won’t be able to get up. Darkness is fast approaching and we still need to find our trail and hike back.

As I get up I brush my hand against the back of my head so as to shake off any excess water. I feel a thick, sticky substance stuck to my hair. I smell it. Tree sap. It smells lovely like pine trees and incense, but proves impossible to get rid off. The big lump on my hair is solidly stuck to my scalp and no nail is long enough, no scratching hard enough to get rid of it. I resign, “I’ll deal with it at home, with a hot shower”.

The hike back is relatively easy. Though we think are lost, it only takes us five minutes of walking in a straight line to find a trail and a road. Disappointed, not ready to get back to the car, we make it a point to get lost again. We go deeper downhill into the forest on the other side of the road.

Our attempt to get lost is quickly ended when we find a new trail after a clearing. We follow it shortly only to discover a little creek running from right to left in front of us. M. sees a big tree trunk that crosses the creek at a forty-five degree angle; the end on this side is propped up high, higher than M. can reach, and the other end rests on the ground across the creek. She gives that tree trunk a try, even though it is wet, slippery and dangerous. I opt for crossing the water through a shallower part of the creek. After all, the water seems refreshing. I take off my heavy hiking boots and socks and put the socks inside the shoes. Already I feel smarter than M.

Halfway into the creek, I look up and see M. struggling to get up there but thoroughly enjoying the process. Then I come to a slippery part and decide to free my hands throwing both shoes to the other side. Poor attempt. My shoes are caught in the current and are tagging along for an adventure of their own.

I scream. M. is located further down the river and I hope she has seen what just happened and helps me recover the shoes. Far cry. She is still holding hard onto the tree trunk. She tells me to go after them but in my head the shoes have too big an advantage over me. I am stuck in the middle of the creek. She insists, so I go for it.

I rush back to where I started. I run along the edge of the creek down river, eyes scanning the water efficiently like a machine or rather, like a hungry predator. Need not look further; a few meters from me is one of the shoes stuck in a branch of drift wood in the water. I jump in, retrieve and look around for the other one. Nothing. Boot’s brown as the water, and I see nothing. I cross the creek barefoot and start making my way down river. I run and slump; the soil is wet, the current fast.

What seems like 20 minutes pass and I am still looking. By now, M. has finally made it across and is looking at me in amusement. I laugh, trying not to be bothered or sad. But I am slightly sad and upset. Still laughing, I ask M. if she thinks I should keep this faithful shoe as a keepsake, a Big Basin souvenir of sorts and a reminder of my outdoor incompetence. Either that or I should throw it away since it’s no use carrying it.

M. is sorry and offers me her shoes. I say no thanks but I’ll gladly take her socks. And I still can’t believe what I just did back there, giving my shoes to the current in the middle of a hike! Despite what I said earlier, I decide to keep the shoe, but only to use it as a pot for a plant. Like in the movie.

As we walk back on our tracks I silently and gently curse myself with every stick and stone I step on. As we are passing the spot where the disaster took place I take one last look around. Swiftly, I put down the boot, take my sweater and jacket off and jump into the creek. I cannot believe my luck; stuck in driftwood is my other shoe. I scream and rejoice. Never have I been happier about a pair of shoes. M. is joyful too.

We make our way back to the car. It’s getting dark after all. Through-out the hour-and-a-half hike back we get lost again, we find our way, we talk about death, family, and about the magic of the forest and the spiritual and creative enlightening induced from whatever fumes the trees emanate. We are silent too. Then we talk a little more, issues deep and otherwise. No matter. All I am really thinking about is how grateful I am to have my shoes.

In every breath

2010-01-24T20:37:00.001-08:00

in every breath
if you’re the center
of your own desires
you’ll lose the grace
of your beloved

but if in every breath
you blow away
your self claim
the ecstasy of love
will soon arrive

in every breath
if you’re the center
of your own thoughts
the sadness of autumn
will fall on you

but if in every breath
you strip naked
just like a winter
the joy of spring
will grow from within

all your impatience
comes from the push
for gain of patience
let go of the effort
and peace will arrive

all your unfulfilled desires
are from your greed
for gain of fulfillments
let go of them all
and they will be sent as gifts

fall in love with
the agony of love
not the ecstasy
then the beloved
will fall in love with you

Rumi

Translation by Nader Khalili
“Rumi, Fountain of Fire”
Cal-Earth Press, 1994

La Colonia Ecologica

2010-01-14T02:47:00.001-08:00

La Colonia Ecologica from amy burns on Vimeo.

"This is about an orphanage/ day care center that a couple started because they wanted to help get kids off the streets and began by putting tents up in their backyard. It is now an orphanage and day care center for over one hundred children self ran by only one "mom" and "dad" as they teach their kids to take care of each other as a family."

-Amy Burns

Legacy

2009-12-16T12:40:00.000-08:00

I wrote the story of a woman I met last week, when she was holding a talk in Munich. Her picture is annexed - Raniah Salloum
Photo: Renate Winter copyright Special Court of Sierra Leone

A judge from Austria assists child soldiers in Sierra Leone – against all odds.

Renate Winter knows what confronting obstacles means. “Twice they tried to shoot me. Then I got six bodyguards.” Winter is a judge for the United Nations. The shootings happened when she was an international judge on the Supreme Court of Kosovo. Since 2003, Winter heads the Special Court for Sierra Leone. There, she only has one bodyguard and says she wouldn’t need him. The obstacles are of a different kind.

“In a court room, you can’t accomplish reconciliation”, Winter says. Yet, this is precisely what Sierra Leone needs after a decade-long civil war that left ten thousands dead or badly mutilated – many of them women and children. Winter adds: “If I were to describe the things that happened in Sierra Leone, you would not be able to sleep or to eat for three days”.

And how does she deal with the accounts of horror? She brushes off the question. “I’m a judge – if I couldn’t do that, I would have had to choose a different profession.” But it is not that simple. The question of how to heal Sierra Leone’s society has not left Winter’s mind.

Sierra Leone is a small country. Eleven years of civil war mean: eventually, everybody was implicated. Victims and perpetrators encounter each other on a daily basis. Add 90 percent unemployment – and reintegration becomes impossible. At the same time, Renate Winter never gives up hope.

She can’t make undone the brutality that almost 3,000 child soldiers unleashed – and experienced – in the civil war. “My youngest [defendant] was so small, he couldn’t even carry a Kalashnikov”, Winter remembers. But she can try to prevent it ever happening again.

“Legacy” is what she calls the most important accomplishment of her court. It set standards for the entire world.

Child soldiers are perpetrators and victims at the same time. They are enslaved by warlords who give them with weapons - and often drugs. It was after the warlords Renate Winter wanted to go, not after the children. With a bit of judicial creativity, her tribunal sanctioned the enlistment of child soldiers as a war crime. It also considered enforced marriages, through which warlords enslaved women, a crime against humanity – a first in the history of international law.

Renate Winter calls these achievements the tribunal’s legacy. So what about her own? Winter set up an NGO that supports former child soldiers – “female ones because nobody cared for them.” Her NGO teaches them to stitch and sow traditional garments. It also provides them with basic education - and a home. “Maybe this is my legacy”, Renate Winter says.

Legion of Extraordinary Dancers

2009-12-14T21:45:00.000-08:00

http://www.rickey.org/

"Legion of Extraordinary Dancers". Their website is at http://www.thelxd.com

Try to do :)

2009-12-14T16:33:00.000-08:00

A story about a big squirrel and a baby squirrel

As drops in the ocean

2009-12-11T12:41:00.000-08:00

by Anastasia Poushkareva

Water is the most powerful thing in the world. I, of course, have heard this before - so much has been said and written, felt and imagined. When you stand near the shoreline or even advance to a knee-deep area, with nothing but the salty breast of the Atlantic lying before you - you subconsiously step further, as the water caresses your legs and the wind inebriates you. Only caution that is still somehow present holds you from giving yourself to the ocean, sacrificing yourself with a smile, dissipating into miniscule drops. And you walk back disappointed as the wind calls you back, but you move on.

Then you stand on a boat having distanced yourself from the seductiveness of water, watching it run headlong into the wall of civilization and retreat angrily preparing for a retaliation. The wind is teasing as ever. It playfully pulls up your shirt, and you can feel its light hands on your skin, filled with the most insane of desires.

When you step towards the nose of the boat, the wind becomes more demanding, brutal. Its hands, previously gentle, tear and slap; the mass of air, salt and bitterness crashes into you from the side of Northern Maine and plants a thousand sharp kisses. Later that night you go on a date with the ocean, and as soon as your toes touch the sand, the wind blows you away in its joyful welcome. The waves roll on excitedly as you fall on your knees and try to catch them with your hands. The water breaks away, leaving foam and a couple of polished pebbles at your feet.

There are so many shores in Massachusetts where water treats you differently like every unique lover. In some places it crashes at your feet angrily, invading your territory; but in spite of its pride, it wants to be conquered like a fearful virgin. In other, the sea puts its treasures before you like a lusty rich seducer, and you smile and let it fondle your body. In Yarmouth the ocean greets you with a roar on the very first date, but then it, charmed, finds itself timidly kissing your toes, for it has nothing to offer you except a profusion of seaweed and broken seashells. This morning, when you walked the sand trail for the last time, the water was calm and crystal clear. It still gave you a plethora of its gifts, but it had ceased asking, pleading, caressing. It lay indifferently around your ankles, brought in motion only by the movement of your feet. And you knelt beside it, trying to stir its apathy with your hands just to feel its salty love on your lips one more time. And you laughed at your human clinginess and walked away, and for a second it seemed that the ocean smiled back, but you weren't sure.

The accordionist's night

2009-12-08T02:56:00.001-08:00

by T. Brenna.

I woke up trembling, sweating cold. The sickness, whatever it is, has taken refuge in every living cell that my beaten body has to offer. Not much of a luxury stay if I may confess. I haven’t eaten a full meal since I left home, what is it, six weeks ago? Now I find myself in this constricted gap between two buildings, where I set camp for the night. My hands shake from hunger and the scent of my sick perspiration, plus the weeks gone unwashed, prickles my nose as I write. Oh gosh, it is lonely here. I am lonely and alone. I wish it wasn’t so. Wish I could keep denying how alone and miserable and isolated I feel. At least I had been deceiving myself pretty successfully until now.

...And this? This is not exactly how I thought it would be when I left. However, I still don’t regret leaving. High school is not for me. Not for me. No. This is me. This is my life. Mine is the traveler’s life, the rolling stone. Mine is the world and I am ready to tackle anything. As long as I have my accordion and my music I’ll be alive. I’ll be fine. I’ll be happy. Well, kind of. But if it wasn’t for my music I would be dead now. I know that.

I can’t believe how awkward I’ve become. This is one thing, if there is one thing, which I would like to work on for the next few months. Why do I distrust people so much? I wasn’t like this when I left. I feel old, and I am only 16. I was not like this when I left. I guess it is not totally my fault. People are mean, nasty even. I am glad I’ve seen people’s true face: inconsiderate, selfish, superficial, selfish, stupid, did I mention selfish? Now that I know them at their lowest, nothing can surprise me, they won’t let me down anymore. No expectations. People can go fuck themselves. I have me and my music and animals that are worth way more than any human I’ve met for all I know. I’ll keep writing and playing music till the day I die. Music is my nourishment. Though I could fucking use a good meal every once in a while. Maybe even a warm bed and a nice person to talk to. Not always though. I prefer my solitude, my travels, my freedom and detachment. Priceless. Guess you’ve got to give something up, and I am willing to pay this price. I really am. I am not like the others. I am independent, a free spirit, gifted, experienced and even a little enlightened when I compare myself to others. At least I hope I am. Don’t have much going for me otherwise. I don’t think. No schooling...my only schooling is the streets, the road. No profession. Well, I guess I am a musician, though not very many people appreciate that.

I wonder what I will leave behind when I pass, will anyone remember me? Will anyone care for my accordion? Or will it go to a yard sale and rust and dust away? I truly hope my accordion finds another owner who cares for it and who loves music as much as I do. Will anyone ever find this notebook? Will this ever be read?

God, I love the stars! My music and the pitch black starry skies I’ve been able to see are enough for me to keep me here, to keep me alive. It is amazing what this does to you, traveling alone, no money, no nothing. What a humbling experience this is. Hunger, cold, loneliness, sickness, but here I am: alive and looking at the most amazing night sky anyone has ever seen, playing my favorite tune in the backdrop of my thoughts. Here I am, together with the Universe. We are one. I surrender to it. I belong to the greater thing out there. Out there and in me. I am not but a representation of the force and I have no control of this which is my life. I just float along and it is wonderful. It is beautiful.

But why? Why did I choose this? Why me? Why this? And why isn’t there anyone here to keep me company? Why do I feel so miserable? Oh gosh, I wish people were more giving, and more considerate! So at least I wouldn’t have to scavenge for food in trash cans and then I wouldn’t get sick and all would be fine. I would be happy and would leave them alone except for a chat now and then. I think I have something to give...So why can’t they give back? Isn’t my music something they can appreciate and place some value to? Fuck, I need to stop bitching! Life is good. I will get better. I want to get better. I want to be a better person, too... So much. I don’t want to be a bitchy, whiny, bitter, run-down person that no one would want to be around. God, if I get better soon, I promise to be kind to others, to be fun and funny, to be honest and giving, and to be positive and open-minded. I promise. Please make me better. God, I want to live. I just want to live my life...And share my music, and learn and travel the world. Please make me better. Sickness please be over now. I don’t want to die. Not yet. I’ll lie here cold, sick, hungry and weak. I’ll lie here and think positive. I’ll just lie here and wait. Wait for that miracle.

Working Homeless

2009-12-07T18:11:00.001-08:00

Becky Blanton planned to live in her van for a year and see the country, but when depression set in and her freelance job ended, her camping trip turned into homelessness. In this intimate talk, she describes her experience of becoming one of America's working homeless.

Do not give up!

2009-11-10T22:30:00.000-08:00

This woman's story is yet another reminder not to give up on what we truly desire.
There is infinite potential in the universe for anything to happen. We just need imagination, faith and persistence.

-T. Brenna

2009-11-10T21:46:00.001-08:00

"Change your thoughts
and you can change your world."
-Norman Vincent Peale

Spiritual music

2009-11-09T00:36:00.000-08:00

My Perfect Lover

by Mason Jennings

Where was I before you found me
Who was I and what had bound me
Where was love and understanding
Why was living so demanding

You were on the snow capped mountains
You were in the deep blue ocean
Down below the wind and thunder
In a perfect world of wonder

You were calling come back to me
How long has it been, my only
I was listening and I heard you
When I did I finally found you

Everything you touch is living
This whole universe is giving
What was once inside you dreaming
Is now the life that you are leading

I was with you baby crying
I was there when you were dying
Underneath the sound and silence
In the gospel and in science

Come to me my perfect lover
We are one, there is no other
In every face I see you clearly
Oh my friend I love you dearly

To listen to this song you can visit Mason's website and look for My Perfect Lover in the album titled In the Ever. Lonely Road (Blood of Man album) is another song with great lyrics.

on human creative expression

2009-11-07T19:37:00.001-08:00

"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open."

--Martha Graham

be positive

2009-11-07T19:34:00.000-08:00

"Keep my words positive:
Words become my behaviors.
Keep my behaviors positive:
Behaviors become my habits.
Keep my habits positive:
Habits become my values.
Keep my values positive:
Values become my destiny."

-- Mahatma Gandhi

quote submitted by Lars B.

Click here to discover other Gandhi stories.

Mission: Croc

2009-11-02T13:06:00.000-08:00

Lars found this story with stumbleupon. It is very impressive and inspiring!
It just proves that as you sow so you shall reap.

Check it out

Oh My Mama

2009-10-27T15:06:00.000-07:00

A lovely song by Alela Diane:

Tree

2009-10-25T18:39:00.000-07:00

photo by Julia Lehman

... A tree is always exactly as big as it can be, living its fullest potential in the environment it has found. It draws from a boundless, ubiquitous energy source and continuously gives of its shelter, its fruits, and its support to the animals who find it. Leaves are open to the light of the sun, but they see in all directions, not narrowing their view like a mammal's eyes.

The tree is therefore a paradigm for spiritual growth -
to be open to boundless energy, to be generous with one's being,
to be constantly unfolding into one's maximum potential, to be reaching upward with one's
own beauty in a gesture of gratitude and devotion to the Source.

When we sit beneath a tree wrestling with the difficult issues of existence, we can ask the tree for help. And in its solidity, with its roots in the earth and arms in heaven, it supports our contemplation and growth...

-by Jason Jay, 2003

The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination

2009-10-23T13:52:00.000-07:00

Excerpt from J.K. Rowling's Commencement Speech at the Annual Meeting of the Harvard Alumni Association. June 2008:

...I am not dull enough to suppose that because you are young, gifted and well-educated, you have never known hardship or heartbreak. Talent and intelligence never yet inoculated anyone against the caprice of the Fates, and I do not for a moment suppose that everyone here has enjoyed an existence of unruffled privilege and contentment.
However, the fact that you are graduating from Harvard suggests that you are not very well-acquainted with failure. You might be driven by a fear of failure quite as much as a desire for success. Indeed, your conception of failure might not be too far from the average person’s idea of success, so high have you already flown.
Ultimately, we all have to decide for ourselves what constitutes failure, but the world is quite eager to give you a set of criteria if you let it. So I think it fair to say that by any conventional measure, a mere seven years after my graduation day, I had failed on an epic scale. An exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded, and I was jobless, a lone parent, and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless. The fears that my parents had had for me, and that I had had for myself, had both come to pass, and by every usual standard, I was the biggest failure I knew.
Now, I am not going to stand here and tell you that failure is fun. That period of my life was a dark one, and I had no idea that there was going to be what the press has since represented as a kind of fairy tale resolution. I had no idea then how far the tunnel extended, and for a long time, any light at the end of it was a hope rather than a reality.
So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.
You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.
Failure gave me an inner security that I had never attained by passing examinations. Failure taught me things about myself that I could have learned no other way. I discovered that I had a strong will, and more discipline than I had suspected; I also found out that I had friends whose value was truly above the price of rubies.
The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive. You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity. Such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won, and it has been worth more than any qualification I ever earned...

Copyright of JK Rowling, June 2008

Click here to watch or read the full speech.

A Wide, Round Curve

2009-10-21T19:38:00.000-07:00

Changes in attitude never come easily.

The development of love and

compassion is a wide,

round curve that

can be negotiated

only slowly, not a sharp

corner that can be turned all at once.

It comes with daily practice.

-His Holiness, the Dalai Lama of Tibet
quoted in Deep and Simple, by Bo Lozzof

Memory of North Carolina woods—

2009-10-21T19:32:00.000-07:00

by M. Hoffman

Crickets’ voices pulsing,

Alone, thrillingly,

Silhouettes of branches like fingers fading,

Darkness seeping through,

Trunk

Shooting up

Against my back,

Leaning on me as

I lean on it.

Deep, exotic awareness--

Warm soup washing

Throat, softly,

Air in breath like beats beginning,

Damp hair curling up,

Dirt

Sifting

Beneath my toes,

Creeping up my legs, as

I stay still.

…To know, this is happening everywhere.

Message to Myself

2009-10-20T21:21:00.000-07:00

i am going to be the
change i want to see
                happen in the world
today               and today
      and all the todays
                       of my life
i promise myself and the world
         that i will do only work
that i believe in
         i will find and support
people who are making
        a better world
and i will join with them
educating myself
to be knowledgeable
effective and powerful
    i expect to have
a very wonderful
      creative
and fun-filled life
        in this way

-Sami Sunchild

How to be an entrepreneur

2009-10-20T21:17:00.000-07:00

invent a business that smiles on the world
discover what is needed
that you believe in
with all your heart
a service you are really good at
and love to do
let it be your classroom
try new ideas
play with everything
dive in
cherish good people
including yourself
get negative people out of your life
romp on the floor with your dog
make friends with the trees
listen to their stories
believe in butterflies
if they can fly a thousand miles
think of what you can do
earn enough for your need
but not for your greed
leaving a heritage so that
when you die, you will be missed

-Sami Sunchild

Deep and Simple Faith

2009-10-20T12:08:00.000-07:00

"Faith is the fullness to realize that each moment of our lives is a gift; that the whole of our lives is a spiritual journey, whether in our darkest hours or brightest joys"
-Bo Lozoff in Deep and Simple

From TED talks

2009-10-20T11:58:00.000-07:00

Stroke of insight: Jill Bolte Taylor on TED.com
Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor had an opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: One morning, she realized she was having a massive stroke. As it happened -- as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding -- she studied and remembered every moment. This is a powerful story of recovery and awareness -- of how our brains define us and connect us to the world and to one another. (Recorded February 2008 in Monterey, California. Duration: 18:44.)

Submitted by Hanne

Calm after the Storm

2009-10-17T16:39:00.000-07:00

After The Storm

John L. Stoddard

The duel of the warring clouds
Hath ended with the day;
Their scintillant, electric blades
Have ceased their fearful play;
The pent up fury of their hate
Hath found at last release,
And o’er the tempest-stricken earth
Broods now the hush of peace.

The passing of the hurricane
Hath swept the sultry skies;
The clearness of the atmosphere
Brings jubilant surprise;
The mountain peaks are glorified
With freshly-fallen snow,
And, stealing o’er their coronets,
Appears the sunset glow.

An hour since, a torrid heat
Oppressed the languid frame;
The wind was as the khamseen’s breath,
The solar touch seemed flame;
But now the air rejuvenates,
The breeze refreshment brings,
The lustrous leaves drop diamonds,
The lark with rapture sings.

Fear not, dear heart! life’s darkest storms
Shall likewise end in light;
Behind the blackest thundercloud
The sun shines clear and bright;
Once more celestial heights shall wear
Their sheen of spotless snow,
And on the bravely steadfast soul

The smile of God shall glow.

Hannah After The Storm by Shelly Svoboda

Reflection on suicide

2009-10-17T14:07:00.000-07:00

Suicide really does shake the foundations for many of the friends left
wondering. It is a mystery why some folks chose that path. I understand
the difficulties we can face and how theoretically it can seem like a
decent option to escape, but it is way too high a price to pay for any
difficulty I've had to deal with so far. Depression is crippling to some
folks and for those of us who do not go that far into it, it just seems
like they should just snap out of it and look on the bright side, but they
can't.

post by Gary Fine

Prisoner Express Founder, Director

http://prisonerexpress.org/

Life is Deep- Bo Lozoff

2009-10-17T03:02:00.000-07:00

"Renowned teacher/activist Bo Lozoff describes the common threads of all religions and the simple principles they share. Excerpted from "You Can Do This," a 1-hr video available at www.humankindness.org"
http://www.youtube.com/user/bohkffan

Bo Lozoff is the author of my favorite spiritual book: Deep and Simple -- A spiritual path for modern times. Human Kindness Foundation. He has dedicated his life to sharing spirituality and music, particularly with incarcerated people. I highly recommend his books and talks.

The following is an excerpt from the above mentioned book (pg. 24):

...We continue to choose anger over Love, fear over Love, national boundaries over Love, greed over Love, race over Love, self-protection over Love. God has given us free-will so that we can make such choices. If we don't like it the way it's going, then we can begin to choose differently right now. Today. Right here. Waiting for everyone else to change first is a fool's game. Waiting for others to love us first, before we are willing to love them is a fool's game.
                  Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be
                  consoled, as to console;
                  To be understood, as to understand;
                  To be loved, as to love... ."
   -Saint Francis of Assisi
How much we are loved by others is often outside our power. But what is within our power is our choice to love others. On the cross, hated and mocked, Jesus chose to say, "Father forgive them, they know not what they do."
He loved them. He showed us the Way. He provided an example of following the advice of the Buddha: Focus on your ability to love, not your demand to receive it. Very often our immediate environment or circumstances are not under our control, but our choice of Faith and Love always is.
We will not be judged by what others did to us, but by how we responded...

This world, this day

2009-10-17T02:48:00.000-07:00

There is always something to work on

there is always something to improve

there is always someone who needs you

If you think there is no place for you in this world

if you think you have no purpose

just breathe, open your eyes

think twice

Air, Water, Clouds and Melons

2009-10-17T02:32:00.000-07:00

Image taken by me of clouds from a plane.

Pastel painting of watermelons

name: Isaac
age: 23
Occupation: Medical interpreter/student

Be Here Now

2009-10-16T12:27:00.001-07:00

These are lyrics from my favorite Mason Jennings song. There's so much beauty in the present moment; we accept, embrace, and realize "this too shall pass". May we find contentment in each moment and let the rising sun bring beauty to our days.

Lyrics from Mason Jenning's "Be Here Now":

be here now
no other place to be
all the doubts that linger
just set them free
and let good things happen
let the future come
into each moment
like a rising sun

post by Mary M.

Re-Creating

2009-10-16T02:31:00.000-07:00

2 Faves:

1

2

The Northern Lights

2009-10-16T02:28:00.000-07:00

This is something worth looking forward to see live at least once in your lifetime:

Movement

2009-10-16T02:14:00.001-07:00

Because we can.

Live for others

2009-10-16T02:10:00.000-07:00

The world may not always give to you, but you can always give to the world. This this 16-yr-old's story is such an inspiration.

Illimited Beauty

2009-10-16T02:05:00.000-07:00

When you are creative there are no limits in the world: it's the art of living.

Birds on the Wires from Jarbas Agnelli on Vimeo.

100+ reasons

2009-10-16T01:59:00.000-07:00

Now this is something to care about.

My gift, my life

2009-10-14T03:22:00.000-07:00

picture by Lars B

My life is my opportunity and responsibility to share my special and unique gift with the world...
-universal thought

American Indian Epitaph

2009-10-14T03:09:00.001-07:00

Do not stand at my grave and weep

I am not there
I do not sleep

I am a thousand winds that blow
I am the diamond glints on snow

I am the sunlight on ripened grain
I am the gentle Autumn rain

When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush of quiet birds

In circled flight
I am the soft stars that shine at night

Do not stand at my grave and cry

I am not there
I did not die

-Author Unknown