The World Health Organization's Commission on Social Determinants of Health
reports that “social injustice is killing people on a grand scale”. While the
inequities between countries is well known, the Commission documents “gradients”
within countries.
Life expectancy for indigenous Australian males, for instance, is shorter by 17
years than all other Australian males. Maternal mortality is 3 to 4 times higher
among the poor compared with the rich in Indonesia. A baby born to a Bolivian
mother with no education has a 10% of dying, while one with at least secondary
education has a .4% chance. Similar discrepancies exist in Canada.
“Biology does not explain any of this. Instead, the differences between – and
within countries - result in part from the social environment where people are
born, live, grow, work and age.”
Economic growth and scientific advances have not always improved the overall
health of people. Without better distribution, national wealth can increase the
inequities. Interestingly, some low income countries such as Cuba, Costa Rica,
China, Sri Lanka and the state of Kerala in India have achieved levels of good
health despite low levels of national income.
Good health is not just the result of social justice, economic resources and
medical advances. The origin of the word 'health' is 'whole', To be healthy is
to be whole, integrating and harmonizing thoughts, feelings and actions toward a
purpose higher than one's own little desires. Being guided by a star leading to
more beauty, justice and love is an antidote to apathy, hate, anger, jealousy
and other dis-eases. It cures many physical ailments and puts joy and order into
listless and chaotic lives. Health in this broader sense is both an inside job
and a spiritual journey.
For those interested in walking the path, the coaches and guides who enlighten
and encourage continue to be the ancient philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius,
Confucius, Buddha and Plato. The coaches and lovers of wisdom at New Acropolis
welcome with warmth and generosity new travellers and seekers.
In the sky, we see migratory birds pass by in their V formation, so
characteristic, so intelligent. They are preparing for their long journey south.
Closer to home, the leaves on the trees are beginning to change colour, from
ochre to yellow to brown — offering us a brief spectacle of surprising beauty —
before covering the ground in a soft carpet of leaves.
And in the evening, in both the city and the countryside, when we already need
an extra layer, passers-by quicken their pace to reach the warm indoors.
These are so many signs that autumn has arrived!
While we can easily note the physical changes brought about by the passage into
autumn, what about the more subtle changes? Are we able to perceive the
difference in ambient energy after the Autumn Equinox?
With their formulas and images that still resonate with us, the Ancients spoke
of autumn as the springtime of the philosopher. Why? Because autumn is naturally
a time for reflection, internalization, patience and a vision of a future that
is still invisible.
Autumn is the time to harvest the fruits of the labours of summer, to appreciate
the generosity of the Earth. It is also the time when the physical world begins
to go to sleep, making room for the world of the soul which, with fewer
distractions, can grow and expand.
All traditions of wisdom speak to us of the soul but, strangely, very few people
today have a clear understanding of it. Maybe in this time of passage into
autumn, it is worthwhile to welcome with open arms the natural rhythm of the
seasons, which speaks to us of the soul through the language of symbolism.
Nature is like a great book that helps us understand, from within, a reality
that brings us all together: the human soul, in the image of a bird, is in
migration. It travels far and disappears — but does not die. It returns in the
spring, reborn and ready for another cycle.
The animated film WALL-E was the most original Hollywood production of the
summer of 2008. In addition to being excellent technically, the film
communicates, through a touching story with minimal dialogue, an ecological
message that is clearly of our times. The story takes place on an Earth that is
so polluted it has become uninhabitable—and uninhabited. Only a small robot,
WALL-E, is there to continue his work of stacking litter.
Humans had to leave the Earth to live “temporarily” in a space ship, waiting for
the planet to become habitable once again. Over the years, this human population
living in space forgets its roots. People have become amnesic, living only in
the instant. And this instant is filled with excessive comfort: flying
armchairs, pools, junk food, gossip—it’s all there.
The ship is like a gilded prison that the humans are not aware of, since their
consciousness has been put asleep by comfort and the development of
ever-more-attractive immediate pleasures. They no longer look at each other,
with personal screens serving as “sensorial windows onto the world.”
The apparently grotesque image of these people who have abandoned their evolving
destiny for pleasure leads us to reflect, especially when we know the Myth of
the Cave by the philosopher Plato. In this myth, written more than 2000 years
ago, Plato describes people chained in a cave who have been accustomed since
birth to looking at a wall with shadows projected onto it. These people enjoy
their condition, which they believe is normal because they do not know anything
else. They even fiercely defend this condition of slavery against those who want
to liberate them.
With this myth, Plato teaches us that the condition of voluntary slavery is
common. When we live only in the instant, when we are content with superficial
appearances, we cut ourselves off from our roots, making it impossible for us to
fulfill our human destiny—which is a destiny of evolving consciousness.
Ingrid Betancourt, a politically militant Franco-Columbian, held hostage by the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC), was liberated on Wednesday, July
2, 2008, after 6½ years in captivity.
In 2001, this exceptional woman wrote an account of her life and her battle
against corruption and the drug cartels in Columbia in a book entitled “La rage
au coeur”, later published in English as “Until Death Do Us Part: My Struggle to
Reclaim Columbia”.
She is an inspiring example of the heroic force that enables an individual to
place values such as justice at the centre of one’s existence. By her constant
militancy and unwavering courage, she succeeded in displaying to her people (as
an elected member of the Chamber of Deputies in 1989 and as a senator in 1994) a
real hope for change exposing herself to reprisals of the governing political
class. Fearing the threats on the lives of her two children, she sent them to
live with their father in New Zealand.
Soon after she was freed from the Columbian jungle and the grip her kidnappers,
Ms. Betancourt announced her intent to return to Columbia to continue the
battle. In this she is a vibrant example of a valiant individual with the type
of courage that Plato defined as a heart that follows without wavering, through
pain and pleasure, the mandates of justice “knowing what not to fear.”
For Plato, there exists an anger of the just, a fervour, an angry heart that
animates a good man witnessing injustice. What individual does not feel anger in
the face of brutal injustice? This kind of constructive anger, found in several
great moments of history, is what Plato called courage.
Numerous graduation ceremonies take place yearly in high schools, colleges, and
universities. These ceremonies can be moments of reflection on years of
education and achievement.
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling gave this year’s Harvard graduating class words
on “The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination”.
Rowling revealed to the graduating class that at their age, her deepest fear was
failure and “a mere seven years after my graduation day, I had failed on an epic
scale.”
“I had no idea how far the tunnel (of failure) extended,” says Rowling, “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. …I was set free, because my greatest fear had
already been realized, 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…”
Failure, pain, suffering – things most of us fear at some level. And all fears,
however deeply held, have the potential to hinder us, to hold us back from
accomplishment. We can be held in paralysis by fear, approach our duties
half-heartedly because of it or unable to conquer it, nevertheless take steps on
our path, towing our fear alongside.
Fear can be a killer. But approached correctly, it can also be a liberator,
unlocking doors which previously appeared as stone walls. For our fear
actualized will force us to lay down or fight. And a fear fought can be
transformed into a source of growth and become a building block of a life well
lived.
Ms. Rowling ended her speech with words of Roman philosopher Seneca: “As is a
tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.”
There is increasing unrest in parts of the Christian church these days.
Scarborough minister Gretta Vosper, described by some as a heretic and by others
as refreshing hope, is leading the way through the unrest in Toronto. In her
experience, many people are thirsting for a new way of approaching a religion
that for them has lost its viability and credibility.
Vosper observed a significant disparity between what she and her colleagues
preached from the pulpit along with the depth of knowledge and scholarship they
accessed during their training, and what was actually lived in daily life.
Clergy and parishioners alike experienced the dissatisfaction of living in
pretence when their personal lives did not reflect the principles proclaimed in
church.
Many people feel marginalized when churches refuse to face their heartfelt
questions and doubts about life and spirituality. People feel cut from spiritual
life when there is no space for exploring fundamental questions of life; many
are blocked by notions of an interventionist, personal God. Vosper realized that
beyond rituals and inaccessible symbols, people feel a need to practise values
in their daily lives – at work, at home and in public. There is a need to live
meaningfully and truthfully, no matter the beliefs about God.
Vosper urges people to examine their beliefs and assumptions, to clarify their
values, and to build their lives around what they understand to be sacred and
holy. There is much to be said for returning to the origins in order to build
meaningful and deeply satisfying lives.
Beyond religion, a classical philosophical approach to life does just that:
holding wisdom as the cornerstone, understanding that we are beings within a
vast universe, we are urged to wrangle with our uncertainties and doubts. As
importantly, we must also clarify the truths around which we will build our
lives and the values through which we will cultivate ourselves, our
relationships and our place on this planet.
The business of “spirituality” has come into the mainstream market with
television shows such as Medium, broadcast through national networks. Author
Allison DuBois whose experiences are the basis of the show Medium is one example
of a psychic who utilizes her intuitive gifts to solve crimes involving missing
children.
Another practicing celebrity psychic, Lizzy Rose of Australia, is negotiating
with networks for a reality T.V. show. The Secret, based on the “law of
attraction” by Rhonda Byrne has been a bestseller on various international book
lists.
With all of this interest in “spirituality,” we ought to consider the meaning of
the words “spirit” and “spirituality”? Is “spirit” only that which allows for
paranormal and psychic abilities? Is spirituality an interest to fulfill our
personal desires, find easy answers, and alleviate fears? Or is “spirit”
something more – a dimension of the Universe that transcends us and can therby
guide us? Can spirituality consist of the fulfillment of our inner potentials
and human values, manifested in our everyday life – values such as justice,
courage, goodness, and generosity?
Timeless wisdom has seen civilizations rise and fall based on the perspective
and approach towards “spirituality”. Traditional wisdom places “Spirit” as the
highest aspiration to which each person and the community can ascend in an
individual and interconnected way.
Ascension comes through one’s own growth in instances of overcoming and learning
from the “lows” and “highs” of life, thus acquiring and embodying those
“spiritual” values of humanity. Elevation of the human consciousness: isn’t it
the role of Culture, besides mere entertainment and satisfaction of immediate
desires?
Scientists in Japan have recently published the results of studies on the
effects of forests on stressed-out workers. Forest bathing, a new expression for
immersing oneself into the scents, sounds and beauty of the trees, strengthens
the immune system.
This remarkable calming effect of the contact with forestry is attributed partly
to «inhaling air containing phytoncide, or essential wood oils given off by
plants».
Following this study on dozens of individuals, scientists now assert that
«forests gratify the five senses by providing the sounds of birds, cool air,
green leaves, the touch of trees, wild plants and grasses… The atmosphere of
forests makes people calm».
Following these scientific revelations, researchers and government-affiliated
officials gathered to come up with a new official designation granted to certain
forests : Forest Therapy Base and Forest Therapy Road, which are now being
increasingly and fashionably used as part of therapeutic approaches prescribed
by companies to their employees.
If we were able to reconnect with the very essence of life, nature, the
universe, as the transcendent intelligent being we are part of, we could recover
the natural healing power contained in the smile of a child, in the beauty of a
bird, in the mystery of the sky, in the majesty of a tree…Rather than the
forest-pill, what we certainly need is to choose the red pill of the re
awakening of the soul.
According to a recent article in the news, 1 out of every 10 Canadians will
suffer a major episode of depression during his or her life. At the same time,
an English daily reported an increase in the incidence of depression in Canadian
universities.
The World Health Organization foresees depression becoming the second most
significant cause of illness by 2030.
A growing number of studies are establishing a link between depression and
materialism. Researchers have revealed that a strong attachment to material
goods, to the exclusion of intellectual and spiritual values, plays a major role
in increasing depressive states.
John Abela, Associate Professor of Psychology at McGill University, and his team
of student researchers conducted a study of approximately 1,000 students in
Montreal and Shanghai. They discovered that the rapid cultural change in China
and the development of materialism had increased the incidence of depression.
Materialism, which bases everything on financial success, physical appearance
and social recognition, appears to lead to higher rates of depressive symptoms.
“Materialists have a very fragile sense of themselves because their value
depends on obtaining things that are outside of themselves. The quality of their
interpersonal relations suffers, and they feel more stress when they are working
to achieve extrinsic goals,” indicates Professor Abela.
British clinical psychologist Oliver James sounds the same alarm in his book The
Selfish Capitalist. According to James, the increase in materialism in our
society is largely responsible for a whole series of mental illnesses such as
depression.
Unattainable aspirations for material wealth, to the detriment of family and
friends, create frustration and sadness.
All traditions of wisdom throughout history have indicated that happiness is not
to possess more, but to know our own potential as a living being and to increase
this potential and share it with others. This is how we realize our human
nature.
Materialism is an illness for the human being and humanity.
Children ask profound questions: mommy are you going to get old like grandma?
Are you going to die? What happens when you die? Few of us are prepared to
answer these questions fearlessly because we are not sure of the answers or
because we dread the subjects.
Enter Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, M.D., Scottsdale, Arizona. She has talked with over
20,000 people who had died clinically and “recovered”. She found that each had
remarkably similar experiences – regardless of age, nationality or religious
background. They reported remembering every detail during the state of
transition – who was present, how they were dressed, what they thought, said and
did.
The human body is not your real self. It's only the house you live in for a
while. “Dying is like real self moving from one house to a more beautiful house”
to make a symbolic comparison. The passage is similar to a butterfly emerging
from a cocoon, comparing the cocoon to the human body. “As soon as the cocoon is
in an irreparable condition, it releases the butterfly, your soul, so to speak”.
It doesn't mean that you have died but that you are alive operating on psychic
energy in the invisible realm. What we commonly call death “is a birth into a
different existence”.
What Dr. Kübler-Ross discovered through twentieth century medical/scientific
research and practice is something that the ancients knew well thousands of
years ago. The Egyptians, for instance, had no word for death and regarded life
as cyclic in nature rather than linear.
To respond to the children's wish to know, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross may be a source
of help to frame answers that are reasonable, profound and lasting. She has
written many books and is known for her work with children and AIDS patients.
She is credited with bringing the hospice movement to North America.
As its journey to the Olympic Games in Beijing begins, the Olympic Torch has
illuminated a political tempest. Considered together with revelations of
corruption that have sullied the IOC in recent games, we can observe that the
Olympics, a symbol of harmony amongst nations, are also not immune to the
degradation of our materialistic world.
The Olympics today are not tuned to their original spirit, which perhaps still
resides in the hearts of some contemporary athletes: the driving force of
surpassing one’s personal best. Mental and psychological discipline makes it
possible to lead the body to physical feats. Physical prowess is the consequence
of an inner preparation.
The Olympics derives its name from Mount Olympus, the home of the gods – the
home of the transcendent – in Greek mythology. Originally the Olympics were a
celebration of the transcendent heights that could be reached in the human
being, personified in Zeus, the most powerful of the gods. It was a competition
between individuals aimed at encountering one’s own Mount Olympus, the inner
spiritual heights. Physical perfection was achieved by drawing on one’s
transcendent force, one’s inner resources.
It is this inner development, this integration of the transcendent and sacred in
everyday life that is needed in the world today, that would transform not only
Olympic woes but the international relations that the Olympics are meant to
symbolize.
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian human rights lawyer who
works to defend the rights of women and children in her home country, was
recently in Ottawa to mark the 60th Anniversary of the signing of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
In her speech, she described the current situation facing women in Iran.
According to recent statistics, 65% of the university population in Iran
consists of women, and yet the life of a woman is worth half that of a man’s.
To fight this injustice through peaceful means, she is involved in the One
Million Signatures Campaign. This campaign is founded on grassroots activism and
efforts to raise awareness through conversations and dialogue with members of
Iranian society at all levels. In response, the Iranian government has
prosecuted 50 of the women active in the campaign, including one who was awarded
the Olof Palme Prize for 2007 but who was barred from leaving the country to
accept it.
Ms. Ebadi also spoke of the need for dialogue with Iran at the international
level. She emphasized the importance of developing relationships with grassroots
activists and civil society groups in Iran, who increasingly reflect the reality
and wishes of the population better than the government in power does.
With her focus on dialogue, Ms. Ebadi has shown through active example the
importance of peaceful protest and the impact it has over the long term in
effecting social change. By insisting on speaking directly to her government,
even when many in power are not listening, she has had an enormous influence on
the women in her country. She has demonstrated that courage to be true to our
values in the face of overwhelming opposition brings results, as long as there
is a clear vision of a better future for all.
Passing the fifth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq, we consider the
far-too numerous conflicts that are sustained around the globe. We may wonder
about the prospects for peace in humanity. What does peace require?
As the olive branch is a long-standing symbol of peace, we look to this tree for keys. Well-tended, regularly pruned olive trees yield crops for
generations; some trees have produced fruit for over a millennium! Peace
likewise requires cultivation and constant attention. Old growth such as customs
and traditions that are no longer viable, along with disintegrated values, need
to be pruned to favour the emergence of healthier values of cooperation,
collaboration, and a true justice.
It is almost impossible to propagate olive trees by seeds; there is more success
in rooting and planting healthy branches from an existing tree. Similarly, in
human experience, we find no “magic seeds” of peace. Human beings, as “branches”
of humanity, have to first cultivate peace within their own hearts, evidenced in
relationships with other humans. Individuals who understand and experience the
efforts that true peace requires, can set down the first roots of community or
nation-wide peace.
Since olive trees take 12 – 15 years to bear fruit after planting, to offer an
olive branch indicates a commitment to peace and an investment in the future.
This reminds us that there are no quick fixes or short cuts to peace. Time is
needed for reconciliation, for wounds to heal, and for social structures to be
built and stabilized.
Olive trees – along with their by-products – have been treated as sacred by many
cultures, civilizations, and religions. Let us consider that peace may be better
established when there is a transcendent vision of life. When our relations with
other people and nations are founded on the acknowledgement that they also have
a sacrosanct place in the universe, our efforts of establishing harmonized
co-existence will be conducted in a more lasting light.
Let our human endeavours, in daily life and towards building a more peaceful
future, be inspired by the abundant symbols offered by Nature.
According to a new book by workplace leadership coach Greg Cochlan, leaders who
actively show love to their employees and coworkers are more effective and
respected.
The idea of leaders expressing love in the workplace may seem to be at odds with
the prevailing wisdom that business requires a macho attitude and that a leader
who shows any feelings, especially love, is weak.
However, Mr. Cochlan’s research indicates that the opposite is true. When
leaders show love, they strive to protect the dignity of those they are leading,
creating a climate in which employees are confident to take chances and
demonstrate their full creativity. A flow of love is thus created between the
leader and employees, with everyone working to their fullest and contributing to
the organization or company in a spirit of unity.
Mr. Cochlan identifies the eight attributes of a love leader, among them
authenticity, vulnerability, courage and being good beyond self. When these or
any other attributes that stem from an attitude of love are actively practised,
the immediate impact is an improvement in the quality of life of all involved.
Inspiration to practise love comes from humanity’s great leaders, including
Mother Teresa, who said, “It is not how much we do but how much love we put in
the doing. It is not how much we give but how much love we put in the giving.”
How much love does each of us put in the leading we do everyday?
