Changing Places

Science And Politics: Tangled Bank #19

The latest Tangled Bank is up – 31 entries, wow. Tangled Bank is a collection of postings on science and such. Good stuff!

Shop to Benefit The Hunger Site

Take a message of peace to the streets! Simply slap our Peace Ribbon Car Magnet on your car or truck for instant on-the-go inspirations of peace and goodwill. Also great for mailboxes, garage doors and refrigerators!

Our custom design shows The Hunger Site’s web address twice; once on the bottom of one ribbon end, and again inside the ribbon’s loop above a flying dove, the internationally-recognized symbol of peace. A simple reminder that a daily click can build bridges around the world.

Blue and white ribbon magnets measure approximately 8″ T x 4″ W (20 cm x 10.2 cm). Each is made of premium materials and heavy duty vinyl. UV protected, so it will not fade in the sun. Flexible material attaches to metallic surfaces. Made in the U.S.A.

Fire cools.
Water seeks its own level.

No matter how extreme a situation is, it will change. It cannot continue forever. Thus, a great forest fire is always destined to burn itself out; a turbulent sea will become calmer. Natural events balance themselves out by seeking their opposites, and this process of balance is at the heart of all healing.

The process takes time. If an event is not great, the balancing required is slight. If it is momentous, then it may take days, years, even lifetimes for things to return to an even keel. Actually, without these slight imbalances, there could be no movement in life. It is being off balance that keeps life changing. Total centering, total balance would only be stasis. All life is continual destruction and healing, over and over again.

That is why, even in the midst of an extreme situation, the wise are patient. Whether the situation is illness, calamity, or their own anger, they know that healing will follow upheaval.

Deng Ming-Dao, 365 Tao

Well, what do you know. Just caught the first glimpse of sunshine after days and days of rain here in usually sunny San Diego, and as grouchy as I feel this morning, I actually did smile. The rain in the last few days has been impressive – I couldn’t keep up with measuring it here, the rain gauge kept filling too quickly. So I guess I am more than ready for a break in the winter storm action.

Yes, situations do eventually change and we get a chance to heal again, usually. That doesn’t mean things return to what they were, it means we move on to a different state of mind or a new situation. Tao is about balance, but also about change – moving towards balance, but also moving away from it again.

A little more sun, another smile.

Mute black night,
Sudden fire.
Destruction.

Disaster strikes at its own time. It is so overwhelming that we can do nothing other than accept it. It alters the course of our day, our work, our very thinking. Although it is tempting to resent disaster, there is not much use in doing so. We cannot say that a disaster had malice toward us, though it might have been deadly, and it’s hard to say that it has “wrecked” our plans: In one stroke it changes the very basis of the day.

Disaster is natural. It is not the curse of the gods, it is not punishment. Disaster results from the interplay of forces; the earthquake from pressures in the earth, the hurricane from wind and rain, even the accidental fire from a spark. We rush to ask “Why?” in the wake of a great disaster, but we should not let superstition interfere with dispassionate acceptance. There is no god visiting down destruction.

Disasters may we change us deeply, but they will pass. We must keep to our deeper convictions and remember our goals. Whether we remain ash or become the phoenix is up to us.

Deng Ming-Dao, 365 Tao

Of course the tsunami comes to mind most recently when I think about this topic. I shook my head at those wingers who were calling it “the will of God” or “punishment” since so many of the victims were muslims. I hope that we will work to help the victims recover without blaming them or God or anything other than natural forces.

I also think of my own personal “disasters” – my parents’ deaths, loss of friends, the things that have at times driven me crazy. But these are really just natural progressions of life. Of course I’ve had to mourn the losses, even go a little crazy to deal with things. But perhaps that was a more natural reaction than those of people who try to be in control of their feelings and emotions. I think I experience life at a deep level, and am not as afraid of dark emotions and feelings as others may be. But I think I am more balanced now, more able to deal with life, because of having experienced and survived those things I’ve gone through.

So much of what we all really need is balance. When a disaster happens, it throws many things out of balance. The work needs to be in restoring balance, in alleviating the imbalance of those who have suffered. That is why we give to disaster relief – not to make ourselves feel better, but to restore in whatever way we can some of that balance. We can’t restore the balance to those who have lost their lives or loved ones so easily – but we can help them understand that no god is punishing them, that what happened simply happened. They don’t have to feel guilty for surviving, or punished, wondering what they did wrong that somehow made some god angry.

Let us work to help someone who survives a disaster become a phoenix, and not let them fall into ashes.

Daoist Humor

The novice was growing impatient on the road to enlightenment. “Master, as a follower of the Tao, I am taking regular backups of all my files. I am archiving them securely offsite, and testing them using Veracity. Surely, master, I am enlightened now?”
The backup master said only: “You will not achieve enlightenment until you control the integrity of your data, for a copy is useless if the original is corrupt. What use is a mirror if we cannot see? What use is an echo if we cannot hear?” But the novice did not understand.
Later the novice returned. “Master,” he said, “a cracker on the Internet penetrated my network six months ago and has been corrupting random files ever since. These hundreds of corrupted files have been flowing through my backup system. Now I do not know which files are clean and which are not. I do not know which backups hold the latest clean copy of each file. What should I do?”
But the master was silent.
On the other side of the world, the cracker laughed. …

Clearing blue sky,
A promise in bare branches.
In winter, there are sunny days.
In adulthood, childhood can return.

In winter, all things appear dead or dormant. The rain and snow seem incessant, the nights long. Then one day, the sky clears to a brilliant blue. The air warms. A mist rises from the earth and the perfume of water, clay and moss drifts through the air. Gardeners are seen preparing new stock, though they are only bare branches and a gray root ball. The people are optimistic: They know that there will be an end to the cold.

In adulthood, we often see responsibilities as something dreadful. Why should we dig the ground when the weather is disagreeable? We see activities only as obligations, and we strain against our fate. But there is a joy to working in harmony with the proper time. When we do things at just the right occasion and those efforts bear fruit later, the gratification is tremendous.

There was an old man who began an orchard upon his retirement. Everyone laughed at him. Why plant trees? They told him that he would never live to see a mature crop. Undaunted, he planted anyway, and he has seen them blossom and has eaten their fruit. We all need that type of optimism. That is the innocence and hope of childhood.

Deng Ming-Dao, 365 Tao

I find it more difficult to be optimistic these days, with the current state of affairs in this country. But I find a lot of hope in the kids, the garden, and even the rains – there will be a beautiful spring ahead, with so many blooms and so much growth. I guess I hope for the same for the country as a whole.

It’s difficult to live through times when there is so much happening that you don’t agree with. You wonder if people will ever become sane again. We seem so taken in by the charlatans and liars, so quick to accept the excuses of an incompetent leadership that cannot be trusted. But where are the alternatives? So we wait for new leaders, great leaders to emerge once again.

But I sense a sea change coming underneath it all. There are more people speaking out, more people working to try and change the course of events. And so many of us are begininning to find each other, to work together, to create new ways of building a better world and work with each other to bring about positive change. So, I am optimistic, even when things seem so dark at times.

So we labor, and plant our seeds, and wait for spring. The bulbs starts to emerge, the dark starts to reced, the air becomes warmer and the skies clearer. There will be an end to the cold, dark season of this country’s heart.

The woodcutter
Works in all seasons.
Splitting wood is both
Action and inaction.

Even when it is snowy, the woodcutter must split wood. Unless he does, he and his family will not stay warm, and those who depend upon him will not survive. But the woodcutter does not work simply on a piecemeal basis. He labors in concert with the seasons. He worked hard to store wood prior to the first cold so that he would have the luxury of merely splitting kindling for now. His work seems slight in one season, because he was industrious in the previous one.

When he splits wood, he must place the log on the block and raise his axe. But he must strike the wood with the grain, and he must let the axe fall with its own weight. If he tries to chop across the grain, his effort would be wasted. If he tries to add strength to the swing of the axe, there would be no gain.

Like the woodcutter, we can all benefit from working according to seasonal circumstances. Whether it is the time or the method, true labor is half initiative and half knowing how to let things proceed on their own.

Deng Ming-Dao, 365 Tao

I guess I’m sort of in a winter mood these days – lots of kindling splitting, but not any real wood gathering or cutting across the grain lately. I haven’t worked full-time in quite a while. Thanks to what my mom left us, I haven’t needed to, and it is nice to have money and not have to worry about it. I suppose eventually my funds will wind down and I will want to be working again.

The other half of that is not really knowing what to do right now. I enjoy working in software quality, but really want to focus more on people rather than process. I’ve debated going back to school in Organizational Psychology or something, but haven’t pushed myself to get back to school. Mebbee with time and money available, I will consider that a bit further. The other thought was to open a store, but haven’t progressed with that idea either. I enjoy blogging and reading blogs so much it soaks up most of my day right now, not sure why. Perhaps it’s just my enjoyment of this new phenomena, perhaps it is the way I feel most connected to what is going on in the world. In everyday life, most people don’t want to discuss the political climate or the changes that are happening in the world, or that need to happen. The blogs and sites I read reflect most of the changes I see needing to happen.

I guess my Tao postings are a part of that. For me, I need a way of looking at the world that fits in with how I view nature, people, and politics, and Tao seems to do that for me. I find comfort in it often, but more than that, real wisdom — how to deal with situations, how to take a long-tem view of the world, how to relax and enjoy life, yet not be afraid of making changes when needed. Tao teaches balance, and keeping things in perspective, and not to take most things too seriously – but when you do, to know the principles behind the positions you take and hold.

“The work will come again, but childhood won’t”. Those were the words that convinced me to stay at home when my kids were small. Perhaps now, it’s “The work will come again, when it is needed.” ANd that is where I seem to be – waiting to be needed again….

ITDG – About us – About ITDG

About ITDG

Is small still beautiful? We think it is. In an increasingly divided and fragile world, ITDG – the Intermediate Technology Development Group – aims to demonstrate and advocate the sustainable use of technology to reduce poverty in developing countries.

It was founded in 1966 by the radical economist Dr EF Schumacher to prove that his philosophy of ‘Small is Beautiful’ could bring real and sustainable improvements to people’s lives.

With our commitment to poverty reduction, environmental conservation and technology choice we think ITDG is uniquely placed to contribute to a world free of poverty.

ITDG has a unique approach to development – we don’t start with technology, but with people. The tools may be simple or sophisticated – but to provide long-term, appropriate and practical answers, they must be firmly in the hands of local people: people who shape technology and control it for themselves.

Arctic breath coils the mountain,
Rattling the forests’ bones.
Raindrops cling to branches;
Jewelled adornment flung to earth.

Trees in winter lose their leaves. Some trees may even fall during storms, but most stand patiently and bear their fortune.

They endure rain, snow, wind, and cold. They bear the adornment of glycerin raindrops, glimmering icicles, or crowns of snow without care. They are not concerned when such lustrous spender is dashed to the ground. They stand, and they wait, the power of their growth apparently dormant. But inside, a burgeoning is building imperceptibly.

Theirs is the forbearance of being true to their inner natures. It is with this power that they withstand both the vicissitudes and adornments of life, for neither bad fortune nor good fortune will alter what they are. We should be the same way. We may have great fortune or bad, but we should patiently bear both. No matter what, we must always be true to our inner selves.

Deng Ming-Dao, 365 Tao

I guess this is what I need to remember when I am being “apparently dormant”. Perhaps there is a burgeoning building in me these days. I do find I slow down a lot in winter, but in the year since my mom’s death, I’ve been pretty dormant. I haven’t found a lot of need for activity lately. But I think I am true to my inner self – at least I try to be.

WALHI – Indonesian Forum for Environment

2nd Donation Appeal for Indonesian Tsunami Victims

Approximately 200 volunteers in Banda Aceh (including ours) have gotten more organised and divided themselves into medical, emergency kitchen, sanitation, and general affairs teams. The medical teams are divided into an on-center team and a mobile team that go around to provide assistance in other refugee spots and centers. Latest information confirmed that they have reached 26 refugee spots in Banda Aceh and surrounding areas, some of them including those which have not received any aid.

So far, the Indonesian Civil Society Coalition for the Victims of Earthquake and Tsunami has received donations amounting to USD$ 10,900. We have spent approx. USD$ 10,364. We have LESS THAN USD$ 650 LEFT !!

HELP US GET MORE MEDICAL SUPPLIES, LOGISTICS, TRANSPORTATION, AND COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENTS !

Wind in the cave:
Movement in stillness.
Power in silence.

In a cave, all outer sounds are smothered by rock and earth, but this makes the sounds of one’s own heartbeat and breath audible. In the same way, contemplative stillness turns us away from everyday clamor but allows us to hear the subtle in our own lives.

When listening not with the ear but with the spirit, we enter into supreme purity. This is why so many religious traditions pray, sing, or chant as a prelude to silence. They understand that the repetition and absorption of sound leads to sacredness itself.

The deepest sound is silence. This may seem paradoxical only if we regard silence as an absence of life and vibration. But for a meditator, silence is sound unified with all of its opposites. It is both sound and soundlessness, and it is in this confluence that the power of meditation emerges.

Deng Ming-Dao, 365 Tao

I’ve always enjoyed quiet and silence. I thiink for a lot of people, silence is uncomfortable, but for me, it’s always been pleasant. I like being able to hear my own thoughts, and sometimes just to sit and enjoy stillness and quiet. I love to cross country ski, to get out where nobody else is and just enjoy the stillness of the forest. Downhill is cool for the momentum and ease of movement, but cross country gets you to where the world is a peaceful, still place.

I like the beach and ocean, just hearing the sound of the waves. Sleeping on the beach is a great pleasure, even though I’ve only done it a few times.

But shavasana
is still the hardest yoga pose for me. Just to lay still, not moving, listening to silence and trying to still the mind can be a real challenge. We are a busy busy culture, and stopping to relax and be still for a few moments is going against the American way of movement and busy-ness and achievement. But real stillness is in itself an achievement. Realizing that the sounds around you everyday are artificial, that there is no real reason for many of them to exist, and learning to hear the real sounds, the natural sounds of breath and heart, are important lessons.

WorldChanging: Another World Is Here: Ending Poverty

What if we could end global poverty?

What if we could do it on a comparative shoestring?

The idea of ending poverty as a planetary goal of primary importance is gaining real traction. No one believes that we will ever end all inequality — in that sense, the poor are always with us. But an increasing number of people believe that we can eradicate absolute poverty: that we can raise every person on the planet above the basic thresholds of the Millennium Development Goals, that we can ensure than every man, woman and child on this planet has enough to eat and clean water to crink, some shelter, access to medical care, access to basic education and the basics of sustainable livelihood.

What would ending poverty do for us? Everything.

Ending poverty would provide rich soil in which development, even leapfrogging could take root. It would reduce global tensions, helping to fight terrorism and minimize conflict. It would take pressure off the environment, helping us respond better to biodiversity loss and climate change. In every imaginable way, progress will be made easier if more than a billion of us are not struggling for survival.

There are signs that the popular will is there: Make Poverty History, for instance, has launched a mass-movement complete with celebrities to advocate for fair trade, debt reductions and more aid; Sarah McLachlan’s World on Fire video, Bono’s efforts, projects like The Rough Guide to a Better World, even the outpouring of concern around last week’s tragic tsunamis… all seem to point to a larger trend.

But can we actually do it? More and more people seem to think the answer is yes….

Moon above water.
Sit in solitude.

If waters are placid, the moon will be mirrored perfectly. If we still ourselves, we can mirror the divine perfectly. But if we engage solely in the frenetic activities of our daily involvements, if we seek to impose our own schemes on the natural order, and if we allow ourselves to become absorbed in self-centered views, the surface of our waters becomes turbulent. Then we cannot be receptive to Tao.

There is no effort that we can make to still ourselves. True stillness comes naturally from moments of solitude where we allow our minds to settle. Just as water seeks its own level, the mind will gravitate toward the holy. Muddy water will become clear if allowed to stand undisturbed, and so too will the mind become clear if it is allowed to be still.

Neither the water nor the moon make any effort to achieve a reflection. In the same way, meditation will be natural and immediate.

Deng Ming-Dao, 365 Tao

I’m always a bit amused by people who tell me they don’t have time to meditate. It’s like saying you don’t have time to be yourself, but I think that probably is the case for a lot of people these days. It’s kind of strange that I seem to survive perfectly well doing nothing in particular, even while watching people drive themselves crazy trying to accomplish some goal or another they have decided is more important than being themselves.

I’ve given up on most frenetic activity in life. I find myself much happier just letting things come to me, and usually find that if I just wait, the things I’m finding I desire will show up. I had been feeling cold in the chilly winter mornings, and suddenly my husband decides to get a heater. I didn’t ask for it, he just decided we needed one. OK, that works. I guess at some point I’ll find someone who needs it more and give it away, who knows?

Reflection. I reflect a lot on life, sometimes I think too much. I don’t know that I have ever perfectly mirrored Tao, probably not, since I am rarely that still. I guess that’s one I might get to eventually.

Make the crooked straight,
Make the straight to flow.
Gather water, fire, and light.
Bring the world to a single point.

If we have devotion — total faith and commitment to our spiritual path — our determination will naturally build momentum. Fewer and fewer obstructions will come before us. Our path becomes like a crooked one made straight. No matter what tries to keep us from our purpose, we will not be deterred.

Proper devotion lies not simply in a headlong course. It also requires fortitude. Our bodies, our hearts, and our spirits must be totally concentrated upon what we want. Only by uniting all our inner elements can we have full devotion.

If we see our path clearly and our personalities are completely unified, then there is no distinction between the outer world and the inner one. Nothing is faraway anymore, nothing is not open to use. That is why it is said that the world is like a single point: So strong is devotion that there is nothing that is not a part of it.

Deng Ming-Dao, 365 Tao

Devotion is a hard topic for me in some ways. There doesn’t at first glance seem to be a lot I’m devoted to. I guess I would say I’m devoted to my kids, my husband, my pets, my garden, and such.

But in a larger way, I think I’m devoted to life itself. I enjoy life in ways I don’t think most people do – simply appreciating the day, it’s weather and mood, the people and things that cross my path, few as they sometimes are. I’m a bit of a recluse lately, lots of internet time but not much else really. I keep track of world events and how people are doing that I care about, but don’t really interact all that much lately.

Maybe I have gotten to that point where there is little difference for me between the inner and outer worlds. I am as content in myself as I ever was being out in the world. There are places I would like to go and things I want to do, of course, but the day to day affairs of the world, the work that others seem to believe is so important, really don’t matter much to me anymore.

Yet I would have to say that nothing truly seems faraway to me anymore. I can’t observe an event like the earthquake and tsunami and not feel moved to do something and contribute something. I see all world affairs as connected, and wonder at those who want to insulate themselves in their America without absolutely knowing the world will find a way into their world. To me the conservatives seem to suffer this grand illusion that they can remake the world as they wish, but it simply won’t happen the way they would like.

So perhaps there is nothing that isn’t a part of my devotion after all. I can view the world as a whole and all of us as a part of it, I can envision the universe as a whole and all of us just a part of the great cosmos. Or, I can go look at a flower or a rock and feel awed. It’s all pretty much the same thing, really.