The Big Picture
The Big Picture
” In this world the wise one holds onto confidence and wisdom. Those are the greatest treasures; all other riches are pushed aside.~~~ Buddha
As I mentioned last week, for the next few issues of this blog, I’m going to write about something that has been on my mind almost to the point of distraction. I know that a great many of the readers of this blog are residents of countries other than the United States, but I feel reasonably certain that although I’m writing this from my own perspective as a resident of the USA, what I have to say will apply to wherever you live. I would like to write about what the mainstream media in this country seems to want to ignore, and that is the big picture of what is going on around all of us — and that big picture is our own awareness of the crisis that is unfolding at a rapid rate and our current reaction to it.
We have been warned over the past few decades that if we didn’t learn to curb our human ways of living — to change our reckless human ways of living — that there would be a price to pay. We were warned, time and time again, that someday we would reach the point of a “day of reckoning”. For the most part, we chose to ignore those warnings.
Well, guess what, folks? That day has arrived. It’s no longer sometime in the future — it is now. It is now and we know it and it’s time we did something about it.
Here in the United States we’re facing gasoline prices higher than we’ve ever faced before. I know that it’s both better and worse in some other countries, but the point is that our demand has far exceeded the supply of this fuel source. Our environment is in chaos. The ice packs at both poles is receding rapidly. The terrible storms — hurricanes — tornadoes — floods — and the opposite — drought — forest fires — excessive heat — plus earth quakes and other environmental disasters are becoming a common occurrence all over the world. Our economy is nearing the point of financial collapse. We’re engaged in illegal wars and the threat of even more violent stupidity in our world political dealings. Yet despite all this, we would much rather concern ourselves with what some celebrity was up to yesterday — or whether our favorite sports team won or lost the game — or which fashion accessory we should buy to wear to the party — or whatever other habit of consumption we decide to embark on next.
In several of our articles about meditation over the past weeks, we talked about the lifestyle that we should try to adopt for ourselves that would bring us happiness rather than suffering. The time has already arrived where we need to give this lifestyle some serious thought. When we’re talking about the “big picture” in terms of problem solving, it isn’t referring to just treating the symptoms, but rather it’s referring to seeking out the causes of the problem and dealing with it. One of the elements that I described above is the “big picture” of what our current lifestyles are doing to our relationship with our Mother Earth.
A little over forty years ago our behavior in relation to our environment seemed to reach some sort of tipping point. Our growth in consumption and population started to weigh heavily on what Mother Earth could continue to absorb. She began to show signs of wear and tear. We began to see that fresh water was becoming harder to find in some areas. We started to notice a decline in fertile soils. Our world supply of fish was no longer able to meet demand due to over-fishing and environmental changes. We decided we didn’t need all those trees in our forests — we’d rather build stuff on those soils. The levels of toxic pollutions in our water, soil and air have reached the point of being darn serious.
Because of our incessant need for more and more and more, we are destroying our Mother Earth and, even though we don’t seem to notice, we’re also doing ourselves in as part of the process. It’s not so much ourselves who are reading this right now, or yours truly who is writing this, who will bear the major brunt of our foolishness. Rather, it’s our children — our grandchildren and all their children who are going to feel the real consequences for our excesses.
Hmmm, quite a change from my writings over the past few months, isn’t it? I know, this was a pretty negative post. Perhaps it’s my age and the feelings of helplessness that have come with reaching this time of my life — so much to do and so little time to get it done. Perhaps it’s my own personal frustration with the fact that most people aren’t hearing about any of the things I’m writing about today thanks to the way our media has been taken over by corporate interests. Frankly, I don’t see enough of it on the Internet, either. Most of what I see every day is feeding our desires for more — to satisfy our urges for consumption of one kind or another.
We have to grow up, folks. It’s past time. We need to realize that we’re the ones in charge right now. This isn’t something that we can leave for the next guy. Don’t forget, the next guy is our own children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We’re the adults and we have to accept our responsibilities.
That’s it for this time. I’d like to leave you with a short video to watch. It will take about 20 minutes of your valuable time. Even if you don’t feel that you can spare 20 minutes, I urge you to make an exception and take the time to watch this. It’s by Annie Leonard and it’s called “The Story of Stuff“. If nothing else, you’ll hopefully see that I’m not alone in expressing the frustration with what I’m describing in this article.
Here’s the link —
I’ll be back next week with some further thoughts along these lines and some ideas about what we can do.
Stay tuned.
“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”~~~ Buddha
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I’d love to hear your comments on this. At the very end of this post (after the commercials and the tags) you should see a place where you can leave your comment. It will be a link that says “No Comments” — or “Comments”. Let me hear from you. Thanks.
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Those glimpses we get of peace, love, acceptance and happiness when we’re meditating will soon grow into more than glimpses if we keep practicing. Keep those feelings alive. A meditation can be as simple as one, deep, conscious breath. When something happens in one of your moments to cause you to suffer, just stop and take one of those breaths and remember, “This too shall pass!” Another thing that is wonderful, especially at this time of year, is to have a fresh flower where you work. Just stop from time-to-time and look at it — don’t label it — don’t judge it — just be with it for a couple of moments. It really does work. I’m looking at mine as I write this.
“Each flower is a soul blossoming out to nature”~~~ Gerard de Nerva
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Although I’m on a bit of a rant for these next articles, I still would like you to bring meditation into your life. If you’re new to us here, I’ve written a series of articles about meditation. If you look on the upper left of the sidebar, you’ll see a list of the categories. Click the one called “Meditation” and you’ll be able to read the articles you missed. They start with the January 24, 2008 post. The video meditations that I included with the earlier articles may no longer function. I’m sorry about that, but those are out of my control. Hopefully, they’ll all still be working.
Do include meditation in your daily life. If you’re just starting out, make it a 10 minute meditation. If you’ve been doing this for a while, try to do a minimum of 20 to 30 minutes. The longer you can maintain your focus on just your breath, the better. And, remember, anytime you take a deep, conscious breath — that’s a breath where you’re putting your focus on that breath — that’s a meditation. Do it often every day — especially when you’re feeling stressed. I guarantee, you’ll find more peace and happiness in your life if you’ll do this.
“Those who really seek the path to Enlightenment dictate terms to their mind. Then they proceed with strong determination.”~~~ Buddha
Namaste!
And, as I always say in closing — remember these words …
You are the most precious gift you can give yourself. Every day look in the mirror and say, “I’m available to more good than I have experienced, realized or imagined ever before in my life!” Do this every day while you look into your own eyes.
You are special — and you are loved. You are the greatest gift you can be.
Shanti … (A sanscrit word meaning, “Let there be Peace. Peace, beautiful Peace. Peace within, Peace without. Peace in this world. Peace for all beings.”)
“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”~~~ Buddha
~~~ Ron
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Even though the live webcasts of the Eckhart Tolle New Earth classes are now concluded, you can still download the entire course. It’s being called “The Best Summer School Course Ever!” I highly recommend it. It’s completely free. All you really have to do is get the book, “A New Earth — Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose” by Eckhart Tolle. You can access the course online at:
http://www.oprah.com/obc_classic/webcast/archive/archive_download.jsp.
You’ll find everything you need there — all 10 classes. If you happen to have iTunes on your computer, you can also access the course by subscribing to it through the podcast link in iTunes. Check it out. Several million people around the globe took part in this amazing spiritual teaching. I hope you’ll soon be one of them. This is how we can create a new consciousness on the New Earth.
“Feeling will get you closer to the truth of who you are than thinking. ”~~~ Eckhardt Tolle —
Also, Oprah now has her Soul Series of Webcasts started. There is a series with Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor and more from Eckhart Tolle. You can get these from this site for downloading:
http://www2.oprah.com/spiritself/oss/ss_oss_archive.jhtml
I’ve listened/watched all of these so far, and I highly recommend them. If you have iTunes, you can subscribe to them.
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