Myths & Logic Of Shaolin Monks

Myths & Logic Of Shaolin Monks Pt 1

Myths & Logic Of Shaolin Monks Pt 2

Myths & Logic Of Shaolin Monks Pt 3

Myths & Logic Of Shaolin Monks Pt 4

Myths & Logic Of Shaolin Monks Pt 5

Transferable Skills

http://careers.usc.edu/docs/handouts/Transferable_Skills.pdf

In a job market where recent graduates indicate they are changing jobs four times within five years of graduation, it is important to articulate the skills you have developed as they relate to new opportunities. How portable is your skill set?

Skills can be acquired in a variety of settings. As a student you develop technical skills related to your major. In addition, you work in teams on class projects or take on leadership positions in a student organization. As an intern you begin to build on your professional portfolio as you help your employers solve problems and meet customer needs. Make a list of your experiences both on- and off-campus and develop an inventory of skills.

What is your expertise? If you are having trouble answering this question, this tip sheet might help. To be successful in the job search you must relate your skill set to the job description and back it up with accomplishments.

http://careers.usc.edu/docs/handouts/Transferable_Skills.pdf

Obama Administration Issues Rules Requiring Parity in Treatment of Mental, Substance Use Disorders

Paul Wellstone, Pete Domenici Parity Act Prohibits Discrimination

http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2010pres/01/20100129a.html

The Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and the Treasury today jointly issued new rules providing parity for consumers enrolled in group health plans who need treatment for mental health or substance use disorders.

“The rules we are issuing today will, for the first time, help assure that those diagnosed with these debilitating and sometimes life-threatening disorders will not suffer needless or arbitrary limits on their care,” said Secretary Sebelius.  “I applaud the long-standing and bipartisan effort that made these important new protections possible.”

“Today’s rules will bring needed relief to families faced with meeting the cost of obtaining mental health and substance abuse services,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “The benefits will give these Americans access to greatly needed medical treatment, which will better allow them to participate fully in society. That’s not just sound policy, it’s the right thing to do.”

“Workers covered by group health plans who need mental health and substance abuse care deserve fair treatment,” said Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin. “These rules expand on existing protections to ensure that people don’t face unnecessary barriers to the treatment they need.”

The new rules prohibit group health insurance plans—typically offered by employers—from restricting access to care by limiting benefits and requiring higher patient costs than those that apply to general medical or surgical benefits. The rules implement the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA).

MHPAEA greatly expands on an earlier law, the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 which required parity only in aggregate lifetime and annual dollar limits between the categories of benefits and did not extend to substance use disorder benefits.

The new law requires that any group health plan that includes mental health and substance use disorder benefits along with standard medical and surgical coverage must treat them equally in terms of out-of-pocket costs, benefit limits and practices such as prior authorization and utilization review.  These practices must be based on the same level of scientific evidence used by the insurer for medical and surgical benefits.  For example, a plan may not apply separate deductibles for treatment related to mental health or substance use disorders and medical or surgical benefits—they must be calculated as one limit. MHPAEA applies to employers with 50 or more workers whose group health plan chooses to offer mental health or substance use disorder benefits. The new rules are effective for plan years beginning on or after July 1, 2010.

The Wellstone-Domenici Act is named for two dominant figures in the quest for equal treatment of benefits.   The late Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN), who was a vocal advocate for parity throughout his Senate career, sponsored the ultimately successful full parity act.  He was joined by former Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) who first introduced legislation to require parity in 1992.  Champions of the legislation also included the bipartisan team of Representative Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and former Representative Jim Ramstad (R-MN).

The issue of parity dates back over 40 years to President John F. Kennedy, and was also supported by President Clinton and the late Senator Edward Kennedy.

The interim final rules released today were developed based on the departments’ review of more than 400 public comments on how the parity rule should be written.  Comments on the interim final rules are still being solicited.  Sections where further comments are being specifically sought include so-called “non quantitative” treatment limits such as those that pertain to the scope and duration of covered benefits, how covered drugs are determined (formularies), and the coverage of step-therapies.  Comments are also being specifically requested on the regulation’s section on “scope of benefits” or continuum of care.

Comments on the interim final regulation are due 90 days after the publication date.  Comments may be emailed to the federal rulemaking portal at: http://www.regulations.gov.  Comments directed to HHS should include the file code CMS-4140-IFC.  Comments to the Department of Labor should be identified by RIN 1210-AB30.  Comments to the Treasury’s Internal Revenue Service should be identified by REG-120692-09.  Comments may be sent to any of the three departments and will be shared with the other departments.  Please do not submit duplicates.

How it feels to have a stroke

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 about how our brains define us and connect us to the world and to one another.

What If We Were Wrong about High Fructose Corn Syrup?

The Truth about High Fructose Corn Syrup

Sweet Surprise or Health Demise?

– By Becky Hand, Licensed & Registered Dietitian

If you had asked me five years ago if I thought there was something unique about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) that could lead to weight problems, I would have said “yes.” In fact, I was one of those Registered Dietitians who encouraged families to beware of the “evil” high fructose corn syrup.

Today I am here to confess that as a trained, nutrition professional, I blatantly ignored the No. 1 rule of providing reliable nutrition education for the public. I forgot to rely on published research and evidence for my nutrition recommendations! So today, I am going to set the record straight after reviewing not just one research study but all of them. Read on to find out whether high fructose corn syrup deserves its bad rap and how it really compares with regular sugar . . .

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=486

The Magic of Council: Creating a Sacred Structure for Soul Communication

by Lynnaea Lumbard, Ph.D.

There are four basic guidelines for participating in council:
1) Listen from the heart
2) Speak from the heart.
3) Be spontaneous.
4) Be lean.

I put Listen from the heart first, for most of council and most of any real communication is about listening. The point is to listen fully to each person, staying present for what he or she is saying and not rehearsing what you are going to say. This has its own magic, for when you listen from your heart, it is like opening your arms and receiving the other person. They know it and feel it and something comes forward from them that wouldn’t otherwise. They unfold as deeper, more thoughtful, and more concerned people in front of your eyes. When you listen from your heart, you hear what’s going on underneath their words and it becomes increasingly difficult to judge them.

Speaking from the heart asks us to pause, slow down, breathe, and tune into our deeper self. We drop into our vulnerability and our truth, letting our souls do the talking and not just our heads or our reactions. Speaking from the heart could be a guideline for any utterance, at any time, anywhere. I use it as a mantra, continually reminding myself that my intention is to speak from my heart.

Being spontaneous is another way of saying, “you don’t have to rehearse to be yourself.” People are infinitely more interested in hearing our real, authentic feelings and thoughts than what we think we should say or have planned to say. Letting go of our “performers” and just being direct and honest with whatever comes up takes us into soul relationship with our listeners. We all long for places where we can just tell the truth without having to look good.

Being lean means saying what is essential, what needs to be said. Sometimes we need to say a lot, but we all have been in situations where someone in a circle loses consciousness of the others and rambles on and on. Less is often more. Lean is important whether we are in a dyadic council with our partner working on the issues of relationship or in a group sharing our responses to an event. It implies that you have listened to what else has been said and only need to say what has not been said. Your piece adds to a whole that emerges from everyone. One of the great mysteries of council is that the whole, when everyone has said their small piece, is infinitely more magical and beautiful than the sum of its parts might imply.
These four guidelines, coupled with offering a dedication to the council and insisting that only the person who has the talking piece can talk, create a sacred structure that transforms ordinary conversation into very different kind of dialogue which carries the quality of a soul communion. Suddenly one feels safe to speak the deeper truths. Everything is changed by these simple adjustments to our speaking with each other. It is amazing that something so simple could work so well.

Yet it does. I so trust the process of council that whenever I want to deepen the connection or open into a soul dialogue with someone or a group, I call for a council. This has taken me into some interesting situations and through some difficult territories, yet always the result is more understanding, more compassion, more love, and more connection with others. Ultimately, I come away from any council in awe of what fabulous, intricate, delicate beings we are and the power we have to learn and grow with and from one another.

I now open and close all workshops with a council. An opening council is almost always about where each individual is in their lives at the moment. I have come to learn that wherever it is, if you speak it, it will move and you will become more present and attuned to the whole. What unfolds through every one’s participation is always richer, truer, and more beautiful than I could have imagined. Even when someone brings up very difficult material for the group to deal with, someone later in the council will offer a completely different perspective that resolves the issue. The knowledge that everyone will be heard allows each individual to relax and be present. Even when you yourself are carrying the difficult material, just getting to speak your few words moves your energy and you can get on with what’s next.

An ending council helps integrate any group experience by allowing the learnings to be named. There is a satisfaction that comes from this naming that completes the energy of a group and lets it be released. In our Vision Fast work, where we take people out into the desert for 11-day wilderness quests[3], council is an essential part of incorporating the quest into daily life. Our being able to speak our stories makes them more real to us. Deep listening to another person’s story helps us understand our own experiences more deeply. A particularly moving ending council found me in a wooded clearing near a Hill Tribe village in Northern Thailand, after a 24-hour solo in the forest. Buddhist monks, American seekers, and activists from all over the world spoke their experiences in council at the end of a ten-day bearing witness walk. Whatever the depth and beauty of our own journey, it was magnified exponentially with every other person’s experience. A solidarity occurred across racial, ethnic, religious, national, and gender lines that remains to this day one of my most inspiring examples of hope for the human race.

Another inspiration of hope is arising out of a Los Angeles pilot project that introduced council in a middle school eleven years ago. Based on a nineteen year old program begun at Crossroads School, council is proving effective in creating respectful and honoring communication amongst kids from diverse and often hostile backgrounds. There are now well over 3000 elementary, middle, and high school students experiencing council on a weekly basis throughout Los Angeles, with additional programs well underway in Boulder, Colorado and other cities.[4] Imagine being in the seventh grade and learning to speak to your peers about what was really concerning you in your life?

My most profound council experience happened last October at the first meeting of the International Wilderness Guides Council, held in Germany. In the center of a circle of 120 guides from all over the world, dedicated to restoring wilderness rites of passage, we held country councils. Ten people from each country would address the questions: What is the greatest challenge in being from your country and what are your greatest resources? The Germans went first, then the South Africans, followed by the Americans. The passion and power of each person’s struggle with pride and shame, frustration and inspiration, insecurity and determination linked all of us at a heart level that completely transcended any national boundaries.

Read the full article at Talking Leaves

The Ecopsychology Connection with Permaculture

Via: http://www.talkingleaves.org/node/138

In an age of overwhelming mistrust, insecurity, and inequality, humans are anxiously striving for a new way to live. People in industrialized countries have created a culture of fearful, ungrounded, disconnected, isolated human beings. Many individuals see these problems and desire a revolutionary social change in our “civilized” lifestyles. People from all realms of life are beginning to create ways to integrate a more relational and holistic worldview into their current lifestyles. Some people are learning how to change their lives by re-creating how they perceive the world and learning to practice sustainability in their everyday activities.

In this article I will discuss why there is so much discontent in the US, relate it to my experience of living in an intentional community in the summer of 2002, and explore the links between the human psyche and the Earth psyche in the emerging field of ecopsychology and in the practices of permaculture. Together, these practices offer one approach to helping create a socially and ecologically sustainable culture and world.

Our Culture

What do humans need? “Air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, clothing, affection, company, stimulating work, freedom from stress, health” (Bell, 37). I would add that humans also need feelings of connectedness, ways of expressing their unique creativity, and a sense of meaningful participation and contribution to something larger than themselves. Do people living and struggling in our current capitalistic society and consumerist culture have all of these basic human needs met? I think there are many people who are deprived of one thing or another. While I was living in the intentional community, Lost Valley Educational Center in Dexter, OR, and enrolled in a Naka-Ima (personal growth) workshop, a dear person shared this quote to help me trust in myself that one’s environment truly is key to their well-being.

“If a seed has to grow with a rock on top of it, or in deep shade, or without enough water, it won’t unfold into a healthy full-sized plant. It will try–hard–because the drive to become what you were meant to be is incredibly powerful. But at best it will become a sort of ghost of what it could be: pale, undersized, drooping… In the age of ecology, we ourselves are the only creature we would ever expect to flourish in an environment that does not give us what we need! We wouldn’t order a spider to spin an exquisite web in empty space, or a seed to sprout on a bare desk top. And yet that is exactly what we have been demanding of ourselves.” (Barbara Sher, Wishcraft, 1979)

What are we all striving for? Why are so many people unhappy? We live in a developed country where many of us find all our basic needs for food, air, water, and shelter easily at our fingertips. The only catch is that we just have to play the game: sell our souls to the global corporate economy and mimic the addictive behaviors of our consumer culture; alienate ourselves from truly sensing our feelings. We have enabled ourselves to hide our fears by learning to be numb and creating a culture of fast cars and movies to distract us from our hectic lives. What about trees, wind, and clear water? Do we not need muddy feet, soiled hands, fresh fruit, sunshine, and beauty? How many of us never fall asleep to the sparkly sky?–or wake up to the birds singing in the fresh air? Do we need mirrors, TV, shopping malls, French fries, sexy dates, and SUVs? Instead of fulfillment, the results of our culture are depression, confusion, alienation, searching, drunken nights at bars, chocolate, coffee to stay awake, credit card debt, obesity, heart attacks, cancer, dissatisfaction, and unhappiness.

Most of the environments people are surrounded by in America are fast paced, loud, competitive, isolated, and lonely, with polluted air, water, and food. “Sadly, the despair and the lack of supportive community that too many of us feel is common throughout America” (Cohen, 81). Can a human being truly find peace in such an environment?

If we are willing to listen to ourselves, an instinctive wisdom inside each of us reminds us that there must be more. The world is full of wonders. There is more to life than work and material possession. We need honest, real connection with humans, animals, trees, and ourselves.

So many of our feelings of confusion and disconnection stem from not realizing that we all have the sensory ability to connect with our natural environment. “Our incredible bewilderment (wilderness separation) blinds us from seeing that our many personal and global problems primarily result from our assault on and separation from the natural creation process within and around us” (Cohen, 82). Human psychological health depends on the health of the earth. If the air, water, and food are polluted, so are those beings trying to live in that environment. Yet, if beings experience the fresh air, clean water, abundant tasty whole food, and honest connection with other beings, those beings shall experience mental, physical, and emotional health. The new term, Biophilia, coined by Edward O. Wilson, refers to the innate emotional affiliation that humans have to other living organisms (Wilson, 1993)

Lost Valley Educational Center

My experience of living at Lost Valley Educational Center allowed me to have a full body and mind experience of love, support, and peace. About 30 adults and seven children have journeyed to this peaceful place in Oregon to create a new cultural lifestyle. In addition to a core organic gardening program that I participated in as an apprentice, they also have multiple other programs from vision quests, self-healing workshops, and meditation retreats, to eco-design construction. Being completely enveloped in this kind of environment created such clarity that I was able to see my vision and move in that direction without many restraints. I have learned to trust myself and experience life through not only my mind, but also my heart and soul.

Why was this possible for me? I believe it was because I was surrounded by a supportive, understanding, open, honest, and loving group of human beings who made me feel 100% accepted and never judged. I was in a place of security. Being surrounded by holistic, conscious people allowed me to practice interacting with others and myself in a more positive manner.

In addition to the healthy human relationships, the beauty and freshness I was surrounded by day and night was also key to my peaceful experience. Sleeping in a meadow surrounded by huge oak and fir trees, in my tent or just under the stars in the quiet fresh air every night, helped my mental health gain more balance. Cooking and eating in the outdoor kitchen, bathing in the outdoor solar shower, and working in the gardens among the many plants, chickens, and ducks created such a relaxed lifestyle. No cars, traffic, cement, dirty air, lack of shade, or rushing required! Just clean air, trees, open sky, wonderful healthy food, a community of trusting, open friends all around, and peace and harmony with great communication, yoga, meditation, dancing, singing, and swimming.

After I returned to the East Coast, I realized, when connecting my learning of permaculture and my experience of living in a community, that my experience could be encapsulated by the word ecopsychology. I learned how to simultaneously heal myself and practice sustainable farming and living skills, which, I found, innately work together. Social and ecological change happens in all aspects of life, and everyone is playing their unique role in the interdependent web of life.

What Is Ecopsychology?

People define the field of ecopsychology in various ways. The connection between nature and humans, which is being split in the modern world, is the basis for all the definitions of ecopsychology. Ecopsychology addresses the field of psychology and the field of environmental management by acknowledging that human health and environmental health depend on each other.

At the core of ecopsychology is the realization that our relationships with the environment directly affect our relationships with each other (Hodgson, 1). Theodore Roszak, who gave the first definition of ecopsychology, says it is a way of including ecological insight with psychotherapy in such a way that there is a “re-defining of ’sanity’ as if the whole world mattered” (Roszak, 1998). Roszak claims there is an ecological intelligence deeply rooted in each human being that is connected to the psyche of the Earth (Roszak, 16).

In the practice of ecopsychology, our sense of place and interconnectedness is strengthened, which results in becoming better “stewards of the land.” Therefore, healing the human psyche will lead to healing the earth (Scull, 2).

There is a plethora of diverse practices individuals can engage in to apply ecopsychology in their lives. These can include anything from studying indigenous worldviews and practices in order to cultivate an ecological self identity, or connecting inner and outer realities through experiencing breath awareness, to eschewing mass consumer culture and choosing to practice “mindful presence and loving connection” (Elan Shapiro, 2002).

The Permaculture Link

Permaculture, a design system that seeks to create sustainable living systems, is a field where much ecopsychological philosophy can be applied. Permaculture is practiced at Lost Valley Educational Center with an undercurrent of the ecopsychological worldview. Spiritual, ecological, and psychological thought and work allow people in all different realms of life to integrate ecopsychological philosophies into their lives.

Many people have offered definitions of permaculture. Bill Mollison, the founder of Permaculture, defines it as “a design system for creating sustainable human environments. On one level, permaculture deals with plants, animals, buildings, and infrastructures (water, energy, communications). However, permaculture is not about these elements themselves, but rather about the relationships we can create between them by the way we place them in the landscape” (Mollison, 1).

Once people gain an “ecopsychological” view of the world, many become interested in learning how to practice permaculture in all aspects of their lives. For some individuals it may be just simply recycling their waste every week; for others, it may be completely changing the value system that they live by and creating a new cultural way of life. Anyone can practice permaculture, in the way they garden, how they design their house, or just simply by being more conscious of the choices they make every day concerning food, energy, and water use. An ecopsychological view of the world sees the intimate relationship between the earth’s health and human health, both of which are enhanced by permaculture.

One must be centered, emotionally and mentally clear, to fully grasp the new paradigm of permaculture. From that place of awareness and intention, it is much easier to learn the related practical skills.

Back at Lost Valley

My experience at Lost Valley Educational Center as a garden apprentice learning permaculture practices also placed great emphasis on interpersonal relationships and self-healing through the application of an ecopsychological worldview. I and the other apprentices and interns learned about and practiced companion planting techniques, forest gardening, how tree guilds function, how to create alternative forms of energy, and how to use herbs for medicinal purposes. In addition to all of these practical skills, we simultaneously were engaged in non-violent communication skills, community living organization and functioning, interpersonal communication, and workshops on developing the inner self with all our relations: other people, our natural environment, and ourselves.

Lost Valley Educational Center is very focused on exploring human relationships and connections in the context of a peaceful, healthy, natural environment. I believe that experiencing all of this together as an interconnected web of life allowed me to move through one of the most personally transformative experiences of my life. As a result of the community’s emphasis on personal growth and connection with others and the natural environment, I have been able to move closer to my vision of living a lifestyle that incorporates permaculture principles. I can now trust my ecopsychological worldview as working for me in terms of being able to see my vision clearly.

Conclusion

There are numerous individuals and communities in this world working on achieving a social revolution to gain a healthy way of living with cultural and ecological connectedness. Be honest with yourself. Have you created a lifestyle that brings you true happiness? If you feel something is missing, maybe you should investigate ways in your own life to re-establish connectedness with yourself, with your friends and family, and with the natural environment that creates all life.

Bibliography

Bell, Graham. The Permaculture Way: Practical Steps to Create a Self-Sustaining World. 1992: Thorsons, An Imprint of Harper Collins Publishers.
Cohen, Michael J. Reconnecting with Nature: Finding Wellness through Restoring your Bond with the Earth. 1997: EcoPress, Corvallis, Oregon.
Hodgson, Cathleen, and Jill Heine. Shamanism and Ecopsychology. Copyright 1995: Sterling Rose Press, Inc. (World Wide Web–viewed 11-18-02–www.celestia.com/SRP/AM95/Html/Shamanism.html)
Mollison, Bill and Reny Mia Slay. Introduction to Permaculture. 1991: Tagari Publications, Tyalgum, Australia.
Roszak, Theodore. 1998. “Ecopsychology On-Line: With Earth in Mind.” Copyright 1998: The Ecopsychology Institute. (World Wide Web–visited 10-9-02–ecopsychology.athabascau.ca/).
Roszak, Theodore. “Where Psyche Meets Gaia.” In Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind. 1995: Sierra Club Books, San Francisco.
Scull, John. “Caring for the Land.” (World Wide Web–viewed 10-3-02–www.ecopsychology.org/gatherings3/land.html).
Sher, Barbara. Wishcraft: How to Get What You Really Want. 1979: Penguin Putnam.
Wilson, Edward O. The Biophilia Hypothesis. 1993: Island Press/Shearwater, Washington DC. (World Wide Web–visited 12-15-02–www.dhushara.com/book/diversit/restor/bph1.htm).

Myra McKenney submitted a longer version of this article as her independent paper at Cornell University. She will be graduating in May 2003 and is in search of what to do when she is free from college and where she can find places to start creating a new way of life. If you know of anything you think would be of interest to her, please contact her at mbm242003@yahoo.com or at (607) 272-6131 (at Von Cramm Co-op with a phone shared by 30 people).

©2003 Talking Leaves
Spring 2003
Volume 13, Number 1
Communication & Eco-Culture

Ageless Mobility – Scott Sonnon

Ageless Mobility Part 1

Ageless Mobility Part 2

Ageless Mobility Part 3

Ageless Mobility Part 4

Ageless Mobility Part 5

Intuflow Joint Mobility

Intuflow Joint Mobility Beginner Part 1

Intuflow Joint Mobility Beginner Part 2

Intuflow Joint Mobility Beginner Part 3

Intuflow Joint Mobility Beginner Part 4

Intuflow Joint Mobility Beginner Part 5

Intuflow Joint Mobility Beginner Part 6

War on Vitamins

via: http://www.realitysandwich.com/war_vitamins

Matt Toussaint

In response to a petition filed by a drug company, the American Association for Health Freedom reports that the US Food and Drug Administration has banned a naturally occurring form of Vitamin B6, pyridoxamine, deeming it a “new drug.”  This gives the FDA the authority to raid businesses and seize any products or supplements containing the now illegal pyridoxamine — unless, of course, you are talking about fish, chicken, whole grain foods, nuts, or any of the other natural sources that produce this “drug.”  Any nutritional supplement that contains pyridoxamine is now considered “adulterated”, and manufacturers are legally responsible for ceasing production at the risk of being arrested and shut down for drug trafficking.

This is not the first time the FDA has resorted to such actions.  Ephedra, a well known herb used in Traditional Chinese Medicine, was labeled “dangerous at any dose” in its natural form yet pharmaceutical companies were allowed, and still are, to push over-the-counter cold medicines containing the same active chemical, ephedrine.  A similar situation occurred with red yeast rice (and its lovastatin molecules) that are used to treat high cholesterol.

According to Natural News, “the bottom line is this: FDA approvals and bans have nothing to do with science and everything to do with protecting drug companies profits. If a drug company can make money selling a vitamin as a drug, the FDA will gladly ban the vitamin and protect the drug. If a drug company can rip off molecules from Mother Nature and patent them, the FDA will ban those same molecules found in nature.”

Natural News will be posting a petition in the near future demanding FDA reform, so be sure to stay tuned in to their website for updates.

Creative Commons Image: “Comida y Drogra” courtesy of Daquella Manera on Flickr.