About Evolution

Some very exciting conversations are being facilitated by the people at EnlightenNext.com. This is the latest thinking and research coming from the team at "What is Enlightenment?" magazine. Here's what it says on the website:

EnlightenNext is not just an organization . . . it’s a state of consciousness.

It’s what happens when the freedom, joy, and liberating clarity of spiritual enlightenment comes together with a passionate sense of responsibility for evolution, for what’s next.

I signed up as an "evolutionary" and have been learning a lot by listening to the weekly call series and interviews with thought leaders in the areas of science, religion, spirituality, spiral dynamics and integral philosophy in an effort to understand the evolution of consciousness - what that means and how to understand it in the context of history and the future. It's a lot to take in and can get kind of complicated and confusing, so it was great when they sent out this video from the Onion as a spoof on the topic of evolution. It's called "Should Americans Return to a Simpler, Stone Age Lifestyle?" It's only 1.5 minutes and it's hilarious...Click here to watch

Summertime, and the being is easy

I'm at the beach in Rhode Island with my family this week. I don't have much to write because I'm too busy enjoying being here, now (that is so much easier when you're on vacation!) I will share this quote from a great Martha Beck article I read in the September issue of O magazine while sitting in my beach chair:

"You need to drop the perceptual lens that says, 'Impressing others will make me happy.' A joyful life isn't about others; it's about the brightness that is associated with being alive. Your path to it is through anything that replaces thinking with pure flight, pure joy."

I experienced pure joy while taking a walk on the beach with my two sons yesterday. In between finding stones and crab skeletons in the sand, they eagerly held my hands, one each, and skipped down the beach. At 6 & 7 years old, I don't now how many more times that is going to happen, so I felt the joy of every second of it.

Here's to your pure joy.

the fight - follow up

I wrote (below) about a recent fight with my husband, and my attempt to participate as a responsible, emotionally mature, somewhat evolved wife. I felt so good about the wise perspective I went to bed with that I couldn't believe the next morning when I woke up to more thoughts justifying my position and all about why he had been wrong, wrong, wrong. I was, however, at least aware that these thoughts were not going to serve the situation or my marriage in any positive way, so I took no action. This was easy since my husband was up and at work early and I didn't actually have to see or speak with him. I simply let those thoughts be and noticed when my tendency for passive aggressiveness crept in (I'll be gone when he gets home from work without letting him know where I am, that'll show him...) and instead sent a direct, but respectful text message letting him know where I was going.

This approach was not hard and it gave me the space to move past my need to be right so that by the time I did see and speak to Ross (that's him) we both represented our sides of the argument, and once we both felt "heard" the whole thing seemed to fade away easily. It felt good, and almost too easy. I've noticed this about the be lifestyle - there's no drama. It's not about screaming, accusing or insulting. It's not even sentimental. It just is. In this case, it's just two people getting their buttons pushed and then reluctantly taking responsibility for themselves in an effort to feel the love again.

the be pledge

i will do less, be more

i will be and let be

i will be who i am

i will become what i want

i will begin inside

It comes down to me, and be

A great weekend ended in a not so great way. My husband and I could not see eye to eye, we were pushing each other's buttons and no amount of rational discussion or heated argument seemed to make it any better. I hate it when that happens. Everything feels off and leaves me unsettled. He went to bed without a "goodnight" and I'm hanging out with my residual anger thinking of all the reasons I'm right and he's wrong. Remember how Carol and Mike Brady never went to bed mad at each other? They made it look so easy.

There's a part of me that wants to make a list, right now, of all the reasons why my husband was wrong and should feel very badly about it so that I can defend my position again some more tomorrow. And then there's the part of me that strives to take the high road and asks myself "what would be say?" That's right, that's right, I athropomorphize be and look to it for wisdom. Anyway, I think be would say:

-Your need to be right will not resolve any issue. Give it some space. Do not, in the heat of the moment, say anything that will take a chink out the foundation of your relationship.

-Make your relationship more important that the desire to justify your position. This is an opportunity for the relationship to grow and become stronger

-There is something at the root of this that is the real issue, and it's not what your arguing about. Do not resist it. Stay present and you will see more clearly what is really happening.

-Try to see the situation from his point of view. Try a little compassion. Explain your perspective without making him wrong.

-MOST OF ALL, be responsible for yourself. That is the only thing in this (or any) situation that leads to a long term positive outcome. Everything you want to say to him is actually something you're feeling about yourself. (Confronting, but true). Look inside yourself. Be the change you want to see in your relationship...be love, be patience, be tolerant, be accepting, be authentic, be devotion, be respect. Remember who you really are, take action from there.

Stupid high road. It seems so much easier to be passive-agressive, but I'm going to give it a try. I do believe, to the core of who I am, that nothing outside of me can change until I change myself. And, for the most part, that does not mean major changes, but constant, internal micro adjustments every day.

But for now, the ease of sleep. Goodnight to me.

Participate in Peace

This book is on my beside table in a stack of other books that I want to read sometime soon.

Until then, I was excited to sign up for the Peace Intention Experiment that will be conducted by Lynne McTaggart on September 14th. For those of you, like me, who believe that prayer, intention and thought are invisible but powerful forces in the world, it's a chance to try and prove it.

The website says:

September 14, 2008 will see the first in a series of Peace Intention Experiments testing the power of group intention to lower violence in areas around the world.

This could be the largest scientific study in history, with hundreds of thousands of participants sending an intention for peace under highly controlled scientific conditions.

Lynne McTaggart, author of The Intention Experiment, has assembled a scientific advisory body of leaders in consciousness research, to devise a strict protocol and measure violence levels before and after the intention is sent to see if there is any effect.

Imagine thousands of us intending peace at the same time. We are not going to be taking any action, just consciously being a certain way at a certain time, together. And the magnitude of that focused intention may alleviate violence around the world. Even if you're skeptical, isn't it worth trying?

Inspired by a life: Josef and Anni Albers

She was a textile designer, weaver and printer known for her vision of seeing and promoting fabrics as an art form. He was a printmaker, designer, photographer and color theorist best known for his abstract painting and the series Homage to the Square. They met and married while students at the Bauhaus school in Germany. They traveled extensively together and were both writers, passionate teachers, and pioneers of Twentieth Century modernism. They lived in New Haven, CT where he was the head of the Department of Design at Yale, lived out the rest of their lives there together and established a foundation that is very active in both outreach and education.

Her wise words:

"Students worry about choosing their way. I tell them, 'you can go anywhere from anywhere.'"

His wise words:

"Easy - to know that diamonds--are precious,
good - to know that rubies--have depth,
but more - to see that pebbles--are miraculous."

You can read much more about them here.

Aurora Lopez Mejia Jewelry

That last post reminded me of a Native American poem that I memorized when I was in my 20's. I thought then, and still do, that is is one of the most gorgeous images I've ever read...

All the warm nights
sleep in moonlight

keep letting it
go into you

do this all your life

do this
you will shine outward
in old age

the moon will think
you are
the moon

Stargazing

Some of the holiest moments of my life have occurred while staring into a starry sky at night. Gazing upward and taking in the endless existence of galaxies and the magical beauty of stars visible against the darkness brings me into a state of reverence like nothing else can. I don't take the time to do it enough, but I'm determined to change that.

I'm feeling a renewed passion for the majesty of the night sky after reading about IDA - the International Dark Sky Association. It turns out that all of the artificial lighting we use for everything from parking garages and highways to the fixtures on our homes contributes to light pollution (who knew?) which is defined by IDA as "any adverse effect of artificial light, including sky glow, glare, light trespass, light clutter and decreased visibility at night." (You can read much more about these issues on their website.) About two-thirds of the world's population, including almost everyone in the continental U.S. and Europe, no longer see a starry sky where they live, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article. This is tragic not just for romantics like me, but for the professionals. Scientists and astronomer's ability to study and observe the sky is greatly impacted, even with their high tech equipment.

It was interesting to read about the need for specified periods of dark and light, our circadian rhythms, that all of life requires for good health. Exposing ourselves or other species to artificial light can interrupt any natural ecological system. The most practical way for homeowners to reduce light pollution is to know about and use "sky friendly lighting" definted as "outdoor light at night used only when and where it is needed and at appropriate levels. Use fully shielded, light efficient fixtures aimed directly at the ground. And incorporate timers and sensors to shut off lights when not needed." The IDA works with lighting manufacturers and even has a seal of approval to help consumers recognize fixtures that will not contribute to the problem.

Want to join me in becoming a dark sky advocate? There's lots more info here. And go here for the Wall Street Journal article.

image from vol25's etsy shop