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An Indifferent Planet

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tree_red_maple

One autumn afternoon I was driving, feeling somewhat melancholy about the world and the general feeling of indifference in our society. I slowed my car to enjoy a beautiful blazing red maple tree. Across from the tree stood a 10-year-old boy. Seeing me, he lifted his hand to wave hello. I waved back, deeply touched by the simple act. Tears streamed down my face as I drove away. That child's wave instantly shifted my glum demeanor. The world seemed much less bleak with that simple … [Read more...]

Category: Life Tags: ,

Community Building through Collaboration

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reiter

While staying at my friend's house in California, I overheard her daughter's friend on the phone saying, "Collaboration is over, Mother!" I thought, Wow, that's a big word for a high school junior! And then I thought, Too bad she's not willing to work with her mom anymore. I laughed long and hard when I later found out that "Collaboration" was an after-school study hall program that the girls participated in once each week. It had ended about ten minutes before the phone conversation I'd … [Read more...]

Category: Featured Topic Tags:

Escape

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Reiter

Escape Walk away Burn bridges Let it all go You're not needed in this as much as you think One step away shifts your transfixed path Disappear Release Run Drop the death grip on your self On who you think you are And who you want to be Open to the possibilities Of emptiness Openness Space Allow nothing to replace The depth and breadth Of Nothingness And then expand that Until inner space Transcends outer space Let the mind empty and clear Find solace in … [Read more...]

Category: The Arts Tags:

Welcome

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city_night

He needed a place to live Asked if he could stay Having plenty of room I agree. His brothers came The same request. I agree. They needed homes Privacy Could they chop down Just a few trees? I agree. They needed food. Can we catch your fish Kill your deer Hunt your boar Slay your bear? I agree. We could grow crops Irrigate the land Change your waterways Tame the animals. I concede. We will set up markets School the children, women Whack the forest Change … [Read more...]

Category: The Arts Tags:

Release

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reiter

I cry for my role in man(un)kind for my narrow, tunneled focus my lack of connection to all that is and is not I cry for all that has been wasted polluted, extinct missed opportunity missed opportunity missed opportunity for power depth certainty and the execution thereof searching for external fulfillment moment after moment after moment then stringing all these moments together without space to breathe without reflection to exist without connection to occur … [Read more...]

Category: The Arts Tags:

Crest

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leaves

I chop the first one without flinching fling           it to the ground grab the next hack           it off with a smile a premeditated gleam deep within my heart no small task, I realize without falter, I continue does my smile mask                  my fear? … [Read more...]

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Put Yourself First

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meditate_desert

Putting yourself first may seem selfish, but it's actually one of the most selfless things we can do. Until you have lavished upon yourself love, attention, kindness, sweetness, appreciation and rest, don't bother lavishing anyone else with what you don't have to offer them. Before setting off on a flight, the flight attendant will inform all passengers that in case of an emergency, they should place their own oxygen masks on before assisting others. Why should we do that? Isn't that a … [Read more...]

Category: Life Tags:

Break the Fourth Wall

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sky_wall

A few years ago after teaching a corporate yoga class, I came to the realization that I hadn't truly connected with a group of students. I didn't realize how disconnected my students and I were until our last class of the year, when several of us chatted outside of the fitness center after class. After those several minutes, I left my students wondering what had kept us so disconnected for so long. After leaving the building, I realized what a mistake I had been making in not connecting with … [Read more...]

Category: Life

Conscious, Independent Thought

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Reiter

We learn from an early age what is acceptable in our culture and what is not, regardless of what is acceptable for us individually. Although our egos like to believe that we have unique and ingenious thoughts, most of us think the same thought patterns each day, which are recycled in our society at large. The unconscious thought in the world accumulated from present and past generations is the collective unconscious, or Spiritus Mundi (Latin for world spirit), which encompasses the beliefs and … [Read more...]

Category: Life Tags: ,

Cultivating Ease

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breathe

Many of us spend our days buzzing about from one activity to the next without awareness. We're in a frantic pace most of the day. While we continue to move at such a rapid pace, we only allow more time for more things to fit into our schedules. It's an endless cycle. To slow down the pace of our lives, we must actually slow down. When we slow down, fewer things will be able to fit into our lives. The things in which we engage then gain our full attention and become more enjoyable, because we … [Read more...]

Category: Life Tags:

Selective memory 

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reiter

Over time, memories shift and change. Memories become more favorable than the original experience unless we have an appetite for misery. Most people will gravitate toward happier, more positive memories. And this seems to suit human beings quite well. What we receive as information is passed down over time, through many people who have biased and selective memories that serve their purpose or agenda. Take, for example, American history. What incident in 20th century American history has been … [Read more...]

Category: Life

Stepping Out

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reiter

We create our reality through our conscious and subconscious thoughts. There are times when many of us live in blame, fear and doubt, uncertain how to change our realities and our lives. What we are doing as a society is avoiding our internal discomfort, unhappiness, dissatisfaction and procrastination and attempting to replace it with external comforts (see Contingency, June 2010). We buy expensive wardrobes, cars and houses. We move at a rapid pace, multitasking and choosing to be continually … [Read more...]

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Contingency

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money_tree

Have you ever done your very best on a project or test and gotten results that were disappointing? Have you ever felt your mood fluctuate with the weather? Have you ever been extraordinarily happy one moment and then had an experience that left you absolutely miserable the next moment? If so, your contentment is based on external contingencies - on other people, things and situations. Your fulfillment, happiness and mood depend on something outside of yourself - the weather, your income, your … [Read more...]

Category: Life

Releasing the Heart to Get to the Heart of the Matter

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heart_sun

An animal will know hours before a storm comes or an earthquake erupts. It is aware of the shifts in its environment, and it follows the optimal course of action. It knows where it needs to go and when. But most humans who are making decisions based on their minds or hearts will be so deeply connected to their own agendas, they will not realize there is a storm until the sky is black. They will not realize there is an earthquake until the ground is shaking. They will not know when they need … [Read more...]

Category: Life Tags: , , ,

The Loyalty of the New Age Movement to Religious Doctrine and Dogma

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religion_priests

At the age of six, I looked up at the altar in St. John's the Evangelist Catholic Church wondering why there were only males leading the congregation. Being that I was female, I realized that I would never have a vital leadership role in the Catholic Church if I chose to. I became disinterested in Catholicism in kindergarten, even though I was required by my teachers and parents to continue attending mass two to three times each week. Five years later, my parents allowed me to attend public … [Read more...]

Category: Spirituality Tags: ,
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