Kristin's World

Science and Distortion

2012-02-09T07:47:00.004-05:00

My friends, if any of you doubt climate science even a little, consider the moral implications. As Stephen Schneider (RIP) pointed out, tobacco companies showed us how to lie to and confuse the public for their own interests. Now an array of corporations are doing the same with climate science. But this time, it is not our own bodies we destroy but our children's healthy home ... for the preservation of our convenience and world view. How is this not a deeply moral issue?

Dysfunctional Health Care System Hits Home

2010-11-09T15:51:00.003-05:00

I need to vent. I just found out this afternoon that United Health One has again denied my application for coverage. This is personally frustrating and expensive but also significant in that my case demonstrates just how pathetic the system has become. Why? Because, by all measures, I am in ideal health.

I am 46 year-old woman, have zero medical history, take zero medications and have excellent vitals and BMI. I've never smoked and work out at least 4 times a week. Nonetheless, United Health One denied my initial application for coverage because I take vitamin B-12. That's right, the need to take a vitamin constitutes a pre-existing condition worthy of denial.

Over the summer, my doctor here in the District noticed my B-12 levels were low based on a routine blood test. She explained that a low B-12 count is a common condition, especially for people like me who eat little or no meat, suggested that I take a B-12 vitamin everyday and we'd recheck the values in two months. United Health One (a.k.a., “Golden Rule,” how ironic is that?) decided this was sufficient to deny coverage and, after an appeal that included a strongly worded letter from this same doctor, denied the appeal.

I'm one of the healthiest people I know. But as an independent contractor, unaffiliated with a larger insurance buyer, I am being denied coverage for a brutal profit calculation. I'm not saying that the system would be okay as long as I and people like me can get coverage. Rather, my case demonstrates just how ridiculous the situation has become for all of us. Though Health Care Reform legislation may be flawed in some ways, it's also true that, come 2014, what happened to me today would be illegal. If the Republicans in Congress come through on their campaign promises to repeal reform, the system will continue to attend to the wallets of shareholders and CEO's, leaving our health and the health of our families in the dust.

Yogi and Pepper, "Just Pets"

2010-10-25T17:33:00.007-04:00

In the last month, two dear friends of mine were faced with the sad need to compassionately end the lives of their animal companions. While we as a society are increasingly value our "pets" (39% of US households have at least one dog and 33% have at least one cat), we're still shy and/or dismissive when it comes to honoring the loss of these friends.

So this post is dedicated to Pepper the cat and Yogi the dog, treasured companions and teachers. These creatures who literally don't speak our language, willingly entrust us with their (relatively simple!) care. This inter-species alliance brings us immeasurable gifts: the constancy of their presence, the sense of purpose their reliance creates, the way they surprise and tickle us with joy, their affection thoroughly clean of obligation. For me, the greatest gift is what they show us about ourselves: this heart, its effortless devotion and the beauty of its love.

Pepper

Yogi

Pepper and Yogi were surely lucky to have these friends of mine as guardians. As we gain and lose everything in this life that is dear to us, I celebrate the wonderful and mysterious lives of Pepper and Yogi, ended in the fall of 2010, ushered forward in love.

Tea Party Activists, White Like Me

2010-09-27T17:50:00.006-04:00

Contemplating the popularity of the Tea Party with a friend, I watched again this penetrating 2009 analysis from Tim Wise on how the economically elite divide and conquer the underclass, getting poor and middle class white folks to fight their battles. In so doing, the non-elite, directly harm themselves at least economically if not, well, spiritually.

Can we as white people talk, really talk, with each other, those firmly advocating or even screaming to get rid of Medicare, privatize social security, etc under the conceptual ruse of "smaller government?" Let us not call anyone a racist, for that just plays into the divide. We can start by appealing to our own vastly overlapping economic self interest and build from there. Let me find a way to deeply listen and truly share regarding our common experiences and needs.

Oil as the American Body's Crystal Meth

2010-08-05T12:00:00.007-04:00

BP's static kill of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in the appears to have worked. 107 days and 4.9 million barrels of oil later (almost 20 times the size of the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill), Daddy may have indeed plugged the hole. But this family's got a deeper problem: we've got whole way of life built around a nasty drug habit, one that is making us very sick and will be hard to kick. No competent drug counselor would call an addiction to methamphetamine “unsustainable.” To call our use and abuse of the Earth's finite resources “unsustainable” is to miss the gravity of our situation. This habit is tearing us apart and we are paying for it in numerous ways.

As we have all been recently reminded, every US president since Nixon has called for the end of our dependency on "foreign oil," but George Bush was the first to call it an addiction. Although I deeply questioned his commitment to do anything about it other than naming, I admit that the metaphor was and remains spot on. How like a single individual's addition to meth-amphetamine is our national addition not just to oil, but to consumption itself? (See my most recent post on the modern day version of this disease.) Have we allowed oil and its enabling consumer culture to take over our lives, empty our bank accounts, destroy our families and home, and force us into a life of crime? Has this addiction become the insidious driving force in our culture, insisting that we sacrifice everything dear to us for a satisfaction that never satisfies?

Image from TreeHugger.com, "Big Oil Economics: The Greatest Welfare Scam Ever!"

We pay for this way of life, this addiction, and we pay dearly. We literally pay by financing the oil wars and military infrastructure that protect the illicit-substance supply chain. At $722 billion annually, US military spending dwarfs all other public expenditures, ballooning national debt while debilitating our economy and our ability to invest in heath, education and, not surprisingly, clean energy alternatives. We pay in global security. Since US tax payers are responsible for 41.5% of military spending world-wide (China is second at 5.8%), we in effect drive the market for global violence. We pay with the very lives of our brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, sons and daughters who systematically die, kill or are maimed in the gears of this war machine. We pay in the the corporate capture of our democracy where public officials increasingly answer to CEO’s not citizens, providing financing and legal cover to the richest and most powerful companies the world has ever seen. Of course, the environmental catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico and the just-beginning effects of climate change illustrate how we pay in the wanton destruction of our environment. In the manner and scale of our harvesting and emissions, our use of oil is killing the bounty of life on this planet, our just-one Earth, the only planet so far as we know that hosts the astounding miracle of life. And, finally, we pay in our integrity, the sense of wholeness and justice in our hearts for the reality is that we transfer many of the costs of war and environmental degradation to those without the power to object.

Just how precious are we to ourselves? Do we have the eyes to see what lies right in front of us? Do we think we can change? Do we believe in a happiness that comes from harmony, proportion and justice? Can we help ourselves and each other to heal? Addicts who recover begin by admitting the problem, acknowledging the enormity of its costs and believing that another way, a clean life, is possible. With the loving support of community, they then get down to the practical and hard work of transformation, committed, unwavering, and one day at a time.

Today's Consumption Disease: How All of this Stuff Makes Us Unethical, Unhealthy and Deeply Unhappy

2010-06-29T18:40:00.010-04:00

People, we have to change the way we live. In 20 min, this little cartoon tells the story better than I ever could.

We can be happier, much happier. But we have to first see the system for what it is, then want true happiness for ourselves and each other and finally, with the courage of our convictions, resolve to stop this madness.

Ego's Relationship to Privilege

2010-06-16T15:45:00.004-04:00

I was reading a bit of Cheri Huber last night (Zen buddhist teacher in the Bay Area) and in coming across the following mention of "privilege", I thought instantly of white privilege which in turn brought an interesting dimension to her wisdom:

It is difficult to own our freedom.

We are so privileged that we have to ignore vast areas of our lives in order to pick out just those that aren't the way we want them to be. This process of ignoring and selective perception lets us continue to see ourselves as victims of life circumstances.

We are addicted to being victims.

It is only by remaining victims ourselves that we can continue to justify victimizing others.

She then goes on to say that "in order to remain a victim, you can't know how to be a master" and discusses how ego systematically thwarts mastery in order to keep itself in tact. Much of her book (That Which You Are Seeking is Causing You to Seek) discusses how much we want to have problems (even though we say we don't) so that the world remains a dualistic place of good and bad and we can remain small.

The implication here is that ego has a vested interest in denying privilege. If I admit privilege, I can't play my victim role, which means I have to acknowledge enormous injustice (racial and otherwise) and my role in the systemic perpetuation of injustice. It also means mastery is available. Suddenly excuses drop away, there's a lot more freedom and responsibility and being a grown-up person (which who wants that?). I hadn't thought about how my ego might have an existential fear of seeing privilege.

In a certain way, it seems obvious but nonetheless, I was so struck (stopped dead in my tracks, actually), that I felt compelled to share. Does this grab anyone else?

Corporate Responsibility on Display

2010-06-14T10:27:00.003-04:00

This image, credited to Mark and Vicki Cipolle, was captured at a BP station in Ohio and published on The Rachel Maddow Show's Flickr stream. Words like "hyprocracy, hubris, flagrant irresponsibility, irony, contempt" just seem to spill out of the mind.

Chief Arvol Looking Horse:A Great Urgency

2010-06-14T09:55:00.004-04:00

I've been struggling this past week with grief, anger and helplessness over the Deepwater Horizon spill in the gulf. I believe that many share some or all of these responses. The words below from Chief Arvol Looking Horse speak to me of the spiritual significance of this moment and to the need for political, economic and cultural change. Our actions and words really do matter. We can commit our minds if we begin with our hearts.

A Great Urgency

To All World Religious and Spiritual Leaders

My Relatives,

Time has come to speak to the hearts of our Nations and their Leaders. I
ask you this from the bottom of my heart, to come together from the Spirit
of your Nations in prayer.

We, from the heart of Turtle Island, have a great message for the World; we
are guided to speak from all the White Animals showing their sacred color,
which have been signs for us to pray for the sacred life of all things. As
I am sending this message to you, many Animal Nations are being threatened,
those that swim, those that crawl, those that fly, and the plant Nations,
eventually all will be affect from the oil disaster in the Gulf.

The dangers we are faced with at this time are not of spirit. The
catastrophe that has happened with the oil spill which looks like the
bleeding of Grandmother Earth, is made by human mistakes, mistakes that we
cannot afford to continue to make.

I asked, as Spiritual Leaders, that we join together, united in prayer with
the whole of our Global Communities. My concern is these serious issues will
continue to worsen, as a domino effect that our Ancestors have warned us of
in their Prophecies.

I know in my heart there are millions of people that feel our united prayers
for the sake of our Grandmother Earth are long overdue. I believe we as
Spiritual people must gather ourselves and focus our thoughts and prayers to
allow the healing of the many wounds that have been inflicted on the Earth.
As we honor the Cycle of Life, let us call for Prayer circles globally to
assist in healing Grandmother Earth (our Unc¹I Maka).

We ask for prayers that the oil spill, this bleeding, will stop. That the
winds stay calm to assist in the work. Pray for the people to be guided in
repairing this mistake, and that we may also seek to live in harmony, as we
make the choice to change the destructive path we are on.

As we pray, we will fully understand that we are all connected. And that
what we create can have lasting effects on all life.

So let us unite spiritually, All Nations, All Faiths, One Prayer. Along
with this immediate effort, I also ask to please remember June 21st, World
Peace and Prayer Day/Honoring Sacred Sites day. Whether it is a natural
site, a temple, a church, a synagogue or just your own sacred space, let us
make a prayer for all life, for good decision making by our Nations, for our
children¹s future and well-being, and the generations to come.

Onipikte (that we shall live),

Chief Arvol Looking Horse
19th generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe
(Wolakota.org)

San Juan River Retreat

2010-05-09T09:00:00.009-04:00

Spend eight minutes with me on my 10-day journey down the San Juan River in early May, 2010.

There were just seven of us on this meditation / wilderness retreat with two teachers from the Vipassana tradition. For me, it was a truly transformative experience. Except for the necessary speech to be safe on the rapids and manage logistics, this was a silent retreat. But rather than make a silent video, I've added music to reflect both the mood of the river and the feeling of revelation with the outside and inside world.

This is a high resolution video and so it's very large. The best way to view it is to download the file and play it locally, fully expanded on your monitor. On a Windows PC, right click here and save the file to a location you can get to later. Once the download is complete, find, double-click the file and expand to full-screen viewing. You Mac people know your equivalent. Downloading the file can take quite a while, depending on your connection speed.

Alternatively, you can view the still photos below. It will be must faster (you instant-gratification-seeker you!) but you'll miss the soundtrack.

My deepest gratitude to Johann Robbins for organizing and co-teaching this amazing wilderness, whitewater, silent (mostly) retreat, to the sweet sangha of Deborah who is morning light, Alice who is pure goodness, Gary who is one with the river, Nick, my wonderful rowing sensei, and finally to Eric Kolvig for his profound wisdom and life-long dedication to the liberation of all.

Getting Religion - Arauco "reforms" its strategy on the environment

2009-05-18T10:17:00.007-04:00

As a member of Duke's Nicholas School group visiting Santiago to discuss environmental sustainability in Chile a few months ago, I posted the following to the Nicholas School blog. As it has received some comments, I thought I'd re-post it here, as an independent space in the blog-sphere.
In 2004 and 2005, the attention of the World Wildlife Fund, the government of Chile and a local citizen group called Action Group for the Swans was turned on Chile’s Carlos Anwandter Nature Sanctuary and the Cruzes River. In question were the emissions of a new paper mill owned and operated by Arauco, Chile’s leading forestry company and supplier of 6% of the world’s wood pulp. Swans were dying by the hundreds and an intolerable smell drifted down the Cruzes River valley into the town of Valdivia. Independent analysis from WWF and the Chilean government confirmed the suspicions of the locals. Pulp mills bleaching with chlorine dioxide release dioxins and furans that are then absorbed by luchecillo and other waterweeds, a staple in the diet of the migrating black-necked swan. Though Arauco resisted the findings, the plant went through a series of voluntary and forced closings at direct and painful cost to the company profits. At the same time, a public relations war waged on.

Black-necked Swan(cygnus melancoryphus)

Fast forward to September 2006 when this same company wants the world to know they get it. In that month, Arauco’s Nueva Aldea pulp mill began operations as an embodiment of lessons-learned. Engaging community stakeholders at the outset and building a state-of-the-art mill whose emissions are so benign, the company added a vineyard and olive orchard next door just to prove the safety of the effected soil and water. None so righteous as the recently converted.
We spoke today to Charlie Kimber, vice-president of marketing and sales for Arauco. It was clear in his characterizations of the Valdivia fiasco that he and his company had been through a powerful experience. Mr. Kimber spoke with conviction about the err of Arauco’s ways saying that “we had a very bad attitude” in dismissing the local community and their concerns. According to him, Arauco had since embraced their responsibilities as a global and local corporation. “Being global starts at home,” said the reformed executive. Still, a tinge of victim-hood remained in his tone as did hints that the company was innocent of any wrong-doings beyond their “bad attitude.” So one might fairly question whether Arauco has discovered a fully authentic sense of stewardship for the land and waters they use and the trust of communities on whom they depend for their business.

What is clear is that Arauco has embraced a message of sustainability and is investing aggressively. Nueva Aldea is just one component of an overall sustainability strategy that includes an assessment of the company’s full carbon footprint including everything from source materials to processing, operations and transport of final products to their destination. Through these and similar programs, Arauco may be setting the standard for triple-bottom line sustainability amongst forestry companies in South America. Yet the court battles and controversies over other plants continue. So just how real is their new-found environmental responsibility? Moreover, to what degree do we care whether Arauco’s leaders have had a true conversion or simply responding to market pressure?
The black-neck swan is still waiting. In addition to pursuing their environmental responsibilities in the large, Arauco needs to address the damage to this bird population by sponsoring a recovery strategy in the region to create and maintain habitat. Only action matters. Aruco has yet to fully own their responsibility to the ecosystems in which they operate. Watchdog groups must stay alert to greenwashing. So long as Arauco maintains a brisk and steady march to the promised land of full sustainability with accountability, transparency, and scientific rigor along the way, we will celebrate their transformation.

String Theory

2009-03-26T20:22:00.002-04:00

Turns out finding time to blog while in Chile was a challenge. What a shock, sitting and typing at my computer just couldn’t compete with the tug of adventure. So I took a few quick notes and decided to gather them up on the plane ride home. Welcome, then, to my “Patagonia Playback.” (Okay, it's more than Patagonia, but I liked the alliteration.) I'll be dribbling these posts out over the next week or more, so just pretend I'm still there and giving you the play-by-play.

As our meetings with various environmental and government organizations didn’t begin until Monday, we had Sunday to explore Santiago. The weather was perfect so it was off to the Pre-Columbian Art Musuem just off the central plaza. Inside it was cool and provided a comfortable environment to enjoy the excellent exhibits. Maps and cultural period timelines gave context to the descriptions (Spanish and English) for each display. The museums' website might give you a feel for the quality of presentation. I was surprised to learn just how far back these civilians rose (5,000 BC by some estimates). The detailed craftsmanship of the some of the pieces was remarkable.

My favorite display was that of a Quipu, an artifact of the Incan civilization used to capture accounting, events, and even stories and poetry. Only problem is no one has been able to translate the meaning of the knots into something we can understand. We lack, in other words, the "Rosetta String."

Welcome to Santiago, Chile

2009-03-10T00:59:00.001-04:00

I came to Santiago because I could. The folks from Duke's Nicholas School for the Environment invited alumni from our program to join them on their field trip to study environmental, social and economic sustainability in Chile. Without thinking hard about it, I said yes. So here I am, blogging after midnight from the lobby at the Ritz Carlton (this is Duke after all). It’s only two days in and already I’m charmed sockless. This is a new world city, mixing in art and archiecture elements of European tradition and Latin contemporary all in a spectacular landscape beneath the towering Andes.

We arrived Saturday morning after a long overnight flight from Atlanta. One might think my regular sitting practice would make me good at sitting itself and one would be wrong: ugh. Not to worry, Ritz and Carlton are here to help. Complete recuperation was systematically accomplished through a morning in the hotel spa’s steam room, sauna, pool, hot tub and roof-top deck.

Considering my definition of a great hotel room is one on the far side of the interstate with some distance from the ice-machine, this place has me a bit unsettled with its big feather beds, world-class spa and young, beautiful men in top hats (not named Ritz or Carlton) opening every door as I approach. Still, I’ll find a way to cope and suspect my sense of entitlement will coincide with my departing flight. Falling asleep on the deck in the bright afternoon sun, I sunk in. The fall weather here feels a bit like San Diego: bright sun, deep blue sky, a little too warm and relief in the form of an occasional breeze.

Sunday we ventured out into Santiago visiting the Pre-Columbian Museum, National Art Gallery and some local markets. We had our first meetings today, including a discussion with the head of a Terram local non-profit focused on environmental policy and social justice, former Chilean President (!) Dr. Ricardo Lagos and dinner with local Duke alumni. Later in the week, we'll be heading up into the mountains for a first-hand experience of Chile's ecotourism. Our group is posting to the Nicholas School's blog so you can follow the official sustainability course there. I'll be more casual here (for I have no course credit to worry on) going deep on all of these amazing experiences, museums, markets, meetings and more, in upcoming posts. Suffice it to say for now that trips mixing education and vacation are the way to go. I’m a delighted sponge and already certain that departing flight will come too soon.

Point One of the Seven Points of Mind Training (Lojong)

2009-02-10T22:58:00.013-05:00

There's a Kalyana Mitta group, or "KM Group," that meets regularly at my house. In the Buddhist tradition Kalyana Mitta might translate to "spiritual friends." We are there to support one another in our practice and on our path. We meditate and then share our daily lives, our struggles and victories. When we talk we use the Mindful Dialogue technique which employs a talking stick or stone and where create space between shares and aspire to hold a space of listening, support and self-awareness. As my mentor and friend, La Sarmiento puts it, the mindful dialogue tecnique asks us to bring the practice we use in meditation to "conversation": rest in awareness, watch what happens, resist nothing, hold a gentle heart.

As a way to support each other on the path and bring a dharmic perspective to any struggles, our KM group has decided to walk through some Buddhist teachings. We're currently exploring Pema Chödrön's Start Where You Are which covers the "slogans" or teachings of the Seven Points of Training the Mind (Lojong). We all love Pema and wish she would join our KM group. Reading her books together is probably as close as we're going to get.

So, as a sample of our exploration, to give you a sense of what Buddhism is andi is becoming for me, I present a summary of the first few chapters covering Point One of the Seven Points of Mind Training followed by my personal reflections. Within the summary, I've elaborated a bit (in italics) with a personal aspiration that will help me to remember and put to work each of the slogans.

But first, a note on lists. Buddhists love their lists. The Buddhist sutras (or official teachings) are full of lists: the four noble truths, the eight-fold path, the seven points of mind training, the three poisons, etc, etc. Someone finally pointed out to me that this was necessary as Buddhism was for so long an oral tradition. To understand a concept (the path, the mind trainings), a list was the only way to make the teaching whole. Makes perfect sense now.

I've started to see the ways in which these concepts interrelate and cross-reference each other. So as I summarize Pema's teaching on point one of the seven points of mind training, there will be references to other Buddhists teachings, some of them fundamental. I won't explain all of those here (and there is a decent chance I got some of it wrong!), so if you're new to Buddhism, some of this won't make much sense. Instead, hang with what does make sense and let the rest go.

The Root Text of the Seven Points of Training the Mind (Lojong)

From Start Where You Are by Pema Chodron

Point 1: The Preliminaries, the Basis for Dharma Practice

Point one covers sets the foundation for mind training: The Practice (as in, the meditation practice) and The View (this is the Buddhist way of seeing reality and is the first aspect of the 8-fold path). Pema describes how the The View relates to the buddhist concept of absolute bodhichitta. Given the translation of "bodhichitta" as the “awakened heart,” absolute bodhichitta emphasizes the awake sense of the awakened heart: opening up to the the full scope, confronting the Big Reality and contemplating unfathomable truth of the universe. So here we have in Point one, the foundation, The Practice and The View:

First, train in the preliminaries.
Shamatha Vipashyana practice – consistent, ardent meditation practice is the foundation for the path.
If I ground myself in anything, it is the practice.

Absolute Bodhichitta: The View

Regard all dharma’s as dreams
Solidity is illusion, each situation passing memory.
The practice is precise, even ruthless. Within that precision, I explore and acknowledge with a warm and gentle heart.
Examine the nature of unborn awareness.
Even this “I” is an illusion.
I contemplate the nature of this one who hears these words, is aware, has insights, “understands.”

Liberate even the antidote.
If I think I understand “Regard all dharmas as dreams” and/or “Examine the nature of unborn awareness,” then, well, think again.
Objectify nothing. Free even the understanding of emptiness.

Rest in the nature of alaya, the essence.
This slippery place in which the mind feels deeply insecure is a wonderous place. It is reality. Rest there.
I return to and relax in open, spacious, wordless, formless presence.

In post-meditation, be a child of illusion.
Off the meditation cushion, in the rest of your life, continue the practice.
I call myself on a path as I carry the awareness cultivated in meditation into daily life, in all of my relationships, activities, directions and intentions.

In this section, Pema also presents the three aspects of bodhichitta as compassion or the loving and gentle heart, prajna or wisdom-mind and shunyata, the emptiness of any inherent existence.

Thoughts On Point One

First, I love it that the seven points of mind training start with the fundamental requirement of meditation practice. What catching and throwing are to baseball, football, and, the highest form of sport, ultimate frisbee, meditation is to Buddhism. Pema and the lojong teachings don't let us off the hook: if you're not meditating, Buddhism is mere entertainment, perhaps even a philosophy, but not a way of life. If you're not meditating, you're a spectator. That might sound harsh, but I think it so ... but wait, is that the long-ago voice of my dear friend and teacher, Rhonda Williams, I hear? "None so righteous" she said, "None so righteous as the recently converted." Indeed, exploring the teachings in text and in discussions is a place on the path, the first place, a precious place. Okay, I take it back. But I will say that for me that place has an end and at some point I commit to the path and, in so doing, I commit to a daily practice. And if I falter, I recommit again.

Second, the rest of the slogans in this section, those that together illuminate the concept of absolute bodhichitta, blow my mind. And this seems exactly what they are intended to do: to shake my sense of certainty about the way I see the world; to call into question what I think I "know;" to call into question thinking itself; and to actively re-engage in wonder, wonder without conclusions, at the most fundamental level.

While she hasn’t gotten to it yet, we know that the other dimension of bodhichitta is relative bodhichitta, the heart aspect of the "awakened heart." This is our fundamental connectedness with each other and all of life in this field of formless presense, the stuff of natural compassion, how it is that we care for each other in order to care for ourselves.

The concept of bodhichitta is fundamental to the Mahayana Tradition of Buddism: the open mind and the open heart.

From my read, the two dimensions of Bodhichitta (absolute and relative) and three aspects Pema describes here (compassion, prajna and shunyata) significantly overlap:

Relative bodhichitta and compassion are associated. This is the soft and gentle heart sense.
Absolute bodhichitta and shunyata are also associated as the vast, open, emptiness sense.
Then the third aspect of bodhichitta, prajna, is the clear and sharp even ruthless view of reality. It is this third aspect that informs a core willingness to see the other aspects, (indeed all things) as they are, even as we don’t understand them, even as they don’t really exist.

Huh? Yep, Buddhism flips me out. But it’s hard-wired lack of certainty, the fact that it makes no ultimate claim on reality (indeed, absolute boddhichitta puposely disavows any understanding of objective reality) is exactly what gives me comfort, makes me feel at home in its teachings. It’s what Einstein was pointing to when he said he mistrusted any system of belief that didn’t have a built-in mechanism for calling itself into question. Or when he said that there is no conflict between science and religion when each is properly understood. Buddhism states upfront that we are inherently limited, declaring that we, even the Buddhas among us, will not know the mind of God. Yet at the center of our being and edge of our understanding is our Buddha-nature. From that place, we are at peace, in harmony with our world, inherently interconnected, unattached (in the most beautiful sense), authentically in love with the world and able to truly help others. I’m only a beginner on this path and don’t even understand half of what I just wrote. But the shit really rocks my world. Something in me, a place beyond words, deeply resonates and hungers to learn more, to continue on this path.

I feel so fortunate to have come upon the Dharma, the Buddhist view of life and truth. I am so very grateful to those, including Pema Chödrön, who have devoted their lives to the discovery, enhancement and transmission of the Dharma. And I am equally grateful to my KM group, my sangha, my spiritual community for sharing and exploring the path with me.

Let's see, last Tuesday ... where was I? Oh yeah ...

2009-01-26T21:40:00.010-05:00

Here it is, a bit overdue, Kristin's 2009 Presidential Inauguration Report. At this moment, I survey my self and find I am still tired , still happy, relieved, elated, inspired and a bit disoriented ... for after a week like that, what do you next?!

My friends from the New Mexico campaign (a mix of staff and volunteers) started showing up Thursday before the Big Day. I felt privileged to show them my funky neighborhood including the ethnic restaurants and unabashed diveswith great hip-hop DJ's. We did the "We are One" concert on the Mall on Sunday (where at one point, the crowd got so tight that I felt in danger of literally becoming one with several strangers). The HBO/Inauguration Committee botch of the Gene Robinson opening prayer put me in a tizzy but didn't overshadow the exuberance of the moment. An early afternoon party around the corner from my place (networking for those staffers moving to DC) was quickly followed by my own party later that evening (I love it when friends apply me with their wines and their playlists). Monday was a bit of a rest (okay, recovery) before the next day's early morning wake up call. We did make a mad dash for Dupont Circle at 6 pm where Kate Clinton was holding a Sage-Out, administering the Lesbian Power of crystals and herbs to rid our town of the bad ju ju accumulated over the past 8 years. For me (who takes this stuff not seriously), I found it so fun and the closing song surprisingly touching.

We greeted the next day, Inauguration Day, with a mixture of excitement and battle-readiness (but, like, a kind battle where you have no enemies, keep each other warm and help everyone win). Alas, our group of 10 fell pray to the PIC planners' missteps and miscalculations. After we endured the 6-hour, purple ticket holders' tunnel to nowhere, we were ultimately fragmented by the push of the remarkably friendly but still pressing crowd. With three from the fellowship remaining (apologies for the nerdy reference), I made it through the purple gates of hell only as Obama was being sworn in. So it was with a tinge of frustration and regret that I witnessed The Moment and The Speech apart from our full group, nowhere near our ticketed area, on an tree-obscured Jumbotron and over distant and muffled loudspeakers. Worry not for Diane Feinstein says she'll make it up to me and my friends with a collection of limited edition as-seen-on-TV Barack Obama commemorative "Victory" plates (or something like that). Yet we all quickly recovered, heartened by our collective experience as still part of something awesome. Later that night, I happily passed on my ticket to the Youth Ball (for I may be "young at heart" and some would say "immature" but there were many more deserving and qualified for the position than I) and instead joined local friends at Station 9 where we danced-danced-danced.

Bonus Round: Wednesday night removed any last trace of I-Day regret with the Staff Ball at the DC Armory in SE. Both the Obama's and the Biden's addressed the crowd and were jovial and remarkably lose.

Photo by Linda Leu, New Mexico Campaign Staffer

I generally hate name dropping but I must say it was incredibly cool to hear from David Plouffe (that guy who stalked you with emails throughout the campaign he orchestrated and refused all press interviews).

By Thursday evenings all of my dear compadres were gone and my household was back to Corky and me. But no stopping just yet as I took off Friday afternoon for a weekend Buddhist retreat in Maryland. Although initially resisting the timing, I promptly took up the opportunity to go deep into silence like a warm shawl.

I have to add that one of my favorite moments was picking up Wednesday's Post and seeing this on the front page: Rob Emanuel in the Oval Office facing an Obama who was, relaxed and listening, seated behind that historical desk!!!

Photo Source: The White House-Getty Images

I was deeply struck by it's normalcy. This is our President. He's already ticked me off and at least confused me a few times and I expect that. But to trust the intentions, intellect and temperament of my President is not only a welcome change but a beautiful thing in its own right.

Obama on Religion-Politics: How a President just might help heal a family

2009-01-22T22:49:00.008-05:00

After recently discovering this speech from June, 2006 and as someone who's family has become polarized over religion-politics, I'm considering the idea that Our New President may provide some healing amongst my own brothers and sisters. No melodrama here and I'm not kidding. This is long, but for those interested in the topic, more than worth it.

Keynote Address from the Conference "Call to Renewal: Building a Covenant for a New America"
Barack Obama, June 28, 2006, complete text.

Video excerpts are avaliable on YouTube. Here's the first:

Sold Out

2008-12-19T22:30:00.006-05:00

In response to the Rick Warren selection, here was my letter to President-Elect Obama (posted retroactively to sheepishly catch up my woefully behind blog).

To US President-Elect Obama,

It seems I've been sold out.

What I so strongly and overtly supported in this Campaign for Change was competent, transparent governance, a restoration of our constitution, cooperation on critical international issues and the vital need to move beyond ideology in how we run our country. Yet in the selection of Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at this historic inaugural ceremony, you voluntarily promote one of the most dramatic examples of "the politics of division" which you so forthrightly campaigned against. His overt support for California's proposition 8 reveals his ignorance of the exemplary morality of committed same-sex couples and is a direct threat to the separation of church and state.

As a full-time volunteer on your campaign in a swing state for 3 months and as an out lesbian, I am deeply disappointed by this decision.

And now I find myself needing to clarify the fundamental argument here to you and the members of your staff and upcoming administration. I am about to defend my own morality (sigh). Homosexuality is not a choice and it is *as moral as* heterosexuality. Denying my homosexuality and subjecting my family and community to all of the sociological and psychological fallout of such a denial, now that's immoral. I don't deny anyone's right to think me immoral and worship in a church that agrees, but they cannot lawfully deny me my civil rights. "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" must apply to to all citizens.

Your message to me is that civil rights matter but not mine. Unity matters, but unity doesn't include me. We must educate and promote fidelity to the constitution, except when political bases can be expanded (for it is only political calculation, a cynical interest-groups-trade-offs analysis, that seems to explain your decision). Your defense has been a repeat of the "we need not agree on everything" argument. But this isn't working across partly lines of representatives, you have actively selected Pastor Warren to open the spiritual tone of your administration. Such explicit action discredits the very themes that motivated me to serve in your campaign.

Here's how you make amends: 1) see to it that Pastor Warren's remarks are thoroughly screened and confined; 2) in contrast, encourage Rev Dr. Joseph Lowery to explicitly clarify the moral argument for gay, lesbian and transgender rights in his benediction and, most importantly 3) use the first 6 months in office to aggressively push for equal treatment under the law for our country's hard working, law-abiding, gay, lesbian, transgendered citizens. Finally, if so moved, you might remember that part about promising to admit your mistakes.

Sincerely,

Kristin Barker
Washington DC resident, full-time volunteer in the 2008 New Mexico Campaign for Change.

We are the ones

2008-10-06T10:22:00.005-04:00

Already this movement, us, we've already come together and affirmed our common humanity, our fundamental interdependence, our common desire to heal. And in that, no matter what comes November 4th, a majority of Americans, we are already healing.

Here's the latest from DipDive:

And follow up from the creator, will.i.am

People say Obama’s words are just words, but when was the last time "words" weren’t important? When was the last time a great leader didn’t use words to lead? ... we can all recall the last time "words" were used to divide us and install fear.

See the full text and comments here.

NM Voter Registration Makes News

2008-10-05T19:20:00.004-04:00

With the deadline for voter registration in New Mexico this Tuesday, we set up a big push to get volunteers to the opening weekend of Albuquerque’s International Balloon Fiesta including the big launch site itself as well as Park-And-Rides bus service locations throughout the city. Our wonderful volunteers rose at 4:30 am to get in position to register voters. If you want to change the world, it looks like you really do have to get up pretty early in the morning.

Chris Foster, one in our fabulous army of registrar volunteers, was interviewed yesterday at Balloon Fiesta Park for this associated press article by Susan Montoya Bryan. Didn’t Chris do a great job of staying “on message”? ;)

The article was picked up not just by the Albuquerque Journal, The Santa Fe New Mexican and local news stations like KOB, but numerous media outlets all over the country including Newsweek, Forbes, USA Today, MSNBC, ABC News, Newsday, Fox News (yes, really), and, my little hometown’s rag, The Washington Post. Heck, here it is in the Taiwan News!

Press coverage is exciting but the real news is the number of new voters we've registered whether at the Balloon Fiesta, our local flea market, CNM’s voter registration drive, UNM’s North Campus, Coronado Mall, Goodwill, Sunflower Market, Target, the Lobo Grower’s Market, the Jewish Community Center and many other local stores, senior centers, high schools and parking lots. I'm intensely grateful to all of our hard-working volunteers who take time out of their personal lives to expand the voting base for Barack Obama and ensure that so many people have a voice in this and future elections.

And it’s not quite over yet. Tomorrow is our last full day to register voters and reach our state-wide goal of 30,000 voters in 30 days. From a geographical perspective, Albuquerque is a "big" place (sorta like Alaska) so almost everyone here still drives back and forth to work. New Mexicans love their drive-throughs so we have set up several drive-through locations during evening commute hours for “Last Chance” registration before Tuesday’s deadline. The drive-throughs have worked pretty well so far so we're hoping to catch all of those procrastinators and too-busy-parents with our final efforts.

Solutions for Believers

2008-09-24T12:24:00.005-04:00

The Obama campaign has been fresh out of yard signs, t-shirts and stickers for months. There's some question as to how effective yard signs really are, but no matter, if you want one, give up the complaint and make one. This is the most on-purpose, explicitly diverse grassroots movement I've seen in my lifetime, so it seems to me that the home-made variety of swag is all the more powerful.

Here's the sign I made for one of our recent voter registration events (one of many in which we were allowed, even encouraged, to be partisan).

If you really want to help, canvass and register voters. Walking door-to-door and broadening the base are the two most important things we can be doing right now. But if you've still got energy after that, enlist groups to make signs and stickers for others. Any group of Obama supporters, no matter age or ability can help. Gather up all your materials from a local hobby store and host a sign-making party - guaranteed to be less stressful than a debate hosting party.

And while the following music and video will convince probably no one, I consider it important food for the workers. More than a message about Barack Obama, it is tribute to the vision and vibrant legacy of Dr. King.

Barack Obama Visits Northern New Mexico

2008-09-19T00:42:00.022-04:00

I finally got to see the man in person as Barack Obama traveled to Northern New Mexico today. He gave his speech at the Plaza de Española where the event reportedly drew over 10,000.

I know Española only as we traveled through here so many times in my youth. It is Española, not Los Angeles, that is the birth place of the "Low-Rider," that large, usually black car with the chain-link steering wheel that moves ever-so-slowly down the street, occasionally showing off the hydrolics and always showing off chrome and sound system. Driving through here on a Saturday night took a loooong time but we enjoyed the street party.

The framework of Barack's speech was that of yesterday's in Colorado. You can see and hear that speech here. To that core, he enhanced the discussion of regulating Wall Street, funding capital markets and clarifying his tax policy. In the latter, he labeled McCain's recent ads on the subject, an "Untruth." Obama also made many references to the Hispanic and Native American communities in New Mexico with a closing plea to "vote your numbers" and "flex your muscle."

(To see a large version of this slideshow, click here. You'll probably want to up the interval by pushing the '+' next to 'seconds' along the bottom.)

He was all that he seems to be: a great orator, passionate, convincing and, to my read, authentic. Indeed I came away inspired and even more hopeful. With all that is going on in and outside the presidential campaign, I become ever-more convinced that this is indeed the most important election of my voting lifetime. I'm fortunate to be here and have the opportunity to contribute.

Canvassing and Expanding

2008-09-15T17:59:00.004-04:00

New Mexico is certainly it's own place. Sky, vistas and dry air dominate so much how it feels to be here. That's obvious. Then there's the art and architecture, distinctively and sometimes overly Southwest. But when you spend some time here, look past the presentation and meet these people, hang out in their places, a character emerges. They are unapologetically unsophisticated, behind-the-times, dusty, rusty, complicated and strangely charming. Certainly California and New York have changed this place, but only a small part of it. Most New Mexico remains an intersection between, in order of domination, White, Latino and Native American cultures and subcultures. There are few Asian and African-Americans. Rough edges and tensions abound but largely go unspoken (the state motto being "Crescit eundo", "It goes as it goes"). Still, all seem to share the love of this land and sky.

We all know by know that politically, New Mexico is deep purple. Anti-BLM property-rights ranchers, off-the-grid hippies, retired Chicago businessmen, Hollywood expats, Mexican pro-America middle class, white born-again Christians ... there all here and sometimes it's hard to guess which of the two major parties any individual will align with, if either. It's in this context that we're trying to get the message across: "You're vote really counts. Look hard at the issues and positions. See past the lies and fear-mongering."

I had this little concern as I drove across the country that I wouldn't end up with much to do for the campaign. Well that was clearly wrong as I'm having trouble making time for much else. At the moment, I'm helping in the northeast region of Albuquerque as well as the "East Mountains" to organize weekend canvassing and voter registration. The voter registration effort is currently dominant with only a few weeks before the deadline of October 7th (Hey Reader, Are you registered?). So I'm helping to coordinate sites, events, and deputized registrars all in an effort to expand the Obama-leaning voter base. (Due to past abuses, in order to register voters in the state of New Mexico, one has to be deputized by the county, a mere two hour training.) We have over 175 deputized volunteers in our area and many target sites, so the effort is a lot of communication, placement and where needed, getting permission from site owners and walk the line of non-partisanship.

The newly opened East Mountain Obama office had their first open house last Sunday. There the guest-of-honor wasn't so much Martin Heinrich, candidate for New Mexico's 1st congressional district, but "Belly Bob" the donkey. Belly Bob gave good rides.

And, yes, Corky's "Dead or Republican" joke was a hit.

Miniature Traveling Companions

2008-09-09T13:24:00.002-04:00

The route from DC to Albuquerque was simple: I-66 W out of DC, I-81 S to Roanoke where I boarded I-40 W for the long haul to Albuquerque. Two and a half days seemed a reasonable target time. Alas, hurricane Gustav had other plans for me.

After driving 12 hours on day one (Corky did none, N-O-N-E, of her share of the driving), I-40W brought me to Memphis Tenn. which seemed a nice place to stop along the "Musical Highway" (though not quite sure what that meant ... I rolled down my windows but didn't hear anything). But Gustav says "no" all the hotels and motels east of Memphis were full with evacuees. On to west of Memphis and hoping for better luck. But again, Gustav gives me the big blow off and there's no room at the inn. Okay, it's getting really late and I don't want to drive exhausted in this increasingly intense wind and rain. Best pull into a rest stop and resume driving after some rest.

Okay, see that little white dot halfway between A (DC) and B (Albququerque)? That's Memphis. Nice area, big river, lots of vegetation, lots of moisture. Corky and I find our little rest stop right about there, move everything out of the passenger seat into the driver's seat get her some water, roll down the windows a bit for ventilation, and settle in for some sleep. Not so much. Itchy is me. Must be all that dog hair on the seat mixing with moisture that's got my skin creeping out. Turn on the light, remove said dog hair with handy lint brush and it's back to shut eye. But now itchy is really me. Turn on the lights again and notice drops of blood on my legs. What the *&(%? Turns out Memphis is built on a swamp. Right. My car has been invaded by a swarm of hungry mosquitoes. Guess the car light was as good as a dinner bell. Thus began a tirade of cursing and throwing everying from the drivers seat to the back seats. Corky's freaking out not from mosquitoes (fur's too think, lucky dog) but cuz Mom's completely lost it. In less than a minute we're on the I-40 ramp with all windows fully down. Only its raining hard now and mosquitoes, being determined to live or something, have no interest in flying out the window into a downpour. They hunker down. Like soldiers on a hill, at least 20 of them stand waiting in the crevice between my winshield and dashboard. At least, for the moment, they seem less interested in eating .... me.

Now well after mid-night, I'm searching again for a Super-8 or somesuch with at least one spot in the parking lot. I decide to focus on towns with no major north/south artery that would bring folk up from Louisiana and Gustav's rain. I find just such a town 50 miles west of Memphis and sure enough, the parking lot is only half full. A friendly woman at the front desk set me up with a room. $10 fee for pets. No problem. Too tired to itch now, I don't remember unlocking the door before my head hit the pillow.

The next day, Gustav's wind and rain continued until noon, but I made it all the way to Albuquerque before 11 pm, periodically rolling down all windows when one of my miniature traveling companions would start circling for a meal.

Even now, a week later, my legs, feet and right shoulder are still covered with little bumpy souvenirs. Safe and mostly sound, we made it. After sleeping the sleep of the dead, I was perfectly refreshed and ready to go. I set out that morning to find the New Mexico state office for Obama's Campaign for Change.

Obama-Rama

2008-09-08T12:09:00.002-04:00

I don't know about you, but I'm worried. Worried that the Rovain machine will scare Americans into choosing four more years of despicable governing. So concerned am I that I've decided to take off a few months from DC to work part time for Obama in my home state, a "swing" state, of New Mexico. The latest polling (if you believe in such things) gives Obama a slight edge for NM's precious, count 'em FIVE electoral votes. Doesn't seem like much, but the Obama strategy needs New Mexico by every wining scenario of close states. So off I go.

Here's the little ditty I came up with while packing the essentials (you know, computers and bicycles) before embarking on this 2,000 mile journey.

With bikes on the rack,
And Corky in back,
This will be a road-trip-o-rama.

Palin's no Hillary,
Find me a distillery!
Lest I become Drama-Mama.

It will be a long ride,
But McCain? Can't abide!
I'll get NM for Obama.

Hopefully, my ability to sway New Mexico voters is stronger than my poetry. And so it begins and not a moment too soon, what with the republican swift-boating ugliness in full swing. Readers of the Albuquerque Journal's online edition are already being asked to vote in an online poll: "Sarah Palin: Enough Already? Or Do you Still Want More Coverage?" I can hardly wait for the debates.

PlanetWare.Net

2008-09-01T10:55:00.001-04:00

At long last, I am pursuing this long-held idea of starting my own software company focused on software solutions for environmental problems. I’ll start out with consulting, add staff and customers and move to independent product development as opportunities arise. And for this venture, I've secured the domain name "PlanetWare.Net"

The mission of PlanetWare.Net will be to bring the power of software technology to the problems of the environment. We build software for a healthy planet. (Of course, at the moment, “we” is refers to the “royal we.” ;) We'll combine software development expertise, experience in natural resources conservation and other environmental issues with a proven ability to deliver world-class solutions for diverse customers.

Our services include development consulting in technology strategy, system architecture, product definition, project management, software development and user experience. Overtime, the company will independently offer software products, perhaps in the area of water resources management, ecosystem services valuation (that is, systematic economic valuation of clean air, clean and plentiful water and other stuff in-tact ecosystems give us “for free”) and environmental systems data integration. Or somethin’ like that.

I've got my first contract and am building the foundation of a small business. What? Am I Scared? Nah! I'm terrified. But thanks to great friends, family, Pema Chödrön and The Buddha, it's all good.

By the way, the image to the left is an early prototype for a PlanetWare.Net logo. Let me know what you think!