Ecopsychology - Educating, Counseling and Healing With Nature

I just finished my first course in Ecopsychology through the Institute of Global Education and Project NatureConnect. Tomorrow I start co-facilitating this course for new students as a requirement for my next course.

Final Paper - Tania Tyler

Our industrial society has caused our disconnection and disassociation from nature which has created a state of imbalance within life. Society and the media have taught us to believe that we are superior to nature and that it is acceptable to exploit it for the sake of our future and growth. Yet what is happening is that we are destroying both ourselves and our future. We are well aware of what we are doing. We don’t react and change because we have become numb; senseless. We have allowed our innate knowledge to be suppressed to the point where we don’t remember its importance to the balance of life.

“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”   ~ Albert Einstein

Dr. Michael Cohen’s model, Natural Systems Thinking Process (NSTP) is a unique and effective, nature-connected learning tool which promotes healing and balance through and in cooperation with nature.  The model’s effectiveness is accomplished through connecting with and learning from nature’s natural attractions on a personal level rather than through scientific theories and stories. Personal experience creates personal truths; what is “real” rather than abstract concepts. The model uses the terms 4-legged intelligence - knowledge gained through personal experience, 5-legged intelligence - knowledge based on theories and stories, and 9-legged intelligence - personal experience expressed through language.

“I learned that Western culture 5-legged labels and concepts work to short circuit the relationship between the “old” and “new” brain resulting in the distorted assimilation of information.” (course participant)

The Web of Life Imperative course starts with a personal introduction to the other participants; fostering the development of community. Participants recall early childhood experiences with nature, full of innocence and free from judgment.

“One of my earliest memories is when as a one or two year old, I would go out first thing every summer morning to a spot where a purple iris was blooming, squat down, and stare at the flower. Of course, at the time I didn’t know it was an Iris plant or that it was purple.”

“As a child my happiest times were spent outside in nature or inside creating art of some kind, often inspired by my natural surroundings.”

“I can remember sitting on the hill in my backyard looking down across the meadow, and when the wind blew past I distinctly remember feeling something inexplicable.”

“As a child I loved nature and somehow learned to be quiet with it.”

It is important for us to recognize our importance in the web of life. We are all interconnected and part of life’s balance. The way to get back to our natural intelligence is by removing all of society’s stories that we have adopted as “truth” and creating our own truths through personal experience. The activities in the NSTP develop these types of experiences. NSTP teaches how to connect with nature through our 53 natural senses and sensitivities; to feel and then express what we know to be the truth, free of society’s influence.

“A man has not seen a thing who has not felt it.” ~Henry David Thoreau

Participants learned that letting go of stories is not always easy but as we spend time really “feeling” and connecting on a sensory level; nature’s way of communication, we are able to experience the balancing and support from Nameless-Intelligent-Attraction-Love (NIAL).

“I want to preface the assignment by sharing, once again how challenging I have found this work to be. I’m not sure why I am struggling so much, but I find it difficult to concentrate, and really take in the words I am seeing in front of me on the page. I find my ego jumping in and dismissing what I am reading, and some deep resistances to some of the languaging used in the books.”

“Perhaps a reason that we struggle is because of the dichotomy between the earth teachings and the online technical aspect of posting our thoughts and feelings about our connections.”

As the course progressed and labels were let go of, trustfulness of nature developed and participants experienced and were able to express this non-verbal sensory communication (NIAL) as 9-legged thinking.

“We can learn to participate in Earth’s non-verbal, webstring ways since, we, as part of all of nature, are born knowing them and able to register them. This is part of our natural substance and inheritance.”

“We can non-verbally communicate with nature & nature will communicate back.”

“That natural attractions and webstrings provide a powerful means of truly meaningful learning.”

“I feel strongly that our connection with nature allows the sharing of messages and insights. I have learned much about myself through these times of being connected. When I have a question, nature has always guided me to my answer. Sometimes it comes as just a “knowing” or unspoken voice and sometimes I am guided to notice something in nature that gives me insight into my question.”

Nature’s webstring attractions are shared unconditionally in order to maintain balance of the whole. One powerful aspect of NSTP is gaining consent and offering gratitude from the natural area or webstring attraction. Being respectful was rewarded to participants through stronger sensory connections. Feeling these stronger connections proved the interconnectedness of all and that nature does in fact use non-verbal communication to connect with us.

The NSTP model teaches us the importance of community and increases self-worth and the trustfulness of nature through personal experience. Participants experienced their roles in the web of life; feeling part of the whole and knowing that nature is able to maintain and promote balance. Through this trust and “knowing”, judgments are released.

“By creating or using labels, we limit our experience of others, nature and life.” (course participant)

“It is in nature that one loses all judgments and false pretenses because nature does not judge.” (Dyer, 1998)

Because we are a part of nature and the web of life, all knowledge and understanding gained through the activities of NSTP pertain not only to natural areas but also to ourselves and others. Achieving balance in our lives is healing; stress is reduced, self-esteem and trust grow, respect increases, relationships become healthier, communication is from the heart, and a sense of lack disappears.

Works Cited

Dyer, W. W. (1998). Wisdom of the Ages: A Modern Master Brings Eternal Truths into Everyday Life. New York, NY: Harper-Collins Publishers, Inc.

In ancient Greece there were many specially chosen Goddesses that were worshiped and revered for their beauty and boldness. To name a few—-Aphrodite, Athena, Artemis, Demeter, and Persephone—each with a domain to oversee. Goddesses reigned over relationships. Highly spirited, they could be quite brutal if crossed and were not averse to seeking revenge if wronged.

In the 21st century, the idea of a Goddess is becoming more universally accepted, with the added benefit that every woman has the right to be a Goddess in her own world.

A modern-day Goddess knows that she is part of God/Source/All that Is. She is comfortable with her I Am. She has successfully integrated yin and yang, feminine and masculine energies. She embodies strength, sex appeal, and intelligence. She gracefully walks her path with passion, purpose, and possibility. She isn’t above others but it very much at peace with herself and values herself to the extent that she designs her own destiny, balancing love, work, and play beautifully.

She is a woman who has a presence, who radiates an inner light that can sometimes attract and sometimes intimidate others. Above all, she is who she is and doesn’t make apologies for it. Why would she? A Goddess of the 21st century is a wonderful, warm, and loving human being striving to evolve and grow while on her life’s journey.

A Goddess is an alluring, aware, authentic, action-oriented, and allowing woman in touch with her divinity.

Would you like to become more of a Goddess? Here are some qualities to improve upon:

Alluring: She Shines
• Possesses both inner and outer beauty.
• Is magnetic and alluring.
• Owns her sexuality.
• Knows who she is and accepts the light and the dark qualities.
• Takes care of her whole self: body, mind, and spirit.
• She is fully accepting of herself and has the freedom and courage to be all of who she is.

Awareness: She Knows
• Awareness of human relationships and the impact she has on others.
• Engages in “soul work”— books, people and activities, etc that serve to raise her consciousness.
• Has a love of learning and applying knowledge to real life challenges so she grows in understanding and wisdom.
• Understands the interplay of earthly and heavenly elements, “as above, so below.”
• Manages her thoughts to create the reality she desires.

Authenticity: She Honors
• Designs a life that nurtures her inner nature.
• She feels and communicates her thoughts and emotions with confidence.
• She takes the time to get her emotional needs met in healthy ways.
• Lives from her center, and is grounded in reality, dealing effectively with day- to- day life.
• She takes the lead in her family.
• She trusts her own process, including beginnings and endings.

Action: She Works
• Her work is a form of self-expression.
• Consciously creates and accepts personal responsibility for herself and her life.
• Releases the need to control or manipulate or punish.
• Discovers her unique purpose and strives to live it.
• Seeks to improve the world through her sphere of influence.
• Views obstacles and challenges as part of the learning process and uses persistence to overcome them.
• Chooses a domain(s) to master (cooking, writing, teaching, healing, art).

Allowing: She Receives
• Balances head and heart functions to make decisions.
• Allows the universe to provide for her needs.
• Lets her soul be her guide while traveling her path.
• Employs natural laws such as the law of attraction to manifest her desires.
• Possess great vision and intuition.
• Is able to perceive the paradoxes of life and see many perspectives.
• Is open to receiving her good.

The modern-day Goddess is on a journey to discover and access her divine power. Her essence is a bright light that shines forth to empower others to shine their light. She demands special treatment because she is a unique and special human being. So she wisely surrounds herself with people who see her greatness and who she can relax and let down her guard with.

When it comes to relationships, she has higher standards than mere mortals. She is seeking soul connections. And while she may be too enlightened for revenge, she will cut away with a swift sword anyone or anything that does not honor her. Because of her discerning eyes and ears, she can see right through the ego’s defense mechanisms and will easily let go of anyone or anything that is blocking her ability to give and receive love.

A Goddess deserves respect and admiration. She will not accept anything less than what she is worthy of, and since she is of God, she desires only the best!

To get to know your inner Goddess, start with giving her a name. Look within and ask your heart what is your Goddess name. Start a relationship with her and invite her to be more present in your life. Ask for guidance when you need it and watch as your dreams magically come true.

Michelle L. Casto, Ph.D. Candidate is known as the Soul Diva Coach, Speaker, and Author of the Get Smart! LearningBook Series. She has authored 3 books and a dozen workbooks on life empowerment topics. Her coaching practice is Brightlight Coaching, she helps people come up with bright ideas for their life and empowers them to freely shine their bright light to the world. To visit:

To receive your free special report, You Can Transform Your Life Now visit http://www.smartlifechanges.com

For Spiritually Smart Books: Life Coaching to Help you Shine More Brightly
http://www.getsmartseries.com and http://www.brightlightcoach.com

Contact her for a complimentary 30 minute session: m.casto@brightlightcoach.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michelle_L._Casto

Here is a post from my friend Colin at The Relationship Artist

Over the course of my career, I listened to numerous stories from divorced men and women who experienced a moment of clarity just before they married their former spouses. Their intuition told them not to marry these partners, but their conscious minds, their egos, overpowered them with feelings of guilt and social obligation. On their wedding days they knew they were marrying the wrong person.

I have heard others say that they knew intuitively when entering into new relationships that they were repeating an unsuccessful cycle with the same type of partner as before. They allowed their conscious minds to reaffirm their emotional choices and ignored their inner knowledge of the predetermined outcome. Clarity emerged once they decided to take a closer look at the qualities that consistently attracted them and the unmet needs they repeatedly tried to fulfill through their intimate relationships.

To break the pattern of previous failed relationships, you must relive the past to understand why cycles have formed. Suppressing such feelings consciously only allows your unconscious mind to recreate your fear over and over again. The pain and fear produced in past relationships holds the key to your most valuable traits. The grief and hurt you carry with you is evident to others, even though you believe it is concealed. Once you have decided to  accept the challenge of self-discovery and heal your pain, the types of people drawn into your life will change in response to the new energy you send out into the world.

Fear of the unknown creates a barrier to permitting change to occur, but change is a choice that you may elect to make any time. By taking control of your relationship path, you are taking responsibility and being accountable for your actions and experiences and not placing blame on others. Placing blame implies that you need the permission of others in order to have the right relationship. That belief shifts the power out of your hands and relinquishes your power over your future happiness. By taking full responsibility for the relationship choices you have made and not casting blame on other people for the absence of intimacy in your life, you are placing yourself in a position of  attracting and receiving the right person.

For more great articles, tools and events to create your everlasting relationship, visit Colin’s website at The Relationship Artist

“If nothing ever changed, there’d be no butterflies.”  ~Author Unknown

Everything is made up of energy ~ “information that vibrates”. Colors, sound, light, life, emotions, thoughts, atoms… are all energetic. Energy is constantly in motion and constantly changing. If we as humans were not changing, we would no longer be in our physical bodies.

Life is change. Fighting or resisting change is what we should fear, not change itself. Change is life. Resisting change creates blockages in the flow of energy.

This energy is known to many by numerous names: chi, prana, Spirit, Universe, the Divine, Divine Love, Universal Love, God… it’s the unexplained essence that all of life is built upon. It is this energy that forms our interconnected with all. We are all part of the same. It flows through everything, always. It is unseen but it can be measured. It is real. We can trust it, always. If it didn’t exist, neither would life.

When we feel stress or fear (or anything other than joy and love) we start to block or inhibit the flow of this energy, both in our bodies and life in general. It is like restricting the flow of water through a faucet. We physically experience this when our muscles tense up from stress or fear. Energy does not flow as freely through our body and we don’t feel as alive or spirited. Prolonged stress is very detrimental to our bodies; organs do not receive the fresh flow of energy, blood, oxygen and nutrients. A state of dis-ease develops. Taking several deep breaths when stressed causes us to relax and take in fresh oxygen and more of this energy.

Being open to the flow of life, and not resisting change, is the basis for abundance. This is the foundation for life. Take a look at nature that has been untouched by man, it is full of abundance and balance. Nature is constantly changing.

Questions like these are becoming asked more and more, whether verbally or of ourselves. As society is going through its changes, an urgency is arising for us to live a life of purpose. We are losing our foundations and seeking to find something to hold on to. Don’t believe me? A goggle search of: finding life purpose yields over 13 million results! Just as society is going through a period of transformation, so are we as individuals. We are looking for something to give us meaning to our lives. A purpose. We may have goals that we wish to accomplish during our life but a purpose is different in that it provides meaning.

“When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds;

Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world.

Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.” ~Patanjali

How Do We Find Our Life Purpose?

There are so many resources and techniques on finding our life purpose. I have included links to various other articles at the end this post. Just as with anything else in life, we need to find a method that resonates with us. Following is one technique for finding your life purpose and living a life of passion. We can determine whether we are living with our purpose by how much joy we are experiencing in our lives. The things that bring us the most joy are in alignment with our purpose. There are a couple of exercises in The Success Principles(TM): How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Jack Canfield to help with finding your life purpose, which I will outline here.

Finding Your Joy

Make a list of the times you have felt most joyful and alive. What are the common elements of these experiences? Can you figure out a way to make a living doing these things? Be creative!

The Life Purpose Exercise

1. List two of your unique personal qualities, such as enthusiasm and creativity.
2. List one or two ways you enjoy expressing those qualities when interacting with others, such as to support and to inspire.
3. Assume the world is perfect right now. What does this world look like? How is everyone interacting with everyone else? What does it feel like? Write your answer as a statement, in the present tense, describing the ultimate condition, the perfect world as you see it and feel it. Remember, a perfect world is a fun place to be. Example: Everyone is freely expressing their own unique talents. Everyone is working in harmony. Everyone is expressing love.
4. Combine the three previous sections into a single statement. Example: My purpose is to use my creativity and enthusiasm to support and inspire others to freely express their talents in a harmonious and loving way.

I say, follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be.  ~Joseph Campbell

Additional Articles to Help Find Your Life Purpose

• Finding a Purpose and Passion in Life: How and What?
• How to Discover Your Life Purpose in About 20 Minutes by Steve Pavlina
• A Guide to Finding Your Life Purpose
• The Meaning of Life. Find Purpose in Life and Live Your Passion
• The 5 Percent Trick: Finding Passion and Purpose in Life

Morning Coach is a great source of daily motivational and inspiration podcasts as well as an online community of over 10,000 members. Join me there.

“There is a constant and intimate contact among the things that coexist and co-evolve in the universe - a sharing of bonds and messages that makes reality into a stupendous network of interaction and communication. It is this ’sharing of messages’ in Nature that keeps it in balance.” ~ Ervin Laslo

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am currently taking classes in ecopsychology and organic psychology through The Institute of Global Education, Project NatureConnect. One aspect of the class, Psychological Elements of Global Citizenship, reminds us our learning from the activities will increase up to 75% by teaching it to another person. So, naturally I am sharing this activity with you. As you read through the activity and my responses, I hope that you would consider doing the activity as well and posting your outcomes as a comment. Not only will it be an enjoyable experience for you but your response will also enhance my future skills to teach this important subject. If you do the activity, please remember that it is your personal experience, do not let yourself be influenced by what I have written as my experience.

“We cannot live for ourselves alone. Our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads, and along these sympathetic fibers our actions run as causes and return to us as results.” ~Herman Melville

This is a piece of the activity. The full activity requires the book: The Web of Life Imperative: Regenerative Ecopsychology Techniques That Help People Think in Balance With Natural Systems by Michael J. Cohen, Ed.D.

1. Think about a prior good experience you had in nature. Think about where you were, how you felt, what you sensed. Write your response.
2. What was feelingly enjoyable or rewarding about the experience?
3. What did you experience from completing this activity (not the past experience itself)?

———————————————————————————-

Here are my responses:

1. Last summer a time came where I felt a strong need to sit in nature and connect with myself again. I was guided to wake early enough to watch the sunrise at a monastery we have here in Mystic, out on a sacred piece of property on the ocean. I found myself sitting on a huge, flat ledge-type rock that ends somewhere under the water. This rock lines up perfectly with the rising sun. The sun rose a majestic salmon/pink color, reflecting over the still ocean. Gulls greeting the morning with their cries. As the sun burned off the morning haze, I could feel its warmth radiating on my skin. The large rock gave me the grounding I was looking for. Relaxing in the stillness I could feel the pulse of the earth through the gentle motion of the ocean. I was at total peace. I noticed details of the life around me vividly and clearly, as though I had a new set of eyes. A white egret, unafraid of my stillness, hunted for its breakfast, standing perfectly still, waiting. Seaweeds attached to the rocks swayed with the gentle motion of the water. Water lapped and flowed against and through the rocks. I asked the Universe for these qualities I saw in nature. The patience and trust of the egret, the flexibility of the seaweeds, the lightness and warmth of the sun, the strength of the rock, and the energy and balance of the ocean. I felt a part of the rhythm of nature. I was really aware of my senses, they seemed heightened. I felt that I had given myself back to me. I watched a white feather fall from the sky, resting next to me on the rock.
2. What I found enjoyable or rewarding about the experience was the connection to all of life that I felt, the deep peace and insight I achieved, and I could feel Divine love flowing to me and through me.
3. I found this first activity very interesting. I was amazed how vivid all the details came back to me, it felt as though I was actually sitting on the rock again. I realized how deeply the experience was ingrained in my memory. As I was typing, I also noticed how the words were just flowing, almost poetically.

“Nothing is more indisputable than our senses.” ~ Jean Le Rond d’Alembert

“The laws of the universe are not indifferent, but are forever on the side of the most sensitive.” ~Henry David Thoreau

What are your responses from the activity?

“A Good Day” With Brother David Steindl-Rast

Everyone has dreams. Whether they are big or small, they have vast importance in our lives. But, the procrastinator in all of us doesn’t have to win. With just a little bit of planning, accomplishing a goal is a simple task.

Steps

1. Set a realistic but challenging/inspiring goal. Take a big dream, like “I want to be famous”, and break it down into smaller, more manageable steps, like “I want to star in a science fiction movie”, “I want to go to three auditions a week”, “I want to move to another city” and “I want to save $5000 so I can move.” Make the goal big enough to challenge and excite you, but not so big that you hesitate to take the first steps.
2. Plan ahead. Once you’ve broken down your goal into pieces, write down the steps on a piece of paper to make sure you have everything thought out. One of the worst things that can happen is you’re almost to the point of your goal, but you’re not sure what to do next. Also, give yourself deadlines for each step. Otherwise, you’ll end up procrastinating and never achieving your dream.
3. Brainstorm ideas. Are there different ways to reach your goal? Write everything down that you can think of in three minutes, no matter how silly or impossible it may seem. For example, you could go to acting school, or maybe you could land a spot in a reality show that would get you started.
4. Ask. No one can tell you exactly what you should do to achieve your goal, but one of the best sources for guidelines is to ask those who have done what you hope to achieve. Learn from the experience of others without trying to imitate them.
5. Define and describe your goal. Write down when you want to achieve it. Write down the reasons why you want it. Write down what it would feel like after you have achieved it. Figure out exactly what it will take to get it. Be realistic about the time things will take. Many people don’t allow themselves enough time, and give up too soon.
6. Be positive. Your goal should be written and have positive intent about what you want to bring into your life. This is very important, since the focus of your goal should not be centered around describing a problem you want to eliminate.
7. Make contingency plans. Never forget about the problems that might come up on the way, and prepare for them. Positive thinking is important, but preparedness is better than being shocked or devastated when obstacles appear.
8. Learn from mistakes. Making mistakes should be a subject at school to teach all children how to learn from them, instead of trying to avoid them. In the pursuit of a goal, you are likely to make some mistakes. Don’t see them as bad or get angry. They are important to correct you and to lead you to success.
9. Draw on all your past achievements that are relevant to your goal. No matter how small you perceive your achievements, list them anyway. It could be something small, such as joining a healthy eating mailing list, to coming home from work late, yet preparing a tasty nutritious meal for your family in under 30 minutes. Once you review your list, you will be amazed at how all those small achievements soon add up, and how much you are really capable of doing.
10. Visualize. Close your eyes and imagine yourself accomplishing your goals. Where are you? How did you get there? How do you feel? Do this often. Don’t get swayed easily with the noise and happenings going on outside. Put your attention on what you are trying to achieve. Remember the goal, and you will have control over the discomforts and difficulties. A good way to visualize is to practice self-hypnosis.
11. Listen to your internal dialogue. What you are saying inside affects you physically, emotionally and mentally. Is your defense system inside trying to make you stick to your past, limiting beliefs and perceptions? Take over and challenge your inner critics. Monitor any excuses you might be making in relation to your goal. For example, saying “I don’t finish work until late and won’t have time to cook!” You must recognize that if you are truly passionate about your goal, it is up to you to make time.
12. Make a list of your personal strengths in relation to your goal. For instance, if you have a healthy eating goal you might want to consider strengths such as your level of commitment to eating healthily, or the fact that you enjoy cooking and experimenting with new recipes or even that you are an excellent cook. The list of personal strengths you can draw up is endless.
13. Seek help. Find the information, skills and knowledge that you need from other people, books, and audio or video programs. Speed up your learning process by emulating what other successful people have done. You save time and get results faster. Self-hypnosis audios are a powerful way to help you get fast, permanent results.
14. Create benchmarks or milestones. A benchmark is something you can use to measure your progress and know you’re on track. For example, you can write “The first stage of reaching my goal will be done when I’m in the Entertainment section of the newspaper!” or “I’ll know I’ve reached my goal of being famous when I’m a guest on Oprah.”
15. Make a timeline. Draw a horizontal timeline with a dot at each end. The left end represents now, and the right end represents a point in the future. Specify what you want to happen and when, from now until then.
16. Be passionate. Striving towards a goal without passion is like a fire which slowly runs out of fuel to burn. Get excited; this will mean that you will love what you are doing. Methodically check your behaviors against impassioned dreams developed as a child. Always share the child within amongst your potential peers. This empowers the Law of Attraction that shapes the dreams of the child into the creative force of the adult.
17. Revisit, evaluate, and if necessary, adjust your goals. Keep a written record of your goals in a place where you’ll remember to read them every day. They’ll change and adjust over time as your life does, so keep them up-to-date.
18. Consider new opportunities and options that come your way. Sometimes things have a way of unintentionally leading you exactly where you want to go.
19. Start working towards your goals today. Ask yourself, “What can I do today to get one step, however small, closer to achieving my goals?”
20. Persevere. Now that you’ve got the momentum going, don’t let it stop! Some steps may seem less exciting than others, but make sure to stick to your plan until the end!

Tips

• Don’t forget the words of Lao-Tzu: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
• Be true to yourself. Your goal won’t be nearly as sweet if you achieve it by doing things you’re not proud of.
• Make sure your goal is SMART:
  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Achievable
  • Realistic
  • Team-oriented
  • Time-related
• Put it in writing. Writing reinforces thoughts. Even if you are the only one to see what you’ve written, writing down your goals can give more power to your intentions.
• Always stay in a good mood when finishing your goals (get your mind right AND SMILE). Not that it’s the law but science has proven goals get finished 2 to 20 times faster when you’re in a good or great mood. Imagine any goal you want, getting finished 20 times faster! How easy is it to focus when you’re not in a good mood? Don’t get tricked into slowing down!

Warnings

• Things don’t always work out as you had planned. Stick to your goals, but be flexible.
• Don’t share your goals with people who might tear you down. But, conversely; find someone close to you or a coach who will play the devil’s advocate role - as learning to challenge yourself in new ways can help you to improve and get closer to your goals.
• Do not be tempted to squeeze a square peg into a round hole. If something doesn’t fit or it doesn’t feel right, try a different approach.
• Please remember that every coin has two sides. Do not be rigid in accepting or rejecting any advice. Goals such as freedom struggle are not necessarily Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-related; nevertheless, they created history.
• Often times, when you get good at accomplishing goals people tend to become more likely to distract you. In psychology that fact of life is summarized like this: “Dysfunctional people hate seeing healthy progression of character in others”. So don’t let it get to you and recognize it, or that can get out of hand! Now dysfunctional, doesn’t mean mentally or physically handicapped. But if someone has a problem finishing tasks in any area of life, when they see you being successful, subconsciously their mind will convince them to build up sabotaging circumstances for you. That can also be summarized by the other psychological analogy “You become who you hang around. You stay the level of skill as who or what you believe”. So just remember to believe the ones with the good results when faced with a important choice.

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

State of the Village Report

If the world were a village of only 100 people, there would be:

• 60 Asians,
• 14 Africans,
• 12 Europeans,
• 8 people from Central and South America, Mexico and the Caribbean,
• 5 from the USA and Canada, and
• 1 person from Australia or New Zealand.

The people of the village would have considerable difficulty communicating:

• 14 people would speak Mandarin,
• 8 people would speak Hindi/Urdu,
• 8 English,
• 7 Spanish,
• 4 Russian,
• 4 Arabic.
• This list accounts for less than half the villagers. The others speak (in descending order of frequency) Bengali, Portuguese, Indonesian, Japanese, German, French, and 200 other languages.

In the village there would be:

• 33 Christians,
• 22 Moslems,
• 15 Hindus,
• 14 Nonreligious, Agnostics, or Atheists,
• 6 Buddhists,
• 10 all other religions.

In this 100-person community:

• 80 would live in substandard housing.
• 67 adults live in the village; and half of them would be illiterate.
• 50 would suffer from malnutrition.
• 33 would not have access to clean, safe drinking water.
• 24 people would not have any electricity.
• Of the 76 that do have electricity, most would use it only for light at night.

In the village would be:

• 42 radios,
• 24 televisions,
• 14 telephones,
• 7 computers
• (some villagers own more than one of each).
• 7 people would own an automobile (some of them more than one).
• 5 people would possess 32% of the entire village’s wealth, and these would all be from the USA.
• The poorest one-third of the people would receive only 3% of the income of the village.

The following is also something to ponder…

• If you woke up this morning healthy … you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.
• If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the fear and loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pain of starvation … you are better off than 500 million people in the world.
• If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep … you are more comfortable than 75% of the people in this world.
• If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace … you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.
• If you can read this, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.

When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, it becomes both evident and vital that education, acceptance and compassion are essential for the progress of humankind.

Original version by Donella H. Meadows More info at http://www.odt.org/popvillagesources.htm