Distractions

The current obsession with failed immigration policy is just another distraction from the real issues that are corroding the quality of life in American society. The focus should be on the unethical people who are making money off the backs of illegal labor. The focus should be on the 10% of the American population which control 90% of American wealth at the time of a crippling economic depression. These wealthy Americans are funding the politicians who are making policy. These Americans have decided they do not want to pay taxes to keep democracy alive in America.

Television and radio have become co-opted by that upper crust. They depend on them for their livelihood and are owned by them. Even "public" broadcasting has become the lap dog of the wealthy. More and more hidden endorsements and commercials are evident to regular listeners like me. More and more interviews that are really infomercials.

It is obvious that the wealthy of the U.S. are planning to walk the well worn path to Fascism and/or plutocracy. Merging of government and corporations is evident. The Reaganite poison is in the water. We are fighting wars for oil and natural resources. The poor have been duped into hollow patriotism. The wealthy have managed to turn the poor against government by propaganda on TV and AM radio.

Meanwhile, the money men have managed to take control of the government by managing to buy a Democratic presidency with a faux-Left, multiracial figurehead to soothe the few intelligent, truly Left-leaning Americans. Middle-class Tea-Party folks and Libertarians have been fooled into raging against their own interests in health care and good government.

It is difficult to rally support for opposition movements in a country devastated by a depression. The lucky are on unemployment benefits, which are used by politicians to sway their sentiments in favor of the status quo. The unlucky are scrambling for shrinking private and government resources to stay off the street. The unaffected are staying quiet and simply hoping they are not next in line for financial ruin.

The truth is clear. Too few have too much. Too many have too little. Hard work has nothing to do with the disparity. Class has become more and more entrenched and defined in America. It is class disparity which will continue to destroy American democracy.

Corporations

I communicate on this blog via a broadband cable connection, purchased from a national cable provider, which also provides me with telephone and television services. I recently discovered that my "on demand" television feature was inoperative. I got an error message, similar to the error messages we all dread on computer monitors.

I had gotten the same error message when the cable system was activated by two separate technicians about a month ago. The second technician, who came to replace faulty equipment left by the first, had assured me it was all fine. When I pointed out that the external cables on the outside of the building were hanging out of a broken plastic box like black spaghetti, he shrugged and said, "I don't have a ladder."

This time, I called the 800 number. A rather brusque woman, identifying herself as Dawn in a New Jersey accent, humored me, told me to recycle the box by unplugging the cable from it and then wait 25 minutes. I found, of course, I would have done just as well to spread a circle of garlic on the living room floor and do a rain dance in it. Next, a thickly Spanish-accented man, who insisted on calling me "Mr. Paul" over and over again, said he was going to electronically send me a very special (magic?) signal which only he possessed. He guaranteed his signal would get through. Perhaps this line works for him in his local singles bar. It did nothing for my cable box.

The third call put me in touch with Joe, an average-sounding young man with a warm personality. He took me through yet another rebooting experience which did not leave my cable box glowing any more effectively. But, he did set me up with a real service technician, who is due later today. Hopefully, this technician will remember to bring a ladder to look at the knotted spaghetti cables on the side of the building.

Welcome to the Corporate Soviet of America. If you have seen and understood the film "Brazil", you will understand my point. As bureaucracy grows, it begins to exist for its own benefit. Its original function or purpose becomes secondary to its own survival and prosperity. This is disastrous for the consumers of service industries. Ask anyone who goes to a huge medical center with a serious illness. The insertion of layer after layer of barriers between the consumer and someone who provides an actual, on-site service is an attempt to decrease the payrolls of higher-paid technicians in favor of lower-paid hand-holders, whose job it is to keep the consumer at arm's length.

Meanwhile, at the top, the executives and shareholders are pulling out the resulting profits at the expense of poor customer service, lower wages for customer-service tele-workers and higher workloads for fewer on-ground technical personnel. Deregulation under Reaganite politicians has made this situation worse.

It is common knowledge that increasing the access of a population to internet bandwidth increases education, productivity and participation in the workings of a society. But, is this what corporations by their very nature want? Why would corporations, which sell mediocre services at a premium, unhealthy food cheaper than healthy food and cheaply made consumer goods based on an oil economy, want to provide the consuming public with the tools of their enlightenment and liberation from the very junk they are peddling?

When you next hear Libertarians and Tea-Party devotees screaming against Government, you will be hearing the shrill voice of corporate-funded or corporate-inspired stupidity. Think about whether you really want to spend your future calling 800 numbers while the quality of your life slowly slips away.

Courage

In the materialist and hedonist American culture, we are bombarded by stories in various media about people facing adversity by continuing to live "active" lives which often entail trips to exotic places, bicycle tournaments, cross-country treks. The media, owned by corporations who sell things, like trips, bicycles and motel rooms, have a vested interest in portraying the "brave" survivors of adversity as determined consumers.

Some who survive adversity become businesses, like the segments of the breast-cancer-fundraising industry, which has been exposed as a cash cow for some indiscriminate entrepreneurs while yielding limited net funds to cancer research. Parents of afflicted children, with the help of media promotion, have started non-profits which have become their full-time job, yielding much higher annual salaries than they ever expected in their original occupations, while yielding relatively little money to help others.

I am sorry to say that many of these trends are modeled on the example of the so-called, non-profit AIDS industry. By diligently pursuing Federal grants, running trendy fundraisers and setting up highly specific non-profits, some in the AIDS industry have made huge salaries, bought second homes and retired early on large pensions. They have traveled the globe on tax-deductible money under the pretext of attending conferences. AIDS transmission has not been impacted commensurate to the cost of funding these agencies.

What about the courage of those who live with adversity humbly and responsibly without participating in corruption, tax-evasion or manipulation of public sentiment? Millions of people live these lives day by day without resentment or selfishness. Yet, they are not held up as role models for those who may some day be confronted with a life crisis. Their wisdom is considered weakness by many. By the materialist and selfish, they are seen as losers.

What a sad state our culture is in! Despite the recent failure of greedy capitalism, our government struggles to prop it back up. People who come here illegally and reap the benefits of the hard work of native-born and legally immigrated Americans are seen as victims. Our Congress argues over billions of dollars to keep rich war contractors happy. Millions of people are losing their homes in foreclosure, while real estate experts joyfully tout increased sales and higher prices of property, as the banks resell the properties they have taken back.

It takes courage to live a simple and responsible life. To fulfill daily commitments to those we love requires consistency and routine. Flying off to a beach in Thailand at will is not on the menu of someone who loves and cares for others with a limited income. But we seldom hear the story of those who do the washing, the dressing and the feeding of those who cannot function by themselves.

I applaud and admire the courage of those who care responsibly and humbly for their fellow human beings throughout their lives. They are the unseen fabric which holds a society together. They often enable others in family systems to live more colorful and recreational lives without ever getting acknowledged for their contribution.

Time

You cannot place your foot in the same river twice. Like a river, our lives change with each moment. You can choose in each moment whether to paddle with the current of your life or against it. Either choice is yours to make. Neither choice is the right one.

War

The insanity of supporting war by the greater public is obvious. Centuries of wars have done relatively little to improve the human condition. Today's ludicrous indignation of the U.S. government over leaked Pentagon documents about the corruption in Pakistan and the failed strategy in Afghanistan underlines my point. The nonsense about a war for "freedom" in that part of the world has been shown to be a cynical public relations stunt to cover more devious machinations by our military, our industry and the allies of our politicians.

The U.S. government has turned a deaf ear to scores of human-rights and human-aid workers who are intimately familiar with Afghanistan. These peace-oriented advisers have repeatedly cautioned against stoking the Afghan tendency to belligerence and tribalism. Instead, they have suggested supporting the Afghan talent for small industry and perseverance. The Pentagon has ignored these calls. They are interested in more money for more weapons and more medal-encrusted grandeur for the war executives (officers).

Congress, still cowering behind post-911 flag waving, have caved in to the military over and over again. They are all too eager to forget the lessons of Viet Nam. Defense contractors have sunken their talons into the purses of political campaigns. Even the peace-talking, Nobel-holding Obama has become hawkish and easily cowed by the bluster of his own generals.

Insanity is doing the same ineffective thing over and over again while expecting a new result. This is the history of the military back through the ages. Armies represent and protect those who do not have the greater good in mind. Armies enforce the power of one elite over another. In doing this, they grind the bones of the common people.

Chant

I was once a ritualistic chanter of Buddhist sutra. Like meditating, chanting a familiar sutra repeatedly has an hypnotic effect. Under the influence of this hypnotic effect, I believe, it is possible to engage various parts of the brain for the concerted behavioral changes which can better your life. This is not an outrageously novel or new idea.

This morning I am listening to Gregorian chant on my favorite Amsterdam radio station, Conzertzender. It occurs to me that this chanting is not very different from the Buddhist sutra-chanting with which I am familiar. In my youth, I sang Gregorian chant in a boys' choir. I recall the rush of excitement when our choir got it just right and the echoes of our voices rebounded back to us off the stark stone walls of our church.

The Gregorian chant of Roman Catholic ritual is constructed to lull and mystify, in my opinion. It is a sound meant to echo off cloister walls. A sound to awe and entrance impressionable, illiterate peasants perhaps. The great monasteries of Tibet, perched on mountaintops, echoed similarly with the sutras, often accompanied by fierce horn blasts and choking incense.

While listening to Gregorian chant charms me and makes me nostalgic for my own blissful ignorance of youth, I also hear in it the theatrical manipulation of millions for centuries. Perhaps this will be the role of religious rituals in some enlightened future. Reminders of the blissful ignorance of humanity, before it woke up to its real place in the Universe.

Boundaries

The bee-hive mentality which has arisen due to social networking sites has its benefits and drawbacks. For the socially adept, the Facebook phenomenon can enhance an already vibrant social fabric: An actual social life, in other words. However, for the socially and geographically isolated, the social network sites can deepen isolation in three-dimensional terms. The illusion of a social life is not an actual social life.

There is no touch on Facebook; there is only "in touch". There is no kiss, no held hand, no reassuring shoulder rub. Facebook is a construction of pixels on a screen, wired to keyboards and mice. Nothing more.

I recently had several very unpleasant encounters in branches of a major banking institution. I found I was dealing with highly educated and abysmally inept customer service personnel. They were treating me like one of their Facebook friends, I assume. Unable to make the distinction between their roles as employees of a bank and Facebook friends or friend-of-friends, they addressed me in an insulting and personally intrusive manner.

One bank manager, a woman of obviously unhappy disposition, held a bank check containing my funds tightly to her pregnant abdomen as she interrogated me as to how I planned to spend my own money. She was stunned when I told her it was none of her business and advised her to hand me my funds immediately. She did so reluctantly with a look of consternation, like some short-circuited zombie.

Working in the virtual and working in the actual are different. In the virtual, electronic switches allow you to play god with your virtual reality. In the actual, the virtual attitude is called narcissism. It is high time that those of us who are able to discern these less-than-subtle distinctions practice active education of those who are unable to do so. Apparently, their parents did not do a very good job of it.

Elements

I sometimes like to look at my own life's development in terms of the elements. When I was growing in the womb, I was like the amniotic fluid in which I resided. I was unconscious, flexible, fluid, malleable. After being born, my body gradually hardened and stiffened. From rubbery newborn, I became a dynamic and aggressive toddler.

Growing from baby to child to adolescent is a hardening process, a process of individuation and forming of more rigid boundaries. More like stone plow than water, as a young adult, I learned to fend off rejections and other assaults on my self image. I plowed a path into a work life. I honed the blade of my plow against the rocks of prejudice, materialism, class and ignorance.

It was familiar and easy to continue to harden as I approached middle age. A certain amount of financial stability made me less dependent on social supports and networks. I had a fixed idea of where my life would go as a plow in the secure, walled field of my life.

The AIDS epidemic represented a boulder far stronger than my plow. It shattered that hardened me. The resulting congregate person, pieced together initially from the old hardened me, fumbled along for a short while. No straight furrows through the intense, changing morass of the epidemic could be plowed. So, I dissolved into it, became part of the soil of the epidemic itself.

By working within the devouring beast, which was decimating my community and my own life, I gradually learned that being more like water than stone worked better for me. Working my way back to the fluidity of my pre-conscious, amniotic self has been a form of liberation. Rebirthing, perhaps.

My practice is leading me gradually to that end point at which I will concretely become like water, like air...simply water vapor, dust and dissipated electromagnetic energy. I believe that approaching that end point, awake and alive, without struggling with the elemental realities of being is perhaps the height of what is means to be human. I also believe that any person who does this will inevitably become a mindful and compassionate creature.

Identity

A constant battle in my daily practice is one between my identity and my humanity. I see this same battle play out in the human family. The signs are everywhere.

A prime and relatively benign example is the Muslim head scarf, an outward statement of religious and cultural identity. Yes, it is just a piece of fabric. Just as red AIDS ribbons were initially. However, in countries where rabid Muslim extremists have killed innocent thousands through terrorism, this statement of identity is a barrier to harmony and trust. And, in countries where women have fought for decades for liberation from male oppression, this piece of fabric is a statement of identity with forces which would oppress women again if allowed.

I recall the early days of the rainbow flag, now a symbol associated GLBT liberation and identity. The flag's multicolors are not a reference to Dorothy's song in "The Wizard of Oz", "Over the Rainbow", as I have heard the uninformed state on several occasions. The rainbow flag was meant to symbolize a minority movement which united people of all colors and ethnic backgrounds. It was a symbol of merged identity, of shared humanity.

Getting past identity responses is difficult. As human beings, we have many tribal and familial habits of identifying with people like us which have served for centuries to provide us with a sense of safety and social stability. The reality is that groups do differ in cultural and biological ways. However, getting past that identity factor is essential to reaching a state of compassionate peace with all living beings.

Being politically correct in a conformist sense does not abolish identity issues, though it does provide a more peaceful public environment in which to do the individual work of reaching down to basic humanity to create peace and cooperation in each human situation. Getting past identity requires mindful practice. It is an important step to achieve the individual peace that promotes world peace.

Creativity

I recently moved from a house to a small apartment in the city. I had to prioritize my routines. Routines necessary for my health maintenance were first in line: Up at an early hour, yoga, medications, breakfast, going to the gym. These essentials were modified minimally while I was packing, unpacking and organizing on both ends of the move.

The process had an impact on my writing. The basic variable was one of time. I have come to understand that I need a lot of time to produce writing which I consider worthy of being shared with others. That time isn't always spent in front of a monitor at my desk, by any means. The time that was missing while I was moving was my time for walking in the woods or on the beach. It was the time I spend writing long emails to friends with whom I regularly correspond. And, it was the time I routinely spend reading on the Web and in print.

As I grow older, I am very impatient about and careful with my time. This comes with the daily mindfulness that my window of existence is closing and could slam shut at any moment. My creativity flows from the conscious use of my time to stimulate a creative response in my brain. I call it "playing with my brain".

The impatience about wasting my time becomes a problem in some relationships. I used to suffer fools gladly. My work for many years entailed spending time trying to decode the garbled thinking and impaired communication of mentally ill and impaired people. This builds personal habits, which I have been trying to unlearn for over a decade. Those habits were a major impedance to my creative process for many years, despite the fact the work which developed them provides me still with grist for my stories and poetry.

Entering relationships for me now requires quickly assessing the worth of each relationship in terms of my creative process and my need to maintain my vitality in order to be creative. This is a challenge to my precept of generosity of spirit: I have tried for decades to be open to everyone I meet and their needs, as part of my humanist practice, born out of my Buddhist studies. The by-product of this struggle has been an increased skill and creativity in developing the relationships in my life which enhance my creativity. Those people who obstruct my creativity by wasting my time get less of it.

So, my creative process does not exclusively entail externalizing ideas and emotions into art. It also entails sculpting my own daily human experience into an artful being. The synthesis of these two processes is very powerful. To live creativity, as a mindful person, brings a value and spontaneity to writing, drawing and movement which surpasses intellectual art. Every fiber of the day becomes a piece of the work.

This recent move has brought a realization that I have made progress in this process. While I found that my routines were disrupted and impacted my output of written work. I also found that my new and old routines easily melded into functional and creative days, in which I accomplished quite a lot without being overwhelmed or hypercritical of myself for not doing more.

The result is an appreciation of what is and who I am. This is a creative, living place in each moment from which to move through space and time. What is simply is. I am there in the moment to use whatever it is in a creative and positive way to the best of my ability. I believe this is the core of being creative and of simply being, in a mindful and compassionate way.

Silence

Sometimes silence is the most audible response.

Food

The most elemental part of any spiritual or growthful personal process/practice is choosing a healthy diet. How you eat and what you eat will have the greatest influence on your progression as a human being. From brain to feet, diet controls the quality of your life and your experience of life.

The modern food supply in the U.S. is a chemical minefield. The corn and soy agri-magnates have sacrificed genetic diversity and nutrients in food production to extend shelf life (profits) and diminish costs of production and shipping. The result is obvious. A plague of obesity, a population routinely taking anti-depressants and/or tranquilizers, and a booming laxative/antacid industry.

Even the leading organic food chain, "Whole Foods", has betrayed its own name for profit. Read the packages of products on its shelves and you will routinely find extenders, synthetic soy additives, synthetic corn additives. In other words, junk food. Their staff has been brainwashed and will argue that these synthetic, superfluous additives are "natural" or "organic". This is absurd.

It is essential to take control of your diet to get free from the additives and extenders which have no nutritional value. You will experience clearer thinking and more energy within weeks of eliminating this garbage from your diet. Eat food from the ground. Minimize food from boxes. Eat dairy products that are unadulterated with additives or preservatives. Seek live-cultured yogurt. Eat cage-free, vegetarian-fed chicken eggs. Stay away generally from processed corn-containing or soy-containing products. Do not eat raw legumes. And, if you must eat meat, find meat that comes from animals which were humanely raised with organic, non-animal feeds.

Eating properly is a self-perpetuating process. Your body, once stabilized on a good diet, will punish you if you stray. Listen to its discipline and you will live a longer, healthier life.

Climate

the great lie pelted my roof

ruptured clouds of dark soot

banging to get my attention

i cringe beneath the attack

sweating from the humidity

knowing the planet's dying

innocent humans weeping

petro-moguls still grinning

polluting coal stacks smoking

no burly angry god coming

to right the wrongs of money

to sweep the climate clean

doom comes in flood water

the end is pain and misery

millions die, more sadly born

we bowed to the oil barons

we let them stop paying taxes

we made our own bad ending

Money

Greed is the social motivator in current human societies. This is simply a reaction to the obvious deterioration of the planet's resources and human overpopulation. Animal, mindless responses, translated into complicated derivatives and securities.

There is little rational basis for hoping that this trend will let up, since the destruction of the planet's health is well under way at the hands of those who hold financial and political power. The only possible hope lies in the heart of each individual who sees the value of human life beyond consumer comforts and the accumulation of things. If this hope is allowed to grow and spread to others, there may be some hope for humankind.

The salvation of the human species does not lie behind a teller's window or on the trading floor of a stock exchange. The salvation of the human species lies within your single individual heart and mind. By adopting a mindful, compassionate and loving daily practice, which turns its focus from getting things to doing good, you may well be turning the tide of greed and destruction.

Vision

Maintaining a personal practice of truth, compassion and mindfulness is aided by a vision of life as it could be without suffering, greed and violence. Formulating this vision is helped by focusing on alleviating your own suffering, monitoring your own greed and purging violence from your own thoughts and actions.

My own life is my best laboratory. By showing myself that I can effect change in my own actions and perceptions in the moment, I can instill hope into my life for the eventual liberation of all life from suffering. This requires an ongoing commitment in moment after moment.

The mind slides to its animal or habitual nature all too easily. Being fully awake entails guiding the mnd along a path to wellness against the resistance of habit and history in each moment of awareness. This takes practice. This is practice.

Nonsense

So much of what keeps us from being in the moment and being happy is simply nonsense. From childhood, we are conditioned to adopt our cultural and familial norms. Layer upon layer of nonsense from the past of our families and the past of our environment gets wrapped around our brains. And, our brains operate through the filter of those layers of nonsense, unless we liberate ourselves.

Liberation, or awakening, doesn't just happen. Facing the nonsense in your mind requires work.

The work for some entails therapy. Others find liberation through sports or yoga. Some find it through meditation and study. The path to liberation is not a dead end. There is no Eden waiting for the liberated, no cozy cul-de-sac. Liberation, or awakening, is the beginning of a new open life. Liberation itself becomes a never ending process of self-challenge and renewal.

Like growing older, liberation isn't for the weak-hearted. To be in the moment requires strength and courage. To embrace the impermanence of all things requires the acknowledgment of one's own impermanence. I believe this can become part of a daily consciousness, which promotes ongoing liberation and personal evolution. Simply put, this consciousness entails challenging everything that comes to the mind against a standard of justice, truth and compassion.

Stress

So much of becoming well in our bodies is adaptation to unavoidable stress. Stress is actually a negatively nuanced word for our natural reaction to inevitable realities, such as time, gravity and physical limitations. Our brains have the ability to visualize goals that exceed our physical and psychological limitations. Stress is often the conflict between the goals or desires and the reality of performance or ability.

Modern medicine has turned to drugs to medicate stress reactions. Tranquilizers and antidepressants are often used to combat stress reactions by alleviating anxiety, depression and insomnia. Often this approach enables individuals to cope with existing stress and to actually increase their stress levels under the influence of the drugs. Then other, more serious, symptoms of stress reactions arise. Drugs become less effective. The quest for the perfect enabling drug becomes a new stressor. A vicious circular process.

A more practical way to address stress is to diminish the stimulus of the stress. This entails mastering the mind (brain) and bringing it into a realistic accord with the rest of the body. This approach is simple and difficult. It is simple because it requires regular maintenance of the body which anyone can do. It is difficult because modern life distracts us from healthy choices.

The simplest way to begin is with your own body. A daily periods of exercise are essential. If you are overweight, that extra weight is a stressor which applies its pressure on your life 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It should be addressed as a top priority by adjusting your diet, increasing your activity and scheduling regular exercise. Yoga, walking, weight-training, bicycling, aerobics, tai chi....all forms of exercise are helpful when done regularly in moderation.

As the body becomes less stressed, the mind can be placed in better sync with the body through regular sleep, regular meditation and regular socialization. For some, this translates into less late-night TV, less self-centered obsessing and less isolation. For others, this entails sticking to a structured schedule, joining a mediation group/class and watching less TV. It's all about balancing your natural capabilities and tastes with healthy activities which are enjoyable for you.

Without the recognition of stress, we would not function well. Stress can often be a helpful motivator. It is our reaction to stress which causes us gain or loss in the quality of our lives. Mindful and intentional coping with stress can be a tremendous way to learn about yourself and life in general.

Generosity

Generosity of spirit is a great power for peace. Modern urban environments are sadly lacking in it. However, it can be replanted on barren ground with good results.

Materialism and hedonism have clouded the mass perception of what constitutes generosity. Grand gestures for tax breaks by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have been advertised by mainstream media of all kinds as examples of generosity. This is not generosity of spirit. This is a capitalist business plan for more gain and less taxation.

Generosity of spirit has its root in the person who intentionally acts to promote peace in his/her immediate environment. By surrendering competition and contest, by deferring to another person's comfort, by automatically offering respectful consideration to strangers, the truly generous person plants the seeds for peace in his/her own life.

It is as simple as opening a door for the person next or behind you. Stepping aside for people exiting a subway train. Picking up a dropped object and returning it to its owner. Shoveling the snow off a neighbor's doorstep. The opportunities are endless in a crowded urban environment. Yet, the crowded urban environment is sorely lacking in a culture of generosity.

The raging SUV bully rolls his electric window down in traffic and shoves a crumpled dollar bill at a begging derelict, who will most likely spend it on further dissipation. This is not generosity of spirit. This is enabling a symptom of a selfish, bullying culture. It is a statement of condescension and superiority by the bully. It is of no sustaining help to the beggar.

I like to approach each day with the consciousness that I will have many opportunities to be generous in spirit on the subway, at the gym, in the street. I look for those opportunities. I have been doing this long enough as a practice, that opportunities present themselves to me constantly. My automatic responses often surprise me. There is nothing glamorous or grand about it. It is a rhythm in my life's melody.

Try to practice generosity of spirit today. The beginning is simple. Make eye contact and smile. The rest will follow quite naturally.

Awakening

Awakening entails letting go of the mind's path to discover your own.

Interrupted

At the risk of implying prescience, displayed in my last posting, "Heat" on July 6th, I share that I was a heat refugee for 36 hours after posting that blog entry. Yes, I had my own small energy Armageddon here outside my building, where an electric transformer on a pole near my window exploded on Tuesday evening. Yes, exploded, with Hollywood-style pyrotechnics, also suited to July 4th fireworks.

The temperature here in Boston had reached a record-breaking 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The transformer exploded, and the wires attached to it caught fire. No power for many units here in this densely populated neighborhood. No air conditioning. No fans. No refrigerators. No lights.

My upper floor apartment in an antique building heated up instantly when the air conditioner went out. It was unbearable within an hour. Luckily, I had a nearby refuge. The next two days were enjoyable where I was staying. The up side of the disaster is a better and more regular electric current in my building. Apparently, that old transformer was surging anyway. I had noticed irregular current my PC's voltage meter after moving here.

The down side, of course, was dealing with a major utility company. I reported the outage to an electronic voice, who haltingly promised to call me with updates which never came. There was no on line method for reporting the outage or following the progress of repair. They do have on line billing, of course.

I did find that I am a blogger of ritual. Without my shower, yoga and green tea in my own digs, I did not routinely post here for the two days I was away from my apartment. I'll have to work on that. Nothing will make a good thing go stale like ritual. Just ask any lapsed Catholic.

Heat

As the temperature hovers in the high 90's Fahrenheit (30's Celsius), the unsustainability of the modern urban environment becomes glaringly obvious. A culture which relies on oil and coal to power air conditioners, cars and water purification plants is not prone to support a radical change to sustainable energy sources in any big hurry.

Black pavement, dark roofs and an absence of shade trees make the modern urban environment a solar heat collector. This requires greater artificial cooling to maintain human health in buildings poorly designed for hot weather. Not using air conditioning is a choice to sacrifice personal health for no measurable social or environment effect. Frankly, it is masochistic, since the price of an air conditioning unit is equivalent to what most families pay for one month's cable TV bill.

The problem is a big one and beyond the power of single individuals to solve. Industry obviously has no interest in solving it. Government, if constrained by corruption, will not fix it. This is not a hopeful scenario, but it is an accurate assessment of the status quo.

As global warming radically changes the environment with exponential effects of petrochemical addiction, great human suffering is predictable. This suffering will cut across socioeconomic lines. When the technological breaking point comes, there will be no refuge from heat or drought or famine. Only then will those who live in denial of science and history be forced to face the truth. Meanwhile, those us us who see the coming catastrophe must turn to some form of daily practice to maintain our sanity and personal optimism.

Fireworks

strolling tired in summer heat
long day of july independence
moving against a human tide
madly rushing to water's edge

avoiding addled drugged stares
pairs and triads of angry men
seeking source or target of pain
along steaming paved streets

near empty subway rumble ride
loud asian syllables in the air
yearning for quiet in my rooms
interrupted by more angry eyes

ambling along to my own street
suddenly peopled with strangers
climbing the low hill with relief
old wooden door unlocked yields

flashing and booming fireworks
there outside my own window
now shrugging with wide yawn
happily drifting to sweet sleep

Independence

Americans celebrate the colonial declaration of independence from England on July 4th. In a rapidly de-nationalizing world, this holiday seems somewhat arcane. Here in Boston, the holiday has become a commercialized tourist event, which attracts wealthy travelers from around the world.

Tacky junk-food stands line the Esplanade, once treated with reverent anti-commercial respect by Boston Brahmins who walked its paths under parasoles. Then considered tailored nature in the city, a promenade for reflection and cooling river breezes, the Esplanade now serves as a stage for fireworks and sing-alongs, broadcast on TV.

Yesterday's walk along the Esplanade, bustling with preparations for tonight's event, told an interesting story about the real America, which is no longer the home of the free and the brave. The Esplanade becomes an armed camp for the event. SWAT-team vans, barricades and surly, uniformed police everwywhere. A Baghdad Green Zone right here in Boston.

Perhaps most disturbing is the complacency and comfort with which civilians encounter this martial atmosphere. Young women flirt and giggle at state troopers who are informing them that they may not proceed onto the oval in front of the Hatch Shell, a vast empty lawn going unused for no apparent reason on a hot, sunny summer day. Others seem indifferent to men wearing polo shirts bearing insignia which indicate that they belong to a military sniper corps.

So, what is this independence we celebrate on July 4th? Independence from what, from whom? Certainly, the U.S. is no longer independent from China, for example, since that nation holds our national I.O.U. for supplying our consumer goods. The U.S. is no longer independent fom the E.U., to which it must look for help to deal with terrorism. The U.S. is no longer independent from Mexico or Central America or Brazil, upon whom it depends for its cheap labor and natural resources. The U.S. is no longer independent from multinational corporations, which dictate policy through a corrupted political system.

How hollow the patriotism of flag wavers on the Esplanade! And, this is probably for the good. While globalism is now driven by corporate profits and cheap, mobile labor pools, it may eventually evolve into globalism for human survival as the deteriorating atmosphere and overpopulation necessitate global action. Perhaps future human beings will celebrate a declaration of global co-dependence, which will be seen as the turning point in saving the planet and providing peace for all.

Christians

"What would Jesus do?" That was the central mantra of the Christianity in which I was raised. In fact, the utter failure of the representatives and officials of that Christianity to live by that standard drove me from that Christianity and the other mainstream Christian sects.

Similarly, I say to Buddhist practitioners, "What would Gotama do?" I tire of those who identify themselves as Buddhists or Buddhist-friendlies and live as materialistic hedonists with little or no regard for those in need around them. I bristle at those who turn Buddhism into a lucrative career path by selling it to the wealthy as a balm for their already lapsed social consciences.

Practicing mindfulness and compassion in the moment every day is not easy. The world is immersed in suffering all around us. The awakened sees the suffering and is compelled to action, right action , to ease it in whatever incremental way possible in each life situation. Jesus and Gotama, as best as I can tell, were awakened human beings. They did not set out to be demigods, used by scoundrels for political and materialistic purposes. They tried to promote a daily practice of peace and justice for all human beings.

Healing

The body is much more than the mind. The mind can interfere significantly with bodily wisdom. The body's mindless urges can also trouble the mind. These are challenges of the human condition.

Healing often entails telling the mind to yield to the dictates of the body. A common obstacle to healing, in my opinion, is the refusal of a tired and malnourished person to rest and eat properly. One result of this mind-dominated behavior is reliance upon drugs and alcohol for the facilitation of relaxation. Another result can be obesity, caused by reliance upon fast-food, sugar-caffeine drinks and carbohydrate snacks for energy.

The body's wisdom is simple. It will tell you when to breathe deeply, sit, sleep, eat or fast. However, to hear the body's wisdom, one must learn to shut off the mind's voice to hear the body's voice. This is where meditation can be helpful. By lying or sitting still for ten or fifteen minutes at some point during the day, you can tune into your body's voice and reap the benefits.

The choice to live entirely in the mind is promoted by technologically driven capitalist society. i-Phones, iPads, netbooks...all these devices promote mind-centered living. The eye becomes a portal for overwhelming amounts of mind-centered information. A mental form of bulimia can result. Gorging and purging. Cramming information and then blowing things/people up in computer games.

For the young and healthy, this is all a great ride. However, the ride itself, over time, can erode the health and well being of youth as it advances inevitably to middle age. By then, entrenched habits of being mind-centered, fatigued and malnourished start taking their toll. Healing balance must be initiated to avoid disastrous consequences.

Beginning a daily practice of some form of quiet relaxation or meditation for fifteen minutes in the middle of your day will bring tremendous benefit for very little cost. This can be done in a cubicle or on a park bench. Pay attention to how your body feels after these periods. Thoughts that seem particularly hard to escape while trying to clear your mind are the clues to what requires your healing attention.

Use the information access of technology to read up on good nutrition, the benefits of sleep and meditation. Health entails the ongoing healing of the inevitable toll time and gravity take on our bodies. While the mind may tell you that you are immortal or invulnerable, the body, which includes your brain, knows the truth of being. Living fully and well entails paying attention to that truth.