Obama

This is a wonderful day in America. Those who stand for equality, social justice and economic justice have defeated those who stand for aristocracy, selfishness, and greed by a narrow margin. However, that narrow margin can make the difference between a descent into feudalism and a progression to a new enlightenment.

President-Elect Obama is perhaps the finest public example of practice I have seen in my lifetime. His moderation, deliberation and obviously sincere commitment to right action for the people are signs of a personal practice which must go deep.

I take his example to heart. I incorporate that inspiration into my own practice.

This is how we, as human beings, can evolve together. By sharing the strengths of our individual practices, we can do great things. But, we must support those in our lives who are committed to practice. And, we must educate those around us who have yet not committed to an evolutionary practice of their own by our example and sharing.

Honesty

You cannot achieve peace and happiness in your life without developing the practice of honesty in relating with others.

Honesty with others requires honesty with oneself. Honesty with oneself requires self knowledge, self acceptance and the practice of self improvement, or evolution.

We are currently living in a popular culture in which alcoholism and distaste for self exploration are in vogue. Denial is rampant. Denial of real financial worth. Denial of responsibility for debts. Denial of responsibility for children's education. Denial of responsibility for the welfare of the society as a whole.

Self exploration, through meditation, intimate relationships, psychotherapy or other tools, is absolutely necessary to achieve self knowledge and honesty. It is necessary to take regular hard looks at your motives, emotions, reactions and hopes. Doing this throughout your day and your life will deepen your understanding of your life.

Self acceptance is the practice of looking at the results of your self exploration and accepting those results as who you really are. Warts and all!

Self improvement entails working from your real self image and daily working to make yourself more loving, more compassionate, healthier and more generous. It also can entail making yourself less selfish and less obsessed with your own needs at the same time.

"Spiritual" practices, based in sanctimonious and ethereal rites, are useless when seeking happiness and peace in one's life. Incense and fancy dress never made anyone a better or happier person. Hard work does. And it is best to start working right now.

Sports

The top photograph to the right was recently taken in front of the Science Museum in Boston. The museum is hosting a corporately funded exhibit on Olympic sports history. The photo below it replicates a Nazi propaganda poster which was used at the time of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, which were presided over by Adolph Hitler and are considered the beginning of the current commercial Olympic movement. This represents the same genre of propaganda used to equate teamwork with family with social responsibility.

The sad truth which history conveys is that genetic-family-centered, sports-centered societies are less socially responsive to social needs. In fact, these societies, like ancient Rome and ancient Sparta, were war-centered and brutal to those in their societies who did not measure up to the warrior classes. These societies, like the current American society, were fractionalized by gangs, political factions and family feuds.

As a taller-than-average boy with a father who was compulsively driven to conform to conservative heterosexual values, I was cajoled and then bullied into participating in basketball games. I had no aptitude or interest. The result was a widened permanent rift between my father, my older sports-minded brother and myself. I was verbally demeaned and humiliated within my family and in public for the remaining years of my childhood and adolescence in my working-class environment. While ineptitude at sports was the overt reason for ridicule, the subtext was my suspected homosexual nature.

This was valuable training for my personal evolution. I saw through the mindless popular myths about sports and masculinity and aptitude. I was able to work out that the men who were most driven to conform and comply with these myths are the same men who support war, child abuse, the abuse of women and the suppression of their own homosexual feelings. I can only assume, from my experience, that the women who are similarly driven are similarly motivated by rage and fear.

I firmly believe that organized sports as they exist are part of the problem, not part of the solution. I believe they are impressed on youth to produce compliant citizens who will join armies and fight real or virtual wars for the corporate powers. The merging of nationalism or global capitalism with organized team sports is glaringly obvious everywhere. I am sure my simple assertion of this opinion could throw indoctrinated team sports fans in to blind rage. This would simply prove my point, in my opinion.

The men responsible for creating democracy in modern times, men like Adams and Jefferson, did not play team sports. They did not learn the politics and philosophy of liberation on a football field or basketball court. Far from it. They read books, studied history and promoted cooperation of the many against the gangsterism of the few.

A world at peace would indeed have plenty of teamwork to do to correct the negligence and environmental corruption caused by corporate power. The time, money and energy spent on corporately sponsored team sports may eventually be put to better use. This would indeed be an evolutionary step for mankind.

Patience

We are finite, mortal. Our lives can be measured in seconds, minutes, hours. As the clock ticks, our lives diminish in length. This is a reality that few can face directly and consciously in every moment. The developed practice of doing this can lead to great peace and patience.

The wisdom of accepting the active death of every moment is this: Nothing is crucial or indispensable or irrevocable. In short, nothing is as precious as the present moment.

This is both a challenge and a relief. The challenge is to be, in each precious moment, a mindful, compassionate and evolving person. The relief comes with the acceptance of death as the inevitable equalizer of all things. Comprehension of these realities through practice brings great patience and peace.

Bears

The great bears, grizzly and brown and polar, are becoming endangered. Zoologists are predicting the extinction of all but the black bear by century's end. The African elephant is also close to extinction. Whale species are also becoming extinct. And, someday, the human species may cause its own extinction by collapsing ecology.

Read and learn, fellow human. Abandon thoughts of some universal deity who will protect you from your own bad choices, based in ignorance, denial or stupidity. Pick up a book. Surf the Web for knowledge, not sports scores, stock quotes or pornography.

Wake up. Your life passes with each minute, each day, each year. It goes and is gone. What is the measure of that life right now? What is its meaning, its impact? These are the thoughts which lead to human evolution, despite inevitable death and personal extinction.

Corn

The current documentary, "King Corn", points to a basic human trait. Human beings are prone to laziness. Corn is the easiest grain crop to grow and use for many different applications, despite its nutritional inferiority to other foods.

Western civilization, rapidly becoming world civilization, is dependent on a corn economy in the same way it is dependent on an oil economy. Both of these dependencies are toxic and potentially lethal for the human species and even the entire planet.

Individual practice of human evolution requires reducing or eliminating corn products and oil products from one's individual life. If you attempt this, you will find it very difficult. However, you will also find it may extend your life and also improve its quality in every moment.