inner_work

Ethical Living - Part 2

Thu, 02 Jan 2020 20:59:23 GMT

For those of us who are able to see with eyes not beguiled by the mistaken beliefs and assumptions about what ‘positive’ growth and success are, we can see evidence that significant numbers of our species are adapting, are shifting to live according to new values and using qualitative measures rather than quantitative measures to assess their life style choices.

Ervin Laszlo in his book, Quantum Shift in the Global Brain, cites a number of studies that confirm the existence of large numbers of us who are living values and practices that are respectful of others rights and needs, and living in harmony with our planet’s natural systems.

Laszlo refers to us as the “cultural creatives.” We see the interconnectedness of all things and appreciate how our behaviours affect others and the planet. We have a holistic perspective. Laszlo refers to us as having a “holistic balance between work and play, and consumption and inner growth.” We are more likely to have a community focus, and a wellness orientation that extends into healing at the levels of the personal, community and planetary.

Individuals having a holistic focus are generally unorganized and, by in large, invisible. In the USA around the year 2000, the ‘cultural creatives’ made up about 26% of the population and was growing in numbers. It would seem that this group greatly underestimates their numbers and significance. In 2005 it was estimated that cultural creatives represented 35% of the Italian population. According to Lazslo, similar figures have been reported for countries in Europe, in Japan, Australia, and Brazil. Lazslo concludes that, “When members of the emerging holistically thinking and acting culture awaken to the fact that they are more numerous and wide spread than they think, they will get organized.”

Ethical living is an offshoot of sustainable living, in which the individual initially takes a series of small lifestyle changes in order to limit their effect on the natural environment. Making the decision to start to live ethically, can be as easy as beginning to recycle, switching off electric lights when leaving a room, buying local organic or fairtrade produce. Though many people often go further by re-using/re-cycling waste water, using renewable resources in their homes, giving up the use of the family car in preference of greener modes of transport (bicycle).

‘Ethical living’ is the concern, a survey has claimed, though more Britons are concerned with being seen to be green than actually changing their behaviour. Although more than half of the people questioned consider unethical living as much of a social taboo as drink driving, nine in ten admit they tell “little green lies” to exaggerate their commitment to saving the planet.

“We want to be 'good’ but often are too busy, or it seems too complicated, so we cut corners, or 'forget’ altogether, and then feel guilty,” Corinne Sweet, a psychologist, commented.

Do you practise 'ethical living'? If so, are you motivated by the desire to save the planet or to impress your neighbours? How would you actually define 'ethical living'?

Do you think we lead more or less ‘ethical lives’ now than we did a generation ago? Since when have ethics been synonymous with a concern for the environment rather than tied up with moral or religious matters? ( Ref. The Telegraph website)

Ethical Living - Part 1

Thu, 02 Jan 2020 20:59:22 GMT

Ethical living. I had difficulty in deciding how to proceed with this page. My first thought was to focus the content on alternative lifestyles, since that is how I have been living for quite a number of years. But this is what many people aspire to and now the buzz word is sustainable living. My concern in each of these activities and conversations is that the changes that have resulted, including a heightened awareness, still are insufficient to slow down or prevent further environmental, planetary damage – the ‘engines’ of consumption and exaggerated sense of personal entitlement, just keep on becoming more powerful. The flow of ‘wealth,’ material wealth, continues to flow in one direction, as it has for decades now, toward those who least ‘need’ it – the top consumers, the already rich. Unfortunately the pace of this flow is increasing both locally and globally; in emerging economies, all of which seem be replicating the capitalist system, this flow reaches levels approaching the grotesque, while the poor remain poor.

So what is ethical living about? How would it change the style of life we all seem to aspire to? Would it change or be different from a consumption based, life orientation? How would the adoption of ethical values change our sense of entitlement and need? How would it change our relationships; our sense of responsibility for each other? Would an ethical life style reduce human suffering, our own and others? So after much hesitancy, I have decided to use this page to explore these questions.

There have been lots of attempts to define ethical living. I am sure that my sense of it will evolve but for now I will hold that Ethical living is a philosophy of decision making one can use for their personal life, which takes into account ethical and moral values. It is these particular values that pertain to one’s choices with respect to religious expression, social responsibility, consumerism, environmental issues, wildlife issues and animal welfare. In my understanding the social conversations and the dilemmas related to this question are only happening on a personal level; what I feel we need is a social dialogue that will result in our having an organized social movement that could result in changes in our relationships to our neighbours, at home and abroad, and the planet, our shared home.

Useful Tips to Use When Looking for a Counsellor

Thu, 02 Jan 2020 20:59:21 GMT

Therapists are just people like you. They all have different life experiences and training. Some have grown more in their lives than others. Some are technical while others are empathetic. Interview several therapists, to find one that suits you.

Some issues to consider:

Are they a member of a professional association? Are they certified?
Do they have training or experience in the issues that concern you?
Have they been in therapy themselves?
Do they have supervision?
Do they recognize the strengths you already have?
Do you feel safe and relatively comfortable with them?
Do you feel genuine interest but a firmness that will enable you to do your own work?
Do you feel that they are listening to you?

Be careful if the therapist:

is dogmatic, rigid, or judgmental
promises a quick fix or "the answer" you need
doesn't respect your boundaries
does not explain their privacy policies
asks for payment in advance
uses your time to talk about themselves or their personal problems
stresses

It takes curiosity, determination & courage to confront the uncomfortable challenges we all face in life.

JOURNEY WELL!

Many Paths

Thu, 02 Jan 2020 20:59:20 GMT

There are many “paths up the mountain” for people who intend to grow spiritually. The mountain exists and the paths lead up to the one peak. Perhaps now is the time for humanity to take this analogy to heart; there is one peak and all seekers, no matter what their path, are all searching for the way Home.

Wayne Teasdale in his book, The Mystic Heart, says that, “we are at the dawn of a new consciousness, a radically fresh approach to our life as the human family in a fragile world.” But this message is not new; Baha’u’llah, in the early 19th century said, ”Ye dwell in one world, and have been created through the operation of one Will. Blessed is he who mingleth with all men in a spirit of utmost kindliness and love.”

There is no doubt that our world, the planet, is spiralling into a very fragile state. But Teasdale’s main concern is humanity’s spiritual journey. It’s fragility may well be related to one of Einstein’s observations: You cannot solve a problem with the same consciousness that created it. It seems to me that this is one of the main failures of so many of our current social systems in our culture. We keep on trying to move ‘forward’ using the same beliefs and assumptions that have created the current fragile and potentially precipitous religious, social and economic conditions we have in our world today. The prevalent religious, social and economic systems we have relied on for decades, if not for centuries, may need to be examined from the perspective of a new consciousness. If we continue to try to move forward using out dated and often mythical suppositions about how things work and what motivates our behaviour, even in the face of incontrovertible evidence that what we are doing does not work, our institutions, our social systems and we ourselves, may become extinct like so many other species and institutions that were unable to adapt to changing conditions, social developments and new, and even old readily accessible, information.

Like in other communities and countries, many people in Muskoka are reaching out in directions for new values, new ways of thinking, and like-minded people. Collectively, I feel they are reaching out for greater awareness, understanding, and a life style that is more conscious, gentle, holistic, and wellness based. This searching frequently includes or even has as its focus, a new, larger expression of their authentic selves, an expanded sense of spiritual understanding.

In the last few years here in Muskoka, there has been a growing number of offerings that can facilitate and support this thirst for growth of environmental sustainability, social awareness and growth of consciousness. In my own work and chosen lifestyle, I have acknowledged and supported these developments. This page of my website is devoted to a more active support for these individuals and groups in Muskoka who are intentionally walking one or more of the many “paths up the mountain” and may be hoping for companionship.

Every year in Muskoka new groups form, and individuals are offering up the wisdom and experience they have gleaned from their own lives. Some churches feel this sense of searching in our community and engage in active outreach activities that include opportunities for spiritual growth, and a fresh look at religious thought. And Muskokans are responding; there is an evident thirst for fresh understanding of old beliefs. The rapid expansion of and the increasing availability of knowledge, along with a new generation of people raised using the new forms of connectedness offered by social media, will only accelerate the social, cultural and spiritual changes. The numbers of people seeking for more meaningful, holistic lifestyles is increasing; current research suggests that our numbers are far greater than is thought. The research calls people who pursue holistic living, their own well-being, and our environment’s well-being cultural creatives, and repeatedly estimate our numbers to be greater than 28 %. The problem is that these creative people underestimate their numbers. As a result, people seeking to live more meaningful lives, to live values not supported by our materialistic, consumption driven, social/economic system, don’t have an influential voice.