The Yin-Yang of Life

The second half of my life has been greatly enriched by opening my mind and heart to the unknown, to find myself on unexpected roads, physically and otherwise. On a local trip recently, I turned my car north, instead of the intended southbound direction. Minutes later, I encountered four black bears, all adults, on the roadside. They were busily investigating how to get the lids off a few garbage bins, and paid me no heed. But, sighting four adult bears together is unusual. This encounter carried a message.

A short distance away, I pulled over my car to look for a pouch of tobacco. Many years ago I learned that a close encounter with animals in a natural environment calls us to express gratitude. For example, while driving, toss some tobacco out the window with a prayer, or pull over and pray. No tobacco, regardless, palms together I prayed for the well-being and safety of these bears, that they be able to find healthy food elsewhere, as the Creator intended for them, and not bring harm to humans nor come to harm by humans.

In the 1980s I recall my first teaching about the presence of bears. An Anishinaabe-kwe grandmother, with whom I was staying, had sighted a large bear outside her cabin in a community north of Sudbury. Rather than feeling fearful, she saw the bear as a messenger, to whom an offering should be made. She placed berries beside a tree in the vicinity of her cabin, and prayed for the bear’s well-being. Since then, I have perceived the presence of wild animals in their natural setting as a sign, to reflect upon the meaning of their presence, and recognize their life as sacred as one’s own.

That belief has become a more experientially lived integral aspect of my life since relocating to the countryside more than six years ago. Indeed, the fabric of my life is stitched together, and continues to be woven daily, with layered threads of deeper and expanded awareness of the ‘sacred feminine.’

The physical demands of a rural homestead are powerfully grounding, as one’s feet remain firmly on the ground, in all ways. I negotiate whatever cards Nature deals me, whether pleasant or daunting, in the recognition that I rely on Nature. This act of acceptance is done with grace and preparedness, as my previous blog post indicated upon an electric power blackout.

Immersed in the world of Nature offers life lessons every day, when you pay attention, receptive to learning the innate wisdom of all Creation – the sacred feminine. Doing so has restored immense joy in being alive, by witnessing, and participating in, the constant every-changing dance of life around me.

Last weekend, in fact, I conducted my first workshop in a while, with a new theme, titled: “An Introduction to the Sacred Feminine, An Inner/Outer Healing Project for Our Time.” The heartfelt reward for me was to be among a circle of people who genuinely appreciated the range of knowledge that I offered, and told me so afterwards.

First of all, I am grateful to Kevin Hart, minister at Wesley United Church on the Saugeen First Nation #29, who has expressed a lot of interest in my work. He invited me to conduct the second workshop in a series that he initiated on the topic: “Do You Care?,” to begin dialogues that are multicultural and intergenerational. Engaging in conversations together, we can discover ways to collaborate on caring for each other and the Earth.

Some churches today are making genuine, proactive efforts to make amends for the devastation brought upon Indigenous peoples through centuries caused by the institution of Christianity. Tragically, it misunderstood, dismissed and, worse, demonized, the spiritual beliefs and practices of Indigenous peoples.

Kevin’s authentic caring approach, in my view, is one excellent model for other Christian pastors to follow. Please know that I make this statement as a person not affiliated formally with any church, although my family background is United Church. My life journey, instead, is to explore what various spiritual paths hold in common and weave together those insights with other areas of interdisciplinary knowledge.

What I support, therefore, is not religious faith per se but rather genuine expressions of the spiritual teachings within religious and spiritual paths based foremost on love, and practitioners who rise above any form of discrimination. For I believe that all human beings come from the same spiritual Source and return to that Source.

Therefore, Kevin’s sincere interest to be a learner as well as a helper in a First Nation community and, moreover, to invite two women to join him in this workshop series, demonstrates a genuine holistic vision that moves beyond the historic patriarchy of The Church. This holistic vision essentially includes the sacred feminine.

In my workshop I referred to examples of text, and showed symbolic images, on the relationship between past, present and future, in segments titled: Re-awakening our ancient wisdom; Re-connecting with the Earth and Spirit; and Co-creating a new humanity.These themes relate to my life’s work combined with my latest research.

My intention was to point out that Euro-western peoples once understood Spirit and the sacredness of the Earth, and this understanding is being renewed today by maverick thinkers and practitioners in the sciences and other fields of knowledge who are revisiting and updating outworn and inaccurate positions about ancient wisdom.

For I also described why this renewal is necessary, relating how Euro-western cultures experienced a split in consciousness – disconnecting from Spirit and the Earth. I referred to the research by the late Dr. Leonard Shlain, from his book The Alphabet Versus the Goddess (excerpts mentioned in two previous blog posts in October 2012).

I intentionally chose both to “show” as well as “tell” examples of ancient wisdom, in order to engage the whole brain. Explaining the lateralization of the brain, I showed the juxtaposition of the left and right brain hemispheres. Using Powerpoint, I highlighted a series of intriguing images on a large screen, welcoming comments for discussion.

The fact is, Indigenous people never forsook the sacred feminine, unlike Euro-western culture. What I emphasized were the reasons how people in Western culture became deeply wounded at a soul level, from the loss of understanding the feminine principle, hence no longer valuing the development of inner ways of knowing.

Later that day, a traditional Anishinaabe-kwe woman approached, and thanked me. Lori Kewaquom, Saugeen Cultural & Wellness Coordinator, told me that what I said, in regard to the soul woundedness of Euro-western people, was the first time in her entire life that she heard someone from outside her own culture speak those words.

I just wish that I could convince more people within my own culture to reflect on our socialization processes, how our institutions and workplaces function, and interrogate our obsession with material success. Indeed, there is much healing work to do.

Awakening to possibility is my hope for humanity, and I continue to be a willing helper through various activities. The success of this workshop inspires me to develop a set of new workshops that can be adapted for diverse groups of interested people.

As for those four bears mentioned above, the traditional women at my workshop agreed later that four together is unusual, suggesting their appearance symbolized the full circle of my work, that is, the sacred circle of four directions.

The positive experience of this recent workshop could not have happened without the warm reception by these women, among whom I particularly want to acknowledge Lori. Her presentation followed mine, and focused on water.

Lori eloquently related the role of women in protecting water, as bearers of children and protectors of Mother Earth, which Anishinaabec spiritual traditions teach, so that the youngest child grows up with this respect and practice.

Throughout the day of giving our two workshops, in fact, all generations were present, from a baby inclusively up to a few grandmothers, the eldest who contributed wisdom mixed with a delightful sense of humour.

This coming Saturday marks another wonderful opportunity for Native and non-Native communities to come together in my region, again, for a life-affirming purpose, by participating in the Saugeen Water Walk, initiated by Lori’s First Nation community.

This event serendipitously brings to life Kevin Hart’s workshop theme “Do You Care?,” in the affirmative. The gathering of folks will walk along Lake Huron, pray together for the restoration of the water and the land that currently are threatened, and share food.

May we continue to do so.

Last week through several days after an ice storm, I had my first extended experience of a power blackout. During the day I visited friends to ensure they were okay, otherwise sitting in coffee shops to keep warm, and write. In the evenings, I stoked my kitchen woodstove, so that the heat would rise through the ceiling grate into my bedroom above. Several jugs of water enabled me to keep face and hands clean, and teeth brushed. For recreation I seated myself in front of the woodstove to read a book by flashlight.

My reading material was as dark as the absence of light around me. I have been plowing through a 400-page book No Immediate Danger (1985) by the late and brilliant Dr. Rosalie Bertell (1929-2012), scientist, environmental activist and international expert on radiation. Her book relates the dangers of low level radiation, and the history of cover ups by the nuclear industry. Bertell’s investigations give evidence the industry refuses to carry out appropriate studies on human health and environmental dangers, or be honest about the actual life-threatening consequences.

This book research is part of a small mountain of material that I have decided to study, as a concerned citizen in my local community, one of six regional municipalities among 21 approached in Canada by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) to bury high-level radioactive waste. A technological application not yet implemented anywhere on this planet will be used. Certain places in Europe also have been approached, similarly going through stages of possible approval. (Low and intermediate level nuclear waste also is being proposed locally where I live, in one location.)

What heightens my outrage in what is supposed to be a democracy – and see my concern about federal obfuscation of environmental issues in the previous post – is the fact that economically impoverished rural communities are being approached, where the majority of councillors appear to be poorly educated and/or indifferent about environmental issues. Nor are they engaging their respective constituencies in a truly democratic process to be properly informed, to date. I pray this present situation will turn around.

Why does it seem that it always is only a small number of individuals who have the courage and the integrity to stand up for what is morally right, at least in the beginning, until other folks can be awakened? Given this current challenge that I have taken on, God bless every other person within this region, who cares enough about the well-being of future generations and the natural environment, to engage in interrogating these unspeakable proposals.

Meanwhile, what is helping me maintain my intellectual and spiritual balance in recent days is preparation for an upcoming workshop on “Recovering the Sacred Feminine.” It will be the first of a new set of workshops that I want to offer diverse gatherings, provide illuminating insights not widely known, and engage participants in experiential activities and discussion about ways we can co-create a more caring world.

To maintain inner balance as I study unpleasant facts, I need a daily diversion. Sunday night, for example, I watched on TV a 1932 comedy Me and My Gal, starring Spencer Tracy. Next, I unexpectedly tuned in a repeat of last week’s episode on Bill Moyers & Company titled “Sandra Steingraber’s War on Toxic Trespassers.”

This discovery is what I call “synchronicity.” What I mean is, when we open our hearts to the Universe, in the hope for insights on how to be strong and courageous, that energy of “light and love,” in turn, can bring unexpected yet serendipitous information.

Through many years I have enjoyed Bill Moyers’ interviews. I consider him to be among the most intelligent and compassionate, independent thinking investigative journalists of our time. His interviews have included some of the most philosophically, spiritually, and environmentally, cutting edge astute minds of our era. They continue to be an inspiration.

Close to the end of the Sunday night program, Bill Moyers informed viewers that his recent interview with Sandra Steingraber happened two days before she was sent to prison on a 15-day sentence for trespassing, with a small circle of other people. They had illegally blocked the driveway of a natural gas company in upstate New York, to protest against fracking. She refers to this company, nevertheless, as “toxic trespassers.”

Steingraber, during Moyers’ interview, said something really inspiring. She cited the syndrome popularly known as “well-informed futility,” by which people who make the effort to educate themselves on life-threatening environmental issues become mentally and emotionally paralyzed to the degree that they feel unable to fight these threats.

Steingraber, in contrast, related how she emphasizes the value of heroism to her children, and the need for ordinary people to take on the mantle of the hero. Next, Moyers pointed out – eloquently – that mythologist Joseph Campbell once told him how the `hero’s journey’ was a possibility for each and every human being who had the willingness to find his or her particular route along that journey. Wow!!!

Think about it! Throughout history, usually it has been specific independent thinking individuals – often ridiculed and marginalized during their lifetimes – as well as initially small groups of dissidents challenging the status quo, who demonstrate the inner power of the human heart and spirit to confront all types of darkness and adversity, bravely, for the larger good.

Rachel Carson is one example. I invite you to read my October 2012 post about her courageous stand as a biologist, despite character assassination and sexism by stupid, arrogant individuals who were making decisions that inflicted widespread harm to human health and the environment. Doing so continues. Today, in the spirit of Carson, Steingraber has taken up the heroine’s mantle, shown in the excellent documentary Living Downstream.

How appropriate that I am completing this blog post on Earth Day in Canada. Earth Day is about becoming better informed and choosing to take life-affirming actions.

Before closing, however, I want to acknowledge the intentional killings of innocent individuals as well as numerous severely-injured people during the Boston Marathon and its aftermath, caused by terrorist acts. Whether domestic and amateur, or otherwise, is not yet known; but the results still are horrific. To see an intelligent commentary, among reporters and readers who raise important questions, go to The Lede, a blog at The New York Times that gathers various perspectives and engages readers, democratically, in a conversation.

I would like to express my condolences to all of the affected families, both in the above Massachusetts tragedy, and also in reference to the horrific explosion of the fertilizer plant in West, a small farming community in Texas.  To more deeply understand this tragedy, I recommend a disturbing article titled “Texas fertilizer company didn’t heed disclosure rules before blast.”

The news here will be unsettling to my American readers, who might feel inclined to do some letter writing and related actions. Rep. Bennie Thompson, ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, says, “This facility was known to have chemicals well above the threshold amount to be regulated under the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards Act (CFATS), yet we understand that DHS did not even know the plant existed until it blew up.”

Other revelations in this same news story will not make you happy either. Numerous other depots and plants that store the highly volatile anhydrous ammonia and other chemicals are not well regulated, and many of these facilities similarly are near residential areas. Be angry, be very angry – and ask some tough questions of your politicians and relevant manufacturers in your local areas.

My final suggested link to all readers is a lovely six-minute video, mentioned by Moyers to close his Sunday episode, titled Dance of the Honey Bee. Beautiful images with factual yet loving commentary – the voice-over narration by Bill McKibben, Founder of 350.org – is a powerful way to raise awareness, and inspire folks to stop the toxic destruction of our planetary life support system, through our everyday choices and longer term advocacy and actions.

One early spring day in 2007, returning to my farmhouse from a trip away, I observed an unexpected change in landscape. I chuckled in disbelief at the sight of a duck swimming in a new pond that had flooded most of the pasture up to the concrete pad beside my barn. This happened during my first springtime in the countryside. I have never stopped being amazed at Nature’s opportunistic, creative interplay between all forms of life.

In more recent years, I now look anxiously across my pasture to the creek, ever hoping it will be filled enough to flood at least part of my pasture once again, temporarily. Doing so assures me that the water table is high, and my drilled well still can provide a reasonable supply of water. I have learned not to take my water supply for granted.

Last spring, the creek itself dried out and, tragically, little rainfall arrived throughout the growing seasons. North Americans across the continent undoubtedly recall the regrettable outcomes – major crop losses, hardships for farmers and higher food prices for everyone. This spring, after frequent, heavy snowfalls – much needed to raise the water table again – the nearby creek has partially flooded the pasture.

But last week in mid-April, an ice storm hit, knocking out power through several days for more than 100,000 people in mid-western Ontario, where I live. Hence, my delayed post.

What stories will the water tell us in the months and years ahead – accompanied by future unanticipated climate events – wherever we live and work? Who will be paying attention and, more importantly, keeping track of important changes in why, or why not, water is continuing to sustain the planet in order to bring health rather than illness into our lives?

Our collective responsibility, as fellow planetary citizens, is to become environmentally or “ecologically” literate by seeking out a variety of information sources. We need to be better informed by consistency of evidence that shows the life-destroying proof where industrial and commercial activities undermine planetary well-being.

The imperative at this historic moment – when the planetary life support system that we depend on is experiencing major transitions caused by climate change – is to protect the freedom of expression for scientists everywhere who are documenting this evidence.

More of us, as Canadians, therefore, need to speak out and stand beside fellow Canadians who already are doing so, raising alarm bells about the ways in which our democracy is being eroded.

Look at the government bills being passed in recent years – without parliamentary debate. Worse, several department funding cuts relate to muzzling of Canadian government scientists, an undeniable fact now known to the wider world.

Before speaking more about the dangers presented to us, I first want to refer back to something that I stated in my previous blog post. There I had referred to Dr. Masaru Emoto’s research on consciousness of water, insights I emphasized as valuable.

The reason is, Dr. Emoto’s approach acknowledges the fuller holistic energetic dimensions of our interactions with water. Such insights can inspire us with the beauty and the wonder of life’s existence, so that we feel even more compelled to cherish and protect our planetary home.

But, I now want to clarify my critique of empirical science in that same previous post. I suggested a limitation of empirical scientific analysis, that is, such analysis focuses only on what is visible and measurable. Other scientific approaches, however, are based upon more holistic cultural philosophies that give credence as well to what is still unseen and yet unknown to the intellectual mind.

What I want to emphasize in this post is, the suggested limitation of empirical scientific studies, conversely, can be their strength. In other words, showing visible evidence about physical realities can be difficult to disprove, because the rigour of practicing a method of `trial and error’ – that can be repeated by other scientists to confirm evidence – has a significant role, globally, particularly in environmental sciences today.

Indeed, `trial and error’ is the essential playing field of the best creative minds who diligently apply perseverance, patience and, most of all, passion, toward their pursuit of discovery. And, yes, the best empirical scientists are endowed with passion, I would argue, because they care about the larger public good and the well-being of our planet. Through the practice of this uncertain and long term pursuit, the most brilliant, albeit unexpected, discoveries are produced.

Meanwhile, Canada’s federal government already had received a couple of black eyes, internationally, after backing out of the Kyoto Protocol and also losing its bid to have a seat on the United Nations Security Council for the first time since Canada’s previous successful bids. One of the reasons for the latter, cited in several news reports, was Canada’s unpopular position on climate change – namely, dismissing its importance.

The Canadian federal government’s lack of ecological literacy, on top of its apparent contempt for healthy democratic debate, has become even more painfully obvious. Some of Canada’s most esteemed thinkers, as well as international scientific journals, now together are challenging what is clearly politically and economically motivated ideology to silence dissenting environmental evidence by our scientists. It is shameful, and dangerous.

The federal political silencing began with threats of loss of federal charitable status for non-governmental organizations conducting certain types of environmental research and receiving funds from supporters abroad. Timelines for critical environmental assessments also have been severely shortened, the highly controversial Northern Gateway pipeline and proposed oil tankers along the British Columbia coast as a prime example.

See my blog post “Where the Caribou Live – Part 3” published in January 2012 on that issue. Please read the full four-part series that raises awareness on little reported, yet ongoing, issues.

Next, following the 2011 budget, further funding cuts were inflicted on more government departments. The departments that lost funding for targeted projects have included: Department of the Environment; Department of Fisheries and Oceans; Department of Natural resources; plus other departments.

You know when something serious is happening when, for the first time, scientists organized a public protest on Parliament Hill on July 10, 2012, called Death of Evidence. The speaker at the microphone is Ben Powless, Indigenous Environmental Network, in a photograph by Richard Webster ©.

Secondly, the federal government’s actions have received growing major criticisms from internationally respected scientists. Third, some of Canada’s own finest intellectuals have pointed out both the scientific short sightedness, and also the blatantly obvious ideological motivations, behind the government policy attacks on freedom of expression.

The latest challenge to what politely can be called misguided federal public policy is an investigation by the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada regarding not less than seven governmental institutions impacted by the federal government cuts. The official notice, released on April 2, 2013, indicates the acceptance of a formal complaint submitted by the non-partisan Democracy Watch and Environmental Law Clinic of the University of Victoria, in British Columbia.

The most outrageous federal cut to Canadian environmental research targeted the long term Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) project, recently terminated. The full story of why the ELA received international acclaim through many years, and details about the widely condemned funding cut, is well outlined in the Wikipedia entry.

David Naylor, president of the University of Toronto, whose background is in the field of medical research, gave a March 2013 speech at the Empire Club – an edited version in The Globe and Mail. He outlines why the trend, especially within the past five years, in short-term, applied research is not improving Canada’s innovation and competitiveness in the wider world. Naylor also points out: “Everyone forgot that the private sector – not universities – ultimately drives commercialization,” and later adds: ” there are very good reasons why great basic, disruptive, fundamental [long term, trial and error] research matters.”

David Suzuki, Canada’s venerable broadcaster, author and environmentalist, in The Toronto Star last autumn states with blunt clarity what Canadians need to demand:

“Without the kind of vigorous debate and knowledge that comes from having citizens informed by open discussion of science and information, we can’t even hope to have a proper democracy. A strong economy is important, but the biosphere is more important.”

In my research to find voices from diverse sectors on this issue, my biggest surprise was to discover Jeremy Grantham. He is a British financier who identified his specialty in “investment bubbles not science.” Grantham proclaims bluntly in the international scientific journal Nature that more scientists need to speak out, because the human species is facing a resource [i.e. food] crisis exacerbated by global warming. He writes: “The seriousness of this change is not appreciated by the politicians and the public.”

Grantham is not alone in declaring a perceived lack of concern by the larger public. One of Canada’s finest sages, a seasoned researcher and intellectual, seen regularly on CBC-TV and TVOntario, is Allan R. Gregg. His voice is a consummate example of “reasoned discourse,” a voice that can examine and interrogate very astutely all points of view. Gregg writes:

“…I’ve begun to see some troubling trends. It seems as though our government’s use of evidence and facts as the bases of policy is declining, and in their place, dogma, whim and political expediency are on the rise. And even more troubling…. Canadians seem to be buying it” [September 5, 2012].

Can we collectively prove Grantham and Gregg wrong? In Canada and elsewhere in the world, are we willing, as planetary citizens, to challenge the government where we live, if and when it tries to silence reason, suppress environmental awareness and the knowledge required for us to survive on, restore and protect, an imperilled planet?

The first task as concerned individuals is to understand the issues. My blog readers know that I always make the effort to provide a sampling of good resources to look up.

In this case, particularly for fellow Canadians, I highly recommend Allan R. Gregg’s blog post “1984 in 2012 – The Assault on Reason,” based upon his presentation at Carleton University, Ottawa, in September 2012.

Two scenes in the movie Ben-Hur poignantly weave together the relationship of our body with our soul. Judah Ben-Hur, in one scene, is on a forced march through a desert, chained with other captives, and denied water. A bystander ignores a centurion’s threats, and offers Ben-Hur water. Later in the story, Ben-Hur approaches Jesus carrying the Cross upon which He is to be nailed. When He collapses en route, Ben-Hur ignores hostile soldiers, to offer Him water. Looking into the face of Jesus, Ben-Hur recognizes the same man who, similarly challenging authority, had given water to Ben-Hur.

Loving kindness, indeed, to nurture the soul is as important as water is to nurture the body, for our continued survival in a world worth living in.

To authentically express our love inclusively, we need to be more proactive to protect accessibility of water for the human family, as a human right, as well as sustenance for all planetary life. We also are called to restore the health of polluted water, for our very survival.

In doing so, we therefore are called to challenge any authorities and power holders, whether government or corporate, who are reducing water to be a commodity for profits to benefit the few at life-threatening costs to the many as well as the planetary life support system.

We need to restore the sacred feminine, the Source of Life, by recognizing how our energies are inextricably intertwined at so many amazing levels, many of which remain invisible and, therefore, mysterious to us.

See the below photograph of a water crystal, for example, formed after the words “Love and Gratitude” on paper were taped around a bottle of water. This image appears in Dr. Masaru Emoto’s book The Hidden Messages in Water (2005).

As long as I can remember, I have felt a deep concern for justice, and questioned any situations in which I experienced lack of kindness. Whenever I witnessed loving kindness, therefore, it deeply affected me. Perhaps that is why Ben-Hur (1959) had such a profound impact on me as a child, seeing it on a special family outing to the cinema.

Ben-Hur was an epic historic drama of the day, particularly for a North American society predominantly Judaic-Christian. This movie showcased a new widescreen format, and used a new six-track stereo sound. The story was enhanced by the longest movie score ever composed, the composer Miklos Rozsa. The film was the first to win 11 Academy Awards.

Since then, I have lost track of how many times I have watched this epic version of Ben-Hur on TV, still transported by the beauty of the music. Its eloquence carries the story’s timeless spiritual message.

The film story threads its way from the visible world of what is familiar and mundane which, when torn asunder, carries the main character into the depths of the dark night of the soul. For the story’s protagonist Ben-Hur, the task next becomes the inner quest to transcend emotional pain and hate, as difficult as it is, in order to break away from those inner chains, and transcend them to enter the most hallowed ground of our being, our Higher Self.

From that soulful place within each of us – waiting to be awakened or re-discovered – resides our innate capacity for love, accompanied by the possibility to forgive, as well as the humility to be grateful for life itself.

The symbolism of Christ’s Resurrection, as well, is to remind us, in this season of rebirth and renewal, the importance to reconnect with our capacities for love, forgiveness, and gratitude. From those inner locations we continue to cherish what and whom we love. Every generation on this Earth has experienced challenges in doing so, and we have ours.

Today we are confronting environmental uncertainty of huge proportions, as well as growing economic hardships during an extended period of transition, affecting humanity at many levels.

However, I would like to frame the above challenge by suggesting that, foremost, we need to understand consciousness more deeply and expansively, both our own and also its different energetic expressions in other life forms, and discover the ways in which we are interconnected.

What is so exciting about this historic moment, and the great adventure of life, is to open our mind, body, heart and soul, to the incredible wealth of knowledge that can help us to transform the conflicts that can seem overwhelming on our planetary home.

This pursuit invites us to rediscover ancient wisdom that remains significantly relevant, a fact understood by cutting edge researchers, in medicine, science and other fields. They recognize, as independent thinkers, the ways that perennial wisdom is interwoven with newer approaches, such as quantum physics, to understanding our world and what lies beyond, and the importance to apply these insights into our everyday world.

Such fields of knowledge, regrettably, tend to be marginalized, trivialized, even totally disregarded, by established institutions and systems of thinking that want to control what we think, and retain the status quo for economic benefit limited to the few.

We have tremendous power within our consciousness to re-create a different reality, if we take the time, and have the humility to make the open-minded effort to support, and learn from, these maverick thinkers and practitioners who can empower us to engage in radical – yet life-affirming – changes in how we currently live on this planet.

`Consciousness,’ in fact, is one of those multifaceted fields which holds tremendous potential to help us evolve more closely to our human potential. Fortified by a vision to explore yet unknown inner and outer territory, and despite struggles to get funded, independent-thinking scientific and medical researchers persevere to discover how humans can tap more effectively into our innate healing capacity. They are discovering formerly under-recognized capacities within other species and also within the planet’s elements.

The ground-breaking work of Dr. Masaru Emoto illustrates a brilliant example of courageous, experimental investigations in regard to the consciousness of water. His extensive studies evoke the qualities of maverick researchers throughout history who, simply, apply both their right brain and their left brain to resolve problems.

Emoto’s studies, for example, have been based on inquisitiveness guided by intuition, imagination, and spiritual qualities such as compassion, love and gratitude, rather than be restricted within the purely analytic approach of empirical science that focuses only on what can be seen and measured.

Of course, it is expected that Dr. Emoto’s work has been ridiculed by certain scientists who operate within the limitations of left-brain empirical science. For such critics and other skeptics to label his work as “pseudo-science” only reveals what I have outlined in several earlier blog posts, namely, the “fractured consciousness” of mainstream Western culture.

After looking at various YouTube presentations of Dr. Masaru Emoto’s work, what I recommend is a four-part series, each 10 minutes or less, which give a clear picture of his process in demonstrating how water crystals are photographed. We see school children and their teachers witnessing the evidence. Titled “Dr. Masaru Emoto” begin to watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqWzEd2fI_Y.

Humility is one further spiritual quality that is implicit in Dr. Emoto’s process, in which he enables the water to speak for itself, in a certain sense, telling its story through the diverse formations of crystals that illuminate experiences from loving care to pollution.

In the spirit of this blog post’s focus on kindness and gratitude, I will quote Dr. Emoto from The Hidden Messages in Water:

“…love and gratitude combine to give the crystals a unique depth and refinement, a diamond-like brilliance…Love tends to be a more active energy, the act of giving oneself unconditionally. By contrast, gratitude is a more passive energy, a feeling that results from having been given something – knowing that you have been given the gift of life and reaching out to receive it joyously with both hands” [2005, Emoto, pp. 78,79].

Does not this description by Dr. Emoto speak to an essential truth? We actively can open the door for the light of joy to enter each day, in acknowledging how all elements and species of the earth nurture our own life, and render our very existence possible.

“He will work with you, if you are willing to take responsibility for your own healing.” Those were the words of my then chiropractor, in recommending a well-respected psychotherapist twenty-one years ago. I wanted to let go of a lot of anger, and also change unhealthy relationship patterns. To do so, I intuitively recognized the need for an experienced professional as a guide along this journey. The years that followed led through a profoundly rewarding passage home to my soul.

During this same period, I had decided to study, and take experiential training in, psychosynthesis, a spiritual psychology, as the foundation of my doctoral thesis on healing and renewal for helping professionals.

The synchronicity of seeing the need to do my own inner work as well is similar to individuals who study to become either psychiatrists or psychotherapists. They were expected to pursue an honest exploration of their own human foibles, a process recognized as a necessary component of their own preparation to practice as psychological healers.

An open question is, whether such a preparation still is required in the training of psychiatry or psychotherapy today? Apparently, more regulations now exist in regard to “clinical training credentials.” But, is the more holistic recognition of wellness being acknowledged, that also includes the human condition of the soul?

A couple of articles in recent months suggest that the condition of the soul continues to be an aspect of human wellness not even considered by the majority of psychological healers. This conclusion – hopefully inaccurate – is based on the fact that these articles totally omit the examples of practitioners in transpersonal psychology.

One might have hoped, almost a century after Roberto Assagioli, Viktor E. Frankl, and Carl G. Jung each had introduced modalities of spiritual psychology – and more than half a century after recognition of transpersonal psychology began to surface in the United States – that today a more visible number of psychological healers would be incorporating acknowledgment of the soul in their practice.

Meanwhile, the net of mental afflictions, diagnosed correctly or not, in North American society, continues to widen, according to one article. The other article, paradoxically, points out that the practice of psychotherapy is shrinking. What is going on here?

Two interwoven dilemmas, that I believe require serious attention, include: the growing yet misguided expectation by patients/clients that any type of therapy must be a “quick fix”; and increasing reliance on pharmacology to arrive at the perceived quick fix, rather than enter into long term (and more effective) psychology-based treatments.

I suggest, provocatively, today’s dilemmas in psychiatry and psychotherapy cannot be blamed solely upon these helping professions, despite their diluted service to humanity.

Instead, we need to begin taking responsibility, as individuals within the collective entity of society, to think seriously about how and why we have come to this historic moment, in which everything, even healing, is considered a competitive marketplace to accommodate “instant gratification.” This sorry state of affairs, in turn, reduces healers to market themselves like hucksters, as commercial enterprises, not as callings to serve humanity.

To cite Pogo: “The enemy is us.” By “enemy,” I refer to our “inner saboteur,” the little voice inside us, as human beings, to which we choose – often unconsciously – to give too much power. Stated simply, our human nature tends to choose the path of comfort and convenience, that is, whatever is quick and easy, such as the “quick fix.”

The “quick fix,” at best, might address, superficially, only the symptoms but not the root cause(s) of our psychological affliction.

Yet, sadly, so many folks are so disconnected to their own inner life, they are unable to distinguish symptoms from causes. The “quick fix” perpetuates the illusion that all is well, at least for the moment, so that they can zoom on to the next distraction away from deeper reality.

Yes, some of you reading my blog may not see yourselves in the above picture. Perhaps like me, in our respective human imperfections, we at least have made a courageous effort to grow toward our “inner” human potential, with various degrees of success. We also know that that journey never ends. The gift, nevertheless, is finding more inner peace.

The bigger issue remains, – evident by more frequent mainstream articles published on the subject of mental health – that we live in a society not just with socio-economic imbalances and injustices yet, moreover, accompanied by a range of mental health issues that spare few people, whether rich or poor.

Returning to the two articles as reference points, let me first of all address “What Brand is Your Therapist?” by Lori Gottlieb, November 23, 2012 in The New York Times. I certainly respect her personal honesty. Initially a journalist, she then chose to train in psychotherapy “through a rigorous six years.” Gottlieb exposes the “branding” dilemma now confronted by psychotherapists; for they increasingly are expected to “pitch” to the marketplace.

She points out that even the American Psychological Association (APA) produced a paper in 2010 titled “Where Has all the Psychotherapy Gone?” Gottlieb cites this little gem of information in it: “managed care has increasingly limited visits and reimbursements for talk therapy but not for drug treatment; and in 2005 alone, pharmaceutical companies spent $4.2 billion on direct-to-consumer advertising and $7.2 billion on promotion to physicians, nearly twice what they spent on research and development.”

But, the pharmaceutical companies’ focus might be shifting to more research and development. The probability is identified among several psychiatric practitioners interviewed by journalist Anne Kingston, by her excellent piece of journalism in Maclean’s March 25, 2013 edition.

In this Maclean’s article “Is she a brat, or is she sick?” the subtitle is more telling about the content, in part reading: “…new psychiatric guidelines are now labelling ordinary behaviour as mental illness – and pitting doctors against doctors.” The catalyst for this controversy is the upcoming DSM-5, the latest version of “psychiatry’s bible” otherwise named “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).”

Among DSM-5‘s many critics, according to Kingston, the most vocal is psychiatrist Allen Frances (who happened to chair the previous DSM-4 task force). She writes: Frances cautions clinicians, media and the general public to “be skeptical” and not to “follow blindly down a road likely to lead to massive over-diagnosis and harmful over-medication.”

By the way, such criticism about the extent to which the pharmaceutical industry influences the medical professions (and other industries) is nothing new. The above cautionary pleas are justified, and signal the continuation of a regrettable trajectory.

For example, I recall some years ago watching, in shock, a PBS-TV episode of Frontline, which exposed the over-medication of children by a noticeable number of doctors and, worse, the prescription of certain psychiatric drugs intended for adults yet being distributed for children’s use.

Another example about the inappropriate and excessive reliance on drug prescriptions by too many psychiatrists is well described in a book that I have read, and highly recommend, titled: Healing the Soul in the Age of the Brain (2001), subtitled “Becoming Conscious in an Unconscious World.”

The book’s author is Elio Frattaroli, psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and faculty member of The Psychoanalytical Center of Philadelphia. In this landmark book, Dr. Frattaroli challenges the persistence of the “Medical Model’s” dominance in psychiatry: He writes:

“Unfortunately, with the advent of cosmetic psychopharmacology and managed care, too few psychiatrists remember, if they ever knew, what a psychotherapeutic process is, and too few patients realize that healing the soul through the I-Thou relationship with their physician is a potential treatment option that is no longer being offered them. In the Age of the Brain, psychiatric treatment has been reduced to an exclusively I-It relationship, in which patients are objectified, diagnosed as `cases,’ equated with their brains (and genes), and treated according to standards of statistical science rather than of personal knowledge” [Frattaroli, 2001, p. 12].

Gottleib’s investigation, meanwhile, gives evidence that fewer psychotherapists as well, even equipped with suitable training and experience, may be called upon by their clients, to be guides through an authentic healing process that, legitimately, takes time.

The consequence, according to Gottlieb, is that fewer psychotherapists actually are practicing psychotherapy and, instead, have placed their energies into becoming coaches, where steady, and higher, income is assured.

I am not slamming coaches here. However, what coaches are trained to offer ought to be better distinguished from what psychotherapists are supposed to offer. Blurring the lines confuses a wider public already ill-informed about what deeper transformative healing requires. Again, coaching has its own, different, beneficial role.

The other option recommended by branding consultants, Gottlieb writes, is for psychotherapists to find a niche in their therapy, and market themselves accordingly.

By choosing a niche “market,” the trade-off however, as I see it, is that psychotherapists tend to offer only brief forms of psychotherapy, to please clients many of whom apparently only seek the “quick fix.”

Therefore, as I suggested earlier, do not lay the blame at the feet of psychological healers. Nor will I blame branding consultants although I am not comfortable with their task. Perhaps neither are some of them. Gottlieb quotes Casey Truffo, a branding consultant:

“Nobody wants to buy therapy anymore,” Truffo told me [Gottlieb]. “They want to buy a solution to a problem.” (Hence, hire a coach.)

But, Truffo, more importantly, revealed a truth that she has witnessed, because she herself once had a private practice too. She saw a shift in people who once approached her in the pursuit to change themselves. During the past two decades, however, people steadily have shifted to a perspective of wanting something else or someone else to change.

Identifying that shift precisely fits what I suggested above, the need for us to take back responsibility to do what is needed in order to mature emotionally and spiritually, rather than blame external sources for our unhappiness and lack of fulfillment.

In closing, I refer to one of the running threads in my blog throughout the past year, and continuing – the sacred feminine and the ways in which we can recover that aspect of being alive. The sacred feminine refers to our source of life, namely, the earth’s life support system whose energies are intertwined with our own inner life force.

Human beings innately are endowed with amazing creative gifts. Let us discover and manifest them, rather than submit to forces that defuse our yet untapped inner power, to grow more fully into who we can be.