I am reminded of what I feel is our greater purpose for being here. This past year, 2008, has indeed been historic, and leading into some very exciting times.

Please visit here, as I reflect on the “summation” of my work (and purpose). Ultimately, Wellness, is my passion, while Primary Health Care deserves to be more fully (and accurately defined) realized…for its potential.

I invite all to be partners in this purpose. That’s right, I see that shared purpose, that transcends job losses or credit crisis, or mortgage failures. We can pull together and continue on to make this an even better society. With crisis and chaos, comes change and transformation…let’s join together, adn celebrate the new year, and the dawn of a new world order.

BE wise, BE well,

Dave

Few can argue, that the greatest demonstrations of power, are seen by the hand of nature. Within the last year, the cyclone of Myanmar, and the most recent of earth quakes to devastate China, we have other lingering memories as well.

The Tsunami, of southeast Asia, not so long ago…and Katrina. These have provided opportunity to see a transformative change in attitudes…and in pro-active “conditioning”. We are also seeing “pro-active and transformative conditioning happen in the corporate and banking worlds. Some will be “victims” while others should have not been “gambling” on conditions like “credit”.

The world needed to change, and it is unfolding. What will emerge, as related to the need to reconcile our relationship to “credit” and our relationship to “nature”, will bring a new world order, and hope that we could not have otherwise passed on to our grand-children.

As we prepare for this “festive season”, the season that is meant to be about giving…and not so much about getting…I think we can all be very reflective of those things that make it a privilege to be on the planet earth, and at this time in history.

Many historical events have unfolded for 2008…I think we can easily say that “solutions” and “transitions” will be deferred, into the new year. Hope you have not lost faith in governments or in the “humanity” that lies within all of us. Perhaps we are being shaken, for the very reason…our collective head needed a good shake.

May peace, purpose and passion for living be that which is manifesting in your life,

Dave

I, like many, have been transfixed by the news lately, the Obama Nation…the credit crisis…the economic downturn, and those that are adopting the “victim” position.

I would have many things to share to American (and Canadian) Auto Executives, if they would just be open-minded, and see “beyond the box”.

I have long believed in Critical Thinking, and for the most common of “commoners” to embrace the notion of being researchers. The research methodology most valuable for the common man, and to those in position of power and influence alike, is the application of “Critical Discourse Analysis”.

I will share more about this and give it it’s own page soon enough (as I think it valuable enough), but for now, I share this from criticalthinking.org

Infamous box

If you haven’t heard the expression that we need to “think outside the box”, then you’ve been pretty much comatose the past decade. This is a “must-use” business buzzword, but many who advocate it haven’t a clue how to go about it and wouldn’t likely accept the results in any event! Still, thinking beyond the normal way you’ve always thought of a problem or issue; beyond the way your company or group has always approached an issue; trying to come at something from a unique angle to see if any good ideas result can be a valuable exercise if done intelligently.

But just because an idea is bold or “outside the box” doesn’t automatically mean it’s good. There is no substitute for clear thinking. Ponder “New Coke.” It may itself have arisen from “thinking outside the box,” but once those inside the firm had managed to convince themselves it was a great idea, the new idea itself become “the box” that nobody peeked beyond. Hindsight says they should have!

more here

Sorry, to family and “usual readers, family, friends. It is “over-the-top” busy enough related to holiday schedules (singing with Fanshawe Chorus London…and three concerts over 3 weeks time)…practicing rehearsals…but also the “practicing” of successful living…of which I wish to write and speak about.

While the story is long, not yet complete…I did remove much about the book from this blog, for obvious reasons…to protect the intellectual property, but also not to share everything…otherwise….no one would need to buy the book.

So…the new (or newest enterprise) is the collaboration with “The Village Wellness Centre (downtown London) and the working toward the new website…(and brochures, letterhead etc…”branding” is the new buzzword to replace “platform”, if you are amused at all with the “business speak” that is necessary, for the ultimate (or should I say “optimal”) goals to be achieved. Have decided to return to teaching (probably Western) but not until September 2009. The “doctorate…PhD studies” that is moved to September 2010.

So, hope my family and friends are not ’stressed out’ at all about world realities and the interesting drama unfolding for “governments”…much of this needed to happen…or otherwise was “in the cards”…inevitable.

So, BE positive, BE well….

And BE back, as I promise to write again…not so long a break next time

(oh and I didn’t share about our sick puppy Kliene…prayers are appreciated)

Dave

for your viewing, opp’s here to learn some new poses

I am not intending sarcasm here, but rather to reflect what will be important, really important in the years to come. While we witnessed much flooding and devastation of “bumper crops”, predicted…what would be worse…to much water, or too little.

This is not science fiction, and it is not advocacy run amok. What we in all the world will be caring more and more about is not money….but water. We have been distracted as of late, with political fan-fare, and hopes and dreams for “real change“, while we must continue to care about war, the intent behind war…and how to prevent further conflict in the very near future.

I give you this website, to access and decide on your own vested interest to motivate you to investigate more. Climate change is real, ecological footprints are getting “enormous”…the global landscape is seeing a transformation that is beyond urbanization and an “asphalt jungle”. The biggest bombshell crater so to speak…is the developing struggle for access to safe drinking water. We cannot live without water, and we cannot grow food without water, so think long and hard on the consequence of waxing apathetic, about the “water crisis”. ON the site primary-health-care.net, you can read my blogging on, “The Perfect Storm”. This destiny of ours, created by modern living, will include more than a financial crisis, the Peak Oil Crisis…or Populations Crisis. The shortage of professionals in Health Care, in the face of an aging population…well the lists goes on and on, inclusive of food shortages, water shortages the climate change scenario and of course, the growing apathy (lack of interest or disbelief), that we are staring the perfect storm down, as if it will burst like a soap bubble, and leave little trace, that it was once there in front of us. Enough “bubbles” a-bursting before us…and there would be those fragments (which we no longer see) that if we inhale deeply, would then be part of us, and a potential problem, yes? Think about carbon sequestering, a potential “burst” to the surface…and do we know what the consequences are…we know what the consequences of breathing in too much carbon monoxide (say from idling truck traffic)…and to say there is a difference between carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide…would be very naive to say the least…when we know things change “under pressure”….lots of things change under pressure and over time…carbon to diamonds…or carbon to coal…coal to soot…soot to cancerous lungs. I rest my case. We can’t say…don’t drink the water…anymore than we can say don’t breathe…when we are but “one breath” away from the alternative.
Please do some positive reflection today, reflect on the positive legacy we can co-create…we can green up the planet through intergenerational collaboration, this medium (the blogosphere), and action toward education and personal reflection and “change”.

BE well, BE the change,

Dave

This is what was inside a “fortune cookie” from a recent take-out order.

The “universal” or “global darkness” that “appears” to have many viewing their darkest days ever, it is just the inclusion of those clouds, of which I wrote about last posting. There is a silver lining, yes…but you don’t often see clouds at night, you see a star-less sky…and not a moon in sight either. Clouds roll back, when the “nature” of them is, to do so. It is the nature of “capital Markets” to be subject to news of crisis, resources in peril, a CEO’s illness…or perhaps…as we see with the credit/banking crisis…too many, are in over their heads, others having their heads in the sand.
It is “nature” for the clouds to be formed through the “interface” of high and low pressure systems. There will be a release of the cloud’s expected content (rain, hail, sleet or snow) when the right conditions exist for this to be so. It is to “be so”, that we have to have this transition of global economic climate, in order to come through with the silver lining. The silver lining is all about the fact that the Sun is there, behind the clouds, always is (except at night it is the moon and Stars). And we may not see the sun today, or the moon or stars tonight…but we will, eventually. And yes, we must welcome the darkness, to appreciate the natural occurrences like the stars. And yes we must welcome the clouds, and the rain, for we would not be treated with beauty if the whole world would be a desert. We would not survive, without the accumulation of snow on our mountains, in our Arctic and Antarctic extremes. Nor will we survive if our lakes and oceans were not replentished. So, think on this, and appreciate, that climate change in terms of what the “economic forecast” could be…but can be reversed through global collaboration.

Sure I worry a bit about my investments, but no I am not planning to skip the RRSP’s and “planning” for a “well” earned retirement. I invest in the wellness of the economic foundations…and I continue to promote a foundation of living on wellness. Everything will be as it is meant to be. Nature will prevail, it all depends if you are looking up…or if you are down (or your head in the sand)…easy to see the end product of rain (the puddles) but you will miss the silver lining, the rainbows, the stars and the sun’s light…if down you choose, for long.

BE looking up, BE hopeful,

Let the light of the true meaning behind “Obama”, shine on your future also,

BE well,

Dave

There truly can be a “peace that passes all understanding”. In recent weeks, the anxiety level escalation has literally been “global”. WE are witnessing some amazing, transformative events. While I am empathic to the losses, of some major value of persons, companies and nations “wealth”, I am one who sees that there is a silver lining, to all of this.

I think the clouds have rolled in out of necessity. Paving the way for a new road, to a different kind of prosperity, is now evident. The “historical” context of China’s hosting of the Olympics, along with newly elected Barack Obama…those two events would have made 2008 one of the greatest years to reflect on. The so-called “economic meltdown” would have been a big enough “solo-gig”, to make this a very big year indeed. And we are not finished with 2008, just yet.

As I struggled with some uncertainty, deadlines and clarity for decisions, I found peace, yet once again. My visit to the river, had invited a reflection on one of my favourite metaphors. Zen Tea Ceremony, is not everyone’s cup of tea…and if you are Japanese, do know that I intend no offense, and yes…my metaphor, has little to do with what your customs are all about.

For my Zen is all encompassing, and as Zen literature from the Master’s…once you think you have found Zen…you have lost it. Zen is everything, yet it is nothing. One cannot claim to hold Zen in their head or their heart, in that as they do…it is unavailable. But humour me as I do express my thoughts about the Zen that is possible in these “troubling times”.

As I have shared before…a tea bag, has two sides…western thought would take us to evaluate right versus left side, or be a little more pragmatic and suggest that there is “the inside” of the bag…and the “outside”. Still, this is using the sight perception and the intellect to “rationally” find some measurement…or physical equation, to define the sides of the tea bag.

For one wishing to explore the meaning behind Zen, is to expand toward a Universal Truth, about the tea bag. The Zen student, would not just view an “inside” and an “outside”. There is the “essence” within the leaves, finely ground or more course. This essence (that which only seeps out if the tea bag is exposed to water). Is it “tea” in other words, as grounds and fibres that are encased in a bag. Tea leaves, could be viewed under the same evaluation…is there tea, without water?

WE all have a greater potential, then what is seen from the outside. Even our actions and words, do not add up to who we really are, or more important, who we can be. The newly elected President, will not be living his full potential. Not yet anyway…he has to be “sworn into office”, before the “empowerment” begins. Or empowerment (or full potential) has not yet been realized. It takes a process, and even once we have been “sworn in” to the intent, and position, for transformation to occur…there will be “steps”, “phases”…”levels” and “principles” that will follow. It will not be some “systematic” continuum, but rather…as tea “seeps” out…it blends with more and more of the water…and will continue to seep out, even once drinking has begun….and even more seeping occurs with “refreshing” the cup with more water, once the drinking has begun.

So, are we the cup…the container, of all that potential?

Are we the tea-bag…unlimited in available essence?

Are we the water?…the one thing that impacts the essences of life…brings potential to other items and substance in the universe?

Without the cup…there is no containment…no collective potential to trap the essences available.

Without the tea…all Warm water (or cold) will seem very much the same…unlimited or not.

Without the water….would there be a complete release of the potential…and the possibilities? Would life have the flavour we seek?

Finding peace in the face of uncertainty and chaos….is always possible. Our fluid thoughts could lead to a bitter brew inside…or outside of ourselves. There is always choice. WE can always “elect” transformative reflection, and living life as a legacy of compassion, peace, harmony….and Zen.

May you find some today…define your Zen…peace, Love and tranquility…

It is all there…at the river…or in that cup of tea…

Let the choice be yours to “pour” some essence of human spirit…of which Love is the greatest of all the “Flavours” of being human.

BE Wise, BE Well….be a Well-spring of peace,

Dave

It was more breezy yesterday, and good thing. Some extra leaves had taken flight. With all the very wet snow we had received, many a tree that still had leaves on it, experience some major “pruning”. With the heart ache for some. whose favourite tree in their yard, we can honestly say, “mother nature always gets the last word”.

I proceeded out into the wood and along the river, and if you can imagine that there is quite a canopy for the woods along the river in North London…it was quite a sight to see.  Truly a Winter Wonderland, yet not all that serene. It was also more than just a visual spectacle. As I proceeded on, despite my wet and cold feet (wore my runners), there was “thumping” as massive clumps of snow hit the ground. There were intermittent “cracking” sound, as the weight of the snow, bear down on vulnerable branches, forcing some to snap…and fall to the ground. (I had to keep my eyes upward, and “dodge” my way, as I cut my hike short. (feet were freezin’, mostly).
This does not happen often, the snow sqaul we witnessed roll in and dump on trees that had not yet, released their leaves. Sure there were some trees that were bare, while this one type of maple …a broad leafed maple tree, had held out longer than the others, hardly a touch of colour, most of the leaves remaining on and remaining green.

There are few things that we can predict in this changing climate. I know that I have used this metaphor before about the changing economic and political climate, to which we see reports on TV and in newsprint. When we are “unsettled” with uncertainty, “vulnerable” because we have not yet “changed” and accommodated the new climate and new culture…”prepared” ourselves for living life differently, there will be unrelenting stress. The “bough” of our will and our intentions, will be forced to bend…or something could snap, there are some weighted burdens for many right now.

It is worthwhile to take stock of our situation with more focus and care. Now is not the time to consider or make a major purchase….that is what they say on one station, while blaming the failing economy for just that, “consumer reluctance”. It will soon be a “new market” with some new rules to play by. I think we need to embrace this. The economy was not as stable and as promising as it had appeared. It is if the facade that needed to be removed is now off. The exposure of the vulnerable, could have illuminated the need for correction, but would they that took such a gamble, listen? I think that most of my readers are happy it did not happen to them (at least I have not heard from any of you that trouble had set in over night.

So, continue to keep your head up, your eyes and your ears open. There are somethings we can predict. Maybe not the weather as much as predicting that we would lose a lot of branches for those beloved trees that held out till the end with their foliage. Make it a priority to look out each morning, and no matter how Mother Nature presents herself each morning, we can still feel blessed and warm on the inside….( and yes next time I’ll be wiser and dig out the boots)

Happy to here from a favourite student who is doing well in Toronto. Also good to here that the snow was a blessing for those that get paid to snow-plow. Each one of us can celebrate something.

BE well,

Dave

I am “elated”, energized and peaceful at the same time. Do my readers know what I call this? This is the test…or maybe I shall make a contest out of this.

To all my readers: What is the “state” that I am in, when I feel very energized, peaceful, with purpose and passion for living?

I  will check the comments below later…one submission per reader please…and please give me permission to post. This could be interesting, for certain, perhaps I could run some informal surveys this way also.

Anyone wish to comment of the US Federal election, who they hope to see win and why?

Let the “games” begin,

BE Blessed, have fun…claim happiness as your own,

Dave