I will provide you with three analogies of “interface”…there are concepts much more expansive, while I cannot afford to lose you now, in this chapter of transition.“Where the rubber meets the road”…commonly used, and small definition of “interface”, more associated with “responsibility” and “accountability” than anything else…but these to contexts are HUGE. WE want to change the world, transform it…our survival depends on it…the planet could go on without us. Many argue the planet and the “other” inhabitants would be better off and thrive again…if you remove the human species (as we know it today), from the equation.Personal responsibility, social responsibility, corporate responsibility, these terms are gaining in usage, and appllication. Public accountability has gained illumination, far beyond what may have been thought possible (or even in public consciousness)…we are transforming.The tobacco scenario, is one good example. As of late the Ontarion government if supporting tobacco farmers to “get-out-of-the-industry”. Tobacco has claimed many lives, and has been a fool-hardly approach to living one’s life. There is no argument left for, “just because we can…should we?”

When I first entered Nursing, their were those that could smoke (their choice), in the hospital lounges, and report rooms. It was a pitiful sight…and a perversion of “rights” that was occurring then, as the rest of us non-smokers, has to put up with it…it was “allowed”.“Just because we can split and atom….should we?”. I ask that you reflect on Hiroshima…better yet take a trip to Japan and visit the memorial. When I went to Japan…I could not deal with visit the memorial…it was a dark blemish on modern history…a debate that some said. WE could, and we should have. I dare invite any and all to meditate or reflect on how you would feel if it were the other way around. I know from personal feelings and many discussions the ensued following 9/11. I also, like many are interested in keeping the investigation open on that conspiracy theory.So the “interface”…can be “atomic” in proportion…reflect what it is the is associated with the atom. Sub-atomic particles, are still being theorized or “discovered”. We cannot comprehend what is means…the size of the atom. Quantum fields….is an expansive science….but not perfected and/or totally understood. The word (or context ) Quantum refers to “measurable”…but what is measurement really? It defines the context of mathematical concepts such as inch, foot, yard…millimetre, centimetre or metre…or of acreage?How so we measure the size of the atom? How do we measure the amount of distructive force of splitting the atom. The recent Indian Jones movie portrayed a far-fetched scenario of survival of “Indie” as he clamoured into a lead-lined refridgerator than hurled for miles.If we go back to “envisioning” what it was like at Hiroshima, Nagasaki…or outlying “acreage” and miles and miles…how do we “measure”…How “Quantum” of a leap do we need to appreciate, the “interface” of sciences (man’s contribution) and the potential that lies, “within the atom”. There are still ramifications, (such as regret, resentment, anger, fear, hatred for some, contempt for others)…and the ripple effect will carry on through infinity (partly in due, to the fact that it is a looming presence…and ongoing fear…think North Korea…Iran…but also India and Pakistan). I know that I am one who remains disturbed by the ongoing ripple effect of recent wars and propaganda. There remains many who think China is a threat to world peace…the “post McCarthy era” still has lingering side effects. Even sources of media…movies and music included “manipulates” our minds against the other.

I remember still, after hearing it many years ago, the song titled…”Eve of Distruction”

Ah, now tell meeee, over and over and over and over again my freind,

Ah, ya’ don’t believe…we’re on the eve …of destruction…

There is a verse in there that states….”look at all the hate…there is in Red China”

How much rhetoric, propaganda…and manipulation of our minds, goes into “biasing” and “predjudicing” us, against China…its Olympics….is economic rise…and it’s social justice positions.

I do know this that we as a nation….Canada, need to take a humbling…but “good” look in our own backyard. To illuminate the status…of “status Indians” aka indigienus or aboriginals (originals, compared to most others).

For the U.S. the attitudes toward the other, runs deep and complex also. While Native Americans, vary in their “status” as to whether they are “gaining” anything definable as healthy self-determination, is largely under question, while attitude of minorities (the dander gets up through discussion of the “illegal immigrant” yet they benefit so well, in some households, and some industry that likes that they can pay “under-the-table” and below minimum wage. Some have written about this ongoing hippocracy of Canada and the U.S. and the policies that support this discrimination.

There is another example of interface…”putting pen to paper”. We could use that as the analogy, of those with power writing such policies as Nuclear armament, (first come nuclear procurement and all the consequences that come to miners, their offspring, partners…and communities…”where-ever-the-dust-settles” consequences.

Now, stay with me on this one…read a little than close your eyes as I share the complexity potential of the “interface” concept.

Taking pen in hand…pretend you have a paper laid out in front of you….this is a simple example of “interface”….pen to paper…produces draws or text, your “choice”…you direct, the outcome.

Now imagine yourself, sitting at a desk…a cherry wood desk…with oak trim.

Lovely yes…and a nice padded ergonomic…and yes leather, nothing but the best…shall we say “corinthian leather” with an accent like Richardo Montobaln.

So you are held up by the chair, the paper held up by the desk…and oh yeah there is a leather bound, pad which rests between desk and paper (of course to protect the desk, but oh is it stylish…probably expensive)

So, have you got this image in your mind…is it an image of “power”?

Do you feel powerful in imagining this “pen to paper” experience….now what would we be doing…just scribbling…writing out a document…toooo poweful for that….it was your sectretary who typed out a document to sign.

Now imagine you are in a room…of course there would be a floor (maybe Oak, walnut stained and sheened if you like. But we know that there would be underboards and ” joists” and probably a basement with some foundation…concrete…possibly steel girders and all….and what if it was not “ground floor” (ground zero)

What if it were in fact the third floor….multiple girders…and great foundation and extensive framework…all of which supports the “interface” of your pen and paper.

Now what about another type of “interface”. The interface of “who you are” as a person, a professional, a politician…or of “service to country” (I could save of “God and Country” as it is sometimes referred to, for those serving God and Country)

Now think of yourself in “The Pentagon”….the paper in front of you is a document…to be signed by you.

Picture yourself, in an “interface” with a moment in time…

The plane that came down on the Pentagon…on nine eleven….

Sobering thoughts, beginning? ….stay with that a while.

As you come out of that “contemplation” and reflection…the “interface” between some one else’s truth…or reality an your own.

Coming out of that reflection…let’s say it was not 2001…it is 2008.

You in the Pentagon…have the “Power”, the authority…to sign a document that would enact more and extensive draft policies…because of “planned” preparedness for a war expansion…one that would “consider”….the “possible” threats posed by Iran and/or North Korea.

Could you see yourself doing this?…What do you believe about our world today? …How has the media, politicians, those with the power of propaganda influenced you to believe…and possibly act…on such a big “responsibility” and “accountability”.

This represents the “interface” of your worldview, up against what the rest of the world is saying and deciding to believe…many being asked to “act” on their beliefs…and head off to boot-camp…”and get prepared”.

The “interface” of Values…is HUGE…it is complex and it runs deep, wide…and tall.

The tallest building in the world, with all the complexities of “supportive structures”…would not be a big enough metaphor to help us come to terms with this theory. The “Values” interface, can be right in your living room, with debate over differing values of your child, their lifestyle or the way they keep their bedroom.

It gets far more complicated still,…to visit and reflect the context of values, from person to politician, to nation to nation…to the poor, their values…. and the values of the middle class… and the values of the Rich.
What is my intention here?

It is my invitation to you to think long and hard…yes contemplate…on your state….

and the state of our world…

on your values

and what “possible values” might actually be shared by someone (probably many more …considering the billions….while they would not contemplate…”in English”….they probably feel a greater sense of urgency for positive healthy transformations of spirit, culture and “humanity”.

I would invite you to go deep….because that is where the hidden treasures lie.

WE have not made a serious attempt to “journey to the centre of the earth”, while we have unearthed many a “treasure” we feel we cannot live without….gold…diamonds…. OIL.

WE have not reached the deepest depths of the oceans….yet we continue to find “sunken treasures” and stories of the Titanic and the Spanish Galean Bonanza….all of which facilitated a fate that was …undesirable…and tragic.

There is a fate that awaits us…a destiny…. and a Legacy.

I am inviting you to think about what you would want to be a part of your Legacy story…how do you wish to “manifest your destiny”….and the destiny of the planet.

It is within our collective power to transform ourselves. Will the “collective consciousnees” that speaks of peace, balance, harmony, tranquility, beauty, transcendence….Bliss…or Nirvana…

ever be “realised”…. as in be a collective reality…for all.

WE must visit that interface with “power”.

WE must “critically analyse” Power…the hierarchy…

WE must look “beyond” Power…

I offer you the chance to contemplate these following contexts:

POWER

OPPRESSION

COMPETITION

EXPLOITATION

MANIPULATION

PROPAGANDA

DISCRIMINATION

CULTURALISM: to examine “tribalism” and the ongoing legacy of “colonialism” and “nationalism”

Examples to think about does include the history of the world, focusing heavily on advancing technologies of weaponary…to ship building…ocean voyaging….discovery and conquering of “new” worlds, which were advanced in spirituality but not on weaponry…and shorter on the greed value also.

Think of modern day context of the corruption of socialist (marxist) thought and what the world witnessed as expressions of “communism”…there will be reflections of imperialism…and of course the new imperialism…and emerging source of new colonialism…consumerism…mass consumption…in the search for “quality of life”…with a conflict in values of a global scale.

AS this requires more extensive discussion…it will not be easy to understand the transition to chapter SIX.

Inclusion will be an edited version of the following:

Power, Oppression, Competition and Discrimination

It will literally take years, if I were to outline every concept that contributes to ‘my take’, on the impact these “issues” of socialization that have occurred to date…and the way that we live our lives…the impact we will have on others. No one on this planet, lives in isolation…we feel most comfortable when we are with those who are like-minded. Most often it will be with family members to which we will feel most comfortable (if all grew up together, where both parents are like-minded). There are more exceptions to the rule now…as there is more unions and marriages that cross ethnic, racial, cultural or religious boundaries. Society is indeed rapidly changing, and many find themselves “lost” in understanding or appreciating the younger generation…or their new neighbours…if they are differing in any of the mentioned distinctions. For centuries, there have been “clusters” of cultures or religious groups (often all attending the same church…if small enough town and only one church)…this has all changed…yet we do have many “elders”…who remember “the way that it was”. In a different way, I do feel we need to return to a sense of community,…but under the metaphor of “the Village Well“.
Not all cultures (there are actually more differing ones that what a collective mosaic of North America represents) have the same appreciation for our collective consciousness…of “Free” Enterprise and consumerism (otherwise known as Capitalism). Historically, we have also mis-represented the cultural realities and perspective of those Native cultures to which many of our ancestors “forced” their way into living here…on their Native soil…and we “forced” assimilation on them. We had seemingly discarded the internal “power” source that the Puritans defined in their faith and their friendships to native peoples who reciprocated with their “spiritual power” of giving…until Corruption and greed, landed on “New World” soil and proliferated and stimulated a reciprocal “power of fear and hatred”. ( Can we possibly imagine the fear of loss of land, loss of life, loss of culture?). Further we have represented in the History books and Hollywood depictions that all “natives” were very much the same. They were represented as “heathen” and “savages”. Any other group…mostly European…regardless of country of origin…has portrayed their defensive “battles” as heroic…patriotic and what any “moral, upstanding citizen” would do…would be to fight for their country…fight for freedom…North American “Indians” had been condemned and stripped of their cultural (moral) rights and freedoms…with legacies such as the Residential Schools as a historical and “spiritual” (ethical and moral) violations of even ‘white man’s’ laws.

So, to gain the fullest appreciation possible… I encourage this. Begin with your our spiritual approach…to opening up your heart and mind. This should be a “soul”ful experience…it may include prayer, meditation , or quiet reflection. This has the potential to transform your life…as it has mine. Second…if you have a strong orientation to Biblical accounts and interpretations from religious sources of “leadership”…you will need to reflect on and evaluate with a critical mind and spirit…all that you may have been taught. If you feel that the teachings you were exposed to were 100% “dead-on”…and that you are “immovable” in your beliefs and convictions…I encourage you to go no further. If you believe as I do,…that we continue on an endless path of discovery…if only the Bible in hand…continuous growth is mandated by the Creator.
As In any transformation, spiritual conversion is likely to take place…if you are uncomfortable at all with that…I encourage you to continue to read…as open-minded as possible…but it must be with a hope of greater enlightenment and/or spiritual awakening…that you would “want” for yourself.

Few things in life will be as important as coming to that place where you will have appreciation of the purpose and meaning of life. There are many spiritual facilitators and books where you can begin your search…or you may actually find it in that source you have always relied upon. The World’s Great Religions all have their script and their Historic Teacher/Prophet…and we all can reflect on history to see that multiple interpretations (and corruptions) of truth…are part of the great “reality”. How you define reality and your connection to the divine or “source” of truth…can only be complete if you take the “inward journey”…with open heart and mind….follow me so far…not too different than the many “new life, new age” teachers, guru’s or philosophers, all the while I have quite a “theological exposure”.

It is helpful that you study some anthropology, sociology, political science and of course History inclusive of Theology or Religious Studies. You need not be afraid of Brain-washing here…as you can turn away…or close out the site…and walk away with no influence to your heart and soul…whatsoever. I do suggest you consider the consequence of not opening up…you remain…in a historical trap…not able to resolve those very issues that lie as the foundation of Human Suffering…and failure to find peace in this world…or peace of mind. The purpose and meaning of life…in simplest terms, is to learn, to live and to leave a Legacy.

What will be your Legacy?

Power- This needs to be separated out from the concept of ‘Force’, which is an external phenomenon…one thing influencing another. Power on the other hand…is internal…that which drives the engine of the essence of the person…the organism…or organization. Power is something we all long to have,…and get fearful or anxious if it needs to be surrendered…even if it is as simple as the power to choose what to eat…or what to believe.

The Legacy of the Residential School System stands as a metaphor, for understanding this conceptualization of the violation that occurs when one group, using ‘force’ to assimilate or enculturate another to ways of living, thinking and believing. The “stripping” of the internal Power to choose, and determine one’s own destiny (autonomy or Self-determination), can be likened to “spiritual and cultural Rape”. Further we know now that there were additional and immoral/unethical violations that included Physical Rape, Physical Abuse,…and the idea of being “extracted” from their families in the name of Religious, Political (Governmental) and Racial Ideologies brings the other three concepts under scrutiny…in moral, ethical and spiritual illuminations. Oppression has been a historical reality of many…racial and gender lead a cast of many underpinnings of oppression. Competition…from historical development…is what the Invasion and Conquerings (and Assimilation) of the New World was all about. Competition is ingrained in our North American School systems and the Athletic/Fashion/Research and Development Enterprises that have risen to control our minds and pocket-books. Finally, Discrimination should not need explanation. What is needed though is truth, honesty and openess of our hearts and minds to recognize, acknowledge and resolve the many ways that Discrimination remains to be one of the most prevalant “global” problems of the world today. Age, Race, Gender, Ethnicity,…religious/spiritual orientations…sexual orientation…professional orientation (I think of the plight of Nurses as I think of Oppression, Competition and Discrimination…my lived reality)…the list goes on and on…you are free to say, that you are “FREE” from discriminatory feelings, thoughts and actions…but I have yet to be free, or find any one else that is truly free…in all my 50 plus years.

We all need to be “free” to love, Free to Forgive and Free to return to that sense of community, depicted by the Village Well analogy or the Blue River metaphor. (That too, I will present in a later blog.)
So,…while this blog will be transferred to “Transformative Living” Website…this should get us started in what I consider the most important considerations to make , in any “spiritual journey”, or evaluation of a Personal Legacy. Please join in, comment, contribute and contemplate along with us here in this online community.