Archive for December, 2009

Resolutions for 2010

Wednesday, December 30th, 2009

New Year’s resolutions are common in America. This year four in every ten adults will make anything from a single resolution to a list of them, as long as your arm, to work on in 2010. Three-quarters of the resolutions will be intact by the end of the first week. Two-thirds will survive a month, and a quite astonishing number—nearly half of all the crop of resolutions—will still have been kept by the end of June.

Most of the resolutions made for 2010 will be practical: losing weight (a given after the long gastronomical blowout over the holidays) is number one on the resolutions chart. By weighing you can measure your progress on that one, and you know if you have given up smoking, of course. Less easy to quantify are three other favorites at this time of year: exercise more, spend more time with the kids, and reduce stress.

With the world’s economy being so unstable, millions are resolving to get a job, or to get one that pays better and is more stable. The decision to become a better money manager is also being forced on us, not least as a result of sky-rocketing credit card interest rates. Paying off your credit card debt every month is catching on as a novel idea. Our great-grandparents didn’t do it—there were no credit cards in their day. (But they still had debts to pay.)

Going “green” is another fertile area for resolutions. People are now well beyond promising themselves that they will use recycling bins. They are seeing more clearly the value of shopping for locally grown foodstuffs; they are considering a genuinely fuel-efficient vehicle; and they are investigating fitting more insulation for their home, and installing solar or geothermal methods of house heating and cooling. “I resolve to be greener” is an up and coming hit on the New Year’s resolution charts.

There are plenty of people willing to help us make resolutions. We can buy their books, go to their seminars, or download their friendly voices to learn how. They may tell us to be “SMART:” Specific about our goal, Measuring our progress, Achieving what is within our reach, Resolute in pursuing our goal, and Timely, by not letting our goal disappear in the uncertain mists of the future.

Émile Coué de Châtaigneraie (1857-1926), a French amateur psychologist, excited a lot of interest a hundred years ago with his use of self-improvement optimistic autosuggestion.

His mantra, “Tous les jours à tous points de vue je vais de mieux en mieux” (“Every day, in every way, I’m getting better and better”), became very popular. He said that curing our troubles actually requires us to change our subconscious thought. On the other hand he taught that strongly motivating our conscious mind is not the best way to succeed.

Coué insisted that curing our physical and emotional troubles requires that we re-program our subconscious mind’s permanent response. This can only be achieved by using our imagination. He developed a method which was based on his finding that “any idea exclusively occupying the mind turns into reality,” but only to the extent that the new idea is within the realms of possibility. Visualizing the end result—your goal—while repeating the mantra over and over again, occupies the mind until the subconscious is convinced.

WODEN SAYS: What does the soul have to say?

We should always take the idea of making resolutions to a greater depth. Most New Year resolutions are made with a passionate decision to do something important which will change our life. It is a conscious decision usually accompanied by a strong dose of emotional excitement. (People who are not excited by the thought of giving up smoking don’t last a week.)

Next, take your decision to the depth of the Coué method. There your mind visualizes the change having taken place, and as you repeat the mantra, “Every day, in every way, I’m getting better and better,” you see yourself playing with the kids, throwing away the ashtrays, trying on a slimmer-fitting dress, or whatever represents success in your venture. Slowly the subconscious takes on the progressive idea as its own. If you are going about things in a S.M.A.R.T. way, failure is much less likely.

Then there is the third level to which we can take our zeal for self-improvement. It is to match our response with the desires of our soul.  After all, the soul is supposed to be in charge of our life—we don’t always allow for that. Souls are in favor of change, but not always the changes we consciously think about.

We may resolve to slim down and eat more healthfully. Our soul may be wanting us to love ourselves more and to get out of that painful relationship.

We may resolve to stop smoking. Our soul may be wanting us to stop accepting the stress we are subjecting ourselves to at work, and to take another job or an early retirement.

We may resolve to spend more time with the kids. Our soul may be wanting us to stop chasing young women at work and spend more sincere affectionate time with our wife.

When we match our resolve to the deeper desire of the soul, we succeed: people who love themselves more lose weight more readily; people dealing with stress permanently find they don’t need an addiction as a crutch; men who cease philandering enjoy their marriage more.

Don’t wait until the clock strikes twelve. Ponder what your heart is saying to you, then tell yourself that you will be happy to make a truly meaningful change. That will work really well because you have made sure the reason was right.

Now, visualize, breathe in deeply and say after me: “Every day, in every way, I’m getting better and better.”

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The Giving Ladder

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

The12th-century Jewish scholar Moses Maimonides taught a simple system for evaluating gifts. At this time of gift-giving all over the world, Woden wishes to encourage his readers to think more deeply when giving out their presents.

Let’s start with the ladder of virtue invented by Rambam (his Hebrew name). Each rung on the ladder represents a more perfect motive in giving, and each builds on the last.

• The lowest rung: we give begrudgingly and our attitude causes the recipient of the gift to feel ashamed or embarrassed.
• Rung two: we give cheerfully but actually give too little.
• Rung three: we give cheerfully and adequately but do so only after it has been requested.
• Rung four: we give cheerfully and adequately, and before being asked.
• Rung five: we give without knowing who the beneficiary is, but the recipient knows our identity.
• Rung six: we know who the beneficiary is, but the recipient does not know our identity.
• Getting really virtuous, we come to rung seven: giving takes place, but neither the donor nor the recipient knows the other’s identity.
• The top rung in the ladder is the ultimate in virtue: we give money, or a loan, or our time, or whatever it takes to help the recipient to be self-reliant.

It may be noted that there is no rung low enough for the millions of people who give too much, or give inappropriately. We think of children given an almost overwhelming number of toys each Christmas. As the years go by, we are tempted to scale an escalating mountain of cost in giving to our children. Toddlers’ toys are simple enough and even affordable, but then peer pressure creeps in and we give way to demands for ever more expensive items, mostly electronic or with wheels! That’s rung three, folks!

Most of us get stuck on rungs one to three. Gift giving in some situations intensifies social discord. “I got X but you only got Y!” say the children to each other. And not just children—adults play the “I got” game equally well. But where on the ladder is there mention of the recipient being given an ephemeral social advantage? How can we equate giving $200 running shoes to fourteen-year-olds with adequate education in money management (which is self-reliance)?

WODEN SAYS:

As an Anglo-Saxon god I was nearer in social life style to the 12th century of Maimonides than to folks today. We did not live in a money economy. There were no billion-dollar bonuses for knights. We had to pay with eggs when we asked the village blacksmith to pull out our tooth. Running shoes were bundles of animal hide tied at the ankle, so most people walked barefoot.

I’m not knocking inventiveness, especially when it comes to dentistry, but if it leads young people to tweet on their just-given mobile phone when they should have been driving carefully, it’s time to cry enough!

In Caesar’s Rome they gave bread and circuses to the workers to keep them from rebelling. Today’s society is not run by Caesar’s equivalents, the politicians, but by the manufacturers, the retail giants, the boys who advertise stuff on the telly. They tell us what to crave, and tell our children what to crave, and even tell parents what to give. And everyone goes crazy to get it. But we don’t see the big picture: we don’t see the destruction of our economic system and our environment by our constant demands for things and more things, whatever the cost.

How can you get to the top of the ladder? By saving for your retirement, or the children’s education? By making gifts to charities that are managing micro-loans to people you will never see, for whom $25 is the equivalent of six months’ hard work in the fields? Whatever. You think it up.

Enjoy your gift giving this year. Spread a little love around—now that’s a gift we all can give, and all need to receive. But don’t ask to actually hug Woden. Anglo Saxon deities have very rough chins.

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“For what we are about to receive”

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009

On December 10th President Obama waved to the crowd gathered in several thousands outside the hall in Oslo where, in a royal and solemn ceremony, he had been awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. Outside there were supportive cries of “Yes, we can!”—reminders of his political campaign’s battle cry. There were also drumbeats and shouts of opposition from a band of Norwegian peace activists, protesting the war in Afghanistan.

The American leader won the prize, in the opinion of the Nobel committee, for radically changing his nation’s approach towards the wider world. The panel cited his efforts to accelerate nuclear disarmament, tackle climate change, and use diplomacy rather than threats in dealing with intransigent nations. That judgment is currently supported by large numbers of Europeans, who view the change in posture by the American administration with profound relief, and so approve of Barack Obama, the man of the hour.

Back  home in the USA, the scene is more hostile. Political friends and foes alike are mostly discomfited by an award that smacks of political manipulation on the part of the Nobel committee. The common view is that the President has not done enough to date to deserve such a prestigious prize. Although the financial award of $1.4 million will be donated to charity, it is an embarrassment. Critics complain that the winner does not deserve the honor because he is incompetent.

Mr. Obama acknowledged the image problem, saying that the award was “controversial” and that he saw himself “at the beginning and not the end of my labors on the world stage.”  As modestly as someone can who is collecting such an prestigious and rich award, he indicated his accomplishments were “slight” when compared with those of Albert Schweitzer, Martin Luther King, George Marshall, and Nelson Mandela. Going even further in modesty, he said “far more deserving” were those men and women who had been “jailed and beaten in the pursuit of justice,” and those giving similar “quiet acts” of service to humankind.

Could President Obama have refused to accept this controversial award? Well yes, of course. But it would have been a snub to those who wished him well by awarding the prize, and, no doubt, critics at home would have called it an act of national betrayal. Still, critics would always find fault whatever he might do. This was a difficult situation made worse by the fact that America is fighting two wars: one (Iraq) regarded by most people on Earth as unjust, and the other about to escalate with a surge of coalition (mostly American) troops.

WODEN SAYS:  Remember the bread and water.

When Woden was a little Anglo Saxon divinity, his daddy complimented him on finding a way to prop up the holiday caravan (Americans please read: vacation mobile home). It was a parental compliment that stuck in his mind and made him really feel like a god.

We do that sort of thing a lot for our children. We put their strange scribbling up on the fridge, telling them how good they are and hoping that one day they will be as prolific and as rich as Andy Warhol. We applaud them as they wobble away on their first bicycle, fearful lest they wobble under the wheels of a bus but hoping they may grow up to win the Tour de France. We reward them for passing their school exams by giving them their first car. Should they become a soloist in a choir or orchestra, or write a novel, or get a job with good prospects, we, as parents, praise and reward their efforts. It’s the loving thing to do.

Why then is it so hard to do the same for politicians? Well, in truth, President Obama was so rewarded. Strong men cried when he celebrated his victory that night in Chicago, and later, his inauguration was viewed by millions the world over. A nice reward for winning the election and for helping to pull down some of the wall of racism around the USA.

So what’s this fuss about the Nobel Peace Prize? Obama will still have to make progress in his two wars, disputes with Iran and North Korea, the Israel/Palestine issue, the world economic and domestic jobs problems, and global warming—to name just a few major problems. But at least some people have put it on the line that he is worthy of support. The Nobel committee made tangible the widespread recognition of his potential as a world leader, in effect offering thanks for the good that we can expect as he leads and inspires us to create a more peaceful future.

Now let’s start the meal: It comprises a little bread and water, like the President’s work so far on the world stage, still not a major achievement but a real change of direction—a feast for six billion human brothers and sisters hungry for stability and peace. “For what we are about to receive, may we be truly thankful.”

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The Unpredictable

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

We live in an unpredictable world. Take that environmental meeting at Copenhagen for starters. Has the conference a workable plan for the environment? How do we know it’s    workable? Those ecological scientists struggle to keep up with the changing face of Mother Earth—so can the politicians really know what to do? And if politicians say they’ll do something, will it ever happen when they get back home?

It’s the same for world finance. There’s a horrid threat out there in the massive debt levels incurred by the USA, Britain, Eire, Greece, and Iceland, to name a few of the most shaky economies. The rest of the world is at severe risk of a financial meltdown. “But surely not China?” you say. Don’t you believe it. If Americans (and then the Europeans) stop buying Chinese goods, what will happen to millions of Chinese workers? It doesn’t take much more fiscal nonsense for a billion nice but poor people to be thrown out of work across the globe.

Feeling anxious yet? How about your retirement? “I’m not old enough to think about retiring,” you say. Fair enough—but are you going to be able to look after Grandma and old Uncle Bob when their state pension packs up and breathes its last? Come to think of it, is your own financial situation sufficiently predictable for them to rely on you?

Did you see that disaster movie 2012? In it there was plenty of doom and gloom to go all round. Global warming—you haven’t seen a half of it yet! Drought, floods, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes erupting, to say nothing of crop failures all over the place. Yes, it’s happening right now.  Yet people sweetly think, “There’s nothing really wrong.” That’s the ostrich mentality. These 2012 predictions are a good reason to hide your head in the sand. Find a nice place to shop in, or a great movie to watch…nothing is really going to happen.

Life is truly unpredictable. Tiger Woods hits a tree not a birdie. The White House is invaded by reality-show contestants. [ …  insert your own example, please.] And then, gosh darn, you break up with your boy-/girl-friend (the swine!) even though it was only last Thursday night that you exchanged eternity bangles and both swore always to remain true forever ’n’ ever, and breathlessly kissed each other until your lips were sore.

WODEN SAYS: We get what we ask for.

We live in an unpredictable world because it was made that way for our benefit. Having come down here to learn lessons, we are daily provided by the forces of the universe with big and small challenges that we didn’t foresee.

I’m not just talking about negative experiences. We get plenty of those, but sometimes we can see them coming, as admitted by the disgraced NBA referee Tim Donaghy, who was caught betting on the basketball matches he was refereeing. Remember, the unpredictable can also be as sweet as meeting a potential future life-partner when you both have an hour to kill, sitting in an airport, waiting for a plane that’s overshot its destination by 150 miles.

So, let’s deal first with the airport scenario. Two people, free from romantic attachments to anyone else, both eager to settle down with someone nice, are given a gift, or so it seems, of an hour to get acquainted. They each have a business card on which to write their mobile/cell phone number legibly. The flight attendant would be willing to shuffle the seats to put the two of them together. Go on, paint a nice, rosy picture. Dream that you are one of them.

Now, are you going to laugh off the delay, or scowl and complain about “these people” who keep on making your life a misery? You’ve each got about thirty seconds to impress the other,  before he or she pulls out the novel/ laptop/ Blackberry  to occupy the wasted time. You will succeed in attracting or repelling the other person by your attitude. You will get what you asked for.

Now imagine the same delay takes place and you find yourself on your own. Your reaction can be equally positive or negative. The unpredictable happened. But your soul is still an unconditionally loving and positive soul. Will your soul choose a positive response or a negative one? Either way is fine with the universe. I’ll say that again in case you missed it. Either way is fine with the universe. There’s no right or wrong way. If you choose to be negative, your soul may experience something new about negativity and, if it wishes, can learn a lesson from it. If you choose to react positively, your soul is experiencing the power and wonder of positivity.

So when the unpredictable happens—a typhoon wipes out your beach house in Bali, the ozone layer isn’t there to protect you in Sydney, your job disappears overnight in Beijing, old Uncle Bob shows up on your doorstep, or your marriage hits a rock—how will you respond?

If you respond with spiritual understanding that this is “just a lesson,” it will help. If you can get others to do the same, it will help even more. If you can persuade society to adopt a positive attitude, the negativity may even go away. Start now.

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The Vegetative State

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

Comatose people are in a profound state of unconsciousness and cannot be woken up or communicate in any way.  This is  popularly called a “vegetative” state,

Rom Houbens, a Belgian man, just made the headlines when, after 23 years of being thought to be in a coma, it was discovered that he has been fully conscious but, because of the injuries he sustained in a 1983 car crash, was unable to communicate by normal means. He is now able, with help from a trained therapist, to spell out his thoughts, using a special keyboard which can read his finger impulses.

Dr. Steven Laureys of Liege University identified Rom’s near-normal brain function by using the newest brain-scanning techniques. Laureys estimates that 4 out of 10 patients in a coma have some minimal consciousness. Houbens wrote that, during his 23 years without response, “I was shouting but no one could hear me.” He could hear perfectly but could not communicate that ability; he was suffering from “locked-in syndrome.” His attending physicians were not able to test him effectively and had given up.

As in the case of the Belgian man, many people in a profound coma have received their severe injuries through accidents on the roads. Motorcycle crashes produce the worst crop of such “cabbages,” as they are often called by hospital staff. Most advanced countries have instituted the compulsory use of crash helmets for all riders to reduce the incidence of such comatose patients. In their own testosterone-induced coma, 31 U.S. states do not.

Not all comatose patients have suffered traumatic brain injury. In the recent American case of Terri Schiavo, respiratory and cardiac arrest, followed by a lengthy period without oxygen, induced the medically described coma. Terri’s case was remarkable for the public fight that followed, 15 years later, over the decision whether to terminate mechanical life-support at the Humana Northside Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. In her case the cause of her heart attack was diagnosed as probably stemming from an unbalanced diet, which a court found had been related to her undiagnosed bulimia.

Medicine is making progress in reducing the incidence of comas among heart attack patients. In five European countries and a hospital in Melbourne, Australia, work to lower the body temperature of patients who have just had out-of-hospital heart attacks has slowed metabolism down, resulting in less brain damage. Improvement in rescue work, matched by better brain scanning, may be expected to result in a small long-term reduction of the number of patients in a permanent vegetative state—in medically advanced and more affluent areas of the world.

WODEN SAYS: It all depends on what the soul is trying to achieve. Our spiritual guides remind us of three things:

First, there are no accidents in the energetic world, to which our souls belong. Whether a car crash resulted in our having a scrape or two and nothing more, or a severe brain concussion rendering us comatose, or instant death, all depends on what we freely decided before coming down to planet Earth. We don’t actually decide the precise way in which we will or will not be impacted by a car crash—that’s left up to the energetic universe to provide. We simply and freely choose the lesson it teaches us. When Woden had his car crash he was carried away in an ambulance and made a good recovery. Only the car died. It was not the time planned for Woden to go Home and join the other Anglo-Saxon gods. He has to endure a dose of Parkinson’s disease and other challenges instead.

Second, the result may be to provide us with a life-lesson of our choice. Rom Houbens has now been able to tell us how he suffered imprisonment in his own body. He says he spent much of the time meditating. He probably had to wrestle with anger, despair, self-blame, fear, and doubt. You get the idea. This was a great spiritual lesson. But remember, the guides don’t want you to think some God did it to him. He actually set up the lesson by his own free will. The emotional pain is more exquisite when it is self-inflicted. No doubt it is still continuing for him in new ways, even though he can communicate with his loved ones.

Third,  the choice may have been a result of a contract between the patient and another soul or souls. Terri Schiavo’s case seems peculiarly effective in this regard. Court battles, a special session of Congress, the US President hopping about like a scalded cat, a million and one sermons (yawn!) and umpteen press articles (yawn squared!!) all followed to make her cabbage-like condition one of the noisiest in history, Rip Van Winkle’s fictional 20-year sleep in the mountains notwithstanding.

Terri provided life-lessons, great and small, for an awful lot of people. The interesting thing, the guides relate, is that Terri’s soul was probably not confined to her body. Where contracts were made but the coma was not a chosen life-lesson, the soul retains a strand of connection with the body but is free to visit with friends and soul mates, and is also free to end the physical life at any time.

So, next time you learn about someone being comatose, ask yourself “what does this say to me?” Don’t call the patients “vegetables.” They are people with souls whose bodies are on life-support machines. And don’t come asking me to make the decision whether to turn off the machines or not. That is for your loving soul to decide. But (no surprise here) I’ll say it again: If you do turn off the machines, remember that you cannot kill the eternal soul. Ever.

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