Psychiatry/ Healing Arts/ Spiritual work

"If madness isn’t what biopsychiatry says it is, what is it? If we don’t agree with what biopsychiatry says, then we probably don’t agree with the treatment practices. For us to have some kind of intelligible answer to a first-year psychiatry intern who can tell you: it’s a brain disorder and every minute that it’s not being medicated, there’s irreparable damage being done. The people who fund the research are the big phama companies that psychiatry represents. A psychiatrist now can see 30-40 clients a day. Psychiatry says: this group of Icarus folks can sing Kumbaya all you want, but we own it. I don’t believe that."
(not sure of author)

Comment:

The fast paced nature of the modern American lifestyle leaves little time or space for introspection and self reflection. If a young person is given a diagnosis, he or she has little recourse but to believe in the diagnosis and trust the authority figures that tell him or her that their brains are poorly wired for life. This cannot continue at the rate it has been going without serious inquiry into origins of behavioral disturbances. There are too many factors other than brain chemistry to make simple conclusions. Since the 1990s there is a grave tendency to pathologize the actions of children and young adults who do not seem to conform to the rhythms and expectations of their schools, jobs and homes. They may be wired differently from other students but is this acting out a result of bad brain wiring, a learning disability or emotions that have not been processed, and energy that needs a focused outlet? These are just a few suggestions of what the behavior could stem from. The hyper active child might be "hyper intelligent" both in regard to emotions and other areas of life they are perceiving. The withdrawn, sullen child might be repressing feelings from a time he or she wishes to forget, or repressing a disturbing reality inside resulting from a highly active imagination stimulated by the toxic environment we all currently live in. With children all over the world being exposed to higher levels of toxins in their food year after year, and poisonous cultural messages that create the climate for suicidal feelings, how can we expect complacent, "good" behavior from them?




to be continued...

Food Justice

The way people choose to feed themselves and the way they choose to medicate themselves are issues of grave concern within families, and in our society at large. It is a matter of street drugs versus pharmaceuticals, or organic chicken and beef versus meat that turns up in local supermarkets. We live in a melting pot culture, where we reflect values we have picked up from mainstream media, social media and families. Some of these values are in conflict with each other, they do not work in harmony with each other at all.

to be continued...

definition

"A soul – in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions – is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object.[1] Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects (such as rivers) have souls. The latter belief ihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifs commonly called animism.[2] Soul sometimes functions as a synonym for spirit, mind or self.[3]"

from wikipedia

Occupy the World!!

The occupation movement has begun and it is amazing. All over the world, people are rising up and coming together for the most part in a peaceful way, but with great determination. In the United States, one of the main ideas is to occupy Wall Street, sending a message to the most rich and elite 1% of the population that 99% of the rest of the world will not sit back and allow greed to ruin everything, for everyone. And greed would essentially ruin everything, as it has done in the past. When greed goes unchecked, society falls apart because injustice and unfair distribution of wealth and resources cause deep social unrest. They cause huge suffering, and there is a whole lot of suffering in our world that we could put a stop to. Essentially, we are living in a time characterized by speedy access to plenty of information, thanks to technology and our physical resources on earth, if managed correctly, could be provisions for all people in need. The fears that people have stem from a myth of scarcity, when in reality, we are "saturated with abundance". (Adimu Madyun, Oakland, CA: storyteller)

As my fellow humans occupy and chant and wave signs, there are some of us who cannot make it to the rallies but are in total solidarity with the movement. The people who are not physically present but are there in spirit are also important. We are the 99% who demand that corporate tyranny end, so we can return to ways on our respective lands that are sustainable. We are moving into an era wherein deeply significant choices must be made, and the right choices are necessary if life on earth is going to continue. We are at a crossroads. May we, as a species, now see what must be done, and take action to bring lasting peace into this realm.

Halloween

Greetings Everyone!

Starting with wearing a nice, sincere, organic pumpkin on my head, I have been preparing in practical ways for the exciting holiday coming up...the secular folks call it Halloween, and kids dress up for all the candy they will get.

But some of us consider the Samhain, pronounced "Sah- win" to be the New Year for the Witches. Witchcraft is one of those things that still for some reason, has a bad rap. Lol. I know why that is. People are unclear about what it really is about. I suppose in time, more clarity will help us all out but in the meantime, some discrimination is present when we hear the word, witch. Essentially, there is no devil worship in this practice, because there is no devil present. There is no belief that an external entity is responsible for your bad deeds, and the question of what is morally right or wrong varies from person to person in the craft. One central teaching is, "Harm no body and do as ye will". In the craft we are taught that all that you put out comes back to you threefold, three times, so you need to be very aware what you send out.

solid

we become solid
we become liquid
we refrain from becoming
none of it really matters
since illusory worlds prevail
kali yuga
you mystify me
you entangle me
you strangle me
this strangle hold is formidable
this way you suck me back in
this denial of release this captured essence
and here goes the observation of tidy mistakes
they call casualties
which will be called casual as a formality
but observations of these times
gather in the corners of our eyes
like cobwebs
and the present moment has power to pull us back in
pursuit of happiness drives us
while pharmaceutical agendas deliver us onto the doorstep of
pieced back together
puzzle people
patience is required by universal law
as America grows into what it takes for faith to blossom
we choke on substandard English
and other colonial languages
too tainted to express
indigenous rage because
we all have  indigenous origins
every single one of us
now we smile wide
side step the origins
underneath shining masks of complicity

for if there ever was a time to rise up
it would be now

if there ever was a time to come together
it would be now

if there ever was a time to unify and to solidify
it would be now

Zurich and London, April 2011

After Reiki atunement, I notice all the more when people are gentle in their energetic engagements. Europeans use space differently from Americans; they are somewhat quieter. No culture is superior to any other it seems, organizations of humans are simply at different stages of development but when they are compared to one another it is easy to see the benefits of the one you are less familiar with.

Explanation of Reiki atunement: A raising of subtle energy awareness by a gentle hands on treatment from someone who has received enough atunemnents in order to be called "reiki master". After this title is bestowed upon them, they can turn around and atune other people...in what is considered a connection to the Usui Sensei Japanese lineage.

This is a simple process but the mind can make it very complex. It is potentially controversial. One of my peers noted with disgust how patriarchal the lineage seemed to be. Once again, even though this is not a religion, we encounter a spiritual practice that is handed down from men. Women as contributors to these practices seem to be absent or even more frustrating, not credited with what they have contributed. It takes conscious effort and awareness and ability to release resentment in order to accept yet another spiritual practice attributed to a male lineage with no recognition of female contributions. One begins wondering if the denial of the parts women play in creating these practices is intentional or if it is subconsciously easier for people to accept practices and recital of wisdom from men exclusively.