Posted on February 27, 2021
Stop what you are doing! Breathe deep; and be. Take a few moments to feel the experience.
Buy a pack of small stickers—any kind will do—and place a dozen or so around your home and office in noticeable places, such as your bathroom mirror, your computer, the back of your phone, on the book you are reading, your clock. Every time you see one of the stickers, stop what you are doing, breathe deep; and be. Take a few moments to feel the experience. (Catherine Price, Mindfulness, a Journal, New York, NY: Clarkson Potter)
As one prepares for each new day, we recognize there is a great deal to get done in the battle for the soul of the Nation and to evolve our individual and collective consciousness and culture. As one reflects on our human interdependence, shared humanity, and aspiration to have happiness—financial viability, health, and companionship—and avoid suffering, a VISION of our “mighty task” might look something like this:
Partisanship is shaking the mighty pillars of our democracy! Destroying the other party is not a viable objective! We are all Americans, and we can each choose to transcend and include others. Climb on-board to get the healing job done and evolve the consciousness and culture of this great country forward. Rachel Kleinfield and Aaron Sobel (USA Today, Friday, July 24, 2020, page 7A) offer, “7 ways to reduce political polarization: Destroying the other side cannot be our goal.”
Stop what you are doing! Breathe deep; and be. Take a few moments to feel the experience. Together, let us move forward and get this job done! Quite simply, positive action that moves current reality closer to the VISION!!
Posted on February 20, 2021
As the country moves toward the mid-term elections in 2022 and the Presidential election in 2024, the divide in the GOP is becoming wider, deeper, nastier, and darker. GOP leadership decisions demand selection of proven, trusted, strategic, and dynamic leaders with incredible passion for and understanding of evolving America.
How a person chooses to “show-up” in the world can be critiqued by researching, examining, and witnessing talents, skills, and experiences; making observations; and scrutinizing character, personality, mentality, and interests. Let us take-a-look at Donald J. Trump.
Partisan politics is a dangerous duel of limited and partial truths; and binds party sorted folks to fixed, literal or otherwise limiting beliefs and frames of minds. Political party sorted, addicted surrogates make obvious excuses for candidates and excuse the inexcusable with respect to morality, judgment, intent, behavior, actions, ethics, and laws. W. Edwards Deming remarked, “If a person is not performing as expected, it is probably because they are miscast for the job.” Michael Cohen offers, “No one ever tells Trump the truth about his behavior and beliefs, or the consequences of his conduct and ignorance and arrogance, in business or in his personal life and now in politics. Trump is the boy in the bubble, impervious to the thoughts and feelings or others, entirely and utterly focused on his own desires and ambitions.”
Really! Donald J. Trump is an impetuous billionaire who stalks women, boasts of grabbing women by the genitals, mocks the disabled, encourages violence against the press and those who disagree with him, a reality television star prone to insulting anyone unlike himself, including LGBTQ Americans, and a power-hungry gangster who is unfit and transparently unqualified to lead the GOP. Examine and deeply reflect on his profile. As a country, the GOP needs a leader who will lead the country, improve the country, and set the stage for future generations, not one who will continue to divide the country, to sow more division in the country, and to deconstruct the many institutions that are the foundation and pillars of the America Americans desire.
The complete list of sources is available with email request to JohnDeVore@aol.com.
Posted on February 13, 2021
The United States Senate impeachment trial of former President Donald J. Trump is an ending, transition, and a new beginning.
As “new investigations” unfold for the former Commander-in-Chief, incumbent Senators and Representatives who were accomplices, and other accomplices to the insurrection, investigators and prosecutors will thrive on the massive amounts of incriminating evidence that has surfaced during the trial and will surface as days, months, and years unfold. Investigators, lawyers, courts, judges, juries, and jails will be kept quite busy! Moreover, with decisions not to impeach by some Representatives and to acquit by some Senators, domestic terrorism and terrorists will be energized and inspired and will respond; and the country will become less safe for all Americans. In addition, for generations to follow, many youth of the country will receive the message that domestic terrorism, breaking the law, egotistical pride, catalyzing hate and fear, racism, ignoring facts and reality, cowardice, lying, political party sorting, narcissism, and violating an oath of office are acceptable behaviors.
Stop what you are doing. Breathe deep. Simply be. We have a great deal of repair work to do to keep our democracy moving in a positive direction; and together we can get this job done!! A step in the right direction will be to select political leaders who are masters of the authentic self and model the way as persons, in relationships, institutionally, socially, and by helping others. Happiness is certainly a reasonable goal: simply peace-of-mind, coupled with connections and purpose built on a solid foundation of compassion.
Posted on February 12, 2021
The former Commander-in-Chief, Donald J. Trump, has been impeached and is being tried in the United States Senate for orchestrating an insurrection of the United States Capital on January 6, 2021 because of the false, glorified claim that the 2020 Presidential election, that he lost by 7 million votes, was unfair.
Republican Senators who vote to acquit the former President and Inciter-in-Chief will send a multitude of crystal-clear, implied messages across the country, stimulating cultural disruption and domestic terrorism for years. Some of these messages are as follows:
Voting to acquit the former President certainly sends a negative message to constituents and others across the country; and it is clearly a dereliction of Constitutional, sworn duty. As the former leader of this country, Donald J. Trump’s behavior was unacceptable and was cowardly, immoral, evil, not factual, and illegal. The former Commander-in-Chief is disgusting and the audio, video, pictures, words, and tweets paint a clear picture of a narcissistic sociopath who deserves to be impeached.
Posted on February 6, 2021
In 1999 the self-awareness journey took the author to downtown Denver and the Tattered Cover bookstore, near Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies. The search was to uncover a connection between the body and the mind. Having recently read Sacred Hoops by Phil Jackson, Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman and The Warrior Within by Bruce Lee, the mystery of the Tattered Cover bookshelves seemed to have awaited literature that would gallantly reveal the secrets of the mind-body connection.
Wandering to the Buddhist literature offered The Art Happiness by His Holiness The Dalai Lama. This book was to unfold a fruitful journey to Naropa University, three years of Tibetan Buddhist meditation training, study of the five Wisdom Traditions, Study Abroad in Sikkim India and, thanks to son Doug and wife Cindy, a renewed connection to the game of golf with a necessary learned skill of self-restraint. As this perfectionist golfer came to realize, two shanks into a lake on the right of a fairway can quickly mess with the golfer’s monkey mind and put it on the verge of insanity.
In Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole New World (2011, NY, NY: Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt, 130-34), the Dalai Lama offers,
…it is helpful to consider the onset of destructive emotion as a kind of causal chain, which starts with an external stimulus and ends with our behavioral response. The aim of emotional awareness is to bring our attention or mindfulness into this split-second process, and thereby to gain control over it.
This split-second process—a series of actions or steps taken to achieve a particular end—is like a speeding train with five cars:
1) A trigger-stimulus: a shanked golf ball goes into the lake on the right of the fairway.
2) Perception of the stimulus: we see the golf ball flying toward the lake; and we see and hear the ball plopping into the water leaving a nice circular ripple.
3) Interpretation: less than a millisecond later, arising in the mind is the exaggerated judgment that the golfer stupidly shanked the shot into the lake.
4) Emotional response: quickly followed by anger, annoyance, or irritation, the inner cauldron is beginning to bubble.
5) Behavioral response: very quickly, we say something, or do something in retaliation…nasty words, a club slammed into the ground, a thrown club.
Once the golfer understands this causal chain, the challenge is to interrupt its flow, catch the self, and bring awareness to the process evolving the skill of self-restraint. The Dalai Lama offers,
…it is easiest to start near the end-between the emotional reaction and its behavioral expression. Then, as we become more familiar with the process and our emotional awareness develops over time, we can work our way back along the causal chain, with the ultimate goal of quelling or eliminating the afflictive emotion altogether. (132)
Give it a try! It is such a thrill to catch oneself before the irritation ruins the hole, a relationship or the round. Self-restraint can be like a 15th club in the golf bag. Stop what you are doing. Breathe. Be. Acknowledge the reflection-trigger-stimulus; and respond instead of reacting. It just feels better! And the next shot is much easier and more fun. Self-restraint is a wonderful, learned skill.
Posted on January 31, 2021
Heartfelt intention and pure, inner motivation are the golf etiquette pillars that respect the legendary core values and guiding principles of the game and that display how a golfer chooses to “show up” in the world. Playing golf with a golfer who shows respect for the game and walks the talk of course etiquette, while engaging compassionate concern for others, inspires fun, happy golf and awesome learning experiences during a game that is easy and yet hard to play. As His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama offers, “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion; and if you want yourself to be happy, practice compassion.”
Awareness
Have Fun
Heartfelt Compassion
Show Gratitude
Mindfulness
Courtesy
Anger, attachment, envy, pride, and doubt kill good golf shots, create stress for the Self and others, and undermine heartfelt compassion for the Self and others. As we each target for fun and happiness, the mutual challenge is to reduce the impact of destructive potentials and to manifest natural, positive qualities. Hit ‘em high and straight, don’t miss three-foot putts, and count all those strokes. Let us have fun and kindle happiness! Stop what you are doing. Breathe deep. Be. As Sir P. G. Wodehouse offers, “To find a man’s character, play golf with him.”
Posted on January 23, 2021
When was the last time you heard a politician say, “I am the one responsible for this screw-up.”? Clinging to false narratives with blaming, excuses, no desired results, CYA mentality, justifying, lying, denying, spinning, and defending simply produces more of the same. And when the choice is to do more of the same, the country will stay where it is—divided and teetering on the brink of collapse.
Many folks act as if this formula were true: Desired Results = Not Desired Results + Excuses. If the shoe fits, request that you wear it! Stop spinning those wheels and make a conscious choice not to give away power and influence by passing the buck, blaming, and justifying. It is a waste of time! There is a unifying option and better strategy: commitment to the concept of 100% responsibility, life happens because of me not to me. [Hyler Bracey, Jack Rosenblum, Aubrey Sanford & Roy Trueblood, Managing from the Heart, 1990, Atlanta, GA: Heart Enterprises; and training handout, “100% RESPONSIBILITY,” The Atlantic Consulting Group, 1986]
The concept of 100% responsibility is simple: I am 100% responsible for what happens; and other people are not responsible; not 50-50; not 100-100. It is 100-0! There is no one else to blame. Whatever happens, I did it. Whatever the result, I created it. Accepting what happens if you are 100% responsible, and others are 0% responsible, empowers one as opposed to making one dependent on other people and events. Imagine the power of the country if everyone were assuming 100% responsibility for its success. Imagine how refreshing it would be for every American to be examining what they did and what they could do rather than wasting energy getting off the hook. Perhaps the greatest value in 100% responsibility is that the focus moves to producing desired results and not wasting time finding ways to avoid responsibility. [Hyler Bracey, Jack Rosenblum, Aubrey Sanford & Roy Trueblood, Managing from the Heart, 1990, Atlanta, GA: Heart Enterprises; and training handout, “100% RESPONSIBILITY,” The Atlantic Consulting Group, 1986.]
In Beyond Religion (2011, NY, NY: Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt, 83), the Dalai Lama offers wisdom,
…if we are really interested in tackling our problems at their roots—whether we are talking about human conflict, poverty, or environmental destruction—we must recognize that they are ultimately related to issues of ethics. Our shared problems do not fall from the sky, nor are they created by some higher force. For the most part, they are products of human action and human error. If human action can create these problems in the first place, then surely, we humans must have the capacity as well as the responsibility to find their solutions. The only way we can put them right is by changing our outlook and our ways, and by taking action.
With a commitment to the mantra, “I am 100% responsible,” important steps will have been made to empower each of us, to heal our great country, and to move forward today for generations to come. It is certainly not catastrophic to accept responsibility, determine what the issue is, determine what needs to be done to fix it, fix it, and move on.
Posted on January 16, 2021
After completing a quick and dirty review of the Republican Party and Democratic Party platforms, partisan differences highlight the reality of limited and partial truths and the downsides of political party sorting as integral to individual and collective identity. Moreover, there are glaring inadequacies of both parties because of a lack of view big enough to address the complex issues facing America and global partners today. This certainly helps one understand partisan political division, discord, and complexity in today’s evolving, awakening, and growing world; and it reinforces why folks, including neighbors, are unable to agree on what America needs to unfold for generations to come. We are evolving and there are simply different levels of consciousness in our respective cultures and communities.
Just a few of the Republican (R) and Democratic (D) platform differences are as follows:
From www.nj.com, 1-14-21, “10 huge differences between Democratic and Republican platforms.”
Is there an option to political party sorting? Integral politics holds promise and offers a process perspective; a map of consciousness and human development; a way of comprehending life and reality in broad yet precise terms; a meta-theory that incorporates the core truths of hundreds of theories; and organizes the profound insights of the spiritual traditions, philosophy, modern science, developmental psychology, and many other disciplines, into a coherent whole. It simply integrates the perspectives that great thinkers, teachers, and researchers have brought to our understanding of self and world, the individual inner-mind and emotions-and outer-physical body-and the collective inner-family and culture- and outer-institutions. (Wilber, Patton, Leonard, Morelli, 2008. Integral Life Practice: A 21st Century Blueprint for Physical Health, Emotional Balance, Mental Clarity, and Spiritual Awakening. Boston, MA: Integral Books, pages 9-10, 114-15.)
Despite all the characteristics that differentiate us—race, language, religion, gender, wealth, and many others—we are all equal in terms of our basic humanity…The problem is that when we see ourselves only in terms of this or that group, we tend to forget about our wider identity as human beings…A key element in biased feelings is what we call “attachment”…What I am calling for is that we move beyond our limited or biased sense of closeness to this or that group or identity, and instead cultivate a sense of closeness to the entire human family. The attitude of “us” and “them” can and often does lead to conflict, even war. Much better, and more realistic, is the attitude of “we.” (Dalai Lama, Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World, 2011. NY, NY: Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt, pages 29, 51, 52.)
The evolutionary impulse intends to transcend and include, to improve the political processes, and to resolve the political party sorting issues. We are interdependent, share humanity, and target for happiness and avoidance of suffering. Life is short! Let us nurture universal compassion and a sense of “We the people.”
Posted on January 15, 2021
After completing a quick and dirty review of the Republican Party and Democratic Party platforms, partisan differences highlight the reality of limited and partial truths and the downsides of political party sorting as integral to individual and collective identity. Moreover, there are glaring inadequacies of both parties because of a lack of view big enough to address the complex issues facing America and global partners today. This certainly helps one understand partisan political division, discord, and complexity in today’s evolving, awakening, and growing world; and it reinforces why folks, including neighbors, are unable to agree on what America needs to unfold for generations to come. We are evolving and there are simply different levels of consciousness in our respective cultures and communities.
Just a few of the Republican (R) and Democratic (D) platform differences are as follows:
From www.nj.com, 1-14-21, “10 huge differences between Democratic and Republican platforms.”
Is there an option to political party sorting? Integral politics holds promise and offers a process perspective; a map of consciousness and human development; a way of comprehending life and reality in broad yet precise terms; a meta-theory that incorporates the core truths of hundreds of theories; and organizes the profound insights of the spiritual traditions, philosophy, modern science, developmental psychology, and many other disciplines, into a coherent whole. It simply integrates the perspectives that great thinkers, teachers, and researchers have brought to our understanding of self and world, the individual inner and outer and the collective inner and outer. (Wilber, Patton, Leonard, Morelli, 2008. Integral Life Practice: A 21st Century Blueprint for Physical Health, Emotional Balance, Mental Clarity, and Spiritual Awakening. Boston, MA: Integral Books, pages 9-10, 114-15.)
Despite all the characteristics that differentiate us—race, language, religion, gender, wealth, and many others—we are all equal in terms of our basic humanity…The problem is that when we see ourselves only in terms of this or that group, we tend to forget about our wider identity as human beings…A key element in biased feelings is what we call “attachment.” (Dalai Lama, Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World, 2011. NY, NY: Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt, pages 29, 51.)
The evolutionary impulse intends to transcend and include, to improve the political processes, and to resolve the political party sorting issues. We are interdependent, share humanity, and target for happiness and avoidance of suffering. Life is short!
Posted on January 9, 2021
Americans!! Stop what you are doing! Breathe deep; and be. Take a few moments to feel the experience.
Buy a pack of small stickers—any kind will do—and place a dozen or so around your home and office in noticeable places, such as your bathroom mirror, your computer, the back of your phone, on the book you are reading, your clock. Every time you see one of the stickers, stop what you are doing, breathe deep; and be. Take a few moments to feel the experience. (Catherine Price, Mindfulness, a Journal, New York, NY: Clarkson Potter)
As one prepares for each new day, we recognize there is a great deal to get done in the battle for the soul of the Nation and to evolve our individual and collective consciousness and culture. As one reflects on our interdependence, shared humanity, and aspiration to have happiness—financial viability, health, and companionship—and avoid suffering, a VISION of our “mighty task” might look something like this:
Partisanship is shaking the mighty pillars of our democracy! Destroying the other party is not a viable objective! We are all Americans, and we can each choose to transcend and include others. Climb on-board to get the healing job done and evolve the consciousness and culture of this great country forward. Rachel Kleinfield and Aaron Sobel (USA Today, Friday, July 24, 2020, page 7A) offer, “7 ways to reduce political polarization: Destroying the other side cannot be our goal.”
Americans!! Stop what you are doing! Breathe deep; and be. Take a few moments to feel the experience. Together, let us move forward and get this job done! Quite simply, positive action that moves current reality closer to the VISION!!