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In this crazy time, never forget compassion

In this crazy time, never forget compassion

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
Dalai Lama

Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively.
Dalai Lama

My call for a spiritual revolution is thus not a call for a religious revolution. Nor is it a reference to a way of life that is somehow other-worldly, still less to something magical or mysterious. Rather, it is a call for a radical re-orientation away from our habitual preoccupation with self towards concern for the wider community of beings with whom we are connected, and for conduct which recognizes others’ interests alongside our own.
Dalai Lama

Our generation has a choice: maintain the status quo, or insight change.

In speaking with the elders in my life (aka. the rents) last week, they confirmed that in the 70’s a great shift happened. The shift from trust, where families moved from leaving their front doors unlocked, to locking them. Why did this shift occur? Why did our sense of safety, trust and harmony shift to fear, disharmony and an overwhelmingly strong need to protect and defend ourselves and our families? From what? Ourselves? The government? Our neighbors?

Watergate comes to mind as a general marker for this shift. Grandma used to say, “Nixon’s a crook.” His ethics were questionable when he went into office. In general, Watergate, I believe, was the first time that tangible evidence of our government’s ability to dupe the American public, and the world at large, became apparent.

Next generalization, what the hell were we doing in Vietnam anyhow? Our poor Vets, functioning under an historical standard of moral behavior, lost their sense of connection with that morality. Returning to a country where a very poignant line in the sand had been drawn, lost footing, support and compassion from the very country they were serving.

Next generalization, what the hell are we doing in the Middle East? What the hell did we do to Serbia? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT-evSSgFjE) I argue that we are not seeking to spread democracy, we are spreading a system that stands to benefit from taking advantage of resources to which we have no real connection. Yes, I’ll say it. Capitalism. We are spreading Capitalism, not democracy, not compassion, not the morals that we believe are at the root of these decisions.

Next generalization, what the hell are we doing with Health Care? In this country, we have commercials which influence individuals to believe that a healthy standard of living requires taking drugs. Regardless of the fact that 90% of these commercials devote 90% of the air time to discussing possible side effects (which ironically at times include a side effect pertaining to the very thing one is trying to remedy), individuals still believe that this is the path toward better health, better standards of living, and a better, easier life. To boot, this avenue provides for a very backwards way for the American public to assume responsibility for their own health as they march into their doctor’s office to demand Abilify, Cymbalta, Viagra because they believe the pharmaceutical mediated message.

For me, a counter culture thinker, a situationist (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situationist_International), and one who questions at all junctions this path that has been laid out for us, how could I move toward any other profession than the profession of Traditional Medicine?

Ask yourselves, what is the difference between Scientific standards of medicine and Traditional standards of medicine?

Know this, traditionally, if a patient fell sick, the patient did not pay their doctor because the doctor didn’t do his/her job. That’s right! The patient paid the doctor for regular treatments, and when he/she fell sick, it was the doctor who paid the piper, not the patient. Furthermore, the doctor’s reputation was at stake. Word spread that the doctor was not a dragon, could not see into the future to analyze the pattern of pathogenic influences to protect and act in favor of the patient’s health. The doctor was down graded from a dragon, to a snake and eventually found that he/she was viewed as was a worm in the eyes of the community where he/she practiced.

How far have we really come in this scientific standard of healthful thinking? How far will we go? I challenge you, my brethren, neighbors and citizens, to compare these two standards for yourself. Take responsibility for understanding the difference in thinking, living, balancing and practicing healthful relationships among the mind, body, planet and universe. I have found in this questioning that the art of compassion has no price tag, it has longevity. In the art of medicine, compassion vs. greed will become as apparent as the opposing forces of yin and yang.

This is where “apocalypse” finds definition. I urge you to join me and use it to the advantage of our future generations, to the advantage of the Macroscopic entity we call Earth, use it to the advantage of promoting health, not destroying it.

If America is great, if America sets the standard for other countries, if America defines the West and all those movements toward modernization, ASK NOT WHAT YOUR COUNTRY CAN DO FOR YOU, BUT WHAT YOU CAN NOW DO FOR YOUR COUNTRY AS WELL AS OTHER COUNTRIES now grappling with the unhealthy paradigm of modernization.