Archive for October 2007
I recently wrote that ideas can change us at the very core of who we are. I was on TED last night and I watched the below presentation by Dan Dennett which reinforced that idea within me. And yes, I see the irony there.
This is an amazing presentation, I hope to attend a TED conference one day in person. I may not agree with everything that is presented there, but I would love to have the chance to listen in person and participate in the conversations that must take place all over the conference.
This all made me wonder how ideas have changed me. As I sat last night thinking about this I came to the understanding that my mind is very malleable. The definition of malleable is that a substance can take on the shape of something else without cracking or becoming less that it was.
Over the years I have accepted many ideas and allowed them to change me. Roman Catholicism, the ethos of the United States Marine Corps, becoming a married man and then having a family, Tibetan Buddhism; all of these changed me in ways I do and do not know of.
Buddhism has shown me what compassion is; that it is something to strive for, something to attain and nourish. I thought I knew before, but I am sure now that I had only glimpsed at it from behind the walls I had built. The story of Angulimala shows me that any one can be redeemed and that I should condemn no one. That was hard for me to see at first, that we all contain the Buddha-nature, it might not have presented itself yet, but we have it nonetheless.
I know I rambled on in this post, sorry for that, but ideas change us.
This one may be too squishy and goody-goody for some of you. It might sound too ‘out there’ and too ‘new age’ for most of us stoic westerners, but it resonates with me and I hope you can find a little peace in it too.
So, tell me, what do you think about it. Can we heal the planet with our thoughts and intentions? Can we heal each other with good and positive thoughts? Is it possible to sit quietly each morning and pray or meditate the world to peace? I think so.
Over a decade ago an experiment to reduce crime in Washington D. C. was shown to have an effect. A large group of people utilized Transcendental Meditation(TM) to increase coherence and decrease stress within the District. The benefits were shown to be excellent.
For a very detailed report on the meditation experiment please visit this site at the Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy: http://www.istpp.org/crime_prevention/
Imagine a world where we were all conscious of our own thoughts. Where we used our thoughts, our intentions, to heal the world, to heal our families, friends and every person alive in the past, present and future.
It would be amazing.
I have decided that I can be a healer too, just as you can as well. I am learning to use Reiki to heal and I have already experienced some wonderful effects. What can you do to heal yourself and the world around you?
The Buddha said this: “Our sorrows and wounds are healed only when we touch them with compassion.”
So go now and show compassion to everyone and everything, begin the healing.
