Small Steps, Big Change

Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.

-Gautama Buddha

I think this is why I consider myself a "Zen Christian." That is: any of the principles of the religion I was raised in, which also seem to be in alignment with the behavior of animals and the interaction of natural forces...that's what I hold to be true. Further, I look for the principles which are consistent across the world's major religions, and consider that to be the center, and generative. What remains?

Well, "do unto others" sure survives. As does the idea of protecting the children, being honest, kind, industrious, and remembering that the domains of spirit and flesh overlap but are not exactly the same thing. Loving my neighbor. Forgiveness (which is NOT forgetfulness, or allowing people to hurt you repeatedly.)

That's how it sorts out for me. Starting there, I can see very easily how the rest of various religions' various rules grow out of cultural conditions, politics and personal prejudice. I feel comfortable ignoring that stuff.

The whole "reality calibration" thing uses body, career and relationship to cross-check theories and ideas. Not that it isn't possible to be in the very highest rank of human energy without being anchored in the material plain (as all three of these aspects are), but that it is WAY easy to lose yourself in illusion if you can pretend you don't want relationships, or money, or fitness. Yeah, I know I'm using prejudicial language to say "pretend" but that's 99% of my experience: people act like they don't want things if they don't have faith they can have them without pain.

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The whole Harry Reid situation seems to be a teachable moment. What is racism? I would say that strictly speaking, it is differentiating between people based on race--most specifically assigning a pejorative on that basis. Especially when whatever differences you are assigning are genetic instead of environmental. That said, a racist is not necessarily a bad person--it would all depend on what they DO with that opinion, and whether they are willing to judge individual members of that group as, well, individuals. Believing the average member of group X isn't as smart as the average member of group Y is very different from denying all members of X the right to attend your school or live in your neighborhood.

That said, Reid's comments just don't seem to meet that standard. It was "racist" in the strictest sense that it was discussing race. But it seems to me he was just commenting on some common-sense things.

1) That as a light-skinned black man, Obama would be more acceptable to white Americans than he would be were he darker skinned. Duh.

2) That speaking the Kings English is more acceptable than speaking some mumble-tongued argot. Such vocal fumblings can be found in disadvantaged groups across the country and around the world. Reid and Bill Cosby would probably have a long, good conversation about this one.

3) Usage of the word "Negro" is a generational thing. As those of African descent did not have the opportunity to define themselves in America, or ever have the isolation necessary to create what I would consider a real society. As a result, there was never a heirarchical structure speaking for black people, and different groups at different times stumped for different terms to apply to the descendants of African slaves. "Colored," "Negro," "Black," and "African-American" have all been used. But just as Bruce Lee referred to himself as a "Chinaman," a term that might now be considered racist, the fact that certain words in certain quarters are no longer fashionable simply doesn't mean that using them is indicative of disrespect.

A number of times I came across comments that these comments were acceptable in private black-on-black conversations, but not for white people. My thoughts there:

1)I can understand how some people feel uncomfortable about this. Yeah, well, I don't. So no one can say there is "agreement" on this issue. Who exactly is Reid supposed to listen to? There is no single voice, and never has been.

2) Are there subjects that only whites can talk about publicly? I've never been aware of black people refraining from commenting on anything they want. Where, again, is the official list of those things blacks can talk about, but not whites? Men but not women? Gays but not straights?

I just think that this is a waste of breath, and serves no purpose at all. We have bigger fish to fry.

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The Golden Hour

In the 101 program, we discuss the concept of the "Golden Hour." In all honesty, my new website, WWW.DIAMONDHOUR.COM would have been called "Golden Hour" except that was already taken. All right, I'm flexible, and the concept of facets fits into my teaching quite smoothly. Many have heard of "pay yourself first" when it comes to income and bills. But the exact same concept applied to time management is slightly radical. Many people claim to have no time, and use that to excuse their lack of meditation, planning, exercise, or whatever. Careful examination of their time, in 99+% of cases, shows that lack of time isn't the problem. The problem is wasted time, lack of prioritization, fatigue, denial, and fear. That's what the Five Minute Miracle was about: creating a powerful program for change which could be implemented in only 300 seconds a day. Never in my life have I met anyone who doesn't have five minutes a day. That means that if they commit to the program, whatever comes up to distract them can be clearly labeled as b.s.

But how do you move on from there? One minute at a time. Add another minute a week. In a year or so, you'll be at an hour. What can you accomplish in an hour? Miracles. If you draw the line, insist on taking just one hour a day for yourself: not for your kids, your family, your pets, or your job, you can meditate, exercise, time-manage, and write a book a year.

Not bad. But to do that, you have to find the technologies and approaches that are hyper-efficient, and operate without your psychic "brakes" on. Let's see:

5 minutes goal reading

10 minutes Meditation

15 minutes exercise

30 minutes writing (flow or editing)

There are many different variations on the above, but if you are sufficiently serious, you can create massive change through small daily actions. Believe it.