Transformational conversations
I read ths yesterday and was immobilized. Kept me thinking “how can we allow something like this to happen and call our selves human” And is the life of a family not even work 400 Pounds?
Social responsibility is/should not be just the domain of governments, but in so many ways is the duty of its citizens as well. This whole incident has left me numb to an extent that something like this can happen, and we – i.e. people like you and me are not even aware of it, and most likely feel helpless. I wonder what is the way out, how can we claim to be human and not take some action on something like this.
This has left me totally at a loss of words – but this kind of crisis is also fertile ground for seeds of transformation to be planted. The question is what kind of seeds do we plant both in the place of tragedy and in our own consiousness. I would be curious to hear what you may have to sayHow
1,500 farmers commit mass suicide in India – Asia, World – The Independent
1,500 farmers commit mass suicide in India
Wednesday, 15 April 2009
Over 1,500 farmers in an Indian state committed suicide after being driven to debt by crop failure, it was reported today.
The agricultural state of Chattisgarh was hit by falling water levels.
“The water level has gone down below 250 feet here. It used to be at 40 feet a few years ago,” Shatrughan Sahu, a villager in one of the districts, told Down To Earth magazine
“Most of the farmers here are indebted and only God can save the ones who do not have a bore well.”
Mr Sahu lives in a district that recorded 206 farmer suicides last year. Police records for the district add that many deaths occur due to debt and economic distress.
In another village nearby, Beturam Sahu, who owned two acres of land was among those who committed suicide. His crop is yet to be harvested, but his son Lakhnu left to take up a job as a manual labourer.
His family must repay a debt of £400 and the crop this year is poor.
“The crop is so bad this year that we will not even be able to save any seeds,” said Lakhnu’s friend Santosh. “There were no rains at all.”
“That’s why Lakhnu left even before harvesting the crop. There is nothing left to harvest in his land this time. He is worried how he will repay these loans.”
Bharatendu Prakash, from the Organic Farming Association of India, told the Press Association: “Farmers’ suicides are increasing due to a vicious circle created by money lenders. They lure farmers to take money but when the crops fail, they are left with no option other than death.”
Mr Prakash added that the government ought to take up the cause of the poor farmers just as they fight for a strong economy.
“Development should be for all. The government blames us for being against development. Forest area is depleting and dams are constructed without proper planning.
All this contributes to dipping water levels. Farmers should be taken into consideration when planning policies,” he said.
This article is from The Belfast Telegraph
STANFORD Magazine: March/April 2007 > Features > Mind-set Research
A 60-year-old academic psychologist might seem an unlikely sports motivation guru. But Dweck’s expertise—and her recent book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success—bear directly on the sort of problem facing the Rovers. Through more than three decades of systematic research, she has been figuring out answers to why some people achieve their potential while equally talented others don’t—why some become Muhammad Ali and others Mike Tyson. The key, she found, isn’t ability; it’s whether you look at ability as something inherent that needs to be demonstrated or as something that can be developed.
What’s more, Dweck has shown that people can learn to adopt the latter belief and make dramatic strides in performance. These days, she’s sought out wherever motivation and achievement matter, from education and parenting to business management and personal development.
As I read this it reminded me of the 8 circuit brain model, and the fact that true wisdom comes from accessing the different kinds of intelligence present and being able to call forth the right kind of response in the face of shock or ourside force.
Scientists ‘discover’ source of wisdom in the human brain | Mail Online
human brain
Breakthrough: Scientists have pinpointed the part of the human brain related to wisdom
Scientists have discovered the source of wisdom in the human brain, it was revealed today.
Experts have pinpointed the part of the brain that guides people when they are battling with difficult moral dilemmas, according to a study.
Highly-sophisticated brain scans show that the response is linked to certain areas usually associated with primitive emotions of sex, fear and anger.
The findings, revealed by the Observer, are to be published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.They are a significant departure into an area of expertise that has long been regarded as one of religion and philosophy.
Study author Dilip Jeste, professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at the University of California in San Diego, said: ‘Our research suggests there may be a basis in neurobiology for wisdom’s most universal traits.’
He and colleague Thomas Meeks discovered that a person weighing up an issue that just called for an altruistic response used the medial prefrontal cortext of the brain.
This is linked to intelligence and learning.
But when someone is battling with a moral dilemma, other areas of the brain are used such as the parts linked to rational thought and primitive emotions.
Mr Meeks said: ‘Several brain regions appear to be involved in different components of wisdom. It seems to involve a balance between more primitive brain regions, like the limbic system, and the newest ones, such as the prefrontal cortex.’
This type of research has only become possible in recent years due to technological advances in brain scanning, including functional magnetic resonance imaging.
This means experts can examine which parts of the brain that are used when people consider various tasks.
Such research has been made possible by the increasing sophistication of brain scanning techniques, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
These allow researchers to see which parts of the brain become active when people undertake mental tasks.
Professor Jeste admitted the possibility that wisdom and free will are based on the make-up of someone’s brain rather than metaphysics is unsettling.
But he said: ‘Knowledge of the underlying mechanisms in the brain could potentially lead to developing interventions for enhancing wisdom.’
While not excatly an Echart Tolle reader or fan by any stretch of imagination, I did find some of his quotes and ideas intriguing. Here is blurb from one of his books that I figured would be an interesting dialouge starter. Am curious what your views on this are
Exerpted from Oneness with All Life by Eckhart Tolle. Published by arrangement with Dutton, a member of Penguin Group (USA), Inc. Copywright © 2008 by Eckhart Tolle
