Balance the opposites

It's often acknowledged that success begins as a state of mind.  However, having some insight into the specifics enables people to become better equipped to create the lives they choose.  People will read about drawbacks and experience their own self-defeating tendencies, so what kinds of strategies would assist a person to re-orient and align with a meaningful life direction?  Learning to balance opposites is a good rule of thumb. You could apply this to your feelings and attitude, as well as to visions around you.

1) Where someone criticizes your plan, imagine how much better off you'll be.

2) When someone refuses to forgive you, choose yourself not to hold a grudge.

3) If people around you feel discouraged, decide you'll be a source of hope.

4) In cases where people complain about no sun, sing and dance in the rain.

5) When people dwell on sadness or loss, celebrate yourself what is/ has been.

6) Where people cling and seem to desire consoling, offer your own reassurance.

7)  If people appear lost in ignorance, seek on your own to find ways to understand.

8)  When people crave some kind of compassion, provide unconditional love.

9) If people only seem to know how to revieve, teach them how to give.

10) Where people are focused on fear and death,  show them joy defines life.

Intense passion isn't a pipedream

In the hearts and minds of many people, love in the form of intense passion may come and go.  This may also be a dream of yours that you have yet to experience.  A perceived lack of control and understanding of your own emotions can seem disconcerting. Where would you begin to sift through unresolved feelings? You may even ask yourself, why shouldn't positive feelings you do experience last longer? A useful thing to do is to sit back and consider these points:

1) Reflect on when and why powerful feelings evolved. If you have known the power of intense passion before, it likely faded. Did you or anyone else take any action to develop them? Think back to original encounters with the individual who sparked your deep interest. Where did this happen? What were the circumstances? How long did it take? Were you on the rebound? 

2) Examine your view of control. if you have or haven't experienced power of intense passion, it's possible you've decided this this isn't desirable or, you fear letting go of emotional control. It could be helpful to explore your past experiences and grasp of the benefits of trust and honesty.  if you have been betrayed, you may be reluctant to open up. If you imagine the worst, that could hold you back.  If you think its safer to feel like your always in control, you're missing something.

3) Address your view of vulnerability.  Your track record in relationships and how you reacted to the outcomes reflects your willingness to let down your defenses. have you felt free to just be who you really are? Enduring passion grows from within as partners connect on a soul level. If one or both partners is unwilling to be real, then long-term and even deep connections is unlikely.

 4) Adapt to changing lifestyles. If you experienced intense passion early in your relationship or in past relationships, but not in your current one, pinpoint the influence of your own lifestyle.  Romance requires effort. If you live a fast-paced life, work too hard or simply fall into bed exhausted, you don't nurture the energy level or enthusiasm a relationship requires to grow.  Your life priorities may need an overhaul. If romance is only given intermittent attention, then forget it.

5)  Decide to re-connect. It's never too late to re-evaluate the kind of passion you desire to create in your relationship. Regardless of what you have or haven't done, from this point forward, you're in control of how positive experiences to evolve. Recognize that your partner will benefit as much as you with regular communication about desires and expectations. As you both learn what the other imagines or hopes for, it becomes far easier to make it happen. 

Asteroid collisions compel new initiatives

 Astronauts, like other individuals who realize their ultimate dreams, from financial to political or spiritual, often ask the question, "what will I do next?" Of course,  an underlying assumption is 'that next thing' must be meaningful and valuable.  Since dreams are subjective and often evolve as people do, outdoing oneself can be a challenge.   As it happens, in part of my doctoral project, I conducted research into perception and choices of meaningful future roles of former astronauts.

During the course of my work, I became especially fascinated with the original vision of the Association of Space Explorers (ASE), a foundation comprised entirely of individuals from around the world who have orbited our planet. Among these rare 500 (or so) people, the actual ASE members divided themselves up to develop what they considered to be meaningful projects. As individuals, they desired to effectively raise awareness of the usefulness and applications of space science, to engage in efforts that positively affect Earthly environments, and to improve technical engineering expertise which would benefit future astronauts and space technology. These projects were over and above whatever space agency responsibilities any active ASE astronauts still had.

Amidst these key areas of astronaut expertise and interest, the idea of preparing to mitigate and deal with large-scale asteroid collisions would actually touch on all three. Consider the story of Armageddon that has been recounted in popular science fiction stories and movies. Many people have a real view the strongest military would eliminate the problem space object before it became a real problem. Whether or not this would actually be the case remains to be seen.

In 2005, I outlined a post-doctoral project with the aim to examine the international collaboration to deal with incoming space objects. I discovered no supra-national political coordination exists. Large-scale disasters, like tsunamis, have led to available funding for environmental studies. Yet, addressing hypothetical asteroid matters is still not a funding priority. it remains a rather humourous and unlikely possibility in the minds of public and decision-makers.

Since the United Nations has coordination and financial issues among members, an international space authority (IAS) has not evolved. The power dynamics and security of space-faring countries haven't yet permitted that.  Although space scientists collaborate in international associations to sharing information on sightings and studies, but they have no national responsibility or authority to organize how to react to asteroid disasters. A clear chain of command hasn't been identified in a multi-national setting.

Admittedly, its been hard to provide precise predictions about what is directly moving toward the Earth's orbital path. Media periodically broadcast special reports about incoming asteroids with predicted collision dates.  Yet, scientific inaccuracies and revisions or apologies really downplay the impact of the sightings. They also influence what has been known as "cry wolf syndrome."

Since ASE has become less active, Apollo-9 Russell Schweickart co-founded the B612 Foundation. This group studies how to alter the orbit of a large asteroid to prevent it from hitting Earth. Millions of these big "rocks" float in space and ~200,000- 400,000 of them get close enough to be classified as celestial objects that could venture in range of Earth. It would only take one.  Many scientists believe an asteroid impact led to the dinosaur extinction over 65 million years ago

Consider ~100,000 meteorites and micrometeorites are known to penetrate the Earth's atmosphere daily. Not every near earth object (neo) burns. Fragments land on Earth, yet so far, their damage has been minimal. Scientists and telescopes regularly observe known asteroid tracks in the northern hemisphere but no comparable southern hemisphere initiatives exist.  We lack the surveillance.

Schweickart agrees asteroid mitigation project should be led by an international organization. Like other experts, hecontends its difficult to predict when or where an asteroid will hit the Earth. No single government should be held responsible for asteroid avoidance.   More than once, he has advised the United Nations to set up an agency mandated to prevent an asteroid from colliding with the Earth. He has;set up related meetings worldwide to develop a comprehensive plan and support. Schweickart and peers estimate a project would cost several hundred million dollars, a burden for one country, but it would be realistic as a combined effort.

If you compare asteroids to tsunamis and other known large-scale environmental crises, you can see what kinds of efforts would help. Schweickart suggests a three-step asteroid mitigation program:

1) Early Warning. Similar to new empahsis on the importance of early warning systms for tsunamis, we'll only know asteroids are coming by searching. NASA currently has a budget of $4.1 million to look for asteroids. Not all space agencies or countries agree this is a priority.

2) Take Action. Develop the technical ability to deflect an asteroid. Some technology is available now, but propulsion that doesn't exist yet will be required — nuclear reactors that could power ion-propulsion systems for interplanetary spacecraft. International Space Law also restricts nuclear power in outer space activities.

3) Make a Decision. Nations, agencies or wealthy sources must decide to do this and fund it.

What can you do? No matter who you are or where you live, you can discover ways to support an environmental initiative of interest. Write an article to start. You could also consult: http://www.b612foundation.org

Quakes, tsunamis & what can you do?

Many people dream of living with a sense of increased peace and security. These concepts imply a desire to reduce environmental threats beyond ourselves over which many people ironically feel they exert little control. We aren't always certain of the extent of our personal power. Remind yourself you can exert self-control.

Consider it’s known the Pacific area near Western Samoa historically feels repeated earthquakes. The small tsunami that just killed 8 people in the Solomon Islands turned more heads. Suddenly, tremors in this area are intensifying and beginning to grab wider attention. People throughout Asian-Pacific regions are increasingly being affected more by news broadcasts of ‘higher than normal’ seismic vibrations. Between May 2006 and April 2007, unpopulated areas of this southern region experienced more underground movement. How do people far away think about it?

Although these earthquakes didn’t themselves cause large tsunamis, experts wonder if the frequency of most recent vibrations near Samoa, Tonga, Kuril Islands and the Solomon Islands may not be a sign of more dangerous events to come. After all, tsunamis from December 2004 that ravished Thailand, Sri Lanka and Indonesia and parts o Africa came from the open ocean and were almost undetectable then. Currently, early tsunami warning systems operate in the Pacific and new ones are planned. However, they certainly aren't full-proof. After all humans aren't infallible.

Samoa itself is a geographic area with many “blowholes” (lava tubes open to the sea where wave action produces, often spectacular, geysers). Major seasonal cyclones have occurred in the past and still continue. Strong winds are very common especially during the rainy season from November to April. Should we be thinking the shifting climates and events have more meaning?

Resilience is the capacity of the population to cope with a hazard. Earthquake preparedness is a complex matter which can involve governments, agencies, professionals, civilians and volunteers. Yet, what about you? How could you and other people react proactively to feel like you can make a difference in the global picture? What could we do differently and feel we make a difference?

If we seek to help change our world and reduce destructive forces and mindsets, we could begin with ourselves:

1) Admit some of your old beliefs are no longer convincing. Just because environmental disturbances aren’t happening in your backyard, doesn’t mean you’re unaffected emotionally. Next time, you could be hit more directly.

2) Accept you won’t grasp reasons why all events unfold. Doing some reading and research about environmental disasters would help to increase your understanding. Consider ideas from other people that include explanations for the evolution of environmental issues.

3) Seek new self-understanding. Realize how you think, assumptions and choices you make, all have an evolving effect on the Earth. Consider potential trigger effect if you suddenly decided to care more for people and consequences of each of your actions, and others do the same.

4) Take action to change your mindset. Determine whether your new understanding of how you think about yourself and your future are in sync or ‘out of alignment’ with events unfolding around you. Enlarge your belief system and vision for your future to recognize the necessity for wider, global sustainability.

5) Live more consistently. Learn to connect your life with your beliefs and the lives of other people. Note how choices you make in your area of the world affect people who live in other climates, seasons and geographic areas. You may not trigger earthquakes or tsunamis, but your attitude about how these things affect you foreshadows the fate of this world .

Daintree fundraising film initiative

Back in 2005-6, I learned of an initiative to help raise money to preserve the Daintree Rainforest in Queensland, Australia. What struck me as unique was it was a grass roots project undertaken by a tourguide who believed that local people and tourists could do more than they were doing.  He was right of course, yet, how many people go that next step to devise a plan and make it real?

The tourguide himself dreamed he could make a difference in the state of the environment.  He was familiar with the decreasing numbers of birds and wildlife in the area and he decided to take action to do something about it. He compared existing websites and initiatives available to the public.  He composed music for the project and set out to contact celebrity performers who would be willing to donate time. He recruited Australian talent and requested other bands too.

This man also lived in very basic circumstances which meant he was a man of principle. He was helping to script a film that would have the power to compel people to relive their pasts and rethink their futures in harmony wiht nature.  he didn't wish to be seen as living contrary to what he was promoting. His other day job enabled him to encourage recycling paper and other office supplies.  The man found obtaining funding for his film project a challenge, especially because he was relatiely unknown and his proposal was rather basic. Nonetheless, he continued to  make valiant efforts. He wrote public relations letters directly to organisations he felt would be in a position to support the work. Much to his surprise, he received some replies. That's progress!

This tourguide's big dream is building developers, government agencies, locals and environmental interest groups would stop debating over price, the value or control of the Daintree land and focus more attention on saving wildlife and vegetation for its intangible worth. Although National Geographic wasn't apparently interested in supporting the project because it was too multi-disciplinary and not ground-breaking or purely scientific enough, this has not deterred the filmmaker from his desire to construct and eventually share his story.

Last I heard, the film is evolving. The filmmaker is involving volunteer tourists and friends as actors and musicians in parallel storylines. The project is building enthusiasm among contributors.  What is really striking about the initiative is it is bringing international strangers together in a common environmental cause.  Such efforts to draw attention to the importance of sustainability, cooperation and human compromise. It also demonstrate where a will exists, ways can be found.