July 2008 Archives

Stillman Brown is not impressed with your fireworks.

I recently entered a state of amorous crush (crushiness?) and this passage from Pema Chodron's book The Places That Scare You made me squirm with uncomfortable self-recognition. She is talking about the three lords of materialism, which "represent how we look to externals to give us solid ground" and thus distract us from being present in the world:

The third lord, the lord of the mind, uses the most subtle and seductive strategy of all. The lord of the mind comes into play when we attempt to avoid uneasiness by seeking special states of mind. We can use drugs this way. We can use sports. We can use falling in love. We can use spiritual practices. There are many ways to obtain altered states of mind. These special states are addictive. If feels so good to break free from out mundane experience.

I still know men and women who are addicted to falling in love. Like Don Juan, they can't bear it when that initial glow begins to wear off; they're always seeking out someone new.

Even though peak experiences might show us the truth and inform us about why we are training, they are essentially no big deal. ... As the twelfth-century Tibetan yogi Milarepa said when he heard of his student Gampopa's peak experiences, "They are neither good nor bad. Keep meditating."

Alex knows I have a tendency to fall hard and fast for someone, and then become disillusioned just as quickly. His level pragmatism has become a necessary corrective for me, and if he were a metitator, he'd say exactly that.

We all (or we should) have a friend who speaks unfiltered truth to us. Sometimes they're an annoying know-it-all, but sometimes they touch the core of our vanity, self-deception, and foolishness. Alex is that person in my life. He slaps me back to earth simply by being unimpressed when I get caught up in unconsidered enthusiasm or hyperbole.

This attitude applies to spiritual practice as well. The fireworks, the transcendent experiences, can feel spectacularly illuminating, but ultimately they are thoughts, just like everything else. My physical therapist is a meditation and yoga practitioner who is having trouble with her teacher of several years. "Lately I've been so bored," she told me this afternoon while thrashing my back with what appeared to be a sack full of scorching rocks. "I don't leave anymore feeling pumped up or like I've gone someplace new." Perhaps that's ok, I suggested. "I might try this new place in Union Square," she said absently.

So, if spiritual practices can become escape without proper oversight, what is my crush? Emotional entertainment? My own summer romantic comedy, showing in general release inside my head? I don't think so, but I'm in the middle of it so how can i tell? The word "crush" itself means an intense, unthinking infatuation. Whatever the case, I think Pema would advise me to wait and watch - genuine affection outlasts butterflies.

Who is your I Don't Give A Crap person? If you don't have one, I'd be happy to offer my services.

Sorry to post out of turn, but this was in today’s New York Times: 10 Things to Scratch from your Worry List.

"For most of the year, it is the duty of the press to scour the known universe looking for ways to ruin your day. The more fear, guilt or angst a news story induces, the better. But with August upon us, perhaps you’re in the mood for a break, so I’ve rounded up a list of 10 things not to worry about on your vacation."

According to John Tierney, among other things we can now breathe a sigh of relief and file under "not worth worrying about,” are our good old friends. Number five on the list:

Evil plastic bags.

"5) Take it from the Environmental Protection Agency: paper bags are not better for the environment than plastic bags. If anything, the evidence from life-cycle analyses favors plastic bags. They require much less energy — and greenhouse emissions — to manufacture, ship and recycle. They generate less air and water pollution. And they take up much less space in landfills."

NY Times...I thought you were a progressive newspaper...and then you publish this....My eyes...I can't see anymore. I think all the blood vessels in my eyeballs popped open. I think I've gone blind. John Tierney has made me go BLIND!!!

Regardless of whether paper isn't better than plastic, the message of this article: Keep on using those plastic bags - no worries! You deserve a break from all that environmental hoo-hah!

Tierney posted this on his blog, I suppose he's expecting an attack. I don't get why everyone is saying replace plastic bags with paper bags...don't they know there are other options?

Let's play a game: how many destructive statements/implications can you find in the Ten Things... article?

I am writing a letter to the editor of the New York Times on this one. Seriously. Anyone ever done that before and know of any good ways to get it actually published?

From Rafi Santo of the Integral Activism Team:

For those that weren't able to make it to this Sunday's meeting, we have an incredible opportunity to take action on our Back to the Sack: No More Plastic Bags initiative this week to help stop a weak recycling bill from passing through the Governor Paterson's desk unchanged.

Here’s the deal:

• New York City Council passed a strong progressive plastic bag recycling law, which you can read about here.


• New York State is about to pass a weaker law, the Plastic Bag Reduction, Reuse and Recycling Act, that would supersede the NYC law. Not cool!


• We now have the chance to join environmental groups in asking Governor Patterson to exempt New York City from the state law by inserting something into the bill called a “Chapter Amendment”.

Call and Email!

Call and urge Governor Patterson, along with Senator Marcellino and Assemblyman Sweeney, to add
chapter amendments to bills S.8643-A/A.11725 that would exempt New York City from the state legislation and would allow the city's existing plastic bag recycling statute to take effect.

Sign our online petition!

And please, send this email on to your friends, post the link to the petition in your Facebook feed, your blog, etc. and let's make plastic bags history!

How we got here:

Over the past couple of weeks, the Integral Activism team has been contacting both elected officials like Cristine Quinn (Speaker of the New York City Council) as well as environmental organizations like the National Resources Defense Council to figure out where the existing power centers stood on the State bill and how we could help to advance a progressive agenda.

If you don't live in New York State:

Many American cities are contemplating or already enacting initiatives to reduce or eliminate plastic bag usage
- San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Portland, OR, to name a few. In fact, NYC is somewhat behind the curve on this issue. For an article in the Oregonian on what's new in Portland, follow the link below. Now is a good time to find contact info for your local and state representatives, call them, and voice your opinion on plastic bags. It's super easy to do.

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2008/07/portland_ban_plastic_bags.html

What we're doing is different:

Aside from having some very enthusiastic responses from all the offices we contacted, one thing that stood out was how what we're trying to do is unique. Talking to these people, it became clear that it is rare for them to hear from grassroots community groups or citizens of any sort that are outside of the existing power structure. What was amazing was also to see how easy it was to enter the process. A five minute phone call here, an email there, and immediately we have been hooked into relevant networks. It's been a strong lesson for us in realizing to what degree empowerment really lives in the mind, and what degree of transformation is possible with mindful action.

Help us this week with calls to the numbers provided! As soon as we have updates on where things stand in Albany with the bill, we'll let you know. Thanks for the help in getting us all back to the sack!

All the best,

Rafi Santo

Integral Activism Team

The Interdependence Project
http://www.theidproject.com

This video isn’t new, it’s from about a year ago, but in celebration of having successfully assembled all my new IKEA furniture (which is an adventure in patience and commitment and, well, splinters), I thought I’d post this. Mark Malkoff, a writer and filmmaker, lived in IKEA for a week and made a film about it. It’s pretty hysterical.

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=hw-axQjCinU]

Consumerism materialism attachment blah blah blah. I don't know if he is making any deep statements about anything. Whatever. It’s just funny.

You can watch the rest of his IKEA videos here. I especially love the security guard reading him bedtime stories.

This guy also attempted to visit EVERY Starbucks in Manhattan in a 24 hour period. It turns out (at the time of his project) there were 171 of them. And HE DID IT!

Anyone else been to the IKEA in Red Hook, yet? I swear to God, I'm just going to buy real furniture next time...real furniture with real names...

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSulycqZH-U&hl=en&fs=1]