December A Issue
STEPHANIE KAZA
Green Buddhism
Log On Our Website and Learn more in how to Live a Conscious Lifestyle: OMTimes.com
CONTENTS HEALTH & HEALING
54
5 NATURAL TIPS FOR TREATING ANEMIA
60
RELEASING RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS & BREATHING DIFFICULTIES
SPIRITUALITY
SPOTLIGHT
70
THE ROUTE 80 PHILOSOPHY
STEPHANIE KAZA: GREEN BUDDHISM
74
WHEN GOD SHOWS UP ON EARTH
TRENDS THE ROUTE 80 PHILOSOPHY
110 114
FOCUSING ON THE PROCESS OF THINKING
METAPHYSICS FOCUSING ON THE PROCESS OF THINKING 4 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR SPIRITUAL LIFE FREE OF TOXIC INFLUENCES
OMLIVING
82
SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFESTYLE & EMBRACE MINIMALISM
RELATIONSHIPS
102 HOW TO HEAL YOUR SHAME & SUPERCHARGE YOUR EMPATHY WORLD VISION
134 HOW TO BE A CHANGE JUNKIE
CONSCIOUS PARENTING
PERSONAL GROWTH 5 WAYS PARENTS CAN 3 TOOLS TO SHIFT INTO HAPPINESS HOW TO EXUDE POSITIVE ENERGY TO ALL AROUND YOU SELF-IMPROVEMENT WON'T MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER, BUT THIS WILL.
WWW.OMTIMES.COM
HELP THEIR KIDS DEAL WITH CLIMATE ANXIETY
Stephanie Kaza:
Green Buddhism Interview by Sandie Sedgbeer
We’re living in unprecedented times, with climate deniers occupying the highest levels of Government, and the US pulling out of the Paris Climate Accords. With species rapidly disappearing,
Omtimes.com
global temperatures rising, and the growing urgency to do something meaningful to act on the ecological crisis we face, two key questions arise: How can we stay sane in the face of such blatant denial? And how can we take wise action? Stephanie Kaza is Professor Emerita of Environmental Studies at the University of Vermont. A leading Buddhist environmentalist, she’s the author of Mindfully Green: A Personal and Spiritual Guide to Whole Earth Thinking, Conversations with Trees, and Intimate Ecology. She’s also the Editor of Hooked – Buddhist Writings on Greed, Desire and the Urge to Consume, and Co-Editor with Kenneth Craft of Dharma Rain – Sources of Buddhist Environmentalism. Stephanie Kaza joined Sandie Sedgbeer to talk about her latest book Green Buddhism – Practice and Compassionate Action in Uncertain Times, which offers guidance on how Buddhists can be a critical voice in the green conversation. SANDIE SEDGBEER: Stephanie Kaza, in your introduction to Green Buddhism, you write that
when you began your studies at college, you thought you would concentrate on the sciences with a view to possibly becoming a surgeon. What happened to change that trajectory? STEPHANIE KAZA: Well, my original thought was that I was so moved by the human body, the complexity, the amazing chemistry and sensitivity of the human body, and I wanted to be a healer, and I think I’ve taken the healing urge to a larger scale – to the environment. And I fell in love with much more than the human body. To see that gorgeous complexity in every life form from a small amoeba to a huge Sequoia Redwood. SANDIE SEDGBEER: How did that inspire you to become a Buddhist? STEPHANIE KAZA: I was enjoying being outdoors quite a bit, hiking, river rafting, and camping. I felt a deep sense of spiritual connection to nature, and I was looking for some religion that would support that. It just turned out that the basic principle of inter-dependence and sense of connection with all of life was right in the center of Omtimes.com
5 Natural Tips for Treating Anemia
Anemia is a condition in which you lack enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen to your body’s tissues. Having anemia can make you feel tired and weak. There are many forms of anemia, each with its own cause. Anemia can be temporary or long term, and it can range from mild to severe.
Omtimes.com
Depending on the particular causes of anemia, you may or may not experience signs and symptoms. Anemia can be so mild that you don’t notice it. But symptoms worsen as anemia worsens. If symptoms do occur, they might include fatigue, weakness, pale or yellowish skin tone, irregular heartbeat, shortness of breath, dizziness or lightheadedness, chest pain, cold hands, and feet, and/or headaches. Causes of Anemia Iron deficiency anemia: This most common type of anemia is caused by a shortage of iron in your body. Your bone marrow needs iron to make hemoglobin. Without adequate iron, your body can’t produce enough hemoglobin for red blood cells. Without iron supplementation, this type of anemia occurs in many pregnant women. It is also caused by blood loss, such as from heavy menstrual bleeding, an ulcer, cancer and regular use of some over-the-counter pain relievers, especially aspirin, which can cause inflammation of the stomach lining resulting in blood loss.
Vitamin deficiency anemia: Besides iron, your body needs folate and vitamin B-12 to produce enough healthy red blood cells. A diet lacking in these and other vital nutrients can cause decreased red blood cell production. Also, some people who consume enough B-12 aren’t able to absorb the vitamin. This can lead to vitamin deficiency anemia, also known as pernicious anemia. Anemia of inflammation: Certain diseases such as cancer, HIV, rheumatoid arthritis, kidney disease, Crohn’s disease, and other acute or chronic inflammatory diseases can interfere with the production of red blood cells. Aplastic anemia: This rare, lifethreatening anemia occurs when your body doesn’t produce enough red blood cells. Causes of aplastic anemia include infections, certain medicines, autoimmune diseases and exposure to toxic chemicals. Anemias associated with bone marrow disease: A variety of conditions, such as leukemia and myelofibrosis, can cause Omtimes.com
Releasing Respiratory Problems & Breathing difficulties
by Stefanie Arend
Respiratory problems often present in the form of breathing difficulties or shortness of breath. An adult normally breathes, on average, twelve to eighteen times per minute. Yoga practitioners often manage with six to eight breaths as they practice certain techniques that train deep breathing. Environmental influences, psychological
Omtimes.com
problems, and illnesses such as asthma can also restrict breathing. From a holistic perspective, there is a difference between problems with inhalation and exhalation: difficulties with inhalation are linked in the figurative sense with topics such as rejection and non-acceptance, and problems exhaling relate to difficulties in giving up and letting go. Possible questions for reflection are: • What is stopping me from breathing? • What am I unable to accept? • What am I unable to let go of? In Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is usually the lungs, spleen, and kidneys that are treated. Respiratory problems can be influenced positively not only through yoga or sports but also with the right choice of nutrition. A diet that is low in salt can
improve lung function and alleviate possible narrowing of the bronchial tubes. The same recommendations apply for allergies as allergic reactions frequently occur in the area of the respiratory tract. Histamine can play an important role here. If the body comes into contact with an allergen, more of this messenger substance is released, provoking the immune reaction. A high intake of vitamin C—for example, dark green vegetables, peppers, or parsley—can help reduce the distribution of histamine. Sauerkraut or citrus fruits are less suitable here; they are rich in vitamin C but are a source of histamine in themselves, and also tend to stimulate the release of histamine. Additionally, it is advisable to cut out dairy products, as they often have a congesting effect and can, therefore, hamper the breathing. Poses: Bridge (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana)
Omtimes.com
The Route 80 Philosophy
Afoot and light-hearted, I take to the open road, Healthy, free. The world before me. –Walt Whitman Be grateful that there is a loving infinite Mind who wants to see each of us express the spirit of creative love for which purpose we were created. The key thing is to pray or meditate to be gratefully one with your peaceful soul and its connectivity
Omtimes.com
with the infinite Mind, envision loving goals from this place within, and work hard, trusting that there is a power for goodness that is higher than ourselves that will help you along the way so long as you let it. Sometimes it is enough just to remove the obstacles of bitterness and rumination that block the flow of God within us, and by getting these destructive emotions out of the way we let God do things through us.
It was early morning, silvergray misty, up high over the sea, at the end of a road to the unknown west. A long-haired blond youth leaned outward over a ledge, about to let go, when out of the mist appeared the light blue image of an angel’s face, and it spoke these few words softly with great love: “If you save him, you too shall live.” Then she faded back into the silver-gray haze of the dawn. Stephen Post’s (the boy) blue angel dream was filled with symbols, but they were hard to interpret. The blue angel dream felt deeply spiritual and provided a path for the boy when he embraced it as a guide. Such dreams can arise in the minds of people from any spiritual tradition and be equally meaningful. The infinite Mind transcends all human cultural limits and symbols and does not wish to be named, perhaps because, once one group of humans decides that “my name for God is better than yours,” it can lead to conflict and even war. In a significant revelatory moment, standing before a burning bush, Moses asked God for a name, but God answered, “I AM WHO I AM.”
The Chandogya Upanishad (c. 600 BCE), an ancient Hindu sacred text, stresses the phrase, “tat tvam asi,” or “thou art that,” as an expression of the nature of Brahman, or the Supreme Reality, with “that” referring to the infinite Mind that is both the highest as well as the inmost. Indeed, “Allah” is used by Arabic speakers of all the Abrahamic faiths (including Christianity and Judaism) to refer to God and is based on the word for “I AM,” as is Yahweh in Hebrew, so it is not a name at all. These days, many spiritual people refer to the infinite Mind as “the Universe” or “Universal Mind,” which also suggests something too profound to be named. It is good to give people and dogs names, but bad to give God names. When we acknowledge that in this original, universal, and infinite Mind we “live and move and have our being,”we are unconsciously guided toward our destiny, and we are empowered to love and value other human beings in a much deeper sense, as equally gifted with some part of the Mind of God. Our minds are part of something infinite just as they are, and we can consciously cooperate with God in creative Omtimes.com
When God Shows Up on Earth
I am a big Beatles fan. The more I hear their music, the more I recognize the sheer genius behind it. I saw a rare YouTube video of an especially vibrant 1964 Beatles concert in Australia at the height of
Omtimes.com
Beatlemania. (“Beatles Live— Australia”) One comment on the YouTube page struck me: “I’m a solid atheist. But I swear John, Paul, & George (still love u Ringo!) were slapped on the back by a higher power. How does it happen that 3 of the most incredible songwriters EVER just come from nowhere? If I meet God, and I tell him he didn’t give me enough information to believe, God might say ‘I gave you proof. The sun, the earth, and the Beatles.’” The writer is far from an atheist. He or she recognizes the presence of God in the world through the Beatles. God manifests divinity by way of people. We are the windows through which heaven shines into the world. The Beatles, talented as they were, did not give themselves their talent. It was seeded within them by a Force far beyond their human personalities. Their role was to bring it to a
waiting world, which they did masterfully. Those talented musicians served as vessels through which the Creator delivered huge gifts to make the world a better place During this season many people celebrate God showing up on Earth. Christians remember the birth of Jesus Christ. Jewish people observe Hanukah, when God miraculously extended light to beleaguered freedom fighters. Hindus enjoy Diwali, and people of African descent observe Kwanzaa. All of these holidays recognize that for a moment in time, God reached into the world and lifted it closer to heaven. The same God that blessed the world through Jesus, the Beatles, and other visionaries wants to bless the world through you. You have talents that no one else can bestow. But you have to honor your inspiration
Omtimes.com
Simplify Your Life & Style Embrace Minimalism By Fiona WoodÂ
A minimalistic way of life is only a part of sustainable living, and if you are opting for an eco-friendly life, then you have to embrace minimalism with all its
Omtimes.com
perks. Luckily, there are more than you can imagine. A minimalistic way of life brings us closer to our most essential values and teaches us how to be more satisfied with what we have and enjoy life as it is. This doesn’t mean that you have to give up on improving your life, but merely learn how to focus on what’s truly important to you. Continue reading to find out more about some changes you can incorporate into a minimalistic way of life. Declutter your living space Living surrounded by piles of unnecessary stuff is the worst enemy of minimalism. In a consumerist world, we tend to gather and pile up a lot of things that we keep “just in case,” although this case is very unlikely to happen. Moreover, we tend to get attached to all this stuff and avoid throwing it away, so we keep it all and hoard more and more.
Eventually, we find ourselves overwhelmed by our own clutter, living like hamsters trapped under piles of their own shed fur. Distance yourself from the things you piled up by simply asking: “What are the odds of me needing this shortly?” Once we realize that our stuff doesn’t define us, we are already one step closer to a minimalistic lifestyle. What you want is not equal to what you need Although this might sound obvious, nowadays, it’s very hard to differentiate the two. Thanks to globalization, personalized ads, and overall aggressive marketing, we are led to believe that we need all the stuff that we might like. Once your search engine makes an algorithm from your search history, it’s already late, because all your social media feeds will be covered in boots that you’ve recently searched for. It’s never been as important as it is now to understand how
Omtimes.com
Tips for Self-Care as Beloveds Die by Robyn M Fritz
Whether a human or animal family member is dying, the living has work to do you’re grieving, possibly in shock, and trying to figure out what to do to help yourself, your family, and your dying beloved get through it. Omtimes.com
In the first article of this two-part series on preparing for death and grief, I covered how to prepare others for a beloved’s death. Here I’m offering simple but necessary things you need to do to keep yourself healthy and balanced as you support the living—and the dying. These are things we don’t usually think about, so let’s get to them. Don’t Buy into the Guilt The current medical establishment believes that fighting death, no matter the odds or the suffering involved, is more important than a life well-lived, and a death gently met. Someday the system will grow up. In the meantime, you are a grown-up for it. Pain, suffering, and disability are cruel things. You will know when enough is enough. You cannot beat death. You can make it acceptable— even glorious. If you live somewhere where humans can choose to end
their lives, discuss this option with beloveds, and support their choice. For your animals, yes, you’ll feel bad if you resort to euthanasia, and you haven’t sorted through the whys and whynot with them, yourself, and the rest of the family. You’ll feel bad if you don’t and drag out an ending that causes misery for no good reason. You’ll feel bad, regardless. Take steps to support yourself by figuring out what the limits are for both the dying and the living. Walk away from anyone who tries to make you feel guilty for choosing to meet death on your own terms and supporting your dying beloveds the same way. Hospice is learning, even with animals, but be careful of animal hospice, because some of those people still don’t understand mercy. Figure out what love looks like to you and to the rest of the family, from the first day to the last. Cling to it.
Omtimes.com
How to Heal Your Shame and Supercharge Your Empathy By Marcia Sirota, MD.
A lot of people these days seem to be lacking in empathy. We watch horrors on the news, and we’re hardly moved. We hear of terrible tragedies befalling other people, and we’re barely motivated to offer any help. We walk by homeless people on the street, and we don’t even notice them.
Omtimes.com
Maybe it’s the amount of sensationalism we’re bombarded with every day that’s causing us to be so emotionally shut down. Maybe it’s the stress of modern life. Whatever it is, it’s not doing us any good. We need to have empathy for one another. It’s what keeps our society from crumbling into chaos and violence. It’s what enables us to feel a sense of belonging. When we feel connected, our stress levels go down. Our immune system is boosted. We’re happier and healthier when we feel that sense of oneness with others. One reason why we might be lacking in empathy these days is that a lot of us are burdened with shame. We feel bad about ourselves, and it adversely affects our interactions with others. How do we develop shame? When bad things happen to us, especially when we’re little, a typical psychological defense mechanism is to blame ourselves. On the surface, this doesn’t seem to make any sense, but think of it this way: When we’re in a hurtful situation, and we feel powerless to change
things, feelings of despair rise up within us. We feel helpless and hopeless, and this is almost worse than the sadness, hurt or anger that come on in response to our hurtful experiences. It’s almost intolerable to feel so helpless and hopeless, so we unconsciously default to a primitive defense mechanism (coming from the not-so-smart part of our brain). It’s supposed to make us feel that we have more power and choice in the situation, but like all such defense mechanisms, it backfires spectacularly. It’s paradoxical to blame ourselves, but we do this because the primitive part of our psyche is convinced that if the bad things, we’re experiencing are our fault, then we’ll have the power to change them. Unfortunately, blaming ourselves for the bad things we’re going through doesn’t actually work. When we have bad experiences that are beyond our control – like childhood abuse or neglect, or an adult diagnosis of a lifethreatening illness – taking on responsibility for what’s happening doesn’t make it possible for us to change things. Omtimes.com
Focusing on the Process of Thinking
Thoughts, not fate, lead us to where we are now and determine our future. Basic to metaphysics, mind is the foundation of everything. Our physical world, fueled by underlying dreams and imaginations, is manifested
Omtimes.com
by thought, individually and collectively. By recognizing our thoughts as they arise, we can more clearly chart the reality we desire. Waking Reality & Dreams are Symbolic Languages Our modern society “knows” the mind to be separate and distinct from the physical world, and similarly sees dreams as random images and sounds flying about the sleeping mind. We who study metaphysics know the waking world, just like dreams, is an illusion. Modern society has it wrong. Our waking world is a construct of “mind,” made of the stuff of dreams, all founded in “mind.” We are thus wise to understand waking reality and dreams similarly, both as a communicative process with a higher purpose than it so seems. Whether dreaming or in waking, we perceive and interact with “symbols,” not real objects (for real objects don’t actually exist), and all that we see and encounter and experience should be perceived as a
communicating of ideas. Waking and Dreaming Differences Our waking world is reliably stable and predictable, whereas our dreaming experience is in a constant state of change as we may perhaps watch people and objects transform and appear before our dreaming eye. The waking experience thus gives the appearance of a solid concrete living space, yet underlying it is an elementary fluidic state (dreaming and formlessness) offering unlimited possibilities to a mind that is stable and disciplined. If we can apply the dreaming mind to waking reality, we can free ourselves from the prison of an entrapping physical world. The mind is the Elusive Treasure We can better understand waking reality by redirecting our waking focus away from the experienced objects, which are not real yet seem real and focus our mind on the process of thinking. We can
Omtimes.com
3 Tools to Shift into Happiness by Dagny Grant and Beth Donnelly
If you think that happiness is the result of your experiences or possessions, you may want to re-think that!
Omtimes.com
There are many tools to help us shift our vibrational frequency to a happy state of being. The tools that each person resonates with are unique to their own preferences. These tools help us move our focus into our heart space, which is the first step to initiate a harmonic mind-heart coherence. It’s important to understand that our heart-mind coherence is not always happy or positive. For example, if we are angry or in grief, our heart space feels sad, constricted and dissonant. Acknowledgment of the situation is good but investing our focus for a long period does not benefit our mind or heart. Life has an organic heartbeat of its own. We aren’t meant to always be happy or unhappy. The balance of yin/yang is a continuing process and imperative to the vibrational flow of the universe. The most important thing to remember in our intention to master our emotional state is that we have a choice.
While we are choosing how we desire to feel, we are also able to choose which tools we want to use to achieve that state. These tools can be chosen circumstantially and viewed as a toolbox of fun, playfulness, peace, and healing. We’ve chosen 3 of these tools for you to consider. Internal Consciousness Tools 1. I AM Statements Statements that acknowledge your internal self-identity. • I AM Grateful • I AM Love • I AM Hope • I AM Deserving • I AM Happy • I AM Joy 2. External Symbolic Tools Powerful only in the meaning that you give them. These things may be attached to a belief that you have, and they inspire you to feel better. • Religious symbols • Rituals • Lucky socks or shirt
Omtimes.com
Self-Improvement Won’t Make You Feel Better - But This Will By Kelle Sparta
We’re all seeking more happiness. It’s the reason we read articles, take classes, attend retreats, buy books, sign up for coaching and energy healing, and a whole host of other services. We want to be happy. And the world has convinced us that if we
Omtimes.com
can just find the RIGHT service, book, class, retreat, etc., then we will be happy. But that’s the misconception in the world of spirituality and self-help. It’s this idea that the more we know, the more skills we have, the more “spiritual” we become, the happier we will be. This just isn’t true - take it from me, I’ve spent more than 40 years in the personal growth and spirituality world, and I’ve seen this happen to people over and over again. They dive in with both feet, learn as much as they can for anywhere from 2-20 years and then come up for air only to realize that they feel just the same on the inside as when they started. Sure, they can do an amazing ritual, meditate for hours, have more crystals than anyone they know, and can-do asanas standing on their heads, but they aren’t happy. They are still either spending more and more time trying to leave their bodies to escape their lives, or they are just not happy. What is needed is an understanding of the
difference between selfimprovement (skill-building and understanding the self) and transformation (becoming someone new). The former gives us better-relating skills and coping mechanisms. The latter changes are the very nature of who we are. Each has its own benefits and downsides. Self-Improvement The process of understanding we at a deeper level is awesome. It helps us to see how we are acting in the world and how those behaviors create our realities. Building new skills and coping mechanisms are also good for changing the way we behave and, therefore, the way others respond to us. But this is all an external change. Inside we remain the same. We may feel slightly better because our new ways of behaving are getting us better responses, but the feelings that caused the poor behaviors are still present. And when those feelings get triggered, most of the skills we learned can be forgotten in an instant, leaving us to pick up the pieces when
Omtimes.com
How To Be A Change Junkie
There are much joy and happiness that comes from getting addicted to change. The blessings are endless, and the opportunities are without limit. We’re all personally just a few baby steps away from our most fulfilled selves and, collectively, from a whole new Omtimes.com
world. Being a Change Junkie means getting addicted to the positivity and abundance that change can bring. No matter the goal, the dream, or the healing written down on someone’s wish list, the path will require many things but only one thing for absolute certain: change. It’s a word that strikes fear for some of us. The idea of change can often inspire our most painful memories of difficult transitions and challenging circumstances. Even the bravest among us would admit to being fine without it and taking measures to avoid it altogether. And yet, it is the constant ebb and flow of the universe. We may equate change with our least favorite memories, but we rarely give it the credit it deserves for our most rich and valuable experiences. After all, Change was there for all of that too. It is a necessary part of becoming our Best Self. This type of change begins when we get spiritually hungry when we start to look deeper and reveal more and more
of our potential. As we strive to be better than we were yesterday, we begin to find ways to build upon our success and to course-correct when things don’t go as planned. Instead of living a robotic existence, we try new things, face our fears, and nurture passion and inspiration instead of safety and comfort. We start to create positive change wherever we go, we smile at strangers we meet, we leave people, places, and things better than how we found them, and we practice kindness even when we don’t want to. This is what becoming a Change Junkie looks like. The kabbalists teach that our purpose for coming to this world is to transform and perfect our positive traits, transcending our negative qualities. Becoming a Change Junkie means getting addicted to this chain of events, to the positive energy that change can bring. We will no longer run or hide from change; instead, we will look for and embrace it. This is our life, and we alone are responsible for the quality of Omtimes.com
OMTimes Media, Inc. PO Box 1333 Oil City, PA 16301 (571)-2OM-TIMES ©2009-2019 OMTimes Media
All Rights Reserved MMXIX
Please review the
OMTimes Reprint Policy Contact our Advertisement Team:
advertise@omtimes.com