Redefining Identities in Revolutionary Eras

Over several cups of steeped tea, friends, activists and social gurus are busy talking about heated Arab revolutions sweeping the political foundations of the Arab region. I've tried not to write about, or go into deep-founded conversations to reflect on the dynamics that confound the current milieu of the regions political sphere. Many reflections, have been quick to break apart the understandings and reasons of "how" and "why" such changes have emerged in such dramatic fashion. It's hard not to get lost in the conversations of who, what and how things will eventually transpire. Inevitable in any political reform or revolution, are the materialized identities manifesting towards deconstructing and constructing the "Arab" man. Western media, attempting to fathom how millions of Arabs came out of their shells in such an erratic nature, questions the theoretical pillars built up for centuries, defining, who we are and who we are "expected" to be.

Only recently, in a discussion with my father, did he finally begin to accept that our voices (as the youth) are no longer scattered thoughts lost in restricted foundations built from repressive and corrupt governments grounded for decades. Rather, that our opinions are beginning to bring forth constructive and powerful changes; and that protests are not merely a bunch of rogue-like individuals attempting to destruct our society. The ideas of who we are, not only to others, but to ourselves, has in itself been revolutionized.

Citizens are precariously scattered to adapt to their new levels of responsibilities. Many bloggers, and writers have noted that millions of people, from Tunisia to Egypt, and inevitably, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen et al... are beginning to grasp the foreseeable control exposed and imposed unto them (responsibilities never expected to transpire into reality). With every demand, people are startled by the abilities to take such orders forward, in profound active actions, that only months earlier would have been dramatically unexpected.

Essentially, today, like tomorrow, we continue to tune in to news-stations, to stay updated to the latest feeds that hurry-in with new information to frame the political puzzle that forms the Arab region today. Without a doubt, our self identities have unconsciously transformed in the light of such events. We are left to time, to watch our Selves evolve with the revolution.

Intergenerational Differences of Identity, 978-3-8443-1380-2, 384431380X ,9783844313802 by Noora Sharrab

Intergenerational Differences of Identity, 978-3-8443-1380-2, 384431380X ,9783844313802 by Noora Sharrab

Through God's grace, this book presents words that magnified and illustrated but a portion of what millions of Palestinian Refugees face around the world. This book is dedicated to every refugee, displaced person, denizen and non-status person that continues to await their right-to-return. Palestine is not merely drawn out in maps and protracted peace-treaties, but engraved and held in the womb of Palestinians worldwide.

Thank for the opportunity.

Rochelle, just another Migrant Worker ..

So, I got my nails done. After much contemplation of the bourgeois-like atmosphere filled in the Amman-salons, I decided, why not pretty myself up. Ironically, after conversing with some friends about the idea of being fashionably instinctive, I realized that I often fail in putting the effort, not because I don't mind dressing up, but because I don't want to be categorized as one who's more consumed in herself than what's happening around her. And while, my manicure might make me feel a little feminine for a couple of hours, essentially, sitting in the beauty shop being pampered by a migrant worker while people are losing their lives in revolutions and historic political changes, makes me feel, a little full of myself.

But that's not the purpose of my post today. Today, I want to share a story of Rochelle, the Manicurist. A young, thirty-three year old Philippina, living in Amman, Jordan. Rochelle has been living in Jordan for over 5 years now.

At the age of 27 years old, a young mother of three, and having just given birth to her youngest daughter, who is now 5 years old, Rochelle had finally arranged the final paperwork to allow her to travel abroad for work. Living in a modest home, her husband, an employee at a bank, making barely enough to the sustain the growth of his vibrant family, Rochelle made an independent decision to travel. And not your conveniently adventurous type of travel to explore the world, but rather an unrelenting desire to provide for her family, in whatever means possible; even if it meant being separated from them. Rochelle explained that if she ever stayed in the Philippines she would never be able to make enough to save any money or make a significant amount for her labour.

In 2005, after arranging with a recruiting agency, Rochelle saved enough money to pay for her ticket to Jordan, where she was to spend the next two years with a Jordanian nuclear family with two children living in the city of Dabouk, notorious for being the "Kings" neighborhood. Rochelle reminisced of her time in her employers home. "I was not allowed to leave the house, and had to work 7 days a week, with no break... I didn't know how to be a maid in the beginning, and my Madame used to always shout at me... " Rochelle despairingly confessed that for many nights she would cry remembering her children, regretting that she did not bring with her pictures or memories to help her long-nights without them. So much so, that in fear of jeopardizing her work-environment, she was instructed not to bring any valuables with her, not even her wedding-band. A disconnected attachment to loved ones so far away, only acknowledged by the mere monetary savings, no more than $225 sent back home once a month; while, she kept about $150 for her daily needs for the month.

At the time, for two years, Rochelle was paid $200 US dollars, where she worked for over twelve hours a day, 7 days a week, accounting to about $6 dollars a day, not even the minimum wage paid to a young worker in North America. [e.g.The minimum wage in Toronto today is about $10.25/hr] As soon as her contract was over, her employer failed to purchase the promised return ticket home, for Rochelle to visit her family. Rochelle, rejected to renew her contract with the family, and moved out, into a small apartment in third-circle Amman, to work two jobs to help sustain herself and attempt to regain her freedom.

Today, Rochelle works at a middle-class like beauty salon, specializing in Manicures and Pedicures, while also accepting part-time work both cleaning homes and providing private beauty services in customer's homes. Making approximately 450 JODs a month, and paying about 90 JODs for rent, Rochelle estimates that in a year she would be able to save enough money to travel back home to visit her children and husband. Rochelle confessed that while her life felt heavy and discomforting at times, the only thing to sedate her to numbness were her anti-depressant pills. Sleeping a little better, crying a little less, Rochelle numbed her responsibilities to a sole purpose that she believed was destined to help her family live a better life.

While, Rochelle is just another Migrant Worker among the hundreds of thousands that live in Jordan, and in the Arab region, her story, like many others, help us regard Migrant Workers as more than mere subordinates here to serve us for some cheap often refused labour by a local. Rochelle tells of friends often so desperate as to surrender their bodily-integrity to keep living. She tells me, that she is thankful to have never been in that situation, and that whenever she feels down she feels like she could be in worst hands. Today, Rochelle tells me that she feels a little more free, allowed to come and go as she pleases, allowed to go to the grocery store, and walk around the block, she feels a little more free in her ability to come and go, but limited to the expensive lifestyle in Jordan.

Too many times, I've come across discriminate attitudes for an Indonesian, Philippino, Indian, Sri-Lakan, or another Asian, that travel thousands of miles, far from friends and family in the attempts to live a better life, or explore greater opportunities.

Think not low of the next cheap labored Migrant Worker you encounter... but rather of their continued sacrifices to survive. What makes us any better, than the destined conditions that were set for us?

In the Honour of Our Beloved Prophet.. (Peace be Upon Him)

Flawlessly hand-carved into a rounded string
held in unity under the nature of
His Majestic Remembrance
and in repeated callings of
His Beloved Prophet,
In the Mercy of His Peace and Ultimate Serenity
we pray
give gratitude
and attempt
in our weakest form
in our humanly instinctive defects
to emulate
his Grace
thirty-three times
three times
of ninety-nines
with a remaining
pearl-like token to return once again
back to His Infinite realm,
in absolute admission
to His Oneness.

In his tranquil trustworthiness,
we transpire in aspirational inspirations;
In his most just of affirmations,
we transpire in aspirational inspirations;
In his most delightful of presences,
we transpire in aspirational inspirations;
In his most sheer crystalized character,
we transpire in aspirational inspirations;
In his loving tenderness,
we transpire in aspirational inspirations;
In his sincere passion to capture Heaven in one's belief
we transpire in aspirational inspirations;
In every way we are unable to comprehend his nature
we transpire in aspirational inspirations...

And again

we return,
forehead kneeling in His unfathomed Kingdom

in an obligation

of seventeen prostrations

too little to come close to

pardon our perpetual faulty misgivings
in a reminder of our finite, limited bounded natures
to call
His Name
ninety-nine
in multifaceted reflections
named by the Creator
the One
to believe
manifest
and uphold
His Prophet's most intricate
teachings
unto learners passed
through generations
and millennia's
that will never reach
his musk-like fragrant
filling every breath
with absolute
mercy.

In the cries of the newborn
we recite
Al-Shahada -- a Testimony of Faith,
Guided by the last
Prophet
the Most Beloved
of Prophets
Ahmed

Mostafa
Taha

Ya Sin

Waheed

Abul Qasim

Tahir
Noor
Mohammed, Salah Allahu 3ailihi Wasalam..
in unison with a call
towards Mecca,
to our Maker,
Giver,
Creator,
and Grantor of life
turning not simply our bodies
but meaningless without
our hearts and souls
towards our sole-purpose.

In a day

like today

our Beloved Mother

Aminah, May Allah Bless her..

illuminated with a light

once brilliantly radiated Abdullah [RDA]'s face

birthed through a soul

unlike any other

in a connected union,

today we are thankful

elevated

blessed

enriched

and

forever lost

without his Message

our Beloved Messenger.

اللهم صلى وسلم على سيدنا وحبيبنا محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم

The Revolution was Televised..

Revolution..
not in history books
a people's dream
or promising memoirs
of masses in power
of unification in
honour
dignity
respect
fearless
and powered together
in voices
chanting
demanding
singing
and cheering
in roars
of jubilant
sensations
celebrations
of a dictators resignation
inspirations
flourishing around the arab
regions
without contemplations
of a people's domination
continuations of
commemorations
of Freedom
tasted
after 3 decades of
corruption
oppressions
deceptions
misappropriations of
people's remunerations
in a mother-land
where people's unification
reflected a security threat
that might pose as terrorists
broken
toppled
ousted
and finally forfeited
to a forced authority
against the people's wills.

The revolution
televised
twitterized
and socialized
into a mosaic
of voices
and energetic
irrepressible emotions
that released
thirty years of
silenced inclinations
in less than thirty seconds
of proclamations
and announcements
awaited for over 18
cold and brittle
violent and fearful
insecure and uncertain
determined and passionate
hopeful and confident
unyielding and committed
towards a finale
of a release
in power and
celebrations
by a people
inspired
by sacrifices
lost souls
violated and targeted
individuals
other nations
achievements
Tunisia
Bouazizi
Sidibouzid
#jan25
#feb11
#revolution
words transformed
vividly colored
in memorable snapshots
slogans
and fusion
with millions in union
for a revolution
remembered
recorded
attended
and speechlessness
uttering realities
of what lifts every
citizen
proud
empowered
and finally
recognized.

Flipped the Channel

Today I turn off Al-Jazeera,

Moving away from symbolic

revolutionary images that overwhelmed

the streets of al-Qahira..

The people, in absolute unison

moved in a scattered orderly

disorganization

shaking off the cold

from their faces

through smiles

chants

and unstoppable

hope.

Today, I couldn’t watch any news,

weak

and frail

to images

of strong sisters,

and brothers ..

Today, my mind wanted material

entertaining reels of

irrelevant fictions of pretty lights

and glamorizing colors..

Today, my mind cheated,

it took a break

from moments

that continue to overwhelm

the days

and brittle nights

of Egyptians

camping

standing

chanting

singing

and persistently fighting

in a struggle that continues

to overwhelm their

hearts

over their bodies

of mind over

any feelings

left weakening

any doubt and

hesitation to cease

in their protests at hand.

Today, I flipped through channels,

looking for another sight,

looking for a moment,

at other stories,

only left daydreaming of

the illuminosity

of Tahrir Square

glowing even

in the un-silenced

darkness that

surrounds their bodies,

protected

in guard

by their

collective order.

Today, after hours of flipping through,

lost in slow

tics on my clock

I passed time

baking

dessert that would only be hovered

with burnt sides

of fires

blazing miles away

in a country

I do not call my own

but hugs the sides of

my distant land

carried heavily and

rigidly

the isolated

precarious soils of

Rafah,

Qita3 Gaza

Khan Yunis,

for a history,

to wide to speak

of now..

Today, as I

spoke to my parents

over Skype,

I realized

in their sedated tones

in the 16th day

of continued protests

they busied their days

with political reports,

over sweet hot tea

steeped in Maramiya.

My mother tells me

she hasn’t left the house

in over two weeks,

not because she doesn’t support

the struggle of the Egyptians,

but of fear that Mubarak’s thugs

will curtail her intentions

falsely and

harm her ..

“We’re not Egyptians..”

she says,

“there’s rumors saying

they’re attacking foreigners..

and they don’t care if we’re Canadian ..

or Palestinians..”

Identity over reason..

Today,

I later went back..

to Nilesat

channel 167

to Aljazeera International

to listen..

awaken

and swallow

the sorrows and

struggles that continue

to carry their

demands up high

in banners

posters and

rhetorical comedy

in laughter

and anger..

Another day...

another today..

another hope

for a betterment

in hope

love

and a strengthen community ..

Tomorrow awaits...

Images on Al-Jazeera

Images on Al-Jazeera continue

to scurry through people’s faces,

chanting,

screaming,

yelling,

crying,

beaten,

cheated

and bleeding..

Still to the colors

of Red, White, Black

and the golden Eagle,

united they stand,

in a square named after

the very freedom they are fighting for.

Tahrir they call it,

Liberation will come,

if they have to march for

12, 14, 15, 30 days to come ..

Liberation it is, in bodies that stand

against violence,

attacks

and harassments from the thug's regime...

State TV screens a play,

sanitized

for the wealthy eyes to see...

fooled only by the images

they replay in disguise..

Round the clock,

reports,

documentations,

interviews and

demands..

Images on Al-Jazeera

keep me tossing at night..

In the way lines straighten your phrases

into sought out laces

in spaces

of clothed races

& faces,

worry not if your pencil leaves you

in blazes ..

but fear

only the silence of the letters

speaking of truth and exploitation..

a starved people not a day longer

can carve through

broken doorways..

toppled too many times

by the Mukhabarat..

Images on Al-Jazeera,

speak to me of courageous

and fearless citizens,

standing in resistance against

an autocratic ruler refusing to leave..

In glory

and shame,

united

they endure

the pressure enforced unto their dignities

and aims..

Tunisia the inspiration,

of a spark that continues to flare,

against burnt bodies

scorched in accusations

of insanity

and mental retardation..

Muzzled and censored,

for years,

decades and generations

hushed and shushed

cries of the people,

while silently

stuffing their pockets

with billions

of shekels..

collaborations and secret interests rules the game,

in the face of fame and distorted gains...

don’t tell me this

is a shrewd puppet show

playing backstage..

do you not see

the rage

furring the people,

young and old..

women and men...

Muslim and Christian,

non-believer or whatever..

there is no hidden-political agenda..

an organic movement,

grown in the backyards

of capitalized farmlands

and tainted soils..

of founded truthness,

colored in passion...

of rediscovered harmony

in their countries nationalization..

of rhythmic slogans

and voices in unification..

of Mohammed,

Karim,

Sally,

Ahmed,

Saif

and Amr..

lost their lives,

marching to the streets

for a reason to change,

a country corrupt

so bad

its mirage no longer stands

in the distance of hope and imaginations....

of bodies bruised

and abused...

souls lost

and distorted..

in a struggle that remains

and continues ..

for countries are not

representatives of leaders

or dictators...

but of its people in all foundations...

white, black, brown or blue...

together

for a better tomorrow they stand...

Tunisia’s revolution

did not end with Ben Ali...

the country's building

back its sanity..

from years

of uprooted dreams

and stolen possibilities ...

Orientalists descriptions

of ignorant,

backward,

undemocratic A-rabs

unable to comprehend or handle to rule

a country without an authoritarian oppressor..

putting people in their places,

muted

and dumbed

into absolute sedation..

but no longer will we stand

mourning for lost days ..

today

the people united..

one voice,

in masses...

demanding nothing

but the name

of the square they stand under..

Liberation,

7horriya,

freedom..

against Mubarak, Soleiman and their mafia's rule...

in the words

of Wael Ghonim

on twitter

“..Failure

is not an Option..” ...

Egypt Jan 25, 2011 - Flesh Burns

As fire flares into heated waves of subdued anger and frustration, self-immolation melt through problematics that have been hidden in the rubbles of the cities peripheries for far too long. Flesh burns in the name of a meaning lost, no longer felt, but ignored in the scattered piles of unknowns of nameless people and places. Flesh burns to tell others, that no longer silence will prevail to allow these feelings to succeed. Flesh burns to lost responsibilities of leaderships, hidden away in the warmness of their classic-like structures that warms their bodies of the same elements that flares their colonially-decorated fireplace. Flesh burns to rotten lies that sit on the periphery of the soul, holding on to rocks hoping that the body would slip and jump. Flesh burns to reignite feeling, far from sedation, the eyes no longer cry for, but blink rapidly against the harsh realities of alleyways that unearth poverty and abuse at its core. Flesh burns because no longer can the tongue speak in forms of fabricated truths or veracious lies. Flesh burns in the light of darkness that obscures the mind in lifeless attempts to stay alive.

Lifeless bodies lose hope in the continued promises of a betterment in the midst of answerless destinies. In the name of freedom, the mind no longer can contain what lingers within in anger or frustration. And nothing leaves one consoled than to bring out what burns inside to the core.

And in the name of any meaning that would harmonize the damage that scars you so deep, nothing mitigates the broken pieces of shattered possibilities but through revolt. To speak against the restoration of insanity, allowing words, bodies in motion and masses to weld their unified needs towards a betterment for a land that has held their bodies in her womb since time immemorial. Speak not but against atrocity, oppression, deception, corruption and a continued masquerade of a people’s republic.

Against torture, and propagated reflections of a distorted freedom, submit to nothing but the demands of a reality, that charges against mirages in the reflections of a sanitized mirror. Words can suppress and ignite the self in power to change. So, wait not for direction to take the next step forward, for progression awaits your initiation. What are you waiting for?

Shew Mubarak Shew!

Mubarak Mubarak, get out get out, louder and louder, we shout, no doubt, 

Walking the streets of Egypt, Government flipped, 

People of Egypt don't quit, but realize ur limit, 

What is it that you want? Down with Mubarak you say, hay, is that it? You throwing a fit, sit, 

Contemplate, a successful revolution's not an empty plate, situate your thoughts, gather the lots,

Proceed to lead, you need to heed, stop and tell me not,

What it is you hate or want not, 

But what it is you lot want, 

What's to be done next after Mubarak leaves, 

What's after, contemplate now or face a disaster, 

2 comes after 1 and 4 after 3, what's next I beg of thee, 

Overthrow the Tyrant, I can care less, but plan ahead a few moves, like a game of chess, 

You snooze you lose,

Out chanting in the middle of the streets, with the sound of drum beats, at the top of your tongue, 

Mubarak ya man, u've been ruling too long, 

Think for a moment, are you ego-driven?

I just want to be heard, that's just absurd, 

Down with the regime you say, are you conscious of your demands,

Or shouting unconsciously for the upper hands, 

America Introduced Bush to one shoe but this guy's 82, show some respect, throw a couple or a few, 

Mubarak Ya bro, shew shew,

People of Egypt: You've done more than a flying shoe can do,

You've kept ur shoes intact, and marched a million add a few or subtract,

While Nile TV downplays the situation, AlJazeera slaps some sense into the station, 

Representing the true voice of an Egyptian Nation,

Mubarak, now your times up, give-up and move on, respect your peoples wishes, don't be so dismissive, 

Run oh Pharaoh run, the revolution has begun,

HashJan25 on twitter we call it, whether you block social media or stall it, 

You're not fit for government, 

In a united voice Egyptians and all the people shout, 

Get the door on your way out! 

Q&A: I was recently asked

I recently posted the following for Eckhart Tolle, "Your primary purpose is to enable #consciousness to flow into what you do," and I was asked the following:


Q. Interesting. Do you think consciousness in itself is primary or is it merely primary for us?


A. What's happening? or How are you doing? are typical questions we are asked. It shows our interest in happenings and actions. Actions are either dead or alive in relation to their connectedness with consciousness. Consciousness or Awareness is life itself, you and I are life. We don't have a life, we Are life! It's not my consciousness or your consciousness, it's just consciousness. If we tap into that consciousness we become alive and until we do so we are dead on some level. We may be alive on a mental level since the mind thinks but is limited in its thinking to the past or future, but consciousness is something that is, something that is NOW. Think of it as space, the XYZW coordinates where happenings take place. In reality this consciousness is Gods awareness of Himself. Consciousness is in itself primary because it's the ultimate reality: All besides God (in reality) is perishing. We are simply manifestations of His attributes, and one of those attributes is the acts of, or creations of God. At the same time, consciousness is not just primary for us, but in light of the aforementioned, it IS us, not in a way where we R God, but in a way that is incomprehensible to our minds but experientially possible to our beings when we tap into IT, since by tapping into it we are enabled.

Attributes of a Conscious Activist

Navigating the Future: A Guide For Conscious Activism

Andrew Beath | Shift | Shift Issue #12: Consciousness, Passion & Purpose

0Not yet rated

Our planet is alive.
Air, water, fire, and geologic systems are the life-giving constituents that compose the Earth. Time and unfathomable mystery interlace these elements into harmonious relationships. The millions of life forms that surround us evolved together over hundreds of millions of years.

A new planetary danger has arisen. We are facing a critical epoch of our existence. The way we humans interact with the living Earth has set the stage for an extinction spasm affecting a significant proportion of all life, including our own species. But just as near-death experiences can result in the expansion of normal awareness, so too can this degradation that puts us at risk precipitate the emergence of a new relationship between humans and the natural world. The crisis we have created has become the impetus for the next step in the evolution of human consciousness.

Why is a focus on expanding consciousness important for effective social change? How can we integrate the new understandings we discover in order to create a healthier society? These questions provide the context for us to examine personal and social transformation.

Based on my own consciousness research, I have identified seven attributes that characterize “conscious activism.” They shine across centuries and cultural boundaries. Each one provides guidance to dissolve our isolation, demystify paralyzing concerns, and shows how individuals can make positive changes in the world.

They are skills for metamorphosis that can help to heal the world.

Seven Attributes of Conscious Activism

Nonviolence—Kindness in the Midst of Passion

As the Dalai Lama has said,” Nonviolence takes a very long time.” Nonviolence is a lifelong process of refining the arts of kindness, concern, and tolerance for differences. It need not be the absence or suppression of anger or other emotions. It is a behavioral choice we make. There are a number of effective techniques that allow violent feelings to pass through like a temporary storm rather than dictate our actions. It requires an agreement with oneself to act toward others with appreciation of our shared sacred nature.

Acts of intentional violence are founded in pain, disconnecting us from life’s creative source. Just feeling violent is painful. And every violent act, even if it is necessary to protect family or defend against further violence, creates more suffering. It’s impossible to live without harming other living beings, so the parameters of nonviolence are difficult. Nature is filled with violent upheavals. No matter how committed, no one can live without doing any harm. This is a complex challenge whose solution stems from a desire for mutual well-being.

Not Knowing Allows Spontaneity in the Moment

Not knowing enables us to put aside our entrenched ideas and reactive behaviors. Intellect and intuition become more balanced. It is a place of open mind and heart accompanied by wonderment, where spirit is readily available.

The ongoing drama of yesterday’s problems and tomorrow’s plans can take up all of one’s interior focus.

Alternately, presence is an empty vessel that provides spaciousness for infinite intelligence. It is found in a transition zone between the fullness of opinions and the emptiness of no thought. When a field of noisy voices becomes quiet, there is room for bird songs, wind, and the rustle of forest leaves—sounds of silence that were present but unnoticed a minute before. There is a place for both memory and imagination. But to always think about what is not present dishonors the moment.

Introspection for Self-Discovery

We each have a personal identity but often fool ourselves into thinking this is all we are. The ego is a harsh taskmaster who often has us on remote control, unconcerned with life’s grand perspective. The inner self can lead us out of the prison of separation. As we come to understand our motives, we gain choice and are not obligated to operate from our prior automatic response patterns.

Through self-inquiry we discover an expanded personal imagination and boundless transpersonal experiences. Personal transformation is the first step in social change. Introspection is our most valuable tool for this process. Our intuition and all our senses come alive in the wild, where we are educated by nature’s sensuous intelligence. Likewise, there are techniques to roam the wilderness of our interior self and extend its borders. Both in nature and in one’s inner world, looking carefully reveals interwoven threads in a grand tapestry of life.

Eros, the Art of Loving-Kindness

On a planetary level, Eros is the cosmic attractor that acts as an omnipresent connector of all things, large and small. On a personal level, it is the archetypal energy of loving connection that is inherent in all beings and represents loving-kindness through interrelationship and appreciation. Love and beauty are not ethereal qualities. They are essential presences that can resolve the problems we have created. This is inner grace.

When asked on his deathbed for his advice about life, Aldous Huxley, England’s preeminent scholar and wise elder, simply said,” Just try to be a little kinder.” Anger smothers Eros. Without compassion the flames of anger are consuming. Often they provide much-needed instant energy, but in the long run they deplete us.

Conscious activism is activism from the heart. It is composed of loving-kindness and requires nothing in return. If we love something, we want to help it thrive: redwood trees, rivers, and everyone’s children. As our capacity for love appreciates, our world grows larger. As our connection with the living planet deepens, so does the place in our hearts from which we experience joy.

No Enemy, Co-Creating a Healthier World

I may disagree with someone’s actions or be disgusted by them, but it is not helpful to detest the person. I clearly remember when, through ignorance, I was disrespectful of life’s beauty. So it’s not necessary or helpful to my cause when I create an enemy out of someone with whom I disagree. We humans are one family and have all participated in creating our current circumstance. Just putting aside fear and hatred is a revolutionary behavior that can change the world. Thich Nhat Hanh says, ”You don’t need the other side to make peace. You can make peace by yourself.” Actions are more effective when they stem from compassion than from resentment.

Vision, Free of Reaction

It is necessary to confront social injustice and ecological degradation with opposition—yet other approaches are also needed. Let’s stop the destruction, and just as important, let’s envision the actions needed for a healthier future. Activism without this vision could more accurately be called reactivism. To continually struggle against enemies traps us in their drama. Opposition often adds more juice to the entrenched system I am attempting to improve. To use the strategies of those I hope to change puts me in danger of becoming what I loathe.

Holding the vision for a successful future reduces the likelihood of getting caught up in today’s dysfunction.

Providing healing alternatives will attract others and cause the old system to atrophy. Change born of compassion is more likely to endure than that of opposition.

Being Joyful Without Attachment to Goals

Vulnerability, joy, and grief are not separate. Each is a part of heightened sensibilities, deep feelings, and concern for others. When I stay grounded in gratitude, I stay openhearted, even in the face of ongoing planetary problems. But a need to save the world or attachment to other unattainable goals can lead to despair.Joy is inherent in the intricate beauty of nature. As I get older, my appreciation grows. I celebrate Earth’s sanctity.

It brings pleasure to live in respect. Like “reinspect,” it is to pay attention by seeing deeply. This enhances relationship and loving connection. And we usually want to help the things we love. The state of the world is a mirror of our cultural values. The community of people who value a healthier culture is growing. Society’s compassionate heart is feeling more deeply and gaining greater visibility. Joy abounds in this numinous life dance.

As a species we are entranced in an anthropocentric delusion of supremacy that has, until recently, been unwilling to acknowledge the damage we foment. However, the results of our actions are leading us to deeper awareness, and this process is the leading edge of the evolution of human consciousness. There is perfection in the unfolding universe that is grander than any individual act of destruction.

Perhaps it was an evolutionary necessity for us to endure extreme social discord and planetary degradation in order to reconnect with natural harmony and thereby learn how to move forward with wisdom.

Conscious activism engages the world by expressing our most profound understanding of natural harmony. This form of activism endeavors to open the compassionate heart of each person, on all sides of an issue. This can only happen if we expand our own awareness—individual transformation is essential for global change. By healing ourselves we bring health to the whole.

Giving birth, Nourishing life, Shaping things without possessing them, Serving without expectation of reward, Leading without dominating: These are the profound virtues of nature, And of nature’s best beings. —The Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu

—Reprinted with permission; article excerpted and abridged fromConsciousness in Action: The Power of Beauty, Love, and Courage in a Violent Time by Andrew Beath (Lantern Books, 2005).

Thousands converge in Cairo to demand Mubarak go - Yahoo! News

By SARAH EL DEEB, Associated Press – 15 mins ago

CAIRO – Thousands of people converged on the heart of Cairo Tuesday to demand the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak after nearly 30 years in power.

Organizers hoped a million would turn out in Tahrir, or Liberation, Square to force out a man they blame for ignoring the needs of the poor and allowing corruption and official abuse to run rampant.

Mubarak would be the second Arab leader pushed from office by a popular uprising in the history of the modern Middle East.

Authorities tried to thwart the protest by shutting down all roads and public transportation to Cairo, security officials said. Train services nationwide were suspended for a second day and all bus services between cities were halted.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. .

It's a day to the week after an extraordinary eruption of discontent and demands for democracy in the United States' most important Arab ally. The uprising is fueled by years of frustration with Mubarak's autocratic regime and emboldened by an uprising last month that overthrew Tunisia's president.

Several thousand camped out overnight in Tahrir Square, sleeping on a grass traffic circle and the pavement in a the massive plaza they took over Friday in a day of protests and clashes with riot police.

Around 10 a.m., they were being joined by a stream of individuals arriving at checkpoints guarded by protesters and the army, which promised Monday night that it would not fire on protesters.

Working-class men in scuffed shoes and worn cloth pants stood alongside women in full-face veils who chanted, "The people want to bring down the regime!"

The protesters — and the Obama administration — roundly rejected Mubarak's announcement of a new government Monday that dropped his highly unpopular interior minister, who heads police forces and has been widely denounced by the protesters.

Abdel Rahman Fathi, 25, said that his friends from the provinces were taking privates cars and heading to the square.

"The goal is to oust the regime," he said. "Every day we try to increase the number."

That Space is We!

I dedicate this poem to Eckhart Tolle and all those who are inspired to find themselves beyond form, to all those "who strive" to live in the moment. This is a free-style poem, contemplate it well present beings:

Eliminate what's in your mind you find,
Shift, travel the path, no footsteps involved: EVOLVE,
Mind to spirit, eradicate the minute,
Search, dive deep within, here & now, begin,
Wait, there's no waiting in the realm of spirit,
Spirit knows not how to begin, only the mind, time-limiting,
The spirit is all-encompasing, free of time, free to sing,
Lullabies of a baby, a pure state of child, mild but wild in state,
Don't hate, realign fate, it's not too late,
Too, denotes time, be Spirit inclined: Freeze it, store it, ignore it, and
Simply Be, that space, that space is WE!

Who am I?

Stillness is none other than me...

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.9

Annihilate the Ego through Presence in the Moment...

There is only ever one moment. The illusion is that there are an infinite amount of moments but in reality, there's only really one moment, because the moment or the now is timeless, experienced only by the timeless and formless soul or Being. The ego cannot capture the moment, cannot exist in the now, cannot comprehend or understand the moment. The moment is not so much a concept you try to comprehend or understand through the mind, through pointers, through signs, but it can only be sensed by the awareness that you are, the timeless, infinite background, the light of consciousness. This light is what can capture or contain the moment, like a painting sitting on a canvas.

The sign of an active ego is that you're always looking ahead, the now is only a means to an end, caught up in the plan to reach a certain outcome. That is doable by the ego-ic mind or self because the mind is caught up in time, in the past or in the future, and so the ego driven mind can think up a past event and ponder on it and become so caught up in it that it identifies with it. I am the thought or mind made self who scored the winning touchdown in front of hundreds of fans in my high school football field, or in other words, the ego driven mind will play the heroic narative to give you a stronger sense of self that in reality is simply content attached to the structured "me" that is no more than a thought in your head, or the ego driven mind that cannot exist in the now or comprehend the now will constantly drive you to a future state that doesn't exist. I have to finish grading my exam papers, i have to finish cleaning my room or house, i have to hurry up and finish cooking for my children, and lo and behold when the doing is completed, there is only a superficial satisfaction that is followed by a renewed wanting of a future accomplishment. This is how the ego strives to survive. This causes stress, and anxiety. The cure is in realizing that everything exists now, everything happens in the now, the future is a mind created illusion. When we surrender to the now and enjoy the act of doing, by watching the doing, we tap into Being, we tap into bliss, we tap into enjoyment, and instead of worrying about some future result, we're anchored in the present moment, we become present and aware, I am aware, I am awareness, and results don't matter anymore. The purpose of results is a sense of fulfillment, achievement, and enjoyment. So what if I'm already enjoying the moment? What's the fuss behind results now? Nothing really :) If I get results great, If I don't, great as well; I've already arrived by being present, the veil of ego has been lifted, because the ego cannot survive in the present moment, in the now. If a situation presents itself and gets in the way of my plan that has simply been thought out for practical purposes and not driven by the egoic mind, I don't resist the situation, resistance is ego. We usually resist because things are not going as planned and results are in danger, future is in danger, the illusion of that future created mind game, the thought that only exists in my head hehehehehe, what an illusion! Rather than resisting, we accept and turn the present situation into a positive force by Being, and simply doing for practical reasons and in reality watching the doing. We become with Witness or the Watcher.

In summary:

Resistance = ego
Waiting anxiously = ego
Presence = The true "I AM."