We rely on words to define us. If we try to express a specific condition without the right words attached, we become lost and we are unable to clearly understand each other. While teaching one of my Public Health courses, a group discussion about clinical depression led us into an examination of the word “depression” and how the home cultures of some of the students’ parents did not allow, or define, the concept of “depression” in a serious, medical, sense.
“Black” is one of those movies you yearn to see again and again and you can never ever quite get the story out of your head. The movie is a love story of self-discovery and education for a Deaf and Blind woman who does not speak. She lives in an internal darkness. She wants a way out into the light of the world. The box for the special edition of the DVD is pocked with Braille dots you can feel with your fingertips, thus creating a temptation, and an expectation for the drama of learning to come:
The Lesson of the Singing Bowl is one of my favorite articles. Today, I will share with you another story taught to me by my Indian yoga guru — The Lesson of the First Number — where I learned about intent, self-determination, and divination.
I added some detail to make the story my own so I could share it with you here.
Did Benazir Bhutto earn the death of a fool or the life a martyr? Was she predestined to be cursed to an early grave from birth?
Continue reading → Benazir Bhutto: Death of a Fool or Life of a Martyr?
We all know How Agriculture Ruined the World, but did you know by 2008 half the world will live in cities? That is a cold, blunt, fact that makes us all smaller.
As an avowed atheist — I prefer to worship art and nature — it may seem strange that I have a long list of religious friends. Of my many Mormon friends, I have discovered there are two topics that, when mentioned, will cause them to give you the stink eye and turn away from the conversation. If you press the matter, they will refer you to the LDS website for official commentary.
The first verboten topic is colloquially known as “The Mark of Cain” and it is an interesting and undeniable stain on the Mormon church where Blacks — men of African descent — were denied the priesthood because of their “mark”… their skin color.
Continue reading → The Mark of Cain and the Mountain Meadows Massacre
Because of the luck of the land, there are people in our world who are born into, live, and die in places with little water and less food. It is the children who suffer the most from malnutrition and the hardest thing in healing them is, ironically, getting them to eat when food is available.
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