|
Making
History in the 21st Century
by Dawn Baumann Brunke
It has been noted that the
years surrounding the turn of each century are marked by unprecedented
stirrings of chaos, confusion, celebration and change. Just one year
ago, the widespread jubilation of the new millennium moved hand in
hand with rumblings of fear over the Y2K issue. Watching the election
drama this past November, I wondered if our collective indecision and
emotional upheaval over who would become the next president likewise
revealed something about the American apprehension of embracing the
new.
As historians are quick to point out, it is often by reviewing our
past that we come to see something new about ourselves in the present.
One hundred years ago, Theodore Roosevelt became the 26th President of
the United States after William McKinley was assassinated while
serving his second term in office. America had just emerged as a world
power. Most of the frontier of the great west had been settled;
women's and minority rights were in the news. As 1% of the population
owned approximately seven-eighths of the nation's wealth, the king of
trusts, financier J. P. Morgan, along with his Northern Securities
Company, became the first target of Roosevelt's economic reform. The
key word of the year was "progress."
The latest technological advances included electricity and X-rays.
The Wright brothers were working on a contraption that would allow
people to fly through the air. Automobiles were already on the scene,
though many people believed this was not much more than a passing fad.
Moving pictures were a similar curiosity. Telephones were in use and a
few large cities were being wired for electricity. Some cities were
also growing taller as the 'skyscraper' was developed.
As with every century, these people believed that their generation
would usher in greater thinkers, artists and scientists; that health
and wealth would increase and that their century would grow
light-years beyond the last.
In one hundred years from now, how will our great-great-great-great
grandchildren look upon this turn of the century? With all the
accoutrements that separated us from the last turn -- from the basics
of washing machines, freezers and electrical appliances to the
widespread growth in our culture via televisions, computers and the
information superhighway -- how will the future deem us with their new
bounty of technologies and advancements? Perhaps they will see us as
we might see those who came before us -- with curiosity and
bewilderment at all they had to do without. On the other hand, without
those who came before us -- those fueling the fervor of new
inventions, new ideas, new vistas of thinking -- we would not be who
we are today. And so we stand, presently, collectively, an unfinished
bridge to the future. It is important to remember that we are, all of
us, every day, making history. As the poet Rainer Maria Rilke so
eloquently noted,
"And now let us
welcome the New Year
Full of things that have never been." |
Dawn Baumann Brunke is
the editor of Alaska Wellness and author of Animal Voices:
Telepathic Communication in the Web of Life and Awakening
to Animal Voices: A Teen Guide to Telepathic Communication with All Life.
See www.animalvoices.net
for more.
|
Recreating
The Rules
by Dawn Baumann Brunke
My friend Delisa and I recently took up racquetball. Although we
were both in search of something to save us from the endless
repetitions of cycles and treadmills at the health club, Delisa wasn't
sure racquetball fit the bill.
"The game from hell?" she asked when I proposed we try a
game. "Have you watched how fast that little ball moves around
the court? Do you really want to play with a grown woman who might
fall screaming to the floor in a heap if it comes her way?"
I'll admit that little ball did seem to be traveling awfully fast
when I watched experienced players knock, whack and slam it through
the air. No doubt if you weren't quick on your toes, fleshy contact
with the ball would yield a tremendously colorful, not to mention
painful, bruise.
"Besides," said Delisa. "It seems pretty
competitive. With lots of rules."
"We could make up our own rules," I suggested. "We
could play it any way we want."
Intrigued with how this might unfold, Delisa finally agreed. The
health club loaned us rackets, eye gear and a small blue rubber ball.
Gearing up, we hesitantly batted the ball against the wall, dodging
when it came too close, laughing at our ungainly form.
Surprisingly, however, after just one hour, Delisa and I discovered
we liked racquetball. Our only rule was to try and keep the ball in
play. In the spirit of cooperation and fun, there we were getting our
exercise, breaking a sweat, even laughing. Surely this was a great
thing.
In subsequent games, Delisa and I got fancy. In-between our races
to and fro the polished wood floor, betwixt overhand smashes and
inelegant yet functional between-the-knees upward swings to keep the
ball in play, we held quick-witted discussions on all sorts of topics:
time-travel, dreams, steel drum bands, even the tao of racquetball.
"Racquetball is like life," Delisa said with a smart blow
to the little blue ball, sending it from floor to wall to ceiling and
back again. "How's that?" I asked, swatting it back to her
with a triple-brunke, a move I've been perfecting.
"It's not about keeping score; it's about playing the game.
And we can make it better by changing our perspective -- by making up
our own rules." True enough. By recreating the rules of
racquetball, the game from hell was transformed to one of fun,
collaboration, creative moves and friendly banter that sometimes led
to interesting insights.
How often do we remember that we needn't simply accept the games
someone else created or that others engage in so heartily? A side step
out of the rules is sometimes a marvelous thing, allowing us new
insights on why we do the things we do. We all have the freedom to
refashion the "rules" of our habits, beliefs and
perspectives, thus improving our own game of life. The game gets to be
even more fun when we open our consciousness to create variations on
the rules that fit our own desires, needs and skills.
As we move into another year of possibilities, we might well be
reminded of the countless opportunities that exist each day for us to
change our position in the game. From finances to healthcare,
relationships to dreams and goals, we are always free to review the
rules we hold, keeping those that work well and recreating the ones
that don't.
Dawn Baumann Brunke is
the editor of Alaska Wellness and author of Animal Voices:
Telepathic Communication in the Web of Life and Awakening
to Animal Voices: A Teen Guide to Telepathic Communication with All Life.
See www.animalvoices.net
for more.
|
Becoming
Young
by Dawn Baumann Brunke
One early May morning at the bus stop, I stood with two other
neighborhood moms, all of us smiling at the three beautiful little
girls playing on the lawn. Our daughters were constructing a fairy
house for any passing nature spirits who might not find shelter
elsewhere. My neighbor sighed wistfully, "I wish I could be a kid
again."
This is probably not an uncommon wish among adults. At times, our
kids seem so carefree, so spontaneous and filled with life. They have
no knowledge of bills and insurance, no worries over keeping the house
clean, doing dishes or getting food on the table. They don't yet know
the annoyance of telemarketers or the complicated social niceties we
all too often force ourselves to play.
On the other hand, most kids will tell you they want to be
"grown ups." I remember thinking at age 10 how utterly great
it would be to drive a car. If you were old enough to drive, you could
take yourself anywhere. In my mind, driving equaled freedom, the
ability to take off and visit new places whenever you chose. To do
that was truly to be carefree, I imagined. It would mean being done
with school and homework, of having to do what your parents told you
to do.
There are a lot of great quotes to remind us that age (along with
feeling carefree) really has much more to do with how we feel inside
than how we look outside - from "you're only as young as you
feel" to "the worst old age is that of the mind." But
so too is there a time-wiggle involved in coming to understand this, a
point of relativity wherein time seems to curve in upon itself. In
nearly every life, there is a little flip-flop of positions when
suddenly we realize that we have become our parents and our children
have become us. How did that happen? As Mark Twain explained it,
"When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly
stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was
astonished at how much he had learned in seven years."
The relationship between parents and children is an incredible
give-take, teaching-learning relationship that never loses its power.
We are never too old to be swept up into the creative imaginings of a
child, experiencing the world with all the color and excitement we
once knew. And we are never too young not to benefit from the wisdom
of our elders and those who care for us. Can we imagine a world in
which these two aspects of being come together? "Imagine if as a
child you knew what you know now," writes author John MacEnulty.
"Imagine if you knew now what you knew then."
I wish now that I would have encouraged my neighbor to help make
the fairy house. Why not? We could have all gotten down on our hands
and knees, gently fashioning the land with our daughters while making
soft our vision to see once again the world in which nature spirits
dance and shimmer in the sunbeams on early morning leaves of grass.
So, enjoy your kids this summer. Let them show you things. Make
fairy houses. Look those little teachers straight in the eyes and
smile when they remind you of the forgotten art of play. Remember to
love, laugh, live and learn. And don't despair if the dishes don't get
done. As Pablo Picasso once told his friends: "It takes a long
time to become young."
Dawn Baumann Brunke is
the editor of Alaska Wellness and author of Animal Voices:
Telepathic Communication in the Web of Life and Awakening
to Animal Voices: A Teen Guide to Telepathic Communication with All Life.
See www.animalvoices.net
for more.
|
Making
Time Work for You
by Elana Schondorf
| We have
the power to change the way we perceive the passage of time. |
We generally think of the passage of time as an objective
measurement, something that is experienced identically among various
individuals. Culturally speaking, however, we know that this is not
the case. There are parts of the world that are known for functioning
at a faster or slower pace than others.
For example, "a New York minute" conjurs the sense of a
place where time is of the essence. People move, act and speak
quickly. It is a fast-paced world where multi-mullion dollar business
deals can happen inside minutes and people's fates are decided in
elevators or taxicabs. This is very different from the way people
perceive time in the Southern portions of the United States. The sense
of urgency and the need to act immediately and often, impulsively,
simply is not present. Southerners tend to be more relaxed and laid
back.
Some cultures have very defined parameters of what time represents
and how people respond to time. For example, Germans are noted for
their exactness and punctuality. 4:00 p.m. means precisely that - not
4:17 or 4:32. On the other hand, Latin Americans have a more relaxed
view of time. In that part of the world, the concept of
"now" includes a much larger window, and a person may not be
considered late even though a task is completed hours after the
agreed-upon time. A Latin American expression translates to "If
not today, tomorrow." We see, then, that the experience of the
passage of time is quite subjective.
Still, we know that there is a pre-determined amount of objective
time that passes. There are 60 seconds in a minute, 24 hours in a day
and 365 days in a year. Yet, we can and do experience time
differently. It seems to change, depending on the situation, context
and company that we keep. Usually, we associate "slow time"
with unpleasant experiences, such as sitting in traffic or in the
dentist's chair. Time seems to stand still and we may look at our
watch several times, only to discover that just three minutes have
passed. On the other hand, when an activity is enjoyable, time seems
to fly by without our even realizing it. This usually happens when we
are involved in a good book, an exciting sporting event or a lively
party.
The Power To Change Time
It is exciting to know that we have the power to change the way we
perceive the passage of time. We can speed up dragging time and can
slow down the fun time so we can savor the experience. We can move
easily into "slow time" and "fast time."
Imagine for a moment that time is moving very quickly, similar to
fast-forwarding a movie. By doing so, uncomfortable times can seem to
speed by. Conversely, by slowing down time, we can make the most of
the enjoyable times. Since I have learned to do this, weekends and
vacations seem longer. How many of us awaken in the morning and
predictably ask for "just five more minutes"? With this
technique, those five minutes feel like a half hour. As a result, I
wake up feeling refreshed and ready to take on my day. I get a secret
thrill, feeling that I have cheated time and won!
Furthermore, we can even change our time on the inside versus time
on the outside. Athletes frequently talk about being "in the
zone." This is their place of peak performance. When Michael
Jordan comments on his athletic prowess, he speaks about his
experience on the court and describes the other players as if they are
moving at half their normal speed. Since all of the other players are
moving so slowly (at least within Jordan's reality), the pressure is
off. With all those slow-moving players, he no longer feels rushed and
can take all the time he needs to mentally prepare, aim, shoot and
score. Yet, his reflexes and concentration remain sharp and agile.
From an NLP perspective, he has created "slow time" on the
outside and "fast time" on the inside.
When I conduct a workshop or seminar, I find that it works best for
me when I do "slow time" on the inside and "fast
time" on the outside. Every public speaker's nightmare is to
stand in front of a crowded room and feel like time is standing still.
When I teach, I want my class to seem to me like it is moving along at
a good pace, where one concept flows easily and effortlessly into the
next. Yet, my thought process isn't rushed or pressured by time
restraints. By going into "slow time" on the inside, it is
as though I have all the time I need to construct my thoughts and
explain the topic at hand with as much detail as necessary.
Viewing Your Timeline
Another way to conceptualize time is to see where we imagine the
past, present and future on our inner timeline. If you were to close
your eyes, where around your head would you find past events? Are they
to your left, right, or perhaps, behind you? Where is your present in
relation to your past? Where does your future fit in?
There are two common forms of timelines, or subjective
conceptualizations of time. The person who visualizes their timeline
with the past off to one side, the present straight in front of them
and the future to the opposite side of the past, are known as
"through time" people. Whether the past is to the left and
the future is to the right, or the directions are reversed seems to
bear little consequence. The point is that their timelines never touch
them. They can literally see through time by having access to their
past, present and future simultaneously. As a result of this panoramic
view, these individuals are less likely to repeat their mistakes
because their past is in their peripheral vision. They see those old
mistakes and tend to choose a different course of action.
There are others who see their past as behind them. Their present
is in front of them and the future is behind the present. These people
are referred to as "in-time" people. They are right in the
middle of their own timeline. They are preoccupied with the present,
since it consumes their field of vision - as the adage says, "out
of sight; out of mind." These people do not have access to their
past or their future while looking at their present. Both past and
future are temporarily hidden from view. These individuals tend to
live in the moment because that is what they see.
Like anything else, both constructs have advantages and
limitations. The "through time" person is likely to be
organized, but at the same time, may be haunted by their past, which
is in front of them always. The "in-time" person may be in
the moment, but may also be somewhat impulsive, since all they see is
the present. We may be a combination of these two constructs at
different times. There are those that may be "through-time"
at work and are "in-time" during recreation hours. Perhaps
we want to be "through time" with close friends with whom we
share a past. On the other hand, we may want to put some memories and
people in the past where they can no longer hurt us. We can literally
put the past behind us to preserve our self-esteem.
Time is far from constant; it is variable from person to person and
even within the same person under differing circumstance. Time is of
the essence, so make it work for you!
Elana Schondorf, CSW is a social worker, hypnotherapist and NLP
trainer. She will be in the Anchorage area conducting a Basic
Practitioner Training in NLP. Contact: (888) 244-8746 or e-mail: 9604zz.dfa.state.ny.us
|
The
Nature of Time
by Arpana Greenwood
| Time is
a hallucination. It is a byproduct of the way we code our
thoughts. |
Two people taking the same airplane
trip can have very different experiences. One might report that time
flew by while the other felt that it took ages. In the moment of an
accident, time slows down and seconds may seem like minutes, though
while getting a tooth pulled, time may seem to go on forever.
Remember when your grandmother took an hour to cook a meal? Now you
go crazy waiting for a microwave dish to finish cooking. For a child,
a month is a very long time and birthdays seem far apart. As we age,
birthdays seem to come sooner. Time can be experienced in such
astoundingly different ways that we might wonder: What is the reality
about the phenomenon of time?
Depending on our perception, some experiences seem to take much too
long while others seem too short. Richard Bandler, the co-originator
of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, found that this perception of time
has profound effects on our emotional states. In a number of studies,
Bandler found that the experience of depression goes along with an
unconscious focus of attention on negative past experiences. These are
represented with a distortion of time, most often experienced like a
slow motion movie. In an experiment, clients were directed to “speed
up” those inner pictures. Curiously, they reported one common
result: during the speeding-up process they did not experience the
feelings of depression. On the other hand, Bandler observed that an
individual experiencing a “psychotic fit” goes through
excruciating pain for about half a day. The individual comes out of
the experience feeling completely exhausted, but thinking the episode
was only about an hour in duration. When the internal movies were
slowed down in these cases, most of the symptoms of a psychotic fit
did not occur. The symptoms were found to be part of a speed
distortion.
The ways we think and speak about time assume that it is something
outside of us. We externalize time by verbalization, suggesting that
there is something different than the present moment. Time becomes
something one can organize, manage, control and quantify. Thus, the
resulting language: "Where did the time go?” “I am wasting
time.” “Time disappears.” “Let me save some time.” “What a
long day."
A big portion of being unhappy or not reaching what we want has to
do with the ways the brain distorts time. People who experience stress
or unhappiness seem to codify time and speed in fixed and limited
ways. Time is a hallucination. It is a byproduct of the way we code
our thoughts.
How does our brain produce these hallucinations and time codes? How
can we use the same process of distortion to prolong what we wish to
enjoy more and shorten what we don't need to dwell on?
Distorting time intentionally
Milton Erickson, the father of hypnosis, successfully applied
"The Milton Diet" for weight loss. Leading the client into a
trance, Erickson instructed the unconscious mind to use eating
utensils in an extended slow motion fashion. For example, it would
take several hours for the client to eat soup for whenever she touched
her spoon, the suggested time distortion kicked in. The client lost
all the weight she wanted.
I had a client who couldn't motivate herself to go to work but was
determined to do so. She had already used motivation strategies, such
as transforming her procrastination behavior. She said she would feel
motivated but still wasn't able to act it out at work. When she was at
her desk she thought of her kids, looked around and dreamed, then got
up to make some coffee.
I asked her: "What happens in terms of time? It seems like you
have a lot of time." She said it wouldn't take her long to
organize the file folders. It would also not take her long to make
required phone calls or write letters.
This woman thought of time in pieces: there was a time for calling,
a time of organizing the desk, etc. Focusing on the time of one task,
however, makes work longer and takes more effort. After we discovered
exactly how her mind represented time increments, I taught her how to
think of time in a more workable way.
I had her picture the whole day as one chunk rather than many small
and stacked pieces. Then she practiced to see her successful end
result and link that back to the present. Going back to her work
situation, she not only felt happier and more motivated but finally
could complete her tasks. In one hour, this life issue was
transformed!
What happens inside when we procrastinate or experience stress and
anxiety? Our mind usually formulates two or more pictures of different
time increments within the same space -- maybe on top of each other,
stacked behind one another or lined up. Sometimes these images
collapse or merge. The unconscious message to the brain is: All of
these past and future events or tasks happen simultaneously. Of
course, this creates a feeling of tension and being overwhelmed.
How can I consciously create a resourceful time program?
Try this time practice: Think about what is stressing you or what
you want. (This might include getting housework done, completing a
degree, overcoming a challenge, finishing a project, etc.). Project
vivid pictures, voices and sensations into the future about achieving
your outcome successfully. As you experience this with all of your
senses there in the future, connect with your purpose. Then connect
with the present moment. Realize all the time you do have between now
and that future moment and start your next activity.
The purpose of working with the ways your brain codes time is to
become more efficient and gain time for what you really want. A major
focus is to become more flexible and access a variety of programs so
you are freer and in control of your experiences and your life. And
last but not least, it all prepares and leads back to the ability to
be and stay in the moment.
Training your perception and thinking is just like working out at
the gym; it takes time and practice. New neuro-pathways need building.
Be patient and ask for assistance.
Arpana Greenwood
(German ND, Trainer from the Society of NLP) offers 1 to
32-day certified trainings in Neuro-Linguistic Programming and
Hypnotherapy
and individual consultations. Contact: 1-888-846-4251 or 455-7588;
www.conscioussolutions.com;
arpana@conscioussolutions.com
|
|
