Suicide and Other Permanent Solutions to Temporary Problems

 Articles, Newspaper Column  No Responses »
Jul 112012
 

Today, I’m taking up the subject of permanent solutions to temporary problems.  Most of us have known someone who committed suicide.  It is a terrible thing to feel such profound despair and hopelessness, or perhaps anger and helplessness, that permanently removing yourself from this world seems to be the best option.

With very, very rare exceptions, there is always hope. It is not useful to “burn down the barn to get rid of the mice.” The one thing that never changes is that everything always changes. Great suffering now is very, very unlikely to not allow for great satisfaction later. A crying child is usually comforted. A squeaking door usually gets oiled.  Every soul has the capacity to love and the potential to be loved.

I recently developed shingles and experienced considerable temporary pain. I have an aunt who, according to those who were with her, lay for weeks with shingles and actually begged her friends to kill her. I had to cut off the beard that I had thought defined my face. My aunt simply had to suffer. She eventually recovered and lived for years as a joyful and beloved inspiration and support in many ways to family, friends, and neighbors. Things change. There is always hope. Life triumphs.

Our life, like our world, is constructed of interacting dynamic processes. Things always change. And, can’t you see a disposition in the universe toward ever-increasing complexity and organization? One might think that, because a cold beverage in a hot room will eventually reach an equilibrium temperature, that the universe is destined to eventually reach some static, uneventful state. Yet, somehow it doesn’t seem to work like that. There is some creative organizing force at work.

Some people visualize an infinitely wise and powerful divine intervention responsible for deliberate creation. Some people imagine an original force that unrolled itself into all that is, with all things continuously rolling back toward that perfect oneness. Some people simply see mathematical oddities at work that promote self-organizing systems and evolution. In any case, in the long run, you can have faith that things always tend to get better.

And, you don’t have to just wait for things to get better. Somehow, we are sentient. We are able to imagine possible futures, make plans, gather resources, and work individually and in communities toward desired change. There are very few problems that will not yield to the persistent, faithful, combined efforts of a group that wants to make a difference and is willing to compromise, cooperate, and collaborate. It is always possible to move progressively forward. You can believe in hope. You can believe in change. It is not necessary to choose permanent solutions to temporary problems.

© 2012, David Satterlee

Being True to the Best of What You Are

 Short Stories  No Responses »
Sep 202010
 

Being True to the Best of What You Are: An integral fable of personal development and transformation

A farmer was out walking with a guest, who was a hunter. A beautiful eagle soared gracefully above them, just keeping an eye on things below. Suddenly, without giving any word, the hunter raised his gun, sighted on the bird and shot it dead. It flapped to the ground and landed with a sad “whump.” The hunter walked over to the bird and nudged it with his boot. Yep, it was very dead. The farmer didn’t say anything. He didn’t approve but the hunter was his guest and killing animals is what hunters do.

Knowing that the eagle had its nest in a nearby tree, the farmer climbed up, swaying in breeze, reached into the nest and put the two small eagles in the large pockets of his baggy pants. Protecting living things and helping them to grow is what farmers do. When they got back to the house, the farmer put the eagles with his chickens. They learned to eat bugs and seeds and they grew up strutting around the yard just like their chicken brothers.

But, one of the young eagles was not happy. “I’m different,” she told her brother, “I just don’t feel like I belong on the ground walking around pecking at bugs and seeds.” Her brother was quite content, however, and said, “Don’t make trouble. The farmer is good to us chickens. He throws us enough corn that we don’t starve and we get to hang out all day with our friends.” The first eagle wasn’t convinced. She pointed out, “I like to stretch my wings and feel the breeze. I can see clearly the trees on the far hill and I wonder what is there.” Her brother said, “Your eyes are good enough to find bugs. Bugs don’t move fast and they don’t take any trouble to swallow.” His sister replied, “My claws are long and curved; I wish I could wrap them around things instead of just standing in the dirt. My beak is stronger and more curved than my chicken brothers; I think that I am better suited for other work.” Her brother said, “Just relax. Your claws and beak are fine. They scratch deeper and peck harder. Frankly, our lot in life stinks but you and I are big and strong so we can tell the other chickens what to do and push our way to the best eating spots.”

An owl had been listening to the conversation from a nearby tree. He spoke only to the eagle that was ready and said: “I can help you. You are right that you are different. You are an eagle and you are different from your chicken brothers. You are also different from your eagle brother because he is content with his situation while you want to discover the best of what you are.” The eagle replied, “That sounds interesting, but will it be frightening?” The owl laughed, hooted “Of course,” swooped down, grabbed her and soared up into the air. Higher and higher the owl carried her. “You are Eagle; your wings are for soaring; your keen eyes see the smallest movement in the distance; your sharp claws and beak are for the hunt. This is what eagles do.” And with that, the owl let go of the young eagle.

Oh yes, it was frightening. But, the young eagle caught the air with her wings and it propelled her forward; she shifted her tail and discovered control. She screamed an eagle’s scream: not in terror but with the thrill of discovery and the joy of being and doing. Below, all the field mice and rabbits and chickens and even her brother scurried for the shadows. Above, the eagle caught the rising breeze and thought about what had just happened.

Over and over, starting with the struggle to hatch out of her shell, she had had to make changes. There always came a problem that was too important to ignore. Sometimes she had to solve the problem herself and sometimes someone else, like the owl, helped her. It was frightening and frustrating and always uncertain and very hard work, but the change was worth the effort. Like hatching, each solved problem led to a new stage of life and a new understanding. She knew things now that she couldn’t have even guessed at before. She wondered about what change and growth might come next. But one thing was for certain – she was looking forward to it.

Thoughtful questions for students:

(“Before I ask some questions about the story, would you like to hear it again?”)

  • Why wasn’t the unhappy eagle just being a grumpy and complaining chicken?
  • Is being unhappy always bad?
    (If we are unhappy with our present situation, then we may decide to work to make our situation better.)
  • Who can you go to for help with a problem?
  • Why is it frightening to try something new? Is it okay to be worried?
  • Why does it take hard work to make a major change or learn something new?
  • Do you think that the eagle left behind will ever be truly happy as a chicken?
  • What changes do children make as they grow up?
  • Do you think that adults ever stop growing and changing?
    (Yes, some get stuck and stop trying, but life-long-learners have better lives.)

[A similar story is known as “Fly, Eagle, Fly” and is taught in elementary schools as an African Folk Tale. A story like this was told by Patty Grant Long on August 25, 2005 during a workshop–program on “Healing the Soul Wound” (Multi-generational Trauma). Ms. Long is a therapist (alcohol and drug abuse counselor) with Analenisgi, in Cherokee, North Carolina. It is adapted here from memory by David Satterlee.]

Copyright 2005, David Satterlee

Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License, which essentially says that you are free to share the work under the conditions that you attribute it fully, do not use it for commercial purposes, and do not alter it.

Optimism and Hope

 Positive Psychology  No Responses »
Feb 142010
 

Source: “Pursuing Human Strengths” Martin Bolt, Chapter 8

Optimism and Psychological Well-being

Optimism is associated with a positive mood, a higher morale, and psychological health. Optimism helps us to resist distress from a wide range of sources.

Optimism and Physical Well-being

Optimistic people feel better, are healthier, and live longer. They have stronger immune systems recover faster from trauma.

Realistic Optimism

Realistic optimism avoids wishful thinking while maintaining a positive future outlook. Unrealistic optimism underestimates risks and may discourage appropriate preventive actions such as using contraceptives or quitting smoking.

Explanatory Styles and Coping Strategies

Optimists tend to explain problems in terms that are temporary, specific, and external, leading to initiatives to resolve the problem. Pessimists tend to explain problems in terms that are stable, global, and internal, creating a feeling of helplessness.

Charles Holahan and Rudolph Moos identified three coping strategies: active-cognitive strategies affect thoughts, active-behavioral strategies modify situations, and avoidance strategies inhibit awareness.

Psychology of Hope

We are intrinsically goal directed and readily imagine possibilities. Hope reflects both willpower and perceived ability (waypower).

Goals

Strategies for goal setting include clearly establishing desired outcomes in all major areas of life. Bowls should be periodically reviewed, added, and deleted as necessary. Goals should be visualized as vividly in concretely as possible. Goal should be prioritized, with important ones receiving the most attention.

Learning optimism

Reflecting on previous successes reaffirms our potential for future success. We must understand adversity, and create beliefs that have real consequences.

Communal hope

Hope and happiness usually exist within the context of a community. Social support networks increased hope in all manner of situations. Individualism can be damaging to hope. Hopeful goals are best when they seek to serve and benefit others.

Paul Landraitis

 Uncategorized  No Responses »
Dec 062009
 

Source: Integral Institute – Scholars

Source: Integral+Life

image Paul Landraitis discovered Ken Wilber’s work in 1983 and quickly became an ardent student of the Integral approach. He received his M.A. in Buddhist and Western psychology from Naropa University that same year and now has over 20 years experience applying Integral approaches to helping people resolve relationship problems, overcome mental and emotional disorders, live an authentically happy life, and develop their capacity to contribute to the greater common good. He has sought wide-ranging professional experience as a psychotherapist, coach, adult educator, consultant, and mental health researcher in order to deepen his own understanding of human potential and serve people by bringing Integral insight to these tumultuous times.

Landraitis is listed as an Executive Coach at Stagen Leadership Institute

Landraitis is listed as a Consultant at Integral Development Associates

David Kerrigan, PhD, LCSW

 Uncategorized  No Responses »
Dec 032009
 

Source: Integral Institute – Scholars

David Kerrigan, PhD, LCSW, serves as Executive Director of the Center for Spirituality and Integral Social Work at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. He works as a clinical social worker at Adoption/Attachment partners in Northern Virginia, a psychotherapy practice specializing in helping children and their families with attachment problems.

Article PDF: An Introduction to Integral Social Service (2004)

 

   

Edith Friesen

 Authorities  No Responses »
Nov 272009
 

Source: Integral Institute – Scholars

image Edith Friesen is a published author, writing coach, and workshop leader. Edith lives with her husband in Winnipeg, Canada. She has a B.Ed. and an M.A. in Communications Studies and is working on several projects around Integral writing.

 

 

  This digital document is an article from Prairie Garden, published by Manitoba Prairie Garden Committee on January 1, 2006. The length of the article is 709 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
 

[Editing assistance credit to Edith Friesen] Evolving city intelligences mesh, multiply and integrate all city capacities. This book makes courageous placemaking connections, opens up new relationship pathways, brings hope for solving intractable problems and shows how cities are learning. Integral City takes an evolutionary perspective for city resilience.

Chapters explore:
• 4 meta-maps for city wholeness
• Bio-psycho-cultural-social intelligences for city change
• 12 appreciative inquiries for evolutionary direction
• Meshworking strategies for city learning
• Integral Vital Signs Monitors for city wellbeing
• 12 sets of simple rules for complex adaptiveness

Integral City will appeal to anyone interested in creating conditions in which our cities can evolve intelligently beyond the challenges of the 21st century.

Sean Esbjörn-Hargens, PhD

 Authorities  No Responses »
Nov 232009
 

imageSource: Integral Institute – Scholars

Sean Esbjörn-Hargens, PhD,  is an Associate Professor and Program Director of both the Integral Psychology and Integral Theory programs at John F. Kennedy University in Pleasant Hill, California. He is Co-Director of the Integral Ecology Center at Integral Institute and the Executive Editor of Journal of Integral Theory and Practice. Sean is a leading scholar-practitioner in Integral Studies.

Source: Integral+Life Contributors

Sean Esbjörn-Hargens Ph.D. is an associate professor and founding Chair of the Integral Theory Program at John F. Kennedy University in Pleasant Hill, California. He is founding Director of the Integral Research Center, which supports graduate and post-graduate mixed methods research. In addition, he is the founding Executive Editor of the Journal of Integral Theory and Practice. Recently, he co-founded and co-organized the biennial Integral Theory Conference.

Sean is a leading scholar-practitioner in integral theory. He has worked cloesly with Ken Wilber for a decade operationalizing the integral (AQAL) model in multiple contexts. He is a founding member of Integral Institute and currently serves as their Vice President of Applications and Research. He is currently the most published author applying the integral model to a variety of topics: education, sustainable development, ecology, research, intersubjectivity, science and religion, consciousness studies, and play. He has just completed writing a 800-page book with environmental philosopher Michael Zimmerman: Integral Ecology: Uniting Multiple Perspectives on the Natural World. Currently, he is co-editing an anthology on integral education and editing an anthology on integral theory.

Sean Esbjörn-Hargens Ph.D. emerged out of the rocky shores of the Pacific Northwest and harbors a deep and committed passion to the articulation of an Integral Ecology. Having grown up in the crossfire of lumber and salmon industries battling environmental regulation, Sean is acquainted with the many nuances that surround controversial environmental issues that involve the clash of divergent worldviews and perspectives. In particular, Sean is concerned with promoting environmental awareness and exploring the intersection of ecological sustainability, cultural preservation, and spiritual transformation. He has spent much of his adult life as a backpack and sea kayaking guide for an outdoor program serving young adults. Having lived and worked overseas in Asia and Africa for many years Sean brings an important global perspective to his Integral work.

Sean is Co-director and a founding member of the Integral Ecology Center at Integral Institute and has been doing research in environmental philosophy and sustainable development for over a decade. He is currently collaborating on a book with Michael Zimmerman about Integral Ecology. In addition, Sean wears a number of other Integral hats at Integral Institute. He is a Lead Seminar Trainer for Nature as Transformative Path, which presents an Integral approach to nature mysticism through a variety of Integrally designed personal practices. He is Executive Editor of the newly established academic journal AQAL: Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, which began Spring 2006 (www.aqaljournal.org). Sean has served as a consultant to I-I helping to establish partnerships with John F. Kennedy University and Fielding Graduate University who offer accredited certificate and MA programs based on the Integral model.

Sean is also an Associate Professor in the Integral Studies Department and Program Director of Integral Psychology at John F. Kennedy University in Pleasant Hill, California. At JFKU, Sean teaches courses in consciousness, culture, and ecology. JFKU is the only place in the world where an individual can get a residential MA degree from an accredited university that is explicitly based on Ken Wilber’s Integral Model.

Sean lives at Sea Frog Haven—five-acres of redwoods just north of San Francisco with his wife Vipassana and their three cats and dog. Both he and his wife are Tibetan Buddhist (Shangpa Kagyu linage) practitioners and work with A. H. Almaas in the Diamond Approach. In addition, Sean engages an Integral Ecological Practice for personal transformation.

Written work:

Sean is a leading scholar-practitioner in Integral Studies. He is currently the most published author applying the Integral model to a variety of topics. He has published integral explorations on the topics of education, sustainable development, ecology, intersubjectivity, science and religion, consciousness studies, and play. His articles have appeared in academic journals such as the Journal of Consciousness Studies, Journal of Bhutan Studies, World Futures, ReVision, Constructivism in the Human Sciences Journal of Humanistic Psychology, and AQAL. He co-edited Ken Wilber’s recent book The Simple Feeling of Being and has just completed writing a 600 page book with environmental philosopher Michael Zimmerman: Integral Ecology: Uniting Multiple Perspectives on the Natural World.

Sean Esbjörn-Hargens Article at Wikipedia

Media Presentations at Integral+Life

Integral Ecology Uniting Multiple Perspectives on the Natural World

Sean Esbjorn-Hargens and Ken Wilber

 John F. Kennedy University Transforming Lives. Changing the World.

Sean Esbjorn-Hargens

 A Comprehensive Approach to Today’s Planetary Issues An Overview of Integral Ecology

 Sean Esbjorn-Hargens and Michael Zimmerman

 An All-Inclusive Framework for the 21st Century An Overview of Integral Theory

Sean Esbjorn-Hargens

  Today there is a bewildering diversity of views on ecology and the natural environment. With more than a hundred ecological schools of thought and methodologies—and scientists, economists, religious leaders, activists, and others often taking completely different stances on the issues—how can we come to agreement to solve our toughest environmental problems? In response to this pressing need, Integral Ecology unites the valuable insights from multiple perspectives into a comprehensive theoretical framework—one that can be put to use right now. Real-life applications of integral ecology are examined, including work with marine fisheries in Hawaii, strategies of eco-activists to protect Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest, and a study of community development in El Salvador.
   

Publications coming:

Esbjörn-Hargens, S. (Ed.) (in press). Integral Theory in Action: Applied, Theoretical, and Critical Perspectives on the AQAL Model. Albany, NY: SUNY.

Esbjörn-Hargens, S. (in process). Living Integral: Cultivating Multi-dimensional Awareness in Daily Life. New York: Random House/Integral Books.

Esbjörn-Hargens, S. (in process). Integral Theory: An Approach to Everything. New York: Random House/Integral Books.

Esbjörn-Hargens, S. (Ed.) (in process). Humanity’s First Planetary Crisis: Why We Need an Integral Approach to Climate Change.

Find more resources at:

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