News & Views

No, that's not a beautiful piece of music or thoughts about an insignificant island in the mid-Pacific.  It's a mediation created by Mark Robert Waldman and Andrew Newberg that studies have shown increase the health and agility of the anterior cingulate, a little part of the brain that acts as a train switch for our thought processes. When it's working well, it heads us out toward the frontal lobes where we can apply logical reasoning to our actions.  The results of that kind of thinking pull us away from reactive, aggression-style problem-solving and move us toward compassion and understanding.

So the anterior cingulate is a significant part of our brain and one that has helped in our evolution toward becoming a more compassionate species.  The interesting thing is that it is one of the more recent developments in our brain and one we don't want to lose.  Religious practices like Gregorian chant and praying with the rosary all helped stimulate the activity and development of the anterior cingulate, so even if we move away from some of the ritual acts of traditional Christianity, it is important that we find ways to keep our brains evolving and not let them get too lazy - especially around the anterior cingulate.

Here is the mediation that Newberg and Waldman have created.  Results of studies show that within 8 weeks of daily practice, noticeable improvement in memory tests are reported.  An added bonus for "practicing compassion"!

 Sit comfortably.   Pay attention to your breathing.  Focus on breathing in and out, perhaps counting to four on the way in and five on the way out.  Focus on your breathing for two minutes (yes, I forgot to mention this in the morning's service!)

Sing four syllables, sa, ta, na, ma,  using a simple tune that places each syllable on a different note.  I use the first four notes of Mary Had a Little Lamb because they are easy to remember.  As you sing each syllable, touch one of your fingers on each hand to your thumb on the same hand, moving through the four fingers on each hand as you sing the four syllables. Do this for two minutes.

 Whisper the syllables while continuing to touch your fingers to your thumbs. Do this for two minutes.

Say the syllables only in your mind as you continue touching your fingers to your thumbs.

Whisper the syllables and touch your fingers to your thumbs - again for two minutes.

Sing the syllables while touching your fingers to your thumbs. This is the last two minutes.  The total is 12 minutes each day. Not much of an investment for an incredible pay off!

The results will start happening immediately but you might not notice them for awhile.  If you want to mix the meditation up, do ahead.  The key elements are breathing, focusing on words or syllables, singing, touching.  Whatever way you'd like to mix them up is up to you.  My mom started out using the words hope, love, joy, peace instead of the syllables.  Make it yours and here's to a kinder, gentler planet through the strengthening of our anterior cingulates!

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" Seeking a healthy balance between self-care and care for others, we share time, energy, talents, wisdom, knowledge, skills, material goods, and our presence with one another in order that we may inspire, encourage, delight, comfort, and help one another."

In this section, we talk specifically of the balance between self-care and care for others. Where does that line get drawn for you and are you comfortable with where it is? Is there somewhere that it might be more healthy for you or helpful for others? If so, are there things you would consider doing in order to move the line closer to where you'd like it to be. 

 

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There was some good initial discussion yesterday around unpacking the statement "Everything happens for a reason" and its implications.  Anything to add?  What does that statement mean to you?  Is it positive? Does it give you hope? Or does it infuriate you?

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While in Brisbane, I was honoured to give the homily and preside at the Eucharist at St. Mary's in Exile with rebel priest, Peter Kennedy.  Here, Peter Kirkwood of Eureka Street, posts his interview with Kennedy and a reflection on his first year outside the embrace of the Catholic church.

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Over the past six weeks there has been a great deal of discussion about our Food Awareness Initiative. Earlier in the year you might have read several articles in the SaltShaker, perhaps you saw the brochure that was distributed at church last month, you may even have participated in the Q&A session following a Sunday morning service. All of these have prompted feedback. We wanted you to know that the board appreciates your input and takes it seriously. We've met several times to reflect on what we have heard. Time is a precious commodity. All of the board members are volunteers and finding time to engage in these types of discussions is never easy.  However we are committed to finding the direction that best reflects the values and the needs of this congregation. So, please stay engaged in this dialogue as we attempt to find this path.

Offered in love,

Moira French, on behalf of the Board

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Thank you to Carolyn Cook for passing on some info about an important free event:

Faith in Action: A Dialogue with Your City
Opportunities for Creating More Affordable Housing

Hosted by the Multifaith Alliance to End Homelessness, the evening consists of a Keynote address by Councillor Joe Mihevc, a panel discussion, and discussion groups. Participants will have an opportunity to voice their ideas: faith communities have historically played a critical role in addressing social issues such as homelessness and housing affordability. Each table will have a facilitator to prompt discussion on ideas to be considered by faith communities for development of affordable housing.

When: Thursday April 8th, 2010 | 5:45 pm to 9:00 pm
Where: City Hall, Members Lounge | 100 Queen Street W., Toronto

To register for the event, click here. For more information, visit the MATEH website or see Carolyn Cook.

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World attention has been focused for some time on the Bilin community in the West Bank whose farmland was being walled off from them by the building of what they have called the "racial segregation wall" but that Israel calls a "security fence".  Ordered to redraw the line by the courts, the Israeli government has yet to do so.  Now, attention is increasing and fast as those opposed to the wall, Palestinians, Israelis, and others, have been painting themselves blue and drawing references to their plight from the blockbuster hit Avatar.

Read more Na'vi and Goliath

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After claiming that the absence, in the publication of the new study guide for immigrants, of reference to Canadian equality rights as they pertain to gays and lesbians was the result of an oversight , homophobic Immigration minister, Jason Kenney, is found to have personally wielded the red marker that struck sections on gay equality and marriage from early drafts.

More from The Globe and Mail

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Alerted to the Government's failure to pass Bill C-291 which would have led to the creation of a Refugee Appeal Division, I sent the following email to my MP, Dan McTeague (who voted in favour) with copies to Judy Sgro, Joe Volpe, and the Speaker of the House, Peter Milliken.  The Bill had reached its third and final reading in the house and, at the conclusion of the vote, the Speaker voted against it to break a tie.  Apparently, this is only the 12th time a speaker has had to break a tie in parliamentary history.

Please feel free to copy any portions of this text and forward a letter to your own MP about this deeply disappointing action on the part of those who had expressed support for this important bill.

Hi Dan,

I was absolutely stunned to read this morning that two liberals who were in the House yesterday, Judy Sgro and Joe Volpe, abstained from voting on the RAD Bill C-291 thereby allowing it to be defeated on its third reading.  It is unconscionable that the Government of Canada continues to deny refugees access to an appeal process, the absence of which has undoubtedly cost lives. I thought your party was aware of that and were taking action to ensure that the injustice was eradicated.  I am deeply saddened to see that it meant little to these politicians.

Mr. Milliken, as Speaker, may have taken the opportunity to vote according to conscience and not fashion, the rarity with which the Speaker must cast a vote serving to underscore the feebleness of the position he chose to take. Indeed, his words, "In this case", made very clear his recognition that he was making a choice rather than leaning on tradition.

Does the fact that this vote took place in a House reeling with accusations
of detainees being handed over to torture in Afghanistan not make it even
more incredible that it is now, willfully, refusing to offer asylum to thousands of others whose claims are denied by a single, overworked, bureaucrat and who have no optoin for appeal?  Should we not consider those who voted against or who abstained from this vote complicit in every "disappearance", torture, or death that happens to someone turned
away by our inadequate refugee process?  Are we not returning them to the exact fate we so loudly protest?  Where were Sgro's and Volpe's voices in this challenge?  Why did Sgro, Volpe remain silent? Why did Milliken choose not to exercise his right with conscience?

That the Speaker paused before the conclusion of the vote to offer holiday wishes is simply unbelievable.  I recognize the desire for merriment at this time of the year; however, that the Speaker's wishes were bracketed with a grave injustice is a symbolism that can't be overlooked.  Is nothing that happens in the world -- blight, death, rape, child labour, destruction of habitat, infant mortality, commodification of resources, the return of innocent men, women, and children to torture and potentially death --is none of this is more than an insignificant blip in the midst of which we must remember to keep ourselves merry?  Perhaps Sgro and Volpe were making their Christmas lists up instead of paying attention to the House' proceedings. 
 
I cannot express the depth of my dismay and horror at the indifference Sgro, Volpe, and the Speaker showed to the lives of so many who are at risk, and with the Speaker's particularly insensitive timing.  I am simply shocked and appalled.

 gretta

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This amazing buyers guide will help you determine whether the companies you support also support the people you support.  Put together by the Human Rights Campaign foundation in the States, an organization working toward achieving and maintaining rights for LGBTQ people across some of the most homophobic regions in North America, the guide indicates that despite tragic choices on the part of state legislatures, a very positive response to equality has been seen throughout the business sector.  But it's interesting to know that BestBuy scores 100% on the Corporate Equality Index whereas RadioShack only scores 40%.  Or that Dell is another shining example of support for the LGBTQ community, but Acer slumps way back at 58% on the CEI.

Take a look at the Buyer's Guide and make your choices as positive as possible.

The Human Rights Campaign Buyers Guide for 2010

Here's the criteria used to make the assessements, HRC's Corporate Equality Index

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