"Urban residents usually have higher educational levels" ??

"Urban residents usually have higher educational levels" ??
in "Transitions in World Population" by Population Reference Bureau of US

Formal higher education, yes. But I disagree in what concerns education in a broad sense.

The migration from rural to urban areas dismembers community and therefore cultural references are lost from one generation to the next. I have seen this in various countries where I have travelled and lived, such as Portugal, India and Ecuador.

Talking about the majority of population and not about minorities, people from the countryside are more structured with a stronger set of values. If they give you their word you can trust them, while in urban areas people tend not to be so trustworthy.
In the cities many have lost their cultural references and most of adult education is given by a very low educational mass media - TV, where most watched channels do not educate at all and only entertain with a very low set of values and violence.

If TV has such an important role in many people's lives shouldnt it be an educational media? Otherwise the violence and wrong values you see on TV will be what you will see on society later on.

So if governments are so thoughtful in what concerns policies to control birth rates, shouldnt they be as thoughtful when it comes to educate their populations? I am not talking about lack of freedom (although many governments already control several mass media) but option of quality educational TV and cutting down on violence the same way as you cut down on pornography.

A brief synopsis of the Dalai Lama talk at the royal Albert hall today.

This planet is our only home. If u exploit limitlessly, you harm yourself.
Too much short term thinking.
Profit. Very rich. Very unhappy.
Famous stars depending on drugs alcohol for happiness.
Desire greed anger attachment all increasing.
Environment destruction.
Economic crash.
Outwardly smart but inside not.
Must Develop inner values
Person, family, community, world.
Education system very materially oriented. We must focus more on ethics...based on secularism and not a particular religion...holistic education for national and global level.
Must focus on whole heartedness not just brain.
We must pay more attention to developing our inner values morals.
Nurture the positive thoughts.
Young people, this is ur century. Your responsibility to make changes.
All his life since 1935 he witness war and bloodshed.
Last century was of bloodshed. This century should be of dialog so only limited weapons and force needed. No longer need military forces.
Today we must respect all regions and non believers.
But don't develop attachment to religions like fundamentalists.
Only healthy body when u have healthy mind, otherwise disease comes.
Inner well being key to healthy long lasting relationship.
Female more potential for being love and kindness due to their heightened sensitivity.
Female should take the lead in promoting love and kindness at home and outside.
To reduce anger focus on the positive.
When angry at object person, reality is 90% of negativity is projected from person. It is not actually the situation.
More concern more seriousness equals more nervousness. Better for ur well being to be more spontaneous.
Focus on service to others, not harm to others. If u have no opp to serve others, then at least do no harm.
Being honest and truthful brings inner strength.
Harming other brings negative, serving other brings positive.
We must our intelligence more wisely. We have a fortunate birth. Use it wisely. And Practice love and compassion. Key for happy life.

Yoga and Politics

I have the urge to talk about politics, about the present situation that we are living in Portugal and I question myself - what does Yoga got to do with politics?

Simple. The path of Yoga is a path on the search for truth, compassion and unity.

Yoga should permeate all aspects of your life, as it is a way of living, much broader than a physical activity.

And you cannot close your eyes when it is clear that politicians tell one thing today in Portugal and another thing tomorrow in the European Union quarters. You cannot ignore when decisions are made behind closed doors, in Portugal and in the European Union, serving the interests of a few major companies with thirst for power and profit without regarding the most basic values of life, like food sovereignty.

On the Portuguese political scenario, I advise you to see the speech of the Leader of the Portuguese Bar Association (Lawyers Official Association) who says "Corruption has spread to all levels of the Portuguese State"

I could only find it in Portuguese, but it would be very important to have an English version.

On the European Union behind doors, I advise you to get informed about the issue of Patents on Animals and Plants.

On the 18th April the European Union intends to approve an European Directive on creating a monopoly of seeds for agriculture - so that the only allowed seeds will be the ones sold by a small number of companies. This Directive puts our biodiversity at stake and the farmers on the hands of these companies.

Why Equality is Better for Everyone

When I read a good book and find in it ideas that should be spread I just cant help it but to share the information.

The book The Spirit Level – Why Equality is Better for Everyone, by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, takes a wide range of social studies in order to assess inequality and its implications in modern societies across the globe.


Am I looking stupid?

“By the standards of any previous society, we have become highly self-conscious, obsessed with how we appear to others, worried that we might come across as unattractive, boring, stupid or whatever, and constantly trying to manage the impressions we make. And the core of our interactions with strangers is our concern at the social judgments and evaluations they might make: how do they rate us, did we give a good account of ourselves? This vulnerability is part of the modern psychological condition and feeds directly into consumerism.” We then buy goods that will make a good impression on others.

INEQUALITY INCREASES EVALUATION ANXIETIES

“Instead of accepting each other as equals on the basis of our common humanity as we might in more equal settings, getting the measure of each other becomes more important as status differences widen. We come to see social position as a more important feature of a person´s identity.”
(...) Surveys have found that when choosing a prospective marriage partners, people in more unequal countries put less emphasis on romantic considerations and more on criteria such as financial prospects, status and ambition, than do people is less unequal societies.”

3 DAYS on a TRAIN in INDIA

Where is the love?

...
Black Eyed Peas have more meaningful songs than the World Cup one.
Here are the lyrics for my favourite one, pointed out to me by my Yoga teacher.

Where Is The Love?

What's wrong with the world, mama
People livin' like they ain't got no mamas
I think the whole world addicted to the drama
Only attracted to things that'll bring you trauma
Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism
But we still got terrorists here livin'
In the USA, the big CIA
The Bloods and The Crips and the KKK
But if you only have love for your own race
Then you only leave space to discriminate
And to discriminate only generates hate
And when you hate then you're bound to get irate, yeah
Madness is what you demonstrate
And that's exactly how anger works and operates
Man, you gotta have love just to set it straight
Take control of your mind and meditate
Let your soul gravitate to the love, y'all, y'all

People killin', people dyin'
Children hurt and you hear them cryin'
Can you practice what you preach
And would you turn the other cheek

Father, Father, Father help us
Send some guidance from above
'Cause people got me, got me questionin'
Where is the love (Love)

It just ain't the same, always unchanged
New days are strange, is the world insane
If love and peace is so strong
Why are there pieces of love that don't belong
Nations droppin' bombs
Chemical gasses fillin' lungs of little ones
With ongoin' sufferin' as the youth die young
So ask yourself is the lovin' really gone
So I could ask myself really what is goin' wrong
In this world that we livin' in people keep on givin'in
Makin' wrong decisions, only visions of them dividends
Not respectin' each other, deny thy brother
A war is goin' on but the reason's undercover
The truth is kept secret, it's swept under the rug
If you never know truth then you never know love
Where's the love, y'all, come on (I don't know)
Where's the love, y'all

I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder
As I'm gettin' older, y'all, people gets colder
Most of us only care about money makin'
Selfishness got us followin' our wrong direction
Wrong information always shown by the media
Negative images is the main criteria
Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria
Kids wanna act like what they see in the cinema
Yo', whatever happened to the values of humanity
Whatever happened to the fairness in equality
Instead of spreading love we're spreading animosity
Lack of understanding, leading lives away from unity
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' under
Gotta keep my faith alive till love is found
Now ask yourself

Where is the love?

Father, Father, Father help us
Send some guidance from above
'Cause people got me, got me questionin'
Where is the love?

Sing wit me y'all:
One world, one world (We only got)

We only got
(One world, one world)
...

The Actions belong to you, the results dont

...

A good training is trying to look at reality from an objective point of view, putting the conditioning aside.

Think carefully ... when you act ... the actions belong to you,
but once they are launch to the universe, there are so many people
and happenings that may influence the output of your actions,
that you may not call them yours any longer.

Some people work hard for a specific result, some others are lucky
and things just happen to them.

Should the first person think "I am no good" and the second person
think he is the king of the universe?

I dont think so, and that is also what old texts on yoga teach you.

Do not get attached to the results of your actions as they do not belong to you.

These thoughts are quite freeing, as you start paying close attention to your actions but then release them to the universe, as you cannot predict the result, when there are so many conditionings and influences out there.
...

WORLD HUNGER

...
Biotechnology proponents have argued repeatedly that GM seeds are crucial to feed the world, using the same flawed reasoning that was advanced for decades by the proponents of the Green Revolution. Conventional food production, they maintain, will not keep pace with the growing world population. Monsanto's ads proclaimed in 1998: “Worrying about starving future generations won't feed them. Food biotechnology will.” As agroecologists Miguel Altieri and Peter Rosset point out, this argument is based on two erroneous assumptions. The first is that world hunger is caused by a global shortage of food; the second is that genetic engineering is the only way to increase food production.
In their classic study, World Hunger: Twelve Myths, development specialists Frances Moore Lappé and her colleagues at the Institute for Food and Development Policy gave a detailed account of world food production that surprised many readers. They showed that abundance, not scarcity, best describes the food supply in today's world. During the past three decades, increases in global food production have outstripped world population growth per 16 per cent.
The root causes of hunger around the world are unrelated to food production. They are poverty, inequality and lack access to food and land. People go hungry because the means to produce and distribute food are controlled by the rich and powerful: world hunger is not a technical but a political problem.

in “The Hidden Connections”, by Fritjof Capra
...

OUR HEALTH

...
depends upon the purity of the air we breathe and the water we drink, and it depends on the health of the soil from which our food is produced.

In the coming decades the survival of the humanity will depend on our ecological literacy – our ability to understand the basic principles of ecology and to live accordingly.

www.ecoliteracy.org

in “The Hidden Connections”, by Fritjof Capra
...

SUSTAINABILITY

...
Humankind has the ability to achieve sustainable development
– THAT IS ... to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

in “The Hidden Connections”, by Fritjof Capra
...

Act consciously

...
... stop reacting
...

Yoga Retreat with Pedro Kupfer

...


It was a pleasure to hear the teachings of Pedro Kupfer, or should I say - the teachings of yoga, through him. As my teacher Shan Anand, Pedro Kupfer takes his studies and practice seriously, without making up new, ego centered, asanas or philosophies.

These teachers see and understand how deep and rich the teachings of the Vedas, Upanishads and other texts with more than 1.000 years old are. The information of these texts is not packaged in a modern kind of way, where everything must be prepared to be quickly consumed. These texts were written in a time when there was actually time - to think, to study, to observe, to reflect, to approach the subject of the meaning of life.

Today we are running faster and faster, conditioned to react, instead of acting. We need time to stop, to think, to clear our mind about our purpose and goals, only then can we get somewhere. But movements SLOW DOWN are appearing, as we cannot go faster eternally.

Thank you Pedro, thank you Shan, and thank you to all the people in the Portuguese yoga community I have been fortunate to meet.

As Pedro says, this community dedicates itself to yoga with love and the will to share, and not only business oriented. I am pleased to know many yoga teachers that even making a very small profit, work hard in order to take yoga to many around them.

For last, I would like to thank Pedro Kupfer and the YogaPro team for making a great deal of quality resources on yoga available to everyone, in http://www.yoga.pro.br (in portuguese only)

BE SANE, BE STRONG, BE FREE

Gil Scott-Heron

Its just what I want to say, in a world where there is thousands or millions of people hooked on legal drugs, going crazy, loosing their sanity, loosing their happiness, being kept alive by doctors who prescribe with no sense whatsoever.

Just Today sitting on a bus from Coimbra ... got talking with a lady ... grandmother already, sad person, started talking about all her problems and illnesses and showing me the pills she was taking. We kept on talking and she does realize she is hooked and these drugs are no better than the illegal drugs. So few moments of happiness followed by anxieties and feelings of depression. And we kept on talking ... telling her stories of people who made it ... and that it is possible, if you believe in it, if you take your life in your hands.

People do want to deliver themselves to whomever they want to trust and they deposit ones' life into a doctor's hands.

From close relationships with several people I have come to understand that these pills never cure you, they just shut you down.

WAKE UP! YOU GOT A LIFE TO LIVE!

There are always two sides to things and never an absolute reality. You create your own reality. Take life in your hands. Take full responsibility for your happiness. And believe ...

SO PUT YOUR ATTENTION ON THE POSITIVE SIDE OF THINGS.

Take this lady on the bus, a wonderful husband that supports her, several children and grandchildren that she loves, nevertheless she highlights only problems. She cant put her attention to the huge positive side of her life. And by selecting only the negative aspects of her life she creates a life of misery and depression to herself.

NOBODY EVER SAID IT WOULD BE EASY.

Every single day we are building our reality, making choices ... and the more you are conscious of this process, of the possibility of creating your own life ... then the more you take life in your hands and make happiness happen.

Have you ever question yourself why do some people ... that have so many problems can still laugh, while others with such an easy life keep on mourning? Well thats just because some people see the positive side of life, while others dont.

Your mind is an amazing and a complicated thing. STOP! OBSERVE YOURSELF! PUT YOUR ATTENTION ON THE USEFUL THOUGHTS, on those thoughts that have the potential to sustain a healthy and enduring happiness. Of course there will always be hard times, there will always be sad times, but do not get hooked on them, and mainly ... do not get hooked on drugs, being them legal or illegal.

BE SANE, BE STRONG, BE FREE

No Fear

...



...

Trust the Silence

...




...

On the Psychology of Meditation

by Claudio Naranjo & Robert Ornstein

"We can consider he process of meditation as similar to that of taking a vacation - leaving the situation, "turning off" our routine way of dealing with the external world for a period, later returning to find it "fresh", "new", "different", our awareness "deautomatized"."
...

Viveka 2009

with Miguel Homem, Simão Monteiro and Bruno Teixeira






What a Yoga Retreat :)

It was a wonderful time to practice asanas, sing mantras, meditate, contemplate the beautiful nature around and talk about the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and the Bhagvada Gita. For me it was a time to get inspired and try new things for my yoga classes, as well as enhancing my morning practice.

For whomever practices and/or teaches yoga these moments are valuable to learn new things, to explore oneself and exchange ideas and experiences with others, and to realize once and once again how broad and rich are the teachings of yoga.
...

Meditation

Meditation is concerned with the development of a presence, a modality of being, which may be expressed or developed in whatever situation the individual may be involved.

This presence or mode of being transforms whatever it touches. If its medium is movement, it will turn into dance; if stillness, into living sculpture; if thinking, into the higher reaches of intuition; if sensing, into a merging with the miracle of being; if feeling, into love.

in On the Psychology of Meditation, by Claudio Naranjo & Robert Ornstein
...

From Having to Well-Being

The first condition to overcome one´s selfishness lies in the capacity of being aware of it. (...) The second step to take is gaining an awareness of the roots of the having orientation, such as one´s sense of powerlessness, one´s fear of life, one´s fear of the uncertain, one´s distrust of people, and the many other subtle roots that have grown together so thickly.
Awareness of these roots is not sufficient condition, either. It must be accompanied by changes in practice, first of all by loosening the grip that selfishness has over one by beginning to let go. One must give up something, share, and go through the anxiety that these first little steps engender. One will discover, then, the fear of losing oneself that develops if one contemplates losing things, which function has props for one's sense of self. This implies not only giving up some possessions, but, even more important, habits, accustomed thoughts, identification with one's status, even phrases one is accustomed to hold on to, as well as the image that others may have of oneself (or that one hopes they have and tries to produce); in brief, if one tries to change routinized behaviour in all spheres of life from breakfast routine to sex routine. In the process of trying to do so, anxieties are mobilized, and by not yielding to them confidence grows that the seemingly impossible can be done - and adventurousness grows. This process must be accompanied by attempting to go out of oneself and to turn to others.
(...)
To sum up: Awareness, will, practice, tolerance of fear and of new experience, they are all necessary if transformation of the individual is to succeed. At a certain point the energy and direction of inner forces have changed to the point where an individual's sense of identity has changed, too. In the property mode of existence the motto is : "I am what I have." After the breakthrough it is "I am what I do" (in the sense of unalienated activity; or simply "I am what I am".

in The Art of Being by Erich Fromm

To Concentrate

People think that concentrating is too strenuous an activity and that they would get tired quickly. In fact the opposite is true, as anyone can observe in oneself. Lack of concentration makes one tired, while concentration wakes one up. There is no mystery in this. In unconcentrated activity no energy is mobilized, since a low level of energy is sufficient to do the task. Mobilization of energy, which has a psychic as well as a physiological aspect, has the effect of making one feel alive.

in Art of Being by Erich Fromm