Study: Psilocybin, the Drug in ‘Magic Mushrooms,’ Lifts Mood and Increases Compassion Over the Long Term – - TIME Healthland.

via Noel Parmentel – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Compassionate Intention

“Knowing where the root of happiness lies saves us from escalating pain. If someone insults you, for instance, you may long to retaliate, but you know this won’t benefit anyone. Instead, in the very grip of wanting to get even, you can say to yourself, “May the rage that I feel toward this person cause us both to be liberated.”

This is the aspiration of a young bodhisattva, one in the process of learning to let go. Even if we don’t genuinely feel it, we’re able to say, “May this seemingly negative connection be our link to waking up.”

So sad, I thought the 1% ers were not like you and me, and it turns out they’re all around! At least they’re trying to do something.

Some people oppose Columbus Day, claiming his achievements are not worthy of a holiday. The modern-day legend of Christopher Columbus and the discovery of America is due to Washington Irving. His “biography” of Columbus, a dramatic and embellished account, was so popular it became accepted as fact in the English speaking countries. However, in the Spanish speaking countries Columbus’ crossing of the Atlantic is widely accepted as the first contact between the two civilizations (European and native American) and additionally proved that the maritime technology was there to do it frequently. Historically, Columbus was not the first to discover America, nor was he the first European to land in America, though he was the first European to successfully bring European culture to the Americas. There is also controversy surrounding the treatment of the native people of the Americas by Columbus and by Spanish conquistadors.

In recent years, the holiday has been rejected by some people who view it as a celebration of conquest and genocide by the Spaniards. In its place, Indigenous Peoples Day is sometimes celebrated. In the U.S. Virgin Islands, “Puerto Rico-Virgin Islands Friendship Day” is celebrated on the same day as Columbus Day, due to the controversy surrounding the atrocities committed against the indigenous peoples of the present-day Caribbean during the Spanish colonization of the New World. In the state of South Dakota, the day is officially a state holiday known as “Native American Day”, not Columbus Day.

Some have argued that the responsibility of contemporary governments and their citizens for allegedly ongoing acts of genocide against Native Americans are masked by positive Columbus myths and celebrations. These critics argue that a particular understanding of the legacy of Columbus has been used to legitimize their actions, and it is this misuse of history that must be exposed. Thus, Ward Churchill (an associate professor of Native American Studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Colorado|Boulder, and a leader of the American Indian Movement), has argued that certain myths about Columbus, and celebrations of Columbus, make it easier for people today to avoid taking responsibility for their own actions, or the actions of their governments.

I’m better now, but I lost a week at a very critical time in the production cycles of multiple books. This type of situation always forces me to do two things:

1. Break out my time machine. This is how most overworked editors are able to meet incredible deadlines. Well-kept secret. Or at least until I just ruined it for all the other editors by saying something.
2. Streamline my work process. Since I have a pretty streamlined process already after more than a decade of doing what I do, streamlining is slang for letting go of things that I can’t get to–at least in the short term. That means, for instance, that I won’t be assembling a full-length collection to submit to poetry contests anytime soon. C’est la vie!

When you can’t even come up with specific labels for your boxes, then you’re ready to let go of the “stuff.”

I believe in the importance of letting go. Holding on to stuff is what often holds us back from achieving great things. When I decide to let things go, here is what I usually target:

Junk. Might seem obvious, but many people (myself included) keep the dumbest stuff. Do I really need an old pumpkin carving kit and broken calculator? What about these old lists that are obviously from before Will was born? I need to throw it all out or dump it on someone else.

Old food. This doesn’t mean just the food that has gone bad in the fridge, though that’s a great place to start. Maybe you have canned food that lasts until the year 2020, but that you’ve had for four years without the slightest urge to consume. Time to cut the chord.

Clothes. I know, I know. We might all lose weight (or gain it, I suppose) eventually, but if it’s been more than a year since I’ve fit into a pair of pants, then I should move on. If I lose that weight, I can celebrate by buying myself some new jeans.

Books. Eeek! How could I recommend letting go of books? My rule is that if I have to pack books into boxes, then I should get ‘em out of the house. This could mean taking them to the used bookstore or giving them to a friend who might enjoy a good read. I’ve moved several times, and it’s them there books that always break my back.

Toys. As a former kid, I value the importance of toys. As a parent, all I see is clutter-clutter-clutter. Big time. I don’t even know why I buy kids meals for the boys, because those are always the first to go when I do a toy raid.

E-mail. That’s right. It’s important to let go of e-mail too. Unless an e-mail is super duper important, I like to delete everything that gets to be older than a year. And I regularly delete e-mails from my deleted folder, because I believe in deleting things that I’ve already deleted.

Expenses. This is a difficult one, but I try to take a hard look at my expenses every so often and cut what isn’t needed. Of course, I do this on paper. In the real world, I sometimes “forget” that I shouldn’t be spending $2 for a liter of Mountain Dew or $7 for a meal from Wendy’s. But I’m always trying.

Grudges. A lot of people have done a lot of horrible things to me over the years. But I know I’m not perfect, and that I’ve stepped on toes and hurt feelings over the years myself. If you have trouble with letting go of things, I hope you can at least put some effort into this one. Forgive people who do you wrong. It will only make you happier with all the other stuff that’s surrounding you.

Letting go of things can be scary and intimidating at first, but once you start releasing yourself from clutter, it can get addictive. It’s totally liberating!

*****

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