"Intergaging"
I've been thinking a lot these days about how to make change, or rather to go back to my second post on this blog regarding the origins of Sujata's Porridge, how do we create the sustenance people need in order to be their greater selves? I'm faced with some big decisions regarding my own direction in career and life and have been wondering, in order assist those who are marginalized in this unbalanced world so rife with profound inequities, do we focus on giving assistance to the downtrodden, impoverished and ill by means of direct assistance such as food, shelter, medicine, and social services, or do we focus energy on healing those who design and support the structures that neglect, disempower and discriminate? This is the crux of my dilemma in finding direction in my own work in public health. Over the last 9 months I've learned a great deal about the social, economic, and political determinants of health and well-being, which will inform whatever work I choose to do but at the moment I don’t see myself being deeply involved in the processes which direct the political and economic institutions that influence world systems (far too much ego involved in it all), nor do I see myself as a traditional individual care-giver. Where is there a middle ground? I'm somewhat hesitant to use the word “spiritual” as it is a hard to define term and some are turned off by such an approach, but I do think that the disease we need to heal is a“spiritual” or social-psychological one. Perhaps connecting people with their truer, deeper, wiser selves (as well as with each other in community), would draw them towards more holisitic, compassionate inclusive motivations in whatever work they do and that will affect all social creations. Greed and selfishness aren't innate and concrete human qualities so we can mitigate them. So the question remains, how can we each connect with that wisdom and purity within, and influence others to do the same? Very few people are drawn to methods such as meditation, but I think there are other ways to access that subtler mind. Movement, art, and music, connecting with the natural environment or other sacred spaces? One thing I've been thinking about is the connection between body and mind(spirit/soul) particularly because I personally have found that movement combined with some sort of mind training/calming/accessing practice allows for greater insight, peace, and joy. Prostration with meditation, dancing or painting with music that has spiritual meaning, running/hiking/skiing in a naturally beautiful space, yoga type practices...all combine movement with the sacred. Speaking of yoga, I was thinking that again even though it has become very popular in the west, only a certain portion of the population would be interested in something like that, but perhaps there are other more culturally relevant practices that would be more user-friendly for the average joe in the western world that would also work with the physical body to access our intuitive wisdom. I'm thinking to find a modern "yoga" of sorts, something that uses audio, visual, and the kineasthetic to delve deeper into the mind, to "intergage" body and mind so that we might better "intergage" with each other. Like my new word? Any thoughts? Hmm, these are just some ideas that have been swirling around my head this week. But now I must get back to the academic ( I can't wait to get to the practical application..sometimes I get ancy in my seat spending so much time in analysis!) to look at those global structures I alluded to above, and prepare a presentation on global health governance for next week.
I've been thinking a lot these days about how to make change, or rather to go back to my second post on this blog regarding the origins of Sujata's Porridge, how do we create the sustenance people need in order to be their greater selves? I'm faced with some big decisions regarding my own direction in career and life and have been wondering, in order assist those who are marginalized in this unbalanced world so rife with profound inequities, do we focus on giving assistance to the downtrodden, impoverished and ill by means of direct assistance such as food, shelter, medicine, and social services, or do we focus energy on healing those who design and support the structures that neglect, disempower and discriminate? This is the crux of my dilemma in finding direction in my own work in public health. Over the last 9 months I've learned a great deal about the social, economic, and political determinants of health and well-being, which will inform whatever work I choose to do but at the moment I don’t see myself being deeply involved in the processes which direct the political and economic institutions that influence world systems (far too much ego involved in it all), nor do I see myself as a traditional individual care-giver. Where is there a middle ground? I'm somewhat hesitant to use the word “spiritual” as it is a hard to define term and some are turned off by such an approach, but I do think that the disease we need to heal is a“spiritual” or social-psychological one. Perhaps connecting people with their truer, deeper, wiser selves (as well as with each other in community), would draw them towards more holisitic, compassionate inclusive motivations in whatever work they do and that will affect all social creations. Greed and selfishness aren't innate and concrete human qualities so we can mitigate them. So the question remains, how can we each connect with that wisdom and purity within, and influence others to do the same? Very few people are drawn to methods such as meditation, but I think there are other ways to access that subtler mind. Movement, art, and music, connecting with the natural environment or other sacred spaces? One thing I've been thinking about is the connection between body and mind(spirit/soul) particularly because I personally have found that movement combined with some sort of mind training/calming/accessing practice allows for greater insight, peace, and joy. Prostration with meditation, dancing or painting with music that has spiritual meaning, running/hiking/skiing in a naturally beautiful space, yoga type practices...all combine movement with the sacred. Speaking of yoga, I was thinking that again even though it has become very popular in the west, only a certain portion of the population would be interested in something like that, but perhaps there are other more culturally relevant practices that would be more user-friendly for the average joe in the western world that would also work with the physical body to access our intuitive wisdom. I'm thinking to find a modern "yoga" of sorts, something that uses audio, visual, and the kineasthetic to delve deeper into the mind, to "intergage" body and mind so that we might better "intergage" with each other. Like my new word? Any thoughts? Hmm, these are just some ideas that have been swirling around my head this week. But now I must get back to the academic ( I can't wait to get to the practical application..sometimes I get ancy in my seat spending so much time in analysis!) to look at those global structures I alluded to above, and prepare a presentation on global health governance for next week.
posted by Dharma Mama at 7:46 PM
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