Greetings from
The Publisher . . .
Diesel Update; & Reactions to
Wayne Dyer & Ram Das
Continuing briefly with my auto-buying adventure, clean diesel is getting more publicity. The demonstration I talked about last month received a lot of attention.
It involved putting a handkerchief over the tailpipe of a vehicle using 100% biodiesel or ultra low sulfur diesel, and then driving around. The result is clean cloth that smells like the soap it was washed in before it was attached to the exhaust pipe.
Virginia BioDiesel demonstrated this to President Bush in May. It was picked up nationally, so people's awareness of clean-burning diesel is expanding.
I've found that biodiesel options deserve more research and will be in a future issue. One reason for that is I found many people thinking about our last issue.
We published an article in May by Wayne Dyer. He wrote about raising funds for Ram Dass, who has physical challenges brought on by age and strokes. He could lose his residence and Dyer has been asking people to contribute to prevent that.
Several people have told me that story prompted them to think of their situation. Of all demographic groups, it is the cultural creative group that most often reads The Light Connection . Normally this is a group that is also interested in self-sufficiency, using solar panels and alternative energy, building sustainable communities and embracing voluntary simplicity. For us, other things in life are more meaningful and take precedent over having as many toys as possible at the end of the game.
Several people told me they were thinking that if Ram Dass was having a hard time with his survival needs, what were the chances that being a good person will translate into being taken care of later in life for them?
Ram Dass spent much of his adult life raising money for charity. If there is a spiritual “caretaker” balancing things, how do the contributions of Ram Dass compare to what the rest of us contribute? This has been very bothersome to some good friends. Given some publicity, Ram Dass will be fine. He is, however, also very uncomfortable that he is in the position of having to ask for help and has not provided for himself.
Another aspect that bothers some people is that they don't want to focus on material things. They want to serve others and get away from “what's in it for me.” Besides, attention on personal awareness can change our poverty consciousness.
Ignoring it, though, reminds me of hearing Terry Cole-Whitaker say: When you find yourself far offshore and drifting out to sea, pray. And then row like hell toward shore.
Some attention is required. The challenge is the uncertainty. We can live our life in balance, eat well, exercise, and include as many smiles as we can in our lives to try to keep ourselves out of the doctor's office. If you live long enough, however, you've met good people who seemed to do all those things and were faced with a life-changing illness. We can save for the future, but again, if we live long enough we face something unexpected.
Unfortunately, very few people can retire comfortably without the assistance of government or business provided pensions. Losing a job puts most of us a few months away from losing our residence. Preparing for the future is surely an area we can all learn more about. The challenge is that, even if we do, even if we think we are prepared, much of it is simply beyond our control.
How well the world and US economy is doing is beyond our control. Job cuts and illness, to our partner or ourselves, can turn our world upside down.
Technology is rapidly changing the world. As Thomas Friedman has shown in his new book, The World is Flat , the US is not ready for how outsourcing will change the world.
When United Airlines reorganized their bankruptcy in May they decreased workers' pensions. Congress eliminated the option of individuals being able to reorganize their bankruptcy by reducing health care costs paid by credit card, i.e., America 's emergency health-care system. How are these different?
Some are now saying that we need to level the playing field for American corporations and release them from the growing burden of health-care plans and pensions. This ignores that countries with multi-national corporations that compete with “our” multi-national corporations have already freed their corporations of the health-care burden. Instead of eliminating it, however, they have national health-care plans and a safety net.
They consider their interest in a level-playing field being fair to the underdog, which has always been a tradition in this country. We just used to define underdog a little differently.
It's worth watching what the government is doing with Social Security and our disappearing safety net. Approval for the President's plan is at 33%. That's close to their criteria for a consensus.
There are some certainties. Looking through rose-colored glasses or fear-fogged ones doesn't take care of the future. Fear blurs our creativity and acting out of fear can just as easily attract what we want to avoid. Running into a strange dog has taught most of us that one.
On the other hand, a little bit of stress might encourage us to get more creative, look at it closer and discover new options.
There's no conclusion to this. I certainly don't have the answers, and I'm looking, too. It's food for thought and sharing feedback I've received. Somewhere there is a balance between being too self-less and too selfish. There are alternatives, systems and lifestyles that deserve to be explored and considered in future issues.
Have a Great Month,
Steve Hays
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