Padding the STEEPLeS

George Clark, 12 December 2008

 

The STEEPLeS acronym offers a checklist against which to rate the fit of a unit of development theory or practice. This presupposes an agency for change (individual or group) with a vision of a before and an after in at least one of the seven factors. The details will vary with time and place. The following table offers a very rough rule-of-thumb for a set of before and afters that correspond respectively with modern and post-modern[1] phases of development.

 

Type of change		Before	After
S	Social	Parochial  (xenophobic)	Global (pluralist)
T	Technological	Mechanical	Smart
E	Environmental	Exploitation	Stewardship
E	Economic	Inequality (profit)	Equality (wealth)
P	Political	Hierarchy (elites)	Democracy (participatory)
Le	Legislative	For the rich	For the greater good
S	Spiritual	Linked to 'religion'	Linked to 'psychology'

 

Each type of after demands its own agency of change and style of activism.  But the task ultimately is to change minds and this involves motivations, intentions and actions that are rooted in beliefs and values.

Beliefs and values are themselves deep rooted in the 'spiritual' domain. This might thus be viewed as the foundation upon which the others are built. There is thus a call not so much for minor 'norm cracking[2]' as for major 'paradigm shifting[3]'. There is need for epiphany[4] on a massive scale if we are to move from a situation of blind faith in a divisive ideology[5] towards a situation of widespread experience of the non-egoic state of peace, compassion and happiness.

Much work has been done to create effective change agents for social development[6]. Some of this can be coopted by change agents for spiritual development although they might want to find a less jarring label for their profession! There is the possibility of building on the various 'mindfulness-based' methodologies that are fast gaining ground in serious medical circles in the West[7].

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[1] We can think of a progression from pre-modern (traditional), modern, post-modern and now the post-post-modern. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodernity

[2] http://www.srds.co.uk/winwin/heuristics.htm

[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradigm_shift

[4] (1): a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something  (2): an intuitive grasp of reality through something (such as an event) usually simple and striking  (3): an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure

[5] religious or secular (eg scientism, communism, market fundamentalism etc)

[6] http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/change-management/roles/agent and, from high up the Google search, - http://www.caledonia.org.uk/change.htm . Also, with repeats, at http://www.srds.co.uk/cedtraining/bast/bast12.htm

[7] Follow links from Jon Kabat-Zinn and the offshoots of his Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programme. See http://www.mbsr.co.uk/index.html

Building STEEPLeS

George Clark, 11 December 2008

Those who climb steeples get a bird's eye view. They see the big picture and take the grander perspective. Whether as analyst, policy-maker or planner at global, national, district, community or individual level it helps to be systematic and comprehensive in your way of thinking. Checklists can help.

The following table traces the growth of a seven point STEEPLeS checklist as a tool to ensure wide ranging and insightful thinking about the development process[1].

 

E	The single bottom line is the economic (financial) one. The only goal and measure of success is net income – by whatever means and at whatever external cost[2].
ESE	The triple bottom line[3] captures an expanded spectrum of values and criteria for measuring organizational (and societal) success: Economic, Social and Environmental[4]
STEP	This is an acronym for the Social, Technological, Economic and Political factors of the external environment. Realistic and feasible policies have to address all the factors. They are often listed less optimistically as PEST[5].
STEEP	This puts the environmental factor into the STEP collection and moves closer to being comprehensive. There is a STEEP learning curve for policy makers seeking integration, coordination and harmonisation.
STEEPLe	This adds 'legislation' to the STEEP collection of factors. This is in recognition of the fact that policies often have to be embedded in legal frameworks if they are to be effective.
STEEPLeS	This adds spirituality to the collection. It highlights the need for a deep change in value systems and beliefs as part of the development process. Policy is guided by the motivations and intentions of the policy makers.

 

"Since wars begin in the minds of men it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed."
From the preamble of UNESCO's Constitution

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[1]  From STEEP onwards the growth is due to my involvement as a plain language author with Hakikazi Catalyst – a Tanzanian CSO - see www.hakikazi.org

[2]  This is a very narrow minded approach that has now, arguably, been largely superseded - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottom_line

[3]  For more on the TBL see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_bottom_line. Note that in the private sector, a commitment to corporate social responsibility implies a commitment to some form of TBL reporting

[4]  Also referred to as "People, Planet, Profit"

[5]  For more on PEST see http://www.netmba.com/strategy/pest/

Better ways to be human

George Clark, 10 December 2008

By comparison all things shine[1]. I had little to complain about from a childhood in small, coastal towns in the NE of Scotland in the 1950-60s. From upper working class roots I made it to University where I studied Biology. By the late 1960s I had committed to zero population growth and to finding better ways to be human. I then gravitated towards 'education' and lived and worked for many years in various parts of the tropics. Forty years later I am back in the NE of Scotland as a freelance consultant/ landlord/ recluse and I am still trying to figure better ways to be human.

I gave up the idea of an absolutely 'correct' way to be human. In any given socio-cultural situation there is the potential for ways of being human that are more or less positive. Judgment hangs on how you view the purpose in life for yourself in particular and for humanity in general. And, although we won't go there, this begs the question of how you view the purpose of the planet, solar system, and universe.

The theme can be dealt with in three parts "better" "ways" "to be human". We will look at the options for each of these in turn and then try for some kind of conclusion.

"to be human"

As humans we have animal roots. We are part of a lengthy evolutionary process that has cultural, biological and cosmic phases. Our bodies and brains have been designed to ensure the survival of ancestors living in ancient conditions. Recent findings from neuroscience and evolutionary psychology have highlighted the importance of these roots -- especially in terms of brain structures and functions. Our brains are hard wired in many subtle ways but usually in terms of generalities that are populated by immediate environmental specifics (eg we are hard wired for language in general (nature) but the particular language we end up using depends on our culture (nurture)).

As humans we are social animals. This idea can be plotted on an expanding horizon. Quantum entities give rise to atoms and molecules that form cells that form tissues and organs that form you -- the self. But a self does not stand alone. For better or for worse a self is a member of a family, community and tribe that between them provide all manner of social capital to ensure mutual survival. And tribes combine to form nations and welfare states that may be more or less functional. And, although we won't go there, nations combine to make up the global, human species that is a partner in the ecosystems that make up the planet that is part of the solar system and so on in the cosmic zoom[2].

"ways to be human"

STEEPLeS   ·         Social ·         Technological ·         Environmental ·         Economic ·         Political ·         Legal ·         Spiritual

There are as many ways to be human as there are people willing to make an inventory. I have found a shortlist of seven to be useful. It is captured in the acronym STEEPLeS (see box).

Because of their mental causes and conditions different people will be more interested in some of the ways than others. This is not a problem but hopefully awareness of the options will help to keep more people open minded more frequently and for longer.

"better ways to be human"

Better and worse involves value judgements. And they can be applied to each of the STEEPLeS topics -- and many of these interact. There are no easy and undisputable answers; particularly in this post-modern age of cultural relativism.

The number of letters in the STEEPLeS acronym has been growing over the years[3]. The S for Spiritual is the newest. I added it because it holds the promise of a foundation for judging the efficiency and effectiveness of the others[4]. The essence is highlighted in the following table:

"worst ways to be human"	"best ways to be human"
·         war ·         discontent ·         poverty ·         social injustice ·         environmental degradation	·         peace ·         happiness ·         prosperity ·         social justice ·         environmental stewardship

 

The spiritual dimension is the root of the others. There needs to be a massive change of hearts and minds and of motivations and intentions. This is possible but the ultimate arenas are (a) the individual consciousness and the causes and conditions that have shaped it in its present form and (b) the causes and conditions that might reshape it.

The spin doctors of the advertising and public relations industries (and their attendant academics[5]) have developed many techniques for changing minds. Their tools can be used to promote high or low ends.

The essential higher end is 'mindfulness' as that is now understood in the West in such practices as mindfulness based stress reduction[6] and mindfulness based cognitive therapy[7]. These lean heavily on a psychology of perception that has developed in eastern cultures over the last 2500 years[8]. The basic goal is to remove the clouds of illusion (particularly the illusion of an abiding ego) such that our birthright in the sunshine of universal compassion becomes an apparent and active motivating force. The basic technique for 'liberation' is to be aware of, and bear witness to, what your mind is doing from moment to moment.

This line of thought did not cross my mind in the NE of Scotland in the 1950-60s. It flashed in and out of focus in the years since but I did not begin to pay constant and systematic heed till about fifteen years ago when I was encouraged to write a series of 'words of faith' for a newspaper in Lesotho[9]. Since then I have been fairly regular in building time for stillness into my daily routine. So has the illusory ego disappeared and am I now more compassionate than of yore? I now live alone, work from home and lead a simple and frugal life: but what of my existential core? It remains turbulent but arguably less than it used to be.

So have I found a better way to be human?

How is such a thing to be judged?

See above!

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[1] http://www.srds.co.uk/begin/nothing_lasts.htm

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_Zoom

[3] it began after the Rio Summit ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_Summit )  as ESE (Economic, Social and Environmental)

[4] You might find it constructive to consider the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Declaration_of_Human_Rights ) and the Millennium Development Goals (http://www.srds.co.uk/mdg/ ) in relation to the STEEPLeS categories.

[5] See Howard Gardner (2006) Changing Minds; ISBN 1422103293

[6] MBSR http://www.umassmed.edu/Content.aspx?id=41254

[7] MBCT http://www.mbct.co.uk/

[8] Essentially Vipassana meditation -- see http://www.vipassana.com/meditation/mindfulness_in_plain_english.php

[9] http://www.toonloon.bizland.com/whispers/

Karen Armstrong makes her TED Prize wish: the Charter for Compassion | Video on TED.com

Karen Armstrong makes her TED Prize wish: the Charter for Compassion | Video on TED.com: "People want to be religious, says scholar Karen Armstrong; we should act to help make religion a force for harmony. She asks the TED community to help her build a Charter for Compassion -- to help restore the Golden Rule as the central global religious do"

What else?

George Clark, 04 December 2008

I live as I do. Other people live as they do. And we all have the option to change whether or not we realise or actualise it. Lifestyles could be categorised and labeled and then ranked in terms of being 'cool' or whatever. But that would be a hegemonic exercise.

I am inclined to argue the case for cultural relativism (anything goes) but there is the possibility of absolutes. Some modes of being (eg extreme poverty and destitution) call for action to change them: but it is perhaps useful to recognise that there are physical/material modes of being and there are psychological/existential modes: and both are manifested within more or less acceptable political/economic systems.

So what action should a concerned person take? It depends on context. No individual can solve all the world's problems; there has to be selection and focus. I cannot presently think of a decision rule other than the rather woolly 'go with the flow'; although this can be done safely only when the motivation for acting has been carefully examined in terms of its egoic conditioning. (Beware of blind emotion and thus of anger and belligerence.)

The golden rule is to 'be the peace that you seek'. This will involve insight meditation so that there is clear awareness of personal motivations and intentions. This will make it easier to approach conflict situations without predetermined viewpoints.

I am indebted to Thich Nhat Hahn for the above line of thought but I may not have totally understood it! Those who understand it better might care to comment.

The following quotation (from Goldstein and Kornfield) may be helpful for those who, in working for peace in the world, realise that there is no option other than to 'Let it begin with me'. (see www.srds.co.uk/begin )

"It is essential that our understanding be translated into practice, not with an idealistic vision that we suddenly will become totally loving and compassionate, but with a willingness to be just who we are and to start from there. Then our practice is grounded in the reality of our experience, rather than based on some expectation of how we should be. But we must begin.

We work with the precepts as guidelines for harmonizing our actions with the world; we live with contentment and simplicity that does not exploit other people or the planet; we work with restraint in the mind, seeing that it's possible to say no to certain conditioned impulses, or to expand when we feel bound by inhibitions and fear; we reflect on karma and the direction of our lives, where it is leading and what is being developed; we cultivate generosity and love, compassion and service.

All of this together becomes our path of practice."

Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield (1987) "Seeking the Heart of Wisdom"

What else? Why? Says who?

Dealing with distraction

Dealing with distraction

George Clark, 28 November 2008

 

Most people's attention dives about all over the place. Their focus does not stay the same for more than a few moments. They are easily distracted by sights, sounds, tastes, smells or touches from the outside and by all manner of thoughts, feelings and emotions that emerge in a constant stream from the inside. Such people experience a lot of mental chatter over which they do not feel they have any control.

Some people can focus their attention. Artists can be in flow, athletes can be in the zone and ordinary people can be absorbed in washing the dishes. The key to this state of one-pointed attention is to be non-egoic and outside of space and time - to be absent-minded. The experience is of a kind of effortless action – 'the poem wrote itself'. There is little mental chatter, and 'control' seems to rest with something deeper than the everyday 'self'.

At a deeper level everybody can, but few people do, experience the fearless peace that passes all understanding. There can be flashes of deeper understanding when faced with a glorious sunset. Such moments, for most people, are short-lived and relatively rare. But they can become a much more substantial and soul enhancing part of the living experience.

The undisciplined mind is easily distracted but the disciplined mind is not. The ultimate goal is to shut down conscious, egoic thinking and thus to allow the wisdom of the inner self to make its presence felt. Discipline involves making time for peaceful stillness, time to just sit, time to be still and know. With enough practice the mental mud settles and nothing remains but a mild awareness of 'stuff' on the margins of the attention centre. With even more practice even these faint traces pass away and there is a state of being awake and aware but without 'content'. This is your true home where you are fresh like a flower and solid like a mountain. To take up residence all that is required is dealing with distraction.

when I consider

When I consider …

 

John Milton, (1608 - 1674) Sonnet 19 (Sonnet XIX)

 

When I consider how my light is spent,

Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,

And that one talent which is death to hide

Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent

To serve therewith my Maker, and present

My true account, lest He returning chide,

"Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?"

I fondly ask; But patience, to prevent

That murmur, soon replies "God doth not need

Either man's work or his own gifts. Who best

Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best. His state

Is kingly: thousands at His bidding speed

And post o'er land and ocean without rest;

They also serve who only stand and wait."

Note:
Many people refer to this poem as 'When I consider how my life is spent' however when Milton wrote this poem he was referring to his rapidly failing eyesight

http://www.poetry-online.org/milton_when_i_consider_how_my_light_is_spent.htm

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~milton/reading_room/sonnets/sonnet_19/index.shtml

 

William Shakespeare, (1564 – 1616) Sonnet XV.

 

When I consider every thing that grows

Holds in perfection but a little moment,

That this huge stage presenteth nought but shows

Whereon the stars in secret influence comment;

When I perceive that men as plants increase,

Cheered and cheque'd even by the self-same sky,

Vaunt in their youthful sap, at height decrease,

And wear their brave state out of memory;

Then the conceit of this inconstant stay

Sets you most rich in youth before my sight,

Where wasteful Time debateth with Decay,

To change your day of youth to sullied night;

  And all in war with Time for love of you,

  As he takes from you, I engraft you new.

http://www.cs.usyd.edu.au/~matty/Shakespeare/texts/poetry/sonnets

http://www.shakespeare-online.com/sonnets/15detail.html (with paraphrase)

19 minutes of Goenka on vipassana

Pure distilled Goenka

http://web2.dhamma.org/video/Intro/reutersSngintroeng150k.ram

 

 

 

Mental capital and well being

Mental capital:

This encompasses a person's cognitive and emotional resources. It includes their cognitive ability, how flexible and efficient they are at learning, and their "emotional intelligence", such as their social skills and resilience in the face of stress. It therefore conditions how well an individual is able to contribute effectively to society, and also to experience a high personal quality of life.

The idea of "capital" naturally sparks association with ideas of financial capital and it is both challenging and natural to think of the mind in this way.

Mental wellbeing:

This is a dynamic state, in which the individual is able to develop their potential, work productively and creatively, build strong and positive relationships with others, and contribute to their community.

It is enhanced when an individual is able to fulfil their personal and social goals and achieve a sense of purpose in society.

http://www.foresight.gov.uk/OurWork/ActiveProjects/Mental%20Capital/Welcome.asp

 

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The five activities for promoting mental health are

1. physical activity,
2. developing friendships,
3. fostering curiosity,
4. continuing education and
5. voluntary work.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/oct/22/mental-health-illness-foresight

5 moral foundations b

Moral Foundations Theory was created to understand why morality varies so much across cultures yet still shows so many similarities and recurrent themes.

In brief, the theory proposes that five innate and universally available psychological systems are the foundations of "intuitive ethics." Each culture then constructs virtues, narratives, and institutions on top of these foundations, thereby creating the unique moralities we see around the world, and conflicting within nations too. The foundations are:

1) Harm/care, related to our long evolution as mammals with attachment systems and an ability to feel (and dislike) the pain of others. This foundation underlies virtues of kindness, gentleness, and nurturance.

2) Fairness/reciprocity, related to the evolutionary process of reciprocal altruism. This foundation generates ideas of justice, rights, and autonomy.

3) Ingroup/loyalty, related to our long history as tribal creatures able to form shifting coalitions. This foundation underlies virtues of patriotism and self-sacrifice for the group. It is active anytime people feel that it's "one for all, and all for one."

4) Authority/respect, shaped by our long primate history of hierarchical social interactions. This foundaiton underlies virtues of leadership and followership, including deference to legitimate authority and respect for traditions.

5) Purity/sanctity, shaped by the psychology of disgust and contamination. This foundation underlies religious notions of striving to live in an elevated, less carnal, more noble way. It underlies the widespread idea that the body is a temple which can be desecrated by immoral activities and contaminants (an idea not unique to religious traditions).

Much of our present research involves applying the theory to political "cultures" such as those of liberals and conservatives. The current American culture war, we have found, can be seen as arising from the fact that liberals try to create a morality relying almost exclusively on the Harm/Care and Fairness/Reciprocity foundations; conservatives, especially religious conservatives, use all five foundations, including Ingroup/Loyalty, Authority/Respect, and Purity/Sanctity. You can find out your own moral foundations profile at www.YourMorals.org   

http://faculty.virginia.edu/haidtlab/mft/index.php

5 moral foundations

Haidt's Moral Foundations Theory looks at the way morality varies between cultures and identifies five fundamental moral values shared to a greater or lesser degree by different societies and individuals. These are;

1. Care for others, protecting them from harm

2. Fairness, Justice, treating others equally.

3. Loyalty to your group, family, nation

4. Respect for tradition and legitimate authority.

5. Purity, avoiding disgusting things, foods, actions.

Haidt found that Americans who identified as Conservatives valued all of these equally but those who identified as Liberals valued care and fairness much more highly than loyalty, respect and purity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Haidt

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jonathan_haidt_on_the_moral_mind.html

http://thesciencenetwork.org/BeyondBelief2/watch/haidt.php

Touching the Earth

Transcription of a talk by Thich Nhat Hahn

http://www.haustao.ch/n1/dhammic.htm

As more and more people suffer the pain of being uprooted from their culture, we need more than ever to come into contact with our own heritage and with the positive seeds of our tradition. The moment we feel happy, society already begins to be transformed, and others feel some happiness too. When someone in society discovers his true identity, we all find our identity. This is the principle of interbeing. Even though our society has caused us pain, suffering, internal formations and illness, we have to open our arms and embrace society in complete acceptance. We have to go back to our society with the intention to rebuild society and enrich its life by offering the appropriate therapies for its illnesses. I would like to offer an exercise that can help to do this. It is called Touching the Earth.

In each of us, there are many kinds of ideas, notions, attachments, and discrimination. This practice involves bowing down and touching the Earth, emptying ourselves, and surrendering to Earth. You touch the Earth with your forehead, your two hands, your two feet, and you surrender to your true nature, accepting any form of life your true nature offers you. Surrender your pride, hopes, ideas, fears, and notions. Empty yourself of all resentment you feel toward anyone. Surrender everything, and empty yourself completely. To do this is the best way to replenish yourself. If you do not exhale and empty your lungs, how can fresh air enter?

In this practice, the body and the mind work together in harmony to form a perfect whole. We prostrate ourselves six times to help us realize our deep connection to our own roots:

The first bow is directed towards all generations of ancestors in our blood family. Our parents are our most recent, closest ancestors, and through them we connect the generations that have preceded us. If we are on good terms with our parents, the connection is easy. But if we are not, we have to empty our resentment and reconnect with them. Our parents had seeds of love and trust they wanted to transmit to us, but perhaps they were not able to do so. Instead of transmitting loving kindness and trust, they transmitted suffering and anger. The practice is to look deeply and see that we are a continuation of our parents and our ancestors. When we understand the "emptiness of transmission", reconciliation is possible. Bowing down, touching the Earth, we should be able to surrender the idea of our separate self and become one with our ancestors. Only then is true communion possible and the energy of our ancestors able to flow into us.

The second bow is directed towards Buddhist ancestors who came before us, those who have transmitted these teachings and practices to us for more than 25 centuries. 

The third bow is directed towards our land and toward the ancestors who made it available to us.

The fourth is for channeling and transmitting the energy of loving kindness to those we love. We touch the Earth, look deeply into our relationship, and see how we can improve it.

The fifth bow is directed towards those who have made us suffer. Looking deeply, we see that these people suffer also and do not possess the insight to prevent their suffering from spilling over onto others. Motivated by compassion, we want to share our energy with these persons, hoping it will help them to suffer less and be able to enjoy some peace and happiness.

The sixth bow is directed towards our own spiritual ancestors. If we are lucky, it may be easy for us to connect with representatives of our spiritual tradition  - our rabbi, pastor, or priest. But if we have had problems with such persons, our effort is to understand how they themselves were not able to receive the jewels of the tradition. Instead of feeling resentment toward them, we vow to go back and rediscover the jewels of our tradition ourselves. Getting connected with our church, synagogue, rabbi, or priest will enable us to touch all our spiritual ancestors.

Open Library: Details: mindfulofthebody00thanmiss

Open Library: Details: mindfulofthebody00thanmiss

Zencast

Zencast

Zen Proverbs, Sayings and Quotes

Zen Proverbs, Sayings and Quotes

Osho, what is meditation?

Osho, what is meditation?

Relatively absolute

George G Clark, 04 August 2008

I still hanker after the  correct answer, after the truth, after cognitive closure. And this is despite an intellectual appreciation of the postmodern position. There remains a feeling that 'they' know and that it is 'our' job to fall in line with their viewpoints. Hegemony and elegant power reign supreme.

Postmodernists talk of the social construction of reality and of the death of metanarrative. We cannot know things as they are in themselves we can know only the perceptions that we build from our conceptions. Cultural relativism: anything goes?

But mystics speak of another kind of knowing, of a perennial philosophy. This is most often  effectively dormant and unseen because the chatter of the normal (intellectual) mind drowns it out. But IF the chatter is stilled THEN the inner mind kicks in. This makes the paucity of normal perceptions and viewpoints immediately clear. Numinousness appears and the limitations of the normal phenomenal mind become blatantly obvious.

This other kind of knowing might be thought of as relatively absolute. Absolute because it is built in to all human brains and relative because it is found only in human brains and only when the cultural dust is removed from the mirror mind. Might a key social task be to popularise the notion of turning your mind around and thus liberating your full potential as a human being?

"Jean-Jacques Rousseau made the famous revolutionary pronouncement that: 'Men are born free, and everywhere are in chains'. A couple of centuries later that still holds truth for us, but now we see that the strongest chains are symbolic ones, mind forged manacles." (Anderson, p219)

 

Digging deeper:

The reference list could be very long. I will mention only a few sources that have recently enthralled me:

Anderson, Walter Truett (1996 Ed) The Fontana post-modern reader; ISBN 0006863701 Anderson's link pieces are particularly clear and useful

Mind and Life Institute (2003) Destructive Emotions and how to overcome them – a dialogue with the Dalai Lama narrated by Daniel Goleman; ISBN 0747561826 – the cutting edge findings from the brains of ace meditators studied by ace scientists.

Gunaratana, Henepola (1991) Mindfulness in Plain English; ISBN 0861710649 – the text is also available on a website.

And Dharma talks about the practice of mindfulness by the good people at Dharma Seed. There is a long list to choose from (including Gunaratana): I personally like the clarity and quiet good humour of Steve Armstrong and Carol Wilson.