STEEPLeS Horizons

George G Clark, 04 January 2009

There are those who think about development (change for the better). It is a massive and interdisciplinary topic. There is an ever present danger of 'experts' reifying particular bits and thus missing out on the bigger picture. How might we guard against this?

Elsewhere we have noted that it is useful to isolate seven factors of development using the acronym STEEPLeS[1]. It is also possibly useful to think of each factor in terms of eight horizons that expand from self through family, community and tribe and on to nation and humanity and possibly even to biosphere and planet. The following table maps the factors against the horizons so as to create an inclusive matrix.

	S	T	E	E	P	Le	S
Self
Family
Community
Tribe
Nation
Humanity
Biosphere
Planet

 

Notes:

(1) For each horizon there is need to make allowance for variations based on sex, age, class, ethnicity etc and to set these in dynamic historical perspective ie to beware of being too focussed on the bulked up average person.

(2) For each STEEPLeS factor there is the option of detailing a before and after scenario for each horizon[2].

(3) It might be thought that the matrix covers too much and that it either trivialises or gives too much value to particular points of view. The key issue is to know when bias and partiality is in effect and thus to coolly relax about relatively narrow viewpoints and try to see the bigger picture. But this intellectual position has to be bedded in self knowledge - and this is ultimately grounded in values and thus in the spiritual factor.

(4) The horizons can be expanded at both top and bottom. Below the level of self we have organs and tissues; cells; molecules; atoms; sub atomic particles; and quantum entities. Above the level of the planet we have the solar system, the universe and the cosmos (the multi-verse?). How big can (and should) the picture be drawn? Who decides? On what grounds?

 

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[1] STEEPLeS = Social, Technological, Environmental, Economic, Political, Legal, Spiritual

[2] http://dodclark.blogspot.com/2008/12/padding-steeples.html

 

Essence of freedom and peace

George G Clark 04 January 2009

 

… Buddhism … is ultimately about letting go of all forms and concepts and becoming free. - John Snelling, Elements of Buddhism

This morning I had a slightly blue feeling. It was mind made. But there are options. And there is freedom to choose the option that is active. The trick is to 'accentuate the positive' and to 'eliminate the negative'.

The formula is as follows:

·         Continue existing good thought trains

·         Promote new good thought trains

·         Discontinue existing bad thought trains

·         Do not promote new bad thought trains

 

The Five Hindrances

·         Craving ·         Aversion ·         Restlessness and anxiety ·         Sloth and torpor ·         Doubt

This of course begs the question of good v bad. In essence it is good if it brings deep peace and ease and it is bad if it brings deep anxiety and dis-ease. There are the five hindrances that tend to lock people into bad states (see box).

The main 'practice' involves being mindful of what is going on.  Rather than responding automatically to your causes and conditions you can inhabit the space between stimulus and response and evoke a more considered reaction: a reaction that is based on a more insightful view of the context in its totality.

And with practice (ie sitting in meditation and being aware of what the mind gets up to) it becomes easier to avoid being totally caught up by automatic causes and conditions. And that is the essence of freedom (liberation) and thus of peace.

 

the talking stick

Whoever holds the talking stick has within his hands the sacred power of words. Only he can speak while he holds the stick; the other council members must remain silent.

The eagle feather tied to the talking stick gives him the courage and wisdom to speak truthfully and wisely. The rabbit fur on the end of the stick reminds him that his words must come from his heart and that they must be soft and warm. The blue stone will remind him that the Great Spirit hears the message of his heart as well as the words he speaks. The shell, iridescent and ever changing, reminds him that all creation changes -- the days, the seasons, the years -- and people and situations change, too. The four colors of beads -- yellow for the sunrise (east), red for the sunset (west), white for the snow (north) and green for the earth (south) -- are symbolic of the powers of the universe he has in his hands at the moment to speak what is in his heart. Attached to the stick are strands of hair from the great buffalo. He who speaks may do so with the power and strength of this great animal.

 
http://www.acaciart.com/stories/archive6.html