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May, 2012
- from Larry Barkan: It's Better To Ask Permission Than Forgiveness Sent Tuesday, May 1, 2012 # Of Words: 508 Reading Time: 4 Minutes There is an old saying that it is better to ask forgiveness than permission, the idea being that if we wait for permission, we may hear "no," but if we just do what we believe to be best and then ask for forgiveness for doing so, we're more likely to get our way. The old saying is wrong. If you review in your life the relationships that didn't work out or contained a lot of conflict or where there was often tension and stress, you'll find […]
April, 2012
- from Larry Barkan: "Can't We All Just Get Along?" Sent Tuesday, April 24, 2012 # Of Words: 581 Reading Time: 4 Minutes The answer to Rodney King is "Yes," but it takes a willingness to transcend our ordinary ways of behaving as exemplified by the following story I heard on the NPR program "This American Life" on April 14th. John Snid was the founder of Love In Action, an organization dedicated, in his words, to "curing" adult homosexuals. By his own admission, John had been cured of his own homosexuality while hearing God's voice in Church. […]
March, 2012
- from Larry Barkan: What's In A Name? I Wonder Sent Tuesday, March 13, 2012 # Of Words: 576 Reading Time: 4 Minutes "In the beginning was The Word." John 1:1 "The naming is the origin of all particular things." Tao Te Ching Some questions to ponder: Did the unconscious exist before Freud "discovered" it? Did the earth revolve around the sun before Galileo confirmed it? Did germs exist before Pasteur (and others) told us about them? Was the speed of light 186,000 miles per second before it was measured? Were there any such people as introverts and […]
February, 2012
- from Larry Barkan: Blind Spots Sent Tuesday, February 28, 2012 # Of Words: 530 Reading Time: 4 Minutes Years ago, my mother in law had cataracts surgery. After the surgery, she marveled at how green the grass looked. Of course, the grass had always been green, but the cataracts had prevented her from seeing its brilliance. Similarly, a friend told me about two friends of hers who had visited India at about the same time. One friend who was afraid of snakes was appalled at the number of "snake charmers" she saw on the streets. Another, […]
- from Larry Barkan: Interrupting Our Past, Creating Our Future Sent Tuesday, February 21, 2012 # Of Words: 762 Reading Time: 4 Minutes Have you ever said to yourself, "From now on, I will...(listen, be patient, be loving, take risks, etc.) and then find yourself behaving as you always have? Do you find it fascinating that we say we want to change, we know what we need to do to change, we make plans to change and, yet, we don't change? We keep repeating the same behavior over and over and over again which, of course, is the definition of insanity. If so, this article is […]
- from Larry Barkan: Conflict and "The Confirmation Bias" Sent Tuesday, February 14, 2012 # Of Words: 521 Reading Time: 4 Minutes Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist, and a professor at the University of Maryland whose book The Righteous Mind seeks to explain why we get along with some people but not others. I saw him being interviewed by Bill Moyers and subsequently viewed a TED talk he gave in 2008. Simply put, according to Haidt, we don't get along with some people because we are afflicted with "confirmation bias" which means that "searching for the truth" […]
- from Larry Barkan: Bringing Peace To Violence Sent Tuesday, February 7, 2012 # Of Words: 744 Reading Time: 4 Minutes Aqueela Sherrils is identified in the movie "Thrive" (available on DVD only) as the "coarchitect of the truce between the Crips and the Bloods in Los Angeles in 1992." I didn't know there had been a truce or even if it's still holding, but I was happy to hear that there had been one. Any reduction in violence in this world is good for all of us. This truce didn't occur because Sherrils and others taught the combatants the 7 steps for […]
January, 2012
- from Larry Barkan: Is What You See What You Get? Sent Tuesday, January 31, 2012 # Of Words: 627 Reading Time: 4 Minutes Happy New Year (okay, so I'm closer to the Chinese New Year than the Western one, but the sentiments are the same). How many times have you heard, "Perception is reality?" or that "What you see is what you get?" These statements have profound implications. What I think is there may not be. What I'm sure is not there, may be. I can't be sure that my view of reality has any reality to it. This includes my view of other people as well as my […]
December, 2011
- from Larry Barkan: Transcending Groundhog Day Sent Tuesday, December 20, 2011 # Of Words: 574 Reading Time: 4 Minutes "Groundhog Day" is a great film because it captures so well the dilemma of being a human being and also offers a way to transcend that dilemma. You know the story. A pompous weatherman from Pittsburgh (Phil Connors) gets stuck in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania because of a snowstorm. He is also stuck in February 2nd, Groundhog Day, waking up each day to the same day, over and over and over again until, finally, he wakes up to a new day. In […]
- from Larry Barkan: Receive Until It Hurts Sent Tuesday, December 13, 2011 # Of Words: 454 Reading Time: 3 Minutes 'Tis the season of giving. And, surely, it is blessed to give. I just want to say a few words on the importance of receiving. I was at a fundraiser for an organization called Mission Of Mercy. They provide free health care for those who have none. The care is provided whether one's condition is acute or chronic. Many people use Mission Of Mercy doctors and nurses as their primary care providers. Because the organization receives no Federal […]