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Is it true that ‘age brings wisdom?’

zen master and his tea

Zen Master and his tea

Americans, often wizened with Age, but Japanese are Wise from the Start* 

ONE stereotype of wisdom is a wizened Zen-master smiling benevolently at the antics of his pupils, while referring to them as little grasshoppers or some such affectation, safe in the knowledge that one day they, too, will have been set on the path that leads to wizened masterhood. But is it true that age brings wisdom? A study two years ago in North America, by Igor Grossmann of the University of Waterloo, in Canada, suggested that it is. In as much as it is possible to quantify wisdom, Dr Grossmann found that elderly Americans had more of it than youngsters. He has, however, now extended his investigation to Asia—the land of the wizened Zen-master—and, in particular, to Japan. There, he found, in contrast to the West, that the grasshoppers are their masters’ equals almost from the beginning.*

*Source: The Economist

Dr Grossmann’s study, just published in Psychological Science, recruited 186 Japanese from various walks of life and compared them with 225 Americans. Participants were asked to read a series of pretend newspaper articles. Half described conflict between groups, such as a debate between residents of an impoverished Pacific island over whether to allow foreign oil companies to operate there following the discovery of petroleum. (Those in favour viewed it as an opportunity to get rich; those against feared the disruption of ancient ways and potential ecological damage.) The other half took the form of advice columns that dealt with conflicts between individuals: siblings, friends and spouses. After reading each article, participants were asked “What do you think will happen after that?” and “Why do you think it will happen this way?” Their responses were recorded and transcribed.

Dr Grossmann and his colleagues removed age-related information from the transcripts, and also any clues to participants’ nationalities, and then passed the edited versions to a group of assessors. These assessors were trained to rate transcribed responses consistently, and had been tested to show that their ratings were statistically comparable with one another.

>> Continue reading at The Economist


723 – The Handbook for Peace

The old moral, social, and political “order” of humankind is now dead. A new and true and right Way of order of humankind is, now, and forever hereafter, necessary. This Free Declaration is the Seed-Utterance of that new and necessary Way of true and right (and truly globally, totally, and universally cooperative) order.

— Adi Da, World Friend

Not-Two Is Peace – from Spectra Five

On this day, July 23, 2006, Adi Da declared a decisive moment in human history for the sake of global cooperation, tolerance, and peace.  From His essay “723:  The Free Declaration of The Universal Moral, Social, and Political Laws of True and Necessary Civilization” (pp 251 in Not-Two Is Peace):

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My Two Cents on Aurora

Arun Gandhi on Aurora Batman Shooting

Dr. Arun Gandhi

My heart goes out today to the people of Aurora who have suffered this immense and mindless tragedy. To those who have lost their loved ones and to those who escaped with injuries this incident will never make any sense.

The question WHY? will always haunt them. Already the nation is screaming for more protection, more security. And, yes, the Government has already set the security apparatus in motion and we will gladly surrender more of our freedom so that we can feel safe or, at least, enjoy the illusion of safety.

As much as this is the time for sympathy and healing for those who suffered this tragedy it is also a time for national soul-searching. It is easy to isolate this incident as an evil act of a madman and tighten security and move on with life. We have done this over and over again but the scourge of violence refuses to disappear. Why will it, when we find so much joy in violence that we will suffer any inconvenience to see one set of madmen brutalize and destroy another set of madmen?

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CAT eNEWS – SBIU New Years 2012

READ ONLINE

1. ARUN GANDHI PEACE!

2. UPDATE ON BITCOIN

3. SIMPLY CLOUD9

4. FUTURE ACCOUNTING


CAT eNEWS – SBIU Summer 2011

READ ONLINE

1. Returning to Our Roots

2. State-Owned Banks Solution 

3. Bitcoin Digital Currency Traction

4. 723 Not-Two IS Peace!


The Story of Change!

Can shopping save the world?

The Story of Change urges viewers to put down their credit cards and start exercising their citizen muscles to build a more sustainable, just and fulfilling world.

Happy 13th Birthday Catalyst House!

7-16-2012


Arun Gandhi and Brazil’s Filhos de Gandhy

When Appaji and I met with the President, Professor Agnaldo Silva, of the Filhos de Gandhy (Sons of Gandhi), Appaji asked him, “Why do you call yourselves the Sons of Gandhi and not the People of Gandhi?” The Professor replied, “We do have a movement called the Daughters of Gandhi that walk alongside the Sons of Gandhi during Carnival.” Appaji replied that Bapu did not discriminate between genders, he held them equal and empowered women. It would be more in line with Bapu’s philosophy to be all inclusive i.e., the People of Gandhi! The Professor turned to his colleague and said, “We have some work to do!”

As the conversation continued the Professor asked if Appaji would consider coming back next Opening of Carnival to join the Sons of Gandhi, it would be a big moment for them. This was the first time that a Gandhi had visited Salvador Bahia, Brazil. Appaji responded that if they would consider changing their name to the People of Gandhi, he would consider returning for the Salvador Bahia Carnival.

Also, in the course of the dialogue Arun explained to the professor that he is not a “peace builder” per’se, as some in Brazil had described – he emphasized that he is a “Peace Farmer”, planting his seeds around the world.

The photos with the Professor are at the end of the photo album.

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lynnea2 The BoardLynnea Bylund is managing director of Gandhi Legacy Tours, Director of Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute, founder of Catalyst House and has nearly three decades of experience in administration, marketing and business development. She was a nationally recognized spokeswoman for the emerging alternative video and information delivery industries. She has a degree in holistic health-nutrition from the legendary and controversial health educator and activist Dr. Kurt Donsbach, she is the founder of two not-for-profit small business-based wireless trade associations and has lobbied on Capitol Hill and at the FCC where she has spoken out strongly against the cable TV monopoly, illegal spectrum warehousing and ill-conceived congressional schemes to auction our nation’s precious airwaves to the highest bidder.

Ms. Bylund is a founder and former CEO of a Washington DC telecommunications consulting and management company with holdings in several operating and developmental wireless communications systems and companies. In 1995 Lynnea became the first female in the world to be awarded a Broadband PCS operating permit – she was one of only 18 winners, along with Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon in the biggest cash auction in world history, raising a whopping $7.7 billion. Lynnea also spear-headed the successful effort to launch the first cable TV network in the South Pacific islands.
> Follow Lynnea on:  LynneaBylund – Twitter – LinkedIn – FaceBook – Pinterest & YouTube

 


Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson visited Salvador Bahia and Sao Paolo Brazil

Rochester New York July 7, 2012 — Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson, Dr. Arun Gandhi, visited Brazil the last week of June 2012.  He spent his seven-day tour visiting Salvador Bahia and Sao Paulo as well as talking with leaders from the Salvador Ministry of Education, Culture and International Relations, the Center for Support of Children with Cerebral Palsy (NACPC) a project recognized by UNESCO and UNICEF,  Teodoro Sampaio (Bairro Santa Cruz), Sons of Gandhi (Filhos de Gandhy), Residents de Sao Miguel Paulista, Institute of Democracy and Sustainability, and Fundacao Tide Setubal.

salvadore bahia arun gandhiWhile in Brazil, Dr. Gandhi also enjoyed separate visits with Salvador Municipal Secretary of Education, Juan Carlos Bacelar and the leadership of Institute of Democracy and Sustainability and Fundacao Tide Setubal to discuss the current situation in Brazil and begin a dialogue on how Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophies of nonviolence and education can be implemented in the ongoing development work there.  Dr. Gandhi gave a 20 minute interview with the Redo Record de Televisiao News Network and held several press conferences.

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Arun’s Interview on Brazilian Record News TV

Arun Gandhi was invited by Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDS) to Sao Paulo to address the residents of Sao Miguel Paulista. During his time in Sao Paulo, he was invited to give a 20 minute interview on Record News, one of two Brazilian 24 hour news channels modeled after CNN.  At one point, I was on the news production floor, typing in copy for the staff, real time.

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lynnea2 The BoardLynnea Bylund is a Director of Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute, founder of Catalyst House and has nearly three decades of experience in administration, marketing and business development. She was a nationally recognized spokeswoman for the emerging alternative video and information delivery industries. She has a degree in holistic health-nutrition from the legendary and controversial health educator and activist Dr. Kurt Donsbach, she is the founder of two not-for-profit small business-based wireless trade associations and has lobbied on Capitol Hill and at the FCC where she has spoken out strongly against the cable TV monopoly, illegal spectrum warehousing and ill-conceived congressional schemes to auction our nation’s precious airwaves to the highest bidder.

Ms. Bylund is a founder and former CEO of a Washington DC telecommunications consulting and management company with holdings in several operating and developmental wireless communications systems and companies. In 1995 Lynnea became the first female in the world to be awarded a Broadband PCS operating permit – she was one of only 18 winners, along with Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon in the biggest cash auction in world history, raising a whopping $7.7 billion. Lynnea also spear-headed the successful effort to launch the first cable TV network in the South Pacific islands.
> Follow Lynnea on:  +LynneaBylund – Twitter – LinkedIn – FaceBook – Pinterest & YouTube


Three video interviews of Arun Gandhi in Brazil

What a whirlwind trip this was! Whew!

Arun Gandhi Keynote at the Teatro Castro Alves theater in Bahia, Brazil

Arun Gandhi on the Cycle of Poverty in India

Arun Gandhi Interview in Sao Paulo, Brazil June 2012

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lynnea2 The BoardLynnea Bylund is managing director of Gandhi Legacy Tours, Director of Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute, founder of Catalyst House and has nearly three decades of experience in administration, marketing and business development. She was a nationally recognized spokeswoman for the emerging alternative video and information delivery industries. She has a degree in holistic health-nutrition from the legendary and controversial health educator and activist Dr. Kurt Donsbach, she is the founder of two not-for-profit small business-based wireless trade associations and has lobbied on Capitol Hill and at the FCC where she has spoken out strongly against the cable TV monopoly, illegal spectrum warehousing and ill-conceived congressional schemes to auction our nation’s precious airwaves to the highest bidder.

Ms. Bylund is a founder and former CEO of a Washington DC telecommunications consulting and management company with holdings in several operating and developmental wireless communications systems and companies. In 1995 Lynnea became the first female in the world to be awarded a Broadband PCS operating permit – she was one of only 18 winners, along with Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon in the biggest cash auction in world history, raising a whopping $7.7 billion. Lynnea also spear-headed the successful effort to launch the first cable TV network in the South Pacific islands.
> Follow Lynnea on:  LynneaBylund – Twitter – LinkedIn – FaceBook – Pinterest & YouTube


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