Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Sunday, May 2, 2010
This and that.....
Arizona House Passes Initial Provision for Obama Birther Bill
We have to pick up the rug of racism and sweep out all the old crap that has been collecting underneath, unfortunately we all have to witness the death of racism trying to stay alive.
Click on to the link below:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/20/arizona-house-passes-obam_n_544807.html
Friday, April 30, 2010
A Variety of Virtual Communities..
Eric Whitacre was inspired to create a virtual choir it took him five days to complete, this is an amazing virtual choir.
100 people all recorded their respective parts (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Bass) to create a virtual choir. Everyone was asked to buy the same recording of Sleep from iTunes, a performance by a British choir. Singers from around the world posted their individual parts on Utube, simply singing along to the recorded piece. Eric pulled this together to make a virtual masterpiece.
Here is an example of how our internet community can collaborate and make something quite beautiful. The following link is Eric Whitacre's website on how he managed to pull this off within 5 days. http://ericwhitacre.wordpress.com/
Eric Whitacre: A choir as big as the Internet | Video on TED.com
Another community I have found for myself is on Face book, Jo Frank a well know story teller from LA, a friend of mine and many others, has been broadcasting his stories on Pacifica radio, locally on KPFA 94.1 and KPFK in LA for years as well as nationally on public radio stations. Some of his shows are called Tales from the Urban Jungle or the Radio Chronicles. His stories are always out there, relevant and at the same time obscure. Here is an example of how he begins a story on Facebook:
It was bizarre. But the underlying idea seemed sound. By wearing an animal costume and making manifest their own unconscious animal urges, patients ... , were able to step back from their schizophrenia and express what was unacceptable in human behavior but normal for the animal natures they embraced. It objectified the stigma so that rather than be riddled with shame and guilt and the feeling they had failed as humans, they could become their own totemic animal and discharge their feelings in a safe environment without frightening or depressing them.
After about six months, they were released from the hospital to re-enter society still wearing their animal costumes, and many were killed in the first few days-- shot by hunters, devoured by other animals, and run over by cars. In fact, no one survived more than two or three weeks except those who were captured and sold to small zoos around the country.
Now what happens after this is where the fun starts for his friends, everyone who wants to, can add their part to the story or whatever, in the comment section of this Face book wall, at times he will get an amazing number of comments each one more funny or more peculiar than the one before, and Joe will make comments back to the readers, to me this is creative, spontaneous and cheap fun, my kind of creative community.
100 people all recorded their respective parts (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Bass) to create a virtual choir. Everyone was asked to buy the same recording of Sleep from iTunes, a performance by a British choir. Singers from around the world posted their individual parts on Utube, simply singing along to the recorded piece. Eric pulled this together to make a virtual masterpiece.
Here is an example of how our internet community can collaborate and make something quite beautiful. The following link is Eric Whitacre's website on how he managed to pull this off within 5 days. http://ericwhitacre.wordpress.com/
Eric Whitacre: A choir as big as the Internet | Video on TED.com
Another community I have found for myself is on Face book, Jo Frank a well know story teller from LA, a friend of mine and many others, has been broadcasting his stories on Pacifica radio, locally on KPFA 94.1 and KPFK in LA for years as well as nationally on public radio stations. Some of his shows are called Tales from the Urban Jungle or the Radio Chronicles. His stories are always out there, relevant and at the same time obscure. Here is an example of how he begins a story on Facebook:
The treatment consisted of encouraging patients to wear costumes of the animals that suited their personalities and reflected their deepest needs.
Whenever I visited the sanitarium, I was always taken aback by all the badgers, moles, raccoons, beavers, warthogs, porcupines, weasels, kangaroos, antelope and wolverines I saw roaming the halls.It was bizarre. But the underlying idea seemed sound. By wearing an animal costume and making manifest their own unconscious animal urges, patients ... , were able to step back from their schizophrenia and express what was unacceptable in human behavior but normal for the animal natures they embraced. It objectified the stigma so that rather than be riddled with shame and guilt and the feeling they had failed as humans, they could become their own totemic animal and discharge their feelings in a safe environment without frightening or depressing them.
After about six months, they were released from the hospital to re-enter society still wearing their animal costumes, and many were killed in the first few days-- shot by hunters, devoured by other animals, and run over by cars. In fact, no one survived more than two or three weeks except those who were captured and sold to small zoos around the country.
Now what happens after this is where the fun starts for his friends, everyone who wants to, can add their part to the story or whatever, in the comment section of this Face book wall, at times he will get an amazing number of comments each one more funny or more peculiar than the one before, and Joe will make comments back to the readers, to me this is creative, spontaneous and cheap fun, my kind of creative community.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Soul Loss and Social Work
As a social work graduate student in my last spring semester, for ever, unless I lose my mind and decide to go for a Ph.D.; I would like to share a little about a paper I found in my research for my Independent Project paper. I will be quoting a bit of this paper in my paper which is on Eco-Spiritual Social Work.
After three years of classes, papers and what not’s, I have amassed opinions, theories, and perspectives, some have been useful, some were a waste of my time and others have been right on, and the difference between what rings true to me and what seems to be bull, is how it feels intuitively, spiritually, mentally and from my heart.
I found a paper by Edward R. Canda, Ph.D. which speaks to me in that ‘ah ha’ way, and answers or at least gives some explanations for some of my frustrations around the professional perspective of social work.
The paper is entitled SPIRITUALLY SENSITIVE SOCIAL WORK: KEY CONCEPTS AND IDEALS and can be found online at: http://cj.bemidji.msus.edu/Journal/.
At times I have been frustrated by where the social work practices as a whole stands as a profession. Our program is a Generalist Practice focus, our education is intended to give us a wide birth of options once we graduate (see last page of this blog for a listing, taken off of HSU’s Social Work website), however what is of primary concern and a singled out means of accomplishment and the determination of our final examination, is how well we can label and diagnosis our clients, using the DSM, treatment being secondary to this diagnosis. The bottom line of the dollar dictates our practice and time is of the essence, short term therapy is the way to go, like drive thur therapy, all of this is for the insurance billing.
Many have chosen to follow the LCSW path after graduation and this training on how to use the DSM for billing will be useful. But what if this is not our path, for me I can label and diagnose but there is more to a client than that label.
Fortunately our program also has an emphasis on rural areas and indigenous peoples both locally and globally which can balance out the indoctrination of social work practice.
In Edward R. Canda’s paper he writes; “social work has largely become disconnected from its spiritual roots. Spirituality involves understanding the interconnectedness of all people; compassionate concern rises from soulful awareness of interconnectedness and the realization that self and others are inseparable (Canda, 1999).
We all know that social work’s roots go deep into religion, and that in the past, the need to help others came from what was rooted in compassion and what some would call a “natural way of life [sic], a birth right” or what others would call, ‘Christian’ values’. Canda points out that, ‘technocracy’ has separated social work from its natural way of helping by attempting to “formalize, systematize and employ natural compassion through large scale social institutions.” He describes the profession of social work as having a collective ‘soul loss,’ and that we are in the midst of reclaiming that loss of traditions of healers and helpers of all cultures evidenced by the renewed interest in spirituality both academically and in research (Canda, 1999).
(Definition of technocracy - a social system in which scientists, engineers, and technicians have high social standing and political power)
The following is Canda’s explanation of why social work lost it’s soul; [sic],”negative reaction to the tendency of some religiously based helpers to impose their own agendas on vulnerable people, through prosyletization and moralistic judgmentalism” . Another reason was religion’s hope that applying science might make up for what eluded religious helping remedies. And finally what I think is the biggest factor contributing to social works ‘soul loss,’ the linkage between social work and government welfare programs and insurance company’s agenda to keep church and state separate, thereby having full control on what was none of insurances’ business. And it has worked for over fifty years up to the last decade (Canda, 1999).
“We have unwittingly allowed ourselves to throw out the baby of spirituality with the bath water of sectarian rivalry (Canda, 1999).” Bringing back that baby of spirituality is and will continue to be difficult, but for me finding papers like this encourage me to believe in the social work practice and to remember its roots in compassion for all people without an agenda of money, power, or success, we work to serve.
Canda, E. R. (1999). Spiritually sensitive social work: Key concepts and ideals. Journal of Social Work
Theory and Practice, 1(1), 1-15. (http://cj.bemidjistate.edu/sw_journal/issue1/contents.html.)
What can I do with this degree?
SOCIAL WORK
AREAS
PUBLIC WELFARE
Administration and Planning
Case Management
Program Evaluation
Policy Setting
Research
EMPLOYERS
Public welfare agencies
Private social service agencies
DESCRIPTIONS/STRATEGIES
Public welfare is designed to provide services and support for poor, disabled, ill, elderly, or juvenile clients.
Volunteer at homeless shelters, soup kitchens, battered women homes, literacy programs, or other social service agencies to get experience.
AREAS
CRIMINAL JUSTICE/CORRECTIONS
Counseling/Therapy
Rehabilitation
Probation
Parole
Youth Services
Victim Assistance
EMPLOYERS
Prisons and correctional facilities
Courts
Police departments
Probation offices
Victim services organizations
DESCRIPTIONS/STRATEGIES
Social workers in corrections focus on rehabilitation of clients.
Obtain experience by volunteering at a corrections facility or victims program such as a rape crisis center.
AREAS
SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK
Clinical Social Work
Pupil Personnel Services
Student Advocacy
Instruction
EMPLOYERS
Elementary and secondary schools
School districts
Head start centers
Early intervention programs
DESCRIPTIONS/STRATEGIES
School systems may employ social workers to help students cope with and resolve emotional, developmental, or educational difficulties.
Gain experience with children at daycare centers, camps, or Scouts.
AREAS
CHILD WELFARE
Case Management
Advocacy
Intervention
EMPLOYERS
Public and private child welfare agencies
Adoption agencies
Foster care organizations
Child daycare
DESCRIPTIONS/STRATEGIES
Child welfare social workers strive to ensure the safety and well-being of children through treatment of the whole family.
Volunteer at daycares, child shelters, camps, YMCA, Scouts, or other agencies that aid youth.
AREAS
GERONTOLOGY
Advocacy/Intervention
Counseling
Case Management
Programming
Public Policy
EMPLOYERS
Hospitals
Nursing homes
Senior centers
Assisted living
Hospice
DESCRIPTIONS/STRATEGIES
Gerontology involves working with older adults, healthy or ill, and their families.
Get involved with programs or organizations designed for senior citizens.
AREAS
CLINICAL
Counseling
Therapy
EMPLOYERS
Community mental health centers
Psychiatric hospitals
Residential and day treatment hospitals
Employment assistance programs
Schools
Family service agencies
Private practice
DESCRIPTIONS/STRATEGIES
Clinical social workers are found in a variety of settings that provide therapeutic counseling to clients.
Master of Social Work (MSW) is required.
AREAS
ADMINISTRATION
Management
Policy Development
Planning
EMPLOYERS
Family service agencies
Child welfare departments
Social service agencies
State mental health departments
Employee assistance programs
Probation departments
Public welfare agencies
Public interest groups
Local, state, and federal government
DESCRIPTIONS/STRATEGIES
Administrators are involved with planning, budgeting, public relations, marketing, supervising, operations management, fund raising, and other crucial responsibilities that keep an organization functioning.
Obtain an MSW and gain management experience.
AREAS
RESEARCH AND EDUCATION
Research
Teaching
EMPLOYERS
Colleges and universities
Research institutes
Local, state and federal government
Advocacy organizations
DESCRIPTIONS/STRATEGIES
Research provides data and statistics important in program implementation and policy development.
Doctor of Social Work (DSW) or Ph.D. usually required.
AREAS
OCCUPATIONAL
Counseling
Education
Wellness Promotion
Employee Assistance
Organizational Development
Human Resources
EMPLOYERS
Businesses
Corporations
Employee assistance programs
Labor unions
DESCRIPTIONS/STRATEGIES
Occupational social workers help employees to be more productive and satisfied.
AREAS
DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
Case Management
Program Planning and Evaluation
Research
Policy Development
EMPLOYERS
Community residential homes
State and local agencies
Medical facilities
Schools
DESCRIPTIONS/STRATEGIES
Social workers in this area help people with disabilities to adjust and to lead productive lives.
Volunteer at special needs camps, daycares, schools, or hospitals to gain experience.
AREAS
HEALTH CARE
Case Management
Counseling
Program Development
Administration
Research
EMPLOYERS
Hospitals
Community health centers
Outpatient clinics
Public health programs
Health maintenance organizations (HMOs)
Nursing homes
Group homes
Hospice
Veterans Administration hospitals
DESCRIPTIONS/STRATEGIES
Social workers in health care facilitate medical and emotional treatment of patients.
Choose volunteer settings such as hospitals, the American Red Cross, or AIDS agencies to get experience.
AREAS
COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION
Program and Community Development
Advocacy
Politics
Education
Planning
EMPLOYERS
Advocacy organizations
Development corporations
Community centers
Local, state, and federal government
Associations
DESCRIPTIONS/STRATEGIES
Social workers in this area work with existing organizations to improve conditions for specific groups, enhance quality of living, and involve community members in the political process. Get involved with grassroots causes and community agencies.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) prepares individuals for entry-level direct practice.
Master of Social Work (MSW) is necessary to provide therapy and for advancement to supervisory or administrative positions.
Doctorate in Social Work (DSW) or Ph.D. usually required for positions in teaching, research, and administration. Desirable for some clinical positions and private practice.
Complete a degree from a college or university program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. Programs include practical field experience.
Most states require licensure, certification, or registration.
The field practicum is used to determine suitability for this profession and to provide exposure to various practice settings and clients.
Candidates should possess empathy for others, an appreciation for diversity, and an interest in social change.
Social workers serve a range of client systems (individuals, families, groups, communities) as they attempt to enhance social functioning.
Social work is unique given its dual focus on the person and the environment.
Note: Much of this information was adapted from Choices: Careers in Social Work by the National Association of Social Workers.
Prepared by the Career Planning staff of Career Services at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. (2005) UTK is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ADEA Employer
After three years of classes, papers and what not’s, I have amassed opinions, theories, and perspectives, some have been useful, some were a waste of my time and others have been right on, and the difference between what rings true to me and what seems to be bull, is how it feels intuitively, spiritually, mentally and from my heart.
I found a paper by Edward R. Canda, Ph.D. which speaks to me in that ‘ah ha’ way, and answers or at least gives some explanations for some of my frustrations around the professional perspective of social work.
The paper is entitled SPIRITUALLY SENSITIVE SOCIAL WORK: KEY CONCEPTS AND IDEALS and can be found online at: http://cj.bemidji.msus.edu/Journal/.
At times I have been frustrated by where the social work practices as a whole stands as a profession. Our program is a Generalist Practice focus, our education is intended to give us a wide birth of options once we graduate (see last page of this blog for a listing, taken off of HSU’s Social Work website), however what is of primary concern and a singled out means of accomplishment and the determination of our final examination, is how well we can label and diagnosis our clients, using the DSM, treatment being secondary to this diagnosis. The bottom line of the dollar dictates our practice and time is of the essence, short term therapy is the way to go, like drive thur therapy, all of this is for the insurance billing.
Many have chosen to follow the LCSW path after graduation and this training on how to use the DSM for billing will be useful. But what if this is not our path, for me I can label and diagnose but there is more to a client than that label.
Fortunately our program also has an emphasis on rural areas and indigenous peoples both locally and globally which can balance out the indoctrination of social work practice.
In Edward R. Canda’s paper he writes; “social work has largely become disconnected from its spiritual roots. Spirituality involves understanding the interconnectedness of all people; compassionate concern rises from soulful awareness of interconnectedness and the realization that self and others are inseparable (Canda, 1999).
We all know that social work’s roots go deep into religion, and that in the past, the need to help others came from what was rooted in compassion and what some would call a “natural way of life [sic], a birth right” or what others would call, ‘Christian’ values’. Canda points out that, ‘technocracy’ has separated social work from its natural way of helping by attempting to “formalize, systematize and employ natural compassion through large scale social institutions.” He describes the profession of social work as having a collective ‘soul loss,’ and that we are in the midst of reclaiming that loss of traditions of healers and helpers of all cultures evidenced by the renewed interest in spirituality both academically and in research (Canda, 1999).
(Definition of technocracy - a social system in which scientists, engineers, and technicians have high social standing and political power)
The following is Canda’s explanation of why social work lost it’s soul; [sic],”negative reaction to the tendency of some religiously based helpers to impose their own agendas on vulnerable people, through prosyletization and moralistic judgmentalism” . Another reason was religion’s hope that applying science might make up for what eluded religious helping remedies. And finally what I think is the biggest factor contributing to social works ‘soul loss,’ the linkage between social work and government welfare programs and insurance company’s agenda to keep church and state separate, thereby having full control on what was none of insurances’ business. And it has worked for over fifty years up to the last decade (Canda, 1999).
“We have unwittingly allowed ourselves to throw out the baby of spirituality with the bath water of sectarian rivalry (Canda, 1999).” Bringing back that baby of spirituality is and will continue to be difficult, but for me finding papers like this encourage me to believe in the social work practice and to remember its roots in compassion for all people without an agenda of money, power, or success, we work to serve.
Canda, E. R. (1999). Spiritually sensitive social work: Key concepts and ideals. Journal of Social Work
Theory and Practice, 1(1), 1-15. (http://cj.bemidjistate.edu/sw_journal/issue1/contents.html.)
What can I do with this degree?
SOCIAL WORK
AREAS
PUBLIC WELFARE
Administration and Planning
Case Management
Program Evaluation
Policy Setting
Research
EMPLOYERS
Public welfare agencies
Private social service agencies
DESCRIPTIONS/STRATEGIES
Public welfare is designed to provide services and support for poor, disabled, ill, elderly, or juvenile clients.
Volunteer at homeless shelters, soup kitchens, battered women homes, literacy programs, or other social service agencies to get experience.
AREAS
CRIMINAL JUSTICE/CORRECTIONS
Counseling/Therapy
Rehabilitation
Probation
Parole
Youth Services
Victim Assistance
EMPLOYERS
Prisons and correctional facilities
Courts
Police departments
Probation offices
Victim services organizations
DESCRIPTIONS/STRATEGIES
Social workers in corrections focus on rehabilitation of clients.
Obtain experience by volunteering at a corrections facility or victims program such as a rape crisis center.
AREAS
SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK
Clinical Social Work
Pupil Personnel Services
Student Advocacy
Instruction
EMPLOYERS
Elementary and secondary schools
School districts
Head start centers
Early intervention programs
DESCRIPTIONS/STRATEGIES
School systems may employ social workers to help students cope with and resolve emotional, developmental, or educational difficulties.
Gain experience with children at daycare centers, camps, or Scouts.
AREAS
CHILD WELFARE
Case Management
Advocacy
Intervention
EMPLOYERS
Public and private child welfare agencies
Adoption agencies
Foster care organizations
Child daycare
DESCRIPTIONS/STRATEGIES
Child welfare social workers strive to ensure the safety and well-being of children through treatment of the whole family.
Volunteer at daycares, child shelters, camps, YMCA, Scouts, or other agencies that aid youth.
AREAS
GERONTOLOGY
Advocacy/Intervention
Counseling
Case Management
Programming
Public Policy
EMPLOYERS
Hospitals
Nursing homes
Senior centers
Assisted living
Hospice
DESCRIPTIONS/STRATEGIES
Gerontology involves working with older adults, healthy or ill, and their families.
Get involved with programs or organizations designed for senior citizens.
AREAS
CLINICAL
Counseling
Therapy
EMPLOYERS
Community mental health centers
Psychiatric hospitals
Residential and day treatment hospitals
Employment assistance programs
Schools
Family service agencies
Private practice
DESCRIPTIONS/STRATEGIES
Clinical social workers are found in a variety of settings that provide therapeutic counseling to clients.
Master of Social Work (MSW) is required.
AREAS
ADMINISTRATION
Management
Policy Development
Planning
EMPLOYERS
Family service agencies
Child welfare departments
Social service agencies
State mental health departments
Employee assistance programs
Probation departments
Public welfare agencies
Public interest groups
Local, state, and federal government
DESCRIPTIONS/STRATEGIES
Administrators are involved with planning, budgeting, public relations, marketing, supervising, operations management, fund raising, and other crucial responsibilities that keep an organization functioning.
Obtain an MSW and gain management experience.
AREAS
RESEARCH AND EDUCATION
Research
Teaching
EMPLOYERS
Colleges and universities
Research institutes
Local, state and federal government
Advocacy organizations
DESCRIPTIONS/STRATEGIES
Research provides data and statistics important in program implementation and policy development.
Doctor of Social Work (DSW) or Ph.D. usually required.
AREAS
OCCUPATIONAL
Counseling
Education
Wellness Promotion
Employee Assistance
Organizational Development
Human Resources
EMPLOYERS
Businesses
Corporations
Employee assistance programs
Labor unions
DESCRIPTIONS/STRATEGIES
Occupational social workers help employees to be more productive and satisfied.
AREAS
DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
Case Management
Program Planning and Evaluation
Research
Policy Development
EMPLOYERS
Community residential homes
State and local agencies
Medical facilities
Schools
DESCRIPTIONS/STRATEGIES
Social workers in this area help people with disabilities to adjust and to lead productive lives.
Volunteer at special needs camps, daycares, schools, or hospitals to gain experience.
AREAS
HEALTH CARE
Case Management
Counseling
Program Development
Administration
Research
EMPLOYERS
Hospitals
Community health centers
Outpatient clinics
Public health programs
Health maintenance organizations (HMOs)
Nursing homes
Group homes
Hospice
Veterans Administration hospitals
DESCRIPTIONS/STRATEGIES
Social workers in health care facilitate medical and emotional treatment of patients.
Choose volunteer settings such as hospitals, the American Red Cross, or AIDS agencies to get experience.
AREAS
COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION
Program and Community Development
Advocacy
Politics
Education
Planning
EMPLOYERS
Advocacy organizations
Development corporations
Community centers
Local, state, and federal government
Associations
DESCRIPTIONS/STRATEGIES
Social workers in this area work with existing organizations to improve conditions for specific groups, enhance quality of living, and involve community members in the political process. Get involved with grassroots causes and community agencies.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) prepares individuals for entry-level direct practice.
Master of Social Work (MSW) is necessary to provide therapy and for advancement to supervisory or administrative positions.
Doctorate in Social Work (DSW) or Ph.D. usually required for positions in teaching, research, and administration. Desirable for some clinical positions and private practice.
Complete a degree from a college or university program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. Programs include practical field experience.
Most states require licensure, certification, or registration.
The field practicum is used to determine suitability for this profession and to provide exposure to various practice settings and clients.
Candidates should possess empathy for others, an appreciation for diversity, and an interest in social change.
Social workers serve a range of client systems (individuals, families, groups, communities) as they attempt to enhance social functioning.
Social work is unique given its dual focus on the person and the environment.
Note: Much of this information was adapted from Choices: Careers in Social Work by the National Association of Social Workers.
Prepared by the Career Planning staff of Career Services at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. (2005) UTK is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ADEA Employer
Friday, February 26, 2010
Temple Grandin: The world needs all kinds of minds | Video on TED.com
Temple Grandin: The world needs all kinds of minds | Video on TED.com
One of my favorite ways to relax and forget due dates, falling behind in my reading and will there be a job in social work for me once I graduate; is MOVIES. And it’s funny how even when I think I am just relaxing I find some great entertainment that is current, relevant, and leaves me thinking about what I watched long after I have turned off the TV and moved onto to other things.
This time it was the movie titled Temple Grandin, it is a true story about a woman with autism, who was born in the late 40’s, she is living an amazing life and has blazed a trail of autism advocacy and animal rights.
Temple has a particular disorder called Sensory integration dysfunction (SID) it is a “neurological disorder that was first studied in-depth by Anna Jean Ayres. Ayres describes sensory integration as the ability to organize sensory information for use by the brain. An individual with sensory integration dysfunction would therefore have an inability to organize sensory information as it comes in through the senses” Ayres, A. J. (2005). Sensory Integration and the Child: 25th Anniversary Edition. Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services. In other words, for someone like Temple Grandin, she is experiencing the world in pictures with every detail in place. This is an amazing ability, when Temple was asked if she would support a cure for autistic spectrum she said she would not as she supports neurodiversity.
In my research on SID, I found some disagreement about the SID as a discrete disorder not a recognized diagnosis in the DSM-IV-TR, which does not make someone’s experience any less real. For Temple Grandin, she has negotiated her life through her own activism along with the support of her family and schools. This is not always the case, for others who may have the same diagnosis.
In my internship agency we discuss issues facing learning disabled high school students who transition to college in relation to the amount and type of pre college preparation as a major determining factor of success in college. A role model like Temple Grandin is inspiring she was able to take her challenges with over sensory stimulation and used it as a means for invention of the hug machine. As a teenager she discovered while observing the way cattle were vaccinated while confined in a squeeze chute, that some of the cattle immediately calmed down after pressure was administered. She realized the deep pressure from the chute had a calming effect, and decided that might settle down her own hypersensitivity (her neurons must have been having a party with this connection of what on it’s face seems like unrelated information), a definite rage to master.
Several therapy programs in the United States use hug machines, effectively achieving general calming effects among both children and adults with autism. A 1995 study on the efficacy of Grandin's device, conducted by the Center for the Study of Autism, working with Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, involving ten children with autism, found a reduction in tension and anxiety.
Temple’s solution for herself also influenced the cattle industry using Temple’s animal rights activism. The blueprint above shows Temple's design with with curved corrals specifically designed to reduce stress in animals being led to slaughter. Although they are being led to slaughter Temples efforts made this more ‘humane.' I find this very interesting and actually not surprising that cattle as well as any being would feel better in structures which replicate nature in general. There is also some commonality that ties the movement of Universal Design to Temple's structures. Universal design is a method that is being used to design structures that fit in with natural inclines of the land, and make accommodations for disabled people universal and built into the way all building and structures should be made, inclusive and eco-dynamic.
Endnote /Aside: I am including the mission statement of the TED conference,TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design. Temple spoke after Bill Gates presentation.
Our mission: Spreading ideas.
We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we're building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world's most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other. This site, launched April 2007, is an ever-evolving work in progress, and you're an important part of it.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Spritual Colonism Blow-back?
Several weeks ago in our community class we discussed the deaths of two spiritual seekers in a sweat lodge at a New Age type of event, in Sedona Arizona.
In class there was a comment made which at the time, felt appropriate and humorous within the context of the class and our knowledge of the Native American Holocaust, but at the expense of those 2 seekers who passed and their families.
In my off and on spiritual practice, (which I have discussed in a previous blog), there is a mind set called Race Consciousness.
The Religious Science term Race consciousness means perceiving people, events, life and circumstances within ones life as defined and set by your life, your looks (color and ethnic background), and your circumstances. Seeing and perceiving beyond race consciousness requires acceptance and embracing all inclusively. The unknown, the sacred, the mysterious of life both past lives and future lives and the temporary assignment of gender, race and ethnicity in the present make up who we are.
I bring this up, because those two or three spiritually seeking individuals, although white in this lifetime may not have been in their past lives, should one choose to believe in reincarnation. And so, finding any kind of karmic satisfaction in the loss of white life does not level the anger field, absolve any violence or really make someone feel better in the long run.
My friend whom I have know for thirty years is Native American, there are many times when we are talking up a storm and she will say everyone is Native American. I believe this is what she is meaning, if we all come from the One, how can we be different at the same time. Difference is limited vision, we all share in the loss and pain of anyone.
On the other hand, in the hear and now action needs to be taken as seen in the following article:
Lakota Nation files lawsuit against parties in sweat lodge incident
by Nina Rehfeld
SEDONA, AZ (November 12, 2009) - In the aftermath of the tragedy at Angel Valley Retreat Center, where an incompetently conducted “sweat lodge” held by Californian self-help guru James Arthur Ray killed three participants, political steps are being taken by several native people across the United States. While local Indians from Arizona are forming a Council for Indigenous Traditional Healing to reclaim native ceremonies, the Lakota tribe of North and South Dakota has filed a lawsuit against the United States, the state of Arizona, James Arthur Ray and the Angel Valley Retreat Center.
Ray had conducted a five-day “Spiritual Warrior” seminar at Angel Valley on the first weekend of October, during which his more than sixty participants had been fasting and wandering in the desert. He then assembled them in an incompetently constructed “sweat lodge” that, according to eye witnesses, was turned into a two-hour endurance competition and left three people dead and nineteen injured.
The Lakota Nation considers its sweat lodge ceremony, the Oinikaga, one of the seven sacred rites of the Lakota. “This is a way of life, not a religion”, said Sam Longblackcat, who introduced the lawsuit to the public at a press conference in Phoenix on November 2nd.
The lawsuit refers to the Treaty of Fort Laramie between the United States and the Lakota Nation from 1868, which states that “if bad men among the whites or other people subject to the authority of the United States shall commit any wrong upon the person or the property of the Indians, the United States will (...) proceed at once to cause the offender to be arrested and punished according to the laws of the United States, and also reimburse the injured person for the loss sustained.” The plaintiffs hold that James Arthur Ray and the Angel Valley Retreat Center have “violated the peace between the United States and the Lakota Nation” and have caused the “desecration of our Sacred Oinikiga by causing the death of Liz Neuman, Kirby Brown and James Shore”. The lawsuit further holds that James Arthur Ray and the Angel Valley Retreat Center have committed fraud by impersonating Indians and must be held responsible for causing the deaths of the victims and injuries of the survivors, and for the destruction of evidence through the dismantling of the sweat lodge.
Longblackcat, who spoke with the approval Lakota leaders, said the lawsuit is meant to reinstate the protection of the Lakota sacred way of life. “We Lakota people continue to fight for our way of life. The sweat lodge – we call it Oinikaga or Inipi – is a purification ceremony, to make life. Our sacred way of life was desecrated by a non-native man. This is our property, and there are laws in the United States and in the United Nations that state that these customs are ours and that they are to be protected.” [Link to full statement]
Good Morning Sedona, December 11, 2009
Also at the Phoenix press conference, Chief Anselmo Candelaria, Apache and Olone of Phoenix and Daniel Bejar, Mescalero Apache and Mexica Apache of Prescott, announced the formation of the Council of Indigenous Traditional Healers to “provide guidance and oversight in regards to sacred healing ceremonies.”
Bejar said that the purpose of the council is to “protect people, protect our ceremonies and see what can be done to keep this from happening again.” He also stressed that this is not an attack on the Sedona retreat industry. “We do not want to badger people or protest, we want to approach this in a good way. We want to check into the authenticity of people offering sweat lodges. We want to confront people who are doing these ceremonies about taking money for them and about not being properly trained. And we want to let people who come in seeking know that we have qualified water pourers.” The goal of the Council, Bejar said, is not to shut down non-native lodges. “My belief is that anyone is entitled to pray, no matter where they come from. But ceremonies like the sweat lodge have to be conducted by the appropriate people – and not for pay.” Current members of the Council are Chief Anselmo Candelaria, Daniel Bejar, Luis Viniegra, Juan Guevara, Pete Jackson as well as two more, and others, including people from the Yavapai Apache tribe, will be approached, said Bejar. “We want to take ownership and responsibility for our region.” The Council can be contacted via theeaglelodge@aol.com or 928-776-8692.
Amayra Hamilton, one of the owners of Angel Valley Retreat Center, declined to be interviewed at this time and said she was preparing a press statement. She did, however, send this reaction via e-mail: “We feel that filing whatever lawsuits against whoever can be sued, is NOT (her emphasis) a solution for a theme that needs to be addressed by each and everyone of us, yourself included: do we listen to ourselves what is right for us, and, as a leader, do we listen to our hearts and be aware of our responsibility? As we see it, acting and reacting based on judgment, anger and revenge is not honoring those who lost their lives, on the contrary. We truly want to honor the ones who died AND (her emphasis) the native traditions that feel offended and hurt, which we understand, we have chosen to approach it from our heart and make something positive out of what happened. That is the path we choose to walk. We highly appreciate that the indigenous people and those who feel a strong connection with them, get together to show the world the beauty of their traditions, to share the essence and power of their ceremonies and increase awareness. That, if we all do learn our lesson, may prevent that incidents like what occurred would ever happen again.”
The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office's homicide investigation into the deaths of the three participants in Ray's seminar is still underway. According to the latest update on the Sheriff's website from November 9th, detectives are trying to locate and interview all the participants in the event. The media release states that “the Sheriff’s Office is anticipating that during the month of December, 2009, the investigative information up to this time will be forwarded to the Yavapai County Attorney’s Office for review.”
James Arthur Ray, who refused to speak to local authorities and skipped town the night of the tragedy to continue conducting his seminars in California, has now postponed all planned events to help “bring some sort of closure to the matter,” as he professes on his website. “That means helping the authorities and the families get to the bottom of what happened.” Ray has so far offered no public apology.
I think this is great to use the law at this time and speak truth to power, if interested in the law suite here is a pdf to review http://www.sedona.biz/LAKOTA-LAWSUIT-SWEAT-LODGE.pdf
In a final note, because I am part of what can be called New Agers I am including a blog from Patty the pagan and her take on this situation:
Patti's Paganism / Wicca Blog
By Patti Wigington, About.com Guide to Paganism / Wicca
Lakota Tribe Files Suit in Sedona Case
Saturday November 14, 2009
Remember the horrific case last month of the Sedona sweatlodge in which three people died? Now a Lakota tribe has filed a lawsuit against the United States, the state of Arizona, James Arthur Ray and the Angel Valley Retreat Center. The complaint states that Lakota ceremonies are sacred, and as such, should never have been appropriated by Ray or anyone else who's not Lakota.
The suit cites the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie, which says, "if bad men among the whites or other people subject to the authority of the United States shall commit any wrong upon the person or the property of the Indians, the United States will (...) proceed at once to cause the offender to be arrested and punished according to the laws of the United States, and also reimburse the injured person for the loss sustained."
The lawsuit also charges Ray with committing fraud by "impersonating [an] Indian," and says he "must be held responsible for causing the deaths of the victims and injuries of the survivors, and for the destruction of evidence through the dismantling of the sweat lodge."
In addition to the lawsuit, a number of Native American leaders have gotten together to form the Council of Indigenous Traditional Healers, in hopes that they can "provide guidance and oversight in regards to sacred healing ceremonies." Council members say their goal is not to shut down healing centers that are non-native, but instead to protect people, and make sure that native ceremonies are being performed safely, by those who are qualified to run them.
In class there was a comment made which at the time, felt appropriate and humorous within the context of the class and our knowledge of the Native American Holocaust, but at the expense of those 2 seekers who passed and their families.
In my off and on spiritual practice, (which I have discussed in a previous blog), there is a mind set called Race Consciousness.
The Religious Science term Race consciousness means perceiving people, events, life and circumstances within ones life as defined and set by your life, your looks (color and ethnic background), and your circumstances. Seeing and perceiving beyond race consciousness requires acceptance and embracing all inclusively. The unknown, the sacred, the mysterious of life both past lives and future lives and the temporary assignment of gender, race and ethnicity in the present make up who we are.
I bring this up, because those two or three spiritually seeking individuals, although white in this lifetime may not have been in their past lives, should one choose to believe in reincarnation. And so, finding any kind of karmic satisfaction in the loss of white life does not level the anger field, absolve any violence or really make someone feel better in the long run.
My friend whom I have know for thirty years is Native American, there are many times when we are talking up a storm and she will say everyone is Native American. I believe this is what she is meaning, if we all come from the One, how can we be different at the same time. Difference is limited vision, we all share in the loss and pain of anyone.
On the other hand, in the hear and now action needs to be taken as seen in the following article:
Lakota Nation files lawsuit against parties in sweat lodge incident
by Nina Rehfeld
SEDONA, AZ (November 12, 2009) - In the aftermath of the tragedy at Angel Valley Retreat Center, where an incompetently conducted “sweat lodge” held by Californian self-help guru James Arthur Ray killed three participants, political steps are being taken by several native people across the United States. While local Indians from Arizona are forming a Council for Indigenous Traditional Healing to reclaim native ceremonies, the Lakota tribe of North and South Dakota has filed a lawsuit against the United States, the state of Arizona, James Arthur Ray and the Angel Valley Retreat Center.
Ray had conducted a five-day “Spiritual Warrior” seminar at Angel Valley on the first weekend of October, during which his more than sixty participants had been fasting and wandering in the desert. He then assembled them in an incompetently constructed “sweat lodge” that, according to eye witnesses, was turned into a two-hour endurance competition and left three people dead and nineteen injured.
The Lakota Nation considers its sweat lodge ceremony, the Oinikaga, one of the seven sacred rites of the Lakota. “This is a way of life, not a religion”, said Sam Longblackcat, who introduced the lawsuit to the public at a press conference in Phoenix on November 2nd.
The lawsuit refers to the Treaty of Fort Laramie between the United States and the Lakota Nation from 1868, which states that “if bad men among the whites or other people subject to the authority of the United States shall commit any wrong upon the person or the property of the Indians, the United States will (...) proceed at once to cause the offender to be arrested and punished according to the laws of the United States, and also reimburse the injured person for the loss sustained.” The plaintiffs hold that James Arthur Ray and the Angel Valley Retreat Center have “violated the peace between the United States and the Lakota Nation” and have caused the “desecration of our Sacred Oinikiga by causing the death of Liz Neuman, Kirby Brown and James Shore”. The lawsuit further holds that James Arthur Ray and the Angel Valley Retreat Center have committed fraud by impersonating Indians and must be held responsible for causing the deaths of the victims and injuries of the survivors, and for the destruction of evidence through the dismantling of the sweat lodge.
Longblackcat, who spoke with the approval Lakota leaders, said the lawsuit is meant to reinstate the protection of the Lakota sacred way of life. “We Lakota people continue to fight for our way of life. The sweat lodge – we call it Oinikaga or Inipi – is a purification ceremony, to make life. Our sacred way of life was desecrated by a non-native man. This is our property, and there are laws in the United States and in the United Nations that state that these customs are ours and that they are to be protected.” [Link to full statement]
Good Morning Sedona, December 11, 2009
Also at the Phoenix press conference, Chief Anselmo Candelaria, Apache and Olone of Phoenix and Daniel Bejar, Mescalero Apache and Mexica Apache of Prescott, announced the formation of the Council of Indigenous Traditional Healers to “provide guidance and oversight in regards to sacred healing ceremonies.”
Bejar said that the purpose of the council is to “protect people, protect our ceremonies and see what can be done to keep this from happening again.” He also stressed that this is not an attack on the Sedona retreat industry. “We do not want to badger people or protest, we want to approach this in a good way. We want to check into the authenticity of people offering sweat lodges. We want to confront people who are doing these ceremonies about taking money for them and about not being properly trained. And we want to let people who come in seeking know that we have qualified water pourers.” The goal of the Council, Bejar said, is not to shut down non-native lodges. “My belief is that anyone is entitled to pray, no matter where they come from. But ceremonies like the sweat lodge have to be conducted by the appropriate people – and not for pay.” Current members of the Council are Chief Anselmo Candelaria, Daniel Bejar, Luis Viniegra, Juan Guevara, Pete Jackson as well as two more, and others, including people from the Yavapai Apache tribe, will be approached, said Bejar. “We want to take ownership and responsibility for our region.” The Council can be contacted via theeaglelodge@aol.com or 928-776-8692.
Amayra Hamilton, one of the owners of Angel Valley Retreat Center, declined to be interviewed at this time and said she was preparing a press statement. She did, however, send this reaction via e-mail: “We feel that filing whatever lawsuits against whoever can be sued, is NOT (her emphasis) a solution for a theme that needs to be addressed by each and everyone of us, yourself included: do we listen to ourselves what is right for us, and, as a leader, do we listen to our hearts and be aware of our responsibility? As we see it, acting and reacting based on judgment, anger and revenge is not honoring those who lost their lives, on the contrary. We truly want to honor the ones who died AND (her emphasis) the native traditions that feel offended and hurt, which we understand, we have chosen to approach it from our heart and make something positive out of what happened. That is the path we choose to walk. We highly appreciate that the indigenous people and those who feel a strong connection with them, get together to show the world the beauty of their traditions, to share the essence and power of their ceremonies and increase awareness. That, if we all do learn our lesson, may prevent that incidents like what occurred would ever happen again.”
The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office's homicide investigation into the deaths of the three participants in Ray's seminar is still underway. According to the latest update on the Sheriff's website from November 9th, detectives are trying to locate and interview all the participants in the event. The media release states that “the Sheriff’s Office is anticipating that during the month of December, 2009, the investigative information up to this time will be forwarded to the Yavapai County Attorney’s Office for review.”
James Arthur Ray, who refused to speak to local authorities and skipped town the night of the tragedy to continue conducting his seminars in California, has now postponed all planned events to help “bring some sort of closure to the matter,” as he professes on his website. “That means helping the authorities and the families get to the bottom of what happened.” Ray has so far offered no public apology.
I think this is great to use the law at this time and speak truth to power, if interested in the law suite here is a pdf to review http://www.sedona.biz/LAKOTA-LAWSUIT-SWEAT-LODGE.pdf
In a final note, because I am part of what can be called New Agers I am including a blog from Patty the pagan and her take on this situation:
Patti's Paganism / Wicca Blog
By Patti Wigington, About.com Guide to Paganism / Wicca
Lakota Tribe Files Suit in Sedona Case
Saturday November 14, 2009
Remember the horrific case last month of the Sedona sweatlodge in which three people died? Now a Lakota tribe has filed a lawsuit against the United States, the state of Arizona, James Arthur Ray and the Angel Valley Retreat Center. The complaint states that Lakota ceremonies are sacred, and as such, should never have been appropriated by Ray or anyone else who's not Lakota.
The suit cites the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie, which says, "if bad men among the whites or other people subject to the authority of the United States shall commit any wrong upon the person or the property of the Indians, the United States will (...) proceed at once to cause the offender to be arrested and punished according to the laws of the United States, and also reimburse the injured person for the loss sustained."
The lawsuit also charges Ray with committing fraud by "impersonating [an] Indian," and says he "must be held responsible for causing the deaths of the victims and injuries of the survivors, and for the destruction of evidence through the dismantling of the sweat lodge."
In addition to the lawsuit, a number of Native American leaders have gotten together to form the Council of Indigenous Traditional Healers, in hopes that they can "provide guidance and oversight in regards to sacred healing ceremonies." Council members say their goal is not to shut down healing centers that are non-native, but instead to protect people, and make sure that native ceremonies are being performed safely, by those who are qualified to run them.
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