The Election and Peacefulness

I have not prepared a message for this week. Accept my apologies. We are under the threat of wildfires and my focus has been on preparing the house and grounds to resist fires as much as possible. It also has been focused on preparing the “stuff” we will need to take in case we receive an announcement to evacuate. Of course, we hope it never comes to that.

I received an email today from a very good friend about remaining peaceful and spiritual in the face of this election cycle. I am simply going to attach that article for your perusal. It is wonderfully stated and powerful. It is How You Can Find the Good in a Nasty Election Cycle by Kelly McGonigal, as published by Daily Good – News That Inspires.

Although these messages are mostly for me, thanks for listening to me and getting to know me – warts and all. As always, feel free to forward this message to your friends, family, and those accompanying you on your spiritual journey.

Don

#1 Nov 2016

Copyright 2016

How You Can Find the Good in a Nasty Election Cycle by Kelly McGonigal

Do you believe that people are basically good?

For many of us, this election is making that a tougher question than it used to be. I teach and study compassion. I see the good in others for a living. In fact, you could say that both my professional niche and my greatest personal refuge is "finding the good.' And yet, this election is testing my capacity to trust in basic goodness.

I'm not alone in this struggle. It seems as though everyone I talk to has a story about a low point in this election cycle. Many of them are feeling moral distress--that potent combination of moral outrage, worrying about harm that may be done, and feeling powerless to do anything about it.

For some, the low point was watching one of the debates. For others, warnings of a rigged election. For me, it was a video from the New York Times called "Unfiltered Voices from Donald Trump's Crowds.' I watched fellow Americans shout [...] Each outburst [derogatory comments about minorities and the other candidate] seemed to be a euphoric release, as if the speaker were setting free some previously suppressed self to say, "Here's who I really am!'

People aren't just frustrated, irritated, or anxious about whether their candidate is going to win. More than anything else, this election is eroding social trust. As one of my colleagues put it, there's a "degradation of our collective sense of common humanity.' More than one person has told me that as offensive memes flooded their Facebook feeds, they were left unsure of who their "friends' really were. Even faith in our democratic system has collapsed. According to a Politico poll, thirty percent of voters are not confident that their vote will be counted. The loss of trust doesn't extend just to other Americans. I've heard from many students and friends who have lost trust in themselves, alarmed by the depths of their own rage, judgment, and disgust. The election has revealed a side of themselves they don't recognize, leaving their own basic goodness in doubt.

I can't help but wonder: Is it possible that this is who we really are?

Of course, you don't need me to tell you that this is a stressful election. According to a Harris poll conducted for the American Psychological Association, 52 percent of American adults say that the presidential election is a very or somewhat significant source of stress. For registered voters, that number is even higher--55 percent of registered Democrats and 59 percent of Republicans. No demographic seems to be spared, with all ages, genders, races, and ethnicities reporting high levels of election stress.

While I've seen these statistics cited by others, most commentaries treat election stress like ordinary, everyday stress. The American Psychological Association recommends turning off

on Netflix. The Washington Post pointed readers to emergency election meditations that will help you breathe through your angst if you get triggered by a Facebook post.

This kind of advice isn't bad if you're seeking temporary stress relief. But what if your goal is not just to feel better, but to keep your faith in humanity strong? What if your anxiety isn't just about you alone, but the well-being of everyone around you?

Because let's be clear: The stress we're feeling about this election can have profound effects on our individual and collective well-being. Psychologist Michael Poulin, director of the Stress, Coping, and Prosocial Engagement lab at the University at Buffalo, NY, has studied the effect of social trust and mistrust on physical and mental well-being. In one 2015 study of adults in 87 countries, agreeing with the statement "Most people can be trusted' was consistently linked to greater life satisfaction, happiness, and health. In contrast, mistrust was universally linked to distress and poor health.

UCLA stress researcher Steve Cole has found that social trust can even affect mental and physical health through changes in gene expression. People's responses to statements like "People are basically good' and "Our society is a good place, or is becoming a better place, for all people' are linked to genetic profiles that can either protect against, or increase the  risk of, everything from depression to heart disease. As social trust goes down, proinflammatory genes become upregulated, and risk goes up. This election may be changing us at a cellular level, creating what Cole calls a "molecular memory' of moral distress.

Moral distress is no ordinary stress, and preserving social trust requires more than just taking a bath, watching comedies, or even meditating. Rather than turn to the usual stress-reduction strategies of distraction and self-soothing, it's important to recognize what makes this election's stress so toxic--and what we can do to turn that poison into good medicine. For ourselves, and for others.

This requires more than mindfulness. It calls for heartfulness--the courage to stay engaged, with an open heart and a determination to hold onto your faith in what connects us. In this spirit, I offer three strategies for transforming moral distress into moral courage, moral elevation, and compassion.

1.  Do something

·       More on Stress & Politics

·       Joshua Greene explains how to close the gap between "us" and "them." Find out how to talk with your kids about Donald Trump.

·       Learn about what research into power tells us about Hillary Clinton.

·       Jeremy Adam Smith explains how science helps us find the good in ourselves and humanity. Kelly McGonigal reveals how stress can bring people together.

Think about what matters most to you in this election. Then, if you are eligible, vote. Vote whether  you  think  your  individual  vote  matters  or  not.  Vote  strategically,  vote       your _______ Do not fall prey to what compassion researchers call "psuedoinefficacy'--the sense that because you can't do everything by yourself, that nothing you do matters. Nobody's individual vote matters. That's not how voting works. Your vote matters as part of a collective. Ask yourself, "What if nobody like me, who cares about what I care about, voted  in this election?' If you don't like the answer to that question, vote. If you aren't eligible to vote, volunteer.

Now extend this mindset of collective participation to any action you can take that is in line with your deeply held values. You don't have to do it all. As you take committed action, look around. Notice that you are not alone. This is bigger than you. And also, it needs you. This is how you practice moral courage.

2.  Look for the good

Are there destructive forces as well as virtue in all of us? Yes, of course. That's the complexity of human nature. But this election has obscured the latter while highlighting the former. For your mental health, you need to restore some balance. One antidote to moral distress is moral elevation: witnessing the good in others.

How do you find the good? One resource I've turned to is NPR's Storycorps. Since the summer, they've  been  sharing  a  weekly  series  of  audio  and  video  stories  called #WhoWeAre. As Storycorps describes it, #WhoWeAre is "a series of real-life stories told by everyday Americans that speak to our best selves. Stories that amplify love over hate and empathy over fear. Stories that build bridges of understanding between people and help us recognize our shared humanity.'

Research shows that stories like this don't just make us feel better--they also help us feel awe, gratitude, and self-transcendence. One 2015 study found that watching a video that inspired moral elevation increased feelings of common humanity and connection to others, including members of so-called "out groups.' Another study found that for people suffering from depression, moral elevation increased their hope and reduced their sadness, anxiety, and loneliness.

How else can you give yourself the good medicine of moral elevation? In everyday life, look for, notice, and appreciate acts of virtue. Make it a goal to witness compassion, character, and courage. When you do, savor the feeling of being uplifted. Be present for the experience. Let it soak into your cells and remind your DNA that there is good in the world. Tell the story to someone else, so that it might inspire them.

3.  Be the good

·       Practices for Compassion

·       Learn loving-kindness meditation.

·       Try letting go of anger through compassion. Discover how to cultivate a sense of shared identity.

·       Look for ways to make an immediate difference in your community. Be the source point of themselves. Your impact may be far greater than you imagine.

I'm currently teaching a Science of Compassion course, and last week's assignment was to share a story of a time you received or witnessed compassion. One thing that struck me, as I read story after story, is how much opportunity there is in everyday life to change someone else's experience with relatively little investment. Doing so can hold meaning for that person far beyond what we would imagine when we made the gesture.

Some of my students shared stories from decades ago. The acts of kindness were so small, they might barely have registered in the do-gooder's consciousness. One such story  involved nothing more than letting a young woman skip the line for a restroom. Another example was a driver who slowed down to ask a stranger if she was OK after falling on the sidewalk. One student described having an upsetting cell phone conversation while waiting for a train. After he hung up, a stranger boarding the train said to him, "I really hope your day gets better.' Students wrote about how they would recall experiences like these when they wanted to restore their faith in humanity, or feel renewed by strength and hope.

I'm also in the middle of teaching an eight-week compassion meditation course at Stanford Hospital, and next week's lesson is on common humanity. The meditation practice we'll be learning is simple: Contemplate the human being or group who is triggering your judgment, disgust, anger, fear, or contempt, and remind yourself, "Just like me, this person wishes to be happy and free from suffering. In this way, we are no different.'

If you've been distressed by this election, remember that you aren't alone. There are countless others who also feel that despair. When you remember this, decide to be the antidote to someone else's moral distress. In ways you may never know, your small acts of kindness could reverberate in the lives of others long past this election cycle.

Sunni Versus Shia Within Islam

We have all heard of the traditional Sunni/Shia difficulties within Islam. This feud has been on-going for over a millennium. It’s been the cause of strife and war within the Mideast for centuries. It is into the midst of this internal Islamic strife that we plunged during the Iraq war under the Bush Administration. It became a mess. The Obama Administration continued to flounder, as well, because of this internal Islamic rift.

My wife and I were away to visit India and the United Arab Emirates – especially the cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. It was quite a contrast between India and her 3,500 years of history and the UAE, barely 50 years old. But I finally was able to make sense of the Sunni/Shia difficulties. Since the Mideast conflict(s) is such an important aspect of our current political and security concerns, I want to share my new understanding with you in this message.

As we toured Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates and the wealthiest of the UAE, our Guide kept referring to the tolerance the Sunni Islamists offered to all Abu Dhabi residents. All religious beliefs are welcome as long as they, including Islam, do not try to proselytize other residents. That can get you removed from the country. I began asking questions of our Guide about the Sunni branch of Islam as opposed to the Shia Branch. He gave me little snippets of answers here and there, as were appropriate to what is was we were currently touring.

Finally, on the last day we visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. I had heard of this fabulous mosque, but I really didn’t know what to expect.  When we saw the mosque, I was blown away, as was everyone else in our tour group. I told a companion traveler, “I really didn’t know what to expect, but I surely didn’t expect this!” He felt the same way.

As an aside: Google “Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi” and click on the Wikipedia entry. Check out the details of the Mosque in Wikipedia – especially the sections entitled Design, Dimensions and Statistics, as well as Key Architectural Features. The information presented is very much in line with what we heard from our tour Guide, who functions as an Imam (which simply means prayer leader) in his local mosque.

Most of the world’s Muslims are Sunni (85-90%) by recent estimates while the remaining 10-15% are Shia or Shi’ites. The Sunnis are throughout most of the Arab world, Southeast Asia (including Indonesia) and Africa. Saudi Arabia has the largest Sunni population. Pakistan has the second-largest Sunni population. The Shi’ites are primarily in Iraq and Iran. Pakistan also has the second-largest Shia populations in the world.

Although the Sunni/Shia animosity is a very, very complicated issue, our Guide tried to explain it as succinctly as possible. After the Prophet Mohammad died circa 650AD some of the Islamic community thought his successor should come from his family – it should be an inherited line of succession. This successor would be the Caliph of the Islamic community. Additionally, there should be a hierarchy of imams (or mosque leaders), culminating in the highest, most potent, position – that of Ayatollah. Those favoring this approach were the Shia, or Shi’ites. Shias also believe special spiritual qualities have been granted not only to Muhammad but also to the other Imams, especially the Ayatollah, who can understand and interpret the hidden inner meaning of the teachings of Islam.

Others believed that the successors to Mohammed should be determined by the method of choosing or electing leaders, as endorsed by the Quran, by the consensus of the Muslim community. These are the Sunni. The foundation of Islam for them is the inherent equality of all believers before God.  Hence tolerance. In Sunni mosques the men stand hip-to-hip and foot-to-foot with their neighbors – regardless of social position. This equality before God and a sense of Oneness with all present is very dominant and critical for the Sunni. Women are separated from men in the mosques – not because they’re inferior – but because they are there to pray and sexual distractions can affect both a man or a woman if they are in close proximity to each other.

ISIS/ISIL is not Islamic but simply a terrorist group fulminating the Sunni/Shia tensions and trying to manipulate the seething anger and resentment between the two groups for their own political interests. Most of the people ISIS/ISIL kills are Muslims. Although ISIS/ISIL inflicts much of their terror on Shia populations in Iraq, they also target any group in Syria that will encourage the continuity of the civil war there. Any unrest is seen as a good thing to ISIS/ISIL – something that can be exploited for their political benefit.

The understanding of the Sunni Islamic view as one of tolerance was also pointed out as we passed the Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi, where there is a marvelous sculpture of the word “Tolerance.” Equality and tolerance also explain the care taken by the government to protect the indigenous Emirati population, which is only about 20% of the residents of the UAE. Education, health care, housing, and employment are all considered a right of native Emirati citizens. The remaining 80% of the population consists of immigrant workers and employees of outside companies. These, too, are afforded a great many benefits because the UAE demands their contracts contain a living wage, adequate housing, health care coverage and a paid month-long leave (with round trip airfare) so the workers can go home each year. Violations of that contract with an employee can result in the cancellation of the company’s ability to continue to do business in the UAE.

Tolerance and equality before God are the hallmarks of the Sunni. Top-down Islamic dictates from the Ayatollah is the hallmark of the Shia. They can (and do) detest each other and play for political gain by keeping their differences inflamed.

This explanation helped me. I hope it is helpful to you as well.

Although these messages are mostly for me, thanks for listening to me and getting to know me – warts and all. As always, feel free to forward this message to your friends, family, and those accompanying you on your spiritual journey.

Don

#3 Sep 2016

Copyright 2016