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Greetings!
July is a month of freedom--freedom from work and school as we go on vacation, a time to appreciate the many liberties we enjoy, and a celebration of our independent spirit. In this issue of our newsletter we explore the evolution from realizing our independence to our interdependence with all people and with the earth. Yes, we're going a little deep, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. Many Blessings, Michela editor@bestlifemedia.com |
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Honoring Our Interdependence
Feature Article
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 This month, citizens across the United States took time-out on July 4th to honor our nation's Declaration of Independence from her mother country, the British Empire. Usually this day is marked by time off from work, barbecues with family and friends, and colorful fireworks exploding in the skies.
Most of us learn at a very early age to quote one of the best-known sentences in the English language: "All men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights; that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." The U.S. Declaration of Independence is said to be the most potent and consequential words in American history. Yet, few of us take time to contemplate our individual or collective state of independence, or its distant, but some may say even more significant, cousin--our interdependence.
We are born inept and totally dependent on others for survival. As we age, we move into independence, seeking freedom from the control, influence, and aid of others. We stake our claim on self-sufficiency and autonomy, and go about life attempting to rule our world. Seldom do we recognize the impact our actions may be having on others' ability to do the same. As we mature, life has a way of showing us that in the words of 17th-century English author John Donne, "No man is an island." We come to realize that no one is truly self-sufficient; we're all in this together.
 At this stage, we recognize that all that truly works in life is interdependence. People use words like mutuality, community, synergy, and sustainability to describe this kind of existence. An interdependent relationship implies that all participants are emotionally, economically, ecologically, and morally reliant on one another. In an independent society, a child is celebrated when they can say, "I can do it for myself." In tribal cultures, a child is encouraged to grow beyond independence into interdependence, so they can say, "I can do it for others."
Today, many of us are looking back to our ancestral teachings, to nature and deep within for the wisdom on how to move from an overly independent society to a healthier, interdependent existence. In nature, the cycle of interdependence is impossible not to observe. As naturalist John Muir wrote of his life in the wilderness, "When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe." You and I, the birds and the trees, we are all one.
Although we historically celebrate our "independence" in July, uncontrollable forces are beckoning us to recognize our "interdependence"-- the Gulf oil spill, the struggling financial recovery, the ongoing tragedies of war. Many of us woke up on 9-11 when our interdependence hit us right between the eyes as the Twin Towers crumbled to the ground. Never before had we so clearly witnessed our interconnectedness to the rest of the world.
Since then, small grass roots efforts have been underway to formulate various Declarations of Interdependence and local Interdependence Days, some falling on July 4th others around September 21st, the International Day of Peace. Such activities provide ways to remind ourselves and each other just how important interdependence is.
The Co-Intelligence Institute provides a brief history of some of these efforts and goes further to suggest using the months of July, August, and September as a "Season of Interdependence." Leaders as diverse as Mahatma Gandi, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Jr., M. Scott Peck, Stephen Covey, and Ilchi Lee have written and spoken at length about interdependence. So, this month, we encourage you to take time out to contemplate and honor your own interdependence in some small way with the people and world around you. |
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Are You an Earth Citizen?
Ilchi Inspiration
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 Ilchi Lee suggests that we all reconnect to the earth as a source of hope and peace in the world. No matter how different we look or how strange one culture may seem to another, all rely completely on the earth. It's our one common value, and it can be the means of uniting humanity. We speak sometimes of being Americans or Koreans or Brazilians or Africans, but in reality, we are all really "Earth Citizens".
Living as Earth Citizens means that we place the earth as our highest common value. When all humans recognize our dependence on the earth and our interdependence with each other, we will override our loyalties and self-identification with our race, nation, or religion. We will consider ourselves as Earth Citizens first in order to work together to manage the earth's resources.
Presently, our dominant cultures do not support this common value because they are largely based on competition for and overconsumption of natural resources, rather than peaceful, sustainable living and a humble awareness that we are dependent upon the earth. The current values result in a disconnection from nature, and subsequently, from each other.
The culture that will result from adopting the earth as a common value may take many different forms and evolve over time, but basic respect for the earth and all of humanity must remain at its core. It will naturally inspire people to express their innate human desire to benefit the earth and all humankind, rather than live only for the desires of the individual self.
To learn more about connecting to the earth and/or living as an Earth Citizen, read Earth Citizen: Recovering Our Humanity and Mago's Dream: Meeting with the Soul of the Earth, both by Ilchi Lee.
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Healing Relationships
Health Matters
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 Our relationships with other people affect every aspect of our lives. They are always on our minds, require time and energy, and offer many challenges and opportunities. They inspire both violence and great feats of courage and virtue. Most of us want healthy relationships with our significant others, families, friends, coworkers, and community.
The common wisdom nowadays is that to have truly healthy relationships, ones that are healing and uplifting, we first need to create healthy relationships with ourselves. More specifically, we need to develop healthy relationships with that part of ourselves that doesn't change or die. Some people call it the soul, the heart, the inner child, their spirit, or the still small voice inside. Whatever you call it, it's the part of us that's connected with everything else, and has access to knowledge beyond our personal experience. Formulating a relationship with this deepest part of ourselves gives us access to unlimited, boundless unconditional love. This love heals all wounds and dissolves boundaries.
But our connection deep within needs to be established and maintained by paying attention to it. Paying attention means taking the time to breathe and feel the great space inside. You may first need to relax your body and clear your mind with mind-body exercises such as stretching or bowing. Then feel your breath flowing in and out of your body until you feel calm and quiet. Ask yourself questions and listen for the answers. Most importantly, take action based on those answers. Trust your true spirit unconditionally. If you take time to do this every day, it will become a habit, and the results can be amazing.
From this strong connection to our deepest selves, love will pour out naturally. This love can make us more grounded and open, and able to love without attachment, dependence, or a need for protection, because it provides everything we need emotionally. As a result we become strong and secure enough to speak from the heart without unnecessarily hurting others-all the characteristics you need to create healing relationships.
To learn more about connecting to your inner self through the practice of bowing, check out Dahn Yoga Education's new book, Bowing: A Moving Meditation for Personal Transformation, just released this month. See the exclusive newsletter subscriber offer below!
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BEST Life Media publishes energy healing and yoga
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