American Indians (Native Americans) Drug And Alcohol Use

People who engages in substance abuse like drugs, alcohol and tobacco have their own different reason, some maybe complicated but whets evident is that the society plays a significant role why theses people are involve in substance abuse. The consequence for this abuse is seen in our hospitals and emergency departments through the direct damage to health by substance abuse and its relation to physical trauma. Those who are jailed and go to prison are known to have a strong connection to substance abuse and dependence.A high percentage of this substance abuse is very evident among the American Natives. American Natives are the indigenous people from the region of North Africa now encompassed by the continental United States. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes and ethnic groups, they are also known as American Indians or the first nation’s people. American Indians represent a unique population within the U. S not only because of their oppression suffered from the de velopment of the country but also in gaining recognition. The long history of oppression in the U.S. had a devastating effect on the health and well-being of the natives. The history of these people includes the colonization, outlawing their practices and languages and forced relocation, which created the mistrust on the U. S programs. This event continues to affect the experiences of the natives which are impacted by poverty, ill health, family violence and drug and alcohol abuse. According to the survey made by the National Household survey on Drug Abuse about fifty percent of teenagers nowadays are engage in alcohol drinking.The figures show that 80 percent of these are Natives youth engaging in both alcohol drinking and drug use. This happens because these youths are predisposed to different factors like cultural conflict, post-traumatic stress and low self esteem that increase the risks of these youth to additional hazards in their environment. (Gale 2000) According to the repo rts made by the NSDUH, among the other racial groups, American Indians suffer from substance abuse greatly. The National Drug survey and health examines the rates of substance abuse like drugs and alcohol among the American Indians aged 12 and older.During 2002-2005, American Indians aging 12 and above are already engaged in alcohol drinking. American Indians male shows a high percentage of drinking than those of the other racial groups in the past year. This report also shows that American Indians have high percentage than other racial groups in terms of drug use and disorders. (Substance Use and Substance Use Disorders among American Indians and Alaska Natives 2007) A national Indian Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention task Force was established under the National Congress of American Indians in September 2000.This aim for the leadership involvement and expand the efforts and membership of the National committee to include a wider and more diverse geographically representative group of Tribal leaders throughout Indian Country. This helps prevent the tribes, tribes’ leaders, elders, adults and youth recognize the value of preventing alcohol and substance abuse to preserve the overall well being of the community, the culture and traditions. It developed and established a strong political leverage that will support initiatives for alcohol and substances abuse prevention in Indian country.It also aims to improve the incidence of alcohol and substance neglect for any adult and youth and to recognize that prevention must take place for all our people, not just early life and that it is a long development. Approximately 1. 5% of the U. S is composed of these Native Americans which are American Indians, and with this high percentage is the problem it inflicts as well. Traditional natives’ values when clashed with the values of the domain society, cultural conflict arise. Native youth are mostly affected by this are caught up in confusion about their identity and self image.Conflicts arise in coping up with their adolescence as well as to their identity as an Indian. This may produce a harmful effect in terms of the racial discrimination and oppression that they may get involve with because of their native background, hence this becomes a factor for native youth to engage in alcohol and drug abuse as a form of an escape from the society to which they belong. Because of the pressure and the stress due to the cultural conflict related to the low socio-economic status among the natives this causes a great increase in the risks of those who are engaged in alcohol and substance abuse.Acculturation is one of the many factors why natives engage in substance abuse. This is a stressful and causes a lot of conflict for the natives in order to cope with the stress and pressure alcohol and drug use are often the coping mechanism in this situation. An approach used to prevent substance abuse among the American Indians is called bicultural c ompetence skills. This approach helps American Indian youth to combat the substance use and its related problem. This was first advanced by LaFromboise, wherein its way is to blend the adaptive values and roles of both the culture in which they are raised and by which they are surrounded.Its roles are in the knowledge and practice in communication, coping, and discrimination skills which provide the theoretical foundation in the prevention of substance abuse to the American native’s youth. Knowledge and practice in the bicultural skills can occur through cognitive and behavioral principles drawn from the social learning theory. Directed by learning theory, cognitive values of information, problem solving, and self-instruction can be merged with behavioral principles of nonverbal and verbal communication, coaching, and social network building.(Schinke 2007) This gives the American Indians to individualize themselves for them to for the better coping up abilities and helps mana ge stress related situation. This approach gives them an idea of the things that they are not familiar with and with this adaptation through learning is much easier. DISCUSSION National attention to the health hazards and societal costs attributed to substance abuse use led to sharply decreased tolerance for any use of elicit drugs or abuse of elicit drugs alcohol and tobacco.The percentage of young people reporting substance use has been high although out the United States even those belonging to the ethnic groups like the American Indians. Many factors are to be considered on why these groups of people engage in alcohol and substance abuse. American Natives known as the American Indians are one of the widest ethnic groups that are in the United States. Although consider a minor to many, this group of people have high increase in problems that are associated with drinking and substance abuse like the use of drugs.This Minority like in other people in the state are in the over use o f drugs and excessive drinking. Factors like stress, pressure among the youth especially with teens, coping mechanism for some and most of all the oppression and culture conflict that arises are the contributors to the high percentage of Native Americans misuse of alcohol and drugs. Reports shows that a high percentage of these Native comprises of the most involved racial group in substance abuse and disorders. Even the minors are drawn out from this type of scenarios.Among the racial groups in the United States, 60% of these people are engage in alcohol and drug use including the youth and still continue to rise. This is one of the major problems that are encountered by the Government in the States and the American Indians leaders. Cultural conflict this is one of the predisposing factors why substance abuse and disorders arises. When the culture of the American Indians are collides with the dominant groups, conflicts arises specially to the beliefs and values of these Natives. Dis crimination usually occur creating confusion and loss of self esteem among the natives.The imposed culture is cannot easily be integrated by the natives causing a confusion and dilemma within their part. In order to cope up with this situation this people find drinking and drug use a form of an escape from the pressure of the domain society they are in. It has been very crucial for the Native Americans to adjust to the culture that is imposed to them given to them because of the less support and rights they are getting from the Government. It has caused them a lot of stress to incorporate all the beliefs and values that they have no knowledge about causing a great struggle to the culture they are brought up with.This high incidence of drinking and drug abuse is also very evident among the American Indians youth. At the studies that was conducted in the United States regarding minor drinking and drugs use, a high percentage of this comprises the American Indians youth. Mostly the rea son why youth are engage in these activities is because of the peer pressure they are involved with. This problem of the youth regarding their peers is mostly about the racial issues they are in, in order to identify themselves with the domain society they tend to follow what is done by those people regardless if its beneficial for them or not.Youth of the American Indians are on a very critical situation because of the Native background they have. Due to this culture conflict still arises and it is hard for the teens to identify themselves and tend to loose their own identity because of the presented situation. Due to this pressure arises among other youths and in order for them to identify and belong they are easily influenced to engage in drinking and drug abuses. Another factor why Natives have a high percentage of alcohol and drug abuse is that in terms of their economic status.Most of the natives have a low socio-economic life that is very evident in the type of living they ar e in. Since the natives are given less recognition and support their economic life has not improved since. Due to this as a created pressure is added to the natives causing them to withdraw from the society and engage in drinking. This drinking becomes habitual and eventually becomes an excess or over use causing drinking related disorders. Some after engaging in drinking also use drugs as a form of escape to the reality that is against them.Problems that arise because of this factor is very evident among the Natives now even the yearly surveys regarding the American Natives shows a high and still rising percentage of drugs and alcohol misuse. These Natives are not given much recognition and are oppressed mainly of their rights that it is why it is hard for them to cope up with the environment and imposed culture that they are in. The society plays much of a big role on how these Native Americans are persuaded to engage in alcohol drinking. The society that they are in accepts drink ing in their culture where it is seen to the daily activities of these people.Not ware of the damage it has on them because of the domain society’s involvement in this they tend to engage on it as well hoping that this would help them in coping up with the society. Alcohol has become the primary substance of abuse among American Indians. It has accounted of about 62% of all those who have been admitted of those being treated. The prevalence of this alcohol abuse is high on both men and women. Marijuana is the most elicited drug of choice among American Indians, it was reported that 12% of those being admitted are treated because of this.Drug abuse and excessive alcohol has a great impact on health. Most of those who engage in this are predispose to the different problems regarding their health. Alcohol has a great effect on the body as this cause depression to the central nervous system, as a depressant it has a great effect on the functions of the brain. Most of the people t hat are engage in excessive alcohol drinking have been reported to have brain malfunction causing a slow impulse and movement in the brain. Alcohol causes liver disease and most of the people who are alcoholics die because of the liver diseases such as liver cirrhosis which is fatal.Those that are into drinking are also at risk to cancer and sexually transmitted diseases. Drugs interfere with the brain's ability to take in, sort, and synthesize information. They distort perception, which can lead users to harm themselves or others. Drug use also affects sensation and impairs memory. Many approaches have been used in order to compensate in the high percentage of the Native Americans that are engaged in alcohol and drug abuse. Programs like youth organization have been established for better self actualization and esteem building which provides the framework for the youth.Peer support groups and other programs ranging in traditional cultural practices like dancing, sweat lodge, or oth er ceremonies are initiated to provide a sense of feeling of the individual’s tribal pride and unity would be transmitted. The Indian Alcohol and Substance Abuse program was developed by the U. S. government. This has been established by the public law 106-553, which provides the funding and technical assistance to federally recognized government to plan, develop, implement and enhance tribal justice strategies involving alcohol and crime related and substance abuse.The objective of this program is to establish a multidisciplinary advisory team plan, to implement and monitor the propose strategy. It identifies and prosecutes individuals who illegally transport and distribute and used the alcohol and substances to tribal communities. The government also established a National Indian Alcohol and Substance Taskforce which assists the tribe leaders and their youth in the prevention of alcohol and substance abuse and assist to their personal healing, recovery and lifetime wellness .It also helps in the improvement of the life of the American Indians families and communities in enhancing their cultural preservation, the upholding in the dignity and autonomy of the Indian Nations. It also gives focus to leadership and deals with the devastating problem of alcohol and substance abuse of the country. This task force is working with the federal government Agencies in obtaining a consistent funding to support the different programs regarding the alcohol and drug abuse. The U. S. Department of Justice supports tribe groups’ efforts to deal with alcohol and substance abuse in communities where Natives live.This community is composed of the Indian tribes and native villages which they create an appropriate approach to address the alcohol and substance abuse. The Government provides the resources needed by the Indian Countries in order to create the awareness, conduct prevention and intervention that would help control alcohol and drug abuse. The government is a lso giving privilege to the tribal leaders to create policies that would help in eradicating alcohol and drug abuses among the Natives. 90% of arrests that have been reported by the Tribal law enforcement are caused by alcohol related problems.The arrests made were conducted on the small group of individuals in the community comprising of the tribal justice system, health service system and family support system. This law enforcement taskforce often experience high violent crime and offenders that are associated with drug and alcohol abuse which make it hard for the tribal communities to keep peace and order. The drug Court Discretionary Grant program is one the many programs that helps aid and fund assistance to the states, courts and local services that is needed to help the government to lessen the alcohol and drug offenders.This program is aimed on nonviolent offenders and is targeted to implement a drug court based components. It supports the drug court implementation and impro vement of the technical assistance that is directed to the National Dug court Training and Technical Assistance Program in increasing the knowledge of those that are in the drug court practitioners plan to carry on efficient drug programs giving emphasis on the roles and trainings that would develop teams and coordinated study on treatment system. The Nevada Urban Indians, Inc.substance abuse program is dedicated to providing quality outpatient treatment. Efforts are made to help each client become aware of the relationship between substance use and the effects it may have on the individual’s life. The client deals with feelings and behaviors that are a result of substance abuse or dependency. It is a program concerned with the culture and helps attempt to guarantee that the client is treated with respect. In this program the client is to learn the impact of substance abuse to their life.Its goal is to restore the client’s life productively and to help the client to le arn ways on how he/she would be able to adapt to the changes and the different stressors that are present nowadays. The department of education has provided a safe and drug free program on the schools, this provides the support on the school to help assist in the communities in preventing drug and alcohol abuse and violence. This program grants the technical assistance and training for the school.The American Indian Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (AIRRTC) identify the need to address the increase dependency of American Indians to drug and alcohol. Many research findings shows that alcohol and drug abuse among the American Indians are often associated with certain circumstances in their lives which affects the rate of employment opportunities to American Indians because of the myth that is tagged to the American Indians. Employees that are American Indians are in struggle to get a job because of they are faced with employers that stereotypes them.All these programs are m ade available by the Government in the attempt to help improve the increasing percentage of the American Indians that are engaged in alcohol and substance abuse. Aiming to somehow if not totally eradicate but lessen the incidence of the Natives involvement in substance abuse. These programs somehow are trying to aid the level of living and acceptance of the natives regarding their situation and help to somehow uplift the standard of that living. CONCLUSIONAlcohol and drug abuse are known to be a major health problems on American Indians nowadays. Efforts in the treatment and prevention of this may be more effective if the approach that it is going to undergo is if the native’s way and beliefs are also incorporated. It is not enough that programs are established but what is important is that it is implemented and actions are taken among the leaders to actually put into works all the said programs that have been funded by the Government.It is important also to involve the Nativ es in the different programs that the government has for them not only those that are engaged in alcohol and drug abuse but also those that are not in order to prevent them from doing the same thing. It is important that the youth are educated regarding the harmful effects of drugs and alcohol to them and it is important that they are able to identify themselves on the community they belong. It is important that the American Indians youth are given the emphasis because of the developmental stage they are in.Parents should be able to give the support and information needed to their minors in order to reduce the alcohol and drug related problems. It is important when addressing to this situation the culture of the American Natives is not neglected and should be given a more emphasis. The culture that they belong would help improvement in understanding why these natives are engaged in alcohol and drug abuse. Through the Government and other leaders could develop a program not only for the improvement of those under the substance abuse but even those that are risk for it.It is important that the programs that are implemented would coincide with the beliefs or the culture of this people so that it would not be hard for them to integrate the programs they are undergoing. It is important that the Natives are aware of the effects of drugs and alcohol to their body as this is significant in their health. It is important also that the government should somehow recognize the other needs of these Natives that are contributing to the prevalence of alcohol and drug abuse.It is important that every aspect should be examined in order to give a better option for the improvement of the programs that are addressed to these situations. Health care facilities should also be readily available to the Natives; this would aid in the awareness to their health and would somehow improve their knowledge regarding the effects of these abusive substances to their health. The government and the Natives leader should coordinate with each other more often so that the needs and improvements regarding the treatment and other related problems regarding these natives are addressed.Support and recognition should be given to these natives. It is important that they should be given the same privileges and recognition as those of the domain society. They should not discriminated instead the culture and beliefs that they have should be respected so that this would help boost the moral confidence of the Natives and would aid in determining their identity I therefore recommend further studies should be conducted on the Native Americans response regarding the treatment and the program should be further evaluated.The programs are in the right path of addressing to the problem but there is lack of support and people that are engage are not enough to meet the demands of the high percentage of alcohol and drug abuse. References: American Indians and Alaska Natives in Substance Abuse Tre atment: 1999. 2002. The DASIS report:1-4. Gale, Nancy. 2000. Fighting Alcohol and Substance Abuse among American Indian and Alaskan Native Youth. ERIC Digest. . ERIC Digest. Gordon, Jacob U. 2005. Managing Multiculturalism in Substance Abuse Services: Sage Publications Inc. Jeanette Valentine, Judith Ann De Jong, Nancy Jean Kennedy. 1998.Substance Abuse Prevention in Multicultural Communities. 1-12 vols. Vol. 12: Haworth Press. Mario De la Rosa, Richard Bernard Segal, and Lopez. 1999. Conducting Drug Abuse Research with Minority Populations: Advances and Issues. 1-14 vols. Vol. 14: Haworth Press Schinke, Steven P. 2007. Preventing Substance Abuse among American-Indian Adolescents: A Bicultural Competence Skills Approach. Pub Med Central Journal List. Substance Use and Substance Use Disorders among American Indians and Alaska Natives. 2007. The NSHUD Report:1-4. Stimmel, Barry. 1984. Cultural and Sociological Aspects of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse: Haworth Press.

Enemy Mine Fiction or Reality? Essay

Description Enemy mine is an excellent movie of scientific fiction made in 1985 in which two involved warriors in a wild future war between the Earth and the Dracon planet, where in a middle of a spaceship fight they are forced to land in a desolate and inhospitable planet. The principle, the human being (Dennis Quaid) and its enemy, a foreign reptile (Louis Gosset, Jr) are determined to mutual destruction. But after face the forces of nature and one to the other, the two lost pilots gradually perceive that the only way to remain alive is surpassing the mortal hatred. The Plot In the 21 century human and Dracs fight for the right of universe, a Dracon (Jeriba) and the human (Davidge) while battling both crash-landing in Fyrine IV. After initial hostilities, the two eventually learn to cooperate to be able to survive. They work together to construct a shelter for protection, and to satisfy its necessities for the food, the water, and the heat. They learn to surpass their differences, they become friends, and they learn each other languages, cultures and religion which have similar words. Later, Jeriba facing death while giving birth teaches Davidge its full ancestry, a necessity of its child (Zammis) must be accepted in the society of Drac. Davidge raises Zammis as its own child. On the years, Davidge and Zammis have a special connection, as Zammis relates to Davidge as his uncle. Davidge realize there are humans mining the planet to gather minerals called ore, and knows that they use Dracs as slaves, and Davidge tried to protect Zammis to be captured or killed. Zammis however, does not realize the danger and go to look the spaceship, and he is captured by the miners and Davidge is injured in the attempt to save the Child Drac. Davidge is left in planet surface, a ship of B. T. A patrol finds Davidge unconscious, and takes him to the space station where he was living before disappear in Fyrine IV. In the station, Davidge confused to be dead, but awakes when one of the engineers tries to steal the small book that Jeriba had given years to Davidge when he whished to learn the language of Drac. The patrol and doctors discovered that Davidge speaks fluent the Dracon language. Some day later, Davidge is reestablished to the duty, and steals a fighter and goes back to Fyrine IV where the miners kept Zammis. Davidge manages to find the ship and the slaves of Drac where they helped Davidge to surpass the human and eventually find Zammis. Davidge helps also take all the slaves of Drac in return to their planet and a ceremony of introduction of Zammis in way that can be accepted in the society of Drac. The Conclusion This history shows us an uniformity between two different races, a human and alien, both races hate them selves without knowing their history, culture, religion and language. But because they were trapped in a hostile planet they were force to work together in order to survive, they learned each other, language, culture and religion and the human realize that even a Alien has something alike the bible. They become friends and even show an event where the Alien gives a birth and die after and the human raises the child alien as if was his own child. This history seems very alike with our actual society where the hatred is spread around the world, people hate each other just because their differences, culture, religion and sometimes even the language. As in the movie shows how humans can be terrible, as our society used to slavery innocent people just because their differences and forced them to work in our own benefit, this practice should be banned many years ago, but as we know in some places the slavery still in practice and some people just ignore the facts. But like in the movie it shows also when our society face difficulties make us to recognize that this world does not belong to only one specific race, religion, culture or language and we need to work together in order to survive. We can forget that we are in the same planet, sharing and facing issues, not matter what the belief, culture or language is. To survive we need to work together, tried to understand the difference between other races and not neglect them. The humans might take few more hundreds of years to change, but I believe that one day we will have peace among our world.

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The Global Marketplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Global Marketplace - Essay Example They always put people before the product and this has ensured success for them locally as well as internationally. Even with suppliers they have a healthy relationship, this allows them to get quality coffee beans thus good coffee. They are also involved in corporate social responsibilities services like helping the farmers and protecting the environment by buying only from those suppliers who are socially responsible themselves. Looking at the price we see it high priced thus the target market is elite in Germany. 1 lb. of coffee costs approximately $11. Thus the rich Germans prefer to go there and since the coffee is made to their taste (altered according to German preferences that is they prefer more sweet coffee) the coffee is an instant hit. The decor of Starbucks is made to look cozy and intimate and also provides privacy to people, this gives people an incentive to spend time there. They have good music and thus create an ambiance of comfort. It can serve the purpose of a meeting place or a place to escape from problems and be alone. This feature remains to be constant in all outlets all over the world. The article, 'Ethical marketing for Competitive Advantage on the internet' deals with the very debatable question, what is invasion of privacy Its author Ashok Ranchod has weaved quiet interesting facts around this very question. It seems to him that the marketing done online is taking on an aggressive streak with pop ups, deceiving banners, hyperlinks etc being the majority of marketing techniques. The article takes a futuristic approach, with the author pointing out the fact that companies need to develop long term marketing plans, which would retain customers rather than short term plans. The short term plans might sell the product or service initially but in the end if ethical considerations have not been taken place then the company would end up losing their customer base. Therefore in order to survive in the market the future plans of a company should be more of long term nature. The situation that Ashok Ranchod looks upon is that of information acquiring on the Internet. According to his research many people hesitate from indulging in online purchases due to this factor. Cyber crimes, information thefts are becoming all too common these days. There have been many ethical boundaries drawn but only 20% of it is being implemented. The steps that can be taken to rectify this ethical concern is that each product be first analyzed on its harmfulness to the customers. The product should be well tested and should be harm free. Twisting the truth is another factor, with regards to which care should be taken. Then the third most important factor is individual autonomy. This is that companies should not attack customers with pop ups and deceptive links, instead the decision should be left on the customer. Kotler and Levy have written an interesting book, 'Corporate Social Responsibility'. Even they believe that through ethical considerations you can enhance company image, lower employee turnover, lower costs and easily attract investors thus giving you a competitive edge. REFERENCES 1. Starbucks official website. (22/july/2008) http://www.starbucks.com/ 2. Starbucks Germany (22/july/2008) http://www.starbucks.de/de-de/_Our+Stores/ 3. Ashok Ranchhod and Claire Gauzente. "Ethical Marketing for Competitive Advantage on the Internet." Ams Review. (2003)

A & P Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

A & P - Essay Example While it is logical that we need to conform to modernity and all its package, Sammy is one young man whose attitude towards fashion is still backward. The ladies are dressed fashionably in conformation with the modern trend. On the contrary, Sammys attitude towards their kind of dressing considers them an embarrassment. Sammy finds this kind of dressing to be appropriate only when people visit the beach: "You know, its one thing a girl in a bathing suit down on the beach†¦" (2). Well, it is true that people used to put on decently in cloths that covered all their body-part long ago due to tradition. However, modernity has come with fashion and society has been forced to embrace this change. Sammy, and some few young men like him are still living in the past and do not want to accept the change. Sammys actions seem very immature for his age. It is not normal in the modern world to find a young man destructed just by the way of dressing of young ladies. Young ladies in the modern society are known to dress fashionably, especially when they go for outing, date and even just strolling around. On the contrary, Sammy shows immaturity when he gets destructed by these ladies to an extent that he even forgets his duties and almost drops the jar on his hand: "The jar went heavy in my hands. Really, I thought that was so cute" (3). Sammy is a clear example of those conservative, old fashioned and traditionally young men who only knows that money should be carried on ones hands. The author shows how amazed Sammy is when he saw one of the ladies without any money in her hands and was wondering where the money was going to come from: "Now her hands are empty, not a ring or a bracelet, bare as God made them, and I wonder where the moneys coming from" (3). This left Sammy wondering about where these ladies get their money from. It is only traditional to

The Benefits of Hybrid Cars Essay Example for Free

The Benefits of Hybrid Cars Essay There was once a time when you could turn on the news and not hear about the terrible state of the environment or the impending doom that is global warming. That time has become part of the past. The standard automobile can be blamed for a large portion of the conflict. Today’s large gasoline engines spew harmful emissions into the air every time we drive. Of course as a result, the United States government has started to resolve these problems. As a result, the United States government has been attempting to solve the environmental problem. One such solution is the hybrid electric car, which can save resources by giving off less emission. And my claim is one of the ways to assist the environmental situation is using hybrid cars. First of all, what do we know about the hybrid car? HEV’s or hybrid electric vehicles differ from standard vehicles by their source of power. According to Michael Westbrook, who is recently retired as the manager of technological research with the Ford Motor Company, â€Å"any vehicle that has more than one power source can be classified as a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV)†(142). The first-ever hybrid cars appeared in the middle of the nineteenth century. These primitive constructions sped up no more than 10 km/h (Westbrook, 11). The main energy that propelled vehicle was steam source. In 1905 Belgian, Henry Pieper, invents and patents a hybrid chart for a car. Ferdinand Porsche developed the idea of the Belgian inventor. A car carried the name Lohner Porsche and was very popular at that time. Company Lohner Porsche produced a few varieties of hybrid cars of the most different orientation: freight, automobile, busses, fire trucks and ambulances. But unfortunately, in 1906 production of hybrids of System Lohner Porsche was stopped from their unprofitability as compared to cars on petrol. A new wave of interest in the hybrid vehicles emerged after 40 years, in the early 60’s, last century. But it was just the beginning of an interest in hybrid vehicles (Westbrook, 20-21). Permanent price advances on oil and gas in the late twentieth century, and also strengthening of requirements to ecological descriptions of cars, have compelled developers again to take up developments of ecofriendly and economical motor vehicle. (Westbrook, 23) After a long time, the forgotten ideas of hybrid auto were needed designers. In 1997, Toyota began selling the Prius. Below is the example of two hybrid cars from different manufacturers. (Siler) After two years, another Japanese company Honda produces a hybrid vehicle, which is called Insight. This car satisfied not only the Japanese market, but the US too. But already in 2000, The Toyota Prius went on sale begins to expand to foreign markets, primarily in the United States. It was a huge success. According to the magazine Forbes The Toyota Prius enters in the ten cars that changed the world and also as the most sold hybrid car in the world (Westbrook, 26-27). In the meantime, due to the progress of hybrid cars and due to the high standards to automobile companies the situation with air pollution significantly changed. The chart below shows six major air pollutants and in the first place is carbon monoxide, which is emitted by vehicles, then nitrogen oxides, then volatile organic compounds, etc. (Cooper) But we should mention that comparisons from 1970 to 2002, the carbon monoxide in the air is so much decreased, and the reason for decreasing carbon monoxide is the hybrid car, because as we remember from the history of the hybrid cars in these years were the main progress in the development of hybrid cars. (Cooper) According to Nurretin Demirdoven’s investigation, which is the professor of Engineering System Division at the MIT, comparing the energy potency of hybrid and fuel cell vehicles, as we have with combustion engines, showed that fuel cell vehicles don’t provide more important benefits than hybrid-powered vehicles in urban vehicles in urban driving settings. There are other pros of using hybrid electric vehicle, such as: 1. Cost effectiveness. Hybrid car uses less fuel, as is able to move only the electric range by battery power. 2. Ecological compatibility. Intermittent use of ENGINES is ensured, while the electric motor does not produce harmful emissions into the atmosphere. Toyota Prius to 85 percent less polluting than the class car with traditional power installation. 3. Low noise. Electric motors are virtually silent. Hybrid car has its drawbacks: 1. High cost. For modern technology, environmental friendliness and cost efficiency car buyers have to pay the price for its purse. 2. The complexity of repair and insufficient development of a network of service centers in selected countries. 3. Potential danger to pedestrians who often just dont notice because they are hybrids of noiselessness. (YouManitoba) Hybrid cars are good for the environment. Hybrid cars are one among the promising types of new generation cars. Hybrid cars are more reliable than electric cars from what we are seeing to date and they have gasoline as an alternate fuel. Hybrid cars are currently more expensive to buy than conventional cars. So, we may pay more now but we should see great gains and thus yields is solving our current and long term energy needs when it comes to our people mover desires. Hybrid automobile technology has been accepted as an answer for the car pollution issues of the day. And in the end, I would like to conclude by quoting Gandhi: à ¢â‚¬ If you want to change the world, start with yourself.† Let’s change the world! Works Cited Cooper, Mary H. â€Å"Air Pollution Conflict.† CQ Researcher 14 Nov. 2003: 965-88. Web. 2 Nov. 2012. Demirdà ¶ven , Nurettin, and John Deutch. â€Å"Hybrid Cars Now, Fuel Cell Car Later.† American Association for the Advancement of Science. 13 Aug. 2004: 974-976. Web. 2 Nov. 2012. Siler, Wes. â€Å"By The Numbers: 2010 Toyota Prius Vs 2010 Honda Insight†. Jalopnik. 13 Jan 2009. Web. 6 Dec. 2012 Westbrook, Michael H. â€Å"The Electric and Hybrid Electric Car.† London: SAE International and Institution of Electrical Engineers, 2001. Print. YouManitoba. â€Å"What Are The Advantages Of Hybrid Electric Cars?† YouTube. 19 Oct. 2010. Web. 20 Oct. 2012

Usefulness Of Maxima And Minima Of Functions Engineering Essay

Usefulness Of Maxima And Minima Of Functions Engineering Essay The mathematical concept of a function expresses the intuitive idea that one quantity(input) completely determines another quantity (output). A function assigns a unique value or output to each input of a specified type. The argument and the value may be real numbers, but they can also be elements from any given sets: the domain and the co-domain of the function. Whenever a relationship exists between two variables (or quantities) such that for every value of the first, there is only one corresponding value of the second, then we say:The second variable is a function of the first variable. The first variable is the independent variable (usually x), and the second variable is the dependent variable (usually y). The independent variable and the dependent variable are real numbers. The term function is just a type of operator which transforms the given input to output according to the given conditions. This operator relates two or more quantities to each other, the quantities are known as variables. Out of total variables only one is independent and all other are dependent on that variable. One precise definition of a function is that it consists of an ordered triple of sets, which may be written as (X, Y, F). X is the domain of the function, Y is the co-domain, and F is a set of ordered pairs. In each of these ordered pairs (a, b), the first element a is from the domain, the second element b is from the co-domain, and every element in the domain is the first element in one and only one ordered pair. The set of all b is known as the image of the function. Some authors use the term range to mean the image, others to mean the co-domain. The notation Æ’:Xà ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Y indicates that Æ’ is a function with domain X and co-domain Y. (Domain implies input whereas range or co-domain implies output.) In most practical situations, the domain and co-domain are understood from context, and only the relationship between the input and output is given. Thus is usually written as Here the two variables are x and y out of which x is independent and y is dependent on x. From the other side if we consider y as independent variable then x is dependent on y. Every function can be plotted on graph or more precisely Argand Plain. The graph of function may be a straight line, a continuous curve, a circle, an ellipse or even a point also. HISTORY OF MAXIMA AND MINIMA: Since origin of life, all people knew, talked, applied the concept of maxima and minima in their daily lives without even knowing about the concept of maxima and minima. In the earlier phase of time the kings used to estimate the maximum and minimum army of the opposite side, doctors used to record minimum and maximum symptom of any disease, cooks used to estimate the maximum and minimum quantity of food or people before any function, the businessmen used to estimate maximum and minimum profit or loss in any transaction. Even today also the women in the house prepare the food according to maximum or minimum consumption by each individual. Sir Issac Newton, a great scientist, invented the concept of functions and hence concept of maxima or minima. Since then his concepts are very usefully applicable in our daily lives. PRESENT TIME CONCEPTS OF MAXIMA AND MINIMA: The terms maxima and minima refer to extreme values of a function, that is, the maximum and minimum values that the function attains. Maximum means upper bound or largest possible quantity. The absolute maximum of a function is the largest number contained in the range of the function. That is, if f(a) is greater than or equal to f(x), for all x in the domain of the function, then f(a) is the absolute maximum. For example, the function f(x) = -162 + 32x + 6 has a maximum value of 22 occurring at x = 1. Every value of x produces a value of the function that is less than or equal to 22, hence, 22 is an absolute maximum. In terms of its graph, the absolute maximum of a function is the value of the function that corresponds to the highest point on the graph. Conversely, minimum means lower bound or least possible quantity. The absolute minimum of a function is the smallest number in its range and corresponds to the value of the function at the lowest point of its graph. If f(a) is less t han or equal to f(x), for all x in the domain of the function, then f(a) is an absolute minimum. As an example, f(x) = 322 32x 6 has an absolute minimum of -22, because every value of x produces a value greater than or equal to -22. In some cases, a function will have no absolute maximum or minimum. For instance the function f(x) = 1/x has no absolute maximum value, nor does f(x) = -1/x have an absolute minimum. In still other cases, functions may have relative (or local) maxima and minima. Relative means relative to local or nearby values of the function. The terms relative maxima and relative minima refer to the largest, or least, value that a function takes on over some small portion or interval of its domain. Thus, if f(b) is greater than or equal to f(b  ± h) for small values of h, then f(b) is a local maximum; if f(b) is less than or equal to f(b  ± h), then f(b) is a relative minimum. Finding the maxima and minima, both absolute and relative, of various functions represents an important class of problems solvable by use of differential calculus. The theory behind finding maximum and minimum values of a function is based on the fact that the derivative of a function is equal to the slope of the tangent. When the values of a function increase as the value of the independent variable increases, the lines that are tangent to the graph of the function have positive slope, and the function is said to be increasing. Conversely, when the values of the function decrease with increasing values of the independent variable, the tangent lines have negative slope, and the function is said to be decreasing. Precisely at the point where the function changes from increasing to decreasing or from decreasing to increasing, the tangent line is horizontal (has slope 0), and the derivative is zero (With reference to figure 1, the function is decreasing to the left of point A, as well a s between points B and C, and increasing between points A and B and to the right of point C). In order to find maximum and minimum points, first find the values of the independent variable for which the derivative of the function is zero, then substitute them in the original function to obtain the corresponding maximum or minimum values of the function. Second, inspect the behavior of the derivative to the left and right of each point. A wide variety of problems can be solved by finding maximum or minimum values of functions. For example, suppose it is desired to maximize the area of a rectangle inscribed in a semicircle. The area of the rectangle is given by A = 2xy. The semicircle is given by x2 + y2 = r2, for y à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¥ 0, where r is the radius. To simplify the mathematics, note that A and A2 are both maximum for the same values of x and y, which occurs when the corner of the rectangle intersects the semicircle, that is, when y2 = r2 x2. Thus, we must find a maximum value of the function A2 = 42(r2 -x2) = 4r2x2 44. The required condition is that the derivative be equal to zero, that is, d(A2)/dx = 8r2x 163 = 0. This occurs when x = 0 or when x = 1à ¢Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬Å¾2(r à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ +2 ). Clearly the area is a maximum when x = 1à ¢Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬Å¾2(r à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ +2 ). Substitution of this value into the equation of the semicircle gives y = 1à ¢Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬Å¾2(r à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ +2 ), that is, y = x. Thus, the max imum area of a rectangle inscribed in a semicircle is A = 2xy = r2. The problem of determining the maximum or minimum of function is encountered in geometry, mechanics, physics, and other fields, and was one of the motivating factors in the development of the calculus in the seventeenth century. Let us recall the procedure for the case of a function of one variable y=f(x). First, we determine points where f'(x)=0. These points are called critical points. At critical points the tangent line is horizontal. This is shown in the figure below. . The second derivative test is employed to determine if a critical point is a relative maximum or a relative minimum. If f()>0, then x is a relative minimum. If f() The notions of critical points and the second derivative test carry over to functions of two variables. Let z=f(x, y). Critical points are points in the xy-plane where the tangent plane is horizontal. Since the normal vector of the tangent plane at (x,y) is given by The tangent plane is horizontal if its normal vector points in the z direction. Hence, critical points are solutions of the equations: because horizontal planes have normal vector parallel to z-axis. The two equations above must be solved simultaneously. The Second Derivative Test for Functions of Two Variables How can we determine if the critical points found above are relative maxima or minima? We apply a second derivative test for functions of two variables. Let (x,y) be a critical point and define We have the following cases: If D>0 and (,).) If D>0 and (,).)>0, then f(x,y) has a relative minimum at ( ,).). If D If D=0, the second derivative test is inconclusive. Maxima and Minima in a Bounded Region Suppose that our goal is to find the global maximum and minimum of our model function above in the square -2 Relative extrema in the interior of the square. Relative extrema on the boundary of the square. Corner Points. We have already done step 1. There are extrema at (1, 0) and (-1, 0). The boundary of square consists of 4 parts. Side 1 is y=-2 and -2 The original function of 2 variables is now a function of x only. We set g'(x)=0 to determine relative extrema on Side 1. It can be shown that x=1 and x=-1 are the relative extrema. Since y=-2, the relative extrema on Side 1 are at (1,-2) and (-1,-2). On Side 2 (x=-2 and -2 We set h'(y)=0 to determine the relative extrema. It can be shown that y=0 is the only critical point, corresponding to (-2,0). We play the same game to determine the relative extrema on the other 2 sides. It can be shown that they are (2,0), (1,2), and (-1,2). Finally, we must include the 4 corners (-2,-2), (-2,2), (2,-2), and (2,2). In summary, the candidates for global maximum and minimum are (-1,0), (1,0), (1,-2), (-1,-2), (-2,0), (2,0), (1,2), (-1,2), (-2,-2), (-2,2), (2,-2), and (2,2). We evaluate f(x,y) at each of these points to determine the global max and min in the square. The global maximum occurs (-2,0) and (1,0). This can be seen in the figure above. The global minimum occurs at 4 points: (-1,2), (-1,-2), (2,2), and (2,-2). One of the great powers of calculus is in the determination of the maximum or minimum value of a function. Take f(x) to be a function of x. Then the value of x for which the derivative of f(x) with respect to x is equal to zero corresponds to a maximum, a minimum or an inflexion point of the function f(x). The derivative of a function can be geometrically interpreted as the slope of the curve of the mathematical function y(t) plotted as a function of t. The derivative is positive when a function is increasing toward a maximum, zero (horizontal) at the maximum, and negative just after the maximum. The second derivative is the rate of change of the derivative, and it is negative for the process described above since the first derivative (slope) is always getting smaller. The second derivative is always negative for a hump in the function, corresponding to a maximum. A critical point (x,y) of f is a point where both the partial derivatives of the functions vanish. A local maximum, or a local minimum, is a critical point. In one variable, local maxima and minima are the only `nondegenerate critical points. In two or more variables, other possibilities appear. For instance one has the saddle point, like the critical point of at (0; 0). In some directions this looks like a maximum, in other directions this looks like a minimum. We try to classify critical points by looking at the second derivatives. APPLICATIONS OF MAXIMA AND MINIMA IN DAILY LIFE: There are numerous practical applications in which it is desired to find the maximum or minimum value of a particular quantity. Such applications exist in economics, business, and engineering. Many can be solved using the methods of differential calculus described above. For example, in any manufacturing business it is usually possible to express profit as a function of the number of units sold. Finding a maximum for this function represents a straightforward way of maximizing profits. In other cases, the shape of a container may be determined by minimizing the amount of material required to manufacture it. The design of piping systems is often based on minimizing pressure drop which in turn minimizes required pump sizes and reduces cost. The shapes of steel beams are based on maximizing strength. Finding maxima or minima also has important applications in linear algebra and game theory. For example, linear programming consists of maximizing (or minimizing) a particular quantity while requiring that certain constraints be imposed on other quantities. The quantity to be maximized (or minimized), as well as each of the constraints, is represented by an equation or inequality. The resulting system of equations or inequalities, usually linear, often contains hundreds or thousands of variables. The idea is to find the maximum value of a particular variable that represents a solution to the whole system. A practical example might be minimizing the cost of producing an automobile given certain known constraints on the cost of each part, and the time spent by each laborer, all of which may be interdependent. Regardless of the application, though, the key step in any maxima or minima problem is expressing the problem in mathematical terms. Everything in this world is based on the concept of maxima and minima, every time we always calculate the maximum and minimum of every data. Now-a-days results are also based on the concepts of grades which is again based on the concept of maxima and minima.

Bushs War On Terror and the Erosion of Civil Liberties Essay -- Polit

Bush's War On Terror and the Erosion of Civil Liberties Nearly all the amendments in the Bill of Rights have been reduced since the beginning of the war. The fourth through eighth amendments have been especially hit hard by this â€Å"war.† Search & seizure, due process, a speedy and public trial with a jury, and cruel & unusual punishment have all been disregarded as part of the current administration’s policy. The â€Å"War On Terror† has effectively eroded the civil liberties that Americans fought centuries for. Through the passing of the USA PATRIOT Act, the government can now search a â€Å"suspected† terrorist’s property without their knowledge and even without a warrant. Although this could be a well-needed exception to warrants, as it is the same way drug dealers and organized crime offenders have been investigated, identifying a â€Å"suspected† terrorist is not nearly as easy as an active criminal. As shown by the events of September 11, the terrorists that hijacked the planes were part of a â€Å"sleeper cell† which stays dormant until tipped off by somebody above them in the organization....

Essay --

title of website or page? YOUR HEALTH IS YOUR WEALTH Research has shown that there is a direct correlation with unequal societies and poor heatlh. The findings suggest that determining health in a society, is dependent on how wealth is distributed. Past data has indicated that there is better life expectancy where their is more equal distribution of income. The most unequal places have the highest death rates, with a small decline Policies that address equal income distribution have a large impact on health of the population. Health is more impacted by measures that address income inequity than measures that increase overall wealth, which also increases inequality rates. Between 1980 to 1990, the wider the income distribution, the smaller the decline in morality. "If we share the resources of our country more fairly, we shall have a more cohesive society and reduce inequalities in health. It will not happen the other way around." Income equality and disability and a strong correlation at a state-level that impact the entire polulation of that state. Rich or poor, those living in states with high unequal distribution of wealth are more likely to have disabilities than those living in states with more equal distribution. Studies have proven that even the rich living in unequal states disadvantaged. A study collected from 645,000 Americans throughout the country revealed that those residing in states with high income inequality are 11% more likely to have a health issue than those living in more equal distribution ( Anon. , 2007). Background info (I may take this out if it does not flow in the testimonial format). The unequal distribution of wealth grew significantly in the early 1980s. The country’s rich have grown signific... ...ind-Blowing Fact. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2013. . Coleman, Nancy , and ShannonSpillane Spillane. "Center on Budget and Policy Priorities." Press Release: Income Inequality Grew Across The Country Over The Past Two Decades: Early Signs Suggest Inequality Now Growing Again After Brief Interruption . N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2006. . Stone, Chad, Danieli Trisi, Arloc Sherman, and William Chen. "Center on Budget and Policy Priorities." A Guide to Statistics on Historical Trends in Income Inequality . N.p., 6 Oct. 2013. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. . Timmins, N. (1996, Apr 22). Unequal societies are less healthy. The Independent. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/312454885?accountid=12756

Comparing Two Biographies of the Genius Oscar Wilde Essay -- compare an

Comparing Two Biographies of the Genius Oscar Wilde      Ã‚  Ã‚   If someone had told Oscar Wilde during his life that for the next hundred years, people would still be taking the time to write about his life and accomplishments, he probably would have wittily declared it impossible for anyone to try to admire him as much as he admired himself.   However, two of his biographers, Frank Harris and Barbara Belford, have done just that.   Harris, in 1916, sixteen years after Wilde's death, published his biography, Oscar Wilde, as a memoir of his own cherished relationship with Wilde, for whom he had served as literary editor and friend.   Just this past year in 2000, after a popular film remake of An Ideal Husband, Belford published Oscar Wilde: A Certain Genius, a tribute to the man and the literary works for which he is famous.    Oscar Wilde provides an intimate portrait of the poet, playwright, and self-described aesthete.   Born one year after Wilde, in 1855, Frank Harris was much more than a contemporary.   He lived in the same London social circles, knew the same people, and participated in the same events as Wilde, often by his side.   Harris' biography, which is much more a recounting of the dialogue between Harris and his subject than a straight-forward narrative of Wilde's life, is directed to those outside the loop, those Victorians who misunderstood Wilde, viewing his life as just as one controversy after another.   By focusing heavily on Wilde's education and the intense scrutiny of his lifestyle by England's movers and shakers, he presents Oscar Wilde as an innocent genius whose enthusiastic love of the classics, art, words, and life in general made him a victim in Victorian 1890s London.   Harris uses the insight of his ... ...erent from the methods of Frank Harris.   It is worthwhile to read both accounts, as the two provide an enforced, fuller understanding of who Wilde really was.    One hundred years separate us from the physical presence of Oscar Wilde, and eighty-four years separate the biographies of Frank Harris and Barbara Belford.   Though conceived and written independently, they manage to tell the same story.   The story told is that of Oscar Wilde, aesthete and artist, writer and wit, a true genius who was, as many great minds are, ultimately misunderstood by the people of his day.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Works Cited Belford, Barbara.   Oscar Wilde: A Certain Genius.   New York: Random House, 2000. Harris, Frank.   Oscar Wilde.   New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc. 1916.

Renaissance Artifacts Essay

OBJECTIVE Renaissance world-view can be characterized by its humanistic orientation. The objective of this work is to analyze cultural artifacts from the Renaissance showing how they reflect the values of the time and will incorporate the testimony of two experts in the field.    INTRODUCTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The manner in which the expression of values that exist within a civilization’s culture during a time period in their production of artifacts has been noted in the study of archaeologist and anthropologists who report the different religious and cultural beliefs that have been revealed in those artifacts. The artifacts of the Renaissance are no different and study of the artifacts of this time period reveals much as to the values held by those who lived at that time. CONSUMERISM IN THE RENAISSANCE REVEALED   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the work of Charles Paul Freund entitled: â€Å"Buying Into Culture† published in the June 1998 Reason journal publication is the account of how one form of Renaissance art reflects the cultural values of that time evidenced in the statement of Jardine in the work entitled: â€Å"Worldly Goods† a 1996 history of the Renaissance. Stated by Jardine is:   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Titian’s canvases of statuesque naked women in recumbent poses were regarded as learnedly symbolic by nineteenth century art historians†¦.Only recently did contemporary correspondence come to light which showed that these works of art were painted to meet a vigorous demand for bedroom paintings depicting erotic nudes in salacious poses.† (Jardine, 1996; as cited by Freund, 1998) Jardine gives the account of the Duke of Urbino referred to the painting entitled: â€Å"The Venus of Urbino† as a ‘naked woman’ and of how that he was visited by a churchman in 1542 specifically the Cardinal Farnese who upon seeing the painting: â€Å"†¦rushed off to commission a similarly erotic nude of his own from Titan in Venice.† (1996) To support the statement above of: â€Å"†¦a vigorous demand for bedroom paintings depicting erotic nudes in salacious poses†¦Ã¢â‚¬  being the driver for these type paintings which characterize art during this time period Jardine relates the fact that when a report came concerning the progress of the painting’s completion: â€Å"†¦the Papal Nuncio in Venice expressed the view that the Cardinal’s nude†¦made The Venus of Urbino look like a frigid nun. â€Å" (Jardine, 1996; as cited by Freund, 1998) Freund makes the comment in relation to the analysis of Jardine of the Renaissance that: â€Å"What we regard as â€Å"consumerist† behavior does not begin with industrialization and the manufacture of cheap, ready-made goods; it can be traced to antiquity. One revealing way to trace its past is through the proclamation through history of so-called sumptuary laws that attempted to control acquisitiveness.† (1998) Freund relates the fact that it was those selfsame laws that effectively and â€Å"expressly limited the quality of things†¦that any given individual was allowed to own or display† stating additionally that these laws had as their purpose to â€Å"†¦maintain the political and status quo.† (1998) The actual expression as noted by Freund concerning the work of Jardine is that Jardine is relating the â€Å"†¦the translation of material wealth into an assertion of individualism.† (1998) ACCUMULATION, PRODUCTION AND EXCHANGE In the work entitled: â€Å"The Production of English Renaissance Culture† by authors David Lee Miller, Sharon O’Dair, and Harold Weber and published in the Modern Philology Journal in February 1997 are nine essays that review subjects of literature from the Renaissances time period. Miller, O’Dair and Weber have as their focus in their study upon how it is in this Renaissance society that: â€Å"†¦the cultural treasures and values of Renaissance England are entangled with the economic and political dynamics of accumulation, production, and exchange† p.1 (1997) III. SEXUALIZATION OF CHRIST IN RENAISSANCE ART   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Renaissance art was very focused on the depiction of Christ in a sexualized manner. The work of Janet Heer in a National Post article entitled; â€Å"The Sexuality of Christ† states that our ancestors â€Å"had a healthier sense of the body than we do. Where we fear to glance at the right nipple of Janet Jackson, Renaissance artists lavished attention on the penis of Christ.† (2004) Heer goes on to state that the art historian Leo Steinberg, â€Å"In his 1983 classic â€Å"The Sexuality of Christ in Renaissance Art and in Modern Oblivion’†¦.stated that: † †¦the first necessity is to admit a long-suppressed matter of fact that Renaissance art, both north and south of the Alps, produced a large body of devotional images in which the Genitalia of the Christ Child, or of the dead Christ, received such demonstrative emphasis that one must recognize an ostentatio genitalium comparable to the canonic ostenta tion vulnerum, the showing forth of the wounds.† (Heer, 2004)It is additionally related in the article written by Heer that â€Å"Steinberg demonstrated that these erotic images of Christ served a very specific religious purpose: they embodied the doctrine of the incarnation showing that Christ was fully human even though divinely perfect.† (2004) SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION The Renaissance was a time of rebirth or reassertion and as shown by the works reviewed during the course of this study, the assertion of consumerism in the Renaissance society was a great driver in the production of art or artifacts from that time period. This work has further shown that the economic and political dynamics or the â€Å"accumulation, production and exchange† of goods is that which was the driver of the production of cultural treasures throughout the world during the period of time known as the Renaissance.   However, it cannot be said that consumerism only drove the production of art during the Renaissance. In fact, it appears that the art or artifacts produced during the Renaissance period reflect a spiritual shift in the world that was occurring in what seems to be a time that the world questioned more deeply their ‘human† selves specifically as to their inherent ‘human-ness’ and that connection to the spiritual world. WORKS CITED Freund, Charles Paul (1998) Buying Into Culture: How Commerce Cultivates Art. Reason June 1998. Online available at: http://reason.com/9806/fe.freund.shtml. Miller, D.; O’Dair, S.; and Weber, H. (1997) The Production of English Renaissance Culture. Journal of Modern Philology, Vol. 94, No. 3 February 1997 pp. 372-376. University of Chicago Press. Heer, Janet (2004) The Sexuality of Christ. National Post 2004 Feb 27. Online available at: http://www.jeetheer.com/culture/christ.htm.

Art and book making Essay

Books are integral part of everyone’s life. There are different kinds of books and each has its own purpose and meaning. Most books are intended for learning while others are for entertainment purposes and for self-expression on the part of the author. Every book is like a treasure box that is full of valuable things. Most of the time, books are used for academic purposes. Without books, it would be really hard for students to learn and for teachers to prepare their lessons. Books serve as a guide and basis for learning. It would be impossible for present generations to learn about histories of different civilization and time and other knowledge without books. Others also find entertainment by reading books such as story and poetry books. Books also expresses the thoughts, emotions and view of the writer. It can also be said that the machines, equipments and technologies that we are experiencing in the present time is because of the existence of books that recorded many discoveries and studies done in the past. Through these studies, we had been able to make life easier and better in meeting the needs of the people and in doing things. Yet, today it can be said that the importance that we give to books are declining also because of the advancement of technology. However, it is undeniable that books still plays an integral part for learning and development not only in terms of technology but in personal growth as well. Due to the great importance and the role that books play in our society, it is also important to pay attention to the book making process. Making a book is not an easy task and requires a lot of work, time and as well as good ideas. It is also important to consider book making as a form of art, a work of art. Aesthetic is also a consideration in order to be able to create a high quality book that is able to serve its purpose whether it is for educational or entertainment purpose. The very cover of the books requires artistic ideas. It is important to make a good impression to the reader. Definitely a reader will choose a book with an attractive cover. It is an important factor for the readers to get interested in the book from the beginning. There is no way a book will be effective if it is not read and readers will think twice before reading a book with a dull cover. For this reason, most story books have a very colorful cover in order to attract readers especially kids who are funned of reading stories and seeing beautiful pictures. According to James A. Cox, editor-in-chief of Midwest Book Review, the cover is the part of the book that will attract distributors, booksellers, costumers, librarians and reviewers to pick up the book, allotting time opening it and casting eye tracks on the interior of the book. Not only colorful and attractive covers are needed in coming up with a high quality book but the message of the cover as well. This is not an easy task and requires good artistic ability. Although aesthetic is an important part, the main text and body of the book is still the main important part that readers are searching. A cover must give a hint on what the book is all about that is why titles are commonly a part of the cover. The title itself requires creativity. A book needs a catchy title for it to gain the interest of the reader. The title can also tell the reader whether the book is worthy to be read and worthy of their time, money and effort. The main body of the book also requires creativity and art. You don’t just write anything you want in making a book. It must be organized and put in a creative manner in order to maximize its effectiveness. Illustrations and others must be included because it is easier to remember and understand. Making an illustration regarding the important things and information that you want to impart is also a hard task that requires creativity and artistic ability. Any information given and emphasize by the writer will be greatly appreciated if the reader will be able to grasp the idea. Making the body of a book does not only require a good writing skills but the writer must also think of better ways on how to improve the body for the readers. For this reason, most scholarly books include tables, graphs and other representations for better understanding. Thus, book writing must also be considered as a form of art that requires creativity and artistic design. Artistic ability is really needed in book making especially in making story or book of poems. Making poem is not as easy as it looks. The purpose is not simply to entertain but as well as for the writer to express himself/herself in a creative manner. Every part of a book requires good artistic ability in order to be effective and to serve its purpose. The cover needs to be attractive for the readers to take time looking at what the book is all about. The body must also be a work of art for the readers to be satisfied with what they have read. Book making is a form of art and art cannot be separated from book making. Without art, it would be impossible to come up with a high quality, effective and informative book. Creativity and artistic design is a great factor to gain and satisfy the readers. To satisfy the readers is not just beneficial on the part of the reader but for the writer as well. By doing so, the writer will gain the trust of the readers and will be able to build a good reputation. Thus, the possibility of having readers of his or her future works increases because of the reputation that he or she was able to build by meeting the expectations of costumers or readers. The greatest challenge in book making is not the information that is to be included in the book but rather how you can come up with a book that can be considered as a work of art from the cover and to the whole text. A book is not just read, it must be appreciated and the only way to do so is to consider book making as an art that must be appreciated for the contents and as well as for the aesthetics and artistry of the book in general. An effective and successful writer is definitely a creative artist. References Cox, J. ,A. (No date). The importance of book covers. Retreived January 10, 2008 from http://www. midwestbookreview. com/bookbiz/advice/coverart. htm Hunter, L. (2002). The importance of making a good impression. Retrieved January 10, 2008 from http://www. berkeley. edu/news/berkeleyan/2002/11/13_bookm. html Sowin, J. (15, April, 2007). The importance of books. Retreived January 10, 2008 from http://www. fireandknowledge. org/archives/2007/04/15/the-importance-of-books-l amott/.

What Is Mindfulness?

Sometimes I think the translation of the word â€Å"mindfulness† is incorrect in two ways. Right Mindfulness is a step of the Eightfold Path and is the centerpoint of Buddhist practice. First, it's not a good translation because â€Å"mindfulness† is kind of an insipid word. â€Å"Be mindful† — what does that mean? It doesn't have the kind of inspiring quality of spaciousness, courage, or living fully.Perhaps if you pronounced it differently and said, mindfulness, that would be a better understanding of the word and its power. But a more fundamental difficulty in even talking about mindfulness, whatever that means for us, is that the mind and the heart are the same word in Sanskrit or Pali. So perhaps a better word would be â€Å"heartfulness† — live in a heartful way. Forget about this mind stuff all together. You could do without a lot of it, if you haven't noticed.The Buddha very often said that mindfulness was the heart or the essence of his practice — to be heedful or aware — that was the road to liberation and to the deathless, to freedom from even birth and death; that is, freedom from being caught in the cyclic nature of things, stepping outside the cycle of things. What does â€Å"mindfulness† mean to us sitting here as a group. We sat for an hour this evening or a little bit less, but for those of you who have attended regularly, we've been sitting here for a year doing something supposedly related to paying attention and being mindful.What does it mean? What are the qualities of it, what are we doing here? We sit, we pay attention to the breath, or our body sensations, or the sounds, or the people walking by, or the various thoughts and images in our mind. To be mindful first means simply to come into the present — to listen with our senses, with our heart, with our physical body, with our ears, with our eyes, to what is actually here in the present; the body, the heart and the min d. It's that thing I've spoken of many times before, the sign from the casino in Las Vegas, â€Å"You must be present to win. In Las Vegas, in therapy, in meditation, it's all the same thing. In order to awaken or to use our life in a skillful way, the first task is to get here, to start to live in the present moment, which means not living so much in our fantasies, in the future, not living so much in the past, in our images and memories, and reliving things that are gone already. The first is learning to be present, which itself is a very wonderful thing, because†here† and â€Å"now† and â€Å"in the present† re the only places that we can appreciate life to begin with. Otherwise, it's kind of second-hand, what happened a few years ago — that's a nice memory — or what we fantasize about. Where can you really appreciate this life we're given? Only in the present. Also, there is something else which interests a lot of people and can only be f ound in the present, and that is love. If you want to love a person or you want to be loved — some of you perhaps know anyway, right? — where does love take place? Or â€Å"when† is a better question.Again, it's a nice memory, â€Å"Gee, I was in love once or twice† — or more in some of your cases. It was very nice. It evokes a nice thing to remember it. Or it's in the future, â€Å"Oh, if only I could meet that right wonderful person,† or â€Å"this person that I live with,† or â€Å"this family,† or whatever, â€Å"if they would change so they would become right, then I could fall in love all over again with them or be happy with them. † The only place that you can really love a person or be loved is in the present. No other possibility for it. All the rest is fantasy.Also in the present comes the possibility of touching our intuition, of creativity, of clarity; all kinds of things. So the first aspect of awareness is simply learning in some way to live more fully here in our present reality. If you learn nothing else from meditation practice than that, you get your money's worth — especially since there's no charge. Secondly, mindfulness or heartfulness mean seeing clearly. It means non-grasping, non-greed, non-hatred, it means not pushing away, and it means not going to sleep, but seeing what is present for us.Bare attention, remembering, being in the present, without trying to change it somehow, which is a hard thing to learn because we're generally planning on what we're going to make this something into next. But then what happens? We end up doing that all the time and missing all the somethings that are here, always waiting for the next one. Mindfulness is really a way of learning to see what is here in a very clear way. People talk about learning mystical things in meditation or spiritual life. There is nothing more mystical, or startling, or bizarre, or amazing, than what is right in front of us.In my days I've done a lot of strange things. I've been to a lot of different countries on this planet, and observed saddhus on beds of nails in India, and strange animals in other parts of the world, and in my early days I took a number of the various kinds of psychedelics and drugs one could take, and have had all kinds of realms and weird experiences, and all kinds of things in meditation. I have never encountered a realm as peculiar, or bizarre, or as interesting as this one. Someone said: The mystery of life is not a problem to solve, or something that you find somewhere else, but it's a reality to experience here.We went to the zoo with the baby on Sunday. If you landed on some weird planet, and then you saw pygmy hippopotamuses or 300 pound ostriches and really wrinkled elephants — Did you ever look at elephant skin? Just amazing! — or the kind of snakes that are there, or sloths hanging upside down, you would say you had come by your spaceship to a really peculiar planet. And yet we forget that. We start to take it all for granted. It all becomes very ordinary, and it's not. If you attend a birth, it's an amazing thing to see a baby being born out of a human body.How does that happen? How does it get in there? I know you know how it gets in there. But I mean, how does it really get in there? Like the ship in the bottle. An incredible thing happens in there, the baby coming out of a woman. And we take it for granted. So to pay attention means to somehow have a newer or a fresher vision, to see clearly. It means to stop our judging and our planning and just see what's here, which is part of what we do in meditation; to stop and not judge a single thing; let it be exactly how it is.Let God take over for a little while and run the show rather than our minds, which get very tired, and very full, and very busy anyway, and need a rest. Someone said: The classic question is: If you pay attention and you don't judge, then how do you live in the world? What part of attention or awareness is that? That's called sampajanna. Sati is mindfulness, sampajanna means clear or right comprehension. It means not only do you pay attention to what's here, but then when you act in your life you also look at the context, at the suitability or the intention of it; what is present.When you act, you first have to see what's here, and then some intuition, or inspiration, or thought arises, â€Å"I'll do this or do that. † It's to pay attention to where your heart is, what motivates you, what the intention and the purpose of your action is, so that you pay attention but you also note the context. The way Joseph, my colleague and friend, answers the question when people say, â€Å"When you just pay attention and note ‘lifting, moving, placing' in the walking, or the in and out of the breathing, how can you live? He said, â€Å"Well, I was doing my lifting, moving, placing one day on a road in India near the Burmese t emple where I lived, just moving my feet and paying attention, and all of a sudden I heard ‘clang, clang' of the bells, and I recognized it. I knew what those bells were. I looked up and sure enough the elephant that lived in town was coming down the road right towards me. I noted ‘hearing, hearing' and ‘seeing, seeing'; then I noticed the intention to move out of the way arise, and then I walked out of the way. † So there are two parts.The first is seeing what is here, living in the reality of the present, and then responding to it wisely, being aware of the situation that we're in. At times this year I've talked in this class about another aspect of awareness which I think is really important to remember in our lives, and that is the very interesting question of why we don't pay attention; why do we go to sleep, why do we drive on automatic pilot, why do we eat three meals a day, two-thirds or three-quarters or ninety percent of it on automatic pilot? Why d o we live so much not here?It's a pretty interesting question, maybe even more interesting than saying, â€Å"One should pay attention or live in the present. † How come we don't? There's a story: When Krushchev pronounced his famous denunciation of Stalin, someone in the Russian Congress Hall was reported to have said, â€Å"And where were you, Comrade Krushchev, when all these innocent people were being slaughtered? † Krushchev paused, looked around the hall, and said, â€Å"Will the man who said that kindly stand up? Tension mounted in the hall. No one moved. Finally Krushchev said, â€Å"Well, whoever you are, you have your answer now.I was in exactly the same position then that you are in now. † Why is it that we don't pay attention? One reason is fear, that if we actually come into the present, there are certain things we have to deal with that we haven't had to in our lives. For some people it's boredom. We're really afraid of being bored. For some it's loneliness. For some it's grieving, something in their hearts that's not finished. So it's better to distract yourself, see a lot of movies, talk to people, keep yourself busy, stay on the phone, and keep yourself working, so you don't have to feel certain things. Another reason we don't stay awake is habit.You could be very peaceful, not have any grieving to do, and be comfortable being alone, and so forth, but it's like there's this huge flywheel inside. And there you are. It's a quiet day, you're just sitting down in the park, and all of a sudden out of nowhere you start thinking about what you'll do next week or next year, making plans, and playing back memories, because there's this powerful habit of thinking. It takes training to kind of release the clutch and let it slow down. That's part of what meditation is about. Also, pain is another reason, because if you live in the reality of the present moment, what do you experience?Up and down, light and dark, night and day, and pl easure and pain. And if you don't like pain which a lot of people don't — understandably — then what you have to do is manufacture some fantasy, to live in a lot of thought and busy-ness so you don't feel it. However, you rob yourself of something very, very important when you do it, which is that you rob your life of living, of heartfulness, of fullness, of vitality, of your existence. To live in the present means that you have to face your boredom and your loneliness when they come. They're not there all the time, and they're not so bad actually when you come to terms with them.They're a little scary but they're not so terrible. And you have to face the fact that there is this habit of greed, and hatred, and fantasy, sort of a machine that spins out thoughts out the habit of it. So you have to be willing to be aware of pain as well as pleasure. But if you are, the rewards are fantastic, because then you can really experience being with anot her person, walking down t he beach, taking a walk in the park, walking outside and seeing the stars. It's really very interesting to start to pay attention to when we go on automatic pilot.If you were to look at something in your meditation, rather than trying to be aware, try to be mindful of when it is that you go to sleep, what it is that's hard for you to be aware of. That is something that is quite interesting to learn about. Use it as a signal. â€Å"I haven't been very mindful today. I wonder what's going on? I haven't been very mindful this week. I wonder why? What's happening? Oh, I'm sad. It's hard to be sad, so I have to keep myself busy,† or â€Å"This thing is coming up that's difficult to deal with, so I think a lot and plan, rather than just notice that it's really hard. We learn somehow to find the center in the moment rather than toppling forward or into the past. If you let yourself do that, then everything stops. And one of the most wonderful things about awareness or heartfulness or mindfulness is that it allows us to come to rest, because there's really only one place to rest, which is in the present. We're householders, we're not monks and nuns. And the question often asked is: In order to be mindful does it mean we have to talk slowly and sit many hours a day and go into an ashram or some monastery?How can we bring mindfulness, heartfulness, wisdom here into our lives? How do you do that? Well, of course, as I said in the past few weeks, sometimes you do have to look at your life and see if you want to slow it down a little bit, if it's crazy, if it's real busy. Because our culture is a little bit mad in that way, you might need to take a look and see, â€Å"Gee, is it time to stop doing a few things, to make a little more space, to slow down? † Fundamentally, â€Å"mindfulness† means to learn to be aware where we are. If not here, where else? If not now, when?Mindfulness is the opposite of â€Å"if only,† it's the opposite of hope, i t's the opposite of expectation. It has in it a certain kind of contentment, not that one might not choose to change the world, but a kind of acceptance that this is really what we get, these sights, these sounds, these smells, these tastes, these perceptions. This is it! Then in another moment, there will be another â€Å"it. † It's not something else. â€Å"I know that this is all it is, but this is it. † When one accepts it, then one can come to rest. Mindfulness in a way is the opposite of grasping, or attachment, or identification.And it can go very, very deep when we allow ourselves, because what we start to see — if we slow down a little bit and pay attention — is how it is a kind of conditioned phenomenon, like a machine, the mind spins this stuff out in a very orderly way by habit — thoughts, fantasies and memories. The world works in certain conditioned patterns, and that's it's nature, and it's all impermanent and quite ungraspable. Wher e is yesterday? What happened to your weekend? Where is it? What happened to 1984, your 20's, or whatever it was — maybe you're 20 now. For some of you, your 20's, 30's, 40's and 50's, where did they go?They all disappeared, gone. Isn't that an amazing thing? It's a very profound thing to start to be aware of life coming out of nothing and disappearing into nothing. A day appears for awhile, and then it's gone. It can't be grasped, it's like a bird flying. You cannot hold time and fundamentally you can't hold yourself. So the spirit of mindfulness is learning to live in an awake way. As the Buddha said, â€Å"I'm not a man, I'm not a God. I'm none of these things. I'm awake. † How can I convey the spirit of this? There are songs from the monks and nuns who lived after the Buddha died that are in these poems.If you readTherigatha, the songs of the sisters, there are many enlightenments that take place while they're walking through the forest. One nun is in the forest ta lking about how happy she is that she doesn't have to do housework anymore and she drops a cup or something like that on the ground, maybe it breaks, and all of a sudden she's enlightened. She says, â€Å"Oh, that's how it is. † Things arise for a while and then they pass away. If you can accept that and see that — each day, each moment, with each person, to experience what's there — and then leave it and go to the next, you can live in a deeply free way.So it really has the spirit of aliveness to it. In the monastery it was beautiful. We had all these rules, 227 major precepts and then some hundreds of minor precepts, and then they told you how to fold your robe, which side of the bowl you should put down, and how you should clean it properly. Even how to pee. There is a particular way monks are supposed to pee. You're supposed to squat down, you can't stand up, and you can't pee into water where there are obvious living things or on plants because you might ha rm them, and things like that. At first when I read this, I said, â€Å"Well, what's the difference if I squat down?Nobody is looking, first of all. These rules are dumb. † But after awhile of living them, in this beautiful forest monastery, where there wasn't anything else to do besides meditating and following the rules, which would drive you crazy initially, what you began to see is that somehow they brought you to see that everything was precious, that everything was worth caring for; that it mattered where you peed, that you could pee on the ground and not on a bush, and not harm it; or that it mattered how you took care of your bowl, which was one of your very few possessions.It was a gift from people who said, â€Å"We want to support you because we think that monasteries and what you're doing is valuable in the world and reminds all of us of something precious. So we'll give you a bowl. † You take care with your bowl, you take care with your robe, you take care with your car, you take care with your house, you take care with your clothes, because to be aware in some way means to remember the preciousness of life and to begin to take care with the earth and all the creatures and things on it.It's to be aware of ourselves and our bodies, of our actions, to be aware politically, to be aware economically, to be aware socially as well. Imagine if you were told that you have some disease, let's say AIDS because there's a lot of it that's happening, and it's both scary to people and very immediate and present, and real important to look at. Someone said, â€Å"Well, at best you have four years, maybe you have a year to go. † How would you start to live that year? Things would change for you, I assure you.Your life would become a lot more alive and precious for you. Or imagine that you've been in prison for a long time, as people are in many, many countries of the world. Amnesty International said that 55 countries have political prisoners who are imprisoned and often tortured because of religious views. The majority of the large countries on the earth imprison people for what they think. It's really painful. And then you were let out after a long time in prison, how would it be just to walk down the street in San Anselmo? What would the trees be like?Just the experience of being free, watching the cars, being able to go into a confectionery store and order any kind of sweet that you wanted, or just seeing the sky and feeling the air and being able to decide whether you're going to go down the block to the right or to the left. It's that spirit of heartfulness, of mindfulness that it comes to. It's not so much that you're supposed to be tedious about it at all, but it's somehow much more the spirit of an appreciation of life and of seeing it in a clear way. I remember when I was seven years old I spent a whole summer in bed.I had this kind of infection and I couldn't leave the house. And then when it ended and I fina lly could go out, I was given something like a dollar, which seemed like a lot of money at that time, and I went and I bought a ball and some bubble stuff, and I went to this big park near my house. It was like being let out of prison for a kid being in the house for a whole summer. I was so happy. To this day I remember the sun was shining, I could blow my bubbles and turn cartwheels and throw my ball and do anything I felt like. It was so wonderful. In some ways, that's part of the spirit of bringing awareness to our life.It also means, as I said, that we have to be willing to face that which is difficult, to open to what Zorba called â€Å"the whole catastrophe,† and to appreciate it in some way. It's really quite a trip. So first it means to take care with the earth, to learn that awareness means to receive, to see the preciousness of things. Secondly, then it allows our world to teach us, to let it teach you very simple truths which are the most important. For example, o ne monk went to his master after a long time of training and begged the teacher to give him enlightenment.The master led him over to a bamboo grove. He said, â€Å"See that bamboo there, how tall it is? See that one over there, see how short it is? † And the monk was enlightened. Things will teach us when we see them afresh, when we see them anew. We see them for a minute, we see the ungraspability of anything, of our own bodies — they change — of our thoughts, of our feelings, not to speak of the people and the things around us. — changing, ungraspable. And that they do. Sometimes they're big and sometimes they're small. That's the way that things are.It teaches us the preciousness of life. When we pay attention we can learn. We can learn from our families. We can learn when our hearts are closed and when they're open. We can learn what it means to be attached, what it means to let go and be freer. We can learn about all the forces in the mind. We can le arn about doubt and fear and anger, through awareness. We can learn about love and kindness through attention. It's really universal. We can learn to play tennis in a better way. To train ourselves to be aware is the gift of the Buddha.He said: Here, I'll give you a gift that can make life come alive for you, that can bring both happiness and freedom. And it's a very simple thing. Learn to train yourself to live more in the present. Do what it takes to do that in your life. How can we do it? Here we are, householders, right; not like we have all day to sit and walk in some monastery. Some hints perhaps. First of all, as I've said in previous evenings, one of the most beautiful expressions of awareness comes from Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh where he says: See if you can learn to wash the dishes in order to wash the dishes.Usually we wash the dishes in order to get the dishes clean, right, and then we can get on and do something else, right, or talk to someone. Did you ever do anything like that, where you just did it in order to do it? Maybe we let ourselves do that on vacation. You go hiking in the Sierras, and if you're not too driven — â€Å"Can I get to this camp site by this hour,† or something — and you let go of that a little bit, you just walk along the mountains in order to be walking, everything becomes what it is. It's beautiful. That's the first hint, to start to take some things in our lives and do them for their own sake.Does that make sense to you? Another way is to listen with your heart a little bit more, to try to pay attention to what it's like when you're with people, and see if you can let your words come out of your heart, to say really what you feel inside, what you care about, and to listen with your heart rather than your mind. That's a very good way to wake up; especially the people you live with — your kids, your spouse, family, and things like that. People say, â€Å"How can you be mindful at work? I'm a w riter,† or â€Å"I'm a mathematician. † These are some of the questions I get at retreats. How do you do math mindfully? You have to think and ruminate. † Or, how do you write mindfully, or watch a movie? The best I have been able to come to in that is that when you write, just write; when you watch a movie, just watch the movie; when you read, just read. Not writing and also thinking how people will view it when you're done writing, and planning, and seeing how many more minutes you have to write, and so forth. Just be present for the writing. It doesn't mean to think or be in some special mode. Just do what you do. Not so complicated. When you do math, do math.Of course, sometimes it gets a little more complicated than that, and at retreats I've often told the story of Zen master Soen-Sa-Nim who generally teaches his great Zen teachings, â€Å"When you walk, just walk; when you're hungry, eat; when you're sitting, just sit. † So there he was at the breakf ast table eating breakfast and reading the paper. Students who saw this were very upset. â€Å"You know, you're the Zen master. You tell us, ‘When you eat, just eat,' and here you are eating and reading. How do you explain this? † He said, â€Å"Very simple. When you eat and read, just eat and read. The spirit of it is not so complicated. It's not to make something really false or different about it. It's more the quality of being a bit more where you are. I think that comes from Yoda in Star Wars. Another thing is to remember the power of the act of coming into the present. I told the story a few weeks ago of Robert Aitken-roshi who wanted to go to Japan to study Zen during the Korean War. It was considered a war zone and people weren't allowed. When he went to the consul or the ambassador who was a very learned and dignified Japanese man, he was told, â€Å"I'm sorry, we just can't have visitors; it's war time.The American government doesn't want it and the Japanese government is following that. † The ambassador offered tea. It was very nice. He said, â€Å"Why do you want to do that? I mean, there's this war we have to stop. † He took his cup of tea and he picked it up and he drank it very carefully and silently, and then he looked at the ambassador and said, â€Å"Taking a cup of tea I stopped the war. † With that the ambassador was wise and he understood that, and he arranged a visa for him to go to Japan to study. What we do, if we do it with our full heart and our full being, is a way of bringing the planet back into balance.All you have to do is look at the news or read Time or Newsweek; it's crazy. And it's crazy because it's all mind and thought and going in circles and it's not connected with the heart and the earth. Taking a walk you stop the war, taking a cup of tea, sitting a little bit every day, you stop the nuclear arms race because you let yourself get quiet and feel the earth and the air, and then your acti ons and your vibrations and the effect you have on other people, and maybe even the concerns that you act out politically, all come from that connection with yourself and with the earth around you.I have a good friend who is lawyer from Harvard Law School, a very fine lawyer. He sits through lots of meetings. He said he has really learned to work with his breath. Communication is kind of redundant. You could probably tune in on every tenth sentence and get most of the meaning of things. He is really in love. He says, â€Å"I love my breath. It's much better than what goes on in the meetings. † So you can use your meditation in grocery stores standing in line waiting for checkout, or traffic jams. Wonderful times to meditate. I remember sitting at my teacher's cottage.He sort of sat in a little chair, and people would sit around and he would receive visitors. I was sitting there and waiting for him. It was a really hot day. Usually they had iced coffee on a very hot day in the tropics. Iced coffee is first so good because it's so cool and delicious; and the Thai coffee is half sugar. And secondly, since you don't eat except one meal in the morning, to have a big glass of dark iced coffee filled with sugar is like about three or four hours of caffeine and sugar stimulation before it wears off. It's great sitting. It was a great drug for sitting, there's no question about it.I was kind of in the doldrums. â€Å"I've swept my cottage, now I'll go over and I'll sit and I'll wait. † And on hot days like this, if the teacher sees a lot of people sitting around, he says, â€Å"Okay, you can bring some iced coffee for these poor starving monks,† or whatever. So we sat. I kept thinking about how I was going to go back and meditate. I'd get to my cottage and then after I had it, for two or three hours I would be very alert and awake, and I'm kind of sitting there sweaty and hot and a little bit depressed and just waiting and waiting and waiting. He m ust have known it, and I'm waiting and waiting.Hours go by and other people come by and I'm waiting and waiting. I think, â€Å"God, when am I going to get this wonderful coffee so that it will perk me up and I can really meditate? † Waiting, waiting. It never came. Finally, it became real clear after a lot of hours of waiting; waiting to meditate. I was sitting there doing nothing. When are we going to meditate? â€Å"I'll do it when I get to the sitting, then I'll meditate,† or â€Å"I'll do it tomorrow. † Somehow it's to remember that it's here in the present we're talking about. In some way, mindfulness means coming back to our real home, coming to rest in the present.It is our real home. And our real home is not connected with grasping, our feelings, our bodies, our thoughts, our images, or all the things that are changing — but it's the ease that we can find in being with up and down, light and dark, and all of this duality which is changing. With a n open heart, with heartfulness, with mindfulness, being with it as it is, then receiving it and deciding, if we will, what things to choose to respond to in a wise or compassionate way. This is Don Juan to Carlos Casteneda: For me the world is incredible because it is mysterious, awesome, stupendous, unfathomable.My interest has been to convince you that you must learn to make every act count in this marvelous world, in this marvelous time, I've tried to convince you. You must realize that you are going to be here for only a short while. In fact, too short for witnessing all the marvels of it. I wanted to convince you that you must learn to make every act count. The spirit of awareness or mindfulness really means coming into our life, into the physical senses, into the feelings, into the movement of mind, and into the heart, and living each day from our heart. What do we care about?Taking a concern and a care for the preciousness of the earth. In the end what one discovers is that mindfulness and love are the same thing. To be aware, without grasping or resisting or trying to change — to receive what's here — is to love it; that they're not really separate, that the heart and the mind come together. Or as one of my teachers said: The mind creates the abyss and the heart crosses it. The mind creates distinctions, and coming into the present, into the heart, resolves all of that. The talk in a way is a reminder. Let me ask you a few questions as a way of ending.First of all, what keeps you, what keeps each of us from really paying attention in our lives, from living more fully? Just think about it as I ask. What fear or difficulty in your life keeps you from living here in the present? What illusion or misunderstanding in your life keeps you from living here in the present? What would you have to do to make your life really support living mindfully? What would you have to change to make a real support for this mindfulness or this heartfulness? Wha t would you have to change in your life to allow yourself to love more fully? And the last question is to ask in your heart should you make those changes.See what it said. Generally, it has a good answer. Even mindfulness, however, cannot be grasped. There are days when you're going to be more mindful and days when you're less mindful. And it too, like all things, comes and goes. What you can do is nourish and find ways. That's what we do together here. We sit together, sometimes we have discussions and questions, sometimes I talk to myself out loud and you get to participate, sort of listen to it. It is a way to remind ourselves that there's something really precious. Spiritual life is pretty simple. It's not easy but it's pretty simple.