Suddenly, there is a shift in the collective consciousness in the U.S. in particular, but around the world in general, there is a sense of change in which fear, greed and pseudo-power is being called into question and the Spirit of Love is now in the process of influencing the collective consciousness. The emergence of a transformed state of the collective human consciousness can be linked to the prophetic voice of Jesus who became the Christ. It was that prophetic voice that spoke about a time when the Reign of God would come upon the face of the earth. This is not about organized religion or the organized communities of faith, but it is about spirituality and awareness of certain events in this season that opens the possibility for change.
....And (people) will come from east and west, and from north and south, and sit down (feast at the table) in the Kingdom of God. Luke 13:29 (Amplified)
....Nor will people say, Look! Here (it is) or See, (it is) There! For behold, the Kingdom of God is within you (in your hearts) and among you (surrounding you). Luke 17:21 (Amplified)
....Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. I Cor. 2:9 KJV
....God is a Spirit; and they that worship Him, must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. John 4:24 KJV
Illumination is an experience in which a person comes to a new awareness or understanding of one or more dimensions of religious faith. It is accompanied by a number of changes such as: 1) an increased sense of health and well-being; 2) a deeper sense of certainty and conviction in faith, which is characterized by open-mindedness; 3) an experiential understanding of religious faith, which is seen to have meaning in various events and dimensions of a person's life; and 4) a sense of gratitude which is manifest in one's concern for the well-being of other persons.
.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Pope Francis I.....
Who is Pope Francis I? Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the new Roman Catholic Pope, is the first man in modern era from outside Europe to be the next Pope. He is the first Pope to be a member of the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Order, founded in the 16th century by St. Ignatius Loyola. Its members, known as Jesuits, take a vow of poverty and are known for their work among the poor and their scholarship. The Jesuit order is known to be defenders of social justice and progressive activism. The Jesuits in Latin America were great proponents of liberation theology. As Archbishop, Bergoglio, a high school chemistry teacher, had the option to live in a palace in Argentina and access to a chauffeur driven limousine, but instead he chose to live in an simple apartment, use the local bus to go to work and cooked his own meals.
The unique characteristics of the Ignatian Spirituality as revealed in Ignatius's writings and the testimony of those who knew him, especially the first members of the Society of Jesus. Some of the significant aspects/perspectives include: 1) a highly positive view of God's action in the world; 2) an apostolic perspective essentially oriented toward life in the world "for the greater glory of God;" 3) a dialectic of prayer and action, with prayer directed toward finding God in all things, and action for the kingdom as a legitimate and valuable counterpoint to prayer; 4) a wholistic notion of prayer employing a spectrum of human facilities, including thinking, imagining, sensing, feeling, and breathing; 5) discernment of spirits as a concrete means to judge one's choices against the norm of God's will in the here and now.
In the first act of his papacy, he chose the name Francis, becoming the namesake of St. Francis of Assisi, who gave up his riches and choose a life of poverty and prayer. St Francis of Assisi, was a Roman Catholic deacon, founder of three Franciscan orders, spiritual leader, miracle worker, author of the famous peace prayer. Coming from a wealthy family, Francis experienced a radical conversion in 1205 to a life of poverty and service modeled after Jesus who became the Christ. He is remembered not only for his exemplary ascetic lifestyle, but also for his spirituality, the many miracles he performed in response to all sorts of human requests, a ministry to both the privileged rich and the needy masses. Francis and his associates converted numerous persons of wealth and stature and encouraged others to make charitable gifts, thereby providing a spiritual force against the emerging social trends of secularism and acquisitiveness.
The unique characteristics of the Ignatian Spirituality as revealed in Ignatius's writings and the testimony of those who knew him, especially the first members of the Society of Jesus. Some of the significant aspects/perspectives include: 1) a highly positive view of God's action in the world; 2) an apostolic perspective essentially oriented toward life in the world "for the greater glory of God;" 3) a dialectic of prayer and action, with prayer directed toward finding God in all things, and action for the kingdom as a legitimate and valuable counterpoint to prayer; 4) a wholistic notion of prayer employing a spectrum of human facilities, including thinking, imagining, sensing, feeling, and breathing; 5) discernment of spirits as a concrete means to judge one's choices against the norm of God's will in the here and now.
In the first act of his papacy, he chose the name Francis, becoming the namesake of St. Francis of Assisi, who gave up his riches and choose a life of poverty and prayer. St Francis of Assisi, was a Roman Catholic deacon, founder of three Franciscan orders, spiritual leader, miracle worker, author of the famous peace prayer. Coming from a wealthy family, Francis experienced a radical conversion in 1205 to a life of poverty and service modeled after Jesus who became the Christ. He is remembered not only for his exemplary ascetic lifestyle, but also for his spirituality, the many miracles he performed in response to all sorts of human requests, a ministry to both the privileged rich and the needy masses. Francis and his associates converted numerous persons of wealth and stature and encouraged others to make charitable gifts, thereby providing a spiritual force against the emerging social trends of secularism and acquisitiveness.
Monday, March 4, 2013
A Pause.......
Even now in the twenty-first century, the question remains, what is really in our control and what is not? The nature of human fallibility requires that we answer the question, why we fail at what we set out to do in the world. One reason may be the "necessary fallibility." Some things we want to do are simply beyond our capacity. Thus we should...
.....Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteous, and all these things shall be added unto you.
Much of the world and universe is--and will remain--outside our understanding and control. Even with all of our technology, there is still ignorance of the unknown. Science may have given us only a partial understanding of the world and how it works. The intersection of science and theology gave us the Theory of Everything (T.O.E.) and yet there is the question of "necessary fallibility." Maybe its ineptitude where we as human beings know that the knowledge exists, yet we fail to apply it correctly for many reasons that in include inequality in income, healthcare, marriage, hunger, etc.
Weaving the lives of citizens into the rich tapestry of America where "We the People" find grace to stand in solidarity with all of the people in this very diverse society. This requires a shift in the collective consciousness on planet Earth where our love of community exceed the fear that is perpetrated by a small group of individuals who have systematically concentrated wealth to control the masses of people. Perhaps the greatest achievement of humanity is not its works of art, science, or technology, but the recognition of its own dysfunction and find humility in an ever emerging and transending world.
.....Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteous, and all these things shall be added unto you.
Much of the world and universe is--and will remain--outside our understanding and control. Even with all of our technology, there is still ignorance of the unknown. Science may have given us only a partial understanding of the world and how it works. The intersection of science and theology gave us the Theory of Everything (T.O.E.) and yet there is the question of "necessary fallibility." Maybe its ineptitude where we as human beings know that the knowledge exists, yet we fail to apply it correctly for many reasons that in include inequality in income, healthcare, marriage, hunger, etc.
Weaving the lives of citizens into the rich tapestry of America where "We the People" find grace to stand in solidarity with all of the people in this very diverse society. This requires a shift in the collective consciousness on planet Earth where our love of community exceed the fear that is perpetrated by a small group of individuals who have systematically concentrated wealth to control the masses of people. Perhaps the greatest achievement of humanity is not its works of art, science, or technology, but the recognition of its own dysfunction and find humility in an ever emerging and transending world.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Part IV: The Noise of Silence/Unemployment
The Great Recession that started in December 2007 ended in June 2009 and recovery began to be a reality for certain sectors of the U.S. economy. However, involuntary unemployment remain high among more and more families who had depleted their savings, lost their homes, and for many people, lost their hope. Unemployment is down, but for many people, they have not recovered from long periods of involuntary unemployment. U.S. citizens living in one of the most advanced nations in the world, rich in resources, talent, and knowledge--all the ingredients for prosperity and a decent standard of living for all-- remain in a state of intense pain.
Too many people on so-called Main Street (which include side streets, back streets, the back roads, the other side of the tracks) are finding today that they cannot succeed no matter how hard they work, and no matter how scrupulously they follow the rules. At the same time, other Americans, including the worst of Wall Street, apparently cannot fail--no matter how inept, corrupt, or lazy they are, and no matter how many times they break the rules. President Obama, in his State of the Union address, tried to reassure ordinary citizens that there is still hope, but we have to help him make America do the right thing for all of its citizens.
There are 400 families controlling more wealth than 180 million Americans. But corporate America's millions of casualties are beginning to find their voices, stand together, and fight back against joblessness, homelessness, and despair. Inclusion and fairness must continue to be the mantra as the movement of millions of people--committed to fixing our democracy--find solutions to income inequality while progressive business groups find new pathways to prosperity for their communities.
There is always some unemployment in a complex, dynamic economy like that of twenty-first century America. However, "not since the 1930s have so many Americans find themselves seemingly trapped in a permanent state of joblessness." Long-term employment is deeply demoralizing for workers anywhere. Losing your job often means losing your health insurance, household family savings are depleted, bill can't be paid, and homes are lost. Lose a job in this economy and you will find it hard to find another. And if you stay unemployed long enough, you will be considered unemployable. The blow to this dilemma is also a blow to dignity and self-respect.
In America today, we have both the knowledge and the tools to end this suffering of involuntary unemployment. Being a citizen in America means different things to people. But the center of gravity is always the same: in our country, an ordinary person with citizenship--who was not born with great wealth or a famous last name, but who is willing to apply herself of himself--should be able to find employment, live in a safe community, make progress financially, retire with dignity, and give her or his children a better life. We are talking about living a life of consumption; it is about being able to live a life with meaning and purpose, productivity and contribution. Thus, using smart choices, honesty, and hard work should be sufficient keys to a fulfilling life.
Too many people on so-called Main Street (which include side streets, back streets, the back roads, the other side of the tracks) are finding today that they cannot succeed no matter how hard they work, and no matter how scrupulously they follow the rules. At the same time, other Americans, including the worst of Wall Street, apparently cannot fail--no matter how inept, corrupt, or lazy they are, and no matter how many times they break the rules. President Obama, in his State of the Union address, tried to reassure ordinary citizens that there is still hope, but we have to help him make America do the right thing for all of its citizens.
There are 400 families controlling more wealth than 180 million Americans. But corporate America's millions of casualties are beginning to find their voices, stand together, and fight back against joblessness, homelessness, and despair. Inclusion and fairness must continue to be the mantra as the movement of millions of people--committed to fixing our democracy--find solutions to income inequality while progressive business groups find new pathways to prosperity for their communities.
There is always some unemployment in a complex, dynamic economy like that of twenty-first century America. However, "not since the 1930s have so many Americans find themselves seemingly trapped in a permanent state of joblessness." Long-term employment is deeply demoralizing for workers anywhere. Losing your job often means losing your health insurance, household family savings are depleted, bill can't be paid, and homes are lost. Lose a job in this economy and you will find it hard to find another. And if you stay unemployed long enough, you will be considered unemployable. The blow to this dilemma is also a blow to dignity and self-respect.
In America today, we have both the knowledge and the tools to end this suffering of involuntary unemployment. Being a citizen in America means different things to people. But the center of gravity is always the same: in our country, an ordinary person with citizenship--who was not born with great wealth or a famous last name, but who is willing to apply herself of himself--should be able to find employment, live in a safe community, make progress financially, retire with dignity, and give her or his children a better life. We are talking about living a life of consumption; it is about being able to live a life with meaning and purpose, productivity and contribution. Thus, using smart choices, honesty, and hard work should be sufficient keys to a fulfilling life.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Part I: The Noise of Silence (Defined)
What is the voice of silence? The voice of silence can be heard very loud among individuals in our society who find themselves being marginalized, disenfranchised and ignored. It is the sound of voiceless people living in poverty, children who are hungry, those who are unemployed, the sick, elderly without proper housing and adequate health care. It's the low-income citizens or no income citizens; it's the migrant worker without access to health care; it's the mentally ill with a dreaded undiagnosed disease; it's the substance abuser who cannot get appropriate treatment; it's the raped victim who may not be able to get a legitimate abortion; it's the sound of depression, stress, chronic diseases, illiteracy, loneliness, fear, and anxiety. Are we the people listening? Are we the people paying attention?
Part III: The Noise of Silence/Health Care
Managed health care, the model for health care before Obamacare, emerged in the 1990s as an attempt to answer the problem of excessive costs in the U.S. healthcare system. The hope was that by treating the caring profession as a business rather than a service, bottom-line discipline would bring run-away costs under control. The changes in health care delivery are exemplified by the health insurance industry, which created a new method of delivering health care.
A wide range of groups emerged to "mange" care, that is, managed care organizations (MCOs), health maintenance organizations (HMOs), preferred provider organizations (PPOs), point of service groups (POSs), independent practice associations (IPAs), insurance reviewers, hospital administrators, institutional managers, and the purchasers of groups needing care who run the health care corporations. The difference between HMOs and PSOs (provider-sponsored organizations) is ownership. HMOs are usually owned by insurance companies, whiles PSOs are owned directly by doctors and hospitals. Essentially, the "1 percent" of the health care industry in our society who prefer the business medical model as oppose to the new potential accountable care organizations (ACOs) resulting from the Affordable Care Act (the "99 percent" Obamacare).
Whatever the type, managed care functions as individual, profit-driven corporations whose product is medical care. The vocabulary used by these organizations reflects their corporate image: the "consumer" (formerly the patient), the "provider" (the physician and other health care professionals), the "insurer" (the reimburser for any care), the "buyer" of health services (most often the large employer organizations). A certain dollar amount is negotiated for health care for a certain number of patients whether the care is given or not; the provider shares with the insurer any financial risk for the actual costs of care. And despite the observation by some health industry analysts that managed care heralded an alternative to the medical model, it fits squarely with that model.
In this new Health Reform environment, language can be a barrier in describing the underserved population in the U.S. healthcare system. A person-centered approach will help to reduce health disparities among people who are classified as low-income, minorities and lack access to adequate quality health care. Merck pharmaceutical with its MerckEngage .com commercial best describes the person-centered model: The people in the commercial provided the following:
..."I am not a statistic; I am not a target-market; I am not a demographic, or data, or a patient. I am a person; a butcher; a mom; a daughter; a teacher.....I am a human being who happens to have type II diabetes. The Affordable Care Act allows us to be fully human, if "We the People" decide to make health care available to all the citizens in the United States.
A wide range of groups emerged to "mange" care, that is, managed care organizations (MCOs), health maintenance organizations (HMOs), preferred provider organizations (PPOs), point of service groups (POSs), independent practice associations (IPAs), insurance reviewers, hospital administrators, institutional managers, and the purchasers of groups needing care who run the health care corporations. The difference between HMOs and PSOs (provider-sponsored organizations) is ownership. HMOs are usually owned by insurance companies, whiles PSOs are owned directly by doctors and hospitals. Essentially, the "1 percent" of the health care industry in our society who prefer the business medical model as oppose to the new potential accountable care organizations (ACOs) resulting from the Affordable Care Act (the "99 percent" Obamacare).
Whatever the type, managed care functions as individual, profit-driven corporations whose product is medical care. The vocabulary used by these organizations reflects their corporate image: the "consumer" (formerly the patient), the "provider" (the physician and other health care professionals), the "insurer" (the reimburser for any care), the "buyer" of health services (most often the large employer organizations). A certain dollar amount is negotiated for health care for a certain number of patients whether the care is given or not; the provider shares with the insurer any financial risk for the actual costs of care. And despite the observation by some health industry analysts that managed care heralded an alternative to the medical model, it fits squarely with that model.
In this new Health Reform environment, language can be a barrier in describing the underserved population in the U.S. healthcare system. A person-centered approach will help to reduce health disparities among people who are classified as low-income, minorities and lack access to adequate quality health care. Merck pharmaceutical with its MerckEngage .com commercial best describes the person-centered model: The people in the commercial provided the following:
..."I am not a statistic; I am not a target-market; I am not a demographic, or data, or a patient. I am a person; a butcher; a mom; a daughter; a teacher.....I am a human being who happens to have type II diabetes. The Affordable Care Act allows us to be fully human, if "We the People" decide to make health care available to all the citizens in the United States.
Part II: The Noise of Silence/Depression
The extent to which the noise of silence pierce the fabric of our society is but a reminder for "We the People" to take action to stop this noise. Depression is just one of the problems inherent in a society where the voiceless can not be heard because we fail to find adequate solutions. The health care crisis creates unprecedented opportunities for the people of faith to be major providers of preventive education and a site for an expanded role for primary health care.
The new prevention and wellness programs provided for in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in opposition to the advocates of the free market system often celebrated as a mechanism, unabashedly driven by self interest, that lets us exchange goods and services without the need for redemption. Healing is more than treating diseases; health care more than a commodity; and huge corporations not the vehicle of choice for the delivery of appropriate health care. What we need is a comprehensive and accessible health care system that is available for all U.S. citizens.
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) now covers annual screening for depression for Medicare beneficiaries in primary care settings that have staff-assisted depression care supports in place to assure accurate diagnosis, effective treatment, and follow-up. The decision to use a specific tool is at the discretion of the clinician in the primary care setting. However, coverage is limited to screening services and does not include treatment options for depression or any diseases, complications, or chronic conditions resulting from depression.
Choices in treatment will be influenced by one's value system, and recovery may be linked to one's personal faith. The "faith factor" is significant in a patient's recovery from a wide variety of illnesses. It appears that the faith itself rather than the object of the faith is of primary importance. The first element of faith is expectancy of improvement which may actually produce improvement. Suggestion is another powerful force. If one expects to improve, one will. Cultivating a sense of hope about oneself and the course of one's illness is central to recovery. Hopelessness creates a sense of futility.
The new prevention and wellness programs provided for in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in opposition to the advocates of the free market system often celebrated as a mechanism, unabashedly driven by self interest, that lets us exchange goods and services without the need for redemption. Healing is more than treating diseases; health care more than a commodity; and huge corporations not the vehicle of choice for the delivery of appropriate health care. What we need is a comprehensive and accessible health care system that is available for all U.S. citizens.
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) now covers annual screening for depression for Medicare beneficiaries in primary care settings that have staff-assisted depression care supports in place to assure accurate diagnosis, effective treatment, and follow-up. The decision to use a specific tool is at the discretion of the clinician in the primary care setting. However, coverage is limited to screening services and does not include treatment options for depression or any diseases, complications, or chronic conditions resulting from depression.
Choices in treatment will be influenced by one's value system, and recovery may be linked to one's personal faith. The "faith factor" is significant in a patient's recovery from a wide variety of illnesses. It appears that the faith itself rather than the object of the faith is of primary importance. The first element of faith is expectancy of improvement which may actually produce improvement. Suggestion is another powerful force. If one expects to improve, one will. Cultivating a sense of hope about oneself and the course of one's illness is central to recovery. Hopelessness creates a sense of futility.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)