MOGO Tip: Practical Suggestions for Embracing Responsibility

Zoe Weil in her book MOST GOOD LEAST HARM, MOGO for short, makes some suggestions for embracing responsibility.


She recommends to:


1- Pay attention to your thoughts and language, and notice if you are using words and phrases that blame on others, deflecting responsibility from yourself.


If you find yourself thinking or saying, "So and so did such  and such to me, " or If only ___ would stop ___." or "Everything would be fine if ____, " try reframing the situation to become aware that you are responsible for your responses and your choices. 


Meditation teacher Eknath Easwaran reminded people that no one irritates another rather, people allow themselves to be irritated. As soon as you find yourself ready to blame another, look inward. How can you take responsibility for your own joy and live according to your own values?


2- Acknowledge that you choose your actions. Nobody determines how you will act other than you. With this awareness you can make conscious choices and thereby accept responsibility for what you say and do.


3- Remember to take responsibility for your attitude. 

___________________________

You can read more on Zoe Weil's book: MOST GOOD, LEAST HARM. A Simple Principle for a better World and Meaningful Life.

____________________________

HUMANE FOUNDATION: This entry applies to the Humane Foundation Elements ONESELF, and OTHERS.

Veganism & the Environment Infographic

Better View here

Personal Reflection: Animal Rights Movement Must Go Bigger

A new animal lover friend shared the thought of how lonely those very few who opposed slavery in the 1800's felt when it was considered normal, moral, and just  by the majority. 

According to my friend's analogy, it is gratifying to know though that human slavery, in the form of the 1800's is history, and even when there are new cases of modern slavery emerging all over, we can say that today it is popularly unaccepted by the masses, what brings me hope that today's systemic animal exploitation will also be a thing of the pass.

My only regret is having to live in the historical moment when by the time I am writing this, animals are used, abused, exploited, enslaved, tortured... and for most people it is still ok. 

I believe animal slavery and exploitation will one day be a thing of the past, but each day it is still a thing of the present, it is necessary for those of us who oppose such slavery and cruelty to hurry up, animals can't wait. I always think the animal rights movement need an Al Gore that start a global initiative. Today the environmental movement is widely spread and it's been adopted by the main stream society. We need something like that happening to the animal rights movement. Maybe start a fund to be able to bring the animal rights message main stream and put it in front of the eyes of all the people. We need people taking over the air waves, and make it to radio, tv. We need columnists in the most important newspapers, I think if we don't think big and go big, it is going to take much longer for animals to see the end of their sad reality. 

Humane Ed.:Culture: Media Influence: Advertisement

HUMANE EDUCATION: Culture: Media Influence: Advertisement

In a capitalist society, consumerism is what moves the economy. Because of this, corporations and companies some times get desperate trying to sell their goods and services. In their campaigns, carefully designed by marketing specialists that know how to persuade people to buy, they try to send us the 'buy' message so that we become consumers of their product, and if possible, become addict to it. 

Many times we end up buying things we don't really need, and even sadder, we may be buying products from companies that exploit other people, animals, and the environment. Humane Education invites students to think critically about the messages youth and all people are constantly bombarded with. In analyzing the advertisement, humane education invites you to consider answering the following questions:

1- What product or service is the ad selling?

2- What deep need or desire is the ad appealing to?

3- Who is the intended audience, and what do you suppose their reaction to the ad might be?

4- Who is excluded in the ad?

5- How does the ad affect your personal desires, self-image, beliefs, and consumer choices?

6- What are the effects of the product or service the ad is selling on people, other species, and the environment, and what suffering, destruction, and/or exploitation remains unseen?

_______________

These questions were shared from Zoe Weil's book: The Power and Promise of Humane Education" pp. 23-24

Humane Education: Rats 1

Rats have personalities, and they can be glum or cheerful depending on their upbringing and circumstances. One study showed that rats accustomed to good times tend to be optimists, while those reared in unstable conditions become pessimists. Both rats will learn to associate one sound with a good event a gift of food and another sound with no food, but when exposed to an ambiguous sound, the optimist will run over expecting to be fed and the pessimist will grumble and skulk away, expecting nothing.

Rats love to laugh, specially young rats. Scientists say giggling, ticklish rats have provided them with the first evidence that animals unrelated to humans can laugh. Scientists Jaak Panksepp and Jeffrey Burgdorf, of Bowling Green State University in Ohio have discovered that rats "laugh" when tickled. Rat laughter consists of high-pitched, chirping whistles, outside the range of human hearing. They found that young rats chirp vigorously during rough-and-tumble play sessions and that they chirped more than their older relatives when tickled. 

According to the scientists, this fits in with the idea that children are more ticklish than adults. Mr Panksepp told New Scientist magazine: " They clearly have a sense of fun. Keeping rats laughing isn't difficult. They're small, of course, but it's really no different than running your fingers as if you're tickling a child.You get the most laughter at the nape of the neck, where they direct each other's play behavior. When they play together its like a children’s playground" Rats register their gratitude with little nips.

They are as choosy as us with food. They like variety and pick around their food, eating the tastiest parts first, and separating out what they dislike. Tt’s a myth that rats like cheese, in fact they are lactose intolerant or allergic to cheese

While in the west rats are considered pests, eastern cultures are far more tolerant and respectful of all life. The Egyptians deified them. In Imperial Chinese culture, the rat is the first of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac. People born in this year are expected to possess qualities associated with rats. These include creativity, honesty, generosity, ambition, a quick temper . They are noted for their charm and attraction for the opposite sex.. 

In the Indian pantheon of Gods , the rat is the vehicle of Lord Ganesh and a rat’s statue is always found in a temple of Ganesh. In fact, in the northwestern city of Deshnoke, in the Karni Mata Temple, the rats are held to be destined for reincarnation as Sadhus. The priests feed milk and grain to both pilgrims and animals. Eating food that has been touched by rats is considered a blessing from god.

Those who have kept rats as companions will tell you how much they loved them and what they learned from them, just like a dog or a cat. The only thing rats need to become more popular is a good public-relations campaign, and maybe a new name. Short-tailed squirrels, maybe? Next time you see a rat, discard the training that you have been given and take time to appreciate the clever and gentle creature that God has made to share your world.

Maneka Gandhi

Original Article found here

HF Elements: ONSELF

*ONESELF* 

“Be the Change you Wish to see in The World”

- M. Gandhi

Personal Growth - Character Development – Healthy and Sustainable Living.

   Wellness and Life Choices   

Wellness should be viewed from a holistic perspective emphasizing te intimate relationship between our body and all the other aspects of ourselves -psychological, social, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual.

Wellness is an active process consisting of conscious choices we make in fashioning a healthy lifestyle. It stresses positive health rather than merely the absence of disabling symptoms.

Donatelle, Snow-Harter, and Wilcox (1995) state that if you are living a wellness lifestyle you are moving toward more deliberate, conscious actions to craate the best self possible within the limitations of your situation. Three aspects characterize this wellness lifestyle:

1- Assume responsibility for your actions and the quality of your health.

2- Have a concern for others and be tolerant of imperfection in others (this connects with the second element: OTHERS)

3- Be willing to devote time and energy to developing a sound basis for making good decisions about health.

Benefits for adopting a wellness lifestyle:

- Improved cardiovascular efficiency.

- Increased muscular tone, strength, flexibility, and endurance.

- Reduced risk for injuries.

- Improved sense of self-control, self-efficacy, and self-esteem.

- improved management and control of stress.

- Improved outlook on life.

- Improved Interpersonal relationships.

- Decreased mortality (death) and morbidity (illness) from infections and chronic deseases.

The essence of wellness is captured in these brief statements:

- Wellness is a choice - a decision you make to move toward optimal health.

- Wellness is a way of life - a lifestyle you design to achieve your highest potential for well -being.

- Wellness is a process - a developing awareness that there is no end point but that health and happiness are possible in each moment, here and now.

- Wellness is an efficient channeling of energy - energy received from the environment, transformed within you, and sent on to impact the world outside.

- Wellness is the integration of body, mind, and spirit - the appreciation that everything you do and think and feel and believe has an impact on your state of health.

- Wellness is the loving acceptance of yourself.

~ I Never Knew I Had a Choice: Explorations in Personal Growth by Gerald and Marianne Corey

HUMANE FOUNDATION PRESENTATION: Catalyst Miami

The Humane Foundation will present the Humane School Initiative to the Youth MOVE Miami Summer Camp.


When:  Wednesday, July 12 PM at 


Where: 19 Biscayne Boulevard. Miami, FL.