 By Jim Selman | Bio
It seems to me that there are three
fundamental relationships that we all share as human beings: 1) our
relationship with ourselves and other people, 2) our relationship with
our circumstances, and 3) our relationship with time. When we are
inflexible or stuck in habitual ways of being in any of these areas, we
become trapped in a condition from which we cannot extract ourselves: we
are caught in a ‘self-referential’ spiral in which the more we attempt
to improve a situation, the more intractable it becomes. In the extreme,
this condition becomes an addiction— whether to a substance, a behavior
or an ideology.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Fearless Aging
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By Jim Selman | Bio
I was playing a trivia game and had to answer
what the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are. I got three out of four,
but had to go to go to Wikipedia to get them all: War, Famine, Conquest
and Death. These traditional Biblical symbols mark the ‘end of time’,
when all things are put right and presumably all karma is erased and
this journey will be complete. In researching each of them, I learned
that ‘conquest’ is best translated in today’s language as ‘corruption’.
The ancient notion of ‘famine’ can also be understood to encompass
epidemics and plagues. ‘War’ represents violence in all forms and Death
is pretty self-evident. These seem to me to be a good list of the dark
side of “The Force” which threatens our way of life and our collective
future.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at The Great Turning
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By Jim Selman | Bio
Moods ‘color’ our experience of living. They
are all encompassing interpretations of the world—especially the
future—and tend to determine the quality of our lives. When we are in a
positive mood, the world is bright and we ‘feel’ great. When we are in
a negative mood, we typically want to withdraw from or strike out at
everyone around us. One of the most useful things we can learn as we
grow up (at any age) is that moods aren’t personal. First of all, they are involuntary. No one I know decides they will be
in a bad mood (although there are a few who more or less equate their
mood with ‘the way I am’, which can[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Fearless Aging
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By Jim Selman | Bio
Here we are at the beginning of another
new year. All the “Happy New Year” greetings are fading and we all seem
to be digging in for the coming months. We seem to ebb and flow with a
kind of seasonal ‘mood swing’ and now, in the middle of winter, are
beginning to get down to business. In general, most of us start a new
year being optimistic—filled with resolution(s), ready to put the
mistakes from 2009 behind us and eager to take on the world or
ourselves or whatever it is we think needs to happen for 2010 to be the
‘best year ever’. The fact is the world is in pretty much the same
place it was before the holidays: we just took a break from all of our
‘earnestness’, planning and efforts to survive for a few weeks. Being pessimistic or optimistic is an attitude
[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Wisdom in Action
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 By Jim Selman | Bio
New Year’s is a time to reflect and remember.
I was reviewing some old ‘resolutions’ and came upon one that has
served me well over the years. It may be one of the most useful and
relevant bits of wisdom I have to share with people.
“The important thing is to choose what we have and
give up our attachment to what we don’t have—so we can have the space
to create our dreams and manifest our intention.” [ Read More]
Written by eldering at Fearless Aging
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By Jim Selman | Bio
I think the most common complaints I hear
from folks in corporations these days is that they are ‘just tired’,
have ‘low energy’ or are ‘burned out’. Usually these declarations are
accompanied by a compelling story that there is ‘too much work’ or that
they are pressed to produce without having the resources they need. It
seems people are working in a condition in which they are being
constantly called on to produce more for less. The results: poor morale
(at best), an environment of stress (at worst), breakdowns in people’s
health, lower productivity, and even (in extreme cases) sabotage. But
what do these statements mean? And what can we do to change our
experience at work (or in life) for that matter?[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Health
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 By Jim Selman | Bio
In a recent New York Times op-ed column,
Bob Herbert challenged all of us to get down out of the bleachers and
take on at least one of today’s intractable problems. He pointed to the
courage of many Civil Rights activists in the '60s and '70s, including
Andrew Goodman who was murdered by the KKK and of course Rosa Parks. We
remember these individuals and many like them because, like
revolutionaries everywhere, they put their lives on the line for
something worth dying for. They stood[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Fearless Aging
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By Shae Hadden
According to Dr. David Suzuki, “it is not
progress to use up the rightful legacy of our children and
grandchildren.” He opened the first Elders and the Environment Forum
on Monday in Vancouver, Canada with a keynote address that focused on
the role of elders in the environmental movement and how we can make a
difference:[ Read More]
Written by eldering at News
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 By Jim Selman | Bio
It is almost impossible to turn on the television or read a
newspaper or a magazine without encountering one pundit, expert or “man
on the street” either talking about the future or trying to blame
someone for something. Our media commentary is rarely about what is
happening now: mostly it’s about what happened in the past or what
someone thinks is going to happen in the future. Combine the
establishment media with all of the blogging and chatting going on, and
it is incredible how fixated we are on what will happen next.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Wisdom in Action
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 By Rick Fullerton | Bio
In church this weekend, I made a public announcement about the
International Day of Climate Action on October 24, a global initiative
to develop grassroots support for substantial agreement when world
leaders meet in Copenhagen this December. At stake is nothing less than
the future of life on planet earth. As of this morning, there were more
than 3,500 events planned in a total of 161 countries. For more
information or to join a group or announce your event, check out the
official Day of Climate Action website.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Wisdom in Action
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