February is generally regarded as the worst month in the Northern Hemisphere, since it is the middle of winter. However, here are some positives that we can celebrate:

1. The New Orleans Saints - popularly known as the “Aints” - beat the favourite Colts to win the Super Bowl! This is a feel-good story for the ages, not only because of the Saints’ 40 plus years’ history of ineptitude, but also because of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent betrayal by George W. Bush, who promised to rebuild the city and didn’t… he did very little in fact.
2. Another feel-good story I just read in the Toronto Star, Feb 6, 2010 concerns M.C. Metha. He is a 63-year old lawyer in India who has successfully battled big corporations for the last 26 years on a variety of environmental issues, including reducing pollution around iconic Indian sites like the Taj Mahal and the Ganges River. He has never earned more than Can $2,300 per annum, which is what corporate lawyers in India earn in a single consultation. Way to go, MC!
3. February is often the beginning of the new (lunar) year! A Chinese Astrology web sites states: “Hot passion meets cold steel with the arrival of the year of the Metal Tiger. This combined sign signifies both the energy to begin activity and the determination to follow it through to the end. Forget about last year’s slow plodding. Events set in motion now will pick up speed and continue until either the objective is attained or the whole endeavor crashes and burns”.
4. So what do we generally and especially in Canada, want to “set in motion”? Perhaps that our political leaders actually listen to the people (rather than shutting them down by shutting down Parliament)? That some leader comes up with a uniting and compassionate vision rather than a divisive and partisan one? That some leader actually tells us the Truth (rather than blocking access to it) and that we have the courage and intelligence to actually understand that… rather than narcissistically shouting, ”Give me what I want” regardless..? Think of a country, like Canada, as a family with a family budget. You only have so much money to spend. What are your priorities? There isn’t an open cheque book for individuals, countries or the planet! You can’t get something for nothing!
5. On a personal note, February has been great for me! We just opened our (Harmony Dawn retreat) season and our (new) clients were great! LEAF (Local Enhancement and Appreciation of Forests) helps look after our natural environment and they were polite, sensitive and appreciative.. of our natural environment, but also of our food and hospitality. It’s a huge win-win situation! Also it’s been very sunny (albeit cold), which warms our off-grid house, pumps up our solar power, thaws the ice on our road and heats our house like a sauna… bring on the bathing suits and drinks with an umbrella!
aj

Looking back over the first decade of the new millennium, the event most people remember is 9/11 and the fall of the Twin Towers.  People were shocked and shaken; George W. Bush launched his “War on Terrorism” with which Obama is now saddled; time has slowly dulled the pain and shock.

What are the real consequences and lessons of 9/11?  Thomas Walkom recently wrote an article in the Toronto Star entitled, “Who won the decade? The Terrorists”.  He argues that the West has taken a leap backward because of our own fears and anxieties - civil liberties and social movements have been rolled back; torture has become acceptable; surveillance of citizens is increasingly more intrusive; the Liberals are divided and indecisive, fearing to be called soft or unpatriotic, and so are leaving the field more and more to the extreme Right.

Way back in 2004, I pointed out in my book, “Ageless Wisdom Spirituality: Investing in Human Evolution”, that the American invasion of Iraq was wrong-headed, largely trumped up by the Bush-Cheney administration (google:  project for the new American century) and doomed to failure.  Now in 2010, we know that many more Americans have died in Iraq than died in 9/11, not to mention tens of thousands more injured; Iraq and its population have been devastated and have become a recruiting ground for terrorists; the war has been a huge drain on the American Treasury; Afghanistan has been neglected and now festers, while Al-Qaeda has become stronger as a rallying point for extremists.  Al-Qaeda cannot be defeated by armies because it is an idea, which is spread and enabled by the internet.  Another terrorist attack in the USA will succeed sooner or later because all it takes is one person with relatively crude devices - or even just a computer.

In Ageless Wisdom Spirituality, I pointed out that our greatest strength is actually internal.  We need all our bravery, clarity, common sense and compassion to meet our collective global challenges: the health of the planet, the poverty gap (which I think is linked with terrorism) and the indiscriminate implementation of science and technology.   9/11 was a tragedy but the loss of life and property was relatively small considering what other countries around the world experience.  The terrorists are winning because they have plunged us into Fear and distracted us from our really important challenges.  Americans are living in the past.  They keep on spending more than they earn and borrowing the difference from China, which is now poised to challenge the USA both economically and military; they cling to Old Oil, while the more forward-looking countries are already positioning themselves to lead the next wave, which will be “greener” and based on more alternative energy solutions; they refuse to look outside of their own borders for new ideas and inspiration or even feedback.

And what of Canada? Since 9/11, Canadian leaders have voluntarily (or been pressured behind closed doors) fallen in line with American policies.  Under Harper’s minority government, this process has accelerated with Canada having fallen off the international stage and become not much more than a neglected, American state, toeing the Presidential line.  Harper is operating more like an American president (especially Bush) with the PMO’s office holding ever more “secrets”, controlling talking points and bullying anyone who opposes or contradicts it, including career diplomats like Richard Colvin. Probably the next big bi-lateral issue to surface (or be pushed through in secret) is one which I have mentioned before in my blogs: the idea of Canada being included in a North American defensive “perimeter”, which will be manned mostly by the American army.  Of course, in exchange for all this “security”, they will expect more control of our water and natural resources and whatever else they find useful.  If we are going to hand over our defence to the USA, why is our defence spending increasing?  The whole point of a stronger army is to deter bullies, including the Americans!

Apart from the obvious issues of the erosion of Canadian democracy and independence, does it make even strategic and economic sense to bind ourselves ever more tightly to the sinking American Empire?

Ba Gua Zhang, Xing Yi Quan and the more famous Tai Ji Quan, are regarded as the “internal family” of Chinese martial arts, which integrate body, energy, emotion, mind and spirit. This DVD demonstrates the basic and foundational training methods of Ba Gua Zhang and Xing Yi Quan as taught at the Tai Chi & Meditation Centre in Toronto and at Harmony Dawn retreat centre.

Included in this DVD:
Ba Gua Zhang training exercises and the Eight Changes. Xing Yi Quan Five Fists or Elements and linking form.

Purchase the Ba Gua Zhang & Xing Yi Quan Part 1 DVD!

Recently a Brit working in Canada complained to me that Canadian politicians are indecisive and don’t like to take strong stances or make controversial decisions.  His observations really caught my attention, not because they were new to me, but because that is precisely how I had felt for a long time.  I relate these particular characteristics and much more, to the “personality” of Canada, according to the Enneagram personality system.

I realized I hadn’t mentioned the Enneagram in this blog or in other recent writings, which is a glaring omission, since it is such a powerful life tool.  I’ve never been a great fan of systems that claim to explain everything.  However, 25 years ago, I was introduced to the Enneagram by my meditation teacher, Dhiravamsa with whom I was intensively studying to be a meditation teacher. At that time, in the early-mid 1980s, there were no published books on the Enneagram; it was a secret, direct-transmission system (originally from the Sufi masters) passed on from teacher to student.  Dhiravamsa, one of the earliest high-level Eastern meditation masters to come to the West, received this knowledge from one of his own meditation students, Claudio Naranjo, who is regarded as a pioneer in integrating the Enneagram into Western culture, especially from the psychological perspective.  From decades of experience, including my personal life and my interactions with many students and countless others, I consider this knowledge to be extremely valuable in terms of understanding human behavioural (specifically personality) patterns.  It includes inter-personal interactions with family, co-workers, employers, employees, national leaders, and eventually, countries (some more obvious than others). In my broad estimation, I would say that 80-90 % of mature, human behaviour stems from the Enneagram personality types and early childhood experience… the latter often according with the Enneagram personality, which seems to be present at birth and therefore preceding specific early childhood experience.

To me, Personality is an individualized behavioural system which is analogous to the Physical body.  We are “burdened” or “blessed” with specific attributes, which current societal norms might find “appealing” or “unappealing”.  These are obviously and increasingly physical… we’re “hot” or “not”, depending on current social norms.  However, we also have personality/ relationship characteristics, the impact of which society presently does not recognize… but which may be sub-consciously “appealing” or “unappealing” at deep, mostly unconscious levels.  To me, it was obvious that George W. Bush was a paranoid manipulator, or at least subject to paranoid manipulators… as is Steven Harper in Canada.  George W and Stephen H may be the same personality… or not… but in the end, they are subject to the same personality forces.  These are not what they present on the surface. There are specific, easily determinable dynamics in play within their respective personalities…. which are not commonly recognized by the People.  If this is true, then Democracy is lessened, diluted and undermined.

In the Enneagram system, the 9 personality types are depicted as being 9 points on a circle, with specific “arrows” of behavioural interconnection across the circle.  If we look at this system from the broadest/ most profound perspective, we may conclude that the 9 points are just different perspectives on Reality… each legitimate and logically sound (because they are on the greater Circle)….but they do not encompass the Totality/ Oneness/ Circle of all perspectives.  In order to move from our own specific, compulsive perspective, we need to let go and surrender… become Unattached (which is what the Buddha advised).  In short, we need to embody not just one point of the Circle, but the Whole Circle, which requires a Spiritual journey of progression and transcendence of present impediments and compulsions.

Getting back to specifics, Canada is probably a #9 Enneagram personality, wanting everything to be “settled” and comfy… avoiding conflict at all costs.  They want “harmony/ peace” but don’t like conflict or argument.  Because they so want to be “settled”, they don’t have much self-starting initiative, relying on others to draw them into activity.  Lo and Behold, the personality of the United States is a # 3, which is directly connected within the Enneagram system with the #9 personality and which leads the #9… which is what we see manifesting in many policy spheres….economy, global warming, military (Afghanistan) etc.

The USA is predominantly a # 3 personality with a significant # 1 component.  The #3 personality is the Liberal/ media savvy/ sales and marketing/ image manipulation; the # 1 aspect is the Conservative/ Pioneer/ family oriented/ pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps mentality (which is prevalent in China).  The #3 is predominant but the #1 is a very strong counteractive force.

As other examples, Japan and the UK are predominantly #4 personalities… sensitive, aloof from the masses (they are actually Islands). on which they look down but simultaneously envy. China is a #1 personality; India is predominantly #9.  This all a great and amusing Dance!!

AJ

PS: For those of you wanting to learn more about the Enneagram, Jeff Willis of the Tai Chi & Meditation Centre is giving a workshop in Toronto,  November 26.

The above is the sub-title of “Eco Harmony Dawn Cooking”, which I have just co-written with Nicola Lawrence, the Chef of Harmony Dawn retreat and my wife.

Recognizing the Interconnection / Oneness in life and the individual and collective implications and possibilities arising out of such a realization is the whole purpose of the www.andyjames.ca website and blog.  That may seem remote from the realities of life to some, but interconnection within and between our external and internal (mind-body) environments is a fact, logically undeniable, but commonly denied anyway.  Our book points out, “Food is a prime example of the interaction of inner and outer.  It is something ‘external’ we ingest into our bodies, which then affects our internal chemistry, energetics, moods, health etc.  These internal factors subsequently influence our interactions with the external world, including how we produce food…and so the circles go.”

The first 30 pages of the book are devoted to explaining how the internal and external environments are interconnected, with special emphasis on the environment, food and health.  We also explain how these principles have been incorporated into Harmony Dawn retreat, which has so strongly resonated with our guests that we are now mostly booked up a year in advance.

The rest of the book is stuffed with more than 160 easy, delicious (already taste-tested by our guests) recipes and environmentally-friendly and healthful shopping and cooking tips and advice.  This book is the result of popular demand by Harmony Dawn’s guests, as was Nicola’s first enthusiastically received book, “The Dao of Harmony Dawn Cooking: Innovative and Acclaimed Spa Cuisine”.

We have book launches October 27 and November 4 in Toronto.  Check out www.harmonydawn.com for details.  You can get copies of the book on www.harmonydawn.com or www.andyjames.ca  It makes a healthful and informative Xmas gift!