Dear <<First Name>>:
We are experiencing the power of a virulent global virus to turn us inside out and bring up every emotion there is.
The focus of this newsletter issue is on right use of power and how it relates to the coronavirus and how can you use your power to inspire and support others and help bring in the wisdom that this crisis offers us for getting on course with understanding the humility of our place on earth.
Please check out new resources at the BePoP website www.bepowerpositive.org and follow us at Facebook and Instagram.
Order your own cool Be Power Positive T-shirt at the BePop website: https://www.zazzle.com/bepop_shop/products
Increase your power-wisdom this month: buy a right use of power book, take an e-course, register for a training. https://www.rightuseofpower.org
Sincerely, Cedar on behalf of Right Use of Power Institute
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- March 2020 -
IN THIS ISSUE
Power: the ability to have an effect or to have influence.
In my daily hour of sorting through emails, I find people using their power in many ways to have an effect or to have influence on others. I can sort these influence powers into a few categories which can influence people in your neighborhood or go viral:
Information—from factual to hearsay or fantasy
Warning—from simple to dire
Inspiration—from poetry to practical
Philosophical—personal to historical to global
This issue includes memes and articles that come from these categories.
Philosophical: Forced into our Coocoons, what if....?
by Dr. Cedar Barstow (3 minutes)
Inspirational: Featured Resources
Yes! Magazine, winner of 2019 Power Positive Award (2 minutes)
Greater Good Magazine, Six Daily Quarantine Questions, by Brooke Anderson (2 minutes)
Articles (this month all by RUP-informed people:)
Informational-- Self-care during the Covid-19 Pandemic by Roland Evans (3 minutes)
Philosophical/historical-- And Just Like That, Everything's Changed, by Dr. Julie Diamond (5 minutes)
Philosophical-- What Can I Do to Put Myself Back in Balance with the Power that is Greater than Us All, by Dr.Tirzah Firestone (4 minutes)
Upcoming Workshops and CE Credit Hours
E-Courses available at the RUPI website
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FORCED INTO OUR COCOONS, WHAT IF....?
Caterpillar-to-butterfly is a good metaphor to hold right now. At Right Use of Power Institute we are using this time to stop and reflect, not making major decisions, but trusting in what will emerge out of the inner shifting that is happening. Interestingly, in February, the Board of Directors put in place a new governance system that significantly expands the leadership and focuses our attention on six domains. We also are using this time to develop a high-level set of webinar modules that cover the basics of right use of power.
Already we are experiencing a profound "back to the future" moment--back to more friendly and connected neighborhoods. We have an old-fashioned, big, sunny front deck from which we can talk to neighbors as they walk by. In a field two young people were using last year's plant stalks to weave beautiful baskets. We are using the telephone again for talking rather than texting. Neighbors are tracking neighbors. Children are decorating sidewalks with chalk. AND simultaneously, we are experiencing global connectedness and community via video calls. With video calls, time and space become a different thing. This exponentially increases our commitment to global friendliness and allegiance to the good of all. That is the great hope--that we emerge from our cocoons allied with both local and global uses of our power. I congratulate the head of the United Nations for calling for a global ceasefire.
What if....we become able to connect-the-dots and see/feel the suffering of life on earth through the impacts of both war and climate change? What if...we then understand/feel that healthy human life depends on a healthy earth? What if...during this time we are able to move from our comfort zone into our stretch zone that is midway between comfort and panic? What if ....we let ourselves know that suffering is part of birth? What if...then we refocus our considerable resources of love and power, technology and money onto the necessary and supremely worthy process of caring for all life? What if THIS is how we emerge from our cocoons?
A friend of mine had a "back to the future" dream. She dreamt that a large circle of people were pouring adoring love into a baby in the center of the circle. In this dream, all could actually see the baby's neural network reconfiguring in response to this outpouring/inpouring of love. What if...we could actually use our considerable powers of strength and love to reform our global neural network.
Cedar
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Self-Care During the Covid-19 Pandemic
This is an extraordinary and difficult time. With so much uncertainty and social turmoil, it is easy to give in to fear and hopelessness. We must keep physically safe to avoid being infected and infecting others. We must also take care of our own emotional and mental well-being. Below are suggestions to help you maintain your inner psychological balance.
1. Make a plan. Assume a disruption of normal life for three months and plan for different contingencies. Talk to a trusted person and write a list of essential actions: staying healthy, getting food, maintaining social contacts, dealing with boredom, managing finances, medicines and healthcare, etc. Stay calm and rational. Do not give in to apocalyptic thinking or panic buying.
2. Ration media. Stay informed, but limit your exposure to media that stirs up anger, sadness or fear. Do not allow yourself to get sucked into conspiracy thinking. Balance negative news with positive stories that reflect the best of humanity.
3. Challenge negativity. Write down fears, self-criticisms and frustrations. Think of them as ‘mind weeds’. Read them out loud in the third person using your own name (Jane/John is fearful because he/she may get sick). Be as specific as possible and listen carefully to your words. Use affirmations and positive self-talk to change your mood (Jane/John can cope with this crisis).
4. Quiet your mind. Do whatever quieting practices suit you best: meditate in the mornings, sit quietly with eyes closed for 5 minutes before performing a task (especially on the computer); get still before getting out of your car; take a contemplative walk in nature; pray internally.
5. Combat anxiety. Talk to someone about your fears. Distract yourself by doing something positive and useful. Get information on anxiety management. Practice deep and even breathing: see coherence breathing and the app: http://www.heartrateplus.com/.
6. Exercise regularly. Find a routine that suits your body and needs. Explore alternatives such as gardening, running, biking, walking, yoga, chi kung and online classes such as the 4 minute workout.
7. Sleep long and deeply. Wind down at the end of the day: avoid exposure to bad news, limit late evening screen time and snacking. Aim for seven plus hours a night. Take short naps during the day (less than 20 minutes).
8. Make a night list. Before going to sleep, write down those things you want/need to tackle the next day. Remind yourself that you do not need to think about those things again until tomorrow. Next day, create a schedule to tackle the most important tasks.
9. Stay emotionally engaged. Practice appropriate distancing but do not isolate. Stay in regular contact with family, friends and colleagues. Use Internet video conferencing so you can see people’s faces. Let others know that you love and appreciate them through words, gestures and loving acts.
10. Refrain from blame. Don’t take your stress out on others; take responsibility for your emotions and moods. Limit criticism and negative talk—even if the other person deserves it! View your judgments as not essential to your true self. Make an effort to recognize each person’s essential humanity.
11. Stay active. Do your normal work or education every day. Make a schedule—including a balance of work/break/meals—for the day and week. Tackle new projects and activities: learn a skill online, plant a garden, clean out the garage, write a book, built a website, cook new recipes.
12. Be of Service. Take care of elderly and vulnerable friends, relatives and neighbors. Remind them to stay safe (don’t nag); help with food deliveries; talk them through Internet setup; support them financially.
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What can I do to put myself back in alignment with the Power that is Greater than us all?
by Rabbi Tirzah Firestone (info@tirzahfirestone.com
Life has changed radically in the past few days. As the COVID-19 virus spreads throughout the world, we are being forced to recalibrate our lives, our habits, and the speed at which we travel.
In ancient times, when a natural calamity showed up, such as a plague, earthquake, or flood, it was understood as a sign that the leaders and their people were out of alignment with Heaven. It was seen as a pushback against human arrogance from That Which is Greater than us—call it God, Shechinah, the Tao, Mother Nature.
“Who is in control here?” this Force was understood to be asking. “Do you really think you can control Me? Your materialistic greed has gotten out of bounds!” Natural disasters were thought to have been issued as a tochecha, a sacred rebuke, and in days of old, the people would respond with acts such as fasting, charity, and prayer to say to the Holy One: “Shamati! We hear You!”
I don’t readily subscribe to a reward-punishment model. I genuinely hold to the principle of Echad, a great totality, that we are all part of what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., called "a single garment of destiny." But I must say that the deep intelligence who fashions and holds us all, shall we say the Seamstress, has my full attention these days!
It strikes me as ironic that the coronavirus was given the name COVID-19 by the World Health Organization. Strangely, COVID bears the same consonants as Cavod or Kavod, כבוד, the ancient Hebrew word for glory, honor, or divine Presence. I’m reminded that in the Torah, Moses begs God: “Har’eni na et KVOD-echa! Please show me your glorious KVD Presence! Show me Your face!”
Did you know that in the Kabbalah, Kavod is a code word for Shechinah? She is Mother Nature, the Power of Creation, who is the 1 who receives from and fountains back to the 9 other (masculine) faces of divinity. Therein lies the 19 of Kovid-19.
Wow! What if we understood KOVID-19 — this horrific virulent virus (our ancestors would surely call it a plague) — as Shechinah’s formidable face showing up today to admonish us, correct us, love us back into our rightful place as creatures, not masters, of this earth? Let’s ask: What can I do to put myself back in alignment with Heaven, with Mother Nature, with the Power that is Greater than us all?
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Special Informational and Inspirational Resources
Daily Quarantine Questions:
1. What am I grateful for today?
2. Who am I checking in on or connecting with today?
What expectations of “normal” am I letting go of today?
4. How am I getting outside today?
5. How am I moving my body today?
6. What beauty am I either creating, cultivating or inviting in today?
Yes! Magazine, the 2019 winner of the Power Positive Award also has online articles that are engaging and useful. https://www.yesmagazine.org
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And Just Like That, Everything's Changed
Julie Diamond
We’re in a strange new reality. For most of us, it’s like nothing we’ve experienced in our lifetime. For others, this is not new; you have lived through other crises, SARS or HIV/AIDS, raging wildfires, military coups and war, refugee crises.
Crises get unequal attention around the globe. COVID 19 garners global attention because of its level of disruption and global impact, yet many other crises and tragedies have a greater human cost, without the world mobilizing its resources to respond.
But this disruption is unprecedented in its impact on human lives, not just those who become sick or lose loved ones, but a massive economic impact that will be felt for years. It could be that more people die because of hunger, lack of access to resources, violence, or isolation than will die of the virus.
It’s scary and unprecedented. But, I have to keep reminding myself, it’s also normal.
Normal? Yes. Because what is not normal is expecting things to continue, without disruption, without crisis.
See the rest of article here:
http://diamondleadership.activehosted.com/index.php?action=social&chash=c0e190d8267e36708f955d7ab048990d.362&s=4325e2ea1cd8a1b4924e41967e6a611f
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Right Use of Power E-Courses
Meet Your Ethics Continuing Education Requirement using Right Use of Power e-courses from the convenience of your own home, in your own time. Or go into more depth with each topic in the Right Use Of Power book.
 My Hakomi colleague Rob Fisher calls this ethics program, "ethics from the inside out, rather than from the rules' side in." Recently revised and up-dated, the courses are engaging and cover the material in the book:Right Use of Power: The Heart of Ethics, by Hakomi Trainer, Cedar Barstow and is the ethics approach described in the book:Hakomi Mindfulness-Centered Somatic Psychotherapy. The courses are approved by NBCC, NCBTMB, and BBS (California), and some other organizations by reciprocal agreement.
Five Courses, each worth three CE hours and covering the following topics:
Dimension One--Power Differential, Codes and Guidelines, Ethical Decision-Making, Violations and Statistics.
Dimension Two--Personal Power, Shame, Touch, Sexuality, Transference.
Dimension Three--Boundaries, Resolving Difficulties, Grievance Processes, Referrals.
Dimension Four--Leadership and Power Dynamics, Challenges, Soul Work and World Service.
The More Dimension--Dual Role Relationships, Impact and Intention, Feedback, Self-Care, Influence/Values/Diversity.
Find out more about the E-courses here.
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UP COMING TRAININGS
April 17-19 (Now rescheduled for October 31-November 1, 2020)
Right Use of Power: The Heart of Ethics
with Dr. Cedar Barstow
Shambhala Mountain Center (Conference Center 2 hour drive from Denver)
To register: www.ShambhalaMountain.org, 888-788-7221
June 6-7, 2020: Subject to possible rescheduling
Right Use of Power Core Training
with Dr. Cedar Barstow, D.P.I. and Magi Cooper, C.H.T.
in Boulder, Colorado
http://www.rightuseofpower.org/calendar.html
June 6-10, 2020: Subject to possible rescheduling
Right Use of Power Teacher Training
(Includes Core Training)
with Dr. Cedar Barstow, D.P.I. and Magi Cooper, C.H.T.
in Boulder, Colorado
http://www.rightuseofpower.org/calendar.html
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RIGHT USE OF POWER INSTITUTE'S MISSION
The Right Use of Power Institute is a small international 501c3 non-profit organization.
We envision a world in which people use power with wisdom, compassion and skill.
Our mission is to foster shared well-being through programs, tools and resources that guide people in using their power with integrity.
Our Values
Our programs and resources are built on the following core values:
Inclusivity--actively working to cultivate equity
Compassion--telling the truth with heart
Direct Experience--whole-person, holistic, practical learning
Integrity--aligning impact with intention
Connection--understanding power as relational
Power with Heart News supports our mission by providing writings by RUPI members and links to other materials that elucidate issues of power. We also bring new perspectives and guidance, and advocate for socially responsible uses of power. Our aim is to counter misuses and abuses of power with wise, compassionate and inclusive uses of power. We do our best to be non-partisan advocates of right use of power in every realm.
JOIN US IN TAKING OUR PLEDGE
TO USE OUR POWER WISELY AND WELL.
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