By Bree Alten
New Thought News Service
Consume the facts, and meat becomes pretty unpalatable.
Fact: 17 percent of greenhouse gases are created by livestock; all the vehicles in the world only produce 13 percent of the greenhouse gases.
Fact: 75 percent of all antibiotics produced in the United States are consumed by the animals we eat.
These were among the distasteful tidbits offered up as part of "Compassionate Eating for the YouTube Generation," a talk that made a compelling argument for a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle.
Heng Sure, the Buddhist monk leading the lecture, sparked a powerful reaction among participants and gave 12 arguments for a vegetarian lifestyle, including ethical, health and environmental concerns.
"How much is enough?" was the first question he posed. Sure went on to talk about the emotional, social, political and cultural reasons that people don't want to look at their diets, and why they resist change.
"No one wants to say mom was wrong," he said. "But mom might not have had all the facts."
Given the facts, the question was obvious.
"What should we do about this?" one audience member asked.
Education was Heng's answer. He urged audience members to educate themselves. Among his recommendations: Jonathan Foer's "Eating Animals," Rip Esselstyn's "The Engine 2 Diet," John Robbins' "May All be Fed" and vegsource.com.
Along with education, Sure provided inspiration, in the form of song lyrics: "May all be fed, may all things flourish, may all awaken. Bodhi Svaha."
Monday, December 7, 2009
Life in the newsroom
At right, reporter Olivia Ware
interviews Tibetan monk
Khentrul Rinpoche. Middle,
the staff gets organized at
a morning news meeting.
At bottom, the news crew
hustles to meet deadline.
interviews Tibetan monk
Khentrul Rinpoche. Middle,
the staff gets organized at
a morning news meeting.
At bottom, the news crew
hustles to meet deadline.
Agape sounds a sacred note at Parliament concert
New Thought News Service
Wow! I sang on stage with the Agape International Choir! Twice!
Actually, it was 20 members of the choir led by Rickie Byars Beckwith, who invited New Thought delegates to be part of the group for the Parliament’s Sacred Music Concert on Sunday.
The program also featured the Tibetan Gyuto monks, Muslim singer-songwriter Zain Bhikha and a whirling prayer delivered by the Naqsbandi Sufi Order of “whirling dervishes.”
About 50 of us, including members of the news team, sang “Use Me,” “We Let the Love Wash Over Us,” “I Release and I Let Go” and other New Thought songs. What an experience, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
Before the performance, we rehearsed, each singing our part, soprano, alto, tenor and bass. For the show we dressed gloriously, a rainbow of glowing hues. And at the conclusion of the music, we applauded ourselves as the audience applauded us.
Madalyn Wade, a staff minister with the Sierra Center for Spiritual Living in Nevada City, Calif., was another New Thought delegate who volunteered to take part in the Agape performance.
"It was a little scary and a little bit intimidating, but the rush of being onstage was incredible," she said. "And the choir members were so supportive."
Madalyn Wade, a staff minister with the Sierra Center for Spiritual Living in Nevada City, Calif., was another New Thought delegate who volunteered to take part in the Agape performance.
"It was a little scary and a little bit intimidating, but the rush of being onstage was incredible," she said. "And the choir members were so supportive."
It was an amazing experience, to stand on a stage in front of thousands of people and to see them rise to their feet to clap and sing along. It was their gift to us in response to our gift to them, proof of the law of circulation. New Thought rocks the house. And so it is!
A few of our favorite things ...
New Thought News Service
Random acts of kindness. Spontaneous sharing, of ideas, food and cultural treasures. Prayers, smiles and blessings.
Members of our news team have experienced all of this and more during the past week at the Parliament of the World's Religions.
Here are a few of the elements we've most enjoyed about taking part:
Random acts of kindness. Spontaneous sharing, of ideas, food and cultural treasures. Prayers, smiles and blessings.
Members of our news team have experienced all of this and more during the past week at the Parliament of the World's Religions.
Here are a few of the elements we've most enjoyed about taking part:
Reporter Katie Dutcher receives a blessing
and mantra from a Hindu holy woman.
- Hearing Jeremy Donovan and others play the didgeridoo.
- Seeing the dozens of colorful and varied traditional dress styles worn by delegates.
- Taking part in the many daily kindnesses and graces displayed by participants.
- Sitting in on brilliant musical performances.
- Snacking on Tim Tams!
- Experiencing all of the openness and willingness to learn about others' perspectives.
- Getting a chance to meet royalty.
- Eating a wide variety of world cuisines.
- Learning about a range of diverse cultures.
- Connecting closely with each other.
- People-watching.
- Coming to Australia!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Scientology 101
New Thought News Service
Mention Scientology and just see how long it takes for someone to chime in with references to well-funded cults, aliens and the mother ship and celebrities jumping on couches.
At the Parliament of World Religions this week, Scientology got equal time.
Rev. Bob Adams, vice president of the Church of Scientology International, discussed the 55-year-old tradition, which is a presence in 165 countries and operates a publishing house. Scientology also maintains several offshoot foundations that work toward a drug-free world, support a prison ministry and run educational programs that help challenged students learn.
Mention Scientology and just see how long it takes for someone to chime in with references to well-funded cults, aliens and the mother ship and celebrities jumping on couches.
At the Parliament of World Religions this week, Scientology got equal time.
Rev. Bob Adams, vice president of the Church of Scientology International, discussed the 55-year-old tradition, which is a presence in 165 countries and operates a publishing house. Scientology also maintains several offshoot foundations that work toward a drug-free world, support a prison ministry and run educational programs that help challenged students learn.
Adams described a practical metaphysics based on the idea that each person has a primary urge to survive and will do so at the highest level he or she is capable of. Scientology rates eight levels of functioning, which range from being concerned solely with one's personal survival all the way up to the survival of consciousness as a whole.
Although people often function from the level of reactive mind, which might also be described as ego, they are actually spritual beings with much higher capabilities and levels of experience available, he told his audience. In Scientology, the ideal, or spiritual self, is the "thetan," derived from the Greek letter, theta.
L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology and the theory of dianetics in the 1950s, authored many of the textbooks used by Scientologists. Best known as a writer of science fiction, he was also an engineer, with an engineer's pragmatic outlook, Adams noted.
Although people often function from the level of reactive mind, which might also be described as ego, they are actually spritual beings with much higher capabilities and levels of experience available, he told his audience. In Scientology, the ideal, or spiritual self, is the "thetan," derived from the Greek letter, theta.
L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology and the theory of dianetics in the 1950s, authored many of the textbooks used by Scientologists. Best known as a writer of science fiction, he was also an engineer, with an engineer's pragmatic outlook, Adams noted.
Adams was not at the Parliament to address Scientology's public relations questions. Instead, with humor and a definite sense of pride, he discussed a worldwide religious movement that has positioned itself as "an applied religious philosophy which offers an exact route through which anyone can regain the truth and simplicity of his spiritual self."
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