TREE OF LIFE

CONCEPT OF COMMUNITY


Community is an interesting word-we yearn for a sense of community, a sense of belonging, a sense of fitting in. Community also means a geographical location, where a sense of empathy resides. In my life, I found a sense of empathy and belonging at the Hope Center, a mental health alternative for people in Recovery. I served as an intern there, as well as a mental health client. The people there were “my kind of people.” It was easy to talk with them and to empathize with them in their struggles. There is a distinct culture among mentally ill people-one that is very different from the average work-a-day world. Maybe it is because we’ve all experienced a mental illness and have been part of the “system.” We have struggled to get appointments with our doctors, struggled with the medication and side effects, struggled to understand our “problems,” struggled to overcome the difficulties that we encountered along the way, and struggled with the people outside of the “system” understanding us.

The Hope Center was more of a horizontal structure than a vertical entity, in that the power and the structure of the Center were in line with an equal power base. Whereas, a vertical structure would be one from the top down-a hierarchical structure. Although roles were played, by both the clients and staff, it was more on an equal playing field. Members, or clients, learned their roles and were allowed to contribute to the governance of the Hope Center. This was done by ongoing meetings in which the members were listened to and their advice was considered. Although this “system” is not significant in the world of global economics and megacorporations, it worked well with the members and staff at the Hope Center. It is resisting “pressures toward mass society” (Hardcastle & Powers. 2004. p. 107), and protects the individual member.

Mutual support and communal strength are necessary for this type of community to exist. This is referred to as “free riders and suckers” by the power elite that rules society-the dominant male influence. In a perfect world, all would commiserate for the common good. We, as social workers, have to decide whether or not we want to aid such communities, or be a part of the power elite whose concerns are money instead of mankind. In my life, I know which side I’m on.

Hardcastle, D. A., & Powers, P. R. (2004). Community practice: Theory and skills for social workers. (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

This blog is a reaction to the film, “Salt of the Earth.” As I viewed this film, I thought that it was done very well with respect to the time period in which it was made. Although the “Red Scare” was out there, and the filmmakers, actors and actresses were all black-listed, the film was quite representative of the struggles of people of Mexican descent. Esperanza, which means ‘hope,’ is at first, a typical wife of a miner. She stays at home to watch the children and handle the household chores. And, they were not easy chores. With no plumbing to heat the water and the fact that she had to chop wood to heat the water and carry it up to the house, which was owned by the mining town, was a strenuous daily job. When her husband, Ramon, goes to wash up and finds no hot water, an argument ensues. Ramon tells Esperanza that the miners are striking for their safety issues, while Esperanza says: “What is more important than sanitation?” (Biberman, [director]. 1954). This is the first time that Esperanza speaks against her husband. The men have a union representative, the women have each other. The men are striking for one reason only-for the safety of the miners and for equality with other miners, while the women want to add sanitation to the strikes requirements, but the men say no. There is a lot of male ‘machismo’ going on with the men. They look to their peers for strength, while the women, who are fighting for equality as well as for sanitation, have a subtle strength. They begin to be seen while the men are striking. At a men’s union meeting, the women offer to take over the picket lines when the men are threatened with jail time. Most of the men say no. Esperanza says to the union spokesperson to take a vote on whether or not they can strike in their husband’s places. After 103 yes’s and 85 no’s, the women are strikebound. These are feisty women who form a circular picket line. When they are arrested, they go out singing “solidarity forever.” When released from jail, they are back on the picket line.
There are many changes in the movie, beginning with Esperanza and finally, with Ramon. Esperanza learns that she, too, has a place to assert herself among the striking miners, and among her sisters in solidarity. She is seeking equality with the men. She says to Ramon, as he raises his hand to strike her: “Never strike me again—that was the old way. Sleep where you please but not with me.” (Biberman, [director]. 1954). She has developed into a liberated woman. This was an amazing feat for Esperanza. Although of Hispanic origin, the actress who played Esperanza, as well as the men from the mines, were all portrayed as Mexicans, not Mexican-Americans. In one scene, in fact, the supervisor of the mine says, in answer to Ramon’s question about who would work the mine if they didn’t, and the supervisor answers, “the Americans,” meaning the white men who worked in the other mines. (Biberman, [director], 1954). As if they were not part of the American country, but illegal immigrants. But, as the film showed us, they had been on the land owned by the Delaware Mining Co., for many years before the mining company bought the land. This film was really quite interesting in that this film was produced and directed by one of the 50 motion picture executives “black-listed” from the American film industry by the House Committee on Un-American Activities~or Joe McCarthy’s fear mongering. It pre-dated the ‘60’s decade of liberation and equality. It had taken place in a time and place that was way ahead of its time. It actually discussed women’s liberation from the household chores that women were bequeathed with. It is full of consciousness and hope.

The articles written by Michael Yellow Bird were very stimulating and thought-provoking. In his first piece, “What is the Highest Form of Patriotism? I Say Acknowledging Our Addiction to Patriotism,” (n.d.) is a piece about the war in Iraq. He is addressing the Peace Vigil and Rally in Kansas City, Mo., and wants to understand the Indigenous People’s part in the war. He had previously written an “Open Letter to All Indigenous Peoples,” subtitled “Why Are Indigenous Soldiers Serving in Iraq” (Yellow Bird, 2006. p. 1)? In hopes of obtaining answers to this question, which does not fit with the First Peoples “beliefs about life, truth, and justice” (Yellow Bird, 2006. p. 1). Michael Yellow Bird waited in vain for the political tribal leaders to respond to his writing. He received many positive emails back from the First Peoples’ members. He wondered why it was that so many of his people were serving in the military. As he says: “on the gentler side, my approach corresponds to that of Buddhist writer, practitioner, and teacher, Noah Levine (2007). Levine, who says… “In America, we like to talk about equality and human rights, but this country was founded on violence and oppression” (Levine, 2007). America has not been a very compassionate country~the way that they stole “the lands and resources; extinguishing our languages; ignoring our histories; trivializing our heroes and heroines; and forcibly removing our children from their homes and putting them into off-reservation government boarding schools” (Yellow Bird, n.d.). In fact, it can be said that America is a nation of power and wealth, obtained by a greedy leadership which has hurt and abused countless
peoples and nations for the sake of its own power and might. Once we recognize and work to change our current view of the world, and our minute role within it, we will see that it is only by working with others for peace and compassion~towards the down- trodden and oppressed peoples of other cultures, nations, tribes and diversifications other than the white, patriarchal, nationalistic, and selfish leadership, which we all had to bear.
My grandparents immigrated from Ireland with only the clothes on their backs. They were thankful that another nation would take them in and give them a chance to possess “the American dream.” But, their dream did not last very long. I have fought it since college days when I realized that we were killing innocent people~in Viet Nam, in our ghettos, in our barrios, among Native Peoples; and now, in Iraq and Palestine, in Darfur and Nicaragua, and recently, in Honduras and Iran. But settling these differences with wars and bombs and bullets, is not the answer. We must all work together to create a more peaceful, compassionate world.

Firing Squad

Saddam Hussein is a bad man
So let’s line up the children of Iraq
And shoot them.

Saddam is a very bad man
So let’s line up the mothers of Iraq
And shoot them.

We know that Saddam is a bad man
So let’s line up all the old people of Iraq
And shoot them.

Saddam is a very bad man
And firing squads are old fashioned
So let’s just bomb Baghdad.

After we bomb the Iraqis
With our “shock and awe” two-day plan
Surely they will welcome us as liberators.

Surely the Iraqis will thank Allah
That they have been so fortunate
To have been bombed with such precision.

Surely they will recognize
That Saddam is a very bad man
And their oil is better in our hands.

Saddam Hussein is a very bad man.
So let’s line up the children of Iraq
And shoot them.

--David Krieger, 2003.


In Michael Yellow Bird’s work “Cowboys and Indians: Toys of Genocide, Icons of American Colonialism” (2004), he proposes the fact that the cowboys and Indians visible in a child’s play set, have come to mean for him-“America’s past and present infatuation with colonialism and genocide” (Yellow Bird. 2004. p. 34). He bought the play set to help his students understand the “oppression of Indigenous Peoples by paralleling our situation with that of other more well-known groups of color” (Yellow Bird. 2004. p. 35). He uses the analogy of Nazi prison guards and Jewish prisoners, as well as African American slaves and their slave masters, and the illegal aliens from South America or Mexico and their INS border guards (Yellow Bird, 2004, p. 35). Such analogies are crucial if one is to have an idea of what Indigenous Peoples have gone through with the colonialists of the United States, both past and present. He then launches into the Chinese women who make these plasticized toys under horrendous working conditions, with little pay, and with toxic chemicals that cause poisoning of the lungs-all for the sake of American toy companies, which do not make the toys in our own country. Going to pay for these little figurines, he comments on the pictures on the bills that he pulls out. He pulls out a five dollar bill, and comments on the picture of Abe Lincoln, saying that Abe ordered the hanging of 38 Dakotas-the “record holder for the largest hanging of people from one gallows” (Yellow Bird. 2004. p. 37). Yellow Bird then points out that the Indians seen on television are attacked brutally by the white men, and mercilessly killed. Further on in this paper, Yellow Bird says that: “the cowboys and Indians phenomenon has been directly implicated as contributing to the killing of other dark-skinned people in other parts of the world who have been regarded as impediments to American colonialism” (Yellow Bird. 2004. p. 43). In Viet Nam, a war which existed in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s, and involved the killing of Vietnamese and Viet Cong by Americans, who looked at these women, children and men, as though they were killing Indians. They even referred to the enemy territory as “Indian Country.” And what were we fighting for??

A Little Girl Begged Us Not to Kill Her Family’s Farm

She begged us,
With her child like screams
Not to kill or harm
The earth
With all our bombs
And hate.

But it was too late
The sky was filled
With so much rage.
Darkness
Had replaced the blue skies
Her eyes
Had already seen
This transformation
And I was helpless
To defend her
From this assault
On her heart.
I could see the captain,
His battle hardened face,
Glistened with wet cheeks.
I had to close
My own eyes,
So as to shelter me,
From her look
That tore holes
In my soul.

--Unidentified, July 15, 1967

In the invasion of Iraq, many years later, it looks like Osama bin Laden was equated with Tecumseh and Geronimo-all as terrorists. In the game of cowboys and Indians, the Indians are still the enemy, and they “have developed a certain sense of internalized denigration and personal contempt within our consciousness resulting in self-effacing and destructive patterns”
(Yellow Bird. 2004. p. 45). These are the modern Indigenous Peoples, who suffer from not only alienation, but alcoholism (which the white man introduced), drug abuse, violence, and suicide. Because of the white man’s treatment of First Nation’s lands and homes, cultures, languages, and religions, and the demeaning and oppressive way they treated, and continue to treat, First Nations Peoples-in a deplorable way. Yellow Bird takes issue with the white man’s “colonial policies and arrogance…” (Yellow Bird. 2004. pp. 33-48), and the issues that he takes make sense to me. My peoples, the Irish, were in a similar situation with the British. The British starved and used the fields of the Irish to fatten cattle on, whereas the Irish could have been growing potatoes on them. There is a song about Co. Mayo, where my people come from, about a children’s cemetery there, and the great number of children who all died in the potato famine. The British restricted the use of Gaelic (the language of Ireland) and made them give up all cultural events-like dancing and singing. The Irish are a very musical, lyrical people. They devised a way of dancing that the British could not detect-they danced with their arms plastered to their sides, and the British could not see their feet moving swiftly when they passed by them and looked in the windows. To this day, Irish dancing is done with arms against their sides, in remembrance of their determined ways.

In another of Michael Yellow Bird’s papers, “On the Justice of Charging Buffalo: “Who stole American Indians Studies” Redux (2007), I find in him a person who lives up to his word and actively supports the truth, as he perceives it. One of his colleagues, Professor Ward Churchill, was being asked to leave the University of Colorado for his remarks about the genocidal nature of the U.S.’s Middle East policies. Prof. Churchill’s remarks were said to be “at odds with simple decency, and antagonistic to the beliefs and conduct of civilized people around the world” (Owens, 2005). Professor Yellow Bird refutes this comment by saying that: “they, meaning the State of Colorado, Governor Owens and the United States, are in no moral position to lecture him, or any Indigenous Peoples, about decency, appropriate conduct, and understanding the facts of history” (Yellow Bird. 2007. pp. 91-99). Also, the assault of online
“listservs, Web sites, blogs, and emails,” (Yellow Bird. 2007. pp. 91-99). has created a web of “hate mail” that cowards can view their opinion on, by such anonymous means. They feel safe to speak their opinion on such media. The University of Colorado was trying Churchill for other, non-related scholarship, having to do with the Arikara and Hidatsa and Mandan tribes that were almost wiped out due to a smallpox epidemic. In 2006, Professor Yellow Bird stood up for Churchill and testified that the epidemic had been a “deliberate act done by the military and/or civilian populations” (Yellow Bird. 2007. pp. 91-99). The results were to fire Churchill. This is just another example of the white man’s ways of getting underserved, revolutionary scholarship out of the mainstream’s public eye. Dismiss Churchill, who speaks a truth, and our nations academic institutions will, once again, be safe places for “anti-intellectual and anti-Indigenous” (Yellow Bird. 2007. pp. 91-99) discourse. The following poem, I think, reflects the Native/white problem. It is called “Dear World.”

Mother has lupus.
She says it’s a disease
of self-attack.
It’s like a mugger broke into your home
and you called the police
and when they came they beat up on you
instead of on your attackers,
she says.

I say that makes sense.
it’s in the blood,
in the dynamic.
A half-breed woman
can hardly do anything else
but attack herself,
her blood attacks itself.
There are historical reasons
for this.

I know you can’t make peace
being Indian and white.
They cancel each other out.
Leaving no one in the place.
And somebody’s gotta be there,
to take care of the house
to provide the food.
And that’s gotta be the mother.
But if she’s gone to war.
If she’s beaten and robbed.
If she’s attacked by everyone.
Conquered, occupied, destroyed
by her own blood’s diverse strains,
it’s conflicting stains?

Well, world. What’s to be done?
We just wait and see
what will happen next.
The old ways go,
tormented in the fires of disease.
My mother’s eyes burn,
they tear themselves apart.
Her skin darkens in her fire’s heat,
her joints swell to the point
of explosion, eruption.
And oh, the ache: her lungs
don’t want to take in more air,
refuse further oxygenation:
in such circumstances,
when volatile substances are intertwined,
when irreconcilable opposites meet,
the crucible and its contents vaporize.

—Paula Gunn Allen

References
Allen, P.G. (1986). In Niatum, D. (Ed.) (1988). Harper’s Anthology of 20th Century Native American Poetry. pp. 121-122. San Francisco: Harper and Row.

Anonymous. (1967). A Little Girl Begged Us Not To Kill Her Family’s Farm.
Retrieved from: http://wwwvietnamexp.com/poems/page2.htm

Independent Productions/International Union of Mining, Mill and Smelter Workers (Producer), & Herbert Biberman (Director). (1954). Salt of the Earth [Motion Picture]. Retrieved from:
http://www.archive.org/details/salt_of_the_earth.

Krieger, D. (2003). Poets Against War. Retrieved from: http://poetsagainstthewar.org/displaypoem.asp?AuthorID=2491

Levine, N. (2007). Against the Stream: A Buddhist Manual for Spiritual Revolutionaries. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.

Owens, George. (2005). In Yellow Bird, M. (2007). On the Justice of Charging Buffalo: “Who stole American Indian Studies?” Redux pp. 91-99. Retrieved from:
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/wicazo_sa_review/v022/22.1yellow_bird.pdf

Yellow Bird, M. (2006). “An Open Letter to All Indigenous Peoples: Why are Indigenous (American Indian) Soldiers Serving in Iraq?” Indian Country Today. 4 Aug. 2006
Retrieved from: http://arikaraconsciousness.blogspot.com/

Yellow Bird, M. (2004). Cowboys and Indians: Toys of Genocide, Icons of American Colonialism. WICAZO SA Review. pp. 33-48. Retrieved from: http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/wicazo_sa_review/v019/19.2bird.pdf

Yellow Bird, M. (2007). On the Justice of Charging Buffalo: “Who stole American Indian Studies?” Redux pp. 91-99. Retrieved from: http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/wicazo_sa_review/v022/22.1yellow_bird.pdf

Yellow Bird, M. (in press). “What Is the Highest Form Of Patriotism? I Say Acknowledging Our Addiction to Patriotism.” Unpublished manuscript submitted for publication. University of Kansas.

Neuroplasticity and Community Organizing

This second blog focuses on Norman Doidge and his view of Neuroplasticity, as well as on CO, or community organizing. Doidge is a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, whose interest is in brain plasticity. He defines neuroplasticity as the brain’s ability “to change its structure and functions” (Doidge, n.d.). He says further, that “it is revolutionary. It has a major impact in all that we do” (Doidge, n.d.). The brain is adaptable, changeable, and malleable. It all started with Freud, who called this process the “Law of Association by Simultaneity” (Freud, 1880-1890’s). He said that changes come about because of thought. Freud influenced another psychiatrist, Dr. Eric Kendall. In the late 1900’s, Dr. Kendall said that: “human thoughts and learning turn on the genes in our brain center” (Kendall, late 1900’s). It was previously thought that the hardwiring of our brains was predetermined by our genetics, and that nothing in our brains could change. It was also thought that if one was born with brain deficits, one had to live with them. Then, the brain was thought of as a computer-which led to neurological nihilism, but was shown to be much more complicated. It has been shown that neuroplasticity exists, and that the proof of this lies in stroke victims, who learn to use their paralyzed limbs; in those who are blind from birth-and begin to see; those with chronic pain-it is erased; those with learning disorders-they are cured; and those with chronic anxiety and depression-it is alleviated. We, as human beings, must learn to appreciate the brain, and believe that change is possible.
My thoughts on neuroplasticity are in alignment with those scientists who say that anything having to do with “human training, education, and culture is based on the brain” (Doidge, n. d.).
The brain, which is in a state of flux, as is the universe, will most probably have more attributes than neuroplasticity, As our knowledge of the universe expands, so too does our knowledge of the brain. As Doidge says: “This is a sense of the fantastic” (Doidge, n. d.). This is, indeed, a revolutionary work. It entices other scientists and philosophers to search for even more discrete parts of the brain, and the universe. As was said in the lecture by Doidge, supernatural ideas come about when discussing or thinking about neuroplasticity. The development of the Universe and the development of the brain have definite links. For does not the Bible say: “In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. And the Word was God” (St. John, circa 90 CE). At the beginning of chapter 2, entitled “The Priest of the Sun” in “House Made of Dawn” by N. Scott Momaday (1968), it begins with the Bible verse quoted above. This novel was a Pulitzer Prize Winner in 1969. What it is referring to is Abel’s (the main character’s) inability to “fit” into the world of the Reservation or the world of the White Man. The Pastor and priest, Reverend John Big Bluff Tosamah, is running a Native American Church, but is using Christian scripture to address the Native peoples in Los Angeles. As was common from the beginning was the sacredness of the Word, and what separated man from every other species was the Word. But, as mankind progressed and discovered his world, he was able to see that other species (whales, dogs, birds, etc.) were able to communicate with each other without using words. Like the theory of neuroplasticity, we were able to discover that more vocalizations were produced than by words. As we continue to explore the universe around us, as well as the brain, we will discover greater access to the brain’s, and the universes, secrets-waiting to be found.

CO, or community organizing, is defined as: “a values-based process by which people-most often low- and moderate-income people previously absent from decision-making tables-are brought together in organizations to jointly act in the interest of their ‘communities’ and the common good” (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001). This article talks about social justice and economic justice. They, the community, take action by negotiating with the powers that be. If these negotiations fail, they put pressure on the institutions by a variety of means (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001). Building power is what differentiates CO from other strategies of social change. (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001). CO’s are “organizations that are democratic in governance, open and accessible to community members, and concerned with the general health of the community rather than a specific interest or service function…” (Borgos & Douglas, 1996. p. 2.). They have four principles of contemporary CO. They are: “A Participative Culture; Inclusiveness (which includes peoples ‘of color, low-income constituencies, immigrants, sexual minorities, and youth’) (Borgos, & Douglas.1996. p. 2.); Breadth of Mission and Vision (‘integrating a diverse set of issues and linking them to a larger vision of the common good’) (Borgos, & Douglas. 1996. p. 2.); and a Critical Perspective where (‘effective governance depends on civicness-not consensus’) (Borgos & Douglas, 1996, p. 3.). This may ‘generate conflict, but also stimulate participation and sharpen political discourse in ways that lead to deeper forms of social collaboration’” (Borgos, & Douglas. 1996. p. 3.).
CO’s fight for “fairness and equity” (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001. p. 1.), is used by various marginalized groups. Fisher and Romanofsky (1981) separated out four distinct phases of historical periods. The first (1890-1920), was dominated by the settlement house movement and was based on building community-thus; social workers were came into being (Fisher & Romanofsky. 1981). The second phase, (1920-1940), which was run by social workers, occurred during the Great Depression. It was based on national organizations, as communities did not organize to solve economic problems. The third chapter of CO’s history took place during the 1940’s to 1960’s. Social workers took a new interest in community organizing, as well as the
rise of Saul Alinsky and his new approach to community organizing. (I will talk later about Saul). The fourth and final phase of community organizing was in the ‘60’s, ‘70’s and ‘80’s. In the 1960’s grassroots movements were widespread. Activists in the 1970 have struggled with many federal anti-poverty movements (Fisher & Romanofsky. 1981). Since the ‘80’s, many movements incorporating CO’s have flourished. Saul Alinsky (d.1972) was the founder of the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF). He is inspirational to me. He was instrumental in organizing Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council which, along with the Catholic Church in Chicago, won victories on “child welfare, public school improvement, and neighborhood stabilization” (Alinsky. Late ‘30’s). BYNC also helped organize the packing house workers into a union with collective bargaining. They fought the Chicago “machine” (Miller, 2000). Cesar Chavez, founder of the National Farmworkers Association, later to be called the United Farmworkers Union. This organization had tremendous results for Hispanic community throughout the United States, but especially in CA. Alinsky, along with the Catholic Church, as well as many mainline denominations of Protestant persuasions, helped to fund Alinsky and his movements to fight racism and poverty throughout the United States. Alinsky fed on the Civil Rights movement of the South, and used funding provided by the Churches, students, and religious seminaries to promote Community Organizing in African-American and Hispanic-American communities.
(Miller, 2000). This movement I became involved in. I worked at a drug-crisis center in Oakland, CA, which was located in downtown Oakland. Here, I worked with African-Americans, including the Black Panthers, Hispanic-Americans, and Native Americans, as well as with sexual minorities, and for women’s rights. I protested the war in Viet Nam in Berkeley, and in San Francisco and Monterey, CA. As I moved to Cheyenne, WY, I also protested nuclear power and the White Train. Although not a Community Organizer, I have a familiarity with the different movements and the rights that they were fighting for. I hope to get back into neighborhood organizing to assist marginalized, oppressed peoples in their struggles for a better life, and an end to war. My belief in people, “in the ability of regular folks to guide their lives, to speak for themselves, to learn the world and how to make it better” (Beckworth & Stoecker, n. d.). It is important to not lead, but to facilitate CO (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001). If the people can see that “it is they who must do something about their own problems, and that it is only THEY who can be trusted to do the right thing…” (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001. p. 1.). The Community Organizers “build power out of that community” (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001. p. 2.). The organizers are responsible for creating strategies to motivate the people in the community, and to “challenge those feelings which inhibit action…fear, apathy, self-doubt, inertia, and isolation” (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001. p. 2.), and to encourage those feelings which “support action…anger, hope, self-worth, urgency, and a sense of community” (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001. p. 2). There are several dilemmas in organizing the people for campaigns. One is to “depolarize in order to negotiate resolution of these conflicts” (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001. p. 2.). Another dilemma is “how to balance the work of campaigns with the ongoing work of organizational survival” (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001. p. 2.).

References

Beckwith, D. & Stoecker, R. (n. d.). In Parachini, L. & Covington, C. (2001). Community Organizers: Who Are They?

Borgos, S. & Douglas, S. (1996) In Parachini, L. & Covington, C. (2001). The Basics-What is CO?

Doidge, (n.d.). On the brain and neuroplasticity. Retrieved September 6, 2009, from:

Fisher, R. & Romanofsky, P. (Eds.) (1981). In Parachini, L. & Covington, C. (2001) A Brief History of CO.

Freud, (1800-1890’s). In Doidge’s speech on neuroplasticity

Kendall, (late 1900’s). In Doidge’s speech on neuroplasticity

Miller, M. (2000) Organize! Training Center. In Parachini, L. & Covington, C. (2001) A Brief History of CO.

Momaday, N. Scott. (1968) House Made of Dawn. Mass Market Paperback (1969).

Parachini, L. & Covington, C. (2001) A Brief History of CO. pp. 1-4. The New York Foundation. (1994).

Parachini, L. & Covington, C. (2001) Community Organizers: Who Are They? pp. 1-3The New York Foundation, (1994).

Parachini, L. & Covington, C. (2001) Community Organizing: The Basics-What is CO? pp. 1-3. The New York Foundation, (1994).

St. John, (circa 90 CE), In: Senior, D. & Getty, M.A. (Eds.) (1990) The Catholic Study Bible. p. 148 of the New Testament. Oxford University Press, New York, NY

Neuroplasticity and the Brain

This blog is based on the class from 8/25/09. What interested me particularly was Prof. Yellowbird’s discussion on his family, and what they have experienced in terms of dreams and prophesies, and “seeing and sensing” dead people, as well as being healers, in the endogenous people’s tradition. It must have been an extraordinary upbringing which emphasized these gifts and allowed them to flourish. Growing up in an Irish-Catholic household, I was privileged to grow up with a grandfather who was from Ireland, and who regularly “saw and talked to” his dead wife and shared these experiences with me. Dreams were always intense and meaningful to me, as are prophetic messages which have come through my dreams, I believe. I am looking forward to more significant discussions on these topics by Dr. Yellowbird, and more.

He began the lecture by talking about the mind and its 100 billion brain cells, or neurons, and the fact that these neurons communicate with each other and the body, by means of axons and dendrites. The brain “has far more capacity to respond to stimuli than it does to receive those stimuli in the first place” (Memoryzine, 1996-2009, pp. 1-2).

The parts of the brain divide the brain into “four distinct lobes: the frontal, parietal, temporal, and the occipital lobes” (Memoryzine, 1996-2009, p. 1), as well as the cerebellum and brain stem. The cerebrum, in which the basal ganglia is located, acts to control movement. In diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease, the basal ganglia is affected.

Memory in humans can “be defined as a function of the brain that gives us our ability to store and retrieve information” (Memoryzine, 1996-2009, p 1). The role our memory plays in sensory, as well as in conceptual modes, is a complex phenomenon. The brain’s capacity for storing messages, such as short-term messages, and long-term memories-which the different lobes process and store, are also complex occurrences. Little is known about how this process
actually works, however. The hippocampus is also thought of as having an ability to store memories (memoryzine, 1996-2009, p. 2).

The fourth part of this article, “What is consciousness?” (memoryzine, 1996-2009, p. 1), has been discovered, and is said to exist. It is said that consciousness provides the “presence of a direct link between the mind, human awareness, and the physical brain” (memoryzine, 1996-2009, p. 1). This article also talks about electromagnetic fields, and the information located in the many, many neurons. When one is fired in unison with other neurons, it has an impact on the electromagnetic field-creating a stronger EM field. Consciousness is associated with these neurons (memoryzine, 1996-2009, p. 2).

As I look upon the brain with amazement and awe, I see these processes of electromagnetic field theories, a schizophrenic friend once said to me, as the lifeblood of the brain’s ability to function and produce memory, consciousness, etc. I see the brain as an incredible, living, breathing organ which allows us to experience in many ways the information that it embraces. As Prof. Yellowbird said in his introduction to the course, neuroplasticity implies that our brains are continually able to change and adapt to its never-ending experiences (2009, lecture). Neuroplasticity, is the sense of the brain’s being molded, or reshaped, throughout our lives (memoryzine, 1996-2009, p. 2). Neurons, with their attending axons and dendrites, can send messages across synapses (a point of connection between two neurons [memoryzine, 1996-2006, p. 2]. Information, which races across dendrites, through the synapse, and on to other dendrites, up axons, and on to other neurons, is a wondrous achievement of the brain. Up to 15,000 synapses exist in a toddler’s brain, with declining numbers as people age (memoryzine, 1996-2009). Throughout a course of “synaptic pruning” we delete connections that are incompetent and unused, and build onto those neurons which are more activated (memoryzine, 1996-2009, p. 3). Learning new ideas or having new experiences strengthens the neuroplasticity of the brain, helping one to learn something new and/or remember it. Short-term memory, which is brought about by electrochemical changes in the brain, can lead to long-term memory by “reverberation”-(although still unclear as to how this process works), scientists theorize that when we perceive information that is new and useful to us, new pathways are created in the brain by neurons speaking back and forth to each other, or through the neuroplasticity of our brain (memoryzine, 1996-2009, p. 3). Functional MRI’s (fMRI) can show this happening in our brain. It holds out a promise of hope for people suffering with degenerative brain diseases or trauma to their brains. (memoryzine, 1996-2009). If it works for them, it may work for other people suffering from mental illnesses-much like EMDR works for those suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. A therapist that I know uses EMDR on patients with PTSD. It is an exciting, new technology, which has proven to be effective for some people. If we could aid people by simply tapping on various spots on their body, or teach them the methods of tapping, we could maybe, in time, eliminate mental disorders-or at least ameliorate the significance they have in individual’s lives. But, this is a long way off, as I see it.

Carol Dweck, Ph.D. is a Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, and wrote the book, “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” in February of 2006. It is a book which talks of two ways of thinking and being-1) the fixed view of self and the world; and 2) the growth mindset, about stretching and growing yourself in the world (Dweck, 2006). She spoke on NPR’s Tech Nation, and was interviewed by Moira Gunn (2006). Dweck (2006) talked of two boys who “loved failure.” This, she said, was not a life-defining experience for them, but was part of the growth mindset. They looked for opportunities to change. Dweck also said: “When people are rejected and have a fixed mindset, their mindset is about revenge. They do not have a taste for forgiveness and moving on” (Dweck, 2006). She compares praise for intelligence, and praise for efforts or strategy. She said those children who were praised for their intelligence, when confronted with a difficult class, and who had a fixed mindset, didn’t put as much effort into studying. For those taking the same class, but having a growth mindset, they received better grades, and wanted to try something new. Also discussed by Dweck (2006) were the CEO’s of Enron, who had a fixed mindset and couldn’t make mistakes. Their business went down the tubes. They figured that they knew all the answers. Learning a growth mindset is just a belief that can be taught, and you can’t tell the potential that people have, once taught this mindset. This mindset information is important for growing and understanding the workings of the world.

EFT, or Emotional Freedom Techniques, also known as Meridian Tapping Techniques, is about tapping in certain spots on your body. This practice is derived from the fourteen points of acupressure from Chinese medicine (Reed, 2009). Gary Craig developed EFT, or Emotional Freedom Techniques, in the early ‘90’s (Craig, 2009). It was first discovered by Dr. Roger Callahan, an acupuncturist and psychologist, and originated from TFT, or Thought Field Therapy (Reed, 2009). Craig was a student of Dr. Callahan’s, who simplified this process, and made it more accessible to the common man.

What all of these techniques have shown is the power and majesty of the brain, and how to change it. Dan Rathers report on the XIV Dalai Lama and Buddhist monks interacting with scientists at the Waisman Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Behavior at the University of Wisconsin. Here Dr. Richie Davidson began to engage the Dalai Lama in conversation at the Dharma Sala’s “Mind and Life Institute” 16 years ago (Davidson, 2008). The scientists, began to study compassion. The Buddhist monks had 10,000 hours of training in meditation. What they found was that fMRI machines measured the gamma activity of Buddhist monks, showing neuroplasticity of the brain. There was a connection between the mind and the brain, with the brain being able to rewire itself. It was thought that the brain stopped developing in early childhood (Rather, 2008), but the exploration of neuroplasticity showed that the brain was capable of transforming itself, even in older people. Using a stroke patient, they showed a man with determination and purposeful behavior moving a limb, which before the onset of neuroplasticity was thought to be impossible. They showed that getting disabled limbs to
move was not impossible, but only had to be trained by using the brain through a process of constraint induced movement. When you exercise the brain, you are growing new connections, which then further stimulates the brain. “There is a direct link between exercise and neurogenesis” (Rathers, 2008). This led into a discussion on science and religion. The Dalai Lama was able to say that “beyond the monastery is secular ethics, for people without belief in religion, they can have common sense beliefs based on science” (Lama, 2008). Scientists were able to see that “meditation on compassion, and a desire for peace…and keeping compassion even towards your enemy,” (Lama, 2008) is a worthwhile way of living.

What these writings showed to me were that the neuroplasticity of the brain allows for us to grow and create our lives in such a way that there is hope for mankind on the largest frontier of man’s life-the brain. What we are heading for is a transformation of mankind based on the brain, and its ongoing and ever-changing complexity.

References

Craig, G. (1990’s), retrieved from: http://www.psychotherapy-center.com/eft_intro.html

Dweck, C. (2006) Mindset: The new psychology of success. Retrieved from: www.mindsetonline.com/abouttheauthor/index.html

Gunn, M. (2006) on: NPR’s Tech Nation, 3/14/06.

Memoryzine. (1996-2009). Retrieved from: http://www.memoryzine.com/howmemoriesaremadeinbrain.html p. 1.

Memoryzine. (1996-2009). Retrieved from: http://www.memoryzine.com/howthebrainworks.html pp. 1-2.

Memoryzine. (1996-2009). Retrieved from:
http://www.memoryzine.com/neuroplasticity.htm pp. 1-6.

Memoryzine. (1996-2009). Retrieved from:
http://www.memoryzine.com/partsofthebrain.html p. 1.

Memoryzine. (1996-2009). Retrieved from:
http://www.memoryzine.com/whatisconsciousness.html pp. 1-2.

Rathers, D. (2008). Retrieved from: Dan Rathers Reports on Mind Science (part 1 of 6) (On YouTube, 5/5/08).

Reed, S.B. (n.d.) The history of EFT. Retrieved from:
www.eft-therapy.com/eft-basics.htm

Yellowbird, M. (2009). From: lecture