A better person

“Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching.” – Thomas Jefferson

For this June 1^st Wednesday wellness email, I invite you to consider some studies reported in a Scientific American online article “How the Illusion of Being Observed Can Make You a Better Person” –

“A group of scientists at Newcastle University, headed by Melissa Bateson and Daniel Nettle of the Center for Behavior and Evolution, conducted a field experiment demonstrating that merely hanging up posters of staring human eyes is enough to significantly change people’s behavior. Over the course of 32 days, the scientists spent many hours recording customer’s “littering behavior” in their university’s main cafeteria, counting the number of people that cleaned up after themselves after they had finished their meals. In their study, the researchers determined the effect of the eyes on individual behavior by controlling for several conditions (e.g. posters with a corresponding verbal text, without any text, male versus female faces, posters of something unrelated like flowers, etc). The posters were hung at eye-level and every day the location of each poster was randomly determined. The researchers found that during periods when the posters of eyes, instead of flowers, overlooked the diners, twice as many people cleaned up after themselves…

While the researchers have convincingly illustrated that displaying a mere image of human eyes is sufficient to actually alter real-life social behavior, the real question is how. Humans (and other animals) have a dedicated neural architecture for detecting facial features, including the presence of eyes…

Experiments have shown that people are unable to inhibit responses to gaze even when instructed to…neural activation of the gaze detection system is fast and automatic…

Robyn Dawes and colleagues showed in the 70s that the presence of other people in the room tends to have a positive effect on people’s decision-making when faced with a social dilemma. Yet, it wasn’t until a few years ago that Terence Burnham and Brian Hare published an article in Human Nature that showed people make more cooperative choices in economic computer games when they are “watched” on the screen by a robot with human-like eyes.”

What has your experience shown? Any change in course of action when being observed? These studies indicated an increase in cleaning up, helping socially, cooperating. What do you think: do we have a better sense of the greater good when we are watched by others? Might we even go so far as to say that we’re wired for community: as in made to care about and for one another?

I’ve had a tendency to do the right thing, but too often for the wrong reason - such as quieting my bully ego that wants to be thought well of, rather than simply ‘bettering’ the world by sharing some love. [An aside: my experience and others' research indicates that serving/caring/considering another is good for both the giver and receiver.]

These studies remind me that I’d like to more often do good things for good reasons – to love much whether I’m being observed or not. Want to join me in aiming to love well, even when no one is watching?

"Courage is doing without witnesses that which we would be capable of doing before everyone." - Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680)

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” – Colossians 3:23-24

Needs beauty

“Everyone needs beauty as well as bread; places to play in and pray in; where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.”

-John Muir

To enter a labyrinth

"Your life is a sacred journey. And it is about change, growth, discovery, movement, transformation, continuously expanding your vision of what is possible, stretching your soul, learning to see clearly and deeply, listening to your intuition, taking courageous challenges at every step along the way. You are on the path... exactly where you are meant to be right now... And from here, you can only go forward, shaping your life story into a magnificent tale of triumph, of healing of courage, of beauty, of wisdom, of power, of dignity, and of love." -Caroline Adams

We are all on the path... exactly where we need to be. The labyrinth is a model of that path. A short while ago we put in a labyrinth in the upper portion of our back yard. It was a 'dream' of mine for the last couple of years, now fulfilled. I'll enjoy it over the next many moments. Here's a little bit about labyrinths:

A labyrinth is an ancient symbol of wholeness representing the path of a symbolic journey in the form of a walking meditation. It combines the imagery of the circle and the spiral into a meandering but purposeful path. It is a symbol that creates a sacred space and place and takes us out of our ego to "That Which Is Within."

A labyrinth is not a maze. A maze is like a puzzle to be solved. It has twists, turns, and blind alleys. It is a left brain task that requires logical, sequential, analytical activity to find the correct path into the maze and out. A labyrinth has only one path. It is unicursal. The way in is the way out: a circuitous path to the center and out again. A labyrinth is a right brain task. It involves intuition, creativity, and imagery. With a maze many choices must be made and an active mind is needed to solve the problem of finding the center. With a labyrinth there is only one choice to be made. The choice is to enter or not. A more passive, receptive mindset is needed. The choice is whether or not to walk a spiritual path.

At its most basic level the labyrinth is a metaphor for the journey to the center of your deepest self and back out into the world with a broadened understanding of who you are.

"To enter a labyrinth is to choose to walk a scared path." - Dr. Lauren Artress

“Walking the labyrinth path is a healing experience that is intended to provide insight, courage and understanding in facing life's challenges. There are three stages to the labyrinth walk.

Releasing - Quieting the mind and letting go of the details of daily life as you walk.
Illumination - Opening to insight and new awareness as you reach the center.
Integration - Moving outward from the center, taking silence, peace and insight out with you into your day.

Some links to follow for more info:

Paths of Peace on Facebook

The Labyrinth Society

The Labyrinth Coalition

iSpritualout
Lea Goode-Harris
Labyrinth Online

Labyrinth-Enterprises
Labyrinths in Stone

Labyrinth of the Lake
Paxworks
Veriditas

Sound of the genuine

"There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself. It is the only true guide you will ever have. And if you cannot hear it, you will all of your life spend y our days on the ends of strings that somebody else pulls."

–Howard Thurman

Come alive

“The pattern in creation is one of transformation: out of death comes life…A dry brown seed is pressed into a dark space of soil and there it gestates into a new green shoot.”

– Joyce Rupp, The Cosmic Dance

Spring causes me to consider again the gift of new life, and especially fresh life coming from what has seemed dead or undesirable. On this first Wednesday of May I’d like to mention a few ways that good comes from what is apparently not-so-good, considering an example in each of the realms of physical, emotional/mental, and spiritual.

- in the physical realm -

* using what seems ‘dead’ (as in unwanted) to fuel life – in a case of microbes gone good, Bruce Logan, an environmental engineer at Penn State U, and lab researchers who study bioenergy technologies related to water treatment, are working on developing microbial fuel cells (MFC) that can generate electricity while accomplishing wastewater treatment; read more.

[** for a little bonus, see below]

- in the emotional/mental realm –

* embracing what is at first glance undesirable (our vulnerabilities) as bringing positive to life – these words “The Gifts of Imperfection” by Brene Brown remind me to not shame myself for my limitations:

“Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy – the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light… our vulnerabilities are what force us to call upon…courage, compassion, and connection…the gifts of imperfection.”

- in the spiritual realm -

* watching anew the blah dormancy of winter morph into lush new life as spring unfolds - I remind myself that everyday living is similarly cyclical, and that God is about making things new.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. II Corinthians 5:17

"Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19

This May as you enjoy the vivid green of grass and budding leaves and watch the magical opening of splendidly colored blossoms, may you also accept invitations to step into new ways of being, to entertain new thoughts, and to explore new love. May you (and may I) come alive in fresh ways.

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” – Howard Thurman

Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you'll have it forever, real and eternal. – Jesus, John 12:24 (The Message paraphrase)

[**Some other research on new forms of power, that don’t exactly fit my theme of this message, but that certainly are noteworthy…

*on powering almost anything, anywhere - a group of scientists has demonstrated a new way to use sunlight, water (H2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2)--some of the cheapest and most commonplace stuff on Earth--to make unlimited amounts of fuel to power almost anything, anywhere

*on harnessing physical motion for conversion to electrical energy - nanotechnology researchers are developing the perfect complement to the power tie: a "power shirt" able to generate electricity to power small electronic devices for soldiers in the field, hikers, and others whose physical motion could be harnessed and converted to electrical energy]