Conversations with Mirra and Aadil

I came across this blog post a few weeks ago. It is a wonderful overview on one of the roots of the problem that led to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. At the end of the article I have added my recommendations for what we are to do with this information.

Corporations Won’t Self-Regulate, by Barbra Streisand

Posted: June 9, 2010 03:23 PM, The Huffington Post

Reposted from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barbra-streisand/corporations-wont-self-re_b_606439.html

It’s now well over a month since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded off the Gulf of Mexico and created the largest man-made environmental catastrophe in American history. The question haunting everyone is: how was this allowed to happen? From the devastated fishermen and business owners in the Gulf Coast to environmental activists across the country — we all have been watching, horrified, as millions of gallons of oil continue to pour into the ocean, destroying people’s livelihoods, poisoning marine life and destroying coastlines and eco-systems for decades to come.

In the wake of this disaster, I have no doubt that the spill occurred because the pendulum of power in our country has swung dangerously far in favor of corporations. The systematized deregulation of our industries, which began under President Reagan and continued vigorously under George W. Bush, is now literally destroying our environment.

For eight years, Bush and Cheney were both far too cozy with corporate America, and were deeply committed to deregulating industry from the government’s oversight. Bush and Cheney moved people from big industry into government positions, placing them in charge of both writing the rules and policing the very industries they once worked for. Whether in financial meltdowns or oil spills, we are reaping the consequences of these actions and will continue to do so for years to come. Now, the recent Supreme Court decision in Citizen’s United allows corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money on federal elections, thereby giving the biggest industries unprecedented influence in our democracy (that’s why we need a progressive on the Court).

Over the last six weeks, the perpetrator of the Gulf Coast spill, British Petroleum, has been playing the blame game, stating that Transocean, the owner of the oil rig, is at fault and that Halliburton’s poor job cementing the base of the well contributed to the spill. Each day we uncover more information on how these private companies, concerned only with their bottom line, have cut corners and neglected maintenance in a race toward higher profits (for instance, BP decided NOT to purchase a $500,000 blowout preventer valve, which gets bolted onto the sea floor at the wellhead as a failsafe to prevent these types of disasters). Many other countries require that oil companies purchase blowout preventers to protect against accidents and do not allow individual regulators to make these decisions. In addition, in other countries, regulations require oil companies doing deep water drilling to build and maintain a relief well from the outset to alleviate the affects of possible spills.

The BP spill also brought to light the corruption and ineptitude in the Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service office. President Obama inherited most of this staff since many of the employees were placed into these regulatory roles during the eight years that Bush was President. Many of the regulators were already friends with industry officials and some had worked in the oil and gas business before their stint in government. These regulators apparently let the oil and gas companies fill out their own inspection forms in pencil and then traced over their writing in ink. In return for their leniency, regulators accepted invitations to hunting trips and tickets to college football games courtesy of the oil and gas companies. Basically, Bush put the foxes in charge of guarding the hen house! In addition, the Minerals Management Service frequently granted waivers to BP and other oil companies releasing them from providing regulators detailed environmental impact and safety contingency statements regarding the areas they planned to drill for oil. These waivers allowed oil companies to take short cuts, which ultimately lead to the kind of disaster we are now experiencing in the Gulf.

Lack of accountability, lack of oversight, lack of regulation, corruption…this all sounds frighteningly familiar. Although many had hoped we had learned our lesson after the recent financial meltdown, this disaster has further proved that free market capitalism can only be trustworthy and accountable if industries are properly regulated. Bush allowed polluters to self- regulate. We can’t assume that companies like BP and Halliburton will spend the time and money to ensure environmental safety, just like we have learned the hard way that financial institutions like Lehman Brothers and Bear Sterns will not safeguard our life savings. Sadly, we now know that when companies driven by profit are not regulated, they will not prioritize the public’s best interest.

We have heard people say over and over again that less government is good government. During the health care debate, people wanted government to “stay out of their Medicare,” not realizing that Medicare is a government program. Without government regulations and a trustworthy system of checks and balances, this will not be the last oil spill that could have been prevented…or the last financial meltdown. There’s little the federal government can do now to save the birds, beaches and marshes steeped in oil along the Gulf, but as we move forward, we can demand that our government move quickly to put strong, sound regulations in place across all sectors in order to protect our people and our country.

Aadil adds:  This is fabulous education, and it is very important for us to be educated. However, what is missing is what we are to DO with this education. Since I am teaching the Therapeutic Teacher Training right now, I  will use my next post to elaborate on what we are to do, such as explore elections reform, the idea of big government or small government, and how to use Purna Yoga Meditation to enlighten our senators, representatives and president!

What shall I wear today? What am I going to do and who am I going to see? What’s in the laundry and whats not?  Do I have enough of anything in my closet to put myself together?  Do I care?

 Dressing yourself for the day is quite influential whether you are aware of it or not. Our moods often dictate what our bodies end up wearing.    If you defer to wearing dark colors because its easy, or it’s all that’s in your closet, we would like to share some food for thought with you and your nervous system.

 When you look in the mirror after you dress, train yourself to notice how you feel when you see yourself.  Notice your mood.  If you are feeling flat, or not yourself, could it be the color of what you are wearing or is the fabric irritating your nervous system, and you never noticed that before?

It’s a myth that dark colors are flattering. They can make you look and feel older than you really are. There is a reason baby clothes never come in dark colors. There is a reason the spring colors are always bright and happy.  It’s a time of blossoming.  A new baby comes into the world and we want to encourage its growth and happiness in all ways hence soft light pretty fabrics.  A freshly planted flower is given every opportunity for growth because of the joy it’s color gives us when it blooms.  Bright cheery colors and happiness go hand in hand.  Blossoming occurs at any age.

 To the mind, dark colors seem easier and appear to hold power, but to the heart and feeling level, our shadow and ego rely on us wearing dark colors. To the mind neutrals “ make sense and go with everything”, but on the feeling level they don’t help your heart to open.  Wearing all white and beige are where the white shadow hides out and says “see how pure I am.”

 Bright happy colors open your heart feeding and calming your nervous system.  We require a variety of colors in our wardrobe just like we require variety in our daily foods.

  Other considerations are:

•  If you work around people who wear black, immediately try to find a happy color to look at to replace the picture of dark colors in your mind.
• At night, wear soft light colors to help your nervous system calm down and smooth it out, preparing yourself for sleep.
•  Refrain from dressing children in dark colors and rough fabrics because their nervous systems are just beginning to feel. Dark colors and rough fabrics like denim undo this delicate growth process.

 Plaid is just ok on the body.  It can cause a little chaos on the nervous system in general because its very angular.  Plaid was historically used as a cover up before battle prior to “camouflage fabric coming into existence.   Refrain from dressing your children as well as yourself in camouflage.   Your nervous system will be so much happier

 Your skin color changes as more Light comes out from within.  You will notice as you age how lighter softer colors are much more flattering to your skin and help you look and feel younger.

 Experiment with color by having one shirt or tshirt from every spectrum of color or every shade of the rainbow in your closet. Its an inexpensive way to see that you can wear almost every color, just fine tune the shade of it.   Then use one shade of light gray or a warm beige as a base color.

Spring is around the corner.  For bright colors, consider Land’s End, or Fresh Produce online.

Experiment with new bright colors in a top or shirt to start.  Feel the difference it makes in your level of happiness.  Enjoy!

Aadil Palkhivala  & Kirsten Elfendahl (4:10)

Dear David – you are always a joy to be around.  Thank you for your generous words.  Your honesty is an example for all of us who practice yoga.

David Swenson (Run time 0.33)

Aadil Palkhivala (Run time 2:57)

Aadil on Meditation (2:22)

The term “shadow” is often used to describe the dark parts within us that we do not wish to see – anger, resentment, envy, and other qualities that diminish us. Yet to live with integrity, we must also be constantly aware of what my wife, Mirra, calls “the white shadow.” A white shadow is created whenever we mask something “bad” in ourselves by maintaining an outward appearance of “goodness.” A white shadow, then, is not only the repression of our shadowy dark side but also the creation of a bright veneer to hide it. Anytime we don’t look at our darkness by insisting that we are light, we are creating a white shadow.

White shadows live whenever and wherever integrity is lacking. We may or may not be conscious of our pretense, but it is there, gnawing at our peace, waiting to be exposed someday. The creation of a white shadow is a way of compensating, a way of avoiding reality, a way of denying that we need to grow. To live with integrity means being willing to admit that we are creating white shadows, being willing to peer into our darkness and acknowledge that we are pretending to be light. If trying to be good only keeps us from recognizing our shadows, what good is trying to be good?