Do Nothing

I started another blog “sirojdonothing.blogspot.com” and would like to invite those who are interested in the topic to join in the conversation.  This blog aims at engaging conversations on the profound wisdom of nothingness, emptiness, and finiteness in the way we approach life.  It is also an exploration of Chuang Tzu’s writings and his paradoxical approach to life and reality.  Victor Mair from the University of Hawai’i commented that while Lao Tzu is for the general public, Chuang Tzu is much more profound.  I certainly am biased toward Chuang Tzu and his stories are words that capture the soul in a way that are transforming.  This attempt of mine is written in “Do Nothing: Inner Peace for Everyday Living” which will be published by Templeton Foundation Press this coming March 2009.  So drop by when you have time or when you do not want to do anything or when you have nothing to do.  There is something about nothing that is much more profound for our life then we normally pay attention to.  And when we get there we will find a place that transcends the descriptive function of words.

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Dream, Death, and the Unresolved

I have noticed that often in my dreams I dead people are still alive.  On many occasions I saw my dad in my dreams.  Just last week I dreamed of my dad.  He was old and tired and his hair was long.  And I was trying to cut his hair but were not able to.  When I told my wife about this dream, she asked whether I was aware that he passed away.  I told her that in my dream, I was not aware of it.  He was just alive.  And three days ago I dreamed of my cousin who died in a fire 15 years ago.  And again she was alive.  I have been thinking and wondering about the meaning of these dreams and I wonder if dead people in my dreams symbolize unresolved issues in my life that is still very much alive.  That my relationship with them contained certain symbolism and representation of those issues that I need to pay attention to.  I can be an unresolved issues with the deceased or it can be an issue that they represent for me.  This is what I’m currently exploring.  Just bought a copy of “Inner Work” by Robert Johnson, my favorite author.  Hopefully it can give me insights into how I can interpret my dreams.

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NF (Intuitive-Feeling) and Dreams

One of my Korean friends at Claremont School of Theology who is  MBTI (Myers-Briggs Personality Type Inventory) certified told me that an NF has lots of dreams and remembers them.  I’m an NF and this is so true for me.  Not only do I have lots of dreams and tend to remember them.  I am fascinated by them.  In fact one of my therapists is Jungian and all we did was dream interpretation.  I know a couple of friends who are NF as well and they dream a lot.  I sometime wonder if the world of dreams belongs more to INFP and not just NF.  Jung  himself is INFP.  If any of the readers are INFP or NF, I would love to hear from you.

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Violence Escalates in Congo, Displaced Receive Emergency Aid

News from ADRA International

Camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) near the town of Goma continue to hold thousands of people fleeing the ongoing violence in war torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Meanwhile, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is responding, distributing emergency supplies and assisting more than 6,000 people who remain displaced from their homes. This assistance is helping 3,578 families in the affected North Kivu Province. The distribution of non-food items includes 2,800 wool blankets, 850 school kits, and 4,000 multi-purpose fabrics that can be worn by women to protect them from the cold or to carry their babies. The school kits, which include book bags, notebooks, pens and pencils, are being given to elementary and secondary school-age students. The $64,000 project is implemented with funding from ADRA Norway, ADRA Canada, ADRA International, ADRA Sweden, the ADRA Africa Regional office in Kenya, ADRA Australia, ADRA United Kingdom, and ADRA France. The situation in the region remains tense following weeks of violence. Fighting between the Congolese army and the rebel group National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) surged in late October 2008 forcing more than 250,000 people into makeshift camps. Nearly one million are presently displaced in eastern Congo, or 20 per cent of the population of the entire North Kivu Province, according to the United Nations. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs (OCHA) in DRC has reported that IDPs have become the target of serious human rights violations from all sides of the conflict, including abuses by civilians. In a separate conflict in DRC’s northeastern Oriental Province, the Uganda-based Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group has recently killed some 534 people and kidnapped more than 400 others in ongoing raids, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported. On December 14, Congolese, Ugandan, and Sudanese forces launched a joint military operation to repel the LRA. “We remain extremely concerned about the fate of residents who are now increasingly caught in a conflict zone near the borders of the DRC, the Central African Republic and Sudan,” said UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond in statement issued on January 13. Since 1996, more than 4 million people are believed to have died in the Congolese conflict, according to UN estimates, mostly due to preventable diseases and starvation. To assist ADRA’s emergency response to the growing humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo, contributions can be donated to ADRA’s Refugee and Displaced Persons Fund, by phone at 1.800.424.ADRA (2372) or online at http://www.adra.org. ADRA is a non-governmental organization present in 125 countries providing sustainable community development and disaster relief without regard to political or religious association, age, gender, race, or ethnicity. Additional information about ADRA can be found at http://www.adra.org. Author: Nadia McGill

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Dream and the Missing Luggage

This dream occurred the night after we, editors for the book ‘World Religions for Healthcare Professionals’, completed our manuscript around 12.30 am. When I got  home around 12:40 I went to sleep but was anxious over the manuscript wondering what we’ve missed.

 

In the dream I was attending a small meeting away from home. After the meeting I took my two pieces of luggage and walked out to find transportation. There were a couple of local people I knew from Mission College that were walking along with their friends to try to catch the ride. It was at a corner of a street. There was a house behind me and a small lane before the main street. There were many people waiting for taxi. I looked over the other side of the street and saw a taxi. I left my luggage and crossed the street to make contact with the taxi, got on and came back for the luggage. When the driver came back I was not able to find my luggage. I looked all over. There were some local people I knew that came to help but we were not able to find. I went to someone’s house to stay over night still wondering how I missed place the luggage. The next day my sister and some close friends were there doing some charity project and as they moved from house to house they told me that they too would help search for my luggage. 

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