Conscious Living - Focus of the Month
Take Your Power Back
May
Newsletter |
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We've changed our name! Warriors
of Change is now known as Conscious Living to
truly reflect the world we want to co-create...consciously.
We are responsible for
the world around us both through our actions and our
inactions. Every single choice you make has infinite
repercussions throughout eternity. As you live your day, you
may feel like you have no effect on those halfway across the
world, or on companies or governments - however you are making
a powerful impact with your every choice. What product are you
buying? What company are you inadvertendtly supporting? What
regime are you funding through your bank's current account?
What difference can you make simply by signing a letter to
your MP or to a company? Instead of being overwhelmed by the
world's sufferings, by focusing your energy and attention on
single issues, you can make more of a difference. Simply by
becoming aware, you are making a difference - as you live by
example and spread the message to others. Want to do more?
Download ready-made letters - All you have to do is
sign and
send!!! |
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Response of the Month - David Miliband,
Cabinet Minister |
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YOUR POWER! MP writes to
Cabinet Minister re: Plastic Bag
Tax
Nick Raynsford, MP for Greenwich in the UK,
has written to David Miliband, Cabinet
Minister for the Department of Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs, asking him to consider the possiblity of
introducing a nationwide Plastic Bag Tax, as in Ireland.
David Miliband responds with detailed letter!
This is the power
of just one Conscious Living individual.
There is power in numbers - write to your MP
to ask them to write to David Miliband and get this issue
implemented in Parliament!
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| Join Our List |
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What can I do for Refugees
and Asylum Seekers?
Join a befriending
scheme or visit a Detention Centre, volunteering to help
those who are alone, scared and feeling helpless in a
foreign, seemingly oppressive, country
WRITE TO YOUR MP and support the call
for an amnesty on illegal immigrants and the closure of
detention centres
SIGN & SEND!!
5
MINUTES |
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Humanitarian Focus - Amnesty's 2007
Report |
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Amnesty produces interactive
online report
Explore Amnesty's report may be about human
rights but it's extremely user-friendly interactive
interface makes it a fascinating
experience to explore what is occuring
around the world.
Delve into any country to discover what these
countries are really about. Read to see how Amnesty's
campaigns about - women's
rights, arms trade,
living in dignity, death
penalty - have all helped those who suffer.
Explore figures and facts about the state of the world's
human rights
Simply by being aware of what is occuring around
the world, raises both your awareness and those you
interact with - raising the awareness of the population.
This is how you can help, as it subconciosuly influences
the decision you make and empowers the people - to
eventually live concsiouly. Remember, the
power is always with
YOU.
Understand your neighbours
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Conscious
Living Contributors
Vaz Sriharan - editor
Patrick Allen - writer
Lila Allen - journalist
Irma Allen -
environmentalist
Want to write a review for a book you've read?
Seen a film you think could raise awareness? Have an
issue you'd like raised?
To contribute please contact Editor |
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Issue Focus - Asylum Seekers &
Immigrants |
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Why are
we talking about it?
Refugees / Asylum Seekers?
- A refugee is a person who is
seeking asylum (protection, safety,
shelter) in a foreign country in order to escape
persecution, war, terrorism, extreme poverty,
famines and natural disaster within their home
country.
Immigrants?
- Immigrants are those
who leave for similar reasons as asylum
seekers as well as for economic or social
reasons. However, these people do not have to
apply for refugee status because of an 'open-door'
policy with their home country e.g. the UK
and all EU countries
- Illegal immigrants
are those who have overstayed their original allowance
within a country or those who have illegally crossed
the national borders of a country, generally for
economic and social reasons but also for similar
reasons as asylum seekers.
So...What's the
problem?
- Press coverage fails to distinguish
between asylum seekers and illegal
migrant workers - thus leading to a backlash
against anyone entering the country, despite
many families seeking refuge from
suffering.
- People seeking
asylum in the UK may be highly qualified
within their own country but are not allowed to work
here under current UK regulations
- Asylum seekers cannot sign
up with GPs e.g. pregnant women cannot receive
antenatal care
- Asylum seekers (and
illegal immigrants) can be seriously
exploited by UK employers, working excessive
hours for less than the minimum wage with no employee
rights
- They can become easy prey for
criminal gangs, who sell them into illegal
activities including prostitution resulting in abuse
of women and children
- Asylum seekers who
await decisions on their claims are kept in
Immigration Detention Centres. These
overcrowded 'prisons' have very high rates of
self-harm, suicide, assault and problems with
mental health. However these people have not
actually committed any crime by UK law to justify
their imprisonment.
These people drive
our cabs, keep our offices tidy and clean our
streets - yet they are the invisible many who exist
without any basic human rights or access to social
services
Discover more
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Film of the Month - Is the Force
real? |
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Institute of Noetic Sciences
Psi Wars
animation
The
Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) have released an
animated paradoy of Star Wars to
address an important issue that is being developed and
explored at the frontiers of science, most notably
quantum physics. Find out more in Psi
Wars, an animated movie starring Oh Be One
Kenobi, a scientific jedi who shares intriguing new
research on psychic abilities and global consciousness
with aspiring jedi.
Critics:
"They got it right - PSI Wars IS
the Great Debate of our time. Nicely done IONS!
" --William Arntz, Producer/Director, What the Bleep
Do We Know!?
"Love it!"
--Brian Johnson, Philosopher/CEO, Zaadz.com
"Entertaining and
thought-provoking" --Kelly Carlson, speech
language pathologist
"Very
professional, clear, funny, elegant, easy to watch. I
want to know more!" --Karin Shola von
Daler, psychotherapist, Denmark
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Environmental Focus - Google Earth
& WWF |
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| Zoom in around the world to see what's
happening!
WWF and Google
Earth have teamed up to view 150 of the
organisation's activities using the latest technologies.
WWF projects can be viewed with this virtual tour
which shows how WWF works to save species and people
around the world. Web users can see WWF projects from an
aerial perspective and then zoom into the finest detail,
clicking on regions to read about WWF's campaigns and
achievements.
Download Google Earth, then go
to Layers > Featured Content > Global
Awareness to find WWF content
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Book of the Month - The Lucifer
Effect |
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Philip Zimbardo's "how good people
turn evil"
A chilling but essential read for anyone wishing to
understand how 'evil' so readily grips 'normal' people
in abnormal situations. The story begins back in 1971
when Zimbardo, a social psychologist, invited male
university students to volunteer for an
experiment in a mock prison in
California. The 24 young men chosen were randomly
divided into role-playing 2-week prisoners and guards,
and dressed accordingly. All understood that their
2-week incarceration would mirror real prison life.
The experiment was halted after just five
days. It had been too shockingly successful.
From the second day on, the 12 guards were no 'creative'
in their psychological bullying of their 12 'innocent'
prisoners - who for the most part were
all-too-submissively obedient. They too were living
their role. Some even broke down and were
discharged.
Since then any number of studies have confirmed that
most of us, women no less than men, permit authority the
'right' to make us knowingly do wrong - witness the
horrors of Iraq's Abu Ghraib, photographed by grinning
US army underlings, revelling in their 'work'. A rare
collection of 'bad apples' trumpeted the Pentagon and US
administration. Not so, says Zimbardo. These were
ordinary apples tossed into a 'bad barrel'. Their job
was to 'soften up' prisoners for interrogation - no
holds barred.
In April 2005 Human Rights
Watch in a detailed report accused senior army
officers, politicians and lawyers of 'Getting Away With
Torture' - orchestrated by the (then) Secretary of
Defense, Donald Rumsfeld. Zimbardo goes higher still,
right to the top: the President and his Vice. The record
shows that Bush knew. And egged on by Cheney, he
sanctioned. Zimbardo's lamentable tale ends in upbeat
mode. Heroes and heroines, though exceptional, do exist.
We can defy an evil system. Good can
win against the odds.
Patrick
Allen
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