From HH Dalai Lama

INTRODUCTION

I am an old man now. I was born in 1935 in a small village in northeastern Tibet. For reasons beyond my control, I have lived most of my adult life as a stateless refugee in India, which has been my second home for over fifty years. I often joke that I am India’s longest-staying guest. In common with other people of my age, I have witnessed many of the dramatic events that have shaped the world we live in. Since the late 1960s, I have also traveled a great deal, and have had the honor to meet people from many different backgrounds: not just presidents and prime ministers, kings and queens, and leaders from all the world’s great religious traditions, but also a great number of ordinary people from all walks of life.

Looking back over the past decades, I find many reasons to rejoice. Through advances in medical science, deadly diseases have been eradicated. Millions of people have been lifted from poverty and have gained access to modern education and health care. We have a universal declaration of human rights, and awareness of the importance of such rights has grown tremendously. As a result, the ideals of freedom and democracy have spread around the world, and there is increasing recognition of the oneness of humanity. There is also growing awareness of the importance of a healthy environment. In very many ways, the last half-century or so has been one of progress and positive change.

At the same time, despite tremendous advances in so many fields, there is still great suffering, and humanity continues to face enormous difficulties and problems. While in the more affluent parts of the world people enjoy lifestyles of high consumption, there remain countless millions whose basic needs are not met. With the end of the Cold War, the threat of global nuclear destruction has receded, but many continue to endure the sufferings and tragedy of armed conflict. In many areas, too, people are having to deal with environmental problems and, with these, threats to their livelihood and worse. At the same time, many others are struggling to get by in the face of inequality, corruption, and injustice.

These problems are not limited to the developing world. In the richer countries, too, there are many difficulties, including widespread social problems: alcoholism, drug abuse, domestic violence, family breakdown. People are worried about their children, about their education and what the world holds in store for them. Now, too, we have to recognize the possibility that human activity is damaging our planet beyond a point of no return, a threat which creates further fear. And all the pressures of modern life bring with them stress, anxiety, depression, and, increasingly, loneliness. As a result, everywhere I go, people are complaining. Even I find myself complaining from time to time!

It is clear that something is seriously lacking in the way we humans are going about things. But what is it that we lack? The fundamental problem, I believe, is that at every level we are giving too much attention to the external material aspects of life while neglecting moral ethics and inner values.

By inner values I mean the qualities that we all appreciate in others, and toward which we all have a natural instinct, bequeathed by our biological nature as animals that survive and thrive only in an environment of concern, affection, and warmheartedness—or in a single word, compassion. The essence of compassion is a desire to alleviate the suffering of others and to promote their well-being.

This is the spiritual principle from which all other positive inner values emerge. We all appreciate in others the inner qualities of kindness, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, and generosity, and in the same way we are all averse to displays of greed, malice, hatred, and bigotry. So actively promoting the positive inner qualities of the human heart that arise from our core disposition toward compassion, and learning to combat our more destructive propensities, will be appreciated by all. And the first beneficiaries of such a strengthening of our inner values will, no doubt, be ourselves. Our inner lives are something we ignore at our own peril, and many of the greatest problems we face in today’s world are the result of such neglect.

Not long ago I visited Orissa, a region in eastern India. The poverty in this part of the country, especially among tribal people, has recently led to growing conflict and insurgency. I met with a member of parliament from the region and discussed these issues. From him I gathered that there are a number legal mechanisms and well-funded government projects already in place aimed at protecting the rights of tribal people and even giving them material assistance. The problem, he said, was that the funds provided by the government were not reaching those they were intended to help. When such projects are subverted by corruption, inefficiency, and irresponsibility on the part of those charged with implementing them, they become worthless.

This example shows very clearly that even when a system is sound, its effectiveness depends on the way it is used. Ultimately, any system, any set of laws or procedures, can only be as effective as the individuals responsible for its implementation. If, owing to failures of personal integrity, a good system is misused, it can easily become a source of harm rather than a source of benefit. This is a general truth which applies to all fields of human activity, even religion. Though religion certainly has the potential to help people lead meaningful and happy lives, it too, when misused, can become a source of conflict and division. Similarly, in the fields of commerce and finance, the systems themselves may be sound, but if the people using them are unscrupulous and driven by self-serving greed, the benefits of those systems will be undermined. Unfortunately, we see this happening in many kinds of human activities: even in international sports, where corruption threatens the very notion of fair play.

Of course, many discerning people are aware of these problems and are working sincerely to redress them from within their own areas of expertise. Politicians, civil servants, lawyers, educators, environmentalists, activists, and so on—people from all sides are already engaged in this effort. This is very good so far as it goes, but the fact is, we will never solve our problems simply by instituting new laws and regulations. Ultimately, the source of our problems lies at the level of the individual. If people lack moral values and integrity, no system of laws and regulations will be adequate. So long as people give priority to material values, then injustice, inequity, intolerance, and greed—all the outward manifestations of neglect of inner values—will persist.

So what are we to do? Where are we to turn for help? Science, for all the benefits it has brought to our external world, has not yet provided scientific grounding for the development of the foundations of personal integrity—the basic inner human values that we appreciate in others and would do well to promote in ourselves. Perhaps we should seek inner values from religion, as people have done for millennia? Certainly religion has helped millions of people in the past, helps millions today, and will continue to help millions in the future. But for all its benefits in offering moral guidance and meaning in life, in today’s secular world religion alone is no longer adequate as a basis for ethics. One reason for this is that many people in the world no longer follow any particular religion. Another reason is that, as the peoples of the world become ever more closely interconnected in an age of globalization and in multicultural societies, ethics based in any one religion would only appeal to some of us; it would not be meaningful for all. In the past, when peoples lived in relative isolation from one another—as we Tibetans lived quite happily for many centuries behind our wall of mountains—the fact that groups pursued their own religiously based approaches to ethics posed no difficulties. Today, however, any religion-based answer to the problem of our neglect of inner values can never be universal, and so will be inadequate. What we need today is an approach to ethics which makes no recourse to religion and can be equally acceptable to those with faith and those without: a secular ethics.

This statement may seem strange coming from someone who from a very early age has lived as a monk in robes. Yet I see no contradiction here. My faith enjoins me to strive for the welfare and benefit of all sentient beings, and reaching out beyond my own tradition, to those of other religions and those of none, is entirely in keeping with this.

I am confident that it is both possible and worthwhile to attempt a new secular approach to universal ethics. My confidence comes from my conviction that all of us, all human beings, are basically inclined or disposed toward what we perceive to be good. Whatever we do, we do because we think it will be of some benefit. At the same time, we all appreciate the kindness of others. We are all, by nature, oriented toward the basic human values of love and compassion. We all prefer the love of others to their hatred. We all prefer others’ generosity to their meanness. And who among us does not prefer tolerance, respect, and forgiveness of our failings to bigotry, disrespect, and resentment?

In view of this, I am of the firm opinion that we have within our grasp a way, and a means, to ground inner values without contradicting any religion and yet, crucially, without depending on religion. The development and practice of this new system of ethics is what I propose to elaborate in the course of this book. It is my hope that doing so will help to promote understanding of the need for ethical awareness and inner values in this age of excessive materialism.

At the outset I should make it clear that my intention is not to dictate moral values. Doing that would be of no benefit. To try to impose moral principles from outside, to impose them, as it were, by command, can never be effective. Instead, I call for each of us to come to our own understanding of the importance of inner values. For it is these inner values which are the source of both an ethically harmonious world and the individual peace of mind, confidence, and happiness we all seek. Of course, all the world’s major religions, with their emphasis on love, compassion, patience, tolerance, and forgiveness, can and do promote inner values. But the reality of the world today is that grounding ethics in religion is no longer adequate. This is why I believe the time has come to find a way of thinking about spirituality and ethics that is beyond religion.

Still keepin' on

I have been writing and editing the cookbook and resting a lot. My toe is still PINKY, which is the new swear word I use for almost everything. I have a PINKY backache today.

Language evolves from people using words that may not be the current 'right' word. An example is floundering. I still cringe to see that used in place of foundering.

A flounder is a fish. Or at least it was. Seems that the new meaning is now in the dictionary, although foundering is still preferred. So when people are overwhelmed and someone says they are floundering, I first translate that there is no fishing involved and that someone is buried in problems.

I looked up overwhelmed the other day ( my curiosity about word origins is insatiable). Turns out it come from a Scandinavian origin. Whelm means buried or covered. Thus, overwhelmed would be over-covered or over buried. Hmm, seems a little redundant but that's the usage we now have.
Happy tales to all
kathi

Ponderings

People ask how I keep busy when I have to stay in bed or at least lying back with my foot up. I am so busy it really doesn't occur to be to think about what I can do to not be bored. I am seldom if ever bored. Living in my brain is a Cirque d'Soleil all by itself.

The hardest thing for me this summer is not being able to get outside to garden. My husband and brother have been my minions to keep things growing well. I actually had them help me out to a chair last Sunday so I could sit and pull weeds! I am hoping it helped a little to get rid of my indoor pallor.
My days are filled to the brim with writing, editing, reading, thinking, and breaks for playing with writer friends on facebook. I also signed up for an online course to learn Photoshop. That keeps me pretty busy.

One thing I have learned is to keep notes right away on the weird quick thoughts I have. Many of my story ideas come from these.

My Toes are getting better. The left one remains painful and I can't wear a shoe on it. But the books are flowing and I am getting much done. If you haven't seen it yet, check out my web site at kathiHwriter.com.

Happy tales to all
kathi h

Keep Moving Forward

When life throws a curve and I want to crawl under the covers... I remember that life moves forward whether I do or not. I have been laid up (there is an interesting phrase) with broken toes and have seen the bright side and used the time to write. It has been for the most part great. No one expects anything from me and I have found my rhythm. An ebook will be available for purchase very soon, and I designed the cover about which I am very excited.

New stories and titles have flowed...yes flowed... into my brain and I made notes and stayed on track for the one I am line-editing for the ebook distributor. In these times as an author we have many choices to make when
considering how and where to publish.

We can go the traditional route and send either a hard copy or ecopy of the proposal to a print publisher and wait while several people look at it and decide if it fits their needs; if it is well written (luckily I do not have that problem); if it is similar to something they have recently published; how it might fit in their future line up; and many other considerations. Then you either get a yea or nay, and you either make the changes they want or you send it out to someone else. Each of these steps can take weeks if not months.
The next option is to submit to a publisher who does ebooks then after six months to print and go through much the same process except is is done via email and doesn't require trips to the post office and wrappings and postage.
The next option if you truly believe in your book, and why would you have spents months writing it if you didn't? YOu look for a place to publish it yourself. Usually you have to pay these places up front, but you get to keep most of the income from sales.
There are many options within this option and because of ebooks now there are even more. Sometimes print house will actually have a subsidiary epublisher who again evaluates your work and takes it on. Keep in mind that all of these are cutting into any money that is made on the book, print or ebook.
Some facts have come out recently showing that ebooks last year had more sales than all the print books combined. Many "brick and mortar' stores are going out of business as a result. The ereaders have come down in price and the books themselves are coming down to a reasonable level.
Enter a company called Smashwords. They call themselves an ebook distributor. They take your manuscript and run it through what they lovingly call the meatgrinder to turn it from print format to ALL the major e-reader formats. You are the publisher in the sense that you not only have written it, but you do the job of the publisher and editor, provide the cover art, include the copyright page (they do get you your ISBN), and make it completely ready. They grind it out into multiple formats for Barnes and Nobel's Nook, Amazon's Kindle, iReader, Deisel, Moby, and more also turning it to PDF files for reading on the computer and other devices and ePub for older style readers. They are the only company I have discovered that does this. For free! They then distribute to their own site and when your manuscript has been vetted, it is included in their premium catalogue and goes to Amazon, B&N, etc!!!! And you don't do a thing... Except to promote the heck out of it. They do no marketing. They are the distributor. Because it is available ( usually within two weeks of giving it to them) by the big e-stores, you are where people can find you. Think of it as being on their shelves.
Now, you do the work of pointing it out to your readers. For this the internet is your friend. Social networks like facebook and my space, blogs, your own website, anything you can think of to let people know it is there. To further promote it, Smashwords has author's pages and books are shown as they come out on the new books page.

You are encouraged to offer free pages and a lower price at least for awhile until you build a reader base. This is entirely up to the author and you do set your own price.

Famous authors are also using smashwords to re-publish thier books that may have come out only in print, whose rights have reverted to the author, or for work that doesn't fit length or genre requirements. Or for projects that were scrapped by their publishers.
As an example of this difference, many novellas (short novels) are offered, For authors these are usually included in an anthology with other authors or a collection of several of their own stories. You see many collections of mysteries done this way. Now these stories can be offered on their own for a low price or for free and used to get new readers!
I plan to offer a variety of stories that were too short for a novel or just didn't fit a slot. One of the first will be Open Wide; a vampire dentist story about 3000 words. (the average book is 60,000 to 100,000 words).
My first full length novel; Heat Waves will be out soon. You can watch for it at Smashwords.com or go to my website; kathihwriter.com to see where you can download it. It should be on Amazon and the other big stores by September!

Happy Tales
kathi h

One Giant Step

Today is the annivesary of the first man walking on the moon. I can never forget how excited I was. I wanted to be there or on olater misssions so very much but had physical considerations that negated that. My heart was there. "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." I had a tape recorder going ( the old reel type) and took a picture of my black and white TV screen.
I had ties to future moon missions and our town was the only one during those days that had two moon mission astronauts. As such we were awarded the first Space and science center where you could sit in an Apollo module and later ride in a simulator. There was a moon rock... something I coveted for my own rock collection. And to me the coolest thing, my family knew both of those astronauts. James McDevitt and Al Worden. Al had been my baby sitter back in the days when our parents played pinochle together.
Later 21 astronauts were to come from Michigan, but those first two from the Apollo missions to the moon were the ones that truly inspired me.
Now, we have recently seen the launch of the last (at least for now) Shuttle mission and for see future moon travel leading up to a Mars walk. Wow! Wish I could go. And today July 21st the shuttle returned safely for the last time.
One giant leap indeed!
krh

Back in the Groove

I deleted most of 2009 because I had become immersed in the daily grind and it was boring. Then early this year, 2010, the wireless card in my computer stopped connecting. I got a device that works around that and had wireless again, but the computer just wasn't working like it should... To make a very long and frustrating story short; On memorial Day I decided to get a new computer. The salesman asked what I was currently using and why I was replacing it and I explained. He thought all the problems were minor and could be fixed so I began investing in my old computer including updating to windows 7 which necessitated installing more memory.

The computer was in and out of the shop as one thing after another failed, and it was on the shop more than on my desk. I fought it all summer.
In September it died. Each time I closed down and restarted it was slower and more things were wrong. It died. I took it to the shop. I HAD A VIRUS THAT KILLED IT. Only I didn't just have a virus. In extracting my files to put on a new computer they encountered and fixed 57 viruses!!!

So I had a new computer. Within a few days it started doing the same things as the old one. Sure enough their were viruses in the new one. While waiting for the tedious process of having them work though each and every file... some 50,000 or more... they found another 30 plus viruses. Now, I am a sceptic about the security and safety of my files so I had bought an external hard drive ( 640 MB) and had continuously kept my entire computer backed up. They also had to scan these files as well as several flash drives because the problems had to be coming from the files that were transferred. Computer shops use a special server that holds your files and scans them before transferring them but this one got around the system.

While they were working I was loaned a display model of A MUCH nicer computer than the one I bought. I fell in love with it and even after they had mine clean loaded and ready to go, I was nervous about the safety of using it. In the end these wonderful people worked some magic and I was able to keep the loaner instead. I took the files off my flash drives myself running them through my new topline security and then...

I plugged in the hard drive to load my books. My precious edited complete copies of my novels. Only the hard drive wouldn't work. I took it in. It began to work then stopped.

I still am waiting for the maker of the hard drive to recover the files they can and replace the drive. The store that sold it has been getting a run-around and now so am I.

I have bits and pieces of all my books but will have to restructure and compbine and edit them. I have decided to wait until after the first of the year to worry about this.

This is not the end of my computer woes. During the summer I was supposed to be a judge in 3 different major writing contests as I am a trained judge. I could not fulfill my promise to do that.

Now, my email has been hacked and spam went out to ALL my contacts including my business ones ( I am so embarrassed) such as editors and agents. I am sending each a personal apology but am distressed.

So that is the story of 2010 and why there have been no blogs until now. NO COMPUTER= NO BLOGS .

A Quiet Place

Is there a quiet place in your life?I am having work done on the kitchen wall. It involved removing an old odd wall and studding and putting up dry wall, plastering and sanding. Four days and counting. Okay, so they were partial days except for the first one, but were the four days I had cleared the calendar to write and finish projects.When I got the call that the carpenter had a cancellation and could begin work several weeks early, I was at once happy and disturbed.

I have lung problems and there would be dust. Lots of dust. I would have to be the person here, because my husband would be at work.And, darn it, I wanted to write.I decided that this might be a test from the universe ( bear with me here) about my commitment to writing. Whether it is or not, I found out this;I am committed. I got a lot more done than I expected.

I was so excited that the work was going on on the level below me that I focused more on my writing.I found that I felt like someone was looking over my shoulder, of course it was me, and I wanted to please myself for a change by doing what I love, writing.I wasn't answering to anyone for these few days, because I had to be at the house; no quick trips to help friends or long chats on the phone. I was in a room that had no phone and I kept the cordless downstairs and turned off. Plus it was too noisy to talk on teh phone, but not too noisy to write!

Another discovery is that I don't have to run to a cabin in the moountains to find solitude, at least not if I am willing to put up with the sounds of construction. Once I started story-telling, the writing flowed and my brain shut out all of the extraneous sounds. I had scheduled this time to write knowing my honey would interrupt me and that life would pull me out of my zone from time to time.Instead, my honey went bowling or riding or what ever, because he couldn't help with the kitchen, and there was no room for him to sit in my little nook.

I was in a comfortable chair being stored in an unused bedroom and had a window for good light and a sense of hiding out in a tree house! The room is in the upper level of our home. It is cluttered and looks like my attic would look if I had one.The most powerful discovery was that I could pull away from family and friends without them being angry and with me feeling relief instead of guilt for not doing the important things first.

I couldn't work in the kitchen so we ate take out. I might not have done that if the work wasn't being done.I didn't have to do dishes, grocery shopping, laundry or cleaning, because, well, I couldn't.WHAT AN AWESOME FEELING!

I think I have learned from this experience to give myself the gift of several days vacation at home. It is okay to have take out four days in a row. It is okay to be the guest in my own home and let others do what they think is important. It is okay to be out of reach of friends and family, and it is oaky if they don't understand. Who ever said you have to be understood all the time.I have freed my inner woman of mystery. I don't have to explain to anyone when I need time away from the ordinary. It is okay to feed my soul and let someone else feed my body.And it is not just okay but necessary to find solitude where ever you are.

hugs, kathi h