Closure

Life requires closure over and over again. We end an apprenticeship with an exam, pregnancy ends with birth, we conclude phases of our lives and lock doors behind us so nothing gets stolen. This year we conclude a year that many of us would prefer not to have lived through. The waves of coronavirus swept much rubbish to the shores of our lives: scientific gaps, a lack of know-how, unsuccessful development, authority and anarchy which we had long believed to be extinct, indignity and condescension. A lesson in incompetence and muddling through. At least now, slowly, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Some believe the vaccination will sort it, others hope for legal fights to be won, or for elections and of course there are also the professional optimists who always knew that there would be a happy ending, if you just waited long enough.

I am closing this old year with joy and satisfaction, without fireworks and New Year’s Eve celebrations. Knowing that the corona 2020 is over is enough.  Enough closure and reason for a very quiet celebration. Let’s remember we are laying to rest 2020, a year that died of or with coronavirus, we don’t know exactly. That is a death that makes me want to celebrate.

Wishing you a good end of the year

Gertrud Müller

Abschluss

Das Leben erfordert immer wieder, dass wir etwas abschließen.  Die Lehrzeit wird mit einer Prüfung abgeschlossen, die Schwangerschaft endet mit der Geburt, Lebensphasen werden abgeschlossen und Haustüren, damit nichts gestohlen wird.

Heuer schließen wir ein Jahr ab, das viele am liebsten gar nicht erlebt hätten. Corona-Wellen spülten viel Unrat an die Ufer unserer Lebenswirklichkeiten: wissenschaftliche Lücken, fehlendes Know-how, nicht gelungene Entwicklung, längst überholt geglaubte Autorität und Anarchie und viele Missverständnisse, Abwertungen und Besserwissereien. Ein Lehrstück der Inkompetenz und des sich Durchlavierens.

Zumindest ist jetzt langsam Land in Sicht. Es gibt die einen, die glauben, die Impfung wirds richten, die anderen, die auf das Gewinnen juristischer Auseinandersetzungen hoffen, oder auf Neuwahlen und natürlich gibts auch diejenigen Berufsoptimisten, die schon immer wussten, dass es ein Happy End geben muss, wenn man nur lange genug durchhält und wartet.

Ich schließe dieses alte Jahr heuer mit Freude und Genugtuung ab, auch ohne Raketen, Feuerwerk und Silvesterfeier. Es reicht zu wissen, dass dieses Corona 2020 vorüber ist. Wenn das kein Abschluss ist und Grund zu einer sehr stillen Silvesterfeier! Denken wir daran, 2020 tragen wir zu Grabe: ein Jahr, das an oder mit Corona gestorben ist. So genau wissen wir das ja nicht. Das ist ein Tod, bei dem mir zum Feiern zumute ist.

Einen schönen Jahresabschluss

Gertrud Müller

Closure

Life requires closure over and over again. We end an apprenticeship with an exam, pregnancy ends with birth, we conclude phases of our lives and lock doors behind us so nothing gets stolen. This year we conclude a year that many of us would prefer not to have lived through. The waves of coronavirus swept much rubbish to the shores of our lives: scientific gaps, a lack of know-how, unsuccessful development, authority and anarchy which we had long believed to be extinct, indignity and condescension. A lesson in incompetence and muddling through. At least now, slowly, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Some believe the vaccination will sort it, others hope for legal fights to be won, or for elections and of course there are also the professional optimists who always knew that there would be a happy ending, if you just waited long enough.

I am closing this old year with joy and satisfaction, without fireworks and New Year’s Eve celebrations. Knowing that the corona 2020 is over is enough.  Enough closure and reason for a very quiet celebration. Let’s remember we are laying to rest 2020, a year that died of or with coronavirus, we don’t know exactly. That is a death that makes me want to celebrate.

Wishing you a good end of the year

Gertrud Müller

Christmas magic

Many people experience Christmas as very romantic. They are looking forward to the festivities, the good food, being with others. At the same time, Christmas also shows how different we are and how difficult it is to cosily be together.

What was different back then: We find a man and a woman and a child in a manger. That alone would be reason enough today to start me too debates and discussions about gender and educational principles. The man in the stable would have dreamt that he would need to stay with the woman even though the child was not his. The woman believes to be a virgin and giving birth to a child of God. What would today’s people say to those ideas. Then the poor shepherds go into the stable, they want to help. No firewall, no data protection, no report to the police for trespassing or social distancing measures. And the animals and people together in this stable, imagine the lack of hygiene, no public health department representatives pay a visit, no police, no disinfectants. And on top of that, the thee wise men pop in with presents. That would be roughly equivalent today to billionaires without passports crossing the border, entering refugee camps and visiting sceptical boat people to bring them presents. To make matters worse, one of them is black. All that without debates about racism and police surveillance.

Taking all of this into consideration, it is really a miracle that the star of Bethlehem wasn’t a drone, the shepherds weren’t terrorists, people survived without vaccinations and neither border controls, nor libel action or police operations were necessary to control the situation. Everything went peacefully and healthily despite all the different people, despite the different countries of origin, despite unrealistic ideas, despite poverty and wealth, without passports, military operations and hygiene regulations. And God seems to approve, at least that’s how the story goes, he sent his angels who were even allowed to sing to express their joy in the small stable. Maybe Christmas really is holy and romantic and we have good reason to still celebrate this extraordinarily peaceful story today.

I am wishing you a peaceful Christmas!

Gertrud Müller

 

Weihnachten

Viele Menschen empfinden Weihnachten als sehr romantisch. Sie freuen sich auf die Festtage, auf das gute Essen, das Zusammensein mit anderen. Und zugleich macht Weihnachten auch deutlich, wie verschieden wir sind und wie schwer wir uns manchmal tun, miteinander gemütlich beisammen zu sein.

Was war damals und wie würden die Menschen heute reagieren?

In der Krippe finden wir einen Mann, eine Frau und ein Kind. Der Mann In der Krippe hatte geträumt, er müsste bei der Frau bleiben, obwohl das Kind nicht von ihm wäre. Die Frau war noch Jungfrau und sollte ein Kind von Gott gebären.

Das wäre heute Grund genug um MeToo-Debatten und Genderdiskussionen anzufangen und über alle möglichen Erziehungsprinzipien zu diskutieren.

Es kommen arme Hirten in den Stall und wollen helfen.

Heute ein Grund der Empörung: Keine Firewall, kein Datenschutz, es wird keine Anzeige veranlasst wegen Hausfriedensbruchs oder Abstandsregeln.

Und dann sind da Menschen und Tiere in einem Stall.

Heute: Man stelle sich diese Hygienemängel vor, ohne dass jemand vom Gesundheitsamt vorbeikommt, keine Polizei und kein Desinfektionsmittel. Und zu allem Überfluss kommen dann noch die heiligen drei Könige mit Geschenken. Das wäre ungefähr so, als ob heute Milliardäre aus der ganzen Welt ohne Ausweispapiere über die Grenze kämen, in Flüchtlingscamps gingen und Bootsflüchtlinge besuchten, um ihnen Geschenke zu bringen. Zu allem Überfluss wäre noch ein Schwarzer dabei und alles ohne Rassismus-Debatten und Polizeikontrollen. Unvorstellbar!

Wenn man das alles bedenkt, dann ist es wirklich ein Wunder, dass der Stern von Bethlehem damals keine Drohne war, die Hirten keine Terroristen, die Leute ungeimpft überlebten und weder Grenzkontrollen, Beleidigungsklagen, noch Polizeieinsätze nötig waren, um die Situation zu kontrollieren. Alles verlief friedlich und gesund, trotz der verschiedenen Menschen, trotz unterschiedlicher Herkunftsländer, trotz unrealistischen Vorstellungen, trotz Armut und Reichtum, alles ohne Ausweispapiere, Militäreinsatz und Hygieneverordnung. Und scheinbar hat das Gott sogar gefallen, so wird es zumindest überliefert, er hat seine Engel gesandt, die vor Freude sogar in dem kleinen Stall singen durften. Vielleicht ist Weihnachten wirklich heilig und romantisch und wir feiern ganz zurecht heute noch diese außergewöhnlich friedliche Weihnachtsgeschichte.

In diesem Sinne, ein friedliches Weihnachtsfest!

Gertrud Müller

 

Christmas magic

Many people experience Christmas as very romantic. They are looking forward to the festivities, the good food, being with others. At the same time, Christmas also shows how different we are and how difficult it is to cosily be together.

What was different back then: We find a man and a woman and a child in a manger. That alone would be reason enough today to start me too debates and discussions about gender and educational principles. The man in the stable would have dreamt that he would need to stay with the woman even though the child was not his. The woman believes to be a virgin and giving birth to a child of God. What would today’s people say to those ideas. Then the poor shepherds go into the stable, they want to help. No firewall, no data protection, no report to the police for trespassing or social distancing measures. And the animals and people together in this stable, imagine the lack of hygiene, no public health department representatives pay a visit, no police, no disinfectants. And on top of that, the thee wise men pop in with presents. That would be roughly equivalent today to  billionaires without passports crossing the border, entering refugee camps and visiting sceptical boat people to bring them presents. To make matters worse, one of them is black. All that without debates about racism and police surveillance.

Taking all of this into consideration, it is really a miracle that the star of Bethlehem wasn’t a drone, the shepherds weren’t terrorists, people survived without vaccinations and neither border controls, nor libel action or police operations were necessary to control the situation. Everything went peacefully and healthily despite all the different people, despite the different countries of origin, despite unrealistic ideas, despite poverty and wealth, without passports, military operations and hygiene regulations. And God seems to approve, at least that’s how the story goes, he sent his angels who were even allowed to sing to express their joy in the small stable. Maybe Christmas really is holy and romantic and we have good reason to still celebrate this extraordinarily peaceful story today.

I am wishing you a peaceful Christmas!

Gertrud Müller

Giving peace

We can not only give gifts for Christmas, we can also give peace. We can treat others, can be kind, can pay a compliment. Others are happy when we smile, when we help them, when we do something for them, when we share, be it objects, books, films, recipes. We can lend things, we can share things – although it doesn’t have to be the toothbrush. We can help others, cook for someone, shop for the neighbours, give someone a call, especially when we know that he or she is lonely. We can help animals or do something positive for the environment.

When we begin to help others and to do good, we can quickly feel that it isn’t easy and even helping needs to be learned. There are many opportunities for giving peace, it also feels good to think of others lovingly, to forgive, to try to listen to the other point of view. If money is in short supply, time can be given. And if we want to start a chain reaction of the good, as Paul Watzlawick called it, we can make it a habit to give peace once every day, and maybe next week we can already give peace twice and over time, it will become normal to think and act peacefully.

As a result, we will see that others also give peace and the more we cultivate kindness, the more peace will grow in this world.

Of course, there are also physical gifts that are suitable for giving peace. The books I have written are suitable gifts of peace. I am including links below. We also have few CDs with peaceful songs left, you can sing along to them even on your own. The CDs are available to order from me. All proceeds from the peace CDs, as well as 1 Euro from each of my books, go to our charity Frieden macht Schule e.V. We also welcome donations for peace. The account number is as follows:

DE14 7015 0000 1001083276

Personally, I want to give more peace by recording YouTube videos. The first video is already available on my channel. On this channel, anyone interested can find information on practical psychological knowledge and my experience, for example how to support your health, build respectful relationships, and feel good despite many a frustration. I am also happy to support others in our network with growing peace and building respectful relationships.

I am wishing us all a lovely advent and the hope and confidence that we will be able to live together even better in future.

Gertrud Müller

Links:

Machtspiele waren gestern        https://shop.kastner.de/buecher/wissenschaft-forschung/3865/machtspiele-waren-gestern

Verletzte und Befreite Gefühle  https://shop.kastner.de/buecher/medizin-gesundheit/3856/vorteilspack-verletzte-gefuehle-befreite-gefuehle?number=KA753

Was ist S(s)chuld?                       https://www.lit-verlag.de/publikationen/paedagogik/68202/was-ist-s-s-chuld

Nicki und der Leuchtturm.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Ein Friedensmärchen                 https://www.literareon.de/catalog/book/41762

CDs bitte per email anfordern info@tools4life.eu

Channel für You Tube  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeAHOXqp2is

Hier noch ein Photo, das man sich gar nicht mehr vorstellen kann

Once it was… Christkindlmarket

Frieden schenken 

Wir können zu Weihnachten nicht nur Geschenke, sondern auch Frieden schenken.

Wir können anderen Menschen eine Freude machen,  indem wir etwas Nettes sagen oder ein Kompliment machen. Sie anlächeln, Ihnen helfen, etwas mit ihnen teilen: Gegenstände, Bücher, Filme, Kochrezepte. Wir können für jemanden kochen, etwas einkaufen, jemanden anrufen – vor allem dann, wenn wir wissen, dass sie oder er an Einsamkeit leidet. Wir können Tieren helfen und etwas Gutes für die Umwelt  tun. Es gibt viele Möglichkeiten, Freude und Frieden zu schenken und es tut gut, liebevoll an andere zu denken, ihnen zu verzeihen, oder ihren Standpunkt anzuhören und vielleicht sogar zu verstehen. Wenn wir beginnen, anderen zu helfen und Gutes tun, spüren wir schnell: es ist gar nicht so einfach – auch helfen will gelernt sein. Wer wenig Geld hat, kann Zeit schenken. Und wenn wir eine Kettenreaktion des Guten auslösen wollen (wie Paul Watzlawick es bezeichnete), dann können wir uns angewöhnen, jeden Tag einmal Frieden zu schenken. Und vielleicht versuchen wir in der nächsten Woche zweimal Frieden zu schenken. Und mit der Zeit wird es ganz normal, friedlich zu denken und friedlich zu handeln. In der Folge werden wir sehen, dass auch andere Frieden schenken und je mehr ehrliche Freundlichkeit wir kultivieren, desto mehr Frieden wird sich auf der Welt ausbreiten.

Es gibt natürlich auch Geschenke, mit denen wir Frieden schenken können. Meine Bücher (links siehe unten) eignen sich als Friedensgeschenke, und es gibt noch einige CDs mit Friedensliedern, die man nicht nur gut hören, sondern auch singen kann (auch alleine). Der Erlös der Friedens-CDs kommt unserem Verein “Frieden macht Schule e.V.” zu Gute, sowie jeweils 1 € von jedem meiner Bücher. Wir freuen uns natürlich auch über Spenden für den Frieden (IBAN:        DE14 7015 0000 1001083276).

Ich verschenke jetzt Frieden mit YouTube Videos. Das erste davon können Sie heute bereits sehen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeAHOXqp2is

Mit diesem Angebot können sich Interessierte kostenlos über praktisches psychologisches Wissen und meine Erfahrung informieren: z.B. wie man seine Gesundheit unterstützen kann, wertschätzendes Miteinander aufbaut oder sich immer wieder, trotz mancher Frustration, gut fühlen kann. Und ich unterstütze gern auch andere in unserem Netzwerk beim Aufbau von friedlichem und wertschätzendem Miteinander.

In diesem Sinne wünsche ich uns allen eine schöne friedliche Adventszeit und die Hoffnung und Zuversicht, in Zukunft noch besser miteinander zu leben.

Gertrud Müller

(Englische Version folgt in Kürze)

Links für Bücher

Machtspiele waren gestern        https://shop.kastner.de/buecher/wissenschaft-forschung/3865/machtspiele-waren-gestern

Verletzte und Befreite Gefühle  https://shop.kastner.de/buecher/medizin-gesundheit/3856/vorteilspack-verletzte-gefuehle-befreite-gefuehle?number=KA753

Was ist S(s)chuld?                       https://www.lit-verlag.de/publikationen/paedagogik/68202/was-ist-s-s-chuld

Nicki und der Leuchtturm.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Ein Friedensmärchen                 https://www.literareon.de/catalog/book/41762

CDs bitte per email anfordern info@tools4life.eu

Channel für You Tube  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeAHOXqp2is

Hier noch ein Photo, das man sich gar nicht mehr vorstellen kann

Es war einmal… Christkindlmarkt

Giving peace

We can not only give gifts for Christmas, we can also give peace. We can treat others, can be kind, can pay a compliment. Others are happy when we smile, when we help them, when we do something for them, when we share, be it objects, books, films, recipes. We can lend things, we can share things – although it doesn’t have to be the toothbrush. We can help others, cook for someone, shop for the neighbours, give someone a call, especially when we know that he or she is lonely. We can help animals or do something positive for the environment.

When we begin to help others and to do good, we can quickly feel that it isn’t easy and even helping needs to be learned. There are many opportunities for giving peace, it also feels good to think of others lovingly, to forgive, to try to listen to the other point of view. If money is in short supply, time can be given. And if we want to start a chain reaction of the good, as Paul Watzlawick called it, we can make it a habit to give peace once every day, and maybe next week we can already give peace twice and over time, it will become normal to think and act peacefully.

As a result, we will see that others also give peace and the more we cultivate kindness, the more peace will grow in this world.

Of course, there are also physical gifts that are suitable for giving peace. The books I have written are suitable gifts of peace. I am including links below. We also have few CDs with peaceful songs left, you can sing along to them even on your own. The CDs are available to order from me. All proceeds from the peace CDs, as well as 1 Euro from each of my books, go to our charity Frieden macht Schule e.V. We also welcome donations for peace. The account number is as follows:

DE14 7015 0000 1001083276

Personally, I want to give more peace by recording YouTube videos. The first video is already available on my channel. On this channel, anyone interested can find information on practical psychological knowledge and my experience, for example how to support your health, build respectful relationships, and feel good despite many a frustration. I am also happy to support others in our network with growing peace and building respectful relationships.

I am wishing us all a lovely advent and the hope and confidence that we will be able to live together even better in future.

Gertrud Müller

Links:

Machtspiele waren gestern        https://shop.kastner.de/buecher/wissenschaft-forschung/3865/machtspiele-waren-gestern

Verletzte und Befreite Gefühle  https://shop.kastner.de/buecher/medizin-gesundheit/3856/vorteilspack-verletzte-gefuehle-befreite-gefuehle?number=KA753

Was ist S(s)chuld?                       https://www.lit-verlag.de/publikationen/paedagogik/68202/was-ist-s-s-chuld

Nicki und der Leuchtturm.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Ein Friedensmärchen                 https://www.literareon.de/catalog/book/41762

CDs bitte per email anfordern info@tools4life.eu

Channel für You Tube  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeAHOXqp2is

Hier noch ein Photo, das man sich gar nicht mehr vorstellen kann

Once it was… Christkindlmarket

 

When childhood becomes a problem

When adults encounter problems in life, most people deny that it has anything to do with childhood.  During childhood, the most important programs of perception, relationships, emotions and actions are learnt, which are then replayed automatically during adulthood.

If one child grows up in a society with right-hand traffic and another in a society with left-hand traffic, they each cannot use the other’s programs in the their respective countries without putting themselves and others at risk. Stress programmes, ideas about the workings of relationships, conflict resolution or the meaning of life work in similar ways.

In free societies, we have to understand, negotiate and agree upon each other’s programmes during daily life. Where this works, we can life together well. Where it doesn’t, illness, violence, accidents, arguments and strokes of fate take hold.

For thousands of years, dictatorships and religions have formed the idea to standardise learning of childhood programmes in order to enable control of these differences and the complex management of life during adulthood.

It is assumed that a standardised human makes coexistence easier. In a power- hungry world, it is almost unthinkable that each individual citizen takes responsibility for their actions and their programmes. However, there are many reasons for taking responsibility individually.  In spite of the best diagnostics, a doctor cannot feel how ill a person feels. A politician cannot sense the unhappy and depressed reaction of people to their measures. A chef cannot taste if their guest enjoys a meal, an employer cannot decide when employees are out of their depth and a lover can only somewhat feel whether their desire is shared by their partner.

We will always need to communicate our perceptions if we really want to understand each other. We will never feel the same as everyone else, even though this would make life easier for our politicians, religious leaders, employers, military, police and lovers. Would it not make more sense to finally accept that we are different beings with different programmes? This way, we could respect our own programmes as well as those of our fellow human beings. And we could re-learn our programmes when they no longer fit our life. Wouldn’t it make more sense to finally get to know our learnt programmes and to swap notes? Is it not much more interesting to understand each other’s programmes instead of making us all the same?

I am wishing us all a lot of fun with exploring, testing and changing those programmes saved on our brains’ hard drives.

Gertrud Müller

Wenn die Kindheit zum Problem wird

Wenn Erwachsene Probleme in ihrem Leben haben, meinen die meisten Menschen, dass das nichts mit der Kindheit zu tun hat. Aber gerade in der Kindheit werden die wichtigsten Wahrnehmungs-, Beziehungs-, Gefühls-, und Handlungsprogramme erlernt, die im Erwachsenenalter automatisiert abgespult werden. Wächst ein Kind in einer Gesellschaft mit Rechtsverkehr auf und das andere mit Linksverkehr kann es das alte Programm in dem jeweils anderen Land kaum benützen, ohne sich selbst und andere zu gefährden.

Ganz ähnlich ist das mit Stressprogrammen, mit Vorstellungen, wie Beziehung gelebt werden sollen, wie Konflikte gelöst werden oder was wir unter den Sinn des Lebens verstehen. In freiheitlichen Gesellschaften müssen wir im alltäglichen Handeln diese unterschiedlichen Programme wechselseitig verstehen, aufeinander abstimmen und verhandeln; gelingt das, dann können wir gut zusammenleben, gelingt das nicht, entstehen Krankheit, Gewalt, Unfälle, Streit, Schicksalsschläge. Diktaturen und Religionen kommen seit tausenden von Jahren auf die Idee, das Lernen der kindlichen Programme zu vereinheitlichen um diese Unterschiede und die komplexe Lebensbewältigung im Erwachsenenalter leichter zu steuern.

Der genormte Mensch, so ist die Annahme, erleichtert die Formen des Zusammenlebens. Dass der einzelne Bürger dabei selbst Verantwortung für sein Handeln und seine Programme übernimmt, erscheint in einer machtorientierten Welt kaum denkbar. Einiges spricht dennoch für die persönliche Verantwortung. Der Arzt kann trotz bester Diagnostik nicht fühlen, wann und wie krank sich ein Mensch fühlt. Der Politiker kann nicht spüren, wie elend und depressiv die Menschen auf Maßnahmen reagieren, der Koch kann nicht schmecken ob seinem Gast das Essen mundet, der Arbeitgeber kann nicht entscheiden wann ein Mitarbeiter überfordert ist und der Liebhaber kann nur bedingt spüren, ob seine Lust auch vom geliebten Menschen geteilt wird. Wir werden immer über unsere Empfindungen kommunizieren müssen, wenn wir uns wirklich verstehen wollen. Wir werden uns niemals gleich und wie die anderen fühlen, auch wenn das für Politiker, Religionsführer, Arbeitgeber, Militärs, Polizei und Liebhaber sehr praktisch wäre.

Wäre es nicht sinnvoller, wir würden endlich akzeptieren, dass wir unterschiedliche Wesen sind und verschiedene Programme erlernen? Wir können sowohl unsere eigenen Programme als auch die unserer Mitmenschen achten. Und wir können unsere Programme wieder umlernen, wenn sie nicht mehr zum Leben passen. Wäre es nicht sinnvoll, wir würden unsere erlernten Programme kennenlernen und uns darüber austauschen? Ist es nicht viel interessanter, unsere wechselseitigen Programme zu verstehen, statt alle Menschen gleich zu schalten?

Ich wünsche uns allen viel Spaß beim Entdecken, Ausprobieren und Verändern der Programme, die in unseren Gehirnen gespeichert sind.

Gertrud Müller

P.S, den Blog gibt es ab jetzt immer auch in English, zu finden unter der deutschen Version, in der Kategorie International und auf der facebook https://www.facebook.com/Beuni_verse-105620394716006

 

When childhood becomes a problem

When adults encounter problems in life, most people deny that it has anything to do with childhood.  During childhood, the most important programs of perception, relationships, emotions and actions are learnt, which are then replayed automatically during adulthood.

If one child grows up in a society with right-hand traffic and another in a society with left-hand traffic, they each cannot use the other’s programs in the their respective countries without putting themselves and others at risk. Stress programmes, ideas about the workings of relationships, conflict resolution or the meaning of life work in similar ways.

In free societies, we have to understand, negotiate and agree upon each other’s programmes during daily life. Where this works, we can life together well. Where it doesn’t, illness, violence, accidents, arguments and strokes of fate take hold.

For thousands of years, dictatorships and religions have formed the idea to standardise learning of childhood programmes in order to enable control of these differences and the complex management of life during adulthood.

It is assumed that a standardised human makes coexistence easier. In a power- hungry world, it is almost unthinkable that each individual citizen takes responsibility for their actions and their programmes. However, there are many reasons for taking responsibility individually.  In spite of the best diagnostics, a doctor cannot feel how ill a person feels. A politician cannot sense the unhappy and depressed reaction of people to their measures. A chef cannot taste if their guest enjoys a meal, an employer cannot decide when employees are out of their depth and a lover can only somewhat feel whether their desire is shared by their partner.

We will always need to communicate our perceptions if we really want to understand each other. We will never feel the same as everyone else, even though this would make life easier for our politicians, religious leaders, employers, military, police and lovers. Would it not make more sense to finally accept that we are different beings with different programmes? This way, we could respect our own programmes as well as those of our fellow human beings. And we could re-learn our programmes when they no longer fit our life. Wouldn’t it make more sense to finally get to know our learnt programmes and to swap notes? Is it not much more interesting to understand each other’s programmes instead of making us all the same?

I am wishing us all a lot of fun with exploring, testing and changing those programmes saved on our brains’ hard drives.

Gertrud Müller

Mainstream – international

Mainstream

Many people believe that if they run in the same direction as everyone else, they are running in the right direction. They vote for the political party considered most successful, they idolise celebrities that everyone idolises, they tell the same stories most people are telling, they go on holiday when everyone goes on holiday, they believe news and stories everyone believes, they let themselves be educated in the same way as everyone else.

I already questioned at a young age whether it was right just to follow, to believe all the stories being told.  I have been living mainly counter-cyclically since I learned about the Milgram experiment, began to understand the machinations of war, and started to see through the manipulative methods employed by the media, in politics and economics. Everything most people are doing on a regular basis is most likely manipulated. We cannot seriously establish who is being manipulated by whom and why amongst the flood of information.

When I observe nature, I see that no animal permanently remains in groups. The group intelligence of animals has natural, not manipulated causes. Birds form flocks to overcome great distances, fish hunt together, packs try to protect themselves.

Crowds of people are not natural groups, but form connections so as to not feel alone. They are groups steered by those in position of power, by interests or money or traditions. Power does not necessarily have to be bad. There were good kings in medieval times who served their people.  However, we humans should, at all cost, avoid rulers who are exploiting others like parasites and suffer from addiction to power and money. Seeing through motives is often not easy.

I have got in the habit of not following the masses and living more counter-cyclically. I go where others aren’t going, I shop at times when others aren’t shopping, I exercise despite my age, I am not following every trend. I am doing what feels good to me and others. I feel good this way and I am healthy. I notice what makes me feel good and what doesn’t, I don’t need others to tell me. I am able to obtain information for myself and don’t need to follow preconceived ideas. With this lifestyle, I can join groups for a period of time, but I can also leave those groups again. If it feels right and it makes sense, I join communities and society, if not, I remain on my own. This way I am able to live naturally, cooperatively and freely.

I am wishing us all a good week and the right balance of community and aloneness.

Gertrud Müller