Wednesday, April 18, 2007

The Good News

It seems the world is going to hell. That's why I was so pleased to get my monthly horoscope from Rob Brezsny with this excerpt from his book (BTW, if you're offering me a shady money-making opportunity this month, I'm on to you):
* The world has become dramatically more peaceful since 1992. The
number of wars, coup d'etats, and acts of genocide has declined by 40
percent. Weapons sales between countries have dropped 33 percent
during the same time, and the number of refugees has diminished by 45
percent.

* The cause of these shocking developments, according to the Human
Security Report, which did the study, is the unprecedented upsurge of
international activism, spearheaded by the United Nations.

* The violent crime rate has decreased 50 percent since 1993. Crime is
now at its lowest level since it was first officially tracked.

* The average human life expectancy is 30 years more than it was a
century ago, and is still climbing. Many scientists believe there is no
absolute limit to the human life span.

* Levels of literacy and education and political freedom and wealth are
steadily growing all over the world.

* Death rates from cancer are declining.

* Child abduction by strangers has dropped precipitously.

* In 60 years, there hasn't been a lower birth rate among teenage girls
than there is now.

* The world's largest freshwater system, the Great Lakes, is dramatically
purifying itself of the pollutants that human beings dumped into it.

* If forced to decide between having a bigger penis and living in a world
where there was no war, 90 percent of all men would pick universal
peace.

* The number of America's black elected officials has sextupled since
1970.

* Rising rates of intermarriage are helping to dissipate ethnic and religious
strife worldwide.

* The rivers and bays of New York City are reborn, having been cleansed
of raw sewage and industrial pollution in recent years.

* You have at least a million relatives as close as tenth cousin, and no one
on Earth is any farther removed than your 50th cousin.

* The world's largest private bank, Citigroup, has agreed to stop financing
projects that damage sensitive ecosystems.

* The giant timber company, Congolaise Industrielle des Bois, voluntarily
agreed to stop cutting down trees in a virgin rain forest in the Congo.

* The miracle of your breathing transpires about 10 million times a year,
even though you never have to think about it.

* Every second the sun generously transforms four million tons of itself
into energy and bestows it on us free of charge.

* Diamonds rain from the sky on Uranus and Neptune.

* With every dawn, when first light penetrates the sea, many seahorse
colonies perform a dance to the sun.

* The World Health Organization reports that over 100 million acts of
sexual intercourse, involving more than 200 million partners, take place
on the earth every 24 hours.

* Most HMO executives now believe prayer and meditation can expedite
the healing process.

* Vast supplies of frozen natural gas lie beneath the oceans, harboring
more potential energy than all the world's oil reserves, and could be
mined with the right technology.

* Each of the 50 trillion cells in your body can be considered a sentient
being in its own right, and they all act together as a community,
performing an ongoing act of prodigious collaboration.
Source:
"PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings"
Available at http://tinyurl.com/qaj62

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2 comments:

Blogger Family Compass ~ 8:58 AM

I wish I still had the link, but there is actually a study that shows prayer to have no effect on those who do not know they are being prayed for and a detrimental effect on those who do (slower recover times after surgery). The hypothesis on that is that those who know they are being prayed for don't think they have to fight so hard to live or to recuperate because the Lord is on their side.

Not that I meant to spoil your mood... it's just one on a list of many, right?  


Blogger Amalia ~ 10:26 AM

Yes, I read that report. I have my own thoughts about the results, namely that "praying" involves as many different techniques as meditation, which has been proven to affect (effect? I always get them mixed up) recovery rates. It didn't seem to me that they'd taken that into account.

My feeling is that on days like today, listening to the news is more like falling down a deep, dark well. Sometimes I have to reach for the sun and grab a breath of fresh air, and maybe some perspective.  


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