Behavioural Science Network

In response to the recent terrorist attacks The Behavioural Science Network is starting a discussion group for people interested in doing something positive. Tentatively we are calling this Micro Activism Anonymous (MAA). The idea behind this is that small groups of people can get together and do something constructive in a humanistic way that enables each one to make a positive contribution.

The Behavioural Science Network will provide group coordinators training in a variety of Conceptual, Behavioural, Motivational and Leadership techniques and tools that activist groups have used successfully to bring about positive social change.

We believe that no single approach has the key to the truth and any small initiative has the potential to spread rapidly and mimetically, doing its bit to create a better world.
Enraged by the recent terrorist attacks there are many people wanting to reform politicians, the bureaucracy, police and even the media. A few are even advocating war. Hopefully something positive will emerge from this.

In the book "The Battle for God" Karen Armstrong, an ex-nun, tells of how a massacre by crusaders centuries ago has continued into an ongoing and unending battle. One must choose one's battles carefully. In the long run we must give creating peace a priority.

To do something more enduring we really need people willing and able to step back and look at any peaceful non-fundamentalist initiative that could be transformative. Anger when aroused needs a target and a response. We must try and channel it into positive directions.

France and Germany fought two world wars where millions were killed or maimed. With peace they have now merged into the European Economic Community. Demonstrating the possibility of bring about peace even if it is only economics interests that help bring about peace and cooperation between ex-enemies.

We must remember that terrorism from neighbouring countries is only one danger that may pall in comparison to others that we can expect in the near future. One danger especially to the wealthy among us is the grave danger from groups like the Naxalites or others trying to divide people on the basis of caste, creed and linguistic or regional differences. Increasing violent crime, extortion and robberies are others. Then there are global issues: Global Warming, for instance - What will we do if Bangladesh gets submerged due to rising sea levels and refugees start pouring into India.

We must pay much more attention to the causes behind terrorism and violence such as poverty, alienation, oppression, child rearing practices, propaganda, and focus on correcting them. Helping build a civic society where the basics like food, shelter and quality health care are basic rights to stop people feeling disadvantaged and exploited.

We would aim at forming small units, each functioning independently and networking loosely with the other. We would eschew leaders or hierarchy. Each cell generating small amounts needed to function from within. Some meetings will happen online other at ground level to prevent it from becoming elitist. Groups would provide feedback to each this we hope will prevent forceful people pushing any harmful agendas and the anonymity and small size keep away publicity or power hungry individuals.

If you are interested please email us at behavnet@fastermail.com with Micro Activism in the subject line.

Warm regards to all

Dr Dayal Mirchandani, M.D. D.P.M.

friends

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Friendship....whatever i say is less....cannot be totally expressed in words....can be felt more.....can I ever define it? guess not......the Amsterdam and Uk trip has been so overwhelming.....meeting old friends...making new ones....and then the connection between old and new ones.....amazing!
dinner at renaissance with pradnya, bhupinder and devendra was a warm and happy experience....relaxed, fun, homely and most of all the oneness......a home away from home.....

Snow walkers.......

SUN STORM IN MUMBAI

Deep thinking......so many thoughts....i watch my emotions rise since i heard of mumbai......facebook, news channels, phone calls,,,,,,so many mediums of communication.....technology at its peak....yet so much helplessness in the face of terror.....a black hole gaping at all of us..........
First thought...is everybody i know safe?
second thought.......what is being done...is it enough?
third thought.....what if the whole of India walked out on the street.....would it help to have a movement to stop terrorism....a common man movement......
fourth thought .........waht if ex military men got together and formed anti terror initiatives.......training people to be strong mentally, physically, emotionally....
and THEN A TORRENT OF OVERLAPPING THOUGHTS....
FEAR BREEDS FEAR.....who will bell the cat? who will take the lead? is that what is responsible for just a small group of well armed people and intelligently trained people to destroy more than ten times their number.....
Is this not a pity? Might is right? IS it really? then why are billions across the world watching helplessly as dreams burn, cities burn, generations burn.....


Are we becoming a generation of souls used to watching such events as we watch soap operas......?

FEELINGS .......sadness, anger, fear, fatalistic, all a mixed bag of emotions.....
Ok the city survives and moves on .....till when? till the next attack? and the next and the next?
there is no running away.......from the TRUTH.......
Each one has a part to play .......let's play it.
What can a civilian do to combat terrorism in his/her own way?

Please share suggestions/ideas/feelings.....let it come from your heart......
and yes there is strength and power in all of us ....
Can we wake up and realise that potential in each one of us to make a difference....

WITH GREAT RESPECT AND LOVE.
I invite you all to have your say through Nisbat.....

I a Mumbaikar watching my city for the umpteenth time....am seething with anger at what is happening.....am feeling sad for what is happening......am exploring ways I can discover my own strength to fight this energy.......

Please pray for the people who are suffering since yesterday,
Please feel some part of what they must be going through,
Please send thoughts of love and peace to places of unrest wherever they are on the globe.....

nisbat of light

Johnny Melville is a star seed beamed in from a constellation somewhere in Pleiades. There are many of such beings mixing with the human colony here: lightworkers, star-seeds, walk-ins and aliens......a lot of us are performing or visual artists, writers, etc ....... Aquarius with rising scorpio./Chinese zodiac is the FIRE PIG : (Active, outgoing and extroverted, Fire Pigs breathe new life into everything they do) In Mayan astrology Blue Planetary Storm - Yellow Southern Castle of Giving - Earth family - Gateway Clan- Sky : My name here on Gaia's internet portal is the ENERGY SCULPTOR and the LIGHTWARRIOR2012. I was integrated here with Scottish and English genetics under the name JOHN ( friend of God) ARTHUR and SWAN which all precede the name MELVILLE.......


Director and teacher, healer and a comedian, clown-performer and actor, mimic and mime, writer and lover: professional entertainer for the last 35 years with a share of fame and managed to survive it (http://johnnymelville.com) Buddhism and a serious accident in 1993 have kept his feet on the ground. Now making films both as actor and director/writer and as a healer treat energy fields in one-on-one sessions (http://energy-sculptor.com)


His sites are:
http://johnnymelville.com/videoclips.html
http://myspace.com/energysculptor
http://energy-sculptor.com
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0578485/
http://www.spotlight.com/interactive/cv/1/M120501.html
http://uk.youtube.com/lightwarrior2012
http://sgibuddhism.org/profile/johnnymelville
http://join.zenzuu.com/energysculptor

Rebirthing

Shanti Devi is a multiversal international breathing – guide and performer, having a practice in Amsterdam and India.She is specialized in group-intensives, also gives retreats in Greece, Tanzania and India and coaches young creative desicion-makers at the Fashion Institute Amsterdam and gives seminars with ArtinRhythm based in the Hague for KLM,Mercedes Benz, etc. She is known for her no-nonsense style and working with heart and thinks change can be delightful & easy too.
Rebirthing is a deep transformatory breathing process that frees limiting thoughts and releases restrictive blockages in the body and cellular memory, to increase your vitality and life-urge. Studies have shown we use only 20 /30 % of our breathing capacity. Imagine giving yourself much more , how energized you will feel. Rebirthing is a discovery-journey into your core
It can be seen as a preventive measure for stress –related problems or as a deeper desire to connect with yourself, grow, learn and maintain your natural sense of well-being. This breathwork is about self-empowerment in an experiential way . Learning to give and receive is also part of the work.
Group-rebirthings often lead to an unusual bonding between participants as it is quite a spectacular experience to share.
Body-intelligence games , mexican martial arts , wishwork and other suprises can be included to disrupt the automatic behaviour and work on teambuilding, goalsetting and being yourself which is: infinite potential. During these uncertain times especially,... we need to breathe ! It is safe to breathe for everyone , even asthmatics and hyperventilation patients , it will help them clear it.
Groups of 10-15 people can be accomodated over two day workshops.
Please mail to puneeta.birring@yahoo.com if inclined to arrange rebirthing sessions.

medieval connect

Abbotts Ann is one of the very few parishes in which the medieval custom of awarding Virgins' Crowns has survived. In the early days of Christianity, funeral garlands were emblems of Virgin Martyrs and the practice of making maidens' garlands presumably derives from that. Shakespeare, in referring to the burial of Ophelia, says "she is allowed her virgin crants (crown)". A crown may he requested by the relatives of the deceased person, who must have been born, baptised, confirmed and have died, unmar-ried, in the parish, and must have been of unblemished reputation. The crown must be made of freshly cut hazelwood (virgin wood), and is decorated with black and white paper rosettes. Five parchment gauntlets hang from the frame. On one of these are written the name, age and year of death of the deceased, and on each of the other four a verse of a hymn is inscribed. At the funeral service the crown is suspended from a white rod and carried in procession by two young girls dressed in white. After the funeral the crown is hung from the front of the gallery for three weeks, and if it is not challenged it is then hung from a bracket near the ceiling of the church, with a scutcheon bearing the name and date.

connection with the mother

This picture is at a chapel in Little Ann: Hampshire -UK.
The colours, the posture, the illustration captured my eye as I was leaving the church..The Mother and child is a timeless picture......many variations and forms....this particular one is stark simple and hence striking......

connection with general Sandhu

Surat Sandhu ex Army General met up in Hounslow West London. He is now an independent Fund Raising Consultant. Carrying years of experience in the defence forces, coupled with working at HelpAge India and then OXFAM, he is now planning to bring fund raising as a profession to India. The first course of this kind will strat early 2009 in Delhi. Anyone interested please mail me.....

nisbat-guru nanak jayanti

In South hall UK I felt I am back in India....Guru Nanak Jayanti.....pradnya and myself went for langar.....food cooked in divine atmosphere....just like the food of Gods! yummy.....The kirtan wafting through the rainy day uplifted my mood in gloomy UK. Bowing in front of Guru Granth Sahib, I so much missed the Golden Temple in Amritsar......Nisbat with my Guru again:)

connect with dance

I danced after three months...wow....can you imagine i left India 3rd September....traversed Amsterdam THE party place without dancing....finally two days ago I managed to put on my dancing shoes again....this is at Guana bar....Amit and Dev and moi learning the samba....Brazilian and Spanish music was great.....group dancing is like therapy....am I glad i re-connected to dance.....recent studies show medically dancing is very good for ones well being.....nisbat of dance.

connection with innocence

Meeting Archana in UK was cool...what was cooler was meeting up with her little moppet Sthaviya.....just look at this pic...spontaneous......innocent...she looks at me ........as we both were in a yogic pose.....full of curiosity......9 and half months of purity.......

diwali in london

Celebrating Diwali in London was an experience....with old friends and new....Amit my friend from India is a student here..Joost from Amsterdam is into tai chi....Pradnya, her husband Bhupi , brother in law Dev.....and moi....in the group picture...a home away from home.....nisbat on 28th October at Hounslow west...

Men In Black

Rixon and his colleagues at DAMAS Knightsbridge , London.
Awesome trio. i loved the way they have posed for this photo.....Very friendly professional and efficient, it was a delight interacting with them.

Awaken the power within

This old adage is displayed in the Natural History Museum London.
It seems that only the power within our souls can prepare us for the evolutionary changes happening on our planet now. DEJA VU! the same phrase inscribed on a card in GANESHPURI book shop of Siddha Yoga.....it was the new year message given in 2006 by Gurumayi. We all are so connected ...in thoughts .....in words ........

Meeting with Rixon

It was fantastic meeting up with Rixon.....Memories of Prudential work days came back....we spent time catching up with the years in between....time flies and life brings new experiences.....Rixon is now manager at DAMAS opposite Harrods Knightsbridge.......I am very happy to see him in this role, it suits him perfectly....he has so much knowledge of jewellery design business......and can even train people on the same!!! I still remember him as one of the most helpful people I have ever worked with....nothing has changed....he is still the same ......peoples person....warm and straight from the heart types. May his tribe increase

Mosaic

The picture speaks for itself

Memories of meeting Marcia and Noam in September sunshine

I

was very happy to meet Noam -a charming singer from Israel and Marcia -a gregarious photo journalist from Italy....Who else but versatile Danielle could connect me to them.......We were enjoying a cup of coffee at Kingfisher that evening.....Noam got in mood for photography and so we smiled......also a guy wearing diapers! on a cycle passed by.....must be a dare...:) Noam could not resist taking a pic......

An all girl gang, we called ourselves the Aliens, the desirable ones of course!

Mixed blessings in Hampshire

Today I have spent an idyllic day in Hampshire. My friends Paul and Chris have created a wonderful space ....their garden has an endearing Buddha statue , two make believe dogs Celery and Lettuce[who by the way look alike but in shadow light one is placid and the other is aggressive....illusions of maya!]
The news of the recession in UK seemed to be a reflection of the variable weather i saw in the sky.....rains in morning sun in noon and now it is a lovely golden glow......