So, the US presidential elections are a hot topic, no doubt.. It seems I couldn’t avoid them, thanks to my colleage at work, who streamed the debates, and news from the US elections, into the office, each and every day!! Thanks Greg :)  As much as I wanted nothing better than to ignore it, like anything, over time, it got the better of me, and I started to get interested..

Well, there’s not long to go, and as the debates and campaigns are coming to a close, with people already pre-voting in parts of the US, and voting queues taking hours at a time, you can tell that this clearly is an election like no other.. With the webosphere, blogosphere, and twittersphere alive with people actively watching and reporting on this election, the chances of there being a “fix” like there was in Bush vs. Clinton, is getting slimmer and slimmer.. let’s hope these elections represent people’s voting properly, and accurately.  Not that I believe in the democratic process leading to much, but heck, it’s got my interest, and so I’m going to blog about it, and share some of the “emergent” results, I’ve seen from the web 2.0 world of the internet so far.. It’ll be interesting to see how these metrics weigh up once the actual results come out.

Most of the inspiration to uncover these stats below came from reading The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki, a book that talks about how diverse groups, which represent some key criterion, of individual self interest and diversity, amongst other things, are capable of accurately predicting outcomes.

So with that in mind, lets see what the Web and the Internet have to say about the current US elections, and let’s see after the elections how the figures and ratios match up..

This all started when for some strange reason, I googled Obama, noticed the total number of entries listed, and thought, I wonder how many pages on the internet exist for McCain?

Well the results were interesting to say the least [just to contextualise, these facts were collected on the 1st of November, 2008, from 16:40 GMT]

Entries on Google.com (I initially used Google.co.uk, but found the US numbers to be a little higher, so possibly more accurate?):

Obama = about 202,000,000 results
McCain = about 144,000,000 results

From Google News:

Obama = 472,359 results
McCain = 425,271 results

From Google Blogs:

Obama = 13,610,226 results
McCain = 7,984,667 results

From Yahoo.com:

Obama = about 1,430,000,000
McCain = about 1,130,000,000

From Live.com:

Obama = 528,000 results
Barack = 894,000 results
McCain = 3,750,000 results
Mc Cain = 6,690,000 results

From Alexa.com, when comparing the traffic Ranking of barackobama.com and johnmccain.com (the official websites of each candidate), note that the smaller the number, the better:

barackobama.com = 753
johnmccain.com = 2,580

Then on TwitVote, a mock opinion poll for Election2008.

Obama = 4247 votes
McCain = 908 votes

(note, that since twitvote is available to the entire twitter community, this may not represent the views of the american people as accurately, this is also being updated in real time, by people in twitter, so the figures will have no doubt have changed dramatically by the time this is published).

Also, on 7-election.com, where voters can vote, based on their choice of cup, when ordering coffee, in 7-eleven’s across the US, we can see:

Obama = 60%
McCain = 40%

From the CNN Election Tracker Poll of Polls:

Obama = 50%
McCain = 43%

and also the CNN Electoral Map Calculator, where the crowd gets to predict the results:

Obama = 291
McCain = 160

Finally, Technorati.com, a blog aggregator predicts:

Obama = 675,621 results
McCain = 494,815 results

If you can find any other examples of crowdsourcing the election results before they happen, do add them to the comments below, and I’ll edit and update the page accordingly.  For now, it looks like Obama is clearly in the lead, across all the media, except, oddly enough, Live.com.. Perhaps that’s a reflection of either the information Live.com relies upon as being inaccurate, or the users there, being of a different demographic.  I’d hate to think there was any intentional fixing going on..

Please do share your thoughts, and insights, in the comments below.. Thanks!

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So, I’ve recently been reading Personal Development for Smart People, being an avid follower of Steve Pavlina, and having just finished the book.. I’ve found myself having experienced a real roller coaster of a ride.

Not least, because of how self-reflective the book is, and how it forces you to examine your life, from so many different angles, and so many different perspectives, and so many different lenses.  But also, just because it truly is heavy reading.  Perhaps, it’s just me, but whilst certain chapters just flowed, and I was able to read, easily and effortlessly, other chapters just totally bogged me down, and sometimes, it would take me a few days to repeatedly go over the same words, until I could move on.  Ironically, as soon as I put the book down, or got past that part, I would be just fine.. which makes me wonder.. is it the book or was it me, that was putting up the resistance??

Being outside of the US, I only got an electronic version of the book, but straight away, I could feel this book had a very significant “conscious” element to it.  I didn’t calibrate it, to the levels of consciousness, using Kinesiology, like David Hawkins does, in Power vs. Force, but intuitively, I’ve often noticed, that certain books, websites, and other written materials often carry a certain energy, especially if there are purposeful intentions behind what’s been created.  I’ll write more about my experiences, and understandings of energy and intention around written works another time, but for now, suffice it to say, that this book felt a little “lighter”, and had an energy around it, that was perceptible.

As I started to make my way through the book, having already read the table of contents online, I was acutely aware of the correlation between the 3 Core values of Truth, Love and Power, and the overlap, between these and the core guiding principles that I’d encountered in the work of The Pachamama Alliance, and the Awakening the Dreamer Symposium.

The work of the Awakening the Dreamer symposium, is to bring forth an “environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling, and socially just human presence on this planet”.

Within the symposium, Environmental Sustainability captures the essence of living in balance with the physical world, being honest about what’s really happening, and in light of that honesty, taking new actions, as a consequence.  Something which having read Pavlina’s book, I believe is signifantly connected with being Truthful, in terms of what’s happening, and having an open and honest evaluation, with the forthrightness to acknowledge what’s really at play, regardless of whether it’s good or bad.

The component of the symposium that deals with Spiritual Fulfillment, deals with our own inner connection, or lack therof with others, in our day to day lives.  The component of Love, that Pavlina talks about relates to the notion of connectedness, and how, once we are in our loving space, we automatically feel the connection between ourselves, and others.  It is that connectedness, or absence of it, that is talked about in the Awakening the Dreamer Symposium, when addressing the component of Spiritual Fulfillment, which gets discussed as the lack, and emptiness… Being devoid of meaning and connection.. Living empty and meaning less lives, which is often attributed to not “doing what you love”.

As for the Socially Just human presence, I believe that to be directly connected the the element of Power, that Pavlina discusses.  A socially just world, is one in which people claim their power, and the capacity for injustice to occur is non-existent, since everyone is equally empowered.  Power is not the same as force, which comes into play, when a situation becomes unjust or is unfair.  And it is this very absence of Power, that is touched upon during the Symposium.  Admittedly the handling of social justice, during the symposium, leans more heavily towards looking at the inequalities in the world, between people, between the rich and the poor, the haves and the have nots, the differences that exists because of race, and culture.  To me, that is but the flip side of Power, for when power is absent, true power, then such inequalities are indeed possible.

Whilst the symposium may present each of these issues in a more global reaching light, looking at the plight of what is, and current status quo, the symposium, having been birthed a few years ago, started a conversation in the world, which I believe is being refined, and rephrased by Pavlina, in his book.  Whilst I doubt there’s any strong connection between him and the work of the Pachamama Alliance, consciously, I know the two strands are directly connected.  Why do I say this? Because both were born out of the same call from the earth, from Pachamama.  One originated, in the Amazonian rainforest, the other in the consciusness of an individual seeking growth.  Both mirror the fact that we are in a changing time.  As people connect with their own innate wisdom, their own innate consciousness, they start to be able to access the consciousness of the planet too.. That is not something which is different from country to country, or by race, language, or religion.  The world over, we as a humanity are sharing the planet we live in, and as we start to bridge the chasm, between the world we are in, of individual, seperate, disconnected beings, to realising that actually, we are all part of a blueprint woven through the ether of life, that collectively sustains life on this planet, we will have to look out our place in this world anew.

It seems that increasingly more and more people are waking up, in a crisis.  Their lives, amounting to nothing, having acquired all the material trappings of wealth, status, and success, yet feeling hollow, and empty inside. This isn’t just co-incidence that this is happening all over the world, in this unprecedented manner.  More and more people are choosing to say no.  Are stepping away from what was once thought to be the “only” way, and asking anew, how can we do this differently??

From the emergence of online portals such as Kiva.org that allows you to lend money to people in developing countries directly, to Zopa.com, which allows you to lend money to each other, challenging the traditional lending cycle of the banks, people are increasingly engaging with the world on new terms, and technology is allowing them to do so in a way that breaks down the old structures, that were fixed, and impermanent.  Life no longer has to follow the same patterns of previous generations, and with that comes a recognition of the fact that what has happened in the past, is not going to be sustainable going forward.  With increasing global populations, and reducing available resources, it’s time to re-think the equation of life, and Pavlina’s book does a great job of thoroughly dissecting everything in your life, and helping you reconstitute it in a new direction, based on some core, and fundamental principles.

Is it the only book out there that does this? I don’t know.  But it is one of the few that I’ve read that really brings Personal Development into the realm of Science, not art… Taking things step by step, in a methodical, and meticulous manner, Pavlina ruthlessly dives into each of the core values, and then builds upon them, until you’ve been cut open, and forced to bare yourself, so that you can see what’s really under your skin.  Then, in the second half of the book, he slowly starts to re-build the very thing he’s dissected, providing suggestions, experiments, and his own experiences of what’s worked for him, to help find a new road out of the chaos, and confusion that might ensue, when you see your flaws for what they are, and find yourself to be openly honest about living a life that is far from ideal, in every sense of the word.

I can’t say that I’m “taken” by his style, and approach.. It’s perhaps a little too linear, and logical for my liking.. At times, it seems to lack heart.  But then it’s perhaps also at the same time, providing me with an accurate mirror of myself, and my own reality, which makes it all the more unbearable, and untolerable.  It’s definitely not another one of those wishy washy, self help books, or flowery, spiritual books, that’s for sure.  And I’m pretty convinced, having experienced Steve Pavlina’s wisdom for a few years now, that following even just a small part of the book, will lead to tremendous growth, and success, in any area of your life.  The real challenge is going to be sustaining that change, and transformation, in a world that increasingly is crumbling apart, and reading this book, could very well shake you, from your very core, destroying any sense of  success and accomplishment you thought you had, whilst forcing you to openly and honestly, set a new course in life.

For me, there’s definitely many many great parts to the book, and whilst I found certain chapters unbearably tough to read, with moments when I was just falling asleep, whilst attempting to read the words on the page, I think there’s enough value in the book, that even if you only read the bits that interest you, you’ll get enough value out of it, to have made the book a worthwhile investment.  I for one, will always suggest, when in doubt, listen to your heart.. Feel your way through something.. If it feels right, pursue it.  If it doesn’t don’t.  Simple as that.. And in time, you may be able to intuit your way through life in a more enriching and meaningful manner.  For now, I don’t have a perfect answer.  My life is no where near perfect.  I don’t have all the outer trappings, or inner richness of perfection by any stretch of the imagination.

But I have a spirit that’s willing.  Willing to live, and try, and experience.  Experience life in all of it’s colours.  And with that, and that alone, with my heart guiding me as my compass, I can honestly say, I’ve only ever been off course, when I’ve stopped listening to this guidance.  And in time, I learn to listen to my heart again, and start to push off in a guided direction, and as if by magic, life starts to flow again.  It’s not magic, it’s not co-incidence, and it’s certainly not crazy nonsense.  But then my world view allows me to understand my heart as being more than just a physical organ that pumps blood around my body.  I’ll definitely share a more deeper and richer understanding of my heart, and what it is for me, in a future article, but for now, let me recommend you go out and buy yourself a copy of Pavlina’s new book, if you’re at all interested in personal growth, and personal development. And if you just have something in you’re life that you want changing, or you’ve found yourself facing challenges that you just can’t overcome, then perhaps it’s time to order this book too, and who knows, six months from now, you’ll be as grateful as I am now, for Steve having taken the time to synthesise and channel his thoughts, perceptions, and experiences into this wonderful book. Personal Development for Smart People: The Conscious Pursuit of Personal Growth, I recommend you order your copy today!

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Today, we travelled from Pakistan back to London.

Yesterday afternoon, Benazir Bhutto was assassinated. As a consequence, all the shops closed immediately, and there was rioting on the streets. It’s the first time that I’ve ever been in a country and personally experienced something so terrible happen at such close proximity. We were in Islamabad at the time, and Benazir was murdered near Rawalpindi in Liaqat Bagh, close to where her father was hung for his crimes.

We were just in Rawalpindi on Wednesday, the 26th, travelling back from Lahore, on the Daewoo, and to think, if we had come just a day later, we would be stuck in the chaos, and madness, with all our luggage, and would have had to find some way to safely get to Islamabad, and to the safety of the homes of our Puppo Bajjo (Aunty Bajjo), and my sister-in-law’s Chachu’s (Uncle’s) home.

During the day, my Puppo had invited some of her personal friends who were attuned to Reiki to come and meet me, since she thought both I and they would appreciate meeting each other, given my experiences, and travel, and their interest in all things spiritual! As part of the healing circle, we had consciously sent healing energy to the upcoming Pakistani elections. And then that afternoon Benazir was murdered. I don’t know if the two were connected, but I’m coming to realise how important it is that in the face of such trying times, we must all consciously send peace, love, calm and understanding to the situation. If we start to watch all the media, get wound up by the issues, and become fearful, angry individuals, like everyone else, we too will be adding fuel to the fire. It is only by embracing a non-dualistic, all encompassing state of peace, that we can begin to appreciate how peace in the world can only exist it, when we become that peace in the world. It’s never about the other, but always about us. Of course we may not be able to stop people reacting violently, or angrily straight away, but perhaps, in time, we will be able to direct our loving, supportive, compassionate, and healing energies towards others, in such a way, that they may continue to feel their emotions, but no longer be driven by them, or attach them to physical actions. One day, a time will come, when mankind will learn to deal with their emotions, independently of their actions. When such a time arises, there shall no longer be any war, or armed conflict. It may not be a world where everyone agrees on everything with each other, but it will be a world where the use of violence or force will not be condoned, tolerated, or acceptable, in any shape or form. That is the day, that we will begin to become more like humans, and less like animals. That day, is coming soon… I can feel it…

For now, I pray that the people in Pakistan feel safe, and secure, and that all those performing acts of violence and destruction find a way to express their anger, discontent, or madness in ways that doesn’t harm or destroy anyone or anything physical, and acts out only at the level of their experience of their emotions. In love and light to all…

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Since being in South Africa, it’s really started to become clear how there is so little communication happening between the people, on all sides of society.

There seem to be some serious problems here, in terms of separation between races and classes. Whilst apartheid may be over, it’s very much a reality of life here, that blacks and colored people continue to be the underdogs, whilst the whites are very much still in their places of power, and wealth…

Of course it all depends on who you speak to… Speak to successful white people, and successful indian business people and you’ll get a sense of the forward progression, and wealth and prosperity being enjoyed by those folks. And then when you talk to less some black and colored people you really start to see just how much of a difference there is throughout the society.

I think it’s safe to say, that no matter who the race, everyone sees the white people in South Africa as still in control of the majority of wealth and power in the country. In spite of all the policies, and rules that the government puts in place, the white folk seem to continue to hold the majority of the wealth, and at least the perception of their power and sense of superiority appears to remain. Even when seeing the interactions between whites, and non-whites, you can really see just how much ignorance and separation exists between the two. Whilst it may not be conscious, most white people in South Africa seem to have a way of talking down to non-whites – be it jokingly, or unknowingly, they continue to talk as if their superior, and equally the non-white folk continue to respond as if they’re inferior.

Being a person of Indian descent, and being visibly colored, I’ve also experienced the two sides of this fence. Though when I first arrived in South Africa I wasn’t quite sure as to what this separation, or difference was – until I got to a shopping mall, in Sandton City, and for the first time saw whites, blacks, and coloreds all walking through the same mall… That’s when I realised that until then, I hadn’t seen and asian/indian/colored people in Johannesburg. It even brought home for me how I had completely associated black people with being servants, and maids, and never had once seen black people who were independently wealthy, or on an equal standing with white people.

The shopping mall was the first time that I had properly gotten out of the “security” environment – what with the home I was staying in having security gates, with guards, to the complex of homes, followed by an electric gate for the cars, followed by a locked gate to the home, with then the door to the home being secured at nights, and then going to sleep with a security gate inside the home, to create a secure sleeping section of the home.

Not that I think it’s a little over the top, with all the security… But I guess when you hear some of the stories of what happens to people, and you start to see some of the crime up close and personal, it’s one response to the situation I guess.

Personally I don’t ever want to live in so much fear that I have to lock myself into my own home, to go to sleep at night safe and soundly… But I guess that’s where the real challenges in South Africa arise…

There is so much disparity between the wealthy and the poor – and whilst some might argue that all you need to do is re-distribute the wealth, that clearly won’t ever change the real problem, which is ingrained at the level of the psyche of the society here… That people behave in ways that demonstrate the clear separation of the classes and races, means that the challenges faced by South Africa are entirely mental and emotional, and more visibly, lie beneath the surface of it all.

Last night, in the company of some Asian folk in Cape Town, I learnt just how deeply the wounds went, when you hear how as colored people, unable to watch and support the national rugby team, because of the lack of representation of all the races on the team… And how using the images of white male south africans as national heroes, is so unrepresentative of the true South Africa, and how the perceived ideals of the era of Apartheid appear to linger in the air, when seeing these white South Africans representing the country, and then having people imagine that everyone can rally around a sport, as a cause to bring the nation together really shows how disconnected the whites and the non-whites are.

Whilst having spent the day of the final rugby match with a group of white South Africans, and seeing them getting all elated and joyful at the success and triumph of the Springboks, even just on the ride home, the comment made by a friend of mine of how most South Africans (referring to the black folk), would be clueless to the reason for people celebrating, and being so joyful, and in such great spirits, since most South Africans wouldn’t necessarily follow the rugby – and how that was seen as a bad thing… As if, if only they understood, and could get behind the team, it would make everything better…

I thought back then that clearly there was something wrong with that picture, and after meeting people who in my eyes seemed relatively successful from appearances, but just happened to be Asian, or of colored origin, and hearing their inability to even support the sport, and the team really brought the differences home. It wasn’t a question of right or wrong, it was a question of getting over the pain and injustice from the times of Apartheid, when white people really did discriminate at every turn. When black or colored people couldn’t get on buses. When people were forcibly removed from their homes, so that the white people could live there… When black and colored people had to use different toilets to the whites.

It’s no wonder, with such a sordid past, and no space for people to go through any kind of reconciliation process that the nation really appears to be falling apart at the seams. Whilst there’s the apparent “forgiving” Mandela who sets a great example, it’s almost like the White people use that as an excuse to avoid apologising for the wrongs they did, and carry on as if very little has changed.

My own personal experience of the “superiority” complex that white people appear to live with might appear to be the inhospitable, unwelcoming attitude with which white people will say one thing, and then go and do another, but then I guess part of it really is just cultural. Having spent 8 months in San Francisco before coming to South Africa, where I experienced what it was like living in a family environment, and then living in a rented room, I really appreciated how much I value the Asian sense of family values, and especially within the Muslim faith, the way that a guest is considered a godsend, and an opportunity to serve and be hospitable…

Whilst I’m sure there was definitely not any malicious, or coldness around it – arriving in San Francisco, I really got a sense of how everyone had their own lives to lead, and outside the office, I was very much on my own… (not to mention, inside the office at times too!!!)

Coming to South Africa, it seems that same white cultural detachment from taking an active interest in your guests and their comfort, may have been something that I experienced through my white male South African friend, and his family… but then contrasting that with the warmth and hospitality of the Asian/Muslim families I met, and even of the black people I met, really brought home how perhaps part of the challenge is systemic in the way that most white westerners live their lives, in a state of detachment from each other…

We talked a little last night about respect, and as I write this, I’m starting to appreciate how the feeling of “disrespect” that I experienced whilst staying with white people, was no more than the lack of respect that they had for themselves possibly. If you look at the contrasts between the eastern and the western cultures, you can clearly see that the asian and eastern cultures have an embodied respect within their society. Whilst teaching English in South Korea I really started to see how Asian values affected the locals. Even just the way a friend of mine, being a 32 year old lady, who had lived and travelled in Japan and Indonesia, whilst living back at home, respected her dad’s curfew brought home to me what it meant to be respectful of your elders.

It does sometimes mean taking care of others and respecting the wishes of others above your own. Something which I think in western societies and cultures is lost. Most people are so engrossed in them, and what they want, that they forget to pay any attention to the people around them. Even just the way that older people are put into homes, since the family just doesn’t have the time to care for them. And the one phrase I heard yesterday, of how “a good family is one that you hardly see” just captures the essential difference between asian and western values, and how culturally the eastern and western hemispheres are worlds apart. I can’t imagine what life might possibly be like without having the integral element of family and hospitality within my every day life… And the more time I spend away from home, and family, the more I start to appreciate how valuable it is to live in an environment where people have enough self-respect to not need to get themselves shamelessly drunk, act stupidly in public, and sleep with everyone they come across… I can only pity the folks who have so little respect for themselves that they try to lose themselves in their drunken stupors, or have so little self respect that they’ll be happy sleeping with just anyone, for the sake of it.

I think western values are so overrated – I think for now, I’ve come to be very happy and comfortable with my “conservative” Asian values, that place modesty, sobriety, and virginity above the needs of the self, and it’s distorted sense of what matters, and what’s important. I’ll happily choose my family, and my set of self-respecting values above anything material, or self-centered any day. I’m just glad I was able to find my sense of priorities now, before I became too “western” and self absorbed in what I wanted that I neglected my family more than I already have, for which I can only now repent, and change my way of living in this world. It’s time I stopped thinking about myself so much, and started to put the well being of my immediate family first.

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So I arrived in Johannesburg at 10am, Wednesday morning (me thinks it was at least two weeks ago already!)

My doesn’t time fly!! I guess, getting settled into Johannesburg, and then fasting during Ramadan has kinda taken the life out of me. For some reason, I’m constantly feeling tired when I wake up, and don’t have the strength in the mornings that makes me want to jump out of bed, and sing for joy!!

It could just be the energy of this place… I’m staying at the house of my friend Max, and they have a lot of crystals all around the house… Could just be adjusting to that. Then again, if I went by what my juicing guru Jason Vale advocates, then I’m just being a victim of carbohydrate hangovers, having eaten carbs too late at night, not letting them properly digest, and then waking up in the morning feeling tired and exhausted.

Could be true, especially since during Ramadan, as soon as I wake up, as is customary I eat as much food as I can, to make sure that I have enough reserves for throughout the day. Ironically, on the days that I don’t manage to wake up and have breakfast, then I don’t even notice the fasting – so I don’t know what logic is at work there… But nonetheless, I am waking up regularly tired and exhausted (and yes the weight can also be a factor in that, just as much as the absence of exercise).

Well, once I got to Jo’burg, one of the most interesting things that I noted, was the stark contrast between the black and the white people. I guess if I were to see it anywhere else, I wouldn’t even give it a second thought, but here, for some reason, it seems there’s still a clear sense of segregation… Perhaps it’s more to do with the way in which people live in houses, in secure complexes that have security guards everywhere, and then have two gates to get through before being able to reach the house… Could have something to do with it. That and the fact, that on a day to day basis I haven’t yet seen many black people, apart from the housemaid, and her husband… I’m already keen to explore and discover the more cultural side of Johannesburg. I’ve already gotten a sense of the typical bar/pub culture, and seeing how South Africans are renowned in London for their heavy drinking culture, I figured it all stems from here. That’s one arena, I’m happy to say, I’ve been able to avoid, since there’s not really much point in watching people get drunk and plastered, as much fun as that was to watch at Uni, I think I’ve grown out of the need to learn how inebriated people can get, and what kind of antics they get upto…

Well, I’ve yet to come in touch with any real African culture yet (an dwhen I say African culture, yes, I am talking about black african people, with drums beating, and singing in a tribal way) – perhaps I’m just trying to see something that doesn’t exist… Yet ironically, I know that there’s a rich African culture permeating this land, you can literally feel it bouncing through your root chakra, and giving vibrancy to this place… I guess my greatest challenge here might be to just be able to allow myself to get grounded into that, and to be able to fully experience the physical vibrancy and aliveness that is here…

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