U R Light

Remembering Your True Nature

You are here: Home / Blog - Inspire / Esoteric (Soul) / * 2012 / ‘Brazil’ – Hunger Strikes, Rallies, and Effecting Change

‘Brazil’ – Hunger Strikes, Rallies, and Effecting Change

By

* This popular post is excerpted from Awakening Instinct * Running the Gauntlet * Windows Through Time – A Trilogy by Ariole K. Alei.

 

I participated in the United Nations Earth Summit’s parallel conference – the Global Forum – in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992.  It was a 10-day gathering of over 180 heads of state, plus media, aides, and non-governmental leaders.  And concerned citizens like myself.

One day I participated in a local rally.  Thousands of Brazilians flocked to the streets, in their style of public demonstration.  There were platform trucks on which leaders stood with megaphones, guiding the crowds in chants of protest.

I walked with them, because I believed in their cause.

At one point I began to notice the drone … of … military helicopters, circling low above the crowds which now snaked street-wide for blocks and blocks.

The thought crossed my mind that my parents might be terrified if they knew where I was and precisely what I was doing.  And yet … I was simply walking.  Marching in protest with other human beings to state a concern and support a cause.

A few days later I was back in Vancouver, my home city.  A colleague of mine had planned a hunger strike in front of a politician’s office in protest of the logging of old growth forests, a cause which was a hot topic in the media then.  I had agreed to support him.

It was a four day hunger strike.  I joined him in fasting for the full four days.  And I physically sat with him on the sidewalk outside of the politician’s office one day.

The pangs of pain I felt in my abdomen already on the second day gave me so much compassion and understanding of the millions – perhaps billions – of people who are hungry and starving, each and every day.  I was choosing to not eat.  And for merely four days.  I knew, in my mind, that this pain and discomfort would end.  And precisely when it would end.  I was in control.  Starving people – at least from the outer appearance of their situations – have no choice.

That was the first revelation, the first ‘maturation’ I gained through this experience.

The second was … a realization of amazement.  That … in Brazil, and countries like it, people are intimidated from speaking their minds, their concerns, through physical threat of incarceration and torture.  In Canada, and countries like it, people are intimidated from speaking out via psychological intimidation.

We brand people as ‘crazy’.  We outcast them.  We scapegoat them.

We have such a tight hold on the ‘minds’ of our populace.  A hold so invisible.  In cultures such as Brazil’s, the oppressor is visible, named and nameable, seen.  In cultures such as Canada’s and other ‘developed’ countries it appears innocuous.  It is just as potent.  It is invisible, hidden, surreptitious, sly.  We are not to notice it, not to question it.

It is the gauntlet.

* Hundreds of readers have been enjoying this provocative post.  It is an excerpt from “Running the Gauntlet – Navigating Our Way to Our Fully Embodied Potential”, one of three ‘mini-books’ in The Trilogy Awakening Instinct * Running the Gauntlet * Windows Through Time.

To read more ideas like this, peruse the entire book … Awakening Instinct * Running the Gauntlet * Windows Through Time – A Trilogy by Ariole K. Alei.

Click on this link to get quick access to

  • Preview the book 
  • Download the book
  • Purchase a softcover copy of the book
  • Listen to a Free Intro to the Audio Course based on the book
  • and / or Purchase the Audio Series based on the book

There’s so much more at your fingertips to enjoy and be inspired by – right now  🙂

Questions to Ponder:  In what ways do you ‘give in’ to intimidation?  What leadership potential – potential to beneficially effect change – are you suppressing?

Want more info on ‘Running Your Gauntlet’ and ‘Living Your Full Potential’?  Want personal mentoring in exploring what  it is to live YOUR full potential? 

* Images with gratitude to ruraluniv.ac.in, indymedia.ia and koreyking.com

Comments

  6. There are some attention-grabbing cut-off dates in this article but I don’t know if I see all of them center to heart. There’s some validity but I’ll take maintain opinion till I look into it further. Good article , thanks and we wish extra! Added to FeedBurner as effectively

  7. Quite a beautiful website. I built mine and i was looking for some design ideas and your website gave me some. Did you develop the website alone?

  12. hiya all, I was just checkin’ out this blog and I really admire the foundation of the article, and have nothing to do, so if anyone would like to to have an compelling conversation about it, please contact me on yahoo, my name is clarissa robechaud

  16. I am frequently interested in somebody to trade posts along with, I’m a university student and have a weblog right here on our university web-site. The subject of your web log and writting style would go great in some of my category’s, inform me if you’re up for this.

    • I’m fascinated that several readers are connecting this post to ‘weight loss’. Is it the ‘hunger strike’ element? Intriguing!

      Yes, you may quote – as long as you do so precisely – and link back to URLight.

      Thank you for sharing!

      🙂 Ariole

  25. If your livelihood depends on search engine optimization or marketing for a living you might want to think twice about displaying AdSense Ads on your site. I can tell you this from personal experience. I once was on top of MSN for search engine marketing in my local area. I concentrated on my local area because I found people felt more comfortable hiring an eCommerce consultant locally.

  28. Excellent journal! I really like how it is uncomplicated on my eyes and also the assemblage are well typed. I am questioning how I might be notified whenever a fresh delivery has been successful. I have signed to your rss feed which must proceed the trick! By!

  35. I’m not sure where you’re getting your information, but good topic. I needs to spend some time learning more or understanding more. Thanks for great information I was looking for this information for my mission.

  38. I have got one idea for your blog site. It seems like at this time there are a few cascading stylesheet issues while opening a selection of web pages inside google chrome as well as opera. It is running okay in internet explorer. Perhaps you can double check this.

  39. Great goods from you, man. I have understand your stuff previous to and you’re just too wonderful. I really like what you have acquired here, certainly like what you are stating and the way in which you say it. You make it entertaining and you still care for to keep it sensible. I cant wait to read much more from you. This is really a terrific site.

  40. Simply saying thanks won’t just be enough, for the wonderful readability in your documentation. I will instantly grab your rss feed to remain knowledgeable of any updates. Admirable work and far success in your online business endeavors!

  41. Great article. There’s a lot of good information here, though I did want to let you know something – I am running Redhat with the current beta of Firefox, and the layout of your blog is kind of funky for me. I can read the articles, but the navigation doesn’t function so well.

  43. Hi! 🙂 Is it Ok if I ask a thing kinda off subject? I’m wanting to view this page on my new iPad but it surely won’t exhibit up effectively, do you’ve got any answers? Must I attempt and discover an update for my software program or something? Thanks in advance! Jennine

Leave a Reply