CALL FOR A ROUND TABLE OF LEADING AUSTRALIANS AND A
DEPARTMENT OF PEACE IN GOVERNMENT
Dr Michael Ellis
The Centre for Change in the Third Millennium - is
supporting a decade of open forum and ongoing dialogue on key issues affecting
the future of human kind. The aim of The Centre for Change is to involve
community and business highlighting healing, education and social integration
in order to create a more sustainable and peaceful world.
We are calling for the establishment of a Round table of leading Australians leading
to the establishment of a Department for Peace in Government devoted to new
ways of thinking, developing a culture of Healing in Society, and facilitating nonviolent
solutions to domestic and international conflict
Humankind has reached a state of development in
which old modes of thinking and behaving threaten to destroy our planet
The old modes of thinking and behaving or the old
paradigm is being forced on us to an even greater extent by the
neo-conservative Orwellian, economic rationalist regime of Western Society.
This gradual intrusive process is by its very nature eroding creativity and
freedom of expression of art and culture.
Leadership when it is narrow cruel and inhuman
effects human beings in a very significant way. It is a sad day when
The Howard government has aligned itself with the monopolar order of Pax Americana.
He has identified himself with George Bush who has shown himself
to be inept as the President of the
Poor nutrition is costing Australians approximately
6 billion dollars annually. The three major causes of preventable death in
Over the past three decades there has been a
virtual explosion in information in the medical and scientific literature
relating nutrition, lifestyle and depression to disease2.
This is why we see so many patients with their
immune systems compromised by stress and depression and pharmaceutical
treatment. Stress and depression in one in three people in Australia are surely
signs that in terms of community, support and caring we are losing out. People
are competing for survival and work rather than creating friendships and
developing mature relationships and families.
Unless governance becomes more participatory and
people have a real say at what they want in terms of their dreams and how they
can express themselves in terms of real values and positive attitudes, our
society will become like those dictatorships in
We need to get back to the concept of true
education and true healing if we wish to see a society which will flourish in
every way including economically.
We have to realize that the kind of life that we
currently live is not conducive to happiness, health and wellness when we are
surrounded by a world full of conflict and wars. We are in a global crisis in
terms of population, health and environmental degradation. Half of the Nobel
Prize winners of the world at the Rio Summit in 1992 stated that we had only a
short period of time for our planet to be either severely mutilated or for us
to create a sustainable community and environment.
We live in a disenfranchised world and communities
with massive health problems Within this society there
is tremendous emphasis on wealth and consumerism where the emphasis is on
economics which is utterly unconcerned about the wellbeing of the individual. Economics
is only concerned about the rationale for the accumulation of wealth no matter
what the consequences for the people or environment.
When people feel uncared for the result is illness.
Economic rationalism is an expression of how we are losing our sense of
community and connection with all of life. In general there has to be a massive
change in consciousness if we are to survive. Consciousness is also the key
word when it comes to taking responsibility for healing one self and healing
the planet.
It is an indictment on the ruling hegemony of the
world, politicians and presidents, governments and CEOs of large organizations
that they allow an even condone conflict within their own politicking as well
as between rivals and have no knowledge of this significance of the social
determinants of well being and health3.
It seems that the military industrial complex, the
multiplying wars, the pollution of our rivers and seas and skies, the
inhumanity of man against man and global inequity and poverty are having
tremendous deleterious effects on the state of the world creating ann eroded planet and a diseased Humanity.
If we do not address the basic social and
environment and nutritional determinants of health we are only going to further
inflame our present global crisis to the extent of creating an increasing
spiraling of global disease and stress.
Of course the stress, anxiety and depression can
manifest itself in the way nations respond to each other and the way they are
not able to manage conflict resolution or look at things in a calm long term
view.
The minds of people who are leaders in the global
community should be able to see things wisely and with compassion, However it seems that they are experiencing mental processes
which can only create dissonance and poor decision making.
It is therefore time that we begin to bring healing
into the context of society on a global and political level if we are to create
a more sustainable and happy humanity.
It is for this reason that The Centre For Change proposes
the establishment of a Round table of
Leading Australians leading to the establishment of a Department for Peace in
Government devoted to new ways of thinking, developing a culture of Healing
in Society, and facilitating nonviolent solutions to domestic and international
conflict We need to creating a better sustainable world through reappraisal of
what it means to be a human being in harmony with the environment.
References
1.
Brighthope I E “The role of nutritional medicine in general practice.” Aust Fam Phys 1990;19(3)
2. The health of an individual in society is tied up
and inextricably related to, lifestyle change, reduction of stress and the
fundamental conditions for resources and health including peace, shelter,
education, food, income, a stable eco-system, sustainable resources, social
justice and equity. (International Conference of Health
Promotion, Ottawa 1986).
3. Sir Michael Marmot is Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health
and Director of the International Centre for Health and Society at University
College London, as well as Adjunct Professor of Health and Social Behaviour at the Harvard School of Public Health Sir Michael Marmot has said that even in the most affluent countries
people who are less well off have substantially shorter life expectancies than
the rich. Professor Marmot for the World Health Organization defined ten social
determinants of health for the World Health Organisation. The details are
given below. What is significant from these determinants is that stress harms
health and people become vulnerable to a wide range of major conditions
including, cardiovascular disease, infections and diabetes. It has also been
shown that social exclusion creates illness and morbidity. The message is that
when people feel loved and are in jobs that they relate to and feel happy with
and are in communities that are supporting they are likely to live longer and
fulfilling lives. Whereas exclusion within communities and work and
unemployment and lack of social support creates a wide range of diseases that
we see nowadays in our society including depression, cancer, cardiovascular
disease and premature death.
The
Ten Social Determinants of Health are:
- Social and economic circumstances strongly effect health throughout life.
- Stress harms health.
- The effects of early development in the neo-natal period and infancy last a lifetime.
- Social exclusion creates suffering and morbidity.
- Stress in the workplace increases the risk of disease
- Job security increases health, well-being and job satisfaction. Unemployment is deleterious to health.
- Social support, friendship, good social relations and strong supportive networks improve health at home, work and in the community.
- Addiction to drugs and alcohol is influenced by social determinants.
- Nutrition is a key determinant of health.
- Transport through the use of walking and exercise in a sustainable environment enhances health.
DETAILS
Humankind
has reached a state of development in which old modes of thinking and behaving
threaten to destroy our planet. We can either view our present situation as one
which can be repaired through cosmetic surgery, with arms agreements and so on,
or we can see it as a turning point in history and an opportunity and challenge
to create a better world through reappraisal of what it means to be a human
being in harmony with the environment. Humanity is now challenged to mature and
evolve into a more compassionate inclusive peaceful society. It is a matter of
survival
The
Centre For Change rejects the idea that the human being is inherently evil,
destructive and untrustworthy and believes the time has come to get the heart,
head and hand working together to create new ways of thinking, being,
communicating and acting. To speak from the heart means to end the domination
of cerebral manipulative thinking.
Thirty
two thousand nuclear weapons with a destructive force equivalent to several
thousand megatons of conventional explosives are still deployed. The risk of
nuclear war by accident may have increased and new threats include war between
newly declared – weapon states and the construction by terrorist groups of
crude but effective devices. It is not enough to remove nuclear weapons. We
must remove the ideas, the obsolete thinking, that created them in the first
place, and replace them with new attitudes based on respect, co-operation and
understanding. As a UNICEF declaration puts it, “If wars are started in the
minds of men, then peace must be reconstructed in the minds of men”.
We are treating our
planet in the same way as we treat ourselves, with no kind of respect. Every
day we hear of some new ecological disaster. The Global ecological threat is apparent in numerous
known and unknown phenomena to the extent that we are on an extinction curve,
more pronounced than at any time since the extinction of the dinosaurs 65
million years ago. The world has been converted in an instant of time from a
wild natural state to one in which human beings one of an estimated 10 million
species of organisms are consuming, wasting, or diverting an estimated 45% of
the total net biological productivity on land, and using more than half of the
renewable fresh water. In a matter of a hundred years, we have altered
substantially the characteristics of the land, the freshwaters of the Earth,
and the seas. We are driving a major proportion of the species which are
fundamental for our continued existence, to extinction.
The signs of ecological collapse are everywhere - melting
glaciers, chaotic weather patterns, emergent disease, starvation, and burning
forests. Further death and ecological mayhem of greater magnitude will happen
and it is now a matter of if the biosphere will be able to recover, and whether
modern human society will persist.
The
Centre For Change believes that it is our thinking
that has got us into such a mess and proposes developing a new paradigm – a new
vision of reality which will bring about a profound change in our thoughts,
perceptions and values.
Method
We need to
re-appraise what it means to be a human being in positive terms, such as the
state of being creative, whole, alive and self-sufficient. We also need to examine
such primary needs as the need for food, clean water, primary health care and
shelter. In a world so dangerous, the only way is to be open, constructive,
peace-loving and responsible and reject the idea that the human being is
inherently evil, destructive and untrustworthy.
The
Round Table will study and promote a genuinely holistic approach to social,
economic, political, health and ecological problems.
The
Round Table will study the nature of life and consciousness and their
relationships to each other.
The
Round Table will need to research, facilitate and articulate on non violent
options and solutions to domestic and international conflict
This
would include new measures for non violent communication and conflict
resolution. We require a much more sophisticated analysis of domestic and
international deprivation in order to understand how the prevalence of human
despair can be a harbinger to the outbreak of violence
A
holistic revolution in consciousness requires a parallel shift in terms of
political thinking Bodily disease is like socio political disease. Rather than
rely on allopathic treatment to subdue and band aid illness we need holistic
approaches which deal with the fundamental causes of societal imbalance and
Wars,
Thus
we need to explore new ways of thinking and being and acting which place
emphasis on the creative constructive cooperative aspects of a Global Humanity
which is linked by the common ground of a unified consciousness and a stable
and sustainable planet
A
revolution in consciousness translated as a new paradigm or model of reality
which is now beginning to unify all the sciences must be promulgated with
utmost urgency. This thinking as yet has not penetrated the Institutional
resistance of the Political sphere of influence
We
need to realize how politically disengaged people ar
and give the information to them of the true Global state of affairs. People
need empowering
Emphasos needs to be placed on
the common compassionate Humanism which links all creeds cultures belief systems
and races
We
need to take responsibility for injustice and exploitation and excess
commercialism which goes on around us ands tand up
and speak out for the common good
This
means getting away from patronizing parochial controlling Government to enable
society to be engaged in a fundamental shift in thought and behaviour
This
requires moving away from a defensive fearful culture which are symptoms of
serious political and social disease to an involved proactive group of citizens
who through their fundamenbtal shift in thought and behaviour will have a distinct and significant ability to
influence the course of political events
“Love alone is capable
of uniting living beings is such a way as to complete
and fulfill them, for it alone takes them and joins them by what is deepest in
themselves. Understanding, co-operation and love are the keys to human
survival.”
-
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
‘We cannot solve the
problems of the world with mechanisms, but only by changing the hearts and
minds of men and speaking courageously’.
-
Albert
Einstein
DR
MICHAEL ELLIS MBBS MRCP DCH MACNEM NPAA BA (Hons) Dip
Grad (Nutr Med)
Dr Michael Ellis
is an English trained Doctor with over 20 years of
General Practice experience both in the
As well as his medical qualifications, Dr Ellis also has an Honours Degree in Literature, Arts, Philosophy and Social Psychology. He also has Naturopathic qualifications.
He is Founder of The Centre For Change www.peace-era.com and Co Founder of The Medical Renaissance Movement www.medicalrenaissance.org. He is Chief Editor and Creative vision behind The New Paradigm Journal www.newparadigmjournal.com
The Centre for Change in the Third
Millennium is an open forum and ongoing dialogue for humankind on key issues
affecting sustainable survival and the search for solutions. It is a global
‘think tank’, a global ‘watershed, bringing together humanity’s most inspired
and creative thinking – a convergence of the spiritual, scientific and
humanistic. The aim is the creation of a planetary ‘peace culture’.. Dr Ellis has a keen interest in the plight of the
ordinary GP and is concerned about creating a more sustainable future for both
doctors and the community. Because of this, he established The Medical
Renaissance Group www.medicalrenaissance.org
in