Warrior Traditions

Three Powerful Instructions

"Everything the Power does it does in a Circle"

A few days ago I stumbled upon a journal with intermittent entries I'd made during 1990-1993. As I skimmed entries I stopped to take a closer look at one written on Easter Sunday, 1991. Seems I was dealing with common difficulties men encounter just before, during, and after turning 30 year old

Nearly 20 years later I am looking for a few "instructions" to guide me through life. I don't remember how these three tips were selected. I do know that these words strike a deep chord in me twenty years later. I believe they have affected my character and how I move through the roughest times in life.

I decided to pass them along accompanied by a brief explanation of what each lesson meant to me at the time.

So.....
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Honor the past

Accept the present

Trust the future

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"Don't let yesterday use of too much of today"
-Cherokee

Honor the past

It seems that this idea is first nature to indigenous peoples around the planet. To honor the past means to turn over the reins of life to and cultivating deeper awareness of the ancient human experience with something far more powerful than people. It goes by different names including the "Ancient", "Great Mystery", Grandfather, Wakan Tanka, Creator, God, Great Spirit, Holy Spirit, Tao, and son on.

This instruction prompts me to acknowledge the struggles of all my ancestors whose collective sacrifices delivered me to a relatively fortunate set of life circumstances. Historically, each generation shares a desire to create a better world for their children. So, I am impelled to honor my own past and all those who dropped into my life.

It is a good thing to honor people whose lives have touch you. One way I honor is by expressions of gratitude and remaining faithful to a time when a spirit of Solidarity reigned. and solidarity. Finally, it means to remain true to my ancient Dream, accepting the burden and gift of carrying a 'torch" if passed to you, Honoring the past breathes life into our souls, roots us to the ground and prepares us to treat people with basic respect, Somehow this practice gives us things necessary to see us through the darkest of times, things like strength, courage, hope, and endurance.
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"Creation is ongoing".
- Lakota

Accept the present

The only time we ever have is right NOW---what good does it do to fight it ?
It's been said that one definition of Hell is us wanting things to be other than than they are in our lives. We spend too much time secretly whining or complaining about the unfairness and nastiness in life. All time spent protesting where we are right NOW is wasted time and energy--a mistake.

Now, it requires hard work and a meaningful reason to practice accepting who we are and where we find ourselves at any given time. We are challenged to let go of the ways of youth so we can operate as responsible men and women with all attendant demands for responsibility and sacrifice. We finally agree to function as co-creators of our lives--collaborating with the Great Mystery--and people in our lives.

Life is no easy adventure. Rather than fret over how things are we have the ability and obligation to realize rough times give birth to wisdom and easier times. We are asked to accept everything that comes our way as opportunity to practice skills and learn information that will be using too many times over the rest of our lives. Sooner we make peace with life's unfairness, brutality, and pain, the better we will be.

Really, what is the alternative to accepting the present ?.....as if there was an intelligent alternative. Yes, we work to change the things we can with a bit of wisdom of knowing where we place our efforts. "Thy will be done" is the hint that accepting the present will bring it's own rewards.
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"Truth does not happen, it just is.
-Hopi

Trust the future

Perhaps it is true that the future is our friend if we would let go of doubt, fear, and other demons that haunt our lives. It has been said that the only time is Now, that the seeds of the future are present from the beginning, that the beginning is the future and the future is at hand--or present right now. Remember time is just a construct we invented. It has no meaning to the rest of the Uni-verse.

We tend to survive all that comes. So, we need to let go of our fear and attempts to control things. The future calls to us to remain true to our dreams. As we remain true to our Dream, the seeds of the future begin to sprout and grow.

Again, what is the intelligent alternative to trusting the future ? If we honor the past, accept the present, we are creating an outline of our future that we can depend on. Silence and stillness are good medicines to allow us to trust the future. Acknowledging the mystery and power of Love. makes it possible to trust the future. Love is metaphysical gravity as B. Fuller said---the farther we drift from Love the deeper into the depths of outer Space or Hell we find ourselves. Love is quite literally in the air we breathe.

Humility is a useful thing to cultivate in life. It allows us to recognize the Uni-verse is much bigger than our narrow perceptions and weak imaginations. We don't know how many worlds there are. Our senses offer access to but a small percentage of "reality". We can continue to wander through life like lost souls in the cosmos or we decide to find our way back Home. Home is where we belong.

Looking back, these three instructions have helped me to experience some break from the discourse that rattles my soul and disturbs Silence and Stillness. Letting go into the mystery of life seems the only way to go.
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"With all things and in all things, we are relatives".
-Sioux

"It is an Honor to be Alive"

We don't know how it got started and we don't know how it will end....if there is such a thing as the "end". Like it or not, we are living. It might just be an honor to be alive. Maybe we really have no right to give up hope. Maybe we need to have our eyes checked so our Vision returns. Maybe at the end of the day it will have been worth all the pain and heartbreak. Maybe things do get better even if our efforts are unseen. Everything we think, do or say sends ripples out across time and space. I can't get around this proverb:

"We will be known forever by the tracks we leave".
-Dakotah

Identification of Predictors of Violence in Individuals

Everyone has a vested interest in and ever increasing desire to improve our ability to accurately recognize increased risk of violent behavior in any given individual. While there is a tendency to rely on putative experts to perform such assessments it is important to realize every citizen can become better prepared to spot "ticking time bombs". allowing them to alert local authorities to unusual or suspicious behavior.

Our knowledge base and list of factors that are predictive of increased risk of violence is better than most think though not as good as we want. After the eruption of each national or local dramatic incident of violence careful investigations reveal a broad range of red flags apparent to a range of people who knew the perpetrator. It is rarely ever the case that an episode of serious violence "just seemed to come out of the blue. So, the good news is ordinary citizens can increase their skills allowing them to alert local first responders and ancillary professionals. This type of communication and coordination permits all involved to put together pieces of the puzzle.

So, let's lay out the pieces of the puzzle. Research indicates that the top three indicators of violent behavior are (1) excessive alcohol intake; (2) a history of violent acts, with arrests or criminal activity; and (3) a history of childhood abuse. It is a truism that excessive alcohol use increases the risk of people behaving badly as judgment and self-control become increasingly impaired. Perhaps the single best predictor we all know is: "The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior". Similarly, any information about childhood abuse is critical given the high correlation between being victims of violent behavior as youth and becoming perpetrators of violence in their teens and beyond. Males between the ages of 15-24 from low socioeconomic backgrounds, and minimal social supports present the highest risk to become violent as compared to older people.

Along with the top three risk factors there is a long list of factors used to assess dangerousness and potential for violence. Very recent acts of violence, including property violence that strongly suggest more violence is coming unless interrupted. Verbal and physical threats (menacing or aggressive movements) should be taken at face value. Anyone carrying traditional weapons such as a knife or gun are obvious signs though carrying forks, rocks, ashtrays, or anything that could be used as a weapon warrants close attention. The presence of emotional lability and physical agitation or increased erratic movements are cues not to be ignored. Any type of substance intoxication including alcohol to prescription medications heighten the risk for violent behavior. .

Certain psychological testing batteries coupled with clinical interviews with possible perpetrators family,and friends can be quite helpful in identification of individuals at increased risk to become violent. That said, there are no psychological assessment tools or procedures that can provide unequivocal proof that any given individual will behave in a violent manner. Psychotic patients who are feeling paranoid and a subset of schizophrenics experiencing command auditory hallucinations and people with Bipolar illness in manic or mixed states are at increased risk to behave in violent ways. People diagnosed with certain personality disorders known to include episodes of rage, violent behavior, and poor impulse control are also at increased risk. People experiencing serious psychosocial stressors, are at increased risk, such as those who have experienced recent job loss, death of loved one, divorce, ostracism from social groups, and most anything the average person would identify to be very stressful.

 

Medical and mental health professionals can contribute an extraordinary amount to such risk assessments if given information about or opportunities to evaluate a potential perpetrator. There are a fair number of medical and psychiatric problems that predispose people to experience rapid deterioration in their mental status leading to increased risk for violent behavior. Patients may be violent for many reasons. A comprehensive and detailed clinical interview with a potential perpetrator, contact with fellow friends, students, or co-workers, and consultation with law enforcement personnel and other professionals with extensive experience in assessing risks and factors known to increase the chances for violent behavior.  

Health care professionals are becoming increasingly skilled in the diagnoses of medical and psychiatric conditions known to substantially elevate risks for violence. Acurate diagnoses and prompt and appropriate treatment given to potential violent perpetrators can become a key juncture permitting the interruption of an unfolding and evolving act of tragic violence. It is worth noting that involvement of health care profesionals to terminate an unfolding episode of violence in no way jeopardizes the ability of law enforcement personnel from taking such individuals into custody at a prudent time nor hinders a criminal attorney's capacity to hold violent or nearly violent people from effective prosecution for any charges filed against them. 

Some of the more common psychiatric and medical diagnoses associated with increased risk for violent behavior include psychoactive substance-induced organic mental disorders, antisocial personality disorder, catatonic schizophrenia, medical infections, cerebral neoplasms, decompensating obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, dissociative disorders, impulse control disorders, sexual disorders, severe thyroid disturbance, alcohol idiosyncratic intoxication, delusional disorder, paranoid personality disorder, schizophrenia, temporal lobe epilepsy, bipolar disorder, and uncontrollable violence secondary to interpersonal stress.  That said, it is critical to remind the public that mentally ill people as a group are no more prone to violence than the typical citizen.

Truth be told, it takes a community to identify troubled individuals with whom we cross paths in our daily lives. Everyone has a responsibility to educate themselves on this subject so they can pass information onto designated authorities. A school janitor or university employee might play a biggeer role as compared to most respected expert in violence prediction. Individuals, teachers, employees, students, a passer-by, medical and mental health professionals, animals, co-workers, neighbors, and law enforcement officers share common ground and equal respect in community efforts to provide assistance or neutralize anyone moving toward perpetrating a violent tragedy. It is essential that all citizens and designated individuals from local first responders untis develop ever more effective methods of communication, coordination, and action plans to stop or interrupt the unthinkable.

Heightened awareness of the possibility that violent tragedies can occur anywhere and examination of mental states and behavior of people who pose increased threats to a community can be unsettling and disorienting.  It is essential that people remember our  world is much safer than the media lead us to believe. There is no reason to walk through our lives in guarded, hypervigilant, and fearful states of mind. Sometimes bad things happen.  As individuals and community members we are well-positioned to learning the fundamentals of developing an eye for preditive factors violent people will demonstrate.  Cultivation of the ability to maintain and focus awareness of our surroundings is an important life skill as we move through our lives. Similarly, developing a knack for trusting  gut feelings and exercising  common sense is another lifelong skill that prompts us to alert authorities to unusual or strange behavior. 

 It is a fact that crises and difficult situations offer opportunities to learn about a dark side of life that can not be wished away.  So, we accept the challenge as individuals to work together to look out for each other as the wolves in sheep's clothing sometimes wander into our territory.  Panicked and divided we become easy prey. United in a sense of Solidarity and community we alert predators that the risks of taking a risk in our communities simply isn't worth the trouble.  Predators instinctively move to safer hunting grounds at the first whiff of "wolf hunters" dressed in routine attire. We've known about big bad wolves, trolls, and monsters since we were children.  As we get older we apply the wisdom and lessons first encountered in fairy tales honing our skills as time goes by.

There is an old Chinese proverb worth some careful thought and reflection as it relates to identification of people at increased risk to become violent.: "Deal with a big problem while it is still small".  A related excerpt from the Bible that makes clear that being naive is not a smart way to move through the world.  "I send you out as sheep amongst wolves.  Be ye therefore as wise as serprents and innocent as doves".  Like fairy tales, these words of wisdom alert us to the responsibility we have to identify predators and protect the innocent and vulnerable from them.  We are all in the same boat--good news anyway you cut it.

 

The world is much safer than the media lead us to believe. There is no reason to walk around in a guarded and fearful state of mind. Learning the fundamentals, maintaining awareness of one's surroundings, trusting your gut and common sense to alert authorities to unusual or suspicious behavior ought become a fundamental life skill. Divided we become easy prey. United in a sense of Solidarity and community and armed with solid information we increase the odds that today will be a good day.

Be safe out there. 

School Bus Drivers Can Halt Sexual Predators Video

From STN EXPO 2007: Acclaimed author, law enforcement professional and member of one of Florida's Child Abduction Response Teams Dr. Duane Dobbert discusses how school bus drivers can help identify sexual predators and bring them to justice. More about Dr.Dobbert at www.drduanedobbert.com

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Psychopathy, Perversion, and Lust Homicide: Recognizing the Mental Disorders That Power Serial Killers

MP3 File

Length-1 hour, 12 minutes, 58 seconds

Deborah Harper, President of Psychjourney, interviews Dr. Duane L. Dobbert, author of Psychopathy, Perversion, and Lust Homicide: Recognizing the Mental Disorders that Power Serial Killers published by Praeger.

Dr. Duane L. Dobbert is a 38 year veteran of the Criminal Justice Profession; serving in clinical, administrative, consulting, teaching, research, and expert witness capacities. Dr. Dobbert is a Fellow of the American College of Forensic Examiners and the American Board of Psychological Specialties. He has consulted in hundreds of criminal justice jurisdictions through-out the United States. Dr. Dobbert has developed and presented training programs pertaining to the nature and identification of sexual predators to law enforcement officers, educators, mental health counselors, and attorneys.

Dr. Dobbert is also the author of Praeger Publisher’s, Halting the Sexual Predators among Us: Preventing Attack, Rape, and Lust Homicide, released in 2004 and Understanding Personality Disorders released in 2007.

Most recently, Dr. Dobbert authored the training program, School Bus Drivers: The 1st Line of Defense Against Sexual Predators. He has trained thousands of School Bus Drivers in "live" audience and DVD formats. Dr. Dobbert is currently a Professor at Florida Gulf Coast University and Capella University. Visit his website.

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The Anatomy of Evil

MP3 File

Length-42 minutes, 2 seconds

Deborah Harper, President of Psychjourney, interviews Michael H. Stone, MD, author of The Anatomy of Evil published by Prometheus Books.

Michael H. Stone, MD (New York, NY) is professor of clinical psychiatry at the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. He is the author of ten books, most recently Personality Disorders: Treatable and Untreatable, and over two hundred professional articles and book chapters. He is also the host of Discovery Channel's former series Most Evil and has been featured in the New York Times, Psychology Today, the Christian Science Monitor, CNN, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, the New York Post, the London Times, the BBAC, and Newsday, among many other media outlets.

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The Snakehead by Patrick Radden Keefe Video Trailer

THE SNAKEHEAD is a panoramic tale of international intrigue and a dramatic portrait of the underground economy in which Americas twelve million illegal immigrants live. Based on hundreds of interviews, Patrick Radden Keefes sweeping narrative tells the story not only of Sister Ping, but of the gangland gunslingers who worked for her, the immigration and law enforcement officials who pursued her, and the generation of penniless immigrants who risked death and braved a 17,000 mile odyssey so that they could realize their own version of the American dream. Learn more at www.thesnakehead.com

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