Posts Tagged ‘types of discrimination’

When does the A word (AGE) start to matter?

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

"The A (Age) Word" BoomerYearbook.com

"The A (Age) Word" BoomerYearbook.com

Inspired by  The Feisty Side of Fifty. com

By Dr. Karen of BoomerYearbook.com

Mature women, even those who enjoyed spectacular good looks in their youth and continue to be attractive and interesting in maturity, tend to lose something when they get past the 50 year barrier. Their flirting is taken literally, seen as ridiculous and even slightly abhorrent by men who only a few short years before would have begged for their phone number, or even worse, men who are downright ancient and unattractive in the extreme seem to think they are now ‘in with a chance!’ As women age, no matter how gracefully they manage to age, they are seen as less intelligent than younger women with better looks! Why is that? Is it in fact simply ‘in their minds’ – this rejection? Or are they genuinely being side-lined by the incoming generation? Or is the problem part of the natural process of the old stepping aside to make way for the young? Obscurity, for a woman who is accustomed to being the center of attention whenever she feels like it, can be unbearable. And how does a woman like that compensate for her loss of status as young, sexy and intelligent? Is she expected to sit back and pretend she is happy to slow down, whether she is or not?

When does the A word (AGE) start to matter? Is it when we begin to feel we are being humored by the local bank manager? (Now, don’t you worry about a thing, my dear, we’ll just leave this until your husband has time to deal with it….) Is it when our daughters begin to rearrange our kitchen cabinets and advise us on the importance of food hygiene when they find we have stored our eggs in the wrong part of the refrigerator? Is it when we start gazing longingly at garments that feature elasticized waistbands or comfortable shoes? Is it when we walk into a crowded restaurant to find no heads turn to look, or pass a silent building site where we once would have raised a chorus of appreciative whistles? Being invisible can be hauntingly consuming for someone who has been confidently accustomed to making a difference to any project she touched…

Dr Karen Turner is a clinical psychologist with an interest in the baby boomer generation as the most successful and resourceful of all generations. BoomerYearbook.com focuses on connecting the baby boomer generation and providing interaction for boomers everywhere. If you are a baby boomer with an interest in the mysteries of the human brain, Boomeryearbook.com is the social network for you.

Two Timing Love Cheats: Baby Boomers Who Sleep Around

Sunday, December 6th, 2009

BoomerYearbook.com

BoomerYearbook.com

By Dr. Karen for BoomerYearbook.com

This series of articles from Boomer Yearbook explores the fascinating and varied sexual behavioral patterns that occur as a result of the impact of the modern World; the challenges faced by men and women of the new age and the hurdles that must be addressed: Boomer Yearbook’s Guide and Coaching Strategy for the baby boomer generation.

Two Timing Love Cheats: Baby Boomers Who Sleep Around

Sexual liberation is great and for sure nobody wants to go back to the days when nice girls sat on the porch and did their courting under the eagle eye of Grandma or a vigilant brother or father. Baby boomers are accustomed to sexual freedom and all the fun that goes with an independent love life. Unfortunately, however, people who have the freedom to indulge their romantic interests also have a tendency to be free with other people’s feelings from time to time.

Baby boomers who grew up in the fifties will remember how sternly love cheats were dealt with in those days. Dating was generally viewed to be something you did socially rather than sexually and so it was not unusual for girls to go out with different men over a few weeks but only very bad girls would sleep with each one of them and probably earn a shabby reputation for doing so.

Long term boyfriends were usually made official in some way; with token rings exchanged and the words ‘going steady’ bandied about to justify physical intimacies that would be unacceptable between casual friends. Love cheats would therefore be considered ‘heels’ and dealt with accordingly.

Over the decades, love cheats and two timers have changed little in essentials and nowadays, despite the World having matured with regard to sexual freedom, infidelity and disloyalty still hurt as much as back in the fifties! Psychological articles describe to us the kind of emotional pain we feel when we are being deceived by a lover as almost unbearable. We struggle to find ways to deal with it; we withdraw from our friends as we try to come to terms with the loss we feel as a result of being two timed or ‘made a fool of’; we still feel as offended by love rats in this Century as we did in the last.

BoomerYearbook.com

BoomerYearbook.com


Of course there are different types of love cheat. Baby boomers who have gone through life cheating on this person and that person and made a habit of being disloyal will probably never change and never understand the benefits of being faithful to one companion. Others simply find themselves in a deadly three way situation from which they cannot escape and are actually quite nice people who have become caught in an emotional trap.

Love cheats, despite their reputation for having more fun than anyone else, rarely enjoy life. Psychological articles show us that so many love rats have an ingrained sense of inferiority and so find their multiple sexual partners a comfort. They are able to assure themselves that they are popular; in demand; attractive; sought after. In fact, anyone with the right frame of mind can be a love cheat: good looks and superior intelligence are not vital elements, although a degree of charm would be useful.

Baby boomers with a reputation for being “unfaithful in love” will probably enjoy a wide circle of friendships but few friends will trust a love cheat entirely – after all, if a man (or woman) is prepared to lie and manipulate in their intimate relationships, why would they apply a greater degree of integrity to a casual friendship?

The Psychological Article on Two Timing Love Cheats: Baby Boomers Who Sleep Around is part of Boomer Yearbook’s continuing series of baby boomers psychological coaching tips and how to alleviate elderly problems. We believe knowledge is power. We’d love to hear what you think.

Boomer Yearbook is a Social Network and Psychological Articles for Baby Boomers. Connect with old and new friends, or expand your mind and ward off senior moments and elderly problems with dream analysis and online optical illusions and brain games provided by clinical psychologist Dr. Karen Turner. Join other Baby Boomers to stay informed, receive weekly Newsfeeds, and let your opinions be heard. Baby boomers changed the world. We’re not done yet!

signup

Five Things to Carry on a Blind Date

Sunday, December 6th, 2009

BoomerYearbook.com

BoomerYearbook.com

By Dr. Karen for BoomerYearbook.com

This series of articles from Boomer Yearbook explores the fascinating and varied sexual behavioral patterns that occur as a result of the impact of the modern World; the challenges faced by men and women of the new age and the hurdles that must be addressed: Boomer Yearbook’s Guide and Coaching Strategy for the baby boomer generation.

Five Things to Carry on a Blind Date

Contrary to what most lady baby boomers believe, not all men are predatory, sex starved and aggressive monsters out to seduce everything in sight. If you have been invited by a good friend to partner a gentleman for the evening, the chances are (unless your friend is the monster) that he will be amiable and good company. However, it is always a good policy to take certain precautions when planning to spend the evening with a stranger, especially if there is a possibility of being left alone with him.

• Always drive yourself. Never agree to be collected from home by someone you have never met. So take your car keys and do not be party to suggestions of leaving your car parked and accepting a lift home: be independent. If you really like your date, take things slowly and get to know him before you start a physical relationship with a virtual stranger: first date intimacies rarely develop into long term romances.
Baby boomers living alone are vulnerable. Should you find yourself alone with your companion, let him know that someone else knows where you are and who you are spending your evening with. Psychological articles observe that many people who have become accustomed to spending time alone lose their perception of dangerous encounters with strangers. It is safer to always let your date know that you have someone else who takes an interest in where you spend your time. Take a friend’s phone number with you and call them to tell them where you are.
• Take a ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card. This is a euphemism for having a great excuse to leave should the evening be a total disaster. If you are going to spend the evening with someone you do not know, it is possible he will turn out to be your worst nightmare and you will want to escape. Have this ‘get out clause’ ready and waiting rather than trying to think up something plausible in the heat of the moment that will sound unlikely. Baby boomers are resourceful enough to be able to think up a good reason to be somewhere else and do it diplomatically. So use your imagination.
• Money. Always ensure you have enough cash to pay for absolutely everything you eat and drink. Do not make assumptions that your bill will be settled by the other party. Why should they? Baby boomers are traditionalists in some ways and gentlemen often do pay for ladies but that is not to say you should make the assumption.
• Tact and diplomacy! You may like your partner for the evening and want to see more of him (or her) but be sensible and acknowledge that your feelings might not be reciprocated. Do not insist on exchanging phone numbers and addresses – wait for some encouragement! Pushy is never attractive and remember how it feels to be coerced into handing out personal contact details! Psychological articles tell us that sometimes it is easy to make mistakes in our perceptions of the impression we make on others.

The Psychological Article on Five Things to Carry on a Blind Date is part of Boomer Yearbook’s continuing series of baby boomers psychological coaching tips and how to alleviate elderly problems. We believe knowledge is power. We’d love to hear what you think.

Boomer Yearbook is a Social Network and Psychological Articles for Baby Boomers. Connect with old and new friends, or expand your mind and ward off senior moments and elderly problems with dream analysis and online optical illusions and brain games provided by clinical psychologist Dr. Karen Turner. Join other Baby Boomers to stay informed, receive weekly Newsfeeds, and let your opinions be heard. Baby boomers changed the world. We’re not done yet!

signup

Speed Dating: The Lady Baby Boomer’s Worst Nightmare

Sunday, December 6th, 2009

By Dr. Karen for BoomerYearbook.com

BoomerYearbook.com

BoomerYearbook.com

This series of articles from Boomer Yearbook explores the fascinating and varied sexual behavioral patterns that occur as a result of the impact of the modern World; the challenges faced by men and women of the new age and the hurdles that must be addressed: Boomer Yearbook’s Guide and Coaching Strategy for the baby boomer generation

Speed Dating: The Lady Baby Boomer’s Worst Nightmare

Lady baby boomers who find themselves available again late in life, either through bereavement or divorce, can find stepping into the strange world of dating in the 21st Century not only daunting but also populated with predatory beings out to use and abuse.

The comfort of a long term relationship such as marriage can bring security yet also complacence and it is common for ladies who have been in a lengthy relationship to lose touch with modern dating etiquette.

‘Getting back in the saddle’ can be a traumatic experience for someone who has been accustomed to spending her evenings hooked to the television with a plate of potato chips and glass of wine. Comfortable slippers are replaced with trendy and decidedly uncomfortable stilettos and Mrs Baby Boomer sails forth to bravely conquer the dating game, expecting the social guidelines to be little changed from twenty years ago.

Psychological articles that explore relationships between men and women note that dating has become increasingly casual, even cynical, and just when we all thought networking could not get any more outrageous – up popped speed dating!

Could there be anything more unromantic than cruising a room full of strangers, small-talking each one, coldly intending to make a ‘pros and cons’ list of the faults and virtues of each one, and against the clock! It is the essence of the cynic’s view of human relations, yet speed dating enjoyed enormous popularity when it was first introduced. Psychological articles observe its detachment is possibly its main attraction – the safety of distance; being able to ‘view’ the goods safely, without obligation to purchase…try before you buy, so to speak!

Some baby boomers returning to dating after a long time off the scene find men’s attitudes to a woman’s physical allurements a little offensive. It is no longer considered impolite to make a reference to a woman’s physical attractions on early acquaintance and some women find it comforting to be complemented on the size of their breasts or the length of their legs. For older baby boomers, however, such remarks are discomforting in the extreme.

Female baby boomers fresh to the dating game after a long absence of twenty or so years often choose speed dating as an experiment – dipping their toes in the water prior to taking the plunge. The result is usually horror and disappointment followed by blind panic as Mrs B runs for the car keys and heads home again to the TV, the bowl of potato chips and a nice soothing episode of Desperate Housewives!

Ladies contemplating dating again are better off joining a special interest or dinner dating club rather than attempting speed dating on an empty stomach. And unless you have an interest in men who drink a lot and flirt a lot, don’t go looking for Mr Right in a bar or nightclub: you are certain to find the wrong kind of companion if you go searching for him in all the wrong places! Take your time and find a social circle that is right for you rather than hurling yourself into a strange and uncomfortable ordeal that leaves you yearning to go home to the TV!

The Psychological Article on Speed Dating: The Lady Baby Boomer’s Worst Nightmare is part of Boomer Yearbook’s continuing series of baby boomers psychological coaching tips and how to alleviate elderly problems. We believe knowledge is power. We’d love to hear what you think.

Boomer Yearbook is a Social Network and Psychological Articles for Baby Boomers. Connect with old and new friends, or expand your mind and ward off senior moments and elderly problems with dream analysis and online optical illusions and brain games provided by clinical psychologist Dr. Karen Turner. Join other Baby Boomers to stay informed, receive weekly Newsfeeds, and let your opinions be heard. Baby boomers changed the world. We’re not done yet!

signup

Is Baby Boomer Sex Losing its Flavor?

Sunday, December 6th, 2009

BoomerYearbook.com

BoomerYearbook.com

This series of articles from Boomer Yearbook explores the fascinating and varied sexual behavioral patterns that occur as a result of the impact of the modern World; the challenges faced by men and women of the new age and the hurdles that must be addressed: Boomer Yearbook’s Guide and Coaching Strategy for the baby boomer generation.

Is Baby Boomer Sex Losing its Flavor?

The old adage teaches us that familiarity breeds contempt. Something that is easily attained is often under valued and too much sex certainly loses its appeal if it is offered too frequently and in the same worn out format. Baby boomers like sex as a rule and tend to seek intimate relationships to enhance their lives in a variety of shapes and forms. Psychological articles tell us, however, that too much sex becomes banal and boring.

Of course sexual excitement that is available with a young and nubile (or virile, as the case may be) partner has a quite different appeal to indulging in sex with the same partner you have lived with for the last twenty years and who needs vari-focals to read the instructions on her sexual lubricant. That kind of sex is massively over rated and even the most rampant baby boomers may be leaning towards being pleased with postponement.

Some people have a self image issue that precludes them from seeking sex with appropriate partners or partners of their own age. Their false impression of their own appeal leads them to fool themselves and take a disingenuous view of what their mirror reflection tells them. They see young and sexy while others see the reality: elderly; flaccid; well past its sell-by-date. For these people with an inflated notion of self, their long term partners with all the inevitable signs of age such as wrinkles and crow’s feet; are no longer appetizing. They seek sexual gratification, often with disastrous results, elsewhere, feeling their baby boomer partner has lost his or her flavor sexually. Psychological articles tell us that in fact these baby boomers are experiencing a sense of loss and that a reality check is in store as they seek the attentions of partners who are younger and fitter.

Sexual activities for seniors vary with lifestyle. Those who have stayed ultra fit throughout early and late middle age experience enormous sexual pleasure as they enter their sixties and seventies and if they have a long term partner sharing the same physical interests, in both conventional and same sex marriages and relationships, they are more likely to stay sexually content into old age. Illness can sometimes throw a monkey wrench in the works when it comes to a healthy sex life for couples entering later life, leading one or the other to need sexual gratification elsewhere.

On the whole, baby boomer sex does not lose its flavor, although for most aging boomers, it does seem to wane and suffer as a result of circumstance.

The Psychological Article on Is Baby Boomer Sex Losing its Flavor? is part of Boomer Yearbook’s continuing series of baby boomers psychological coaching tips and how to alleviate elderly problems. We believe knowledge is power. We’d love to hear what you think.

Boomer Yearbook is a Social Network and Psychological Articles for Baby Boomers. Connect with old and new friends, or expand your mind and ward off senior moments and elderly problems with dream analysis and online optical illusions and brain games provided by clinical psychologist Dr. Karen Turner. Join other Baby Boomers to stay informed, receive weekly Newsfeeds, and let your opinions be heard. Baby boomers changed the world. We’re not done yet!

signup

Boomers Astounding Ability to Remarry

Sunday, December 6th, 2009

BoomerYearbook.com

BoomerYearbook.com

By Dr. Karen for BoomerYearbook.com

This series of articles from Boomer Yearbook explores the fascinating and varied sexual behavioral patterns that occur as a result of the impact of the modern World; the challenges faced by men and women of the new age and the hurdles that must be addressed: Boomer Yearbook’s Guide and Coaching Strategy for the baby boomer generation.

Baby Boomers and Their Astounding Ability to Remarry

As the sexual revolution of the fifties, sixties and seventies exploded many of the principals and traditions of marriage, baby boomers found themselves leading a crusade against convention. The standards of our grandmothers, who ‘saved themselves for one man’ were replaced by independent views that ran riot over the usual perimeters that bound social behavior and general public expectation of how to behave and with whom.

Despite this, baby boomers have still managed to uphold, albeit loosely, the sacriment of marriage, although it should not surprise anyone that they have done so on their own terms. Young couples tend to live together outside marriage, sometimes for many years and produce several children in their ‘common law’ state before finally deciding to get hitched.

So why do they bother? Couples who have enjoyed an intimate relationship for so long they are better acquainted than many married couples might suddenly make a decision to lurch down the aisle in a lavish ceremony, inviting family and friends to a flamboyant exhibition of devotion, their children heavily involved in the service and the whole debacle costing thousands of dollars they can sometimes ill afford. Why?

The answer is ‘security’. Women might be independent and self confident yet they still feel they require the piece of paper and the requisite vows of everlasting devotion before they feel truly cherished and those baby boomers who do not believe in the fairy tale are swiftly dismissed as cynical and out of touch with reality, despite the soaring divorce rate.

Interestingly, marriage has undergone a subtle metamorphosis in recent decades. The longevity of marriage has definitely suffered and in the 21st Century, most couple profess to wanting to stay together forever ‘if possible’ rather than ‘no matter what!’ This casual attitude to ‘until death separates us’ has led to many baby boomers entering into the state of marriage not one or twice but on several occasions throughout their lives, leaving the local church bridal carpet in many home towns downright threadbare and wedding albums featuring a veritable montage of photographs of spouses through the ages!

Baby boomers, true to type, have put their own interpretation on what constitutes eternal devotion and left the World with a more comfortable ‘boomer-esque’ version of the ritual. Boomers threw the ‘obey’ part of ‘love and honor…’ out the window as soon as they could get away with it and left in the marriage service only those vows they felt were reasonable and manageable. ‘Obeying’ one’s husband was just not boomer-like and it had to go: lifetime affection should be enough, so boomer ladies thought, without bringing all that servile nonsense into it!

Psychological articles teach us that people who enter into multiple marriages enjoy the security that marriage affords; the satisfaction of tying up the loose ends; the gallant protection of the male; the united front; and lastly but least favorite with lady boomers – ‘making an honest woman of the little lady!’

As boomers remarry at the rate of knots and divorce just as quickly before going on to the next romantic adventure, psychological articles are yet to observe the long term effects on society as a whole.

The Psychological Article on Baby Boomers and Their Astounding Ability to Remarry is part of Boomer Yearbook’s continuing series of baby boomers psychological coaching tips and how to alleviate elderly problems. We believe knowledge is power. We’d love to hear what you think.

Boomer Yearbook is a Social Network and Psychological Articles for Baby Boomers. Connect with old and new friends, or expand your mind and ward off senior moments and elderly problems with dream analysis and online optical illusions and brain games provided by clinical psychologist Dr. Karen Turner. Join other Baby Boomers to stay informed, receive weekly Newsfeeds, and let your opinions be heard. Baby boomers changed the world. We’re not done yet!

signup

A Nation Of One – The True Church?

Sunday, December 6th, 2009

byb-religion

Dr. Karen for BoomerYearbook.com

If one were to go back in time, how would the Churches of then differ from the Churches of today? It is an interesting thought for those who make it a practice to attend regular church services. Not for just specific denominations but for all Churches.

Did we somewhere along the way turn the word “congregation” into “segregation”? Perhaps that’s why some churches have a predominantly white congregation, while others have mostly black.

There was a National Congregations study that says about 14% of mostly white congregations stated they had no minorities in their group in 1998, and a 20% minority congregation in 2007. While religious aspects are known to be resistant to change, there is very clear evidence in these figures that show that not to be the current trend in white church congregations.

However the change is primarily in the white congregations as the majority of the black churches reviewed are stable in their segregation; meaning there has been no change towards white member inclusion.

Not only have there been changes in the congregations but there have been several changes in the presentation of the worship. If you were to ask an avid church goer who is now a older baby boomer or senior, what changes have evolved over the years they would tell you there have been significant changes. The Churches don’t seem to be quite so staunch and formal. There is more enthusiasm by acts such as hand clapping and swaying to the music. The music consists of small bands performing a different class of hymns as opposed to the traditional ones.

What has brought about these changes? Many of the traditional churches were finding that their congregations are aging and attendance was slipping. It became a sign of the times that the Church had to be more inviting to the younger generation. This was partly successful due to the relaxing of the formal presentation, and the incorporation of music geared to echo boomers. The modern Church has a more personal touch and is less ritualistic.

There are many older church-goers that feel the Church has become too lax and has lost its serenity and purpose. This makes for a controversial conversation. It makes one think what really is the true purpose of the church? Is it to draw a person to a closer communion with God, or is it to carry out what may have become a routine that has been handed down through the years?

One thing is evident; any individual that speaks of a personal relationship with God through the Church seems to have a certain aura about them of peace and happiness and isn’t that what counts?

Boomer Yearbook is a Social Network and Psychological Articles for Baby Boomers. Connect with old and new friends, or expand your mind and ward off senior moments and elderly problems with dream analysis and online optical illusions and brain games provided by clinical psychologist Dr. Karen Turner. Join other Baby Boomers to stay informed, receive weekly Newsfeeds, and let your opinions be heard. Baby boomers changed the world. We’re not done yet!

signup

Does Baby Boomer Sex Ruin Marriages

Thursday, November 26th, 2009
Does Baby Boomer Sex Ruin Marriages: BoomerYearbook.com

Does Baby Boomer Sex Ruin Marriages: BoomerYearbook.com

This series of articles from Boomer Yearbook explores the fascinating and varied sexual behavioral patterns that occur as a result of the impact of the modern World; the challenges faced by men and women of the new age and the hurdles that must be addressed: Boomer Yearbook’s Guide and Coaching Strategy for the baby boomer generation.

By BoomerYearbook.com

Baby boomers are famously responsible for the sexual revolution in the middle of the last Century. Interested observers are now asking uncomfortable questions about the values discarded along the revolutionary road at the hands of the baby boomer generation and comparing statistics that describe the boomer generation as less than successful when it comes to accomplishing happy and long term relationships.

Psychological articles on elderly problems show us that, far from being content to exist within an unhappy marriage, or even attempt to repair it, baby boomers are quick to separate and divorce, abandoning their marriage like an old winter coat whenever it suits them to move on to new pastures.

It is true that the divorce courts have certainly been given a good beating by boomers. The reasons for boomers being so susceptible to fractured relationships are multiple; many of them attributed to the boomer fearlessness that compelled them to ban the bomb, the bra and the Berlin Wall, among other popular crusades credited to the boomer ability to object, protest and demonstrate their disapproval whenever the mood strikes them.

One of the theories behind baby boomers’ divorce track record is that, having made sex accessible without inhibition, they lack the moral disciplines present in the conventional marriages of the earlier part of the 20th Century. When you indiscriminately remove shame and accountability from a situation, you admit a certain quota of freedom and levity – not all of it welcome!

Does boomer "Free" sex harm marriage: BoomerYearbook.com

Did boomer "Free" love harm marriages: BoomerYearbook.com

Another idea behind boomers’ unlucky experiences with long term commitment is that they seek an unrealistic standard when it comes to connubial delight. Boomer ladies are notorious for kicking poor performers out of the bedroom in favor of lovers with a better technique – and boomer men like to be ‘forever young’, prompting them to search out younger partners – sometimes with disastrous results, so perhaps there is some truth in boomer sex contributing to the divorce rate!

Psychological articles on elderly problems speculate that another factor in baby boomers’ dissatisfaction is the pandemic indifference of the rest of human society: nobody could care less what anybody else does, in other words! In the reign of our forefather’s lifetime commitments, society was only too ready to point the finger and speculate, often unkindly, on other people’s marital shortcomings: nowadays, family units are fractured beyond recognition and few people pass judgement on the structure of others’ family and extended family relationships.

The Psychological Article on Does Baby Boomer Sex Ruin Happy Marriages? is part of Boomer Yearbook’s continuing series of baby boomers psychological coaching tips and how to alleviate elderly problems. We believe knowledge is power. We’d love to hear what you think.

Boomer Yearbook is a Social Network and Psychological Articles for Baby Boomers. Connect with old and new friends, or expand your mind and ward off senior moments and elderly problems with dream analysis and online optical illusions and brain games provided by clinical psychologist Dr. Karen Turner. Join other Baby Boomers to stay informed, receive weekly Newsfeeds, and let your opinions be heard. Baby boomers changed the world. We’re not done yet!

signup

Baby Boomers living a Tao-centered “sickness free” life

Friday, September 18th, 2009
Baby Boomers Tao guide to alleviating elderly problems

Baby Boomers Tao guide to alleviating elderly problems


By Boomeryearbook.com

The Tao Te Ching is a sacred text containing eighty one verses that were dictated by a self-realized man, Lao Tzu. Lao Tzu lived approximately five hundred years before the birth of Jesus – the Tao Te Ching is the most widely translated body of text after the Bible and its eighty one verses are believed to be the ultimate commentary on living a harmonious life by observing nature – this seems to be exactly what the doctor prescribed for the Seventy-six million baby boomers.

The 71st verse: Knowing ignorance is strength. Ignoring knowledge is sickness. Only when we are sick of our sickness shall we cease to be sick. The sage is not sick but is sick of sickness; this is the secret of health – a Wayne Dyer translation

Lao Tzu is teaching us that sickness simply implies that there is some imbalance in the mind or body. He is telling us that all sickness, mental and physical, stems from not being in tune with the great Tao (or the great Way) – in simpler terms, something about ‘you’ is not in agreement with the ways of nature. Even the slightest presence of a cough, cold, fever or fatigue indicates that there is surely a mental equivalent of that in the form of bad thinking habits – anger, fear, hatred, jealousy or guilt – a movement away from the pure compassion, love, acceptance and patience of the great Tao.

Taoist sages have rightly concluded that fear, hatred, doubt, impatience, greed or any other “ego-based” thoughts always end up creating some ‘dis-ease’ (hyphenated) in the mind or body. Thus, for optimum health, baby boomers will need to weed out such thoughts and to stay centered in the natural well-being of the great Tao by planting seeds of compassion, mercy, patience, well being and empathy. As a great mystic once said, “Don’t think of illness, think of health. Don’t think of thorns, think of flowers. Don’t think of ugliness, misery, think of beauty and joy”.

Practicing the Tao

Contrary to what baby boomers may think, the truth is that it’s never too late to make healthy changes in our lives. Start with cultivating a “happy mind” by refusing to entertain negative thoughts and feelings. Start to perceive a sneeze, an ache, a slight pain or any other form of minor discomfort as the body’s request to allow it to return to its natural healthy state by taking some time off, relaxing or simply going for a walk. A “happy mind” would naturally trust and follow the body’s messages knowing fully well that a body that’s often heard; never falls sick.

Baby Boomers will benefit from taking a good look at their habits, engagements and pursuits from a Tao perspective – ask yourself if these thoughts, habits or pursuits could be a cause of any mental and physical dis-ease (both now and in the future)? If the answer is yes, then simply make it a point that you will not continue to ignore this – after all ignoring knowledge is sickness and knowing ignorance is strength. We baby boomers simply have to take gradual and steady steps everyday towards weeding out negative and impure thoughts/habits/engagements from our lives and planting in seeds of compassion, sharing, peace and empathy.

When Sathya Sai Baba, a God-realized man in India, received multiple fractures to his hipbone; a disciple asked him how he could remain happy and blissful in such an apparent painful physical state. His reply was:

“People today need to learn to give up body attachments and experience their divinity within. Pain is a natural phenomenon. But suffering is a “choice”. I do not suffer, as I am not (just) the body”.

Psychological Articles as Solutions to Types of Discrimination

Psychological Articles as Solutions to Types of Discrimination

Boomer Yearbook is a Social Network and Psychological Articles for Baby Boomers. Connect with old and new friends, or expand your mind and ward off senior moments and elderly problems with dream analysis and online optical illusions and brain games provided by clinical psychologist Dr. Karen Turner. Join other Baby Boomers to stay informed, receive weekly Newsfeeds, and let your opinions be heard. Baby boomers changed the world. We’re not done yet!

signup

Reflections of A Generation (pt. 5): Lifting the Veil – The Fight For Gender Equality in Iran

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009
Iranian Females fighting for Gender Equality

Iranian Females fighting for Gender Equality


By Boomeryearbook.com

American baby boomers are well aware of the continual struggle to achieve gender equality in a male dominated society. In fact, Baby boomers, feminists, and other concerned activists continue to challenge perceived injustices to this very day. Iranian echo boomers are finding that their own struggles in this regard are very much akin to those that baby boomers experienced during the 1960s. The comparison is only in essence, however. For the Iranian activist, gender issues are more complicated than the simple bias of a misogynistic (in a cultural sense) social structure. Rather, there are the dual issues of cultural bias and religious beliefs that have to be dealt with.

What is worse, however, is that Iranian women have be subjected to oppressive restrictions under the guise of religion that in fact, have little or no basis at all in the tenants of Islam. What is problematic about this is that while cultural bias can be challenged to a significant degree, religious based restrictions cannot. Because Iran is a theocracy, challenges to the religious underpinnings are not tolerated. Protest of this nature will result in imprisonment or worse.

During the early period after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, this practice was especially rampant. Women, for example, could not seek a divorce from their husbands – regardless of the degree of ill treatment or abuse that was leveled against her. This is a clear contradiction to Islamic teachings which prescribe that women have recourse for divorce in abusive situations. Women, during this time, were also restricted from employment opportunities and it was recommended that they stay at home. Again, this is contrary to the detailed teachings of Islam which does not prohibit a woman from seeking employment (provided she doesn’t neglect her responsibilities to her family). Indeed, the Prophet’s own wife Khadija was a wealthy merchant.

Iranian women have been fighting these contradictions and other injustices since the revolution. Iranian women had gained many concessions prior to the revolution and truly expected that those hard won gains would continue under an Islamic system. While many, if not most of those gains were lost, a great deal of women had nevertheless benefited from the increased educational opportunities that were made available prior to the revolution. This resulted in a generation of educated women that were unlikely to settle for anything less than a level of gender equality that was commiserate with their understanding of the modern world.

Consider, for example, that one in every five Ph.D. students in Iran is a woman. About 56% of all natural science university students are women. Indeed, well over 70% of engineering students in Iran are women. The Iranian government, while not pleased with these numbers, has realized that much of the nation’s intellectual capital is invested in women. In order to compete on a national stage in areas of technology, business and other areas, it is necessary to have the input and participation of women. This fact alone has been a means for women to push the gender equality platform, albeit slowly, at least in areas of employment opportunities.

What is clear is that there is a desire for Iranian women to embrace many of the freedoms that American baby boomers and others Western women enjoy. But it goes beyond just wanting western style comforts; rather it is a desire to embrace those basic and fundamental liberties that are inherent to success and happiness. American baby boomers have shown that equal participation of women in the social structure results in significant societal contributions. In order for Iran to progress to its stated hope of being on equal footing with other industrialized nations, it will need to capitalize on the full participation of its female citizens.

byb-religion

The Psychological Article on
Reflections of A Generation (pt. 5): Lifting the Veil – The Fight For Gender Equality in Iran
is part of Boomer Yearbook’s continuing series of psychological articles on World Religions, politics and understanding as a solution to types of discrimination. We believe knowledge is power. We’d love to hear what you think.

Boomer Yearbook is a Social Network and Psychological Articles for Baby Boomers, Echo Boomers and Booming Seniors. Connect with old and new friends, or expand your mind and ward off senior moments and elderly problems with dream analysis and online optical illusions and brain games provided by clinical psychologist Dr. Karen Turner. Join other Baby Boomers to stay informed, receive weekly Newsfeeds, and let your opinions be heard. Baby boomers changed the world. We’re not done yet!

signup