We the People--A snippet from Dreams of a Nation

We The People

Our Constitution opens up with the words "We, the People..." This tells us five important things:

1. EXPRESSION of the People—the Constitution is the voice of the people. It speaks the People's will. When we amend the Constitution and any other law under it, we are changing the will of the people. The will of the people must therefore be understood before it (the law) is changed.

2. UNITY of the People—the People speak as ONE. Unity is assumed. Together We the People spoke into the world, declaring ourselves to be one nation.

3. ESSENCE of State—the existence of the nation rests primarily on the People. Not the law, the boundaries, the physical landscape, the geography etc.

4. SOVEREIGNTY—the People are the ultimate source of Power. They are superior to the Government, Parliament and the laws. They are even superior to the Constitution, but only collectively.

5. RESPONSIBILITY for the Nation—the People, if sovereign, are responsible for both the progress and the problems of the nation. No one else. We cannot claim to be masters of our own destiny whilst blaming external factors for our problems.

See Video 2 here. 

Dreams of a Nation Part 3: National Values

Optimal State for Optimum Performance

In my pursuit of a qualification in life coaching, I picked up a useful book called "Mastering Coaching", on Amazon, by a "guru" in the life coaching space, Max Landsberg. Glancing at the cover of the book I felt a little intimidated. The sub-topics included mindfulness, neuroscience, positive psychology and experiential learning. You see, I've been wondering whether some learning in neuroscience and psychology would boost my coaching career. After all, wasn't coaching to do with fixing the mindset of the coachee.

My fear was quickly dispelled in the book when Landsberg made it clear that firstly, the findings in neuroscience are not completely foolproof, and secondly, coaches did not have to use the findings in their work. Indeed, coaches sometimes apply the principles anyway without understanding them.

Landsberg demonstrates the findings of neuroscience in simple-speak and helps the reader see their uses and applications in coaching. Being new to these space I found myself drinking up the new knowledge being provided to me through this book. And my insecurities about the use of neuroscience and psychology (I'm not even sure if those words are supposed to be interchangeable!) began to fade away.

I particularly enjoyed Landsberg's synopsis of the Csikszentmihlyi's Flow state,  proposed by Mihaly Csikszentmihlyi (pronounced chick-sent-me-high). He was initially curious with the differing happiness in people who had much material wealth (generally not being very happy), and those who were absorbed with activities that brought little material wealth--such as artists, writers and composers. Mihaly (notice I'm using the easier name to spell) published his book called "Beyond Boredom and Anxiety: Experiencing Flow in Work and Play".

Flow refers to the high emotional state that one is in when completely absorbed in an activity, so much so that time either stands still or rushes by to quickly. There is an internal ecstasy experienced during this moment. I've heard this phrase used by coaching guru Tony Robbins but never really understood what he was talking about. This book gives me a clue.

Mihaly provides three suggested conditions that increase the likelihood of achieving flow, note the subtle caveat--increases the likelihood.

1. A clear goal--knowing what exactly you will be achieving through the activity gives you focus and a proper measure of your progress;

2. Feedback--get clear and immidiate feedback regarding your performance. Each industry has its way of telling you your doing well and where you need to improve;

3. Skill v Challenge Balance--the challenge should not be too easy nor too hard, respecting your skill and competence.

Understanding these prerequistes for achieving flow are very helpful both as a coach and coachee. Learning simple methods of getting yourself into the state required to execute a performance wee is invaluable. As a coach it provides a tool to helping your coaching achieve that state in their current situations, or changing their situations to discover their flow.

If you're an aspiring coach, I recommend picking up Landsberg's book Mastering Coaching. I first thought that I wouldn't qualify for the book since I am not even a rookie coach.

But after just half-way through the book I am  convinced it is applicable for any level of coaching you may be in.

Dreams of a Nation: Part 2--Source of Power

By GDW

In this next video in my Dreams of a Nation series, I discuss the opening three words of the Preamble of the Constitution, which gives a clue as to the source of power in PNG.

PDF copy of the Preamble of the PNG Constitution

I realise that people actually need a copy of the Preamble, so here it is.

Since I am advocating for every citizen (and resident) to have a copy of the Preamble, the least I can do is provide a PDF copy.

Please click on this link to access your copy.

Regards,

Ganjiki

Dreams of a Nation: Intro

I recently started a brand new personal adventure: video blogging. This activates a You Tube account that I have had for several years and never used it for anything apart from watching videos. 

My first project is a series of videos called Dreams of a Nation”, a commentary on the Preamble of the Constitution of Papua New Guinea. I have had the burden for a while now to share my thoughts publicly on the importance of the Preamble in the life of PNG. I have said it before in writing that it should be mandatory reading for Papua New Guineans. I have given a few talks on the Preamble already and found that my audience really appreciated it. 

I had not even thought of putting my thoughts out on video until I got here to the UK for my post-graduate studies. Since technology can go places that I cannot go, it makes sense to use it to share my thoughts. 

So here it is! Not the best quality for now but should suffice to communicate my message. 

My first video post is an introductory video. In it I mention why I am doing this particular topic and the main headings of the Preamble that will be discussing. 

Here’s a synopsis of the introduction. 

The Preamble is a fundamental pivotal piece of literature for PNG. It provides our foundational beliefs, goals, and values. As a statement of our vision, it was vital that the Preamble should have been mandatory reading for Papua New Guineans from Day 1. The tragedy is that that has not been so. And now majority of Papua New Guineans have no clue what the Preamble is, let alone its contents.  

As former US Senator Robert Dole said of the Preamble of the US Constitution (Declaration of Independence), “If the lost art of memorization ever returns to our educational system, I recommend that every American student learn by heart the Preamble of the United States Constitution. Its fifty-two words encapsulate all that our government has aspired to accomplish over the past 200 years and hopes to accomplish in the future.”.” (I slightly err in my quoting in the video). 

I believe the same has to be done for the Preamble of our Constitution. It has to become part of our curriculum. Students have to learn it. If not memorize it, then at least appreciate so that they take it to heart. Then they can live according to those ideals in every day life. And if they become national leaders, they can apply it when they devise national policy. 

At the very least, my hope is that this video series will start raising the conversation regarding the place of the Preamble in our every day life. I hope people will get curious about this important document and begin to seek it out.

 

Below is a link to the first video. 

The World Versus The Word

By GDW

The World says man's greatest need 

Is Self-Actualization

"Be true to yourself

Follow your heart"

But Truth says "Deny yourself

And Come follow me"

The World says "follow your heart"

Truth says the heart is deceitful

Above all things

The World says if it feels good, do it

Truth says what you FEEL like doing, don't

The World says Me First

And Be the Master

Truth says Be Last

Be the server 

The World says from Monkeys we came

You can be any other sex or specie

If you can afford surgery

Truth says you are fearfully and wonderfully made

Made to be like me

An opposite thing I forbade

The World says you can marry your own sex

Forget that it's not natural and nothing fits, 

Or that its unproductive

Truth says a man shall to his wife cleave

What is together let no man put asunder

And what is separate let no man put together

The World hates Truth

Yet Truth loves the World

The World would kill the Truth

But the Truth already died 

Died for the World

And now lives again

The World says "there's no absolutely truth"

Can that be absolutely true? 

Truth says "I am THE Truth

I live again

And to Testify to the Truth I came

Who shall we believe?

As both scream "come follow me!"

The World screams powerfully 

But only Truth can set us free... 

---

Ganjiki