The Evolution Project of AID Atlanta is highlighted in this article.
http://www.southernvoice.com/2008/6-13/locallife/feature/8692.cfm
MIT Fellowship and Relocation
8 years ago
Monday, June 16, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Living In All Realms
www.dailyom.com
June 11, 2008
Living In All Realms
Bear Medicine
When the image of a bear enters our consciousness, we may first notice their size, strength, and power, but beyond their physical attributes lay many traits that can guide us deeper into our experience of life. Their abilities as hunters and powerful protectors of their loved ones are well known, but you may also envision them on a quest for variety as they seek out the flavors and scents of the world, first fishing, then enjoying berries, or braving angry bees to indulge in honey. But their hidden strength lies in the bear’s ability to travel between the physical and spiritual worlds, a talent that is recognized all around the world by those who live in harmony with nature.
One way that bears access their inner world is during hibernation when they find a safe and womblike environment to let their physical bodies rest while their spirit travels. They travel through time, mentally digesting and learning from their experiences, but they also travel beyond the realm of mind and body into the dreamtime, where they are able to create their goals and then be rejuvenated by the source of all life. In this sacred space, they are connected to physical, mental, and spiritual realms all at once and can find the balance that they need to reenter the and continue successfully in the world.
Polar bears don’t enter a deep state of hibernation like other bears, but instead fluidly cross between realms on the physical plane as well the spiritual. Their reflective, translucent fur makes them difficult to see as they move across the frozen ice, blending into terrain covered with snow, making them seem like they are shimmering between dimensions. They move as easily in water as on land, agile and able in both worlds. They can remind us that we are one with our environment, inseparable from it. They teach us that while we can take time apart to connect with spirit, we can also carry that awareness with us as we move through life, making the spiritual indistinguishable from the material. By aligning ourselves with bear energy, we fully embody the best of all worlds.
What do you think?
June 11, 2008
Living In All Realms
Bear Medicine
When the image of a bear enters our consciousness, we may first notice their size, strength, and power, but beyond their physical attributes lay many traits that can guide us deeper into our experience of life. Their abilities as hunters and powerful protectors of their loved ones are well known, but you may also envision them on a quest for variety as they seek out the flavors and scents of the world, first fishing, then enjoying berries, or braving angry bees to indulge in honey. But their hidden strength lies in the bear’s ability to travel between the physical and spiritual worlds, a talent that is recognized all around the world by those who live in harmony with nature.
One way that bears access their inner world is during hibernation when they find a safe and womblike environment to let their physical bodies rest while their spirit travels. They travel through time, mentally digesting and learning from their experiences, but they also travel beyond the realm of mind and body into the dreamtime, where they are able to create their goals and then be rejuvenated by the source of all life. In this sacred space, they are connected to physical, mental, and spiritual realms all at once and can find the balance that they need to reenter the and continue successfully in the world.
Polar bears don’t enter a deep state of hibernation like other bears, but instead fluidly cross between realms on the physical plane as well the spiritual. Their reflective, translucent fur makes them difficult to see as they move across the frozen ice, blending into terrain covered with snow, making them seem like they are shimmering between dimensions. They move as easily in water as on land, agile and able in both worlds. They can remind us that we are one with our environment, inseparable from it. They teach us that while we can take time apart to connect with spirit, we can also carry that awareness with us as we move through life, making the spiritual indistinguishable from the material. By aligning ourselves with bear energy, we fully embody the best of all worlds.
What do you think?
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Tuberculosis in the New York City House Ballroom Community
Self-Reported Tuberculosis Disease And Tuberculin Skin Testing in the New York City House Ballroom Community
http://www.apria.com/resources/1,2725,494-765590,00.html
http://www.apria.com/resources/1,2725,494-765590,00.html
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Laying Our Burdens Down
www.dailyom.com
June 6, 2008
At The Feet Of The Divine
Laying Our Burdens Down
We all know the feeling of walking through life as if we are carrying the huge burden of our worries and stresses on our backs and shoulders, struggling to keep moving forward. There is no real way to move freely and fluidly in such a situation, and we are all longing to lay our burdens down. Just imagining that it would be possible to do such a thing can be enough to elicit a sigh of relief and a feeling of lightness.
The human imagination is a powerful tool, and we can use it to take journeys to faraway places without ever leaving our home. Because of this, we too can lay our burdens down at the feet of a divine being such as the great Mother, Buddha or a mountain. Releasing ourselves from that which we can’t handle on our own. No matter how smart we are, how capable we are, or how hard we work, no one can single-handedly cope with all the worries that we tend to take on in the course of our lives. And, we aren't designed to do so. Our wellbeing depends upon our ability to hand over that which we can no longer carry by ourselves.
Visualizing yourself carrying your burdens to the feet of someone or something much bigger than you can be a powerful daily practice. To begin, sit with your eyes closed and envision an all powerful, supremely comforting being in what ever form that takes for you, standing at the end of a road. See yourself carrying a large sack, box, or other container, imagining that all your worries are inside it. Watch as you make your way to the being of your choice, and lay your baggage down at their feet. Allow yourself to feel the lightness and relief of this action, express your gratitude, and surrender. You will be amazed by how this simple meditation can liberate you from a burden you were never meant to carry.
What do you think?
June 6, 2008
At The Feet Of The Divine
Laying Our Burdens Down
We all know the feeling of walking through life as if we are carrying the huge burden of our worries and stresses on our backs and shoulders, struggling to keep moving forward. There is no real way to move freely and fluidly in such a situation, and we are all longing to lay our burdens down. Just imagining that it would be possible to do such a thing can be enough to elicit a sigh of relief and a feeling of lightness.
The human imagination is a powerful tool, and we can use it to take journeys to faraway places without ever leaving our home. Because of this, we too can lay our burdens down at the feet of a divine being such as the great Mother, Buddha or a mountain. Releasing ourselves from that which we can’t handle on our own. No matter how smart we are, how capable we are, or how hard we work, no one can single-handedly cope with all the worries that we tend to take on in the course of our lives. And, we aren't designed to do so. Our wellbeing depends upon our ability to hand over that which we can no longer carry by ourselves.
Visualizing yourself carrying your burdens to the feet of someone or something much bigger than you can be a powerful daily practice. To begin, sit with your eyes closed and envision an all powerful, supremely comforting being in what ever form that takes for you, standing at the end of a road. See yourself carrying a large sack, box, or other container, imagining that all your worries are inside it. Watch as you make your way to the being of your choice, and lay your baggage down at their feet. Allow yourself to feel the lightness and relief of this action, express your gratitude, and surrender. You will be amazed by how this simple meditation can liberate you from a burden you were never meant to carry.
What do you think?
Thursday, June 5, 2008
PERSPECTIVE: A Crisis, and a Riddle Too (Black youth disparities)
By: NATHAN RILEY, Gay City News (NYC)
05/01/2008
It's hard to explain, but black youth contract the AIDS virus more often than their white and Latino peers. Yet when we look at the sexual behavior of these young men, there seems to be little difference.
Gay City News reported that in New York City in recent years blacks accounted for 52 percent of the new cases among young gay and bisexual guys, and Latinos, 34 percent. Unhappily, this is a trend that has persisted for years - these percentages reflect 1,633 diagnoses in young men 13-24 between 2001 and 2006. Remarkably similar data for the same age range were recorded across the United States.
Explanations don't come easily. Blacks don't appear to disregard safe-sex messages any more than Hispanic or white youths; barebacking occurs in all groups.
A meta-study reviewing risk factors for HIV infection of black men bore this out: "Most studies published from the first decade of the epidemic through the present have found comparable, if not lower, self-reported rates of [unprotected anal intercourse] for Black [men who sex with men] relative to other MSM." The conclusion is that condomless sex occurs at roughly comparable rates among the three racial-ethnic blocs, but blacks sero-convert at higher rates.
Similar findings have been reported regarding drug use and the number of sexual partners, according to a June 2006 American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) article.
Even rates of incarceration don't provide an explanation. Black youth face prison at much higher rates than whites, but they also tend to have less sex behind bars, and when they get out they have more partners but use condoms more often. It must be acknowledged, however, that there are virtually no significant studies about the effect of imprisonment on HIV status. Is this ostrich posture how the US handles a bad conscience?
The bottom line is that the bad health outcomes do not appear attributable to riskier behavior. All groups have risk-takers, but the groups don't contract HIV or other STDs at the same rate.
Dr. Ron Stall, a University of Pittsburgh epidemiologist, points out that "sexual networks are bounded by race and class." He is one of the authors of the AJPH article "Greater Risk for HIV Infection of Black Men Who Have Sex With Men: A Critical Literature Review."
Black youth enter an "epidemiological context" that transmits HIV at a higher rate than the sexual networks frequented by young white or Latinos according to Stall.
The prevalence of HIV infection is not the key factor, the AJPH study found. Transmission occurs when an HIV-positive person has high levels of the virus in their bloodstream. Poz people who regularly take effective antiretroviral therapies should have a low viral count, which means they are unlikely to transmit the disease.
In contrast, individuals with the virus who go untested or untreated will often have a high count and be efficient transmitters of the disease. Stall's hypothesis is that young African Americans engage with sex partners with a high viral load more frequently than white or Latino youth do in their sexual networks.
Changing this reality is proving difficult - even though the higher infection rates may not be linked to riskier behavior, the answer can only come by lowering risk-taking even as society works to achieve better health care in people of color communities.
Dr. Monica Sweeney, assistant commissioner of the New York City Health Department, has led a campaign distributing free condoms with the colorful NYC logo. But she believes teenagers - straight and gay - should postpone sexual activity to prevent health risks and allow for a growth in emotional maturity. She would like to see the gay community create new norms about youthful sexual restraint, something that has proved a very tall order among youths generally.
Even in a prevention model based on changing community norms, black youth are at a disadvantage. According to the AJPH review, "Several studies overwhelmingly supported the assertion that Black MSM are less likely than White MSM to identify as gay and to join gay-related organizations."
Dr. Perry N. Halkitis, a professor of applied psychology at NYU who specializes in HIV/AIDS and drug abuse, rejects an exclusive focus on biological factors such as viral load. Twenty-five percent of the gay men in Chelsea are positive and yet the rate of new cases of HIV in that community is still lower than among gay and bi black youth citywide.
"AIDS is not the primary presenting problem for black youth," he said. "They are grappling with homelessness, poverty, and unemployment, and obstacles to education." In these circumstances, "discussions of HIV are not part of the norm."
There are access issues to medical care for black youth, as well. Once you start "layering" the challenges facing black youth, HIV becomes just one of the obstacles that must be negotiated. If the AJPH-Stall framework could be termed primarily biological, Halkitis' bottom line is that "these spikes in HIV are a social construction."
Surely there is overlap between the views Stall and Halkitis articulate, yet it is difficult to fully reconcile their perspectives.
Despite the evidence that risk-taking is relatively constant across racial and ethnic lines, Halkitis emphasizes that in Chelsea young gays are part of a community that supports safe-sex norms. Agencies providing services understand when a client or patient is gay and the young adult doesn't have the burden of declaring himself. According to the AJPH study, blacks are more likely to receive care at public health clinics and less likely to discuss HIV-related concerns with a doctor or nurse.
Of course fully sorting out the biological-social construction debate need not stand in the way of immediate steps.
Reversing the spike in HIV cases among African Americans will require continued growth in gay community-building, increased use of anti-retroviral therapies among all those living with HIV, and a better funded network of gay health services. There are as yet no solid estimates of the number of individuals who would need to begin treatment to reverse the current trajectory and see the number of new HIV cases decline.
The costs of these initiatives are substantial, but currently the largest expenditures on black youth are for prisons, courts, and cops. New priorities recognizing the importance of a healthy nation are required.
05/01/2008
It's hard to explain, but black youth contract the AIDS virus more often than their white and Latino peers. Yet when we look at the sexual behavior of these young men, there seems to be little difference.
Gay City News reported that in New York City in recent years blacks accounted for 52 percent of the new cases among young gay and bisexual guys, and Latinos, 34 percent. Unhappily, this is a trend that has persisted for years - these percentages reflect 1,633 diagnoses in young men 13-24 between 2001 and 2006. Remarkably similar data for the same age range were recorded across the United States.
Explanations don't come easily. Blacks don't appear to disregard safe-sex messages any more than Hispanic or white youths; barebacking occurs in all groups.
A meta-study reviewing risk factors for HIV infection of black men bore this out: "Most studies published from the first decade of the epidemic through the present have found comparable, if not lower, self-reported rates of [unprotected anal intercourse] for Black [men who sex with men] relative to other MSM." The conclusion is that condomless sex occurs at roughly comparable rates among the three racial-ethnic blocs, but blacks sero-convert at higher rates.
Similar findings have been reported regarding drug use and the number of sexual partners, according to a June 2006 American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) article.
Even rates of incarceration don't provide an explanation. Black youth face prison at much higher rates than whites, but they also tend to have less sex behind bars, and when they get out they have more partners but use condoms more often. It must be acknowledged, however, that there are virtually no significant studies about the effect of imprisonment on HIV status. Is this ostrich posture how the US handles a bad conscience?
The bottom line is that the bad health outcomes do not appear attributable to riskier behavior. All groups have risk-takers, but the groups don't contract HIV or other STDs at the same rate.
Dr. Ron Stall, a University of Pittsburgh epidemiologist, points out that "sexual networks are bounded by race and class." He is one of the authors of the AJPH article "Greater Risk for HIV Infection of Black Men Who Have Sex With Men: A Critical Literature Review."
Black youth enter an "epidemiological context" that transmits HIV at a higher rate than the sexual networks frequented by young white or Latinos according to Stall.
The prevalence of HIV infection is not the key factor, the AJPH study found. Transmission occurs when an HIV-positive person has high levels of the virus in their bloodstream. Poz people who regularly take effective antiretroviral therapies should have a low viral count, which means they are unlikely to transmit the disease.
In contrast, individuals with the virus who go untested or untreated will often have a high count and be efficient transmitters of the disease. Stall's hypothesis is that young African Americans engage with sex partners with a high viral load more frequently than white or Latino youth do in their sexual networks.
Changing this reality is proving difficult - even though the higher infection rates may not be linked to riskier behavior, the answer can only come by lowering risk-taking even as society works to achieve better health care in people of color communities.
Dr. Monica Sweeney, assistant commissioner of the New York City Health Department, has led a campaign distributing free condoms with the colorful NYC logo. But she believes teenagers - straight and gay - should postpone sexual activity to prevent health risks and allow for a growth in emotional maturity. She would like to see the gay community create new norms about youthful sexual restraint, something that has proved a very tall order among youths generally.
Even in a prevention model based on changing community norms, black youth are at a disadvantage. According to the AJPH review, "Several studies overwhelmingly supported the assertion that Black MSM are less likely than White MSM to identify as gay and to join gay-related organizations."
Dr. Perry N. Halkitis, a professor of applied psychology at NYU who specializes in HIV/AIDS and drug abuse, rejects an exclusive focus on biological factors such as viral load. Twenty-five percent of the gay men in Chelsea are positive and yet the rate of new cases of HIV in that community is still lower than among gay and bi black youth citywide.
"AIDS is not the primary presenting problem for black youth," he said. "They are grappling with homelessness, poverty, and unemployment, and obstacles to education." In these circumstances, "discussions of HIV are not part of the norm."
There are access issues to medical care for black youth, as well. Once you start "layering" the challenges facing black youth, HIV becomes just one of the obstacles that must be negotiated. If the AJPH-Stall framework could be termed primarily biological, Halkitis' bottom line is that "these spikes in HIV are a social construction."
Surely there is overlap between the views Stall and Halkitis articulate, yet it is difficult to fully reconcile their perspectives.
Despite the evidence that risk-taking is relatively constant across racial and ethnic lines, Halkitis emphasizes that in Chelsea young gays are part of a community that supports safe-sex norms. Agencies providing services understand when a client or patient is gay and the young adult doesn't have the burden of declaring himself. According to the AJPH study, blacks are more likely to receive care at public health clinics and less likely to discuss HIV-related concerns with a doctor or nurse.
Of course fully sorting out the biological-social construction debate need not stand in the way of immediate steps.
Reversing the spike in HIV cases among African Americans will require continued growth in gay community-building, increased use of anti-retroviral therapies among all those living with HIV, and a better funded network of gay health services. There are as yet no solid estimates of the number of individuals who would need to begin treatment to reverse the current trajectory and see the number of new HIV cases decline.
The costs of these initiatives are substantial, but currently the largest expenditures on black youth are for prisons, courts, and cops. New priorities recognizing the importance of a healthy nation are required.
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