We went to library this week. Emma, at four, has a penchant for Non Fiction. She got a book about Space and a book about Nature. I also slid in "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss because I enjoy reading it and she enjoys listenning.

I also picked up a book by one of leading authorities in world in field of Creative Thinking. "de Bono's Thinking Course" leaped off shelf and into my hands.

Reading it was like attending a class reunion. The words were so familiar! The language and expression reminded me of what happens whenever I go back to Dana Point and talk to someone who speaks Southern Orange Countese. Somehow I start saying things like "No way!" with that certain almost surferesque lilting quality.

One of first exercises is called The PMI. A very simple attention directing tool which takes away prejudgement and automatic thinking, it is a tool that can be used in almost any situation be it requesting consideration of an idea at work or deciding upon a restaurant for dinner or assessing where to go to college.

The PMI stands for Plus, Minus and Interesting.

No, I did not say Pros and Cons.

Pros and Cons attach judgement while PMI steers clear of any sort of prejudgement. It simply states what is. In fact, often times one statement can fit in all three categories. The PMI is about looking at question. It is about surveying it for information, for clues, for subtleties. It is not something to get stuck in or bogged down by however.

It is a quick thinking tool that can shift you into balance OR it may show you what is really truth.

Today at church I walked right past a bulletin board.

There were pictures on it from last week's skating party. I vaguely remembered a flash bulb in my face, so I around and looked more carefully.

Sure enough, there Sam and I were in all our Skating Party glory. All I could see after crooning over Sam was that I decided my smile lines made me look old. I decided in that moment "YUCK! And that is being seen by everyone who walks by! How humiliating!"

I continued on my walk towards sanctuary where Sam and I sang and listened and prayed.

After worship I visited with many friends, including Glenda, who has recently joined ranks of those of us in our fourth decade. Like me, she has several preschoolers. She looked really great so I complimented her newly svelte figure.

As we considered source of our corruption one participant offered: "Aren?t we like a frog living at bottom of a well and thinking that sky is a plate?"

We acknowledged that although frog?s error in judgement about sky brings little harm to frog, contemporary people believing sky was a plate would obviously corrupt our thinking along with our relationships with world and each other: - Our explanation for where water and air came from would be wrong. - The value of wind, landscape and ocean would be unknown. - Thoughts of Earth and Nature's beauty might be considered insane. - We would hold a corrupt view of how world worked and would relate to each other accordingly. - Our life goal might be to train slaves to be strong enough to throw garbage out of well so slave owners could live better. Some group members said that sounded too familiar for comfort.

I share frog metaphor here because it pertains. There is a similar but very real and destructive corruption in our culture. It erodes our every potential. It produces our justified lack of trust in our institutions and each other.

Fortunately there is an antidote for this corruption. A readily available process now exists that enables anybody to reverse polluted thinking that contaminates most relationships today. Our presently deteriorating situation will vastly improve if some open-minded "frogs" simply support process and its use. Is that something you might be willing to do?