Manifesto

We began this undertaking in response to the general tide of suffering which has begun to engulf the
planet and because we know, in its entirety, both its reason and its cure.
Consumerism, its capitalists have taught us, means every man for himself no matter the cost to Society,
Nature or the Universe. And from this perspective the individual is king. Communism as its founders
have demonstrated dictates that all should follow its rules or be tortured or shot for the sake of the
common good. And yet between these extremes lies a third, more ancient philosophy, one which has
sought to understand the development and accessibility of human potential and its most effective
means of deployment.

This ancient philosophy finds merit in any practice that values the worth of a community or a single
individual but only to the point where they become essential parts that operate in unison to produce a
more succinct expression and vision of reality. Nature, we have discovered propels many of her
processes by way of this phenomena, which the ancient Chinese referred to as Yin/Yang/Jin and in
modern times is termed the catabolic/anabolic cycle of metabolism. Biological science reveals that
everything inside and around us is in a constant state of change, albeit so minute that everything seems
as if it were standing still. Whilst the Chinese described the movement of Yin and Yang as a flow of
energy (Jin) empirical science calls this Bioenergetics, referring to how the Body harnesses then utilizes
these different sources of energy. And again, we see it in the study of ecology where we find the same
apparent flow as catabolic enzymes break matter apart only for it to be re-organized and reconstituted,
anabolically, to become something or someone else.

To initiate the start of any system whether its processes focus on dismantling, re-organization or in the
building of structure, some form of energy (Jin) is required. And for human nature to exist this
requirement appears in the form of matter and emotion. One positions itself to provide the blueprints
of how exactly a human is built and in which particular order the building blocks should be assembled.
The other uses this stimulation to produce the energies needed that drive forward growth.
There is much excitement when a sperm and an egg finally meet. And as they merge and consolidate
they transform and lose their respective personalities and suddenly they become something else. A
single new human being: you and me.

But to be successful each child has to be given the very best opportunities to thrive. And neglect of
these opportunities results in differencing levels of anxiety as the fundamental building block of
personality, Biology, is left in a state of perpetual want. To become as our design intended all
developmental capacities have to be realized. And this is because each level of maturity is contingent
upon the full development of successive capacities. Where there is a shortfall there is a deficit and the
accumulation of deficits, as all good accountants will tell you, is bad for the business of growing because
at some point these weakness will cause failure at best and great calamity at worst.
These effects of neglect are called traumas, Micro-traumas to be exact, because they at first go largely
unnoticed. Most times we catch sight of them, when in primary school a child has difficulty socially,
academically or is unable to co-ordinate him/herself physically. And those who escape scrutiny due to
ineffective teaching usually suffer an assortment of psycho-somatic ailments which become apparent
later as adults. The effects of all this Micro-trauma are seen in the distortions in posture, attitude and
social progress. And they underlie the great many commercial atrocities, abuses and excesses seen
throughout our collective human histories.

Human nature has been sensitively designed. And this sensory vocabulary brings congruency between
what is seen or heard in the world and how our Body responds to the experience. In this way a dialogue
is formed between a person and their environment. Now there has been much debate over the
question of whether personality is a result of Biological deficits, emotional triggers or environmental
conditions and perhaps the answer has something to do with all of these as they align sequentially. Still,
the grave danger that Micro-trauma poses to planet Earth and all of its inhabitants, lies in its ability to
inhibit human nature’s sensitivities. For when a person cannot sense the world around them accurately
they are open to misinterpreting the surrounding dialogue.

Sadly inhibition makes villains of us all. This is because it can push us to imagine that the needs of an
individual are always of more importance than that of any community, or in reverse, produces
community inhibition which can be used to stifle creativity, imprisoning individual growth. So the
individual, desensitized to the effects of their actions, will chop down the ancient redwood forests of
North America, home to a myriad life forms, and pollute the oceans with petroleum based plastics that
have begun to kill seabirds and whales, and contaminate freshwater river systems so that no creature
can live in them, and this all in their search for energy, timber, diamonds and gold, all of which can be
summed up in a single phrase: Emotional-Want. Communities for their part, clamoring to find a better
life for themselves have invaded lands, conquered peoples and literally turned mankind into slaves to be
brutalized and traded for personal gain.

It has been argued by some that man’s history was inevitable and that by virtue of his now deformed
temperament his destruction also is inevitable. But I argue differently. There is among us, increasingly
distributed a temper that is as willing as it is determined to make a difference and change humanity’s
trajectory. Zen Mediation International is one such voice whose character has been constituted and
molded through a synergy of experience, training and tried and tested knowledge. These have
accumulated to produce the skills necessary to design a competent formula, one which can specifically
reverse the effects of Micro-trauma, transforming an insensitive inhibited human being into a person
ethically charged and dynamic in character. To produce this effect a person has to willingly submit
themselves to unlocking and re-training their sensory constitution and in some cases awakening it for
the very first time. Making a person into himself requires a lot of effort, patience and skill. And it is not
without its frustrations.

Nature, being so affected by man’s traumatic-behaviour turns out still to be the best fit in changing man
back into himself. In the light of this and our own lifelong exposure to wilderness, ecology and Martial
Arts, the RDTAC Ranger Academy, which is a division of Zen Meditation International, is pivoted upon:
the training of Rangers, Ranger Qualification, and Ranger Recruitment into either field research, eco-
protection or eco-adventure-tourism. In this way we can take a person: decompress their Micro-
traumas, stimulate their capacities, expose them to a wide variety of skilled practices, uncover
preferences, and allocate operational responsibilities. Because Rangering is such a vast profession
covering as it does every type of ecological terrain, it provides inexhaustible opportunity for lifelong
service. Over a twelve month period a single Ranger might find themselves conducting a diving survey
off Australia’s Great Barrier Reef then transitioning to join an anti-poaching team in the wilds of Zambia’s
Luangwa Valley, or later guiding a hiking party up Cape Town’s Table Mountain.

We have chosen this approach for several reasons. Decompressing suffering induced inhibition is never
best remedied in isolation only. Therefore, context with a living moving entity helps to solidify reality
through example. And it very naturally creates real life circumstances which stimulate interpersonal
conflict, misunderstanding, fear and a host of other pent-up emotions pressing with an urgency to get
out. It also provides a permanent family structure which will remain well into its future. Taken together
these features gives each individual a safe, immovable place on which to anchor as they unravel the pain
of neglect and untangle difficult experiences. And, it also provides a sense of trust which enables a
person to make the shift necessary to rebuild themselves into all that their potential will allow.