Task Force’s Self-Esteem Survives the Acid Test

When the California Task Force to Promote Self-Esteem and Personal and Social Responsibility meets today in Los Angeles, the karma of San Diego County will be represented by David Shannahoff-Khalsa, a biologist, Sikh, yoga teacher and resident of Del Mar.

As the only yoga devotee and only resident of San Diego County among the 25 unpaid members, Shannahoff-Khalsa has come to represent a geographic and philosophic pole on the task force.

At the other extreme is Bill Johnson, a Christian school principal from Redding, and in between are various psychologists, social service workers and even a real estate agent.

Johnson and Shannahoff-Khalsa disagree on many things (like the role of government), but they are in harmony on the proposition that a healthy approach to modern life must combine spirituality and discipline.

“David speaks very abstractly at times,” said Johnson, a fundamentalist Christian and member of the Shasta County Republican Central Committee. “I’m not always sure what he’s saying, but he has an inner peace that makes him persuasive.”

Shannahoff-Khalsa (Shannahoff is the family surname; Khalsa is a Sikh word for purity and consciousness) is a 40-year-old graduate of UC San Diego who worked as a researcher at the Salk Institute before leaving to devote his time to yoga and the study of Eastern thought and religion.

He has his own scientific foundation and recently co-wrote a study with two UCSD professors on “selective hemispheric stimulation by unilateral forced nostril breathing.” He is also teaching yogic techniques of breathing to AIDS patients in hopes of stimulating the immune system.

“There is a huge psychology of the mind that needs to be shared with the West,” he said. “That’s my goal on the task force. Why reinvent the wheel? An ancient culture knew how to self-regulate. The future belongs to those who can self-regulate to avoid anger, anxiety and addiction.”

The task force, which has a deadline of January, 1990, is charged with finding solutions to the problems of school failures, crime, violence, substance abuse, teen-age pregnancy, welfare dependency, and spousal and child abuse.

Despite its weighty charge, the task force has provoked a good deal of hooting--most notably from Doonesbury’s Garry Trudeau. Johnson and Shannahoff-Khalsa remain unperturbed.

“A test of someone’s self-esteem is how much negativism they can endure and maintain their grace,” Shannahoff-Khalsa said. “The task force has met that challenge.”

Garbage Gang Strikes

Trash pirates are raiding the recyclables of Encinitas. In recent months, the marauders have snatched 30% of the aluminum cans, 10% of the newspapers and 3% of the glass bottles put by curbs for pickup.

Prowling residential streets, the pirates wait for homeowners to dutifully put out their cans, bottles and papers at the curb, striking in the pre-dawn hours ahead of workers for Solana Recyclers, which has a contract with the city.

The nonprofit firm says revenue is down 16% and its economic health is imperiled.

“I don’t think it’s just one scavenger,” said Pamela Bell, an administrator with Solana Recyclers. “We’ve had several cars spotted, including one that was a stolen car. This problem has more layers than we know.”

Do Residents Get Vests?

Just how dangerous has it gotten after dark on some streets in San Diego?

When Police Chief Bob Burgreen, Mayor Maureen O’Connor and Councilman Wesley Pratt went door-to-door in Southeast San Diego last weekend to urge greater cooperation with the police, they wore bulletproof vests.

Burgreen insisted on the vests--after police picked up information that the area was ripe for a drive-by shooting. There have been 81 drive-bys this year, seven of them fatal.

“We found a general perception among residents that nobody at City Hall cares about their neighborhood’s problems,” said Pratt, who represents Southeast. “People are afraid to go out at night or come forward with information. We’ve got to change that.”

The three plan a return trip this weekend.