tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61317676152078224342024-03-07T21:22:30.605-08:00Earth & ErosCelebrating the body and its worldLorraine Ahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10042515541615761023noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6131767615207822434.post-63942089696831606332018-11-21T09:02:00.000-08:002018-11-21T09:02:43.190-08:00Buy Nothing Season<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thanksgiving 2018</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The latest—and most dire—report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is notable for the fact that the authors propose for the first time a solution that has nothing to do with a tech fix. As described in the journal <i>Foreign Policy</i>, “an exciting new scenario . . . developed by an international team of scientists” can help us reduce carbon emissions fast enough to keep under a global temperature rise of 1.5 degrees C. And the solution is . . . [drumroll]: <i>“that we start to consume less.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Well, yeah! I’m down with that. It’s not such a new idea after all. The patron saint of consuming less, Henry David Thoreau, issued his <i>Walden </i>manifesto in 1854, and the voluntary simplicity movement he inspired has been alive and well in the United States for at least the last fifty years. Our native peoples also knew a little about living within one’s means.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Yes, it’s fun to buy big houses and cars and stuff we don’t really need, but apparently we do so at the risk of passing along to our children’s and grandchildren’s generations more sea level rise, hurricanes, wildfires, droughts, crop failures, drought-and-crop-failure-caused wars (like the one in Syria), and mass migrations of climate refugees. Anyone ready to give it a rest?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To be clear, we can do it “only if we’re willing to fundamentally change the logic of our economy,” according to Jason Hickel in his 18 October 2018 <i>Foreign Policy </i>piece entitled “The Hope at the Heart of the Apocalyptic Climate Change Report.” Here’s what he says that means: “It means moving away from disposable products toward goods that last. It means repairing our existing things rather than buying new ones. It means designing things so that they can be repaired (modular devices such as Fairphones rather than proprietary devices such as iPhones). It means investing in public goods and finding ways to share stuff—from cars to lawn mowers—shifting from an ethic of ownership to an ethic of usership.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sounds good to me. And I have an idea about where to start.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We could take the idea of Buy Nothing Day, which Wikipedia tells us was “founded in Vancouver by artist Ted Dave” and is now observed all over the world on the Friday or Saturday after Thanksgiving, and expand it to Buy Nothing Season. Instead of giving manufactured goods to each other in an attempt to lighten up the darkest days of winter, we could go back to the old-fashioned ways of making crafty gifts or consumables like jams and cookies (vegan and sugar free, of course). Give tickets for live events or gift certificates for watering someone’s plants while they’re away. Donate to a good cause (like Wikipedia) in someone’s name.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And remember to take a walk outside and appreciate the beauty and sanity available to us free of charge every day of the year.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Lorraine Ahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10042515541615761023noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6131767615207822434.post-79802443527052928152017-12-21T10:41:00.000-08:002017-12-21T10:43:20.032-08:00Darkness, DarknessWinter Solstice 2017<br />
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<i>Darkness, darkness, be my pillow;</i><br />
<i>take my head and let me sleep.</i><br />
<i>In the coolness of your shadow;</i><br />
<i>in the silence of your deep.</i><br />
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Jesse Colin Young wrote those lyrics in 1969. Wikipedia says that during the Vietnam War, the song was considered an anthem to the soldiers, for it described what they felt while in the jungles.<br />
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I propose that it now be considered an anthem for December that instructs us in surrendering to the nonnegotiable tilt of the planet. It does seem like the urge to put little lights on everything is the life thing in us, and I do find a certain cheer in seeing the displays. But what if instead of trying to resist what nature is asking us to accept, instead of seeing darkness as something to conquer, we went with seeing darkness as a pillow or a blanket?<br />
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What if we saw darkness as part of the full spectrum of life’s colors and experiences, and honored it accordingly?<br />
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What if we saw the increasing hours of darkness as an invitation to lower our voices, dim our lights, and slow our pace? To stay home and reflect on the harvest of the year past and our hopes for the year to come? And to strengthen our faith in the return of the light even in the face of clear physical evidence that everything is going the other way?<br />
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At this dark hour not only in nature but also in our country, what if we noticed that darkness has never in the history of the world increased without end, that the turning point always comes? We might double our resolve to take action for what we believe in and trust that it will eventually turn the tide. We might learn to trust in the darkness and even take comfort in it.<br />
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<i>Darkness, darkness, be my blanket;</i><br />
<i>cover me with endless night.</i><br />
<i>Take away the pain of knowing;</i><br />
<i>fill the emptiness so bright.</i><br />
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Amen.<br />
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Lorraine Ahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10042515541615761023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6131767615207822434.post-90847276494923342582017-04-02T10:32:00.000-07:002017-04-02T10:34:09.792-07:00Coming to Our Senses<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Spring Equinox 2017<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Springtime is when color returns to Oregon. First, the
bright yellow of forsythia and daffodils. Soon after, the soft pinks and whites
of the flowering plums and pears. The lavender-blues of woods violet and
hyacinth. Later, the magenta of the eastern redbuds. The neon blue of
lithodora. The salmon orange of crabapples and the rusty orange of sunrose.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After a winter of flat gray skies and bare branches, of
despondent and despairing thoughts about the future of democracy and environmental
protection, we need more than anything else to come to our senses. We need to
turn off the news and all other distractions and completely give over our
attention to what nature is offering, one gift at a time. When I stop on my
walk and stare up through the branches of a plum tree laden with frothy
blossoms of deep pink, and when I bring full presence to the sight and the
sound and the scent, I can feel something shift inside me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Rick Hanson in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hardwiring
Happiness</i> writes about how to overcome the brain’s negativity bias—its
tendency to focus and dwell on what’s wrong—by fully taking in those fleeting
moments of happiness and satisfaction that present themselves during our day.
We can amplify those moments if we slow down just a little bit and let the
wonderful in. All it takes is a conscious intention.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I’m doing it—slowing down and breathing in the beauty of the
natural world. I’m letting it tutor me in joy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This winter I read a book called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Moth Snowstorm</i> by British author Michael McCarthy. The book proposes
that although we may have left nature, nature has not left us, and the joy we
spontaneously feel at, say, the sight of a field of red tulips is hardwired
into us. More than that, in this time when the laying waste of the biosphere by
humans is only accelerating, the joy we find in nature is the best defense—an
even better defense, argues McCarthy, than the failed idea of “sustainable
development” and the current ploy of putting a price on ecosystem services.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If enough of us slow down and come to our senses, if we
linger in the presence of nature’s everyday miracles long enough to feel
the joy kick in, surely we will protect every patch of daffodils and every
blossoming orchard still left. Deep joy in the good earth could become a force
more formidable than all the king’s horses and all the king’s men. Let’s give
it a try.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Lorraine Ahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10042515541615761023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6131767615207822434.post-39200391096475434492016-12-21T08:23:00.000-08:002016-12-21T08:23:09.121-08:00Recipe for Sanity<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Winter Solstice 2016</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I switch off the NewsHour feeling horrified
and confounded. What can <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I</i> do to help
stop this slow-motion cataclysm? Signing a slew of online petitions expressing
outrage does not satisfy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I trudge out to the wetland through an inch
of new snow. Little boys let out of school play hide-and-seek with plastic
Uzis. (Yes, honestly, and this isn’t Baltimore or Chicago but Corvallis,
Oregon.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sanity, anyone? I find it at the wetland. A
fat thrush lights on the branch of a low tree and shakes some ice off the
twigs. A small brown squirrel darts across the path, jumps onto the fence
railing and dashes along it, and finally leaps into the brambles where little
brown birds are flitting and pecking at seeds. This will go on. The world will
go on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Back home, I dig out the recipe for sanity I
once composed and post it prominently on the fridge. Now more than ever, I want
to take this to heart:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Remember the landscape of your birth. Love your body and its
memory of this place. Know true north and follow the red cord of passion.
Listen to tree talk, water words, the voice of raven and hummingbird, and trust
these at least as much as human speech. When the trees drop their leaves, let
go of all you have outgrown. When the earth lies cold and still, rest. Blossom
in season. When they tell you that you must kill for your country, or pay for
the killing, talk back. Be faithful to what you love. Celebrate beauty every
day.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
Lorraine Ahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10042515541615761023noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6131767615207822434.post-60111020647020642212016-09-21T10:42:00.000-07:002016-09-21T10:45:16.952-07:00Trending: Forest Bathing, Forest Loss<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Fall Equinox 2016</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">When I
visited the Mohonk Mountain House in the summer of 2004, it was like stepping
into a fairy tale or back in time a hundred years. This enormous wood-shingled Victorian
castle on Lake Mohonk ninety minutes north of New York City is set in a lush
landscape that has been meticulously cared for since the resort was built in
the late 1800s. Rolling lawns, orchards, gardens, cliffs, clear waters, and
forests invite nature immersion. And now there’s a new offering on the activity
menu there: for $160, Dr. Nina Smiley will take you on a fifty-minute walk
through the woods and remind you to attend to the present moment and embrace
your senses.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Seattle Times</i> explains: “</span><a href="http://www.seattletimes.com/life/travel/forest-bathing-a-mindful-walk-in-the-woods-no-getting-wet/?mc_cid=e5a585a658&mc_eid=b0f1022d15"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: WebFontFont; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">n Japan,
it’s called ‘shinrin-yoku,’</span></a><span style="color: #1a1718; font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: WebFontFont; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> which translates as forest
bathing. It’s the practice of immersing yourself in nature to improve your
well-being, and interest in the concept is growing, with spas, resorts, retreat
centers, gardens and parks offering guided ‘forest bathing’ experiences.”</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Washington Post</i> calls it </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/05/17/forest-bathing-is-latest-fitness-trend-to-hit-u-s-where-yoga-was-30-years-ago/"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“the latest fitness trend to hit the U.S.”</span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> and reports that “a number of scientific
studies emphasize that reveling in the great outdoors promotes human health,”
lowering stress levels, improving working memory, and causing people to feel
more alive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Duh. Until the
era of “I prefer to play inside because that’s where the electrical outlets are”
(Richard Louv’s finding in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Last Child in
the Woods</i>), we just knew that. Edward Abbey, who blessedly left this plane
in 1989 before the onslaught of email and cell phones, knew that and gave us this
succinct admonishment: </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“Our suicidal poets (Plath, Berryman, et
al.) spent too much of their lives inside rooms and classrooms when they should
have been trudging up mountains, slopping through swamps, rowing down rivers.
The indoor life is the next best thing to premature burial.”</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">It seems a
measure of how far we have fallen from grace with the natural world that we
need scientific studies and certified guides to remind us to go outside. Still,
we’re told there’s reason for optimism: </span><span style="color: #1a1718; font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: WebFontFont; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“‘I think about where yoga was
30 years ago and where it is today, and I realize that forest therapy is making
the same journey toward cultural definition in a way that will mainstream the
practice,’ said Ben Page, a certified forest therapy guide who founded Shinrin
Yoku Los Angeles” (quoted in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Post</i>
article).</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">That’s
nice. But I wonder if there will be any forests left by the time the practice
is mainstreamed. Deforestation has been proceeding apace for three thousand
years, and according to 2016 figures from the </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">United
Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, forests are being lost worldwide at
the rate of 3.3 million hectares per year (a hectare is about 2.5 acres or
roughly the size of two American football fields)—at least in part so that
forest bathers can live in wood houses and eat meat. One wonders if at some
point the two trend lines will cross: more forest bathers than forests to bathe
in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I can only offer this suggestion
to budding forest bathers: take the $160 that’s burning a hole in your pocket
and send it to </span><a href="http://www.treesisters.org/"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">TreeSisters</span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> or </span><a href="http://www.plant-for-the-planet.org/en/"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Plant-for-the-Planet</span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri";">. Then step outside, bring your attention to the present moment,
and open your senses.</span></div>
Lorraine Ahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10042515541615761023noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6131767615207822434.post-4537423665440221532016-06-20T10:30:00.000-07:002016-06-20T10:30:33.126-07:00Full-Spectrum LivingSummer Solstice 2016<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Last Saturday had been a day of downpours interspersed with
sunshine, but by early evening the clouds had dropped to the horizon and the
sun was warming the land. I decided somewhat tentatively, since the past two
weeks had been mostly cloudy and cool, to swim my laps in the unheated outdoor
pool at the health club. At first splash, I knew I’d made the right choice.
Yeah, the water was brisk, but I could feel the sun warming my skin as I shot
up and down my lane like a bullet.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ugh. I hadn’t wanted to use that simile. The point is, I was
pretty focused and intent on counting the lengths. Then here came another woman
to join me in the pool. After a while, I noticed that she was just kind of
lollygagging up and down her lane, making smooth, slow strokes. Whoa, I
thought, I wonder what that feels like. I slowed down. I started to really feel
the water caress my skin. The warmth of the sun’s rays began to feel delicious.
I fully took in the deep blue sky, the nearby treetops waving in the breeze,
the dried grasses dancing just beyond the fence.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We are taught to move with purpose in our postmodern machine
culture. We sit or stand purposefully at computers, drive purposefully to the
store, eat purposefully with an eye on the clock. Being able to focus in that
way is good and necessary, but not all the time. Also within our capabilities
is pleasure. We can take pleasure in movement. Wouldn’t it be sweet if we were
also encouraged to notice what feels good as we move through the day?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve been reading Tabitha Jayne’s book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Nature Process</i>. She proposes these rules of engagement with
life, based on natural attractions:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">1. Stop doing things that make you feel bad.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">2. Start doing things that make you feel good.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">3. Harm neither yourself nor others.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That last item is to ensure that you don’t become a
promiscuous, hedonistic lush. Short of that, I think we could all afford to
give more time to pleasure to balance out the overabundance of purpose in this
world. I’m going to go for the full spectrum this evening as I stretch and breathe
during the alfresco full-moon solstice yoga class I’ve signed up for.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Lorraine Ahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10042515541615761023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6131767615207822434.post-22216689483566790382016-03-21T09:19:00.000-07:002016-03-21T09:19:51.329-07:00This Beauty<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Spring Equinox 2016</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Early morning, early spring, I circle the wetland on the
boardwalk. On this cloudy day, the roar of traffic from the highway a quarter
mile away is the primary sound in the air, but if I make a conscious effort, I
can tune in to the birdsong instead. There’s a lot of it this morning,
sneet-sneet-sneet, wheerly-urrrr. Soon I’m not listening to the cars and trucks
at all but only to the orchestra of life at Jackson-Frazier.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In her essential book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Earth Path</i>, Starhawk writes that the tools of magic include the skill of
listening to “the great conversation, the ongoing constant communication that
surrounds us.” She says: “Most of us who live in cities, who are educated to
read, write, do arithmetic, and use computers, live our lives surrounded by
that conversation but are unaware of it. We may love nature, we may even
profess to worship her, but most of us have barely a clue as to what she is
murmuring in the night.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We walk through the world paying attention to the wrong
things. We let the manufactured and built realm occupy us entirely. We squint
at tiny screens in our palms and miss the beauty of the living creation
everywhere at hand. This beauty could feed us so deeply we wouldn’t need to
reach for greasy foods or stuff we don’t need. But instead we eat greasy foods
and buy stuff we don’t need. I know. I’ve done it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Would you believe me if I told you I saw a double rainbow as
I walked home before most people were even awake? I did. A chartreuse light
bathed the budding trees as the rainbow materialized and I looked hard,
speaking the order of the colors to myself: purple, blue, green, yellow,
orange, red. Really? In just that order, always, all around the world? Who
thought that up?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This earth, this beauty, could blow our minds if we let it.
But it wouldn’t increase any corporate profits, so no one’s going to tell you
this. You just have to find it out for yourself, if you have the courage to
unplug and leave the herd behind.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Lorraine Ahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10042515541615761023noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6131767615207822434.post-21953115317275511232016-03-21T09:15:00.002-07:002016-03-21T09:15:56.281-07:00Love, Sex, Earth: What's Eros Got to Do with Saving the Planet?<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Valentines Day 2016</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Constantia;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Here it comes again,
the Hallmark version of Eros: the winged boy with arrows in his quiver meant to
strike lust into young hearts. In this guise, dreamed up by the later Greek
satiric poets, Eros enjoyed wreaking havoc in the Greek pantheon, smiting the
gods with inconvenient desires and provoking unrequited loves. Zeus falls for
the mortal Semele; Venus falls for the mortal Adonis. Tearing and rending of
garments ensues, as do offspring: from the former couple, Dionysus, that hearty
partier.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But this is a
trivialization of Eros that obscures its power to move postmodern people toward
a rapprochement with the natural world. In the most ancient Greek stories, Eros
is a fundamental cause in the formation of the world, representing the power of
love to unite discordant elements and bind humankind together. It’s that sense
that we urgently need to recover today. Properly understood, Eros is a force of
nature, <span style="color: #1f1f1f;">the innate life force that connects
us to ourselves, to other human beings, to all other living beings on the
earth, and to the earth as a living being. Eros is fuel for a revolution of the
heart. And sex plays an essential role in that revolution.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Native American poet Sherman
Alexie refers to sex as “the fog-soaked forest into which we all travel,” “the
damp, dank earth into which we all plunge our hands / . . . / to search for
water and room and root and home.” Sexuality is basic and universal, and its
great beauty is that when we are naked, vulnerable, and aroused, when we are
out of our minds and fully in our bodies, we are perhaps closest to our own
nature and our own wild hearts. In that moment we know for certain that we are
part of, not above, the animal kingdom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">All of the
environmental sins of our time spring from holding ourselves above and separate
from the great body that provides for our every need. When we see ourselves
that way, we impose our own self-serving plans on the natural world. The
catastrophic results are all around us. Sexuality draws us into relationship
and makes us see that we are part of—not apart from—nature. When we understand
that what we do to nature we do to ourselves, we are much more likely to
respect and hold sacred the land and other beings. We are much more likely to
listen to and cooperate with the great intelligence that informs all life
around us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f1f1f;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So on Valentines Day, go
outside. Listen. Listen to your own beating heart, to your deepest longings,
and to the world around you. Listen hard. Listen as if your life depends on it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Lorraine Ahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10042515541615761023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6131767615207822434.post-27155926275791317182015-12-21T10:03:00.000-08:002015-12-21T10:03:34.918-08:00December's Invitation<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Squishing along the boardwalk in the very wet
Jackson-Frazier Wetland a ten-minute walk from my house, I realize that nature
is issuing us an invitation in December: to see clearly and rest deeply. The
trees have lost their leaves, revealing vistas that are invisible the rest of
the year, revealing the beautiful form and structure of the trunks and branches
themselves. The brief days and long, dark, cold nights make us naturally want
to turn inward and conserve our energies.</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I overheard this conversation
between two men in the jacuzzi at my gym this morning: “It’s so dark for so
many hours! We’re getting close to solstice now. I don’t know why, but I just
feel like hibernating.” “Yeah, I just want to curl up with a good book and not
be disturbed, and I’m not much of a reader the rest of the year.” I was smiling
inwardly and thinking to myself, “I know why. It’s because we’re <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">animals</i>.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But how many of us consciously
accept the invitation? I was glad to learn that an organization called
TreeSisters, whose mission is to empower women all over the world and swiftly
reforest our world, absolutely gets it. I listened in to their regular full
moon call, hosted by founder Clare Dakin, and enjoyed the guided meditation for
December. “Drawing our life force back inside is like learning from the trees,”
read Clare's invitation to the call, which continued:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Total stillness<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Resting<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In silence<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Finally I can
hear<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The rivers of
my veins flowing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And my roots
breathing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As I fall back
to the centre<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Of my
Self<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Clare asked us
to consider “drawing
back our energies from all our ‘doing’, to feel what it’s like to really give
our energy fully to ourselves.” What it was really like for me, honestly, was
feeling anxious, antsy, impatient with myself. I’ve shed the compulsion to Christmas
shop, instead choosing to give to charities that feed the hungry and protect
the earth, but shouldn’t I be serving on several boards or at least
volunteering somewhere? Oh sheesh, I thought as I listened to myself, that programming
is so, so stubborn.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But besides that, I’m a single
householder, a freelancer, and the sole breadwinner for me and my cat. I need
clear examples of how it would look for me to slow down in December and still
make the mortgage payment. What it looks like this year is that I focus during
the brief daytime hours on projects for my editing clients, who seem to get a
little frantic about wrapping things up by year’s end, and when the sun goes
down I nap, read a novel, have dinner, play with my cat, go to bed early. I may
have to let go of sending out a solstice letter to friends. Will they
understand that this year, finally, I’m accepting December’s invitation and
doing the best I can to hibernate?</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Lorraine Ahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10042515541615761023noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6131767615207822434.post-59350158845919676482015-09-22T09:18:00.000-07:002015-09-22T10:10:50.184-07:00Sifting Through the Ashes<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My ritual there was
always the same.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">First, immersion in
the warm pool. Coming back into the body. Stretching limbs while thinking
warmth and expansion. Pressing my back against the blue tiles and the concrete side
of the pool, noticing with soft awareness the other bodies around me. Becoming
present to the day, whether sunny or rainy; the sky, whether blue or gray.
Saying hello to the fig tree whose generous branches spread overhead. Taking in
the dramatic flower arrangement always placed carefully as if on an altar at
the head of the pool. Listening to the trickling of the water into and out of
the pool.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then climbing the four
stone steps past the sign requesting SILENCE and entering the shelter holding
the small hot pool, affectionately known as the crab pit. Clinging to the sculptured
metal railing while easing down oh-so-slowly into the scalding water, then
swiftly pressing toward an edge or corner to get out of the way of all the
other bodies. Turning the focus inward to dreams and visions while gazing out
the wooden window frame at tree branches and hillside. Observing the array of
objects on the altar, always a candle burning. Listening to the music of the
waters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Finally being able
to stand it no longer and climbing out and up some more stone steps to the cold
plunge. Entering swiftly, immersing up to the shoulders, holding still until
the urge to scream and flee had passed. Ahhhhh. Finding steadiness and calm,
observing the colorful flowers in the concrete vase styled as a goddess’s head,
visualizing my body and heart being swept clean as the aquamarine waters flowed
through. Someone would always come up the stairs and grab the branch of the fig
tree with the wind chimes on it, making more music.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And then the best
part, emerging pink-skinned and open from the cold plunge and taking a seat on
the bench in front of the white ceramic statue of Kuan Yin at the base of the
fig tree. The Tree at the Center of the World, I called it. Kuan Yin with her
welcoming hand would receive all the secrets of my heart. And of many other
hearts, to be sure. Stones, photos, feathers, pieces of jewelry placed on the
altar whispered hopes and wishes and griefs. The day Princess Diana died,
someone placed photos of Diana and Mother Teresa on the altar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The AP photo in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sacramento Bee</i> is captioned, “A swimming
pool at Harbin Hot Springs is filled with debris from the Valley fire, which
destroyed the clothing-optional resort near Middletown.” Describing Harbin as a
“clothing-optional resort” is like describing the Mona Lisa as “a painting of a woman with a
half-smile.” So much is lost in the description. Harbin was a place on earth
where humans had created Eden, where creativity and embodiment and beauty ruled,
where other creatures were part of the community. These memories still nourish
me as I sift through the ashes in my imagination.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I remember one spring day looking up at the tiny chartreuse leaves
emerging from the Tree at the Center of the World and realizing with a start
that they looked like praying hands. This is my prayer: That the fires of every
kind kindled by climate change burn to zero everything unworkable in the human
psyche. That the Heart Consciousness Church accomplish a resurrection and
steward the lands of Harbin Hot Springs for another forty years and then
another four hundred, ushering in the era when beauty will prevail on earth.</span></div>
Lorraine Ahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10042515541615761023noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6131767615207822434.post-17435051425474052812015-05-18T10:05:00.000-07:002015-05-18T10:10:28.934-07:00<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">What I Am Hungry For</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've been silent for two years, getting EARTH & EROS ready for publication (it's coming out in October from White Cloud Press!) but this spilled out in a writing workshop yesterday.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When the belly
softens, I hear it grumble<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">and instead of
reaching for chocolate<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I ask what it
actually hungers for.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A circle of hands,
arms, eyes to witness and support<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">lives of
imagination and courage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">An Arctic safe for
polar bears, wolves, seals, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">and the caribou
migration.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Cities filled with
the swish of bicycles and the soft padding of feet,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">not a car to be
seen anywhere.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The bees and
butterflies returning to fields of crops<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">grown without
Roundup or the neonicotinoids that Bayer claims are safe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Children who have
been read stories<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">and nourished at
the family dinner table<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">and not slaved to
cell phones and computers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Neighbors who would
rather pass the time on porches and picking<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">fruit from the
community orchard together<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">than disappear into
the house and never come out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Friends who are
eager to meet at sidewalk cafes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">to pass an
afternoon or an evening<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">without having to
check calendars and schedule weeks in advance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Work that uses our
deepest talents<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">for the good of
all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A collective
recognition of the insanity of that glaring yellow behemoth<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">parked in Seattle’s
harbor yelling Royal Dutch Shell.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">An end to all wars.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">These are the true
hungers of the belly<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">of the Western
woman<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“If we survive as a species, it will have nothing to do with what
we’ve invented, developed or manufactured, but everything to do with what we
know in our deep cores about being good mammals.” — Brooke Williams in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Half Lives</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In spring the senses wake up again. Skin kept
under wraps all winter is once again massaged by the warm fingers of sunshine.
Eyes accustomed to browns, grays, and whites are startled by the screaming
yellow of daffodils and marsh marigolds, the purple heads of crocuses, the
tender green of new leaves everywhere. The scent of daphne pools around the
front door to greet anyone who comes up the sidewalk. Excited birds trill and
twitter as they slice through the yard in pursuit of newly emerged bugs. Spring
peepers out at the wetland a quarter mile away set the air vibrating as I lie
in bed at night.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Springtime reminds us that reality is
multisensory and that we are animals of the senses after all. And yet more and
more of us spend increasing amounts of time in the unisensory world of the flat
screen. The world that passes before us there seems rich, varied, and
entrancing, luring us from one fascinating vista to another, as if we were
monkeys swinging through the forest from branch to branch. It’s easy to become
entranced and even, frankly, addicted. In fact, “online activities tap into
deep neurological mechanisms,” reported an article in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">New York Times</i> (23 July 2012) entitled “Silicon Valley Says Step
Away from the Device.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-no-proof: no;">According to that article, “Eric Schiermeyer, a co-founder of
Zynga, an online game company and maker of huge hits like FarmVille, has said
he has helped addict millions of people to dopamine, a neurochemical that has
been shown to be released by pleasurable activities, including video game
playing, but also is understood to play a major role in the cycle of
addiction.”</span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-no-proof: no;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-no-proof: no;">At the same time, Schiermeyer
believes “that people already craved dopamine and that Silicon Valley was no
more responsible for creating irresistible technologies than, say, fast-food
restaurants were responsible for making food with such wide appeal.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-no-proof: no;">I depend on screens for my livelihood. Google has given me
this blog to post my thoughts on. I compose them in front of a screen, and
you’re reading them from a screen. But I also feel as if my brain has been
subtly rewired by the Internet. It’s harder for me to concentrate than it used
to be, and I feel a subtle sense of anxiety that I’m missing something if I’m
not checking my email and following every link that friends forward to me. I
draw the line at Facebook. I don’t have a Facebook page because I’m afraid it
would tether me further to the computer. And given a choice between sitting
here and going outside, I’d rather go outside.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-no-proof: no;">The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">New York Times</i>
article goes on: “Stuart Crabb, a director in the executive offices of Facebook
. . . said his primary concern was that people live balanced lives. At the same
time, he acknowledges that the message can run counter to Facebook’s business
model, which encourages people to spend more time online. ‘I see the paradox,’
he said.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-no-proof: no;">The gist of the article is that while Silicon Valley
executives see the dimensions of what their products are doing to people’s
brains, while they see “their collective power to lure consumers to games or
activities that waste time or distract them,” and while they feel uneasy about
this, they aren’t sure they have a responsibility to do anything about it. Some
of them don’t see a problem, even though the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders</i>, the bible on
mental illnesses, plans to include “Internet use disorder” in its appendix this
year. They are telling people we need to manage our lives to make sure we slow
down and step away from our screens.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 15.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-no-proof: no;">Richard Fernandez, an executive
coach at Google, “said the risks of being overly engaged with devices were
immense. ‘It’s nothing less than everything,’ he said, adding that if people
can find time to occasionally disconnect, ‘we can have more intimate and
authentic relationships with ourselves and those we love in our communities.’”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-no-proof: no;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 15.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-no-proof: no;">And with nature, I might add.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-no-proof: no;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 15.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-no-proof: no;">I took time off last year to
attend yoga teacher training. I want to remember how to be embodied. I want to
spend more of my time in a multisensory world and less in a unisensory one. I
want to remember that what happens in the garden, what is happening right now
while I’m sitting here typing away, is ultimately more important to the future
of the world than what I’m doing right now.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-no-proof: no;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 15.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-no-proof: no;">I’m with Brooke Williams. I think
if we survive as a species, it won’t ultimately be because of our smartphones,
tablets, laptops, and flat screen TVs. It will be because we have remembered
how to be good animals, animals who come out of our dens in the springtime, sniff
the air, and let ourselves feel stirred by the beauty of the earth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Lorraine Ahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10042515541615761023noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6131767615207822434.post-38468811285638610752011-12-22T09:32:00.000-08:002011-12-22T09:32:40.391-08:00Stop the Shopping!<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">How did Christmas come to be the trigger for a massive shopping binge?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Isn’t Christmas about celebrating the birth of a spiritual teacher whose central message was love?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What if we celebrated by showing love for the next seven generations and leaving some resources for their needs? What if in the spirit of giving, we thought about giving a future to those residents of poorer nations who will disproportionately bear the burden of a climate change they did not create? What if we admitted that we cannot consume our way to happiness and that most of the people we feel we must buy gifts for really have no need for any more material goods in their lives?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What if we stepped back from the frenzy and did what other good animals are doing in the dark months: slowing down, resting?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In an interesting piece in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Nation</i> (November 28, 2011) called “Capitalism vs. the Climate,” Naomi Klein writes, “<span style="color: #161616;">The abundance of scientific research showing we have pushed nature beyond its limits does not just demand green products and market-based solutions; it demands a new civilizational paradigm, one grounded not in dominance over nature but in respect for natural cycles of renewal—and acutely sensitive to natural limits, including the limits of human intelligence.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #161616; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Respect for natural cycles of renewal. Think about it. The earth pushes up green sprouts in spring, flourishes full out in summer, drops everything in fall, and lies fallow in winter. Complete conservation of energy precedes new growth. It’s nature’s law. Why don’t we follow it?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #161616; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I propose that we begin to see December as the month of Deep Rest. These lovely long dark nights are inviting us to turn inward, nap, hibernate, dream, snooze, imagine, indulge what Mary Oliver calls “the soft animal of your body.” “You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves,” she writes in that vastly overexposed poem, “Wild Geese.” It seems like good advice to take, especially at this time of year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #161616; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Peace.</span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><!--EndFragment-->Lorraine Ahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10042515541615761023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6131767615207822434.post-83256080240231220412011-11-09T14:12:00.000-08:002012-01-02T14:06:48.379-08:00Time for Us to Kiss the Earth Again<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"A little too abstract, a little too wise,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">it is time for us to kiss the earth again . . . "</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">— Robinson Jeffers</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">How do we do that? How do we kiss the earth again? I've created this blog as a place to explore answers to that question.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This blog is intended as an antidote to an age obsessed by speed, screens, and machines, in which most people are not fully embodied. It is meant to awaken readers to the full force of eros, broadly defined, in their own lives. The blog springs from my conviction that eros is the only force strong enough to save our species and our civilization now. We face mortal environmental dangers and our rational minds are not mobilizing us to meet them. What can possibly wake us up? My belief is that images and words that bypass the rational mind and reach directly into the heart, soul, and body are the only force potent enough.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Stay tuned for more.</span>Lorraine Ahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10042515541615761023noreply@blogger.com0