Gloria Steinem and Cecile Richards Get Ohio to Vote!
The Pro Choice women of Columbus, Ohio were gathered together to get out the vote. Planned Parenthood's Kelli Hykes worked as the driving force for the ground troops. I knew it was going to be a Big Event.

(Bravo Kelli, for a job well done!)

Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards and feminist activist Gloria Steinem were scheduled to make celebrity appearances. I assumed they would take the podium, offer speeches, and cap it off with the standard photo-op meet-n-greet to rally the volunteers, but it did not quite work out that way.

Kelli greeted me with a warm welcome when I arrived, and handed me a packet of information about the evening's events.

"Instead of working the phones, I want you to go door to door as the leader of my VIP group. Do you have a car?"

"Sure thing, It seats six. Where's my group?"

"I want you to take Cecile Richards and Gloria Steinem."

At that moment, my heart went into a state of tachycardia, but I did my best to nod in an offhand, businesslike fashion, while thumbing through the paperwork.

"Um-Hm. I see. Could you excuse me for just a moment? I'll be right back."

I made a dash for the bathroom, hyperventilating into one of those little white bags used for sanitary napkin disposal. Then I went out to my car and panicked. You see, we just celebrated my daughter's twelfth birthday, and the car was still covered in grime and mess from five muddy munchkins on a sugar high.

I had three minutes, one used towellete, and an image of Gloria Steinem picking gummy bears off her shoes. I felt like Martha Stewart on a bad batch of crystal meth. But fear not my darlings, for I am Super Mom, and I managed to clean that car in less than a New York minute! (well, the front two rows anyway.) I pushed all the kid crap under the seats and on to the floor of the third row seat. While far from perfect, it would just have to do.

When I went back in, we decided to split Gloria and Cecile into two separate groups for maximum voter impact. I was all for it, as this meant Cecile would sit in the front, and my dirty little secret would be safe.

Cecile and three of her aids from Washington walked with me to the car. Cecile was so fun. Her excitement and enthusiasm for democracy are contagious. I opened the back door of my Pacifica, to demonstrate how to fold the seat for a third row passenger, guiding one of the girls to the back, but Cecile trumped me. She came from the other side and dove over the second row, into the third, spreading her six foot tall frame across the back of the car like an Olympic gymnast doing a full layout.

She was just like my kids! They never bother to fold the seat forward. They just dive in. I did not know if I should apologize for the ooey-gooies, or just offer her a pack of leftover gummy bears.

In retrospect, it must not have been all that bad. She did not seem to mind at all. Besides, she's a mom too. Maybe her car is about the same. (Either that or she is just one heck of a nice person.)
Anyway, we spent the evening going door to door, enthusiastically reminding people to vote.

I have never felt a more powerful connection to the political process than I did that night. This is what American Democracy is all about. If you have ever lost faith in our government, if you have ever felt depressed by the negative attack ads, or corruption reported on the news, folks, I can tell you; this is how you get your faith back. This is how you renew your sense of hope. You find good, like-minded people, then join up, and pitch in.


During our canvassing effort, we met a voter with a cute little dog. He said the pup was a Katrina survivor, rescued three weeks after the hurricane. I watched quietly as Cecile petted the dog and chatted with his owner. This man was a staunch lifelong, card carrying republican. Cecile did not grandstand or debate issues with him. She did not even reveal to him who she was. She was kind and respectful, and just petted the pup and listened to the story of the dog's horrific ordeal. She evoked this man's emotions, and got him thinking about the issues on a personal level. She handed him a flyer saying "Remember to vote!" but he just shook his head and said "I can't. I just can't. Not this time." It was clear; he could not bring himself to vote against his party, even though he too felt the need for change. The best he could do was abstain. Cecile offered a sympathetic smile as we prepared to move on.

I so admired her at that moment. It is clear, this woman understands, democracy is built on the foundation of listening to the people. It's not about screaming, or shouting at the opposition, it's about grass roots efforts, connecting to people, and working to make the world a better place.

When we got back, Kelli had box dinners waiting for us in the office. I sat down on a rickety fold out chair at a six foot table, littered with campaign material, and ate, with none other than feminist extrodinare, Gloria Steinem!

It's funny, when you imagine having a chance to share ideas with someone so famous and influential, the idea of eating sub sandwiches on paper napkins never enters the dream.

We had a wonderful conversation about politics, feminism, matriarchal cultures, and ancient history. (My favorite subjects, as those of you who read this blog already know.)

I liked Gloria. Her energy was so soft, like the calm of Walden Pond; still and deep, and infinitely contemplative. As a person who used to work security at rock concerts, I am accustomed to the drill when celebrities are afoot. But it was not like that at all with Ms. Steinem. She wanted to talk to everyone. Not just the superficial handshake and smile stuff. She wanted to know what we were thinking, and where we stood on the issues.

When I complimented her on her down to earth persona, she replied "You know, you can't write effectively in isolation. As writers, we need all five of our senses. We need to get out in the world and explore. The writing is meaningless if it is not connected to a sense of community."

I hope she really meant that. I think she did, and I was honored she spoke to me as a fellow writer. I gave her an envelope with a note of thanks and a CD with some of my feminist essays. I hope she reads them. I hope she likes them, and I hope my little contribution will aid these two amazing women in their efforts to make our world a better place.



Gloria told me "It's all about hope."

And hope is exactly what I feel tonight.

Today I am doing a little political guest blogging over at The Fat Lady Sings. Drop by and chime in on the conversation. http://www.fatladysings.us/the_fat_lady_sings/2006/10/moral_i_think_n.html

Today I am going to the International Healing and Light Expo in Columbus, Ohio.
As I was on the phone with The Magical Maggie, discussing booth set-up, I opened my e-mail and found a note from Zaadz reminding me to pass out the stack of Zaadz post cards I recently received in the mail.

When things like this happen, at just the right time, or in the the right way, it is clearly a message from the divine.  It is called synchronicity...

And Synchronicity Rocks!

Be ever alert for a red tail flying near, for the Red Tailed Hawk will soar beside the Two-Legged whose own gift of vision is exceptionally acute. The red tail feathers only appear after the bird has reached maturity, therefore, when a red tail feather is given, it is a symbol of maturity and wisdom. To accept this Totem, is to be knighted as a Guardian and Protector of the Earth Mother and all her Children, to possess an astute awareness of the interconnectedness of all things, and an inner reverence for all life. These are the souls that are involved in making the world a better place. They will be protectors of the Earth, encouraging and educating Others to do the same. Does the Red Tail appear and Shadow you from day to day? If so, What message did it reveal?

My dear friend, spirit guide, healer, and wise woman, The Magical Maggie, has created a presence on Zaadz! Maggie finds hearts every where she goes. In the rocks, the trees, and even in the sunset. Please visit her site and give her a warm welcome! Comfortspark

Our ancestors had a powerful working knowledge of the medicinal uses of local flora. Archaeological evidence shows that in hunter/gatherer societies, women were considered skilled herbalists and healers. Many of these ancient techniques can still be seen in use today in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Auruveda, and throughout many of the disciplines of Western Medicine. In fact, the word “Medicine” comes from the Sanskrit word “Medha” which means Feminine Wisdom. Names for healers have arisen from many cultures and customs: Old Crones, Hags, Witches, Medicine Women, Shamans, Doulas and Saints. Every culture in the world has, in one form or another, the archetype of woman as healer. In early societies, women were traditionally placed in the role of nurturer and healer. Professional healers were rarely available or affordable to common people, so the role of healer fell to the women. They would grow herbs, prepare poultices and tonics, and nurture the sick. This art was not taught in schools, but rather was passed from generation to generation within the family, through oral customs and experience. The tradition of women healers has always been based on the role of nurturer that defines the feminine spirit. Even the simple instincts to hold, massage, nourish and comfort, are in fact part of the healing arts. In Egypt, Greece and Rome, women were an integral part of the medical profession. Homer’s Iliad refers to “Agamede of the golden hair” who was quite skilled in medicine and herbal lore. Philista taught medicine in Greece, and Agnodice was a physician who trained with the famous Alexandrian Herophilus. Other writings that have survived include the manuscripts of Hildegarde of Bingen who wrote texts on plant, animal and mineral medicines and on the physiology and nature of disease. Roman mythology honors the spirit of Diana, the Huntress. Healer of ills, Goddess of the Hunt, protector of animals and small children. She roamed the wild mountain sides with her nymphs, hunting Lions, panthers and stags, with her bow and arrows. Although she often hunted and killed man, beast and gods, she was worshiped as a healer and protector of beasts. In the city of Ephesus, a great temple was built in her honor that became one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. The testes of bulls were sacrificed to her with prayers for her blessing during rituals and celebrations. Also know as Artemis, in Greek mythology, she was twin sister to Apollo, God of the Sun. She symbolized the moon, (the yin compliment to the sun). She was “The heavenly light that illuminates the darkness”, and was oft depicted as the torch bearer, who lit the way for others. Just like Diana, it is the role of modern women to carry the torch, and lead the way, to illuminate the knowledge of healing and energy.

Once upon a time, many moons ago, before the first cities arose, people lived in harmony with nature. Women were honored and loved, for they carried the great mystery: the ability to give birth and create life. They honored their menstrual cycles by burying their moontime blood under a sacred fruit tree. The tree was known as the tree of life. They drank the wine from the fruit of the tree in ceremonies to honor the divine. The wine was given to kings, for it associated these men with the power of creation, and gave these honored protectors the blessings of The Goddess. This is the truth behind the story of The Holy Grail. It is the basis of all communion ceremonies, the original creation story, and the deepest hidden secret under the Dome of The Rock in Jeruslem, A Muslim Holy site that was once a Temple of The Goddess. Some men quested for power and control... They did not want to share power or status with the priestesses. The Muslims drew their swords and stormed the temple, while the Hebrews developed a new creation myth: one that put the man in the role of life bringer. The story was of a man, who gave birth to a woman! How silly you say? No One would ever believe that! The story was of Adam, giving birth to Eve from his rib. It was not the first such story. They took the idea from the tale of how Buddha was born from his mothers rib. The story prevailed, not because it made sense, but because the tellers were men of conquest and power. They used fear to terrorize the young and indoctrinate them into their cult. Patiarchies are like that. They use fear, and war as their weapons of assimilation. In the dark ages, they burned over a million women at the stake, not because they were witches, but because they were respected herbal healers who still worshiped the Olde way. The Goddess religions have been all but wiped out, and the patriarchies now rule. Why? Because the followers of Earth Based Spirituality do not engage in war or propoganda. We have no need to grow our church or witness to potential converts. We have no holy books to defend or protect. Mother Earth speaks her truths, whether we exist or not. That's why you have never heard of "The Pagan Wars." We live, we die, we diminish, with no monuments to mark our passing. We flow with the current of the universe, knowing that nature will continue to speak our truths, long after we are gone. Nature is our religion, and the eternal cycle our holy book. Today, we see war condoned in the name of the patriarchal gods of Allah, Jesus and Jehova. The divine is not understood by these people as part of a circular pattern emulating nature, but it is now a linear theology of One shot...either up to heaven or down to hell. And the king suffers. And the land lies in ruin. Until the day when The Holy Grail is found, once again.

The Bando martial arts systems, while containing traditional fighting techniques common to most styles, also includes techniques aimed at healing, health maintenance, and non violent defense. These included the practice of internal energy systems, meditations, and evasive, non violent martial techniques. The Monk System, Min Zin training, moving meditations, still meditations, yoga, and massage exercises are the yin aspects of Bando training. These important training components are rooted in the ancient traditions of Eastern Philosophy, and the model of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). It is through balanced practice and understanding of these concepts that the Bando practitioner develops a higher level of power, and moves beyond the realm of martial sports and on to the path of the true warrior. Bando training is divided into three main areas of emphasis: Hurting, Healing, and Harmonizing. When a person begins Martial Training, the hurting systems are the prime focus. The student learns basic techniques to deal with conflict. Bando ethics teaches the student to only use their training to defend themselves, their family, or their country. The student and teacher must share a responsibility of cultivating the Body, Mind AND Spirit of the individual, in order to ensure that the student becomes a person of Honor and Respect, who will always use the skills and gifts of The Bando System responsibly and wisely. It is at this intermediate point of training that the student must look inward to his or her own spirit in order to gain understanding of the motivations of anger, revenge and fear. These are the enemies from within. They must be faced and overcome. This period of introspection will guide the student to the true path of the Warrior. It is the path that unites Body, Mind and Spirit through the systems of Hurting, Healing and Harmonizing. This unity is what distinguishes the well rounded martial artist from mere street fighters and thugs. The path of the Warrior is one of Dedication and Honor. It is a path that protects peace through strength. When a fighter is simply a fighter, who embraces only the yang, there is no balance, no higher purpose, no meaning, and no growth. It is through the study of the yin side of the arts that the dignity of the warrior spirit evolves. The Manual of The Bando Discipline, by U Ba Than(Gyi) defines three major styles of Bando training. Hard Style, Middle Style, and Soft Style. Hard Style refers to rugged combat training. Middle style is similar to classic Karate training, and Soft style is “often referred to as the Unity of Body, Mind and Spirit. The movements and drills of the Soft Style Bando are above fighting, above combat training and above defensive systems. Soft Style Bando tones and develops the harmony of the body and mind, the mind and the spirit, and the spirit and the body. Low deep breathing, slow soft movements and point concentration are examples of Soft Style Bando exercises designed to cultivate the harmony of body, mind and spirit. This is no doubt the highest style of the Bando Discipline.”

This chart is an interesting study of order and discipline. The principles shown here can apply to any family or group. The four results are: Spoiling Neglect Authoritarian Positive Discipline Use it to break down complicated group dynamics, and make sense of things. It was certainly an eye opener for me.

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. Buddha Compassion and Love are the ultimate weapons I had a little situation in my life where I was having an on going problem with a gossipy mom in the neighborhood. When my daughter came home upset about the rumors, I thought “oh no, not more of this silliness!” I was so ready to march down there and “have a little talk with that woman. I wanted to remind her that gossip is never good parenting. I had so many good lines to use, I felt so justified, so righteous. So right. But deep in my heart, I knew that telling her about the evils of gossip would not solve my problem. It would probably just make it worse. In fact, experience had taught me that no matter what point I tried to make with these types of women, they would just discuss it amongst themselves until they had found a way to justify that they were right and I was wrong. Anything I said would be held against me, and it wasn’t even a court of law! So I decided to sit back, calm down and meditate. I tough task when your blood is boiling. And guess what…at that moment, I heard the voice of Dr. Wayne Dyer coming from my bedroom. He was doing his motivational piece on The Power of Intention for public television. He said that if we would just let go, surrender to source, that our world would be better. He told a story about sending out kindness instead of anger. He told a story of a lady at the airline who was not happy to provide service to him. He said that instead of arguing with her about the rules, he instead showed her as much genuine kindness as he possibly could. He even gave her a signed copy of his book. He said that by the end of the flight, this woman was bending over backwards to help: Just begging to assist him in any way that she could. I thought, yea right, like that would work for me. Then I tried to meditate again. I tried to find some compassion for this woman. Ooh how I tried. But I just couldn’t. I was too angry. I was right and she was wrong, and all I wanted to do was march down there and make her agree with me. Dr. Dyer said something about my ego getting in the way of my connection to source, but I didn’t hear him. I tried again to meditate, to connect to my source of inner peace. If I couldn’t find compassion for this woman, at least I could find a little peace and calm. Then I heard his voice coming from the bedroom again. He said that when you connect to source it is amazing how just the right people show up at just the right time in your life. Hmmf. Not for me. I made a silent wish for my best friend to call. I wanted to tell her about this awful gossip, and have her agree that I was right. I wanted to vent. Girlfriends are great for that aren’t they? Well, she did not call. What’s up with that Doc, I thought. I’m connecting here. Where is my support team? My mind wandered back to the problem at hand. Gosh I had so much good ammo. I could really put that girl in her place if I wanted to. But if I did, how would she react? She would be angry and resentful, and would probably never see my point even if I talked till I was blue in the face. I imagined myself going to talk to her preacher, and bringing him to her house to take my side and tell her about the evils of gossiping. That would get her! But would it? Would she repent, throw her arms around me and apologize? No. She would become defensive, get even madder at me, and then call her friend to tell her what nerve I had to bring her preacher into this! Then together they would decide that I was an evil manipulator, and they would spread the story around the whole neighborhood that I was a pariah to be avoided. Then, I had an interesting shift in my emotions. As I meditated, and continued to try to push these thoughts out of my mind and connect to Dr Dyers Source, I heard his voice resonate in my head. Offer kindness, and you will have ‘em eating out of your hand. Hmmm, is that what I wanted? No. Not really. I wanted to give em the ol one two! But, I realized that in the end, if I did that it would only cause me more pain. Whatever you send out comes back to you ten fold. So, if I wanted peaceful relations with my neighbors, and if I wanted to provide a healthy environment for my kids, I was going to have to push my ego aside, suck it up, and offer kindness. Oooh, that did not sound like any fun at all. But I knew that even though the ol one two would be a lot more satisfying in the short run, the hard work of the route of compassion was the only path to my ultimate goal. I realized then, that I was powerless to do anything to change this woman. The only thing that I had the power to do was change my self. I could see that my desire for satisfaction was only short term, and that acting on that desire would be in direct conflict with my long term goal. Just then I had another remarkable realization. The person that I needed at that very moment in my life DID appear! He was a man that I had never met, who was half a world away, and yet, he appeared in my bedroom, on public television, at the exact moment that I needed him, and told me EXACTLY what I needed to know! It Worked! For the next week, I was careful to avoid confrontation, and put my focus on sending only positive energy from a pure heart. At first the reaction was cold, but when she saw my sincerity, things really turned around. She invited my kids to a party, asked me to join them for an evening social, and sent several of those cute little e-mails with inspirational thoughts and poetry. Love from a pure heart is the only weapon of defense that really works to achieve the desired results. Every other tactic just compounds pain and strife. Do not be fooled by the simplicity of this thought. Love is not an easy weapon to wield. It is much easier to be reactionary, spiteful and defensive. To respond with love in the face of confrontation takes more honor and strength of spirit than you can possibly imagine. Your mind and your ego will trick you and try to make you give in. Just as it does to a drug addict. Your body will surge with adrenaline, your muscles will tense, and your vision will tunnel. You will have to fight so hard just to refocus your energy on your self control, that you will not be able to even consider your opponent. Responding with love is an art of the highest form that requires the training of a master warrior.