The New Kosher

Kosher food is prepared in a certain way and it's blessed a certain way and all of this needs to be certified for us to know that it's Kosher.  The people who keep Kosher are serious about it, and when they're away from home, they need to carefully examine their food to know if it's okay for them to eat.  They are being obedient to their religion's interpretation of God's laws.

Lately it has been striking me that a larger and larger number of people have a new Kosher, only they call it organic, non GMO, local, vegan, raw, paleo, gluten free, whatever it is. ( I myself avoid wheat, dairy, meat and sugar so I'm part of this trend).

I live in a community of 25 households where we occasionally share meals.  Some of the people who cook here are happy to accommodate all sorts of diets.  Some are less happy.  In general, the people who eat mainstream appear less happy to accommodate than the people who eat in these newer ways.

But what is mainstream?  Increasingly, there have been so many vegetarian meals served in our community that some are feeling that their diets of needing more meat or protein and less raw vegetables, are being marginalized.  And sometimes the vegetarian cooks draw the line at providing meat. Where does it stop?

Whether or not we want to take the time to accommodate all diets, it is now indisputable that what we believe about the properties of what we eat affects us.  As I posted in Mind Over Milkshake, it is now scientifically verifiable that the body physically reacts to labels on food differently depending on what's on the label not just what's in the food.

So when my neighbor says, "I don't believe in gluten free," that's highly relevant--for them, but maybe not for me.  I do believe that when I eat less wheat gluten, I feel better.  The fact that I believer this, means it will be true.    The fact that they don't, means they probably shouldn't bother.

There seem to be so many people that like to complain about and belittle gluten free, or organic or paleo, many of them in the mainstream American media.

Meanwhile, The New York Times recently reported that not only is gluten free dining prevalent in pasta-laden Italy, but specialized products for people with gluten intolerance are subsidized by the government! -- see Gluten Free Dining in Italy.

Even if we're not ready to subsidize it, maybe it's time for all the backlashes and the backlashes against the backlashes (is there a nonviolent way to say "backlash"?) where we all pooh pooh each other's choice to stop and for us to move towards a genuinely tolerant society where we respect each other's beliefs about food, much as we might at least try to respect each other's beliefs about religion.

More about Einstein Time

For months I have been praying to be shown how the principle of abundance applies to time.  I know it must, because I know that it works with money and love and all things, but I just haven't experienced this, so I needed help.

I also spent the past 5 1/2 years studying, among other things, how the principles of quantum physics apply to spirituality.  I learned that at the quantum level, there is no time.   You've heard of quantum leaps?  Well a quantum leap is what happens when photon (smallest known unit of light and energy) communicates with another photon across space and time, instantaneously.  Or maybe something just happens to both of them at once because they're really the same object only they're in two different places.  Or maybe Schrodinger's cat eats one of them and someone else's cat swallows the other--as you can see, the possibilities are endless.

The point is that an answer to prayer came the other day in the form of a chapter called "Living in Einstein Time" in The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks.  Hendricks reminded me that quite literally, we can make time.  Our entire experience of time is in our head.

He cites Einstein's explanation of relativity, where 2 hours with your beloved feels like 1 minute and 1 minute on a hot stove feels like 2 hours (and in Einstein's day, hot stoves were HOT STOVES!).  How can this be?

The idea of time marching on and moving in measurable fixed increments is actually not scientific.  It's a convenient fiction more compatible with debunked Newtonian principles than quantum principles.

Hendricks says that we are quite literally in control of our experience of time.  He says that now that he lives in Einstein time, he gets twice as much done in half the time.  My main experience of this difference is when sometimes I'm sitting at my desk and it seems like I've gotten tons done and only 30 minutes has passed and another day, I look up and it's lunch time and I've gotten nothing done.

I told you one trick for living in Einstein time yesterday (you'll have to go back and read that post, it's a doozy).  Today's hint is simply to focus on making time.  When you are rushing, slow down and say to yourself, "I have time.  I can make time.  I have plenty of time" and see what happens.

More to come, I'm digging this!

Living in "Einstein Time"

I'm finally reading The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks about how people can make the leap out of the their zone of competence or zone of excellence into their zone of genius.  Everyone in my church has been reading it for the past year and now that I have time to read it, it's completely turned me upside down.

I'll talk more about that another time, but one of the many many useful tools that Hendricks has for getting us out of the zone of excellence and into the zone of genius, is living in "Einstein time."  "Einstein time" for the uninitiated is unlimited, quantum time abundance rather than Newtonian limited time thinking.

One of the ways to live in Einstein time is to immediately cease being a victim of time.  To stop using time as an excuse, stop saying "I don't have time for that"  "I'm out of time," "I ran out of time."  Any reference to time as a limiting factor is banned.  If I'm going to limit myself, I have to admit to them, own up to them.

For example, today, someone wanted me to go to a store with them, when I wanted to go home and get some other things done before another appointment.  Before Einstein time, I might have said, "I'd love to, but I don't have time."  Today, I told the truth, "thanks for asking, but there are some other things I really want to do today before my next appointment."

The truth is, I always do have time, I just don't always choose to use my time a certain way and when I blame time, make time the bad guy, I'm both lying and I'm using time as a limiting factor.  If I can be honest about what I want to do with the time I have, it's a start towards making friends with time.

Stay tuned for more on Einstein time and The Big Leap.

The power of coincidences

One of my favorite books by Deepak Choprah (I really love them all but…) is The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire: harnessing the infinite power of coincidence. 

In it, he tells his life story and some other people's stories and walks through how paying attention to coincidence has greatly enhanced how quickly he and others get to where they most want to go in life.

My main takeaway from that book is this:  what is important about a coincidence is that YOU noticed it.  A coincidence is not about an unseen hand arranging events for your benefit.  At any given moment, there are literally 100s if not thousands of things that I could pay attention to in my field of vision.  Many of them, could coincide with something else that I'm thinking or feeling.  What makes a coincidence is important is that it is a clue to what my "nonlocal intelligence" is paying attention to.

If I  think it's important, it's important because it's only about what is mine.  You see there is a part of me that has access to more information than my normal mind does.  That part of me is what is attaching significance to an event.

For example, I have been thinking about irreverence lately, and pondering whether i could be an irreverent minister.  On Friday, I happened to run into two of the most irreverent ministers I know walking out together in the Oakland airport.

I don't live in Oakland and I've never been to the Oakland airport before.  Not only are they there, but their ride is not and the person I'm waiting for did not get off the plane.  This gave us an opportunity to chat for a while.

Choprah would say "that breaks the probability amplitude."  If a coincidence is improbable, that means we need to pay special attention to it.  We write it down in our journal and circle it and put exclamation points.  And then we wait and we remember.  More will be revealed.

A Voice of Irreverence

Many years ago, in close succession, more than one person told me that I had a unique writer’s “voice.”  Two of those people I strongly respected as writers.  One was a fellow legislative worker bee who dabbled in the occasional op ed or glorious rant to an editor—he was no slouch himself in the writing department.  The other was the editor of a major daily newspaper, the winner of journalistic awards.

In both cases, their pronouncements terrified me.   What did they mean, “voice”?  I asked.  Both said by way of explanation something like, “you know, a voice.  You have a distinctive way of writing that is you. It is recognizable.  If I didn’t know it was you, I’d know it was you.  [Note to JK Rawling, you might not want to bother with the pseudonyms any more].

“Well, what is my voice, I whined?”  I particularly whined when one of them reviewed some prospective op eds I wrote and said, “where’d you go?  Your voice is gone.”  How was I supposed to find my voice again if I didn’t know what it was was?

Finally, they both came out with the same adjective to describe my voice..."snarky."

Fast forward six years, long enough for our kids to grow up and for me to graduate from ministerial school.  In that interval, I have written very little.  I'm afraid to be snarky and afraid to be snarkless (and therefore voiceless).  Both options seemed impossible. Now I return to writing.  It seems to be something Spirit wants of me, therefore, what can I do but comply?

Websters defines “snarky” as “crotchety, snappish, sarcastic, impertinent, irreverent, in tone or manner.”  How on earth can a reverend be irreverent, isn’t that a contradiction in terms? Yet, a few years ago, in a ministerial school retreat, the adjective I used to describe myself was "irreverent."

The truth is that I belong to an order that is inherently irreverent--we teach people how to change their thinking to change their life.  In order to change my thinking, I need to challenge every belief that I think I have.  I need to be willing to play with my thoughts, rock them back and forth like a car stuck in the mud to see if they'll suddenly break free.  

And I teach everyone that they have their own authentic voice and that when they find it, they should celebrate.  So when I put it that way, if I have a snarky voice, so be it.  Spirit has made me snarky and Spirit has made a minister.  There must be some way for the two to coexist.

There's tribute bands and then there's tribute bands at Swabbie's On the River

Last night I celebrated a friend's birthday by going to one of Swabbie's infamous "fish taco" tribute band friday nights.  If you haven't ever experienced the Swabbie-ness, it's a pretty fabulous summer scene--people of all ages, dancing and dining outdoors right on the Sacramento river.  The calendar of events is here:  Swabbies On the River.

The only thing to be careful of is the tribute bands.  The third Friday of the month is reggae night, and I think that's pretty reliably good but the other Friday night bands tend to be "tribute" bands which choose to play only covers of one particular band.  So it goes without saying that you have to like that band.

A couple of summers ago, I experienced a pretty unfortunate swamp rock tribute band ("Creedence Saltwater Revival?"  -- or is that all seal band at Sea World, I may be getting them mixed up.

Anyway, the music was WORSE than the sea lion band--and I LOVE CCR.  So that put me off tribute bands for a while.

Last night was "Stealin' Dan" (if you can't figure out who they're tributizing, God help you) and it was a whole different matter.  I guess if you're into Steely Dan you really need to be real musicians--these guys had a phenomenal  sound and fabulous backup singers and a brass section and the whole bit.  Now I'm re-in love with Swabbie's and tribute bands.

3 Enthusiastic Snouts up for "Tammy"

(:)(:)(:) for Tammy starring Melissa McCarthy, Susan Sarandon, Kathy Bates and Mark Duplass (with small parts for Allison Janey and Dan Akroyd), Directed by Ben Falcone (Bridesmaid) and written by Ben Falcone and Melissa McCarthy.

From the reviews, I was expecting this movie to be terrible, just awful.  25% on Rotten Tomatoes?  Come on!  Pigs in the Attic 5 woudn't get 25% on Rotten Tomatoes!

Nonetheless, three of us women who maybe identify a little bit with some aspects of Melissa McCarthy, reluctantly chose it as our desperate mid summer chick flick and as my friend said, apparently we are in the 25 percent.

While no one could call this a great movie, it is fun, and it ventures into some seldom plowed territory--this is Thelma and Louise meets Bridesmaid--Melissa McCarthy and her (vaguely credible as a) alcoholic grandma Susan Sarandon head off on a road trip and get into misadventures.  How often do we see a 70 plus woman (Sarandon) engaging in inappropriate sex?  how often has armed robbery involved cocked fingers and warm apple pies?  How often has gay CEO (Kathy Bates) entertained us and all her lesbian friends (and these more real lesbians than Orange is the New Black, I'm completely playing for heterosexual salacious males lesbians) at a 4th of July bash and her magnificent Louisville spread? How often is the lead female of a movie obese, without a) us having to hear about how she is obese? b) watching her eat a lot? (she eats some, but not enough to get fat) or c) having Jack Black think she really looks like Gwyneth Paltrow?

All and all, it's predictable in a sort of is buddy road movie type of way, but its laugh out loud funny and all of the above.

Rick Steves, the unwelcome guest in our household

Rick Steves, the international travel pro, has been living in our household for the past few weeks disguised as a guidebook to Italy.

We love him and our kids hate him.  We love him because he tells us what we need to know, suggests great hotels and restaurants, gives us handy phrases, negotiates discounts on our behalf, gives us tips on how to get the best, the cheapest, the easiest.

Our 17 and 19 year olds hate him because he's in a book, not the web.  We've pointed out that actually he exists in many media, web, tv, radio, thinking that make make him more appealing.  They roll their eyes and say, "he's named Rick Steves.  Come on, the guy should get a last name if he wants us to take him seriously."

They are leaving for Italy Saturday (their high school graduation gift).  They haven't researched the trip the way I would.  They haven't consulted Rick.  They don't even want to meet him.  As a result, they might go into a cathedral in shorts, pay 5 euros for a cup of coffee or stand in the wrong line.  And there is nothing, absolutely nothing, that I can do about it.

Rick, if you're reading this, I'm sorry.  I know you've tried your best.  I invited you into our home for a reason.  But, if there's one thing I've learned over the years, you can lead a horse to Rick Steves, but you can't make it know the difference between primo and secondi plati.

"Mind Over Milkshake" -- Scientifically, our thoughts literally, demonstrably alter our physiology

I'm a religious scientist.  In 1927, Ernest Holmes, our founder, established this philosophy (now called a religion) which has as its principle belief, "change your thinking, change your life."  He taught and wrote (and wrote) that we could use our thoughts and our mind to create health, wealth, change anything about our lives.  Today the centers that practice this religion are collectively called the Centers for Spiritual Living--you can find a center near you here: Centers for Spiritual Living Website

Over the course of the 87 years since Holmes started talking about this, the science has more and more caught up with the theory.  I have come to the conclusion that as a burgeoning religious science minister, it will be part of my job to keep up with and be somewhat conversant with some of the many places that science proves our philosophy right.

Recently, NPR presented an example of this in a story called "Mind Over Milkshake"--here is a video (not just audio) of an amazing, and very vivid must watch story showing that quite literally, what we believe about food affects how our body digests it.

What is my next meditation?

For years I have meditated pretty much every day, sometimes more than once a day, but I tend to switch it up over the years.  Usually, the process of switching from one meditation style to another is very organic.  I am doing one style for a while (30 days, 6 months, whatever) and another presents itself to me and is so obviously my next meditation.

For a long while, it was listening to and chanting om nema shivaya.

After a weekend long Zen Buddhist retreat, for years it was sitting Zazen.

Then it was running energy and connecting with the earth.

Sometimes it is the John Randolph Pierce 40 day abundance series.

One year it was the Course in Miracles every day.

Then it was another chant and lying on an exercise ball.

For a while it was the Abraham Hicks into the Vortex meditations (which come on a handy app).

Lately, I seem to do a different style every day.  Zazen, then running energy, then Hicks.  This is weird for me.  I usually like to have a goal or a number of days, now I'm just feeling it.  What type of meditation does my body want today?

A friend gave me a Deepak Choprah/Oprah meditation series recently.  I should probably do that, but it needs to make itself known to me.  It needs to declare its interest in my meditating on it.

Show me, Lord, my next meditation.

How I'm voting in the June 3rd election (and in some cases, why):

How I'm voting in the June 3rd election (and in some cases, why):
Contested statewide:
Secretary of State: Derek Cressman -- he is a longshot but he's running a real campaign and he's the only serious candidate who is a good government expert, worked for Common Cause for years and we know him personally.
Controller: Betty Yee--she's an experienced board of equalization member and a proven good person for the job.
Treasurer: John Chiang (currently doing a bang up job as Controller)

Statewide measures:
State Proposition 41 -- Yes. Authorizes $600 million in general obligation bonds to pay for affordable housing for veterans and other homeless.
State Proposition 42 -- Yes. To require local governments to comply with open government public meetings laws--more transparency in government is a good thing.

Local--Sacramento Contested:
Assembly District 7: Kevin McCarty and Steve Cohn are both long time good city council members running. Kevin is the more courageous and progressive choice. A solid progressive vote. Only candidate to ask hard questions and stand up to the arena. He has the kind of backbone we need in the Assembly. Cohn is backed by Mayor Kevin Johnson.

Senate District 6: Assemblymembers Roger Dickinson and Richard Pan are running. Roger Dickinson is the clear choice for progressives. Richard Pan's vaunted "independence" leads him to take such votes as voting against a bill to limit fracking for oil and against a bill to ban dangerous bisphenyl A chemical in baby bottles.

District Attorney: Conservative law enforcement backed Jan Scully has finally retired, and is trying to annoint her successor. The Democratic consensus candidate is Maggie Krell.

Local Measure B-- Yes. to assess a $12 a year property owner tax to pay to keep libraries funded.

Other races are pretty much non contested but I'll give a shout out to re-electing Sacramento's own Dave Jones as Insurance Commissioner. He's doing a great job.

Lessons Learned from 24 days of Bikram Yoga

Well, it's day 24 of 30 days of Bikram Yoga.  Notice I didn't use the word "straight."  I attempted 30 days straight but instead it's looked like 8 days straight, 1 day rest, 2 days "straight," 1 day rest, 1 day "straight,"1 day rest, and then a whopping 10 days straight assuming I go today as planned.

So the first lesson learned was:  Listen to your body and your daughter's body.  If both are absolutely weak and depleted feeling on a rare day when your daughter doesn't have crew practice, stay home and drink tea and read with instead of hot yoga.

Obamacare Up & Running in California despite media reports--what questions can I answer for you?

I keep meaning to let folks know that despite media reports about the feds, the California version of Obamacare, "Covered California," appears to be up and running and doing well.  Here's an article in Health Line that gives more details about that--"Covered California seeing Fewer Problems Than Federal Health Exchange" .

In the meantime, folks have until March of 2013 (the feds extended it, which was the right thing to do, despite rightwing criticism).

Look, I'm a lifelong single payer supporter but I spent the past two years working to implement this law and I'm intimately familiar with the California version.  I've spent some time poking around on the Covered California website the past couple of weeks and looking at what they're offering.    The bottom line is that if you're uninsured in California and even vaguely struggling to make ends meet, there's a decent chance you're eligible for free, extremely low cost or affordable coverage.

Don't let the right or the left-wing fear machines intimidate you from actually buying affordable health care coverage while you can--these subsidies have a shelf life, they are only fully funded for 3 years.   Particularly tell the young adults you know and the people not quite old enough for Medicare or needing "gap" coverage to check it out.

I am happy to answer questions.  At the moment, no one is paying me to have a particular opinion on health care so this is just me trying to be helpful.  Just contact me through whatever way you get this posting.

See Enders Game or Not? Debate flares on Facebook over Homophobic Orson Scott Card

My friend and mentor Edward Viljoen (senior minister at  Center for Spiritual Living Santa Rosa) posted on his Facebook wall yesterday this tidbit:

 "Orson Scott Card, not one penny of mine will you see. No Enders Game for me. I don't expect you to

change your views to match mine. I just prefer not to help fund your anti marriage-equality activism with my pennies. I'm just a small voice in the wilderness yet when I go to sleep on opening night I will do so knowing I just made a donation to Positive Images instead of to your movie."

This sparked a lively debate on Facebook about whether or not one should withhold one's pennies from artists where you like the product but detest the views they espouse.    I'm a big Orson Scott Card fan.  My kids and I have been looking forward to the movie for a while.   I think it's as simple as this, in the the cosmic democracy, it matters what we choose. This is a person that has opinions and views and he is famous, and he's about to be more famous, and he uses his fame to express these views and push this viewpoint. We don't have to choose to support a platform for hate. And we don't have to hate Orson Scott Card either. We can know that he is brilliant and we can be sad.

Edward also posted this piece by Orson Scott Card from the Mormon Times as reported on Joe My God Blog:

"If America becomes a place where our children are taken from us by law and forced to attend schools where they are taught that cohabitation is as good as marriage, that motherhood doesn't require a husband or father, and that homosexuality is as valid a choice as heterosexuality for their future lives, then why in the world should married people continue to accept the authority of such a government?
What these dictator-judges do not seem to understand is that their authority extends only as far as people choose to obey them.
How long before married people answer the dictators thus: Regardless of law, marriage has only one definition, and any government that attempts to change it is my mortal enemy. I will act to destroy that government and bring it down, so it can be replaced with a government that will respect and support marriage, and help me raise my children in a society where they will expect to marry in their turn."

My God, even in op eds, this man writes science fiction!



My daughter says that notwithstanding OSC's homophobia it's imperative to see Enders Game on the big screen and that it will not work to watch illegal downloads because they're such low quality.  The conversation between us sparked an idea of how to see Enders Game without supporting OSC or ripping off the theater:

Go to a multiplex, buy a ticket for another movie and then see Enders Game.  Thoughts?

Day 9 -- 30 days straight of hot yoga?

I didn't want to write anything about this until I was sure that I was really going to do it, and now I am. I have just completed 8 consecutive days of Bikram (aka hot) yoga.  Above is a picture of some random class that has nothing to do with me, although maybe we could just pretend that I'm the blond in the middle because I think we can all agree that she and I pretty much share the same bod.

In some ways it has become prosaic to describe one's 30 day Bikram experiences.  I've read at least one in Oprah (yes, I love Oprah and Oprah) and another in the Sacramento Bee (and no, those links aren't to those articles, just to the publications, sigh).  But this is my experience with it as a 52 year old woman who has been doing "maintenance" level exercise for years on a non-maintenance body.

I'm telling people that I'm doing this because the articles I read convinced me that I might experience a real transformation in my system, get my endocrine and hormonal systems working smoothly (a real plus in the middle of menopause), speed up my metabolism and heal aches and joint pains.  But of course I really expect to come out of this (as one mentor puts it) "wearing a white string bikini" so I have to be suspicious of my motives.  I also have a tendency to start something new rather than concentrate on the business at hand, so this is what's new for me.

So far, I'm struggling to stay hydrated (have added in some coconut water to replenish electrolytes lost--I'm not used to sweating!), to have energy and to find clean laundry.   Yesterday I wore a snappy tennis skirt to yoga, it's come to that.  Also, I'm very sore.

On the up side, my persistent shoulder pain and carpal tunnelish-ness  has either dissipated or can't be felt behind my overall soreness.  Also, I am finding a huge increase in my ability to stay present at least in during the hour and a half of class.  By that I mean, I am not constantly checking my watch or thinking about what comes next.  I'm just in that pose or another.

So, here we go!

To thy own self, contain

If you know me at all, you know that I (ahem) used to be a control freak.  We're going to pretend that this is past tense.  We're going to pretend that I no longer need to have the illusion that people, places and things bend to my will.

Now you would think that even a control freak (recovered or not) would know that she could not control an ACT OF GOD like a raging forest fire which has cost $33 million to get 20 percent "contained"--but no one has yet found the price of getting my mind contained.

All week my family's cabin in Yosemite has been threatened by the so-called Rim Fire.  Last week, while I was 120 some miles away from this fire I had a backpacking trip in the Sierra near Tahoe heavily affected by smoke and ash from this fire.  Nevertheless, I've been under the illusion that my family's Labor Day weekend celebration in Yosemite (which I played a role in organizing) can take place 20 miles from this same fire with little disruption.

For several days, the efforts at fire and smoke containment have raged.  Sometimes my attempt to contain the fire has been in the form of prayer.  Sometimes my attempt to contain the fire has been in the form of questioning our plans and the plans of the 100th Anniversary of Foresta (the community in Yosemite in which  our family's home is).  Sometimes my attempt to contain has been in the form of resentment that I'm not getting my way (like that would help).

What I spent less time on is containing my mind.  As a result, at the end of the week, the fire is 20 % contained and my mind is only at about two percent.  If I had spent the time this week containing my mind instead of my fire the fire could rage on and I'd be fine.

Listening to Lake Margaret

Lake Margaret from my campsite

I just spent 2 night and 3 days up at Lake Margaret in the Sierra near Kirkwood, CA.  By myself.  Mostly.  My teenage daughter and her 3 friends were about a 5 minute walk away but I could see nor hear them (according to plan).    What I could see or hear was Lake Margaret.

I'm procrastinating right now writing a paper for a course I just took called Mind in the Cosmos taught by Dr. Christian de Quincey.  The course has inculcated in me a very real sense that there is consciousness and choice in every single particular particle of the universe, all the way down and all the way out.  de Quincey presented some astonishing material about how ancient shamans had "conversations" with different plants which revealed to them a detailed level of information about the plant which presaged by 100s of years in some cases, the discovery of DNA and the double helix.

So, as I sat there in the protracted thunderstorms Tuesday and hours of smoke and falling ash from the Yosemite fire Wednesday, I was shown to have a conversation with Lake Margaret herself.

Lake Margaret speaks softly as it turns out (and carries a lot of big sticks).  She is gorgeous and is made up of many constituent parts--in fact, on some level, Lake Margaret as an organism functions as sort of an elected representative in "the cosmic democracy" (as de Quincey puts it) of the trees, rocks, water, sky, clouds and animals that inhabit her district.   However in nature there is no carpetbagging.  Lake Margaret is both a representative of her many parts and she is herself the constituent--so perhaps I will call her a natural constituency.

As a recovering lobbyist, I am not used to listening to elected representatives.  They usually listen to me.  However, out of respect for her constituency, I went against type.

She said that she was happy to have me there.  She had no problem with any of my camping equipment except my Deet and my antibiotic hand stuff.  She didn't like the Deet but she was apoplectic about the antibiotic.  We had quite the dialogue about that.  I said that I couldn't wash my hands in her water (after certain events) without polluting her and the water that I would drink.  I said that I wanted to remain alive and well.  She guaranteed that while I was in her district if I would not use the antibiotic or the Deet, she would keep me mosquito free and safe from bacteria that could harm me.

This made me very nervous.  Why should I trust what some small high altitude lake was telling me over what modern science and medicine suggests?  What if our interests weren't the same?  What if it just wasn't that important to Lake Margaret that I be unharmed?  What if she cared more about her constituency than she did about me?  In short, what if Lake Margaret was lying?  Moreover, what if I really don't have ability to adequately discern what a lake was telling me, let alone rely on the promise to my possible detriment?  Where is a good shaman when you need one?

I frankly stated these concerns to her.  She listened and she said that I was right, there was more to this equation than just whether I stayed healthy.  She said that she had a lot of constituents but that I was now one of them and I had a vote too.  She reminded me that I loved her and that I visited her many times and that I would probably want what was best for the rest of the constituency too.  She said that the antibiotic ointment was like a very frightening weapon to them.  She asked me to vote for rubbing my hands in dirt vigorously and then washing my hands in water.

So that's what I did.

The Law of Hubris--it ALWAYS works (knock on wood)

I study spiritual laws because I'm a control freak.   Spiritual laws are really just like scientific laws.  They're about knowing why when I do this, this happens and when I do that, that happens.    In my 10 years of spiritual study I have learned about the law of attraction (focus on what you want, not what you don't want), the law of karma (you reap what you sow) but no one has ever really broken down for me the law of hubris.  In fact, I've never even heard it named.

Yet, everyone is familiar with this law.  We even have a superstitious action that goes with it:

We've all been there:

"Oh, my baby always sleeps through the night"

"this car has never given me a bit of trouble"

"People don't fire me, I quit"

Knock on wood

Hubris is defined as exaggerated pride or self-confidence

The Catholics have always been clear about the sin of pride--it is one.

12-steppers cultivate humility, certainly

Eckhart Tolle and the Buddhists (good name for a band?) would have us let go of "ego identification"

So it shouldn't be a surprise to me that when I brag, I receive a kwick karmic komeuppance (another band?)

I think the problem is I never think of these statements as bragging. I just think of them as the truth.  My baby did sleep through the night (until I said she did).  My car didn't give me trouble; people didn't fire me.  So what was the trouble?  How is that pride?  What the heck kind of problem does the universe have with such statements?  Does the baby wake up and the car break down just to show me whose boss?

I guess the least hubristic (and truest) answer is, I don't know.  I don't know why this particular instant feedback loop exists except that it serves well to remind me not to do it.

Maybe the reason "knock on wood" seems to work is that I'm really knocking on my own wooden skull that can't quite get it that I'm  not the center of the known world and that not everyone wants to hear me tell how much better my baby, my car and my employment history is than theirs.

Yesterday I told a sick friend, "don't worry, you can hug me.  I never get sick..."

Today I have a sore throat.

Four Snouts up for The Way Way Back--Prediction: sleeper of the year

(:)(:)(:)(:) snouts up for The Way Way Back which I predict will be the sleeper hit of the year.  This film is so good it brought me out of unplanned blogging retirement.  Inexplicably,given its provenance, this film seems to have had zero promotion budget and bad distribution.  So if you can find this film (now playing at Tower Theater in Sacramento), you should see it soon and help make my prediction come true.

By the creative team that brought us The Descendants (Nat Faxon and Jim Rash) comes this touching comedy set now (but really in the 80's) on Cape Cod but summer anywhere.  Steve Carell plays a jerk--not one we love, just a jerk--with a great girlfriend, Toni Collete, and a gregarious drunk summer neighbor, Alison Janney.  The focal point of the movie is his girlfriend's son, 14 year year old adorable silent awkward Duncan, played by Liam James, alienated by the constant adult assaholics at the beach, runs off to bond with a hilarious character Owen played by Sam Rockwell.

BTW, I'm still baffled by the film's title unless it refers to the fact that we walked to the way way back of Tower Theater and all the way up the stairs to the way way back of the biggest screening room to see it.  The one advantage to that: there is a secret exit out onto very high stairs going directly down to the parking lot--a bit much for this acrophobic.

This one is good for adults and teens.  Very very funny and very very touching.   See it.

The Perfection of Imperfection -- A talk I gave at Center for Spiritual Living Davis Recently

For those of you who weren't able to make it and wanted to hear my recent talk, here you go!  The picture quality is infused by the heavenly light that poured in from the windows behind me but you can see me and hear me.  I AM wearing a top by the way, the color of that tank top seems to blend in with my marvelous tan.