mermaidcamp
Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water
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How I Became so Bossy
August 30, 2013
— 6 Comments
I was the youngest in all the groups in my childhood. I was never considered for the key roles such as Davy Crockett, or his wife, when we dramatized that story. I would be lucky to be a horse. The kids in my immediate neighborhood just happened to be older. I played and hung out with a couple of girls who were in the class above me, but our games included the kids who were several years older. Every kid knows that the oldest person gets to choose first..at least that was the standard in our neighborhood. Like all oppressed people, the youngest one just waits for the tables to turn, and they eventually do.
I know that I am bossy from my career as a fitness instructor; that is exactly what people are paying you to do..boss them around. What I have never analyzed is the way my youth had an effect on my commanding nature. I left my neighborhood and school to move to Venezuela where I was the daughter of the boss of all my friends’ parents. He was even the boss of my teachers in school because the oil company hired the teachers and ran the school. Suddenly my relative underdog position was reversed in a big way. Much older guys wanted to date me because that was culturally normal in South America. Virtually everyone I knew sucked up to me with gifts and every privilege I could never have imagined. I was the capitalist imperialist teenager with everything…and way more than anyone I knew in the states could have dreamed. Servants, yacht, DC3 with private living room configuration and pilots who let me “land the plane” in Caracas……. I thought it was all just dandy. I had a large sense of entitlement that came with the territory.
Once you have lived in another country the United States can never be the same. Once you have been immersed in another culture, you can no longer stay completely within the old cultural bounds. When I returned to life in the US I never lived east of the Mississippi or north of the line (Mason/Dixon, that is) ever again. There is something very powerful about being bilingual, but it is even more empowering to be bicultural. My life developed from a tight and limited beginning to a progressively wider and higher view of the world. I crossed more international borders before I was 15 than most Americans do in a lifetime. I was fully fluent in colloquial Spanish, never missing a beat. This short lesson in international diplomacy took place when I was 13-15; My confidence and self awareness significantly changed forever. I took command.
I do not try to convince others to think like I do because I honestly appreciate diverse points of view. I would not waste my persuasive talents to change anyone’s mind for any reason. However, when any group lacks leadership I instinctively boss the group around…sort of like a sheepdog. I sense the inertia and take the situation as a call to action. Giving orders is an interesting experiment. I find that people obey me, not so much because they respect my authority as because they know I am not going to stop…sort of like a sheepdog. I see this model very clearly as I herd my elementary classmates into a video chat with each other. I am sure that I did not have this nature as a young child, although I do want to ask my class if they remember me as a bossy kid. I believe that I developed a certain ability to seek and destroy inertia. We all know that in the end inertia wins, but my life is a symbolic effort to create action from inaction. Some of us are simply born to herd.
Tyrant or Weakling, the Shadow King
August 20, 2013
— 7 Comments
In archetypal roles we have potential to play out a positive aspect of a well-known character, such as the king, or play the shadow aspect. The king is such an essential male character in myth and culture that most men see themselves in some way to be a king. King of the home castle may be the only one, but there is a royal male at some point that will be portrayed by a man. The inner king and queen relationship, the balance between understanding and wisdom vs discipline and justice is at the heart of any society. When power is in the hands of weak or corrupt leadership, even within one’s own personality, balance must be restored for the good of society. When we see the strife in Syria and Egypt today it looks like the end of civilization.
The war and economic destruction still rampant in the world is the collective consciousness struggling with this ruling authority. I wonder, when I watch my neighbors as well as rioting middle easterners, if the earth will perish in flames sometime soon. Radioactivity is spewing out of Japan and sewage rolling into rivers all over the globe. When post apocalyptic themes are portrayed in fiction they seem too close to reality today. I love the movie Tank Girl which is a parody about authority, power, and the use of resources. Tank Girl is part of a severely abused underclass, dominated by the all-powerful utility company. They control all resources, except the resourcefulness of Tank Girl herself.
Middle Class as History Lesson
July 10, 2013
— 3 Comments
The vanishing middle class in America is the subject of much discussion. In fact, tonight some of the internet’s finest minds will tweet brilliant ideas in a twitter chat on this subject. How the advent of technology has reduced the need for big workforces that manufacturing employed in the past is part of our political history and our new economy. Pros and cons can be weighed, but there is nobody who believes our economic policies have not grown a very wealthy upper class with extrme privilege at the expense of the rest of the population. Our great divide grows larger each minute providing tax breaks, and a dream environment for big business while poverty grips our children and our elderly. The new fat cat is fat indeed. A generation of wealth has been wiped out and shifted to the wealthiest and most powerful of our citizens.
I had the pleasure of meeting Bill Moyers several times when I worked at fancy spas. He was a spa bunny. He is more charming in person than I ever imagined, quickly running to the top of my favorite celebrity list. I learned one time talking with him down in Mexico that his mother was from Texas, like mine. They both had the same first name, Ruby. His mom, however, was named Ruby Jewel. Wow. Last night on Charlie Rose his interview reminded me of all the reasons I love him, but it also taught me that we were both in Austin when he was working for LBJ and I was protesting LBJ. It’s like we’re connected.
The Importance of Being Grateful
July 9, 2013
— 9 Comments
Practice defines our reality. We spend our time and energy as if we had no control over them. We learn what we study and we believe what favors our own superior position in the human crowd. Nobody survives alone without help from others. In history we chose the people who prepared our food and sewed our clothing carefully to make the most of the means at our disposal. We used resources in the same way because they were scarce. Most individuals were not lavished with great luxury, but if they were lucky they had liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Today we know nothing of the people who prepare our food like products or sew our disposable fashion. We may have a vague feeling that everything we use was made in China, but that is usually the end of it. Many seek pleasure in acquisition of goods and services just to be piggy. This general shift in responsibility is sad in a big karmic way because we have essentially eliminated the need for gratitude to those who serve our material needs. We buy the workers and then discard them like the objects they make for us.
Gratefulness.org is an organization created to enhance gratefulness around the globe in every way. The offers and courses are imaginative and very helpful. One can study on line everything from gratitude poetry writing to living the hours like a monastic. Given the international state of affairs I salute the Gratefulness organization for addressing the main problems right at the root. If you have not visited these grateful folks and discovered what they are teaching, you are missing an opportunity to be guided to a more grateful state of mind. Grace is gratitude, gentle reader; don’t leave home without it.
Wurst, Weiners, and Weenies
July 3, 2013
— 4 Comments
hot dog
Fast food has been known to the Euros for ages. They demand fast food everywhere all the time, but it is local and superb. They are all about the grilled wurst. It s everywhere, grilled outside and served with a piece of bread, but no hot dog bun. This snack/meal is the basic on the go food for German-speaking peeps, including the Swiss. Everywhere you go with Swiss people they end up with a wurst. It is not what I eat, but there are plenty of street foods that I adore. My favorite dish on earth is vegetarian tandooori schnitzel at Hiltl. The oldest vegetarian restaurant in Europe is in Zurich, in the heart of downtown Switzerland; the schnitzel calls to me in my dreams.
How we fell so far from the wurst grilling street vendors to the Wienerschnitzel chili dog is a sad story of linguistic and culinary decline. A schnizel is a filet of pork sirloin, and not a hot dog in any way. Wiener refers to Vienna, a culinary hub where I assure you nobody would consider eating the chili dog or our famous canned Vienna sausage. They just would not do that to their taste buds and bodies. Beanie Weenies would be scorned as well because food that rides around in a can is simply not fast. The first ingredient in these alleged fast foods is petroleum, since they are shipped great distances in freezing conditions or heavy packaging.
Ironically, on the most important weenie weekend of the year, 4th of July, I probably pay more for my vegetarian apple smoked sausage which I will eat with organic sauerkraut than most people pay for the meat hot dog, corn dog, or burger. It too has traveled far in the so called health food supply chain. I have bought these because I am lazy and have not made my own, which are always better than store bought. At least when I want a chili dog I make the chili. Truly taking care of body earth and soul means saying good bye, or at least see you later to processed foods that cost too much to produce. These well traveled weenies are not good for anyone. To heal the politics of the nation we need to pass on the used Weiners, and get back to basic whole civilization.
In Tucson and around the country damage from mold is a serious issue. This health hazard can be dangerous to humans and pets. It is most devastating to real estate value because insurance companies rightly treat it like the plague. Mold that is rampant must be treated and removed to avoid spread and contamination of the entire area. Since the property with an adjoining wall has been used to collect donations for a decade, the water has been leaking profusely for months, and everything points to heavy duty mold damage I have repeatedly asked the HOA board that collects the donations from the public to hire Rocky the Mold Dog, who appears on TV. He is a beagle with a nose for mold. He sniffs the property and helps the humans identify problems so they can be treated. All health department code has been violated in this building for more than a decade. The unsupervised food collection, storage, and preparation in a leaky environment is a very likely contributor to the growth of mold. There is probable cause to believe the building is completely infested with mold which is damaging my home every day.
There is much more than a conflict of interest between the HOA board members who run the charity scam collecting donations, and the property owners in this neighborhood. I had some work done on my home recently and was informed by the contractor who did the work about the level of danger to my structural integrity posed by the neglect of my next door neighbor. He took some pictures of the rotting roof piled with debris, and explained that the load of all that garbage was a serious threat to my home. He taught me a lot that I did not know about the dangers and damage that mold represents. I read my insurance policy and spoke to my agent who explained the complex and very depressing details of mold, what it does, and what happens to your insurance policy once it is discovered. I am officially freaked out about the physical damage the charity scam has done to my home. The donation traffic has slowed to nothing, the water leak was repaired a couple of days ago after leaking for at least 6 months. I need the people who took advantage of all their neighbors to begin to acknowledge reality and the neighborhood by getting a mold test to confirm or deny the presence of a very hazardous material. Their behavior suggests that they do no believe in cause and effect. Believe it or not, every action will continue to have an equal and opposite reaction.
Mold and Your Health
June 28, 2013
— 5 Comments
The Spies Who Love Us
June 24, 2013
— 1 Comment
Garbo Mata Hari
Does it sound like a compliment to you to be called a traitor by Dick Cheney? Do you wonder what espionage is? Do Julian Assange, Bradley Manning, and Edward Snowden appear to be more or less trustworthy than the United States government? Do you trust the military to police itself? My personal theory is that leaking is the new journalism. More high profile leaks will be celebrated with caviar and vodka faster than you can say Vlad’s your uncle. Shortly a woman will join the ranks of leaky whistle blowers, and the balance will shift. You do not need any psychic abilities to predict this. You simply need to wake up and smell the data.
Spying with Servers
June 8, 2013
— 4 Comments
When we receive the news that servers are being used to analyze our communication there is no reason to be shocked. A wire tap by any other name would smell as foul. The purpose of big data is big analysis. If you think technology is virtuous, or if you think it is inherently evil you are missing the point. Every advance in technology has been tried and often improved by spies. Think of all the magic of James Bond and his low tech super powers. Does espionage happen because honorable people want to learn more about the activities of their neighbors? Certainly not. Defense includes what is classified as intelligence. If the US declares a war on anything ( drugs, terror, etc) they ride the interstate commerce laws right up into everyone’s business. Our government protects Monsanto and their ilk without batting an eye, because that is the power that is reigning at the moment.
In the spy game everyone wants the coolest and most able spies, but that can’t be possible for every country. Some will have current tech, and others will rely on ancient systems of corruption to procure data. Propaganda supports spying as protection of the population. It is more likely to be protection of a certain status quo. Politics, cartoons, and reality do overlap, gentle readers.
Ladders in Dreams
June 6, 2013
— 7 Comments
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- stairway to heaven
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- stairs
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- upward
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- look up
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- steeple
I have had dreams lately in which ladders and levels have been featured heavily. I have climbed them, but I watch others doing it and taking big risks in most cases. There is an MC Escher kind of set with stairs/ladders/ split levels leading in all directions. There is a need to escape the mesh of levels in order to find daylight or reality or some better circumstance. The dreams have a matter of fact nature, nothing scary or odd. There are different sets and casts of characters, all featuring ladder and or stair climbing. In the dreams ladders become stairs and vice versa.
Once I noticed the dreams with steps leading up as a theme I brought this into my daytime reality to see where and when I use proverbial ladders. I do not and did not climb any corporate ladder. I just had no interest. I own a home with a second floor, where my yoga room and bedroom are private from the rest of the world. Only two people regularly go upstairs. We need very big ladders to paint or repair our ceiling because of an atrium entry/living room. I have had repairs done lately and have been contemplating other upgrades to my home that all require ladders. I went to study soul and spirit and found that spirit is basically always upwardly mobile. Soul lives in this horizontal earthy plane, while spirit soars or climbs the stairway to heaven. With all this in mind I believe the ladders are an emblem of both care of my path, and a Jack in the Beanstalk style note to self. Knowing when where and why to go up a ladder is important information.
Climbing for climbing sake has not been my style in this life. Serving as I go along is my modus operandi. There are many paths to nowhere and stairways to nothing. This is only part of the risk one takes when deciding to climb or not to climb. Often I notice in these dream characters, who do not remind me of real people, the mindless will to climb is related to envy and pity. They solicit pity for working so hard, taking abuse along the way, then alternately solicit envy for the position they have won. I know folks who do this in real life without noticing that the ladder is two dimensional. I have unlocked no big secret here, gentle reader. Working with dreams is a technique anyone can use. Keeping a diary and writing the details will lead to more insight. There is no need to analyze deeply or search for big meaning. Dreams speak softly in very faint language. They sink into the consciousness over time.
Supreme Service
June 5, 2013
— 1 Comment
Sandra Day O’Connor is my hero. After her long and distinguished career as TFWOTSS ( the first woman on the Supreme Court) she is now teaching and organizing civics lessons for the nation. Her recognition of the need for this as well as her personal style of presentation make icivics the coolest thing ever. She is now using all her skills to heal the ignorance of our youth. She is one smart retired cowgirl. If light overcomes darkness and wisdom overcomes deceit, Sandra Day is one of the greatest truly public of public servants our country has ever known. I hope she will have the pleasure of knowing that her teaching has planted healthy seeds in some students’ minds.
