Do you know what caused current US economic issues?

Watch this highly informative video that traced the cause of our current crisis that had its roots planted 12 years ago. There's lots of text so you might need to press pause a few times! :)

Dealing with v. Being with

A few weeks ago, I was in some conflict with my beautiful partner and I was really frustrated. To make myself feel better, I said, “I guess this is what partnership is about — dealing with your partner when they aren’t who you think they are/wish they were/want them to be.” I was full of impatience and frustration, feeling “at odds” with the situation and the partnership.

This week, as we worked through some things, I had a huge shift and said, “this is what partnership is about — figuring out how to be with your partner when they aren’t who you they are/wish they were/want them to be.” This time, I was full of joy, feeling like I was in it with my partner in a co-creation process rather than in opposition.

This is tremendous shift in thinking about how relating operates — one is about “dealing with” as if it is something to be separated from with a sense of hopelessness and lack of solution; the other is about “being with” by surrendering into the partnership from a place of faith in the union that you can and will figure out how to be with the differences.

Ah, how grateful I am. :)

A Prayer for You

A Prayer for You

I'm happy to announce that this a perfect moment. It's a perfect
moment for many reasons, but especially because I have been
inspired to say gigantic prayer for all of you. I've been roused
to unleash a divinely greedy, apocalyptically healing prayer for
each and every one of you -- even those of you who don't believe
in the power of prayer.

And so I am starting to pray right now to the God of Gods... the
God beyond all Gods... the Girlfriend of God... the Teacher of
God... the Goddess who invented God.

Dear Goddess, You who never kill but only change:

I pray that my exuberant, suave and accidental words will move you
to shower ferocious blessing down on everyone who reads this
benediction.

I pray that you will give them what they don't even know they want
-- not just the boons they think they need but everything they've
always been afraid to even imagine or ask for.

Dear Goddess, You wealthy anarchist burning heaven to the ground:

Many of the divine chameleons out there don't even know that their
souls will live forever. So please use your blinding magic to help
them see that they are all wildly creative geniuses too big for
their own personalities.

Guide them to realize that they are all completely different from
what they think they are and more exciting than they can possibly
imagine.

Make it illegal, immoral, irrelevant, unpatriotic and totally
tasteless for them to be in love with anyone or anything that's no
good for them.

O Goddess, You who give us so much love and pain mixed together
that our morality is always on the verge of collapsing:

I beg you to cast a boisterous love spell that will nullify all
the dumb ideas, bad decisions and nasty conditioning that have
ever cursed the wise and sexy virtuosos out there.

Remove, banish, annihilate and laugh into oblivion any jinx that
has clung to them, no matter how long they've suffered from it,
and even if they've become accustomed or addicted to its ugly
companionship.

And please conjure an aura of protection around them so that they
will receive an early warning if they are ever about to act in
such a way as to bring another hex or plague or voodoo into their
lives in the future.

Dear Goddess, sweet Goddess, You sly universal virus with no
fucking opinion:

I pray that you will help all the personal growth addicts out
there become disciplined enough to go crazy in the name of
creation, not destruction.

I pray that you will help all the personal growth addicts out
there become disciplined enough to go crazy in the name of
creation, not destruction.

I pray that you will teach them the difference between oppressive
self-control and liberating self-control, awaken in them the power
to do the half-right thin when it is impossible to do the totally
right thing.

Arouse the Wild Woman within them -- even if they're men.

And please give them bigger, better, more original sings and
wilder, wetter, more interesting problems.

Dear Goddess, You pregnant slut who scorns all mediocre longing:

I pray that you will inspire all the compassionate rascals
communing with this prayer to love their enemies just in case
their friends turn out to be jerks.

Provoke them to throw away or give away all the things they own
that encourage them to be3lieve that they are better than anyone
else.

Show them how much fun it is to brag about what they cannot do and
do not have.
Most of all, Goddess, brainwash them with your freedom so that
they never love their own pain more than anyone else's pain.

Dear Goddess, You psychedelic mushroom cloud at the center of all
our brains:

The curiously diving human beings reading this prayer deserve
everything they are yearning for and much, much more.

So please bless them with lucid dreams while they are wide awake
and solar-energy-operated sex toys that work even in the dark and
vacuum cleaners for their magic carpets and a knack for avoiding
other people's hells and their very own 900 number so that
everyone has to pay to talk to them and a secret admirer who is
not a psychotic stalker.

Dear Goddess, You fiercely tender, hauntingly reassuring,
orgiastically sacred feeling that is even now running through all
of our soft, warm animal bodies:

I pray that you provide everyone out there with a license to bend
and even break all rules, laws and traditions that keep them apart
from the things they love.

Show them how to purge the wishy-washy wishes that distract them
from their daring, dramatic, divine desires.

And teach them that they can have anything they want if they'll
only ask for it in an unselfish way.

And now dear God of Gods, God beyond all Gods, Girlfriend of God,
Teacher of God, Goddess who invented God, I bring this prayer to a
close, trusting that in these mysterious moments you have begun to
change everyone out there in the exact way they've needed to
change in order to express their soul's code.

Amen. Awomen. And glory halle-fucking-lujah.

Ziji

The Tibetan word for confidence is ziji. Zi means "shine" or "glitter", and ji means "splendor”, or "dignity", and sometimes also has the sense of "monolithic". So ziji expresses shining out, rejoicing while remaining dignified.

5 Tips for Improving Your (Poi Fire Dancing) Flow

If you've been struggling with finding your fluidity, we have the answer for you! Check out the new article outlining 5 must have techniques you can use to add more flow to your practice - 5 Tips for Improving Your (Poi Fire Dancing) Flow

Just Dyed my hair again...

Never dyed it darker before. This was an interesting suggestion on Atreyu's part and I'm glad I went black. I then added the fuschia to soften it up a bit.

10 Concerns about Obama...

10 concerns about Obama is an interesting little piece...

My political compass today

Economic Left/Right: 3.12
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.51

i'm fascinated that about 2 years ago the economic line was more like -2.5 or something in there, so i've had more movement in the direction of neo liberalism. Interesting.

If you haven't done so, you too can take the Political Compass Test.

2008 Primaries Political Compass

Fascinating look at the spectrum of politics offered in the 2008 US Primaries.

Cosmic Lovers Get Handfasted 45 second video

Friends, Family, Fans and :

As you probably know, my love Atreyu and I got handfasted (a 1 year and a
day commitment) on Beltane (May 1, 2008). The ceremony was attended by the
four witnesses and us, so only 6 were present. At it, we read stuff, signed
stuff, agreed to stuff, laughed, cried, got tied up, took pictures and then
everyone left.

For those who are curious, follow the attached link to a 45 second video of
still shots one of the witnesses (Mark) took with my iPhone (except the last
3 which we took while we were tied up. Ha, that was fun and challenging!).
It is reminiscent of a Charlie Chaplin movie... Because it's just photos
slipping by.

A fun Game from my niece Lexi...

Rules of the game:
- Choose a singer/band/group
- Answer using ONLY titles of songs by that singer/band/group
- Tag 10 more people
I don't feel like tagging people.

Artist:
Billy Joel

1. Are you male or female?
"She's always a woman to me..."

2. Describe yourself.
"Shameless" "Modern Woman"

3. How do people feel when they're around you?
"I Go To Extremes"

4. Describe your previous relationships.
"A Matter of Trust"

5. Describe your current relationship
"All About Soul"

6. Something you want to say to your significant other?
"Keeping the Faith" "Until the Night"

7. How do you feel about love?
"Everybody Has a Dream"

8. What's your life like?
"Running on Ice"

9. What would you ask for if you had only one wish?
"Easy Money"

10. Say something wise.
"You're Only Human"

Help, I'm a Hollywood Republican

I found this piece really interesting: Help, I'm a Hollywood Republican...

A German's View on Islam

I am Unable to find affirmation nor denial of the validity of the letter in Snopes.com. It is, however, a perspective worth noting, even if there is only some truth in it.


The author of this email is purported to be Dr. Emanuel Tanay, a well known and well respected psychiatrist.

A German's View on Islam

A man, whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War II, owned a number of large industries and estates. When asked how many German people were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our attitude toward fanaticism. "Very few people were true Nazis," he said, "but many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care. I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the world had come. My family lost everything. I ended up in a concentration camp and the Allies destroyed my factories."

We are told again and again by "experts" and "talking heads" that Islam is the religion of peace, and that the vast majority of Muslims just want to live in peace. Although this unqualified assertion may be true, it is entirely irrelevant. It is meaningless fluff, meant to make us feel better, and meant to somehow diminish the spectra of fanatics rampaging across the globe in the name of Islam.

The fact is that the fanatics rule Islam at this moment in history. It is the fanatics who march. It is the fanatics who wage any one of 50 shooting wars worldwide. It is the fanatics who systematically slaughter Christian or tribal groups throughout Africa and are gradually taking over the entire continent in an Islamic wave. It is the fanatics who bomb, behead, murder, or honor-kill. It is the fanatics who take over mosque after mosque. It is the fanatics who zealously spread the stoning and hanging of rape victims and homosexuals. It is the fanatics who teach their young to kill and to become suicide bombers.

The hard quantifiable fact is that the peaceful majority, the "silent majority," is cowed and extraneous.

Communist Russia was comprised of Russians who just wanted to live in peace, yet the Russian Communists were responsible for the murder of about
20 million people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant.

China's huge population was peaceful as well, but Chinese Communists managed to kill a staggering 70 million people.

The average Japanese individual prior to World War II was not a warmongering sadist. Yet, Japan murdered and slaughtered its way across South East Asia in an orgy of killing that included the systematic murder of 12 million Chinese civilians; most killed by sword, shovel, and bayonet.

And, who can forget Rwanda , which collapsed into butchery. Could it not be said that the majority of Rwandans were "peace loving"?

History lessons are often incredibly simple and blunt, yet for all our powers of reason we often miss the most basic and uncomplicated of points: Peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by their silence. Peace-loving Muslims will become our enemy if they don't speak up, because like my friend from Germany , they will awaken one day and find that the fanatics own them, and the end of their world will have begun.

Peace-loving Germans,Japanese,Chinese,Russians, Rwandans, Serbs, Afghans, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and many others have died because the peaceful majority did not speak up until it was too late.

As for us who watch it all unfold, we must pay attention to the only group that counts; the fanatics who threaten our way of life.

Lastly, anyone who doubts that the issue is serious and just deletes this email without sending it on, is contributing to the passivity that allows the problems to expand. So, extend yourself a bit and send this on and on and on! Let us hope that thousands, world wide, read this and think about it, and send it on - before it's too late.

Emanuel Tanay, M.D.
2980 Provincial St. Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734-997-0256

A prayer for our troops

The average age of the military man is 19 years.
He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who ,
under normal circumstances is considered by
society as half man, half boy. Not yet dry behind
the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old
enough to die for his country. He never really
cared much for work and he would rather wax
his own car than wash his father's, but he has
never collected unemployment either.

He's a recent High School graduate; he was probably
an average student, pursued some form of sport
activities, drives a ten year old jalopy, and has a
steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when
he left, or swears to be waiting when he returns from
half a world away. He listens to rock and roll or hiphop
or rap or jazz or swing and a 155mm howitzer.
He is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than when he
was at home because he is working or fighting
from before dawn to well after dusk. He has
trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him,
but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and
reassemble it in less time in the dark. He can recite
to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade
launcher and use either one effectively if he must.
He digs foxholes and latrines and can
apply first aid like a professional.
He can march until he is told to stop,
or stop until he is told to march.
He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation,
but he is not without spirit or individual dignity.
He is self-sufficient.

He has two sets of fatigues: he washes one and wears
the other. He keeps his canteens full and his feet dry..
He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never
to clean his rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend
his own clothes, and fix his own hurts.
If you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you
are hungry, his food. He'll even split his ammunition
with you in the midst of battle when you run low.
He has learned to use his hands like weapons
and weapons like they were his hands.
He can save your life - or take it, because that is his job.
He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay, and still find ironic humor in it all.

He has seen more suffering and death than he should have in his short lifetime.
He has wept in public and in private, for friends
who have fallen in combat and is unashamed.
He feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate
through his body while at rigid attention, while
tempering the burning desire to 'square-away ' those
around him who haven't bothered to stand,
remove their hat, or even stop talking.
In an odd twist, day in and day out, far from
home, he defends their right to be disrespectful.
Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-
grandfather, he is paying the price for our
freedom. Beardless or not, he is not a boy.
He is the American Fighting Man that has
kept this country free for over 200 years.

He has asked nothing in return, except
our friendship and understanding.
Remember him, always, for he has earned our
respect and admiration with his blood.
And now we even have women over there in
danger, doing their part in this tradition of going
to War when our nation calls us to do so.
As you go to bed tonight, remember this shot. . .
A short lull, a little shade and a picture of
loved ones in their helmets.

Prayer wheel for our military... please don't
break it. Please send this on after a short prayer.
Prayer Wheel

'Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands.
Protect them as they protect us.
Bless them and their families for the selfless acts
they perform for us in our time of need. Amen.'
When you receive this, please stop for a moment
and say a prayer for our ground troops in
Afghanistan , sailors on ships, and airmen
in the air, and for those in Iraq .
There is nothing attached...
This can be very powerful...
Of all the gifts you could give a US Soldier, Sailor, Coastguardsman, Marine, or Airman, prayer is the very best one.

Dead Leaves...

Do not think of your faults, still less of others' faults; look for what is
good and strong, and try to imitate it. Your faults will drop off, like dead
leaves, when their time comes.

~ John Ruskin ~

It really resonated with me because I've been going through changes that
have been working exactly like that -- focusing on improving the best in me.
And in the process, the less than best aspects of myself have been shed like
dead skin.

Happy Freedom day -- may you enjoy the rich gifts our freedom affords us.
How cool is it we can live in a country where we can bash our leaders and
each other and not have to worry about a bomb going off in our living room.
For this, and much more, I am grateful.

Got 4 minutes b4 5 on July 2 to help me win Best of the Bay again in 2008?

To all you fabulous friends, fans, students and general supporters, I have a request:

If you have 4 minutes, can you please go to:

http://www.sfbg.com/bob/2008/

Go to page 3 and vote for
"Temple of Poi"

Under "4. Best Dance Studio"

And, if you feel extra inspired and have an extra few minutes, your voice can be heard on page 8 where you can write a blurb about Temple of Poi or GlitterGirl.

Thanks for your support!
:)

...isa

death, fear and life

i sent an email to a friend of mine today who was feeling somewhat
challenged by confronting death through supporting a friend who
recently transitioned due to breast cancer. it reminded me of this
experience i had a few weeks ago on the AIDS ride...

when i was on the AIDS ride i had this moment of really letting go
of my life and surrendering into the inevitability of my eventual
death. If it is my time to go, it is my time to go. I was riding
on 101 south and really scared i would get hit by an 18 wheeler or
something. Intense. i tell you. so as i was riding along, i
noticed my entire body was tightened and it really just hurt. I
think i was just so afraid i contracted in my entire being. when i
noticed how tense i was, i started telling myself to relax... and
then i imagined my own death. and then in fully embracing that
possibility, i was able to let go of my life even while fully
embracing it. It was simply about confronting the fear, breathing
into it, and allowing the truth of that possibility to really pass
into me, live, and pass out of me. my life is, best as i
understand it, in this body, finite. the more i embrace that
reality, the more i can be in right now, right here... because in
any moment i can die. it just go so real while riding the bike on
the side of the highway because of the naked vulnerability of a
lone bicyclist riding for 20 miles beside big cars and trucks...

The joy of overcoming obstacles : )

I think part of what makes joy so tremendous is often the
overcoming of obstacles -- the human spirit in triumph. For me,
the Aids ride being complete and the joy of the experience
wouldn't be so profound if i hadn't gone through so much struggle
and adversity to get there.

my thought is that the struggle itself (often the pain) often
defines the context/character of the joy through the contrast
between them.

all that said, i wanted to thank you all for your support -- in
whatever little or big ways you might have offered it -- around
the ride. it was an incredible, challenging, difficult, intense
and rewarding experience. i rode 306 of the 539 miles after
injuring myself 32 miles into the ride on the first day. it
challenged me in every way i wanted and a billion ways i didn't
imagine possible. little and big things people have said
really impacted me... one that comes to mind was a thread
someone wrote some months ago about her experience when she was
looking for a lost item and found herself running. I found my
inner athlete on this trip and that was a beautiful Becoming for
me.

and, because it really must be said: we raised 12+ million dollars
on this ride. while a lot of this goes to research into meds
(which isn't necessarily a place people want to see this money
going (i've gotten feedback to that extent)), it is also used for
education and prevention -- seeing as these days transmission of
HIV is pretty much avoidable. some of it is being used globally as
well through Pangea, a sub-company of the SF Aids foundation.

It was a powerful experience to ride through small towns, raising
awareness, having people see hundreds -- thousands -- of riders
making a statement about prevention and this cause. imagine 2500
riders dotting the hillside all dressed in red --- forming the
illusion of the ribbon. a powerful experience at the very least.

my favorite story of how we made a difference: we were riding
through the farm lands where strawberries are picked. a woman
drives up to one of the organizers in her old run down pinto and
asks in broken english what we're about. the organizer explains.
the woman drives off. she comes back a short time later with a
collection she had taken up from her co-workers -- these are
people who are picking strawberries and making very little money,
i'm pretty sure. she brought back $3.62. While it may seem like a
small contribution, that we were able to touch these people and
have them be moved enough to donate that is, in itself, super
powerful.

That all said, you can still donate if you're so moved or simply
read about my experience if you're interested in the details -- i
have put it up on the blog:
http://www.aidslifecycle.org/6893

the finish

Most of my life i have been at the front of the pack in everything i do. what a radically different experience to be at the end of the pack... perhaps the 20th rider to the end. pulling into the VA center in LA i screamed with joy like i never have before... high fives to riders as i passed them and they congratulated me... tears of joy, relief, pride... pain... release... so much emotion.

i did not think i could do it. that's a rare experience for me. so glad to have done what i did and gotten where i did.

i sat under a tree and cried for a while... glad to be done. too wiped out to deal with closing ceremonies, i simply wanted to be in Atreyu's arms. we finally connected... a beautiful reunion. so grateful to have him in my life and by my side.

slipping away as the riders went into closing ceremonies, i found myself grateful to leave when i did.

pretty much the only place on my body not sore were my ears and elbows. my face was wind chapped and sunburned. my eyes burning -- from the sun, the sunblock, the crying. my legs, ass, arms, back, and stomach muscles worn out and used. my crotch and ass chaffed beyond belief.

and, i'd do it again.

day 7: will over skill indeed!

at 65 miles, todays ride seems... in a surprising shift in perspective, short. i am, however, struggling to get out of bed again because we have to be out even earlier today as everything closes earlier.

once again, the caboose is chasing me. i'm struggling at the beginning of the ride... the first 4 miles i'm sluggish, at best. i move along, doing my best... and then suddenly i catch up to a pack of folks who are stopped at a light. slowing down enough to catch the light without having to stop, i whiz out and then i just try to keep up. for a few miles i'm riding 18-20 MPH with the pack, but i realize with my quad being where it is at, i need to take a breather. 10 miles left on the 20 mile leg... i get back on the bike and ride hard. my shifter is still not working right... i need to tech my bike at the rest stop, so i pull in and go straight to the techs. they spend 20 minutes trying to adjust it... i ride out, caboose still right behind me. I ride a good ways, stopping... the shifter finally seems to be mostly working (except the obnoxious sound it makes)... but my quad it not.

i'm hot. i'm tired. i look down and see i've put in 31 miles and i think about how lame that is. ha! i came into this riding having only done *one* ride over 30 miles and now i think only 30 miles is lame. what a perspective shift. but i realize if i sweep to lunch i can ice, roll, rest and then finish the last 18 mile leg. i mean, it is only 18 miles. so i sweep.

i call Atreyu who is only miles from me... i want to see him ... and he encourages me to ride on and finish. there are hills this afternoon... i'm not sure i can do them. really. i already feel beyond my capabilities. i wait until nearly the last minute, resting, icing, relaxing and rolling my leg as much as possible before heading out. And i give it all i have to give.

then we have to get off the bike and carry it down a stairs through a tunnel and back up. egads, i didn't know how much you used your quad when walking down a stair. wow. how painful...

it's all up hill on the other side. i ride as hard as i can manage... because anything less seems to not get me up the hills. i pull over a few times and walk the bike. there's only one big hill left. other riders are encouraging me -- they can see the wear and tear on my body, being, soul... the tears in my eyes... it is only a few miles, but oh how far that seems after all this work.

i take a rest under a tree... i slug another energy goo... knowing it's only 3.5 miles to the end. i ride out... hit a small downhill and i use it to my advantage... pedal at hard as a i can and pass riders on the uphill. as i'm yelling, "on your left, on your left, on your left..." the riders yell back at me, "Take it girl!" and "go for it..." encouraging me.

and finally, the last hill... i'm passing, and i'm about 4 car lengths from the top and as i downshift, my chain drops again. my god, what a crappy time for that to happen. A beautiful woman who 15 minutes ago encouraged me stops to help. another woman drops her chain... we make it up the 4 car lengths of hill and there it is... the finish in site.