Everyday Bliss

*** Update to the update 4/22: I’m going all the way home, to San Francisco on Saturday, 4/24, British Airways came thru with a last minute cancellation, called and booked me in. Wahoo! Leaving the rest as it was below though for posterity and export, to quote Bill Burroughs.   ***

Here it is folks, selected highlights of being stuck as a traveller behind “The Grey Curtain”:

If you’ve been following the Paris Adventure Online, following me on Twitter or reading my updates on Facebook (pretty much the main places I’m posting while travelling) you know that like thousands of others, I’ve been stranded in Europe by the volcanic ash cloud.

And wait for it…this just in on April 21st: Heathrow now back open. Thank the Lord! Whose name apparently, is Adonis. Nope, I’m not kidding. Lord Adonis is the British Secretary of Transport in charge of such things.

The image at right was taken from BBC News on April 21 at 12:30pm Paris time. These travellers have been dossing down in the airport for almost a week, finally got boarding cards today, and are celebrating with champagne. I’m for a hot tub, massage and liberal application of chocolate, myself.

And then there were the inevitable gallows humor jokes that sprang up on Twitter and Facebook. One of the best I heard was “No, no Iceland…we said send us all your CASH. Regards, Europe”.  Here’s a random selection  of others from Britain’s Channel 4 News:

@hjortur: Sorry for the flight delays, Europe. We were aiming for London, but it’s hard to be accurate when firing a volcano .

@andylockran: ”Iceland goes bankrupt, then manages to set their island on fire. This has insurance scam written all over it”.

@pdacosta: “The last wish of the Icelandic economy was to have its ashes scattered over Europe”.

@islandpastor: “Waiter, there’s volcanic ash in my soup”… Waiter: “I know, it’s a no-fly zone”

The Personal-Ash End Of Things

Like many others, I’ve been rebooked – five times at this point. Like others, had cases packed & was literally in taxi ready to go when I fortunately got emergency call from British Airways not to come to airport.  This was the only time btw (and the third time I was rebooked) that BA notifications worked.

BA was helpful as possible but would absolutely not book me on a flight to San Francisco. I was offered any place else in Europe, when the cloud lifted, but no place in North America.

Like many others, I was reduced to begging. They’d heard it all before and while sympathetic, were not going to offer me a refund so I could book another airline that *was* flying.

“I’ll take anything to the American continent – Canada, Mexico, Peru – you go to Peru, I can see a British Airways flight to Lima from Madrid – how about that? I can get to Madrid on the train….bus…donkey cart. Anything!”

Finally, after I squeaked my wheel loud and hard enough, and made an absolute pest of myself by calling every fifteen minutes: “Ms Webster, I see this is the ninth time you’ve contacted us today, let’s see what we can do to get you home” – that’s the ticket folks! I was offered a flight out this Saturday the 24th to Phoenix, AZ. I took it and resumed praying the thing would go through.

We’re hearing that Katla, the second dormant Icelandic volcano and a bigger, nastier one (?!) is rumbling. My comment on the Facebook Ashcloud page was: “Now everybody, all together now: ‘Lullabye, and goodnight, and with roses bedight…’ Everyone keep singing ’til we all get home!”

Vagabond Coaches League & Rescue Tug

Molly (@shaboom) Gordon tweeted me that Michael Bungay (@boxofcrayons) Stanier was similarly stuck in Amsterdam. I joked with him over Twitter that we should call ourselves the “Vagabond Coaches League”, rent a tugboat and chug around European ports of call picking up stranded coaches and ferry the lot of us back home.

It would be just like Thomas Leonard’s Y2K RV trip across America to promote coaching.  We could party the night away, film the whole thing and sell book, DVDs and t-shirts as a product. It’d be a gas, gas, gas! (but no ash). Here’s our official t-shirt. Feel free to put this on your site if you’re a coach and were stranded by the ash. 

Although as to coaching, there were several opportunities for that. Group of British women tourists openly weeping in a cafe at hearing their flight was (yet-again) cancelled. When they said I could help I taught them EFT as in such situations people like to do anything to be proactive and EFT is one of the most active of the energy therapies.

We tapped and when that took the edge off, I taught them ETHOS to take them all the way into consciousness around the fact that they were safe, well fed and had a place to stay until they could get home. This is something I too am giving thanks for. They loved ETHOS and one said felt like stepping into her massage therapist’s office – it calmed her immediately. I left them with these two tools, the internet sites for more info and went off to see a museum I hadn’t gotten to see yet.

I’m good – I have a place to stay until Friday and then will do a hotel room for one night. Hopefully the shuttle I’d booked will take me to the airport rea-a-a-ally early as the flight is at gawdawful o’clock in the morning…

Short-Term Panic, Emotional Immunity & Other Biscuitry

While people were frantic to get back to their homes, we heard of fighting on trains and busses, bloodied noses on the Eurostar and a riot in Madrid. It was a relief to receive an email from ETHOS In Paris workshop participants, Anne & Jerome, saying they’d made it back to the UK with their children safely. On the whole however, I believe it’s been a time of great cameraderie, gallows humor and all.

Several older Brits I heard in cafes hearked back to the days of rationing during and after World War II.

“Ay-up lass,” one said to me philosophically “we’re all in it together. There’s nowt any one of us can do ’til that buggerin’ ash-hole’s done spewin’ its filth. Best sit tight and have another cuppa.” Rational wisdom from the mouth of a wizened Yorkshireman* old enough to be my grandpa, yet spry as a spring chicken and loaded down with Parisian goodies for his “young’uns”.

When the times get tough, the tough apparently go shopping.

But on the other paw, like many in private moments, I was caught in the grip of short-term panic and negative emotions. “Oh no, what if I never get home! What if that damned mountain spews for a year like it did in the 1800’s!”. Cue tears, railing at the universe in general and feeling sorry for myself in specific.

The worst was the feeling of stark loneliness when I was on the phone for hours with British Airways in the re-re-re-re-re-booking of my flights time after time. The toll that the stress of “not knowing” took was tremendous and had me falling into bed early, too exhausted to go out.

I wailed on the phone to my ever-patient husband who was doing his best to cope and was upset in his own right. I cried on the shoulders of friends while simultaneously trying not to. I was evil to a neighbor who snorted “Merde, l’Americaine!” for the tenth time to my face. He subsided in shock and hasn’t squeaked a word to me since. In short, I had a “little kitty fit” as we call it, when one of the cats throws a tantrum.

Once it was over, I set about employing the energy tools I had in my arsenal to shore up my Emotional Immunity. This is something I’ll be writing about more in the future, but the basis is the AM Energizers & PM Harmonizer exercises from my Everyday Bliss For Busy Women book.

How’s YOUR Emotional Immunity?

You can greatly increase it by simply tapping a round of EFT – with or without any intention or setup phrase behind it, and then doing an ETHOS set, ending up by stepping aside into Unlimited Self. When I do that, problems disappear like magic and the way is opened for me to do more productive things.

More productive like packing (done=done) and looking forward to my flight. In addition to getting home, it’s one of the best sleeps I’ve had on an airplane. British Airways is one of the few to offer full lie-down seats in Business class. Most seats that say they lie down flat only recline to within 30 degrees of flat so you’re at a kind of odd angle. I can actually stretch out in the BA sleeping pod and snooze almost as good as in bed at home. There’s a tv with on-demand movies, a plug for your laptop and peripherals and lockable storage drawer for same. You get a real sense of privacy and they provide earplugs and an eyeshade so the world goes away.

Somebody on Twitter asked about the food. They actually use china and silver service, with all the booze those who imbibe can hold. The kitchen is open through the journey with all the snacks and drinks you like and the flight attendants were some of the sweetest, even though they were in the middle of an industrial action when I flew. My halibut on the journey out was done to a turn and the veggies were crisp and good. How on earth do they do that aboard a plane?

I’m giving great thanks for all the many blessings this experience has been. Extra time with good friends, the ability to see myself rise to the occasion and surpass what I thought were my limits, increased love and expansiveness and…other things.

Will I make it back home this Saturday? Time will tell. And I’ll keep you updated.

Tune in next week for Maryam’s continuing adventures in: “Ash The World Turns”….

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Picture credit:  The Yorkshire Man by Mick Cawston: http://www.corsini.co.uk/fineart/yorkshire-terrier-prints.shtml

Did you know about Earth Hour? A group of us were lounging on Navajo rug patterned chairs in a coffeehouse the other day, chatting about books, cats, kids & corn-based plastics. It was that languid, full-bodied chat that women have when comfortable with each other, the ambient temperature, satiety of their bellies and certain knowledge that a significant other is looking after the children, cooking or reservations.

Alois mentioned Earth Hour and the room started buzzing. Do you know about this? At 8:30pm on March 27th,

(that’s this Saturday, folks)

everyone who cares about the environment is switching their lights off for one hour to register mass concern and protest environmental policy changes not happening fast enough. I spoke of our pre-cycling/recycling efforts and of JBear’s biking to work. From bed I tread naked feet and comfy home-clothes to my office across the hall, so technically, I’m carbon friendly too.  Others put in compost heaps, biodiesel, community farming and child minding. We all sighed over reminiscences of the cute long haired hippie boys in the various communes of our youth.

My local co-op housing project in Columbia, Missouri put out the international Anarchy magazine. No, I’m not kidding.  And the oddity was, that I found it in Cambridge, England while living there, at an alternative bookstore called The Grapevine. I recognized the editor, typesetter, copy boy (this was the 80’s, mind) and had gone through crisis intervention training with the magazine’s accountant. They all recycled like crazed weasels, and even had an illegal still in the basement of one of the houses that brewed up some rather fine paint thinner they used to power a car they’d rigged up, decades before the real gasohol engines. I had a memorable date in that car…about which the least said the better.

My girlfriend J- was here today, visiting the Bay Area and taking a training. J. is an amazing lady I feel privileged to know. We  had a fine handful of hours together, chatting comfortably and reminiscing. As I get older, I so deeply value the tone and texture of these mature women relationships. It is so choice, and so eclipses what I had thought deep relationships to be in my youth.  Huzzah for us middlin’-aged broads. It’s a cool place to be.    J- passed me this video which is related to the observations above. Thanks for the pointers sweetie – your tribe is up to wonderful things…

There’s more at: http://www.fouryearsgo.org/

In case you missed all the clues I’ve been dropping on Twitter, FaceBook, LinkedIn and other places, I am going to be spending my birthday month of APRIL IN PARIS, baby! Paris! (pictoral tour of the ‘hood is down below) Yep, I’m leaving the hubby and kitties at home and going on an all-inclusive American Woman’s Dream Vacation of a Lifetime to celebrate that once in a lifetime marker for a woman:

TURNING 50 YEARS OLD
(made it…whew!)

And…stay tuned because I’m going to make it possible for YOU TO COME WITH ME. Yep, you read it right,

YOU CAN COME TO PARIS WITH ME!

While not everyone can jump a jet and get in on the live experience, you CAN check it out with me, and won’t have to leave the comfort of your armchair. Promise. I wouldn’t go without making it possible everyone interested in evolution, transformation, a LIVE ETHOS workshop, new friends, gourmet food, sexy accents and having a good time to get in on the fun!

Hold onto your hats: there’s more juice in this baby than a whole orchard full of fresh peaches!

You probably already know that 25 years ago I was hit by a drunk driver and paralyzed, gaining over 150lbs. And how it took me nine years to walk, even though the doctors said I would never walk again.

I’ll be teaching some super-secrets of how I taught myself how to do “the impossible” and reverse paralysis, PLUS how I’ve lost 70+ pounds in the last year and a bit. Add to that my own “energy facelift” exercises and how YOU too can learn to:

“ACHIEVE THE IMPOSSIBLE”

• Everybody’s been asking me why my pants are falling off! You’ll be able to model my success as I CONTINUE TO LOSE WEIGHT in Paris, scarfing down all that lovely gluten-free super-fresh French market food. I’ll teach you how to make some of my favorite yummy dishes too, so you get “Gourmet Paris” and “GlutenFree” too.
• Yes, I’m down four sizes and counting. You’ll learn some of my extra cool weightloss secrets and be able to climb inside my head to see my Body Communication & Shape Shifting program in the making. This is Practical Magic folks, for everyday comfort and best-living.
• Plus you’ll visit Parisian restaurants, get to meet neighbors and friends and get the scoop on famous landmarks and not-famous-but-cool Parisian places, people and things.
• You’ll even get to help PLAN MY DAY by telling me where YOU want to go in Paris. I’ll take you with me – it’ll be the next best thing to being there!
• And of course, you’ll also learn how to Achieve The Impossible in your own life through 4 WHOLE WEEKS OF LIFE-SHIFTING LESSONS, learning how to get your “can’t do it, it’s impossible” to “Done = Done”. (come learn the secret of what that means!) The Magic of Done is the Whole Point.
• You also really need to be here if you’ve always wanted to have a super jumbo deluxe vacation for yourself and you never got to take one.
• Oh yes, there will be massage and spa stuff. And coffee. And sidewalk cafe action. And girlfriends. And a live ETHOS Workshop. And lots and LOTS of energy.

I’ll be getting back to you a little later on the specifics, but if you’re interested in becoming an Early Adopter (we reward Early Adopters very heavily around here) you can join the “Achieve The Impossible” Experience in Paris by filling in this handy form. I’ll be holding some very special calls and giving you previews of what’s going to happen and also what isn’t. Only those on this list will get notification of these juicy free calls, so do sign up now – I’ll even send you a free gift of Parisian lore!

The Oh-So-Chic Neighborhood Tour

And now, just to wet your whistle, here are some of the sights and interesting places we’ll be surrounded by, courtesy of Google Maps:

Montorgueil is the old open market area of Paris and is close to my apartment. This is my new god, says the hubby “the Great Golden HypnoSnail”. Yes, the French really do eat snails, though my local contacts wonder if it’s become more of a touristy thing. There are seven smaller slimers if you can see ‘em – each about as big as two fists on top of L’Escargot Montorgueil. And of course The Great One. Trying to decide whether to go here for my birthday or not. What do you think? Do I have the guts to eat escargot? I wonder myself….

Here’s my front door, sandwiched as most Parisian front doors, between shop fronts. In this case “L’avion Rose” (a gay restaurant and play on the phrase “La vie en Rose” – “The Pink Life” which denotes gay culture) and Hanano sushi restaurant. I won’t lack for entertainment or food. Hope there’s a floor show…

But if I get bored, my neighbors on the right can provide me with Hip Hop & Soul records, a haircut or videos…

And next to the hip-hop shop the Librarie Scaramouche who provide theatre masks, marionettes and Commedia Dell’Arte errata. I am SO going to dive into this shop as well as the Maison de la Poésie (House of Poetry) and Theatre Moliere. Wow…and just next door to the Library Scare-a-mouse (to quote the hubby) is…

Passage Moliere! Theatrical aficionados will rejoice. As will the JBear, for right next door and not ten steps from my apartment is Jean-Bernard’s Wine Cave. Not cellar, *CAVE*. The Bear’s put in an order for a good Beaujolais.

Here’s my interesting across-the-street neighbor, what the web describes as the “Big Butch Lesbian” Unity Bar. Huzzah! Women to have drinks with! With my haircut, I’ll fit right in…

This is L’Horloge a Automate – a funky concrete plaza that goes through to the next street and contains antique clock displays. And I might get a tattoo….or not…

A store called Nag Champa! It’s GOT to have incense! Looks funky and just up the street. Woo!

And down the other way MASSAGE AND COFFEE? ARE YOU KIDDING? I am SO there! Wish they’d taken the photo when the place was open so we could get a glimpse thru the blinds…

And on the corner, a cute little breakfast-dinner cafe (morning coffee will be here, oh yeah) and wonder of wonders on the street where I live, a Fromager, or cheese shop! Whee!

And on the opposite corner, on busy, vibrant Rue Rambuteau just across from the Centre Georges Pompidou, a pharmacy for those necessary lost-my-toothbrush kind of purchases. I want to experience French toothpaste, deodorant and hair products. Having spiky hair, good product is important.

Marketing choices in flavor and fragrance have always been an interest. When I lived in England in the 1980’s, a popular fragrance for years was something I could only describe as “fuschia-pink gumdrop”. Another was “bamboo”. I’ve never smelt these fragrances in America. I also once had “Irn Bru” (a strong & dark Scottish soda) flavored toothpaste. Pass on that, if you’re ever offered. Trust me.

Finally, just across from Centre Georges Pompidou, is the Flunch cafe hooking up to L’Horloge a Automate and what we’ve christened the Fabulous (if dour) Flying Flunch-Mittie (for its resemblance to our Tosh-cat). I shall make a pilgrimage and leave a handful of catnip in homage. I may even lunch at Flunch. Maybe.

I just learned (all praise to Google) that Flunch is a self-serve cafeteria style chain and “If you need to use the toilet, take your receipt with you: It shows the lavatory entrance code, which you’ll need to unlock the door to the toilettes.” I’ll consider myself forewarned on that count.

That’s it from the French Front for now. Stay tuned for the next installment on my fantabulous apartment, ETHOS in Paris, and how YOU can join me on my travels, to Achieve The Impossible!

(scroll down for the apocryphal picture of me at close to max weight…and today’s version…)

I am fortunate enough to have a very good friend in social media expert Andy Wibbels (@andymatic on Twitter). We’ve masterminded and built our businesses side by side for years and he has been such a help and such a darling friend to me. Color me very grateful for this high class, high value friendship.

We met when Andy still lived in Chicago. When he and Ron and kitties Astroboy & Downy moved out here in 2008, Andy stayed with us while interviewing at SixApart, where he worked until recently on their TypePad, Vox and other products. Now he’s graduating to the bigtime and toddling off to North Carolina to work for sales shark Jeffrey Gitomer. I’m so proud of Andy I could bust. Love him like a sister. k

We’re getting in a lot of celebrating, dinners and theater, ballet and shows before they leave. Tonight we went to Swan Lake, which was great, though missing the iconic dying swan scene at the end. In Helgi Tomasson’s production of the San Francisco Ballet, Odette simply jumps off a cliff – offstage.

WHERE WAS MY DYING SWAN SCENE?! I waited the whole doggone ballet to see it. Ron was similarly taken aback. You just don’t cut the dying swan. It isn’t done.

At any rate, for afters we went back to the boys’ apartment and shot the breeze as long as eyes stayed open. Followed by a picture taking session (which followed the food pics at Santorini earlier in the evening). The below right picture is tonight’s. The one on the left is of me two years ago almost to the day. That chin is pretty much a straight line from under-lip to collarbone, and was a triple roll at my high weight.

BTW, I got that wrong in the caption below. (hey, it was late at night)  I went back to my records and found I weighed more like 265 in the lefthand picture, not 280. But once I got that large, I stopped counting as many do, so the lapse is understandable. 

All the cutting & sculpting done on this body happened pretty much in eight months. Close to 70 pounds, 5 dress sizes, 1 shoe size, 3 bra sizes and 2 chins down, plus over 6″ off my abdomen so far.

I didn’t effort, I just had fun.

I didn’t restrict my eating, I had what my body wanted. How I did it will be the stuff of a future workshop. Something to look forward to! For now though, photos unretouched, just captioned…

Maryam’s Holiday Hooray, Shiny Presents
Included, Loads ‘o Wisdom Winter News

CONTENTS
* Holiday Gratitude & New Direction
* Solstice (OMG!) Call Replay, Gifts & Rocky Roads
* French Ingenuity, Transparency Redux & My Motley Past
* Busy Women: Freebies For The Tired & Time-Starved Family
* Transformation Tool: EVOLUTIONARY ENVIRONMENTS
* Availability Pledge, Jaw Surgery & Are We Connected?
* Old Family Recipes: Organic, Gluten-Free Yuletide Wassail Bowl

Welcome To The Party…

This is my WHACKIN’ HUGE LOAD OF PRIMO CONTENT, tons’a prezzies, and catch-up letter for the year.

There’s some interesting stuff in here – teeth video, mom’s meal planners, transformers, my motley past, a commentary on gurus and a whole basket of yuletide g’ifts & goodness. Check the index above for juice-factor!

A very Merry Christmas and Solstice this week to you. I wanted to give you yuletide greetings while also telling you how very much I appreciate you.

I am deeply grateful for everyone who is tuned into the Now, and interested in raising consciousness on the planet like I know you are. At least, if you’re hip to joining this community, I hope you’re into waking up the planet and spreading a wave of consciousness throughout the world. We’re going to be doing a lot of that in 2010 together, so get ready – fun times ahead!

Oh by the way, I should mention that in this last year I’ve taken off to rest, reflect, refresh and retool, my business has changed a good deal. I’m not ready to say much more until after New Year’s, but Consciousness-bringing is definitely the direction. More later on that

*** FREE Replay of The Solstice World Transformation Ritual & Rocky Roads Ahead ***

We had an amazing time Monday during the exact time of Winter Solstice, doing a ritual of clearing out the old, bringing in the desired and learning how each of our lives is sacred and how we are all priest/esses in our lives. I’m not using that as a religious term, but a spiritual one, for we are all here as teachers and students of each other.

We had five beautiful Priestesses of Dawn attend us with blessings of sacredness & joy which I can’t begin to put into words. You should hear theirs – I’m offering the replay and the TEN different gifts we put together into a “Make 2010 The Year You REALLY SHINE” package.

It’s awesome-sauce! And available for replay to soak up those wonderful lessons & techniques, if you let me know your opinion on some really important issues:

http://bit.ly/SolsticeGiftReplay

I’m committed to serving you so much better in 2010 than I have in the past. There may be some rocky roads ahead for our planet, and some big changes for us as human beings. I’m stepping up in service of supporting and forearming people like you through those changes, with a magic bag full of easily learnable tools to help you accomplish that Big Mission of yours.

That’s one of my most cherished 2010 goals.

But to do that, I need you to tell me what YOU really want and need to have happen in your life this year.

I know that time is precious and valuable. So I’m willing to make it worth your time – there’s a bunch of goodness waiting for you at the end of this rainbow:

http://bit.ly/SolsticeGiftReplay

Thanks – it will help SO much!

From the Blog: French Ingenuity, Transparency & My Motley Past

An absolutely amazing video of French students doing stop-motion chair dance shows us a new Bliss Key: Cheerful Cooperation. When you engage this Bliss Key, the Bliss Blocker it unlocks is twofold:

1) The Need To Be Right – those who need to be right are rarely happy
2) Self-Isolation, leading to depression

Great winter blues cure here: http://bit.ly/CheerfulCooperation

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Transparency, Gurus, Gory Details & Telling Secrets – trending topics over at the blog and ’round about the web since the James Arthur Ray sweatlodge deaths. This is part of that discussion:

Transparency, translucence, living a conscious life – or whatever you call it, is not only the birthright and destiny of every human, but also our responsibility to the future. Our choices are essential, each one important, even east or west, choosing paper, plastic or bring-your-own, choosing to remain conscious in the face of frightening and destructive acts of unspeakable evil, or parking a block away.

We bear witness.

We choose with our intention and our energy the best and most evolutionary choices we can possibly make given our individual situation. Only we can make that choice, no one can do it for us. It’s called taking personal responsibility and it’s a Rubicon we all have to cross at some point in adult life to become fully human.

And we know that while (often intensely) impactful, our situation is not personal. Such a situation or lesson, if we choose to see it this way, is given to billions. Lessons are 100% Universal.

Thinking further on this brought me to the universals in how humans encode their experience that created The ETHOS Method.

What else is Universal? Living life asleep. And the ability to wake up, will do for a start. Spread the Wave – Consciousness will set you free. Really.

More on transparency and my motley past here: http://bit.ly/transparencysecrets

Here is the original post: http://bit.ly/translucentadvantage

And how to stay Unlimited: http://bit.ly/keepunlimitedstate

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The post that’s really got folks buzzing, on spiritual abusers in our midst, offer of abuse-prevention how-to and some details of my er, motley past – comment stream is also worth a read:

http://bit.ly/resurrectingthepast

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Head’s Up Moms: FREEBIES For The Tired & Time-Starved Family

Moms especially will love this collection of f’ree downloadable organizer pages for your day, week, month and year. Three whole pages, about eighteen different forms in all to print and help organize the chaos of an active family! There’s a fall cleaning checklist, the “Eat Sheet” for a week’s worth of meals, a weekly family calendar, baby’s schedule, infant babysitter checklist and more. You don’t even have to sign up, just download:

http://www.mommytracked.com/downloads

There’s more of the same (only different) over at http://www.cozi.com/ too. Check ‘em both out!

Transformation Tool: EVOLUTIONARY ENVIRONMENTS

One of the evolutionary environments I indulge in frequently is
my back garden. From the covered deck, I can observe wildlife and
rejoice in my fur-daughters’ play. I love it, and it evolves me
uniquely well.

http://bit.ly/greengardenafternoon

This is a Mellowvision vid for you to relax to. I like making panoramas as turning in place is fun. Now you see what I see every afternoon. I’m out there rain or shine, it’s a must for mental health.

Enjoy!

Availability Pledge, Jaw Surgery & Are We Connected?

I pledge to be more available to you in 2010. For one thing, I’ll be making lots of videos from now on. I’ve gone a bit video nutty really, as I’ve used my Flip Mino to exhaustion and happen to know Santa is dropping off a Kodak zi8.

(will it be aqua or raspberry? dunno…the Bear wouldn’t tell)

Of interest is the fact that in the new year I’ll be having jaw surgery. Not cosmetic, apparently I have really strong bones (a good thing since Mom had osteoporosis) and they’re crowding my teeth too much – several teeth need to be reseated in the jaw. Yuck, yuck, yuck. It’ll be gnarly, but I’ll be documenting this and how I’m dealing with discomfort. We’ll be doing a pain management class next year.

Interested in learning to get rid of pain? Again, let me know here:

http://bit.ly/SolsticeGiftReplay

And I’m going to be offering ways in which we can easily talk together about what’s important in 2010. A few are available right now, and the team is hard at work developing more. Are we connected? I’d love it if you’d Friend me on:

Facebook: http://facebook.com/maryamwebster
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/maryamwebster
Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/maryamwebster

Old Family Recipes for Yule: Wassail Bowl

“Wassail and wassail all over the town,
Our Cup it is white and your ale it is brown…”

– Gloucester Wassail, arr. English Traditional

Wassail is a contraction of the old Anglo-Saxon phrase “wes thu hal” meaning “To Your Health”. And of course, the traditional toasting beverage of  this  “best time of the year”  ~ which in this case is a non-alcoholic hot apple cider punch we serve for the winter holidays. It is never served any other time of the year. You can twiddle the ingredients about a bit, Graines of Paradise may be hard to come by but you can substitute pink or green peppercorns or just leave it out.

Want to up the octane? Add a full bottle of mead (honey wine), barleywine or even a crisp  chardonnay to the mix, or a shot of Applejack to each mug.

To two gallons apple cider add:

15 dried dates
20 dried apple rings
1 orange cut into thin slices w/peel left on
1 lemon cut into thin slices w/peel left on
3 cinnamon sticks, whole
1tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1″ fresh ginger, sliced thin

Handful each:
Mixed dried fruit bits
Dried Cranberries
Dried Cherries

Large pinch each:
Whole coriander seed
Whole cardmom pod, well crushed
Whole cloves
Cinnamon chips or small pieces

Small pinch each:
Allspice berries
Damascena rose petals or 1tbsp rose water
Dried barberries (can substitute 1tsp lemon juice + tbsp raisins)
Graines of paradise (or pink or green peppercorns)

Add:
1/4 – 1/2 cup brown sugar or blue agave or maple syrup, to taste

Crush all the spices and add to the cider and fruits in a large stainless steel or enameled pan. Simmer until volume is reduced by a third. When cooked down to your taste, strain through coffee filter or paper towel to remove pulp and spices. Replace a few fresh lemon, orange and apple rings and add 2 new cinnamon sticks to serve. Serve piping hot.

How DOES it get any better…?

I’ll be back to you just before New Year’s with some more juice for your joyous life and ways for you to live in ease, grace and joy.

For now, just keep asking: “How does it get any better than this?” Don’t wait for an answer, just let it be out there, so it can return to you in wondrous ways!

All my Love & Warmest Holiday Blessings,
Maryam

As you know, I’m always looking for ways to make things simpler, easier and less expensive while being sustainably good for the planet and all of us living on it. I angsted for ages over the gargantuan costs of organic laundry soap but finally caved when in good conscience, I couldn’t put waste products into our precious water supply. I bought all the brands you’ve seen in healthfood stores and didn’t find one worked better than any other. They cost more than the common grocery store brands, and I knew that the key ingredients could really be had for pennies.

What a racket!

Make Your Own Laundry Soap for Pennies

In just as much angst over the plastic bottle recycling issue, I started making a simple laundry powder out of old homemade soap that had gone a bit hard. Grating it on a cheese grater proved knuckle-busting so figuring it was a clean job anyway, I busted out the Cuisinart and processed large chunks of cut up soap until fine meal resulted.

Caveat: WAIT UNTIL THE DUST CLEARS before you open the food processor’s container!  You can easily inhale soap dust and trust me, you don’t wanna. I say this from experience.

I mixed the resulting two cups of soap powder with equal parts washing soda and borax which you can find cheap as chips in any grocery store. This will give you 24 ounces of product, enough for 12 loads. I store this in a large plastic dry goods storage jar. Be sure to add BEFORE clothes and turn water on so any dust is damped down before you lean over the washing machine to put the clothes in.

Cost Analysis

Given I’d made the soap myself from micro-amounts of essential oils, inexpensive lye and fats (olive oil, coconut oil & solid shortening) that were lying around in the cabinet, this mix cost me pennies a load to make. I estimate less than ten cents per quarter-cup scoop and it cleans the laundry like nobody’s business.

Since the essential oils used to scent the soap had seen better days, I added a few drops of lavender and a few of tea tree – both of these are antiseptic and tea tree is known to kill germs on contact. Grand total, maybe 12 cents a load. Any kind of old soap (exceptions: soaps with cold cream, herb or grit particles added) will work great.

Slightly Rancid Is Still Peachy-Keen…

If the soap is a bit rancid, that’s okay, you can still use it to great effect to clean your clothes and can add a drop or two of essential oil (see “Dryer Sheet” below) to eliminate any rough scent, though scent doesn’t tend to transfer in the washer, even using cold water.  Also, you need hard soap for this, not the soft creamy type of bar. If I had to purchase a soap to use for this purpose, I’d get either Kirk’s Castile, Ivory (or just use Ivory Snow) or Dr. Bronner’s Lavender bar.

Dryer Sheet Of Forever

When I started eliminating allergic substances years ago, I came to realize dryer sheets were one of the worst irritants. We had also just gotten a pile of white cotton shop towels to use for cleaning instead of paper towels. I annointed one of these with a few drops of lavender oil, and threw that into the dryer with a wet load.

Also into the dryer went two clean tennis balls which have the same effect as the village washerwoman beating the clothes with a rock to soften the fibers.  They also reduce static, lint and wrinkle reduction. There are also plastic balls with spikes that you can buy. We have both and I don’t notice a difference in the way they work – tennis balls are less expensive. So both white cloth and tennis balls – with or without your choice of essential oils does the trick so fine you won’t miss those artificially smelly and immune system-compromising dryer sheets. I still use the same cloth I started with six years ago. Wash it every ten loads or so, then when it comes out just add a few drops of oil and toss it in wet and oiled with that load’s drying. Gotta love it!

Caveat: The slight fuzz on tennis balls may come off on your dark and nubby-textured clothing.  Leave out of the dark load if this is an issue, or hang dry fuzzy/nubby textured dark clothes.

Also, make sure dryer cloth is white as oils may cause dyes in colored cloths to come off on your load of laundry. Other essential oils that make your laundry smell fantastic:  ylang-ylang, orange, neroli, eucalyptus or lemon. Try sandalwood when you have a date lined up – the scent is faint but will deepen subtly when your body warms the clothing!

Fancy a “hair gel” textured liquid-y soap? The Comfortable Hippies have one recipe here.

Kellie from “Make it From Scratch” (wonderful place!) offers her recipe, similar to mine here.

While you’re at it, check out their great Make It From Scratch Thanksgiving. Your game plan & recipes = done!

Sacramento announced that it is closing 80% of California’s State Parks by Labor Day to save the 1/10th of 1% of state General Fund money the parks, already cut back to the bone, are allotted yearly.

Factor in the estimated 230% of both lost revenue as well as the millions of dollars that would be needed to rehab the parks when (if) they do re-open, the devastating consequences to public mental and physical health that park closure would mean, and this maneuver is simply sheer idiocy.

Rather than belabor the point, I’m simply pasting below the letter I sent my state representatives. All the facts are in it, as well as the link to the State Park campaign online where you can send your own letters. It’s crazy, it’s insane, and it makes no sense. I offer a more wideranging view of what’s going on, plus one workable solution below:

Take Action Here: http://www.calparks.org/takeaction/

Join the Facebook Campaign: http://www.facebook.com/pages/California-State-Parks-Foundation/51483280208

Here’s my letter, please feel free to use it in its entirety if you like, to send to your California State Representatives:

Dear …,

As a strong supporter of our state park system, I am writing to express outrage to the Governor’s proposal to eliminate core funding for our state park system that will close virtually all parks.

I am a psychologist and have made a lifetime study of the behavior of people when removed from the resources of nature. The results of those deprived of greenspace is devastating, not only on personal mental health but on societal behavior patterns.

Persons deprived of their connection with nature withdraw, become less concerned about their fellow human beings, more callous in their behaviors and more predisposed towards violence. It is no coincidence that some of the worst riots and gang violence occur in paved cities with little access to green space. If parks are closed, a mental health disaster would result, to say nothing of the financial disaster this “cost saving” move would engender.

Additionally, the following facts need to be taken into consideration:

(Source: http://www.calparks.org. Observations & additional facts, mine)

1. The General Fund budget that state parks receive account for less than 1/10 of one percent of the entire state budget.

————–
OBSERVATION & SOLUTION: Stripping the state parks will not solve the budget problem, nor be in any way a significant contributor to defraying state costs. Indeed, it will end up costing us far, far more.

The citizens were never asked if they would consider raising park fees. I for one, would be happy to pay higher fees to be allowed to access my state’s park system. Raise the rate four to six times current rates. Such a move would more than make the park system pay for itself. It might prevent some from attending, but still beats the cost of a traditional family vacation for cash-strapped Californians.
————–

2. Last year alone, there were over 80 million visitors to state parks – and all indications are that this year was going to be even higher.

—————
IMPORTANT OBSERVATION: California is KNOWN for our state park system. Thousands of out of state vacationers come to California specifically to visit our park systems. Count on a drastic reduction in tourism revenue with our state parks closed.
—————

3. For every dollar that funds the parks, $2.35 is returned to the state’s General Fund through economic activities in the communities surrounding the parks.

That means eliminating all funding for state parks could actually result in the state losing over $350 million dollars in revenue.

————–
VERY IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS: Sacramento needs to take into account the funds needed to put parks on standby maintenance mode, as well as the millions of dollars that will be needed for cleanup and restoration when parks are reopened. In absence of adequate park staff, our now pristine parks will turn into homeless camps and rubbish drops. Parks will also be subject to multiple forms of abuse, such as illegal drug manufacture and all-terrain vehicle traffic, by those for whom a locked gate – and care for the environment – is no barrier.

In addition, locked bathrooms will force such persons to use the local environs for toileting purposes, thus creating a potentially devastating sanitation nightmare. Epidemics start when human waste comes into contact with running water and ground water. Factor in the nightmare this public health issue will create and for the sake of public safety, keep our parks open.
————–

Our state parks exist to provide educational and recreational opportunities, preserve important cultural and historic resources, and aid the state in protecting key natural resources.  They also serve a critical function in providing respite for the state’s residents in times like these – when economic circumstances keep Californians closer to home, looking for low-cost ways to vacation and spend time with family.

As I have said, the need of human beings to interact with the natural world is paramount in preservation of the public’s mental health. If our children grow up without access to nature, what kind of human beings will they turn out to be? Will they even care about preserving the environment for the future as their parents have? What one is not exposed to, one cares little for. Such persons lack the finer feelings that can only be evoked in nature. And in truth, we are lesser beings for such disconnection. That is why this potential closure of California parks is so deeply frightening.

This is exactly the wrong time to be proposing to eliminate the state’s core commitment to this world-class resource.  Not only would removing the state’s General Fund support for state parks likely close the park system, it would cause an additional economic ripple effect to the state’s budget and to local economies.  The state would lose the ability to generate revenue from popular parks, which drives local economies.  As you learned during last year’s proposal to close state parks, every $1 that funds the state park system returns $2.35 to the state’s General Fund, largely through economic activities in communities surrounding state parks.

I urge you in the STRONGEST POSSIBLE TERMS to seek creative solutions that provide adequate revenue to keep our state parks open and accessible to all Californians.

Sincerely,
Your Name
Your street address

My two good friends, Australian  EFT Master Coaches Steve Wells and Dr. David Lake sent the below about the situation in Australia since the recent firestorm. I present their words unedited with permission. This has been a massive shock to the entire country – please give generously if you feel moved to do so.

Message from Steve Wells
I’m sure you will all know by now – some of you quite personally – that over the past several days bushfires have been burning throughout Victoria in south-eastern Australia and other parts of our country. These fires, some of which are still burning out of control, have resulted in incredible devastation and trauma, with around 200 people confirmed dead, and expected to top 300. Thousands have lost their homes, and entire towns have been destroyed – and this comes on the top of massive floods throughout Queensland in the north east of Australia which have also caused loss of life and massive devastation.

Nobody who watches the news and hears the stories of people of people affected by these disasters could possibly fail to be affected by the overwhelming nature of the human tragedy which has unfolded in front of our eyes. To say nothing of the massive environmental cost. For me, some of the most overwhelming scenes have been where people have come together to offer practical and emotional support for those that have lost their homes, families, and friends. I saw one woman crying as she was completely overwhelmed by the generosity extended to her by complete strangers freely offering her clothing as she had nothing. The best parts of the Australian spirit are on show right here in the midst of this tragedy for the whole world to see, as people respond with compassion and care to the suffering of their mates.

Many people are asking: How can I help?

The best thing that most of us can do right now (if you haven’t already) is to dig deep and give money or other practical assistance through the various appeals being held. Many people have been astounded at the generosity being shown both within Australia and abroad, let’s really show what we can do. Click on this link to the Australian Red Cross bushfire appeal and add your donation to others that are reaching out to help the families and communities affected by this crisis:

https://www.redcross.org.au/Donations/onlineDonations.asp

Other immediate ways you can help such as donating blood, offering accommodation, donating clothing and other goods, volunteering your time and other options, are outlined at the Our Community website at:

http://www.ourcommunity.com.au/giving/giving_article.jsp?article Id=4026

The next best thing that most of us, especially those who are far away, can do, is to start tapping! I’ve been contacted by people who want to help the sufferers but haven’t realised that they themselves are suffering as they have been vicariously traumatised from watching the news telecasts. I hear it in their stressed voices, and read between the lines of their emails. It is impossible for most people to see footage of people and communities who have lost so much without being affected by the pain they’re going through. I encourage them – and you – to tap on your own feelings and reactions. Tap for the sadness and grief, anger (at those who lit many of the fires), and any other emotions which well up in you, or creep up over time, especially as you watch the news broadcasts. Then, if there is a chance for you to help more directly at least your emotional reactions won’t get in the way and hinder relief efforts.

Shouldn’t we be going out there and tapping with the bushfire victims?

Mostly, no. Their greatest need right now is for practical assistance from those in the front line, and the support of their families and friends. If you really want to help more directly, the best way is to get involved in the coordinated relief efforts. You can register your willingness to provide volunteer assistance with the Victorian Government using the form on the Our Community site link above. As they say: “… you may not be contacted immediately as agencies are concentrating on volunteers who are already trained and accredited, but you will be contacted in the future with details on how you can volunteer.”

From Dr. David Lake

After I had written the above I received a copy of an email Dr. David Lake had sent to a friend. It sums up the situation perfectly, so with his permission I’m including it here:

“It is a huge country but the scale of the devastation now matches the size; people refer to a “firestorm”, which is an accurate description of what happened. This is a very rare event. Sometimes the firestorm swept through miles of houses and melted metal in several minutes!!

Communities and the country are rallying around those most affected and opening their hearts and wallets.

I saw on TV an old lady of 90 who said “I knew I was in trouble when dead birds fell out of a clear sky on to my verandah”. Miraculously, many survived when it seemed hopeless, while others made a dash by car and perished (when usually this would be a good strategy). One man went back in the aftermath of the devastation and found his letterbox still standing in a vast vista of only ash and black stumps. Inside was an intact bill from the phone utility. “I’m not paying that!” he sniffed–a popular decision according to the onlookers.

I can’t really imagine what some of those people have suffered, but one counselling expert rightly said in the paper today: “Don’t come to the area if you have counselling experience. The people don’t need this right now. They will need you much later, after their basic needs for shelter and food have been supplied and their families secured. This is not the counselling room–it is a disaster area”. First things first.

Certainly it is bringing out the “mateship” in Australia, which was founded by resilient and sharing people…

see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mateship

As David says, much of the real work and the opportunity for to help with tapping will come later, once the acute part of this crisis has passed. Meantime, you can help by making a donation now at:

https://www.redcross.org.au/Donations/onlineDonations.asp

Best wishes,
Steve Wells (and Dr. David Lake)

Very highly topical as a small but dedicated team of colleagues joyfully collaborate on the creation of a new energy transformation method, is the Seed Magazine article on Reality Tests. A team of physicists in Vienna has devised experiments that may answer one of the enduring riddles of science: Do we create the world just by looking at it?

To wit:

Some physicists still find quantum mechanics unpalatable, if not unbelievable, because of what it implies about the world beyond our senses. The theory’s mathematics is simple enough to be taught to undergraduates, but the physical implications of that mathematics give rise to deep philosophical questions that remain unresolved. Quantum mechanics fundamentally concerns the way in which we observers connect to the universe we observe. The theory implies that when we measure particles and atoms, at least one of two long-held physical principles is untenable: Distant events do not affect one other, and properties we wish to observe exist before our measurements. One of these, locality or realism, must be fundamentally incorrect.

Thick, but if you’re into science or interested in quantum realities, worth a read:
http://www.seedmagazine.com/news/2008/06/the_reality_tests_1.php

I eat healthy because I want to. Some may say I don’t have a choice, but I prefer to embody the reality of my physical container as a temple, and to keep the temple clean and sacred, I only put the best fuel in it. If I eat bread or glutinous grains of any kind, I blow up like a toad and look like I’m carrying triplets. Discomfort doesn’t begin to cover it.

And when I eat animal products (increasingly rare) they’re organic – meat, eggs and cheese, because even those with their heads still far down in the sand have pretty much acknoweledged the contamination of world food supplies with pesticides, hormones and the like. Ditto veggies, which must be organic.

Above is a picture of my kitchen counter with a few staples on it and my award-winning (with family at least) recipe for Pumpkin Apple Crumblebutter. So healthy it counts as a beefy serving of veggies AND fruit, and I lived on it as a treat and dessert while I was writing the book. Click the link to go to the recipe. It’s gluten free and you won’t even miss Pumpkin Pie at holidays with this stashed in your pantry. 

But if I’m back in my home state visiting friends or in suburban areas, organic is hard to come by, so I’m okay making do with the best I can get. Lots of filtered water, lots of farmer’s market fare. At home, we keep healthy foods on hand and eat more out of the cupboard than outside the house. I pretty much figure out dinner a few hours before we eat.

But I was very suprised to learn that on the other end of the scale from anorexia and bulimia, is a zone where healthy eating becomes unhealthy obsession. Complete with a quiz of course, to see if "this is you".

Check this out, from an article from the NBC11 local television station:

Is there a dark side to such healthy living?  Bay Area doctor Steven Bratman coined the term "orthorexia" from the Greek word ortho, which means correct. The disorder is not in the obsession to be thin, but with being pure.

El Camino Hospital Dietician Kim Bandelier said orthorexia is not a medically-recognized diagnosis, but it’s real and can be very dangerous.

"We normally see it associated with OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder). It’s a symptom of a mental disorder. They definitely have an unhealthy preoccupation with food," Bandelier said.

Dieticians say the vast majority of healthy eaters are nowhere near orthorexic. But like any eating disorder, there are red flags to watch out for. One of the signs is when someone no longer enjoys food.

Alexis Perlmutter said she and many of her friends have some orthorexic tendencies.  "I used to love Big Macs. Now I look at Big Mac and I think, ‘Poison, poison, poison’ and I won’t eat one," Perlmutter said.

There are some questions you can ask yourself to see if you are obsessed with health foods and may be at risk of developing orthorexia. This quiz is from Dr. Bratman’s book "Health Food Junkies." Give yourself a point for each question you answer with "yes."

• Do you spend more than three hours a day thinking about healthy food? (For four hours, give yourself two points).
  
• Do you plan tomorrow’s food today?
  
• Do you care more about the virtue of what you eat than the pleasure you receive from eating it?
  
• Have you found that as the quality of your diet has increased, the quality of your life has correspondingly diminished?
  
• Do you keep getting stricter with yourself?
  
• Do you sacrifice experiences you once enjoyed to eat the food you believe is right?
  
• Do you feel an increased sense of self-esteem when you are eating healthy food? Do you look down on others who do not?
  
• Do you feel guilt or self-loathing when you stray from your diet?
  
• Does your diet socially isolate you from others?
  
• When you are eating the way you are supposed to, do you feel a peaceful sense of total control?

Light said she’s aware of her hyper-healthy attitude and she believes it that keeps her in balance. So, as the phrase goes, too much of a good thing can be bad for you, even when it comes to health food.

The original article is here: at the NBC11 website