Everyday Bliss

If you have opinions on anything I’ve said or want to float a “yee-hah-I-agree”, this is your engraved invitation to click the “comment” link below this post & let ‘er rip.

How are you doing? The last week has been intense for many of us and I just wanted to check in on you and offer you more support for your transformational journey.

I also want to give you every chance to get the fantastic free trainings I did this week if you haven’t yet, (these WILL be at-cost within the month so get on it!) which are in replay only for a few more hours!

Plus clue you in on a sparkling new opportunity that’s shaping up to be like going to a Greens Festival crossed with a Ren Faire and Mind, Body & Spirit convention all rolled into one. Lots of spiritual and self-help, consciousness raising type teachers are gathering to give you free samples of their best work so you can see if perhaps they have a piece of your puzzle.

Lots of opportunity, open for just a month and keep reading for how I’m participating. (Hint: my Giveaway is foundational magical training you *need* to make anything you do a success)

But FIRST…. a bit of background on why I’m doing all that I’ve been doing lately as some people….

have been interested…

(and occasionally quite vocal)

about the need for an explanation.

A Coaching Tip: Could your need to know something about someone else be just an interesting point of view? That you hold no attachment to with neither reason or justification?

(think about it)

I’ll also share some more depth training on how to move, shape and flow energy before I share the time-limited replays to the two trainings this week…

If you’ve been connecting to my free “Energetic Economic Stimulus” Trainings on how to shape your energy for success in life and business, you’ll know that Wednesday and Thursday we had two amazing, uplifting humdingers of training calls.

I’m providing these free training calls so you can put a rocket booster on your personal and business issues, get them out of the way and get INTO that life you really desire.

Just think of me as your Transformational Google, providing you with  the highest quality solutions leading to a Life of Ease, Grace and Joy.  ;-)

To that end, the two calls I did this week as guest expert for Tom Buford and Adela Rubio were some of the best work I’ve ever offered in public…

Ordinarily, you would have to be a private client to learn this material, though I’m not taking private clients that often anymore…

But these tools were too good to keep and you needed to have them. But if you weren’t there, or need to hear this priceless instruction and get the tool worth $2.5k again…

JUMP ON THIS FAST, for the next 24 hours you can STILL GET THE REPLAYS of these calls:

Learnings with Tom Buford on how to Give Yourself That Raise You Deserve, plus the ENERGY TOOL my private clients pay over $2,500 to learn – just this one tool will save you time and net you thousands if you use it every day:

http://bit.ly/avKuBk

Learnings with Adela Rubio on creating a Conscious Business, and the FUNDAMENTAL ENERGY SHAPING facts you NEED TO KNOW. Fail to put these in place and NONE of the classes you take or techniques you know will ever work. You need to first know how to create at the most foundational Quantum level:

http://bit.ly/yourconsciousbiz

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking & research on something interesting happening right now: the transformation of our species at the sub-DNA/energetic level. I’ve been tracking changes in human energetic evolution from the time I was born. You could say it’s a hobby.

Is it such a leap from accepting that electrons exist, to see, feel and experience the sub-physical energy template that our bodies, animals, plants, our houses, what we think and feel – that everything is made of? For me, as for many out there, it’s a logical conclusion.

Even though we can’t see energy (though many people can)

Even though we can’t feel it (though you can learn to)

Even though at some levels it’s not measurable by some instruments (though it is by others)

We are changing our DNA at the energetic level, yes, but also the energy itself and our ability to perceive, receive and know it, is also changing.

The human family is experiencing a sense of opening up to greater flow and capacity of energy and the knowledge of how to shape it.

Have you noticed that today’s children are markedly more capable and creative and just brilliant than generations that went before? It’s not only that each generation thinks this, but that today’s kids have access to exponentially more resources and energetic frequencies than we did when we were their age – we have increased our capacity to perceive, know, be and receive so much more that today’s children are coming in solving problems in first grade we didn’t even know about until college. Really.

People who would not have talked about or accepted energy healing in years past are now scheduling regular Reiki or EFT sessions. Older forms of relating to each other are falling away and going from a society of individualists to one which is coming more and more to the model of co-creating our futures together.

Abraham talks about evolving through the contrast you have drawn towards you. You draw to you the people, places, situations and physical symptoms which are in opposition to, and give you a benchmark of what you really want. We can’t know what light is without experiencing dark and vice versa. We draw a crappy relationship to show us how we really want to be treated.

This is also how we learn as children. We don’t know true happiness until we have experienced unhappiness. We don’t know what we want to grow up and be until we sample various careers, dream about what we want from life, experiment, get happy with something and go for it. When we’re kids, doing what feels good is so easy, there’s no resistance, no putting others’ needs, preferences and shoulds/musts/oughts first.

If we could only keep this perspective when we grow up!

Sometimes, this is the hardest thing as a parent to allow their children to do.

Wayne Dyer quoting Lao Tzu on children said poignantly:

“You do not own your children, they come through you but are not of you”.

Children have their own dharma or mission and purpose in life Dyer says, it is not your business as a parent to try and force them into anything they do not want.

We are each born with an inbuilt sense of guidance – our Bliss Compass – that if we allow it, will unerringly point us the way to our True Mission.

Great advice for parents and teachers. Through us, but not of us. We don’t own them, it’s not our business to program them. Guide them through the minefield of early life, then let them do what they were uniquely put here for.

Many people live miserable, broken-hearted lives, still slaves to mom and dad’s idea of how the world “has to be”.

Can we please stop forcing children into molds they don’t want, can’t use and have to go to a therapist thirty years in the future to spend five years undoing, so they can do what will truly make their hearts sing?

Parents, you don’t want that kind of life for your children.

No matter how cool or clued-in we are, we really don’t know what’s good for our kids past teaching them how to use available resources and keeping them from killing themselves or anyone else until they’ve reach the age of majority.

Just watching friends children has been a remarkable education in how super-proficient kids are today and at younger and younger ages. Only they can find their own true path in life.

What we can do as parents is to support that and be open to where our children’s path takes them.

Thank them for who they are, what they offer, and how they have chosen to manifest.

They came through you, but are not of you.

Use this powerful moment to release any attachment to how things “should” be, “must” be or “could have” been, and any thoughts of needing to control. Allow the “through” part of Lao Tzu’s statement to be the energy you breathe these attachments out on.

Breathe out the need to control how children grow, what they prefer, how they choose to shape their lives.

Our urges towards control are about us, not about your child or anyone else. They mean we are far from our own Source Energy or Unlimited Self. Step back into Unlimited Self, center in your own Source Energy and the need to control others will dissolve.

Thank you to my beloved Mother for asserting when I was in the cradle and every day from that time until her death and beyond, that I could do anything I set my mind to.

She was right, and I thank her once again for that invaluable support. I realize many people weren’t lucky enough to grow up with a supportive parent.

If you were pushed from childhood to be something your parents thought you should be, and you really don’t want to be, there are decades of deferring to others and the now-strong sense that you must bow to the desires of others to deal with. You can Transform this, as all things.

We are in the continual process of transforming, as a species

As Generative Creators of our lives we are in constant evolution. Life itself flows through us, but is not of us. As a species making important energetic and physical transitions and upgrades in all of our systems, we transform what we can in our lives, keep what works, and discard the rest.

We incrementally improve ourselves as a clump, and as individuals by allowing transformative energies to flow through us, and not become “of us”, or get stuck in our energy field.

When we fix our thoughts, feelings or beliefs around an idea, belief or situation, the energy creating it stagnates and creates discomfort. When we let our energy flow freely by releasing attachment to ideas, beliefs and outcomes, we can most easily transform.

Here’s a scenario I’m seeing  that tends to be one pathway people are choosing to use to get themselves to wake up:

First we we get angry about the circumstances of our life and how crappy it is. Out of this comes the realization of the importance of  what the Truth is about our situation. The fact that we’re not “Living Our Truth”, has caused our life to become negative and uncomfortable.  And…

…a lot of indicators come into our lives as we continue to yearn towards that Truth that show us…

What we’re really yearning for is connection to our own Source Energy/Unlimited Self.  We have diverged widely from Source with everything in our lives that we chose to feel badly about. What we choose to feel badly about = things our energy is stuck/fixed/stagnant around.

And out of this comes the understanding that…

Feeling Bad = Going away from Source energy/our True or Unlimited Self

Feeling Good = Going towards or being at one with Source Energy/Unlimited Self

We learn that whenever we Feel Good, things tend to happen smoothly and the things we  wanted just fall into our laps as if by magic. And more opportunities to feel good manifest, the more we work for everyone feeling good.

In this paradigm, the equation for success in life, real success, looks like this:

Feeling Good + Focus on Feeling Even Better + Joyously Living in Service = Incredible Growth individually & collectively. We realize this is how we achieve reconnection to Source.

And the fact that Who We Are is not divisible from Source Energy.

And that everyone else, and all that surrounds us is made of the same thing…Source Energy

and that we’re always changing…

…through us, not of us….

Transforming yourself can be a sticky wicket. Even after many years of self-work, you can still get caught out in traps from childhood like having fixed images of what we or our children should, could, ought or must do, be or have.

More parental programming to undo. A delicate balance to maintain.

Flow through, release, let go.

It’s so easy…just relax into it.

Stay centered in who you really are:

Not your parent’s programming.

Not your partner’s.

Nobody else’s.

Just the Real you….

Your Unlimited Self.

A Question From Me To You:

How do you balance your evolution, that of your energy body and all your systems, with those parental programs that work, with those that don’t?

If you have thoughts on this, I’d love to continue the conversation with you. Just click the “comment” link below.

*** 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”….

.
.

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

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!

I just met a wonderful new person on Twitter: @stillettochick a.k.a. Betty-Ann Heggie. She’s an energy junkie like me and had this wonderful post on her blog:

Is the Energy in Your City Serving You?

Aug 28, 2009 – Saskatoon, Sask.: Is the energy of your city serving you? A friend in Europe emailed me to say that when she enters a city, she feels the energy and can tell whether it’s male or female. For instance, she spent most of her life in Zurich and got a definite masculine vibe from its focus on production efficiency. She now lives in Prague, which has been called the “mother of cities”; indeed, she feels a warm, loving, healing embrace from the city. I experienced this when our daughter was choosing a university. We drove to many good schools that she wasn’t even interested in touring once we arrived and she felt the energy of the city.

To see if there was anything to this, I contacted Patty Beach, an expert on masculine and feminine energy…

This is a great article as is Betty-Ann’s blog. I spent a few moments reading through articles here today and now have a great new blog to add to my daily reading list.

Check out the rest of this great post at Betty-Ann’s blog:  Stilletto Chick Sees The World.

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