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an article

Vanity Fair magazine www.vanityfair.com has an article in its July 2008 issue titled HAS BILL CLINTON LOST HIS MOJO – OR HIS MIND by Todd S. Purdum. This kind of article, depending on how you feel about our political system and the people who have tasted the power connected with it, is always – actually, I’m at a loss for the right word. It does make one wonder how any of us can take many of our politicians seriously. And what’s really amazing is that any of us want to support the monster that our political system has become, since, for the most part, it appears to be about power, money and politics (in that order?).

Reading about the people feeding off the monster is an interesting pasttime. Because really what else is there to say about the power and greed that go on and on and on. Some just can’t get enough no matter how much they manage to accumulate.

And why is that?

. . . I know , for example, that perception is the key to the way we live. Whether we choose to perceive an event as good or bad, as making us happy or sad, truly determines how that event will affect us. I have found time and again that altering my perception changes the world; it can be hostile and forbidding or warm and sheltering, depending on how I view it.
– THE WORLD IS AS YOU DREAM IT by John Perkins
www.dreamchange.org
www.johnperkins.org

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paris, the city

Have you met anyone who doesn’t like Paris? I love Paris. What’s most amusing about this statement is, I hate to say this, I’ve never been to Paris. France, yes, but somehow Paris remains elusive. For me, it’s a love affair experienced second-hand through books, magazines, and people. Every day I read eletters from International Living www.internationalliving.com, and although all the writers are top-rate, first I read what Adrian Leeds is up to in Paris, and a bit beyond. She’s really witty, has lived in Paris for over ten years (coming from New Orleans), loves her adopted city, and, when writing, covers all things French, and mostly of Paris. And in so doing, makes you feel you’re there. She, along with other professionals, helps IL subscribers who want to live and/or work in Paris, and beyond, find their spot there, or those wanting a summer rental, or needing to learn the language, or desiring to take a course in travel writing. It all sounds . . . very nice.

Now what is it about Paris that captures the imagination? Wish I could answer that question from first-hand experience. For the most part, I find people vague about exactly why they like Paris. And why is that? Is it because it’s a feeling, and feelings are personal? Ah, well, when all is said and done, wherever you are, stay happy. And if you get to Paris this summer, say hello for me.

Here are two websites of things French: www.parismarais.com www.parismarais.fr/blog

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sebastian and me

Have you spent time with a two-year old recently? The days are amusing, simple, fun – once needs are filled. I stayed with two-year-old Sebastian last week when Alicia and Michael flew to the Bahamas. They had the perfect vacation, and well, Sebastian and I did, too. We got to know one another better. The 105 degree temperature hovering around Raleigh the week before left. Sebastian and I abandoned the indoors and played in the yard with water toys, balls, toy cars, and when those things were exhausted he ran back and forth in the yard with his eyes closed, hair flying, and face looking toward the sky. In watching him, I felt free, too. I’m always wondering what goes on in the mind of a little one. A long time ago I came to the conclusion that it’s a lot more than we adults realize.

Did you happen to catch Brian Weiss on Oprah, along with Dr. Oz? Dr. Weiss wrote Many Lives Many Masters twenty years ago, and the book has earned a permanent place on the shelves of bookshops. When I read the book I had already made a decision about believing or not believing in reincarnation, and Many Lives Many Masters deepened that belief. When I spend time with a little one, I see a small body already having had many life experiences.

Though taking care of a little one is non-stop, looking back on the week with Sebastian, and, given a choice of the Bahamas or being with Sebastian in the backyard – without a doubt – I’d say, the Bahamas can wait.

www.exumabahamas.org
www.oprah.com
www.brianweiss.com
www.fourseasons.com/greatexuma

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bottled water? tap water? a good water filter?

Because there’s a lot of concern for the environment, and many concerns about the quantity of plastic bottles accumulating, and concerns about the shorebirds and fish dying “with bellies full of plastic pellets,” Bottled Water BACKLASH by Melissa Knopper, www.emagazine.com, it’s beginning to seem that we should help our environment and save our money by using tap water with a good water filter. It’s time to get clear about what we’re doing because there are many, many excellent reasons to not use bottled water. And why are we buying bottled water when there’s absolutely no guarantee it’s better than tap water, and in some cases worse than? And why aren’t we more concerned about those plastic bottles made of toxins which, under certain conditions, leak into the water in the bottle? Who are we fooling? Who’s fooling us? Frankly, sometimes it seems that we’re really not too bright. Ouch!

Things to think about:
“The Environmental Working Group (EWG) makes it easy with its Tap Water Database. You can plug in your zip code and find out whether your local water system is up to par.” www.ewg.org/tapwater

Water and Water Filters:
from the Edgar Cayce website:
www.baar.com

NATURAL CURES REVEALED by Kevin Trudeau www.naturalcures.com:
www.ewater.com
www.futurewatertoday.com
www.thewolfeclinic.com
www.johnnellis.com

Vitapur
(800) 815-5151

Waterwise Distiller 9000
Nutrition and Healing (800) 851-7100

E MAGAZINE May/June 2008:
www.turntotap.com.

Oh, yes, there are other possibilities – always.

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a witless one, a camera, sjp’s hands

As I was logging on to my laptop I saw a little photo zeroing in on someone’s hands with words like man hands, veins, etc. It turns out they are Sarah Jessica Parker’s hands. The photo is irksome for a few reasons. Many things are happening in the world at the moment. Thousands in China have lost their lives, others have lost families, and others have lost homes. There are fires blazing elsewhere in the world, in different ways and in different parts of the world people are experiencing tragedies.

Then we have a witless one with a camera in our midst who can see no further than a pair of hands. Too bad. I think that if a palm reader were to look at the palms of SJP’s hands the lines would surely have love, success, friendship, abundance all nicely etched there. Another thing about the witless one with a camera is that we’ll have girls and women now wondering and worrying about their hands, as if they need more to be concerned about in our society’s obsession with a body’s surface beauty. Sarah Jessica Parker happens to be thin, there’s no meat on her bones, so to speak, hence the showing of veins. So, all you females out there, don’t get any ideas, your hands are fine just the way they are. There’s no need to start hiding them. In fact, think about their strength. Sometimes when I’m traveling, and carrying heavy bags, I marvel at the way hands were created, and all they’re capable of doing. Their strength is awesome.

Now to get back to the subject, O’ witless one, what was the point of a close-up photo of SJP’s hands, and the disparaging comment?

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let the buyer beware

There’s a gem of a natural foods store in Brooklyn called Back to the Land. The choices are excellent, and the vegetables and fruits are always fresh. There are magazines on health and spiritual matters, and pamphlets on upcoming workshop events, are there for the taking. I want to bring this store back to Philadelphia with me.

The last time I was in Back to the Land, I picked up the Better Nutrition April 2008 issue, and saw the article Best of beauty awards WINNERS 2008 on page 58. In the article Barbara Close, the founder of Naturopathica www.naturopathica.com/barbstory.html, and the author of PURE SKIN: Organic Beauty Basics, said companies have started to remove “questionable ingredients” from their products, and “urges customers to steer clear whenever possible” of the following list of chemicals:

*Diethanolamine (DEA)
*Momoethanolamine (MEA)
*FD&C color pigments
*Imidazolidinyl urea and DMDM
hydantoin
*Petrochemicals
*Parabens
*Polyethylene glycol
*Propylene glycol
Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and
sodium laureth sulfate

Back in Philly I was at Whole Foods and bought a BWC product. There were the words:   “botanical formula,” extra gentle” and “100% vegetarian” on the package – soothing words, right? Then I read the list of ingredients, and saw that the “beauty without cruelty” BWC eye make-up remover had that word parabens. Uh-oh. Caveat emptor.

The next time I was at WF, I asked, “Why is Whole Foods selling products containing parabens? And the answer was . . . “Companies have two years to get toxic chemicals out of their products.” and . . . “You can get your money back.”

Meanwhile at the check-out counter, a small tube of Tom’s of Maine toothpaste was offered free. Tom’s . . . “The secret to a naturally healthy, fresh feeling mouth starts right here.” Nothing was mentioned of the one other ingredient listed on the tube, sodium lauryl sulfate.

Toxic chemicals . . .  it’s a challenge to find ways to lessen their impact. We don’t want fear to enter the picture because the power of the mind is too precious to waste on fear, better to use it to come up with solutions for a cleaner world. I like Ode Magazine because their articles are about solutions to problems. And in the April issue are a few articles relating  to the ways individuals from all walks of life around the world, each in their own way, are contributing to a cleaner and better world. We can all do that; we just need to get started. We tend to forget that we human beings are amazingly resilient, much stronger, and have more power than we can ever imagine.
www.odemagazine.co

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I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship.
-Louisa May Alcott

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hanging pictures

There are things in life one should not even contemplate doing. My nice long wall proves that. There are holes above, beneath, and alongside recently hung frames. I discovered that you can’t fill in space, and hide holes, by tucking small pictures in between frames that haven’t been properly spaced. There truly is nothing like trying the same method over and over again thinking that this time it’ll be right, when in reality it’s just not going to happen.

My neighbor on the other side of the wall must be wondering: WHAT is she doing? Well, all I can say is, if only hammer, nails, and ruler were necessary, just like that, job would be done. It’s perfectly clear that there’s something called ability which hasn’t come forth in this instance.

Now I’m thinking I should take all the pictures off the wall, draw circles around the holes, put a frame around all of it, and call it a new form of art. Ahh, but there’s the matter of putting up a frame and hammering that in straight. Perhaps I should just draw a frame around the holes. That should do it, right?

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coffee

There’s much talk about coffee. Do we pay attention? Dunkin’ Donuts is back in the running, and seems to have made an impressive comeback. The word is that Starbucks is trying to reinvent itself. I remember when Starbucks came on the horizon, founded by a fellow from Brooklyn. Its coffee was tasty then, not bitter or acidic, as I’ve heard it described in recent years. Could it be that a little more training is needed at Starbucks to produce a better cup of coffee? Or is it the beans? A few Starbucks places still offer a really good cup of coffee. Consistency is what counts though. Maybe they wouldn’t have to offer up all those flavors and creations if the coffee tasted better instead of bitter. Is it that way in Seattle?
www.dunkindonuts.com
www.Starbucks.com

Once I heard a “coffee expert” in Panama say that when inferior beans are used flavored syrups are offered to improve the taste. Is that true? I don’t like flavored coffee, however, judging from the display of flavors on the shelves at some cafes, many people do. What kind of beans are they using?

A few weeks ago I was in Whole Foods minding my own business when a rush of aroma, the kind that makes you forget for a few seconds what you’re doing, exploded in the form of coffee beans being grounded. That coffee had an amazing aroma, and had I not been caught up in getting a meal together, I would have tapped the woman grinding the beans on her shoulder to inquire about her selection. As It turned out, I couldn’t leave the store without scanning the beans on the shelves in an attempt to determine what she bought. Then I looked upward and a hunch told me it was Kona. Yes, expensive Kona in all its glory.
www.konacoffee.com

People often judge a good restaurant not only by its food but by its coffee, and on those rare occasions when a good restaurant fails the good coffee test it’s a wee bit disappointing. No, actually it’s quite disappointing.

Ahh, ongoing coffee talk will continue as long as the chase after a good cup of coffee continues.

We’ll talk tea another time.

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cities and a sky

City people often want more of nature in their daily lives – trees, valleys, a sea, hills, a mountain, sand, a river, fields, stars (which are often hidden from view by bright city lights). This longing for nature seems natural. Some city people get away “to the country” whenever they can. Others can’t. There are trees in the parks of cities, and beautiful flowers planted in the middle of wide streets. A small piece of nature shared by many.

It’s with this in mind that a sudden realization came my way – the sky is always there and can keep us from longing for what we don’t have at the moment. If we would keep our eyes on the vastness above as we walk, we’d have what’s needed on a daily basis. When we’re in the city the sky has the ability to pull us away from the concrete surrounding us. All we need do is look into the distance and keep our eyes straight ahead, and there we are connected to nature until we’re able to go “to the country” and be with as much nature as our hearts desire. I do that, and it feels good.

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the essence of what is

Photochopped – tampering with a human being’s original features and form. To change a human being so that s/he is thinner – maybe the word is gaunt – and/or more attractive, takes away from the original. The photochopped look has no depth as the essence of a living human being is missing.

When the icon of perfection displayed on a daily basis is inauthentic, how can this be a good thing? And anyway, the original is far more interesting than the photochopped version. Our own features are a unique creation. There are a variety of things to do with the original while leaving one’s essence intact. The authentic way is beautiful; we just don’t know it because there’s so much coming at us saying otherwise.

And speaking of tampering with, all the information in those mainstream magazines geared at women and men are exhausting to read, many pages dedicated to opinions and then, in a month’s time, they change. They say: Wear this and . . . Go here and . . . Do it this way and . . . Say this and . . . Exercise like this and . . . Eat this and . . . Use this and . . . How are we going to take on other things when we get feelings from these mags that we need help for everything?

I have an idea . . . Let’s start trusting ourselves, observing, checking out what’s right for our own needs, and create according to what works for US. Because being a carbon copy is no fun. The things we could accomplished if we weren’t obsessed with nonsense, boggles the mind.

(This post written because a young woman died recently when she checked into a hospital for a tummy tuck and a few other things she thought she needed to look beautiful.)

“Joy and openness come from our own contented heart.” – the Buddha