Rachel's Musings » Quick note

My intentions for 2012

Rachel — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 23:20:51 +0000

My intention for 2012 is to show up authentically and vulnerable – and to hold myself with acceptance and compassion when i get scared to do so. My intention for 2012 is to step into my power – and realize that being strong doesn’t mean to be perfect or not to show weakness.

My recent bout with insomnia helped me realize that i am terrified to admit that i am tired, that i want rest or take a break. Because somehow that didn’t fit into my picture of stepping into my power! So, my intention for 2012 is to embrace all of me – flaws and all! Whether i can sleep or not…

Happy New Year!

Life will find a way

Rachel — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 19:38:10 +0000

I forgot to add water to my houseplants before i went to a workshop recently. The inevitable had happened when i returned a week later: They were mighty thirsty! Most of my plants have been tested and are drought resistant (they have survived my treatment…). I had two new plants, though: Basil and oregano. The basil was big enough and recovered quickly with enough water. The oregano was in a little pot and completely dried out. I thought i’d give it a little water and see if it would recover. It didn’t. So, i left it to dry out. Or so i thought. I am still getting used to having access to fresh herbs when i am cooking, so i don’t use them all that frequently. Thus, i didn’t noticed what was happening among the drying oregano: A new branch was sprouting! At first, i thought it was something else but once i cut off all the dried up oregano, it was clear that the little one was a new branch! I was excited not only because the herb wasn’t dead after all but also because it symbolized what is going on in my life. During the workshop, i had started to reconnect with my inner child. I was starting to cut away the dried up branches of cultural conditioning, adding water and sunlight – nurturing the little plant of the new integrated me. Watching the oregano reminds me of how important nurturance is, yet, that we can also trust that life will find a way. The life force moves us toward integration – it flows stronger when we support it but it flows even when it is covered up by dead branches.

Here are a couple pictures of the sprout (click on the small images to see a larger version):

Change…

Rachel — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 22:30:24 +0000

Ooph. Things are changing so rapidly in my life right now, i can hardly keep up with it! To give myself some integration time, i am just going to put up a disclaimer here: What you are reading on this blog, especially on spirituality, may no longer reflect where i am at! No, i didn’t find God (or god) . But i do have a different sense of connection with reality that is still evolving and emerging and some people might label that spirituality. I prefer to just stay away from labels since they tend to get me into trouble… I haven’t lost my critical mind, though, so the cultural critiques are not impacted by the changes. Actually, maybe they are but only in the sense that i can sharpen them now by pointing out how much damage the dominant cultural message that’s pushing us to couple has (like adding that “I am not good enough” refrain into a single person’s mind).

So, i am no longer a lonely atheist (though i still don’t believe there’s a God nor god). I am no longer lonely and i prefer not to add anything after “I am”.

Shaming Society

Rachel — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 01:41:10 +0000

Brené Brown talks about a culture of shame. I didn’t quite understand this. How does this culture shame us? Then, today, the juxtaposition of what i am studying – singlism and shame – and my personal experience helped me understand the mechanism. The primary shaming message of singlism is: You are not good enough because you are not married. And that message – “you are not good enough because you don’t meet standard x” – is all around us. We are not recognized as who we are. We are recognized as how well we conform to an external standard, whether it is the cultural norm of couplemania or the demands for an academic paper. If you don’t follow the norm, you are not good enough. If you don’t follow the rule, we’ll punish you by not recognizing you for who you are, for what you can contribute. That is deeply hurtful. And deeply shaming. It goes to our core. And we quickly learn to follow the rules to avoid this pain. We conform. We bury our uniqueness to obtain a (false) sense of belonging.

How can we create a culture that does not do that? I think there are some useful kernels of ideas in the work around the ethics of care, especially Nel Noddings’ work. I’ll see if i can build on these ideas…

Malnutrition

Rachel — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 15:59:22 +0000

I broke my fast this morning – a day earlier than i had planned. The effect of my fast yesterday was just too much: I felt light-headed, tired, and weak. And i didn’t even fast completely yesterday! I ate a soup when i couldn’t get warm. I am struck by the quick physical and mental impact of malnutrition and realized that this in itself is something to take note off. After all the Republican cuts are forcing people into further malnutrition! I can break my fast and give my body the nourishment it needs. I can buy food. But what if i depend on food stamps that are being cut? What if the safety net that barely was holding me up entirely disappears? It is unconscionable yet it’s the Republicans that act as if they have a monopoly on morality – maybe because they are acting this immoral?

Update on April 12: There are now more then 30,000 people who are participating in this rolling fast! You can see some of our messages in this video. And you can join us here.

Growing concerns about inequalities

Rachel — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 18:28:57 +0000

The ranks of people cautioning about the detrimental effects of income and wealth inequality has increased again. This time the call for higher taxes on the rich comes from an unexpected source (at least I thought it was rather surprising…): William Bernstein, a top financial advise columnist. According to Too Much:

Bernstein these days is offering up a new set of insights — on inequality. Our current rates of economic inequality, Bernstein observes in a new interview, are “killing us.” The United States, he notes, has “the highest rates of obesity, homicide, violent crime, and incarceration in the developed world, things that all covary strongly with inequality.” Bernstein sees little economic downside to raising tax rates on America’s wealthy far higher than the current 35 percent top marginal rate. Indeed, he adds, “before the Reagan era, the period of highest U.S. economic growth, we had top marginal rates in excess of 90 percent.”

But don’t expect Congress to do anything about that. Congress is increasingly filled with the super-rich:

A new Center for Responsive Politics study, released last week, is reporting that 60 percent of this year’s freshmen U.S. senators hold at least $1 million in net worth. The millionaire share among House freshmen: 40 percent. The share of Americans overall worth at least $1 million: about 1 percent. The vast majority of freshman lawmakers, says Center for Responsive Politics director Sheila Krumholz, live “a world away” from the “financial realities” their constituents face…