As the drumming intensifies, so does my heartbeat and breathing rate. Stomping feet, twirling bodies, and the intermittent rattle of shakers stir the enveloping smoke of burning incense. This artistic ritual form of dance feels primitive, ancient, and spiritual. The leader, Argelio Girón, is a... Continue
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Love is no small thing. When you’ve loved and lost anything that was alive you tell yourself to accept loss, to let go, to flow with life’s changing cycles. You get really busy and try to avoid the loss, but when you’re silent or walking... Continue
Along with Sigmund Freud's "Civilization and Its Discontents", Carl Jung's "Modern Man in Search of a Soul" formed the foundation for the new field of human psychology at the beginning of the 20th Century. All at once, the human mind itself was revealed to be... Continue
The hallmarks of civilization are order and bureaucracy, the institutionalization of humanity into concrete rule-bound systems, balanced budgets, statistics, financial analysis, and the businesslike conversion of human beings into calculable units. The governing rationale of civilization is an obsession with the future, looking ahead and wanting... Continue
One of the things I love about the First District is the diversity of landscape, people, and issues. While some elements are shared, each part of the district has distinct elements. Southern Sonoma Valley is replete with grass-covered hills overlooking wetlands that move with the... Continue
It seems that whenever I place a phone call to a staff member of any nonprofit organization, I'm told 90 percent of the time that the person isn't available because she or he is "in a meeting." So, it's apparent to me that managing meetings... Continue
On my last marker birthday I muddled over penning my obituary, my epitaph, or a real estate ad. Writing my own obituary was too weird. My epitaph was a no-brainer… Catherine (Clemens) Sevenau 1948 – TBD “How Did I Get Here?” And since I’ve been in real... Continue
Your dreams are sending you information, and it's all about you. Your mother might appear in dreams, but it's not really her, it's your imaginary her, or rather, the mother-archetype your mother represents. And you are in your dreams too, of course, watching, feeling, reacting... Continue
What we call communication - the words and symbols we employ both orally and in written form - strikes me as too primitive to be trusted. Our connections with each other one-on-one or in small groups can include physical contact, but once we get beyond... Continue
Dear Reader of this small but important Latino corner, I am very pleased to be able once again to share with you my perceptions, in the face of this wave of changes and out-of-control happenings that is pushing me about and leaves me a little... Continue