Perspective About Abortion is Important
If Life Choices is about nothing else, it is about perspective, and perspective about abortion is important. Women are caught in the crossfire of the currently overheated abortion wars. An epidemic of distorted legislation is spreading across the country in the form of bills that would give “personhood” to the fertilized egg in pregnancy, and more proposals that violate women’s bodily integrity by requiring ultrasounds for anyone requesting an abortion. The patriarchy is alive and well and still living in America. Forced motherhood has been the way of of patriarchy and dogmatic patriarchal religion for the millennia. It is the main way women have been subordinated to men throughout history. Remember how it was not very long ago. Margaret Sanger and others who spent their lives ensuring the health and safety of women and children had to struggle hard. They were steadfast and courageous. Their work is not yet done. Feminism, too, is alive and well, and growing. If the women’s movement (around the world) stands for nothing else, it stands for the freedom of women to choose whether to have sex, whether to become pregnant, and whether to have a baby, or not. What I’m offering is a deep, earth-oriented perspective. Women have been the arbiters of human life on earth as long as there have been humans. Earth is where we live and what we are, and it is through our bodies, the body of Earth, that life renews itself. Renewal comes through life dying into and giving birth to itself, which includes women’s choices to turn back some pregnancies. Renewal and growth occur on all levels—physical, psychological, mental, and spiritual. Human consciousness is by its nature a consciousness of choice because it is a consciousness of awareness and responsibility. The intrinsic power of women to mediate between life and death is a defining aspect of Earth’s way of balancing life. Abortion helps us learn both individually and collectively how to care consciously for the Earth and All Life. Each of the above ideas is part of a holistic perspective about pregnancy choice making. I will share these concepts and more during the Life Choices west coast tour in March. I’ll be in San Francisco at Modern Times Bookstore, Ukiah for private meetings, Ashland at Bloomsbury Books, Portland at In Other Words, Seattle at Elliot Bay Book Company, and Bellingham at Village Books. Click here for more...
Read MoreTen Ways to Stay Connected to Life
Doesn’t it bother you that people who hold an extremely narrow view of reproductive health have commandeered the word life? For example, bumper stickers that say Choose Life, are invariably anti-abortion. The pro-choice camp often responds with slogans like Protect Choice. There’s nothing wrong with that phrase, but it might not be the best response because it plays into the idea that somehow those of us for whom legal abortion is a blessing are not in favor of life. Nothing could be farther from the truth. When women choose abortion they are choosing life as much as when they choose to continue a pregnancy. Both choices are life choices. Both choices are considered choices and involve deep reasoning and a lot of heart. The specifics of this is diverse and complicated. Each woman’s relationship to pregnancy involves myriad aspects of her life and life in general. Her ability to bring forth new life from her body encompasses her physiology and her psychology, and… her spirituality. Her judgment about the outcome of a pregnancy reflects an ancient and innate responsibility. We all know this, and yet we are faced with growing extremism in the name of life that denies what actually happens in real life. It’s a little wearying to say the least. The best way to stay strong in the face of this is to stay consciously connected to All Life—the interconnected oneness of existence. This is important for both clarity about our work in the world and for our mental, physical, and spiritual wellbeing. I think it’s especially important this time of year when the stress of the holidays threatens to take over our lives. Here are ten ways you can stay connected to life: 1. Meditate on a regular basis. (Sit in a quiet place with a straight spine. Breathe deeply and normally. Relax.) 2. Take walks. 3. Make contact with non-human nature—ground, sky, plants, rocks, animals. 4. Remember where you are—Earth. 5. Breathe consciously. 6. Make a list of everyone and everything you love. 7. Eat well and drink enough water. 8. Talk with your friends and stay connected with your community. 9. Remember that deeply rooted power relations don’t uproot easily. They change over the long haul and require the courage and persistence of the people seeking change. 10. Remember that the universe and all it manifests is vast. Trust the process. Have a wonderful holiday season. Happy...
Read MoreLife Choices Blog Tour—The Conversation
Our first Blog Tour for Life Choices came to an end today. A big THANK YOU to all the bloggers for their interest and support. Thanks also to Sentient Publications for bringing it all together. You can get to the blogs and their reviews/interviews by clicking on the LINKS in the SIDEBAR on the right side of this or any page of my site. I am heartened by what most of these bloggers have to say about Life Choices. A good number of them are young and all of them are passionate about feminism and about reproductive freedom; they’re also extremely knowledgeable about the issues. They’ve given me a good feeling about the way blogs and bloggers work and the importance of this form of participation in the social conversation. After all, I’m new to the blog world. There was one blogger whose review was mostly negative about both the book and me. I feel compelled to comment on some of what she said. I’ll start where she ends. She wrote, “Now is not the time to get in touch with our inner goddess. Now is the time to hurl bricks.” I can’t imagine a worse idea. Hurl bricks? You could hurt someone, even someone you don’t mean to hurt. Plus, her remark (“inner goddess” being a term of her own making) implies that spirituality and politics are opposed to each other and that you have to choose one or the other. I don’t think that’s true, and it’s not helpful to set up false dichotomies in the interest of sounding militant. It just isn’t necessary. To call meditation or the ancient ceremony of the vision quest “new agey” is ridiculous on the face of it, but you can’t really know that unless you educate yourself about what they are. I invite that reviewer and anyone else to do that. She also wrote that the stories in Life Choices about the women and their abortions “are touching, but out of place in an increasingly hostile political and social environment.” To me this shows a real lack of understanding with regard to the importance of women’s experiences with abortion. Out of place? Really? I don’t know about you, but the only social movement I want to be part of puts the stories of people in the center of its focus. History shows us that the most successful freedom movements are the ones that keep their eyes on the prize and don’t succumb to the tactics of the opposition. Last week I had the pleasure of sharing speaking time with a pastor from the Colorado chapter of RCRC (Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice). We were each asked to speak about spiritual issues and abortion at a Women’s Health staff meeting. It was an honor as well as a pleasure to be in such good company. This is all to be continued of course. The conversation is important and will go on for a long time. We all have to hang in there, take care of ourselves, and stay clear about how we want to move in the world. I’m grateful to anyone who expresses their thoughts about what’s in Life Choices. I’m grateful for it all. Happy...
Read MoreLife Choices: The Teachings of Abortion-Talking About the Book
Life Choices is taking me on quite a journey. Ideas I’ve been living with for most of my life are now out there in the world making their way into the wider conversation. It’s exciting and gratifying to say the least. My talk and signing in Denver at the Tattered Cover bookstore went well. What an honor to have been invited to that famous place! I loved the conversation with the people who came. Someone asked me about the “pinching of the leaves to let the mother plant grow,” which is the defining statement of Life Choices and was the impetus for me to write the book in the first place. Someone else asked about how spiritual healing happens around abortion experiences. Another person asked me to discuss the connection between nature and consciousness, in other words, why it’s important to spend time in the woods! Finally, another big piece was a question about how to stop the meanest most violent attacks against women’s health services and needs. We talked about all these and more. Heady stuff I know, but it’s all good. I’ll start with the last one first. The main way I know to deal with the virulence of the movement against women’s health needs is to remain active, educated and strong ourselves and never forget how complicated and deep the issues are. Reproductive and sexual freedom goes against the power of patriarchy. The whole idea of women’s freedom is new from a historical point of view. The idea that a woman is an individual apart from her relationship with a man or men is still completely unacceptable in many parts of the world. Narrow religious views that limit the freedom of individuals are still dominant in certain circles. I think it’s best to cultivate compassion in relation to the ignorance and fear that drives the thinking of many anti-choice people. Because the politics is absurd and baffling as well as dangerous and infuriating, we have to remember what is true and real about women’s lives. In other words, stay true to real life. Lastly, each of us has to take good care of ourselves. Moving on to nature and consciousness. A huge subject. The person who asked the question was asking me to explain the value of spending time alone in wild nature; basically, what happens out there? I responded that when you set an intention to spend time in the company of more-than-human nature and to be outnumbered by non-human life forms—animals, plants, and other earth bodies—you will find as you open to their way of being and relax yours, that there is a flow of life force through everything and a natural communication that mirrors your essence and helps you to know yourself better and understand what you are doing here on the planet. There is much more I could say of course, but that’s it in a nutshell. If you are grappling with an unresolved issue in your life such as a crisis pregnancy, you will find a level of support there that you can’t find anywhere else. My approach to spiritual healing after an abortion depends on the person seeking the healing. If someone has a religious affiliation, I encourage her to go talk with someone in her group. If that is not possible, or even if it is, I proceed in counseling by asking a lot of questions to help the person explore her belief system and conflicts she might be experiencing about having decided to have an abortion. For anyone, whether she has a religious affiliation or is independent of religion, or someone who...
Read MoreA Special Thank You
Today is the birthday of my dear friend and spiritual teacher, David LaChapelle (Oct. 8, 1952-July 21, 2009). David served the world through deep heart teachings and an extraordinary ability to perceive psychological, spiritual, and scientific—especially ecological—phenomena, often simultaneously. The result was an intriguing mix of usually separated truths joined with a poetic sensibility when he spoke or wrote. He linked everything, whether it was the most exquisitely personal piece of daily life or a grand scientific theory. He pointed the way forward to a more unified way of living on the earth. David saw through a lens of layered perception and a direct intuitive line to the All. He mirrored those of us who knew him with an accuracy that allowed us to melt into ourselves and surrender to our soul’s mission. He did it all with an unremitting love of each individual’s essence and the essence of the world. In Navigating the Tides of Change David wrote about how “accelerated change is pushing us to a new understanding of our role upon the planet.” Much of this understanding is about learning to care for the planet and for ourselves with our hearts open. In my book, Life Choices, I bring some of what I learned with David to issues that are intimately female but that effect everyone. I thank him for the support and love he gave to help me to go my own way and pursue the rightness of my path. Happy Birthday, David! On another note, I am touched by the many emails and other words of support that are coming in for Life Choices. Here are some upcoming events: I’ll be interviewed on Boulder’s KGNU radio station – Friday, October 21, 8:30-9:30 a.m. I will sell books at a benefit show for Boulder Valley Women’s Health Center – Saturday, October 22, 8 p.m. at Boulder Theater. I’ll be at Tattered Cover (Colfax store) for a book talk and signing on FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 7:30 p.m. Please join me! Please make a comment below if you feel so moved. I would love to hear from...
Read MorePro-Choice is Pro-Life as Far as the Earth is Concerned
Pro-choice is pro-life as far as the Earth is concerned. My new book, Life Choices: The Teachings of Abortion, synthesizes this understanding. I’m excited to be able to offer it to you. I want so much for us to move beyond the violence of the fierce and consuming struggle to keep abortion safe and legal. A spiritual ecology of relationship, connection, and love—of heart—along with a clear feminist vision can help this along. My hope is make a contribution to this through the ideas in Life Choices. The book has been a long time coming – over twenty years. It took all that time because the deepening of my experience of connection to the All of Life had to reach a point of solid knowing that my own nature as a human being and as a woman was part of nature, not separate from it, and where I had direct experience of the oneness that unites all of life. As my life unfolded, the strength and inclusivity of my growing perspective allowed me to delve into some of the more difficult aspects of the abortion issue. Nature’s ongoing creativity is a life-death-life “choice making.” It is from this point of view that I see the life giving aspect of the abortion choice and say that pro-choice is pro-life. Life Choices is now available for pre-order by clicking on one of the icons in the column on the right. It will be in the bookstores by late September. I will give a talk and book signing at Boulder Bookstore on Tuesday, September 27, 7:30 p.m. It’s an exciting...
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