DOMA/8 Is Not A High Jump

Jeremy Pryor, left, and Mark Doyle

Op-ed: DOMA/8 Is Not A High Jump; the #DOMA #Prop8 Hearings March 26-27, 2013

The side issue regarding same sex parenting exposes the prejudices that the Constitution was written to rectify. DOMA/8 are a matter of Liberty. It is the role of the Court to correct any infringement on that Liberty.

I’m offended that study is required to ascertain whether or not same sex parents are fit – which in and of itself questions whether same sex couples themselves, intrinsically at core, are not as equipped and as morally stable to meet life as capably and effectively as straight couples. That in some way child rearing by same sex couples would be harmful.

The premise of the opposition itself makes DOMA/8 a Civil Rights issue. It’s there in the transcripts, in black and white, what amounts to, the possibility of “less than”, sub-human status. It goes that deep. That is what is hurtful and damning.

Is the bar to be met, as studies show, a 56% divorce rate, 250,000 foster kids in the system each year, 50,000 homeless youth on the streets every night, 3.3 million reports of child abuse every year?

We are not asking for a Parenting License. (Clearly, there isn’t one required presently.) LGBT are demanding our right to a Marriage License.

The matter itself cannot be up for dispute, nor require study, as “all men are created equal…”. The assumption of the opposition is that Lesbian and Gay people are disproportionately flawed as capable humans, in the roles as spouses and parents, until proven otherwise. How not-flawed do we really need to be? The bar seems to be set pretty low.

And that’s what is most insulting; that same sex couples could be as bad or worse at carrying out their spousal and parental responsibilities. Doubtful. Seriously doubtful. (Frankly, a part of me imagines the arguments are really masking a big fear of being bested.)

Those arguments by the opposition are notions of human inferiority as it pertains to Equality, and therefore, the restrictions on and denial of Equality for All is Unconstitutional.

I don’t need the Court (nor the Public) to give me a studied approval as to my humanity. LGBT need the Court to protect The Human Right of Equality, as it is explicitly and unequivocally stated in the Constitution of these United States of America.

The Tastiest “TweetUp” in Portland; Hashcapades

Twitter has dramatically changed how people connect within their communities and beyond. There are so many interesting to people to engage and often 140 characters is not enough to take relationships to a more meaningful level. Hashcapades, in Portland Oregon, is a monthly breakfast that brings people from the Twitter stream into personal friendship.

Each month an ever growing group of Portlanders, (some folks even travel from as far as Salem and Eugene) gather at a local restaurant to sample the chef’s take on the ever classic and favorite dish, Hash. Over time the group has also taken to sampling and rating the Bloody Mary’s on offer.

In 2012 we visited Imperial, The Parish, Jamison, Urban Farmer, Gracie’s, Cafe Nell, and others. Each one made special accommodations for the group and served up some of the best breakfast food Portland has to offer. Admittedly, as with most eateries, some are better than others.  Click the links above for photos and reviews.

The variety of Hash served up is amazing, but not surprising for anyone familiar with the nationally recognized food scene in Portland. Rabbit, trout, beef tenderloin, broccoli raab – the list goes on.

But it is not just about the food. It’s about making lasting connections with interesting people from a wide variety of backgrounds in a cross section of professions and industries. There are runners, social media types, foodies, bloggers, film makers, artists and writers that gather together to share stories, information, and above all, camaraderie. This is part of what makes Portland such a special and unique place on the map.

It’s not your usual “tweetup” – it’s a sit down experience that gives people the opportunity to have lively, long conversations in a leisurely way, (admittedly sometimes raucous), around a table set with often interesting and tasty food. Oh, and some of the stories you hear!  Personally, I can’t think of a better way to spend a weekend morning.

Over time the group has grown, with each new guest bringing more diversity and depth to the table. Just like the widely varied flavors of each dish we sample.

So, what are you doing Saturday, January 12th at 10:30 a.m.? That’s the date and time of the next Hashcapade in Portland. Where? A perennial favorite – Clyde Common! It’s important that you RSVP on the Facebook Event so the staff can prepare and set up what is sure to be a great start to a new year of culinary Hashtastic fun!

Our host, Clark Haass (center) is a local bon vivant and cookbook author who couldn’t be more friendly and gracious. Long term friendships have been forged because of his passion and dedication to good food, building community and, of course, hash! Be sure to follow Hashcapades on Twitter and Facebook too! Hope to see you there.

All photos from the Hashcapades website. And, you can follow me on twitter at @SFCpdx

Re-enter Your Dreams to Harness The Power of Them

Sleeping Endymion by Nicolas Guy Brenet

This is a transcript of the Dream Re-entry process developed by Dr. Fred Olsen. The conversation occurred in an online chat room focusing on dreams. Dr. Olsen (Dreamtrack) enters the conversation and starts the process with the dreamer (Bravo). The questions posed are the heart of the process. My comments, based on my notes from a workshop I attended with Dr. Olsen, are in parenthesis ().

Duggan: How are you feeling today?

Bravo: I am really bummed out this morning.

Duggan: Why is that?

Bravo: I had a nightmare last night that is really bothering me.

Dreamtrack: THAT'S GREAT !!!

Bravo: Why is that great?

Dreamtrack: Dreams are such gifts to help us to understand ourselves and to resolve our inner issues.

Bravo: It didn't feel great to me.

Dreamtrack: I know and that's okay. It's just that I am so involved with the power and value of dreams, I couldn't help but respond.

Duggan: Are you a psychologist or something?

Dreamtrack: I am a dream worker and have a dream center in San Francisco.

Duggan: Really?

Dreamtrack: Yup This is my first time in a chat room and I appeared right when you mentioned your nightmare. I couldn't resist responding. I hope that's okay. I was the intruder.

Duggan: Ohhh.

Dreamtrack: I was simply amazed at the coincidence.

Dreamtrack: Are you still there Bravo?

Bravo: Yes, I am here.

Dreamtrack: Would you like to tell us the dream? (gauge the willingness to explore)

Bravo: Sure, it made no sense to me. It left me feeling really depressed.

Dreamtrack: Do you feel okay sharing the dream content with us? (verify willingness)

Bravo: Sure. In the dream, I was at my father's grave. The grass was dry and brown. It was very barren. In real life the grave is very lush.

Dreamtrack: Did your father die? (match “reality” with the dream content)

Bravo: Yes, he died a couple of years ago. There was a very spooky feeling in the dream, like there was a presence.

Dreamtrack: Can you feel yourself in the dream now? (it is important to have a feeling sense of the dream content)

Bravo: Yes, it is very clear, like I am right there now.

Dreamtrack: In the dream, how old are you? (ground the dreamer in their self image in the dream)

Bravo: The same age I was when my father died.

Dreamtrack: Okay. And what are you wearing there? (more grounding)

Bravo: The same clothes I had on then, just casual clothes, nothing special.

Dreamtrack: And what are you feeling in the dream? (now that the dreamer is grounded in their physicality in the dream, move to the emotional state of the dreamer)

Bravo: I'm feeling a heavy weight of guilt and shame.

Dreamtrack: Where does that heavy weight live in your body? (somatically locate the emotions to further ground the dreamer in the dream. Re-entry has begun)

Bravo: I feel it in my heart and in my stomach.

Dreamtrack: Good. Go to that place in your body where the heavy weight lives and tell me what you see. (continue somatic grounding and let the dreamer begin to explore the dream on a deeper, more complete, level)

Bravo: I see my father in his bedroom like he was when we found him.

Dreamtrack: And where are you in the picture? (bring to dreamer into the picture, as a participant – move from passive state of observing to active state of involvement)

Bravo: Standing in the doorway to his room.

Dreamtrack: What do you see in the picture? (this now allows the grounded dream-self to see more solidly from the perspective of the dream-self rather than the rational awake-self)

Bravo: What was happening then was that my father had been disabled and bed-ridden for a long time. We all had to support him. We were pretty poor.. He got all of the attention and I was angry with him before he died for not being a real father to me and getting all the attention.

Dreamtrack: I see. (let the dreamer bring the whole picture into focus)

Bravo: Off and on people would bring Dad money in small amounts and give it to him. Just before he died, he called for me. I didn't respond. I was too upset with him at the time. When we discovered his body the bed was covered with the money. He had wanted to give it to me as a gift.

Dreamtrack: Wow. And he wasn't able to give it to you because you didn't respond when he called. (no need to interpret, just clarify the “facts” and outcomes based on the facts)

Bravo: That's right. I felt so terrible.

Dreamtrack: What did you do then? (continue exploring)

Bravo: We spent the money on his funeral. I have felt so bad ever since that day. I go to his gravesite often. (the dreamer has moved from the dream to the present and his actions outside the dream)

Dreamtrack: And last night you were there at the gravesite in the dream and it was dry and barren, right? (relocate the dreamer back iton the dream)

Bravo: Yes. I feel so bad about what I did to Dad. (still outside the dream)

Dreamtrack: When you go back to the dream right now, what is the feeling? (re-ground with the potency of feelings felt in the dream. If dreamer has come out of the dream completely, start again by somatically re-grounding the dreamer in the dream)

Bravo: There is a wind. a presence there. It is spooky. (the dreamer is reacting to the intensity of his feelings and outside of his dream self observing. Bring the dreamer back to the feeling of his experience – in this case the experience of the wind)

Dreamtrack: You are there right now. What are you feeling? (re-grounding)

Bravo: I feel the wind, it seems to want to communicate with me. (see, the dreamer connected the observation to his feelings with the re-grounding guidance)

Dreamtrack: What happens when you listen? (when another sense comes into play, follow it up. The dreamer is switching channels. Go with it)

Bravo: I see my father. (the listening helped him see and he went back to the visual channel)

Dreamtrack: What is the picture? (clarify and amplify in the current channel)

Bravo: He is there in front of me. I see only his face. He wants to tell me something. I am afraid.. (the dreamer is now making his own connections with his senses and his feelings)

Dreamtrack: What is your response? (the dream re-entry is complete. Now begins the moving forward with the dream that was “interrupted” – or rather the participation in the dream was interrupted (by awkening). The dream continues even when we are no longer present. But that is a whole ‘nother concept to discuss at another time – i.e. aboriginal dreamtime)

Bravo: I feel so ashamed. I can't look at him. (the dreamer is back in the dream)

Dreamtrack: What does he want to tell you? (facilitate the action)

[Here there was an interruption to the dream re-entry process by an outside occurrence]

Bravo: Where were we?

Dreamtrack: At the grave site. Your Dad appeared to you and wanted to tell you something. (bring dreamer back to the mis-en-scene)

Bravo: Oh yeah. Wow! Do you think that was real? Or was it just a dream?

Dreamtrack: How did it feel to you? (keep the discussion dreamer focused)

Bravo: It felt and feels as real as life, maybe more real.

Dreamtrack: I think so too. Can you see him now? (bring the dreamer back – notice dreamtrack goes to a sense to re-ground in the dream rather that the feelings, just to make sure things are on solid ground)

Bravo: Yes. I see him in bed as he was before he died. (he is back in the dream)

Dreamtrack: Good. What do you want to do now, in the picture? (empower the dreamer to proceed where he wants to go – not you. What interests the dreamer not the facilitator is what is important)

Bravo: Take him to all the special places he loved. We lived on the big island in Hawaii, that's where I live now. He loved the island. (the dreamer is beginning the “repairing, the healing)

Dreamtrack: Good. You are there. What do you need in order to do that? (affirm and keep the momentum going.)

Bravo: His wheelchair and the family car.

Dreamtrack: Good. What happens now in the picture? (keep going – he is on a roll)

Bravo: I am driving him around the island.

Dreamtrack: You feel that? (stay grounded in the feelings, that’s where the power is)

Bravo: Yes. It feels really good. He seems so happy. We never did this together in real life. (see, he has come out again by connecting past action with present thought about the past)

Dreamtrack: What are you feeling as you do this with your father? (bring him back)

Bravo: I feel so much better, to see him happy.

Dreamtrack: What' happening now? (get back to the action of the dream story)

Bravo: We are back in his room, before he died. He wants to give me the money. I can't do that. I can't take the money. It belongs to him. (and he is back)

Dreamtrack: What is his response to you not receiving his gift? (this is an interesting and important question. This dream is about the dreamer’s relationship with his father and he is creating the “end of the story” so it is crucial to develop that relationship in the dream in order to bring it to it’s preferred outcome. This question moves that relationship along)

Bravo: His is very sad. He really wants me to take it. I just can't do that. (the dreamers empathy is in play now. But, “I just can’t do that” could derail the process)

Dreamtrack: Where do you feel blocked about receiving his gift? (dreamtrack recognizes the obstacle and goes right to work at breaking it down. He does this by somaticizing the feeling of “I can’t” rather than just going after the feeling itself)

Bravo: I feel it in my head.

Dreamtrack: Okay, go to that place in your head where you feel that block. (follow the dreamer’s lead and make him ground it)

Bravo: Okay.

Dreamtrack: What do you see? (use the dreamer’s preferred channel to concretize and move forward)

Bravo: I see a block of steel. It is like a cage. I am inside it. (this is a new image – a free association if you will, on the part of the dreamer and it is “outside the dream” so it is important that dreamtrack grounds this image firmly…so he asks…)

Dreamtrack: How old are you there? (remember, this was one of dreamtracks first questions. It’s almost as if a “new” dream has emerged, so the process needs to begin again, albeit probably truncated and at a faster clip)

Bravo: Young. I feel trapped. (the dream self continues to be at the same age and he states his feeling – one similar to “I can’t”)

Dreamtrack: What do you need there? (this is excellent. The block has been acknowledged, by grounding and exploration, and the dreamer clearly is an active participant, and since the process requires movement from the dreamer’s perspective why not go ahead and ask this directly)

Bravo: I need my father's love. (can’t get any plainer than this. Wow)

Dreamtrack: Okay, What do you want to do in the cage to get your father's love? (an empowering question. This question gives the dreamer agency to determine his own outcome.)

Bravo: I don't know. I guess I have to call for him. He seems so distant and far away. (and he does)

Dreamtrack: What happens when you call for your father to love you? (keep the action moving and concretize it as you go)

Bravo: He comes and opens the cage. (the dreamer becomes director of his dream)

Dreamtrack: What's happening now, in the picture? (move the action/plot along – this is the climax)

Bravo: We are hugging. It feels so good.

Dreamtrack: Notice that feeling in your body. (ground the feeling somatically to make it “real” and impactful)

Bravo: Okay. It is very warm. We're both crying.

(this is important…allow spaces for the dreamer to process new experiences. There is no rush. The power of the pause cannot be underestimated)

Dreamtrack: Good. Now bring that feeling back to the room with your father. (and relate the new feelings, the “resolution” to the original dream)

Bravo: I feel better, but I still have a hard time taking the money. I don't feel I deserve it.

Dreamtrack: Do you think he can use the money? (logic and reasoning are helpful as long as they allow the dreamer’s perspective to come through not the guide’s)

Bravo: LOL I guess not. He is dead. He can't use it where he is. But it is already spent anyway. (the logic question, you can tell, was quite different from all the others and it did take the dreamer out of the dream into a “head space”. If a question does lead outside of the dream and the process, bring it back)

Dreamtrack: You see your father now? (he brings it back)

Bravo: Yes. He is smiling. He wants me to take the money. Boy, this is hard. Okay, Dad. I accept the money. (the dreamer is totally in the dream as an active participant involved in his own resolution- a big step)

(important to let moments like this sink in – no rush)

Dreamtreck: What's happening?

Bravo. I'm crying. It is like we are really hugging and I feel his love. Thank you.

Fred Olsen Fred Olsen, M.Div., a former NASA engineer, his work over the last 25 years has been in developing Dream Reentry Healing, a system of inquiry for tracking the path of inner imagery. He is the co-founded the Bay Area Dreamworkers Group in San Francisco in 1985 and directed the San Francisco Dream House from 1986-1995. He is known for his process of Dream Reentry Healing which was more recently named Soul Tracking and Cellular Transformation.

 

Creativity occurs when you make it happen.

Creativity is something that you can access everyday. We all have creative potential, however it is necessary to tap into that potential in order to benefit from it.

Altar Box; assemblage by Mark Hannan, 1994

Creativity occurs when you make it happen.

Pick one creative thing that you love to do, and start doing it again this week. It does not matter why you stopped. It only matters that you begin again.

You only have one life to live, so it might as well be a life you love!

Roadblocks, whether real or imagined, are tough because over time they become difficult to overcome. What once was a struggle, after a while, becomes something impossible to conquer. Just because an issue seems like it has no immediate answer, does not mean there is none at all. Keep looking. Keep striving. You never know when your solution will appear.

We live in a world where being perfect is an accepted goal, and anything less does not measure up. We try to be perfect at our jobs, at home, and at finding ourselves.

But being perfect has a downside; it's extremely draining. We know that we shouldn't care if we are perfect or not, but the little voice inside tells us that being perfect is the only way. We know that perfect is not realistic, but we also can't seem to find another way.

Stop trying to be perfect. Striving for perfection will consume your energy and waste your time. You will be less frustrated and more effective if you are realistic with yourself and other people. Replace your efforts to be perfect with something positive. First, identify one project that is being stalled by your quest for perfection. Then, set a realistic plan to complete the project, and go for it!

from Surpass Your Dreams Brian Volkman (Editor) brianonline@worldnet.att.net Copyright (c) 2003. All rights reserved.

 

Alethea; a grounding poem

The poem Alethea, by Mark Hannan in 1993, was written as an invocation creating sacred space and is meant to be accompanied by the beat of a doumbek or celtic frame drum.

Dionysiac procession. British Museum. about 100 CE. Rome, Roman Empire. Photo by Yair Haklai, 2009.

 

Alethea

The need

to go

on the N Judah train

to Ocean Beach

to stand alone

facing out

dig long toes in

sand and water

Take hold, feet

root here

and roll angles round

Flex

dig in

With each toe

touch past salt chill

ocean

beyond down

 

through layers

of body

into belly

deep attention –

 

Now enter

enter the darkest point

with longing

faith will bring light

 

Take root

reach past

crabs burrowed there

bones

of cormorants, sea otters & whales

push through

crusty skeletons

lost ships

& sallow dead men clutching

their loot push down

through lead tin copper

& iron step

into that ore laden vein rush of it

blood saturate each bone

muscle

with heat

churning gut reach

crawl

your body in

hot coals

that do not burn

& rest there

at the center of the earth

 

let go

and rise –

bring back that fire

through layers of rock wet memories

despair

loss & chagrin

 

Bring up

strength

through rich soil alive

breathing

tendrils winding up

ankle shin calf knee & thigh

to the fleshy thick

of your furry sex

sphincter anus

into belly

liver kidney & spleen

ribbons

expanding

further your luminous heart

out all along your arms

from gracefully held shoulders

to elbow sinewy arm wrist fingertip

& back

to touch

supple neck

& throat open song

winging

further fire light up

into jaw ah smile bright brow

blazing broadly

crowned with joy

in release

 

 

After Many Years Absent & Other Poems – M. Hannan © 1993