I can’t even save myself. I make bad decisions just like the ones in the world – bombs and wars and the industrial revolution with chains of greed. But then I go on and, without even knowing any part of… Read More ›
Warning: this blog discusses spanking and bodily violence “No Whips, No Punishments, No Threats: Women’s Control of Social Life” is the title of one of the chapters in Iroquois Women, Barbara Alice Mann’s stunning reconstruction of female power in a… Read More ›
Just that one word dreamed the night of January 1st. Last evening all my Bear Circle animals gathered in front of the 8 flickering candles (intentions I had set for this coming year) – most were about the loving the… Read More ›
I awaken chilled. Darkness before dawn refuses to illuminate frost covered bark – frozen crystal fingers. Barely breathing. the forest sleeps, Roots pulse Light. I am running from future or past – Withering away in wrinkled skin, Earth shudders. Am… Read More ›
The parshah for next week is Beshalach (Exodus 13:17 – 17:16). There are a lot of very important events happening in just four chapters. In fact, one could write a blog on any one of the following topics: the Israelite… Read More ›
“What I want to do is live in as much silence as is possible at this point in our history.” – Sara Maitland, A Book of Silence Scottish author Sara Maitland is an intriguing amalgamation of… Read More ›
It’s between semesters so am back in Las Cruces, New Mexico, but just for two weeks. Due to circumstances out of my control, I’m not able to spend my usual month—mid-December to mid-January—here in the high desert. When I am… Read More ›
Last year, I turned 40 and started grad school while working part time at the public library as the Children’s Services Manager, living in a cohousing community, volunteering with my Sisterhood, and raising three teenagers. I’m between semesters at the… Read More ›
When European scholars began to study Sanskrit they were surprised to discover linguistic similarities between Sanskrit and Greek and Latin. Old Persian was found to be even closer to Sanskrit. Scholars thus began to speak of related groups of Indo-European… Read More ›
We’re nearly a week into the new year. I almost wish I were a prophet and could predict with assurance that 2019 will be better than 2018—less filled with hate, name-calling, lies, and all-round trumpery (pun intended: “trumpery” is “worthless… Read More ›
Mantras are not just the prescribed sound formulas or sentences found in Eastern religions, but they can also be thought of as the words or phrases that we continually repeat to ourselves. The word mantra comes from Sanskrit and its… Read More ›
Every year, I see multiple pleas from concerned mothers (rarely fathers, because (straight) fathers rarely take on emotional labor of child rearing) wondering what to do about the pile of pink plastic that just came into their home. It’s such… Read More ›
Sitting in front of the computer, I slowly and intentionally insert earbuds, click to start my favorite writing playlist, and open up Microsoft Word. I feel the tips of my fingers resting lightly on the keys, and notice the slight… Read More ›
Fourteen years ago, I was pregnant with William Valentine. I had no idea what to expect. I knew only that I was in a body, and it was pregnant. Things happened to me, to my body, that seemed extrinsic to… Read More ›
Lately I’ve been reading a few Paulo Coelho books. I won’t say they are beyond feminist criticism, but it’s not what I’m going to focus on this post; but as always, feel free to say in the comments why/if you… Read More ›
Since I wrote “Claiming the Power to Choose to Our Lovers” and “Choosing to End Love” in the spring, my beloved and I came back together and parted again, not once, but twice. At the end of the summer, believing… Read More ›
Adult Daughter (“AD”): Hi Mom, Alex said to tell you “hi.” Me: That’s nice. How is she? AD: How are “they?” Alex uses “they,” mom. Me: Oh right, sorry. I am having some trouble wrapping my head around using “they”… Read More ›
As I follow my program, I grow clearer and stronger. I know exactly what I want and I take it. When I sit down to eat, I feel my appetite, healthy and strong. I feed that appetite, choosing just what I need and what will truly nurture me. When I get up from the table, I am complete and whole within myself. Whether I reach my “goal weight” or not, I’ve already succeeded. And so, this New Year, I won’t be making any new resolutions. I’m already on my path, shedding shame.
Last month I looked back over six years of postings I have done for FAR. In November, I noticed that I usually during that month tend to review the year and find something to be grateful for. I decided this month… Read More ›
Choices. Many times choices are difficult. Some of the time choices are easy. I have had a rough year. Probably one of the most difficult yet in my adult life. I began this year with an offer of a job,… Read More ›
Reindeer have been important to humans since our early days as hunters-gatherers. Found in cave paintings throughout Europe and Asia, reindeer are depicted as soaring through the air, perhaps acting as intermediaries between the human world and the spirit world.
We’ve all been there.
Sitting around the tree watching the kids open presents. Attempting to enjoy a holiday meal with extended and immediate family that you may or may not have traveled thousands of miles to see. Trying with every fiber of your being to not talk about the elephant, or red hat, in the room.
Last year when I was newly in love, I found myself wondering if my boyfriend would ask me to move to Crete to be closer to him. Pondering this possibility, it suddenly dawned on me that I was ready to… Read More ›
There I was in the bathroom, peeing on a stick. “It’s a rite of passage,” my friend Kelsey told me. She was the one wishing me luck from the other side of the door; she was the one who brought… Read More ›
Frau Holda Poem Hail to Frau Holda, the beautiful and bright, Crowned and clothed, all in glistening Winter white. Ay seeking and searching, She sweeps o’er the land, Scourge for the slovenly, held firmly in hand. As Holda fares forth,… Read More ›
When will justice come to us, my unborn babe… the Earth cries out, the very olive trees are weeping from the violence, the injustice, the apathy. The fig trees are too brokenhearted to bear fruit, from the oppression, the division,… Read More ›
One of my Facebook friends, a young woman academic, recently posed a question, inviting discussion. (I’ve abbreviated her post for the sake of space.) “What is it about white male liberals that just MUST have me buy [into] their ideas… Read More ›
I have something hard to say. It is about some of ourselves, some of the time. Let me start by offering you my perspective on negativity on the internet: people are not always conscious or mindful. We let our bitter… Read More ›
During the first week of November 2018, 12 graduates and current students of the Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute attended the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Toronto, Canada. The Parliament is a conference with a 125-year-old history that has grown… Read More ›
Warning contains images of rape in the history of art portrayed through the pornographic male gaze According to the myth, Danae was the only child of the King of Argos who longed for a male heir. After an oracle declared… Read More ›
