Recent Blogs

I've been so inspired lately by the Occupy Wall Street efforts - mirrored here as Occupy Asheville - and by what I have been learning in the Leadership Asheville course offered through the NC Center for Creative Retirement. Even though I've lived in Asheville for 18 years now (could it be?) and love Asheville, each week when our class learns about a certain aspect of our small city, I am so impressed with what people are doing in each of the areas studied (providing food, Education, Economy, Environment, healthcare, government, law enforcement and fire department, the arts).

The organization "Handmade in America," for example, went into one small town, determined the town's assets with the people and along with them built a life-size replica of a Cherokee homestead. They did similar projects in six small towns along the Blue Ridge Parkway to attract tourists and revitalize each the towns' cultural heritage and economy.

Want to hear about an amazing book, or rather series of 9 books, that is shifting the consciousness on the planet? It's called the Ringing Cedars series and the focus is on a woman, now in her 30s, who lives in Siberia, and who has already inspired millions of people.

The books were first printed in Russian (naturally) and were translated into English in 2005 - and now are in about 20 languages, even though there appears to be no particular marketing effort. In Russia, people are creating book study groups, scholars are studying and giving reports on the validity of what she says, some religious leaders are praising the information while others scorn what she says in fear that if everyone believed her, these leaders would lose power.

I wrote a story about our experience on Dec. 14, 2010, when a crew of four showed up to film some of us who live here at Lotus Lodge Community & Learning Center(see story below and ad to left). What I'd like to tell you here is about some of the followup since then.

Here's the web address which I hope will link you:
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7358240n&tag=cbsnewsVideoArea.0

First, the response to the 3.5 min segment on the CBS Early Morning show (which finally aired on Wednesday, March 2, 2011) has been amazing. Women from around the country have emailed or called, singing praises for living this kind of lifestyle - of unrelated women (actually, we're not all women here even tho CBS interviewed just 4 of us women for this "Golden Girls" piece) living under one roof.

I went to a new meetup the other day called the Socrates Café and enjoyed a wonderful conversation among about 15 people. We met in an Atlanta Bread Company where we sat around a circle of small tables, drinking tea or coffee from 3-5 in the afternoon.

The convener is a young woman who clearly enjoys the process. Her eyes delight when she asks a new question, such as “Is this cup half empty or half full.” At one point, the conversation reminded me of a story I heard from Jean Houston, an amazing thinker, author and mystery school founder.

Apparently Jean was teaching a class and gave the assignment of going back in time, in their imagination, and visit a younger version of themselves. They were to select a time when there was significant challenge and to thus comfort their younger selves. Upon giving the assignment, Jean decided to do it herself.

I went to the first performance of the season of the Asheville PlayBack Theatre. I really love those improv performances! In case you are new to PlayBack, it's actually a theatre form that was created in the NY area 30 years ago and there are PlayBack companies around the world. I am so grateful that we have one here in Asheville - started by my friend Raphael and others back in 1995.

The gist of PlayBack is that volunteers from the audience tell a story from their life, and the 4 actors on stage play it back - with the intention of honoring the perspective of the storyteller.

Raphael and I are teaming up again, and adding Cheri Torres - a local, successful Organizational Development consultant, for our next business venture.

As many of you know, Raphael has been involved in improv theater - The Asheville Playback Theatre, since 1995. My favorite theatre form, Playback theatre involves audience members telling a story from their life, which then gets played back - improv! The results are heartwarming, often inspiring and humorous, and always community-building and great entertainment.

Also in 1995, Raphael and I started publishing Spirit in the Smokies: Magazine of New Paradigm Living which, by the time we ended printing it in mid 2007, was distributed to cities in six states. In addition to book reviews, interviews of well-known authors and some articles, it too featured people's stories. Specifically, it focused on first-person accounts of personal transformation - and inspired many.

A Surprising Culmination . . .

Can you believe we are well into the second decade of the 21st century? Wasn't Y2K just a couple of years ago?

It's been well over two years since I published the last issue of Spirit in the Smokies, Magazine of New Paradigm Living and I'm finally figuring out what is next for me. Now that I know, it seems so obvious.

Living collaboratively is so important to me - ever since I was 9 years old and noticed that my mother wasn't the only mother who felt stuck at home with kids and depressed.

Seeds of Community, Age 9
That day, it occurred to me that perhaps she wasn't the only such mother and so I went around the neighborhood and into my friend’s homes, this time to notice their mothers. To my amazement, they all looked duty-bound and bored, if not depressed.

Lots going on at Lotus Lodge, the community of 10 where I live and publish this website – and from where Spirit in the Smokies magazine was published. This website is an extension or evolution of that magazine.

As most of you know, Raphael Peter and I published Spirit in the Smokies for 12 years, from mid 1995 to mid 2007, during which time we also sponsored and hosted many events, including monthly Community Network Gatherings for like-minded people. In 2005 we founded Lotus Lodge, each purchasing a section of the 2.5 acres.

In late February, Raphael married his wonderful new partner, Patricia and moved to their new home in Alexandria, NC, thus leaving Lotus Lodge. At about the same time, a wonderful new communitarian – Julia McCarthy - joined the community and within a very short time began negotiating with Raphael to purchase his portion. That exchange soon happened!

What I work a lot with is the notion that when someone does something that affects me, it is beneficial to me too - that it has to be, within a paradigm of oneness. Sometimes it can be a stretch to really live, however.

For example, I live in a rental community, which I love. I can rent up to 6 people (i.e., 6 private rooms plus there are two other apartments that someone else owns) and my preference is to have residents that really love being here and who get along well, and to have very little turnover.

In the past, when a person gave notice of leaving, I’d take it personally, as a personal rejection. I also might have been afraid there'd be a loss of income. Sometimes I would begrudge the effort it meant to find, screen and rent to a new resident.

Doing 'The Work'

What’s the single, most important thing we can do to improve our relationships? I believe the answer to that question is the opposite of what many may think. I believe it is to be sure we are happy and fulfilled in life. In fact, the biggest gift we can give to any one – to the world, is our own happiness. Think about it.

When I am feeling really good about my life, and myself I have graciousness for others. Things they do that might have annoyed me before are barely noticed. Instead, I’m patient, compassionate and supportive. In other words, my love for them is much more unconditional.

Recalling the Call
Can you think of some times when this was true for you? Which instances were more powerful or sustaining? What were you up to, that you allowed such peace and fulfillment? Did you feel you were “on purpose” in your life?

Change is in the air. Potent change. Certainly some of it has to do with the election of Barack Obama, 1st black American as president of the United States. Celebration is happening around the world. More than ever, we have a global sense of ourselves. We have become global citizens and within us, a desire to help make a better world has been ignited.

It used to be easy to be a cynic – active or passive, letting others engage in the acts of change that we deemed too difficult, while we did other things. Now something else is emerging and it’s more than people shifting gears to pitch in. Perhaps for the first time in recorded history, we are united globally around hope and what’s possible.

I just made some changes to the political blog article, so I hope you read it again, if you have already (click on Read More and then All Blogs). This is a potent article that took me days to compose, and as you'll see, it's written with a lot of love.

There have been times when I ignored the news (I still ignore much of mainstream media). Thus, I understand that response. In this article, however, you will find tools to make reading the news OK and hopefully to empower you to activism from the heart. And after you read it, please comment!

Enjoy, Gayatri

PS I think the Asheville gas shortage is bogus. I've talked with people around the country and they don't have a shortage. Could it be we are being called upon as a city of light? Here's a website that might help you find gas. I'd call them first:
http://www.northcarolinagasprices.com/Asheville/index.aspx

Seasonal change is highlighted this fall with the United States presidential election, the outcome of which affects our global stage. Interestingly, women and women’s issues have been highlighted in a way that is different from ever before, starting with Hillary Clinton running for president and receiving 18 million votes. Although, she didn’t win the nomination, her popularity for this high office certainly made it clear that women and women voters are a powerful force in today’s politics.

The Democratic Convention was launched by an amazing speech given by a woman—Michelle Obama, attorney, mother of two and wife of the Democratic presidential nominee. While Barack Obama didn’t pick Hillary Clinton to be his running mate, he did select a man who, like himself, has supported women’s issues politically and who does so personally by being committed to his family.