Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton

So closely interwoven have been our lives, our purposes, and experiences that, separated, we have a feeling of incompleteness –united, such strength of self-association that no ordinary obstacles, difficulties, or dangers ever appear to us insurmountable.                                        –Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony were arguably the founders of the modern women’s movement in the United States. This is a quote from Stanton about her friendship with Anthony.

Found in the book, 365 Reflections on Love and Friendship, publ. Adams Media Corporation, 1998.

Friendship and Spirit

A friend is someone who leaves you with all your freedom intact but who, by what [s]he thinks of you, requires you to be fully who you are. –John L’Heureux

Books by John L’Heureux include poetry (Quick as Dandelions, Rubrics for a Revolution, No Place for Hiding) and numerous novels.

If you look really hard, you can find copies of Picnic in Babylon, his journal of his last three years of seminary before ordination as a Jesuit priest. (He later left the priesthood.)  Of all his books, this one’s my favourite because it makes me laugh and think at the same time; and the books he reads are fabulous. He enjoys women writers– Flannery O’Connor, Muriel Spark, Doris Lessing, for instance.  He also reads Carolyn Kizer, one of my favourite poets (see Mermaids in the Basement).

Tantra: Secrets of the Energy Body

From The Flowering of Light, Secrets of the Energy Body
by Jia Khechari

. . . men and women must harmonize and merge their energy bodies in order to fully benefit one another.

. . . the energy body of men is mostly pushing outward while the energy body of women is mostly pulling inward.

. . .the pulling force of women is greater than the pushing force of men and that it is also slower and more stable.

. . . the pushing force of men tends to be somewhat erratic and less predictable than the pulling force that women have.

. . .when the pushing force of the male energy body is linked with the pulling force of the female energy body that the co-mingling of energies synchronizes in order to restore and repair both energy fields.

More by Jia Khechari:http://www.tantra.com/kamasutra/sensual_intimacy/passionate_worship.html

A Nude Mary Magdalene – Unusual Sculpture in the L’Ouvre

This portrayal of Mary Magdelene is in a small out-of-the-way gallery in the L’ouvre. I was moved by the sadness in her face, and at the same time comforted by her peaceful resignation. It’s also extraordinary because it is a nude. It is carved in wood, apparently from one tree, then burnished, painted and gilded. The workmanship is faultless.

Selfishness and Self-Sufficiency

©2008, RK Silipo. All rights reserved.

Note to a friend:

Self sufficiency is selfish, in that it denies friends the opportunity to care for you. Independence is good, especially for women. But when we try to do everything for ourselves, we get too self-focused. Not only do we become preoccupied with our needs that are not being met, but we also shut people out by denying to them that we have a problem and need their help. Being a friend is a gift, but allowing someone to be a friend to you is an even bigger gift.

Friendship is never a burden if it’s true and deep. Sometimes it might be a test, or a difficult passage that friends get through together, but not a burden. I do know what your teacher means, though. It is very much a part of your insight right now that you need to be out in the world. Start with your friends, the people you know, and then fan out. Your friends love you no matter what, and will make a bridge for you into the wider world where people might not be so kind and caring.

The thing about a bridge is that you can move across it in both directions– outward into the world, but also back across into the homeland with your friends. You can visit both sides anytime you want.