Minutus

What if this "song of life" is missing 1/2 of the notes? Do you think
that using only 1/2 the notes might restrict everyone's song? Current
myths limit the possibilities for everyone (not just women).

As a youngster I was athletically gifted. I was told repeatedly that this
was not "ladylike" and sent to a school where I learned to sit, walk
down stairs, etc. There were no girls athletics at school. We were not
even allowed to wear pants to school!

I took joy in moving through space w/grace and speed and was proud of my
strength and ability but I eventually began believing in the pressure all
around me - that there was something wrong w/me. I then sat back w/the
rest of the girls & watched the boys have fun - taking chances and
pushing their limits. There was something in me that was so suppressed
that in effect it died. It takes a lot of energy to keep anything loved
that much suppressed.

The women's movement and (Ms magazine) was a revelation as I realized
that nothing was wrong w/me. Women began talking to each other (before
this we didn't talk about anything "unladylike") and finding out how much
of ourselves had been buried. The first few years of the women's movement
saw a significant drop in the number of women in mental institutions and
on mood elevators.

Because of the distortion in the way women and women's bodies were viewed
there were no references to the clitoris in medical texts at all, not
verbally nor pictorially. Do you think this had an effect on the way
women were treated? (Women, once again moving into the healing arts in
numbers, corrected this omission.)

We need to bring back the old myths of women's power, courage and
successes and uncover what we have lost to fully understand and be able
to heal 1/2 of the population.



Thank you Nancy for putting this so succinctly.

Sincerely,
Lynn pax
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What is meant by the myth is the matrix constructed for any group for their survival. The mythology of my culture which is the U.S., of the 1940's or 50' does not apply today and the social difficulty we are experiencing is the attempt by some portion of our population attempting to live the song of that period. Pathology results.

Our principles in our areas of healthcare, is founded on the affects on the Vital Force from exogenous and endogenous factors. Our interpretation must come from current history not of another period, therefore the whole is bococmes a song of life. Though you are correct that if the myth is without definition there is no common ground and pathology results. Our arguments are the attempts to arrive at some common ground.

The issue, however, as physicians should be kept separate. We should be respecting the intentions of our patients not imposing ours.

regards, isali

Dear friends,
The quotes I'm addressing are in .
when does life begin:


Conscious can be attached to the body w/o being "in" the body. Likewise
a fetus.
The pill:


I'm seeing an alarming number of women on deprovera.
I curious to know what the contributors to this list think about the pill
& deprovera.
on incest:


Dear Isali,
Looking to the past will help lead us back to a connection w/nature and
ourselves as this disconnection is the cause of much "modern day"
suffering.

The past century saw they desolation of many restrictive beliefs and
protocols. In midst of controversy the "western" healing arts were
introduced to "alternative" modalities which focused on the body's energy
system. Even though the "traditional" medical model would not recognize
energy work as effective, these new/old methods grew as time, studies and
results testified to the validity of acupuncture, chiropractic,
osteopathy, etc. Midwifery was also reborn.

Looking back just 3 decades giving birth was torture. For instance,
during my pregnancy I was told nothing in preparation. In labor I was
left in a room w/another young woman. We were separated by a curtain &
never saw each other during the next 10 hours. We cried in pain,
eventually passing out. They woke us up to administer caudal anesthesia
(which wore off and the pain cycle started again). We were alone as
nurses & doctors would close the door & leave for hours. During delivery
I was strapped down on my back: wrists strapped to the table, feet
strapped in the stirrups. I swore to myself that though I might forget
the intensity of the pain I would never forget how I was treated and that
I would never have another child.

The recent midwifing movement reclaimed childbirth as a celebratory
experience, using natural methods to ease trauma and facilitate the
birthing process. Relying on feminine sensibilities, midwifes risked
persecution to bring back the sacredness and grace of giving birth, as it
had been practised when respect for Mother nature (& the feminine) was a
part of our lives.

Compare the "traditional", approved by the AMA to a friend's fairly
recent experience: At 43, it was her first pregnancy. Determined to not
subject herself and the baby to what she had witnessed during a 20 year
career as a nurse, she hired a midwife. They worked together for 6 months
in preparation. Before her delivery she spent an hour in the bath in a
dreamy altered state (a natural part of the birthing process). When time
came she held the end of her bed, squatted down and had the baby. She
didn't rip & was walking around shortly after. The baby stayed inside for
2 weeks, the first week w/the curtains drawn so that the baby's eyes
could adjust.

What importance should we place on the trauma or ease of the transition
into the physical world. If the beginning is not right (warm, soft,
loving) how does that effect what follows? Indeed needless suffering has
been diminished by women looking to the past to redevelop midwifery. We
need to look to the past to fully understand what was lost with the
discrediting of the feminine divine and all her "Mother wisdom" (among
other traits). We need to look to the past to understand the true
sensibilities of the feminine (distorted for so long) if we are, as
healers, to facilitate 1/2 of our pts living to the fullness of their
promise.

Sincerely,
Lynn pax

PS. Women are also developing more natural, softer and healthier options
for the process of dying.
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dearest lynn, your description of the birth was so beautiful. and the point
about her being a nurse and hiring a midwife so telling. please, tell us
all more about the dying options (and dying/death rituals?) that women are
developing. thanks, love, sheila xxxooo
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I would suggest that life is an experience of suffering in the process of seeking survival. And that hindsight ought to offer merely intellectual assessments respecting the conditions of the social matrix at another period in order to better understand the relationship of endogenous and exogenous factors so that our present path may be pursued more fluidly and with less stress factors...with a mantra of practice no judgement.
Your example makes my point that a reflection offers an intellectual assessment of the social matrix at another period to better understand the relationship of elements of the social matrix so that a current myth might generate a song of life. You introduce language which bespeaks of your myth and its value orientation. Midwifery doesn't have to be a 'celebration' of child birthing. It is as well a function in healthcare of the culture which uses it for whatever political reasons which support its use.
You are correct and I fully agree with your notions; however, I apply a slightly different view though we arrive at the same conclusion. I prefer to practice no judgement and do my very best to respect the ideas of others which sometimes causes me to shake my head, only to recognise that to this other speaker they believe in the rightness of their thoughts as I might. So, in respecting diffences, I desire to practice no judgment.

Regards, isali