Clare Consultation, LLCOn Robots and Listening
As ever, change is afoot. Autumn is heading for winter, for example. Starbucks is well into shifting its holiday paperware (the plain red paper cups a significant and publicized offense to a few “Christmas-only” types). Oceans are heating up, children are growing taller and Artificial Intelligence is animating robots to replace workers around the globe. There’s much more – and too much of it troubling. But you know that. So, this… Read More
Gratitude in Four Days
My dear friend, Valerie is a rock star. This designation, star, is certainly figurative, but it’s also for real – like, it’s her job. That’s not all. Valerie’s a mom, and a wife, she’s a sister and a dancer and a teacher – and she is one of Dr. Day’s two daughters. Valerie, her father, her sister and brother have been engaged for months now with the precious progression of Dr. Day’s transition… Read More
Children at the Border
A few updates from Scott: 7.July – Thanks Mary. I am going to be here two more weeks. It is quieter here so far today. The plane load left and the numbers are down from yesterday. I met Caesar this morning, he is by himself, 11 years old and was brought over by a coyote from Mexico. I have an app on my iPhone that helps me communicate with the kids. Since it is… Read More
Fat and Dignity
Inspired by a graduate student who had elected gastric bypass surgery as a weight reduction strategy, I took the lead on an article she co-authored with another student – a very tall, thin woman athlete. It is always great to publish in scholarly journals with students. Part of the satisfaction comes from supporting new scholars, but another part comes from delving into whole new areas of understanding based on following the… Read More
Having it Happen
I was 19 when I met my fairy good mother. Thirty four years later, in February of 2009, Mayme and I had our last conversation. She is the … voice in 100 VOICES – AMERICANS TALK ABOUT CHANGE. I found Mayme through her daughter Margie. She was in a nursing home and spending her days increasingly occupied with Alzheimer’s. In spite of her condition, Mayme remembered me immediately and, well above the… Read More
Launching Clare Consultation: Right into the Big Middle of Change
Maybe it’s being 14 years into a brand new millennium. Maybe it’s living on this side of 2012, the year so long identified by the Mayan People for its pivot point – for signifying radical shifts in human awareness, in behavior and community. Maybe it’s what I’ve heard a few very wise ones refer to as the quickening. Whatever the case, here we are. Like it or not, aware or not,… Read More
Shutdown — One Viral Video and a Sort of Bipartisan Response
[NOTE: Viral Video from title — http://www.votevets.org/home] [later NOTE: It’s 10-16 around 10:00 PST — the headlines I see say it’s over. This is a relief. Now the clean-up starts. And, by way of apology for any implication that furloughed Federal workers were not experiencing significant financial and professional stress (but rather were only on “paid vacation”), I offer this link to the real stories of real people — all Federal employees severely… Read More
Annunciation
[Posting from the UK – this second guest blog from Gary Ferguson writing here about the change in “making things fresh.” His are helpful words – a good, even vital reminder – here where we live on the outskirts of all the bluster and impulse in DC toward shutting down the government. Read and enjoy — mmc] A number of years ago, while teaching a nature writing class in Yellowstone, I had… Read More
Paying Attention to What’s Working
The other day, I was at the Quest Integrative Health Center in Portland. I was co-facilitating a discussion on the neurobiology of happiness based on the work of researcher and clinician, Rick Hanson. I’ve written about Quest Center before in this blog (EX:C blogs November 26, 2012; December 10, 2012) and have to say it’s great to be volunteering my time as part of this monthly neuroscience series. The group gathered… Read More
DIY Fashion Statement
So, one of the features of being human is having a body. You may have noticed. Related to that is necessity, both climactic and social, of finding ways to cover, to clothe. The practical act of clothing keeps people from freezing in winter and can provide a bit of cooling in the heat of summer. The social act if covering the body may most joyously take on artistry with adornment being a… Read More