A Faded Revolution

There’s a woman named Mabel
Who sits at a table
She’s part of a fable
Of years gone by

Outside her window
A world of pollution
A faded revolution
With no real solution

Black smudgy skies
And buildings that rise
A climate that cries
Exposing the lies

Inside on TV
The President grins
Propaganda begins
“Everyone wins!”
Mabel sits back:
“Has he paid for his sins?”

Population explosions
In the land of “The Chosen”
The earth’s slow erosion
The glaciers unfrozen

Planned Parenthood over
The EPA – gone
Healthcare no more
The list – it goes on….

Mabel she stands
And lets out a sigh
“We tried to RESIST
But tensions ran high”

She remembers it all
Pink hats disappearing
The frightening clearing
The end, it was nearing

Protestors hide
Threats of genocide
Dreams that soon died
Pink hats went inside

And now, here stands Mabel
Alone at her table
Part of a fable
Of years gone by

A slow resistance
Picked up speed
The media struggled
To succeed

But the President banned
All that objected
Punishing those
Whom he selected

Mabel looks down
Picks up her pink hat
Folded so flat
Like a worn-out, old mat
She intensely
Ardently
Wishes it back

Straightens it out
Lets out a big sigh
For times gone by
And dreams that die

Out the window
A small patch of blue
A lone bird that flew
As her sentiments grew

She closes her eyes
And puts on her hat
And although it’s all flat
It’s like a pink cat

Mysterious
Powerful
Swift and nimble
An unforgettable, potent
Feminine symbol

There’s a woman named Mabel
Whose abandoned her table
Resurrecting a fable
For an unwritten time

She’s forging ahead
Ignoring her dread
Pussy hat on her head
Her dreams still not dead

Her message to you:

Keep your hats on my friends
Hold onto your dreams
Don’t wait til’ the end
Band together
Now and forever
March as one
Til’ the job is done
Cause that small speck of blue
Is too hard to break through
There’s too much to undo

So Please:

Do NOT wait
Til’ America’s great
Cause the amount of hate
Will circulate
Accelerate
Congregate
Aggregate
Duplicate
Dominate
Until it’s
Much
Too
Late

And  although cats have nine lives
A word to the wise
Look fear in the eyes
And:
Organize
Legitimize
Don’t apologize
Realize
Sympathize
Humanize
Democratize
And
Most of all:
Revolutionize!

Posted in Dr. Jenni | Comments Off on A Faded Revolution

The Weight of the Wait

There’s an old gal named Kate
Who thought it was great
To wait and to wait and to wait and to wait
Who hated rejection
And longed for perfection
Who thought that it best to be NEVER
Then late
The only problem for Kate
Was the terrible weight
That stopped her from moving
And filled her with hate
For the more that she waited
The less she created
Her ideas became weighted
And soon got outdated
While she felt frustrated
So if you’re like Kate
Please do me a favor
Do not try and savor
Every last flavor
Just make a decision!
And go with your vision!
And all of the weight
Will soon dissipate
Cause if you try to be great
Like poor old Kate
Who still sits waiting
Procrastinating
Anticipating
Speculating
Vacillating
You’ll end up like Kate
Who sits with her weight
Without a real date
And then it will really be
Way
Too
Late

 

Posted in Dr. Jenni | 2 Comments

ME JUICE

There’s a man that I know
Who’s come into power
That we hear on our airwaves
Hour after hour

But I bet there’s one thing
You just do not know
It’s what fills his big belly
And makes his head grow

Some of us drink
A Chai tea latte
And some sip on smoothies
Or a green tea matte

Some prefer soda
And others crave wine
Some cry for breast milk
At a quarter to nine

But the guy in charge
Likes something unique
His own special beverage
That’s strong and not weak

It’s something called ME JUICE!!
He drinks it all day
He drinks while he works
And he drinks while at play

He drinks it when talking
To all of the press
He drinks it while showering
And while he gets dressed

He drinks it when meeting
With Justin Trudeau
And from just where he gets it
We do not quite know

It’s been said that he’s drank it
Since he was a baby
Did his parents supply it?
We think so, just maybe?

But he cries for it all through
The day and the night
And if it’s denied him
We’ve heard he will fight

“ME JUICE! Want ME JUICE!”
He slams down his fist
“I want it right now
Or else I’ll be pissed”

Then a dutiful follower
Delivers his juice
That our leader sucks down
Before he lets loose

And once he has guzzled
I’ve heard he feels puzzled
And he thinks he’s a hunk
When instead he’s just drunk

Drunk from his ME JUICE
Consumed in his tower
Drunk with his ego
And drunk with his power

Cause ME JUICE is something
That some people need
The ones who’re obsessed
With more power and greed

The ones who as children
Did not get enough
But who grew up believing
That they were hot stuff

The ME JUICE, it flows
With unlimited force
And the more that he guzzles
The more he’s off course

And the more he’s off course
The more his suppliers
Bring him more ME JUICE
These shrewd bunch of liars

Who have an agenda
That needs lots of juice
Cause they’re using this leader
As just an excuse

To push through their bills
And strengthen their plan
So they stuff him with ME JUICE
This babyish man

“ME JUICE! WANT ME JUICE!”
He screams high and low
It’s like watching an outlandish
Reality show

But sadly it’s not just a
Show on TV
The ME JUICE is real
It’s the magical key

Cause ME JUICE is something
That narcissists’ drink
When they can’t get enough
Of the ME thoughts they think

He needs all those followers
To confirm his self worth
Cause he’s never been weaned
Since the time of his birth

He’s been sucking that ME JUICE
Since he was a small lad
It’s what’s made him so selfish
And driven him mad

And once he’s gets ME JUICE
Flowing though his dark veins
He turns to his cell phone
So he can complain

Cause the Real press aren’t
Feeding him any ME JUICE
So he uses his Twitter
To really let loose

His ME JUICE
It splatters all over the world
A tirade, a tantrum
Unleashed and unfurled

He rants and he raves
And he has a huge fit
The FREE press is the ‘enemy’
Yes – that is it!

Drinking his ME JUICE
And in his account
He sends tweet after tweet
Way too many to count

In the wee hours of night
Drinking ME JUICE he’ll storm
Just like a teen
Whose addicted to porn

His ME JUICE is leaking
All over the planet
And so far no one knows
How to bar it or ban it

And when he meets with top leaders
Like Princes and Queens
They watch him drink ME JUICE
And start to turn green

But his followers keep filling
His cup with more JUICE”
And he guzzles it down
While he tightens the noose

The noose that will choke us
And strangle our rights
Disgracing past heroes
Who soared to great heights

Heroes who saved us
In times of great need
Who gave up their lives
So ours could be freed

“ME JUICE! MORE ME JUICE”
“I need to campaign,
“Me needs more ME JUICE!”
“To help me stay sane.”

Cause when he campaigns
The ME JUICE is abundant
But now we concur
That it’s getting redundant

Cause a leader is someone
Who must do his job
He can’t always drink ME JUICE
And act like a snob

He must sort things out
And perform his new duties
Not scream for his “ME JUICE!”
Afraid he’ll get cooties

When he finally rests
Just too tired to keep tweeting
Fed up with reporters
And stupid old meetings

When he closes the door
Does he let out a moan?
Is he ever content?
To be all alone?

He has said the ‘fake news’
Is making him woozy
So he sucks down his ME JUICE
Or else he’ll get snoozy!

It’s hard to imagine
What exactly transpires
But each day from the White House
Come new CRAZY fires

And each day he returns
With a strange sort of vengeance
Screaming for ME JUICE!!!
And making his entrance

“ME NEED ME ME JUICE
OR ELSE I’LL DEFLATE!”
“I NEED IT RIGHT NOW!
TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT!

“Cause without it I’m just
A small, simple man
And without it I can’t really
Steal, trick or scam.”

And after he drinks it
He says with a sigh
“You see I am good
I am just a great guy!”

“My hands they are big
And so are my feet!”
It takes that kind of man
To clean up the street!”

I’m larger than all men
Even that big one named ZEUS
As long as I’m drinking
My Mama’s ME JUICE.”

“Ahhhhh…thank you supplier
For bringing ME ME JUICE
Now I can go night night
With dear Mother Goose.”

zzzzzzzzzzz

Nighty night

 

Posted in Dr. Jenni | Comments Off on ME JUICE

The United HEART of America

There’s a place that I know
In the middle of town
Seems joyful and cheery
Until you sit down

And gaze into the eyes
of Buster Brown
Who’ll turn your sweet smile
Into a sizeable frown

But before you do that
He’ll ask for a chat
“Go on now,” he’ll chuckle
Just hang up your hat!”

He’ll put down his rifle
And guzzle his beer
And you won’t really know
What you’re doing here

You’re sister told you
She’d rather be dead
Then visit this land
The land of the RED

But you are not her
And she is not you
And you want to embrace
What’s RED and what’s BLUE

Lately, you’ve wondered
What’s all this commotion?
Why’s everyone, everywhere
So filled with emotion?

And how did the middle
Get so far ahead
Seems everyone you know
Is BLUE and not RED

So here you are
Away from your home
In a place way out
Of your comfort zone

You left your BLUE friends
Way out West
Where everyone’s nervous
Uneasy and stressed

Cause things aren’t the same
As they used to be
When all felt welcome
United and free

When no talk of walls
Or deportation
Loomed over the airways
Of our great nation

Buster Brown
Stares you straight in the eye
He says, “no time to waste
And no time to lie.”

And then:

“Now that you’re sitting
I see you’re not quitting
I’ll try to explain
My RED hot domain.”

“See, we in the RED
Just don’t understand
Why you ‘liberal elites’
Think this is your land.”

“We in the RED
Take up so much more space
Than your crowded cities
That are a disgrace.”

“With your smog
Cost of living and awful congestion
We in the RED
Have a clever suggestion.”

He leaned on one elbow
As if this was big news
As if what he would say
Would blow my short fuse

He slammed down his beer
And held his head high
Then looked out the window
And let out a sigh

He said:

“Stop smoking your weed
Get off your high horses
Stop changing your sexes
And getting divorces!”

“Stop reading novellas
And thinking your cool
Driving your Tesla’s
To your kid’s private school.”

“Stop eating your vegan and
Organic food
We find it annoying
Elitist and rude.”

“Stop saving the planet
And constructing your lies
There’s no climate change, got it?”
His voice it did rise

Then Buster Brown
He looked around
Unsure bout’ how
This would all go down

He roared:

“Try some McDonalds
Inhale a Big Mac
Drive a Jeep or a Ford
Bring America back!”

“Stop posting on Facebook
And making asinine movies
Being politically correct
And drinking kale smoothies!”

“Stop shopping at all those
High dollar stores
Your men look like pimps
And your women like whores!”

Then he composed himself
As if he were prince charming
And my inner bells
Were flashing and sounding

He twiddled his thumbs
Then straightened his shirt
As if he were removing
A small piece of dirt.

“See, we in the RED
Our values are high
Our impeccable morals
Are hard to deny.”

“The sanctity of marriage between
Women and men
Is held up by the RED
Time and again.”

“But you in the BLUE
What’s wrong with you?
Mixing all kinds
And crossing all lines?”

“What happened to families
Congregations and schools
Solving their problems
Without government rules?”

“What happened to REDS
Making dreams real
Without BLUES intruding
And ruining the deal?”

“We in the RED
Are better off dead
Than having you BLUE folk
Control us instead!”

Then he sat back again
So proud of his speech
Convinced that he had
Some moral to teach

“And finally,” he said
“There’s a guy on top
Who’s all about business
And making liberals stop.”

“So there you have it!”
Said Buster Brown
Staring at me straight
Then up and down

I wiggled in my seat
And cleared my throat
Held onto my purse
And grabbed my coat

I looked around
At those in the bar
Staring at me with eyes
From afar

I thought to myself
This is what we’re against
And I swallowed real hard
As my shoulders got tensed

But – I didn’t travel
All the way to this place
To have Buster Brown
Spit in my face

So I smiled really sweet
Stared at him in the eye
And what happened next
I cannot deny

Welled up from someplace
Deep inside
Was it the strength of my relatives
Who’d already died?

“I hear what you’re saying,”
I said, so sincerely
“But it’s not all that simple,”
I spoke to him clearly

“I get that you’re angry
That we’re interfering
That you think we’re perverse
And domineering.”

“I get that you think that
We’ve stolen your dreams
That you think we are playing
On opposing teams

“But Buster Brown
Please listen here
It is not the BLUE folk
You should fear.”

“See we are trying
To make it easier for you
Yes – easier for REDS
We in the BLUE.”

“We want your kids to be safe
And your air to be clean
We want BLUE and RED
To dream their own dreams!”

“We want fairness for all
Both the rich and the poor
Cause under His plan
The rich will get more.”

“We want your land to be green
And your skies to be blue
And if He burns more coal
It won’t benefit you.”

“Cause the more that you burn
The more we’ll get heated
GLOBAL WARMING IS REAL
I said, then repeated.”

“It’s not BLUE against RED
It’s bigger then that
It’s the fate of our planet
That’s under attack.”

“And if one day the Chief
Gets his ego all bruised
If one day he feels a bit cross
And all used.”

“He might alter the lives of
The BLUE and the RED
No more talking like this
Cause we’ll all end up dead.”

“And so Buster Brown
In the middle of town
I’m asking you sweetly
To put your gun down.”

“I’m not fighting you
And you’re not fighting me
Cause we both want to live
In harmony.”

“I’m sure you have a son
Or even a daughter
Who deserves non-GMO food
And drinkable water?”

“Who deserves to feel free
Without fearing an attack
Cause a ‘Muslim ban’
Just won’t fix that.”

Who deserves clean air
And not a black sky
Where children can breath
And birds can fly high

Then in his eyes
A sadness appeared
As if something inside
Had magically cleared

He pulled out his iPhone
And held up a pic
“His name is Richard…
but we call him ‘Rick.’”

His eyes welled up
And his voice became croaky
“He’s the light of my life
I know it sounds hokey.”

“Oh he’s so cute
Can’t be more than four?
But what is he holding
The inhaler for?”

“Well…the little guy’s got asthma
He needs it to breathe
The doc tells us things
Not sure what to believe.”

“Says the power plant where I work
Is making it worse
Says he may need to always see
A doc or nurse.”

And as I spoke to the man
Who held his gun near
I saw on his cheek
A solitary tear

Was Buster Brown
This big brawny guy
Showing emotion
And starting to cry?

And I didn’t want to take
A BLUE position
Touting power plants can agitate
His son’s condition

So I just sat for a bit then
I did something surprising
I could feel my heart open
My bravery rising

I extended my hand
Across the table
As if I were a wise woman
In a eminent fable

I knew it was risky
And I saw all the REDS shake
But something told me
It’s a risk I must take

Cause us REDS and us BLUES
We share the same flag
Drive the same highways
That zig and that zag

We share the same planet
Stare at the same moon
And that’s not changing
Any time soon

This is not a time
To fight with each other
It’s a time to shake hands
Like a sister or brother

And so Buster Brown
He took my small hand
As I felt this great nation
Form a tight band

His eyes became soft
And his lips formed a grin
And I knew that a friendship
Could somehow begin

For it just takes one person
To extend their hand
And one by one
We can all understand

That America’s flag
Is both BLUE and RED
And the changes we make
Affect both of our beds

And so we sat there
We sat there we two
A RED man holding
The hands of a BLUE

And I felt our colors
Intertwine
RED arteries and BLUE veins
Crossing lines

The human heart
Weaving RED with BLUE
Beating to a
Hidden hue

Interlacing colors
Of great division
Pounding with
Routine precision

So next time you can
Please do not be shy
Speak up and ask
That small simple guy

Why he hates you
And thinks your so awful
Doing terrible things
That he sees as unlawful

We’re in this together
The RED and the BLUE
I see that so clearly now

But….

Do you?

Posted in Dr. Jenni | Comments Off on The United HEART of America

It’s all up to YOU!

In a land you once knew

Where Greenish things grew

And Creatures flew free

On an unsullied sea

 

A land we all cherished

Til’ everything Perished

And all that delighted

Was swiftly ignited

 

And if you look back

Cause look back you should

It began with a promise

Sounding decent and good

 

“We’ll make Our Land great again!”

Shouted the Boss

“The land of the free and the brave

That we’ve Lost!”

 

“It’s inefficient, just ‘sad'”

‘A total disaster’

It’s our job to make it run

Smoother and faster!”

 

“We’ll give you back jobs

Like Great Cars and Great Coal

We’ll make you feel Great again

Give back your SOUL!”

 

“We’ll keep Foreigners out!

Cause they’re nothin’ but trouble

Out with those “bad dudes!”

OUT, OUT – on the double!”

 

And it started to happen

Before YOU could yell STOP!

The progress of hundreds of years

Went KERPLOP

 

And Business kept growing

Just like the Chief pledged

And all of the muck

From the pipelines were dredged

 

Into the Cities, The Streets

And the Water

Into the Food that you

Fed your Daughter

 

That Boss, that Boss –

Yelled out to his fans

“It’s Okay! Have no Fear!

We have lots of BIG plans!”

 

The Pipeline you see

Was just the beginning

The leader declared

And just kept on grinning…

 

“I’ll act on my promises

Built up that Great WALL

‘Good Fences make Good neighbors’

After all….”

 

And the World was not ready

For what He had in store

This Leader relentless

In asking for MORE!

 

More Gas Guzzling cars

Made with HIS Specialty oil

Drilled deep within

HIS country’s sweet soil

 

“More Bans on the Foreigners

Let’s Wipe this Land clean!

It’s been done before

And OUR Land’s a machine!”

 

 

“Clean up the People

And Dirty the Land

Make this Place Great Again

Make Her just Grand!”

 

“Make her Unbelievably

Incredibly GREAT!

And we must do it NOW

Cause it’s getting LATE!”

 

Then his voice got real low

And his face got real RED

A message he offered

That Leader, he said:

 

“My Dearest Followers

Don’t believe what you hear

Only I know the truth

Let me make that real clear!”

 

“Everything out there’s just phony

And FAKE,”

Said that Leader

Who suddenly looked like a SNAKE

 

And all became SILENT

For fear they’d be FIRED

All became anxious

Wide-eyed and tired

 

They stepped in LINE

To the left and the right

The light left their eyes

And so did the fight

 

And as they succumbed

To the Leader’s great POWER

He built up his empire

Tower after TOWER

 

 

And Greenish things wilted

Creatures all died

Foreigners left

As He filled up with pride!

 

Counting his money

From all his investments

“I’ve been totally RIGHT

In all my assessments!”

 

In his White House

He smiled his White smile

Not a Color in sight

For one million miles

 

It all faded away

The Land became gray

Beauty and Splendor

Just melted away

 

And all they beheld

Was tweet after tweet

As smoldering temperatures

Climbed up in the heat

 

And then…

 

HE did something reckless

The final offense

He just HAD to do it

“Cause it only made sense.”

 

“I’m the Great Leader

The one that knows best!”

He said it with zeal

He said it with zest!

 

And in went the CODES:

Those fateful numbers

That flattened the Great Land

Into an eternal slumber

 

And…

 

Now YOU sit out

On a planet in SPACE

Surveying the wreckage of

The human RACE

 

YOU were the lucky one

Escaped just in time

Before the buttons were pushed

At a quartered to nine…

 

And now you ask: WHY?

HOW, WHERE and WHAT?

Could this have been halted

And brought to a STOP?

 

The Answer, my friend

Lies Only in YOU

Did you speak up, my friend or just

Line up in a CUE?

 

To the Left, to the Right

All ended up on the GROUND

Cause that’s what happens

When you don’t make a SOUND

 

You see…

 

One thing’s for sure

One thing’s just TRUE

Staying Silent is Deadly

So it’s all up to YOU!

 

And the Boy out in Space

Looked down and just sighed

I wish I’d have known

At least I’d have tried.

 

Do all that you can

To reverse this sad FATE

For it’s been said in the end

That it’s LOVE

That trumps HATE

 

Posted in Dr. Jenni | Comments Off on It’s all up to YOU!

What the mind sees, it achieves.

I recently attended a workshop entitled Walking with Empowerment. Derek O’Neil, the psychotherapist and spiritual healer summed up his many years of teachings into this one phrase: “What the mind see, it achieves.” This mantra is one we have all heard before, however the truth of it is actually astounding.  Keeping this phrase in my mind, I reminded my patients this week to continue clarifying their visions and goals, highlighting that if they cannot see what they truly want, nobody else will.  Spending as much quiet time as possible meditating, journaling, dreaming and just being – continually asking yourself which images, messages and visions continue to arise.  This quiet time is absolutely necessary for you to clarify your deepest wishes. Otherwise,  you are just an empty vessel rushing around from place to place, never focusing your mind’s lens on what it truly desires. So, for this week – try tune into your deepest self. You just might see something that will clarify your dreams.

Posted in Dr. Jenni | Comments Off on What the mind sees, it achieves.

Refocus your vision (the glasses are on!)

Scan 214 copy

I am interested in the experiences, tools and stories that bring clarity, awareness and INSIGHT into people’s lives.  Likewise my goal is to bring back the fun and perspective so many of us may have lost along away.  I hope to awaken the passion and creativity that each of us have so people like us can leave this amazing life journey with NO regrets, having lived FULL OUT!  Oh, and I like to do this with a little humor and fun, even though many of life’s biggest lessons are often wrapped in sad or even tragic stories.

Scan 215

All of us possess the power and wisdom to gain insight. We are born with this natural ability – our perception, curiosity and senses are fully alive when we enter the world.

Yet over time our vision and clarity dulls and things can become blurred, hazy and obscured. We often start to feel lonely, sad, angry and overwhelmed as life progresses. Many of us feel tired, empty and hungry for something – and so often we mistakenly try to fill that emptiness with all the wrong things.

Yet, all we need to refocus our lives, is to put what we call our “insight” glasses on (they are always readily available) and rediscover the magical world we left behind when we were children – but using our big kid glasses.

Whether we gain clarity through psychotherapy, meditation, creativity or any mind-body practice, we discover that gaining insight and awareness makes us feel happy, healthy and harmonious. It gives us perspective and brings back that bounce to our step!  When things are aligned it  makes us want to throw open the windows and scream – “YEAH BABY!”

This blog is for anyone and everyone who would like to learn and/or share something about themselves or their lives that has given them greater insight into themselves and their relationships.  I want your lessons and your insights!  I want you to put your glasses on!

Posted in Dr. Jenni | Comments Off on Refocus your vision (the glasses are on!)

Secrets of the World Wide Web

It has been said that the domination of nature leads to the domination of human nature. Once someone experiences power over an animal, plant or vegetable, his desire to control his own species increases. The taste of having command over anything living flows through his blood like a drug as he suddenly finds himself craving, desiring, hungering after, yearning, wanting and needing more.
In my work-in-progress “Secrets of the World Wide Web” an African spider becomes a surreptitious, unseen advisor to President Obama, warning the president of specific events that could devastate our planet through the control of both nature’s web and the web of technology.

By unwrapping the assorted African myths and legends of Anansi the spider, a small, seemingly helpless creature, half-spider, half-man who manages to outwit larger and fiercer animals, always getting what he wants, I have begun charting out the overall mythos for the novel, borrowing a great deal of wisdom from African folklore. The fables of Anansi were utilized by slaves as a way of asserting their identity within the boundaries of their captivity. These myths were like magic mirrors in which all slaves could view both their own and their ancestor’s reflection, allowing them to gain a sense of hope and empowerment about their future, however trapped they felt in their immediate environment.

In many ways we are all modern-day archetypes of Anansi, half-animal, half-robot, caught in a complex world, spinning webs to catch food for our survival and building websites to attract and capture followers and admirers. We need animals and plants to sustain our bodies and we crave connection and attention, no longer just through our loved ones but through technology and social media to uphold our identities. Yet, we cannot all be sated with nutritious, plentiful food and meaningful relationships. Much of the world is starving – if not physically then emotionally or spiritually. As we long for our primitive drives such as food or sexual gratification, we also yearn for our instinctual freedoms, opposing any relationships that confine us or restrict this basic human desire. As Freud so aptly asserts in his seminal book, Civilization and Its Discontents our “quest for instinctual freedom is in direct opposition to civilization’s contrary demand for conformity and instinctual repression. Many of humankind’s primitive instincts are clearly harmful to the well-being of a human community. As a result, civilization creates laws that prohibit killing, rape, and adultery, and it implements severe punishments if such rules are broken. This process, argues Freud, is an inherent quality of civilization that instills perpetual feelings of discontent in its citizens.”

Thus, when Anansi secretly, subliminally shares with Obama what will occur on our planet if he does not protect our technologically advanced civilization, the president is called to action as he inwardly struggles to find a balance between allowing basic human rights and freedoms to his citizens while placing necessary restrictions on technological advancements and developments that could potentially harm humanity.

=

Posted in Dr. Jenni | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Secrets of the World Wide Web

a backward glance

After finally seeing The Life if Pi last night, I was left with the haunting image of the bengal tiger, Richard Parker finally leaving the lifeboat and walking into the Mexican jungle – without a backward glance or the slightest acknowledgement of Pi’s painstaking, incomprehensible attempt to save his life. As Pi is rescued by some fisherman, he weeps not for the nightmare he has just endured alone for months with Richard Parker in the Pacific Ocean, but for the tiger’s complete lack of recognition or appreciation for their astonishing shared journey. The tiger simply walks away as if the connection and journey they shared was completely meaningless.

Pi struggles with this moment of disconnection and abandonment by Richard Parker, convincing himself that he did share something incredulous with the tiger and that even though the animal walked away with no backward glance, the feelings they possessed for one another and the experience they endured did have deep meaning and significance.

In my consulting room, I have contemplated this lack of connection and meaning in relationships. All couples are floating in a lifeboat together, oftentimes experiencing their partner as the bengal tiger. In this lifeboat, they can either choose to connect or disconnect, to acknowledge their own issues or defend against them and run away. It appears that it is the overall desire of all couples to connect however, when this idealistic desire of absolute connection is not fulfilled, the wish for connections turns into frustration, blame and anger. “When I try and talk to my husband, he is emotionally unavailable.” “He stares at his smartphone as if he doesn’t even hear me.” “She looks away from me and only focuses on the kids.” “He has unrealistic expectations of me.” “She doesn’t appreciate all the things I do for her.” There is a constant jumping ship, a walking away from one another with little acknowledgement of one’s own deeper issues. Yet this walking away only deepens our wounds for as much as we long to taste freedom like the bengal tiger, in the end we are human, always hungering for connection.

We all want to “matter” to another person. We want to know that the things we have done and the feelings we have shared are being well-received and greatly appreciated. Yet oftentimes, we give almost no feedback to our partners, very little recognition and only sporadic appreciation. What is left are pools of silence and the feeling that we are sleepwalking throughout our day without truly connecting to each other. Thus, we begin to crave our “aliveness”, our freedom, walking away from our loved ones toward the wild, untamed jungle, toward new careers, new relationships that offer unrealistic promises. Instead of running into the wilderness like wild animals, we must encourage ourselves to look backward, turn around, face our partners and acknowledge their humanness. When we do this, we recognize a part of ourselves – our own vulnerability and fragility. We acknowledge that unlike the tiger who has the ability to move forward with little acknowledgement of the past, we experience and feel things on a deep level, retaining past memories of our shared experiences.

Posted in Dr. Jenni | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on a backward glance

Cleansing the Gluppity Glupp

A few months before my third child Lily was born, I rushed to finish writing my novel The Gossamer Thread, knowing that it would be a long time before I had the time to think about it again. Even in the delivery room I was finalizing my website, pleased that I was tying up loose ends that I wouldn’t be able to finish for many months to come. That was an understatement! It’s been over two years – a blur of sleepless nights, occasional memorable moments (a first tooth, an unforgettable belly laugh, a cherished phrase), chauffeuring children around Los Angeles to violin practices, piano lessons,flute lessons, tennis matches, gymnastic classes, toddler groups, Sunday school etc., making last minute decision with my nanny (recently turned Cordon Bleu student chef) about what to cook for dinner, buying everything and anything on Amazon prime, endlessly volunteering at their hipster private school, assisting countless clients through relationship emergencies – all while holding myself back from texting or checking emails in the car – my extended office – or attempting in my few private moments to read something semi-intellectually stimulating on my i-pad, desperately wanting to reconnect with the thoughts I had before my life melted into this “gluppity-glupp” of being a mom in West LA – that has taken over my inner life and creativity.

After mindless toddler groups and lunches, listening to other gluppity moms banter about why their two year old won’t share his toys or sleep through the night, or why their seven year old must attend Kuyam three times a week to simply keep up with their peers, or why they have decided to inject themselves with botox to look like they did twenty years prior, or why they are juicing themselves into anorexia, Lulu lemoning their workout clothes so they can fit the part at their intensely heated yoga class or upbeat spinning class, manicuring and pedicuring themselves on Montana Ave., buying an array of Rag and Bone boots, colored jeans, Tom Ford sunglasses, Luis Vuitton purses and Gucci wallets. Thneeds, thneeds and more thneeds. Everyone continues to need more and more thneeds! I have sunken into this world of excess, this gluppity glupp like quicksand even though I consider myself to be an aware, intuitive, well-educated woman. My intellectual and soulful self has shut down, craving the glupp like an addict craves her drug of choice.

In this fast-paced, techno-savvy, social networking – blogging, tweeting, face-booking, instagramming, linking-into the world — my deepest thoughts that haunt and preoccupy my dreams each and every night – are instantly forgotten when I awaken as swiftly as pressing the like button on a friends facebook page. Gone are the days of dream journaling in an actual journal not an on-line website and meditating (without plugging in) on archetypal images that arise nightly in my dreams. In the day world of gluppity glupp, we all have no real idea who we are and what we ACTUALLY like. Where we are going or why we are navigating there. We only press buttons and view pages because we see other friends pressing them too. We only visit pages and places because we are told they are worthy to visit. Yet, all of this button pressing, visiting, lingering, wondering around launches us away from our truest callings and back into the gluppity glupp.

We are all living in this goo. This giant, sweltering pot, brimming and teeming with mostly useless, disturbing, overwhelming images and information that continues to amass and compound on itself daily, erasing our own deepest images that will assist us in cleansing this gluppity glupp and leading us to a place of clarity. We sink deeper into this stuff because we are already IN it – and have no LORAX to lift ourselves out into the way things used to be pre world wide web and gluppity glupp. Many of us turn to spirituality, yoga, meditation, religion, sex, – some drinking, drug using, overeating, under-eating, shopping, gambling, gaming – which may bring us moments of escape, however as Phillip Cushman, author of Constructing America, Constructing Ourselves named years ago, we are still falling deeper and deeper into “our empty selves” and this emptiness leaves room for the glupp to amalgamate.

Thus – I have decided to begin the slow, arduous process of a daily cleansing of this glupp, emerging anew and rejuvenated out of the goo. I am back writing a new YA novel – The Secrets of the World Wide Web as well as finally finding a home for The Gossamer Thread. Since Lily is now nearing pre-school age, (with mixed emotion) I sense a light at the end of the long tunnel of caring for very young children. As much as I have complained about not having time to think, I wouldn’t trade anything for the years of mindful attention that I have given to my children (even though much of it was given whilst an overpowering machine spit out gluppity glupp in every imaginable corner.)

We all have to work hard at stopping this abounding force, setting boundaries for ourselves and our children and allowing ourselves the time to process and think. Once we do this, the glupp begins to evaporate and the swammy swams can once again sing and fly free.

Posted in Dr. Jenni | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Cleansing the Gluppity Glupp