My Resolution

Happiness Is All Around You

Voices Around The Table

Mark Your Calendars: LUNAFEST®

My Croning Ceremony

Local Perspectives: Roe v. Wade

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{ Volume XXIV, Number 1 } January & February 2009 A Publication of the Women’s Community Center of San Luis Obispo County

Andrea Raft: “Natural Selection”

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Robin Rinzler

ContributorsBeverly EngelJeanie GreensfelderAli HatcherHilda HeifetzCharlene HugginsLaura GraceAngie King

Dianne LegroHeather MendelBerta ParrishAdele SommersJill TurnbowJacqueline TurnerAndrea Zeller

By Francesca Bolognini

Welcome back to the circle. Previously we have covered the universal nature of rhythm, your personal connection, paths of learning and experience, and the heartbeat. Now we shall explore an essential aspect of commu-nication. Vibration, as the medium of all things, is an important means of communi-cating. Vocalization pushes air through the vocal chords in a rhythmic way. Percussion is always involved, even if you are tapping a keyboard. An ancient invention which combines drumming with speech patterns is the African talking drum. Basically, it is an hourglass shaped tube, with heads at each end connected by lacing and struck with a cane shaped beater. A wide variety of tones, often resembling a wah wah peddle, are produced by holding the drum against

the body and squeezing the laces to adjust tension between the heads. This effect may be artfully manipulated to resemble speech or played with for fun. Practically, it serves serious functions, relaying information over long distances and informing a drum ses-sion with emotional content.

An ancient world wide tradition of instruction, called drum speak, relays pat-terns to be played via spoken syllables. For Middle Eastern rhythms, the sounds are Dhum, Ka, and Tek. For African patterns they are Dun, Gun, Go, Do, Pa, and Ti. Written notation came along much later. I personally learn much more easily using drum speak. Remember, when practicing a specific pattern, to begin slowly, increasing speed only when you can do so accurately. This technique will serve you well when playing with others with the same rhythmic vocabulary.

The inextricable blend of Nature’s spirit and artist’s prayer is conveyed in Andrea Raft’s mix media pieces through oils and acryl-ics, often interspersed with found objects, rocks, metals, and photographs. Most strik-ing about Raft’s canvasses, however, are the references to Eastern cultures that infuse her work. Taken together, the Asian symbols and textiles that denote so many of Raft’s pieces tell a rich story about history, about philosophy, and about art: an intricate nar-rative interwoven with Nature’s own. Natu-ral Selection encompasses some of Andrea’s son’s photographs, as part of the collage materials mixed into the painting.

Please see Andrea’s website for more information: www.andrearaftstudio.com.

About the Cover Artist

Andrea Raft

Courtney’s Quill

Courtney

A more deeply primal aspect of the drum, dating back to the time when our entire planet shared Shamanic traditions, is the assignment of specific drum sounds with corresponding connections to the ele-ments. I prefer to introduce this informa-tion early in the education process because a player should understand the power of her drum to call these elements into mani-festation.

Strike the center of the drum in a way allowing the head to resonate to produce the deepest tone.

This sound, made in a way similar to dropping a stone into a pond, represents the element of Water. Deep resonance, pen-etrating the body in a thorough way, acti-vates the corresponding human aspect of emotion.

By slapping the drum head in the center openhandedly, the head is stilled, becoming solid in a way that grounds us in the ele-ment of Earth.

A firm strike or series of strikes at or near the edge of the drum excites the senses, raising the energetic element of Fire.

Finally, a swish of the hand over the head or the jingle of the zills on a tambou-rine opens the senses and summons the ele-ment of Air.

I hope this information helps you to be aware of what you say when you play. Now get out there and have a magical rhythmic conversation, express yourself, and until next time, keep the beat!

Drum Circle Magic Part Five: Drum SpeakDear Readers,

Whew! 2009 already? Where did 2008 go? As I sit, enveloped in a warm blanket, watch-ing my eight month old crawl backwards toward his sister, I can only be in awe of how quickly time continues to fly by. Just a few months ago, my son was barely able to sit by himself, and it seems like it was also just a few months ago that my now nine year old daugh-ter was crawling herself. I desperately want time to slow down, to go by slowly enough for me to capture every moment, record it in my mind, and actually enjoy it. And yet, time will not slow down--time does not seem to care about my busy schedule.

I’ve come to realize that time can be slow, if I would only slow down myself and appre-ciate the moment, but it’s hard to appreciate every moment when I am constantly occu-pied with working, parenting, cooking, plan-ning, cheering, loving, and if I have a spare moment, exercising. I know that this sce-nario is the same for many women. Almost every woman I know is desperate for a free moment and some time to just sit still and be. And though every year I have made the same New Year’s resolution to slow down, this is the first year that I have actually taken steps to make this resolution happen. I have made the decision to work less, to be with my chil-dren, to be still in life, and to be present in the moment as much as possible. Of course, these decisions have come at a price: I will have much less money, which means my chil-dren and I will not have the same luxuries as we’ve had before, yet this is also quite freeing, for time pays back multifold when I can sit on the floor with my children and watch the rain fall from the sky and puddle in the grass. Ahhh… the beauty of that simple moment.

This issue also examines the 36th anniver-sary of Roe vs. Wade, occurring in February. How thankful am I that Obama won and America doesn’t have to listen to a President who wants to take away a women’s right to choose! So, we look at Roe vs. Wade from local perspectives: from Proposition 4 to how to educate teens about sex. Overall, I am proud of those who have written to share their thoughts and experiences about this topic.

Finally, I wish you all a wonderful new year, and I thank you for your continued sup-port. This is was my first issue as editor, and if Kathleen hadn’t been around to answer my constant questions, I don’t know what this issue may have looked like. Being able to rely on help from the women involved in Women’s Press has shown me how beautiful a commu-nity of women can be. It has shown me how beautiful we all are.

January & February 2009 | www.womenspress-slo.org | Women’s Press 3LocalPerspectives

About Being Human

Unsung Heroine Leona Evans: Reinventing a Life Purpose

By Hilda Heifetz

In that great recycling place where new human beings are put together, perhaps some Socrates stuff slipped into the genetic mix that created the potential me? As far back as I can remember (and even before) the inclination to see life broadly takes hold of me. So much so, apparently, that my ten-dency must be to overdo it?

It was brought home to me when my mother was painfully sharing a problem. I thought it would surely comfort her to know that “lots of people have the same problem!” In her frustration with my gen-erality, she snapped: “Must you always be a philosopher? Can’t you just be a human being?” Ow, Wow!

What a harsh awakening when her mes-sage got through. It went something like this: “How can you take my personal suf-fering and turn it into some catch phrase? Why don’t you FEEL with me, a unique human being...I’m not people, I’m an indi-vidual person!”

It was an effective thrust, never to be forgotten. If I had been “abstracting” myself from the human race, I’d better pay atten-tion. If the quality of real existence was being lost, what good is my so-called philos-ophy? So through the years, in my relation-ships, the lesson has been vital. My work with the Anti- Defamation League involv-ing the anatomy of prejudice required the reconditioning from stereotypes (destruc-tive generalization) to respecting the quali-ties of the individual person.

And as I learn about the speedy advance of technology, computers, and the “human-izing” of the robot, I wonder about the intended use. Technicians and scientists are

By Sonci Lancaster

The commencement of a new year holds different meanings for many people. For some it promises the chance to start afresh, to set new goals, to reflect on prior accom-plishments. For others, it is simply the chance to recover from another hangover. Yet, for nearly everyone, the celebration of a new year presents the opportunity to make resolutions. Oh yes, they’re back. With their appealing persuasive promises and taunting told-you-so smiles, resolutions make their annual emergence onto hearts, minds, and to-do lists everywhere.

My experience with these resolutions is reminiscent of those bad-habit boyfriends from days of yore—the ones who pulled me in with their soulful eyes, brooding ways, and seeming unending array of vastly superior knowledge only for me to realize a few weeks later the maintenance of such a man is exhausting! While I must admit, my experience with faulty resolutions is much more abundant than my experience with self-important men, the comparison still retains some validity. How many of us become caught up with the hope of some-thing new, different and better, only to dis-cover mere months later that we cannot, or will not, keep pace any longer with these new habits?

During the few weeks following a new year, many will create goals and make promises: lose weight, quit smoking, spend more time with family, spend more time at work (you never know), learn something new, travel, exercise and so on. In and of itself, this list is probably not a slippery slope to some dangerous lifestyle; quite the opposite actually, which is why most people continue to make the same resolutions year after year after year. Resolutions definitely have their place—change can be very good and taking time to reflect on your life is cru-cial for development. However, it is far too

By Berta Parrish

What happens when a woman who deeply believes that we are born to do a certain thing, to express a certain talent, masters that thing and then feels lost and clue-less? Whether the former identity is one of homemaker, executive, clerk, or artist, we all arrive at this crossroad sometime in our lives. Which way do we go? Where are the signposts? How do we ascertain the “right” direction? Fortunately, there are role mod-els, and one is Leona Evans, author, moti-vational speaker, and minister of Unity of SLO. When she felt that she had completed her singing and acting career, she endured that painful liminal space, and courageously chose the startling different spiritual jour-ney.

Reflecting on this confusing time, Leona explains that she started performing as a child, unknowingly seeking approval to feel loved, and continued through her adulthood, wanting to feel valuable. “I felt I had to justify my existence; I had to do something to deserve my place on Earth,” she says. However, after achieving success and still not feeling satisfied in her 30s, she realized that “nothing out there could fix my needs.” So, she started to look inward instead, as people should while standing dispassionately at the crossroads of life.

This inward shift reclaimed several themes from her Jewish cultural heritage as well as childhood experiences. At the age of ten, she had formed an insightful theol-ogy: if, in fact, there is a God, it would be more of a Presence than a person, and that Presence would be of Unconditional Love and inclusion, not partisanship. Could she devote her skills and talents to partner with such a God to promote love of self and oth-ers?

She found the answer when she attended a Unity service on a bet. Intrigued, she soon

not expected to be concerned with moral outcomes, and if they celebrate added human capabilities to the robot, I have to wonder what kind of people they are envi-sioning. People like Einstein, The Dalai Lama, Jonas Salk...Hitler?! The possibilities are awesome.

All of which brings me back to my mother’s protest and larger meaning con-nected with it. Though all living things are part of the whole cosmic process, we are also individual organisms. The human, espe-cially, senses a self, fulfilling its potential as a single entity and unique...an identity sep-arate from others even to the patterns and contents of the DNA, the fingerprints, the voice quality, etc. This self needs to be rec-ognized and respected. It feels demeaned by abstractions, generalizations, universals! My mother needed me to feel with her, directly one-on-one, heart to heart. It seems the pri-mary way for life to grow and prosper!

Well, Mother, perhaps this is more of my philosophizing, but I have learned to be a human being. And I thank you for the jolt.

easy to get swept away by the worldly wiles of the resolution, captivating assurances of all things “er”: those tempting, comparative adjectives that push us into being faster, stronger, better.

Perhaps this is just my being a product of the kindly “I’m okay, you’re okay” gen-eration, or from having a pre-school teacher for a mother, or simply from the sheer dread of being forced to hear the endless lists of improvements droning on and on around me (okay, and within me, too!). But there is one resolution I wouldn’t mind hear-ing more often—the resolution to just be. Or put another way, the resolution to just accept yourself as you are, even just for a few weeks every January: not finding some-thing desperately in need of such immedi-ate improving that it had to wait for the beginning of the New Year to change, but just stepping into the New Year by embrac-ing yourself. Yes, we can all agree that we all need a little (or even a lot) of changing. Yes, the planet is in disarray and could use a hefty amount of attention. Yes, the edu-cation system, workforce, government (oh wait, perhaps there is hope for this one after all!) are all in need of some serious changes. But these are not issues that occur only after the hands of the clock join together to announce the dawning of a new year. These issues are always with us, waiting for us to take action. And let’s be honest, most of our new year resolutions are not so lofty as national change in the house of represen-tatives. They tend, for better or worse, to stay somewhat closer to home, to things we might be able to change in our own lives. I’m not advocating the dissolution of reso-lutions, but I just think we could all use a good dose of acceptance. Maybe if we begin to accept ourselves a little more, we can start spreading that love around.

Sonci Lacaster is a Cal Poly senior majoring in English and minoring in Women’s Studies.

became a member and choir director. This was the turning point, and the first steps on her arduous road toward ministry. Once the goal became clear, Leona made a long-range plan: first community college, then a BA, and finally a Master of Arts in Religion. Mishaps, accidents, and job uncertainties challenged her commitment but did not change it. After graduating, she became chair of the Metaphysics Department at the Unity School of Religious Studies in Kansas City for eight years. Leaving academia, she served as minister in Warrensburg, Missouri and Gulf Breeze, Florida before arriving in San Luis Obispo fifteen years ago.

This is where Leona has been able to share all of her talents to help build a spiri-tual, educational, and creative community center that supports the personal growth of each person while honoring the Presence of God in all creation. Unity of SLO serves the greater community by housing a Mon-tessori School, by participating in People’s Kitchen, and by offering Community and Children’s Theatre as well as poetry and other classes. On her Positive Living TV cable television show, Leona offers insight and encouragement while providing role models for courage, dedication, and public service.

Looking ahead to the challenges of 2009, the premise of one of her books, Spirituality & Abundance says it all: “True prosperity is a state of consciousness that transcends both riches and poverty. It is a deep sense of spiritual well-being - a grateful confidence in a benevolent universe filled with unlim-ited supply, energizing life, creative fulfill-ment, and endless love.” This deep knowing is her reward for following a calling at that life-changing crossroads.

For more information about Leona’s books, seminars, recordings, and consulta-tions, please visit www.wisdomgrows.com.

My Resolution

Happy Holidays From The ‘Cynics Corner’

By Jackie Turner

What is it about the Holiday Season that makes me feel so incomplete and anony-mous? I look at others and they seem so happy and normal, going about their busi-ness, shopping, and spending money, trav-eling, and just celebrating. I look at me and I look and feel off the wall, out of touch, staid, and stodgy. True, Christmas is not my natural holiday and in New York, on Christmas day, I went to the movies. Here in SLO, even without the snow, everyone appears so festive and “into it”! I just bide my time and wait for it to get over with! True spirit on my part!

I am happy (relieved) that we have Obama to look forward to in 2009. Even if he turns out to not be the greatest, at least he promises to be an adventure. Of course, in the back of my mind there is always Canada.

I am sitting here at my desk and the only feelings I have are of suffocation and pov-erty of spirit. That is what social holidays do to me – nothing. I guess I am a curmud-

geon, a bah humbug, a cynic. I guess that is why I have written a “Cynic’s Corner” for over seven years now.

For all of you who are celebrating, don’t mind me… rejoice, be grateful, be in love, eat, drink, and be merry. Don’t mind that lady in the corner.

Jackie Turner can be reached at jackie@callmejackie.com

Women’s Press | January & February 2009 | womenspress.slo@gmail.com4 WomenatWork

By Adele Sommers

In Part 1 of this series, we explored ideas for breaking through the barrier of worry-ing about always making the perfect move, which can cause a bad case of “analysis paralysis.”

If you’re feeling stuck in relation to your business, personal matters, or both, it can dampen your potential. This article dis-cusses the second of two patterns of “deci-sion gridlock,” and what to do about it.Pattern #2: The Desired Move Seems Too Intimidating (or Too Simple)

Are you setting the bar too high in the short term? I firmly believe in identifying a “grand vision” that aligns our life pas-sions with an overarching business idea—one that has the potential to engage us in a very full and satisfying existence over time. But when we set major goals that are so challenging, there is only a small chance of achieving them quickly, we can easily lose enthusiasm unless we plan the process incrementally.

Getting Unstuck: Tips for Overcoming “Decision Gridlock” (Part 2)

Happiness Is All Around You

Have the courage to ask yourself what your vanities are? What makes you feel attractive, smart, or important? Is it being on the A team, being consulted by someone important, making a lot of money, looking young? If so, what are the consequences? Is the game bringing you life? Or is it killing you? Such questions increase our self aware-ness, which ultimately is our best way to make adjustments to our life.

Examine these places and seek freedom from any entrapments. This takes courage and reckoning. This takes self acceptance, forgiveness, and mercy. And lo and behold, when this happens, the universe floods back to you with a swoop, delighted to see you again, surrounding you with happiness.

Dianne Legro is a national speech coach to individuals and corporate groups. She is a key-note speaker and will help you to speak like a pro and increase your business. Contact her at Dianne@diannelegro.com.

By Dianne Legro

Most of us are looking for ways to live with passion and purpose. It’s critical to do so, and some people find it challenging. Here are some things I’ve learned.

Live your life on purpose, as a creator, with personal freedoms. Make choices that nurture your simple joys, talents, relation-ships with loved ones, contributions, and your connection to the abundant source and spirit.

Making choices based on staying close to your passions, purpose, and calling expands everything else in your world. You stay in the zone of fun, synchronicity, attraction, flow, prosperity- there is a oneness between the universe and you.

I have also learned that if you make choices based on false desires, you travel further away from your center: less hap-pens, you struggle and forget things. You try harder, you do more things to make it work, and yet there is a numb separateness between you and life.

If you are in this predicament, and you are taking stock and want 2009 to be a transformational year full of gifts from your soul, I suggest two unlikely places to find where our freedoms and vitality sometimes get recaptured.

Take a good look at what irritates you. Yes, irritates! Why? Not to get worked up all over again but to take a compassion-ate look inside the things that won’t leave you alone. When you examine your irri-tations, what you find are the things you really care about that have remained with you unexamined, like grains of sand inside an oyster. Unexamined ‘grains’ become even bigger pains, like a toothache in your soul. You won’t become all that you truly are until you look in a new way at your annoyances and irritations.

Take Christina’s situation. Her longtime dream is to launch a business that caters to professionals who groom, train, and exer-cise pets. She foresees the potential for a large-scale operation with international franchises. Her grand vision is so rich and comprehensive that she can visualize every detail.

But because of the size and complexity of her vision, Christina feels intimidated about how to move forward. In this situa-tion, I suggest a two-pronged approach:

1) First, develop a “grand vision build-out plan” that has flexible phases or mod-ules. View the plan from a top-down and bottom-up perspective.

Top-down planning can provide the structure for major activities that need to occur. Keep in mind, however, that over time, the circumstances, requirements, technology, markets, and other factors can change considerably. That’s why top-down planning doesn’t cement every detail, but instead acts as a framework.

Bottom-up planning can identify the specific actions you can take today that

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will move you forward, regardless of what shifts in the future. For example, do you need to develop an Internet presence and start building a subscriber list? If so, you could start by creating informational con-tent that will establish your credibility and begin attracting an audience. Also con-sider conducting surveys, field tests, and/or pilot programs to validate your assumptions about what the audience needs and wants. What you learn will help clarify your grand plan!

2) Second, build momentum with each small step. Set your expectations fairly low, and each time you achieve a short-term goal, set a new one and continue to let momentum carry you forward. Taking one step forward -- in any direction -- will pro-duce satisfying accomplishments that lead to more small steps. By pacing yourself, gaining traction, and developing a rhythm, you’ll have fun instead of turning your dream into an oppressive chore!

In conclusion, taking small, low-risk steps can help you blast through “deci-sion gridlock” and start feeling great about

your progress. Instead of fearing failure, see yourself as a researcher running a series of inexpensive experiments. By gathering data, interviewing, observing, planning, and test-ing ideas incrementally, you’ll create build-ing blocks that generate momentum.

Adele Sommers, Ph.D. is a business per-formance consultant who helps entrepreneurs align their life passions with their business purpose. She also guides organizations through “tactical tune-ups” and “strategic makeovers” in individual or group sessions. Contact her today for a free initial consultation at Adele@LearnShareProsper.com, or 805-462-2199.

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The Sexual Assault Recovery and Prevention (SARP) Center’s mission is to transform the lives of sexual assault survivors, their families and the community through hope, healing and empower-ment. Their vision is to create a world that is free of sexual violence. They contribute articles regularly addressing issues around sexual assault.

The holiday season is traditionally a time for giv-ing and sharing with family and loved ones. This year, as you share those moments, I hope you

will consider giving a gift that will make a difference for countless victims of sexual assault: the gift of support and safety. As the Crisis Services Coordinator at the Sexual Assault Recovery and Prevention Center of San Luis Obispo County, I work daily with a phenomenal group of volunteers who share their time and hearts so willingly to support survivors of sexual assault. Often, the task of combating an issue such as sexual violence can seem very daunting, but with a long stanging his-tory, time has shown how much can be achieved. It is important to remember that the rape crisis movement began with a small group of women who came together to influence community action and legal reforms.

The first Rape Crisis Centers were established in the 1970’s. Though they originated independently, these centers came to foster a united action for social change.

Doing Good: Make Volunteering Your New Year’s ResolutionBy Phyusin Myint, Crisis Services Coordinator

In California, the first three centers were Santa Mon-cia Rape Crisis Center, Bay Area Women Against Rape, and WEAVE in Sacramento. The Rape Crisis Center in San Luis Obispo began in 1976 when volunteers met in parks and garages to talk about a communal response to sexual violence.

These pioneers in the movement were average citi-zens like you or me, who deciced to take initiative with the goal of enchancing the communication and coor-dination of sexual assault awareness and victim advo-cacy efforts. Although we may not be directly affected by a particular cause, as informed citizens we can all participate in becoming an enviromentally and socially responsible community.

The Sexual Assault Recovery & Prevention Center of San Luis Obispo County provides a 48-hour State Mandated Crisis Counselor Training for professionals and volunteers interested in joining this movement. The training is offered three times a year and covers a wide array of topics such as crisis intervention, active listen-ing skills, childhood sexual abuse, and advocating with law enforcement and medical personnel.

Once you have completed the training, volunteers serve the agency in a variety of ways including:

Advocacy/Accompaniment: Accompanying a 1) survivor to law enforcement interviews, forensics medical exams, and court proceedings, acting as an advocate and a support person.Telephone hotline: Providing information and 2) support to callers twenty-four hours a day on our crisis hotline.

Special Events: Working at our sponsor events such 3) as Walk-a Mile in Her Shoes: a Men’s March to Stop Rape, and An Evening with an Artist. Education/Prevention: Assisting our education 4) team with education and prevention in the class-room as well as women’s self-defense workshops. Peer Counseling: Providing information and sup-5) port to survivors and their significant others as a specially trained sexual assault peer counselor.

Our volunteers are an invaluable and treasured resource. Each year the SARP Center benefits from the generosity of volunteers who donate time and services for the survivors of sexual assault. Without the help of our dedicated volunteers, we would not be able to do this work. Your participation and involvement can have a tremendous impact on those who have been trauma-tized by acts of sexual violence.

The SARP Center has been serving SLO County for over 31 years. We offer a 24-hour crisis hotline, counseling, advocacy/accompani-ment, education, and self defense. All services are free, anonymous, confidential, and available to survivors or significant others, ages 12 and up. For more information about volunteering at the SARP Cente please contact 805-545-8888 or online at www.sarpcenter.org.

Women Don’t Have to Choose between Health Care and RentBy Raye Fleming, Director of Health Services

A survey released in December 2008 by the National Women’s Health Resource Center (NWHRC) highlights yet another disturbing

aspect of the current financial crisis: many women have made the difficult decision not to seek health care for themselves or their families in order to save money.

Almost half of the women surveyed (45%) failed to seek medical care because the cost was too high. Women shared that they skipped doctor’s visits, recom-mended medical procedures, and medications through-out the last year to cut costs from their household budgets.

Especially in these challenging times, it is important for women to understand that, not only is going without health care to save money likely to result in more costs down the road, they don’t have to choose between being healthy and paying the rent.

EOC Health Services (EOCHS) Clinics, serving SLO County since 1972, provide a safety-net for the rising number of low-income, uninsured, and underinsured members of our community. From the teen mom seek-

ing to avoid a second unplanned pregnancy, to the homeless woman in need of a free pap smear, to the menopausal woman who would otherwise be unable to afford a mammogram and essential lab work, the San Luis Obispo and Arroyo Grande EOCHS Clinics assist individuals in maintaining their health by provid-ing menopausal services, promoting early detection of breast, cervical and testicular cancers, preventing unin-tended pregnancy, and avoiding sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV, all at low to no-cost.

As the only health care provider for many of our patients, EOCHS Clinics not only provide reproductive health and contraceptive services, other health risks, such as hypertension and diabetes, are often identi-fied. In those cases, education and immediate referral for appropriate treatment is provided, preventing future debilitating illness, avoiding unnecessary expenses, and saving lives.

EOC Health Services offers quality, confidential, and compassionate reproductive health care includ-

ing exams for men and women; birth control (includ-ing Emergency Contraception); pregnancy testing and counseling; screening and treatment for sexually transmitted infections; HIV testing; screening for breast, cervical, and testicular cancers; peri-menopausal, meno-pausal, and post menopausal education; hormone replacement therapy as appropriate; lab work; referrals for free mammograms; and evaluation and referral for gynecological concerns.

The Clinics, located at 705 Grand Avenue in San Luis Obispo and 1152 East Grand Avenue in Arroyo Grande, provide services Monday through Friday for adolescents, women and men up to age 64. Services are also provided at the Prado Day Center every other Wednesday from 9:00 to 11:30 am. Appointments can be made by calling 489-4026 for Arroyo Grande or 544-2478 for San Luis Obispo. Walk-ins are also welcome.

All Clinics are staffed by caring bilingual/bicultural reproductive healthcare professionals, and are handi-capped accessible.

Join the Staff of the Women’s PressWe’re putting together a team of interested women to get the work of the paper done. Join a committee to manage the monthly workshops, yearly women’s film festival, and events yet to be planned! Or do one of these tasks on your own or with other volunteers.

Decide on themes and seek out content •Oversee a section of the paper•Edit and proofread •Maintain the database•Solicit ads (get a commission!)•Publicize workshops and film festival •Keep website content updated •Develop relationships with local women’s organizations•Prepare paper for mailing•Distribute paper in your area of the county•Market the Press•Participate in fundraising activities•

Contact womenspress.slo@gmail.com

Earn extra $$$ Join our advertising sales team and earn a commission

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ON THE CENTRAL COAST! find out how here and here

Women’s Press | January & February 2009 | womenspress.slo@gmail.com6 Body&Soul

Responsibility Awakening Through GraceBy Barbara Atkinson

Let go. There is a difference between feel-ing responsible for others and being a guid-ing light.

Too often some of us take the idea of “being of service” and turn it into “being responsible for.” We have a responsibil-ity for our small children, for caring for a pet we acquire, and for the welfare of aging parents that become disabled and the like. Most everything else is about being respon-sible for ourselves – living in integrity so that our lives become a guiding light.

Each person is responsible for her choices. We cannot save someone from themselves or those choices. We can merely show the way. Nor are you responsible for what others think of you. Each of us, though connected as one, is on an individ-ual journey. No two awakenings are alike. Though the markers and destination are the same, we are individuated, and Spirit works

By Laura Grace

“What is the best religion?” queried a truth seeker. “Self -realization,” Yogananda replied. “Self-realization is, in fact, the only religion. For it is the true purpose of reli-gion, no matter how people define their beliefs.”

As we enter into the New Year, let us take a moment to clarify our vision for 2009. In my own life, I’ve been thinking about my vision, and what keeps surfacing is awakening through grace: being fully con-scious and present to my true Self. It’s the same vision I’ve had for several years, and it applies to my vision for the Circle of Spir-itual Enlightenment as well. Awakening is the greatest gift we can give ourselves and entails the following three components: Intention, Attention, and Retention—with-out the tension!

For example, if our intention is to awaken to the Truth of who we truly are, it means waking up each day and affirming: “Today, I awaken to the awareness that all beings are One. Today, I shift out of reptil-ian fear, fight or flight response, and move into love so I can experience the true free-dom that comes from my intention to awaken.”

The question then becomes, “And how do we do that?”

And the answer is by putting our atten-tion on this moment. Not on yesterday or tomorrow, but on what is going on right now, one breath at a time. It’s akin to some-thing I once heard the Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh say: “Take a step mindfully, on the snow and ice. Being present, breathing in, I know that I’m alive. Breathing out, I’m grateful for my life and for this moment. Breathing in, I know that this is a wonder-

through our particular nature.When you are responsible for yourself,

for living in integrity, you aspire to live in harmony with the universe – with flora and fauna and others around you. You choose to love and value yourself and to do unto oth-ers as you would have done to you. Only if our advice is sought out do we give it.

Even if we choose to work for the bet-terment of others, i.e., offering medical assistance or new farming techniques to a deprived population or spiritual teachings, we do so as a guide and helper, not because we are responsible for others. Each person is responsible for themselves and to the Divine Spirit within and around them.

So check in with yourself and your rela-tionships with family, friends, and others in general. Are you letting a feeling of respon-sibility creep in? Free yourself from the tyr-anny of misplaced responsibility and shine your light.

ful moment. Breathing out, I’m grateful, for this moment.” On the home page of Thich Nhat Hanh’s website it lovingly urges every-one to “Wake Up!”

Finally, our vision for awakening includes the power of retention. This involves retain-ing the awareness that everything we need is already in our life. It doesn’t need to come to us because it’s already here. Everything we desire—peace, love, contentment—is within. We only need to be willing to see it more clearly and retain the awareness of its presence.

When enough of us come together to awaken internally, we will experience gen-uine and lasting freedom. It’s already hap-pening; countless people across the planet are setting the intention to awaken because they are tired of being sick and tired, and they are tired of suffering. We are at a point in time where the scales have tipped because enough people are ready to awaken and realize their true Self.

It helps to remember that our inten-tion is lovingly supported by Spirit because Spirit wants us to awaken. As you celebrate the New Year, may you set and fulfill the highest intention for yourself and may you awaken through Grace.

How to Say NO and Still be LikedFor women who struggle with wanting both.

By MaryAine Cherry

Have you ever wondered “will people still like me if I say no?” How many times do you say yes when you really mean no just to keep the peace? Here’s a radical thought for you: say YES to yourself.

Here are five tips on how you can do this:

Learn, notice, and listen to your own inner guidance.

Your body tells you when you are going against yourself. Signs from your stomach growling, pain in your head or neck, and even a feeling of heaviness are a few ways of your body telling you to listen to your inner voice.

Recognize when you’ve heard it before and use it.

You will become better at recognizing the signs from your mind and body. Think back to times you knew beforehand that something was not quite right and you went ahead anyway, perhaps getting a speeding ticket while trying to get one more errand completed. Learn your lessons.

Identify comfort zones past, present and future.

Think back to a time when everything worked. How did you prepare and what were you feeling? These are comfort zones that you can recreate for today and the future. Practice staying in your comfort zone.

Establish comfortable boundaries to use all year long.

Notice when you give your power away. Use this as a reminder by noting how you feel at the time you give away your power and especially the next day as you mull over what you should have said and done. This is a good opportunity to make a choice about your future boundaries, which can be tricky because sometimes we have to make exceptions. Life happens, as do too many events on your schedule. But this can be

balanced out with days off to rejuvenate. Mark time on your calendar for you and don’t change it unless you reschedule the time. That is a valuable boundary allowing you to stay balanced. As you honor that it becomes easier to create in other aspects of your life.

Mark your calendar with “Rejuvenate dates” for yourself.

Take your 2009 calendar and go through the months right now and mark off time for yourself for the next 52 weeks. The time doesn’t need to be set in stone, but it needs to be there so you can recognize it each week. This is saying yes to you. Give your-self an ‘Atta girl!’

Classes start Wednesday Jan. 22st, for four weeks on this topic at the RETurn To JOY! Classroom from 5:30 to 7:30. Online registration is active Jan. 5 at www.lmusd.org community classes. Call 805-773-4475.

MaryAine Cherry helps people believe in themselves with self development coaching since 1996. She is a Rapid Eye Technician-Trainer, Health Educator, Massage Therapist and the founder of RETurn To JOY! in Pismo Beach. Contact her at 805-773-4475 or www.return2joy.com

January & February 2009 | www.womenspress-slo.org | Women’s Press 7Voices

Voices Around the Table: What is your New Year’s resolution and how do you resolve to keep it?

Dorothy SegoviaMy resolution is to be kinder to myself.I intend to keep it by noticing how it

feels when I complain about another per-son’s actions: whether outloud or to myself. For instance, today I was frustrated with traffic and a driver cut me off. Usually I just ‘shoot a mental barb’ but I really don’t like how that feels.

Instead I started praying for patience. A few lights over, I needed the car ahead of me to scoot up so I could get into the left lane. Yes, the car moved - and of course - it was the same driver that cut me off a few blocks earlier. I waved and yelled thanks.

So, being kinder to myself by paying attention to my energy means being kinder to everyone else. This really keeps the ‘all is one’ statement close to heart.

Jeanie GreensfelderI intend to ask how I can connect with

myself during the day and in the moment. Simply voicing the question is often enough to remind me of inner priorities and the joy of noticing daily activities.

Kathleen DeragonMy resolution is to start doing some

creative writing and to ensure I do it, I am committed to journaling every morning to prime the pump.

Sonia PazMy new years resolution is to volunteer

at the SLO Women’s Shelter.They need our support, not only finan-

cial, but with donations of clothes, books, children toys, diapers, etc

Leslie St. JohnMy resolution is to gift time to my cre-

ative self—writing, dancing, and playing.

Jennifer KaplanMy New Year’s resolutions are to find

more quality time with my husband; to find a way to either bring in more money for our family or to reduce the amount we are spending; to get a babysitter once a month so I can go out either with friends, or my husband (which completely goes against above mentioned resolution); and to try to eat as locally and organically as we can afford.

Christine DewartMy New Year’s resolution, more like life

goal actually, is to be more decisive. I struggle tremendously with this, as I feel many other females do as well. I want to work on being more sure of myself in the everyday things I do--I feel it will help build my self-esteem. I think it will also allow me to present myself in a more confident manner when interacting with others.

Denise GibbonsTo lose weight and be comfortable with

my body—like it is every year. Eat right and exercise... like every year... though this one never seems to stick.

Melanie Reese SennOne of my New Year’s resolu-

tions is to spend more time with my girl friends. I love the men in my life (my spouse, my one-year-old, my two-year-old), but I miss—and need—the women!

Caroline JanneyTo relax and do lots of yoga, by taking a

class two days a week.

In the next issue, the Voices Around the Table question is “How do you make your home your sanctuary?” Please send responses to womenspress.slo@gmail.com

New Stories Painting New PossibilitiesSynchronicity & SerendipityBy Kathleen Deragon

We live our lives in the stories and cul-tural myths of our society—and the time has come for us to begin telling and living new stories. As a single older woman liv-ing alone, in these economic times, I’d like to write a new story for my future so its prospect is not so grim and I don’t have to worry about becoming a bag lady.

Fortunately, there is a grassroots move-ment starting in our county that just might give us the opportunity to take part in cre-ating new stories—and have fun doing it: the Transition initiative, a moving towards more localized energy-efficient and produc-tive living arrangements. There will be a two-day training session in January. Here’s some information that may give you the motivation to become involved.

First, what stories are no longer true?We’ll have more wealth in the future •than we have nowEconomic growth can continue indefi-•nitelyWe’re too much of an individualistic •society to have common goalsHaving “stuff” makes you happy•

And why? Peak oil and climate change. Rob Hopkins, the major figure in the Tran-sition movement, says in The Transition Handbook, “Most things around you rely on cheap oil for their manufacture or transpor-tation” (p. 19). And as for climate change, he says there’s a “scientific near-consensus that our oil-addicted lifestyles are to blame” (p. 33). So as time goes on, products will become more expensive or less available and our climate will continue to decline. Unless we start writing and living new stories.

The new stories will come as we take action to become more resilient – able to withstand a crisis in our immediate envi-ronment and not just survive but to thrive. A community needs resilience in its food, energy, money supplies, and transportation system.

If food becomes too expensive at Vons because of the cost of transporting it for hundreds or thousands of miles, do we have

By Heather Mendel

The ideas expressed in this article come from my book Dancing In The Footsteps of Eve: Retrieving The Healing Gift Of The Sacred Feminine For The Human Family Through Myth And Mysticism to be pub-lished 2009.

As we approach the start of 2009, and another New Year, we are very conscious of time, a mysterious realm that we don’t really understand. Chronos and Kairos are two archetypal markers of this mystery: Chronus — that logical, mighty, mascu-line keeper of clocks and calendar, of past and future, while Kairos, portal to the eter-nal now, the present, can be likened to the intuitive swirling, feminine space of “once-upon-a-time.” Like dancers on the stage of eternity, these two aspects of time are locked in an eternal tango in which the ever-pres-ent Chronus sets the rhythm and beat for an unfolding reality. Kairos confounds us with the color and flow of movement that tanta-lize us with a sense of new possibilities and ancient tales from the world of myth and story that reveal and then conceal them-selves once more.

As Kairos dips and swirls into awareness, we grasp for the wisps of an alternate and complementary reality that seems to with-draw just as we reach out. Kairos introduces chaotic sparks of possibilities that slip in and out of the pattern of order established by Chronus. Kairos is a portal to an eternal, “once upon a time” dimension that is home to our souls; the realm’s “lingua franca” of imagery that is the language of our souls.

Most of our days are filled with Chronus ‘form’— the fore-grounded, outer reality of our existence that separates and differenti-ates us as individual human beings, each living our own ‘story’ with beginning, mid-dle, and end. Sadly, for many, temporal Chronus time is all that we know. It is where we spend most of our waking moments, remembering the past or anticipating the future and in so doing, missing entirely the present moment. Eckhardt Tolle, a contem-porary mystic and spiritual teacher, reminds us that if we are able to still our ever-rest-less minds, we have possibility of opening to the realm of Kairos, mostly relegated to

local food supplies we can afford? If our local utility’s energy is too expensive, are we set up to use local wind, sun, or water supplies? Is all our money in national or internationally owned banks vulnerable to worldwide economic instability or is it in a local bank? Do we have a local public trans-portation system that will enable us to get to work, the doctor, or recreational activi-ties if we can’t afford a car? Do we have big enough social circles that we can trade ser-vices for ones we need but can’t afford?

The fun I mentioned at the beginning of this article will come as we unleash our cre-ativity and genius to make our community a resilient one, writing those new stories. A huge ship can’t quickly make a 180º turn, and a community cannot overnight become resilient. We need to start now.

When: January 17-18Where: Dancing Deer Farm in Templeton. Cost: $200 if paid before January 6, $225 after thatContact 805-239-0147 or jim.cole@charter.net

Can’t come but are interested? Go to http://transitioncalifornia.ning.com/ and http://transitiontowns.org/ or Google “tran-sition towns”

the background of our awareness. Synchronicity. Serendipity. These words

have a special magic and a musicality just as words; sparking through the drabness of our daily routines, they are portals to the mystery and intrigue of Kairos where we acknowledge and celebrate our similitude. It is here that we recognize and remember that although we are all totally unique indi-viduals in the world of form in Chronus, at the same time, we are also all intercon-nected, identical sparks of The Eternal.

This all came to mind in a very real way several months ago, when my little dog was gravely ill with an undiagnosed prob-lem. Deeply concerned about his life, I was startled by the doorbell and the arrival of a friend I had not seen for some time. Mira-cle of miracles – not just a friend I respect and love, but a medical intuitive par excel-lence, who just ‘happened’ to arrived unex-pectedly when I most needed her insight. She immediately recognized the problem with our beloved dog, and we were able to formulate a plan. Her arrival on our door-step at that exact moment was a clarion call of Kairos, a synchronous and serendipitous event graphically reminding me of how interconnected we all are on a very deep and mysterious level.

As we contemplate a New Year, a new administration in Washington DC, and a new beginning many more levels than just in Chronus, my New Year’s resolution is to open myself more fully to the mysterious and celebratory realm of Kairos. My spiri-tual practice is becoming more regular, and I intend becoming more conscious and appreciative of the inner landscape in which we are all one.

Women’s Press | January & February 2009 | womenspress.slo@gmail.com8 Women’sStories

... looking for a spiritual change?�e Circle of Spiritual Enlightenment is an interfaith community

dedicated to celebrating diversity and honoring the spirit that connects all things.

Spiritual Leader: Laura V. GraceCome and Enjoy the Dynamic Music of the Circle Spirit Band!

Sunday Services 10:00amPlease join us for meditation at 9:30am each Sunday before the service

Sunday School Provided: Educational and Fun1500 Lizzie St., Room J-2, Adult School, San Luis Obispo

For more info: 805.995.1390 Website: www.spiritualcircle.org

E-Mail: spiritualcircle@spiritualcircle.org

Please join us for a celebration of expanding conciousness and love.

Women’s Way To WealthFebruary 28th, 2009

Mark Your Calendars!

The Women’s Community Center is pleased to present a day long seminar on surviving the current financial crisis, in collaboration with the SLO Women’s Business Network and the SLO County Commission on the Status of Women. This seminar is designed to educate and empower women of all ages and circumstances to take charge of their finances and gain economic freedom.

“This seminar responds to the urgent need in the community for informa-tion to assist individuals concerned about their financial situation in these uncertain times.”

Join us on Saturday, February 28th, 2009, from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at SLO Library Community Room. The seminar will present an overview of the following topics in a morning panel. In the afternoon, participants may choose from a series of simultaneous, repeated workshops on those topics most relevant to them.

The schedule will include presentations on:

Components of financial planning•Budgeting/debt management•Real estate issues•Insurance•Financial aspects of beginning or end-•ing personal relationships

For the third year, the Women’s Press and Cal Poly Women’s Programs and Services will be presenting LUNAFEST®, a national traveling festival of films by, for, and about women put together by Luna Bar. Coordi-nating the festival with International Wom-en’s Day (IWD), which is on March 8, our event will be held on Saturday, March 7, time and place to be determined. So mark your calendars and go to slolunafest@gmail.com to be put on our notification list regarding time and place and to volunteer. Go to www.lunafest.org to find out more about the films and view a trailer.

IWD has been celebrated in some form since the early 1900’s and is the global day connecting all women around the world

The day will close with a plenary session speaker, with drawings for donated gifts and prizes.

The cost of the event is $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Translation services will be available for Spanish-speakers and lunch is included. All are welcome.

For more information, please call the Women’s Center at 544-9313. Send your check, payable to WCC-WWW, and mail to the Center at 880 Industrial Way, SLO 93401.

© 2008 Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated. Member SIPC.

True wealth is about more than money. It’s about achieving life.®Let us help you achieve what matters most to you. Contact a Merrill Lynch Financial Advisor today.

RAMIREZ/SIPSAS Financial Advisory Team

Helen Sipsas, CRPC® Financial Advisor

(805) 596-2227

1020 Marsh Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

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and inspiring them to achieve their full potential. IWD celebrates the collective power of women past, present and future. Annually on March 8, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate their achievements. While there are many large-scale initiatives, a rich and diverse fabric of local activity connects women from all around the world ranging from political rallies, business con-ferences, government activities, and net-working events through to local women’s craft markets, theatric performances, fash-ion parades, and more. LUNAFEST is one of the ways we celebrate locally. Hope to see you at the movies!

Submissions Wanted!

Articles, essays, opinion pieces, letters, and poetry all wanted and appreciated. The next issue—March/April—will have an insert celebrating Women’s History Month. We are looking for articles celebrating women’s life stories. Some ideas to think about: what made you or someone you know such a strong woman today? What important woman helped shape and guide you today? What one aspect of your life do you deem the most important as a woman? Essays should stay within the 500 word count. Please submit to womenspress.slo@gmail.com by February 8, 2008. The Wom-en’s Press reserves the right to edit all submis-sions for content, clarity, and length.

January & February 2009 | www.womenspress-slo.org | Women’s Press 9Women’sStories

The Power of Now

My Croning CeremonySitting in a Circle of Wise Women

By Courtney Brogno

“Atha. Come to Atha,” says Lisa Terranova-Pittelli at the beginning of her Sunday morn-ing yin yoga class. The Sanskrit word “atha”, meaning “now”, is the first word of Patanja-li’s 2,000-year-old yoga guidebook, the Yoga Sutra, and Lisa begins with this word in order for her students to stop the wandering of their minds, to pay attention to what she is about to say, and to, most importantly, begin to live in the present, to focus on the now, to just be.

It’s just too bad that I can’t even seem to do this for more than a minute! Almost as soon as the word “atha” leaves my ears, my mind begins to think about the long to-do list I have sitting at home awaiting my return. And within 10 seconds I have added three more items to my list, and then my mind begins to think about an argument I had with a friend last year and how I really need to mend that relationship, and oh my, I forgot to turn off the iron at home, does my insurance cover accidental fire? If everything burned down what would I miss the most? Certainly not my old bed, but most definitely …

“Atha:” I come back to the present for a minute and focus on my breathing. This back and forth between the chaos of my mind and the calmness of the yoga room is the reason I return as often as possible to Lisa’s classes. Like most women who live complicated and busy lives, I am not a centrally guided person. I flutter, I create chaos, and I leave the iron on. I need to be guided to find my peace, at least for now. And yoga, for me, has been the perfect practice to find peace and acceptance.

Although many people often think of yoga as just a type of exercise that incorporates breathing and stretching, Lisa believes that yoga is much more. Having been introduced to yoga in 1994 in San Francisco from a room-mate who urged her to start a “really healthy exercise,” Lisa soon realized that there was “a lot more than met the eye” and that she had a lot to work with psychologically, which Lisa describes as both “compelling and fright-ening.” The compelling won out, and Lisa continued her training, working with many teachers along her path to becoming a well-rounded, spiritual yoga teacher and owner of Smiling Dog Yoga in San Luis Obispo.

There are many wonderful teachers at Smiling Dog Yoga and each teacher is individ-ualized, something that Lisa believes “esteems the variety” that each individual teacher and student brings to the class. The public classes are often filled with people of all ages—from the little girls who take kid’s yoga, to the col-lege student who comes in looking tired from

By Kathleen Deragon

Women friends are so remarkable. They are so “there for you” for both the sad and cel-ebratory moments of your life. Their love and accumulated wisdom enrich those times when you are so sad you feel you’ll fall into a dark hole unless they are there to keep you from tumbling in or so happy you need to share it with other people or you’ll explode.

I turned 60 in the fall and am so joy-ful about this time of my life that I decided to celebrate by inviting friends and my two daughters to a croning ceremony, which one of my friends agreed to facilitate. The crone, although once a word that conjured up an ugly and frightening old woman with hooked nose and stooped shoulders, is being embraced by women my age, who know what she really represents: a woman with inner beauty who acknowledges the power and wisdom of her accumulated experience and who is committed to caring, listening, and connecting to others. She – we – are willing to tell the truth about our lives and have come to trust our intuition and creative power. In a society that pro-motes the removal of wrinkles and bashes a woman with a belly, we accept our wrin-kles and spreading bellies and butts, and focus gracefully on the inevitable process of aging. And we know the importance of doing it together.

a long night of studying, to the very preg-nant woman in the pregnancy yoga class, to the amazingly flexible 80 year old woman in the yin class—and everyone is welcome and encouraged to learn and experience. And while yoga is a gender neutral activity, Lisa explains how fundamentally great it is for women.

Yoga is a natural fit for women, and as Lisa says, “particularly beneficial” for women. Lisa believes that yoga is a more organic—slow and even—strength building for women: to the lower body, openness, the upper body, integrity. It is also beneficial in dealing with issues of women’s health: bal-ancing out the menses and hormones day to day; balancing out the body during preg-nancy; minimizing the symptoms during peri-menopause and menopause; aiding in preventing bone density loss; and women do seem to be more receptive to the spiritu-ality yoga offers.

And it was this spirituality that took me by surprise as a yoga student. A little over a year ago, my life started to fall apart, and I felt incredibly lost and fairly bruised. When making my New Year’s resolution, I chose something simple: to go back to yoga. At the time, it just seemed to be the right thing to write down in my journal. But last Janu-ary I kept my resolution and, six months pregnant, I entered Lisa’s yoga class with the hopes of stretching out my ever growing body. But during the class, listening to Lisa ruminate about the nature of coming to “atha,” I began to cry. It was as though—by coming to the present, even if only for a minute—I was able to hear myself breathe for the first time in a long time, and I was able to feel a healing energy coming from the earth. Lisa’s words continued to pen-etrate my psyche every time I came to her class, and I left more whole, more sound, and slowly I began to heal. Yoga did relax my body (and I believe, led to the rather easy delivery of my son), but it also led me to a deep, spiritual place where I learned to trust myself and my intuitions once again.

This was possible, of course, because of a resolution I made in haste, a resolution that led to so much more than just a check on my list of things to do. And so I encourage all to come to “atha”—be it fleeting or tran-scendent, it is a resolution worth pursuing.

Smiling Dog Yoga is located at 1227 Archer Street, San Luis Obispo. Feel free to call or visit their website: 805-546-9100 www.smilingdogyogaslo.com.

So sitting in a circle under a magnifi-cent oak tree, my friends and I reflected on friendship and this stage of our lives. As each woman came up to me and offered me her good wishes, often through a poem – sometimes one she wrote herself – we all shared in the wisdom of the words being spoken. My ceremony was a celebration for us all.

May some of the thoughts expressed on that day inspire other post-menopausal women to embrace the crone and all she can represent:

May Gaia guard and guide you as you enter your crone responsibility for her well-be-ing and that of all the life she nurtures on her generous body. Future generations look to you. Past generations urge you onward. May you always remember that you are not alone as we all more toward Earth Community.

Hold with both hands each precious glit-tering moment of your life.

I see this next chapter of your life as one of vibrancy, courage, dynamic self-expression, beauty, and some exotic “putting it all out there” –ness! I acknowledge you as a powerful, graceful, purposeful, beautiful woman, sister, and friend.

Blessing on your journey as you grow, enveloping all your experiences as “maiden” and “mother” and become powerful yet gentle in your new roles as a wise woman.

Congratulations on being an unfin- ished woman!

Photo provided by Lisa Terranova-Pittelli

Photos taken by Sarah Deragon

2050 Garfield Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

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Nurturing Heart: Wish Moments

By Jeannie Greensfelder

Thoreau described heart wishes with the story of a farm couple having tea on an old apple-wood table. They heard a tiny scratching noise and in time an insect emerged from deep inside the table. An egg, warmed by the teapot, had awakened. Thoreau suggested that within each of us is an “unhatched abundance.” Nurtured, our eggs can burst forth, inviting us to the winged life.

So in the New Year, I like to listen for heart wishes, to hear what is calling for my attention and how I can support inner longings. I keep a notebook handy ready to record passing ideas, large and small, to act on them during the year. My catego-ries include creative projects from writing to cooking, playful art, and music to places in nature that beckon. I also include what I wish for family members and for my work.

This year, I’ll be taking a poetry writ-ing class. Setting aside time feels like pro-viding the right circumstances so poems

can emerge. When words and feelings get shaped into form, I feel enlivened. My play-ful art includes time with clay, dancing, or singing around the house, and taking pho-tos.

Along with resolutions for the New Year, you might note some of your wishes and longings over several weeks. Keep a notebook near your chair. See which com-ments call for some action and invite you to take flight.

Women’s Press | January & February 2009 | womenspress.slo@gmail.com10 LocalPerspectives: Roe v. Wade

Lawrence Bardach, OTR / L Pediatric Occupational Therapist

www.Playpaththerapy.com

805-481-7529805-481-7529

Treating Children with Autism / Sensory Disorders

Roe vs. Wade

Reproductive Rights Update

Editor’s Note:

Women’s Health:What’s in Our Future?36th Anniversary of Roe v. WadeThursday, January 22, 20096:00 pm to 7:30 pm at theSan Luis Obispo Library Conference Room

Join the National Organization for Women and Health Care for All in honor-ing women’s right to health care

Guest speaker: Dr. Susan RobinsonThen walk through Farmers Market,

returning for Candlelight CircleInformation Tables and Refreshments

provided

For more information call Angie at 544-4331

By Anna Quinn

The baby sat up across from me. Dressed in her little pink jamies, smiling with baby joy, she glowed. I waved from behind the wall of a glass elevator. Excited, she started to crawl toward me, but I waved her back. Yet she wouldn’t stop coming. I waved and waved her back. She stopped for a moment, then the floor gave way underneath her and she fell down the elevator shaft.

I woke up from another December dream. In the pitch black of the winter sol-stice, I dream of the baby I aborted 28 years ago.

She is a girl. I know this, as she is in every dream. I have dreamed of opening a refrigerator door to find her trapped there, her face bruised and ashen. When I still dated her father, I dreamed of her as a two year old, sitting playfully on her father’s chest. That was a dream of longing; the oth-ers are dreams of regret.

My discovery that I was pregnant was so classic it was almost a cliché. I was sim-ply very tired, more tired than I’d ever been in my life. So tired I could barely walk. My roommate at the time suggested that I might be pregnant. I scoffed at the idea. I had been religious about putting my dia-phragm in. Pregnancy was just impossible, I said. Luckily, she urged me to check.

I had been dating the father for almost two years. We were New York City sophis-ticates; he lived in Greenwich Village, I in Chelsea. On top of that we were coworkers in a huge corporation, my father one of the principal officers.

We both had roommates, but he had his own room where we often happily shared a bed. I loved him, but we both came from religious families. His was Jewish and mine

Prop 4 and Prop 8 were the two conten-tious propositions last fall; one got all the ink, and passed, and the other hardly got any press, and failed. Both appear uncon-stitutional on their face because they both impose restrictions on our personal rights. The Constitution defines what government can do and the Bill of Rights defines what it cannot do. Government has no power to tell people what to do except in areas spe-cifically authorized in the Constitution and nothing in that power shall deny rights held by the people in the Bill of Rights. That means government has no right to tell people whether or not they can engage in homosexual acts; no right to invade our personal privacy; no right to manage our health-care system; no right to tell us what a marriage is; no right to run our lives; no right to do anything that wasn’t specifically authorized in the Constitution.

Prop 4 would have required a parent’s notification before providing abortion ser-vices to a minor. The backers of Prop 4 used a fake story about a fake issue to scare vot-ers into further restricting access to repro-

This issue explores Roe v. Wade. As many know, the Supreme Court issued its land-mark decision on January 22, 1973, with a 7 to 2 majority voting to strike down the Texas abortion laws. This January 22nd will mark the 36th anniversary of this law, and with the presidential election just weeks behind us, it’s worth remembering that some politicians, for example, John McCain and Sarah Palin, want to reverse the ruling. It’s also worth noting that California did not pass Prop 4. Suffice to say, Roe V. Wade is still incredibly important and controver-sial, and this issue showcases some local women’s perspectives.

Christian. It probably wouldn’t make much difference now, but it made a lot of differ-ence then.

His family was so upset that we were dating that they found him a one-bed-room apartment in his grandparent’s build-ing in Queens. As a further incentive they told him he had to take his dog, which he couldn’t house in his Manhattan apartment. They told him they were tired of watch-ing it and they might send the dog to the pound. Of course he moved there. Not only did he not ask me to move in with him, but he never even introduced me to his grand-parents, although he saw them every day. They were holocaust survivors who would be very upset to know he was dating a non-Jew, he said.

Soon I was looking for an apartment in Queens too. It was more affordable, and I could have my own place, I told myself. All of that was true and it worked out very well in the long run, but really I wanted to be nearer to him, of course.

The night I told him I was pregnant, he immediately said he would pay for an abor-tion. He said this was the way a gentleman would react. His quick reaction also con-vinced me that I shouldn’t have the baby. I didn’t have a qualm. He asked me if, accord-ing to my beliefs, abortion was a sin. I said I really didn’t think so, that at this point it was a bunch of cells. And I meant it.

Shortly afterwards, a friend of mine who was going to medical school in Canada vis-ited me in New York for the holidays. She advised me that if I was going to get an abortion, I needed to do it immediately, not wait. I had told her I had thought of wait-ing a little bit, just to see what being preg-nant was like. She was adamant that would be a mistake, and I listened to her.

ductive health care. It was the third time voters had to fight back the religious right to maintain our constitutional rights. Maybe now they’ll quit trying. According to an editorial in the Tribune before the election, fewer than 3% of California’s teen-age girls become pregnant every year, and the vast majority of those tell their parents, and indeed, depend on their parents for emotional support. As we know, those who don’t, or can’t, tell their parents have a good reason not to and these girls need to know they can still seek help without criminal consequences. Prop 4 would have required the minor to notify the doctor if she was the victim of abuse or rape and the doctor was then required to notify police.

But apparently, that’s not the end of it. Bush just announced new federal regula-tions requiring medical facilities to certify that they do not impede the rights of those with a “moral objection” to providing repro-ductive health care services to their clients. These regulations were passed without com-ment, over the objections of the EEOC, DHHS, the Congress or the states’ attorney

I had the abortion at a top New York facility, on the Upper East Side called the Women’s Reproductive Center. It was clean, private, and safe. The doctor asked me to tell him what I thought about when I was told I was pregnant. He seemed puzzled by my answer, “I was surprised to learn that I was fertile.”

But that was true. I was a child, not a woman. I never dreamed I could con-ceive. It turned out that I didn’t thoroughly understand how a diaphragm worked, that it’s really only a cup to hold spermicide. I used it every night, but didn’t understand I had to apply more spermacide in the morn-ing or it was useless.

I recuperated in my boyfriend’s Queens apartment. After a long nap, I woke up and sat on his couch in my pajamas. I looked around me. Although it was Christmas, there were no lights, no tree. I thought of a line I’d read in the magazine in the waiting room of the Women’s Reproductive Center, which said that most relationships break up within six months after an abortion. On the surface, I still felt love and gratitude for him, but deep down I knew that might eas-ily be true of us. It was.

I am glad Roe vs. Wade made abortion legal. I think there would be many more suicides if women like me did not have an out. I am glad that my pregnancy was taken care of in a clean, well-lit place, performed by excellent doctors. I’m glad to this day that I never told my parents. My mother died without knowing and a strange, stub-born part of me is proud of that. But I’m also sad that I had an abortion. I know from my dreams, which started about two months after, that it was a child, not a choice. And she never had a name.

generals. Many states have their own regu-lations (like California) mandating access. These regulations supersede those rules and overturn decades of civil rights laws about discrimination based on religion. The new rules take effect January 19th. Spokespeople from the Obama administration say they are preparing to overturn those regulations, but that it could take several months.

On the plus side, however, a trial level judge in San Francisco struck down a state law that placed residency restrictions on women before qualifying for public aid for reproductive health care. These women are covered under a special health program for uninsured residents who are over the Medi-Cal income limits. The judge said the 6-month waiting period unconstitutionally restricted the federal right to travel freely across state lines (also based on the Bill of Rights).

Prop 8, on the other hand, got all the publicity, but has dropped off the radar as challenges to its constitutionality move forward, on a number of fronts. There are actions challenging the tax-status of the Mormon Church, which heavily financed the Proposition; there are lawsuits challeng-ing the constitutionality of the wording the Proposition and the procedure by which it got on the ballot; there is pressure on the Assembly to legislate a way to rescind it. Even supportive organizations themselves are distancing themselves from the extrem-

ists groups leading the charge, whose stated agenda is the abolition of all rights afforded gays and lesbians in the law, in other words, removing sex and/or gender discrimina-tion protections in every area of civil life. Even those who oppose civil marriage for gays apparently aren’t ready to support that. I guess that’s progress. Barry Lynd of the American United for Separation of Church and State said the battle for same-sex mar-riage will ultimately be won by convincing churchgoers that marriage is a civil rights issue and that same-sex marriage will not destroy their church.

Before the election, Ellen Goodman had a column comparing gay rights and abortion rights. A conference she attended noted that gays have come out of the closet and women who have had abortions are going back into the closet, meaning that gays have become so visible in our own lives, that they have almost become invis-ible (as in different), and being gay has lost its stigma.

Abortion rights, however, framed as a matter of individual choice, and therefore, private, is hardly discussed at all. One-third of American women have had at least one abortion by age 45. Over half these women already have families. But we think of abor-tion happening in private, to others, some-one not us and therefore, invisible. And, she says becoming more stigmatized.

January & February 2009 | www.womenspress-slo.org | Women’s Press 11LocalPerspectives Roe v. Wade

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Third Thursday of Each Month • 7-9 pm • $20Contact womenspress.slo@gmail.com or (805) 541-6874 for more information.

A Monthly Series of Spiritual Workshops

January Workshop February WorkshopDancing with Your Shadow

Thursday, January 15

Let 2009 be the year to feel less confused and conflicted and more fulfilled and ener-getic. By relating to your shadow, the dis-owned, undeveloped, and denied aspects of your personality, you can improve all your relationships and make more satisfy-ing choices. Trip the light (and the dark) fantastic to understand your hot buttons, blind spots, and projections. Learn how other people mirror our shadow elements, thereby, becoming important teachers. Through journaling, dialogue, awareness, and reflection, we discover the sacred pur-pose of the shadow, not as an enemy to be vanquished or an enigma to be solved, but as a fascinating partner in the rhythmic, improvisational dance of life.

Berta Parrish, Ed.D, is a college edu-cator, writer, and workshop leader with a strong background in Jungian and Arche-typal Psychology. She has published articles on spiritual journaling, women’s issues, and Cronings as well Wise Woman’s Way: A Guide to Growing Older with Purpose and Pas-sion, a book that offers an initiatory expe-rience to a vibrant third stage of life. Berta also offers Practical Jung, Dream Quest-ing, Elder Tales, and Myths Women Live By workshops for civic organizations, wor-ship communities, Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes, and Grandmother Gatherings.

Soul Collage

Thursday, February 19

Soul collage is a beautiful and creative pro-cess of allowing your soul to communicate with you through the use of art and imagery. It allows you to express what is held deeply inside and to honor all aspects of self, giving them a voice and a chance to be heard. In the process it allows you to tap into the deep wis-dom that is held within.

You are a spiritual being.•You are divinely guided.•You are deeply connected.•

Come and listen to what your soul has to say. Listen to your inner voice. Reconnect with lost aspects of yourself and listen to the longings of your soul.

Images will be provided. Please bring scis-sors and a large glue stick and dress comfort-ably as we may be working on the floor.

Terrie Miley is a licensed Soul collage facilitator and graduate from The Four Winds Healing the Light Body Training under the tutelage of medical anthropologist Alberto Villoldo, PH.D. She is trained as a healer to work in the chakra system and subtle ener-gies of the luminous body of the client, help-ing them to remove trauma and blockages from the system that no longer serve them. Together she is able to help them to find a new vision for their lives and their world. She is a speaker and facilitator on the Cen-tral Coast and is currently awaiting the pub-lication of her first book helping children to heal from the crippling after-affects of child abuse.

Education Offers AnswersBy Hannah Hewes-Clark

As an official “Teen Wellness Provider” at The Center (the local reproductive health clinic for teens), I speak from my heart when I say that sex education needs to be a priority in schools and, perhaps more importantly, in homes. Upon hearing where I work, most people ask, “So do you guys perform abortions for girls?” While the generally negative connotation of this question continues to bother me, I’m able to reply that no, The Center does not offer abortions. What we do offer are the tools to prevent pregnancy, and subsequently, abor-tions.

Four days a week, I have the opportu-nity to spend about fifteen minutes each with teens who go to The Center for birth control, Plan B, STI testing, pap smears, and education. My job is not only to gather all the information I can about each patient so that the clinician can do her job, but also to answer any questions peers might have and to provide comfort and trust for teens who are confused about their bodies or whose families refuse to provide the educa-tion they need. For many of these kids, The Center is the only place that offers clarity and an open willingness to talk about one of the biggest taboos in our culture: sex.

Teen sex is inevitable and unstoppable, and, frankly, it’s insulting to hear people saying that teens shouldn’t be having sex and that they shouldn’t be educated about it. One of the biggest things I’ve learned from working at The Center is that all types of people are sexually active, and no matter one’s shape, age, or orientation, everybody needs the same services to protect them-selves and their partners. Teens have the same desires and emotions as adults. They have the same capacity to love, and they should have the freedom to express their love and to explore their sexuality while

receiving the same--if not more--services as older, sexually active people. Yes, some teens may make decisions that they will later regret or that may not be healthy, but they are simply discovering the passion that lies in all human beings. And that’s not to say that adults don’t make some of the same harmful decisions as well.

Because no one can stop teens from becoming sexually active, the best that any-one can do is to educate teens: inform them about their bodies, how they work, and what the best ways are to protect themselves from pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. I think it’s incredibly ignorant for anyone to suggest that we eliminate sex education in schools because teens have the right and the need to understand their bod-ies and how they work. If their bodies are telling them one thing, and adults start tell-ing them that there is only one “okay” way to live in the meantime (abstinence), they will begin to feel ashamed at their natural desires and they will not know how to han-dle certain situations. In fact, they may find themselves more hurt than if they had been educated and protected.

At The Center, my job is to give peers the options and education that they need. When I’m able to reach out to someone my age, who may even go to my own school, knowing that he/she isn’t getting the same support at home, I’m confident every urine pregnancy test I run is worth it. I couldn’t be more proud to be doing what I am privi-leged enough to do, and I hope to continue my work. I want to spread the message that all teens should be able to talk with edu-cated peers or adults about sex.

The answer to preventing teen preg-nancy? Education.

Hannah Hewes-Clark is a senior at San Luis Obispo High School. Next fall, Hannah will be attending the acclaimed women’s lib-eral arts college, Barnard.

Women’s Press | January & February 2009 | womenspress.slo@gmail.com12 NOWNews

February 4Birthday of Betty Friedan, 1921•

February 15Birthday of Susan B. Anthony, 1820•

February 17NOW regular meeting, 6 PM •

February 21Birthday of Barbara Jordan, activist, •1936

The purpose of NOW is to bring women into full participation in the mainstream of American society NOW!This Page Presented by the National Organization for Women

CalendarJanuary 3

Birthday of Lucretia Mott, suffragist, •1793

January 11Birthday of Alice Paul, suffragist, 1885•

January 19Martin Luther King, Jr. Day•

January 20NOW regular meeting, 6 PM•

January 22Roe v Wade• decision, 1973

January 25Birthday of Virginia Woolf, author, •1882

January 26Birthday of Julia Morgan, architect, •1872

Coordinator’s CornerBy Angie King

January is traditionally the time of new beginnings, and NOW always starts the year with a celebration of our core feminist principle: our right to choose. January 22nd is the 36th anniversary of the Roe v Wade decision, and this year we have a great pro-gram planned. Please see the flyer and arti-cle for details.

January, in the Roman calendar, was also a time to look back and reflect. This Janu-ary affords us all a stark contrast between our immediate past, what we are leaving behind (finally!), and our future, what we have to look forward to (hope and change!). I am already hopeful, considering the Cabi-net choices Obama has made, and his state-ments about policy. As radical as many of you know me to be, I am ready to hold him accountable for his promises, but I offer also a little caution: politically imposed change takes a long time to sink into the ethos of the society, and in bad times, the old way is never very far below the surface. Let’s not expect too much too fast. Be kind to the new guys; the old guys left them a terrible mess.

Roe v Wade Turns 36 years old on January 22, 2009

Black History Month: Canada Beats us to the Punch

do. The ninth and tenth amendments were included to make absolutely sure there was no misunderstanding about the limited powers the Constitution grants to the fed-eral government.

Amendment IX: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X: The powers not dele-gated to the United States by the Constitu-tion, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

The court, in Roe, determined that these two amendments clearly encompassed a right to individual privacy, and, in the con-text presented, included the right to make personal choices, including termination of pregnancy.

But the right to have an abortion is only one side of the story. The other side of the issue is access to services.

Beginning immediately after Roe, peo-ple who opposed a woman’s right to choose moved to throw up roadblocks. Some states

February is Black History Month, so this article is both politically and culturally timely. Over past years, we have featured black women who have excelled in Amer-ica, showcasing the achievements of these women made often under great odds and against all expectation. This month, we turn north for the story of a little known, but very powerful black woman.

Did you know Canada has a female black Governor General? That office is the Queen’s representative in Canada, the com-mander in chief of the armed forces who approves every piece of legislation from the Parliament – and also controls when or if Parliament will even meet. That’s some power!

So, who is the Governor General? Her name is Michaelle Jean, age 51, an émigré

from Haiti, who has been running Canada since 2005. She is married to a filmmaker (a white man); they have one daughter, and live in the Canadian equivalent of the White House, Rideau Hall, in Ottawa. Governor General (or GG as she is called in the press) Jean was born in 1957, but moved at age 11 to Canada to avoid the tyranny of Papa Doc. She is fluent in many languages and began her career as a radio journal-ist with Radio Canada, eventually hosting her own television series showcasing social justice activist projects and coming to the attention of the Prime Minister.

Before becoming a journalist, Michaëlle Jean worked with Quebec shelters for battered women and helped establish a

Get Involved — Join NOW!San Luis Obispo Chapter

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Support reproductive choice•Work to eliminate ALL violence •against women Fight against sexual harassment•Encourage tolerance and diversity•Promote feminist issues•

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By Angie King

As some of us remember, prior to 1973, having an abortion was illegal. Period. The women, the doctors, and the staff were criminally liable, and many were pros-ecuted. Women still had abortions, of course, but they had to do it themselves, or find a “back alley” abortionist who might or might not have cared about sanitation or skill. Botched procedures led women to emergency rooms, where many were not treated on purpose and left to bleed to death. Roe changed all that; since 1973 doc-tors may perform abortions without fear of criminal prosecution and women are free to make the choice for themselves whether to terminate a pregnancy. Of course, there were then, and there have become increas-ingly more so, a number of restrictions on that right. But the basic constitutional premise has become black letter law.

Just to recap: The federal Constitu-tion spells out the limited rights and pow-ers given to the federal government, which has no powers not specifically authorized in the Constitution. The Bill of Rights specifi-cally spells out what government may not

NOW Chapter # CA 565PO Box 1306, SLO, CA 93406

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Can you believe it’s been 36 years that American women have had the right to choose how and when to control their own reproductive health? Some of those inter-vening years were pretty grim, as Congress passed the Hyde Amendment prohibit-ing the use of any federal tax dollars to any program anywhere that even mentions the word abortion to its clients and welfare reform cut off aid for health care to mil-lions of poor women; as states passed oner-ous laws restricting access to providers; and as arsonists, bombers, and shooters took the law into their own hands and destroyed health clinics and killed doctors and staff.

Every year, the local chapter of the National Organization for Women presents a public event, to bring awareness of the issues, spotlighting different aspects of the struggle depending on current events. This year, NOW wants to focus on the issue of health care as a primary need for all women and especially women seeking reproduc-tive health care services. How can we pro-vide full services to all women? One option might be a universal health care system that turns no one away and can provide a greater range of services to patients.

I was reviewing the birthday calendar I have of famous women (thanks to Irene Stuber) and noted how many were born in January. I’m not an astrology believer, exactly, but is that only a coincidence? It may be another example of new begin-nings. If you are a January baby, I hope you will find that extra boost from knowing you are in such good company in history to take action to make history yourself.

Susan B. Anthony was born in February; each year NOW tries to have a “birthday party” for Susan. Plan to join us in Febru-ary to wish her happy birthday. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were the driving force behind the original suffrag-ist movement in the 19th century. Anthony was the public face, who defied anti-woman laws, spoke in public and encouraged action to gain the vote. She was educated at home by her father and went on to become head of a female academy. She then took up with the temperance movement, and moved from there to women’s rights. She and Stan-ton held the first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, NY in 1848.

Finally, this is the first issue edited by the new Women’s Press editor, Courtney Brogno. Congratulations, Courtney, for a job well done.

The annual Roe v Wade commemora-tion will be on Thursday, January 22, at 6 PM at the SLO Public Library, featuring a speaker who is a physician that performs abortions and who is active in the univer-sal health care movement. Dr. Susan Rob-inson believes that health care is a human right and should be guaranteed to all peo-ple regardless of age, employment, or eco-nomic status. She believes that the best way to accomplish this is through a single payer universal national health care program- one in which there is one government spon-sored insurance whose purpose is to pro-vide comprehensive health care instead of many investor-owned insurance companies which compete to make profit from illness and misery.

If the weather permits, we will then march through Farmer’s Market and return to the library for a candlelight circle honor-ing those who lost their lives in the strug-gle. If the weather is inclement, we will show a 25 minute video showcasing doc-tors who were willing to risk their license to help women who needed them in the days before Roe, telling their own story.

Please tell your friends and join us!See Roe, page 14

See Canada, page 14

Celebrate Roe v Wade!Women’s Health: What’s in our Future?

January & February 2009 | www.womenspress-slo.org | Women’s Press 13Women’sCommunityCenter

The purpose of NOW is to bring women into full participation in the mainstream of American society NOW!

Where to find Women’s PressAll Libraries and the following exceptionally fine establishments!

NORTH COUNTY: • Atascadero – The Coffee House and Deli, Starbuck’s at Von’s Plaza, Green Goods, Player’s Pizza, Harvest Health Food Store, North County Connection, Senior Center, Women’s Resource Center/Shelter Office, Curves. Paso Robles – Cuesta College North Campus, Café Vio, Curves, DK Donuts, Panolivo French Cafe, NCI Village Thrift Shop, Paso Robles Health Foods; Templeton – Twin Cities Hospital, Templeton Market & Deli, Affinity Chiropractic, Kinship Center, Jobella’s Coffee; Santa Margarita– Santa Margarita Mercantile.NORTHERN COAST: • Baywood – Coffee & Things; Cambria – Cambria Connection, Cambria Pines Lodge, Chamber of Commerce, Gym One, 7 Sisters, Azevedo Chiropractic, Lilly’s, Alloco’s, Cambria Drug and Gift, Bob & Jan’s Auto Shop, Linn’s, Donna’s Nail Salon, Cookie Crock, Rainbow Bean and Coffee Shop; Cayucos – Cayucos Super Market, Kelley’s EsPresso & Dessert, Ocean Front Pizza, Chevron Station, Mobile Balloons; Los Osos – Starbuck’s, Baywood Laundry, Cad’s, Carlock’s Bakery, Chamber of Commerce, Copa de Oro, Garden Café, Los Osos Deli Liquor, Volumes of Pleasure; Morro Bay – Backstage Salon, Coalesce Bookstore, Coffee Pot Restaurant, The Rock, Southern Port Traders, Sunshine Health Foods, Two Dogs Coffee, La Parisienne Bakery.SAN LUIS OBISPO: Broad St. Laundry, Cool Cats Café, La Crepes, Edna •Market, Art Café, Booboo Records, Creekside Center, GALA, Marigold Nails, Palm Theatre, Susan Polk Insurance, Utopia Bakery, Unity Church, Zoe Wells, Naturopath, Cal Poly Library and Women’s Center, Center for Alternatives to Violence, Chamber of Commerce, Cuesta College Library, EOC Health Services Clinic, HealthWorks, Healing Alternatives, Laguna Laundry, Linnaea’s, Monterey Express, Natural Foods Coop, New Frontiers, Nautical Bean, Outspoken Beverage Bistro, Phoenix Books, Planned Parenthood, West End Cafe, San Luis Obispo Housing Authority Office, SARP, The Secret Garden, SLO Perk Coffee, Spirit Winds Therapy, The Studio Fitness for Women, Uptown Cafe, Yoga Centre, Ahshe Hair Salon, Apropos Clothing, Soho Hair Salon, Hempshak, YMCA, KCBX, Salon on Monterey, Jaffa Café, Med Stop (Madonna Plaza), World Rhythm and Motion, Steynberg Gallery, Correa Chiropractic, High St. Deli, Sunset N. Car Wash, Jamaica You, United Blood Services.SOUTH COUNTY: • Arroyo Grande – Mongo’s, Act II Boutique, Central Coast Yoga, CJ’s Restaurant, Curves-AG, Cutting Edge, EOC Health Services Clinic, Girls Restaurant, Grande Whole Foods, Chameleon; Avila Beach– Avila Grocery, Custom House, Sycamore Hot Springs, Inn at Avila, Joe Mamma’s; Grover Beach – Back Door Deli, Cindi’s Wash House, Nan’s Pre-owned Books, Therapeutic Body Center, 30-minute Fitness; Halcyon – Halcyon Store; Nipomo – Anna’s Creekside Coffee House, Healing Touch Spa, Curves, La Placita Market, Healthy Inspirations, World Gym, Trendy Sister Salon, Senior Centers; Pismo Beach – Honeymoon Café, Pismo Athletic Club, RETurn to JOY!; Shell Beach – De Palo & Sons Deli, Seaside Cafe, Steaming Bean.SANTA MARIA: Café Monet, Hunter’s Landing, Library, Curves on Main and •on Broadway, Lassen’s.ORCUTT: Loading Dock, Oasis Spa.•

Our mission is:TO maintain an accessible center to •collect and exchange information of interest and concern to womenTO organize and facilitate work-•shops, clinics, seminars, classes, and support groups on subjects of inter-est and needTO engage in and facilitate interac-•tion among local, state, and national agencies and organizations working to benefit women

Call for Volunteers

Hear ye, hear ye! The Women’s Com-munity Center is looking for a few vol-unteers to help with several projects. We could use some help with general office duties and to monitor family court pro-ceedings (Court Watch).

Family Law Action Committee

Dealing With Divorce

3rd Wednesday of each month – 7 PM Upcoming: January 21, February 18 and March 18Talk with other women who have been there, done that in a supportive, non-judgmental environment. $10 donation

Self-Represented Litigants’ Clinic

4th Tuesday of each month – 5:30 PMUpcoming: January 27, February 24 and March 24Get family law advice from local attorneys and/or paralegals.Reservations required. $40 donation

Call 788-2491 for information

Women’s Community Center Help us plan this year’s LUNAFEST®Volunteer to be on a committeeThe third annual LUNAFEST, a fund-raiser for the Women’s Press and Cal Poly Women’s Programs and Services, as well as the Breast Cancer Fund, will again be held during the first week in March, this year on Saturday, March 7. LUNAFEST is a national traveling festival of films by, for, and about women brought to you by LUNA. We need volunteers to help us get sponsors, promote the event around the county, put up posters, and help us on the day of the festival. This year we are collaborating with the SLO International Film Festival (March 6-15) with some of the publicity. Join us to make this a suc-cessful event.

Go to slolunafest@gmail.com to let us know we can count on your help and to be put on our notification list when we have finalized time (probably around 5 PM) and place.

Go to www.lunafest.org to find out more about the films and view a trailer.

Report of Family Law Court Watching Observations

By Angie King

One of the family law activities of the Women’s Community Center is an active court-watching program. The program involves volunteers who sit in the family law courtrooms and observe the proceed-ings. Our major focus is on those cases where one or both of the parties before the court is self-represented. We watch to make sure the court personnel, from the judge to the bailiff to the other attorneys in the courtroom, treat these self-repre-sented litigants with the same degree of respect that is accorded to clients with attorneys.

For the most part we have found the judges very patient with unrepresented clients; they take the time to explain the process and the reasoning for their rul-ings. Often the parties are not prepared, and when that happens, the judge is understandably frustrated, as the case cannot move forward. WCC wants to make sure parties are prepared in court; to that end, we offer a monthly class and a monthly legal clinic so parties can learn what will be needed in court and how to make sure they are prepared for their hearings.

This report focuses on the 82 cases we observed last year. Of those, there were only eight cases where both parties had an attorney. In sixteen cases, either the wife or the husband, but not both, were represented, and in 58 cases, neither side had an attorney.

There are currently three judicial offi-cers hearing family law cases; two are commissioners and one is a judge. Com-missioners are appointed by the sitting judges while judges are appointed by the Governor. Parties may elect to have a case assigned to a commissioner until a sitting judge is available. However, the availabil-ity of the commissioners to hear cases helps litigants have their cases resolved in a timely manner. In the cases we observed, Commissioners Patrick Perry and Gayle Peron heard almost 80% the cases, while Judge Jeffrey Burke heard the remaining 17.

Our observers were requested to note whether the judicial officer was respect-ful and fair in hearing the concerns of both sides, and in almost all the cases, we found they were. This is good news for litigants and good news for us as citizens.

Commissioner Peron was uniformly seen as being especially patient and just: she heard 42 of the cases observed. Peron was never ruffled or brusque, and many of the cases reported on were domestic violence cases; she was commended for her demeanor in keeping things calm.

Commissioner Perry, who heard 23 of the cases, was also seen as patient and understanding, explaining the legal conse-quences of a decision to the parties before they were asked to agree to orders, so they had the opportunity to ask questions, or to ask for a continuance to seek advice outside the courtroom. In one case, the wife was not prepared, despite earlier hearings where she had been advised what to do, and Commissioner Perry was “annoyed,” the observer remarked.

Judge Burke also took time to explain the process to unrepresented parties; in one case, he helped develop the parties’ evidence so he could fashion an appropri-ate order. He often explained very clearly, according to the observers, exactly what the parties needed when they returned to court in order to provide a legal basis for the orders they were seeking. In one case, however, it appeared Judge Burke ordered a husband to pay the attorney fees for the wife’s attorney, but without any discus-sion or explanation, leaving the husband angry and confused.

WCC appreciates the volunteers who took their time to sit in court and provide the information from which this report was drawn, and we are always looking for more volunteers. Please contact the office if you have a morning available to help us with this very important project. Call 544-9313 or send an email to wccslo@gmail.com.

Celebrate Roe v Wade!Women’s Health: What’s in our Future?

Women’s Press | January & February 2009 | womenspress.slo@gmail.com14 CommunityBulletins

BulletinsLearn About Social Marketing

Tuesday, January 20th, Lisa Quinn will con-duct a workshop at the San Luis Obispo Art Center to help you gain an understand-ing of community based social marketing. This class is designed for non-profits, gov-ernment organizations and change agents. Social marketing has been proven to suc-cessfully change behavior.

For details and registration, go to http://nwetc.org/sust-303_01-09_san_luis_obispo.htm.

KCBXnet Announces New Class Schedule for January/February 2009

KCBXnet, a local, non-profit provider of affordable internet access, offers computer-related classes to local residents and busi-nesses at its Training Center, 4100 Vachell Lane in San Luis Obispo.

January classes include Introduction to Computers, Microsoft Excel, and, for those that received digital cameras for Christmas, a Digital Photography class. In February, a class on Microsoft Word will be taught along with a brand new workshop entitled,

“Building a Better Brochure,” suited to any-one who relies on printed material as part of their personal or business marketing plans.

For more information about KCBXnet, its products or services, visit their web site at www.kcbx.net or call (805) 781-2580.

Stress: Survival Strategies

The Central Coast Healthcare Alliance is hosting a Forum on Saturday, February 7, 2009 entitled “Stress: Survival Strategies.” Topics will include stress and cardio-vas-cular issues, stress and the nervous system, hypnosis and hands-on holistic remedies. The forum will be held at the Sierra Vista Medical Center Auditorium.

For more information, contact Leslie Jones at 805) 528-0404.

Celebrate The Inauguration In SLO

San Luis Obispo Grassroots Democracy, an independent political action group, will celebrate Barack Obama’s Inauguration on January 20, 2009, with the Central Coast’s Inaugural Ball at The Graduate, 900 Indus-trial Avenue, San Luis Obispo, from 5:30 to 9:30 PM. There will be a DJ and dancing, and food and beverages will be available from The Graduate menu along with free appetizers and desserts, provided by The Graduate restaurant.

Plus you can register to win a Genuine Buddy 50cc Scooter from Central Coast Mechanics, as well as many other prizes and Obama memorabilia.

The event is co-sponsored by Demo-cratic Women United, SLO County Dem-ocratic Central Committee and with the co-operation of the SLO County Obama Team. Entrance is just a $10 donation per person. For more information and to pur-chase tickets, please visit www.slograssroots-democracy.org and/or www.barackobama.com and click on “events”.

Get Book Smart!

Join editor Laurie Gibson for her talk “Get (Book) Smart!” We’ll look at how writers can improve their chances of being pub-lished. Included in the talk will be tips for finding a literary agent, as well as a Q&A session to address writers’ specific concerns.

$10 (cash) per person at the door. For more information, please contact the pre-senter at (831) 646-4610 or write eaglet5223@mypacks.net

Free Energy Balancing Sessions

The Global Alliance for Balance and Heal-ing is offering free energy balancing ses-sions on Saturday, January 17 from 11:00am to 4:00pm. The free clinic will be held at Dancing Deer Ranch, 2975 Vineyard Drive in Templeton. No appointment is necessary. All are welcome.

Visit www.globalalliance.ws or call 805-438-4347 to learn about energy balancing or other free clinics held by the Global Alli-ance for Balance and Healing.

For more information or to coordinate a clinic in your area, e-mail Wendy McK-enna at wendy@globalalliance.ws.

Become Prosperity Conscious

Take the class Keys to the Kingdom (origi-nally created by David Owen Ritz.)

Keys to the Kingdom is an advanced program for building prosperity con-sciousness. 7 weekly classes, which will be held on Wednesday nights from 6:30-8PM beginning January 21 and continuing each Wednesday night through March 4. Cost is $75.00 for the 7 classes. Come learn how to live a truly abundant life, to become more free, more creative, more whole, more lov-ing. Held at: Circle of Spiritual Enlighten-ment, SLO Adult School, 1500 Lizzie Street, Room J-1

Online registration available at www.spiritualcircle.org

Email: spiritualcircle@spiritualcircle.org For more information call (805) 995-

1390

Season For Non-Violence Concert

James Twyman is an internationally renowned, best-selling author, filmmaker and musician who has traveled all over the globe, sharing his message of peace in areas of the world’s greatest conflicts. Join us as he performs his “Season for Non-Vi-olence” Tour. James will hold a local con-cert on January 31 at 7PM, at The Circle of Spiritual Enlightenment. 1500 Lizzie Street (Adult School) Room J-2 in SLO. Tickets are $25 and available in January on-line at www.spiritualcircle.org

Free Women’s and Gender Studies Lectures

Hoping to reach out to the wider county community, the San Luis Obispo Library is teaming up with the Cal Poly Women’s and Gender Studies Department to offer a series of five lectures focusing on issues ranging from sex education to women in sports.

The series takes place on the first Tues-day of every month from January through May. All talks are from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Community Room of the San Luis Obispo Library at 995 Palm Street in downtown San Luis Obispo. The lectures are free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served courtesy of Friends of the Library.

“Abstinence-Only Sex Education and the Politics of Virginity” is the title of the first talk in the series. Cal Poly Political Sci-ence Professor and Women’s and Gender Studies advisory board member Jean Wil-liams will present the first lecture.

Other lectures scheduled are: “Women Around the World: Challenges and Tri-umphs,” presented by Dr. Patrice Engle;

“The Bitch Manifesto Revisited: Feminism, Gender and Religion,” presented by Dr. Judy Saltzman; “Title IX: History, Impact and Implications for Girls and Women in Sport,” presented by Dr. Camille O’Bryant; and “Art History’s Bad Girls: Courtesans in the Art of China and Europe,” presented by Dr. Jean Wetzel.

For more information, contact San Luis Obispo Public Library Manager Kris-tine Tardiff at 781-5783 or katardiff@sloli-brary.org, or Cal Poly Women’s and Gender Studies Professor Rachel Fernflores at 756-2330 or rfernflo@calpoly.edu.

Girl Power! at PCPA

Gather up your gang of best girlfriends to attend a pre-show reception of wine and snacks for Girls Night Out (GNO) on Fri-day, February 20, beginning at 5:30 PM, followed by the PCPA performance of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at 7. GNO attendees will receive 50% off the adult priced ticket (regularly $28.25)—just ask for the Girls Night Out ticket when you call: 922-8313.

Pray The Devil Back To Hell

Watch and hear how the women from Libe-ria dressed in white and gathered by the thousands to protest the killing in their country in the film Pray the Devil Back to Hell. Watch a trailer on YouTube. This is a fundraiser for the Global Fund for Women and is co-sponsored by the Central Coast Clergy for Laity and Justice, HopeD-ance FiLMs, Women’s Press, and other local groups.

Saturday, February 77 PM SLO Public LibrarySuggested donation $10

SLO International Film Festival Offers More Than Just Films

Enjoy the many films and related events during the 2009 San Luis Obispo Interna-tional Film Festival – Where Movies Matter, March 6-15.

International film competition•“Hollywood and Vines” classic films •and “Western Night” in Paso Robles with special guests and local wineRed carpet events and festival •receptionsSurf Night in SLO•Spotlight Award for rising young •talentKing Vidor Career Achievement •Award

Go to www.slofilmfest.org to buy your movie passes now or call (805) 235-1507. Films will be posted in February.

Giving Birth? You Have Choices.

The third Tuesday of each month

at the Ludwick Center in San Luis Obispo

(at the corner of Santa Rosa and Palm)

Giving Birth? You Have Choices.

The third Tuesday of each month

at the Ludwick Center in San Luis Obispo

(at the corner of Santa Rosa and Palm)

network of emergency shelters in Quebec, co-coordinated a study on women as victims in abusive relationships, worked with aid orga-nizations for immigrant women and families, and worked at Employment and Immigra-tion Canada and at the Community Cultural Counsel of Québec.

However remarkable her achievement is, she is neither the first woman, nor the first minority, nor even the first person named to this position without prior political experience. But she is the first to be all three. Jean is Can-ada’s first black Governor General, the second person without either a political or military background, the second person from a visible minority, and foreign-born, the second person in an interracial marriage (again after Clark-son), and the third woman (after Jeanne Sauvé and Clarkson). Her appointment also marked the first time that a child has lived in Rideau Hall since the early 1980s.

Governor General Jean was in the news recently when she officially closed Parliament and ordered it not to return until late Janu-ary at the request of the Prime Minister. The move was necessary to avoid a no-confidence vote that could have toppled his minority gov-ernment. The no-confidence vote could have precipitated the rise of a proposed Liberal-NDP coalition, supported by the Bloc Qué-bécois, which could have resulted in another election, depending on the Governor General’s response. The first order of business when Par-liament resumes on Jan. 26 will be the presen-tation of the federal budget, to be delivered the following day. At that point, the Tory govern-ment could be brought down when it tables the budget, which would be a confidence vote, as all money bills are.

For more information about GG Jean, check out any number of web sites, from which this information was liberally drawn. As to the prior women, minority, non political GGs, google Adrienne Clarkson. Canada has a rich and fascination history of strong minority women in charge of very powerful institutions.

require a waiting period; a married woman at one time was required to have her husband’s consent; California has three times defeated a proposal to require parental notice for minor’s services. Nebraska has even tried to re-crim-inalize providing abortions. And Bush just announced new regulations, as his parting shot to women, that require medical facili-ties to certify they do not require anyone to provide reproductive health care services over that person’s “moral objection,” whatever that is! The struggle to bring our Constitutional right into a reality for all American women is not over.

Thirty-six years is a long time – some of you reading this are probably younger than that. Join NOW on January 22 at the SLO Library to learn more (see article on NOW page). If you cannot control your own body, you will likely lose out on opportunities to reach your full potential in our society. Please do not take your rights for granted. Remem-ber the wise saying: Those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it.

RoeContinued from page 12

CanadaContinued from page 12

January & February 2009 | www.womenspress-slo.org | Women’s Press 15Resources

ABUSEAdults Molested as Children Support Group (AMAC) 545.8888Center for Alternatives to Domestic Violence 781.6406North County Women’s Shelter & Resource Center, (inc. domestic violence support groups) 461.1338Rape Survivors Support Group, SLO 545.8888SARP (Sexual Assault Recovery & Prevention) 545.8888Support Group for Sexual Assault Survivors 545.8888Women’s Shelter Program of SLO 781.6400 www.womensshelterslo.orgADDICTIONSAA Meeting 541.3211Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACA) 498.2176Al-Anon 534.9204Cambria Connection (12 step support) 927.1654Casa Solana Women’s Recovery Home 481.8555Chemical Dependency intensive outpatient program 541-9113Compulsive eaters Anonymous, H.O.W.Concept 546.1178 Drug & Alcohol Services 781.4275 800.549.7730Overeaters Anonymous 541.3164SCA, SLAA & SAA (Sex, Love & Romance Addictions) 461.6084TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) 929.1789Women for Sobriety http://www.womenforsobriety.org 215.536.8026CHILDREN & FAMILIESBirth and Baby Resource Center 546.3755 www.bbrn.orgChildcare Resource Connection 541.2272 or 800.727.2272Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) “A child’s voice in Court in SLO County” 541.6542Children’s Services Network 781.1847First 5: Children & Families Commission 781.4058; ask for Susan HughsHomeschooling in SLO County (HSC) 462.0726; ask for BarbaraLa Clinica De Tolosa 238.5334La Leche League 489.9128Migrant Childcare Program 544.4355 and 466.3444MOMS Club of South SLO county 473. 2548Partnership for Children 541.8666; ask for BethReal F.A.C.T.S. (Forum on Abused Children) 460.9016Social Services 781.1600Support for Kids Coping with Domestic Violence 473.6507EMERGENCY/CRISISHotline www.slohotline.org 800.549.8989Sexual & Rape Prevention (SARP) 545.8888 or 800.656.HOPE (4673)Temporary Restraining Order & Victim Witness Program 781.5821EMOTIONAL SUPPORTA.D.A.P.T. (Aid in Divorce Adjustment Problems Today) 543.0388Alzheimer/Dementia Resource Center 434.2081 or 534.9234 or 888.488.6555CALL–Concerned Agoraphobics Learning to Live 543.3764Co-Dependents Anonymous (CoDA) 542.0577 (SLO) 481.5093 (Grover Beach) 927.1654 (Cambria) 466.8600 (North County)Community Counseling Center 543.7969Dealing With Divorce 544.9313Depresson and Bipolar Support Alliance Group 927.3703Divorce Discussion Group 489.2990, saintbarnabas@sbcglobal.netEating Disorders Support Group 546-3774; free, meets weekly in SLOGrief Awareness Group 489.2990, saintbarnabas@sbcglobal.net

Hospice of SLO County (inc. miscarriage/stillbirth support) 544.2266 or 434.1164Project Lifesaver 548.0909Safe and Sober Support Group 473.6507Senior Peer Counseling Free, trained in-home counseling for 60+ 547.7025, ext. 15 Talk/Listen - Emotional support 489.5481Transformations Counseling Center Free monthly workshops 541.7908FINANCE/BUSINESSConsumer Credit Counseling Services 800.540.2227GAY & LESBIANGay and Lesbian Alliance of the Central Coast 541.4252PFLAG.Parents & Friends of Lesbians & Gays 438.3889SOL (Single Older Lesbians) Mostly socializing! Call 474.9405HOSPICEAIDS Bereavement Group (Hospice) 544.2266Hospice of SLO County 544.2266 and 434.1164Hospice Partners of the Central Coast 782.8608JOBS/CAREERSAARP 788.2643Cal Poly Foundation Jobline 756.7107Cal Poly University http://calpolyjobs.org 756.1533Cuesta College http://www.cuesta.edu Jobline 546.3127The Creekside Career Center www.slocareers.org 788.2631 or 788.2690Department of Rehabilitation 549.3361Mission Community Services Corporation Women’s Business Partners 595.1356 www.mcscorp.orgPrivate Industry Council (PIC) www.jobhunt.org 788.2601 LEGALCore Mediation Services 544.6334 medeee8@aol.comDistrict Attorney’s Office – Victim Witness Center 781.5821Family Law Facilitator 546.3769Lawyers Referral Services/Legal Aid Alternative 788.2099Pro Per Divorce Workshop 544.9313Senior Legal Services 543.5140MEDICAL SUPPORT/SERVICES ALS Support Group (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) 227.4785 or 674.4162Alzheimer’s Support 534.9234 (LO); 547.3830 (SLO); 547.3830, 534.9234 (SLO/Los Osos) 888.488.6555American Cancer Society San Luis Obispo 543.1481 Templeton 434.3051Anorexia Nervosa & Bulimia Support Group 541.9113Arthritis Foundation 892.5556Cancer/ Breast Cancer Support Groups 543.1481 ext. 3 for informationCaregivers of Aging Parents 547.3830 (AG); 927.4290 (Cambria); 227.7135 (PR); 547.3830 (SLO); 543.7969Celiac Disease Support Group 226-9893Endometriosis Association www.endometriosisassn.orgEnhancement, Inc. (for breast cancer survivors) 771.8640 www.enhancementinc.comEOC Health Services Clinics no or low cost reproductive health services 544.2478 (SLO); 489.4026 (Arroyo Grande) Healthworks of the Central Coast No or low cost reproductive health services 542.0900IC Interstiti al Cystitis/Painful Bladder Syndrome 3rd Thursday, SLO, 7 -9 pm 464-0564Long-term Care Ombudsman Services of SLO County 785.0132Lymphedema Education & Support Group 2nd Monday, 4-5 pm, 782-9300Parkinson’s Support Groups 466.7226 (Atascadero/Templeton) 481.7424 (Arroyo Grande) 541.8633 (SLO)

Please send additions, corrections or deletions to: womenspress.slo@gmail.com or leave a message at the WCC: 805.544.9313. Last update 1/05/09.

Planned Parenthood SLO 549.9446Stroke Support Group 471.8102 (SLO)Caregivers of Stroke Survivors 544.2266 (SLO)Women’s Support/Therapy v (general) 534.1101Women’s Healthcare Specialists 544.4883POLITICALCode Pink ososousaville@aol.comCommission on Status of Women 545.8412; Dawn WilliamsDemocratic Women United 541.4252League of Women Voters 543.2220NOW (National Organization for Women) slonow@kcbx.netREADERS/WRITERSAdult Literacy 541-4219Creative Writing Group 748-2676; contact GloriaNightwriters 549.9656; contact Shirley PowellSisters in Crime http://SinC-CCC.blogspot.comSENIORSAdult Day Care 489.8894 (Arroyo Grande); 434.2081 (Templeton); 927.4290 (Cambria)Adult Protective Services 781.1790Computerooters: Computer help: 489.6230Department of Social Services: In-Home Support 781.1790 Nursing help for the terminally ill 781.5540Elder and Dependent Adult Advocacy and Outreach – Victim Witness Assistance Center 781-5821Elder Law, Geraldine E. Champion, Attorney 473.4747Foster Grandparents.Senior Companions 782.9200Senior Ballroom Dance club 489.5481 dg17@juno.comSenior Peer Counseling Free, trained in.home counseling for 60+ 547.7025 ext. 15SPIRITUALCircle of Spiritual Enlightenment 995.1390; www.spiritualcircle.orgAwakening Interfaith Spiritual Community Meditation Monday evenings 7-7:45 pm Open to all. 772-0306 awakeninginterfaith.orgHungry Hearts Spiritual Community RC liturgy with womanpriest 546.8672Meditation Group Mondays, 7:30–8:30 PM; 772.0306New Beginnings Church Every Sunday, Coalesce Bookstore, MBSelf-Realization Fellowship Sunday Services 995-1599WOMEN’S CENTERS/SHELTERSHomeless Shelter 781-3993Housing Authority 543.4478North County Women’s Resource Center, Shelter 461.1338Prado Day Center (for the homeless) 786.0617Women’s Community Center, SLO 544.9313Women’s Shelter Program of SLO 549.8989 (crises), 781.6401 (business) www.womensshelterslo.orgOTHER WOMEN’S ORGANIZATIONSAltrusa International, Inc. 481.1039; Cici Wynn, PresidentAmerican Association of University Women 781-0922; KarenCamping Women 440.2723 www.campingwomen.orgHadassah.SLO 543.9452OTHER GROUPS & GATHERINGSCentral Coast Peace and Environmental Council 544.3399 or 783.2383Compassion & Choices (or Final Exit) 800.247.7421 or 489-5481

Carmen Green Broker/Owner

www.CGreenRealEstate.com

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Integrative Breathwork Meditation Circle

with Shantel Beckers

Integrative breathwork utilizes a deep, rhythmic breath which balances the chakra system enhancing the flow of energy

through the body. Allowing the energy to flow freely opens you to live with clarity and peace in the present.

During the Group Breathing Circle, Shantel Beckers will lead you in guided breath integrating Shamanic healing tech-niques. Come experience the profound healing of the breath!

January 22, 2009 – Renewal & RebirthFebruary 12, 2009 – Forgiveness

7:15 – 8:45 PMMeadow Park Community Room, San Luis Obispo

2333 Meadow Street (Meadow and South)

Class size is limited so register now – 805 459 0439or shantelbeckers@msn.com

Class fee is $30

Bonnie Richan bonnie@bonnierichan.com

805-748-6087

Serving Students of All AgesNEW: Beginning Recorder Lessons

Current Member:San Luis Obispo Symphony

San Luis Chamber Orchestra

FLUTE INSTRUCTION& PERFORMANCE

Mama’s MeatballFine Italian Cuisine

All three locations are open: Mon.-Sun. 10:30 AM to 9:00 PM

570 Higuera St., #130 • San Luis Obispo, Ca 93401- tel. 805.544.0861

New Locations:

325 Pier Ave. • Oceano, CA 93425 • tel. 805.473.2383

In Avila Hotsprings • San Luis Obispo, CA 93405 • tel. 805.627.0288

Also, order on line: www.MamasMeatball.com

Dine-in • Take-out • Full Catering Service