Contributed by Bjarne, in honor of a recently departed loved one who died too soon :
Defeat, my Defeat, my solitude and my aloofness;
You are dearer to me than a thousand triumphs,
And sweeter to my heart than all worldglory.
Defeat, my Defeat, my self-knowledge and my defiance,
Through you I know that I am yet young and swift of foot
And not to be trapped by withering laurels.
And in you I have found aloneness
And the joy of being shunned and scorned.
Defeat, my Defeat, my shining sword and shield,
In your eyes I have read
That to be enthroned is to be enslaved,
And to be understood is to be levelled down,
And to be grasped is but to reach one’s fullness
And like a ripe fruit to fall and be consumed.
Defeat, my Defeat, my bold companion,
You shall hear my songs and my cries and my silences,
And none but you shall speak to me of the beating of wings,
And urging of seas,
And of mountains that burn in the night,
And you alone shall climb my steep and rocky soul.
Defeat, my Defeat, my deathless courage,
You and I shall laugh together with the storm,
And together we shall dig graves for all that die in us,
And we shall stand in the sun with a will,
And we shall be dangerous.
You ask me how I became a madman. It happened thus: One day, long before many gods were born, I woke from a deep sleep and found all my masks were stolen — the seven masks I have fashioned and worn in seven lives — I ran maskless through the crowded streets shouting, “Thieves, thieves, the cursed thieves.”
Men and women laughed at me and some ran to their houses in fear of me.
And when I reached the market place, a youth standing on a house-top cried, “He is a madman.” I looked up to behold him; the sun kissed my own naked face for the first time. For the first time the sun kissed my own naked face and my soul was inflamed with love for the sun, and I wanted my masks no more. And as if in a trance I cried, “Blessed, blessed are the thieves who stole my masks.”
Thus I became a madman.
And I have found both freedom and safety in my madness; the freedom of loneliness and the safety from being understood, for those who understand us enslave something in us.
But let me not be too proud of my safety. Even a Thief in a jail is safe from another thief.
Nori Muster spent several years researching, interviewing, and editing stories of adults who had been raised in a variety of cults for her latest book “Child of the Cult”.
Through skillfully applied personal narratives, psychological and sociological analysis, along with historical context for each group, Nori uses the stories of five individuals, raised in different cult groups, to illustrate how cult dynamics contribute to child neglect and abuse in totalitarian systems.
This e-book is a valuable contribution to the literature on cult dynamics, child abuse, cult recovery and personal voice.
Because this book defies tidy publishing categories, traditional publishers rejected it. They didn’t know how to market the book.
Thus, Nori opted for an e-book through amazon.
To support the children.
Yes, there is a summary chapter of an upbringing (moi) in Transcendental Meditation.
There are virtually no profits from sales of this book. This is a public service document to help former-children from cults, now in recovery. This is also a useful tool for therapists, school teachers and social workers who suspect that youth under their professional guidance may be living in a totalitarian abusive system.
About Nori : After working in the publications dept of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness. Ms. Nori Muster authored “Betrayal of the Spirit” about her time with the inner core of the Hare Krishna group.
Nori is an activist on behalf of children injured in cults, and on cult recovery in general.
You may read more about Nori at norimuster.com
It is fitting that during the Christmas Season, On December 11, 2011, Ibu (Mother) Robin Lim was honored as CNN 2011 Hero of the Year!
Robin’s honor is also a victory for marginalized childbearing women and those who serve them everywhere!
Every December, Christiandom’s most celebrated holiday honors an unwed pregnant teenager traveling with an older man who was refused a room at the Inn because they were of the wrong ethnicity. Thus, Christianity’s deemed son-of-God was born with little notice in a barn. Despite religious honor given the eternal story of childbirth under duress, there has been little public recognition of the real problem of inaccessible maternity care for the world’s marginalized women.
Robin’s public recognition as a CNN hero this recent holiday season marks a media milestone for the importance of women, babies and families.
Like many midwives the world over, Ibu Robin cares for impoverished, abused, hungry, poor marginalized childbearing woman. Robin’s articulate passionate voice unrelentingly brings these issues to public attention with gentility and respect.
Many congratulations to Robin Lim for her well-deserved acknowledgement!
Robin began serving pregnant and birthing women on the island of Bali years ago because needy women came to her. Robin did not intend to become a hero; she simply could not deny the women who came to her. At that time, Robin thought that minimal care was better than none. Beginning on a shoe string, with their own life savings, Robin, her husband Will, and a few close friends and family began a rudimentary service to provide no-cost midwifery care for the needy near Ubud, Bali, Indonesia. She began attending homebirths on Bali’s dirt floors, eventually enough donations came to construct a clinic. For nearly 15 years Robin has worked tirelessly on behalf of the families dependent upon her care, often with little support and meager funds.
CNN “Portrait of Hero, Robin Lim”
Robin’s public writing and speaking on behalf of her passion slowly nourished growth of Bumi Sehat Foundation. By 2011, CNN’s team had narrowed their hero-finalists to a field of 10 heros, each are well-qualified altruistic award finalists,
Robin Lim was awarded the final “CNN 2011 Hero of the Year” $250,000 gift (in addition to $50,000 granted to each of the finalists). Robin’s nonprofit organization, Bumi Sehat Foundation International will use the funds for a much-needed expansion of existing services – clinics, birth centers and youth programs – in both Bali and Aceh Indonesia.
Bumi Sehat models low-cost health promoting care through education, support services, nutritional guidance, exercise programs, risk screening and transfer for medical intervention when appropriate. Funds and supplies come through donations.
Thanks to gentle consistent childbirth education and health maintenance programs, the majority of Bumi Sehat clients give birth with minimal or no medical intervention at Bumi Sehat’s birth center.
Robin’s nomination for CNN’s awared was supported by Christy Turlington Burns with her organization “Every Mother Counts”. Christy’s own harrowing experience with a retained placenta and life threatening post-partum hemorrhage, after a lovely peaceful birth, made her aware that other women in the world might not be so lucky as she. Christy thus founded her own organization to promote global access to maternal-infant care, “Every mother Counts” :
More information about Robin Lim’s work can be gleaned from the film Guerilla Midwife produced by her daughter, Deja’ Bernhardt :
Everyone in the field of maternity care hopes that increased publicity will expand access to preventative and gentle maternal-infant health programs.
Thank YOU Ibu Robin, dear old friend, for your contributions! You inspire us all, and motivate others to consider their priorities.
Society grows healthier from the micro the macro by beginning at the beginning.
Dr. Patrick O’Reilly provides an introductory Continuing Education essay for the psychology profession – linked with this respected online Continuing Education (CE) provider : Psychotherapy with Former Cult Members.
Former cult members are often ineffectively treated by well-intentioned therapists. Unless a therapist has specifically sought training for cult recovery, she or he may have minimal background about former cult members’ myriad of concerns – such as shame, social isolation, social and professional handicaps, financial losses, separation from family, depression, vulnerability, self-distrust and possible Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, to name a few.
Further complicating therapy – many former cultists do not even realize they were in a cult. A therapist must identify if a client’s self-described depression or vulnerabilities result from a cult history. After identifying cult history, the therapist can better help a client or refer to an appropriate specialist.
Please send Dr. O’Reilly’s CE essay to therapists and psychologists. The concerns are more common than many realize. In-depth resources are available elsewhere, including some links in this blog’s margin.
Losing Lauren, his pregnant wife, in the crash of flight 93 on 9/11, Jack Grandcola found that giving provided his path through grief. Jack incorporated personal loss into his public and private identity. Grandcola’s family foundation supports a beautiful birth suite in Marin General Hospital where Lauren and Jack expected to greet their first child together.
The following article includes a touching video of the Grandcola family foundation’s contribution to a beautiful birth suite:
I’m not able to embed this video, so please click on the article link above to view an inspiring and humble video of profound loss and generosity – as well as views of a lovely birthing suite and nurses with whom I work in my moonlighting job at Marin General Hospital.
From now on, when I attend births in this suite I will remember the generous spirits of Jack, Lauren and their unborn child who provided a lasting tribute to young families.
