Gaia Community: Zentertainment Talk Radio's Blog

Voting Day

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 13:53:28 -0000

The other day I met a woman who started talking to me about politics. She told me that Obama is a Muslim, and she said I was foolish to believe otherwise. She said repeatedly "He's a Muslim. I read it on the internet." She was getting very worked up. She also was convinced that he is a terrorist (I guess she fell for the propaganda about the William Ayers connection even though many republicans had the same connection to Ayers based on his work in education).

She was raving about how if Obama wins this election it will be the sign of the end times. She said, "It's in the Bible." Then she started in about how all muslims are evil, but Christianity is not, because Christians cannot do the things Muslims can do since it's not in the Christian faith. As someone who is a Christian, I was very offended by her ignorance.

I guess she never heard of the Salem Witch trials or slavery. How many Christians used the Bible to justify those things? I told her gently that there are extremists in all religions, Christianity included. History has shown us that!

There are many wonderful Christian people as there are many wonderful Muslim people. I tried to tell her Obama is not Muslim nor is he a terrorist (And the two do not necessarily go together anyway). She wasn't having any of it. I brought up the church Palin went to for many years and how crazy some of that stuff was. Especially when the leader said that Alaska was going to be a refuge for (only) Christians in the end times. Palin just stood beside him as he said that.

But this woman said, "Obama is a MUSLIM and a terrorist but Palin and McCain are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ."

As I walked away, I was shaking inside, because her hatred took my breath away.

It reminded me of the town hall meeting where McCain was campaigning. A woman quite sure of herself told McCain that she had read that Obama was an Arab and she did not trust him because he is an Arab. McCain grabbed the mic from this woman and said no no, maam, he is not an Arab, he is a decent family man. McCain must be loving this. He fuels the fire in America, the fire of hate and division and lies. Yet when confronted with the results face to face, his conscience makes him back off and tell the truth. Then he goes to work again, letting his vice president pick and his campaign promote the lies. Anything to win.

Now we have McCain saying the "Joe the Plumber" is his hero. That is scary. Jo the representive of America's stupidity and ignorance, Joe who would do far better in taxes on the Obama plan whose real name is not even Joe and who isn't even a license plumber. But what are the details?

Look who is running for vice president. Someone who knows absolutely nothing at all about the economy or foreign policy. Someone who is completely unqualified for the more serious news shows and who is unable to hold an intelligent intellectual debate. Someone who attended 5 different colleges in 6 years to get a degree in journalism.

Personally, I want someone far smarter than me in office.

I know some people get all bent out of shape over the abortion issue. I certainly believe that if a woman is raped, she deserves to have the choice. I do think there should be very strict guidelines around the abortion issue, but I don't think I can say it must be illegal for all women just because I would not want to do that myself.

But I do not think this issue is the defining or important priority issue at this time. I think the economy and foreign policy and the environment are the key issues. Along with health care.

Think about it like this. Some people voted for Bush based on that abortion issue alone. Look where that got us. Look closely!

Well I am heading up to vote soon.

Hope you all have a fabulous day. I hope Obama wins this-

Autumn in the City

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 15:51:03 -0000

It has been so long since I have been active on this site. I need to try and keep up!

I am also at myspace.com/jodavidson and on www.Zentertainment.org

I wanted to share a photo I took a few nights ago. This is a few blocks from my apartment in NYC. This view is amazing. It was a cool autumn night.....

Remembering 9-11

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 21:30:57 -0000

Remembering 9-11

On this day, I feel so much sadness and am flooded with memories.
I wanted to take some time to write about them.

I live just a few short blocks from Ground Zero.

7 Years ago today. I was living in another neighborhood called Soho which is north of Battery Park but still downtown. I had the most amazing view of the world trade center from my window. I use to love looking at it at night

One morning I was asleep in bed when suddenly I heard a loud BOOM. Then a woman screamed. It woke me up, and my heart was racing, pounding, which was unusual. You know how sometimes your body knows something before you know it?

My first thought was that a car on West Broadway had hit a person. I knew something was wrong. I grabbed some clothes and got dressed, and went out onto the street. When I looked up, a section of one of the towers was on fire.

I ran back into the building and got my neighbor. She came over and we watched from my window.

How did this happen? How many people were in there on those floors at this hour? We also kept questioning why it was taking so long for anything to be done about the fire. We even took a video of it for a few minutes. We did not know what was happening. Were helicopters even equipped to deal with putting out a fire like this?

We thought it had been some freak accident.

What we did not know until later was that Flight 11, an American airlines Boeing 67 plane traveling from Boston to LA. had been hijacked and crashed into the north tower.

It seemed like an hour went by, which is strange, because it was only 18 minutes later, 9:03AM when suddenly a huge jet crashed into tower 2. WHAT??????????

There was such a loud BANG. Flames went into the air.

Within 15 minutes, all NYC airports were shut down, and the bridges and tunnels were all closed.

United Airlines Flight 175 had crashed into tower 2. A plane that was also headed to LA from Boston.

But at that time, we knew nothing of those details. It was just chaos.

I went back and forth between being outside on the street and being in the apartment. I still did not have a tv on and had no idea the whole nation and world was watching this. Which shows my state of mind at that time.

I wish I could remember the sequence of events in the right order. I don't.

Did I get ahold of my husband in LA who was asleep and 3 hours behind EST? I don't think so. I don't remember. I did get through to my mom a few quick times I think. She was trying to calm me down. I got ahold of a friend of mine who is a reporter and was telling him what was happening, but I was so panicked that I don't think we talked long.

I remember standing looking at the burning towers, with huge clouds of yellow and grey stuff blanketing the sky. It was terrible. Then all of the sudden one part of the tower started to cave in and before we knew it, they had both collapsed and just imploded.

There were so many people screaming on the street. I remember....

Blur.

Then, quiet. Pin drop quiet. Stunned silence. It was eerie.
I start crying as I sit here typing this.

I remember being on the roof with my neighbor Chris. I still had not turned on the tv. We were stunned. The smoke was everywhere. The towers were gone. The city felt like one big gaping wound.

I had a few friends who were able to get to me. When they came, we turned on the tv for the first time. There was so much adrenaline in the air. I can't even explain it. It was the same sort of adrenaline that had been in the air when I went through the 1994 earthquake in California. I thought I was going to die then. But that's another story.

It seemed strange watching the news on tv. I was there. It didn't look the same on the screen. We didn't have much food in the house, and anyone who is familiar with Soho knows that not much opens until noon. But there was a deli around the corner. My friends and I went over to try and get some basics. The lines were really long. There were a few people covered in grey soot who had been closer to the towers. The air was so highly charged.

What I remember in the days to come is scattered and blurry. I remember walking around like a zombie. I remember how scary it felt to be alone. Nobody was able to get below Houston Street without an ID proving they lived there. The street was barricaded off and cops stayed there checking IDs. I remember that it felt and looked like a war zone. I remember all the tank trucks lined up on Houston street to head down to the world trade center. I remember the ambulances that had no bodies to bring back. The stores all being closed. It was a ghost town and I remember how unnerving the quiet was in a city that never sleeps. I remember feeling like I was living in a funeral 24 hours a day. I remember all the signs and photos posted everywhere, covering street posts and walls and gated fences and buildings, people looking for loved ones. I remember the smell in the air which lasted for so many months, the smell of toxic metals and debris and only God knows what, making you have to cover your face just to walk down the street. I remember the EPA saying the air was safe. I remember crying alot. I remember people walking barefoot trying to get home and get to the Brooklyn Bridge immediately after the attacks.

I remember the first anniversary of the attacks when I hosted a concert through www.Septemberconcert.org. I gathered a group of other artists and we did a 6 hour show, each taking turns playing. We were so exhausted and spent, and none of us knew how we would get through it. In some ways, that day was even harder, as it reopened a wound that had not healed. But we found that by coming together we could share our stories and our pain and share our hope. I remember the ceremonies honoring those who lost their lives and the tears we all cried. I remember how fatigued I felt from the immune illness I had as well as the added emotional grief I was feeling. I remember someone who lived in another state not understanding why I was so traumatized on that first anniversary. Why I could not stop crying. I did not fully understand it either. I felt all the energy surrounding me in the city, the energy of loss and grief. He said, "Why are you so upset? Did you know someone who died?"

I remember soon after the attacks when all the subways downtown were shut down and how hard that was. How isolating. I remember walking all the way to 14th St to get a subway and heading up to Central Park and feeling like I had entered another country as I sat there watching people walk dogs, rollerblade and sit outside. I remember how loud it was uptown where the cabs were running, the subways were running. And how eerie and traumatic everything felt downtown. I remember my husband yelling at me from Los Angeles to get the hell out of there and go to his sister's in CT. I remember saying I can't leave, I can't leave.....and feeling unable to move.

Then I did end up getting myself to Grand Central and taking a train. I felt like other people couldn't understand it. They were in shock and yet were far enough away that they also had some normalcy in their lives. Seeing the whole thing go down on tv versus being there in person was the difference between mars and earth. And then as hard as it was for me going through all of it and living in the middle of it geographically, I did not lose anyone I loved in those towers. How HARD WOULD THAT BE?

I remember someone emailing me from Kansas, concerned about my soul and that I was saved, saying how events like this put things into perspective.

You want to know perspective?

Perspective is that our President George Bush sat in an elementary school and read books to kids while our country was being attacked. Perspective is that the same people who voted for him because they liked him rather than because he was qualifed, are now going to vote for McCain/ Palin because they like Palin's personality rather than that she is qualified. And don't get me started on McCain.

Seriously. Let's look at these timelines.

It was at 8:19: that Betty Ong, a flight attendant on Flight 11 alerted American Airlines via an airphone, ""The cockpit is not answering, somebody's stabbed in business class—and I think there's Mace—that we can't breathe—I don't know, I think we're getting hijacked." She then tells of the stabbings of two flight attendants.

8:34: A third transmission from Flight 11: "Nobody move please. We are going back to the airport. Don't try to make any stupid moves." Boston Center contacts Otis Air National Guard Base at Cape Cod through the FAA's Cape Cod facility, on the hijacking of Flight 11.

8:37: Flight 175 confirmed sighting of hijacked Flight 11 to flight controllers.

(You would think by now the President of the United States would be on alert)...

Then at 8:44: Flight attendant Amy Sweeney, aboard Flight 11, reports by telephone to American Airlines Flight Services Office in Boston, "Something is wrong. We are in a rapid descent... we are all over the place." A minute later, she is asked to describe what she sees out the window. She responds, "I see the water. I see the buildings. I see buildings..." After a short pause, she reports, "We are flying low. We are flying very, very low. We are flying way too low." Seconds later she says slowly, "Oh my God...OH MY GOD!" The call ends with a burst of very loud, sustained static.

8:52: A flight attendant aboard Flight 175 calls a United Airlines office in San Francisco, reporting that the flight had been hijacked, both pilots had been killed, a flight attendant had been stabbed, and the hijackers were probably flying the plane.

One plane has crashed into the world trade center, and another has been hijacked.

You would think that President Bush might have considered that maybe this wasn't a good time to be reading books?

Well the rest is history. We all know what happened. For a very detailed timeline that is quite interesting, go to:
http://www.historycommons.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=complete_911_timeline&day_of_9/11=dayOf911&startpos=0

The months went by, we all breathed some pretty toxic stuff for a long time. The grief was palpable and there was no relief from it day or night. My husband came home, we missed our cat, (who had died Sept 8 in our home under that very window that looked out over the world trade center), we cried for the thousands of people who had lost their lives or lost loved ones in this horrible tragedy. We tried to go on with life. The dust cleared from my building's entry way and settled somewhere in its 100 year old walls, only to be dug up again in improper construction tear downs. I got REALLY sick. The EPA said the air was safe, we couldn't breathe without choking on it, our President got us into a war with a nation that had nothing to do with 9-11, and 4 months later my aunt died from ALS.

So here we are. And here I am.

If there is ever a time in our country when we need true change, it is now. I want a leader who inspires me. I want a leader who is about changing some of the policies we have had these 8 years, rather than agreeing with what he have had. I want someone who does not run on creating fear and terror to justify poor choices. I think of that quote by the poet RUMI, "don't move the way fear makes you move..."

Many people voted for Bush because of the brilliant strategies of Karl Rove, spin expert to the dumbed down masses.

Rove praises Palin's experience in being the mayor of small town Wasilla, yet he is also on record as having previously trashed Virginia Governor and former Richmond Mayor, Tim Kaine saying,

"He was mayor of the 105th largest city in America. And again, with all due respect to Richmond, Virginia, it's smaller than Chula Vista, California; Aurora, Colorado; Mesa or Gilbert, Arizona; north Las Vegas or Henderson, Nevada. It's not a big town. "

Let's see here-

Richmond, Virginia population 1.1 million

Wasilla, Alaska, approximately 7025..

Welcome to the world of Karl Rove!

Well I am not stupid enough to think anyone one president can fix everything. The world is so complicated today. It really is.

But do we really want to support a right wing extremist as vice president who has no foreign policy experience or insights, a woman who believes global warming is not caused by human behavior, whose church believes that the state of Alaska will be a shelter in the end times for Christians?

Does this sound like someone with the experience, intelligence and education to be the vice president and help direct our country in times like these?

Lastly, as I reflect upon the past 8 years, I know many people who voted for Bush but now say he was a disappointment. Thankfully many of those people are voting for Barack Obama. But others to my amazement, say that they disagree with Bush yet are voting for McCain.

According to the Congressional Quarterly's assessment of McCain's voting record, in 2007 McCain voted in line with the President Bush's position 95 percent of the time – the highest percentage rate for McCain since Bush took office.

Listen.

Think.

Is John McCain out of his Mind???

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 19:22:36 -0000

I listened to Barack’s speech last night in the car while we were driving. Some parts were more inspirational than others, but he addressed all the things that matter! I believe he wants to change all the things that count.

Of course wanting to change things and actually being able to accomplish those changes is another story. If he could accomplish even some of the things he talked about, he would be a success! His desires, beliefs and goals are on the right track.

I'm at the shore right now, and went out for a bike ride this morning. When I got back, one of my sisters called and told me about this woman McCain has chosen to be vice president for him if he wins. It took me awhile to calm down!

McCain is pretty old now, let’s be honest, and he has had alot of illness. If something were to happen to him, this woman would President.

Is this a joke??

This is a time when everyone needs to pull together to change the course of where things are presently headed. The view of our country from other countries, has shifted much for the worse over the 8 years. Our economy is worse than ever and so is the environment. The war is a mess. Many of the amazing rules and regulations that were set up to protect us from mercury contamination in the environment have now been reversed thanks to Bush. McCain is just more of the same.

Education is worse than before. Health care is controlled to a large degree by big pharmaceutical companies. And the gas prices are out of control. We need to get off our dependence on gas, not go drilling for more. We need support companies who keep their plants here in the United States, giving jobs to people in our own country. We need to make sure hunters can have guns, but dangerous criminals cannot. We need to make sure we are healing the environment and the earth, not destroying it every day. We need to get out of Iraq. I know so many of you feel the exact same way.

To me, these are all very "Christian values."

I am having such a hard time understanding why anyone would vote for McCain or fall for his campaign when things are such a mess right now, and his views are really not much different from what has happened here these last 8 years. I don’t get it. But for him to add this woman as his vice president is not just shocking, it is dangerous.

She has very little political experience.

I read a quote that says it far better then I do-

"John McCain needs what Kinky Friedman calls "a checkup from the neck up."

In choosing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be his running mate he is not thinking "outside the box," as some have said. More like out of his mind.

Sarah Palin first-term governor of a state with more reindeer than people, will have to put on a few pounds just to be a lightweight. Her personal story is impressive: former fisherman, mother of five. But that hardly qualifies her to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.

For a man who is 72 years old and has had four bouts with cancer to have chosen someone so completely unqualified to become president is shockingly irresponsible. Suddenly, McCain's age and health become central issues in the campaign, as does his judgment.

In his first presidential decision, John McCain has shown he is willing to endanger his country, potentially leaving it in the hands of someone who simply has no business being a heartbeat away from the most powerful, complicated, difficult job in human history. "

-Paul Begala

New photos

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:57:09 -0000

If anyone is interested- I have posted a brand new blog as well as a new gallery section of my nature photos on

www.Zentertainment.org

I hope you check it out and enjoy!

I have not aired any new shows in the past few weeks as I am going right through the most intense treatments for what has turned into neurological lyme and other cfids related things. All my energy is focused on healing and it has been very very rigorous. My healing side effects have been massive. Way beyond words or blogs. It looks as if I have about 1 year of this minimum. Who knows.

Anyway-

I would love to have you come over and visit the new changes on my site! It was fun to add them. Creativity is AWESOME for lack of a better word!

Sincerely,

www.Zentertainment.org

Why I won't use energy savers light bulbs

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 02:16:35 -0000

Why I Won’t Use "Energy Saving" Light Bulbs

Everyone from Al Gore to "green living" sites are promoting these compact fluorescent bulbs to save energy and money in the long run. Maybe you have some in your home already. I will not use them and here is why:

-Did you know that these bulbs contain toxic mercury? Mercury is in so many products today, but it is very dangerous, and is a huge part of many devastating illnesses that people are facing. Personally, I do not want mercury to be in my home, especially in something that can easily break!

-If your cat knocks over the lamp, or your child or baby knocks over the lamp, or there is an earthquake and a bulb breaks, do you realize that there are strict guidelines on what to do to protect yourself?

If one of these light bulbs breaks, evacuate the room immediately. Open a window.
Do not step on any of the glass or the mercury itself.
Stay OUT of the room for at least 15 minutes.
Shut off ALL central a/c and heating systems.
NEVER vacuum up the broken glass or what is around it. If you do, you will spread toxic mercury around your home!
NEVER use a broom to clean up the spill.
Never pour mercury down the drain.
If your clothing comes into contact with the mercury, do NOT wash it in a washing machine. You must discard the clothing. This is the same for bedding, curtains, etc. You must throw it out if it comes into direct contact with the mercury.
After 15 minutes, or when you re enter the room, put on rubber gloves and use a stiff piece of cardboard or paper to sweep everything up. Use sticky duct tape to get up small fragments.
Put it into a glass jar such as a canning jar. Wipe down the area with damp towels while still wearing gloves. Put everything that has come in touch with the mercury, into this jar and seal the lid.
Do NOT inhale any of the dust
Do NOT put this glass jar in a household bin to throw out, Instead, take it to a counsel dump/recycling center in your area and put it where they put the batteries.
Wash your hands and face
If this spill happens in carpet or on a rug, you might consider throwing it out, or at least that section.
If AFTER doing all of this, you need to vacuum the area at some point, make sure the a/c and heating systems are turned off in your home. Keep a window opened while you vacuum. When you finish, you must dispose of the vacuum bag in a sealed plastic bag.

Wow.

All because of a broken light bulb.

How many people know that these bulbs are so dangerous? How many people will dispose of the mercury correctly?

According to the EPA, "Nationwide, over 670 million mercury-containing bulbs are discarded each year. Most of these bulbs are still discarded with municipal solid waste that is ultimately landfilled or incinerated. These disposal methods can lead to a release of elemental mercury into the environment through breakage and leakage and ultimately contaminate the food chain."

The EPA says this, and yet they somehow rationalize that using these bulbs is better because they use less energy.

There are NO warnings on many of the the labels of these products, and the ones with warnings are in small print.
You are not likely to read instructions on how to dispose of the toxic mercury if one breaks.

To add insult to injury, our government is in the process of trying to make it a REQUIREMENT that we all use these mercury filled bulbs, and ONLY these bulbs.
We will be required to put a toxic, easily breakable substance into our homes.

And where will have to buy these wonderful products? You guessed it. They will all be made in ONLY one place...where else....China!

Thank you America!

That's my ten cents,

And for once, I agree with a Republican-

http://youtube.com/watch?v=e-LOtKIIKcg

Peace,
Jo

How to Feel Good When you Feel Bad/ photo copyright Jo Davidson

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 01:35:44 -0000

How to Feel Good When you Feel Bad

I am learning something pretty big.
I use to think that when I did something or felt something that I either regretted or didn't want to feel, I had to get rid of it.

But now, in the midst of any struggle whatever it is,if I am going through something that feels awful, I DON'T try to make that awful thing go away in order to be positive.

It doesn't work like that. I get it now!

Why does the world have this upside down?

I have found that my way out, is to co-exist with the thing, the hard feelings, the whatever it is. Just co-exist. And along side of that co-existence, without denying my reality or feelings, also count my blessings, refocus on what I love, anything that gives me pleasure or makes me feel GOOD. Not as a way to deny the other stuff. But as a way to get tapped into the bigger picture and into a flow that feels good to me.

It works, and the ONLY reason it works is that acceptance is a huge part of it. If I am sinking, I let myself sink along side of my gratitude. I LET BOTH THINGS HAPPEN AT ONCE. Somehow then the gratitude and also doing what I love, helps me float eventually (not always immediately). Patience. Trust. Consistency. Keep thinking a thought that feels good. Then suddenly, I find I am floating. Then if I float long enough, I actually feel better. I can rest. I can be.

Hey, floating is alot easier than treading water and definately easier than fighting the waves.

It helps me if I accept where I am and am gentle with myself instead of beating myself up for whatever.

Acceptance is a part of moving forward. I don't think we move forward by fighting what is.

I don't have to deny any part of myself in order to feel gratitude or feel a good thought. I don't have to cut any part of myself out. All the parts of me can co-exist together.

The more I do what I love, the harder it is to feel bad. But if I do feel bad, I just keep breathing, floating, thinking a good thought and riding it out because THIS TOO SHALL PASS.

I've got a very cool saying on my refrigerator. I have no idea who wrote it and I don't remember what magazine or book it came from. But it has been a very powerful help for me through all sorts of ups and down.

***********************

"Feeling bad won't make the situation better. You'll discover that the only thing feeling bad accomplishes in response to outer situations is to plummet you into anxiety, despair, depression and stress.

Instead, ask your in that moment what thought you can have that will make you feel good."

****************

The words on my refrigerator are words that I pass so many times a day, and read them so often. The simple thing of seeing them over and over, makes them sink in. It's the power of my own advertising to myself. I like that. I like that I can help myself create an inspiring home, a place where I can help myself grow and step into new ways of being that will work for me rather than against me.

The power of what I let into my mind is huge.

The other thing I do, (this is how I re focus my angst), is take pictures and write songs. Photography is a lifeline for me. I love photographing flowers and landscapes. I took a walk today and photographed so many flowers up close. It's like a meditation for me.

So is music. The great thing about having so many creative avenues, is that when one is closed temporarily, you just take the other road. There are many ways to cope and creativity is something that oozes out of me. I feel the most alive when I am being creative.

Today I sat out in the sun down at the shore and painted. I found a piece of wood that I painted in greens, blues and a touch of beige. Then I posted words on it that say "A Place for Inspiration" and drew a butterfly on the far end of it. Now it is sitting in my window.

Today I also sold a bunch of my photos, including one of a very erotic looking red tulip. And I wrote a verse to a new song that I wrote music to the other day.

There are sometimes in life when more things seems possible than at other times. There are sometimes in life when I am up and sometimes when I am way down.
The thing is to create from everything. Nothing is wasted.

Whatever happens, whatever I feel at any given moment and for whatever reason, I will keep going back to the words on my refrigerator-

"Feeling bad won't make the situation better. You'll discover that the only thing feeling bad accomplishes in response to outer situations is to plummet you into anxiety, despair, depression and stress.

Instead, ask your in that moment what thought you can have that will make you feel good."

And I will co-exist with these words and whatever else is going on.

This keeps me honest and real.

Life is meant to be a little messy.

Beating the Odds

Fri, 23 May 2008 23:15:26 -0000

Memorial Day Weekend 2008. Zentertainment Talk Radio #39

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

- Emma Lazarus

*********************************************************************************************

It has been several weeks since I have been online. I wanted to air a show and to reach out to you all, but I was going through so much.

During a span of 4 weeks, several things were going on simultaneously. I left CT and moved not once, but twice. One move has been back into a new NYC apartment, and the other move is into a place on the NJ shore, both of which are still a work in progress. Someone I dearly love was in the hospital with food poisoning for an entire week. Then she was given too much pain medication at the hospital one night and almost didn't wake up. Talk about scary. My emotional world was turned upside down. At the same time all of this was going on, I got a tick bite in CT and developed a new full blown lyme disease infection which has brought with it an onslaught of brand new challenges.

That's the short version.

Oddly enough, I am feeling very hopeful.

I just spent a week in Ohio visiting my family. This morning I was on an early flight back to NYC, and as the plane took off, I felt that something in me was taking off. I looked out over the sky as we lifted off the ground, over the clouds, and I felt so deeply grateful for the gift of life that I actually started to cry. Well, a few tears slid down my cheeks.

What I felt was not an intellectual appreciation for life, and it wasn't some dreamy philosophy that one adopts to explain the universe. It was pure truth in my heart of how fragile life is, how beautiful it is, and how lucky I am to be here another day. I LOVE LIFE! Thank you thank you was all I felt.

When you have been ill, you appreciate health. When you have been hurt, you appreciate comfort. When you have cried tears of sorrow, you treasure tears of joy.

My new podcast episode features an extraordinary person whose story shows us all the amazing capacity we have to overcome adversity.

His name is Zev Kedem, and he is a Holocaust Survivor. He was saved first by his mother who took a great risk in smuggling him into a concentration camp (which was his only chance for survival). A few years later, he was saved again by Oskar Schindler. The war began when he was 5 years old, and ended just before his 11th birthday. Kedem was cared for by American soldiers after fleeing Auschwitz at the end of World War II.

On this memorial day weekend, l honor courage and celebrate life. I honor soldiers and so many others who have died to protect the freedoms we enjoy. I honor all of the people who have fought injustice and stood for truth even at the risk of their own lives.

Zev Kedem said that if there is one simple thing we can learn from his story, it is to practice daily acts of conscious kindness.

Hear this story first hand from Zev Kedem, the last generation of Holocaust survivors.

You can hear Zev Kedem by going to this direct link:

http://www.zentertainment.org/podcasts/zentertainment39.mp3

Let me know what you think, feel, dream about, wish for, are thankful for....

Peace,

Jo

p.s Happy Birthday to all the other geminis out there! :)

Zentertainment Talk Radio
www.Zentertainment.org

Robert F Kennedy Jr.

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:13:05 -0000

"Sinclair Network is the largest television network in our country. It is controlled by a former pornographer who requires all 75 of the local network stations to take a pledge that they will not report critically about this (Bush) president or the war in Iraq."
-RFK Jr.

"When we destroy nature we diminish ourselves. We impoverish our children. I don’t want my children to grow up in a world where there are no commercial fishermen on the Hudson, where it’s all Gordon Seafood and Unilever and 400 ton factory trawlers 100 miles offshore strip mining the ocean with no interface with humanity.

And where there are no family farmers left in America.

Where it’s all Smithfield and Cargill and Premium Standard farms raising animals in factories and treating their stock and their neighbors and their workers with unspeakable cruelty.

And where we’ve lost touch with the seasons and the tides and the things that connect us to the 10,000 generations of human beings that were here before there were laptops....
And that connect us ultimately to God."
-RFK Jr.

"Environmental injury is deficit spending. It’s a way of loading the cost of our generation’s prosperity on to the backs of our children."

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#38

Zentertainment Talk Radio and The Omega Institute (eomega.org) feature Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

Hey everyone,

I hope you will share this important episode with all your friends and family! Because one part of my health condition has been mercury toxicity, I am passionate about educating others of the dangers of mercury. We also now hear about the connections between mercury in vaccines to autism and other health conditions.

I believe that our connection to the environment and how we treat it is how we treat ourselves. I don't think it is any coincidence that we are seeing a rise in many illnesses that are appearing today. As a country, we cannot continue to allow the biggest polluters to be rewarded and protected all because they gave money to a politician. But that is exactly what is happening.

I learned alot from listening to Robert F Kennedy Jr speak. I became more informed.

I do not think things are hopeless. We have the power to vote for politicians that will protect our environment and our health. We have the power not to invest money in companies that are polluting the world and making it more toxic.

This episode is filled with some very cool facts to know, and tons of inspiration!

Just click here and go to the "HEAR THE SHOW" page. You can listen anytime of day or night!

http://www.zentertainment.org

Have a great week,

Zentertainment Talk Radio

www.Zentertainment.org

This episode is sponsored by Mary Jane's Farm, Simple Solution for Everyday Organic

at www.MaryJanesFarm.com

=============================================================================

One out of every 4 children in NYC and in most urban areas, has asthma. The primary cause of asthma attacks is ozone particulates, and the principle source of those particulates in our atmosphere are 400 coal burning power plants that are burning coal illegally. It has been illegal for 18 years. They were supposed to have cleaned up. Many of them did. The Clinton administration was prosecuting the worst 52 of those plants criminally and civilly for violating the law.

But this is an industry that donated 156 million dollars to President Bush's party since the 2000 cycle. And one of the first things that Bush did when he came into office was to order the Justice Department and EPA to drop all those lawsuits. The top enforcers at the EPA resigned their jobs in protest. These weren't democrats. These were people who had worked through the Reagan administration and the previous Bush administration.

The top Justice attorney in charge of those cases said, "This has never happened before in American History where a presidential candidate accepts money from criminals under investigation and then awards those cases dropped after he achieves office."

Immediately after dropping those lawsuits, the White House went and abolished the New Source Rule which was the heart and soul, the central provision of the Clean Air Act. That rule is the rule that required those plants to clean up 17 years ago and it is the fundamental compromise that allowed the passage of the Clean Air Act.

If you go to EPA's website today, you will see that that decision alone, that single decision, kills 18,000 Americans every single year. Six times the number of people that were killed by the World Trade Center attack. This should be on the front page of every newspaper in this country every single day and yet you're not reading about it in the American press.

A couple of months ago EPA announced that in 19 states it is now unsafe to eat any freshwater fish in the state because of mercury contamination. We know where the mercury is coming from, those same coal burning power plants. In 48 states at least some of the fish are unsafe to eat. In fact, the only two states where all of the fish are still safe to eat are Alaska and Wyoming where republican controlled legislatures have refused to appropriate the money to test the fish. In all of the other states at least some, most or all of the fish are unsafe to eat.

-Robert F Kennedy, Jr.

The Backdoor to Enlightenment

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 23:31:47 -0000

“For every nine people who denounce innovation, only one will encourage it...for every nine people who do things the way they have always been done, only one will ever wonder if there is a better way...for every nine people who stand in line in front of a locked building, only one will ever come around and check the back door. "

Za Rinpoche & Ashley Nebelsieck, from the book "The Back Door to Enlightenment"

*******************************************************

Hey There,

What's going on in your corner of the world?

I have been thinking about the topic of impermanence.

Maybe that is because I have been going through extremely tough levels of the illness I have faced for a long time.

I am in the process of moving into a new home. My mother has been in the hospital with a severe case of food poisoning.

Then the tide shifted. My symptoms eased up thanks to a new remedy. Amen Amen.

Mom came home from the hospital and is doing better. I am starting to get more comfortable with the move, although it is all still in progress.

Impermanence.

Right now I am staring out my window in the city watching the Staten Island Ferry coming in. The sun is setting.

This morning I took pictures of a beautiful sunrise in CT.

Change.

My other news is that two days ago I was filmed to be in the Oprah 2008 Magazine video. I went up to the Hearst building in midtown, which is a beautiful building. The footage is being used by the the advertising and marketing departments.

Today I just finished recording several interviews for upcoming shows sponsored by Zentertainment Talk Radio and The Omega Institute. Stay tuned for an amazing episode featuring Robert Kennedy. In this upcoming episode you will get a chance to hear what is REALLY going on in the environment and in our White House.

Stay tuned for my show featuring Zev Kedem, a Schindler Survivor surviving Adolf Hitler`s Nazi death camps. His story is so moving.

Stay tuned for an episode featuring Debbie Ford discussing the shadow, and what our dark sides can teach us.

Until then, check out the newest podcast featuring my conversation with Za Rinpoche......

Za is a Tibetan Monk who grew up in a refugee camp in Southern India. He co-authored a book called THE BACK DOOR TO ENLIGHTENMENT.

I was thinking more about what this title means to me personally.

Long ago, I was determined to walk through life and march right through the front door. I thought I had the front door figured out. For me, that front door focused on accomplishment and achievement. It was also about looking my best. The front door was that powerful "I can do anything, be anything, get anything I want" type of place. However, somewhere in that, there was also the need to impress myself... as if the more I accomplished, the more worthy I would be.

Life these past few years has been taking me to this back door. At this point I feel like I need a backdoor to the backdoor!

When that front door has shut me out or been locked, I find an opening again and again so that I can keep saying YES to life.

I have learned that the outer structures I so often rely on are impermanent. I am faced with this daily, and sometimes hourly. This certainly keep me on my toes!

The back door is humility. It is compassion for myself and then for others. It is knowing how it feels to be in a dark night of the soul and yet believe in a sunrise. Maybe we can all help each other keep believing in that.

This week if you find the front door closed or even locked, be that one person that checks the back door!

This is a pre-recorded conversation between myself and Za Rinpoche. I would love to share the conversation with you. It's just a link away-

http://www.zentertainment.org/podcasts/html

Peace,

Jo Davidson

Zentertainment Talk Radio

www.Zentertainment.org

Calling all Artists and Creative people!

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:05:10 -0000

Painting is just another way of keeping a diary. ~Pablo Picasso

It is raining today, I just got back from acupuncture, am a little woozy. But hey, it's all good in the big picture. It is REALLY helping me. I finally found the right person, after trying 5 people over the years. The treatments hurt like crazy, but that's just because there have been so many things going on in my body for so long! I am doing a combination of acupuncture, chinese teas, neural therapy and vibrational remedies. I am seeing some great changes.

For those of you who celebrate Easter, happy Easter this weekend!

I am excited about the show I just posted on Zentertainment Talk Radio. Many of you have read Julia Cameron's book THE ARTIST WAY and many of you are on the creative path.

Some of you are songwriters, poets, painters and actors. Others are creative in another path. Maybe you are a doctor, a chef, a homemaker, a hair stylist, a graphic designer. There are artists in every single profession, and this episode of Zentertainment Talk Radio is for you. You know who you are!

I have been an artist since I was a little girl, so this week's show was really fun for me. We are hanging out with Eric Maisel. He is a psychotherapist, a best selling author of thirty books and an internationally known expert on the creative process. His latest book is called "The Van Gogh Blues, The Creative Person's Path through Depression."

Listen in as we talk about the creative path and explore issues like solitude, stage fright, rejection and praise, the addictions common to many artists and why they occur! Eric even shares an exercise you can do to help yourself eliminate negative self talk.

I LOVE being an artist, and I hope you do too. This show is for us!

http://www.zentertainment.org/podcasts.html

Sincerely,

Taking a Bite of the Pie

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 17:03:38 -0000

When I dare to be powerful -

to use my strength in the service of my vision,

then it becomes less and less important

whether I am afraid.

--Audre Lorde

Hey There,

The other night, I was watching an episode of Law & Order. It use to be one of my favorite tv shows, but I don't watch it as much any more even though I still love it. My new favorite is a show on HBO called "In Treatment." Have you seen it?

Anyway, tonite's episode of Law & Order is about these two boys, brothers, smart, good looking, great kids who never get any breaks. Their mom is a heroin addict, and their entire childhoods have been spent in and out of foster homes. During those times when they are back with their mom, they get beat on by the revolving door or men she has coming in and out.

Through it all, they still love her. Isn't that amazing?

They get into an all white academy/school where the rich privileged kids complain about everything. Yet here are these two boys with so little, and they are getting straight As even against the odds.

After a party one night, they get into trouble when a gang leader sets them up to look like they did a murder they didn't do. Cut to the end of the show, and the truth comes out. They get out of jail and have a chance at life. They go to find their mom to celebrate, and she is there in a chair, dead from an overdose.

They show affected me tonite more than usual. I have been thinking alot lately about the walls that divide us, and the ways that we are all alike on the inside. Yet sometimes it seems like we couldn't be more different. Look at all the people in the world right now in this moment. Rich, poor, hungry, starving, full, intelligent, privileged, poor, abandoned, driven, ignorant, open minded, judgemental, loving, hateful, happy....

Sometimes you might go into a place and feel like the people there are nothing like you. (Maybe even in your own home)! And on the surface that might be true.

I just wonder, if I stripped everything away, my past, my upbringing, my race, gender, religion and culture, would the basic human desires and needs reveal themselves to be the same no matter what?

Why do we fear each other so much sometimes?

When we fear that "other," could it also be that somewhere inside of us, we are fearing a part of ourselves? Fearing that "there but by the grace of God do I go" part of ourselves?

One of my sisters does social work, and I admire her for that. I feel like what she does makes a difference. Tonite I was wondering, does what I do really make a difference? I am sitting here in a warm home with food to eat and clothes to wear and more options than most people in the world have, and I am airing a show on how to create a healthy home, and the importance of getting toxic chemicals away from our bodies and our planet. Does that seem sort of pathetic and unworthy of air time in a world where many people don't have food to eat, access to education and even the love of a family?

Then I think to myself, we each have our part. We each have different talents and strengths, and in our own ways, if we can use those to make the world better, then we are doing something good.

Most of all tonite, I just feel grateful and blessed that I do have choices, and that I am loved. That is a big deal in the world today.

Love is the thing that truly does change the world. Love changes the way we do business. It changes our path, and changes our choices. It's not just love for other people, but also for the planet, and for animals. People who love the planet and love people, don't create dangerous chemicals and dump them into our food supply, air and water. The FDA doesn't love people when it protects corporate interests over safety.

Cliche as it sounds, sometimes it really hits me over the head and I realize so deeply that love between us as friends, as family, as people, is the only thing that can create a new healthier world. It is possible. It's a lifelong path. There are times when I really get it right. Other times I miss the mark totally.

I don't give up on myself, and I hope you don't give up on yourself either!

This show is a piece of the big pie. It's just one little bitty tiny piece.

If you feel like taking a bite, this is the link:

"Harmonious Environment"

http://www.zentertainment.org/podcasts.html

Peace,