Wisdom Wheel

What are you doing to improve your understandings and reform the broken world we’ve inherited? The Choices we put our Faith in have rarely seemed more important. I am relieved the majority of my fellow citizens voted for change in these fractious elections, during a runaway pandemic, with our economy sputtering. Although the man in our White House still refuses to respect the will of the American people, reform is already underway.

Many of us are consciously joining the Transition Team – in its largest sense. Adapt or die. Those are stark Choices. But with every decision we make, even about mask-wearing or how to spend our Thanksgiving holidays, we are contributing to an upward spiral or a downward one.

Sadly I say this after just learning my primary care doctor has committed suicide. He was my age, 66, and had recently retired. When his obituary omitted his cause of death, it seemed odd. I had to contact colleagues to confirm my suspicions. Adapt or die. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, white, middle-aged males account for 70% of the nearly 50,000 suicides annually in the US. Men kill themselves at 3.5 times the rate of women. In view of these statistics, none of us can afford to follow those who despair to the point of death, who lack understanding, or the hope necessary to reform our broken world.

As our indigenous friends have always advised, think of the next seven generations when you consider the future and your Choices. To make wise decisions we need to align ourselves with evolutionary energies during these crucial days.

News & Events

Feeling the urgent need to reach out in solidarity with those who want to keep the spiral turning upwards, I have teamed up with an old friend and ceremonial sister, Rosanne Romiglio-Ashley. During her work to revamp my author website, we decided to collaborate on another project, Return to Wisdom. 

We’ve co-created a lovely planner journal for 2021. You will see it in the next newsletter. Designed to support users daily, every step of the way, it lays out 12 monthly themes that reinforce the Wisdom Wheel’s bedrock principles. This is one way to keep the spiral pointed upwards. Contact me if you want to reserve a copy. 

For those who choosing to follow its guidance, we will begin holding regular Zoom meetings, and online check-ins, starting January 2021. More about this program in next newsletter.

In the meantime, I want my fellow writers to know – in time for making your New Year’s resolutions – that I will be offering an online version of my popular workshop, Would I, Could I, Should I Write a Memoir? Instead of waiting to resume the in-person kind at my home, we will do it via Zoom, starting in January. There will be more information in the next newsletter but this course is designed to give you an overview. I will share what I wish I’d known before starting out on my writing journey over twenty years ago. Bring me all your questions and concerns. I will tell you the truth about what it took to write an award-winning memoir. The Importance of Paris is the first in a planned series. Having participated in several writing groups, I am convinced of the need to support my fellow writers and for those wanting to continue with me after taking the initial workshop, I will explain the ongoing course. Please contact me if you are interested in committing to writing your book. 

One of the many benefits of penning a memoir is how it can reconnect you with people from long ago and far away, like Anora McGaha. As a child, she lived near my family in Saudi Arabia, and she also lived in Beirut, Lebanon. Anora McGaha could appreciate The Importance of Paris better than most and I salute her by sharing her review: “Bravo! What a captivating read! Between the mysteries of your quest and your loves, there was always a pull through the book! The Importance of Paris reads like a novel. What a weave of history, cultures, romance, and truth-telling. Informative, fascinating, tantalizing. Encore!” 

Our Westerly writing group has just published HOMELAND, our 2020 anthology! Very proud of my gals and pals and their work compiled in these pages. We each have about five pieces inside. Kudos to Wendy Bradford and Dyann Boudreau who did so much behind the scenes to make this happen. This is our second year in a row, gathering and publishing our own work. This was our 2019 issue.

Our ongoing Zoom groups meeting regularly.

• Every Saturday morning 10:30 am Westerly Writing group
• Every other Wednesday evening 6pm Book Writers group
• Every Monday evening 7pm Zoom Lodge

Ceremonies

Our November Lodge ceremony will be held on Sunday the 22nd but due to rising numbers of COVID cases, we are strictly observing restrictions. For our Winter Solstice ceremony, scheduled for Sunday, December 20th we will adjust accordingly. For all updates, check our HOPE HOUSE Facebook page.

“A word after a word after a word is power… War is what happens when language fails” — Margaret Atwood

Wisdom Wheel

For a fellow who passed a dozen years ago, Crichton’s warnings have proven rather prophetic. Especially with regard to this pandemic and our politics. As we approach the Clarity time of year, October 23-November 21, let’s call upon all our powers of discernment, while choosing our candidates in next month’s election, and celebrating the birthdays of our Scorpio friends. 

Crichton’s Birth Law was Clarity. By plotting his life on the Wisdom Wheel, we see he also died at the Clarity time of year. Depending upon how we Process what we realize, Clarity can be a curse or a blessing. In Crichton’s case, I discovered some enduring lessons. 

During his Harvard student days, he realized one of his professors harbored a bias against him and his writing. What did he do? Rather than indulge in self-sabotaging anger, or wilt at having his talent rejected by this man, he exposed him. He enlisted another teacher ‘s help to conduct an experiment. He purposely plagiarized George Orwell’s work, to reveal this man graded even the work of a known genius poorly, when he assumed Crichton had written it. 

We can all conduct Clarity experiments, for any reason, including the revelation of bias, in others or ourselves. During this season of fake news versus facts, we need to reconsider our sorting methods. How do we distinguish truth from fiction? We rely upon our beliefs for our processing. Do we prefer Clarity, or fantasy, memoir or escapist entertainment, for instance? 

As new information comes in, writing is a useful tool, for tracking our thoughts and realizations. If he hadn’t needed to process more bias observations, during his residency practice rounds at Boston City Hospital, Crichton might never have become a professional writer. Seeing how often the reputations of doctors were favored, over the best interests of patients, upset him enough to quit medicine.

But those experiences provided the background for his ‘24 Hours’ pilot script. That turned into the ER television series, which lasted 15 seasons. In ’94 he had a #1 TV show ER, a #1 movie Jurassic Park and a #1 book, Disclosure. A feat no one else has duplicated, so far. Did the stress get him? He died at my current age, 66. His prolific output can be traced to his overarching Clarity about human failings. Nowhere are these more starkly revealed than in how we relate to our machines and technologies.

News & Events

Company Matters, the musical, debuted last Friday night for friends and family! This story, of triumph over corporate corruption, has been my husband Malcolm’s labor of love for over twenty years. In the next issue, there will be a link for you to listen to it. When he was still working at Sony Music, Malcolm would tape me plucking out a tune for his lyrics on my guitar as I sang them over the phone. Now in this podcast premiere, we got to hear the professionals, belt out the polished tunes. Thanks to the strange silver lining of COVID, wonderfully talented actors and musicians were available to work on this project, instead of touring with the Hamilton production, since live performances have been cancelled.

In my debate club, my partner and I just won our argument this week. We marshaled enough facts to prove “the fast fashion industry is paying only lip-service to the movement towards sustainability.” Two years ago I was invited to join this Rhode Island group of feisty women who care passionately about a wide variety of issues. My debate debut was scheduled for March. But the coronavirus suspended in person gatherings, for the first time in the club’s 123-year history. Thanks to Zoom, my partner and I were finally able to present our arguments, after an 8 month pause. 

Thanks to technology life goes on, despite the continuing havoc COVID is causing with in-person plans. If your organization needs to raise funds, or plan something fun, let’s talk. For book clubs, ordering more than 10 copies, I will bulk mail my memoir at a discount, and visit virtually to respond to readers’ questions. 

These ongoing Zoom groups meet regularly:

• Every Saturday morning 10:30 am Westerly Writing group
• Every other Wednesday evening 6pm Book Writers group
• Every Monday evening 7pm Zoom Lodge

Ceremonies

Due to rising numbers of COVID cases, our November Lodge ceremony is on hold. We hope to have it after the November 3rd election. The same for our Winter Solstice ceremony, scheduled for Sunday December 20th. We will adjust according to the restrictions in place as the time approaches. For all updates, check our HOPE HOUSE Facebook page

Oral Storytelling

I went to Tell Newport at the Firehouse theatre recently. The theme that night was “The Last Straw.” Five people, mostly women, each had ten minutes to tell a true story, without notes or props. Taking the stage and speaking truths to strangers is heroic and their courage was infectious — better than sitting on the couch in front of a TV. One story, about combatting suicidal depression, after the theft of the popular election vote victory in the 2016 presidential race, stays with me: “…I pinned a ‘Free Hugs’ note to the back of my jacket and went out to offer what I could to other people who were also hurting.” Because of this illegitimate presidency, this storyteller has also lost access to healthcare during their transgender journey.
The Wisdom Wheel
Sharing the television spot about the Wisdom Wheel last month has connected me with old friends and the newly intrigued. How refreshing to rediscover “beginner’s mind” on this subject after discussing it for over twenty years. Some opportunities are in the works and if your organization needs a different kind of speaker or something out of the box to catalyze great discussions, contact me. I am always willing to hit the road for good causes and an honorarium.

Ceremonies

Our next Community Lodge is Feb. 16th at 10 a.m. Anyone wanting additional information about this or the annual four day Bear Fast coming up next month should contact me soon. No charge for ceremonies though we accept donations. These are the antidotes to commercialism and corruption.

The Memoir and Other Writing

Writing Groups

Books don’t get written in a vacuum and most of my Saturday mornings are spent with my writing group, hearing their written stories read aloud and sharing my own. The feedback of these friends and beta readers is priceless. Our latest prompt included “A Brush With Greatness” and I used a memoir excerpt.

Book Clubs

Being a regular reader is also important. Without savoring the tales told in great books, how would any of us recognize wonderful writing? Escaping into the magical realms enclosed between the pages has kept me sane. Two decades of faithful book club membership have become a most profitable investment. To understand not only what the well-proven mechanics are but what readers want. Ethos, Pathos, and Logos have been satisfying us since the days of Aristotle.

Please enjoy a short excerpt from my memoir below (for the “Brush With Greatness” prompt), and stay tuned for the book’s release this year.

Until next time,
Cynthia F. Davidson

An invitation came in the mail to a reception held by the mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac’s Hotel de Ville (City Hall). The occasion was the translation into French of a book of poetry written by Prince Abdullah al Faisal Al Saud. How my name had gotten onto the invitation list was a mystery. Perhaps Waddah? Or my old Mobil Oil boss who knew I wrote poetry? I decided to attend and responded to the RSVP.

The overly ornate interior of the Hotel de Ville (City Hall) was full of elegantly dressed people when I arrived on the appointed evening. The honor guard was going up the steps and we paused to allow the soldiers time to go through the flourishes, drawing their sabers. The trappings of empire, I thought while following them up the carpeted steps. Inside the large reception room huge chandeliers hung from the ceiling where frescoes of naked women and cupids frolicked in eighteenth century style. These would never be seen in the City Halls of Riyadh or Jeddah I noted dryly while passing beneath them.

Jacques Chirac, the mayor of Paris, seemed harried and sweaty when I shook his hand in the receiving line. That evening his introductory speech droned on and on about the long friendship between France and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I was thinking of the details he was leaving out. Who would tell the truth if I didn’t write it? Ruefully I recalled the real story Mazen had told me years ago about his father, Dr. Rashad Pharaon, being the first Saudi ambassador in Paris. Although the medical doctor had been born in Syria, King Abdul Aziz Al Saud had sent Rashad Pharaon to represent Saudi Arabia after the Second World War because he trusted him. By then Mazen’s father was the king’s personal physician, and he had treated many members of the royal family, curing them of syphilis too, if those rumors were correct.

Dr. Pharaon’s diplomatic credentials had been rejected at first by the French government because his name was still on their most wanted list. He had joined the resistance movement during the French occupation of the Levant (Syria and Lebanon) and part of an ambush that killed a French officer. A wanted man, Dr. Pharaon had fled south into the desert, ending up in Riyadh, where his medical talents were much appreciated. His medical degree had been earned in France, and he spoke the language and understood the thinking of the colonialists.

The Saudi king held fast and forced the French to accept the former resistance fighter as Ambassador Pharaon. Mazen was born in Paris during his father’s posting. His mother was already in labor on the way to the hospital and he arrived in the car on a bridge over the River Seine. He’d never known which of the city’s thirty-seven bridges it had been.

Now the featured poet took the podium, graciously thanking the mayor for his remarks. This Saudi Prince Abdullah was a grandson of that first Saudi King Abdul Aziz, and a brother of the current Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince Saud. These brothers were both sons of the assassinated King Faisal, whose reign I’d lived under in Saudi Arabia. Prince Abdullah spoke exclusively in Arabic, with an interpreter. Reciting his poetry and making his remarks, he often stroked his nearly white goatee. Such a familiar gesture, I’d seen so many Muslim men touch their beards this way, while swearing Wahayat Allah, by the beard of the Prophet.

If any of you are looking for something different to jazz up an event or need a speaker, let me know. I am always glad to travel for good causes and an honorarium.

The Wisdom Wheel calendar reminds us this is the best time of year for Purification work. Like the icy winter wind swirling around my house tonight, Purification is sharp and cutting. It kills off the weak and the parasitic, like ticks. Use it decisively to clear the decks of your life. Get rid of people who cannot be trusted, clothing you no longer wear, and books you are done with. While you’re at it, delete the spam and cookies in your email browser and wish all your Aquarian friends happy birthday.

Ceremonies

Sweat lodges are Purification ceremonies. They assist in physical as well as spiritual and emotional detoxification. Our next one is on Saturday morning, February 16. Our annual Bear Fast is also coming up, starting on the night of March 20 and ending with our Spring Equinox Lodge, Sunday morning March 24. We’ve been offering those for eighteen years now and have many repeat fasters attend to unplug from the modern world and reconnect to nature. Contact me for more information.

The Memoir and Other Writing

For those of you who don’t know, my upcoming memoir The Importance of Paris not only chronicles my time spent in the City of Lights in the early 1980s, but also my expatriate childhood in the Middle East. Please enjoy a short excerpt and photo below, and stay tuned for the book’s release this year.

Until next time,
Cynthia F. Davidson

The sensations of our 1962 arrival in Jeddah remained stored inside my skin. A wall of heat and humidity hit us the moment the aircraft door opened. While waiting for the steps to be rolled up to the plane, we breathed in the distinctive scent of the night wind that comes across the desert. As-salamu alaykum. The Arabic greeting, Peace Be Upon You. Inside the rudimentary concrete block terminal of the old downtown airport, we retrieved our suitcases and opened them for inspection, on the long counters. Custom agents riffled through our belongings, searching for contraband: girlie magazines, Bibles, booze or pork products. When finished, the officials marked each bag with their sticks of powdery chalk, as white as their long sleeved, floor-length cotton robes. Perfect clothing for their climate, the Saudis had never been forced to adopt an overseers dress code. Never colonized by the West, they wore whatever they wanted while the expats sweated mercilessly, dressed inappropriately in pants, knotted ties, buttoned shirts, socks and closed toed shoes.

Dad was at the airport to welcome us. Beyond a few R & R visits with mom, he had been on his own for nearly a year. Sporting a mustache and a BMW motorcycle, Mom made him get rid of both, in short order. Waking to the sight of camels, sheep and goats roaming the alleys of our new town on my first morning, I saw hungry animals chewing the paper labels off the tin cans in the garbage piles. I cast our family in the role of modern day pioneers. Instead of covered wagons, we had come by jet, yet it felt like an equally great adventure into unknown territories. Thrilled by the boundless open horizon, I was pleased to discover for myself that the so-called Red Sea lapping the shore of our new hometown was actually a cerulean blue.

The Wisdom Wheel

Those who don’t know me from studying the Wisdom Wheel can learn more about it from our website, and while you’re there, help yourself to a free introduction booklet. Those who have studied the Wheel and its 36 Laws can probably guess why the theme of this initial email is Renewal. According to the Wheel it is that time of year again, and time for all Capricorns to celebrate their birthdays.

Renewal ends on January 21st, which also happens to fall on a Full Moon. Expect another newsletter from me around that time. In the meantime, if you or anyone you know is interested in a tour of the Wisdom Wheel, please feel free to contact me. Each new cycle of the Wisdom Wheel teachings starts on one of the 13 Full Moons of each year. As you might have gathered, we base our teaching method upon the lunar cycles. Studying the wisdom of the ancient wheels restores one’s awareness of nature and how it ebbs and flows. We are also planning a podcast series about the Wisdom Wheel this year too, so stay tuned for more about that.

The Memoir and Other Writing

As some of you already know, my first memoir The Importance of Paris is coming out soon via Amazon. There will be pre-publication signed copies available for those who cannot wait. The memoir also has a Facebook page with plenty of photographs, video and more. In the months leading up to its release, I’ve been doing public readings and facilitated the first book club discussion for the group who read it in draft form.

Most recently, I returned from ten days in Paris with my younger daughter, freshly graduated from nursing school. Our trip renewed my connection to that magical place and I was given the opportunity to read a few excerpts in the city where it all began.

Expect a flurry of updates in the coming months, including excerpts from the memoir, and insights on learning how to write this particular genre of nonfiction. Becoming a memoirist is exciting and exhausting, much like my adventures living in France for the three years I describe in the book! Launching the memoir will surely be another saga, and I’d like to pass on some of the hard earned wisdom to anyone else determined to write a book about their life. Contact me if you’re interested in joining me for a future workshop about this. We all need encouragement (and beta readers) to help us reach that finish line. There is another memoir in the pipeline about my ever evolving spiritual life, but I’ll save that for a future letter.

Ceremonies

Last, but not least, we continue to offer our regular community ceremonies, purification lodges, vision quests as we’ve done for almost 20 years now. Those of you in the tri-state area of Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts may want to join us for the next one on Saturday, February 16th. Contact me for more info and the schedule of activities.

Please feel free to forward this newsletter on to any friends who might enjoy regularly positive news.

Until next time,
Cynthia F. Davidson