October Women Issue
For the cover of this October Women issue, we’re grateful to the de Young museum and the Musée d’Orsay in Paris for letting us borrow from French impressionist Paul Gauguin’s canvas Arearea (Joyousness). Painted in 1892 during the artist’s first visit to Tahiti, the work received a rather lukewarm reception back home in France. Believing it was one of his best pictures, the artist went so far as to buy it back for himself in 1895. Of course, now it’s considered a masterpiece.
Human history hasn’t always been generous to women either, but that too is changing, as there is a powerful reemergence of feminine wisdom in our conscious community. Of course we at Common Ground know our audience and deeply value the inherent qualities of women, which include compassion, cooperation, creativity, patience, and interconnection, to name just a few. We believe we’re part of a worldwide movement to help rebalance the male and female energies in society. In every issue, we aim to provide an editorial undercurrent that honors the feminine and our connection with nature. We hope you’ll enjoy this October issue, wherein we dedicate special emphasis.
Some powerful voices representing empowered women can be heard in our Moonrise feature. These include Alice Walker, Jean Shinoda Bolen, Joanna Macy, Nina Simons, and Akaya Windwood. In our People in the Neighborhood section, we profile Kamala Harris, the San Francisco district attorney who is running for state office.
As women emerge with new roles in our society, men are confronted with a new paradigm for relating and loving the opposite sex. The “new chivalry” we describe derives not from being grasping or manipulative but from a position of authentic kinship — where the booty call is replaced by the Buddha call, or the beauty call.
Special thanks to assistant editor Carrie Grossman, who beyond lending particular attention to this Women issue, wrote a beautiful essay that examines the cult of exterior beauty. Rightfully, she concludes that we’re all masterpieces, glowing in beauty as we love from within.
We hope to see you at the various events coming to the Bay Area this month. The San Francisco Vegetarian Society holds its annual festival, sharing Golden Gate Park with the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. Deepak Chopra speaks in Marin, while His Holiness the Dalai Lama will teach in San Jose. Bioneers is a favorite event, this time bringing the likes of Dr. Jane Goodall. And we look forward to the Conference on Science and Nonduality. If you get a chance, go see GhettoPhysics, a new movie that opens this month from the producers of What the Bleep Do We Know!? And these are but a few examples of the rich cultural offerings we enjoy by the bay. How can we complain?
Thank you for sharing Common Ground and for supporting our advertisers.
Om Shakti Om,
ROB SIDON, PUBLISHER/EDITOR