Born into a modest blue-collar immigrant family in San Francisco’s Sunset District in 1950, Jackie Speier strongly considered entering a convent before choosing to become a lawyer, and served as legislative counsel to Representative Leo Ryan. On November 18, 1978, she joined a fact-finding mission (that the State Department deemed safe) to explore constituent concerns about relatives involved with Jim Jones’s People’s Temple in Jonestown, Guyana. In the events leading up to the infamous cyanide-laced Kool-Aid mass murder of 918 people (the largest massacre of American citizens before 9/11), Ryan and Speier, after visiting the compound, were ambushed at the nearby jungle airstrip. Ryan died, struck by 45 bullets. Speier was shot five times. In great pain, she pretended to be dead until the gunmen left, then waited for 22 hours before receiving medical attention. She conceded to death—but death didn’t come. It was then she made a vow that if she survived she would dedicate her life to public service.

With four bullets still in her body, Speier currently serves as House Representative of the 14th District, which includes parts of San Francisco and San Mateo counties—the same seat once held by Ryan. Determined to fulfill her tarmac vow, Speier has gone on to become a courageous legislative champion of underdogs, notably on issues of women’s rights, LGBT, wage discrimination, sexual harassment, worker safety, veterans’ benefits, gun reform, and much more. She serves on two prestigious House Committees (Intelligence and Armed Services) and has lately been in the headlines as a key participant in the presidential impeachment hearings.

Her autobiography, Undaunted, tells the story of a devout Catholic’s rare gift of faith and resilience in the face of an unusual series of life hurdles. We caught up with the tireless congresswoman late one evening as she was wrapping Christmas gifts before boarding a plane back to Washington D.C.

Common Ground: How do you embody Undaunted, particularly in light of the impeachment hearings in Washington?

I think you can never give up. Whether we feel that there’s going to be a conviction in the Senate is really not relevant to our process in the House. Historically, I’ve seen things change overnight. I feel very strongly that the president has committed a high crime and misdemeanor and bribery. We would be totally irresponsible if we let him get away with it. Because if he does gets away with this, then any president who follows can get away with anything. He said, “I can do anything I want under Article 2 of the Constitution.” If allowed, this creates an autocracy within a couple years.

From a viewer perspective it feels like civil war in terms of the divisiveness. Can you put readers in the front row as to what the vibe is like in the House now?

No, it’s actually not. Most of what you hear as divisiveness is the Republicans playing to an audience of one. They’re trying to get their gold stars so Trump will help them get reelected. It’s all about self-preservation.

How do you respond to detractors who accuse Democrats of staging a witch hunt?

It’s hard for me to take that seriously when this was the result of a whistleblower complaint that has been fully corroborated by the president’s release of the summary of his phone call with [Ukrainian president] Zelensky. All the testimony we’ve heard since only corroborates it more and has added new elements in terms of his unwillingness to release the [foreign aid] money, which impacts our national security. If Russia is successful in taking over the Donbass region of Ukraine, that’s the beginning of World War III in Europe.

How did your childhood and family life teach you about grit?

I grew up on Irving in the Inner Sunset and then in South San Francisco and eventually went to Burlingame for high school. My parents were very blue collar. We had a fairly austere childhood. There weren’t a lot of perks and extras. I learned grit by having parents that weren’t softies. They were disciplinarians, tough on us. With my own kids I sometimes fail at being so tough. [laughs] Maybe I didn’t want them to turn out as tough as me.

Did you have a happy childhood?

Yes. I mean here I am wrapping Christmas presents and it’s kind of funny because in our household we didn’t make Christmas lists. You just got whatever you got. [laughs] One year I got a dented suitcase! That was my Christmas gift! It was modest. We went on only three vacations during my entire childhood. One was to the World’s Fair in Seattle. One was to Tijuana and Ensenada, the other to Yosemite. We didn’t stay in hotels. We stayed in a camper.

You occupy the same House seat that Leo Ryan did more than 40 years ago. What kind of man was he?

He was an iconoclastic kind of guy. Some might describe him as a bit of a loner. I used to say, “He eats bureaucrats for lunch.” He believed in what I call experiential legislating. He wasn’t content to have a bureaucrat say, “This is how it is.” He wanted to find out for himself. Early in his career, after the Watts riots, he went down there as a substitute teacher. He spent a week at Folsom prison. He went up to the ice floes in Newfoundland and Labrador during the harp seal hunts. He was quite unique and put his constituents first.

What compelled him to investigate Jonestown?

He had constituents with young adult children that had gotten involved in the People’s Temple. They formed a group called the Concerned Relatives, complaining that their letters weren’t getting through to their children. Congressman Ryan did what his other colleagues representing constituents in San Francisco didn’t do because they were too reliant on Jim Jones, who had the ability to rally 2,000 people if a precinct walk was needed. In many
respects Jim Jones was credited with helping George Moscone get elected and then helping him successfully repel a recall election.

What were you expecting when you went to Guyana?

I was very nervous about the trip even though the State Department was telling us that everything was great—that we had nothing to worry about. I had listened to all of the interviews and I just felt that we didn’t know enough. I really feared. I was about to buy a condominium in Arlington, Virginia, but I literally put a clause in the contract saying that it was contingent on my surviving the trip because I didn’t want my parents to be saddled with a property 3,000 miles away.

I even wrote a note to my parents that I left in my desk drawer saying that if anything happened to me I wanted them to know that I loved them, that my life had been great. And by the way I had a thousand-dollar life insurance policy at the credit union. [laughs] Kind of funny, thinking back on it. So I had a premonition, but I also felt that if I didn’t go I was going to discourage women from being successful in staff leadership positions in Congress because there were very few at that point.

The Jonestown story is spellbinding. Do you mind sharing how you wound up getting shot five times and left for dead?

It was a very intense experience. When we got there we started interviewing many of the constituents, the children of constituents. I had brought all these letters that I wanted to hand deliver. The people we interviewed seemed to be subject to mind control because they all repeated the same thing to me. We weren’t getting very far and then toward the end of the evening Don Harris, who was the NBC reporter, hands us a note with the names of two members who wanted to get out. My heart sank because I thought, “Oh, my God, this is it. It really is true.”

I spent the night in a cabin with five members of the People’s Temple. They were rugged cabins with tin roofs. It rained all night so I was just hearing this pelting sound and couldn’t sleep. Then the next morning Congressman Ryan and I retrieved the one woman and young man who openly wanted to leave. As they got their belongings word spread that some people were leaving. Then more and more people wanted to leave. It got very, very tense. The tension was so high. Jones was complaining and scolding the defectors. We finally got out and I thought we’d dodged a really potentially risky situation. As it turned out we went to the airstrip where I’m loading passengers onto the plane and unbeknownst to us a tractor trailer with seven gunmen had followed behind us at some distance. They had come onto the airstrip. I had my back to them so I didn’t see what was happening.
They started shooting.

Congressman Ryan was shot and I turned and as I was trying to go toward him he got shot again and dropped. So I ran under the plane and hid behind one of the wheels—and then played dead. Then at some point they came and just started shooting at point-blank range. Congressman Ryan was shot 45 times. They riddled his body with bullets. I had been shot five times.
I’m lying on this airstrip, and I thought, “Oh, my God, this is it. I’m 28 years old, I’m never going to live a long life, get married, have kids. This is it.” So I said the Act of Contrition [the Catholic prayer expressing sorrow for sin and asking for God’s help] and waited for the lights to go out. And when they didn’t I had this vision of my grandmother who was then 87 flash in front
of me. I thought, “I just don’t want her to have to live through my funeral if I can avoid it.” So I pulled myself up at some point, dragged myself around the plane because the engines were still running, and someone shoved me in the cargo hold. Obviously the plane wasn’t going anywhere because it had bullet holes in the engine and one of the tires.

Eventually they took me out and placed me in a tent on the side of the airstrip—unfortunately on an anthill. [laughs] But as I’ve said many times since, “You don’t sweat the small stuff when you’re dying.” I was on the airstrip for 22 hours without medical attention and thought I was going to perish—either they were going to come back and finish us off or I would die there. It was a painful time. The NBC producers Bob Flick and Tim Reiterman eventually came to the tent with some 150 proof Guyanese rum and got me through the night. I promised myself that if I did survive I’d never take another day for granted and would live every day as fully as
possible and dedicate my life to public service. And that’s what I’ve done.

For those who don’t know the story, can you explain what ensued that day back at Jonestown?

So in the middle of the night, even though there were no cellphones back then, word came through the jungle that the White Night trials that they had rehearsed many times had actually been done for real, and that people
had died. I remember lying there thinking of all these people I had met—including a group of about 40 that wanted to leave.

How many died

918. They refer to it as a mass suicide, which it wasn’t. It was Jim Jones executing all of them by force or persuasion. Babies and children were injected with the cyanide. They didn’t drink the cyanide Kool-Aid.

Drink the Kool-Aid—that’s a loaded expression for you.

Yeah. I’m not fond of it although I’ve used it once or twice myself.

This makes you something of a de facto expert on cults and cult behavior.

Not by choice, obviously. I wouldn’t say I’m an expert, but I certainly observed it up close and personal.

We live in the Bay Area, which is known for its counterculture and alternative spirituality. After Jonestown have you been particularly cynical?

People’s Temple was not a church, it was not a religion, yet they got all the protections that we give to churches under the First Amendment. I think the fact that Jones was able to cloak himself with a religious cape made some look the other way. There were a lot of political reasons why people and local law enforcement looked the other way. Illegal conduct, whether it’s pedophilia under the cross in the Catholic Church or the kind of sexual and physical abuse that Jim Jones engaged in—none of it is above the law.

What physical handicaps do you endure as a result of getting shot and what reminder do they provide?

I have a badly scarred body so that’s obviously a reminder, although I must say after 40 years it’s just part of who I am. I think that it’s really important for us to accept who we are and embrace it. It took me a long while to deal with that but eventually I asked myself, “Am I going to hide the rest of my life or live it?” One day I was on a beach in Hawaii, totally covered, and I thought, “It’s time.” I threw down the sarong and walked across the beach. Some people stared but most people don’t care. It was a very empowering moment.

Gun control has always been a very personal issue for you. Would you contextualize what’s going on in DC in this regard?

You mean what’s not going on? It’s really criminal that the National Rifle Association still has as much clout as it does and that simple bills like comprehensive background checks can’t get passed. I think the day of reckoning is coming. I think there’s going to come a time in the not too distant future when the sane people in this country rise up and say, “This is crazy.” Then we’ll get some laws on the books. Why would we want to give a felon or domestic violence abuser the right to buy a gun online and not be -subject to the check that would prevent them from getting the gun if they went to a licensed gun dealer?

As a legislator you’re known as a champion of the underdog, defending women’s rights, LGBT rights, victims of wage discrimination, survivors of sexual misconduct in the military—the list goes on. Can you talk about the causes and reforms that are dear to you?

This just happened. It will be in the National Defense Authorization Act this year and it’s why I do the work I do. Earlier this year a 14-year Green Beret named Richard Stayskal came and saw me, as I chair the Military Personnel subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee. He had gone to a military base hospital with a horrible cough that wasn’t going away. They took a CAT scan and found he had a lesion—but they didn’t tell him! They made note of it and said he’d be referred to oncology—but nothing happened. Six months later he comes back coughing blood, asking to see a physician not on base. He immediately discovered he’s got stage 4 lung cancer. There is this 70-year-old Supreme Court decision called the Feres Doctrine that basically prevents service members from suing the government in a non-combat situation. Now, it makes sense under certain circumstances, but it doesn’t make sense for medical malpractice.

An inmate in a federal prison who gets bad healthcare can sue the federal government, but a service member can’t! So I introduced a bill to change that and it just won a court decision. So in the National Defense Authorization Act, $400 million will be made available over ten years for medical malpractice for service members who are not in theater, who are in a non-combat setting. I named the bill after Richard, and I can’t tell you how thrilling it was to call him to say his family will be cared for. This was a case that simply set off what I call my “outrage meter” so I did something.

There are so many, but what else would you like to highlight?

Reproductive health is an area I’ve spent a lot of time on since I was in the state legislature. When second trimester abortion became a huge issue, I talked on the House floor about one of my pregnancies and my abortion. This gave women around the country the ability to recognize that it’s nothing to be ashamed about. I mean if it threatens the mother’s life and the fetus isn’t going to be viable outside the womb, it’s an appropriate medical procedure—a decision that should be made between a woman and her physician and not government legislating in our wombs.

Sexual harassment and MeToo-style legislation is another one, no? Weren’t you personally a victim of sexual misconduct?

I was but it happened once. It wasn’t like so many of these situations where you have a woman who is constantly being harassed. The typical setting is where you have one person in control and others dependent on them—with
their livelihoods impacted. I did a lot of legislation on violence against women when I was in the state legislature and I got the Rules Committee to require a sexual harassment training every year for members of the state legislature.

When the MeToo movement took off I thought, “This is an opportunity to try to fix the system.” Now if a Congressmember sexually harasses a staff member and there’s a settlement it’s not going to be the taxpayers picking
up the tab—it’s going to be the member. I am glad we were able to change the law in Congress. [laughs] It may be the best way for them to keep their zippers zipped.

[laughs] You’ve surely seen some interesting things in your career.

I have, that’s for sure.

Your book mentions a paternal grandfather having molested you. Are you comfortable talking about that?

I almost didn’t write about that because I had done a really good job compartmentalizing it. Later as I was trying to understand why I spent
so much of my career on issues around violence against women it finally clicked—it was because my grandfather had abused me.

I just didn’t want to have women treated like that. I decided to write about it for two reasons. Part of the problem is that it’s much more widespread than we talk about—20 percent of children are sexually violated by a family member. And then I decided this would not become another issue I hid from—another example of how we can overcome a lot.

It is said that politicians are either totally corrupt or squeaky clean. You’ve a rare reputation for being fastidious. I’m wondering how you witness corruption in politics.

Actually, I think most members are squeaky clean. Because you have a Duncan Hunter or a Chris Smith then there’s this expectation that they are all on the take. Donald Trump is on the take, using the position and office to benefit personally.

I witness corruption when I hear members say, “I really want to vote for that but I can’t because of what they’ll do to me in my district.” So many times I have seen circumstances where a member is basically bought off for a couple thousand contribution dollars. It’s pathetic.

When I was dealing with the issue of payday lenders and the predatory interest rates they charge—like 400 percent! How you can ever get out from under those circumstances? They prey on people in low-income areas—there were two Congressmen representing low income areas who wouldn’t vote to lower the interest rates because they had gotten money from payday lenders. But most members aren’t subject to that kind of corruption. Of course, we’d all do a much better job if we just went to public financing of elections.

What kind of political leadership do you predict for our children’s generation?

There were a lot of very talented newly elected Millennials in 2018. I’m very optimistic they’ll tackle issues we can’t seem to deal with, like gun violence, gun safety measures, and climate change. I think we have to get rid of the Electoral College. We should limit the length of time that you can run for an office. And we really have to have public financing of campaigns. We have a Supreme Court decision that now gives gay couples the ability to marry, but if you tried to pass that in the House right now you couldn’t.

After you survived Jonestown, life retested you with a series of personal tragedies. Can you describe those?

Everyone focuses on Jonestown because it was so dramatic, but the biggest test of my life was when my husband was killed in an automobile accident. I was pregnant with our second child, a high-risk pregnancy. I had thought
I never would get pregnant again, and I did. Then my husband gets killed! It was the most grotesque nightmare. I couldn’t fathom what was happening to me.

Shaking your fists at the heavens saying, “God, I can’t take this anymore.”

I thought, “Why are you doing this to me? Why am I being tested?” Everyone goes through those kinds of experiences and then something
wonderful happens. You know, there’s always another day. What got me through is the three Fs: family, friends, faith.

Let’s talk about those, starting with family.

I would not have made it through that crisis without family and without friends and without faith. My family has always been there for me. Now both my parents are dead, but they were absolute rocks and I could always count on them. I want to pay it forward and be that for my children as well.

You have lifelong friendships with women that you’ve cherished over the decades, including a group known as “the yoga girls.” What can you teach young women about friendship?

It doesn’t just happen by having a Starbucks or two. It’s like tending a garden. You have to till the soil, pull the weeds. You can’t ignore it. You have to constantly be tending it, watering it, adding fertilizer. That’s true with friendships too.

For me it was important to stay grounded and not forget my roots. That was measured by whether the friends I had before I got into politics were still my friends throughout my life. I’ve friends from long before I was in politics, friends I’ve acquired through trauma, such as the Merry Widows Club, the Yoga Girls. They’re extraordinary sources of support if you are willing to put in the time and effort—the value redeemed is priceless.

I picture your Bay women friends in Congress fist bumping in the halls—Nancy [Pelosi], Anna [Eshoo], Dianne [Feinstein], Kamala [Harris], Barbara [Lee], Zoe [Lofgren]. It must be exciting.

It’s not what you think, actually. I mean we’re all really busy and we’re all supportive of each other, but it’s not like that. I do spend time with Anna. We’ll celebrate her birthday next weekend at our house. Mike Thompson and I are very close. I’m certainly good friends with all the members from Northern California in particular, but everyone is so busy when they’re back in DC that it’s frankly hard to find the time.

I presume the opposite is true, that Trump supporters despise you. Isn’t there a group called Women Who Support Trump?

Oh, I don’t know. I don’t read bots and I don’t read my Twitter account very much. My staff could tell you there are people out there who are not fond of me but that goes with the territory.

What’s the vibe between opposing members on the Intelligence Committee? How do you get along with Devin Nunes, for example?

He’s not a good example because he’s so polarizing and so pugnacious. The more outrageous his comments the more campaign contributions he receives. So he is motivated by a strange set of principles. I have warm relationships with a number of Republican colleagues—not so much on HPSCI [House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence] because it’s become a very difficult committee.

But for the MeToo Congress Act that passed I give 50 percent of the credit to my very conservative Republican colleague from Alabama, Bradley Byrne. We worked very closely.

Can you talk about how faith has played a role in your life?

I’m a devout Catholic. I go to Mass every Sunday. I’m a lector at my parish. As a youngster I would go to Mass on Sunday even when my parents didn’t. I was so proud that I had a missal before I was technically old enough to have one. I was just born with this faith. It’s been an extraordinary gift and not everyone has it but I’ve been very lucky.

What about it hooks you so sweetly?

I don’t know. I went to a Catholic girls’ high school by choice, not by parental pressure. It was something I wanted. I contemplated becoming a nun, spent a weekend at the convent. It really fills my soul and my heart. I’m always grateful for that hour I spend every week just contemplating goodness and trying to reflect on the past week and how I could’ve been a better Christian—and [laughs] perhaps looked at some of my opponents differently than I did.

The Catholic Church has been rocked by sex scandals. Have these shaken your faith at all?

I can’t begin to tell you how pained I am by it, but it also speaks to a church that hasn’t kept up with the 20th and 21st centuries. I think priests should be able to marry. I think women should be able to be priests. But my faith is stronger than what a particular man who happens to be a pope says about Catholic dogma. That said, Pope Francis has been a breath of fresh air. He inspired me actually to go spend the night in a homeless shelter as he too did that after becoming pope. I thought, “If the pope can do that I certainly can.” I learned a great deal.

You practice yoga. I’m wondering if you’re equally drawn to its Eastern spiritual philosophy?

I’d like to learn more about Eastern philosophies because I respect all religions. I’m drawn to the Jewish faith. I’m actually one-quarter Jewish, and whenever I go to a synagogue and participate in the service I feel like I’m home as well. I’d like to know more about Buddhism and there’s something to be gleaned from the Muslim faith. Unfortunately, schools do not put as much emphasis on world religions as I think there should be. We would all become better human beings by studying religions.

Do you have a final message for young people, particularly young women aspiring to activism and public service?

Don’t wait for someone to tap you on the shoulder. Don’t wait your turn. You can be extremely effective at any age—really. One reason I wrote the book was to give young women a road map for how to survive anything. There isn’t a straight path to success and happiness. We are tested many times in our lifetime, and you can get over a great deal of angst and pain and frustration by just continuing to move forward. Don’t allow yourself to sit around and wallow.

Any final message for Common Ground readers, many of whom are constituents?

Resilience. My story is about resilience. I think we grow up thinking that life will take a certain path if we just do these three or four things, and yet we get knocked down and we struggle to get up again. In my experience we all have the resilience to overcome whatever trouble comes. Whether it’s in elective office or activism, people do make a difference. I find myself quoting Margaret Mead frequently: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.” A small group of people can do a great deal. Be good. Be kind.

Rob Sidon is publisher and editor-in-chief of Common Ground.

So why was she at my clinic? As she sank into a comfortable chair and began to explain her problem, her demeanor underwent a transformation. Her shoulders began to slump, her voice wavered, her knees shook, and her fingers began twisting around each other as she talked. Her entire confident manner crumbled before my eyes as she “confessed” that it was all fake; all of her successes were built on luck, she explained, and she was actually really bad at her job.

While she had managed to pull the wool over the eyes of her colleagues and bosses for many years, she was sure they would uncover her secret soon. She stood to lose everything, but that wasn’t even the biggest problem; the greater issue was that she was struggling to live with being a “fake”—she felt that she should quit her job before she was exposed and go and do something more suited to her real abilities. It would mean less money and fewer perks, but at least she would be being honest with herself.

Welcome to the world of Imposter Syndrome. It is a secret world, inhabited by successful people from all walks of life who have one thing in common—they believe that they are not really good enough. They might be men or women, young or old. And imposter beliefs are not always related to work; I have met “imposters” who feel they are not good enough parents, husbands, wives, friends, or even not good enough human beings. These are all variations of Imposter Syndrome, especially when there is little objective evidence to support the sufferers’ firmly held beliefs that they are frauds.

So, what Is Imposter Syndrome?

The term “Imposter Syndrome” or “Imposter Phenomenon” was first coined in 1978 by clinical psychologists Pauline R. Clance and Suzanne A. Imes in a paper entitled “The Imposter Phenomenon in High-Achieving Women: Dynamics and Therapeutic Intervention.”

The condition was described as being “an internal experience of intellectual phonies” that afflicted some high-achieving women. In their paper, Clance and Imes described their sample group of 150 women as follows: “Despite their earned degrees, scholastic honors, high achievement on standardized tests, praise and professional recognition from colleagues and respected authorities… [they] do not experience an internal sense of success. They consider themselves to be ‘imposters.’” Clance and Imes go on to explain that these women believe they have achieved their success due only to errors in selection processes, or because someone has overestimated their abilities, or that it is due to some other external source.

Clance and Imes claim that there are three defining characteristics of IS: » The belief that others have an inflated view of your abilities or skills
» The fear that you will be found out and exposed as a fake
» The persistent attribution of success to external factors, such as luck or an extraordinary level of hard work.

Do you have Imposter Syndrome?

By now you may have recognized some of the signs and symptoms of IS in yourself. It is likely that most of us will have some of the symptoms outlined above, but that does not mean we have IS. In fact, we should remember at this point that Imposter Syndrome is not a recognized mental health condition as such and thus there are no standardized professional criteria for having it.

However, below is a self-assessment quiz that I devised to give you some idea whether any signs and symptoms you have might be enough to qualify you as having IS. This quiz is based on the common symptoms outlined above and is not meant to be a diagnostic mental health tool, but rather a quick and simple way to ascertain the degree to which you feel like you are an imposter.

How easy do you find it to accept praise?

When you do something well, how likely are you to dismiss it as not really much (e.g., it was easy, anyone could have done that, it was nothing special)

When you do something well, how likely are you to attribute your success to luck?

When you do something less well, how likely are you to attribute your failure to luck?

When you perform poorly, or fail, how likely are you to attribute your failure to your own lack of skill or not working hard enough?

When you do something well how likely are you to attribute your success to other people’s input (“they helped me”)?

When you do something poorly how likely are you to attribute your failure to other people (“it was their fault”)?

How important is it for you to be the best at something that matters to you?

How important is success for you?

How likely are you to focus on what you have not done well compared to what you have done well?

How important is it to you to find a “hero” to befriend and impress?

How often do you feel afraid to express your views lest people discover your lack of knowledge?

How often do you find yourself unable to start a project for fear of failing?

How often do you find yourself unwilling to finish a project because it isn’t yet good enough?

How happy are you to live with a piece of work you have done that you know isn’t perfect?

How often do you find yourself thinking that you are a fraud?

How worried are you that your lack of skill/talent/ability will be discovered?

How important is validation from others (e.g., praise) to you?

How to score

The score range is 18–72 and the lower the score, the MORE likely you are to suffer from IS.

As a rough guide, scores lower than 36 probably indicate that you have some element of IS.

Dr. Sandi Mann is a psychologist, university lecturer, and director of the MindTraining Clinic in Manchester, England, where much of her material for this book is derived. She is author of more than 20 psychology books, her most recent being The Science of Boredom. She has also written and researched extensively about emotional faking, culminating in her book Hiding What We Feel, Faking What We Do.

When we pause fully during our hectic lives to take stock of what is happening all around us, while dropping our filters of preconceptions, we will see that everything is inherently a miracle—including us! Both the microscopic and the immense life forms are all creations of a spectacular dance of the intricate processes of the universe. A tulip is endowed with the magical ingredients of nature and is no less magnificent than the great blue whale navigating the vast oceans. The earth’s atmosphere, with its wild changes, is imbued with miraculous ingredients to sustain life. A blade of grass is the working of sensational forces to give it a body and its life cycle.

Every living creature is the culmination of eons that formed it inexorably through time. An emerald-throated hummingbird, with its astonishing gracefulness and staggering aerial feats, is another of nature’s miracles. The horse languishing in the meadow, a single snowflake, a cumulous cloud drifting in the light of a late summer afternoon, the trumpeter swan gliding on a shimmering lake in spring, silvery cascades spilling over sculptured rocks in the mountains, and a great redwood tree—all are miraculous expressions on this mote in space called Earth!

Now let’s explore you and me. We humans often get caught up in the chaotic demands for our survival. The truth is we are here for a short time, probably less than a century. Our existence is a flash in cosmic time. Astounding biological and chemical phenomena created us out of the elements of the universe. This unto itself is enough to send us into a state of wonder. We are part of the miracle called life. We can breathe, eat, see, talk, hear, and feel the endless waves of the world racing through our body. When we meditate, relax, walk in nature, and focus our thoughts on uplifting images, we are aligning ourselves to our natural rhythm of life.

Life is a gift for us to experience and explore, with all its vicissitudes and challenges, with all its mysteries and inexplicable happenings. We are here to discover who we are. This takes courage, focus, and determination. We are easily distracted by the more superficial trappings of everyday living. Despite how we direct our destiny, we are always learning about who we are and how we operate in the complexity of the world. We are a work in progress, a ceaselessly evolving wonder that is unduplicated anywhere. It is imperative that we act as the champion of who we are. We need to remain vigilant stewards on a daily basis.

Every morning we are reborn to set forth on a new adventure. Life created us, endowing us with certain features that allow us to interact with the forces of nature. When we love this dreamlike existence, we get closer to our spirit, the part of us that is mystical and deathless. When we love the world with all of its underpinnings and wild changes, we find ourselves in a timeless place of wonder…like a child enthralled with the moment.

We humans often become bogged down by the mundanity of survival and day-to-day living. Our perspectives narrow and keep us hanging out on the surface of things, floating like driftwood on the tides. We take things for granted, especially our own lives. We lose contact with our deeper self. We forget what exists beneath the surface, the roots entangled endlessly with the great mystery of which we are an eternal part. We forget we are components of the stars, a living entity shaped over eons into what we are today.

Finding the deep inner connection to the Divine presence and loving this experience called us is the only route to take. Everything else is a form of impeding the flow of the natural expression of life. We humans can fill our minds with dark thoughts that uproot our love of life. Yes, there are events and situations in the world that are terrible, causing an avalanche of despair to roll over us. There is duality in the world. But we must use and develop our higher consciousness to help us navigate toward an inner sanctuary of serenity that lives in our souls. There is an undimmed light in everyone’s soul. Shine this light upon the world!

We must use our positive focus and creative action to support us in our journey through this world. We must use our consciousness to remember the greater truth about our momentary life. Whenever we lament about who we should have been or what we could have done or why we were born into the conditions of our existence, we are diluting our purity and freedom to love life and behold the abundance of miracles surrounding us everywhere!

We can love life daily simply through the attitude we cultivate and perpetuate. Let’s take a deep breath of air, letting it fill our lungs, and then let it go by releasing the need to control everything. Then allow our body to feel the energy of gratitude and appreciation. In doing this we feel our oneness with all living things, realizing in our consciousness that we have landed here in this dream called life as a result of inconceivable powers who loved us enough to create us.

Neal Grace is a Marin-based author-poet, whose latest book Fresh Eyes on the World: Making Life a Spectacular Journey is published by Grizzly Peak Press. Neal Grace.com

If I could teach you one thing, it would be to remember to breathe during moments of peace. Then remember to breathe during moments of chaos. Focus calmly on the air entering and leaving the body.

Be careful, as this moment will happen only once. Rock balancing reminds you to use this moment wisely. Like most meditation practices, rock balancing is about the power of the breath.

We experience a state of physical and mental clarity whenever we stop to simply breathe for a few moments. This state of being is mindful ness, reached by quieting the booming voice of the ego to listen to the true voice of our soul as it interacts with the wisdom of the earth.

Rock balancing is a form of the soul’s inter action with nature. It requires patience and focus, which makes it a powerful form of moving meditation and mindfulness. Since this practice cannot be rushed, it invites you to connect with the present moment. After all, everything that ever happened in the history of time has led you to this moment.

Practice the Seven Keystones of Rock Balancing

Through countless hours of balancing, I have found that all rock balances embody a set of principles. By following these seven keystones of rock balancing, you can tap into the flow of energy that surrounds us all in every moment:

1. Breathe: First you must experience how the breath connects you with the energy of each moment. Discover your true power, one breath at a time. Throughout this process be sure to bring your attention back to the breath.
2. Opportunity: As you select rocks and start to balance them, discover what your internal fears are and how to overcome them to unlock your abundant potential. Failure is a discovery process.
3. Believe: In my experience of teaching others how to balance rocks, 95 percent of people say “I can’t” before they even pick up a rock and try. By switching your internal mindset to “I can” before receiving external validation, your positive actions begin to manifest what was previously labeled “impossible.”
4. Balance: As you engage in the physical movements of balancing, you will enhance your connection with the earth. A balanced rock creates a balanced mind, body, and soul.
5. Limits: Reconsider what your true limits are. When you think you’re done, try to add just one more rock. Then maybe a few more. Be careful not to get caught up in the “just one more” mindset. If you do, you will never be satisfied. A finished rock balance is simply the point at which you feel happy and content with yourself.
6. Release: In the circle of life, everything that is created will eventually be destroyed. Letting go is one of the hardest things to do, but it must be done. Knocking down your balance—despite the hours or even days it took to create—is an essential part of this process. The more you release, the easier it becomes. You will likely find that being free from the past allows you to move toward the future in peace.
7. Evolve: I believe rock balancing can help change the way you see the world and your role in it. Each moment affects the next one. By doing something you believed impossible, you can discover how to evolve into your true self and manifest your dreams.

These seven keystones of rock balancing are designed to shift your perspective on what is possible within yourself. No one can do this but you. My intention is to give you the tools required to succeed at this art form, as well as experience its wider impact on your life.

You might balance your first rock and then go wild sharing this gift with others (like I did). Or perhaps you keep your insights to yourself as you start to incorporate this art form into your daily meditation practice. Of course, you might not even touch a rock, but one of these sentences resonated with you at exactly the right moment.

Whatever the case may be, this practice will help you transform stress into clarity. Every moment is a fresh start, including this one. Peace to you!

Travis Ruskus is a professional rock balancer, artist, and meditation instructor who lives and works in San Francisco, teaching rock balancing to adults and children as a meditative practice. TravisRuskus.com

THEO is a self-described collective group of 12 archangelic beings that have channeled via Sheila Gillette since she had a near-death experience in 1969. The idea dawned to have an experience of conversing with Sheila-THEO to ask predictions for 2020—a personal first for this interviewer. Sheila and her husband Marcus called from their Arizona home. Some normal introductions ensued, followed by Sheila invoking THEO. Then her voice timber and syntax made a startling change to something sci-fi robotic but esoterically peaceful. With prediction questions ranging from the presidential elections and impeachment hearings to climate change, the responses were consistently educative and optimistic—presumably boding well for the new decade. We shall see.

Common Ground: Wow! This is an unusual and unprecedented Q&A but here goes. What does it mean to communicate with angelic entities? With whom are we speaking?

THEO: You are speaking to a collective group of 12 archangelic beings, collectively known as THEO. We do not identify singularly, for it is the message that is of impor, not the messenger.

Moments ago I was speaking with Sheila, now it is a completely different voice and energy.

Yes. By agreement we utilize this physicality to bring a message forth of the consciousness shift that is occurring on planet Earth now. So, by this agreement, by The Sheila, we are utilizing her vocal chords to have the ability to speak and to share that message.

What do you say to cynical readers who may roll their eyes about such a premise?

They have not experienced it for themselves. Understand this—all beings are connected to higher self, Source… and even those who think there is nothing more than human experience would be quite surprised when they leave their bodies, for it is to understand that there is far more connectivity energetically around your world than you can imagine. And it is here that we are mentors, guides, supporters for the human experience. That is why we have come.

What significant changes or trends do you foresee in 2020?

We have been speaking about these changes for more than four decades. The 5th dimensionary energy fully in place about the earth now has been evolving at a frequency level for over a hundred years, fully culminated and aligned energetically in the year 2012. Now moving into 2020, what is predicted, as you are asking, is this chaos that is seen in the world will come to completion. Political changes are coming rapidly throughout the world, not only in the country where you live, and economic changes, a global connectivity…The frequency and vibrations are so high that the consciousness is shifting to meet it.

A good time for collective spiritual growth?

Yes, that is what it is all about, for you do not put your soul in your closet before you go to work. Everything that you do is spiritual.

Yet there is so much apprehension, a gathering storm, divisiveness and war.

That is correct. That is how it has been and that has been the paradigm of human experience, hasn’t it? If you are paying attention to the different areas of the world, people are standing up and saying, “No, there is going to be change.” The old paradigm of being in the world is up-leveling and changing by the demands of the people.

Do we have free will or is it all predestined?

You have free will. Your will is the most powerful thing you have. That is your soul’s essence. For you are deciding everything for your life, nothing else is. You choose to be incarnate. Nobody forced you to get in a body. In fact, it is miraculous that you are in one. It is a gift, ultimately. So, the soul decides. Know that the law of attraction or manifestation is always working. It is energy. It is around you all the time. Thoughts are things. Words are things. So be mindful of how you think and speak of yourself and about yourself, for this can change what you have in your life. For what you have been thinking now has drawn energetically to you.

The quantum field has no decision or discernment about what you are thinking, that what you want is good or bad. It is just acting energetically. It is like the energy of electricity or the law of electricity. It is all around you. It has always been there. It took an innovative mind to know how to harness it and make it useful but know it has always existed. It is around you now as we speak. That energy of manifestation is the same. It is energy that is always working.

How do you project 2020 in terms of the fight against global warming?

It will win. This war against global warming will win because of education and knowledge and action, but it is important to know what is happening in the world. That is why we are saying, ”Do not sit on the side.” Be as active as you can. If each person did what they could do, large or small, changes would be significant. It is not to ignore it or to say, “They will take care of it.” No. It is consciousness. It is education. It is knowledge. Recognize the goodness that is coming into the world, the changes of industry that are coming in a positive way for this world. There are many things: New jobs. Things that people can innovate and bring forward.

Are you saying that polarization has hit a peak and going to a better direction?

It will, but understand this—you have the power to make this change. All of you do. Standing at the sidelines and complaining about it does not assist and does not make change. Take the action you can take, for that is important. Speak your voice. If that is in a vote, do it that way. Do not let others decide for you. If you give your power away, then there is no excuse. Is there? You are much more powerful than you think you are.

Of course, the question on everybody’s lips is, “Who is going to win the U.S. presidential election?”

You are asking for that prediction. In the last one, we predicted the woman, Clinton, and she did win the majority of votes, did she not? It is the structure politically that skewed who won. This must be changed if all votes are to be counted. This is in the country where you live. Other countries have their own problems. But you ask that your voices be heard and do away with antiquated systems that no longer work for the goodness of all. So we will not predict, but we see a change that will happen governmentally that is necessary in your country.

Can you predict the outcome of the impeachment hearings?

We see there will be removal; however, each person must pay attention to what is going on. Many say they do not want to hear it and put their heads in the sand, but you are an integral part if you are living in the country. It is like living with the family. It is true in your cities, your countries, your world. So, it is important to note that yes, with the impeachment there have been things that have been done publicly, but just because they are done publicly does not mean they are right. There is much that has been undermined in your government and your rules, and without rules there is an upheaval, and that is what you are beginning to experience in this division between you. You are one people of the world. Stand for each and every one of you in that sense of love and non-judgment. You know not what the heart is of another or their lessons to learn or what is happening in their lives, or they you. So, to sit in judgment of each other is improper. It is against each other. You are collaborative, not competitive.

What recommendations can you give to readers?

Yes. Do not sit on the sidelines of life. Be a participant. Whatever you do, say, “My voice was heard. I used my energy in the direction of what is right for my family and my brothers and sisters in humanity.” Trust your knowing. You all know the truth. You all have a resonance with core values. What are yours? Be aware of your core values. What is important to you? For that is what drives your life and your experiences and what manifests in your life. Pay attention to how you think. It is good to think all the good thoughts, but what is the second thought? Most often, it is a thought that you are not worthy of the dream and desire you just thought of. Change that ay of thinking and you change your world and you change the world for others in a positive way.

Thank you.

You are complete with your asking. We are appreciative of the opportunity to be of assistance. We are complete for this moment. God’s love unto you.

Rob Sidon is publisher and editor-in-chief of
Common Ground.

For many years, hunters, animal trainers, horse riders, naturalists, and pet owners have reported kinds of perceptiveness in animals that suggest the existence of unexplained powers. Telepathy—picking up needs or intentions at a distance from a closely bonded member of the social group—is a major type of unexplained intuitive ability that suggests the existence of powers, senses, or fields that are not yet accepted within institutional science.

Many dogs, cats, parrots, and other companion animals seem to be able to pick up their owners’ thoughts and intentions, even at a distance. People’s intentions, calls, and commands affect their animals, and the animals’ needs and emotions affect people. In random household surveys many pet owners said that their animals were sometimes telepathic with them: Forty eight percent of dog owners and 33 percent of cat owners said that their pets responded to their thoughts or silent commands. Also, many horse trainers and riders believed that their horses could pick up their intentions telepathically.

The perceptiveness of pets usually depends on a combination of influences including body language, familiar words, tones of voice, deviations from routine, and telepathy. Telepathic influences show up most clearly where animals pick up people’s intentions and feelings when they are miles away. In the household of a professor of ethnomusicology at the University of California at Berkeley, his wife knew when he was on the other end of the line because their silver tabby cat, Whiskins, rushed to the telephone and pawed at the receiver. “Many times he succeeds in taking it off the hook and makes appreciative meows that are clearly audible to my husband at the other end,” she said. “If someone else telephones, Whiskins takes no notice.” he cat responded even when her husband called home from field trips in Africa or South America at unpredictable times.

The most convincing evidence for telepathy between people and animals comes from the study of dogs that know when their owners are coming home. My colleague Pam Smart and I carried out many videotaped experiments in which the owners went at least five miles from home and returned at non-routine times that we selected at random, traveling in unfamiliar vehicles. The filmed records showed that dogs anticipated their owners’ arrivals long before they arrived home, in a way that could not be explained in terms of routine or normal sensory clues. This anticipatory behaviour is common. Many dog owners simply take it for granted, without reflecting on its wider implications. Some of the most dramatic examples of telepathic links occur when people have accidents or die when they are far away from their homes. My database contains 140 accounts of the reaction of dogs to the death of an absent person to whom they were attached. In most cases, the dogs howled for no apparent reason, but some whimpered or whined, or barked in an unusual way. In cases where no sounds were mentioned, they were said to be upset, miserable, shivering, terrified, or distressed.

In most cases the animals showed clear signs of distress at unexpected times when their people were far away, and when those looking after them had no reason to expect any problem.

A couple from St. Albans in England was on holiday in Ireland when the husband suddenly died: “Our seven-year-old standard poodle was staying with friends in St. Albans. At just after midnight, the poodle howled and rushed upstairs to my friend, who was in the bath. At just after midnight, my husband died.”

On my database there are more than sixty accounts of cats behaving unusually when their owners died when away from home. On one occasion, tomcat belonging to a family in Switzerland was very attached to their son, who went away to work as a ship’s cook. He came home irregularly, and the cat used to wait for him at the door before he arrived. One day, the cat sat at he door and meowed very sadly. “We could not get him away from the door,” wrote the boy’s father. “Finally we let him into our son’s room, where he sniffed at everything but still continued his wailing. Two days after the cat’s strange behaviour we were informed that our son had died at exactly that time on his voyage, in Thailand.”

These telepathic connections between companion animals and people are usually related to the strength of the bond between them. The love and affection between them does not necessarily imply a spiritual dimension, just as our relationships with other people may not have an explicitly spiritual aspect. But in the same way as this greater spiritual reality can shine through human relationships, so it can in our relationship with animals.

Many animals have better developed psychic abilities than most humans. They are not in themselves spiritual, if we take the spiritual to involve a link to a higher mind or consciousness. But linking with animals is a spiritual practice to the extent that it helps to make us more aware that there is a conscious dimension to the world that we share with other species.

Dr. Rupert Sheldrake is a renowned biologist who after studying at Cambridge and Harvard lived in a Benedictine ashram and is a current fellow at the Noetic Institute in Petaluma, CA. He is author of more than 90 technical papers and 14 books, including Ways to Go Beyond and Why They Work by Monkfish Publishing, from which this essay was adapted.

MonkfishPublishing.com

Acouple summers ago, I turned to my husband Eric and said, “How about we downsize and move into a tiny home?” After living in Marin County for more than six years, spending $108,000 in rent, and being outbid three times trying to purchase land, we were motivated to investigate alternatives.

Henry David Thoreau, who wrote Walden in 1854, is sometimes mentioned as the forefather of the tiny-home movement. Other early pioneers include Lloyd Kahn, author of Shelter (1973), Lester Walker, author of Tiny Houses (1987), and Sarah Susanka, who wrote The Not So Big House (1997).

A tiny house is generally considered to be under 400 square feet (though some are as small as 80 square feet)—and portable. Tiny houses, as distinguished from recreational vehicles (RVs), are designed to be sturdier and to last longer. Whereas RVs (motorhomes) are built with light materials designed for mobility and temporary living, tiny homes simulate long lasting classic homes with square windows, slanted roofs, and siding, etc. Tiny houses are considerably heavier than RVs even though they do not contain an engine. In comparison to traditional homebuilding, tiny homes require only 10-12 weeks to complete and are very customizable.

Why are tiny homes becoming so popular? With housing prices on the rise and income levels not keeping up with the rising cost of housing, renters and owners are feeling the pinch. Many homeowners and renters are paying more than 30% of their income for housing—a kind of hamster wheel that doesn’t leave many options for travel, saving for retirement, or sending kids to college.

As the United States finds itself in the throes of an affordable housing crisis, the go-smaller tiny home counter movement offers a viable sustainable alternative. There are TV shows responding to the popularity of the trend, such as “Tiny House Nation,” “Tiny Luxury,” and “Tiny House Hunters.” On YouTube the “Living Big in a Tiny House” channel reaches more than 2.3 million subscribers and beautifully shares the ways people are getting tiny.

Clearly one of the biggest barriers to going tiny is finding a legal place to park. City and county zoning ordinances have not kept up with the trend, but that is changing. In 2017, California passed the Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) ordinance allowing single-family homeowners to build a detached building on their property where space allows. And while ADUs generally include only fixed living buildings—cottages, in-law units, or granny flats—mobile tiny houses and homes on wheels are excluded.

Fresno became the first California city to amend its ADU ordinance to allow “moveable tiny houses.” San Luis Obispo, which is confronting its own affordable housing crunch, followed suit in 2019. The City of Los Angeles just approved moveable tiny houses as ADUs, and San Diego is expected to follow suit.

For Eric and me the path of downsizing our life forced us to make some hard choices about how many physical things or cherished hobbies had to go in order to fit life into our 300-square-foot home. And while we live in a
showcase tiny home, the exercise has taught us to be disciplined and adhere to the mantra “A place for everything and everything in its place.” When a possession fails to find its place, it gets fast-tracked into the “Go” box.

We love and advocate for this lifestyle, having traveled 6,000 miles on the open road including visits to many tiny house festivals that bring together builders, suppliers, designers, certifiers, lenders, and enthusiasts. We’ve
showed our home to more than 7,000 people and may have seen some Common Ground readers at the recent Bioneers Conference at the Marin County fairgrounds.

So I say join the tiny-home revolution. Consider reducing your clutter. Take a tour of a tiny home. For Eric and me it feels like we’re just starting to deepen into what this tinyhome lifestyle is all about—freedom while reducing our footprint.

Lindsay Wood is co-founder of Experience Tiny Homes, a tiny home design consulting firm that specializes in guiding people through a six-step framework that results in Dream Tiny Home concept designs.

ExperienceTinyHomes.org

“Oh, what a night” it was at SFJazz, where a cohort of consummate masters lavished an incredible performance on a very lucky audience. Zakir Hussein, Bela Fleck, and Rakesh Churasia are all unequaled virtuosos on their respective instruments—tabla, banjo, and Bansuri Indian wood flute—and were artfully assisted by the versatile and accomplished bassist Edgar Meyer.

In addition to the seamless cohesiveness and profound virtuosity of the music, under Zakir’s inclusive leadership the group also entertained the listeners with a relaxed and amusing, almost comedic performance style,
clearly enjoying every minute of their 1½-hour set, often wisecracking to each other between tunes.

You might imagine that the group’s array of instrumentation would be a weird and clashing mix, but actually the opposite was true—a tonal blend that was hauntingly beautiful and even sublime. It was so perfect that at times it was difficult to discern where a sustained note of one instrument ended and another’s began. What also stood out—and this is by no means
a critique—was their interesting, consciously chosen approach to transcend polyphony through the linear unisons of meditative trance music but doing so with masterful hypnotic swing. These rhythmically and harmonically complex synchronizations were dazzling and sometimes even lasted the length of an entire chorus. Also of note was the consciously abrupt finish on several tunes, which occurred in the most unexpected places and was always flawlessly tight.

You might also expect that with a banjo player some of the music would at least give a nod to bluegrass. Not so, and the audience was instead introduced to something exciting and new—contemporary jazz banjo, thanks to the incredibly adroit fingers and wildly inventive musical imagination of Bela Fleck.

As one might expect, this richly textured jazz music was definitely but delicately and deliciously seasoned with Indian spice—somewhat reminiscent of the seminal ’70s group Oregon, with a soupçon of CoDoNa’s engaging, outré aesthetics.

What a musical feast … just had to stay for a second serving!

—ROY STRASSMAN

Planned for worldwide release at the completion of her fall tour, Simrit’s new When We Return expands on the mastery displayed on her first CD a decade ago. The level of craftsmanship in the conception, recording, and production is stunning. Simrit’s vocals are deeply enveloping, even otherworldly, and rise above her dazzling instrumental support here in a way they cannot in her live shows. You will surely love riding the waves of her amazing voice here, flying free throughout.

Because her band has been touring the globe together seemingly nonstop for almost four years, it’s a well-oiled force that knows how to both lead and respond at every turn. Cellist Shannon Lee Hayden often plays live on a vintage cello from the early 1800s and creates sonic effects around it with a pedalboard. Salif Bamakora plays the West African kora, a gourd whose 21 strings made from fishing line generate a sound somewhere between a harp, guitar, and piano. Multi-talented jazz bassist Jared May plays electric bass, standup bass, and Moog synthesizer, while drummer Devon Ashley plays both a kit and hand drums.

Simrit’s vast array of musical influences tells the fascinating story of her life. It begins in Athens, where a young singer from a prominent musical family had to give up her newborn daughter. That child was adopted by a
Greek American couple who took Simrit, born Stavroula (aka Stefani), as a toddler to South Carolina. Her upbringing in the Greek community there laid a dynamic foundation for later musical endeavors, as she grew up learning traditional Greek dances and the Greek language and singing and chanting in the Greek Orthodox church choir, mesmerized by the chants and hymns.

Some artists can hear the resonances that bridge continents and souls. Simrit is one. She brings a true commitment to age-old meditations, urging everyone from pop stars to theater audiences to fall in love with the words of ancient sages. Some have called her epic and cinematic, grounded in groove yet with a transcendently mystical vibe. Grammy-nominated Indian devotional singer Snatam Kaur says, “For Simrit, singing is not a performance, it is sacred worship of the Divine.” Visit When We Return for a rewarding journey into inner worlds and outer possibilities that hold and nurture us all.

www.simrit.com

—L. B.

I like nothing more than hearing a new artist I’ve never encountered before. And this artist, Sam Garrett, takes the cake! His music is seriously joyful, deep and uplifting—every song, phrase, nuance, and note, bar none. Sam Garrett is an extraordinary songwriter on his way to the pinnacle. His voice floats and penetrates, graceful and inviting, a voice of our times that recalls Paul Simon, Miten, and surely Bob Marley. He hits the high notes and all the “oohs,” and his guitar playing is top-notch throughout.

There is an eternally pleasing quality to this album, inciting inspiration, tenderness, expansion, soulful possibilities, and the desire to play it endlessly on repeat. Sam’s lyrics are wholehearted, never trite, with a universality born of superb production, impeccable musicianship, and a flowing magic carpet with room for all.

The Dance and the Wonder is a beautiful listening experience. Sam brings a magical energy to these 14 amazing, thoroughly complete and original songs, including a couple of chant interpretations that lift the listener high
to the sky. His profound music has brought everyone with whom I’ve shared The Dance and the Wonder into a deep sense of belonging and
unity.

With his soulful voice, laid-back hippie charm, and skillful guitar playing, his melody-driven songs spread love and light to all. Be prepared to fall all the way in love with Sam Garrett. His earlier EPs and singles also measure up, but The Dance and the Wonder puts it all together. I have not been drawn this fully into someone’s music in a long, long time. Find Sam’s music on all platforms; contact me directly for CDs of The Dance and the Wonder.

facebook.com/samgarrettmusic

—LLOYD BARDE ([email protected])