"FACING EAST" AT LONG BEACH THEATRE:  Now playing!  "Facing East" will run through July 5^th at the award-winning International City Theatre of Long Beach.  For tickets see  http://www.ictlongbeach.org/index.html or call 562-436-4610.

          I didn't return the phone call for several days.  Then I thought, This is rude--I've got to call her back.  So I did.  "Hi, Diana!  I hear you want to talk with me.  I'll be glad to have a visit, but there are two things I don't want to talk about.  One is the church and the other is proposition 8.  I'm guessing that takes away your reason for wanting to talk to me."

          "Well--maybe," she said hesitantly, "but let me just tell you what I've been thinking.  As you know, I sing in this semi-professional chorale for women, and I've learned that a number of the women are lesbians.  I've gotten to know several of them and I just love them so much!   I saw the pain they experienced last fall around prop eight and everything, and I thought--this is not okay--there has to be a better way.   Last weekend we had a retreat for the chorus and two of my lesbian friends and I sat up in our pajamas half the night just talking, talking, talking.  I told them about you and your work and asked if they'd be interested in meeting you.  They said, yes, they would love to meet you.  So--that's why I was calling, Carol Lynn, to see if you might be willing to spend an evening with me and my lesbian friends and just talk."

           "Diana!" I laughed.  "I would be thrilled to talk with you and your lesbian friends!" And so a couple of weeks later, five of us met at Diana's.  We ate her good chicken soup and talked and talked and talked. Allie, who last summer married her partner and with her is raising two little boys, said, "It's amazing--the most conservative thing the gay community has ever done is the thing that has caused the most outrage--our wanting to marry."  There were tears, there was laughter, there was love.  All of us left thrilled at our conversation and determined to meet again, which we have done.

          A couple of nights ago I went with Diana to hear their chorale perform in the chapel on the campus of nearby St. Mary's College.  Stunningly gorgeous pieces sung by straight women and gay women, their beautiful voices blending into one. 

          Behind the singers in their soft green blouses and black skirts was some marble statuary: Jesus on the cross, and above that--a resurrected Christ with his arms out.  I loved looking at the two art pieces as I listened to the women sing.   A Course in Miracles tells me, "Each day, each hour and minute, even every second, you are deciding between the crucifixion and the resurrection."

          Our human family has had such a struggle deciding to give one another life instead of death.  We have made progress, become more sensitive on many issues.  At this moment in history, the question of how we respond to our gay brothers and sisters is before us.  Do we wish for them crucifixion or resurrection?  Are we prepared in our hearts to give them life or to give them death?

          The massive human chorus of which God is the director needs, I believe, all of our voices.
 

TREVOR'S FOOT MASSAGE:  Last week my dear artist/sculptor friend Trevor Southey www.trevorsouthey.com came over for a visit.  After a hike in the hills, we sat in my front room looking at the large portrait of my four children that he had painted years ago.  "Trevor," I said, "would you let me give you a footrub while we continue talking?" 

          "Oh, no!" he said.  "I've got body issues.  And my feet are dirty."

          "Forget your body issues," I said, "and I'll clean your feet first if that would make you feel better."

          Finally I convinced him, brought out two warm, damp towels and lotion, and proceeded to give his feet a half hour of friendly attention.

          "I need to confess something," my gay friend said in the midst of this sensuous enjoyment.  "I have a fantasy--almost every night.  I fantasize that someone will creep into my room, lift the covers at the foot of the bed-and massage my feet."

           As my dear, queer husband Gerald often said, quoting Matthew Arnold: "The same heart beats in every human breast."

TELEPHONE CONSULTATIONS:  Could you benefit from a telephone consultation/conversation with Carol Lynn about any of the issues with which she has experience?   http://clpearson.com/consultations.htm.    

RETREATS:  Interested in bringing Carol Lynn to your area for a retreat on any of the subjects she specializes in?--The Divine Feminine--The Magic and Meaning of Coincidence--Gay Issues-Spirituality.  Contact her at clp@clpearson.com. 

AUTOGRAPHED BOOKS:  FREE COPY OF NO MORE GOODBYES to first ten orders for any item on CLP website.  BUY ONE DVD AND BOOK OF "MOTHER WOVE THE MORNING" AND GET ONE FREE for orders received by June 20^th.  Give yourself or your loved one a signed copy of Embracing Coincidence; In Love Again and Always; Beginnings and Beyond, or any of the other many Carol Lynn Pearson books available at http://www.clpearson.com/personal_gifts.htm

(Also--if you DON'T get this one, please inform me--as I know you to be highly evolved and intuitive people.)

 "There was no path, so I trod one."

          -Edwina Gateley

May your summer be warm (moderately so) and wonderful (immoderately so)!