To Mark Vicente: First of all, thank you for making this film. You have filled a great need, and I celebrate your vision, courage, boldness, and generosity of spirit. … Also, thank you for the newsletter. … And as grateful as I am to all of you who have created this wave called Bleep, I had a very strong whoa reaction while reading one part of Mark Vicente’s article. It concerns this paragraph:

“My message to them? Stop being afraid to be brave. Life is slipping away, and soon we find ourselves in old age, when the chemicals of power, position and needing approval have finally faded, wishing we had done more. But by then we will be old and not at all useful in a world that worships skinniness, youthfulness and praises foolishness.”

In my paradigm, life is not "slipping away," and I work very diligently at reframing my concept of the aging process. I am 55 - I have never felt more vital, more beautiful, more healthy, or more useful. … I know it seems like that in your age bracket, and it "is" like that if you see it that way. But there is an infinite set of possibilities for what "old" is. The paradigm I am co-creating with the universe has wisdom celebrated and vitality assured for "old" people. It is a very alive circle of people who love life and are looked to for wisdom, beauty, strength, connection to life, and joy - even when they are 90 years "old."

I would have preferred something like this: Be brave. Be outrageously bold and brave NOW. You are on the precipice of your GREAT LIFE. Our mainstream world worships youth and praises foolishness. Elders are undervalued. Creating a new paradigm in the face of this can be very challenging. DON'T WAIT.

You have helped me. Because of getting triggered by your article, I have gotten more clear than ever about what I want to create for myself as "aging."

Thank you.
Susan Lincoln
Austin, TX
 

The two wolves inside….  

Wanted to respond to [Betsy’s] understandable frustration about the press reportage of "What the Bleep.”  I'm a psychotherapist who works a lot with energy and the energetic consequences of mind. I'm leading a book group and we're reading Wayne Dyer's "The Power of Intention".  He quotes an interesting story that I'll paraphrase . . . A man and a boy are walking down the street in Manhattan.  The boy asks the man how he feels about 9/11.  The man says, "It's like I have two wolves inside.  One is filled with anger, hatred and thoughts of revenge.  The other is filled with understanding, love and forgiveness."  The boy asks, "Which one do you think will win out?"  "Whichever one I feed", replies the man. Thanks for your wonderful film!

Cate Potyen, MA
Steamboat Springs, CO

Hi Betsy!
In the article you asked, "... what do you think we should do to effect a real change?” Here are a few things I do to bring accountability to our media and in turn hope that I am in my own small way bringing integrity and honor back to civilization:
1) I read several news website as often as I can:
- news.bbc.co.uk
- news.google.com
- www.cremin.com/newsquakes/
2) I subscribe to several newspapers, both local and national, on-line to be able to skim headlines:
- nytimes.com
- www.csmonitor.com
3) I monitor several environmental and political sites:
- www.moveon.com
- www.amnesty.org
- www.worldchanging.com
- truthout.org

4) I write letters and e-mails on-line to my congress people and senators, both state and national, about issues that are of concern to me.
5) If I feel an issue is not getting appropriate coverage in the news media, I e-mail the news centers directly and let my views be known, asking for a response to my query.
6) I write "letters to the editor" of local newspapers stating my views on issues.
7) I rely less and less on mainstream news media.
8) Upon arising, I create my day!
A revolution starts with action by individuals. Enough individuals acting create a wave that radiates out to the community, the world, and the universe... uni-verse... one song. So lets all sing loudly together!

Hope this helps. Keep up the terrific work. The ripples you've set in place are indeed becoming waves of a tidal magnitude!

Namaste.
Claire Turlo

To the editor:

Loved your funnies! However, as a student of typography and typesetting, I always heard that the origin of the saying "Mind your P's and Q's" was that in the old days, when people hand set type using reusable letter stamps, when you took the lines of set type apart you needed to be careful to differentiate between the lowercase letter P (p) and lowercase letter Q (q). The stamps are mirror images, and it is easy to confuse the two. Maybe this is just TOO geeky to be the one true answer, or maybe BOTH stories are true at the same time (imagine that!).

April Stearns
Denver, CO

To the editor: Hopefully, I'm not the first or only one to suggest this....But I am wondering if you can have a personals section in the Bleeping Herald. I mean, after all, this is a pretty amazing view of life and I don't know many folks who have even heard of the movie let alone understand it's amazing concepts. I would like to meet a partner who embraces this lifeview. Let's hear it for a Bleepin' Dating Connection!

Diane, Boston, MA

Hi Diane -
Yes - you're the first! Unfortunately, starting a personals section would take up too much time and distract us from focusing on filmmaking (our pheromone molecules would be working instead.) But you might want to hook up with a BLEEP study group. And if there's not one near you, how about starting one? Check out the study groups page on our website. Let us know what happens!
Editor

Of napkins and things

I just finished having a snack while reading your “Bleep-n Funnies.”  Fortuitously, my paper napkin was at hand when I read the Seven Random Facts.  I had heard before that no matter its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times,” but have never heard or read WHY this is a fact. 

 As it turns out, it is not true. The napkin was already folded in half twice; I was able to fold it an additional six times quite easily.

Judith Seyfert
Eagle, Idaho

ED Note:
Ok, Judith, you’re right. Some napkins must have a different quantum construction. I can squeeze out eight roughly equal folds – but not easily. Forget typing paper and yellow pads…they’re limited to 7… at least in my universe.

Reader recommendation

I love the book The Three Questions, based on a story by Leo Tolstoy,