Via Daily Dharma: Enjoy the Task at Hand

 Doing tasks fully and thoroughly can help ground us while also providing a sense of accomplishment and, by extension, an enhanced sense of agency.

Christopher Ives, “Alarming Truths”

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Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Action: Reflecting upon Mental Action

 

RIGHT ACTION
Reflecting Upon Mental Action

However the seed is planted, in that way the fruit is gathered. Good things come from doing good deeds; bad things come from doing bad deeds. (SN 11.10) What is the purpose of a mirror? For the purpose of reflection. So too mental action is to be done with repeated reflection. (MN 61) When you are doing an action with the mind, reflect on that same mental action thus: “Is this action I am doing with the mind an unhealthy bodily action with painful consequences and painful results?” If, on reflection, you know that it is, then stop doing it; if you know that it is not, then continue. (MN 61)

Reflection

The mind is always in motion, either taking in information from the senses and processing it, or conjuring up thoughts and images, memories and plans, from its own interior reaches. It is valuable to learn how to watch what your mind is doing, for in this way you gain the ability to discern whether your mental actions are healthy or unhealthy and helpful or unhelpful to the agenda of well-being and happiness.

Daily Practice

Practice and develop the skill of metacognition: that is, being aware of what you are thinking as you are thinking it. The same goes for being aware of the entire range of mental activity, including remembering, imagining, and associating one mental object with another. In addition, measure your mental activity in terms of how harmful or beneficial the consequences of your actions are, and adjust your actions as appropriate.

Tomorrow: Abstaining from Misbehaving Among Sensual Pleasures
One week from today: Reflecting upon Social Action

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Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

Via White Crane Institute // THE FURIES COLLECTIVE

 

Noteworthy

House at 219 11th St., SE, now on the National Register of Historic Place

1971 -

THE FURIES COLLECTIVE was a short-lived commune of twelve young lesbian separatists in Washington, D.C., in 1971 and 1972. The exact date of its establishment is difficult to ascertain, but it is known that in the Fall of 1971, twelve women moved into 219 11th St., SE, Washington, D.C.  so we make note of it on this first day of Autumn.

The women viewed lesbianism as more political than sexual, and declared heterosexual women to be an obstacle to the world revolution they sought. Their theories are still acknowledged among feminist groups.

The Furies Collective was, along with the Gay Liberation House and the Skyline Collective, among Washington, D.C.'s best known communal living groups in the early 1970s. They were an example of lesbian feminism which emerged during the women's movement of the late 1960s and 1970s.

The twelve women in the collective were aged eighteen to twenty-eight, all feminists, all lesbians, all white, with three children among them. They shared chores and clothes, held some of their money in common, and slept on mattresses on a common floor.

All of the founding members had extensive organizing and activist experience before they started The Furies. In particular, many were members of the women's movement, specifically the DCWLM (D.C. Women's Liberation Movement). The group was modeled after other revolutionary movements such as the Black Panther Party and the Weathermen. In this sense, they aimed to promote a global revolution through the establishment of small radical groups. They wanted to abolish patriarchy, white supremacy and imperialism. They were particularly devoted to developing and exploring feminist theory, especially the way in which sexual identity is socially constructed.

As part of their mission, they started a school to teach women auto and home repair so they would not be dependent on men. Members called for other feminists to create more communes wherein women could nurture their relationships with one another away from male chauvinism. Not only men, but heterosexual women were also seen as impediments to progress.

Most of the members of the collective wrote for their newspaper, The Furies. From January 1972 until mid-1973, the paper was published and distributed nationally. In the first issue in January 1972, contributor Ginny Berson stated her view that: "Sexism is the root of all other oppressions, and Lesbian and woman oppression will not end by smashing capitalism, racism, and imperialism. Lesbianism is not a matter of sexual preference, but rather one of political choice which every woman must make if she is to become woman-identified and thereby end male supremacy."

The Furies received criticism from other feminist publications for using elitist, male-determined standards of language and theory. The criticism included focusing on theory because it was a tool used and created by men which ultimately perpetuates male power. Additionally, critics argued that The Furies publishing the names of authors undermines the collective nature of knowledge in the movement and upholds hierarchical power structures that parallel those in society. The members of the collective included little coverage of this criticism in their publication which some insisted displayed their unwillingness to engage in discussions with other women. This resistance to criticism and devotion to theory above personal experience alienated many women and hindered the Furies' ability to expand their membership in order to achieve their mass movement goals.

The group promoted a model of lesbianism for all members of the women's movement, an alternative identity which combined sexual orientation, gender identity, and radical philosophy. For  member  Charlotte Bunch, to be a lesbian "is to love oneself, woman, in a culture that denigrates and despises women." Berson also stated "Lesbians must become feminists and fight against woman oppression, just as feminists must become Lesbians if they hope to end male supremacy."

According to Rita Mae Brown in Rita Will, the members of the collective were "Rita Mae Brown, Charlotte Bunch, Tasha Byrd [sic], Ginny Berson, Sharon Deevey, Susan Hathaway, Lee Schwin [sic], Helaine Harris, Coletta Reid, Jennifer Woodull [sic], Nancy Myron and Joan E. Biren (J.E.B.)" The names marked "[sic]" are actually Tasha Petersen or Peterson, Lee Schwing, and Jennifer Woodul.

The collective did not last long (1971 - 1972) but its influence was felt beyond the group's end. Theoretical contributions to the women's movement included connecting the enforcement of heterosexuality with women's oppression, understanding sexual orientation as culturally, rather than biologically, constructed, and the legitimacy of lesbian feminism within the women's movement. Future feminist groups across the country cited the importance of the Furies' theoretical developments of feminism to their own organizing efforts. Former members of the collective went on to other organizing and activist positions, especially in media and publishing.

The first two members asked to leave were Joan E. Biren and Sharon Deevey, followed shortly thereafter by Rita Mae Brown. The newsletter survived the disbanding of the collective in the spring of 1972 by about a year. Olivia Records was founded in 1973 by former group members and the Radicalesbians

 

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