Weekly Checklist 2/16/23

For Your Black History Month Health: 

Cane River, made in 1982, and thought lost, but recently discovered, is a beautiful movie focused on a black man, a recent college graduate, and a poet. He returns to his family in rural Louisiana and falls in love with a local tour guide, desperate to leave her life. Maria comes from poverty; her relatives were enslaved Africans. Peter comes from land-owning Creole people. It’s wonderful as the two traverse the countryside to see two grown people talk about what the New Yorker calls “the traumas of history, the weight of cultural memory, and the pressure of racial injustice.” Unfortunately, the main character, Horace B. Jenkins, in his only feature film died soon after the movie.

Also, See this book I just bought and love:

For Your Physical Health:

If I have not mentioned him enough, I would literally RUN to the podcasts of Andrew Huberman, a Stanford University neuroscientist. I am not sure how this man puts out so many regular and deeply researched podcasts on subjects of great interest for your health and well-being, ranging from diet to exercise to meditation. As you may not know, the Internet is LIT on the topic of using LIGHT for health, both sunlight but also Blue Light and Red Light. For a rundown on the benefits of these lights see this YouTube. As Huberman puts it: “I describe the mechanisms by which different wavelengths of light impact the cells, tissues, and organs of the human body, and how specifically timed light exposure of specific wavelengths can be used to improve sleep, enhance alertness, modulate hormone levels, and improve mood. I also explain the use of ultraviolet and infrared phototherapies to relieve pain increase testosterone and estrogen levels; improve skin health, appearance, and wound healing; and how red light can be used to offset age-related vision loss and provide neuroprotection. Throughout the episode, I describe the mechanisms of light-based therapies and actionable tools that people can use positively impact mental and physical health.”

For Your LGBT Health:

Johnston was a student of mine at the LGBT Specialization, a trans man interested in self-discovery. I have been watching his growth and am pleased to announce that he has published a book “Am I Trans Enough: How to Overcome Your Doubts and Find Your Authentic Self.” Alo works in private practice and works with primarily transgender, nonbinary, queer, and non-monogamous/polyamorous clients. As Alo puts it in a recent article, he was able to find information on blogs and YouTube and maybe the occasional book but “ould never find any answers to my deeper questions like what if this is a phase? What if this feeling is just internalized misogyny? What if I have regrets? What if people can’t accept me and I lose everyone I love? I felt like I had to navigate all these things on my own, and at some point, I just had to find out through doing.”

For Your Musical Health:

Burt Bacharach died this past week. Born in 1928, and Born Jewish, he was more my parent’s generation kinda guy. We were more about Bob Dylan or the Beatles, and Elton John. However, he was arguably one of the most important figures of 20th Century popular music. He is known for unusual char progressions, jazz harmony, and small orchestras. In 1961, Bacharach discovered singer Dionne Warwick and over 20 years, Warwick’s recording of Bacharach’s songs sold over 12 million copies. I secretly loved these songs when I found them as I came out: “Walk On By,” “Alfie,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” and “Do You Know the Way to San Jose.” I think that these songs formed the secret melancholy of my gay life and I am sure I am not the only queen who felt this way. One of my favorite recordings is this one: a charity single sung by Broadway for Orlando, an all-star group of artists from the theatre and pop world: Sara Bareilles, Idina Menzel, Audra McDonald, Gloria Estefan, Carole King, Sarah Jessica Parker, and many more.

For Your Cultural Health:

I am going to start giving public talks again. This time they will take place at Antioch University’s Library, 400 Corporate Pointe, Culver City, CA, 90230, the first Wednesday of every month, 12:30 to 1:30. Free. Light Lunch Served. I thought I would try to show the connection between inner work and social activism: “Community Depth Psychology.” I wanted to tell the story of how the birth of psychology from the Age of the Enlightenment takes us to Freud, Jung, and Gay Liberation. But maybe I would be the lectures the next year on the 12 chapters of my forthcoming book that I am writing with Dr. Enrique Lopez: “Education of the Heart: The Art of Queer-Affirmative Inner Work and Therapy.” Anyway, I am not sure of the title. But it will be to do what we have always done at the Antioch University LGBT Specialization that I founded: To create a bridge between your inner healing and the question of social justice in the world at large.

Please come and RSVP at dsadownick@antioch.edu.