Michelle Bachman's Migraine Headaches

Great.  Michelle Bachman suffers from migraine headaches.  Debilitating migraine headaches.  Despite the fact that Ms. Bachman has done well in recent polls, begging the ever present question in my mind, what the F*ck is wrong with the American public, she still gets headaches.

Her husband is busy trying to psychoanalyze gays to become straight.  I wonder what he suffers?  Anyone this homophobic must certainly have some interesting underlying issues.  If therapy was a rational alternative for gender orientation, then is it equally possible that with the right therapist, I could actually turn my brown eyes gray?  I've always wanted gray eyes.

My major concern, however, is that many people in this country take Michelle Bachman seriously.  We have freedom of religion in this country, but can't we have freedom from religion?  Michelle Bachman's religiosity scares me half to death.  People enmeshed in the new Christian-mania seem the exact anti-thesis of Christian principles.  Their narrow perceptions of how the world should function (never mind how the world got started) gives me chills when I think about a future of rabidly religious Christians imposing their beliefs on the rest of us, who seriously question our own meaning.

I know that religion is the opiate of the masses, which furthers my belief that Americans are junkies at their very core.  We all want to feel better, and we're finding out that our stuff just doesn't make us feel good.

I have a friend who was raised in the catholic church, has struggled with personal issues for much of her life, and who has devoted herself to spiritual studies for the past ten years.  Her existence has changed the lives of many people, also struggling, and she is committed to helping her fellow man.  She is more zen than catholic now, and she made an interesting comment to me that she found a book, a thin little self-help book, that has answered many of her questions, and has been the culmination of all her searching. 

Sight unseen, I ordered the book yesterday so I could read it myself.  Unread, I'm recommending it to my readers here based on her profound belief that it's the best thing she ever came across.  I trust her implicitly.

The book is "The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz.  Apparently, if we apply the four agreements (which we make with ourselves) to our own lives, and not worry about everybody else, we'll be a more peaceful, enlightened society.  Can't wait for the mailman to deliver it.

Meanwhile, let me just say that I have resisted self-help for most of my life.  Too many recipes out there and I'm on sensory overload when I try to delve into the mystery of my own existence and behaviors.  But I will read this book and review it later.  I tried to write a self-help book once, but I couldn't get past the title page, which was "Self-Help for the Homicidal".

That I'm recommending "The Four Agreements" without actually having read it is a testament to how much I cherish my friend's opinion.  Without her in my life, I would still be struggling with many unsettling and dysfunctional attitudes that I've collected over the years.  She has taught me many things, most importantly, the art of forgiveness.  That, alone, has been worth every self-help book in the library, in terms of my ability to be and stay peaceful.