disclose 43 random THINGS about myself

I don’t live in an air conditioned place. It goes against my better instincts that the place I live is only really warm for a couple of months, and the space air conditioners are too large and loud, and energy suckers. I’d rather sweat and drink a lot of water.

If I lived somewhere warm the majority of the time, I’m sure I would.

Edit: There is now an interview on NPR on making air conditioning more sustainable.

I’ve been on this site for almost five years and will celebrate my anniversary on March 23rd. I remember I created a profile in the middle of the night because I couldn’t sleep. I found out about the site when I was reading an article about it in the Redeye on the train on the way to work. I randomly picked my name and am still not sure if I like it. It was based on a Chinese children’s book character named Princess Redbird that I was required to read for school. I loved the book and the character, just not the word ‘Lady’ at the end of the name. I remember I almost immediately tried changing my name, but people right away starting cheering and writing to me. There was no going back.

I love the I Ching. I remember the day my friend Stephen introduced it to me when I was in my early 20s and then I have been consulting it on a regular basis since then. There are certain interpretations I really prefer. I like Stephen Karcher and love Lise Heyboer’s. Here’s a fun online way to throw a hexagram, and this website also includes a discussion forum which can get pretty lively at times.

When I was a kid, I used to sit under a tree that was in the woods next to our house. Or it may have just been an overgrown bush. I remember that the branches laced together and it created an enclosure that I could go into and sit down.

When I was 21 and just back from a year of living on a kibbutz and experiencing culture shock, I took lessons in Transcendental Meditation at the center in East Lansing, Michigan. After that, meditation became a regular part of my life for a number of years. I remember that Deepak Chopra was heavily involved with the TM people at the time. That was one of the nicest summers I can remember. I felt a bit of an outsider with my American friends (although it was still pleasant), hanging out with new friends from the solid Bahai community that was there at the time, and meditating daily.

I attended Naropa (now University) which is a buddhist based college. There is a meditation room that lots of us would use, and we had classes that were contemplative based, even improvisation. When I was there I went on a week long meditation retreat in the mountains where I learned how to use chopsticks in five minutes after struggling with them for 20+ years. After graduation, I went to a month long retreat, but felt very impatient at this one. I took my refuge vows there, but found myself needing to distance myself from the buddhist school I was part of, and found myself more drawn to Jack Kornfield’s.

After that retreat, I began doing other forms of meditation that don’t require sitting still.

I’m left handed.

_{Although I throw with my right.}

I vaguely remember that Soupy Sales ate at my family’s restaurant when I was little. Ozzie & Harriet ate there when I was tiny and told my parents they had a beautiful family.

At my college, Allen Ginsberg taught poetry, and being that it was a tiny place, I saw him all the time. I attended one of his parties, and at the end of the night, I thanked him for being a good host, and he kissed me on the cheek. I have to say from that point on I’ve always loved him.

Ken Wilbur also spent some time there, and one day he stood in front of me in the cafe line, and turned around and said to me, ‘You have really good energy!’ He used to come to the school dances, too, and dance with his girlfriend, Simone.

After reading her book of essays, I really wanted to meet Gloria Steinem. A few years later, a friend of mine invited me to a women’s luncheon where she would be the keynote speaker. I got to shake her hand and thank her for all of the amazing work that she’s done, and she felt like such a genuine person, soft spoken and strong. I remember in her talk she said ‘only support systems that support women and children’. Sounds reasonable.

from 1990-1992, I earned my bachelor’s degree in dance (with a minor in theater) from a small private college called the Naropa Institute (now called Naropa University) which was founded by the now deceased Tibetan buddhist monk, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. It’s the only accredited buddhist university in America.

my name Lisa Renee means the oath of God reborn, and I was crucified in my hometown.

Seriously.

I’ve lived in six places, three states, and two countries so far. They are:
1. Southfield, MI
2. Kibbutz Tzorah, Israel (near Bet Shemesh, half an hour away from Jerusalem)
3. East Lansing, MI
4. Grand Rapids, MI
5. Boulder, CO
6. Chicago, IL

I’m a little restless, I think.

Okay. I went to the doctor last week, and asked them to measure my height, and apparently I’m 5’3 1/2. Wow! So apparently I’m an inch and 1/2 taller than I thought I was! _{That’s me on the right.}