38th Anniversary Issue:
“Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise”
On the eve of Halloween, it is with great pleasure that we launch our 38th anniversary issue with a positive and happy theme. I am happy to celebrate another World Series win for the San Francisco Giants. It’s astounding how a winning team can galvanize a region. Were the Giants’ pitching, batting, and fielding prowess insufficiently daunting, the outrageousness of their fans sealed the deal. The poor Tigers crumpled under the freakish pressure of our fan base. Call it Bay Pride.
I’d be more joyous, but for the suffering experienced due to Hurricane Sandy. I had been speaking and texting with a friend who lives on the Jersey shore and it was harrowing to lose connection as Mother Nature unleashed her blitzkrieg while we enjoyed balmy weather. Call it Bay Area survivor’s guilt.
This issue features a provocative interview with a courageous filmmaker. Foster Gamble is a direct descendent of the Procter and Gamble dynasty and was groomed to take his place among the ruling elite, attending the finest schools. He chose a different path. Last year he released his documentary Thrive: What in the World Will It Take? Using his inheritance, Foster sought to research the question, What is preventing our species from thriving? His investigations—and solutions—are boldly documented in his controversial film. We suggest a free viewing at ThriveMovement.com; it will provoke reflection and discussion.
The second feature is a pictorial from a project called A Day in the World, which chronicles, via thousands of photos, a day in the life of our planet. The day happened to be May 12, 2012. We reprinted but a couple dozen photos, but the rest are available in a superb coffee table book from local publisher Earth Aware Editions (MandalaEarthEditions.com).
Pema Chödrön contributed a brilliant piece, “Awakening in the Charnel Ground: Embracing Discomfort with Curiosity and Compassion.” For those seekers struggling to make sense of the extraordinary challenges afoot, this is a (daily) must read.
We also think you’ll enjoy the People in Your Neighborhood interview with Marc Allen, who founded New World Library 35 years ago. Marc’s trajectory from dead-end poverty case to becoming the multimillionaire publisher of such classics as The Power of Now, Creative Visualization, and the Seven Laws of Spiritual Success is inspiring.
Beyond that, we have stories on the yoga of money, Thanksgiving recipes, and the wisdom of buying handmade, among many others. For the adventurous, we have compiled a primer of 2012 transformational festivals, should you consider witnessing the so-called end of the world at a destination known for its planetary synchronization. Monumental gatherings are being planned in such places as Chichen Itza, the pyramids, Stonehenge, and many more.
We look forward to seeing you at Green Festival this month, where the Ford Motor Company, our back-cover sponsor of this issue, will be donating $5,000 as part of the Ford Community Green Grant. Learn more at GreenFestivals.org. Thank you for patronizing our terrific sponsors, without whom there would be no Common Ground. Our Holiday issue combines December and January, at which point we will know who our next president will be and whether the labeling of GMOs will be mandatory. Yes on 37!
Happy Thanksgiving,
ROB SIDON, PUBLISHER/EDITOR