Out in the Mountains by Christine Burton Happiness is political. Aha! You thought it only made you feel good. Lesbians are heard to say that their lesbianism is a political statement. True! If your feminist sensitivity is sharp enough to have noticed the negative reaction of ma- cho men to the independence of Lesbians, you can believe that one woman’s love for another woman has impact beyond their private expressions of tenderness and pas- sion. On the positive side, the happy Les- bian’s face reflects her emotional state, her body movements are more sensual, she’s a more pleasant woman to be with, she’s more attractive. At peace with herself, she creates a climate of peace. If this is true in our own social circles and in our workplaces, it is also true in our towns, cities, countries and continents, because we are everywhere. One happy Lesbian contributes to the sense of well- being of the whole planet and all its people, Lesbian, gay and straight. Does that seem far-out? Our experi- ence with animals shows that they respond to our minds and our moods, the reason for the pet industry. Now, it has been estab- lished that plants react to our thoughts and emotions. On February 2, 1966 in San Diego, California, Cleve Baxter, an 18-year vet- eran in the polygraph field, discovered that plants read your mind. He placed a Philo- "Gr -.'r- . ~" W"’~ .r ,. M - dendron leaf between polygraph elec- trodes. When he watered the plant, the graph showed no significant change. Four- teen minutes into the experiment, he thought to test the leaf’ s reaction to fire -- only a thought. At that split-second, the needle on the graph zig-zagged in wide arcs; the plant had read his mind and the tracings went off the top of the page. In another experiment with live shrimp, Baxter discovered that plants react to any termination of life in their environ- ment, whether other plants or animals. He realized that awareness binds all things together, a commonality of consciousness. In an experiment in the University of California, Norman Goldstein,Professor of Electrobiology, seated a man five feet from a plant and in front of a TV screen. A number of images shown were of no special interest to the man. But when a woman’s rather large breast with erect nipple was shown, the plant responded wildly to the man’s sexual response. John Lifton, artist, has fed into a com- puter the reactions of plants to people visit- ing a greenhouse. The resultant sounds are similar to New Age music. He calls it Green Music. I believe that large numbers of happy Lesbians could transform the world in a comparatively short time. Patriarchy with its cruel drive for power at any and all costs, and the divisiveness its territorial instinct *1 B00 team:-«o-eaeo a OOK5 -- ‘RECFDS '- -‘P¢'FlIODlCALS~ ‘Pos‘r'eR5... (YONF/S or. Sn. firatucboro ,\)c. M0104 l;BurTc>Ns~ cARD:-atmpen .-.5-r:c.r»-fir-6.zrr;¢;q [banana )oc;qf_/‘.5;-,u +- - 4% 7‘ : "’ - 5 , ” 10 2 creates, has resulted in a world whose sm. vival is doubful. Replacing sexual joy with guilt, and destroying the freedom to be different, have made the world an un. healthy habitat. Happiness can reverse all this. What if each of us would begin with her self—image. Accepting second-class citizenship because you are a woman erodes your self-esteem. Your internalized homophobia can prevent your happiness. Doyou realize thatLesbians havethe social advantage? Unencumbered by men, wecan have the clear vision of human beings as they were born to be: women not domi- nated by men, children free to explore and discover wherever their curiosities lead them. By our lifestyle, Lesbians ignore the mores of society. Our unconventionality strengthens and liberates us. We can choose to ignore the demands of fashion that have their roots in patriarchy. We are freer than we know. It is wonderful tobea Lesbian. Sometimes we complain that we have , no role models. How lucky we are! Role model is a euphemism for patriarchy’s enslaving of our emotions. Lesbians have uniquely comfortable for both partners. Lesbians are free to be what they wantto become. Some reader will surely complain to the Editor that Burton never heard of the closet. But I believe most times it’s there because as women we’ ve been conditioned to submit to control. Freedom is achieved by self-acceptance and visibility. The happiest Lesbians I know are , openly proud they’re Lesbians. They ce1e- ' brate life itself with joy. More happy Les- ( bians could speed up the creation of aNew 3 Age, a healthier milieu for all life forms. ‘ But happiness is not the result of luck ] It is a process. We create it for ourselves- By it we create our own world. Copyright 1989 Christine Burton 1 Learn Desktop Publishing! Call 865-9759 ever_tin95 for more informatton. l r . ’§ar- _ _ \_’ the liberty to fashion relationships that are