I hope that headline grabbed your attention. I have three, loosely related, things on my mind & I’m too lazy to write three different posts. So, here goes:

1. Mom’s Birthday: Mom will turn 80 this September. We pre-celebrated last weekend, for logistical reasons. (Non sequitur — thanks to yoga — mom still sits cross legged on the floor, playing scrabble.)
   
   
   Mom requested, as her birthday present, that I present my One-Woman, Edu-tain-ment story, Cult Confessions, to friends and family. I bet that most parents wouldn’t encourage such a confession. I guess I inherited the trait that enables me to don the Ex-Cult-Member Poster Child Cape from her. (Yay!) So, on Sunday afternoon I shared my tale of woe with roughly 30, or so, of mom’s closest friends (some of whom share her yoga practice, btw.)
   
   
   The night before, in various states of alcohol-induced relaxation, mom, brothers, sisters-in-law and nieces questioned me about my cult days. Typically we don’t openly discuss anything emotional, embarrassing and/or personal, but “school” has provided a new level of communication for this clan (Thanks, Robert!). We concluded that Sharon must — in fact — really be Donald Trump (aka, Drumph) … or perhaps Drumph is Sharon. We envisioned that full-fledged musical theater production I keep dreaming about — borrowing from The Wizard of Oz, ending with the protagonist lifting the curtain on a desperate Donald Drumph, in his glory, barking orders into a megaphone. That brings me to point #2 …




2. Narcissism: I started reading the book, Traumatic Narcissism, by author and clinician Daniel Shaw for further study on cults. Shaw cautions that the tag is thrown around too casually, so I am sourcing the most recent edition of the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, affectionately known as the DSM-5.

   The diagnostic criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder is as follows:a pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration and lack of empathy …

   1) grandiose sense of self-importance.
   2) preoccupation with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love.
   3) belief that he or she is “special” and unique (“I, alone …” blah, blah, blah ) and can only be understood, or should associate with, other special, or high-status people.
   4) needs excessive admiration.
   5) feels entitled (i.e. unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment, or automatic compliance with his or her expectations)
   6) exploits interpersonal relationships (i.e. takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends).
   7) lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others.
   8) envies others but believes that others are envious of him or her.
   9)  arrogant & haughty behaviors or attitudes.

   Sound vaguely familiar? Does Queen S share any, or all, narcissistic traits with a certain Republican presidential nominee? I welcome opinions, experiences, anecdotes, compare & contrast, snarky jokes in comments below. Speaking of campaigns …

3. Crowdfunding … circling back to becoming the Ex-Cult Member Poster Child; my Indiegogo campaign kicked off one week ago, today. Since then, 24 generous souls have helped me raise $1260.00 to complete Cult Confessions: The CD! I have another $4,740 to go, to meet my goal, in the next month. Can you help me trot this awareness-raising-edu-tain-ment campaign out to the greater world??? You could either contribute $$$, or help spread the word via social media, or both …every little bit counts, literally!
   
   Last word, if you’re seeking some kind of spiritual practice to help you keep your sanity during this election season, yoga seems to be working quite well for mom … maybe find a practice. One note of caution, the word is that one should steer clear of Dahn Yoga … but that’s another post.