Lots of people have told me they are really enjoying the posts I’ve been writing.  They go to the home page and print off several copies at a time.  They forward them to family and friends or check in every morning, just to jump start their day. 

SCREAMS of CONSCIOUSNESS is now being read by thousands of people in more than 42 countries—-but there are some who say they are reading regularly but……they still won’t  subscribe. HUH?   

Question:  O.K., so what’s the deal?  I’ve asked for that 10 inch skillet of truth upside the head.

Answer:  They don’t like the idea of ……S C R E A M I N G.  They don’t consider themselves the “type of people” who would “fall into that category”.  Well, o.k.—-to each, his own.

But…..Hmmmm.  This got me to thinking.  About S C R E A M I N G.   Maybe an explanation for everyone is in order.  An orientation of sorts.

1.  Why the name? 

2.  What’s the point, anyway? 

3.  Who reads this stuff?

4.  Are you…….a SCREAMER?

These questions will be answered in two parts—–first, a little history—–in Part 1.  Then, in Part 2,  a little perspective.

 SCREAMS of CONSCIOUSNESS  has a history.  It began as a book club. 

A year or so ago, Oprah was doing the first-ever world-wide webcast to “read/study” a book.  The book:  A NEW EARTH, by Ekhart Tolle, was the subject matter.  What intrigued me most, was this idea of studying a book via a world-wide web hook-up.  What Oprah had in store was ground-breaking, history-in-the-works stuff, certainly not like any book club I had ever participated in.  WOWSERS—-this was something I wanted to be a part of. 

Oprah suggested going  to her website and signing up to host a group in your own city.  As someone, known for not getting her flashlight batteries in the right order—I felt confident that if Oprah was putting this call out to a massive audience then surely they had figured out how to make it easy enough for people, even like me, to get involved.  I was right.  It was easy.

Every club needs a name, right?    So, since our focus was literature, what literary term might reflect the kind of group I imagined our little club to be?  People, primarily women,  from every walk of life, who shared the common goal of  seeking some kind of  purpose or deeper understanding of themselves and the world around them.  Bingo. The literary term?  STREAMS of CONSCIOUSNESS—-used to mean taking what appears to be random, all-over-the-map thoughts and eventually drawing them into some common theme or conclusion.  Perfecto!  Almost.

But, that terms was so serious.  So college Englishy.  It was about the development of words, coming to a certain conclusion. This club was about words AND people.  It also needed to be about serious things and fun, at the same time.  Enter the need for a good pun.

Oprah promised that A NEW EARTH would cause spontaneous “ah-ha’s” of recognition to bolt through us.  Sounds like scream time to me.  The pun was set. SCREAMS of CONSCIOUSNESS was born.  Let the book club begin. Although, I expected a handfull of participants, more than 100 signed up.  I had a good scream about that.  But the logistics worked out and we were on our way.

Weekly meetings via conference call also led to luncheon get togethers where the core group got to meet one another.  We had a grand time with plans to continue reading more books together going forward.  Screams of Consciousness was a living, breathing organization with diverse, bright, inquisitive members, intent on clarity of purpose and compassionate action.  Unfortunately, just as our study of A NEW EARTH was drawing to a close, our plans culminated in an abrupt hiatus when my house burned down (scream, here, too please).  But, the whole experience was too rich to leave on the shelf.

In early 2009, it was time to revive SCREAMS in a new way, with this blog.  Same idea for a diverse group dynamic.  Same desire for clarity.  For getting real.  For finding truth from every nook and cranny, every rock and rocker.  Back on board with the same goals—just a different format.  Here we are. 

Welcome. Join us.