From Joan Didion Slouching Toward Bethlehem

“The baby frets. The maid sulks. I rekindle a waning argument with the telephone
company, then cut my losses and lie down, given over to whatever is in the air. To live with
the Santa Ana is to accept, consciously or unconsciously, a deeply mechanistic view of
human behavior.

.. the violence and the unpredictability of the Santa Ana affect the entire quality of life in
Los Angeles, accentuate its impermanence, its unreliability. The wind shows us how close
to the edge we are…”

As I write this, it is noon on January 20, 2025, and we are getting terrifying alerts on our iPhone’s about a new round of high winds and impossibly dry conditions. Our humidity is supposed to drop to 5%. We have literally had no rain (the actual use of the word “literal”) since last May, and we are in the rainy season.

Such are the horrors of Santa Ana’s as they pound us once more.

There is terrible apprehension in the air. I was just at my gym and several people were talking about their “Go Bags” and what to do when (not “if”) the power goes out. I have everything ready.

___________________________

But I’m tired. And guilty. After all, I haven’t burned down, have I? Suffering from survival guilt is pervasive, even though this is not a medical or psychological condition.

Guilt is everywhere. We learn in trauma training about guilt. What did we do wrong? Why have we caused this?

______________________________

Yesterday I watched a news clip of a firefighter tending to an injured mountain lion, and the lion was licking his face. Behind him was another firefighter holding a deer.

People are so good. How can we have done anything “wrong” when all we are doing is living and innocently believing our thoughts?

I don’t understand anything. I have no advice or recommendations. I sit, trembling, making sure all technology is charged, and then forget I am scared and go to the kitchen for food.

We are told that one ember from a fire anywhere, whether old or new, could hit any house in my neighborhood and the entire neighborhood would go up in flames before help arrived.

______________________

My family has not reached out to me. It is impossible to consider that people don’t know about what is happening here. That, or the inconceivable notion of deliberate dismissal. Not impossible. My siblings are pretty messed up.

_____________________

Life goes on. There is a terrifying despot being inaugurated today. Someone who is so sick he could blow up the planet, believing it is best, and he will be spared. After all, he just said God spared him from harm so he could be president again.

I feel trembling and terror. I can’t even place it anywhere in my body.

_________________________

I WILL TELL YOU THAT THE SANTA ANA WINDS ARE
WINDS THAT SHAKE US UP AT THE CELLULAR
LEVEL. THEY CAUSE PSYCHOSIS (Look it up.)

Will we ever regulate ourselves again? Of course we will.

I WOULD NEVER LIVE ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD THAN HERE. IT IS AN INCREDIBLE PLACE.

I HAVE WILD ANIMALS IN MY BACKYARD. I CAN SEE THE OCEAN FROM MY PORCH ON A CLEAR DAY.

MY HOME IS IN THE FOOTHILLS, ABOUT 2000 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL.

PEOPLE ARE LIBERAL AND USUALLY VERY KIND. THERE IS A QUALITY OF TRUE ‘LAID BACK’ WHICH ISN’T ABOUT ANYTHING OTHER THAN RELAXATION.

THOSE WHO LIVEIN PASADENA ARE TOLD THEY ARE SURROUNDED BY MORE INTELLIGENCE THAN ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD DUE TO CAL TECH BEING IN PASADENA.

THIS IS NOT WHAT I HAVE FOUND IN OTHER PLACES. I HAVE LIVED IN NEW YORK CITY, LONDON, BOSTON, PARIS, NORTH CAROLINA, NEVADA. THE MOST GOD-AWFUL PLACE I LIVED FOR A FEW YEARS WAS FLORIDA.

Attached is the email I wrote to my group over 9 years ago.

Love, Gopita

The Wind Can Make You Ill

“The baby frets. The maid sulks. I rekindle a waning argument with the telephone
company, then cut my losses and lie down, given over to whatever is in the air. To live with
the Santa Ana is to accept, consciously or unconsciously, a deeply mechanistic view of
human behavior.

.. the violence and the unpredictability of the Santa Ana affect the entire quality of life in
Los Angeles, accentuate its impermanence, its unreliability. The wind shows us how close
to the edge we are…”

—Joan Didion, Slouching Towards Bethlehem

The wind can make you ill. And it often does, being called one of the “pernicious evils” in Chinese medicine. The hot, dry Santa Ana winds wreak havoc with our internal milieu, making a balance between inner and outer very hard to achieve.

Spleen meridian governs our bloodstream; Triple Warmer governs our metabolism and body temperature. These two energies are at play when the hot, dry winds blow. When these two powerhouses are weakened by an outside influence, our defenses (immunity) can become quite compromised.

Fohn Winds and Santa Ana’s

The fohn winds are dry winds in Central Europe which have lost their moisture going over the Alps.
These warm, dry winds flow down the mountains instead of blowing in from the cooling sea. They are
notorious for affecting the body and causing headaches, migraines and an increased array of behavioral
problems, including accidents, crimes and suicides.

There are many forms of wind. Even a gentle breeze can affect your body. An open car window while
driving is an example of a definite recipe for a stiff neck. . A wind that whips up at the beach while we
are sunbathing can cause all sorts of unrecognized problems – sore throats and muscle aches. Fans and
air-conditioning often direct wind to our neck areas. If these areas are not protected we can easily
“catch a cold”.   And any time we are under stress or weakened by illness it is easier for wind to enter
our pores and cause further problems.

What can we do? THE BEST WAY TO PREVENT WIND FROM DISRUPTING OUR HEALTH IS TO DRESS
APPROPRIATELY. Especially cover our necks and kidneys, even when it is hot outside.

TO KEEP BALANCED: DO THE DAILY ENERGY ROUTINE EVERY DAY!!

EAT WARMING, NOURISHING FOODS. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, COLD, RAW FOODS ARE
CONTRAINDICATED DURING THESE TIMES.

AVOID EXERCISING IN THE WIND.

AND FINALLY, MASSAGE B 36 EVERY DAY…

(There is a point on the back, right between the shoulder blades, off the tip of the scapula, (in Touch for
Health Kinesiology it is called Bladder 36, “Bearing Support”), that lets the cold and wind come into the
body and can make one ill. Massaging this point firmly two to three times weekly can do a great deal to
keep illness at bay).

And, if all else fails, remember that THIS TOO SHALL PASS…

Love, Gopita