Travel Bettina Style - Bettina Network's Blog

Archive for the ‘Travel Bettina Style’ Category

A Teaching/Learning Community

Thursday, September 3rd, 2015

copyright Bettina Network, inc. 2015

Join us as we grow the Bettina Network Hedge Schools.

What do you know?

Use your home to pass on to others what has been taught to you and look into becoming a Bettina Network Hedge School Facilitator.

What have you experienced in this life

which are lessons you can share with others!

What has life taught you?

pass it on!

One way to pass along who you are and your life lessons to others is through Bettina Network Hedge Schools – be a part of bringing about this world wide teaching/learning community.

How about your talents?

Sewing, Knitting, Crochet, Photography, Cooking, Design, Gardening, Calligraphy, Religion, Spirituality, Political History Philosophy, Psychiatry – what have we not included that is your passion?

Use your talents as a Bettina Network Hedge School Facilitator.  Use your home to welcome guests who would like to know more about what you do; what you’ve learned; what you teach by staying with you for a few days to absorb your lifestyle, while they go about doing other things.

What is your legacy?

Here is your opportunity to put together the legacy you want to pass along and to be known for.

Piano, organ, other instruments, vocalist – open your home to those traveling for other reasons who also would like to study with you for a couple days or maybe even a week before they go back to their other lives bringing an experience like none other.

Each one teach one –

Your guests come to learn from you and to teach you.  And you wind up with the extra income which will allow you to do things you weren’t sure you could afford – or that you wanted to do, but your money and position got in the way of your being effective.  Let the world come to your home and be a part of an extensive and widespread “behind the hedge” school.

You and your guests become a part of Bettina Network’s Lifestyle Community with the ability to access deep into the Bettina Network, inc.

And to those traveling the world – why stay in an Inn, Hotel, Bed & Breakfast or other accommodation when you can stay in a Bettina Network Hedge School ?????


Learn More About How We Use Your Donation!

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______________________________________________________

Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE try www.bettina-network.com

 

 

The Concord Cheese Shop

Saturday, November 26th, 2011

copyright 2010 by Julie – Traveling Taste Buds

Hours Open: Tue-Fri 10am-5:30pm and Sat 9:30am-5:30pm

web site: www.concordcheeseshop.com
email: peter@concordcheeseshop.com

29 Walden Street
Concord, MA. 01742-2504
978 369 5778

One of Concord’s celebrated establishments, a perennial “Best of Boston,” not to be missed by any visitor to the town center, has lured foodies down Walden Street since 1967. Its current (and third) proprietor, Peter Lovis, has been serving out samples of the 150-200 varieties of domestic and international cheeses since 1976. You will never buy a cheese there that you can’t taste first! But cheese is not the only food for sale at the Cheese Shop. There’s a vast and excellent (including some bargain specials) selection of wines; there are many gourmet items including chocolates, pastries, spices, olive oils, holiday treats, nuts, pickles, jams, and more. The Cheese Shop Deli is famous for its chicken salad, for carrying “Famous Phil’s Subs,” for its terrific charcuterie, coffees, and its many fabulous freshly made preparations. Besides its warmth, the overwhelming attribute of the Cheese Shop is its internationalism: indeed, at one count the shop’s offerings represented 80 different countries!

NOT TO BE MISSED AT THE CHEESE SHOP:  Make a note to spend December 1st in Concord so you can be present at the Cheese Shop’s Cheese Parade.  A 400 pound wheel of cheese is rolled down the red carpet with music and rose petals.  Be there for this fun event!  Missed this year?  Mark your calendars and make your reservations at one of the Bettina Network homes in Concord to be present at next years Cheese Shop’s Cheese Parade.

A special feature offered by the Cheese Shop deli is their “Friday night supper” menu. $75 brings home a three course gourmet dinner for two, including a baguette and a bottle of wine. All you have to do is heat up the entree; often as not you’ll have enough for lunch on Saturday, too. Many Concord couples make this a monthly treat, but a “Friday night supper” could also be ideal for those taking advantage of ‘eating dinner in’ at the Bettina Network Bed and Breakfast where they are staying. The hosts are always happy to lend the service of their oven or microwave. Just remember that the meals are not offered during the holiday season, which is an extra busy time for the Cheese Shop.

In short, any visitor to Concord would enjoy doing what concordians do: take a stroll down Walden Street for a taste trip around the world. As Peter Levis says, “don’t come in a rush!”

________________________________________________________________

Learn More About How We Use Your Donation!

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______________________________________________________________

Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE about Bettina Network, inc. try www.bettina-network.com

IF YOU ENJOY OUR BLOG, USE OUR SERVICES TO BOOK ACCOMODATIONS WHEN YOU TRAVEL!

1-800-347-9166 inside the U. S. or 617 497 9166 outside or inside the U. S.

Bettina Travel Tip

Friday, September 23rd, 2011

When using public transportation in the Greater Boston area, the blind (those who carry a cane or have a dog guide) ride public transit free of charge.

________________________________________________________________

Learn More About How We Use Your Donation!

[give_form id=”3763″]

______________________________________________________________

Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE about Bettina Network, inc. try www.bettina-network.com

IF YOU ENJOY OUR BLOG, USE OUR SERVICES TO BOOK ACCOMODATIONS WHEN YOU TRAVEL!

1-800-347-9166 inside the U. S. or 617 497 9166 outside or inside the U. S.

From a Guest on Cayenne Pepper

Tuesday, December 21st, 2010


“Before I get swept away by the holidays, I want to thank you for a wonderful blog. Keep up the good work, I’ve used so many of your ideas and I am very grateful. Some have been real life savers.

We also had a wonderful stay at a bed & breakfast in Harvard Square Cambridge for about the umpteenth time. Each time I don’t think it can get better and each time something new and different happens that makes me want to return soon.

This is about your blog on Cayenne Pepper. I read it, thought it was interesting, but didn’t follow through until I returned to the bed & breakfast, which now keeps a bottle of cayenne pepper at the door as you come in or leave. They do it because several guests have requested the cayenne pepper, since that is the last thing you would think to pack and I’m not sure it would get through security anyway. (By the way your blog on “Security at the Airport” is a stitch – probably because there is so much truth in it that it is really funny).

I got into the habit of sprinkling cayenne pepper in my shoes everytime I went out and it saved my life. Travel is hard on my feet and I come home with aching pinched feet. My own fault from the shoes I insist on wearing. This time, I had no problems, walked all over and found lots of energy without aching feet. I don’t know what the cayenne pepper does, but I’ve used it constantly since returning home and it has changed my way of living.

Thank you! By the way I was at the table when the folks from Canada talked about Cayenne Pepper as they sprinkled it in their running shoes several years ago before going out the door to join the hordes of runners for the Boston Marathon. It has taken this long for me to take up the suggestion, even though I saw the guy come back who didn’t have to crawl into the house and crawl up the stairs to his room. He was still walking upright and stopped to talk to me without seeming to be exhausted. Well, I now know how that feels.

enjoy your holidays and thank you so much for the ideas in Bettina’s Blog. hope you continue it for many more years and I can read it for many more years. As soon as I get a minute I am going to go over that blog for other ideas that might help me get through life a little easier.”

ed. note: Thanks for your comments. It is nice to know someone is out there reading and benefitting from what we write.

_______________________________________________

Learn More About How We Use Your Donation!

[give_form id=”3763″]

______________________________________________________________

Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE about Bettina Network, inc. try www.bettina-network.com

IF YOU ENJOY OUR BLOG, USE OUR SERVICES TO BOOK ACCOMODATIONS WHEN YOU TRAVEL!

1-800-347-9166 inside the U. S. or 617 497 9166 outside or inside the U. S.

What I like most about Bettina homes!

Friday, January 1st, 2010

I read your update on adding computers to Bettina homes.  I call only Bettina’s when I travel and because of my research I mostly travel to Harvard Square Cambridge.  I wouldn’t stay anyplace else.  When you leave home you leave all your conveniences.  I like to play the guitar when I get home from a tough day.  When I get to Cambridge, the home where I stay has a guitar which I take over and take to my room and play it evenings.  I’ve met other people who stay in your homes because they have access to other musical instruments.  Another house in Harvard Square has a harp which people can use.  I’ve been there to see friends staying there so I’ve seen and played the harp (sort of).  I met a woman there who plays beautiful harp – jazz harp, that was quite a while ago.  She played a brief concert for us and I will never forget hearing her.  Don’t remember her name!

Your network is really a fantastic way to travel.

Thanks for your holiday greeting.  Keep up the good work and lots of luck in 2010!

A reader (no name please)

editors note:  Whenever we receive an email or phone call or etc.  We put your notes in Bettina’s Blog, but we don’t ever put your name or other identifying information unless you tell us its alright to do so.

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Learn More About How We Use Your Donation!

[give_form id=”3763″]

______________________________________________________________

Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE try www.bettina-network.com

 

Changes in Bettina Homes

Thursday, December 31st, 2009

copyright 2009 The Bettina Network, inc.

In 2010 you will find wonderful changes in Bettina homes for your added comfort and need for ever more elegant surroundings.  The major change is around technology.  All Bettina homes have broadband internet access – the kind which has a very fast response time, doesn’t need a telephone dial-up and is accessible to you in your room at no extra charge.  That broadband includes wireless internet access in all homes.  In some homes,  you have immediate access to the wireless by simply turning on your computer; in others, where your host family is super-security conscious, your computer IP number is entered into the security system and you then have immediate access to the internet.  Eventually,  that kind of secure access will be common across the Bettina Network.

The change about which we are most proud is now YOU HAVE ACCESS TO A COMPUTER, at no extra charge,  as well as internet wired and wireless when you stay in a Bettina home.  You may request a computer when you make reservations and you will find one in your room when you arrive.

Some are computers without lots of bells and whistles; others are totally equipped with what you wish you had at home.  On the plain vanilla computers, you will have to sign into your home/office computer and use your programs remotely.  You will be able to access your email on the computer in your room.  In other homes, the computers are complete with every little thing available.  The difference is the level of technical competence of the host family.  As those host families become more comfortable and knowledgeable about their increased technology offerings, those computers will be upgraded and other things will be added. Although, some host families, who are technologically challenged, have so many technical people staying as guests, they tend to have better equipped computers because of their guests contributions to their knowledge and they have added other little gadgets like iPod docking stations.

We are constantly working to keep our position ahead of the pack.  Its no fun doing business when you are running with or slightly behind everyone else. It is not about offering cheap service at a cheap price,  that has never been what the Bettina Network is about.  – It is about offering quality, convenience, luxury, an elegant and very green lifestyle as economically as we can possibly offer it, with both our guests and our host families surviving and thriving nicely.

We had some interesting side developments in 2009.  One couple – who met in a famous Bettina home in Harvard Square Cambridge – are now engaged and planning a wedding in June:  one Bettina host family is helping them plan the wedding; and they are going to be married by another Bettina host family member, but unfortunately not in a Bettina home, in their family home – which we would love to add to the Bettina Network.  A family, who stayed in Bettina homes for many years, lost a loved one and a Bettina host family member, who had been involved in the last months of life with the family, was at the funeral and officiated.  Another Bettina host family member, who is a photographer/videographer produced a beautiful documentary, which is available in Bettina homes if you would like to see it and/or buy it.

Several guests registered their talent with the Bettina Network and we were able to find work for them -painting, sculpting, photographing, musicians, etc.  Concerts are now being held in a couple homes where the families are professional musicians.  Its great for the family member because they have an audience on which they can try a new program, before they present it in a public concert, and great for the guests who see and hear musicians perform, up close, able to ask questions, talk about what they’ve heard and enjoy an hour of beautiful music.

We are very happy about the direction in which we are moving and hope you will let us know how we can improve to better suit your needs in 2010!

One disappointment was to see our motto – “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” – being prominently used by an Inn in Cambridge in their advertisements.  We keep hearing that imitation is the highest form of flattery, so we will take it as such and know that we must be succeeding in what we do or we wouldn’t be imitated.  We know our guests are discerning and know the difference between follow-the-leader and the real thing.

Happy New Year!  May you think of us first and foremost during 2010 and beyond!

__________________________________________________________

Learn More About How We Use Your Donation!

[give_form id=”3763″]

______________________________________________________________

Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE try www.bettina-network.com

 

A Great Limousine Service

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

copyright 2009 The Bettina Network, inc.

We have come across many businesses in life, but we comment on only a very few.  Commonwealth Worldwide Chauffeured Transportation is one of those few.

You know our love for organic everything.  Well, this is a limousine service which is going green.  They get more than 40 miles/gallon from their cars because they use Ford Fusion Hybrid cars and they are still able to provide 95% of the room you’ve enjoyed in a Lincoln Town Car.  Commonwealth was awarded the 2009 Best of Boston and they are the official transportation service for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

We spend a lot of time marketing and deciding where to place advertisements for the Bettina Network, inc.  We spend just as much time trying to decide how and where to give back.  That is one of our top priorities.  A business can’t begin to be great until and unless it gives back to the world at least as much as it is given.  So, when we see a business, we look at their product and services and then if that adds up we ask ourselves —– what do they give back for all the opportunities they have been given?  In the process of doing that we discovered Commonwealth.

We knew about their spectacular service and all that goes into making them an exceptional company.  We also knew the tremendous difference Jaimie Botero makes for Commonwealth as he goes about his daily job. He adds a very special touch to the services Commonwealth offers ordinarily and we tell all of our guests who use the Bettina Network in the Greater Boston area to ask for Mr. Botero.

You can imagine how delighted we were to discover that the November 28th BSO concert is being sponsored by Commonwealth.  What a wonderful thing to do!

So needless to say, we recommend Commonwealth when you are traveling and want to reserve transportation for your trip from the airport to your Bettina home and when you want to reserve a car for the day to take you the many, many places you need to visit when in Cambridge, Boston, New York, or worldwide.  Or if you want the luxury of being driven from Boston to New York to stay in another Bettina home for a few days, they will be very gracious and efficient in their response to your request.

Enjoy discovering a wonderful business and let us know if our recommendation met your expectations!

_______________________________________________________________

Learn More About How We Use Your Donation!

[give_form id=”3763″]

______________________________________________________________

Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE try www.bettina-network.com

 

Great Travel Tip and I Add….

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

Since reading your travel tip I talked to my boss.  I am leaving tomorrow for California so your suggestion is very timely.

I asked about the possibility of my company paying for the overnight postage to mail my bags instead of carrying them onto the airplane and it is a go.  Which is GGGGREAT!!!!!!  I can now travel without dragging luggage through airports; it isn’t costing me anything; my company is going to save money because they don’t have to reimburse me for the cost the airlines charge to carry all of the books, papers, etc. which get schlepped all over the place.

I am going to do this overnight mail going and regular (probably book rate) mail returning – which is where my company will save a few dollars.  Since I am going to a conference and would normally have a suitcase full of papers, books and more from the conference this is kind of exciting.

Hope this works as well as your travel tip indicates

____________________________________________________________

Learn More About How We Use Your Donation!

[give_form id=”3763″]

______________________________________________________________

Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE try www.bettina-network.com

 

A Travel Tip

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

copyright The Bettina Network, inc. 2009

I travel quite a bit and with the new airline rules I have found that packing most of my belongings the day before and mailing them via overnight mail to where I am going tends to relieve my worry about the airlines losing my luggage; I don’t have to drag stuff through airports or worry about airport security making me miss my plane; and since I travel mostly bed & breakfast the host family always accepts my packages and I arrive to find them in my room. The few times I travel using hotels I do the same thing and the package is at the hotel desk when I arrive. Although doing this with hotels is not a sure thing because sometimes the hotel will receive the package and put it on the side and I won’t get it until the next day, even though it arrived in a timely fashion.
When I leave I do the same thing. Usually, the hotel or bed & breakfast will have boxes I can use for shipping. If they don’t there is generally a liquor store nearby and they always have boxes which can be used for mailing. Almost any kind of store will have empty boxes waiting to be tossed. Anything I buy while in a particular city generally goes into the box and goes back home regular mail because it isn’t really crucial that I receive those return boxes immediately upon arrival. It is a little cheaper, but not that much. If I am feeling flush I will send the boxes home via overnight mail as well, but I don’t do that very often.
The cost of paying airlines to carry a piece of luggage is a ridiculous thought. I stopped fuming over the cost and came up with something which relieves me of dragging luggage through airports. I now only have my overnight case and a computer.
____________________________________________________

Learn More About How We Use Your Donation!

[give_form id=”3763″]

______________________________________________________________

Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE try www.bettina-network.com

 

The Labyrinth

Monday, February 11th, 2008
copyright 2008 Anne Gordon**

Before leaving to accompany our son on a trip to settle him at his first year at Harvard, we picked an angel card from the little bowl on our altar.  We received “trust.”

Embarking on a journey involves trust.  Plans are made, as are assumptions and hopes for outcomes.  But then we start and the journey unfolds under our feet.  The unexpected becomes our traveling partner.  Is the unforeseen a gift in disguise or simply a hassle, yet another puzzle to work out and consume precious time?
When a walker is first introduced to a labyrinth, he or she often hears the anxiety-inducing word “maze” instead.  The two words must be next-door neighbors in the canyons of our brains, lodged side-by-side, the result of centuries of interchangeable usage.  When a walker approaches the labyrinth for the first time it may LOOK like a maze, but it is in truth, a single path.
I first walked a labyrinth ten years ago at a Body and Soul Conference in Seattle.  I had considered myself to be a pilgrim for most of my life.  Like many, I had tasted a variety of spiritual fruits, likening these samplings to a feast for the soul.  In particular I felt drawn to the divine mystery, that personal connection to the sacred that cannot be defined or contained in dogma and doctrine.  The labyrinth, a complex but pleasing pattern painted on thick canvas, was set up in a candlelit ballroom.  Ethereal music added to the transcendent quality of the experience.  I was astounded and quite amazed that my wanderings had not led me to the labyrinth until that time.  I stepped onto, and into this sacred space and was deeply moved. Long after the words of the conference presenters had faded, the singular meandering path of the labyrinth held a place in my heart and the imagery it evoked continued to resonate for days and months.
Over the next years I sought out labyrinth walks, on permanent installations and on portable canvas.  I created a labyrinth in our yard at home and studied with Lauren Artress at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco and became certified as a labyrinth facilitator.  Grace Cathedral is the home to two labyrinths, one outdoors made of terrazzo stone, another of limestone in the sanctuary.  Artress is credited with being the driving force behind the resurgence of interest in labyrinths in the late twentieth century.  Author Jean Houston had been using labyrinths for some time in her workshops, but it was Lauren who visited Chartres Cathedral in France, and with a group of friends, boldly removed the folding chairs from atop the 13th century labyrinth, walked it, measured it and brought the energy of this esoteric spiritual tool to the United States.  Credit must also be given to author and dowser Sig Lonegren and to geomancer Richard Feather Anderson for their contemporaneous installations of labyrinths.
Chartres Cathedral is an exquisitely beautiful Gothic cathedral.  It is one of the best maintained cathedrals in all of Europe and is a Unesco World Heritage site.  Famed for its architecture grounded in sacred geometry and for its unparalleled stained glass windows, Chartres has been drawing visitors for over 800 years.  It was built on a site of ancient pilgrimage, the place itself having been revered by Druids and Celts.  Work on the present cathedral was begun in 1194 and the labyrinth was laid in the floor around the year 1200.  At that early date, interest in the labyrinth was experiencing its own revival, putting its antiquity in context.  In time it fell out of favor, possibly because its use competed with the sermons.  Other labyrinths in European cathedrals were unceremoniously removed during the Age of Reason, their enigmatic, mystical quality evidently incompatible with the elevation of reason and logic.  Chartres was spared.  As a 19 year old girl I joined the millions of pilgrims and tourists who visit this gem completely unaware of the labyrinth beneath our feet.  Happily, this descent into obscurity has ended and the labyrinth is now available to visitors every Friday.  Private groups are also granted access to the labyrinth on a regular basis for study and contemplation.
The single path of the labyrinth is described as unicursal.  Its use predates the Christian era by thousands of years.  It is one of the oldest contemplative and transformational tools known to humankind and has been used for centuries for prayer, ritual, initiation and personal and spiritual growth.  Its presence and use dates back at least 4,500 years.
Labyrinths have been found on every inhabited continent.  They have been separated by vast distances and by thousands of  years, but they are connected by their enduring presence and use.
In ancient Greece the coin of the realm bore the imprint of the labyrinth.
In India, labyrinths are drawn at the threshold of homes as a protective blessing.
In Scandinavia over 500 labyrinths are located near the sea.  Folklore tells of fishermen walking them before sailing to ensure good fortune and a bountiful catch.  Anxious relatives walked them to propitiate the forces of weather when seas were rough.  During springtime rituals, young men raced one another in the labyrinth to be the first to dance with a maiden at its center.
There are more labyrinths per square kilometer in Sweden than any other place on earth. Labyrinths similar to those in Scandinavian countries have been found in Russia, Iceland and Baltic countries.
Turf labyrinths are common in Great Britain.  Many remain to this day, some continuously and lovingly maintained for over 400 years.
In the 21st Century, the beauty and mystery of the labyrinth exerts a powerful draw, calling to people the world over as it has for millenia.  A search online produces endless pages of information about and locations of labyrinths.  They are now present in dozens of hospitals, clinics, schools, retreat centers and churches.  Over 2,000 labyrinths are registered with veriditas.org in the United States alone.
The single, meandering path of the labyrinth provides the walker with the opportunity to step beyond the chaos and confusion of the modern world, into the land of the soul.  Each visit to the labyrinth is unique as is every walker.  This profoundly simple experience provides calm, centering, stress reduction, some even say healing.  it is said that a maze, with its cul-de-sacs, dead-ends and blind alleys is designed to make you LOSE your way, while a labyrinth is designed to help you FIND your way.
Because there is a single path, the only decision to be made is whether or not to walk.  Once that decision is made and the journey is begun, one is then led gently and surely, meandering to the center.  The Circuitous path captures our attention and the controlling mind takes a breather.  The symbolism of going deep into our own interiors is clear.  There is a sense of safety and security provided by the container that is the labyrinth.
People often walk the labyrinth with a prayer or an intention.  Some enter the labyrinth with a burden to release or a problem to solve.  In trusting the process of the journey, it is common for walkers to receive answers to questions they did not even ask.  The gifts are there, but often in an unanticipated guise.
Walking the labyrinth provides a time out of time.  The outer world takes a holiday.  The simple yet symbolic act of placing one foot in front of the other overlays the scattered energy and fragmented thoughts of our busy lives.  On this single path we don’t have to decide WHERE we are in the world and instead can become aware of HOW we are in the world.
The labyrinth has been called a blueprint for transformation.  The person who enters the labyrinth and the person who leaves are never the same.  A change happens in the process of the journey.  Insights and clarity are gained, calm is restored.  Healing occurs.  And often, the simple act of retreating from the din of the outer world provides the break we need to refresh ourselves, find our center and return to the world with a new outlook.
Our son now resides across the continent and our family continues to adjust and grow, drawing  to ourselves the calm that comes from trust in the journey.  Like walkers on the Labyrinth, we are sometimes near one another, though mos of the time we are apart, but we always meet at the center.
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**Anne Gordon is a Labyrinth Facilitator and bookkeeper in Eugene, Oregon.  She is on staff at Sacred Heart Medical Center as a labyrinth facilitator, providing monthly labyrinth walks for staff, patients and visitors.  She also offers workshops, talks on the history of the labyrinth and conducts private walks using her three portable labyrinths.  She may be reached at greeneden@comcast.net
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2/17/2008
from Sybil in Riverside, CA.
“Thank you for the article.  I wanted you to know about a labyrinth I sometimes walk.  It is behind the University of Redlands Memorial Chapel and has been there since about 2004-2005.  It is a replica of the Chartres Cathedral labyrinth in France.  Since I live in Riverside I don’t get there often, but when I do the peace from the meditation is a feeling I look forward to. Also wanted to say that – the labyrinth is the longest distance between two points while a straight line is the shortest.  Got that from someplace, don’t remember where.”
3/1/08
from Robert in Cambridge, MA.
“The other weekend my son and daughter were in town.  I thought they might like to see a discovery my wife and I made several weeks earlier – the recently opened labyrinth on the campus of Boston College in Newton (Chestnut Hill), Massachusetts.  This labyrinth is dedicated in memory of Boston College alums who lost their lives in the 9/11 terrorist attack in New York.
 
On an earlier visit to the B.C. Labyrinth, it was buried in snow, but even then the outline of its circular paths were visible to us.  Now on this later visit, the snow was gone and the still wet stone pavers of the foot path glistened in the late afternoon sun.
 
The Boston College Labyrinth is just inside the main entrance to the campus to the right of an avenue lined with impressive Gothic-styled buildings.  It isn’t visible from the roadway, but from the walkway a lovely sunken garden comes into view right next to the first building on the right at the entrance gate.
 
At the center of tree-lined green expanse is this labyrinth flanked to its left by the stone wall of that first building and just beyond it an imposing oval shaped shrub which seemed to me to mimic the circular labyrinth in front of us.  Two squat square marble pillars, topped with bronze plaques mark the entrance and exit walkways of the labyrinth.  The plaques give the dedication and walking information.  Individual plaques give the name and class of those memorialized and they surround the outer edge of the labyrinth.  It gives you goose bumps just looking at the path.
 
This was my first labyrinth walk and I felt this as a significant new experience.  Something else seemed to come over me as I took my first tentative steps along the stone pavers laid out there.  It struck me that I was setting out on a journey and one that required my close attention both to the immediate path before me and to the surroundings before and beside me.  
 
This trek is not a simple following a circling path, but one with numerous twists and turns.  In retrospect, I feel each start of this kind of journey always holds something new and unexpected along the way.  This first time, I felt intimidated by the path since I didn’t really know where the pavers were taking me, especially since periodically I was walking not toward the center of the labyrinth, but actually away from it.  Though circular, this journey was not simply going in circles.  I had always to be attentive along this serpentine journey of many sudden twists and turns.
 
The attentiveness demanded by this path had the affect of forcing all other thoughts and concerns from my consciousness.  And as a consequence of this, I can better understand why the labyrinth walk sets the stage for meditation or at least can foster an openness in our consciousness for new thoughts and perspectives which the usual busyness of daily life obscures or even prevents us from experiencing.  The winding, even meandering path of the labyrinth is not a distraction, but actually a gift which can refresh both mind and body.
 
There is also a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction upon reaching, not the end, but the center, the heart or destination of the labyrinth.  I took time there to relax, to savor as well the new perspective of the lawn, trees, that great oval bush, even the near-by Gothic building that stood hard by the labyrinth.
 
The return journey, exiting along a new, but parallel path of pavers, required the same concentration as the entry. Upon completing the labyrinth walk there was that double satisfaction of having gone both into (up) and out of (down) the circular trek which did not take me in circles, but led me both on an inbound (internal) and an outbound (external) pilgrimage-like journey.  
 
Like the mountain climbers, I felt a sense both of exhilaration and of repose at my safe return. I think my children enjoyed their experience as well.”
 
4/17/2008
from a guest who sings in the Duke University Chapel Choir
 
Duke University’s Chapel has a labyrinth they put down in the Chapel once a year – usually during April.  You can walk the labyrinth in the chapel from 8am-5pm, but only on that day.  To find out when the next labyrinth walk takes place you may go to the Duke Chapel web site and put your name on the list serve or you can call the Duke University Chapel Coordinator at 919-684-8111.
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