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Clubhouse Connect
Inside this issue:
BPSR Escondido Clubhouse
Clubhouse Connect BPSR Escondido Clubhouse
August 2020
BPSR Escondido Clubhouse
474 Vermont Ave
Suite 105 Escondido, CA 92026
(760) 737-7125
https://www.mhsinc.org/listing/bpsr-escondido-clubhouse-2/
Inside this Issue
News ............................... 1
The New Normal ............ 2
Recovery Tool Time ....... 3
Spotlights ........................ 4
Meditation...................... 6
In the Garden ................ 8
Art & Poetry .................... 10
Positive Vibes ................. 14
Puzzles & Jokes .............. 15
Events & Resources ....... 16
Joshua Roberts, IHOT North Peer Support and MC Extraordinaire!
by Terra J I had the
delightful op-portunity to interview Joshua Rob-erts in June shortly after he MC’d the Open Mic Talent Show via Microsoft Teams. Many of us attended and were so impressed with Josh’s enthusiastic, yet somehow relaxed style of hosting--we wanted to learn more.
It was a beautiful summer day in
San Diego, via Zoom. I came prepared with questions from our newsletter staff. I started off the interview asking about his current role as Peer Support Specialist at IHOT North and what it stands for. Josh explained in his charming South African accent, “It stands for In-Home Outreach Team of North San Diego County, which is a synergy between three different pro-grams--MHS (Mental Health Sys-tems), UPAC (Union of Pan Asian Communities) and NAMI (National Alliance of Mental Illness).
Terra: What does IHOT North do?
Josh: We serve, so called “treatment-resistant” people who have tried conventional out-patient treatment and they don’t dig it, or they haven’t been able to follow through with it. So people with diag-noses such as schizophrenia, bi-polar, schizo-affective, and ma-jor-depressive dis-orders, we meet them wherever
they’re at, which is so beautiful and leaves room for so much spontaneity and creativity. We can meet them in the psychiatric hospitals, in the jails, on the streets, in their own homes and really, we come alongside them to connect them to their own goals.
We believe at IHOT in holistic thriv-ing and that people are bio-psycho-social and spiritual beings. Thriving involves enriching each one of these areas. Often times it will involve con-ventional treatment once they’ve learned to advocate for themselves. It’s kind of like a little speed boat that cruises around and picks up people who might be drowning, takes them to
Photo by Joshua Roberts
Continued on page 12
2 Escondido Clubhouse Clubhouse Connect
The Newsroom:
Editorial:
Carmen D, Chris L,
Cindy T, Sunshine K,
Terra J
Layout:
Cindy T
Writing:
Carmen D, Cindy T,
Dan K, Chris L,
David S S, Jill R,
Terra J, Ysmael T
Photography:
Bernard C, Dan K,
Shannon K, Terra J
Distribution:
Chris L, Lileigh W,
Advisor:
Jill R
August 2020
THE NEW NORMAL
We were well into Covid 19, probably two or three months and eve-rything other than essen-tial businesses were shut down. At that time, res-taurants, libraries, schools and churches were all closed in fear of spreading the virus. The street that I live on was void of cars and people. The whole place looked like a ghost town. There wasn’t a soul to be found anywhere. It had been several months since I had received a haircut even before the pandemic and now my hair was of-ficially shaggy and out of control. My mop needed cutting and my beard thinning. Unfortunately, all the barber shops were closed as haircuts and styling were not an es-sential necessity. I was growing desperate. My bangs were in my eyes and the hair on the sides of my head was long and unkempt. It stuck out like the hair of Bozo the Clown and I felt abso-
lutely embarrassed by the comical similarities.
Now, I’ve got lots of friends and I was com-plaining to one of them of the situation regarding my locks. She told me, under her breath, that she had a friend who had a friend who could give me a haircut. I was desper-ate. I needed a clip right away. I would have given anything for even a mili-tary cut. She had a source and, although I knew it was illegal, I asked her to take me there. We en-tered a seedy part of town and I felt uneasy right away. My friend parked the car under the shade of an overgrown tree then gave me directions. “Go over to the third door on the west side of the street and knock like this: Tap, bang, bang, bang, tap” she said. She did not vol-unteer to go with me.
My craving for a buzz was unbelievable. It had been so long since I’d been able to have it clean shaven and I’d have giv-en anything for even a little off the top and sides. My hands were shaky and I was drenched in sweat as I approached the third door. I needed it bad, really bad.
Tap, bang, bang, bang, tap. I rapped on the door feverishly. There was a long pause then the door opened slightly. “Yeah, what do you want?” asked a voice without a
face. “I need a haircut” I
mumbled into the other side of the door. “Who sent you?” the hidden voice asked. I told him the name of my friend and he told me to come inside, quickly. “I don’t want the cops to know what’s going on in here” he said. I entered the room and was suddenly surrounded by lights and music. Everything was festive, jovial and fun. There were half a dozen males from the ages of 42 to 75 sitting on folding seats and one middle aged man sitting on a barber chair in the center of the chamber. I sat down at an empty stool and began to feel my blood pumping in my veins. It was scary and totally taboo but I needed it bad. So, I waited for my turn to get it fixed. Turns out the older men were just hanging out to socialize so I was the next up. I sat in the arm-chair and waited. The barber knew exactly what I needed and started in right away. Within 20 minutes, my hair was cut to a length I could live with. I stopped quivering and shuddering and looked at the shavings around me. Just having a cut was satisfaction enough. I felt like I’d lost five pounds of hair and
A Bit Off, Here and There By Dan K
Photo by Dan K
Continued on page 11
Escondido Clubhouse Clubhouse Connect 3 August 2020
RECOVERY TOOL TIME
The Art of Affirmations: Writing “I am” Statements That You Can Believe In!
By Terra J Affirmations are a
wonderful recovery tool. I’ve been aware of them for a long time--ever since I read Louise Hay’s book, You Can Heal Your Life, back in the ’80s (first published in 1976.) Before Louise Hay, there was Norman Vincent Peale’s, The Power of Positive Thinking, which my mother read, and before that Ernest Holmes’, The Science of Mind, back in 1926, which my grandmother read. All part of the “New Thought” movement. Even Dr. Abraham Low, founder of Recovery In-ternational, said to have coined the term, “Self Help,” was also a proponent of positive self-statements to produce positive thoughts, resulting in positive behavior and outcomes--i.e. Affirmations.
I’ve used affirmations through-out my life, writing them on 3x5 cards or sticky notes and putting them on my mirror--with mixed results. The prob-lem was, sometimes I couldn’t quite believe them. If I af-firmed something like, “I am rich and successful!” I would look at my checking account balance and see that, that was not quite the case. What I’ve come to know recently, is that writing affirmations that you can believe in, is a bit of an art form. It can be part of a daily mental health recovery/spiritual practice. Here are a
few tools I’ve found very use-ful.
Bridge Statements
There are some fears that may come up when using affir-mations--such as financial fears. Many of us have dealt with, or are still dealing with, unemployment, homelessness and other financial trauma that’s very real. One way to make an affirmation more be-lievable when one has fears is to use a “bridge” statement. “I am rich and successful,” be-comes something like, “I am moving towards financial secu-rity, taking action and seeking assistance. Every step that moves me toward this goal, no matter how small is a suc-cess!”
Redefining
The terms “rich” and “successful,” can be defined in different ways which I didn’t learn until later in life (after
many failed attempts of employment dealing with mental health chal-lenges.) I had certain fixed ideas about what rich and successful looked like--i.e. money, things, titles, status… Now I define rich as enjoying a life full of diverse and meaningful experiences, and suc-cess as accomplishing things to the best of my ability or having uplift-ed, encouraged and sup-ported someone else in their recovery journey.
There are probably a hundred other ways to define these terms. The beauty is, you get to decide!
Reframing and Realistic Statements
Sometimes using a more realistic statement can counter-act feeling the opposite. When I was pretty sick with chronic pain, fatigue, anxiety and de-pression, saying “I am healthy,” just didn’t ring true. However, when I put it in per-spective, using a scale to rate my level of health-- “0” being dead or at least paralyzed in an iron lung, going all the way up to “100,” being a perfectly healthy new-born baby-- I could rate my health pretty high. Suddenly saying, “I am healthy,” is much more true. Or I could say it more realistically, “I am 75%
Continued on page 11
Affirmation by Louise Hay, photo by Terra J
4 Escondido Clubhouse Clubhouse Connect
Member Spotlight: Bernard C by Carmen D
Carmen: Who is Ber-nard C?
Bernard: I am a quiet person who has a degree in Accounting from San Diego State University. I work from 6am to 9 am five days a week. I have been a clubhouse mem-ber for 10 to 13 years. I see myself as a work in progress.
Carmen: Where are you from?
Bernard: I'm from Poway and I've lived there most of my life.
Carmen: What do you
like doing in your spare time?
Bernard: I like to exer-cise, play guitar, listen to jazz concerts on YouTube, and sometimes draw. Sometimes I watch jazz concerts for one to two hours but it may turn into four.
Carmen: Who are your favorite jazz players?
Bernard: Pat Metheny, George Benson, and Miles Davis. However, I also listen to rock too such as Peyer Frampton and Steely Dan.
He had a birthday in August .
SPOTLIGHTS
August 2020
Photo by Bernard C
Sir Bentley Esquire By Shannon K
Sir Bentley Esquire is a 9 years old and half Maine Coon & Norwegian Forest breed of cat. His birthday is Au-gust 5, 2011. I was lucky enough to have him when he was 2 years old. A friend of mine moved into an apartment where the previous own had left him behind. He was the first animal I ever brought home. He is the sweetest and friendliest cat I know.
He is an outdoor and indoor cat that is the best companion I could have asked for. I cur-rently had to give him to his godfather in Sweetwater, Texas, due to my current living situa-tion. I am hopeful he and I will be reunited again and I know he is in the best of care. Thank you all for let-ting me share this beautiful friend of mine.
Photo by Shannon K
Escondido Clubhouse Clubhouse Connect 5
SPOTLIGHT
August 2020
Chris: Who are you? Tell me about yourself. Jill: My name is Jill. I was born in Chicago, IL. As I grew up I lived close to Chicago for 25 years. I went to Oberlin College in Ohio. I also worked in Chicago. My jobs were Sun-day school teacher, research assistant, customer service associate at Circuit City, and teachers’ aid in Chicago. I also wrote greeting cards for American Greetings and some of them got published! I did an internship at The Wednesday Journal, a local newspaper. I was a bartender at a Shakespear-ean theater and I owned my own business online selling greeting cards and vintage stuff on Etsy. I became a peer support specialist for RI International six months after I moved to California. Like many of us, I was also on dis-ability for many years when I couldn’t work full time. Chris: What is the best thing you like about working at the clubhouse? Jill: I love the members, I love crafty stuff, creativity, and I love to build on ideas with the members. Chris: Why did you choose to work at the clubhouse?
Jill: I love the clubhouse. I love social wellness and think it’s re-ally important for mental health. I wish I’d had the clubhouse to help me build my so-cial skills again as I was building up my wellness and mental health. It’s like I had to explain myself every-where, but not at the clubhouse. I’m an extrovert: I get energy from being around people. I think the clubhouse mission is ex-
tremely important. Chris: Where do you see yourself in five years? Jill: If not the clubhouse then working some-where similar, using my skills to help other programs build up in new and creative ways. Chris: What’s your favorite food? Jill: Steak, or chicken tikka masala, anything that’s Indian food. Chris: How long have you had your dogs? Jill: Mona and Tilda will be Pets of the Month in September, see their article for their information.
Getting to Know the Creative Clubhouse Coordinator Jill R
by Chris L
Photo by Jill R
6 Escondido Clubhouse Clubhouse Connect
MEDITATION
August 2020
What is Mindfulness Meditation? by Sunshine K
“The awareness that arises from paying attention, on pur-pose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally” is the definition of mindfulness med-itation according to Mindful-ness Based Stress Reduction founder Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn in his October 22, 2017 interview with The Guardian magazine. The article goes on to say, “By focusing on the breath, the idea is to cultivate attention on the body and mind as it is mo-ment to moment, and so help with pain, both physical and emotional.” I found a beautiful gem dur-ing a Mindfulness Meditation class offered at Kaiser Perma-nente in Vista, and I wanted to share it with you. It might be one more tool you can add to your “self-care toolbox.” It’s called “The Lake Meditation,” by Kabat-Zinn. You can also watch the video in the link be-low with Kabat-Zinn's sooth-ing voice leading the medita-tion. I also typed the medita-tion below so you can take it
in, in your own way and in your own timing, pro-cessing, relishing, and sitting in the beautiful imagery that Kabat-Zinn uses, which is tru-ly poetic. I love to float in the water. I feel held, almost as if
I'm in the womb. I feel stillness, peace, spaciousness and divine love. Two years ago I started doing EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) trauma ther-apy, and my therapist and I came up with a “keyword” that would immediately take me to my happy place. "Serenity" is my keyword, and when I say it in my mind I immediately go to a large secluded island with a long strip of soft white sand, lush palm trees, the bright sun shining, and a beautiful tur-quoise crystal clear ocean that's waiting just for me. I am “mindful” of everything around me. When I swim, play and float in my secluded part of the ocean, I know that I am safe and I am free. I have gone to this happy place numerous times during my recovery to quiet my mind and find stillness and peace.
The Lake Meditation re-minds me of my happy place at my private se-
cluded ocean, and it has the same effect on me in that it quiets my mind. The part of this meditation that pops out at me the most is the second to last paragraph. It reminds me that, no matter what large storm-churning traumatic events and losses or small rip-ple- and wave-causing daily stressors may be happening “on the surface of the water” and in my life, which could be a traumatic event or loss, caus-ing a large storm churning up the water, or daily stressors causing small ripples and waves, I can always remember to "identify not only with the surface but with the entire body of the water, so that I become the stillness below the surface as well." It could be the deepest part of a lake or the deepest part of the ocean, and no matter what is happen-ing “on top” in my life, I can always find peace and calm deep down below. That calm-ness is where I yearn to be.
Photo by Tina Nord
Photo by James Wheeler
Escondido Clubhouse Clubhouse Connect 7
MEDITATION
August 2020
Lake Meditation by John Kabat-Zinn
Some people find the im-age of a lake particularly helpful. Because a lake is an expanse of water, the image lends itself to the lying down posture, although it can be practiced sitting up as well. We know that the water prin-ciple is every bit as elemental as rock. Water also has the enchanting quality of recep-tivity. It parts to allow any-thing in, then resumes itself. If you hit a mountain or a rock with a hammer, in spite of its hardness, or actually because of it, the rock chips, fragments, breaks apart. But if you hit the ocean or a pond with a hammer, all you get is a rusty hammer. A key virtue of water power reveals itself in this.
To practice using the lake image in your meditation, pic-ture in your mind's eye, a lake, a body of water, held in a receptive basin by the earth itself. Note in the mind's eye and in your own heart that water likes to pull in low places. It seeks its own level, asks to be contained. The lake you invoke maybe deep or shallow, blue or green, mud-dy or clear. With no wind, the surface of the lake is flat. Mirror-like, it reflects trees, rocks, sky, and clouds; holds everything in itself momen-tarily. Wind stirs up waves on the lake, from ripples to chop-py. Clear reflections disap-pear. But sunlight may still sparkle in the ripples and dance on the waves in a play of shimmering diamonds.
When night comes, it's the moon's turn to dance on the lake, or if the surface is still, to be reflected in it along with the outline of trees and shad-ows. In Winter, the lake may freeze over, yet team with movement and life below.
When you have estab-
lished a picture of the lake in your mind's eye, allow your-self to become one with the lake as you lie down on your back or sit in meditation, so that your energies are held by your awareness and by your openness and compassion for yourself in the same way as the lake's waters are held by the receptive and accepting basin of the earth herself. Breathe with the lake image, moment by moment, feeling its body as your body. Allow your mind and your heart to be open and receptive, to re-flect whatever comes near. Experience the moments of complete stillness when both reflection and water are com-pletely clear, and other mo-ments when the surface is dis-turbed, choppy, stirred up; reflections and depth lost for time. Through it all, as you dwell in meditation, simply noting the play of the various energies in your own mind and heart, the fleeting thoughts and feelings, impuls-es and reactions which come and go as ripples and waves, noting their effects just as you observe the various changing energies at play on the lake; the wind, the waves, the light
and shadow and reflections; the colors, the smells.
Do your thoughts and feel-ings disturb the surface? Is that okay with you? Can you see a rippled or wavy surface as an intimate, essential as-pect of being a lake, of having a surface? Can you identify not only with the surface but with the entire body of the water, so that you become the stillness below the surface as well, which, at most, experi-ences only gentle undulations, even when the surface is whipped to frothing?
In the same way, in your meditation practice and in your daily life, can you iden-tify not only with the content of your thoughts and feelings but also with the vast unwa-vering reservoir of awareness itself residing below the sur-face of the mind? In the lake meditation, we sit with the intention to hold in awareness and acceptance all the quali-ties of mind and body; just as the lake sits held, cradled, contained by the earth, re-flecting sun, moon, stars, trees, rocks, clouds, sky, birds, light, caressed by the air and wind, which bring out and highlight its sparkle, its vitality, its essence.
-Jon Kabat-Zinn, “Wherever You Go There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life”
8 Escondido Clubhouse Clubhouse Connect
GARDEN
August 2020
My neighbor and I share a courtyard where she grows lots of plants and flowers. Just be-cause it's summer doesn't mean there is nothing blooming in the garden.took several days for the closed flower to grow then open I had been anticipating it for three days. On July 26th, the cactus flower finally opened. It was the size of my hand.a plant with multiple flower buds that took a week to flower. Every morning and every night she and I would look to see if they were open. The flower buds grew bigger and bigger by the day. One day the buds were so close to opening that I knew they would open that night. I was anticipating them opening at dusk. At dusk, I was ready with my camera as I wasn't going to miss the unveiling of these beautiful flowers. As I saw they were open I took a deep breath in and enjoyed the fact that the moment had finally come. Two epiphyllum flowers opened the first night and four flowers opened the second night.Night because they only flower once and only at night.
The next day, the glorious hibiscuses started flowering, first a yellow one then a white one and then a pink one.
So, you see, you can enjoy your garden even in the summer. Happy gardening.
Cactus Flowers
Hibiscus
Escondido Clubhouse Clubhouse Connect 9
GARDEN
August 2020
Queen of the Night By Carmen D
My neighbor and I share a courtyard where she grows lots of plants and flowers. Just be-cause it's summer doesn't mean there is nothing blooming in the garden. She had a cactus that took several days for the closed flower to grow then open I had been anticipating it for three days. On July 26th, the cactus flower finally opened. It was the size of my hand. She also had a plant with multiple flower buds that took a week to flower. Every morning and every night she and I would look to see if they were open. The flower buds grew bigger and bigger by the day. One day the buds were so close to opening that I knew they would open that night. I was anticipating them opening at dusk. At dusk, I was ready with my camera as I wasn't going to miss the unveiling of these beautiful flowers. As I saw they were open I took a deep breath in and enjoyed the fact that the moment had finally come. Two epiphyllum flowers opened the first night and four flowers opened the second night. The flowers are called Queen of the Night because they only flower once and only at night.
The next day, the glorious hibiscuses started flowering, first a yellow one then a white one and then a pink one.
So, you see, you can enjoy your garden even in the summer. Happy gardening.
Hibiscus
Queen of the Night
Hibiscus
10 Escondido Clubhouse Clubhouse Connect
ART & POETRY
August 2020
Mariposa 4 by Dan K
I Like to Play
Searching for an answer to something
not quite sure what I may find
anything is better than nothing
otherwise it's a waste of time
Don't ask why I get by
I like to play everyday it's the same thing
there's nothing to say trip away
There's nothing more I'm not sure
what it is I'm trying to say
I like to play
Something going on over there
What's the difference I don't really care
It doesn't matter to me trying to see
Looking at things in a different way
What can I say
Do what you want to do
Say what you want to say
Live how you want to live
Play how you want to play
Looking at the world through these different eyes
Living this moment feeling time pass me by
I'm wondering what is this life
This time I might find the answer
I like to play everyday its the same thing
there's nothing to say trip away
There's nothing more I'm not sure
what it is I'm trying to say
I like to play
—David S S
The New Normal
The new normal what is it? Gone are the days of dining in
now it’s take out drive thru or delivery. Today you have to wear mask in public or you can't go inside establishments.
So many laments. As you go it's an injury to personal freedom.
Now you can't go into the store freely but have to wait in line at the drop of a dime
taking time. I feel the changing rhymes of the times.
It's surrealistic yet not mystic. The pandemic has changed the epic of the cycle.
Churches are closed as in opposed. Only bars ,restaurants and stores galore.
Not even schools or libraries open it's like I have lost a token.
Coronavirus Covid19 is our new reality of fear not so dear sweat a tear. Now You know it's everything
behind closed doors at home shocking . There are not many places for your faces.
—Ysmael T
Escondido Clubhouse Clubhouse Connect 11
August 2020
CONTINUED
healthy. Hey that’s pretty healthy!”
AfFORMations
If we find something partic-ularly perplexing, like devel-oping a new habit or accom-plishing a goal, we can use an AfFORMation, which is an affirmation in the form of a question. “I am organized,” becomes, “Why am I so orga-nized?” or “Why am I finding it easier to be orga-nized?” When we ask a ques-tion as if it is already true, our mind tries to find the an-swer. My mind is already an-swering this question with,”...because I put things in my calendar… I’ve created a place to put everything… I let go of things I no longer
use…” As you can see, these answers become an action plan.
The Ripple Effect
Which brings me to the real power of affirmations. Wheth-er you formally believe
in the Law of Attraction, as explained in the book, The Se-cret, by Rhonda Byrne, or not-- once we really believe in something positive and accept it to be true or possible, it cre-ates a positive ripple effect not only in our thinking, but in the way we feel about ourselves and that effects how we inter-act with others, which creates kind of a ripple effect in the world and I believe in the Uni-verse. What we give out we get back. So, when we think
abundance and positivity, we get more of that back in our lives--making our affirmations more true.
The Sounds of Recovery
Eventually, with practice we may start to notice a shift. Our inner-dialogue, we may be using fewer “I can’ts” or “shoulds” and more “I cans” and “coulds” Our outer dia-logue, we begin to use affirm-ing and positive language in our conversations--we trade the “always’” and “nevers” of being stuck in our old story, for “I used to… but now I…” We can start creating a new story full of possibilities and creativity.
The Art of Affirmations continued from page 3
was pleased even before he swung me around to look into the large mirror on the wall. It wasn’t a great clip, but it did what it was supposed to do. The cravings were gone and I no longer looked like a clown. My hair was short on the sides and tapered on top. Finally, I was able to breathe easier. I felt like a million bucks and, as he took off my apron, I gave him a quick couple of twenties. He took it, nodded and winked his eye at me. Then he quietly helped me to the door and I quickly exited,
after looking both ways for a police officer. I strolled back to my friend’s car and got in quickly. We made our geta-way clean, and drove out of the shadows back into the fearsome sunshine. Although the streets were still empty, I felt at ease. I’d stopped quak-ing, looked better and had re-ceived my dose. It was a whole two months before the barber shops were allowed to re-open officially. I knew that I would be okay because the job he did was done short and clean. I was ready to get my
hair styled by Abel, my usual barber when it was legit, but I never will forget the lengths I would go to to have a shave and haircut during the Covid pandemic. I won’t simply take for granted that I can get my hair trimmed whenever I want. Still, a man in need of a haircut will go to despairing measures to get what he de-sires in times of necessity and sometimes that means going outside the law to get a touch up, crew cut or simply a bit off here and there.
A Bit Off, Here and There continued from page 2
12 Escondido Clubhouse Clubhouse Connect
INTERVEIW
these bigger cruise-liner vessels, which send them in the direction of their ultimate destination--it’s a beautiful thing!
Terra: How did you become interested in work-ing as a peer support specialist?
Josh: My love for psychology started when I had my first experience of so-called psychosis. My real passion is the fusion of the spiritual and psy-chological domains. My first experience of psy-chosis, when I was twenty-two, is what awak-ened whole new layers to reality that fueled this emerging passion; that’s what got me interested in the peer field, and actually go on to study psy-chology. I also obtained my masters in theology. I saw that there is a spiritual domain, undiscov-ered aspects of non-ordinary states of conscious-ness, that I felt needed to be further explored. I thought, “Well, I want to work for the NAMI.”
I was in a depression at the time, when I got my first job MHS. That's one of the big things that lifted me out of that depression. It’s given me such meaning and purpose, and connected me to so many interesting people, which we saw at the open mic--and to you Terra, and the club-houses! It’s really much more than a job--it’s who I am, what I’m passionate about--what I live for!
Terra: I hear a book in there, fusing psychology, spirituality and your personal experience. I don’t know, maybe a documentary?
Josh: I love that! I’m totally down for that kind of stuff. I do think there’s going to be lots of op-portunities emerging. It’s just a cool time to be alive! People are questioning their assumptions, questioning the way things work, and science is starting to prove a lot of things that spirituality has been saying. People are more open to things like that. Within the mental health world there’s funding coming in from the government. San Di-ego County is sponsoring the intersection of spir-ituality and psychology. What a cool time to be at the forefront of the revolution!
Terra: How do you mean San Diego County is
funding the intersection of spirituality and psy-chology?
Josh: Through a number of different ways, actu-ally, For one, IHOT contractually is a wholeness and wellness bio-psycho-social-spiritual organi-zation, and one of the things in our contract is to offer a connection to a spiritual community to each of our participants, if they’re interested in that. There’s also the Whole Person Wellness Program, which is county funded. I’m also a member of the North County Faith Partnership Counsel, whose sole focus, is the intersection of spirituality and psychology. As a result, places like Interfaith have received funding from the county to do what are called, Faith-Based Mental Health Trainings. So what we do is train clini-cians and psychologist in the importance of faith and we train faith leaders in the importance of mental health and psychology. It’s been a really successful program that will continue--it’s a mul-ti-year contract. So it’s like the government is sponsoring spiritual stuff! What a beautiful place to live, I tell ya’!
Terra: Wow! I know, San Diego County has it goin’ on don’t we?!
Josh: Top notch!
Terra: I didn’t realize that, until I received ser-vices through the Clubhouse. I didn’t even know the clubhouse or anything like that existed for a long time. Being connected and talking to people who knew what I was going through made the difference for me.
Josh: I love how you put that. We’re a social species, and a lot of the time we’re disconnected even from our neighbors. Two therapy sessions a month if we’re lucky, is just not enough. It’s cool to connect to people who have been there. The clubhouses are a beautiful, beautiful thing. I’d love to have events there so the larger community knows about the clubhouses. I didn’t know that this whole field existed either until I happened to stumble into it.
Joshua Roberts Continued from page 1
Escondido Clubhouse Clubhouse Connect 13
INTERVEIW
Terra: I stumbled into it too! I’m looking for-ward to what’s coming next! I couldn’t say that a little more than a year ago. I wasn’t looking forward to anything.
Josh: I can relate to that. Oh my word, it’s the worst feeling in my life! Not having that hope, it’s so draining. Not having that thing to look forward to, not having that vision--well as Vic-tor Frankle said, a person “dies without a vi-sion.” So having that gives you life!--gives you energy and purpose.
Terra: How did you get so good at the Master of Ceremony at events like the Open Mic Talent Show? How did that event come about?
Josh: It was good to have you there and what a cool question. It was a lot of prep-work from all of the clubhouses, IHOT and a lot of players pulled together to make it happen. There’s also a flow that kicks in that day--just something larger that kind of works through us all so I wouldn’t take credit for that.
I was into this technology even before covid. I started a little gathering-slash-movement called Asland’s Rainbow. We gather on the Saturday closest to the full moon and bring a big-screen TV to the beach and live-stream people, like my buddies from England and South Africa, so that we could all connect beyond space and time. I’m pretty tech savvy, but more than that, I’m just curious. That’s what gave me the basic grasp of it. All the prep-work and creativity peo-ple put into it made it such a successful event.
Terra: I thought it was a talent show but then once I understood it was an open-mic--that it was about people having their 5 minutes to ex-press whatever they wanted in a safe space--I opened up to it.
Josh: We had a discussion about that, should we call it an open-mic then people who wanted to show visual art were excluded. If we call it a talent show, then you kind of need to have talent and that might put people off, thinking, “Well, I’m not talented.” So what we did on the fly is say Open-mic/Talent Show to say, “You have that 5 minutes, you do whatever you want--ramble, express your heart, show your art, your
talents, whatever!” I thought that it worked real-ly well and there are really important conversa-tions that need to be had, and not the public space for it to happen. It was a safe space for people who had all kinds of experiences, who had “been there”. Some movers and shakers in the field were there, able to hear these kinds of perspectives. That’s really, really valuable.
Terra: We noticed your accent, you’re from South Africa, how long have you lived here in the US?
Josh: South Africa, born and raised! After graduating high school I traveled the world for 10 years. I lived and worked in many different countries, so i didn’t come to America right away when I discovered California, I was like, Oh yes! I cruised around a bit more, went to Costa Rica with my brother and then decided to settle here permanently in 2011. That was 9 years ago, I met my wife that very first year--that definitely changed my life! And I really do think it’s the best place on the planet--tied with Cape Town, South Africa--San Diego is where it’s at!
Terra: So what was South Africa like growing up?
Josh: Magnificent! Yeah, Cape Town, where I’m from is absolutely stunning. It actually won an award a couple years ago for being the most beautiful place. It was a fascinating and very rich experience. South Africa is called the Rain-bow Nation, there are 11 official languages. It’s this melting pot of tribal deep-spirituality, com-bined with the European influence from the Dutch. It’s sort of like psychology and spiritual-ity, and as we’ve seen, when exploring terrain like psychology and spirituality--it can be a mess! And there was a mess!
I was there when apartied got dissolved. Apartied is government sanctioned separation between black people and white people. It was dissolved in 1994, with Nelson Mandela. I was 10 years old, I remember that day, and since then, we’ve had some morning sickness. Some-thing has given birth--It’s beautiful and it’s messy! It’s a metamor- Continued on page 14
14 Escondido Clubhouse Clubhouse Connect
phosis. That's what I think mental health is. I think it’s going to be a couple of decades until South Africa sorts itself out. There’s a lot of gen-erational pain and injustice that needs to still work it’s way out--but growing up there was magical!
The interview delightfully went on but I can’t seem to locate the recorded video file to finish transcribing so I will summarize: Yes, there are a lot of sharks off the coast of South Africa. He was 20 meters from another surfer who was at-
tacked and had to calmly swim away. He’s mar-ried and has two lovely daughters who love watching Frozen
To learn more about Joshua Roberts, includ-
ing his work with NAMI as an “In Our Own Voice” speaker, check out his website and social media pages! Website: AzlanzRainbow.com All Social Media: Azlanz Rainbow Email: [email protected] Office Line at MHS IHOT North: (760)206-7924
Joshua Roberts continued from page 13
POSITIVE VIBES
Positive Vibes
“Choose happiness.” —Kathy S
“I miss everyone at the clubhouse and the groups”
—Chris L
“Lulu, congrats on your new job!” —Terra J
“I am an achiever.” —Yvonne G
“Keep on keeping on no matter what happens.”
—Meghan M
“Don’t forget to keep coloring”
—Monique F
Escondido Clubhouse Clubhouse Connect 15
Sudoku!
3 4 8 1 9 7
9 6 3 2
9 6 3
9 2 7 6
8 7 4
5 6 4 8 9
6 7 3
8 1 7 3 6
2 1
Medieval Word Search by Cindy T
S W O R D N F Q T
C K E N G H I C S
R Q S I W A Z I E
U U T L A M F G R
H I I R I L R A O
T L N E N E A M F
T E R L Y M E S N
X C A L I B U E R
O B S S O R C W Z
SWORD DESTINY MAGIC CROSSBOW EXCALIBUR ARTHUR CHICKEN MERLIN GWAINE FOREST HAMLET MEN QUILL MEAT
“Where do you find dragon milk? On a short-legged cow!!!” — Author unknown
“What do you call a
bashful goldfish? Koi!!!”—by Dan K
“How did the barber
afford his vacation home? With every haircut, he took a little off the top!!!”
—by Matt D
Jokes
JOKES & PUZZLES
From GammaLateral Mega Bundle Sudoku App
Escondido Clubhouse Clubhouse Connect 16
EVENTS & RESOURCES
Distance Groups
*Full calendar available at
https://www.mhsinc.org/listing/August 2020
DAILY
8:30 am Coffee and Chat
10am Community Meeting (Escondido)
1pm Community Meeting (Mariposa)
MONDAY
11am Gratitude (Mariposa)
12pm Life Skills (Escondido)
2pm Mindfulness Monday
2:30pm Shoot for Success( Mariposa)
TUESDAY
9am Cooking Tips & Tricks (Mariposa)
11pm Women’s Group (Escondido)
12pm Social Skills (Escondido)
2pmEmployment Talk
2:30pm Self Esteem (Mariposa)
WEDNESDAY
9am Dual Recovery Anonymous (Mariposa)
11am Thrive Living Grace (Mariposa)
12pm Men’s Group (Escondido)
2pm Wellness Planning (Escondido)
THURSDAY
9am Positive Vibes (Mariposa)
11am Smoking Cessation (Mariposa)
12pm Newsletter (Escondido)
2pm Recovery International (Escondido)
FRIDAY
9am Anger Management (Mariposa)
11pm Power of Positivity (Escondido)
12pm Bookworms (Escondido)
12:30pm newsletter Distribution (Escondido)
2pm Impact the Outcome (Escondido)
2:30pm What’s Your View (Mariposa)
Please call the clubhouse for call in information
Escondido:(760) 737-7125
Mariposa:(760) 439-2785
All groups are open to members of both
Escondido and Mariposa Clubhouses
For more information or to submit articles email:
WANT TO SEE YOUR NAME IN PRINT?
Come to newsletter on Thursdays at noon
or Fridays at 8:30am and 12:30pm
https://www.glassdoor.com Glassdoor has several resources available, one that may be the most useful is the salary comparisons that makes negotiation of your salary or a raise easier. https://www.nerdwallet.com/ Nerdwallet is a website with articles, tools and a debt cal-culator to help you can gain financial inde-pendence.
www.kahnacademy.org Has classes for children and adults. It’s easy to watch videos help you tackle even the most difficult sub-jects. From science, to arts and humanities, economics, to computer programming Kahn Academy has tons of classes and it’s all free. https://www.mint.com/ Mint is an app by Intuit (the makers of QuickBooks) for money management. it has easy to use budgeting system with charts to show you where your money goes. it’s completely free.
Helpful Links By Cindy T
