Whether or not you have children yourself, you are a parent
to the next generation. If we can only stop thinking of children
as individual property and think of them as the next generation,
then we can realize we all have a role to play.

Sometimes we adopt certain beliefs when we're children and use them
automatically when we become adults, without ever checking them out
against reality. This brings to mind the story of the woman who always
cut off the end of the turkey when she put it in the oven. Her daughter
asked her why, and her mother responded, "I don't know. My mother
always did it." Then she went and asked her mother, who said, "I don't
know. My mother always did it." The she went and asked her
grandmother, who said, "The oven wasn't big enough."

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One of my fondest memories from childhood is of looking at a globe
with my father. "What's the biggest country?" he'd ask me and my
sister. We'd spin the globe around and guess. . . . The globe brought
me a sense of wonder and adventure. I wanted to go to those
other places and see how people did things differently. And, many
years later, when I did visit other countries, I took my father's interest
and fascination with me. When we plant the seeds of fascination
and respect for other people, we are teaching tolerance and peace.

My father once told me of a trick question he used in a college class on forest
fire control. If there was a fire coming from a certain direction and wind was
coming from another, what was the best thing to do? The right answer was,
"Run like hell and pray for rain," but few students ever got it. So allow yourself
the freedom of knowing there are times to bail out, quit, run,
leave the struggle, and have more time for joy.

The planet earth has a life span of eight billion years, give or take
a few million. People have been around for approximately forty thousand
years--a virtual blink in the cosmos. It is sad that we as a species are
ravaging the natural world so fast that we are jeopardizing our
survival. If we wipe ourselves out, it would be the height of
folly, but the earth will survive even us. It will eventually restore itself.
It might take a few thousand years, and it won't be just as it was before,
but its life is stronger than death.

from her site at charlottekasl.com:

Charlotte Sophia Kasl (who formerly published under the name Charlotte Davis Kasl) has an M.A. in Piano from The University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. in Counseling from Ohio University in 1982.  She was a Licensed Psychologist in Minnesota for 15 years and is currently a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor in Montana.  She is a Certified Addiction Specialist in the areas of chemical dependency and sexuality and has had a private psychotherapy practice for more than 30 years.  She is the author of nine books and numerous articles.

Dr. Kasl has conducted a wide variety of workshops on relationships, addiction, sexuality, spirituality, community, healing from incest and abuse, casting out internalized oppression, preventing burn out, quantum healing, empowerment, and finding joy, both in the United States and abroad. Her groundbreaking book Many Roads, One Journey: Moving Beyond the 12 Steps, published in 1992, introduced a 16-step empowerment approach for overcoming addiction that focuses on finding one’s voice, building confidence, taking action on one’s behalf, and understanding addiction in a cultural context. It has been used throughout the United States and Canada, as well as Europe, to assist in overcoming trauma, addiction, and depression.

In 1987, she was part of a task force funded by the Department of Human Services in Minnesota to create a model treatment program for chemically dependent women. She was on the advisory board of The Women’s Recovery Network, The Women’s Action Alliance for Alcohol and Drug Education, and invited twice by the National Center for Substance Abuse Prevention to participate in a synthesis conference to make recommendations on the needs of women. She has consulted with numerous treatment programs and served on several advisory boards, such as The Organization for Secular Sobriety, known as Save OurSelves (SOS).

Dr. Kasl is also a founding member of ATTACH, The Association for the Teaching and Training in the Attachment of Children. In 1997, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Council on Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity, (now knows as SASH Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health) for her work with women and sexuality. In 2000, If the Buddha Dated was one of five finalists for the National Books for Better Living Awards. In addition, she was listed in Self magazine as one of 50 “sage” psychologists in the United States.

In her psychotherapy therapy practice, Dr. Kasl takes an empowering approach by helping people address the core issues underlying depression, anxiety, addictions, and relationship difficulties. She works with numerous therapeutic approaches, such as ego state therapy, hypnosis, quantum psychology, EMDR, cognitive therapy, and emotionally focused therapy for couples. She is also an avid hiker, pianist, and has been a Reiki Master Healer since 1983.