Gratitude (and a funny syncronicity)

Mana Youngbear and her cast, Oakland, California 2002

"What the audience saw when a dancer looked through the eyes of the mask was the Goddess Herself, an ancient and yet utterly contemporary presence, looking across time, across the miles."
Diane Darling, Director, Writer, Ritualist

The Auction is over, actually, it ended precisely at 12:00 on Sunday Night, January 27th, 2008, closing a two month auction. Most of the masks are sold and go to new homes. The proceeds will benefit me, as I pursue my "Spider Woman" project in the years to come, and Conrad and Elizabeth of the Independent Eye as they develop their new edition of "The Descent of Inanna" (It will be in production in May).

One of the enormous blessings is also that Lena, who lives in Oregon, bought a fair collection of them, and will continue working with them as a collection. I feel enormously relieved, and also very grateful for all the wonderful letters and comments I've received from people who have written to me in the course of this process. There have been times that I have felt I "failed" because I couldn't keep the project going, nor could dancer Mana Youngbear, who recently closed her center in Willits, California, where the masks as a full collection were last housed. (That doesn't mean, of course, that I won't continue to work with women to create masks, and to explore the Goddesses within).

The Circulation of the the Masks of the Goddess was a collective project that lasted 7 years. Thank to the many who participated - all brought the Goddess home, made the stories of the Goddesses incarnate.

Thank you:

Macha Nightmare, Mana Youngbear, Serene Zloof, Ann Bridgit Weller, Diane Darling, Barbara Jaspersen, Shelly McHugh "Valley High", David Jeffers & Benad Hasche, Monika Mann, Kelly Nelson, Flynt Garner, Silk, Duncan Cook, Evelie Posche, Lilla Luoma, Will Clipman, Jeff Grienke, Isobel Amourous, Kathy Huataluhta, Ileya Stewart, Morgana Canady, Valerie James, Quynn Elizabeth, Katherine Josten, Erica Swadley, Grey Eagle, Ann Huggins, Celestine Star, Kala, Eleni, Abby Willowroot and the Goddess 2000 Project, Alan Moore, Drissana Devananda, Elizabeth Fuller, Conrad Bishop, Ann Beam, Paloma Hill, Jim Hewes, Arjuna & Tuva Space, Jo Odessa & Buka Creati, Deborah Scott Gren, Mary Kay Landon, Tami, Amadae, Jim Lovette-Black, Sabina Magliocco, July Lewis, Juan Pablo, Farida Fox, Tara Webster, Stacy kalkowski, Lee Hendrickson, Adrienne Hirt, Barbara BBC (“White Buffalo Woman”), Amie Miller, Freya Anderson, Morgaine Harris, Laura Janesdaughter, Tansy Brooks, Willow Kelly, Dawn Marlowe, Damira Norris, Maria Wahlstrom, Fontain and Fontain's Muse, Kendra, Copper Persephone, Eleni Livitsanos, Jamra, Cypress, Cris Ferreira, Starhawk and RECLAIMING, Christy Salo, Melusina Gomez, Maritza Schaefer, Journey, Nada Khodlova, Stessa, Angela Blessing, Rachel Morgain, Catlin & Reggie Williams, Ingrid Aspomatis, Annie and Phil, Carlin Diamond, Alan & Audrey Smith, Lea Bender, The Veil and "Sophia Speaks", Sammi Alijagic, Paul Fisher, Toker Johnston, Linda Johnston, Motherbear Scott, The Muse Community Arts Center, Ashley Wallace, Melissa Penn, Laura Dubois, Dorit Bat Shalom, Jeanne Koelle, Karina McAbee, Navaab Munirith, Charlie Adams, Sharon Kihara, Nettie, Corinne Levy, Judy Foster, Dina, Amanda Allison, Wendy Cornelius, Copper, Kendra Stone, Jamra , Bombshell Betty, Heaven, Ariel, Shanel, Carrie Adams, Kim Arnold, Nadirah Adeye, Thallia Bird, April Taylor, Donna Peck, Dailey Little, Rhonda, Marisa Scirocco, Jonette Ford, Lyndzee Dava, Aielen, Carolyn Lucento …………and many more.

And I have to share this final syncronicity........Divine Providence, in my experience, has one heck of a sense of humor. So, it's 5 minutes or so before 12:00, and I'm about ready to close the bidding. And I received an email from Dina, a friend of mine who occasionally forwards inspirational emails to people on her list. The title of the email: "LET IT GO!!!"

I swear, I'm not lying. I copy below the email .........note the time it was received. Just to make sure that Dina didn't do it on purpose, I wrote to her a day later. Her response:

Hey Sista Goddess,
Nope, I didn't have a clue, I did know that you were selling them, I got the e-mail months ago. Just divine time'n. Sometimes, well, rather alot of the time, I do or send things without knowing why. Sometimes I find out after the fact, sometimes not. Love to you,Dina--

So this is the advice that Dina and Syncronicity sent me at exactly 11:54 on January 27th as I closed my 7 year Masks of the Goddess Project.

In a message dated 1/27/2008 11:54:12 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, devastar1@juno.com writes:
---------- Forwarded Message ----------

Let it Go

Acquire the gift of good-bye.It's the tenth spiritual gift,
Believe in good-bye. It's not hateful; it's being faithful, trusting in the flow of life.

If you are holding on to something that doesn't belong to you anymore;
Then you need to ..LET IT GO!!!
If you are holding on to past hurts and pains ... LET IT GO!!!
If someone doesn’t treat you right, love you back, see your worth...LET IT GO!!!
If you are holding on to some negative thoughts and revenge .. LET IT GO!!!
If you are holding on to a job that no longer meets your needs or talents . LET IT GO!!!
If you keep judging others to make yourself feel better... LET IT GO!!!
If you are judging yourself…LET IT GO!!!
If you're stuck in the past and Divinity is trying to take you to a new level... LET IT GO!!!
If you are struggling with the healing of a broken relationship.... LET IT GO!!!
If you keep trying to help someone who won't even try to help themselves..LET IT GO!!!
If you're feeling depressed and stressed .. LET IT GO!!!
If there is a particular situation that you are so used to handlingyourself and Divinity is saying ‘surrender it,' then you need to... LET IT GO!!!
Let the past be the past. Divinity is doing a new thing for 2008 !!!

LET IT GO!!!Take a moment to appreciate the divine power in your life.
Divinity loves you and will guide you;
Surrender whatever it is, Get Quiet, Ask for Guidance, Listen with you heart, Trust the process,
Surrender the outcome, Take the Next Step.