Spring in the Superstition Mountains

A Rumi and Rilke Moment........

Georgia at White Sands (2015)

Sometimes a man stands up during supper
and walks outdoors,
and keeps on walking,
because of a church
that stands somewhere in the East.

And his children say blessings on him as if he were dead. 

And another man,
who remains inside his own house,
dies there,

inside the dishes and in the glasses,
so that his children
have to go far out into the world
toward that same church,
which he forgot.

Rainer Maria Rilke  (translated by Robert Bly)

Spring at White Sands (2015)

When grapes turn
to wine, they long for our ability to change.

When stars reel
around the North Pole,
they are longing for our growing consciousness.

Wine got drunk with us,
not the other way.
The body developed out of us, not we from it.

We are bees, and our body
is a honeycomb.
We made
the body, cell by cell, we made it.

Rumi (Translated by Robert Bly)

AN INCONVENIENT SEQUAL with Al Gore - Trailer and Preview

Nothing is more important than this.  Nothing.  Once again, I applaud former Vice President Al Gore, author of EARTH IN BALANCE, and collaborator of the film AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH (2006)    Gore is a true American hero, who has devoted so much of his life to waking people up to climate change and environmental destruction.   Please see the film share the film and don't let it stop there.  Literally, everything depends on it.


https://youtu.be/h1Etl9UjIxI

Quan Yin Sculpture...........

I've made a number of sculptures dedicated to Quan Yin *** and this is the most ambitious one in progress. Quan Yin, the manifestation of Divine Compassion throughout Chinese Buddhism, represents the Bodhissatva - the Great Being who "hears the cries of the world" and returns, again and again, to aid the suffering of the world.  She is often shown, like Tara of Tibet, with many arms, and has been called "thousand armed Quan Yin"....the arms being the many ways she can help and assist those in need.  

I don't know why I have felt the need to create so many Quan Yin images, exactly.  I have felt so much this past year the hardening of hearts, division, anger, and mean spiritedness in my country, and have become quite political with the rise the far right agenda and the election of Trump.  As above, so below - in the process I have seen a lot of anger and division coming out of me as well, not all of it manifesting in a good or wise way, and I do not feel in balance these days.  So making masks, making art about Quan Yin (and I am also making a painting about the Archangel Micheal), whether I realize it or not consciously, is an act of invocation.  For the world, but most especially for myself, the lack of compassion and understanding that I find in myself as well as in the world these days.  

As I love to tell my students, but don't always remember myself.........art making can be a great act of invocation, a great act of healing, an act of magic if you will.  When my model and I were working on the sculpture above, we both felt a kind of light in the room, a yellow, calm, serene light/sensation.  The Goddess was with us as we invoked Her through our creative process.  And it really doesn't matter if you even "believe" in the Goddess Quan Yin.   I'm not sure that "believing" is anywhere near as important as simply wanting help, wanting guidance, opening the heart.  I don't "believe" the Divine Ones care what we call them or what form we give them.  But making art can thus be an act for us of devotion and spiritual practice or transformation.  The art object, finished, becomes an icon, a talisman to remind us.  

I wanted to make a Quan Yin that, instead of the idealized and beautiful, but iconic, representations, looks like a real woman in the real world of today -  Bodhisattva walking among us, working among us, hearing and responding to the pain of the world, bringing healing and love.  And not a beautiful young woman either, idealized, but a woman in her middle years, reflecting the experience that comes with embodiment.  

And I had to throw in a photo of the gifts of my friend, my lemon tree.  Giant lemons!  I don't go Wassailing around the lemon and lime trees, but I do make a point of thanking the tree when I harvest the lemons around this time of year.  Perhaps I should Wassail too!  Certainly I am ever reminded of the generosity of the World, the friendship of the garden that so graciously gives us these gifts.

***

Kuan Shih Yin - Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva

The Bodhisattva of Great Compassion

The Sanskrit name "Avalokiteshvara" means "the lord who looks upon the world with compassion".  Translated into Chinese, the name is "Kuan Shih Yin"or Quan Yin.

Kuan: observe

Shih: the world / the region of sufferers

Yin: all the sounds of the world, in particular, the crying sounds of beings, verbal or mental, seeking help

Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva is the embodiment of great compassion. He has vowed to free all sentient beings from suffering. Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva is has great powers and can help all sentient beings. His skilful means are limitless and he can appear in any form in all the six realms of existence to relieve the suffering of the sentient beings who live there. He vowed to rescue those who call on him when they are in suffering, for example, when caught in a fire, shipwrecked or facing an attack.

In the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha said that if a suffering being hears the name of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva and earnestly calls out to the Bodhisattva, Avalokiteshvara will hear the call and relieve that being from his suffering.

According to the Huayen Sutra, Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva transforms himself into forms that suit the nature of those to be helped. His manifestations or transformation bodies are countless.  e.g. if a boy or girl is about to gain some enlightenment, Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva transforms himself into a boy or a girl to teach the child.

e.g. If a monk is about to attain some enlightenment, Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva transforms himself into a monk.

In short, he can appear as a monk, a nun, or a normal person like you and me. The purpose of such transformations is to make people feel close to him and willing to listen to his words.

In China, Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva is represented in female form and is known as Kuan Yin. Probably because of Kuan Yin's great compassion, a quality which is traditionally considered feminine, most of the Bodhisattva statues in China since the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618 - 907) have appeared as female figures. In India, however, the Bodhisattva is generally represented as a male figure.

In her hands, Kuan Yin may hold a willow branch, a vase with water or occasionally, a lotus flower.  The willow branch is used to heal people's illnesses or bring fulfillment to their requests.  The water ( the dew of compassion) has the quality of removing suffering, purifying the defilement of our body, speech and mind, and lengthening life.

In Buddhist art, Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva is sometimes shown with eleven heads, 1000 hands and eyes on the palms of each hand (Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva). The thousand eyes allow the Bodhisattva to see the sufferings of sentient beings, and the thousand hands allow her to reach out to help them.

Sometimes, he is represented with one head and 4 arms. This is the Four-Armed Avalokiteshvara, worshipped by all Tibetans as "Chenrezig", the Holder of the White Lotus. It is in the male form which has two hands in the praying gesture while the other two hands hold his symbols, the Crystal Rosary and the Lotus Flower.

There is a sacred place for the worship of Kuan Yin in China - the Putuo Mountain. It is actually an island located near the city of Ningpo, in Zhejiang Province. There are many stories of Kuan Yin's miraculous appearances at Putuo Mountain.

Actually, anyone can be like Kuan Yin. You may say that you don't have a thousand eyes or a thousand arms or that you lack skillful means, but it is your compassion that can transform you into a Kuan Yin. With your eyes and hands, you can help others. With your compassion, you can bring peace and tranquility to this world.

The Mani Mantra (The Mantra of Universal Protection) : OM MANI PADME HUM

from:  Buddhanet

 Kuan Yin  at Putuo Mountain

TOMORROW - a New Film by the Transition Network

“TOMORROW” CAN BE SEEN IN THEATERS IN APRIL TO COINCIDE WITH EARTH DAY CELEBRATIONS  Transition Network has been one of the leading inspiration of the narrative and the spirit of “TOMORROW”.   “TOMORROW” is an upbeat environmental documentary directed and narrated (in English) by actress Melanie Laurent (Inglorious Basterds) and activist Cyril Dion. Together, they traveled to 10 countries to visit Permaculture farms, urban agriculture projects, community-owned renewable initiatives. They introduce us to people making a difference in the fields of food, energy, finance, democracy, and education. See “TOMORROW” at these Theaters or set up a screening in your town or city: Northern California: San Francisco: Vogue Theater – April 14th to 20th – Q&A with Director Cyril Dion and Robert Reed on April 14th Sebastopol: Rialto – April 14th to 20th - Q&A with Director Cyril Dion and Robert Reed on April 15th Berkeley: Elmwood – April 14th to 20th - Q&A with Director Cyril Dion and Robert Reed on April 15th Southern California:  Los Angeles: Fine Arts – April 18th – Evening event with fundraising opportunity - Q&A with Director Cyril Dion Los Angeles: Laemmle’s Music Hall – April 20th to 21st – Q&A with Director Cyril on April 21st Pasadena: Laemmle’s Pasadena Playhouse – April 22nd to 23rd Claremont: Laemmle’s Claremont – April 22nd to 23rd Mid-Atlantic region:  New York City: Village East – April 21st to 27th - Q&A with Director Cyril Dion on April 22nd Rhinebeck: Upstate Films – April 24th Washington DC: Film Fest DC – April 24th and 26th Rockland, ME: Strand Theater – April 21st - 27th More info here on the film's release in the U.S., including contact info of the distribution team, prices for screenings and more!  Watch Trailer Here Press Kit Here And the film is also a book! The English language paperback edition of Tomorrow will be available in the U.S. on April 5th. Chelsea Green Publishing is making a special 50% (20 books or more) to Transition initiatives screening the film, or using the book as the basis for a discussion group. For more information, please contact Darrell Koerner at dkoerner@chelseagreen.com, 303.963.5612. Mission: Transition US (TUS) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that serves as the national hub for the international Transition Towns movement. Our mission is to catalyze and strengthen a national network of citizen-powered groups who are building local resilience through community action. We accomplish this mission by: Inspiring people to take action in their communities From water and energy to transportation and agriculture, we help local people gain the skills they need to build a resilient communities and localized economies Training local leaders to educate, organize and mobilize their communities Identifying and sharing best resilience-building practices Providing a knowledge hub of resources and models Connecting emerging leaders to this vital movement and to each other We are working in close partnership with the Transition Network, a UK based organization that supports the international Transition Movement as a whole.

Save the NEA and the NEH

Much of what has "made America great" is our culture of arts and scholarship.  The NEA supports everything from the Metropolitan Ballet to film festivals, craft faires, arts in the school programs, arts for veterans, exhibitions, museums, NPR, as well as new artists in all disciplines.  The budget for he NEA and NEH is just about nothing when compared to the national budget.  Ending the arts funding is dismantling American culture, as well as silencing and censoring dissent.  We should not be trying to "justify the arts" any more than we should be trying to justify protecting the trees, or the water, or the air, or caring for the young, or the aged.  

What we should stop doing is justifying what is happening to America under the Trump regime.

TAKE ACTION HERE TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT

A community orchestra performance, a new work from an emerging playwright, art therapy for a returning veteran, local ­library classes in Braille, free standardized-test preparation, and Bert and Ernie. Thousands of such programs could be gutted under President Trump’s proposed budget. The budget plan, which calls for the elimination of four independent cultural agencies — the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting — also would radically reshape the nation’s cultural infrastructure. Although the budgets of the four organizations slated for elimination are negligible as a percentage of the larger federal budget, they play a vital role in a cultural economy built on a system of federal stimulus. Federal dollars are used to leverage state, local and private funding that supports a complex network of arts organizations, educational entities, museums, libraries and public broadcasting affiliates.

If the arts have impacted your life and you want to see these essential programs continue to flourish and preserve our cultural heritage, enhance our education system and help us build better communities, go to the Americans for the Arts Action Center and send a customizable message to your elected representatives in Congress.  Actively recruit your friends and family to do the same. Generously, share information on social media, using the national hashtags – #SAVEtheNEA, #ArtsVote, AND tag your Congressional members.  SAVE THE ARTS TODAY!

But beyond the numbers, we know the arts matter for a wholly human reason--they illuminate, they console, they articulate. In short, they help us to explore and express the wonderfully messy business of being human.   Art defines us through our thoughts, perceptions, creativity, and other qualities that make us human. At SAACA, you have taught us that the arts are not political, but essential to our humanity and our future.  Through your support of our community events and programming, you have proved this very thought to be true for over 20 years here in our community. Because of you, we know that a strong nation requires creativity, imagination, collaboration, risk-taking and resilience. These skills, taught through artistic practice, are the core drivers of innovation. The arts are directly connected to the long-term strength of America’s economy, education and and at the State level in Arizona, sustainable growth.   IF YOU BELIEVE THIS TO BE TRUE, THEN WE ASK YOU TO JOIN US AND MAKE OUR VOICE HEARD. This blueprint must be considered by the Congress who ultimately makes the decisions about the funding levels of federal programs, including outright elimination. The budget process is very long and very political, and there will be many opportunities to influence how members of Congress vote on this issue. Fortunately, federal support for our arts and cultural agencies has enjoyed bipartisan support in the past, and if members of Congress don’t understand the broad and deep support these agencies have among citizens like ourselves – they are about to find out. As part of the Arts advocacy campaign in Arizona, we are asking you to go to the Americans for the Arts Action Center and send a customizable message to your elected representatives in Congress. Actively recruit your friends and family to do the same. Generously, share information on social media, using the national hashtags –  #SAVEtheNEA, #ArtsVote, AND tag your Congressional members.

SOUTHERN ARIZONA ARTS & CULTURAL ALLIANCE

Learn more about our Mission and Vision for the Arts in Arizona HERE.  Donate, Volunteer, Attend an Arts & Cultural Event today!

The Waters of the World Revisited

"We welcome you to Avalon

Thank you for bringing the Waters of your lands.

Together we'll make a great medicine of love."

I'm pulling away for a while from politics to try to recover my balance, and looking back to do that. In  2011 I went on Pilgrimage to Glastonbury, and also presented at the Goddess Conference there.  The ritual process at the Conference, the raising of energy they did, and the profound power of the Sacred Place that is Avalon.........I shall always cherish.   An important ritual for all times and places, reciprocity with the waters and land and the group.   I wanted to touch those waters again.

August, 2011, Glastonbury, U.K.

The Goddess Conference here at Glastonbury ended yesterday with some beautiful rituals, and I find myself feeling at a loss to write it all, but I'll try.  Having done week long ritual cycles in the past, as well as leading a few around the work of the mask, I've experienced the kind of "group mind" or entrainment that happens when one works together in sacred space and "mythic mind".  That sounds pretty lame and academic - forgive me.

Imagine gathering the first day in groups of people who come from different parts of the world - in my case, from the "west".   We have all brought water from our homes, and speaking of this, we pour our water into a vessel, which later will become added to a vessel for all participants. As an opening ceremony, each group approaches the Priestesses of Avalon in a barge, "rowing" to share our waters to the magic isle.  This water will be joined with rituals at the "holy wells of Avalon", the Chalice Well and the White Spring.  Later small vials of this charged, healing, universal "water of the well, water of the world" are given to each of us to carry back, and we will all make a procession with our banners through the streets of Glastonbury to the river (which once was a great lake, the legendary home of the Lady of the Lake) to pour some of this water into the flowing waters.

Quite a wonderful sight, to see so many blue clad, singing women and men gathered waist high in the stream, with our vessels of water, and a woven mermaid!  Then a sharing of fruit, to remind all that the Goddess gives to us the fruits of the Earth, always, to share, and to receive.

The closing ceremony included a "give away" where all present exchanged gifts.  And I leave with my heart open, and my vials of water to share with other waters, and to remember.

You know, I honestly feel rather speechless - moved, changed by this experience, the ceremony, the people, the place.   The work is about the Goddess, and it is collective, and a field opens that is also deeply personal and transformative.  A "mystery".  One sees with mythic eyes, with archetypal vision, and waking life becomes a revelation.  For example,  at the river yesterday, I picked a branch of elderberries, finding them beautiful, and wanting to add them to the "fruits" being shared, but decided it wasn't a good idea.  I wasn't even sure they were edible.  Some seeing me with them in my hand told me that they were very magical, connected to the Crone and the Goddesses of the underworld.  That's why they were called "elderberry".  She also said they made medicine from them, and Elderberry wine.

I carried those darkly beautiful berries all the way back, thinking as I returned (wet) from the river, and pouring our waters into the worlds waters thus, about my soon to be 62nd birthday.  I'll be eligible for early retirement now.  I'm entering old age, and I don't know what it means - it's this cycle of my life now.  Sometimes, to be honest, I feel very sad and lonely in the midst of it all.  Elderberries, bearing elderberries from the river...............  Crone medicine.

When I got to the cafe at the Assembly Hall, gathering for the closing rituals, the cook was saying to someone "Oh, someone left a nice bottle of elderberry wine here last night.  Potent stuff.  "(!) 

I was amazed. since I was standing there with the same berries in my hand - so I asked her if I could try it!

And so I sat, waiting for the "gifting ceremony", with a nice glass of (like she said, potent stuff!) elderberry wine in my hand, feeling awed, and as if, on top if it all, I had some very magical "medicine" that had just been gifted to me, even before the "gifting ceremony" had begun.  Elderberry wine.  Healing tonic....... gifts of the crone goddess, potency.

It works that way. The huge generosity of world, and when people come together in love and ritual.........when we forgive, love, and join the waters.........

At the closing ceremony, after the procession to the River Brue,  white veils were drawn as the Priestesses/Facilitators withdrew behind the stage.  The "mists of Avalon" closing on the Mystery..........and we left for our various  homelands, bearing our vials of  "holy-wholly" water.

From the Well of the Lady, the Well of becoming...........the joined Waters of the World.

Speechless.

At the closing of the Conference, the "Waters of the World" were taken to the river, in procession, and given to the river to bear them, with the blessings of all those gathered,  to join the waters of the land and ocean.