Thanks Giving

 How marvelous is that garden, where apples and pears, both for
the sake of the two Marys,
are arriving even in winter.

Those apples grow from the Gift, and sink back into the Gift.
It must be that they are coming from the garden to the garden.

.....Rumi

Beautiful little video with quotes about Gratitude from Shakti Gawain, Osho, Rumi, many others.

Revisiting the Bosnian Pyramids

When I was in Glastonbury, and attending the Symposium, everyone was much excited about the Bosnian Pyramids, a topic that has only become newsworthy for the past 5 years or so.  I had never heard of them, but the prospect of a huge ceremonial complex, consisting of 3 pyramids and some other possible structures in Bosnia is now becoming acredited by the archeological community, thanks to the work of Dr. Osmanagic, a Bosnian archeologist who has studied extensively the pyramid complexes of South America.  He is  currently teaching in the U.S. as well as excavating in Bosnia, and he is responsible for naming them the "Pyramid of the Sun", and "Pyramid of the Moon".

Apparently (surprise!) some studies have shown that electro magnetic energies are different around, and within, pyramids than normal earth energetic fields.  It could be possible that when ancients built pyramids, a phenomenon found throughout the world, they were demonstrating an understanding of geomancy  we've lost, an understanding, perhaps, of how to focus and utilize geo-magnetic forces and "earth currents", possibly to promote shifts in consciousness, facilitate trance states, and for health benefits as well.

What's surfaced recently about the Bosnian pyramids is that they may not only include the largest pyramid in the world, but also their antiquity may be astoundingly ancient.  Dr. Osmanagic has sought extensively some kind of  organic material on or within the pyramids to be used for radiocarbon dating,  in order to  determine the approximate age of the structures.  Finally, in 2010 excavations,  organic materials have apparently been found (at Sonda 20)  on the "Pyramid of the Moon" Pyramid. The  remains were found in the surface layers of some of the large stone blocks that had been uncovered and were sent to labs for radiocarbon dating at the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice, Poland.

Radiocarbon dating showed the organic material to have an age of 10.350 years........which could mean that the terrace of the pyramid might have been built 10.000 years ago. "This could  completely change our understanding of what European history and the first advanced civilizations were"  Osmanagic remarked.  For myself, I've always been fascinated by the legends of Atlantis, the mythic civilization Edgar Cayce said had its final demise 10,000 years ago.  It's been pretty much established that the legend of Atlantis stems from the ancient explosion of the volcano Thera in the island of Santini, an eruption that sent a devastating tsunami throughout the ancient world and was probably responsible for the demise of the Minoan civilization, about 3,600 years..

But if these pyramids are indeed 10,000 years old..........how astounding.  Perhaps they did represent a truly ancient civilization that had advanced knowledge, advanced enough at least to comprehend earth energies and how to focus them.  Fun to speculate............


Article from: bosnian-pyramid.com

Meanderings on Mortality and Creativity

"Green Heart Icon"

 I've been in the hospital having a tumor removed...........that sounds so dramatic, but it's not really.  It's a long process of visiting doctors, X-rays, waiting, researching,  etc.  I've been aware of the situation for almost a year, and it's one of the reasons I went to Glastonbury. There is nothing like the prospect of a life-threatening disease to put things in perspective, and quickly!   Everything is colored with a light more brilliant, sweeter,  revealing how precious each fragment is, each memory, each familiar voice, object, taste.  When it seems that that familiarity, that stream of thoughts, contacts, experiences we call our lives may be endangered, the privilege of it all taken away in the forseeable future...........one's priorities change quickly.

My friend Ro has come up with the term "SWE" - stupid waste of energy.  You evaluate where the power leaks and "SWE"'s are.

Anyway, I've been in a kind of stasis, waiting to find out.  Now the tumor is removed, and my biopsy is really good.  That was the news I got on 11-11-11, and I can't help but think that's a very  magical day indeed to get the "go-ahead" with a new year! I'll take it!

My great gratitude to my friends,  who so generously offered me their prayers and encouragement........it would have been so much harder without you.

One of the things I meditated on as the scary day of surgery approached (11-9-11) was creativity.  Creativity, and our unique expressive gifts in life, which come down to the same thing.  One is the eternal, seamless source, the other the mortal (and hence not immortal)  means.

Creativity, to me, is the Divine made visible.  When we are Makers, the Divine expresses through each of us, whether we're making a mathematical theorem or a new recipe for lemon cake.  How can anyone look at an orchid, shamelessly pretending, in the hope of being pollinated, that it is a beautiful bevy of  magenta tipped butterflies in flight......without seeing the Goddess at Her easel? Without appreciating the gorgeous humor, and creative intelligence, behind all things visible? 

When I was a kid in a long-ago Bible class, I had an "ah-ha" experience.  I could not understand the "God" that was so often put before me as we plowed through the Book,  a God of terrible vengence. Even now, I shudder to think of children internalizing some of these stories as divinely inspired. How about this, for example, from the Holy Book?

"And  the Lord spake unto Moses, saying "Avenge the children of Israel"..............and Moses said unto them, "Have ye saved all the women alive?.......Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.  But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves."    Num. XXXI, 1-18

I remember reading this, and trying to fathom how the noble Moses, made so visible by Charleton Heston delivering the Commandments......could be involved in what was actually being described here. 

All those women, old ladies, babies  and little boys hacked up with swords,  the little girls carried off to be raped, sanctified by "God" and His prophet.   How could I reconcile this horror?   Other options were needed.

And how sad that a fragmented history of the bloody genocide practiced in ancient battles, fought beneath the banner of a tribal war god sometimes called Yahwah........should appear within the same book as  "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you" (Luke 6:27).  Or, and this passage, a favorite of mine, which is not from the Bible at all, but rather from the long hidden Nag Hammedi Gospels, attributed to the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas (the Twin)*** :

"If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you.  If you do not bring forth what is within you,  what you do not bring forth will destroy you."

There it is!  The Divine Creative Force, expressing in everything and everyone. Early Christians called it "gnosis", knowledge of God within.   Joseph Campbell called it your personal  "bliss"......... it's the joy of creation,  and if we bring it forth, it energizes and informs and expands our lives.  If not, the energy contracts, turns self-destructive, dark, stagnant.  Maybe, that's even one of the places tumors can come from.

Be that as it may, I think it's so important to not "give your power away", which can mean appreciating, in fact thoroughly enjoying, the gifts that life has put on your banquet plate.

There's a wonderful passage in the ancient Sumarian stories of the goddess Inanna where she goes to visit Enki, the head of the Gods.  In a celebratory mood, he calls forth some heavenly beer, and the two get drunk together.   Enki gives Inanna many empowerments or gifts (called a "me") -  from the art of sexual seduction to the governing of cities to the making of cheese. At a Witchcamp I attended this cycle was ritually enacted.  As  Enki offered each "me" (I always found that ancient word for gift or power interesting), Starhawk, in the role of Inanna, said loudly with conviction and gusto:

"I'll take it!"

I think that's what you have to do, and it's not always easy.  There are so many forces that discourage both creativity and talent  - one does not necessarily get love or acceptance for being "gifted".   I think of my own small dysfunctional family, and the kind of "dumbing down" I've always had to do in order to be tolerated by my envious brothers, who felt that any form of success on my part somehow diminished them. I've seen this operate in groups as well, groups that do not know how to facilitate or address this unconscious collective shadow aspect (a friend who prefers to remain anonymous calls it the "mediocrity prerequisite").    I do not mean to sound harsh, but many people live in toxic spheres where they are being energetically rewarded for being stupid, uncreative, or a "victim", and punished for not being so.  For not using their divine "Me"'s.  And I guarantee that if you live that way long enough, you will demand the same currency from others.   It can take a long time to heal.........

Well..........I have a lot to be grateful for this coming Thanksgiving.  Most of all, all the inspiring people I've been privileged to encounter who are busy expressing the Divine Creative Force***** joyfully - may we all, like Inanna, loudly proclaim:  "I'll take it!"

****  Elaine H. Pagels further commented that: 


"The Gospel of Thomas also suggests that Jesus is aware of, and criticizing the views of the Kingdom of God as a time or a place that appear in the other gospels. Here Jesus says, "If those who lead you say to you, 'look, the Kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds will get there first. If they say 'it's in the ocean,' then the fish will get there first. But the Kingdom of God is within you and outside of you. Once you come to know yourselves, you will become known."........Here it says, "It's inside you but it's also outside of you." It's like a state of consciousness. It's hard to describe. But the Kingdom of God here is something that you can enter when you attain gnosis, which means knowledge.....The secret of gnosis is that when you know yourself at that level you will also come to know God, because you will discover that the divine is within you." 

Read more: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/story/thomas.html#ixzz1dtGPBd2t

**** Here's a link to Cultural Creatives TV - enjoy.

"A Small Act" Movie

I sponsor a little girl in Nepal through Plan International,   a non-denominational children's sponsorship program, as well as assisting village girls in Nepal to remain in school through the Nepal Youth Foundation. I love this film because it reminds us of the great good a simple act can do. 

Catherine Nash

"Vespica" by Catherine Nash (www.catherinenash.com)

 I wanted to introduce a long-time friend of mine, and a truly visionary artist, Catherine Nash.  Catherine has achieved international recognition as a paper, and encaustic,  artist, and has taught internationally for many years, gathering friends and fans along the way.  She's currently fundraising for a matching grant that will, if she meets her quota by the deadline, allow her to pursue her project Contemporary Paper and Encaustic, an e-publication surveying international artists who integrate paper and encaustic in innovative and inspiring works. 

 "My focus is to present artworks that push the boundaries of paper and encaustic while simultaneously creating a relevant contribution to the contemporary art world."I think it will be an important book, one that will further artistic community as well as inspiring many students and colleagues."

Here's where you can find out about her project, watch an informal video, and contribute if you feel moved to:

http://www.unitedstatesartists.org/project/contemporary_paper_and_encaustic_international_trends

I've been a fan of Catherine's for many years, ever since we met in graduate school at the University of Arizona.

Catherine has always, I think, been looking up - Among my favorite of her recent works are  "Secret Skies".

"Sky Within" by Catherine Nash

"The sky holds the ultimate touchstone for me, representing the infinite, a spaciousness, the big mystery.  Looking out into space brings levity and perspective to my day....I need a reminder that we are tiny beings on a continent, on a spinning planet, in a solar system, within one galaxy among multitudinous galaxies.  Levity.  May I carry that around with me, please? Secret Skies are a recent series of artist books: paintings of the sky are created within a closable wooden box, game board or the like. I am playing with a physical way of bottling up, translating, of trying to comprehend the unfathomable with a bit of humor."

"Have portable sky, will travel~"

"Navigation by Night"

Invoking Creativity

 

I learned to turn my creativity over to the only god I could believe in, the god of creativity, the life force Dylan Thomas called "the force that through the green fuse drives the flower."  I learned to get out of the way and just let that creative force work through me."

Julia Cameron, "The Artist's Way"

Image courtesy Catherine Nash

 "The position of the artist should be humble.  He is essentially a  channel."

Piet Mondrian

"We are the Great Work of Art in progress.  We, ourselves."

  Rafael Montanez Ortiz

Dreams of Half Dome

 

 The birds have vanished into the sky,
and now the last cloud drains away.

We sit together, the mountain and me,
until only the mountain remains.

Li Po (701-762) from The Enlightened Heart

Ansel Adams, "Half Dome and Moon"

I've been dreaming of mountains lately, of Yosemite, where I spent so many summers, climbing Half Dome, Half Dome Mountain Goddess,  who presides over the beloved valley.  Perhaps, I go there in my dreams sometimes, to see her blue in the moonlight, or white in snow, to touch her hot/cold granite face.  Here's another poem that came to mind today, thinking of mountain dreams,  by New Mexico poet Nancy Wood.



~My help is in the mountain~
 
    Where I take myself to heal
    The earthly wounds
    That people give to me.
    I find a rock with sun on it
    And a stream where the water runs gentle
    And the trees which one by one give me company
    And so I must stay for a time
    Until I have grown from the rock
    And the stream is running through me
    And I cannot tell myself from one lone tree.
    Then I will know that nothing touches me
    Nor makes me run away.
    My help is in the mountain
    That I take away with me.

    Earth cure me.  Earth receive my woe.
    Rock strengthen me.  Rock receive my weakness.
    Rain wash away my sadness.  Rain receive my doubt.
    Sun make sweet my song. 
   
      ~Nancy Wood~
from Hollering Sun (1972)