Green Mother Medicine

EARTH DAY ongoing… Last night, at a monthly council...

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:05:08 -0700

Photo by Gene Hanson

EARTH DAY ongoing…

Last night, at a monthly council gathering, we were given the opportunity, if we chose, to speak to the question, “In what ways have I stepped out of, (or been deprived of) my right relationship to the Earth?” And, “What do I owe the Earth?” and “What do I offer the Earth?” At our gathering, called a “Dare´” there is no right answer, and it’s not about our opinions. We tell a story (or a dream) from our own personal experience that speaks to the question at hand. LISTENING deeply to what the speakers have to say is the heartbeat of Dare´.

I told my dream (last blog) of having the Red Snapper from The Gulf of Mexico jump into my arms and silently plead with me for shelter and nurture, as it could not live in the toxic ocean anymore.

One woman talked about how she had recently killed a couple of black widow spiders outside her house, and how that act was haunting her. Another woman said that before she left to come, she had a “conversation” with an enormous grasshopper (very rarely seen in our part of the world) who was sitting near her car, and she said she’d just discovered a forest to run in, instead of asphalt paths, and was remembering how much she had been taught by Nature in the past, and how it was time to finish her lessons. MEANWHILE, I was facing a window, and a Monarch Butterfly came and sat on a rock outside the window as insects were being brought into our council.

The monarch reminded me that I recently won a raffle at a local nursery and the prize was a milkweed plant (photo above) which attracts monarchs. The monarch butterflies lay their eggs on the milkweed, the caterpillars come forth; eat the plant down to a nub, crawl away to become chrysalises, and then emerge as butterflies. The milkweed plant itself recovers and greens and blossoms once again.

So, listening to the stories of relationships with insects and other beings, I was reminded by the sight of the monarch butterfly, that things are not always what they appear to be, nor do they stay the same. That Nature Herself is infinite in wisdom and creativity and to keep my mind and heart open to possibilities for healing and transformation, as I hold the “questions” — “What do I owe the Earth?” ”What do I offer to the Earth?” and in recognizing the ways in which I have been disconnected from the Earth, how may I connect with Her and serve this Web of Life?

Monarch photographs by Gene Hanson: http://www.genehanson.com/butterfly5.htm

Dare´http://www.deenametzger.com/dare/dare.html

AS THE 2ND ANNIVERSARY OF THE BP OIL SPILL DISASTER COMES...

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 10:43:00 -0700

Red Snapper, Fish Painting painting by a

AS THE 2ND ANNIVERSARY OF THE BP OIL SPILL DISASTER COMES AROUND, I WAKE UP FROM THIS DREAM:

I am a singer, and I stand on a stage in a nightclub. There’s a wall behind me with a hole in it. Behind that wall, is an opening to the sea. The producer backstage calls out to me from the hole, but his words are drowned out by loud splashing sounds.

A huge pink fish jumps through the hole and jumps into my arms. It snuggles up to me, close to my heart, and I know it has come because it can’t live in the sea anymore. The fish wants me to hold it, to care for it. How can I help the fish survive out of water?

The dream goes on, with the simple variation of different types of sea life rushing out of the hole into my arms and begging me wordlessly to protect them, to nurture them.

This morning I searched for an image online of the pink fish and I found it to be a red snapper from The Gulf of Mexico.

It is just a few days before the second anniversary of The Gulf Oil Spill disaster. The tragedy is ongoing. From the very beginning of hearing about it, I knew, as many others did, that it was going to mean long term destruction of The Gulf. The extent of the damage to the sea, to sea creatures, to the local environment, and to the health and lifestyle of the people has been completely downplayed in mainstream media.

If you want to educate yourself about what’s going on, I suggest looking at Real Coastal Warriors page on Facebook. They are local and have been reporting on the situation from the very start. https://www.facebook.com/RealCoastalWarriors/info “Dedicated to the complete recovery of the Gulf of Mexico due to the BP Oil Disaster. Primarily focused on the Gulf of Mexico, RCW also reports on environmental disasters currently active around the globe.”

After many years of private practice as a healer, practitioner of Chinese Medicine, lecturer and teacher, I have become more and more active in speaking out on environmental issues. All of the forms of natural and spiritual medicine I have studied, practiced and taught are reliant on empowering people to improve their health through developing a deeper relationship with Nature and improving their health through making wiser choices in the food they eat, the water they drink, and the air they breathe. Unfortunately many of my patients thought only about how they could afford to “eat organic,” and “detoxify” themselves, without considering the needs of others less fortunate and being so short-sighted as to not understand that those of can afford to make healthier choices are threatened too, and if they cannot choose to take action for clean food, water and air on behalf of everyone, they must do it for their own sake. Now that vast areas of land, sea and air have been highjacked by corporations as money-makers and the resources plundered, there soon will be no clean food, water or air for ANYONE or ANY LIVING THING (and, in my opinion, there is nothing that isn’t living).

If you live on the continent of North America, you need to know what an inferno the Alberta Tar Sands is, what the extreme dangers are of the proposed XL Keystone Pipeline, and of the ongoing discoveries that are being made of the effects of toxicity of the BP Oil Spill and subsequent “clean up” with Corexit on The Gulf of Mexico.

THE GULF OF MEXICO Gulf seafood deformities alarm scientists

www.aljazeera.com

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/04/201241682318260912.html

April 18, 2012 - New Orleans, LA - “The fishermen have never seen anything like this,” Dr Jim Cowan told Al Jazeera. “And in my 20 years working on red snapper, looking at somewhere between 20 and 30,000 fish, I’ve never seen anything like this either.”

TAR SANDS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5aXo87N6nU

STOP THE PIPELINE https://www.facebook.com/keystonepipeline

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Athabasca-Chipewyan-First-Nation-Case-against-the-Tar-Sands/196651757098423

FOOD http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9K0cZGQgHA

An Interview with Dr Vandana Shiva, one of the world’s foremost environmentalist, anti-GM activist and an advocate of ecological farming and sustainable agriculture as a solution to climate change, food security, hunger and peace. The interview was taken on 16th March 2011, during “Grandmonther’s University” a three day course at Navdanya Biodiversity Farm at Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India which Dr. Vandana Shiva founded in 1987 to help save traditional seeds. The farm also undertakes research and training, along with the important role of distributing native seeds to farmers in the region.

Today is the annual celebration, Jayanthi (birthday) of Goddess...

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 09:50:07 -0800

Today is the annual celebration, Jayanthi (birthday) of Goddess Shakambari - She Who Nourishes.

Long ago, a very evil demon, Durgama, longed to be more powerful than the gods, and so did many years of spiritual practice to win a boon from Lord Brahma. Durgama received all the rights to the sacred texts used to pray and perform ceremonies. Without prayer and ceremony, the gods were weakened, and the rains ceased to fall. The drought went on and on and on, lasting for one hundred years! The earth and all living things were in a terrible state. Some few wise elders who still had strength decided to make a journey up to the Himalayas and gather in a sacred cave. They could not pray or chant, so they silently meditated on The Great Goddess, The Divine Mother. She heard them calling Her with their hearts and so She appeared in the form of Shatakshi Devi, She with a Hundred Eyes. She looked down on the earth from the mountain top and saw such devastation, destruction and death, tears of compassion came from all Her hundred eyes. As the tears flowed, the rivers and streams began to fill, and grasses and grains sprouted. Then She transformed Herself into She Who Nourishes, The Bearer of the Green, Goddess Shakambari and from Her body came fruits, flowers and vegetables, taking away all hunger and thirst, and it is said, even our fear of death.

The world was given partial relief, but Demon Durgama still held the power of The Vedas. Of course, he was furious when he saw nature’s gifts appearing. He mobilized his hideous legions for action against the Great Mother Goddess.

Goddess Shakambari placed a ring of fire around the sages and the gods to protect them and then emanated countless Goddesses from her own body to stand against the demon hordes led by Durgama.

There followed a battle which shook both heaven and earth, and in the end the Goddess’ troops conquered the demon army. Durgama was enraged with an anger so dense and so vast it threatened to destroy the entire earth. He roared at Her and challenged Her to fight him solo.

Goddess Shakambari indeed did battle with him maintaining one form. For many days and many nights, the Goddess and the Demon fought throughout the cosmos, shaking the mountains, and changing the course of the stars with the power of their blows. The Goddess prevailed and giving the demon a blessing, absorbed him into Her body. So, The Vedas were returned, and the sacred ways were restored to earth. As She was victorious over Durgama, Shakambari has come to be known as Goddess Durga.

You may celebrate the restoration of reverence and of nature’s gifts by Goddess Shakambari, with an offering of fruits, flowers and vegetables, and an attitude of gratitude for our beautiful planet and for every compassionate action taken to preserve and protect all living beings.

Jai Shakambari Mata! Victory to She Who Nourishes!

retelling from The Devi Bhagavata Purana by Lily L. Diamond

A photo from a friend, who was my patient, challenged by a very...

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 12:43:19 -0800

A photo from a friend, who was my patient, challenged by a very serious illness, when we first met in 2001. She’s become an incredible gardener, an environmentalist, and a real inspiration. In 2001, she was surrounded by toxins in her home and work life, out of relationship with her body and the earth, and in extremely poor health. Remember, it’s never, never, never too late to start! We are all so lucky to have and to share resources for transforming the harm that’s been done, to live in harmony and health, contributing to the healing of ourselves and the planet with our hearts, minds and hands!

Last night in a dream I had a sudden realization that I was...

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 08:54:06 -0800

Last night in a dream I had a sudden realization that I was living in a fish bowl, and that I was in no way alone — a sudden dawning of the fact that WE are all living in a fishbowl. I was being asked to sign up for a training on how to live and act with this understanding. The training was being offered, not mandated, but there was no room in me for opting out, because I knew there was no place else to go. I agree to undertake this training for the benefit of all.

Pregnant? A simple daily wellness practice during pregnancy:...

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 12:55:00 -0800

Pregnant?

A simple daily wellness practice during pregnancy: place your hands on your belly, take a few deep, calming and centering breaths, feel the connection between you and your baby, and say aloud, “I AM WELL. YOU ARE WELL. WE ARE WELL.” If you have children, ask them if they would like to join you, and have them place their hands on your belly too, and repeat the affirmation.

You can learn the practice of compassionate breath meditation (tonglen), and use it to develop multi-dimensional wellness for yourself and your baby.

Here’s a combination book and CD, from the Calm Birth organization, that comes highly recommended by a very experienced doula, and one of my favorite artists, Mavis Gewant.

Calm Birth: http://www.calmbirth.org/products.html

Doula service: www.gentlecaredoulaservice.com

Sacred Mother Arts by Mavis Gewant: http://www.sacredmotherarts.com/

Buddhist teacher, Pema Chodron, describes the practice of tonglen: http://www.shambhala.org/teachers/pema/tonglen1.php

Blessings for Mothers: http://codenamemama.com/2011/10/26/mother-blessings/

"Our bodies are molded rivers"

Sun, 18 Dec 2011 21:27:35 -0800

“Our bodies are molded rivers”

- Novalis

O Waters, source of happiness, pray give us vigor so that we may...

Sun, 18 Dec 2011 11:01:33 -0800

O Waters, source of happiness, pray give us vigor so that we may contemplate the great delight.

You like loving mothers are

who long to give to children dear. Give us of your propitious sap.

On your behalf we desire, O Waters,

to assist the one to whose house you send us— you, of our life and being the source.

These Waters be to us for drink;

divine are they for aid and joy. May they impart to us health and strength!

You Waters who rule over precious things

and have supreme control of men, we beg you, give us healing balm.

Within the Waters, Soma has told me,

remedies exist of every sort and Agni who brings blessing to all.

O Waters, stored with healing balm

through which my body safe will be, come, that I long may see the sun.

Whatever sin is found in me,

whatever wrong I may have done, if I have lied or falsely sworn, Waters, remove it far from me.

Now I have come to seek the Waters.

Now we merge, mingling with the sap. Come to me, Agni, rich in milk! Come and endow me with your splendor!

from the Rig Veda X, 9

Photo of the original village water spouts from Maharashtra State in India. No one knew what the inscription meant exactly, just that it was a blessing for the water. 2009

“Never believe that a few caring people can't change the world. For, indeed, that's all who ever have.” - Margaret Mead

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:56:30 -0800

The world of artist katie scott

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 16:55:11 -0800

The world of artist katie scott

Eclipse today. Got up at 5:00 am to drive out to the ocean...

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 16:48:58 -0800

Eclipse today. Got up at 5:00 am to drive out to the ocean where it was to be seen. When I left home, the bright of the moon’s curve on the bottom, with shadows across the rest.

Picked up my friend in Playa del Ray and we walked out close to the man made jetties to a “beach.” Airplanes flying in and out of Los Angeles International Airport overhead. The beach faced South more than West, and the moon disappeared in mass of low lying grungy brown smog melding into clouds of fog. Goodbye moon!

We set ourselves to the first part of the task at hand - to use the energy of the eclipse to remove, release, dissipate, destruct the old ways of being inside us and in our world that do not serve the Web of Life.

My friend pulled out a rattle from Machu Pichu and sent the dark spirits away. We chanted mantras to Ganapati, Lord of the Goblins (ganas), whose sacred sounds wake up the guardian consciousness that prevents us from being hijacked by petty, negative thoughts.

Together we brought out those objects which had called to be part of our ritual: a frog totem (frog medicine = purification), smoky quartz wand, rose quartz, Tibetan quartz and citrine (for Joy). Statues of Banashankari (Shakambari - Mother Nature), Ganesh (To overcome obstacles), Vishnu (Force of Preservation of Good) and a Shiva Lingham for the cycle of natural destruction. A white rose from the path to the beach as an offering of beauty and two white feathers which showed up next to our altar site, to let us know Spirit was with us.

I went to the sea for water to be blessed and energized. After we chanted to Ganapati, we chanted to the Moon (Chandra), to the Moon’s Nodes (Rahu and Ketu) which carry our past, present and future karma. We chanted to the Sun (Surya).

We spoke of how Nature needs us to restore the damage that mankind has done, and of how our world holds so much beauty. We chanted and sang to the Divine Mother as the Mother of Nature as we bathed our stones, feathers, gods and goddess with the water. We held an affirmative prayer for the conscious transformation of ourselves and for all living beings on earth and in the earth including our Mother Earth Herself to be held in reverence and respect.

The sun came shining up as we ended our ritual. We took the blessed water back to the sea, and as we did the waves came up to meet us!

May all be at Peace. May Harmony reign. May Love prevail. May we all take the actions that bring healing to this beautiful planet.

The Memory of Water

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:58:48 -0800

The Memory of Water:

“The statement that water has a memory practically changes the whole way we look at the world.”

The Language of Relationship: Engagement with Elephants

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:51:55 -0800

The Language of Relationship: Engagement with Elephants:

"Everyone may educate and regulate his imagination so as to come thereby into contact with spirits,..."

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:51:32 -0800

“Everyone may educate and regulate his imagination so as to come thereby into contact with spirits, and be taught by them.
Paracelsus”

"I ask my students, as I continually ask myself, as I now ask you: Amidst dire news, what is the..."

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:43:00 -0800

““I ask my students, as I continually ask myself, as I now ask you: Amidst dire news, what is the difference between well-informed futility and intelligent optimism? What tips the balance from informed futility toward intelligent optimism for you?”
Rebecca Altman”

- The short film, CHILDREN OF AGENT ORANGE, is a fine way to get a real picture of what Agent Orange, the powerful herbicide did to those who were exposed, and those who were yet to be born. Neither Monsanto nor the U.S. government has done anything to help the Vietnamese victims, but some American Vietnam veterans are making a contribution to the healing process in Vietnam. They are intelligent optimists.

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/peopleandpower/2011/09/2011928111920665336.html

“Intelligent optimists allow themselves the full expression of the dark and difficult emotions that inevitably arise. But, intelligent optimists, while seeing the complexity of a problem, find solace in the knowledge that complex problems, by virtue of their size and systemic origins, offer up a myriad of opportunities to apply their talents and creativity, to elicit their best selves, and reap deep satisfaction in the pursuit of fresh solutions.”

Read Rebecca Altman’s whole article on Intelligent Optimism here: http://odewire.com/164731/tell-a-new-story.html

THANKS - GIVE - ING Thanksgiving is a very odd holiday, and we...

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 11:45:49 -0800

THANKS - GIVE - ING

Thanksgiving is a very odd holiday, and we were sold a myth about it. If you watch the video below you’ll find out, perhaps for the first time, what the original feast was all about.

The true story of Thanksgiving: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=IP-APn__JT0#!

To take the bitter taste of history away, here’s a story about the spirit of thanksgiving from the son of Bob Marley, Rohan Marley.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SwrADBW7eg&feature=share

I am going to participate in Gobble Gobble Give in Los Angeles, I did it last year. Going to make roasted brussel sprouts with carrots and onions. I’ll deliver them, get in line with hundreds of people till the ballroom doors open, then we’ll all help make boxed dinners to be taken to people all over Los Angeles. WIll also bring some toiletries and clothing.

Gobble Gobble Give takes place all over the U.S.: http://gobblegobblegive.org/donate.php

I am grateful that I can share. And would be much more grateful if Native Americans had more to be grateful for.

Good in the Hood - Seeds of Change This morning, I chatted with...

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 18:37:00 -0800

Good in the Hood - Seeds of Change

This morning, I chatted with a friend who’d sent me the gift of screening the documentary THRIVE, which I highly recommend. She said that she finds it difficult sometimes to think that things can really change for the better, when those in power are so greedy and compassionless. I immediately thought of cheering her up with a tale about the good that’s come to my hood.

Back in March of 2011, I offered a Green Mother Medicine Gathering up in Northern California. We invoked the Divine Feminine; calling on Shakambari, She Who Nourishes, Lakshmi, Goddess of Abundance and Saraswati, Goddess of Wisdom. We created and blessed California Poppy and wildflower seed balls with sacred sound and our sincere wishes for the people of California to be housed and fed and employed and healed, and for all the places of neglect to flourish and prosper.

I came back to my neighborhood in East Hollywood, and I enthusiastically crushed and sprinkled the seeds balls into vacant lots, cracks in the sidewalk and empty dirt around the bases of trees, in all the places that desperately needed transformation.

One building in particular has literally been vacant since the 1980s. The stucco building was painted a boring industrial tan, and when I first saw it, had nothing in the huge picture window but a mannequin head with a steel cage screwed into it. They finally took the head away, but the building remained ugly and empty. It was one of my primary targets with the Green Mother Medicine.

Hah! A few days ago, I noticed that the building had been painted green. Then, “Siesta Yoga” appeared on the window. This afternoon I went by and met Christian and Brandee with a four-legged helper, Maria Bonita, as they prepared curtains for the space. The space is welcoming and elegant. They are enthusiastic and warm and I can’t wait till they open. They are planning on starting their yoga classes on November 26. Christian will also be including yoga teacher training courses for several weekend a month.

It isn’t just that the building’s now occupied, or even that it’s been transformed, and is putting positive vibes out into my hood — it’s that, well, it’s a yoga studio! And it’s literally down the street from me. This means potentially, I can walk down the street with my tamboura and guitar and Tibetan bowls to offer kirtan or Nada Yoga, and perhaps teach healing and meditation classes without ever getting in my car, and help bring healing to a neighborhood that sorely needs resources! Amazing, one of my deepest wishes has come true.

Another area I targeted is Hollywood Blvd., the corner of Western and then just West of Western Ave. Okay!!! The lot that had been vacant forever and ever with nothing going on, now has low income housing going up. The corner of Hollywood and Western which had a closed and boarded Thai fast food place is now being taken down, after years and years.

And on the same block of Hollywood Blvd. the store, MUSH, a wonderful oasis of art and humor, has just found a new home. (She was formerly located down near the entrance to the 101 freeway.) I bought a card there yesterday, and actually left my camera in their store. Today, in retracing my steps, I returned and met the owner, Michelle, whose nickname “Mush” (pronounced Moosh) gave the store it’s name. What a kindred spirit! It turns out that she is also a healer, doing acupressure and Shiatsu, and has been raising the vibration in the neighborhood with her healing work too. She told me the owner is holding onto the property, waiting for the day he can turn the whole block into a shopping area. He was happy to have her move into the empty space as she had great referrals from nearby store owners.

So, yes, good things do happen! Change comes along with a dash of grace, if we put our hearts and minds and actions into it.

Thanks to Mush and Siesta Yoga for bringing your vision to the hood.

Mush website: http://www.m-u-s-h.com/

Siesta Yoga facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Siesta-Yoga/165813883514033?ref=ts

Siesta Yoga http://us4.campaign-archive1.com/?u=7389f9dc1cfbfb0f37b771e08&id=3f3467434f

11:11:11 and My Crystal Skull Journey Part I For several years...

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:37:00 -0800

11:11:11 and My Crystal Skull Journey

Part I

For several years now, I’ve been seeing 11:11 many places. I glance at the clock, 11:11. I receive an email and notice it was sent at 11:11. I send an email at 11:11. At the checkout stand at the grocery store the cashier says, $11.11. And to be honest, I get other married number sequences too — 4:44, 5:55, 2:22, 3:33, 1:01, 2:02, 6:06, and so on. But, as you know, it’s the Eleven Eleven Eleven date that’s received all the attention. being part of the Mayan calendar prediction of the world shift coming in 2012. Yes, the universe conspired to place me at the 11:11:11 Crystal Skull Conference and Mayan Elder Gathering in Los Angeles.

A few months ago, I made a visit to one of the world’s most beloved metaphysical bookstores, the Bodhi Tree Bookstore, which opened in 1970, and will be closing within the next year or so. The new tarot card section was calling to me. Out of all the decks, wrapped in their shiny plastic, a single box, with a tiny “used” label caught my eye, the Crystal Skull Message Cards. One of the first cards I chose was: 11:11 Transformation - “Many lightworkers believe that the 11:11 is a pre-preprogramed wakeup call from ancient times, such as Atlantis, in order to help us activate our energy awareness, inner knowledge and healing abilities….Watch out for 11:11, it can appear on clocks, microwaves, receipts and just about anywhere you might see numbers. An amazing spiritual shift is about to happen!” Okay! I took those cards home and began using them on a daily basis, integrating them into my morning oracle sessions, to become acquainted with them. Many times when I asked about my Green Mother Medicine essence, the cards, Earth and Nature came up. The Earth card has a comment that shamans were often buried alive in the earth, which is one of my past life memories, so I definitely got a cosmic wink along with the obvious match of Earth being part of Green Mother Medicine. The Nature card says, “Show appreciation for the plant kingdom.” That made me smile, as in addition to being an herbalist and an avid gardener, I’ve been blessing seeds and seed balls, water and earth as part of my Green Mother Medicine gatherings. And when I asked about an upcoming trip to Hawaii, the message card was Abundance Island. I was so blown away by the cards, He completely agreed with me that The Crystal Skull Cards have such useful commentaries for our current cosmic climate shift.

I asked the cards for a message for the readers of this blog. The messenger card is The Blue Skull. ”I come to you with messages of unity, peace and harmony, of building a collective consciousness of oneness for your Blue Planet. For each one of you that becomes awakened and enlightened an extra piece of The Blue Skull can be put into place. Pull together to be together. Open your eyes to to all that’s around you. Blue is the color of vast oceans, of the sky and of healing and communication. If you continue to spread your light and speak your truth, walk your path and communicate with healing, then all the oceans stand a chance of being blue again. Look after your world dear ones, keep following the way of light and love and one day soon you will understand what it means to truly live on, in and with this, your amazing ‘Blue Planet.’ The skull in this card speaks of what many call Ascension or spiritual and planetary evolution. If he comes to you today, know that you are ‘part’ of the oneness.”

The cards originate from White Elk Woman who tells her own story about them at her website: http://www.white-elk-woman.com/CrystalSkullCards.html

In searching for a way to purchase more cards, I signed up for a newsletter where I read about the Crystal Skull and Mayan Elder Event for 11:11:11 in Los Angeles. I contacted Kendall Morgan who coordinated Crystal Skull events for 9:9:9, 10:10:10 and is working now on 12:12:12. I offered to volunteer for the conference, it felt like the perfect thing to do. And, indeed, it was a perfect thing to do and a perfect place to be.

to be continued…

Meanwhile, you can learn many, many, many things about the crystal skulls at the Oracle Stone Productions website: www.crystalskullsevent.com

Update Jan 4, 2012 - The Bodhi Tree Bookstore closed it’s location of 41 years on Melrose on Jan 1, 2012. Their website: http://www.bodhitree.com/about.html

Purchase the Crystal Skull Message Cards here: http://www.crystalskulls.com/crystal-skull-cards.html

OCCUPY LOS ANGELES - OCTOBER 27, 2011 “Once I was in...

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 18:53:30 -0700

OCCUPY LOS ANGELES - OCTOBER 27, 2011

“Once I was in Victoria, and I saw a very large house. They told me it was a bank and that the white men place their money there to be taken care of, and that by and by they got it back with interest. “We are Indians and we have no such bank; but when we have plenty of money or blankets, we give them away to other chiefs and people, and by and by they return them with interest, and our hearts feel good. Our way of giving is our bank.”

Chief Maquinna, Nootka

Last Saturday night, I was down in Encinitas at Jyoti Mandir, to...

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 10:46:21 -0700

Green Mother Medicine Altar Oct 2011

Plant grown with blessed water

Part of the Solution

Last Saturday night, I was down in Encinitas at Jyoti Mandir, to offer a Green Mother Medicine gathering. It’a an evening of sacred music, storytelling and an opportunity for everyone to join in the intention to bring healing to our country and our planet through reverence with Nature Herself and acting on the qualities we associate with mothering: generosity, nurturing, caring, compassion and the courage to protect the land, the animals, the children and all those beings who need it.

Occupy Wall Street has been a long time coming. We must put an end to corporate greed, and to our own selfish culture. We are moving away from the myth that it is better to do it yourself, into recognizing, that without collaboration, there will be no “success,” because there will be no survival. The concept of “being connected to Spirit (and therefore to everything)” by people practicing a “spiritual path” focused on collecting all the goodies for themselves is being examined and exposed for the harmful and life denying dead end it is. We are all waking up to the fact that EVERYONE COUNTS, and that we all need to support and share what we do have with each other to make it through this challenging time.

In August I wrote a blog about my grandfather’s solution to people not having any money during The Great Depression. http://greenmothermedicine.tumblr.com/post/8878044698/my-grandfathers-confetti-an-inspiration-for

For the event, I created an altar with containers of water to be energized with the sacred sound and then offered to vegetation, to the shrines in the garden and to all the participants. On the altar was also a bundle of broccoli seed pods to be blessed and shared. There was a vial of black sand from Hawaii, (which was taken years ago, and the owner asked me to return on my upcoming trip) to connect us with the oceans of the world and the mineral kingdom. We had a bunch of quarters to be given away, first to the participants, and then from their hands to someone else who needed a boost. A lamp was made from a unfired clay container, vegetable oil and a cotton wick. The fuel was just the right amount, so that the lamp burned perfectly for the duration of the event. Goddess Banashankari (Parvati/Durga of the Forest), who is also called Shakambari, “The Green Mother,” (She Who Wears Nature), was placed with a Ganesha on the copper tray as the central Presence. She was accompanied by a statute of an elder woman with a bowl of seeds I found quite “by chance.” This Green Mother crone is a symbol for the necessity to carry and plant not only the seeds of compassion and change, and for the grave importance of carrying and planting real non GMO seeds in the material world.

To learn more about seeds and the state of food in the world visit Dr. Vandana Shiva’s website:

http://www.vandanashiva.org/

To hear Shakambari Devi live call and response: http://ecodevi.com/audio/04_JM_06_Shakambari_Ma_hifi.m3u

Last year, at the same venue, we took the water that had been blessed with our prayers through the sacred sound and offered it to a small transplant that wasn’t doing so well. This year, they showed me that it had grown from a few inches to a plant over six feet tall, and they had to cut it back numerous times. Using intention and gratitude with and for water and plants is one of the ways that I actively practice the medicine of the wisdom heart, a way of walking the path of the connection with the All-That-Is.

Reverence for life in all forms is the key ingredient to living holistically in tune and in harmony. This lack of reverence is behind the corporate and personal greed which has brought us to this point. It doesn’t matter to me how someone arrives at this reverence, only that they do arrive, and if they cannot arrive through some sense of the connectedness of all living things (and all things are), then that they begin to understand through logic that destroying land and disrespecting vegetation, animals and people brings chaos, war and disease and eventually there will be no place to run to.

Power to all of those who are willing to stand up for our beloved earth and all its inhabitants.