https://www.onusamothership.com/wangari-maathai daily 0.75 2024-03-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1631626694371-VJ6KLM11UW7F75YMJQ5B/Speech.jpg Wangari Maathai https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1631628752467-OSHBMG6YN5KFUC4F1KF1/MariaPopova.jpg Wangari Maathai https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1631629335072-J1PAFW0DDIM9D0SI84JQ/Ecosia.jpg Wangari Maathai https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633202890254-UNCF6Z9HXS0SI7S1M4FS/9780099493099.jpeg Wangari Maathai https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633202909063-C690D7F1THBMBS8151NX/91RWc-qlPPL.jpeg Wangari Maathai https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633202974452-5QYR80VSPK5IZR1HA5NF/81bCVO50-%2BL2.jpg Wangari Maathai https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633202997453-HLX7BR0Z2YHB173TD3M7/9111rCiirAL.jpeg Wangari Maathai https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633203071348-CQ42Z2KEMNQ0QOLP9LX7/TakingRoot.jpg Wangari Maathai https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633203090307-IIVX31T9I5VZU0OVK6NU/RebelGirls.jpg Wangari Maathai https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633203108255-9FV6HNI5FQWUCPXTCP4M/PlantingPeace.jpg Wangari Maathai https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633203124240-WJULVVCM0UXZB33RB0WA/TheWoman.jpg Wangari Maathai https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/424a5cb6-8e8a-481c-8226-d9f3f3334cf4/WangariMaathaiHeader3.jpg Wangari Maathai https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/d7a1d77d-e4de-4574-8743-23ebd1f38663/Quote1.png Wangari Maathai - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633202578359-SFT87TABY9FYM07CONRJ/Story1.png Wangari Maathai Wangari Maathai (1940-2011) was a Nobel Peace Prize winning activist and founder of the Green Belt Movement, which to date has planted over 51 million trees in Kenya. She authored four books: The Green Belt Movement; Unbowed: A Memoir; The Challenge for Africa; and Replenishing the Earth. She was the subject of the documentary Taking Root: the Vision of Wangari Maathai. Maathai was the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree and to become an associate professor. She was chairman of the National Council of Women of Kenya, where she introduced the idea of community-based tree planting. This idea grew into a grassroots organization, the Green Belt Movement, whose focus is poverty reduction and environmental conservation through tree planting. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633202605042-MGIE45U1RVV8T8ZJ5K36/Story2.png Wangari Maathai Wangari Maathai was internationally acknowledged for her struggle for democracy, human rights, and environmental conservation, and served on the board of many organizations. She addressed the UN on a number of occasions and spoke on behalf of women at the Earth Summit. In 2006, she founded the Nobel Women’s Initiative with her sister laureates Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Betty Williams, and Mairead Corrigan. In recognition of her deep commitment to the environment, the UN Secretary-General named Wangari Maathai a UN Messenger of Peace in 2009, with a focus on the environment and climate change. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633202638113-7VSTYW2SB7Y4GHPHWGCL/Story3.png Wangari Maathai In 2010, she was appointed to the Millennium Development Goals Advocacy Group: a panel of political leaders and activists working towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In partnership with the University of Nairobi, she founded the Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies (WMI), which brings together academic research—in land use, forestry, agriculture, resource-based conflicts, and peace studies—with the Green Belt Movement. Wangari Maathai died in 2011 at the age of 71 after a battle with ovarian cancer. Memorial ceremonies were held in Kenya, New York, San Francisco, and London. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/73c053f8-8c7d-42b2-bbb8-1962b107ab36/Quote2.png Wangari Maathai - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1631662102798-ZL9FP0U7QUYP2YAE44AI/trees.png Wangari Maathai - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633202439676-0WX9V3I5066DRWLS5KGD/Support.png Wangari Maathai Support Wangari Maathai’s legacy and the Green Belt Movement to continue its core work of engaging women in planting trees, protecting critical forests & watersheds, and empowering communities. Your support helps to conserve soil and ensure food security, to sustain rural communities’ livelihoods, and build resilience to climate change. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/4bf9a9a7-a59a-4fbb-93eb-3e6704a6416c/Quote3.png Wangari Maathai - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/d28c1648-444d-4d14-929d-62b1dfc582cb/PracticesTitle.png Wangari Maathai - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/9e120ce0-435f-439c-912d-0ea8e5e67c6d/Separator2.png Wangari Maathai - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/20f1e24d-7766-4ec0-9caa-96c9e7fabfe6/TreeofLife.png Wangari Maathai In solitary practice, begin by sitting or standing erect, and breathing deeply and rhythmically. As you breathe and as your spine straightens, imagine that your spine is the trunk of a tree. And from its base, roots extend deep into the center of the Earth. And you can draw up power from the Earth, with each breath. Feel the energy rising like sap rising through a tree trunk. Feel the power rise up your spine, feel yourself becoming more alive with each breath. From the crown of your head, you have branches that sweep up and back down to touch the Earth. Feel the power burst from the crown of your head, and feel it sweep through the branches until it touches the Earth again, making a circle, returning to its source. If you do this exercise in a group: Breathing deeply, feel your branches intertwining, and the power weaving through them, and dancing among them, like the wind. Meditation from The Spiral Dance, by Starhawk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/b86e54b1-3ce1-4916-966b-4bcb38238ed1/Separator.png Wangari Maathai - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/9d238556-8f8f-4a41-9e4a-84df0891b9f2/PlantaTree.png Wangari Maathai “We see trees as the hosts of our spirits and the source of our livelihood. Planting trees is a celebration.”—Boro Baski⁠⁠ Trees hold immense powers, including the power to make all our lives better and healthier. If a tree has power, a forest has even more. Continue reading below about the wonderful superpowers of trees. While trees are resilient, they are not invincible—and they need our help. To help plant and protect trees, you can either learn to plant trees yourself, using this step-by-step guide if you have a garden and enough space, or you can support organizations that work to plant trees and protect and restore forests, such as The Nature Conservancy, One Tree Planted, Wangari Maathai’s Green Belt Movement, International Tree Foundation, Trees for the Future and Trees for Life. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1631637953341-ZI3RP17IA04CTBSTPEXC/GoDeeper.png Wangari Maathai - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.onusamothership.com/oshun daily 0.75 2026-01-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1631128291801-XJOBULP66D3QGP6WR91Y/718Yp1Ohr3L.jpeg Oshun https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1631156259395-WRT6HFFRIYK735CYH17D/71H2H%2Bz5wcL.jpeg Oshun https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1631156420977-P56FGVO65AHMNL3QHFEE/Vice.jpg Oshun https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1631156537936-I0UTZBV1SIO9G7KN0QAX/1_sLzIg0-bp0SF2VDNO2VeFw2.jpg Oshun https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1631156640784-KHNYLZP6YIQ2VFBR24KX/image.jpeg Oshun https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1631156662966-05BFEK4ARA8PLJXF8BWA/81xRtSU3leL.jpg Oshun https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1631156800698-D1PICA9MWUVKN1FO5MZ1/db350b7b95a59a5f627a941e0d101840.jpeg Oshun https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1631158098213-2U915ICYDR52EO1ENPA7/SensualSelf2.jpg Oshun https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1631503387636-4JWPUT4WZR2198J605E9/18EXPLORER1-superJumboCover.jpg Oshun https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1648348369633-JCK2WGJI6Z7ZDNA8RT8C/Cover1.jpg Oshun https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1649448472638-OBOMBQX1UPJO0W6GWGU1/Cover20.jpg Oshun https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1649448559738-N79BGWYNY1WEU8DGK8GK/Cover21.jpg Oshun https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/67269c14-8d31-4dfd-a7b5-81b40ec946c0/OshunHeader3.jpg Oshun https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/21bce0c6-97a2-4ccc-86e4-db9eefbad84d/AboutOshun4.jpg Oshun Origin: Yoruba religion, Dahomey mythology, Vodun, Santería, Candomblé, Haitian Vodou. Venerated in: Nigeria, Benin, Latin America, Haiti, Cuba. Commonly associated with: Fresh and sweet waters, love, purity, prosperity, fertility, beauty, protection, motherhood, healing. Symbols: Honey, cinnamon, sunflowers, oranges, peacocks, vultures, mirrors, gold, amber. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/ac755b8b-9bf8-40f3-b0ec-ef8b26ef804c/Story1.png Oshun Oshun, also known as Oxum and Ochún, is a supreme being or Orisha of the Yoruba people – the largest ethnic group of southwestern Nigeria. In the Yoruba religion, she’s also called the river goddess and is commonly associated with fresh and sweet waters, love, purity, prosperity, fertility, harmony, marriage and beauty. She’s the most prominent and venerated of all the Orishas but is considered to possess some human traits as well, such as perseverance, but also vanity. In many Yoruba myths and stories, Oshun is described as the savior, protector, mother and nurturer of sweet things and humanity, and the keeper of spiritual balance. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633205078186-QYFKYUCHX53BEZMSDCUJ/Story2.jpg Oshun As the Orisha of fresh and sweet waters, such as rivers, the goddess is associated with fertility, prosperity, and healing. It’s believed that she’s a protector of the waters as well as the poor and the sick, bringing them prosperity and health. During the times of extreme poverty and severe droughts, the goddess is sought after to grant rains and make the land fertile. She is considered the mother of the fish of the seas and the birds of the forest. In West African cultures, Oshun is associated with the power of women and femininity and is particularly significant to women who want children. Those with fertility challenges call upon the goddess and pray for her help. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/e87f6f4a-d996-4d30-a967-7b2b86de3a2e/Quote1-2.jpg Oshun - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1631548088109-DLZNTVO2NFB64BU69G0L/SmallBee.png Oshun - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/293b13c1-07b8-4cda-ad7b-b424e278ef02/LuisaQuote2.png Oshun - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633204982026-5EUBQHSBXH0FAMI5APPO/Beyonce1.jpg Oshun Beyoncé has incorporated Oshun imagery into her 2016 visual album Lemonade, and she has returned again and again to Oshun iconography in photo essays and videos since then. In Lemonade, Beyoncé spends a long interlude submerged in a dreamlike state underwater. As “Hold Up” starts playing, she pushes open a set of doors and emerges in a great flood of water, dressed in a flowing yellow gown, and starts to wreak her vengeance on her cheating man. This moment, Africana studies professor Amy Yeboah told PBS in 2016, is “her emergence as an Orisha.” It’s the point where Beyoncé is reborn as Oshun. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633204945684-HDOBEZ3TXYB8C2CZH42H/Beyonce2.jpg Oshun In Black Is King, Beyoncé creates a love letter to the African diaspora. Here, she represents herself specifically and solely as the Yoruba goddess Oshun. She wears Oshun’s yellow and shining beads and cowrie shells; she emerges from the sweet water; she surrounds herself with flowers of fertility; she watches over children. She makes her connection to the goddess as explicit as possible when she sings “I am Oshun, I am the mother". She’s connecting herself to a cosmology that recognizes the divinity of beauty, love and motherhood. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/36829ec0-f372-4441-9ace-fd5402c51f9d/Oshunality2.png Oshun Osunality (derived from Oshun) is an empowering, post-colonial, sex-positive/critical, African-centered paradigm of sexuality. African sexuality and eroticism promotes a non-phallocentric view of sexuality (not focused on the phallus or penis as a symbol of male dominance), that challenges our western ideologies of power and dominance. Osunality gives agency to the female body and emphasizes feminine pleasure, allowing the feminine to hold power in the realm of sexuality. It challenges the western narrative of 'The masculine body conquers the feminine', which typically orients around male pleasure and power. How might we decolonize our understanding of sexuality? How might we revive non-western narratives around sexuality that seek to empower all people? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/866db534-7064-473b-9ec6-0c27c70c22a7/Lessons1.png Oshun “She rests fully in self-awareness and self-love, glowing in the silver light of the moon, symbol of the feminine principle.” —Asungi What can we learn from Oshun? How might we embody her energy when we need it? Oshun carries so many valuable lessons for us. She invites us to tap into our passion and life force, to embody the feminine principle of flow and fluidity. She invites us to tap into our sensuality, and to embody our most seductive, flirtatious self—not only to seduce others, but to seduce ourselves and all the parts of our life, to seduce our dreams, our passions, our work, our creativity. Oshun invites us to fully embody and own our pleasure, our joy, our laughter and the sweetness of life. She teaches us to embrace the fullness of our love, in both its lightness and darkness. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c67a6e39-88cc-4c46-8312-315185f827e4/Lessons2.png Oshun Oshun teaches us to use softness, sensuality and laughter to soften the world. She shows us the true power of sensuality, seduction and feminine energy. She is the definition of soft power, and invites us to broaden our understanding of what power looks and feels like. “When you can get others to admire your ideals and to want what you want, you do not have to spend as much on sticks and carrots to move them in your direction. Seduction is always more effective than coercion” —Joseph S. Nye Jr., Soft Power: The Means To Success In World Politics. Oshun wants us to deeply connect with the element of water, with its fluidity and power. She invites us to protect the water, to protect women and sacred sexuality, to protect animals and the planet. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1635430273287-0BZ36DSMALGN2HN02GSN/PracticesTitle.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/07de3c1d-7935-4b28-a745-a012d7c83ad3/Nectar2.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c889e121-7cd3-4407-896b-6e88b4992734/Separator.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c266a5e9-5c8c-404b-819f-ea71802d156f/Bath.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/285b15ea-3a88-4506-9419-fb5fd263d2e4/Separator.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/24db0337-c5f7-4751-83f4-a29978b8c8bb/Water1.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/fdb6012e-2826-47f8-80e6-d573d16a8997/Separator.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/2ad9b2ab-b132-4cc5-9369-9c4aa4bc6c59/Journal.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/07557b92-2442-456a-917a-402aaf6e55f1/Separator.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/60e7452e-5d81-470d-95dc-ebb2b8570e64/Sun.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/b03266d2-f69b-4ee0-91d0-41b4a7e1a439/Separator.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1aed54d6-cda3-4709-9ea5-33934ff96f76/Water2.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/ffeb0379-cba4-4833-be95-ade7b5b883aa/Separator.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/59dd8ef2-05c0-4849-bb70-105f8fab377f/Mirror.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/bd34a397-1c38-47b2-ae99-febee0707df9/Separator.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/6085a9f1-de1a-4873-a290-5841df026e15/Altar.png Oshun - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633204844411-4JT1HACUXKAVMARNYLR8/OshunAltar.png Oshun - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c4b95f5d-8b55-4dbe-9155-1a89885c84d8/Invocation.jpg Oshun - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1631638039045-QIXZ4CH96QNUXQLPLI3L/GoDeeperTitle.png Oshun - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.onusamothership.com/demeter daily 0.75 2026-02-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1632403957617-FY0CFVSU9MMQ5K27WZHD/Cover2.jpg Demeter https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1632405774664-7PZ1MQ0AGELAELZZZQ7S/RoadToEleusis.jpg Demeter https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1632406096600-ZL4PFVODH2ERDBHZ6UL9/LongJourneyHome.jpg Demeter https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1632406736042-ZUZ8SUEGUAWOX4PF0L6Y/BestKeptSecret.jpg Demeter https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1632579112794-J7ISS1C5YCN6HWNSQU41/Cover4.jpg Demeter https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1632579134478-UVWRQB9R86GSM9TEGP6J/Cover3.jpg Demeter https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633204229116-QZH73ZNAX626G02ZV4UG/ImmortalityKey.jpg Demeter https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633204253824-9KRYR09UXC12JK5S1412/Eleusis.jpg Demeter https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633204289142-SF256Z2PUCZKXL3FWJ4P/Cover1.jpg Demeter https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633204331470-1Q7W8VUDV6QPCPQJZ39D/Cover5.jpg Demeter https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633204360493-M1R3MS7YUINPSLNZ5TS3/Cover6.jpg Demeter https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1647540095647-V7LPTJJR4POWZ6P6PR8A/Cover12.jpg Demeter https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/a7666b5a-9ab1-4c30-a01a-caa5fcb081da/DemeterHeader3.jpg Demeter - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/a79d788d-f8ca-4afe-ae0b-2064a94e2f82/AboutDemeter2.png Demeter Origin: Ancient Greece. Commonly associated with: agriculture, the seasons, nature, the harvest, fertile soil, the tides, devotional motherly love. Sacred place: Eleusis in Attika, Greece—home of the Eleusinian Mysteries, the most sacred of all Ancient Greek mysteries that focused on the cult of Demeter. Symbols: Cornucopia, wheat, barley, corn, torch, sickle, bread, grain, poppies, sunflowers, winged snakes, turtle doves. Patroness of: mothers, farmers, millers, bakers and nurses. Roman equivalent: Ceres. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/608b2dec-5d8d-494d-aed3-a457ce89fee6/Story-1.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633203647983-4NOW2VYGVL1983GLJQ6M/Story2.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633203713039-CFBJHTG15DZ29OX19NN3/Story3.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/ba91ac1e-3c87-4bdf-a952-c1ebdba85f5c/Poem2.png Demeter - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633203824911-WYY3T4PSG4ZNKPG2J2SO/Eleusinian1.png Demeter One of the most important festivals observed by the Greeks were the Eleusinian Mysteries, which were celebrated in honor of Demeter and Persephone. The Eleusinian Mysteries were initiations held every year in Eleusis, a town in Attica, where the Mysteries were first introduced by the goddess herself. They were the longest-running secret religious rites of ancient Greece, celebrated for over a thousand years, from 1500 BC to the 4th century AD. The Mysteries were a symbolic reading of the myth of Demeter and Persephone. They re-enacted the abduction of Persephone by Hades, in a cycle with three phases: the descent (loss), the search, and the ascent, with the main theme being the ascent of Persephone and the reunion with her mother. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/ed509282-306d-4bb2-9b76-e8248743c4f3/Eleusinian2.png Demeter - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/6f7263b3-3b33-45b4-a1a4-f8a3f25ca33c/Eleusinian3-2.png Demeter Whatever happened in the Telesterion, those who entered in would come out the next morning radically changed. The rituals provided initiates with a vision of the afterlife so powerful that it changed the way they saw the world, and their understanding of life and death. Participants were freed from a fear of death through the recognition that they were immortal souls temporarily in mortal bodies. In the same way that Persephone went down to the land of the dead and returned to that of the living every year, so would every human being die only to live again on another plane of existence, or in another body. It was said that you went to Eleusis as a human being and walked away a god, through the ceremonial experience of death and rebirth. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/9bed0b7b-6191-448f-a2ec-eb4229e16215/Eleusinian4-2.png Demeter - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/9ca61b78-23b0-4462-ab3d-046be9db68b6/Eleusinian5-2.png Demeter The rituals were closed down by the Christian Emperor Theodosius in 392 CE as he saw the ancient rites as inspiring resistance to Christianity. As Christianity gained more power, pagan rituals were systematically stamped out. The former sites of these rituals were abandoned, destroyed, or turned into churches throughout the 4th and 5th centuries CE. The temple of Demeter and every sacred site in Eleusis was sacked by the Christians, leaving only ruins where once the people of the ancient world gathered to experience the truths of life, death, and the promise of rebirth. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/37f238ec-4871-4b38-9fbd-93ac769f1fc3/GardenWalks.png Demeter - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633204052704-FGPZ2S9SDJDA9MNH070Q/Lessons1.png Demeter Demeter and her story carry such beautiful and timeless wisdom, that can inspire us in different aspects of our lives. Demeter teaches us about the miraculous power of unconditional, devotional motherly love. Her love was so strong, it could destroy the world and bring it back to life. She invites us to surrender to this boundless love that exists in all of us. She invites us to protect and nurture what we love most. What can we love with such ferocious passion? What parts of our lives—and ourselves—can we nurture and mother with such devotional commitment? Demeter invites us to embrace our grief wholeheartedly. She teaches us to honor the divinity of our grief, to befriend it, to relate to it, and allow the pain of grief to be our teacher. She invites us to not shy away from the vulnerability of feeling so deeply. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633204119544-460KAC8M7ZX7XP06SGPP/Lessons2.png Demeter Demeter invites us to connect with the Earth, to nurture and tend to it, to listen to it and understand its language and rhythms. She invites us to align with the sacred laws of nature. She invites us to thank the Earth for its unlimited abundance, for holding us and providing for us so generously. She invites us to relate to the Earth with reverence and unlimited gratitude. Demeter asks us to learn from Nature and embrace the cyclical rhythms of life itself. She invites us to embrace change and honor the different seasons of our own lives. She teaches us to honor death as a natural part of life, and trust that it is always followed by rebirth. She invites us to learn the art of cultivation; both literally—by tending to the land and learning how to grow and harvest food, and also inwardly—by sewing seeds in our inner world, tending to them, and harvesting their fruits with gratitude. She invites us to practice patience with all things, to stop rushing and pushing, and trust the rewards of our efforts will come in divine timing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/0ab75241-058a-4d57-b09c-3164c5597ce6/PracticesTitle.png Demeter - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/821dc519-a5ab-45fd-801d-1cd109a31a7a/Separator2.png Demeter - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/83e2c793-e818-4e50-838e-65fa1ce547aa/Garden.png Demeter “People often ask me what one thing I would recommend to restore relationship between land and people. My answer is almost always, “Plant a garden.” It’s good for the health of the earth and it’s good for the health of people. A garden is a nursery for nurturing connection, the soil for cultivation of practical reverence. And its power goes far beyond the garden gate—once you develop a relationship with a little patch of earth, it becomes a seed itself. Something essential happens in a vegetable garden. It’s a place where if you can’t say “I love you” out loud, you can say it in seeds. And the land will reciprocate, in beans.” Robin Wall Kimmerer says: “I made my daughters learn to garden—so they would always have a mother to love them, long after I am gone.” Practice by Robin Wall Kimmerer in Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/0eef696a-ab55-4e3f-aa79-b5b64c6a366b/Separator.png Demeter - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/eb86e03f-47c4-4d48-8eb6-a80e66fdaca0/Saunter.png Demeter To saunter is to walk slowly with reverence for the Earth, to muse and be in reverie in nature. In earlier times, and still in a few places in the world, people have listened to the unconscious via oracles, divination, and the voices of nature. Birds, trees, and even stones have been perceived as valuable sources for the whisperings of the divine. Modern people have a bias that only the human mind and its thoughts have validity, but we too yearn to be touched by something beyond the confines of the “I”. The origin of the phrase “to saunter” is good medicine for modern people caught in the too-muchness of life. In the middle ages, people used to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through which they passed asked where they were going, they would reply ‘A la Sainte Terre’,—‘To the Holy Land’. And so they became known as sainte-terre-ers or saunterers—those who walk on the earth with reverence for its holiness. Perhaps there was an intuition even in those early times that we would need a way of walking with reverence to recall us from hurried lives. Go for a walk in nature and receive the blessings of an ancient tree, listen for a message in the song of a bird, take counsel with a resilient stream. Allow yourself to reconnect to the creative matrix that supports all life. Spiritual practice by Jerry M. Ruhl, Robert A. Johnson in Contentment https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/0485aa22-05ae-4add-b4de-8c2ea5e92cb2/Separator.png Demeter - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/6f99846d-1f5a-4831-9a7c-c2fa687f020f/Compost.png Demeter “When we look deeply at a flower, we can see that it is made entirely of non-flower elements, like sunshine, rain, soil, compost, air, and time. If we continue to look deeply, we will also notice that the flower is on her way to becoming compost. If we don’t notice this, we will be shocked when the flower begins to decompose. When we look deeply at the compost, we see that it is also on its way to becoming flowers, and we realize that flowers and compost “inter-are.” They need each other. A good organic gardener does not discriminate against compost, because he knows how to transform it into marigolds, roses, and many other kinds of flowers. When we look deeply into ourselves, we see both flowers and garbage. Each of us has anger, hatred, depression, racial discrimination, and many other kinds of garbage in us, but there is no need for us to be afraid. In the way that a gardener knows how to transform compost into flowers, we can learn the art of transforming anger, depression, and racial discrimination into love and understanding. This is the work of meditation.” Practice by Thich Nhat Hanh https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8bff0aaa-898f-48fa-bb82-7ec9716532c6/Separator.png Demeter - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/14c323a1-d4ec-428e-a1d8-9b5d263f894b/PlantingSeeds.png Demeter This practice can be either done as a simply visualization meditation, or accompanied by a real physical practice of planting seeds in the soil. You can listen to the guided meditation here. Imagine yourself in a magnificent garden. See the colors, the plants, the pathways. What does this garden look like? You have stepped into the garden of your soul. Walk around and see what else is alive in your garden. Are there dark places or weeds? As you walk in your garden, find an empty plot of soil. The soil is rich and prepared to grow new life. It is the very creativity of life itself. Look into your hand and see a seed. This is a seed of health. Give a blessing to the seed and plant it into the ground, so it may grow in your life. Look again in your hand and see there is another seed. This is a seed of relationship. Give a blessing to this seed and plant it into the ground, so it may grow in your life. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/bf87fc04-8c54-44bb-84a8-7e8e6acb2633/Separator.png Demeter - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/4df71da9-7642-4599-8c1c-0d0051d067bc/EarthMeditation.png Demeter Ground and center. Take a deep breath. Feel your bones, your skeleton, the solidity of your body. Be aware of your flesh, of all that can be touched and felt. Feel the pull of gravity, your own weight, your attraction to the earth that is the body of the Goddess. You are a natural feature, a moving mountain. Merge with all that comes from the Earth: grass, trees, grains, fruit, flowers, animals, metals, precious stones. Return to dust, to compost, to mud. Meditation from The Spiral Dance, by Starhawk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/b76456be-c73b-43a3-be49-f3e393db28c7/Separator.png Demeter - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/76ad828d-8a38-4907-b5ae-ea10c9dc39df/DemeterSong.png Demeter Listen to Demeter’s Song by Starhawk below. From Let It Begin Now: Music from the Spiral Dance Lyrics: “I am the wealthy one I am the wealthy one All that I have I give to you Blossom and bud The leaf and the promise of fruit to come The corn and the wheat The grass and the earth beneath your feet Rhythm and form The lover’s smile and the workers arm Your blood and your bread Pleasure and sorrow, birth and death The change that frees The heart that cries and the hand that heals The eye that sees truth The power to destroy and to renew.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/b995b90a-d5be-4470-b611-192e5fd033ac/Separator.png Demeter - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8e4ff82d-c796-40e9-a352-03f7a7fc9ad4/FullMoon-Meditation.png Demeter Ground and center, and visualize a round full moon. She is the mother, the power of fruition and of all aspects of creativity. She nourishes what the New Moon has begun. See her open arms, her full breasts, her womb burgeoning with life. Feel your own power to nurture, to give, to make manifest what is possible. She is the sensual woman; her pleasure in union is the moving force that sustains all life. Feel the power and generative life-force in your own pleasure. Feel the nurturing, unconditionally loving, all-encompassing, all-allowing mother in you. Meditation from The Spiral Dance, by Starhawk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/2bd62ce7-1098-46bd-b11b-d7914eb1a845/Separator.png Demeter - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c8eef946-2108-496a-9253-41f24aa830ed/Herbalism.png Demeter Dive into Evolutionary Herbalism, a wide-ranging, synergistic exploration of multiple systems of traditional herbal healing, that weaves together science, medicine and spirituality, and encompasses clinical Western herbalism, medical astrology, Ayurveda, and spagyric alchemy. You can start by reading the book Evolutionary Herbalism by Sajah Popham: weaving together herbal and medical traditions from around the world into a singular cohesive model, this radical book guides herbal practitioners to a comprehensive understanding of the practice and philosophy of healing with herbs. Popham presents an innovative approach to herbalism that considers the holistic relationship among plants, humans, and the underlying archetypal patterns in Nature. Explore the School of Evolutionary Herbalism. Take one of their classes, ranging from Alchemical Herbalism, Herbal Medicine, Ayurveda, traditional Alchemy and spagyric pharmacy, to medical astrology and clinical herbalism. Woven throughout all of their teachings is the philosophy of vitalism, honoring and acknowledging the innate intelligence of nature. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/cfe7c9ac-1ed4-4f33-b9bd-5dcc65722059/Poem3.jpg Demeter - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1632662592272-WHX9Y0986XA5TVZ3RO1F/GoDeeper.png Demeter - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.onusamothership.com/jane-goodall daily 0.75 2024-03-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633206045668-O54L36MPGJEFBS995Q2A/Cover7.jpg Jane Goodall https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633206072943-I9CP6B7QCX0XFS25YTY6/Cover11.jpg Jane Goodall https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633206094617-C6KLI8F1PZFEV6PED12O/Cover2.jpg Jane Goodall https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633206130239-2HLJ1N2Q25U48FDJONKR/Cover14.jpg Jane Goodall https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633206150297-6NGQOVSHSGNR3TXVNGM0/Cover10.jpg Jane Goodall https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633206166182-62A9DHTVKPHMKXT2I4GG/Cover1.jpg Jane Goodall https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633206185704-YEA31UIF6HM2JOJLMVMV/Cover4.jpg Jane Goodall https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633206226746-YWQDAD0L4O4YUWKAEJYQ/Cover12.jpg Jane Goodall https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633206243158-8QXT4DMTZ79OIHPKVE6A/Cover8.jpg Jane Goodall https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633206273041-WJCU05OHCGA1MOZE4KW7/Cover3.jpg Jane Goodall https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633206292163-48FMZDCK7J3QWK832MK9/Cover5.jpg Jane Goodall https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633206309051-1KU6ETV7U9HGNVL3DOOS/Cover6.jpg Jane Goodall https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633206323844-GOALMGKYEEKKJ2SYMMXA/Cover9.jpg Jane Goodall https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633206338917-VA5SPWX9OY2XQUGN8LT7/Cover13.jpg Jane Goodall https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1647265216795-NJU8ALQ3FALUG3UMNCXI/Cover7.jpg Jane Goodall https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1647265322631-J3YZ6KEHSC8624GCIDLW/Cover8.jpg Jane Goodall https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/7435d807-541b-4d7c-9596-8dfbbc65a578/JaneGoodallHeader3.jpg Jane Goodall https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/a272cc81-997a-4341-889c-c97128798036/Quote1.png Jane Goodall - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633205812716-DWRWK3HGEP8XZAPOPTVK/Story1.png Jane Goodall Jane has loved animals ever since she was as a child. When she was one year old, her father gave her a toy chimpanzee. At the age of just five, Jane would hide for hours in a henhouse to discover where the eggs come from, unaware her family was frantically searching for her. Upon her return to the house, Jane's mother would see how excited she was, and rather than scolding her, listened as Jane told her stories. Jane dreamt of living in Africa to watch and write about animals. Although this was an unusual goal for a girl at the time, Jane's mother always encouraged her. Jane couldn’t afford to go to University, so she worked as a secretary and at a London filmmaking company. In 1956, Jane's friend invited Jane to her family's farm in Kenya. Jane quit her London job, moved back home, and worked as a waitress to save enough money for the trip. In 1957, at the age of 23, Jane traveled to Kenya by boat. The most important event of her visit was meeting famous anthropologist and palaeontologist Dr Louis S B Leakey. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633205855339-QD28MK68EOJCGCMSXPPN/Story2.png Jane Goodall Jane managed to impress Leakey with her knowledge of Africa and its wildlife to the extent that he hired her as his assistant. She traveled with Leakey and his wife, archaeologist Mary Leakey, to Tanzania on a fossil-hunting expedition. Jane reminisces about her time there: "I could have learned a whole lot more about fossils and become a palaeontologist. But my childhood dream was as strong as ever–somehow I must find a way to watch free, wild animals living their own, undisturbed lives–I wanted to learn things that no one else knew, uncover secrets through patient observation. I wanted to come as close to talking to animals as I could." https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/cabcb373-73db-4f8a-9b32-d56fb622b1be/Story3.png Jane Goodall In 1960, Leakey and Jane began a study of wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve in Tanzania. There, she made one of her most important discoveries: she observed that chimpanzees could make tools to extract termites from their mounds. Until that time, only humans were thought to create tools. On hearing of Jane's observation, Leakey famously says: "Now we must redefine tool, redefine Man, or accept chimpanzees as humans." Jane's work in Gombe became widely known, and in 1962 she was accepted at Cambridge University as a PhD candidate, one of very few people to be admitted without a university degree. Some scholars and scientists gave Jane a cold reception and criticized her for giving the chimpanzees names. "It would have been more scientific to give them numbers", they say. Jane had to defend an idea that might now seem obvious: that chimpanzees have emotions, minds and personalities. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/afb99ee7-230c-461c-ac22-fa930bd4bdc3/Story4.png Jane Goodall National Geographic decided to sponsor Jane's work and sent photographer and filmmaker Hugo van Lawick to document her life in Gombe. In 1963, Jane published her first article in National Geographic, "My Life Among Wild Chimpanzees." She later earned her PhD in ethology (the study of animal behaviour) in 1965. In 1977, Jane founded the Jane Goodall Institute for Wildlife Research, Education and Conservation. In 1984, she began groundwork for ChimpanZoo, an international research program of the Jane Goodall Institute dedicated to the study of captive chimpanzees and to the improvement of their lives through research, education and enrichment. In 1991, Jane and 16 Tanzanian students founded Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots, JGI's global environmental and humanitarian education program for young people. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633205939519-MQA8YS5APDI5P2AXL1IZ/Story5.png Jane Goodall In 2002, Jane is appointed by the UN to serve as a United Nations Messenger of Peace. She is made a Dame of the British Empire (the equivalent of a knighthood) in 2004, and received the UNESCO Gold Medal Award in 2006. Today, Jane continues her work by speaking in venues around the world about the threats facing chimpanzees, other environmental crises, and her reasons for hope that we will ultimately solve the problems that we have imposed on the earth. Jane continually urges her audiences to recognize their personal power and responsibility to effect positive change through consumer action, lifestyle change and activism: “Every individual counts,” she says. “Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/bc605c98-c456-4c8f-9131-f0a0a2ba12a6/Quote2-2.png Jane Goodall - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1632941584941-697Q96KV223BZCKHT3MZ/Mountains.png Jane Goodall - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633205995395-ZSJ2SR589A5LAJUKRC3S/MakeaDifference.png Jane Goodall Dr. Jane Goodall discovered that when we put local communities at the heart of conservation, we improve the lives of people, animals and the environment. The Jane Goodall Institute advances Dr. Goodall’s holistic approach through strategies that bring the power of community-centered conservation to life. When you support the Jane Goodall Institute, you make real change happen for people, animals and nature. Now is the time to take a stand for what we love. We can bring about tangible successes that give all of us reason to hope for a better world. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/53218dd8-f6ca-4163-9e17-7b631cc43b13/PracticesTitle.png Jane Goodall - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/6c7bcc74-5741-43e8-96c5-8b890e4f8c7c/Separator2.png Jane Goodall - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/669c8496-67b5-42bb-81b0-c49d9ece476b/Animals.png Jane Goodall In Listening to Nature, Joseph Cornell writes: “While you're outdoors, observe an animal closely. Follow them as they move. See how nature has expressed itself uniquely in this animal. Become quiet within your mind so that you can become sensitively aware of the animal's essence. Mentally affirm your appreciative thoughts to the animal. Listen.” Be ready to receive what an animal you meet in the wild offers you. Observe, listen, and take in the special energy of this being. When the animal leaves, send along a blessing. Spiritual practice by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat in Summertime and Living Takes Practice https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/a1d25717-c626-4ee7-a2a0-880114f88b28/Separator.png Jane Goodall - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/9c474a8b-f6dc-45ad-a79f-c3a78f460059/LokahSamasta.png Jane Goodall “Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu” is a Compassion or Loving-Kindness Mantra which translates to: “May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all.” This mantra promotes compassion and living in harmony with all sentient beings. Speaking or chanting this mantra is a prayer each one of us can practice every day. It reminds us that our relationships with all beings should be mutually beneficial if we ourselves desire happiness and liberation from suffering. No true or lasting happiness can come from causing unhappiness to others. No true or lasting freedom can come from depriving others of their freedom. If we say we want every being to be happy and free, then we have to question our own actions—how we live, how we eat, what we buy, how we speak, and even how we think. When we chant, speak or even think the words lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu, if we include all the other animals with whom we share this planet in our concept of “all beings,” including the animals we use for food, we can start to create the kind of world we want to live in—a kind world. Source: Jivamukti Yoga https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/d9d558b8-a31b-424c-9bd3-bbd786b55797/Separator.png Jane Goodall - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c5e0c72f-3d0a-4a39-ba09-7e19e4e40ca2/Interbeing.png Jane Goodall Look up and explore the artwork of Susan Seddon Boulet, whose shamanic paintings feature the intertwined figures of humans and animals. Consider how her art tells the story of interspecies unity. Reflect on the concept of “interbeing” (a word coined by Zen monk Thich Nhat Hanh)—a core concept within Spiritual Ecology, Indigenous wisdom, animism and Engaged Buddhism—which refers to the interconnectedness and interdependence of all of creation, the deep knowing that we are an integral part of the web of life, that we are one of the many beings in constant relationship with life’s wholeness. Reflect on the symbiotic relationship, mutuality and reciprocity that exists between humans, animals and nature. Consider how we might use art and storytelling to de-center human narratives, and tell diverse and rich stories of other beings and the intricate relationships between humans and the more-than-human world. Check out the book Susan Seddon Boulet: A Retrospective, and Interbeing: Fourteen Guidelines for Engaged Buddhism https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/63e436f4-05c7-474f-81b8-ab417ebb1f82/Quote3.png Jane Goodall - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1632946404445-TD0UH19LPWYXLR7C1O18/GoDeeper.png Jane Goodall - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.onusamothership.com/nemonte-nenquimo daily 0.75 2024-03-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633531967726-1PH1A0EXC4IBKIQ24OEH/Cover1.jpg Nemonte Nenquimo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633532901682-HDKIL3T0TPC4F7FK757N/Cover3.jpg Nemonte Nenquimo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633534390656-H1RJJ9AGH9W2RN7SD07P/Cover6.jpg Nemonte Nenquimo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633534753778-ZCQKLG9NRF0ZNW0YRA82/Cover7.jpg Nemonte Nenquimo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633535125445-15Z0LGILPV5RIINJEHJ4/Cover8.jpg Nemonte Nenquimo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633536521217-YAL1K2FC970FO9H317RN/Cover10.jpg Nemonte Nenquimo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633537377375-VE29KG0FBW0A8KA595V0/Cover11.jpg Nemonte Nenquimo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633537429231-HMRQ9FLT327H7XSSQ1YP/Cover4.jpg Nemonte Nenquimo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633537462040-WOZWMUCSBRERKP0QNKNI/Cover5.jpg Nemonte Nenquimo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633538189070-G90XTP0E34LUYT79NBAB/Cover12.jpg Nemonte Nenquimo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633538331046-YY2GZX1D088Y5K1J088G/Cover13.jpg Nemonte Nenquimo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633539654831-IIRXBL9LJX9U5U6CWY19/Cover14.jpg Nemonte Nenquimo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633539956874-8MO2QG6RNBDWTZD6LK0G/Cover15.jpg Nemonte Nenquimo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633540272109-YQPH3EYNDB1E9NIAS01V/Cover16.jpg Nemonte Nenquimo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633540494783-4W87AAPBKTLHK1GJSAHI/Cover17.jpg Nemonte Nenquimo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633540722112-3HRBJYRQ8LMJJM8R89M5/Cover18.jpg Nemonte Nenquimo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633540841872-MRVQKXTWNANGAHCEGO7F/Cover19.jpg Nemonte Nenquimo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/ecce72d3-0a66-41c7-bef4-8440610bc9dd/NemonteHeader3.jpg Nemonte Nenquimo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633388607301-HIJIKAMDNATV6LYEQ7QA/Message1.png Nemonte Nenquimo - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/65145527-4958-44c2-a000-60715663d720/Message2-2.png Nemonte Nenquimo - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/67f10807-315b-43b4-9269-0d4383875a85/Message3.png Nemonte Nenquimo - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/e087f363-b118-4af2-8363-8a00bcc726ac/Message4.png Nemonte Nenquimo - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/6fbbe01d-5f5b-4ddc-bd67-8e50447d629d/Message5.png Nemonte Nenquimo - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/2e246a2b-3043-48c9-ac62-2bf9ba446e0f/Message6.png Nemonte Nenquimo - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633396146373-9Q46GPRIQEJEOK8I8Q24/butterfly.png Nemonte Nenquimo - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/559c369c-3bec-4f66-a19d-f843080fd35d/GoodAncestor2.png Nemonte Nenquimo - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633470045785-36CBU9MAF0G4KNHD9CGE/Story1.png Nemonte Nenquimo Amazonian indigenous activist Nemonte Nenquimo is living proof that a “David and Goliath” story is possible. When the Ecuadorian government announced it was going to auction off indigenous land to the highest bidder in the oil industry, Nemonte, who is the first female leader of the Waorani Nation of Pastaza, unified her people and took the Ecuadorean government to court over its plans to put their ancestral territories up for sale. Her actions led to a landmark ruling, protecting 500,000 acres of rainforest from oil exploration and drilling. This lawsuit will go down in history as setting a precedent that indigenous peoples have the right to decide the fate of their territory. The ripples of Nemonte's work and victory have brought hope to Indigenous communities everywhere. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633480273802-CTBDF6HJQHY4DBZHLF3Y/Story2.png Nemonte Nenquimo Since winning the lawsuit, Nemonte has been recognized around the world for her leadership. She was named among Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World, with a tribute written by Leonardo DiCaprio. She also won the Goldman environmental prize, an award that recognizes grassroots activism. She donated the 200,000$ prize to her nonprofit, Amazon Frontlines, an international group of human rights lawyers, environmental activists, farmers and storytellers, who work to defend indigenous peoples’ land rights. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633470111738-IDUBJM7MLU8JOO3E2RX6/Story4.png Nemonte Nenquimo Nemonte also launched the Frontlines Challenge, a call to the public to match her contribution in support of the indigenous movement. She is also the co-founder of Ceibo Alliance, an indigenous-led Ecuadorian nonprofit, empowering Indigenous communities with tools and resources needed to protect their rainforest territories and culture from the greatest threats to the Amazon—extractive industries, big agriculture and colonization. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/e37e5a6b-af88-43c7-8c1b-a05c56109945/Quote1.png Nemonte Nenquimo - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633476896248-7RBPLDV41PPKAWS00DME/Tech1.png Nemonte Nenquimo The Ceibo Alliance’s Director, Alicia Salazar, who is from the Siona Nation, says that Ceibo Alliance and Amazon Frontlines are learning to use modern technology to their advantage. “In the past, we saw how technology destroyed our forests,” shares Alicia. “Industries used big machines to extract resources from our lands. But now, we’re using technology to map our ancestral territories and to document everything we have—from our most sacred sites to our hunting trails and our medicinal plants. In this way, we are creating our own maps to show the government that our territories are full of life. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633480363803-76SW301ZREJTX5KJXDJZ/Tech2.png Nemonte Nenquimo Our territories are not empty like the government or companies show them to be on their maps.” Amazon Frontlines and Ceibo Alliance are developing tools for cultural recovery, and building their own educational systems and schools to ensure that the teachings of their elders can be preserved and transferred to the youth. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633530721754-TZKTDVX63R3IQ6643TFU/IndigenousEssay1+copy+2.png Nemonte Nenquimo - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633530803039-EGKA020R3JJ8WLIQNEMJ/IndigenousEssay2+copy+2.png Nemonte Nenquimo - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633530984573-XCYYF4X7BE0YT22OIN9R/IndigenousEssay3+copy+2.png Nemonte Nenquimo - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633531102805-E12U98077BJNA68YS7IX/IndigenousEssay4+copy+2.png Nemonte Nenquimo - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633526640763-PXE8SJZSOTQWLT4RL3G9/AmazonFrontlines.png Nemonte Nenquimo Worldwide, Indigenous peoples are protecting 80% of Earth’s biodiversity, and they are doing so largely on their own. Only 2% of global philanthropy goes to protecting our climate, and of that, only a tiny fraction makes it to Indigenous communities on the frontlines. We have an opportunity to show up for Indigenous peoples in a critical moment for the future of the Amazon. Stand with Indigenous rainforest defenders by making a donation to Amazon Frontlines, and/or signing the letter from Indigenous peoples to Ecuador's constitutional court to protect their ancestral lands. Your voice can make a difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/5ef39d8d-fa36-4640-9bcc-4d7f73540658/PracticesTitle.png Nemonte Nenquimo - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/368afb61-f47f-4829-8235-7ec3d44b3f7c/Separator2.png Nemonte Nenquimo - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/beeb2266-acd9-48f6-abbf-1b5594188587/Listening.png Nemonte Nenquimo What if we sincerely listened to nature? Nature is a vast resource of wisdom on revealing oneness and uniqueness. Nature teaches us at least three important things in the journey of Generous Listening. First, nature offers us endless tools to internalize and to practice slowing down, being present in the moment and being open to surprises. Second, through connecting to nature, one develops the skills of humility and compassion for all living beings and becomes conscious of oneness. Third, nature is always bountiful and generous. Nature teaches us about reciprocity and generous giving. Nature teaches us to weave a web of intimacy and reciprocity with the living world, to see ourselves as one kind of person in a much wider field of relatedness, in which all flourishing is mutual. When we listen to and learn from Nature, we are invited to enter into kinship, a form of relationship that acknowledges the deeper workings of reality by operating on the same principles as the very breath which keeps us alive: reciprocity, emergence, and sensuous awareness. Practice by Vuslat Foundation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/4acb5411-2a8c-4fed-9019-d3c6a4784f20/Separator.png Nemonte Nenquimo - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c7cf07ec-aad3-482f-9dcc-2d0687586e00/NatureStories.png Nemonte Nenquimo “Go to the oak tree and ask for its story. Go to the river and ask for its story. Go to the goldenrod and ask without saying anything. Ask with your nose, your belly, your eyes. The answer won’t always be words. Won’t always be sound. Sometimes it will be a feeling in your body. Sometimes it will be a smell. Stories don’t belong to human beings. But human beings belong to stories. Let’s enter back into the complex, tangled work of letting go of authorship and letting ourselves be told.” by Sophie Strand, from her essay ‘Myco Eco Mytho Storytelling’ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/7421bcc0-e5be-4d8b-9a38-bdcac9d3756d/Separator.png Nemonte Nenquimo - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/b75b0c26-933e-4d4f-88b7-93fc4c777f7e/Council.png Nemonte Nenquimo Start your day by summoning and acknowledging all the beings—humans, animals and plants—who live in close proximity to you. Author Sophie Strand explains: “By the time I’m done summoning and sending thanks to every being I know in a twenty-mile radius of my home, I’m surrounded by a world of witnesses. The day begins within a more-than-human community. And my decisions henceforth—practical, creative, and spiritual—will be made with the knowledge that I exist in relationship. Everything I do is ecological. When I used the word ecological, I root back to the original etymology: Greek oikos for household. I am not a noun on an empty page. I do nothing alone. I am a syntactical being, strung together by my metabolism and needs and desires, to thousands of other beings. Together we are all a household, and every choice we make, mundane or explosive, takes place within the networked household of relationships. How best may I act? How may I act knowing you are watching tenderly and attentively? What stories do I need to notice? What stories want to be told? Who needs my help today? And whose help can I receive? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/9e0723d2-b71f-4d49-8bb1-2fad87a087d6/Quote2.png Nemonte Nenquimo - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633475548439-1BGME9E0K101WEBDBZCZ/GoDeeper.png Nemonte Nenquimo - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.onusamothership.com/minoan-snake-goddess daily 0.75 2024-03-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633662081455-9Q4GO7P0B03U8GMAAXKR/Cover1.jpg Minoan Snake Goddess https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633662190087-BBMPSGSBJUYG3904S59N/Cover2.jpg Minoan Snake Goddess https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633662274248-YNWEZ6DLFIE2TVIJ8RC3/Cover3.jpg Minoan Snake Goddess https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633662341203-2CFR1SURAOG318MG867W/Cover4.jpg Minoan Snake Goddess https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633662460027-OICVXYFIWEZ9P33Q5YL1/Cover5.jpg Minoan Snake Goddess https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633662544396-8NXBCVN7ZQEI4ZUQIOBA/Cover6.jpg Minoan Snake Goddess https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633662604357-Z5WSUFTI3MBTBOWVGBS3/Cover7.jpg Minoan Snake Goddess https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633662686752-BNX7EC4LGUUZRRBDTPTU/Cover8.jpg Minoan Snake Goddess https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633662783395-A35YD7N5NDW9J0UNQQ2F/Cover9.jpg Minoan Snake Goddess https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633662818566-2S96X55LUF6V14YN2N09/Cover10.jpg Minoan Snake Goddess https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633662951096-KR5DD8FX81VKK1VYK73E/Cover11.jpg Minoan Snake Goddess https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633663068472-BVC59TGPQ91NQ58KGZFU/Cover13.jpg Minoan Snake Goddess https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633663137873-V6DIX5KCHNOTJJ9OGENQ/Cover14.jpg Minoan Snake Goddess https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633663168066-8DF1XFMXT0ZDIYR1ETYN/Cover15.jpg Minoan Snake Goddess https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633663278728-01DE6YPKL29RKGFFC18K/Cover16.jpg Minoan Snake Goddess https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633663368802-NCKE8FLNIF99NTOB18DM/Cover17.jpg Minoan Snake Goddess https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633663538587-S6066DMIFZS99BKQXS5X/Cover12.jpg Minoan Snake Goddess https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633664012795-30H5TR1TLS7IBHTRY1I3/Cover18.jpg Minoan Snake Goddess https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/fc468d57-df99-4bb7-9de9-2e608d542b8d/MinoanSnakeGoddessHeader2.jpg Minoan Snake Goddess https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/ed723f31-bc7e-42c8-baa4-8ac59ff8f7a3/MarijaQuote.png Minoan Snake Goddess - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633725880327-0HWF2W5QN80WK4AFTVGJ/Discovery1.png Minoan Snake Goddess In 1903, English archaeologist Arthur Evans and his team found two snake goddess figurines in the Minoan palace at Knossos, in the Greek island of Crete, during a decades-long excavation program that greatly expanded knowledge and awareness of the Bronze Age Minoan civilization. The figures are now on display at the Heraklion Archaeological Museum. The figurines date to near the end of the neo-palatial period of Minoan civilization, around 1600 BCE. They were extensively restored, and Evans called the larger of the figurines a "Snake Goddess", and the smaller a "Snake Priestess". Since then, it has been debated whether Evans was right, or whether both figurines depict priestesses, or both depict the same deity or distinct deities. The smaller figure, which is now also generally referred to as a "Snake Goddess", became a popular icon for Minoan art and religion. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633727866378-1ECTSTIVSVDSQY41YNNA/Discovery2.png Minoan Snake Goddess Ever since the images of these figures were published, archaeologists, art historians, and feminist scholars have worked to determine their role and significance in Minoan culture. The combination of elaborate clothes, bare breasts and the intriguing snakes, attracted considerable publicity, and also the proliferation of various fakes. The figurines are made of faience, a crushed quartz-paste material which after firing gives a shiny glass-like finish with bright colors. This material symbolized the renewal of life in old Egypt, thus it was used in funeral cults and sanctuaries. The smaller figure, as restored, holds two snakes in her raised hands, and on her headdress is a cat or panther. We will explore the symbolism of the snake in the section The Goddess and the Serpent. Both goddesses have a knot between their breasts, resembling the sacral knot, an important Minoan symbol of holiness on figurines or cult-objects. It can be compared with the Egyptian ankh (eternal life), or with the tyet (welfare/life) a symbol of Isis (the knot of Isis). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633732906111-ELLJWV45M9TZJV9LF501/Who1.png Minoan Snake Goddess While the statuette's true function is somewhat unclear, her exposed and amplified breasts suggest that she is probably some sort of fertility figure. Evans supported prevailing views about the existence of a Mother Goddess worship in the prehistoric era and so, when the Snake Goddess was found in 1903, he not only identified her as a "goddess" but also claimed that she was worshipped by the Minoans as an aspect of the Mother Goddess. Evans theorized that Minoans lived in a matrilineal, or even a matriarchal, society. In many ancient cultures, a Mother Goddess (also referred to as Great Goddess) represents nature, motherhood, fertility, creation, destruction, or an embodiment of the bounty of the Earth. When equated with the Earth, such goddesses are sometimes called the Earth Mother. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/860e3415-62ba-456f-8f0e-72b4d062b204/Who2.png Minoan Snake Goddess The depictions of these Mother Goddesses are considered allegorical figures or personifications of the idea or concept of fertility. These representations are very common in prehistoric, stone age religions. In Crete, the uncovering of the breasts was a sacred gesture, symbolizing the nourishing lifestream of the Mother. The Minoan Snake Goddess is also called "the goddess of the household", because a number of these types of figurines were found in house sanctuaries, and because the snake was regarded as the protector of the house in Minoan religion. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633741565539-C2VM1BL3N1C5IOO4HPUX/Goddess1.png Minoan Snake Goddess Thousands of years before the Bible was ever written, creation stories centered around a Goddess. It is believed that the Great Goddess was worshiped among early agricultural peoples of the Mediterranean region and Southwest Asia. Her cult was perhaps carried to Crete in ancient times by settlers from Anatolia; or it might have originated in Africa. The Great Goddess was worshipped in many forms throughout the Mediterranean, the Aegean, Turkey and the Near East, Northwest Africa and Europe through Neolithic times, until the Bronze Age. In Cretan culture, there were no figures of male gods. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633741646786-UDXN5CK7SN1OKBQDYFLC/Goddess2.png Minoan Snake Goddess Even into the male-dominated and war-ridden world of the Bronze Age, the Cretans—unlike most of their contemporaries—had no temple or temple-figures. Their sanctuaries were in nature, they worshiped among sacred trees. As G. Rachel Levy wrote, the Cretans developed a religion unusually detached from formal bonds, but emotionally binding in its constant endeavor to establish communion with nature's elements. Perhaps this was the reason why they never built temples, but performed their rites in nature—on mountain peaks, in caves, in rustic shrines. Their rituals aimed to preserve the peoples' relationship with the Earth. The Cretans appear to have been gentle, joyous, sensuous and peace-loving. From the evidence of ruins, they maintained at least one thousand years of culture unbroken by war. The only other peoples we know of with such a long peace record—e.g., those of the Indus Valley and of Southern India—were also Mother Goddess cultures. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/bf9e9505-fddf-4157-9eec-6174bff30915/Goddess4.jpg Minoan Snake Goddess - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633741937491-FCRU91L9IXGOCUKMYE6X/Goddess3.png Minoan Snake Goddess Crete was the last, full flowering of matriarchal culture. We are taught that Western civilization begins with Greece, but in fact the imagination of the Greeks came from Crete. All Greek religious rituals, all Greek mythology, was of Cretan-Mycenaean origin. Rites performed at Eleusis in utter secrecy were, in earlier Crete, celebrated in sacred groves. All these practices derived from the cult of the Great Goddess. Watch the documentary Goddess Remembered (available for free on Youtube) to learn more about the Great Goddess and matrifocal societies of the past, and how the loss of goddess-centric societies can be linked with today's environmental crisis. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633796084219-IOZETXNLXMH4H4F7C3J4/Serpent1.png Minoan Snake Goddess The snake was held sacred by many ancient cultures, representing the creative life-force, and carrying symbolism of sexuality, fertility, and transformation. The snake was a symbol of eternal life, since each time it shed its skin it seemed reborn. The Pelasgian myth of creation refers to snakes as the reborn dead. Gliding in and out of holes and caverns in the earth, the serpent also symbolized the underworld. The snake—with its stylized image, the spiral—was seen as the vehicle of immortality, and the image of spontaneous life energy. Like the snake who sheds its skin and still lives, the Moon births herself from her own darkness, and the womb bleeds periodically without being wounded—all these images were seen as miraculously interconnected transformations. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633796128063-2SPMORQGC6QKQ7L4DOLB/Serpent2.png Minoan Snake Goddess Great live snakes were everywhere kept in the Goddess’s temples during the Neolithic Age. In wall paintings, reliefs and statues, the Goddess was often represented carrying snakes in her upraised arms or coiled around her. Or, she was imaged as a serpent herself, with a woman’s body and a snake’s head. Everywhere in world myth and imagery, the Goddess-Creatrix was coupled with the sacred serpent. In Egypt she was the Cobra Goddess; the use of the cobra in her ceremonies and icons was so ancient that the inscribed picture of a cobra preceded the names of all goddesses, and became “the hieroglyphic sign for the word Goddess.” Isis also was pictured as a Serpent Goddess. The Sumerian Mother Goddess was known as the Great Mother Serpent of Heaven. A Venezuelan creation myth related by the native Yaruro indigenous people says: "At first there was nothing. Then Puana the Snake, who came first, created the world and everything in it". The African water spirit Mami Wata is pictured with a snake around her neck. Ancient Celtic and Teutonic goddesses were wrapped with snakes. The Aztecs and Mayas imaged the Goddess as a feathered serpent, or flying snake, a form of dragon. The distribution of the Goddess and her Serpent is global. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633797466775-U95ZU6ZQN947WA2S26Y3/Serpent3.png Minoan Snake Goddess When we see this worldwide occurrence of the Goddess and her Serpent, we can see the profound power as well as universality of this cosmological symbol. And we begin to see why monotheistic male-dominated religions were committed to the destruction of the goddess/serpent, vilified by the Babylonians as “primeval chaos”—an image picked up later by the Hebrews and used in the biblical Genesis, where Eve linked with her serpent become the symbols of evil. In Judaism, the serpent was portrayed as Samael, the brother of the “evil” first woman, Lilith. When Old Testament reformers went around destroying images of the serpent—calling them “pagan abominations,” what they were really doing was attacking the primordial Goddess religion. They tried to destroy the world’s original, most widespread, and enduring religion by branding it as evil, and by portraying the Mother Goddess and her snake as the source, not of all life, but of “all wickedness”. Western biblicized peoples have lost their original connection to what the Goddess and her Serpent really meant. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633796959625-BF61EOEMR7DY7OBOVC8W/Serpent4.png Minoan Snake Goddess In Africa, statues of women with “snakes issuing from the nostrils” indicated clairvoyant powers, and the snake-hair of Medusa had the same significance. According to Merlin Stone, snake venom injected into people who have previously been immunized against it, had highly hallucinogenic qualities; some venom is chemically similar to mescaline (peyote) or the psilocybin of mushrooms. Reported effects were clairvoyance, extraordinary mental powers, enhanced creativity, prophetic visions, and illumination about the primal processes of existence. As Stone remarks, the sacred snakes kept at the Goddess’s oracular shrines “were perhaps not merely the symbols but actually the instruments through which the experiences of divine revelation were reached.” Ancient women shamans worldwide were aware of this property of snake venom—and this was one of the recognized meanings of the snake symbols and images inscribed everywhere. Rudolf Steiner, founder of Anthroposophy, spoke of the innate clairvoyant power of ancient humanity, a power lost by “modern man,” who is now unaware of his primordial connection with universal life and its magic energies. Reduced to a mere mechanism, the modern man lives in a void of loneliness and alienation. For it is precisely the astral-lunar region, the psychic world of supersensual perception—called by occultists “the astral serpent”—which hyper-masculinized modern society tells us to destroy, to overcome in the name of a hyper-rational, static, asexual, and mechanistic system. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/cb92e103-81fd-4605-8848-2d3029b7bbf9/Quote1-1.jpg Minoan Snake Goddess - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633821742150-W0X0GT3790RQMBR5HIVN/Judy1.png Minoan Snake Goddess The 1979 installation artwork The Dinner Party by feminist artist Judy Chicago features a place setting for the Snake Goddess. Widely regarded as the first epic feminist artwork, the installation is a symbolic history of women in civilization. It features a massive ceremonial banquet arranged on a triangular table, with 39 elaborate place settings, each commemorating a mythical or historical famous woman, including Virginia Woolf, Susan B. Anthony, Sacagawea, Georgia O'Keefe, Ishtar, and Kali, to name a few. Each place setting includes a hand-painted china plate, ceramic cutlery, a chalice and a napkin. Each plate depicts a brightly colored, elaborately styled vulva form. The settings rest on intricately embroidered runners, using a variety of needlework styles and techniques. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633821705530-QJAIBC3KTPFBJQQZPOHQ/Judy2.png Minoan Snake Goddess The runner of the Snake Goddess setting is decorated in ivory and gold, with brown and yellow accent colors. There are gold snakes on the back of the runner, and a snake intertwined in the letter “S” on the runner’s front. The front of the runner echoes the figure of the Snake Goddess, with a flounce that mimics her skirt. Inkle-loom woven strips border the runner and are embroidered with patterns similar to those found in Minoan clothes. The plate is rooted in vulva imagery found throughout The Dinner Party, and is based on the color-scheme of the Cretan Snake Goddesses statues. Echoing their gold and ivory tones, the plate has four pale yellow arms growing out from a center form, “whose egg-like shapes represent the generative force of the goddess” (Chicago, A Symbol of Our Heritage). Learn more about The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f5a45af0-b2dc-4444-8e06-9a97420c6174/PracticesTitle.png Minoan Snake Goddess - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/9b1d37d0-0bcb-4811-938e-580279897b8d/Separator2.png Minoan Snake Goddess - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/058ea4b7-7770-4ad8-b50a-6dbbac7de3dc/Womb.png Minoan Snake Goddess This magical guided journey takes you to a ritual fire in the forest where your ancestor awaits and bears witness to your releasing of all that no longer serves you or what has held you back. Mama Bear will then guide you to the womb of Mother Earth, where you will meet your Spirit Guides, Higher Self, and Power Animal, where they will take you to a magical world full of mystery and remembrance. It is here where you will begin unearthing the long-dormant seeds of your soul that help you to remember who you are. Listen here. Practice by Dakota Earth Cloud Walker on Insight Timer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/b53be34d-18cb-4872-9255-1979406c3290/Separator.png Minoan Snake Goddess - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/28251923-7b62-4760-9864-1b7b81aa514f/Listening.png Minoan Snake Goddess What if we sincerely listened to nature? Nature is a vast resource of wisdom on revealing oneness and uniqueness. Nature teaches us at least three important things in the journey of Generous Listening. First, nature offers us endless tools to internalize and to practice slowing down, being present in the moment and being open to surprises. Second, through connecting to nature, one develops the skills of humility and compassion for all living beings and becomes conscious of oneness. Third, nature is always bountiful and generous. Nature teaches us about reciprocity and generous giving. Nature teaches us to weave a web of intimacy and reciprocity with the living world, to see ourselves as one kind of person in a much wider field of relatedness, in which all flourishing is mutual. When we listen to and learn from Nature, we are invited to enter into kinship, a form of relationship that acknowledges the deeper workings of reality by operating on the same principles as the very breath which keeps us alive: reciprocity, emergence, and sensuous awareness. Practice by Vuslat Foundation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633797127218-BJ5EZNCE4N2T0JLSVAPS/GoDeeper.png Minoan Snake Goddess - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.onusamothership.com/florence-nightingale daily 0.75 2024-03-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634142323686-YVZSWHTZ8ZJHT8T9WFYP/Cover1.jpg Florence Nightingale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634143472316-IHAYS46BHPZ29JYPIGVW/Cover2.jpg Florence Nightingale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634143529395-Y959VV0KOJSR6TKFH9DG/Cover4.jpg Florence Nightingale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634143553600-0AD5TEUJQDHA52ELNUTP/Cover5.jpg Florence Nightingale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634143597379-4QXKX917OOUMKIIHGJNB/Cover6.jpg Florence Nightingale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634143725938-YE92MHQTAH3U18XQ1JBW/Cover7.jpg Florence Nightingale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634143780349-N141P7WO3OHCR4Q76W7T/Cover8.jpg Florence Nightingale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634143844954-9OE775IDZWY16ZTB6Z2G/Cover9.jpg Florence Nightingale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634143912722-CQK2IIDGDEAN289KWZLJ/Cover10.jpg Florence Nightingale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634144159166-SF3WSTKFNP899D0Z2AB9/Cover13.jpg Florence Nightingale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634144383234-AT3QM0ZK2QSIJB0FRHUS/Cover12.jpg Florence Nightingale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634144483662-EOU6C8HXYQP953F2GV9I/Cover11.jpg Florence Nightingale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634144668822-UH1PZDKFMHZ503STFYZU/Cover14.jpg Florence Nightingale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634145005158-S2W4ZYYSAC3BOFGA8HQA/Cover15.jpg Florence Nightingale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634152842284-UZV80JS75440SYZAAZ3E/Cover16.jpg Florence Nightingale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c28c22b8-de63-4efa-b735-4929f882d40e/FlorenceHeader2.jpg Florence Nightingale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/efdfe6b6-edf6-4e7b-a2c7-855dde157919/Quote1.png Florence Nightingale - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634133255319-G7RG6H9J63MHB21JRQ7T/Story1.png Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (1820 –1910) was an English social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. She rose to prominence while working as a manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean War, in which she organized care for wounded soldiers in the Ottoman Empire. She elevated nursing to a respectable profession, and became an icon of Victorian culture. She was known as 'The Lady with the Lamp', because she made rounds in the military hospital at night, to care for wounded soldiers. Florence Nightingale's work played an instrumental role in professionalizing nursing roles for women. In 1860, she established the first secular nursing school in the world. In recognition of her pioneering work in nursing, the Nightingale Pledge taken by new nurses, and the Florence Nightingale Medal, the highest international distinction a nurse can achieve, were named in her honor. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634077331049-7Z00X3IAJWYRPEY36BHW/Story2.png Florence Nightingale Her social reforms included improving healthcare for all sections of British society, advocating better hunger relief in India, helping to abolish prostitution laws that were harsh for women, and expanding women's participation in the workforce. Florence was an exceptional and multitalented writer. Many of her published works aimed to spread medical knowledge. She wrote some of her texts in simple English, so that those with poor literary skills could understand them. She was also a pioneer in data visualization with the use of infographics and effective presentations of statistical data. Many of her writings, including her extensive work on religion and mysticism, were published posthumously. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634136058696-LGU3BCZWDRLDAY4YTKRQ/Story3.png Florence Nightingale Florence grew up in a wealthy family, from whom she inherited a liberal-humanitarian worldview. Her grandfather was an abolitionist, and her father educated her extensively, having advanced ideas about women's education compared to the social restraints on women in Victorian England.In those days, women from Florence's class did not attend university or pursue a career, their purpose in life was to marry and have children. Florence's father believed women should be educated, and he personally taught her Italian, Latin, Greek, philosophy, history, writing and mathematics. From an early age, Florence displayed an extraordinary ability for collecting and analyzing data, which she would greatly use later in life. Florence worked hard to educate herself in the art and science of nursing, in the face of opposition from her family and the restrictive social code for affluent young English women. She rejected the expected role for a woman to become a wife and mother, convinced it would interfere with her ability to follow her calling to nursing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634076577217-BSMHIRLY1MY89J6HKQXR/Story4.png Florence Nightingale In Rome in 1847, she met Sidney Herbert, a politician who would become Secretary of War during the Crimean War, and would be instrumental in facilitating Nightingale's nursing work in Crimea. In Egypt, while visiting the temples of Abu Simbel and Thebes, she experienced several mystical experiences that prompted a strong desire to devote her life to the service of others. In 1850, she went to Germany and received four months of medical training in a medical institute, which formed the basis for her later care. She later became superintendent at the Institute for the Care of Sick Gentlewomen in London. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634133329312-4I7AMM5MT8K9AEKHT6WH/Lamp1.png Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale's most famous contribution came during the Crimean War, which became her central focus when reports got back to Britain about the horrific conditions of the wounded at the military hospital at Scutari (modern-day Üsküdar in Istanbul). Britain and France entered the war against Russia, in alliance with the Ottoman Empire. In October 1854, Florence and a staff of 38 women volunteer nurses and 15 Catholic nuns were sent (under the authorization of Sidney Herbert) to the Ottoman Empire. When Florence and her team arrived, they found that poor care for wounded soldiers was being delivered by overworked medical staff. Medicines were in short supply, hygiene was being neglected, and mass infections were common, many of them fatal. There was no equipment to process food for the patients. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/33b0ef79-52c4-48f4-aa25-dca6ee742b1f/Lamp2.png Florence Nightingale Florence sent a plea to The Times for a government solution to the poor condition of the facilities, and the British Government commissioned the design of a prefabricated hospital that could be built in England and shipped there. The result was a facility with a death rate less than one tenth of that of the previous hospital. Florence's efforts reduced the death rate from 42% to 2%, either by making improvements in hygiene herself (for example, implementing hand-washing and other hygiene practices for her staff), or by calling for the Sanitary Commission. However, she never claimed credit for helping to reduce the death rate. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634090941013-V1RP5QBVOKGQBYYLKWA4/Lamp3.png Florence Nightingale Florence believed that most of the soldiers were killed by poor living conditions. Her experience at the military hospital influenced her later career when she advocated sanitary living conditions as of great importance. She turned her attention to the sanitary design of hospitals and the introduction of sanitation in working-class homes. Nightingale’s approach to health care was systemic and holistic. She consistently stressed health promotion and disease prevention. During the Crimean War, Nightingale gained the nickname ‘The Lady with the Lamp’ from a phrase in a report in The Times: https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/dd2b21cb-4bf7-48fe-b96e-c7bb0b84fcc0/Lamp4.png Florence Nightingale - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634133957410-FTI4YJYMEKKRVWFNLJJD/Lamp5.png Florence Nightingale The phrase was further popularized by the 1857 poem ‘Santa Filomena’ by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's: Lo! in that house of misery A lady with a lamp I see Pass through the glimmering gloom, And flit from room to room. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634091952637-2P08M1G7EUQRO63O1GLS/swallow.png Florence Nightingale - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634093216314-E6Y1XP4JV20U8NIGMNCK/Nursing1.png Florence Nightingale To recognize Florence for her work in the war, the Nightingale Fund was established for the training of nurses, which received an outpouring of generous donations. As a result, Florence was able to set up the Nightingale Training School at St Thomas' Hospital in 1860, later called the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery, part of King's College London. Nightingale wrote Notes on Nursing (1859). The book not only served as the foundation of the curriculum at the Nightingale School and other nursing schools, but also as a classic introduction to nursing for the general public. It was the first of its kind ever to be written, and legitimized nursing as a respectable profession, in a time when nurses were still seen as ignorant and uneducated. Florence spent the rest of her life promoting and organizing the nursing profession. One of Florence's major achievements was the introduction of trained nurses into the workhouse system in Britain since the 1860s. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634133456765-Q79ENYAND76Y8ZLYEX84/Nursing2.png Florence Nightingale Florence's work served as an inspiration for nurses in the American Civil War. The Union government approached her for advice in organizing field medicine. In the 1870s, Nightingale mentored Linda Richards, America's first trained nurse, and enabled her to return to the United States with adequate training and knowledge to establish high-quality nursing schools there. Richards went on to become a nursing pioneer in the US and Japan. In 1883, Florence became the first recipient of the Royal Red Cross. In 1904, she was appointed a Lady of Grace of the Order of St John. In 1907, she became the first woman to be awarded the Order of Merit. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634135694806-QO4EFT8OOVSVLGA0CY6Y/Legacy1.png Florence Nightingale NURSING Nightingale’s lasting contribution has been her role in founding the modern nursing profession. In addition to starting the first official nurses' training program, she set an example of compassion, commitment to patient care and diligent and thoughtful hospital administration. In 1912, the International Committee of the Red Cross instituted the Florence Nightingale Medal, which is awarded every two years to nurses for outstanding service. It is the highest international distinction a nurse can achieve, awarded for '“exceptional courage and devotion to the wounded, sick or disabled or to civilian victims of a conflict or disaster, or for exemplary services or a creative and pioneering spirit in the areas of public health or nursing education”. Since 1965, International Nurses Day has been celebrated on her birthday (May 12th) each year. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634135743166-BDEA0VY2KN58Q2NHOPE5/Legacy2.png Florence Nightingale Named in her honor, the Nightingale Pledge (created in 1893) is a modified version of the Hippocratic Oath which nurses recite at their pinning ceremony at the end of training. The pledge is a statement of the ethics and principles of the nursing profession. During the Vietnam War, Florence inspired many US Army nurses, sparking a renewal of interest in her life and work. The Agostino Gemelli Medical School in Rome, one of the most respected medical centers in Italy, honored Florence's contribution to the nursing profession by giving the name ‘Bedside Florence’ to a wireless computer system it developed to assist nursing. In Istanbul, four hospitals are named after Florence. The Florence Nightingale Museum was establish at St Thomas' Hospital in London in 1989, to celebrate her legacy. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634094923562-4GKOWFHISYBIVQ52FI6H/Legacy3.png Florence Nightingale STATISTICS With a gift in mathematics, Florence became a pioneer in the visual presentation of information and statistical graphics. She is credited with developing a form of the pie chart now known as the polar area diagram, or occasionally the Nightingale rose diagram. In 1859, Florence was elected the first female member of the Royal Statistical Society. In 1874, she became an honorary member of the American Statistical Association. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634096939289-EHGPLY6BAIO6YVLREKCU/Legacy4.png Florence Nightingale SANITARY REFORM The Royal Sanitary Commission of 1868–1869 presented Florence with an opportunity to press for compulsory sanitation in private houses. She lobbied the authorities to strengthen the proposed Public Health Bill to require owners of existing properties to pay for connection to mains drainage. The strengthened legislation was enacted in the Public Health Acts of 1874. Florence made a comprehensive statistical study of sanitation in Indian rural life and was the leading figure in the introduction of improved medical care and public health service in India. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634142148069-SXJFPXXR1D9D8N594P3H/Legacy5.png Florence Nightingale WOMEN’S MOVEMENT Florence Nightingale became an icon for English feminists of the 1920s and 1930s. While better known for her contributions in the nursing and mathematical fields, Nightingale is also an important figure in the study of English feminism. An essay she wrote called Cassandra, was included in The Cause, a history of the women's movement. Cassandra protests the over-feminization of women into near helplessness, that Florence saw in her mother’s and older sister’s lethargic lifestyle, despite their education. She rejected their life of thoughtless comfort and chose a life of social service instead. Cassandra was considered a major text of English feminism. Florence was initially reluctant to join the Women's Suffrage Society, but through Josephine Butler was convinced that women's enfranchisement is absolutely essential to a nation if moral and social progress is to be made. Florence Nightingale's image appeared on the reverse of £10 Series D banknotes issued by the Bank of England from 1975 until 1994. Nightingale has appeared on international postage stamps, including the UK, Australia, Belgium, Dominica, Hungary, and Germany. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f78afd69-f0c2-4084-936c-f3ace493e8dd/PracticesTitle.png Florence Nightingale - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/19aba7a7-af89-4a07-a1a6-e01705009901/Virtue.png Florence Nightingale The exercise: Each day of the week, engage in a secret act of virtue or kindness. Do something nice or needed for others, but do so anonymously. These acts can be very simple, like washing someone else’s dishes, picking up trash on the sidewalk, making an anonymous donation, or leaving a small gift on a coworker’s desk. This practice helps us look at how willing we are to put the effort out to do good things for others if we never earn credit for it. Zen practice emphasizes “going straight on”⁠—leading our lives in a straightforward way based on what we know to be good practice, undaunted by praise or criticism. A monk once asked the Chinese Zen master Hui-hai “What is the gate [meaning both entrance and pillar] of Zen practice?” Hui-hai answered: “Complete giving”. The Buddha spoke constantly of the value of generosity, saying it is the most effective way to reach enlightenment. He recommended giving simple gifts⁠—water, food, shelter, clothing, transportation, flowers. Even poor people can be generous he said, by giving a crumb of their food to an ant. Each time we give something away, whether it is a material object or our time, we are letting go of a bit of ourselves and practicing the utmost generosity. Generosity is the highest virtue, and anonymous giving is the highest form of generosity. Practice by Jan Chozen Bays, from Mindfulness on the Go https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f0c22949-d6c2-43a4-9c2d-521b3413fe17/Separator.png Florence Nightingale - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/ea6f1e38-0943-4fa4-bed6-d713c9d73c3c/LovingTouch.png Florence Nightingale THE EXERCISE Use loving hands and a loving touch, even with inanimate objects. To remind yourself to practice loving touch, you can put something unusual on a finger of your dominant hand. Some possibilities include a different ring, a dot of nail polish on one nail, or a small mark made with a colored pen. Each time you notice the marker, remember to use loving hands, loving touch. DISCOVERIES When we do this practice, we soon become aware of when we or others are not using loving hands. We notice how groceries are thrown into the shopping cart, luggage is hurled onto a conveyor belt at the airport, and doors slamming when we rush. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/7d4e369e-c0ec-41be-82d7-f3297409a940/Separator.png Florence Nightingale - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/3dafb945-0b66-4f5c-819d-71c3de53a5cd/Tonglen.png Florence Nightingale Tonglen is Tibetan for ‘giving and taking’ (or sending and receiving), and refers to a meditation practice found in Tibetan Buddhism. Tonglen is also known as exchanging self with other. Below is a simple exercise for practicing Tonglen Compassion Meditation—consciously breathing in the suffering of others, and breathing out relief for that suffering. 1. Find a comfortable position and begin to follow your breath and quiet the mind. After a few minutes or once you are relaxed, you can bring to mind a friend or loved one whom you know is experiencing emotional discomfort or suffering. Imagine that he or she is standing in front of you, and visualize their suffering as a dark, heavy cloud surrounding him or her. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634097544081-NK826OZ6YUNY40RLWR9C/GoDeeper.png Florence Nightingale - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.onusamothership.com/clara-barton daily 0.75 2024-03-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1635983935292-MY7CMW2Z7ZIGUVR7JR4B/Cover1.jpg Clara Barton https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1635984030570-V534FJ3YEV2ZYQ7MRD50/Cover2.jpg Clara Barton https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1635984128331-F2W4MKB2T534ZO690KJO/Cover3.jpg Clara Barton https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1635984229333-CBDU8YIW7KAOS9NGSGZ1/Cover4.jpg Clara Barton https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1635984307913-LC3LVLGC0RIN86P7HM9Q/Cover5.jpg Clara Barton https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1635984439369-NUMHHK27R77M01XE5NR9/Cover6.jpg Clara Barton https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1635984522792-GJKG39D59BDUDSWSIBE6/Cover7.jpg Clara Barton https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1635984660993-0V6B1C4ZW96DWM5KCETF/Cover8.jpg Clara Barton https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1635984802490-71ZB90CFTQA8TN2544RU/Cover9.jpg Clara Barton https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/69f3ace1-e4f9-4b0b-b74f-648423bd7a1b/Clara-Header3.jpg Clara Barton https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/35f95aeb-ec87-408f-851f-42f2362dd976/Quote1.png Clara Barton - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/4ba062f2-902a-4526-83b0-64828ae1c366/Story1.png Clara Barton From a young age, Clara Barton had many experiences of taking care of others and nursing them back to health. Her devotion to serving others and alleviating the suffering of those in need developed early on, and guided her throughout her life. Clara was born into a somewhat large family, being the youngest of five children. One notable event that took place during her childhood and is considered to be one of the defining moments for her trajectory as a nurse was the moment when her older brother David fell from a roof, and suffered a terrible injury. For two years, David was bedridden, and Barton was his primary caregiver, nursing him back to health. This was Clara’s first experience as a nurse, at only 11 years old. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/e863d651-1365-4488-aa08-fada84907c1a/Story2.png Clara Barton At the age of 18, Clara began working as a school teacher, founding a school for the children of mill workers, and then started the first public school in Bordentown, New Jersey, a free school for the poorer children of the town. She worked there until a male principal was hired and paid twice her salary. While she loved teaching and working with children, she refused to work for less than a man’s pay. Consequently, she stopped working as a teacher and moved to Washington DC, where she worked as a recording clerk at the US Patent Office. Clara was not only one of the first women to work for the federal government, but she was also paid the same salary as her male coworkers in the patent office. Barton was fired in 1857 when James Buchanan was elected, because she was outspoken and did not support his campaign. However, after moving back to Massachusetts for a few years, she returned to the patent office in 1861 when Lincoln was elected, although she did not receive the salary she originally had. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/fef8fb31-0a8f-411d-94c9-d1da532d48f7/Story3.png Clara Barton 1861 was a notable year in US history, as it marked the beginning of the Civil War during the Battle of Fort Sumter. When a group of men from the 6th Massachusetts Infantry arrived in Washington DC, Clara recognized many old friends and acquaintances. After visiting them at the makeshift hospitals that were created in the US Senate Chamber, she noticed they lacked supplies and proper care. She therefore began caring for them, and bought them food and medical supplies. Soon after, she was able to collect enough supplies to fill up an entire warehouse. When she realized that providing these supplies to soldiers was more difficult than expected, she decided that going to the battlefields in person was the best way she could attend to the soldiers’ needs. At the Battle of Cedar Mountain, Clara was given permission to provide medical care to the soldiers who fought on the frontlines. She was given the nickname, “the Angel of the Battlefield”. Clara continued to work in both the field hospitals and on the frontlines, tending to wounded soldiers throughout the entire war. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f46de94a-f3ef-48e7-891b-303bbe973654/Story4.png Clara Barton In 1869, Clara traveled to Switzerland where she intended to rest and take a break from her years of arduous work. There, she learned about the International Red Cross and met with their representatives. Upon her return to the US, she was able to gain a considerable amount of support for the creation of an American Society of the Red Cross, established in 1881. Clara was president of the American Red Cross from 1881 until 1904, which was also the year she established the National First Aid Association of America. This new society was designed to teach the public how to assist in times of personal injury and emergencies. In addition to her work as a nurse, Clara was also a staunch women’s rights activist, confronting sexism in the workplace throughout her whole career, fighting for women’s suffrage, and speaking at conventions in an effort to accrue more rights for women. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1634091952637-2P08M1G7EUQRO63O1GLS/swallow.png Clara Barton - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/820cbcf4-1679-43e7-ab6a-6eb2a2990e3b/RedCross.png Clara Barton The American Red Cross is a non-profit humanitarian organization that was founded in 1881 by Clara Barton. Their mission statement is as follows: “The American Red Cross prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.” Some fundamental principles of the Global Red Cross Network include humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality. The Red Cross responds to natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, and fires. Many Red Cross workers are also certified to provide shelter, mental health services, food, and financial assistance. In addition to disaster relief, the Red Cross collects and distributes blood donations, provides health and safety education, and first aid classes. In fact, the Red Cross provides nearly 40% of the United States’ blood and blood components. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/ddbe2407-fc07-48e0-9ec9-0e9f4069f4ca/Quote2.png Clara Barton - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/b4d815ae-1d71-47a7-b59a-578ea6d9f75b/Introvert.png Clara Barton Even though she was a prominent public figure, Clara Barton was known to be incredibly shy from a very young age, and because of this, her parents encouraged her to become a school teacher as a way for her to step outside of her comfort zone and become more comfortable around people. Clara excelled as a teacher. She captured the imagination of her students so they were eager to learn. Despite her shyness, she was outspoken and did not hold back when it came to topics such as unequal pay. Clara Barton is a perfect example of a woman who did not let her shyness and quietness hold her back. She is an inspiration to many young girls that are shy, but are eager to do good and make a profound impact. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/ccd70fdf-18f3-4825-a8f5-915a32f188ce/Suffrage.png Clara Barton “I believe I must have been born believing in the full right of women to all the privileges and positions which nature and justice accord to her in common with other human beings. Perfectly equal rights—human rights. There was never any question in my mind in regard to this. I did not purchase my freedom with a price; I was born free; and when, as a younger woman I heard the subject discussed, it seemed simply ridiculous that any sensible, sane person should question it. And when, later, the phase of woman's right to suffrage came up it was to me only a part of the whole, just as natural, just as right, and just as certain to take place. And whenever I have been urged, as a petitioner, to ask for this privilege for woman, a kind of dazed, bewildered feeling has come over me. Virtually there is no one to give woman the right to govern herself, as men govern themselves by self-made and self-approved laws of the land. But in one way or another, sooner or later, she is coming to it. And the number of thoughtful and right-minded men who will oppose, will be much smaller than we think and when it is really an accomplished fact, all will wonder as I have done, what the objection ever was.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/15e6ca01-a311-4333-adbc-680fe65c23bc/Art.png Clara Barton - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/5ca788df-79af-4ea4-b5fb-5b14342f285a/Art2.png Clara Barton - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/99466261-d962-4a28-8f22-2d3a4fa1b33f/PracticesTitle.png Clara Barton - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c79d682a-e0cb-4aee-a0f3-fd0747ec2cbe/Tonglen.png Clara Barton Tonglen is Tibetan for ‘giving and taking’ (or sending and receiving), and refers to a meditation practice found in Tibetan Buddhism. Tonglen is also known as exchanging self with other. Below is a simple exercise for practicing Tonglen Compassion Meditation—consciously breathing in the suffering of others, and breathing out relief for that suffering. 1. Find a comfortable position and begin to follow your breath and quiet the mind. After a few minutes or once you are relaxed, you can bring to mind a friend or loved one whom you know is experiencing emotional discomfort or suffering. Imagine that he or she is standing in front of you, and visualize their suffering as a dark, heavy cloud surrounding him or her. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/a3712611-38d0-40cd-9440-ce94669796b6/Separator2.png Clara Barton - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/101b2d44-172a-4e4d-b13d-bf6a7100e81a/Separator.png Clara Barton - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/bb32d955-9852-4923-bdb0-9ffa3145f54f/LovingTouch.png Clara Barton The Exercise Use loving hands and a loving touch, even with inanimate objects. To remind yourself to practice loving touch, you can put something unusual on a finger of your dominant hand. Some possibilities include a different ring, a dot of nail polish on one nail, or a small mark made with a colored pen. Each time you notice the marker, remember to use loving hands, loving touch. DISCOVERIES When we do this practice, we soon become aware of when we or others are not using loving hands. We notice how groceries are thrown into the shopping cart, luggage is hurled onto a conveyor belt at the airport, and doors slamming when we rush. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/d65e4c01-c9f4-47f6-949a-14d9c726df69/Separator.png Clara Barton - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c0dff970-1010-4844-bc19-e29eb17dbe69/Virtue.png Clara Barton The exercise: Each day of the week, engage in a secret act of virtue or kindness. Do something nice or needed for others, but do so anonymously. These acts can be very simple, like washing someone else’s dishes, picking up trash on the sidewalk, making an anonymous donation, or leaving a small gift on a coworker’s desk. This practice helps us look at how willing we are to put the effort out to do good things for others if we never earn credit for it. Zen practice emphasizes “going straight on”⁠—leading our lives in a straightforward way based on what we know to be good practice, undaunted by praise or criticism. A monk once asked the Chinese Zen master Hui-hai “What is the gate [meaning both entrance and pillar] of Zen practice?” Hui-hai answered: “Complete giving”. The Buddha spoke constantly of the value of generosity, saying it is the most effective way to reach enlightenment. He recommended giving simple gifts⁠—water, food, shelter, clothing, transportation, flowers. Even poor people can be generous he said, by giving a crumb of their food to an ant. Each time we give something away, whether it is a material object or our time, we are letting go of a bit of ourselves and practicing the utmost generosity. Generosity is the highest virtue, and anonymous giving is the highest form of generosity. Practice by Jan Chozen Bays, from Mindfulness on the Go https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f85a04ab-17c7-4307-926b-7fab204a9c18/Quote3.png Clara Barton - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c33d9213-23ef-46ec-9408-595b0cdcd45c/GoDeeper.png Clara Barton - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.onusamothership.com/dryads daily 0.75 2024-03-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637803298522-0KEIIV3Z5LKZ75NW9BKB/Cover2.jpg Dryads https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637803393014-61IB9A272DDEW7P5LJ77/Cover1.jpg Dryads https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637803489467-21T6ZHZ5FCSGZH20MUH1/Cover11.jpg Dryads https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637803782959-J0S2MUKDRTYVN0BJJEMY/Cover3.jpg Dryads https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637803893546-PBIB3RBWSWHYLDZPH1BP/Cover4.jpg Dryads https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637804242921-09UQ5Q3G56LQU97PJJYO/Cover5.jpg Dryads https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637804620314-PHQJ3QOWZTPK5GVK5M5F/Cover6.jpg Dryads https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637804789225-3YWJC0JDKMK125U1PVDV/Cover7.jpg Dryads https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637804975946-7KEK8166LY753ZMV1VEB/Cover8.jpg Dryads https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637805136338-VL0GJ45QJJT47WC2FTKL/Cover9.jpg Dryads https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637805373754-5GU5LD3EEM0DZ9REQ9T2/Cover10.jpg Dryads https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637805524448-0836B7V7ULIK30NXHV6Z/Cover11.jpg Dryads https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637805706890-JD3QNF00R3CFT0MIAEMA/Cover12.jpg Dryads https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637805929910-1TEQ9PJELC6BVK3BA2XI/Cover13.jpg Dryads https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637806359638-W212ZKBLB3RNMC012OGG/Cover14.jpg Dryads https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637806526812-PO2JMOLJU814PMHUGJT4/Cover15.jpg Dryads https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637807567070-8WLMJ4236K7GURQIGEDW/Cover19.jpg Dryads https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637808439505-QABRVWHPCSPHJ56JV9L8/Cover20.jpg Dryads https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637859742911-AYTPO0K4ULXKESYO50ZU/Cover21.jpg Dryads https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637860211573-K4OXF4FVZZIBQQUIU480/Cover18.jpg Dryads https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637860401541-LLPHOLYTQ2S5LZ4PBGEJ/Cover16.jpg Dryads https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637860542352-FXV0G9R21JJSO66LM6F5/Cover17.jpg Dryads https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637860890267-XMIG4C5NUW63BIH55X1P/Cover21.jpg Dryads https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637860982891-HSQXE5IPXSPGWMYNCIU6/Cover22.jpg Dryads https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637861162834-3ET9D4VFL0XVH5FY017U/Cover23.jpg Dryads https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637861985403-IQ8URVUOULSLNXHHQ7Y8/Cover24.jpg Dryads https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637873996219-6F1GF9KNLRYLOR17FZ8X/Cover25.jpg Dryads https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1647378773577-6DELG0WZJ1697GAOTE6O/Cover29.jpg Dryads https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/ae63ddb5-1336-43da-a3d7-b162335de515/About.png Dryads Origin: Ancient Greece. Commonly associated with: nature, trees, plants, beauty, dancing, Gaia, Artemis. Sacred place: Forests and woods. Abilities: ecological empathy, environmental adaptation, nature unity, zoolingualism, semi-immortality, plant manipulation, plant mimicry, botanical communication, nature channeling, nature embodiment, self-puppetry, nature guardianship. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/ae88b204-f47d-4d60-811b-b2554b83fdeb/Story1.png Dryads In Greek mythology, Nymphs were female nature spirits or minor goddesses who lived in and protected forests, groves, and various places in nature. Nymphs were seen to be caregivers of the land and life in general, and were responsible for the care of plants and animals, especially those closely associated with the gods. Nymphs represented aspects of the natural world like bodies of water, islands, trees, or mountains. The Greeks believed that nature was alive and that spirits lived within its elements, so almost everything in nature had a Nymph that inhabited it. Etymologically, the word nymph is related to the Greek word for bride. Humans rarely saw the Nymphs, because they hid from the human world. When seen, Nymphs were described as beautiful, young, graceful maidens, and occasionally wild. In Greek mythology, the Gods were known to be lustful and chase after the Nymphs, so the Nymphs hid from them too. It is said that most Nymphs loved dancing, and waited to be out of the sight of humans to dance. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/aaa20d19-90cc-4b8d-811d-53d1484b8cbc/Story2.png Dryads Nymphs are said to have been created from the spilt blood of Ouranos, the God of the skies, that his wife Gaia, the Goddess of the Earth, absorbed. Nymphs were distinguished according to the sphere of nature with which they were connected: Celestial Nymphs are connected to various aspects of sky, including breezes, clouds and stars; Land Nymphs are connected to various landforms, including glens, pastures, valleys and mountains; Underworld Nymphs are servants of Underworld deities; Water Nymphs are connected to bodies of water, from sea to springs, lakes and rivers; and Wood and Plant Nymphs are connected to particular trees and plants. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/b7d6a17d-8f60-44d9-a007-0b71096d101c/Story3.png Dryads Because Nymphs were minor goddesses, they had certain abilities such as semi-immortality, and other supernatural abilities that connected them to nature. Some of these abilities include: Ecological empathy—the ability to sense the overall well-being and conditions of one's immediate environment and natural setting stemming from a psychic sensitivity to nature, Nature channeling—the ability to channel nature's energy and manipulate it for a myriad of purposes, Nature Unity—the power to become one with nature, Zoolingualism—the power to talk to animal life forms and understand their reactions, Environmental adaptation—the power to survive and adapt to an environment, Nature empowerment—the power to gain strength from nature, Nature Embodiment—the power to become the embodiment of nature, Water and plant mimicry—the power to transform into or have a physical body made up of water or plants, Self-puppetry—the power to contain and preserve one's soul into a single object which remotely controls the body, and Nature Guardianship—the ability to be a protector and keeper of nature and natural forces. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1acb40ca-b43a-4ec7-8f1c-5f68847e380b/Story4.png Dryads Nymphs were intimately connected with the aspects of nature over which they presided. They were thought to die if the water source they were associated with dried up, or if trees they inhabited were cut down. Their livelihood and life-force was intrinsically tied with the elements of nature. Not uncommonly, some nymphs shared their names with the places they inhabited—for example, one of these eponymous nymphs is Aegina, the nymph of the island that bears her name. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/063428fa-6d72-4896-bd06-db8959ed6ac8/Quote1.png Dryads - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8406ca0b-8982-4cc3-b0ef-8f53b7c6285c/Artemis1.png Dryads Artemis was the Greek goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, the Moon, nature and wild animals. She was a virgin goddess who was accompanied by Nymphs, called the 'Nymphae Artemisiae'—the Nymphs or Artemis. Because virginity was a very important value for Artemis, her nymphs were expected to follow her vow of chastity. The goddess was known to punish her Nymphs if they lost their virginity by, for example, turning them into wild animals. However, she also loved and protected her Nymphs from unwanted advances from humans and gods. Artemis and her Nymphs were known to dance across the lands, near rivers and lakes, and roamed freely through the mountains and forests. Dances of maidens representing Dryads (tree nymphs) were especially common in the worship of Artemis in her form as goddess of the trees, a role especially popular in the Peloponnese, in southern Greece. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8361b113-af4f-420c-ba82-c1fb6e03090f/Artemis2.png Dryads - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/630df9a3-55eb-4987-bf11-f40822c69373/Quote2.png Dryads - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/5ae69ca4-e547-4ce0-9666-4409ced9fff7/Dryads1.png Dryads The Dryads are the Nymphs of the Trees, or nature spirits who live in trees. Dryads were far removed from the human world and said to be shy, except around the goddess Artemis, who was known to be a friend to most nymphs. The Dryads are a famous class of Nymphs because of their relationship with Gaia, The Goddess of Earth and mother of all life. The Goddess was protective of her children, and as goddesses who were connected to nature, the Nymphs had a particularly close bond with her. Dryads were originally Nymphs that had to ask to be turned into trees, specifically from Gaia. In some cases, this transformation was a gift; in others, it was a punishment. Some nymphs found themselves runnings from the advances of lustful gods and men, with little hope of escape, and were turned into trees for their own protection. When Nymphs spread false rumors about gods and goddesses, they were sometimes turned into Dryads as punishment. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/24b69a41-d6ea-4281-9f89-09916d194af6/Dryads2.png Dryads Every type of tree found in Greece had its own type of Dryad. They made the forests sacred spaces that had to be treated with caution and respect. The nymphs of the ash trees were the Meliae, the nymphs of mountain pines and conifers were the Oreads, the nymphs of oak and poplar trees were the Hamadryads, the nymphs of fruit trees were the Meliades, the nymphs of laurel trees were the Daphnaei, and the nymphs of grapevine trees were the Ampeloi. The Hamadryads were the most popular because oak and poplar trees were prevalent in Greece, these nymphs were thus often found close to humans and on the edge of rivers. A Hamadryad's life was uniquely bound to the individual tree, unlike the other types of tree Nymphs. Because of this unique bond, oak and poplar trees were highly sacred trees, and the gods inflicted harsh punishment on those who cut them down, as this would kill the sacred spirit that lived within. The Hamadryads themselves were extremely grateful to those who protected them from this danger. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/2751c009-9433-4ebe-9ddc-d1f9b931b1ed/Dryads3.png Dryads Although the Dryads were regarded as lesser goddesses and their powers were limited, the Greeks believed that these beings were actually very powerful in their own way, because they were able to inspire strong emotions in humans. The awe that people felt when they looked at Nature was not, to the Greeks, a product of the human mind itself. The peace that came from sitting beneath a tree on a pleasant afternoon and even the terror felt in a dark forest at night were also regarded as extraordinary emotions. Everywhere the Dryads and their fellow Nymphs existed, they were able to touch humans with the gift of sublime emotion. While the Dryads could not wield great weapons or perform amazing feats of magic and strength, they touched the lives of the Greek people in a very important way. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f78d72b7-ffce-4c5f-bc90-80ca35d60c33/PracticesTitle.png Dryads - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/eab105ea-6f3a-4494-8189-736c191a3e48/Separator2.png Dryads - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/9859042c-bffe-4f3b-84df-98448580e127/ForestBathing.png Dryads Forest bathing is an ancient Japanese process of relaxation, know in Japan as shinrin-yoku. The simple method of being calm and quiet amongst the trees, observing nature around you whilst breathing deeply can help both adults and children de-stress and boost health and wellbeing in a natural way. Not simply a walk in the woods, forest bathing it is the conscious and contemplative practice of being immersed in the sights, sounds and smells of the forest. It was developed in Japan during the 1980s, and in 1982 Japan made this form of moving meditation under the canopy of living forests a part of its national health program. The purpose of shinrin-yoku was twofold: to offer an eco-antidote to tech-boom burnout and to inspire residents to reconnect with and protect the country’s forests. In the 1990s, researchers began studying the physiological benefits of forest bathing, providing the science to support what we innately know: time spent immersed in nature is good for us. While Japan is credited with the term shinrin-yoku, the concept at the heart of the practice is not new. Many cultures have long recognized the importance of the natural world to human health. Forest bathing is not just for the wilderness-lover; the practice can be as simple as walking in any natural environment and consciously connecting with what’s around you. For a more structured experience, you can join trained guides for a meditative two to three-hour eco-therapy excursion. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c573aa71-8c7c-48e0-8073-5afef083a288/Separator.png Dryads - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/69f1f36c-827b-44f4-b068-afa0db725018/Befriend.png Dryads Tree culturist P. G. Cross thinks we should all get up-close and personal with trees: “If you would live life in all its richness, then make friends with your trees, your neighbor's trees, the trees of the hillside and the highway. To form such a friendship means serenity of being, better health, and above all, lasting happiness. No tree ever proves to be a false friend.” Befriend a tree for the summer. Look out for its welfare. Notice its moods. Sit beside it and bask in its energy. Spiritual Practice by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat in Summertime and Living Takes Practice https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/4867560a-66fa-4730-8ae5-007376dc5144/Separator.png Dryads - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/40df7160-1b97-4b60-9e84-22881b002b34/TreeofLife.png Dryads In solitary practice, begin by sitting or standing erect, and breathing deeply and rhythmically. As you breathe and as your spine straightens, imagine that your spine is the trunk of a tree. And from its base, roots extend deep into the center of the Earth. And you can draw up power from the Earth, with each breath. Feel the energy rising like sap rising through a tree trunk. Feel the power rise up your spine, feel yourself becoming more alive with each breath. From the crown of your head, you have branches that sweep up and back down to touch the Earth. Feel the power burst from the crown of your head, and feel it sweep through the branches until it touches the Earth again, making a circle, returning to its source. If you do this exercise in a group: Breathing deeply, feel your branches intertwining, and the power weaving through them, and dancing among them, like the wind. Meditation from The Spiral Dance, by Starhawk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/3e2c1252-1bbd-4a67-91bd-05acfc988c3d/Separator.png Dryads - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f289eb2c-49c3-4b10-a0a4-cbe5bd6d9c07/Leaves.png Dryads “By absorbing the nurturing elements that are offered to us and to recognize the world looks after us. May we accept these gifts and transforming them to nurture others. May all be held, may we hold others. By recognizing our abundance, all different forms, shapes and sizes: this strength that moves us safely through any storm and can create a dance out of any challenge, welcoming sun, rain, wind. May we embrace our differences and see strengths in them, oh how enriched our lives will be. By connecting through replaceability. Like the leaves know when it is time to go before they become a burden; may we have the strength to know when and what to drop and let go, may we remember to make ourselves replaceable, may we show up regardless. By nurturing above and below. Just as air is a life force, so is decay and compost, different seasons call for different things. May we remember that change is life and life is change, we are both. To learn from the world. To learn from the trees. To learn from the leaves.” By Josephine Becker https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/e6578fe7-6208-438d-a034-9dae08d83125/Separator.png Dryads - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/d074a1b2-bb62-4c5e-a5c8-cbdb9eab7bd3/TreeBreathe.png Dryads Find a tree you admire on your land, in your backyard, or at a nearby park. Stand on the earth next to this tree, barefoot if possible. Gaze at the tree and sniff the air. Try to sense the misty, nutrient-dense waters that evaporate from this tree being. Although you may not see moisture, you can imagine its release. Breathe in the rich vapors that flow from the tree like a fountain. Then breathe out sustaining energy to the tree. As you continue to “tree-breathe”, attune to this tree’s essence. Feel its spirit. Telepathically, or speaking aloud, thank this nature being for its beauty and for everything it offers. Importantly, feel your gratitude. Just as its invisible waters and oxygen nourish you, the love you release with each exhale is food for the tree; appreciation is a nourishing force. This is a good time to commit to do what you can to promote healthy trees and air, with the tree as your witness. Spiritual Practice Llyn Roberts in Speaking with Nature https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/4ead7c3b-51fd-457f-92cb-dc711e24cd05/Separator.png Dryads - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/67edf93a-5d44-4ed0-9c1e-8093c9494998/PlantaTree.png Dryads “We see trees as the hosts of our spirits and the source of our livelihood. Planting trees is a celebration.”—Boro Baski⁠⁠ Trees hold immense powers, including the power to make all our lives better and healthier. If a tree has power, a forest has even more. Continue reading below about the wonderful superpowers of trees. While trees are resilient, they are not invincible—and they need our help. To help plant and protect trees, you can either learn to plant trees yourself, using this step-by-step guide if you have a garden and enough space, or you can support organizations that work to plant trees and protect and restore forests, such as The Nature Conservancy, One Tree Planted, Wangari Maathai’s Green Belt Movement, International Tree Foundation, Trees for the Future and Trees for Life. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/7a600666-7647-4b6b-a0f7-c475870f6652/Quote3.png Dryads The Dryads are the Nymphs of the Trees, or nature spirits who live in trees. Dryads were far removed from the human world and said to be shy, except around the goddess Artemis, who was known to be a friend to most nymphs. The Dryads are a famous class of Nymphs because of their relationship with Gaia, The Goddess of Earth and mother of all life. The Goddess was protective of her children, and as goddesses who were connected to nature, the Nymphs had a particularly close bond with her. Dryads were originally Nymphs that had to ask to be turned into trees, specifically from Gaia. In some cases, this transformation was a gift; in others, it was a punishment. Some nymphs found themselves runnings from the advances of lustful gods and men, with little hope of escape, and were turned into trees for their own protection. When Nymphs spread false rumors about gods and goddesses, they were sometimes turned into Dryads as punishment. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1632662592272-WHX9Y0986XA5TVZ3RO1F/GoDeeper.png Dryads - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.onusamothership.com/mary-seacole daily 0.75 2024-03-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637158070020-ES6871IZL3KK0NIHGNV6/Cover1.jpg Mary Seacole https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637158163600-V3HVKLE1Y5D0AAI2S17O/Cover2.jpg Mary Seacole https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637176097423-K7KJLXLZ21V01FW50JZB/Cover3.jpg Mary Seacole https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637176658762-UR3UI6FO3WDJ5OEWEJ4B/Cover4.jpg Mary Seacole https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637176742598-VAKCKEGVY7U5Q6DFN2HO/Cover5.jpg Mary Seacole https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637177082373-YX0NG6FJYU20886BVD71/Cover6.jpg Mary Seacole https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637177250641-UHAELLLRL55L9P5YAR94/Cover7.jpg Mary Seacole https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637177540989-3LNGUEO36S3A5I7JEJLL/Cover8.jpg Mary Seacole https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/09ff70ca-12fd-44f4-a766-1e9175bbbff6/MarySeacoleHeader3.jpg Mary Seacole https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/17f00134-615e-4b7b-80c3-2c397a2ab60f/Story1.png Mary Seacole Mary Seacole was born in 1805 in Kingston, Jamaica. Her father was a Scottish soldier and her mother was Jamaican. She grew up with her two siblings and her mother who ran a respected lodging house called Blundell Hall, which also served as a convalescent home for military and naval staff recuperating from illnesses such as cholera and yellow fever. Mary’s mother was also a “doctress”—a healer who used traditional Caribbean and African herbal medicines. In the 16th and 17th centuries, European ruling elites carried out witch-hunts that destroyed the folk medicine practiced by working-class white women. In contrast, Jamaican doctresses mastered folk medicine, had a rich knowledge of tropical diseases, and had a general practitioner's skill in treating ailments and injuries, acquired from having to look after the illnesses of fellow slaves on sugar plantations. The role of a doctress in Jamaica was a mixture of a nurse, midwife, masseuse and herbalist, drawing strongly on the traditions of Creole medicine. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/2abaf066-9232-45aa-9425-969d70eef528/Story2.png Mary Seacole During her childhood, Mary learned healing practices from her mother and started acquiring nursing skills. She began experimenting in medicine by ministering to a doll and then progressing to pets before helping her mother treat humans. Because of her family's close ties with the army, she was able to observe the practices of military doctors, and combined that knowledge with the West African remedies she acquired from her mother. As a young girl, Mary earned a reputation as a skillful doctress as she helped nurse sick and injured soldiers back to health. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/33d0cbad-e5e6-480d-8717-cb9dde5ed483/Story3-2.png Mary Seacole In 1823, Mary travelled around the world for three years to learn about modern European medicine. After two personal tragedies in which Mary lost both her husband and her mother within a short period of time, the cholera epidemic started in 1850. Mary first cared for the sick in Kingston, then relocated to Panama to help people there. After cholera, the yellow fever epidemic started in 1853, during which Mary was the supervising nurse in the Kingston Army's headquarters, and she also rebuilt her mother's lodge as a hospital. Mary was known for her immense compassion for the soldiers she cared for. The Crimean War between Britain and the Russian empire erupted in October 1853. Because Mary had a strong relationship with soldiers and abundant experience caring for them throughout her life, she asked to be sent as an army nurse to Crimea to care for wounded soldiers, but was denied this request. Although not specifically stated, Mary believed the reason she was refused was due to racial discrimination. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/59eec6d3-adc1-44db-81f0-085929ea3b37/Story4.png Mary Seacole Mary did not take no for an answer, raised the funds to make her own trip to Crimea and built the “British Hotel” with the help of her late husband's relative. The hotel was specifically designed to house injured and recovering soldiers, and also provided meals and supplies for officers. Mary was so caring that she became known amongst the soldiers as “Mother Seacole”. After the war, Mary's reputation kept growing as soldiers wrote letters about her actions to local newspapers—making her a heroine of the Crimean war. The Times war correspondent, Sir William Howard Russell, wrote of Mary in 1857: “I have witnessed her devotion and her courage. I trust that England will not forget one who nursed her sick, who sought out her wounded to aid and succour them, and who performed the last offices for some of her illustrious dead”. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1cb17f8a-4b17-4f84-9ac2-09a3e945a7f1/Story5.png Mary Seacole However, after the war ended and Mary returned to England in 1857, she was in poor health and destitute, and had to declare bankruptcy. A fundraiser was set up in her honor on the banks of the River Thames with over 80,000 attendees, including veterans, their families and royalty. As a result, she was lifted out of bankruptcy, and awarded a Crimea War medal. After her death in 1881, Mary was almost forgotten for over a century. It is only in the 21st century that she started to come into more prominence. Several buildings and entities, mainly connected with health care, were named after her. In 2007, she was introduced into the National Curriculum, and her life story is now taught at many primary schools in the UK alongside that of Florence Nightingale. She was voted the Greatest Black Briton in 2004. In 2005, her portrait was used for one of ten first-class stamps showing important Britons. In 2016, a statue was erected in her honor at St Thomas Hospital in London. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f6621ec8-9ef2-48f4-ad29-fe2251e95daa/Adventures.png Mary Seacole Mary Seacole's autobiography, The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands (1857) is one of the earliest autobiographies of an Afro-Caribbean woman, and the first autobiography by a black woman published in Britain. The gloriously entertaining book was an instant bestseller upon its release. The book is an autobiographical account of Mary's travels, relating her life in Jamaica and her study of nursing, her years in Panama, and her exploits in Crimea, where she acted as doctor and “mother” to wounded soldiers while running her business, the British Hotel. Told with warmth, and humor, her remarkable life story and accounts of hardships offer important insights into the history of race politics. With her witty sarcasm, Mary joyfully rises to mock the limitations artificially imposed on her as a black woman. Her writings unveil her bold individuality and charisma, and highlight her very un-Victorian passion for independence, travel and adventure. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/5f4b7d6c-6ace-4036-bead-0879679c7b39/Quote2-2.png Mary Seacole - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/85ea347d-3425-497f-938d-a4d63e852971/Legacy.png Mary Seacole The Mary Seacole Trust was created to educate and inform the public about the life, work and achievements of Mary Seacole, who overcame racism and injustice to nurse soldiers during the Crimean War. As a result of a nationwide appeal supported by thousands of individuals and major corporations, a statue of Mary was unveiled at St Thomas’ Hospital in London, opposite the Houses of Parliament, in 2016. One of the roles of the Mary Seacole Trust is to maintain the statue for future generations. The trust ensures that Mary is never again lost to history as she was for over 100 years. In addition, the trust’s major projects aim to promote Mary as a role model for today’s young people, encouraging them to follow her example of good citizenship, entrepreneurship and achievement. The trust aims to build on Mary’s legacy to promote fairness and equality, including diverse leadership in private and public services. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f3968075-7957-4e89-a87b-ad0f962aca76/PracticesTitle.png Mary Seacole - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8d00fdc9-d1b7-48ce-9526-f03907338e4e/Separator2.png Mary Seacole - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c9fdd97f-a468-4c01-96b9-b7a0e78cf54c/LovingTouch.png Mary Seacole THE EXERCISE Use loving hands and a loving touch, even with inanimate objects. To remind yourself to practice loving touch, you can put something unusual on a finger of your dominant hand. Some possibilities include a different ring, a dot of nail polish on one nail, or a small mark made with a colored pen. Each time you notice the marker, remember to use loving hands, loving touch. DISCOVERIES When we do this practice, we soon become aware of when we or others are not using loving hands. We notice how groceries are thrown into the shopping cart, luggage is hurled onto a conveyor belt at the airport, and doors slamming when we rush. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/7566ebf9-ca8a-4aa1-a63b-62eaaa98da86/Separator.png Mary Seacole - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/84e64f35-6f7f-49d3-a30f-5d51b44b51e9/Virtue.png Mary Seacole The exercise: Each day of the week, engage in a secret act of virtue or kindness. Do something nice or needed for others, but do so anonymously. These acts can be very simple, like washing someone else’s dishes, picking up trash on the sidewalk, making an anonymous donation, or leaving a small gift on a coworker’s desk. This practice helps us look at how willing we are to put the effort out to do good things for others if we never earn credit for it. Zen practice emphasizes “going straight on”⁠—leading our lives in a straightforward way based on what we know to be good practice, undaunted by praise or criticism. A monk once asked the Chinese Zen master Hui-hai “What is the gate [meaning both entrance and pillar] of Zen practice?” Hui-hai answered: “Complete giving”. The Buddha spoke constantly of the value of generosity, saying it is the most effective way to reach enlightenment. He recommended giving simple gifts⁠—water, food, shelter, clothing, transportation, flowers. Even poor people can be generous he said, by giving a crumb of their food to an ant. Each time we give something away, whether it is a material object or our time, we are letting go of a bit of ourselves and practicing the utmost generosity. Generosity is the highest virtue, and anonymous giving is the highest form of generosity. Practice by Jan Chozen Bays, from Mindfulness on the Go https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1b8f1f6f-cd53-4da6-9efa-f77ae69ec780/Separator.png Mary Seacole - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/bf4cac43-6ca4-4637-8fa4-f20bf3a20253/Tonglen.png Mary Seacole Tonglen is Tibetan for ‘giving and taking’ (or sending and receiving), and refers to a meditation practice found in Tibetan Buddhism. Tonglen is also known as exchanging self with other. Below is a simple exercise for practicing Tonglen Compassion Meditation—consciously breathing in the suffering of others, and breathing out relief for that suffering. 1. Find a comfortable position and begin to follow your breath and quiet the mind. After a few minutes or once you are relaxed, you can bring to mind a friend or loved one whom you know is experiencing emotional discomfort or suffering. Imagine that he or she is standing in front of you, and visualize their suffering as a dark, heavy cloud surrounding him or her. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f6524f7b-0e57-4606-ad48-76563ac4fce9/Quote.png Mary Seacole - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8eab95cf-bd30-4440-8ce5-4b4352530710/GoDeeper.png Mary Seacole - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.onusamothership.com/harriet-tubman daily 0.75 2024-03-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637611330439-IC9JG05HJGLVMMQ7B3MP/Cover1.jpg Harriet Tubman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637624334328-LO7I7GY5DI9LVKRAV9ZI/Cover2.jpg Harriet Tubman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637624457617-GKXL9K4QGGHGRLPH4BCO/Cover3.jpg Harriet Tubman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637627274563-HNC3G8JGC439PPW2Y8CC/Cover4.jpg Harriet Tubman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637627398205-YGAQER4TPYU6AAICMD36/Cover5.jpg Harriet Tubman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637628056698-R5E2W1XJVST6QGZGHQFB/Cover6.jpg Harriet Tubman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637628328039-JRP8S66B01J7KO0NPGGC/Cover7.jpg Harriet Tubman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637628610574-2PKUYRBHGRRNDFQO1X05/Cover8.jpg Harriet Tubman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637629071697-LK244GG24KAY8IR064JY/Cover9.jpg Harriet Tubman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637629364324-AJSDMBTXZ73J71OAZ275/Cover10.jpg Harriet Tubman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637629448461-629PDQK5H5U89PJ0K7MA/Cover11.jpg Harriet Tubman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637629700620-Q2P6JBYGPTBX6K3QRK30/Cover12.jpg Harriet Tubman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637629965970-7BRTLH5P89KCP9W17BQR/Cover14.jpg Harriet Tubman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637630094342-NB8V799BZ0QOGESICM6R/Cover13.jpg Harriet Tubman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637630307202-I5ZWVSUFAM6U0WBWFFWH/Cover15.jpg Harriet Tubman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/db964d17-8db2-4c60-99b2-0ed836f87356/HarrietTubmanHeader3.jpg Harriet Tubman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/6096863f-fbbe-4fde-a2e2-1b316e635ad8/Quote1-2.png Harriet Tubman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/a1bf536e-14d1-4e0a-acb8-1be3a6294b79/Story1.png Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman was born Araminta "Minty" Ross on a plantation in Dorchester County, Maryland, around 1820. Her mother Harriet (“Rit”) worked as a cook in the plantation’s “big house,” and her father Benjamin was a timber worker, who was later set free. Araminta later changed her first name to Harriet in honor of her mother. At the age of 5, Harriet began working as a house slave. She was constantly mistreated and beaten, leaving her with permanent emotional and physical scars. In 1849, the knowledge that her two brothers Ben and Henry were about to be sold provoked Harriet to plan an escape with her family. Harriet and her two brothers escaped their Maryland plantation on September 17th, 1849. Out of fear of being caught, the brothers changed their minds and went back. Harriet persevered, traveling 90 miles north to Pennsylvania and finally to freedom. Although her escape was successful, Harriet was determined to go back and help the rest of her family escape. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/614fede3-429c-420e-9f01-07274a5cea09/Story2.png Harriet Tubman Time and time again, Harriet went back to the Maryland plantation, and successfully led her family members and many other slaves to the North, bringing them to freedom. By the end of her life, she had freed more than 300 slaves by taking them through the Underground Railroad, a network of secret routes and safe houses used by enslaved African Americans to escape into free states. In addition to being the most notable conductor on the Underground Railroad, Harriet was also a nurse, women’s rights activist, and worked for the Union Army. When the Civil War began, Tubman first worked as a cook and nurse for the Union Army, and then as an armed scout and spy. The first woman to lead an armed expedition in the war, she guided the raid at Combahee Ferry, which liberated more than 700 enslaved people. Throughout her life, Harriet was friends with notable historical figures such as Frederick Douglass, Thomas Garret, and Susan B Anthony. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/4eb5a58b-e8b1-439b-8b09-28fa3448313d/wolf.png Harriet Tubman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8df23c41-79fb-44af-beba-25adc44438a1/Women.png Harriet Tubman After establishing roots in Auburn, New York, Harriet spent much of her time fighting for women’s rights and women’s suffrage. Despite the fact that she was illiterate, Harriet spoke at events in major cities such as Boston and New York, and was once a guest speaker at the first meeting for the National Association of Colored Women. A remarkable storyteller, Harriet had a profound impact on audiences every time she spoke. Although Harriet died before the passing of the 19th amendment, which granted women the right to vote, she was a significant part of the fight for women's rights and is considered to be one of the most notable figures in the women's rights movement across the United States, and a symbol of both racial and gender equality. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/184c290d-b8d2-433d-b41e-4556573ce7d1/Quote2-2.png Harriet Tubman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/25321726-68a0-4b87-b5aa-8f310752b9a1/Underground1.png Harriet Tubman The Underground Railroad was not an actual railroad, but rather a network of various secret routes and safe houses used by enslaved African Americans to escape into free states, using both natural and man made modes of transportation, including rivers, trails, and canals. There were a number of different routes that have been identified by researchers over the past century, as well as notable points along the journey that were “safe spaces.” Many routes led to the same place, but not all travelers of the Underground Railroad ended up in the same location. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/11596efe-2fb3-420e-9ec1-2a04c19b165a/Underground2.png Harriet Tubman Those guiding the enslaved persons were known as conductors, Harriet Tubman being arguably the most well-known and successful conductor of the Underground Railroad. There were extreme risks involved in being both a conductor and a passenger in the Underground Railroad - if caught, passengers would be killed or forced back into slavery, and conductors would go to jail. The most popular destinations included free states in the North and countries such as Canada and Haiti. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/829b4504-4fac-4023-975d-13ad2278dea0/Bill.png Harriet Tubman In the United States, the current face on the $20 bill is the controversial former US President Andrew Jackson. However, by the end of the decade, the image on the bill will be changed to Harriet Tubman's face. In 2014, a 9-year old girl named Sofia wrote a letter to President Barack Obama towards the end of his presidency, in an effort to get a woman represented on one of the US notes, considering there are no women depicted on paper currency. Under President Trump’s administration, the Treasury Secretary said that the redesign of the $20 would be delayed until 2026. However, in January 2021, the Biden Administration announced it will push forward the plan to make Harriet Tubman the face of the new $20 bill. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/a3a02ecb-f246-4582-ab9c-653f2e0e7307/Arts1.png Harriet Tubman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/492dbfce-196c-4d82-be6a-53f3157a8759/Arts2-2.png Harriet Tubman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/b70d4dde-0ef6-4dba-a965-ba4a6e55407c/Arts3-2.png Harriet Tubman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/77699fe0-f317-4dbd-b8dc-73f7eacce9a4/Arts4-2.png Harriet Tubman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/0dcee834-758d-4126-8f59-25c36b951fc9/Arts5-2.png Harriet Tubman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f7bc380d-dcec-48e7-ac19-81ed992f909e/PracticesTitle.png Harriet Tubman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/01754fc4-4b17-47db-b29c-00815a5580df/Separator2.png Harriet Tubman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/106d7ccc-3fb4-42f8-9a4e-1ec75f783fe1/Tonglen.png Harriet Tubman Tonglen is Tibetan for ‘giving and taking’ (or sending and receiving), and refers to a meditation practice found in Tibetan Buddhism. Tonglen is also known as exchanging self with other. Below is a simple exercise for practicing Tonglen Compassion Meditation—consciously breathing in the suffering of others, and breathing out relief for that suffering. 1. Find a comfortable position and begin to follow your breath and quiet the mind. After a few minutes or once you are relaxed, you can bring to mind a friend or loved one whom you know is experiencing emotional discomfort or suffering. Imagine that he or she is standing in front of you, and visualize their suffering as a dark, heavy cloud surrounding him or her. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/d8bd35ae-67d3-4d90-b996-47739a991eb1/Separator2.png Harriet Tubman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/ab6c9072-d784-4087-99aa-7369f43a9880/Separator.png Harriet Tubman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/6223b768-6da1-450b-b25d-d821519b8601/Virtue.png Harriet Tubman The exercise: Each day of the week, engage in a secret act of virtue or kindness. Do something nice or needed for others, but do so anonymously. These acts can be very simple, like washing someone else’s dishes, picking up trash on the sidewalk, making an anonymous donation, or leaving a small gift on a coworker’s desk. This practice helps us look at how willing we are to put the effort out to do good things for others if we never earn credit for it. Zen practice emphasizes “going straight on”⁠—leading our lives in a straightforward way based on what we know to be good practice, undaunted by praise or criticism. A monk once asked the Chinese Zen master Hui-hai “What is the gate [meaning both entrance and pillar] of Zen practice?” Hui-hai answered: “Complete giving”. The Buddha spoke constantly of the value of generosity, saying it is the most effective way to reach enlightenment. He recommended giving simple gifts⁠—water, food, shelter, clothing, transportation, flowers. Even poor people can be generous he said, by giving a crumb of their food to an ant. Each time we give something away, whether it is a material object or our time, we are letting go of a bit of ourselves and practicing the utmost generosity. Generosity is the highest virtue, and anonymous giving is the highest form of generosity. Practice by Jan Chozen Bays, from Mindfulness on the Go https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/9580b448-6883-49e5-96fd-a3ef645d6957/GoDeeper.png Harriet Tubman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.onusamothership.com/nymphs daily 0.75 2026-01-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637804620314-PHQJ3QOWZTPK5GVK5M5F/Cover6.jpg Nymphs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637804242921-09UQ5Q3G56LQU97PJJYO/Cover5.jpg Nymphs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637803393014-61IB9A272DDEW7P5LJ77/Cover1.jpg Nymphs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637803298522-0KEIIV3Z5LKZ75NW9BKB/Cover2.jpg Nymphs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637803489467-21T6ZHZ5FCSGZH20MUH1/Cover11.jpg Nymphs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637805706890-JD3QNF00R3CFT0MIAEMA/Cover12.jpg Nymphs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637803893546-PBIB3RBWSWHYLDZPH1BP/Cover4.jpg Nymphs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637861985403-IQ8URVUOULSLNXHHQ7Y8/Cover24.jpg Nymphs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637806359638-W212ZKBLB3RNMC012OGG/Cover14.jpg Nymphs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637806526812-PO2JMOLJU814PMHUGJT4/Cover15.jpg Nymphs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637803782959-J0S2MUKDRTYVN0BJJEMY/Cover3.jpg Nymphs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637805929910-1TEQ9PJELC6BVK3BA2XI/Cover13.jpg Nymphs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637807567070-8WLMJ4236K7GURQIGEDW/Cover19.jpg Nymphs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637804789225-3YWJC0JDKMK125U1PVDV/Cover7.jpg Nymphs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637805136338-VL0GJ45QJJT47WC2FTKL/Cover9.jpg Nymphs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637860211573-K4OXF4FVZZIBQQUIU480/Cover18.jpg Nymphs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637808439505-QABRVWHPCSPHJ56JV9L8/Cover20.jpg Nymphs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637860890267-XMIG4C5NUW63BIH55X1P/Cover21.jpg Nymphs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637804975946-7KEK8166LY753ZMV1VEB/Cover8.jpg Nymphs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637805373754-5GU5LD3EEM0DZ9REQ9T2/Cover10.jpg Nymphs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637805524448-0836B7V7ULIK30NXHV6Z/Cover11.jpg Nymphs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637860401541-LLPHOLYTQ2S5LZ4PBGEJ/Cover16.jpg Nymphs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637860542352-FXV0G9R21JJSO66LM6F5/Cover17.jpg Nymphs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637859742911-AYTPO0K4ULXKESYO50ZU/Cover21.jpg Nymphs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637860982891-HSQXE5IPXSPGWMYNCIU6/Cover22.jpg Nymphs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637861162834-3ET9D4VFL0XVH5FY017U/Cover23.jpg Nymphs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1646190323757-WONGW74D9Z9VM4AZDUXP/Cover7.jpg Nymphs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/d138c11a-c200-4928-afd6-1c868ddcd4cb/About3.png Nymphs Origin: Ancient Greece. Commonly associated with: nature, beauty, dancing, Gaia, Artemis. Sacred places: Oceans, rivers, mountains, forests, meadows, pastures, valleys, caves, lakes, winds, clouds, flowers, springs, fountains. Abilities: ecological empathy, environmental adaptation, nature unity, zoolingualism, semi-immortality, water and plant mimicry, botanical communication, nature channeling, nature embodiment, self-puppetry, nature guardianship. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/ae88b204-f47d-4d60-811b-b2554b83fdeb/Story1.png Nymphs In Greek mythology, Nymphs were female nature spirits or minor goddesses who lived in and protected forests, groves, and various places in nature. Nymphs were seen to be caregivers of the land and life in general, and were responsible for the care of plants and animals, especially those closely associated with the gods. Nymphs represented aspects of the natural world like bodies of water, islands, trees, or mountains. The Greeks believed that nature was alive and that spirits lived within its elements, so almost everything in nature had a Nymph that inhabited it. Etymologically, the word nymph is related to the Greek word for bride. Humans rarely saw the Nymphs, because they hid from the human world. When seen, Nymphs were described as beautiful, young, graceful maidens, and occasionally wild. In Greek mythology, the Gods were known to be lustful and chase after the Nymphs, so the Nymphs hid from them too. It is said that most Nymphs loved dancing, and waited to be out of the sight of humans to dance. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/db3e5cba-288b-403d-89c2-072e2e1057cd/Nymphs-2.png Nymphs Nymphs are said to have been created from the spilt blood of Ouranos, the God of the skies, that his wife Gaia, the Goddess of the Earth, absorbed. Nymphs were distinguished according to the sphere of nature with which they were connected: Celestial Nymphs are connected to various aspects of sky, including breezes, clouds and stars; Land Nymphs are connected to various landforms, including glens, pastures, valleys and mountains; Underworld Nymphs are servants of Underworld deities; Water Nymphs are connected to bodies of water, from sea to springs, lakes and rivers; and Wood and Plant Nymphs are connected to particular trees and plants. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/abe6fca0-69a8-4652-8675-8ed7ceb05066/Nymphs-3.png Nymphs Because Nymphs were minor goddesses, they had certain abilities such as semi-immortality, and other supernatural abilities that connected them to nature. Some of these abilities include: Ecological empathy—the ability to sense the overall well-being and conditions of one's immediate environment and natural setting stemming from a psychic sensitivity to nature, Nature channeling—the ability to channel nature's energy and manipulate it for a myriad of purposes, Nature Unity—the power to become one with nature, Zoolingualism—the power to talk to animal life forms and understand their reactions, Environmental adaptation—the power to survive and adapt to an environment, Nature empowerment—the power to gain strength from nature, Nature Embodiment—the power to become the embodiment of nature, Water and plant mimicry—the power to transform into or have a physical body made up of water or plants, Self-puppetry—the power to contain and preserve one's soul into a single object which remotely controls the body, and Nature Guardianship—the ability to be a protector and keeper of nature and natural forces. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/d196da06-325a-4533-9534-8da630deaa74/Nymphs-4.png Nymphs Nymphs were intimately connected with the aspects of nature over which they presided. They were thought to die if the water source they were associated with dried up, or if trees they inhabited were cut down. Their livelihood and life-force was intrinsically tied with the elements of nature. Not uncommonly, some nymphs shared their names with the places they inhabited—for example, one of these eponymous nymphs is Aegina, the nymph of the island that bears her name. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/823a1565-328f-467c-b12f-6473b221e864/Quote1.png Nymphs - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8406ca0b-8982-4cc3-b0ef-8f53b7c6285c/Artemis1.png Nymphs Artemis was the Greek goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, the Moon, nature and wild animals. She was a virgin goddess who was accompanied by Nymphs, called the 'Nymphae Artemisiae'—the Nymphs or Artemis. Because virginity was a very important value for Artemis, her nymphs were expected to follow her vow of chastity. The goddess was known to punish her Nymphs if they lost their virginity by, for example, turning them into wild animals. However, she also loved and protected her Nymphs from unwanted advances from humans and gods. Artemis and her Nymphs were known to dance across the lands, near rivers and lakes, and roamed freely through the mountains and forests. Dances of maidens representing Dryads (tree nymphs) were especially common in the worship of Artemis in her form as goddess of the trees, a role especially popular in the Peloponnese, in southern Greece. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8361b113-af4f-420c-ba82-c1fb6e03090f/Artemis2.png Nymphs - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/25b383f6-dfca-4d50-b468-b84420ec7883/Environment1.png Nymphs WATER NYMPHS The Oceanids were the 3000 daughters of two Titans, the pre-Olympian primordial gods of Greek mythology, Oceanus and Tethys. Oceanus was the personification of the great river which encircled the world, and Tethys was a sea goddess. Both Oceanus and Tethys were the children of Ouranos, God of the skies, and Gaia, Goddess of the Earth. The lifespan of an Oceanid was directly connected to the water source she inhabited—if the water dried up, the Oceanid died. The Oceanids presided over the sources of earth's fresh-water, from rain-clouds to subterranean springs and fountains. Some of the Oceanids personified divine blessings such as Metis (Wisdom), Klymene (Fame), Plouto (Wealth), Tykhe (Good Fortune), Telesto (Success), and Peitho (Persuasion). Although they had many different roles, Oceanids were responsible for watching over young children, a role appointment to them by Zeus himself. Sailors also worshipped and honored the sea nymphs extensively, dedicating offerings to them, to ask them for protection from storms and danger before embarking on long sea voyages. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/59a0169e-adba-4e0c-b970-92273ef44fe4/Environment2.png Nymphs A subcategory of the Oceanids, the Naiads were the Nymphs of springs and fountains. The Naiads were unique in that they were often found living much closer to humans than the rest of their kin. The wells and springs that provided water to towns and even great cities had their own nymphs who lived side by side with humans. Another type of Oceanid were the Nephelai, the nymphs of the clouds. An important group of water nymphs was the Nereids. There were fifty Nereids, daughters of the primordial sea god Nereus and the Oceanid Doris. They were the goddesses of saltwater, which in the Greek world specifically referred to the Mediterranean sea. While the dangers of the sea were represented by terrifying monsters, the Nereids represented everything that was beautiful and optimistic about the sea. They were helpful to sailors and fishermen and were described as the kindest of all the nymphs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/92b5e076-cd7e-4121-a0ed-3f73ff2d7561/Environment3.png Nymphs Other water nymphs include the Heleionomae—the nymphs of wetlands, the Leimenides—the nymphs of the meadows, and the Limnatides—the nymphs of the lakes. The ancient Greeks also thought fresh-water was found within the flowers and in the cooling breeze, so these also had nymphs associated with them: the Anthousai were the Flower Nymphs—described as having hair that resembled hyacinth flowers, and the Aurai were the subtle, gentle winged-nymphs of the breezes. Because the Greeks believed all the waters of the world were connected, there were sometimes overlaps between the different types of water nymphs. An Oceanid could travel to an inland well or a Naiad could navigate to an isolated island. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/07e29071-59c0-4a38-acf1-e755bf17dccb/LandNymphs.png Nymphs LAND NYMPHS Land nymphs presided over various landforms, including glens, pastures, valleys and mountains. Some of these nymphs weren’t just part of the land, they were the land itself. The nymphs of the land included the Oreads of the mountains, who had no fear of heights, climbed the highest cliffs and jumped over precipices. There were also the Napaeae of the valleys as well as the secretive Corycides of the caves. The most famous land nymphs were the Hesperides, the nymphs of evening and golden light of sunsets, also called the “Daughters of the Evening” or “Nymphs of the West”, or the Atlantides after their father, the Titan Atlas. They tended a blissful garden in a far western corner of the world, near the Atlas mountains in North Africa at the edge of Oceanus, the world-ocean. Other types of Land Nymphs included the Alseides, the nymphs of the glens and groves, the Auloniades, the nymphs of pastures and vales, who were closely associated with the rustic gods, particularly Pan, the god of shepherds. These specific types of land nymphs were not widely mentioned in the works of Greek writers and artists. There aren’t many details about them, and unlike water nymphs, very few land nymphs are named individually in myths. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/3ff9625a-3f42-406b-827f-d46c7e4719e6/ForestNymphs1.png Nymphs FOREST NYMPHS Whilst the water nymphs were the most famous of the nymphs of Greek mythology, the Dryads, nymphs of the trees and forests, were also often written about. The Dryads are the Nymphs of the Trees, or nature spirits who live in trees. Dryads were far removed from the human world and said to be shy, except around the goddess Artemis, who was known to be a friend to most nymphs. The Dryads are a famous class of Nymphs because of their relationship with Gaia, The Goddess of Earth and mother of all life. The Goddess was protective of her children, and as goddesses who were connected to nature, the Nymphs had a particularly close bond with her. Dryads were originally Nymphs that had to ask to be turned into trees, specifically from Gaia. In some cases, this transformation was a gift; in others, it was a punishment. Some nymphs found themselves runnings from the advances of lustful gods and men, with little hope of escape, and were turned into trees for their own protection. When Nymphs spread false rumors about gods and goddesses, they were sometimes turned into Dryads as punishment. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/90cdc261-440f-40a8-8427-728d398a1924/Dryads2.png Nymphs Every type of tree found in Greece had its own type of Dryad. They made the forests sacred spaces that had to be treated with caution and respect. The nymphs of the ash trees were the Meliae, the nymphs of mountain pines and conifers were the Oreads, the nymphs of oak and poplar trees were the Hamadryads, the nymphs of fruit trees were the Meliades, the nymphs of laurel trees were the Daphnaei, and the nymphs of grapevine trees were the Ampeloi. The Hamadryads were the most popular because oak and poplar trees were prevalent in Greece, these nymphs were thus often found close to humans and on the edge of rivers. A Hamadryad's life was uniquely bound to the individual tree, unlike the other types of tree Nymphs. Because of this unique bond, oak and poplar trees were highly sacred trees, and the gods inflicted harsh punishment on those who cut them down, as this would kill the sacred spirit that lived within. The Hamadryads themselves were extremely grateful to those who protected them from this danger. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/aeef79fe-4689-445f-87f9-b4cc08044d92/Dryads3.png Nymphs Although the Dryads were regarded as lesser goddesses and their powers were limited, the Greeks believed that these beings were actually very powerful in their own way, because they were able to inspire strong emotions in humans. The awe that people felt when they looked at Nature was not, to the Greeks, a product of the human mind itself. The peace that came from sitting beneath a tree on a pleasant afternoon and even the terror felt in a dark forest at night were also regarded as extraordinary emotions. Everywhere the Dryads and their fellow Nymphs existed, they were able to touch humans with the gift of sublime emotion. While the Dryads could not wield great weapons or perform amazing feats of magic and strength, they touched the lives of the Greek people in a very important way. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/ffb6f5b8-3817-458e-a026-382a42bb525b/Mythology1.png Nymphs Within world mythology, we can find a myriad of environmental themes and lessons in the stories surrounding mythical creatures. We often look to the future for solutions for the climate crisis, searching for new knowledge, new science, new innovations and technologies, and we tend to disregard the wisdom held in our past, in the stories of ancient cultures and civilizations, that can extend our imagination in expansive ways and provide hope and inspiration for the ecological challenges of our time. Storytelling is an incredibly powerful tool that shapes human culture and influences the way we relate to each other and the world. Stories can transport us to other worlds, where our creativity is enhanced and new visions for the future can be explored. Examining the stories of past cultures can help us uncover the deep wisdom hidden within them, and potentially find new creative solutions to our current dilemmas. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/d243baec-c805-4aca-af2d-aeb63fe6867e/Mythology2.png Nymphs The stories of the Nymphs are deeply rooted in ecological thinking and environmental preservation. They enlighten us on the sacred ways people related with nature, and the profound reverence with which they treated the planet and all its different elements. How might we revive the stories of the Nymphs in our modern world, to help shape new ways of being and relating to nature? How might the revival of mythologies help restore right relationship of humans with nature? What can the stories of the Nymphs teach us about relating to the forests, the oceans, the mountains? What place can mythology hold in the ecological movement? Can spiritual ecology integrate ancient mythological themes to create new stories and visions for the future? How might the Nymphs' abilities inspire us? How might we develop ecological empathy, environmental adaptation, nature empowerment, and nature guardianship? How can biomimicry be weaved into our culture, and become an integral principle in the design of our social, political and economic systems? How might we cultivate awareness of the fundamental interdependence of people and planet? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/23f78f3a-3421-42b0-b1a1-f55e2f07973f/PracticesTitle.png Nymphs - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/a30de20f-5626-4171-b59f-ed508a9000e3/Separator2.png Nymphs - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/70c9cbfa-ac09-4c27-84fa-70ca5bffcad7/Elements.png Nymphs A powerful way of learning about the elements is to merge with each one individually. To do this you must enter a deep meditative state—for you want to lose yourself and become one with element you are merging with. This is an allowing process; you cannot do it with your mind, you must sink into the experience. As water, you might become a drop of rain, or a tear running down a face, or you might become the ocean itself, or a drop from a river going down a waterfall, or you might become fine mist bringing life to plants, or a dew drop on a leaf, or a snowflake. As air, you might become the mighty wind, or you might be the quiet stillness of the air on a perfect summer day, or you might be a gentle breeze moving through the grass or trees, or the great gusts surfing through the landscape. As earth, you might be a grain of sand that drifts through eternity, or a plot of earth being fed nutrients from the other elements. You might become the earth of a desert, a tropical island, or a rain forest. As fire, you might become a raging fire, or the small bright flame of a birthday candle, or a flame of a candle burning at a romantic dinner, or the fire in a volcano, or the fire of a beautiful sunrise or sunset. Do this exercise over time. Don't attempt to merge with all the elements in one day. You will not have the time to process the material and receive the learning you need. You might choose to work with one element for a month or in one particular season. Spiritual Practice by Sandra Ingerman, in Medicine for the Earth https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/38b94dc6-eb74-4732-b4b9-704f5581dd3a/Separator.png Nymphs - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/d6b29e3b-4df8-4531-9f0d-d5fd99a89b49/Saunter.png Nymphs To saunter is to walk slowly with reverence for the Earth, to muse and be in reverie in nature. In earlier times, and still in a few places in the world, people have listened to the unconscious via oracles, divination, and the voices of nature. Birds, trees, and even stones have been perceived as valuable sources for the whisperings of the divine. Modern people have a bias that only the human mind and its thoughts have validity, but we too yearn to be touched by something beyond the confines of the “I”. The origin of the phrase “to saunter” is good medicine for modern people caught in the too-muchness of life. In the middle ages, people used to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through which they passed asked where they were going, they would reply ‘A la Sainte Terre’,—‘To the Holy Land’. And so they became known as sainte-terre-ers or saunterers—those who walk on the earth with reverence for its holiness. Perhaps there was an intuition even in those early times that we would need a way of walking with reverence to recall us from hurried lives. Go for a walk in nature and receive the blessings of an ancient tree, listen for a message in the song of a bird, take counsel with a resilient stream. Allow yourself to reconnect to the creative matrix that supports all life. Spiritual practice by Jerry M. Ruhl, Robert A. Johnson in Contentment https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f68ab135-f43a-4824-80a2-b6108b945b65/Separator.png Nymphs - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f667eacf-68b0-42bb-9717-6a0ba2ee5d89/NatureStories.png Nymphs “Go to the oak tree and ask for its story. Go to the river and ask for its story. Go to the goldenrod and ask without saying anything. Ask with your nose, your belly, your eyes. The answer won’t always be words. Won’t always be sound. Sometimes it will be a feeling in your body. Sometimes it will be a smell. Stories don’t belong to human beings. But human beings belong to stories. Let’s enter back into the complex, tangled work of letting go of authorship and letting ourselves be told.” by Sophie Strand, from her essay ‘Myco Eco Mytho Storytelling’ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/dd8a5383-94e1-4da4-af11-793e6b7dafea/Separator.png Nymphs - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/870f5fcc-7e71-497d-864d-94e50ac8e206/WalkinBeauty.png Nymphs This practice is based on a Navajo prayer. Close your eyes. Breathe out three long, slow exhalations. See and sense beauty before you. See and sense beauty behind you. See and sense beauty above you. See and sense beauty below you. See and sense beauty all around you. You can say the words of the Navajo prayer: “I walk with beauty before me. I walk with beauty behind me. I walk with beauty below me. I walk with beauty above me. I walk with beauty around me. My words will be beautiful. In beauty all day long may I walk. Through the returning seasons, may I walk. On the trail marked with pollen may I walk. With dew about my feet, may I walk. With beauty before me may I walk. With beauty behind me may I walk. With beauty below me may I walk. With beauty above me may I walk. With beauty all around me may I walk. In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, lively, may I walk. In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, living again, may I walk. My words will be beautiful” Breathe out one time. See and feel yourself walking in beauty. How are you feeling? Breathe out again and open your eyes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/d165339d-f497-4be9-b1b2-f65234252536/Separator.png Nymphs - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/5d1c0440-cea9-4d5d-852d-91727a1febd6/Seaweed.png Nymphs While seated, move your body as if you’re seaweed flowing in the ocean. Fluid but rooted. Watch the surface of your body from the inside. See how the inner surface changes as you move. Repeat as needed to connect to your inner-witness, inner-shapeshifter and your innate fluidity. Practice by Che Che Luna https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f965943e-4d73-41cb-9b8f-ff1351cb31f6/Separator.png Nymphs - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/591e34c9-b646-4c45-9095-2d7dded52ea4/EarthMeditation.png Nymphs Ground and center. Take a deep breath. Feel your bones, your skeleton, the solidity of your body. Be aware of your flesh, of all that can be touched and felt. Feel the pull of gravity, your own weight, your attraction to the earth that is the body of the Goddess. You are a natural feature, a moving mountain. Merge with all that comes from the Earth: grass, trees, grains, fruit, flowers, animals, metals, precious stones. Return to dust, to compost, to mud. Meditation from The Spiral Dance, by Starhawk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/be828d1b-c2da-4db9-9e9f-ec7ae2877b47/Quote2.png Nymphs - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1632662592272-WHX9Y0986XA5TVZ3RO1F/GoDeeper.png Nymphs - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.onusamothership.com/nut daily 0.75 2024-03-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1639074871177-1WSA5CK0L3JFYEWKDJAI/Cover1.jpg Nut https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1639075169189-5X0ZBPFK84Y3K0E0CCA3/Cover2.jpg Nut https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1639075363616-LW5YM2EQOEMPUAEL4VDA/Cover3.jpg Nut https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1639075550792-GTWWTUI6SINVB7P3OHB4/Cover4.jpg Nut https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1639075670398-WFXEAIT6TYOIV6LH33J2/Cover5.jpg Nut https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1639075794157-W2QNZCVBF74EJQYZJV8P/Cover6.jpg Nut https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1639075958855-L2GABPM51UTJ5K1PNX2Q/Cover7.jpg Nut https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1639076152007-YAA50IJJ2TYSB4EDANDV/Cover8.jpg Nut https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1639076350524-366I45NHYPYH8AGRY5WH/Cover9.jpg Nut https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1639076485022-EY0TWEFI3I0Z0OT81Q58/Cover10.jpg Nut https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1639084773099-1ZZWCOYPQ6SANVFA7OH2/Cover11.jpg Nut https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1639085299666-W7R9OSTSOPWMSSLU6YGD/Cover12.jpg Nut https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/331b7e25-00a5-43b9-af52-4e1a77b00a74/AboutNut2.png Nut Origin: Ancient Egypt. Roles: Sky goddess, Mother goddess, mortuary goddess, and orderer of the day and night. Symbols: Cow, ladder, coffins, sarcophagi, sky, stars, celestial bodies, tombs, sycamore tree, sow, water-pot. Other Names: Nuit, Nwt, Nunut, Nent. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/216e8010-86e2-41a2-8911-30a9203da727/Story1.png Nut In Ancient Egypt, Nut was the goddess of the sky, stars, cosmos, mothers, astronomy, and the universe. She is the daughter of Shu—god of air and vital breath, and Tefnut—goddess of heat, water and fertility. Nut is depicted as a nude woman arched on her toes and fingertips over the Earth, represented the god Geb—her brother/husband, with her fingers and toes touching the horizon. She is usually represented with stars covering her body, in particular her hands and feet, which were seen as the four cardinal points. Egyptians believed that Geb and Nut were born gripped tightly in each other's arms, and had to be separated by their father Shu (air), who is often represented standing in between them, holding Nut above Geb. To the ancient Egyptians, this explained why earth and sky were separated from one another by the air we breathe. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/34d4d4a1-1a46-4771-af9d-d6031a6937d1/Story2.png Nut Nut is considered one of the oldest deities among the Egyptian pantheon, with her origin being found in the creation story of Heliopolis, the theory of the origin of the universe. Nut was said to have existed when nothing else had yet been created. She then created all that had come into being. According to Egyptian mythology, it was she who first placed Ra, the Sun-God, in the sky. She was originally the goddess of the nighttime sky, but eventually became referred to as simply the sky goddess. Her headdress was the hieroglyphic of part of her name, a pot, which may also symbolize the uterus. Other than her most common depiction in nude human form, Nut was also sometimes represented in the form of a celestial cow—the cow being a prominent symbol of nourishment—whose great body formed the sky and heavens, a sycamore tree, or as a giant sow, suckling many piglets (representing the stars). All these representations portray Nut as a protective mother and provider. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/5889aa90-101a-4c78-928a-32688023d54e/Story3.png Nut With her brother and husband Geb, the Earth god, Nut bore Osiris, Isis, Set, and Nephthys. Nut and her husband Geb may be considered enigmas in the world of mythology: in contrast to most other mythologies which usually portray a sky father associated with an Earth mother (or Mother Nature), in Egyptian mythology, the female goddess Nut personified the sky and the male god personified the Earth. For ancient Egyptians, Nut served as an explanation for where the sun went at night. Although Egyptians understood the cycles of the sun, moon, and seasons, they did not know that the earth was round and that heavenly bodies traveled around each other in orbit. They believed that the giant goddess Nut swallowed the Sun every night at one end of the sky, that he travelled through her body during the night, and that she gave birth to him again every morning at the other end of the sky. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f133b4d8-41a5-4884-9837-506700e2013e/Death1.png Nut An important theme in the myths of Nut is death and rebirth. Every night, she consumed the Sun (represented by the Sun-God Ra) by swallowing him, and then gave birth to him again every morning. In this way, the ancient Egyptians viewed each day as a cycle of death and rebirth. In much the same way, Nut transported the Sun from death to new life, and was also regarded as an escort or vehicle for humans at death, accompanying and protecting them on their journey to the unknown world of the afterlife. Nut was seen as the barrier separating the forces of chaos from the ordered cosmos in the world. Because of this, and her role as a mortuary goddess who protected the dead, Nut was often painted on the inside lid of the sarcophagus. The ceilings of tombs were also painted dark blue with stars, to call upon her protection. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8fc41f12-ee47-457e-be3c-652fd689c4ca/Death2.png Nut A sacred symbol of Nut was a wooden ladder called maqet, which was placed in tombs to protect the deceased and help them climb to the heavens. This symbol comes from a story involving Nut’s children, Set and Osiris: when Set killed Osiris, and Isis put him back together after gathering all the pieces of his body, Osiris climbs the maqet, sacred symbol of Nut, to enter her heavenly skies for protection. Because of her role in saving Osiris, Nut was seen as a friend and protector of the dead, who appealed to her as a child appeals to its mother: “O my Mother Nut, stretch Yourself over me, that I may be placed among the imperishable stars which are in You, and that I may not die.” Nut was thought to draw the dead into her star-filled sky, and refresh them with food and wine: “I am Nut, and I have come so that I may enfold and protect you from all things evil.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/4bd71f20-5812-42ba-b06d-39404bc8948c/Death3.png Nut - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/fd68a954-a059-4692-819f-1f432706190b/Death4.png Nut Some of Nut's titles were: Coverer of the Sky, She Who Protects, Mistress of All or "She who Bore the Gods", and She Who Holds a Thousand Souls—because of her role in the re-birthing of the Sun every morning and in her son Osiris' resurrection, Nut became a key goddess in many of the myths about the afterlife. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/38875d39-38b9-42f7-b214-fa24e580afad/BookofNut.png Nut The Book of Nut is a modern title of what was known in ancient times as The Fundamentals of the Course of the Stars. This is an important collection of ancient Egyptian astronomical and mythological texts, perhaps the earliest of several other such texts, going back at least to 2,000 BC. Nut, being the sky goddess, is a central part of the book. The text also tells about various other sky and Earth deities, such as the star deities and the decans deities. The text focuses on the cycles of the stars, the movement of the sun, moon and planets, and time-keeping methods. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/9f2ac604-c8cd-47ce-9816-40a68ffdbc96/PracticesTitle.png Nut - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/0c507399-4a59-4c8c-a8a4-42b738db59ba/Separator2.png Nut - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/aa7c7458-9095-40bc-9d2d-c347dd3b5187/AirMeditation.png Nut Ground and center. Breathe deep and be conscious of the air as it flows in and out of your lungs. Feel it as the breath of the Goddess, and take in the life force, the inspiration of the universe. Let your own breath merge with the winds, the clouds, the great currents that sweep over land and ocean with the turning of the Earth. Meditation from The Spiral Dance, by Starhawk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/6d1f9f56-365e-4bd1-9235-164e12ea7ec5/Separator.png Nut - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/7c395c0a-2b47-4c62-9180-755b1892bc59/FullMoon-Meditation.png Nut Ground and center, and visualize a round full moon. She is the mother, the power of fruition and of all aspects of creativity. She nourishes what the New Moon has begun. See her open arms, her full breasts, her womb burgeoning with life. Feel your own power to nurture, to give, to make manifest what is possible. She is the sensual woman; her pleasure in union is the moving force that sustains all life. Feel the power and generative life-force in your own pleasure. Feel the nurturing, unconditionally loving, all-encompassing, all-allowing mother in you. Meditation from The Spiral Dance, by Starhawk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/0d03e726-346c-4f5c-8ce0-6e035151b73f/Separator.png Nut - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/af8d7036-5b28-444a-b9bb-e3a294fc892c/AnimaMundi.png Nut The Anima Mundi (‘world soul’) is an ancient philosophical and alchemical concept that suggests the existence of a “Soul of the World”—an ethereal spirit sheltered in nature and in charge of keeping life moving. It’s an intrinsic connection between all living things, an ineffable substance that unites us with everything else in the world and with the world itself. The concept of Anima Mundi sees the universe as a living, conscious being. The latin word Anima means breath, spirit and life, from which ‘Animism’ is derived. Anima Mundi originated in classical antiquity, and is found in Stoicism, Platonism, Hermeticism, alchemy, and Gnosticism. Plato described the Anima Mundi in his philosophical treatise Timaeus on the workings of the Universe: “This world is indeed a living being endowed with a soul and intelligence, a single visible living entity containing all other living entities, which by their nature are all related.” Similar concepts in other traditions include Prana in Hinduism, Chi in Taoism, and the universal spiritual force called Great Spirit in many Indigenous traditions. Celtic Druids call this life-force Nwyfre, the Algonquians call it Manitou and the Iroquois call it Orenda. Look up and observe alchemical drawings of Anima Mundi. Reflect on how and why alchemists depicted Anima Mundi as a woman. Notice the correspondences between all parts of the cosmos. The embrace of Anima Mundi is available anytime, anywhere, to anyone. It is a process of unveiling our resistance to its love. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1602d1fd-6679-43ab-a665-b32e6b25a807/GoDeeper.png Nut - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.onusamothership.com/chipko-movement daily 0.75 2024-03-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637804620314-PHQJ3QOWZTPK5GVK5M5F/Cover6.jpg Chipko Movement https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637806526812-PO2JMOLJU814PMHUGJT4/Cover15.jpg Chipko Movement https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1637805136338-VL0GJ45QJJT47WC2FTKL/Cover9.jpg Chipko Movement https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1641661024375-ZH70HVHK3LW8MYS21MGN/Cover1.jpg Chipko Movement https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1641661501948-9YOZDIJM7O2QTC2U0JNA/Cover2.jpg Chipko Movement https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1641661860237-LRGPPK45KV75T2C4VPMW/Cover3.jpg Chipko Movement https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1641661983395-FEQ8LCH19U611V895FPY/Cover4.jpg Chipko Movement https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1641662158086-BQ9QTV9U8BJY93K448ND/Cover5.jpg Chipko Movement https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1641662597657-CG3YUPCQX8KU5TJV65OT/Cover6.jpg Chipko Movement https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1641662743139-N79B1BVZGJ42WQ3YXOEJ/Cover7.jpg Chipko Movement https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1641662924525-FLN09HD1X99CPXP9ZSW4/Cover8.jpg Chipko Movement https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1641663046675-UNZUHSTZTDVN3MZI9BS8/Cover9.jpg Chipko Movement https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1641663335071-ZQM1OTG9L7G3K0BZOFY6/Cover10.jpg Chipko Movement https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1641663536975-HFJDEB79GAYW0E8HV6XR/Cover11.jpg Chipko Movement https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1641663791937-Z8FKB0N5YPUA9Y8920JQ/Cover12.jpg Chipko Movement https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/59bfb224-215a-4824-a4e4-612cab1a362e/Quote1.png Chipko Movement - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/60721db2-3dd4-4e73-91cc-78af0500c948/Story1.png Chipko Movement The Chipko Movement, also called Chipko Andolan, was a nonviolent social and ecological movement by rural villagers—particularly women— that started in India in the 1970s, and aimed at the protection and conservation of trees and forests from government-backed logging. The movement is best remembered for the collective mobilization of women for the cause of preserving forests, which also brought about a change in attitude regarding women's own status in Indian society. The name of the movement, “Chipko”, comes from the Hindi word for “cling” or “embrace”, as the villagers’ primary protest tactic was hugging and encircling the trees to prevent loggers from felling them. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1d342507-81f5-4427-a595-b713122c9f5d/Story2.png Chipko Movement The Chipko Movement was prompted by the rapid deforestation that overtook India in the 1960s, due to urbanization and infrastructural development that attracted many foreign logging companies. The uprising started in the state of Uttar Pradesh, then spread onto other states in Northern India. Women, who were solely in charge of cultivation, livestock and children, suffered the most due to the floods and landslides caused by the rise in deforestation. The movement began in 1973 when women from Mandal village in the Himalayas “hugged” the trees on their land, when loggers came to cut them down. The women, led by Gaura Devi, surrounded the trees and chanted: “This forest is our mother’s home; we will protect it with all our might”.“If the forest is cut”, they said, “landslides and soil erosion will bring floods, which will destroy our fields and homes, our water sources will dry up, the benefits we get from the forest will be gone”. Despite threats and abuse, the women stood firm until the contractors left four days later. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/b0dddf21-6b19-4c3c-8ef5-2fc63ac0c138/Story3.png Chipko Movement Chipko grew into a peasant and women’s movement for forest rights, with largely decentralized and autonomous protests. In addition to the characteristic “tree hugging” tactic, Chipko protesters used several other techniques grounded in Mahatma Gandhi’s concept of satyagraha—nonviolent resistance. For example, Sunderlal Bahuguna, a prominent leader of the movement who spent his life educating villagers to protest against the destruction of the forests, famously fasted for two weeks in 1974 to protest forest policy. In 1978, in the Advani forest in the Tehri Garhwal district, Chipko activist Dhoom Singh Negi fasted to protest the auctioning of the forest, while local women tied sacred threads around the trees and read from the Bhagavad Gita. In other areas, chir pines that had been tapped for resin were bandaged to protest their exploitation. In Pulna village in the Bhyundar valley in 1978, the women confiscated the loggers’ tools and left receipts for them to be claimed if they withdrew from the forest. It is estimated that between 1972 and 1979, more than 150 villages were involved in the Chipko movement, resulting in 12 major protests and many minor confrontations in Uttarakhand. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/5da7eb7e-6869-49f0-a1b0-cd853add3af7/Story4.png Chipko Movement The media generated by the Chipko Movement put the notion of saving forests on the political and public agenda of India. In 1980, India’s Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ordered a 15-year ban on cutting trees 1,000 meters above sea level in the Himalayan forests. She believed that the Chipko Movement represented India’s “moral conscience”. This decree was later extended to the forests of India’s Western Ghat and the Vidhya mountain ranges. The movement was inspired by earlier protests against tree felling in India. In 1731, in Khejarli, Rajasthan, people sacrificed their lives for the Khejri trees which were sacred to the community. The tragic events started when Amrita Devi of the Bishnois faith, which prohibits tree felling, protested against a royal party who intended to burn trees to build a new palace. Amrita tried to stop them by hugging a tree, saying “If a tree is saved even at the cost of one’s head, it’s worth it”, but was killed for her act of bravery. More people then stood up to protect the trees, resulting in the killing of 363 people, before the royal party ordered the felling of trees to be stopped. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/5fd19674-aa80-4aca-a83c-d2920a2c667a/Legacy1.png Chipko Movement As the Chipko Movement kept growing throughout the 1970s, protests became more project-oriented and expanded to include the entire ecology of the region, ultimately becoming the “Save Himalaya” movement. Between 1981 and 1983, Sunderlal Bahuguna marched 5,000 km across the Himalayas to bring awareness to the movement. Throughout the 1980s, many protests were focused on the Tehri dam on the Bhagirathi River and several mining operations, resulting in the closure of at least one limestone quarry. Similarly, a massive reforestation effort led to the planting of more than one million trees in the region. In 2004, Chipko protests resumed in response to the lifting of the logging ban in Himachal Pradesh but were unsuccessful in its reenactment. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8b70e299-6518-4b16-8da4-7c8ee21ecd77/Legacy2.png Chipko Movement Today, beyond its eco-social dimension, the Chipko movement is seen increasingly as an ecofeminism movement. Although many of its leaders were men, women were the nucleus of the movement, and the ones most affected by the rampant deforestation, which led to a lack of firewood, fodder, and water for drinking and irrigation. Over the years, women also became primary stakeholders in the afforestation work that happened under the Chipko movement. In 1987, the movement was awarded the Right Livelihood Award “for its dedication to the conservation, restoration and ecologically-sound use of India's natural resources”. The Chipko movement’s appeal was wide-ranging. The movement was co-opted and popularized by global journalists, grassroots activists, environmentalists, Gandhians, spiritual leaders, politicians, social change practitioners, and feminists. The feminist movement popularized Chipko, pointing out that poor rural women were the frontline victims of forest destruction. The Gandhians accentuated the Chipko movement through symbolic protests such as prayers, fasting, and padayatras (ritual marches). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/9071f19e-f1ea-4526-9446-c99b9c4474d1/Legacy3.png Chipko Movement On its doodle blog in commemorating the 45th anniversary of the movement, Google wrote, “The Chipko Andolan also stands out as an eco-feminist movement. Women formed the nucleus of the movement, as the group most directly affected by the lack of firewood and drinking water caused by deforestation. The movement demonstrated the power of non-violent protest is an invaluable and powerful agent of social change.” The Chipko Movement is remembered till this day not only as the people’s struggle against big businesses and the government machinery but also as a reminder that when it comes to allies, women have always protected Mother Nature. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/b61c6031-c3c7-4c49-89cf-b106709338ce/Ecofeminism1.png Chipko Movement The Chipko movement is considered one of the first instances of ecofeminism. Ecofeminism, also called ecological feminism, is a branch of feminism that sees a connection between the exploitation and degradation of the natural world and the subordination and oppression of women. It emerged in the mid-1970s alongside second-wave feminism and the green movement. Its name was coined by French feminist Françoise d’Eaubonne in 1974. As an academic and activist movement, ecofeminism uses the basic feminist tenets of equality between genders, a revaluing of non-patriarchal or nonlinear structures, and a view of the world that respects organic processes, holistic connections, and the merits of intuition and collaboration. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/e0078777-bab1-4a92-b6b3-093eafc816cc/Ecofeminism2.png Chipko Movement To these notions, ecofeminism adds both a commitment to the environment and an awareness of the associations made between women and nature. Specifically, this philosophy emphasizes the ways both nature and women are treated by patriarchal (or male-centered) society. Ecofeminists examine the effect of gender categories in order to demonstrate the ways in which social norms exert unjust dominance over women and nature. The philosophy also contends that those norms lead to an incomplete view of the world, and its practitioners advocate an alternative worldview that values the earth as sacred, recognizes humanity’s dependency on the natural world, and embraces all life as valuable. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/cf6495d2-9bf9-4d36-8dc3-062887ff2e35/Ecofeminism3.png Chipko Movement - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/2c1834c7-e48f-4e09-bfe9-948d6e560d8c/Ecofeminism4.png Chipko Movement In Feminism & Ecology, Mary Mellor writes that ecofeminism brings together elements of the feminist and green movements, while at the same time offering a challenge to both. It takes from the green movement a concern about the impact of human activities on the non-human world, and from feminism the view of humanity as gendered in ways that subordinate, exploit and oppress women. According to feminist scholar and theologian Rosemary Radford Ruether, “women must see that there can be no liberation for them and no solution to the ecological crisis within a society whose fundamental model of relationships continues to be one of domination. They must unite the demands of the women’s movement with those of the ecological movement to envision a radical reshaping of the basic socioeconomic relations and the underlying values of this [modern industrial] society.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/aa1e6728-75da-4daa-9ca7-6edc330007a7/PracticesTitle.png Chipko Movement - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/56b35608-22dc-4d88-bbf1-da5c625e9851/Separator2.png Chipko Movement - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/803f9386-6845-4b85-82b4-d5140cc62c5d/Compost.png Chipko Movement “When we look deeply at a flower, we can see that it is made entirely of non-flower elements, like sunshine, rain, soil, compost, air, and time. If we continue to look deeply, we will also notice that the flower is on her way to becoming compost. If we don’t notice this, we will be shocked when the flower begins to decompose. When we look deeply at the compost, we see that it is also on its way to becoming flowers, and we realize that flowers and compost “inter-are.” They need each other. A good organic gardener does not discriminate against compost, because he knows how to transform it into marigolds, roses, and many other kinds of flowers. When we look deeply into ourselves, we see both flowers and garbage. Each of us has anger, hatred, depression, racial discrimination, and many other kinds of garbage in us, but there is no need for us to be afraid. In the way that a gardener knows how to transform compost into flowers, we can learn the art of transforming anger, depression, and racial discrimination into love and understanding. This is the work of meditation.” Practice by Thich Nhat Hanh https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8fe9c7d5-3ac1-45bd-9e53-c00f522e3b28/Separator.png Chipko Movement - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/80ed6260-6b6a-45d6-8996-ea9441bb12f8/TreeofLife.png Chipko Movement In solitary practice, begin by sitting or standing erect, and breathing deeply and rhythmically. As you breathe and as your spine straightens, imagine that your spine is the trunk of a tree. And from its base, roots extend deep into the center of the Earth. And you can draw up power from the Earth, with each breath. Feel the energy rising like sap rising through a tree trunk. Feel the power rise up your spine, feel yourself becoming more alive with each breath. From the crown of your head, you have branches that sweep up and back down to touch the Earth. Feel the power burst from the crown of your head, and feel it sweep through the branches until it touches the Earth again, making a circle, returning to its source. If you do this exercise in a group: Breathing deeply, feel your branches intertwining, and the power weaving through them, and dancing among them, like the wind. Meditation from The Spiral Dance, by Starhawk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/93b52423-8a14-4333-afe1-5db04ff3a09e/Quote2.png Chipko Movement - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1632662592272-WHX9Y0986XA5TVZ3RO1F/GoDeeper.png Chipko Movement - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.onusamothership.com/cycladic-goddesses daily 0.75 2024-03-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633663538587-S6066DMIFZS99BKQXS5X/Cover12.jpg Cycladic Goddesses https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633663137873-V6DIX5KCHNOTJJ9OGENQ/Cover14.jpg Cycladic Goddesses https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633662783395-A35YD7N5NDW9J0UNQQ2F/Cover9.jpg Cycladic Goddesses https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633663168066-8DF1XFMXT0ZDIYR1ETYN/Cover15.jpg Cycladic Goddesses https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633663278728-01DE6YPKL29RKGFFC18K/Cover16.jpg Cycladic Goddesses https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642129379540-UDD987V8IVPAPZKO2BIJ/Cover1.jpg Cycladic Goddesses https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642130042888-NUE1RSHKQHRCD3ZQBZCT/Cover2.jpg Cycladic Goddesses https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642130296590-6PH3I6XCMAZUEDWG51NK/Cover3.jpg Cycladic Goddesses https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642130721837-J37GWXTVALJTYX2I7MKJ/Cover4.jpg Cycladic Goddesses https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642130838439-W93QGLX70FM3OYVK4Z4I/Cover5.jpg Cycladic Goddesses https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642131224360-29LK7V857ZQPQ0O49NZC/Cover6.jpg Cycladic Goddesses https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642132498905-S6V031IRJGBGLYGBRU0M/Cover7.jpg Cycladic Goddesses https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642132871990-XYIAAUOLHK15YSSL7IQP/Cover8.jpg Cycladic Goddesses https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642136745495-SVAQLD2HFL4FI48QOQGN/Cover9.jpg Cycladic Goddesses https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642136890794-8R1VWFUEYKQNR17W9P25/Cover10.jpg Cycladic Goddesses https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642137120461-PH2XPH9EOU9Z7G233CP2/Cover11.jpg Cycladic Goddesses https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642137220943-OP4PWHMH947G85U7EU4N/Cover12.jpg Cycladic Goddesses https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642194965390-4408D8PA88KNAW0D232E/Cover13.jpg Cycladic Goddesses https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/d23d2a01-cc42-4b22-8b0c-7eb355f1951e/CycladicHeader.jpg Cycladic Goddesses https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/61a435d0-6908-4b95-a7de-9b822d1be9cb/Story1.png Cycladic Goddesses Towards the end of the 19th century, archaeologists uncovered hundreds of stone tombs on the Cyclades, a cluster of islands in the Aegean Sea that lie between Greece and Turkey. Although many of the tombs were empty, some held skeletal remains surrounded by objects. Among these objects were figurines, predominantly representing women, carved from white marble. These were the traces of an ancient civilization that was more sophisticated than anyone had imagined. Today, approximately 30 of the main islands of the Cyclades are inhabited, some of which have been continuously inhabited by humans for well over 5,000 years now. The earliest known Cycladic figurine was discovered in the 1960s on the island of Saliagos, by archaeologists John Davies Evans and Colin Renfrew. The marble figure, referred to at "Fat Lady of Saliagos", dates from about 5000 to 4000BCE, providing evidence for the earliest known settlement in the Cyclades. Figures from this Early Cycladic period were simple, abstract, and depicted women with full and round bodies, indicating fertility. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/d8cc7c98-5d7e-4579-8c5a-22f250c74ce1/Story2.png Cycladic Goddesses A gap of 2,000 years passed until the practice of stone sculpture reemerged in the Cyclades at around 3300 BC. This new phase of sculpture is characterized by experimentation: the figures have distinctly long necks, and are often represented standing, with carved details on their faces. For the next 600 years, many different silhouettes emerge, until the Cycladic people seem to land on a final form: at 2700 BC, the mature phase of Cycladic culture begins, symbolized by the strong canonical figure, known as the “folded-arm figurine” (FAF). These figures are referred to as “canonical” because they follow a strict formula that would be used over the next 400 years, distinguished by the geometric stylization of the human form, but most notably the female body. The style from this phase creates a sense of conformity and precision. With only a few exceptions, the figurines from this phase have slightly upturned faces with very minimal carved detail except for the nose. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/3dada196-feb8-4ec4-afe5-469fec68c390/Story3.png Cycladic Goddesses The figurines almost always depict women, their arms folded across their bellies, right arm resting beneath the left, with small breasts and an incised pubic triangle. In this phase, the legs are no longer separately carved—instead, a line is used to separate them, preventing them from breakage. The figures are slim and elegant, with their feet pointing down, and some incised details on their backs. Most of the figures are under 12 inches, but some reach twice that size. The largest ever found is just under five feet tall, making it one of the first monumental sculptures to be produced in the world. Some Cycladic figurines that represented men typically depict them as hunters, warriors or musicians. Many figures of this period show traces of pigment that point to details such as the eyes, mouth or hair. Some also have tattoo-like markings across the face and body, reflecting the body-painting practices of early Cycladic culture. The swollen bellies on certain figurines seem to indicate pregnancy or fertility. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/24d51df5-3f21-4646-80b8-516675f84857/Chart2.jpg Cycladic Goddesses - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/eff8b4be-4a3c-4575-8f63-32e7ed515586/Story4.png Cycladic Goddesses Along with the figurines, rounded forms known as “frying pans” were also discovered in the Cyclades. Some represent symbols of the sun and female genitalia, which supports the theory of a religion in which the sun was associated with a woman's power to give life. A recent theory suggests that these pans were used as astronomical calendars based on the motion of the sun, the moon, and Venus. It is believed that the Cycladic people tracked the days by creating marks in the terra-cotta, which would allow them to predict a woman's pregnancy and pattern their lives in harmony with the cosmos. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/78471a5c-4ae9-4f91-a36d-361c9360e0ec/moon.png Cycladic Goddesses - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/45c32d8a-e912-4264-a094-0b4ae64a0717/Who1.png Cycladic Goddesses Were these figurines connected to religious rites or celebrations? Do they represent deities or everyday people? The Cycladic figurines likely had many functions in Cycladic society, and modern historians have different interpretations for their possible meanings and uses. They may have been used as votive figures—anthropomorphic representations that were created as embodiments of the worshipper, and placed in temples as dedications to a deity. They may have been symbols of fertility, or depictions of fertility deities, as the concepts of fertility and life cycles were central spiritual themes in the ancient Mediterranean, and some of the figurines’ shapes suggest pregnancy and childbirth. They may also have been used in burial practices, as evidenced by the fact that many figures weren’t able to stand, and were meant to lie on their backs, feet and toes pointed downward. Their folded arms could have been a representation of repose. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/0355a90a-4bdc-4ea1-8ff8-7d1a4bd910c0/Who2.png Cycladic Goddesses The figurines may also have been ritual objects, aimed at ceremonial use. They may have been held or carried upright in procession, used in marriage ceremonies, in ancestor rituals as representations of the deceased, or representing mourners during funerals. Historian Celia Romani analyzes the figurines through the lens of their crossed-armed position. She writes: “I would like to propose a lens with which to view the figures. It is one with which many people before have examined them, but I believe it helps us to not only view them as having a functional purpose, but helps us to connect with the pieces on a more emotional level which could help us interpret their meaning. This lens is the crossed arms. This has a variety of possible meanings. It could be a position of piety or worship which helps support the theory of them being votive figures. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/18a1f8cb-2b58-4620-9fa5-54d57d0b9880/Who3.png Cycladic Goddesses It could also be a way to emphasize the midsection or a gesture to protect the belly. For the female figures this helps support the theory of fertility tokens. It could also simply have a more mundane reason, the crossed arms help to prevent breakage over time as they are fully attached to the body. The gesture of crossed arms is a very human, sometimes very emotional one. We cross our arms when we feel nervous, scared, uncomfortable, or anxious, as a way of protecting ourselves. We cross our arms when we are angry or when we are being stubborn. We even cross our arms when we are cold. Art over time has been a way for people to depict the world around them, represent their customs and rituals, but also as a way of figuring out that world and themselves, whether that means themselves as an individual or themselves in a broader sense, as human.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f2d5f58d-b5e8-4a93-a1ce-a073d08fb899/Art1.png Cycladic Goddesses The ambiguity and appeal of the Cycladic figurines has had a profound impact on the modern imagination. They have had a significant influence on modern art, in their abstract simplicity, highly stylized forms, and balanced proportions. Pioneering 20th-century artists such as Pablo Picasso, Constantin Brancusi and Amedeo Modigliani were notably influenced by the elegantly simple marble figurines in much of their artistic works. This idea of looking at and taking inspiration from cultural products and practices from the past was a complex artistic trend practiced by 20th century western artists, called primitivism. Modern artists from Europe and America were looking to the past and to distant cultures for new artistic sources in the face of increasing industrialization and urbanization. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/33abccb6-e59a-4937-8873-722fb7aacf2b/Art2.png Cycladic Goddesses Primitivism contained a basic contradiction: the primitive was admired and even seen as an ideal, but at the same it was also assumed to be inferior, because it is not fully developed. This paradox makes primitivism a concept that is both intellectually and morally complex. Primitivism developed during the modern era, prompted by two events. First, the so-called ‘Age of Discovery’ from the 15th to 17th century brought Europeans into close contact with many previously unknown cultures from all around the world. Second, primitivist perspectives were brought about by anxieties induced by the rapid social, economic, and political shifts that accompanied the scientific and industrial revolutions of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/284a0b40-1c66-473b-995d-8b75a928c01a/Art3.png Cycladic Goddesses - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/26460ed2-af40-4b48-ab3b-a18ca5422b19/Art4.png Cycladic Goddesses - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/63432e40-5060-41ee-8c07-1c7a452f693a/Quote1.jpg Cycladic Goddesses - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/74ad7ff8-516b-4b2a-957d-3d947e68af10/PracticesTitle.png Cycladic Goddesses - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/9b30d84b-edd1-4e17-b9e1-699f6e5bb898/Separator2.png Cycladic Goddesses - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8bddd035-c268-4823-ab0c-a908d3a7a441/Womb.png Cycladic Goddesses This magical guided journey takes you to a ritual fire in the forest where your ancestor awaits and bears witness to your releasing of all that no longer serves you or what has held you back. Mama Bear will then guide you to the womb of Mother Earth, where you will meet your Spirit Guides, Higher Self, and Power Animal, where they will take you to a magical world full of mystery and remembrance. It is here where you will begin unearthing the long-dormant seeds of your soul that help you to remember who you are. Listen here. Practice by Dakota Earth Cloud Walker on Insight Timer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633797127218-BJ5EZNCE4N2T0JLSVAPS/GoDeeper.png Cycladic Goddesses - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.onusamothership.com/brigid daily 0.75 2024-03-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642470391322-C3JQXMOLRA522MGISHI7/Cover1.jpg Brigid https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642561295245-TH3MOQ4PZKQYI90F0F92/Cover2.jpg Brigid https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642561461128-B5U9LYIFYV1FCVWE0AY7/Cover3.jpg Brigid https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642561640662-1CO53LCM41OU7RY5LNZI/Cover4.jpg Brigid https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642561791206-VQSUZ376AFSO8JS4N4EX/Cover5.jpg Brigid https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642561920159-R5OBPVCGO0398V0URKP1/Cover6.jpg Brigid https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642562026330-0YH6U164OG8V4SYWR70K/Cover7.jpg Brigid https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642562224050-9UHE985DPHS285V8MO7S/Cover8.jpg Brigid https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642562429897-JOPYE2UJNYCVRC0QFURZ/Cover9.jpg Brigid https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642562526004-JIXQJOPRD2QIISSRBH7K/Cover10.jpg Brigid https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642562663307-GDRHL1T9FPAT9NBJ2957/Cover11.jpg Brigid https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642562847122-FN6TFFJ4B8MBUS0SU8OX/Cover12.jpg Brigid https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642562964103-DC9JDNXWGFUNBO34Z2GA/Cover13.jpg Brigid https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642563089846-N64J45P8YPYTCSUWYTE6/Cover14.jpg Brigid https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642563371956-OBZZ11BH2F9GWY8TK23X/Cover15.jpg Brigid https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642563569786-MJG9W7ZQD3AU5OWXKITB/Cover16.jpg Brigid https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642563680182-QFGMNHSE96BH1BY8XO1U/Cover17.jpg Brigid https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642563807125-HBIZXQ9Z0SPHECWRR2O8/Cover18.jpg Brigid https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1642564045222-7COB7EQPYQSQDCN0YEBU/Cover19.jpg Brigid https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1646766360792-YCCSW4XZAY84XABXKQO9/Cover20.jpg Brigid https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1646766417307-A68LJCSGFGFLLDWAZG97/Cover21.jpg Brigid https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1646766465658-RXFIOAUHDF61PJDILJRM/Cover22.jpg Brigid https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/5ff2fea9-0cef-41b7-85ea-b144639bb75f/BrigidMural1.png Brigid https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8235c4e4-9929-4d33-825f-c2ebc59adbd4/BrigidMural2.png Brigid https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/5327482d-2370-4d97-83c2-51c90fb81311/BrigidMural3.png Brigid https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/56ea252a-aad1-4c9e-992a-5d8503455bc3/BrigidHeader4.jpg Brigid - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8da8ad98-b0b4-456c-8e0e-2181950d9c4b/About.png Brigid Origin: Pre-Christian Ireland. Commonly associated with: fertility, motherhood, protection, wisdom, poetry, blacksmithing, prophecy, divination, fire, hearth, home, childbirth, inspiration, domesticated animals, justice, equality, peace. Patroness of: healers, poets, blacksmiths, midwives, single mothers, babies. Other Names: Brigantia, Brid, Bríg, Bride, Briginda, Brigdu, Brigit, Saint Brigid, The Exalted One, The Mistress of the Mantle, The Fiery Arrow, The Bright One. Symbols: Cow, Brigid’s cross, fire, eternal flame, ewe, cockerel, holy wells, cauldron, corn doll, serpent, the Sun, spring. Triple Goddess Aspects: Brigid the Healer (goddess of fertility, family, childbirth and healing), Brigid the Smith (goddess of the crafts and justice), Brigid the Poetess (goddess of inspiration and poetry). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/ec3b63d1-91db-4e9c-83f2-b87afe45dcfd/Story1.png Brigid Brigid, Brigit or Bríg is a goddess of pre-Christian Gaelic Ireland. She appears in Irish mythology as a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the pantheon of Celtic pre-Christian gods worshipped by the Gaelic people. The Tuatha Dé Danann, also known as Tuath Dé (“tribe of the gods”) dwell in the Otherworld (the realm of deities and the dead) but interact with humans and the human world. Each member of the Tuath Dé is connected with a particular feature of life or nature. They are associated with ancient passage tombs, burial sites, cairns and mounds, which were seen as portals to the Otherworld. Celtic deities were highly integrated into various aspects of daily life, such as domestic and labor-related tasks, and elements of the natural world, like streams, trees, or hills. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c7d469ea-a620-461c-ac1c-d9dea6092436/Story2.png Brigid Brigid is the daughter of the Dagda, an important god in Irish mythology portrayed as a father-figure, king, and druid. In Old Irish, the root of her name means “the exalted one”, and her most ancient Gaelic name, Breo-Saighead, means “fiery arrow”. She is associated with wisdom, poetry, fertility, motherhood, childbirth, healing, protection, the hearth and home, divination, blacksmithing and domesticated animals. She is connected to fire, domesticity, and family life. Brigid was the patron of poets and bards, as well as healers and magicians. She was especially honored when it came to matters of prophecy and divination. Brigid was known for protecting mothers and their newborn children. She was described as a fiery-haired goddess, wearing a cloak of sunbeam. Her ability to sense and attend to the needs of others was one of her many sacred gifts. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/9daa327f-41b9-4d09-83e2-9e08584242fe/Story3.png Brigid Cormac's Glossary, an early Irish glossary written by Christian scribes in the 9th century, describes her as “the goddess whom poets adored” and “woman of wisdom” or sage, who is famous for her “protecting care”. The glossary suggests that Brigid had two sisters, suggesting that Brigid may have been a Triple Goddess—a deity who appears in three forms or aspects. Unlike other mythologies where the Triple Goddess represented the three chronological stages of a woman's life (Maiden, Mother, and Crone), the three Brigids were all of the same generation, and the distinctions between them were based on their domains of responsibility. Brigid the Healer, or the ‘Fire of the Hearth’, was the goddess of fertility, family, childbirth and healing. Brigid the Smith, or the ‘Fire of the Forge’, was a patroness of the crafts (especially weaving, embroidery, and metalsmithing), and a goddess concerned with justice and law and order. Brigid the Poetess, or the ‘Fire of Inspiration’, was the muse of poetry, song and the protector of all cultural learning. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/998a883e-a57e-4103-bb08-76dda1dab1ca/Story4.png Brigid Saint Brigid, one of Ireland’s patron saints, shares many of the goddess’s attributes and her feast day, February 1st, was originally the pagan festival Imbolc, which marked the beginning of spring and was associated with the goddess Brigid. It has been long asserted that Saint Brigid’s persona is based on the cult of the pre-Christian goddess Brigid. It is therefore argued that the saint is a Christianization of the goddess, a form of syncretism—a merging or assimilation of several mythologies or religions. Brigid is one of the most prominent and loved deities of the Celtic pantheon, appearing in many stories in Irish mythology and in the Middle Ages. However, many of these stories seem contradictory, relaying her life in many different ways. Additionally, her quality as a triple goddess fostered a multiplicity of stories surrounding her and her different identities, diverging into multiple storylines and creating further complexity. In the Cath Maige Tuired, a text of Irish mythology, Brigid is the wife of Bres, a king of the Tuatha De Danann, and bears him a son, Ruadán. It says she began the custom of keening, a combination of wailing and singing, while mourning the death of Ruadán, who was killed in battle. She is credited in the same passage with inventing a whistle used for night travel. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/bc1bfde6-0e7a-4013-a1bc-ccc60e324a5c/Story5.png Brigid In her English retellings of Irish myth, Lady Augusta Gregory describes Brigit as “a woman of poetry, and poets worshipped her, for her sway was very great and very noble. And she was a woman of healing along with that, and a woman of smith's work, and it was she first made the whistle for calling one to another through the night”. In England, Brigid is known as the warrior maiden and a symbol of justice and authority. In many stories, her overall role was to help humans realize their potential. Brigid has three rivers named after her in Ireland, Wales, and England. Brigid has been kept alive through oral traditions, including poetry and bardic lore. A common belief is that after their death, poets stay in both the realms of the living and dead, spreading the old songs and stories of Brigid, so she will not be forgotten and continue to inspire humans. Brigid is an important figure for many modern pagans, who continue to honor her today as a goddess of the hearth and home, in particular within the revival of the pagan festival Imbolc. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c3795fc3-ab9d-4eb1-93c6-92980486cce9/Saint1.png Brigid During the Middle Ages, it is believed that the goddess Brigid was syncretized with the Christian saint of the same name. According to medievalist Pamela Berger, Christian monks “took the ancient figure of the mother goddess and grafted her name and functions onto her Christian counterpart”, Saint Brigid of Kildare. It is speculated that the goddess Brigid may have been turned into Saint Brigid in order to convert the Celts to Christianity. According to tradition, Saint Brigid was born into slavery, to a Pagan Scottish king and his Christian slave, after her mother was sold to a druid. Her mother raised her as a Christian. From a young age, Brigid was highly compassionate and helped those in need with an open heart. As she grew older, she started healing and feeding the poor, and blessing the cots of newborns. When her religious journey developed, she founded a monastery at Kildare—a name which means the 'church of the oak tree’—in the 5th century, on the site of a pagan shrine to the Celtic goddess Brigid. At this site, a sacred perpetual fire burned, tended to by young priestesses who used to gather on the hill of Kildare to tend their ritual fires while invoking the goddess Brigid to protect their herds and to provide a fruitful harvest. When St. Brigid built her monastery and church in Kildare she continued the custom of keeping the fire alight, and became associated with perpetual sacred flames, like the goddess Brigid. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c59859be-1fb2-4a8b-983a-9bc7aeac4ad0/Saint2.png Brigid In the Christian era, the sacred flame at Kildare was said to have been maintained by 19 nuns, and surrounded by a hedge, which no man could cross. Men who attempted to cross the hedge were said to have been cursed with insanity or death. The tradition of female priestesses tending sacred, eternal flames is a feature of ancient Indo-European pre-Christian spirituality. Other examples include the Roman goddess Vesta, and other hearth-goddesses, such as Hestia. The sacred flame survived possibly up to the suppression of the monasteries in the sixteenth century. The sacred flame was re-lit in 1993, in the Market Square, Kildare, by Mary Teresa Cullen, the then leader of the Brigidine Sisters, a small and diverse group of women who keep Brigid’s values and traditions alive. The flame was re-lit at the opening of a justice and peace conference, entitled “Brigid: Prophetess, Earthwoman, Peacemaker” and organised by Afri, (Action from Ireland), a justice, peace and human rights organization. Since then, the Brigidine Sisters in Kildare have tended the sacred flame in their centre, Solas Bhride. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/31c0f608-690d-4dd8-803b-4c04de00a171/Saint3.png Brigid Women looked to Saint Brigid as an advocate and role model. She was a fierce protector of women, with many legends depicting her as saving innocent women from death, assault and harassment, assisting them through pregnancy, and protecting and healing them. Saint Brigid is also credited with organizing communal consecrated religious life for women in Ireland. She is celebrated for her generosity to the poor, her community-building qualities, her peacemaking and leadership. Most of the miracles associated with her relate to healing and household tasks usually attributed to women. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/a5bc1a10-0e09-4406-a53c-15a8f8425c59/Saint4.png Brigid Saint Brigid is credited for having initiated the monastic movement in Ireland, which spread across the country and allowed monks and nuns to live devotional lives of solitude, prayer, and physical labor. The movement would help define Irish Christianity with convents and monasteries throughout the nation serving as the administrative, legal, intellectual, cultural, and agricultural centers for their areas. Brigid was known to be a deep carer for the Earth. In keeping with her Celtic tradition, she was wonderfully attuned to the seasons and cycles of nature. Today, in Ireland, many individuals and groups concerned about the environment draw inspiration from the reverence and respect which Brigid had for the land. She is often referred to as the saint of agriculture. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/9403afed-2277-432e-937e-e71c572f5777/Saint5.png Brigid Saint Brigid was a strong and gentle woman, a powerful leader, a good organizer, a skillful healer and a wise spiritual guide. She has become—for both men and women—a potent symbol of Christian womanhood. Her popularity made the name Brigid (or its variants such as Brigitte, Bridie, and Bree) so popular in Ireland over the centuries, that at one point in time, every family had a Brigid. In the nineteenth century as many Irish women emigrated to England seeking jobs as housemaids, the name Brigid became virtually synonymous with the word "woman". Saint Brigid’s feast day is February 1st, which was originally the pagan festival Imbolc during which the goddess Brigid was celebrated, a day marking the beginning of spring in Irish tradition. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/cf7433dc-63ce-404f-bf0c-4dd9863aa3b2/Poem1.png Brigid - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/db13f639-8a27-4bf2-913d-ae19128eb5f2/butterfly.png Brigid - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/512c7878-85e0-4b79-b7d0-2c685c0aa257/Imbolc1.png Brigid Imbolc or Imbolg, also called Saint Brigid's Day, is a Gaelic traditional festival. It marks the beginning of spring, and for Christians (especially Irish Christians), it is the feast day of Saint Brigid. It is held on February 1st, which is halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. Historically, Imbolc was widely observed in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. It is one of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals—along with Beltaine (the beginning of summer), Lughnasadh (the beginning of autumn or harvest season), and Samhain (the beginning of winter, the pagan Celtic festival of the dead). Early Irish literature indicates that Imbolc was an important date in ancient times. It is believed the day was originally a pagan festival associated with the goddess Brigid in her role as a fertility goddess, and that it was Christianized as the feast day of Saint Brigid, who was also believed to be a Christianization of the goddess. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f7008e1a-8196-4018-9511-dddae5ecb98e/Imbolc2.png Brigid To fully appreciate the importance of Imbolc for Celtic people, it is necessary to understand the life-and-death struggle that winter represented for agrarian societies. The snow, cold and ice of winter literally held people in its grip, only alleviated with the arrival of spring. As it marked the beginning of spring, Imbolc was the promise that better times are coming. During the winter months, people worried about the amounts of food for both humans and animals, illnesses, and the health of the young, the old and nursing mothers. With the arrival of Imbolc, the pregnant animals who survived the winter months birth their young and their milk would be flowing. Milk, to the Celts, was sacred food, equivalent to the Christian communion. The cow was symbolic of the sacredness of motherhood, life-force and nourishment, and was associated with the goddess Brigid. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/0ed6614e-ae20-47d7-af51-7cb52df3d341/Imbolc3.png Brigid Imbolc divides winter in half; the cold winter months are departing—represented by the Crone feminine archetype—and the promise of Spring is around the corner—represented by the youthful Maiden. This celebration was undoubtedly a feminine festival. Women would gather to welcome the maiden aspect of the Goddess as embodied by Brigid. The festivities included the making of corn cakes and the weaving of Brigid's crosses. A doll-like figure of Brigid (a Brídeóg) dressed in white would be paraded from house-to-house by maidens, also dressed in white. On the eve of the festival, people would prepare their homes to be visited and blessed by Brigid, by making a bed for her, preparing food and drink offerings, and leaving items of clothing outside for her to bless. Brigid was also evoked to protect homes and livestock. Holy wells were visited in her honor, a special feast was given by and for the maidens, and it was a special time for divination. On this day, Brigid was honored as the Great Mother and all-encompassing deity. Although many of Imbolc customs died out in the 20th century, the festival is still observed by both Christians and non-Christians, and its customs have been revives in its Christian and neo-pagan forms in some places. Since the end of 20th century, Celtic neopagans and Wiccans have observed Imbolc as a religious holiday. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/68d4a2fe-cfcf-4387-b10a-c5c7d1f1ab22/PracticesTitle.png Brigid - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/09930c51-179e-41cb-8938-6aa376d59264/Separator2.png Brigid - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f42b902d-3f77-4525-9745-9243740b7898/Fire-Meditation.png Brigid Ground and center. Take a deep breath. Be conscious of the electric spark within each nerve as pulses jump from synapse to synapse. Be aware of the combustion within each cell, as energy releases and moves throughout your body. Let your own fire become one with candle flame, bonfire, hearth fire, lightning, starlight and sunlight, one with the bright spirit of the Goddess. Fire teaches us that power results from combining and integrating, rather than fighting and dominating. Remember, there is ease and grace in true power. Connect with your inner fire. Feel that expansive power within. Meditation from The Spiral Dance, by Starhawk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/784d25d1-d8c9-41c3-a996-197102c360a8/Separator.png Brigid - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c059df6a-f748-4df4-8645-b5579f9ba8e0/Candle1.png Brigid In a quiet, darkened room, light a candle. Ground and center, and gaze quietly into the heart of the candle. Breathe deeply, and let yourself be warmed by the light of the candle. Let its peaceful radiance fill you completely. Follow the movements of the flame with your eyes. As thoughts surface in your mind, gently let them go without judgment. Do not let the flame split into a double-image: keep your eyes focused. As you gaze at the flame, visualize a diamond at the center of your forehead, between and just above your eyebrows. This is where your intuitive third-eye chakra lies. The diamond reflects the light of the candle, and the candle reflects the light of the candle. Feel the reverberation of energy. Gaze for as long as possible without straining the eyes, and then close them when you need to. Your eyes might start to tear or water during your practice, that is perfectly normal. Once this happens, close your eyes. This is said to clean and purify the eyes, leaving them clear and bright. When you close the eyes, you may be able to visualize an after-image of the flame with closed eyes. Try to bring and maintain this image at the location of the diamond you visualized, or your third-eye. When the image eventually disappears, open your eyes again and repeat the gazing process. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/488c9e58-e11a-4876-ab37-bbe5aefda7c1/Separator2.png Brigid - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f01b1ec9-b65d-4cde-8dae-1f474e2a07d0/Separator2.png Brigid - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/70ceba8e-38c1-457e-a8dc-34ad3449b001/Candle2.png Brigid Experts suggest that candle-gazing meditation can help enhance cognitive function, mental health, and spiritual connectedness. The spiritual benefits of candle-gazing meditation may include: reduction in excess rajas (passion, action, and movement), increase in sattva (consciousness and clarity), improvement in intuitive or spiritual vision, connecting to the 3rd eye—center of intuition, perception, connectedness, calming the mind and providing inner peace and silence, and providing stress relief and deep relaxation. Caution: This exercise is not suitable for people with psychic problems. Those who have a tendency towards Schizophrenia or hallucinations should not practice Trataka. Meditation from The Spiral Dance, by Starhawk and Healthline https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/9cf31ccb-4800-4aae-a1cd-c6f4d7ea1f34/DinnerParty1.png Brigid The 1979 installation artwork The Dinner Party by feminist artist Judy Chicago features a place setting for Brigid/Saint Brigid. Widely regarded as the first epic feminist artwork, the installation is a symbolic history of women in civilization. It features a massive ceremonial banquet arranged on a triangular table, with 39 elaborate place settings each commemorating a mythical or historical famous woman, including Virginia Woolf, Susan B. Anthony, Sacagawea, Georgia O'Keefe, Ishtar, and Kali, to name a few. Each place setting includes a hand-painted china plate, ceramic cutlery, a chalice and a napkin. Each plate depicts a brightly colored, elaborately styled vulva form. The settings rest on intricately embroidered runners, using a variety of needlework styles and techniques. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/27717487-3ba6-42fa-bbd3-6f3fba1920f7/DinnerParty2.png Brigid In an early drawing for the plate of Saint Brigid, Judy Chicago refers to her as a “goddess of milk and fire.” She is represented as a flame in the plate. The flame appears again on the back of the runner surrounding the Celtic cross, and on the runner’s front, in the letter “S” in her name. The flame is a literal translation of Brigid’s Celtic name, which means “fiery arrow.” It also represents the eternal flame that the nuns of Saint Brigid kept lit in her honor, after her death. The flame on the plate appears as an abstract form in reds, oranges, and yellows interwoven with the greens and blues. The overlaying of flame and plant imagery suggests the Christian Saint Brigid emerging from the Pagan and Celtic goddess Brigid. The runner’s iconography also suggests the Celtic and Christian merging of Brigid the Goddess and Brigid the Saint. The front border is a wooden panel carved in a Celtic knot motif. The back of the runner features a stylized wooden Christian cross, based on a Muiredach cross, a symbol of Irish Christianity. The oak used for both the Celtic and Christian iconography and the bark-colored silk in the runner represent the first convent Bridget founded, Kildare, or “the church of the oak.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/4348fcf4-fa7e-410b-ae76-d22ecd37cbee/GoDeeper.png Brigid - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.onusamothership.com/tara daily 0.75 2024-03-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1643222436518-JTS7UOS12I86VKU7QPIS/Cover1.jpg Tara https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1643222737718-JNDN98F6THCAE9V2DXEK/Cover2.jpg Tara https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1643223364319-0GO6A4NR7AJHZP7HAPW1/Cover3.jpg Tara https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1643224455640-82F1FVK4I6K5NZO4W9C5/Cover5.jpg Tara https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1643224791032-HWBLMRNQP4NP36K58O8T/Cover6.jpg Tara https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1643225359154-0RHP218TBIR45ITX6HKA/Cover7.jpg Tara https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1643225456933-CD96A5JULVT4CI3XSDCW/Cover8.jpg Tara https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1643226026894-KTPGP5OT2FWTSWKWQK8U/Cover9.jpg Tara https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1643226214563-99PKRSV5WYB13XECNJ9Y/Cover10.jpg Tara https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1643226391540-NPQJNDC1OP5SDBK8LY6E/Cover11.jpg Tara https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1643226607078-RI1YGCFSS5DU3JMFEJ7H/Cover12.jpg Tara https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1643226880612-EAZP7HL2V3XNCP2ZU2VV/Cover13.jpg Tara https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1643227224546-PLLXY25H4DOE9WVYY4NT/Cover14.jpg Tara https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1643227382956-GICM1TN6VNUNWQZJ9HQM/Cover15.jpg Tara https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1643227494596-09UCKGT2TIS9HT9LKMA8/Cover16.jpg Tara https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1643228362706-RR90B7RO66VKS0RW9FEA/Cover17.jpg Tara https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1643228576863-UFM89N34GNDK2SEKZX8Z/Cover4.jpg Tara https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1643244287802-YLSLS93B4ER367ZJCNOQ/Cover18.jpg Tara https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1647177599532-2AOFC3CWP4YODK3ZNEPM/Cover19.jpg Tara https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/ccc58948-5819-4d7f-90aa-f2823c8dad28/Slide-GreenTara2.png Tara https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/d9248266-9c9b-417c-9bf2-3726679b91fa/Slide-WhiteTara2.png Tara https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/19c12bbd-4884-478f-a138-588157f39c82/Slide-YellowTara2.png Tara https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/43a6bd87-0e56-4e6e-9838-fb012087b29c/Slide-BlueTara2.png Tara https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/2a581c95-8689-47f2-a922-d797310f6e97/Slide-BlackTara2.png Tara https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/15f69af8-dc84-4585-a308-304bfcbac397/Slide-RedTara2.png Tara https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/085fb901-905f-44fa-9e2b-60dee06a09e0/Tara-Header2.png Tara - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/13e31863-4f09-42a9-ae66-a654b762fcd3/AboutTara.png Tara Origin: Tibetan Buddhism, Hinduism, Mahayana Buddhism. Commonly associated with: compassion, protection, liberation, wisdom, meditation, transformation, the feminine principle. Name Meaning: Star, She who Ferries Across, She Who Saves, The Liberator, Saviouress, Female Liberator, Mother Liberator, Rescuer. Other names: “Mother of all the Buddhas”, “mother of liberation”. Role: Female Buddha of Compassion (Esoteric Buddhism), bodhisattva (Mahayana Buddhism), protector of the welfare of all beings, savior-goddess, avatar of the great Mother Goddess (Hinduism), protectress of earthly and spiritual travel, Tantric Deity. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/46199f47-6b96-4744-a871-a025a851a91b/Story1.png Tara Tara is a cross-cultural, multi-faceted goddess who embodies compassion, and manifests in numerous colors and forms. She is thought to have been born out of empathy for the suffering world, and is regularly invoked for protection and guidance in Buddhism and Hinduism. She is widely popular in Nepal, Tibet, Mongolia and Bhutan. In Hinduism, she is a symbol of eternal love, and a form of the female primordial energy known as Shakti. She is the goddess of compassion in Buddhism, who teaches the wisdom of detachment. In Tibet, she is the goddess of love, born out of her mother’s tears of compassion for the suffering of humanity. In Hinduism, Tara is the second of the ten Mahavidyas, avatars of the great Mother Goddess Mahadevi. Mahadevi manifests as the trinity of goddesses Saraswati, Lakshmi, and Parvati, and the Mahavidyas are more specific avatars of these three. Tara is a manifestation of Parvati as a devoted mother caring for and protecting her children. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/a404e932-6a78-482e-9e70-9f1912d2abe7/Story2.png Tara In Buddhism, Tara is a savior-goddess who liberates souls from suffering. She is recognized as a bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism—an enlightened being who, out of compassion, refrains from entering nirvana to remain engaged in the world and help all sentient beings. She is recognized as a female Buddha and the “Mother of Buddhas” in Esoteric Buddhism. In Tara The Feminine Divine, Tibetan Buddhist teacher Bokar Rinpoche writes that while the Buddha was sitting under the Bodhi tree the night preceding his awakening, he was attacked by a horde of demons attempting to divert him from his goal. At that moment, Tara appeared, and with “eight great laughters, made the demons fall to the ground and stopped them from doing harm. The Buddha then placed his mind in a state of perfect meditation and, at dawn, attained awakening. After that, he uttered the Tara Tantra.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/3af844b1-7868-4736-bf2c-3b76228d2ebf/Story3.png Tara According to one origin tale, Tara came into existence from a single tear of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara who cried when looking upon the suffering world. When the tear fell to the ground, it formed a lake, of which a lotus flower rose and revealed Tara. In another version of this story, Tara emerges from the heart of Avalokitesvara. In either version, it is Avalokitesvara’s outpouring of compassion which manifests Tara as a being. Therefore, she is associated primarily with compassion but can take on many forms to help and protect people, including a wrathful deity similar in appearance to Kali, the Hindu goddess of death and transformation. A common belief in Tibetan Buddhism is that Tara is incarnate in every pious woman, including the two wives of the first Buddhist King of Tibet, Songtsen Gampo. Green Tara was believed to be incarnated as the Chinese princess Wencheng, while the Nepali princess Bhrikuti was an emanation of White Tara. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8120694b-f212-4011-b848-c47b3eb439a1/Quote1.png Tara - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/9022192e-76e2-4b8b-a854-e9a2e2c5cce2/Feminist1.png Tara In her Buddhist identity as a bodhisattva, Tara is seen as a true model of feminine empowerment, and has offered a sense of inclusivity to many female practitioners. A story tells us that Tara was incarnated as a princess named Yeshe Dawa, or “Moon of Primordial Awareness”, who was very devoted to the dharma and had a deep meditation practice. She was close to enlightenment, raising the intention to attain bodhicitta—the infinitely compassionate mental state, for the benefit of all beings. As she was on her path, monks approached her and suggested that she should pray to be reborn as a male to progress further, because the common belief was that only men could become enlightened. The princess answered back: “Here there is no man; there is no woman, no self, no person, and no consciousness. Labeling ‘male’ or ‘female’ is hollow. Oh, how worldly fools delude themselves”. She told the monks that only “weak minded worldlings” see gender as a barrier to enlightenment. Tired of being discounted as an enlightened being just because of her female form, she made the following vow: https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/bbbcd946-5b70-4f9a-9646-997e480835c5/Vow2.png Tara - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/d67056c5-0a28-456f-850b-cd818d5ce91d/Worship1.png Tara Tara’s name means "savioress" in Sanskrit but can also translate as "star". Along with her qualities as a savior-goddess who is invoked for protection and liberation from suffering, she is also called upon for guidance in life, specifically, by those who feel lost and are having difficulty finding their way. Like a star, Tara is thought to provide a single point of light one can navigate by. She is the protectress of navigation and earthly travel, as well as spiritual travel along the path to enlightenment. She is associated with Mother Goddess figures in the Buddhist schools of many different cultures, particularly her counterpart in Chinese Buddhism, Guanyin, the goddess of infinite compassion and mercy. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/eb09618a-fbfd-4a54-a8d2-cacf12247c92/Worship2.png Tara Within the worship of Tara, various prayers, chants and mantras are associated with her. Two main approaches are practiced by her devotees. The first one involves common folk and practitioners simply directly appealing to her, asking for her guidance and help to ease some of the difficulties of worldly life. In the first approach, Tara’s role as a bodhisattva involves moving people towards enlightenment, helping them pass beyond the troubles of earthly existence, and protecting them from worldly dangers. In the second approach to her worship, Tara is a Tantric deity whose practice is used by monks or tantric yogis to develop her qualities in themselves - enlightened compassion and enlightened mind. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/b34f7b8c-0695-4442-a0d0-e78ce49f432c/Worship3.png Tara In the practices of mental training offered by the great masters of Tibet, Tara is the archetype of our own inner wisdom. She refers to a transformation of consciousness and a voyage towards liberation. These masters teach multiple simple and direct methods so that each person discovers within themselves the wisdom, compassion and glory of Tara. Tara is believed to quickly respond to adherents who recite her mantra, "Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha" (pronounced Ohm Tahray Too-Tahray Turay So-ha), which praises the goddess for her role as savior and asks for her assistance. The mantra is often chanted or sung to musical accompaniment and repeated during private meditation or public worship. The mantra is thought to bring Tara into the physical and spiritual presence of the one reciting it, and encourage growth and change. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1719e407-67da-4abd-911a-9e5bc2000483/Worship4.png Tara Cults of Tara are compassionate and peaceful. White Tara is venerated for protection and health, peace and longevity. Green Tara brings fertility to the Earth, the light of protection, and help for overcoming obstacles. Tara remains one of the most powerful and popular goddesses in the Buddhist pantheon. Male and female Buddhist monks participate in the veneration of Tara in the present day, along with millions of lay Buddhists and Hindus around the world who continue to call on her to assist them in maintaining balance, embracing change, and navigating an often-challenging world. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/57aaddc4-9bc0-44fc-8c3f-98b9cf023873/Symbolism1.png Tara Color—Green Tara is the most often depicted and best-known image of the goddess. In her green form, she represents protection from misfortune, peacefulness, and enlightened activity. Her green color is connected to the wind element and hence to movement, which points to her ability to act swiftly and without delay to bring protection to all sentient beings. Sitting position—As opposed to sitting in full lotus posture (like White Tara), Green Tara sits with her left leg withdrawn—symbolizing her renunciation of worldly passion—and her right leg extended outward. This posture is an act of subversion and resistance since it represents active and direct compassion. She rejects a comfortable seat because she knows that she is needed. She is always ready to come swiftly to the assistance of anyone who calls upon her for help. The Lotus flower—Tara is often portrayed holding a blue lotus flower in her hand. The lotus flower symbolizes purity and power and promises relief from suffering. The flower consists of three blossoms, indicating that Tara is the Mother of the Buddhas of the past, present, and future. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/171d7af9-fad8-4289-9d8e-a520e41f7924/Symbolism2.png Tara Hand posture (Mudra) & Expression—Green Tara’s right hand is outstretched in the boundless gesture of giving, the Varada mudra. This mudra signifies offering, charity, supreme generosity, compassion, sincerity, and bestowing blessings. Her left hand’s fingers are extended upwards, indicating refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha—the ‘Triple Gem’, or three different expressions of awakened mind in Buddhism. Her forefinger or ring finger are bent to touch the tip of her thumb, forming the Vitarka mudra, representing the discussion and transmission of Buddhist teachings, and the united practice of method and wisdom. The circle formed by the joining of the fingers also symbolizes Dharma, or the wheel of law. Green Tara smiles lovingly and peacefully, her eyes gazing warmly and compassionately upon each sentient being as a mother regards her only child. Clothing—Tara is dressed in the silken robes of royalty. She wears rainbow-colored stockings and various jeweled ornaments. These symbolize her mastery of the perfections of generosity and morality. The tiara fastened in her black hair is adorned with jewels, the central one is a red ruby symbolic of Amitabha, her spiritual father and one of the five Cosmic Buddhas of Esoteric Buddhism. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c12e8f30-9f37-4f12-a1c3-78cdb0330ac1/TransformationTitle.png Tara - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/83edb97e-24a7-4242-a22a-095d44a045c0/FemininePrinciple2.png Tara - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/fe9ac390-d198-400f-b583-80dbd4668e26/Environmentalism.png Tara - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8d338097-f069-4c1c-b86c-0a3fee70fb17/Separator2.png Tara - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/5371d9d8-bea7-4b5f-96b0-fc030b24bded/PracticesTitle.png Tara - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8d338097-f069-4c1c-b86c-0a3fee70fb17/Separator2.png Tara - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/a2995aba-b49d-4f18-a84e-691576a238e6/Becoming.png Tara This is a simple visualization practice that will help you connect with your inner Tara, embody her energy and qualities, and cultivate a compassionate, merciful heart. Visualize Tara in front of you. She is seated peacefully, radiating unconditional love, compassion and kindness. Picture a small moon disc at Tara’s heart. A green light emanates from her heart and touches you. The green light gradually envelops you, until you yourself become Green Tara. Now, visualize yourself as Tara. You are Tara, the mother of all the Buddhas. You are here for the sake of all sentient beings. If you can’t see yourself as Tara, that’s okay. You can just say to yourself, ‘I am a Tara. There’s a Tara in me. In my heart, I am Tara.’ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/a50afbb2-4f56-4971-8070-5cc015d18c3f/Separator.png Tara - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/7a8cd9ad-f9c5-4295-a8b3-44a9182ebeef/TaraFigures.png Tara Although Tara is a female bodhisattva, her energy can be present in sentient beings regardless of gender. What people in your life help you feel supported, understood, and cared for? Perhaps there are friends or other family members, or maybe you are working with a therapist or another kind of healing practitioner. You may have more Taras around you than you realize. Maybe you’ve even had brief encounters in which you’ve been the recipient of random acts of kindness from strangers that were imbued with that gentle compassion. By bringing conscious awareness to those relationships and moments by remembering them and reflecting on them, you imprint that nurturing love more deeply in your mindstream. If you don’t have enough Tara energy in your life, consider working with a therapist to intentionally cultivate more supportive relationships. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/3f2858d8-4928-4d55-8b2d-9ed1c2c06465/Separator.png Tara - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c202b305-18da-43b3-ab04-b7e5f9273946/Flowers.png Tara Consider shifting your perspective from how others show up for you, to how you can show up for others. Reflect on the relationships in your life—have you tended to them with care? Seek out ways to water the people around you in the best way for their growth. Soon enough you’ll find yourself surrounded by a blooming garden. Practice by modernmind https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/a2910c78-4ee9-4659-82b7-3483a0f89ddf/Separator.png Tara - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/98458811-07e0-42f3-8250-405e14f54a68/Forgiveness.png Tara Listen to this short guided forgiveness meditation by Buddhist meditation leader and psychotherapist Tara Brach, an excerpt from her talk “A Forgiving Heart”, which includes a poem from Rumi at the end. Forgiving means not pushing anyone, or any part of our own being, out of our heart. As we bring a full, compassionate presence to the wounds that we’ve been protecting, we release the armoring of hatred and blame that has been imprisoning our heart. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/3e8cee70-d150-4e36-b411-cf21f1b5c5d6/Separator.png Tara - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/02c10b98-3221-45c2-ac1a-bc7952b52002/LovingKindness.png Tara Listen to this 15-minute guided loving kindness meditation. Compassion meditation involves silently repeating certain phrases that express the intention to move from judgment to caring, from isolation to connection, from indifference to understanding. The practice involves bringing to mind different people (including yourself), and sending them loving-kindness and peace. You don't have to force a particular feeling or get rid of unpleasant or undesirable reactions; the power of the practice is in the wholehearted gathering of attention and energy, and concentrating on each phrase. Notice how this practice makes you feel. What happened to your heart? Did you feel warmth, openness and tenderness? Did you have a wish to take away the other’s suffering? How does your heart feel different when you envision your own or a loved one’s suffering, a stranger’s, or a difficult person’s? Bask in the joy of this open-hearted wish to ease the suffering of all people and beings, and how this attempt brings joy, happiness, and compassion in your heart at this very moment. Practice by Penny McGahey on Insight Timer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/297dd868-ae49-4bac-b506-5b007c7f4fe9/Separator.png Tara - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/75edba97-18a3-41fb-aa34-cd7a9ebbc31b/HeartofCompassion.png Tara Practice until you see yourself in the cruelest person on Earth, in the child starving, in the political prisoner. Continue practicing until you recognize yourself in everyone in the supermarket, on the street corner, in a concentration camp, on a leaf, in a dewdrop. Meditate until you see yourself in a speck of dust in a distant galaxy. See and listen with the whole of your being. If you are fully present, the rain of Dharma will water the deepest seeds in your consciousness, and tomorrow, while you are washing the dishes or looking at the blue sky, that seed will spring forth, and love and understanding will appear as a beautiful flower. Spiritual practice by Thich Nhat Hanh https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/7762bc25-e716-4529-bef3-4ad00b71d32f/Separator.png Tara - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/41867242-7c93-45a8-aa50-d4daab2e4242/Water-Meditation.png Tara Ground and center. Take a deep breath. Feel the blood flowing through the rivers of your veins, the liquid tides within each cell of your body. You are fluid, one drop congealed out of the primal ocean that is the womb of the Great Mother. Find the calm pools of tranquility within you, the rivers of feeling, the tides of power. Sink deep into the well of the inner mind, below consciousness. Meditation from The Spiral Dance, by Starhawk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/636b48be-002c-4fb7-bd19-a6fea0fb4e1e/Separator.png Tara - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/e6c0bfae-600f-4763-8a96-5cafef6037b6/BuddhaNature.png Tara Even in the midst of suffering, it is possible to bring your awareness to the good qualities within yourself and allow them to manifest in your consciousness. Practice mindful breathing to remind yourself of your Buddha nature, of the great compassion and understanding in you. Follow this simple meditation below, aligning with the patterns of your breath: 1. Breathing in, I am aware that I am breathing in. Breathing out, I am aware that I am breathing out. 2. Breathing in, I am in touch with the energy of mindfulness in every cell of my body. Breathing out, I feel nourished by the energy of mindfulness in me. 3. Breathing in, I am in touch with the energy of solidity in every cell of my body. Breathing out, I feel nourished by the energy of solidity in me. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/9477ab9b-f9b6-4780-9e67-082499a38c20/TaraMantra.jpg Tara - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/d6375a91-8405-4f1d-9502-3ddca199eadb/GoDeeper.png Tara - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.onusamothership.com/mother-teresa daily 0.75 2024-03-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1643675956051-BBB5TMN6VA2DMRJW7MEF/Cover1.jpg Mother Teresa https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1643676071359-QS92DI46ORKHYZ8R5BQQ/Cover2.jpg Mother Teresa https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1643676148749-RK2VO0SE3WLDHZTEHB9D/Cover3.jpg Mother Teresa https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1643676405617-FGK4F799WJCUH4BCZ006/Cover4.jpg Mother Teresa https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1643676556516-D9KLJOMJD155RCGR0J1I/Cover5.jpg Mother Teresa https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1643676756583-9BCGE4VE7GMTTTZYFY0G/Cover6.jpg Mother Teresa https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1643676903447-YJHGVK0QBRGTTQ5MB6FJ/Cover7.jpg Mother Teresa https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1643677416845-QNC1XFJJREBE2GBAEST2/Cover8.jpg Mother Teresa https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/2ae24db6-f355-4c1f-970b-152dde42436e/MotherTeresaCover2.png Mother Teresa https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/72df0834-0872-46ec-a1f2-d169c2e1c0a8/Call1.png Mother Teresa Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in 1910, in an Albanian family in Northern Macedonia, and grew up in the Roman Catholic faith for the majority of her childhood. Her father died when she was young, and she became very close to her mother, who instilled in her the importance of charity and giving to others. When she turned 18, Teresa decided that she wanted to become a nun, eventually joining the Sisters of Loreto in Dublin, Ireland. She took her first religious vows and adopted the name ‘Teresa’. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/a56cf95d-e1e7-42fc-974b-5c3f257185ea/Call2.png Mother Teresa After a year in Dublin, Teresa moved to India to work in a Roman Catholic school for girls in Calcutta in 1931. Most of the girls were extremely poor, and it was Teresa’s goal to aid in alleviating their poverty through education. Teresa taught for a number of years until she heard the call of her inner conscience, which she later described as “the call within the call”, telling her to leave her teaching job and to go work in the slums of Calcutta, to serve the poor and live with them. “I was to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them. It was an order. To fail would have been to break the faith”, she said. Priest Joseph Langford later wrote, “Though no one knew it at the time, Sister Teresa had just become Mother Teresa”. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/99e93981-b941-4992-bbed-589aa249e80f/Missionaries1.png Mother Teresa Mother Teresa began missionary work with the poor in 1948. She received basic medical training for a few months then ventured into the slums. She founded a school in Motijhil, Calcutta, and started tending to the poor and hungry. At the beginning of 1949, Teresa was joined in her effort by a group of young women, and she laid the foundation for a new religious community helping the “poorest among the poor”. She later received Vatican permission to form her congregation, which would become the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic Congregation of women dedicated to helping the poor. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/01ae5885-175c-428e-816f-9b31d0fe93cc/Missionaries2.png Mother Teresa One day in 1952, as her longtime associate Sister Agnes recalled years later, Mother Teresa found an old woman dying in the streets. “We tried to get someone to take her to a hospital,” Sister Agnes said, “but before we could, she died. Mother said there should be a place where people can die with dignity and know that they are wanted”. And so Mother Teresa set about establishing a home for the dying destitute. The congregation’s missions kept growing to include caring for the blind, elderly, dying, and people afflicted with leprosy in some of the poorest regions of India. The congregation began to attract recruits and donations, and by the 1960s, it had opened hospices, orphanages, and leper houses throughout India. Teresa then expanded the congregation abroad, opening a house in Venezuela in 1965 with five sisters. Houses and foundations followed in Italy, Tanzania, and Austria in 1968, later expanding into the United States in the 1970s, and dozens of more countries in Asia, Africa and Europe. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/dd1ca5d0-acf7-41d7-a910-6bd8c9195546/Missionaries3.png Mother Teresa Though it began with a small group of 13 women, multiple religious branches were incorporated into the Missionaries over time: The Missionaries of Charity Brothers was established in 1963, and a contemplative branch of the Sisters followed in 1976. Lay Catholics and non-Catholics were enrolled in the Co-Workers of Mother Teresa, the Sick and Suffering Co-Workers, and the Lay Missionaries of Charity. Responding to requests by many priests, Mother Teresa founded the Corpus Christi Movement for Priests in 1981, and the Missionaries of Charity Fathers in 1984, to combine the vocational aims of the Missionaries of Charity with the resources of the priesthood. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/41a5a7a5-7815-460e-9a8e-74f544400c57/Missionaries4.png Mother Teresa By 1997, the 13-member Calcutta congregation had grown to more than 4,000 sisters who managed orphanages, AIDS hospices and charity centers worldwide, caring for refugees, the blind, disabled, aged, alcoholics, the poor and homeless, and victims of floods, epidemics and famine. By 2007, the Missionaries of Charity had spread all over the world, with about 450 brothers and 5,000 sisters worldwide operating 600 missions, schools, and shelters in 120 countries. Mother Teresa spent more than 45 years helping the poor and underprivileged. Her humanitarian work has been recognized and acclaimed throughout the world and she has received a number of awards and distinctions. She died in September 1997 and was beatified in October 2003. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f6813eab-0820-483b-992d-a9093b37e234/Nobel1.png Mother Teresa In 1979, Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her humanitarian work in bringing help to suffering humanity, in particular the attention and care she brought to the plight of children and refugees. According to the Nobel Committee, “constructive efforts to do away with hunger and poverty, and to ensure for mankind a safer and better world community in which to develop, should be inspired by the spirit of Mother Teresa, by her respect for the worth and dignity of the individual human being.” She refused the conventional ceremonial banquet for laureates, asking that its $192,000 cost be given to the poor in India and saying that earthly rewards were important only if they helped her to help the world's needy. When Teresa received the prize she was asked, “What can we do to promote world peace?” She answered, “Go home and love your family.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/54535555-f291-4bb7-b941-286580ff0165/Nobel2.png Mother Teresa During her acceptance speech, she said: “It is so beautiful for us to become holy to this love, for holiness is not a luxury of the few, it is a simple duty for each one of us, and through this love we can become holy. To this love for one another and today when I have received this reward, I personally am most unworthy, and I having avowed poverty to be able to understand the poor, I choose the poverty of our people. But I am grateful and I am very happy to receive it in the name of the hungry, of the naked, of the homeless, of the crippled, of the blind, of the leprous, of all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared, thrown away of the society, people who have become a burden to the society, and are ashamed by everybody.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f2d18fe8-31f6-4d6b-ac70-0aec4cdb253a/PracticesTitle.png Mother Teresa - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c20c80ba-da6a-4b55-ab22-9e2c1014b2fa/Separator2.png Mother Teresa - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/9eb13fcb-866c-4e0e-ac56-d19d2544602f/Virtue.png Mother Teresa Each day of the week, engage in a secret act of virtue or kindness. Do something nice or needed for others, but do so anonymously. these acts can be very simple, like washing someone else’s dishes, picking up trash on the sidewalk, making an anonymous donation, or leaving a small gift on a coworker’s desk. This practice helps us look at how willing we are to put the effort out to do good things for others if we never earn credit for it. Zen practice emphasizes “going straight on”⁠—leading our lives in a straightforward way based on what we know to be good practice, undaunted by praise or criticism. A monk once asked the Chinese Zen master Hui-hai “What is the gate [meaning both entrance and pillar] of Zen practice?” Hui-hai answered: “Complete giving”. The Buddha spoke constantly of the value of generosity, saying it is the most effective way to reach enlightenment. He recommended giving simple gifts⁠—water, food, shelter, clothing, transportation, flowers. Even poor people can be generous he said, by giving a crumb of their food to an ant. Each time we give something away, whether it is a material object or our time, we are letting go of a bit of ourselves and practicing the utmost generosity. Generosity if the highest virtue, and anonymous giving is the highest form of generosity. Practice by Jan Chozen Bays, from Mindfulness on the Go https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f81c5638-0533-4420-824f-26c1dcab12a2/Separator.png Mother Teresa - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/5f8a4d02-47c8-4ec2-b989-f3be07f93363/Gratitude.png Mother Teresa Every day before you go to bed, write down five things that you can be grateful for that day. In Simple Abundance, Sarah Ban Breathnach describes this journal exercise as a transformative process: "As the months pass and you fill your journal with blessings, an inner shift in your reality will occur." There's a growing body of research on the benefits of gratitude. Studies have found that giving thanks and counting blessings can help people sleep better, lower stress and improve interpersonal relationships. A study found that keeping a gratitude journal decreased materialism and bolstered generosity among adolescents. In another study, high school students who were asked to keep gratitude journals reported healthier eating. There's also some evidence it could lower your risk of heart disease and lower symptoms of depression for some people. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/51b63c14-a7ea-4bb9-ac1e-14c0d2f2a88f/Separator.png Mother Teresa - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/d3cb47f4-f81c-4318-958d-9e2b2559b7cb/LovingKindness.png Mother Teresa Listen to this 15-minute guided loving kindness meditation. Compassion meditation involves silently repeating certain phrases that express the intention to move from judgment to caring, from isolation to connection, from indifference to understanding. The practice involves bringing to mind different people (including yourself), and sending them loving-kindness and peace. You don't have to force a particular feeling or get rid of unpleasant or undesirable reactions; the power of the practice is in the wholehearted gathering of attention and energy, and concentrating on each phrase. Notice how this practice makes you feel. What happened to your heart? Did you feel warmth, openness and tenderness? Did you have a wish to take away the other’s suffering? How does your heart feel different when you envision your own or a loved one’s suffering, a stranger’s, or a difficult person’s? Bask in the joy of this open-hearted wish to ease the suffering of all people and beings, and how this attempt brings joy, happiness, and compassion in your heart at this very moment. Practice by Penny McGahey on Insight Timer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/bc656235-9d7d-4ffd-8546-8226f784db7e/Prayer.png Mother Teresa - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f8848ee1-244f-4db9-aa77-8c7a3b9f56e5/Prayer2.png Mother Teresa It was said that the words below were written on the wall in Mother Teresa’s home. ——— People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may think you have ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway. If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway. What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway. Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway. In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c33d9213-23ef-46ec-9408-595b0cdcd45c/GoDeeper.png Mother Teresa - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.onusamothership.com/guanyin daily 0.75 2024-03-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1643224791032-HWBLMRNQP4NP36K58O8T/Cover6.jpg Guanyin https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1643226607078-RI1YGCFSS5DU3JMFEJ7H/Cover12.jpg Guanyin https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1643226880612-EAZP7HL2V3XNCP2ZU2VV/Cover13.jpg Guanyin https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1643227494596-09UCKGT2TIS9HT9LKMA8/Cover16.jpg Guanyin https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644205691147-WC5STMXHEC5XWFYYYB6M/Cover1.jpg Guanyin https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644205810390-E0A2QQYS2YOHAIL6SHVH/Cover2.jpg Guanyin https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644206176493-9UTIP4DI5MN7PNQZM0I2/Cover3.jpg Guanyin https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644206354700-ETCH9ZZOAN9U58XUFGVC/Cover4.jpg Guanyin https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644206529229-B15O6YEYJOXP2MVFAVIM/Cover5.jpg Guanyin https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644206671477-VKQPOT0D85SXMUTLT3RU/Cover6.jpg Guanyin https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644206893388-FRXCYJKM7VGLJWJ6JERX/Cover7.jpg Guanyin https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644207137518-G11LVB8C480XK2SS7FB4/Cover8.jpg Guanyin https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644207512389-NF258D1E8WVLW56BD21W/Cover9.jpg Guanyin https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644207813789-8K7DFICF8CGKSB2LBS2O/Cover10.jpg Guanyin https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644208030867-VNLMAO2NVQZSVT1J7VTS/Cover11.jpg Guanyin https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644208151106-AO8VMOKR379DDSLRRDJ6/Cover12.jpg Guanyin https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8a35fed2-d44c-48e0-be72-2534cc5bbdf1/GuanyinHeader2.png Guanyin - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1f0e0228-d331-4e54-8099-6a300e0a0516/About.png Guanyin Origin: Chinese Buddhism, East Asian Buddhism, Chinese folk religion, Pure Land Buddhism. Commonly associated with: mercy, compassion, kindness, unconditional love, protection, mothers, children, maternity, seamen, fishermen. Name Meaning: “The One Who Observes the Sounds of the World”, “She Who Sees and Hears the Cries of the Human World”. Other names: Guan Yin, Kuan Yin, Kuan Im, Kwan Yin, Kannon, Mother Guanyin. Role: Mother Goddess, principle of compassion and unconditional love, bodhisattva, patroness of mothers and seamen, protectress of the welfare of all beings, protectress of women and children, protectress of earthly and spiritual travel. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/d1888140-a6eb-4105-b1cf-e809cdda4817/Story1.png Guanyin Draped in white, standing atop a lotus flower with a water vase in her hand, Guanyin (觀音)—also spelled Guan Yin or Kuan Yin—is the beloved Chinese goddess of mercy and physical embodiment of compassion. All-seeing and all-hearing, she is characterized by her infinite benevolence and dedication to protecting those who are suffering. Her name is a shortened version of Guanshiyin, which means “[The One Who] Observes the Sounds of the World”, or “She Who Sees and Hears the Cry from the Human World”, i.e., she who hears prayers. Guanyin is a bodhisattva—a Buddhist deity who has attained the highest level of enlightenment, but who, out of compassion, refrains from entering nirvana to remain engaged in the world and help all sentient beings. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/e5c2de42-c7d9-4078-9b23-0f390693b92b/Story2.png Guanyin Legends about Guan Yin first appeared in the Middle Kingdom more than two thousand years ago. Her popularity exploded around the Song Dynasty (960–1279), and she continues to be hailed and worshipped as the Goddess of Mercy to this day. Popular stories about Guan Yin involve her transforming into unassuming characters to bring help to troubled people. Along with her role as goddess of mercy and compassion, Guanyin is also considered a Mother Goddess, a protectress of children, a goddess of fertility and motherhood. She is surnamed Sung-Tzu-Niang-Niang, “lady who brings children.” Worshiped especially by women, this goddess comforts the troubled, the sick, the lost, the senile, and the unfortunate. Her popularity has grown such through the centuries that she is now also regarded as the protector of sailors, farmers, fishermen and travelers. She cares for souls in the underworld, and is invoked during post-burial rituals to free the soul of the deceased from the torments of purgatory. Guanyin, Buddhists believe, can recognize the cries of all those who suffer on earth and guide them towards salvation. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/54f56b71-4f22-429f-a281-43e3d1738509/Story3.png Guanyin Guanyin is originally based on Avalokiteśvara, the male bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. Avalokiteśvara’s myth spread throughout China and East Asia, and mixed with local folklore in a process known as syncretism (the combining of different religions, beliefs, or schools of thought) to become the modern-day understanding of Guanyin. Representations of Guanyin in China before the Song dynasty were masculine in appearance, but gradually adopted feminine attributes. Though she can take both male and female forms, Guanyin is most often represented as a woman in Chinese lore, although some people believe her to be androgynous, or without gender. Because she is considered the personification of compassion and kindness, a Mother Goddess and patron of mothers, Guanyin’s representation in China was further interpreted in an all-female form around the 12th century. On occasion, Guanyin is also depicted holding an infant to further stress the relationship between the bodhisattva, maternity, and birth. In the modern period, Guanyin is most often represented as a beautiful, white-robed woman. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/4e9a077c-e348-426b-8c9c-7224f4a45c0c/Quote1.png Guanyin - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/05863f1e-0b8b-4fe2-b4f2-f2c76cb823be/Legend.png Guanyin An origin story of Guanyin in Chinese folklore is the tale of Princess Miao Shan. Long ago, in a small Chinese state, a king had three daughters and wanted to marry them off to suitable families. Yet the youngest princess, Miao Shan, had a different wish. She wanted to become a Buddhist nun and devote herself to the needy. Enraged, the king disowned his daughter and sent her into exile. He was cruel and self-righteous, and ordered for his youngest daughter to be killed multiple times, but she always found refuge among those she helped, and was able to carry out her spiritual practice and service to the underprivileged. Years passed, and the king became deathly ill, having accumulated terrible karma during his cruel reign. An old monk visiting the kingdom told him, “To be cured, you must ingest a potion distilled from the arms and eyes of one who is willing to give them freely.” Desperate, the king implored his older daughters, who were unwilling to help. The monk offered, “On top of Fragrant Mountain lives a bodhisattva of compassion. Send a messenger to her to plead for deliverance.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/628c6677-f4a4-4cda-8e95-c671f964ac76/Separator.png Guanyin - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/bf6c7c19-d2c4-4cc8-9ab6-3feea3461834/Worship1.png Guanyin Guanyin is often referred to as the most widely beloved Buddhist Divinity, with miraculous powers to assist all those who pray to her. Some Buddhists believe that when they depart from this world, they are placed by Guanyin in the heart of a lotus, and then sent to the western pure land of Sukhāvatī, a celestial realm in Mahayana Buddhism. Several large temples in East Asia are dedicated to Guanyin. She has several abodes or mythical dwellings associated with her, also called bodhimanda, a term used in Buddhism meaning the “position of awakening”, “a place used as a seat, where the essence of enlightenment is present”. Bodhimandas are spiritually pure places conducive to meditation and enlightenment, regularly visited by Buddhist pilgrims. Guan Yin has bodhimandas and pilgrimage centers all around East Asia, including in India, China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, Nepal, Burma, Thailand and Sri Lanka, with her main pilgrimage site located in China. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/dd5aabb8-cc46-4232-b612-7129b9127731/Worship3.png Guanyin - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/782a8c54-ac8e-4c23-b2c3-aae492a5a01a/Worship2.png Guanyin In Pure Land Buddhism, a branch of Mahayana Buddhism widely practiced in East Asia, Guanyin is described as the “Barque of Salvation”. She is believed to temporarily liberate beings out of the Wheel of Samsara into the Pure Land, where they will have the chance to attain Buddhahhood. Even among Chinese Buddhist schools that are non-devotional, Guanyin is still highly venerated. Instead of being seen as an active external force of unconditional love and salvation, the character of Guanyin is revered as the principle of compassion, mercy and love itself. The act, thought and feeling of compassion and love is viewed as Guanyin herself. A merciful, compassionate, loving individual is said to be Guanyin. A meditative or contemplative state of being at peace with oneself and others is seen as Guanyin. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/08a3e4b7-842f-45f7-8184-91a640d5a6ba/Worship4.png Guanyin - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/141b8c60-2a2d-4c58-a634-beca8fc7e4ec/Symbolism1.png Guanyin No other figure in the Chinese pantheon appears in a greater variety of images—there are thousands of different incarnations or manifestations of Guanyin. The Lotus Sutra, one of the most popular sacred texts in the Buddhist canon, describes thirty-three specific manifestations that Guanyin can assume to assist other beings seeking salvation. Guanyin is a widely depicted subject of Asian art and is found in the Asian art sections of most museums in the world. One representation of Guanyin depicts her with a serene expression in a relaxed position known as “royal ease”, on a stylized mountain or rock—a symbol of the deity’s readiness to rise at any moment from a state of deep contemplation to help other beings. The name of this particular representation, Water Moon Guanyin, appears after the 1100s and refers to a chapter in the Avatamsaka Sūtra (Flower Garland Sutra). The text tells how Guanyin sits in a rocky cave meditating on the reflection of the moon on the water, a metaphor for the illusory nature of all things and a reminder not to be overly attached to earthly matters. This representation can be read as male or female, which indicates Guanyin’s universal and inclusive nature. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/7a6e2435-3d31-485f-b53f-0461b78cc732/Symbolism2.png Guanyin In China, Guanyin is usually depicted as a barefoot, young gracious woman dressed in flowing white robes, symbolizing purity, peace, and harmony. She stands tall and slender, a figure of infinite grace, her gently composed features conveying the sublime selflessness and compassion that have made her the favorite of all deities. She may be seated on an elephant, standing on a fish, nursing a baby, holding a basket, having six arms or a thousand, and one head or eleven. Guanyin is frequently portrayed sitting on a lotus flower, the Buddhist symbol of purity of the body, speech, and mind. She is typically holding a water jar in her right hand, representing compassion and wisdom. In her left hand, she holds a willow branch to sprinkle divine nectar on life to bless people with physical and spiritual peace. The willow branch is also a symbol of adaptation as it can bend without breaking and is used for medicinal purposes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/876f280c-a9b8-48c2-81d5-154c43b93ae9/Symbolism3.png Guanyin Guanyin is often represented on the back of a dragon, the ancient symbol of spirituality, wisdom, and the power of transformation. Her crown usually depicts the image of Amitābha, a celestial Buddha considered to be her spiritual teacher. The dove flying behind her represents abundance of fertility. The jade necklaces she wears, symbolic of Indian and Chinese royalty, contain beads that represent all living things. If a book or scroll is pictured with Guanyin, it represents the teachings of Buddhism. Guanyin is often depicted either alone, or flanked by two children or two warriors. The two children are her acolytes who came to her when she was meditating at Mount Putuo. The girl is known as Longnü (Jade Maiden) and the boy Shancai (Golden Youth). The two children also represent her bestowing children in homes and temples. The two warriors are the historical general Guan Yu from the late Han dynasty and the bodhisattva Skanda. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/cd940251-fe68-4e92-a964-bbab05cbd430/Symbolism4.png Guanyin In a portrayal known as the Child-Sending Guanyin, she is represented holding an infant. Considered the patron saint of mothers, Guanyin is believed to have the ability to grant parents children. Another popular depiction of Guanyin—particularly in the region of Fujian—represents her as a maiden carrying a fish basket. This particular representation of the goddess is called Yulan Guanyin, the patron saint of fishermen. Other representations of Guanyin known as “Thousand-Armed Guanyin” (or “Guanyin as Great Compassion”) and “Eleven-Headed Guanyin” (or ‘Guanyin of the Universally Shining Great Light’) show her with many arms, or many heads. One legend says that after struggling to understand the needs of so many, her head split into 11 pieces, which the Buddha turned into 11 full-sized heads. When she tried reaching out to help all who needed it, her arms split into a thousand pieces, which the Buddha turned into a thousand arms. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/957029a5-7b03-4b10-91d3-719f83fe7dc6/Symbolism5.png Guanyin - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/640a04ab-91f0-4f1c-a733-51015a6c1fb0/VegetarianTitle.png Guanyin - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/21f18b4c-19db-447b-912c-d636526ad993/Vegetarian1.png Guanyin Due to her symbolization of compassion, Guanyin is associated with vegetarianism in East Asia. Buddhist and Chinese vegetarian restaurants are generally decorated with her image, and she appears in most Buddhist vegetarian pamphlets and magazines. Vegetarianism is practiced by significant portions of Mahayana Buddhist monks and nuns, as well as laypersons. In Buddhism, the views on vegetarianism vary between different schools of thought, although vegetarianism is generally encouraged. The Mahayana schools generally recommend a vegetarian diet because the Buddha outlined in some of the sutras that his followers must not eat the flesh of any sentient being. All Buddhist ethical teachings are concerned with our relationship to “all beings,” “living beings,” or “sentient beings.” These terms in Buddhism are employed deliberately to include animals within the scope of Buddhist compassion. Buddhism teaches boundless compassion for all sentient beings, a compassion that expresses itself through nonviolence toward all. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/7e92d46a-f784-4e62-8978-d35e44829377/Vegetarian2.png Guanyin In the Mahayana Mahaparinirvaṇa Sutra, a text giving the Buddha’s final teachings, the Buddha insisted that his followers should not eat any kind of meat or fish. In several Mahayana sutras, the Buddha vigorously denounced the eating of meat, because such an act is linked to the spreading of fear amongst sentient beings and violates the bodhisattva’s fundamental cultivation of compassion. Moreover, the Buddha declared that since all beings share the same ‘Dhatu’ (spiritual Principle or Essence) and are intimately related to one another, killing and eating other sentient creatures is equivalent to a form of self-killing. The sutras which advocate for vegetarianism include the Mahayana Mahaparinirvaṇa Sutra, the Śurangama Sutra, the Brahmajala Sutra, the Aṅgulimaliya Sutra, the Mahamegha Sutra, and the Laṅkavatara Sutra. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8d7e82a1-0ba9-4615-bb56-6d3ffc963f69/Vegetarian3.png Guanyin - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/80edeafb-c335-4dac-abb2-5ff46aa09ac2/Mary1.png Guanyin Guanyin has often been called the Buddhist counterpart of the Virgin Mary, and comparisons between these two strikingly similar religious figures are often observed by both Christians and Buddhists. During the Middle Ages—a period of over one thousand years—people of various cultures across the world practiced their religious faiths independently, while also maintaining cross-cultural exchange. Curiously, certain works of art in both western Christian and eastern Buddhist cultures seem to share incredible visual similarities. Both contexts produced images of divine motherly figures that represent concepts of compassion, mercy, and love: the Virgin Mary in medieval Europe, and Guanyin in imperial China. Depictions of Guanyin holding a child in Chinese art and sculpture closely resemble the typical Catholic Madonna and Child painting. Both figures are embodiments of compassion, maternal love, mercy and forgiveness, and both are the patron saints of mothers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/3276b099-fbde-4e73-a0de-5be79cf864ae/Mary2.png Guanyin These examples pose interesting questions about how pre-modern artists visualized different aspects of divinity in their respective cultural contexts. Christians and Buddhists understood the Virgin Mary and Guanyin in similar ways, despite the fact that they did not directly influence one another until later periods of Imperialism and Colonialism in Asia. These kindred representations illustrate how people across the world envision human emotions and philosophical concepts in similar ways, which suggests the existence of what Carl Jung called archetypes—universal patterns, primal symbols and images that are part of the collective unconscious. They are underlying base forms, a kind of innate knowledge derived from the sum total of human history, from which emerge images and motifs that manifest in comparable ways across different cultures, in this case, the image of the Mother. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/9a4f74f4-18b9-4861-ad5d-f7aa5808c6d5/PracticesTitle.png Guanyin - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f17ccaf5-4f7b-4ed5-b2a3-d076f5cbd617/Separator2.png Guanyin - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/995e78d5-7945-4de8-b9af-98b5131a76a6/Flowers.png Guanyin Consider shifting your perspective from how others who up for you, to how you can show up for others. Reflect on the relationships in your life—have you tended to them with care? Seek out ways to water the people around you in the best way for their growth. Soon enough you’ll find yourself surrounded by a blooming garden. Practice by modernmind https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f6a15acd-d59e-46d9-86de-f62954835384/Separator.png Guanyin - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f40f69dc-60b5-43d8-b474-4b70fac76fd8/LovingKindness.png Guanyin Listen to this 15-minute guided loving kindness meditation. Compassion meditation involves silently repeating certain phrases that express the intention to move from judgment to caring, from isolation to connection, from indifference to understanding. The practice involves bringing to mind different people (including yourself), and sending them loving-kindness and peace. You don't have to force a particular feeling or get rid of unpleasant or undesirable reactions; the power of the practice is in the wholehearted gathering of attention and energy, and concentrating on each phrase. Notice how this practice makes you feel. What happened to your heart? Did you feel warmth, openness and tenderness? Did you have a wish to take away the other’s suffering? How does your heart feel different when you envision your own or a loved one’s suffering, a stranger’s, or a difficult person’s? Bask in the joy of this open-hearted wish to ease the suffering of all people and beings, and how this attempt brings joy, happiness, and compassion in your heart at this very moment. Practice by Penny McGahey on Insight Timer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/560f18c9-88b5-41f1-89ac-7c4106a420d3/Separator.png Guanyin - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/798080df-4c79-4c44-9ed7-8dfdcdc8647b/BuddhaNature.png Guanyin Even in the midst of suffering, it is possible to bring your awareness to the good qualities within yourself and allow them to manifest in your consciousness. Practice mindful breathing to remind yourself of your Buddha nature, of the great compassion and understanding in you. Follow this simple meditation below, aligning with the patterns of your breath: 1. Breathing in, I am aware that I am breathing in. Breathing out, I am aware that I am breathing out. 2. Breathing in, I am in touch with the energy of mindfulness in every cell of my body. Breathing out, I feel nourished by the energy of mindfulness in me. 3. Breathing in, I am in touch with the energy of solidity in every cell of my body. Breathing out, I feel nourished by the energy of solidity in me. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f27bca10-9332-49d7-97bb-2ed59aa18cd0/Separator.png Guanyin - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/0e9f161a-4a16-4db4-8d49-85060a8efaa2/HeartofCompassion.png Guanyin Practice until you see yourself in the cruelest person on Earth, in the child starving, in the political prisoner. Continue practicing until you recognize yourself in everyone in the supermarket, on the street corner, in a concentration camp, on a leaf, in a dewdrop. Meditate until you see yourself in a speck of dust in a distant galaxy. See and listen with the whole of your being. If you are fully present, the rain of Dharma will water the deepest seeds in your consciousness, and tomorrow, while you are washing the dishes or looking at the blue sky, that seed will spring forth, and love and understanding will appear as a beautiful flower. Spiritual practice by Thich Nhat Hanh https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/0e9c7771-7a0f-4bba-9e79-2c7541af6438/Separator.png Guanyin - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/58a682bc-d66f-4de8-acb3-71e015109bbd/MountainMeditation.png Guanyin Through this beautiful guided audio journey, bring the qualities of a mountain to your meditation practice and life—stability, groundedness, patience, presence and deep wisdom. Allow the mountain to be your teacher. Our hearts can hold all of life’s ups and downs, the pain and darkness, the light and joy, as well as the mystery and wonder of life unfolding. May your inner mountain be your guide. Pratice by Andy Hobson on Insight Timer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/dcbe9c5b-ce7a-4c25-be81-15e318aeef87/Separator.png Guanyin - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/d6ae458b-54a4-4fe6-9a44-ab711d415d03/LokahSamasta.png Guanyin “Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu” is a Compassion or Loving-Kindness Mantra which translates to: “May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all.” This mantra promotes compassion and living in harmony with all sentient beings. Speaking or chanting this mantra is a prayer each one of us can practice every day. It reminds us that our relationships with all beings should be mutually beneficial if we ourselves desire happiness and liberation from suffering. No true or lasting happiness can come from causing unhappiness to others. No true or lasting freedom can come from depriving others of their freedom. If we say we want every being to be happy and free, then we have to question our own actions—how we live, how we eat, what we buy, how we speak, and even how we think. When we chant, speak or even think the words lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu, if we include all the other animals with whom we share this planet in our concept of “all beings,” including the animals we use for food, we can start to create the kind of world we want to live in—a kind world. Source: Jivamukti Yoga https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/6b13c279-c3f2-4178-9875-53ef41457d9f/Separator.png Guanyin - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/a8a7e716-cf93-4b15-8a69-5d017112a2ac/MadonnaSmile.png Guanyin You can close your eyes or keep them opened for this micro-practice, that can be done any time throughout the day. Imagine the smile of divine mothers like Guan Yin or Mother Mary, this serene compassionate smile that is often seen on their faces. This gentle smile that communicates so much love and tenderness. Find an inner version of that smile. You don’t have to move your outer face at all. Smile inwardly at the back of your own heart. You can start to feel how the energy of that smile slowly begins to open your heart, to warm your heart. You can feel how the energy of that smile illuminates a very particular quality inside of the heart. The Inner Smile is a very ancient Qi Gong healing technique, because the energy of the smile contains this quality of infinite compassion. Smiling inwardly at your own heart can allow your own innocent heart to be revealed. Start to feel what gets touched here, what gets opened. What qualities inside of the heart are awakened? Find that inner smile any time throughout your day. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/14dd7b60-62f4-4598-ba5d-2746fa64c7b4/GuanyinMantra1.png Guanyin - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/e201fb7d-8c65-463c-9f6a-1f2a0aae6dc9/GuanyinMantra2.png Guanyin - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/d11cd890-cf2c-4ba6-83f5-3b7c4b7f0192/GoDeeper.png Guanyin - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.onusamothership.com/gaia daily 0.75 2024-03-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644367857177-DHRHHM8D0C2CYM8JAZYC/Cover2.jpg Gaia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644368124792-N0VZZX8EIDQU5C1VY09A/Cover3.jpg Gaia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644368230792-463ANDE0XI7WFXEU4MCG/Cover4.jpg Gaia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644368930706-KKRV8S8S121BWJSEP85L/Cover5.jpg Gaia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644368959442-M28BFX7MMMYXHERGZ21F/Cover20.jpg Gaia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644369052687-AUB3T02WBUCJ2QI3681M/Cover4+2.jpg Gaia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644369100560-PVE6OOBY1O9K4L086YR6/Cover2+2.jpg Gaia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644369183724-WM6YNFO88AUJ73PJCG8M/Cover9.jpg Gaia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644369243196-NJTEA83N1O32S62A8VGA/Cover11.jpg Gaia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644369298722-6BHV31479DO5Z28CLIEG/Cover12.jpg Gaia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644369346520-UFRQN9X0ZG13AWCO79NQ/Cover16+2.jpg Gaia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644369403591-8JFNNRYNA0VOGVT6I3XY/Cover16.jpg Gaia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644369751682-RE8A1Y57U2BPOHFM2KQQ/Cover17.jpg Gaia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644369905190-27CHTTYLC578SZ2I9RH8/Cover18.jpg Gaia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644370109184-TJ48D9ZN70YBDC63B3NF/Cover21.jpg Gaia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644377394288-8Y70NYG8HHF06LQG6K0U/Cover22.jpg Gaia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644377944335-FY1LPCIB939J75U4TN4G/Cover23.jpg Gaia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1645563619886-8E1KMTUNJN0VVSXOJQ1M/Cover24.jpg Gaia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1645563725204-XV9OK6ZCOA6IWHYQKEF1/Cover25.jpg Gaia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1645665719439-YUH9KWGCOCB5LEQWH2RU/Cover1-2.jpg Gaia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1645920160953-QVDCMS0FYSCJZXMKA2HC/Cover26.jpg Gaia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1646190196420-CCWLWQFMZWKTFUBPS1UT/Cover7.jpg Gaia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1646198865736-6PVXR2LZCOKS4T47S935/Cover28.jpg Gaia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1647378524445-Y2W7T10B13GRNDQKN30H/Cover29.jpg Gaia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/0c00b26d-c378-4fb3-9df2-771293d5fb06/GaiaHeader2.png Gaia - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/e13c5807-83c2-47fb-aaa8-b03048e4e422/About.png Gaia Other names: Gaea, Ge, Mother Earth. Commonly associated with: Earth—especially as a living organism, femininity and female power, fertility, agriculture, motherhood, renewal and rebirth, environmental consciousness, ecology, and the green movement. Abilities: Ability to create life on Earth, gift of prophecy, healing, regeneration, omnipresence, immortality, shapeshifting, animal empathy, plant manipulation, plant mimicry, nature manipulation, omniscience. Symbols: Earth, fruits, grains, plants, animals, cornucopia, sickle. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/0f65d712-ccfc-4169-a22c-c9d80b663a75/Story1.png Gaia In Greek mythology, Gaia is the personification of the Earth and one of the Greek primordial elemental deities, born at the dawn of creation. Gaia is the ancestral mother of all creation, the great Mother of all Life. She is sometimes considered a parthenogenetic goddess—a virgin goddess who requires no male partner to produce the cosmos, earth, life, matter, and even other gods out of her own essence. Gaia herself was born from Chaos, emerging from the void. She then gave birth to Uranus (the Sky), and everything else on earth, including all the heavenly gods and mortal creatures, born directly from her earthy flesh. Her name comes from the Ancient Greek poetical form of Gē, meaning “land” or “earth”. Her equivalent in other mythologies include the Roman Terra Mater (mother Earth), the Andean Pachamama, the Egyptian Nut, the Hindu Prithvi, “the Vast One”, or the Hopi Kokyangwuti Spider Grandmother, who with Sun god Tawa created Earth and its creatures. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/5e155046-0dfe-4943-a7cb-d0e17c28a9a4/Story2.png Gaia Some modern historians and archeologists, including Marija Gimbutas, claim that Gaia as Mother Earth is a later form of a pre-Indo-European Great Mother, venerated in Neolithic times. Some modern mythologists, including Kerenyi, Ruck, and Staples, interpret the goddesses Demeter the mother, Persephone the daughter, and Hecate the crone, as aspects of a former great goddess identified as Gaia or Rhea—Gaia’s Titaness daughter. In Crete, a goddess was worshiped as Potnia Theron (‘Mistress of the Animals’) or simply Potnia (‘Mistress’), speculated as Gaia or Rhea. The mother goddess Cybele from Anatolia (modern Turkey) was partly identified by the Greeks with Gaia, Rhea and Demeter. The Greeks worshipped Gaia in nature, in the open, as well as in Delphi, before the sacred site was rededicated to the Greek god Apollo. Gaia was honored side by side with her granddaughter, the goddess Demeter. Statues of Gaia were found in temples dedicated to Demeter, and Gaia was part of the cult of Demeter. Like her grandmother, Demeter became the goddess of agriculture and the harvest. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/25b36e49-ded9-499c-91d1-455179893d12/Story3.png Gaia Gaia’s supernatural abilities include: Creation—the ability to create life from nothing, not requiring a consort, Omniscience—Gaia has seen, heard, and understood everything that has happened since the creation of the earth, Animal empathy—the power to empathize with animals, Nature manipulation—the power to manipulate the forces of nature, Shapeshifting—the ability to assume the form of any being on Earth, Water and plant mimicry—the power to transform into or have a physical body made up of water or plants, and Nature Guardianship—the ability to be a protector and keeper of nature and natural forces. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/a27d5c8d-37d8-4ff3-a5a8-c5d898dcbb1f/Theory1.png Gaia The Gaia Hypothesis, also known as the Gaia theory, Gaia paradigm, or the Gaia principle, suggests that the entire surface of the Earth (including life) is part of a single self-regulating complex system. This complex system is responsible for regulating conditions on Earth that are favorable to all life, from the surface rocks and oceans to the atmosphere and humanity. Living organisms concentrate useful elements, compounds, and nutrients, and redistribute them into the water, soil, and atmosphere where they stabilize climate, feed other life forms, and influence the environment in which they evolved. The theory that the Earth is a self-regulating super-organism was proposed by inventor and scientist James Lovelock, and co-developed by microbiologist Lynn Margulis, in the 1970s. Named after the primordial Greek goddess of the Earth, the Gaia theory counters beliefs that humans are separate from Earth, and have ownership and domination over it. James Lovelock’s seminal book, Gaia, published 40 years ago, helped shift popular perceptions about the Earth. In 2006, the Geological Society of London awarded Lovelock the Wollaston Medal in part for his work on the Gaia hypothesis. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/d5031faa-91f1-4e03-a27c-b51906b8fe2d/Separator2.png Gaia - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/cc444afa-b202-4668-a9c8-a383a4eb2248/Separator.png Gaia - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/83c7e70e-ba6f-4899-b675-2df85209752a/Theory2.png Gaia While Lovelock originally wrote of Gaia as a resilient system, able to withstand change, the scientist now warns of the stability of the Earth. “The period we are now in is close to a crisis point for Gaia”, he wrote in his book The Revenge of Gaia, in 2007. Lovelock declares, “unless we see the Earth as a planet that behaves as if it were alive, at least to the extent of regulating its climate and chemistry, we will lack the will to change our way of life and to understand that we have made it our greatest enemy”. In his newest work We Belong to Gaia (2021), James Lovelock draws on decades of wisdom to lay out the history of our remarkable planet, to show that it is not ours to be exploited—and warns us that it is fighting back. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/5b253d3a-9e72-4182-8855-c177cb7bf587/Theory3.png Gaia Since the presentation of the hypothesis—and also due to the neo-pagan revival of Gaia—the goddess has become an indelible symbol of the environmental movement. The quintessential Earth goddess has transcended the ages to become an important symbolic figure in modern times. Gaia has always represented the ability to create life on Earth and the Earth itself. As the personification of our planet, she gives us a focal point, helping us to conceptualize our relationship with the Earth and nature. In the modern world that has lost its connection to myths and magic, the goddess Gaia has come to symbolize reverence for nature, environmental consciousness, and recognition of this planet’s miraculous ability to support life. It is time we learn to live with Gaia, aware of our role within its complex interconnected system, and not separate from it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/2c72428a-f648-492b-aac0-2ea4799b0767/Quote1.png Gaia - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c38e385a-c8cf-4732-af6c-f4307f5a3861/EarthMother1.png Gaia To ancient Earth-honoring cultures, the understanding of the Earth as a living, conscious being was a deep and central part of spirituality. Human and Earth Mother were both deeply honored and sacred: the feminine was revered as a great life-giving power able to conceive, give birth, and nurture children from their womb, similar to the miracle of the Earth Mother who gave birth to all creatures, nurtured the crops in the summer, gave life-sustaining rain, protected the crops during the winter, and brought them back to life again in spring. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8b45429b-6bf9-414e-a499-e41f1ab3b61b/EarthMother2.png Gaia - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1c7bd071-1a67-4c22-916a-0c5e944772c0/EarthMother3.png Gaia The oldest living religion, Animism, was the way by which most ancient people (and many Indigenous people to this day) experienced the world. Animism is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, and perhaps even words—as animated and alive in their own right, as imbued with the quintessence of Spirit. The concept of personhood is not exclusive to humans, but rather humans are just one kind of person in a much wider field of kinship or relatedness. Just like human persons, there are stone persons, tree persons, bear persons, microbe persons, deities who are persons, stars and planets and ancestors, and many other persons who have agency, consciousness, culture, community and bodies, whether or not they’re visible to us. For animists, anything that has a physical existence contains within it a unique personality, energy, and expression of Spirit. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/17432f8b-84cd-4e44-a94f-0072a99d1c03/EarthMother4.png Gaia To all ancient people, the Earth was alive, a great animal inhabited by a life-spirit, or “soul-substance.” All phenomena were manifestations of this divine force, and after death all forms returned to this source before transitioning to another animate existence. The earth spirit was the “central transformer” of all life-energies into the multiplicity of life-forms, all connected with each other as in the same body, the same imagination. In some ways, this ancient conception of the Earth is being re-introduced in the modern western world, partly thanks to the Gaia hypothesis, and to the contemporary interest in animism (‘new animism’), which see the Earth as a living, breathing, and co-responding body, creating its own atmosphere, filling its own needs, relieving its own stresses. Far from the “patriarchal-mechanical model of earth as a merely passive receiver of stimuli from the sun and sky, this model shows us an intentional organism, exhibiting will and direction, and quite capable of reciprocal relations with all its creatures” (The Great Cosmic Mother). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/3e3de2a3-27cb-43a3-8bc3-8b4c16b8f652/EarthMother5.png Gaia - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/42d20230-b194-4498-b073-91848b4cbee0/Poem.png Gaia - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/3c99e542-dcc0-414b-a186-cf32d874f383/PracticesTitle.png Gaia - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1b60aa0a-4a34-41c3-9a7f-58a921dbb1e0/Separator2.png Gaia - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/703c5a6a-78e4-4529-9e24-eb1072655685/ReEarthing.png Gaia Re-earthing is a sacred practice to help you plug into the consciousness of the Earth in a truly grounded, healing and nurturing way. To re-earth yourself, try to spend a little time each day in physical contact with the Earth. Physical touch—barefoot, or with hands on dirt or grass, or touching plants or trees—is sufficient for this process. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/cc444afa-b202-4668-a9c8-a383a4eb2248/Separator.png Gaia - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/e1102808-c79c-497a-a9f6-b1016c982835/Sweetgrass.png Gaia In the Potawatomi language, sweetgrass is called wiingaashk—the sweet-smelling hair of Mother Earth. In her book Braiding Sweetgrass, indigenous environmental scientist Robin Wall Kimmerer eloquently and beautifully uses the indigenous cultures’ sacred plant, sweetgrass, as a poetic metaphor to explain the origins of plant, animal, and human life on Mother Earth, their intertwined respectful and reciprocal relationships with each other. “Our stories say that of all the plants, wiingaashk, or sweetgrass, was the very first to grow on the earth. Accordingly, it’s honored as one of the four sacred plants of my people. Breathe in its scent and you start to remember things you didn’t know you’d forgotten. Our elders say that ceremonies are the way we ‘remember to remember,’ and so sweetgrass is a powerful ceremonial plant cherished by many indigenous nations. It’s also used to make beautiful baskets. Both medicine and a relative, its value is both material and spiritual. There’s such tenderness in braiding the hair of someone you love. Kindness and something more flow between the braider and the braided, the two connected by the cord of the plait. Wiingaashk waves in strands, long and shining like a woman’s freshly washed hair. And so we say it’s the flowing hair of Mother Earth. When we braid sweetgrass, we are braiding the hair of Mother Earth, showing her our loving attention, our care for her beauty and well-being, in gratitude for all she has given us.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/3912bdf7-dd71-409f-88e7-964f6a861331/Separator.png Gaia - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/153e7934-dbb3-4962-ae3a-b81bc3fa6185/Archetype.png Gaia Notice how the mother archetype expresses itself in nature. Find manifestations of mothering, creation, compassion, nurture and care within nature and the cosmos, within the plant and animal worlds. What might we learn from how nature expresses mothering and care? How might we embody and mirror nature’s mothering grace and nurture, in our own lives? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/93e3c567-1255-4236-8aef-2f6964fdf0ce/Separator.png Gaia - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/af8b7337-70cb-4a15-bae7-e920f3d710a0/BlessingFood.png Gaia Blessing our food is a beautiful ritual that can enrich our sense of gratitude, improve the way our body processes each meal, and give reverence to the Earth and people who provide us with nourishment. Before you eat, take a moment to look into the food or drink as if you could see backwards, into its history. Thank the Earth for providing you this food, the sun for helping it to grow. Thank the wind and birds for carrying its seed, and the rain that watered it. Use the power of imagination to see where your food comes from and how many people might have been involved in bringing it to your plate. Think of the people who planted, weeded, and harvested the food, the truckers who transported it, the food packagers and plant workers, the grocers and checkout people, and the family members or other cooks who prepared the food. Thank all those people before you take a sip or a bite. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/4889be0a-0179-4749-a4c5-56fe6ecc3f92/Separator.png Gaia - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/7959e050-82a2-43a9-93e7-0eda6cc00248/EarthMeditation.png Gaia Ground and center. Take a deep breath. Feel your bones, your skeleton, the solidity of your body. Be aware of your flesh, of all that can be touched and felt. Feel the pull of gravity, your own weight, your attraction to the Earth that is the body of the Goddess. You are a natural feature, a moving mountain. Merge with all that comes from the Earth: grass, trees, grains, fruit, flowers, animals, metals, precious stones. Return to dust, to compost, to mud. Meditation from The Spiral Dance, by Starhawk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/17322cc1-4524-4ea0-8681-db4d308cff76/Separator.png Gaia - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/6a22831a-2f97-49e3-bcd7-6e2933633100/Listening.png Gaia What if we sincerely listened to nature? Nature is a vast resource of wisdom on revealing oneness and uniqueness. Nature teaches us at least three important things in the journey of Generous Listening. First, nature offers us endless tools to internalize and to practice slowing down, being present in the moment and being open to surprises. Second, through connecting to nature, one develops the skills of humility and compassion for all living beings and becomes conscious of oneness. Third, nature is always bountiful and generous. Nature teaches us about reciprocity and generous giving. Nature teaches us to weave a web of intimacy and reciprocity with the living world, to see ourselves as one kind of person in a much wider field of relatedness, in which all flourishing is mutual. When we listen to and learn from Nature, we are invited to enter into kinship, a form of relationship that acknowledges the deeper workings of reality by operating on the same principles as the very breath which keeps us alive: reciprocity, emergence, and sensuous awareness. Practice by Vuslat Foundation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/d11cd890-cf2c-4ba6-83f5-3b7c4b7f0192/GoDeeper.png Gaia - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.onusamothership.com/mother-mary daily 0.75 2024-03-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644678996014-O4F60B3JRP1FKKXF17A0/Cover1.jpg Mother Mary https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644679101667-PSCRG61C9YJVWP7BUTXP/Cover2.jpg Mother Mary https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644679212610-412T3TDUX591CFAO7OOO/Cover3.jpg Mother Mary https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644679316229-KOF6CV3DKM12E2EV2Y4P/Cover4.jpg Mother Mary https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644679411358-EHVWLDACNMPGM3W56T4M/Cover5.jpg Mother Mary https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644679562758-KFLDD3NBN87F7MU0IV54/Cover6.jpg Mother Mary https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644679682304-Q7T5IGC7T9LUXA1G2DFD/Cover7.jpg Mother Mary https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644679823422-OVFOTPNU2XFERLZXU227/Cover8.jpg Mother Mary https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644680019862-NNCJYIT2VRP3KRTD8C2E/Cover9.jpg Mother Mary https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644680070868-5NS32X22GGES68TLM2EX/Cover10.jpg Mother Mary https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644680215210-V2FP5YBY4HQYIVWLZP5R/Cover11.jpg Mother Mary https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644680379967-7566KETNA32JZ7CVQBBF/Cover12.jpg Mother Mary https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644684034128-MEKLZWCZMVSJJWJHFF7R/Cover13.jpg Mother Mary https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644684159821-1JM543YR5MJC7Y5J3HQN/Cover14.jpg Mother Mary https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644684278169-SPMLFN1S9B4KUUYBYW53/Cover15.jpg Mother Mary https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1644684416531-M7QW26ARXEC4GRUVG9BM/Cover16.jpg Mother Mary https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/99a286d3-77ab-4b9c-8a11-826b2fbec08e/MaryHeader3.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/e503c0ea-72c3-42b3-8f86-e17d16a73282/Story1.png Mother Mary Mary, from her original Aramaic name ‘Maryam’ or ‘Mariam’, was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph, and the mother of Jesus Christ. In Christianity, Mary is commonly referred to as the Virgin Mary, following the belief that she miraculously conceived her son Jesus through the Holy Spirit, while still a virgin. Mary serves as the patron saint of all human beings, watching over them with motherly care. She is honored as a spiritual mother to people of many faiths, including Muslim, Jewish, and New Age believers. Millions consider her to be the holiest and greatest saint because of her extraordinary virtues. Among her many other names and titles are the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Mary, the Mother of God (primarily in Western Christianity), the Theotokos (primarily in Eastern Christianity), Our Lady, the Madonna, and Queen of Heaven—the title “queen of heaven” was for centuries before used as an epithet for a number of ancient sky-goddesses, such as Isis, Astarte, Ishtar, Nut and Astoreth. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/af02aae4-5925-4d4f-836d-fd39752025af/Story2.png Mother Mary In Palestine at the time, women were usually married very young, at about 13 years of age. During Mary’s engagement to Joseph, the angel Gabriel announced she would conceive a son through a virgin birth and become the mother of Jesus Christ, the Christian Messiah—an event known as the Annunciation. There is little information about Jesus’s childhood. When he was about 30 years of age, Jesus began his public ministry, teachings and miracles, during which Mary was present. Mary is also depicted as being present among the women at the crucifixion of Jesus. Mary cradling the dead body of her son is a common motif in art, called a pietà or “piety”. Mary was seen as a critical member of the early Christian community after the death of Jesus, and became the most prominent female figure in Christianity. Many miracles are attributed to Mary, both in her lifetime and after her death, through Marian apparitions—times when believers say that Mary has miraculously appeared on Earth to deliver messages and give people healing. In Islam, Mary has the highest position among all women. She is mentioned in the Qur’an more often than the Bible, where two of the longer chapters of the book are named after her and her family. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/4b5081eb-2161-4091-9dc1-05aa9b84e187/Story4.png Mother Mary Mary’s special concern was to champion the poor, the outcast, the oppressed, the ill and the marginalized. Today, in various movements rising up against oppression, Mary is invoked as: woman of the poor, unwed mother, widowed mother, political refugee, seeker of sanctuary, mother of the homeless, mother of the nonviolent, model of risk, trust, courage, patience, perseverance and peace. Mary, as the Mother of the Poor, has the “ability to suffer with the suffering, to deepen love in the face of deprivation, to work for the elimination of injustice” (R. Scott Appleby). Mother Mary is known for her pure compassion and devotional love. She embodies the gentlest and most tender qualities of maternal femininity. As the archetype of the divine Mother, her truest purpose is to mother, nurture, care, and listen. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/e76f4896-79c9-41d0-b962-ff45c1c6e8ea/Story3.png Mother Mary At the foot of the Cross, Mary bore the greatest sorrow that a mother’s heart could ever endure: she witnessed the public execution by torture of her own son. By experiencing the deepest wounds and sorrows that a human heart could possibly experience, Mother Mary became the most compassionate of all creatures. It is this virtue that makes her so accessible today, for her sorrows were transformed by divine grace, through her faith and love, into the virtue of compassionate love for all humans. Her devotees call upon her in their darkest days, directing their pleas, seeking help and strength to face the challenges of life. The importance of Mother Mary and other mother goddesses across cultures suggests that mature adults share moments of deep self-doubt, and longings to recover some of the security of childhood. These enduring maternal figures point to the importance of the archetype of the Mother across cultures, and the healing power of maternal, compassionate love in peoples’ everyday lives. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/dbbdb3bc-8d1b-4d3e-a5ec-9a61bb0ff66a/Mother1.png Mother Mary Many academics and historians argue that Marian devotion—the veneration of the figure of Mary—was kindled by pre-existing pagan myths and goddess worship. A common theme in explaining the rise of Marian devotion in the Church has been to recognize that, with the spread of Christianity over the known world, newly converted Christians inevitably assimilated or sublimated pre-existing local cults. One of the strongest religious manifestations of the ancient pagan world was the widespread worship of the great Mother Goddess, appearing in a multitude of female deities. One of Mary’s titles, Queen of Heaven, was for centuries before used as an epithet for many ancient mother goddesses, such as Isis, Astarte, Ishtar, Nut and Ashtoreth. Mythologist Joseph Campbell argues that the image of the Virgin Mary was derived from the image of Isis holding her infant child Horus: “The antique model for the Madonna, actually, is Isis with Horus at her breast”. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/628c6677-f4a4-4cda-8e95-c671f964ac76/Separator.png Mother Mary - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/b8a1d398-275f-42ec-976c-ec6d413ac5b3/FeminismTitle.png Mother Mary - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/0eb7c472-f751-4c92-bb1b-be2c55a969d3/Feminism1.png Mother Mary Mary is a complex topic for feminist analysis. There is a long tradition of women's writings on Mary, and very different perspectives to Mariology—the theological study of Mary. Contemporary feminist interpretations critique Marian devotion, claiming it is (and always has been) counterproductive for women’s flourishing and encouraging feminine submissiveness and obedience. However, some feminist thinkers have attempted to reclaim Mary as an empowering feminine model. These feminist scholars study Mary through a feminist lens, a study known as Feminist Mariology. In this section, we will look at both sides of this complex discourse. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/7912f86d-6e79-4912-a5d9-347df73a5faa/Separator2.png Mother Mary - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/cbaf5588-e27a-4f91-b8ff-5f1f925fbc43/Title1.png Mother Mary - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/19849839-d326-4b5f-a82b-57220a6ff203/Feminism2.png Mother Mary Several feminist thinkers have criticized Marian devotion (the veneration of Mary), theorizing that Mary is a “domesticated goddess”. These critiques often come from the secular feminist movement, shaped by the anti-religious approach of Simone deBeauvoir, who considered the Judeo-Christian tradition “savagely anti-feminine.” In 1949, emblematic feminist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir pointed out the contrast between the ancient pre-Christian goddesses and Mary: whereas the goddesses commanded autonomous power, Mary is wholly the servant of God. “‘I am the handmaid of the Lord.’ For the first time in the history of mankind,” writes Beauvoir, “a mother kneels before her son and acknowledges, of her own free will, her inferiority. The supreme victory of masculinity is consummated in Mariolatry: it signifies the rehabilitation of woman through the completeness of her defeat.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/4c2e2775-5361-4dcf-8a4a-a123acffc1df/Separator2.png Mother Mary - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c73302c4-8f1d-4005-95da-1894237b44ad/Title2.png Mother Mary - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/40bcf9ef-7732-46fb-be99-5ee2e279727d/Feminism5.png Mother Mary Despite all these critiques painting the image of Mary as a disempowering female figure, many other voices view her as a symbol of true feminine power. Amid the pluralistic feminist perspectives on Mary, growing forms of religious feminism can confidently counter negative appraisals of Marian devotion. A reconciliation of Marian devotion and feminist ideals is possible, but requires a more sophisticated and nuanced reading. Of course, Marian symbols have been sometimes used in a reductionist way in the modern era, but in this section, we will attempt to look at Mary from an empowering perspective. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/dce13872-4b80-4552-9791-13f6e29c2913/Separator2.png Mother Mary - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c2895dbb-f845-495a-9155-c30944cdbafb/Feminism4.png Mother Mary The enduring image of the Goddess Although some feminist thinkers see Mary as a domestication of the ancient powerful mother goddesses, some others read her veneration as a return to the ancient worship of the Goddess, and the Church’s resistance to Mary’s worship as a recognition of the lingering power of the Goddess (Riane Eisler, The Chalice and the Blade). “Indeed, if we look closely at the art of the Neolithic, it is truly astonishing how much of its Goddess imagery has survived.... [the Neolithic pregnant Goddess] survives in the pregnant Mary of medieval Christian iconography. The Neolithic image of the young Goddess or Maiden is also still worshiped in the aspect of Mary as the Holy Virgin. And of course the Neolithic figure of the Mother-Goddess holding her divine child is still everywhere dramatically in evidence as the Christian Madonna and Child”. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/345c6883-ab5d-4975-8d05-7ec26fea1257/Separator.png Mother Mary - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/18e6de0c-5d8b-48cd-be68-7993528be980/Separator.png Mother Mary - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/0e14f56f-fab5-4f15-bf6e-b14c2bcb88b8/Feminism3.png Mother Mary Mary as symbol of social and ecological awareness Psychologist and author Sidney Callahan argues that Marian devotions intersect with core feminist concerns, with a sophisticated reading. Feminist concerns for peace, nurturing power and new movements of ecological feminism bent on mothering the earth find a deep resonance within Marian devotion. Feminist emphases upon the importance of concrete social engagement are found in Marian devotion. In the Mary cult, the self is always relational; no one, not even God, appears without recognizing the bonds to mother and family. Mary’s core place in the natural processes of procreation, her identification with nature imagery and her status as a spiritual mother for the world can give heart to those seeking to develop Christian ecological awareness. Modern Catholics in the peace movement turn to Mary as Mother of Peace, and through her, are inspired to dream of new forms of peacemaking. A spiritual struggle for peace is central in the traditional cult of Mary. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1748ae74-5356-41bf-9ec3-1198af099cd0/Separator.png Mother Mary - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/6164d169-45e6-4f7f-8790-2bad90c57071/Feminism6.png Mother Mary Virginity as symbol of power and autonomy In the ancient world of goddesses, virginity did not refer so much to sexual purity as to autonomy and free self-determination. The virginity of female pagan goddesses such as Diana, Athena, Ishtar and Isis, signaled their complete freedom from subjection to a male or to a mate. Mary’s virginity and the virgin birth can be interpreted as symbols of her autonomy, signaling her direct relationship to God, unmediated through any male. Mary is equal, in no way dominated by her spouse and completely free as a moral agent. Even in a misogynous age, all of Mary’s powers and privileges, her strengths and virtues, were seen as independent of her status as a wife. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/a9626f1b-8382-4b7d-8f80-9381a2828fd9/Separator.png Mother Mary - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/886bb385-c2be-4acb-ada8-ad522e0e3a84/Separator.png Mother Mary - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/4c540968-69d3-46f6-88b4-394fb536482e/Feminism7.png Mother Mary Christian Feminism Today, many modern women outside the traditional faiths have created neo-pagan goddess cults to empower themselves through feminine symbols and female-oriented rituals. So, too, Christian feminists reconstruct the traditional female symbols, female-oriented spiritualities, women-centered scripture readings and ritual celebrations. Christian feminists exalted Mary’s feminine spiritual authority, which worked as a counter-story to official statements of intrinsic feminine inferiority. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/2a2bcc90-89ab-4029-abb0-35ed062287b3/Religion1.png Mother Mary In his book How God Works: The Science Behind the Benefits of Religion, scientist David DeSteno and his psychology lab researched what humans can do to improve their quality of life. Their findings echo what religious practices perfected centuries ago. Much of what psychologists and neuroscientists are finding about how to change people’s beliefs, feelings, and behaviors—how to support them when they grieve, how to help them be more ethical, how to let them find connection and happiness—echoes ideas and techniques that religions have been using for thousands of years. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/0d6a5676-e15f-4e88-b9b4-0e907ebc90a9/Religion2.png Mother Mary Psychologists are finding that religion enables people to have more compassion, gratitude and peace. Chanting and praying together and rituals create community and solidarity, connection. It was found that regularly taking part in religious practices lessens anxiety and depression, increases physical health, and even reduces the risk of early death. The ways these practices leverage mechanisms of our bodies and minds can enhance the joys and reduce the pains of life. Parts of religious mourning rituals incorporate elements science has recently found to reduce grief. Healing rites contain elements that can help our bodies heal themselves simply by strengthening our expectations of a cure. Religions didn’t just find these psychological tweaks and nudges long before scientists arrived on the scene, but often packaged them together in sophisticated ways that the scientific community can learn from. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/d530c2e1-b76a-4532-8227-6b753c1ac345/Religion3.png Mother Mary When it comes to finding ways to help people deal with issues surrounding birth and death, morality and meaning, grief and loss, it would be strange if thousands of years of religious thought didn’t have something to offer. Many modern scientists and psychologists like David DeSteno have come to see a nuanced relationship between science and religion. They view them as two approaches to improving people’s lives that frequently complement each other. DeSteno believes scientists should be studying rituals and spiritual practices to understand their influence, and where appropriate, create new techniques and therapies informed by them. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/b79f072e-26fa-437f-a6a3-63ed72c89e2a/Guadalupe1.png Mother Mary Our Lady of Guadalupe (Spanish: Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (Spanish: Virgen de Guadalupe), is a Catholic title of Mother Mary, associated with a series of five Marian apparitions in December 1531, and a venerated image on a cloak enshrined within the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. The basilica is the most-visited Catholic shrine in the world, and the world's third most-visited sacred site. The Virgin Mary purportedly appeared to an indigenous Mexican peasant man named Juan Diego, as a dark-skinned woman who spoke Nahuatl, Juan Diego’s native language. The image of the Virgin that appeared on his mantle had layers of meaning for the indigenous people of Mexico, who associated her image with their polytheistic deities, which further contributed to her popularity. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/354b025e-488a-4541-89df-63f034720f29/Guadalupe2.png Mother Mary Her blue-green mantle was the color reserved for the divine couple Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl, the Aztec fertility gods. The rays of light surrounding her are seen to also represent maguey spines, the agave plant native to Mexico, and source of the sacred beverage pulque. When indigenous people saw Guadalupe’s image on the cloak, they could recognize the symbols surrounding her; the sun, the stars, the southern cross, and the placement of her hands indicating a gesture of offering—all were common symbols in indigenous mythology and worldview. The notion of a brown-skinned Mary figure was critical to the eventual conversion of millions of indigenous people to Roman Catholicism. To the present day, Our Lady of Guadalupe remains a powerful symbol of Mexican identity and faith, and her image is associated with everything from motherhood to feminism to social justice. For millions of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans, December 12th holds a special significance as the feast day of the Virgin of Guadalupe. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/9383d166-6dad-4dc7-a5c1-ec37fca50d2a/Guadalupe3.png Mother Mary “In some ways, Our Lady of Guadalupe has become less of a religious symbol and more of a general cultural symbol”, says John Moran Gonzalez, director of the Center for Mexican American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. The idea of the Virgin can retain her appeal without specifically being anchored in religious tradition. “Our Lady is seen as the champion of the underdog, of all those who lack power in society,” says Gonzalez. “In that sense she continues to be relevant as long as disparities in economic and political power exist. She is the ultimate Mexican mother. She is all about motherhood.” Our Lady of Guadalupe is used as a symbol of justice, because she holds an appeal to the poor, to marginalized people. In the modern day, she represents people standing against oppression, declaring their independence. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/4e7739b2-e448-4db5-926e-bfb074efce9f/PracticesTitle.png Mother Mary - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/0d212bb9-ebe4-4a83-a1ba-a6b5f0dfc9a5/Separator2.png Mother Mary - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c4186c2a-f266-4c2e-9bbf-16db572acadc/Embodying.png Mother Mary Observe the following painting: The Virgin (1926) by Futurist painter Joseph Stella. Use your body to recreate the Madonna’s pose and facial expression. Relax your face, and soften your gaze gently downwards. Rest your open palms on your chest. Find stillness in this moment. What do you notice? How do you feel? What inner states of being arise? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1b705c87-ed46-41e7-b673-987361cc9f87/Separator.png Mother Mary - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c73512cb-b50f-4788-9cdf-d23057dcc018/Virtue.png Mother Mary Each day of the week, engage in a secret act of virtue or kindness. Do something nice or needed for others, but do so anonymously. These acts can be very simple, like washing someone else’s dishes, picking up trash on the sidewalk, making an anonymous donation, or leaving a small gift on a coworker’s desk. This practice helps us look at how willing we are to put the effort out to do good things for others if we never earn credit for it. Zen practice emphasizes “going straight on”⁠—leading our lives in a straightforward way based on what we know to be good practice, undaunted by praise or criticism. A monk once asked the Chinese Zen master Hui-hai “What is the gate [meaning both entrance and pillar] of Zen practice?” Hui-hai answered: “Complete giving”. The Buddha spoke constantly of the value of generosity, saying it is the most effective way to reach enlightenment. He recommended giving simple gifts⁠—water, food, shelter, clothing, transportation, flowers. Even poor people can be generous he said, by giving a crumb of their food to an ant. Each time we give something away, whether it is a material object or our time, we are letting go of a bit of ourselves and practicing the utmost generosity. Generosity is the highest virtue, and anonymous giving is the highest form of generosity. Practice by Jan Chozen Bays, from Mindfulness on the Go https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/5948e37f-7aa8-45cb-8873-f760fd673a31/Separator.png Mother Mary - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f7fb048c-601f-4b91-be17-e6cf1702e8f0/MadonnaSmile.png Mother Mary You can close your eyes or keep them opened for this micro-practice, that can be done any time throughout the day. Imagine the smile of divine mothers like Guan Yin or Mother Mary, this serene compassionate smile that is often seen on their faces. This gentle smile that communicates so much love and tenderness. Find an inner version of that smile. You don’t have to move your outer face at all. Smile inwardly at the back of your own heart. You can start to feel how the energy of that smile slowly begins to open your heart, to warm your heart. You can feel how the energy of that smile illuminates a very particular quality inside of the heart. The Inner Smile is a very ancient Qi Gong healing technique, because the energy of the smile contains this quality of infinite compassion. Smiling inwardly at your own heart can allow your own innocent heart to be revealed. Start to feel what gets touched here, what gets opened. What qualities inside of the heart are awakened? Find that inner smile any time throughout your day. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f0ae0d62-d484-4d1c-8b33-9a6487b9b720/Separator.png Mother Mary - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/3802a565-2ae6-4b1b-b091-b90606cfe08c/LovingKindness.png Mother Mary Listen to this 15-minute guided loving kindness meditation. Compassion meditation involves silently repeating certain phrases that express the intention to move from judgment to caring, from isolation to connection, from indifference to understanding. The practice involves bringing to mind different people (including yourself), and sending them loving-kindness and peace. You don't have to force a particular feeling or get rid of unpleasant or undesirable reactions; the power of the practice is in the wholehearted gathering of attention and energy, and concentrating on each phrase. Notice how this practice makes you feel. What happened to your heart? Did you feel warmth, openness and tenderness? Did you have a wish to take away the other’s suffering? How does your heart feel different when you envision your own or a loved one’s suffering, a stranger’s, or a difficult person’s? Bask in the joy of this open-hearted wish to ease the suffering of all people and beings, and how this attempt brings joy, happiness, and compassion in your heart at this very moment. Practice by Penny McGahey on Insight Timer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/9370ca98-4526-4cf2-9bec-6434a5e1890b/Separator.png Mother Mary - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/bbf097da-7fee-49c7-aef5-11ff451b1d9d/Tonglen.png Mother Mary Tonglen is Tibetan for ‘giving and taking’ (or sending and receiving), and refers to a meditation practice found in Tibetan Buddhism. Tonglen is also known as exchanging self with other. Below is a simple exercise for practicing Tonglen Compassion Meditation—consciously breathing in the suffering of others, and breathing out relief for that suffering. 1. Find a comfortable position and begin to follow your breath and quiet the mind. After a few minutes or once you are relaxed, you can bring to mind a friend or loved one whom you know is experiencing emotional discomfort or suffering. Imagine that he or she is standing in front of you, and visualize their suffering as a dark, heavy cloud surrounding him or her. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f3a4c0c6-094e-4efe-b10f-93742f46dfdc/Separator2.png Mother Mary - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/d520474a-632f-4a48-9571-7a64177694c4/GoDeeper.png Mother Mary - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.onusamothership.com/venus-of-willendorf daily 0.75 2024-03-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633662274248-YNWEZ6DLFIE2TVIJ8RC3/Cover3.jpg Venus of Willendorf https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633662818566-2S96X55LUF6V14YN2N09/Cover10.jpg Venus of Willendorf https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633662951096-KR5DD8FX81VKK1VYK73E/Cover11.jpg Venus of Willendorf https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633662544396-8NXBCVN7ZQEI4ZUQIOBA/Cover6.jpg Venus of Willendorf https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633663538587-S6066DMIFZS99BKQXS5X/Cover12.jpg Venus of Willendorf https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633663137873-V6DIX5KCHNOTJJ9OGENQ/Cover14.jpg Venus of Willendorf https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633662783395-A35YD7N5NDW9J0UNQQ2F/Cover9.jpg Venus of Willendorf https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633663068472-BVC59TGPQ91NQ58KGZFU/Cover13.jpg Venus of Willendorf https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633663168066-8DF1XFMXT0ZDIYR1ETYN/Cover15.jpg Venus of Willendorf https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633663368802-NCKE8FLNIF99NTOB18DM/Cover17.jpg Venus of Willendorf https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1646187326727-CLJZNS4H3LIU02KVX442/Cover1.jpg Venus of Willendorf https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1646187450523-D1YXVY1QU9E5V5WGEMDI/Cover2.jpg Venus of Willendorf https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1646187696879-MQ6C7U667Z3WYKTDK98L/Cover3.jpg Venus of Willendorf https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1646187888944-GZ8R4JDAPNA6RJ2RFMFG/Cover15.jpg Venus of Willendorf https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1646188099120-FPVFLNWKMH3PR7HSMOMY/Cover7.jpg Venus of Willendorf https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1646188528231-RXUDSXXJJGBOC83EYR2L/Cover4.jpg Venus of Willendorf https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1646188903524-MV8DIU5A7Y4U3T4X0ZGT/Cover5.jpg Venus of Willendorf https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1646189300350-HDJ4A2Y6NLKCD3ET4OB6/Cover17.jpg Venus of Willendorf https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1646189433591-8J9RHYLEEND2BXJ4XSOA/Cover6.jpg Venus of Willendorf https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1646190372346-DNF7VK763IGFBJDMZGPC/Cover7.jpg Venus of Willendorf https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/d1f2f62c-f7a4-418b-a5fe-a1514252d302/VenusofWillendorfCover.png Venus of Willendorf https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/ef4e44b2-1215-4e58-a58c-4a764a52a1dd/Discovery1.png Venus of Willendorf One of the most fascinating archaeological discoveries of the early 20th century is a small Paleolithic stone sculpture known as the Venus of Willendorf. Who is she? What does she represent? Is this a portrait of an actual Stone Age woman? Or might this be an image of a prehistoric Mother Goddess? The Venus of Willendorf was discovered by Josef Szombathy in 1908 in a small village near Willendorf, Austria. She is estimated to have been made around 25,000 years ago, during the Upper Paleolithic era, making her one of the oldest surviving works of art, and one of the earliest images of a human body made by humankind. She is carved from an oolitic limestone, and tinted with red ochre. She is short in height, slightly over 4 inches tall, easily held in the palm of a hand. She is now in the Natural History Museum in Vienna, Austria. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/e3710336-4fd5-459d-a5ac-6388a3443908/Separator2.png Venus of Willendorf - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8add552c-8cae-4824-bd9a-d5e1dc857af1/Who.png Venus of Willendorf Very little is known about the Venus’s origin, method of creation, or cultural significance, however, she is one of numerous “Venus figurines” surviving from Paleolithic Europe. The purpose of the Venus figurines is the subject of much speculation, though many theories have been suggested by historians, archeologists and anthropologists. Some researchers have suggested that the figurines may have been used as good-luck totems, aphrodisiacs made by men for their own appreciation, or educational tools for women—potentially representing the different phases of child bearing and development of the female body during pregnancy. Another potential theory suggested by professors Catherine McCoid and LeRoy McDermott is that the figurines may have been created as self-portraits by women. This theory stems from the correlation of the proportions of the statues to how the proportions of women's bodies would seem if they were looking down at themselves. According to McCoid and McDermott, “what has been seen as evidence of obesity or adiposity is actually the foreshortening effect of self-inspection.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/09e94db0-7f17-4ce6-98d0-a8e172c13bb1/Who2.png Venus of Willendorf However, the most popular theory and widely-held belief is that the Venus of Willendorf and similar figurines may have been depictions of a fertility goddess, or a mother goddess. Parts of the figurines that are most emphasized are the anatomical features that are most commonly associated with fertility and childbearing. This includes the pubic region and breasts. However, other features such as the arms, legs, and face, are not amplified in a similar manner, being omitted almost entirely. This may suggest that the figure is not a portrait of a particular person, but rather a representation of the reproductive and child rearing aspects of a woman. In combination with the emphasis on the breasts and pubic area, it seems likely that the Venus of Willendorf had a function that related to fertility. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/b5b9651b-8883-4783-860c-771876a62a61/Who3.png Venus of Willendorf The Venus figurines support the prevailing views among historians on the existence of a Mother Goddess worship in the prehistoric era. In many ancient cultures, a Mother Goddess (also referred to as Great Goddess) represents nature, motherhood, fertility, creation, destruction, or an embodiment of the bounty of the Earth. When equated with the Earth or the natural world, such goddesses are sometimes called the Earth Mother. The depictions of these Mother Goddesses are considered allegorical figures or personifications of the idea or concept of fertility, nature or Earth itself. These representations are very common in prehistoric, stone age religions. In fact, while the Goddess of Willendorf sports a rather voluptuous female shape, associated with her fertility and life-giving force, when viewed lying down on her back, the statue takes on the form of the earth, with the curves of her body being the hills and valleys of the landscape. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c2fa48f2-d3ed-41ef-a79f-5f1a34fd6d9f/Matriarchal1.png Venus of Willendorf The worship of the Great Mother The spiritual journey of Earth’s people began with the idea of the Goddess, universally called the Great Mother. Thousands of years before the Bible was ever written, stories of creation revolved around a Goddess. The nurturing spirit of the Goddess guided our ancestors, who saw the acts of giving and nurturing as supreme. The reverence they felt for the primal force of the female was mirrored in their relationship to Nature, who was also revered as the supreme Mother. Our early human ancestors prayed to the Creatress of Life. At the very dawn of religion, God was considered female. The Paleolithic remains of female figurines, red ocher in burials, and vagina-shaped cowrie shells appear to be early manifestations of what was later to develop into a complex religion centering on the worship of a Mother Goddess as the source and regeneratrix of all forms of life. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/51553240-f11c-43bd-a17f-cb4013339bbc/Matriarchal2.png Venus of Willendorf Anthropological evidence shows that the first 30,000 years of Homo sapiens’ existence was dominated by a celebration of the female processes: of the mysteries of menstruation, pregnancy, and childbirth; of the analogous abundance of the earth; of the seasonal movements and cyclical nature of life. The fact that both human and animal life is generated from the female body and that, like the seasons and the moon, woman’s body also goes through cycles led our ancestors to see the life-giving and sustaining powers of the world in female, rather than male, form. It is believed that the Great Goddess was worshiped among early agricultural peoples throughout the Mediterranean, the Aegean, Turkey and the Near East, Northwest Africa and Europe through Neolithic times, until the Bronze Age. It has been archeologically confirmed that the earliest law, government, medicine, agriculture, architecture, metallurgy, wheeled vehicles, ceramics, textiles and written language were initially developed in societies that worshipped the Goddess. Many Goddess-worshipping societies had no temple or temple-figures. Their sanctuaries were in nature, they worshiped among trees, on mountain peaks, in caves, in rustic shrines. Their rituals aimed to preserve the peoples’ relationship with the Earth. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/03ed771c-c6cc-44a2-995e-7296122f09ca/Quote1.png Venus of Willendorf - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8491b766-8e66-4362-867a-ee0eed151cca/Separator2.png Venus of Willendorf - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c60b2fd0-f317-4871-af29-af1aec2906c0/Matriarchal3.png Venus of Willendorf Goddess-worshipping cultures and the role of women in society It was quite apparent that the myths and legends that grew from, and were propagated by, a religion in which the deity was female, and revered as wise, valiant, powerful and just, provided very different images of womanhood from those which we are offered by the male-oriented religions of today. In Goddess-worshipping cultures, women were empowered and honored. They were priestesses, judges, doctors, artisans, athletes, healers, herbalists, midwives, farmers, business entrepreneurs—cultural leaders on all levels. The evidence shows that some of the most “advanced” societies of the ancient world—technologically as well as culturally—were matrifocal, i.e., woman-oriented and led by women. It is important to note that although matrifocal societies were led by women, they were egalitarian. Women had a place of honor, respect and reverence, not domination. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/0533c6ec-e809-4d50-b014-adf0ea11ad89/Matriarchal4.png Venus of Willendorf Matrifocal societies are not built on dominance principles, but on relational, partnership models. Cultural historian Riane Eisler refers to these ancient matrifocal cultures as the partnership model, in contrast with the dominator model in which men rule over women and dominate in society. In ancient matrifocal societies, women owned their bodies, their children, and their living properties; women made vital decisions affecting the survival and well-being of their people. Women had control over their movements, ideas, and bodies. Economic relations were not experienced as separate from religious and social relationships; they were originally based on gift exchange, which served a communal-bonding function, not a competitive or profit-making one. Material goods had value only in terms of the social, relational and spiritual uses to which they were put. Many anthropologists and historians believe that the suppression of the ancient Goddess religion and matrifocal societies—where the feminine and nature were revered and honored—can be linked to many of our modern social and environmental challenges. The inevitable by-product of the loss of respect for the Feminine Principle of creation was the creation of an artificial separation from our innate connections with the Earth as a Living Being. The loss of our connection to the feminine principle has led to the destruction of the original holism—the intimate interconnected principle by which our ancestors lived by (and indigenous people still live by)—in favor of domination, division and separation, the most devastating separation being the one we created with the planet. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/53258360-e8c0-4c40-9e86-3e9f003f204a/Quote2.png Venus of Willendorf - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/4d9c83ad-3ca7-4fa8-bac3-1c913a5e6e8f/maxresdefault.jpeg Venus of Willendorf Watch the documentary ‘Goddess Remembered’ (available for free on Youtube) to learn more about the Great Goddess and matrifocal societies of the past, and how the loss of goddess-centric societies can be linked to today's environmental crisis. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/cb92e103-81fd-4605-8848-2d3029b7bbf9/Quote1-1.jpg Venus of Willendorf - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/e0665603-a014-4860-9beb-244f4958db26/Lessons.png Venus of Willendorf - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/ff618a98-2645-4449-8ce0-bab23f1a3ded/Lessons1.png Venus of Willendorf What can the Venus of Willendorf teach us about self-acceptance and taking up space? In Willendorf’s Legacy: The Sacred Body, Tamara Albana writes: “The Goddess has taught me innumerable lessons—her many aspects and faces contain immense wisdom. But it was the Willendorf Goddess who held one of the most powerful lessons. She taught me that self-acceptance was possible. Her message is evident even in her presence, like the presence of my Grandmother and Aunts. The fierce feminine that isn’t afraid to take up space. Let us listen to her message, gaze upon her incredible image, and remind ourselves to take up the space that we deserve.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8491b766-8e66-4362-867a-ee0eed151cca/Separator2.png Venus of Willendorf - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/a6c755aa-4645-4a92-a223-78fdb6839fac/Lessons2.png Venus of Willendorf The Venus of Willendorf can also teach us about autonomy and self-determination. Molly Rener writes: “One of the things I love about the Willendorf Goddess is her air or self-possession. She is complete unto herself. She may be a fertile figure, but she is not clearly pregnant and she does not have a baby in her arms, which indicates that her value was not exclusively in the maternal role.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/2ff05e9e-7539-44fb-95ec-f4ce9f8e0717/PracticesTitle.png Venus of Willendorf - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/ecf6e1d4-5dde-49d1-a11b-bce807004e7f/Separator2.png Venus of Willendorf - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c73c0c9c-567b-4e06-8b4d-15d06580a42b/EarthMeditation.png Venus of Willendorf Ground and center. Take a deep breath. Feel your bones, your skeleton, the solidity of your body. Be aware of your flesh, of all that can be touched and felt. Feel the pull of gravity, your own weight, your attraction to the earth that is the body of the Goddess. You are a natural feature, a moving mountain. Merge with all that comes from the Earth: grass, trees, grains, fruit, flowers, animals, metals, precious stones. Return to dust, to compost, to mud. Meditation from The Spiral Dance, by Starhawk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/7eba6c5e-8fc4-445c-a721-35169a766ae8/Separator.png Venus of Willendorf - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/0234188c-a04a-4096-b89d-7fdbc4b93c6f/FullMoon-Meditation.png Venus of Willendorf Ground and center, and visualize a round full moon. She is the mother, the power of fruition and of all aspects of creativity. She nourishes what the New Moon has begun. See her open arms, her full breasts, her womb burgeoning with life. Feel your own power to nurture, to give, to make manifest what is possible. She is the sensual woman; her pleasure in union is the moving force that sustains all life. Feel the power and generative life-force in your own pleasure. Feel the nurturing, unconditionally loving, all-encompassing, all-allowing mother in you. Meditation from The Spiral Dance, by Starhawk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/56e79c7d-0e7c-4760-a37c-3c8346547599/Separator.png Venus of Willendorf - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/caad0e49-6836-4654-87b7-b1c5a63d6867/Water-Meditation.png Venus of Willendorf Ground and center. Take a deep breath. Feel the blood flowing through the rivers of your veins, the liquid tides within each cell of your body. You are fluid, one drop congealed out of the primal ocean that is the womb of the Great Mother. Find the calm pools of tranquility within you, the rivers of feeling, the tides of power. Sink deep into the well of the inner mind, below consciousness. Meditation from The Spiral Dance, by Starhawk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/b7a4864c-a614-4afa-94e2-ccfff4e787de/Separator.png Venus of Willendorf - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/b5583784-7e0b-43f7-b671-d689d1f9f948/Resonating.png Venus of Willendorf This is a Spanda practice to get you in touch with the core underlying spark of aliveness pulsing inside of every cell in the universe. “Spanda is a Sanskrit word meaning “divine vibration”, pulse, scintillation, or throb. Spanda refers to the subtle creative pulse of the universe as it manifests into the dynamism of living form. This term is used to describe how Consciousness, at the subtlest level, moves in waves of contraction and expansion. Spanda is the core union of Shiva Shakti consciousness and energy that underlies the fabric of creation. Begin your practice by getting quiet inside, tuning into the core of your aliveness. Underneath your feelings, your thoughts, your sensations, there is this core place that is just pure life, living in you. Begin to hum and vibrate, sensing and feeling into this core vibration of aliveness. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/6a78d481-bdee-4b90-b664-018f5636cf97/Separator.png Venus of Willendorf - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/20d35a03-0300-44a3-855e-e96960a3c1eb/Cup-Meditation.png Venus of Willendorf Ground and center. Hold your cup cradled in both hands. Breathe deep, and feel the power of water, of feeling and emotion. Be in touch with the flow of your own emotions: love, anger, sorrow, joy. The cup is the symbol of nurturing, the overflowing breast of the Goddess that nourishes all life. Be aware of how you are nurtured, and how you nurture others. The power to feel is the power to be human, to be real, to be whole. Let the strength of your emotions flood the cup. Meditation from The Spiral Dance, by Starhawk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/476363de-84b1-454c-975d-784577e70433/Separator.png Venus of Willendorf - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/e22a0592-8fab-4fef-8dd4-c27fdd9d1fdb/NatureStories.png Venus of Willendorf “Go to the oak tree and ask for its story. Go to the river and ask for its story. Go to the goldenrod and ask without saying anything. Ask with your nose, your belly, your eyes. The answer won’t always be words. Won’t always be sound. Sometimes it will be a feeling in your body. Sometimes it will be a smell. Stories don’t belong to human beings. But human beings belong to stories. Let’s enter back into the complex, tangled work of letting go of authorship and letting ourselves be told.” by Sophie Strand, from her essay ‘Myco Eco Mytho Storytelling’ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/7740f22c-d01d-4c12-8ae6-6f468d664022/Poem2.png Venus of Willendorf - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633797127218-BJ5EZNCE4N2T0JLSVAPS/GoDeeper.png Venus of Willendorf - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.onusamothership.com/skywoman daily 0.75 2024-03-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1647262772820-TIZH87YOGWZXKXADM0GB/Cover1.jpg Skywoman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1647262880779-OA4FFJFM85NEAFSZ78LE/Cover1.jpg Skywoman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1647262979746-HYCKCMMMUQJ4ZWMEOVS4/Cover2.jpg Skywoman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1647263154668-QUQ47P0R0LKFYIV0Q2AS/Cover10.jpg Skywoman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1647263257241-0JM7SXDVJRQQAQUIL0LR/Cover12.jpg Skywoman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1647263341881-KAT8CZSHKZUZ897PTQ24/Cover17.jpg Skywoman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1647264429838-BKAXLYNE2HNY6I9B9B6N/Cover3.jpg Skywoman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1647264579018-SK4V0TPG362C27ASZLP1/Cover4.jpg Skywoman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1647264795530-LWX7J6DIFC7DTSS3LRCP/Cover5.jpg Skywoman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1647264954094-ISB40MTVX725CTAOKCK2/Cover6.jpg Skywoman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1647265527756-E3KU9HHNDH1V240RQF3A/Cover9.jpg Skywoman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1647283178894-N6SJFJ319V4610N6W72F/Cover10.jpg Skywoman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1647374250350-G3APF968IBI6OOAVFBLF/Cover11.jpg Skywoman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1647375001327-QNJ39G0HRTYVSD8N0M3Q/Cover12.jpg Skywoman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1648174998368-TNLAVNZTSSFWBOWFJZ5O/Cover13.jpg Skywoman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/4c0450f3-6d6d-4b90-aebb-9e4d0a4fd266/SkywomanHeader2.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/2f14209f-fe5d-4f97-9fb3-4a5695b2f677/About2.png Skywoman Origin: Iroquois/Haudenosaunee people (Six Nations), Wyandot/Huron people. Role: Mother Goddess, Sky Spirit, First Woman. Commonly associated with: motherhood, marriage, childbirth, creation, nature, the feminine in general. Also known as: Grandmother Moon, the Woman who Fell from the Sky. Native names: Ataensic, Athensic, Yatahentshi, Iotsitsisonh, Atsi’tsiakaion, Iagentci, Yekëhtsi, Yagentci, Awenha’i, Wa'tewatsitsiané:kare. Related figures in other tribes: Nokomis (Anishinabe), Our Grandmother (Shawnee), Corn Mother (Wabanaki), Old Lady (Blackfoot), Grandmother Woodchuck (Abenaki), Nogami (Mi’kmaq). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/94f48199-9aba-4473-9021-283e863fde73/SkywomanFalling.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/6c907582-a315-4de8-a296-8c7f9637ceec/Separator2.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/af08ab04-2188-40ae-ac71-d879369baa98/Story1.png Skywoman In the beginning there was the Skyworld. She fell like a maple seed, pirouetting on an autumn breeze. A column of light streamed from a hole in the Skyworld, marking her path where only darkness had been before. It took her a long time to fall. In fear, or maybe hope, she clutched a bundle tightly in her hand. Hurtling downward, she saw only dark water below. But in that emptiness there were many eyes gazing up at the sudden shaft of light. They saw there a small object, a mere dust mote in the beam. As it grew closer, they could see that it was a woman, arms outstretched, long black hair billowing behind as she spiraled toward them. The geese nodded at one another and rose together from the water in a wave of goose music. She felt the beat of their wings as they flew beneath to break her fall. Far from the only home she’d ever known, she caught her breath at the warm embrace of soft feathers as they gently carried her downward. And so it began. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/a3bd23f6-9a94-4722-a3c1-2cf65ef12ef2/Separator2.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/9328f2dc-b726-4382-9e81-b6d147672ec5/Separator2.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/033640ac-010e-4efd-966f-846ba06a2c6a/Story2.png Skywoman They waited and waited for him to return, fearing the worst for their relative, and, before long, a stream of bubbles rose with the small, limp body of the muskrat. He had given his life to aid this helpless human. But then the others noticed that his paw was tightly clenched and, when they opened it, there was a small handful of mud. Turtle said, “Here, put it on my back and I will hold it.” Skywoman bent and spread the mud with her hands across the shell of the turtle. Moved by the extraordinary gifts of the animals, she sang in thanksgiving and then began to dance, her feet caressing the earth. The land grew and grew as she danced her thanks, from the dab of mud on Turtle’s back until the whole earth was made. Not by Skywoman alone, but from the alchemy of all the animals’ gifts coupled with her deep gratitude. Together they formed what we know today as Turtle Island, our home. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/7bf3e8a7-5be0-4531-a520-65e33fe7b00a/Separator2.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/a5dc5e0d-b69c-4f91-a8c2-a0dc08ebc988/StoryQuote1.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/81dcb04f-2afc-4212-ba39-07581c53a987/Story3.png Skywoman There is such tenderness in braiding the hair of someone you love. Kindness and something more flow between the braider and the braided, the two connected by the cord of the plait. Wiingaashk waves in strands, long and shining like a woman’s freshly washed hair. And so we say it is the flowing hair of Mother Earth. When we braid sweetgrass, we are braiding the hair of Mother Earth, showing her our loving attention, our care for her beauty and well-being, in gratitude for all she has given us. Children hearing the Skywoman story from birth know in their bones the responsibility that flows between humans and the earth. The story of Skywoman’s journey is so rich and glittering it feels to me like a deep bowl of celestial blue from which I could drink again and again. It holds our beliefs, our history, our relationships. Looking into that starry bowl, I see images swirling so fluidly that the past and the present become as one. Images of Skywoman speak not just of where we came from, but also of how we can go forward. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/9dc1c4bb-c412-47fe-af44-925223c92a3f/Story4.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/27f28b9c-5433-44b3-80b4-f747b06ee656/Separator2.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8b046263-ed18-4559-8ce2-12918dc99dcf/Separator2.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c2f49d1e-2ceb-4ba1-af5d-c36b8a3754bb/Story5.png Skywoman I was stunned. How is it possible that in twenty years of education they cannot think of any beneficial relationships between people and the environment? Perhaps the negative examples they see every day—brownfields, factory farms, suburban sprawl—truncated their ability to see some good between humans and the earth. As the land becomes impoverished, so too does the scope of their vision. When we talked about this after class, I realized that they could not even imagine what beneficial relations between their species and others might look like. How can we begin to move toward ecological and cultural sustainability if we cannot even imagine what the path feels like? If we can’t imagine the generosity of geese? These students were not raised on the story of Skywoman. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/d972b370-cc4c-4236-abc4-dd910efe6f48/StoryQuote2.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/9ae2a454-5690-4225-bb8f-e8f618b4d551/Story6.png Skywoman On one side of the world were people whose relationship with the living world was shaped by Skywoman, who created a garden for the well-being of all. On the other side was another woman with a garden and a tree. But for tasting its fruit, she was banished from the garden and the gates clanged shut behind her. That mother of men was made to wander in the wilderness and earn her bread by the sweat of her brow, not by filling her mouth with the sweet juicy fruits that bend the branches low. In order to eat, she was instructed to subdue the wilderness into which she was cast. Same species, same earth, different stories. Like Creation stories everywhere, cosmologies are a source of identity and orientation to the world. They tell us who we are. We are inevitably shaped by them no matter how distant they may be from our consciousness. One story leads to the generous embrace of the living world, the other to banishment. One woman is our ancestral gardener, a cocreator of the good green world that would be the home of her descendants. The other was an exile, just passing through an alien world on a rough road to her real home in heaven. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/3b24de69-b46f-4afe-a176-8a8ccf5ef4a2/Separator2.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/08a83bde-9ab2-495c-8f7e-4457f7ab4361/Separator2.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/ab6ba2c4-822f-47a7-87e8-6199b1105887/Story7.png Skywoman The earth was new then, when it welcomed the first human. It’s old now, and some suspect that we have worn out our welcome by casting the Original Instructions aside. From the very beginning of the world, the other species were a lifeboat for the people. Now, we must be theirs. But the stories that might guide us, if they are told at all, grow dim in the memory. What meaning would they have today? How can we translate from the stories at the world’s beginning to this hour so much closer to its end? The landscape has changed, but the story remains. And as I turn it over again and again, Skywoman seems to look me in the eye and ask, in return for this gift of a world on Turtle’s back, what will I give in return? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/5ea1f36b-5b82-438f-8b78-314a8c4ac08b/Separator2.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1cc69b14-9e04-4c21-8297-c8d329d6cbb2/StoryQuote3.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/54570fa4-f7dc-43f9-83af-bd4e7b1d0a3d/Story8.png Skywoman As we consider these instructions, it is also good to recall that, when Skywoman arrived here, she did not come alone. She was pregnant. Knowing her grandchildren would inherit the world she left behind, she did not work for flourishing in her time only. It was through her actions of reciprocity, the give and take with the land, that the original immigrant became indigenous. For all of us, becoming indigenous to a place means living as if your children’s future mattered, to take care of the land as if our lives, both material and spiritual, depended on it. In the public arena, I’ve heard the Skywoman story told as a bauble of colorful “folklore.” But, even when it is misunderstood, there is power in the telling. Most of my students have never heard the origin story of this land where they were born, but when I tell them, something begins to kindle behind their eyes. Can they, can we all, understand the Skywoman story not as an artifact from the past but as instructions for the future? Can a nation of immigrants once again follow her example to become native, to make a home? Look at the legacy of poor Eve’s exile from Eden: the land shows the bruises of an abusive relationship. It’s not just land that is broken, but more importantly, our relationship to land. As Gary Nabhan has written, we can’t meaningfully proceed with healing, with restoration, without “re-story-ation.” In other words, our relationship with land cannot heal until we hear its stories. But who will tell them? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/85d963b1-4b56-417b-b80b-35e28afd89d0/StoryQuote4.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/de007117-ef1c-4fb7-81f1-b2c13bccd88d/Reciprocity.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/e68fecb5-ef0d-4707-844c-ad7f23c67ad8/Reciprocity1.png Skywoman What does it mean to live in reciprocity? Full article by Tammy Gan for Advaya “An ecosystem is the embodiment of reciprocity. It consists of a multitude of beings related in endless ways. Ecological life is always lived in relationships with others.” —Andreas Weber It is clear when we look at ecosystems that there is, quite simply, no possibility of the ecosystem functioning as a whole if each being, each living organism, doesn’t do its part. Biologist and philosopher Andreas Weber explains that: “An ecosystem is a commons, shared and brought forth by all its participants. It is not an assemblage of egoistic agents.” Similarly, in the human world: “we are not atomistic individuals set against one another, but on a deep level we collectively create one coherent process of life”. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/44426872-de8f-40fa-a7c0-192b597812ee/Separator2.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1cede722-0800-4413-9e86-a72f9013d68d/Separator2.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/32287d97-1a1a-4f29-9aee-e0b3870f354b/Reciprocity2.png Skywoman Naming, respect-building, being-recognition, are all necessary aspects of redefining personhood. A prerequisite to living in reciprocity is just that: reconfiguring what we mean by “person”. Here, again, our Indigenous relatives have not been deluded as we have. According to Andreas Weber, “Animism, the cosmology of indigenous peoples, is the most radical form to think and to enact reciprocity among beings—human and non-human persons. Animistic thinking perceives subjectivity and matter not as exclusive and contradictory, but as co-present. Therefore, indigenous thought takes the world—humans, plants, animals, rivers, rocks, rain, and spirits—as a society of “persons”, which are in a constant becoming-together.” Ruth Łchav’aya K’isen Miller, the Climate Justice Director for Native Movement—a matriarchal grassroots Indigenous organization that fights for the rights and lands of Indigenous peoples— explains that the worldview of reciprocity is essentially “a worldview of responsibility for one another, and fundamental community”. If so, then Indigenous tradition and animism (and in fact, animism is not exclusive to Indigenous thought—it is a practice and worldview we all have roots in and that can be local to us all) are not the only places from which we can draw to learn and practice reciprocity. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/178ec3d1-53d5-4164-952a-759f92766a78/Separator.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/39d4feef-137d-48ea-b2db-4ab3b4217534/Reciprocity3.png Skywoman The importance of kinship in today’s fractured world Full article by Hannah Close ‘Re-enlivening relationship in fractured times’ for Emergence Magazine These times of unrest have been described as a ‘meaning crisis’, though it’s also apt to say we’re in a crisis of belonging. When you crack meaning open, you find belonging at its core. Where there is no belonging, meaning cannot germinate—the seed is without soil, without relation to its life-giving surroundings. To belong means to be irrevocably in relationship with your environment. To be in relationship means to be witness to aliveness and to have your aliveness witnessed. It is an affirmation of the essential porosity that keeps us alive, a process of becoming through reciprocity with the ‘other’. In the words of the Irish poet John O Donohue, ‘in order to be, we need to be with’. Inhabiting our relational nature with greater awareness can lead to profound liberation, deep belonging, life-affirming meaning, and a level of safety and security seemingly unknown to our neurotic individualist society. The call for connection is not a tree-hugging, romanticist fantasy—it is imperative to our continuation as a species. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f165a04b-1b5c-4a2a-a688-5a02739b7296/Reciprocity4.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1187fb95-3c42-4cf2-8961-96feaa8469b6/Reciprocity5.png Skywoman To come into kinship, you must submerge yourself in the river of reciprocity and allow yourself to flow, to be consciously moved by forces other than yourself. It is an act of letting go and, at the same time, taking decisive action towards more intentional relationships with both human and more-than-human beings. Kinship asks that we listen for the needs of others and, more importantly, respond, act. “We won’t save the world, our relationships will” —Hannah Close https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c45457ac-ed5b-4a6b-9c20-ab4ab8e6b64c/Reciprocity6.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/0ab75241-058a-4d57-b09c-3164c5597ce6/PracticesTitle.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/821dc519-a5ab-45fd-801d-1cd109a31a7a/Separator2.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/063f2b80-a1bc-42b8-8b4c-b943b82a5779/Sweetgrass.png Skywoman In the Potawatomi language, sweetgrass is called wiingaashk—the sweet-smelling hair of Mother Earth. In her book Braiding Sweetgrass, indigenous environmental scientist Robin Wall Kimmerer eloquently and beautifully uses the indigenous cultures’ sacred plant, sweetgrass, as a poetic metaphor to explain the origins of plant, animal, and human life on Mother Earth, their intertwined respectful and reciprocal relationships with each other. “Our stories say that of all the plants, wiingaashk, or sweetgrass, was the very first to grow on the earth. Accordingly, it’s honored as one of the four sacred plants of my people. Breathe in its scent and you start to remember things you didn’t know you’d forgotten. Our elders say that ceremonies are the way we ‘remember to remember,’ and so sweetgrass is a powerful ceremonial plant cherished by many indigenous nations. It’s also used to make beautiful baskets. Both medicine and a relative, its value is both material and spiritual. There’s such tenderness in braiding the hair of someone you love. Kindness and something more flow between the braider and the braided, the two connected by the cord of the plait. Wiingaashk waves in strands, long and shining like a woman’s freshly washed hair. And so we say it’s the flowing hair of Mother Earth. When we braid sweetgrass, we are braiding the hair of Mother Earth, showing her our loving attention, our care for her beauty and well-being, in gratitude for all she has given us.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/0485aa22-05ae-4add-b4de-8c2ea5e92cb2/Separator.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/4df71da9-7642-4599-8c1c-0d0051d067bc/EarthMeditation.png Skywoman Ground and center. Take a deep breath. Feel your bones, your skeleton, the solidity of your body. Be aware of your flesh, of all that can be touched and felt. Feel the pull of gravity, your own weight, your attraction to the earth that is the body of the Goddess. You are a natural feature, a moving mountain. Merge with all that comes from the Earth: grass, trees, grains, fruit, flowers, animals, metals, precious stones. Return to dust, to compost, to mud. Meditation from The Spiral Dance, by Starhawk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8bff0aaa-898f-48fa-bb82-7ec9716532c6/Separator.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/62e66939-3195-4d55-bdc5-b3be454b97fc/Humility.png Skywoman “Whales and redwoods both make us feel small and I think that's an important experience for humans to have at the hands of nature,” says Roger Payne in Jonathan White’s Talking on the Water. He continues: “We need to recognize that we are not the stars of the show. We're just another pretty face, just one species among millions more.” Purposefully seek out some places of grandeur in the natural world. Acknowledge your smallness in the vast scheme of things. Philosophers describe this experience as the sublime. In The Art of Travel, Alain de Botton writes: “The sublime is a feeling provoked by certain kinds of landscape that are very large, very impressive and dangerous. Places like the wide-open oceans, the high mountains, the polar caps. The Sinai Desert, the Grand Canyon. These places do all sorts of things to us. Around the end of the 18th century, philosophers started saying that the feeling these places provoke in us is a recognizable one and universal one—and a good one. It was described as the feeling of the sublime. What lies at the center of the experience of the sublime is a feeling of smallness. You are very small and something else is very big and dangerous. You are very vulnerable in the face of something else. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/c6327609-88fb-443d-aee8-f49b4a477762/Separator.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/30432fe8-ac69-41f4-921d-80cc709cf866/Garden.png Skywoman “People often ask me what one thing I would recommend to restore relationship between land and people. My answer is almost always, “Plant a garden.” It’s good for the health of the earth and it’s good for the health of people. A garden is a nursery for nurturing connection, the soil for cultivation of practical reverence. And its power goes far beyond the garden gate—once you develop a relationship with a little patch of earth, it becomes a seed itself. Something essential happens in a vegetable garden. It’s a place where if you can’t say “I love you” out loud, you can say it in seeds. And the land will reciprocate, in beans.” Kimmerer says: “I made my daughters learn to garden—so they would always have a mother to love them, long after I am gone.” Practice by Robin Wall Kimmerer in Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/a52b3f0e-ca7d-4a94-be01-2d97f8bd3dd3/Separator.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/4a4e8588-b157-4387-b73c-b8f2db95887c/NatureStories.png Skywoman “Go to the oak tree and ask for its story. Go to the river and ask for its story. Go to the goldenrod and ask without saying anything. Ask with your nose, your belly, your eyes. The answer won’t always be words. Won’t always be sound. Sometimes it will be a feeling in your body. Sometimes it will be a smell. Stories don’t belong to human beings. But human beings belong to stories. Let’s enter back into the complex, tangled work of letting go of authorship and letting ourselves be told.” by Sophie Strand, from her essay ‘Myco Eco Mytho Storytelling’ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/9b758024-b896-42c4-9104-cd87b363c9f7/Separator.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/43be87ea-704c-40dc-bde0-1b9d7a64f186/Council.png Skywoman Start your day by summoning and acknowledging all the beings—humans, animals and plants—who live in close proximity to you. Author Sophie Strand explains: “By the time I’m done summoning and sending thanks to every being I know in a twenty-mile radius of my home, I’m surrounded by a world of witnesses. The day begins within a more-than-human community. And my decisions henceforth—practical, creative, and spiritual—will be made with the knowledge that I exist in relationship. Everything I do is ecological. When I used the word ecological, I root back to the original etymology: Greek oikos for household. I am not a noun on an empty page. I do nothing alone. I am a syntactical being, strung together by my metabolism and needs and desires, to thousands of other beings. Together we are all a household, and every choice we make, mundane or explosive, takes place within the networked household of relationships. How best may I act? How may I act knowing you are watching tenderly and attentively? What stories do I need to notice? What stories want to be told? Who needs my help today? And whose help can I receive? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/929ec5a2-b2fe-4f7d-8680-d8e91b616bcd/Separator.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8e4ff82d-c796-40e9-a352-03f7a7fc9ad4/FullMoon-Meditation.png Skywoman Ground and center, and visualize a round full moon. She is the mother, the power of fruition and of all aspects of creativity. She nourishes what the New Moon has begun. See her open arms, her full breasts, her womb burgeoning with life. Feel your own power to nurture, to give, to make manifest what is possible. She is the sensual woman; her pleasure in union is the moving force that sustains all life. Feel the power and generative life-force in your own pleasure. Feel the nurturing, unconditionally loving, all-encompassing, all-allowing mother in you. Meditation from The Spiral Dance, by Starhawk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/30b64a39-c575-4f3d-8fff-5cf490008387/Separator.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/d84902dd-1fff-49d6-be32-ba1641b2100b/AirMeditation.png Skywoman Ground and center. Breathe deep and be conscious of the air as it flows in and out of your lungs. Feel it as the breath of the Goddess, and take in the life force, the inspiration of the universe. Let your own breath merge with the winds, the clouds, the great currents that sweep over land and ocean with the turning of the Earth. Meditation from The Spiral Dance, by Starhawk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/bf3ef700-c505-4e40-8f70-692cea0b5248/Separator.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/402d254b-c1b9-4a0d-a952-36bade745bb3/Water-Meditation.png Skywoman Ground and center. Take a deep breath. Feel the blood flowing through the rivers of your veins, the liquid tides within each cell of your body. You are fluid, one drop congealed out of the primal ocean that is the womb of the Great Mother. Find the calm pools of tranquility within you, the rivers of feeling, the tides of power. Sink deep into the well of the inner mind, below consciousness. Meditation from The Spiral Dance, by Starhawk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8c9a15ee-cfc3-46ae-bb92-6b046db3c810/GoDeeper.png Skywoman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.onusamothership.com/shakti daily 0.75 2024-03-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1646188528231-RXUDSXXJJGBOC83EYR2L/Cover4.jpg Shakti https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1648344410240-AV1G4DBR1MP0XWEY15ER/Cover7.jpg Shakti https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1648344436815-452LV9BAJPK30IK9DW9P/Cover1.jpg Shakti https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1648344489700-LPWQQ9S80JFI3Z90DCEJ/Cover2.jpg Shakti https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1648344545173-K5E9Z02G2HX0FV5O2RW7/Cover3.jpg Shakti https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1648344778857-WZ1TMVP9OYTYODXFZUV7/Cover4.jpg Shakti https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1648344820233-T7Z3F2DFHMCWN5TZY2AH/Cover5.jpg Shakti https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1648344883199-AI8SR9O2OFCQS9X5JIB6/Cover6.jpg Shakti https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1648345309570-I28ODZHDVNXOVVSOMW42/Cover9.jpg Shakti https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1648345940812-7FDUZDVNGASJBUP9166T/Cover10.jpg Shakti https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1648346209978-PMZIYTK3DXBSA7KBB1X6/Cover11.jpg Shakti https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1648346602742-QPJBBIBVAZFZ6WJ4WMNE/Cover12.jpg Shakti https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1648347552848-8CLFVSCL0CXJ7HTQXIFU/Cover13.jpg Shakti https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1648348469249-V0GD5DPYVZFZ99VKYMZ6/Cover14.jpg Shakti https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1648348589386-Z78GR03KM5Z598UNQ43I/Cover15.jpg Shakti https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1648348759525-NKJFONVG3DJK865VQRZ3/Cover16.jpg Shakti https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1648348830771-RLG8U5I9EHOMDO4U5Q2G/Cover8.jpg Shakti https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1650296689785-MDE9KYZ2XYRHAUR8MQ09/Cover17.jpg Shakti https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1650297195491-24Q7UHF2Z29EBKLN7B8F/Cover18.jpg Shakti https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/b1d37c43-09a1-400a-8878-699aed15efae/Shakti-Cover2.png Shakti https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/30b5f832-a0d6-40e1-8525-0efeb8089a91/Shakti1.png Shakti In Hinduism, especially Shaktism (a theological tradition of Hinduism), Shakti is the primordial cosmic energy, and represents the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the universe. This energy is thought of as creative, sustaining, as well as destructive, and is sometimes referred to as auspicious source energy. The word “Shakti” means energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability, and comes from the Sanskrit word shak—“to be able”. Shakti is personified as the Creatrix, Divine Mother or Goddess, and is known as Adi Shakti, Adi Para Shakti (i.e., Primordial Inconceivable Energy), as well as Devi or Mahadevi (lit., “the Goddess”). Shakti is associated with the feminine principle, and embodies the dynamic, creative and proactive principles of feminine power. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/e3710336-4fd5-459d-a5ac-6388a3443908/Separator2.png Shakti - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/2af8cfc1-94b3-4ee5-a1b7-6ef91f063e74/Separator2.png Shakti - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/9653fd29-f9a9-4097-9c5d-172f782375e2/Shakti2.png Shakti Shakti also refers to the manifestations of this energy, namely goddesses. Shaktism includes many goddesses, all considered aspects, personalities or incarnations of the same supreme goddess. The most common aspects of Shakti include Durga, Kali, Saraswati, Lakshmi, Parvati and Tripurasundari (or Lalita). Some goddesses embody the destructive aspects of Shakti, such as death, degeneration, and illness, while other goddesses embody the creative and auspicious powers of Shakti, such as nature, the elements, music, art, dance, and prosperity. Shakti may be personified as the gentle and benevolent Uma, consort of Shiva, or Kali, the terrifying force destroying evil, or Durga, the warrior who conquers forces that threaten the stability of the universe. The Shakti goddess is also known as Amma in South India, where most of the villages have several temples devoted to various incarnations of Shakti. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/82622567-7111-40be-814a-38e360ad8158/Shakti2-2.png Shakti - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/15438719-fa09-4485-bc2e-20b4c80f438c/Separator2.png Shakti - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/11e506ba-4496-4168-a1c5-be93eedfa503/Shakti3.png Shakti The Hindu tradition also considers women the vessels of Shakti. This identification with Shakti acknowledges women as the vessels of both creative and destructive power. The sacred Tantra text Shaktisangama Tantra states: “Woman is the creator of the universe, the universe is her form; woman is the foundation of the world, she is the true form of the body. In woman is the form of all things, of all that lives and moves in the world. There is no jewel rarer than woman, no condition superior to that of a woman.” In the details of its philosophy and practice, Shaktism resembles Shaivism—another major Hindu tradition focused on the worship of Shiva, one of the main masculine deities of Hinduism. However, Shaktas (practitioners of Shaktism), focus most or all worship on Shakti, as the dynamic feminine aspect of the Supreme Divine. Shiva, the masculine aspect of divinity, is considered solely transcendent, and Shiva’s worship is usually secondary. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f01e9181-3090-45ca-8b39-edcb43759a45/ShivaShakti-Title.png Shakti - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/75a984c8-8702-48a3-9b3d-cb036b865cdc/ShivaShakti-Quote1.png Shakti - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/19a8df01-7fa2-4441-b6b6-0fe9c415bb56/ShivaShakti1.png Shakti In the Tantric cosmology, the whole universe is perceived as being created, penetrated and sustained by two fundamental forces, which are permanently in a perfect, indestructible union. These forces or universal aspects are called Shiva and Shakti. They are the mirror images of each other. From a metaphysical point of view, the divine couple Shiva-Shakti corresponds to two essential aspects of the One: they are the masculine and feminine energies that are present in each and every individual and the cosmos as a whole. If Shakti is the feminine principle representing life force and energy, Shiva is the masculine principle representing consciousness and awareness, personified by the masculine deity Shiva. Shiva represents the constitutive elements of the universe, while Shakti is the dynamic potency, which makes these elements come to life and act. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/894ab687-e133-4b38-824e-dc2fc4ae0a93/ShivaShakti2.png Shakti In Tantric thought and eastern philosophical traditions, the feminine and masculine are not seen as gendered physical entities but as the two polarities of absolute consciousness, the pure creativity and love that’s at the heart of everything. Shakti stands for the immanent aspect of the Divine, that is active participation in the act of creation. This Tantric view of the Feminine in creation contributed to the orientation of the human being towards the active principles of the universe, rather than towards those of pure transcendence. Shakti is associated with matter, nature, immersion, receiving, life force, energy, chaos, form, the body, cyclicality, interconnectivity, presence, liminality and impermanence. By contrast, Shiva defines the traits specific to pure transcendence, witness consciousness, formlessness, structure, stability, order, focus, linearity, detachment, the mind, and stillness. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/9c8fb206-7d3f-46e3-9207-c94a08fb75bb/ShivaShakti-Quote2.png Shakti - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f4064022-3c57-478a-8632-61c55e395698/ShivaShakti3.png Shakti - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/ba839c84-e275-448d-891f-7bea51c796e4/Kundalini.png Shakti One of the most significant aspects of Shakti as a primordial cosmic energy is Kundalini Shakti. The Sanskrit term “Kundali Shakti” translates to “Serpent Power”. The word kundalini is derived from the Sanskrit word kundal, meaning “coiled up.” In Tantra Yoga, kundalini is an aspect of Shakti. It is a power associated with the divine feminine or the formless aspect of the Goddess. Kundalini is thought to be an energy released within an individual using specific meditation techniques. It is generally defined as an essential potentiality of our being which, when cultivated and awakened through tantric practice, is believed to lead to spiritual liberation. It is represented symbolically as a serpent coiled at the base of the spine, around the muladhara chakra. There are many references to the power, grace, and importance of kundalini in the traditional texts of yoga. In the Gheranda Samhita, kundalini is likened to a serpent lying coiled in muladhara chakra: “In the muladhara is kundalini, having the form of serpent.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/4ddd5c07-f5a7-48b7-8bca-e6e0694b6953/Kundalini2.png Shakti Kundalini Shakti is the Universal Sacred Power, even though it is connected with the finite body-mind. Kundalini is sometimes misinterpreted as mean­ing mere “force.” But, as Sir John Woodroffe noted, Shakti is “Power,” and as such, is ananda (Bliss), chit (Pure Awareness), and prema (Love). Kundalini Shakti is the very en­ergy of consciousness, which, when aroused, brings higher states of awareness, including samadhi—blissful, meditative consciousness. The term Kundalini, along with practices associated with it, was adopted into Hatha Yoga in the 9th century. It has since then been adopted into other forms of Hinduism as well as modern spirituality and New age thought. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/4d1c8070-836d-4e92-b1f8-0f3b5d66ab1f/Manifestations-Title.png Shakti - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/58fd3118-cda4-435c-8117-52cffc31ed26/Manifestation1.png Shakti - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/0c8b5abc-d363-4ec2-ae49-fb2a3ecc9d52/Manifestation2.png Shakti - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/147f358c-1b8a-4f84-9b56-2695085e2a92/Manifestation3.png Shakti - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/829125a7-b139-4312-ad43-0088c6a4aca2/Manifestation4.png Shakti - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/5d656709-44c2-43ea-935a-46b878143b92/Manifestation5.png Shakti - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/2ff05e9e-7539-44fb-95ec-f4ce9f8e0717/PracticesTitle.png Shakti - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/ecf6e1d4-5dde-49d1-a11b-bce807004e7f/Separator2.png Shakti - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/b3b14909-5b89-4c07-b1e0-9b3a0825ca9d/ShaktiBreath.png Shakti Shakti is power in all forms; she is the energy or active power of the divine. She is the power of generation and creativity, the power of words, the energy of mantras, and the creative power of imagination. Shakti is the life-force expressing herself as the flow of energy through the body. Shakti is Mother Nature. Meditate on Shakti as the dynamic breath of life within you. In the middle of the motion of breathing, delight in the splendor of life. Attend to breath as play, enjoy the rushing motion toward the end of the exhalation and inhalation, and savor the tiny movements as the flow reverses from one to the other. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/23cebbc4-00c1-4ba3-9787-1b9fe1b37a63/Separator.png Shakti - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/83b0c942-dcd9-4006-85c2-3b4daeabf2e2/AllofYou.png Shakti - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/06f1f28a-00bf-42e7-879c-22ebd8150440/Separator2.png Shakti - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/40e06778-1929-4665-9d69-d9d31c603e90/Separator.png Shakti - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8e32acd1-5250-4ee4-83d6-bebd8119bb6f/Humility.png Shakti “Whales and redwoods both make us feel small and I think that's an important experience for humans to have at the hands of nature," says Roger Payne in Jonathan White’s Talking on the Water. He continues: “We need to recognize that we are not the stars of the show. We’re just another pretty face, just one species among millions more.” Purposefully seek out some places of grandeur in the natural world. Acknowledge your smallness in the vast scheme of things. Philosophers describe this experience as the sublime. In The Art of Travel, Alain de Botton writes: “The sublime is a feeling provoked by certain kinds of landscape that are very large, very impressive and dangerous. Places like the wide-open oceans, the high mountains, the polar caps. The Sinai Desert, the Grand Canyon. These places do all sorts of things to us. Around the end of the 18th century, philosophers started saying that the feeling these places provoke in us is a recognizable one and universal one—and a good one. It was described as the feeling of the sublime. What lies at the center of the experience of the sublime is a feeling of smallness. You are very small and something else is very big and dangerous. You are very vulnerable in the face of something else. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/7eba6c5e-8fc4-445c-a721-35169a766ae8/Separator.png Shakti - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/0234188c-a04a-4096-b89d-7fdbc4b93c6f/FullMoon-Meditation.png Shakti Ground and center, and visualize a round full moon. She is the mother, the power of fruition and of all aspects of creativity. She nourishes what the New Moon has begun. See her open arms, her full breasts, her womb burgeoning with life. Feel your own power to nurture, to give, to make manifest what is possible. She is the sensual woman; her pleasure in union is the moving force that sustains all life. Feel the power and generative life-force in your own pleasure. Feel the nurturing, unconditionally loving, all-encompassing, all-allowing mother in you. Meditation from The Spiral Dance, by Starhawk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/56e79c7d-0e7c-4760-a37c-3c8346547599/Separator.png Shakti - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/caad0e49-6836-4654-87b7-b1c5a63d6867/Water-Meditation.png Shakti Ground and center. Take a deep breath. Feel the blood flowing through the rivers of your veins, the liquid tides within each cell of your body. You are fluid, one drop congealed out of the primal ocean that is the womb of the Great Mother. Find the calm pools of tranquility within you, the rivers of feeling, the tides of power. Sink deep into the well of the inner mind, below consciousness. Meditation from The Spiral Dance, by Starhawk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/b7a4864c-a614-4afa-94e2-ccfff4e787de/Separator.png Shakti - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/3212bf6e-d44c-4b5a-89d2-3f4c85c812b8/Fire-Meditation.png Shakti Ground and center. Take a deep breath. Be conscious of the electric spark within each nerve as pulses jump from synapse to synapse. Be aware of the combustion within each cell, as energy releases and moves throughout your body. Let your own fire become one with candle flame, bonfire, hearth fire, lightning, starlight and sunlight, one with the bright spirit of the Goddess. Fire teaches us that power results from combining and integrating, rather than fighting and dominating. Remember, there is ease and grace in true power. And you are powerful beyond measure. Meditation from The Spiral Dance, by Starhawk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/476363de-84b1-454c-975d-784577e70433/Separator.png Shakti - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/105b1b7a-c2ab-4007-aed5-73ac4da4562e/Seaweed.png Shakti While seated, move your body as if you're seaweed flowing in the ocean. Fluid but rooted. Watch the surface of your body from the inside. See how the inner surface changes as you move. Repeat as needed to connect to your inner-witness, inner-shapeshifter and your innate fluidity. Practice by Che Che Luna https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633797127218-BJ5EZNCE4N2T0JLSVAPS/GoDeeper.png Shakti - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.onusamothership.com/isis daily 0.75 2024-03-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1650382313293-5D5NHSQK2AMDCYYLNM54/Cover1.jpg Isis https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1650382475842-9V91XE61M48M6JWL33X5/Cover2.jpg Isis https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1650382670813-5N59L0CIARPWH4OXI4KI/Cover3.jpg Isis https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1650382761957-J5UFLNS5KQ9TWRH1SLB5/Cover4.jpg Isis https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1650383000397-UIF2OJ30WEQJXLB6LURH/Cover5.jpg Isis https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1650383112411-SGO9YQVAXDZAAIMPR288/Cover2.jpg Isis https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1650383206418-7V4RZ4FOP46U0WHZL2LI/Cover3.jpg Isis https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1650383323874-K325AMACMW3ICYDHN12C/Cover4.jpg Isis https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1650383462017-UC07XVYT3G3GVVMBXZ4N/Cover5.jpg Isis https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1650383571990-XLVR5K8I4PDO0KPMBB1Z/Cover9.jpg Isis https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1650383673760-17I8KQCYQN0FOJLPIAEG/Cover10.jpg Isis https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1650386488479-IND4Z4FA6FHMSH4M8R8R/Cover6.jpg Isis https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1650386827331-ZA1S89O0RD1VNTWJ61CY/Cover7.jpg Isis https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1650387300718-SUSWKUF8LHU49Y9N39ER/Cover8.jpg Isis https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1650387561355-G56WNHDECBDJN05UR3M7/Cover9.jpg Isis https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1650473246055-G0OOZZ75VXXZ3YF8ERSI/Cover10.jpg Isis https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1652194517146-XZ12FYAWF3R990QWCOHF/Cover11.jpg Isis https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1652194787532-C0FKF6T0F60XSHUALLLD/Cover12.jpg Isis https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1652194987428-FE3OYR0VS55KBTCC3SOR/Cover13.jpg Isis https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/bef0c3b4-8f3f-466b-a75a-205d6c71510e/About.png Isis Origin: Ancient Egypt. Role: Mother Goddess, inventor of agriculture, inventor of literature, great healer and physician, great magician, the one who first established the laws of justice in the land, protector of women. Commonly associated with: fertility, motherhood, magic, healing, marriage and childbirth, death and rebirth, the moon. Other names: Great Mother Isis, Aset or Eset (Ancient Egyptian name), Queen of the Throne, Goddess of Ten Thousand Names, Mistress of Magic. Name meaning: Comes from the Egyptian word, Aset or Eset, which means, “seat,” referring to her stability and the throne of Egypt. Portrayal: selfless, giving, mother, wife, protectress, magician, healer. Symbols: moon disk, cow horns, wings, the kite hawk, sycamore trees, scorpions, bird, sow, the Ankh—the modified cross that represented life, the Star Sept which indicated the coming of a new year as well as the flooding of the Nile. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/e0a8daea-a2e6-4dc7-9977-2f5c4d368a10/Story1.png Isis Isis is a major mother-goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. She is the winged goddess of fertility, motherhood, magic, healing, marriage and childbirth, death and rebirth, and the moon. Isis was revered as the inventor of agriculture and literature, as a great healer and physician, and as the one who first established the laws of justice in the land. Like many ancient goddesses, Isis was revered as wise counselor and prophetess. She was invoked as a sage dispenser of righteous wisdom, counsel and justice. Isis had many of the same attributes of other mother-goddesses found all over the world. She was revered as the great protector, prayed to for guidance, and beseeched for peace in the world. Isis is known today by her Greek name; however, the ancient Egyptians called her Aset or Iset. Her name translates to “She of the Throne”, referring to her stability and royalty, and reflected in her headdress, which is typically a throne. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/4fde6150-5063-4f2c-8571-2420c76aeef0/Story2.png Isis Isis was also the daughter of the earth God Geb, and the sky goddess, Nut. She was the sister of the Gods Set and Nephthys, the wife-sister of the God Osiris (the ruler of the underworld) and the mother of Horus (protector of the Pharaoh). In earlier times she was not only the wife of Osiris, but his female counterpart, equal in all ways and powers. In the Legend of Osiris, it is she who travels the world to find all the pieces of his body and it is she who brings him back to life with the aid of Thoth, the Egyptian god of writing, magic, wisdom, sacred texts, mathematics, the sciences, knowledge and literature. But that is not the only time she is associated with Thoth. Together, it is said that they taught humans the secrets of magic, medicine, and agriculture. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/28e76149-8233-4c46-a1f8-a96a6dfa3df9/Quote2.png Isis - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/15438719-fa09-4485-bc2e-20b4c80f438c/Separator2.png Isis - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/98ed0f2f-5a6f-4138-93a8-987d92cfcc9c/Story3.png Isis Isis was usually represented as a woman donning a long sheath dress and an empty throne as her headdress. The empty headdress represented the death of her husband and her role as the seat of the power of the pharaoh. In some scenes, she is seen as a woman with a headdress of a solar disc and cow’s horns. She is sometimes also depicted with the vulture headdress of the goddess Mut. In some rare scenes, she is a woman with the head of a cow. Isis is often represented holding the ankh, the Egyptian cross which represented life. She is also represented as the goddess of the wind, with outstretched wings. She is also often represented holding or nursing her son Horus. In the heavens, her symbol is the star Sept (Sirius), a star whose appearance symbolized the coming of a new year and the flooding of the Nile for fertility. The scared animals of Isis are the cows, snakes, and scorpions. She is also the patron of hawks, swallows, doves, and vultures. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/392df1f6-6e76-48ca-85b5-711416318f11/Story4.png Isis In some stories and inscriptions, Isis is depicted as a homeless woman, an old woman, a wife searching for and mourning her lost husband, a mother mourning a missing child, a woman fighting for her family—all of these stories identified her with the common people of Egypt and their darkest moments. Because of this, Isis became the goddess of all the people of Egypt, male and female, royal and common alike. Isis and her priestesses carried a musical instrument called the Sistrum. Legendarily, the Sistrum contained the four elements of the universe: earth, air, fire, and water. Each is the opposite of the other, and they are all resolved into harmony within the body of the Sistrum. Nature was said to be released by the movements of Isis, vibrated into music and vision. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8da24d9e-6730-43ec-9777-8e8a3274431c/Story5.png Isis Isis was initially an obscure goddess who lacked her own dedicated temples, but she grew in importance as the dynastic age progressed, until she became one of the most important deities of ancient Egypt. In the first millennium BCE, Osiris and Isis became the most widely worshipped of Egyptian deities, and Isis absorbed traits from many other goddesses. Rulers in Egypt and its neighbor to the south, Nubia, began to build temples dedicated primarily to Isis, and her temple at Philae was a religious center for Egyptians and Nubians alike. The cult of Isis subsequently spread throughout the Roman Empire, and Isis was worshipped from England to Afghanistan. Her cult became the most important mystery religion of Rome itself, and Isis with the Horus-child is reflected in the Roman Catholic worship of the Madonna and Child. Her worship knew no ethnic boundary. Isis’s reputed magical power was greater than that of all other gods, and she was said to protect the kingdom from its enemies, govern the skies and the natural world, and have power over fate itself. She is still revered by pagans today. As mourner, she was a principal deity in rites connected with the dead; as magical healer, she cured the sick and brought the deceased to life; and as mother, she was a role model for all women. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/fd80060c-9fe8-4b9b-89c2-992de198bf99/OsirisTitle.png Isis - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/193d5888-af38-4e99-8939-f1bb9c6e0407/Osiris1.png Isis One of the most notable stories of Isis is the Legend or Myth of Osiris and Isis, in which the goddess rescued her husband’s lifeless body and, through her magical powers, managed to revive him and conceive their child, Horus. From Geb, the sky god, and Nut, the earth goddess came four children: Osiris, Isis, Set and Nephthys. Osiris was the oldest and so became king of Egypt, and he married his sister Isis. Osiris was a good king and commanded the respect of all who lived on the earth and the gods who dwelled in the netherworld. However, Set was always jealous of Osiris, because he did not command the same respect. One day, Set transformed himself into a vicious monster and killed Osiris, then cut him into pieces and distributed them throughout the length and breadth of Egypt. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8cb21426-ea5b-48c0-ba2a-3ff067b8b0a4/Osiris2.png Isis Isis, who had great magical powers, decided to find her husband and bring him back to life. She transformed into a hawk, and together with her sister Nephthys, flew over Egypt, collecting the pieces of her husband’s body and reassembling them. Once she completed this task, she breathed the breath of life into his body and resurrected him. They were together again, and Isis became pregnant soon after. Osiris was able to descend into the underworld, where he became the lord of that domain. Upon learning of her pregnancy, Isis ran to the marshes of the Nile delta to hide from her brother Seth, as she was afraid that her son might suffer the same fate. She gave birth to a divine child, the hawk-god Horus, and there she raised him, protected by seven guardian scorpions and the scorpion goddess Selket, until he was old enough to avenge his father. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/5fe32cf7-c791-49f8-86d9-f94eccfa9c48/Osiris3.png Isis - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/25707121-51cc-45d5-9fc6-982516a93fe4/Osiris4.png Isis The story of Osiris’s revival was particularly inspirational to lower class individuals, not just in Egypt, but in Pompeii, as it gave them hope that there is life after death. In Ancient Egyptian art, Isis and Nephthys are often depicted together, particularly when mourning Osiris’s death, supporting him on his throne, or protecting the sarcophagi of the dead. In these situations their arms are often flung across their faces, in a gesture of mourning, or outstretched around Osiris or the deceased as a sign of their protective role. As sister of Isis and Osiris, Nephthys is a protective goddess who symbolizes the death experience, just as Isis represented the birth experience. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/79f64be1-c285-4892-9072-2a45fa25513c/Osiris5.png Isis - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/844a47e2-cdd1-402d-8ab1-b916de58ad0b/Mother1.png Isis Isis is the embodiment of the Mother archetype, as she is portrayed as selfless, a healer, a protector and nurturer. She represents the maternal spirit in its purest form. She was worshipped as the divine life-giver, and honored as the mother of one of the most powerful gods, Horus. She was known as the “Mother of the Gods”, and was said to be the mother of all the pharaohs and entire Egypt. Her maternal aid was invoked in healing spells to benefit ordinary people. One of her main roles was to protect fertility, women, procreation and childhood. Isis became known as a healer and magician after bringing her husband back to life, and a protector due to her ability to keep her son Horus safe, and helping him to eventually assume the throne of Egypt. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/a4366673-4101-432e-bada-907a6f01c2fe/Mother2.png Isis Egyptologist Wallis Budge explained: “Isis was the great and beneficent goddess and mother, whose influence and love pervaded all Heaven and Earth, and the abode of the dead, and she was the personification of the great female, creative power which conceived, and brought forth every living creature and thing, from the gods in Heaven, to man on earth". Isis is often portrayed seated on a throne, holding her son Horus on her knees, cradling him with her left arm, and providing him with her breast with her right hand. Scenes featuring the breast-feeding a young god or pharaoh have appeared since ancient times as the milk is considered a symbol of eternal regeneration. The symbolic image of divine milk as the spiritual nourishment carried over to early Christian iconography of the Middle Ages with the Virgin nursing the Child. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/5006af0a-7771-42db-bbb9-5ab4036a0bf1/Mother3.png Isis The Greek historian Herodotus emphasized the fact that Isis could be identified with Demeter, the Greek goddess of agriculture, fertility and motherhood, and that the rituals of Demeter had been brought to Greece from Egypt. The ancient Greek historian Diodorus even stated that the Egyptians themselves understood Isis and Demeter as one and the same. It is believed that the annual inundation of the Nile was in fact the tears of Isis which came out because of her husband’s death, and was preceded by the appearance of the star Sept (Sirius) in the sky. This legend is known even today as the yearly celebration of “The Night of the Drop”. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/f86a4bbe-10ba-4ec3-9cff-8a8597f32d77/FountainofIsis.png Isis - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/b089f522-01cf-45cf-a101-495c3b1f681f/Mysteries1.png Isis The mysteries of Isis were religious initiation rites performed in the cult of the goddess Isis in the Greco-Roman world. They were closely connected to other mystery rites, particularly the Eleusinian mysteries in honor of the Greek goddesses Demeter and Persephone, and originated sometime between the third century B.C. and the second century C.E. Mystery cults were voluntary, secret initiation rituals. They were dedicated to a particular deity or group of deities, and used a variety of intense experiences, such as nocturnal darkness interrupted by bright light, loud music or noise, fasting, pilgrimages, and the ingestion of psychoactive substances, that induced a state of disorientation and an intense religious experience. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/608f1810-a975-4538-a899-fb9e17e6ab9c/Mysteries2.png Isis As in many mystery cults of the Greco-Roman world, the Isaic mysteries involved the ritualistic reenactment of myths and stories related to Isis. During a four-day festival dedicated to Isis, devotees of the goddess would engage in a passion play that reenacted the death of Osiris and the magic of Isis returning him to life. During the first day, actors would impersonate Isis and her son Horus as well as various other gods as they searched across the world for the fourteen body parts of Osiris. The second and third days reenacted the reassembly and rebirth of Osiris and the fourth day was a wild rejoicing over the success of Isis and the coming of the newly immortal Osiris. The belief is that through worship of Isis and strong devotion, she will return you to life as well should you die and you shall experience eternal happiness under her nurturing care, just as Osiris was re-enlivened. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/22c18d52-adc1-4f27-9e47-d905ee4b9710/Mysteries3.png Isis - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/cacef9dd-f2d5-460a-8883-60e778867c19/Mysteries4.png Isis The mysteries of Isis, like those of other gods, continued to be performed into the late fourth century CE. Toward the end of the century, Christian emperors increasingly restricted the practice of non-Christian religions. Mystery cults died out near the start of the fifth century. They existed alongside Christianity for centuries before their extinction, and some elements of their initiations resembled Christian beliefs and practices. As a result, the possibility has often been raised that Christianity was directly influenced by the mystery cults. Some scholars argue that Christian rituals such as baptism, fasting, and communion could have been influenced by the Isaic mysteries. While the worship of Osiris and most Egyptian deities died out in the fifth century AD, Isis continues to be revered as a mother goddess. In 1976, Irishwoman Olivia Robertson founded the Fellowship of Isis. The organization respects other religious beliefs of its members but promotes love, beauty, and abundance, all qualities associated with the ancient Isis. The group has thousands of followers worldwide. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/43b5a8ed-149a-4154-9c5c-cab59ad74ab2/MysteryTitle.png Isis - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/e2a57f2c-5828-4f88-84fc-4da04412e201/Mystery2.png Isis https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/bb2a11f2-6b60-4cf7-9e13-031d7ab53a7d/Mystery1.png Isis - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/2ff05e9e-7539-44fb-95ec-f4ce9f8e0717/PracticesTitle.png Isis - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/ecf6e1d4-5dde-49d1-a11b-bce807004e7f/Separator2.png Isis - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/56942c72-71c9-41ef-8824-c108105b143a/Resonating.png Isis This is a Spanda practice to get you in touch with the core underlying spark of aliveness pulsing inside of every cell in the universe. “Spanda is a Sanskrit word meaning “divine vibration”, pulse, scintillation, or throb. Spanda refers to the subtle creative pulse of the universe as it manifests into the dynamism of living form. This term is used to describe how Consciousness, at the subtlest level, moves in waves of contraction and expansion. Spanda is the core union of Shiva Shakti consciousness and energy that underlies the fabric of creation. Begin your practice by getting quiet inside, tuning into the core of your aliveness. Underneath your feelings, your thoughts, your sensations, there is this core place that is just pure life, living in you. Begin to hum and vibrate, sensing and feeling into this core vibration of aliveness. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/e3b9f05d-81bd-4d17-a2f5-ebdc5e9ffe12/Separator.png Isis - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/83b0c942-dcd9-4006-85c2-3b4daeabf2e2/AllofYou.png Isis - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/06f1f28a-00bf-42e7-879c-22ebd8150440/Separator2.png Isis - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/40e06778-1929-4665-9d69-d9d31c603e90/Separator.png Isis - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/8e32acd1-5250-4ee4-83d6-bebd8119bb6f/Humility.png Isis “Whales and redwoods both make us feel small and I think that's an important experience for humans to have at the hands of nature," says Roger Payne in Jonathan White’s Talking on the Water. He continues: “We need to recognize that we are not the stars of the show. We’re just another pretty face, just one species among millions more.” Purposefully seek out some places of grandeur in the natural world. Acknowledge your smallness in the vast scheme of things. Philosophers describe this experience as the sublime. In The Art of Travel, Alain de Botton writes: “The sublime is a feeling provoked by certain kinds of landscape that are very large, very impressive and dangerous. Places like the wide-open oceans, the high mountains, the polar caps. The Sinai Desert, the Grand Canyon. These places do all sorts of things to us. Around the end of the 18th century, philosophers started saying that the feeling these places provoke in us is a recognizable one and universal one—and a good one. It was described as the feeling of the sublime. What lies at the center of the experience of the sublime is a feeling of smallness. You are very small and something else is very big and dangerous. You are very vulnerable in the face of something else. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/7eba6c5e-8fc4-445c-a721-35169a766ae8/Separator.png Isis - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/0234188c-a04a-4096-b89d-7fdbc4b93c6f/FullMoon-Meditation.png Isis Ground and center, and visualize a round full moon. She is the mother, the power of fruition and of all aspects of creativity. She nourishes what the New Moon has begun. See her open arms, her full breasts, her womb burgeoning with life. Feel your own power to nurture, to give, to make manifest what is possible. She is the sensual woman; her pleasure in union is the moving force that sustains all life. Feel the power and generative life-force in your own pleasure. Feel the nurturing, unconditionally loving, all-encompassing, all-allowing mother in you. Meditation from The Spiral Dance, by Starhawk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/56e79c7d-0e7c-4760-a37c-3c8346547599/Separator.png Isis - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/caad0e49-6836-4654-87b7-b1c5a63d6867/Water-Meditation.png Isis Ground and center. Take a deep breath. Feel the blood flowing through the rivers of your veins, the liquid tides within each cell of your body. You are fluid, one drop congealed out of the primal ocean that is the womb of the Great Mother. Find the calm pools of tranquility within you, the rivers of feeling, the tides of power. Sink deep into the well of the inner mind, below consciousness. Meditation from The Spiral Dance, by Starhawk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/b7a4864c-a614-4afa-94e2-ccfff4e787de/Separator.png Isis - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/3212bf6e-d44c-4b5a-89d2-3f4c85c812b8/Fire-Meditation.png Isis Ground and center. Take a deep breath. Be conscious of the electric spark within each nerve as pulses jump from synapse to synapse. Be aware of the combustion within each cell, as energy releases and moves throughout your body. Let your own fire become one with candle flame, bonfire, hearth fire, lightning, starlight and sunlight, one with the bright spirit of the Goddess. Fire teaches us that power results from combining and integrating, rather than fighting and dominating. Remember, there is ease and grace in true power. And you are powerful beyond measure. Meditation from The Spiral Dance, by Starhawk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6134d872942fc363de9e78b4/1633797127218-BJ5EZNCE4N2T0JLSVAPS/GoDeeper.png Isis - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.onusamothership.com/contact daily 0.75 2025-05-09