SHE STILL FLIES

Two sets of documentaries produced by Jacques Cousteau have been released on DVD. Cousteau Odyssey and Explorations in the Pacific. They take their place with Attenborough’s Living Planet, Sagan’s Cosmos, and Bronowski’s Ascent of Man as the ultimate in reality TV. I admit I have to admire the ad folks skill in packaging programs that are basically staged and convincing us that it’s “real.” But, hey there are centuries of precedent to draw from. After all, the oral and written traditions that came out of the Middle East have been packaged and sold to convince us that they contain the only “truth” about anything and everything.

 

At least the Hindus understand that there is one Truth with many faces and you worship the representation of God/dess that you are closest to. This doesn’t mean that Hinduism got it all right. Just this one piece of the puzzle. There’s still enough prejudice and discrimination to go around. Mix radical Hindus and radical Muslims, both pushing each other’s buttons with demonic precision, and the results can be and often are explosive. I really don’t know where some the radical Creationists got the idea that the Adversary has time to fake geological evidence supporting an ancient Cosmos. He’s got too many other fish to fry. To many shoulders to sit on whispering “be afraid, stay afraid, you’ll be safer that way.”

 

I hauled out Joseph Campbell’s Mythos this weekend. One statement from the series has always stuck with me. That Yahweh’s biggest mistake was believing that he was God. Not the best understanding of one group of people had of one face of God but IT, the ULTIMATE, the only GOD. And we’ve been sold this bill of goods ever since to keep the existing power structure in place.

 

The radical message of love, respect and the Oneness with the true God/dess was co-opted, caged, and made to serve the powers of this world. When you realize the power structures in the world Jesus was born into you understand just how radical the message he brought was. In a world of patronage, slavery and oppression he dared to say that chains could be broken. That the Creator/ress what everywhere, in everything and everyone. That spirits could soar and sing. It wasn’t a question of whether the newest prophet of the truth behind all the masks would be silenced, but how and when. It didn’t take long the clip the spirit’s wings; mute the song and tuck it safely back in its cage.

 

Funny thing about cages though. The wings grow back, the door gets pried open and every so often the spirit slips out and takes wing. No matter how many fingers the little Dutch boys from the Vatican, Mecca, the various synods and other power groups keep sticking in their cracking dikes; she soars and sings.

 

(This got written on a very early break at work. Sometimes the words just have to come out. As if I’ll break into a million pieces if they don’t aren’t released. And it has to be done NOW. If I wait the ideas will still be there, but the words won’t be the same. Pale reflections. So I’ll just take a short lunch and do a little off the clock.) J And oddly enough this is not where I expected to end up when I started this little number. God/dess you and I are going to have a little talk about when you decide to move the fingers. These was supposed to be a paragraph of notes, not an essay.  But, then I guess my idea of time and Your idea of time is on a little different scale.

YOU WHO WOULD BE WISE

Ran across this poem in a book called EARTH MEDICINE. In Native American teaching the word medicine refers to wisdom. So wisdom from the earth.

LOOK TO THE EARTH

 

Look to the Earth

And to the Skies

The Sun, the Moon, and to the stars

You who would be wise.

For they contain the full measure of man

The height, the breadth, the depth, the span

Of his entirety.

 

Look to the Earth

And to the Skies

And watch them turn

Like pages of a holy book

But one untouched by human hand.

You who would be wise.

 

Look to Earth

And to the Skies

For in that which can be seen Without

Can true knowledge come

Of unseen mysteries that lie Within

To you who would be wise.

 

Look to the Earth

And to the Skies

Spring and Summer,

Winter and in the Fall.

Watch life begin, unfold, then fade and die

To rise anew

Time and again for Time Untold

You who would be wise.

 

Look to the Earth

and to the Skies

And in your looking, learn this mystery

That you who look to the Earth

And to the Skies

Shall be given eyes to see

Shall be given eyes

To make you wise

Eternally.

 

by Kenneth Meadows 

 

KINDLING THE FLAME

I'm reposting this. It's an updated version of the candle litany that I posted in Pixels. I'm just damn heart sick today.
We Kindle This Flame

We kindle this flame in honor of the Creator of Creation. We are grateful for the plenty that blesses us. In a world where many walk hand in hand with hunger we have abundance. In a world where too many walk in fear we can speak as our hearts lead us and show our faith freely. In a world where too many are alone, even in a crowd, we are rich in family and friends.

We kindle this flame in honor of the earth and the star that warms it. We kindle this flame in gratitude for the changing seasons, for the coolness of rain, for the shifting mists and warmth of sun. We kindle this flame to ask healing for our battered world. May we learn to use only what we need and to respect what we use. We kindle this flame in gratitude for the plants, animals, air and waters that sustain us. Their infinite variety is wondrous.

We kindle this flame in honor of all who share this little world with us. We kindle this flame in gratitude for our fellow travelers. We kindle this flame in gratitude for birdsong, the glory of infinite colors of flowers and trees, for the seas, the rivers, the rolling hills and the soaring peaks.

We kindle this flame to honor the infinite variety of our brothers and sisters. We kindle this flame to ask for healing for those who lash out in fear. We kindle this flame to ask for healing for those who lash out in anger. We kindle this flame to ask healing for those who lash out in ignorance. We kindle this flame to ask for healing for those who are ill in body or spirit. We kindle this flame to ask for healing for their caregivers, family and friends. We kindle this flame in honor of the river of faith. Help us to remember that many streams enter the river of faith that sustains us. Help us to remember that this river has many wells to refresh our thirsty spirits.

We kindle this flame in honor of our family and friends. We kindle this flame in gratitude for their love and support. We kindle this flame to ask for healing for any sickness or injury. We kindle this flame to ask that they may find the love and support to live the lives they were meant to. We kindle this flame in faith that we can return the love and support that has been so freely given to us.

RECASTING THIS JOURNAL

I think I'm going to recast, even retitle this journal, use it to record my
searchings and take it private, for now. I'd probably let Lisa know about
it. And some entries may end up in the public journal. I guess this will be
my "Book of Shadows" It needs a different name I think, because for now I'm
trying to work within the tradition I grew up with. After I've become more
familiar with some of the mystics and the works of Fox, Merton and the
others I'm reading now, we'll see. I'm either moving into the mystical
stream of the Christian tributary of the river of faith or I've always been
there and just didn't realize it.

There are things that I need to write down to get them straight in my mind
but I may not want to share that process until it makes sense, even to me.
It may be a place where I can take a topic, chew on it perhaps recast it so
I understand and then go on.

What I think I understand from the little I've read in Hedge Witch is this.
An honorable practitioner of the Craft may ask for a healing or that
enlightenment be bestowed but shouldn't phrase the request in such a way
that infringes on the autonomy of others. It may very well work this way in
Christianity or Judaism too. I may know of someone very ill and pray for
them. Perhaps the best outcome for that person is a physical healing. But,
it may be that the best result is not physical, but spiritual healing so
that they are ready to move on. If the sick person does not receive physical
healing it doesn't mean that our prayers weren't answered. Just that what we
asked for wasn't the best answer.

I may believe that certain people need a "divine" boot in the ass. But, I
can't specify how, where, when, or in what way the Creator "enlightens" him,
her or them. My vision of how someone needs to be healed or enlightened may
not be the best answer for that person. It may be that I need the
enlightenment or the healing more than they do. I can ask in all humility
that whoever needs it gets it and add whatever strength I have to the task.
As here, everywhere. Or, as Tevya says "from your mouth to God's ear."

Each of us is like a tiny rivulet, the rivulet runs into a small stream,
then a larger stream. The streams get larger and larger until they join the
great river. Aquinas described faith as an ocean, So imagine a great,
boundless ocean with many rivers running into it.