We Are Stardust...

Credit:Hubble Space Telescope NASA/ESA.




In her TED presentation, Jill Tarter, said:"We are the products of a billion year lineage of wandering stardust." This is no small thing to have accomplished so far! I think that God Spark within us is seeking, as, Rilke puts it:

"God speaks to each of us as he makes us, then walks with us silently out of the night. These are the words we dimly hear: You, sent out beyond your recall, go to the limits of your longing. Embody me. Flare up like flame and make big shadows I can move in. Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. Just keep going."

See, I think our value and gift to our world is to find our greatness and to be that to the best of our ability. This is why I have a problem with the underlying premise of the Girl effect, a video that the Nike Corporation, among other groups, trying to make a difference, is promoting. On the face of it, to improve a girl's life through education, I am all for that. But the conclusion, that then, a girl is valuable because her education will lead to a more productive contributor to the economy of her village and the world is where I have the problem. There is even a subtle anchoring of the idea that getting her a cow (cash-cow) to upgrade her worth, that to me, is even more disturbing.

Now, I belong to a community whose mission, in the 166 years we have been Catholic teaching sisters, has been to educate women. Our visionary foundress, Marie Rose Durocher, believe that if you educated women, you could change the world. She believed they had the most profound influence over men and children. We believe that the value of an educated woman is not to primarily shore up the economic system of the world but to use her confidence, intelligence, creativity, talent, passion, thirst for knowledge, love and faith to excel and to find new ways to improve her life, the life of her family, loved ones and community. She is of value because of the "Stardust Effect" that all humans have as we seek out ways to express that God Spark. We came here first and foremost to embody the Divine, not be a cog in some one's money machine.

At a time when so much focus is on economics and the money game and how corrupted it has become, it should become crystal clear to us that we have all become slaves to money. The reason, ultimately, that we have the huge problem with human trafficking and slavery in this world is that we have all become slaves to keeping the money game going. It just seems acceptable to our prevailing paradigm that we are here to keep the money game afloat. It is a common thing in the public educational system in the U.S. to cut "the soft classes" like art and music if we are short on money. These classes are the very way that humans continue to stay in touch with their Stardust Effect. It is the very food of our souls. Maybe we do not value the Stardust Effect at all because it is priceless, free, abundant and no one can make a buck on it, yet, it may be the very thing that saves us from our own extinction.

It seems like the changes that need to take place in our world, at the moment to solve the climate change crisis, end poverty and war, have adequate health care for all, end human trafficking and slavery, choose to see clean water, air, and earth as our sacred duty to insure, and thus to save and improve our world, our species is unwilling to make because of economics. We are slaves who have forgotten the Stardust Effect.

Actually, if the truth be known, the goodness in our species is there and the majority of us would move heaven and earth to bring this whole grand idea of life on planet earth back into balance, but we have to wake up to our power. We have to ask ourselves on a day to day basis, "how am I contributing to the illusion that money is the most important thing?" As a shop keeper, I refuse to commercialize Christmas. I put up Christmas Decorations December 1st. I don't follow the "marketing trends," instead I listen to my heart and create beauty and ideas that I love. They always speak to my customers.

Developing our creativity and wonder should be at the top of our curriculum list when we design schools to really bring the best out in our children. The world is falling apart before our very eyes in every major area: education, government, economy, medicine, religion, the list goes on, because it needs to. It's time we reclaimed our original blessing, and started remembering the words to that little song Joni Mitchell made famous in the 60's: "We are stardust, we are golden and we've got to get ourselves back to the garden." It's time!

Respect is an awesome social skill!

I am aghast at the flack that some Americans have made over the bow.... It's as if we think the whole world revolves around everything American. Back in the mid 1950's my family lived in Japan and my parents taught us proper manners and expected us to behave in respectful and mannerly ways while in Japan.

We learned all the social graces and were taught that even though we didn't do these things in America, things, like using chop sticks, bowing and so on, it was a way of showing respect while interacting with Japanese people. Just trying Japanese customs or attempting the language made the Japanese so happy and impressed with us.

Later, as a teacher, when I took American students for a month- long experience living and going to school in Japan, they, too, were educated about proper Japanese etiquette. It was important in building a strong relationship with the Japanese people, to be willing to do things that showed respect and understanding between our cultures.

It is hard for Americans, who are so use to everyone adapting to our ways, to go to a foreign country and adapt to their ways. At the beginning of that exchange student experience, as we were waiting to be processed into the Narita airport, having our visas and passports checked, we were directed to stand in the line marked "alien." One of my students asked me why we were standing in the "Alien" line. I ask him if he were Japanese and he answered "No!" "Then you are an alien," I said to him. He was shocked by that notion, because much of the first week or two of acclimating to a new culture, with many things so different than his own, he felt the alienness of this new culture.

President Obama grew up living many years in Hawaii where many Japanese live. Hawaii has many diverse cultures that share a common space. It may not have occurred to people who have never been to Hawaii, that all those diverse cultures living peacefully and prosperously,with all their many differences are actually American citizens! I had the good fortune myself of living in Hawaii, too, as a child. The President represents us well to the world because he was taught at an early age to respect people and cultures different from his own. This is something that he is modeling for our children and adult citizens alike: a return to culture, manners, respect. The American citizens who have been critical of his show of respect while he travels around the world representing our nation, seriously need to grow up and learn a few manners and respect themselves!

One day very soon we will see how important it is to realize how much our human species is more alike than different. Just as every cell in our bodies work in harmonious resonance with one another for a common good, we humans must grow up and join one another in mutual respect and harmony for a common good.

To bow to another is to express our recognition that the Divine lives within each of us equally. We cannot understand that the Divine lives in another if we have not already recognized that the Divine lives in us as well. Namaste!

One World, just for this moment in time.....

special thanks to Carla at Zenamoon candles for this beautiful photo.

No matter what anyone says about Michael Jackson, this day of remembering is accomplishing what he tried to do in his own unique way: bring unity to this world. More people are gathered around the world to remember and celebrate the life of a soul come into human form, than at any other time that we know of in history. This time of unity will be a tonic for our world. No matter the toxic thoughts and judgements of the nay sayers out there, because they do not carry the power of millions who come together in love and celebration. This is what our world needs now and so we gather as one. Though I was not particularly a follower of this talented genius, it is not lost on me the power of this moment to lift our world up as one. Let us seize the moment to create Love and Unity in our world, for We are, indeed, the world.

YOU CAN'T STOP THE REST OF US- AN INVITATION TO THE WORLD

#iranelection
For a while now, I haven't had anything to say, but, today is different. As I watched the news report that the Iranian people are not being allowed to gather to memorialize Neda, the young woman martyred during the people's attempt to protest the injustices in their country, it occurred to me that we could hold the memorial for her, in our homes, in our streets, in our gathering halls. We could, because the repression and intimidation can not reach all the people world wide, where ever we may be. Who will join me, now, in holding a memorial in this good soul's honor? I am making a memorial votive in her honor and keeping it lit for a month. What can you do to join me? Be creative. There is no stopping us now. We have heard the call of her name: #NEDA; We have heard the call of our brothers and sisters in Iran call her name. May we join them, for there are no limits now, we can be a united people world wide......

Waiting for life to rez.....

Another reflection on my experiences exploring Second Life has yielded some interesting insights. I am learning a lot about the reality of computer simulation. Second Life is a fairly realistic representation of how things look to us in real life. When you first step into the Avatar's persona and appear in Second life things begin to rez. This is a term that means that the visual resolution of the 3 D world starts coming into clarity. It can take a few seconds to do this. While it is all coming clear your primary self watching the computer screen sees big grey blocks that then eventually rez into your clothes, your horse, trees, ponds, the ocean and so on. It can sometimes be a surreal moment.

It occurred to me that this is like the "caterpiller soup" I referred to in the last post. We are beginning to experience such profound changes, or profound need for changes that we are all standing around waiting for things to rez so we can see where we are and then decide what move to make next.

I find this analogy helpful and comforting, in a way. Since it always rezes the way it is suppose to, in the end, there is no need to panic or become undone. We can trust that the One who created this game we are in right now has some built in codes that are working in the background to unfold our experience into the adventure we expected when we signed up for this gig. We get to make choices as to how we experience our adventure, we have some awesome guides to help us and it is always going to be interesting. But, we can't be sleep walking through it if we want to make the most of things.

Caterpillar Soup!

When the little caterpillar has consumed all the world around him and nearly destroyed his environment, he's feeling quite ill and feels he's under attack from something deep within that begins to emerge and show itself in his body and being. Imaginal cells begin to appear in his system and proliferate. His immune system starts a program of attack to remedy the situation. The "medical experts"around him prescribe every manner of pill and procedure to help him. Momentarily it crosses his mind that pirates may be involved, stealing all he values from under his nose! Call out the military, then, might be the solution, but, no, those pesky little imaginal disks seem never ending and bringing with them disturbing ideas like radical change. Soon, though, another idea comes forth: "rest, I must stop and rest from all this activity." "Mercy, sweet mercy," he mutters, as he crawls into his little downy sleeping bag. Moving down deep into an incredible chaotic soup, Caterpillar soup, he waits and sleeps for the last time.....

Riding The Night Mare to Freedom

Horsemaker Soulstar and Rhiannon in Second Life

This past couple of months have been a roller coaster ride for America, some would even call it a nightmare! We all have experienced nightmares, both the kind associated with dreaming and the kind in our life that happen during our waking moments. Lately I've been thinking more about the purpose of nightmares.

Ever since I started making the clay horses in earnest in my studio I have watched a new understanding unfold about the connection women and horses seem to have. It seems that the Celtic Wisdom figure, Rhiannon has played a role in Humankind's journey. It is said that she rides through the evening sky on the Night Mare bringing prophecy and wisdom to the dreamer. Many of us know that if we do not face our worst nightmares we will never be free. The more we avoid facing them, the more they persue and haunt us.

At the moment, it has never seemed clearer to me that the reality we think we live in, seems to be coming apart at the seams, it is failing, disintegrating, imploding. Have you ever seen so many businesses and organizations that seemed just a few years ago to be solid and now are going bankrupt? What is going on here? We can't put off facing the fact that the world around us is different. Though we may want to avoid this seeming mess all around us, we can't. It requires a change of consciousness because we can't solve these problems by using the same level of thinking that created them. (Seems to me Einstein came up with that thought back in the day.)

So what are we to do? I have found that my experiences in Second Life, something I have mentioned before in another post, have given me some new insights about all of this. In order to function in Second Life, you have to be willing to suspend your normal perspective and watch from a different vantage point. In so doing, I have realized that my mind and thoughts are what is really creating what is happening outside of me. The only way I can change the world outside of me is to change it from the inside first. No amount of stimulas plan or bank bailout will change things for the better until each one of us changes this game, first on the inside. We each know someone who is losing a job, or,is sick with a life threatening illness or, is at the very least, discouraged, confused or angry.We may ask ourselves how we can help and the answer is that it is an inside job for each of us. The first step is to realize that no matter what our outside package looks like, the Consciousness who created the experience we are now having is magnificent and is a creative genius. I am not referring to God here. (That's a whole other story!) I am talking about you and me Consciousness. Yes, even the bozo on the bus or the annoying neighbor next door. We are all awesome expressions of one flawless force. The nightmare we are riding together is a great opportunity to finally discover this truth, but we may have to suspend our normal perceptions to see it. I think this present time is a Golden Opportunity to know a greater freedom from the life of slavery to some pretty big illusions we have been living with on this planet for so long.

 

As my day dawns this morning I am curious to see what I can create today from the opportunities that present themselves. Saddle up with me and let's see where this Night Mare is going. Just remember, the reins are in our hands.