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#1
10-05-2010, 10:05 PM
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Walking the Labyrinth
Last fall before Avatar I had started painting Labyrinths! This was my first one and for the last 10 months or so its been wrapped up and put away! Today, after some intensive housecleaning and reclaiming my living room as an art studio YEAH I got to bring it out again! And so excited that I took my first picture of it . and well just had to share!
I call it (now) my Home Tree Labyrinth!  "Let me walk in beauty and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset; my hands respect the things that you have made; my ears sharp so I may hear your voice. Make me wise, so I may learn the things you have taught my people, the lessons you have hidden under every rock and leaf." Chief Yellow Lark Tree, gather up my thoughts like the clouds in your branches. Draw up my soul like the waters in your root. In the arteries of your trunk bring me together. Through your leaves breathe out the sky. - J. Daniel Beaudry, Breath btw its 9ft by 9ft (just to get a sense of size) and now i can get back to painting some more~!  Edit: October 9, 2010 - Walking a Labyrinth is an ancient form of meditation and while you walk in and out to the centre of the labyrinth, you also walk in and out to the center of your being. As such I have started to include some meditations that are reflections of contemplation of ones relationship to this living being we call Earth/Gaia/Mother. * *
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It was impossible not to have, It's impossible not to be, It's impossible not to still ...!  What this world really needs is more artists and environmentalists! "Its only 'here' that we lose perspective, out at the Cosmic Consciousness Level things get a lot clearer. For example, there is an actual star pattern that is traced in the shape of a Willow Tree, across the breadth of the Milky Way! And no wonder Indigenous peoples refer to the 'here after' as the Happy Hunting Grounds! Has it ever occured to anyone why the bioluminescence dots, on the Na'vi!" Last edited by Mika; 10-16-2010 at 05:44 PM. Reason: changing title to reflect the meditations included in the thread 
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#3
10-06-2010, 06:27 AM
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O_o
o_o wow awesome
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#4
10-06-2010, 07:27 PM
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Oh, to Mother Eywa, that's... speechless ! For real. Me likes very much
 Congrats,  work. Lookin' forward to see more of these.
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#5
10-06-2010, 07:55 PM
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Thank you, my dear aysmukan si aytsmuke! And I have started designing my next one, even as I type ~ going to do a waterfalls one! A Pandora Night Skyline one; and attempt even a Bioluminescent one as well; lots of ideas just pouring in through my dreams for inspiration! *
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It was impossible not to have, It's impossible not to be, It's impossible not to still ...! What this world really needs is more artists and environmentalists! "Its only 'here' that we lose perspective, out at the Cosmic Consciousness Level things get a lot clearer. For example, there is an actual star pattern that is traced in the shape of a Willow Tree, across the breadth of the Milky Way! And no wonder Indigenous peoples refer to the 'here after' as the Happy Hunting Grounds! Has it ever occured to anyone why the bioluminescence dots, on the Na'vi!"
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#6
10-08-2010, 07:45 AM
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Sacred Tree Meditation
Found this today, in another meditation book - The Thundering Years: Rituals and Sacred Wisdom for Teens:
Sacred Tree Meditation "It may be that some little root of the Sacred Tree still lives. Nourish it then, that it may leaf and bloom and fill with singing birds." - Black Elk - Oglala Sioux Holy Man Sit in a chair with both feet on the floor. Close your eyes and softly focus on your breath for a few minutes, allowing your attention to come into the moment. Give yourself permission to let go of concerns ... Bring your awareness to your breath as you breath in ... and out naturally. Have your awareness go to the bottoms of your feet. Feel your feet on the floor. Imagine roots coming out the bottoms of both feet. Have the roots move down through the floor and through all the layers of earth,rock, and water. With little effort, and remembering to breath, imagine them moving down, down, until they reach the center of the earth. Once they reach the center of the earth imagine your roots pulling up energy and nutrients from the earth's center. Draw this energy all the way up through your roots into your fee, up your legs, and up into your solar plexus area, above and behind your navel. Let the earth energy move all around in this area and then go down and out through the same roots, so that you have a continual cycle of earth energy moving up and down. You are the Sacred Tree, your roots still live. Now like the great Sacred Tree, open the top of your head and let your branches reach up and out. Imagine the sun's energy coming down into the top of your head, traveling slowly down your spine until it meets up with the earth energy in your solar plexus. Have the two energies mix together, as trees mix the energy of earth and sky. Sit as a Sacred Tree, receiving all the nutrients form the earth and all the strength and wisdom from the sun and sky. Feel your sacredness. You are the Sacred Tree. Feel your strength and wisdom You are the Sacred Tree. You are the Sacred Tree. You are the Sacred Tree. Feel the groundedness from the earth and the vision from the sky. You, my friend, are the Sacred Tree. When you feel finished bring your awareness back to your breath. Rub your hands together and gently touch the palms of your hands to the ground as you slowly open your eyes. "Whoever sits under the tree recieves and shares this circulation of power and cleansing energy. Feel your whole body as part of this network of life, tradtion and energy." Caitlin Mathews
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It was impossible not to have, It's impossible not to be, It's impossible not to still ...! What this world really needs is more artists and environmentalists! "Its only 'here' that we lose perspective, out at the Cosmic Consciousness Level things get a lot clearer. For example, there is an actual star pattern that is traced in the shape of a Willow Tree, across the breadth of the Milky Way! And no wonder Indigenous peoples refer to the 'here after' as the Happy Hunting Grounds! Has it ever occured to anyone why the bioluminescence dots, on the Na'vi!" Last edited by Mika; 10-08-2010 at 07:47 AM.
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#7
10-09-2010, 08:45 PM
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Walking the Earth With Sensitive Feet
A poetic rephrasing of a meditation from the Woman's Book of Soul
Walking the Earth with Sensitive Feet In perpetual Dance Earth and Sky provide Beautiful life-sustaining environment. Mother pulls into her roots to replenish and revitalize, her queendom brown and barren Father fills his realm with a carnival of clouds bringing moisture to a parched planet. Working in concert they never leave us our eyes cannot but be dazzled our hearts uplifted in awe and lungs filled with their breath of life. Yet ignorance and greed of some regretfully damage and mar this splendid beauty Harmony of living Spirit awareness needed to care for this literal ground of our being Both Mother and Father cry out needing us to be sensitive to what harms them. We planetary stewards must needs walk the path of respect. Sacred Spots resounding with the elements of wind and water Breathtaking sculptured in awesomeness and beauty. Bless them so that the spirit may return. Silently with heart and inner tongue call out I see you from afar I am longing for your healing Promise to walk the earth with sensitive feet. How different our world would be walking every day with sensitive feet considering in every moment of contemplation our relationship to such sacred divinity. (based on the words of Sue Patton Thoele)
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It was impossible not to have, It's impossible not to be, It's impossible not to still ...! What this world really needs is more artists and environmentalists! "Its only 'here' that we lose perspective, out at the Cosmic Consciousness Level things get a lot clearer. For example, there is an actual star pattern that is traced in the shape of a Willow Tree, across the breadth of the Milky Way! And no wonder Indigenous peoples refer to the 'here after' as the Happy Hunting Grounds! Has it ever occured to anyone why the bioluminescence dots, on the Na'vi!"
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#9
10-10-2010, 10:33 PM
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It was impossible not to have, It's impossible not to be, It's impossible not to still ...! What this world really needs is more artists and environmentalists! "Its only 'here' that we lose perspective, out at the Cosmic Consciousness Level things get a lot clearer. For example, there is an actual star pattern that is traced in the shape of a Willow Tree, across the breadth of the Milky Way! And no wonder Indigenous peoples refer to the 'here after' as the Happy Hunting Grounds! Has it ever occured to anyone why the bioluminescence dots, on the Na'vi!"
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#10
10-10-2010, 10:46 PM
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Revitalizing a Traditional Worldview
Teachings of Medicine Wheel and Four Directions from "Circle Works: Transforming Eurocentric Consciousness" by Fyre Jean Graveline - Metis feminist, anti-racist activist and scholar.
Revitalizing a Traditional Worldview We as humans Require plants and animals to Survive They do Not require us. We are dependent on Them Yet we use them recklessly. Mother Earth is raped of resources Forest clear cut .. Fish and fowl mercury poisoned Animals slaughtered .. people starve to death All to sustain material wealth. Aboriginal people Traditionally have responsibility as Keepers of the EArth. Respect for all life must be taught to All people Survival of Earth Mother depends on it. Elders Teach: Immanence .. Respect for all life forms. Balance .. Our Traditional 'scientific' truth. Interconnectedness .. our spiritual truth. Self-In-Relation .. Our identity statement. We learn by Doing .. Ceremony .. Stories of our Ancestors. Elders say we Know, that is, we learn Through direct experience ... Observation Face-to-face with the event .. person .. life force We experience its Essence. We learn what we Need to Know. What we Each need to know. What we are Open to .. depending on Our life path. Culture is our Collective Consciousness. Embedded in the everyday lived experiences of a people. How we challenge .. Change .. Survive in particular circumstances. Culture is a tool of resistance and resiliency. The Traditional Worldview: The philosophical foundations underlying Aboriginal Ancestral cultural practices were the 'common sense' of their Traditional societies, perceived as inseparable from the 'ordinary' daily live lived experiences. Patterned into their unconscious through stories, rituals and humour and enacted in everyday experiences. Immanence - Respect for All Life Forms: A shared belief in knowledge of and respect for unseen powers. These mysterious 'powers' or 'spirit' or 'energy' are found in all Earth's creatures: rocks and crystals, birds and feathers, trees and wood, plants, animals and humans, and are visible especially in dreams and visions and through ceremony. In the Aboriginal World View all things have inherent value, because all things are beings. These mysterious powers are manifested and observable in the way the seasons change, the way the day follows night, the way the sun moves across the sky. All the physical changes throughout the day - from the colors and sounds of dawn through the afternoon to the stillness of nighttime - all these changes have personalities, are forms of energy shape-shifting. Ongoing cyclical changes affect every one, and one learns to read the signs they show, to learn from Mother Earth herself how to change and adapt to ongoing demands. Growth itself, the germination of seeds and the stages of the life-cycle are all apart of the great mystery of life. "the awareness of the meaning of life comes from observing how the various living things appear to mesh to provide a whole tapestry." (Deloria) Sacred oral Traditions deal with all these aspects of life and power and teaches one how to find their place withing the world around them. The universe is bases on an understanding of 'dynamic self-esteem', the 'ability of all creatures to share in the process of ongoing creation makes all things sacred'. 'Unity is the great spiritual law .. the law of nature .. Everything had its place, and everything works in unison.' Interconnectedness - Our Spiritual Truth: That all things are dependent on each other. All things and all people, though we have our own individual gifts, are dependent on and share in the growth and work of everything and everyone else. The belief that beings thrive when there is a 'web' of interconnectedness between the individual and the community and between the community and nature. Community prospers when the work that each member performs is in alignment with the Earth and is a direct and sacred expression of Spirit. Traditional Aboriginal World View believes that a healthy and prosperous culture is one that lives within the fundamental laws of reciprocity, where no more is taken than will be returned. To recognize interconnectedness is to know oneself as part of a vast cirlce in which all expressions of life - the birds, the animals, trees, insects, rocks are our brothers and sisters - 'all creatures as relatives.' "Kinship" is based upon the concrete observation that each of us is totally dependent upon the same things. All of nature is in us, all of us is in nature! Elders teach 'to be without relations is to be really poor'.
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It was impossible not to have, It's impossible not to be, It's impossible not to still ...! What this world really needs is more artists and environmentalists! "Its only 'here' that we lose perspective, out at the Cosmic Consciousness Level things get a lot clearer. For example, there is an actual star pattern that is traced in the shape of a Willow Tree, across the breadth of the Milky Way! And no wonder Indigenous peoples refer to the 'here after' as the Happy Hunting Grounds! Has it ever occured to anyone why the bioluminescence dots, on the Na'vi!" Last edited by Mika; 10-12-2010 at 11:27 AM. Reason: to add reference material.
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#11
10-12-2010, 11:35 PM
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The Model In Use
Teachings of Medicine Wheel and Four Directions from "Circle Works: Transforming Eurocentric Consciousness" by Fyre Jean Graveline - Metis feminist, anti-racist activist and scholar.
The Eastern Door Dawn ... streaming yellow light
Clarity ... an awakening Beginning a new day .. a new start on life Call the creatures of the Air Fly with the Eagle .. wings spread high in the sky Closest to the Creator Respect and honor the high flying ones They bring us Illumination .. Vision .. Clear sight An "eye opener". Reach for the power to Know How do we know? How do we learn? Seek the power of the East to face the Dawn Cut through Untruth ... Illusion Eurocentrism presented as objective knowledge Recognize the power of your Mind The influence of your thoughts .. Others thoughts On your own Actions .. for and with others. The power of your Mind to take in or reject information/ideas. Versions of 'Reality' as they are made Visible to you. How do we learn to See To shift our Historical ... Socially constructed Culturally-located Consciousness? If we can be Acculturated to hold dominate views Then we can also be Unacculturated. Awareness is the beginning. Will to Resist ... to Challenge ... Change Structures that Confine us. Consciousness is noticeable when it shifts "Seeing the world" through "different lenses." Experience an "eye-opener" ... "a light came on" What triggers these shifts for you? What words describe the process? Let us Conscientiously Question Our Consciousness
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It was impossible not to have, It's impossible not to be, It's impossible not to still ...! What this world really needs is more artists and environmentalists! "Its only 'here' that we lose perspective, out at the Cosmic Consciousness Level things get a lot clearer. For example, there is an actual star pattern that is traced in the shape of a Willow Tree, across the breadth of the Milky Way! And no wonder Indigenous peoples refer to the 'here after' as the Happy Hunting Grounds! Has it ever occured to anyone why the bioluminescence dots, on the Na'vi!" Last edited by Mika; 10-13-2010 at 11:21 PM.
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#12
10-13-2010, 11:00 PM
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The Model In Use
Teachings of Medicine Wheel and Four Directions from "Circle Works: Transforming Eurocentric Consciousness" by Fyre Jean Graveline - Metis feminist, anti-racist activist and scholar.
The Southern Door The South corresponds to the Element Fire
The flames of Resistance and Renewal Burn ... Burn Behind my eyelids I muse in the Fire ... The Smoke Swirls Up High in the Sky Sparks fly ... Flames leap Intense heat ... heat that Heals Fire that burns up the past Picture Summertime Trees in full leaf ... bright blud Sky ... mouthfuls of ripe berries Long sandy beaches ... Aqua marine Waters ... Warm to swim Hot ... Hot Sun beating down The Noonday Sun Bright ... baking Earth Mother and all her Creatures Bringing Light ... Life to all. Call on the powers of the Crawling Ones The Spider, the Snake Learn to shed your skin like the Snake Layer after layer Baring ... Shedding ... Releasing Transform your Self with ease. Be open to change ... within and without A change of Heart ... A change of Form Reach for your connection to Spirit ... to Will To your own Determination Recognize your Gift to change Spirit into matter Transform through the Direction of Will Acknowledge the quality of Will Energy as it leaps through your body from synapse to synapse The Spark ... Energy sparking ... Firing within you You self as a channel of Energy A link from the Ancestors to the Unborn Living in connection with other Energy forms on Mother Earth. Be Aware What fuels your fire? Keeps you strong? Whose will guides your life? Guides your work? Which Culture Dominates your thinking? your view of history? Culture can spark or dampen our Will. Fuel or smother the Fires ... our Desires for Change. Whose Will Guides this work? Does the Spirit of this form Inspire you to Will for Change?
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It was impossible not to have, It's impossible not to be, It's impossible not to still ...! What this world really needs is more artists and environmentalists! "Its only 'here' that we lose perspective, out at the Cosmic Consciousness Level things get a lot clearer. For example, there is an actual star pattern that is traced in the shape of a Willow Tree, across the breadth of the Milky Way! And no wonder Indigenous peoples refer to the 'here after' as the Happy Hunting Grounds! Has it ever occured to anyone why the bioluminescence dots, on the Na'vi!" Last edited by Mika; 10-13-2010 at 11:22 PM.
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#13
10-13-2010, 11:20 PM
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The Model in Use
Teachings of Medicine Wheel and Four Directions from "Circle Works: Transforming Eurocentric Consciousness" by Fyre Jean Graveline - Metis feminist, anti-racist activist and scholar.
In Ancestral times, the Sacred Circle was central to the teachings of the Elders. The Circle is a form that arises in nature and is imprinted upon the culture as well as the individual. Part of the energy of the Circle has to do with the physical structure: A Circle has no head and not tail, no beginning and no end. Everyone is equal in a Circle, the point of reference is the middle, which is both empty and full of everything. Everyone is equal distant from the middle so there is no sense of hierarchy. Traditional forms of dance, done in a Circle, physically teaches embodied interconnectedness within the greater Circle: "if someone slows down, if someone fall, or gets out of place, it throws the whole circle off". Elders teach that we need to experience that lesson in our lives: "If we knock someone out of the circle they fall, then the whole circle is affected." Aboriginal Tradition teaches that successful teaching and healing depends upon clear intention, but such intention is directly connected to honoring the immanent value of each member. It is taught that it is important to honor all in the Circle and all of life as part of the Circle. If we are clear about the teachings, we will not be cut off from the real purpose of Circle work, which is to reaffirm our interconnectedness. Circle A physical reality ... a metaphysical experience Produces Healing ... appropriate message For the Time, Place and Members. Embraced by many ... brings closeness Allows many different opinions to be voiced A time to build up confidence of Voice ... without Interruption Very easy to express your Feelings and learn from others. In Talking Circle ... in "circle time" We open our Hearts Speak what we know to be True Share what we Care deeply about As Honestly as we can ... as Respectfully as we are able. We are able to enter into another's experience through their Words. A door way to self-examination .. a social context for a "personal" experience. We Remember a Heart-felt Speak-Out in Circle. In rings in our Ears. Pierces our Hearts like an arrow. The power of Words ... Magnified ... Amplified. Gain energy with repetition ... Echo ... Echo ... to create familiarity. Learn to speak your own Truth. Words shoot like flames out of your mouth Burning your lips like Fire. A flush covers your body ... Heat rises up ... reddens your cheeks. Your Heart beats fast as the words jump As if from their own Will ... out into the Circle. To amplify ... Echo ... Echo ... in your heart ... in our ears. Learn to Listen Respectfully Know what is Not said Is as important as what is said. What do you know about the power of Silence? See it as a skill ... and act of relationship a form of ... action. Through Circle we interpret our Selves Clarify our Will towards others ... for ourselves and others We can each have our own Voice ... Speak our own Truth. Speak to me .. Share from your Heart in Circle. The basic rules of Talking Circle are: one speaker at a time, the person holding the special object is the speaker and all others are to listen respectfully to that person. In Talking Circle you speak your own voice, describe what your own experience has been. You have the opportunity to express what you feel is on your heart to say. The point is to speak "from your heart", of what moves you, of what spirit moves through you. To choose words with care and thoughtfulness is to speak in a sacred manner. This usually takes time and experience; explicit modeling, direction and patience are required. We must each learn to pay each other full attention and to take responsibility for maintaining focus on what each speaker is sharing. This assists people in learning not to project their experience and feelings onto others. The only way to really 'know' to really 'see' and 'hear' someone else, is to fully experience and own our emotions and thoughts. Through respectful listening we are better able to enter into another's experience through their words. Talking Circle reminds us that to speak is a privilege, that spoken thoughts, words, are sacred. In Aboriginal Tradition, words are carefully chosen and carefully listened to so that the power of the words and the images behind them "travel between the speaker and the other individuals to become One Thought". This kind of group consciousness "collective mindfulness" exists when each individual's thoughts are directed to a collective thought and collective objectives. "Mind-ful-ness" orchestrates the power of thought, helping to actualize "the ability to create, transform, and vitalize". Speaking and listening respectfully in Circle creates an atmosphere of compassion, the building block of community. This state of conscious awareness contained within a Circle of interconnectedness can generate openness that is rare in Western society today. Silence: Respectfully Listening Using the Aboriginal Talking Circle reminds us of the relationship between who speaks and who listens. We are taught that we require require silence "respectfully listening" to accompany voice "heartfully speaking". When we see silence only as produced through an exercise in domination, we are missing the significance of silence to voice. Aboriginal people are taught to respect silence as a tool. In Circle, we listen "as witness, " respectfully, to the experience of others. Through having to respectfully listen to each speaker, participants gain an empathic appreciation for points of view other than their own. It is a large shift of consciousness to move from pity and guilt to embracing the "pride and richness" of others. Listening to others in Circle does provide an opportunity for self-examination. It can help provide the social context for an experience or viewpoint previously understood as 'personal.' When members are able to speak from their hearts, this enables them to be more in touch with feelings, their own and others. Circle Talk helps to gain a sense of trust in their fellow peers and helps to equalize power .. as we all sit in the Circle together. Individuals can come to believe that what they say will be listened to and accepted without criticism.
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It was impossible not to have, It's impossible not to be, It's impossible not to still ...! What this world really needs is more artists and environmentalists! "Its only 'here' that we lose perspective, out at the Cosmic Consciousness Level things get a lot clearer. For example, there is an actual star pattern that is traced in the shape of a Willow Tree, across the breadth of the Milky Way! And no wonder Indigenous peoples refer to the 'here after' as the Happy Hunting Grounds! Has it ever occured to anyone why the bioluminescence dots, on the Na'vi!" Last edited by Mika; 10-14-2010 at 12:31 AM.
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#14
10-16-2010, 04:59 AM
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The Model in Use
Teachings of Medicine Wheel and Four Directions from "Circle Works: Transforming Eurocentric Consciousness" by Fyre Jean Graveline - Metis feminist, anti-racist activist and scholar.
The Western Door The West corresponds to the element Water
Feel the great waters of Earth Mother Oceans ... Lakes ... Falls ... Rivers Streams ... Brooks ... Ponds The Rains .. Snows. Recoginize the Waters of your body ... Blood ... Tears Our physical need for Water ... each and every day. Water to drink ... Water to wash. Picture Fall ... Brightly colored Yellows .. Oranges ... Reds Falling leaves ... Crisp breeze Fresh vegetables ... Roots ... Apples ... Pumkins Bountiful harvest ... preparation time. Dusk ... Light dimming Red and Purple Sunset on the horizon Silver and Gold shimmers on the Waters. Call the creatures of the Waters. Swim with the Turtle ... Whale .. Fish .. other Sea Creatures Feel the ease ... Fluidity By which their bodies move through the Water. Dive deep and accept the Gift of the West The Power to Feel The Courage to face our deepest Feelings. Be in touch with the Flow of your own Emotions: Love ... Anger ... Sorrow ... Joy ... Ecstasy. We cannot Feel any of them to thier full intensity unless we are willing to face them All. Let the strength of your Emotions Flood you. Deep Feelings need to be exposed Aired to achieve balance. How do you Express ... Repress .. your Feelings? Do Tears run down your face? Tears our link to the great Ocean Waters of our Earth Mother. Does laughter bubble from your lips? Does your heart beat with pain .. yours or another's? What feelings do you Have ... Share ... Voice? The power to Feel is a Gift. We need to Feel in-Relation to others To our Kin .. our Relations as we know them to be. Partners .. Children ... Friends ... Community(s) All of Creation Be Aware How are you Nurtured? How do you Nurture others? Learn to understand The depth of Self-In-Relation What is the nature of relationships? The composition of the Family? Who defines the quality quantity of Relations? Boundaries of the Family Network? Extension of Kinship thorugh Relational ties Our Elders teach We are All-In-Relation ... All of creation We believe beings thrive When there is a web of interrelatedness Between Individual ... Community ... Mother Earth.
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It was impossible not to have, It's impossible not to be, It's impossible not to still ...! What this world really needs is more artists and environmentalists! "Its only 'here' that we lose perspective, out at the Cosmic Consciousness Level things get a lot clearer. For example, there is an actual star pattern that is traced in the shape of a Willow Tree, across the breadth of the Milky Way! And no wonder Indigenous peoples refer to the 'here after' as the Happy Hunting Grounds! Has it ever occured to anyone why the bioluminescence dots, on the Na'vi!"
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Linear Mode
