Tears Of The Forest

TEARS OF THE FOREST

by Lori Mellott

As I slowly walk in this warm-blooded, vibrant, lush ,green forest fragrant with the scents of cedar, pine and a plethora of flowers all lovingly kissing me, I inhale the pungent, pleasing scent of earth enfolding me in Mother Earth's loving embrace. All that surrounds me pulsates and ripples with the melodious rhythms of life.

As I strip and stand contemplatively in the midst of this unending beauty, my senses pause, absorbing the exotic, erotic, beauty of it all. Hugging sister cedar tree I feel her heartbeat bursting with rich, robust life! She is strong and happy! Gazing at her I see her uncompromising strength, her magnificent size speaks to my soul telling me she has stood sentinel here for many, many moons

Listening to all her voices, I hear my feathered relations singing and nesting, bringing new life forth from the safety of her luxuriant hair. Her sweet, gently spirit speaks to my soul of spiritual freedom and honoring of the spirits. "Protect and treasure it" are the words and feelings flowing into my soul

Breathing deeply of the acoustically scented air, the sacred cedar's breath calms, cleanses, blesses and bolsters my spirit, giving me clarity of thought and renews my inner being. Contentment and connection flow within my spirit. All is walking in beauty

The harmony and tranquility of this sacred, honored place is suddenly shattered by the horrific, thoughtless intrusion of modern technology! An ominous sound echoes throughout this sacred haven, a sound that promises death! a chainsaw! Big. Loud. Deadly. It is here to keep its deviant promise Its mechanical teeth, honed to razor sharpness glint in father suns brilliant light, flashing its message of death to all Mother's children. The mechanical blood of this steel demon drips silently onto the ground below polluting all it touches, finding yet another way to kill

The human force guiding this instrument of death's construction tightens its ghastly white grip and stands in front of my beloved and beautiful sister with grinning anticipation. It cannot wait to destroy this Mothers child!

The sharpened chain teeth bite viciously, mercilessly into her soft, yielding, tender flesh

I feel my spirit weep and shudder with anger, pain and disbelief as sister cedar calls out to me in unendurable pain and agony, "why, Why do they do this to me?" She shudders, cracks and stumbles as she sings her death song and dances her death dance. She is falling, falling to Mother Earth below. Before she strikes the ground I weepingly watch as her body slowly, painfully sheds the tears of the forest onto Mother Earth. Cascading down as if in slow motion, they know the end is here. Gentle as a feather they alight on the forest floor.

A final unforgiving crack, groan and thunderous roar and my vibrant, beautiful sister cedar lies on a soft bed of moss, silent. Still. Still. Blinded by my tears, I find my way to her side and gently, lovingly stroke my fallen sister and feel her strong spirits fire fade. Oh, sister, I feel your pain and muted sorrow! I only I could stop it, change this path!

The human creature again grasps the instrument of death and destruction and gladly walks on to its next condemned victim. And the next... the creature smiles maniacally, finding in these mindless, needless deaths, perverse, sadistic joy

Sister cedar, I cry for your death and the death of all the children you will never bear! Barren sorrow crowds my spirit, darkens my soul! You have stood watch over these majestic woods for centuries and now your wise, sweet voice is quelled. Forever,

How do I stop the many human creatures from delivering deaths swift blows? Oh, I cry dear, dear fallen sister, I , too, shed the tears of the forest onto Mother Earth. For you and all Mother's children, whose lives all to the human creatures deadly white mission

"What can I do sweet sister?" I feel as if my hands are chained, poverty, inaction shackle my spirit. Beseechingly, I pray to the Grandfathers, Grandmothers and sister cedar's spirit as the wind blows gently from the East. "Much" whispers east wind, "Much"

Four Shamanic Voices: Maestro Tlakaelel

Four
Shamanic
Voices:

Maestro
Tlakaelel

''Here in the Americas, more than 2,000 years ago, groups went forth in the four directions with the message that we must return again to raise up this great confederation of nations.''


Q: How can we help the Earth to heal?

Tlakaelel: The need that we have is to truly know the Earth. This is the basis of everything. There are many technological advances, and Mother Earth has suffered many alterations. They have changed, for example, the rivers. They have made great reservoirs all over the world, here in America and in Europe, and in Africa the great mammoth Aswan, the greatest reservoir in the world. This has altered the ecology. In ancient Egypt, the Nile river grew and inundated the riverbanks, leaving fertile earth and humidity and cleansing all of Egypt. Now, they regulate the water, and there are no longer these floods. Instead, they must lift up the water with mechanical pumps. There are shells and conches which developed in the water. Before, when the water went down, it took with it these animals. Now it never goes down so these animals are reproducing in a terrible way. The eggs of the small animals are killing the people. This is dangerous. In all places where they have detoured the waters of the Nile, where they have regulated the currents, this has altered the Earth.

Humans have extracted millions of metric tons of petroleum, leaving enormous empty caverns. Now we have more earthquakes. They are more frequent and stronger, more powerful. The climate of the world has been changed, and many of us are guilty of this. It is incredible that we had not taken this into account, until a man by the name of Thor Heyerdal awakened people's curiosity. He journeyed on the ocean in a raft and saw that there were enormous oceanic deserts where there was no life, where everything was covered with trash -- the trash that was dumped into the ocean by all the cities, plastic cans and bottles, and so on. Heyerdal brought forth the voice of alarm, that we are killing the ocean and soon everything will disappear.

We indigenous people, we saw something. This is the message of the ancestors. We remember the message of Chief Seattle, his poem to natural life that is an inspiration, a hymn, for current ecological groups. Chief Seattle's naturalness, his comprehension of our natural relationship with All That Exists -- this is the thinking of all of the indigenous peoples of the world. When asked to sell his land, Chief Seattle said sincerely, ''But how can one sell his own mother? Who can sell his mother? Who can sell the aroma of the pines? Or the murmur of the insects? Or the sound of the waters and the rivers? Or the air that we breath, which is breathed by the eagles? It was breathed by the buffalo. We all share it. Who can say this?'' In the last part of the message he says, ''If you are all coming together in these places you call cities, you live far away from nature. One day not too far away, you will awaken, drowning in your own excrement.'' And in the end, he said prophetically, ''Now life ends and survival begins.'' He said this 200 years ago, expressing perfectly the thinking of native people today.

How to heal Mother Earth? We must return once again to love Mother Earth, to understand her. The Earth is the ashes of our forefathers. At the beginning, it was a ball of fire. And little by little, it began to cool. Then we entered into a space where there was water. Water began to enter. Little by little it began to cool. In this water from outer space floated spores and seeds, and thus began the first plants, the most primitive plants. They were microscopic -- their roots were microscopic -- and they combined with the water and went into the pores of the rock. In this way, a plant grew and then died. And its ashes were part of the Earth. So more plants were created and then more ashes. Then the big trees came and the animals and we, ourselves. And each one of us will become ashes. So the Earth is the ashes of our forefathers. This is not a metaphorical statement -- it is true. She is our mother and these are our ancestors. They maintain life, and all that exists is sacred because everything is interrelated.


There were many eagles and there were many animals that the eagles eat. In this way there was always an equilibrium. We all look for balance. The animals teach us how to live. When we put many rabbits in a cage and give them all the food they want, they limit their space. When they see that there are too many, the mothers kill the small ones. So they maintain the number of individuals who can live in the space. This is how the animals teach us. There are many more examples.

How to heal the Earth? Understand her. Love her. Identify ourselves with her. This is all that is necessary.

We have forgotten. Today the people don't think of her as something sacred. They think of her as private property, something we must exploit. And they don't think about regenerating the Earth. A way to heal the Earth is through the rotation of crops, by planting different plants. The trees do this. Over a determined period of time, the pines are born and die and other plants begin to grow, other trees, and then again the pines. There is a natural rotation. Yes, it is possible to do this, if we understand. The important thing is that we have a synthesis.

What is the Earth? We see that it's a planet. We are in a solar system which is moving. Mother Earth is alive. She moves, she breathes, she has her own energy and movements. And the human beings, we are interconnected --our brains, our minds -- with all other human beings. The totality of our mind is the mind of Mother Earth. We are connected with the animals, with the plants and with all the beings that exist. But we have forgotten this. And now the few people who can move these forces because they know them -- because they feel them -- we call these people witches or medicine men or shamans. But anyone can do this. We all have the same capacity for comprehension.


The people who think a different way are said to be crazy. But we are not crazy. The medicine person lives on another plane, another vibration or wavelength. All that exists in this world is vibrating at a special wavelength and only exists in that wavelength. Shamans are simply receptors who receive this wavelength. But we can have other wavelengths, like Sai Baba. He has different wavelengths, and he materializes things. For this reason some say he's crazy. It's just that he's different because he goes beyond the human condition, beyond the common, beyond that middle point, and he dares to use these forces. He lives in two worlds. His world should be at the reach of all.

We must think of how to heal the people, of how to achieve a complete change in the human mind. We are the problem, and the official education has many lies. We are taught a history that is not the true history of the world. Instead, it is written in the interests of the people who have won the wars. The official history goes back only 8,000 years from the War of Troy, and since then we have just had wars and more wars. We don't remember other things. When someone speaks of Atlantis or Lemuria or other prior civilizations, they say these are just theories. But we know they are true. Science has just not committed itself to investigating this further. They have just uncovered the remains of a man in Africa who is 3.5 million years old. The official histories say man is new, maybe 150,000 years. And the other millions of years? And the people who were there before? There is proof of other technological civilizations that were more advanced than ours. We all think we are the greatest of humanity, but this just isn't true.

I am a Toltec Chichimeka indigenous person. More than 12,000 years ago, my forefathers began to unify humanity again. We knew that, before, there had been communication among all of the peoples of the planet. There was one single culture, one single religion. But a cataclysm came and left us out of touch. The few survivors began again to evolve. They are our forefathers, the survivors of the destruction of Atlantis. With these ideas, with this knowledge, they went to a place called the Mountain of the Serpent in the middle of a valley in what we now call Mexico, and they sent forth four expeditions to the four directions to carry a message. This historic message is that we are all descendants of a great culture, of a paradise. In my language we call this Tamoanchan where everything was in abundance, there was great luxury. And in a moment all was lost. The people who survived, the grandfathers, said this place existed. The children asked where, and were told, ''Maybe on the other side of the mountains.'' So they went forth, farther and farther, looking. In this way great migrations were established, great movements of human beings throughout the world.

Here in the Americas, more than 2,000 years ago, groups went forth in the four directions with the message that we must return again to raise up this great confederation of nations. They tried to invite the people -- those they encountered on their paths -- to organize but also to share their knowledge. These groups were messengers and ambassadors who made alliances with the peoples. They carried seeds and beans and squash and corn, and in this way they traveled and they shared this food. Throughout all the native peoples of America, we still have the same foods. Nine hundred eighty-eight years later, the descendants of those who went forth returned to the valley in Mexico, bringing all the knowledge they had been able to learn. They said, ''We have discovered that there are people of four colors but one single race, the human race. We are all brothers and sisters, and our origin is cosmic. We are all brothers and sisters because we are all sons and daughters of the same father, who we call Teotl or the Great Spirit or Great Grandfather or Great Mystery or the Superior Mind. He is the unique creator of All That Exists. We are all brothers and sisters of All That Exists. We must understand this to mutually respect one another.''

In this way, they decided to found the City of Mexico, Tenochtitlan, as the center of the cosmic race and cultural capital of the human species. They created the concept and the word ''Mexicatl,'' which means ''planetary citizen,'' or citizen of this planet. They said, ''So far, the first Mexican has not been born, but tonight we will plant in the bellies of our women, and from here, two hundred seventy-two days forward, the first Mexicas will be born, the first citizens of the universe.'' This ceremony was done on the equivalent of the 30th of the month of July in 1324. The confederation began to evolve rapidly until almost 200 years later when the Europeans arrived and our evolution was suspended. But before that, an enormous confederation existed. There were two confederations, one from today's Nicaragua to the south -- the Confederation of the Condor -- and one from Nicaragua to the north -- the Confederation of the Red Eagle. The two confederations had made an alliance, called the Confederation of the Eagle and the Condor. This history is not known. Some have tried to destroy it, but we indigenous people preserve it.

Three generations ago, we decided again to rescue our history and tradition. This is what we are doing. When our evolution was suspended, the grandfathers gave us instructions. They told us what it was we would have to do, and what would be our strength. Strength can only be given when the people identify with something, when something brings them together. What has brought our ancestors together is this idea of the cosmic citizen. The Earth is of all of us, and we are of the Earth. The Earth is not ours; we are hers. It was then that we decided to maintain the resistance, and we always preserved, in secret, what is the destiny of man: why we are here, where we come from, where we are going, and what is our mission.

So man comes to the world with the aim of seeking perfection by means of personal self-development. This perfection will arrive when man is capable of creating all that he is capable of conceiving. Here is the superior being of the future -- able to create all that we conceive. Each one of us is a link in the chain of evolution. Each one of us is a treasure, and in our genes we preserve the memory of all the generations before, of their experiences, and after, we leave behind our own experiences. And pass them on to our children. The immediate mission of each generation is the creation of the next one.

This is our mission. Now we have a goal that we must reach. We must come again to a way by which we can identify ourselves. We didn't come to this world just to eat, sleep, reproduce, and die. We have a great destiny. This destiny is possible when we achieve our worth and when we transcend. We live for just a little bit of time. That which continues living after us is the community, the Earth. Our work is to build a pyramid little by little, growing and growing and growing. Soon we will be able to complete the pyramid. For this reason, symbolically we never closed the tops of the pyramids ourselves. They were left apart. And when we complete them, then we will be like gods. We will be capable of doing everything we are capable of thinking.

We will again have a reason to be -- strength for living, to conquer all the problems: the wars that there have been, the differences between Catholics, Protestants, and Moslems. These are easier to put aside when man has the idea, I am cosmos. I am not cosmic, I am cosmos. I am an integral part of the universe, of the creation of all. And I continue being part of a great plan of creation. When we are all able to feel this just a little bit, when we identify with All That Exists, we will be planetary citizens, cosmic citizens. And peace will come. The truth will be known.

Many religions have been bred so that the people will submit. All religions are good, there are none that are negative, but man has interpreted religion in different ways to justify invasions, to justify slavery, the submission, the obedience. When we are capable of knowing the truth and can teach it to our children, then we will be healing Mother Earth, we will be healing humanity. We will be healing the universe. A worldwide reeducation is necessary.


We have committed many errors, and we must write down this history, the history of our errors, and also the good things. We must know that both the positive and negative are necessary, the good and the bad. They are two poles, the same as hot and cold, light and darkness, the positive and negative poles of energy, the man and the woman. Apparently, the two are opposed, but they come together and they create. The positive and negative poles of electricity create light. The energy of motors, the hot and the cold, create the climate in which we are able to live. The man and the woman create as they come together. So the positive and the negative side are both indispensable.

The devil could not exist apart from God. One could not exist without the other. They both are positive, for the two create our concept of good and evil. Which is the negative pole of the Earth? And which is the positive? The north, or the south? Either could be positive or negative, but together they create an energy field that regulates life on the planet. That is our concept of good and evil. Sometimes I am asked, ''Are there good witches and bad witches?'' I say, ''I understand the question, so how would you attack the bad if you don't know what it is? How could you know what's good if you don't know what good is?'' You must know the extremes, and then you can place yourself on whatever side you choose. What is good for one is not necessarily good for the other. We must learn to respect the plurality.

For the future, we must remember the people in a prayer, which goes as follows:
Creator, accept me as I am with my vices, with my passions, my detours, my works, my positive things, because I am this way. You made me this way. And permit me that I may accept those similar to me, that I may accept them as they are. And help me, Creator, so that people accept me, too.

This is good. We must mutually accept one another -- people of all colors, all religions, all languages. We must learn to respect each other because we are sons and daughters of the same Creator. The problems of humanity are coming to a climax. There has been a history of wars, of wars that each time are more bloody, each time producing more bodies, more people dying. The young people are beginning to think, ''This is the world left to us by our elders. Why are there so many wars? Why is there so much division? Why is there a North Korea and South Korea? Why is there a South Vietnam and a North Vietnam? Why are the countries divided?'' They are looking for unity, and now they are finding a motive.

We are a single human species who are now the guardians of the Earth, and that this Earth is our home. Whatever happens on our planet, positive or negative, affects all of us. We need more groups like the ecologists -- small groups, local groups, or bigger groups like Greenpeace, people who have taken a global consciousness. They are going to change the world. There is hope.

Our message would be strength for those who are struggling, strength for the warriors of peace and for the warriors of Mother Earth, strength for the ecologists, for all the people who are working to understand the Earth. Those who are demanding a reeducation on a worldwide level, those who are creating and who are teaching the truth -- they are the future! There is a very good future ahead. After many centuries, the planet begins to vibrate with an idea: We will save the Earth! This planet is our home, and we are now the guardians of the Earth. Our mission is to keep it clean, habitable, and inhabited.

We Can Make IT

Do not lose heart. We were made for these times.
I have heard from so many recently who are deeply and properly bewildered. They are concerned about the state of affairs in our world right now. It is true; one has to be strong to withstand much of what passes for "good" in our culture today. Abject disregard of what the soul finds most precious and irreplaceable and the corruption of principled ideals have become, in some large societal arenas, "the new normal.” It is hard to say which one of the current matters has rocked people's worlds and beliefs more. Ours is a time of almost daily jaw-dropping astonishment and often righteous rage over the latest degradations of what matters most too civilized, visionary people.
The heinous acts against children, elders, everyday people, the poor, the unguarded, the helpless, is breathtaking. Yet ... I urge you, ask you, gentle you, to please not spend your spirit dry by bewailing these difficult times. Especially do not lose hope. Most particularly because, the fact is — we were made for these times. Yes. For years, we have been learning, practicing, been in training for and just waiting to meet on this exact plain of engagement. I cannot tell you often enough that we are definitely the leaders we have been waiting for, and that we have been raised since childhood for this time precisely.
…I grew up on the the Coast of Maine and recognize a seaworthy vessel when I see one. Regarding awakened souls, there have never been more able crafts in the waters than there are right now across the world. And they are fully provisioned and able to signal one another as never before in the history of humankind. I would like to take your hands for a moment and assure you that you are built well for these times. Despite your stints of doubt, your frustrations in righting all that needs change right now, or even feeling you have lost the map entirely, you are not without resource, you are not alone. Look out over the prow; there are millions of boats of righteous souls on the waters with you. In your deepest bones, you have always known this is so. Even though your veneers may shiver from every wave in this stormy roil, I assure you that the long timbers composing your prow and rudder come from a greater forest. That long-grained lumber is known to withstand storms, to hold together, to hold its own, and to advance, regardless.
…We have been in training for a dark time such as this, since the day we assented to come to Earth. For many decades, worldwide, souls just like us have been felled and left for dead in so many ways over and over – brought down by naiveté, by lack of love, by suddenly realizing one deadly thing or another, by not realizing something else soon enough, by being ambushed and assaulted by various cultural and personal shocks in the extreme. We have a history of being gutted, and yet remember this especially … we have also, of necessity, perfected the knack of resurrection. Over and over again we have been the living proof that that which has been exiled, lost, or foundered – can be restored to life again. This is as true and sturdy a prognosis for the destroyed worlds around us as it was for our own once mortally wounded selves.
…Though we are not invulnerable, our risibility supports us to laugh in the face of cynics who say "fat chance," and "management before mercy," and other evidences of complete absence of soul sense. This, and our having been to Hell and back on at least one momentous occasion, makes us seasoned vessels for certain. Even if you do not feel that you are, you are. Even if your puny little ego wants to contest the enormity of your soul, that smaller self can never for long subordinate the larger Self. In matters of death and rebirth, you have surpassed the benchmarks many times. Believe the evidence of any one of your past testing and trials. Here it is: Are you still standing? The answer is, yes! (And no adverbs like "barely" are allowed here). If you are still standing, ragged flags or no, you are able. Thus, you have passed the bar. And even raised it. You are seaworthy.
…In any dark time, there is a tendency to veer toward fainting over how much is wrong or unmended in the world. Do not focus on that. Do not make yourself ill with overwhelm. There is a tendency too to fall into being weakened by perseverating on what is outside your reach, by what cannot yet be. Do not focus there. That is spending the wind without raising the sails. We are needed, that is all we can know. And though we meet resistance, we more so will meet great souls who will hail us, love us and guide us, and we will know them when they appear. Didn't you say you were a believer? Didn't you say you pledged to listen to a voice greater? Didn't you ask for grace? Don't you remember that to be in grace means to submit to the voice greater? You have all the resource you need to ride any wave, to surface from any trough.
…In the language of aviators and sailors, ours is to sail forward now, all balls out. Understand the paradox: If you study the physics of a waterspout, you will see that the outer vortex whirls far more quickly than the inner one. To calm the storm means to quiet the outer layer, to cause it, by whatever countervailing means, to swirl much less, to more evenly match the velocity of the inner, far less volatile core – till whatever has been lifted into such a vicious funnel falls back to Earth, lays down, is peaceable again. One of the most important steps you can take to help calm the storm is to not allow yourself to be taken in a flurry of overwrought emotion or despair — thereby accidentally contributing to the swale and the swirl. Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely. It is not given to us to know which acts or by whom, will cause the critical mass to tip toward an enduring good. What is needed for dramatic change is an accumulation of acts — adding, adding to, adding more, and continuing. We know that it does not take "everyone on Earth" to bring justice and peace, but only a small, determined group who will not give up during the first, second, or hundredth gale.
…One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times. The light of the soul throws sparks can send up flares, builds signal fires ... causes proper matters to catch fire. To display the lantern of soul in shadowy times like these — to be fierce and to show mercy toward others, both – are acts of immense bravery and greatest necessity. Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it. If you would help to calm the tumult, this is one of the strongest things you can do.
…There will always be times in the midst of "success right around the corner, but as yet still unseen" when you feel discouraged. I too have felt despair many times in my life, but I do not keep a chair for it; I will not entertain it. It is not allowed to eat from my plate. The reason is this: In my uttermost bones I know something, as do you. It is that there can be no despair when you remember why you came to Earth, who you serve, and who sent you here. The good words we say and the good deeds we do are not ours: They are the words and deeds of the One who brought us here. In that spirit, I hope you will write this on your wall: When a great ship is in harbor and moored, it is safe, there can be no doubt. But … that is not what great ships are built for.
…This comes with much love and prayer that you remember who you came from, and why you came to this beautiful, needful Earth.

Though all may not agree with this write.I have to have hope in my heart and believe...

The Genie Of Fate

I am not sure who wrote this piece. I found it some years ago while surfing the internet,it resonated with me and I immediately realized that I had been singing the same song since I could remember. I share it here as I think it is important.
If the genie of Fate were to touch me with this particular magic, I trust that I would not have the arrogance to pretend that any solution I might offer could repair the wreckage of millennia. When the first human jammed the first dibble stick into the first patch of earth, forces were set in motion that can now be discerned in the stink of city air, the shine of corrupted rivers, the degradation of land, the silent deaths of species. That is a history beyond my capacity to change. Often as not, it is a history beyond my capacity to understand. Nevertheless, the process of change has to begin somewhere, and if the power were given me, then this is what I would do:
I would mandate that each newborn child be exposed to the wonder of the living earth from the first moments of its life- that among its first sights, sounds, smells, and touching should be the cries and odors and warmth of animals, the rustle of leaves, the majesty of trees, the feel of wind, the embrace of heat and the grip of cold, the spice of salt air, the sound of owls calling in the night.

I would have wings in the air all about the child. I would have the child brought to sit before flowers.
As the child grows, long before it is taught the practical matters of life, I would have it learn first the names of the wild creatures and other things with which its life has been joined: grasses and insects, birds and squirrels, clouds and rain, stones and stars. I would have the child taught that each of these deserves a reverence no less profound than that which should be given to the child itself.
At the earliest age possible, I would have the child brought before teachers, just as I have taught my own, who would explain how the community of life is a structure of interdependence, one life giving nurture to another , each supporting the whole- and that to abuse the privilege of residing here by threatening the future of any individual species in this fragile network is to place at risk all others.

From these same teachers, I would have the child learn that while death is both natural and inevitable and that the death of one individual often sustains the existence of another, death without purpose, death that is careless, death that is not sanctified by the solemn gratitude of the taker of life is a violation of all that could be called holy.

I would have the child learn, deep in the marrow of its being, that it has the power either to enhance or to degrade some portion of the world into which it has come, and that the exercise of that power has consequences that will outlive the child itself. In the mirror of every action, the child should be told, is the face of the future.

Not until these things have become so embedded in the child’s mind and heart that life would be incomprehensible without them- not until then would I introduce the child to the world of practical matters, of institutional learning, of the getting and spending of money, of the promise and perils of citizenship.
For the first time in human history, in short, I would have us produce an entire generation of young people whose understanding of their place in the long narrative of humanity’s sojourn on this planet is secure, and whose responsibility to the world around them is something they assume without question.

For only through such a generation could we truly hope to change the course of history and redeem our speciesThe millennium is here. Let us take stock of who we are and where we are going. Is it acceptable to weep not only for human suffering but also for the rampant misery of other animals with whom we share the planet? Can we shed tears for Sissy, the severely beaten elephant at the El Paso Zoo, the kicked and abused elephants and chimpanzee, Trudy, at the Chippenfield Circus in England? Can we also weep for the millions of animals in laboratory prisons, the billions of animals tortured and slaughtered for food and clothing? Can we sincerely mourn the destruction of the natural world, the vanishing forests, wetlands, savannas and bodies of water? Hope these twelve mantras will make a difference for future generations:

One: Compassion and empathy for animals beget compassion and empathy for humans. Cruelty towards animals begets cruelty toward humans.
Two: All life has value and should be respected. Every animal owns her or his own life spark. Animals are not owned as property. All living creatures deserve these basic rights: the right to life, freedom from torture, and liberty to express their individual natures. Many law schools offer courses in animal law. If we agree, we would interact with animals in rather different ways. We shall need compelling reasons for denying these rights and ask forgiveness for any animal we harm.
Three: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Imagine what it would be like to be caged, trapped, restrained, isolated, mutilated, shocked, starved, socially deprived, hung upside down awaiting death or watching others slaughtered. Biological data clearly show that many animals suffer physically and psychologically and feel pain.
Four: Dominion does not mean domination. We hold dominion over animals only because of our powerful and ubiquitous intellect. Not because we are morally superior. Not because we have a "right" to exploit those who cannot defend themselves. Let us use our brain to move towards compassion away from cruelty, to feel empathy rather than cold indifference, to feel animals' pain in our hearts.
Five: Human beings are a part of the animal kingdom not apart from it. The separation of "us" from "them" creates a false picture and is responsible for much suffering. It is part of the in-group/out-group mentality that leads to human oppression of the weak by the strong as in ethnic, religious, political and social conflicts. Let us open our hearts to two-way relationships with other animals, each giving and receiving. This brings pure and uncomplicated joy.
Six: Imagine a world without animals. No birdsong, no droning of nectar searching bees, no coyotes howling, no thundering of hooves on the plains. Rachel Carson chilled our hearts with thoughts of the silent spring. Now we face the prospect of silent summers, falls and winters.
Seven: Tread lightly. Only interfere when it will be in the best interests of the animals. Imagine a world where we truly respect and admire animals, feel heart-felt empathy, compassion and understanding. Imagine how we should be freed of guilt, conscious or unconscious.
Eight: Make ethical choices in what we buy, do and watch. In a consumer-driven society our individual choices, used collectively for the good of animals and nature, can change the world faster than laws.
Nine: Have the courage of conviction. Never say never. Act now. Be proactive, prevent animal abuse before it starts. Dare to speak out to save the world's precious and fragile resources. Live as much as possible in harmony with nature, respecting the intrinsic value of all life and the wondrous composition of earth, water and air.
Ten: Every individual matters and has a role to play. Our actions make a difference. Public pressure has been responsible for much social change, including more humane treatment of animals. "Whistle blowers" have courageously revealed intolerable conditions in laboratories, circuses, slaughterhouses and so on, often at the expense of their jobs:
Henry Spira organized peaceful demonstrations that led to the abolishment of the Draize test in which rabbits were harmed to learn about the effects of eyeshadow. His efforts also led to the formation of centers devoted to the development of non-animal alternatives, sponsored by the cosmetic companies themselves.
Public pressure greatly reduced veal consumption and led to Sears, Roebuck, and Company ending their sponsorship of Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus. Helen Steel and Dave Morris took on McDonald's in the longest trial in British history (the McLibel case) and showed that they exploit children with their advertising and are "culpably responsible" for cruelty to animals.
Eleven: Be a passionate visionary, a courageous crusader. Combat cruelty and catalyze compassion. Do not fear to express love. Do not fear to be too generous or too kind. Above all, understand that there are many reasons to remain optimistic even when things seem grim. Let us harness the indomitable human spirit. Together we can make this a better world for all living organisms. We must, for our children, and theirs. We must stroll with our kin, not walk away from them.
Gather together your loved ones, garden , grow your own meat , find another alternative to your power sources, your water sources. Get ready for what will come, when it comes .
A millennial mantra: When animals lose, we all lose. Every single loss diminishes us as well as the magnificent world in which we live together. In times of fear, most people step back and wait to see what others are going to do and what's going to happen. Some people, though, see the situation as an opportunity to step forward and take a stand.

The Dream...The Reality...

The night is quiet. The music wraps around me-gentle,soothing...To calm and restore.
As I drift off...I see Grandfather in the distance. he looks heavenward. His countenance is serene,thoughtful. He sees into the endless depths of knowing,and feeling, of that which stands beyond this place. He walks far beyond this place of fear and greed, of confusion and destruction. Through his eyes, i also see and rejoice, to walk through sunlit fields, or drink from pure flowing waters, or press my face against the rough bark of a tree, or sleep on beds of pine needles and velvet moss.

With him , I walk the beach at sunset... the moist sand beneath my feet...the ocean breeze moving gently around me ...feel the ebb and the flow of the swirling surf around my ankles.
I came here seeking nothing. I only desire to be here ...Now. it is sufficient. It is so sweet. It is so safe . I feel the waters pulling me ever deeper into their rise and fall...as though to rock me to sleep . I feel their hypnotic motion flowing into me , through me , whispering over and over, " Come. Dream. "
I feel myself slipping further into their depths. The silence holds me , sings to me , carries me ever-deeper into the endless depths. Slowly, I begin to see, as if i am waking in a world I've never seen before.
I see people wearing ragged clothes, carrying small bundles of their belongings.


I see tears and weariness on their faces. I see buildings in ruin. I see the dead and dying. I see men with guns walking , watching, silent .
I see such devastation, wherever i look .The people do not speak . I speak to them , but they pass by un-hearing. Slowly i realize , they cannot see or hear me .
" What is this place? What has caused this terrible devastation?, I ask out loud .
" You stand upon Mothers Earth. The hideous bombs and other means of destruction have resulted in the final blow. There will be no more wars. The armies have killed each other.
" The bombs were so many, and in so many places, that the very Earth revolted- split apart in several places.


" These people you see, are all that remains of humanity. The men carrying the guns do not yet realize the guns are useless to them. All are still in shock.
" We will assist these people. We will guide them to a safe place, where they may be nourished and protected. When they're able, they will rebuild, and help replenish the Earth .
" They will not remember this terrible day. When they can ( again), see and hear, they will see green pastures, and Oceans full of food. They will work the fertile soil, and revere all living creatures.
" They will enjoy abundant life; a peaceful life in perfect harmony with all universes. They will walk with, speak with ,and celebrate with their Creator .

" No more will these people know fear, disease, hatred, war, starvation or oppression. They will know love and goodness of health , mind and body .
" They will need , no more priests or prophets- For they shall live in the presence of the Father/Mother, as well as countless life forms of other universes.
" This transformation , this awakening , will take time, during which they will be guided and nourished; and , are able to see who they truly are .
" Unlike those who came before them , they will live and grow in the reality of love and trust, and truth .
" Those innocents who are no longer in the flesh, are also preparing for their own part in the completion of the Divine Plan. Those who caused the wars are now facing their life review. They will eventually, be healed and given the opportunity to restore , and make whole everything they abused, or hurt, or destroyed. They must work through their own self-judgments. They must see, and understand completely what they did . They must learn true forgiveness of self, and others, before they may become viable stewards.
" All life forms in every universe is a " Steward ", a care taker, of all other life- forms . there are no exceptions, no exemptions. It is the universal law, which too many of the earth plane forgot, or ignored. ( Both instances apply ).
" Those of the Earth plane could , if they choose, alter the course they travel. Very few years remain before that terrible day arrives.All the hatred and greed, the suffering will be for nothing. It will only hasten their demise, for what belongs to no-one except the Creator .

" The even sadder part of all this...They know deep with-in themselves that they are wrong, and are very close- dangerously close to that last day.
" Awaken with peace, and steady heart and mind ".

"Prayers For Mother Earth"

Mother Earth hear your child, As I sit here on your lap of grass,
I listen to the echoes of your voice In my brother, the Wind,
As he blows from all corners and directions.

The soft and gentle raindrops are the Tears you cry for your children
Teach me the Lessons you offer: To nurture my children, as you nurture yours,
To learn the Lessons of the Four Kingdoms, that make up this World of Physical Things, and To Learn to Walk the Path chosen so long ago.

Mother Earth, hear your child, Be a bond between the Worlds of Earth and Spirit.
Let the Winds echo the Knowledge of the Grandfathers.
Who await, unseen, yet visible if I only turn my eyes to their World.
Let me hear their Voices, in the Winds that Blow to the East.

From the East: I seek the Lessons of Childhood:
To see with the trusting innocence of a small one,
The Lessons of Spirit, Given in Love by our Creator.

From the South: to Learn the Ways of Questioning:
The Fire and Independence of adolescence,
The Truths, and how they help us Grow along this Path.

From the West: where the Grandfathers teach us Acceptance of Responsibility
That come during the years of Marriage and Family.
That my own children grow Strong, and True.

From the North: where the Elders, who by their long lives
Have learned and stored Wisdom and Knowledge.
And Learned to Walk in Balance and Harmony with our Mother, the Earth.

Mother Earth, hear your child. Hold my hand as I Walk my Path in this World.
Guide me to the Lessons I seek, bring me closer to Our Creator,
Until I return to the Western Direction, to once again Enter the World of Spirit,
Where the Sacred Fire Awaits, and I rejoin the Council of the Elders,
In the Presence of the One Who-Created-All.

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Great Spirit, Great Spirit, My Grandfather,
All over the earth the faces of living things are all alike. . .
Look upon these faces of children without number
And with children in their arms,
That they may face the winds and
Walk the good road to the day of quiet. . .

There is no death. . .
Only a change of worlds. . .
Only a change of worlds.
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Holy Goddess, Tell us, Mother of all Nature, engendering all things and regenerating them each day, as You alone bring forth from Your womb all things into life.



Heavenly Goddess, overseeing all things on earth and throughout the seas, in whatever by silent nature is restored in sleep and in death, in the same way that You put to flight the Night with the Light You restore each day.



Earth, En-richer of Life, You dispel the dark shadow of death and the disorder of vast endless Chaos. You hold back the winds and storms, the rain showers and tempests. You alone regulate the weather cycles, either bestirring or putting to flight the storm, interspersing them with cheerful days.



You give the Food of Life unfailingly, in fidelity, and when the soul by necessity departs, in You alone do we find refuge. Thus, whatever You give, in You all will be returned. Deservedly are You called Great Mother of the Gods. Piously then are all the celestial powers distilled in You. The One and True parent of all living things, human and divine. Without You nothing could be born, nothing could grow, and nothing mature.


You are the Great Goddess, the Queen of Heaven, You, Goddess, I adore. I call upon Your power, come.
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Letters,"From A Dying Friend" 4

Sept 6.04 9:35 A.M.

Random-ness
1. She sang with her very soul, the young woman on the radio last night; declaring that her hearts love will live on forever.
2. Oh Lord, this is one awesome"Mountain" before me, and it does scare me ...Big Time! Every step is uncertain. Every breath is the same. At times, I feel as though I'm reflected(as it were) onto a myriad of misty veils-watching as these veils move and change position. All of which is beyond my control. Which one of me is real?
It's the music that holds me together. The music of my sister is the strongest by far. The vibration is deep and far-reaching. It is a path finder that keeps me from being lost...lost in the maize of varied levels of pain and frustration.
To enter her presence is to feel that music surge through me, put me back together,hold me no less. To hear her voice on the phone does the same, though to a lesser degree.
So, it is she who forces me to keep moving forward.It is her strength that insist I fight to keep climbing-even when I am just too exhausted to do so .
What do I hold with in my soul for my sister? Only soul can relate the true significance of my love and profound esteem. Only her soul knows what I cannot verbalize on human terms,because our connection is beyond what is deemed as human.Like the galaxies yet unknown to us, so is that which binds she and me together.It has been so for countless ages. It will remain thus.
Amen...Jean

Letters,"From A Dying Friend" 3

August 24,04
11:OO p.m.

My Beloved Sister,
Just ate a bowl of oatmeal and some toast so I could take,"The Pill."
Tried to sleep,but right side in back area just wont quit.
Went outside awhile ago with Nicki. the half-moon is so breath taking tonight. I thought,"not to be here on this earth to see the moon and stars, or feel the sun high above; not to have more time with you ??? No! Absolutely Not !!! Not for many years yet.
I'm not ready to trade this earth view for that on the other side. I want to walk with you through the seasons here! I want to be here, until Nicki and Mr M must leave us behind.
I talked to God earlier,expressing these some sentiments- in a "please God," fashion.
I love you so much more than I can ever tell you ...Jean

" Letters from ,"A Dying Friend."

I have been moved to share some very personal letters that were written to me by a very dear friend of mine when she was in the process of dying.I am posting them in the hopes that it may help someone else.I will post one a day until they have been posted in their entirity.This being #1


July 14,04
Dear Brenda,
I need to write, to try and relate what (or where,) I'm at tonight.
There is no way I could have gotten myself to Winterport on my own this afternoon. It was your presence that enabled me to go, and to hear the "Worrisome" news.
I'm at a loss for words when it comes to telling you the true depth of my love for you. May your spirit know; and, tell you , what I cannot.
We must focus on the positive of this situation. We must believe that this particular "cup" is half full, not half empty.
To have my family within reach is the greatest blessing I could hope for; and, you know who is my family.
We will take this one step at a time, without speculation or cumbersome fear that serves no purpose.
If you see me feeling sorry for myself, stop me however you can. Please!
It's so easy to do;(at least) for me.It's merely another negative, useless exercise.
Together, we will overcome this speed-bump. Right? Right!!!
I love you. I thank God that you are here with me. We'll "hang Tough" as they say.
Your sister,
Jean