Ratholes in the Babylon of Information

THE TAZ AS A CONSCIOUS radical tactic will emerge under certain conditions:
. . . Also, "Why Linux" & "What 'Little Brother' means to You"!

1. Psychological liberation. That is, we must realize (make real) the moments and spaces in which freedom is not only possible but actual. We must know in what ways we are genuinely oppressed, and also in what ways we are self- repressed or ensnared in a fantasy in which ideas oppress us. WORK, for example, is a far more actual source of misery for most of us than legislative politics. Alienation is far more dangerous for us than toothless outdated dying ideologies. Mental addiction to "ideals"--which in fact turn out to be mere projections of our resentment and sensations of victimization--will never further our project. The TAZ is not a harbinger of some pie-in-the-sky Social Utopia to which we must sacrifice our lives that our children's children may breathe a bit of free air. The TAZ must be the scene of our present autonomy, but it can only exist on the condition that we already know ourselves as free beings.

2. The counter-Net must expand. At present it reflects more abstraction than actuality. Zines and BBSs exchange information, which is part of the necessary groundwork of the TAZ, but very little of this information relates to concrete goods and services necessary for the autonomous life. We do not live in CyberSpace; to dream that we do is to fall into CyberGnosis, the false transcendence of the body. The TAZ is a physical place and we are either in it or not. All the senses must be involved. The Web is like a new sense in some ways, but it must be added to the others-- the others must not be subtracted from it, as in some horrible parody of the mystic trance. Without the Web, the full realization of the TAZ-complex would be impossible. But the Web is not the end in itself. It's a weapon.

3. The apparatus of Control--the "State"--must (or so we must assume) continue to deliquesce and petrify simultaneously, must progress on its present course in which hysterical rigidity comes more and more to mask a vacuity, an abyss of power. As power "disappears," our will to power must be disappearance.

We've already dealt with the question of whether the TAZ can be viewed "merely" as a work of art. But you will also demand to know whether it is more than a poor rat-hole in the Babylon of Information, or rather a maze of tunnels, more and more connected, but devoted only to the economic dead-end of piratical parasitism? I'll answer that I'd rather be a rat in the wall than a rat in the cage--but I'll also insist that the TAZ transcends these categories.

A world in which the TAZ succeeded in putting down roots might resemble the world envisioned by "P.M." in his fantasy novel bolo'bolo. Perhaps the TAZ is a "proto-bolo." But inasmuch as the TAZ exists now, it stands for much more than the mundanity of negativity or countercultural drop-out- ism. We've mentioned the festal aspect of the moment which is unControlled, and which adheres in spontaneous self- ordering, however brief. It is "epiphanic"--a peak experience on the social as well as individual scale.

Liberation is realized struggle--this is the essence of Nietzsche's "self-overcoming." The present thesis might also take for a sign Nietzsche's wandering. It is the precursor of the drift, in the Situ sense of the derive and Lyotard's definition of driftwork. We can foresee a whole new geography, a kind of pilgrimage-map in which holy sites are replaced by peak experiences and TAZs: a real science of psychotopography, perhaps to be called "geo-autonomy" or "anarchomancy."

The TAZ involves a kind of ferality, a growth from tameness to wild(er)ness, a "return" which is also a step forward. It also demands a "yoga" of chaos, a project of "higher" orderings (of consciousness or simply of life) which are approached by "surfing the wave-front of chaos," of complex dynamism. The TAZ is an art of life in continual rising up, wild but gentle--a seducer not a rapist, a smuggler rather than a bloody pirate, a dancer not an eschatologist.

Let us admit that we have attended parties where for one brief night a republic of gratified desires was attained. Shall we not confess that the politics of that night have more reality and force for us than those of, say, the entire U.S. Government? Some of the "parties" we've mentioned lasted for two or three years. Is this something worth imagining, worth fighting for? Let us study invisibility, webworking, psychic nomadism--and who knows what we might attain?

--Spring Equinox, 1990

--
Eye made the switch! I've wanted to enter the LINUX - operating system - building - headspace = "free open source" = "TAZ" = The Paradox of the False Positive = station awake/activated - for several years and finally made the leap. I say "building" because I had very pleasant dreams of why it was important for my sanity cont'd. to drop Microsoft. So finally I did it & highly recommend it if you're considering doing same. It is a completely diff relationship w/our computers/friends/net/web/world/universe; Except being on my computer and the cost financially/ecologically (addressed above in importance of acknowledging and integrating on and offline orientations), the ticket to Linux is that it's *free open source* so as a new I/Linux user I'm impressed by no longer being constantly distracted like to the ridiculous extent I didn't realize by pop up this and that, be it security nonissues, unnecessary upgrades and basically privacy invasion glitchy interruption thingys which seemed a waste of *focus*, which I can now say they are for sure; It's a new world in Linux, way more chill, 1,000 + solutions for everything, a demonstration of co-creativity and 'reality' hacker's delight!

"Bug #1 in Ubuntu: Microsoft has a Majority Market Share".
All computers come pre-installed w/microsoft, which sucks if you care about not throwing away your 'rights' for no good reason and contributing freely to non freedom generating enterprises. The best part is, with little effort because the language of Linux is just so much more clear than Windows ever was, I've officially been referred to as a HACKER a couple of times already. I know peops who've been on Linux for 10 yrs., I'm a little behind obviously, which usually turns out to be less than I think - even if 1 person gets this nudge, great!
www.whylinuxisbetter.net/


****LITTLE BROTHER, by Cory Doctorow
craphound.com/littlebrother/

"What’s Little Brother about?

Marcus, a.k.a “w1n5t0n,” is only seventeen years old, but he figures he
already knows how the system works–and how to work the system. Smart, fast,
and wise to the ways of the networked world, he has no trouble outwitting his
high school’s intrusive but clumsy surveillance systems.

But his whole world changes when he and his friends find themselves caught in
the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on San Francisco. In the wrong
place at the wrong time, Marcus and his crew are apprehended by the
Department of Homeland Security and whisked away to a secret prison where
they’re mercilessly interrogated for days.

When the DHS finally releases them, Marcus discovers that his city has become
a police state where every citizen is treated like a potential terrorist. He
knows that no one will believe his story, which leaves him only one option:
to take down the DHS himself."

and

"Little Brother is a scarily realistic adventure about how homeland security
technology could be abused to wrongfully imprison innocent Americans. A
teenage hacker-turned-hero pits himself against the government to fight for
his basic freedoms. This book is action-packed with tales of courage,
technology, and demonstrations of digital disobedience as the technophile’s
civil protest.

Andrew “bunnie” Huang, author of Hacking the Xbox"

Did I mention?
Free download:
craphound.com/littlebrother/download/


Signed,
Geek
Pride

The Usefulness of Reminders

"We do not see things as they are.
We see them as we are." — The Talmud

In our heart of hearts, in the deepest depths of our souls, we all would probably acknowledge that:

* We're all part of the ineffable One, the Creator, the All,
* We're all part of each other, inextricably intertwined,
* The essence of the unity we share is beyond words, but reflects in experiences and expressions such as loving kindness, compassion, forgiveness, transcendence, joy, serenity and lots of other fun adjectives too numerous to mention,
* We're already "home" and we're just procrastinating the happily inevitable return to this awareness, where duality, separation and all the stuff generally regarded as negative doesn't even register, let alone matter,
* Our finite, egoic selves are the "ones" doing the procrastinating, by blaming "others" (and our "selves" in the limited sense), yet meanwhile, our real, transpersonal Selves, smile in amusement, knowing that it's all part of divine order, the cosmic plan, or whatever we want to call it, and ultimately, we'll wake up from our nightmares and even from happy dreams into what never changes … bliss beyond comprehension of our wildest fantasies from finite vantage points.

So, in a sense, we don't really NEED any reminders, if we just (always) allow our internal guidance, our metapersonal, omniscient inner voice to direct us, out of the fog of our little space-time dramas and cares, to what WE'VE ALL KNOWN ALL ALONG…

OK, that's all true, yet sometimes it's handy (not as a crutch mind you, but perhaps as training wheels — a better metaphor) to have some little mnemonic aids here in this world to keep us from pulling the wool over our own inner vision — with the proviso that as we practice with some memory devices, we realize that they are not what is important. What is important is the thought system, the transpersonal awareness that they merely reflect (seen with an all-encompassing perspective) what we truly are and how the Universe truly is … mirrors! What is important is the presence and quality of being that we bring to every moment, which leads us out of the haze into the clarity of remembering.

Our inner celestial navigation knows all this, and fortunately, can make good use of any symbolic reminders we happen to (synchronistically) notice in this world, and chart a course using the tools at hand. Fortunately, those symbolic reminders happen to appear literally everywhere our senses might focus. All it takes is a little mind training to pay attention to the cues, smile at the "Aha!" experiences, and go forward to find the next clue…

Since we humans have a predisposition toward our visual senses, and since our optical realm is loaded with geometric metaphors of every conceivable variety, geometric reminders are particularly handy cues for recalling our true, whole, indivisibly divine nature. We explore ubiquitous geometries and how they relate to the links forged between physics and metaphysics.

In order for those intuitive "right brain" clues to have a solid rational "left-brain" foundation, it may be helpful to review (or perhaps visit for the first time) the growing body of evidence in our scientific world that gives our inspirational guideposts firm soil to keep them planted where they need to be.


Spirit of Maat, Excerpted and adapted from the upcoming book, "The Geometry Code: Symbolic Wisdom of Natural Laws Within Us" by Bruce Rawles, available soon from Elysian Publishing.

The Killing Fields of Canada

WELCOME TO THE WORLD

The annual Canadian Harp Seal hunt is underway as of dawn today. It's by far the largest mammal hunt in the world and the only commercial hunt in which the target is the infant of it's species. For 6 to 8 weeks each spring, the ice floes of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the eastern coast of Newfoundland and Labrador turn bloody, as some 300,000 harp seal pups, virtually all between the ages of 2 and 12 weeks old, are beaten to death - their skulls crushed with a heavy club called a hakapik - or shot. They are then skinned on the ice or in nearby hunting vessels after being dragged to the ships with boat hooks. The skinined carcasses are usually left on the ice or tossed in the ocean.

Thousands of other wounded pups (estimates range from 15,000 to 150,000 per year) manage to escape the hunters but die later of their injuries or drown after falling off the ice (pups younger than 5 weeks cannot swim). The seals are hunted chiefly for their pelts, which are exported to NORWAY, FINLAND, HONG KONG, TURKEY, RUSSIA and other countries, where they are used to make expensive designer-label coats and accessories.

AMONG THE MAJOR VENDORS OF THESE PRODUCTS ARE THE ITALIAN FASHION WEAR COMPANIES, GUCCI, PRADA AND VERSACE.

For more information on the hunt and surrounding issues + how you can help stop it for good: www.hsus.org/introFlashProtectSeals.html


Thoughts...

In high school I was asked to debate the pros and cons of the seal hunt. I wasn't into debating or the contention so I 'resolved' this by shrinking my presence and appearing unprepared instead of just screaming bloody murder like I should have.

Is it really rocket science to get it that harp seal parents feel every bit as amazed and thrilled and caring and loving toward their newborn infants as people do? How does this awareness possibly resolve itself with the bludgeoning going on. Can you IMAGINE if it was your kid being disadvantageously bludgeoned to death with a pick axe by a 'civilized' grown man right in front of you? …I guess each of us has something that seems the most obvious thing in the world that relatively few others appear to embody. Explaining is the easy part, doing it without mirroring anger well that's another question that.

Today is a tough day, as a water sign I let the tears slip and flow as they will beginning with tuning into the protectseals.org site this morning. The hunt started at dawn and I feel the shock of this horrific scene to the core of my bones, while the site's counter flips steadily each second indicating the rising number of baby seals being killed. I can't even conceive that this evil count down is scheduled to continue for 2 more weeks, it's just way too much like it's been every year for as long as it's been going on; How might this situation play out otherwise where all of us survive and thrive, if not 1,000 kinder ways...and so I (must) stay open to Miracles.

It's really hard not to judge the soul-less nature of a man (hunter) who has it in him to brutalize a baby of any species. This is no sacred act. It is sickity SICK. When I hear that the government deems that a quota of killing 275,000 harp seals is acceptable, I ask by who's standards. These seals are international citizens like me, migrating through vast ocean waters: What right do Canadian hunters and their government allies have to spring up and start clubbing these wonderful, peaceful creatures just because they have the ill fortune of having their young near this country's coastline? It's no more than a basic issue of entitlement.

The hunters are acting in an exclusive, closed environment and it is incredible the lengths the government is going to to justify (read lie) defend this kruelty klub. Domination over Nature is over and we are only just beginning to to get a taste of the effects of this bygone era. The Earth is dying as part of her Rebirth and so are we. Persisting and trying to go back will only cause the pain we feel to be more acute… The only way I can possibly process such labourios atrocities (pick your story) is to know without a doubt that every cell in my being is a prayer and to put everything I am behind the *knowing* that this tragedy will end in my lifetime, which is not remotely close to soon enough.

The only way out is to feel the pain and DO. Alchemizing trauma is the norm for change agents, we should be used to it by now but we never quite are the only redemption now being that we are global in scope and on the ground in droves. Another name we sometimes go by is NGO's. …Witnesses and activists on the frontlines need our support, strength and prayers for they are perservering in a very hostile, environment that speaks violence and perceives listening and dialogue as a threat in stead of a doorway to expansion. My heart is fortified knowing some of my biggest heros on the planet are facing off the hunt, like Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd who is uncompromisingly dedicated to his 'clients' of the seas.

My thoughts and prayers are first with the harp seals and their families today, also present with all of the rainbow warriors planet wide… I have such profound grattitude for everyone's brevity and endurance. It truly is a privilege to be alive and there's nothing left but to make the MOST of it for the Good of All. ~*


CALL FROM THE KILLING FIELDS! “Please Stand With Us and Bear Witness”

Rebecca Aldworth has been documenting the seal hunt for 10 years, following is an excerpt from her blog leading up to this morning's events.

…I lay down a few feet from them and closed my eyes. They repeated the gesture. After doing this a few times, the seals were fast asleep. And so was I!

When I woke, the pups were huddled together just inches away from me. My two new friends woke as well, staring at me curiously. One slid across the ice to me, taking a moment to smell my face before he move on.

One of the most tragic things is the advantage held by the sealers. Not only are these pups just days of age and utterly defenseless, but they are absolutely trusting of people. The sealers betray that trust in the worst possible way.

I looked over across the ice, and saw one very young seal crawl up to Nigel's camera, staring at him in fascination as he took her photo. It never ceases to amaze me how charismatic these newborn seals are - and how utterly peaceful the ice floes can be …

Answer Me This:

Is 2012 the latest / current / next Y2K?

Happy "Eastre"!

Eastre, also spelt Easter, Ostara and Oestre celebrated at the Vernal Equinox (first day of Spring), approx. 21st March.

The Goddess is in her aspect of mother to be. She is Eastre, the Teutonic Goddess of Fertility. Her symbol is the egg, symbolising fertility in nature and rebirth from the long winter months. The seeds are now sown, ready to grow and ripen. The Goddess is fertile, rich with promise and potential life. (It is from the word "oestre" that we get the word "oestrogen" - the female hormone).

To the Saxons she was Ostara, in myth she is said to have amused children by turning her bird into a rabbit, the rabbit then laid coloured eggs much to the delight of the children.

Day and night are in balance, the union of the Goddess and young God brings all life into order. She represents the blossoming of new awareness, joy in the new life springing forth from the Earth.

~ Wiccaweb

Opening the Doors of Haven

Prophecy of the Cornerstone
(From the libraries of the White Horse)

By Almine

When that which was separated again unites
When the libraries of the Horse unite in truth and might
This by a blue star heralded shall be
This awaited event shall turn a key

On the morning of January 20, 2008 I learned for the first time from the Mother of Creation that the libraries I had been translating from, known as the White Horse Libraries, were not whole. They had been separated into two portions, one being in higher realms. At about 2:47 pm PST Mother united them after eons of separation. This coincided with the advent of the blue star — Comet Holmes — whose current appearance was first noted in October 2007. When the libraries are united, it will set other events in motion — like turning a key.

When the two shall be one another event shall come
A cornerstone shall be laid, for the reign of the Mother and Father will have begun
Let purity reign; let lies be done away
Let the destructuring of the old begin this day

After the libraries had been united, the Father laid the first cornerstone of the Mother and Father's joint reign on Earth. The cornerstone consisted of an incorruptible box, its beautifully carved wood originally from the Caucasus Mountains. That which was placed within I am not allowed to disclose until the other cornerstones are laid some time in the future. This event precedes a destructuring of earthly systems that are not compatible with the purity and truth of the Mother's and Father's long prophesied joint reign on Earth, which was initially described in Opening the Doors of Heaven.

Swept clear by the Mother many souls have died
On Earth in empty bodies the soulless do hide
When social tyrants that have governed are all done away
Soulless bodies that linger shall no longer stay

There are many soulless bodies on Earth because they have not earned the right to live as the Earth ascended into higher realms beginning in February 2005. They have lingered because illusory institutions have remained. As these social structures are dismantled, there shall be many 'deaths' but technically they are already dead.

Three more comets shall come to herald the Holy Reign
A larger one that's pink, a smaller purple one, then a small red one yet again
As each one comes, another cornerstone is laid
More shall destructure, let Mother's children not be afraid

"Verech nahur usva bevechstik u-aresvi
Kelesh klahusbavik/nechve ustavi"

Great is the glory of times to come
For the reign of great peace has begun

Achieving Golden (Masculine) Energy Balance

"Raphael, patron angel of healers, was given responsibility by the Creator for making the earth a fit place for all life, as well as for aiding humankind with the healing of all maladies. He is guardian of the sacred knowledge, or science, of healing and therefore when we work with him he makes it possible for us to develop a full understanding of our own wonderful powers of recovery.

If you resonate strongly with Raphael's sacred name, it also suggests you may have an inherent healing skill that you should develop. You may, however, need self-healing first, because the stressful process of life depletes energy levels, and we must continually re-balance this energy to maintain good health. Life force energy (also called Universal Source or the Quintessence) is the gift of Spirit and contains unconditional Love and the pure harmonic of Light, including all rainbow colors. Ask Raphael how you can learn to channel this to strengthen your immune system, thus enhancing the body's self-healing ability, and sealing it in with his golden ray. If you genuinely desire to give healing to others, you must strive to be centered and whole yourself, for in a mystical process the healing creates a synergy between individuals' higher selves allowing Love and Light to flow between.

'I come on a pure golden spiral that flows from Father Sun to manifest all life on Mother Earth. It is the glorious energy ray whose nurturing warmth brings you joy of living, banishes darkness and enlightens your life and future.

My task is to guide you towards knowledge of self-healing, harmony and balance so that you can use this knowledge for self and others. Consider your life as a canvas on which you can create any picture you like. To do this, however, you need health, else your picture will be faint indeed. You also require balance and harmony between the active, gold side of you and your passive, silver side. Gold is the aspect of you that makes decisions, using logic and analytical skills, and takes action accordingly — the power of your will and mind. Your silver side — your feelings and intuition — is ruled by the Moon, whose Guardian is Gabriel*. The two aspects meet in third eye chakra.

If you would receive my golden rays close your eyes and breathe my energy. See the spiral of gold travel anti-clockwise down through your crown, circling your heart and into your solar plexus (solar chakra). Absorb as much gold as you can, for the solar plexus is the place where emotions may have been suppressed and where your will power is located. To empower your will and mind use them to actually ignite the Sun within you, harnessing its power at all — even cellular — levels. I will assist you to finally send it up to your right brow where it joins with the corresponding silver energy spiral of Gabriel*. If you work at this you will gradually attain true balance and harmony. As your will is empowered, nourish it with your heart, using your power only with Love. This brings true wisdom and opens the Way to crown chakra and Oneness with All.' "

~ Angela McGerr, Healing the Wounded Healer First

MaYaLaNd * ReDuX

"If we reach the understanding of what we actually are, there is no better remedy for eliminating all suffering. This is the heart of all spiritual practices". — Kalu Rimpoche

"… oneness with Spirit in which the mystery of life is no more." — Paramahansa Yogananda

There is one more point in understanding the true nature of energy and our relationship to our spiritual path, the Divine. With out first breath, we enter the world of illusion, Maya, where we believe our lives are separate and apart from our Source. The physical body, physical senses and desires, attributes of being — the ego part of us, wants to declare uniqueness, our personal power and absolute rule. While at the same time, spiritual impulses, emanating from the soul come into our consciousness through the psychic senses. The battles between these two undeniable influences create the ever-changing ebb and flow of life events. The soul demands we seek harmony and attunement with all that is. The human part of us, acting like a petulant child, musters all available forces to be different, unique and all the things of self. With the evolving complexity of being, one path remains, to balance and harmonize these two points of duality with the oneness of Spirit.

Where do we begin? A first step may be to create the desire in the forefront of our consciousness to blend with and personally know Divine energy. That would mean our spiritual growth needs attending in the exact same manner as our physical life. As with any effort we put forth and to advance on the spiritual path, we need to have a sense of what we are working toward. We know what we are supposed to be seeking though the teachings of the Great Masters that have walked the earth. But how does that translate to our individual being, living a life based upon karma remaining from other lifetimes, and limited by the confines of the human consciousness? It may seem crass, but by rearranging our thinking and formulating a plan, we can begin to understand our unfolding spiritual consciousness and draw nearer to the oneness we wish to experience.

Another important step deals with the constant search for our truth. On a personal level, that means telling our truth and listening for the voice of conscience, the Divine voice within. By standing our ground, listening to our spiritual pacemaker in the face of the demands of others and life, we can be certain of being on the right soul path. For most of us, the path to our personal truth and higher-consciousness is strewn with the corpses of outmoded ways of acting and operating in a demanding and unrelenting material world. Pulling our life back to us, not allowing others people to direct, effect or influence our thinking is a major step in the advancing states of spiritual consciousness.

We also have to do our part by working hard to create the right conditions and opportunity to feel the experience of oneness in our life. We can eat right, monitor the company we keep, meditate, pray, as well as practice all the other spiritual techniques. Slowly, focusing on our truth, motivated by the impulses of our heart and soul, the ego starts to surrender. It is then that the Divine creative energy begins to gather strength as the stronger force in our consciousness. As we continue to grow, the need to live in self-centered consciousness diminishes and can eventually disappear. The end of the dramas of life is in sight.

The experience of oneness comes to everyone with time, study and meditation. With advancement coming from within, in the form of self-understanding and becoming more spiritually conscious, we begin to recognize the long-held thoughts that keep us separated from the greater light. To walk through life seeing everything as one-energy, transforms the core of our being to state of eventually being with that energy. And we can get to this important step by looking within, observing our inner workings, and learning what creates harmony within us.

In time the harmony and peace we desire will no longer come and go in each passing moment. As we continue our efforts to attune and align ourselves with the God of our Heart, all that we need will be provided for us. What our lives hold is our truth. No longer will we feel the need to be beggars at the banquet of life. Our opportunity comes from holding in every thought moment a sense of the Divine presence that pervades our universe, and knowing we are not ever alone.

In the next few weeks, begin to define what it would feel like to experience the sublime energy of being one with all that is. Journal on the issue of your truth and try and discover how closely you are living in accordance with the voice of your higher-self. Think of how many times you choose to follow the path of another, rather then listening to the voice of your higher-self."

~ Stephen Thomson

Free BASSing + Co.CreaTRIXzing... '08

"A year has just ended and as with the beginning of each New Year, a new cycle of universal energy manifests on our planet. At midnight on December 31st, this influx of energy represents the ever-changing Divine consciousness behind all creation on the earth plane. The fresh start to the year represents a new flavor of energy that manifests and support the evolution of our soul. It is the backdrop behind everything we will experience during the months to come. The new energy brings gifts of life and is to use for our journey during the year. This is another opportunity to play out and experience all that we are, incarnate at this time in the evolution of our world.

The year 2008 vibrates with the number one. In Numerology, when the vibration of one is present, it is a very important time of new beginnings. In our personal lives we invent beginnings and endings; they give our lives a sense of time and space. With the one energy comes a lot of personal thinking about who were are, what we are feeling and want. During this period seeds will be planted that we tend, nourish, and grow. This is done by our conscious and unconscious actions. Also, there are the impulses and voice of our higher-self speaking to us, clearer in this cycle than many others. We all receive direction from the deepest part of us, the soul voice, about what we need to do to move our lives forward as spiritual beings.

For all of us, the biggest obstacle we face in our journey is our body, aligned with the physical senses. This is the battle ground for all of us, especially when it comes to inertia. Our progress is dependent on our ability to wrestle control of our lives from the sense nature of our being. We are all familiar with the whole range of challenges that comes with the demands of the body. Our job is to cleanse and harmonize ourselves of anything that creates a distraction and takes away our sense of peace. This can be a whole range of things from the things we eat and drink, to too much noise, and/or the dramas we create. When we quiet the body and the senses, we automatically receive many new spiritual opportunities.

We can start this year differently by creating a list of resolutions for the New Year that has only Spiritual goals. Remember — expanding our soul consciousness, deepening our connection with the Divine from a body-based experience is what the earth journey is all about. This exercise takes the place of mundane concerns like losing weight or stopping some habit. Although this may seem foreign or strange, why shouldn't we apply the same methods and techniques we use in our material life to our spiritual journey? After all, we are here to experience a spiritual life and our personal truth. And we can make a plan for this too. It's not just about our material worth and experience.

Think about the need to commit some time each day to consciously moving from the outer to the inner world. One way of doing this is to include a period of meditation in our daily routine. This practice clears our minds and harmonizes and heals our bodies. When we enter into a deep state of meditation, our soul has direct access to the Divine energy. We can attune with forces and sources far greater than anything we can know in the physical world. Contact with the Cosmic Masters is not uncommon at these times. The healing of soul and body are guaranteed.

The New Year is a great time to assess how we have grown in our spiritual consciousness. Our soul-based motivation is for a deeper connection to our Spiritual path. Only we can answer the deep personal questions that come from the mind-soul connection. Are we listening to the voice of our higher-self, the spiritual pace maker in our consciousness? Are the spiritual practices we observe being honored in our daily life? Or are we approaching our spiritual work from an intellectual and abstract place? Do we practice our beliefs? As we look at our lives, are we becoming the person we aspire to be?

Here are a few suggestions to get started on a List of Spiritual Resolutions for 2008. You may want to create a list and use it as the basis for working in your journal, along with some plan for action.

I want to plan time each day/week to devote to spiritual practices/study.

I want to live my truth as a spiritual person.

I want to expand my intuitive abilities.

I want to simplify my life.

I want take at least one class or do one retreat during the year.

(Notice the use of the word want, rather than need)

All of the above will strengthen your connection to the part of your Being that creates change. As we contemplate the ways in which we want to change, or begin anew, it will be helpful if we think of that process as a spiritual one."

~ Stephen Thomson

The Secret of Pan's Prowess

"Since w*Om~yN are still oppressed and kept down today, many of us have a strong desire and need to reconnect with our source, our roots, to a time in our pasts when the world's people all had reverence for the sacred feminine. We're also spiritually starved. In learning to love ourselves after so many years of believing we had no proud heritage, women (addressed to the Yin in All-Yang follows same... :) need powerful role models and images that refresh our spirits and minds. Many of us actually live our lives centered around and with wimmin, and we rely on spiritual tools to depict our reality;

C.Om-uN^iCAtiOn access is one of the pathways to power. If media is bombarded with superficiality, detracting memes and violence we can turn our attention/intention toward images that will refresh our spirits and reaffirm our REAL*ity. Changing our ingrained basic beliefs is possibly the most important step in our liberation; to re-train our minds and psyches to believe in ourselves and each other, and to rediscover the Beauty and Passion of the Earth and the Great Goddess of t.e.n.t.h.o.u.s.a.n.d. names.

...New powers overtaking cultures have always changed or destroyed that of preceding societies. Alexander "The Great" destroyed 8,000 years of women's herstory when he burned the matriarchal libraries. (This is why many herstorians are adding 8,000 years to the present date). Many sources agree that the tarot was created to replace the old, wise knowledge that was being lost by the onslaught of patriarchy. Some say magicians from many countries gathered to create the cards; others say that the gypsies carried their knowledge throughout the tarot. The hostile Christians tried to destroy the tarot by collecting and burning any decks they could get their hands on, in an effort to destory the Pagan culture. Further, the tarot has *always* been linked to the kabbala, paganism and witchcraft.

...Hierarchy thrives in an atmosphere of dualisms and oppositions. If we are part of a cycle or circle, we are connected to eachother, but if one of us is "higher" than the other we are separated. Hierarchy invariably leads to oppression and power-over relationships, such as queen/subject, master/slave (excluding xrated version of course ;), rich/poor. In an effort to rid ourselves of power-over thinking, we remember that the aspects of the Goddess are present in all wimmin and correspond to cycles of birth, life and death as well as cycles of the moon - New, Full and Dark.

...Energy of the Maiden expresses new life, birth, adventure, independence and springtime. The Mother expresses the Fullness and maturity of life abundance, fruitfulness, the full moon, maintenance and nurturing - summer. The Crone is seen as the waning or dark of the Moon, psychic wisdom, the Mysteries and secrets of death and the Universe - wintertime. These archetypes are powerful affirmations for women today because they validate all aspects of our womon-selves and can help us to heal parts we have rejected or shunned.

In the area of biology, Mary J. Shirfey, in her book "The Nature of Female Sexuality", presents that the female actually precedes the male as a physical form. The huwo/man embryo first takes the female form before either becoming male or remaining female. Research by feminist herstorians has uncovered information that matriarchies predated patriarchies throughout the world. In myth, the male dieties originally appeared as sons and consorts of the powerful goddesses. Only later, when men rewrote(!) the myths, did they become male father gods. Today we have a male-dominated culture. It appears that the younger gender - men - overtook the older gender - women - and with it virtually wiped out 8,000 years of knowledge and herstory.

...Pan was one of the Goddesses' mythological consorts. He can be found in many ancient mythologies, characterized by his sensuousness, creativity and love for the Goddess. His names are many: Gwdion, Tamuz, Arigus Og, Dion or the Horned God. It was this carefree, poetic and sensual figure that was transformed by the patriarchal myth makers into the Devil. Thus, men have internalized repression and guilt towards these qualities in themselves, calling them "of the Devil". By the same token, a man reclaiming the image of Pan is undergoing his liberation.

Pan-spirited men exude the presence of good-heartedness: gentle and sensitive, loving and caring, active in parenting or nurturing in the world. He shows concern, is genuinely empathetic and cares for the well-being of all. This is the man who is actively engaged in overcoming the effects of patriarchy, who is supportive of women's liberation and hu/woman rights. Men need to know they have the power to change. Can he still cry? To what extent have his feelings been cut off? A Pan man strives to overcome his conditioning which goes deep, and is reinforced by a phallo-centric society. Can he still laugh? Or is the child part of his ego smothered with male rationale and logic? He lets his child self out to play.

This is a political man, gay or straight, who is trying to change his actions in positive ways by developing gentleness and self-love. This includes giving up macho power and power over womyn and children, as well as tuning in to the natural beauty fo the planet, recognizing magic, lunar consciousness and The Goddess.

In many male hero myths, the central figure appears as a trickster god, one who plays pranks and perpetuates deception. The clever male ego can be capable of this. Misguided men use womyn's liberation ideas for personal gain. Or men may use the intellect, traditional "man's territory", to gain power. The feminist principle may still be active in him, but he may be "selling out", or perhaps he means well and needs some consciousness raising from his brothers...prompting the choice to stop being ripped off, or to take space to get one's bearings."

~ Ffiona Morgan, Daughters of the Moon


...TaLkIN back the Thymes :)

p.s. From Wikipedia: PARTHENOGENESIS

"A parthenogenetic offspring is sometimes called a parthenogen. As with all types of asexual reproduction, there are both costs (low genetic diversity and susceptibility to adverse mutations that might occur) and benefits (reproduction without the need for a male) associated with parthenogenesis. Asexual reproduction existed alone from the beginning of life on Earth for many epochs. When sexual reproduction arose (presumably through mutation) it introduced a means to expand genetic diversity through the partial contribution of the male, providing more options for the survival of the species in which it began. Many species followed this reproductive path successfully, some to the exclusion of the asexual pattern from which it arose, some enabling both, some retaining the capacity to revert to asexual reproduction—if necessary, and yet others that abandoned sexual reproduction and reverted to the asexual. There are species, such as some Kalanchoe plants, that once had the capacity to reproduce sexually, but wherein no males ever have been discovered and the species reproduces prolifically via its retained asexual methods alone."