David Swanson ~ Back in Iraq, Jack!

Brilliant rant (via exopermaculture)

[Please check out warisacrime.org, where this article first appeared.]

Back in Iraq, Jack!

By davidswanson – Posted on 07 August 2014

President Obama may want us to sympathize with patriotic torturers, he may turn on whistleblowers like a flesh-eating zombie, he may have lost all ability to think an authentic thought, but I will say this for him: He knows how to mark the 50th anniversary of the Gulf of Tonkin fraud like a champion.

It’s back in Iraq, Jack! Yackety yack! Obama says the United States has fired missiles and dropped food in Iraq — enough food to feed 8,000, enough missiles to kill an unknown number (presumably 7,500 or fewer keeps this a “humanitarian” effort).  The White House told reporters on a phone call following the President’s Thursday night speech that it is expediting weapons to Iraq, producing Hellfire missiles and ammunition around the clock, and shipping those off to a nation where Obama swears there is no military solution and only reconciliation can help.  Hellfire missiles are famous for helping people reconcile.

Obama went straight into laying out his excuses for this latest war, before speaking against war and in favor of everything he invests no energy in.  First, the illegitimate government of Iraq asked him to do it.  Second, ISIS is to blame for the hell that the United States created in Iraq.  Third, there are still lots of places in the world that Obama has not yet bombed.  Oh, and this is not really a war but just protection of U.S. personnel, combined with a rescue mission for victims of a possible massacre on a scale we all need to try to understand. 

Wow! We need to understand the scale of killing in Iraq?  This is the United States you’re talking to, the people who paid for the slaughter of 0.5 to 1.5 million Iraqis this decade.  Either we’re experts on the scale of mass killings or we’re hopelessly incapable of understanding such matters. 

Completing the deja vu all over again Thursday evening, the substitute host of the Rachel Maddow Show seemed eager for a new war on Iraq, all of his colleagues approved of anything Obama said, and I heard “Will troops be sent?” asked by several “journalists,” but never heard a single one ask “Will families be killed?”

Pro-war veteran Democratic congressman elected by war opponents Patrick Murphy cheered for Obama supposedly drawing a red line for war.  Murphy spoke of Congress without seeming aware that less than two weeks ago the House voted to deny the President any new war on Iraq.  There are some 199 members of the House who may be having a hard time remembering that right now. 

Pro-war veteran Paul Rieckhoff added that any new veterans created would be heroes, and — given what a “mess” Iraq is now — Rieckhoff advocated “looking forward.” The past has such an extreme antiwar bias. 

Rounding out the reunion of predictable pro-war platitudes and prevarications, Nancy Pelosi immediately quoted the bits of Obama’s speech that suggested he was against the war he was starting. Can Friedman Units and benchmarks be far behind?

Obama promises no combat troops will be sent back to Iraq.  No doubt.  Instead it’ll be planes, drones, helicopters, and “non-combat” troops.  “America is coming to help” finally just sounded as evil as Reagan meant it to, but it was in Obama’s voice.  The ironies exploded like Iraqi houses on Thursday.  While the United States locks Honduran refugee children in cages, it proposes to bomb Iraq for refugees.  While Gaza starves and Detroit lacks water, Obama bombs Iraq to stop people from starving.  While the U.S. ships weapons to Israel to commit genocide, and to Syria for allies of ISIS, it is rushing more weapons into Iraq to supposedly prevent genocide on a mountaintop — also to add to the weapons supplies already looted by ISIS.

Of course, it’s also for “U.S. interests,” but if that means U.S. people, why not pull them out?  If it means something else, why not admit as much in the light of day and let the argument die of shame?

Let me add a word to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs spokesman David Swanson, who is not me and whom I do not know: Please do keep pushing for actual humanitarian aid.  But if you spoke against the missiles that are coming with the food, the reporters left that bit out.  You have to fit it into the same sentence with the food and water if you want it quoted.  I hope there is an internal U.N. lobby for adoption by the U.N. of the U.N. Charter, and if there is I wish it all the luck in the world.

George Washington’s Vision

People have been sharing dreams and visions with me, and these, coupled with some of my own recent dreams keep reminding me of Washington’s Vision. It truly feels as though we’re in the third challenge period. One thing to remember about premonitions is that they arrive as warnings and opportunities for change, not necessarily as “facts” etched in stone. Many times, premonitions have caused me to alter plans or focus, only to discover later that had I not paid attention to the dreams, visions or intuitive nudges, I would have met with harm, discomfort or even on a few occasions an untimely end. With this in mind, I share George Washington’s vision here — as having awareness of mystical input gives us an added advantage in honing our prayers and intentions.

No doubt, the US needs a major house cleaning, and the world, indeed, has become increasingly aware of that fact, even if many US citizens remain asleep. I know that through awakening, creativity and “becoming the change we wish to see in the world” that we can allow this deep cleaning and transformation to occur organically and without violence. By engaging our Shadow and taking responsibility for the havoc America continues to wreak upon the world through arms, funding and subterfuge, we can — like Jews around the world are doing with Israel — say, “No more. Not in our name.”

Just as this difficult Shadow Work has softened international attitudes towards individual Jews instead of lumping them in with the State of Israel, Netanyahu and Mossad, so, too, Americans can revoke our permission for the atrocities perpetrated in our name. In doing so, we ask for forgiveness, atone for our collective mess and open ourselves to receive the help and support we need from the world our government alienates at every turn. As Americans wake up, the rest of the world will recognize that the US has been under a potent spell, along with much of the Western World. Awakening to responsibility isn’t easy, but it’s far easier than the current alternatives. With freedom comes responsibility; indeed, true freedom never comes without it.

For your consideration:

From USHistory.org

Washington’s Vision

In the National Tribune, 1880, an article appeared giving an account of the “Vision of Washington” at Valley Forge. The account was told by a gentleman named Anthony Sherman, who supposedly was at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777-78. The story has been published several times.

Some people will say that it is substantiated by the fact that a copy of the account is in the Library of Congress. This argument of authenticity is misleading in and of itself. The Library of Congress has copies of anything published. That does not indicate accuracy of the content.

I am unaware of any eighteenth-century evidence that corroborates this story. The soldier mentioned as having a first-hand account of the “Vision,” Anthony Sherman, was a soldier in the Continental Army. However, according to his pension application, written by him, he states that he was at Saratoga under the command of Benedict Arnold at the end of 1777 and only joined the main forces in 1778 in New Jersey just before the Battle of Monmouth.

Anthony Sherman wrote:

You doubtless heard the story of Washington’s going to the thicket to pray in secret for aid and comfort from God, the interposition of whose Divine Providence brought us safely through the darkest days of tribulation. One day, I remember it well, when the chilly winds whistled through the leafless trees, though the sky was cloudless and the sun shown brightly, he remained in his quarters nearly all the afternoon alone. When he came out, I noticed that his face was a shade paler than usual. There seemed to be something on his mind of more than ordinary importance. Returning just after dusk, he dispatched an orderly to the quarters who was presently in attendance. After a preliminary conversation of about an hour, Washington, gazing upon his companion with that strange look of dignity which he alone commanded, related the event that occurred that day.


“George Washington’s Vision”

This afternoon, as I was sitting at this table engaged in preparing a dispatch, something seemed to disturb me. Looking up, I beheld standing opposite me a singularly beautiful female. So astonished was I, for I had given strict orders not to be disturbed, that it was some moments before I found language to inquire the cause of her presence. A second, a third and even a fourth time did I repeat my question, but received no answer from my mysterious visitor except a slight raising of her eyes.

By this time I felt strange sensations spreading through me. I would have risen but the riveted gaze of the being before me rendered volition impossible. I assayed once more to address her, but my tongue had become useless, as though it had become paralyzed.

A new influence, mysterious, potent, irresistible, took possession of me. All I could do was to gaze steadily, vacantly at my unknown visitor. Gradually the surrounding atmosphere seemed as if it had become filled with sensations, and luminous. Everything about me seemed to rarefy, the mysterious visitor herself becoming more airy and yet more distinct to my sight than before. I now began to feel as one dying, or rather to experience the sensations which I have sometimes imagined accompany dissolution. I did not think, I did not reason, I did not move; all were alike impossible. I was only conscious of gazing fixedly, vacantly at my companion.

Presently I heard a voice saying, “Son of the Republic, look and learn,” while at the same time my visitor extended her arm eastwardly, I now beheld a heavy white vapor at some distance rising fold upon fold. This gradually dissipated, and I looked upon a stranger scene. Before me lay spread out in one vast plain all the countries of the world — Europe, Asia, Africa and America. I saw rolling and tossing between Europe and America the billows of the Atlantic, and between Asia and America lay the Pacific.

“Son of the Republic,” said the same mysterious voice as before, “look and learn.” At that moment I beheld a dark, shadowy being, like an angel, standing or rather floating in mid-air, between Europe and America. Dipping water out of the ocean in the hollow of each hand, he sprinkled some upon America with his right hand, while with his left hand he cast some on Europe. Immediately a cloud raised from these countries, and joined in mid-ocean. For a while it remained stationary, and then moved slowly westward, until it enveloped America in its murky folds. Sharp flashes of lightning gleamed through it at intervals, and I heard the smothered groans and cries of the American people.

A second time the angel dipped water from the ocean, and sprinkled it out as before. The dark cloud was then drawn back to the ocean, in whose heaving billows in sank from view. A third time I heard the mysterious voice saying, “Son of the Republic, look and learn,” I cast my eyes upon America and beheld villages and towns and cities springing up one after another until the whole land from the Atlantic to the Pacific was dotted with them.

Again, I heard the mysterious voice say, “Son of the Republic, the end of the century cometh, look and learn.” At this the dark shadowy angel turned his face southward, and from Africa I saw an ill omened specter approach our land. It flitted slowly over every town and city of the latter. The inhabitants presently set themselves in battle array against each other. As I continued looking I saw a bright angel, on whose brow rested a crown of light, on which was traced the word “Union,” bearing the American flag which he placed between the divided nation, and said, “Remember ye are brethren.” Instantly, the inhabitants, casting from them their weapons became friends once more, and united around the National Standard.

“And again I heard the mysterious voice saying “Son of the Republic, look and learn.” At this the dark, shadowy angel placed a trumpet to his mouth, and blew three distinct blasts; and taking water from the ocean, he sprinkled it upon Europe, Asia and Africa. Then my eyes beheld a fearful scene: From each of these countries arose thick, black clouds that were soon joined into one. Throughout this mass there gleamed a dark red light by which I saw hordes of armed men, who, moving with the cloud, marched by land and sailed by sea to America. Our country was enveloped in this volume of cloud, and I saw these vast armies devastate the whole county and burn the villages, towns and cities that I beheld springing up. As my ears listened to the thundering of the cannon, clashing of sword, and the shouts and cries of millions in mortal combat, I heard again the mysterious voice saying, “Son of the Republic, look and learn” When the voice had ceased, the dark shadowy angel placed his trumpet once more to his mouth, and blew a long and fearful blast. “Instantly a light as of a thousand suns shone down from above me, and pierced and broke into fragments the dark cloud which enveloped America. At the same moment the angel upon whose head still shone the word Union, and who bore our national flag in one hand and a sword in the other, descended from the heavens attended by legions of white spirits. These immediately joined the inhabitants of America, who I perceived were will nigh overcome, but who immediately taking courage again, closed up their broken ranks and renewed the battle.

Again, amid the fearful noise of the conflict, I heard the mysterious voice saying, “Son of the Republic, look and learn.” As the voice ceased, the shadowy angel for the last time dipped water from the ocean and sprinkled it upon America. Instantly the dark cloud rolled back, together with the armies it had brought, leaving the inhabitants of the land victorious!

Then once more I beheld the villages, towns and cities springing up where I had seen them before, while the bright angel, planting the azure standard he had brought in the midst of them, cried with a loud voice: “While the stars remain, and the heavens send down dew upon the earth, so long shall the Union last.” And taking from his brow the crown on which blazoned the word “Union,” he placed it upon the Standard while the people, kneeling down, said, “Amen.”

The scene instantly began to fade and dissolve, and I at last saw nothing but the rising, curling vapor I at first beheld. This also disappearing, I found myself once more gazing upon the mysterious visitor, who, in the same voice I had heard before, said, “Son of the Republic, what you have seen is thus interpreted: Three great perils will come upon the Republic. The most fearful is the third, but in this greatest conflict the whole world united shall not prevail against her. Let every child of the Republic learn to live for his God, his land and the Union.” With these words the vision vanished, and I started from my seat and felt that I had seen a vision wherein had been shown to me the birth, progress, and destiny of the United States.

August Specials

Sorry I’m so late posting the monthly specials. With all the energy shifts, I’ve taken some extra time intuiting what’s most needed and came up with a first time ever three separate specials, including an extension of July’s “Timeline Tune-In and Tune-Up.”

AUGUST 2014 SPECIALS:

Return of the $77 Past Life Quickie

With the veils thinning, so many more people have begun to experience what I call “past life bleed-through.” Dreams, hunches, visions, flashes … however the suspected past life awareness arrives, it can feel unsettling, exciting and/or cause obsessive questions. This half-hour reading allows people to ask persistent questions, or to have a check-in regarding the most pressing karmic issues presenting themselves right now. Yes, this can include past life relationships with animal friends. I don’t normally offer Past Life Readings in a half-hour format, but I wanted to make this available to the larger numbers of people wondering about previous lifetimes and relationships. If you’d like to double this special for the full hour, just let me know in your scheduling request. Offer valid if prepaid on or before August 31, 2014.

$444 Intuitive Coaching Four-Pack

With regular intuitive or life coaching sessions running $175/hour, this special offers major savings at $444/four hours. I’ve found that even people who normally process things on their own feel challenged by the increased intensity and “sorting” of the Universe these days. As we continue with Earth changes, internal and galactic shifts, I feel called to offer a short burst of support to those in need. These sessions can be used close together or saved for a future need. The entire package can be gifted to someone else, but (for simplicity of paperwork) these three-packs cannot be divided and shared among multiple individuals. Offer valid if prepaid on or before August 31, 2014. To schedule your first session or purchase the package, please contact me here.

Timeline Tune-In and Tune-Up

This hour session helps you to recognize your likely trajectory based on current energy patterns, intentions, and habits … and then, I search for the closest parallel reality versions of “you” with very slight differences that lead to more preferred (and more varied/greater opportunities for) positive outcomes. The scan and download are actually easier for me to do than to explain here, but if you’ve ever seen the movie “Sliding Doors” with its alternate reality story lines that intersect at certain points throughout the film, I’ll be scanning you for the stickiest intersection points.

I have found that these crossover points — i.e., parallel Universe bleed-throughs — can act like portals into alternate realities, preferred or not. That’s why you want to approach them consciously and respectfully, so that you recognize the power of the moment and choose wisely. The initial shift looks subtle, because if there weren’t enough similarities between the timelines/alternate realities, then the bleed-through moments wouldn’t happen so easily; however, in retrospect, such moments or decisions often seem “Fated.”

This reading gives you a heads up regarding the types of feelings, thoughts and experiences to watch for if you’re looking to sidestep onto a more positive timeline without needing to slog through linear time to get your desired life. In some cases, the preferred outcome even requires a sidestep, because the laws of cause and effect already set in motion on the current timeline are barreling you toward their “inevitable” end result. Fortunately, linear time’s not all it’s cracked up to be! These “timeline hops,” “portal points,” “reality jumps” — whatever you want to call them — are not only possible but powerful, and with awareness and practice, you can learn to surf such opportunities, charting your own course from current to next closest to preferred realities.

$133/hour if prepaid on or before 7/31/14 8/31/14.

(Offer can be multiplied if you would like one or more follow-up tune-ins, since, depending on what I discover, your most accessible hop might be to a stepping stone reality from which to make your next boldly conscious, chosen hop. Such follow-up sessions can provide continuity and a clear reflection as you Fun House Mirror your way through wrinkles in time.)

Please contact me if you’d like to sign up for any or all of these specials.

The Ebola Scare, Global Pandemic, and the 2012 Olympics Ritual

For weeks now, I keep seeing images from the 2012 Olympics Ritual invoking a) a childbirth (presumably Kate and Will’s son George, who arrived in 2013) and b) a global pandemic. I’m not posting this for fear, but rather, for potential insights on how to shift diabolical intentions set in motion through an extremely well crafted black magic ritual that used unsuspecting viewers’ energies to fuel the agenda. Long time blog readers might remember that I strongly urged people to skip watching the opening ritual, noting that unless you are symbol-literate and know how energy works, then even the best intentioned meditators would find themselves manipulated into participating in this disgusting ritual.

I do know symbols and energy shifting techniques, but I did not subject myself to the ritual itself. I did, however, see enough recaps of the symbols afterwards to recognize that my intuition was spot on. Some of the creepiest images focused on a giant baby head and hospital wards full of nurses with sick children. Given the other symbolism (including a traditional Maypole fertility dance) throughout the “show,” the ritual clearly served at least two purposes — first, as a fertility ritual for the next royal heir.

Giant baby head in front of a pandemic scene

Giant baby head in front of a pandemic scene

Check, that one’s done. There’s not necessarily anything “evil” about conceiving a child with a bit of magical assistance, by itself. The second intention, however, really upped the creepiness factor: all those images of sick, sick children, a veritable pandemic:

Pandemic "vision" in the 2012 Olympics ritual

Pandemic “vision” in the 2012 Olympics ritual

You might also remember that black and white costumes in the Opening Ceremony also included newspaper headlines such as “pandemic” and other things related to sickness on a massive scale.

As I said, these images have been haunting me for weeks, but I didn’t feel led to mention them until I saw the following video, linked today from Natural News. The video features an Ebola vaccine pioneer joking about using a genetically modified virus to cull 25% of the world’s population:

Haha, very funny, right? Especially in light of the fact that Monsanto (leading genetic engineering firm) and the US Department of Defense have helped to fund Tekmira pharmaceutical’s Ebola vaccine. “Hilarious” in light of allegations that Sierra Leone may be blaming a bioweapons lab for the current Ebola outbreak there. Also “funny” in light of eugenicist “philanthropist” Bill Gates’ celebration that effective use of vaccines could cull world population. I have posted before my sense of a war gamed, genetically engineered virus and have many times mentioned my concerns about mandatory vaccinations.

The thing is, among the self-appointed “elite,” exists an odd code of honor in which they believe they need to warn the population before they do something of questionable moral character. You know, like 9/11, 7/11 or a mass depopulation event. Maybe not quite on the up’n’up, so they warn people and if the masses don’t stage a huge hissy fit, they consider the lack of protest as “permission to engage.” ;) It’s called “predictive programming” and often appears in Hollywood films, public speeches and public artwork like that found in Washington, D.C. and the Denver Airport. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you can research 9/11 forewarnings, predictive programming and the Illuminati Playing Cards. You’ll find all sorts of familiar scenes released years, sometimes decades before actual events. As someone who paints symbolic artwork in order to influence reality, I also recognize that such warnings sometimes play dual roles: the process of creating the “warning” art or film can also act as a ritual to engage the intended outcome.

If all of this sounds hocus pocus and ridiculous to you, that’s fine. I’m sure that it does to most people, and that’s just the way the “elite” want things to remain. Why do you think all the major religions and societal institutions either demonize or ridicule anything occult (which simply means “hidden”), all the while utilizing those very tools to achieve their ends? The Vatican holds the largest collection of astrology texts in the world, and they employ the very best telescopes — but astrology is “evil,” “silly” or unwarranted. Righhhhht. That’s why top businesses always consult astrologers and use ancient symbols in their advertising — because it’s complete nonsense. Uh-huh. Fact is, those who rule the world know full well how powerful the right timing, the right energies of the planets and stars and the right subconscious programming through ancient symbols are. That’s why they continue to conduct smear campaigns designed to keep any would be explorers and do-gooders far, far away from such powerful tools.

With open sourced symbols and information, the psychotic Powers that Be never could have a) climbed so high in the first place and b) maintained their stranglehold on a much larger populace. They know this. Magic gets a bad name, because for thousands of years, the primary people effectively using magical tools have used such tools for power over, rather than power to. Instead of aligning with energies in order to help our world, these people have kept secret the most natural, connected, effective tools for change, so that they could use them for their own personal gain. That’s why I advocate people becoming symbol literate, studying fairy tales (repositories of Ancient Wisdom), and avoiding the New Age watered down mish mash of “esoteric” studies.

Most of that New Age mumbo jumbo is (intentional) rubbish, designed to distract and steer you away from real wisdom when you get too close to it. Ditto all the fear and taboos surrounding magic, astrology, energy work, occult symbols and rituals: the extreme association of such things with Satanic activities is to discourage good, would-be empowered white magicians and prayer warriors from claiming their own power to shift things through metaphysical means.

I’m well aware of most of the alternative news and metaphysical spokespeople congratulating themselves for having “seen through the Ebola psyop,” and I wholeheartedly agree that there’s a war on for your mind and emotions. Propaganda, casual hypnosis, Big Pharma profits, government control … they’re all there. In spades. But I’ve got to agree with the now maligned Mike Adams on this one: just because governments and corporations plan to exploit a manufactured crisis doesn’t mean they will skip the step of trying to initiate an actual crisis. I do not agree with everything Mike Adams posts about every topic. Sometimes he quotes questionable sources, and I do not know whether he does so intentionally or through rushed publications. On the whole, though, I find his reporting on the Ebola scare agrees with my own intuitive sense of what’s going on behind the scenes.

I just take things further, because, unlike Mike Adams, I don’t ridicule fairy tales and magic. I know fairy tales contain instructions on the rules of the Faery Realm, magical ethics, and how to shift realities. I also know that magic works. I’ve used it when nothing (and I mean nothing) else has. When you know how things work, you recognize them in action, and, as I said in my Medical Intuitive Thoughts on the Ebola Situation, we’re dealing with a different level in this case than with the usual roll out of things like the H1N1 scare and pushes for the flu vaccine. A spiritual component exists here, and we cannot resolve it solely by laughing at it or ignoring it. I’ve suggested prayer as a positive means to shift outcomes.

Prayer and visualizations/feelings focused on strong immune systems, increased public health, greater public discernment, and an outbreak of conscience among the useful idiots required to perpetrate whatever scheme the psychopaths have cooked up, will be as helpful in shifting this scenario as mega doses of Vitamin C, voluntary quarantines, and bitter kola nut. In fact, without addressing the spiritual component, people leave themselves highly vulnerable on levels they assume do not exist.

Besides prayer, several other tools can help you to protect yourself and revoke your own “permission” for this sick scenario to occur:

1) If you participated in the 2012 Olympics Ritual — which simply means: “if you watched the 2012 Opening Ceremony” — then you need to reclaim any magical fuel you (unintentionally) gave to this pandemic, and you need to revoke your implicit permission for an engineered global pandemic to occur. Speaking these words aloud holds great power. Any contract with hidden clauses becomes null and void when the bamboozled party asserts s/he did not know what s/he was agreeing to. Reclaim your magical power and revoke your permission.

2) The distant healing symbol learned in Reiki Level 2 offers ways to heal past, present and future, as well as physical distances. If trained, you can send healing energy to the past, present and future related to Ebola or any other pandemic, whether natural or genetically modified and inserted into a vaccine. Reiki knows where to go and what to heal. Even if you only have Level 1 training, sending Reiki to this entire situation can help shift it back into an innocuous wake up call.

3) The AR Rune specifically helps to repel “ill-witching magic,” bringing self-destructive and metaphysically harmful thoughts, energies and influences to light. Associated with the sun, this Rune acts on negative energy “germs” like UV rays act on bacteria, viruses and other nasties. They cannot survive in this vibration. The AR Rune looks like a peace sign, minus the circle and minus the right side line. (In other words, it’s a vertical line with a line angled towards the bottom left.) You can learn more by clicking here. The Song of AR at the bottom of the page is particularly effective, especially when murmured. A murmur sounds like something between a whisper and speaking aloud. Some people call it mumbling, but murmuring activates the subconscious mind, which creates your reality. Without reclaiming power over your own subconscious mind you leave it open to manipulation by media, frequency wars, propaganda, collective energy, others’ fears, and peer pressure. The AR Rune blocks the effects of any negative spell — including the black magic perpetrated in the 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony.

I do encourage people to utilize these times for awakening, empowerment and release. Yes, lots of scary, whacked out, crazy stuff surrounds us. Those who would control humanity love to create “Order from Chaos.” But guess what? So can we. Just because they’ve created chaos with a particular agenda doesn’t mean we can’t co-opt their chaos and agenda. They do it all the time to us. Why not turn the tables? Whenever I say, “turn the tables,” I think of Jesus cleansing the temple of the money changers. On a symbolic level, that’s exactly what I’m suggesting we do. The “temple” extends throughout all of life, and the money changers (those run by greed, trickery and selfishness) have spent quite enough time desecrating our world. Why stop with clearing out Ebola when we have the power to cleanse far more virulent strains on Mother Earth?

Fear not, but don’t ignore the writing on the wall, either. Yes, the Bible has been used and abused to maintain the gridlock on humanity, but it still contains some powerful warnings and advice, namely: “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”

Blessed Be.

Pr Satish Kumar: beyond deep ecology

I find Satish Kumar’s analogy of the dance of Nature so joyful and right on. Today, a friend stopped by to “survey” my “rain barrel situation.” They are still on our front porch, and he’s going to help me level the ground and get them properly installed. This is someone who helped us move in but hasn’t been here since last year. I happened to be outside weeding when his truck hit the driveway, so I saw his jaw literally drop open before his face transformed into a delighted grin. He leaped out of the truck and declared, “Wow, wow, wow! I can’t believe this! This is incredible.”

He seemed like such a kid in a candy shop that I gave him a quick garden tour before getting down to serious rain barrel assessment. Our land is not level, and I keep using all my “rain barrel” concrete pavers for garden paths. Fear not, we have discovered solutions, and we should actually have rain barrels installed before needing to disconnect them in the fall. ;)

What does this story have to do with Satish Kumar’s talk? “Nature has intrinsic value.” Our friend really didn’t care about what kind of food I have growing everywhere. He didn’t even care that I haven’t weed whacked in 10 days. He just loved the garden for the garden’s sake. He left with a huge sweep of his arm and said, “I love this. It’s like … an arboretum!” I stood for awhile after he drove away, watching butterflies flit from flower to flower, dancing across the sky from front yard to back and zooming all around me. The more time you spend in Nature, the more obvious its sacred dance becomes.

“Satish Kumar explains the difference between shallow ecology and deep ecology terms first coined by the Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess. Drawing from his Jain religious background, he describes what he sees as the sacredness of nature. He suggests how the notion of deep ecology could be developed still further to form a reverential ecology that challenges the Darwinian notion of survival of the fittest.”

More Signs of Awakening

People — both Jews and non-Jews — have been sending me articles and videos indicating that large portions of the Jewish community have begun to explore their Shadow, recognizing that true external peace only comes from inner harmony between the rejected other and the conscious “I.”

One of the best articles I’ve seen is by Miriam Sitrin, “Not in Our Name — Taking Back Judaism from Israel.” This is a powerful piece, definitely worth the click-thru. A second piece is the timely reprint of a 2010 article: The Nature of Exile Part 2, The Solution Starts by Understanding the Problem, by HaRav Ariel Bar Tzadok. This piece directly addresses the need for exiles of any sort to reclaim the exiled parts of themselves so that they no longer feel the compulsive need for fear, prejudice and projection, which result in tyranny and violence. Again, definitely worth the click-thru. This piece appeared in the most recent KosherTorah.com newsletter. Although it does not directly mention the outrage at current events in Gaza, this piece speaks loudly to the need to change strategies and work for harmony.

Both of these pieces warm my heart, because they encourage people to reforge their own identity, separate from what political leaders insist their identity must be. They demonstrate courage to begin fathoming the horrors done in their name, and this process, though obviously one for Jews right now with regard to Israel and Gaza, is one that every human being on this planet must do if we are ever to transcend the old, bloody paradigms. Thank you to the Jewish community for exploring the dark underbelly of religion, Israel and politics.

I will close with two comments, one from Burt Lopestri left on the “Not in Our Name” article: “I respect the Jewish Community for airing their views. I wish some of the Muslims would do the same by rejecting those hijacking the Muslim faith by invoking Jihad. If this is not who you are say so..!!”

The next comment is my own warning to Jews and to anyone else doing difficult Shadow work that involves recognizing lying leadership and betrayals by those they trusted with their hearts and lives:

Now that you have reclaimed your power, keep it. Recognizing that the old ways have failed, the old guard will look to promote a new leader, same as the old leader or group, likely in 180 degree opposite clothes. The pendulum swings. Remember this feeling of empowerment, and retain it. Only through personal responsibility can we maintain an awakened, compassionate society, free of manipulation by those who would control the masses. You have come this far. Keep going! Please, for yourselves and for all of us, continue that inner work.

Blessings and Gratitude,
Laura

“The Red Book and The Red Book: Jung, Tolkien and the Convergence of Images”

Fascinating and oddly relevant for our times, one hundred years hence!

May 13, 2014

In 1913 two men in Western Europe, of different age and unknown to each other, began to undergo a highly unusual experience: C.G. Jung and J.R.R. Tolkien both stepped across a threshold and entered into a realm of imagination, into the realm of fantasy. For Jung this process, which he called active imagination, took the eventual form of the Liber Novus, also known as The Red Book, that became the seed from which nearly all his subsequent work flowered. For Tolkien this imaginal journey revealed to him the world of Middle Earth, whose stories and myths eventually led to the writing of The Lord of the Rings, a book also named, within its own contextual history, The Red Book of Westmarch. Although working in different fields —namely psychology and philology— there are many synchronistic parallels between Jung’s and Tolkien’s “Red Book periods”: the style of their artwork, the nature of their visions and dreams, and a similarity in world view that emerged from their experiences are all indications that they may have been treading, at times, the same paths through the archetypal realm.

Becca Tarnas is a doctoral student in the Ecology, Spirituality, and Religion program at the California Institute of Integral Studies, where she also received her MA in the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness program. She received her BA from Mount Holyoke College in Environmental Studies and Theater Arts, and was educated at the San Francisco Waldorf School for thirteen years. Her current research is on ecology, imagination, and archetypes in relation to the work of J.R.R. Tolkien. More of her work can be found at beccatarnas.wordpress.com
Intro Music by: Richard Wormstall

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