Transmutation

Doonveragh Mountain Village County Sligo Ireland in May 2013

Never under estimate intuition. I have been asking myself how can I support Healing of toxins both personal and environmental - as for me both are interlinked for we are part of Nature and not separate and sitting on my shelf was just the book 'Medicine for the Earth' by Sandra Ingerman.

Sandra Ingerman sites various miraculous Healing of both individuals and environments. And she links the areas that I have been passionate about including Alchemy, as key to her model reference to Healing. The Spiritual journey of the Alchemists was physical and metaphorical. So the Transmutation of Lead to Gold symbolises the Healing journey. Gold being union with the Divine. All our journeys are to connect with the Divine in us all. And I have been underlining nearly every sentence as someone who resonates - for at times I find it is needed to have another's experience, voice with eloquence - to reflect and even at times validate. Like a bell being sounded. I am reminded - I am where I am meant to be.

Sandra refers to working with communities to purify polluted waters. Which is one of the reasons I have been drawn to read this book. Given my focus on Balcombe and the Anti-Fracking Campaign. I sincerely pray that we won't have to be Healing the Waters at Balcombe. Though many waters of the world has already been polluted by Fracking. And so I ask myself to remember that I will be called to work with individuals and the environment when it is meant. There are times where people with specific skill sets are needed. It's great to see references to Doreen Valiente to Malidome Some - both who I have loved reading. More people involved in Healing are now moving between the different worlds/models/traditions/teachings of Healing. Here's a quote from the Introduction:

"In ancient times ordinary reality and the nonordinary realms were not separate. The gods and goddesses roamed the earth, hence the stories of their human and spiritual forms spoken of in Egypt. But now the veils between the worlds are closed. We are so out of touch with our own beauty and essence that the illusions we believe are clouding the truth and our reality has become murky. It is time to reopen the curtain and again call the spiritual realms down to earth so that we may clearly see the perfection in all things. We must once again access the spiritual realms and divine power to create miraculous healing. As Albert Einstein said, 'Mysticality is the power of all true science'.
According to  Hindu legend, we are living in the time of the Kali Yuga, a dark age for humankind. I believe this darkness refers to when the veils between the worlds are closed, separating us from the divine and the spiritual realms and therefore separating us form our divinity. Herein lies the 'fall from grace'. The fall to grace will come when we once again link with the spiritual forces that create magic and meaning in our lives. This connection will return to us the harmony necessary to transmute illness in ourselves and our environment'' p9-10

The photo that I have been drawn to link this posting with is very dear to me. On visiting this Village I was given a profound opening to the people who lived there. I was given a vision facilitated by an Elder from that ancient Village. The energy was of a high clear vibration and the people thrived so much so there were so many living in close proximity which I found extra-ordinary! I could hear all the laughter of the children and the ease this many people were able to live together. They lived slightly separately from others local to the country then and, were highly evolved and self sufficient. Living at oneness within Nature and Spirit. They were and still are guardians of the Land and are proud standing tall and are cautious about allowing people access to their world beneath the Veil. The main Elder showed me a spiral in such a passionate way I was quiet surprised. "This means everything" was all that he said. And so they are very much connected to the Land and this realm. I was therefore extremely honoured to be gifted with this experience. The people at Doonveragh were connected with Knocknarae Cairn which I also had a profound experience in which I was able to experience as Sandra describes - The Goddess walking the Earth. And believe me I do not say this lightly but most humbly. And because my experiences were so Divine it has taken me a little while to post them on this blog. I write this while I am still letting these experiences evolve & unfold - still not yet fully understanding their significance.

Knocknarae somtimes called Queen Maeves Cairn - 

County Sligo - May 2013

Link to the brilliant channelled book 'The Sidhe' by John Matthews http://www.scribd.com/doc/55539049/3/Gornasheen

Burning our way to Power

by gloriagypsy @ deviantart.com

"The soul is here to live its joy. The uninitiated ego is here to keep things familiar, safe and predictable. Which path will you choose?"[1]

"Carl whose favourate passtime was to go to the park on a sunny afternoon, sit down on his bench, and bask in the solar rays. One day as he sat quietly on his bench [wearing his business suit], a large man wearing a uniform and heavy boots came and stood in front of him, blocking the sun. Being a peaceful sort of guy who did not like to make trouble, Carl merely moved over on the park bench so he could once again feel the sun's rays on his face.

No sooner did he move than the uniformed man moved again to block the sun. Carl moved again. So did the man. At this point, Carl spoke up and politely asked the man to move aside. The man did not. Carl, getting angry now, tried to push him aside. The man pushed him back on the bench and, with his heavy boot, stepped on Carl's foot and mashed it into the ground. Carl, very angry now, began to scream obscenities, flailing his arms at the man and yelling for help.

But his crying was in vain. No one came to his rescue. When Carl lifed his head and looked around, he suddenly saw why. He saw that each person in the park had a uniformed man standing in front of them. Many had boots stepping on their toes, while others were chained to their benches. Most people on the benches were passively sitting still, some were quietly reading, while others turned to stare at Carl disapprovingly, scorning his childish and uncooperative outburst. None of the others were complaining about the man on their foot - why should Carl? Their outrage was aimed not at the man in the uniform but at Carl. He was living the self they had long since rejected.

This is where the story ends, but we can all guess at the possible outcomes. Did Carl continue to yell and scream only to be chained to his bench with the key in someone else's possession? Did he give up his rebellion and learn to sit quietly and passively like his neighbours? Did he rally support and create an uprising in the park? Did he transform his jailer? What would you have done?

We are held in our places within a culture where the personal loss of power is so epidemic that no one hears the cries of loss and outrage. Instead we are ostracized for acts of individuality, or, at best, feared. To keep our power over others, we often give up our freedom and authenticity, and conform to expectations. This is a terrible loss, for it obscures the unique divinity within ourselves that contains the seeds of evolution and transformation. Those who have made this sacrifice expect others to do the same and become highly offended when they do not. Straight men in their gray suits may be offended by flamboyantly dressed gay men. The obedient wife is offended by the militant feminism of her daughter. War veterans are offended by those who march for peace.

In the wake of this loss, we have a civilization so obsessed with its loss of power that is spends enormous amounts of money and energy creating the shadow of power through warfare and technology. We have complied with the master, internalized controller, and beomce accomplices in a polarized society whose main goal is to control more with less. Numb to the pain, numb to our own powerlessness, numb to the repetitive tasks believed necessary for our physical survival, we live with the emptiness inside ourselves. Empty inside, our cultural myth tells us that power lies outside of ourselves in the approval of others, in technological gadgets, or through a distant and authoritarian god. Thus we deplete ourselves, our resources, and our planet, reaching for a power outside, a power over, a power that will only enslave us"[2]

[1] Soulcraft. Chapter 13. Living As if your place in the World mattered. Page 325. By Bill Plotkin.
[2] Eastern Body, Western Mind. Chakra Three Burning our way to Power. Truamas and Abuses. Page 189-190. By Anodea Judith.

Tender and Beautiful Heart

Remember you are Magical. You are Unique.

I am searching for a way to commit to living life. Being alive.
I have the luxury to be able to say this. As I am not struggling to survive.
I want to have the expansive heart to appreciate this life. As Chogyam Trungpa describes; a raw, tender and beautiful heart.
Is it possible not to question every moment as if waiting for an answer, that is either an apology or an enraged rejection. I believe it is.
Can I bare not to question the struggle. Cherish the challenges in life that carve out this twisted shape, hiding secret chambers, each one sounding a unique note.
And so in my job I use the word 'resilance' to parents of children who want more and more and more, of what they are not sure.
Tonight I watched a dramatization of the life and work of Vincent Van Gogh taken from his letters to his brother. It seems to me that he struggled his whole life to feel a deep connection. A validation that made sense of his world. Where his aliveness was not rejected. Where he belonged.
I yearn for a continuity. I yearn for community - as did Vincent. And when community is forgotten I find myself lost within a crowd. And so I treasure my own space where I cut myself off. Running away. Far away from everyone else. From myself.
As I reflect on life being change. Each moment passing. The one life line is Spirit; that pulses in our bloodlines.
When we all die from this life our voices shape the music that creates the vessel this earth. Without this continuity it seems to me that the desolute isolation that Vincent felt, can only increase as we see our disconnection externalized in the loss of our environment.
As more of our wilderness disappears more of our senses dull. And so we rage on and the fires spread deep in the earth, stripping our woodlands bare. We are lost. Paths dissapearing. The earth melting our shoes. Peeling our ashen skin back, to smiling bare shining white bone.
Our nostrils full of smoke. In our desperation to touch earth. Unable to breathe. Unable to sing. We limit our capacity to live. We limit our capacity for empathy.
If there is a Devil this is it. Hopelessness. Addiction. Seperation. Violence. This Devil a shadow puppet hiding a face full of tears. An ocean of tears, where upon floats so many ships, full of lost souls.
Dare we look upon this our Devil?
Rather than being overwhelmed is it possible to deeply feel?
Sensuality. Celebration of life. To be fully awake deeply sense the world.
As a child the breeze brushes against soft bare skin, feeling each tiny hair vibrate. Feeling the tempeture rise or fall. Catching smells diverse, rich, dark, light, delicate, raw. Beautiful. Creating space. Connecting time. Connecting memory.

"There is unlimited sound, unlimited sight, unlimited taste, unlimited feeling and so on. The realm of perception is limitless, so limitless that perception itself is primordial, unthinkable, beyond thought."

So this being fully alive is a lack of seperation. And with this I imagine comes a deep awareness of responsibilty. A deep love. Beyond conflict - 'Drala'

"One of the key points in discovering drala principle is realizing that your own wisdom as a human being is not seperate from the power of things as they are. They are both reflections of the unconditioned wisdom of the cosmic mirror. Therefore there is no fundamental seperation or duality between you and your world."

Shambala - The Sacred Path of the Warrior by Chogyam Trungpa.

*

Be fully awake if you want to dream ~ Paulo Coelho

*

Be the Change

*

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously
give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.

a return to love - marianne williamson

I have wanted to understand why there is such acceptance and lack of resistance to what is occurring in our country and around the world.? Even though day by day I am witnessing many who are complaining about the cuts there appears to be an overriding drive not to move beyond the status quo. To look at what created the system and not to just blame the bankers. And in doing so to question the system itself and look at how we as individuals and societies continue to support such a dysfunctional system.

Those with a more spiritual focus have described this system as a game or an illusion or greed. While those from political focus describe this system as capitalism. And those from a psychotherapy focus describe this system as a drama, addiction, or co-dependency. Many from different disciplines describe this as individualism and materialism. Many agree that this system is destroying our planet and killing many lives both human and non human. Many agree that this system if unchecked will devour itself and exhaust the world's resources. I would say this system is an act of violence.

I have been wanting to understand what I experience as numbing to dreams and hopes for a better healthy world. A world where the focus is on creativity, growth, potential and the best outcomes. Where people dare to dream of internal and external freedom. Not one that is resigned to choosing second best. That focuses on the worst outcomes so as not to be disappointed. One which shrinks people down, controls and limits. These acts are violent.

For years I have searched for meaning to understand what perpetuates the cycle of fear and violence that I see in myself and in others. I have dabbled in anthropology, philosophy, politics, feminism, environmentalism and spirituality. I've read many books, met many people, attended various groups, meetings, workshops and trainings. Through my searching, researching, exploring, experiencing and sharing I have come to value the teachings in all these disciplines. And I have met others who also draw on different disciplines so they can act like pieces of a jigsaw.

While I was focusing on my own healing this led me to connecting with like minded souls. For a long period I felt I had found a home within the Reclaiming Community whose aim I understood was to connect many of these jigsaw pieces. This was a place where I could experientially connect these different disciplines with an aim of creating a fulfilling alternative way of living. A place where theory could be tested; a grand experiment!

I took a step away from being actively involved with the Reclaiming Community and I withdrew from my outward search and embarked on a relationship which drew me into re-enacting a generational cycle. My mind had thought I had 'sorted' myself through reading psychotherapy, self-help books, many years of analysis and my involvement in groups and workshops. However I was yet to gain a further deeper understanding at a level which included my body and unconscious. Which allowed space for my soul to explore it's voice and begin to sing.

It was in the relationship that my Soul felt increasingly trapped and caged. My first step was to leave. Then when when I was at a safe distance I was able to embark on a deeper understanding. I began to realize how this negative cycle fed on fear through control. Control was an ever decreasing cage that trapped and squashed me. And the ultimate manifestation of this cycle was violence. I began to listen to myself and understand that my anxiety was a natural response to an unhealthy environment. I started to stop being victim to my emotional state which was being used to re-enforce my lack of self-confidence and self-worth. I had started to thaw my heart and feel my souls natural desire for enjoyment of life. And it is from that space that I was able to explore being with others. Connecting more with and in life. It this space that enabled me to see how the personal is linked with the public.

How we live in our personal lives affects how we live in our public lives. Our capacity/tolerance for personal freedoms affects our capacity/tolerance of public freedoms. Both are interlinked. If the majority of society are struggling to survive; using up all their energy on tiring low paid jobs which only the few are lucky to have or, dysfunctional relationships. Then they are more easily controlled. It works both ways. For our families are also a reflection of our society. Another way of looking at this pattern is noticying how the outside world reflects our inner world. For instance isn't uncanny that when feeling happy with yourself and the world the world smiles back? Literally! But if you are feeling isolated, impatient or angry, then the world mirrors this back through situations and people putting up obstacles.

The cages we place ourselves in are cages around our hearts. And these cages come lined with deluxe furnishings. With the trappings of gold and plasma TVs pumping out 'reality tv shows' or shows on 'make overs' to create perfect human beings with perfect homes. We are fed and feed images to compare ourselves with thus creating envy. We want to live the impossible dream.So we keep our cages comfortable, full of desirable material things to keep ourselves occupied. An illusion of security. These cages fed by addiction is what Capatilism thrives and relies on. Hence the frequent remark in response to percieved negative feelings, overwhelming emotions or situations ~ 'I am off for a bit of shopping therapy' or 'I could murder for a pint'. Until we look at the drivers behind addiction, we will not stop the bankers earning huge bonuses or people craving more and more money through credit. And society will not own up to the fact that alcohol is a drug which is the cause of so much violence. Because the terrible truth is that so many in society are addicted to violence. So many in society are not aware what is violent.

In "Freedom for Sale ~ How we made money and lost our liberty" John Kampfner refers to private and public freedoms which I think has parallels to what I have referred to as personal and public freedom. He divides his book into different countries including Britain. Under Britain: Surveillance State, John Kampfner first quotes Brendan O'Neill " Britain used to export textiles, iron, steel and pop music; now it exports Orwellian methods for monitoring the masses".

"By the time Blair left office in 2007, he had bequeathed to his successor a surveillance state unrivalled anywhere in the democratic world. Parliament passed forty-five criminal justice laws ~ more than the total for the whole of the previous century ~ creating more than three thousand new criminal offences...The scope was extensive: police and security forces were given greater powers of arrest and detention; all institutions of state were granted increased rights to snoop; individuals were required to hand over unprecedented forms of data. Abroad, the government colluded with the transport of terrorist suspects by the US government to secret prisons around the world, giving landing rights at British airports for these so-called "rendition" flights. At home, new crimes were created, such as glorifying terrorism or inciting religious hatred"

So the message is clear. Remain in terror. There is an increasing threat of criminal behaviour. Of terrorism. The cage is just a barrier to keep the dangerous out. Them and Us. And because the enemy is within we have surveillance. Depending on the society and culture cages come in all shapes and sizes. In his book John Kampfner shares his investigations into the different countries of Singapore, China, Russia, United Arab Emirates, India, Italy, Britain and USA. He suggests that there is a world wide pattern. He says:

"The specific rules varied between countries, but the template was similar. Repression was selective, confined to those who openly challenged the status quo. The number of people who fell into that category was actually very few ~ journalists who criticised the state or published information that cast the powerful in a negative light; lawyers who defended these agitators; and politicians and others who publicly went out of their way to "cause trouble". The rest of the population could enjoy freedom to travel, to live more or less as they wished and to make and spend their money. This was the difference between public freedoms and private, or privatised, freedoms. For many people this presented an attractive proposition. After all, how many members of public, going about their daily lives, wish to challenge the structures of power? One can more easily than one realises be lulled into thinking that one is sufficiently free.

This is the pact. In each country it varies; citizens hand over different freedoms in accordance with their own customs and priorities. In some it is press freedom; in some it is the right to vote out their government; in some it is an impartial judiciary; in others it is the ability to get on with their lives without being spied upon. In many it is a combination of these and more.
"In the global order of the past two decades, the alliance of political leaders, business and the middle classes was the key. The arrangement was built on a clear, but usually discreet set of understandings. What mattered in all these societies was that the number of people who benefited from this deal gradually increased, and that the state remained flexible enough to meet their various needs. These needs could be summarised as: property rights, contract law, environmental protection, lifestyle choices, the right to travel, and the right to earn money ~ and keep it. the people who mattered ~ the wealthy and the aspiring wealthy ~ were to be protected against the use of arbitrary state power. But could such protection be provided without the tools of conventional democracy, such as free elections and open media? That was the conundrum that authoritarian capitalists faced"

This book was written prior UK coalition government's right wing radical changes which are sweeping UK under the banner of necessary cuts. And the more recent events in the middle east. The middle east uprisings have created a wave of hope not just in the middle east but across the globe. On the wave has lept British PM David Cameron through publicly travelling middle eastern countries speaking of democracy and freedom at the same time ensuring future investment in arms. Ofcourse he has to utter both in the same breath. And I think what is so disturbing is he believes in what he does and says. The swift timely eager response of his tour for me betrays his anxiety to ensure the continued arms trade; in order to keep the status quo in tact. And of course there is big money to be made. But what would happen if more and more people began to believe that there was not this ever present and increasing threat? That started to question the morality of the arms trade. No longer being 'lulled into believing they were sufficiently free', began to believe in more liberated ways of living? Maybe then revolution might even occur on our own doorsteps here in UK and other countries. This is what unfortunately David Cameron and many others fear. With change comes the potential of fear. But I would also add that with change come the potential for excitement.

In "Peace is the Way, Bringing war and violence to an end" by Deepak Chopra refers to three major components to the ultimate myth of security ~ the ultimate manifestation of violence and control; the arms build up:
Money brings happiness
Technology brings well-being
Military strength brings security

This holy trinity of capitalism is the ultimate cage. The ultimate trap that does not make us safer. Living outside of the cage is safer. I believe that peaceful change is a stronger power. Because it is life affirming. I hear that many in the peaceful uprising in Egypt were inspired by the works of Gene Sharp who speaks of peaceful ways of liberation. It was not as the media have promoted the power of technology such as Internet and mobile phones that was key to the revolution but the message of peace. So when other regimes try to stop peaceful liberation through blocking Internet and mobiles they will in the end fail.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama said; "'If we want to change the world, we have to begin by changing ourselves".

The veil between humans and nature, between private and public, between mind and matter, between thought and action, between being and doing is an illusion. There is a third way which can also be described as multi-disciplinary or holistic. That moves away from a dualistic/conflictual/advisory mind set. Creating an expansive space. Moves away from the rigid and brittle. To the flexible and changeable. Opening up up new possibilities. This is the creative spark which is Divine. That is light and Dark. It is Consciousness. It is Infinite. It is.

As Gandhi said:"Can you be the change that you wish to see in the world?"

So I take courage and inspiration from those who are able to connect with peaceful liberation. Whether that is on a mass scale as in Egypt or on a personal scale. Both are the change that can be seen in the world. And there by changes the world. Which reminds me of the chant that is so often used at Reclaiming gatherings:

"She changes everything she touches and touches everything she changes!" Blessed Be!

***

References:

Britain can push democracy or weapons but not both. By Simon Jenkins. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/22/britain-push-democracy-weapons-cameron

UK arms sales to the Middle east, who do we sell to, how much is military and how much just 'controlled'?.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/feb/22/uk-arms-sales-middle-east-north-africa?intcmp=239

Gene Sharp Web page Albert Einstein Institution
http://www.aeinstein.org/

Freedom for Sale: How we made mondey and lost our liberty. By John Kampfner.

Peace is the Way: Bringing War and violence to an end. By Deepak Chopra.

Reclaiming Web page
http://www.reclaiming.org/

The Great Dream

Goddess created humanity so she could know herself.

And so creation is a continous flowering into being.

"The deepest strata of the underworld include a state of being called "Sacred Land", also known as the Earth of Light of Blessed Isles. This state houses the Dreamer within the Land, often known as Lucifer, the sun at midnight, and the star within the stone...Faery Seership is concerned with reaching deep into and through the substance of the surface world to the state where the Lord of Light holds the original vision of the earth and her creatures in the sacred land. The Faery seer seeks to be as one with the Dreamer and to open this sacred land into the surface world thereby healing and re-vivifying it...The sacred land is the original vision of the world in its balanced and paradisiacal state. This state of being surfaces in all natural areas but is stronger in some..."the sacred land is the land the way God intended it to be ~ a Garden of Eden". This statement is in keeping with some of the deeper teachings of Faery Seership which say that the Garden of Eden receded into the inner worlds as humanity moved forward into the surface world. This is the mystical legend of the exile of Adam and Eve, the primal parents of humanity, from Paradise...In Faery Seership, humanity was not exiled from Eden for eternity. Rather, the unconditional availability of Eden was traded for the gift of free will. The post-exile shift in human condition now requires us to seek, find, and claim our place in Eden as an act of choice. To do this humanity must also reclaim its responsibility and accountability as caretakers of the sacred garden of Eden. "
The Faery Teachings by Orion Foxwood. p112-113.

A Lesson in economics

One morning a Russian man wandered into a hotel in a village and announced he was interested in a room for the evening, and left a $100 deposit, but said he wanted to check out other lodging first. The hotel owner pocketed the money, and remembered he owed the cook $100 and paid him straight away. Meanwhile the cook owed money to the butcher and gave him the $100. The butcher owed money to his girlfriend and paid her. The woman then ran to the hotel and paid her outstanding bill with the $100. A few minutes later the Russian man came back to the hotel and said he had changed his mind, and the hotel manager refunded his money. Meanwhile, everybody in town was paid off. This is how economics is supposed to work.

www. thefourwinds.com ~ Alberto Villoldo

Are you ready to be changed?

http://alunathemovie.com/en/contact.html

http://www.nativespiritfoundation.org/?cat=10

"To be truly radical is to make hope possible, rather than despair convincing."
Raymond Williams ~ http://www.darkoptimism.org/

Place to Be

by Kindra Clineff {1}

Where is the Secret Garden in this City, shall I follow the voices of children?

So how much have I chosen this life? How much am I connected to others in this web of weaving. We talk of bloodlines. Of patterns of behaviour and learning being passed down. How much of those patterns are memories in our shared blood. How am I a memory of my ancestors; an imprint of ghosts reliving. And at what point does one life begin and another end. Is my life my own or how much of my life is a shared gift.

In this city lost, with souls rubbing shoulders pretending that they didn't choose this. Pretending not to care.

**

Living in a city I am increasingly seeing children who are not socialized with an inability to communicate and behave within different environments, contexts and people. I am seeing more children emotionally charged and reactive. Unable to be happy with themselves let alone their environment and others. I understand for many Life has been a threat and they are trapped in flight, freeze or run. And for many this learned survival is a lesson hard to re-learn.

Some see but I am not one of them that this as isolated problem with certain families. This is a growing symptom of our country where Margaret Thatcher proclaimed "There is no such thing as society, there are individual men and women and there are families". In this statement where is the desire for community? Where is shared responsibility? Where is shared accountability?

I learnt in my psychotherapy training that it was only possible for a group therapist to keep in mind no more than 10 with comfort or at a stretch some argue a maximum of 15. This led me to pondering on whether there was also a geographical limitation on how much an individual could relate to/keep in mind. And so for me this combination of number of people and space are key to understanding how community is created. So following this train of thought I wondered how in a city or in country I could feel part of a community.

Recently I was listening to a BBC Radio4 debate on ethics where two very similar scenarios were given. First one: a person is given the choice of saving 5 people from a runaway trolley/train or another person who was standing away from the other 5. In order to save the 5 they would need to push a button to redirect that trolley/train and in doing so would kill a person they did not know. In the second scenario the person has to physically push the single person onto the track to save the 5 other people. Apparently when given these two scenarios more people are able to say that would push the button than push the person. This ethical dilemma is called the proximity question. And since hearing this question I have been concerned at the mentality which created such question. This reminds me of the experiments that psychologists did on baby monkeys to see how they survived without a mother ~ either with a soft cuddly toy or not. I had found myself tied in mental knots trying to figure out this ethical dilemma until the light came on and I realized that ~ We are dealing with the wrong questions.

This is a made up scenario. Last week I was in a situation in which I had not chosen to be part of. Where the people who I was with lied to me. They set up the situation partly through the rues of getting me to leave the scene temporarily. And so I was unwittingly implemented as I had come with them. On my return I was witness to police racial/class brutality against two 13 year old girls. I did not know where to turn. How to help the girls. I was frightened for myself too and had no where to run as more and more people came involved. Family and neighbours watched on. The girls were taken away in a police van and I left standing with the family and neighbours. With their mother asking why the police had been violent to her daughters.

This quote has been inspirational for me this last week as I struggled with what I felt was my impotence. As I have questioned what more could I have done? What more can I do now other than what I have done including making a formal complaint and talking to others helping their hearts to thaw and feel their hurt and outrage of that incident:

I have come to believe that every one of us is an activist, and that every action taken in the name of interconnection ~ every action that brings us closer to ourselves, to each other, to the planet ~ births a better world.

Marisa Handler {2}

So when I see a person I do not know in pain, do I walk on by because I do not know them?When I hear that the tube train I am on is delayed and diverted because someone had fallen onto the tracks. Do I feel annoyed that I will be delayed by a person whose face I did not see, miles away from where I am? Or can I feel those threads that exist inside and outside of me shake and shiver. Daring to thaw my heart.

When our children rebel and refuse to answer the questions that we set them. Maybe we need to ask ourselves whether we are asking the wrong questions. If they answer in rudeness or anger it is time for us to step back and pause because we might just be asking the wrong questions. And those questions inform actions. Too often people presume and assume to know and understand. Have others speak our answers to our questions ~ the wrong questions.

So I hope to learn answers to questions that I did not know and are beginning to understand.

{1} http://scienceblogs.com/bioephemera/2010/03/spider_spiral.php
{2} http://www.marisahandler.com/home.html

Raven Returns to Dover after 120 years!

Call of the Raven by Jarmo Manninen

http://www.luontokuvat.net/index.htm

The Raven returning to the White Cliffs of Dover after 120 years {both icons for Britain now again linked} previously hunted from extinction from this part of England; Fills me with hope after a week of hysteria following a suspected incident of an urban fox attacking a human baby. As us humans further domesticate ourselves taking over more and more green space, and so alienating ourselves from nature. We forget that this story is repeated over and over. Be it tigers, elephants, polar bears, wolves or foxes. It took time but the Raven is now a protected bird. So what has been the Raven's story, myth and medicine?

Raven is found in myths all around the world. A powerful figure. Linked with creation and Shamans. A shape shifter, transformer, bringer of light out of the darkness, creator of the world egg, messenger and trickster to name just a few key elements of Raven's medicine and power.

It is Bigger than the British Buzzard. A beautiful, formidable and cunning bird.

Linked with Celtic mythology of Bran the Blessed, primordial Deity and protector of Britain ~ whose name means 'Raven'. "A master of the Isle of Britain, he is a cauldron-God, associated with a cauldron of regeneration which would revive the slain while leaving them voiceless. His cauldron destroyed, and he mortally wounded in a war to rescue his sister Branwen, he instructed his adherents to decapitate him and, after many travels, bear the head to London and bury it, where it would become a defense and a protection to the whole Isle. " (1)

So Legend says Bran's head was cut off and buried on the White Mount of London now the place of the Tower of London. Here lives the belief that England will fall should the Raven's depart. I still find it curious for many reasons, as well as cruel; that even today there are keepers of Raven's at the Tower who clip the Raven's wings to stop them departing.

Raven is also connected with Celtic Goddess Morrigan of darkness/night/battle/fertility/death and lover of the son of Lugh. Raven is also directly associate with the God Lugh ~ bringer of light, divine ruler. Raven a bridge between the worlds and between darkness and light. The fear of Raven has been mirrored by our interpretation of Shamans and Witches.

Morrigan and Lugh are Deities associated with Giant Semi-God race of Tuatha Dé Danann named the Shining Ones by W.B Yeats. They have close associations with the Angelic race who fell to earth and gave birth to the Nephilim ~ founded in Middle Eastern myths (referred to in the Bible and Book of Enoch}. Both are described as a beautiful frightening powerful giant race, with god like powers who taught humankind the arts such as smith craft and medicine.

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References:
General Intro to world myths of Raven ~ http://www.ravenfamily.org/nascakiyetl/obs/rav1.html

How to identify Raven and much much more! ~

http://www.shades-of-night.com/aviary/index.html

W.B. Yeats 'A Vision'

http://www.yeatsvision.com/Sitemap.html
Lugh ~
http://www.celtnet.org.uk/gods_l/lugus.html
Morrigan ~

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/m/morrigan.html
Raven and Dover ~
http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/news/Raven-chicks-reared-Dover-Kent-fledglings-120-years/article-1135266-detail/article.html

Bran ~

http://www.realmagick.com/articles/36/2036.html
Raven and Tower of London ~ http://www.forteantimes.com/features/articles/879/myths_of_the_raven.html
Tuatha Dé Danann ~
http://www.timelessmyths.com/celtic/danann.html
http://www.shee-eire.com/magic&mythology/races/tuatha-de-danann/page1.htm

(1) Bran the Blessed by Obsidian ~

( http://www.realmagick.com/articles/01/901.html
Nephilim ~
I recommend 'From the Ashes of Angels' by Andrew Collins though at times he makes leaps with his conclusions it is a very interesting read and has many references.

Queen Hornet

http://www.bwars.com/ ~ Queen, In woodland below the Wrekin, Shropshire, 2005 by Nigel Jones

In 2 weeks I have seen 2 Queen Hornets. 1st in Hungary. 2nd nr Yeoford Devon. Both times I was completely transfixed. Amber Gold red colour. Such powerful confidence. Strong. I remember how the mention of Hornets people quake and shake.
So why was I so at ease? What was I missing? Or were other's missing something?
Tigers on wing. To be respected. Their beauty admired.

Some species of Queen Hornet apparently have enough lethal venom to kill a human. Hornets can kill bees and wasps. So everything including us has a place. Us who are at the top of the food chain.

The Queen and her female workers maintain the nest. Shamanically a Hornet would connect with female warrior energy, sisterhood and understanding female societies and communal living. I am very excited that I am meeting Hornet.
And with this {shamanic/spirit} medicine I experience working on befriending my shadow side which is fiercely protective. So many insects and animals have had so much shadow projected onto them do we see who/what they are?
I wonder at the misleading shadow we cast onto them. I wonder that I am connecting with ancient as my dear friend said today Hornets are mostly to be found in ancient woodland. She also told me an amazing story of when she first saw a Hornet she did not know they existed and watched with awe as she heard it's jaws crunching eating a wasp! And I wonder whether as man has reduced ancient wilderness so maybe the Hornet is coming into more domesticated spheres...Would that affect the medicine of the Hornet...Would many more meet that medicine?...
With this thought of my need my desire to meet wilderness of my heart. This year I have been faced with what I would have assumed as other's similar desire, has been at times glamour in service to the ego. At worst this has a dangerous echo of colonialism. Misunderstanding and misusing other oppressed people's life/culture/being which is inter-connected with the land.
I refer to many westerners after apparently seeking out indigenous shamanic teachers, using their experience to sell and promote themselves. Some ask whether you have trained with an aboriginal/indigenous shaman or 'their' shaman~ there by clearly defining the 'pecking order' and offering something which you can only get from them.
When I have met indigenous healers/shamans which I have learned a lot from; they have been very down to earth, average person/every day people. They have a job. They earn respect. And do not separate out their job/role from life and other people. I experience them of having studied bloody hard with open hearted and open eyed curiosity. Like our wonderful British naturalists who sit hours on end watching and observing nature. Tired and aching. On their own. They are rewarded by such amazing knowledge and I believe in time gifted with wisdom.
What I am describing is being in service. Full of love and therefore full of power. And I think that westerners have much to learn about what power is. Power not connected with ego.
I am hearing too often western people describing themselves as Shamans when I am not clear what their intention is.
It has been a journey for me to witness women within the alternative spiritual subcultures promoting themselves as a business. We trip into not only the tricky area of £ for spirituality but also the tricky area of the previously oppressed, marginalised and misunderstood ~ women's power and spirituality.

For me my journey this year has been about reclaiming my authentic spiritual woman self. I have been working with not giving my power away to other female figures in my desire to heal the wounded daughter that comes from a line of mothers and daughters who have been abondoned. My journey has been to see this ancestral thread. A woman's wound. That thread, that blood which longs to bleed into the earth and belong.
This journey of healing the woman's wound has connected me with a desire to connect with the Divine feminine. That which is woven inside my womb, vulva and heart. In my blood. That vibrant hot red energy. That song.
And so I have been meeting Queen Hornet. A truly humbling experience.
And with that, dare I connect with that power. Not distort. Not demonise ~ internally or externally. Be that either an unclaimed part of my self or another woman.

For we are all mirrors and 'our worst teachers are our best teachers'

I am reminded that to connect with Divine it is that volcano that burning star that burning sting. Fire. Red. Orange. Yellow. Sun. Hot.

I am reminded of the wonder, diversity, power and beauty of Her Divinity.

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For an interesting read on a related subject ~ "Personality" by W.E.Butler

http://www.servantsofthelight.org/knowledge/butler-personality.html

Buzz....

Buzz... A Celebration of British Bees & Their Flowers

An exhibition of Bee Paintings and Drawings by Valerie Littlewood

1st to 26th June 2010

Lumen Gallery, 88 Tavistock Place, WC1H 9RS London

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http://www.herbsociety.org.uk/hg-ba10-buzz-british-bees-exhibition.htm

Melting the Ice in the Heart of Man

Last Monday I went to St James Alternatives to hear a talk by an Inuit from the Eskimo-kalaallit people in Greenland. His name is Angaangaq Angakkorsuaq from a family of healers. At 65 he said he has only been an active Shaman for 5 years. After a long time of procrastination his sister said enough indecision it was time for him to take his grandfathers talisman and be a Shaman. A generous open hearted man full of humour, laughter and intimacy.

He shared his concern for the ice melt in Greenland and the unusual temperatures ~ apparently last year they had temperatures up to 35 degrees which made the ice boil. Where upon he went to his grandmother and asked what he could do about the ice melt. Her answer to him was that he needed to go out and help to melt the ice in the hearts of man. He asked her how he could do this. She thought for a little time and answered to go out and help melt the ice in the hearts of man and walked away. So this was what he was doing. He told us that in the 70's it was possible to have stopped the change in the world but now it was not possible. It was inevitable.

Last year I had a calling to go to the Arctic. The calling was from spirit and so shocking ~ for it had to be for me to listen and wake up ~ I awoke in the middle of the night with a cry that I didn't want to die. But in order to wake up from the living dream I needed to answer this call to be born. Which I did. And with that a growing understanding of the vision I had of Death walking beside me as my friend.

I was born to a mother whose heart broken, had been burnt ice cold by electric shock treatment. Her memories buried. As a child my experience of her was of ice. I have for many years described her as frozen. I am not sure I can honestly remember a time where she laughed from deep in her belly, a laughter that ripples out through the heart. Never satisfied she remained locked in a dysfunctional relationship. She died when I was 20 after being diagnosed with cancer when I was 10.

When I answered the call I connected with the loss of my connection of my mother with my struggle to connect with the divine feminine. I felt how those two were interconnected inside me. I also was connecting with how this story was fed down through the family blood ancestors. I am not a mother in the sense I have not had a child. And at 41 I am near the time when that will not be possible. So with that in mind I have been with how I can heal this story handed down through mother and daughter.

My time in the Arctic was more than I could have imagined. I fell in love ~ an experience beyond a focus on a single person. I had the experience of being held. I had the experience of wilderness. And along with that experience I connected with the loss of this connection.
And I then realized ~ My God ~ if I was being gifted with just a fraction of what indigenous people felt all the time?...what could they have felt at others trying to burn this connection? And with that I felt such grief at this loss. Not just theirs ~ which still goes on. But also our collective loss. For even though that loss happened generations ago for my ancestors, that loss is still there. I heard stories of how Shaman's drums were burnt in front of their eyes. Now I understood not just in my mind what this could mean.

So I returned to London with an expeirence of 'coming home' in a land far away. With the growing awareness that I was gifted this experience so that I could feel this loss. I was not meant to run away into the country. My medicine was to be with this loss in the middle of the city. When I was 20 I ran away to the city to be lost. Now I find that I no longer crave to be lost. It is about remembering. And at times that thaw can be painful.

Through the thawing of my heart I can connect with that divine feminine that is part of me ~ as I am woman. That this wilderness is in the heart of us all. And that calling can come with the smell of blossom, a butterfly alighting on your skin or the call of the fox in the night. All this in the middle of this huge metroplis. For it is not possible for thousands of us to go and live in the countryside as it is cities are spreading into vanishing green land. And with that thought I ask how do we reconnect? First we need to remember. First we need to feel the loss. Both are connected. And as I write this I wonder how Angaangaq Angakkorsuaq experiences people/us who have forgotton that connection?

At times I have felt impatient with myself. Why can't I get a move on and heal my personal wounds so that I can get out there and help with this environmental crisis? Then I catch myself. I remind myself that there is not a divide between the personal and the collective. I remind myself of the times I have been in communion with others and feel that healing resonating outwardly and inwardly. That I and others can only start from where we are. That there is a connection with the microscomic and macrocosmic. This world view in which we are isolated beings that are not dependent on others is not real.

So I clean my local area of rubbish. I can't clean the whole of London but I clean the paths where I walk. And even though I feel an urgency not only in my desire akin to a 'Call to arms', I also call for patience and compassion in these accelerated times. For I do believe that as we get nearer to 2012 more of us will feel that thaw.

http://www.icewisdom.com/icewisdom/

The Dark Mountain Project

Eight Principles of Uncivilisation ~ from The Manifesto of The Dark Mountain Project

‘We must unhumanise our views a little, and become confidentAs the rock and ocean that we were made from.’

1. We live in a time of social, economic and ecological unravelling. All around us are signs that our whole way of living is already passing into history. We will face this reality honestly and learn how to live with it.

2. We reject the faith which holds that the converging crises of our times can be reduced to a set of‘problems’ in need of technological or political ‘solutions’.

3. We believe that the roots of these crises lie in the stories we have been telling ourselves. We intend to challenge the stories which underpin our civilisation: the myth of progress, the myth of human centrality, and the myth of our separation from ‘nature’. These myths are more dangerous for the fact that we have forgotten they are myths.

4. We will reassert the role of story-telling as more than mere entertainment. It is through stories that we weave reality.

5. Humans are not the point and purpose of the planet. Our art will begin with the attempt to step outside the human bubble. By careful attention, we will reengage with the non-human world.

6. We will celebrate writing and art which is grounded in a sense of place and of time. Our literature has been dominated for too long by those who inhabit the cosmopolitan citadels.

7. We will not lose ourselves in the elaboration of theories or ideologies. Our words will be elemental. We write with dirt under our fingernails.

8. The end of the world as we know it is not the end of the world full stop. Together, we will find the hope beyond hope, the paths which lead to the unknown world ahead of us.

http://www.dark-mountain.net/

The Enigma Of Capital - Professor David Harvey - Part 1 - London School ...

An inspiring talk in 8 parts on youtube which places capitalism at the root of the inter connected problems of environmental crisis and the economic crisis. At the end of the talk D.Harvey answers questions and briefly touches on how to subvert the capitalist system referring to a holistic model based on Marx. He suggests that in order to change the system an approach is needed which includes many parts such as intellectual/changing ideas, social relationships, relationship of humans/society to the environment and industry {which in the 19C used to be seen as an art or medicine which used to be holistic but is now slave to the pharmaceuticals}. By including the evolving society D.Harvey makes reference to sub-cultures networking and collaborating in order to subvert the dysfunctional system.

He begins the talk by illustrating that it is not possible to have capitalism without a debt economy and crisis, and it is always the poorest and the most vulnerable who suffer. He refers to the capitalism making money from the environmental crisis by purchasing carbon debt~ which I find obscene as well as mad but then this is just another debt to make money from. Importantly D.Harvey states we need an anti-wealth movement and how radical that idea is for many.

For me it is extremely timely to have seen this talk today, as we are so near to UK elections. D.Harvey points out that is was not the political party leaders who first appeared on the TV when the last financial crisis hit the public domain. It was key financial figures such as the head of US Treasury. All the political parties in UK are hoping to get voted in next week but they are are all struggling within this system ~ they are bound into and by the system. All saying that the people are going to have to pay for the bankers but are trying to spin this in the most positive light.

So anti-capitalism and social control over the surplus ~ how will it be spent and/or who would have a say in the decision making ~ would mean not being in debt and not swallowing this fantasy dream ie to be home owners; key to perpetuating this dysfunctional system. And for me capitalism and consumerism is addictive and requires a radical change for individuals {emotionally, mentally, physically} and society. Not surprisingly D. Harvey repeatedly makes references to changing what is taught, academia, thinking, intellectualism and ideas. And he also points out that ideas are not enough. Importantly D.Harvey's talk is peppered with concrete illustrations, humour, creativity and optimism.

In his talk D. Harvey makes reference to 9/11 which stopped a large number flying and he says that D.Bush went on to TV asking people to fly. And why ~ coos people were not spending money, were not perpetuating the system. So I find it very interesting that in the alternative sub-cultures that I circulate in, people are talking about Mother Earth sending a message to us humans through the volcano in Iceland. So if I take this idea on what message do I think Mother Earth can be saying? As I think it is interesting that for over a week flights were stopped due to the volcanic ash but due to the economic pressure the flights were brought back on. For me I noticed how people were upset and angry at the inconvenience of not being able to fly. That I was having conversations about having to take slower means of transportation. For a short period of time I had a glimpse of how life might change. And that in fact we are all on this planet together. Not isolated but reliant on one another and Mother Earth. How vast Earth is but also how complex, powerful, fierce and delicate.

So it is with excitement that I watch a talk given at the School of Economics where a man sees links being made between different schools of thought, ethos and sub-cultures. Mirroring one another. I would be interested to hear his thoughts on Transition Towns Projects. As he says we are at a critical crucial time. A cross-roads.

Garden of Eden

On pondering on 2012 and the ongoing and I feel connected events such as the volcano this quote came to my mind...

“This is Eden. When you see the kingdom spread upon the earth, the old way of living in the world is annihilated. That is the end of the world, The end of the world is not an event to come, it is an event of psychological transformation, of visionary transformation. You see not the world of solid things but a world of radiance.” Joseph Campbell

5th day silence in the sky and a roar in the land

1st the banking crisis now that volcano all eyes are on Iceland the land of Fire and Ice. Go to

http://icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/cat_id=29473&ew_0_a_id=360119

for news from Icelands perspective ~ the affect on their wildlife and farms. Here in the UK our sky's are silent accept the sound of wind, rain and birds.

People are torn between loving and fearing the awesome power of Mother Earth.

I for one am preparing not to be travelling to Hungry for a workshop on Fire Copper Amber the irony not being lost on me.

I look up at the sky in the day and I do not see the fine ash or a cloud in the sky but the sunsets are a deep enduring burning red.

I was feeling torn on whether I should be going because of the environmental impact. Now the decision looks like that I might not go and I find myself releaved. Releaved that I am so vulnerable.

That I am part of something bigger than this city of minds.

So it is at times like this that we are reminded that we are on this huge star ~ like the time I experienced the Northern Lights and the eclipse of the sun.

And if we view this star as our body where does that place Iceland?

I wonder if it is our Heart? And where is this Heart ~ in the Centre of the Earth.

Dancing with muddied Feet

Himself ~ by Brian Froud

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"The living bond between all life, Himself is

the breath that moves, the atom that dances,

and his magic is in pure being~living Loving.

He has the magic of procreation , of dancing

the spark into being. He is the one who dances

the great dance of life and death.

Dances upon the gate between the worlds

so that the dead may pass beyond.

It is also he who is willing to sacrifice himself

when that is necessary, for the sake of those whom he protects.

Even as our hearts beat within us,

we learn to mediate the life force through

Joyful being and action.

Expressing the power through healing

and love and trust,

we become more like Himself"

P84~85 The Faeries Oracle by Brian Froud and Jessica Macbeth

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A friend shared that yesterday she went to a posh party in shoes that she had bought after not trying them on. She had been to shoe shop after shoe shop trying countless shoes. None of them would fit. On arriving at the party she lost her shoes in the mud and went with muddied feet.

I exclaimed that she was a living faery tale.

Where upon I remembered a dream i had when I was in my twenties where I arrived at a posh party and was introduced to Pan who was dressed very smartly like everyone else ~ accept he had not trousers. He was not hiding his fur legs and hooves!

My dear friend also had shared how like me she has felt at odds since a child. Different. I have had dreams of trying in vain to force myself into ill fitting shoes. And as I write this I cannot pass on without being reminded of thousands of women who have had their feet bound...

This is an old poem I wrote in my twenties when I recalled a time I held memories of the Old Ways when I was in a Convent from 7 - 9 years old. I was young and so closer in my memory of the gateway between life and death. I remembered living as a daughter of Himself. Needless to say I did not fit into the Convent way. And this was not the last time I was told by a Christian authority figure that I was under the influence of the devil.

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Miraculous Transformation of Our Lady

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Stone reclusive, built for ten foot giants.

Hidden behind thickly interwoven ivy

Creeping cunning plant with

dark evergreen leaves

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Seeping supernatural shine.

No light between the gnarled arms

bending into mouths

tasting of deep red earth.

*

A tunnel of conifer and yew smelling thickly

of red fluorescent berries

touching tantalizing the tip of my tongue

Screaming stomach pain and death.

*

"Come along girls'' is lifted from

billowing stiff black skirts.

A chain of grey bobbing hats are

led to a ghostly circle of

*

Silver birch, ash and beech

Sheltering a small crumbling arched wall.

Crouched, solitary a female figure with

pearl white hollow eyes

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Thin silenced mouth hovers over

stone drapes. Fingers shimmering

then sighing in the silence

I gasp She "Queen of the Faeries"!

silver fox

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Inspire

Inspire:1. to exert a stimulating or beneficial effect upon a person or invigorate. 2. To arouse, stir. 3. To prompt or instigate; give rise to. 4. To guide or arouse by divine influence or inspiration. 5. To take or draw {air} into the lungs. 6. To breathe into or upon. Collins Concise Dictionary.

I went to a talk by Richard Olivier on Ethical Leadership at Alternatives Piccadilly yesterday. He truly embodied what he works for and was inspired. At the start of his talk he posed these questions;
Are you taking Leadership of your own life? Are you empowered and powerful?
What is the territory you can appropriately manage?
How connected are you to Stewardship?
Are you working holistically {ie integrating Mind/Body/Spirit or 3 Souls/Huna} ~ in Shakespeare's term your 'Single State'?
What is the territory you can appropriately manage?

From this place of being our own Authority, Richard then made the link to Leaders. He made reference to the Sacred Kingship role of being able to walk around his/her territory/Ambit. Ambit is the root for Ambition. Sacred Kingship acknowledges the role of channeling the energy focused onto/channelled/directed by the community/people. Sacred Kingship is about Service and Stewardship. Sacrifice to the greater good. Being a pagan I naturally am familiar/have an interest with the 'old ways' of our land which are connected to Sacred Kingship/Queenship; that acknowledge the natural cycle in myths of Gods and Goddess who died or were sacrificed only to be reborn again in Spring. {For a well researched comprehensive history of customs and beliefs of Britain I recommend: Ronald Hutton 'The Stations of The Sun'.}

Richard talked of stages of Leadership the first one being Drive. This is needed for initiating projects. Expansion.
After the initial stage came a time for Transition and withholding ambition. Taking a breath.
It is at this stage that it is useful to pose these questions such as;
Am I in the right ambit? Am in the right place? Am I doing what I was born to do/Living my Life's purpose? Where I find myself is this where I thought I was going? Such questions are therefore also vital for groups joined in a shared venture to ask not just for themselves but also for the group.

The first stage of Leadership is very easy to get addicted to as it creates and needs a lot of energy. Individuals and groups can become obsessed with this energy and heightened adrenalin. Become narcissistic. Individuals in the Leadership role can mistakenly believe this focused energy directed towards them, is not part of an integral interconnected system in which they are service to. But was created by them and for their needs and are no longer are humble. Such leaders are like Black holes.
Unfortunately it as that time that Leaders can only bare people who flatter and agree with them. Who do not question or challenge. But surround themselves with 'Yes men' who in turn need their Leader to stay in order to safe guard their own positions. So the dysfunctional system is perpetuated.

To illustrate an alternative model to our western power-over {Dreaming The Dark ~ Starhawk} structure Richard referred to Transition Town Projects {which I've referred to in a previous post and is included in my Links} who as part of their structure have it that people who take on Leadership roles have to stand down after a year. So hopefully limiting unethical leaderships.

Ethical Leaders give out more energy than they receive. Are as Shining Suns. And as Crowns worn by Kings & Queens; Leaders symbolically have antenna which connect to the higher good.

" A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral" Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

http://www.oliviermythodrama.com/