Kamali'i O Ka Po (Child of the Night)

Sarah Smith posted this beautiful video for some of her friends wishing them a Merry Christmas from the islands. I was so taken with it, that I snatched it up to share with all of you. So get out your flower garland and grass skirt and get ready to be transported to a place far away......






(English translation)
Kamali'i O Ka Po (Child of the night) Song by: Antion Vikram Singh


Listen, child of the night, here I am child of the light.
The sky above is Wakea, Earth below is Papa.
The heavens above, the Earth below.
All in its rightful place, Ke Kuliana keia.

The kahuna received their enlightenment,
Their mana from our ancient gods.
They were the chosen ones.
They spoke the words of the ancient gods,
they taught our laws and maintained our traditions, all in its rightful place.

Ho'ohōkūkalani, the royal mother
Gave birth to Hāloa, the kalo, then to Hāloa, the man.
The elder gave life to the junior lineage
All in its rightful place.

Listen, child of the night, here I am child of the light
You have there with you the middle section of the fish.
But where is the head? And where is the tail?
Where did you come from? Where will you go?
Listen! Is all in its rightful place?

Listen!
Listen!
Child of the Night

Thank you Sarah!

A Winter Solstice Reflection

As the hours of daylight grow, so too, we can let our inner light of understanding, love and intuitions grow. Allowing both the dark and the light to resonate within us, for it is part of us, we can practice new beginnings of unity, compassion, empathy and global love.

Celebrating the Winter Solstice on December 21st with Meditations, Decorations, and Incense.
By Donna Oxley http://www.astrostar.com/WinterSolstice-Celebrations.htm

Now That's a Tree!!

Merry Christmas!

I was looking for the perfect picture for my on-line Christmas card and a good friend of mine sent this beautiful photo in an e-mail. Thank you Melinda!
I have so enjoyed having this blog as a creative expression, a way to share a piece of myself with others and knowing the joy of meeting others from around the globe and taking a peek into their lives as well.
Women have so much power and joy and finding a way that we can all celebrate each other has really fed my soul and I am excited to see where the journey takes us next.
I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and an amazing new year!!

Wishing you all abundant peace in the new year, Jesse

Happy Human Rights Day!

~~~~~TAKE A FEW MINUTES TODAY AND READ YOUR RIGHTS AND PLACE YOURSELF IN THE SHOES OF THOSE WHO ARE NOT AS FORTUNATE~~~~~

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
*Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, 'sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.
*Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
*No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the salve trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
*No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
*Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
*All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.
*Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
*No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
*Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
*1. Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
2. No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.
*No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State.
2. Everyone has the right to leave any country including his own, and to return to his country.
*1. Everyone has the right to seek and enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
2. This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
*1. Everyone has the right to a nationality.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.
*1. Men and women of full age, without any limitation die to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
2. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
3. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
*1. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
*Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
*Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek receive and impart information and ideas though any media and regardless of frontiers.
*1. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
2. No one may be compelled to belong to an association.
*1. Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
2. Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
3. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secrete vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.
*Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.
*1. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
2. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
3. Every one who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
4. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.
*Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.
*1. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including foods, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
2. Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection. *1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
2. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
3. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
*1. Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.
*Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.
*1. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
2. In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
3. These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
*Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

Walk an online Labyrinth

This is an exerpt from the home page of my favorite new site.

The spiral is a universal symbol for the human soul. The labyrinth
has been a healing symbol to all walks of humanity for over 3,500
years. Through the labyrinth, the soul descends to earth
for the human experience, creating circumstances for
experiential learning of "life" lessons, manifesting
the transformational meditative tool of the labyrinth on earth to
assist with this process. Like the butterfly, most often the human
part of us first goes in one direction and then another,
learning the spiritual journey is most important and not the
destination. Understanding, growing, finding inner peace with
life issues, transforming the evolving human towards
True Wisdom – the soul ascending to its Higher Self once again.

The intent of this website is to bring the gift of the labyrinth to
you – through the virtual labyrinth walks, pages of
information, resource tools and links to other labyrinth
enthusiasts all over the world. Welcome, please visit often for
updates and additions... peace on your journey. Namaste.
The spiral is a universal symbol for the human soul. The labyrinth
has been a healing symbol to all walks of humanity for over 3,500
years. Through the labyrinth, the soul descends to earth
for the human experience, creating circumstances for
experiential learning of "life" lessons, manifesting
the transformational meditative tool of the labyrinth on earth to
assist with this process. Like the butterfly, most often the human
part of us first goes in one direction and then another,
learning the spiritual journey is most important and not the
destination. Understanding, growing, finding inner peace with
life issues, transforming the evolving human towards
True Wisdom – the soul ascending to its Higher Self once again.

The intent of this website is to bring the gift of the labyrinth to
you – through the virtual labyrinth walks, pages of
information, resource tools and links to other labyrinth
enthusiasts all over the world. Welcome, please visit often for
updates and additions... peace on your journey. Namaste.
The spiral is a universal symbol for the human soul. The labyrinth
has been a healing symbol to all walks of humanity for over 3,500
years. Through the labyrinth, the soul descends to earth
for the human experience, creating circumstances for
experiential learning of "life" lessons, manifesting
the transformational meditative tool of the labyrinth on earth to
assist with this process. Like the butterfly, most often the human
part of us first goes in one direction and then another,
learning the spiritual journey is most important and not the
destination. Understanding, growing, finding inner peace with
life issues, transforming the evolving human towards
True Wisdom – the soul ascending to its Higher Self once again.

The intent of this website is to bring the gift of the labyrinth to
you – through the virtual labyrinth walks, pages of
information, resource tools and links to other labyrinth
enthusiasts all over the world. Welcome, please visit often for
updates and additions... peace on your journey. Namaste.

www.labyrinthonline.com

Moon, Venus and Jupiter

The crescent moon is accompanied by planets Venus, bottom, and Jupiter, right, as evening sky clouds stream by the trio in this 15-second time exposure made from Stedman, N.C. Monday night, Dec. 1, 2008 using a telephoto lens. The striking grouping was widely observed from the eastern US. Earlier in the day observers in England saw the moon completely cover Venus.
(AP Photo/The Fayetteville

Thank you Shanda!

Community for Women Who Blog

I am a firm believer in the idea that the global communion of women--lovers, wives, matriarchs, women artists, spiritual sisters--is what can bring joyful change and peace to this world. Seeing the many ways we are finding to reach out to one another via the internet makes me hopeful...

If you are not already a member, check out http://www.blogher.com/ The Community for Women Who Blog I just found this resource and am overjoyed at seeing the vast array of topics and projects women are working on :)

I blog, therefore I am.....? Rachel's new blog

I have three children. My youngest is two years old. We homeschool. Hmmm...I don't always have a lot of time available to create ;) Shutting myself up in my "studio" for hours is pretty much never an option. But it has to happen. I've struggled with how to balance it all, but I can feel the need for it to become a priority rising within me. Are there other artist/moms out there struggling with this? I would love to here from you!! Come along with me as I try my damnedest to make it work...

http://www.thischromaticlife.blogspot.com/

Let it Snow!

Soooo hard to roll out of my warm bed this morning when this was my view on both sides! King Winter has come early this year. I'm not sure I am ready, but he does do beautiful work!
The children are enchanted by the winter wonderland and can't wait to make snow angels. I however will be making extra Yerba Mate and snuggling on the couch with my warm dog and a good book:)

Submit Your Favorite Tea Blend!!

Herbal Tea

This week I am going to work on making tea blends for the winter season. Some for giving, but mostly for my own drinking.

I use re-usable muslin tea bags and seal-your own bags. I buy loose tea in bulk from a local health food store. About twice a year, I spread all my herbs out on my harvest table, get out my favorite mortar and pestle and make all my favorite blends.

This year, I am asking for your help. I want to know what your favorite blends are. What are your favorite spicy teas? fruity teas? medicinal teas? teas for detox? teas for clarity? sleepy teas? teas for energy?

PLEASE leave your favorite recipe in the comments section and I will add them to this blog post.

What is your favorite tea for zen-ness?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here is a recipe for Chai Tea submitted by Earth Mama from http://www.chailatterecipes.com/

Chai Tea Ingredients:

Black Tea 10 teaspoons (25grams)(I prefer using Formosan Tea)

Cardamon Seeds (5 grams)

Cinnamon Sticks (2-3 sticks) or Cinnamon Ground 2 1/2 teaspoons (8 grams)

Ginger Powder (1 teaspoon)

1 Clove Ground

How to Make Chai Tea:
Please note there are many ways to make Chai Tea and this is one which I prefer. Listed below are other tips and variations you can try.

Step 1: Using a coffee/spice grinder or mortar and pestle, grind up spices.

Step 2: Add tea to spice mixture. Fill tea pot or coffee plunger with boiling water and add spice mixture. Use 3/4 cup boiling water and 4 teaspoons of tea/spice mixture per serve. Let stand 3-4 minutes. Heat milk using stove top, microwave or even better use a coffee machine so you can produce frothy milk. This gives a cafe style chai tea latte. Add heated milk and sweeten to taste.

Tips and Hints for making Chai Tea:
If you don't have a grinder, you can use a mortar and pestle, however you should grind the ingredients separately to avoid mix becoming too fine.
This recipe is unsweetened so you can add sugar to suit your taste.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Granny Sue said...

My favorite is orange spice tea. I used to make a blend of raspberry leaves, orange peel and rose hips that was fruity and delicious.

Thank you, sounds wanderful!

It's America Recycles Day!

America Recycles Day - Nov. 15

America Recycles Day (ARD), held every year on November 15, is a national campaign to raise awareness about the benefits of recycling and buying products made with recycled materials. Buying recycled is the step that "closes the recycling loop." Both Kansas and Missouri are official partners in this national effort and host events to help spread the message.

Each year, the MARC Solid Waste Management District, in cooperation with local governments, businesses and non-profits, coordinates the regional celebration.

How to get involved:

Visit and promote RecycleSpot.org – RecycleSpot.org is the region’s one-stop spot for recycling information. It lists everything that is recyclable in the metro area and where to take it. Post RecycleSpot.org flyers, stickers and magnets. to help promote the Web site.

Take the ARD pledge – Make a personal pledge to recycle, buy recycled and spread the word about recycling. Pledge online at America Recycles Day.

Get youth involved - This ARD kids activity (pdf) is designed to encourage children to be more involved in recycling and to care for the environment. By completing certain activities, a child can receive an America Recycles Day prize.

Indie Craft Contest!

Indie craft contest!

Allison Adoff of CHA emailed me last week and asked me to blog about a wonderful new contest and booth they are putting together for January's CHA in Anaheim. They are launching a new booth celebrating indie crafters and artists and are looking for 30 exceptional pieces to showcase in their Indie Craft booth!She says, "The purpose of the Indie Craft booth is to introduce Indie Crafting to the general craft industry and to get them excited about this growing movement. The highlight of the Indie Craft booth will be a display of the 30 Indie craft project winners submitted for the CHA Indie Crafting Contest which I am announcing this week. This contest is open to all crafters.
Here are the nitty-gritty details!

If you’re interested in sharing your crafts with the world this is your chance!
Just send us a photo and description of your work and we will select the top 30 projects and display them.
Guidelines:- Project must be innovative and creative. This contest is open to ALL crafters
Completed winning projects must fit in a 1 ½’ wide by 3’ high by 1’ deep space or 3’ wide by 3’high by 1’ deep space.
You may enter up to five projects.
How to Enter- Email a photograph and description of your project(s) to aadoff@craftandhobby.org.
Entrants have until November 21, 2008 to submit original ideas to be considered in the contest. We will notify you if you are a winner by December 19, 2008.
Winners will be chosen from entries received based upon quality and originality. Winners are responsible for shipping projects to CHA. Projects will be returned free of charge.
Opportunities for Winners
1. Extensive visibility and promotion. Projects will be displayed in a showcase located in the Indie Craft section of the Innovations booth on the Show floor. Over 15,000 show attendees will have the opportunity to view the winning projects
.2. Selected winners will have an opportunity to provide individual promotional sheets that will be available at the booth for attendees to take.
For more info please visit the CHA site!

Happy Birthday Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

(November 12, 1815 - October 26, 1902)

When Elizabeth Cady married abolitionist Henry Brewster Stanton in 1840, she'd already observed enough about the legal relationships between men and women to insist that the word obey be dropped from the ceremony.
An active abolitionist herself, Stanton was outraged when the World's Anti-Slavery Convention in London, also in 1840, denied official standing to women delegates, including Lucretia Mott. In 1848, she and Mott called for a women's rights convention to be held in Seneca Falls, New York. That convention, and the Declaration of Sentiments written by Stanton which was approved there, is credited with initiating the long struggle towards women's rights and woman suffrage.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony(click image for a larger version)Courtesy of the Library of Congress.Modifications © 2003 Jone Johnson Lewis. Licensed to About.com.
After 1851, Stanton worked in close partnership with Susan B. Anthony. Stanton often served as the writer and Anthony as the strategist in this effective working relationship. After the Civil War, Stanton and Anthony were among those who were determined to focus on female suffrage when only voting rights of freed males were addressed in Reconstruction. They founded the National Woman Suffrage Association and Stanton served as president.
When the NWSA and the rival American Woman Suffrage Association finally merged in 1890, Stanton served as the president of the resulting National American Woman Suffrage Association.
In her later years she added to her speech- and article-writing a history of the suffrage movement, her autobiography Eighty Years and More, and a controversial critique of women's treatment by religion, The Woman's Bible.
While Stanton is best known for her long contribution to the woman suffrage struggle, she was also active and effective in winning property rights for married women, equal guardianship of children, and liberalized divorce laws so that women could leave marriages that were often abusive of the wife, the children, and the economic health of the family.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton died in New York on October 26, 1902, with nearly 20 years to go before the United States granted women the right to vote.

Happy Ill (Full Moon Poya Day in November)

The Significance of Poya

Even before the birth of Buddhism, Asian ascetics in the ancient times when there were no calendars, made it a practice on full moon days to cease worldly pursuits and engage themselves in religious activities.

The Buddha adopted this practice and from this developed the preaching of the Buddhist texts and commentaries (bana) in monasteries and temples on full moon Poya days. And when the Venerable Arahat Mahinda Thero introduced Buddhism to this country in 247 BC he also introduced the Poya tradition. Following is a brief description of the 12 Poyas in the Buddhist calendar and their significance.

Dear President-Elect Obama,

*This is a great letter written by Elizabeth Terry from the ever-inspiring blog Fake Plastic Fish*

Dear President-Elect Obama,

As I write to you this day after the most exciting election in my 43 years, I want to thank you. You have inspired not only the people of the United States but of the entire world. You weave a beautiful story of hope for people who have become tired and cynical and jaded by political rhetoric.

Here are some of my hopes.

I hope that while we're talking of "restoring prosperity" and "putting our people back to work" we're also working to change the fundamental basis on which prosperity is measured. Is the American Dream the pursuit of newer and bigger houses and cars and the latest gadgets? Higher consumption of the earth's resources? Is that what healing the economy means? Or can we change our language to encourage deeper American values? Voluntary simplicity? Sustainable living? Connections among people over material wealth? The world cannot afford for us to continue trashing the planet as we have been. And as someone with the great ability to use words to inspire hope and change, you are in a unique position to change the course of our imaginations and help us redefine how we measure prosperity.

We need jobs, of course. Let's make them green and inclusive of all segments of society. Van Jones has offered a beautiful plan in his book, The Green Collar Economy. Let's create an economy that measures not only dollars in the bank but also the satisfaction that one's work is helping to sustain life on the planet.

We want to feel secure, of course. Let's create the security of knowing that we are not creating a terrible mess today for our children to deal with tomorrow. To that end, I urge you to attend the U.N. Climate meetings in Poland this December and promise that the U.S. will lead the way in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and helping other developing nations to do the same.

We all want access to health care. Let's also take care of the health of our planet, which ultimately affects the health of us all. Right now, there is an area in the North Pacific Ocean greater than the size of Texas that is filled with plastic. Marine researchers describe it as a "plastic soup." And the plastic didn't just come from vessels dumping their waste at sea. No, the plastic comes from you and me and everyone who has ever used and thrown away plastic products. Plastic lasts forever. It mimics food for multitudes of marine animals who eat the plastic and feed it to their young. It migrates up the food chain into the fish that we ourselves eat, including toxins that accumulate on its surfaces.

Plastic is a great invention and can also be a great threat to the health care and security of humans and animals on this planet. Thousands and thousands of individuals are working to make changes in our own lives to protect the earth, to consume less, and to choose less toxic alternatives, like avoiding plastics, but we are not enough to solve these types of environmental problems. We need our government to hold companies responsible for the full life cycles of the products they produce, we need stricter regulations against toxic products, and we also need a national mindset that encourages consumers to cut back on disposable products and look to what is durable and energy-efficient and timeless.

Protecting the planet is about more than cutting emissions, although that seems to be the big focus of the moment. We also need to cut our consumption and change our priorities. As president, you can set policies in that direction. But we also need you to use your powerful skills of language to light up our minds and show us the value in simple, sustainable, compassionate living. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you have done so far and all you will do in the next four years. You've asked me to hope. Some of my hope is in your hands.

Sincerely,
Elizabeth G. Terry
Oakland, CA

The Beckoning of Lovely

If you have not yet seen these videos...watch them now!

17 Things I Made by Amy Krouse Rosenthal


The Beckoning of Lovely by Amy Krouse Rosenthal


So inspiring... And the second video calls for YOUR lovely creations. Find out more at http://www.whoisamy.wordpress.com
I think as women, we especially have a need to create something beautiful, something meaningful every day...even if it is only a well-made bed or a peanutbutter sandwich.

A grateful thanks to Amanda Soule and her Soulemama blog (http://soulemama.typepad.com/) on creative parenting, where I found these links.

Basking.....

This is my view from the hammock in my back yard. I took advantage of this God-created genius and breathed it in for over an hour. What a peaceful afternoon.

Exactly lyrics

In case you couldn't catch all the lyrics to Amy Steinberg's song "Exactly," here they are:

i am exactly where i need to be
i need to be exactly where i am
i am a blessing manifest
i can undress the moment
naked time unwinds beneath my mind
and from within i find the kind of beauty
only i can find
i am exactly where i need to be
i need to be exactly where i am
i am surrendering so willingly
to be the perfect me inside this now
and truly how else could it be
destiny she blesses me
when i try to fight or run
i only wind up back at square one
when i think i know what's best for me
fate she takes me back to exactly where i need to be
i am exactly where i need to be
i need to be exactly where i am
i am divinely timed and shining brightly
yes i believe that there's a purpose just for me
yes i believe that we are light
and we shine infinitely
i am exactly where i need to be
i need to be exactly where i am
i am not aimlessly existing see
i am in perfect harmony with universal energy
and i am truly free when i accept my own divinity
look at me look at me closely
what exactly do you see
if you are paying attention you will now begin ascension of the mind
why, because if you look at me just right you will see a kiss
for it took a kiss to make this breath exist
the intersection of my mother's and father's lips
to touch twist and perfect what came next to produce me
look at me and you will see the breeze
the breeze it took to shake the leaves to
make my mother's hair move, my father dare touch it and say
please may i have a kiss
yes the breeze made me exist
and if you want to get even deeper into this
when you look at me you will see a cloud
the cloud it took to form the storm to shake the leaves to
inspire the liplock - yes a raindrop will pop up out these words
you heard me right
if you look at me close enough you will see a dark stormy night
and what is night without it's polar opposite of sunlight
so if you watch the way my hands sway
you'll see the light of day
and everyday is a testament to the sediment of the earth's core
it's ever spinning enormous force so if you look at me just right
you will see a spark of the source
but the most fascinating thing about this, and it's true
is that if you look at me close enough, you see you
it's only what you perceive how you believe the space between
you and me
that creates reality
so when i sing you can feel it
when i cry you can heal it
when i speak words you can be the words i speak by singing with me
peace love free
peace love free
peace love free
and when i am alone and full of fear
i just remember the rising sun always appears
everyday miracles that i see
well they take me back to exactly where i need to be

These came from her professional website
http://www.amysteinberg.net/

Amy Steinberg is a Goddess!!

The song in the video is the work of singer/songwriter/performer Amy Steinberg. She is a truly awesome wild woman and her music rocks! Check out her myspace page at
http://www.myspace.com/amysteinberg

and listen to some of her other songs. I must buy some of her music right now!!

Exactly by Amy Steinberg and Liz Guilliot

A Song Called War (this is where the angry comes in)

A Peace of Art a Day

I discovered an amazing artist today through etsy. She is also from WV and is producing a wonderful "peace" of art every day to promote peace! Oh, if only we could all be this dedicated!

Here is a link to her incredible blog:

http://hillbillyartist.blogspot.com/

Wild Woman Pendant

Description
This lead free copper plated pewter pendant is one cool wild woman and does she have a cute booty or what?
She is one of my regulars in my designs and this time I decided she would have a brown and pink theme. She is designed with pink blister pearls that spike out like her hair. I added high polish brownish black stones of Mahogany Obsidian and cream freshwater pearls. Necklace measures 17 1/4 inches and is finished with a antique copper lobster clasp. Thanks for looking! You will receive this in a gift box via first class mail with a delivery confirmation.

***********************************************************************************

I was looking for something inspirational for Zen Fem, so I googled Wild Woman and this artists' etsy site came up. I fell in love with this pendant! She is not much larger than a penny, but what a presence!

www.gypsymoondesigns.etsy.com has a wealth of beautiful jewelry, check it out!

Meet Atlantia: Wild Woman Mermaid Doll

SOLD

Feel the ocean calling you...Atlantia's sea-green eyes have beheld the most magical of the ocean's mysteries and her mermaid charms bring transformation and wisdom. She is a special gift for an older girl entering a new stage in her life or an adult woman who treasures her feminine link with the mystical. Maybe a daughter who has just learned to swim or a friend embarking on an ocean voyage... I also think that she would make a perfect first moon gift as a symbol of the girl's transition into the mysteries of womanhood. Made from my original pattern, she is 16" tall from her beaded tribal headdress to the tip of her needle-felted fins (exluding the green silk flutters). She is stuffed with wool roving from local sheep and constructed using both new and recycled materials. I have have left the edges of her silk fins raw for a seaweed effect, but my seven-year old daughter loves the way this allows them to float on the slightest breeze and the way her "believe" charm necklace jingles. (I have made her a mermaid doll of her own, but she has been magnetically drawn to Atlantia...it must be her siren's song!)

Hi, I'm Rachel Hyde, cousin to Jesse and fellow Waldorf-inspired homeschooler and wild woman, and this is Atlantia, my newest waldorf doll/goddess doll creation. I love dollmaking and find it to be an inspiring way to express feminine creativity and sometimes (like on this mysterious mermaid)...go a little wild.

Chromatic Attic:
http://www.thechromaticattic.etsy.com/

Gaia Art

www.artbygaia.com/html/art_gallery.html

Mala Beads for Meditation

Using Mala Beads (Rosary) For Meditation

What is a Meditation Mala? A mala is a string of 108 beads with one bead as the summit bead called a 'sumeru'.
It is a tool used to keep your mind on the meditation practice. Malas are generally made from different materials such as tulsi (basil) wood, sandal wood, rudraksh seeds or crystal. Each type of material has certain properties which subtly affect the subconscious mind of the practitioner.
Why use the Mala? Meditation can be quite a tricky practice because the mind is like a naughty child. By its very nature, the mind tends to wander off during the meditation practice. If ones energy is low at the time of meditation, falling asleep can result. If the energy is too high, fantasy and distraction become the barriers. At such times, the mala provides the much needed anchor.
The mala beads are moved in rhythm with the breath and the mantra, so that both-sleep as well as excessive mental distraction-are prevented by this action upon the beads.
For wearing: A personal mala is a wonderful accessory to meditation, which when used regularly with a personal mantra, absorbs the vibrations of the practice. It becomes like a close friend or a comfortable piece of clothing!
How to Use? The mala is traditionally held in the right hand and used in two ways -
In one method, the mala is hanging between the thumb and the ring (third) finger. The middle (second) finger is used to rotate the mala by one bead towards oneself with each repetition of the mantra.
In the other method, the mala is hanging on the middle finger, with the thumb used to rotate the mala just as explained - one bead at a time.
Either way, the index finger is never used to touch the mala.
The mala may coil on the floor with the hand resting on the right knee or used with the hand concealed in the Mala Bag.
The practice begins at the summit bead (sumeru) and continues around the loop until the summit is reached again. The summit bead is never passed over. So if you plan to do more than 1 round, the mala is turned around to proceed again in the reverse direction.
Whenever the mala is taken up, it automatically conditions the mind to the meditative state. The mala that you use for Mantra Japa meditation should not be exhibited and is best kept privately in a special Mala Bag.

Thank you so much Carrie!!

Harvest Moon Festival

Our booth at the Harvest Moon Festival!

We are The Chromatic Attic.

This year, five homeschooling mothers contributed their talents to one fabulous display of one-of-a-kind, eye catching, earth friendly products.

Thank you Rachel, Elizabeth, Carrie, and Amy!

Crafty Fems

Owl Bags--Carrie Tidd

earthmamathree@yahoo.com

Hand Painted shelf and candle stick holders--Rachel Hyde

www.thechromaticattic.etsy.com

Waldorf style felt birthday crowns--Carrie Tidd

earthmamathree@yahoo.com

Crafty Fems

Felt Needle Books-- Rachel Hyde www.thechromaticattic.etsy.com

Wool baby hats--Elizabeth McClung www.sahmeam.etsy.com

Chalk Mats, key fobs, flannel baby wipes and cloth diapering bags--

Amy Stull www.bloomingjasmine.etsy.com

Cloth strip baskets and bowls--Jesse Hyde www.earthmamahyde.etsy.com

Wool Date book/checkbook holders--Carrie Tidd-- earthmamathree@yahoo.com

Wool Squids- Carrie Tidd-- earthmamathree@yahoo.com

Life

Isn't this an amazing piece of art? The connection between creating human life and caring for the the life of the earth and beyond really stands out to me. The moon behind is spectacular!
Speaking of......did anyone get a picture of the Harvest Moon? I would love to post it here.

Mother Earth Dances

Rhythm of the Earth

Woman’s exquisite feminine consciousness is like the earth ~ soft, rounded, wild and wise. Centred within a spiral, she ebbs and flows with stars, planets and oceans. Like the wildest tempest, her passion is uncontained and uncontrollable, and like the surging river, her love runs still and deep.
She, the earth spirit, is the glowing rotundity of the full moon, sparkling water of the cascading waterfall and curling tendrils of rainforest vines. There is a mysterious bond between woman and the earth, for woman and the earth are one.
Her wildness has no movement or projection, being as still as the centre of a cyclone. When seen, she loves open-heartedly, giving with impersonal joy and intimacy that knows no boundaries.

Earth Spirit by Sophie Breillat

Wildness of the Female Spirit by Sophia Breillat

There is an inherent wildness in woman that cannot be contained or controlled. Her deepest pain is her separation from this essential essence, where man rarely reaches her. Her sweetest joy is when she is simply being, resting peacefully within. Here, she is united with the seasons’ awakening, earth’s nourishment and moon’s phases.
Woman’s innate feminine intuition cannot flow spontaneously when masqueraded beneath a cloak of time, schedules, briefcases, business suits and corporate board meetings. Such efficiency is alien to her mysterious depth, which is beyond the world of existence. This world does not create space for her.
When lured from her profundity into a male-dominated civilisation, she loses touch with the simplicity of her true magnificence. In the outer world, she is manipulated into being man’s “equal” through competitive achievement.
When content within her being, she has no need for such competition, as she knows it is not her true nature. In striving for “equality” with man, she leaves the power and stillness of her love.
The feminine spirit is nurturing, receptive, gentle and peaceful. Through projection, woman loses touch with her body as a divine source of sacred intimacy and passionate profundity.
When inwardly still, she can be in the world without using work as a substitute for love or a distraction from lack of love.
Woman’s rhythm is circular, attuned with the wisdom of nature’s abundant cycles. The world of straight lines, concrete, measuring and quantifying is unfamiliar with her truth, which is love. She does her best within an un-giving environment of computerised technology, political unrest and global upheaval. She intuitively knows, but she is afraid to know, for her inner realm is not naturally aligned with the world. Her knowledge is that of love, and love is her home.
Through the world’s dishonouring of her sacredness, she has lost her tenderness and sweet surrender. Sexual hardness then replaces her natural sensuality. In building a layer of protection around her heart, like the concrete layers upon the earth, she has forgotten that her body is a temple. Woman is not of the world ~ she is of the earth, moon and stars. Her female spirit is capricious, moist, rich and succulent. When this spirit is repressed, she becomes dry, brittle, intellectual and barren.

Wild Woman

Just another wild woman connecting with her roots.

Finding Her Here

Finding Her Here

I am becoming the woman I've wanted,

grey at the temples, soft body, delighted,

cracked up by life with a laugh that's known bitter but, past it, got better,

knows she's a survivor-that whatever comes, she can outlast it.

I am becoming a deep, weathered basket.

I am becoming the woman I've longed for, the motherly lover with arms strong and tender,

the growing daughter who blushes surprises.

I am becoming full moons and sunrises.

I find her becoming, this woman I've wanted,

who knows she'll encompass, who knows she's sufficient,

knows where she's going and travels with passion.

Who remembers she's precious, but knows she's not scarce-who knows she is plenty,

plenty to share.

Jayne Relaford Brown

Mantra: My Feet Connect With the Earth

My feet connect with the Earth.
I inhabit my personal space.
I am a distinct entity in rapport with the life around me.
My individuality emerges in the context of the larger environment.
I know where my place is in the world.
I can deal with life, with whatever shows up.
I am no pushover, my roots are deep.
I am responsive, not rigid.
I can move in any direction at any time.
I can sense when something is not right for me.
I can say no or yes with clarity and conviction.
I can feel in my body all my experience and what I have learned.
I don't need permission to take up space.
I can breath fully; I don't have to shrink and apologize for being.
I can heartily expand and meet the world with joy.

Wild Woman

"So what is the Wild Woman? From the viewpoint of archetypal psychology as well as from the storytelling tradition, she is the female soul. Yet she is more; she is the source of the feminine. She is all that is of instinct, of the worlds both seen and hidden—she is the basis. We each receive from her a glowing cell which contains all the instincts and knowings needed for our lives."

Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D.Women Who Run With the Wolves

Wild and Zen

This is my thirtieth year on this great planet and I welcome it as the birth of my womanhood. Now is the time of empowerment, passionate love, creative endeavors, mindful homemaking and meditative bliss. This is the year that I unleash my inner wild woman and allow her to take me by the hand and show me all the things I have been missing.
Can you be wild and zen at the same time? Absolutely, and it is delicious!