May 30, 2008 - Snapshots in the Funeral Home

Today I stop by one of our local funeral homes, to attend visiting hours for Diane, a member of the Cancer Concern Center support group I used to attend. Diane was a multi-year survivor of breast cancer, but it caught up with her in the end.

I remember her as one of the most welcoming, affirming members of the group – even though she was one of the ones who found it hardest to stop calling me “Reverend,” and simply call me by my name. Some habits are hard to unlearn – especially for someone who grew up attending Catholic school, as she did. As a kid, she’d never have dreamed of calling a priest anything other than “Father,” and that formality carried over to a Protestant pastor like me.

I find I know only a few other people in the room – one other member of the support group, and a couple I know from some other contexts. I explain to Diane’s daughter how I knew her mother from the Cancer Concern Center, and always found her to be a positive, affirming presence. I don’t identify myself as a pastor, just as a member of the support group.

There’s no casket present – must have been a cremation. I walk over and take a gander at the photo collages. There are several of these, jam-packed with snapshots of a smiling Diane with family and friends I’ve never met.

I feel a little out of place. I knew Diane from such a narrow segment of her life – the support group – and from a time when she wasn’t feeling her best. These are images of a life that was rich and full, until cancer burst in and overturned the game board, scattering the playing-pieces.

Still, I felt I ought to come. Diane was a fellow member of the cancer underground. I want to honor her memory.

As I lean close to the displays of photos, I feel a twinge of survivor’s guilt. Why her and not me? There’s no answer to that question. Why ask why?

New New Age Mormon Group on Wiki

The ever amazing Priestess, Doe, has started an awesome New Age Mormon Pagan Wiki group, come join us wont you?

http://newagemormonpagans.wetpaint.com/

The New Age Mormon Pagans wiki maps the ways in which people with Mormon backgrounds supplement, synthesize, or replace Mormonism with popular spiritual beliefs and practices like . . .

* Energy work
* Channeling
* Tarot (and other divination)
* Reincarnation
* Goddess/Heavenly Mother
* Reincarnation or rebirth of some kind
* Earth-based ritual
* Etc.


So what kind of New Age Mormon Pagan are YOU?

New New Age Mormon Group on Wiki

The ever amazing Priestess, Doe, has started an awesome New Age Mormon Pagan Wiki group, come join us wont you?

http://newagemormonpagans.wetpaint.com/

The New Age Mormon Pagans wiki maps the ways in which people with Mormon backgrounds supplement, synthesize, or replace Mormonism with popular spiritual beliefs and practices like . . .

* Energy work
* Channeling
* Tarot (and other divination)
* Reincarnation
* Goddess/Heavenly Mother
* Reincarnation or rebirth of some kind
* Earth-based ritual
* Etc.


So what kind of New Age Mormon Pagan are YOU?

Mormon Homebirth Part 1

From my thesis:



I grew up in a largely Mormon area of Southern Nevada and Utah. When I studied midwifery most of my mentors were local Mormon midwives. When I gave birth to my first son a Mormon midwife “caught” him. After the birth of my son I joined a local natural mothering group. The group had been started by a Mormon mother and doula (birth assistant), and it seemed that the women in the group were either half Mormon or pagan. I thought it was interesting how so many Mormon mamas I knew gave birth at home.

Later as my son grew and as I joined in other Mormon community events I saw so many moms who were either Mormon or raised Mormon having home births. I thought perhaps it was the area I lived in but after moving to Northern California I observed the same thing. Friends of mine had Mormon sisters, friends and co-workers across the country and so many of them were birthing at home. It seemed the highest rate of home birthing women I knew outside of the hippie and pagan communities.

I always wondered why this was and after some investigation it all seemed to come together. A tradition rooted in herbal medicine, natural healing, women healers, distrust of doctors, domestic empowerment of women and an emphasis on family and community, lent itself to an easier home birthing culture for Mormon women.

Patty Bartlett Sessions, a pioneer Mormon midwife recorded this entry on March 21st, 1846; “Zina had a son at the river. Comfortable. Traveled four miles. Double teams up and camped. It rains tonight.” This baby boy was born exactly 132 years before I was. His birth was greeted as a sacred, every day event, happening at the bank of a river as the Mormons walked their way across America (Noall 24).

Joseph Smith, we already know, came from a magickal family and his mother worked her magick to heal setting a path for Joseph to prefer the nurturing power of women healers. When Joseph’s younger sister fell ill the local doctors told the family to give her up for dead. Lucy Smith would not have it. She scooped up her tiny daughter and paced back and forth praying for her recovery. The little girl got better and her excellent health became a light in the life of young Joseph – a lesson in the power of women to heal spiritually (Noal 16).

The Smith family did not all fair as well as Joseph’s sister. His brother Alvin died from an obstruction in his bowel caused by a strong dose of calomel for colic administered by a doctor. This turned Smith toward a natural healing philosophy of the time called the Thomsonian method. Tomsonian is from, Samuel Thomson, who did not agree with the conventional physicians of the time. Thomson developed his own theory based on natural healing and herbal medicine (Brady 88).

By the time the Word of Wisdom, a code of Mormon health, was revealed by God to Joseph Smith, Joseph was a firm believer in Thomsonian medicine. The Word of Wisdom is very in tune with the practice of midwifery and directs herbs to be used in the healing of disease (Brady 88). The Word of Wisdom was given as a health code for all Mormons however Smith also directed midwives to use it in particular. He “set apart” Ann Carling, a midwife in Nauvoo, IL, and while laying his hands upon her head he told her that she would be successful in caring for the sick if she would use herbs exclusively in her work (Brady 88).

Early Mormons especially regarded these codes of health and many still do. These laws of health, they believe, come from God. To disobey the laws of health, such as the Word of Wisdom, would be to sin against their Heavenly Father (Brady 85). Following the Word of Wisdom and Thomsonian methods as well as Joseph’s divine directives, three midwives total were set apart during the Mormons stay in Nauvoo, IL. Using the same method discussed for Ann Carling, Joseph also placed his hands on the heads of Patty Sessions and Vienna Jaques, anointing them and directing them not only as midwives for the women but community healers as well (Noall 16).

Patty Sessions and Vienna Jacques were women of priestly authority following their anointing. They used their skills both herbally and spiritually to assist in birth and to heal the Mormon pioneers who walked from the east to Utah, ending in the Salt Lake basin (Noall 18). So effective were their abilities to heal and so great was the confidence place in them by their fellow Mormons, that often when doctors attempted to assist in difficult situations Mormon men would slam the door in their face (Noall 18).

In the early days of Utah Mormon settlements, midwives were, as Margaret K. Brady puts it, the feminist alternative to regular medicine (Brady 87). Midwives were the voice of authority in Utah and held a mystical place for their patients (Noall 15). Intertwined with spirituality the midwives and other women blessed each other often. Eliza Snow, a woman whom we will remember had been given the priesthood and had revelations on Heavenly Mother, is known to have blessed midwife Patty Bartlett on the occasion of her birthday (Noall 33).

Mormon midwife healers lived in the land that their Book of Mormon described and they knew through their spiritual beliefs that the thistle and sage growing in the hills around them had once been used by the Nephites, one of the early American tribes according to The Book of Mormon (Noall 16). This speaks to the midwives deep connection with the land on which they lived and they knew through their faith that the earth would heal them.

Mormon Homebirth Part 1

From my thesis:



I grew up in a largely Mormon area of Southern Nevada and Utah. When I studied midwifery most of my mentors were local Mormon midwives. When I gave birth to my first son a Mormon midwife “caught” him. After the birth of my son I joined a local natural mothering group. The group had been started by a Mormon mother and doula (birth assistant), and it seemed that the women in the group were either half Mormon or pagan. I thought it was interesting how so many Mormon mamas I knew gave birth at home.

Later as my son grew and as I joined in other Mormon community events I saw so many moms who were either Mormon or raised Mormon having home births. I thought perhaps it was the area I lived in but after moving to Northern California I observed the same thing. Friends of mine had Mormon sisters, friends and co-workers across the country and so many of them were birthing at home. It seemed the highest rate of home birthing women I knew outside of the hippie and pagan communities.

I always wondered why this was and after some investigation it all seemed to come together. A tradition rooted in herbal medicine, natural healing, women healers, distrust of doctors, domestic empowerment of women and an emphasis on family and community, lent itself to an easier home birthing culture for Mormon women.

Patty Bartlett Sessions, a pioneer Mormon midwife recorded this entry on March 21st, 1846; “Zina had a son at the river. Comfortable. Traveled four miles. Double teams up and camped. It rains tonight.” This baby boy was born exactly 132 years before I was. His birth was greeted as a sacred, every day event, happening at the bank of a river as the Mormons walked their way across America (Noall 24).

Joseph Smith, we already know, came from a magickal family and his mother worked her magick to heal setting a path for Joseph to prefer the nurturing power of women healers. When Joseph’s younger sister fell ill the local doctors told the family to give her up for dead. Lucy Smith would not have it. She scooped up her tiny daughter and paced back and forth praying for her recovery. The little girl got better and her excellent health became a light in the life of young Joseph – a lesson in the power of women to heal spiritually (Noal 16).

The Smith family did not all fair as well as Joseph’s sister. His brother Alvin died from an obstruction in his bowel caused by a strong dose of calomel for colic administered by a doctor. This turned Smith toward a natural healing philosophy of the time called the Thomsonian method. Tomsonian is from, Samuel Thomson, who did not agree with the conventional physicians of the time. Thomson developed his own theory based on natural healing and herbal medicine (Brady 88).

By the time the Word of Wisdom, a code of Mormon health, was revealed by God to Joseph Smith, Joseph was a firm believer in Thomsonian medicine. The Word of Wisdom is very in tune with the practice of midwifery and directs herbs to be used in the healing of disease (Brady 88). The Word of Wisdom was given as a health code for all Mormons however Smith also directed midwives to use it in particular. He “set apart” Ann Carling, a midwife in Nauvoo, IL, and while laying his hands upon her head he told her that she would be successful in caring for the sick if she would use herbs exclusively in her work (Brady 88).

Early Mormons especially regarded these codes of health and many still do. These laws of health, they believe, come from God. To disobey the laws of health, such as the Word of Wisdom, would be to sin against their Heavenly Father (Brady 85). Following the Word of Wisdom and Thomsonian methods as well as Joseph’s divine directives, three midwives total were set apart during the Mormons stay in Nauvoo, IL. Using the same method discussed for Ann Carling, Joseph also placed his hands on the heads of Patty Sessions and Vienna Jaques, anointing them and directing them not only as midwives for the women but community healers as well (Noall 16).

Patty Sessions and Vienna Jacques were women of priestly authority following their anointing. They used their skills both herbally and spiritually to assist in birth and to heal the Mormon pioneers who walked from the east to Utah, ending in the Salt Lake basin (Noall 18). So effective were their abilities to heal and so great was the confidence place in them by their fellow Mormons, that often when doctors attempted to assist in difficult situations Mormon men would slam the door in their face (Noall 18).

In the early days of Utah Mormon settlements, midwives were, as Margaret K. Brady puts it, the feminist alternative to regular medicine (Brady 87). Midwives were the voice of authority in Utah and held a mystical place for their patients (Noall 15). Intertwined with spirituality the midwives and other women blessed each other often. Eliza Snow, a woman whom we will remember had been given the priesthood and had revelations on Heavenly Mother, is known to have blessed midwife Patty Bartlett on the occasion of her birthday (Noall 33).

Mormon midwife healers lived in the land that their Book of Mormon described and they knew through their spiritual beliefs that the thistle and sage growing in the hills around them had once been used by the Nephites, one of the early American tribes according to The Book of Mormon (Noall 16). This speaks to the midwives deep connection with the land on which they lived and they knew through their faith that the earth would heal them.

(05.30.08) Recommends:

Ema and the Ghosts.

After yesterday's Beirut post, we got an email tip to check out Ema and the Ghosts. So we went to her myspace and, honestly, the first thing we noticed was her profile introduction:

ema is a girl who would like to make a sound to make a feeling to make a revolution. yes, she understands the unlikelyhood of this daydream being realized but she does not care. she has more important things to worry about.

Okay, as far as myspace profiles go, that's pretty crush-worthy. The next thing we noticed was the music. It's one female, an accordion, a ukulele, random bells and whistles. Completely charming. If you like Beirut or Jens Lekman or Andrew Bird or the Moldy Peaches or if you breath in oxygen and breath out carbon dioxide, we're willing to bet that you'll enjoy Ema and the Ghosts.

Ema and the Ghosts at Myspace.

May 29, 2008 - No Concierge Medicine for Me

This evening I pick up the phone to listen to our voice mail. Waiting for me is a message from Dr. Cheli. He’s calling to tell us he’s decided not to move forward with the new affiliation with MD-VIP, because he’s been hearing that it would create “too much of a hardship” for his patients. So, he tells us, it will be “business as usual” in his office. He assures us he’ll continue to practice medicine with an emphasis on prevention. (Scroll down to the May 15th entry, for more on this story.)

Reading between the lines, it seems likely that he and the MD-VIP marketing people failed to convince 600 of his 2,700 patients to make the switch (and to pay $1,500 per year for the MD-VIP physical and other services).

That’s not surprising, given the sluggish state of the economy. With gas prices rising faster than anyone can remember, folks are being extra cautious about all their expenditures.

While I feel sorry for what must surely be a huge disappointment for Dr. Cheli, I’m glad for our sake. Claire and I hadn’t told him yet, but we’d pretty much decided to go ahead and take a risk on MD-VIP (despite the severe strain it would have put on our budget). We made that decision reluctantly – not because we were overflowing with enthusiasm about MD-VIP’s services, but because we didn’t want to leave Dr. Cheli.

This means we can continue to see him, without the worry of coming up with that huge fee every year.

I don’t fault Dr. Cheli for trying. The health-care funding situation in this country is an abominable mess. I can fully understand why he’d want to carve out a little island of calm amidst the chaos, where he could practice the sort of medicine he trained for, and make a good living doing so.

It’s going to be stormy sailing for him and everyone else connected with health care – until our political leaders come up with the will to stand up to big insurance and big pharma, and develop a national health-insurance program, like most every other industrialized nation already has.

(05.29.08) Recommends:

The Los Angeles Return of Beirut.

Oh, Zach Condon. What more can we possibly say about him? He released music in 2006 and it was among our favorite music of that year. He released some more music in 2007 and it was among our favorite music of that year.

He's an interesting artist for many reasons, but one of the things that strikes us is this. If you read this blog because you're really into music, you're familiar with Beirut. If you read this blog simply because you know us, you're probably not familiar with Beirut. And if you get out from beyond your computers right now and ask the first five people you come across if they know of Beirut, after clarifying that you're talking about the band, we can almost guarantee that you'll be meet with blank stares. So here's what's awesome. Last time Beirut came through Los Angeles -- October '07 -- they played two shows at the Avalon (the first of which we know for sure was sold out). The Avalon is not the Hollywood Bowl, but it easily fits in excess of 1,000 people. It's quite impressive playing, let alone selling out, a venue that size while being a band that is in large measure obscure.

And not only did Beirut sell out the Avalon. The crowd was as attentive as any crowd we've ever seen. Hanging on his every word. Singing along to every word. And at the time of these shows Beirut's second full length album had been officially released less than a week, yet we overheard at least two people claim various songs on the album were their favorite songs of all time. And we don't think this was simply hipster hyperbole. Zach Condon has an effect on people that is true and pure and above all else real. (As an example, after the show, we went home and were inspired to start goofing around with our camera. We took a picture of the concert ticket and within thirty minutes had created what has turned out to be easily one of this blog's most viewed posts).

People of our generation, we're the Mtv generation. We've been advertised to our entire lives. Since our earliest years, we've been sold soda and shoes and lifestyles and dreams. It's become hard to tell the difference between what we really think and believe and feel and what we're told we're supposed to think and believe and feel. It seems that every time we stumble upon something authentic and different, in come the marketers to repackage it and sell it on a mass scale. It's enough to make one crazy. Unfortunately, cynical, we think, is what it's made most of us. There's a sense of sadness that pervades our generation because we desperately seek things real -- real emotions, real connections, whatever -- but too often feel we are left with the manufactured, facsimiles. We want to know that the emotions that we experience are the emotions we actually have, and not the emotions that marketers and advertisers and media executives are feeding us.

And into this vast space steps Zach Condon. He is real and pure and haunting and haunted and seems like he arrived in our speakers straight out of a novel. People are responding, we suppose, because they fear this moment is fleeting. That Zach Condon will one day just up and vanish. Well, for now Beirut is back for two shows. This time at the Wiltern. The band is still pretty obscure. But that hasn't stopped them from already selling out the Friday show.

If you sometimes feel overwhelmed with the cynical and the snarky and the snide and the sarcastic, we really recommend going to one of these shows. We guarantee they will be life affirming. And that's a good thing.

Beirut -- various tracks -- streaming audio.

May 28, 2008 - Slo-Mo Gets Even Slower

Today I see Dr. Lerner for my 3-month appointment. It’s the usual routine: CBC blood test (with instant results, thanks to his spiffy machine), and a physical exam (stethoscope, feeling my neck, armpits and groin for enlarged lymph nodes, then thumping on my abdomen).

The doctor asks me how I’ve been feeling. I tell him I continue to have no symptoms and am feeling fine. Everything looks good, he tells me, so he’s going to recommend I wait a little longer for my next CT scan. I won’t go in for that until the first week of July – just shy of 5 months since my last one.

Previously, my scan interval has been every 3 months – but, the last 2 scans have indicated no change in the size of my enlarged lymph nodes. This lymphoma has been out of remission for more than a year, but the biopsy has shown it to be of the indolent, couch-potato variety – so, Dr. Lerner doesn’t seem overly concerned.

Sometimes, in action movies, the director slows the film down, so a character facing some extreme, physical challenge moves in slow motion. I’ve been describing my current situation as a slow-motion crisis: and, it looks like it just slowed down a little more. It’s odd to think of relaxing our vigilance with respect to an out-of-remission cancer, but that’s the nature of the beast, I suppose.

(05.28.08) Recommends:

The Track "Creeper" from Islands' "Arm's Way" (Anti, 2008).

We're so underground that we've been anxiously awaiting Islands backlash since Nick Thornborn was still in the Unicorns. We're kidding, of course (click here for some background history); there are few bands in recent years that we've listened to with as much awe as the Unicorns and then Islands (though we've always thought Islands makes some of their songs about 90 seconds too long). So we waited with baited breath for the newest Islands release -- literally: we were on a strict fish bait diet for like three weeks prior to the release.

It came out several weeks ago but we've held off writing about it because we wanted to fully dig into it. And, frankly, it's also taken several weeks because it leads off with Creeper and it took us about nine days before our brain would allow us to move on to track 2.

So today we're gonna drop some Islands crumbs. If you listen to only one track on Arm's Way, it should be this one.

(05.27.08) Recommends:

Bharta.
Surya India,
8048 W. 3rd St.

We've lived in both the San Francisco Bay and Los Angeles. We notice certain differences between the two. There is a certain rivalry between them, though probably not as much as people outside of the two areas would imagine. We've also come to appreciate certain similarities between the two as well. And say what you will about the two areas, but this much is hard to argue with: living in either one is pretty different than living in Kansas.

There are many differences that we expected, and expected to enjoy, before we moved -- the weather, the geographic diversity, the concentration of ambitious young people who flock here from all over the country and world. But these are pretty much the differences that lured us here in the first place. There are also differences that we didn't really think much about, but that we now find ourselves loving and they leave us unable to imagine how we could have gone so long living without them. One of the most pleasantly surprising differences that we've come to love is the diversity of ethnic food. We have never really been Food People; pasta and chicken pretty much got us to our early 20s. And still today, we cannot be considered foodies or food snobs (mostly because we just eat what is put in front of us with little understanding of or regard for the ingredients or how it's put together or the proper verbs used to describe food and ambiance), but we have been surprised to find out how much we love exploring new restaurants, and particularly restaurants that offer cuisine that is rare or non-existent in Kansas, it of the 91% white population.

So this weekend's revelation: bharta. Pardon our French -- we're talking food here, so an illusion to the French somehow seems necessary, right? -- but: Holy Shit. We ordered this, along with three or four other dishes, from Surya and had it delieverd. And when a Fellow Blogger put it on the table it looked to us like a container of tomato puree and we were neither excited with its look nor sure what to do with it. And even now, all we know for sure about bharta is that it is a vegetarian India dish made out of eggplant. But we were told to put some on our plate over our rice and we did what we were told and, again: Holy Shit.

We don't think we've ever thought of eggplant and crack at the same time, but bharta was bridging all sorts of divides this weekend. And again, because we are not foodies, we don't know if Bharta is "authenthic" (but trust us when we say we don't care). For all we know, bharta might be the Indian equivalent of a chili dog or a funnel cake -- something unsophicated for which your love can only be expressed to yourself while you are driving alone in the car or taking a shower.

Whatever bharta's story, we loved it and ate the whole container and when it was gone insisted on scraping up the container with nan, to make sure every last lick was gone.

And here we sit, Tuesday morning, and all we can think about is the next time we get to have it.

Surya India:
On the web.
Reviews.

(05.27.08) Recommends:

How Me Breaking Up With You Is Like Jon Lester Pitching A No Hitter Against The Kansas City Royals.

Family Circle Evening - Teachers of Peace

FCE – Memorial Day. Teachers of Peace, Jesus Christ and White Tara



Opening Prayer and Ritual

Said by mom, calling the quarters, drawing a ritual circle

Song

The Giving Song, Circle Round p. 224

Scripture


LDS Scriptures

Romans 12:14-21
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"says the Lord. 20On the contrary:
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.



D&C 98: 16, 34

16 Therefore, renounce war and proclaim peace, and seek diligently to turn the hearts of the children to their fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children;
• • •
34 And if any nation, tongue, or people should proclaim war against them, they should first lift a standard of peace unto that people, nation, or tongue;




Goddess Scripture

The Peaceful Vow of White Tara

"There are many who wish to gain enlightenment
in a man's form,
And there are few who wish to work
for the welfare of living beings
in a female form.

Therefore may I, in a female body,
work for the welfare of all beings,
until such time as all humanity has found its fullness."


Video Clip

White Tara Mantra

http://youtube.com/watch?v=i0osoOz3CxM

Lesson Summary

One of the faces of heavenly Mother is called White Tara. She is a Goddess of people in Tibet, China and even Ireland. Tara is one of the most ancient forms of the Goddess she has many descriptions as both, white, green, and red. The peaceful, compassionate White Tara gently protects and brings long life and peace. She is a gentle reminder of our lifelong commitment to peace. When can pray, meditate, or chant to Tara to receive blessings of peace in our lives.

Jesus Christ is often called the Prince of Peace because he taught us to be peaceful. He commanded us to love our neighbor and to never fight. Following in the footsteps of Christ means to become more peaceful in our daily actions.

Points to Ponder

How does fighting make you feel?

What are some fights you have in your life?

How can you follow the example of Christ and Tara and be peaceful?

How can other people in America become more peaceful?


Story

The Good Samaritian

http://childrenschapel.org/biblestories/goodsam.html

Treat

Peaceful Punch (mix together your favorite juices!)

Activity

Create a peace symbol on your living room floor using blocks, scraps, scarves, etc. walk it like a labyrinth

Family Circle Evening - Teachers of Peace

FCE – Memorial Day. Teachers of Peace, Jesus Christ and White Tara



Opening Prayer and Ritual

Said by mom, calling the quarters, drawing a ritual circle

Song

The Giving Song, Circle Round p. 224

Scripture


LDS Scriptures

Romans 12:14-21
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"says the Lord. 20On the contrary:
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.



D&C 98: 16, 34

16 Therefore, renounce war and proclaim peace, and seek diligently to turn the hearts of the children to their fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children;
• • •
34 And if any nation, tongue, or people should proclaim war against them, they should first lift a standard of peace unto that people, nation, or tongue;




Goddess Scripture

The Peaceful Vow of White Tara

"There are many who wish to gain enlightenment
in a man's form,
And there are few who wish to work
for the welfare of living beings
in a female form.

Therefore may I, in a female body,
work for the welfare of all beings,
until such time as all humanity has found its fullness."


Video Clip

White Tara Mantra

http://youtube.com/watch?v=i0osoOz3CxM

Lesson Summary

One of the faces of heavenly Mother is called White Tara. She is a Goddess of people in Tibet, China and even Ireland. Tara is one of the most ancient forms of the Goddess she has many descriptions as both, white, green, and red. The peaceful, compassionate White Tara gently protects and brings long life and peace. She is a gentle reminder of our lifelong commitment to peace. When can pray, meditate, or chant to Tara to receive blessings of peace in our lives.

Jesus Christ is often called the Prince of Peace because he taught us to be peaceful. He commanded us to love our neighbor and to never fight. Following in the footsteps of Christ means to become more peaceful in our daily actions.

Points to Ponder

How does fighting make you feel?

What are some fights you have in your life?

How can you follow the example of Christ and Tara and be peaceful?

How can other people in America become more peaceful?


Story

The Good Samaritian

http://childrenschapel.org/biblestories/goodsam.html

Treat

Peaceful Punch (mix together your favorite juices!)

Activity

Create a peace symbol on your living room floor using blocks, scraps, scarves, etc. walk it like a labyrinth

May 26, 2008 - Random?

Another thoughtful response from Christine, over in the comments section. She writes:

“Following from your proposition, by allowing ‘creation’s freedom,’ God has inadvertently (or not) introduced randomness of events/tragedies into the human realm. If this is so, then where I am today (with cancer) might possibly be the result of a random event. So essentially it boils down to the luck of the draw. And as such, there can be no purpose to life or life's struggles.”

I wonder if “random” was the best word to use, in my last post. In suggesting that God the creator allows certain things to happen randomly – like the genetic mutations that lead to the evolution of animal species – I didn’t mean to suggest creation is purposeless. Quite the contrary: God has imbued the world with such a powerful purpose – evolution – that a great many things we see around us are in service to that higher goal.

Take the human tailbone, for instance. Most anatomists agree it’s the useless, vestigial remnant of something that was far more useful to our distant ancestors. Lots of people’s tailbones give them trouble, causing back pain. Perhaps it’s a small comfort to some of those people (or at least, to those who contemplate such weighty philosophical matters) that the bone that causes them such pain at one time had a purpose – a purpose that was one of many factors leading to the appearance of the human race on earth. Because God’s temporal frame of reference spans eons rather than human lifetimes, this means generations of human beings will have to suffer with vestigial tailbones, until – through the slow work of genetic mutations that fuel natural selection – this annoying anatomical feature finally disappears completely.

It’s possible (although probably not terribly comforting) to say to a back-pain sufferer, “God is doing something about that pesky tailbone, but it’s going to take a few hundred thousand years before the job is done.”

Maybe the cell mutations that lead to cancer have a similar purpose. Maybe, without those millions upon millions of mutations – a very few of which are incidentally responsible for cancer – other, more positive mutations could never occur. Such mutations appear, from our perspective, to be random. But, from God’s perspective?

How can we possibly say? We don’t have the God’s-eye view. All we can do is trust, in faith, that God is working the divine purpose out.

The prophet Isaiah seems to think the God’s eye view is worth thinking about:

“It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in; who brings princes to naught, and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows upon them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing.” (Isaiah 40:22-26)

The classic Western image of the creator God is that of a divine watchmaker, creating an intricate machine by fussing over every flywheel and gear. It’s the sort of metaphor that worked well in Enlightenment times, but in this present era it’s more than a little dated. With what we know about the unimaginable complexity of evolution, it seems to make more sense to view God as the creator who cooks up the primordial soup out of which life springs, then steps back to watch it all unfold.

I don't see this as a Deist understanding of God (the cosmic watchmaker who winds the blame thing up, then slinks off, letting it tick away). Rather, the God of evolution is still involved with the created order, although without manipulating it like a puppetmaster. That’s because freedom itself is too important a principle to compromise. It’s the very fuel on which the universe runs.

I prefer to speak of freedom, rather than randomness, with respect to God’s creation. I believe there is a purpose to it all – although it’s a purpose we can understand only in the most fragmentary of ways.

We await the full revealing. In the meantime, we live by faith.

Spa Shock

My 86 year old father-in-law is spending the Memorial Day weekend with us. We wanted to loosen up our ole muscles and decided to relax in the spa. He's got a great sense of humor and the expressions showing his adjustment to the water temperature were quite funny.

Photos taken with K20D and a pre-production 17-70mm lens. Images shot in RAW and converted to BW JPEG in-camera. Images were cropped into vertical format for posting here. I've been shooting with two different copies of the 17-70mm lens for the past month. I'll be posting a pretty wide range of sample images from this lens in the next few weeks.

Homemade Laundry Detergent!

Found this here


Here’s what you need:
- 1 bar of soap

- 1 box of washing soda (look for it in the laundry detergent aisle at your local department store - it comes in an Arm & Hammer box and will contain enough for six batches of this stuff

- 1 box of borax

- A 15 liter bucket with a lid

- Three gallons of tap water

- A big spoon to stir the mixture with

- A measuring cup

- A knife





Step One: Put about four cups of water into a pan on your stove and turn the heat up on high until it’s almost boiling. While you’re waiting, whip out a knife and start shaving strips off of the bar of soap into the water, whittling it down. Keep the heat below a boil and keep shaving the soap. Eventually, you’ll shave up the whole bar, then stir the hot water until the soap is dissolved and you have some highly soapy water.





Step Two: Put three gallons of hot water (11 liters or so) into the five gallon bucket - the easiest way is to fill up three gallon milk jugs worth of it. Then mix in the hot soapy water from step one, stir it for a while, then add a cup of the washing soda. Keep stirring it for another minute or two, then add a half cup of borax if you are using borax. Stir for another couple of minutes, then let the stuff sit overnight to cool.



And you’re done. When you wake up in the morning, you’ll have a bucket of gelatinous slime that’s a paler shade of the soap that you used (in our case, it’s a very pale greenish blue). One measuring cup full of this slime will be roughly what you need to do a load of laundry - and the ingredients are basically the same as laundry detergent. Thus, out of three gallons, you’ll get about 48 loads of laundry. If you do this six times, you’ll have used six bars of soap ($0.99 each), one box of washing soda ($2.49 at our store), and about half a box of borax ($2.49 at our store, so $1.25) and make 288 loads of laundry. This comes up to a cost of right around three cents a gallon, or a savings of $70.

Homemade Laundry Detergent!

Found this here


Here’s what you need:
- 1 bar of soap

- 1 box of washing soda (look for it in the laundry detergent aisle at your local department store - it comes in an Arm & Hammer box and will contain enough for six batches of this stuff

- 1 box of borax

- A 15 liter bucket with a lid

- Three gallons of tap water

- A big spoon to stir the mixture with

- A measuring cup

- A knife





Step One: Put about four cups of water into a pan on your stove and turn the heat up on high until it’s almost boiling. While you’re waiting, whip out a knife and start shaving strips off of the bar of soap into the water, whittling it down. Keep the heat below a boil and keep shaving the soap. Eventually, you’ll shave up the whole bar, then stir the hot water until the soap is dissolved and you have some highly soapy water.





Step Two: Put three gallons of hot water (11 liters or so) into the five gallon bucket - the easiest way is to fill up three gallon milk jugs worth of it. Then mix in the hot soapy water from step one, stir it for a while, then add a cup of the washing soda. Keep stirring it for another minute or two, then add a half cup of borax if you are using borax. Stir for another couple of minutes, then let the stuff sit overnight to cool.



And you’re done. When you wake up in the morning, you’ll have a bucket of gelatinous slime that’s a paler shade of the soap that you used (in our case, it’s a very pale greenish blue). One measuring cup full of this slime will be roughly what you need to do a load of laundry - and the ingredients are basically the same as laundry detergent. Thus, out of three gallons, you’ll get about 48 loads of laundry. If you do this six times, you’ll have used six bars of soap ($0.99 each), one box of washing soda ($2.49 at our store), and about half a box of borax ($2.49 at our store, so $1.25) and make 288 loads of laundry. This comes up to a cost of right around three cents a gallon, or a savings of $70.

Hope for the FLDS

This was just sent to me by a dear friend...

SAN ANGELO, Texas - A Texas appeals court said Thursday that the state had no right to take more than 400 children from a polygamist sect's ranch, a ruling that could unravel one of the biggest child-custody cases in U.S. history.

The Third Court of Appeals in Austin ruled that the state offered "legally and factually insufficient" grounds for the "extreme" measure of removing all children from the ranch, from babies to teenagers.

The state never provided evidence that the children were in any immediate danger, the only grounds in Texas law for taking children from their parents without court approval, the appeals court said.

The state never provided evidence that teenage girls were being sexually abused, and never alleged any sexual or physical abuse against the other children, the court said.

It was not immediately clear whether the children scattered across foster facilities statewide might soon be reunited with parents.

Every child at the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado was taken into state custody more than six weeks ago, after Child Protective Services officials argued that members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints pushed underage girls into marriage and sex and groomed boys to become adult perpetrators.

"The existence of the FLDS belief system as described by the department's witnesses, by itself, does not put children of FLDS parents in physical danger," the court said in its ruling, overturning the order to keep the children by state District Judge Barbara Walther, a former family law attorney.

The appeals court also said the state was wrong to consider the entire ranch as an individual household and that any abuse claims could apply only to individual households.

Julie Balovich, an attorney representing 38 mothers of the children, said the appeals court "has stood up for the legal rights of these families and given these mothers hope that their families will be brought back together."

"It is a great day for families in the State of Texas," Balovich said.

She said Walther has 10 days to comply with the appeals court ruling.

CPS spokesman Patrick Crimmins said department attorneys had just received the ruling and would make any decision about an appeal later.

"We are trying to assess the impact that this may have on our case," he said.

Calls to FLDS officials were not immediately returned Thursday.

Roughly a third of the children taken from the west Texas ranch were babies, and only a few dozen were teenage girls.

Of the 31 originally believed to be underage mothers, 15 have been reclassified as adults — one was 27 years old — and the state conceded a 14-year-old girl had no children and was not pregnant, as officials previously asserted.

Five judges in San Angelo, about 40 miles north of Eldorado, have been hearing CPS's plans for the parents seeking to regain custody. Those hearings, which began Monday, were scheduled to run for two more weeks — though it was unclear how the appellate ruling might affect those cases.

The custody case has been chaotic from the beginning. The hearing in which Walther ruled that the children should all enter state custody ran two days.

Hundreds of lawyers crammed into a courtroom and nearby auditorium, queuing up to voice objections or ask questions on behalf of the mothers who were there in their trademark prairie dresses and braided hair.

CPS has struggled with even the identities of the children for weeks.

The sect children were removed en masse during a raid that began April 3 after someone called a domestic abuse hot line claiming to be a pregnant abused teenage wife. The girl has not been found and authorities are investigating whether the calls were a hoax.

The FLDS, which teaches that polygamy brings glorification in heaven, is a breakaway of the Mormon church, which renounced polygamy more than a century ago. Members contend they are being persecuted by state officials for their religious beliefs.

Hope for the FLDS

This was just sent to me by a dear friend...

SAN ANGELO, Texas - A Texas appeals court said Thursday that the state had no right to take more than 400 children from a polygamist sect's ranch, a ruling that could unravel one of the biggest child-custody cases in U.S. history.

The Third Court of Appeals in Austin ruled that the state offered "legally and factually insufficient" grounds for the "extreme" measure of removing all children from the ranch, from babies to teenagers.

The state never provided evidence that the children were in any immediate danger, the only grounds in Texas law for taking children from their parents without court approval, the appeals court said.

The state never provided evidence that teenage girls were being sexually abused, and never alleged any sexual or physical abuse against the other children, the court said.

It was not immediately clear whether the children scattered across foster facilities statewide might soon be reunited with parents.

Every child at the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado was taken into state custody more than six weeks ago, after Child Protective Services officials argued that members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints pushed underage girls into marriage and sex and groomed boys to become adult perpetrators.

"The existence of the FLDS belief system as described by the department's witnesses, by itself, does not put children of FLDS parents in physical danger," the court said in its ruling, overturning the order to keep the children by state District Judge Barbara Walther, a former family law attorney.

The appeals court also said the state was wrong to consider the entire ranch as an individual household and that any abuse claims could apply only to individual households.

Julie Balovich, an attorney representing 38 mothers of the children, said the appeals court "has stood up for the legal rights of these families and given these mothers hope that their families will be brought back together."

"It is a great day for families in the State of Texas," Balovich said.

She said Walther has 10 days to comply with the appeals court ruling.

CPS spokesman Patrick Crimmins said department attorneys had just received the ruling and would make any decision about an appeal later.

"We are trying to assess the impact that this may have on our case," he said.

Calls to FLDS officials were not immediately returned Thursday.

Roughly a third of the children taken from the west Texas ranch were babies, and only a few dozen were teenage girls.

Of the 31 originally believed to be underage mothers, 15 have been reclassified as adults — one was 27 years old — and the state conceded a 14-year-old girl had no children and was not pregnant, as officials previously asserted.

Five judges in San Angelo, about 40 miles north of Eldorado, have been hearing CPS's plans for the parents seeking to regain custody. Those hearings, which began Monday, were scheduled to run for two more weeks — though it was unclear how the appellate ruling might affect those cases.

The custody case has been chaotic from the beginning. The hearing in which Walther ruled that the children should all enter state custody ran two days.

Hundreds of lawyers crammed into a courtroom and nearby auditorium, queuing up to voice objections or ask questions on behalf of the mothers who were there in their trademark prairie dresses and braided hair.

CPS has struggled with even the identities of the children for weeks.

The sect children were removed en masse during a raid that began April 3 after someone called a domestic abuse hot line claiming to be a pregnant abused teenage wife. The girl has not been found and authorities are investigating whether the calls were a hoax.

The FLDS, which teaches that polygamy brings glorification in heaven, is a breakaway of the Mormon church, which renounced polygamy more than a century ago. Members contend they are being persecuted by state officials for their religious beliefs.

(05.21.08) Recommends:

Karma Police.

Question: What do you get for inventing bands like Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync?

Answer: Why, 25 years in prision, natch.

May 21, 2008 - And It Was... Good?

Last Sunday, I had occasion to read Genesis 1:1-2:4a in our worship service. Joanne, our seminary assistant, was preaching, and had chosen that passage from out of the Revised Common Lectionary selections for the day.

Not often do I have the opportunity to read that famous passage – the first of Genesis’ two creation stories – aloud, in its entirety. “God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31) I was struck by the sheer majesty of those ancient words.

Funny that today I should see those very same words pop up in a comment posted on my blog. A reader named Christine referred to Genesis as she commented on the May 18th entry, “The Imperfect Is Our Paradise.” Here’s what she has to say:

“Dear Carl, can you really see God in the immense suffering as a result of the China earthquake or the Myanmar cyclone or in any other tragedies? I truly would like to but how does one begin? Does the answer lie in finding a purpose in the imperfection? I thought the Bible says that when God created the world, he saw that all was good. Perhaps I am missing the point.”

Ordinarily, I respond to comments in the Comments section, but Christine’s remarks set me to thinking. The more I think about it, the more I realize that her objection, and my response, belong not just among the comments, but here in prime time.

The theological issue Christine raises is a big one – perhaps the biggest. I’m speaking, of course, about the question theologians call theodicy: the problem of evil.

Christine puts it bluntly: “Can YOU really see God in the immense suffering as a result of the China earthquake or the Myanmar cyclone...?” It’s kind of like Jesus’ question to Peter at Caesarea Philippi: “But who do YOU say that I am?” (Christine has a way of putting a preacher on the spot. Which is OK with me. It goes with the territory.)

Well, Christine, let me attempt an answer. Please understand, before I begin, that any answer I attempt can hardly break new ground. This question has both preoccupied and baffled the sharpest theological minds down through the centuries.

Archibald MacLeish put it colorfully, in J.B., his play in verse based on the book of Job. There, the poet has the devil taunt the long-suffering Job, saying,

“If God is God, he is not good,
if God is good, he is not God,
take the even, take the odd.”

The writer of Genesis punctuates his narrrative of creation with the repeated mantra, “And it was good.” But was it? That’s really what Christine is asking. She wants to know if it was good through and through, if there were any seeds of evil in that idealized, primordial realm. In other words, was creation perfect? And, if so, what happened to it? How could the loving, omnipotent, “and it was good” God tolerate a world with earthquakes and cyclones in it, let alone Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma?

I’ve spent a fair amount of time wondering about that question myself, over the last several years. As I’ve pondered it, I’ve come to the conviction that creation need not be perfect to be good – at least, not as we commonly understand the word, “perfect.”

Anyone who takes a hard, unblinking look at creation quickly realizes it’s far from perfect. I’m no creationist; I firmly believe God used – and still uses – random processes like Darwin’s natural selection to fashion the universe. Think of the wild profusion of seeds that never make it to fertile soil. Think of the billions of animals gobbled up by larger, fiercer beasts. Think of humans who are blessed with free will, but who turn around and misuse that gift to create everything from Mein Kampf to child pornography to “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.” Yes, indeed, creation is a messy business. Sometimes it seems the creator God operates more like Jackson Pollock than Andrew Wyeth: sending shiny strings of paint swirling through the air, spattering as much color upon the floor and walls as ends up on the canvas. Yet, somehow God loves the wild imperfection of it all. And it was good.

It’s an imperfect world, no doubt about it. One strain of thinking within Christianity posits that creation began with perfection, but then something called the Fall intervened, as a saltshaker lid comes unscrewed over a bowl of soup. It blames human sin for the mess. I don’t buy that. There in the Garden, Adam and Eve have free will. The serpent may croon to them seductively, but at the end of the day they choose the forbidden fruit on their own. Adam and Eve have that capacity for choosing wrongly within them, all along – and isn’t it true that God created them, including their capacity to choose evil?

There’s another meaning to the word “perfect,” and this one I can affirm with respect to the creation story. “Perfect” doesn’t only mean “without flaw.” It can also mean “finished.” Like the grammarians’ “perfect tense,” this sort of perfection means just what Genesis 1 asserts: that God created, then God rested. When God rested n the seventh day, the work of creation was finished: flaws and all. And it was good.

When the author of Genesis says it was good, I think he’s using that word the way parents use it of their children: “He’s a good boy, she’s a good girl.” In saying such a thing, parents never mean their offspring are free from errors or flaws. They mean, “They are who they are. What they are is mine, and I love them.”

Yet, this world God created – good as it was, and still is – is far from static. It’s a living, growing thing. God may have perfected it eons ago, speaking a word of love into chaos, but the divine work of creation continues to unfold, through spouting volcanoes, shuddering earthquakes and swirling cyclones. Evolution continues, in its glorious profusion of species – some destined to become ancestors of species yet unborn, others bound only for the scrap heap of extinction. It’s all God’s, and it’s all good.

Could God intervene to prevent a shoddily-constructed Chinese school building from collapsing on the unsuspecting heads of its students? Could God send a cyclone spinning out into the open ocean, rather than letting it careen into a heavily-populated river delta, dotted with fragile bamboo huts?

In theory, God could. But, in practice, God typically won’t. That’s because God values one aspect of creation as especially good, so good it needs to be left alone: creation’s freedom. Were God to begin censoring creation’s every impulse to randomness, then it would cease to be the starkly beautiful place it is. It would become, instead, a wasteland of dreary predictability. The Pollock canvas would be transformed into a Stalinist propaganda poster. The lumpy, fresh-off-the vine tomato would become the perfectly-spherical but tasteless hothouse variety.

Did God create cancer? Maybe not directly, but God did bestow upon creation the gift of freedom. God stepped back and said, “I’m finished. Let it be.” Then there began a wild profusion of changes and mutations, continuing through the eons, even unto our own day. As in all living cells, the DNA in certain cells of the human body eventually mutates, changing the intricate pattern of chemical switches. One of these chemical switches controls the cells’ programmed instructions to die on schedule, making room for new cells. In their wild freedom, the newly-immortal cancer cells grow in size and number, squeezing out their healthier neighbors. Repeat this process millions of times, and the complex creature of which those cells are an essential part falls ill, even dies prematurely. Such a turn of events causes God to weep. Yet, through the tears, God keeps loving creation – enough to refrain from laying hands on it, robbing it of its precious freedom. God continues to call it good.

Ultimately, it’s love that’s at the center of creation. Out of love God fashioned the whole thing in the first place. Out of love God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness.” Out of love, God allows the human prodigal to run free, even if that one is squandering the family fortune. The child’s got to fall before it can walk.

“Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end.” (1 Corinthians 13:8-10)

The poet Isaiah promises that, one day, God will roll up the whole cosmic burrito, leveling earth’s mountains and raising up the valleys to make a grand processional highway of celebration. Then, there shall be no more weeping, nor crying, nor pain. They shall not hurt or destroy on all God’s holy mountain.

I’m coming to believe Philip Simmons – the ALS survivor whom I quoted, in the blog entry to which Christine took exception – is right. Because of his experience of suffering, he of all people is worthy to be our guide in such matters. The world is imperfect, as we normally define the term. Yet, the world is good, all the same. That good, but imperfect, world can even be our paradise.

It’s the only world we’ve got. Until the day. Until the day...

(05.20.08) Recommends:

Carbon Dating.

As an alternative to, you know, Online Dating.

Think about it, people. Think about it.

Haircuts!

It's that time of year, hot, sticky, dirty, muddy and bug filled.

It's time for short hair! Nykki's is a little bit pixie/punk. What do you think? I did it myself as always. In another life I'm a hair dresser.

Haircuts!

It's that time of year, hot, sticky, dirty, muddy and bug filled.

It's time for short hair! Nykki's is a little bit pixie/punk. What do you think? I did it myself as always. In another life I'm a hair dresser.

Updates

I've made some updates on my religious beliefs section found on my side bar. It's not really that what I believe has changed just a little how I express it. Also, I don't want anyone to think that I'm jumping into something and that I'm going out and getting baptised right away. No, no, I'm taking it slow to see *if* the LDS church can meet my spiritual needs since I'm not getting them met in Universalism or paganism.

I have had many promptings, dreams, sychronisties, etc. that have told me to explore the LDS church and I believe those come straight from the the Divine so I'm following them.

In other words, to my non-Mormon friends, nobody panic! I'm still the same Ayla I've always been :)

Updates

I've made some updates on my religious beliefs section found on my side bar. It's not really that what I believe has changed just a little how I express it. Also, I don't want anyone to think that I'm jumping into something and that I'm going out and getting baptised right away. No, no, I'm taking it slow to see *if* the LDS church can meet my spiritual needs since I'm not getting them met in Universalism or paganism.

I have had many promptings, dreams, sychronisties, etc. that have told me to explore the LDS church and I believe those come straight from the the Divine so I'm following them.

In other words, to my non-Mormon friends, nobody panic! I'm still the same Ayla I've always been :)

A New Blog

So, after much reflection, guidance etc. that has happened over the past 5 years but espcially the last two months I've decided to give the LDS church a more serious go of it.

So this blog will be changing somewhat to reflect my evolving beliefs.

This is probably a Saturn Returns thing that even my closet friends didn't see coming LOL

So this post marks a new era in Mother Lover Goddess.

Join me on this journey wont you? (I mean read the blog don't convert, unless you want too of course)

A New Blog

So, after much reflection, guidance etc. that has happened over the past 5 years but espcially the last two months I've decided to give the LDS church a more serious go of it.

So this blog will be changing somewhat to reflect my evolving beliefs.

This is probably a Saturn Returns thing that even my closet friends didn't see coming LOL

So this post marks a new era in Mother Lover Goddess.

Join me on this journey wont you? (I mean read the blog don't convert, unless you want too of course)

(05.19.08) Recommends:

Mount Righteous.



This is some kind of 11-piece acoustic-indie-rock-punk marching band. We keep seeing this name pop up in our inboxes and they're playing a bunch of local shows in the coming weeks so we're very excited to catch them live. We've been listening to their myspace all day and we like what we've heard. They kind of remind us of Head of Femur, (myspace) which is another old live favorite of the blog.

FCE Full Moon

FCE – Full Moon



Opening Prayer and Ritual

Said by mom, calling the quarters, drawing a ritual circle

Song

The World is So Big

http://www.lds.org/churchmusic/detailmusicPlayer /index.html?searchlanguage=1&searchcollection= 1&searchseqstart=292&searchsubseqstart=%20 &searchseqend=292&searchsubseqend=ZZZ

Scripture


Scriptures #1

Helaman 14
1. [20] But behold, as I said unto you concerning another sign, a sign of his death, behold, in that day that he shall suffer death the sun shall be darkened and refuse to give his light unto you; and also the moon and the stars; and there shall be no light upon the face of this land, even from the time that he shall suffer death, for the space of three days, to the time that he shall rise again from the dead.

3 Nephi 8
1. [22] And there was not any light seen, neither fire, nor glimmer, neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars, for so great were the mists of darkness which were upon the face of the land.

Scripture #2

The Moon is the celestial Mother
I am daughter of the Moon
Devoted to Artemis.
My blood is Amazon
My life is Amazon.
Servant to my Nation
and to my Sisters.
I am daughter of the Moon.
jasacco


Video Clip

Full Moon Music Video

http://youtube.com/watch?v=E8qMDTI_Tz0

Lesson Summary

The moon is very important to the earth and the people. We can all feel the energy of the moon as it grows large, shrinks down, disappears and then grows large again. It’s rhythym pulls the tides and speaks to our bodies.

Tonight, during the full moon we ask for blessings of abundance the moon can bring us. We see the moon as representative of the Goddess, specifically Artemis, one of the faces of our Heavenly Mother. Ancient people saw the moon as a shinning, divine breast, or golden apple of honey, milk and abundance in the sky. They named the moons, they called to the moons, they prayed to the moons just as we may do now.

We also see the moon as representative of Christ’s light. As we learned in our scripture lesson the moon refused to shine when Christ died and only returned to us upon his resurrection. Tonight we celebrate the fullness of the moon, the shinning light of the Goddess and Christ.

Points to Ponder

What does the full moon look like to you?

What are some abundant things we are thankful to the Moon Goddess for?

How does the full moon make us feel?

If you could name the moon tonight, what would you name it?

(Hint: What’s going on in the nature around you? What is the moon shining on? I think we may call ours the planters moon or the warm moon)


Story

The Moon’s Journey, p 49, Circle Round by Starhawk

Treat

Black bean soup with “full moon” sour cream on top

Activity

Full Moon House Blessing found on p. 59 of Circle Round by Starhawk

Artemis coloring page from Dover Coloring Book Greek Gods and Goddesses

FCE Full Moon

FCE – Full Moon



Opening Prayer and Ritual

Said by mom, calling the quarters, drawing a ritual circle

Song

The World is So Big

http://www.lds.org/churchmusic/detailmusicPlayer /index.html?searchlanguage=1&searchcollection= 1&searchseqstart=292&searchsubseqstart=%20 &searchseqend=292&searchsubseqend=ZZZ

Scripture


Scriptures #1

Helaman 14
1. [20] But behold, as I said unto you concerning another sign, a sign of his death, behold, in that day that he shall suffer death the sun shall be darkened and refuse to give his light unto you; and also the moon and the stars; and there shall be no light upon the face of this land, even from the time that he shall suffer death, for the space of three days, to the time that he shall rise again from the dead.

3 Nephi 8
1. [22] And there was not any light seen, neither fire, nor glimmer, neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars, for so great were the mists of darkness which were upon the face of the land.

Scripture #2

The Moon is the celestial Mother
I am daughter of the Moon
Devoted to Artemis.
My blood is Amazon
My life is Amazon.
Servant to my Nation
and to my Sisters.
I am daughter of the Moon.
jasacco


Video Clip

Full Moon Music Video

http://youtube.com/watch?v=E8qMDTI_Tz0

Lesson Summary

The moon is very important to the earth and the people. We can all feel the energy of the moon as it grows large, shrinks down, disappears and then grows large again. It’s rhythym pulls the tides and speaks to our bodies.

Tonight, during the full moon we ask for blessings of abundance the moon can bring us. We see the moon as representative of the Goddess, specifically Artemis, one of the faces of our Heavenly Mother. Ancient people saw the moon as a shinning, divine breast, or golden apple of honey, milk and abundance in the sky. They named the moons, they called to the moons, they prayed to the moons just as we may do now.

We also see the moon as representative of Christ’s light. As we learned in our scripture lesson the moon refused to shine when Christ died and only returned to us upon his resurrection. Tonight we celebrate the fullness of the moon, the shinning light of the Goddess and Christ.

Points to Ponder

What does the full moon look like to you?

What are some abundant things we are thankful to the Moon Goddess for?

How does the full moon make us feel?

If you could name the moon tonight, what would you name it?

(Hint: What’s going on in the nature around you? What is the moon shining on? I think we may call ours the planters moon or the warm moon)


Story

The Moon’s Journey, p 49, Circle Round by Starhawk

Treat

Black bean soup with “full moon” sour cream on top

Activity

Full Moon House Blessing found on p. 59 of Circle Round by Starhawk

Artemis coloring page from Dover Coloring Book Greek Gods and Goddesses

May 18, 2008 - The Imperfect Is Our Paradise

Some time ago, I saved this quotation from Philip Simmons’ book, Learning to Fall: The Blessings of an Imperfect Life. Simmons suffers from ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease):

“We have all heard poems, songs, and prayers that exhort us to see God in a blade of grass, a drop of dew, a child’s eyes, or the petals of a flower. Now when I hear such things I say that’s too easy. Our greater challenge is to see God not only in the eyes of the suffering child but in the suffering itself. To thank God for the sunset pink clouds over Red Hill – but also for the mosquitoes I must fan from my face while watching the clouds. To thank God for broken bones and broken hearts, for everything that opens us to the mystery of our humanness. The challenge is to stand at the sink with your hands in the dishwater, fuming over a quarrel with your spouse, children at your back clamoring for attention, the radio blaring the bad news from Bosnia, and to say ‘God is here, now, in this room, here in this dishwater, in this dirty spoon.’ Don’t talk to me about flowers and sunshine and waterfalls: this is the ground, here, now, in all that is ordinary and imperfect, this is the ground in which life sows the seeds of our fulfillment.

The imperfect is our paradise.”

I can’t say my suffering begins to approach that of an ALS patient like Philip Simmons. In fact, whatever suffering I experienced during my chemotherapy is becoming more and more of a distant memory. I’m still troubled by the thought of the recurrent cancer inside me, of course, but I’m trying to be thankful for days that approach normalcy, for the absence of symptoms and for the absence of the need to pursue further treatment at this time.

Sure, life’s imperfect. I’d prefer to still be in remission, or to be pronounced cured. But this life is the only life I've got.

Tomorrow morning, Claire and I pick up Ania at the airport, as she returns home from her freshman year of college. We’re looking forward to seeing her.

Life – even an imperfect life – is good.

May 15, 2008 - Concierge Medicine?

A couple of nights ago, Claire and I attended an informational meeting put on by our family-practice physician, Dr. David Cheli. Starting this July, he’s associating himself with a nationwide group called MD-VIP. This decision will bring big changes for his patients.

For us patients, there’s some good news and some bad news.

The good news is, Dr. Cheli’s going to be focusing very intentionally on preventive medicine. Each patient will receive an elaborate annual physical, including a host of diagnostic tests. That physical exam takes about one and a half hours, and is – the company claims – comparable to the “executive physicals” long offered by world-class medical facilities like the Mayo Clinic. Each patient gets a personalized website with health-related resources, and a mini-CD-ROM containing personal medical history to carry around and present to emergency-room doctors, if necessary. Dr. Cheli also promises to be available 24/7 by cell phone, and further promises that no patient will ever have to wait longer than one day for an appointment. He’ll continue to take all medical-insurance plans for routine office visits – no change there, he assures us.

Dr. Cheli will continue to have a solo practice, but he’s cutting his roll of patients from 2,700 to 600. That’s what makes the more personal attention possible.

OK, that’s the good news. Now for the bad news. Each patient must pay an up-front fee of $1,500 a year – which (except for, perhaps, a small portion) is not covered by insurance.

Do the math. 600 patients times $1,500. That’s 900 grand. Dr. Cheli doesn’t get all of it, of course. MD-VIP gets their cut, and those elaborate tests associated with the annual physical do cost something. Yet, what he does receive from these annual fees is evidently enough to cut his patient roll by more than three-quarters.

I can understand what’s in it for him. As he explained the other night at the public meeting, he’s been practicing medicine for 31 years. Along with many of his colleagues, he’s feeling increasingly frustrated with a health-care system that forces him to rush through patient appointments so he can spend hours on the phone arguing with insurance adjusters. He knows the type of medicine the system forces him to practice isn’t as good for his patients as the type of medical care he was trained to deliver.

MD-VIP claims their patients’ hospitalization rates are just 65% of the general population. They attribute this to two causes: better prevention, and same-day or next-day appointments (which allow MD-VIP doctors to identify and treat serious conditions in the office, keeping their patients out of the emergency room).

That may be part of it, but I’d be willing to bet that a significant portion of this favorable statistic can be explained by the fact that patients willing to pony up the $1,500 fee are younger and healthier to begin with.

Why do I say that? Several reasons. First of all, MD-VIP relies heavily on the internet. Patients have to be familiar enough with computers to derive the full advantage from this service. While some senior citizens have taken to the internet with a vengeance, a great many still don’t know the difference between hypertext and hyperactive. Second, chronically sick people are more likely to have burned through their financial resources and would have a harder time coming up with the $1,500 annual fee. Third, patients who see the value of preventive medicine, and are willing to pay for it, are more likely to have already adopted positive lifestyle habits. (How many chain smokers or alcoholics are willing to go for this?) Fourth, those who simply have an aversion to going to the doctor are not likely to pay top dollar for the privilege of spending more time doing the thing they hate.

So, Claire and I have a tough decision to make. We both really like Dr. Cheli. He’s been our family doctor for 17 years. He diagnosed my cancer before I was displaying any obvious symptoms. He’s a got a caring bedside manner, and he’s always been responsive to our needs. But, can we find the $3,000 a year to keep going to him?

My medical insurance, provided by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), has a preventive health benefit that reimburses 100% of the cost of an annual physical, independent of deductibles and co-payments. That benefit’s got a cap on it, though, that falls way short of $1,500 for each of us. Most of the MD-VIP fee we’d have to pay out of pocket.

If Dr. Cheli will be able to work with me to overcome my #1 preventive-medicine challenge – losing weight – it will be money well spent. But, will the MD-VIP philosophy really give him the time and resources to do that? Is it really as good as the rosy description on the website claims?

They call this “concierge medicine” (although MD-VIP's website disavows this label, saying they’re “beyond concierge healthcare”). As with any pricey “concierge floor” in a hotel, the question is, “will we get our money’s worth out of the enhanced service?”

Or, is this one of those situations where, as they say, “if you have to ask the price, you can’t afford it”?