Making it Happen: Going Off!

The Legend of the Eagle and the Condor
(As told by John Perkins of Dream Change Coalition)

The legend of the Eagle and the Condor goes back a very long time in the Andes and in many other parts of the world. In the Andes it is expressed as coming at this time of the new Pachacuti. A Pachacuti is an interval of roughly 500 years. It was known for a long, long time before it happened, that the fourth Pachacuti, which began about the 1490's, would be a time of turmoil, of struggle, of conflict. In addition, at the fifth Pachacuti, which began in the late 1990's, it would be a time of coming together, of partnership, of union, and particularly a time when the Eagle of the North will fly with the Condor of the South.
It is known that there has been unbalance and tremendous conflict throughout the Americas to all the indigenous peoples during the past 500 years. The Eagle Power, the Eagle Spirit which is very mental, and very materialistic has really outweighed and dominated the Condor Spirit which is very spiritual and very much from the heart. Now it is time for the two to come together and fly in the same skies as equals so that energy can be balanced out. You can also look at it as the balancing of the male and the female or the yin and the yang.
All this was predicted in many other cultures throughout the world. The Mayan people in Central America have very, very similar prophecies and timing. The Dalai Lama said they too have a prediction that there is a new period upon us, and that the 14th, current, Dalai Lama, will be the last from the Himalayas. The next will probably be from the Americas and the best bet, according to them, is that he or she will be from the Andes. A few years ago, the Dalai Lama was in the Andes and he and other Lamas did a ceremony to transfer from the Himalayas to the Andes, the responsibility for taking care of compassion amongst human beings.
So this idea of the new Pachacuti, of a new era, the new age if you will, and of the coming together of the Condor and the Eagle, of them dancing together and soaring together, is a very old one and it's shared in one way or another by many cultures all around the world.

This is a small piece of what was talked about at a symposium I attended in Seattle last weekend. It was called Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream and was put on by the Pachamama Alliance. The purpose of the symposium was to discuss the current health status of our planet (holistically--meaning the health of the waters, the land, the animals, the air, inter-relationships etc) AND to discuss how we as individuals and communities can assist in bringing forth an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling and socially just presence on our planet. It was interesting indeed. It started with the current status and was alot of doom and gloom: fish are dying, water is polluted, animals are dying (including us) air is nasty, people are hating and killing etc. BUT... it went on into interesting dicussions.
We brainstormed about all the major, mass shifts in consciousness that have occured on this planet since recorded human history. Paradigm shifts if you will (some smaller than others, but all affected much of the earths population in some way). Times when the unthinkable happened. Some examples:
1. The earth went from being flat to becoming a sphere.
2. The Berlin wall was felled.
3. A group of farmers, in 1776, escaped the world power of that time, England, to create a "new" world.
4. End of Apartheid.
5. Slavery abolished.
6. Civil rights movement=women can vote.
......the list goes on......I was blown away by all the things people came up with. We spoke of hope (a thing often left out when discussing the current status and what we all must do to move towards a sustainable world).

People spoke of things that are happening now that bring them hope:
1. Animal rights
2. Recycling
3. THE EARTH CHARTER ( a declaration of fundamental principles for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society for the 21st century www.earthcharter.org/)
4. Increase in green buiding
5. Teaching young people how to make a difference
6. The fact that there are hundreds of thousands (bordering on a million) of organizations on the planet working towards creating a more sustainable planet and working for environmental and social justice.

Watch this really short video:
http://www.global-mindshift.org/memes/wombat.swf

Again, the list goes on. The take-away is that we all really, really can make a difference. On our own and especially when we join with others in our communities who also want to do the same. The other take-away is that if you want to be a part of the momentum towards change the steps beyond recycling and buying local foods and products, etc. is getting involved and supporting a local non-profit. An hour or two of your time once a month really does help. OK, off my soap box.

New Life in New York

And now a more fitting picture for an entry about my sister: her and her new and amazing creation, Hannah Grace. (The picture of the cute guy with the dashing doggies is Pete. I am still learning how to organize this site here). But on the topic at hand: Hannah was born on December 1, 2006 at 7:15pm. She was born under the sun sign Sagittarius. By nature she is positive and optimistic. She has a bright outlook on life, is enterprising, full of energy and vitality. Versatile, adventurous and eager to expand her range beyond the comfortable and familiar. She'll enjoy travel and exploring, and her mind will continually search for new experiences. She is ambitious, optimistic, and nothing will seem to get her down. She is an idealist, and this will seem to keep her going even when there are disappointments which change her plans. She'll have a tendency to get over zealous when she is interested in something. She is a believer, and what she believes in, she will be willing to fight for. She is both loyal and independent at the same time, managing to balance both traits (she'll have to teach me her secrets on how to do that like a star). I look forward to getting to know this little angel. Welcome Hannah. Amazing Jodi!

This one goes out to my sista whose about to burst with new life

Jodi was my hero growing up. She was good to me even though I am sure I was annoying at times. We shared some rough family moments together and few people in my life really know what they were like. But Jodi was there sometimes. And she tried to make me feel better. She usually said things out loud that I was too scared to say. And I'd think about how brave she was. She had a layer of protection (opposite of Cinderella) called being a step-child. Didn't mean much to me, except I didn't see her as much as I wanted to. I always adored her and wished she could be around more. We'd take turns scratching backs before going to sleep. I learned to be a great back scratcher because of Jodi. Later in life, when talking as adults, we both learned how wrong we can be. How we can create stories about how the other side is better, when in reality it just wasn't. It's funny. I don't even talk to the father that made us step-sisters anymore. I haven't since I was 18. And my ties to Jodi and her brother Billy are less frequent than I would like. Geography being one big reason. They are extremely close to my heart though. They are absolutley my siblings, my family. They are both wonderful people with great, big hearts. I hope that now that we're all settling into our lives with spouses and children, that we can stay in better touch. That our children will know each other well and we can make it a point to gather every few years at least. I love you Jodi, and I'm coming apart at the seams with excitement for your new baby girl to come into this world. She will be a gem, just like her momma.

Comedy Skit

OK, imagine this: some kind of old time instrumental music playing while the footage is sped up to increase the comical effect. She gets a call. The new neighbor is pissed off that they parked in front of his house and he reemed her man about it. Great. She plans a quick walk to the car and exit from the neighborhood. Can't walk quick cuz the ground is solid ice. OK fine. She walks slow to the car. Gets there and puts the key in the lock. It won't go in. Shit. She tries a few more times and carefully waddles to the other side. Key goes in. Whew! But it won't turn. She tries in both directions many times. The key starts to bend so she stops. She imagines the mean old neighbor coming out and yelling at her and her having to throw a snowball at him. Then she imagines a complicated but possible entry through the hatchback, removing the dog gate, climbing over the back seat and unlocking one of the front doors. She goes to the rear of the car. It unlocks, but is frozen shut. She grabs her water bottle and pours it around the doors edges. Thinks she's smart. The door still won't open and the water literally freezes within 5 minutes. Shit. She tries kicking the door a few times to, you know, wake it up and tell it to open the fuck up. Suprisingly it doesn't work. Carefully she walks down the street and down her long driveway back to the house. Fills up two big bottles with hot water and waddles back to the car. Pours the hot water all over the hatchback and it actually opens. Yes! She climbs in the back wondering if that angry neighbor is watching this long scene of her quickly removing her car from in front of his house. Oh well. Crouched in the back of the car she takes off the dog gate and climbs over the seat unlocking the back door and pushing it open. Makes her way out and its hard to, but she eventually pulls the frozen door open. Leans in unlocking the driver-side door and starts the car. Thank Goodness it starts. She goes around to close all the doors and the door she originally opened won't close. Shit. She tries to mess with the latching mechanism, but it doesn't work. Now an hour late to work she laughs about what a story this will be as to why she is late. There's rope in the back, she remembers. She'll just tie the door shut for now. The hatchback, however, is very frozen shut again given all that water she poured all over it. So she climbs over two rows of seats and finds a bungee cord. The only way to get it to work is to bungee one rear door to the other. This actually works and it actually holds all day long. She is thankful that she laughed her way through this challenge. She thinks about how this might have been received on the wrong day. But the sun is out and snow is everywhere and whats the hurry anyway. Thankful, she moves on with her day.

Snow Falling on Cedars..no really

I hope this to be the beginning of a glorious relationship. Perhaps I'll finally learn how to type correctly which would make my work, email and other much more efficient. I used to write a ton. Years and years of journal entries about dreams and thoughts sit in a box in my new officina from my first journal in 3rd grade. What happened to all that writing energy? Boys I think. Yes, I fell in love and my writing nearly ceased (except in crises and Yom Kippor when I spend the whole day fasting and writing). I noticed it was happening, but when faced with the choice of whether to go walk in Ravenna park or sit and write, I had to choose the walk. Too much time sitting as it was. More time choosing other things like grad school, raising puppies, getting to know my friend and lover, Pete. My creativity has been starved though and I am setting up pmy new home with the intent to change that. And that brings me to the snow. Here I am sitting on a hand me down couch, in our newly purchased home, cup of tea before me on a hand-me-down coffee table, watching snow fall outside on the variety of ages of western red cedars that line our newly fenced yard (for the pups of course). This is the first chance I have taken to sit and be peaceful in far too long. Many chapters are ending in my life and its time I gave some attention to how to write their conclusions. I think thats where I'll start.