Self-Love

In our society, being comfortable in our own skin, especially if one is a woman, is a radical act. Just think about this and its implications. We send ripples of our relationship with ourselves out into the world and the universe in every instant. Are those ripples messages of self-love or of self-loathing? Who and what is being affected by them? Where do they stop? With ripples or currents...in the ocean, for instance, everything is affected and connected...

NOAA: "The ocean covers 71 percent of the Earth's surface and contains 97 percent of the planet's water, yet more than 95 percent of the underwater world remains unexplored. The ocean and lakes play an integral role in many of the Earth's systems including climate and weather."

NASA: "About 70 percent of the human body is made up of water and, coincidentally, more than 70 percent of Earth is covered in water. Water creates an environment that sustains and nurtures plants, animals and humans, making Earth a perfect match for life in general."

“If you feel lost, disappointed, hesitant, or weak, return to yourself, to who you are, here and now and when you get there, you will discover yourself, like a lotus flower in full bloom, even in a muddy pond, beautiful and strong.”
― Masaru Emoto, The Secret Life of Water
 

"The magic begins in you.  Feel your own energy, and realize similar energy exists within the Earth, stones, plants, water, wind, fire, colors and animals.
- Scott Cunningham

It's all connected. <3

female ejaculation, the releasing of Amrita, woman's sacred feminine waters.

                               Masaru Emoto: Water, Consciousness and Intent

The Golden Snake

Michael Parkes - Golden Serpent

I have had dreams about snakes for as long as I can remember.  I tend to have them more when I am not taking care of my Whole Self properly and/or am in a state of transition in my life.  I have a few that are similar and are recurring and I have some that (seemingly) have nothing to do with the others and I never have again.  Last night I had a new one that was fairly simple but I thought also very beautiful.  I wrote what I could remember of it down upon waking and am going to write it here so that I can refer back to it.  I have my own ideas about what what it means for me (and the world) but comments are always welcome.  

I was in a cavern made up of smooth stones stacked on one another.  The cavern wasn't pitch black but it was dark.  I was with two men.  We were looking at a golden snake that had entwined itself through the smooth rocks and was looking down at us.  Its color was amazing and it actually illuminated the cavern.  Breathtakingly beautiful and somehow otherworldly, it regarded us serenely and somewhat curiously from its place in the space of the rocks. 

No words were exchanged in the dream, but I knew the intentions of the two men who were with me.  None of us had ever seen such a beautifully-colored snake before and we were all mesmerized, each in our own way.  The man on the left of me wanted to capture the snake an sell it, dead (for the skin) or alive (as a specimen or exotic pet) to whoever would give him the most money for it.  I felt his intention as he looked at it of grabbing it with one hand and pulling it forcefully from the rocks.  I couldn't shake this vision and I felt a knot in my stomach and knew I had to protect the snake at all costs, even my life.  It was not to be disturbed. 

The man to the right of me wanted to classify it and name it.  He was a researcher and couldn't wait to return to his colleagues so that they could all come to the cavern and look for themselves.  The snake didn't fit the description of any he had in his books and yet for some reason I felt him have this NEED to identify it and to name it.  His intentions felt less overtly cruel than the man on my left but from his consciousness I felt ignorance and I knew the snake was to be left alone and not to be observed by the throng of researchers the man wanted to gather there. 

As I felt the intentions of the men beside me I also was open to the consciousness of the snake and we communicated.  I wanted nothing more than to assure the snake that if it chose to do so it was the right time to make itself known and come out of the rocks.  In some ways it WAS the right time for the snake to emerge but I also felt the knot in my stomach and a deep sadness from the intentions of the others who stood before the snake.  I knew if I talked gently to the snake and reassured it, it would come to me out of the rocks.  But I didn't know if I would be able to protect it.  So I just sent it love but didn't try to coax it out of its perch in the rocks.  Until the people regarding the snake have enough collective Wisdom the snake will live in the rocks, waiting.  Patiently, lovingly and curiously regarding us but waiting until the time is right.



Earth

                                              Anima Mundi by Roberto Ferri

Them:  How about a life on Earth?  There are some REALLY interesting things happening there. 

Me: Earth?  Hmm.  Lots of potential for growth, but so hard, so dense, ouch.  I could use a rest, I just got back.  I always seem to bite off more than I can chew and forget how hard things can be once I get where I am going, although the challenge does appeal to me.  I dunno. 

Them:  You'll remember what it's like here, you will remember more than most others and it will enable you to face pain and take chances to grow and eventually give back to the world in your own unique way that will be significant.  You know you can always leave whenever you want to, although on Earth that can be a little messy for those you leave behind, still doable though if you feel you need it.

Me: Are you bribing me? And if so what else are you going to throw in there? :)

Them: Not exactly, but you'll have two other rare things where you will be able to connect fully so you don't get too lonely.

Me:  I'm listening...

Them:  When you come of age and are on your own, in love for the first time, away from home, the world opening up to you, intellect soaking up what you choose like a sponge, possibilities endless, you will have what some people on Earth call a "near death experience."  Except we'll skip the death part and just give you what you need to let you know you're on the right track.  You'll refer to it for the rest of your life.  Instead of just "remembering," the door will fly open and you can come through, plug into the Universe and re-experience for a while and "re-member" with your body.  Illusions will fall away and it will get easier for you but harder too.  You will be able to experience again and be a part of what you "remember" and from then on, you will take those remembrances and your intuition much more seriously than most people and it will guide you.  You will find others like you, but different, and you will learn and experience with them.  This will comfort you.

Me:  hmmmm....

Them: Also, when humans have sex, most glimpse the divine, or what they can see of it.  For you, the door will open, not as fully as before where you were completely flooded, but you will be able to come through and feel what you are missing in this way whenever you want to or feel that you need to.  Others may not understand this, but it really doesn't matter.  Even if they don't understand, most who witness it will be drawn to helping you in any way they can with this.  You will experiment with this your whole life and will have some people you were meant to connect with who have also been through the door and plugged in, and they can go with you.  Find them and learn.  Of course you know you also visit during the dreamtime, or more accurately, you visit Earth when you are not in it or otherwise opening the door.  And this is all simultaneous, though you won't experience it as such even if you remember, but you will sense this.  And remember how short a lifetime really is.  So you see, you aren't really leaving, ever, just visiting and bringing back with you.   

Me:  Okay, I'm ready.  That sex thing sold me.  ;)

Living Things

I thought I'd start dedicating some blog posts to the music in my life because I know how much I love being turned onto new music. You're welcome ;)

The first music blog is dedicated to the band Living Things. Link to their site: http://www.livingthingsband.com/

I found this band when I went to see The Cult a while back and they opened some of their shows. I had never heard of them and loved what I heard. I giggled when they took the stage exclaiming "We are Living Things!" - cute, so cute. Right on. :)

Some of their music one might be tempted to casually dismiss as rather generic Pop or mindless Punk, but minimal further investigation does not support this. What I like most about Living Things is their versatility. I was first attracted to their Punk edge (which was a bit more evident live than on the recorded Habeas Corpus) but soon discovered their more ostensibly "Poppy" tracks which are actually satire-ific.  On the post-Habeas Corpus Malocchio Mixtape one could classify the song Pollen Path as almost "New Age" in feel and some of the others as Reggae-esque. Not to mention the genius of the Pollen Path video which I will reference specifically below.  Truly multifarious for a young Rock band.  I can't wait to see what they will do in the years to come.  Lillian Berlin reminds me of Jack White in his "everything I touch comes to life as art" knack.  Thank the Gods.

From Ahead of the Lions (2005)



Habeas Corpus (2009) has some political gems, among them:





The following are from the relatively recent Malocchio Mixtape (2011). Pollen Path was accompanied by an incredibly creative video. This is from a Spin article regarding the video:

"Living Things have produced a stunning video for the new song "Pollen Path," which is featured on a free downloadable mixtape Malocchio. (Grab it for free at their official website). The clip was directed by Berlin's wife, Floria Sigismondi, who has directed videos for the White Stripes, David Bowie, and Marilyn Manson.

The inspiration? The couple's daughter, who stars in it. "She was describing this really vivid dream and we were like, 'Wow, that sounds like a movie,'" says Berlin. "Being the artistic household we are, we talked about bringing her dream to life." And they did: the graceful, Dali-esque clip is a haunting, 7-minute epic, featuring their daughter dancing in falling glitter and wandering around an abdandoned beach littered with decaying bedroom furniture, puppets, and a broken clock."

Link to referenced Spin article: http://www.spin.com/node/87611



Other songs from the Malocchio mixtape include Postmortem Bliss.  Love the Reggae spin.  Oh, and make sure you listen to the whole thing.  <3



The Malocchio mixtape is available for free download on the band's site, linked above. Living Things recently formed their own record label and have promised a 27-track indie production next month. It looks as though it may be running a bit late but hopefully there will be new Living Things yet this year!

Am I a slut?

It all started with this:

It began on 24 January this year, when policeman Michael Sanguinetti walked into the Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, to tell women how to avoid sexual violence. "I've been told I'm not supposed to say this," Sanguinetti said. "However, women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimised."
Guardian, 6/7/11

Which led to this:

 "SlutWalking" is attracting thousands of people to take to the streets to put an end to what they believe is a culture in which it is considered acceptable to blame the victim.  Further SlutWalksare planned in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.  Guardian, 5/6/11

Today I read this which I found very interesting: 

Historically ‘slut’ has been used as a judgemental and damaging slur designed to shame women and men who enjoy sex, whether it’s for work or pleasure (or both). Its etymology also points to its past usage as a word meaning ‘dirty’ or ‘slovenly’.   SlutWalkers are standing up to say that they’re not ashamed of their sexuality or liking sex, and that being a slut should not invite judgement or violence.  There’s been much debate online and offline about what it means to call yourself (or others) a slut, and about whether it’s possible to entirely reclaim a word and strip its negative or malicious intent and control.


The process of language reappropriation is one where a word was at one time a pejorative used to malign, control or victimise, is brought into acceptable (or even preferable) usage.  Superlinguo, 6/5/11

My father once told me "words are power."  To this day I am not sure if I agree or disagree.  I think words CAN have power.  However, I would like to think that words have power because we give it to them; because we allow them to have power.     

If a society has given a word power that it later grows to resent can it then (consciously or unconsciously) take that power away?  If we can, should we?  What does this mean?  What does embracing a word that has been thought of as "negative" in the past change, really? 

I have thought a lot about this in the past regarding the word bitch.  This is one of my least favorite words, in spite of it being the title of one of my favorite magazines.  Some women have "reclaimed" bitch as a word to describe a strong woman - a woman who is not afraid to express her thoughts and opinions.  One who will not be pushed around or belittled.  A woman to be reckoned with.  Someone who may have to act in ways perceived as undesirable to have needs met or get what she wants.  Is this helpful? 

While I think the intention is good, I wonder about the wisdom of embracing bitch, slut and other gendered "slurs."  There is an element of "taking power back" by the redefining of a word.  But I think I would rather see it become antiquated from lack of use.  The perceived societal NEED for the word is the issue, not the word itself.  I think we forget this.  I am not sure that recirculating the word with some sort of edified meaning really is the most desirable response.  Gendered insults and questionable ways to refer to people is so last century.  Right? 

Come with me into a world where an individual's qualities are independent of gender.  In this world, when we get frustrated with someone, we do not resort to  gender-specific words as critical fodder.  There is no need for the word bitch if a society views women as equal participants and does not begrudge them the same "strength" in voice.  The perception would change.  And this is what we need. 

I do not want to be referred to as a bitch, slut, or, Goddess forbid, the dreaded "C" word.  I am happy for and supportive of people who choose to identify with these words in a positive way.  If it is a term of empowerment or a part of play in the bedroom/alternative lifestyle in a mutually desired and created power dynamic, I say "good for you."  But as a society could we just work on the functional disuse of genderfied negativity?  I am a strong person.  I love sex.  This means I am a man or a woman.  A human being.  Not a bitch, slut or cunt.