Comments

• 

  Genevieve Jacobs August 13, 2011 at 7:21pm

  @Sylviya, yes. I loved a quote that I will paraphrase as I do for my students from Jung..."Escape into the elemental necessity is no longer possible for modern man. The only way through is either painful neurosis or individuation...the function of consciousness is not only to take in through the gateway of the five senses, but also to express back to the world what we have experienced..." My own rendering of these sentiments is this: "We can't simply go back to physical labor or

  digging potatoes for peace of mind. Sophistication of modern culture and psyche is too pervasive. We carry the city within our heads, wherever we go, even to outer space or out to sea, as I had done throughout my teens and twenties."
• 

  Julie Ann Perkins August 13, 2011 at 4:33pm

  For some good news about the oceans, have a look at this article plus the beautiful one minute video of the underwater world in a flourishing marine biopreserve in the Baja.
  

  Undersea Baja Wildlife Park Comes To Life August 13, 2011

  http://www.irishweatheronline.com/news/earth-science/oceanography/u...

   

  A new study led by researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego (USA) has found that a thriving undersea wildlife park tucked away near the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja peninsula has proven to be the world’s most robust marine reserve in the world.

  ...Once depleted by fishing, Cabo Pulmo now boasts a healthy mix of wildlife.
  
• 

  Lynn Marie Hynes May 31, 2011 at 11:41am

  This article reminds us all that we have drifted so far from our natural instincts and relationship to earth. Our arrogance will be our downfall---potentially the downfall of humanity on this earth. The news clip with the first interviewee was chilling! He did not even think or intuit that the earth IS alive, hissing, and shaking as She is an organism being manipulated my the hand of humanity.
• 

  Bonnie Bright November 20, 2010 at 6:36pm

  Just came across a great, well-written article/blog called "Nature’s Warning Going Unseen & Unheard" - excellent refs and a Jungian lens... http://www.stevedrinkard.com/archives/44
• 

  Lynn Marie Hynes June 2, 2010 at 2:31pm

  Bonnie, the seduction of our outer reality is enormous, and I find it difficult to pull myself away from the computer or phone to just quiet down and reflect. Because I am now working from my home, I find myself pulled to the office when I really need to slow down and breath. Today I just walked outside and sat under a maple tree and watched the birds at a feeder. Just feeling the sunshine and the breeze was calming and restorative.
• 

  Bonnie Bright May 23, 2010 at 10:41pm

  Katrina: Thank you so much for bringing up this powerful topic and sharing your personal experience in Muir Woods. I, too, find myself often unable to find solace in nature even though in past experience, I have often found relief from pain and grief there. I do think the stillness you allude to is important: in sitting and listening, we are surrendering to nature in a way that being active does not allow.
  
  And if, indeed, part of the grief we each carry is the pain of what's happening to the earth and the ecosystem, then Nature likely has a lot to say and appreciates a willing witness. I find when I hike, my mind is still able (surprisingly so!) to be very, very busy with chatter and my own thoughts--even when my intent is to listen. By stilling my body (which IS earth), I find communion sometimes to be easier. However, I am still glad you made the effort to go into nature at all rather than staying home (or going shopping!--our cultural cure-all!)--and I'm sure Earth appreciates it too.
• 

  Bonnie Bright May 18, 2010 at 12:11pm

  Julie, Thank you so much for posting the info about the healing vigil for the oil spill that's happening in Half Moon Bay. I'm so grateful to know that many are paying attention to this issue and offering ritual and prayer. I'm also equally touched by the letter from Chief Arvol Looking Horse. There are many on our planet who are custodians of earth and water--and certainly its comforting to feel their presence when I tend to despair over "what we've done to ourselves"--myself included. I want to offer up my own prayer that we can all be more conscious and do ritual at home in whatever way we can if we are unable to join community. Maybe there is a way to host a ritual on this community site--even though its virtual--so that everyone here can take part as well.
• 

  Julie Ann Perkins May 18, 2010 at 9:36am

  Good news for San Francisco bay announced today by The Watershed Project , a local grassroots water educational and action oriented group that does a lot of outreach to youth in our area: visit their site for more!
  http://hosted.vresp.com/408989/dc29ebc3da/135465961/9ccace9a14/
  Federal Funds to Fuel Restoration of SF Bay
  It's Time to Get Serious About Protecting Our Bay
  
  Help is on the way for our long suffering San Francisco Bay and the watersheds that drain into it. California Representative Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, has introduced a bill in Congress (H.R. 5061) that would authorize $100 million annually over ten years for wetland restoration and related environmental projects to rehabilitate San Francisco Bay.

  http://hosted.vresp.com/408989/dc29ebc3da/135465961/9ccace9a14/
• 

  Julie Ann Perkins May 18, 2010 at 9:28am

  AND in Honor of World Peace Day and some good advice on the oil spill:
  A letter from Chief Arvol Looking Horse A Great Urgency
  
  To All World Religious and Spiritual Leaders
  
  My Relatives,
  
  Time has come to speak to the hearts of our Nations and their Leaders. I ask you this from the bottom of my heart, to come together from the Spirit of your Nations in prayer.
  
  We, from the heart of Turtle Island, have a great message for the World; we are guided to speak from all the White Animals showing their sacred color, which have been signs for us to pray for the sacred life of all things. As I am sending this message to you, many Animal Nations are being threatened, those that swim, those that crawl, those that fly, and the plant Nations, eventually all will be affect from the oil disaster in the Gulf.
  
  The dangers we are faced with at this time are not of spirit. The catastrophe that has happened with the oil spill which looks like the bleeding of Grandmother Earth, is made by human mistakes, mistakes that we cannot afford to continue to make.
  
  I asked, as Spiritual Leaders, that we join together, united in prayer with the whole of our Global Communities. My concern is these serious issues will continue to worsen, as a domino effect that our Ancestors have warned us of in their Prophecies.
  
  I know in my heart there are millions of people that feel our united prayers for the sake of our Grandmother Earth are long overdue. I believe we as Spiritual people must gather ourselves and focus our thoughts and prayers to allow the healing of the many wounds that have been inflicted on the Earth. As we honor the Cycle of Life, let us call for Prayer circles globally to assist in healing Grandmother Earth (our Unc'I Maka).
  
  We ask for prayers that the oil spill, this bleeding, will stop. That the winds stay calm to assist in the work. Pray for the people to be guided in repairing this mistake, and that we may also seek to live in harmony, as we make the choice to change the destructive path we are on.
  
  As we pray, we will fully understand that we are all connected. And that what we create can have lasting effects on all life.
  
  So let us unite spiritually, All Nations, All Faiths, One Prayer. Along with this immediate effort, I also ask to please remember June 21st, World Peace and Prayer Day/Honoring Sacred Sites day. Whether it is a natural site, a temple, a church, a synagogue or just your own sacred space, let us make a prayer for all life, for good decision making by our Nations, for our children's future and well-being, and the generations to come.
  
  Onipikte (that we shall live),
  
  Chief Arvol Looking Horse
  19th generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe
  (Wolakota.org)
• 

  Julie Ann Perkins May 18, 2010 at 9:26am

  In honor of the World Prayer Day for Water Day - Today, may 18th, I am posting this info:
  "What I have been saying for these 20 years is that "water retains information". And the information which affects water the most is people's mind. It functions as if water were the mirror of our heart. I don't think that water deep underground is not an exception, and believe that the state of energy of such water becomes as if it is reflecting the mind of people who live on the ground." -Masaro Emoto
  
  SPECIAL HEALING VIGIL FOR OUR PLANETARY WATERS
  In light of the growing environmental catastrophe created by the recent oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico and the ensuing risks of a prolonged pollution of the marine environment, locally and globally, please dedicate a portion of your meditations in the coming month towards visualizing that a lasting solution is soon found to this current crisis and also that a long-term worldwide focus of attention to ensure the full protection of all vital marine ecosystems and precious water resources will result from this tragic accident. There cannot be a stronger signal that humanity can no longer continue to ignore the consequences of a careless and solely profit-motivated attitude towards the essential commons upon which all Life on Earth depends. Now is the time to help shift the balance towards restoring the Web of Life on Earth and ensuring its permanent, careful stewardship for all generations to come.
  World Prayer Day for Water
  Ceremony at San Gregorio Beach
  Tuesday, May 18
  
  At San Gregorio Beach south of Half Moon Bay, gather with us as we honor the sacred waters that bring life to our planet. Remembering Gulf waters troubled by spilling oil, join us as we meet at 4:00 PM, creating ceremony together to align with the Spirits of Nature and the Spirits of Water. Bring some appropriate biodegradable offering to the water--perhaps water from a place with which you have a sacred connection, or water you drink from your tap. Bring a potluck dish to share, too. We'll gather just south of the cliffs where the creek flows into the ocean at San Gregorio State Beach (junction of Highways 1 and 84, 10.5 miles south of Half Moon Bay) and hang out until sunset if it's warm enough!
  
  Our ceremony is part of the World Prayer Day for Water, focused on shifting the spirit of damaged Waters with a Nine-Pointed Star Ceremony linking a crystal altar that encircles the planet. As in every ceremony, our combined intent empowers this global work as we create an invisible world of substance seeing water's purity, sustainability, and abundance for all.
  
  Email to register so we'll know you are coming! Suggested donation of $25 will go to Save the Bay.
  
  If you cannot join us in person, do create your own ceremony honoring water near where you work or live. from Meg Beeler at EarthCaretakers earthcaretakers@earthlink.net