Wise Woman Wisdom

Spiritual Director Kathleen Leo

Spiritual Director Kathleen Leo

Susun interviews Kathy Leo.
Kathy is the founder and spiritual director of Hallowell, a hospice choir that has been serving the community through the practice of bedside singing for the dying since 2003. She has recently completed a manuscript and hopes to publish her new book; On the Breath of Song: Guidance and Stories for the Practice of Bedside Singing for the Dying. She draws on a decade of experience as a midwife helping families give birth at home. Being welcomed into the sacred spaces of birth, death and grief continues to offer Kathy and those who share in this practice, reverence and gratitude for daily life.



this episode Q&A includes:
• the way to be healthy is to nourish yourself...
• learn to be more appreciative of the negative experiences in our live and what they have to offer us...
• sunflowers suck up and remove stuff we do not want in our soils...
• estrogens made in our bodies, made by plants and made in laboratories- cancer, puberty, reproduction and menopause...
• soy protein isolate- long path estrogen- worst thing you can consume...
• herpes- hypericum perforatum prevents and treats outbreaks, self heal tincture can get rid of, l lysine in halibut, chicken and goats milk, avoid nuts...
• vegan diet is incredibly bad for women, we are designed to eat meat...
• Are you ok replacing meat with B12 GMO supplements?
• urban wildcrafting..
• using the root of osha multiple times..
• when we want to make the eyes stronger- make the liver stronger- nettle infusion, well cooked greens..
• obesity- BMI is not an indicator of health..

Cedar Smudge

Cedar Smudge

Susun and her granddaughter, Monica Jean demonstrate how to smudge with cedar.

Sites of Antiquity and Power

Archangel Michael through Sue Stothard 

4/30/12

Sites of Antiquity and Power  

   

Many of you make pilgrimages to sites of power and antiquity around the world believing that by doing so you will connect to sacred, pure, ancient energies. It is a commonly held belief that such sites hold the keys to ancient wisdom and are revered for their perceived mythological restorative or healing powers.

While it is true that there are places where ancient knowledge is stored on planet earth, it will not be revealed until such time as the population has progressed spiritually enough to  both believe and understand what they find.

Sadly though for all the eager seekers of transcending and enlightening energies at ancient sites, the energies they seek have been contaminated and corrupted for thousands upon thousands of years.

Wars, conflict, ancient magic, corrupted energy lines, contaminated soil and water holding the frequencies of pain, torture and death, as well as malign energies from other dimensions which have been placed within the earth as energy blocking and jamming devices all result in the energies held within ancient and revered sites being detrimental to the energy systems and energetic make-up of humans.

Long ago after the fall of Atlantis there were once special key places  which were created to  hold White Light, Cosmic Energy or Universal Energy for future generations. They were placed around the earth long ago by The Great White Brotherhood to aid the spiritual development of earth and mankind through the dark times to come as man’s energetic frequency began to drop. They were designed to release their energy so that mankind would not drop too low in frequency and would be able to maintain sixth dimensional frequency at the very least.

However these sites, which indeed became recognised throughout history as being sacred places of great power, were discovered, subverted and contaminated long ago. This meant they then ceased to function as they were intended and did not fulfil their original function of keeping the frequency of mankind stable to facilitate future growth and development.

These are the sites which are recognised and sought by today’s seekers of knowledge, power and energy. However, they and are no longer sites of purity or enlightenment and the knowledge they held has either been corrupted or moved to safer havens for the future.

Much work has already being done and continues to be done through the agency  of our human angels here who have been attuned to Universal Energy. They are able to work with us to identify and remove that which is damaging [ancient devices, ancient magics and energetic corruption on many levels beneath earth’s surface]  and then they also work with the devas and the nature spirits to cleanse and balance earth’s energies once more.

This is a big moment in time for earth and her inhabitants. You are moving towards a new future which heralds a state of being for all which has not been seen since the time of Atlantis. It is a time of great rejoicing for all of The Great White Brotherhood, the Angelic kingdom, nature herself as well as  the nature spirits and the devic kingdom who are at last being given the opportunity able to function as they should. Plants, animals and all creatures as well as earth herself will be able to develop freely into what they should be, without restriction and impediments, for the first time in millennia.

2012 is truly a new beginning for you all.

Love and Blessings ,

Michael .

www.unfoldingenlightenment.com 

 

12 Ways to Transcend

12 Ways to Transcend

by, Simon Mitchell

Wisdom from the Green Scribe

I want to make some positive suggestions on how to transcend and alleviate the stress of cultural self destruct by enjoying the moment. There are probably infinite ways to do this but here are some suggestions that I enjoy:

Growing, making, eating food

At the moment Sarah and I are in daily squash rapture. After nature’s excess with the pumpkins last year (4 got composted eventually), we decided to grow an assortment of squashes. From planting the seed, nurturing the little plants, watching them romp across the beds, enjoying the huge yellow flowers and the pleasure they give the bees, staring in rhapsody at the unique fruits they produce to the delight of picking, cooking and eating them, it is an experience without comparison. Eating food, like sex, is one of the very few activities which employ all of the senses and can be completely transcendent. ‘Growing your own’ puts you in touch with nature and its rhythms and seasons, increasing your awareness and contact with nature and the universe.

Physical work with nature

I find something as simple as sawing wood, mucking out a stable or digging soil to be an intensely pleasurable experience. It is so ‘clean’. You harvest the wood, you get warm. You saw the wood (no chainsaws here), you get warm again. You burn the wood – you get warm again in front of the fire. I have had many moments over the years where, totally absorbed in physical work with nature, lost for a time, transcended, I ‘come too’ and re-discover myself as an independent entity. Just sheer physical enjoyment of your body, your ‘animal’ nature, in sport or play or work can tune you into the universe.

Craft activity

your hands is also a way to become one with the universe. You can see this in pottery, watercolour painting and a whole host of art and craftwork where the creator has ‘transcended’ and become a vessel directly channelling the energies of the universe into the material through their own unique physiology. It is nothing short of fantastic when this happens to you and for a short moment you become ‘the one’.

Practising a sense of wonder

Last night we came home late and the crisp, autumn air made the stars light up. The Milky Way unfurled like a huge ribbon across the sky and uncountable pinpricks of twinkling light glittered above. Excuse me while I wax rhapsodic but if you consciously realise each one of those pinpricks of light is another sun then that pretty quickly puts things in perspective. You are Nothing. The Universe is Infinite. Simply expand your nothingness into infinity !

Enjoying time with children and animals

Children, dogs, cats and other animals are quite naturally ‘in the moment’. Join in with their world and play their games with them. Pretty soon you will discover a universe of fun filled hours covered in mud.

Sports

Another way to spend fun filled hours covered in mud, many sports can help you to connect with a sense of ‘one-ness’ through sheer physicality. From one-ness achieved through ‘Zen and the Art of Archery’ (mastery of craft, skill, sport) to the natural endorphins released through physical exertion. The more you put in, the more you get out – sports can leave you not only feeling (and looking) fit, but give you a deep connection and a feeling of unity.

Dancing

I used to enjoy ‘freelance’ dancing but someone turned me on to Salsa a few years ago and I searched for 2 years for a suitable class (this is Cornwall). Discovering this dance led me to book my only ever long-haul flight and go to Cuba to learn from the natives. I will never forget Raquel and Yodanke who taught me Salsa and Son. Thank you so much. Talk about pure existence in the moment – I love dancing Salsa like nothing else. Maybe Salsa isn’t your dance but there are so many different forms of dance there is just bound to be one that suits you. Know that sometimes I go slightly ‘Skippy’ (the bush kangaroo) and my left leg wants to dance the hornpipe and my right leg want to do the Scottish Country Sword Dance. Know that I have a tendency towards Whirling Dervish. Know that Sarah is very patient with me. I love to dance.

Making music

I have got this far writing this list and suddenly feel utterly blessed, because I can play the guitar. How many times has making music helped me transcend the everyday mundanity of ‘necessary’ existence. Music is a pure form of energy and creating it can take you into another dimension. Through making (and hearing) music you can transcend ordinary reality and become one with a universe of energy. Like dancing, there are many forms of music and many ways to create it. Percussive music, such as drumming can be deeply transformative, to strings to wind… Go on a search to ‘find your instrument’ and use it as a key to open the universe around you.

Singing, like music, has the power to transform not just yourself but those around you. Those of you lucky enough to have good voices, please sing more often. Those of you who are not so sure maybe sing to yourselves and not go on the X Factor. Or you could get some help or even adopt an instrument. Humming can be pretty good too. Harmonica anyone ?

Tantra

When I first discovered Tantra, my ‘friend’ claimed to be a Tantrika but resolutely refused to tell me what it was about. So I enrolled on a weekend course with Leora Lightwoman (Diamond Light Tantra). It was simply the most amazing experience and completely beyond description. I have been on other courses with other teachers since then. It’s not what you think it is. It defies description. Go find out for yourself.

Loving relationships

Following on from the last, your partner (if you have one to love) is a gateway to the universe. Through union with another it is a short step to union with everything.

Mixing with elemental forces

Filled with awe at the Grand Canyon (earth), amazed at the stars (air), lost in the playful flames or relaxed by the rhythm of ocean waves – the elements in their raw state have a profound effect on a being open to their influence. Find raw elemental places in tune with your being and go to them to surrender yourself.

Meditation

To an extent all of the above are forms of ‘dynamic’ meditation. Many people practice Yoga, Tai chi, Qigong and other more formal forms of mediation and if this suits you it is a great way to open yourself to other ways of being ‘connected’.

The universe is always there, always waiting for you to be in it. The culture in which we exist seems contrived to separate you from being in tune with the universe. You do have a choice.

Visit Simon's website http://www.simonmitchell.co.uk/

Wise Woman Art Feature - "Pussy Posse" by Yvette Lewis

 

"Pussy Posse" by Yvette Lewis

Artist - painter, printmaker, ceramics
Art Teacher - 25 years in Newburgh, NY

 

The ides of November, 2006

From Susun Weed

The ides of November, 2006

Dear friends, students, supporters, and detractors:

I see the topic of anger, my anger specifically, has tapped a full and flowing spring. Thank you so much for thinking about and responding to this topic. It is challenging, but vital.

What? Anger is important and useful? Yes, yes, yes. In my lifetime I have seen the creative fire of anger used to shine a light on racial injustice (I grew up in Dallas, Texas in the 1950s and saw the daily results of racism), war crimes (yes, I was there for the Vietnam protests, too), and sexual discrimination (I identify as a lesbian and was, in fact, a lesbian separatist for over four years).

Women's anger is fierce and as penetrating as a laser. When women acknowledge and direct the fire of anger, they change the world (I am too young to have helped the suffragists). When women deny their anger -- or when society deems anger inappropriate for women -- we become shrewish and nagging, scolds and harpies .

If you grew up in a household where your anger was suppressed and others used their anger to control and harm you, then you may be afraid of all anger. If you were brought up in a family where anger was allowed, then you may have more idea of the value of anger.

Several teachers and teachings have helped me deal with the my anger, and with the anger -- both expressed and unexpressed -- that is often directed at me. They helped me learn to deal with my sense of rejection and hurt, and to value and treasure the energy and intimacy of anger.

I believe that any woman who dares to "distinguish herself from a bathmat" (that is, to take an active part in public life) will be the object of anger and vilification, no matter how "nice" she is (or tries to be). I watched my mentor Elizabeth Kubler Ross deal with nasty, baseless rumors about her personal life, and I observed as my mentor Jean Houston was sneered at, and asked to account for herself on national television for having a "seance" with (future president) Hillary Clinton (alive) and Jean's mentor Margaret Mead (dead). I expect, accept, and even feel a sense of pride when mud is slung at me. Wow! I am making a difference.

I know that I have intentionally put myself in the way of your rage. How? By choosing to be a public figure. By stripping away my "modesty" and revealing myself as a complex person who is not "perfect." By allowing women to come and live with me and work with me and see for themselves that a less-than-perfect being can nonetheless help others. By acknowledging and letting others, yes, even my daughter, speak about my faults.

So many women never even attempt to tackle the big issues because they believe they must be perfect before they can do good in the world. Men do not seem to tie themselves up this way. I want women to value themselves, and their anger. I want women's creative angry fire to help make the world a better, safer place for all life. I urge you to get angry. And if you start by being angry at me, that's just fine.

The ABC's of Anger

with thanks to my teacher Gordon Cook

c. 2006, Susun S Weed

A Anger: At the moment.

I am angry right now. A anger is expressed and gone within minutes. Elizabeth Kubler Ross taught us that this is the only "true" anger. A anger is the anger that I am most "famous" for: A loud-voiced urging of my helpers to get their jobs done quickly and attentively. A anger is short, sharp, and removes obstacles. It is directed at actions, not at people. It forges intimate connections and, like a thunderstorm, clears the skies. A anger is "instinctive."

B Anger: Before, in the past.

I am angry not just now, but for all the times this has happened. B anger is the "tip of the iceberg." It seems to go on and on, relentlessly striking out, but despairing of being heard or of having effect. B anger is the anger of a victim; it can be destructive to relationships. B anger is "remembered." Personal work with a therapist, or recapitulation as taught by Carlos Castanada's teacher Don Juan, or Pathwork with a guide (all of which I have done and continue to do) are excellent allies for finding and resolving B anger. Until this is done, it is almost impossible to allow yourself A anger.

C Anger: Childhood

As a child I was angry about this and couldn't do anything about it. Mommy/daddy didn't make me feel precious enough, important enough, loved enough, attended to enough, and I am pissed about it. Any authority figure, any person with more power than I have is the target of my C anger. I am the victim and they are to blame. I hope to gain self-worth through attacking those with power, but it never seems to work out. C anger is held in the large muscles and can be activated by intense physical effort. Again, some form of therapy which helps to uncover and recover the pain and rage of childhood is critical to stilling C anger and allowing A anger to emerge. "The Compulsion to Recreate and Overcome Childhood Hurts" by Eva Pierrakos, in The Pathwork of Self Transformation is the single best writing I have found on C anger.

D Anger: Deflected, Destructive

I am angry at something done by someone who has power over me right now, not in the past. I cannot let them know, for they could hurt me more than I could hurt them. My life, or my livelihood, or my self-respect is at stake, and I dare not say a word. Instead, I deflect my anger onto someone less powerful than myself. The boss upset me, so I take it out on someone under me. The mean-looking driver of a big truck cut me off, so I speak sharply to my family. I feel like shit, so I spread shit all over everything I touch. D anger is destructive in part because it arises from intense self-hatred. We judge ourselves harshly for not responding with A anger, but we are (usually correctly) afraid to let go and say how we feel. D anger is often associated with substance abuse such as drug addiction or alcoholism. D anger is mental. It is the most confusing anger to receive, because it is (often immediately) followed by intense apologies and efforts to make it up to one we were angry at. After expressing D anger, we are filled with remorse, contrition, and repentance. But there is no real easing of our pain, and the remorse makes us feel even worse about ourselves, so the cycle of D anger repeats and repeats. Only the creative fire of A anger can really feed self-worth and make society more caring. Resolving D anger requires decades of intense work on self. Anyone who even tries is to be honored and lauded.

E Anger: Existential

As in, what is the point of it all? Why am I here? Why is my life so difficult? Why bother?

E anger is preferable to depression, which is another way to deal with the horrible truth that we each live a little while and then we are gone. "The universe, and your personal life, is filled with chaos," Elizabeth taught us. Blaming ourselves, blaming others, these are just ways to pretend that we are in control. E anger turns into laughter when it is not ballasted by B, C, and/or D Anger. Life is pointless. Grrr. Haha.

Spiritual Exercises for the Days of the Week

Spiritual Exercises for the Days of the Week Adapted from

Start Now!  A Book of Soul and Spiritual Exercises by Rudolph Steiner; Steiner Books, 2004

“Most of us would like to live in a more spiritually conscious way, but the task can seem so daunting. Where to begin? The great teacher, author, and philosopher Rudolph Steiner had a wonderful idea: he identified one gentle spiritual task for each day of the week. After all, seven is a magical number (think of the seven chakras), and having seven days of the week as a container makes deep soul-sense.   You can use these simple, meaningful exercises as a basis for meditation, or simply as touchstones to keep in mind throughout the day.  Step by step, we can gently bring ourselves into greater clarity and awareness. Breaking the process down into daily tasks makes it so doable, and the end result will be greater soul-strength and consciousness.

SATURDAY: Right Thinking
Be aware of your thoughts. Gradually learn to separate in your thoughts the essential from the nonessential, the eternal from the transitory, and truth from mere opinion. When listening to conversation, try to become inwardly still, renouncing all agreement and, more important, all negative judgments (criticism and rejection). Do this in both thought and feeling.

SUNDAY: Right Judgment
Decide on even the most insignificant issues only after full, well-founded deliberation and reflection. Abstain from doing anything that has no significant reason. Once we are convinced that a decision is correct, adhere to it with inner steadfastness. This is "right judgment" because it was made independently of attraction or aversion.

MONDAY: Right Word
Avoid the usual sort of conversation that involves jumbled, simultaneous cross talk. Listen thoughtfully to
every statement and answer. Consider every approach. Never speak without a reason. Prefer silence. Try not to talk too much or too little. Listen quietly and process what you hear.

TUESDAY: Right Deed
Our outer actions should not disturb others. When we are moved inwardly (by conscience) to act, carefully weigh how best to employ the occasion for the good of the whole, and the happiness of others and the eternal. When you act from yourself and your own initiative, weigh the consequences of your actions in the most fundamental way.

WEDNESDAY: Right Standpoint

In ordering your life, live in harmony with nature and spirit. Do not get buried in the external knickknacks of life. Avoid all that brings restlessness and haste to your life. Be neither impetuous nor lazy. Consider life as a means of inner work and development and act accordingly.

THURSDAY: Right Striving
Take care not to do anything beyond your power, but don't leave anything undone that is within your ability. Pose goals that are connected with the highest of human responsibilities. In relation to these exercises, for example, try to develop yourself so that later---if not immediately--you may be better able to help and advise others. Let the preceding exercises become a habit!

FRIDAY: Right Memory
Strive to learn as much as possible from life. Nothing happens that does not give us the opportunity to gather experiences that are useful for life. If you have done something incorrectly or incompletely, it becomes an opportunity to do it correctly or completely later on. When you see others act, observe them with the same end in mind (but not without love). Do nothing without looking at past experiences that may help in your decisions and your actions. If you are attentive, you can learn much from everyone, including small children.”

Copyright: Adapted from Start Now! A Book of Soul and Spiritual Exercises by Rudolph Steiner

Body Image

On Susun Weed’s Wise Woman Forum, there is sometimes talk about how women feel about their body image.  It is such a tragedy that virtually all the women participating say they don’t like the way they look.  They feel shame over how they view their bodies.  Too fat.  Too short.  Breasts too big.  Breasts too small.  Big bellies.  Cellulite.  Growing old.  The list of self-criticism is endless.  The shame goes all the way through their souls.  They feel they just are not good enough because of the way they look.  They feel shame over their looks.  Then they feel shame because they are ashamed of the way they look.  Shame.  Guilt.  Despair.  All feelings that do nothing but damage the core of a woman’s soul.  Why are looks so much more important to society than what is in a person’s heart?  I remember when I was a child I too suffered with low self esteem and hating my body and my looks.  I was 5’5” and barely weighted 110 pounds and I thought I was fat.  I hated the way my belly pouched out.  I hated that I was not built like a super model.  I hated that I did not weigh less than 100 pounds.  I thought if I was thinner and prettier I would have more friends and I would finally be happy.  So I starved myself and hated myself and was on a never ending diet for the first forty years of my life.  I thought if I could just find a man who thought I was pretty and worthwhile would make me feel pretty and worthwhile.  I gave my personal power to others so they could make me feel valuable and worthwhile.    Unfortunately I found men who only magnified my feelings of self hatred.  I gave them my personal power so they could make me feel valuable and worthwhile.  I starved myself to a size five so I would be thin enough for them.  I wanted to be as thin and as pretty as all the beautiful women I saw in the media.  What a way to spend the first half of my life.  Unfortunately I have lots of company.  Here is a question recently posted on the Wise Woman Forum:

“So I am standing in front of the mirror yesterday, I have gained 10 lbs. and I feel fat. My stomach is not flat enough, my thigh muscles are undefined. And then comes the guilt, I should not feel this way, I am just a puppet playing into Hollywood stereotypes. If I were really an enlightened and wise woman I would be able to accept my body as beautiful/natural/goddess like. And now I feel even worse, having failed both to meet society's stereotypes and to reject them as well.   Is it even possible to be ashamed of your body and ashamed to be ashamed of your body at the same time? I feel like on one hand, I am being told that I am not thin enough, my stomach is not flat enough, and my hips are too big. I feel ashamed of my body the way it is. We all know now as women that these are messages we are bombarded with, but is it any better, any more reasonable to tell ourselves that we should be able to ignore this constant bombardment and rise above it to accept ourselves? Or is it just one more on top of a list of unreasonable expectations that we as women to try to meet?”

While I have finally reached a point where I finally realize the impossible standard society has set for women, it is hard to undo decades of negative conditioning.  While I know I am not fat and ugly, I sometimes still feel like I am, especially when I see the ideal in the media or when I’m out in public.  It is a knee jerk reaction to decades of negative conditioning.  One of the responses to this post gave me an ‘Ah-HA’ moment that I would like to share:

“Over and over I kept hearing the phrase *a woman's problem areas--the tummy, hips, and thighs.* and then I remembered ancient fertility goddess images--big belly, hips, and thighs. And I was like *wait a second!* and I realized that women don't have 'problem areas'--that these are culturally created in the modern era. These areas are naturally curvy, voluptuous, etc. and even my own muscle shape depicts this. “

Of course women are going to be curvy in the ‘problem’ areas.  It is our sacred duty to carry and protect the unborn in our wombs!  Our bodies put more padding in these areas to ensure the protection of the children we are carrying/going to carry in our bodies.  Our ‘problem’ areas are Nature’s way of protecting the unborn and ourselves.  How has that become something undesirable?  Something ugly?  Why do we women believe it?  Why do men?  There was a time when luscious, curvy women were reveled and considered the ideal.  One can see this in the paintings of the great artists such as Michelangelo.  What happened to that ideal?  When did stick thin, anorexic women/girls become the ideal?  When will women take back their power and stop feeding into all the negative hype and crap society feeds us?  We are the way we are for a reason.  A sacred reason.  Not to be eye-candy for the opposite sex.  Not to be pleasing for a materialistic, superficial, and phony society.  Not to conform to an impossible and unhealthy ideal.  When will women stop chasing a sick fantasy?  When will women redirect all the energy they pour into trying to achieve the impossible, to changing the world for the better?  When will we use all that energy to end war, child abuse and violence?  We could literally change the world if we would pour all that energy into worthwhile causes instead of into beating ourselves up over our looks!  What a complete and total waste of valuable energy!  We have the power to change the world.  Instead, we use our own power against ourselves and each other.  I now weigh about 145 pounds.  My job keeps my muscles relatively toned.  I eat healthy (for the most partJ).  I sometimes still struggle accepting the way my stomach pooches but I can now catch my negative thinking and I can change my thoughts.  When I change my thoughts I change my life.  Now there more are days when I feel I am pretty and ‘not fat.’  I use to dread turning forty.  How silly of me!  Now I LOVE being forty and menopausal!  I feel better about my looks today than I did when I was at my thinnest, and the wisdom I have gained over the years is worth more than my previous size five figure.  And that feeling is priceless.

Peace and Green Blessings,

Willow~ 

Sooo…what do YOU think?   

wise woman way...

....some musings....The way of the Wise Woman Tradition is that of spirit healing...it is the path to personal empowerment, to discovery, to self-realization...it is the connection to mother earth that we all crave and need for our sense of completeness. The Wise Woman is the way back to our ancestery....