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emergingvisions.blogspot.com
got mindful designs?
my faults are exactly those needed to make me who I am right now. Thank you, faults, for helping me to be myself so perfectly.
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not so much into black. my favorite color is a shade of green variously called forest, sage, moss, some others I don't instantly remember -- it happens to be the color of my eyes.
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Heart strings
playing in the sunshine
nobility
out standing in the sublime
ability to set a heart in tune
Caressing
a simple aria of blessing
the air is gold with sunshine
singing pure and true
Golden notes pouring through
the shade
a melody, a glade of golden hue
that's how I think of you.
(c) July 31, 2007 Laurie Corzett/libramoon
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enchanting uplifting
scaling sacred antiqual hills
through Galileo's lens
at starlight
sinking slowly over
mystic seas
as starlight's image
merges into ocean
I wept with you in Greece
and again in Istanbul
yet the pleasure
is newly mine
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You know a very important part of a successful career in the rock industry is business acumen. Learn the music business while you are learning the music, and you'll be better off all the way around.
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If we really wanted good jobs generally for Americans, showing respect for individual abilities and realities, we would do that necessary to demote the importance of international mega-corporations. So much can be done so much more effectively on a local or networked level. The current ideas of business modeling need to upgrade for the 21st century.
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The role of government is to do the work of the people, building and maintaining infrastructure, providing a competent and fair legal system, generally acting for the benefit of the community. These goods we expect from our representatives have been undermined, even forgotten, in a race toward fascistic usurpation of power. We must do better.
Education and health care, like the legal system and the roadways, are the infrastructural mandate that is the true purpose of government. Somehow, we have come to a society in which the fundamentals are ill-treated in favor of a mad rush to pay into the mega-corp interests, interests by their very nature opposed to the common welfare.
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I've read of the psycho-social condition of depression being referred to as the "black dog." In a liminal musing it occurred to me that the black dog is a true and loyal servant to Hekate. Depression, if interpreted well, can be a process to bring us to our dark goddess sacred sister who we may learn from, infuse with, to find our true self and purpose. Depression is often seen to be a reaction to deep, often irrational, guilt and shame imbued in a cognitive cycle of belief that one deserves no better is not good enough is in some sense socially unacceptable, which bleeds off the energy that might have been used to good purpose. The lesson is that society as we know it is unacceptable to us, does not recognize our off the main path way. It is not that we are not living up to some social norm or goal, but that way lies madness. An affiliation with Hekate helps us to understand our perhaps solitary, but none the less vital path, to reclaim our selves and our energy/lifeforce and engage with our most vitalizing passions.
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.
Be very honest and compassionate. If you are feeling overwhelmed or angered, they know it. Bringing these emotions into the open gives opportunity to work with them positively. Depression is in a lot of ways like an addiction. To move beyond it, the person needs to have the knowledge that is possible and something better to work towards. Often depression overwhelms one with feelings of guilt and defeat. One believes there is nothing better and one deserves no better. There is also a deep shame component -- feeling incompetent to be part of the community because of feeling like a failure. So, honesty is not just about your feelings and their feelings, but about the real steps that can be taken, bit by bit, nonthreatening, and very rewarding in the sense of the depressed person learning to feel gently more competent. Compassion, too, is not just your feeling for them, but self-compassion, giving yourself permission for whatever you are feeling and for finding within this relationship your own expansion of understanding and expression.
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This New Moon exactly conjuncts my natal 8th House Pluto. I have been reading that this involves a new relationship with Plutonic energies. I have been feeling strongly the presence of Hekate as an internalized sister figure who I am learning to access as the potent psychic awareness of my own personal power.
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Black dog, black dog
take me to your master
take me to your leader
take me to the depths of
the land where I must meet her
Sorrow, horror,
can't go farther
Have to see my master
Have to see my leader
Have to know there's someone
to give it all a reason
Tell me, tell me
shake me to the core
'til I have no more
reason, rationale
'til I know I've gone to Hell
Know, you, all, I wish you well
I wish, I wish, a wishing well
that I might drown.
I wish I may, I wish I might
I wish it all turns out alright
I find my will is burning bright
I find my shining inner sight
stunned by the profound delight
I find I am allowed.
(c) August 13, 2007
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If the goal of the "punishment" is to protect others from the bad behavior of some, perhaps isolation of some sort is necessary. If it is revenge, then I think taunting would be good, even severe physical taunting in the case of severe violent crimes. However, I believe prevention when possible to be the best method of protection, and leaves no need for revenge. An idea which I believe would help in this regard is having regular community centers which combine recreational facilities and on-hand trained counselors, self-help groups and mediation exchanges to nip disagreements in the bud before they escalate into some level of war.
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In some species males only exist to help the female procreate. Not saying this is not an obviously vital function, but rather limited. From what is known of humans, there is a much vaster difference between individuals than between genders on any scale of traits. Most importantly, what might be considered superior under some circumstances would be decidedly inferior under others.
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I think that part of the pleasure/pain of creating artwork is offering challenges to myself and seeing how I work them out.
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I have been having a series of dreams (not recurrent dreams) depicting relatively large bodies of water -- lakes, rivers, large ponds, often in resort type places, often with recreational swimmers and such, very inviting water. I have also been working (waking) with imagery of wells, cavernous lakes fed by underground springs, developing gills to become amphibious -- as metaphors for diving into Neptunian creativity. (Btw, have been having much in the way of Plutonian and Neptunian transit activity to my natal chart, including this past New Moon conjuncting my natal 8H Pluto.)
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My Progressed Asc. is at 29 degrees 59 minutes of Aquarius. Coincidentally, my Progressed Moon is at 29 plus degrees of Libra. Further coincidentally, transiting Neptune is opposing my Natal Pluto, while transiting Pluto is conjunct my natal Asc. My natal chart is predominantly air signs. My Progressed chart will now be predominantly water. I am curious as to where this submergence will lead ...
I hear water when there's no one there and have no trouble dreaming. If I get any more unfocused I'll need a seeing eye dog. I have always lived under the gleaming vision of Neptune, so perhaps I will naturally take as a fish to water. I'm hoping that getting back to a Jupiter ruled Asc. after all these years of Saturn-ruled will prove, well, expansive ...
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I am starting to think that all those stories about Caps doing so much better in later life is about their Pisces progression, learning to let go and flow.
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.
Air giving way to water
Arid emptiness to be filled with
joyful abundance
emotional sailing on vast
and turbulent (and/or) calming seas.
The desert is so fragrant
so exotic, mystically inviting.
Arid lands of wilding sands
stoic creatures
surprising brilliant life
The desert in forms me,
creates crannies of secret
delight throughout my soul.
A no-man's land where I
can hear inspiration
blowing through and encompassing
my mind.
I will not leave the desert.
I will merge with its becoming,
allowing imminent floods
soaking through my pores
turning sand squishy, unsettling
into ocean floor.
Ride with me.
Open raft beneath the stars
Unguided, unplanned, unafraid
Changing winds have always been my home.
(c) August 24, 2007 Laurie Corzett/libramoon
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So I've been all caught up in the Pluto transit of my Asc. conj. Chiron, along with Saturn's previous transit of my natal Pluto, still being opposed by Neptune, all this Plutonian stuff apparently clearing me out in preparation for some major transforming. Now I'm getting into noticing the progression thing, my progressed Asc. about to move into Pisces, while my p moon is about to move into Scorpio -- so, moving into a more watery perception, getting out of my head and into a more metaphysical realm of feeling. And the water dreams have been flowing, and I've been better about letting go and trusting intuition, and I've had this now fairly long-term metaphor about dwelling on the threshold, wondering about going over into that vast unknown ocean of experience. Saturn's no longer holding back the flood, and I feel gills sprouting. But now I am just noticing, yeah transiting Pluto sitting still on my Chiron, while transiting Chiron is conjuncting my natal Mars. Is this a Chironic transformation from wounded to healed? There is a quietly powerful excitement bubbling in my psyche.
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I discovered my natal Chiron (which is about a degree from my natal Asc.) is conjunct Chiron's discovery Asc., conjunct the Galactic Center. Where is this transformation going?
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Art may well be the Hope in Pandora’s box. It tips the balance toward the humane side of humanity, keeps us questioning, keeps us aware of possibilities, compassion, beauty. The doorway to a better world is imagination, communicated as art it moves metaphoric mountains.
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We perceive that we have free will, thus, ontologically, we do. Of course there are a vast universe of experiences over which we obviously have no control at all. Yet, within that context, we have absolutely as much free will as we will to be free. Whatever the associated physical processes (neurobiology and all), that is how we as the beings we are work. The processes do not cause the will or lack of it, nor are they the will themselves. Our will is, however, expressed in our physical actions both conscious and unconscious.
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I open my heart and Tao breaks liquid onto my tongue
peace and ecstasy
so delicious
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Some people seem to exude archetypal signatures related to their sun sign to me. However, that is just some people, certainly not all. I especially notice the Aries ramlike forehead, Cancerian crablike hands, Scorpios seem somehow hyper-real, Caps often seem to have hornlike images in the way their hair falls, Virgos often seem to have hawklike beaks, Geminis are often birdlike or have monkeylike heads, Leos have that regal lion thing, Pisceans sometimes have a hulking gate or really otherworldly eyes like looking through a translucent veil, Aquarians often look like foxes. Am I missing anyone?
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I was randomly watching that _Chicken Soup for the Soul_ guy on PBS talking about the Secret, Law of Attraction. He was saying something about focusing on what you want and not accepting others' definitions when I realized that what he was talking about was accepting one's own power and focusing will/intent, casting spells.
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It's not a failure, but a lesson. Each mistake, each misstep, each false start or unfinish or giving in to obstacles -- Saturnian, isn't it. It's not about "you are bad" but "you have much to learn." Of course words have power! Our society has a depression obsession, far too many people defeated by being treated as failures instead of forgers ahead into creative solutions to dissolve the obstacles, by everyone and ourselves. Running the maze, faster and faster, with more and more obstacles pushed onto your blind path, is not the meaning of life. It's not a failure, but an invitation to find a more joyful path.
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So, the most important thing is to make sure that those who are suffering the ill-health effects of obesity know it is (if not all) their fault. Obviously, we must continue to heap guilt and shame on the already probably most uselessly guilty and shame-filled among us. Depression, which can lead to poor eating habits, low energy, lack of interest in exercising, is thought by many to be a reaction to inappropriate guilt and shame. Then, of course, there are the incredibly overly busy lifestyles that many of us feel we must pursue (because we are hard-working, responsible, expected to take on more than we really can) which leave little time for effectively healthy lifestyle requirements. I am on my way to believing that relieving all the useless guilt and shame is the underlying requirement for health, mental and physical.
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I was conversing with an e-friend who is studying nutrition recently in regard to all the big pharm "mental health" drugging taking over our schools and lives. She indicated that probably a lot of these illnesses are due to poor nutrition and decried how even when we think we are feeding ourselves and our children well, so many of the foods presented in the supermarkets really are not as nutritious as we think. So many crops are full of pesticides, grown in depleted soil necessitating chemical fertilizers, even genetically engineered to be different from the original food crop, often for commercial reasons. Then there are the big agribusiness animal husbandry practices which are both cruel and dangerous to our health. It is so sickening on so many levels.
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I hadn't seen the earlier parts, but watched last night's chapter of the CNN series on religion. What stood out for me was the inherent understanding among these Christian groups of the truth of polytheism. They are protective of their God and His culture, despite the convoluted logic involved in their stated beliefs. To this end, as in the "Dark Ages" the rank and file are brainwashed from birth while the higher ups use their support for power seeking ends. It really is quite frightening how easily people devolve into a slavery of hate and fear.
I've been watching some of CNN's special on "God's Warriors" this
evening. There was much talk about the sacredness/holiness of
Jerusalem to Judaism, Christianity and Islam. However, the way the
people seem to show their respect at this holy site is to murder each
other, foment warfare and hate, and generally act much more as I would
assume worshippers of an evil deity than a good one.
While some seem to believe they are called on by a great, good, merciful god to destroy, murder and foment hatred, it is the simple acts of appreciation that show the true meaning of living a holy life of grace. It is holiness that is in the details of a well-lived life; the devils prey on the hubris of those who would be instruments of horror and revenge.
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I've been thinking about terrorists. Terrorists are neither new nor particularly special. The modern era of terrorism, I mean after the WW II resistance and of course the Nazi stormtroopers and such, seems to go through all those US anti-Asian country episodes with the 3rd World attackees using "terrorist" techniques to defend against 1st world troops and weapons. Then there was all that 60s era anti-administration "guerrilla theater" that morphed to some extent when in the hands of more radical groups (often instigated by the FBI or CIA). Gang warfare, inner city style, is terrorism. Timothy McVeigh was a homegrown terrorist, as are most of the Arab terrorists in Europe. Terrorism is not a people or an ideology, but a tactic. Some of the most nasty terrorists in this country have been such supremacist groups as KKK, American Nazis, all those folks who bombed churches to kill children and hung teenagers as warnings against uppitiness. Then there are the rapists, of course. I don't think the child-molesting priests are terrorists -- if indeed for them it is more about sex than power. But then, if it's not about power, why children? Obviously, I could go on and on for quite awhile, and will if you don't get the idea yet. They've been part of who we are for millennia.
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On South Park Mr./Ms. Garrison always wants to "kill the Mexicans" -- easy targets I guess. Sometimes its the gooks, or spics or kikes or those other words for people we decided to hate because they were easy targets. Fat folks are great targets, and gays. Then there's the working poor who keep their tenement apts dirty and don't look after their kids right, you know, petri dishes for criminals. More likely violent crime has more to do with ripples of hate going around and around, picking up speed and dust globules till they're lethal.
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Did you know about the stories of Arabs in North Africa and Europe during WWII who saved persecuted Jews in their communities? Everyone talks like Arab/Jew = cat/dog. Then, I've known many a cat and dog pair who got along just fine, best of friends. It's not because you are Arab or Jewish or Christian or Zoroastrian -- either you promote hate or you don't.
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the word "conservative" has been coopted by a quite radical bunch. Real conservatives believe in conserving what is good; living conservatively, i.e., without ostentation or profligacy; protecting the environment; keeping out of others' business and taking care of one's own; having old fashioned values such as kindness, compassion, helpfulness, along with thrift and a strong work ethic. Real conservatives believe in small government that takes care of the infrastructure, international treaties, arbitrating disputes, but has no interest in telling anyone how to live so long as they are not harming others. Real conservatives know the high costs of war so that it could only ever be thought of as a very last resort for protection of our land and citizens. Real conservatives think these faux "conservatives" are full of something which does not need to be conserved.
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It often amazes me how much people want to be led. Even in simple social situations, people love to congregate around someone who comes up with easy ideas for fun and encourages participation. So many sad situations in the world, community by community, can be seen as failures of leadership.
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I think Obama was totally right on Pakistan and nuclear weapons. I think it is Hillary who shows a naive disregard for real world opinion, or at least an overwhelming need to show "balls" at the expense of diplomacy. I do agree the Democrats have made poor showing for their reconfigured Congress opportunity. They blither, natter, and crumble as if playing for time. Yet the Republican "hopefuls" don't appear to have anything to offer, while Democrats at least promise universal healthcare of one sort or another. Kucinich and Gravel show real ideas and courage, but of course are far too "unpresidential" to get elected, despite being white men.
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pulsing, riveting, train whistle rising through
sheer bluff imagery
tacking, tasting, reemerging
oh to feel the slapping breeze
regain momentum
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we are all eco-systems, part of greater eco-systems, part of greater solar systems, galaxies, and everything between.
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eclipse prayer
Neptunian Moon [Grandmother Moon]
unveil my deepest sorrow
Give me the power, the words and the way
Oh, Goddess, dance with me
Spinning in trance into your mystery
Smiling sunshine into my heart
Grant me the wisdom and grace
to translate Your perfect Face
Your living radiance
that all may understand
the necessity of peace
War Profiteers Profit from War; Everyone Profits from Peace
War Kills. Peace Mends & Grows
Blowing Ourselves Apart, Or Working Together Toward Common Wealth
Stewards or Destroyers
Joyous Assemblage or Hate-Filled Mob
Good Neighbors or Armed Camps
Why not have faith that we are, all of us, here for a purpose; and at least
part of that purpose is to get along. Why not set our minds to
the world beat of peace?
emergingvisions.blogspot.com
got mindful designs?
my faults are exactly those needed to make me who I am right now. Thank you, faults, for helping me to be myself so perfectly.
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not so much into black. my favorite color is a shade of green variously called forest, sage, moss, some others I don't instantly remember -- it happens to be the color of my eyes.
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Heart strings
playing in the sunshine
nobility
out standing in the sublime
ability to set a heart in tune
Caressing
a simple aria of blessing
the air is gold with sunshine
singing pure and true
Golden notes pouring through
the shade
a melody, a glade of golden hue
that's how I think of you.
(c) July 31, 2007 Laurie Corzett/libramoon
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.
.
.
enchanting uplifting
scaling sacred antiqual hills
through Galileo's lens
at starlight
sinking slowly over
mystic seas
as starlight's image
merges into ocean
I wept with you in Greece
and again in Istanbul
yet the pleasure
is newly mine
.
.
.
.
You know a very important part of a successful career in the rock industry is business acumen. Learn the music business while you are learning the music, and you'll be better off all the way around.
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.
.
.
If we really wanted good jobs generally for Americans, showing respect for individual abilities and realities, we would do that necessary to demote the importance of international mega-corporations. So much can be done so much more effectively on a local or networked level. The current ideas of business modeling need to upgrade for the 21st century.
.
.
.
The role of government is to do the work of the people, building and maintaining infrastructure, providing a competent and fair legal system, generally acting for the benefit of the community. These goods we expect from our representatives have been undermined, even forgotten, in a race toward fascistic usurpation of power. We must do better.
Education and health care, like the legal system and the roadways, are the infrastructural mandate that is the true purpose of government. Somehow, we have come to a society in which the fundamentals are ill-treated in favor of a mad rush to pay into the mega-corp interests, interests by their very nature opposed to the common welfare.
.
.
.
.
I've read of the psycho-social condition of depression being referred to as the "black dog." In a liminal musing it occurred to me that the black dog is a true and loyal servant to Hekate. Depression, if interpreted well, can be a process to bring us to our dark goddess sacred sister who we may learn from, infuse with, to find our true self and purpose. Depression is often seen to be a reaction to deep, often irrational, guilt and shame imbued in a cognitive cycle of belief that one deserves no better is not good enough is in some sense socially unacceptable, which bleeds off the energy that might have been used to good purpose. The lesson is that society as we know it is unacceptable to us, does not recognize our off the main path way. It is not that we are not living up to some social norm or goal, but that way lies madness. An affiliation with Hekate helps us to understand our perhaps solitary, but none the less vital path, to reclaim our selves and our energy/lifeforce and engage with our most vitalizing passions.
.
.
.
Be very honest and compassionate. If you are feeling overwhelmed or angered, they know it. Bringing these emotions into the open gives opportunity to work with them positively. Depression is in a lot of ways like an addiction. To move beyond it, the person needs to have the knowledge that is possible and something better to work towards. Often depression overwhelms one with feelings of guilt and defeat. One believes there is nothing better and one deserves no better. There is also a deep shame component -- feeling incompetent to be part of the community because of feeling like a failure. So, honesty is not just about your feelings and their feelings, but about the real steps that can be taken, bit by bit, nonthreatening, and very rewarding in the sense of the depressed person learning to feel gently more competent. Compassion, too, is not just your feeling for them, but self-compassion, giving yourself permission for whatever you are feeling and for finding within this relationship your own expansion of understanding and expression.
.
.
.
This New Moon exactly conjuncts my natal 8th House Pluto. I have been reading that this involves a new relationship with Plutonic energies. I have been feeling strongly the presence of Hekate as an internalized sister figure who I am learning to access as the potent psychic awareness of my own personal power.
.
.
Black dog, black dog
take me to your master
take me to your leader
take me to the depths of
the land where I must meet her
Sorrow, horror,
can't go farther
Have to see my master
Have to see my leader
Have to know there's someone
to give it all a reason
Tell me, tell me
shake me to the core
'til I have no more
reason, rationale
'til I know I've gone to Hell
Know, you, all, I wish you well
I wish, I wish, a wishing well
that I might drown.
I wish I may, I wish I might
I wish it all turns out alright
I find my will is burning bright
I find my shining inner sight
stunned by the profound delight
I find I am allowed.
(c) August 13, 2007
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.
If the goal of the "punishment" is to protect others from the bad behavior of some, perhaps isolation of some sort is necessary. If it is revenge, then I think taunting would be good, even severe physical taunting in the case of severe violent crimes. However, I believe prevention when possible to be the best method of protection, and leaves no need for revenge. An idea which I believe would help in this regard is having regular community centers which combine recreational facilities and on-hand trained counselors, self-help groups and mediation exchanges to nip disagreements in the bud before they escalate into some level of war.
.
.
.
.
In some species males only exist to help the female procreate. Not saying this is not an obviously vital function, but rather limited. From what is known of humans, there is a much vaster difference between individuals than between genders on any scale of traits. Most importantly, what might be considered superior under some circumstances would be decidedly inferior under others.
.
.
.
.
I think that part of the pleasure/pain of creating artwork is offering challenges to myself and seeing how I work them out.
.
.
.
I have been having a series of dreams (not recurrent dreams) depicting relatively large bodies of water -- lakes, rivers, large ponds, often in resort type places, often with recreational swimmers and such, very inviting water. I have also been working (waking) with imagery of wells, cavernous lakes fed by underground springs, developing gills to become amphibious -- as metaphors for diving into Neptunian creativity. (Btw, have been having much in the way of Plutonian and Neptunian transit activity to my natal chart, including this past New Moon conjuncting my natal 8H Pluto.)
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.
My Progressed Asc. is at 29 degrees 59 minutes of Aquarius. Coincidentally, my Progressed Moon is at 29 plus degrees of Libra. Further coincidentally, transiting Neptune is opposing my Natal Pluto, while transiting Pluto is conjunct my natal Asc. My natal chart is predominantly air signs. My Progressed chart will now be predominantly water. I am curious as to where this submergence will lead ...
I hear water when there's no one there and have no trouble dreaming. If I get any more unfocused I'll need a seeing eye dog. I have always lived under the gleaming vision of Neptune, so perhaps I will naturally take as a fish to water. I'm hoping that getting back to a Jupiter ruled Asc. after all these years of Saturn-ruled will prove, well, expansive ...
.
.
I am starting to think that all those stories about Caps doing so much better in later life is about their Pisces progression, learning to let go and flow.
.
.
Air giving way to water
Arid emptiness to be filled with
joyful abundance
emotional sailing on vast
and turbulent (and/or) calming seas.
The desert is so fragrant
so exotic, mystically inviting.
Arid lands of wilding sands
stoic creatures
surprising brilliant life
The desert in forms me,
creates crannies of secret
delight throughout my soul.
A no-man's land where I
can hear inspiration
blowing through and encompassing
my mind.
I will not leave the desert.
I will merge with its becoming,
allowing imminent floods
soaking through my pores
turning sand squishy, unsettling
into ocean floor.
Ride with me.
Open raft beneath the stars
Unguided, unplanned, unafraid
Changing winds have always been my home.
(c) August 24, 2007 Laurie Corzett/libramoon
.
.
So I've been all caught up in the Pluto transit of my Asc. conj. Chiron, along with Saturn's previous transit of my natal Pluto, still being opposed by Neptune, all this Plutonian stuff apparently clearing me out in preparation for some major transforming. Now I'm getting into noticing the progression thing, my progressed Asc. about to move into Pisces, while my p moon is about to move into Scorpio -- so, moving into a more watery perception, getting out of my head and into a more metaphysical realm of feeling. And the water dreams have been flowing, and I've been better about letting go and trusting intuition, and I've had this now fairly long-term metaphor about dwelling on the threshold, wondering about going over into that vast unknown ocean of experience. Saturn's no longer holding back the flood, and I feel gills sprouting. But now I am just noticing, yeah transiting Pluto sitting still on my Chiron, while transiting Chiron is conjuncting my natal Mars. Is this a Chironic transformation from wounded to healed? There is a quietly powerful excitement bubbling in my psyche.
.
I discovered my natal Chiron (which is about a degree from my natal Asc.) is conjunct Chiron's discovery Asc., conjunct the Galactic Center. Where is this transformation going?
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.
.
Art may well be the Hope in Pandora’s box. It tips the balance toward the humane side of humanity, keeps us questioning, keeps us aware of possibilities, compassion, beauty. The doorway to a better world is imagination, communicated as art it moves metaphoric mountains.
.
.
.
We perceive that we have free will, thus, ontologically, we do. Of course there are a vast universe of experiences over which we obviously have no control at all. Yet, within that context, we have absolutely as much free will as we will to be free. Whatever the associated physical processes (neurobiology and all), that is how we as the beings we are work. The processes do not cause the will or lack of it, nor are they the will themselves. Our will is, however, expressed in our physical actions both conscious and unconscious.
.
.
.
I open my heart and Tao breaks liquid onto my tongue
peace and ecstasy
so delicious
.
.
.
.
Some people seem to exude archetypal signatures related to their sun sign to me. However, that is just some people, certainly not all. I especially notice the Aries ramlike forehead, Cancerian crablike hands, Scorpios seem somehow hyper-real, Caps often seem to have hornlike images in the way their hair falls, Virgos often seem to have hawklike beaks, Geminis are often birdlike or have monkeylike heads, Leos have that regal lion thing, Pisceans sometimes have a hulking gate or really otherworldly eyes like looking through a translucent veil, Aquarians often look like foxes. Am I missing anyone?
.
.
.
.
I was randomly watching that _Chicken Soup for the Soul_ guy on PBS talking about the Secret, Law of Attraction. He was saying something about focusing on what you want and not accepting others' definitions when I realized that what he was talking about was accepting one's own power and focusing will/intent, casting spells.
.
.
.
It's not a failure, but a lesson. Each mistake, each misstep, each false start or unfinish or giving in to obstacles -- Saturnian, isn't it. It's not about "you are bad" but "you have much to learn." Of course words have power! Our society has a depression obsession, far too many people defeated by being treated as failures instead of forgers ahead into creative solutions to dissolve the obstacles, by everyone and ourselves. Running the maze, faster and faster, with more and more obstacles pushed onto your blind path, is not the meaning of life. It's not a failure, but an invitation to find a more joyful path.
.
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So, the most important thing is to make sure that those who are suffering the ill-health effects of obesity know it is (if not all) their fault. Obviously, we must continue to heap guilt and shame on the already probably most uselessly guilty and shame-filled among us. Depression, which can lead to poor eating habits, low energy, lack of interest in exercising, is thought by many to be a reaction to inappropriate guilt and shame. Then, of course, there are the incredibly overly busy lifestyles that many of us feel we must pursue (because we are hard-working, responsible, expected to take on more than we really can) which leave little time for effectively healthy lifestyle requirements. I am on my way to believing that relieving all the useless guilt and shame is the underlying requirement for health, mental and physical.
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I was conversing with an e-friend who is studying nutrition recently in regard to all the big pharm "mental health" drugging taking over our schools and lives. She indicated that probably a lot of these illnesses are due to poor nutrition and decried how even when we think we are feeding ourselves and our children well, so many of the foods presented in the supermarkets really are not as nutritious as we think. So many crops are full of pesticides, grown in depleted soil necessitating chemical fertilizers, even genetically engineered to be different from the original food crop, often for commercial reasons. Then there are the big agribusiness animal husbandry practices which are both cruel and dangerous to our health. It is so sickening on so many levels.
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I hadn't seen the earlier parts, but watched last night's chapter of the CNN series on religion. What stood out for me was the inherent understanding among these Christian groups of the truth of polytheism. They are protective of their God and His culture, despite the convoluted logic involved in their stated beliefs. To this end, as in the "Dark Ages" the rank and file are brainwashed from birth while the higher ups use their support for power seeking ends. It really is quite frightening how easily people devolve into a slavery of hate and fear.
I've been watching some of CNN's special on "God's Warriors" this
evening. There was much talk about the sacredness/holiness of
Jerusalem to Judaism, Christianity and Islam. However, the way the
people seem to show their respect at this holy site is to murder each
other, foment warfare and hate, and generally act much more as I would
assume worshippers of an evil deity than a good one.
While some seem to believe they are called on by a great, good, merciful god to destroy, murder and foment hatred, it is the simple acts of appreciation that show the true meaning of living a holy life of grace. It is holiness that is in the details of a well-lived life; the devils prey on the hubris of those who would be instruments of horror and revenge.
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I've been thinking about terrorists. Terrorists are neither new nor particularly special. The modern era of terrorism, I mean after the WW II resistance and of course the Nazi stormtroopers and such, seems to go through all those US anti-Asian country episodes with the 3rd World attackees using "terrorist" techniques to defend against 1st world troops and weapons. Then there was all that 60s era anti-administration "guerrilla theater" that morphed to some extent when in the hands of more radical groups (often instigated by the FBI or CIA). Gang warfare, inner city style, is terrorism. Timothy McVeigh was a homegrown terrorist, as are most of the Arab terrorists in Europe. Terrorism is not a people or an ideology, but a tactic. Some of the most nasty terrorists in this country have been such supremacist groups as KKK, American Nazis, all those folks who bombed churches to kill children and hung teenagers as warnings against uppitiness. Then there are the rapists, of course. I don't think the child-molesting priests are terrorists -- if indeed for them it is more about sex than power. But then, if it's not about power, why children? Obviously, I could go on and on for quite awhile, and will if you don't get the idea yet. They've been part of who we are for millennia.
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On South Park Mr./Ms. Garrison always wants to "kill the Mexicans" -- easy targets I guess. Sometimes its the gooks, or spics or kikes or those other words for people we decided to hate because they were easy targets. Fat folks are great targets, and gays. Then there's the working poor who keep their tenement apts dirty and don't look after their kids right, you know, petri dishes for criminals. More likely violent crime has more to do with ripples of hate going around and around, picking up speed and dust globules till they're lethal.
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Did you know about the stories of Arabs in North Africa and Europe during WWII who saved persecuted Jews in their communities? Everyone talks like Arab/Jew = cat/dog. Then, I've known many a cat and dog pair who got along just fine, best of friends. It's not because you are Arab or Jewish or Christian or Zoroastrian -- either you promote hate or you don't.
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the word "conservative" has been coopted by a quite radical bunch. Real conservatives believe in conserving what is good; living conservatively, i.e., without ostentation or profligacy; protecting the environment; keeping out of others' business and taking care of one's own; having old fashioned values such as kindness, compassion, helpfulness, along with thrift and a strong work ethic. Real conservatives believe in small government that takes care of the infrastructure, international treaties, arbitrating disputes, but has no interest in telling anyone how to live so long as they are not harming others. Real conservatives know the high costs of war so that it could only ever be thought of as a very last resort for protection of our land and citizens. Real conservatives think these faux "conservatives" are full of something which does not need to be conserved.
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It often amazes me how much people want to be led. Even in simple social situations, people love to congregate around someone who comes up with easy ideas for fun and encourages participation. So many sad situations in the world, community by community, can be seen as failures of leadership.
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I think Obama was totally right on Pakistan and nuclear weapons. I think it is Hillary who shows a naive disregard for real world opinion, or at least an overwhelming need to show "balls" at the expense of diplomacy. I do agree the Democrats have made poor showing for their reconfigured Congress opportunity. They blither, natter, and crumble as if playing for time. Yet the Republican "hopefuls" don't appear to have anything to offer, while Democrats at least promise universal healthcare of one sort or another. Kucinich and Gravel show real ideas and courage, but of course are far too "unpresidential" to get elected, despite being white men.
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pulsing, riveting, train whistle rising through
sheer bluff imagery
tacking, tasting, reemerging
oh to feel the slapping breeze
regain momentum
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we are all eco-systems, part of greater eco-systems, part of greater solar systems, galaxies, and everything between.
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eclipse prayer
Neptunian Moon [Grandmother Moon]
unveil my deepest sorrow
Give me the power, the words and the way
Oh, Goddess, dance with me
Spinning in trance into your mystery
Smiling sunshine into my heart
Grant me the wisdom and grace
to translate Your perfect Face
Your living radiance
that all may understand
the necessity of peace
War Profiteers Profit from War; Everyone Profits from Peace
War Kills. Peace Mends & Grows
Blowing Ourselves Apart, Or Working Together Toward Common Wealth
Stewards or Destroyers
Joyous Assemblage or Hate-Filled Mob
Good Neighbors or Armed Camps
Why not have faith that we are, all of us, here for a purpose; and at least
part of that purpose is to get along. Why not set our minds to
the world beat of peace?
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