colonialism, racism, sexism

Centuries of genocide and humanity have yet to right all the horrors of all the pain and loss incurred. Yet not enough conversation and collaboration is being done. Even after Trumpians recently made so much of it glaringly abhorrent. 

Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World 2017

After watching the rock documentary "Rumble" - the profound and blatantly overlooked contribution of American Indians in the music world - I am left raging at yet another heart wrenching tale of undeniable prejudice and bias. 

winter solstice 2020

This year folks are more attentive to being in tune with and more respectful of Nature. No brainer behavior for even the most dense, right? Given the hellacious challenges of 2020. 

they're out early this year

Plenty to choose from and here are some of my favorites. 

Shamans Are Gardeners of Energy

with Sandra Ingerman 12/21/20, Video # 1

Sandra Ingerman has been sending out the Transmutation News for 20 years. For past issues, go to https://www.sandraingerman.com/transmutationnews.html and the archives are at the bottom of that page.

The Shift Network is hosting a four day Winter Solstice Fest, December 18 to 21. The event is chock full of fun stuff - music, presentations, rituals, links, First Nation prayers and offerings. 

festival lineup

Finally, take the time to catch the Four Winds three day Earth Keepers Summit with their impressive roster of leading edge scientists and wisdom elders sharing their valuable information. 

Alberto Villoldo, The Four Winds Society

Let’s come together and honor ancient wisdom traditions as we set a powerful collective intention to manifest a new year of peace, health, and unity. Blessed Winter Solstice to all!

this little light shines bright

Hanukkah is here! For 2020 the official dates are December 10 to 18. The eight-day festival Jewish people celebrate to mark the return of one of their two temples in Jerusalem. Since our eldest converted, we are happy to honor the occasion at our home as well. 

A Hanukkah menorah seen in Kiel, Germany in 1932.

a hero of hope

November 30 is Bonifacio Day in the Philippines. Like much of our islands colonized history much of remains murky and controversial. As with Andres Bonifacio, aka Maypagasa - katipunero, revolutionary, hero - Father of the Philippine Revolution. 

Andres Bonifacio - graphic by Renz Bautista for Rappler Magazine

Was he really the first president of the Philippines? Was he unjustly killed by fellow rival Emilio Aguinaldo? After all we do have a long running history of jealous politicos killing their competition. 

I see red

"Not Forgotten" by Maxine Noel

It is Thanksgiving and I have much to be grateful for even if this is the worst year I have experienced since I relocated to the US in 2006. 

"Still Dancing" by Jon Labillois

Since I have made America my homeland I have come to love Thanksgiving even more than Christmas as a holiday of observation. 

MMIW protesters

As a practitioner of shamanism it is a tradition that is fraught with conflicting stories and sentiments. 

Diwali 2020

Diwali festivities start on November 14 this year - a five day holiday celebration. It is the Hindu festival of lights, originating in India as a harvest festival, and now celebrated all over the world.

diya palms protect a diwali flame

Diwali signifies the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, knowledge over ignorance, hope over despair. With the Biden/Harris win in the US elections we have cause to celebrate all these with joyous abandon.

In 1927 the Holland Tunnel under the Hudson River opened to the public, connecting New York City and New Jersey - our home for the past decade.

We mark the occasion by lighting candles and special incense, stringing up lights and major clean ups, dressing up and offering our prayers as we celebrate with family and loved ones.

May love and light bless us and happy Diwali to all!

lies we lived

I gave myself Friday, Saturday and Sunday to revel in the US election turnout. YAY Biden/Harris team! Good riddance Trump/Pence cabal. 

I gloried in the joy of the Kamala Harris win most of all. As a woman. As a mother of my daughter. As an American. An Asian American. An immigrant. A rebel. A change warrior. 

I had the great satisfaction of being happy and hopeful once again. Not having to self talk or convince myself that things will be alright. Just being immersed in the joy and delight of what if and all its possibilities. 

All of which I was beginning to doubt as highly unlikely in the shadow of a Trumpian world - the all consuming, morally rudderless, egotistical clown bus, careening out of control. 

hopeful & happy

deluded Donald

Halloween or Day of the Dead - when it comes to Donald Trump there is no cause for celebration or honor. This man with no soul has been the worst waking nightmare for the US and the rest of the world. BOO! 

All Time Liar in Chief

END OUR NATIONAL CRISIS: 

Donald Trump’s re-election campaign poses the greatest threat to American democracy since World War II.

Mr. Trump’s ruinous tenure already has gravely damaged the United States at home and around the world. He has abused the power of his office and denied the legitimacy of his political opponents, shattering the norms that have bound the nation together for generations. He has subsumed the public interest to the profitability of his business and political interests. He has shown a breathtaking disregard for the lives and liberties of Americans. He is a man unworthy of the office he holds.

The editorial board does not lightly indict a duly elected president. During Mr. Trump’s term, we have called out his racism and his xenophobia. We have critiqued his vandalism of the postwar consensus, a system of alliances and relationships around the globe that cost a great many lives to establish and maintain. We have, again and again, deplored his divisive rhetoric and his malicious attacks on fellow Americans. Yet when the Senate refused to convict the president for obvious abuses of power and obstruction, we counseled his political opponents to focus their outrage on defeating him at the ballot box.

Nov. 3 can be a turning point. This is an election about the country’s future, and what path its citizens wish to choose. ~ The Editorial Board, New York Times

conman in chief

#CommanderInChief. . . .honestly… If I did the things you do, I couldn’t sleep

Trust in Trump?

A broad coalition of American patriots is standing up to end the suffering, end the corruption, and end the presidency of the worst "Commander in Chief" in our country's history.

Vote for change. Vote for her.

We will vote.

He will lose.

He will go.

It's America, or Trump.

Are you with us?

The Lincoln Project

a people united against oppressors

More and more communities recognize the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples' Day - either as a joint celebration on Columbus Day or totally replace it. 

Those more conscious choose to acknowledge and honor the suffering of the colonized and not gloss over the injustices of the colonizer, especially those perpetuated by the contentious Christopher Columbus. 

Portrait of Chief Yalektit by Robert Shetterly, Americans Who Tell the Truth

Columbus may have formed part of a large narrative of American history, yet he remains emblematic to the beginnings of the mistreatment of native peoples, the indigenous slave trade, the usurpation of their lands, the deaths of their people, the destruction of their cultures, the destruction of their local way of life.

remembering 208,000+ dead

Trump tested positive for COVID-19 and has been admitted at Walter Reed Hospital this weekend. Typically he waited until the stock exchange closed on Friday before tweeting the news. With no one designated to manage the nation in his absence it is understandable that many are feeling frantic. 

Image credit - Chuck Kennedy

Today October 4, 2020 - the National COVID-19 Remembrance Project placed 20,000 empty chairs on the Ellipse near the White House to visualize a fraction of the loss of over 200,000 lives to COVID-19 in the past seven months.

fall equinox 2020

Traditionally the autumn equinox is a celebration of the harvest when summer ends and its fruits are collected in preparation for winter. Yet there are other indicators given by the most ancient sacred sites that mark the autumn equinox.

On the day of an equinox, daytime and nighttime are of approximately equal duration all over the planet. There are the scientific approach developed throughout the ages - astronomical, meteorological, phenological.

Digital Art of Robert Jahns

In astronomy all four seasons start along with the equinoxes and solstices. Before the Southward or September equinox - autumn in the northern hemisphere and spring in the south - the Sun rises and sets more northerly. After the equinox it rises and sets more southerly. 

In contrast meteorology divides a year into four seasons - spring, summer, autumn or fall, and winter. Three months for each based on their monthly average temperatures, with summer as the warmest and winter the coldest. 

Phenology applies a range of environmental and biological indicators to mark life cycles in periodic events. How the weather and climate influence such events, like leaves falling off trees or birds migrating to warmer countries. 

gifts of Gaia

“We present this song in gratitude to the elements that give us life, and to all peoples of the world who are working together to unite, honor and uplift our voices, songs and prayers on behalf of our beautiful Mother Earth.” ~ Chenoa Egawa & Alex Turtle, Song For The Sacred Elements

Sadness of Gaia by Josephine Wall

The time has come to unite as one, to embrace the earth in a circle of love, to honor all creatures of the world, to pay tribute to the sacred elements of life.

Thunder Beings song, White Buffalo album

fruits of our labor

Labor Day in the US has shifted its focus toward consumerism and the end of summer rather than celebrating the dignity of work. Maybe because labor has often led to a demand for better work conditions and greater worker benefits. 

Labor Day 2020

Labor Day was originally created to pay tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers. Many of whom were indigent or immigrant working long ours under terrible conditions.

dream into being

my digital decoupage of Mahala's art

dream big (Moon/Neptune) 
dream smart (Pallas/Uranus) 
dream true (Sun)
my Virgo star child

your time
your vortex
manifest who you are
weave your purpose

paint your dream 
true to you
true for you
truly you

Happy Glorious Birthday

This week’s Pisces/Virgo Full Moon began with the Leo New Moon on August 18, the 100th anniversary of the passing of the nineteenth amendment that gave women the right to vote. As those women did to pave the way for us - don't get mad, get creative! 

reciprocal co-creation

If it is the destiny of all humans put on earth to discover unconditional love, how then have we been going about it? Not so great by the looks of our current reality, even it nothing is permanent and always changes.

There is a traditional practice of reconciliation and forgiveness called Hoʻoponopono. It is practiced and performed on islands throughout the South Pacific, including Hawaii, Samoa, Tahiti and New Zealand. 

a simple home altar that we can change as we do

big picture | big questions

Scrolling through my feed I came across this information on ancestral mathematics.

In order to be born, you needed:
2 parents
4 grandparents
8 great-grandparents
16 second great-grandparents
32 third great-grandparents
64 fourth great-grandparents
128 fifth great-grandparents
256 sixth great-grandparents
512 seventh great-grandparents
1,024 eighth great-grandparents
2,048 ninth great-grandparents

For you to be born today from 12 previous generations, you needed a total of 4.094 ancestors over the last 400 years.

Think for a moment - How many struggles? How many battles? How many difficulties? How much sadness? How much happiness? How many love stories? How many expressions of hope for the future? - did your ancestors have to undergo for you to exist in this present moment. 

Art by Joe Magee

quest | pilgrimage | initiation

The phrase "dark night of the soul," [noche oscura del alma] can be traced back to a 16th-century Spanish poem by the Roman Catholic mystic San Juan de la Cruz, Saint John of the Cross. 

Portrait of Saint John of the Cross by Arnold van Westerhout

In an obscure night En una noche oscura,

Fevered with love's anxiety con ansias, en amores inflamada,

O hapless, happy plight! ¡oh dichosa ventura!

I went, none seeing me salí sin ser notada

forth from my house, estando ya mi casa sosegada.

where all things quiet be

like attracts like

Pathocracy: when people with personality disorders gain power.

As if patriarchy were not bad enough we are now challenged by these idiots. 

stupid is as stupid does - image credit, 

Paul Martinovic

No hope for these two.

this image says it all & more - Dick & John

In cahoots on a disastrous collision course.

inventing America

103 years later women are still marching in the streets to protest and protect equality for all.

The Silent Parade of 1917 filled New York City streets with white clad women marching to celebrate the anniversary of the civil rights movement. 

#icantbreathe art by BhaktiCD.org

disastrous denial

Watch out world! Trump is just a bloody tick on the Earth's crust. Horrific as COVID-19 is under his inept lack of leadership, this is just the first wave.

Mackay's multi-tsunami cartoon - shared, cropped, and altered

63 years, 11 months, 4 weeks, 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes

Happy Glorious Birthday to me! soon. . . .

Back in the Philippines it will be my birthday in a few hours. I look forward to friends and family back there calling to extend their blessed joy filled greetings.

It's already started with virtual cake, candles, and gifts from my core group of siStars. What a joy to be surrounded by such an eager beaver squad of cheerleaders. Truly the gift that keeps on giving.

Last year I missed posting about my birthday. In my frustration over petty stuff and not spending it together with beloved Mahala I may have been sore and pouty. Who knows? It was another lifetime ago.

July 4th | creature comforts

On the wonder |wander |world blog my daughter Mahala and I collaborate on, we wonder what Fourth of July celebrations would look like this year.

George Washington, Mount Rushmore, Black Hills - Scott Olson/Getty Images

As the [dis]United States of America gear up for Independence Day celebrations this weekend, we wonder what in the world we are offering as well wishers on this occasion.

communing communities

These past few months of quarantine have put us in a limbo, cocooned in isolated bubbles of our own construction.

In the warped experience of quaran time our world cracks open under the collective baggage and burden of racism, scarcity fears and too many what-ifs to this pandemic. We are stunned and surprised by what comes crawling out of the dark.

Fallen tree in forest, Haukkamäki District, Jyväskylä by Tiia Monto

"If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" ~ George Berkeley

junk politics & bad leadership

I got this email in my junk folder today and that is where it belongs.

Joe Biden 

Tue 09-Jun-20 2:43 PM



When I decided to run for president, I never expected that so much of our campaign would be run from a distance. More than anything else, I wish I could be out on the trail, in the streets, speaking with and learning from supporters like you each and every day.

hopeful or hopeless? our choice

If life is a mirror what do we see when we stand in front of it? How many heart breaks can attack us before we collapse or give up? 

In stark contrast the world spins on - nature restored and glorious while humanity flails around in constant chaos of our own doing and device. 

As if this pandemic were not life threatening enough. Nationwide the disUnited States of America have imposed citywide curfews in an effort to dissuade demonstrations and looting. 

Police and even the National Guard have been deployed to monitor the protests, though in some cases has resulted in violent confrontation between law enforcement and civilians.

City Mayors and governors are in conflict with presidential and federal directives that tender no help and only aggravate their already beleaguered states. 

Now more than ever apathy and cynicism need to be stomped out. This is not a time to be silent or submit. Rise up and uplift whoever and whatever need our assistance and assurance. 

Time to take matters in hand and hold accountable those responsible. Injustice and inequality must end at all costs. Historic mistakes cannot be allowed to repeat - period.

It ends here today. Time to get on to better things in our lives. We have to be better.