Loneliness

 by Amari Magdalena

Loneliness in the 21st century has become endemic. Covid certainly played a role yet separation has grown. Most affected are 18–24-year-olds and people 65 and over. Isolation is the partner of loneliness and they are causing depression, anxiety, and psychological disturbance for many.

What is Loneliness? Loneliness is the state of distress or discomfort that results when one perceives a gap between one's desires for social connection and actual experiences of it. It is also described as: an unpleasant emotional response to perceived isolation. The bottom line is that too many of us experience isolation. Certainly, Covid created a lot of isolation for people living alone. The very structures of many of our dwellings, also contribute. Many of us live in apartments without social offerings or in our small separate boxes. Add to that an increase in violence in a city that heretofore had little, and you have fear. An unstable political situation only exacerbates the feelings.

Many of us grew up with family nearby. For me, even though we moved a lot, everywhere we lived, there was family. We had many gatherings with family. Our neighborhood, in the time of wives at home, had many the coffee klatch. There was almost always someone we could call on in an emergency or simply for company.

That is true no more. Many of us left our families and headed west. The tenor of many of the larger cities in the west, was such that we became more fearful. Trust was a factor with a lot of schemes and charlatans playing on our naivety. The burbs for a while provided some of the old klatch gatherings yet wives returning to the workforce or college in the 70’s women’s movement changed that also. All of these factors contributed to a cultural evolution and ultimately, we ended up with more isolation.

One symptom of that is the cyber dating phenomenon. Religious practices where many had socialized, experienced a fall out in attendance. The usual meeting places and/or family gatherings became few and far between. Many of us moved even more having to establish ourselves from scratch, again and again.

Meetups developed to fill some of the gap yet, like all organizations, they didn’t always last due to human foibles and that old nemesis, ego. Another group of us developed physical limitations which further exacerbated spending huge junks of our lives, alone. We couldn’t do the things that others were doing. Others experienced economic downturn which severely limited our spending on leisure activities.

So many factors in 2024 have caused too many people to feel loneliness. Awareness and commitment to some type of involvement may help overcome the feelings. Getting out more even to the store and talking with people may ease the untoward feelings. Making a huge effort to find some opportunities to socialize with like-minded people is another avenue. For seniors, joining a senior community, may after we get over accepting, that we too are ‘old’ people. Picking up the telephone and connecting with old friends may help. Bottom line, all of this requires some effort.

There have been some efforts to house older and younger people. This may be yet another avenue for easing feelings of loneliness. If you have a hobby, finding other people who enjoy it, may bring opportunities to be with people. Seeking counseling if you’ve gotten to the place of feeling depressed. Seeing if your city has a directory with organizations that may be of interest can help.

And, then there is technology. Yet another factor. It is forcing us to carry our smart phones around even in the house with sites that send you a code for access. It consumes way too many hours of our lives that we might have spent with other people. It’s lightning-fast changes often leaving us feeling inadequate and alone. Kids are spending more time inside than out. Adults may be getting depressed in an effort to keep up.

Bottom line, is once you realize that you are lonely, it is important to do something about it. For me, I know that if I spend too much time alone, I have to be the boot in my butt that says, “get out there.” No one is coming to you, if they don’t know where you live. Volunteer. Put on some glad rags, and get out of the house. Accept that this is a different time and you need new tools to cope. Also commit to learning to enjoy and love yourself. Fill in your circle.

“Find company within yourself and you’ll never spend a day alone.” -Connor Chalfant

“We are living in dystopia, in a world that is dominated by technology and disconnect, alienation and dysfunction.” -Steven Wilson

“Negative emotions like loneliness, envy, and guilt have an important role to play in a happy life; they're big, flashing signs that something needs to change.” -Gretchen Rubin

“We can all fight against loneliness by engaging in random acts of kindness.” -Gail Honeyman

“We have all known the long loneliness, and we have found the answer in community.” – Dorothy Day

Saving Humanity and the Planet

by Rev. Amari Magdalena

A wonderful Zen Buddhist Monk at CSL Las Cruces today addressed three poisons and their remedies.  He specifically mentioned: greed, hate, and delusion the cures for which are wisdom, generosity, and loving kindness. These are also referred to as non-delusion, non-attachment, and non-hatred. The latter represent wholesome factors. Right now, our world is squeezing through the center of a very tight hourglass of change as it has become top heavy with greed, hate, and delusion.  It’s a pretty painful process. Many do wish the sand  to reach the other side as time chases us.

At the risk of being redundant, may I remind us all that so many things have created this moment: political unrest; increasing poverty; disappearing niceness, moral compass, and manners; uncontrolled growth at the top tier of economics; changing weather patterns; and the ever-shifting sands of history. All empires fail and have throughout history. Power has been rested away from one group to another, repeatedly.  As the empire waned, many poisons were evidenced. 

While this feels like very bad news, one can look at it as a necessary process to foster a quantum leap in human evolution.  If we are to have a eco evolution, the human evolution must be accelerated.  Polarity and duality have no place in this process, or it will surely derail good intentions, affirmation and prayers for good, and the shreds of a humane society necessary to fuel and foster the evolution.

Delusion is but one aspect of the poison yet a very important one.  In metaphysics, along with many indigenous understandings of the corridor West, it signifies the grand delusion.  If we are to push this process through the narrows, we each will need to explore our own 7 veils of illusion* and remove them. Easier said than done, at times, yet we no longer have the luxury of holding tightly to our comfortable denusions (denial and delusions). 

As the monk said, we can no longer be satisfied with Talking our Talk; time now to Walk the Walk in real time. This requires us to wake the hell up in every given moment, not just in consciousness groups or spiritual gatherings.  As an insurance company may ask us to put a monitor on our mileage for better potential insurance rates, it is time for us to monitor our thoughts for salvation of humanity.

For several decades now many of us have gathered in consciousness groups that meet once a week or occasionally.  We come away inspired and committed to making a positive change. Some of the enthusiasm results in creating organizations for good.  That is fantastic! Yet it doesn’t solve the problem though it punctures a small hole in the back log of hourglass sand and allows a trickle to reach the new.

What then is necessary beyond continual vigilance on our thinking and exploring more avenues for change?  Finding ways to significantly get in the touch with those who are different than ourselves.  Releasing any smugness in the belief that we’re doing great good and should be receiving accolades for our efforts. Retiring the Ego.

We must include the ‘others’ that our judgment views are separate from us. We’ll need to behold the golden threads of essential light and energy that connects us all. Will it be possible to connect with everyone, perhaps not? Yet, yes, we can attempt to widen our circle of influence and levels of understanding of apparent differences.  When we have opportunity and access, we can see the Divine in those we connect with, even for brief moments.  The others, we can simply extend loving kindness to their souls.  We could even use the Shamanic Journey to connect with those that we are unable to reach in the relative world-totem to totem.

Even small acknowledgements like speaking the name of the person who is serving us, whose tag gives us that information, can be beneficial.  We can join groups that are not all espousing the very same things we are about and just be ourselves. We can ask questions in of people in the group about what they want out of life and how they see the world. Active efforts, no more exalted rhetoric, are much needed.  Stepping into another person’s moccasins, even for moments, will help us find the light connections. Releasing the concept of separate races and epidermal distinctions.

Asking ourselves in each interaction: am I being wise; am I able to be of generous service; is my attitude and behavior conveying loving kindness?  And, when those attributes are not prevalent, stop the interaction, back up and start anew.  Refrain from self-flagellation as it tends to being things back to the self and cause angst and self-judgment. Become the person of a world where everyone thrives.  Then, and only then, can the clogged sands pour effortlessly into the other side of the hourglass and save humanity and the planet.

“We must flex our heart muscles not only to include the least, the last, the lost, but also to include whomever we are currently referring to as ‘snowflake’ or ‘deplorable’ instead of God’s name for all of us which is ‘Beloved.’”  Rev. Robin Bartlett

"A Religion of Evolution: that, when all is said and done is what Man needs ever more explicitly if he is to survive and 'superlive,' as soon as he becomes conscious of his power to ultra-hominize himself and of his duty to do so." Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

*7 Veils of Illusion from Unbecoming Me: The Ultimate Shapeshifters Journey

Failure of Family

By Rev. Amari Magdalena          

“It takes a village to raise a child;” a saying never truer than its very need today.  I’m watching families around me succumb to the maladies of the 20^th and 21^st century’s vision of nuclear family.  And, the concept is failing miserably.  Every day we are exposed to media stories of domestic violence, child abuse, and filicide.  I don’t know about you, but I’m wondering how on earth we got here?

What I see magnified here in my visit to Southern California is clarifying my feelings.  The nuclear family is failing.  I’ve previously written about boxes and how they enclose.  Yet it's more than that.  I feel our concepts and beliefs around family are seriously skewed.  Where did we get the idea that 2 adults with any number of children would function well in an enclosed rectangular structure?  The very nature of the squares and rectangles in most homes, large and small, is encapsulating.  No one can feel a sense of freedom therein.  No matter how many glass windows one has, the result of feeling captured is the same.

Add to the above, and both adults working for survival and personal sense of achievement, and you begin to flesh out the problem.  Who’s raising the children?  Teachers, television, iPod's, computers, smart phones, other unsupervised children, babysitters, daycare, shopping malls, and the accumulation of an amazing cache of stuff! Children today spend much more time away from family connection, in general, than with their tribe.

At one time in modern life, the nuclear family included more adult occupants than two adults.  Generations often lived together, or whole families for newly immigrated people.  That, at least, gave relief to the parents of full attention and responsibility for the children.  Extended family nearby further enhanced the picture.  If grandma and grandpa lived a block or two away, children had more access to possible nurturance.  Yet even that scenario was not ideal as all were still in boxes harboring their own dysfunction.

The inheritance then became behaviors that did not result in functional adults.  These adults propagated and resulted in family trees with a slew of problems: alcoholism, drug abuse, domestic violence, sex trafficking, depression, anxiety disorders, and a plethora of yet to be diagnosed mental challenges etc. The number of medications many young parents are on today is mind boggling.  If you take time to graph out your family tree, you may see my point. As an aside, I DO realize some of you had stellar childhoods and may not be able to relate, yet it is important that you understand the growing cancer of dysfunctional families among you.

I believe that if the human species is to survive, we must return to the concept of tribes.  Our physical structures need serious re-design.  Our neighborhoods need to develop as tribal communities devoted to the care and feeding of its inhabitants.  Huge cities need to end along with wall to wall freeways and endless shopping malls.  While technology advances us in many positive ways, it needs to be moderated in use for toddlers, children and young adults.  Education needs to return to human teaching and not depend on plasma, LED, and LCD etc.  We need to bring the human back into the development of our species.

There are many Utopian thinkers in this world.  It is time we culled their vision, listened to them, quit trying to replicate unworkable Band-Aid solutions or old unworkable moments in time like the 50’s, and envision a new world.  Let’s be brave, if it is to be the home promised is our national rhetoric.

What precipitated this tome was being immersed in a town that has grown and more than doubled since I lived here. Everywhere there are shopping malls.  Everyone is walking around with cell phones texting.  Commutes in traffic are normalizing at an hour or more. Smiles are few and far between except with clerks in stores trained to be approachable and friendly, so we are moved to purchase whether we need something or not. It’s all facade here.  Beautiful though that may be with the gleaming stores, sun and beach, it is not real.  I felt the same way almost 10 years go when I visited and was in Pacific Palisades.

Now I’m not targeting California for those of you whose feathers may be ruffled here.  Any populous state in the sunshine, tends to magnify what is not working.  Florida was the same when I lived there. Maybe cold and clouds mask some of it elsewhere; yet it is everywhere.  Denial is a luxury we cannot afford.

It is beyond time that we move past the unworkable rhetoric that most of our body politic is attempting to hypnotize us with. We need to deal with the very serious problem of failed family.  Mental, emotional and spiritual health is every bit as important as physical well-being.  Everywhere we see evidence that needs addressing.  To save the planet, we may want to think about healing its occupants so that they give the proverbial damn.  Whether you like Marianne Williamson’s bid for the presidency or not, she IS talking about the essence of our problem-Love! Let’s talk about this!

“In families you can find the source of every human drama. It is interesting because the cell of a society, the cell of a country, the cell of humanity – everything lies in the family.” Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu

“The more dysfunctional, the more family members seek to control the behavior of others.” David W. Earle

“To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life;  we must first set our hearts right.”  Confucius

Circles That You Find

By Rev. Amari Magdalena

Our outer and inner Cosmos’ contain many circles.  Our planet and others in our solar system are round. In our lifetimes, we will be participants in circles; some beautiful and fulfilling, others perhaps challenging.  The unbroken symmetry of circle moves us through the medicine wheels of our lives.

We are born, pushed through a circle as the womb and cervix dilate and the round head presses through the opening of the vagina.  Most of us were surrounded then by welcoming family and/or the attendants at our arrival.  Some would go on to know siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and peripheral family and close friends.  Others would not be so fortunate yet would still be in circles institutionalized though they may have been.

As our lives progressed, we would join other circles of marriage, unions, fraternal organizations, institutions of learning, celebratory, social, life passages etc.  Our inherent need for socializing moves us throughout many circles as we spend time on this planet.  Yet sadly so many of us live alone now, in boxes.

One wonders, why we’ve constructed structures in square and rectangular fashion.  We are most often housed in structures with corners and right angles. Having lived in the great American Southwest many times, I was often struck by the adobe homes.  Corners were rounded.  Archways prevailed between rooms.  Everywhere there was demonstration of the feminine hand working what might have been angles into curves. Though the structures themselves were not round; the curves compensated.  Perhaps these constructs represented both the Yin and Yang aspects of the builders.

Why then do we live in these confining structures?  I am reminded that most laboratory experiments with animals find them contained in square or rectangular cages.  When we visit a zoo and see the animals in their respective indoor enclosures, they too are in right-angle structures.  No wonder they pace; we all would if so enclosed.  Yet we are; just bigger cages.  Confinement is the name of the game. We need to find ways to spend more time in circles, for sanity.

One of my great attractions and love of shamanism came from joining rituals that were conducted in circles-indoors and outside.  When I lived in Sedona with an accessible roof top garage, I was gifted the ability to create an outdoor medicine wheel on it.  In South Albuquerque, I celebrated the moons and seasonal changes in a Kiva.  In Tucson, I had a beautiful outdoor altar for ceremonies.

Indoors and out, except for my current small apartment, I’ve had a large floor medicine wheel defined by hand-made Ruins tiles.  When I can sponsor a small moon gathering here, I create the same on a small round coffee table.  Yet I so miss my big medicine wheel.  I also feel the loss of participating in more outdoor circles due to my physical walking limitations.  Yet the memories of many beautiful circles keep me at peace.

Circles remind us that life is always moving.  As we move around one, we experience the rhythmic movement of the sun and moon from ascending energy to descending-rising and falling.  This, for me, helps me stay in touch with a concept that all things change.  We experience birth, growth, and death. We also experience community in circles-vital social connection. 

Ultimately, I believe, it is in sharing circles that we build our tribe.  I feel tribal connection is the missing piece of experiencing greater peace worldwide. I’m reminiscing about the Coca-Cola commercial with “I’d like to buy the world a home and furnish it with love… I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony” with people of all colors, races, etc. gathering.  It was about connection and finding something everyone enjoyed sharing-commercial though it was.

In Atlanta, for the three years I lived there, Jeni and Rick Prigmore sponsored a Peace Circle every Wednesday evening.  For that night, in the middle of the week, we sat in circle holding Earth Globes or imagined ones and affirmed for peace.  It was a family (tribe) of love.

Our chaotic times and fractured attention from digitized living, call for more circles.  My hope would be that wherever you are, be moved to restore circles; all kinds of circles.  Bring people together!  Build sweat lodges and round structures.  Celebrate those influential globes in the heavens that so affect our living.  Foster tribes for good. Get out of the windmills of your mind and engage in the circles that you find.

“A circle is the reflection of eternity.  It has no beginning and it has no end-and if you put several circles over each other, then you get a spiral.” Maynard James Keenan

“The whole universe is based on rhythms.  Everything happens in circle’s, in spirals.“  John Hartford

“Circles create soothing space, where even reticent people can realize that their voice is welcome.” Margaret J. Wheatley

My Brand's Better than Your Brand

By Rev Amari Magdalena

Wonder why there is so much seeming descension in the world when we talk about ascension? Competition is the culprit along with its twins Comparison and Envy.  We are in competition with one another, not unlike the survival of the fittest animal world.  Sad truth or real recognition?  In a world much in need of cooperation and collective consciousness for good, how on earth do we surrender our survival instinct?

Let’s start with the word “Brand” or “Branding.”  Like so many very “testosteronized” words, this evokes an image of placing a hot iron on an animal to identify ownership. It’s like “more bang for the buck.”  And, I could come with other examples of expressions in our lexicon that demonstrate a masculine warrior mindset.

Language creates culture.  More than ever we are seeing this evidenced as American English is being impacted by emojis, memes, hip-hop, and many other sources of modification and adaptation. It appears we are talking to one another through our brands (personas) and not our authentic selves.

I was involved in advertising and marketing many years ago in a more in-depth way.  I came to understand the psychology of advertising. We had to assure that our product or service was miles ahead of the competition.  Some of that was about adding bells and whistles.  Other aspects were aggressive methods of mind games.  Personally, I strove to only develop marketing materials for products I believed actually added value when the company was mine.

Of course, today with multiple websites, I am completely aware of the need to share what I offer.  Yet, somewhere in the gap of manipulating one another and creating perceived need, is a call for truth and connection.  Connection is the much-needed game, yet our attempts to brand, separate us.

Capitalism is being held most responsible for our current raging consumerism.  Even small children are targeted and turned into consumer robots at earlier and earlier ages. We are programmed to want more. I’m reminded of the song Madonna sang in Dick Tracy, More. Lyrics ended with “and what will we want when we have it all?  More!

Sadly, we are easily hypnotized into to purchasing goods whether we need them or not.  Being good trained consumers, we often look for products whose names we recognize.  How do we know about them? Moving away from brick and mortar stores, print and broadcast media, now we’ve moved into internet commerce.

Countless books are available to teach us how to master social media to get our goods or services before the public and enjoy huge success. Multi-Level Marketing, formerly pyramid schemes, hasn’t died.  It is enjoying a resurrection with new products.  Affiliate marketing is now on the rise. And, we continue to be lured into spending.  Each brand flashing and popping up via information obtained in algorithms, commands our attention. Clever programmers are developing workarounds to overwrite ad blockers software. We are being invaded.

What happens with invasions? People run and scatter.  Result? Separation and the replay of that old game of Us and Them, lack and fear, yours and mine magnified.  Pink Floyd sang so brilliantly about this: “Us, us, us and them, them, them…in in the end we’re only ordinary men…” I’ve found that one of the saddest brands for causing separation and even wars, are religious organizations.  Our God is better than your God.  Oh my!  Everywhere, we are being pulled apart rather than moved towards one another.

Obviously, I understand the need to best present our products and/or services so that we can prosper. Personally, I believe there IS enough for everyone and that we ultimately choose based on our own pyramid of needs and wants. If this little tome stands for anything, it is to say that let’s take offensive and separating language out of our sharing.  Let’s adapt a philosophy that believes that there is no scarcity and each of us will be drawn to right, for us, products and services.  And, perhaps we could enjoy more camaraderie with those in our similar industries that adapts a win/win attitude for all.

And, for heaven’s sake, quit “Branding” anything, animals included!  Develop logos that you love. Write copy that speaks to the truths of your essence and intention to serve through offering your product and/or service.  Refer to others when you can.  Reframe from stealing ideas from others and claiming them as yours. Share your wisdom when you are able to help others. Embrace humanity not corporatocracy. Purchase locally when you are able.  Return to the goodness of Me and You.  Focus on the planetary citizenry and the health of our small planet in making purchase choices. Contribute to the common good as you are able.

“A thorn defends the rose, harming only those who would steal the blossom.”  Chinese Proverb

Rituals and Ceremonies: Why They are So Very Important

By Rev. Amari Magdalena

It’s at that point in the wedding ceremony when I begin, “and now as these two lovely people have exchanged vows and rings of promise, by the authority granted me by the State of Washington, I now pronounce you…….” that I begin to choke up or tear up. There is something so very sacred about being involved in such a moment of joy in people’s lives.  It cements, for me, the importance of rituals and ceremonies for bonding communities together.

Each new moon, each full moon, each equinox or solstice, whether I’m alone or with a group, I acknowledge the passages of time and their meaning.  In groups, large and small, I am often witness to the power of ceremony to bring together a group of people in deep unity.  Total strangers are hugging one another and feeling a deep peace and connection with other humans.  A shift takes place that I experience more powerfully than in any other time and place.

For me it is a great shame that as organized religions moved away from heart-based traditions to more head space/mental experiences, most chose to eschew much of the tribal ceremonies and rituals of eons, labeling them Pagan!  So much was lost and what was kept seems only approximations of what was and could still be.

Perhaps what transpires is a sense of the importance of other kingdoms that we share this small planet with: Animal, Mineral, Plant, and Human.  The awareness of the elements: Air, Earth, Fire and Water add another dimension of togetherness vs. aloneness. In circle, as we touch hands, our own vulnerability and need for affirmation is recognized.  Since the many years ago when I had an entire Unity congregation stand and hold hands while we listened to Carlos and Johnny sing “Holding Hands,” I’ve seen transformation in minutes.

Why then would we choose to participate in ceremony or ritual?  Community is a big component: we find common ground and purpose as we celebrate.  Our dividing differences can, for a time, melt away in the feelings of connection.  The greater reason is perhaps the overriding feeling of Oneness: we lose our separateness as we hold hands in ceremony and we enter the precious moment of Now. 

The memorial service of John McCain was a huge example of community coming together in a ceremony to honor and bridge differences.  My own sister Leanne’s memorial, in a packed large church in Thornbury Bristol England, was a testament to her influence in the city and love of those whose lives she touched.

Another purpose of ritual or ceremony is to quiet the chaos, still the noises-outer and inner and to surrender to something greater than our small individual universes and to, in the suspended sense of time, enter into magic!  And what I know to be true is: “Evolution will, not in my opinion, wait for us to find time to participate.  It will roll on.  In the direction that the planet is currently headed, that may breed disaster for humanity.  Thus, I feel it is so imperative for us to make that time and space to gather together with intention of facilitating our individual and planetary upliftment.” ¹

Wherever you are, I implore you to create Peace Circles as we did in the 1990’s.  Gather with your friends and neighbors in a circle. Focus on the world you wish to live in.  Hold an earth ball or an imaginary one, turn it around feeling the oceans and land masses.  Acknowledge all the diversity of each of Earth’s kingdoms. Chant, “Peace” and “Planetary Harmony.”  Close, holding hands, and sing for one more time, Imagine along with John. You will feel better and that energy will encircle the planet, much as our jet streams do, yet with a loving energy.

 “When humans participate in ceremony, they enter a sacred space.

Everything outside of that space shrivels in importance.

Time takes on a different dimension.

Emotions flow more freely.

The bodies of the participants become filled with the energy of life,

and this energy reaches out and blesses the creation around them.

All is made new; everything becomes sacred.” Sun Bear

^1. Blue Moons and Golden Suns: Meditations & Celebrations for Aligning with Natural Rhythms. 

R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

By Rev. Amari Magdalena

Like Aretha sang, it’s about time we sock it to the Earth; some respect that is!  This post is in response to a friend’s Facebook post about litter along the highways in the Sonoran Desert off I-19.  It strikes me that we cannot teach what we don’t possess nor can we pass it down the line of generations in a culture that fails to recognize its footprint and impact on Mother Earth.

I remember distinctly a class I had as perhaps a freshman in high school. Our science teacher instructed us that the main grade earned would be dependent on being able to identify and write about a “litterbug.”  Now as you can imagine, that word was not in the common vernacular in those times.  It was quite the experience.  And, not a joke like identifying, BANA₂.  That was in the middle fifties. We’ve come along sad way since then as evidenced by the litter strewn about our byways and highways.

Longshoreman philosopher, Erik Hoffer, was quoted as saying that observance of maintenance in a country is very telling about the success of the country.  Anyone who has been on Earth for a few decades since the fifties can attest to the fact that our maintenance has devolved along with the growth in unfair economic distribution.  Losing a sense of security and middle-ness can lead to loss of respect.  Never having had it due to untoward economics leads to violence and deep resentment.  When one loses his/her self-respect; concern about externals diminish exponentially.

An administration that espouses hatred for environmental concerns because they encroach on personal freedoms and amassment of wealth, while falsely pandering to the disenfranchised, is summoning a deadly debt that their inheritors will pay for.  That is, if the Earth survives the damages. 

Mother Earth has been giving very loud and frightening signals that ignorance of earth’s principals and eco-system will bring the furry down of feminine scorning.  We’ve seen more natural disasters in this year 2017 collectively than I can remember: horrendous hurricanes; precipitous floods; devastating earthquakes; hell’s furry of fire.  And her message, STOP, cannot be long ignored if we are to survive.

So where does this self-respect begin that allows us to be more respecting of all that surround us? In the womb, in the bassinet, in the pre-schools, in the home, in the elementary schools, in the pulpits, in the higher institutions of education; those are the places of acculturation.  From the first splash in the waters of birth and onward, we are given an indication by those surrounding us as to our favorability or lack thereof. “Oh, what a darling baby,” coos one Mother. “Whoa what a set of lungs,” cries another, in disbelief of the wailing one who emerged after nine months and hours of labor.  Looks and sounds create early impressions as to our perceived worth.

Caregivers surrounding us after birth from parents, to grandparents, to siblings, to nannies, to teachers and preachers are every moment giving us their opinion of us.  Though we many not understand the language, we are hip to the intonation.  It has a long-lasting impact.*  Self-respect and esteem are happily fostered for growth or ignored, much like a garden. Blame gets foisted on the backs of the parents, especially the mother, who was ill prepared to assume the day-to-day responsibilities of raising and effective human being.

Did you take parenting classes?  Did your parents?  Unless you chose Early Childhood Education in college, did you take any courses?  Most answers are no; we parent the way we were parented. Sometimes a few get some help and break the cycle; mostly not. Thus, parents who lack self-respect and esteem, pass it on from one generation to another. My point being is that lack of self-respect and respect for others has become a national disease.  So, let’s give it an acronym and maybe it’ll get some funding. LOSR Syndrome (Lack of Self-Respect).

Ah, now we can form a foundation and solicit grants to address this growing disease.  We can secure funds to study the problem and get it classified as a mental disorder.  Maybe we can design a 12-Step Recovery Program.  Perhaps books will be written about it.  A minor in college will be developed.  The possibilities are endless.

Or just maybe, we can look at all the big and little ways that we personally desecrate or contribute to the destruction of the planet. While we are looking at the results, perhaps we’ll also go within and look at the causes of our own malady (LOSR Syndrome).  With that look, we could start to change our perception of the being in the mirror and give ourselves a break.  As we rescript our opinion of ourselves we can hope that we’ll extend that better opining to our precious planet, our circle of influence and those that come after us.

We're nearing the point of the stripped branch with one small glimmer of budding growth. Let's preserve it with R.E.S.P.E.C.T; of ourselves, of others, of the planet.

"If we lose love and self-respect for each other, this is how we finally die." Maya Angelou

"Our death is not an end if we can live on in our children and the younger generation.  For they are us: our bodies are only wilted leaves on the tree of life." Albert Einstein

*The early impact of our caregivers is addressed in the chapter on the 7 Veils of Illusion in my book, Unbecoming Me: The Ultimate Shapeshifters Journey.

Creating a Conscious New Year 2017

By Rev. Amari Magdalena

For many of us, each New Year starts with gusto and intention to make significant changes. At first, we are enthusiastic and leap into the new.  For a while, we may follow our plans and bask in the new energies.  Then life happens and slowly, imperceptibly old patterns reemerge and our intentions are slipping through our fingers.  The year begins to feel old not new.

Perhaps if we had a focal point for each month and posted our intention predominantly in several places in our reality-bathroom, office, car, refrigerator with a picture that clearly depicted our intention, we could stay on task despite outer interference.

Following are some suggestions for each month of 2017!  Here's to a New Year of coalitions and community building!

January-Capricorn A foundation month.  Initiate with others in creating communities that benefit the common good—gather in groups as “heart tanks” not “think tanks.”  Make group decisions that feel right and are devoid of ego.  Document your groups process to serve as a turn-key for others.  "We are co-creating communities of love, compassion and inclusiveness."

February-Aquarius A thinking month.  Move away from simply intellectual thinking and transform thoughts towards the greater good of your community, country, and planet.  Become aware which thoughts move you and others away from your Heart.  "We replace negative thoughts with heart-centered messages of good."

                                                                                     

March-Pisces A creative month.  Imagine that you and others are building a hands-around-the-globe community that embraces the unique gifts of each person while benefiting all.  Let your imagination focus on what we can create that contributes to the Universal Good.  "Feelings from our Higher Hearts hold the power of creation."

April-Aires A high energy month.  See ways that you and others can energize and motivate people in our lives and groups to feel more recognized, appreciated and valued.  Imagine everyone feeling like their talents and abilities are important.  [“You is kind, you is smart, you is important” The Help] "We see and behold the genius in everyone we encounter."

May-Taurus A hearth and home month.  Find ways to make your home so warm and inclusive that everyone who enters feel embraced.  Clean out the old; embrace Feng Shui or other principals of energy flow.  Open your space to more gatherings.  Offer food and drink for nourishment.  Imagine your home as a living Heart.  "Our homes are welcome oases of peace and beauty."

  

June-Gemini A dual nature’s month.  Get to know the oppositional sides of yourself and your group. Bring them to peace with each another. Sit down with people whose beliefs are 180 degrees from yours to find common ground for building bridges across your differences. Time to surrender analyzing everything. Trust your feelings.  " We accept all parts of ourselves to create harmony within our communities."

July- Cancer A security month.  Discover ways to make your community feel more secure-emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually.  Co-Vision lives that feel free from worry and fear. Help others release fear and worry. End subscriptions to media agencies that promote fear and worry. “Wherever we are Spirit is and all is well."

August-Leo A feeling of royalty month.  See how you can form community relationships in which member reigns as integral, valued and important.  Create more equity in your community through interdependence.  Share the power of two or more. Foster benevolence in any leadership. "All here are valued, honored and esteemed."

September-Virgo An orderly month.  Partner with others to master managing chaos as it is presented locally or globally.  Soften criticism and create pathways for ways to compliment everyone. Gather a bundle of compliments and generously gift them. Acknowledge, by name, people in service industries. "We speak only good towards others."

October-Libra A balance month.  Seek greater balance in working with others in your family, groups, and community.  Focus on the ‘we’ and the greater ‘us.’ Practice reciprocity as an infinity of give and take.  See the scales of balance in your lives become perfectly even.  "We choose balance over chaos everywhere."

November-Scorpio An intense month.  Lighten up in all your relationships; find the humor in inflamed situations.  How can you care more without emoting negative feelings?  Be willing to change entrenched patterns that are draining everyone. Change your perspectives on the holidays. See them as time of sharing Light.  "We joyfully celebrate all traditions of Light."

December-Sagittarius A fun and travel month.  See how you can contribute to making your communities feel good.  Discover where in your community there is need for nourishment and upliftment.  What Universal fun can you initiate under this influence?  "Our hearts are happy when we contribute."

2017 is a Universal 1 year.  Beginnings abound. Time, as Tennyson said, to dreams those dreams that never were and say “Why Not!” Surrender the “I,” develop the collective “We,” and affirm for the Universal “Us.”

This is the Year of Greater Community.  Build alliances for positive and inclusive change in building increasingly interdependent relationships personally, nationally, and globally. One World, One Planet, One People. “Imagine all the people, living life in peace.”

[Note:  Updated from Shaman Talk: A Nagual Woman's Wisdom]