Women's Prayer

As I conclude the 2009 Dagara year of mineral, I call upon the very parts my ancestors buried deep in my bones encoded in my very DNA. Sobonfu Some suggests in her Women's Wisdom from the heart of Africa that women pray each day so they don't wonder in their intentions. I've recorded her words with my voice so that many women and men might join in her universal prayer to allow ancestral wisdom to flow into their lives.


Just click the link. It will take you into your Windows Media Player for the audio recording.

/Sobonfu%20Some%20prayer%20to%20women.wma

Transition Information

If you haven't had a chance but would like to gather facts and information about the issues of peak oil, economy and climate change here are some excellent free sites.

The Story of Stuff
Crash Course
Soros Lectures

Here are some documentaries I obtained from local library with supporting information.

The Future of Food
Peak Oil
End of Suburbia
Renewal (distributed by the UUA)
Fresh
Food, Inc.
End of the Line
Flow


There is never a better time to get the facts than now. With the facts, we can begin the gentle process needed to co-create a new and better future.

Kin Domain Hedge

Osage-orange (Maclura pomifera) Hedge apple, bois-d'arc is a new discovery for me. I was out walking with my two year old nephew and discovered these along a wooded path. At first I thought someone had thrown out old tennis balls but headed off the path to explore. Beneath the leaves there were many of these lovely citrus smelling fruits. Naturally, I set out to research the new species--new to me that is! If you follow the above link, you can read all about the tree's history and uses. The University of Nebraska Extension made an insecticide which worked. I wonder if there will be future natural insecticide products on the market with this ingredient. Given enough space and diligent pruning, I do believe these would make an effective Kin Domain hedge.

The Grandest Adventure

Deep inside is the urge to discover the unknown--whether physical, intellectual or spiritual in nature. It starts with dreams of wide open space. Akin to Hatsheput, Alexander the Great, Marco Polo, Ferdinand Magellan, Meriwether Clark, Ernest Shackleton and Neil Armstrong. But when the wide open physical space is no more, humans turn toward the vast unknown within the intellect and spirituality. Akin to a blank canvas, mound of clay, chunk of marble, stretch of prairie, mountain top, or meditation practice, regardless of the platform, the urge to discover the unknown must be soothed. However, as history has been loath to say, the grand adventure isn’t about finding, claiming, owning, devouring but about allowing the urge a place to swell, cascade and gently flow in a co-creative process. It is an urge to be part of, and intimately connected to, something as much or more than the Self.

Celebrate the Energy of Gratitude

As you gather today in body and soul, whether alone or with others, kindle the fires of gratitude. Send an intention of light and love through the interconnected web of life.
Blessings and gratitude.
Happy, happy, thanksgiving!

Sobonfu Some here in 2010

Sobonfu Somé is coming to the heart of the heartland! A long awaited opportunity has unfolded. On February 26, 27, 28, 2010, Sobonfu Somé will offer her indigenous African medicine by facilitating a Dagara Grief Ritual for the people of the mid-west. The mid-west location is Omaha, Nebraska.

What is a Dagara grief ritual? Grief Ritual is one of the most important rituals of Dagara people in Burkina Faso. The ritual is a soul-cleansing rite that can clear away lingering clouds and festering wounds from abandonment, divorce, death, the loss of dreams and much more. This ritual can help release grief, lighten your soul, let your true spirit be heard, transform the future and help you become more balanced. Sobonfu, assisted by Jojopah, a fire shaman, will lead a group of participants through this remarkable two and half day event.

Who attends or should attend the grief ritual? People feeling grief for the earth, anyone who has lost a loved one, a job, a dream or pet; people who are stuck in unhealthy relationships or emotionally unhealthy situations; therapists, educators, business people, retired people, Veterans, Holocaust survivors, gardeners, lawyers, scientists, musicians, doctors, nurses, artists... people exploring their feelings or experiencing loss, people like you and I, etc....

What happens? Participants build a traditional African ritual space, transition to becoming a village, drum, sing, move and grieve. The ritual is quite rigorous. The facilitators recommend participants reserve some personal transition time the day after the event.

Pricing is $290 before December 23, 2009 and $340 after. To register, get more details and arrange payment options contact Julie Carda via email.

Transformation Integral to Transition

If you had a chance to contemplate the messages earlier this month regarding the ancestral wound, you might be ready for the indigenous wisdom of Jamie Sams who offers a blueprint for transformation. In transitions, if we do not transform our inner self we will simply transfer our inner self onto future generations. All our wounds, fears, past history will simply continue forward into perpetuity unless we agree to stop the process and transform the energy. The excerpt below is taken from Dancing the Dream: The seven sacred paths of human transformation by Jamie Sams. Regardless of religious beliefs, her definition encapsulates all.

The Eternal Flame of Love

1. The principle of love, which is seen as a central flame or spark of life force inside the spirit.

2. The divine of every living thing.

3. The singular essence common to all life in our universe, which transcends the illusion of separation.

The Story of Stuff

Set aside twenty minutes.
Grab a snack.
Get into your favorite chair.
Put up your feet and relax.
Now click this link.
The Story of Stuff...
Prepare to transition.

Transition Prayer

While in the chiropractors office with my son, I saw this beautiful framed work of art. With the art was this prayer presented in lovely calligraphy form. I wrote it down as it applies to transition movements. When I discover the creator of this inspired piece, I'll supply a name to give credit.

I trust the goodness extended from my hands to circle around me.

I wish no harm to others but rather an embrace of healing.

I extend my highest effort to the world of my day

that it many be better at the end than when I first touched it.

Kin Domain Wire Sculpture

In memory of Whinny, my recent chicken sacrifice, my nine year old god child presented me with a wire sculpture. The young girl remembers me feeding corn treats to my chickens this summer. Whinny was the brave one who always came to explore, test, and let the others know all was well. So two things from this experience. A raccoon showed up. The message here is about the knowledge of transformation through masks and disguise.

"This knowledge can be applied to religious and ritual practices or within normal everyday life. Do I need to present a different face to people for greater success? Am I hiding my true self? Are others hiding their true self? Raccoon can help me find the answers."

Certain indigenous practices offer chicken sacrifice to the ancestors for shifts, transformation, and gratitude. A feather from Whinny is now on my ancestor altar in gratitude for the wisdom message.

Chicken Abduction

Well it's a sad day here on the urban farm. When I looked out my kitchen window at 7am, I saw one side of the hen house door ajar and the framed screen twisted to the side. I ran outside thinking who escaped and quickly realized I'd had a predator attack in the night. A pile of feathers remained on the grass beneath the doors. A quick count came up short. I studied the three. Whinny, leader of the pack so to speak, had been taken. Only a raccoon would have the dexterity to open the screen and get a seven pound chicken out. Believe me, I won't be leaving any doors cracked at night for air flow. In fact, I added a bungee cord deterrent and reinforced the outer coop cage with pieces of chicken wire. The remaining ladies will be closed in at night against any predators who try to dig under the coop. Yes, a sad, sad day here...

Crash Course: Global Insights

For anyone interested in the connections between climate change, peak oil, and the economy, I highly recommend visiting this link put together by Chris Martenson. His work has given Transitions the foundation to create future visions filled with hope and possibilities. The entire course takes about forty five minutes to view or you can opt to watch sections at a time. I'd be curious what others think of his presentation and content.

Chris Martenson and the Crash Course

Transition Culture Link

Transition culture
an exploration into
the head,
heart
and hands
of energy descent.

"How might our response to peak oil and climate change
look more like a party than a protest march?
This site explores the emerging transition model in its many manifestations."

Autumn Surprise Revealed

Purple Cauliflower!


What a fabulous surprise. What a stunning transition. An elegant example of the possibilities that await us if we are willing to work with the unknown.

Autumn Surprise

Transitions are a process. Permaculture is a great metaphor for transitions. Gardens reveal so much to us. So here is the story of this particular transition.

In March, I discovered this one seed in a mismarked envelope. I wasn't sure it would do much since according to the dates of the other packages it was rather old. Naturally, I didn't have the heart to throw it away. Into a peat pot it went. Like my other nursery plants it sprouted and grew in the little pot until I transplanted it into the cabbage bed.

Mid-summer, I noted the stunted growth and transplanted it near my herbs. However, the transplanting didn't seem to increase the growth response much. After we had an early October snow cover which finished off the herb garden, I was tempted to turn the plant over into the fall garden bed. But again I hesitated but mostly because it seemed to say "not yet, please". So I left it to continue.

With all the busyness of the past six weeks, I hadn't taken time to visit that end of the garden. Instead, I'd watched from my kitchen window this spectacular foliage growth. Tomorrow I will show you what I discovered four days ago. If you already know, don't tell!

Family Wound Healing Quest

The Healing Quest

~presented by Jojopah Maria Nsoroma

(Quest is the act or an instance of seeking or pursuing something; a journey, an adventurous expedition, especially a long or difficult one, in search of something.)

The family wound has the power to keep us cycling through unhappy experiences, self-sabotaging behaviors, and the inability to give and receive love freely – as long as we allow it. The following is a way to give the Universe permission to support you in breaking the cycles of pain.

To heal from the family wound one must first accept that it exists and become curious about its impact on your parents, grand-parents, and great grand-parents. It is helpful to collect family stories about the major painful events experienced by previous generations. If you are not able to access family history, then research the major events that negatively affected the community or region you were born in decades before your birth.

Take one or all of those painful events you discover and write them down on a piece of paper. Place the paper in an envelope and write on the envelope in big letters, “FORGIVENESS and GRATITUDE.” Burn the envelope with the intention that you are open to receiving the grace of forgiveness to release you from carrying the pain any longer, and that you are grateful to now be able to learn the higher purpose and “gift” in the family wound.

Family Wound Manifest Part Two

The following is two examples of how the family wound can manifest after its initial eruption.

Problem Children

The family wound directly disrupts the lives of those who were on the front lines of the traumatic events. But, preferring not to talk about painful things and forgetting indigenous rituals for transforming pain, the wound is unconsciously passed on to the next generation. The child/children who are considered “the problem child/children” are the messengers and reminders to the family that there is unresolved trauma and emotional pain coursing through the blood lines. As teenagers and young adults, these family messengers act out the family pain through risky and unhealthy behaviors and relationships. Instead of being recognized and acknowledged for giving evidence of embedded family trauma, they are labeled “the bad seed” and either tolerated or ostracized by other family members.

Being Thwarted for Best Efforts

The family wound can also be understood as the energy that binds one to people, places and circumstances that can neither support the truth of who you are nor nurture your soul. As a result, the experience of being thwarted for one’s best efforts becomes common place. And even when it is clear that you are in the wrong relationship, job or state of mind, you will find a way to convince yourself to tolerate the situation. I know people who have continued smoking even after a family member or close friend has died from lung cancer. The pain of family wound is so old and so deep that it has the power to fool you into believing that you are okay when you really are not.

Tomorrow I will share some effective ways to address the family wound and how to discover the gift in it.

Blessings,
Jojopah Maria Nsoroma

Family Wound: Manifestation

Initial Manifestation
Presented by guest blogger Jojopah Maria Nsoroma

The family wound directly disrupts the lives of those who were on the front lines of the traumatic events. But, preferring not to talk about painful things and forgetting indigenous rituals for transforming pain, the wound is unconsciously passed on to the next generation. The child/children who are considered “the problem child/children” are the messengers and reminders to the family that there is unresolved trauma and emotional pain coursing through the blood lines.

Family Wound: Origins

THE FAMILY WOUND: Origins, Manifestations and the Healing Quest
Presented by Jojopah Maria Nsoroma


Earthly Origins

In every family there is always at least one member who exhibits concentrated emotional pain. It is the family member who is the alcoholic, the drug addict, the drop-out, the criminal, the liar, the one who is mentally ill, or the one who just can’t seem to ever get their life together and is in perpetual struggling and suffering. These family members are always needy and you feel drained just thinking about them. But, these are the family members who we must be most thankful for because they are the messengers of the existence of the family wound.

A family wound is the concentrated emotional pain that gets transferred from one generation to the next – until it is acknowledged, accepted and transformed. And yes, every family member carries the wound, but most aren’t even aware of it. This is because the wound originates from a traumatic event or series of events that impact the wellness, structures, and very existence of a family: war, immigration, economic crisis, slavery, genocide, floods, tornadoes, famines, or earthquakes. These life-changing events demand a focus on survival, leaving little or no time for grieving and other healthy expressions of emotional pain. Emotions become shut down so that the family can survive. After the traumatic event and its aftermath have ended, no one remembers that any pain that is not transformed is transferred.

Cosmic Origins

Before your soul left its non-physical reality and slipped into a human body, you choose a path of cosmic learning. Cosmic learning is always and only about Love, and the Earth plane provides innumerable opportunities to be faced with the choice between Love and Fear. This is how the soul evolves towards the pure experience of Divine Love. The more traumatic the family wound, the more evolved are the souls within the family. Recognizing and learning to heal through the family wound is one of the most courageous and prestigious tasks that a human being can undertake during their lifetime.

Guest Fire Shaman

A few days ago, I introduced the concept of the family wound. This week I've asked Jojopah Maria Nsoroma to be a guest blogger here. Jojopah is a Fire Shaman, gifted diviner and spiritual teacher. She is learned in both West African and Native American shamanic healing arts, and combines them to create what she calls the “Medicine of the Buffalo and the Lion,” which she infuses with Christ Consciousness.

Before becoming a devotional artist, Jojopah worked in the field of human services, focusing on children, youth, and community, for over 25 years. She continues to serve that field as a consultant and promoter of spirituality in the workplace. She is currently a consultant working with the Alma Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin building a program, the Fatherhood Wisdom Walk Project. Through story, spirit, ancestor guides and ritual she has opened another dimension for men with violent pasts to find healing and create a brighter future.

Come back each day as she shares her wisdom with us.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Household Defined as Permaculture

As I work with Transitions, I'm struck once again by a very real part of western culture. The household or lack thereof. I worked outside my home in a traditional field with a traditional income until my son was born. After his birth, I could have continued to work for a traditional income which would cover the costs of daycare or switch my energy, enthusiasm and knowledge into the household and essentially streamline our funds into shelter expenses.

In this transition, I took on a myriad of roles consigned to women by choice or expectation. Cook and housekeeper are generally held by many women regardless of relationship status but add to that childcare duties, gardener, food purveyor, food preservation expert, herbal medicine producer, researcher for doctors to new tires, teacher/tutor for special needs children, chauffeur, social coordinator, tax preparer, spiritual guide, small repairs mechanic, repairs coordinator, church/social/community volunteer, music coach, sports coach, counselor, writer, and possibly, you could add being a wife or significant other to the list.

When I came across David Holmgren's permaculture pyramid my jaw dropped. Reality is the western world lacks a basic infrastructure for household. It doesn't even matter whether the role is held by male or female, it simply isn't recognized as essential to the culture.

“...imagine a pyramid. The real economy, which is basis of human society, is the household (the money economy is just a little thing on top). It begins from the economy of nature, [the base of the pyramid] then the household (the basic economic unit of society) only then the money/formal economy. We [Permaculture designers etc.] are concerned with the bottom layers, which at the moment are being drained by the top layer, because that's where it all comes from. Even in affluent economies, the household economy is still quite substantial. The unpaid work of women if paid would break western capitalism. This is what we look at rebuilding.” ~David Holmgren

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Thoughts on scarcity vs abundance

While working with the Transitions initiative, I've assessed David Holmgren's wisdom on permaculture. I found this passage particularly thought provoking. “In society generally there's an enormous sense of scarcity (whether real or apparent) like clean air. The process of growing up and becoming an adult is a process of pouring a lot of stuff into your head or you won't grow up. In sustainable societies, growing up is everywhere, you don't have to make it happen, it happens by itself; fresh air is an abundance, produced by trees all the time. Once seen as scarce it becomes a commodity, like bottled water. There's a sense of loosing everything. "Every tree is sacred because the planet is dying!" The farm landscape where you don't have anything to cut down is a dying landscape. Whereas there should be an abundance, a gift not an indulgence. Its the difference between a sense of abundance and one of gluttony which leads to power over nature and people. Especially in the western world, there is huge abundance but the sense of poverty.”

Friday, November 6, 2009

Negativity Righted

"Metaphysically, there are only two emotions: love and fear. That means all negativity is derived from fear. So say you are upset. You are angry, you are feeling whatever you are feeling. If it's not well being, contentment, optimism, thrill, enthusiasm, hope, trust, compassion, passion, happiness, wonder, love, peace, joy, it is derived from fear.

What am I afraid of?
I'm afraid the situation will not be solved in a way that serves me.
What casts out fear?
Love casts out fear.
What is the expression of love which casts out fear?
Faith.

Faith is an aspect of consciousness. If you are truly convicted that in Source all things are possible then you can lift out of fear.

Think about this. Most people have faith that a problem will not be solved or righted."

Imagine changing that perception of faith. Then imagine the new energetic of optimistic possibility. To work with Transition, fear must have a means of eradication. Faith isn't exclusive of a religious denomination--agreed beliefs are. Anyone can practice faith.

Check out Marianne Williamson's Miracle Thought page and listen to her comments on negativity.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Proposal from a co-creator

Heal the HealthCare 11-11-2009
(in numerology this is an 11-11-11)

I am Peggy Black and this is a Call to Action. I invite you to participate as we set a powerful intention to transform the health care system. Together we will shift, heal and transform this matrix. Please network this invitation everywhere.

Please watch this youtube and network this site. Thank you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMCWioyn8kI

Live audio broadcast with Peggy on Wednesday 11-04-09
Hosted by http://www.metaphysicalwisdom.com
1:00 pm Eastern, 12:00 noon Central, 10:00 am Pacific

peggyblack@aol.com

Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Call in live: Freedawn Radio, (347) 308 - 8137
Listen to us on the web: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Freedawn-Radio.
Time: 8:00 am. PST, 9:00 am. MST, 11:00 am. EST

____________Message___________

The debate continues. The division is money or well-being for the people. Everyone has a vested interest. This dilemma is locked in a stalemate. This is big business. The people do not win. Health care costs continue to rise. The costs of monthly prescriptions are outrageous. The imbalance is obvious and it is a crime. This system is beyond a dysfunction.

How do we collectively shift this heinous health care situation? How do we take care of those who are sick, injured and in pain? How do we invite, envision, and call forth a health care program that is supportive and beneficial for everyone?

We are not powerless.

The first and foremost aspect of this invitation is for each individual to personally own and recognize that they have the power and ability to transform this dysfunction. This shift and transformation does not take place in the debates that are so polarized.

The true transformation takes place in the energy field, the matrix that creates all form. Everything begins with the integrity of the pure idea, held in the hearts and minds of aware individuals who envision a better world. Together our collective consciousness, our focused intention, begins to affect the physical reality.

We are all one, all interconnected; this is about our oneness, our true compassion for others. On this auspicious day of 11:11:2009 (in numerology this is an 11-11-11) there is an energetic gateway, a portal, a power vortex for creation. We can call forth a reality that nurtures humanity. We are not powerless. We are the creators, pure and simple.

We have the authority and privilege to call forth a better reality. On this day and future days hold the clear vision of the perfect and ideal solutions being brought forth for our health care system.

Together on 11-11-2009

I invite you to hold your prescriptions in your hand, or go to the hospitals or medical facility in your area, or access the sacred space of your mind/heart, focus your attention on a total shift in how we care for our sick and disabled. Envision the entire medical paradigm and join others in this sacred service. Ask for assistance from Divine Source, Angels, Archangels, Masters and Celestial Beings in healing our entire health care system.

This service of healing our health care can be done continually until it manifests. Each time you take a medication, see your doctor, or talk or read about health care, envision, intend, see and call forward the creation of a health care system available and affordable for all, which supports our families and our society, Call forth a health care that is truly designed to promote soundness of body and freedom from disease. In the realms of truth this is a reality and together we will call this forth. So be it and so it is.

© 2009 Peggy Black All Right Reserved. You may make copies of this message and share it with others, as long as it is copied in its entirety. Please credit the source and include the copyright.

831-335-3145 peggyblack@aol.com www.morningmessages.com

My gratitude to my dear friend Amrita who steps up each time the "team" gives me this kind of assignment. She created the youtube from my script. She does incredible work. I appreciate who she is in the world and in my life. www.healingmusic.org

Share freely, pass this site on to others, and
stay in your joy, gratitude, and appreciation.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Einstein Quote

"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them." ~Einstein

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Three Questions from Inner Transitions

The Transitions movement asks people to examine three questions.

1. What inner beliefs underlie our outer world?

2. What is going on? Why have we made a self destructive world? Why don’t we wake up and do something about it?

3. How can the Transition movement support Inner Transition?

These questions are a platform to begin an inner journey toward the spiritual self. Part of the journey involves recognizing the ancestral wound. Once recognized there follows the question, what should I do with it?

From the indigenous perspective you would begin to work with ritual. The best rituals I've experienced come from the work of Sobonfu Some, Brooke Medicine Eagle, and Anastasia of the Ringing Cedar series.

If you wanted to begin gently, you could get the Women's Wisdom from the heart of Africa audio book set and listen. Just by listening, you'll feel a shift begin to happen.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Inner Transition

During November, I want to spend time examining Transitions. From a personal point of view, I prefer gentle transition. In a measure of time, I don't mind if a transition is fast-gentle not implying slow or methodical. It is the crisis transition that I desire to avoid.

For me transition has simultaneous components. There are components which happen outside of my physical sphere of being and components which are intricately woven to my inner being. The inner being is the aspect that strikes me as a personal point of departure.

Over the past twenty years, the indigenous wisdom I've witnessed addresses the wounds of humans. To heal from a wound, a human being must expect, desire, and be willing to receive from Source. No human, of any origin, belief or ethnicity is exempt from the ancestral wound.

In my work as a spiritual coach, I encounter countless cases of embedded wounds. Healing of these wounds requires an inquiry be made on multiple fronts. The spiritual being recognized as one front. The quote below is profound in that many westerners haven't considered the implications of the wound concept as applies to all ethnicity.

"We white Americans of European ancestry had our indigenous cultures stolen from us, had our lands and lifestyles, our lives destroyed, just as we have gone on to steal and destroy around the globe. It happened long ago, of course, so we barely remember it…the land remembers it…it’s all there, still reverberating through our bodies, like gongs still sounding centuries after they were struck with the mallet…and that pain shapes us, and hurts us still, and that, of course, is the deep reason we do what we do now to the planet. If we don’t seek to understand that, how can we ever expect to change our behavior?"

Tim Bennett, writer and director of What A Way To Go: Life At The End Of Empire