Rage in India, Hope in Canada; Idle No More, One Billion Rising for the Rights of the Great Mother and All Her Daughters

Ekajat, Blue Tara, Ferocious Protector Goddess, Painted by Shri Ram Bahadur Lama,
Lama Thanka Painting School, Bhaktapur, Kathmandu

We are violating the rights of future generations to have the biological resources that they need. They need pollinators. One-sixth to one-third of all the food we eat is brought to us by insect pollination and those systems are now falling to pieces. We need plankton in the ocean. Plankton provides us half the oxygen we breathe and those plankton stocks are now in trouble because of warming ocean temperatures and ocean acidification. It’s our responsibility as members of this generation to safeguard all these things for our children. Sandra Steingraber, Anti-Fracking Activist Discusses the Connection Between Human Rights and the Environment, Truthout, 12-29-12

Indian police have charged six men with murder, hours after a woman who was gang-raped and thrown from a moving bus in Delhi nearly two weeks ago died in a Singapore hospital ... The announcement came as thousands of Indians gathered to mourn and protest the death of the 23-year-old medical student. The woman, who has not been named, sustained serious internal injuries after being violated with an iron bar during the attack, which took place on 16 December and triggered mass demonstrations calling for better protection for women against sexual violence. Guardian, 12-29-12

Rage in India, Hope in Canada; Idle No More, One Billion Rising for the Rights of the Great Mother and All Her Daughters

By Richard Power

The fatal gang-rape of the young Indian medical student in Delhi, the mass murder of the twenty children in Newtown and the sociopathic efforts to deny the truth of the Climate Crisis; all are symptomatic of the same profound spiritual illness.

The patriarchy must fall. It is sick, and it must fall.

There is no more important cause than this, no more urgent mission than this; if you do nothing else for your world, participate in this effort. The struggle to end violence against Mother Earth is not separate from the struggle to end violence against women and girls. And neither can succeed without the other.

One Billion Rising (February 14, 2013) will shake the Earth; and the Earth will shake the human psyche out of the ghetto of ignorance, and into the temple of its own essential divinity.

Empower women and you will shift the center of gravity on every issue from Climate Change to Gun Control.

In the male-dominated societies of these two millennia, we have cut ourselves off from the fullness of life. The human psyche is pathologically out of whack. It has gone off the rails. It is lost to itself. The balance must be restored. A healing must be undertaken.

In the ancient symbol of the Yin and the Yang, at the center of the swirling Yang there is a drop of Yin, and at the center of the swirling Yin, there is a drop of Yang. The madness that led to the atrocities in Delhi and Newtown originates in the loss of this great balance. Our collective psyche has fallen into a crack in the world made with the blunt instrument of its own ignorance; this crack divides male from female, heaven from earth, human from divine, and light from dark, forcing them into false and warped dichotomies, when in truth they are dynamic aspects of one great whole; each equal, opposite and energized by the perfect tension of having the other at its nucleus. For healing and evolution to take place, women must be empowered and the divine feminine must be exalted.

But there is not only the rage rising from the streets of India, there is also the hope rising from the streets of Canada, because there those with eyes to hear and ears to see are Idle No More. And of course, their actions are being inspired by the vision and sacrifice of a woman: Chief Theresa Spence of the Attawapiskat First Nation. As I write this Chief Spence in the throes of a hunger strike, in a tepee across from the seat of government in Ottawa. She is attempting to compel Canada's conservative Prime Minister to engage in a dialogue about recent legislation that not only threatens Mother Earth but also the sovereignty of the Native American peoples.

Mr. Harper may relent, scared of the political fallout from letting this great leader die. I dearly hope he does. I want Chief Spence to eat. But I won’t soon forget this clash between these two very different kinds of resolve, one so sealed off, closed in; the other cracked wide open, a conduit for the pain of the world. But Chief Spence’s hunger is not just speaking to Mr. Harper. It is also speaking to all of us, telling us that the time for bitching and moaning is over. Now is the time to act, to stand strong and unbending for the people, places and principles that we love. This message is a potent gift. So is the Idle No More movement – its name at once a firm commitment to the future, while at the same time a gentle self-criticism of the past. We did sit idly by, but no more. Naomi Klein, As Chief Spence Starves, Canadians Awaken from Idleness and Remember Their Roots,Globe and Mall, 12-24-12

I have embedded two videos in this post. First, a Democracy Now! piece on Chief Spence and the Idle No More movement; second, a seven minute Eve Ensler/Tony Stroebel film on One Billion Rising. Remember, one billion women violated is an atrocity. One billion women - and men -- dancing is a revolution. Join ONE BILLION RISING at http://www.onebillionrising.org. I urge you to view both of them, and share them with others.

The struggle to end violence against Mother Earth is not separate from the struggle to end violence against women and girls. And neither can succeed without the other. Those who do violence against women, those who slaughter the innocents, and yes, those who finance the denial of the Climate Crisis because acknowledging it would threaten their obscene profits, all of them are cut off from life, from the Earth and from the deepest parts of themselves. All power must be wrested from their hands.

Remember Malala Yousafzai, the fifteen year old who was shot in the head and neck, because she dared to champion the education of girls such as herself, and Neda Agha-Soltan, the twenty-six year old Iranian woman shot and killed in 2009, as she protested the thugocracy's election theft. Remember those twenty little children in Newtown, and that unnamed young woman in Delhi. And yes, remember Gaia Herself, who sustains us all, and suffers us all.

Join One Billion Rising on February 14, 2013. It is a doorway. We desperately need GLOBAL, NON-VIOLENT EVOLUTION NOW!

One Billion Rising


Idle No More: Indigenous-Led Protests Sweep Canada for Native Sovereignty and Environmental Justice


Do you know why 350 is the most important number in your life and the lives of everyone you love? Go to 350.org for the answer.

Richard Power is the author of eight books, including Humanifesto: A Guide to Primal Reality in an Era of Global Peril, Between Shadow and Night: The Singularity in Anticipation of Itself and True North on the Pathless Path: Towards a 21st Century Yoga. Power writes and speaks on spirituality, sustainability, human rights, and security. He blogs at http://words-of-power.blogspot.com and http://primalwordsofpower.blogspot.com, and is a member of the Truthout Board of Advisors. He also teaches yoga.

At Every Moment, & In Every Circumstance

Celtic Symbol of the Triune Goddess

Divine intelligence pervades this universe. Human ignorance is no more than its shadow.

Divine intelligence sustains this universe. It enlivens every cell; it informs every creature.

Divine intelligence calls us to reality through every problem, and encourages us on with every opportunity.

Prayer and meditation, authentic prayer and meditation, constitute the human heart's dialogue with this divine intelligence; likewise, scientific inquiry, authentic scientific inquiry, constitutes the human mind's conversation with this divine intelligence.

You can call on this divine intelligence at any moment. It will always respond. You can turn to it in any circumstance. It will always engage. It has no other choice. Gratitude is one of its open doors. Compassion is another one of its open doors.

It is never any further away than your own next breath. It is always waiting for you in the space between one thought and the next.

You will recognize it because, unlike human ignorance, the inter-connectedness of everything is immediately apparent to it, and also because paradoxes are second-nature to it. This divine intelligence is calling us to true freedom (which is a much more mysterious state than we imagine it to be).

Divine intelligence thrives in embodiment. It urges us on to embodiment. Yoga, martial arts and the dance offer path ways into the wilds of divine intelligence. Such journeys of self-discovery are vital to establishing an intimate relationship with it.

And in a revelation, just as in a kiss, for that flash, the "I" and "Thou" become transparent and transposed.

The medicine of life is calling to you. It is offering itself to you at every moment, and in every circumstance. We are never powerless or lost.

Divine intelligence is literally at our fingertips, ever and always. Only our own expectations fail us; only our own imaginations mislead us.

-- Richard Power

 Humanifesto: A Guide to Primal Reality in an Era of Global Peril is available now in soft cover and Kindle versions, from Amazon and elsewhere.

Solstice December 21, 2012

Triple Spiral of the Triune Goddess. Newgrange Tomb Entrance Stone (Ireland). Photo Credit: Nomadtales, 2005

This particular solstice is of profound importance. And our world desperately needs such a moment. But it is not an isolated event, it is actually a singularly magnificent peak among magnificent peaks, along a mountain range of change; one that has been forming under our feet for decades now, and will continue to take form for decades to come.

Don't let this moment of profound importance rob tomorrow and the days thereafter of their unique significance. Every moment of every night must become like this one; every moment of every night has the potential to be just as profoundly important both to you and this world.

So whether you are in the North, and experience it as the Winter Solstice, or you are in the South and experience it as the Summer Solstice, open yourself up to it, offer yourself up. Yes, there are wheels within wheels, but the cosmic wheel itself is also turning. And this year, in this transition, you will be able to feel it. You will be able to turn through it, and with it, into a deeper, fuller expression of your own life's truth. And you will also be able to unhesitatingly embrace your role in the deeper, fuller expression of this planet's truth.

Immerse yourself in silence. Bathe in light, swim in darkness.

Breathe in the night sky, sing forth the dawn.

-- Richard Power

 Humanifesto: A Guide to Primal Reality in an Era of Global Peril is available now in soft cover and Kindle versions, from Amazon and elsewhere.

Black Hole at Milky Way's Center. Image Credit: NASA/Caltech, 2012

Mapping Primal Reality; Further Notes On A User's Guide to Human Incarnation (Part III: Spandakarikas, Secret Doctrine & Human Significance of Skin)

Spanda-Karikas (Jaideva Singh)

This is the third in a series of seven monthly talks I am giving at the San Francisco Lodge of the Theosophical Society. 

The series includes talks on the four great texts of Kashmir Saivism (i.e., Shiva Sutras, Pratyabhijina Hridayam, Spandakarikas and Vijnanabhairava) as well as other aspects of Yoga, Buddha Dharma and Shamanism.

This third presentation focuses on teachings from the Spandakarikas, and draws further elucidation from H.P. Blavatsky's Secret Doctrine and Ashley Montague's Touching: The Human Significance of Skin.

You will find a link to the first two talks in the series listed below, under "Related Talks." The next talk, Part IV, will be given in January 2013.

Listen to Part III ...

-- Richard Power

Related Talks

Mapping Primal Reality; Further Notes On A User's Guide to Human Incarnation (Part II: Pratyabhijinahrdayam, Teresa of Avila's Interior Castle & Jung's Process of Individuation)

Mapping Primal Reality: Further Notes for A User's Guide to Human Incarnation (Part I, Siva Sutras, Maslow's Hierarchy of Basic Human Needs, October 2012

A User's Guide to Human Incarnation (Part III, October 2010

A User's Guide to Human Incarnation (Part II, September 2010)

A User's Guide to Human Incarnation (Part 1, August 2010)

From Newtown to Darfur, from Sandy to Bopha; As 2012 Ebbs Away, Look to Solstice for New Year, & Hopefully, New Age; Look into Mirror for Leaders

Nicholas Roerich - Serpent of Wisdom (1924)

The number of people killed after Typhoon Bopha struck the southern Philippines has risen to more than 1,000, officials say. With nearly 850 people still missing, the toll is likely to rise further ... The storm displaced hundreds of thousands of people and caused severe damage to property and infrastructure. BBC, 12-15-12

They found alarming losses of big trees, ranging from 100 to 300 years old, at all latitudes in Europe, North America, Africa, Asia, South America, Latin America and Australia ... The study showed that trees were not only dying en masse in forest fires, but were also perishing at 10 times the normal rate in non-fire years. The study said it appeared to be down to a combination of rapid climate change causing drought and high temperatures, as well as rampant logging and agricultural land clearing. Agence France Press, 12-6-12

The worst drought in half a century has brought water levels in the Mississippi close to historic lows and could shut down all shipping in a matter of weeks – unless Barack Obama takes extraordinary measures. Suzanne Goldenberg, Guardian, 12-14-12

A group of elephants near Timbuktu makes an epic journey each year in their quest for food and water. Researchers found that they travel across an area of 12,355 square miles (32,000 square kilometers) in the deserts of Mali, marking the largest known elephant range in the world. Live Science, 12-14-12

From Newtown to Darfur, from Sandy to Bopha; As 2012 Ebbs Away, Look to Solstice for a New Year, and Hopefully, a New Age; Look into Mirror for Leaders

By Richard Power

The life of 2012 ebbs away, and each of us, in our own way, prepares for the Solstice. I write this post to assure you that it will guide us into a new year, and yes, a new age (as inconceivable as that vision might seem at this moment). There is so much to say, and yet in a very real way there is so little to say.

Concerning the slaughter of twenty young children in Newtown, Connecticut, I refer you to the insights of Harvey Wasserman and Chauncey DeGraw:

The Second Amendment does NOT guarantee the right of any and all citizens to own any and all kinds of guns. It DEMANDS, in the name of national security, that we regulate it. NEVER let assertions of the so-called "sanctity" of the 2d Amendment bully you into thinking it guarantees unregulated weapon ownership. It does NOT. Harvey Wasserman, Common Dreams, 12-15-12

Per our national script, there are several questions which will go unanswered...just as they always do. As I wrote about in regards to James Holmes , the Batman movie killer, there will be no soul searching about why white men are committing these violent acts. In the present, mass shootings have been almost the exclusive province of white men. Chauncey DeGraw, AlterNet, 12-15-12

Of course, at this very moment, in all too many places on this planet, there are so many children suffering atrocities, and on such a large scale. And yet, these ongoing narratives, e.g., the slow motion genocide in Darfur, are largely ignored by Infotainmentstan and Beltwayistan, those twisted sisters who control "the horizontal and the vertical."

Camps have become free-fire zones, an epidemic of rape continues to plague women and girls, murders are common, and aerial bombardment of civilian targets has been relentless (see www.sudanbombing.org). Perhaps most tellingly, more than 1 million people have been newly displaced since UNAMID took up its mandate on January 1, 2008; and as has been the case since the beginning of conflict in Darfur, the greatest cause of displacement is violence. The scale of this new displacement has never been acknowledged by UNAMID, which prefers instead to celebrate the small-scale “returns” of displaced persons that are optimistically measured in the tens of thousands. And the engine of displacement—ethnically-targeted violence in camps and rural areas, rape, and land appropriation by Arab groups taking advantage of this displacement—continues to race. Radio Dabanga provides daily updates that find no place in the infrequent and disgracefully uninformed and unrevealing reports from UNAMID. Eric Reeves, 12-1-12

Meanwhile, every child on the planet is growing up into a world that will bear little if any resemblance to the planet which even their parents and grand parents inherited from the generations that preceded them. Because we are, in a very real way, stomping the world as we know it to death with our carbon footprint.

Profound spiritual illness and deep psychological dysfunction have allowed such ongoing narratives of horror to continue exacerbating and unaddressed, from the refuge camps of Africa to the schoolrooms of the affluent U.S.A., and from the devastation wrought by Sandy to the horror wrought by Bopha.

If you had told me twenty years ago, at that that first Rio Summit, that by 2012 global carbon emissions would have increased by around 50%, that 1 billion people in the world would be hungry, that fossil fuel subsidies would amount to $1 trillion a year, I would have been horrified. As Lord Stern states in his latest report, 'The overall pace of change is recklessly slow. We are acting as if change is too difficult and costly and delay is not a problem. The rigidity of the processes under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the behaviour of participants also hinder progress. And the vested interests remain powerful.' I was appalled by the lack of progress, and deeply disturbed by the powerful special interest being exerted in Doha. The fingerprints of corporate interest were all over the COP18 negotiations. As Alden Meyer, director of strategy and policy, Union of Concerned Scientists said at the conclusion of the conference: "There were some winners here. The coal industry won here, the oil industry won here, you saw on display the power of these industries and their short term profit to influence the governments of the world. This wasn't an environmental summit it was a trade fair to see who would share the spoils as we drill in the Arctic, produce tar sand in Canada and mine coal in Indonesia for China..." Bianca Jagger, Common Dreams, 12-12-12

Sadly, if you are looking for leadership, don't waste precious time turning to the White House. Look in the mirror instead. POTUS will not lead on our toughest issues (I would be so happy to be proven wrong), but I have hope that he will follow IF a multitude rises up to lead the nation and the species to the threshold of a brighter future, and a new age. How many beings constitute a multitude? None of us can say what number will deliver the counter tipping point we so desperately need. But we can say with great certainty that each of us only has to count to ONE, i.e., ourselves.

Stand up for this new world, in your prayer, in your meditation, in your interactions with others, in your life-style (as much as is possible given your own circumstances), and in your attitude toward the rest of your life. That is all that is required of any of us.

And when you are in need of encouragement, listen to those voices who are already at the forefront of this assembling multitude.

Women knew that the real value of forests was not the timber from a dead tree, but the springs and streams, food for their cattle, and fuel for their hearths. The women declared that they would hug the trees, and the loggers would have to kill them before killing the trees. Vandana Shiva, AlterNet, 12-10-12

Each has a tough-love message for their own constituency — McKibben for an insular environmental movement that's been woefully ineffective on climate; Klein for a left, including many in the Occupy movement, that has failed to grapple with the seriousness and urgency of the climate crisis. Look, they're saying, this is it: science tells us that time is running out, and everything you've ever fought for is on the line. Climate change has the ability to undo your historic victories and crush your present struggles. So it's time to come together, for real, and fight to preserve and extend what you care most about — which means engaging in the climate fight, really engaging, as if your life and your life's work, even life itself, depended on it. Because they do. Wes Stephenson, Boston Phoenix, 12-13-12

Do you know why 350 is the most important number in your life and the lives of everyone you love? Go to 350.org for the answer.

Richard Power is the author of eight books, including Humanifesto: A Guide to Primal Reality in an Era of Global Peril, Between Shadow and Night: The Singularity in Anticipation of Itself and True North on the Pathless Path: Towards a 21st Century Yoga. Power writes and speaks on spirituality, sustainability, human rights, and security. He blogs at http://words-of-power.blogspot.com and http://primalwordsofpower.blogspot.com, and is a member of the Truthout Board of Advisors. He also teaches yoga.