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The mind is a setting. It is a place to be within, like your mother’s living room, familiar, comfortable, filled with couches to slouch in, spread onto.
The mind is a setting in a place that no one else can get to. Not really. It’s the most private place you have. It’s so secret that sharing the mind, opening it to someone else, letting them try to understand you, creates situations that can take time to unravel. The mind is a setting as cultivated or as wild as you make it. It is a natural setting where the animal instinct, unconscious, wild, sensual, respond-to-the-light being exists with one that is conscious, cultivated, conditioned -to-be polite, sharing, compassionate. This mind is often the one in charge. The mind is a setting that’s split down the middle between light and dark, night and day. It is an open cavern with a skylight, a garden with marble steps and grottos and ponds where frogs jump and lilies float. And there is the dark side, too, the night side setting of the mind, the place from which original thought originates. It’s something to ponder: why we spent more time in one place of the mind than another. The mind as a place makes it real and inviting, a haven, a safe journey. A portable vacation…When others are packing for Hawaii, filling suitcases with sunscreen and sunglasses and shorts and you can’t go, there is always the mind, someplace new to traipse around in: a safe place, but an imaginary journey, too… Try it sometime…it’ll be our secret.
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FROM: Goldwork and Shamanism by Gerardo Reichel-Dolmstaff: An Iconographic Study of the Gold Museum of the Banco de la Republica, Columbia p. 30-31
"Gold is practically incorruptible...the brightness of gold and its other properties are long-lasting, so that through the ages this metal has become a symbol of Eternity. Gold is used in religious rites as a sacrifice or offering, for it is an element pleasing to the gods and is almost demanded by them... The Sun is a disc of gold, it is the father of gold, and it waxes strong on gold;...Hence, the link between gold, the supernatural sphere, and power recurs constantly in human thought...gold has always had a connotation inspiring a feeling of reverence and even fear. This is why in many past and present societies goldsmiths have been and are associated with magic. The goldsmith, like the shaman, is one who makes transformations; for by working the gold and giving it a culturally significant form he makes the material pass from a profane to a sacred state. An element of magic is nearly always connected with the goldsmith's scientific and technical knowledge...the magic of transformation... Gold was associated with the Sun for its brightness, and thereby acquired a seminal, fertilizing, vital significance and even political significance. The Indians today hold that there is a reciprocal relationship between gold and the Sun, in which exchange occurs...On certain days of the year, when the Sun is in a certain position, they celebrate a ritual of exposing the gold to the Sun - 'asolear el oro' - in a very sacred place. The gold objects are placed within bead necklaces of carnelian and rock crystal on ritual basketry trays, which are then deposited near a temple and left there for some time, exposed to the rays of the Sun. It is believed that the gold thus absorbs new fertilizing Energy, becomes purified and renews its brightness, while the Sun finds satisfaction in the offering, for it strengthens its beneficient power." “If our terrestrial connections are made stronger through the extra-terrestrial, then the Night Sky has the Potential to be an expansive and unmatched looking glass. Our Obsession with artificial light risks extinguishing the galaxy from our lived experience and the loss of a kinship as old as the universe itself.”1
What is Light Pollution? It is the human-made alteration of outdoor light levels from those occurring naturally. The effects of light pollution disrupt wildlife, impact human health, waste money and energy, and block our view of the universe. Baby sea turtles use this light to move towards the sea right after hatching. Unfortunately, light pollution makes the land glow stronger than the sea causing the baby turtles to get confused and walk in the opposite direction. Light pollution annoys astronomers, but also other creatures of the night like baby sea turtles, moths and fireflies.2 Every year the amount of artificial lighting steadily increases on Earth. Although it’s cause to celebrate in remote villages in Africa and the Indian sub-continent that gain access to electricity for the first time, it also harms the health and well-being of residents of megacities elsewhere that continue to get bigger and brighter every year. Health impacts of artificial illumination after daylight hours range from depression to cancer, including a range of sleep disorders. Eighty percent of people on Earth have lost their view of the natural night sky due to the glow of artificial lights. Cities with large populations contribute to light pollution, but in many areas lighting is geographically or culturally influenced. In northern latitudes where the Sun shines less or in arid countries where hot daytime temperatures inspire more evening activity, urban centers are often brightly lit and can outshine the usual light-pollution suspects like New York City or Tokyo.3 What can be done about Light Pollution? The International Dark-Sky Association advocates: Follow responsible lighting practices, like installing outdoor light fixtures with shields that prevent light from passing skyward. Encourage more scientific research in this field. Pass dark-sky legislation to reduce light pollution and meet dark-sky community standards, as communities in Idaho (and in many other places in the world), have done.4 For example, when the Northridge earthquake shook Los Angeles in 1994, large swathes of the metropolitan area were left without power and lights. Matt Benjamin saw a 'strange, silvery cloud' appear in the darkened sky. Because of his family's travels to Idaho, he knew that what he was seeing on that January morning was the Milky Way Galaxy. Now an astrophysicist in Colorado, Benjamin returned to Idaho to testify on behalf of the Milky Way and the dark skies necessary to see it. The Idaho Conservation League sought designation for a dark-sky preserve centered on the area around Ketchum and Sun Valley. Three designated wilderness areas buffer the resort valley. Boise is 240 kilometers away. There's darkness already. But Benjamin, in his testimony before the Blaine County commissioners, called for stiffening efforts to tamp down the lights so that the Milky Way can continue to be seen. Los Angeles isn't alone in blotting out the Milky Way. A team of scientists reporting in a June 2016 issue of Science Advances found that the Milky Way is not visible to more than one-third of humanity. This includes 60% of Europeans and nearly 80% of North Americans. Even when they can detect the Milky Way in the sky overhead, ninety-nine percent of the US and European populations live under light-polluted skies. Even in the American West, the Milky Way can be hard to find in the night sky. What Benjamin calls the light footprint from cities can extend 160 to 240 kilometers in every direction... In Idaho, the proposal being pushed by the Idaho Conservation League would yield the creation of a dark-sky reserve, the first in the US and 12th in the world designated by the International Dark-Sky Association. The Association has specified minimum criteria for sky quality and natural darkness: 80% of outdoor lighting must be shielded within 5 years to prevent it from going into the sky. Within a decade, it must hit 100%.5 Finally, refresh your relationship with the Milky Way and visit a dark-sky designated location. Thanks to its brightness, the center of the Milky Way is relatively easy to observe. From the northern hemisphere, it is best seen during the summer when looking south. When you are in truly dark places, you can see galaxies with the naked eye. To find places with clear night skies, you need to go where the population density is low. For that reason, deserts tend to be good places to admire starry nights. When you lie down and look up in a place with no trees or other high objects, your visual field only contains stars. It's very easy to imagine you are just floating in space or on the surface of the Moon.6 Celebrate International Dark Sky Week April 2 – 8, 2024...Find a dark sky space, lie on your back and look up at the stars... 1 Kinship: Belonging in a World of Relations Ed. by Gavin van Horn, Robin Wall Kimmerer, John Hausdoeffer, p. 28 2 The last places on Earth to see truly dark starry nights, 24 November 2023 05:00 PST By Jordi Busqué 3 https://therevelator.org/cities-ranked-light-pollution Big Cities, Bright Lights: Ranking the Worst Light Pollution on Earth June 21, 2018 by Dipika Kadaba 4 darksky.org 5 What it takes to be a dark-sky reserve, Pique Magazine (Whistler, B.C.) 23 November 2016 by Allen Best 6 The last places on Earth to see truly dark starry nights, 24 November 2023, 05:00 PST By Jordi Busqué Without order, there would be order
Without rules, there would be understanding Without criticism, there would be no inhibition Without time, there would be time Without thought, there would be space Without consciousness, there would be unconsciousness Without angst, there would be love Without possession, there would be freedom Without phones, there would be mental telepathy Without desire, there would be requitedness Without longing, there would be peace Without military, there would be artists Without children, there would be no innocence Without churches, there would be anarchy Without rules, there would be learning Without fear, there would be dance.... Creating Freedom: The Lottery of Birth, the Illusion of Consent, and the Fight for Our Future by Raoul Martinez...'Creating Freedom' examines the limits placed on freedom by human nature and society and reveals historical myths at the heart of our economic, political, and criminal justice systems. Reading it transformed the way I think about democracy and fairness.
Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent by Eduardo Galeano...I couldn't stop reading this book, a translation from Spanish by Cedric Belfrage, yet I did so with my heart in the pit of my stomach. Mr. Galeano spared nothing in revealing how the artesanal crafts practiced by the peoples of Latin America have been sacrificed to the machines of the (so-called) 'industrial revolution'. Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History by S.C. Gwynne...I read this while working as a prospector and sleeping in my snow-covered tent during temperatures below 5 degrees Celsius. Never have I had such an appreciation (and longing for) a buffalo skin, the necessity and significance of which in relationship to the Comanche peoples is so clearly expressed in this book. An art exercise...create a circle or an oblong with other people...
Toss a ball... Look someone in the eye... Throw the ball... Keep going around the circle... Track one person... Track two people... Breathe... Form a triangle with your two people... Do this for a long time... From this 'walking through space' experience, she learned: When asked to focus on one person, she realized that ultimately we are all connected by gaze. To be heard, there is always hesitation about what to say...not from fear or shyness (anymore), but because of having to ask her feelings first before she can express her thought... To listen, she loves listening...She craves hearing other peoples' stories...these, to her, are the fabric of Life, the source of deep knowing, the scent of breath, what affected our creation...Tell her a story, she would say, so that I come to know you more fully...This is the point of entry into you...the pathway and the portal... Knowing how she can benefit us, beauty
sometimes acts like a hooker. Because she knows if we spend an hour with her we will be better off. And beauty is right, she is clever. When has looking at the graciousness in nature or in art, or hearing some moving music not softened your face, made your touch more wanted, your voice more rich and alive, and the world more bearable. And the sweet taste of hope yours and able to impart. From: A Year with Hafiz: Daily Contemplations by Daniel Ladinsky  Jasper Pebbles, Kronkite Beach, Sausalito, California set in Sterling Silver Ring, 2019. Sourced and made by Arte Fact Jewels [RI19-356] There is great satisfaction in finding the stones I set myself. Here is an example of a sterling ring made with four small but beautifully colored jasper beach pebbles found on Kronkite Beach, Sausalito, California where they had been polished naturally by the Pacific Ocean. Understanding not only where these pebbles came from but that they have been given form by the response of wind and sand and wave to the motion and momentum of the Earth itself, its vibrations and rhythms, imbues these pebbles with an energy and substance and magic that no human hand could impart. FROM: Understanding Northwest Coast Indigenous Jewelry: The Art, The Artists, The History by Alexander Dawkins (Foreword by Corinne Hunt)
p.90-91 'Some crest symbols...on amulets, pendants, rings, (etc) are said to have spiritual powers that enable them to protect or heal...These objects “...do not so much act as receptacles of these powers as provide a catalyst through which they could be called upon...” either by the wearer or with the help of a healer...Most sought after as spiritual guardians are beings that can travel between these distinct worlds (sea, sky, land)...Amongst Indigenous cultures around the world, body orifices are seen as portals between internal spirit and the outside world. Healers and high-ranking individuals wore (...) lip labrets, earlobe plugs, earrings and nose rings to protect their soul from external threats and prevent it from leaving their body. This jewelry is often made from bone or abalone shell, both of which are softer materials and easier to wear in sensitive areas...:bone is often considered sacred because it exists beyond death and is said to contain the essence of a person; abalone shell has iridescent qualities that have long been linked to the sun's energy and strength. Wearing jewelry made these materials can be viewed as both visually and spiritually empowering.' FROM: The Golden Horde: From the Himalaya to the Mediterranean by Sheila Payne
p. 54 “The symbolism, the women of the Hand Weaving Club of the Goddess has said, related to the peasant's view of their lives - ... - as a cultural space created out of universal chaos, an organized resistance to be guarded from the wandering malevolent spirits of the natural world around them. It was the marginal areas of this existence – fences and gates around homes, thresholds, corners of the frame construction... - that are the most vulnerable...Just as it was humans in transitional states – babies..., brides, fiances, etc... [therefore, thresholds, transitional states, gates + entryways] FROM: The Golden Horde: From the Himalaya to the Mediterranean by Sheila Payne p. 207 “Amulets are the refuge of people who have little control over their lives, of people who inhabit a world they believe to be in the power of the spirits, both good and evil.” p. 251 “And then I saw it...a perfect example of the amulet. Just as it should be, a padded triangle with three tassels. It was made of dirty brown leather thonged together, embroidered in silver with the motif of a crescent moon and the solar symbol of an 8-pointed star, and had a loop to hang it by. The tassels were of twisted wool, the outer ones white, the central ones red. An extract from the Koran was inside, said the museum director...It was for a man. To protect him from illness. Women's amulets, she pointed out, were always hung with gold coins that jingled and so kept the evil spirits away.” Sheila Paine is a world expert on tribal societies and textiles. Her passion for travel began when she was very young and has taken her across the world, from Africa to Pakistan. She is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and has worked as a professional translator/interpreter in French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Her museum-quality collection includes embroidery and amulets and has been staged in numerous exhibitions. She is the author of several acclaimed books, including Embroidery from India and Pakistan, The Linen Goddess, and The Afghan Amulet, and has won travel writing awards from the Independent and the Sunday Times. |