» Archive for the 'History' Category

Cheezburgerocracy…With a couple’a caveats.

Tuesday, November 4th, 2008 by Maryam Webster
Yes, We CAN Has Democracy!

This cute kitty comes from the "I Can Has Cheezburger" website. All kitties want is Cheezburgerocracy. ;-)

Barack Obama is the 44th President of the United States. My friend Krishna De says that we should all remember where we were this day, when we heard the news as it is historic, one to tell the grandchildren.

Yes, Virginia, you CAN have another stab at democracy.

Let’s take a look what that will be like in the energy field…

Remember 9/11? Remember how the cameraderie and community feeling nationwide? Remember how good it felt? And remember how that lasted about six to eight months? No more than a year across the land. Then we started getting proprietary,
grabby, “not in my back yard” and looking suspiciously at our neighbors again. So much for national siblinghood and unity.

Now we have another incident that justifiably perhaps, is engendering great joy and goodwill throughout most of America and much of the rest of the world.

But will it last?

History tells us it won’t, not for long. But we can re-write history, you know.

Really.

It’s not even all that hard.

We’re going to learn much more in Magic School shortly, but here’s a pointer or two: Read the rest of this entry »

Got Fear? Get Help, here.

Friday, October 17th, 2008 by Maryam Webster

FDRFranklin Delano Roosevelt seen at right and commonly referred to as FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States. That’s for the folks who seem to have missed being taught about New Deals I and II, and the Great Depression. I’m finding suprisingly  many who seemed to have skipped this bit of history in school. And while I was not personally alive during the Depression, my parents were. Their generation’s experience formed how I viewed money for most of my life, as it did for many who are alive right now.

And now the same thing is happening again. Many people are finding themselves tweaked by moments of sheer panic, ongoing worry and sudden terror at what’s happening.

FDR’s inauguration on March 4, 1933 occurred in the middle of a bank panic, such as we are experiencing today. Banks closing right and left and no idea if or when they’d be opening again. Folks losing their houses, mass weirdness ensuing.

Upon this backdrop, FDR uttered these ten famous words:

"The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself".

The full quote, from the first paragraph of his inaugural address is this:

"..This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance…"

Unjustified terror. Unjustified.

Do you hear that part of the speech? Roosevelt is absolutely right. Fear never grew a crop or fattened a wallet. Fear on this level just consumes your available energy and ties up the rest in paralysis.

I’ve heard this clip played countless times and prefer to believe that FDR believed what he was saying, and spoke from his deep knowing that the world always turns around again and new opportunities present themselves. FDF had a distinctive voice, and it roused rich and poor to rally ’round their communities, and make the present better than all perceived it was.

dustbowl abandoned farmWe are not in a Depression, though many have labelled it that. In the 1920’s, there was a real economic downturn, marked by its term "The Great Depression". Great sections of the prairieland midwest turned into dusty deserts as agricultural conditions too deteriorated, and crops could not be grown – the economic vying with the geological and climatic to provide an experience of total disaster. People starved to death. Entire families in this society perished, or were forced to debase themselves for food at any price.

 Read Steinbeck’s Of Mice And Men for a candy-coated version. "Candy-coated" was what my mother said (snorted) when I brought the book home from high school English to find Mom making Snickerdoodles. "Steinbeck my foot!" Mom fumed "That wasn’t the half of it honey, not the half of it. That’s the candy-coated version." She continued to pat cookies into measured rounds, but this time with a vengeance that flatted them to cinnamon-sugar shingles. And refused to say more of what she had witnessed.

We are at most in 2008, in a "mini-Depression". People are making some difficult choices, but the average family is not on the brink of imminent starvation, though many have lost their homes.

And many of us are succumbing to fear about it. But fear never helped grow a tomato, furnish a house, baked a cookie or put money in the bank.

How long do you want to hold onto your fears? How is holding on to that energy working for you?

Are you willing to let go of fear – now?

If so, I’ve created a technique to help you do that: The ETHOS Method. Click this link to go there, pick up your copy of the entire method – free. And if you already know and practice ETHOS, bring up that fear that current events bring up in you, and pulse your triple cue.

Uncreate, dissolve and release.

When you download the pdf and hang out in our community and listen to the free audios (and soon videos!) we have, you’ll get all the updates automatically, by mail.

One of the things coming up is a teleclass to get past your fear of financial weirdness, or anything else. I’ll be posting more about that soon. Until then, enjoy the deep peace that ETHOS brings.

And take a cookie. Wholewheat or gluten-free.

By the time you’ve finished eating it, you’ll remember that being afraid of things that haven’t even happened yet is kind of silly.

And you’ll remember that you feel pretty good, after all.

Climatic Destruction Tipping Points Coming…Next Year

Friday, February 8th, 2008 by Maryam Webster

pollution‘TIPPING POINTS’ COULD COME THIS CENTURY

A number of key components of the earth’s climate system could pass their ‘tipping point’ this century, according to new research led by a scientist at the University of East Anglia. The collapse of the Indian monsoon season could happen as early as next year, followed in ten years by the complete melt of the Arctic sea ice and displacement of the West African monsoon season causing greening of the Sahara desert and Sahel border territories. The Sahel includes Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, and the "Horn" of Africa.

Other events are hundreds of years in the future, and are increasingly worse in perspective. And may or may not be good.

Published today by the prestigious international journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), the researchers have coined a new term, ‘tipping elements’, to describe those components of the climate system that are at risk of passing a tipping point.

The term ‘tipping point’ is used to describe a critical threshold at which a small change in human activity can have large, long-term consequences for the Earth’s climate system.

The nine tipping elements and the time it will take them to undergo a major transition are:

  • Melting of Arctic sea-ice (approx 10 years)
  • Decay of the Greenland ice sheet (more than 300 years)
  • Collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet (more than 300 years)
  • Collapse of the Atlantic thermohaline circulation (approx 100 years)
  • Increase in the El Nino Southern Oscillation (approx 100 years)
  • Collapse of the Indian summer monsoon (approx 1 year)
  • Greening of the Sahara/Sahel and disruption of the West African monsoon (approx 10 years)
  • Dieback of the Amazon rainforest (approx 50 years)
  • Dieback of the Boreal Forest (approx 50 years)

These were the findings of lead author Prof Tim Lenton of the University of East Anglia (UEA) and colleagues at the Postdam Institute of Climate Impact Research (PIK), Carnegie Mellon University, Newcastle University and Oxford University.

The paper also demonstrates how, in principle, early warning systems could be established using real-time monitoring and modelling to detect the proximity of certain tipping points.

"Society must not be lulled into a false sense of security by smooth projections of global change," said Prof Lenton.

"Our findings suggest that a variety of tipping elements could reach their critical point within this century under human-induced climate change. The greatest threats are tipping of the Arctic sea-ice and the Greenland ice sheet, and at least five other elements could surprise us by exhibiting a nearby tipping point."

Read the original here: http://snipurl.com/9climatetippingpoint

Questions for 9/11

Monday, September 10th, 2007 by Maryam Webster

Cheryl Richardson’s newsletter is an ongoing source of inspiration. In speaking of the events of 9/11/2001, she offers these questions, which I in turn offer to you.

"That day showed me the true, universal priorities we all need to keep at the forefront of our minds — how connected we are to our own soul, to each other, and to a power greater than ourselves.  Realizing this truth in such an earth-shattering way gave me the courage to make tough, sometimes unpopular, choices to insure that my life was reflecting what mattered most.  I decided to travel less and be home more.  I gave up some goals that were more important to my head than my heart.  I made my spiritual life more of a priority.  And, I started the ritual of answering the following questions each year on September 11th that I share with you today."

"…Take some time to think about these questions.  Then, write the answers in a journal or notebook.  You might even print them out and discuss them during dinner with family or friends.  Please don’t wait for a crisis to take your life seriously.  Do it now . . ."

  • Am I pleased with how I’m spending my precious time on earth?
  • Am I spending enough quality time with the people who matter most?
  • Am I doing my best to listen to the voice of my soul so I make real, honest choices based on what I most want?
  • If today were my last day on earth, would I feel good about what I’m leaving behind?
  •  
  • Am I sharing (or working toward sharing) my God-given gifts and talents with others?
  • Are there any petty disagreements or differences that I need to let go of once and for all?
  • Is there someone I need to forgive?



Well said, Cheryl. A spiritual life for me is integral, but has come to mean something far, far different than ever it did before. We evolve and grow spiritually, sometimes away from one form and closer to a different form and at some point, to the formless. Spiritual connection ebbs and flows as is natural. Seek out sources of abundance and inspiration near you. If you are of no particular spiritual focus, you can begin to deepen in spirit by listening to the patterns of your breath and your own heartbeat, and finding that which your heart finds congruence with. For more information on heart congruence, seek out www.heartmath.org

For more information on Cheryl Richardson and to subscribe to her newsletter, go to www.cherylrichardson.com

8 Random Things About Me

Friday, July 27th, 2007 by Maryam Webster

A little late on the ball, but in response to biz-buddy Krishna’s tag in her post: 8 random things about me

Krishna  tagged me to write about 8 random things about myself so here goes. I’ve decided in typical me-style to be truly random…  ;-)

  1. Like Krishna, I’ll start with my name. "Maryam" is the name I took by requirement during my three-and-a-bit years as a practicing Muslim, circa 1981. It felt so much more "me" than my given name, I made it legal and permanent. "Webster" is an ancient name in my mother’s family line I re-monikered with after divorce.  It didn’t occur to me until I used my freshly-minted driver’s license as ID, that the combination together sounded similar to the name of a prominent dictionary. People have been reminding me of that (usually with laughter) ever since…
  2. When I first put up my website in 1996, I got a nastygram from the Merriam Webster dictionary people as I too am a prolific writer and produced tons of material that contained words in their book. Imagine the cheek, they said. They desisted after a spell of chatting with me. An almost magical sense of charm and persuasion goes a long way back among the women in my family.  
  3. I am a veteran of nearly thirty years in shamanic practice of both metis and Nordic medicine ways, and apprenticed fifteen years to a Missouri sweet medicine man, Corliss  "d" deLarm, who stands unequalled but by the Dalai Lama in spiritual presence, in my personal experience. I’ve taught the Nordic system of runes as healing, divinatory and spiritual advancement tools for about twenty-five years.  My, how Dagaz flies…
  4. Medicine BuddhaSpeaking of the Dalai Lama, I  have received two initiations from His Holiness Tenzing Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. The White Tara longevity empowerment and the Medicine Buddha initiation and blessing for my work in healing. It’s not as cool as you think though – I was one of about five thousand that day to receive these blessings.  And he was going along so fast in Tibetan you had a hard time keeping up with the visualizations of a white Buddha above a towering stack of golden Buddhas all holding lotus flowers and so on and so on.

    It worked though. About a month later I gashed the living daylights out of my thigh vacuuming (a dangerous profession), managed to clean the 2" deep wound out, instill betadine, close the wound with steri-strips and get a pressure bandage on it all while reciting the Medicine Buddha mantra and the husband was fainting dead away just at the sight of the thing. Chanted the whole way to the hospital and had an amazing personal experience with both Medicine Buddha and His Holiness, plus didn’t feel a thing when stitched. (12 stitches, 4" scar just above the knee) Cue doctor amazement and personal happiness…

  5. I have a broken back. Almost everyone’s heard this story but if you haven’t here’s the teacup version: Whilst living in Cambridge, England on a rainy night, drunk driver sails over the top of a roundabout and slams into my Mini van (Mini as in Cooper) causing iron box with heavy pipe wrenches to slam into my back. *crunch*  L4 cracked vertically, spinous process on L5 fragmented, spinal cord trauma. Had to move back to U.S. for surgery as in England, would have been on a two year wait just for a diagnostic MRI. Progressive paralysis. Spent a total of three years paralyzed from the waist down, intense surgery, six more years recovering mobility. Can walk, run, dance and hike now. Today, it’s only a problem if I don’t keep up vigorous exercising.
  6. My favorite form of exercise is hiking in the redwoods, but don’t get to do that every day. Yoga, I do every day and couldn’t live without it.  At right is me circa 2006 outside my old studio – Willow Glen Yoga in San Jose, CA with cone-head hair after the last downward facing dog of the day. Great yoga and good people – click my picture to go there. Been practicing yoga since 1974, when I learned in an afternoon class in junior high school. We learned straight-up hatha and our teacher busted our chops. Then and again, we were young and our chops could stretch a lot further in those days… My spiritual mentor d. deLarm extended this practice through the next twenty years in sharing the blessings of Integral Yoga. Balance Yoga (balancecenter.com) got me mobile again following my paralysis. Lately my passion is Yin Yoga (paulgrilley.com) as I’ve still got a lot of shortened tendons and stiff muscles. Yoga keeps ‘em limber and the mind, serene.
  7. not my cat but...cute!If you like cats and you’re a computer nerd, you might "has" seen the picture at left. (No, it’s not my kitties, it came from here) While I love friend’s children, I am blissfully child-free, though am mother to two mitties. (cats – mitten + kitty = mittie….don’t ask) They are dark charcoal fluffball, the Princess Anoushka and her lean grey huntress companion with the perfect white bikini, Tashi-Claire. The Bear wanted to name them Xena and Gabrielle but was overruled by the cats themselves who told us their names and insisted we use them.

    The mitties  exist in a partially contentious, partially collegial relationship and strictly enforce territorial limits of the garden. Tosh-cat is an avid bird watcher and is generally interested in the wildlife that pervades the area around the pool. Anoushka is a garage kitty and hangs out on the persian carpet under the Bear’s office chair, even on the hottest and muggiest of days. We figure her to be an adherent of Virginia Woolfe.   Myself and the Bear are seen as jailers and parental units. I love them unmercifully of which they are tolerant and accepting and both feed and comb them. But when the Bear is home, I am relegated to chopped liver status. They are the only cats I know who actually *dislike* chopped liver…

  8.  I am an accomplished frontierswoman. Though you wouldn’t think it to look at me, I can make my own paper and ink, spin, weave, dye woven goods with native plants, make soap in a cast iron cauldron, split logs, make brooms and other tools of wood and local plants, harvest and manage forest foods such as hickory nuts, boil the hickory branches to get  three kinds of food: salt, sugar and milk (yep, you can), muddle and sweeten ground roasted acorns for frontier flour, construct a log cabin (well, in theory, I only did it once and that was with a lot of help – those logs are heavy!), grow, harvest and make herbal medicines (plus know how to use them), midwife human and animal babies into the world, make shoes from leather, plants or refuse such as old tires (great for treads), set, manage and harvest a trotline for fish, snares for rabbit and quail, plus skin and dress the meat if called upon to do so (not my favorite thing) and tan the skins. I can build a fire with a bow drill and pine duff or other local tinder, though it takes a long time. I can construct a shelter out of almost any material available, and find food in a forest even in winter. What’s more, I have a hardy spirit and am a survivor, born of a long line of women who persisted, shared their knowledge and endured to win in life.

    I’ve not been called on to do any of these frontier tasks in a long time, but the memory still persists. My mother was a great one for recapturing the pioneer spirit and my great grandmother on my father’s side up in the Smoky Mountains of Carolina (they really do look like they’re smoking – see?) thought a girl child should know how to weave and dye and make soap, ink, paper and so on. 

    The picture above  right is in front of the National Frontier Trails Center in Independance, MO, close to my hometown, and she was always pointed out as a model to follow. Though I must say I adore my computer, electric fans, swimming pool and other modern conveniences, if and when the lights finally go out, I’ll know what to do. Can’t buy that kind of peace of mind, plus it’s a joy to know you can survive by your own efforts. 

So now it’s my turn to tag eight people so I’ll now ask some of my great "virtual crushes" I’ve connected to through life, business, blogging and sharing personal energy, to share 8 random things about themselves. Over to you folks:  Suzanne Falter Barnes, Jen Louden, Andrea Lee, Ellen Britt, Betsy Muller, Gloria Arenson, Sarah Zeldman, Jasmine White and Vikki Hoobyar…  

Dr. Maya Angelou On Being a Consummate Professional

Wednesday, June 27th, 2007 by Maryam Webster

I was recently asked by a client how to remain professional in a contentious situation. Here is something I wrote a long time ago that still applies:

A good model for women leaders to study is the aristocratic Dr. Maya Angelou. Her calm, poised, well-spoken personality is known and beloved by many as a national treasure.

Dr. Angelou is honorable but not prudish.

She is classy, but knows how (and when) to sling her slang.

She would never indulge in a public catfight, bitter put-down, political manipulation or game of one-upmanship. She once said her self-worth would not permit such actions – neither should yours.

Dr. Angelou leads very simply by her words and the sterling example of her inherent and unshakable self-dignity.

Cultivate that within you that is respectful, self-aware, classy, dignified and grounded in bedrock, and you will have all the professional demeanor you will ever need.

So, What Is Morris Dancing?

Thursday, May 3rd, 2007 by Maryam Webster

I’ve had several emails asking "What the heck is Morris Dancing?" and thought no words better capture the thing than those of Ric Goldman from his FAQ at: 

http://rgoldman.org/morris/mayday.htm

Ric’s entire website should be perused for best understanding and knowledge of Morris and Molly sides where you live, but here is his rundown on an explanation of the art form:

What IS Morris Dancing?

Morris dancing is a living tradition of English celebratory and ritual dance with live music, with origins shrouded in mystery and the mists of time.   Shakespeare used it in his plays and it was old then.  The dancers usually wear bells at their knees and often wave hankies (to attract and welcome benevolent spring and summer spirits) or clash sticks (symbolizing the eternal battle between winter and summer), and the dances have traditionally been performed around the time of major celebration or seasonal crosspoints in the calendar.  Indeed, dances of comparable form and dancers in similar costumes are found elsewhere in Europe and around the world, and may be thought to be part of the universal urge to influence and honor the unknowable forces which govern our lives.

One of the most colourful descriptions of morris was provided in the 15th century, by Edmund, Duke of Edinburgh, the Black Adder who said, "Morris dancing is the most fatuous, tenth-rate entertainment ever devised by man.  Fourty effeminate blacksmiths waving bits of cloth they’ve just wiped their noses on.  How it’s still going on in this day and age I’ll never know."

Modern morris includes several different types of dance, all from different regions of England; Cotswold Morris from the south, Border Morris from the west, Molly Dancing from the southeast, and Northwest Morris from the northwest.  Other dance styles such as Longsword, Rapper (sword), Clog, and Garland are often included in the term "morris".

There are lots of ways to get more detail about Morris dancing, but the absolutely best way is to find a morris dancer, take them to a pub, offer them refreshment, and ask for the real story.  It’s guaranteed good luck, too!



So as I said to Ric when consulting him on edits to the Mayday Morris video, "first pint’s on me".  Having a heavy week with the book – stay tuned this week however, when the corrected video will be posted!!