body beatific

Memorial Day in the US this year also falls on International Day of Peacekeepers, May 29. As we celebrate armed forces and deployed troops around the world may we forward as well to the day when our peacekeeping involves more peace rather than imposing it. 

This year marks the 75th anniversary of UN Peacekeeping on Thursday, 25 May. In 1948, the historic decision was made to deploy military observers to the Middle East to supervise the implementation of Israel-Arab Armistice Agreements, in what became the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization. 

UN Headquarters posted image

Since that time, more than two million peacekeepers from 125 countries have since served in 71 operations around the world. Today, 87,000 women and men are serving in 12 conflict zones across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. 

The 2023 theme is, “Peace Begins with Me” - recognizing the contribution and efforts of UN peacekeepers alongside many partners including the communities they serve to secure peace and progress. 

To celebrate we are posting this sweet collection of WWII naked soldiers - capturing their joy and innocence as well as the beauty and strength of their bodies and spirit. 

Rare photographs of naked soldiers and marines from the Second World War show another side of warfare. Moments of relief, where men who were barely out of their teenage years got through daily life with the support of friendships made both on the front line and in moments of down time. 

featured article on Vogue France

Click through some of these beautiful photographs from the collection, My Buddy. World War II Laid Bare published by Taschen, second edition.

May we care better for all our brave troops all over the world who have dedicated themselves to support and keep us safe - and pay the deadly cost many of us are unable or unwilling to. 

Together, may we all care better for ourselves and our world. 

mothering May

Sharing this calendar from Reiki Rays - Planting Seeds of Hope Reiki Calendar May 2023

This month we're embracing the power of hope, allowing it to uplift and inspire us on our journey towards greater wholeness and fulfillment.

Reiki Calendar May 2023

Are you ready to sow the seeds of hope and positivity in your daily life?

You can download the calendar as an image file for sharing via social media or as a PDF file for printing out. Please pass it on to other Reiki fans and help to spread the word.

#reiki #reikirays #reikicalendar #reikirayscalendar

get on with the healing

“There comes a time when we must stop crying and wringing our hands and get on with the healing that we are so much in need of.” ~ Art Solomon, Anishinaabe Elder.

Portrait of an Ojibway Girl, Minnesota, Roland Reed

A passage from Art Solomon’s book, Songs for the People:  Teachings on the Natural Way (NC Press) describes Aboriginal society prior to the arrival of Europeans. 

“We were not perfect, but we had no jails, we had no taxes…no wine and no beer, no old peoples’ homes, no children’s aid society, we had no crisis centres. We had a philosophy of life based on the Creator. We had our humanity.”

Grandfather, Great Spirit
I give you thanks
That we can sit here
In this circle of Life,
We send Prayers
And the very best thoughts

Grandmother Great Spirit
As we raise this sacred pipe
To give thanks to you
y And to all of your Creation,
We give thanks
To the spirit helpers
Who came and sat among us.

Grandfather, Most sacred one,
These are your prayers
That we send to you
As we sit here together and pray

lunar Beltane 2023

Beltane arrives officially on May 1 but astrologically when the Sun hits 15* Taurus on May 5, 2023. May 5 is also a Scorpio full moon and lunar eclipse.

@EcoDeoNY on Instagram

May is a month charged with electric energy and intensified by the influence of Mercury and Pluto in retrograde. We have the opportunity to embark on a powerful journey of self-discovery and transformation. 

This period encourages us to examine our hidden strengths and weaknesses and confront our deepest fears. May is the perfect time to unleash our inner adventurer, boldly explore new opportunities, and deepen our understanding of ourselves and our place in the Universe.

May’s electric energy sparks a desire within us to break free from the familiar and take daring leaps. Fueled by the excitement of adventure, we can harness this energy to broaden our horizons, explore new territories, and welcome transformative changes. 

hanging out

Have our gadgets and devices developed bad social posture among us? Isolating in this pandemic has made things even worse. 

Many may want to get back in social shape though the struggle is apparent. Have we forgotten how to hang out? 

Can we just drop by a friend's house. Call someone without scheduling first? Or do we just assume that everyone is super busy or super planned out? 

Do we think any second we are not being productive is a waste? Hanging Out by Sheila Liming is a call to fight against that drumbeat. 

Virginia Woolf quote @eastwestwomen

"I think of this as kind of like seizing time and taking it back from where it's been stolen from us — and that includes the work day that has just extended beyond all means of rationality. . . . Hanging out is productive, and the thing that it produces is our relationships with each other. . . . Take off your coats. Pull up a chair. Grab yourself a beverage. Hang out for a bit.”

Are we challenged to unplug? Do we need help finding our inner slacker? Maybe we have lost the art of hanging out - that's no reason to not try though. 

Who knows what can happen? We could surprise ourselves. 

purpose & meaning

As humanity evolves so too should behavior and action adjust to the delicate balance of what was then and what is now. There are bound to be missed steps or missteps along the way. It is all part of the learning process. 

As in the case of the recent bruhaha over the released video of H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama having a young boy suck his tongue. Shock waves were sent out all over the world over this. 

affection or abuse? 

As the backlash shows - where this may be accepted practice in a closed community - the Dalai Lama chose to be a world leader in an international arena. 

As such adjustment is needed to consider all others as part of this leadership. With the release of an apology from his camp we can admit this was a miscalculated misunderstanding. 

In further context here is an explanation of the Tibetan tradition, Eat My Tongue or “Che La Sa.”

@TibetCollective

The Dalai Lama retired as the political head of his exiled government in 2011 but remains the spiritual leader for 6.7 million Tibetans worldwide and a symbol of their struggle. 

His work spanning several decades involves drawing global support for the linguistic and cultural autonomy of his remote, mountainous homeland - which was annexed by China in 1951. 

In 1989, he won the Nobel Peace Prize. Let us hope he will be remembered well for his good works and contribution to our world. 

stress awareness

Stress and poor mental health are one of the biggest public health challenges that we face. Sadly we are do not take its impact seriously enough. We continue to separate mental health from physical health and vice versa. 

The reality is they are inseparable - two sides of the same proverbial coin. There is no health without mental. Stress is a major deterrent to mental health that can lead to numerous health problems. 

From physical problems - like heart disease, insomnia, digestive issues, immune system challenges, etc. To more deep rooted mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression.

from distress to de-stress

Stress Awareness Month has been held every April since 1992 - to raise awareness of the causes and cures for our modern-day stress epidemic. It is time and opportunity for an open conversation on the impact of stress. 

Time devoted to removing the guilt, shame, and stigma around mental health. To discuss stress and its effects. Open up about our mental and emotional state among friends, families, colleagues, and professionals. Take action.

passion play

Here is a Lenten season commission article I wrote for Negros Season of Culture. Featuring the procession of family heirloom saints and their floats from our hometown of Talisay on Negros Island. 

“Prusisyon # 10” by Aeson Baldevia

The Holy Week procession is a re-enactment of the passion of Jesus Christ. The last four days of Lent are the highlight of the season. These saints and the floats they are carried on are polished and bedecked in all their glory. 

The prominent families who own them and have poured their time and resources into their care and maintenance take pride in sharing this commitment and dedication with all participating residents and visitors. 

The streets are filled with many devoted procession followers and curious onlookers packed along the route – eager to witness the blessed statues of saints [santos] in their opulent and ornate floats [carrozas].

These holy heirloom figures are venerated objects treated as sacred relics - having been with their families for generations. Some were brought here from Spain over a century ago. 

Our holy week reflection and contemplation coincides with the Libra full moon this April 2023. 

when a cosmic call rings out

we grab our own forms of magic

soar through the sky and glide

far above flesh-born expectations

where few dare to fly. . . .

"Come, be one of us."

We'Moon, Stephanie A. Sellers 2021

What fuels the passion to uphold these century-old traditions? Is it the hope and fervor passed on to succeeding descendants? Or the significance of our culture and identity as an essential Lenten celebration?

The Lenten season may only be an extended weekend break for some. Yet for devoted followers who continue this tradition it is a reminder of family, fealty, and a renewal of faith. 

true prayer

During recent centuries, the nature of prayer has been misunderstood in all sorts of ways by this or that spiritual movement, and to gain a true understanding of it will not be easy.

If, however, we remember that these centuries have been marked especially by the emergence of egotistic spiritual trends which have laid hold of wide circles of people, we shall not find it surprising that prayer has been dragged down to the level of egotistic wishes and desires.

rawpixel stock photo

And it must be said that prayer can hardly be more utterly misunderstood than when it is permeated by some form of egotism.

In this lecture we shall try to study prayer entirely in the light of spiritual science, free from any sectarian or other influence.

7 generations

"Your ancestors from long ago knew how to do this. They knew the power of the feminine principle. . . .and because you carry their DNA in your body, this wisdom and this way of being is within you.

Call on it. Call it up. Invite your ancestors in. As the yang-based habits and the decaying institutions on our planet begin to crumble, look up. A breeze is stirring. Feel the sun on your wings."

~ Message from the Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers

Grandmother Flordemayo & Unci Rita Long Visitor Holy Dance 

We come from a family with shallow roots in the country of our birth. It is also the first time we have four generations living under the same roof.

Even with the help of a genealogy detective we have only managed to trace back to our sixth generation. Learning how to do ancestral healing work has been a huge gift.

We came as creators, not to be regurgitators. All of creation is energy - a combination of vibration and light. All humans have the ability to dream the world into creation.

We all hold energy that can be made manifest by the power of our intention. Clarity and discernment are key to the drive and focus that motivate the intent.

How we interpret and direct what motivates us. How we are driven and at the effect of our emotions. These dictate our results and outcome.

Get curious. Educate yourself and learn about matters beyond your circle of comfort and knowledge. Immerse yourself in the Self. Be part of the web of life.

Join our universe as a conscious creative contributor.