| Friday, March 7, 2003 |  |
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 7 Mar 2003 @ 22:07
Tomorrow is International Women's day. Around the globe women will be gathering to celebrate the day. Gather the Women
Beginning the week of March 3-8, 2003, linked globally by our interactive website, we are inviting women to demonstrate their courage to risk leaving old conformities by joining with millions of others throughout the world in thousands of unique events celebrating woman's true worth, expressing shared concern for our human family, and creating and supporting actions that will enable humanity to live together in a world based on life-affirming values.
Gather the Women is a project of Women of Vision and Action, a nonprofit, 501c3 organization established in 1994. Please click on the links below to learn more about the individuals and organizaitons who are working behind the scenes to make this initiative successful.
WOVA is a network of established and emerging women leaders who share the following beliefs:
We believe in the qualities of compassion and courage, and that spirit-based social action can change the world. We believe in the creative ability of all people as part of one human family, who are united in one global community. We believe in the positive uses of technology for peace, information services, communication and cooperation for all people. We believe in the right of all individuals to a healthy, safe and productive life. We believe in the methods of dialogue and mediation to resolve disputes both personal and global. We honor the sacredness of ALL life and the gifts of diversity in ethnic, racial, religious backgrounds, beliefs and ideologies. We embrace all children of the world and seek to create a world where they can thrive.
I first became aware of WOVA shortly after doing a project for the UN Conference of Women in 1995. Check here for more information.
Women around the world are gathering to celebrate Peace. Check these links to participate in actions near you:
Global Women's Strike
United for Peace
Code Pink
Women In Black
Peace Women
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
Women's Action for New Direction
Grandmothers for Peace
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 7 Mar 2003 @ 14:32
I am a huge stone circle fan. When this story appeared from the Discovery Channel. I had generally heard that Stonehenge was more associated with men more than women. According to Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News:
Feb. 28, 2003 —The design of Stonehenge, the 4,800-year-old monument in southwestern England, was based on female sexual anatomy, according to a paper in the current Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.
The theory could explain why the ancients constructed Stonehenge and similar monuments throughout the United Kingdom.
Anthony Perks, a professor emeritus of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of British Colombia in Vancouver, and a doctor at the university's Women's Hospital, first thought of Stonehenge's connection to women after noticing how some of the stones were smooth, while others were left rough.
OK, so then Anthony goes on to say:
Thinking how estrogen causes a woman's skin to be smoother than a man's, the observation led Perks to further analyze the monument in anatomical terms.
He noticed how the inner stone trilithons were arranged in a more elliptical, or egg-shaped, pattern than a true circle. Comparing the layout with the shape of female sexual organs showed surprising parallels.
Perks believes the labia majora could be represented by the outer stone circle and possibly the outer mound, with the inner circle serving as the labia minora, the altar stone as the clitoris and the empty geometric center outlined by bluestones representing the birth canal.
I honestly had not considered these details about stonhenge before. Next time I am across the pond, I will be more inclined to check it out for myself.
I understand there is some concern about a roadway that is being built near the site that might cause damage to this ancient site. Check here for more details and how you might help to preserve this ancient sacred site.
If you are not inclined to travel, perhaps you might like to visit America's Stonehenge:
Built by a native American culture or a migrant European population? No one knows for sure. A maze of man-made chambers, walls and ceremonial meeting places, America's Stonehenge is one of the oldest man-made construction in the United States. (over 4000 years old). Archaeological Excavation at the site has uncovered an amazing range of historic and pre-historic artifacts-from stone tools, pottery and ancient old world scripts to 18th and 19th century house wares, and manacles (possibly removed from slaves who used the site as a stop on the underground railroad in the 1830's and 1840's.
Along with it's astronomical alignments, America's Stonehenge continues to be one of the most fascinating archaeological discoveries of the century
You can actually rent out the henge for your next event.
Take a look at this link to learn more about Archeoastronomy.
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| Tuesday, March 4, 2003 | |
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 4 Mar 2003 @ 11:22
March is National Women's History Month,
The National Women's History Project In 1980, the National Women's History Project (NWHP) was founded in Santa Rosa, California, as a nonprofit corporation by Maria Cuevas, Paula Hammett, Molly Murphy MacGregor, Bette Morgan, and Mary Ruthsdotter.
More from the site:
90 years ago a small group of women organized a parade that would help change the U.S. Constitution and win political power for half of the American population. On March 3, 1913, a band of suffragists in Washington D.C. staged such a remarkable demonstration for women’s rights that it has long been acknowledged as one of the high points in the 72-year drive for Votes for Women in the U.S.
Another place to visit with great info and links, is the Feminist Majority website
By changing the focus of the larger suffrage movement from campaigns in the states to federal action on a Constitutional amendment, Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and their Congressional Committee of the National American Woman Suffrage Association led the way towards the final national enfranchisement of women. The charismatic Alice Paul was 28 years old and her colleague, the brilliant and courageous Lucy Burns, was 33.
If you are interested in keeping up in the academic world on Women's Studies check here.
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| Saturday, March 1, 2003 | |
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 1 Mar 2003 @ 19:11
I get tired of spam in my ebox. I am glad to see that there is a movement afoot to isolate spammers. Here is an article from ZDNet David Berlind decided to do something about it. You can read about his reason's why here.
David did some research and organized a meeting to rally support for an anti-spam coalition. SpamJam was born on Feburary 15th when industry praticipantsgathered for the first time.
If you ask the average Internet user, or even the above average Internet user, what the negative effects of spam are, more often than not they will tell you about the first edge of the double-edged sword that is spam. It's the one we all know about. The one where our inboxes get clogged, our productivity is drained, and valuable resources such as storage space and network bandwidth are unnecessarily consumed. For businesses, this often translates into a quantifiable loss.
But there is a second, more insidious edge to spam and the stakes associated with that edge are actually higher than those associated with the first edge. This second edge has to do with (1) the blacklists that ISPs have been forced to build or subscribe to in an effort to keep spam from passing through their systems and (2) the amount of legitimate email that is denied safe passage through the Internet as a result of those blacklists. Why would ISPs attempt to block spam if their spam countermeasures end up blocking legitimate mail too? There are several reasons. But two of the most common ones have to do with the threat that spam poses to the reliability of their services and the desire to keep themselves from becoming an entry on the blacklists that other ISPs subscribe to. gathered for the first time to set anti-spam standards.
They close in saying:
JamSpam is all about creating an industry-wide initiative to take action against the double-edged sword of spam now. Not tomorrow. Over the last two decades, the technology industry has proven time and time again that its members can set aside their competitive differences and work together to produce interoperable protocols that solve a mutual problem. It's about producing a protocol that not only solves a problem for everyone in the room. It's about the betterment of the entire Internet community. No other problem demands this sort of collaboration today like spam does. If there was ever a time to produce an anti-spam protocol that interoperates between the many email-enabled systems that are connected to the Internet, now is that time.
Check the website for more details. Join the anti-spam clan today!
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 1 Mar 2003 @ 19:11
Oh my, where does the time go? Seems the days fly by before I find myself blogging again. Raymond posted a rant about the challenge of being the last land line in our canyon. Makes blogging a slow process.
When I read articles like this one from Rebecca's Pocket or from Julie, I am more inclined to find time. Well and of course Ming always has something to read that sparks my thoughts.
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 1 Mar 2003 @ 18:26
Z Budapest has released a new CD of stories, poems and meditations from two of her books GrandMother of Time and GrandMother Moon. Winter is the first in a series of CD's Z's is calling Goddess Monologues:
"Align yourself with the universe. Mythical winter as rest and regeneration. Poems/Holydays and stories from Grandmother Moon and Grandmother of Time. The whole CD floats on the beautiful choral works of Bela Bartok and the Hungarian Women's Chorus from Gyor."
Congratulations Z!
And just who is Z Budapest?
Zsuzsanna E. Budapest, better known as "Z," is a passionately committed feminist who sees Goddess religion as a crucial ideological and psychological support to the work of feminism. She is considered to be one of the founding mothers of the women's spirituality movement, and coined the term "feminist spirituality." She is the author of The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries, GrandMother of Time, GrandMother Moon, The Goddess in the Office, The Goddess in the Bedroom and Summoning the Fates. She is the spiritual mother of the American Dianic Tradition and as High Priestess within her tradition, she leads Goddess-centered retreats and celebrations throughout the year. She is also the matron of the Women's Spirituality Forum and uses her work with the forum to further women's spirituality, education, empowerment and peace.
She is the founding mother of the Dianic Tradition which began in Los Angeles, CA on Winter Solstice night 1971. When Z moved north to the SF Bay area, she ordained Ruth Rhiannon Barrett to stand at center. Ruth was with the Los Angeles Community, Circle of Aradia, for twenty years before moving to Madison, Wi. Ruth along with Falcon River co-founded The Temple of Diana.
Before leaving the Los Angeles area, Ruth ordained Holin Badger Shubad, who stands center at Arachne's Grove and me. I stands center at Circle of Aradia. Amazing to think that COA entered our 32nd year of serving women in the greater Los Angeles Community.
Oh dear, seems I have done my own Goddess Monologue...Anyway check out Z's new CD.
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| Sunday, February 23, 2003 | |
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 23 Feb 2003 @ 04:18
Glad I am not in this school....
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| Friday, February 21, 2003 | |
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 21 Feb 2003 @ 13:41
I subscribe to a really interesting non-profit enewsletter, PNNOnline which "delivers news, information, and resources to all segments of the nonprofit world in order to help them better achieve their goals. I always find the information interesting and useful. Here is a recent article:
Appeal Goes to Georgians to Fight Cancer in Their State
"An alarming statistic is that one in every two men and one in every three women in Georgia will be diagnosed with cancer sometime during their lifetime," said Russ Toal, president of the Georgia Cancer Coalition. Georgia citizens can help fight this disease by supporting the Breast Cancer, Prostate Cancer, and Ovarian Cancer Research Program Fund when filing their Georgia Income Tax return.
Has me wondering what is happening in the good ol' state of Georgia. For all you Georgians, here is a resource:
The Georgia Cancer Coalition (GCC) is a statewide network of people and organizations - doctors, hospitals, government agencies, public health services, survivor and community health groups, universities, industries, non-profits and interested individuals – all working together to save lives and reduce human suffering from cancer. As a public—private partnership, we work to strengthen the collective impact of existing cancer- related programs and create new initiatives that bring early detection, leading-edge treatment, research, prevention, and education to all Georgians.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in Georgia, one of the highest cancer rates in the country. Through leadership and funding, the GCC provides guidance and assistance for using Georgia’s resources in the fight to reverse the cancer mortality and occurrence rates.
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| Thursday, February 20, 2003 | |
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 20 Feb 2003 @ 16:31
My first Peace action was published in the Desert Sun April 4, 1964 in Tortise Tim's Times Poet Corner:
IF I HAD THREE WISHES
By Letecia Layson (10)
If I had three wishes
I'd wish the world to come to peace
And all our sister countries helping
Hand in hand.
If I had three wishes
I'd wishe for people to get well.
If I had three wishes
I'd wish for happiness for Everyone alike.
Just think of all that would happen
If I had three wishes.
Poets are lifting their pens and voices again to speak for peace. On February 17 Poets Agains War took out a 1/4 page ad in the New York Times stating "over 8,000 poets have submitted poems or personal statements to register their opposition to this war." Here is an snipet from an article about the movement:
Zen poet's voice of dissent heard by anti-war literati
By CHRIS McGANN SEATTLE POST -INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
PORT TOWNSEND -- Sam Hamill, a reclusive former Marine turned Zen Buddhist poet, is an unlikely spokesman for the anti-war poetry movement he started almost by accident.
Hamill triggered a nationwide artistic uprising when he declined a White House invitation to a literary symposium Feb. 12, instead asking fellow poets to write protest poems.
The article goes on to say:
Hamill says he expected 400 or 500 responses, not the national outpouring that followed. In the first week, more than 4,000 poets stepped forward with statements and poems denouncing the war. The contributions came from some of the most distinguished poets in the country, including Galway Kinnel, Hayden Carruth, Phillip Levine, W.S. Merwin, Adrienne Rich and Ursula Le Guin of Portland. By Saturday, submissions to his Web site (poetsagainstthewar.org) had exceeded 10,000... Check the link for the entire :full story.
For some, poetry is not just words, but living action as well, embodying their words:
From Baring Witness Pictured here from Byron Bay, NSW, Australia February 8, 2003
750 women shed their clothes to express their rage against the proposed war in Iraq.
A quote from the website:
These actions have brought unprecedented press to the Pro-Peace movement. Our goal is the creation by local groups of similar actions in every state, leading to a large event at the March 8th Gather the Women rally in Washington, D.C. We encourage everyone to get involved and let the world know that Americans are not marching in lockstep towards war.
I am a peace advocate from way back. I feel it essential/e-sensual to embody the principles we espouse. Peace More >
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 20 Feb 2003 @ 16:31
This post has been reprinted here with permission of the Author, Vicki Noble, co-creatix of the Motherpeace Tarot Deck.
Dear Motherpeace Friend:
As many of you know, for years now (since the spring of 1995) I have been enthusiastically tracking a weather phenomenon that scientists have named "Sprites" and "Blue Jets." These huge columnar light-shows were recorded a decade ago as they were appearing in front of airplane pilots
at 33,000 feet. (I have been viewing them for the last year or two in moving video images on the Discovery website, among others.)
When I read about Sprites and Blue Jets in a newspaper piece in 1995, I was floored, because for me it sounded like a physical display of giant Dakinis, as they are desribed in Tibetan Buddhism. Many people do Tibetan Buddhist dakini practices everyday to invoke and invite the Dakinis into our lives for protection, good health and longevity not only for oneself but for everyone on the planet. When Dakinis are perceived in visualization, they frequently whirl in as vase-shaped whirling tornadoes or waterspouts--in other words, in long "columnar" shapes. Scientists describe the Sprites ("red, mushroom-shaped electrical discharges") and Blue Jets ("blue electrical discharges branching upwards from the tops of thunderclouds") as if they are dancing. Dakinis are almost always depicted as dancing. Vajrayogini, Queen of the tantric (transformational) Tibetan Buddhist school known as Vajrayana, is red. Thröma, the Black Dakini who cuts llusions with her crescent knife and brings enlightenment in a flash, is described as "blazing blue-black." Mayumi Oda's painting of the Black Dakini can be seen on the cover of my book, Shakti Woman: Feeling Our Fire, Healing Our World (The New Female Shamanism) which came out in 1991 from HarperSF.
On Candlemas morning--Saturday, February 1st--the NASA space shuttle disintegrated on its way back into the earth's atmosphere, as I'm sure you all know. The seven astronauts on board all died. I was teaching at New College in San Francisco that morning and I heard the news on the way to my class. I thought immediately that it was an "oracle," rather than just an "accident," since it happened on one of the Goddess's holy cross-quarter days. I felt that we were supposed to rethink the space program, and that the Dakinis had somehow intervened with this message. The fact that this was one of very few shuttles that NASA sends up in space WITHOUT nuclear substances on board suggested a kind of intelligent benevolence in the delivery of the message. Clearly, the disaster could have been SO much worse. More >
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| Tuesday, February 18, 2003 | |
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 18 Feb 2003 @ 15:43
What is V-day? I use to use this abbreviation for Valentine's Day, but Eve Ensler has taken V-day to another level:
"V-Day is a global movement to stop violence against women and girls. V-Day is a palpable energy, a fierce catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money, and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. V-Day generates broader attention for the fight to stop worldwide violence against women and girls including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM), and sexual slavery. V-Day provides funding to create and nurture innovative programs to stop the violence.
Through V-Day campaigns, local volunteers and college students produce annual benefit performances of "The Vagina Monologues" to raise awareness and funds for anti-violence groups within their own communities. V-Day itself stages large-scale benefits and promotes innovative gatherings and programs (The Afghan Women's Summit, The Stop Rape Contest, Indian Country Project, and more) to change social attitudes towards violence against women. In 2002, more than 800 V-Day benefit events were presented by local volunteer activists around the world, educating millions of people about the reality of violence against women and girls.
The V-Day movement is growing at a rapid pace throughout the world. V-Day, a non-profit corporation, distributes funds to grassroots, national, and international organizations and programs that work to stop violence against women and girls. V-Day was named one of Worth Magazine's "100 Best Charities" in 2001. In its first five years, the V-Day movement has raised over $14 million, with over $7 million raised in 2002 alone.
The 'V' in V-Day stands for Victory, Valentine and Vagina."
Raymond and I went to a local presentation in Ojai, CA of the Vagina Monologues in honor of V-day.
“I decided to talk to women about their vaginas, to do vagina interviews, which became vagina monologues. I talked with over two hundred women. I talked to older women, young women, married women, single women, lesbians, college professors, actors, corporate professionals, sex workers, African American women, Hispanic women, Asian American women, Native American women, Caucasian women, Jewish women. At first women, were reluctant to talk. They were a little shy. But once they got going, you couldn’t stop them.”
- Eve Ensler
Many thanks to Beverly Rose, producer; Leslie Paxton, Director; and the 15 cast members who had us laughing and crying. Funds raised benefited Ventura County Coalition to End Violence Against Women and Girls and The White Buffalo Calf Woman Society, Inc
One of my more unusual Valentine's day celebrations. I wore Red Velvet. More >
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"In chaos theory, the edge is the meeting point between order and chaos, between the known and the unknown. In nature it is where creativity and self-organizing happen. It is where new information is created."
Dana Zohar & Ian Marshall
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"Dancing is just discovery, discovery, discovery."
Martha Graham, Blood Memory |
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Morphogenesis - Priestessing on the edge of chaos
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