Thursday, November 29, 2007

Alchemy of Abundance

"The Way of Abundance is all too often misconstrued as a shallow sense of 'getting what one wants,' 'eliminating the negative,' or 'being free from pain.' Even the often-touted 'manifesting your dreams,' offers a psychological disposition that generally remains fixated around manifestation as 'the project of me.'

"But the 'project of me' can never be enough, for it does not meet 'the other,' and real living involves meeting. The touch and contact with all of life, the full freedom of non-separation, the completeness of full relationship, and the radiance of compassionate ecstasy is what we are inherently hungry for."

- Rick Jarow, *Alchemy of Abundance*

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Sunday, November 25, 2007

A Generous Heart Leads to Greater Peace

"It is worth reminding ourselves that what brings us the greatest joy and satisfaction in life are those actions we undertake out of concern for others. Indeed we can go further. For whereas the fundamental questions of human existence, such as why we are here, where we are going, and whether the universe had a beginning, have each elicited different responses in different philosophical traditions, it is self-evident that a generous heart and wholesome actions lead to greater peace."~ Dalai Lama

Friday, November 23, 2007

A Reason Why The Conspiracy Exists

First, an update: I sent out three blessing packages this Thanksgiving week, one of which is on its way to Brazil! The Conspiracy has now reached four continents!

“Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle,” said Philo of Alexandria

I happened across this quote during some blog hopping today and remembered that it is one of inspirations for The Conspiracy. I am deeply motivated by the idea that everyone is living the journey of the hero in thier own lives with epic successes and tragedies. Every human being is seeking to be loved, witnessed, and honored for their existence. Every human being could use a little kindness.

Love is the Magnificent Destination

"As we expand, we melt. Our hearts open. Our thinking changes. Our obsessions subside, our addictions quietly pass away. This is the slow, elegant, loving process through which, little by little, we let go of the old and welcome the new. We open our hearts and allow in a few more people, just a few more relationship experiences, just a few more kinds of relationships. We learn there are no mistakes, and our hearts become a circle so large that there are no more boundaries, no differences, no judgments. We know the graciousness of that great undivided familiarity, in which there are no more strangers, only friends.

We stretch, and to our amazement we don't break. Instead, we grow. Suddenly, everything becomes easier, and our hearts, which once we believed could love only one person, or were battered so badly we thought they could never love again, expand so fully that the whole world is welcome. In such a state of openness, we see that we've only forgotten how to be together, we faintly and beautifully remember that once we were all together. We remember the way we were in a universe of incredible softness where there were no edges, no walls, no mind games, no rules. In that incredible world, we were happy. We loved one another. It wasn't a feeling. It was a state of being called joy.

The future of love is this all-encompassing embrace. For when we have expanded so much, we will finally arrive at a place where the heart can open its doors to everything and everyone. Our souls have been taking us on this journey and Love is the magnificent destination to which they have been leading us. Now we can feel joy. Now, at last, we can be satisfied. Now, finally, we are home." ~ Daphne Rose Kingma

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Inspiring Kindness Kids

Check out the Ohm Dog site where two fourth graders have started their own business, contribute 10% of their profits to charity, and promote kindness and peace through Ohm Dog's designs and messages. Kids are awesome!

Thou Art My Sister

All I can say is Wow!

Thou art my sister, because we were born of the same great spirit; conceived from the same mound of earth; slept quietly together in the cradle of unknowing until He in his gentleness set us in the midst of humanity...you are my sister, I love you.

You and I are destined to be companions on the highway of life; together or apart, you are my sister I love you....if the color of my skin is different from yours it mattereth not, only let the beauty of our souls be kindred.

I will honor your wisdom and understanding, as you will mine, together we shall seek the seeds of truth in the distant rooms of the Great Spirit; the reflection of inner knowledge shall wear as beauty upon our faces...you are my sister I love you.

I will be human and fall down in rough places; but thy hand is near mine, I will reach for it. I shall not be alone. I will embrace you when the rains of sorrow visit you, I will visit your soul as if it were my own....you are my sister, I love you.

If death takes me from the lamp of life, and the veil of sleep falls across my eyes before yours, I will wait for you. I will come to lead you across the bridge of night into the meadows of the Great Spirit....you are my sister I love you.

Poem by Jean Humphrey Chaille

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Sunday, November 11, 2007

Creative Gift Economy Opportunities

Radiohead released their album In Rainbows earlier this month in a pay-what-you-want format, which means you don't have to pay anything if you don't want to.

Trent Reznor and hip-hop poet Saul Williams just released their collaboration Niggy Tardust. You can pay $5 or you can take it for free.

Now Paste Magazine, an up-and-coming indie culture magazine that also gives you a cd sampler with every issue, is now offering a pay-what-you-want subscription starting at $1.00.

This is pretty amazing, but it brings up a lot of thoughts for me. I am lower-middle-class mother living month-to-month as I care for my family of four. The little bit of abundance I have left over at the end of the month goes to art supplies for this project. So essentially I'm giving away the only money I have to spare.

When a band I adore like Radiohead offers their album in a pay-what-you-want format, I have to ask myself, what is the right thing for me to do? I believe their album is worth the standard price for a cd. But I rarely buy cd's (I mostly listen to Pandora when I want to hear something specific or new to me) because I can't afford to, unless I want to give up my art supplies that fuel this project. Is it wrong for me to pay less than the value the music holds for me? Or can I consider it a karmic transaction (since I give my abundance away, can I receive the abundance another shares with me without guilt)? Or can I accept their gift now and give them what value their gift holds for me later, when I can afford it (and will I remember to)? What about the value of my promotion of their work in two different blogs and with local friends? Will my sharing lead to others buying their music for what it's worth?

With a magazine I look at it a little differently. They already make most of their revenue through advertising and rack sales. If I play less than I think it's worth for the magazine, but then bring it to a lot of different potential subscribers both online and off, I think that may be a pretty fair trade. I am the kind of person who shares what I love with as many people as I can. Maybe each issue I receive I will pass on when I'm done, either to a friend, through PostSecret, or out in the community some way.

I am excited that these opportunities to explore the concept of the gift economy are coming up. It gives me much to think about both personally and in the world at large.

The Salt Monument: A Global Symbol of Humanity


Have you seen this?


I May Never Know You

I may never know you,
But I know you live somewhere,
Waking and sleeping each day,
Sustained by the great wave of breath
Breathing in and out of you
As it breathes in and out of me.

I may never know your name,
But I do not need to, to know
How your heart treasures the calling of your name
By someone who loves you.
I know this,
For I know this of me.
I may never look into your eyes,
But I know you search for meaning and hope
And answers to the why and how of life
As I do.

I may never touch your hand,
But I know you have a living body
Which needs nourishment and water,
Safety and touch,
As I do.

I may never know you,
But I know you cherish and yearn
For freedom and dignity
And the chance to make your dreams come true,
As I do.

I may never know you,
And yet I do.


The Salt Monument

From the welcome page: “Imagine if there was a place where every single person alive today, without exception, was actually represented and recognized both as a unique individual and as a member of the human family. Imagine too, if every day there was a welcome to greet each individual infant in the world on the day of their birth, and a way to say goodbye to each person in the world who died that day. When calamity or tragedy struck anywhere in the world, there would be a way to express our grief and caring together. When there were joyful victories for humanity, there would be a place to join in celebration. It would be a place where we could experience the reality of our world village.

Such a place exists. It is the Salt Monument. The Salt Monument is not just an idea or an ideal, it is an actual physical Monument and daily observance that has existed now for over ten years. In its stark simplicity, the Monument wordlessly conveys unfathomable truths about life, compassion, the inherent right to dignity of each person, our relative insignificance within the temporal and planetary context, and the present reality of our world. It is an invitation to contemplation and a plea to bring our shared humanity into vivid, penetrating focus.

The experience of the Salt Monument is inexplicable and ineffable. Some of those who have experienced it know how even a single encounter with the Monument can provoke irrevocable realizations about being human. For those who have not, there is no amount of words or description that can convey its utterly unique and unexpected impact. The Salt Monument is a place where we meet soul to soul, human to human, as one grain of salt to another in the symbolic presence of all humankind as our witness.

This website serves as a glimpse, a hint, of this unprecedented Monument.”

See also a beautiful blog post written about one's experience of the Monument.

What a beautiful concept and so full of the spirit of generosity! So happy to share with you this bright and sunny November Sunday morning.

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Thursday, November 08, 2007

More Blessings

One of the recipients of a recent blessing package sent me a beautiful gift in return, her self published book Spread Your Wings and Fly: An Origami Fold-and-Tell with a set of deep purple paper cranes. What a lovely gift!

I never anticipated people returning blessings to me when I started this project. But I am glad to practice being a joyful recipient. So much inspiring creativity abounds in this world. I am also hopeful for the future of the human race because of the tremendous positive creativity I am honored to witness nearly every day from my little corner of the world.

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Monday, November 05, 2007

A Shower of Blessings

Wow! I am in awe of the blessings that have been showered upon me recently. I received Kara's package today, full to brimming with her art cards, buttons, magnets, and a stunning book of meditative photographs. Serendipitously, I had just run out of cards I could write handwritten notes on for blessing recipients. Now I have an abundance of beautiful cards! My heart is smiling in deepest gratitude.

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Saturday, November 03, 2007

Conspiracy Collaborators

Yesterday, I received a package envelope in the mail that jangled...a lot. Kind of sounded like there was something broken inside. I didn't recognize the address, even from people I've corresponded with concerning donations to the Conspiracy. I was intrigued. I opened it up to find it overflowing with papers and ephemera for art making. Jeanette at PostcardX sent me the package. I love that I get unexpected suprises from PostcardX every couple of months. It brings a little dash of creative magic to life. I must remember during lulls in blessing requests that I have an endless source of people to bless there.

Also, as noted in a comment on a previous blog post, Kara from Motherhenna.com and the wonderful "A Peace of..." blog and collaborative art project, is sending some 1000 Faces of Mother Henna art to include in blessing packages. Very, very cool.


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