An announcement for my followers

Hello Everyone,

To follow my work please go to my website and subscribe toSpiritual Path Clearings my e-zine. There are also back issues that you can view.

Thank you for your support.

Re-USE Reduce Recycle

I have recently published this article on Associated Content. Click here for more of this article on REUSE, REDUCE, RECYCLE

Reduce, Reuse, then Recycle: The Better Green Choice
While there is quite a buzz about recycling, this is only one step and frankly the LAST step in helping ot make a greener earth.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/1433829/reduce_reuse_then_recycle_the_better.html

Blog Entry Bankster-Gangster Sets the Stage for Global Economic Collapse for NWO Single Currency

This is a recent post from my good friends at Friends of Eustace Mullins,

Worst of financial crisis yet to come: IMF chief economist

Adam Dupont Published: Saturday November 22, 2008

ZURICH, Switzerland (AFP) — The IMF’s chief economist has warned that the global financial crisis is set to worsen and that the situation will not improve until 2010, a report said Saturday.

Olivier Blanchard also warned that the institution does not have the funds to solve every economic problem.

“The worst is yet to come,” Blanchard said in an interview with the Finanz und Wirtschaft newspaper, adding that “a lot of time is needed before the situation becomes normal.”

He said economic growth would not kick in until 2010 and it will take another year before the global financial situation became normal again.

The International Monetary Fund on Friday promised to help Latvia deal with its economic crisis after it assisted Iceland, Hungary, Ukraine, Serbia and Pakistan.

But Blanchard said the IMF was not able to solve all financial issues, in particular problems of liquidity.

Withdrawals of capital leading to problems of liquidity “can be so significant that the IMF alone cannot counter them,” he said, adding that massive withdrawals of investments from emerging countries could represent “hundreds of billions of dollars.

“We do not have this money. We never had it,” he said.

The IMF had spent a fifth of its 250 billion dollar (200 billion euro) fund in the last two weeks, Blanchard added.

He also urged central banks around the world to cut interest rates, after the Swiss National Bank made a surprise one percentage point rate cut Thursday.

The central banks “should lower interest rates to as close to zero as possible,” he said.

Declaration for Economic Independence NOW

As the election for US President reaches its final 24 hours it behooves us to reassess our desires and goals in light of politics and politicians. What IS the goal that we wish to accomplish. Is it more time to pursue our own desires? Is it more money in our own pockets to “get” more “things”? Is it more recognition of who and what we are as members of a unique society? My contention is that it is to bring about a new consciousness that incorporates the diversity of individuals working together for a more just, tolerant and peaceful society.

How can we, the people of the world bring this about? Let us look to the past to find the future. The founders of the USA said it very eloquently. That’s right, The Declaration of Independence.

“In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”

This preamble states that when the “people” have determined that the system of government that they are a part no longer serves the purpose of those individuals then it is those individuals right as a community or fellowship to speak out and seek to discuss this with those that have been placed in positions of power.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

In my last article Sustainability Now, I stated that the Pursuit of Happiness is to stand up for the model of government that follows our desires. If that government does NOT stand for what the PEOPLE of that society stand for then they have the DUTY to overthrow and institute a NEW government based on the ideals of the society that THEY determine is correct.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.

Indeed our founding fathers clearly stated that the change in government or shall we say viewpoint of a society should not be lightly changed. However,

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

If that system of government does NOT change with the will of the people, then, we the people have the right, and duty to overthrow that system. To overthrow a system does not necessarily mean that we must take up arms, and become individuals who destroy property, or individuals who disagree with us, that would make us terrorists. HOWEVER, we should and CAN make the necessary changes in the world.

The next section of the Declaration of Independence lists the abuses of power that the British Crown placed upon the colonies.

Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain [George III] is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained, and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies, without the consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

• For protecting them by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

• For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

• For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

• For depriving us in many cases of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

• For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offenses:

• For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighboring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

• For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

• For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

Let us examine some of these abuses of power in light of current US policy both domestically and abroad

Here is one very critical example of the current government’s “refused his Assent to Laws”. The first amendment of the constitution grants us the right to free assembly. Have you tried to have a “protest” in most states? The restrictive laws of many states and the requirement to have a PERMIT to stand together and voice our opinions have reached epic proportions. Naomi Wolf in her book, Give Me Liberty, shows the difficulty in obtaining “permits” to voice opinions in New York City and other cities in this supposed republic.

The 1960’s were an era of protests. Civil Rights and Anti-War are just two examples of these marches. When Governor Wallace refused to “grant” Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. a permit in Selma Alabama, he marched anyway. At Kent State, students were told they were not allowed to march, they did anyway. True, there were some terrible abuses of police power during these marches. Any protest today, would likely result in the same. Does this mean that we should NOT stand up for the very rights we have been granted? I leave that answer to you dear reader.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms. Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren.

• We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us.

• We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here.

• We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence.

They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We know from history that the British Crown was “deaf to the voice of justice..”, is our government any better? While even the “poor” in the US are better off than the “middle” class of other countries, it is safe to say that the cost of basic services in the US is much higher than it is in other countries.

The current economic crisis, according to the Wall Street Journal, Federal Reserve Board, and many others “in the know” state that while fuel prices have gone down, the cost of groceries has gone up since the economic crisis began. The now over $900 billion dollar bail out is NOT succeeding. True, those with money are beginning to “buy” again on the stock exchange, yet most Americans who were able to have retirement benefits have seen the reduction of their “nest egg’s” by almost 40 % since October 1, 2008. Some “experts” say that the current reduction in oil prices amounts to a savings of over $200 per month for the “average” family. This in itself seems like a good thing, however according to Inflation Data.com, it won’t matter much because the adjustments in consumer prices lag significantly behind the commodity pricing.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare.

That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown,and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is and ought to be totally dissolved;and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce,and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do.

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

As we are ALL representatives of the United States, what do we do? Is a political solution the only one there is? Obviously not, call me a cynic, but unless there is a fundamental change in the system itself, most Americans will continue much as they are now, a lot less income, with quite a few less rights. According to the published National Strategy for Homeland Security, Americans are to:

“In order to complete this truly national effort, we also must encourage and draw upon an informed and active citizenry. For instance, citizens should each understand what to do if they observe suspicious behavior in their community and what to do in the event of an attack “

What is suspicious behavior? Standing up for something you disagree with? Eating tofu, having a “alternate” sexual preference,  being a Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Jew, Wicca, Heathen, Shamanic practitioner, advocate for change?  As this document says that Homeland Security is the responsibility of :

“The non-profit sector, including volunteer and relief groups and faith-based organizations…”

Have all these groups received training in the definition of “suspicious behavior”? Is suspicious behavior, men wearing hats and going to worship on Saturday instead of Sunday?; or , women who cover their heads and wear long dresses?; or is it the people who wear “strange” symbols around their necks and go into the woods or sing songs around a fire?. Is it brown people, red people, yellow people?

Another question is begged here, WHICH faith based organizations? True, community based, which are sometimes faith based, organizations do indeed serve a much needed interface during times of trouble within their communities from natural disasters, shortages, etc.. but “watching for suspicious behavior? Sound like Nazi Germany’s call to “look out for the foreigner and Jew who seeks to destroy you.” This is unacceptable and we as members of a World Community speak out against such tyrannical and fear mongering statements.

All over the net there are groups that urge and are binding together for world peace. In my own research I have found 10 organizations and petitions that are seeking individuals who have a GLOBAL vision that includes all peoples of like mind to urge NATIONAL and INTERNATIONAL leadership to seek world peace NOT world domination.

I contend that this is only PART of the solution. The strangle hold on the world economic system by the monied few, needs to be broken. One such model is Humanistic Economics. According to Wikipedia, Humanistic Economics is defined as:

Humanistic economics is a school of economic theory identified with E. F. Schumacher. Proponents argue for “humanity-first” economic theories as opposed to the ideas in mainstream economic theory which they see as putting financial gain before people.

Humanistic economics has been defined as “a perspective that leans heavily on humanistic psychology, moral philosophy, humanistic sociology, and last but not least, on common sense. In more formal terms, contemporary humanistic economics seeks to both describe, analyze and critically assess prevailing socio-economic institutions and policies, and provide normative (value) guidelines on how to improve them in terms of human (not merely “economic”) welfare. Basic human needs, human rights, human dignity, human equality, freedom, economic democracy and economic sustainability provide the framework”.[1]

Humanistic economics focuses on human economic activity as being social and altruistically constructed, not just individualistically and selfishly derived. The importance of the ethical individual living within a vibrant local community, not merely as a lone wolf nor as a consumer of mass culture and production on a global scale, is often stressed. The importance of accounting for externalities (items not always put on the economic balance sheet like pollution or loss of biodiversity) are other key concepts.

This system is a way to break the bonds that the current economic system seeks to continue our enslavement. Today the West teaches that more things, is equal to a better life. This is currently falling apart. We do not need a new car every three years, more iPods, a BlueRay disk system, a VCR, Hi-Definition TV, Satellite Radio, huge energy consuming homes with 5 extra rooms that stand empty.

The Humanistic Economic system:

* removes the central banks completely.

* changes the complete nature and function of the word politician.

* eliminates 95%+ of today’s bureaucracy.

* ultimately reduces 95% of the military machine.

* becomes a full service employer with a minimal work week.

Seek out same minded individuals. Find those that think like YOU for sustainable HUMAN systems. Love and respect each other and your differences whether race, creed, age, or sex. Strive to create a society from the bottom up that respects each other and the planet. As the Mayans and the Hopi say, the FIFTH WORLD is upon us. Become part of the solution don’t perpetuate the problem.

There is hope, and true freedom available NOW. Take to the streets, defy unjust laws, and break the back of the those who would enslave you.

Feel free to contact me: Alfred Willowhawk.

On Choosing and following your own path

Introduction

” What path is right for me?”, is a question that each seeker asks at least once in their lives. As children, most individuals follow the pathways of their parents. Even if a parent has no particular spiritual path, the child is influenced by their parent. This is almost genetic as, regardless of a path, the mother, to the child, is the goddess. As one grows older and begins to think for themselves, they begin to feel a desire to either embrace or reject their parental suggestions. This includes the chosen spiritual path of the individual.

In my own life, I have spent time in many “spiritual” and “religious” pathways. Some of these were even of my own choosing at the time, so I thought. However, as we are social creatures, even the most reclusive of us, we still seem to blunder about until we finally settle on what works well for us.

Over the years as I facilitate myself and others on reaching some kind of accommodation with their desires for spiritual connection, certain indications seem to be prevalent with the majority of individuals.

What is a Spiritual Path?

Dictionary.com defines the word spiritual, (among other things) as:

of or pertaining to the spirit or soul, as distinguished from the physical nature: a spiritual approach to life.

We will not concern ourselves in this article with the definition of the soul, despite differing presuppositional ethics, but accept this as a good working definition to add to our word “path”.

Again, Dictionary.com defines a path as:

a route, course, or track along which something moves, or a course of action, conduct, or procedure.

So, combining both of these we have a spiritual path is one where an individual is taking a route whether physically or metaphysically that pertains to the non-physical being of a person.

This definition allows for many diverse methodologies including those that are primarily of the phsyical realms, and those that are primarily of the non-physical realms.

Pressures that act as filters

As we stated in the introduction, many factors influence our examination and determination of our path. Some of these factors include, environment, social network, (including parents, friends, and co-workers), ethnicity or blood line, and connectedness, or lack of it, to the world around us.

Each of these act as filters through which we see the world around us. Ask any couple in a relationship how many times they “read between the lines” of a statement just to see how effective filters are in our daily lives.

One example of filters in relationships is as follows:

One partner is cooking dinner and asks the other partner: “Would you please take out the overflowing trash please?” The partner who was asks responds: “What, why do you do that, I work all day and of course I will take it out. I simply forgot. What do you think I sit and read all day? I work too! If it is too much trouble for you to cook dinner tonight then we could have gone out!”

The first partner is taken aback by the vehemence of the response as all they really asked was for their partner to take out the trash! Not everything else! The second partner read between the lines, of the other through there own filters.

While this is an extreme example, you can see what filters do in this mundane world, imagine what it does for our persuit of a spiritual path. Each individuals path is unique. One may utilize the same aspects of the divine, yet call them by another name. Take the deific aspect of healing. In some pathways, the deity of healing is Bridghid, (and lets not forget that spellings and language for even the same deity show regional differences), others it is Kwan Yin, and others Quanyin. Whole nations have gone to war over the NAME of a particular deity rather than listening to the aspect and intent of the name.

In our early 21st century world we have many examples of what I call “filter-itis”. Christians fight Muslims, Jews fight Christians, Wiccan’s fight Heathens, on and on and on.

Therefore, the first step in choosing a path is to put away the expectations of the society you are in and focus on the intent of the pathway without these filters.

Society and Acceptance

There is a quote from John Donne (1572-1631), which is in his “Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions”, Meditation XVII: that goes like this:

“All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated…As therefore the bell that rings to a sermon, calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to come: so this bell calls us all: but how much more me, who am brought so near the door by this sickness….No man is an island, entire of itself…any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”

While Mr Donne was a christian, the sentiment expressed above is still true, (See, I practice what I preach). We are social creatures that desire the acceptance of those around us. The problem occurs when we desire our existing friends, colleagues,family, etc, to accept our new choice, just because we do!

Our brother or sister, who follows another path, can not always see that our path is equally valid. Sometimes this is because they are not following their true path either, however, it can also be that they truly feel that there path is RIGHT and yours is WRONG. While, based on the concept that all paths are one path, ( my own pre-suppositional ethic), this is not necessarily the filters that others see through.

Therefore, seeking acceptance by others, while part of our social conditioning, does not “play well” with some of those around us that follow a different path.

I have many Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, ( not what they call themselves-a topic for another article) , Jewish, Pagan, Wiccan, eclectic, heathen friends, and family, the only thing that is important to me is that they respect my path as I respect theirs.

What to look for in a path

Since, each of us must live within our own filters, examine the path that calls you in as objective way as possible. If you are called to Quanyin, (the bodhavista form of the deity of Compassion and Love – androgenous) then accept that particular deity as one that speaks to you.

If you feel that the trees speak with you, and you can hear/feel this then follow this where it leads you and don’t automatically say, I am not ____ (insert apppropriate group here) and can not really be associated with trees.

If you feel that a particular set of rules (i.e. The Wiccan Rede) speaks to you and reverberates within, then follow it and find others that can support you.

What is important is that it fills some needs within yourself.

The next step is to investigate the teachings of the path and take on that which speaks to you.

Be true to yourself and don’t belittle, or agonize over the choices you have made.

Be confident in yourself. You are the one who must follow the path, so you are the only one that needs to “understand” the path.

Lastly, do not label yourself if it would put you in a box that you do not wish to be part. Boxes are created by large groups and if you are a “round peg” why fit into a “square hole”?

Enjoy the Journey! After all – ALL life is a Journey.. We don’t REALLY know what is TRUTH – (OOPS, another topic for another day)

Bright Blessings,

Alfred

The White Stag and the Community of All People

A white stag has been recently sighted and photographed in Scotland. These creatures are potent, magical figures, closely associated with unicorns. All Celts considered them to be
messengers from the other world. It is also considered to represent the quest for spiritual knowledge. The stag itself is a representation of the god Cernunnos and purification.

The white stag in Celtic myth is an indicator that the Otherworld is near and serves as a reminder that we are in a time of purification and renewal. It is interesting to note that the appearance of any white creature is an indication of entry into the Otherworld. As is indicated in the first branch of the Mabinogion where Pwyll entered the grove in Arawn’s hunting ground that serves as the basis for the continuing relationship between the Celts and the God of the Otherworld (Arawn) to this day. This stag had a white body with red ears–the typical colors of otherworld creatures including the hounds of Arawn.

White is the color of purity and otherworld being. The video shows that the stag is with other normal colored stags showing us that we need to be in harmony with our Mother’s Earth and all of creation. It also serves as a warning to us that we are rapidly transgressing her desires for both us and the planet.

The White Stag is also the heraldic standard of Henry II. According to Encyclopedia Britannica Henry II was:

… first of the Angevin kings, was one of the most effective of all England’s monarchs. He came to the throne amid the anarchy of Stephen’s reign and promptly collared his errant barons. He refined Norman government and created a capable, self-standing bureaucracy. His energy was equaled only by his ambition and intelligence. Henry survived wars, rebellion, and controversy to successfully rule one of the Middle Ages’ most powerful kingdoms.

While it may be doubtable that to the residents of Scotland and Ireland that Henry was a great king he did bring order and peace, although on his own terms, to this area of the current United Kingdom. His use of the White Stag as his standard and the appearance of the White Stag today should serve as a reminder of the times.

As we struggle through wars, religious intolerance, and imperial subjegation of indiginous peoples let us take a lesson from Pwyll. One must learn to be tolerant, respectful, and honorable to receive the blessings of the Otherworld. This is our warning to come together in a community that represents and fosters the love that we profess. We need to stop the tyranny of the few in a peaceful and respectful manner and stop imposing our will on any other group of people. Our proclivity to see the worst in our fellow people shows that the warning of the White Stag is apt. The Otherworld is a place of trust and truth – let us emulate this on our planet.

May we turn and seek the blessings that it represents and return with honor and respect to each other and our world.

By Alfred Willowhawk, Alfred Willowhawk freelance author. Copyright 2008, All rights reserved.

Community, Fellowship or Tyranny

Fighting on a global scale that is an imposition of one groups ideals. National groups that fight for their RIGHTS  over another. Non smokers outlawing hooka’s and taxing cigarrettes to “discourage” people from harming themselves and “saving” money for insurance companies.  The indication is that groups of individuals seem to band together to create an adversarial relationship with others - Is that all there is to a community? Webster’s dictionary defines community as   a group of people with a common characteristic or interest living together within a larger society.  There is no part of this definition that states that one must or is entitled to impose their interests on another group or individuals. A cursory examination of the world news shows Serbs preventing citizens of Kosovo from declaring their own identity, the “War on Terrorism”  that the United States is fighting in Iraq, Kurdish separatists and Turkish troops vying for their rights, and on and on.  Domestically in the USA one group decides what is best for everyone  and seeks to impose that on everyone else. 

Lately I have seen small groups of people begin to band together in a grassroots way around a common purpose to SHARE ideas and talents with each other for mutual support and encouragement. A small group of people form a truly open Art Guild in one city that has been dominated by a RECOGNIZED art guild for many years that has become an exclusive club for the few, in this same community a group of wordsmiths are gathering momentum to share  with everyone and gather in a local  park.  A Fellowship is defined by Websters as a community of interest, activity, feeling, or experience.  There is that word again COMMUNITY. So,  lets put both of these definitions together and we come up with a new definition for Fellowship. A group of people with a common characteristic or interest living together within a larger society who come together to share  that common interest, activity, feeling, or experience. This begins to sound a little like the definition of a society, which according to Webster again is defined as as an enduring and cooperating social group whose members have developed organized patterns of relationships through interaction with one another. 

Here then is my proposition, there is no difference between community, fellowship and society as long as the society does not impose its will upon another – Tyranny.  A society or fellowship that honors this definition would be one that honors, respects and lives diversity. It would not matter what color, gender, sexual orientation, age, or physical ability one demonstrates as a restirction of their opportunity within the group. The Great Spirit, God, Goddess, Chaos, Nature, would be equally honored and respected by all members of the fellowship as this is what breathes life into any group. No one view, religion, spirituality or  language is inherrently better or more right than any other. In fact it is in our diversity as individuals that we grow stronger, more tolerant and more healthy.

As I am observing these things and participating in them here in the Mid West of the United States I am sure, intuitively, that there are other areas of the world that are experiencing a similar phenomenom. We will not be squashed, silenced or forced to surrender to the forces Tyranny.

Personkind (so as to not be gender specific), will survive, adapt, and continue to integrate in peaceful and joyful communion with each other one fellowship at a time. It is slow and unstoppable. One group can never impose their will for long on another. Only in fellowship and respect can we all abide well on the Mother’s Earth. Yes, I am a Pagan, so what, we all wish to live. I do not presume to know anything for another person, I am an observer, and a participant in the world. I choose FELLOWSHIP – what do you choose?

By Alfred Willowhawk, Ice and Ink Freelance freelance author. Copyright 2008, All rights reserved.

Male Female Relations and US society

While I was sitting in my favorite coffee shop the owner stopped by to ask a question. Why is it that all your clients seem to be young females?

Firstly, the first statement is patently untrue. The only reason he only sees the young female clients is that as a single guy it is always better to have coaching sessions with females in an open place. As I gave this answer to the individual in question he looked at me askance and I could see several thoughts going through his mind all at once. Frankly, I am grieved that we live in a society that has so trivialized relationships between men and women. I see this as a function of US society making any contact between men and women to be sexual. Honest caring has been replaced by sociopathic “little head” thinking.

This thought pattern goes with the patrilineal structure that we struggle against as humans living in an inhuman world. Where is it written that a male who cares, is sensitive and truly listens is a non-entity.

As a person who honors the sacred feminine, (yes I am pagan) I am constantly speaking out about the polarization (male/female) of our society. Gender is NOT the issue. If I was a female sitting with “young” females no one would even look at us twice. Yet, as a male I am suspect. How sad.

Each individual needs to find the balance of the male and female in themselves. I don’t care what you philosophical or religious paradigm is, if you believe there is a creator(ix) then there is a male and female part of the divine that we strive to integrate.

There are two genders, both created equally, so if the creator(ix) is both male and female, then it behoves us to find the balance within ourselves. Man can not survive without woman.

Less you are thinking that I am advocating a matrilineal society; the only society that truly reflects the divine, is one of equal partnership. Neither gender is subsumed by the other. In my research into “ancient” pre-Christian society I see that in many cultures men and women were equal partners. As I trace the changes in societies I find that it is only after the advent of Roman society that we have the polarization of gender roles.

A case in point, in Celtic tribes before the Roman Invasions, both men and women could be tribal leaders, healers, and priests. Only after the Pax Romanus did these roles become exclusively male. In fact, the struggles of the un conquered tribes was partially over the imposition of Roman Law in tribal lands.

In Native American tribes the medicine clans have always had both male and female members. Even trangendered individuals are accepted within the clan. In the time since the subjugation of many of these tribes we now see the polarization of the societies. True, many tribes had specific roles that were traditionally done by particular gender, yet if an individual wished to cross over to a non-traditional role it was allowed.

Our 21 century modern world is still struggling with the same questions. Women are still not respected in the marketplace, they are treated as commodities to be traded. Rest assured that the trading is more subtle, but it is still there. Try being a woman in a bar one night.