Winter Solstice - Yule - 2017

Last night I attended a Solstice ritual led by Starhawk. It was just what I needed!

2017 has been rough in so many ways but for me, primarily, it’s been seeing the ugliness of nazism and white supremacy crawling out of hiding to poison the world. It’s been disappointing beyond measure, and I have been so angry! I have never in my life been so angry, or felt so punitive, so revengeful. It’s not been a fun ride.

The ritual did what rituals do...focus attention and energy, and help move some of that energy. Tonight will be the longest night, and then the days will start to lengthen again as the wheel turns. The long night is a great time to let go into the darkness of whatever one needs to release, and to welcome the return of the sun.

My own experience during the ritual led me to this...may 2018 be a year of justice! May we seek it and find it, create it and celebrate it, discuss it and share it. May 2018 be a year of justice for all!

Justice in this world is a tall order, but the reality is, it can only exist if we manifest it. From Palestine to Myanmar, from Washington DC to Moscow, from every heart to every other heart, in every mind, may Justice prevail. May Justice permeate our intentions and our deeds.

love,

Baruch

Deer Crossing

This morning I was watching the river that flows by the place where I live, and on the other side of the river I saw a family of deer, buck doe and fawn.  The doe went first into the river to cross it, then the buck, then the fawn.  The doe crossed, the buck crossed, but the fawn was caught in the current and nearly drowned, and ended up turning back and barely making it out of the river.  I watched with trepidation.  I hoped the fawn would make it across safely, but it didn't.  It got out of the river and walked along the bank until it was out of sight.

Right before this happened a friend and I had been talking about how nature doesn't intend harm even in it's roughness, while humans can actually intend to cause suffering in others.

My stomach lurched when I thought the fawn was going to drown...watching a baby die, not exactly a good time, but it didn't die while I was watching.  I wonder if/how it will be reunited with it's family?

Spring!

It snowed this morning, and I just saw my first mosquito of the year.

It's been a wild ride since my last post; the inauguration and all that has happened since, have brought up so many thoughts and feelings, watching the US' descent into more madness than I have ever seen here before; the much needed hard slap out of complacency that I am so grateful for.

I won't dwell on the political situation, we are all well aware of the rise of naked fascism heralded in by the man with the orange hair and his truly evil henchmen.  I will say, however, that watching his presidency flounder and fail so quickly is gratifying beyond words.  We are far from out of the woods.  There is a LOT of work to do on many fronts, not least of which is that there are members of the administration whose depravity is loud and clear, and these people must go, and will.

But even with all of that horror, and the emboldening of the knuckledraggers committing their hateful acts of violence in the name of racist sexist xenophobic ignorance and cruelty, I know that they are already losing.  This country is a lot bigger than Germany, with a lot more people and a lot more momentum building daily in resistance to fascism.  As I said we have a lot of work in front of us but people are stepping up!

I have a bit of a reputation for seeing and naming the downside of things, but really I am an optimist.  I know, some of you reading this may be laughing and shaking your heads, but it's true.  I am also a realist and I see things, so I say what I see...and right now I see people of all ages, colors, religions, economic standings, mobilizing, participating, refusing to go along with the fascist tide.  It's encouraging, heartening, and it's real.  This attempt to turn the US into a nazi state is failing.  We are hearing the death knell of old white patriarchy.  It isn't going quietly, but it is going.

So take heart, be strong, make contact with others who share your wishes for beautiful life to defeat the ugliness of the death eaters, and if you need to scream and vent out your pain and anger, do it! You are not alone.  We are not alone in this, we have each other, no matter how hard the political machine tries to tell you that you're isolated, it's just another of their lies. Dream your dreams of love and life because that's part of how we make them come true!

Deep winter pre-inaugural...

In 6 days, barring unforeseen events, Donald Trump will become president of the United States.

Fear is not a big thing for me, I tend not to be afraid of much, and when I am I face it and move through it.  Trump terrifies me.  I envision night time raids, and gangs of violent nazis on the streets.  Some of it has already happened, with gangs of Trump supporters, in cities, brutalizing gay people, women, and people of color. Whether it's my own Jewish heritage, or past life stuff...whatever...this hateful violent groupthink is scary and appalling.

A few nights ago I dreamt an amazing dream.  In the dream I was presented with scenarios of human emotion and drama, and each time a scenario was presented for me to react to or engage with, I remembered that I was dreaming, and that I didn't have to do anything I didn't choose, so I didn't.  "Next!"  Scenario after scenario came and went. I woke up a few times during the night, remembering the dream and feeling elated, and then went back to the dream again, to more scenarios and choices.

The current situation, with an avowed fascist about to ascend to the presidency (we've had fascist presidents before but none as blatantly so as this one), is certainly a human scenario with enormous potential for drama.  Since the election we have already seen both an increase in hate crimes by Trump supporters, and an increase in response to hate crimes.  Towns across the country are proclaiming "Not in our town!" with regards to prejudice, hatefulness, bigotry and violence.  As the Republicans in Congress proceed with their agenda to deny rights and resources to the people while enriching themselves, communities are rallying in support of Planned Parenthood, Black Lives Matter, LGBT causes, and more.  It's encouraging to see that the majority of people in this country are NOT fascists, do NOT support Trump and the republicans, and more and more people are becoming activated.

It makes sense, actually, that as we are poisoning the biosphere at an ever increasing rate, fear will drive people to more and more extremes, the Trump election being a case in point. Each of us has the opportunity to examine our relationship with our feelings and reactions, and to make the best choices we can.  It seems to me that the more extreme our reactions and responses, the more we will be "fanning the flames" of the human drama. Is that the healthy choice?

It has always seemed to me that my job as a human here and now is to witness and to reflect back what I am seeing.  Through my radio show I have endeavored to reflect back inspiration and compassion, and I think I've succeeded at least to some extent. It's still my job to witness and reflect back, but something has changed, is changing, in that and I am not sure what it is yet.  It will become evident in short order, I think. Stay tuned!

This blog entry is intended to support you, the reader, in seeing your choices and what role you choose to play in this next scene form the human play.  Shakespeare said it well in his play "As You Like It"

      "All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players..."

The thing is, we get to write our own parts.

Paradigms is taking this week off...no episode, but there will be a new episode airing on January 22.