lunes, 14 de enero de 2013

Choosing our stories :: Eligiendo nuestras historias


Hypnotism is not an exotic event, it is something that happens every day, when our attention is riveted by something that enchants us or makes us feel a need to possess something we don't have, and even spurs into action.  The advertising firms of large corporations have become masters of this art, their advertising is effective, it relies on image, metaphor, sound. It creates an aesthetic response and opens channels of desire, often by suggesting we are not enough just as we are, exploiting our insecurities. Fear is a great hook, so is eroticism or sexuality. Things that tap into human need, many of which are not met in our urban habitats. The corporations tell us stories that ask us to buy their product, the world according to them, that puts them on top. I suggest we tell each other stories for free at the table, by the fire, en the car, walking by the river-- the story telling tradition is ours innately, let's reclaim it.

Let's tell the stories that reveal our profound bond with the earth... that show us how to live in balance with all life... that show us how to make the choices that enrich us and reveal the grace we are capable of....

If we need help remembering, we need only touch, discover, contemplate a stone, a flower, the song of a bird... if we want to hear others who have sung from here, look at the native poetries of the earth... of those who live closely in tune to the rising and setting of the sun, the cycles of the moon, the gyre of the stars, the birthing of the creatures, all inspire a wonder that is quite beyond the confines of the latest car, pair of high heels, anti-aging cream... beyond grasping desire... there is time, time to just allow it to come to you,  to receive the wind, to receive the coming of dusk...

Native American Prayer

Oh our Mother the earth, Oh our Father the sky,
Your children are we, and with tired backs
We bring you the gifts you love.
Then weave for us a garment of brightness;
May the Warp be the white light of the morning,
May the weft be the red light of the evening,
May the fringes be the falling rain,
May the border be the standing rainbow.
Thus weave for us a garment of brightness,
That we may walk fittingly where birds sing,
That we may walk fittingly where grass is green,
Oh our Mother Earth, Oh our Father Sky.


::::

La hipnósis no es un evento exótico, es algo que ocurre todos los días cuando nuestra atención es acaparada por algo que nos encanta o nos hace sentir que tenemos que poseer algo que no tengamos, hasta nos pone en acción.  Las agencias de publicidad de las grandes corporaciones se han hecho ábiles en esta arte, su propaganda es efectiva, depende del uso de la imágen, la metáfora, el sonido.  Crea una reacción estética en su audiencia y abre los canales del deseo, muchas veces sugeriendo que somo inadecuados como somos, explotan nuestra inseguridades.  El miedo es un gancho excelente, también lo son el erotismo o la sexualidad-- cosas que se relacionan con nuestras necesidades humanas, muchas de las cuales no se satisfacen en nuestros ambientes urbanos. Las corporaciones nos relatan historias que nos hacen desear sus productos, el mundo según ellos, un mundo que los favorece.  Lo que que sugiero es que entre nosotros nos contemos historias gratis, en la mesa, alrededor de la fogata, en el coche, caminando al lado del río-- la tradición del cuento, del relato, es nuestro por naturaleza, es tiempo de retomar sus riendas.

Contaremos las historias que revelan nuestra profunda conexión con la tierra, que revelan el camino del equilibrio con toda la creación, que nos muestran como hacer las elecciones que nos enriquecen y revelan la gracia de la cual somos capaces...

Si necesitamos ayuda para recordar, sólo hace falta tocar, descubrir, contemplar una piedra, una flor, el canto de un pájaro... Si queremos escuchar la voz de otros que han cantado desde este lugar, hay que mirar las poesías indígenas de la tierra... de aquellos que viven cerca de ella en sintonía con amancer y el atardecer, los ciclos de la luna, el giro de las estrellas, el alumbramiento, todas las cosas que inspiran una admiración mucho más allá del último modelo de coche, tacones altos, crema anti-arrugas... mucho más allá del deseo posesivo... hay tiempo, tiempo para dejar que te llegue el viento, para recibir el crepúsculo del día...

Oración Indígena

O nuestra Madre la tierra, O nuestro Padre el cielo
Sus hijos somos, con la espalda cansada
Te traemos los regalos que amas.
Y entonces teje nos una vestimenta de esplendor;
Que el urdimbre sea de la luz blanca de la mañana,
Que el trama sea de la luz roja de la tarde,
Que los flecos sean de lluvia que cae,
Que el ribete sea del arco iris parado,
Así tejenos una vestimenta de esplendor,
Que podamos caminar dignamente donde cantan los pájaros,
Que podamos caminar dignamente donde la yerba es verde,
O nuestra Madre Tierra, O nuestro Padre Cielo.






-- Lorena Wolfman © 2012

martes, 8 de enero de 2013

Save the Seeds of Life: What we create and what we understand comes through metaphor

The nature of all creativity is highly metaphoric and symbolic.  It is through metaphor an symbolism that we make meaning as human beings.  This deep level of our consciousness can be taken advantage of by the unscruplous who have unethical intentions to hynotize (1) us and make us forget what we know by birthright.  It can also be harnessed by our highest intentions to create real change and invention in a relatively short period of time. 

It is not surprising, that inn India's cotton belt, seeds that commit suicide cause farmers to commit suicide. The symbolism is there and this is the reality it propagates.  It is also not surprising that by approaching the earth with wholistic sustainable approaches things change very quickly a new vibration, a new symbolism can replace the old and a very diffent reality ensues.

This is why the Navdanya's Seeds of Hope campaign in India has produced rapid results, preventing many suicides. The transition from seeds of suicide to seeds of hope includes :

· a shift from GMO and non renewable seeds to organic, open pollinated seed varieties which farmers can save and share.  (Abundance is created through sharing...)

· a shift from chemical farming to organic farming. (Organic farming respects the Earth and her life.)

· a shift from unfair trade based on false prices to fair trade based on real and just prices. (Valuing the fruits of all people's labor moves us away from a slavery paradigm.)

The farmers who have made this shift are earning 10 times more than the farmers growing Monsanto's Bt-cotton.

Symbolism and metaphor is the way of the world, watch for the metaphors of your actions, watch the metaphors around you to understand what is happening...  Make a fruitful life by planting fertile seeds and sharing them.









(1)  The hypnotism I am referring to is not an exotic event, it is something that happens every day, when our attention is riveted by something that enchants us or makes us feel a need to possess something we don't have.  All the large corporations have become masters of this art, their advertising is effective, it relies on image, metaphor, sound.  It creates an aesthic response and opens channels of desire, often by suggesting we are not enough just as we are, exploiting our insecurities.  Fear is a great hook, so is eroticism or sexuality.  Things that tap into human need, many of which are not met in our urban habitats.  The corporations tell us stories that ask us to buy.  I suggest we tell each other stories for free, the story telling tradition is ours innately, let's reclaim it.


GM Crops Do Not Increase Yield Potential