Hopi Elders' Prophecy: This could be a good time!

Lately I've kind of felt like a ball of dough being plunged into ice cold water: no control over my life, I can be kneaded every which way, with only the anguish of cold water to look forward to, which, after enough dunks, eventually reduces my doughiness to slime, until I am just particles of dough floating in shitty-ass doughy water ... Sounds pretty emo, huh? I sort of stole this analogy from Laura Esquire's Like Water for Chocolate, in which Tita feels like dough being plunged into boiling oil the first time she feels the heat of love. I guess the analogy renders itself the same in both cases, since boiling oil (love?) and ice cold water (misery? emptiness?) are both painful sometimes.

Anyway, this Hopi prophecy I am sharing with you today has been on a wall in my house ever since I can remember and only today did I take the time to sit down and read it. Take your time, too, and you'll find yourself, hopefully, a little rejuvenated with the world. It even made me feel a little less doughy and hopeless. Funny how strings of words can bring on so many thoughts and emotions.

When we're trying to figure out what we're supposed to be doing in life, it's hard not to take ourselves too seriously. Especially being in my early twenties (goddamn twenty-somethings!), it seems the consequences of my decisions now are of immense importance, and I should take things seriously and personally. This Hopi prophecy reminds me to take nothing too personally, keep my head above the water, and most importantly, appreciate other people: "See who is in there with you and celebrate." Human connection and relationships are the most precious part of our existence. I know I'm in a constant process of making good on what I consider to be this fact of life, by being less selfish and better to other people. Just like my last post about womens' issues and inequality, this calls for us to look both inside and outside ourselves, but ultimately obligates us to contribute to the web of life and work with others to contribute to a manifestation of justice.

Hopi Elders' Prophecy
Oraibi, Arizona, June 8, 2000
Hopi Nation

You have been telling people that this is the Eleventh Hour, now
you 
must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour.
And there are
 things to be considered. . .

Where are you living?

What are you doing?

What are your relationships?

Where is your water?

Know your garden.

It is time to speak your truth.

Create your community.

Be good to each other.

And do not look outside yourself for the leader.

Then he clasped his hands together, smiled, and said,
"This could be a 
good time! There is a river flowing now very fast.
It is so great and 
swift that there are those who will be afraid.
They will try to hold on
to the shore.
They will feel they are being
torn apart and will suffer 
greatly.

Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let 
go of
the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes 
open,
and our heads above the water.

And I say, see who is in there with you and celebrate. At this time in

history, we are to take nothing personally, least of all ourselves.
For 
the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and
journey come to a halt.

The time of the lone wolf is over, gather yourselves!

Banish the word 'struggle' from your attitude and your vocabulary.
All 
that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.
We are the ones we've been waiting for.

Contemplating our existence by skipping rocks at the Hammond Trail Beach.
Luckily existence is not dependent on rock skipping ability, or I'd be shit out of luck.

Psychokinesis Weather Control

Humboldt Countians: Try this. Maybe our collective psychokinesis can control the fog ;)

http://current.com/news/92654226_how-to-control-the-weather-by-psychokinesis-clouds-and-wind.htm

Fast forward to 8:20 for an example of just how to perform this psychic feat.

Sheryl WuDunn: Our century's greatest injustice | Video on TED.com

Are your material needs satisfied? Beyond your basic material needs, research has consistently shown that not much else will drastically increase your happiness.

So why not help someone else?

The number one thing we can do to help the world is to educate girls and give them economic opportunities. This is a sentiment I've been hearing consistently for many years, and I'm trying to figure out how I can continue to contribute more to this initiative, since as Sheryl says, helping people isn't always easy. What do you think is the most efficient way to bring about social change to address the inequality and challenges women through out the world face?





International Women's Day: Are We There Yet?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cecile-richards/international-womens-day_b_489752.html

Three Proven Steps to Advance the World's Women
http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/08/three-proven-steps-to-advance-the-worlds-women-on-international-womens-day/

Women's Rights: A Matter of Peace and Stability
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anders-fogh-rasmussen/womens-rights-a-matter-of_b_489629.html

"True equality for women, both in the developing world and in the United States, will not be realized until there is an end to gender-based violence and discrimination, until women have equal economic opportunities, until women have full rights over and education about their bodies, and until women's voices and lives are held in equal value with men." -Ruth Messinger

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet"

"Shell shock", "soldier's heart", "nostalgia", "post traumatic stress disorder", and today, "traumatic brain injury." Going as far back as ancient Greece, history has documented the psychological pressures and consequences of war on soldiers. So why do we still let soldiers suffering from such pressures fall through the cracks upon their return from war, or while still on active duty? And even worse, why does the military refuse to give the same honors to all those who have given their lives for their country?

We give "Purple Hearts" to those soldiers who have been wounded or given their lives "conventionally" in combat, and President Obama writes the families a letter of condolence. However, for soldiers suffering psychological injuries (leading to suicide in 1/8 returning soldiers), there is no Purple Heart OR letter of condolence from the President, which I find ridiculous- almost as ridiculous as the fact that the military is not doing enough to help those suffering psychological traumas in the first place. When the numbers of soldiers dying from suicide exceeds those who die in active combat, something needs to dramatically change.

http://npr.vo.llnwd.net/kip0/_pxn=0+_pxK=17273/anon.npr-mp3/npr/atc/2010/09/20100904_atc_01.mp3?dl=1

This NPR investigation shows how the US Military is letting soldiers suffering from TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) and PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) return from Iraq and Afghanistan without receiving medical help or recognition they deserve. A report issued by the U.S. Army (http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2010-07-29-army-suicides_N.htm) made light of the fact that these psychological casualties are a result of combat and the everyday realities of war, and came to the conclusion that "simply stated, we are often more dangerous to ourselves than the enemy."

By not doing enough to give the medical help necessary for these soldiers, whose wounds, while sometimes less visible, are just as perilous as those who undergo injury or death in combat, the US Military is perpetuating the notion that psychiatric disorders are something that affect weak people, and those suffering should just try harder to "snap out of it". Perhaps I'm laying too much responsibility on the military for not trying hard enough to help; for it also takes a patient to go in for the help that they need. However, in this case, it's still on the military to be proactive and take action for their wounded soldiers, whether that means reducing stigmas and making it more socially acceptable for soldiers to seek the psychiatric help they need, by educating soldiers and their families about ALL risks of fighting for your country, or creating post-combat support groups and networks.

Symptoms of major depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder were reported by 16 percent to 17 percent of those who served in Iraq and 11 percent of those who were in Afghanistan. Compare these numbers to studies done years after the Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars that showed the rate of post-traumatic stress disorder at the time was 15 percent for Vietnam veterans and 2 percent to 10 percent for Gulf War veterans.

The whole issue made me think of this Peanuts cartoon:




Related links:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-hayden/1000-us-soldier-suicides_b_475917.html

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2009/12/16/quijano.soldier.condolences.cnn?iref=allsearch">


Study Shows 80% of Post-Traumatic Stress Sufferers Lost Symptoms After Taking Ecstasy
http://www.alternet.org/drugs/147624/80%25_of_post-traumatic_stress_sufferers_lost_symptoms_after_taking_ecstasy_--_study%27s_results/

Woke up in a EOTO mood

Did you know that the band EOTO consists of the String Cheese Incident's Michael Travis and Jason Hann? EOTO is an acroynym (y'all know how much I love acronyms!) that stands for "End of Time Observatory" Eoto also means "good sound" in Japanese( thanks wikipedia)! All together, it makes for some smooth sailing, jammy electronic drum n bass dubstep that you can really get down to.



If you can dig EOTO, you'd probably also like bands like Lotus, STS9, and Bassnectar. Shoot me an email if you'd like me to send you any of their music!

get bassy with Bassnectar: