by Patrick Cleary

So much of our spirituality draws on our relationship with the earth. We revere the elements that give us life and which are the bounty of mother earth. Yet our connection to the essential air, water and land we need in order to thrive has never been more tenuous. There are a plethora of credible organizations advocating for environmental protections and regulations. But do they go far enough? To address the shortcomings of traditional conservation efforts, we need to ask tough questions about the root causes of these conditions.

The mainstream green movement is a top-down project embraced by corporations and the highest levels of the federal government. In December, 2007, President Bush signed the Energy Independence and Security Act, which among other things established new efficiency requirements for household appliances and called for the abolition of incandescent light bulbs. Within the next three years, Americans will be required to use compact fluorescent light bulbs. Many of us are already using energy efficient bulbs. We might cheer this piece of legislation because it validates our personal choices. But we should take a look at the statistics of energy consumption before we judge whether this is sound public policy.

In fact, individual consumption-that is, how much energy you use in your home and when driving, for instance-comprises at most a quarter of all consumption, while the rest is consumed by commercial, corporate, agricultural, industrial and military interests. When it comes to water, the disparity is even more stark: "Municipalities and individuals use 10 percent of the nation's water while the other 90 percent is consumed by agriculture and industry". We should extrapolate from these facts the knowledge that our individual habits of consumption can only amount to a drop in the bucket in terms of our water and energy resources. The threat to these resources is the system itself, that prods us to take shorter showers while vast amounts of water are stolen and misappropriated.

In Los Angeles, the Department of Water and Power has issued a water conservation ordinance that is a premier example of this kind of misdirection in the name of conservation. As of June 1 of this year the DWP began enforcing draconian measures to restrict watering to Monday and Thursday and completely banned watering between the hours of 9 am and 4 pm, among other provisions. To help enforce these ordinances they have hired at least 18 officers to ticket offenders and encouraged neighbors to tell on neighbors and report violations. Just after the measures went into effect, there was a surge in water main breaks. There were 43 major breaks in September compared with 21 in September 2008, 17 in September 2007 and 13 in September 2006. There is a strong correlation between the onset of the conservation ordinances and the spike in water main breaks. The DWP has refused to specify the amount of water that has been lost. But the irony is only too apparent.

Meanwhile, half the water we are "conserving" comes mainly from the Eastern Sierra. Legally, we may have rights to these sources, but these water rights are solely exploitative. To say that any of our municipal water is being conserved makes a mockery out of the term. In 1913, after exhausting the supplies of most of the groundwater aquifers, the first Los Angeles Aqueduct began delivering water from Owens River sources. The redirection of the Owens River made a moonscape out of the ancient lake bed in the Owens Valley, and transformed the dry desert that was the San Fernando Valley into a bustling metropolis. The Valley has seen the worst of the water main breaks. One of the pipes that recently burst dated from 1917, a reminder that the legacy of the Los Angeles Aqueduct is ongoing.

And so we are told time and again that our habits must change: we must live more simply and reduce our "carbon footprint." But this assumes that all we do is consume, when in fact we know that humans can act for the good of nature, especially those of us who love nature, who worship nature. We should reject this reductionist redefinition of ourselves as we reject the definition of an ecosystem that contains the mere "resources" of land, air and water. When we know better who and what is to blame for the exploitation and destruction of the earth, we can be part of a different, deep green movement. As human beings, as living things, we are a part of that ecosystem that has been managed for exploitation. Our resistance to this paradigm is a matter of survival.

Recommended Reading:

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Patrick Cleary is a Temple of the Goddess musician. He has worked as a naturalist for Inside the Outdoors in Orange County and in 2005 earned a B.A. in History from U.C. Irvine.

"Rash of water main breaks hits L.A." by Randal C. Archibold. (http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/sep/29/rash_water_main_breaks_hits_l/?uniontrib)

"Los Angeles Aqueduct" (http://www.ladwp.com/ladwp/cms/ladwp004409.jsp)

PRAYER AND THANKSGIVING

By: Jeanne Leiter

We celebrate Thanksgiving Day this month. We give thanks for home, food, and family around the dining room table. Usually perfunctory, it’s the pause before the sumptuous banquet. Sometimes we go one step further when each person says what they’re grateful for. This is beautiful, but still a monologue with Goddess. When you think about it, our prayers are usually monologues with the Deity. A lot of mine have been give me this, give me that, and I’ll change my ways. Oh yeah, please. It finally occurred to me that I’d rather have a dialogue. I tried praising, thanking, and confessing my short-comings with a promise to do better in the future. I found myself conversing with the Big Kahuna.

According to my trusty Encarta World English Dictionary the word prayer comes from, you guessed it, Latin. Precarius means "obtained by entreaty", from precari to "entreat". The first definition is "communication with God or other being". It goes on to say, "It may express praise, thanksgiving, confession or a request for something such as help or somebody’s well being."

In this busy world there isn’t always enough time for praise and thanking the Deity. Also, the old ways may not be appropriate or adequate for today’s times. Many people are on new paths, creating new ways, combining differing old traditions into hybrid rituals that work for them. What is prayer, after all? I grew up learning that the main ‘prayer’ in my life was Sunday Mass. The rest of the week prayer was relegated to grace at meals and at bedtime. As a child, I said a prayer before crawling into bed. After the first hundred or so recitations, I didn’t particularly pay attention to what these words were really saying. I’m kinda glad I didn’t. I don’t think a child should be thinking about dying in their sleep.

Should I die before I wake,

I pray the Lord my soul to take.

This prayer has been around since the 18^th century, it’s about time it was put to rest. Like everything else, prayers should be updated to present circumstances and individualized in order to remain useful. Rather than a ‘death’ prayer, I choose a life affirming prayer to send me to my rest.

In searching for websites that had Pagan prayers, I came across this prayer which beautifully replaces the antiquated, traditional night prayer for children and adults alike.

After childhood I went many years without formal prayers. Then I figured my life was more or less a prayer after I became aware of the ancientness and power of Goddess. Then I figured I could do more. I could become conscious as much as possible throughout the day. Could I weave my spiritual life into every mundane moment? Could I become conscious in, and for, every moment? What could I say prayer-wise in the morning? As I was dressing? As I was eating? As I was enjoying a sunset (very rare in Southern California, darn it)?

I came up with the following, trying to create awareness first thing in the morning, and to honor the Mother Goddess of South America–Pachamama (my personal, go-to Goddess) and Hawaiian Pele, She of volcanoes, Creatrix and Destroyer of land. As I’m dressing, before putting on my socks, I massage my feet. Using my thumbs, I press on the soles of my feet, paying particular attention to any tender spots. As I’m using my unschooled technique of accu-pressure, I say the following for each foot.

My wish is that I will remain aware throughout the day of the Goddess energy which surrounds me, which radiates upward from Mother Earth. My feet are the conduits between Her and me. My wish is to also be so conscious of my footprint on Mother Earth, that I will do nothing to further pollution and instead be an instrument for Her healing. Remember, it’s not the words you say that are important as much as the intent behind them. Say whatever comes into your heart. Prayer is a very special, intimate conversation. Make it yours.

Others in the Temple have their own personal prayers for various occasions, Xia, Director of Temple of the Goddess, starts her day with the following, setting the tone for the day.

Let me serve.

When I shower, feeling that glorious hot (and sometimes cool) water cascading down over my body, I honor one of the most refreshing of the five elements (air, fire, water, earth, spirit). At the end of the shower, I either let the water flow onto my face or gather water in my hands and splash it on my face.

I say this three times (you may choose to do it once or as many times as it seems right), splashing water on my face in between each "thanks".

Then, I thank the Goddess for being with me on this portion of my path, such as:

As I turn the water off, I leave the shower with:

That simple Blessed Be brings into my consciousness the sacred unity of all life.

We eat three times a day (give or take) so thought should be given to what is said before each meal. The following is an example of what one could say.

Many cultures besides the mainstream have beautiful prayers for anytime in the day.

Sometimes the previous prayer is shortened to the last two verses.

The following is a prayer composed by Sue Monk Kidd (author of Secret Life of Bees) and her daughter Ann specifically for Ann’s marriage to Scott Taylor.

So . . . the above samples show the variety that is incorporated in the word prayer. The most important element in prayer, as in ritual, is that it comes from the heart–then you cannot do it wrong. Use your own words, those you find, or adapt someone else’s. Make the prayer yours and dialogue with your Deity throughout the day. You will be pleasantly surprised at the responses you’ll receive.

The first website listed below will send you to a Prayer Request at Temple of the Goddess. You may offer your thanks here. The Temple priestesses will add their personal energy with yours to thank our Mother for your blessings and/or to humbly ask for help.

Blessed Be

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http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/prayersandincantations/a/Pet_Prayers.htm 

http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Pagan-and-Earth-Based/Index.aspx

Tonight it is a Pueblo/Zuni tale of the American Southwest. Turkey medicine teaches the spirit of giving. As with the buffalo, the primary peoples of the Americas respected and revered the animals that provided them with sustenance. Benjamin Franklin suggested the Turkey become the national bird. How different would our country be if the bird whose medicine is the spirit of giving was the national bird?

A Native American Santa Clara Pueblo and Zuni tale

Story retold by Oban, Animal Tales column brought to you by Kamala

A very long time ago in the village of Shufinne, a young orphan girl lived with her aunt. The aunt spoiled her own children, but was very mean to the little girl. She made her work from sunrise to sunset gathering wood, working in the fields, patching the mud walls of their house, and looking after the turkeys. Each morning the girl would let the turkeys out of their cages and take them into the canyons to let them search for food. Each night she would go up into the canyons and call the turkeys to come home. They would gather round her and follow her back to their cages. Everyone in the village, including her cousins, called her Turkey Girl. She was often sent off with the turkeys without any breakfast and many times she went to bed hungry at night.

Turkey Girl worked hard for years. No one showed her any kindness. But she was very kind and caring to the turkeys. They loved her in return and came immediately she called them at night to lead them back to their cages.

Gradually Turkey Girl grew into a young woman. But she always looked dirty and tired from all the hard work she did. Her hair was a tangled, untidy mess and her clothes were patched and tattered hand downs from her cousins.

One day it was announced there would be a big dance in the village in four days time. Everyone was excited. Turkey Girl's cousins began sewing new mantas or dresses for the dance. They laughed as they sewed, and talked about how wonderful they would look at the dance.

Turkey Girl knew she was not invited, and even if she was, she had nothing to wear. Everyone would laugh at her dirty and patched clothes. For the next three days as Turkey Girl walked with her turkeys into the canyons, she sighed and talked to the birds about the dance. "It would be so cool to go to that dance." she sighed.

The turkeys kept walking.

"But it's never going to happen. And even if I could go I don't have a nice dress to wear. Everyone would laugh at me," she said to the turkeys.

The turkeys kept walking.

On the fourth day as Turkey Girl talked and thought about the dance she didn't notice that the turkeys had led her further into the canyons than she had ever been before.

The turkeys stopped and circled her.

The oldest turkey flapped his wings, strutted up to her and said "We can help you go to the dance."

Turkey Girl stared at the old turkey with her mouth wide open, unable to speak. Finally she screamed,

"You spoke to me, you really spoke to me! Wow! My turkeys can talk!"

"Yes we can talk when we want to," said the old turkey. "Now get over it!"

"Ok, talking turkeys! I'm cool with that," said Turkey Girl. "Now what were you saying about the dance?"

The old turkey said, "If you trust us and do what we say, we can help you go to the dance."

"But I've got nothing to wear except these old clothes, and I'm dirty," cried the girl.

The turkeys stared at her without saying a word.

"Ok, I trust you," said Turkey Girl. "You've been my only friends all these years."

The old turkey told her to take off her dress and put it on the ground. He then strutted back and forth on it, picking at it with his beak and beating it with his wings. The other turkeys circled around Turkey Girl, brushing her with their wings and combing her hair with their beaks until her skin was clean and smooth and her long black hair was shining and wavy.

When the turkeys stepped away from her, the old turkey stood there, holding a beautifully embroidered white dress in his beak. Turkey Girl put it on.

A large turkey lifted his wing and out fell a pair of the finest white moccasins. Another turkey coughed and out came a sparkling shell necklace.

Dressed in her new clothes and with her glowing face, Turkey Girl looked truly beautiful. She thanked the turkeys and turned to leave the canyon to go to the dance.

"Before you go," said the old turkey, "you must promise not to forget us here in the canyon and come back before it is dark, to take us back to our cages."

"I promise!" shouted Turkey Girl, as she turned and ran towards the village. "You can trust me."

When Turkey Girl reached the village no one recognized her in her gorgeous new clothes. All the young men looked at her admiringly, wondering who this beautiful young woman was. All the young women greeted her warmly.

At first Turkey Girl was a bit shy and found it hard to talk, but gradually she joined in the dancing. The more she relaxed, the more she enjoyed herself and danced and danced, forgetting about the turkeys. It wasn't until she noticed the long shadows cast by the sun as it sank behind the mountains, that she remembered the turkeys.

Turkey Girl ran from the village, ignoring all her new friends who called after her. When she reached the canyon where she had left the turkeys it was dark and all the turkeys had gone. Turkey Girl ran through the canyons and mountains calling out to the turkeys. She called and called, but the turkeys would not answer her.

The faster she chased them, the faster the turkeys ran away from her.

Brush and thorns ripped her new clothes and they became covered in dust and dirt. The beautiful necklace broke and the shells were lost in the dark.

Finally Turkey Girl stopped chasing the turkeys and walked back to the village, sobbing and dirty. She knew life would be much harder now without her good friends the turkeys.

That is why to this day wild turkeys are scattered throughout the canyons and mountains. And because of Turkey Girl's broken promise turkeys no longer trust humans and run away whenever we come near.

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