Viewing Niagara Falls for the first time from the 17th floor of a lovely hotel on the Canadian side, our window offered a view of only the natural magnificence of water surging over rock. This view eliminated the all the man-made ‘stuff’ from sight. It was truly awe-inspiring. Later, walking around the Niagara River, where the sound of the traffic attempts to compete with the roar of the Falls and the man-made structures of hotels, ferris wheel, restaurants and tourist shops obscure the natural beauty of a sacred site, I could not help but wonder what a visitor to the Falls, five thousand years from now, will see? Will the remnants of a once dominant culture lie in ruins as the powerful flow of water continues to cascade over ancient cliffs? If so, will any visitor stop, like I did at Delphi, and consider this view of the history of the human family on the miraculous planet we call home?

Coincidence, we are taught, is God’s way of remaining anonymous. Was it coincidence then, that on April 18, the first day of Passover, the local newspaper headlines announced that the Congregation’s three and a half year old, LEEDS certified green building, the first Temple of its kind in the world was heading for the auction block May 17 unless several million dollars could be found within a 4 week period to release the Temple from its crushing mortgage? It was easy to see an analogy to the Passover story of a small group of people, enslaved— here to a mounting debt, constricted by responsibility, was thirsting for freedom. The building was the pride and joy of the local community who had gone through enormous challenges to find this amazingly beautiful parcel of land on which to build an ecologically sound building. The dream of the congregation was to have a home not only to house the congregational life of the Reform Jewish community— a place for prayer, for study and gathering— but one that was to become a sanctuary for the wider to community to gather and enjoy programs of an educational, spiritual and artistic nature, and learn to appreciate the diversity of many groups that make up the small California town, recently voted the ‘happiest place in the U.S.’

After a financial struggle in economically depressed times, that lasted over a year, the leaders of the Congregation decided on the creation of an Limited Liability Company for Temple members, families and friends who would be willing to participate in a twenty-year investment to replace the current mortgage. The story, breaking on the morning of Passover, was announced in the local media, and was picked by national and international news reports.

Was it coincidence then that in four short weeks, not only would the LLC be formed but that the general community would have responded from the heart as donations came in from caring friends and neighbors in San Luis Obispo and beyond? Was it coincidence that during the seven weeks between Passover and the festival of Shavuot, when Jews recall the counting of the omer— the offering of grain that was brought to the ancient Temple— Congregation Beth David’s membership responded to the call and brought their financial offerings. But that was not all— unexpectedly, donations, large and small started to pour into the Temple from individuals, from Church groups, from members of the Muslim community, donations from friends who could afford to help, as well as many who could not— retirees, as well as some caring individuals who were unemployed, and others working multiple jobs to make ends meet.

And was it coincidence that as we prepare to celebrate Shavout, in which we celebrate the receiving of the Ten Commandments and a new societal way of responding to one another, that financial solution to this huge problem was resolved? The US is not called the New World for nothing. Here we are experiencing the goodwill and care of neighbors and friends, people from the diverse groups that live here in San Luis Obispo. Where everything in our history may have taught us that the outside world cared nothing for the plight of the Jews, we in San Luis Obispo know differently, and the knowing changes us forever.

Having learned that the Temple was saved and will remain in grateful congregational hands, many San Luis Obispo residents of different faith communities have expressed the feeling of pride they experience as they drive by the Temple now, feeling a personal connection and pride, knowing that they too helped in a small way to make sure the Temple would survive. The years of taking an active role in building a strong interfaith connection and fully participating in the life of the general community blossomed into the miracle we are experiencing.

On Sunday afternoon, a service of Thanksgiving and an open house for the wider community was celebrated. As across the nation, we witness communities pulling together after the many natural disasters that are occuring, in our small corner of the world, we too have been blessed to witness the joy of community support, financial and emotional in the wake of a possible financial devastation. Perhaps Chanuka came early this year – for indeed a great miracle happened here.

Friday evening will begin with a presentation: Eve, God and The Quantum Age: stories past, stories present and stories and will be followed with discussion and meditation. Saturday will offer 3 sessions and lunch.
Session 1: Kabbalah: The Hidden face of Judaism
Session 2: The Tree of Life: walking the path of balance
Session 3: Creating Midrash in an age of conscious evolution

Presented by:
New Awakenings, a community seeking a deeper relationship with the Sacred – in ourselves, in one another, in the natural world and in the universe. We seek to integrate our own personal stories and our religious traditions in an environment that fosters self discovery, mutuality, creativity, deepening consciousness and spirituality; all of which lead to the ultimate reality – that we are one with all that is. For more information contact Ron Nimer nimron@sbcglobal.net or Janet Nimer nimjan@sbcglobal.net

Presenter: Heather Mendel, mystic, artist, writer and facilitator
www.heathermendel.com
www.dancinginthefootstepsofeve.com

After an inspiring one day retreat in SLO yesterday, many ask what is the next step in moving forward. I invite your comments here as we build an online community of women.

The importance of being part of a sacred circle cannot be overstated. An easy start is to be in contact with a few others who shared the experience of a retreat such as “Women Rising In Consciousness” and form a spiritual study group that will meet regularly. Connect with 4 or 5 others of like mind and find a weekly time to meet, support one another and grow. Find a book to read and discuss or rent an appropriate video to watch and discuss. For those privileged to hear Barbara Marx Hubbard yesterday, her work is a perfect launching pad. As midwife to the evolving consciousness that we all sense upon us, her work and that of her colleagues is a great place to start.

She poses the question: As a conscious co-creator, what is the gift you wish to give to the world?

As we see the flowering of women’s circles on a local level, and technology encourages us to connect in cyberspace with others of like minds, no longer are we limited by geographical considerations. Is it possible that what we are witnessing is the transformation and evolution of humanity’s synaptic map?

As patriarchal institutions are imploding- religiously, politically, financially and socially, a grassroots international connection between peoples is forming. These groups, local and global, are sharing personal stories and experiences, touching the hearts of those who listen. This teaching and learning experience is a natural and intuitive pathway to wisdom for women.

For American women who enjoy the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, now is a great time and place in which to speak our truth, so long denied us. It takes courage to step forward now that we have the opportunity- and we are empowering one another to take advantage of the moment.

In the place of patriarchal hierarchy, disempowerment and separation (of one from another, of ourselves from the natural world, and perhaps from God) a phoenix is rising- lifting us to the next rung in the ladder of evolutionary consciousness. For the first time, technology is making possible a rapidly growing network through which the human family relates and connects, creating a new reality – an empowering connection and celebration of diversity.

The past several hundred years have been tumultuous in the human story. The developing human intellect, beneficial in many ways, works best as a server rather than a master, one tool in our repertoire of ways of learning about our world. We have witnessed the worship of science and its heirs of mechanization, industrialization, consumerism and the ongoing tragedy of the colonization of less developed nations- through religion, culture and consumerism.

With the reawakening of the Sacred Feminine, we are remembering the joy of intuitive knowing, of mutuality, respect and relationship. We each have a part to play in this cosmic shift as we realize the importance of taking time- even a few minutes each day, to be present in our own lives, perhaps most easily done, by connecting, even for just moments a day, with the natural world. Everything we need to know can be learned from the trees in the garden or park. Rain, drought, sunshine or wind, day and night, they grow. They are. From them we learn presence and resilience. Their summer leaves sparkle in the sunshine, dancing in the afternoon winds. They fall effortless to the ground when it is time to release and make way for the new. Oh, at the end of each day, to be able to drop regrets, frustrations and upsets as lightly as they drops their leaves.

Just as each leaf dances to an individual melody of life in the community of the whole tree, in expressing who we are, we fulfill our individual destinies and expand the possibilities of the synaptic map not only of ourselves but of the whole human family.

Many have read the book, “Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” Perhaps a variation on the theme could be “everything I need to know I learned from the tree in my garden.” I want take her lessons to heart. This wonderful teacher, tall and strong, stretches her huge branches giving shade not only to us but to the many finches and hummingbirds who gather in her shelter. From her protective being-ness, I learn presence. In be-ing, I remove myself from worries of the past and anxieties about an unknown future. Presence. Oneness. I breathe – therefore I am.

She reminds me that there is a natural order to living peaceably. When I look closely, I note that her strong branches emerge from her powerful trunk not in some haphazard way as it may first appear, rather her branches spiral out from the center in an ordered fashion, each one emerging distant enough from the one that came before to make sure the older branches have room to grow too and can access to sunlight for their leaves. From her symmetry, I learn about sharing resources which I need to practice more mindfully this year.

True – her roots do lift and crack the paving stones of our deck, but she was there first, and will be there long after we have gone. From her, I learn resilience and forbearance that I know serve us well as the increasing winds of rapid change blow through our lives.

I relish her silence. She is. At day’s end, ever so easily, she loosens her grip on those leaves whose time has come. She releases them to make way for the new growth. Oh, at the end of each day, to be able to drop regrets, frustrations and upsets that cloud our inner light, as lightly as she releases her leaves. These are some of Nature’s silent, yet obvious lessons we can learn when we still the busyness of or lives.

One cannot help but stand in awe of the natural order that when unimpeded by human interference and greed, seamlessly cycles and evolves. From the tiniest organism to the most majestic animals that populate ocean, air and land, life needs to be taken so that life can be maintained in the ‘eat or be eaten’ order of the natural world.

What does the human witness feel as an observer? Where is the compassion for the sacrificed individual member of the hunted species who make continuance of the life of the hunter possible? Who can feel dread for the hapless seal sunning itself on a floating log as the orcas approach, for the buck being separated from the herd by the hungry pride of lionesses, or the tiny rabbit as the eagle swoops? Without the hunt, predators die. With the hunt, the prey dies. Life and death- those two most mysterious of portals to the world unseen, inextricably connected, one to the other.

As consciousness evolves within the human species, we intuit that perhaps compassion is largely a human trait and one with which we are specifically endowed to bring this loving energy into the Earth’s field. It is a right and a responsibility. As we learn to love unconditionally, do we enlivened the arena in which we find ourselves, fulfilling our piece of the puzzle?

The inner child loves a story; the adult within searches for meaning. Feminine nature responds to the intuitive and masculine temperament to the logical. As individuals, we are composites of the children we were and the adults we become and it is in the tales we share and love, that we grow. As children, all our favorite stories began with ‘once upon a time’ and ended with ‘and they all lived happily ever after.’ In Western culture, the foundational story of how humanity found itself on this beautiful blue planet floating in space, begins in the Garden of Eden, a metaphor for Natures’ verdant setting. We certainly begin with ‘once upon a time’ but as we look at our present clash of world cultures in a natural world that has been gravely abused, can we honestly envision a ‘happily ever after’ for the human family?

With a traditional reading of the biblical Creation story, it is difficult to imagine. Kabbalah and mystical Judaism has always suggested that there are many ways to understand the mystery of our ancient stories if we are willing to delve below the superficial level. Awaiting discovery below the literal interpretation of the Garden of Eden, magical myth and metaphor are the keys that have the transformative power to alter the course of human history for our children and grandchildren. There is the potential for a ‘happily ever after’ – for replacing the fear of our diversity with respect and celebration. Cooperation is possible once we add the missing letter ‘o’ back into the word ‘corporation.’ There is a path to individual empowerment and healing and the possibility of creating a global family living in harmony with the Earth. Are you ready?
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Heather_Mendel

The traditional reading of the Garden of Eden not only sets the stage for the diminishment of women, but also for a misunderstanding of the nature of God. This mystical and mythic telling of the tale intuits Divinity as the Creative Source of All Life, the wellspring of compassion. This God metaphorically plants two trees in the ‘Garden’- the forerunner to the world of Nature that is home to the human family on Earth. The Tree of Knowledge is the symbol for the physical world of duality that allows us to constantly make choices as we learn to use the gift of free-will. This Tree is the gift of our ‘human-ness.’ The Tree of Life awaits. It is the gift of our ‘being-ness’ with which we reconnect as we spiritually evolve and grow in consciousness.

In the deeper reading of the familiar story, we can hear the missing phrase that is written, not in the story as we know it, but rather in the spaces between the letters of the literal text. Humanity is told: “Do not eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge… until you are ready for all that life will bring- the joys and the heartaches, the successes and dashed hopes that are part and parcel of life in the physical. In such a sharing, the curious, intuitive and courageous ‘Eve’- archetypal feminine energy, is willing to take the opportunity offered, to bring human consciousness to the physical realm just as God intended, but only when ‘she’ was ready for the illusionary separation from God and spiritual realm. God does not punish humanity by casting them out; here God, compassionate and unconditionally loving, holds the space for human beings to correct their errors and enjoy their successes as they make the choices necessary to experience this earthly journey.

As we reclaim the revealed Eve from the negative strictures of the traditional image that concealed her beauty and her strength, women are invited to welcome the ‘Eve’ within, and honor her intuitive wisdom, courage and curiosity- part and parcel of our inherent birthright. We have the opportunity of again moving the human story forward at this transformational moment in the new millennium, so full of promise and potential. The implied image of God, ‘I shall be that I shall be’ or ‘I become that I become’ is the evolving, mysterious, multilayered and unifying field and force in whose image we, consciously evolving humanity, are created. Are we ready?

Article Source http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Heather_Mendel

I have personally never visited Petra, but have seen photos and read descriptions such as in Dorothy Atalla’s new book, “Conversations with the Goddess.” Having been to Antelope Canyon and the Anasazi villages of the South West, I do know the powerful energy of such places, transformative energy that may remain dormant, perhaps for years, before we understand the impact of our having being there.

Our digital world is amazing and can transport us in time and space, connecting us as a global family in ways never before imagined. However, digital travel does not allow us to touch and be touched by the magical energy of sacred places. The shared spiritual journeys of those who are fortunate enough to have been there, lifts our imaginative yearning and allows us to soar. Atalla’s journey begins in Petra, Sue Monk Kidd and her daughter Ann, describe mystical Greece in their book, “Traveling with Pomegranates.” We fly with them as we enjoy both books that provide joyful reading experiences for women longing to connect with their spiritual source.