Spring and Fresh Beginnings
April 10, 2018 Kosmos Community News
How wonderful that Spring has arrived at last in our part of the world, a reminder that transformation is not only possible, but inevitable! The freshness and beauty of the tender leaves and flowers uplift us with hope. Out of darkness and turmoil, new life emerges.
So too, a new Planetary Community is arriving and all of us are part of it. In the midst of moral and political decay, climate chaos, and intolerance, a lotus blooms. In a million places, in millions of hearts, a new era is unfolding – a new era in service to all Life.
In honor of Spring, we too at Kosmos begin anew with fresh commitment – to bring you news every week of the emerging Planetary Community and how we can all play our part.
‘Woman Stands Shining’ | The First Ceremony
How can we begin a ceremonial journey that connects us to our ancestors and helps align our work in the world with the highest wisdom? In a new Kosmos video, Pat McCabe, also known as ‘Woman Stands Shining’ offers a simple morning ritual that has the power to transform our daily lives.
Pat McCabe is a Dine’ (Navajo) mother, grandmother, activist, artist, writer, ceremonial leader and international speaker. She is a voice for global peace and healing. Her words are an excerpt from a longer conversation with writer and mythologist Sharon Blackie, available here.
Kosmos Webmaster Karen Andersen has designed and authored a beautiful fresh website for Kosmos. The home page emphasizes new directions for the Journal, with a focus on the people who are working to bring the new Kosmos Quarterly to life. At the same time, the site honors the legacy of Nancy Roof and 17 years of conscious publishing with a vibrant new layout of the complete Kosmos Archive. Check it out.
In the Light | Advising Editor, Marie Goodwin
This week, we spotlight Marie Goodwin – writer, activist, and recovering academic who is deschooling herself while unschooling her two children in Media, Pennsylvania. She is passionate about the recovery of traditional folk knowledge and the languages and stories of her ancestral lands. She wears many hats (archaeologist, herbalist, writer, mother), but her “day-job” is supporting the work of several authors and public speakers, including Charles Eisenstein and Sharon Blackie. Marie is currently birthing her first novel of historical fiction. She is also a member of our Editorial Circle, an intentional group of authors, artists, and culture hackers who have come together for 100 days of reflection and conscious conversation to midwife the inaugural edition of Kosmos Quarterly.
“The theme of the first edition is “Unlearning Together.” Is the term “together” here meant to delineate a close group of spiritual friends? Is it your family? Local community? Or can we expand the term to include our ancestors? The beings and features of our living planet? The ancient stones, songs, and myths of cultures that have long since passed away? All these beings — animate or inanimate — provide examples of how to be, how to live, how to exist without ‘shoulds’ and the overlay of the toxic cultural conditioning that is pushing life to the brink of crisis.” – Marie Goodwin
Four Levels of ‘New Story’ Activism
By Marie Goodwin
This is an excerpt from a longer posting at Marie’s blog, Personal Mycology
People seek to “change the world” through activism on four different levels, no matter what the activism’s focus: the personal, the family, the community, and the world-tribe. What I have noticed about activism is that like so much else in life, what level you are focusing on at the moment changes throughout life; it ebbs and flows in phases, and brings richness and bounty to all of the other work we are doing in the world.
Kosmos Classic | Releasing the Potential of Our Life Force Energy
By Venita Ramirez
Kosmos Journal, Spring | Summer 2015
“In every moment the miracle of life reveals itself to us. A seed bursts into a sprout and grows into a tree, which then blossoms in the light of the sun. All around us, we can see the very concrete movement and miracle of a vital force animating our lives… It seems to have its own power, intelligence, and mysterious organizing principles—its own universal laws that require human flexibility and cooperation if we are to survive and thrive, both individually and collectively.”