A Birthday Declaration of Independence

by Lilamayi

It is the dawning of the age of Aquarius and the end of the Mayan calendar -- a time of transformation, and it dawns on me that my birthday is coming up, once again on the fall equinox. Instead of feeling afraid of marking off another year gone by, I am feeling a flood of inspiration. It is time to renew what it means to celebrate the day we were born. 

At what point in the history of civilization did people start to associate their identity with a number? We have been hypnotized to see ourselves as fitting into categories based on race, gender, and age. We are breaking down so many barriers, but the age barriers are still clinging desperately to the side of the cliff. We should be proud of our accomplishments, our wisdom, our battle scars… we should honor the transformational rites of passage that our bodies pass through over time. Why continue to give so much power to a number, which is only associated with limiting beliefs? There was no such need in tribal culture.

Women have been especially subject to suppression by patriarchal mythology. They have only recently started coming into their power as equals. They were not allowed to vote until 1920, and it was considered wrong for them to work outside of the home even into the 50s and 60s. The average age of marriage for girls during the 50s was 20 years old, so they were starting to become viewed as spinsters when they were 25. In recent times, doctors recommended against women having babies after the age of 30. Popular magazines still give instructions about what women should stop wearing after they are 40 years old, and whether it’s acceptable for them to have long hair. Women are still working to claim ownership of their bodies and their personal power.

I’m proposing that we stop attaching these ignorant limiting ideas onto our self worth. We must learn to see our essential radiance and beauty as something infinite and not finite.  Imagine what a change it would make in how people felt and looked if they uprooted those limiting fearful beliefs that have been programming their minds and bodies for centuries. The great teacher, Osho, said, “The animals in the jungle do not become ugly but remain as beautiful as when young. So also the trees, though some are a thousand years old and near death, there is not a grain of difference in their beauty. Old trees become more beautiful. Old lions become yet more majestic.”  

So in celebrating our birthdays, I propose that we celebrate our birth and rebirth in each new moment. For my next birthday, I will be zero years old. That is the truth of who we are in each new moment. Anything is possible. That is something to celebrate!

The Beginning.....

by Helen MeShell*


Good day and hello to all! This is my first piece of writing on here, and I have my cousin to thank as she inspired me with a question she asked me in a Facebook message. The question was this: "I was wondering what you are doing to incorporate your peace and love philosophy into your own career/lifestyle?" I decided to use the response to this question as my first posting.

I'm sure there are many people out there with the same question. There are little things that we all can do in our own lives to spread this message as it is a great cause to spread the philosophies of peace and love through your actions in life. The world needs it. The Earth needs it, so remember to give her your love and gratitude as well! She will be happy for that as our connection to the earth will be a constant support to us throughout our lives. The concepts of peace and love, as with most everything in life, will continue to grow and expand into a much deeper understanding as you gain wisdom and experience through the lessons you learn and apply.

Understanding why you should "treat others as you would like to be treated" is the surface of it, and it goes to many other levels. Loving oneself is the most important love you can have. Loving everything about you, the "dark" and the "light" (I use the term "you" meaning the proverbial "you" that is everyone), the side of you that doesn't have the answers and is confused, the worry wart, the angry part of you, your smile, your laugh.  Love it all, accept it all. This is an ongoing process because, as you grow, you get to know who you are, and new discoveries happen.  When one does this, one is then capable of knowing their truth and speaking it and being it.....this is how I try to live my life, in my truth, and in knowing myself, which again is a life-long discovery.  This is, in my opinion, the foundation of true peace and love.  Because then you are not needing anything from another, or from material items. You are able to just be you and know when you need to speak up and how, and how to be that channel of love because you have found it within yourself. No matter what you may be doing, it is constantly radiating from you. Also, you are at peace and have a deep understanding of the nature of peace because you know that where you are in your life is exactly the place you are supposed to be.

Love and being loving come in many different forms. The journey is amazing and endless. Be gentle with yourself, be patient, try not to be afraid to make mistakes, as life is an experiment, and we are here to figure out what ingredients work. So put on your chef hat and start fine tuning your greatest meal. That is your life.

Enjoy it all,
Be true to you,
Helen MeShell*

Helen MeShell is an actress, mother, friend, and Aquarian Age light bearer. This is her first contribution to Kundalini Rose. We are honored to have her grace the pages of Kundalini Rose.

PAINT YOURSELF

We are painting colors on ourselves.  We are playing with what shapes we feel inside and what we see outside.  Did I say smile with blue? Do you like me with swirls or with the eyes on a butterfly wing?

photo  by Lilamayi

Fish follow glow worms 1000 leagues under the sea.

I <3 glow worms

photo by Jeremy Robinson  www.jeremaya-art.com/     

THE TRAGEDY OF VAGINAL PLASTIC SURGERY

(originally published in the Facebook Moon Tree Group)

by Lilamayi

In recent years there has been a growing trend that seems to be a sign of a perverse social condition, and it is extremely disempowering to women. Women are secretly spending thousands of dollars to have a surgeon mutilate their vaginas to look more like the vaginas they see in pornographic photos. The problem is that pornographic images are not an accurate representation of women's genital anatomy. For one, pornography originated as a magazine business, and there are laws restricting the display of genital detail in these larger distribution magazines. Because of these laws, they have traditionally chosen to display women who had childlike vaginas (i.e. no protruding inner labia). In addition to these laws, many of the men who created and sought pornographic material had unhealthy sexual fantasies about pre-pubescent girls, and they promoted the display of nude women with childlike sexual anatomy. It is extremely common for women seeking work in the porn industry to undergo "labial reduction surgery." 

So women are basing their ideas about what is normal on these trends. Because so many women have been made to feel ashamed of their bodies during their childhood, they attach to the media that they see and find a reason to be ashamed of their sexual anatomy. To make matters worse, many men are addicted to porn and some express their disgust for female anatomy that does not correspond with what they see in pornographic images.

Fortunately, there are a few excellent resources for women and men to become exposed to the wonderful variations of female vaginas. In a 4 part British documentary (http://documentaryheaven.com/the-perfect-vagina/) Lisa Rogers takes us into the lives of women who are considering this surgery. We are also introduced to an artist who has taken on the project of making clay masks of hundreds of women's vaginas and displaying them as wall art. Here the viewer can see that a woman's anatomy has many variations, and, although some women may look like the images commonly found in pornography, most of them do not.

In fact, if we learn about the history of tribal people and their social education regarding female sexuality, we find that the archetypal references for a woman's vagina are colorfully poetic and varied. A woman's yoni is commonly referred to as a butterfly, or bird, or a flower to symbolize the variations of wings and blossoms that a woman's labia bring to mind. The Deer Tribe Metis Medicine Society, which is a society that conserves generations of sacred Native American knowledge, performs coming of age rituals for girls who are around the age of puberty as well as for women of all ages who have never had the honor of experiencing such a ritual. They refer to the woman's vagina as a "tupuli" which means "feathered flying serpent." During a rite of sacred sexuality with a Deer Tribe Metis Medicine Society shaman, women sit in a circle with objects that symbolize the four directions and the four elements. They are shown photographs of vaginas which represent the animal aspects that Mother Nature expresses through a woman's body. A wolf woman's vagina will have a different type of anatomy when compared to a deer woman or a buffalo woman. There are also different types of orgasms which are associated with these elemental types. At the center of the circle is the Creative Mother of all life, the no-thingness, or the black hole. This is where all women are combined. If we are experiencing this dimension, the orgasmic experience is total body and beyond, connecting us to the Infinite.

We in the so-called "civilized" world have this idea that we know more than the so-called "primitive" people of the past. We can access practically any piece of data from any corner of the world at any moment... we can genetically mutate our food to match our preferences and carve up new and supposedly improved bodies. But somehow we must bring back the wisdom that can only be found when we look to the ways of nature. It is tragic that women are mutilating their bodies in so many ways in order to be the way they think men want them to be.

Please pass a link to this page to other women (and men) who are confused and seeking the answers that their parents, friends and the media are unable to answer for them. The truth is empowering.


References:
http://www.dtmms.org/ (Deer Tribe Metis Medicine Society)
http://www.scarleteen.com/article/advice/giveem_some_lip_labia_that_clearly_aint_minor
http://www.examiner.com/multicultural-in-seattle/where-have-all-the-vaginas-gone
http://documentaryheaven.com/the-perfect-vagina/

Moon Tree Women's Circle   www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=156922074338046&ref=ts
Moon Tree Art Courtesy of  Toni Salerno  www.tonicarminesalerno.com

Artist, Toni Salerno, says that it is only when we let go of ‘control’ that the eternal source of creation within each of us, streams through. "Preconceived ideas usually only serve to limit or restrict the true essence of the creative energy that we each possess.” He believes that this principle can be used not only to create art; but in every area of our lives. Our intuition helps us to connect with our spiritual selves. It helps us to connect to a timeless place that exists eternally within our hearts; a place where all is energetically interconnected and nothing is ever truly missing. Intuition is the guidance that stems from our soul.