As I was preparing to talk about the Winter Solstice holy days (running from the beginning of Advent through the Lunar New Year) I noticed that they all have rituals and stories that parallel the process of Alchemy - transforming consciousness by moving through material processes. Here's one version of the process that I'm using in my presentations on Transformational Consciousness.

​Recently, a copy of the famous Chief Seattle speech, "How Can You Buy or Sell the Earth?" was put in front of me. Although I've seen it many times, this time I was able to explain how it is that Americans have come to think we can buy land.
 
For hundreds of thousands of years, people have wandered around large areas of land, finding food as they could, often not even aware there were other people on the planet. They relied on observation and intuition to guide them from place to place, food source to food source. Anyone who could intuitively access information about what they needed was elevated in stature, as were those who could carry large loads or accurately use a spear or stone knife.
 
As climates changed, people were pushed into smaller and smaller habitable areas and had to find new ways to live. They began to nourish certain "wild" supplies of food and manage forests and range lands, and they learned to rely on a new kind of guidance in the process - one which understood what a plant or tree needed in order to flourish, and how to maintain balance among a group of people living in close proximity.
 
Early villages grew out of this process. Located along waterways, they were fixed and stable. Houses and gardens were built and animals were brought in to the village rather than hunted in the wilderness. Now decisions had to be made about who would live and work where - and a new kind of guidance was needed to make it work for everyone for the long term. Wise men and women were honored who could access that wisdom and persuade others to follow it. Older women, especially, who had seen life, had learned to read people's hearts, how to nourish plants and babies, and how the climate shifted and changed over the years, were honored and appreciated - as the Neolithic "Venus" figurines attest.
 
The village gardening life thrived with few hardships and virtually no violence for several thousand years, until a new climate shift caused mass migrations into the river valleys.
 
Apparently an asteroid hit the planet and caused much desertification. The great plains of northern Africa became the Sahara desert. Much of Central Asia dried up, and areas of the Caucasus became uninhabitable. Many people moved into the river valleys.
 
Bringing more people into the villages was difficult, but doable, with the existing processes and systems. The land was reapportioned, forests were cut down, reeds planted to replace the fuel, food, and fiber that the trees had provided, and new villages were built where the forests had been.
 
But along the Tigris and Euphrates and their tributaries, things happened very differently. Large blonde men, riding horses and herding large numbers of cattle, moved down from the Caucasus seeking new pastures. They had little use for gardens and let their herds trample them. In some cases, whole villages were demolished, flattened. These men had no respect for women, seeing them as a bull sees cows, and used them roughly - often stealing them and hiding them so no one could steal them back. And they were rougher, faster, and stronger than most of the valley men they encountered.
 
By 3200 b.c.e., enough waves of Caucasians had moved into many river valleys that they had changed the culture. From the Indus to the Nile the city-state was now established. Civilization (also known as urbanization) had begun. The foundation for a new kind of culture, based on taking and expanding, was laid.
 
Under this regime, the land belonged to the emperor-king, who, using the basic idea from the old gardening culture, that the land was sacred to the divine Power, claimed it by divine right: the Divinity (God or Goddess) had given him all the land as long as he could control it. Therefore anyone else could only use it with his permission. If he liked someone or they had done a great service for him, he would give them the right to use the land - either for their lifetime or for some or all succeeding generations.
 
Up 'til this moment in time, no one had ever thought of "owning" a piece of land. But a mindset that says "I want it and I shall have it" was built into this new kind of leader. Taking over what others are using is normal to that way of thinking - and converting men into herds to trample over other lands (and people) was the way to do that. So armies were born, and the idea of battle.
 
Taking control of the rich proceeds of new land was the great hunger of this new, Empire culture. From father to son the ambition was passed down: grow! expand! acquire more!
 
This was the way of Empire culture for over four thousand years: choose a piece of land, take an army there to take it over, and then take as much of the proceeds as possible home, handing out rights to use the land to a few, select individuals. Even through the 1500s and into the 1600s European empires continued to grow by treating the whole world this way. Chinese, Russian, and Islamic empires fought back and forth across Asia, as well.
 
But then, something new began. The emperors were actually losing wealth by fighting these battles. More and more, the proceeds from the lands were barely enough to cover the cost of acquiring them. Large armies needed supplies. Navies needed to be built and maintained. And even with all the gold and riches of Africa and the Americas, the emperors were falling behind.
 
This was when the idea of selling land came into the picture. First, emperors sold the right to occupy land to individuals for a period of time: a “leasehold” for a period of years. Soon, in desperation, they actually sold their rights to own and occupy certain pieces of land to individuals. Land grants became a sort of payment for services – especially land in far-away places like the Americas - during those years. 
 
The next step was to grant (or sell) lands to companies. And it was this that made it possible for many to settle North America. The Puritans, for example, contracted with a company to get them to North America based on a promise that they would send back part of their produce in return for the right to live on that land. 
 
Sadly it became clear that people who haven't grown up sharing things in common don't know how to maintain commons or use only their share. The American colonists were not rural villagers with such a history, so they found another way: buy the company's interest in the land and then sell it to the individual residents for their own use.
 
And so it was that the American Way was established: gather (earn, borrow, inherit, or steal) enough funds to buy enough land for your own home and garden and live the good life for evermore. No divine Power to seek guidance from, no other person;s needs to be bothered by, just me and "my land" to do with as I wish.
 
So, "how can we buy or sell the Earth?" We do it by ignoring what Chief Seattle pointed out, that what we are buying is part of an interconnected web that we all share in common. We do it by convincing ourselves that, even though we pay the city and county a fee for the right to occupy the piece of land we have title to, and even though we may have one or two mortgages on it that say the lender gets that title as soon as we miss a few payments, and even though someone else owns the rights to any minerals (or in some places, water) that are buried under the surface, somehow we, like the emperors of old, "own" this piece of earth and are entitled to all the produce thereof.
 
I wonder how long we can maintain that fiction?

​As I've shared with some of you, having experienced museums as "babysitters" growing up and then working as a museum professional through college, I'm not as enthusiastic about museum tours as some, but the Cairo museum is a classic, and it's about to be replaced by an ultramodern structure out on the Giza Plateau, about a kilometer from the pyramids.

The building is classic - begun in 1897 (the year my grandmother was born) and completed in 1901. Big old glass cases with typed 3x5 cards as labels house some of the greatest treasures of the world, ranging from the oldest historical documentations carved on stone plaques to the remains of full-size wooden funerary boats and tiny stone and ceramic amulets, to the solid gold equipment around the mummy of Tutankhamen. The exhibit halls are grand, several stories high, with skylights and frosted windows providing natural light, and house fans keeping the air moving: only the mummy rooms are air conditioned.

Our guide was enthusiastic and a wonderful teacher, making, as one retired middle-school teacher said "it all come alive." His obvious love of the material made the even less-than-exciting displays truly worth experiencing. 

I could see lots of opportunities for research, but was hampered by the lack of dates on the labels. Old Kingdom? New? When were these metal arm gauntlets made? Roman times or earlier? What about this wonderful funerary jar that looks like a dancing bear? Ah, it was in King Tut's tomb... Check out the elongated skulls on these mummies! Not all of them, but enough to be noticeable. And no, Akhnaten was not 14' tall - his sarcophagus is barely 6' long, and it's shaped like a normal man, without the exaggerated hips of the carved images.  

3 hours later we emerged into a fairly cool late afternoon and headed out to our bus. There's 16 of us, including our guide and government-appointed "escort", both of whom are very patient with this herd of cats.

The bus took us into the heart of Cairo, where the streets are a thousand years old and the mosques are even older. We will see a bit of the great mall: the Khan Khalili, while heading to an old coffee shop, famous as a writers' hangout for a couple centuries. The door is barely identifiable, but Sara, the trip's organizer, knows it well. The doorman lets us in and we take over one whole wall of benches, low tables, and chairs. Turkish coffee, tea, Koffee Arabica, and an odd beverage made of tomato broth with chickpeas in the bottom of the cup are the highlights, with a small tray of bhaklava and related pastries to share.

When we finally emerged to tour parts of the market, the sky was dark, but the streets and shops were very well lit. As in most hot countries, life begins at sunset - well at least the shopping does. :)

"Scarf?" "T-shirts?" "Spend your money here!" "Christmas ornaments - I have beautiful Christmas ornaments!" "Come and look - it's free!" "No? How can I take your money?" Such were the words coming at us from all sides as we wandered down the narrow lanes. But Sara had a particular place in mind, a shop up above the street, on a terrace over a courtyard, that she discovered 20 years ago - with an owner she trusts: Jordi's. It's maybe 10' wide and 25' long, with a long counter down the middle and 5-6 customers already in it... another 15 of us? You've got to be kidding!

But we dutifully eased our way in, checking out the tourist items, which are, after all, very nicely priced. He offered us tea, which most of us refused, but a few of us found pretties to take home to friends and family and then got out of the way so others could explore.

Out in the market again, our guide takes us to his favorite spot: a tiny little courtyard with a beautiful old mosque - and a clear view of the ancient cobblestone street. 

​One amazing day after another!

Boarded the plan for Rome on the morning of October 1st, having left my phone behind... so from the beginning this trip is very different: the first in years where I was simply experiencing, not constantly in touch and sharing with you wonderful folks. 

The flight was typical: long and reasonably uncomfortable, with lots of movies to watch on the screen in the seat in front of me, my feet up on the bag I stashed under that same seat, and nice folks on either side. 

Got to Rome 11 hours after leaving the coast, noonish their time, gathered my bags (one for cool eather and one for hot) and was helped through the process of buying the train ticket into Rome proper and on to Milan. So another few hours of transport later, I arrived at an amazing train station, gathered up my bags again, and got a taxi to where I was staying - only to find that I could have walked i

After unloading my bags I wandered out to explore - and find a meal. Ended up in a restaurant across the plaza from the magnificent building that is the Milan Central Station - and is almost identical to Union Station in D.C. :)  The local specialty, braised shank on Risotto Al Milanese, was served on a covered patio with a delicious local wine - and, as usual, was far too much for me to eat (or drink!) My very kind water, looking like a young John Travolta, was disappointed that I didn't clean my plate and order dessert but grudgingly gave me my check as requested :)

I wandered back to my room in the early dusk, feeling totally safe on these well lit streets and broad sidewalks. It helped that I had read an article in the plane's magazine explaining the city's plan to become totally "green" - including an projected layout that conforms to my suggestions in the book HOME.

The train to Varenna left early the next morning, so I was out before dawn, again feeling totally safe. I checked my hot-weather bag so only had the one to get up and down various stairs to and from platforms and the agent insisted that I sit and have some tea and a croissant so I wouldn't have to wait so long at the station. Really nice people, everywhere!

The sun came up as the train made its way through the Lombardy countryside, and glowed on the mountains ahead. Felt like I was in northern New Mexico or Arizona - except that there were many more houses and apartment buildings and all the roofs were red tile and the walls were shades of tan.

I grew up reading aft history textbooks and historical novels set in ancient civilizations, and visiting the Oriental Institute, Field Museum, and Art Institute in Chicago. Then I earned a degree in anthropology and now work as an Interfaith minister, writing books about how the culture of empire is coming to an end - and I've never been to the lands where the great early empires developed.... until now.
The month of October and a bit of November will be spent journeying through parts of Italy, Greece, and Egypt and I'm prepared to experience the past, present, and future as it unfolds in those rich environments. It's about time!
My plan is to upload something here every few days - and send emails to as many people as I can -- to document and share this journey, so come back and visit!

  ​In April of 2019, I had the opportunity to travel with a group of women across India, from the many-lakes city of Udaipur (the site of the first "Exotic Marigold Hotel" film) northward into the desert and across the country through Jodhpur and Jaipur to Agra and into the holy city of Benares (Varanasi).  Along the way we stayed in half a dozen cities and visited several more.
  On this journey I saw India's history unfold - from the life of the original nomadic tribes, through the Hindu Vedic invaders, through the Muslim invasions and their evolution as the Moghuls (Moogals), through the British invasion (the Raj), into the formation of the modern republic, and the rise of today's technology based middle class.

​Our starting point was Bombay (Mumbai), where our planes arrived at the beautiful, museum-like Indira Gandhi airport. We stayed in a modern hotel overlooking the older part of the city, not far from the old Bombay Gate and Taj Hotel (the site of the series "Hotel India"). 
  The first full day we boarded a boat to cross the bay to Elephant Island, where there's an ancient temple to Shiva, filled with marvelous larger-than-life carvings of the god and his wife, Parvati, all carved out of the living stone of the hillside. 
  On the trip back, I could feel a powerful connection with my grandmother, whose first glimpse of India, almost exactly 100 years ago, was as she got off her steamship and walked through that very gate.

We flew from there to Udaipur and toured the palaces on the lakes. This city was the beginning of the several dynasties of Moghuls (Moogals) in the Northern India region that is now known as Rajastan. The main palace in Udaipur was built around 1700 using Persian technologies and styles, by a man who was called Maharana, "Great Warrior." His sons and grandsons founded several other cities that we visited and were called Maharajahs "Great Kings".

  From there we rode in a small bus northward into the desert, touring an ancient Jain temple that the Muslims had destroyed but, through a gift from an American businessman, the stonework has been recently restored. I was enthralled by the filigree carving in the stonework, and the sense of peace that filled the open courtyards and covered chapels. Along the way we passed a farmer using an ox to turn a well for irrigating his fields - a process that's gone unchanged for at least a thousand years. ​
  We stayed in several wonderful palace guest-houses, merchant's mansions, and hotels on this journey - each one demonstrating some of the unique architecture of the region. In Bikaner we were given rooms in the palace that were built during the time, and in the style, my grandmother was living, not too far away...

During most of the trip I was living in several centuries at the same time: the periods during which the buildings we toured were built and occupied, my grandmother's time there in the early 1900s, and the modern world of cellphones, buses, motorcycles, and internet. As a result, I don't think I was ever fully present in the moment - even though there were some marvelous ones...

One of the more memorable moments was up in the far northwestern desert, where we met some of the local tribespeople and they let us ride their camels along the dunes at sunset. (I think that's Pakistan on the far horizon.) That night we watched local tribes sing and dance the way they have for thousands of years - and very much the way the "Romany" or "gypsy" people do in rural Romania, today.

Another memorable moment was sunrise on the Ganges, in Benares (Varanasi), where we were able to take a boat out into the river and  leave a flower candle for souls who wanted to be united with Mother Ganga. I left one for my grandmother and one for my friend Deva Ayama, a sanyasin who passed on just as I was leaving for this trip.

That night we got to listen and watch as a master Sitarist played, with his grandson and son-in-law accompanying... I was transported by the beauty and the skill.

Of​ course, we had to visit the Taj Mahal at sunrise. I was surprised at how intensely connected I felt when I came through the gate and this so-familiar monument was right in front of me.
Our guide insisted on taking this picture...

I've waited my whole life to return to the land where my mother was born and my grandmother became an adult, married, worked on Gandhi's projects to empower women, and bore 2 children. I grew up on stories of India, and my childhood home was filled with brass bowls and beautifully woven rugs and other items my grandparents had brought back with them when they returned to the States in 1927. 

I'm leading a new group through the 12 lessons of Emma Curtis Hopkins, using the workbook edition of my book, Unveiling Your Hidden Power; Emma Curtis Hopkins' Metaphysics for the 21st Century.  
Several people have asked to have the classes recorded and someone offered to do so. The plan is to upload each of the recordings on Youtube. 

CLICK HERE for audio versions of me reading highlights of the lessons, with commentary and explanations.

For the Memorial Day service at Florence Unitarian Universalist Fellowship this year, I chose to talk about the amazing amount of research that has been done into the experience of "passing away", or "crossing over." Here's the video of the talk: (CLICK HERE).
In the talk I mention several films that provide some insights into the experience:

• What Dreams May Come, with Robin Williams (how our belief system affects our experience)
• Resurrection, with Ellen Burstyn (what the NDE process looks like & how it can affect us)
• Defending Your Life, with Albert Brooks and Meryl Streep (how one "Hollywood" belief system could interpret the common stages in the experience)
• Saved by the Light about Danion Brinkley (how the experience can transform us, with a description of the process that his highly consistent with other accounts).

None of them are "accurate" for all folks but each provide a piece of the puzzle.

Some of the authors I mentioned (among hundreds that are out there) are:

• The Education of Oversoul 7 by Jane Roberts
• Life Between Lives and Journey of Souls by Michael Newton
• Saved by the Light by Danion Brinkley
• The Betty Book by Stuart Edward White

The video ends before I finished the talk (ran out of battery, I'm told), so I'll take this opportunity to share my final comment:
   A friend of mine has committed her life to being a LightWorker, has sold everything she owns, and lives in hotels and other peoples' homes as she is called around the world. I called her early one morning and we talked about how the world is changing and how our lives are being changed in the process. Toward the end of the conversation she said to me "... in my meditations I've been told that we're doing something nobody has ever done before. We, all of us, are lifting the consciousness of the whole of humanity. The angels and archangels, and all the avatars can only love us through this process - they don't know how to guide us because they've never done it. When this process we're in is completed, no one will have to 'pass over' again - 'the veil' will be gone."
​
Thank you for being the folks who are raising humanity to such a high level of consciousness.

​When we understand that what we read in the Hebrew Bible in English today was written thousands of years ago by people who spoke a very different language and thought very differently, and that it’s been translated multiple times over centuries, by many different people, all of whom thought differently about the world than we do, we begin to realize that what the original writers said and what we hear may be radically different. Even the new translations, mostly from the Greek and some from the Hebrew, are based on modern American and European thought patterns rather than the ways people thought in the Middle East thousands of years ago. So, even though the original writing, and even the translations, may have been “revealed,” what they were thinking then and what we think when we read what they wrote are often very different.
This is particularly the case with what has come to be known as “The Ten Commandments.”
Many Jews today, reading the chapters in Exodus or Deuteronomy in which the list of ten is presented, don’t translate the Hebrew as “thou shalt” but as “thou dost.” This is because, while all the languages derived from Latin (including English) include an “imperative” form, a person commanding someone to do something, the far more ancient biblical Hebrew does not. And, while in English we use verbs to talk about past, present, or future actions, in biblical Hebrew verbs describe an action that is complete or incomplete—no time is involved.
It turns out that the verbs in the list of ten are all written in the second person (you), masculine, singular, imperfect (an incomplete action—“man, you’re cutting yourself”) as opposed to “perfect” which would be a completed action (“man, you have cut yourself”). The result is very different from what most of us were raised on.
As written, the opening Hebrew sentence can be most correctly translated as, “Hear, Oh Israel, I am the Lord your God who has brought you out of the land of the Mizraim (which is usually translated as Egypt and refers to the sons of Noah’s son Ham); you have no other gods greater than I.” It’s then followed by a series of verbs, each preceded by a symbol that is read as “lo” and means “no” or “not.”
This means that, when we look at those familiar verses in Exodus, we need to see them a new way: they’re not rules for us to follow, but promises!
They tell us that, when we accept the Almighty One as the Love of our lives, the Source of our existence, and the Power beyond all powers within or around us, then, in fact, we can’t ever allow a desire for money or property or any idol to be more important than our desire to commune with The One, or covet anything, much less steal; we would always honor our elders as guides to experiencing that One, and we would never be inclined to kill another!
Now that’s something worth celebrating! No wonder the Hebrews or Israelites (children of God) as they began to call themselves after hearing these words, held the tablets that bore them as holy!
May we all know the peace that comes of accepting this fact of our history as truth in our hearts!