Winter Solstice

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The earth is forever turning.

And we know this time of the receding sun is taking with it the year 2021., and the returning sun brings with it the new one. We know that this coming Tuesday, December 21, 2021, at 10:59 A.M. EST. the days will begin to become longer. It happens at this latitude every year. Winter Solstice.

The Cherokee call this time vee si gi ga.
The Time of the Snow Moon.

From the dark times of the snow moon
it was understood the sun would return.

Now we look to the earth scientists and astronomers to keep records of celestial movements. But long before computers, long before telescopes and planetariums, long before science-as-we-know-it, this task fell to the spiritual leaders of the village, the woman or man who served as ceremonial leader, counselor, healer, historian, scientist, and magician. The Elders and Spiritual Leaders, in performed these roles, helped the community give meaning to the changing year, and anticipation of the comping year.

The dwindling of the sun’s light in autumn is a reminder that even as the old year dies, so must all living things. The Mid Winter festivals enabled the community to accept this universal dying, to understand it is necessary for new life. When the daylight hours are shortest, we long for assurance that spring will return, that once again the warm sun will nurture growing things and make the earth green.

In this time when the village is eating foods stored in the root cellar, dried beans and dried corn, people in different parts of the world collected evergreen boughs as a symbol of hope and renewal.

There is Cherokee creation story that says once up a time the sun sat in one place in the sky. And only the people living in a certain valley ever got the warm rays of the Sun.

Everyone couldn’t live in that one valley so …..

All the people cried out to the Sun,
begging her to move across the earth,
so that all the valleys and mountain tops would get some sun.

The Sun agreed, But said that all the creatures of the earth
had to stay awake for a whole week.
To watch the sun move.
The sun likes it when people take notice.

All the creatures of the earth agreed,
but by the third day most of them were asleep.
and by the seventh day,
only the Owl and Mountain Lion,
and Evergreen Tree were still awake.

So the Sun gave the earth night by traveling around the earth,
and she blessed the Owl and the Mountain Lion
with the vision to see in the night,
and the Evergreen with the leaves that don’t fall off,
in the winter.

In the last decade or so,
we are more than ever conscious of our earth,
of our mutual dependence on trees and other living plants as we exchange our carbon dioxide for their oxygen. We must continue to be aware of the cycle of life, spring, summer, fall, winter, spring

And so on and so on.

As the new year unfolds,
let us remember: we are creatures of this earth,
with her waters and sky,
and the cycles of this earth are part of who we are as humans.

Happy Happy Yule to you.

Have yourself a merry, merry Solstice

Sects, Sectarians, and the emerging Left.

A People So Bold!

In the Western parts of Europe of the Middle Ages everyone was supposed to be a Catholic. There were exceptions, Jews for example. But they were “othered” and not considered to be “of the nation.” So when dissenting Christians formed alternaive organizations, gatherings which claimed to be “church” but weren’t Catholic, it was a big deal. Worthy of commentary, censure, and persecution. These little protestant communities were called sects.

The word comes from the Latin and means a road. So the road or way of the Quakers as contrasted with the way or road of the Shakers. The powers that be conjured a different meaning, from a slightly different Lation ethomoly, a sect was an offshoot. Sociologists such as Max Weber and Ernst Troeltsch begging a definition more allied with the powers choose to define sect as a small, purified and distinctive breakaway from the prevailing church.  So in the English context the Jesuits were labelled a sect,

Thus in the contrast established by usage, the broad, traditional and inclusive main body of a religion, versus the sects, which were organized around some “particular” doctrine or practice. Clearly the principle of postponing baptism until the age of consent was a big enough issue to designate the Baptists as a  sect.

But there was something else that marked the sect and that was cultural style. Amish were quaint clothing, Unitarians like their sermons to be smart.

The socialist movement was shaped by sociologists, and so the idea of sect, and the designation “sectarian” came to usage in among socialists.   A socialist sect was identified by some peculiar ideas,  teachings,  and its own “strategic vision” that were not shared by other socialists.  Its had its own founders, leaders, teachers,  again distinct from other socialists.   And like the religious communities called sects, the socialist sects each have their own cultural style,  their own ways of presenting themselves.

The United States in 2017 has a broad multi tendency and pluralistic Left,  with many cultural styles.   The Democratic Socialists of America present themselves to be an organization that could encompass the majority of this Left around an open perspective that works for a society that is both democracy (of the people) and socialist (for the people..)

Winter Solstice

A People So Bold!Leave a comment

The earth is forever turning.

And we know this time of the receding sun is taking with it the year 2016., and the returning sun brings with it the new one. We know that this coming Wednesday December the 21st, 5:44 am the days will begin to become longer.  It happens at this latitude every year.   Winter Solstice.

The Cherokee call this time vee si gi ga.

The Time of the Snow Moon.

From the dark times of the snow moon

it was understood the sun would return.

Now we look to the earth scientists and astronomers to keep records of celestial movements. But long before computers, long before telescopes and planetariums, long before science-as-we-know-it, this task fell to the spiritual leaders of the village, the woman or man who served as ceremonial leader, counselor, healer, historian, scientist, and magician. The Elders and Spiritual Leaders, in performed these roles, helped the community give meaning to the changing year,  and anticipation of the comping year.

The dwindling of the sun’s light in autumn is a reminder that even as the old year dies, so must all living things. The Mid Winter festivals enabled the community to accept this universal dying, to understand it is necessary for new life. When the daylight hours are shortest, we long for assurance that spring will return, that once again the warm sun will nurture growing things and make the earth green.

In this time when the village is eating foods stored in the root cellar,  dried beans and dried corn,  people in different parts of the world collected evergreen boughs as a symbol of hope and renewal.

There is Cherokee creation story that says once up a time the sun sat in one place in the sky.  And only the people living in a certain valley ever got the warm rays of the Sun.

Everyone couldn’t live in that one valley so …..

All the people cried out to the Sun,

begging her  to move across the earth,

so that all the valleys and mountain tops would get some sun.

The Sun agreed,  But said that all the creatures of the earth

had to stay awake for a whole week.

To watch the sun move.

The sun likes it when people take notice.

All the creatures of the earth agreed,

but by the third day most of them were asleep.

and by the seventh day,

only the Owl and Mountain Lion,

and Evergreen Tree were still awake.

So the Sun gave the earth night by traveling around the earth,

and she blessed the Owl and the Mountain Lion

with the vision to see in the night,

and the Evergreen with the leaves that don’t fall off,

in the winter.

In the last decade or so,

we are more than ever conscious of our earth,

of our  mutual dependence on trees and other living plants as we exchange our carbon dioxide for their oxygen.   We must continue to be aware of the cycle of life, spring, summer, fall,  winter, spring

And so on and so on.

As the new year unfolds,

let us remember: we are creatures of this earth,

with her waters and sky,

and the cycles of this earth are part of who we are as humans.

Happy Happy Yule to you.

Have yourself a merry, merry Solstice

Spiritual Direction for the end times?

A People So Bold!Leave a comment

The spiritual tradition of “the West” (Europe)  has been decidedly “other worldly.”   There was Heaven above and that was the site of all lofty aspirations.   Living on this earth was considered to be a ordeal, and trail to see if our souls were good enough for the spiritual life in the “life beyond.”    It was said that this our world would be coming to end, but a new creation would coming soon.  It is key to understanding this formative “worldview” that it saw the good creation, the promised heavenly existence arising on the ashes of this creation,  the world in live and move and have our being.

What does it mean to seek a spiritual life for living deeply and fully in this world,  embracing this always evolving,  always renewing creation.  What does it mean to understand that as part of our spiritual life we most live in harmony with this earth, and if the aspiration to beloved community is to realized it must be realized by human beings evolved to live on this planet.

With the escalation of ecological degradation and “climate change,”  we are again hearing about the end of times,  but this time without the ancient eschatological hope.  What we foresee if we do not reverse the carbon emissions and attendant ecological destructions is an “unlivable ecology.”    Spiritually centered activists who can sustain the struggle for  communities that are both”beloved” and “sustainable” are needed.

What will end in the coming moment?   We must choose to end is the Domination System that exploits the earth and impoverishes humanity.   People So Bold is dedicated to that end,  that we might celebrate the beauty of this earth, and glory in her gifts for a long time to come.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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