The Iseum Eye

Issue #1

13th May 2004

Welcome to the first edition of "The Iseum Eye", a randomly regular newsletter of the Iseum of the Cosmic Dance!

Each issue will focus predominantly on a environmental or humanitarian concern, but will also include other articles of interest. 

If you wish to contribute an article, poem, spell, story, ritual, etc; please send me your work, and be sure to include your preferred pen name (for credit).

Otherwise... please enjoy Issue #1 !!

Namaste!

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Environmental Focus:

ILLEGAL MAHOGANY

From GreenPeace...

The following letter landed on my desk recently...

Dear friends,

As a supporter of Greenpeace, you're going on trial on Monday for protecting the rainforest in the Amazon.

For the first time ever, the US government has decided to prosecute an entire organisation for exercising its right to free speech through non-violent protest.

The trial begins on May 17th, and results from a protest against an illegal shipment of mahogany headed for the Port of Miami in Florida two years ago. Unable to find a suitable law against calling attention to environmental crimes, the Attorney General has charged Greenpeace under an obscure 19th-century law designed to stop prostitutes from boarding sailing vessels.

If we are found guilty, it will mean being branded a criminal organisation.

While Greenpeace is in the dock, those who logged, imported and sold the illegally imported mahogany continue to operate.

Not only is this a wholly unwarranted and politically motivated attack on an organisation that was attempting to prevent a crime, but it also sets a dangerous precedent for the future of free speech and the right to civil protest in the US. It could also be used as an example in other countries to curb non-violent direct action. The case has been attacked in articles and editorials in the New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, and Miami Herald. Senator Patrick Leahy of the US Judiciary Committee wrote to US Attorney General John Ashcroft saying his selective prosecution of Greenpeace could "have a chilling effect on free speech and activism of all kinds." Al Gore called the case "highly disturbing" in a speech to MoveOn members. Fellow environmental and civil rights groups have rallied to demand Ashcroft drop the case. But Ashcroft's not listening.

Now it's your turn to make sure we don't let this case go unchallenged. We need your help. Sign on to our letter demanding Bush and Ashcroft prosecute illegal loggers rather than Greenpeace. To date, 37,000 people have joined this appeal. We want to have 50,000 signatories by Monday. We need to show the US government that people all over the world are watching this trial. We need to remind them they can't silence Greenpeace without silencing everyone who supports Greenpeace.

Don't let Bush and Ashcroft silence you. Take action now:

(link removed, petition no longer current)

GOOD NEWS!!! - SEE THE FOLLOW UP STORY

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Goddess Focus:

Kwan Yin

I made the vow
and kept my word
I reached enlightenment
but rather than pass over
to the state of eternal bliss
I retain human form
till all beings attain enlightenment
Keeping human form
enabled me to know more deeply
the pain others experience
Because of my deep feelings
because of my understanding
of misery and suffering
because of my decision
I am called The Compassionate One
She Whose Name Alleviates All Suffering
But wouldn't you prefer to wait
feeling what others feel
suffering what others suffer
knowing their pain as your own
wait till the end of all suffering and pain
till all beings attain enlightenment?
For me there was no other choice

The Mythology

Kuan Yin (pronounced koo-wan'yin), or "she who hears the weeping world", is the Chinese Buddhist bodhisatva of Compassion. She lives on her island paradise of P'u To Shan where she is said to grant every prayer she hears. She is so powerful that even the mention of her name will ease suffering and hardship. Choosing to remain in this world after having attained enlightenment, Kuan Yin has vowed to retain human form until all beings attain enlightenment. In Japan she is known as Kwannon. 

The Lessons of this Goddess

Kuan Lin appears mercifully in your life to tell you it is time to nurture wholeness with compassion - compassion for others, compassion for your loved ones, compassion for yourself. Do you find yourself feeling irritated or apathetic to the suffering of others? What keeps you from your compassion? Do you allow yourself space and ease when you are less than your idea of perfect? Do you find yourself wanting to hurt others because you have been hurt? Do you fear opening your heart to the plight of others because it will hurt you? Compassion is the ability to listen deeply and allow others and yourself the space to go through what needs to be gone through and to feel what needs to be felt. The Goddess says that the way to alleviate your suffering is to develop compassion for yourself. From that compassionate place within, you can manifest compassion without.
 
author unknown
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Ritual Focus:

Ritual of Giving

This ritual is designed to give energy back to the Earth. Light no candles. Burn no incense.  Go to the wilds to perform this..., a  place far from the haunts of humans. If this is impossible, work this  rite in your place of magic.  There, have ready a potted plant, or four plain stones. (Don't use mined quartz crystals.)
 
Sit on the ground. Place your hands onto the dirt beneath you (or onto the plant or stones, if inside).  Visualize the Earth from space as a bluish-white sphere of positive, whole, healed energy.  Experience it as a living organism. When you're ready, say these or similar words:
 
"Pure are the caves and the plains;
Pure are the sod and the hills;
Pure are the lakes and rills;
Pure are the clouds and rains;
Pure are the woods and trees;
Pure are the valleys deep;
Pure are the bays and seas."
 
Renew your visualization, then begin again;
 
"Pure are the birds that fly;
Pure are the hounds and bats;
Pure are the fish and whales;
Pure are the hares and cats;
Pure are the owls and snakes;
Pure are the stags and deer;
Pure are the lizards green;
Pure are all creatures here." 

Once again, renew your visualization. Feel the Earth. Block all thoughts of the ravages that our species has subjected to our planet.  See the Earth as a healed, whole being. Then say these or whatever words come to mind:
 
"As I receive your energy, now receive mine."
 
Pour your personal power out through you palms and into the Earth (or the stones or plant). Gently send it spiraling down into our planet, lending it the strength to survive. Willingly give of yourself for a  few moments while visualizing that shining blue planet hanging in the  sky.
 
After a few moments, end the ritual by lifting your hands and  standing. (If performing this rite indoors, place the stones or the  potted plant onto the ground outside to allow the Earth to absorb the energy.) It is done!
 
 Source: "Earth, Air, Fire & Water", Scott Cunningham

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Story Focus:

Rainbow
Based on a Native American Legend

Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel: all claimed that they were the best, the most important, the most useful, the favorite.


GREEN said: "Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and of hope. I was chosen for grass, trees, leaves - without me, all animals would die. Look over the countryside and you will see that I am in the majority."

BLUE interrupted: "You only think about the earth, but consider the sky and the sea. It is the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea. The sky gives space and peace and serenity. Without my peace, you would all be nothing."

YELLOW chuckled: "You are all so serious. I bring laughter, gaiety, and warmth into the world. The sun is yellow, the moon is yellow, the stars are yellow. Every time you look at a sunflower, the whole world starts to smile. Without me there would be no fun."

ORANGE started next to blow her trumpet: "I am the color of health and strength. I may be scarce, but I am precious for I serve the needs of human life. I carry the most important vitamins. Think of carrots, pumpkins, oranges, mangoes, and paw-paws. I don't hang around all the time, but when I fill the sky at sunrise or sunset, my beauty is so striking that no one gives another thought to any of you."

RED could stand it no longer. He shouted out: "I am the ruler of all of you - I am blood - life's blood! I am the color of danger and of bravery. I am willing to fight for a cause. I bring fire into the blood. Without me, the earth would be as empty as the moon. I am the color of passion and of love, the red rose, the poinsettia and the poppy."

PURPLE rose up to his full height. He was very tall and spoke with great pomp: "I am the color of royalty and power. Kings, chiefs, and bishops have always chosen me for I am the sign of authority and wisdom. People do not question me - they listen and obey."

Finally, INDIGO spoke, much more quietly than all the others, but with just as much determination: "Think of me. I am the color of silence. You hardly notice me, but without me you all become superficial. I represent thought and reflection, twilight and deep water. You need me for balance and contrast, for prayer and inner peace."

And so the colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own superiority. Their quarreling became louder and louder. Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightening - thunder rolled and boomed. Rain started to pour down relentlessly The colors crouched down in fear, drawing close to one another for comfort.

In the midst of the clamor, RAIN began to speak:

"You foolish colors, fighting amongst yourselves, each trying to dominate the rest. Don't you know that you were each made for a special purpose, unique and different? Join hands with one another and come to me."

Doing as they were told, the colors united and joined hands. RAIN continued:

"From now on, when it rains, each of you will stretch across the sky in a great bow of color as a reminder that you can all live in peace. The rainbow is a sign of hope for tomorrow."

And so, whenever a good rain washes the world, and a rainbow appears in the sky, let us remember to appreciate one another.

author unknown

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And so ends Issue #1
of

THE ISEUM EYE

Walk in Peace!