tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55621192030271137602024-02-08T14:10:00.334-05:00Oriethyia - The Journey So FarPoet, writer, now blogger, Oriethyia brings a very down-to-earth mystic's view to politics, matters of spirit, and to living with challenges and choosing to thrive.Oriethyiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09594998388262794519noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562119203027113760.post-42230056954404135672013-07-31T20:12:00.000-04:002013-07-31T20:12:32.099-04:00It Changes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Living with Lupus and Fibro and Asthma is often not so much 'one day at a time.' It is much more like one fifteen minute segment of time - at at time.<br />
<br />
This has been one of those days.<br />
<br />
Lots of thoughts playing 'catch me if you can' - apparently, at the moment, I cannot.<br />
<br />
So a much shorter post than I had hoped.<br />
<br />
Wonder what the rest of the evening will bring?<br />
<br />
It changes every few minutes, after all.<br />
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Oriethyiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09594998388262794519noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562119203027113760.post-43475704052397213552013-07-08T22:13:00.000-04:002013-07-08T22:16:07.160-04:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So here's the thing - haven't blogged for over a year.<br />
<br />
Why?<br />
<br />
Forgot how to log in. Yes, really.<br />
<br />
Plus my cognitive circuits were / are in need of a rewire.<br />
<br />
And, days when I had energy, I did a few errands after which I was too tired to think clearly enough to write.<br />
<br />
And couldn't remember how to log in.<br />
<br />
Sigh....<br />
<br />
Hope to be back more often now.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, please consider doing what you can for someone else, someone outside your own circle. Many of you do so already.<br />
<br />
Love and Compassion Heal. How do we make this manifest, and more often? Please offer suggestions. I'd appreciate it greatly.<br />
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Oriethyiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09594998388262794519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562119203027113760.post-35690656884770874242012-03-12T16:11:00.001-04:002012-04-22T21:45:11.101-04:00In the Dream 2/24/2012<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-size: large;">In the dream I have somehow put out a call in my town to anyone who wants to hear what I have to say. I am torn by fears of being arrogant in this; concerned that the message I have received is a product of my imagination and not truly a warning and opportunity for preparation. I fear being criticized for my ego. I fear that being true.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I know that I have to do what I am about to do despite all my ego-centered fears. The <i><b>call</b></i> is that strong.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I walk into the room; about 30 people have assembled. I take a deep breath and begin to speak:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thank you all for coming. I see by who has assembled that you are all friends, aquaintances or students.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Please listen to what I say with a discerning ear. I may be completely wrong. This may just </span><span style="font-size: large;">be</span><span style="font-size: large;"> my own hopes and fears speaking.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">I awoke this morning knowing that all beings are endangered, perhaps beyond our ability to make enough change in too short a time. And I was given a method, a way to try.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">I don't want a show of hands, it's none of my business, but answer these questions for yourselves.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Do you pray or meditate? If not regularly, would you be willing to commit to a specific practice for a while?</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Do you participate in any form of energy healing regularly? Prayer, Reiki, Yoga, Chi Gong, or anything similar? If not, would you be willing to learn one for the sake of Mother Earth and all Her Children? </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">I believe we are all being called to no lesser duty than to midwife The Planet and all Beings through a possibly devastating rebirth. Too many of us have waited too long to make serious changes in the ways we live given the climate change we have been denying or ignoring. It may be too late to act; we may be beyond the tipping point. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Will you act anyway? You already know all the things we need to do. I'm not here to remind you or offer guilt about that.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">I am here to ask you to share this <i><b>Call</b></i> with anyone you think might listen. Do it any way you like, using any methods to which you have access. And here is the core of it:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">However you connect to the Universe, God, Divinity, do so now and for at least the next three months. Daily. Pray for the Healing of Mother Earth. Pray for Healing for All Beings. Pray that the Oceans be healed and all their creatures. Pray that Forests be Healed and Deserts and Mountains. Pray for the Healing of the Air we breathe and the ground of being the world over. Pray that Humans be Healed; perhaps then we will cease causing so much damage. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Resist the urge to specify how the Healing should take place. That limits The Infinite. It's ego that tells us we know how these things should be done. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">But on the Earth Plane, do all that you can. Paper not plastic, recycle everything you can, go solar, geothermal, wind, and so on. If you cannot afford that, meet with neighbors to see if ways can be found and call on the governing powers to change the economic equation so such renewable energies can be used by billions more of us. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">And if you are sitting here thinking you are not a "spiritual" person and have no healing methods, then I can give you a guide to a "mental exersise" to use. Every day. For at least three months. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">I cannot stress how important I awoke knowing this will be. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Now here's the hardest part.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">With every prayer you send to this purpose, every meditation or dance, or energy healing dedicated to Mother Earth, there is a another that must also be done.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">We must Forgive. Forgive each other for being human. Forgive the Unforgivable. The Rainforest Deforestation. The slaughter of any animal that we have killed for food or warmth or profit without thanking for its service to us. Every plant we've harvested without Gratitude.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">And all the human sacrifices. The genocides. The Diasporas born of profit, indifference or neglect. The enslavement of one people by another. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Every decision made out of hate, profit or without thought to the cost to any Beings. Everything. The harder to Forgive the more Crucial the Forgiveness.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">How do we forgive the perpetrators and supporters of genocide? With all our wide open hearts. I say Forgive. Never Forget.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">If you have no practice that teaches how, try this:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Lie quietly and let your breathing become calm.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Envision The Heart of Compassion in a beautiful clear sky above you.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Imagine The Heart of Compassion sending a tendril of light to the center of Your waiting heart.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Let the Heart of Compassion feed your own heart.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Feel how, over the minutes, your heart fills and grows. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Let this continue until you feel your heart so full of Love it can take no more.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Let your own heart be full of Compassion.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Now, take into your heart the image of someone with whom you have tremendous trouble. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Begin saying, out loud, 'I forgive you ...' Use the persons name every time you say this. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">It won't be true the first many times you say it. Keep doing it anyway. Do it again and again, day after day until it Becomes true. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Once you are comfortable with the general practice, forgive yourself in the same way. Forgive groups for what they have or have not done to foster compassion, care for The Earth and all Her </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Creatures. There is no end to what needs Forgiveness. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">We have been so destructive to one another, too often choosing Force instead of Power. We have done possibly irreparable damage to Mother Earth. We have too often chosen the convenient over the good, the short term profit over what profits All Beings for at least the next Seven Generations.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is what I have been told to tell all who will listen. Now you go and tell all who you believe will listen. Or do not. It is, as all such things inevitably are, your choice. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">If you have doubts, you are not alone. I feel a Fool. Yet</span><span style="font-size: large;"> I am compelled. I learned long ago to stand tall, even if Foolish, and speak my truth. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thank you coming tonight. Thank you for listening. Thank you for helping raise the vibration of Humanity. It is Essential. Together, with all others who will listen and act, maybe, just maybe, the Earth Changes will be less devastating than they might otherwise be. If we are lucky. If we put Compassion at the Center of all our actions. </span><span style="font-size: large;">If we are brave Fools.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">If this is a true message it is far from the first.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Let us all pray it is not the last.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">At this point in the dream, I wake, crying and shaking. I share the dream with Beloved then head for my computer to begin documenting it for this blog. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">It has taken me weeks to finish editing, getting the right feel, the correct words. It has taken weeks because every time I tried to approach it I fell to tears. Touching the dream again made me feel weak, tired, overwhelmed.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">I could not sleep last night. It seemed the perfect time to try again. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Now it is here before you. Read it or don't. Take it to heart or leave it on the page. Embrace the Practices or let it be someone else's dream. As always, the choice is yours.</span></div><br />
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</div>Oriethyiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09594998388262794519noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562119203027113760.post-56527050187468186222012-03-12T16:01:00.000-04:002012-03-12T16:01:18.992-04:00At Last<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Mid February, 2012<br />
<br />
After the NY State Legislature passed the marriage equality bill in June 2011, Beloved and I decided to get married. Partly the decision was based on my heartfelt belief that after beating on the door for decades, once it opens some of us need to walk through. It was also, we were sure, the best way to protect one another financially and in a variety of many other crucial ways.<br />
<br />
We had a number of important decisions to make but after over 18 years together we're good at decision making.<br />
<br />
The easiest decision? What to play as the first dance at our wedding reception.<br />
<br />
"At Last" by Composer Henry Warren with lyrics by Mack Gordon and vocal magic by Etta James. Her rendition, we decided, was by far the best, we both loved it, and it was perfect for two people who had started their journey together in their mid 40s. "At last," the lyric goes, "my love has come along."<br />
<br />
Etta James had been fighting cancer for quite a while. Her fight is over. We can imagine her now at peace.<br />
<br />
At Last.</div>Oriethyiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09594998388262794519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562119203027113760.post-86633834031312710192012-01-18T02:40:00.001-05:002012-01-18T20:57:39.719-05:00A Gentle Question for the Christian Right<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The question, simply put: Can you take your hands off the steering wheel and let God do the driving?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This is no small thing. It requires believing that God has plans that we do not know or cannot understand. Our plans may span decades. For all we know,God deals in the cosmic, and millennial.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Having Faith is one thing. Having Faith that any of us knows God's plan is quite another. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">What prompts me to get out of bed when most sensible souls are sleeping?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Arrogance.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Just this time, not mine.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">And while I'm focused, at the moment, on the Christian Right, the question is the same for all who insist they know the will of God enough to push that Holy Agenda. Push it where, I ask you? Push it how?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I'm not talking about people who, upon seeing hunger, try to feed the starving or confront the causes of hunger. Neither am I thinking about those who, perceiving that the world as it is cannot possibly be what God had in mind, use prayer, a powerful tool, to attempt to right what is wrong. And before taking any action, if Christian, ask themselves the key question: What would Jesus do? </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Hate is never on that Holy Agenda. Intentionally inflicting pain as grieving families try to bury their sons and daughters in dignity and peace? In Jesus' name? I don't think so.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">My problem, Dear Reader, is in the arrogance of thinking that one know the mind of God and therefore know how to direct one's prayers, one's actions when those actions actively reject what Christ taught. My problem is with those who call themselves Christian but steer their action away from being Christ-like.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">So my question to each of us is this? Do you trust Divinity? Enough to simply pray that God's will be done without inserting your own assumptions about the nature of that Will, about the who, what, when, where and why of it All.? </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">That, my friends, requires Faith.</span></div>Oriethyiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09594998388262794519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562119203027113760.post-7445796740067222062012-01-18T00:52:00.000-05:002012-01-18T00:53:20.601-05:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">Rehab<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">The
roofers’ arrhythmic rhythm<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Hip
Hop from on high<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">The
steady scraping, tearing, shoveling off<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Of
old skin to make way for new.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Hard
to listen to, hard <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">to
concentrate with that racket, and yet<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">How
much easier than the silent tearing, scraping of old ways, habits,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">The
things taken for granted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">I
used to be able to dial a number and hear her voice;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Now
an operator, then a nurse intervene. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Nice
enough folks but none of them Mom. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">What
tearing must she hear in her rarely silent room,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">What
old foundation, solid still,
survived the stroke,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">What
scraped away, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">What
remains?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Braver
than I <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">She
makes her way across the new sky line<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Woman
on a roof edge<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Overlooking
new terrain<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">And
praying<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">As
am I <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">For
familiar ground.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
Oriethyia 17 June, 2010</div>
</div>Oriethyiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09594998388262794519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562119203027113760.post-37314078815185141372012-01-12T01:21:00.000-05:002012-01-12T01:21:56.291-05:00In The Dream<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I watch the cat dreaming; her claws extend and retract in time with her breath.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Is she chasing phantom mice<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Or <o:p></o:p></div>
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Instead<o:p></o:p></div>
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Recalling a life in which,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Unmoved by the suffering of starving neighbors<o:p></o:p></div>
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She died, still ignorant. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Did she, next life, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This life, <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Awaken furred and agile, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
hunting daily to appease her own empty belly the and the hunger of <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
her young?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol;"> © Oriethyia Winter Solstice Eve 2011<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>Oriethyiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09594998388262794519noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562119203027113760.post-69928011705302183802011-09-17T03:12:00.003-04:002011-10-14T12:14:42.493-04:00When You're Gone<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When they tell me you're gone I shall lose my mind a little. Never mind that I believe in the continuity of energy that some may call reincarnation or spirits. Never mind that I know how bravely, how wide awake you have worked to stay through this process, this excruciating dance with cancer. When I get the call and someone we both love says, "O - she's gone," we will both cry, never mind that we know you've lived a great life, made your bright mark on so many souls, have given more back to the planet than most even consider.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When they tell me you're gone I shall lose my heart a bit. A Crone sister from way back, my painting partner when we only ate because so many women shared the apartment, one of the most intelligent friends and funniest women I know.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When they say that you breathe no longer on this plane I shall open my broken heart as wide as possible, gather all my memories of you (a process already begun) and sing your name into the wind.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When they tell me you're gone I shall forget my best lessons; forget, as Audre Lorde reminded us, that "We were never meant to survive," forget that you sit, pain free, finally, in the Light of The Divine; forget all that should make me glad for you.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When they tell me you're gone I shall weep valleys full of tears, unable to find relief in your release.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Beyond bereft I will lose all perspective and only feel, for some time, the loss that is mine. Greedy me, wanting you here, accessible, corporeal, but healed.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">You're bags are packed, you tell us, and you are ready for that last ride. But my darling, my sister, my friend, I am not.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When you are gone I will pray that I can find the grace you found when you needed it most. And pray, a little every day, to find you someday, somewhere, in the Light of The Divine.</span></div>Oriethyiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09594998388262794519noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562119203027113760.post-87764005395346401962011-07-15T03:31:00.000-04:002011-07-15T03:31:07.596-04:00Midnight Showing of Harry Potter - End of an EraJust came home from the Albany, NY, USA midnight showing of "Harry Potter - The Deathly Hallows - Part 2" - stayed up just like I used to sometimes in my 30s. Most of the crowd were people much younger. Ages ranged from nine to seventy plus. The nine year old could easily have been a Weasley: red hair, a wand that lit up. There with his mother if I'm correct. We, Beloved and two friends and I, avoided the Big Box theatres and went to our favorite place, The Spectrum 8 on Delaware Avenue.<br />
<br />
At the end of the movie as lights were coming up, Beloved mused that the gathering of 14 year old girls ahead of us probably grew up listening to the books being read by parents, then graduated, later, to the films. And now, that childhood has ended.<br />
<br />
Very nicely done, Ms. Rowling. Not bad for a single Mother on welfare in the UK. In fact, in the almost immortal words of one Ron Weasley:"Bloody Brilliant!"<br />
<br />
If you have had any liking for either the books or films by all means see this one.<br />
<br />
And yet, and yet ...<br />
<br />
Again, from Beloved,<br />
<br />
"In sanitizing the film so that parents can send their children to see it, the filmakers have undercut the real grief that should be present when good people give them selves, and their lives, for a fight worth fighting."<br />
<br />
I agree. Without giving away any of the story, there are real sacrifices made in this story as written, and these sacrifices are made much more palatable in the way they are filmed. There are places in which we, as audience, should be grieving and deeply. Who knows how it was filmed, what edited out for time or larger scale acceptance. But there is a depth missing that is present in the book. It is sadly missed here.<br />
<br />
That said, I loved the film and will happily go again with the friends, more sensible than I, who will take in an afternoon weekend showing.<br />
<br />
Now to sleep, perchance to dream, of cornish pixies and liberated dragons and courage and standing up for what is right, damn the cost.Oriethyiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09594998388262794519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562119203027113760.post-39246138080178579402011-06-09T16:56:00.000-04:002011-06-09T16:56:14.841-04:00Majora Carter: Greening the ghetto | Video on TED.com<a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/majora_carter_s_tale_of_urban_renewal.html">Majora Carter: Greening the ghetto | Video on TED.com</a>Oriethyiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09594998388262794519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562119203027113760.post-14383628445101701232011-06-09T16:49:00.000-04:002011-06-09T16:49:43.620-04:00Malcolm McLaren: Authentic creativity vs. karaoke culture | Video on TED.com<a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/malcolm_mclaren_authentic_creativity_vs_karaoke_culture.html">Malcolm McLaren: Authentic creativity vs. karaoke culture | Video on TED.com</a>Oriethyiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09594998388262794519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562119203027113760.post-8167466605973328442011-06-09T16:46:00.000-04:002011-06-09T16:46:10.344-04:00Isabel Allende tells tales of passion | Video on TED.com<a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/isabel_allende_tells_tales_of_passion.html">Isabel Allende tells tales of passion | Video on TED.com</a>Oriethyiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09594998388262794519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562119203027113760.post-7082489006773780442011-05-29T00:49:00.001-04:002011-09-21T02:00:02.478-04:00Magic Is Not EasyMagic is not easy<br />
not Presto Chango<br />
Hocus Pocus<br />
snap your fingers<br />
all is changed.<br />
<br />
Magic is not easy<br />
ABRACADABRA<br />
will not do it<br />
spin around twice<br />
and all is changed.<br />
<br />
Nothing changes.<br />
nothing.<br />
Magic is not easy.<br />
<br />
Nothing moves<br />
unless the heart is in it<br />
unless the will is in it -<br />
<br />
Cutesy-pie<br />
rainbow light magic<br />
think good thoughts and all will be well<br />
budges nothing<br />
flits along<br />
like a half-turned smile<br />
unable to grow<br />
into a full laugh<br />
<br />
magic is not easy.<br />
<br />
<br />
Listen,<br />
everything is connected.<br />
everything.<br />
like it or not,<br />
never mind that it does not compute<br />
everything is connected.<br />
<br />
If you would <b>do</b> magic, listen<br />
start here<br />
everything is connected<br />
nothing moves<br />
unless the heart is in it<br />
unless the will is in it.<br />
<br />
Magic is not easy<br />
<br />
Simple words won't do<br />
chanting the same song<br />
day in day out every full or new moon<br />
is not enough<br />
if the mouth is singing<br />
"Hail unto Thee Spirits of the South"<br />
while the mind is humming<br />
budgets and schedules and where<br />
did I leave those keys<br />
this is not ritual<br />
only rote<br />
and we have more than enough of that<br />
thank you<br />
Magic is not easy.<br />
<br />
<br />
If you would <b>do</b> magic<br />
listen<br />
Magic is fed by the heart<br />
made manifest by the will<br />
the minister who led his flock<br />
to pray for the death of a supreme court justice<br />
was doing magic<br />
BAD magic, murky stuff<br />
but the heart was there<br />
a heart full of pain<br />
and no one can doubt the will<br />
<br />
The adolescent boy who dismembered the cat<br />
or the one who stuck knives through the lungs<br />
through the heart of his former friend<br />
singing some crap<br />
all the while about<br />
Satan or the devil<br />
was doing magic<br />
<br />
Bad, bad medicine<br />
but the heart was there<br />
a heart full of fear and pain<br />
and the will was clear<br />
made manifest through a<br />
convenient channel.<br />
<br />
It is always easier to invoke<br />
what you have learned to name external<br />
when the demons inside<br />
the ones whose true names are<br />
self-doubt and self-hate<br />
have grown sufficiently strong<br />
when our children search for<br />
outlaw status<br />
seeking to flee the mirrors in our,<br />
in their own eyes<br />
sometimes purple hair<br />
or a pin through the cheek<br />
some punk version of Jesse James<br />
won't do it.<br />
<br />
When we will not<br />
cannot<br />
touch our own demons<br />
we invent others<br />
or worse<br />
sing the names of demons<br />
invented for us.<br />
<br />
Magic is not easy.<br />
<br />
If you would <b>live</b> magic<br />
<br />
Listen<br />
<br />
you must move beyond your pain<br />
listen<br />
<br />
you must turn and face your fear<br />
listen<br />
<br />
you must touch the demons<br />
hold them<br />
ignore your scorching flesh<br />
(it is illusion)<br />
cradle the flailing thing<br />
cradle it<br />
cradle it<br />
<br />
Madonna with child<br />
Madonna Madonna<br />
Mother-gift<br />
<br />
cradle your demon self<br />
until you can love it into healing<br />
Magic is not easy.<br />
<br />
If you would <b>be</b> magic<br />
then listen<br />
<br />
dance your demons with love<br />
dance your demons until<br />
they become love<br />
fill your heart<br />
with The Mother's love<br />
and dance your<br />
shattered pieces into the whole.<br />
<br />
Listen<br />
<br />
there are two rules<br />
just two:<br />
"An you harm none, do as you will"<br />
listen<br />
<br />
"everything you do comes back to you,<br />
a thousand-fold"<br />
<br />
Magic is not easy<br />
nothing changes unless the heart is in it<br />
unless the will is in it<br />
<br />
Listen<br />
true magic demands two things<br />
only two<br />
Integrity and<br />
Clear intent<br />
<br />
Intent<br />
because you must see truly what<br />
you desire<br />
before you can call it out<br />
<br />
Integrity<br />
because only fools foul the well<br />
where they daily<br />
must drink.<br />
<br />
Magic is not easy.<br />
<br />
<br />
© 1987 by Oriethyia<br />
Sun in Cancer, 9987ada<br />
(after development of agriculture - a women's timekeeping system)Oriethyiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09594998388262794519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562119203027113760.post-51353988148531670502011-05-08T21:56:00.000-04:002011-05-08T22:44:09.154-04:00<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Mother's Day</span></b><br />
<br />
Whenever I hear of some woman's mother<br />
dying<br />
I cannot help but see you<br />
features set<br />
soft blue eyes closed<br />
still<br />
so still<br />
resting, finally<br />
on that white satin pillow.<br />
I cannot keep these pictures from my mind.<br />
I cannot imagine surviving you.<br />
<br />
How do I write a poem <br />
for the one who gave me life<br />
how do I sing a song<br />
to the first woman I ever loved<br />
to the one who taught me gentleness<br />
integrity and self-respect?<br />
<br />
When I try to write<br />
all that comes out is "thank you"<br />
which is, of course,<br />
incredibly trite<br />
and in any case<br />
not nearly enough.<br />
<br />
How do I write a poem<br />
to the woman who listened <br />
and understood<br />
when I cam home<br />
with all my transformations<br />
when I emerged, saying<br />
<br />
"Mom, I can't marry him"<br />
"Mom, I'm a feminist"<br />
"Mom, I'm an anarchist"<br />
"Mom, I'm a lesbian"<br />
<br />
<br />
"Mom, I'm being investigated,<br />
no, I don't know by whom,<br />
just know the phone is tapped,<br />
all my mail comes<br />
already opened<br />
and I'm followed these days<br />
wherever I go."<br />
<br />
What do I say to the woman who told me<br />
<br />
"It would be wrong to marry<br />
if you don't love him"<br />
"I'm proud of you"<br />
"I worry for you"<br />
"For you," she said, when I confessed to her<br />
my love of women<br />
"it must have been<br />
like coming home"<br />
<br />
"and you must understand this,<br />
that even when your father and I don't agree with you,<br />
or with what you do,<br />
we still believe in you<br />
and are proud.<br />
So if they come for you,<br />
they will have us to contend with<br />
as well."<br />
<br />
What do I write?<br />
what is appropriate to say to this woman<br />
whose life is my finest teacher<br />
whose death I cannot imagine<br />
without wailing<br />
without keening in grief?<br />
<br />
I have written love poems <br />
to the women with whom<br />
I have shared <br />
a bed, <br />
a life<br />
a moment.<br />
<br />
And I cannot seem to find words for you<br />
with whom I shared a body<br />
a life<br />
and all these years.<br />
<br />
You tell me<br />
<br />
"it isn't important that you write me poems,<br />
I know you love me,<br />
I know how you feel."<br />
<br />
But it is important.<br />
So very important.<br />
<br />
I can barely imagine surviving you.<br />
<br />
Oriethyia 1984Oriethyiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09594998388262794519noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562119203027113760.post-71817064709909499862011-02-07T09:17:00.002-05:002011-02-07T19:23:56.589-05:002009 NYS Senate on Marriage Equality - Go To Hell<link href="file:///Users/oreo/Library/Preferences/Microsoft/Clipboard/msoclip1/01/clip_clip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Note: This post was originally drafted late 2009 during the Patterson administration. A number of family health issues became more important - hence my delay in posting.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">My Father never had a chance to dance at my wedding; he died before Marriage Equality became a reality in New York. But Mom is ready to shop for that special dress and a pair of dancing shoes. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The New York State Senate just told Mom to save her money. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">A special note to members of my family: I've been "out" to most of you for many years now. I cannot begin to explain how important the passing of this Marriage Equality Bill is to me. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Some of you may have religious questions; some may question what gay people marrying does to the institution of marriage - a question I cannot, for the life of me, understand.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I ask you to do this: Sit for a moment and think about the fact that Beloved and I have been together for 17 years. We have seen each other through the death of her Mom and my Dad. Through the brutal onset of her Rheumatoid Arthritis and my second battle with Cancer, surgery, and six and a half weeks of high dose radiation. And then my dual diagnosis of Lupus and Fibromyalgia and the many hard years that followed. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We're still together. Through all that health mess. Through all the loss. Because that's what family does.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When Dad died we took Mom to live with us. We had the room and the resources to help her rest, heal, and then get back on her feet. And we did it. Because that's what family does.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Beloved and I have done the best we can to try to ensure that the death of one of us does not economically cripple the other. We have no right to each other’s cars, the house, or any non-joint bank accounts. Because we cannot marry. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Imagine being kept out of your spouse's hospital room because you are not legally considered "family." <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Imagine losing half of everything you own if your spouse died. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">New York's new Governor, Andrew Cuomo, is in favor of marriage equality. Most of you have never contacted a State Senator before. I'm asking you to do so now. Ask them to support marriage equality in NY. Tell them that you have a sister, cousin, niece, second cousin or friend - however it is that you and I are connected - who wants to protect her Beloved in illness and death as she has in life. And that her Beloved wants to do the same for her. And that they need Marriage Equality to make it happen. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I just contacted my New York state senator through the Human Rights Campaign. They've made it quick and easy to send a personal message to legislators. With all that has taken place in Albany, now more than ever state senators need to hear from you and other New Yorkers who support marriage equality. This issue is very important to me, and taking action will only take a moment. Please join me in writing to your state senator today.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This is personal now. I ask you to search you heart. And I ask you to step outside of your comfort zone and make the call. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Because, hopefully in this case, that's what family does.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">For those who like the details, and with legislation I wish we ALL did, here is the exact text of the bill. The Assembly and Senate language is exactly the same.</span><br />
<br />
<h1>A40003: Relates to individuals ability to marry</h1><br />
<h2>A40003 Summary</h2><h4>Sponsor: <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Rules+%28O%27Donnell%29">Rules (O'Donnell)</a></h4><h4>Same as: <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/bill/S66003">S66003</a> </h4><h4>Co-sponsor(s): <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Gottfried">Gottfried</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Glick">Glick</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Titone">Titone</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Kellner">Kellner</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Silver">Silver</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Bing">Bing</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Rosenthal">Rosenthal</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Jeffries">Jeffries</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Dinowitz">Dinowitz</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/John">John</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Kavanagh">Kavanagh</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/DenDekker">DenDekker</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Schimel">Schimel</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Hevesi">Hevesi</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Hoyt">Hoyt</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Sayward">Sayward</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Benedetto">Benedetto</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Eddington">Eddington</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Alessi">Alessi</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Aubry">Aubry</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Boyland">Boyland</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Bradley">Bradley</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Brennan">Brennan</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Brodsky">Brodsky</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Cahill">Cahill</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Cook">Cook</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Duprey">Duprey</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Englebright">Englebright</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Farrell">Farrell</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Fields">Fields</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Gianaris">Gianaris</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Jaffee">Jaffee</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Lancman">Lancman</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Latimer">Latimer</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Lavine">Lavine</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Lentol">Lentol</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Lifton">Lifton</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Lopez+V">Lopez V</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Lupardo">Lupardo</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/McEneny">McEneny</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Millman">Millman</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Nolan">Nolan</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Ortiz">Ortiz</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Paulin">Paulin</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Peralta">Peralta</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Pretlow">Pretlow</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Rivera+J">Rivera J</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Rivera+N">Rivera N</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Sweeney">Sweeney</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Thiele">Thiele</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Towns">Towns</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Weisenberg">Weisenberg</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Weprin">Weprin</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Wright">Wright</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/sponsor/Zebrowski">Zebrowski</a> </h4><h4>Committee: <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/committee/RULES">RULES</a> </h4><h4>Law Section: Domestic Relations Law<br />
</h4><br />
Relates to individuals ability to marry. <br />
<b>Act:</b> AN ACT to amend the domestic relations law, in relation to the ability to marry <br />
<hr /><br />
<blockquote><b>"Same as" Actions for Bill <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/html/bill/S66003">S66003</a></b><br />
Dec 1, 2009 REFERRED TO RULES<br />
Dec 2, 2009 ORDERED TO THIRD READING CAL.8<br />
Dec 2, 2009 SUBSTITUTED BY A40003</blockquote><hr /><h2>A40003 Votes</h2><div><b>Vote: Dec 2, 2009</b> <br />
<blockquote><b>Ayes (24):</b> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/ADAMS">ADAMS</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/BRESLIN">BRESLIN</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/DILAN">DILAN</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/DUANE">DUANE</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/ESPADA">ESPADA</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/FOLEY">FOLEY</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/HASSELL-THOMPSON">HASSELL-THOMPSON</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/JOHNSON%20C">JOHNSON C</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/KLEIN">KLEIN</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/KRUEGER">KRUEGER</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/MONTGOMERY">MONTGOMERY</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/OPPENHEIMER">OPPENHEIMER</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/PARKER">PARKER</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/PERKINS">PERKINS</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/SAMPSON">SAMPSON</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/SAVINO">SAVINO</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/SCHNEIDERMAN">SCHNEIDERMAN</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/SERRANO">SERRANO</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/SMITH">SMITH</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/SQUADRON">SQUADRON</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/STAVISKY">STAVISKY</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/STEWART-COUSINS">STEWART-COUSINS</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/THOMPSON">THOMPSON</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/VALESKY">VALESKY</a> <br />
<br />
<b>Nays (38):</b> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/ADDABBO">ADDABBO</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/ALESI">ALESI</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/AUBERTINE">AUBERTINE</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/BONACIC">BONACIC</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/DEFRANCISCO">DEFRANCISCO</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/DIAZ">DIAZ</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/FARLEY">FARLEY</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/FLANAGAN">FLANAGAN</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/FUSCHILLO">FUSCHILLO</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/GOLDEN">GOLDEN</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/GRIFFO">GRIFFO</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/HANNON">HANNON</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/HUNTLEY">HUNTLEY</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/JOHNSON%20O">JOHNSON O</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/KRUGER">KRUGER</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/LANZA">LANZA</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/LARKIN">LARKIN</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/LAVALLE">LAVALLE</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/LEIBELL">LEIBELL</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/LIBOUS">LIBOUS</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/LITTLE">LITTLE</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/MARCELLINO">MARCELLINO</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/MAZIARZ">MAZIARZ</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/MCDONALD">MCDONALD</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/MONSERRATE">MONSERRATE</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/MORAHAN">MORAHAN</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/NOZZOLIO">NOZZOLIO</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/ONORATO">ONORATO</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/PADAVAN">PADAVAN</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/RANZENHOFER">RANZENHOFER</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/ROBACH">ROBACH</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/SALAND">SALAND</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/SEWARD">SEWARD</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/SKELOS">SKELOS</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/STACHOWSKI">STACHOWSKI</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/VOLKER">VOLKER</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/WINNER">WINNER</a> <a href="http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/sponsor/YOUNG">YOUNG</a> <br />
<br />
<b>Abstains (0):</b> <br />
<br />
<b>Excused (0):</b> </blockquote><hr /></div><h2>A40003 Memo</h2><pre>BILL NUMBER:A40003
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the domestic relations law, in relation to the ability
to marry
PURPOSE:
This bill provides same-sex couples the same opportunity to enter into
civil marriages as opposite-sex couples. The bill also provides that
no member of the clergy may be compelled to perform any marriage
ceremony.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill sets forth legislative intent.
Section 2 of the bill adds a new Section 10-a to the Domestic
Relations Law (DRL) providing that: (1) a marriage that is otherwise
valid shall be valid regardless of whether the parties to the marriage
are of the same or different sex; (2) no government treatment or legal
status, effect, right, benefit, privilege, protection or
responsibility relating to marriage shall differ based on the parties
to the marriage being or having been of the same sex rather than a
different sex; and (3) all relevant gender-specific language set forth
in or referenced by New York law shall be construed in a
gender-neutral manner.
Section 3 of the bill amends DRL § 13 to provide that no application
for a marriage license shall be denied on the ground that the parties
are of the same, or a different, sex.
Section 4 of the bill amends DRL § 11(1) to make clear that no member
of the clergy acting in such capacity may be required to perform any
marriage.
Section 5 of the bill sets forth the effective date.
EXISTING LAW:
Although the Domestic Relations Law contains no specific prohibition
against, or allowance for, marriages between individuals of the same
sex, the New York Court of Appeals has held that New York statutory
law limits marriage within New York State to opposite-sex couples.
See Hernandez v. Robles, 7 N.Y.3d 338 (2005).
STATEMENT IN SUPPORT:
The "freedom to marry" is, in the words of the United States Supreme
Court, "one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly
pursuit of happiness by free [people].(1) In New York, however,
certain couples who seek to exercise this freedom, and partake of its
rights and responsibilities by mutual consent, may not do so solely
because they are of the same sex. The bar against same-sex marriages
exists regardless of how long the individuals have lived together, or
whether they are raising children through legally recognized joint
custody arrangements. This bill removes the barriers in New York law
that deprive individuals of the equal right to marry the person of
their choice, by granting the same legal recognition to all civil
marriages regardless of whether those who enter into them are of the
same, or of a different, sex.
Partners unable to enter into a civil marriage - and their children -
lack basic legal protections taken for granted by married couples. In
such areas as property ownership, inheritance, health care, hospital
visitation, taxation, insurance coverage, child custody, pension
benefits and testimonial privileges, married couples receive important
safeguards against the loss or injury of a spouse, and crucial
assurances against legal intrusion into their marital privacy. As
important, unions lacking the State's recognition are denoted, by
force of law, as somehow not equal to other comparable relationships.
Civil marriage is the means by which the State defines a couple's
place in society. Those who are excluded from its rubric are told by
the institutions of the State, in essence, that their solemn
commitment to one another has no legal weight.
Just as the right to marry confers important benefits on individuals,
the institution of marriage produces incalculable benefits for
society, by fostering stable familial relationships. Same-sex couples
who wish to marry are not simply looking to obtain additional rights,
they are seeking out substantial responsibilities as well: to
undertake significant and binding obligations to one another, and to
lives of "shared intimacy and mutual financial and emotional
support.(2) Granting legal recognition to these relationships can
only strengthen New York's families, by extending the ability to
participate in this crucial social institution to all New Yorkers.
The history of this country for more than two centuries has been the
story of once excluded individuals and groups gaining gradual access
to equal rights under law. New York State, in particular, has played a
proud and honorable part in that history, from hosting the
foundational women's rights convention at Seneca Falls in 1848, to
breaking baseball's color barrier, to witnessing the seminal event of
the modern gay rights movement in New York City four decades ago. New
York legislators and other political leaders, of both parties and of
all viewpoints, have had an important role in this process, and in the
gradual extension of equal treatment to gays and lesbians in
particular. In 1983, Governor Mario Cuomo first banned discrimination
in state employment by Executive Order. In 2002, Governor Pataki
extended the same principle to the private sector by signing into law
the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act. That year, the State
gave its first legal recognition to same-sex relationships when the
Legislature unanimously passed - and the Governor signed - a bill
extending workers' compensation benefits to all those who lost a
partner on 9/11. Yet the institution of marriage remains closed to
loving same-sex couples who seek only to be able to show their mutual
commitment as other individuals do. Passage of this bill would remedy
that flaw, and represent yet another important and historic step in
the process by which all citizens of New York State are granted full
and equal rights.
Individuals on both sides of the questions raised by this bill hold
deep-seated views that arise from a host of ethical and religious
considerations. To ensure that the bill does not improperly intrude
into matters of conscience or religious belief, the bill affirms that
no member of the clergy can be compelled to solemnize any marriage.
In short, this bill grants equal access to the government-created
legal institution of civil marriage, while leaving the religious
institution of marriage to its own separate, and fully autonomous,
sphere.
BUDGET IMPLICATIONS:
The bill will require additional state expenditures for spousal
benefits for those partners of state employees who are not eligible
for such benefits under current law, and who are married under this
legislation. At the same time, however, allowing same-sex marriage
would have numerous positive fiscal impacts. A 2007 report by the New
York City Comptroller detailed numerous sources of added revenue that
would result from enacting marriage equality in New York State,
including tax revenue from additional weddings, higher intake of
marital licensing fees and reduction of means-tested benefit payments
as a result of aggregated marital income. Moreover, any negative
budgetary impact from added benefit payments will be limited, as many
same-sex couples already enjoy such benefits through a variety of
administrative schemes, or as a result of out-of-state marriages.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This bill takes effect immediately.
FOOTNOTES:
(1) Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967).
(2) Hernandez v. Robles, 7 N.Y.3d 338 (2005) (Kaye, C.J., dissenting).
</pre><hr /><br />
Oriethyiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09594998388262794519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562119203027113760.post-4754297973293673252011-01-28T07:50:00.001-05:002011-01-28T18:03:53.396-05:00For BrianCancer,like other illnesses or, for that matter, any cause of suffering, can be illuminating. A stone against which we hone the blade of the self. Some of us learn to dance with cancer; some battle hard and never give up until there is too little life-force left with which to dance or fight.<br />
<br />
Brian was a fighter; had been most of his life. Last week having won every battle in an excruciating five year siege, he lost his war. Pat and Sean lost a brother. Barbara and Johnny must figure out how to go on without a beloved husband and father. Brian wanted to live long enough to see Johnny graduate High School. He did<br />
<br />
While there is much we can learn from cancer - what really matters, what we've been holding on to that it's time to toss, there is one other reality I must address:<br />
<br />
Cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks cancer sucks.<br />
<br />
For Brian who left too soon.Oriethyiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09594998388262794519noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562119203027113760.post-24186587550822882932010-09-11T10:09:00.000-04:002010-09-11T10:09:26.727-04:00<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-large;">The Fire Next Time</span></b></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">The towers fell.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">In God's name, some said.</span></div></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">God wept.</span></div></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">When the ovens gave up their ash</span></div></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></div></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Some said God had so ordained.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">God wept.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></div></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">At the stake or</span></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">In the fields,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></div></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Burning brand or napalm.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></div></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Whenever fire meets flesh in God's name</span></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></div></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Water falls from Holy eyes.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></div></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">The Fire Next time?</span></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></div></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">What Time,</span></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">then,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">is this?</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span>©Oriethyia October 20, 2002</div><div><br />
</div>Oriethyiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09594998388262794519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562119203027113760.post-90346228860195928572010-08-21T21:32:00.002-04:002010-08-21T21:43:39.337-04:00From Drummer, Healer Ubaka HillFrom Drummer, Healer Ubaka Hill:<br />
<br />
"Community,please join me in directing intentional energy towards the people, the water and the land of Pakistan. I imagine the water returning to a state of calmness and that the land heals to support its people again. I send my compassionate heart to the people who are suffering that they have what they need. Our collective illumination of compassion will bring relief. Let's do what we can, when we can. Namaste."Oriethyiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09594998388262794519noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562119203027113760.post-50023827345916380322010-08-18T08:02:00.001-04:002010-08-18T16:21:07.814-04:00One Certain ThingI have come to know<br />
<br />
that I do not know<br />
<br />
what I do not know.<br />
<br />
I've had glimpses of it for decades. Back in the 1970s when trying to explain a similar thought to a friend I said<br />
<br />
"Imagine that you are in the world, indeed, the Universe. It is the Entirety of Existence. It encompasses everything you or anyone else have ever thought, ever experienced with each of your senses, ever heard of. There is <i>nothing</i> outside of this existence. And then, with no advance notice, a switch is flipped somewhere and a door goes up. You suddenly realize that you were not in the Universe, you were in the <i>garage</i> of the Universe. Part of the Universe to be sure, but only part. There were whole rooms, gardens, skies, concepts, constructs of which you had no knowledge."<br />
<br />
We do not know what we do not know.<br />
<br />
In the late 1980s and early 90s I taught two classes. The first focused on using one's own spiritual tradition or sense of the world to create meaningful rituals, the second on how to use the Tarot as a tool for divination - especially if you thought you could not do so. One phrase that was useful in both classes:<br />
<br />
"Imagine that when you were born you were given a twelve burner stove. But before you could use it you were told that there was no scientific proof for four of the burners, that two of the other burners never worked, and that there were two more that were bad for you and would corrupt your soul. Now you are down to four burners and over time you can no longer even remember the eight burners you were told to ignore."<br />
<br />
Everyone laughed. And immediately understood.<br />
<br />
We do not know what we do not know.<br />
<br />
It isn't simply that we are unaware of certain facts. Well beyond that: there are things that, because of our ignorance, we miss the need to question.<br />
<br />
If, for example, you were only in the garage of the Universe and went from not knowing it to <i>knowing</i>, might not there be questions you would suddenly realize you had that in your not knowing would never have occurred to you? Let's say that in your expanded understanding there were two moons instead of one. You might ask how this affected tides and weather. If there were three suns instead of one you might ask similar questions as well as wondering how one determined time.<br />
<br />
When we do not know what we do not know, we also do not know what questions we do not know to ask.<br />
<br />
A fish perceives its environment based on its own organs of perception. What does it not see, hear, feel that is present? Cats and dogs have somewhat different seeing and hearing than do humans. What do they perceive that we do not? What do we sense that they cannot? As humans we sense what our organs are capable of sensing: sight within a certain spectrum of light, sound within a certain range, etc. What exists beyond the perceptive range of humans?<br />
<br />
If some Being arrived that gave us a tool to help us see beyond the human visual spectrum to the entire spectrum and hear beyond the range of sounds that we can hear and taste and touch and smell beyond what we currently can, what would our new perceptions allow us to begin to understand and what senses may there be beyond the ones for which we have organs of perception?<br />
<br />
We do not know what we do not know.<br />
<br />
Might we act differently if we accepted this notion?<br />
<br />
How many of us just need to be certain? Just need to not be terrified of uncertainty. Of letting the Universe unfold over time. Trusting that we may learn down the road what we cannot know now.<br />
<br />
We do not know what we do not know. And just for this moment may we summon the courage to let that be OK.<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 15px;">"Only don't know" </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 15px;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 15px;"> Zen master Seung Sahn</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 15px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; color: #454545; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 19px;"></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><br />
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</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<dt style="font-size: 17px;">"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,<br />
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."</dt><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><b> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/quotes/William_Shakespeare/" style="color: navy;">William Shakespeare</a></b>, <i>"Hamlet", Act 1 scene 5</i></span></span>Oriethyiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09594998388262794519noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562119203027113760.post-35345539700890280642010-06-17T16:29:00.000-04:002010-06-17T16:29:07.906-04:00Rehab<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 18.0pt;"> Rehab<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The roofers’ arrhythmic rhythm<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Hip Hop from on high<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The steady scraping, tearing, shoveling off<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Of old skin to make way for new.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Hard to listen to,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>hard <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">to concentrate with that racket, and yet<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">How much more easy than the silent tearing, scraping of old ways, habits,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The things taken for granted.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">I used to be able to dial a number and hear her voice;<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Now an operator, then a nurse intervene. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Nice enough folks but none of them Mom. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">What tearing must she hear in her rarely silent room,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">What old foundation, solid still,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>survived the stroke,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">What scraped away, <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">What remains?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Braver than I <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">She makes her way across the new sky line<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Woman on a roof edge<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Overlooking new terrain<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">And praying<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">As am I <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">For familiar ground.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">Oriethyia<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>17 June, 2001<o:p></o:p></div><!--EndFragment-->Oriethyiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09594998388262794519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562119203027113760.post-34994419567713618902010-03-13T09:14:00.000-05:002010-03-13T09:14:36.099-05:00Dear Anonymous . . .Dear Anonymous,<br />
<br />
Please contact me with more information. I'd love to be in touch with her family.<br />
<br />
all blessings,<br />
<br />
OriethyiaOriethyiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09594998388262794519noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562119203027113760.post-72958393752003053582009-11-30T23:33:00.002-05:002009-11-30T23:36:18.254-05:00Alix Dobkin in Albany, NY, USAMark Your Calendars!<br /><br />Alix Dobkin, Founding Mother of Womyn's Music and the first woman ever to sing openly by, for and about Lesbians, will be at The Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza (Albany, NY, USA) on Tues, December 8th, at 7 PM. She'll be reading from her new book "My Red Blood: A Memoir of Growing Up Communist, Coming Onto the Greenwich Village Folk Scene and Coming Out in the Feminist Movement."<br /><br />"Alix Dobkin's My Red Blood is a magnifying glass on a revolution in music, culture, and politics. Here's the sixties from someone who remembers EVERYTHING!" — John Sebastian<br /><br />Join us for a fascinating evening with an extraordinary woman. Help us make this her FAVORITE reading of the entire book tour! Pass this info on to anyone who might be interested.Oriethyiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09594998388262794519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562119203027113760.post-84472038866205548152009-11-18T13:46:00.013-05:002009-12-01T00:08:22.279-05:00Better Living Through ChemistryFor a long time my recent silence on this blog meant that I did not have the focus or energy to write. Then everything changed. Again.<br /><br />If I'd had any idea how much of my lack of energy was due to the depression that comes with Lupus and Fibromyalgia I'd have attempted the change sooner. I had attributed it all to the disease process directly.<br /><br />I did know I was dealing with depression; it was hard to ignore. Between the self-loathing - cutting myself no break in the face of both illnesses, treating myself much more harshly than I would ever let anyone else be treated, the crying, the despair that it would never be different (in the face of my KNOWING that all things change) - well, you get the point. So when my prescription for depression meds seemed to be letting me sink lower and lower (about 2 years ago) I went back to the St. John's Wort, aminos, and megavitamin/minerals regimen that had worked for me in the past. All was well for quite a while.<br /><br />Then I had long strings of low energy days that kept me from refilling the pill boxes in which I kept all the supplements managed by date and time of intake. My memory being what it is I needed to do this all with the help of a cheat sheet I had made up. Some things need to be taken on a full stomach, some at different times from other pills. All very labor intensive for a woman with less and less energy.<br /><br />I rode this low wave for about 3 months. Then it was time to change something. I contacted my primary Doc who suggested a particular anti-depressant. I won't mention which as it is tied to my particular symptoms and his long term understanding of who I am and how I function. He reminded me that it would take about 4 to 6 weeks to see any changes.<br /><br />Well - it took less time than that. In about 3 weeks I was in much better shape. I was no longer sapping my own energy with the constant self blaming, self-hating of weeks before. It's a new world. A kinder, gentler world. As relieved as I am it isn't close to the level of relief in Beloved who had to watch <span style="font-style: italic;">her</span> beloved going through all this.<br /><br />Better Days.Oriethyiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09594998388262794519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562119203027113760.post-41710380664444123262009-09-23T23:59:00.001-04:002009-09-24T00:03:33.271-04:00MEN AND CHILDREN FIRST<br /><br />“Men and children first”<br />she says<br />then stands, and, triumphant,<br />throws herself<br />over the railing<br />and into the<br />swirling waters.<br /><br />In a culture that demands<br />the psychic suicide<br />of its women,<br />drowning is ultimately<br />less painful<br />than saying<br />“how about me.”<br /><br /><br />Oriethyia<br /><br />(from "Love Song To The Warriors" 1977)Oriethyiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09594998388262794519noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5562119203027113760.post-68963025127436859572009-09-23T22:42:00.007-04:002009-09-24T00:20:13.794-04:00HERITAGE<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">For Martha Courtot<br /><br /></span>“And the women sit in circles.<br />How else should women sit,”<br />She said,<br />“but in circles.”<br /><br />Sister long hair,<br />your truth is so simple,<br />and so essential.<br /><br />Were you in the room,<br />i wonder,<br />when your daughter looked<br />across at us and said:<br /><br />“did you know,<br />my great grandfather<br />was a gardener<br />at Buckingham Palace?”<br /><br />I wanted to shake her,<br />point her to you,<br />say:<br /><br />“did you know,<br />womanchild,<br />that your mother speaks<br />with the tongue<br />of our mother’s mothers,<br />speaks with the face<br />of the Native American<br />healing women<br />who birthed<br />and healed<br />and planted<br />and reaped<br />and spread their magik hands<br />across the sky<br />across the earth<br />and joined them<br />and made them whole.<br /><br />did you know<br />you are her daughter?”<br /><br />But soon she will know.<br />soon the knowledge<br />will pass to her<br />as it was passed to you.<br /><br />Sister long hair,<br />may your spirit<br />feel the earth<br />feel the water<br />feel the air<br />feel the fire;<br /><br />may your journey continue,<br />may your daughter’s begin.<br /><br /><br />Oriethyia<br /><br />From "Love Song To The Warriors" 1977<br /><br />note: Martha Courtot was my dear friend and sister poet. When she died on April 25, 2000, Beloved and I sat and read to one another all night from Martha's two self published books, "Tribe" and "Journey." And cried and laughed knowing that Martha's bright light was now shimmering from a far greater distance.<br /><br />Both "Tribe" and "Journey" were published in 1977; both may be out of print.Oriethyiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09594998388262794519noreply@blogger.com3