Gaia Community: Xia's Blog

Video: Merkabah, the Chariot of Ascension

http://newculture.gaia.com — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 07:33:11 GMT

Wonderful imagery and a great introduction to Merkabah...

Merkabah, The Chariot of Ascension

Tags: Merkabah, Chariot, Chet, Ascension, wheels, wheels in wheels, chayot, hayyoth, chaioth

The Amazing Social Organization of Ants!

http://newculture.gaia.com — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 03:03:11 GMT

I saw an amazing video today that I just had to share. A beautiful example of collective consciousness!

The Beauty of Social Organization

Tags: social organization, collective, cooperative, ant, society

Virgo: A Quest for Vitality

http://newculture.gaia.com — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 04:11:45 GMT

One of the hats I wear is "Astrologer". I am especially interested in the more esoteric or occulted side of things; the stuff you don't usually read about and might have to unleash your passion to find. I feel my studies of the Tree of Life assist me in lending "sense" to what otherwise might seem incongruent factors.

As I've detailed here before, I rather love exploring cosmic relationships - the way in which energies string through the Universe as numbers, letters, sounds, colors, archetypes, etc., and gain symbol in material reality through the luminaries, planets, and constellations of Stars. In fact, I have predominately been away from this blog for the past half-year to work on my on-line grammatikos, which will attest to this particular interest of mine.

Now with Autumn Equinox swiftly approaching I thought it was a perfect opportunity to return to posting by diving into the Zodiac Signs! I specifically mention Autumn Equinox because a significant Tradition views the Zodiac as the "Initiates Path", when it is began with Virgo's seed-flame. This is because the flame then passes through the Equinox-Gate and enters "the Within", questing through the inner workings of each Sign in increasingly Realized stages of potentiality. Thus it felt rather pertinent to post what I have written on Virgo in these final days of the Virgo-Sun, before we pass the Gate that will lead us within:

Quest for Vitality

I start the path through the Signs with Virgo because a significant formula puts Virgo at the starting gate. She is the cornerstone of the spiritual culture; the virgin seed (that is Divinity impervious to the material condition); the flame unsquelched even when buried in the dark of earth. She represents the New Beginning even as she comes forth with the harvest in her hands.

Virgo's letter is Yod which is likewise perceived as a "seed-flame". Each Hebrew letter has a form of Yod in its structure, so Yod is said to be the cornerstone of the Aleph-Bet. Although through its sound Yod came to be associated with the Egyptian hieroglyph for ‘arm', its form was originally taken from the hieroglyph for ‘reed' or ‘chaff', much closer to the English letter ‘I'. This is rather fitting on several levels, my favorite being that a Yod attached as a suffix to another word actually means "mine". Not surprisingly, Virgo resonates to themes of core-level identification and the process of identifying. On the body Virgo relates to the gut. Given the Virgo's tendency toward overanalysis one of the Archetype's lessons is to identify their "gut reaction" and go with it. A perfect mantra for the Sign is "I hear the small, still inner voice and create wonders because of it."

Being correlated to the gut Virgo also relates to digestion and nutrient intake, or the bodily equivalent to the harvest where the final selection (i.e. analysis) is made between assimilable material and rejected waste. By attending to "the process" Virgo unfolds the powers of creation, generating a worthy system in which it can truly be said that the Divine Undertaking is not covered up or altered by even the most basic levels of material existence. Virgo teaches us that even in flesh there are transforming and vitalizing powers.

Tags: virgo, equinox, yod, tree of life, harvest, initiation, hebrew, vitality, digestion, archetype

Major Discovery Primed to Unleash Solar Revolution!

http://newculture.gaia.com — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 06:08:43 GMT

This excites me!

Scientists have solved a long-standing problem facing large-scale solar power generation, and they've done it by mimicing the way plants store their energy!

Here is the press release from MIT...

Here is the abstract from Science Magazine.

Way to go biomimicry!

Tags:

The Buckminster Fuller Challenge Idea Index

http://newculture.gaia.com — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 07:06:26 GMT

Over these past few days as I've sporadically found the time I've gone to my computer for the sole purpose of browsing the database of entries submitted to the Buckminster Fuller Challenge. Concepts such as these ignite my own Passions and fill my Heart with hope for the future! I just love it when I can walk away from my computer feeling recharged!

Tags: buckminster fuller, challenge, trimtab, ideas, design science, social engineering, pioneer, whole systems, whole systems thinking, solutions

Have you seen this?

http://newculture.gaia.com — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 05:32:52 GMT

I haven't been able to stop thinking of this video since I first watched it the other night. This elephant was rescued from abusive treatment in Burma and now lives at the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai, Thailand...

Elephant Paints Self Portrait

Tags: elephant, animal, art, paint, awareness, self-portrait, rescue

What does sustainability mean for you?

http://newculture.gaia.com — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 23:05:26 GMT

For me sustainability means Forethought... Fulfillment of needs (first) and desires (second) with consciousness of that fulfillment's true impact and cost. In a sustainable system every player and every part must be considered in context of the Whole of which it is part.

It is my belief that the present civilization has everything it needs for ALL to live in sustainable abundance. The appearance of scarcity and lack are not Actuality but a reality based in horrific mismanagement and parasitic mentalities. It is accepted practice for an individual to seek out the greatest material gain regardless of larger imbalances; regardless of the risk, expense, and short fall to any other organism. Yet the economy of any organism/organized system is very much the corner stone to the sort of energetic dignity the organism maintains. (Think - root law of Cause and Effect necessitating Awareness of action and energy exchanged; economy is energy exchange; the quality of the harvest reflects the quality of the cultivation.) An economy of hording and greed propagates a reality of shortage, depletion, and extinction. An economy of Awareness and sustainability, based on Wholes instead of parts, creates sufficiency, refinement, and renewal.

Thus I feel that in our quest for sustainability, personal and collective economy will require refinement and redirection. Sustainability is greatly facilitated by eradicating the consumer mentality which values production and consumption above responsibility and true quality of Life. As our consciousness of Resources increases, so will our sustainable state.

(Note: I define Resources as the goods and services of both Nature and Humanity.)

Tags: QaR, sustainability, planet, future, green, leaders, change

Icebergs...

http://newculture.gaia.com — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:58:06 GMT

So I'm being rather random with this. A Digg about an unusal iceberg caught my attention early this morning, prompting an impromptu homeschool adventure, hunting the net for awesome iceberg photos. Some were just too beautiful not to share...

Iceberg shining in the Sun

Isle of the Dead Iceberg

Iceberg in Jade

Iceberg in Blue at Sunset

Tags: iceberg

Stunning Solar Building...

http://newculture.gaia.com — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 22:10:06 GMT

Ok, so I've mentioned Masdar before. While browsing MetaEfficient.com I came across an article on the Masdar Headquarters Building, desgined to produce more power than it will use via its high tech solar roof...

Positive Energy Design

Sustainable Design is one of my Passions so this makes me very happy!

Tags: Masdar, solar, positive energy, sustainable, solar architecture, global, renewable

In Honor of Pisces...

http://newculture.gaia.com — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 03:00:42 GMT

With Piscean energies so strong right now - and getting stronger - I thought it was appropriate to post this...

Creativity

Tags: Pisces, Sun, Moon, Inspiration, Creativity, Magic, Magick

Liberation

http://newculture.gaia.com — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 20:16:36 GMT

The seventh Star, which correlates to Liberation, I call Union. Its letter is Kaph meaning "a curve" and implying an open hand reaching out to grasp... something. Anything. Typically above or beyond; some point ahead or forward of where we are now. It is to stretch out toward Divinity and to grasp another in Brotherhood. The letter Kaph corresponds to Jupiter. The planet Jupiter is the Crown of our Awareness and the center from which we expand our relationship with Actuality. Thus it is also our grasp of circumstances and the broadening of horizons that affords a greater state of comprehension. Being at the opposite end of the inner Human spectrum from what we saw in Mars, Jupiter's energy is metabolic; it is called on the Tree of Life, Mercy, and is often depicted as a benevolent King, the continual metamorphosis of Consciousness that forever promises our freedom from the Wheels of birth, death, and rebirth. Not surprisingly in Tarot's Major Arcana Jupiter is assigned to The Wheel of Fortune card, which portrays Effect as the consequence of Cause and tells us that Consciousness of the Wheel and its cyclic whirling not only renews us with fresh potential, but in its turning there is Enlightenment.

Tags: liberty, liberation, union, kaph, chakra, interior star, grasp, divinity, brotherhood, Jupiter, awareness

My book...

http://newculture.gaia.com — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 00:47:01 GMT

I prefer to utlize my blog as a medium for personal expression. However I wanted to let you know that I've made my book available as a PDF download, for those who asked. For more details please visit Baby Lyon Press.
Thank you!

Tags: New Culture, Ouranos, Intentional Community, New Civilization

From the Center of My Being to the Tip of My Tongue...

http://newculture.gaia.com — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 18:42:31 GMT

I was turned onto this exercise by my Dear Brother, Grey, and completed it last night. You take a minute to write down a concept/thought/idea and then spend two minutes writing down whatever flows from the tip of your tongue/the top of your brain. My concept was Union...

Union
Souls in Union
A Fusion
Of Many
Becoming ONE.
Love
Souls in Love
A Bundle
Like an Atom
Like the System
Of our Sun.
One
Many Souls
As One
A Fusion
Atomic Grouping
A Union
Of One plus One
Equals ONE.

Tags: soul group, union, soul, love, atom, sun, solar system, one, fusion

Tonight's Total Lunar Eclipse

http://newculture.gaia.com — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 22:21:45 GMT

I wanted to give a head's up about tonight's total lunar eclipse....

This Full Moon eclipse happens during a perfect time for viewing, the maximum occurring between 7:01 and 7:51 PST. At its maximum the Moon will pass completely through the umbral shadow, turning the Moon deep orange to blood red. This is the last total eclipse until December 21st of 2010, so you don't want to miss it!

For those interested in Astrology - this eclipse occurs at 1º53' Virgo, turning our analysis inward and making us more reserved in our emotional displays. This is a great time to sit back and really give energy to thinking about how our emotional needs can be better fulfilled through practical ambitions. Over this past month many have been experiencing themes of polarization and/or disparity between their emotional life and their outward existence and now comes the time for transcendence and revelation as to how to better marry our outer and inner existence. The Moon's present conjunction to Saturn brings grounding, allowing us insight into our direction while its trine relationship to Pluto allows our inner thought process to uncover a new, more beneficial way in which we can transform ourselves!

Tags: eclipse, Feb, 20, lunar, full moon, Virgo, Astrology, Pluto, Saturn

The Proust Questionnaire

http://newculture.gaia.com — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 22:40:27 GMT

I was invited to do this Questionnaire by Joy Bringer.

I'm now inviting: GreyHawk, Will, Galileogst, and Doll Imago.

______________

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Union Actualized.

What is your greatest fear?
Stagnation. Inertia.

Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Any Light Bringer or Civilization Builder. From Queen Zenobia to Queen Sheba to Helene (wife of Simon Magus) to Helena Petrovna Blavatsky to Cain to Aphrodite, whose footprints are adored in Cyprus.

Which living person do you most admire?
My husband... his adversities have made him so strong and so Beautiful. He's consistently dynamic - expanding in Awareness with each passing day.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Division.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?
I believe any trait I would perceive as deplorable in others must first come from within me. I would always strive to heal myself.

What is your greatest extravagance?
Indulging in the cornucopia that exists on practically every other street corner; good wine & coffee; new technology; things

What is your favorite journey?
Self-Mastery

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
I don't know, I believe the virtues are important to developing a culture of ennobled character. That being said, many sources list "detachment" as a virtue which I feel is better stated as integration and Awareness. I really appreciate Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics which describe virtue as a certain balance point between deficiency and excess. Any virtue can become overrated when embraced to the extreme, or when too far removed from forethought.

On what occasion do you lie?
To prevent another from being harmed in a significant way.

What do you dislike most about your appearance?
The answer would likely differ depending on the moment. However, I don't agree with feeding dislikes any energy.

Which living person do you most despise?
If there is a True Understanding of All as ONE, then to despise another is to despise myself. I do not despise myself.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
I probably say "uh", "uhm", and "like" more than I intend.

What is your greatest regret?
I don't give energy to regret.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?
My husband. We are each whole - one - together making a greater state of ONE.

Which talent would you most like to have?
I wouldn't mind remembering how to play piano like I did when I was a young girl. Shape shifting might also be cool.

What is your current state of mind?
Grateful.

If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?
I love my family how they are.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Five AWESOME children who are thoughtful, thinking, spiritual beings. A Beautiful State of Union with my counterpart. Passing through the "Refiner's Fire". Publishing my book.

If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
While my pursuit is for Liberation from the cycles of birth and death, if I did die and come back it would certainly be as a person, not a thing, and my intent would be to return as Awake and Aware and as Passionate about Liberation as I am now... or more so.

If you could choose what to come back as, what would it be?
Of course I make the choice, and that choice is defined above.

What is your most treasured possession?
The Crown Jewel, Awareness!

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Persistent Unawareness.

Where would you like to live?
I like my present location unbelievably much. The only change I'm in the continual process of making is to increasingly surround myself with more evolved modes of culture.

What is your favorite occupation?
My favorite role is being a mother and a partner. My favorite activity is Spiritual Pursuits... including developing Intentional forms of Community and increasing my State of Union with others. My favorite career is exactly what I am doing... Author and Astrologer.

What is your most marked characteristic?
My Passion for Self-Realization and the Pursuit of Liberation.

What is the quality you most like in a man?
Divinity.

What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Divinity.

What do you most value in your friends?
Divinity.

Who are your favorite writers?
Although I don't read much fiction I adore Marion Zimmer Bradley... especially her Work, The Firebrand. For non-fiction I appreciate Paul Foster Case, Manly P. Hall, Peter Lemesurier, Steiner, Alice Bailey, Leadbeater, Blavatsky, Regardie, et al.

Who is your favorite hero/heroine of fiction?
Kassandra, the heroine of The Firebrand.

Who are your heroines/heroes in real life?
Light Bringers and those who progress Civilization.

What are your favorite names?
I actually collect my favorite names in a journal but I'd probably have to say that most of all it would be my children's names, and then the names which almost belonged to my children... compositions from Hebrew, Greek, Native languages, and Nature.

What is it that you most dislike?
What is it with focusing so much energy on dislikes? I much rather focus on all the things I Love and Welcome.

How would you like to die?
With Peace and in Awareness.

What is your motto?
"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, a Master calls a butterfly." ~ Richard Bach.

Tags: Proust, Union, like, love, talent, great, self, favorite, interest, Nicomachean

Illumination

http://newculture.gaia.com — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 08:05:38 GMT

The sixth Star, which correlates to Illumination, I call Truth. Its letter is Beth meaning "House", corresponding to Mercury. Many would assert that their home, or location, within the body is their Mind. The planet Mercury is Mind, called in Tarot's Major Arcana, The Magician. In one sense, the Magician can be a trickster, making things appear as they are not. Curtains can be drawn to hide a difficult or cluttered interior. Dualities can appear as actuality. However, the Magician is ultimately Master of the House, for S/He makes use of Mind like a great and precious tool to observe the activity of every perceived dimension from the sheltering vantage of Within. As with any instrument of observation, clarity is key. The Mind is the Magician's domain - the House not made with hands - and how that domain is put together, arranged, and refined suggests how receptive and effective a Mage might be. Like any House not made with hands, Mind is to be a Sanctuary for the Divine, Illuminated from Above and Within, and enjoying clear, transparent windows that let the Light shine through unobstructed. In the Tarot, the Magician is traditionally depicted with an upraised arm and a finger pointed to the ground implying that the Light of Mind comes from Above and is merely transmitted to the planes below. This is no different from Mercury being acknowledged as the Messenger - or transmitting agent - between worlds, or the Great Initiator who offers a third perspective (or Third Eye) in-between opposites.

Tags: chakra, Interior Star, energy center, Illumination, Truth, house, Mercury, Magician, trickster, curtains, filters

Self-Direction

http://newculture.gaia.com — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 19:27:09 GMT

The fifth Star, related to Self-Direction, I call Will. Its letter is Resh, which literally means "Head" and corresponds with the Sun. The Sun symbolizes our guiding power; our head director. Do we lead ourselves by unbridled impulse or like a Hero/ine, with an ever-present forethought of the Greater Good? It is said that the "Great Work" of the Hero/ine is specifically collection and restoration - that is gathering energies and impulses and all that we are conscious of and, by choice, radiating out and expressing our Power in a way that restores the Human condition to a higher estate. As the message of The Sun card signifies, the Sun is the Great Regenerator. It can turn the garden sterile and dry or entice fertility and growth from the desert just as the Human can regenerate their world by consciously directing their Powers - moment by moment, day by day...

Tags: chakra, Interior Star, energy center, Will, Self-Direction, Resh, Sun, Power, Great Work, Human, Humanity

The Gate

http://newculture.gaia.com — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 22:29:03 GMT

The fourth Interior Star I call Love. Its letter is Daleth meaning "the Door", and its correspondent planet, Venus, is sometimes referred to as the Gate of Heaven. Indeed this being the fourth center out of seven, it can be seen as the entryway from the lower worlds into the more subtle heavenly spheres, or even as a sort of fulcrum that can allow for up or down, open or shut. Venus is our Heart Center. It represents the Seat of the Soul; our Astral Body and our portal to the Astral Realm, that starry ocean which reflects energy as pattern, symbol, or image. The lessons here are all about magnetism and attraction, reflection and appearance. Where we focus attention energy goes, building images that eventually condense into the "solid" forms of our reality. Thus for whatever the external appearance of any form (or form of experience), there is always a spiritual and energetic seed at its core. One seed can produce an abundance of fruits, expressing the manifold appearance of countless potentials. But what expression do we call reality? What expressions do we Love and value? One of the many appearances, or the Truth at the core? What we perceive - and what we favor - generates more of the same by way of attraction. The Heart is the ever-bearing Grail, the free-flowing and fertile stream of life as seen in The Empress card of Tarot's Major Arcana. Yet just as with the Grail hero, the fertile stream can appear as a mere specter of its originating energy - if not altogether a wasteland - until fully realized as the Beautiful Truth and consequence flowing from the Source.

Tags: chakra, Interior Star, energy center, Love, magnetism, attraction, gate, door, venus, Heart, Astral

Identifying

http://newculture.gaia.com — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 18:12:53 GMT

(Please see the post titled "Cause and Effect" for the back-story on this post...)

The third Star, related to lessons of Identifying, I call Unity. Its letter is Tav which literally means "a Mark" and is correspondent to Saturn. The planet Saturn symbolizes our Self Center - the throne of individualized Awareness or our consciousness of "self". It is said that we are all marked in this spot by our navel to remind us of our connection and unity with others. Tav is the letter "T" or a Tau cross, the three points of which represent the three-fold consciousness that marks our vessel. It is also called the Egyptian cross, being the symbol marked on the forehead of Egyptian initiates. Self-consciousness allows for our individual experience of the world but when individualized traits are identified as the absolute what would otherwise be an instrument becomes the instrumentalist, rendering Tav the so-called "mark of the beast". Within this inverse reality of the ego-beast, the planet Saturn is easily perceived as the "great malefic" or Lord Death with his sickle of Time and unwelcomed limitation. Yet in Actuality, Saturn's Harvest is the collection of Souls, ripened through the passage of Time and unwelcomed limitation here in "The World"... the name of the card Tav is assigned to.

Tags: chakra, Interior Star, energy center, Identifying, Unity, ego, Saturn, beast, self, selfhood, Tau

Reciprocity

http://newculture.gaia.com — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:38:06 GMT

The second Star - the one related to lessons of Reciprocity - I call Life. Its letter is Gimel which literally means "Camel" (implying travel and trade) and corresponds to the Moon. The Moon is our Life essence, the Etheric matrix which interconnects the All, and the abode of our fertility. It is our ability to replicate (i.e. reflect) and exchange the building blocks of life. The energy here is unifying, connecting one point to another - like the ship of the desert (i.e. the camel) carries news and goods from one place to another or like our fertility which enables the connection of genetic sequences. Gimel is said to be the perfect memory of the One Identity that compels personalities to link and connect, thus reawakening to the matrix of the Whole. This letter is seen in the card of The High Priestess, where an individual's travel toward reunification is symbolized by her scroll. The scroll is named Memory, as it is through recollection that we draw closer to Self.

Tags: chakra, Interior Star, energy center, Reciprocity, Life Power, Gimel, Moon, Etheric, matrix, fertility, High Priestess