The Goddess Dewi Ratih

From the Moon Goddess Diary by Nicci Garaicoa: Dewi Ratih the Hindu Moon Goddess.

Dewi Ratih is worshipped throughout Indonesia and Bali for her breathtaking beauty and grace. Legend has it that the giant Kali Rau fell desperately and completely in love with her as she was the most beautiful of all goddesses; however, Dewi Ratih did not love him back and refused to marry him. He was enraged and tried to steal immortality from the Gods so he could pursue and win her heart. But his plan was discovered and the King of the Gods, Dewa Wisnu, followed him to cut off his head with his magical disc but he was too late, and the immortal drink had been taken and Kali Rau’s head became immortal. 

Resilience

The Power of Resilience in a Time of Extremes

If you’ve ever been on a journey of any kind, then you know the routine. To prepare for the trip, you first get an idea of where you’re going. You check the weather conditions, study maps, and then pack what’s needed to keep your routines alive while you’re traveling.

The key here is that when you know where you’re going, you know what to take. And when you find yourself going somewhere you’ve never been, you prepare for the unknown. It’s this simple idea that’s at the heart of this book.

Our Journey

We’re all on a journey, and it’s a big one. Our journey is leading us to a place no one has ever been. There are no travel guides or Internet trip advisors

Before 4000BC

Around this date, patriarchal culture began to supercede the previous matriarchal cultures. The most ancient deity was a female, known as the Great Goddess, and her full figure statuettes are found internationally and described as 'Venus' figurines. She was described as Ishtar in Mesopotamia, as Astarte in Phoenecia, as Iset in Egypt. It is said that her culture was peace loving, where the weak and disabled were cared for and where the planet was regarded as sacred. 

Tips To Live A Successful Life

Everyone seeks the secrets of success - and most have their own opinions of what fulfilment is. There is no clear-cut formula, although here are some tips on how to live a successful life: For example, Absorb what is useful, Discard what is not. Add what is uniquely your own. All throughout life, we are educated and forced to learn things. Not all of these things will be useful. Take everything you know will be good for you. Then, discard the rest. One should note that the reason things are taught in school is because you and your classmates will have different roles in the future. The algebra might be useful to a future architect classmate, but absolutely useless to a newspaper writer. It is up to you to discern which information is good for you, and which are not.

Matthew Fox

Who is Matthew Fox
Father Fox is a theologian, writer, and teacher who emphasises the importance of our planet and its species, under the banner of Creation Spirituality. He was a Roman Catholic monk of the Dominican Order for 34 years but was dismissed for heresy by Cardinal Ratzinger. So he became an Episcopalian priest and continued his teaching and writing, winning many awards and accolades.

Martine Batchelor - Buddhist teacher

As a young person, Martine was politically active due to her socialist family background. She wanted to travel and hitchhiked through many countries on her way to India and Thailand and worked in an unskilled capacity to support herself. She stayed in a Buddhist monastery in Korea for 10 years and became a nun. She had prolonged periods of deep meditation and solitude and studied under a Zen tutor and was instructed to ask herself 'What Is It?' and later 'Why did the guru say 'no'!' She learnt to 'bear beyond strength'. It is not what you say you are - but what other people find you to be which is of relevance and wisdom and compassion motivated her. She wishes to live without harm to others or herself. When her Master died, she left the monastery and returned to Europe. 

Who or What is the Shekinah?

“I learnt it all, hidden or manifest, for I was taught by Wisdom, by her whose skill made all things.”    ~ Wisdom of Solomon, C1st BCE, trans. Schäfer.

The Shekinah is the primordial light of creation, the heavenly glory of divine wisdom and the inspiration for prophecy. She is also the world soul, manifest through the divine sparks of her light which comprise human souls and thus unites us all.  With roots in the wisdom goddesses of the ancient world, the Shekinah is the manifestation of feminine divinity from the unnamed Wisdom Goddess of the Hebrew Bible and early Jewish wisdom literature found in the Jewish mystical systems known as the Kabbalah and in Merkavah mysticism.

Sociopath!

What is a Sociopath? 
We have all heard this word, but many of us do not know its meaning! 
A sociopath is someone who has the hallmarks of extreme selfishness, lack of empathy and lack of conscience. Sometimes the word is used interchangeably with the word 'psychopath' and the words 'antisocial personality disorder' is also often used by professionals. They appear in all walks of life; doctors, lawyers, accountants, politicians, etc., etc., and are manipulative, impulsive, unkind and mean, they have a sense of superiority and entitlement, are judgemental and often bully others into submission. They are also narcissistic and think or speak about themselves in exagerated terms. It is thought that 3 - % of the population have this defect in their character. There is no suitable medication to treat it. Anger management can help.

Abraham Maslow

Who was Abraham Maslow?
He (1980 - 1970) was born in New York and was the son of a Russian Jewish immigrant. He is one of the founding fathers of human potential and peak experiences. He studied the Native American culture and taught psychology at Broklyn College and was part of the humanistic psychology movement with Margaret Mead, Alfred Adler, Erich Fromm, Karen Horney and other visionaries of the era. He worked at the Esalen Institute where he was one of the principal mentors in the 1960s. He did not study mental illness, but believed that the study of healthy individuals gave the greatest potential for growth and development of the individual. He was interested in 'self actualised' people, those who are exceptionally healthy, fulfilled and successful, who are balanced, calm, loving and just. His work influenced business, management, marketing, education, health care, and theology.