The Circle of Genuine Meaning is a book that I have been developing (writing and illustrating) for a number of years. It is an interactive guide to self discovery and introspection based on the wisdoms from elders past. The Circle of Genuine Meaning incompasses knowlege gained by sacred circles and medicine wheels from numerous cultures spanning Mother Earth. This book promotes balance of mind, body and spirit. I offer you a taste by sharing the first few paragraphs. I hope you enjoy them. I expect to go into print later this year. Mairead Ashcroft 4/7/16
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| Pachamama/ Mother Earth/Gaia |
Circle of Genuine Meaning ©: The origins
Learning about the world
and my place in it, is a conquest that I don’t feel needs to be conquered but
one to dance, sing and be enthralled. Learning about my mind, body, spirit and
life’s personal meaning, involves individual searching, some scary experiences,
joy, sorrow, loss, discovery and wonder. Practicing the Circle of genuine
meaning guides me to ask myself, on a daily basis, “Am I happy with how I lived
my life today? If not, why not? What do I need to change about myself, my
thought patterns, my values and/or my environment to enhance my lived
experience, making it a more genuine gift to me and my community, no matter how
small?” The Japanese term, ‘Wabi-Sabi’, promotes finding beauty in
imperfections and accepting the cycle of life and death. This attitude is
important to practice when connecting to place, nature, spirit, community and
self. Acceptance and understanding of deficiency in self and others can be
challenging but can manifest the boundless rewards in the promotion of
tolerance, patience, empathy and forgiveness. Cultures of the world universally,
have strived to adopted customs which benefit not only the individual but the
community as a whole. “The term Ikigai is composed of two Japanese words: iki
referring to life, and kai, which roughly means “the realisation of what one
expects and hopes for. Unpacking the word and its associated symbol a bit
further, Ikigai is seen as the convergence of four primary elements: What you
Love (your passion) What the World Needs (your mission) What you are Good at
(your vocation) What you can get Paid for (your profession)” (Chip Richards, 2014) In other words,
undertaking tasks in our everyday existence which promote a genuine existence,
is an ultimate goal of navigating your life. I would like to add that I promote
all forms of authentic lifestyles as long fulfilling one’s passions is within
keeping of the greater good for humanity as a whole and requires no deliberate
sacrifice on another person’s behalf. I condone freedom of speech, marriage
equality, freedom of choice, I am open to new ideas and wish for global
equality. Openness and compassion promotes openness and compassion.
Our earth sustains us and
has done so since the time of our conception millions of years ago. Respecting
the earth as Mother through respecting ourselves and using what she gives us
wisely, is the greatest gift that we can give ourselves and generations to
come. Connecting to Mother earth has seemed to have become an odd concept for
some in my community today, particularly by select large industries. Some even
make a conscious choice to flippantly ignore that the earth is a delicate,
living microcosm within a giant universe, which requires gentle tending in
order that we can pass on its gifts to future generations. Some cannot see that
we are interlaced into her makeup, along with the moon, stars, oceans, rivers,
bugs animals and everything else. "Animism is used to imply a reality in
which all things are imbued with vitality. The ancient world view did not
conceive of a separation between 'animate' and 'inanimate.' All things from
rocks and trees to dreams were considered to partake of the life force.” (Margot
Adler,2006)
There was a time when
everything in the natural world, had a spiritual significance. In ancient Greek
mythology, the creation story is told of Mother earth, Gaia, being impregnated
by Father Heaven, Ouranos. It was believed by the Greek peoples, that from this
union, all living things have been born. [1]We can hear similar
creation stories throughout indigenous cultures world-wide, each adapted in
practical ways, to interpret the phenomenology of their own environments.[2] These mythical stories
provided wisdom through traditional spoken word, image making, dance, music and
written parables and legends. Communities looked to Elders, Shaman, Bards and
Medicine Men to care for the good of the community and they in turn looked to
the gods of the environment for guidance. The connection to the earth, sea and
stars was fundamental to the survival for all races of people on all
continents. Information about the rhythms of the seasons, tides, moon cycles
and astrological patterns, offered wisdom which was passed down through peers
through ancestral rule. Understanding the local environment offered natural
timetables, indicating the best times to sow and harvest, the best places to
net bountiful fish and seafood and celestial maps offered guided direction from
the stars so that people could travel across vast deserts in the cool of the
night.
Scientists today are
beginning to look at our earth with different eyes. The Gaia Hypothesis, coined
by James Lovelock, offers the idea that our earth is not a rock with a number
of living beings living in isolation from one another but possibly individual
cells that work with other billions of other cells with one universal purpose.[3] The hypothesis pr oposes
that we are one single living organism designed to support the living system as
a whole, just like our own cells and organs are designed to enable us to exist
as physical beings. The past wisdoms of longstanding cultures are once again
being listened to. The tradition of only taking what you need and replacing
what was taken, goes back beyond the Celtic Druid tradition of replanting the
acorn when an oak tree was felled in order to thank mother earth, honour the
living thing that has been taken and restore ecological and spiritual balance.
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