11/12 to 11/15: Tewa Buffalo Dance--focused on healing. Tewa rites honor Mother Earth, Father Sky, and the four directions and elements of life - air of the North, earth of the East, fire of the South, and waters of the West. http://youtu.be/nMxOVeCuPjU

Birthday of Sr. Juana Ines de la Cruz (1651), Catholic nun and feminist poet. [Death day 4/17/1695]

Sister (Spanish: Sor) Juana Inés de la Cruz, O.S.H. (English: Joan Agnes of the Cross) (12 November 1651 – 17 April 1695), was a self-taught scholar and poet of the Baroque school, and Hieronymite nun of New Spain. Although she lived in a colonial era when Mexico was part of the Spanish Empire, she is considered today both a Mexican writer and a contributor to the Spanish Golden Age, and she stands at the beginning of the history of Mexican literature in the Spanish language. See More on Sister Juana Ines de la Cruz here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juana_In%C3%A9s_de_la_Cruz

11/11 to 11/17: Old Anglo-Teutonic fast marking Hod (God of Darkness)

unintentionally killing Balder (God of Light),

and his true love Nanna (Goddess of Flowers)

dying of a broken heart. The dead were honored.

Krystallnacht-- Night of the Nazi attacks on Jewish homes, synagogues, and shops in Germany, beginning the persecution that would end with the deaths of six million Jews (1938) Tonight is a night for meditating on the evil of all religion-based hatred. Try to come up with solutions for eradicating this type of evil from our world. We should never allow such horror to ever happen again.

Birthday of Fr. Thomas Berry (1914),

Catholic priest, eco-theologian, and cosmologist, who advocated for deep ecology and eco-spirituality. He believed the Universe, our Solar System, and planet Earth, in themselves, and in their evolutionary emergence, constitute the primary revelation of the ultimate Mystery from which all things emerge into being. Twelve Principles for Understanding the Universe and the Role of the Human in the Universe Process by Thomas Berry 1. The Universe, the Solar System, and the planet Earth, in themselves and in their evolutionary emergence, constitute for the human community the primary revelation of that ultimate Mystery whence all things emerge into being. 2. The Universe is a unity, an interacting and genetically-related community of beings bound together in an inseparable relationship in space and time. The unity of planet Earth is especially clear: each being of the planet is profoundly implicated in the existence and functioning of every other being. 3. The capacity for ordered self-development, for self-expression, and for intimate presence to other modes of being must be considered as a pervasive psychic dimension of the Universe from the beginning. 4. The three basic laws of the Universe at all levels of reality are differentiation, subjectivity, and communion. These laws identify the reality, the values, and the directions in which the Universe is proceeding. 5. The Universe has a violent as well as a harmonious aspect, but it is consistently creative in the larger are of its development. 6. The Earth, within the Solar System, is a self-emergent, self-propagating, self-nourishing, self-educating, self-governing, self-healing, self-fulfilling community. All particular life-systems must integrate their being and their functioning within this larger complex of mutually dependent Earth systems. 7. The human emerges within the life systems of Earth as that being in whom the Universe reflects on and celebrates itself in a special mode of conscious self-awareness. The human is genetically coded toward further cultural coding, by which specifically human qualities find expression in a remarkable diversity in the various regions of the Earth. 8. Domestication: transition to village life and greater control over the forces of nature took place in the Neolithic period, 12,000 years ago; beginnings of agriculture, domestication of animals, weaving, pottery and new stone implements. 9. The classical civilizations: progressive alienation of the human from the natural world; the rise of cities, elaborate religious expression in ritual and architecture, development of specialized social functions, increase in centralized government, the invention of writing and related technologies. 10. The scientific- technological- industrial phase: the violent plundering of the Earth takes place, beginning in Europe and North America. The functioning of Earth is profoundly altered in its chemical balance, its biological systems, and its geological structures. The atmosphere and water are extensively polluted, the soil eroded, and toxic waste accumulates. The mystique of the Earth vanishes from human consciousness. 11. The ecological age: a new intimacy is sought with the integral functioning of the natural world; destructive anthropocentrism is replaced with eco-centrism; transition to the primacy of the integral Earth community. 12. The newly developing ecological community needs a mystique of exaltation and finds it in the renewal of the great cosmic liturgy, which celebrates the new story of the Universe and its emergence through evolutionary processes. See also Thomas Berry's website. And see Thomas Berry's Earth Spirituality and the "Great Work" and Thomas Berry and a New Creation Story. [Death day 6/1/2009]

Birthday of Dorothy Day (1897),

activist for peace, economic justice, and workers' rights. [Founder of the Catholic Worker Movement.] [Death day 11/22/1980] more on Dorothy Day

Not letting fear & anxiety win...

"Love is what we were born with. Fear is what we learned here."
~ Marianne Williamson

Overcoming my fear is a struggle. Snow is coming in a predicted excessive amount today. I know, I know... I live in Colorado. Of course I am going to have to deal with snow & icy, dangerous, driving conditions.
I experienced a great loss when I was a Senior in High School. I loved this person very much & he was taken from me by a drunk driver just when we had finally found eachother again. This tragic loss instilled a fear that continued to grow & paralize me over the years.
I was so afraid to get behind the wheel of a vehicle I would go into a panic just thinking about the possibility of it. I feared hurting someone else the way I had been. Even being a passenger in a vehicle I began to avoid looking out the front window because I was afraid of every intersection, puddle of water, slick spot or other irresponsible drivers. I would stare out the side windows, & if the weather was bad, I would continually pray for a safe arrival throughout the whole trip. Praying from a place of fear, doubt & anxiety.
To my detriment, though I know it was from a place of love, those around me continued to drive me whenever I needed to go somewhere important. I walked ALOT. I have no idea how many miles have been put on these feet.
Due mainly to financial situations I was without a car for 4 years while living in Joplin, Mo. Which is a city that does NOT have a Public transportation system and many miles of road without sidewalks. My boys were young at this time so it was quite a struggle & difficult for them, because I walked them EVERYWHERE. So there is the guilt added on to the fear.
Additional guilt involves, because of my fear I was limited with my working life. I could only work at places that were close to my residence. This limited my contribution to the family finances, which led to my husband having to make up the difference.
When I was 26 I got a great job with a great company. I had to get my liscence in order to keep the position & be eligible for promotions because I had to make the night drop at the bank.
With help from my wonderful husband & a determination to overcome my fear that had limited so much of my life's potential; I studied & passed & got my drivers liscence. Yay, I conquered it & thought I was a doofus to have waited so long. But, not so fast...
My husband referred to me as an "excessive defensive driver" & encouraged me to be more confident & less skittish. He advised me that I was more likely to get in an accident or cause one because I am over-defensive. (By-the-way, my husband is a professional otr driver, so he definitely knows his stuff.)
I worked on that & tried to be more confident. Perhaps too confident. 2 years ago I got in my first personal car accident that involved an unexpected snow storm. I was not paying attention to the road conditions & driving too fast, for the conditions. I spun out & wrecked my car. Thankfully it was not totaled & my husband was able to band-aid my car back together.
The accident frightened me & now my fear & anxiety has returned with a vengence & transferred to driving in inclement weather. Luckily I have access to public transportation & I will be definitely accessing it during this storm.
I know I need to find a way to overcome this new fear. I will hopefully find a way to master this pain & get over it.

What fear do you struggle with?