Loving Humanity

“Glorious. Bloody. Humanity. Centuries interwoven with times of peace and war, terror inflicted and suffering caused, happiness shared and flowers grown, threads of beauty shine through and toxins are spilled upon the carpet of life, and works of geniuses and the greatness of the human spirit follow us through all the ages. The color of insanity is close by, horrible and beneficial deeds stand out; we are born and die over and over again. The fabric of humanity is a mighty one, an epic played out that still continues on- to this day. The story is alive in our very own cells and bones. 

Where does love come in?

A little 5 year-old girl in the orphanage where I worked offered Mother Teresa her only toy to take to the children in the slums. I could see how precious this ragged, cuddled up and tear stained doll was to her, and yet she was beaming to be able to offer her gift and to be received. This little nun did not want people to offer from their abundance, what they did not need, or a leftover. What matters, she always said, is how much love we put into the giving. That is where joy is found. She lived what she spoke; I saw it in her shining eyes and in the way she held the hand of the old thin man, who was dying in peace. A love, so simple and true. ”

People are thirsty and starving for it everywhere. One drop has the power to turn a life and many can grow an unstoppable river that feeds us all.

Women Rising

WOMEN RISING

An enormous volcano is erupting, the rumblings of which are heard by those, whose ears are open. A monumental change is happening at this very moment on our entire planet. The power of love is unleashing a tremendous force, it’s momentum is building and is unstoppable, taking hold of those who are ready to break through to change our course.

 Like a mighty tidal wave, women and girls are rising up all around the world, in a magnitude never seen before throughout history. She is standing at the bow, courageously turning the ship for the sake of all life.

 This river is growing every day, our voices are speaking out on behalf of our ancestors, children to come after us, all the creatures, the earth, girls and women and the well being of the people of many cultures, traditions, ages and colors.

 Women are standing up for the sacred in life and the preciousness of all beings. Girls are stepping forward, not waiting anymore for the grown ups, boldly creating a new legacy for us all.

 The feminine is on fire, stepping forth, leading us into a new dawn for humanity and our beautiful earth. Women are empowering each other, reclaiming our dignity, value and sovereignty. We are claiming our power so long oppressed, our love kept small far too long, our beauty- in all shapes she walks. We come bearing our inherent connectedness with the source and ancient wisdom that is so needed now, but had been suppressed and doubted, in fear. Even, if we are shaking in our boots and high heels, masses of women, whether in the huts of Africa, in the furthest reaches in India, here in Santa Cruz- literally everywhere women are gathering and rising. They are taking the lead in creating the change so needed in a world, that is dangerously on the edge and has fallen out of alignment with the truth of life.

 Change has come. Women are birthing a way of living based on connectedness, respect and care. We are dedicated to the wholeness of life, and working tirelessly toward ending the enormous of suffering present today. For centuries, patriarchal structures have dominated the world, creating this extreme situation we are facing on the planet, which affects each person, plant and animal in every part of the world. Spirituality and religion has often pointed toward transcendence, the formless, emptiness, heaven, and a distant god ruling, but left out the feminine. It left out connection, immanence and interdependence, the divine in form- found in the smallest pebble, in the silent growing of majestic trees, in your body and the face of humanity. The old structures, based solely on hunger for power, autonomy, competition, control and other maladies, divorced from the feminine and separated from life, have led us to where we are today.

This era is ending now. The Dalai Lama and wise elders have recently said: It is the women who will lead the change in the world. Women are bringing forth a new way- or is it an ancient one, we have always known deep down, arising from the heart of life itself?

This powerful movement is not a fight against men, nor is it the establishment of a new matriarchy. Nor is it about women being better than men, for we all have the same worth in the eyes of creation. It is far vaster and all encompassing. There is a paradigm shift happening for both men and women. Women are asked to step up and come forward with their voices and gifts. Men are called to support women and the causes that are in benefit to life, with all their might. Some men already are.

This is not about a lonesome heroine journey, but women leading the change together, hand in hand in cooperation, not in competition. Nor is it about women to become hardened and forcing our way, some have taken on this coat to reach the ladder of success in a male oriented business world. Nor has sleeping beauty time to wait for prince charming to rescue her, for she is waking by the kiss of life and a greater calling, in which she has an important part to play.

Sex trafficking of children, mainly girls even as young as 4, is one of the biggest and fastest growing industries around the world. We are joining to end the worst horror and crime of our times, that is expressing the extent and severity of ignorance and disconnect from life itself. The earth is ravished, poisoned and polluted. Women are making a stand on behalf of nature and many men are helping to find new ways of how we can live in a sane and sustainable way. Nature is not a disposable commodity, it needs to be respected and cared for. So are girls and every living being. All are worth more than money, greed, control and possessions. Yet, in many places of the world girls have less value and do not even receive education, thereby being trapped in a cycle of poverty, forced into child marriage, sex slavery and used for cheap labor. Women, still to this day with the same qualifications and skills, receive less pay than a man in the USA. The amount of single mothers, who are living below the poverty line is staggering. Mothers are often considered as worth less than a high earning CEO, who goes home after the work is done. Yet, hers is a 24 hour job, no pay and no recognition usually comes her way. Women are still being raped as a normal practice, especially by military and in war torn lands- like she is a sex object to be taken, used and then thrown away. In the western world alone, one out of 4 girls are molested or raped, before reaching adulthood. Almost every second girl in the US is on a diet before she turns 20, hating her body, because beauty is defined by a male and sex oriented media market. The sacredness of the feminine, the woman as a human being has been violated, degraded, used, dismissed, devalued, oppressed, treated like a disposable object, and destroyed. It is one of the biggest issues we are facing in the world. How we have treated women, is the same as what we have done toward the earth. This is how we have related to life itself far too long. It is ending, now. The turning is happening with each one of us.

 I was inspired by the recent event of “One Billion Rising” to end violence against women and girls, that happened in 205 countries around the world on Valentines Day- what a powerful sign of a new time! The tide is rising and reached the masses now. We can uproot the causes of this suffering, restore balance and honor what is sacred, become truly human and work together toward the flourishing of all life. Each beneficial act, however little or big, makes a difference and is needed now: By creating equality, by valuing girls and women, by stopping actions like sex trafficking, by speaking up on behalf of those who are more vulnerable like children, elders, animals, by caring for nature, by healing what was broken, by an embodied spirituality and a responsible way of living….by hearing and empowering women to lead us forward now, by all of us standing together hand in hand- for real love. We have a choice to be part of this revolution. Many already have answered the calling -and more are joining in every single day. 

Come c'moi, get on your horse and ride with all of us- this one is for LIFE!

Dreams come true

Moving across the threshold from day to night, the sunset spreads all the colors and shades of yellow and red. As I look across the sky the painting is different than yesterday. It always amazes me what life creates in one moment and then the scenery changes in the blink of an eye. Soon night softly falls, wrapping all in its’ dark mantle, carrying you off into slumber land.

In the place of the in between, before sleep and the morning, the threshold beyond time and space, there is an opening, where dreams are born from. Not the imaginations, fictions, wishes, thought elaborations, or emotional high- or nightmares we often call dreams.

But true dreams birthed directly from the source, from our deepest home, our being, the heart of creation. We all have heard many a time: “I have a dream” from M.L. King or “Imagine all the people” from J. Lennon, “Wild geese” from Mary Oliver and countless more.

Those dreams come as messengers for what is possible, as a gift they stay with us in their timelessness. They carry a sense of truth, even if they might seem unrealistic, they have a taste of a greater freedom, they instill a sense of wonder and hope, they ignite us like great music that lifts you, they touch the ground of life and set us on fire to birth them into the world.

They offer us an invitation and with our permission they will come true in life, no question. We never know how and when, yet I have seen and experienced it over and over again, when you are on board and put in your hands and whole heart too- dreams do come true.

There is a dream in each one of us longing to be lived. A dream for the world, a dream for your life, a calling to step into love and let it become a reality.

 What is your dream, the one that you have met in stillness, in nature or moments when least expected, the one that always seems to be with you and follows you around, like someone waiting to be seen, heard and welcomed in? What might it be like to go forth and begin to live it, one step at a time, even if the final outcome might be further away then the horizon itself?  As St. Francis of Assisi sang, when he rebuilt his chapel by hand in the freezing cold winter:” Stone by stone….build your dreams slowly.. “ Trust, at some point it carries a momentum and becomes unstoppable, like a river flowing as a mighty force and nourishing many.

These dreams are your guides and important messengers from beyond. Treat them honorably, let them show you your way and inspire you to live the life you were born for, offering your unique gift of love into this world.

 By Nicola Amadora, 2013 all copyrights reserved.

The Calling

Do you hear the whisper, the stirring when life is emerging in spring as the first daffodil, when the tiny chirpings of birds tickle you to smile; or the moment, when all is still and suddenly shattering thunder and lightening pierces the sky?

 Do you hear the calling from deep inside? In the middle of the night, when you are alone twisting and turning, there is a restlessness that nothing seems to satisfy, no matter how hard you may have tried to tie it down. Or looking out across the ocean over the horizon, a longing, an ache is arising, as if from an ancient knowing wanting to awaken in you.

 No matter how much you do, achieve, how busy you keep yourself, or how many dramas we tend to be entangled with- something keeps calling from inside. You know what I am talking of. Sometimes it comes as a whisper, carried from gentle winds landing softly in your ears. Sometimes it comes as a hard knock on your door, where plans fly out the window and you are thrown onto the ground, where there is nothing left to do, but to hear. Open and listen to what is deeper, than the colors of mere appearances.

For some it arrives through an unexpected event, a loss of a loved one, or being released from a job. In the grief there is a letting down of walls and we might be more open to what else is here. Or it stirs through a chance meeting with another person, a journey into new lands brings a dawning, or standing on a mountain top with a vast view were we have space to see what is most worthy of our attention. It can happen anywhere- in the grocery store, when you have forgotten everything on your list, the mind just went blank, when all stops, there is a gap and you have the most important revelation of your life.

 The beckoning from the soul, from spirit, your wise heart, a greatness beyond the usual -however you want to name it for yourself- is a calling for you.  To remind you as to why you are here on earth, what gift you bring, an invitation for a life, which can only be fulfilled through you. It is guiding you every step along the way home, if you allow and follow its flow.

Pay attention to that and answer it- for it is the most important calling of your life. It only takes a breath into silence to listen to your heart in this very moment…. what treasure might be revealed for you here?

Blessings to you. Nicola Amadora

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