Growth from within alternative styles.

alternative model, Hexxy von Borden in sacred space.

(August 29, 2015)

Interesting point trying to be made here. There is a connection between body and spirituality made in the context of being sensual drawing higher energies into the body. It will lead to a door for one person. For another it leads to a fork. Each direction leads where the intent points.

It is important to make this point. Whether it is receive is not important outside of one's knowing the needs of one's spirit. - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 9.14.16

MEN'S PLACE

Black Art In America

BARBERSHOP, oil painting by artist Kadir Nelson

I have fond memories going with my father to his barber. In those days boys talked when asked something. I sat for hours listening to these Black men run through the gamut of topics. Laughing and joking were a part of the time with soul or blues music in the background, and most notably there were no women there either. Looking back that meant a great deal. Men needed and need time alone amongst ourselves. Cigar bars, barber shops and parks where checkers is being played are the last vestiges of an old tradition these days.

In fact, newcomers to life need to understand the sanctity of barbershops because in the U.S. for centuries it was against the white man's law for Black people to strike whites, or defend themselves against the advances of whites; even if they tried to kill you. Barbershops were a place white police left alone. "They ain't on the street corner," you could imagine them saying. "Must be alright, then." You see Black men in congregation terrified whites because high intelligence, a just cause, physical prowess and rage were a lethal combination. - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 10.17.16

Older Black man photographed by Wanda Lotus a BAIA member

at a neighborhood block party

in Bronx, NY 3Sept2016, she titled Lotusland.

There are not enough photographic works on the power of the older Black men who lived through the 20th century thoughtfully with intelligence and a propensity for violence in defense of self, family and community. - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories

teaching technique popular today.

The phone. The phone has less to do with communication.

I learned how to communicate in my youth and developed it as I aged far into my adulthood. The phone, for the most part, retarded in many the powers of language, of the word as power, and disallowed communication skills to develop in far too many young people. Instead of creating a 'new' sophistication it did not. It create a bizarre version of zombie status with a nerdy type of disconnect from the deep sensations of being connected to the vital energies of Life, of Creation!

I use a land line. As I get older using the phone becomes less and less in the forefront of my attention to the details of life moving forward. Communication, as an art form, develops continually and I enjoy it immensely. - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories (Dawn Wolf)




The Fly Hip and Ageless

Black man's style of dress, elegant along the hard lines.

October 14, 2016 ·

Hardness present in an elegant way defines some Black men's lives. Fashion hid this to the dim of sight, and made it clear to others who've understood their own struggles towards the light of who they are meant to be in this world of ours.  What clothes don't cover within Black American men is struggle and delight. When a man wears his clothes right he is wearing himself. When he isn't he is off his focus. But, near the end of our lives approaching old age clothes are simply definitive statements and style is the man and less the child who has to wear someone else's version of identity.

I may be wrong on all counts. My sense of style and fashion is fundamentally influenced by my little sister's strong gift with cloth. Making all of the clothes she has ever worn her depth of perception about cloth and spirits wearing cloth has taken me outside of the spectrum of the impact of men's clothes designed and made by feminine men. You see, something about the spirit in cloth, and design sets truly masculine spirits into dominating what is around and within them. That is the mark of hardness present in an elegant way defining Black men I was pointing out.

Manhood is not defined by feminine matters not from the essence of the female essential to the depth and growth of Man. - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 10/18/16 

a story made up from sound

I got turned around in the woods one day, and happened upon an Asian woman herself lost. I wasn't lost, I told her. I was enjoying myself following energy lines. We talked a bit about why she was in the woods. After an hour or so she recognized distant voices calling her name. She smiled relieved a bit, but sad because she was learning how to walk barefoot and listen. Safe in my presence she handed me her carry bag and took an expensive camera out.

"Would you take my picture?" she asked.

I took twenty shots of her. Later in the week she sent me a picture and a note, "For a wonderful day lost in the woods with a man! Thank you for keeping me safe and being funny!" - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 10.14.15
 

respect or flaunting?

Rihanna posing in the midst of splendor in a mosque.

"Does Rihanna cross a line posing seductively on sacred ground? The mosque is not a place for taking suggestive pictures. My understanding is the holy Qu'ran does not allow the drawing of people. That next to the allure of the artist is she drawing a contrast, making a statement or being defiant the way Americans like to lay claim to being superior in the face of old traditions with ways long established to solidify the people in an identity!"

- Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories
Oct. 20, 2015


 

Play, Purity & Peace

Nightcap Clothing

February 9, 2012 · 

 

a pure moment by Nightcap Clothing 2.9.12

4.

"There are pure states of being left in the world we embody, and create for ourselves. But, nature holds special those places of purity outside of what we know. Those places are small and private, and they are enormous landscapes. Sometimes the tiny enclaves the 'Little People' travel through is glimpsed, or seen in the peripheral, or they allow some to gaze into the space amongst the hills, or the overgrown grasses. 

Purity is an invitation sometimes if you cannot grasp the simplicity of purity, the calm nature of silence, or the qualities of virginity that empower from within." ~ Gregory E. Woods  5.8.13

a photo from the Innocence Collection 

OUR WIVES

African mother's breasts are sacred. . .

"When a man comes home he needs, and expects peace to fill his soul, and calm his nerves, if frayed. Engulfed, or embraced by his spiritual covering a man's wife can create endlessly. Freed to express herself in the home she creates for them is a spiritual gift recognized in myth, lore, legends, and dreams. We cannot grow peaceful in our homes without this combination. 

The pride needs the Lion to protect the Lioness when she hunts to feed the pride. It is a necessary relationship." - Gregory E. Woods 6.4.13

lovers embrace in the morning

Bianca Jurca
May 31, 2013

La invit la niste fructe!

ONE OF MY HAPPIEST MOMENTS!

The Ceremonial Hunter

I have had many, and like Barry said these days are the happiest, but I say that because these days are alive, and the others as good as they were have happened, and are alive memories.  One of my moments was a supreme moment in the forest in the days I was hunting and stalking wild dog packs. It was dangerous, but I relished it all. 

The moment I am remembering was a supreme morning of sunlight that gave more light to the canopy, and moisture to the ground. I was silent and flowing barefoot listening and merging with the rhythms that moves the soul outside the body as the body effortlessly reclines into invisibility. Everything within me understood everything around me guiding the coming together of something I barely was aware of. 

As the foliage wet my chest, and the Earth subtly moved beneath me the thickness of the bush parted ever so slightly, and one of those sacred spaces that dot forests revealed itself to me. Before me the sun touched down a circle around a feral cat deeply enthralled in thoughtful meditation. What most don't know, grasp, or understand is that the substance of prayer emanates from animals constantly, but in the secret places it is more dramatic, and animals tend to restrain from killing. I was to be no different. With great skill I stepped forward with no sound and touched the cat's neck.

The cat leaped high in the air turned around in a 180 degree turn, stared into my eyes incredulously and seemed to shout, "Oh, shit!!"

He landed. 

He couldn't believe such a thing happened, and wondered later, I am sure, how such a thing happened to him. We stared into each other on opposite sides of the circle of light. We probed deep into each other's intent before the cat's fierceness returned. He turned slowly, and walked into the morning shadows fully conscious of me and where I was standing near his sacred space. 

Out of respect for sacred space I stood still letting the light encase me, and the prayers within became emanations. - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 5.26.13

SACRED SPACES

Rae Dawn Chong, a nude study, is the daughter of comedian
Tommy Chong of Cheech & Chong, and  an actress in her own might. 

rain on a moonlite night

rainbow around the Earth. . .

A Grandfather's words...

Samyra Gellatly-De La Torrezz
January 12 near Maroko, Nigeria 

There. I see it in your face. I've seen it in my own daughter's faces. Right there within women who've been cherished when it was crucial to be cherished, and loved is an aspect of themselves akin to porcelain, or crystal that is very still within them during the rigors of a busy day in the world of work. It is important for it to be still because modern life prefers shows of strength and boldness. Appearing strong doesn't include the wonderful feeling and the knowing of self that accompanies being cherished. That is a gift without a price purposed for the special moments and the sacred times of sharing within sacred space. - Gregory E. Woods, 1.19.14

Sacredness of HOME

A house in Costa Rica.

"Hola Concha, Costa Rica es un paraiso. Aqui tu y todos los Españoles que querais teneis un amigo dispuesto a recibiros. Un abrazo." - Luis Ramirez Lorente

Hi shell, Costa Rica is a paradise. Here you and all the Spanish you want you have a friend willing to welcome you. A hug. - Luis Ramirez Lorente

Sarah Palin lounging in her patio chair.

Importance of Sacred Space

Moll Anderson

I am a big believer in the boudoir. Why? Because having a sacred space in your home, dedicated to helping you be your best you, is a must. Read more on this weeks' blog!

SACRED TEACHINGS

Ari Uzi Co.

sacred place of Jada Fire

sacred tree of LIFE

What WE SAY

African Native American girl in regalia by Ngaronoa Taki

November 5, 2011, I invited Adruma to attend a Black Woman's conference at Bowie State University. I was doing the opening ritual, and wanted him to assist with his drum. During the conference some things, as I look back, stuck out. The women elders, who spoke, and the younger women who spoke passionately from their center space collectively brought into what should have been a circle, but the rigidity of conference rooms leaves the circles to the imagination, and one's capacity for visualization and the awareness of each of the women's wombs carried into the sacred space ceremony created.

Four things came into the center of the discoveries:

1. Play
2. Innocence
3. Surrender
4. Return to childhood

Adruma Victoria shared an insight with me the day after the conference.

"The planet is one where the creatures who possess the highest potential to crown existence with joy vibrate in the realm of false ambition. The surrender to the original will heal the collective family dysfunction." 

All that could be expressed afterwards was in the attentive silence that fell between us. 

- Gregory E. Woods, 

Keeper of Stories 6.1.13

Le Printemps

Spring is the rejoicing time of the year.

Fashion Today


There are more moments than days, than years even. If anything should count let it be the lack of counting of days, or the watching of clocks. Living outside of the present moment is the source of folly, and so much indescribable pain felt by many who feel hopeless. Unaware of the effect of being present and being in the present countless many wallow in the unique pressure of being obsessed with time as if the temporal does not exist within the eternal. It is the same exercise of gazing at one's navel in an effort to see the focus of their life's strength and power. 


But, today the whole day conspires to either rejoice for all about the happy tidings of the day, the moment, or it is cruelly ignoring the retching pain of loss. Everything around me and outside of me is rejoicing as my Mother's spirit is rejoicing released from her body into the spirit world.

My mother died yesterday morning, April 8, 2013. - Gregory E. Woods

a sacred space a sacred time

WITCHES COVE: a story

Odess Moondragon HP, 10-21-05
By the way, I'm 69, soon to be 70 (insert scream here) and Mom will be 97 on 11-1.Witches Cove

She then takes your hand and leads you over to the big cauldron and motions for you to look into the deep pool of darkness to see what you need to see or need to know. After you have done this, She turns you around to walk back to where you were sitting, but as
you do so, you notice that the forest has opened up once again and that everyone is leaving. The hounds are sitting at the edge of the woo

ds waiting for their Mistress. Hecate smiles at you, and assures you silently that everything will be all right. You then realize that She has always been with you.

She turns to leave and as She does so, She lifts up her arm and the Owl flies down to once again perch on Her arm. After She has gone, you sit and think of all that you have learned this very magickal night. You hear the howling of the hounds, and this awakens you from your meditation.

After a few minutes have passed, Hecate approaches, and as She does so, her face keeps changing from maiden, to the mother, and to the crone, because there are many faces of Hecate, as She is the three and the one. As She stands before you, her face stops changing and rests the way you see Her. You look deep into her eyes and you see the key that unlocks the door to the mysteries. As you look deep within, you realize that it is the reflection of your own eyes that you see with the key and that you yourself hold the key to unlock those mysteries. You realize that it is you who has to look within your own soul for the answers.

As you feel comforted at that, you notice movement from the corner of your eye that someone is coming out from within the forest. The trees seem to part on their own. You watch as an old woman walks out from the forest with an owl perched on her arm. You are drawn to her eyes, which seem to be deep dark pools of wisdom. She walks with a cane made from a Yew tree with a crystal sitting on top of it, and feathers are hanging down the side. You know from the power that resonates from this woman that She is Hecate. She lifts her arms, and the Owl leaves her to fly over to you. Listen to the words of wisdom of what the owl has to share with you.

The breeze really picks up now, and as you watch, out from the forest comes friends and family you have known from other lifetimes, and in this lifetime, but have passed over, and they come into your circle. Sit and wait to see if any of them come to talk with you, giving you a chance to clear things up, or to say the words that remained unspoken when they passed over. If nothing is said, do not worry. They are there to let you know that you are never really alone.

Now sit in silence and see yourself sitting in a sacred circle out in the woods.There is a briskness in the air. In the middle of your circle is a fire burning and you can smell the burning of the wood and the heat from the fire. 

A cauldron sits hanging over the fire with a bubbling brew in it. The sweet scent of sage fills your nostrils. Everything is still.....nothing moves. All you hear are 

the creatures of the night.

Suddenly, the energy shifts, and you feel as if someone is there. The air begins to stir, you feel a slight breeze across your face. The dried leaves on the trees begin to rustle and then the wooded forest seems to open on its own accord. Out walks three hounds. They seem wild, but something tells you not to be afraid on them. The hounds walk into your circle, and although they sit, they are forever watchful. Each one is looking in a different direction.

Owls are sacred to Hecate and screech their loudest in November and then are silent until February. They are messengers to Hecate and She has given them the gift of prophecy, hence their reputation for wisdom, the crone wisdom of the Goddess.



When performing a Samhain ritual, many Witches invoke Hecate, as Samhain is a time when the veils between the worlds are at their thinnest. The living and the dead co-mingle, and we can talk to departed souls and learn the mysteries of Hecate's kingdom. For this is Her festival, just as the dead are her realm.

Hecate is the Greek goddess of black magic and the keeper of the keys to the underworld

. Often called the goddess of SHADES (ghosts), Hecate appears entwined with snakes and is associated with pain and suffering. In some representations, Hecate has three heads and can look in all directions at the same time. She is feared not only for her powers as a witch but because she could also cause sickness, infertility, and insanity. A minor goddess, Hecate has been called the mistress of "everything dark and uncanny."

At night, especially during the new moon, Hecate leaves the infernal regions and roams the earth with an army of dead souls and a pack of hounds of hell. The sound of howling dogs is a warning that Hecate is nearby. During the daylight hours and when the moon is full, Hecate is confined to the depths of the underworld, where she plans her future exploits. - 

Odess Moondragon 

Hecate

SACRED SPACE

from the photo galleries of  La Bioguia

CREATING A SAFE SPACE

Some people have a talent
For creating Sacred Space;
Where others feel the comfort,
Natural safety they embrace.
Welcomed by the openness,
Where no judgements reside,
The implicit trust of feeling
In a heart that's opened wide.
This rare living treasure
Is a confidant and friend,
Whose honor is impeccable,
On whose word we can depend.
This person is a Wisdom Keeper
Who defends every Sacred Space,
Through loyalty and acceptance,
The remembered gifts of gentle.


One of the greatest gifts of Wisdom Keeper, the Clan Mother of the Second Moon Cycle, to humankind is the understanding of nonthreatening, safe space. Learning to honor the truth has many ways to teach us about authentic friendship. When we create a safe space for others, we have tapped the Remembering, which teaches us that the external safe space we can create for others reflects our internal safe space, which has eliminated negative judgements. Is it time to look at someone you know who has these gifts and use that person as your role model? 

from EARTH MEDICINE: ancestors ways of harmony for many moons by  Jamie Sams (p.33)

La Bioguia

sacred whore series: MEN

vintage picture in the 1930's 

"What is our spiritual responsibility towards and for women: all women?" 

- Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories

a SACRED STORY

Edit Magyar enjoying friends !!!!

I am not always prudent about playing and having fun. Warmer months invite everyone outside to release the tensions of guarding emotions, steeling self against storms. It feels better barefoot, in shorts, laughing, and talking trash, or whispering affectionate endearing words into a lover’s ears over coffee, or in the backyard. All the enjoyable things about living, and being young like smoking a good cigarette, or cigar, eating thick hamburgers, drinking wine coolers, listening to, and laughing at nasty jokes, or making fun of oneself creates memorable moments you can drink deeply from later in life. Living is about the countless moments that make up an afternoon in the park, standing next to a pile of dirty city snow, incredibly good sex, reading the life-changing books in your library for the third or fifth time.  These are a few of my favorite things.

But today I am in the mountains pouring for a sacred lodge ceremony in West Virginia. - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories

Cat's Eye

The Cat’s Eye Nebula, NGC 6543, is the most beautiful planetary nebula in the sky, located 3,300 light years from us in the Dragon constellation (Latin: Draco). It is possible to see the concentric shells emitted from the central star: one every 1,500 years. Draco was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 1st century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations today. Ease of observation does not automatically translate to ease of understanding. The Cat’s Eye Nebula is one of the most complex nebula known and observational data still generates complexities that defy easy explanations. This Cat’s Eye hides a Russian doll, a lovely phrase that conveys the mysteries not yet solved in this nebula! Evolution, through the development of our self-awareness, imagination, and abstracting intelligence, has conferred upon humanity a unique awareness of our connection to the Cosmos, which we call "spiritual" awareness and which, as social animals, we institutionalise in our culture and civilisation.


The "E8 Album" photos at http://ow.ly/kGJj are visual intersections of Spirituality, Science, Art and Sustainability! Feel free to share them on your FB page by clicking share or you can tag yourself!

The Holistic Quantum Relativity (HQR) Group is on FB http://ow.ly/k5Q1  and on the internet http://ow.ly/7wb6

SACRED FORM IN MEDITATION

“Every Christian feels a natural yearning of the heart towards God, a true desire to taste the sweetness of communion, of being with Him as He created us to be; but the impurity of our hearts—full of passions, conflicts and fears—bars the way. Yet there is a cure for the weight of sin which burdens the heart and soul of each one of us and afflicts the conscience, keeping us from inner peace and from peace with our neighbors and loved ones.

“If our Savior were to come, He Who is bringing the greatest gift—His heavenly grace with which He makes our souls happy and saves them—and if He were to seek shelter for Himself in our souls, where could He find a place to rest?” —Fr. Seraphim Aleksiev



The Mystery of Repentance