Beltane 2014 - Fukushima Meditations

  Meditations for Fukushima

Received from Kasey Conder of Fellowship of Isis Utah (http://www.isisofutah.org/) Beginning Sunday, December 22nd 2013, a weekly attunement has been facilitated by members of the Druid Clan of Dana, Fellowship of Isis, and Noble Order of Tara from many different groves, lyceums, and priories to focus for a remedy to the Japan nuclear disaster contaminating the Pacific and the globe at large. The attunement will begin at approximately dawn in Japan at 6:30 am, California 1:30 pm, New Orleans 3:30 pm, and Dublin and London at 9:30 pm. This idea came forth from members of the Druid Clan of Dana Facebook group. All are welcome to attune. The highest ideals are emphasized for a resolution and healing to Mother Earth. Each week a different member will send forth the weekly per say working and/or meditation. This is group effort of concerned members. More information to follow... Blessings.

Sunday, December 22nd, 2013

Prayer to the Ocean Mothers and Queen of the Seas

by Rev. Anniitra MaKafia Ravenmoon, Iseum of the Nubian Moon, Long Beach, California

Sending Blessings to our Ocean Mothers, sending blessings to our Queen of Seas! Sending Blessings and sending tears; for within our tears, we pray for thee!!

May Isis enfold the Ocean fishes from the waste from Fukishima! May she hear All of our voices. May the scientist find a neutralizer!! Blessed Be.

Sunday, December 29th, 2013
Fukushima Daiichi Meditation

by Most Rev. Kasey Conder, ArchDruid, Druid Grove of Isis & Uta-Ha, Salt Lake City, Utah

 This is my offering for this Sunday. I am recruiting more members to deliver offerings for this weekly meditation.
...

To center, one may build energy of the divine, by focusing upon the connection with the cosmic or the inner source of divinity, whether it be expressed by the Veiled Isis, the inner planes, the cosmic consciousness. Then one may attune by doing the following Fellowship of Isis prayer by Lady Olivia Robertson:

Prayer for Healing No. 1

Olivia wrote: "The Healing Prayer is used by the Well in the Temple of Isis, but can be used with any water for anointing anywhere. The word "me" may be substituted for "you", depending on whether you are using the prayer for yourself or for someone else."
A moment of silent contemplation, open, and see the Winged Isis with Her Wings outspread, Her Star shining directly above, sending out healing rays. Anoint brow with water.

The Healing Wings of Isis protect, enfold and awaken you. “
Exerted from https://sites.google.com/site/fellowshipofisiscentral/prayers-and-attunement-times

The modification is “The Healing Wings of Isis protect, enfold and awaken [humanity to heal the Fukushima Daiichi disaster]”.

Isis, The Sun Goddesses, Gods, angels, nature spirits, etc. may also be invoked for wisdom to help aide the situation.

The following FOI Rite maybe read or enacted:
Earth Magic of Transformation, Oracle of the Goddess Hertha from Urania, Ceremonial Magic of the Goddess by Olivia Robertson
https://sites.google.com/site/fellowshipofisisliturgy/urania---rite-5-earth-magic-of-transformation

Sunday, January 5th, 2014
Water blessings of Isis-Urania and Themis
by Rev. Mana Youngbear, Lyceum of the Muse of Isis/ The Temple of the Muse of Isis, Willets, California

Please refer to this right from the Fellowship of Isis Central site first to be followed by the instructions afterwards.
Bright and Divine Blessings to all.

Remember the 42 laws of Maat. Keep the waters pure.
Keep your waters pure as well as a mirrored expression of your body and the world as one.

https://sites.google.com/site/fellowshipofisisliturgy/fortuna-rite-1-riddle-of-the-sphinx

WITH THIS RITE I WOULD LIKE TO ADD THIS RITUAL OPTIONAL BUT I AM DOING IT.

WITH THE MINDS OF MEN SO FIXED UPON THE POWERS OF RADIATION IN A SENSE OF A STABLE AND GOOD SOURCE OF ENERGY, I ASK THAT WE TAKE THE PURE WATERS OF THE HEAVENS AND WASH THE MINDS OF THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR CONTROL OF THESE POWERS, CLEAN. MAY THE FIND CLARITY AND STRENGTH AND COURAGE TO TURN AWAY FROM NUCLEAR ENERGY AND TO TAKE THAT ENERGY THEY ONCE USED IN NUCLEAR PLANTS AND SHUT THEM DOWN PROPERLY EVERYWHERE. MAY THE POLITICIANS AND LEADERS OF OUR EARTH LOOK AT THE ISSUE IN FUKASHIMA AS A SIGN TO STOP THE USE OF NUCLEAR POWER AS IT IS SO UNSTABLE AND CLEAN UP THEIR WATER WAYS .
I KEEP THE WATERS PURE , I KEEP THE WATERS PURE , I KEEP THE WATERS PURE.

Taking this meditation into you imagine yourself with the scales of Maat between you . You hold up the truth of creation on your shoulders and you see a golden and silver light of purity on both sides of you. As you breath in the Inner Sanctum and Infinite Peace throughout your entire body , you see the wave of Creation surrounding you .
With each breath invasion a pure blue light that is swirling around this planet. It is the true eternal waters of wisdom. You put the planet inside this swirl of blue pure light and wrap it around the planet 9 times .
As you see the wave of the eternal waters of truth coiling around the planet you envision this blue light filling every part of creation. This light of Isis is even stronger then the most powerful of Ra;s rays and it penetrated the power planets and all the molecules of pollution in our waters as well.

It moves through every part of creation as we are all part of water and light and sound.
With your eyes still closed and your vision fixed upon the waters of the world being cleansed by the Light of Isis, You see yourself filled with this light and everything around you is filled with it too.

Carefully you release this binding of energy around the planet and it distributes itself energetically through out all of creation. The stars and planets all have the essence of these waters of Truth and they radiate back to you know their sounds of love and healing.

Isis blesses those who share her beauty truth and wisdom. She unfolds her wings and blessings us all with the ability to uncoil the turmoil and pollution and distraction, fear and disease in Japan. This is the same energy that is effecting our entire planet.
Where there was once fear , there is now only the vision of radiant love .
Where there is anger now there is only the understanding of the solution to what needs to be done.
May all those who are sick or in fear of this poison find peace and understanding in this new blue light and wave of love filling their every core.

Chanting the great words of Power Hu.. You fill each molecule with hope , love strength and beauty.
Every night and every morning for this next week when you wake up and just before you take rest at the same time every day for 7 days, Rise up with this call of the Hu and fill the creation with the words of the Sun God Ra. Ask for the blessings of his divine illumination to miraculously transform this situation from shaken to strong and repaired and dismantled .
expect the miracle to occur and envision in in your minds eye.

Breathing deeply you send your divine blessings into creation and that too transforms the alchemy from the reactors in Fukashima.

May all men who feel imprisoned find eternal bliss
May all men in pain find comfort
May all men who are lost find their way home to their spiritual core
May all saddened find joy
And may all hungry find food and shelter.

These things I ask oh Isis Urania
May it be so.
Rev. Mana Youngbear.

Sunday 12th January 2014
Meditation for Fukushima
by Most Rev. Sheila Broun, GDC, Bath, United Kingdom
 

Meditation for Fukushima, Sunday 12th January 2014 - inspired by the work of Brooke Medicine Eagle's work, 'Buffalo Woman Comes Singing' (p.84) If you can work at a spring, then do so. If working in your house then firstly to cleanse yourself and the space you will be working with. Clean and order your space and sprinkle with salt water, saying, I bless and purify this space. Place a glass/bowl of spring water before you. (You can buy a bottle for this purpose if you do not ...have access to a fresh water spring of drinkable water.)

To purify yourself you can use spring water or salt water 'dipping your right hand in the water and bringing it all the way up the left side of your body in a cleansing gesture, then dipping again with your left hand, bringing water up along the right side, over and down'.

Next, pray for the cleansing of all the waters of Mother Earth. Call on all the ancestral spirits of the Pacific area to inspire communication and healing approaches on all levels in the face of the Fukushima disaster, and to bring us all back, each in our our own lives, 'to be in good relationship with all things and all beings in the Circle of Life', considering how we live, what we buy, how we relate to all life. In the words of that great Elder, 'we are each a drop of water, but together we make a torrent'.

Holding the glass/bowl of spring water, offer it to each of the four directions and to All Our Relations. when you have done this, drink this sweet water and feel how it enters your body and refreshes you, bringing you life.

Sit quietly for a while, and then place your hands on the floor/earth for a few minutes to ground yourself, before returning to everyday consciousness.

Sunday 19th January

Isis Meditation for Fukushima

by Rev. Cait Branigan, Prs. H. Lyceum of the Three Mothers, Wexford Ireland

  

Hi everyone! The following is the meditation for Fukushima for Sunday 19th January. You will see similarities between this and the last which may help with the flow of work being done.

Bless and prepare your sacred space using the four elements: Cleanse with blessed/ salt water. Carry incense or a feather fan clockwise around the circle asking for the breath of spirit to enter and sanctify the space and that the wings of Nuit protect all within. Carry a flame, asking for the ...transmutation of all energy within the space into healing divine energy. Carry a stone/bowl of earth and ask for a strong foundation and the manifestation of healing should it be for the highest good.

Invoke Isis with the following prayer, knowing as you do so that your own divinity answers the call also:

Isis, giver of life, residing in the Sacred Mound, Satis,
Lady of Biggeh,
She is the one who pours out the Inundation
That makes all people live and green plants grow;
Who provides divine offerings for the gods,
And Invocation Offerings for the Transfigured Ones.
Because She is the Lady of Heaven,
Her Man is the Lord of the Netherworld,
Her Son is the Lord of the Land;
Her Man is the pure water, rejuvenating Himself at Biggeh at His time.
She is the Lady of Earth, Heaven and the Nethervworld
Having brought them into existence
Through what Her heart conceived and Her hands created... (Hymn IV Temple of Philae)

Sit in the centre of the circle with a bowl of water and, with your hands upon it, take 9 deep breaths, pausing between the inhalation and the exhalation. Listen to the water; sense what it wishes to communicate. As you breathe, call on the presence of Osiris, He of the pure waters, to come to you. Call to Isis, asking for Her divine healing intentions to flow through you. Call to the ancestors to bring healing resolution to any unresolved issues relating to the poisoning of the Pacific. Call to the future generations to bring their insight. Breathe. Now you are the mediator. Now you are the vessel, the grail which pours out light and healing into the waters. Using your voice, in words or with sound, allow that energy to flow from your heart to the water. Sense, feel or see the cleansing and regeneration of the water. Spend as much time as feels appropriate.

When this is complete, bring the water to a large water source or onto the land where it can feed into the earth. This water shall extend its healing into the greater body of water - a fluid ankh bringing life and regeneration. Return to your circle, give thanks to those energies invoked and close your space.

Meditation for Fukushima for 26th January 2014

by Rt. Rev. Caroline Wise, Priory of Brighid of the Elements, London, United Kingdom 

It felt right that this should be a continuous thread of energy, so with respect I too have carried this on from Cait’s, as she continued from Sheila’s and so I have used and adapted some the same words as it feels best that we do not change the style but get into a flow and strengthen this practice. I have chosen the Goddess of the waters and fire, Bride, as it is her time this week and as these elements have been so distorted in the Fukushima disaster in both cause and effect. Like Isis, she also has aspects of air and earth, which have been affected too, So:

Breathe deeply, for a few moments, imagining pure sweet mountain air filling your lungs and your whole being. This is the ideal air, safe and life-giving as air should be, unpolluted. Relax.

Bless and prepare your sacred space using the four elements: Cleanse with blessed salt water. Carry incense or a feather fan clockwise around the circle asking for the breath of spirit to enter and sanctify the space, and see the cloak of Bride protects all within. Visualize her vast cloak of green, studded with the spring flowers, hyacinths, and snowdrops, protecting the blue/green orb of the Earth.
Carry a flame, asking for the transmutation of all energy within the space into healing divine energy. Carry a stone/bowl of earth and ask for a strong foundation and the manifestation of healing should it be for the highest good.

Prayer – Read aloud –

‘At the festival of Brigantia, we invoke Holy Midwife Bride of the Waters: of the salt sea and the fresh sacred springs; Brigid of the green earth from which we get our food; Bridie, exalted one of the sun, whose fiery arrow flies with the swan in the air, may the elements be cleansed of this dark poison of man’s folly. Holy Mother Bride, we ask for a your mediation with all the ancestral spirits of the Pacific area to inspire healing on all levels in the face of the Fukushima disaster. May minds across the globe be inspired to find an answer, as you animate the inner sun of innovation within our scientists. May the inner sun quicken in the cells of every creature so afflicted, those of the sea and the air and the land, that they may survive and adapt and be blessed. Holy Midwife Bride, bring it to birth’

Visualise a time when the waters are pure, when the air is clear, when the land is clean and see the fires of the sun and the stars and that of the forge of Brigid which makes the world anew. Step into that world. Feel how wonderful this is and explore it, contemplate. Bring it to birth.

When ready, drink water, visualising it as pure and free from pollution, breathe deeply once again. Lift up your arms and feel and see the gold and silver energies of the sun the moon and the stars pour down through them to your heart. Cross your hands on your heart. Now visualise the clear un-polluted earth energies beneath your feet, spiraling up your legs and trunk to meet with the cosmic ones at you heart. Now open you arms, palms outwards, and send forth with healing to Fukushima and all affected. See these energies hold back the toxic tide too. Clap hands once or ring bell or chimes. You may wish to leave the candle burning (safely!) for Bride as we are approaching her feast day. With love, Caroline

Sunday February 2nd, 2014

A Prayer for Fukushima and Its Effects

by Rt. Rev. deTraci Regula, GDC, Priory of the Breath of Isis-Noble Order of Tara

In my travels, I have been fortunate to visit
Japan several times. On one flight to China,
there was a brief stop at Hiroshima on a
cool grey day. Though I never left the plane, I
was keenly aware of the site and its many
layers of meaning. And though I knew it was
"safe", I was still glad when the plane took
off again. It was hard to visit Japan without
some awareness of its nuclear shadow.

My researches into the history of the spread
of the influence of Egyptian and
Graeco-Roman cultures into the East have
convinced me that Isis and Kuan Yin share
many traits, and the timing of the
emergence of Kuan Yin in the East follows
on the decline of the Divine Feminine in the
West. Isis and Kuan Yin share a number of
titles - Kuan Yin can be translated as the
One Who Hears the Cries of the World,
similar to Gorgoepekoos, She Who Hears
All, a title of Isis. Intriguingly, another early
version of her name is Guānzìzài; "ziza"
"sisa" "sisi" and similar words with zi, iz,
and is in Western European names often
indicate a connection with Isis.

While the Indian and Chinese see Kuan Yin
as an emanation or aspect of Avalokitsvara,
she is the sole female representation of a
god normally perceived as male.
I freely admit I may be prejudiced in favor of
a close alliance between Isis and Kuan Yin
as Kuan Yin was my first experience of
non-male concepts of divinity when I was
growing up. A Chinese goods store had a
large, beautiful carved wooden statue of Kuan Yin
which I found very compelling, and the same
shop published a little fuchsia-colored
booklet describing her, which I purchased
and cherished - the statue was well beyond
my power to purchase at twelve - something
I well made up for later. Ever since, I've kept an eye out for
unusual statues and images of Kuan Yin, but
once I bought an image that seemed to
have nothing to do with her and was not my
usual taste - a candy-pink plastic figure of a
Japanese woman holding a basket of fish.
She's jutting out her hip to hold her basket,
and has a jaunty and pert expression.
Friends would ask me what goddess she
was, and I'd just say she was a cultural
figure, a fisherwoman, which is what I believed her to be.
A few weeks ago, after I began to be
increasingly aware of the situation with the
increasing contamination around and
coming from Fukushima, I happened to be
flipping through an old book on the culture of
Japan, bound in silk and with the pages
folded in a fan-like pattern.

Here, I learned
my little fisherwoman was much more than
that - she was a goddess, and not just any
goddess, but Kuan Yin herself.
Kuan Yin has always been associated with
the seas, and one of her more usual
depictions shows her standing serenely on
the back of a dragon or a giant carp, holding
a vase and a sprig of greenery, but I had
never seen her with a basket of fish.
In fact, she is the Bodhisattva of Fish, formally called
Gyoran Kanzeon. It seems to
me that she is ideal to call upon for the
protection of the fish and the transmutation
and purification of the seas.
One Who Hears the Cries of The World,
Hear our cry
Whose Tears of Mercy Dissolve to Salt the
Sea,
Hear our cry
Bless, renew, transform and purify
Oh One Who Hears the Cries of the World
Hear our cry.
Sit peacefully in front of a lit candle
positioned so that it may reflect on to or
through a bowl of water, clear if possible. If
you have any image of Kuan Yin or her form
of Gyoran Kanzeon, place it there.
Contemplate the Goddess of Mercy and her
unfailing Love and Compassion. Say the chant above, or, if you prefer, stay in quiet contemplation. Imagine
the Fisherwoman Kuan Yin scooping up
basket after basket of drowsy contaminated fish
and raising them up, returning them active and healed
to the sea. Picture miniature versions of other large sea creatures enjoying the same rejuvenation. See the radioactive particles
themselves healed and transformed into
sparkling gems, adornments for the divine in
other spheres. Take some salt, preferably
iodized - (iodine is protective against
radiation damage) - to symbolize Kuan
Yin's tears of compassion and swirl it into
the water. Enjoy the play of the candle light,
the salt, and the swirling of the water as you
imagine purity and healing. Do this for as
long as your own energy and attentiveness
is strong and pure. Let the water sit on the
altar with the candle lit overnight, if this is
safe in your environment, and then pour the
water down the drain, giving it a final
blessing to multiply its powers of
purification, as all waters eventually make
their way to the sea.

Sunday February 9th, 2014
Fukushima Meditation for Healing

By Rt. Rev. Kasey Conder, Lyceum of Isis of Utah

 

Goddesses:
Nanu Baluku of the Orishas and Dahomey;
Isis Medica, the Roman (Latin) Healing Sorceress,
The ineffable Goddess Earth Mother of the Tao.

Oracles of Nanu Buluku appear to Olivia Robertson in the Fellowship of Isis Liturgy in “Athena” and “Melusina”. Nanu Buluku is the great grandmother goddess of the Orishas who birthed the moon goddess Mawu and sun god Li-sa. Of the people of Fon of Dahomey (modern day Benin) the great ancestral goddess is sacred to whirling pools of water, the pure waters which melts from the mountain tops, all sacred rivers, and the majestic ocean. She can be seen as one with Yemaja. Her veneration is found in Candomblé and many of the Yorùbá traditions.
Isis Medica is a Roman title illustrating Isis’ great healing capabilities and virtues as “The Great Sorceress of Healing”. “Medica” is Latin for physician or doctor. From ancient times, Isis has been known for great healing abilities as she restored Osiris to life and shows compassion on the misfortunate.
In Tao Te Ching it states the Toa is “Tao having no name, it is the Originator of heaven and earth; the Tao having a name, it is the Mother of all things.”

Cleanse the space with a feather, holy water incense with a sistrum or rattle. Sweet spices and herbs may visualized through our many sensory capacities. Holding a hallowed earthly stone, call on the spirits of the land that wish to appear and help with the work for the earth mother and the oceans. Taking seven deeps relaxing and full breaths through the nose, feel the presence of the Orisha Mother of the pure waters from the mountain tops to the oceans, healing everything she touches and gives life to. She is the ancient lady of healing. Feel the universal Tao beating from the heart of the earth, peacefully through the psychic ocean of all, invoke with a sincere respect, Nana Baluku and Isis Medica, great of healing.
Add iodized salt to the waters asking for healing for all the wildlife of the oceans. The birds, fish, dolphins, whales, starfish and sea lions. Feel the healing coming through the earth, into the oceans and ground water, into the air, alchemical transmuting and healing. Feel the presence of the Goddesses, the spirits and angels aiding with this important work.
Speak the names of the holy goddesses seven times.
Gaze into purified waters. A lighted candle, mirror, oil and image of the divine may be in close proximity to the bowl of water. Receive the oracle through the water of healing.

After the oracle is received, send this energy to the world leaders and nuclear physicists to make wise decisions for the swift resolution to the Fukushima crisis.
Send healing to the people of the planet to influence wise decisions of their leaders and support them to have moral courage.
Send healing to all life and visualize the cleansing from of the nuclear pollution.
Offer the waters, as the tears of Isis, with respect, wisdom and blessings of Nanu Baluku and the spirit of Toa back to the seas as offerings of healing.

This meditation is brought in the red ray of Mars of the Star of Ishtar of the Northeast going into the orange ray of Venus in the east. The red ray strengthens our will, while the orange ray stimulates our creativity. May the Goddessess Nanu Baluku & Isis Medica, with the Taoist earth spirit, strengthen our wills to express our creativity for healing wisdom to Fukushima.

Artwork Nana Buruku by Cecilia Panipucci. Star of Ishtar ray information from FOI Central website

Sunday February 16th, 2014

Fukushima Meditation

by Rev. Maury Hereford-White, Prs. H. Lyceum of the Mystery of Isis & Osiris, New Orleans, Louisiana

Greetings, Daniel and I will be enacting the "Litany of the Earth." During the meditation we will drum and visualize the waters being clear and healthy for all it's creatures. We will call upon water deities such as Yemaya, Poseidon etc.  

FOI "Litany of the Earth Rite" by Olivia Robertson link:   https://sites.google.com/site/fellowshipofisisliturgy/dea-rite-6-autumn-litany-of-the-earth

Sunday February 23rd, 2014

Coming to Tara, Mother of the Buddhas
A Meditation & Prayer for Spiritual and Ecological Wholeness
By Rev. Ptahmassu Nofra-Uaa, Pr.H
Temple of Isis Nevada/ Iseum of Isis Savioress of the Universe

 
Our Purpose
In times of doubt and need, in times of crisis we reach for that which will bring us immediate relief from our suffering. When we cut a finger we look for a bandage. When we fracture a bone we place it in a cast. When our heart is broken we look for a way to put it back together again...we seek wholeness again...we find a way to close the wound and find our resilient emotional faculties.

All living things desire, above all, happiness, life and freedom, to exist without suffering and hindrances...to be permitted to thrive of their own accord. Each one of us travels in our own boat, gliding along the waters of experience according to our own inner guidance or knowledge. We eventually seek to land on the shore, however briefly, of a fulfilled and nourished life, a true meaning...gnosis...of our journey clearly inscribed upon our heart. So much of our suffering is self induced, self inflicted by our refusal to acknowledge the deeper, innermost workings of our hearts and minds. Gnosis emerges when we take the time to stop our furious travels on the waters, dig through the layers of the untamed mind, and return to the pure state of a consciousness that does not cling, grasp or fixate on our emotional baggage.

"All that we call real in this transient world is a hologram", Olivia Robertson reminds us (in "Isis is For All", Isis-House Publishing, 2011), "deliberately created to teach us to become our true selves. Our souls are born of Deity, and we have within us an individual Divine Being". In other words, we have created an alternate reality in our daily lives, and we hold fast onto this as if it were substantial, and yet it is but a fleeting moment of time in the life cycle of the soul, and it is this Soul, part of the Great Soul, Deity, Divine Consciousness, that is the true reality of which all things are composed. Our suffering? Suffering arises because of our obsession with our alternative reality...our physical and earthly existence. But it is our ethereal existence, born from the realm of Spirit, that holds the ultimate meaning of reality.

If we can, but for little moments at a time, take ourselves back into the womb of our beginning, into the realm of Spirit...the realm of the Infinite Soul, Deity...then we can bring back with us some of that consciousness and experience into our physical, terrestrial lives. We can enliven the here and now with the nurturing, healing, compassion and wholeness not fixed in time or space, nor bound by our mortality. Truly, we are immortal beings. Death, suffering, limitations and ignorance are illusions that can be overcome, but only through our sincere effort to peel away our own self imposed fetters. In order to do this, we reach out to Mother, to our place of beginnings in the liquid warmth of the Mother's womb.

Târâ Drölma, Liberator
Tibetans have many names for Mother Tara, Who is ever and always the compassionate, all-embracing reality from which transcendence emerges, and ills subside. Within the milk of kindness Dölma, the Liberator, sublime Tara takes Her ethereal seat upon the lotus throne, and from Her hand springs the blue or white lotus, the hallmark of the mind of enlightenment.

Tibetans tell the story of the princess Sherab Drölma, whose determination to end the suffering of all beings transformed her into a Bodhisattva, a being whose compassion commits her or him to take rebirth until the liberation of all sentient beings from the cycle of suffering and perpetual birth. From Bodhisattva, Tara Dölma emerged, reaching out to answer the prayers of all who call upon Her. With the immediacy of a mother who hears the crying of her very own child, noble Tara responds swiftly to the call of all sentient beings, prepared to shower them with Her flowering mercy.

It is also said that Tara began as the emanation of Avalokiteshvara-Chenrezig, the Buddha of Compassion, being born from his tears as he looked upon the innumerable suffering beings under his care, and despaired of ever liberating them all. It was Tara who sprang forth in such unwavering compassion and determination, infused with a limitless and undaunted reservoir of altruism.

Although there are twenty-one manifestations of Tara Dölma, each with unique characteristics and iconography, it is the White and Green Taras who are especially venerated by the people of the Land of Snows (Tibet) as the liberators and protectors of all suffering beings. These are the Taras Who grant boons freely, defend against ecological crises (such as earthquakes and fires), and manifest to practitioners as the removers of obstacles to the mind of enlightenment. The White and Green Taras can diminish hatred, greed and pride, and urge the practitioner towards the complete development of compassion and altruism.

The Meditation & Prayer, Coming to Tara
What follows is my own inspired composition- meditation and prayer- while meditating upon the root mantra of Tara, and contemplating the great ecological suffering being experienced by our planet at this time. Not only ecological, but social suffering and want continues to urge action and demand higher consciousness. While we continue to consume our natural resources on a vast scale, our population explodes without regard to the gross taxation this imposes on our Earth, and our hunger grows. Each group fights for its own interests- personal and ideological- while denying the human rights and needs of "the other". Governments impose measures that seem to restrict and hinder, instead of liberate or serve. Each heart seems possessed by personal desire and self preservation. How can we work with these tempestuous feelings as they arise within ourselves?

On Thursday June 29, 2000 I was first initiated into the practice of the White and Green Taras, with His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama of Tibet acting as Root Guru. The Dalai Lama guided us through an astonishing visualization to enter into the presence of the twenty-one emanations of Tara Drölma, ending in the White and Green Taras, with particular emphasis on generating the mind of enlightenment in order to bring liberation to all sentient beings.

Within a shower of rainbow colored light, noble Tara appeared as the radiant heart of compassion, which begins with the self but quickly expands to encompass all sentient beings. As the body of White Tara expands, emerging from the blast of a pure white conch shell, we see the Goddess erect on Her lotus throne, the embodiment of victory over obstacles, while Her hands gracefully raise the white and blue lotus. Her face shines with the luminescence of a lamp, golden and jewel-toned, which is the lamp of Dharma, the Truth, the Universal Law. Kindness, compassion and care for all beings is resident in the level of the third eye, making its application universal, not solely personal. For the suffering of one is the burden of all, Tara tells us. She causes us to awaken to the hunger of others, who starve for tenderness and mercy, not only material gain.

From the crown of Tara- ornamented with a bejeweled diadem and pristine black locks- a nimbus or halo of rainbow light pierces through the veil of blue-black darkness, and within the heart the sound OM TARE TUTTARE TURE SVAHA bursts again and again, as a seed taking root in consciousness and multiplying rapidly like a tree of great shade. In this moment we ourselves become a beautiful vessel of lustral water, pure and sweet nectar, pouring out for the thirst of all sentient beings. Selfishness dissolves, and concern for others becomes the focus of our condition.

We realize all at once that the garments of Tara shimmer with a rich panoply of green, red and gold threads, iridescent, and floating like clouds passing softly through an azure sky. Again the thunder of a pure white conch sounds from all around, and this time the syllables OM AH HUM proliferate within the heart, again and again. Body (OM) speech (AH) and mind (HUM) are purified of selfishness, greed and anger, and the altruistic mind is generated for the welfare of all sentient beings. The Earth and its ills are given over to the lap of Tara, who becomes the Liberator, the Savioress of invincible mercy...the Mother of the Buddhas.

Feeling the qualities of compassion, altruism and determination arise, the heart maintains the syllables OM AH HUM, while the mind generates the root mantra of noble Tara, saying OM TARE TUTTARE TURE SVAHA. With each recitation, the mind becomes saturated with the compassion that encompasses all sentient beings, beginning with the self and extending outwards. Having gathered courage, determination and wisdom from the emanation of Tara, one is firmly rooted in the desire to liberate all beings from the fetters of suffering. The boundless compassion of Mother Tara, Liberator of all creatures, becomes my compassion, our compassion...shared by one, shared by all.

In accomplishing this practice, we will begin with the lighting of two candles, one White, given over to the honor of White Tara (Dolma Karpo or Sitatara, Who embodies purification and protection), and the other green, committed to the care of Green Tara (Who removes obstacles to the path of spiritual awakening). We will also offer incense (sandalwood, if available) and a bowl of pure water to the deity. Our prayers should be spoken aloud and with conviction, for in conviction we are determined to receive and offer the great compassion of Mother Tara on behalf of all sentient beings. Our determination flowers from a heart yearning to relieve the suffering of each living creature...each plant, animal and human...but also the waters, which surround and nourish, and make all life possible.

Having gratitude for all my teachers and peers, I have placed a few verses at the beginning of this prayer to honor (and petition) His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama, since it was he who initiated me into the White and Green Taras, and has so generously bestowed upon me his kindness and wisdom.

To Lady Olivia Robertson, co-founder of the Fellowship of Isis, I also pay my love and gratitude for her endless gifts, and gentle tutelage. May she be blessed and cherished, ever with us, ever within our love for the Goddess.

OM AH HUM
In the sacred land surrounded by snow mountains,
You are the source of all benefit and happiness,
O Powerful Chenrezig, Tenzin Gyatso,
Remain in this world until samsara ends!

OM AH HUM
(A green candle is lit in the presence of Green Tara. A white candle is lit in the presence of White Tara)
O garland of virtues, pristine body of all Dharma,
Your radiance shines as a lamp of undiminished,
Refined light, where no doubt can remain!
Enthused with compassion you light the way
For the weary, where the blessedness of hope
Dispels the demons- selfishness, anger and greed.
O blessed Tara of innumerable virtues,
Shine your light from within my heart,
And fashion from my mind a jewel of
Diamond-hard resilience!

OM AH HUM
(Incense is offered to the Goddess Tara)
I offer all virtues to the sky
Like the pure white smoke billowing forth
As the noble Wind-Horse,
Carrying the precious teachings of
The noble lineages,
Paying homage to the Buddhas and the
Indestructible Dharma that is perfect truth.

OM AH HUM
A conch shell, pure white,
Blasts from the Land of Snows,
Heralding virtue of mind, body and speech-
Known to the four directions as wisdom,
Compassion and skillful means.
The Gods appear in rainbow light,
Beaming from the pristine forehead of
Drölma, the Liberator, Mother of all
Buddhas, Whose perfections embrace
The earth and purify its ailments.
This is accomplished through the
Endless compassion of the Bodhisattvas!
O Drölma, Precious Mother,
Emanated from the tears of Chenrezig,
Your crown pierces the suffering of all
Realms with the Three Jewels, in which
We go for refuge.
To the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha we
Commit our prayers, purifying the ills of
The earth and its people.
(An offering of pure water is poured out for the Goddess Tara)

OM AH HUM
May the mercy of your heart prevail.
May the insurmountable wisdom of
The Dharma, the Supreme Truth,
Manifest awareness and generate
The Mind of Enlightenment.
O lamp of seven eyes, your vision
Pierces the heart like the thunder of
A conch shell, whose beauteous melody
Diminishes delusion and clarifies the
Mind for Enlightenment.

O Compassionate One,
We pray for the ills of the earth,
Seeking the compassion of the Buddhas
Of the four directions!
The ills I have cultivated I hand over
Into the care of merciful Drölma,
Beseeching wisdom and engendering
Loving kindness.

(water is flicked or sprinkled in the presence of the Goddess Tara)
OM AH HUM
To the waters I bestow the purity of my
Intention.
To the creatures of the land I bear the
Will of preservation, harming none
And seeking only to do good.
To all sentient beings I proffer the
Three virtues of charity, mercy and love.
From the sweet and light-emitting lotus
Of compassion do all aspirations rise,
And the Mind of Enlightenment, which
Flourishes with the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas,
Becomes the root of my life.
OM AH HUM

Recitation of the Mantra of White Tara
Om Tare Tuttare Ture Mama Ayuh Punya Jñana Pustim Kuru Svaha

Recitation of the Mantra of Green Tara
Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha