Quotes from the Wild Goose Festival Banners

the art banners i've been making for the wild goose festival are actually up and on display and i feel so pleased and excited with the result. i want to post here the quotes that i used as well as some quotes that i would have loved to have included if i had had more time and energy. even as i say that though, i think that what i ended up having time for was perfect.

these are all quotes that have been part of my journey to find peace inside myself and my own life and i love them.

also... we did a photo shoot of my pieces (with photographer jennifer callahan) in the forest of bent creek right before the festival. photos soon to come. so check back in and i'll post them as soon as their ready. their gonna be awesome.

"The Martyr Poets - did not tell - 

But wrought their Pang in syllable -

That when their mortal name be numb -

Their mortal fate - encourage Some -

The Martyr Painters - never spoke -

Bequeathing - rather - to their Work -

That when their conscious fingers cease -

Some seek in Art - The Art of Peace -

emily dickinson

From Native American Testimonies:

"Brother! Continue to listen. You say that you are sent to instruct us how to worship the Great Spirit agreeably to his mind; and if we do not take hold of the religion which you white people teach, we shall be unhappy hereafter. You say that you are right and we are lost. How do we know this to be true? We understand that your religion is written in a book. If it was intended for us as well as for you, why has not the Great Spirit given it to us; and not only to us, but why did he not give to our forefathers the knowledge of that book, with the means of understanding it rightly? We only know what you tell us about it. How shall we know when to believe, being so often deceived by the white people?

"Brother! You say there is but one way to worship and serve the Great Spirit. If there is but one religion, why do you white people differ so much about it? Why do not all agree, as you can all read the book?

Brother! We do not understand these things. We are told that your religion was given to your forefathers, and has been handed down from father to son. We also have a religion which was given to our forefathers, and has been handed down to us their children. We worship that way. It teaches us to be thankful for all the favors we receive, to love each other, and to be united. We never quarrel about religion."

Red Jacket, Iroquois

1828 speech given to Mr. Cram, a representative of the Boston Missionary Society.

Native American Testimony

edited by Peter Nabokov

From the Freedom Charter:

"There shall be peace and friendship! 

South Africa shall be a fully independent state which respects the rights and sovereignty of all nations; South Africa strives to maintain world peace and settlement of all international disputes by negotiation - not war; Peace and friendship amongst all our people shall be secured by upholding the equal rights, opportunities and status of all; 

The people of the protectorates Basutoland, Bechuanaland and Swaziland shall be free to decide for themselves their own future; The right of all people of Africa to independence and self-government shall be recognized, and shall be the basis of close co-operation. let all people who love their people and their country now say, as we say here: THESE FREEDOMS WE WILL FIGHT FOR, SIDE BY SIDE, THROUGHOUT OUR LIVES, UNTIL WE HAVE WON OUR LIBERTY."

From Martha Beck:

"we cover up the directional cues of our physical and emotional experience with verbal thinking. menders of all times and places have taught that silencing the thoughts in our heads and opening to the experience of the body and emotions is the basis of all healing. it's the only means by which we can reclaim our true nature or feel the subtle cues telling us how to find our way through life. every Team member must heal inwardly by responding to this inner knowing before moving on to guide the healing of other things."

"wordlessness allows us to see our true nature, and to heal from the violence of a thought system that cuts us apart, destroying our compassion for ourselves and others. native american medicine people call wordlessness 'the Great Silence.' The Buddhist term is often translated as 'emptiness,' and in Zen it is the 'uncarved block.' A medieval Christian mystic describes full awareness without language as 'the cloud of unknowing.' The Judeo-Christian-Muslim scripture referred to it as pure Being, the great, 'I Am.' All say that it is a blissful and absorbing experience, a place where concepts dissolve, and everything is love."

From Return of the Bird Tribes:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      "whenever there is just one that does not succumb to the emotional undercurrents of fear that would herd you like sheep into some collective folly, there radiates an influence of peace, stability, healing and blessing. God will amplify the influence of that one and blend it with the influence of others who are incarnate and doing the same. through these will pour the peace. and no sea will rise against them. we are here to calm the troubled waters of collective emotional storms, to walk upon them in our understanding, to bring the ways of love to a human world tossing still in a troubled sea of illusion. we bring the torch of peace that comes from trust in God. we bring the torch of wisdom that resolves human differences through commerce, communication, forgiveness, honesty."

loving our enemies, we have no enemies nor anything to fear. our torch lights beckon from above the waves of human turbulence. the consciousness of the eternal One shines forth from each light we hold. those who struggle and clutch at wreckage in the turbulence below cannot harm us or our kind. they can only come to us in time for it is from them, from such raw material, that the egos of our universal species are drawn."

"every time a human being reacts violently toward another being instead of communication, that person is hurting him or herself. the essence of intelligence is simply this: it is always to your advantage to cooperate rather then to retaliate.

these are not 'others' that you perceive as foes, but those of your own household, your family. let them become your friends and partners in the healing and educational work of these times. do not take them or yourselves so seriously. with lightness in your heart, rise above the waves of emotional concern that would draw you beneath their surface. feel the love that is restructuring every human illusion. 

we come in this age to calm the waters of emotional turbulence. we have allowed them to swirl this past while to help the egos learn. but the Creator has appointed an end to history. and we are the means of the calming. the water is calmed wherever we stand. we walk on the water singing. pure water: a human heart in love. clear water: the eyes of God all seeing. standing above the swirling seas of illusion, you see the radiant light of ten thousand other beings such as yourself. light beings."

From Pema Chodron:

"Every day we could think about aggression in the world, in New York, Los Angeles, Darfur, Iraq, everywhere. all over the world, everybody always strikes out at the enemy, and the pain escalates forever. everyday we could reflect on this and ask ourselves, 'am i going to add to the aggression in the world?' every day, at the moment when things get edgy, we can just ask ourselves, 'am i going to practice peace, or am i going to war?' "

From The Tao Te Ching:

"when the world has the Tao

fast horses are retired to fertilize the grounds

when the world lacks the Tao

war horses must give birth on the battlefield.

there is no crime greater then greed

no disaster greater than discontentment

no fault greater than averse

thus the satisfaction of contentment 

is the lasting satisfaction."

God Calling:

"Turn out all thoughts of doubt and trouble. Never tolerate them for one second. bar the windows and doors of your souls against them as you would bar your home against a thief who would steal in to take your treasures. what greater treasures can you have than peace and rest and joy? and these are all stolen from you by doubt and fear and despair. face each day with love and laughter. face the storm. joy, peace, love, my great gifts. follow me to find all three. i want you to feel the thrill of protection and safety now. any soul can feel this in a harbor, but real joy and victory come to those alone who sense these when they ride a storm. say, 'all is well.' say it not as a vain repetition. use it as you use a healing balm for cut or wound, until the poison is drawn out; then, until the sore is healed, then until the thrill of fresh life floods your being. all is well."

Nahko and medicine for the people:

"don't waist your hate. rather gather and create. be of service, be a sensible person. use your words and don't be nervous. you can do this, you've got purpose. find your medicine and use it."

refuse to worry.

Ecclesiastes 11:10:

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,

there is a field. i'll meet you there.

when the soul lies down in that grass,

the world is too full to talk about.

ideas, language, even the phrase "each other" doesn't make any sense.

rumi.

tom brown's skills for living with the earth

"we are all part of everything around us. the spirit that moves through all things."

trust.