Lessons from Wild Geese

It was fun for me to compare wild geese flying in "V” formation to women's circles in my book Urgent Message from Mother. Except for the shape, a circle functions as geese do. They rotate leadership -When the lead goose tires, another takes the lead position. By flying in formation, they fly 71 percent further together than one goose could fly alone. As each goose flaps its wings it creates an uplift that supports the goose flying behind it. The support of the others makes it easier to go where they want to go. They honk while in flight to encourage the lead goose to keep up the speed.

The lessons are applicable-we do go further with support of others; their thoughts, ideas, and prayers add an uplift, and our "honking" does need to be encouraging. I've ended some workshop circles where I talked about Lessons from Wild Geese in a lighthearted, playful way -I had participants be pretend geese, flapping arms as wings and honking. It's also been a delight when, from time to time, I get an email that ends with "Honk! Honk! Honk!"

Page 73-74 of Moving Toward the Millionth Circle 5WCW Energizing the Global Women's Movement

The Original Meaning of Mother's Day

Mother Power & Mother's Agenda

The original Mother’s Day proclamation written by Julia Ward Howe in 1870 was a proposal to bring the women of the world together to bring peace to humanity. It was a call to gather women: it called to women to add their voice to “the voice of the devastated earth”, and find the means to bring peace to the world.

"Arise, then, women of this day!

Arise all women who have hearts,

whether our baptism be that of water or of tears!...

We women of one country will be too tender of those of another country to allow

our sons to be trained

to injure theirs.

From the bosom of the

devastated earth

a voice goes up with our own.

It says,

"Disarm, Disarm!"

The sword of murder is not the balance of justice."

~Julia Ward Howe

Siegfried the Lonely Hero and Self-Made Man

A Psychological and Symbolic Understanding of Siegfried

The Ring Cycle tells of authoritarian fathers obsessed with acquiring power and the effect for three generations on sons and daughters. Adult children raised to be extensions of a parent's ambitions or needs find themselves--like Siegfried, asking "who am I?"

With his innate strength, lack of empathy and fearlessness, Siegfried personifies the lonely hero who becomes a self-made man. He awakens Brunnhilde whose punishment for disobeying Wotan was to be made helpless and unconscious.

The opera is rich with symbols and symbolic figures: the woodbird, Fafner the dragon, the dwarves Mime and his brother Alberich, the Wanderer.