Haven Series on Change 1 - Seasons and Cycles

Our new series for spring 2013 concerns Change 

The keynote poem for the series is "Apple Blossom" by Louis MacNeice.  It begins:

Apple Blossom

Louis MacNeice

The first blossom was the best blossom 
For the child who never had seen an orchard; 
For the youth whom whiskey had led astray 
The morning after was the first day. 

The first apple was the best apple 
For Adam before he heard the sentence; 
When the flaming sword endorsed the Fall 
The trees were his to plant for all.

If you don't know the poem it's well worth searching out.

Hilary was inspired to write this:  

The first blossom was the best blossom

For the child who never had seen an orchard.
Blue sky, high there, up above the pram
Branches waving in the blue, "Here I am."

Nature's own mobile, not from Mothercare.
Early Learning's not got a patch on these petals
See them there! Pink and white froth tossing
In the blue. Boats in the sea for him?

There was much discussion about change and how humans respond to it.  There are countless quotations about change; here is a tiny sample:

If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it.  ~Mary Engelbreit

Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine.  ~Robert C. Gallagher

Change always comes bearing gifts.  ~Price Pritchett

You never have a friend all figured out. Just when you think you know what makes them tick, they tock. ~Robert Brault 

The devil could change.  He was once an angel and may be evolving still.  ~Laurence J. Peter

The only man I know who behaves sensibly is my tailor; he takes my measurements anew each time he sees me.  The rest go on with their old measurements and expect me to fit them.  ~George Bernard Shaw

Writing challenge for this week is a piece of Flash Fiction - around 500 words based on one of these quotations.

Next week - Personal change and Identity. 

Creative Writing at The Haven - Goddesses 6

Final week - Domestic or fireside goddesses

                                                             

A household deity is a deity or spirit that protects the home, looking after the entire household or certain key members. It has been a common belief in pagan religions as well as in folklore across many parts of the world.

Household deities fit into two types; firstly, a specific deity- typically a goddess- often referred to as a hearth goddess or domestic goddess who is associated with the home and hearth, with examples including the Greek Hestia and Norse Frigg.

"Frigga Spinning the Clouds" by J. C. Dollman.

Household deities were usually worshipped not in temples but in the home, where they would be represented by small idols (such as the teraphim of the Bible, often translated as "household gods" in Genesis 31:19 for example), amulets, paintings or reliefs.

  

Lakshmi is the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity (both material and spiritual), fortune, and the embodiment of beauty. She is the consort of the god Vishnu. She is said to bring good luck and is believed to protect her devotees from all kinds of misery and money-related sorrows.

Lakshmi is worshipped daily in Hindu homes and commercial establishments as the goddess of wealth.  The festivals of Diwali and Kojagiri Purnima are celebrated in her honour. Lakshmi is the household goddess of most Hindu families, and a favourite of women.

Diwali  popularly known as the "festival of lights," is a five day festival that falls between mid-October and mid-November. (2012 Diwali starts on 13^th November.)

The name "Diwali" or "Divali" is a contraction of "Deepavali" (Sanskrit: दीपावली Dīpāvalī), which translates into "row of lamps". Diwali involves the lighting of small clay lamps filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil. These lamps are kept on during the night and one's house is cleaned, both done in order to make the goddess Lakshmi feel welcome. Firecrackers are burst because it is believed that it drives away evil spirits. During Diwali, all the celebrants wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks with family members and friends. The third day of Diwali, marks the worship of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth.

We discussed what "wealth" might mean and decided it had little to do with income.   We wrote about our inner goddess and re-read Ruth Fainlight's poem that acted as a sort of keynote for this series:

Gloria

Ruth Fainlight

(an extract)

  

However she’s personified

Or represented,

I won’t forget

How space expands inside me,

Can easily contain

A million goddesses or concepts.

 

 Domestic Goddess may refer to: a household deity it is also the nickname of Nigella Lawson, author of a cookbook entitled How to Be a Domestic Goddess.

As a final sweet treat - all the winter festivals seem to involve eating - we discussed the history of the great  Be-Ro cook book.  Here's a classic recipe:

Be-Ro Milk Chocolate Cake serves 12 200 g (7 oz) Be-Ro Self Raising Flour 225 g (8 oz) caster sugar 1 x 2.5 ml spoon (½ tsp) salt 25 g (1 oz) cocoa powder, sieved 100 g (4 oz) butter 2 medium eggs 5 x 15 ml spoon (5 tbsp) evaporated milk 5 x 15 ml spoon (5 tbsp) water few drops vanilla essence 1 Heat oven to 180ºC, 350ºF, Gas Mark 4. Grease 2 x 20.5 cm (8 inch) tins, not loose-bottomed as the mixture would run out. 2 Mix flour, sugar, salt and cocoa. 3 Rub in butter. Beat eggs with milk. 4 Stir egg mixture, essence and liquids into the dry ingredients and beat well. 5 Place mixture in prepared tins and bake for about 30-35 minutes. 6 When cold sandwich and top with Milk Chocolate Icing (see below).

Bake in moderate oven 180 C  350 F Gas 4 for about 30 mins.

When cold sandwich and cover with

chocolate icing as follows:

60g (2½ oz) butter

2 tablespoons cocoa

225g (9 oz) sieved icing sugar

45 ml (3 tblsp) hot milk

5 ml (1 tspn) vanilla essence

Soften butter, blending in cocoa, then stir in icing sugar, milk and essence.

Beat until smooth and thick.

Note from Sally:

For a more grown-up taste I substitute one ounce of sugar for an extra ounce of cocoa in the cake mix and I use light muscovado rather than white caster sugar. I also use quite a bit of vanilla extract – a generous half teaspoonful. 

Happy winter festivals!

Next series starts Friday January 11th 2013 - as before. 

Creative Writing at The Haven - Goddesses 5

Guan Yin and the Asian tradition

Guanyin or Guan Yin is the bodhisattva associated with compassion as venerated by East Asian Buddhists, usually as a female. The name Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means "Observing the Sounds (or Cries) of the World".

It is generally accepted among East Asian adherents that Guanyin originated as the Sanskrit Avalokiteśvara (अवलोकितेश्वर).

Commonly known in English as the Mercy Goddess or Goddess of Mercy, Guanyin is also revered by Chinese Taoists (or Daoists) as an Immortal.

Guanyin and the Virgin Mary

Guanyin and child, similar to a Madonna and Child painting.

Some Buddhist and Christian observers have commented on the similarity between Guanyin and Mary of Christianity, the mother of Jesus Christ. This can be attributed to the representation of Guanyin holding a child in Chinese art and sculpture; it is believed that Guanyin is the patron saint of mothers and grants parents filial children. When the Tzu-Chi Foundation, a Taiwanese Buddhist organisation, noticed the similarity between this form of Guanyin and the Virgin Mary, the organisation commissioned a portrait of Guanyin and a baby that resembles the typical Roman Catholic Madonna and Child painting.

During the Edo Period in Japan, when Christianity was banned and punishable by death, some underground Christian groups venerated the Virgin Mary disguised as a statue of Kannon; such statues are known as Maria Kannon.  Many had a cross hidden in an inconspicuous location.

One story about  Kuan Yin tells that as a young girl she refused to marry the man of her father’s choice and he took violent revenge on her.  First he sent her to a women’s temple and ordered that she be treated cruelly.  When that didn’t work he had the temple burned down; she put out the flames with her bare hands and they did not burn because of her great compassion for her sisters in the temple.

Finally Kuan Yin’s father ordered that she be killed and after several failed attempts she was murdered and went to the kingdom of the Dead.  There she was so kind and compassionate to the other souls that the King of the Dead had her thrown out and she was sent back to this world and reunited with her body.  She is the goddess of pure compassion who will always listen and share the sorrows of her supplicants.

On a more secular note:

Poem No. 43  from the Kuan Yin Oracle

Meaning:  The Heaven and earth are full of great joys and harmony.

Comments:

You are in the days of glorious peace and joy.  You are in the place to enjoy the lighter and brighter side of life.  Bring harmony and beauty into your home.  Spread the kindness, generosity to those around you.

You get the kind of cooperation you were hoping for, and what once was a problem becomes a possibility.  Delightfully engaging activities make you feel loved and happy.

Tao Te Ching

No 49 

The Master has no mind of her own.

She works with the mind of the people.

She is good to people who are good.

She is also good to people who aren't good.

This is true goodness.

She trusts people who are trustworthy.

She also trusts people who aren't trustworthy.

This is true trust.

The Master's mind is like space.

People don't understand her.

They look to her and wait.

She treats them like her own children.