In the nearly three weeks since the tragedies in New York City and Washington, D.C., the internet has been flooded with humane, thoughtful messages from many quarters -- open letters, memories, meditations, even consoling (albeit challenging) astrological insights.

People in the United States may already be familiar with many of these messages, most from well known writers and thinkers.  Others from around the world may not have such extensive internet connections and might not ever see these.  I have therefore gathered together a wide range of those messages that have especially touched me and created a collection of them on this page.  Since they are often undated, I am putting them in the order in which they found their way to me.

Here are the authors I have collected so far: Yasmine Galenorn; Deepak Chopra; astrologers Wolfstar and Melissa Stratton; Jean Houston; Starhawk (and other wiccans); David Spangler; Stephen Jay Gould; Orin (channeling DaBen); a message inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh's work; Eva Hoffman; and "God."  Near the bottom is a link to the extraordinary collection of photos, "America's tragedy is felt by all the world..."  [Please note that each author holds the copyright to her or his own work -- all rights are reserved.]

To separate each author, I am using twin scarabs.  In ancient Egypt, the earthy, dung-pushing scarab represented life forever emerging out of death and chaos.  The scarab is a metaphor for how Being "beings" itself, eternally.  It seems fitting here.

Hopefully, you'll find something among all these messages that will speak to you.......

.....
Message from YASMINE GALENORN --
[Sent & received:]  11 September 2001:

(Note from Kathleen Jenks: I had been up til just after 5am PDT the morning of 11 September 2001.  I was working on a new page on Croatia [still not online due to the aftermath of this tragedy].  I was falling asleep, still immersed in the Balkans, as the first of the planes was crashing into the Twin Towers.  When I groggily awoke some six hours later and checked my e-mail, I had no idea that anything ghastely had happened until I read this terse, wise message from my pagan e-friend, author Yasmine Galenorn):

...I am going to be setting up an altar for the dead, for peace and protection...if everyone who works with energy does something to focus, then maybe our workings will be felt--there are a lot of souls that departed today in confusion and pain, a lot of frightened people don't know what to do, and our country needs as much love now as we can give it, and as much support.

In whatever way you work best, be it magick, prayer, or simply 'good thoughts', let's build a web of energy to try and help out...if you have friends who do the same, encourage them to add their energy....if we know we are not alone in doing this, it can make the work stronger.

Also: encourage people to give blood.  I've got a link on the front of my page to help you find the nearest donation point.  If you can give it, then do so.  If you can't, then do whatever you can to help out.

In love, sorrow and shock,
Yasmine Galenorn

.....
Message from DEEPAK CHOPRA --
13 September 2001:

THE DEEPER WOUND

As fate would have it, I was leaving New York on a jet flight that took off 45 minutes before the unthinkable happened. By the time we landed in Detroit, chaos had broken out. When I grasped the fact that American security had broken down so tragically, I couldn't respond at first. My wife and son were also in the air on separate flights, one to Los Angeles, one to San Diego. My body went absolutely rigid with fear. All I could think about was their safety, and it took several hours before I found out that their flights had been diverted and both were safe.

Strangely, when the good news came, my body still felt that it had been hit by a truck.  Of its own accord it seemed to feel a far greater trauma that reached out to the thousands who would not survive and the tens of thousands who would survive only to live through months and years of hell. And I asked myself, Why didn't I feel this way last week? Why didn't my body go stiff during the bombing of Iraq or Bosnia? Around the world my horror and worry are experienced every day. Mothers weep over horrendous loss, civilians are bombed mercilessly, refugees are ripped from any sense of home or homeland.  Why did I not feel their anguish enough to call a halt to it?

As we hear the calls for tightened American security and a fierce military response to terrorism, it is obvious that none of us has any answers. However, we feel compelled to ask some questions.  Everything has a cause, so we have to ask, What was the root cause of this evil? We must find out not superficially but at the deepest level.

There is no doubt that such evil is alive all around the world and is even celebrated. Does this evil grow from the suffering and anguish felt by people we don't know and therefore ignore? Have they lived in this condition for a long time? One assumes that whoever did this attack feels implacable hatred for America. Why were we selected to be the focus of suffering around the world?

All this hatred and anguish seems to have religion at its basis.  Isn't something terribly wrong when jihads and wars develop in the name of God? Isn't God invoked with hatred in Ireland, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Israel, Palestine, and even among the intolerant sects of America?

Can any military response make the slightest difference in the underlying cause? Is there not a deep wound at the heart of humanity? If there is a deep wound, doesn't it affect everyone?  When generations of suffering respond with bombs, suicidal attacks, and biological warfare, who first developed these weapons? Who sells them? Who gave birth to the satanic technologies now being turned against us?

If all of us are wounded, will revenge work? Will punishment in any form toward anyone solve the wound or aggravate it?  Will an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and limb for a limb, leave us all blind, toothless and crippled?

Tribal warfare has been going on for two thousand years and has now been magnified globally. Can tribal warfare be brought to an end? Is patriotism and nationalism even relevant anymore, or is this another form of tribalism?

What are you and I as persons going to do about what is happening?  Can we afford to let the deeper wound fester any longer? Everyone is calling this an attack on America, but is it not a rift in our collective soul? Isn't this an attack on civilization from without that is also from within?

When we have secured our safety once more and cared for the wounded, after the period of shock and mourning is over, it will be time for soul searching. I only hope that these questions are confronted with the deepest spiritual intent. None of us will feel safe again behind the shield of military might and stockpiled arsenals. There can be no safety until the root cause is faced. In this moment of shock I don't think anyone of us has the answers.

It is imperative that we pray and offer solace and help to each other.  But if you and I are  having a single thought of violence or hatred against anyone in the world at this moment, we are contributing to the wounding of the world.

Love,
Deepak

.....
Message from astrologer, WOLFSTAR --
17 September 2001:

Syndicated Column, NewsScope, for September 17, 2001
     By WolfStar

The Global Alliance Against Terrorism

In what he called the first war of the 21st century, President Bush vowed to crush global terrorism, and received immediate support from around the world, including Russia and China. Secretary of State Colin Powell provided the plan: to build a global alliance to pursue not only individual terrorists and their organizations, but also the states that provide them safe haven.

From an astrological perspective, President Bush is responding to the same celestial forces that pushed him toward building the National Missile Defense shield. The primary indicator is his progressed Mars (see NewsScope May 7, 2001) which is growing in strength over the next six months. With Aries at his Midheaven, and an activated Mars, Bush's dominant astrological theme during his entire Presidency is war, the military, and defeating international enemies.

Last Tuesday's horrific attack provided the catalyst for transforming Bush's controversial militant inclinations into a coherent, popular strategy for containing terrorism. Transiting Jupiter conjunct Bush's Sun presents the opportunity for true leadership. The national shift is most clearly seen by tracking transiting Neptune's position in relation to the U.S. horoscope.*

This Neptune transit brings a dynamic change of direction (by squaring to the U.S. Scorpio Ascendant) in the process of building a fateful international alliance (conjunct the U.S. South Node in Aquarius). An historical parallel shows the powerful impact of an outer planet transit to these lunar nodes: on D-Day June 6, 1944 the U.S. launched the largest armada in history against the Allies' common enemy. Transiting Pluto at the time was conjunct the U.S. North Node in Leo, and squaring the Scorpio Ascendant.

Pakistan, the Pivot Point

American officials were encouraged last week by signals coming from Pakistan that U.S. warplanes will be able to use Pakistan's airspace when President Bush orders military action against Afghanistan. However, Pakistan's intelligence community sponsored the Taliban's coup in Afghanistan, and it's unclear if Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has any control over his country's secret agents.

Pakistan was created at the same time as India when the British officially withdrew on August 15, 1947 (midnight, Karachi, Pakistan). In this horoscope Mercury, the natural ruler of intelligence agencies, is strongly placed on the fourth house cusp where it dominates the domestic situation. Mercury is currently being opposed by transiting Neptune, creating a cloud of uncertainty over Pakistan's covert operations.

Also in Pakistan's horoscope the Sun, representing the national leadership, is opposed by transiting Uranus. This destabilizing influence does not bode well for the President's hold onto power. Musharraf seized control of the government on October 12, 1999 in a bloodless coup d'etat, and over the next two months is in danger of the same destiny, or at the very least, of giving up personal authority to the U.S. command.

General Pervez Musharraf was born a natural leader of the armed forces (August 11, 1943; Delhi, India; time unknown) with his autocratic Leo Sun squaring militant Mars.  This Sun-Mars square happens to fall into the same zodiacal region as Pakistan's Sun, putting his personal fate in the hands of revolutionary Uranus over the next few months.

Osama Bin Laden, The Prime Suspect

Since President Clinton launched a surprise missile attack on a suspected Sudanese chemical weapons plant on August 20, 1998, Osama Bin Laden has been hailed as a hero by many Islamic fundamentalists. Who is this man that can threaten the world's only superpower, and is reputed to have masterminded terrorist plots against the U.S.S. Cole, two U.S. Embassies in East Africa, and the World Trade Center?

Osama Bin Laden was born a faith-oriented Pisces (March 10, 1957; Jiddah, Saudi Arabia; time unknown**) with his Sun squaring self-righteous Saturn in Sagittarius. This combination produces an ambitious drive to be respected as a religious leader, and an inner compulsion to assert one's moral authority on the surrounding community. His rigid adherence to Islamic extremism and willingness to live under austere environmental conditions can be seen in his Mercury-Venus conjunction in self-sacrificing Pisces, also squaring restrictive Saturn.

Bin Laden's Mars in determined, financially-savvy Taurus tells much of his story, beginning with his ability to amass the material resources to create Al Qaeda, his terrorist network. Mars trines Jupiter and squares Pluto, a ruthless and daring combination that fights to dominate no matter what the cost. This Mars describes why Bin Laden has singled out the American people as his main target since it forms an exact square to the U.S. Moon.

Astrologers know that a Pisces can quickly become a martyr. The Saudi terrorist is now making his greatest impact on the world (as his progressed Sun squares Uranus, and the Saturn-Pluto opposition aligns with his own Saturn).  When he is captured, others with the same sentiments will step forward, but who now have a messiah for inspiration.

     * Advanced astrologers will note that the progressed U.S. Midheaven is about to enter Aries, providing a dramatic new national direction coincident with Bush's current martial drive. This is true if and only if 8 degrees Scorpio is Rising.

     ** According to Interpol (Interpol.int/public/Wanted/Notices/Data/1998/32/1998_20232).
This birth date should be considered speculative since another reputable source has issued a birth date of July 30, 1957: (fpc.gov/CRS_reps/crsterr3).   A good case can be made for the 7/30/57 birth date, but 3/10/57 seems to fit.

[Note:  see NewsScope for additional columns, both before and after the above.]..

.....
Message from astrologer, MELISSA STRATTON --
20 September 2001:

911 Special Newsletter Column --
It's All About Love

     In response to many of you who have requested some insight, I prepared this special column to share.  Thank you for reaching out to understand.

      When the tragic events of 911 were unfolding, as everyone else, I tried to find some way to comprehend what was happening, and naturally went to my personal tools of Astrology and Tarot.  A friend asked me if astrologers could have predicted this event. My response was that we must work with a particular chart, like the USA chart, otherwise it's like the needle in a haystack. On the morning of 911, I immediately cast the chart of the United States, which I had not worked with prior to this, and then cast the chart for 9/11, 8:45 a.m. in New York City against the USA chart. What I saw, stunned me.

      I've given a technical explanation below for those of you who would like to see the astrological details, but essentially the 911 New York chart held the potential for a point of destiny for the USA that was so obvious it was overwhelming. I explained to my friend who asked if this could have been predicted, that if the FBI had come to me (or any astrologer) and asked to check on the morning of Sept 11 in New York City because they suspected terrorist activity, then I would have be able to advise them that indeed, something could occur on that day. And the most amazing thing to me, was that I could have told them to be careful of the Twin Towers!

      Here is the reason:  The USA chart has the vertex point which is the "point of fateful encounter" at 14 degrees Gemini. In the 911 Chart, Saturn - Lord of Karma - is in the exact same degree! (This only occurs every 30 years.*) The glyph for Gemini looks like this: II.  What was the most obvious place in the world that looked like this? The World Trade Twin Towers of course! And more, the symbol of Gemini is "The Twins". So added to all the other amazing line-up of the 911 symbols, here is yet another.

    Now I'm going to get technical for those of you interested in the astrological details, so others not that interested might want to skip the next 2 paragraphs. I used the chart for the USA cast on July 4, 1776 at 2:00 p.m. in Philadelphia. Beside the already mentioned Saturn at the Vertex, the ascendant of the 911 chart (8:45 a.m NYC) is 14* Libra, the exact degree of the USA Saturn, so the USA Saturn was literally sitting on the Asc. and was also exactly conjunct 911 Mercury also at 14* Libra. 911 Neptune is sitting exactly at the USA South Node of 6* Aquarius. 911 Uranus is sitting 4 degrees away from USA's Moon at 25* Aquarius. The Moon of 911 is at Gemini 28* and crossed over the USA Mars at 21* Gemini, about the time when the terrorists boarded the fated flights! 911 Chiron is closely opposite USA Mars.  Pluto, the other Lord of Karma, in the 911 chart is closely opposing Saturn and the USA Vertex. 911 Mars at 1* Capricorn is conjunct the 911 South Node at 3* Capricorn. Also the Vertex of 911 at 6* Taurus forms a close opposition to the USA ascendant.  These are amazing stress indicator points!

      What surprised me is that there are also many beautiful indicators as well.  911 Jupiter at 5* Cancer is conjunct 911 North Node and also USA's own Jupiter at 11* and Sun at 13* Cancer. 911 Mars is opposite USA Venus at 2* Cancer and 911 North Node  connects with USA Venus (indicative of lovers!)  911 Saturn, such a big player in this event, forms an exact trine to USA's Saturn. 911 Mercury also forms an exact conjunction to USA Saturn.  The 911 Moon forms a close trine to USA Moon. 911 Neptune trines USA Uranus and 911 Uranus trines USA Mars exact. And one of the nicest indicators is 911 Venus trining 911 Chiron forming a grand fire trine to the USA Chiron.

    Essentially all these factors point to a triggering of a fateful event and time for the USA.  The beauty of this chart is the direction to which it points - toward an unfolding and outpouring of love and the potential for healing at the most basic levels of our lives. As if to bring this to the world's attention, the Moon soon after the tragedy, shifted into the loving sign of Cancer and crossed over the USA North Node, also in Cancer. The North Node represents the evolutionary direction which must be taken for growth to occur - the path that needs to be walked. With North Node in Cancer, it is our destiny in the U.S. to open to Love, but we must be willing to walk that path. On 911, the outpouring of Love was so evident as citizens at every level unselfishly rushed to the scene to help in every possible way.

      After considering this, I next went to my other tool, the Tarot. I used the Rider Waite deck first and asked this question "What is the overall, underlying reason for this event?" I pulled only one card from the deck and this card to my total amazement was "The Lovers"!  I then went to the other deck I use, Daughters of the Moon deck ,with the identical question and pulled only one card.  It too was "Aphrodite - The Lovers"!** At this point in the midst of the horrific news unfolding, I was literally shocked that the Lovers showed up.  What could this possibly mean in light of the hate being unleashed?

       Reflecting upon the charts, I recalled what I had said in September's Heavenly Messages column, "There is more peaceful energy this month than we've felt for a while."  And in spite of this terrible event, I sensed the truth of that statement. Mercury is now in the  sign of Libra whose symbol is the scales. We of the world stand on the fulcrum of these scales. Libra is ruled by Venus, the goddess of Love. Mercury represents communication.  Will we choose to communicate with love or will we tip the scales to fear and hate? The more I reflected upon and discussed with others what my tools had revealed, the more I became convinced that this act born of hate and fear is the midwife to us here in the US and humans everywhere to finally choose Love, once and forever.

    President George W. Bush is obviously playing a huge role in our government's choices, so I also wanted to plug his chart into the equation as well.  In an eerie way, when I compared Bush's chart to the USA chart, it is obvious he is the man that would be here (as compared to Al Gore's chart). Bush's chart uncannily lines up with the USA chart. His Moon, Chiron, Juno and Jupiter are all within 3 degrees of the USA Saturn and his Sun is at the exact same degree as the USA Sun! His Uranus is very close to the fateful vertex point of USA chart, indicating that with Uranian, lightning-like suddenness, he can be swept into this Country's huge karmic events like the tainted election he won and now 911.  George W. Bush's chart however, indicates that he is not who he seems; that much of his character is hidden -even from those who think they know him well.  Libra, the sign of his Moon and 4 other planets, and Cancer his Sun sign are the 2 signs of the zodiac most closely associated with Love. With his Sun in Cancer, his growth pattern, just as the USA's is to grow more caring, more nurturing and more loving. His Libra planets indicate that he is capable of being the highest caliber diplomat - IF- he can overcome his fear of being exposed for the compassionate man he is at the deepest levels. As we pray in these days ahead (and who has not this last week!), let us pray that this man George W. Bush can rise to his highest calling, and choose Love. He may have to bite the hand that feeds him, but everything is ultimately possible.

   Lastly, I cast the USA 13th Harmonic chart (which I had not cast before).  The 13th Harmonic chart is essentially a spiritual or "higher self" chart.  Once again I was stunned! Those of you who have been reading my column for a while have seen reference to 27 degrees Sagittarius as the degree of the Galactic Center. Well guess what the ascendant degree (one of the most significant points in any chart) is for USA 13th Harmonic - yes, the same degree as the Galactic Center - 27 degrees Sagittarius! And on top of that the Sun, Chiron, Pluto and Moon are closely flanking this point! Mars, the war god had just crossed over this point in early September, and on 911 the Moon formed an exact opposition to it in the house of the "Other". The Moon was mirroring the enemy on 911, and the enemy is us. Truly there is no one else but "us" on the planet. This chart points to the fact that must learn this spiritual lesson, if we are to survive and prosper.

      This morning as I write this (9/20) the news says that U.S. warplanes are headed to the Persian Gulf. Today in an email I saw this : <Bomb them with butter, bribe them with hope>. What shall we choose? I for one, make my stand on the side of Hope and Love!

    There is much more to say, and in October's Heavenly Messages column, I'll be expanding, especially on the Gemini / Sagittarius energy that has been so prevalent for the last 2 years, and is so much a part of what is happening now. I will also, as requested, be working with the chart for New York City and will expand on that as well.

Blessings to us all.
In Love,
Melissa
melwaz@ptd.net  [Note: she has a monthly newsletter -- e-mail her if you'd like to be added to it.]

Notes:
   * Thirty years ago USA was embroiled in the Vietnam war, and 60 years ago we were just entering WWII.
** I spoke to another Tarot reader the next day, and he too got the Lovers in response the same question.

.....

Message from my long-time friend, JEAN HOUSTON --
21 September 2001:

[September 18th 2001]

Dear Friends,

We are all New Yorkers. That is the gist of the message that I have been receiving from the thousands of e-mails, countless phone calls and faxes, and
communications from people writing or calling me from over 30 countries. The outpouring of love, of service, and even of life itself is the miracle of humanity surpassing itself. All over this country and throughout the world people are affirming their unity with us, and more, the unity of all people.  This tragedy brings us together in shadow and in light, for richer and for poor, in sickness and in health for as long as we all shall live. The desecration that occurred is also the announcement of a potential global union.

I have often spoken of how technology and the internet gave us the world mind taking a walk with itself. But in the light of the events of September 11th, we now must speak of the world heart, the world stomach, the world spirit.  America is not longer insulated from the pathos of other nations.

Christopher Fry writes, "Thank God, our time is now, when wrong comes up to meet us everywhere, never to leave us till we take the longest stride of soul men ever took." All oppression rises in our time, all shadows, all terrors, and factors unique in human history also arise around us to compound our folly and confuse our desire. We yearn for meaning and deal with trivia. We are swept in currents over which we have no control. Government has become too big for the small problems of life and too small in spirit for the large problems. The tyranny that threatens to destroy us is not just terrorism; it is the tyranny of the unjust demands we have made of Nature and the tyranny of some nations being kept in economic slavery by other nations.

We are the ones who have the most profound task in human history--the task of deciding whether we grow or die. This will involve helping cultures and organizations to move from dominance by one economic culture or group to circular investedness, sharing and partnership. It will involve putting economics back as a satellite to the soul of culture rather than having the soul of culture as satellite to economics. It will involve deep listening past the arias and the habits of cruelty of crushed and humiliated people.  It will involve a stride of soul that will challenge the very canons of our human condition. It will require that we become evolutionary partners with each other.

This is a huge test we find ourselves in. We have newly emerged from a century of war and holocaust. Our hopes for the new century, the new millennium were for a new way of being between nations and people, between the earth and ourselves, between spirit and matter. Those hopes still live, if anything, they have become more powerful, more necessary. For America it will mean a deep shift of our attitudes to other cultures around the world to one of service and support rather than exploitation and dominance. Yes, the perpetrators have to be found and dealt with through therapeutic law and international justice. They are not a nation, they are a cancer, and a cancer is rarely removed through a cycle of violence. Rather, as in holistic medicine, they have to be subdued by the strengthening of the healthy immune system, the envisioning of the pattern of health, and yes, the removal of the cancer wherever it can be excised.

The metaphor is apt. Our health, our security, is built on friendship.  Instead of spending so many billions for weapons of destruction (which we manufacture ourselves and sell globally), what if we were to use some of those billions to the feeding of the hungry (one in every three persons), the housing of the homeless, the making of those efforts that can result in the healing of the wounds of nations. Real security demands real friendship, global marriage. As one of my correspondents brilliantly addressed these issues, "The problem is not just terrorism. The problem is generations of beings who experience not having an identity. The question is what made human beings incapable of feeling love, compassion or empathy towards themselves or anyone else, and thereby, becoming destroyers of their own species? What happened that human beings could become so psychologically, emotionally and spiritually distorted that they could believe that Islam, one of the most spiritual paths in the world, could encourage murder and suicide to gain heavenly reward?"

Friends, these are not Muslims. These are marginalized fanatics who have made a travesty of their faith. The issue is how we can join together to create a world in which such pathology will no longer be nurtured.

Many of us are feeling impotent before the enormity of the prospect. Some of you, I know, have experienced "meltdown", some have seen visions, had dreams.  Many have had the portals of their minds blown open to deeper realities, potent reflections. Tragedy has drawn us closer, sent us deeper, and given us the option of preparing for life rather than death.

I have been considering some of the things that you may wish to do in the days and weeks to come that will give expression to your feelings and need to act.  What I offer below is drawn primarily from my own reflections as well  as others, particularly some prescriptions offered by Yes! magazine.

1.  In these spirit quaking times, align with your own spiritual resources.  Take time to meditate, pray, reflect in solitude and in nature. Allow yourself daily time and space to be re-sourced. Consider living daily life as spiritual exercise Watch your finer intuitions and ideas, and share them with others. Commune with your spiritual allies, archetypal friends, quantum partners. In the place of spiritual connection feel strength and compassion and intelligence flow.  Become creative in your actions.Plot scenarios of optimal healing and begin wherever you can to put them in place for events as well as people. Practice miracle management.

2.  Give yourself vacations from television. So much of it anyway is infomercials for war.  (However the local New York City stations are filled with human stories of compassion and courage.) But do listen occasionally to talk shows and call in with your own opinions and ideas for making a better world. For inspiration and wisdom to deal with challenges of our time listen to New Dimensions Radio on your public radio station or on the internet (newdimensions.org).

Write that letter to the editor. Write or call your congressman and local government officials. Handwritten faxes seem to be the things that are most likely to get through, followed by phone call. e-mails, alas are the least likely. You can find your U.S. representatives at www.house.gov or for Senators, www.senate.gov. Above all, Let Your Voice Be Heard!

3.  Gather in groups and, if possible in ongoing teaching-learning communities of wisdom and empowerment. But let everyone speak, and do not deny them the authenticity of their feelings even if they diverge widely from your own.

4.  Talk to the kids, your own or other people's children. Let them express their feelings, tell you what is on their minds. Give them a grasp of the larger issues at hand. Tell them about mercy and compassionate action. If possible engage them in service oriented activities. Let them see the larger story.

5.  Show up at town meetings, or other places where people meet to pray and talk and engage each other. Sign petitions if you are willing and join in other activities that are "sending a big message". Create vision circles to put forth images of what the world can be. Envision the possible society together. (For ideas, you might want to look at my book, authored with Margaret Rubin, Manual of the Peacemaker, which deals with the Iroquois creation of a better society.)

6.  Get thee to a mosque! Give support and compassion to Arab friends, colleagues, or people you happen to meet of middle eastern origin. Stamp out hatred and fear surrounding these people wherever you can. Let them tell their stories, their hopes and dreams. In fact, try and learn as much as you can about the Middle East, the political situations there, as well as the teachings of Islam. For key information on the crisis and well considered information and opinions about the Middle East you may want to go to Alternet.org and commondreams.org.

7.  Give up your own holding patterns on your old self. This is the time to become or at least to enact the possible human. Let your senses take pleasure in the glory of this world. Let your heart celebrate the incredible gift of life.  And share this with others.

I live in a double domed house that was the last design of my old friend Buckminster Fuller, completed just before he died. I asked my house what words it would give you and it responded with Bucky's own. They came out of a time of tremendous personal crisis in his life.  "So I vowed to keep myself alive, but only if I would never use me again for just me - each one of us is born of two, and we really belong to each other.  I vowed to do my own thinking, instead of trying to accommodate everyone else's opinion, credos and theories. I vowed to apply my own inventory of experiences to the solving of problems that affect everyone aboard planetEarth."

Much Love and High Regard,
Jean Houston

.....

Message from STARHAWK and other wiccans: Pomegranate Doyle, Donald Engstom, Sage Goode, Aurora, Katrina Messenger, Blaedfyr, Bridgid McGowan, Ruby Perry, Paul Eaves, Patti Martin, Rose MayDance and Akasha (Reclaiming Collective) --

21 September 2001:

Subject:
                 Magic Webs
       Date:
                 Fri, 21 Sep 2001 11:25:18 +0800

Dear Friends,

In deep sorrow we have searched for the  magical answers to this horror. We recognize that we all hold creative and destructive force within us, this is our divine nature. Honoring our divine nature in all its complexity, how can we come into balance? What we know is: we have come together over many years, trained and built relationships with each  other and the sacred earth. For the first time in history, we have built a network of witches that spans the continents. We have the training and power to focus our wills and spirit. We have the help of many, many spirit realms and we have the communication network to take effective action as has never been done before. All of the psychics and sensitives have known we would be called upon someday to use this network. Let us now each take a stand for love, peace, beauty, justice and freedom. Let us now each take our wisdom to make a spell like there has never been before. Let us now each take magical action to heal the worlds, all the worlds, now.

Therefore: From our divine nature, our authentic selves, let  us cast a great and mighty web around the worlds that opens to the potential for love, peace, beauty, justice and freedom. Let the intention be to offer healing to all the realms for this and past atrocities. Draw symbols at your doorstep so that you may be an anchor point for the  web, so that you may be both a receiver for and a transmitter of love, peace, beauty, justice and freedom. Use spirals, infinity symbols, runes, hearts or whatever symbols call to you. As you cast the web notice the open permeable pattern it creates, with space for all and room for transformation. Let this web, this matrix, this mandala offer  healing to all the wounds of hate, war, ugliness, injustice and imprisonment.  Let us cast a great and mighty web around the  worlds opening to the potential to love, peace, beauty, justice and freedom around the world.

If you are called to this work, then join us. Please send this out to everyone you want to around the world and sign your name if you feel called.

In hope,
Pomegranate Doyle, Donald Engstom, Sage Goode, Starhawk, Aurora, Katrina Messenger, Blaedfyr, Bridgid McGowan, Ruby Perry, Paul Eaves, Patti Martin, Rose MayDance and Akasha (Reclaiming Collective)

.....

Message from DAVID SPANGLER --
25 September 2001:

[Intro from BJ]: For those of you who do not know of David Spangler, he has been a conscious sensitive since childhood. He was an early co-director and spokesperson for the Findhorn Community in Scotland and wrote several books from there which came from his inner guidance. More recently, he has been involved with broader movements towards conscious evolution into the emerging new age, including being connected with the work emerging from the Cathedral of St. John the  Divine in NYC....

DAVID SPANGLER
Message from Inner Being

Over the past few days since the tragic destruction of the WTC, several folks have asked me to comment on the inner side of this event or wondered if I had any particular insights into what has been happening on the inner realms.

The truth is that for all of Tuesday and Wednesday I was simply too caught up in the enormity of the tragedy to be able to tune in properly.  I needed to process my own feelings.  When I did try to journey inwardly into the situation, I encountered such a powerful maelstrom or cloud of psychic energy around it that all I could do was to enter it and hold a peaceful, loving center.  Just as survivors of the WTC collapse have spoken of being enveloped in dust so thick and black that they couldn't even see their hands in front of their faces, so it was for me entering this cloud of emotion, thought and energy.  All I could experience within it was sorrow, grief, fear, and anger, and all I could do was simply be a point of holding and peace within it. I had little ability to see into the higher domains where some deeper information or insight might be available.

Late Wednesday afternoon, however, I was contacted by a being with whom I have had prior contacts and who appears to me to be one of many beings whose function is to nourish the ongoing evolution and well-being of this nation. I suppose I think of this being as an agent of the Soul of America. Through this contact, a series of images and insights began to unfold for me, but it has taken me two days to get a good handle on the information, and chances are I will still be processing it for days to come.  As the effect of this contact has deepened for me, it has also made it possible for me to journey into the situation and observe for myself some of the energies and forces at work.

Because of this I have two levels of information. One comes from an inner plane being and the second comes from my own observations working on the inner planes.

I want to differentiate clearly between these two.  Both draw on different capabilities.  In the first case, the trustworthiness of the information depends on my skills as a mediator and translator of another being's perceptions; in the second case, the trustworthiness depends on my abilities as an observer and is affected by my own interpretation of what I have seen and my thoughts about its meaning.  I have reasonably good trust in myself and in my skills in both instances, but you need to evaluate the information for yourselves, so you need to know what information is coming from what source.

In any event, as most of you know, information received using intuitive skills from the inner worlds or from inner beings is not to be given any greater authority or weight than you would give to any other information, particularly when it comes from an ordinary, human source.  It is still one person's (or one being's) perspective, and you must receive it and evaluate it using the integrity and independence of your own thinking and feeling and the guideline of your own soul and spirit.

In this email, I will share what I received from my inner contact. In a later email I will share my own observations and thoughts. What this being said and showed me could be translated in this way (understand that it takes me more words to express it than it did the being to communicate with me!):

"What has taken place is an act of sacrifice and a gift given by the Soul of America to the world at large.  To understand this, you must know two things.  The first is that whenever a death occurs, for whatever reason, whether peacefully or in violence, an energy of spirit is released. An incarnational portal is opened, just as it is at birth.  This energy is neutral or perhaps I should say, unformed. It is a gift that flows between the worlds.  What is shaped from this gift is up to those who receive it, as well as by the one whose death has released it.  Think of this energy the way your biologists and doctors think of a stem cell: it is capable of being shaped and particularized in many ways.

When a death occurs peacefully or as an act of courage and sacrifice, or when the one dying does so in a loving or blessingful way, then this energy is given a spin in a certain direction and can be a source of blessing for others. It lends itself to being shaped in positive ways.  If the death is violent and hateful, a different spin is given, and this energy can more readily be shaped in hateful ways. However, this is not a rule, and even hateful and violent deaths can generate an energy that will ultimately be shaped in loving, healing, or transformative ways.

Think of this energy as a kind of inheritance. It is a gift from the dead, a gift from the dying.  It is a gift to life, even, you may say, a gift of life that can add to and bless the lives of those who remain physically embodied. Not all inheritances are spent wisely or well, not all gifts are used with grace and blessing, but the gift itself is there nonetheless.

The giving of this gift is an act of soul and is automatic.  It is really an act inherent in the boundary between your world and ours, a result of crossing that boundary. To release this energy and to give this gift is not a conscious decision on the part of the one who has crossed the portal, but someone who dies in a mindful and loving way will greatly add to this gift and turn it from an unconscious energy into a consciously positive one.

Also, if love is present in the last moments of physical life, even if the death is violent or as a result of hateful acts, this gift can emerge untainted by the hate that may have caused the killing. Many of those who died in this event did so with thoughts of love and courage. We can see this, and the importance of this cannot be underestimated. They have left a powerful gift of energy.

That is one matter.  As you know, there is a reservoir of fear and pain, suffering and anger, hatred and separation in your world.  Why this is so is not of concern at this moment; suffice to say it is ancient in origin and that all peoples contribute to it and have therefore a responsibility towards it. All people suffer from it, whatever nation they belong to. It is a human problem, not a national or tribal one.

In this event, the soul of America has acted in a sacrificial way to take on a portion of this energy and hopefully transmute it.  It has been doing this for some time, and in this event, some of that sacrificial activity has manifested itself into the physical. There are energies of hatred and violence circling your world, so to speak, looking to land, and all nations, including your own, are contributing to this simply because people contribute to it in millions of small and mindless ways.  That this particular energy landed in your nation in this way was partly a matter of consequences returning for certain patterns and actions you have set into motion. You cannot avoid paying a price for your own acts of violence in the world.

But in spite of what many may say about America's responsibility, this action was not primarily one of retribution or of paying a price. It was an act of sacrifice, a deliberate taking on of a portion of the world's hatred and suffering because the soul of America has the capacity to receive this hatred and transmute it. This is not a test of whether or not you can do so; you have already done so.  An energy of violence needed to be grounded and was going to land somewhere. The soul of this country took it on, knowing it could absorb this blow.  An energy of love and courage has been released into the world.  There will be changes and there will be blessings.

This has happened whatever the immediate response of your people and your government may be. If your response is one that recycles the hatred in acts of revenge, this does not mean you have failed a test, only that you have not yet achieved a place of inner confidence and courage in which you can trust in a spirit of love and healing.  But you will reach that place eventually.

You must understand this.  The Soul of America is far more than its government or any one group of people. Even if your government or members of your citizenry react with hatred and seek simple revenge, this does not mean that everyone reacts that way nor does it mean that a deepening of spirit has not taken place.  For those whose desire to love, to forgive, to be peacemakers has been quickened by this event, let them extend this inclusionary, embracing spirit to their fellows, even to those who, in their own anger and pain, now seek revenge.

The gift of this sacrifice can be received in many ways by people.  For those who can receive it in a way that takes them into the deepest places of love and the celebration of the common spirit of humanity, and whose hearts can be opened to forgive, let them be grateful, but they should not condemn those who will receive this gift in different ways. If your heart is broken and opened to love, this is a grace for you to embody, not a club for you to hold over your brother's or sister's heart.

The energy behind this event needed to be received by humanity, much as the energy in a storm needs to be discharged by lightning.  It could have been much worse; its effects were greatly mitigated, in no small measure by the fact that it was taken on by this country. It is also true that even worse acts of violence have been and are being contemplated.  It is the hope of the Soul of America and of all of us who serve that great Being and serve this country from the realms of spirit that by taking on this event and the release of the energy behind it, as well as the release of the transformative power of the sacrificial act, will greatly lessen or dissolve the potential of these worse acts.

Has America lost its protection from spirit?  No.  You are greatly protected.  Bolts have formed that have never struck you and were diverted. This protection will not cease.  But you are all in a stormy world.  The charges of hatred and fear are strong in all countries, and these attract and form the bolts of violence that strike your world.  If a bolt gets through, it is unfortunate, but you must think of all the bolts that did not.

I have spoken of this as a sacrificial act made by the Soul of America. Did those who were killed have any choice in the matter? What we see is that many of those who perished had indeed made an agreement at a soul level to participate in this sacrificial act, to make it their portal for entry into our world; others did not but were drawn into the event for a great many reasons personal to them and their destinies. They could not have avoided it.

But many had not chosen this way to die nor were bound to the event by chains of attraction or consequence, and they were not touched, sometimes for miraculous reasons but mostly because of how the event actually unfolded in time and space.

In any event, all who died were immediately embraced by the love that led the Soul of America to offer itself in this way, and their entry into our world was graced and blessed by this spirit.

But as I have described, all who died gave the gift of energy released by their dying. And in the opening of the portal so powerfully by the deaths of so many, this gift of life from death, even though initiated by the hatred of a few, became a channel for an outpouring of the love that is at the heart of America.  It is, I know, a painful gift, but it is a gift nonetheless. It is for you who remain to take that gift and reshape your world with it.  It is a precious thing, and it can remake your world.  I bless you."

.....

Message from STEPHEN JAY GOULD--
26 September 2001:

September 26, 2001

A Time of Gifts
By STEPHEN JAY GOULD

The patterns of human history mix decency and depravity in equal measure. We often assume, therefore, that such a fine balance of results must emerge from societies made of decent and depraved people in equal numbers. But we need to expose and celebrate the fallacy of this conclusion so that, in this moment of crisis, we may reaffirm an essential truth too easily forgotten, and regain some crucial comfort too readily forgone. Good and kind people outnumber all others by thousands to one. The tragedy of human history lies in the enormous potential for destruction in rare acts of evil, not in the high frequency of evil people. Complex systems can only be built step by step, whereas destruction requires but an instant. Thus, in what I like to call the Great Asymmetry, every spectacular incident of evil will be balanced by 10,000 acts of kindness, too often unnoted and invisible as the "ordinary" efforts of a vast majority.

We have a duty, almost a holy responsibility, to record and honor the victorious weight of these innumerable little kindnesses, when an unprecedented act of evil so threatens to distort our perception of ordinary human behavior. I have stood at ground zero, stunned by the twisted ruins of the largest human structure ever destroyed in a catastrophic moment. (I will discount the claims of a few biblical literalists for the Tower of Babel.) And I have contemplated a single day of carnage that our nation has not suffered since battles that still evoke passions and tears, nearly 150 years later: Antietam, Gettysburg, Cold Harbor. The scene is insufferably sad, but not at all depressing. Rather, ground zero can only be described, in the lost meaning of a grand old word, as "sublime," in the sense of awe inspired by solemnity.

In human terms, ground zero is the focal point for a vast web of bustling goodness, channeling uncountable deeds of kindness from an entire planet — the acts that must be recorded to reaffirm the overwhelming weight of human decency. The rubble of ground zero stands mute, while a beehive of human activity churns within, and radiates outward, as everyone makes a selfless contribution, big or tiny according to means and skills, but each of equal worth. My wife and stepdaughter established a depot on Spring Street to collect and ferry needed items in short supply, including face masks and shoe inserts, to the workers at ground zero. Word spreads like a fire of goodness, and people stream in, bringing gifts from a pocketful of batteries to a $10,000 purchase of hard hats, made on the spot at a local supply house and delivered right to us.

I will cite but one tiny story, among so many, to add to the count that will overwhelm the power of any terrorist's act. And by such tales, multiplied many millionfold, let those few depraved people finally understand why their vision of inspired fear cannot prevail over ordinary decency. As we left a local restaurant to make a delivery to ground zero late one evening, the cook gave us a shopping bag and said: "Here's a dozen apple brown bettys, our best dessert, still warm. Please give them to the rescue workers." How lovely, I thought, but how meaningless, except as an act of solidarity, connecting the cook to the cleanup. Still, we promised that we would make the distribution, and we put the bag of 12 apple brown bettys atop several thousand face masks and shoe pads.

Twelve apple brown bettys into the breach. Twelve apple brown bettys for thousands of workers.  And then I learned something important that I should never have forgotten — and the joke turned on me. Those 12 apple brown bettys went like literal hot cakes. These trivial symbols in my initial judgment turned into little drops of gold within a rainstorm of similar offerings for the stomach and soul, from children's postcards to cheers by the roadside. We gave the last one to a firefighter, an older man in a young crowd, sitting alone in utter exhaustion as he inserted one of our shoe pads.  And he said, with a twinkle and a smile restored to his face: "Thank you. This is the most lovely thing I've seen in four days — and still warm!"

Stephen Jay Gould, a professor of zoology at Harvard, is the author of "Questioning the Millennium."  Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company.

.....
Message from ORIN & DABEN --
a "channeled" message for the full moon of 2 October 2001
27 September 2001:

Greetings from Orin and DaBen!
(http://www.orindaben.com/home/odmsg0915.htm)

You have all responded beautifully in this time of great sorrow.  You have joined together on the inner planes with other light workers and the beings of light, you have lifted solar plexus responses such as fear and anger into your heart center, and you have been a source of light and love for those around.
Your individual responses have collectively created a wave of love that is greatly needed, and that will touch the heart centers of many with new love and awakening.

During times such as these, enormous numbers of people are open to new ways of thinking and are listening to the voice of their hearts and their souls.  The great loss that has occurred has given everyone a chance to reflect upon the purpose and meaning of their lives.  It has impelled millions to turn upward, reaffirm their belief in God/Goddess/All-That-Is, and feel their oneness with each other.

We see a humanity that is more united than ever before.  Even if the unity experienced at this high level is for just a brief while, the joining together that is now happening will have effects for years to come.  Humanity is learning how to form a collective voice, and the inner connections that are being formed during this time will be carried out with new actions, thoughts, organizations, choices, and decisions that will change the course of history.

The group of souls who gave up their lives, and the loved ones they left behind, are part of a remarkable soul group.  Take a moment to sense the courage, love, and sacrifice this group of souls has made.  Those souls who have passed on have given humanity an enormous opportunity to awaken their inner strength and the will to act with wisdom to bring about world peace and unity.

These are remarkable souls, and you will note in the stories you hear about them that they seemed to be special people known by their kindness, willingness to help others, and by a certain light and radiance they possessed.  These souls and their loved ones are being honored and blessed by the loving thoughts of millions.  Through their sacrifice, and through the prayers of millions, they will move to a new level of spiritual awakening as souls.  Those
who are left behind will find many rewards of light, awakening, love, and spiritual progress coming to them out of this great sacrifice that they are experiencing.

There are powerful energies of Divine Will that are pouring into the earth plane starting in the year 2000 and coming throughout this year.  These are the energies that destroy old thought forms, release illusions, and bring to the surface that which has been hidden.  Dense, negative energies that have been ignored and hidden are coming to the surface to be dealt with and negated.
 This is the aspect of Divine Will that releases obstacles and assists people in finding the shortest path to the goal, which is unity with respect for differences, guardianship of other life forms, and a humanity that can act collectively to create the highest good for all life.

The powerful waves of Divine Will are the carriers of Divine Love. A wave of Divine Love is flowing into humanity, and you can and will experience this love and goodness being expressed in many new ways.  The crystallized thoughts that have allowed hate and separatism to exist are being shattered, never again to be as strong.  Do not underestimate the power of Divine Will and the transformation that is possible with Divine Love.

This has been called the year of the Great Decision, culminating with the full moon of October 2nd.  This is the year you need to decide -- are you going to love and focus on your unity with others, or are you going to feel separate and focus on your differences?  Are you going to listen to your heart and do those things your heart has been calling to you to do?  Are you willing to be a source of love and a beacon of light for those around?  During the full moon of October, we invite all of you to join us on the inner planes to unite as one voice to draw in and transmit waves of Divine Love to humanity and to all life.

A suggestion of how to meditate for humanity right now and call upon the Great Ones can be found by visiting our worldwide meditation page.  Receive these energies of Divine Will and Divine Love and become a transmitter of these to your friends and loved ones.  Whatever decision you make will determine your path, and will collectively determine the path of humanity.

.....

Message from  FREDERIC and MARY ANN BRUSSAT,
directly inspired by Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh's
"Please Call Me By My True Names"
and his book, Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flame --

Michelmas, 29 September 2001:

REST IN PEACE

I am a World Trade Center tower, standing tall in the clear blue sky, feeling
a violent blow in my side, and I am a towering inferno of pain and suffering
imploding upon myself and collapsing to the ground.
May I rest in peace.

I am a terrified passenger on a hijacked airplane not knowing where we are going or that I am riding on fuel tanks that will be instruments of death, and I am a worker arriving at my office not knowing that in just a moment my future will be obliterated.
May I rest in peace.

I am a pigeon in the plaza between the two towers eating crumbs from someone's breakfast when fire rains down on me from the skies, and I am a bed of flowers admired daily by thousands of tourists now buried under five
stories of rubble.
May I rest in peace.

I am a firefighter sent into dark corridors of smoke and debris on a mission of mercy only to have it collapse around me, and I am a rescue worker risking my life to save lives who is very aware that I may not make it out alive.
May I rest in peace.

I am a survivor who has fled down the stairs and out of the building to safety who knows that nothing will ever be the same in my soul again, and I am a doctor in a hospital treating patients burned from head to toe who knows
that these horrible images will remain in my mind forever.
May I know peace.

I am a tourist in Times Square looking up at the giant TV screens thinking
I'm seeing a disaster movie as I watch the Twin Towers crash to the ground,
and I am a New York woman sending e-mails to friends and family letting them know that I am safe.
May I know peace.

I am a piece of paper that was on someone's desk this morning and now I'm
debris scattered by the wind across lower Manhattan, and I am a stone in the
graveyard at Trinity Church covered with soot from the buildings that once
stood proudly above me,  death meeting death.
May I rest in peace.

I am a dog sniffing in the rubble for signs of life, doing my best to be of service, and I am a blood donor waiting in line to make a simple but very needed
contribution for the victims.
May I know peace.

I am a resident in an apartment in downtown New York who has been forced to evacuate my home, and I am a resident in an apartment uptown who has walked 100 blocks home in a stream of other refugees.
May I know peace.

I am a family member who has just learned that someone I love has died, and I
am a pastor who must comfort someone who has suffered a heart-breaking loss.
May I know peace.

I am a loyal American who feels violated and vows to stand behind any military action it takes to wipe terrorists off the face of the earth, and I am a loyal American who feels violated and worries that people who look and sound like me are all going to be blamed for this tragedy.
May I know peace.

I am a frightened city dweller who wonders whether I'll ever feel safe in a
skyscraper again, and I am a pilot who wonders whether there will ever be a
way to make the skies truly safe.
May I know peace.

I am the owner of a small store with five employees that has been put out of
business by this tragedy, and I am an executive in a multinational corporation who is concerned about the cost of doing business in a terrorized world.
May I know peace.

I am a visitor to New York City who purchases postcards of the World Trade
Center Twin Towers that are no more, and I am a television reporter trying to
put into words the terrible things I have seen.
May I know peace.

I am a boy in New Jersey waiting for a father who will never come home, and I
am a boy in a faraway country rejoicing in the streets of my village because
someone has hurt the hated Americans.
May I know peace.

I am a general talking into the microphones about how we must stop the terrorist cowards who have perpetrated this heinous crime, and I am an
intelligence officer trying to discern how such a thing could have happened
on American soil, and I am a city official trying to find ways to alleviate the suffering of my people.
May I know peace.

I am a terrorist whose hatred for America knows no limit and I am willing to
die to prove it, and I am a terrorist sympathizer standing with all the enemies of American capitalism and imperialism, and I am a master strategist for a terrorist group who planned this abomination. My heart is not yet capable of openness, tolerance, and loving.
May I know peace.

I am a citizen of the world glued to my television set, fighting back my rage and despair at these horrible events, and I am a person of faith struggling to forgive the unforgivable, praying for the consolation of those who have lost loved ones, calling upon the merciful beneficence of God/Yahweh/Allah/Spirit/Higher Power.
May I know peace.

I am a child of God who believes that we are all children of God and we are
all part of each other.
May we all know peace.

.....

Message from EVA HOFFMAN --
30 September 2001:

Eva Hoffman: Such a facile response to terrorism

 'A vision of the world in which we treat "America" as giant bad parent and others as helpless victim children is insufficient'

 27 September 2001

On Tuesday, 11 September, we walked into a new phase of history as into a nightmare from which we keep hoping to awaken. The specific horror of that day's events cannot be undone; and yet, awaken we must. But to what?

It was Karl Marx who observed that consciousness usually lags badly behind reality. The realities of what happened on 11 September are admittedly difficult to absorb by any mind; still, the gap between a radically new situation and curiously predictable categories of explanation has been striking in these strange days, and it has been no less evident in the responses emerging from the left than in the orthodox conservative reactions. The discussion has latterly grown more textured and less polarised; but the first impulse of many progressive commentators in the wake of the terrible events was to reach for their holsters and come up brandishing standard-issue anti-Americanism as if it were a brave new piece of subversive analysis.

I am not a temperamental Americanophile. After spending most of my adult life in the US, I decided to come back to Europe after all. Still, the instant deflection of rage from the perpetrator to the target, the undercurrent of schadenfreude evident in many statements ("What do you expect, given American foreign policy? They had it coming to them. We have to have a more complex view of where terrorist rage comes from.  Americans will just have to learn why the world hates them so much") has been astonishing and dismaying.

Dismaying because I fear that such facile formulations may divert us from trying to understand the truly complex circumstances confronting us today. The reflexive anti-Americanism expresses not only a politics, but a kind of political psychology, whose assumptions are worth examining.

For one thing, the automatic projection of blame on to "America" (a largely metaphoric entity in this discourse) for all of the world's, and now its own woes, attributes to that country a phantasmagoric omnipotence that goes much beyond its actual, admittedly considerable powers. For another, this conception of the world discounts, with unconscious condescension, the agency of others and the fact that various countries and regions have their own histories, cultures, long-standing conflicts, and their very own, internal causes of inequality, poverty and oppression.

Yes, American foreign policy has often been misguided and sometimes reprehensible. But the attacks in New York and Washington, or the larger phenomenon of fundamentalist fury, are not reactions to actual American policies. If we think that a change in any one of those policies – including a magic solution in the Middle East, which supposedly lies within the touch of America's wand to accomplish – would induce the lion to lie down with the lamb, we are kidding ourselves.

Where the fury stems from is less clear. Undoubtedly, a widespread impoverishment and sense of powerlessness provide fuel for the anger. And the growing gap between the rich and the poor is something the West will have to tackle energetically – although there are dimensions of this unhappy phenomenon that no amount of Western good will could easily fix.

But above all, if we are to believe the perpetrators and participants themselves, the rage is an expression of an incredibly powerful, incredibly reductive mythology. A progressive critique of the politics of that mythology is something that is urgently needed and (with the exception of analyses emerging from a few knowledgeable commentators) oddly absent from the larger discussion so far.

In our eagerness to distance ourselves from a wholesale anti-Muslim sentiment (as we of course should), we forget that for fundamentalist leaders it is much easier to scapegoat the Great Satan than to address problems caused by their own repressive regimes. We seem to have unlearned all the lessons about dictatorships and their ruthlessness in exploiting their own populations. We forget that there is such a thing as populist fascism, easily incited among the disaffected by rhetorically extremist demagogues. We underestimate the extent to which the linchpin (or at least propagandist raison d'etre) of traditionalist mullahs' policy is a titanic struggle between putative good and evil, victims and oppressors, Islam and the West.

As a Polish Jew, I happen to be intimately familiar with the temptations of the martyrological mindset, and acutely aware of its dangers. In my study of Polish-Jewish history – among all the contested pasts, one of the most bitterly contested – I examined the ways in which Polish Jews, even though a minority and often a target of prejudice, were nevertheless hardly unimplicated in their fate or free of prejudices of their own. For example, their insistence on separateness in the service of preserving religious and cultural identity, had, I concluded, its own costs and sometimes tragic consequences.  I raised these painful issues because it seems to me crucial to decode our own tribal mythologies, and to understand both the parameters of our external circumstances and the extent to which we are actors in our own histories.

But it is also the better part of respect to treat others – even if they come from less "privileged" societies than our own -- as responsible agents, with a capacity to think, diagnose their situation, and exercise at least some choices and options. We keep shouting at America to "learn its lessons". What do we have to say to those responsible for the attacks and their supporters? Should their motives, mindset, reasons, be the object of our concern, or address? Or do we want to say to them (as we tacitly have been doing), "You are right, America is hateful, and the source of all your troubles. We understand your outrage, and America will just have to learn why you hate it so much?"

But here too, the Critical Spirit lies strangely supine. Is that because we see all mass anger as the righteous wrath of the people and therefore beyond question? But if we perceive all eruptions of grievance as necessarily justified, we treat "the people" as a natural phenomenon of sorts, an uncontrollable force beyond human responsibility. And that, it seems to me, is ultimately not a service even to those whose anger and beliefs have been recruited so potently on behalf of a profoundly retrograde ideology.

A vision of the world in which we treat "America" as giant bad parent and others as helpless victim children is insufficient.  With all sensitivity to cultural difference and disparities of vantage point, it would surely be useful to enter into an honest and rigorous dialogue with moderate segments of the Islamic community in this country, and to identify elements of democratic opposition within Islamic countries – to find out what they are thinking, and what they might want from us.  Beyond that, we need to start thinking seriously about the sources of religious fervour and fanaticism; about the benefits of creating a demonised enemy, and the attractions of subsuming one's individuality in a system of laws and a collective cause.

It is still unclear what the American course of action will be. It is unfortunate to have a man as inarticulate as Bush at the helm at a moment when we long for some eloquence to shape our feelings. But so far, amazingly enough, his administration has not reacted in a hysterical or trigger-happy way. Let us hope that when it comes, military retaliation will be limited to the actual sites of terrorism.

The progressive left has an important role to play in what is bound to be a long-term crisis; but it cannot make meaningful contributions by clinging to comfortingly familiar paradigms. I keep thinking of a man interviewed on a news programme recently – a rare Egyptian dissident, who spent some years in prison, and hundreds of whose colleagues are in prison still – who suggested, in hesitant and regretful tones, that the problem in many Arab Peninsula countries is the lack of democracy. It probably took great courage for him to make this modest statement; but, unless we want to be unwittingly guilty of yet another trahison des clercs, we need to keep in mind people like him.

At the beginning of a perplexing new era in geopolitics, we too indulge ourselves in our old preconceptions not only at our own, but at others' peril.

 The writer is the author of 'Lost in Translation', 'Shtetl' and 'The Secret.'

.....

Message from "GOD" --
30 September 2001:

God Angrily Clarifies 'Don't Kill' Rule
26 September 2001

NEW YORK—Responding to recent events on Earth, God, the omniscient creator-deity worshipped by billions of followers of various faiths for more than 6,000 years, angrily clarified His longtime stance against humans killing each other Monday.

"Look, I don't know, maybe I haven't made myself completely clear, so for the record, here it is again," said the Lord, His divine face betraying visible emotion during a press conference near the site of the fallen Twin Towers. "Somehow, people keep coming up with the idea that I want them to kill their neighbor. Well, I don't. And to be honest, I'm really getting sick and tired of it. Get it straight. Not only do I not want anybody to kill anyone, but I specifically commanded you not to, in really simple terms that anybody ought to be able to understand."

Worshipped by Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike, God said His name has been invoked countless times over the centuries as a reason to kill in what He called "an unending cycle of violence."

"I don't care how holy somebody claims to be," God said. "If a person tells you it's My will that they kill someone, they're wrong. Got it? I don't care what religion you are, or who you think your enemy is, here it is one more time: No killing, in My name or anyone else's, ever again."

The press conference came as a surprise to humankind, as God rarely intervenes in earthly affairs. As a matter of longstanding policy, He has traditionally left the task of interpreting His message and divine will to clerics, rabbis, priests, imams, and Biblical scholars. Theologians and laymen alike have been given the task of pondering His ineffable mysteries, deciding for themselves what to do as a matter of faith. His decision to manifest on the material plane was motivated by the deep sense of shock, outrage, and sorrow He felt over the Sept. 11 violence carried out in His name, and over its dire potential ramifications around the globe.

"I tried to put it in the simplest possible terms for you people, so you'd get it straight, because I thought it was pretty important," said God, called Yahweh and Allah respectively in the Judaic and Muslim traditions. "I guess I figured I'd left no real room for confusion after putting it in a four-word sentence with one-syllable words, on the tablets I gave to Moses. How much more clear can I get?"

"But somehow, it all gets twisted around and, next thing you know, somebody's spouting off some nonsense about, 'God says I have to kill this guy, God wants me to kill that guy, it's God's will,'" God continued. "It's not God's will, all right? News flash: 'God's will' equals 'Don't murder people.'"

Worse yet, many of the worst violators claim that their actions are justified by passages in the Bible, Torah, and Qur'an.

"To be honest, there's some contradictory stuff in there, okay?" God said. "So I can see how it could be pretty misleading. I admit it—My bad. I did My best to inspire them, but a lot of imperfect human agents have misinterpreted My message over the millennia. Frankly, much of the material that got in there is dogmatic, doctrinal bullshit. I turn My head for a second and, suddenly, all this stuff about homosexuality gets into Leviticus, and everybody thinks it's God's will to kill gays. It absolutely drives Me up the wall."

God praised the overwhelming majority of His Muslim followers as "wonderful, pious people," calling the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 attacks rare exceptions.

"This whole medieval concept of the jihad, or holy war, had all but vanished from the Muslim world in, like, the 10th century, and with good reason," God said. "There's no such thing as a holy war, only unholy ones. The vast majority of Muslims in this world reject the murderous actions of these radical extremists, just like the vast majority of Christians in America are pissed off over those two bigots on The 700 Club."

Continued God, "Read the book: 'Allah is kind, Allah is beautiful, Allah is merciful.' It goes on and on that way, page after page. But, no, some assholes have to come along and revive this stupid holy-war crap just to further their own hateful agenda. So now, everybody thinks Muslims are all murderous barbarians. Thanks, Taliban: 1,000 years of pan-Islamic cultural progress down the drain."

God stressed that His remarks were not directed exclusively at Islamic extremists, but rather at anyone whose ideological zealotry overrides his or her ability to comprehend the core message of all world religions.

"I don't care what faith you are, everybody's been making this same mistake since the dawn of time," God said. "The Muslims massacre the Hindus, the Hindus massacre the Muslims. The Buddhists, everybody massacres the Buddhists. The Jews, don't even get me started on the hardline, right-wing, Meir Kahane-loving Israeli nationalists, man. And the Christians? You people believe in a Messiah who says, 'Turn the other cheek,' but you've been killing everybody you can get your hands on since the Crusades."

Growing increasingly wrathful, God continued: "Can't you people see? What are you, morons? There are a ton of different religious traditions out there, and different cultures worship Me in different ways. But the basic message is always the same: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Shintoism... every religious belief system under the sun, they all say you're supposed to love your neighbors, folks! It's not that hard a concept to grasp."

"Why would you think I'd want anything else? Humans don't need religion or God as an excuse to kill each other—you've been doing that without any help from Me since you were freaking apes!"  God said. "The whole point of believing in God is to have a higher standard of behavior. How obvious can you get?"

"I'm talking to all of you, here!" continued God, His voice rising to a shout. "Do you hear Me? I don't want you to kill anybody. I'm against it, across the board. How many times do I have to say it?  Don't kill each other anymore — ever! I'm fucking serious!"

Upon completing His outburst, God fell silent, standing quietly at the podium for several moments. Then, witnesses reported, God's shoulders began to shake, and He wept.

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Related Myth*ing Links Pages:
New York, 11 September 2001
The Crone Papers: Notes on the Mideast
Wars, Weapons, and Lies: The Dehumanizing Impulse
Afghanistan
Letter from an Afghan-American
Pakistan

Off-site:
Collected by Ryan Garland, these are pages of stunning, deeply moving photos
of worldwide responses to the tragedy of 11 September 2001:
"America's tragedy is felt by all the world..." at:
http://thankyou.fast-networks.net/
(alternate: http://coo.stonekitty.net/thankyou/)

** Excellent links that reached me after I published my page pre-dawn on 1 October 2001**:
"An open letter to President Bush from a former sergeant in the U.S.  Marines, Greg Nees":
http://www.coliving.org/letterToPresident.html

A Widow's Plea for Non-Violence by Amber Amundson, wife of Craig Scott Amundson,
an enlisted specialist in the Army, killed at the Pentagon:
http://www.users.qwest.net/~jjesseph/Afghan15.html

General Index for Global Peace Campaign:
http://www.users.qwest.net/~jjesseph/Afghan.index.html
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My complete Site Map and e-mail address will be found on my Home Page --
just click on the scarab.

This page created with Netscape Gold;
colors may appear distorted on Macs.
Technical assistance: William Weeks
Text and Design:
© 2001 by Kathleen Jenks, Ph.D.
All rights reserved
The color-enhanced scarbs come from a now defunct site.

Page designed 30 September 2001;
published 1 October 2001, 2am.
Updates: 1 October 2001, 8:45pm (added full text of Thich Nhat Hanh's work --
previous e-mail version sent to me had lost much in transmission;
changed scarabs to upright position because left-right horizontals bothered me; Nedstated page);
2 October 2001, 1:30am: discovered it wasn't Thich Nhat Hanh's work after all,
although it was directly inspired by it -- I corrected the data.