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As a young child I was free to wander alone in the woods that filled the hills rolling along the Ohio River Valley. I realize now that these times of solitary intimacy with big nature are among the greatest gifts I have been given. These wanderings in the wild nurtured an awareness that clearly guides me every day. And at the heart of this guiding awareness are stories--stories of moments that transformed me, that opened my mind to new dimensions, and let me see in a new way. Telling these stories flexes the interior muscles of that awareness, keeping it supple and alert. As I am sustained by these stories, I have noticed that they have the ability to sustain other members of the tribe of homo sapiens. It is no wonder I find myself drawn to these "Gaian Tales" that others tell. They are water on a dry desert day, fire on a cold autumn night. The EarthStories Project emerged from this insight. I have drawn a circle in cyberspace to gather a few of these stories--stories of our most profound, gentle, fierce, mysterious, life changing moments in nature. Here we tell of encounters with rivers, whirlpools, thunderstorms, meteor showers, coral reefs, mountain lions, rattlesnakes, spring's first fields of wildflowers, hidden hot springs, lava plumes, ancient yews, clouds of ladybugs, scorpion's sting. There will be fear, even terror, but the stories gathering in this Storyspace have at their metaphorical center, Joy. In the spirit of Uvavnuk, an Inuit shaman woman struck by lightning (some accounts say meteor)...this is one of many translations of her song that emerged from that event as recorded by Knut Rassmussen at the turn of the previous century... The great sea has sent me adrift, it moves me like a weed in the great river, Earth and the great weather move me, have carried me away and move my inward parts with joy. LET THE STORYTELLING BEGIN! Claudia L'Amoreaux March 18, 1999 [The EarthStories Project is a gift to my daughter, Catherine Zohara, on her 20th birthday, and to all the children and theirs.] A Gaian Invocation You'll find the stories here: Earth Day 96 Earth Day 99 Earth Day 2000 Read about how to post your own stories here: Story Space FAQ ]-[ |