Gaia News & Glitta

   #10

It is my prediction that by 2004, money and power are going to be in the hands of the spiritual community.

SRI SIVA

The Gift of Cowrie by Latranei Gaibole

Column: BenBen Volume 45: The real history of the cowrie shell, and why it is valued as a cultural and spiritual item

She walked through the park in her long mud cloth dress, her locks tied away from her face. Hanging from her ears were simple, yet elegant, cowrie-shell earrings, and hanging loosely around her neck was a rare necklace made with copper and cowrie shells to match her earrings. Her dress was simple, yet elegant, and the cowries sewed onto it in the pattern of the Sankofa Adinkra symbol made a statement that could not be denied. Her dreadlocks, unruly yet tied away from her face with a barrette adorned with cowrie shells, had more shells woven into them. The woman was conscious of the attention that her presence drew, and knew that as she continued on her way, her appearance caused heads to turn towards her from all directions. She was not a beautiful woman, but her dress and presentation inspired admiration from all who laid eyes on her.

The cowrie shell is perhaps the most recognizable of African cultural and spiritual symbols. It is an item that we wear when we wish to portray the message that we are conscious, spiritual and fighting for the upliftment of Africans worldwide. They are used to make statements: social, cultural, spiritual and political. The intended symbolism of the cowrie depends on the context in which it is used. But regardless of its use, the cowrie always inspires admiration, respect and awe.

Traditionally, the cowrie shell has a very specific meaning and history, but because many people who use cowries are not knowledgeable about the important spiritual meaning and history that cowries carry, they are often misunderstood and misinterpreted. Cowrie shells are not meant to be mere fashion statements; they are serious spiritual items that deserve respect and honor.

Cowrie is the common name given to marine gastropods belonging to the family Cypraeidae, a family of marine snails that are found in the tropics. They are found in the Indian Ocean, around southern California and in many other places. The cowrie's shell is covered by its large mantle when alive - when the cowrie walks across the ocean floor, the mantle envelopes the shell. The cowrie is constantly adding layers onto the top surface of its shell, so unlike other mollusks who add on larger quarters to their shells when needed, the cowrie constantly adds new shell layers to the top of the shell while simultaneously using acid to eat away at the interior layers.

To fully understand the importance and history of the cowrie shell, I petitioned Master Naba, Dogon Priest and Spiritual Master from Burkina Faso, one of the centers for culture and spirituality in West Africa. While I had researched the cowrie shell at length, the quality of the information that I found was missing something. I knew there was a deeper meaning and history behind the cowrie. Master Naba was able to close the enormous gaps in my research and tie everything together.

The cowrie shell was the first symbol of money and wealth known to mankind. In Ancient Africa (and at that time, the African civilization encompassed every land on Earth), the cowrie was used much like the dollar is used today. They were wealth, and they were traded for goods and services. But why would humanity choose the cowrie shell over all other items that could be used for the same purpose?

"There is a Goddess who lives in the water called Mote or more affectionately, the 'Mommy of Water'. This Goddess lives in the sea, and because the sea surrounds all of the lands and is connected to all water on Earth, she is accessible through any body of water. This Goddess is a powerful Goddess who affects the lives of people on Earth as well as other Deities. Mote often adopts people as a husband, brother, sister, mother, friend, child, etc., and she can become very jealous when a human that she has adopted becomes close with another human being because she fears that her adopted human might pay more attention to the other human being than to her. The Mommy of Water has the ability to reward those who please her and to punish those who do not. The rewards that the Mommy of Water gives when she is pleased is the cowrie shell, and this is where the notion of money comes from," Master Naba explained.

"The Mommy of Water is so powerful that she was able to prove to the entire world that she can reward or punish people at will. The cowrie shell comes as a token of recognition by the Goddess," Naba went on to say. "When people pleased her, she made the sea wash out cowrie shells on the beach that came from deep within her kingdom, the sea. They came as a proof of being accepted by the Goddess and as a reward and gift from her. Because it carried such a heavy spiritual meaning, people who did not live by the coast wished to trade things with people for the cowrie shells. They wanted to have something from the Goddess too."

Why was it so important for someone to have an object that was given by a God or Goddess? Why would people travel hundreds of kilometers to trade goods for little shells? "Cowrie shells are a gift from a Deity. The best way to access a Deity is through the gifts offered by that Deity," Master Naba said.

The Mommy of Water is a very powerful Deity in that she can affect human life and personality drastically. While she is not part of an Ennead of Gods and is seen as a 'lesser' Goddess, her direct contact with humans makes her popular and powerful. Her counterpart on land is the Goddess Sekhmet, a very powerful Goddess on Earth. "Her gift of the cowrie shell is one that is not taken lightly, as it symbolizes one of the four elements of life: 'mooey', or water. Gods of the other three elements also give important gifts," explained Master Naba, "that could have been used as money but were not. Nwt, or fire, gives the holy fire, a purifying fire that is needed for a God to reach the heavens, and Nwt gives the celeste rock as a gift. Shw (air) gives incense and spices. Geb (Earth) gives gold. We do not see gold in the same materialistic way that others do. Gold is really a gift from the God Geb and is holy and spiritual."

It makes sense that divination is often done in traditional Africa using cowrie shells. "The best way to access a deity is through their gift," Naba told me. Cowrie shell readings, then, are not readings of Earth Energies, but rather readings of intervention. The accuracy of the readings depend on the growth of the reader. "Mote is a Goddess that can affect everything. Every God found her useful, and that is why cowrie shells are used. The reader is using the influence of the Goddess when doing a reading because she has access to every deity, being and place!" Naba explained.

Namaste,

Well, its 2004 and the world's wealth is still in the hands for the most part of what he calls "non-spiritual" people. One can still hope though and the year is still young. I'm going to work with these 2 and see what happens. I always give a mantra 3 months of repeating it every day at least 108 times a day to see its effectiveness in my life.

Peace, Liaya

This discussion taken from the BlackGoddessForum@yahoogroups.com with Matomah Alesha

Putting Money Back into the Hands of the Spiritual People

Sri Siva speaks

Born in Tamil Nadu, India, Sri Siva is the first scholar-mystic from the Tamil Siddha tradition to travel to the West. Sri Siva studied with gurus in the Himalayas and South India. He holds two master's degrees in literature from India and a doctorate in religion from the University of Pittsburgh, where he taught meditation courses.

As the Siddha mantras have never been published, the mystical teachings can only be passed on by word of mouth. The first individual to be given permission to teach these meditations was Wayne Dyer. Sri Siva, who remained in silence for a long period, is now coming forth to teach this powerful wisdom himself.

In general, spiritual people shy away from money and this is a historic truth. Examine a statement like the following: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Examine the life of the Buddha that led him to leave the palace and his wife and child in order to become a monk. Somehow the world has put god on one side and money on the other. You go to church/temple/mosque and all of a sudden you become very grave. You seem to think that god might love long faces because your concept of god is that he is a kill-joy and a peeping Tom. It is time that spiritual people change their negative attitude towards money and material life.

My commitment in this lifetime is to put money and power back into the hands of the spiritual people. Currently, money is in the wrong hands - those of people who are totally unconscious. These rich people are self-centered, egocentric and want to grow richer and richer at any cost. They don't even realize that they have more money than they could possibly spend in this lifetime. They have no sympathy for the 3 billion human beings who go to bed hungry. There  is no willingness to share their wealth. Conversely, the poor and the spiritual people want to share whatever they have with those who are in need. Unfortunately, because these people don't have money, their sympathy has very little impact.

The World is Changing

We are living on the threshold of a New Age in which there will be a paradigm shift. It is my prediction that by 2004, money and power are going to be in the hands of the spiritual community. I need to prepare the world for this change. Fundamentally, spiritual people should come out of the closet and become more active. It is important for them to understand that if you meditate for longer hours and spend a lot of time reflecting on god, over a period of time you will become other-worldly. In some cases, it may even create depression and a lack of interest in being active.

It is important that all spiritual people should do something to remain grounded. They can practice a martial art or some other form of physical exercise that will keep them alert. Also, get rid of the concept that this world is an illusion and it is important to focus attention on god rather than the world. You must realize that the world with all its complexity and silliness is still the creation of god. Think that when you are having a good meal, you are connecting with god. To run away from the world is to run away from god.

Some Tips to Radically Change Your Mind

Perhaps you have been a monk or ascetic for many lifetimes. In those lifetimes, your priority had only been god. You rejected relationship, worldly pleasures, politics, etc. in favor of a reclusive and ascetic life. These strong memories from past lives should be erased. I have developed a meditation for this problem. It involves meditating with the sound Thiruneelakantam. This sound is what I call a Karma- busting mantra. The sound will work like a pill.

As soon as the sound gets diffused into your throat area, you will experience the evaporation of your past karma. You will then no longer have the desire to stick with your old car. Miraculously, things will change and then you will end up acquiring a Mercedes. Over the past few years, I have helped many people to buy a Mercedes, build a home or move to a new apartment.

In the year 2001, I put out a lot of my energy to workwith spiritual people. The world will not see any substantial progress unless money and power change hands. From time immemorial, money has always remained in the hands of the wrong people. No more can we allow this to happen. Already the world has suffered. Let us bring all the spiritual people together and work towards this goal. Over the last few years, Wayne Dyer and Deepak Chopra have done important work in this area. I congratulate both of them for their extraordinary work. I gave the "Ah" meditation particularly to Wayne Dyer. I am glad that it is being practiced all over the world. I just came back from London and I heard many people speak about their success with the "Ah" meditation. As we go along, I will reveal more secrets about transforming your procreative energy into money and power energy.

 Ara Kara: The Technique for Power, Money and Enlightenment

The mantra "Ara Kara" is an exceptional one from the Tamil Siddha Tradition. It will fundamentally change your mind to have a positive attitude to accomplish anything that you need in life. Historically, the technique has been used at times when there have been major shifts of power. The technique will dethrone heartless dictators and bad rulers and establish dharma or righteousness. It is my desire to start a global "Ara Kara" Meditation Group at specific times of the day in order to bring in the new world order. The group will use the Internet to facilitate the change of power.
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From: "Matomah Alesha"

I think some black people shrink on this issue because its connected to slavery...when folks use to clean other peoples houses and the old stories and the years of oppression there is plenty to point your finger at and say MONEY IS EVIL...MONEY KILLS. Because in the ghetto, the plantations, the palaces, the homes some of us grew up in....that is what we can see and conclude....money leads to soul-less cruelty to life, to people, even to your own kin.

My development around this includes the mistakes that others make and the limited vision they have about spirituality and money.

I have also seen though....diviners with a heart of gold who live in poverty....I see the struggling artists....who work in places they hate and struggle everyday to get the monies to do art...spiritual healing art. I know about this and seen. When we point out for instances that most of the nations tax dollars goes to the military...we are also saying that our money is not going to life changing, spirit uplifting programs, individuals, organizations and visions that add to people and nature and not destabilize it.

The journey with the Black Goddess, for me, includes reclaiming all things and reorienting them to something that is pro-life and pro-creativity.

This means
SEX,
LAND,
MONEY,
FUN,
SCIENCE,
TECHNOLOGY,
MARRIAGE,
MEDICINE,
FAMILY,
EDUCATION,
CHILD REARING,
and more......so its one house....among many houses that have...as it were a patriarchal, anti native energy that has taken it over...its guardians.....and made the whole thing a servant to nihilism. In Kemet....every place beamed with light and love....and the issues we face wont change until we courageous go into every house, look under every stone......take every text, holy book and genealogy book and turn it to the sun. This is a holy marriage...money, social responsibility, spirituality, the universe, ethics.......one BIG FAT GROUP MARRIAGE. So don't avoid anything....not when the whole universe and the world depends on it. 
Peace Mat

"The rewards that the Mommy of Water gives when she is pleased is the cowrie shell, and this is where the notion of money comes from," Master Naba explained.

Cowrie Myths

The cowrie shell has often been associated with the female sexual organ. This association has no basis in spiritual fact or tradition and is a modern concept. The aperture, or opening, is in the form of a toothy slit. Historically, the association of this part of the cowrie began with Europeans, who associated it with the genital tract of their female pigs. In Pompeii., women connected cowries with the womb and Goddess energy (which is not entirely incorrect, as the cowrie is associated with the Mommy of Water) and wore them as necklaces to ensure their fertility. In traditional Japan, women hold cowries during childbirth to help the progress. It is to be noted that the association between female sexual organs and the cowrie shell is a modern concept and has no basis in spirituality or African culture.

Use of Cowries

Cowrie shells have many uses, both traditional and modern. While they are currently used by many people as decoration and a fashion or social statement, their traditional uses are many.

• Gifts - If someone gives you cowrie shells as a gift, they are really offering you wealth and a way to improve yourself. They are giving you a gift from a Goddess, and this carries a deep spiritual significance.

• Gambling - Traditional gambling involves the use of cowrie shells in a game similar to craps. The gambler takes four shells in the hand and throws them. If three are open and one is closed, the thrower wins (open means the jagged side faces up); all other combinations means that the thrower loses.

• Sympathetic Magic - Cowrie shells are destined to transfer power and good fortune to whoever they are oriented toward. On the other hand, because Mote also punishes, ill fortune and bad luck can also be transferred. Depending on the circumstance and use of the cowries, the affect can be either harsh or rewarding.

• Readings - Cowries are often used in readings, such as in Ifa. When they appear face up, this is a positive sign; face down normally means one will not get what one expects.

• Ancestral Offering - The cowrie shell plays an important role in ancestral offerings. When one puts cowrie shells inside the grave or coffin, the dead person can use them whenever needed in the World of the Dead for intervention.

• Symbol of Fortune - The cowrie shell carries with it good luck and material wealth. It is a gift from a Goddess, so it always carries the concept of good fortune and blessing from the Deity.

While cowrie shells have become a social statement, in reality, they are a highly valued spiritual token of Mote¹s blessing. They are used in weddings, funerals, traditional ceremonies, art ,their uses are countless. We can adorn our bodies and our instruments with cowries. We can tie them in our hair and sew them on our clothes. They can hang from our ears or necks. They can be given as gifts or offerings. The only thing that one should never do with a cowrie shell is to burn it. Regardless of how you use the shells, always keep in mind the significance of the shell and its true spiritual meaning.

http://www.theearthcenter.com/ff45benben.html 

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