August 1, 2008

Volume 1, Issue 3 Smoke Signals

Special Interest

Articles:

• A Note From

Rev. Kimberly

• Dissasociation

• Prayer of Peace

for the Home

Individual

Highlights:

Unakite 2

Dissasociation 2

Lammas 3

Prayer 3

Heifer Intl. 4

Recipe 5

Goals 6

Be Good 2 Mother Earth website: http://www.begood2motherearth.com

We’re on the cusp of August! I know it’s hard to believe, but we’re there. You’re probably curious what I’ve been up to, we’ll I’m more than happy to share. I have been extremely busy with shamanic and Reiki services. There has been an increase in the need for these services. My clients are finding life very stressful and in turn, finding spiritual means to relaxation and self- healing.

A Note from Rev. Kimberly

I have also been spending time doing some spiritual counseling. I think that people find it comforting to know that there is someone to talk to outside their circle of family and friends to help them through a tough moment. This increase need for spiritual help is a growing trend.

I have also been spending as much time as possible outside tending to the flowers in my yard, spending time with Nature in all Her glory. I love the birds and trees. This is a beautiful time of

year. Let us remember with all the dangerous flooding going on our brothers and sisters in need of prayers for safety.

-Reverend Kimberly

Smoke Signals

Page 2 of 2

“Unakite (often spelled Unikite)

is a stone of unconditional love

of humanity; which can help

promote feelings of connection

with others when feeling

lonely.”

Unakite was first discovered

in the Unakas Mountains in

N. Carolina. It is a granite

stone with pink feldspar,

green epidote and quartz

mixed in. It is a mottled stone

of pinks and greens, and

when polished has a

beautiful color (see picture).

This stone can be found

along the shores of Lake

Superior and is considered a

semi-precious stone. It is

fairly easy to find to purchase

and can be a useful tool for

The Benefits of Unakite*

If you look at what’s happening in today’s news: the continued war, lack of jobs, lack of job security, moral decline, violence up rise… you can see why people are getting frustrated, depressed, angry. The inability to see the connection between ourselves and our fellow man, animal and our Great Mother is causing huge repercussions: Not only the huge impact that all this abuse on the planet Herself is creating, but the abuse to ourselves as a collective whole. An example: I’ve heard this in conversation: “Why do we help other countries when we cannot even help ourselves?”

Disassociation

healing purposes.

This protective stone can be

used during meditation when

trying to find your animal

spirit guide. It has been said

that it will nurture gardening,

so placing within your potted

plants or in your garden

would be beneficial. Unakite

(often spelled Unikite) is a

stone of unconditional love of

humanity; which can help

promote feelings of

connection with others when

feeling lonely. This stone

benefits the circulatory

system and the female

reproductive system; which

can also help make

pregnancy a little less

uncomfortable.

BGTME has created an

Aspect of the God: Pan

sculpture with Unakite

gem pieces.

*Disclaimer: information is not to

replace medical advice.

A question… isn’t it true that the one that is able takes care of the ones that are unable?? Lack of compassion leads to detachment. Detachment leads to disassociation. Disassociation leads to numbness. Numbness leads to inability to relate. Once we can no longer relate to one another, we cannot assist each other to a better place, because we get the notion “This does not affect me.” We were all once in large tribes where the success of one depended on the success of all. In today’s society we’ve been pulled from that line of thinking and into the idea that we’re looking out for number

one: ourselves. But if you truly look at it from an outer perspective, are you truly better by pushing your fellow brother or sister down? How far have you truly gotten? How do you feel about yourself, your home, your “stuff”? Was that job really worth it? My belief is we find spiritual satisfaction by serving others. This keeps us connected to one another; whole, humbled. In helping others we truly better ourselves, because I know if it were me that needed the help, I would want compassion from my brothers and sisters.

Aspect of the God: Pan

Smoke Signals Page 3 of 3

August 1st is celebrated by many Earth-based religions as Lammas or Lughnasadh. It is the celebration of the first harvest collected after the hard labours of springtime. Usually corn is ripe, wheat, berries of all kinds (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries etc.) can be collected. Sunflowers are open and at their peak.

August 1st: Lammas/Lughnasadh (General Info.)

Everyone wants to have

peace in the home. After

all, after a rough day of

work, or stressful day at

school, who wants to have

animosity in the home?

The answer is: No one.

You can do this alone or

with the entire family. Feel

free to light candles or

incense, good scents are

vanilla, cinnamon,

chamomile… you can

place a large amethyst in

the central location of your

home (think living room) to

help dispel the

disharmony as well.

Prayer for Peace in the Home

“I ask you to bless my

home and my family

with peace,

understanding and

equality...”

During Lammas, the Goddess is seen as the Mother bearing fruit, the God as the proud Father, seeing all that they’ve accomplished. Many pagans bake breads, hold corn festivals, anything that honours the crops of the season. Lugh, one aspect of the God celebrated at this time is a deity that is known as “The Shining One.” He’s

revered as a Sun God and is known to reign over metalsmithing, weaving; master of arts and crafts. He is seen as ever youthful, vibrant and full of life. This is a time of year to remember to look back and reap what you have sewn. Be thankful for all the gifts you’ve been given and revel in the wonders of Nature.

A good deity to pray to is

Kwan Yin (Quan Yin) the

Goddess of Compassion.

But, whomever you pray

to, there’s no wrong way

to do it.

“I praise the name of

(enter your favored deity

here and list a few things

you like about this deity

for example: I praise the

name of Kwan Yin:

Goddess of Compassion

and Equality. Beautiful

Goddess of all that is right

and good in the world)…

I ask you to bless my

home and my family with

peace, understanding and

equality today and always.

May we look kindly upon

each other and value each

other’s opinions, feelings

and personal space for

the betterment of all.

May we find our home a

place of solace and refuge

from the days stresses,

leaving all negativity

outside our door.

Peace to all within our

home.

Blessed Be (Amen, Aho,

whatever ending you

prefer).”

-Rev. Kimberly

Caption describing picture or

graphic.

Statue of Lugh

Smoke Signals

Page 4 of 4

This is Dan West, founder of Heifer International. He was a farmer from the Midwest U.S. who was handing out rations to children during the Spanish Civil War. At the time he was a relief worker for the Church of Brethren. During this time he had to decide who would get rations and would not, and this left him very hurt, so he went home to form Heifers for Relief.

Heifer International

Heifer's Mission to End Hunger

Heifer envisions… A world of communities living together in peace

and equitably sharing the resources of a healthy

planet.

Heifer’s Mission Statement

“These children don’t

need a cup, they

need a cow.”- Dan

West

Dan West's idea has now changed the lives over 8.5 million people

Heifers for Relief would give livestock to families that needed them and teach them ways to raise the animals so that they would “never have to suffer the indignity of depending on others to feed their children.” In 1944 the first shipment of 17 Heifers were sent from Pennsylvania and New York for Puerto Rico to help malnourished families. Each family that received a heifer that hadn’t given birth yet, would then have a great supply of milk,

and the proper training to care for the animal, plus a youngling to “pass on” to another hungry family, thus keeping the circle going. The gift never ends. And the gift has continued for 60 years, helping more than 8.5 million people in over 125 countries.

Heifer’s mission is… To work with communities to end hunger and poverty and to care for the earth.

Heifer's strategy is… To “pass on the gift.” As people share their animals’ offspring with others – along with their knowledge, resources, and skills – an expanding network of hope, dignity, and self-reliance is

created that reaches around the globe.

Heifer’s History This simple idea of giving families a source of food rather than short-term relief caught on and has continued for over 60 years. Today, millions of families in 128 countries have been given the gifts of self-reliance and hope.

Smoke Signals Page 5 of 5

This recipe is perfect for

this time of year. Take a

trip to the local fruit market

or go blueberry picking

yourself for these

delicious berries to add to

your bread. The zest of

orange and orange juice

gives it a nice kick.

Ingredients:

2 TBS butter

¼ cup boiling water

1 TBS orange zest

½ cup orange juice

1 egg

1 cup sugar

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

Blueberry Orange Bread

Things are always

changing at BGTME. In

order to keep up to date

on where I’m at, what’s

new for items, sales, etc. I

have a few links that may

be of value to you.

First of all there’s the

BGTME Circle. This is an

MSN group set up for

updates, announcement of

contests/giveaways,

special exclusive coupons.

The Circle hears about

everything first!

You can post as little or as

much as you wish in the

group. The link for that is:

Keeping Up to Date with BGTME

“The Circle hears about

everything first!”

¼ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 cup fresh or frozen

(thawed) blueberries

Topping:

1 tsp orange zest

2 TBS orange juice

2 TBS honey

Directions:

Combine butter and

boiling water into a small

bowl. Add 1 TBS orange

zest and ½ cup orange

juice.

In mixing bowl, beat egg

and sugar with electric

mixer until light and fluffy.

In a second mixing bowl,

combine flour, baking

powder, baking soda and

salt; add to egg mixture, a

little at a time, alternating

with orange juice mixture,

ending with flour mixture.

Fold in blueberries. Spoon

batter into a greased and

floured loaf pan. Bake at

350* for 50-55 minutes.

Cool bread in pan for 10

minutes, then remove and

cool on wire rack.

Combine 1 tsp orange

zest, 2 TBS of orange

juice and 2 TBS of honey,

mixing well. Spoon over

bread, let cool.

Yields: 1 loaf.

http://groups.msn.com/Be

Good2MotherEarthsCircle

You can sign up either on

the homepage

http://www.begood2mother

earth.com or on the link

above.

There is also an

occasional podcast on the

homepage, as well as a

YouTube page.

http://www.youtube.com/b

egood2motherearth

There is the MSN Live

Space Blog as well:

http://ravenshadowhawk.s

paces.live.com/

and you can find me at

Paganspace:

Personal Page:

http://www.paganspace.ne

t/profile/RavenShadowHa

wk

BGTME Page:

http://www.paganspace.ne

t/profile/BeGood2MotherE

arthServicesfortheSoul

Mmm… blueberry orange

bread… great anytime!

The whole reason why I

started Be Good 2 Mother

Earth was to offer

affordable, quality spiritual

help and items for anyone

who needs them.

There were times when I

would look for something

like jewelry with certain

qualities, or a piece art to

add to my sacred space.

Everything I found was

usually out of my price

range. So, I decided to

start making my own

things.

I would get comments

from friends that they liked

these items as well and if I

was selling them. Well, I

started selling them, and

they were shocked at the

prices, finding it totally

Goals of BGTME

Be Good 2 Mother Earth

is a small business in

Buffalo NY. It conducts

most of its business over

the internet. It has been in

business for 3 years.

About Our Organization…

Be Good 2 Mother Earth Services for the Soul

Alsace Avenue Buffalo, NY 14220

PHONE:

(716) 795-8157 E-MAIL:

info@begood2motherearth.com

We’re on the Web!

See us at:

www.begood2motherearth.com

BE GOOD 2 MOTHER

EARTH

reasonable. The art has

grown from there. I’m

always searching for great

beads and baubles; as

well as different ways to

incorporate spirituality and

healing into my artwork

and jewelry to present

them to you, my avid

followers.

My spiritual practice has

been evolving for as long

as I can remember. I have

done shamanic journeying

for a long time, and the

Reiki just seemed natural.

I decided to get my

certification in Usui Reiki

and I am thankful for it

every day. I love being

able to help other people

and their animal

companion friends.

There are other aspects of

my spiritual practice that

I’m working on, but more

on that when the time is

right. *wink*

I also believe in giving

back. That is why I give

10% of all sales from the

Eclectic Pages to Heifer

International.

The owner, Kimberly

Bateau is an ordained

non-denominational

minister, Pet Chaplain,

Usui Reiki

Master/Teacher,

shamanic practitioner as

well as an eclectic self –

taught artist.