gaia ki summer 2011 update

8/4/2019 Gaia Ki Summer 2011 Update

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Gaia Ki

An Arts & Ecology Educational Resource Helping Bring Balance & Harmonywith Wild Wondrous Nature

Summer 2011 Update

Gaia Ki relocated to Sarasota Florida last January.The move is accompanied with a refocus of the fledglingorganization. Previously we were engaged in an intensivein-the-forest role endeavoring to protect forest andwildland ecosystems in Central Oregon's CascadeMountains and eastern regions. While still helping efforts in

this region as requested by directly engaged organizations,the move to Florida where many organizations andindividuals are already well-engaged in protecting thenatural ecosystems helps open broader artistic andeducational pathways.

Gaia Ki provides educational, artistic, andexperience-founded resources helping efforts to movecontemporary human societies towards balance andharmony with Earth's natural ecosystems; helping protect

ecological integrity and natural biodiversity, inspire naturaladventure, and foster greater appreciation of the

interconnected wonder of Earth's geophysical systems, of which all life is part.

Why the move to Florida?Ultimately, everything becomes personal in nature, each of us experiencing the dances of

fate and chance within the environmental and societal microcosms of place; our family, loves,location, and awareness. Who are we, why are we, where are we, what are we; perpetualunderlying quests whose answers emerge in the actions and choices of our evolving lives.

Organizations, institutions, and efforts are founded and guided by individuals; and to agreater or lesser degree depending in part on the size, configuration, and duration of these, are

affected by events both seen and unforeseen that impact the individuals at their helm. Gaia Ki,is a newly emergent endeavor directed by myself, Asante Riverwind, with the help andguidance of my wife Sylvia Rodrigo Riverwind, and supportive colleagues, advisors, friendsand associates.

Last December I received an urgent call; my father had been hospitalized with seriouslong-term repercussions to his health and well-being. Arriving swiftly in Florida, my familyjoined in arranging for my father's care for the near-term future, with the goal of bringing himhome as conditions stabilized. Elderly, unable to live alone any longer, and infeasible toconsider moving without adverse health repercussions; and I being the only one of my siblings

"Myakka Anhinga" by Asante Riverwind


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able to relocate; my wife and I moved to Florida to provide care assistance for my father, so hecould return home for this latter era of his life.

Amongst the Earth's remaining traditional cultures, how we care for our elders remains acornerstone of integrity and spirit. It is in significant part to my father that I credit theintroduction to wondrous nature, the inherent respect for all living creatures, and appreciationfor exploration and adventure that has inspired and guided my path of ecological activism

throughout this life. As a child my parents provided homes woven into wild woodlands.Annually we traveled across the US and Canada visiting natural wonders, opening a diverseabundance of wildlands and water adventures. The challenges of this time offer us anopportunity to reacquaint after so many decades; my wife and I now grandparents, he now agreat grandfather, sharing the experiences, wisdoms, quests, and discoveries of the passingyears, and the emergent ones yet to come in this "Florida" era.

New Art Book! "Raven"

Asante Riverwind has published a new book of raven-inspired art and accompanying poems. Offered "for ravens and

nature spirits everywhere" the forty page book features twentypaintings, pen & ink drawings, and mixed media art, each imageadjoining the poem inspired during its creation. The openingpoem best describes the book itself:

Ravens soaring, perched, spiraling,heard, dreamed, visioned...

...ravens spiced throughout my artaccompanied by prose & verse...

...telling raven inspired talesof magic, mayhem, & wonder

ever & yet again...

"Raven" is the first in a new "Nature & Spirit, Dreams & Visions" book series. Each book variesin art and writing theme, combining Asante's art, verse, and writings inspired by particularwildlife species, natural phenomena, geophysical features, adventures and visionary message."Raven" is available through Amazon.com:http://www.amazon.com/Raven-Asante-Riverwind/dp/1463731531/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312672333&sr=1-1Create Space:https://www.createspace.com/3654368, and a number of other book marketsources.

Urgent: Help Protect Wild Wolves!Unconscionably, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming - aided and abetted by the US Fish &

Wildlife Service which removed Endangered Species Act protections - have begun killing wildwolves whose populations are still recovering across the western United States. Please helprestore ESA status & protections for wolves, honoring their inherent right to exist in theirremaining natural historic territories unharmed by those vested in ignorance, arrogance, andviolence. The poster below includes a recent painting in honor of our kindred wild relations,wolves:
http://www.amazon.com/Raven-Asante-Riverwind/dp/1463731531/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312672333&sr=1-1http://www.amazon.com/Raven-Asante-Riverwind/dp/1463731531/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312672333&sr=1-1http://www.amazon.com/Raven-Asante-Riverwind/dp/1463731531/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312672333&sr=1-1http://www.amazon.com/Raven-Asante-Riverwind/dp/1463731531/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312672333&sr=1-1https://www.createspace.com/3654368https://www.createspace.com/3654368https://www.createspace.com/3654368https://www.createspace.com/3654368http://www.amazon.com/Raven-Asante-Riverwind/dp/1463731531/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312672333&sr=1-1http://www.amazon.com/Raven-Asante-Riverwind/dp/1463731531/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312672333&sr=1-1


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Protect Wild Wolves!Honor the Endangered Species Act & the Natural Heritage of Generations Yet to Be

"Kindred" by Asante Riverwind, acrylic on canvas, 30" x 24"

Kindred

All our relations, nature's wildinterwoven evolution

kindred in spirit, in being

in life's will of survival

adventure, exploration, and playinterdependent

amidst unfathomable webs

of ecological and self integrity

sovereign spirits

be they furred, feathered, finned,

rooted or flowing

all with an inherent right

to be, to live

wild and ever ree...

Contact the following, insist the killing of

wild wolves be stopped immediately, full

Endangered Species Act protections be

honored, and wild wolves and other

imperiled species be protected from harm:

Pres. Obama:[email protected]

US Fish & Wildlife: (800) 344-9453

Idaho - Gov. Otter: (208) 334-2100

Montana Sen. Tester: (202) 224-2644

And your Elected Officials & Friends!


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Fresh ArtThe move to Florida brought opportunity to further explore in depth the subtropical

wonders seen during visits over the years. Myakka River, Oscar Shearer, the open Gulf,Intracoastal Waterway, barrier keys and islands all beckon adventure. In addition to "MyakkaAnhinga" and "Kindred" paintings (above), a number of new 2011 artworks inspired by thewonders of living Earth are featured:

As usual, most of the new art isaccompanied by poems that emerged during its creation.And many were inspired by direct adventures amidst wildnature's wonders, some with stories of their own beyondthe image and poetry. Some stories are simple yet fulfillingbeyond words, such as "Fly Free", drawn from many yearsof repetitious rescue, healing, and release of injured birds and other species - which also can beviewed as a symbolic healing and release of wild dreaming aspirations of self. "Anhinga","Myakka Anhinga", and "Turtles" are inspired by hikes through Myakka River State Park's

subtropical jungle woodlands, watching anhinga dry their wet spread wings beneath thesearing sun, alligators floating in slow obscurity, and turtles bask on the sun exposed surface ofsubmerged fallen trees and eroding bank roots - while we cherished the shaded shadows,watching at length in quiet communion. "Ibis and Sundog Sky" the beautiful transient dance ofsoaring ibis, sundog rainbow, and feathered clouds above as we floated peacefully in the smallmurky lake at Oscar Shearer State Park.

"Canoe" is literally a canoe we picked up that I painted, with Celtic weave designsin talisman to the large alligator that "counted coop" during its maiden voyage, giving it awatchful eye and symbiotic weave with water, peace, energy and life. We'd canoed down the

"Anhinga" "Fly Free" "Turtles"

"Ibis & Sundog Sky"

"Canoe"

"Remembrance"


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"Remembrance"

tapestries of timeenergies weave

beyond lives or boundariesall interrelated, all our relations

visions of remembranceguide pathways

awareness illuminatingaction & choice

pioneering future's shadowed mistsspirit sculptures shape shifting

wondrous nature's magic mysteryalive in adventure's celebration

dimensions of moments, jewels ofperception

honoring all yet to be born

within the embrace of being...

Myakka River a number of miles, and were returning back upstream. Directly across river froma group of alligators sunning on a mud flat along the bank we decided to take a break beneaththe shading canopy of a large tree. Apparently the alligators tired of our prolonged intrusioninto their territory, eight of them in sizes ranging from very large to juvenile adult decided toenter the water towards us enmass. Accustomed to alligators converging towards you whenthey really are heading for the deeper waters in the middle of the river, at first I didn't pay their

dispersal much heed. But suddenly the water beneath my back side of the canoe churned. Thelargest of the alligators, submerged beneath us, pushed up against the rear of the canoe where Iwas paddling, raising one side out of the water, tipping us towards capsizing. Counteringleaning with my paddle, I managed to keep thecanoe from going over, the alligator leaving uswith a resounding thwack of its tail along thecanoe's side as we rather quickly paddled awayfrom its territory. My wife, Sylvia, sittingquietly throughout was not even phased,saying simply she knew I'd handle it just fine.Now when canoeing we don't dawdle too longin close proximity to a bunch of alligatorsduring their spring mating season. Apparentlythe mating-minded males sometimes mistakecanoes and kayaks as competitors for theattentions of females, and become a mite moreaggressive than their usually placid demeanor.

"Remembrance," recently completed andhanging in a Sarasota Art Center show throughOctober, a dream-vision celebrating thewonders of life's wild adventures in partnership

with my wife, both of us immersed in the wildwaves of times journey. Its inherent mystery isperhaps best augmented by its poem (at right):

Sans Non-Profit StatusA choice for fully pertinent free speech...

In deciding to create a new organization, the why, how,form, focus - mission, motivation, and raison de etre' come tothe fore. Among the many choices comes the relevancy - or not -

of acquiring non-profit status. Most educational, conservation,and arts organizations go this route, seeking tax exempt non-profit status granted by the IRS that significantly enhances anorganization's ability to receive funding. Absent such status,organizations generally are not able to receive monetary grantsfrom philanthropic foundations. Absent adequate funding, it isdifficult to sustain organizational efforts, acquire neededresources, or maintain staff. Absent the protections of non-profitstatus, actions such as litigation represent a politically turbulent,"Merging" by Asante Riverwind


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economically dangerous path.Yet, non-profit status comes with arduous restrictions. These bite into and neuter the

ability of accepting organizations to speak freely and fully to the political realities ofcontemporary issues. IRS restrictions limit organizations from taking clear public positions,advocating for or against politicians running for office or currently in power.

Yet addressing the root causes of

most contemporary societal issues, it isessential that we be able to speak clearlyconcerning the reprehensible actionsand harmful ecological consequencesresulting from the political minions ofmulti-national corporations currentlyrunning this global nation, and ourliving Earth, to irreparable ruin. Holdingpoliticians accountable for their actions,building community awareness,organizing towards building a strongpolitically feasible alternative to thecorporate "two party" funded illusion ofgovernment, requires the ability to notonly endorse candidates of ecologicaland personal integrity, it necessitates thecapability of bringing forward,organizing for, and promotingrepresentative candidates with a realchance of significantly changing the

current Corporate States of America, and helping create a true ecologically responsible

representative democracy accountable to the people of this nation, the world, the numerousdiverse species with which we share this living Earth, and the future generations yet to be.

At this juncture, limited by the care giving responsibilities to my elderly father, thedecision whether to pursue non-profit status or instead become an arts and educationalresource - and freely political advocacy organization - can be set aside for the time being. Atpresent, sans non-profit status, we can swim the waters of free political speech, unencumberedby the silencing restrictions embedded like poison into the conditions of economic sustenancefrom foundation grants.

That such conditions exist at all calls into question why - in a nation claiming to befounded on freedom and inalienable rights - are conscientious conservation and public service

organizations hampered in their speech, while at the same time multi-national corporateenterprises are increasingly unrestricted in their financial manipulation and control of ourpolitical systems, and government institutions, including our educational systems? If we watchbeneath the well-funded corporate veil of present day political contrivances, we may notice thatthe same corporations fund, to varying self-serving levels, their political puppet minions, the"Democratic" and "Republican" parties ever busily putting on the pretentious dramatic illusionof meaningful conflict, ignoring the true needs of the majority of the American people, whileplundering the environment, the treasury, and the chance of a quality future for all. For as longas we are limited in speech and action, preventing the effective redress to core causes of current

"Nature Rising" by Asante Riverwind


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issues, we will be as societal hamsters in a tread-wheel maze, perpetually seeking remedy forcause de' clbre' after cause, saving this piece and that fragment of wild wonderful nature,helping this person and those people in a varied litany of places across the globe, while theinterwoven geophysical tapestry of Earth's life itself continues to diminish, incrementallyconsumed into the insatiable maw of the corporate profit quest.

Once all corporations were licensed in the name, and under the control, of all the people.

They were accountable to the well being of the people, and the environment, in the areas wherethey operated. Their licenses were only valid for a five year period, their operational record andimpacts reviewed in consideration of renewal or revocation as best met the interests of thepeople and communities directly affected. Corporations were not permitted to own othercorporations, were not permitted to withdraw their resources from home communities andsimply relocate their operations overseas, were not permitted to exist in perpetuity withoutreview and licensing renewal, and accountable to the nation's communities, were taxedappreciably and fairly on their income and holdings.

Evolving awareness weaves through time, Robin Hood, Zorro, Crazy Horse, ChiefSeattle, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Amritananda and so many others ofvision, conscience, and integrity... Echo in the inspiring words of Margret Mead "Never doubtthat a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the onlything that ever has." What's next? No one can solve the paradigm riddles alone, yet this beginsin the depths of spirit vision within each being. The path of answers are in your heart, dreamsand spirit, awaiting the birth of centered action into being, and the convergence of harmoniousevolving community spreading across the Earth...

"Return to Forever"

Of a future timewhen people rememberlife in balance with nature,spirit & dreams,sharing joy & lovein celebration ofwho we are,why we are,what we are,...what life is really of...

Gaia KiP.O. Box 22233

Sarasota, FL [email protected]

"Return to Forever" by Asante Riverwind, 48" x 56", acrylic on canvas

gaia ki summer 2011 update

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