quote(s) of the day

I get lots of this awesome stuff from Rob Brezny's astrology newsletter (you can sign up at www.freewillastrology.com) or check out Rob Brezny online:

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"Our longing for the eternal kindles our imagination to bless. Regardless of
how we configure the eternal, the human heart continues to dream of a
state of wholeness, that place where everything comes together, where
loss will be made good, where blindness will transform into vision, where
damage will be made whole, where the clenched question will open in the
house of surprise, where the travails of life's journey will enjoy a
homecoming. To invoke a blessing is to call some of that wholeness upon
a person now."

- John O'Donohue, *To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings*

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ROOTS OF HUMAN NATURE

Bonobo apes and humans share 98 percent of the same genes, leading
some biologists to suggest that they, along with chimpanzees, should be
reclassified as members of the human genus. While their gestures,
postures, walk, and facial expressions have remarkable similarities to ours,
however, their social behavior is quite different.

Bonobos live in a peaceful matriarchy characterized by egalitarian
relationships. Power and status are of minimal concern. They build and
maintain social rapport with frequent erotic exchanges of every variety,
from intercourse to mutual masturbation to oral sex. Homosexual and
cross-generational contact is common.

"Bonobos use sex to appease, to bond, to make up after a fight, to ease
tensions, to cement alliances," writes Natalie Angier in The New York
Times. Because it's their social glue, says primatologist Dr. Frans de Waal,
author of *Bonobo: The Forgotten Ape,* sex is casual and free of
elaborate taboos. Unlike humans, bonobos are not obsessed with orgasm.
Their reproductive rate is similar to that of other primates.

"All of this has relevance for understanding the roots of human nature,"
concludes Angier. "De Waal corrects the image of humanity's ancestors
as driven by aggression, hierarchical machinations, hunting, warfare, and
male dominance."

(Source: Natalie Angier, *The New York Times,* April 22, 1997)

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CONSCIOUSNESS IS EVERYWHERE

"Aborigines openly and unaffectedly converse with everything in their
surroundings -- trees, tools, animals, rocks -- as if all things have an
intelligence deserving of respect."

- Robert Lawlor, *Voices of the First Day*

(Nathan side note: No wonder I've always wanted to travel to Australia! You all know I love to name my car....computer....mannequins....the list goes on....and that I can often be found conversing with a nearby tree or a feisty stapler.)

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LOWER OCTAVE COURSTHIP

"Why is it so hard to find a soulmate?" asks psychologist Carolyn
Godschild Miller in her book *Soulmates: Following Inner Guidance to the
Relationship of Your Dreams.*

Her answer: "Because most of us are actually searching for egomates
instead. We place the most limited and unloving aspect of our minds in
charge of our search for love, and then wonder why we aren't succeeding.
To the degree that we identify with this false sense of self, and operate
on the basis of its limited point of view, we aren't looking for someone to
love so much as recruiting fellow actors to take on supporting roles in a
favorite melodrama."