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'I'll Remember Before I Forget' When Lois Daley undertook to work on a project using a child sized mannequin she took the ultimate Journey of the Heart and recorded memories of her son Trevor before they are forgotten. The idea to undertake this project came from a gathering at the Salon du Muse, a monthly meeting in the home of Heather Blakey. Sparrow Girl Aletta Mes has worked hard to ensure that memories of her childhood in Holland are preserved and her Sparrow Girl stories are a delight. She has granted permission for this work to be downloaded free of charge. If you really enjoy her work contact her at aletta at myegonetimes.com Mnemosyne Snow Globes
Make a Mnemosyne Snow Dome Even if you do not physically make a snow dome make the effort to design one for your visual journal. Fill it with a scene that is etched into your memory and then write about it. Include your piece on the Mnemosyne Stream blogger here on the Silk Road. If you are not a member contact Heather Blakey to join. Links to pieces will be archived here on this page.
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December 8 2005 Temple of Mnemosyne The Greek poet and mythographer Hesiod said that Mnemosyne was no minor deity, but one of the wisest of the Titans, the offspring of Ouranos (heaven) and Gaia (earth). It was her function to remind the soul of its higher estate and noble powers of reason, proportion and harmony. She was not merely the goddess of recalling the shadows of past events, but the patron of recapturing our other modes of being; of remembering whence we came, and where we may return. Mnemosyne was a Titaness, a daughter of the first generation of deities in Greece. Her parents were the rulers Cronus and the goddess Gaia. There are few stories about her even though she is often mentioned by the ancient poets who recount her awesome gifts to mankind. The goddess Mnemosyne is sometimes credited with being the first philosopher, her gift the power of reason. She was given responsibility for the naming of all objects, and by doing so gave humans the means to dialog and to converse with each other. The powers to place things in memory an that of remembrance were also attributed to this goddess. The ancients believed that when one died and crossed into the Underworld one would be given a choice . . . whether to drink from the river Lethe where you would forget all the pains and terrors of your previous life (and with them, the lessons they brought), or whether to drink from the Mnemosyne, the spring of memory. Those who chose to forget had to be reborn, to return to earth to learn the lessons they needed. Those who had chosen to remember were admitted to the Elysian Fields where they would spend eternity in comfort and peace. The esteem in which the memory was held was made clear in the initiation rites of the ancient gnostics, who were required to consult with an oracle. Before being brought to the oracle, initiates were taken to a place with two pools lying next to each other. They were instructed to first drink from the pool of Lethe, the goddess of forgetfulness, in order that they might forget their previous lives. Then they were taken to the spring of Mnemosyne to drink so that they would remember all that they were about to learn from the oracle. Once an important goddess in her own right, Mnemosyne is largely remembered today in her capacity as the mother of the Muses, the nine Greek goddesses whose role it was to inspire poets and musicians and to promote the arts and sciences. The temple of Mnemosyne is situated on the stream of Mnemosyne and it is the place to come to when you want to remember. Drink from the Water of Mnemosyne If you are wanting some exercises to prompt your memory try some old Soul Food Favourites. Descansos, Rear Vision Mirror and The Indian War Bonnet are fail proof prompts. Remembrance Balms Grief and loss counsellors openly acknowledge that Christmas and the holiday season can be a time when loss and grief is intenstified. Shari Vogt has not had a good year and has faced the death of a beloved dog, her brother and the passing of her sister-in-law. It is a lot to cope with in one year but 2005 has seen lots of people facing enormous loss. The Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, the Kashmir earthquake are just three of the devastating events we have witnessed. Learn about Remembrance Balms and discover positive suggestions about dealing with loss, particularly as the time approaches when so many families are together.
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