My Ohana and me...

The Path assumed by me is an Ancestral position filled every other generation. The signs and dreams recieved by the elders in my family upon the birth of certain children give their names "inoa’po" or named so by the ancestors. Born at the time of the night ruled by the akua’s (gods and goddesses), I was such a child. My Ancestors were "Rulers of Hawaii and Kahuna Nui (High Priest/Priestess)" Today, everything they lived for, loved and died for sits inside of me. At birth, My Elders instructed my parents on the care of me (even though I was their 7th child). I was to wear no hand me downs, nor be hit at all, faced in a certain direction to sleep, etc. Being born with the sight was not the easiest thing in the world to live with, thank god for My Elders. My Grandmother and her sister Iolani Luahine raised me to be connected to all and my training began at birth. My Grandmother was a Kahuna La’au Kahea, calling medicine, our highest form of healing. Where the power of prayer and laying on of hands brought people out of sickness, mended bones and healed wounds. My Great Aunt Iolani Luahine (whom I was named for) was a Priestess of Pele, a very famous Kuma Hula/Loea (master of Masters). I continue doing the work that each generation before me has done. I travel to different parts of the world. I meet with Elders of various Indigenous Tribes to do powerful prayers to release negativity affecting each of these areas. I also work with the elementals of each area to raise the vibration that brings forth healing "knowingly or unknowingly, consciously or unconsciously." Some of the old ones refer to me as a patcher of the web - or the one that reminds, re-connects, remembers each connection of the web of life. I continue to do ceremonies honoring Pele at the Kilauea Volcano, Full Moon ceremonies honoring Hina (Goddess of the Moon), and ceremonies marking Winter Solstice and both Equinoxes, to name a few. I look forward to continuing my journey with Mission Aloha and to sharing Aloha with each and every one of you!

~Out of the darkness, into the light: Traditional Spiritual Purification~

Observance of these protocols were absolute, and showed our Love, Honor and respect
through the discipline we adhered to, in return for the continued guidance we receive!!
Join us, as we ready ourselves for this year's purification ceremonies:

For 7 days/6 nights, you will participate in a variety of activities, including:

~Kapu Kai -the ancient Hawaiian ritual of purification in the sea
~The Aloha Paina: a gourmet organic semi-vegetarian buffet
~Morning meditations, daily rituals and intentions, movement, chanting, etc.
~Journey to South Point: the legendary home of Hina -goddess of the full moon
~Tapu Wai -the ancient ritual of purification in the fresh water
~Journey into our native Hawaiian forest where you will learn about and gather the plants
sacred to Pele (goddess of fire) and Hina (goddess of the full moon)
~ Learn to chant, seeking permission, guidance, protection and chants to honor
~Learn to create traditional offerings and the sacred instruments used for ceremony
~Journey into Papa Hanau Moku (mother earth) to complete this cycle of our lives
~ Journey to Kilauea Volcano –the largest active volcano in the world
~Ho'okupu o Pele: Completing the rituals of spiritual purification with a ceremony of
honor and release on the volcano ledge and a sweat –Ha Kapu o Pele –the sacred breath of
Pele, in Pele's steam vents.

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• Dear Father: 
  • Here we acknowledge the Creator who gives Unconditional Love.  If you believe that you are the result of an explosion or worse still that you created yourself, you are going to have a lot of trouble with this one.
  • The word Father means "Giver Of Life" and I am sure you realise that it has nothing to do with bearded patriarchs.
  • Addressing the Creator is fundamental to this process, since only the Creator can fix the mess that we (and our ancestors) have created. 
     
• I am sorry
  • This statement opens the door to atonement.  The moment you take responsibility for any negative manifestation you experience or witness you also create an opportunity for healing. 
  • The apology is not directed to the Creator.  The Creator is Spirit and does not need nor care about apologies. 
  • The apology is an acknowledgement that we are sorry for whatever it is that we (or our ancestors before us) have done to cause the adverse circumstance to take place.
  • There is no need to grovel, just a simple "I am sorry" will do.
     
• Please forgive me
  • We are asking for forgiveness for having forgotten how much the Creator loves us.
  • We are asking for forgiveness for having shut out the Creator from our lives and missing out on all the wonderful experiences that we could have had.
  • We ask for forgiveness with the absolute certainty that it has already been granted.  The Creator is Spirit and is Unconditional Love, incapable of experiencing feelings of anger, resentment and all the other ego related neurotic behaviours that afflict humans.
  • It is important to note here that Ho'oponopono practitioners never have to forgive anyone, since they realise that all wrongdoing is the result of their own wrong action or memories--past or present. 

• I love you
  • When Jesus was asked "which is the greatest commandments of them all" he surprised everyone (typical) and stated "You shall love the Lord Your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."
  • Love is a great healing power.  Sending the Creator an SMS of love will reverberate through your psyche and generate an immediate feeling of well being.
  • Once again being pure Spirit, the Creator, does not need your love, but the very act of thinking loving thoughts will tune your mind to that frequency with remarkable and immediate results.
     
• And I thank you
  • As stated  earlier, whatever your petition or concern, the moment you take responsibility for its occurrence and seek a way out--you are guaranteed a response.
  • Almost invariably the response will never be what you expect (or in some cases want)--but what you need to start the process of healing or reconstruction.
  • Your "thank you" is the acknowledgement that your petition has been heard and acted upon--that is all.

Whatever you want wants you

1. Get very clear on what you want
2. Visualize and raise your vibration about it by listening to music, speaking affirmaitons, singing, watching "The Law of Attraction Movies"
3. Allow It

You must be very clear on exactly what your desire is. Focus on it. Give it all your positive energy. Feel good! This is why the Law of Attraction Movies" are so powerful, they can help you stay focused on your heart's desires.

A major factor behind this Universal Law is the energy and vibrations of our emotions and feelings. Any thought you may have, when combined with emotion, vibrates out from you to the universe and will attract back what you want. It is recommendaed that you leave all the details to the universe. Let the Universe figure out the method of delivery, when you will receive it, etc. Now all you have to do is Allow It. Sounds easy, right? This can be the most difficult part to do. Be doubt-free and faith filled. All you need to do is expect it. Act like you already have it. Be grateful.

Ho'oponopono Pule

(great or profound Karmic cleansing Prayer-Form)

I am the "I"
I come forth from the void into the Light,
I am that emptiness,
That hollowness beyond all Consciousness,
The "I", the "Id", the "All".

Divine creator, father, mother, son as one...

If I, my family, relatives and ancestors

have offended you, your family, relatives and ancestors

in thoughts, words, deeds and actions

from the beginning of our creation to the present,

we ask your forgiveness...

Let this cleanse, purify, release,

cut all the negative memories, blocks, energies and vibrations,

and transmute these unwanted energies into pure light....

And it is done.

We are the sum of our history

I AM LEARNING , LORD

My life has taken many falls
And tumbles 'long the way.
The many trials have left me
In a sure state of dismay.

For with each trial, I tried alone
To tend, and soothe, and mend,
Instead of giving them to God -
And on Him just depend ...

BUT, I AM LEARNING , LORD

It seems I was determined
To carry all the load.
I longed for smoother pathways.
Yet, I walked a rocky road.

Little did I understand,
God waited patiently
To pave a new beginning
With a better life for me.

BUT, I AM LEARNING , LORD

It took a real disaster
To bring me to my knees;
To finally call upon the Lord
And say, God help me, please.

He came with no delaying,
With strong arms that could hold -
The weight of all my burdens;
He gladly took the load.

AND, I AM LEARNING , LORD

What a needless cross I carried,
All because I could not see -
What a friend I have in Jesus,
And the love He has for me.

Peace I find when troubles hover,
Though' the outcome is unknown.
For if yet the road is rocky,
I won't walk it all alone.

FOR, I AM LEARNING , LORD

Dear Father,
Help me not to dwell in the past nor seek to know the things of tomorrow. Help me to focus on today and how I can be a more perfect channel of Your Love.

Amen

PROVERBS16:9

The REAL "12" Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, JESUS gave to me Salvation full and free.


On the second day of Christmas, JESUS gave to me Everlasting life, and Salvation full and free.


On the third day of Christmas, JESUS gave to me Peace in my Heart, Everlasting Life, and Salvation full and free.


On the fourth day of Christmas, JESUS gave to me Love for all men; Peace in my heart, Everlasting life, and Salvation full and free.


On the fifth day of Christmas, JESUS gave to me Joy for my soul, Love for all men, Peace in my heart, Everlasting Life, and Salvation full and free.


On the sixth day of Christmas, JESUS gave to me Power from on high, Joy for my soul, Love for all men, Peace in my heart, Everlasting Life, and Salvation full and free.


On the seventh day of Christmas, JESUS gave to me A Body Glorified, Power from on high, Joy for my soul, Love for all men, Peace in my heart, Everlasting Life, and Salvation full and free.


On the eighth day of Christmas, JESUS gave to me A Robe and a Crown, A Body Glorified, Power from on high, Joy for my soul, Love for all men, Peace in my heart, Everlasting Life, and Salvation full and free.


On the ninth day of Christmas, JESUS gave to me Mansions above, A Robe and a Crown, A body Glorified, Power from on high, Joy for my soul, Love for all men, Peace in my heart, Everlasting Life, and Salvation full and free.


On the tenth day of Christmas, JESUS gave to me Streets of pure gold, Mansions above, A Robe and a Crown, A Body Glorified, Power from on high, Joy for my soul, Love for all men, Peace in my heart, Everlasting Life, and Salvation full and free.


On the eleventh day of Christmas, JESUS gave to me A thousand songs to sing, Streets of pure gold, Mansions above, A Robe and a Crown, A Body Glorified, Power from on high, Joy for my soul, Love for all men, Peace in my heart, Everlasting Life, and Salvation full and free.


On the twelfth day of Christmas, JESUS gave to me
Eternity that's free
A thousand songs to sing,
Streets of pure gold,
Mansions above,
A Robe and A Crown,
A Body Glorified,
Power from on high,
Joy for my soul,
Love for all men,
Peace in my heart,
Everlasting Life,
and Salvation full and free!

Thank You, Jesus!

On the first day of Christmas ,
I pray for you joy in abundance and laughter, for laughter cures our ills and joy makes our spirits soar.


On the second day of Christmas,
I pray for you a sigh when you need one, for a sigh clears the heart as a cough clears the throat, and with a sigh comes acceptance of what we cannot change.


On the third day of Christmas,
I pray for you tears when you need them, for tears clear the eyes to see the stars and cleanse the soul to let healing begin.


On the fourth day of Christmas,
I pray for you serenity, for fights and wars start in individual hearts and that is where they must end.


On the fifth day of Christmas,
I pray for you wisdom, for our priceless gift is the gift of choice - and we should use it well every day, in word and deed.


On the sixth day of Christmas,
I pray for you patience, for most troubles pass if we wait them out, and success comes with persistence.


On the seventh day of Christmas,
I pray for you courage, for there may be many pitfalls and dangers ahead and problems can only be solved when they are faced.


On the eighth day of Christmas,
I pray for you compassion, for we cannot help others until we understand them, and we cannot understand them until we walk in their shoes.


On the ninth day of Christmas,
I pray for you a willingness to work, for work turns dreams to reality - whether the dreams are ours or belong to those we can help.


On the tenth day of Christmas,
I pray for you unwavering faith, for faith shapes our morals and our destiny and draws us closer to God.


On the eleventh day of Christmas,
I pray for you a mind full of hope, for hope determines our attitudes, sets our goals and creates our ideals.


On the twelfth day of Christmas,
I pray for you a heart so full of love that every day you must give some away to those whose paths you cross.

~ETERNAL INK~

I dreamed I was in heaven
Where an angel kept God's book.

He was writing so intently
I just had to take a look.


It was not, at first, his writing
That made me stop and think
But the fluid in the bottle
That was marked eternal ink.


This ink was most amazing,
Dark black upon his blotter
But as it touched the parchment
It became as clear as water.


The angel kept on writing,
But as quickly as a wink
The words were disappearing
With that strange eternal ink.


The angel took no notice,
But kept writing on and on.

He turned each page and filled it
Till all its space was gone.


I thought he wrote to no avail,
His efforts were so vain
For he wrote a thousand pages
That he'd never read again.


And as I watched and wondered that
This awesome sight was mine,
I actually saw a word stay black
As it dried upon the line.


The angel wrote and I thought I saw
A look of satisfaction.

At last he had some print to show
For all his earnest action.


A line or two dried dark and stayed
As black as black can be,
But strangely the next paragraph
Became invisible to see.


The book was getting fuller,
The angel's records true,
But most of it was blank, with
Just a few words coming through.


I knew there was some reason,
But as hard as I could think,
I couldn't grasp the significance
Of that eternal ink.


The mystery burned within me,
And I finally dared to ask
The angel to explain to me
Of his amazing task.


And what I heard was frightful
As the angel turned his head.

He looked directly at me,
And this is what he said…

I know you stand and wonder
At what my writing's worth
But God has told me to record
The lives of those on earth.


The book that I am filling
Is an accurate account
Of every word and action
And to what they do amount.


And since you have been watching
I must tell you what is true;
The details of my journal
Are the strict accounts of YOU.


The Lord asked me to watch you
As each day you worked and played.

I saw you as you went to church,
I saw you as you prayed.


But I was told to document
Your life through all the week.

I wrote when you were proud and bold,
I wrote when you were meek.


I recorded all your attitudes
Whether they were good or bad.

I was sorry that I had to write
The things that make God sad.


So now I'll tell the wonder
Of this eternal ink,
For the reason for its mystery
Should make you stop and think.


This ink that God created
To help me keep my journal
Will only keep a record of
Things that are eternal.


So much of life is wasted
On things that matter not
So instead of my erasing,
Smudging ink and ugly blot.


I just keep writing faithfully and
Let the ink do all the rest
For it is able to decide
What's useless and what's best.


And God ordained that as I write
Of all you do and say
Your deeds that count for nothing
Will just disappear away.


When books are opened someday,
As sure as heaven is true;
The Lord's eternal ink will tell
What mattered most to you.


If you just lived to please yourself
The pages will be bare,
And God will issue no reward
For you when you get there.


In fact, you'll be embarrassed,
You will hang your head in shame
Because you did not give yourself
In love to Jesus' Name.


Yet maybe there will be a few
Recorded lines that stayed
That showed the times you truly cared,
Sincerely loved and prayed.


But you will always wonder
As you enter heaven's door
How much more glad you would have been
If only you'd done more.


For I record as God sees,
I don't stop to even think
Because the truth is written
With God's eternal ink.


When I heard the angel's story
I fell down and wept and cried
For as yet I still was dreaming
I hadn't really died.


And I said: O angel tell the Lord
That soon as I awake
I'll live my life for Jesus –
I'll do all for His dear sake.


I'll give in full surrender;
I'll do all He wants me to;
I'll turn my back on self and sin
And whatever isn't true.


And though the way seems long and rough
I promise to endure.

I'm determined to pursue the things
That are holy, clean and pure.


With Jesus as my helper,
I will win lost souls to Thee,
For I know that they will live with Christ
For all eternity.


And that's what really matters
When my life on earth is gone
That I will stand before the Lord
And hear Him say, well done.


For is it really worth it
As my life lies at the brink?
And I realize that God keeps books
With His eternal ink.


Should all my life be focused
On things that turn to dust?
From this point on I'll serve the Lord;
I can, I will, I must!

I will NOT send blank pages
Up to God's majestic throne
For where that record's going now
Is my eternal home.


I'm giving all to Jesus
I now have seen the link
For I saw an angel write my life
With God's eternal ink.

~Always Create Your Own Dreams and Live Life to the Fullest~

Dreams can come true if you take the time
to think about what you want in life.

Get to know yourself.

Find out who you are.

Choose your goals carefully.

Be honest with yourself.

Always believe in yourself.

Find many interests and pursue them.

Find out what is important to you.

Find out what you are good at.

Don't be afraid to make mistakes.

Work hard to achieve successes.

When things are not going right,
don't give up - just try harder.

Give yourself freedom to try out new things.

Laugh and have a good time.

Open yourself up to love.

Take part in the beauty of nature.

Be appreciative of all that you have.

Help those less fortunate than you.

Work towards peace in the world.

Live life to the fullest.

Create your own dreams and 

follow them until they are a reality...

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Innerwork Tip 1: Who Else Can Play Your Dream Figure?

If you don’t immediately understand a dream figure, ask yourself, who do you know who could play that figure. This other person will help you know what you associate to the figure. If you can’t find someone who could play that figure, ask who or what you would like to be there in that dream instead of that dreamfigure, in order to find out what the dreamfigure may imply.

Ask yourself, what you are doing, when you are not aware of what you are doing.

Innerwork Tip 2: Love and InnerWork

To explore your present process, consider the following experiences :

1. Ask yourself, what are you noticing just now. Then, after noting that, ask yourself a second question.
2. Namely, what do you notice now, that you did not notice before? Is there something surprising or new in this second experience? How would your life change in the moment, if you were to appreciate this second experience? We suspect that self -love might mean embracing both the first and second experience.

Innerwork Tip 3: Use Directions to Interpret Dreams

Before you work on a dream, ask yourself the following question. “Where am I headed in my life?” After getting an approximate sense of where you are heading in life, look at your dream as different aspects of your present life’s direction. Your overall direction may be helpful to your dreamwork.

Innerwork Tip 4: Spin Like a Chipmunk To Know The Universe

One day, Amy needed to find her deepest self.  At that moment she looked down at her feet. To her surprise, she saw a chipmunk spinning like nothing she had ever heard of or seen before. That is why Amy videoed and put the spinning chipmunk up on the web for everyone to see. (click here http://youtube.com/watch?v=w6OSMroCm20 ) That’s Arny trying to give the chipmunk some water.

The moral her story is this. When you don’t know what to do, look at the ground. Then spin until you almost get dizzy.  Stop.  Notice and follow your experiences.  Perhaps like Amy, you will sense the “universe” or the “earth” moving you about.

Interpretation of Inanna’s Descent Myth

“From the Great Above Inanna opened her ear to the Great Below.” 

 In Sumerian, the word for ear and wisdom are the same.  For example, Enki, the God of Wisdom, is said to have his ear “wide open” -- an unfiltered receptivity!  This implies that Inanna's primary reason for “going to hell” was to seek wisdom and understanding.  But in order to make such a spiritual journey, she first had to give up her earthly powers and possessions.  They don’t allow a lot of luggage on the road to hell.  

Preparing for the Descent into the Underworld  

In the myth, she abandoned heaven and earth to descend to the underworld, her office of holy priestess, her temples in the seven principal cities where she was worshipped.  She gave up her earthly powers and possessions -- an essential willingness required of any soul undertaking such a journey, of any soul following such a path of initiation.            

Inanna also recognized the need to protect herself.  She gathered together seven of The Me, attributes of civilization which she transformed into such feminine allure as crown, jewelry, and a royal robe. These were intended serve as her protections.  They included her crown, earrings of small lapis beads, a double strand of beads about her neck, her breastplate called “Come, man, come”, her golden hip girdle, the lapis measuring rod and line, and her royal breechcloth.             

Each of these adornments were worn at the level of each Kundalini chakra!           

Finally, she instructed her faithful servant, Ninshubur, what to do in case she did not return -- to lament her loss, beat the drum for her, and go to the cities -- to the temples where Enlil (her father’s father), Nanna (her father) and Enki (her mother’s father) were, and ask for their help.  

Ninshubur

Ninshubur’s name means “Queen of the East” -- she was handmaid or vizier to Inanna.  Other myths, such as “Inanna and the God of Wisdom” (Enki), also describe Ninshubur as she comes to the rescue of Inanna, warding off the fierce emissaries sent by Enki.  There Inanna describes Ninshubur as:  Once Queen of the East, now faithful servant of the holy shrine of Uruk, “Water has not touched your hand, water has not touched your foot.  My sukkal who gives me wise advice, My warrior who fights by my side.”  

As Inanna's “faithful servant”, “she seems to embody that small part of us that stays above ground while the soul descends, the still conscious and functioning aspect of the psyche which can witness the events below and above and feel  concern for the fate of the soul.” Ninshubur may be a “model of woman's deepest reflective-of-the-Self, priestess function, one which operates as simple executrix of the Self's commands, often when the soul is most threatened.”  [1]  Ninshubur seems to have no life of her own, no specificity beyond her capacity to serve.  No ego, she simply carries out precisely and competently whatever Inanna  asks of her.  And yet it is Ninshubur who saves Inanna’s life. Ultimately, initiation and/or descending into the underworld is not something to be undertaken without divine guidance and support.           

Ereshkigal’s reaction to Inanna's intended visit           

When Neti described Inanna at the outer gate -- in all her glory and wearing the garments of her power, light, and movement -- as well as her wish to enter the underworld, Ereshkigal is not at all pleased.  Inasmuch as Inanna’s light, glory, and movement had been, to some extent, achieved at Ereshkigal’s expense, the Queen on the Underworld is enraged at Inanna’s appearance.           

The Queen of the Underworld can be thought of as the neglected side of Inanna, that part of Inanna that was unloving, unloved, abandoned, instinctual, and full of rage, greed, and desperate loneliness.  Ereshkigal’s one great craving was for her own sexual satisfaction, and which was not being fulfilled.           

Ereshkigal “is paradoxical:  both the vessel and the stake.  She is the [kundalini] root of all, where energy is inert and consciousness coiled asleep.  She is the place where potential life lies motionless -- but in the pangs of birth; beneath all language and its distinction, yet judging and acting.” [1]            

In the Descent myth, “Ereshkigal is described first as enraged, due to Inanna’s invasion of her realm; secondly, as actively destructive; third, as suffering; and finally as grateful and generous.”  “There is a quality of primal rage about her.  She is full of fury, greed, the fear of loss, and even of self spite.”  “And she sends her gatekeeper to deal with the intruder, a male to defend her.”  “These images suggest that chaotic defensive furies, such as rage, greed, and even the unleashing of the animus, are inevitable aspects of the archetypal underworld. They are the ways the unconscious reacts to unwelcome visitation.” [1]  

Ereshkigal, in some respects, is Lilith. “She ruthlessly destroys all that is not our true individuality or appropriate life path.  She will not lead us to our goal by revealing what it is but rather by eliminating everything that it is not.  The black aspect of Lilith closes all the wrong doors that face us.”  “The black Lilith in us will accept nothing less than our true individuality, not in the sense of separateness, but in the sense of who we intrinsically are.  When we are secure in acknowledging and expressing our true self, we don’t falsify ourselves in order to be accepted by others.” [2]           

Ereshkigal'‘ instructions to Neti represent the fact that she wants Inanna to experience what it is to be rejected, to enter the royal chamber “bowed low”.           

Seven stages of the Descent           

The removal of Inanna’s crown, the first of her protective Me -- symbolically deprives her of her godhood, her connection with heaven.  The small lapis beads from her ears -- her sense of magic and ability to manifest.  The double strand of beads about her neck -- her rapture of illumination.  Her golden breastplate called “Come, man, come!” -- her emotional heart.  Her ringed hip girdle -- her ego.  From her hand the lapis measuring rod and line -- her will.  Her garment of ladyship (breechcloth) -- her sex role.   Each represents, in order, the Kundalini chakras.  Inanna is  thus forced to give up her earthly attributes, her roles as queen, holy priestess, and woman.  Her royal power, her priestly office, her sexual powers are of no avail in the underworld.           

Naked and bowed low, Innana entered the throne room.           

The Annuna, the judges of the underworld, surround her and pass judgment against her, the judgment of the external against each of us.  Ereshkigal then fastens on Inanna the eye of death, speaks against her the word of wrath, and utters against her the cry of guilt.  She strikes her.  “Inanna was turned into a corpse, a piece of rotting meat, and was hung from a hook on the wall.”  Obviously, on our own, even with preparations, we’re dead meat!           

Ninshubur seeks help.           

Ninshubur waits three days.  Inanna was considered to be daughter of the moon -- thus these three days may be the “Dark of the Moon”.  Ninshubur set up a public lament, beating the drum, circling the temples, tearing at her eyes, mouth and thighs, and dressing in sackcloth.  Grief expressed!  She pleads before Inanna’s paternal grandfather, Enlil, and Inanna’s  father, Nanna.  She cries that they not let their bright silver be covered with  dust, their precious lapis broken into stone, and their fragrant boxwood cut into wood.           

They reply angrily, that Inanna “got what she deserved!”  And that she could not return, that the rules of the underworld could not be broken.  Both are angry their daughter should pursue a different direction from theirs.  Each in turn, refused to help.           

But in pleading before Enki, Inanna’s mother’s father and the God of Wisdom, there is a different response.  Enki has compassion for his daughter who is in difficulty.  Not only does the God of Wisdom value the journey Inanna has undertaken, but he does not forget that his grand daughter’s existence is vital to humankind.  In reacting to what has happened, Enki moves with feeling.  He improvises to create what the moment needs.  He empathizes with Inanna.           

Enki’s plan           

Enki knows the nature of the underworld and its rule by a jealous, anguished Ereshkigal.  He also has the power to create and facilitate.  He creates from the dirt under his fingernails the kurgarra and galatur -- instinctual, asexual creatures who Enki endows with the artistic and empathetic talent of being professional mourners, capable of mirroring the lonely queen’s emotions.  “They are humble, nonheroic creatures, without definition or even the need to be separately defined, without any sense of what we would call ego-needs.  These little asexual creatures represent the attitude necessary to draw a blessing from the dark goddess.” [1]   

Enki also instructs his creations on how to enter the underworld and how to deal with Ereshkigal.  He tells them how to recover Inanna from death.           

The Rescue           

When the kurgarra and galatur arrive, Ereshkigal is moaning “with the cries of a woman about to give birth.”  She complains both for her “inside” and her “outside”.  Having willed Inanna’s death, she can scarcely bear it, for Inanna is the other side of herself.  Ereshkigal was also needing rebirth from the night time aspects of the feminine -- the powerful, raging sexuality and the deep wounds accumulated from life’s  rejections -- and which sought solace in physical union only.             

The kurgarra and galatur moan with Ereshkigal, appeasing her anguish by the echo of their concern.  “They affirm her in her suffering.  They have been taught by Enki to trust the life force even when it sounds its misery.  Complaining is one voice of the dark goddess.  It is a way of expressing life, valid and deep in the feminine soul. It does not, first and foremost, seek alleviation, but simply to state the existence of things as they are felt to be to a sensitive and vulnerable being.  It is one of the bases of the feeling function, not to be seen and judged from the stoic-heroic superego perspective as foolish and passive whining, but just as autonomous fact -- ‘that’s the way it is.’  Enki’s wisdom teaches us that  suffering is part of reverencing.” [1]           

Ereshkigal is so touched by the attention they offer to her in her pain that she extends herself and offers gifts of fertility and growth.  Following Enki’s instructions, however, the creatures refuse these gifts and ultimately ask for Ereshkigal most wants to give and that which is most difficult for her to give.  They ask her to release part of her personal anguish, her despair and anger, which is embodied in the glorious Goddess of Love.  They ask for the rotting body of Inanna.             

When Ereshkigal agrees to release her nemesis, and thus part of her pain, the kurgarra and galatur sprinkle the food and water of life on Inanna’s corpse.  And Inanna arose.  

Ascending from the Underworld           

The Annuna must maintain the rules of the underworld, but they must also deal with the fact that Inanna has been reborn in the underworld.  Their tactic is to tell Inanna that she must provide someone in her place.  In essence, Inanna cannot be allowed to again forget her neglected, abandoned “sister” -- that part of herself that is Ereshkigal.   A passageway has been created from the Great Above, the conscious, to the Great Below, the unconscious, and it must be kept open.  Thus the galla, the demons of the underworld, those who cannot be bribed, are assigned to accompany Inanna as she leaves.  

The Replacement           

Inanna is resorted to active life, but returns demonic, surrounded by the galla.  “She has met Ereshkigal and knows the abysmal reality: that all changes and life demand sacrifice.”  This is knowledge that few would not flee from.  “Inanna comes up loathsome and claiming her right to survive.”  The same fearsome characteristic of any woman coming out of hiding and ready to stand her ground.  [1]           

Meanwhile, Ninshubur and Inanna’s sons, Shara and Lulal, had abandoned the routine of their daily lives and gone into mourning for Inanna.  When Inanna returns from the underworld and meets each of them in turn, the galla are ready and willing to take them in Inanna’s place.  But Inanna knows that each cared deeply for her and had mourned her death.  She does not choose them.           

However, Dumuzi, Inanna’s consort and the shepherd she had installed as King of Sumer, has gone on with life as if nothing had happened.  He had grown so attached to and identified with his high position that he had neither wept for his lost wife, nor ran to greet her when she returned.  While Inanna had ventured into the unknown, Dumuzi had turned his attentions to earthly achievement.  But Dumuzi is the logical candidate, as well, in that only her best beloved consort is equal to Inanna.  Furthermore, Dumuzi had dared intimacy with the goddess and that entails a price, the price of initiation.             

“Inanna challenges her equal to make the same descent she endured -- perhaps to claim the same strength and wisdom.” [1]  Dumuzi’s attempts at scapegoating or taking flight betray “his need to descend into the underworld himself, his need to find a relationship to an inner feminine whom he can accept nondefensively and revere as equal.”