WOMANRIVER:

I would like to start by telling a story...

WOMANRIVER:

- There is an old woman who lives in a hidden place that everyone knows but few have ever seen. As in the faerie tales of eastern Europe, she seems to wait for lost or wandering for people and seekers to come to her place. She is circumspect, often hairy, always fat, and especially wishes to evade most company. She is both a crower and a cackler, generally having more animal sounds than human ones. They say she lives among the rotten granite slopes in Tarahumara Indian to Monte Alban in a burnt-out car with the back window shot out. She's said to stand by the walking to market above Oaxaca with strangely formed bows of fire wood on her back. She is called by many names: Bone Woman, The Gatherer, and La Loba, Wolf Woman. Woman River: The sole work of La Loba is collecting of bones. She is know to collect and preserve especially that which is in danger of being lost to the world. Her cave with filled with the bones of all manner of desert creatures: The deer, the rattlesnake, the crow. But her specialty is said to be wolves.

Red Deer:

Ah, so...La Loba += female wolf

WOMANRIVER:

She creeps & crawls & sifts through mountains & dry riverbeds looking for wolf bones, & when she has assembled an entire skeleton, when the last bone is in place & the beautiful white sculpture of the creature is laid out before her, she sits by the fire & thinks about what song she will sing. & when she is sure, she stands over the creature raises her arms over it, & sings out. That is when the rib bones & leg bones of the wolf begin to flesh out & the creature becomes furred. La Loba sings some more, & more of the creature comes into being; it's tail curls upward, shaggy & strong & La Loba sings more & the wolf begins to breathe. & still La Loba sings so deeply that the floor of the desert shakes, & as she sings, the wolf opens its eyes, leaps up, & runs away down the canyon.

Somewhere in its running, whether by the speed of its running, or by splashing its way into a river, or by way of ray of sunlight or moonlight hitting it right in the side, the wolf is suddenly transformed into a laughing woman who runs free toward the horizon

So it is said that if you wander the desert, & it is near sundown, & you are perhaps a little bit lost, & certainly tired, that you are lucky, for La Loba may take a liking to you & show you something-- something of the soul.

WOMANRIVER:

so did y'all like it??

Red Deer:

I love the story, and I've been there too WomanRiver

WOMANRIVER:

so i guess the reason why i made you all read this is because we all go through little deaths everyday

Red Deer:

Please interpret it for us, WR

WOMANRIVER:

things happen to us & these are little deaths, & all we're left as is a pile of bones Mc Cara: I enjoyed it very much WomanRiver

WiseOne:

So the sole purpose of La Loba is not the collecting of bones, it is the metamorphosis of emotion..

WOMANRIVER:

but what we have to do is become La Loba, & breathe life back into ourselves

WOMANRIVER:

yeah, WO

WiseOne:

--------------wise one pats herself on back

Red Deer:

until someone else (or us) sings us into recreation???

WOMANRIVER:

no, we have to take it upon ourselves to breathe life back into ourselves, RD

WOMANRIVER:

do y'all understand now?

Red Deer:

Yup, it's beautiful WR

WOMANRIVER:

now i'd like to share w/ y'all the General Wolf Rules for Life

Red Deer:

please...

WOMANRIVER:

1. Eat (provide yourself w/ what your body needs to survive)

2. Rest (re-charge yourself once in awhile)

3. Rove in between (wander... don't live in one spot all your life)

4. Render Loyalty (be loyal to others & let them be loyal to you)

5. Love the Children (what else are you going to do?)

6. Tune your ears (listen & pay attention to everything)

7. Cavil in the moonlight

8. Attend to the Bones (take care of yourself)

9. Make Love

10. Howl Often

Red Deer:

How about 9 & 10 together, WR? (LOL)

WOMANRIVER:

if you abide by these laws you will mostly likely lead a happy & successful life

WOMANRIVER:

what more would you want?

WOMANRIVER:

that's cute, RD

Mc Cara:

so true WomanRiver

Brother Bile:

YO WELLL

Freya:

It was beautiful.

Brother Bile:

devil-devil

WOMANRIVER:

so i guess now i'd like to open it up to a discussion format so we can all share our experiences w/ little deaths & how we've survived anyone want to share?

Red Deer:

I see many facets to this story...

Brother Bile:

share feelings?

WOMANRIVER:

yes, Brother

Brother Bile:

i keep my feelings inside until a casting

Red Deer:

LaLoba as our mother, who breathes life and death into us and life AGAIN

truthunter:

Red may i ask a question

Red Deer:

How do you use this story for empowerment, WR?

Red Deer:

Yes, truth?

truthunter:

where did the name LaLoba come from

Red Deer:

I'll refer that to our teacher...

truthunter:

thanks

WOMANRIVER:

well, actually, RD. i took it very literally & when i feel bad i sing :)

WiseOne:

one starts out as a beautiful person Red Deer, and through the trials and tribulations of life, one withers away into nothing, but through ones own power one can re-empower themselves truth, La Loba means the Wolf Woman in the story we just read

truthunter:

thank you Woman River. who wrote the story

WOMANRIVER:

i can't find the name right now, but it's from a book called "Women who Run w/ the Wolves" i'm afraid i'm going to have to leave now, but i hope this class helped

truthunter:

i have seen this....thanks

WiseOne:

bye WR

WOMANRIVER:

i hope you enjoyed it

Mc Cara:

Yes it has WomanRiver

Red Deer:

WR, thank you! I enjoyed it immensely!

WOMANRIVER:

unless there's a Pisces in here who would like to share addiction stories w/ me........ Mc Cara: And would like to thank you very much for tonight's lesson

WOMANRIVER:

in here Mc Cara: Virgo...

WOMANRIVER:

but mp all

Red Deer:

Leo... Mc Cara: MP WR

Red Deer:

Brightest Blessings & Merry Part, WR

(Editors note: The book that WomanRiver referred to is Women Who Run With The Wolves...Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, PhD. - Ballentine Books) And a special note of thanks to McCara who made this posting possible Elenya