The book launch event for EXTRAORDINARY RENDITION: AMERICAN WRITERS ON PALESTINE at the Center for Fiction on Friday, 4 December in Manhattan was a resounding success. Extraordinary Rendition brings together the work of sixty-five prominent writers to examine America’s culpability in the denial of human rights and dignity to Palestinians in Israel/Palestine and beyond. Unfortunately  as part of the Muslim backlash  as reported by Nancy Kricorian prior to the event the Center had received a number of complaints from people who did not like the title of the book.  The word Palestine appears to have been the problem.

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 The Blanket of Hope

This is the Blanket of Hope. Prophecy is woven in its threads. It is an ancient design that speaks of a time when the world is in despair and famine because TRUTH has not been spoken. It speaks of a time of great suffering and injustice because our world is out of balance.

Our civilizations have been like a great bird. As in all things created, there must be a balance so the bird has two wings. One wing is strong. The other has been kept tightly bound. In this condition, it will flap around knocking things over, going in circles, creating chaos, but will never get off the ground. The strong wing is masculine consciousness, enforcing its vision and will. It has been writing history and making all the decisions that have affected us and will continue to affect us for a long time.

The other wing is feminine consciousness. It has not been allowed equal place and the seats of power. This treacherous and sorry imbalance has brought about our histories of war, subjugation, mighty armies and poor schools. Our societies are rushing headlong into complete annihilation because only the masculine voice is being heard. If we are to survive, women everywhere and the Sacred Feminine that is in every man must be freed and allowed to step forward to affect the general welfare of the Earth’s populations.

The blanket shows three corn maidens standing and holding arrows of truth. If we are to survive, they must choose to act by stepping forward now, and if those arrows find their mark, the blanket shows the corn growing. This corn growing promises abundance for all people of the Earth. We will have abundance because finally there will be peace. There will only be peace because finally there is justice. There will finally be justice only because TRUTH has been spoken. We will survive only because of the return of this balance – the MASCULINE and the FEMININE side by side as equal strengths. Our societies, our priorities – have been masculinized for too long. We are truly out of balance. The men cannot do it by themselves. Feminine TRUTH must step forward now.
There is a story of wisdom that goes with the border. It was explained to me by a Maori Elder (New Zealand, 1990)

It goes like this: The Border of the Blanket is the story of our lives, our purpose, and the roadmap or book of instructions that, in fact, is clearly in the laws/sacred ways of nature. Those are the spirals that emanate from the Earthline (dark red/black borderline) around the blanket. Then notice the stairway that is supported by the spiral. This she called the ” staircase to heaven.” She said that this represents the obstacles in our lives. We must change our attitude about the obstacles in our path and understand that the obstacle is the path. As each obstacle presents itself, we are to say THANK YOU and take another step, and another, and another until it’s done. It is then we will have our completion and our peace.

It is said by the Elders that, “It is not the events in our lives which cause the pain, it is our resistance.”

It is my prayer and my deepest hope that the knowledge of the existence of this blanket and its meaning will inspire and give us a new place to stand as we transform this terrible rush to vengeance and inevitable world destruction.

I remain as always, your friend and partner in a better world.
-ChoQosh