2013 CALENDAR · 2013. 9. 5. · March – Stars of Orion Nebula forming in supernova-enriched...

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EARTH STORY PRESENTS | 2014 CALENDAR

We come spinning out of nothingness scattering stars like dust.

– Rumi, 13th century Persian mystic and poet

Our vision now extends back through billions of years of evolution. With this new and powerful way of seeing, we find ourselves blinking in a thrilling and yet unsettling light. Rooted in the center of immensities,

we open our eyes and see each thing ablaze with billions of years of creativity. We are involved with building a new era of Earth’s life. Our human role is to deepen our consciousness in resonance with the dynamics of the fourteen-billion-year creative event in which we find ourselves. Our role is to provide the hands and hearts that will allow the universe’s energies to come forth in a new order of well-being.

– Brian Thomas Swimme and Mary Evelyn Tucker, Journey of the Universe

IMAGE INFORMATION:

Cover – Prominent star-forming region in the Carina spiral arm of the Milky Way. NASA, ESA, Hubble Collaboration, from hubblesite.orgInside cover: © Sinisa Botas | Dreamstime.comFeb – ‘Dark matter’ distribution superimposed on galaxy cluster image. NASA, ESA, M.J. Jee, H. Ford, from hubblesite.orgMarch – Stars of Orion Nebula forming in supernova-enriched gases.NASA, ESA, M. Robberto, Orion Team, from hubblesite.orgApril – Hubble image of Comet ISON, April 2013, 400 million miles distant. NASA, ESA, J.-Y. Li, ISON Team, from hubblesite.orgJanuary, May through December – images used under license from Dreamstime.com

GRATEFUL APPRECIATION TO:Thomas Berry, Dream of the EarthBrian Thomas Swimme and Mary Evelyn Tucker, Journey of the UniverseUrsula Goodenough, The Sacred Depths of NatureLoyal Rue, Everybody’s StoryConnie Barlow and Michael Dowd, www.theGreatStory.org

Days of the week icons by Maureen MonnetCalendar graphic design by Julia Jandrisits | juliajandrisits.com/design

ABOUT THE NAMES OF THE DAYS OF THE WEEKExcept for Saturday, all of our usual weekday names derive from Germanic and Norse gods. Sunday

and Monday are from Norse gods of Sun and Moon. Tuesday is named after the Saxon Tiw, god of love and war. Odin, king of the gods in ancient Scandinavia, is the Saxon Woden, whose day is our Wednesday.

The god of thunder and lightning, Thor, is the namesake of Thursday. Freya, a Norse goddess of love and death, is the origin of Friday. Saturday is from the Roman Saturn.

There are exactly seven named days because each of these gods represents one of the seven heavenly spheres visible to the naked eye. The correspondences are: Sunday-Sun, Monday-Moon, Tuesday (Tiw)-Mars,

Wednesday (Woden)-Mercury, Thursday (Thor)-Jupiter, Friday (Freya)-Venus, and Saturday-Saturn.

Because Norse gods and planetary cycles no longer have meaningful reference for us, we are indifferent to their named days. The weekday names used in this calendar derive from the traditional

names, and are daily reminders of the natural elements that compose our lived experience.

This calendar is authored by Peter Adair in collaboration with Caitlin Adair. They live at Sanctuary, a small retreat center in Westminster West, Vermont.

www.sanctuaryvermont.com. Contact us at [email protected].

TO ORDER CALENDARS PLEASE VISIT: www.EarthStoryCalendar.com

THE GREAT RADIANCE: BIRTHING OF THE UNIVERSE

Fourteen billion years ago, from an infinitesimal point of unimaginably extreme heat and pressure, our cosmos unfurls in a radiance of elementary particles and light. In a tumult of creation, the marvels of matter and energy, time and space, gravity and quintessence

(the ecstatic energy of expanding space) flare forth. The early universe is a cosmic egg aborning, suffused with creative possibility.

Every creative unfolding of the cosmos, including the human, is an expression of the One Luminescence. We are the embodied Radiance of the Universe.

Above image © Dvmsimages

January 2014

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

December 2013S M T W T F S1 2 3 4 5 6 78 9 10 11 12 13 1415 16 17 18 19 20 2122 23 24 25 26 27 2829 30 31

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Sunday Moonday Treesday Windsday Earthsday Fireday Waterday

SONGLINES OF THE UNIVERSE: GALAXIES EMERGE

Beginning thirteen billion years ago, ushered by transparent fields of beneficence, immense clouds of hydrogen collect and condense along seams of the fabric of the universe, forming the hundreds of billions of galaxies that paint the heavens. Misnamed ‘dark matter,’ the fields

of beneficence comprise the songlines of the universe. The songlines are a uniting energy interweaving in mycelium-like networks. Galaxies emerge along the filamentary pathways, each galaxy a vibrant music of the skyscape. Without the sustaining energy of the songlines, the

components of galaxies would disperse, silencing the development of planets and life forms. The supportive embrace of the placental fields (rendered blue in the image above) is mirrored, among life forms, in the nurturing capacity of mammals, especially humans.

Love is the whispering song of cosmic fields of beneficence.

February 2014


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CREATIVE FERMENT: SUPERNOVASSupernovas are the seed bursts of perishing stars. Enriched and buffeted by impacts from supernovas, vast clouds

of hydrogen develop into nurseries for new generations of stars. Supernovas pollinate the galaxies, as atomic grains of sulfur, oxygen, iron and all other heavy elements become the raw material of planetary systems.

The blazing creativity of supernovas shapes the precious elements necessary for the wondrous sparkling of life.

Earth, and all life on it, is formed out of the magic of stars.

March 2014


February 2014S M T W T F S

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April 2014S M T W T F S

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SEEDING SPACE: BENEDICTION OF ORGANIC MOLECULES

Carbon based molecules, belonging to the family of organic compounds, form the foundation for all of Earth’s life, from single-celled bacteria to complex multicellular organisms. Organic compounds such as amino acids compose the proteins that regulate essential metabolic reactions within all cells. The ancestry of organic molecules making up life on Earth precedes

the formation of our planet, with many of the complex compounds originating in the interstellar regions of space. There, organic molecules form rapidly in the dust of exploding stars, drenching the surfaces of passing comets and other wanderers.

From 4.5 to 3.8 billion years ago, in a hail of meteorites, asteroids and comets, Earth receives from afar the blessings of cosmic messengers bearing seminal gifts from seeded space.

April 2014


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Above image © Janet Schawel

ECSTASY OF THE SUN4.6 billion years ago pulsing waves from supernovas trigger the collapse of an immense cloud hovering nearby. The jostled cloud

consists primarily of atoms of hydrogen, formed at the birthing of the universe. Under increasing gravitational pressure the hydrogen cloud implodes, its atoms compressing until merging in nuclear fusion. As the fusion reaction commences, our sun ignites. In every second, the sun transforms five million tons of primordial hydrogen into helium, a process releasing radiant energy held for billions of years within hydrogen’s atomic structure. This unbridled energy, originating from the Great Radiance, is our sunshine. The light

warms and nourishes Earth’s surface, becoming the celestial catalyst for life’s pivotal achievement, photosynthesis.

In its ecstatic outpouring our Sun transmutes its body into the energy of its Source, shining as the Light of the world, giving new Life to Earth.

May 2014


April 2014S M T W T F S

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Above image © Elena Schweitzer

BREAKING OF THE WATERS: EARTH’ S OCEANS FORM

Four and a half billion years ago, at the dawning of our planetary system, trillions of grains of water-laden dust swirl in the gaseous cloud surrounding our fledgling Sun. Particles collide and congeal, with their encapsuled water, into ever-larger clumps, merging

with stray asteroids to become the accumulating magma of a newly forming Earth. Soon after Earth’s coalescing, the sizable intruder that will form the Moon impacts our globe in a glancing collision. In the ensuing shuddering breakup and cooling of Earth’s

molten rock, vast quantities of long held water are released into the atmosphere.

As vapor condenses in a prolonged deluge, our planet’s oceans come into being, quickening Earth’s nascent Life.

June 2014


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Above image © Juliengrondin

EARTH’ S FIERY HEART: CAULDRON OF EVOLUTION

As the young Earth coalesces, heat from impacts and radioactive decay of elements within Earth’s body produces internal temperatures rivaling those of the sun’s surface. For five hundred million years after its formation, Earth is a ferment of seething volcanism, churning oceans and roiling magma. Unlike Mercury, Venus and Mars, planets that settle into stony paralysis, or the

gassy giants Jupiter and Saturn, or the icy twins Uranus and Neptune, Earth holds fast to its kaleidoscopic dynamism.

Earth’s fiery heart is a surging cauldron of evolution, from whose outpouring issues drifting continents, intricate ecosystems, and the music of Bach.

July 2014


June 2014S M T W T F S1 2 3 4 5 6 78 9 10 11 12 13 1415 16 17 18 19 20 2122 23 24 25 26 27 2829 30

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EARTH AWAKENS: EMERGENCE OF LIFEFrom the energetic and physical commingling of our planet’s molten rock, swelling oceans and charged atmosphere, Earth breathes into

being the first tiny forms of life, single-celled bacteria. Bacteria initiate metabolism, the chemical tapestry of life woven into the cells of all later life forms. Life develops the ability to reproduce, encoding its learning in the genetic language of DNA. Playing primary roles

in all of Earth’s ecosystems, bacteria shepherd Earth’s carbon, nitrogen and oxygen cycles, allowing the development and diversity of multicellular organisms. Two and a half million years ago Earth births its second planetary life form, the human. Through the human, life becomes self-aware, encoding its learning in language and symbolic forms. As single-celled organisms have shaped the dynamics

of Earth, so humans now alter our planet’s land, waters, life and atmosphere.

We are heirs to Earth’s passion for transformation.

Above image © Malewitch

August 2014


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FIELD OF BENEFICENCE: EARTH’ S SKYA thin layer of atmosphere, a halo composed predominantly of nitrogen and oxygen, envelops our planet. Daily, the gaseous cocoon burns to harmless dust thousands of meteoroids raining upon Earth. In the upper atmosphere, oxygen bestowed by

cyanobacteria, algae, and plants transmutes into ozone, shielding land life from the ultraviolet radiation of our exuberant sun. Our beautiful airy blanket warms the globe, buffering Earth from the harsh void of surrounding space. Earth’s shimmering

atmosphere, unique in the solar system, hugs our planet in a protective, nourishing caress.

In every moment we are held in an invisible embrace. With every breath, we inhale an encompassing field of beneficence.

Above image © Katharina Wittfeld

September 2014


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EARTH’ S UNVEILING: KINGDOMS OF LIFEThe kingdoms of life—bacteria, protists, fungi, plants and animals—are Earth’s responsive sense organs, Earth’s means of disclosing and transforming itself. Through the planet’s primal life form, bacteria, Earth invents photosynthesis and an energizing oxygen atmosphere.

As plankton, protists (single-celled non-bacteria) compose the food base of the ocean’s ecosystems. Weaving essential Earth connections through extensive mycelial networks, fungi link with root systems to deliver water and mineral nutrients to plants. Land plants rise into the atmosphere to provide shelter and nourishment for keenly sensing mobile animals. As each life kingdom blossoms, Earth’s sensitivities expand and diversify.

Our human perception emanates from the planet’s unfolding: the eye with which we see Earth is the same eye with which Earth sees itself.

Above image © Bidouze Stephane

October 2014


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L IFE’ S FLORESCENCE: DEATH OF CELLS AND SELVES

For three billion years Earth’s life, consisting of single-celled organisms, reproduces solely by splitting into identical daughter cells. Unless disturbed by disease, environmental impact or predation, each of the cells is immortal, able to divide indefinitely.

Six hundred million years ago, complex organisms arise when life develops showy physical structures as adaptations to varying niches. Life’s flamboyance brings forth the elaborate multicellular shapes of insects, birds, fish, animals, plants and humans. Complex life

reproduces through separate (sexual) seed lines, enabling an exuberant expression of novel traits and combinations in transient bodies. The physical bodies engage with their environments, helping transmit the single-celled seed, and then die away.

Multicellularity begets fascinating, evanescent forms. Death of self is the requirement for the sumptuous enhancement of Life.

Above image © Dejan Sarman

November 2014


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AWAKENING TO EARTH AND SKY: HUMAN PRESENCE

We awaken to the immensity of the universe. The human is cradled within a cosmic field of beneficence, formed of the stars and seeded heavens, birthed from the oceans, infused with energy of the sun, embraced by Earth’s sky and nourished by Earth’s life. We are a planetary species participating in a magnificent unveiling. We belong to Earth and sky, finding our guidance and fulfillment in alignment with the unfolding universe. The primary arc of the universe, a bestowal of creativity, beauty and magnanimity, is the blessing way of the human.

We are One with Earth, an oasis in infinity. And we are One with the Infinity.

Above image © Bowie15

December 2014


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$14.95

The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of men and women when they realize their relationship, their oneness

with the Universe and all its powers.

– Black Elk, Native American elder, in The Sacred Pipe

Our scientific origin story is the narrative of our intimate connection to a vast and marvelous universe. The stages of its unfolding are:

JANUARY – The Great Radiance: Birthing the Universe FEBRUARY – Songlines of the Universe: Galaxies Emerge MARCH – Creative Ferment: Supernovas APRIL – Seeding Space: Benediction of Organic Molecules MAY – Ecstasy of the Sun JUNE – Breaking of the Waters: Earth’s Oceans Form JULY – Earth’s Fiery Heart: Cauldron of Evolution AUGUST – Earth Awakens: Emergence of Life SEPTEMBER – Field of Beneficence: Earth’s Sky OCTOBER – Earth’s Unveiling: Kingdoms of Life NOVEMBER – Life’s Florescence: Death of Cells and Selves DECEMBER – Awakening to Earth and Sky: Human Presence

At the end of the day there remains the grandeur and grace of the universe, full of enduring promise, inviting us to relent in wonder at the mystery of it all. Here is a mystery to command our curious efforts to understand, but here too is a mystery to provoke in us the raw sense that we are blessed. ~ Loyal Rue, Everybody’s Story

Humans need stories—grand, compelling stories—that help orient us in our lives and in the cosmos. The Epic of Evolution is such a story, beautifully suited to anchor our search for planetary consensus, telling us of our nature, our place, our context. If we can revere how things are, and can find a way to express gratitude for our existence, then we should be able to figure out how to share the Earth with one another and with other creatures, how to restore and preserve its elegance and grace, and how to commit ourselves to love and joy and laughter and hope.

-Ursula Goodenough, The Sacred Depths of Nature

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Belonging to Earth and Sky Calendar © Peter Adair 2013 Created and printed in Vermont, USA.

2013 CALENDAR · 2013. 9. 5. · March – Stars of Orion Nebula forming in supernova-enriched...

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