Today, we send Happy Mother’s Day greetings to all Mothers and to all who have served as a Mother to another being. In Sunray, we often recall the story of Star Maiden—the first Mother—who fell from the Seventh Heaven, spinning down to Earth. Many creatures, seeing Star Maiden as a great gift from heaven, sought to soften her landing. Turtle offered her back and many creatures sought to dive into the water to find firmament to soften her landing. However, it was Water Spider who successfully dove deep into the waters to gather earth that she placed on turtle’s back just in time for Star Maiden’s landing.
From Star Maiden came all of creation and so she is known by many Native Americans as the first Mother. Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo says the story of Star Maiden is very important as it shows that our reality and what we see in the moment are shaped by our thinking. “Thought weaves the patterns, the tapestry that we are all living. And one mother is the mother of us all, so we are all relatives.” Voices of Our Ancestors by Dhyani Ywahoo, pp.30-31.*
Life is a precious gift. Without a Mother, “we would not be in this world. As human beings… we have…freedoms and…conditions enriching the basis of our precious life…due in part to the kindness of our gracious mothers.” Venerable Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche, 2013 Dzogchen Summer Retreat.
Let us each recall that “mother” is an ongoing creative principle. Wherever you are today, let us also remember our Mothers and the precious gift that they have given us to be explorers in this lifetime!
Happy Mother’s Day!
*You can read the full Tsalagi/Cherokee story of Star Maiden in Voices of Our Ancestors, pp.29-32.