The Original Great Mother Tradition
Mother Worship

MatriTalks 65

MOTHER WORSHIP

Questions & Answers
with
Han Marie Stiekema Sermes

Home Shrine

Q. I know, that you very much "believe" in sanctifying existence: the body, nature and now the home. What motivates you in doing this?

A. My experiences in my early childhood will certainly play a role here. First of all, I felt rejected by my parents, making me a "homeless" kid*. To compensate this, I took refuge in nature. The latter becoming my first home.

* My parents didn't reject me at all. It was just my personal conclusion. An example of how certain early "conclusions" can have life-long consequences.

Q. Thus "homelessness" has been always a big issue to you.

A. I think so. Although, I wasn't always aware of that. On the contrary. One of my other conclusions was, that "this was my problem". For a long time, it gave me a vibrant feeling of independence.

Q. What were your other deliberations?

A. These only came, after I slowly discovered my fundamental need: longing for homecoming. It culminated in finding my True Home, the Great Mother. Seeing the deprivation I had suffered, I started re-evaluating my mind-sets. Ever since, I am devoting myself to people, who feel alienated, isolated and marginalized.

Q. Which in the mean time includes the whole of mankind.

A. If you look at it from a spiritual perspective, the West is almost totally alienated from the Source; from a material perspective, the so-called Third World is deprived of its most fundamental living conditions.

Q. Its this the reason, why you as one of the very few teachers have integrated spirituality and politics?

A. The Great Mother bestowed these insights upon me. She is the Source of the Web of Life, after all. The Web being the foundation of Life: spiritually, culturally, socially, ecologically, economically.

Q. What in this regard would be the "face" of the Mother to the outside world? How may people recognize Her?

A. As you will understand "the Mother" isn't just a "new religion". The latter would be a new separate entity, based on again a set of beliefs, while excluding everything else. Moreover, the Mother isn't confined to a particular "sector" of society either, She is not apart from "the world". As the Cosmic Vacuum, She, on the other hand, is All-Inclusive. She embraces both the Divine and the universe. Hence, She is beyond the existing religions, while at the same time including them all. Thus, we cannot classify ourselves as a "religion". We call Her Work on earth "The Original Great Mother Tradition", while our actual practice can be best described as "Mother Worship". Both are part of the worldwide Transformation of Self and Society

Q.  Today we are talking about the family. The family has long been the concern of both church and state. Why paying so much attention to it?

A. The "concern" of state and church for the "well-being" of the family, entirely served their own purposes. For the church, it was the breeding place of "new souls"; for the state the family was the cornerstone "of society", read its power. Nowadays, the real predator is big business though. They are exploiting the family in two ways, both as a source of (cheap) labor and as a "unit" for dumping their unnecessary products.

Q.  Causing the so-called disintegration of the family?

A. In my concept, the family should regain its position as place of empowerment. Obviously, I am not alone saying this. The difference though is, that I am approaching this issue in a most fundamental way: the family as cornerstone, yes. But not as a target for exploitation. On the contrary: to me the family is the foundation of a Self-sovereign Community.

Q. How can you turn exploitation into empowerment?

A. To first of all re-install the Source, from Which all power is taken from. By doing so, the home will become a sanctuary, entirely serving its own well-being (and that of its surroundings). You become the center, instead of a target for others. The visible expression of this joyful turning point, is the Home Shrine.

Q. Just like Indigenous peoples, Africans and Asians (together with their descendents in the New World) used to have or still have.

A. That's right. I remember a Chinese restaurant, having a huge Kuan Yin altar behind the bar. They made Kuan Yin the protectress of their business. Wonderful.

Q. What would be your suggestion to people?

A. First meditate on the idea of installing a Home Shrine. Then, share it with all other family members. Tell them what the function is of such a Shrine: The Center of the family, the Source of insight, love and strength, the Refuge in difficult times and the binding factor to the entire family. If the family agrees, then you may chose a "public space" to install the Shrine. If there are objections, then you may convince the others, that at least you yourself need a private corner for doing your prayers.

Q. A Shrine obviously, contains objects for worship and veneration. What would be your recommendations?

A. It works from both sides. On the one hand, an object should as closely as possible reflect the Ultimate Reality, while on the other hand you should have an emotional bond to it.

Q. So, everyone having his or her personal Shrine.

A. In case you would install a Great Mother Shrine, I would suggest to install at least one "official" image*, complemented by objects of your own and other family members' choices. The result may very much resemble the Shrines of Caribbean shamans: a varied collection of small treasures, dominated by the "main Deity".

* See: Great Mother Shrines

Q. Not everybody will immediately feel familiar with having a Shrine in the home. What kind of practices could be performed?

A. The Shrine is a place for silence, prayer, meditation, mantra, chanting, ceremony, offering and celebration.

Q. Offering?

A.  The irony of modern life is, that we feel unfulfilled in the midst of affluence, its cause being our inability to receive. Being so obsessed by having, we lost the sense of all the gifts of life, that are continuously bestowed upon us. Once we open up, we realize how "rich" we are. Knowing, that everything is given, we bring offerings to the Mother, as a sign of our gratefulness.

Receive and you will give.

Be grateful to the Mother.

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Last revising: 02/07/10