Goddesses of Humor

Contents of This Edition

Lighten Up: A look at the goddesses of humor and the roles they play in our lives. (Plus some fine examples of their work.)

A Goddess Gift for You! Read on, we do not want to spoil the surprise!

Goddess Goings On: Highlights of the month at Goddess Gift and what we foresee happening during the upcoming weeks.

Note: For those who have text-only email we have provided an extra set of links at the bottom of this email.

Goddesses of Humor: (Heard Any Good Jokes Lately?)

The war, deadline for income taxes, combined with the bleak dreary days we were having (not to mention all the stress involved in recovering from our recent computer tribulations) led us to the selection of the theme for this month's newsletter: The Humor of Women.

Often when life turns stressful and bleak, it is the gifts of laughter and lightness that sustain and heal us.

Who does not know by now that laughter has considerable medicinal value, increasing circulation, improving immunity, and, of course, lightening "the blues"?

When we think of humor in association with the goddesses three names spring to mind.

The Greek goddess Thalia was one of the nine Muses (daughters of Zeus and the Titan goddess Mnemosyne who were in charge of "inspiring" others.) Each Muse had her own area of specialization. Thalia was the goddess of comedy, assigned to bring merriment into the world.

Then there was Uzume (the Goddess of Laughter, Dance, and Drumming) whose merriment rescued Ameratsu, the Sun Goddess and divine ancestor of the Japanese imperial family. We have just put their story up at the website. Visit the site and read about Uzume and Ameratsu, Goddesses of Humor.

And who could possibly forget Baubo, the aging maidservant who "mooned" Demeter and cured her deep depression?

Musings on the Humor of Women. To enjoy some examples of women's humor, check out the link on the Pandora's Box page. Caution: There is a lot there, and it might be possible to overdose!

Never Say We Didn't Give You Anything

How is this for something unique and totally unexpected? We have designed a beautiful screensaver that features goddess art and links to our site.

Recall that some subscribers had written asking for more on ways to bring the goddesses into our daily lives - well, this idea struck us as a wonderful way to get us started down that path.

When I first head for the computer in the morning, coffee cup in hand, the goddesses are there to greet me . . . and to remind me to think of them throughout the day.

But there is even more . . . press the F2 button on my keyboard while the screensaver's up, and I'm magically transported to a page at Goddess Gift where I meet the featured Goddess of the Month and ponder on the qualities she exemplified.

Right there at the top of my screen are suggested meditation or affirmations as well as activities to invoke her presence (in other words, "borrow her strengths") as I go about my busy day.

The affirmations and activities will change frequently. I wish I could say daily, but Iam going through a commitment-phobic phase at the moment and do not wish to make any promises I cannot keep.

The featured goddess will change monthly, more or less, as my schedule permits. And the lucky "centerfold" for April will be the goddess Hestia.

Hope you like the idea and will go to the site and download the screensaver to give it a try. Here is a bit more information about it:

· SeeYouAgainScreensaver, a leader in the desktop software field, developed the technology. The Smithsonian Institutes are on of their customers. (Hey, we are running with the Big Dogs now!)

· It does not take up much memory on your computer.

· It is super-easy to download. Takes only a few seconds and installs itself. If if looks like nothing has happened after you have clicked to download, minimize your screen -- rather than popping "up" the window sometimes pops "under" . . . just another of little mystery! It is set to appear after your screen has been inactive for 5 minutes, but you can easily change that by going to your screensaver settings in your display menu.

· It is simple to uninstall. Just double-click on an uninstall icon that stays on your desktop and it automatically disappears.

· And, best of all, it is absolutely stunning and absolutely free! So check it out.

For the free download, just use this link to go click on the link on the home page of the website.

(Oops, I almost forgot the bad news - it only works with Windows (versions 95 and up). We didn't mean to discriminate, and we'll keep our eyes out for a version that works with Macs.)

Goings On At Goddess Gift

Highlights of our month at Goddess Gift include: Undertaking a project to improve the "shopping cart" experience of our visitors. Signs of Growth. Goddess art and the Goddess Shop -- Coming Soon. And we put up a newly revised postcard page (which also is easily accessed from the screensaver . . . just to remind you how important it is that you nurture your friendships, no matter how great the distances involved.

By the way, I make it a point to endeavor to make our monthly progress report far from "stuffy" and even enjoyable to read. If you've avoided reading it in the past because, like most of us, you tend to scan you emails looking for "the good stuff", please take the time some month to check it out. Who knows? You might be pleasantly surprised!

To check out the news in our monthly "Blog", use the link found on the Pandora's Box page at the website.


Till next time. . .