Goddess Melissa
Who run this mother? Girls, of course, but let’s not forget about the bees! According to the latest ‘buzz’, bees pollinate nearly three quarters of the plants that produce 90% of the world’s food (!), but our ancestors already realized how essential these magical golden creatures are to our survival. There have always been Bee Goddesses; voluptuous Anatolian divinities wearing beehive–shaped tiaras and feisty Hindu honey goddesses with a venomous sting. Yet nobody adored them as much as the ancient Greeks who had a cult of bee goddesses, nymphs and priestesses – an entire ‘hive’! – all sharing the same name: Melissa.
When Gaia, mother Earth herself, asked a trio of bee nymphs to look after her infant grandson Zeus, the ‘Melissae’ lovingly fed him plenty of honey, also known as ‘liquid gold’. As soon as he became King of the Gods, Zeus rewarded the nymphs by changing the color of bees to a bright gold. Such a perfect color for these royal creatures! I imagine the Queen Bee in her role as messenger, draped in flowy gold robes, busily buzzing back and forth between the gods and humankind. Bringing us the sweet gift of heaven (honey), she carries back our worldly cares to the deities. Oh, how the gods love to listen to Melissa with her honey–glossed lips! Enraptured, they honor her with the gift of dance. And off the Bee Queen goes, shimmying through the sky in a puffy cloud of pollen! (To this day, honey bees are the only insects that communicate with each other through dance).
Now, more than ever, Melissa’s children are important messengers of Mother Earth. “See the state of the dying bee populations? That’s the state of the world,” they’re saying. And indeed, realizing that those beautiful matriarchal bee societies are getting destroyed by the disastrous results of our self–interested patriarchal system – pollution, climate change etc. – is a major wake up call. So, let’s return to the hive and pray to the Bee Goddess. Let’s dance and shake and run this mother together. I promise, the rewards will be sweeter than honey.
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MD Friends
Building bridges
From the Erasmus Bridge and the Mercedes-Benz Museum to Qatar’s metro network; Ben van Berkel’s iconic landmarks bring people together in rapturous beauty, again and again. I talked with the Dutch architect and educator about sensuality, ‘healthy’ buildings and the remarkable parallels between our designs.
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MD Friends
More than a feeling
Don’t ignore your emotions; they are much more powerful than you can imagine. By linking the magical world of emotions with hard science, Dutch scientist Pierre Capel, professor emeritus in experimental immunology, shows us the consequences of our feelings and the power of our minds. The message: we can do much more than we think. “Meditate. It’s the single best thing you can do for your health.”
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Marlies Says
Keto curious?
The fact that I feel bikini-confident all year round is, of course, a nice bonus. But for me, the biggest payoff of following the keto diet is the way it optimizes my health and gives me tons of energy.
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Marlies Says
Super (skin) food
‘If you can’t eat it, why put it on your skin?’. I pretty much live by this beauty adage. After all, with your skin being one of your body’s largest organs, anything – and I mean anything! – you put onto your skin will end up in your bloodstream.
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