M

— A Higher Calling

The effects of racism, oppression, illness, climate disaster and possible extinction seem to swirl around us as we travel together on this blue-green orb hurling through deep space.  We have awakened to a world both familiar and unfamiliar in the intensity of all that has happened in 2020, and find that we are in a great collective grieving process. We are challenged to find how to be ever more resilient in responding to our calling for creating a new world, one that has the potential to break free of the nightmare of the past.  

There’s a good chance we all know someone who has: tested positive for COVID-19, went into the ICU and died unexpectedly; who lost their job or business; who lost a family member or friend, or who is overwhelmed with depression and anxiety.  We watched the murder of George Floyd on TV and witnessed the riots and demonstrations. We heard the cries of “Black Lives Matter.”  When anger, fear, grief, depression, and anxiety are before us we can resist these emotions or learn to treat them as welcomed guests, transforming them into compassion, and into the kind of resiliency that is constantly creating a new and better world for all. 

As shamans we experience and feel the pain and sorrow, the joys and fears, the highs and lows and yet remain the resilient ones, the wisdom keepers, the luminous warriors. As shamans we know that the health and wellness of each one of us depends upon the health of the entire planet. This includes all people of all races and ethnic backgrounds, all plants and animals and all of life.  How can we continue to be resilient even as it seems that events are reaching critical mass, that everyone around us seems to be filled with disillusionment, depression, discouragement, and anger?  

These are the times we go back to our roots, to remembering we belong to the earth and the earth is beseeching us to raise our consciousness so that we can create a better world for us and for our children. We also belong to the universe, so we visit the realms of our ancestors and our children’s children and dream big dreams of peace and harmony, freedom and independence for all beings, and invite those around us who are lost in despair to join us in sacred dreams. 

Standing in the middle of the darkness we stay focused and in the moment so that we can be the calm center of the storm, so that we stay connected to spirit and vision. We share the light we have cultivated with our spiritual practices. We honor natural wonders such as rivers, lakes, mountains and in so doing reinvigorate the energy of the land.  We renew the energy of our communities by creating ceremonies to remind us that life will go on.  

We are limited only by our imagination in finding ways to reach out and connect and create community. Reaching beyond our comfort zones we can use the internet to connect and create fire ceremonies and ayni and despachos to heal trauma or bring goodness. We can create full moon ceremonies and take friends on journeys to past lives and to meet their luminous parents. We can create ceremonies to bring families together to honor death.  

We are the ones we have been waiting for: the ones who can replace anger with healing and despair with hope.  The ones who sit in the light and ask – what can I do today to create community? How can I reach out to someone outside my own circle? How can I connect with joy? And say YES as we respond to our calling in a new and greater way.