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Messages From Gaia
C. Allie Knowlton, MSW, LCSW, DCSW
Photo by Evelyn Rysdyk
No matter what your geographical location fear energy is alive and well! This includes all the countless reactions to fear including anxiety, denial, controlling behaviors and addictions. To not succumb to this erratic vibration, each of us must hold the intention to generate antidotes to this fear. We need to find other measures to care for ourselves. I would like to share one that has been very effective for many people, including myself.
Recently, my partner and I facilitated the final weekends of both our seventh two-year shamanic apprentice program and third graduate program. Each time either community was gathered, we would drum to bring ourselves into harmony for the work ahead. During that drumming, we ask the participants to be open to receive a spirit song. This is a "fresh song" that comes up spontaneously--inspired directly from the spirits. This is something that can occur either during that opening drumming of each session or between sessions while they are out on the land. When a spirit song is received, it is shared so that the community may sing it together.
After two years of deep connection, all of our relationships with the spirits of this beautiful land had been strengthened. As I lay awake one night at the Long House--feeling grateful for all the gifts that had been offered--I heard one such fresh, spirit song. By allowing ourselves to listen, beautiful messages can come forth!
Earth Mother, Gaia said, I have come to visit with you.
The air is my breath. It is in you too.
The fire is my spirit. It is in you too.
The water is my blood. It is in you too.
We are one!
Upon arriving at any location where we are facilitating a workshop or program, we do a ritual of greeting the spirits of the land and water. Over the years and over many locations, I have found myself deeply moved by the messages I have received. The many different middle world spirits and water spirits, all part of Gaia are always generous with their connection!
Photo by Constance Merrill
Last weekend it seemed appropriate to ask one of the graduating apprentices to have this experience, since the focus of the teachings is to encourage first hand experiences with Spirit. Each participant had shared messages from the Earth with their group, but I had always made the initial honoring, request for protection and gentleness for the lessons to be learned.
This time, I asked Ken Goodwin to take corn meal out as an offering and thank the land for helping support his community. While doing this ritual, I asked him to listen for a message for the group. The spirit of the land said,
“Thank you for calling to us, for letting us help you stay connected with us. We can help you have a more peaceful life. Come to us. Let your troubles melt into us and we will fill you again.” He saw a spirit come up out of the ground, almost like a tree. It opened up and said,"you don’t realize the power of the land. Learn to connect and it is available to you.”
Ken then went down to the lake with an offering of thanks and asked for another message to take back to his community. He placed the offering he held in his hand into the water and immediately jumped back, startled as the water elemental reached out to receive. Then the spirit of the lake swirled around him, calming him and said,
“We are glad you came. Thank you for including us and continue to call on the spirit of water for help. We can calm you with gentleness when needed., Also we can help you when you need power. Call upon us and we will help.”
A few weeks before this message, I was standing on the same large rock jutting out into Ossipee Lake when a group of water beings rose from the middle of the lake. They invited us to remember to sing our songs, offer our prayers and they would take them around the world to help heal our planet. That night some of our students were camping by the lake. During the night they reported that even though there was no wind, the lake suddenly became wild and the crashing waves woke them up. This was concurrent with Hurricane Ike pounding the shores of Texas. I remembered a similar experience on the day of September 11th, 2001 when Sebago Lake was suddenly rough and huge waves washed the shore with, again, no wind or boats. The water was giving us a message. Like all of Earth's waters, even though we are separated by distance, we are all connected. We are One.
The vibration of fear can separate us into smallness and isolation. Remembering that we are part of a larger whole is a resource to remember connection and it is absolutely free! The Earth Mother, Gaia continually invites us to tap into her resources for strength and only asks us to honor her by respecting her life processes.
We can honor that resource by taking time to find the nearest piece of land or source of water and making a simple offering of corn meal, bird seed or even a song with our deep gratitude. We may then ask for support for that day. This may be as simple as standing in the sun a few minutes prior to climbing into the car to go to work, or tipping our face into the rain with a moment of gratitude for the water we drink. It may be taking the children to the park so they hear the songs of the birds and witness the daily activities of the squirrels. It may also be sitting quietly remembering our favorite childhood place in nature where we knew "all was well with the world." The energy of gratitude is far more powerful than the disempowering vibration of fear.
We also need to develop the ability to hear/feel the response to our request for support. When we ask for help it may come in some very ordinary way. One woman whose heart is deeply wounded by an unexpected divorce placed a stone from her home in gratitude for the Earth's support. As she felt guided to a particular location to place her rock, she noticed that beneath that spot was a small, perfect heart shaped stone with glitter of mica on it. She felt her gift received by Mother Earth and her heart lightened with hope for her future. One woman who picks up trash wherever she travels, found an amazing piece of driftwood with clearly marked portals through which she could journey to continue developing her relationship with Gaia. She realized this stick could help her connect when her work schedule limited outdoor access.
Our culture trains us to only be moved by the spectacular. And yet, our souls long for connection. Could it be as simple as choosing each day to be open to the guidance and solace of the natural world which is all around us? Gaia keeps her invitation open.
- Allie Knowlton
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C. Allie Knowlton, MSW, LCSW, DCSW is a psychotherapist, shamanic teacher and healer in practice with her partner Evelyn C. Rysdyk. Included in the book Traveling Between the Worlds, Allie and Evelyn are among the world’s most influential writers and teachers of shamanism.
Allie brings a lifetime of connection to Spirit to her work with individuals and groups. Originally trained as a minister, she presents eco-spiritually focused training programs--which include advanced shamanism and shamanic healing -- across the USA and Canada. In addition, as a founding member of True North, a unique, integrated medical center in Falmouth, Maine --she collaborates with physicians, nurses, a psychiatrist, a naturopath and several other complementary healthcare practitioners to provide a new model of health care that includes Spirit.
www.spiritpassages.org
www.spiritliving.org
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