The Earthkeepers

Tonight is the full moon, and a lunar eclipse. Here in Sedona, we have rain. Very grateful for that.

 Here’s what our friend John Armbruster had to say about the February full moon:

This is the moon of great preparation. The first glimpses of productivity coming out of a time of reflection and introspection. 

In this Moon we see the light of the sun having some power. There is revival and hopefulness. Begin the spring celebration. Give thanks for the days of darkness and diminishment for this time of quiet. 

The Evening before Christmas has a strange an delightful mix of energy. Expectation mixed with stress and anxiety… the deep quiet of Christmas Eve Services and the hustle and bustle of last minute shopping.

The Poem “The Night Before Christmas” has shaped our perception of Christmas Eve and has immortalized Father Christmas into a legendary and symbolic representation of Christmas that, in many minds has supplanted the image of Christ. 

It is interesting that Christ’s birth came out of the night and was heralded by the mystical powers of the universe, took place during an oppressive time of Roman Government, and emphasized the humility of spiritual birth.

The celebration was moved to the time of the Roman Saturnalia. This was a weeklong celebration of the Winter Solstice and the Sun’s greatest distance from the Earth. The 25th of December is the point of least light. The Christ, bringer of the light, represents the return of the Sun.

For every Christian this time is a time of inner understanding and quiet contemplation of the order of life, the gift of life given by their creator to each and every living thing. In Christ, the divine became human… or was our divinity simply revealed to us…?

The National Audubon Society compiled a list of ways to improve our planet. Based on conversations with America’s top scientists, the society is encouraging individuals to make simple changes in daily routines to minimize human influence on the Earth’s environment. “If each person who reads Audubon (magazine) does just one of the resolutions, that will be 450,000 people who will have acted in some way to preserve what we have and they will be more aware of how their actions (or inactions) affect the planet,” says Audobon’s Lisa Gosselin. Below are Audobon’s top 10 recommendations. Read carefully; some of the suggestions may surprise you.

1. Say “no” to exotics. To help the plight of endangered species, don’t house exotic pets or purchase products that are made using animals at risk.

2. Go veggie. Vegetarian diets put less strain on the environment. Livestock guzzles nearly 50 percent of all water consumed in the United States and eats nearly 16 pounds of grass and grain for each pound of beef produced. Eat vegetables for personal health and the health of the environment.

3. Coffee in the shade. Buying shade-grown coffee supports the preservation of rain forests and safeguards the habitat of many species.

4. Be picky, not fishy. When choosing fish to eat, avoid over-fished species such as swordfish.

5. Be heard. Voice your opinion by supporting local and federal legislation to protect the environment and its endangered species. Every person at your town’s planning-board meetings can make a big difference.

6. Pay your dues. Some states offer the option of contributing part of your income tax to fund the protection of non-game species. Look for this option on your next form.

7. Buy the plate that pays. Some states donate revenue from special license plates to wildlife conservation programs. License plates with a conservation theme also help spread an important message.

8. Conserve energy. Buying energy-efficient appliances can significantly decrease energy use at home. If every US household was equipped with the most energy-efficient refrigerator available today, 10 power plants would quickly become obsolete.

9. Don’t be afraid of the dark. Electricity used to generate light produces a large amount of carbon dioxide, which in turn contributes to global warming. Use timers or movement sensors to minimize electricity use. Fluorescent light bulbs outlast incandescent bulbs and yield significantly lower levels of carbon dioxide.

10. Stay cool. Make sure your furnace is working at optimal efficiency and keep the temperature as low as possible. Decreasing the temperature by even a few degrees lowers carbon dioxide emissions by hundreds of pounds over the course of a year.

Bonus Tip: Be gentle on the earth; substitute synthetic animal fur for the real thing. 

The children’s honoring ceremony is very dear to my heart. It is a time to turn to the children and express not only our affection for them, but to help them begin to realize that we see purpose to their lives. With our acknowledgement of this, we hope that they will also begin the process of finding within themselves that sense of purpose and direction that will carry them through the difficult times ahead of them and will glorify and enliven all the wonderful experiences of life that are still unrevealed to them.

This is not an easy process. It is best to take a full day to work with the children and the adults who are supporting them. Often the children feel that the ceremony is really for the adults and not for them. This is partly right and is not to be denied. The trick then is to establish a positive link between the ceremonial activities and other activities that they enjoy.

Camping, games, and free play are important. A wide range of ages is helpful, because it is like a chain of understanding… each age group relating in some ways to those older and younger than them. 

We have seen positive results with red rover red rover, crafts - key chain making with putting prayers into them and other craft work to bring out creativity. Having the children take over the drums worked. Having a very focused teenage leader was very productive for the children’s talking circle.

The honoring dance is based on a simple fact. The children will be the ones to touch the future, not us. It is their future we are deciding every day. Though it is up to them to make of it what they will, we are leaving them the starting point which will define their world view and influence their decisions for the rest of their lives.

In this way, during the honoring dance, the alter or tree which is the central part of the dance is touched only by the children. The adults touch the alter by touching the children. This can be a very powerful image. A very telling comment on one of the very compelling facts of life. 

When we talk about the past and future minds, we are referring to the fact that so much of our time is spent contemplating and contending with the past or planning, worrying, or dreading the future.

It is important to understand that in both cases the power to change always lies in the present. Our lack of awareness of the present will rob us of golden opportunities to absorb the joy and uplifting quality of the world around us. To do this we have to have an open channel to the energy of living all around us. Sorrow, regret, disgust, hurt, jealousy, anger, all sap us of the energy to see, taste, touch, FEEL the moment with all our senses and with all that we sense is us. Worry, dread, hopelessness, and hope can all turn our attention from the blessings we are receiving every moment of the day.

Drumming, singing, dance all help to strip away the dark smoke of our illusion… it is the illusion of being in the past or future. In addition, acceptance of the past will release us from that past. Faith and releasing total control will free us from the future. In the present we can let our energy flow into everything we do or everything we experience. In that way, our essential selves, the part of us that is sincere, exuberant, confident, and committed will produce the future one present moment at a time.

— John Armbruster