The Earthkeepers

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, confidant, and committed will produce the future one present moment at a time.

When we come to the realization that we are evolving spiritually, we begin a great adventure. Whatever path we take, we truly must expect the unexpected. We face day to day the inner workings of our heart. We see the emptiness. We experience the thrill of discovery. We feel the uncertainty. But there is no day that is the same as the last. 

The EarthDance Way is such a path. Because it is not theological or dogmatic, it is a path of personal discovery. It is like a closet full of alternative realities which we can try on. Those that are in accordance with our spiritual mission will fit well. Those that don’t won’t. The decisions about which is which have always been between my creator and me. There have been those who would have it otherwise, but something always swept them out of my life.

My only task has been to not shirk from the adventure. To embrace the uncertain road with certainty. To look into the darkness and sense the goodness coming towards me. 

In this adventure knowledge is gained. Some of the knowledge helps me create beliefs that allow me to observe the miracles of life when they occur. This knowledge is like re-wiring a circuit so it can carry more current. 

Other knowledge adds to my knowing, my sense of life. Just this summer when an 8ft Grizzly was standing over me just 20 ft away growling, I understood the medicine of the Bear. I can describe it to you, but I cannot transmit that knowing through those words. What I can do is transmit that knowing through the way I live my life. In the same way, all the sunsets I have truly seen and allowed to touch me are in my eyes. All the sweet waters that I have bathed in, that I have allowed to caress my body and exercise their buoyancy on me are in my touch.

And so it is, in the process of learning about ourselves, we learn about the world around us. We often tempt the limits of our knowledge. When we enter into that empty space of not knowing, we are filled with the thrill of discovery. The Earth gives us thrills in abundance. We dare not challenge her power, for it is awesome. However, when one throws open the gates to life the secrets often come in out of the cold. Knowledge comes in its own time and of its own accord. Our job is to be willing participants…

…and so we sit by the fire. The smoky smell a sweet perfume in the night air. The Drum carries us into the dreamtime. We make our prayers. We smoke the Sacred Pipe together to seal our intent and honesty into them. We sing the sacred songs to carry them around the planet so all will hear and believe us. We dance in the sacred way, giving ourselves to the rhythm, giving ourselves to the people and the goodness of life. Our feet act out the completeness of our prayers so the spirit of the land will have no doubt about what it is we are requesting… And in this way we walk into the distant lands of our spiritual adventure. There is no way of knowing where it will lead us. It is the beauty of the Mystery of Life.

It’s been well over 5 years since John left us. It seems like another lifetime now. I sit here wondering what happens after we pass and where John is in this universe. Perhaps he has returned already and is growing up in Burma or Sweden or maybe he returned as the one of last Siberian Tigers. Maybe his spirit passed into Unity and Many Voices is heard as a whisper on the wind.

Last week, a friend of mine passed who believed only oblivion awaited him after death. I’m confident he’s experienced a big surprise, just not sure what kind.

As I grow older, only now do I realize how clueless I really am, and that the Great Mystery is indeed just that. Nonetheless, there’s mountains of evidence that the world and it’s inhabitants are on the cusp of a momentous change, greater than anything in recorded history. For the first time, human beings have available to them, the knowledge of all the great wisdom traditions, we can see and hear each other regardless of geography or culture, and evolution has become visible and is in my view, undeniable. Ancient Secrets have been opened and are available to anyone who seeks them.  Even more, some of us are beginning to become free and responsible to consciously participate in our own evolution for the first time in human history.

A new age is dawning, but how it’s going to look, nobody can say. Historical evidence of emerging memes has always shown that the emergence of a new stage of human evolution is wholly unpredictable. Visions of “earth changes”, 2012, and such are always partial perspectives by nature, grasped onto by opportunists and fanatics, and inevitably proven off base. Remember California falling into the Pacific in the 1970s? Or Gregg Braden’s reversal of the earth’s rotation just few years ago?

Now the big theme is 2012 and the end of the Mayan calendar. Even if this calendar’s end is a predictor of enormous transformation, it’s only a sign on the road. We’ve been evolving for millions of years and it’s taken every day of every one of those millions of years to reach this day on my calendar. So I just keep breathing and put one foot in front of the other as best I can. And try to pay attention. As I grow older, I think maybe my job as a human being is 90% suiting up and showing up. So that’s my prayer now. I pray I can add some beauty to this world by participating in life. Whatever happens, we’re in for a helluva ride in the coming years.

I pray you and I can celebrate witnessing and participating in the most amazing time ever on earth. Have a look.

I watched Obama’s inauguration speech today. He spoke of addressing nearly every concern I hold about our America and the world. I hope he really means what he said. It’s nice to have hope again about America after 8 years of darkness.

I think John would have liked Obama and his vision. I do believe having a President who actually acknowledges global warming and our other challenges is a huge step in the right direction for America.
How about you? Are you hopeful?