The Earthkeepers

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.

Both in the media and in the neighborhood, I hear both misinformed denial and hysteria about global warming– which leads me to look at empirical data to make a determination for myself. One of the places I look for data is the NSIDC. The arctic region is the canary in the coal mine so to speak. Climate changes are greatly magnified at the poles, and moreso at the noth pole because the ice rests on the ocean instead of land.

Arctic ice is thinning even more rapidly than many of the more pessimistic projections about global warming. We’re on track to continue the decline in summer ice this year. If predicted weather patterns are correct, my home state of Arizona will become hotter and drier than it already is. We are in a decade-long drought. The prognosis is for more heat and less rain.

Here is the latest data: NSIDC.

Essay written by White Deer of Autumn (Gabriel Horn)

Who are we? Where are we going? Why are we here? Imagine if more people searched the Mystery of their lives for the answers to these questions. Imagine if more people understood the passion of the Lakota war cry: “It’s a good day to die!” or the feelings of a man like Henry David Thoreau when he said that he would hate to face his death knowing that he had not lived. Imagine if the hearts of more people became like theirs… and the land became mother… and that which they share all things with became the Great Holy Mystery. Imagine… (more…)

Today we remember John Many Voices Armbruster, who five years ago, took off to sing for the Other Side Camp. We miss you my friend.

Hugs All Around, Dave, Tracy and Janisse

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?