Return of the Ancestors - Reflections

Reflections on the Gathering

The midwest was hot green when I returned, everything is abloom. You can actually smell and feel the life-giving chlorophyll. This is such a contrast to the northern Arizona desert, yet I still love the colors of both the stark and living deserts of the American southwest. An old friend from college (Arizona State University is my alma mater) noticed that I have yet to shake the desert sand from my shoes.

Have had a little time to reflect on my journey across America. I've been seeking insight on how the indigenous cultures of the Americas may assist our healing during the end of this world age. This is a time of intense purification for us known as The Great Healing and I am personally in the thick of it like everyone else. My thoughts sometime jell into conclusions and then they fade back into process, but I'll share what I can in this moment.

Hopi Sands
In the two weeks that I travelled across Native nations, every single day brought positive interactions with Native Americans. Whether at the grocery stores, gas stops, Super8 motels (the ones we stayed in were filled with Native people), tourist attractions or in ceremony, I was treated with compassion and respect as a foreigner on their turf. Their warmth and humor was genuine and delightful. They were not afraid to poke fun at me (“you actually fell for that promise for the white people to see the Hopi tablets for the first time ever?”) I will cherish my experiences with these people for the rest of my life.

Though they are still “the forgotten people” Native Americans are gaining ground financially, educationally and artistically. The Hopi, for example, are farmers first. Secondly, they are amazing visual and performing artists and that is how many make ends meet. The Navajo, for example, have taken their Godforsaken land and turned it into an economic engine unsurpassed in the Native North American world. The Native Way is, deservedly so, one of pride.

Reading Native-friendly history en route helped me gain much needed perspective. For example, it was quite common in the French and Spanish territories to intermarry with Native people. The Puritan-based Anglos did not. Their rabid hatred for the “savages” was over-the-top by all standards, in ways that didn’t happen North or South of US borders. This is a distinction that I hadn’t realized before and one that, as an Anglo with settler's blood in my veins, is being healed.

In Due Time, the Eagle and the Condor
Though no one actually told me, I surmise that the longstanding rift between the Hopi, Navajo, other tribes and the whites was the main factor that prevented the gathering on Hopi to happen. It doesn't feel to me that the Eagle (North America) and the Condor (South America) prophecy will ever be brokered by the whites, and will come together organically, not through financial means, as was the intent with this gathering. Attaching money to this process was forcing what can not be forced. The vision of the new currency, love-based exchange, became easier to fathom as I observed the old paradigm crash into the new. It is my hope that all who participated and promoted this event learned some valuable lessons. We must be sensitive to the reality that, as attuned as the Natives are to Earth, Spirit and all of their relations, oneness consciousness has eluded them as much as the rest of humanity. We're all in this together.

People are the Key
The people I met will be as memorable as any other aspect of this journey, from both positive and disconcerting points of view. At first I was humored by the notion that just about every pilgrim I met had had ecstatic visions of White Buffalo Calf Woman and was called to do this and that, running around in attempting to manifest their visions (delivering beads, adopting buffalos, etc.) Many pilgrims fasted for the entire 10 days. In conversations, it was apparent that many in this crowd do not believe in free will and that Spirit is 100% in charge. Many believe that the 2012 thing is going to happen in the blink of an eye. In all honesty, very few of the pilgrims felt grounded to me and, towards the end of the journey, I had to wonder if anyone was taking responsibility for their decisions at any level. This flightiness was juxtaposed by the Native groundedness. Some thoughts:

1. Our destiny is determined both by the Divine Plan and personal choices. That is what karma is all about. To think that life is mutually exclusive of one or the other is naive, impractical and very likely a cop-out.
   
2. The transformation of consciousness has been going on for a very, very long time. Yes, this is the time of the quickening, but I doubt the old consciousnesses are not going to disappear anytime soon. Have any truly disappeared? New consciousness transcends and includes the others, and this has been shown to be a natural law. Cellular, familial, tribal, regional and planetary, etc. consciousness will continue to exist, though they may not dominate. There are many aspects of earlier bodies of consciousness that are valuable to our newly evolved way of being. It may take some time for enlightening humans to deal with other levels of consciousness appropriately and compassionately. We need to move away from thinking of consciousness as a "fixed state" with levels. In my mind, these represent a machismo model. Rather, streams of consciousness are constantly on the move, like energy, and we will be pulling in the meritous threads from previous levels as we co-create a new consciousness.
3. Heart opening and simple living, these are the keys. Figuring out how to outsmart, survive and protect yourself from Earth changes is irrelevant and a waste of time that may be better spent clearing your personal and ancestral negativity.

Thank you, Angels

Though you will find reference to these characters in previous posts, I’d like to give honorable mention to those who touched my heart and taught me just what I needed when I needed it. Many thanks and blessings to:

Larry Running Turtle who did a healing for me on the first day of the event. Combined with the sweat that evening, it freed me of some physical pain so that I could stay energized and enjoy this journey.

Kathy Marshall and Mary Dwyer from Chicago who encouraged me to sweat. Whenever in Sedona contact Mary for healing walks.

Sulee, Don Alejandro's daughter and successor, who is sure to do well with her duties. She is an amazing speaker and has a smile that exudes wisdom and caring.

Esmeralda, (mentioned in previous post) s/him photographer from San Francisco who meditated with me on the rim of the Grand Canyon, the heart of the Earth.

The Brit and Bosnian who live in Amsterdam and challenged my ideas about Obama for two hours at the Taco Bell in Tuba. While I defended the anti-conspiracy political position, they showed me what chem-trails look like and posited brand new ideas for my feeble American mind. Best of luck with your newly adopted white buffalo.

Marlinda Kooyaquaptewa, tour guide extradordinaire. You can find her at the Hopi Cultural Center or http://www.blogger.com/mar_cornmaiden@yahoo.com She will take you sacred places and tell you all she can without snuffing you out later.

The crystal skull carriers Marza and Shara, though they wouldn’t take the skulls out of the trunk for fear of contamination at the gathering, shared their knowledge and wit with me as we explored the magic of the Hopi. Shara dubbed the Hopi gathering drama as "The Shit of the Ages." You're both awesome.

Teresa Rousseau of Earth Dance Circle in Sonoma, CA, celebrated her birthday at Hopi. What a gift! She is a trusted vision quest guide, soul retrieval specialist, hearty travel companion and conscientious pot shard picker-upper.

David Odell and friend Lee who shared his work in integrative astrology. A fervent student of all schools of astrology, Mayan, Vedic, Egyptian, he is weaving them together so that we can notice the patterns. Keep checking his site http://www.artstrology.com/ for amazing content.

Miriam Delicado author of Blue Star, an autobiographical tale of her experiences as an alien abductee. She was actively involved in the negotiations between the Elder's Gathering producers and the Hopi and offered insight on the disconnect. She also talked to the cops who appeared at Prophecy Rock while we were in an impromptu circle ceremony. Thank you for smoothing ruffled energies and opening your heart to me.

Ideal, Harmony of http://www.divineharmony.org, Eric, Chad of http://www.evolvethe.com/ and the especially the Discovery Channel photographer (name escapes me) from LA for breaking bread, reminding me to stay in my heart and forget about figuring stuff out.

Alph Secakuku, owner of Hopi Fine Arts in Second Mesa, chanteur of music from the Fourth World and author of Hopi Kachina Tradition, Following the Sun and Moon for educating us on the Hopi creation story, ceremonial cycle, kachinas and the making of silver overlay jewelry. The first question he asked us was "What do you think of the Hopi not welcoming the Gathering?" He made it quite clear that, even though he is a long-standing member of the Hopi council, the leadership there now is corrupt (giving land rights to Peabody Coal, etc.). He was personally embarrassed with their decision not to let us gather en masse on their land.

Two of the 60 Basque pilgrims, Irene and Arantza, who, together with their two children, made the trip down from Hopi to Sedona an easy, fun ride. They invite us to join them at Amalurra, their hotel/restaurant/spiritual community in norther Spain.

Matty, Ian Lungold’s partner, for embodying how to be, open, not contracting, and being present to love in every moment, regardless of the cost or the loss.

Steve Copeland and David for sharing the scenes from “The Shift of the Ages” film in the making. This film will be a block and system buster that will finally reveal to the world the essence of the Maya and their calendars. The rough footage we watched in Matty's kitchen brought tears to our eyes, bumps to our skin and shivvers up our spines. Steve et al are capturng what no one else has on film. Stay tuned for its release, it's bound to boost the shift like no other body of work.

In Lak'ech,

bjs