From Chris Waters
I woke today with the ‘news’ of yet another war erupting… another set of atrocities against our people.. and I say 'our' people because all people are ‘our people’ and it is a great distraction from whats really going on..
You have often heard me speak about the prophecies of what Joanna Macy calls the Great Turning, and what our shamans call the 'pachakutti' when the world turns again. Every tradition has it's own version of these prophecies: The Mayans called it the end of the Nine Underworlds, the yoga tradition calls it the Kali Yuga. We are in those times, times of great upheaval .. and it's really all about us dreaming our world into being.... because if we don't dream it we have to be content with what is being dreamed for us. And right now it looks like a nightmare. War is a great way to distract the people from whats really going in.. make people the enemy… divide and conquer.. stir up hatred and violence. ..
I can't emphasise enough how important it is for us to keep a vision in our hearts of what we really want.. and how we want our world to look, and what legacy we want to leave for those who come after us... our children's children. At the end of each fire that I hold with my groups the 'pachamama stick' goes on the fire. This stick holds all our dreamings, how we want the world to look.. and from this moment on the fire becomes the childrens fire.. because they are the ones who will inherit what we dream into being now..
In this tradition, every time we open our mesas, we are together making a commitment to dream a beautiful dream for our world, for ourselves, for our families, for our communities... because we know it's up to us. But a dream without action is only an idea.. magical thinking.. and equally action without a vision (a dream) is simply a task.. but together vision and action can change our world. Your world, my world... and together 'the' world.
The actions we take, you and I, day by day.. in our own personal lives, are what matters most. How we behave towards each other, what we think, how we act.. all have a root in our personal experiences.. and when we act from a wounded place.. when we believe our world is unsafe, or there isnt enough, or that we don’t matter .. then by our thoughts and our behaviours we create exactly the world we are seeing.
I am with this today.. what part am i playing in the creation of a new reality.... or am I seeing the world through my own wounds?
This is the very reason why i do the work of healing old wounds.. ancestral wounds sit unconsciously in the field of awareness and will continue to create reality until brought into awareness for healing.
I do it for me, and I teach this so that we can all make different choices about how we think, how we behave and how we can make a difference in our world.
.. and heres some deep wisdom to help us all understand where we are at.. and what choice we have..
"In the time of the Seventh Fire, a New People would emerge. They would retrace their steps to find the wisdom that was left by the side of the trail long ago.
Their steps would take them to the elders, who they would ask to guide them on their journey.
If the New People remain strong in their quest, the Sacred Drum will again sound its voice. There will be an awakening of the People, and the Sacred Fire will again be lit.
At this time, the light-skinned race will be given a choice between two roads. One road is the road of greed and technology without wisdom or respect for life. This road represents a rush to destruction.
The other road is spirituality, a slower path that includes respect for all living things. If we choose the spiritual path, we can light yet another fire, an Eight Fire, and begin an extended period of Peace and healthy growth."
-- Grandfather William Commanda, Founder, Circle of All Nations Prophecy of the Seven Fires of the Anishnabe, and Ancient Wampum Bel