We cannot redeem our physical environment without restoring our relationship to the sacred.

I put the question out there "If our thoughts become our reality, then where do we go from here?" And I think this is a pretty good answer.

Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee writes in the Huffington Post, and has his own online blogs about
Green Spirituality, Nature, and Spiritual Ecology and Environmentalism. I recently found this article of his about our planetary crisis and our own inner spirit crises particularly relevant and articulate.

I just got turned on to him by a friend.

He Writes:Spiritual Ecology is an exploration of the spiritual dimension of our present ecological crisis. At the core of Spiritual Ecology is an understanding that our present outer ecological crisis is a reflection of an inner spiritual crisis. Recently many people have been made aware that we are at the "eleventh hour," or even a few minutes before midnight, of a global ecological situation that could result in catastrophic climate change or other irreversible global situations. However we are less aware of the inner spiritual crisis that underlies this outer crisis -- that a lack of awareness of the sacred within ourselves and within all of life has created an inner wasteland as real as any outer landscape. The interconnection between the outer and inner is foundational to life, both our individual life and the life of all of creation, as has been understood by indigenous peoples since the very beginning; therefore we cannot address our outer ecological crisis without a real consciousness of the inner situation. We cannot redeem our physical environment without restoring our relationship to the sacred.

Our collective pursuit of materialism and our disregard for the sacred within all of life has had a devastating effect. We have dismissed our ancient role as guardians of the planet. As a result, the sacred fire that we were supposed to keep burning, the light of the sacred that nourishes all of creation, is slowly going out. We can see this in a culture that is increasingly soulless and fractured. We may feel it in an underlying collective anxiety that can easily become anger, projected onto outer situations. We may sense it within our own soul as if something is becoming lost. And we are responsible. We vitally need to become conscious of what is happening to this sacred light. We need to recognize this growing darkness which is a forgetfulness of the sacred within our own souls and within all of creation. Only when we are aware of what is happening can we begin to change our world.

Those of us who have been given a knowing of the sacred within ourselves and within the world have a responsibility at this time. We may ask ourselves, "What can I do?" but the inner world primarily requires consciousness rather than action. It is the lack of an awareness of the sacred that is at the root of this crisis. Therefore we first need to bring the light of our spiritual awareness into the present predicament. We need to recognize what is really happening within the inner world as much as the outer, within our own soul and within the soul of the world. Only then can we begin to redeem the sacred and open the door to any real change or transformation. Only then can we begin to heal the world and bring it back into balance.

Send me your comments!!
OM Shanti and Many Many Blessings.

The Strength of Bear

My boyfriend told me the other day - (finding himself in a particularly difficult time of his life), that "when we see a bear, ...Everything will be okay".
I forgot about what he said, until I saw a bear yesterday. It is not often that I see a bear, and that was the first bear I've seen since I've been up here in the Chico Canyon!!
The Native Americans see 'Bear' as a symbol of Introspection.
Here's what Jamie Sams and David Carson say in the 'Medicine Cards' book for animal energies,

"In the winter, when the Ice Queen reigns and the face of death is upon the Earth, Bear enters the womb-cave to hibernate, to digest the year's experience."

Sounds good to me. It sounds like this is perfect timing for all of us to take Bear's message to heart, and enter the 'cave'. Many tribes have referred to this space of inner-knowing as the 'Dream Lodge' - where the veils of illusion of physical reality can drop away. In India, this Dream Lodge space (what we know to be located in the center of the four lobes of the brain - literally the Pineal Gland) is called the Cave of Brahma. It is said that here, our ancestors sit in Council and advise us regarding alternative pathways that lead to our goals.

"For eons, all seekers of the Dreamtime and of visions have walked the path of silence, calming the internal chatter, reaching the place of rites of passage... "

We've all been invited to enter the silence and become acquainted with the Dream Lodge, so that our goals may become concrete realities. This is the message that Bear brings!!