Dreaming the World

The weather has turned cold and wet, the landscape a rich tapestry of spring green. How cold? The furnace has been on!

The garden is in and the beds are filled with young plants. Jennie has worked hard to get everything planted and we are excited to see the first shoots of spring! As I write our neighbors are putting an air conditioner into their second floor window, surely a hopeful gesture!

I’ve been trying to find a moment to write. Spring is always a busy time and the last couple of months have been a whirlwind of tasks, graduations, and family events. In a world that too often seems “mad” these activities have taken on the cloak of sanity. What better than to celebrate, morn, and deeply share the turns of our lives with those we love and who love us?

I often think folks want shamanism to be about some form of “woo-woo” rather than be down to Earth. After more than four decades of practice I keep coming back to the classic definition of shamanism: the shaman is one who works with the spirits on behalf of the community. It is an elegantly simple definition, although one commanding great depth and nuance.

In this definition of shamanism there is room for gardening, delivering desperately needed medical and school supplies to beleaguered communities, and joining with others to be with the dying and to celebrate the lives of those we love. I was always taught that shamanism is inherently political in that it insists we act in support of family, community, and Mother Earth. In this time when so many embrace and urge greed and hatred, shamanism seems downright radical.

In many shamanic communities Jesus is understood to be a great and wise teacher, someone who walked with the Creator. His words remind us to seek peace, care for the ill and injured, and feed the hungry. He insists we care for all children, those in harm’s way, and those who we might judge as other. He also insists that failure to do so places our souls at risk.

I find myself wondering about those who say they follow his vision and preach hatred, greed, and indifference. I fear they have been seduced by the Dark Powers and will bring many others into the Darkness with them. The seers have long-held that the powers of Darkness will grow in the Americas until we all awaken to the truth of our collective histories, make amends for the immense suffering that has been caused, and open our hearts to both the beauty and the pain our glorious world.

Prophesy offers us hope in difficult times and a roadmap to living joyful lives. Yet the task of fulfilling the promise of prophesy falls to us. Surely it is time to turn to the Creator, and remembering Jesus” admonitions, become the healing presences he knew we could be.