Dreaming the World

A cool, cloudy day, the storm far enough offshore to keep the wind and rain at bay. The day seems slow, as though Spring is taking a time out from her race across the landscape.

We have arrived at a moment of prophesy. In the  mid-1970’s a vision was given to people of many cultures. In that vision, we beheld the Earth in crisis; ultimately the Amazon was the last refuge for life on the planet. From the heart of the Amazon grew the World tree, and it was clear that the very fate of the world hinged on our ability and willingness to protect the heart of creation.

In 2001 I was privileged to visit the Amazon with my teacher, the late Dr. Bernardo Peixoto., the last Uru-e-wau-wau shaman. During that trip we spoke about the vision and his hope that the healer within each of us would awaken in time to avert the great suffering.

While Covid19 is proving catastrophic for Natives and people of color in the U.S., it appears to be even more devastating for the Amazon, where a ruthless government seems bent on utilizing it to destroy the remaining Indigenous people and the precious forest in which they live. In Manaus, the capital of Amazonia, the situation has become desperate. All of this goes on with the implicit, and sometimes explicit, approval of the United States government.

Over this past weekend Kay Sara, a Brazilian Indigenous theatre artist, addressed the world from her home in the Amazon. She spoke about the plight of Amazonia and her peoples under the current Brazilian dictatorship. Her message was desperate, yet she spoke with eloquence and compassion. Kay said that the Amazon basin is on the brink of collapse and the Indigenous people who live there are suffering renewed genocide. Placing her life in great danger, she told her truth: we have, collectively, no more than ten years to prevent the compete collapse of arguably the most important ecosystem on the planet. You may hear or read her brief speech, which opened Germany’s Festwochen 2020, here.

We are now living in the time prophesied by the vision. This time will be one of great challenge and danger for people of courage and vision. May we awaken our hearts of wisdom and compassion, and step into the great Dreaming of a world renewed. If we do not, our greed will create a dream of unimaginable suffering for our progeny.