Dreaming the World

We had our first real snow of the season last night. Now the sun is out and the world is new snow bright.

Yesterday Jennie and I, and a group of others, hosted a day-long online social justice event. The event had been planned for almost a year and the conversations seemed even more pressing than we imagined.

One of the themes that emerged was the increasingly harsh presence of hungry ghosts in the world. Hungry ghosts, like Windigos, are insatiable beings who threaten all life with their hunger and consumption.

Spirits and people become hungry ghosts as a result of a profound sense of lack, a gnawing hunger, that is insatiable and unsatisfied. They are truly in immense pain, and as a result may do incalculable harm. No matter how much they eat and acquire, they can only want more, and seek to get it no matter the consequences to self or other.

Western culture has long spawned hungry ghosts and our collective histories are rife with their impact on individuals, cultures, and ecosystems. In their wake they leave heartbreak and loneliness, and all to often, many more hungry ghosts. Somehow we must stop them while having compassion for their suffering.

I find it good to remember that our ancestors faced times when hungry ghosts roamed free in the world. We hold their stories, knowledge, and wisdom in our very bones. They want to help and long for opportunities to do so. This is a time to remember and honor our ancestors, and to ask for their aid.

One of the purposes of many ceremonies in shamanic cultures is to feed the spirits and Ancestors so they do not become hungry ghosts, and to calm those who are. Now is a good time to offer ceremony, build communities of support, aid others as we are able, and offer food to the hungry ghosts.