Today I was still a little upset and confused about how to go about getting the meditation going. In the bus on our way again to the Dead Horse Ranch, one our group suggested to get together that evening to share our stories. Perfect, I asked to start with the meditation and also to have some space for others to bring something. Yes, everybody was very open to this, so I felt happy that a time was set.

On our arrival, Margreet and I spoke to the Apache chief who was there, Larry running turtle. He told us that the elders were performing ceremonies day and night, even after we were gone for the day. He only had three hours of sleep that night. We were impressed by this dedication and realized once more how important this gathering was for changing the energy in the world. He also said that he was thinking of our country and that he sent his blessings to our people. Then he blessed us by putting his hand on our heads.

Adam Yellowbird

We set down to listen to Adam, the initiator and organizer of this gathering. He told us that the gathering was too short to really create a new life’s plan for humanity, but it was a good start. It will take all of us to get it going. We had gathered much wisdom and try to understand everything from the heart and not by using the mind. There were representatives present from different nations, each with their own culture and their own ceremonies, but basically the same. This gathering was going to take us to the next level and we were to be her messengers. We had witnessed what had happened here and he asked us to be united in this work. A lot of healing happened between the tribes, the cultures and the governments with fire as the main focus. There will be a next gathering.

Don Alejandro Cirilo Perez Oxlaj

Don Alejandro took the stage and he thanked us for being there. According to the Maya calendar, today was the day of the four directions: the 4 pillars of the earth. They represent the four prophets who came from the Pleiades. He asked us to take the messages from the fire to everyone. Today was the last day and we have experienced joy and memories. The work for this gathering started long before, many months. There were other gatherings before this one. The first took two years to organize because of politics, when in effect only spirituality was needed. Sometimes people asked for money to come to the gathering and missed the point of what it was all about. The prophecies said that it was now time to inform the people. We need to teach our children and keep us alive in our memories. Now is the return of the ancestors and the men and women of wisdom, the teachings are to flourish again. It is not only the indigenous people who carry the love, but everybody here.

We understand the teachings and the world is realizing where we are now. The path of tears is over, we are now leaving the period of the 13 heavens. Let the morning come for the nations to find peace and be happy. Continue on your path and you will see the city where we came from. In the Grand Canyon there is a Kiva, an ancient city of the ancestors. They travelled into the galaxies and knew how to measure the sun and time. We are contaminated now, how can we purify ourselves? We need the sacred fire, we want to talk about our needs. Fire is spirit, it is the heart of the heavens. The great fire will illuminate us in the year zero. 

Grandmother Margarita Nunez Garcia

An small older woman took presented herself to talk to us. She had a spicy personality which becomes clear immediately, when she spoke her first words. I had already heard of her and knew we were in for a treat. She is one of the Elders and lives in Mexico. She works with the feminine energy and is an advocate for women. She had already threatened to walk out of the Gathering on the third day, if the balance between men and women would stay in favor of the men. She was of the opinion that the men dominated the gathering and was not pleased with this. When she started her talk, she did say something about the balance still not being as it should be. Then she called out for the mother of Adam Yellowbird to sit with her and she called for a sweet grandfather, also from Mexico. Then she talked:

You have all the power, knowledge, passion and realization to take with you. Mother Earth is floating in the cosmos. Our power and our intention are very strong. We are here to remember that many years ago, we were not yet on this earth. One day the Great Spirit manifested his spirit in a human form and from that relation we were born. Thank you father and mother. Our soul is cosmic and the divine is manifested in all of us. Live it! Great Spirit has not left us, we have forgotten our divine knowledge which is always in us. We have to look at it again, we need to feel it once again. Nobody can do nothing, if you do not feel it inside you. The wise one, he knows who he is, directs the stars.

Grandfather Tlakaelel

You have heard for the first time, the words of a Mexican woman. The feathered serpent represents infinity and cosmic intelligence. Ometeo is dual energy: female and male, light and dark, positive and negative. It appears that they are opposite, but they should complement each other to create life. We need more dreamers to create harmony!

Then Grandmother Margarita starts singing and does not stop / she has the stage now and she is keeping it. Everybody loves it, maybe not so the organization, but it is funny to watch. Then she says: the 4 elements are in us. I watched over a fire for one week and the fire started talking. We have more than 80% water inside us and this represents our emotions. If we are good spirits, then we have good feelings and thoughts. If you change your way and feel and think that you are not going to die, we will elevate together to the cosmos. Many tribes in Mexico have ascended to the cosmos already. You just open the maternal universe an walk in / you can leave your body when you are dancing and singing. I know of a grandmother who did this. I am between 65 and 78 years and in the cycle of awakening in which I can create anything we need. We need ceremony for the youth: teach them the love and not the pain we have felt. The circle of the young make their own sound. Welcome home their children. In your heart is the fire, let no one put that out!

She goes on for a longer time and some others speak. Then it is the end of the Gathering and everybody hugs another: we have learned so much. We have felt depe love for one another, this had taken us to the next level. This gathering has brought about new energy that will be felt all over the world. I come back as a different person: my heart has been opened and I feel the fire. Together with some of my friends from the group, we walk back to the bus. I do not want to leave, I want to stay in this loving energy. I am afraid I will lose it again when I return home, but then I promise myself that I will not lose this, never.

Final evening

 We returned to the hotel in very good spirits. That evening we were going to do our final farewells to each other by sharing our feelings in all sorts of ways: meditation, poetry, dancing and singing. We arranged the meeting room of the hotel to have some space and started our small gathering around 8 pm. John brought his lap top and music, Sylvain smudged everyone who came in and I just waited to get started and welcome everybody.  The meditation was about passion, love and sexuality and after this, we some of us shared what they were passionate about. Suli then introduced us to her passion: poetry inspired by the Goddess. It was lovely that way she read it, what a power.

Then we had a dance led by Magali in which we were allowed to get crazy: making faces, exaggerating our movements and laughing a lot, but we were not allowed to speak which made it more interesting. Then Magali let us do a beautiful exercise: we looked in each other´s face and said I am you and you are me! This way we connected on a very deep level like a soul family. Then there was singing from Anne Kristina and later together with her daughter, very moving. We shared some feelings and the said good bye. It was a night I will never forget. I found my soul family. Thank you!

Was this really the end of the gathering? Actually no, we stayed on in Sedona for two more days and on the second day we run into Adam and some of the South American Elders in a supermarket ( a healthy one). Lovely to say goodbye to them one more time. I told Adam about our own idea to organize an Earth Awareness Day in the Netherlands and I hope some of them will come there too. Only the Great Spirit knows! Aeyo.

The Swine flu is big news here in the States. It broke out in Mexico and is spreading to Texas and other states here in the US. Arizona is next to Texas, so I wonder what is going to happen here. I do not know if the media is creating more panic than is necessary, probably they do. I do not worry, but I feel for the victims and their families. It has been predicted that more diseases and other calamities will be taking place, it is all a part of being more aware of how we live and how we eat. It will all lead to more healthy living and more care for the earth.

Today we went to Cottonwood, the Dead Horse Ranch National Park, funny name for a park! This was the day that we would do a closing ceremony to say goodbye to the Elders. Tents had been raised to protect us from the sun, which was necessary as on the first day many people got heavy sunburn. It was created in a circle around a open space with a fire place. The elders sat in the first circle and each of them were given time to say something. It was heartwarming when they spoke with emotion to express their gratitude of being at the gathering. They all said how wonderful it was to be around people from all over the world who unconditionally were giving their time and support for the wellbeing of the earth and their support for the peace between the tribes of north and south America.

Don Alejandro, the maya elder who initiated this gathering spoke these words:

You are the children of the sun! You are the survivors, illness will come, but we will survive them. I was touched by the Navahos in the way how they expressed their emotions about their living conditions. We can not help them. Only the creator can bring solutions. We are the messengers of peace and we have been working hard to keep Mother Earth green. We are her children and it is the native people who really take care of her.

After his speech the other Maya elders gave their words and together they did a ceremony for the Pacha Mama (Earth Mother) . They gave an offering to the mountain gods of San Francisco and Arizona and had representatives of Hopi and other tribes throw the offerings in the fire. The gods were called to and mother earth was honored. The whole ceremony was filled with deep respect and love. The final words were: Happiness is in the heart! Share the science of consciousness. After that all the elders stood in a circle and went twice around the fire. All the participants were holding hands and when it was over, everybody cried and embraced each other. I was embracing people I never met before, but it was great. I do not have to know them, they are like me and that is more than enough for me. After all the tears a flag of the Maya is transferred to the North America tribes and Don Alexandro speaks more words:

There is unity of all nations. We are all children of the earth: we drink the same water and receive the same sun.

Then there are some exchanges of gifts between tribes: between the Maya and the Hopi, between the Okinawa from Japan and the Maya, between Hopi and a tribe from Canada. These exchanges show the respect they have for each other and the hope for a peaceful future. Then Don Alexandro calls for young women to come forward and he says that they have to be honored as the mothers of our future children. The woman comes before anything. We nurse from her water. They are the flowers of the earth. Each of the young women speak or sing and it is a joy to see these women from different backgrounds being united. This is the time for the feminine energy to move forward and take charge and with this intention the day is closed.

Talking about feminine energy, for me that is the love, passion, caring and feeling. I have been missing that this gathering, because it feels like a more male dominated event. It is mostly men who talk and who decide, there is not much room for real sharing between everybody who is attending the gathering. It is more like a one way street: the elders are put on a pedestal and we must humbly listen and observe. I respect the Elders and I do not think they want it to be like this themselves, it is done by the organization. I believe that they underestimate the power and wisdom of most of the participants, they did not come from nothing. Feminine energy is all about being open to everything and everybody: to celebrate life, it is the receiving power. This gathering is supposed to be about balance, I am not feeling that. This is a reflection of what is happening in the world today. This is what we would like to change.

In order to try and help improve the balance, I suggested to our group to do a Beltane meditation about love, passion and sexuality. Especially the women in our group were very excited about this. Unfortunately there did not seemed to be an opportunity that day, to get it done. This gave some frustration on my part that we were not able to bring in the feminine energy which is so needed. I just went to sleep, too tired to give it more energy. Will things ever change?

Today was a very special day. We first went to have a picnic in the Apache territory with the Elders. It was a relaxed happening: full of laughter, drumming and songs and interesting talks between people. We shared our food and enjoyed each other’s company, all those different nationalities and cultures, celebrating as one.

I talked to a little Maya woman, who radiated such enormous love and power. She promised me I could interview her the next day about her work. I talked to other people, people I did not know, but who were friends immediately. Now this was a real gathering, as I had hoped this would be. The elders were enjoying themselves and they received a lot of attention from everybody. They were treated  as kings and queens, honored for their wisdom. Why don’t we do this anymore in our western countries? We lock them up in old people homes, or leave them alone in their houses. We do not use their wisdom, their knowledge. We do not include them in the everyday life, they are our forgotten people.

After the lunch we went on our way to Sedona where we were going to have some special time with Drunvalo. He wanted to make it up to us, because the Hopi program was cancelled. We did not mind and were excited to work with him. He took us into the Secret Canyon, a beautiful red canyon. He explained that the red in the rocks, the iron, was causing magnetic fields and so created the vortex energy that was there. Before I came to Arizona, I had found a book about the vortex energy of places in and around Sedona. It was almost comparable to the vortex energy in Glastonbury in the UK, my home away from home. Now I felt for myself how strongly energetic these rocks were.

He took us to walk into it and stopped at a overhanging rock where he started to talk about the gathering. There were questions about the cancellation of the Hopi and Drunvalo explained that it had to do with politics. He had tried to intermediate between the Maya and the Hopi, but although progress was made, it was not enough to continue our program  there. The prophesy of  the Hopi had already predicted that there would be a war between the Hopi’s themselves before peace would come. This gathering  was only a beginning of the disagreement between Hopi, because they did not agree with each other about participating in the Gathering. I asked how this was effecting the peace in the rest of the world, but I did not get a good answer. I believe that everything that is now happening here, has its effect on the rest of the world. We will just have to wait and see.

Drunvalo spoke for more than an hour, he has so much information to share. Luckily I had my voice recorder and taped all of it. I can not go into everything he said, but basically it came down to something I had heard before. That there will be some immense changes in the world and that it is important to stay connected to your heart’s energy in order to deal with it all. We concluded the session with Drunvalo by singing a beautiful song composed by the musician of our group, a young man named Cole. The feeling of connection and love was just amazing. I know it may sound very mushy to some of you, but there are no words to describe this, you would have to be there.

After the talk we climbed up a rock and had the most beautiful view on the canyon. What a treat this day has been.

This morning we got up around 8 to get breakfast. We were staying in a Trading Post run by Navaho people. This post has a motel, a big store with crafts and a restaurant. It also has a cultural history as a trading post and I could feel this in its energy. We heard that it was not certain yet if we would go to the Hopi, as planned, but soon came the message that the Hopi did not want to receive us. Apparently this had to do with politics. What a pity and such a lost opportunity for them to create more harmony. Does this mean that we are not the long lost white brother? Who knows what the reason Great Spirit has, but maybe we will find out later. In the mean time I had made some friends on the bus and enjoyed their company and good conversations. In our group were French speaking people from France and Canada, Spanish speaking people from Spain and South America, Americans and people from Germany, Hungary, Poland, Australia, UK, Belgium and of course me from Holland. What a mixed international bunch, everyone coming for similar reasons: to help raise awareness and create more harmony in the world. So many people in the world are willing to go for this, their numbers are growing.

The program of this group was being organized by Solar Heart, a travel organization who is linked to Drunvalo Melchiezedek. He is a well known writer, spiritual healer and seer who works with the Native American Tribes and the Maya, but also with many more tribes in the world. His workshop the Flower of Life is very popular and it teaches you to get into your heart energy. He was also involved in the Gathering and I hoped that I would meet him soon.  

We had to go back to Tuba City and we heard that the Elders were going to do a Condor dance at the same location as we were yesterday. Most of us did not want to go back, because the wind had turned almost into a storm and the sand was even worse. After some discussion, most of us decided to go, but by the time we got there, it was already over. What a pity! Blown away again by the sand storm we headed back into the bus and went to Flagstaff  for our next hotel. Flagstaff is a nice little place with just one irritation: a train comes by every 15 minutes and blows it’s whistles terribly loud. It made me jump every time I heard it.

We had a nice Thai dinner in town and at nine o’clock in the evening we were back at the hotel to attend a special meditation organized by three guys, who were also in our group. They turned out to be involved with a man they call John of God. He is a healer in Brasil who apparently does amazing things and so many people go there. Now I am a skeptic when it comes to Christian miracle healings, but I wanted to be open and so went into this meditation willingly. I believe that people have the power to heal themselves and should more look inside themselves instead of turning their attention to someone outside themselves. The meditation was very powerful, it was done with music and our group were about 20 people. Luckily there were no preaching words of the bible or anything and it surprised me that the meditation leader was talking about a god and a goddess. This made me open up even more and soon I could feel the powerful energy of love.

After the meditation I felt very relaxed and calm and I went to my room and sat on my bed. Suddenly I saw a round silver ball moving right to me as if it was going to hit my face. I almost jumped out of bed and it disappeared behind me. I could not believe I just saw that and I tried to tell myself that I did not see that, but I imagined it. Later on I think I realized that it could have been an orb, a light being. Something which I have been interested in for some time and these orbs can usually been seen on pictures taken by a camera. They appear mainly where there is spiritual activity and some even believe they are responsible for creating crop circles. It would take a long time to explain more about this, so check it out on the internet if you want to know more.

sunrise

Yesterday was our travel and relax day. We still had to go from Phoenix to The Grand Canyon, so we picked up the Camper RV which was rented by my friends Margreet and Koen and we headed that way. It still took us a few hours and by the end of the afternoon I was being delivered at my hotel. I still had to meet my travel group and roommate, but they came later that evening. My roommate turned out to be a German woman, Sabine, she had been on the tour from the beginning. She told me it was very good, but that there was some confusion now if we would still visit the Hopi people. Apparently their chiefs did not think it the right time for us to come, but some others in the tribe did think it was. I wondered what was going on here, fear? Or something else. It would be a shame especially after learning more about them, to not be able to visit them. So maybe we were not part of the prophesy.

Anyway the day I started the Gathering, we had to get up at 4 am in order to be on time for the sunrise ceremony at the grand canyon. I had not slept well and was under the influence of jetlag, Still I was looking forward to seeing the Grand canyon. When we arrived, there were many people gathering at Mather Point – which has a spectacular view on the GC. When I saw it, it was still a bit dark, but I could already see the immense rock formations. It takes your breath away. The red colours are beautiful, sometimes light and other times darker. I went to the ceremony place where some Navajo Indians were already singing and drumming. We had to make way for some elders to come and join this circle and they were impressive to watch. There ceremonial outfits were minimal, so the men were bare-chested and the women had skin leather dresses on. They came in with rattles and singing.

There must have been a few hundred people, all singing and swinging with the drums. The sun was coming up soon and in order to get a better look, I went to viewpoint right at the edge of the GC. Hearing the drums behind me, I saw the sun rising from behind the canyon and it was a magnificent sight. I took some pictures, but then when I saw most people standing meditatively holding their hands out to the sun, I joined them. It was so strong and I felt very emotional, some tears came down my face and I thought of the beauty of the Earth. Next to me a Maya Indian was praying and he touched my shoulder, probably sensing my emotion. He gave me a big hug and left me behind, somewhat bewildered but also very touched. This is the way people should be with each other, sharing from compassion. More tears came. I saw people moving to the drums, holding each other, smiling at each other and celebrating the sun. What a joy and privilege that I could be there. I felt only gratitude.

We met Louis, a Hopi Indian, who was standing crying at the rail of the plateau we were standing on. He told us that he cried because of the many Hopi who had lost their lives in the Grand Canyon because of the white people. He said he goes every year in January down into the Canyon  to do a pilgrimage to honor the dead. He then took us to do a prayer and we stood together listening to him speaking his Hopi language and calling out to the Great Spirit. It was a beautiful moment.

After a while, we were getting really cold, so we moved to go back after some confusion about where to go to next. The organization was, to say the least, flexible in her program, so people never knew what to expect. My dear tour leader was being very patient and kept using her improvisation skills, but still I wondered if the chaos was really necessary. We went next to Navaho country, to Tuba City where only Navaho people live. We were to be the guests of the Forgotten people, a group of Navaho who were trying to get the attention of the government to their cause. They feel like they have been forgotten by their country and when we arrived in Tuba City I could see why. It felt and looked desolate: very dry land, with lots of sand, no trees, no water and many caravans where they lived. This is an area where you do not want to live yourself, because it just radiates sadness.

For the Navaho’s it was very important that we came and they had been preparing for this gathering for weeks. They made us feel very welcome and also expressed how grateful they were that we came to be with them. They really need our support and attention, I could feel how lost they felt. They are being governed by the federal government who is basically ignoring them. The only time they come into action, is when there is money to be made. The Navaho land is very big and it contains some areas with good mining possibilities for uranium, coal and I think oil. None of the income of this is going to the Navaho. Also their land gets reclaimed whenever the government needs it, so really they do not have anything to say. Their way of living and their culture is being destroyed and the forgotten people are desperately trying to hold on to it. Most of them are elderly people, where the young are, I do not know. We had a few hours of speeches and declarations, which is normal in their culture to do. It means for someone like me that I need to be patient , listen and wait, pfff!

The elders of the gathering had also arrived and for the first time I could see them. They were impressive: south American Indians, native Americans from different tribes, a Buddhist lama from Buthan, a monk from Japan and even a a queen from Africa. Combined they have between them much wisdom to share. After the speeches, some Lakota Indians started to drum and chant and it was so powerful, I could not stand still. Their voices sounded ancient and the drums gave a energy that was enormous. The only thing which disturbed the ceremonies somewhat, was the wind which was blowing harder with the hour. It was blowing sand in our hair, face, and everywhere. Together with the sun, it became difficult to stay energized and soon people were getting themselves on the bus just to get out of the sand. We had been up already since 4 o clock in the morning and physically this was draining us. This was just my first day in this program, but my roommate told me that they had this going on already from the start. I felt that this was a serious blow to the balance of most people and that this could not go on like this. For spiritual enjoyment, you need a fit body.

Totally exhausted we went to the hotel and arrived there in the evening. I went straight to bed, had no dinner, just wanted to sleep. It was a great day and I am grateful, but very tired.

I am on my way to Arizona, while writing this. First we are flying to Houston, which is a ten hour flight: I have already watched two movies on this flight, so only 4 more hours to go. This morning when I left the house, I got this feeling that magic was about to start happening. I had no idea how this was going to show itself, but I found out when I arrived at the airport. My friend Margreet told me some shocking news: Lydia was not going to Arizona, she was denied access to the US and there was nothing she could do about it. Her friend who was supposed to come too, also cancelled. I was astounded: how was this possible? It was because of Lydia that we decided to go to Arizona to attend the Ancestors Gathering. Now she was not going. I said to Margreet: there has to be a reason for this, a spiritual reason , why is this happening?

A little while later we talked to Lydia on the phone and she told us that there seemed to be some mix up about her passport. More than three years ago she had reported it stolen, but found it later and reported that too with the police. However it was still listed as stolen according to Interpol records and so she was denied access to the US. She tried everything to get it corrected, but it was already too late. Lydia agreed that there had to be a reason why she could not go, but still she was upset that her dream journey was not going to take place.

Here is magic in action and you may not agree with me, but magic has a very funny way to make things happen or not happen. There is always a reason and I feel very confident that we will find out during our stay in Arizona. So what is next, I wonder? We will find out more later, so keep reading this blog. For me, I still do not know why I am going, it just feels that I have to. I left my two teenagers at home in a busy time for them school wise and I feel a bit guilty. Still sometimes you have to follow your instincts and trust that everything will be taken care of. So that is what I am doing.

Hopi

I just read a book in the plane about the Hopi Indians and they are a fascinating tribe. They have always hold on to their own traditions and refused to give in to anyone trying to convert them, like priests and even the American government. Terrible things have been done to them, even taking their children to be schooled far away from their families. Still they have been able to hold on to their beliefs and they strongly believe in the great creator. They are a matriarchal tribe, all possessions go thru the women, but they live in a healthy balance where the men are responsible for the ceremonies which are very important in daily life. They also have had some prophecies that have been very correct, about the world wars and about the telephone and internet. One of their most important prophecies is that when their white brother comes back to them from Europe (I believe), there will be peace. Well, my dear Hopi friends: here we come!

The Return of the Ancestors Gathering

500 years ago the Mayan Ancestors wrote out on stone prophesies for the upcoming years creating the Mayan Calendar.  With only four years left of the Mayan Calendar, many people fear the end of the world, but it is not predicting the end of the world in 2012, but the start of a new era.   To usher in this new era The Institute for Cultural Awareness is holding a sacred pilgrimage in Northern Arizona beginning Earth Day Weekend, April 18^th – 28, 2009.  Indigenous Elders and Future Wisdom Keepers are coming from every corner of the world, from the highest peaks of the Andes Mountains to the Plains of Africa. They are coming to share their wisdom and prophesies with the world to help us heal it and to follow in their ancestors footsteps as prophesized, creating new guide stone tablets of prophesy for the upcoming 500 years…the world has awaited a renewed life’s plan.

Manon Tromp will be attending this event as of April 24 and write her experiences in this weblog.

We all have a pupose for life when we come into this world. Often it is not clear what this purpose is, so you need to be aware of who you are and of you natural talents. Most important you need to be aware of your environment and how you can interact to get the best out of life. A Purpose For Life Foundation (Purple for Life) has been founded to help create more awareness between people and their environment. We are in a time where we need to have more awareness especially of the state of our earth. Purple for Life has several projects to increase that awareness. Please check out our information on this website.