a purpose for life

April 27

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?