08/06/2018
Long ago people lived in closer relationship with nature and she was respected not only as the provider of all sustenance, but also as a sacred teacher to humanity.
With expanding populations, and cities and years of running towards what was deemed progress we look back and see that the disconnection from a true sense of belonging in people seems to mirror the disconnection from a sense of Nature’s sacredness and ourselves as part of it. The cycles of nature incorporate constant change, everything in nature is in a process of evolving, or devolving/decaying/dying,inclusive of the plant and animal kingdoms.
Over time many/some people have seemed to become afraid of simply being true to themselves, let alone acknowledging this sense of disconnection. Many people are in fact disconnected from their own comfort, their comfort within their work, school or home environments, let alone their comfort within the greater whole of the world and nature. Around the globe many people are becoming aware of a very real need to return to a sense of respect for the sacredness of life. Being able to be who we really are connects us back into a sense of our wholeness and our worthiness.
As such there is an interconnectedness between the growing need for a sense of connection in people, and the growing appreciation and respect for the power of nature, and our spiritual connection to it. It seems to me that we are returning to some of our past wisdom through reaching back for the memories and traditions of elders past.
Stones are a part of our natural world, they have been here for billions of years and according to ancient American Indian spirituality, carry the memory of everything that has been. Stones change very slowly over time, and continue to change slowly and constantly. Just as we human beings are also changing slowly and constantly, by degrees, and also carry the memory of all that has been in our cells.
The Elders drew the analogy that stones are reaching to become crystals, and that like the stones we were also destined to become completely transparent and unclouded. To become like the crystal is to reach for clarity, in order to become whole as a pure natural expression of self, and filled with light. In other words enlightened into a state of purity of thought and feeling. Giving in order to add to life, or else, remaining unconscious enough to justify taking in life, even if it’s just withholding your true self.
I see life, myself, all of us in fact, as part of a continuum of growth, until we die, and finally become once more connected to our source of existence, if we haven’t already done so in life. In sharing STONES I’m offering my personal beliefs, right down to my belief in the afterlife, soul and spirit. I have taken the concept of spirit and soul so seriously that I’ve written in such a way that the stones could still have relevance to you if you didn’t accept my interpretation of what remains quite unknowable, unless you’ve had the personal experience.
Nonetheless, self awareness matters, being awake matters. Understanding that our capacity for creating the lives we want is as great as our capacity to want to know ourselves. In order to change what doesn’t work and enjoy what does requires being conscious of your need for change.
This is about getting conscious. Especially about what isn’t presently conscious. Noticing our own personal attitude, as if being able to step back, in any given situation is a good beginning to growing in self awareness. Self awareness opens a possibility for a broader and more inclusive, political, spiritual and ecological perspective, around who and what is being used and abused and why.
We cannot judge where another is at in this great mystery we call life, without our willingness to offer our totality. I have come to believe that each and every one of us is intricately woven into the fabric that we as a whole create together. We each enter our unique stitch into the fabric of life. These stones invite you to make your stitch significant and in service to the greater whole.
