Welcome winter!
The winter solstice has come and gone and the world hasn't ended yet! There were a lot of doomsday predictions floating around out there concerning the ending of the cycle of the fifth sun according to the Mayan calendar. Fortunately, most of that information was based on misinterpretations of the teachings of the Mayan prophesies.
Although much of the popular information about this time was inaccurate, there have been some positive outcomes resulting from all of the hype. There were probably more people gathered with their families, friends and communities around sacred fires around the globe honouring this sacred time than has occurred for centuries. One of primary reasons that we face global ecological, social and spiritual crisis at this time is because the dominant paradigm of our society sets us apart from the world that we live in. We live in a dangerous illusion that we are separate from the world and have lost touch with our interconnectedness with the life of our Earth Mother and all of the plant, animal and other beings that we share our lives with - including our fellow humans! Honouring the sacred cycles, places, medicines, and all of the gifts of this life through prayer and ceremony is an important and necessary prerequisite if we are to bring about the potential global shift in consciousness of the new cycle of the sixth sun. Even if we don't believe in the Mayan prophecies, a significant consciousness shift is essential if we are to avert global disaster, including possibly even our survival as a species.
How long do we have? Who knows! It's a big, awesome, mysterious world that we live in and it is ignorant and arrogant to think that we've got it all figured out. But the signs are all around us and it's time that we get our individual and collective heads out of the sand and heed the warnings. The way we live is unsustainable. Period. Whether we put our faith in reason, science and technology, or believe that we are going to be saved by aliens or some kind of divine intervention, we are only fooling ourselves. We can not heal ourselves if we are not in a healthy, harmonious relationship with the world. The changes that need to occur must come from us as individuals, as communities, and our society as a whole. It is all about who we are and how we interact with the world. It is all about relationship. Contemplating at this time of the winter solstice, the beginning of the natural new year, the shift from fall into winter (or spring into summer in the Southern Hemisphere), provides us with a beautiful reminder of this. However misguided, all of the hype about the end of the world has brought a lot more people to that place of contemplation. The truth is, the world as we know it has to end, for the sake of our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, and all of the other beautiful beings that we share this life with. It's time to reconsider our priorities; to get in touch with what is really important in life.
Honouring the medicine: Queen Ann's lace (Daucus carota) in winter.
In our community we honoured this sacred time of the winter solstice in ceremony. We offered thanks for the blessings of the fall and the year that has passed, and offered our prayers for the winter and year that is beginning. Our ceremonies will continue for the next couple of days. I am so grateful to be given the precious gift to live to see the beginning of another winter and another year. I offer my prayers of healing to all of the people of this world, both the human people and the other than human people. May it be a year of greater love, peace, healing and harmony!
