Yesterday, we held our first journey circle at our house. Each person was free to journey for his or her own intention. I chose to journey for the group on the question of what we are to do as we enter week two of the Trump Administration. And, as it turned out, three others in the circle either saw many of the same things I did or added details that were important to the overall message.
The journey was set in Washington DC and we as a group were wandering around, circling the Capitol, parading in front of the White House, wondering what to do. After some time walking about, searching, we felt hungry and wanted something to eat, but all that was available on the national mall were hot dog carts and we felt sick to our stomachs with the mere thought of eating at one.
After the march in DC with its sea of pink pussy hats, the interpretation of the meaning of these “hot dogs” is pretty obvious. Though hungry, we abstained from eating what’s being dished up for the people in our nation’s capitol.
The overall message brought to us by our guide in the journey was that big change is upon us, patriarchy is failing and falling, and being in the dark about what to do is appropriate. One person in the circle saw a white snake, and another in the circle offered that animals can become white after generations have been born and raised in the dark, as in caves.
White animals are popping up suddenly in the journeys I have been doing for my US clients since the inauguration as well, the color indicating that these guides carry the energy of spirit into our world, not because they are white, mind you, but because they are not at all blending into the surrounding environment.
They are of another order entirely and their protection comes not from being still, blending in, or acting as prey would. Their protection lay in being on the side of Life.
These white spirit animals are being dispatched at a moment when the underbelly of white supremacy has come out into the light again and given quarter in the heart of our democratic system. Now is the time to cash in on whatever privilege we enjoy and use it to betray the betrayers. Now is the time to stand up, stand out, and be counted.
We find ourselves in the dark cave–both a womb and tomb–at this moment in time. The darkness that one of my friends experienced throughout her journey is a darkness that initiates us into a new learning: one of humility, one of feeling our way along in the dark, one of finding our way not chiefly with the mind, but instead with gut instinct and heart.
The earth is the drum upon which we walk, our hearts the true drumbeat. We are to walk in such a way that we sound out a rhythm steady and strong, not pushed around by the fearful and frantic tone set by Washington. When we find ourselves scattered or confused, we are to stop a moment, tune in to our heartbeat and breath, and begin to march again from the rhythm at our center.
We are to be led through the dark of these times by our heart’s questions and deepest longings. This time is the seed-planting stage, a pressing down from above into earth, into darkness, into unknowing, into reality, into action. We are the seeds of the new order.
We are to practice not reacting with fear to the shock and awe barrage of heavy artillery from the top, but to march instead to the beat of our hearts, to be mindful of our every step upon the earth, to remember that it is we who in our numbers rightfully set the tone for this planet. We can choose to scurry about as prey, or we can pray by sending a baseline rhythm of love and life out into the world from our centers.
We are on the side of Life, so we win in the end. The death we are experiencing now is an organic process. We are to remember that while the breaking apart of these marble artifices will leave their mark on soft flesh and dark earth, this is the breaking apart that accompanies the growth of a new seed, a collective seed. This is a good thing, albeit a painful process. What we’ve had on the planet up until now, folks, this ain’t living.
We are in the “death throes” of the old order, and this frantic flailing about is going to cause a lot of damage. Our job is to help contain the damage, to practice solidarity with all peoples and the planet, and to turn up the heat up with our resistance. It is up to us to see that this collective soup gets cooked into something that will feed us all–body, mind, and soul.
Stop eating hot dogs as you watch the circus act unfolding in Washington DC. Turn off the TV, step away from social media. Feed yourself some real soul food: take a walk, go to a rally, help someone in need. And for Gaia’s sake, do have fun doing it.