The earth is my religion. Gaia is my Source, Mother, and Life.
In her omnipresence, Gaia bears witness to every moment of our lives. At death, she gathers us back into her bosom that we might return to Oneness in her dark embrace.
All beings find their home and support in her. Held in the gaze of Gaia’s equal regard, all beings are found worthy of her unconditional support.
If you are matter, you matter.
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Schooled in the written word, our society has become illiterate in the unifying language of stars, asters, and starlings found beneath, behind, and beyond words.
And, having taken leave of our senses, we have lost touch with the soil and the soul.
Though we are immersed in Gaia’s living language of body, being, symbol, season, and event, we stammer and blink, uncomprehending, in the face of her proclamations.
Believing ourselves separate from our One Body, the earth, we wander these sacred lands orphaned, anxious, bereft. We suffer lives of estrangement from our kin: river, tree, ancestor, stranger, wind.
To say nothing of ourselves.
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Yet Gaia speaks and continues to speak through her presence. The rivers and trees declare her ways.
In this time of fires and floods, drought, and hurricanes, Gaia bids us return home.
To our bodies.
To our senses.
To the dark realms of the heart.
To intimacy with the holy “other.”
Gaia demands that we re-member, return to our shared body, and bless and be blessed through relationship and reciprocity with the living earth.
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No matter the depth of our spiritual poverty, no matter how high the mountain of generational trauma and grief, there is yet hope.
Still.
For we are shaped, formed, and in-formed by her humble and mighty Presence over the course of our days.
Gaia’s teachings surround us. The ritual turning of the seasons situates our life within the context of sacred ceremony, whether we notice or not.
We swim in the sacred waters of Gaia’s womb for the whole of our days. Texture, scent, weight, bitterness, breeze, breath, touch, color, sweetness, and song bathe us in her Love and carve out mighty canyons in the common sandstone of our hearts.
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In these times, as in all others, our spiritual work is to be present to Presence, come what may.
In these times, as in all others, Gaia invites us to listen with our whole being–body, mind, and soul–that we might learn from the trees and the honeybees, the inmates, and the refugees.
In these times, as in all others, with hearts broken and brave–then and only then–we will recall the wordless language of our common origin, a language both foreign and familiar, a language forgotten yet recorded in our bones, still.
In these times, as in all others, we who are lovers of the One Life will express our spirituality by tending to “others” in ways both practical and poetic. And by caring for these members of Gaia’s body, we discover that her body, their bodies, and our body are one and the same.
The earth is my religion. Gaia is my Source, Mother, and Life.
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Winter Solstice Forest Therapy Walk
In observance of the winter solstice
Gaia Shamanism is offering
a virtual forest therapy walk
Wednesday, December 21
9 am-noon PST/noon-3 pm EST
Rain, snow, or shine
Suggested donation: $20
Celebrate the darkest of days in the Northern Hemisphere with the Gaia-centered spiritual practice of a forest therapy walk.
You can join with your phone or computer to experience deep time and nature connection from your backyard, local park, or nature preserve.
I will offer a series of invitations to help you drop in, slow down, and reconnect with the more than-human world.
We will gather for heart-centered sharing as a community between invitations on Zoom.
To reserve your spot, click on the payment link below:
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=4GKTM48WGSBJN