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June 29, 2005
The Animal Kingdom speaks
"We offer these words in one of your commonly used languages. We speak in many tongues, and make many sounds, but our most common method of communication is what you would call body language. You also speak this language more often than you think, but often prefer to use words to say what you mean, even when your eyes and your body contradict this. In our language, there is no subtle misconception, no attempt to deceive. When we are hungry our intentions are well known, and even in cover of brush or darkness our energy emits a frequency that speaks what words could not say.
Many of us are predators, and many humans are too. But our methods of hunting and our attempts to feed our hungry families differ in many important ways. For instance, our body language and our vibration might say the following: “I am a mother and I must feed my hungry children. I honor your life force and the choice you have made to place yourself before me. By taking your life, I further honor you as I will place your life force into my own body and that of my young.” Does every species within our kingdom offer these thoughts prior to taking a life? No, because not all species are self-aware. Still, within what you call animal instinct there is a communication that exists at an energetic level. Humanity does not like to think of itself as predatory, and it is likely that you prefer to call yourself a consumer.
We are considered the closest to the human kingdom in brain capacity and in development. We understand that you consider some of our primate species a distant relative of the human race. We hope you will not take offense if we do not always think this is a compliment. Those who volunteer themselves into your experimental care do so by choice, and those who make attempts at communicating with you via symbolic language do the same. You believe that science is investigating nature, but of necessity nature must turn a wary eye toward science. Volunteers from every species participate in your experiments and live among you as you see fit. It is a collaborative effort on both our parts, though many times what is learned seems to be of little benefit or significance to either of us.
Our history is as varied as yours. Many of us are native to this planet, but some species were born elsewhere, genetically speaking. We find it interesting (and fortunate) that your predatory instincts find little interest in species that have origins elsewhere. It appears that what is not in your cellular memory holds little or no interest to you, so in some ways our paths are parallel but do not intersect. We are interested in the present and the future, but have no interest in reconstructing our past. This is not because we are only interested in the survival of our individual species, but because we understand that perfection has brought us to this moment and will carry us beyond it. Development within the animal kingdom takes place at a different level of experience than for humans. We understand this, and do not begrudge the many paths humanity takes in its effort to understand who and what it is while expanding in awareness.
What concerns us most as a species? The longevity of certain species, the departure of some of our companions, the encroaching of humanity in habitats that are precious and already few, and the lack of awareness with which our game animals are seized and thought of as wholesale commodities. Are we advocating that you become vegetarians in order to save our numbers? No, we understand your needs because we understand our own, but a severe lack of concern for us may soon become a concern for yourselves. When once species or kingdom turns upon another, the result is often disastrous for both. Already there are viruses, infections and other anomalies within the game animals you consider a part of your food supply. This is not simply due to poor handling, but to a true breakdown of communication between and within species. True respect and communication supports inter-species and intra-species wellness, whereas lack of respect and poor communication breeds illness which, when ignored or unattended, complicates issues further. We place no blame, we simply offer this topic for your consideration as the opportunity to speak our truth has presented itself.
We know that you are concerned about our ocean dwelling friends, and with good reason. Their good will towards humanity has not been met with much kindness in return. You marvel at the oceans - their depth, beauty and color, and the myriad life forms found within it - but you take its permanence for granted, and that is no longer the case.
Levels of awareness within each species allow them to make collective choices within that awareness. The continued presence of certain species, even those who number in the thousands, is not assured. Historic precedence has little ground to stand upon, for never before have so many adjustments been necessary within so many species. There is confusion within even the most sentient of species, and the choice to withdraw en masse is being debated at an energetic level. This choice could severely affect humanity and rest of the earth kingdoms.
What if some of the integral cells of your body departed all at once? Your body would be forced to recreate itself, if indeed that were possible. Cells which are normally used for one function would have to immediately be deployed elsewhere, and a state of emergency would exist in your body. The same would be true of the oceans; they are a body of water.
Collectively we hope that this is not the case. It is our further hope that humanity’s continued pattern of awakening brings up the care and concern that this subject deserves, for alone we can do nothing.
We have more in common with you than your daily experience would offer. Although our present day circumstances may be very different, our future is more alike than not. We are both dependent upon the earth for our survival, but beyond that, we are dependent upon one another if we are to evolve in consciousness and awareness.
You believe that your development as a species is tied to the chronology of the stars and what they will bring, but do not forget that viewed from space, the earth also appears as a star.
If you wish to learn, gain, grow, and expand based upon what you hope to learn from others, would you not wish for something to share or demonstrate in return?"
- through Pepper Lewis, February 2003
- Whale Rider, the movie
Posted by Neal at 9:32 PM | Comments (4) | Category: Mother Earth
June 23, 2005
Around the Medicine Wheel
This is a continuation of yesterday's journal entry.
Our creation of the Greenfield solstice monument was documented on film by Susan of Franklin Media. Look for it on DVD or perhaps a cable channel near you.
Meanwhile, I thought I'd try to remember what happened . . .
The Center
We began our journey by consulting the stones to determine where to begin. Using his pendulum, Peter found to his surprise that the Northwest stone wanted to go first, and that the Western stone was next; so we were proceeding counterclockwise around the circle. This seemed to coalesce with the spin field in nearby Shelburne Falls, the center of an equinox ceremony several years earlier (see the picture below), as well as the spin field off the Stellwagen Bank.
The first stop in the center of town was to pay some bills: an acknowledgement, perhaps, of the industrial motivations at the heart of Greenfield, going back to the Pocumtuck fishery at the Great Falls of the Connecticut River prior to their massacre by the European settlers.
We found ourselves circling the town common, and pausing for a while to notice the monuments installed there: an eagle facing north, a cannon facing south, and a marker to the 4 directions. We noticed that we had parked right behind the director of the local access cable channel. Church bells were ringing as we rolled away.
Next we drove around the true center of the circle at the Middle School, and proceeded off to the Northwest.
Northwest
The first green fields visited were the girls' softball diamonds. Peter used his dowsing rods to locate a grove of oaks where the monument was planted. While the softball fields had been noisy with highway traffic, we were greeted in the quiet grove by the rhythmic tapping of a woodpecker.
Thanks were given to the 4 directions with prayer flags in the colors of white (North), black (West), red (South), and yellow (East). Four tobacco pouches, also in the colors of the four directions, were buried with the marker in a bed of sage. Prayers of invocation were offered, with more sage and tobacco, for the guidance of Spirit and the blessings of the Ancestors and the Whales, upon the activation of the medicine wheel and the honoring of World Peace and Prayer Day. We were off to a good start.
West
The next stop was past the green fields of the Community College, where the geometric pattern of the parking lots suggested a location well hidden under a green canopy of leaves in one of the meridians. Birdsongs greeted us here. The monument was planted with prayer flags and offerings of sage and tobacco.
Southwest
Who knew that right alongside the interstate exit 26 was a lush patch of skunk cabbage growing alongside a little creek? The next marker found it's home here in a grove of trees, with the sounds of flowing water. The energy here seemed quite chaotic and driven, much in need of the healing of graceful flow. A stick appeared in the shape of a snake, which fit in snuggly against the stone.
South
This was a place of fire. We found ourselves walking along a trail at the edge of a golf course under high voltage electrical wires and the heat of the solstice sun. We ventured into the woods on the far side of the field, where we were greeted by some giant stinging nettles. Greg pointed out a variety of vegetation that suggested the plants were working overtime to cleanse the stray electrical charges from the air. After locating the monument site, which was near the original colonial settlement in Greenfield, we were pleasantly surprised to discover that someone else had preceeded us with a nearby stone mound, a nice affirmation.
We were all rather drained after that hike, and in need of some lunchtime refreshment.
Southeast
Here we parked near the train switching yard for a long walk down a wooded trail. This was a nice antidote to our last walk, except for the greeting by swarms of mosquitoes and nasal diving bugs. This trail was the site of a former train track, marked by steel plates stamped with the name "Carnegie", which led onto an abandoned train bridge. We followed the river bank to the point where the Deerfield river flows north to join the southbound Connecticut.
Three stones marked this location with a pyramid. The three directions of the rivers were reminiscent of the shape of the Tibetan swastika (associated with the sacred mountain Kailash). The sound that greeted us here was the rustling of wind in the trees. This was a place of spiraling movement, and of flowing in new directions. With each stone placed along the way, the power of the circle feels like it's building.
East
This was the scene of a driveby monument: another golf course, but with no place to park near the chosen site. We tied prayer flags and medicine bundles to the stone, and tossed it into a wetland area. It sounded like it contacted another stone, and birds flew around it in greeting.
Next we stopped to pay homage to the spirits of those indigenous women, children, and elders massacred at the Great Falls. This is now a field of grass and trees, fenced off from public access and belonging to the electric company which operates the dam. We felt the heaviness of the place, and watched the mist rising up from the falling waters.
Northeast
This location ties into the major alignment field from the Stellwagen Bank into Greenfield, Shelburne Falls, the Black Hills, and Mt Shasta, among other significant power places around the world.
Here we hiked under power lines once again, this time along the boundary of the Coca Cola bottling plant, where we dared to park beyond the no parking signs. Although this was a designated nature area, it seemed steeped in the orange chemical runnoff bubbling downhill into our path. We found a grove in the woods for our marker, and called in the grandmothers there. There was a palpable sense of the "other world" associated with this monument, adding another energy to the stone circle. The vibrations of trucks rumbling across a highway bridge could be felt reverberating through this place. We were observed by a large deer during our walk back to the car.
North
Our last stop was at another golf course, a place of community playtime, as well as a meeting place for the captains of industry. We placed the monument in the woods near the white clubhouse on the hill. The sound of pinging golfballs penetrated the airwaves here. A golf ball and an inchworm accompanied us back to the Northwest field where our journey began. We left them there to mark the completion of the circle.
Return to the Center
We circled the Middle School once more and returned to our home base, remarking at all the curiously smiling faces we noticed on passers by.
The center stone was placed upon a pillow for further instruction / discussion while we recuperated over tea. Our journey had been both invigorating and exhausting.
With the help of Peter's pendulum and the timely toppling of the stone, we learned that this monument wanted to stand in a public place of honor. The most notable location would be the NESEA energy park near the center of the commercial area in town. This is a place of playful celebration, and of the recognition of the history of Greenfield as a crossroads of industry and commerce, and now, we hope, a sacred site of peace, prayer, and reconciliation.
Posted by Neal at 7:01 AM | Comments (0) | Category: Playtime
June 22, 2005
Medicine Wheel
Stonehenge is probably the most famous stone monument / medicine wheel on the planet. We don't know exactly why it was built, but it is aligned with the summer solstice sun. Yesterday was the summer solstice, and also a full moon (which only happens every "18.6" years). Seemed like an auspicious occasion to build another monument.
We know a bit more about the purpose and intentions behind this stone circle, because we built it ourselves! This one was built in and around Greenfield, MA, by Peter Champoux, Susan Franklin, Greg Patch, and myself. The natural location for this medicine wheel was discovered, mapped, and dowsed by Peter, who also found the basalt markers for each location and led us on our journey.
By prayerfully placing stone markers at each of the 12 directions around this circle (the outer circle shown below), we were able to release energy from electric grids, highways, train tracks, rivers, and "green fields" into a moving vortex of energy which is also aligned with other sacred sites. The "medicine" applied by this ancient technology is ultimately the redemption of the community, the place, and the planet.
(please click on the map for more info)
Unbeknownst to me, one of the sites aligned with Greenfield is the Stellwagen Bank, off of Cape Cod, where I had the pleasure of watching whales dipping and diving the day before, but that's another story.
Posted by Neal at 10:13 AM | Comments (0) | Category: Mother Earth
June 18, 2005
Whale song
Some people think that the whales sing to keep the planet in balance, as well as to raise the vibrations of those who hear their sounds. What do you think?
click the whale to listen . . .
(or try live365: whalesongmaui, or whalesong.net)
- The Outer Cape, from Google Maps
Posted by Neal at 9:53 AM | Comments (0) | Category: Mother Earth
June 11, 2005
Listen . . .
Into your mind we shall sing.
- Adam
- The Angel of Saint Francis, Dennis Nolan, 2005
Posted by Neal at 4:35 PM | Comments (0) | Category: Poetry & Art
June 8, 2005
Headwaters
Or, shall we say, the dragon and genie of the connecticut river?
Posted by Neal at 12:15 PM | Comments (0) | Category: Mother Earth
June 5, 2005
Mountain spirits
Could this be another camelot?
Do you see the goddess gazing into your heart and soul?
Do you see the god gazing, from the right, into hers?
- from Google Maps
Here's an article by Peter Champoux about honoring sacred sites.
Posted by Neal at 11:29 AM | Comments (1) | Category: Mother Earth