Dear community, as a shamanic practitioner, a land caretaker, a beekeeper, and an animist, as we gather around the diminishing spark of this eventful year, I was pondering on a message to share with all of you, to weave the lessons derived from our ancient Andean cosmology into the fabric of our present collective consciousness.
As our world struggles under the burden of the climate crisis, social inequality, greater divide, extreme ideologies, and rampant conflicts, it often feels that we are covered in daunting spiritual, emotional, and mental exhaustion.
The year's numerous tragedies have tainted our reflections, emotions, and dreams, yet deep within us resonates a desire to leave behind the painful tapestry of this turbulent year and expand into new inner territories of freedom and collective power.
In the heart of ancient understanding, of all the native cosmologies I have studied, is the reality that our world sustains inevitable damage, death, and endings. It also reveals that everything is alive and sentient, from stones to the sky, bones to feathers, and rivers to stars. From all those places, all those directions, the forces of life, the expanding universe, and consciousness keep calling, expanding, and rebirthing all we know.
If we only take a quick or superficial look at this experience of being human, the world is too often reduced in its vibrancy, possibilities, and expression due to our collective errors, losses, trauma, and the relentless march of time. Yet, this doesn't have to be the end of the story; it was never the end of the story...
How could it be an end in a world moved by cycles of renewals, ancient calendars of destiny, and a multitude of myths about death & rebirth?
How could it be an end if the Spirits keep us alive, breathing, feeling, and ready for our sacred mission to unfold?
In the labyrinth of Andean Cosmology, time can be stopped to come to a still point of reflection and return, as we experienced on the Solstice. In this interruption of continuity, a timeless chapter opens again. This chapter allows us to embrace the eternal, pause, and restart. It urges us not to merely flip a calendar page but to realize a profound opportunity to restore and rejuvenate our life potential.
Anchored in this wisdom is a lesson for our society. As we say goodbye to 2023, we must strive to acknowledge the mistakes and losses that the year birthed upon us, learn the more intricate, often complex, and profound lessons, and focus on our individual spark and collective determination to start afresh.
Our past mistakes sometimes carry a heavy chain of guilt and shame, shackling us to a cycle of repetition. It is easy for the mind to dwell in that duality and past while preventing a new day from being received with gratitude and an open heart. However, our ancestral wisdom, the spirits of the land, and the inner myth that we carry in our bones might inspire us with a hope of regeneration and a truth beyond the shadows of the world.
It implores us to not drag these burdens into the coming year but to learn, grow, and acknowledge the teachings of the dark masters to uplift ourselves with discipline and commitment to new possibilities and hopes.
At the heart of ancient wisdom is a relentless call to unveil and reconnect with the spiritual, emotional, and psychological resources dormant within our souls, a call to collectively break free from our past and broken stories and awaken a dormant transformation potential.
If we explore ancient wisdom, we can find Forgiveness, softening, clear directions, healthy belonging, and sweet salves to release us from the burden of our missteps and pain.
The great creators and spirits implore us to participate in life's inherent capacity for renewal, without which we risk metastasizing past errors, perpetuating them year upon year, generation upon generation. Gratitude, Forgiveness, openness, and loving connections, both for ourselves and others, are the cornerstones in all attempts to rejuvenate life, envision a brighter future, and finally nourish our starving souls and broken hearts.
Our world, darker and more troubled than ever, demands our creative and compassionate response when our shared humanity and Earth's uncertain future hang in the balance. It calls us into warrior territories of heart & soul. It urges us to kiss the soil, tend the land, collect seeds and ancient tools, remember sacred reciprocity and interconnectedness, embrace each other, forgive, and connect. Those are ancient instructions of renewal and true salvation.
As we stand on the brink of a new calendar year amid the dark and cold winter, I want to invite you to commit with me to harness the timeless energies of creation, to deepening the exploration of the inner darkness we all carry, to fine-tune our prayer of unconditional love, to nourish the soul with tender moments of grace and giggles, to express our gratitude for the wisdom beneath our feet and deep in our bones, and to carry forward the promises of renewal, resilience, and reciprocity that our ancient teachings and ancestors gifted us.
From all my heart, thank you for your unwavering support and commitment to our shared journey. May the New Year breathe new life into our hopes and dreams, new lights into our darknesses, and may we allow ourselves to feel the urgent callings of Mother Earth and all her sacred children.
Angell DeerÂ
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