Spiritual guidance for 2011

Of all the scenarios about how we get our act together in time to save ourselves and the planet, my favorite comes from African elder Malidoma Some’s initiation story, about his conversation with the earth itself. About the 13th day of his 30 day initiation ceremony, while he was covered in the mud of his village, Malidoma could hear what the earth was saying, and also birds and animals. The earth told him that as a being, it had already made a transition to a higher level of consciousness, it was already in a higher state of vibration, and was waiting for the people to “catch up.”

It’s a comforting thought that the mighty earth as a living being means its teeny inhabitants will be adjusting (or not) to its higher vibrations. Powerful figures are helping us, too: Oprah Winfrey now has a whole new network dedicated to consciousness-raising. New and more consciousness healing tools are helping people release their fears and negative beliefs. The greed and competition model is fading and the “we are one” model of valuing connection and cooperation is emerging.

In my lifetime, people thought nothing of throwing their bottles out of the car window. Now, most of the town is recycling those bottles.

It’s hard to see the progress because the millions of people involved in changing their lives and the world around them don’t have a party name. I heard on t.v. tonight that in India, belief in the caste system is being replaced by belief in getting somewhere based on what you do, Indian by Indian. In China, new government-run experiments are creating “cultures of hope”, with new living environments. Things that have been true about those countries for thousands of years, are changing. Not fast enough to mitigate the painful consequences many are living through now, without jobs or homes, but the signs are good for the future.

With that introduction, let me present the psychic pictograph I drew on the Winter Solstice; it was actually the first omen of the new year but too esthetically challenged to decorate my newsletter. It says, "…(Two thousand and) eleven, that means heaven", meaning, now many more people can and do choose to live at a higher level of consciousness.

The next phrase, " (2011 means) ‘haven,’ as Earth is meant to be” suggests that people will begin to be more peaceful, and respect each other, and work together for sustainable life on Earth. I believe in the future we will live to see a tremendous change in consciousness, and an increase in empathy for all living things.