“Look for the stories (both old and new) that are dancing or getting ready to dance, and that can move us toward the well-being of everyone and everything.” — Vanessa Machado De Oliviera, author of Hospicing Modernity
What happens when we connect deeply with the land in a sacred, conscious way? Last weekend, I dedicated time to vision with the land in the Stanislaus Forest. I came back with powerful new stories and the clarity and vision I had been longing for.
Sunday morning, I co-created a ceremony with ancient granite boulders sprinkled with lichen, majestic Jeffrey pines scenting me with butterscotch, sweet, baby white fir and the vast sky, freshly shifted from a thunder-hail storm into gentle, fluffy, dawn-lit clouds.
I allowed the ceremony to unfold. Gathering all sizes of pine cones, chartreuse lichen, dry sticks and purplish and golden-brown bark. As I opened to the messages received throughout the weekend, several Earth vows came through for the next year. I share them here to claim and be witnessed in what new stories I desire to bring forth into this world.
- I vow to take gentle care of my whole self as a human and to live in balance.
- I vow to reach out to others with my questions, humility, and openness to collaborate for how to hold this threshold moment on Earth with our collapsing ecosystems and turbulent socio-political structures.
- I dedicate myself to centering the thriving of future generations of humans on our planet.
- I vow to be proactive with inviting the evolution of a new organizational structure at The Earthbody Institute that centers co-creation and decision-making with multicultural voices.
These vows are leading me to embody new stories that we need to replace old ones, which are not serving life and the liberation of all beings.
We all need deep renewal and to connect with how the sacredness of the Earth calls to our individual spirit. I am deeply grateful for this time with powerful Earth beings and the deep witnessing of a human soul friend. I wish for each of you to find ways, small or grand, to take in the nurturance and guidance of the generous beings all around you and be inspired to reciprocate.
Here at The Earthbody Institute we are in a big transition of how to integrate these new stories to best serve what is needed at this moment in time. We will be offering new opportunities of Earth-community to support each of our callings and to encourage community creations. We invite your energy, ideas, support and hopes. We are here to support you to keep taking bold and heartfelt steps on your path towards creating connections and communities of living gently on our planet in crisis.
With butterscotch pine scents and lichen-painted boulders,
Ariana and The Earthbody Institute Team
PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES
Blackfullness is a mindfulness app developed specifically for Black Americans, who “experience more stress-related health disparities than any other racial or ethnic group.” The mission of Blackfullness is to educate underserved communities on the benefits of a consistent mindfulness practice, to make mindfulness widely accessible using technology that is intuitive, easy to use, fun, and culturally relevant for African Americans. To learn more about the award-winning, scientifically backed app, go to www.blackfullness.com. .
HOPEFUL NEWS & ACTIVISM
Join us in celebrating Black led farm, food, and land justice organizations.
California Now Largest Economy to Back Fossil Fuel Nonproliferation Treaty
Last week, California became the largest global economy to endorse the call for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. Senate Joint Resolution 2 also endorses what advocates call a “just transition,” stating that “California affirms the need for a plan to phase out existing fossil fuel production that prioritizes the most impacted workers and local government services with short- and long-term investments that include enforceable labor standards, such as prevailing wages, apprenticeship opportunities, and project labor agreements, to protect workers and communities.”
The march to a fossil fuel free world is far from over, but this was a massive step forward.
Read more here.
POETRY AND INSPIRATION
SPEAKING TREE
by Joy Harjo
From Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings
I had a beautiful dream I was dancing with a tree.
—Sandra Cisneros
Some things on this earth are unspeakable:
Genealogy of the broken
A shy wind threading leaves after a massacre,
Or the smell of coffee and no one there
Some humans say trees
are not sentient beings,
But they do not understand poetry
Nor can they hear the singing of trees
when they are fed by
Wind, or water music
Or hear their cries of anguish
when they are broken and bereft
Now I am a woman longing to be a tree,
planted in a moist, dark earth
Between sunrise and sunset
I cannot walk through all realms
I carry a yearning I cannot bear alone in the dark
What shall I do with all this heartache?
The deepest-rooted dream of a tree is to walk
Even just a little ways,
from the place next to the doorway
To the edge of the river of life, and drink
I have heard trees talking,
long after the sun has gone down:
Imagine what would it be like to
dance close together
In this land of water and knowledge…
To drink deep what is undrinkable.
TENDER BEAUTY OF THE BREAKDOWN
by Ryan Van Lenning
The sacred land is calling.
‘Tap, tap, tap’
the bell beneath the breastbone beckons:
Come, be naked and empty
under the big sun.
Empty yourself of everything.
Empty of food, empty of distraction,
empty of ego, empty of old story.
For Truer stories want to find their place.
Stretch yourself horizon to horizon
of your true home
until your soul image pops out
in high relief
like shards of obsidian
from the floor of the earth
Dive deep into your Great Sea
into the mariana trench
of your unadorned self.
The cracking begins.
Like scorched soil
ready to receive.
The mud at the bottom of your being.
The shell of all the false identities.
Your fortressed heart—Cracked.
Oh it hurts—what gorgeous pain is this?
Die to all the worlds
to which you don’t belong,
leaving them to drift in the sage wind
as offerings to the land.
Cherish the tender beauty
of the breakdown
and the sweet beauty of the rebirth.
Thank you for reading! We welcome your comments and questions. Contact EBI: earthbodyinstitute@gmail.com.
We acknowledge that The Earthbody Institute is located in Huchiun, in unceded Lisjan territory, now known as Oakland. We honor and support the ancestors and present Lisjan people. We encourage you to learn more and make a donation to support the return of their land and culture.