So What about 2012?

2012 is upon us and I wonder what people are living in relationship to the shift that we are supposed to be in? There was a lot of talk about it in previous years and now almost nothing........ 

Is it the calm before the storm, the eye of the hurricane or what? Or do people really believe it all happens on one day 12/21/12. Something of this magnitude doesn't just explode on one day and then is over. It builds for years and climaxes then we are left trying to figure out what happened. 

Yes, the external changes are dramatic in many parts of the world. But do we realize that the earthquakes, tornadoes and shifts are also in our personal lives and inner existence.

For me, there is a lot of mixed experiences. I can go through what seems like 10 days in one. It seems that things can be chaotic and then calm, even boring the next minute. My dreams are deep and full and I wake up exhausted most mornings, as if I had been really busy all night.

I feel tired then exhilarated, bored then overwhelmed with so much busyness. I procrastinate then rush to get things done. If I was not observing myself, my dreams and living experiences, I would say that not much is happening, that's how subtle it can be. 

Then there are other strange encounters, strange people popping out of the woodwork, like caricatures from a cartoon or characters from a movie. I find myself intrigued and wondering... then I find out others, especially Shamans and Shaman Initiates are experiencing something similar.  That shows me that these events are collective, it is the dreaming bringing us a collective dream with lessons to be learned, stories to be shared.

It is in sharing our dreams and experiences that we find common ground. Community is so important right now. In our Western world, we are taught to be independent, co-dependent, but not inter-dependent. We have been programmed to want, want, want... to want more possessions, to want the perfect romantic relationship, the perfect job, etc, etc... and we get further and further away from nature and sacredness. We get overwhelmed with all the choices in a day, the multitude of tasks, the excess of information.... It is challenging to pick and choose. We seem to have the stress of too many choices. 

The other day my sister spend four hours in a tornado safe room in Kentucky. I didn't know until after. She could have been killed or her home destroyed like so many others in Kansas and Kentucky, what they call Tornado Alley. The thought of anything happening to her gave me the chills.


Then we get news from some of our community members in Ohio of a mass shooting by a teenager.

One day we are here, the next we are gone. Life is fragile, precious and not to be wasted. We never know what is around the next corner. Contemplating death makes me appreciate life so much more. I give thanks for my life and the journey that brought me to my path, my medicine and my community. 

Hau!