That Pot Is Still Cookin'

Greetings from the mighty Mississippi! I have been exploring this great river aboard an American paddle wheel boat, which set out from New Orleans and will end in Memphis on Saturday. I have not spent time in the deep south and it’s been quite eye opening and also freeing as I release a lot of limited and uninformed beliefs about southern people and slavery. Slavery is a big issue for me right now; it is something I have always had a lot of energy around and it is profound being here along the Mississippi where it flourished in the US. I have had a chance to speak with African Americans about slavery; this is very enlightening! Although as they would say here ‘that pot is still cookin’ so I’m still in the thick of it, no clarity just yet.

One thing that is clear is that ‘Black Lives Matter'. I know, All Lives Matter, that’s a given and right now we’re talking about black lives in the United States. I got to have dinner last night with an amazing black woman named Judy. From the outside she looks like what I would expect in the South; enormous, with a big booming voice and gigantic laugh, and a heart bigger than she is. As she spoke I realized she is incredibly intelligent, well spoken, compassionate, wise, and hysterically funny. And she has an amazing singing voice which she uses regularly in conversation. Her father was a Southern Baptist Minister who marched with Dr. King. What she had to say about current black/white relations is this: during slavery white folks viewed black folks as an investment, as property that they could use any way they pleased. After the Civil War, they viewed them as evidence of their loss. (Many plantation owners along the Mississippi became VERY wealthy from the gains of their slave labor; all that went away after the war). They were resentful and angry towards black people, and distrustful - which carried over from the days of slavery. Distrust was inherent in master/slave relations as the white folks were always outnumbered by their slaves and constantly fearful of an uprising. Fast forward to the turn of the century and black folks are viewed as cheap, disposable labor. From there they are seen as takers, dependent on welfare, and ultimately as drug dealers and crooks. There are whole pockets of society who still feel this way, who have never ‘cleaned their windshield’  to see what is actually true for African Americans today. Those folks have never known that Black Lives Matter. So this is the work, to allow this understanding to permeate the whole of American hearts and minds.

Another theme I’ve been with on this trip is just how much of a bubble I live in. The South is a loooooong way from Southern California. When I see things that are abhorrent to me, my mantra has become “These people have a right to believe that.” I try to find room where I can hold their beliefs with equanimity. (Although I can’t help thinking that these are the folks who will elect Donald Trump President). California largely reflects my values and so I get to grow bigger in a place that does not. I am not right and they are not wrong. We are all on this journey to find the truth of ourselves out here in the wilderness called human being. And so I step over what has been revealed to me as my prejudices and judgements and feelings of superiority, and listen to what the South is saying. It’s important, to listen to all sides without holding steadfast to one particular view. To listen with the intent of gathering information, rather than gathering evidence of why I’m right. It’s quite a stretch ;-)

Tonight is the full moon and I plan to release old beliefs so that I can make room for what’s actually true. The planets are still holding patterns that can out-picture as anger, aggression and violence and will do so until mid-September. And so we hold steady, adhere to our daily practices and ferociously know the greater truth of this world as Oneness, as Love in action, as Peace.

Enough.

What is happening in our world right now with regards to race relations may be hard to fathom, and it's not what you think. Energetically it is the end of the fear-filled, us-against-them, separation mentality that has ruled cultures, societies and our minds for millennia. I know it looks like things are 'getting worse' and they are, and it's the death rattle of this already-dead paradigm. You know how when you stare at the sun and then close your eyes, the image of the sun persists? Your eyes are closed; the image is 'gone' and yet for a few moments you can still see it. That's what's happening with the patriarchal paradigm. Its last gasp is energetically powerful, like the death of a star. When a sun runs out of energy, it begins a process of collapse, the very last stages of which create tremendous amounts of energy that result in a colossal explosion called a supernova. We are in the supernova of the patriarchal paradigm, so the shit's gonna be real wonky for a while.

The good news is we have already tipped into a new era, ruled by the energies of Aquarius, which bodes well for the future of humanity and all sentient beings. Very well indeed. Right now however, we've only just passed out of the era of separation, which was ruled by the dark side of Piscean energies, which are about deception, illusion, falsity, secrets and the like. We have been in a cycle for many lifetimes that was all about the absence of or separation from Truth. We have been our own worst enemies, believing we are separate, believing that there must be winners and losers, that we must compete for power and resources. We have been pitting ourselves against one another, bereft of the knowledge that we are one thing, one entity, one system. When one loses, the whole loses, when one wins, everyone wins. This is the essential truth of Oneness (see 'Cauldron' from 4/21/16 for more on Oneness). We have been living under the very dark illusion that the 'truth is out there' and we must find it but first we must somehow become worthy of it, and then we must be part of some sort of secret club that can provide it to us. Many organized religions are based on this thinking. And it establishes the illusion of us against them. "We have the truth and they don't." And this is easily extrapolated along racial lines; we are better/smarter/more worthy than them because of the color of our skin. Our physiology/gifts and talents are better than theirs. Operating under this illusion creates fear because fear thrives in the absence of truth. And so we have been fearful of one another and even more so now, within this supernova.

Did you see the heart-breaking video from the shooting of Philandro Castile? The white cop is terrified. He shot Mr. Castile out of fear, which is fed by ignorance of the truth. I cannot begin to know what being a police officer is like, however I can discern from all the shootings of innocent black men by white cops that there is a lot of fear involved, an old, deeply engrained paradigm of fear that possibly harkens back to the days of slavery in this country. There were no public reparations for slavery; no apologies or amends, no responsibility taken, no offers of restitution. No atonement, no healing. (I've often wondered how this might have been different had Abraham Lincoln lived to lead us through the aftermath of the Civil War.) As it was, we couldn't be with the truth of just how egregious slavery was and so we ignored it and moved on. Healing would have allowed us to own our actions, seek forgiveness, and make amends - the age-old recipe for healthy emotional/spiritual/social living.  Healing would have allowed us to release our densest emotions together; in its absence, we still carry some heavy energies from those times. And it largely plays out as fear. I believe the situation we are currently in with regards to black/white relations in this country is the out-picturing of this unattended paradigm of fear. Fear disguised as aggression. From both sides. Although from the black side, we can throw in anger, from being persecuted for no reason other than the color of their skin. And, on second thought, anger on the white side as well, as projection of our unheeded fear.

So here we are. And what now? To begin with, I think it would be profoundly healing if the United States apologized for slavery in a very public and ceremonial way, as in every citizen of this country partakes in some manner. This would not be a political event although it would involve our power structure all the way up to the president. (Maybe we could even get the Illuminati involved ;-) It would need to be profound enough to reach all the way into us, past lifetimes of constructed barriers, into our vulnerable and ready hearts. Maybe we could create some kind of "Heal Slavery" National Holiday, where we could be collectively led through multi-dimensional ceremonial healing that ripples throughout all communities, top to bottom. We could offer reparations in the form of college educations, vocational training and the like to African Americans. We could subsidize loans for housing and entrepreneurial endeavors. We could invest in our poorest communities. We could cut our military budget (by like what, 1%?) to pay for these programs. And then follow that with another National Holiday (maybe we could replace Columbus Day) like Unity Day, where again, we are led through ceremonial unity practices. And maybe we could even make it cool to be unified. And we could open dialogues between white folks and black folks in those areas of the country where fear has been the prevailing paradigm, so that we allow ourselves to see that we are more alike than different, that our hearts are the same, that our fears are unfounded.

We can create a completely new training paradigm for police, one that is not based on a 'Might Makes Right' mentality. It is not us against them. It is us, together, protecting one another. I recently heard a podcast about a bouncer who worked the door for a stage theater in a very dicey neighborhood of Los Angeles during the 80's. He was a small guy who carried no weapon. He had a unicycle, a bird on his shoulder and all manner of magic tricks and sound machines. When there was any kind of a dust up, which was pretty often, he used distraction and humor to snap people back into reality and derail them from their mal intentions. And it totally worked; no one ever got hurt, including him. When interviewed, he showed an innate understanding of human nature and the ability to instantly connect people to their humanity. Maybe we can find someone like that guy to redesign law enforcement in this country.

And, lastly, we can rediscover the truth of ourselves, for in doing so we remember the truth of all beings. We are one thing, not separate. When I find my way into loving you, I find myself, mirrored in your eyes. Love is our inherent nature. Let us usher out the illusion of hatred and separation and allow ourselves to find our way into forgiveness and healing. Perhaps we can release the energetics of 'racism' which often keeps us from reaching out to one another. After the shootings in Orlando, much of the world rallied around the gay communities in a way that made them feel known and held. When something happens like the recent atrocities against the black community, I have difficulty finding my way into a supportive place that doesn't feel racist on some level. "Black Lives Matter" feels true of course, and it also feels like separation. ALL lives matter. Perhaps in our meet-up we can embody this Truth. Perhaps we can commit to giving ourselves permission to feel the chasm all the way down to its roots, to allow healing there, and to begin anew from that healed place.

And now, what are your thoughts? How can you add to this conversation? How can we join together to begin this work? How can we get others to join? What is the way forward to making this a reality?