Sitting at my altar the other day, contemplating the wars that are escalating all over the world, I realized, yet again, that peace can only be found through the land. This is true because peace can only be found when we completely inhabit our full, real self—the self who is part of everything and not separate from anything.
I’m understanding lately that each of us has an etheric thread that goes from our belly down into the depths of the earth. I see this thread as a rich, red-purple color. It connects us to the deep pulse of the land that irresistibly courses through nature and all beings, including ourselves. When our thread is linked up this way, we are held within the land’s peace.
We can feel this peace when we’re calmly meditating. Equally, we can feel it when we’re delighting in the morning songs of the birds, or even shrieking as we splash in a cold mountain stream. We are not required to hold ourselves composed and aloof. Instead, we are called to participate with the green world of nature, moment to moment. Our peace is founded upon our enduring link with the sacred land and all of our human and non-human companions, through our red-purple thread. [Read more…] about Peace Depends on Our Connection with the Land
Climate breakdown. Endless wars. Pervasive misogyny. Grotesque income inequality. Widespread extinctions. And political and corporate leaders worldwide who seem to be committed to perpetuating this dystopian vision.
This is confirmed by both the world’s remaining indigenous peoples, and by researchers in archaeology and anthropology. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors, and the early agriculturists too, had to be observant, attentive, and patient. We can also surmise that those primal peoples felt grateful, even reverent, toward the land, plants, and animals that gave them life. We know that they expressed this reverence through an enormous variety of earth-centered spiritual practices. The most enduring of these still survive today. From the beautiful annual cycles of dance and ritual performed in the Native Pueblos of the American Southwest, to the simplicity of Scottish and Irish country people putting out milk for the faeries, ancestral veneration of the natural world and its gifts is still being expressed around the globe in ways both large and small. 
As the days shorten and the fruitful darkness of winter approaches, Gaia’s Blog is entering a time of renewal and growing relevance. My own thinking about Gaia and humanity—where we are now, and where we need to go—has become clearer and more incisive. And also more hopeful—which might be surprising, considering the state of the world right now.