Water of Awakening

I have divided this section into two parts.  The first section includes tips for co-creating a lifestyle in harmony with nature and the second section includes tips for deepening your connection in nature and with the elemental realms and beings.  If you have come across any environmental initiatives that you feel to share, I would love to hear from you :)

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Section 1 - Lifestyle Tips - Honouring the land, our natural resources and co-creating a life which works in harmony with the earth.

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• Donate to the World Land Trust - it's a great way to offset your carbon footprint for any flights or travel you may have made - this organisation is very good, they can calculate your carbon footprint and accept donations for their projects of land purchase and reforestation. Its patrons include David Attenborough and Chris Packham: www.worldlandtrust.org/carbon-calculator

• Set up an 'ark' in your garden.  This is a really simple initiative created by a lady from Ireland called Mary Reynolds which offers guidance and acts you can do to transform your garden including giving half of it back to nature and placing up a sign saying “THIS IS AN ARK – WWW.WEARETHEARK.ORG” so that people are aware that it's not just an unkempt garden, but is an active step in regeneration for the planet.  Other steps include no longer mowing your lawn and allowing wild-flowers to return and creating piles of logs to be homes for wildlife and insects.  For more information: http://wearetheark.org

• Take inspired action that stands for something rather than against - if you go to a protest, make a sign asking for what you want.  When we fight against something, we are subconsciously asking the universe to provide more of the things we disapprove of to continue manifesting this energy of fighting or complaining against it.  When we stand up for what we believe in, we are showing where we wish for our energy to flow and grow.  The word 'protest' is derived from the Latin word 'prōtestārī' meaning pro (for) and testari or testis (witness) - to declare publically and testify.  Many people are taking to the streets to demand climate action and Greta Thunberg has inspired thousands of children across the globe to take part every Friday with school strikes.  Regular updates from Greta can be found on her page:                                         https://www.facebook.com/gretathunbergsweden/ 

• Find a local community - banding together with others is a great way to be supported, exchange ideas and information, feel connected and create change.  It might be an environment group, a charity, a social enterprise, human rights causes or an activist group that you feel called to get involved with. 

• Go organic or grow your own veggies.  There are many gardening and permaculture groups  out there including Permablitz (where a community will all get together and help set up gardens in cities or towns.)  Co-create with nature, be open-minded, respectful and willing to receive information from the natural forces rather than dominate them- interesting philosophies to explore include permaculture and biodynamics.  Permaculture is a philosophy developed by Bill Mollison in the 1970s which includes design principles which are focused on observing and utilising the patterns of predominant patterns and features in the landscape and looking at plants, animals and the land holistically by considering all their functions.  Grow non-GMO seeds such as those from: realseeds.co.uk and learn more about edible weeds which grow easily and can offer many medicinal benefits.  Leave some areas untouched to allow wildlife to feel safe.

• Support the bees!  Consider setting up a hive.  Grow plants that are beneficial for wildlife - honey bees are the most important pollinator and there are many flowers which support them: www.beekeeping.co.uk

• Community conversations are going to be vital in how we help aid in the shift from a growth-based economy and a reliance on fossil fuels into a sustainable society with green, clean energy.  There are many people developing models for aiding decision-making in holacracy or de-centralised models where everyone's voice, contribution and participation is needed.  I would also recommend the work of Paul Forest who is developing tools of a neural decision-making interface which aims to ensure that power is distributed to suit individual and collective needs and allow power to flow without corruption: http://cluster.life/Cluster.pdf

• Go vegan.  Is it ethical to eat animal products when it's unnecessary? To reduce our carbon footprint the scientists recommend reducing our consumption of beef and lamb - a central message in the IPCC's (2019) report 'Climate Change and Land Use' is the reduction of animal products. There is also the local food movement (locavores) who only digest food which has been grown locally and there are many motivations behind this lifestyle choice including environmental (to reduce the carbon emissions involved in transporting food) and also community (to support local farmers and markets.)  The following map shows how America now uses its land. The vast majority is used for cow pasture and a huge section is for livestock feed. A very small section has been left as wilderness. The data is based on a 2017 report: https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-us-land-use/

• Reduce food waste and get involved in distributing food, particularly for homeless people.  Food waste puts enormous strains on the planet - it is believed that around one third of our food is binned or lost: https://friendsoftheearth.uk/food-waste  Find applications which help you to share food that you can't eat such as Olio.  Try wild food foraging - there are many books out there which can help you identify edible plants - more information can be found at Totally Wild UK: totallywilduk.co.uk/.  Also try dumpster diving - so much food is thrown away by supermarkets once the food outlives its sell-by-date, yet often the food will still be perfectly edible: http://dumpstermap.org/

• Support businesses and environmental products with cradle-to-cradle style models – nothing is wasted and everything is circulated back into the system for the benefit of the earth and all its inhabitants.  Use eco-friendly products, especially cleaning products which return to our waterways.  Buy from charity shops and donate unused items.  Recycle and re-use.  Up-cycle old clothes.  Simplify.  Treasure what you have.

• Examine your intentions behind the actions you take in this world such as travel - what does the earth desire of you - how can you live in service to the land?  Volunteering is a wonderful way to have travel experiences whilst also giving back to the people and the earth.  There are many great platforms out there which can help you travel in an eco-friendly way such as WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) which allows people to find places to garden across the world in exchange for food and shelter: https://wwoof.org.uk/  Work-away is another great initiative and includes a greater variety of placements including retreat centres and working with animals: https://www.workaway.info/  If you live abroad, can you find ways to keep in touch with your family online through Skype rather than flying home?  Can you find alternatives for travel such as hitch-hiking, cycling, buses, boats or trains rather than flying?

• Reduce plastic consumption - use your own shopping bags and if you have the space and time to invest in glass jars there are many shops out there which allow you to buy lose food by bringing in your own sterilised containers such as Bulk Market: https://www.bulkmarket.uk/how-it-works

• Use the power of your voice - write letters to your MP, supermarket or business and ask for what you want.  Do not underestimate the power of asking.  Sign online petitions - share and talk about inspiring initiatives with your friends.

• Get involved with river or beach clean-ups, tree-planting or conservation projects.  Volunteer in an area which you resonate with.

• Learn about sustainable homes and how to build them.  Architect Michael Reynolds pioneered earthships which use upcycled materials such as tires packed with earth: earthshipglobal.com/  Examine relationships of space and energy and how to use your resources as efficiently and harmoniously as possible.

• Be informed yet try not to judge others for their lifestyles choices.  We can only change ourselves and trust that this will have an inspiring impact on others.  Meditate - during this time of shift and change and ecological crisis it is so important to find balance as intense emotions such as grief or rage can flow through us.  These feelings are important signposts which show us where we are flowing in the wrong direction as a collective, yet we can be grateful that this knowledge has been brought to awareness because now we have the power to change it and alter our course for the benefit of all living beings.

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Section 2 - Deepening your Connection with Nature

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I love this quote by Steven Jenkinson, a teacher and spiritual activist, who founded the Orphan Wisdom School in 2010 – a project where people can develop skills to re-connect with their history, ancestors  and recreate human culture.  He describes the balance of a tripod over a fire, where each leg symbolises our different relationships with humans, non-humans and the unseen world. 

"I see our health as like a tripod, a dynamic thing: One leg is your relationship with all other human beings. It’s not possible for you to be healthy when there are people living under a freeway overpass in cardboard boxes. Your health is dependent on theirs. The second leg is your relationship with all in the world that’s not human. If you have only these two legs, you can try to live a good life, but it’s like walking on stilts. The third leg is what gives you a place to rest, and that leg is your relationship with the unseen world, everything not described by the other two. Having all three constitutes health. That’s where it lives. This tripod sustains you. You don’t exist as an individual without these relationships." www.thesunmagazine.org/issues/476/as-we-lay-dying

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Immersing in nature is a beautiful way to go beyond labels, separation and conditionings, back to Source, back to unity and trust and to release any worries or concerns.

 

Being in nature or around animals helps us to ground our energies and is particularly helpful when the energy body is going through any form of transformation. We can attune ourselves with the harmonious frequencies of the forest and feel more relaxed.

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Bathing in the forest is also a great way to integrate any transcendental experiences and to rest during any integration phase - sitting in the simplicity, digesting any insights and relaxing the nervous system.

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Acknowledging that a relationship is already there between you and the land is helpful, as well as recognising that it can deepen over time.  There are many ways in which we can deepen and honour this relationship and everyone’s connection will be completely unique and work with your own needs, gifts and intentions.   

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Some tips for deepening the connection with the land and the elemental realms:

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• Make daily strolls and connect with the energies of the day. 

 

• Say a prayer before you enter the forest, or set intentions at the beginning of your day. Ask permission from the guardian of any sacred site before venturing further - allow yourself to receive any guidance in regards to your visit.

• Move silently so as not to disturb the wildlife  - find a hidden spot and sit there for a few hours quietly and see if any animal passes by on its trail.

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• Connect with local stories and mythologies - this will deepen your interaction with the land.

 

• Deepen your relationship with your ancestors - find out where they lived, what was the land like, what was their lifestyle?

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• Greet animals by acknowledging their divinity. Many animals live in fear due to centuries of ignorance on this planet, yet some animals may respond and open up when given recognition and respect.  Learn animal communication techniques.

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• How can you connect with the 'ritual landscape' - many different areas hold varying types of energies and some places are very sacred.  Tors can be potent manifestation sites and being near rivers is good for releasing and purging. Speak with nature and find out where is most appropriate for you to be.

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• Create your own 'sacred space,' altar, or grove deep in the forest.  Connect with nature deities. Allow it to be a place of living art and add your own touches, such as adding stones, prayers or making a circle. When moving stones I often like to connect with them first.

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• Sing in the forest, allowing yourself to deeply harmonise. Play music and see what songs emerge.

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• Connect with the water - bathing in rivers or streams can be really invigorating for the nervous system.  I also like to wash my face in the water and deeply connect.

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• Find powerful energy centres in the countryside or research about ley lines to find places rich in Source energy - in Ireland look out for fairy paths, or fairy rings, and in Australia research Song-lines. Yet be respectful and ask for permission if you wish to enter.

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• Dedicate yourself to really exploring one area of forest - you may be surprised by how much you missed on your first visit and the secret places that might open up.

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• Land and water can carry memory. If you encounter an area with a difficult past, consider offering prayers and blessings - recognising the divinity of the space aids in its rejuvenation.

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• Scientific research now supports the positive benefits behind tree hugging or being in natural environments on mental and physical well-being.  In his book Blinded by Science, Matthew Silverstone outlines the scientific evidence of psychological benefits for example reducing stress levels (cortisol is the stress hormone) and improving concentration levels.  Being around trees can balance out the negative ions and release 'feel-good' hormones.

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• Research has also shown that blue spaces such as coastlines, rivers, streams and canals are also linked with well-being and Dr Mathew White from the University of Exeter examined correlations between happiness and immediate environments with people living near the sea demonstrating the highest levels of well-being and those who frequented the coast for regular visits also revealed happiness.  White believed that water had a psychologically restorative effect.  This resonates with me on an intuitive level – I often feel restored and enlivened after spending time near water, particularly rivers or streams which I find to be very healing environments.  I also sometimes get urges to bathe in the sea – it is a deep longing and I often feel a ‘reset’ to my system after submerging in the cold saltwater and feeling its vitality and power.

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• Remember that all experiences are passing and if you have a sighting of an elemental being, try not to cling to it or over-analyse it's meaning. Absorb the energies of the beauty and connection but try not to become attached or seek to 're-experience' the encounter.

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• Try not to project anything onto an elemental being you perceive, see them all as beings of Spirit. Yet use your discernment and be respectful.​

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• A sighting of an elemental being might be clear or it may be more of a clouded 'sense.' Trust your experiences.  However you interact and whatever you interact with is there to help you.  In a simplified phase, Source may be asking you to drop your seeking altogether and integrate your experiences - to embrace the simplicity of the flowers, the scent of the trees.  Respect these cycles and phases and flow with them rather than resisting the change.

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• Free your mind of any limiting beliefs about what an elemental being should look like.  I find these words of Card Decks of the Sidhe creator, Jeremy Berg, very helpful in which he describes the reasons why he was asked to refrain from portraying the fairies:  "The primary one is in order to prevent imposing a particular form either upon the Sidhe themselves or upon the imagination of a person using the cards. A second reason is that the Sidhe are protean beings, able within some limits to shape shift or configure their appearance to meet the demands of a situation. And a third reason was because they are attempting to help us throw off older images of what they look like. This was confirmed for me later in a conversation with John Matthews when he said he’d had a recent Sidhe contact in which he was told to stop thinking of them in a medieval context as if they were knights and ladies and beings of the past. “We are of the present and the future,” he was told."  My own experiences with elemental beings have always expanded my consciousness and have often been full of surprises.

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Integration

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Seeking for more

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There is a lovely line in the story 'The Soul Cages' recorded by Croker in Fairy Legends and Traditions in which Jack Dogherty, who lived on the coast of County Clare, sees a Merrow (a mermaid or merman in Irish folklore) and after a couple of sightings of a male Merrow he longs to meet with him, "All this, however, did not satisfy him - "much will have more"; he wished now to get acquainted with the Merrow, and even in this he succeeded."  Jack is successful and does manage to acquaint himself with the Merrow and he does have a lovely attitude towards these beings, "So far was he from being afraid of Merrows, or such beings, that the very first wish of his heart was to fairly meet with one." 

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Yet it could be mindful to check any tendency to get hooked on spiritual experiences and to constantly seek more, rather than to digest and assimilate what has already been received.

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In the following talk, Matt Kahn speaks about different phases a being may pass through on their spiritual journey and he talks about a tendency for people to get too hungry for big spiritual experiences (particularly via plant medicine) yet not allowing themselves the time to integrate, which can take days, weeks or even years depending on the insights or visions received.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=femaLW6rWhM&t=2528s

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I do believe that seeing an elemental being is a deeply spiritual experience, which can open someone up to deeper perceptions and understandings about the fabric of reality and taking time to rest and integrate could be a healthy thing to do for the body, mind and soul.

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Faery Song by William Butler Yeats

Sung by the people of Faery over Diarmuid and Grania,

in their bridal sleep under a Cromlech.

 

We who are old, old and gay,

O so old!

Thousands of years, thousands of years,

If all were told:

 

Give to these children, new from the world,

Silence and love;

And the long dew-dropping hours of the night,

And the stars above:

 

Give to these children, new from the world,

Rest far from men.

Is anything better, anything better?

Tell us it then:

 

Us who are old, old and gay,

O so old!

Thousands of years, thousands of years,

If all were told.