The Gog and the Magog Trees

Under a tree

older than belief

Clinging to life

by a branch

a chance

to grow

to learn

to be

born again

a new

in the dirt

from which

we crawled

to see

the light

that lifted

us here

to hear

the song

of the spheres

as they sing

to lead us

back to

the dirt

from which

we crawled

Sacred Ireland

Shooting up in a beam of light, I see three circles of light go out into the the world as I ascend.  I go through to sky to the tree of life, where I land on the top of the tree and realize that all the leaves are different and separated for from one another, as we modern humans seem to be.  I descend the tree and where the branches meet we are all one again, deep inside the tree of life.  There is great wisdom by going in and accessing this unity, we all hold within.

A beam of light engulfs me and I am off again flying to the middle world where I come to pristine field.  Here I see the sacred masculine and the divine feminine join in a long kiss.  As they kiss and kiss and kiss, an infinity sign of energy forms, crossing at their hearts and ending at their crown and root chakras.  

In this land watching this union is the lion and lamb lying side by side as male and female, strength and tenderness join as one.  

This was a global vision received next to an altar that I had early visioned as the sacred meeting place where the union of the male and female energies came together to honor the earth.  The next day I was in the pristine field of Uisneach, a sacred site in the exact center of Ireland, where the divine energies meet we held a Beltraine ceremony with a masculine and feminine fire that we walk through to celebrate this union that is brought forth by the spring.

It is amazing to me how this journey has evolved from a personal healing journey into a global one, where I now journey for the collective. The pieces have fell into place and the work that I am doing continues to put me in the places that I need to be in at the time I need to be there.  

This is the first international fire vigil and when I heard that it was in Ireland I knew that I would be there for I have a special love with the land, and the people who I have the pleasure to meet and hold ceremony with.  As usual I was not disappointed.

We opened our ceremony with a journey in the cairne at Dunderry Park.  It was a home coming for I had received the ninth right of the Munay Ki, for the first time in this very caire.  I can still remember the feeling of rebirth as I emerged and saw the stars for the first time as a child of light.  

In this cairne and journeyed and I was very clearly aware of the head of an eagle and a enchanted village, my journey, envisioning the how we my thrive in connection with the earth.  We emerged this night and I felt home, again.

The next day we headed to Tara to visit the sacred well, the faery tree, Lia Fa’il, Stone of Destiny, and the si’le na gig, the stone of the divine feminine. After a quick tour we gathered at the Faery Tree and ran around the tree dancing and laughing as we fed and connected with the faeries of the land.

Under the Faery tree, we journeyed in threes.  My journey took me up the tree of life and journeyed over an altar that was in the earth in a series three of squares that was meant to be covered.  This altar was for the sacred union of the divine feminine and masculine in honor and celebration of the Earth.  

After the journey, I worked back and had ceremony with the Stone of Destiny to work for my destiny in this life.  This was done by connecting with the stone at the heart and walking around it with eyes shut three times.  This was the stone that where the Kings of Ireland where crowned.  

After, I mediated on top of a cairne that held the ashes of the some of the ancient inhabits of this land.  Next up, was the stone of the divine feminine to connect with her energy as this union is vital for the healing of the Earth.

Cleansed and refreshed we returned for a keening ceremony that night.

I first heard of keening at a family funeral, my father joked that he wanted to have an “Irish Wailer” at his funeral.  Traditionally, there we three woman in long black veils, who would mourn for the deceased so the family could celebrate their life.  The keeners would gather in a corner to cry and wail as the family celebrated by having the decease  favorite foods and drinks and I am guessing, if it was a good looking corpse, that this include lots of fried foods and whiskey.  

As we enter the cairne I was without anything to mourn about.  My tears have all been shed.  Once in the carine it occurred to me that I could mourn for the state of the Earth.  This came as an energetic release that felt like a weight off my shoulders.  I have read that despair work is important to be able to open up to the healing of the Earth.  Without the despair work it is too overwhelming and many can not accept the consequence of their actions and their effect on the Earth.  

After keening the mood was way too somber for me and we ending up forming a drum circle and finding bliss and joy in the process beating the shit out of the available drums.  The grieving was completed.  

The next day we went to Loughcrew, Sliabh na Cailli, to connect with the wild feminine.  Yeah!  She was happy to see us, the weather was wonderful and the site was inviting.  We had been warned that it could be extremely wicked on the hill, but we where held sweetly.  My feeling is was one of play in engaging her.  The old girl still like as good night out with dancing and a good “rumpy bumpy” at the end of the night.  

We returned to find two big piles of wood on the place of where the sacred fire was to be that next day.  As we talked about the day it was announced that we would be able for fire walk that evening.  Well, the shit eating grin spread across my face at this surprise.  I had said once that if I ever got the chance to walk fire I would have to go first to have the full effect.   Once I saw someone else do it then it would not be the same to me.  I was both excited and nervous as we prepared.

We prepared ourselves with breath work, ecstatic dance and drumming, working ourselves into a state of ecstasy.  When the time came I was first in line and set my intent to walk to live to my higher purpose in spite of myself and I was off.  What a feeling of rebirth after walking fire.  

Then came the fire vigil.  

We switched altar, made the map and prepared the fire.  The spark was lit by our Irish hosts, Karen and John and carried out by representatives of the four directions, Canada, Iceland, Africa and Ireland.  We marched to the fire and it was off.   

That night we received the faery rites.  This was “so fucking awesome”.  These rites we devised by the si’ folk of Ireland and presented to us by the side of the faery lake.  We painted our faces and once the rites where received, we played and danced and danced and played.  Play is such a powerful way to heal the Earth.  Our laughter and smiles energize the Earth.   And playing connects us to the Earth.  We ended the night with stories, songs and jokes around the fire.

With the luck of good fortune and good friends, I ended up getting my preferred spot at the fire, 2 to 4 AM.   For me this is dream time, it time of the faery folk and the best time to be holding a vigil.  My fire mate, Lisa, David, who we were to hand the fire to and I, armed with a bottle of whiskey headed to the fire.  We offered our prayer, whiskey, tobacco and incense to the fire and got it burn with the intensity in which we held our love for the earth.  Our fire burned bright.  It was here I saw my first faery.  The ball of light appeared and hovered around to to check us out and was gone.  But, not without a little mischief that involved a gazebo and an electric fence.   That, however, is another story.

Saturday we mostly gather by the fire.  It burned differently with each pair of fire tenders, some sweet, others intense and all with honor.  At night we went on a journey on boat ride to the three worlds.  In each realm, I received gifts for the collective.  Mine were a golden book to answer any question, a lamp to light any darkness and a golden guitar and book of poems. 

More fun around the fire and then some sleep.  Around 10 in the morning we stopped feeding the fire and let it expire a natural death.  Our work completed.  

The next morning we got up and when on our road trip to Ireland sacred sites.  We visited Carrowkeel where three cairnes remained and open to the public.  Here the theme of play was strong.  For this was a trip to play and recapture my youthful sense of life as I embrace my sage self.

The next day we went to Carrowmore and here I shot up into a beam of light.

Beyond Infinity Bob Blog - March 2009

The best summer I had was a winter in Baja California Sur, Mexico. If Mark Twain did not say this he had not been to Baja in the winter.

It was nice to spend almost three months in Baja, doing a lot of mediation and centering exercises, living sustainable and connecting with nature in a way that left me operating in the presence from my place of balance and stillness. It is a place of power, vision and deeper wisdom.

The confirmation of this was that I was invited to spend a week retreat learning about Sacred and Sustainable Wisdom, from one of the 13 Indigenous Grandmothers, Flordemayo.

One night, I am cooking dinner by an open fire when, Kitzia, a seed saver, poet and teacher of Earth wisdom, comes walking into our camp. This night, we where to have a sacred fire and she decides to stay and participate. And by the end of our ceremony, I am invited to meet with one of the Grandmothers.

An opportunity too reaffirming to pass up.

It turns out that Buena Fortuna, a diversity and seed bank, which grows dry tropical and wet tropical specimens of rare edible and medical plants needs some support. It is currently a place in transition from the work of one family to a seed genealogy and training center and could use some help with this transition and with a community pump that has died.

If anyone is interested in helping Buena Fortuna let me know and I pass it on.

It is necessary to grow and propagate seeds so the can evolve with the Earth. Seed banks that stick them away, in the ice, for hundreds of years run the risk of having seeds that will not be able to thrive in the conditions, that exist, when they are brought forth.

This work is important for diversity in the biosphere and more so now because, there is a law. going through the US congress (to protect us from receiving products, in the supermarket, with infectious diseases) that will outlaw family gardens and organic farming if passed in it’s current form.

It is time to protect the diversity left in our environment.

This is one of the reasons why Flordemayo came to participate a week long Sacred and Sustainable Wisdom Retreat in Baja.

Flordemayo is a seer and the Mayan Grandmother. She believes in prayer and action, keeping things simple in life and having a plan B to keep moving forward in life. The first thing that struck me about her was her grace. The next thing was the Bronx accent.

Flordemayo is like any grandmother, very practical and nurturing. The first night of ceremony she cleansed us with a bath of sacred herbs and taught us to nurture ourselves with a lullaby that her mother hummed to her. It was very relaxing and after the fire sleep was deep that night.

The Retreat was such where we shared ceremony, pray, lived and worked in community together. We stared each day in a circle giving gratitude for the day. We would eat a local and organic breakfast then have a group class at 10 am followed by lunch and a afternoon class at 3 PM, dinner and a nightly fire.

It was an honor to be able to participate and guide some ceremonies. In one we created a medicine wheel by going on a guided journey in groups of three and finding the medicine of our direction for a spirit guide before we knew the direction. We then pulled the direction and created our quadrant based on our vision as opposed to our knowledge of the direction.

The second night Flordemayo gave us some oil on our third eye to help us dream. That night the spirit of the Earth Mother came to me and wrapped me in a red cloth as a spirit of the garden sang to me and all at once the day broke in birdsong. A little later there was a modern lady surveying land for development while telling me her plans. Without words I place my head to hers and transmitted the wisdom of the Earth Mother to her and watch as she connected to the land and change her vision.

The next evening a Lakota woman showed up to our place to sing songs of prayer. She does not call herself a medicine woman, however she is blessed with prayer songs that to share with the world. As she said it was no accident that we where there that night in ceremony.

That night, I dreamt of an embrace with the high priestess inside of me. This was a sacred honoring of the divine feminine. As I held this dream in the pure light of ceremony and spirit the high priest, the divine masculine, came forth in me. It was as if the union of the divine inside of me started a chain for events where I now realize that all I do is sacred and my gifts are necessary and vital to bring forth in to the world.

There is now a path and a vision of a network of sustainable communities that encourage connection, learning and enhancing our world around us. A vision that will grow, refine and be brought forth soon.

We had many adventure. We visited a place with a waterfall at a sustainable farm and enjoyed many a meal, song and story together. We worked together to help bring forth a plan to help Buena Fortuna evolve into what it is becoming.

We had a breathing meditation were I got a vision for the place and share it with the community. It was quite an incredible week.

For the closing ceremony, I had the honor to bring forth a despacio ceremony. We create a prayer bundle using items collected from the garden and blew our prayers for Buena Fortuna and the world into this bundle.

During the cleansing with the despacio, Christine had her baby, Maddy on her back. As I cleansed Christine, I also got Maddy and touch the despacio to her third eye. After the ceremony, Maddy was looking at me very intently. She had notice me during the week,but never looked at me like this before.

As I was talking to her mother, I asked if she had ever connected to Maddy telepathically before. Christine said she had not and I looked over at Maddy with her big eyes and immediate connected to her and heard her voice in my head as I repeated to words to her mother.

“We did It, Bob. We turned the world around in my generation”!

Beyond Infinity Bob Blog - Feb 2009

Things I like about living in Nature:

The vibration of food cooked on a wood fire.

The color of corn sprouts in the setting sun.

Sleeping close to Pachamama.

Camp fires every night.

Sacred fires once per week.

Passing on the Munay Ki.

Picking salad from the ground.

Eating fruit from trees.

Natural Spring Hot Tub baths.

Conversation with othe conscience beings in the hot springs under the Milkey Way.

The darkness of the New Moon.

The shadows of the Full Moon.

Hawks and Vultures flying together in the sky.

Ravens and Hawks playing together.

Physical work.

Walking bare foot.

Learning to be foot sensitive to the things on the ground.

Naked sun bathing.

Sun rise and sun sets.

Moon cycles.

Drinking water from the river.

Hiking up the canyon.

Becoming part of the landscape with the wild animals.

Sunning lizzards.

Flying Bats.

Cardinals.

Snakes.

Frogs.

Roadrunners.

Foxes.

Rabbits.

Hummingbirds.

Moles that stay out of the garden and the one that eats our onions.

Garden Spirits.

Birds with a message for me.

Sand Paintings.

Transformation.

Sleeping good at night.

This jouney has taken me to Baja Sur in Mexico and a small town call El Chorro, the squirt. Named for the either the local hot spring or the local taco stand. It is a chaming place with cows and gringos roaming free.

I am staying at Kina Freedom Retreats, kinafreedom.com, helping on a sustainable, offgrid, retreat center. We have planted a garden and are watching the seedling sprout through the soil to grow and feed us. I was visited by a garden Angel who came to me as dove to remind me to feed the garden with love. Everyday I am being educated on the workings of a sustanable life.

Our days begin with a mediation and end with hot spring. We cook on an open fire and I did my first batch of hand laundry in a five gallon bucket. It is great to spend most days commpletly immersed in nature, eating local produce and enjoying the local community.

The work continues with dreams and shifitng. The other day the dark masculine came to me to play in dreamtime. In the morning I knew it had to be honored which I did in a sand painting and felt something shift.

I like it here and am resonating with land.

Meeting the Future

In a dream time circle where we met our future generations, 100, years into the future. I was asked by my great, great, great, grandchild, what did I do to help turn the tide when the Earth was on the brink of destruction. The answer below is what flowed.

I dreamt of you. You where my inspiration. Seeing you in a the world that you were thriving in, with the balance of the mind and the heart, technology and nature and with the realization that all are one, related, made me realize that the change was easy.

I stopped colluding with the assumptions that change had to be traumatic. I knew that this as not going to be a revolution, but rather an evolution of the human heart and mind. Others shared this vision and we found each other. Together, we knew that our dreams would change the tide so all could enjoy the world we dreamed for you. Our hearts opened, we saw technology as a friend that could help the Earth. As the systems failed we were here with our love and vision to help other use their talents to change the world so our grandchildren would survive and our great grandchildren would thrive.

Beyond Infinity Bob Blog - October

There is a loud crash and I see trees are falling into the crevice below. I see their roots are they topple down. As I look around for the cause I realize that I am a tree that is growing larger and as I grow I am pushing other trees off the cliff. As more trees fall, I get closer and closer to the edge and I am in danger of toppling in to the darkness below.

I awake.

There is the archetypical image of the clown, a the holy fool, or the idiot, that dances on this edge. This person has the beginner mind and is ready for a journey, a change, and to fall if necessary. There exist the danger of falling, of failure, but with each failure, there exist the chance for redemption and rebirth.

I have spent too much of my time living in the safety of the dark forrest.

My whole life, I have fought for independence. I made on my own, denying and rejecting help. To my friends and family that you have stayed with me, you are truly generous for putting up with me in spite of the asshole I am and was.

And now, I realize that I was hiding from the rest of the forrest by growing into tree as I pushed other trees out of my way.

But now, I am at the edge, ready to leap.

It is an exciting time to making a move. It is also, a scary time because I need to leave the comfort of the forrest that has hidden me for so long and expose myself with all my faults to universe.

I am jumping off the edge and risking failure. I know that I can no longer make it all alone in this world. The support of the tribe is necessary in every way to how this story will turn out. The love and support, I give and receive, no matter how small it seems, will feed this and keep us going. As our ego accepts its death then our evolution to communal beings can be realized. Instead of being one tree, I hope to grow with the new forrest of that is interconnected.

So it is now time for me to step up and learn become interdependent with the community around me. To open and receive all this life has to offer. No more hiding.

There is a big rock that I climb up on with at least ten others. On this rock we are all one, teachers and students with our different perspectives, beliefs and visions. As we learn from each other our burdens are lighten, our mistaken beliefs discarded and our love expanded. We begin to dream and the rock rises into the air like some spaceship hovering over the earth. United together in vision, we can truly move mountains.

I awake with renewed hope.