A Night Under the Stars

By chance I was watching a news programme on Saturday and there was a report based on the recent review of our UK National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is the 70th anniversary of our first National Park, but what interested me most was the encouragement being given, particularly to young people, to get out into the beauty of our countryside and `spend a night under the stars`! 

(The report was following straight on from a feature about the amazing teenager, Greta Thunberg, who is doing such a great job campaigning at top level for more awareness and actual action about global warming.)

The new generation of young people, many of whom I am sure are very wise old souls, who are reincarnating with a purpose at this time of great opportunity to advance on the path of brotherhood, are certainly leading the way.

The idea of spending more time outside in nature and under the stars, of course made me think immediately of White Eagle and some of the beautiful teaching he has given us from his American Indian lifetime.

I have his book EARTH HEALER open now, and I read these words on page 67,  in the New Lands Temple on Sunday during our Peace Day:

'Let us worship God in silence under the heavenly canopy of stars; let us commune with the spirits of the air and the fire and the water and the beautiful earth. The peace of the eternal love and harmony fills our being. We receive God`s blessing with humble thankfulness.`

Vision for our Planet

When I was shown this Cree Indian saying recently it had a profound effect on me:

'Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realise we cannot eat  money.'

As our beautiful planet faces yet more physical challenges with the terrible Amazon fires and the hurricane in the Bahamas and North America, we seem to be being shown in truly dramatic ways that material aims and gains have severe consequences which have to be faced. A positive thing which is happening is that the media is showing us all with greater clairty than ever before what is going on. Just the other day, I watched a news report about what the pursuit of gain from palm oil is also doing to our forests. What was positive and brought hope was the story, alongside the pictures of what a company only seeking material gain was doing, of another enterprise which had its workers and careful, sustainable use of the forest resources at its heart.

All that is going on in our natural world has made me even more aware of why White Eagle chose to use his North American Indian personality for his teaching through Grace Cooke. The Indians knew how to work in harmony with the elements and angels; they knew how to work in harmony with the earth and the consequences if they did not. White Eagle is helping us work at a deep inner level in a way which is effective. Our work with the Star to 'uplift the consciousness' of all people is working - I am sure of this. Things are changing, people are realising 'we cannot eat money'!

At the beginning of White Eagle's book Earth Healer, this vision by Grace Cooke is given, and encourages us to believe in a healthy future for our planet which we can work towards by radiating the light of that sun/star:

'I saw a great golden sun in the heavens, and it seemed to shine down upon a city, and all the buildings in the city appeared to be made of ice. They seemed to flash all colours in the sunlight and it all looked very hard and frozen. Then suddenly, when it was least expected, the whole thing collapsed - simply melted away and there was a fresh new earth. There were men and women on the earth ploughing and sowing, and it was a lovely day. The birds were singing and there was a feeling of healthfulness and simplicity and cleanliness. A new day had begun with the promise of a new life.'

Silence is Golden

I have just been leading a service in the New Lands temple with Rozita, our deputy mother. The reading of White Eagle's words we had chosen (from Walking with White Eagle in Sacred Places) was about the power of silence. White Eagle says, 'Would that men and women would seek the silence more often, as we used to do in ages past!'

I can remember growing up with the oft repeated phrase from adults around me, 'Silence is golden'. As a child I did not appreciate that - like most children I loved to chatter and run around and make lots of noise! The value of silence has grown on me as I have got older, and maybe also because our world seems to have got noisier. This is not just because of increased traffic (by road and air), but also constant media messages, and the feeling of needing to keep pace with all that is going on 'out there'. And then, there is also what is going on inside our heads, with the added pressure perhaps, of thoughts whirling round and round. We are living in an age of constant information, and it can seem like a merry-go-round that we can't get off! We can, of course, but it may take a very deliberate effort of will. 

So let us follow White Eagle`s age old wisdom: 'Sit in the silence and you will hear secrets whispered to you. Go out on the sunlit downs with the sea rolling upon the shore beneath you, and listen with your heart......you will know how things happen, why things happen and how evolution is preceding. And you will know where the key to the gate of heaven is to be found; you will know how to insert that key and unlock the gates.'

The Power of Pilgrimage

I have been watching a documentary on BBC 2...we are very fortunate to have some really good programmes on our UK television uninterrupted by advertisements....in a three part series entitled 'Pilgrimage to Rome '. Eight celebrities of varying faiths or no faith at all were followed through all the ups and downs, both physical and emotional of their journey on foot to Rome. They followed the pilgrim's way which has been used by pilgrims for many hundreds of years. It starts at Canterbury but these modern day pilgrims began their journey in Switzerland.

Watching this, and the dialogue as the pilgrims walked, prompted my own thoughts about faith. One said 'I don't know what I believe' and another...a non practising Jew, 'I don't know what I am supposed to believe.' So I looked up what I wrote about pilgrimages in the book 'Walking with White Eagle in Sacred Places'. I wrote about how White Eagle encourages us all to go on inner pilgrimages, especially if our health or circumstances prevent physical walking. I explained, 'A pilgrimage is not a holiday; it is a rite of passage during which significant inner transformation takes place. After the pilgrimage your eyes are opened. You see the world differently.'

That was so true for every one of the eight pilgrims to Rome, former believers and non-believers alike. Their journey culminated in a private audience with Pope Francis. By that point they were all open to his loving non-judgemental welcome and blessing. Even those unsure of any spiritual belief at all were touched and changed and I remembered my mum (Joan Hodgson) saying to me when I was quite young, 'Faith is caught, not taught.'

This was truly demonstrated by the way our amazingly inspiring present-day Pope Francis encouraged every one of the eight pilgrims to look at their lives in a new light.

The Wonderful World of Bees

I had not realised when I visited Kew Gardens that the following Saturday (20th May) had been designated World Bee Day. 

I had heard about 'The Hive at Kew' - the iconic new installation bringing to life the world of bees - but I had no idea just how amazing it would be to actually experience. The Hive is seventeen metres high and is truly an example of modern day creativity and inspiration. The structure is the work of artist Wolfgang Buttress, who was inspired by the pioneering work of Dr Martin Bencsik of Nottingham Trent University, who has developed technology to monitor the health of beehives. 

If you ever have the opportunity to visit Kew, try to go to the Hive at as quiet a time as you can! It truly is a place where one can experience an extraordinary meditation, a time of being 'in the heart of the great AUM'. (The way the Hive has been constructed, linked to a living bee colony, means that when you are inside, you hear the actual sound of bees humming, but amplified in a way wich gives an intense experience - like being within the heart of our Earth Mother, was my feeling). But then there is also the upper area, filled with light, and more amazing sound, bringing the feeling of soaring into sunny heights on wings of light, and oneness with not only the great family of bees, but all insects, all creation. (Outside, the Hive is surrounded by wild flowers, chosen to encourage all pollinators.) The sound instillation is the work of Dr Bensik, and as well as the natural bee sounds, he has added more sound, all in the key of C, the key that bees buzz in.

In the challenging world in which we are now living, I find it encouraging to experience yet another example of the awakening consciousness of so many people to the interconnectedness of all creation (which is amazingly demonstrated in the life of bees), and the extraordinary achievements of our modern day scientists and researchers. 

We are concentrating specially on this very aspect of healing in our Earth Healing Focus for this term. The special words for our Earth Healers are: 

'We hold in the Christ Light all those who have the ability, knowledge and wisdom to aid in the healing of Mother Earth.

We hold in the Christ light inventors, innovators and those who support them.

We focus especially on children and young people and see them, with all humanity, continuing to develop an awareness of the need to care for and protect Mother Earth as she evolves through her own karmic journey.'

Our children are our future, and it is exciting to see the way in which children are now being educated in so many inventive ways (including all the work at Kew Gardens) about the wonderful world of nature and that we are part of it and responsible for its wellbeing.