This year has been quite difficult for us as a nation and as a people. We have experienced financial crisis, political turmoil, and the collapse of a system that was build on greed and imbalance. As a result, unemployment is at highs never seen in my generation and more and more people are facing the loss of much of what they worked to establish.
As we all know, the earth (our Mother) operates in cycles… as does the universe. Many different cultures have their interpretation of the cycle, its timings and what to do but the foundation is the same: That which gets dirty must be cleansed. Many of us don’t realize how important this concept is (or many of us forget). As the lion cleans his mane, the spider cleans her web, and yogi cleans his mind, we to must actively seek to wash that which has accumulated in our minds, bodies and spirits.
This concept has significant importance in today’s day and age. From a financial perspective, we are witnessing the cleansing of our overly consumptive habits (debt, credit cards and the like). From a spiritual perspective, we are all looking towards something that can give us comfort in these difficult times. All of these concepts and systems are interrelated and there are certain things we can do to aid the cleansing process and help us become more balanced beings.
Today, I am about to experience my first sweat lodge. The sweat as it is called knows no cultural boundaries in that many peoples of the earth have their own forms. From the saunas in the West to the sweat gatherings in the East, all peoples spiritually bound to the earth have a ritual by which they give thanks to the ancestors, ritualistically sweat/cleanse themselves, and actively seek a re-birthing period. After the lodge, I will write about my own experiences but for now I just want to set the stage…
3E
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