Earth Spirit Dreaming: Shamanic Ecotherapy Practices - Elizabeth E. Meacham 2020

Daily Practice of Rituals
How to Use This Book: Growing the Gifts of Ecological Consciousness
Introduction

Shifting consciousness requires daily practice. Earth Spirit Dreaming suggests many exercises, from the very small to the long and large, that can fit into our lives whenever and wherever possible. The most important thing is commitment to doing something to connect with the Earth every day. Some days we have a moment, some days we can take the entire day or more. If we find rituals that fit our lives, our schedules and our own intentions, we will be able to find time for these rituals even in very busy and sometimes difficult times. These small moments add up over time and open our minds to more connection and the ability to slow down and shift more often and more quickly into the emerging indigenization that grows over time from small steps. For any of us, larger shifts eventually come from the small; and for me, I often begin from a sense of estrangement and separation, and I start again and again, because this is the challenge of our era: to claw our way out of the myth of separation. It is work that is done, not one time, but over and over again. Even for those of us who make this the work of our lifetime it is still a constant challenge to maintain our ecological consciousness and come back again and again to Earth.

For everyone, no matter what your calling or vocation, there is room in your life to become part of creating an Earth-honoring civilization. This book offers a wide variety of practices that can fit many lifestyles and intentions, and many kinds of work. Small practices once a day lead to big changes, and all of our work matters and grows as we do it together, whether we know of the many, many others who are doing similar work or not. As you engage the Earth Spirit Dreaming method, allow your heart to guide you to the places in this book that fit your life. Discover and create rituals that are meaningful and supportive within the framework of your own days. How much time, how many rituals and how quickly we feel shifts is not important with Earth Spirit Dreaming. These are messages of achievement and linear progress that are pressures from the culture that we wish to grow out of. Eventually, Earth Spirit Dreaming takes us out of linear notions of progress and achievement. We realize that we are all together across space, non-linear and non-local, becoming: together in labyrinthine complexity, so that my hand touching this tree for one moment is equal to the birth of a star on the other side of the galaxy. With this trust in the miracle of life, we can be soft and kind with ourselves, beginning when, how and where we feel safety and support.