In September, we were in Lansing, Michigan, for a workshop.  Lansing is where my paternal grandparents lived while I was growing up until we moved away when I was ten.  Flint, about an hour away, was where our family lived along with the other set of grandparents, so I spent a lot of time in Lansing and Flint.  I could viscerally relate to Michael Moore's first movie, "Roger and Me."  Flint, particularly, was turned into a city resembling a war zone during the 1980s.  Shuttered middle class houses and nearby neighborhood businesses were everywhere.  Because it was a state capital, Lansing wasn't hit as badly by the GM meltdown and transfer of jobs to Mexico and other countries, but things were definitely not great. Since the 1980s things have not gotten noticeably better.

So I was getting ready to lead the mantra meditation on Friday evening when I became aware somehow that there was a Deva that is responsible for certain energy manifestations for the entire state of Michigan.  All life in Michigan falls under its purview: plants, animals, humans, everything, and it was struggling.

Deva life is different from human life in that it operates in a continuum of consciousness.  Devas are intelligent but not sentient. That is, they are not self-aware in the sense that you and I are, but the higher levels of Devas ARE sentient. They are aware of themselves in a similar sense to the way we are, but their intelligence and sentience is different from ours.  It is not a human sentience but sentience nevertheless.  There are Devas that preside over the animal kingdom, and Devas that preside over the plants. We each have a Deva that is responsible for our health.

As I sat there I became aware of the Deva for the state, struggling with the garbage we humans have created.  These are energy-based beings, and they experience all the mental and emotional highs and lows we create. They are stuck with the suffering we create, with the agony we create for fellow humans.  They experience the selfishness and greed that creates these conditions, but it is not their job to oppose us.  They just go about doing their jobs of attempting to optimize the energy patters for all life that falls into their domain.  They experience and bear everything.

I experienced the Michigan Deva as permeated by a dark energy, masking its purplish nature.  Then, somehow, I realized that we could help.  We could chant a mantra that would help the real energy nature of the Deva to prevail.  The mantra that came to me was the Ganesha Mantra Om Vighna Nashanaya Namaha.  I suggested this spontaneous practice to the group in Lansing, and they enthusiastically agreed, so the group of 27 of us chanted this mantra for the Deva of the State of Michigan.  I felt good about it, but nothing special occurred to me after the practice except to see the Deva's light clear.  Later, Rose Rogers came to me and said that while we were chanting, she saw a scene of a structure that was overgrown with aggressive vines.  As we chanted, the vines retreated giving the structure some breathing room.  This convinced me that we were positively affecting the situation in Michigan.  I also came to know that there is a Deva who is responsible for the whole of the U.S.  Each country has its own Deva and also Devas for each unit within the country (city, county, state/province, etc.)

A few days later we were in Chicago visiting the home of Astrologer Barbara Shermer.  The small group of us there was receptive when I suggested we do the same Ganesha mantra for the State of Illinois.  They enthusiastically agreed.  As we completed the practice, I felt a tap on my third eye and heard a silent, "Thank you" inside, which I relayed to the group.

The next week, I was in Quincy, Massachusetts, where I proposed the practice again.  As we started the practice, I "saw" the Deva over the state communicate with the other Devas.  The idea was something like, "They are doing it again."  Then the Deva for Massachusetts managed an energy link up with Illinois and Michigan, and they began to share the energy coming from our chanting with the Devas in the other remaining states. They were sharing the energy. 

I couldn't help but think that humans could follow their example.  If we followed their lead, we would not have hunger or homelessness or any of the other problems caused by callousness and selfishness.  They showed mutual compassion in action.  Clearly, Devas  do not need a Dalai Lama to tell them about compassion.  I think they understand that idea already.