Earth-honoring Ritual at Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve
Sunday, March 27th from 11am-3pm in Antioch, CA
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California Buckeye
by Katrina Martin Davenport
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We'll gather to offer ceremony of healing and reconciliation with the spirits of place at this historically desecrated area just north of Mount Diablo. Site of over 300 miles of coal and silica mining tunnels, Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve is now in the public domain and in the gradual process of recovery.
This community ritual will be inclusive, heart-centered, and open to all by donation. All proceeds go to the Alliance and suggested donation is $15-50. We'll meet at the park's more southern parking lot (Somersville Townsite area) and walk in to the picnic area (about a quarter mile over paved trails).
Feel welcome to bring simple natural offerings (e.g., flowers, tobacco, cornmeal, ash, shells, incense, songs, prayers for earth healing). Prepare for coolness and rain (we'll gather rain or shine). Also, the park entrance fee ($5) may be in effect on Sunday. Good to eat before or after (personal food for self-care is welcome during ritual and we won't stop for a group lunch).
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Interview with Dr. Darryl Babe Wilson
We're happy to share a new interview through the Voices of the Earth Project! This interview is the first in a series featuring Native California storytellers and earth-honoring elders. Dr. Darryl Babe Wilson is an elder, poet, and storyteller of the Pit River people of Northern East California. Author of The Morning the Sun Went Down and advisor to the California Indian Storytelling Association, Dr Wilson is active in carrying on the traditional wisdom of his people. For more info on Babe's work visit: www.haydutsila.com . For our interview visit: www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=147CB3875FACA176 . To learn more about the Voices of the Earth Project or to get involved, please contact project director Elaine Gast Fawcett at: elaine@fourwindswriting.com |
Relating with Spirits of Place
Each newsletter features a reflection from a different member. This month's contributor is Earth Medicine Alliance founder and executive director Daniel Foor. In addition to his work with the Alliance, Daniel maintains a private practice focusing on ancestor and earth spirit work. For more info see: www.ancestralmedicine.org .
The theme of our annual conference this October 22-23rd in San Francisco is Relating with Spirits of Place. We've also been discussing the importance of place and the spirits of the nature with interviewees in the Voices project. Who are the spirits of place and how can we relate with them in conscious ways? In his interview, Malidoma Some encouraged listeners to be open to receiving an unexpected blessing from the spirits of a place. Are there places near to your home where you have received good medicine from the Earth, from the spirits of place? What was this gift? How do others relate with this place? For me there is something about working with spirits of place here in the Bay Area that is very specific and grounding. Each place has it's own song and medicine and gifts to be shared with those who are open. For me, the Bay Area is as sacred as the Andes, Tibet, or the Egyptian Nile. Some of the places here that I currently love to spend time in ceremony include Angel Island, the Golden Gate, the South Bay wetlands, and the mountains circling the Bay. We are blessed here to have what I believe is well over 100 substantial public parks. The allows most of us the opportunity to spend time on the land in ceremony relating with spirits of place directly. Some of the specific animal relations here in the Bay Area that I have come to know and love include Hummingbird, Bobcat, King Snake, Burrowing Owl, Tarantula, and Salmon. After the abundant rains this winter, the wildflowers will be generous in spring. Are there plants you feel close with or that remind you of the changing Earth? Here in the Bay Area, a few close plant relations for me include the Oaks, Sagebrush, Sticky Monkeyflower, Bay Laurel, and Ghost Pine. The Buckeye blossoms are also amazing. Who are the spirits of place that speak to you? Are they friendly? We are all inhabiting the same glorious and strained biosphere, and we all have stories of the Earth. How well we relate with spirits of place, both human and otherwise, is of tremendous importance is making the shift to more sustainable and ecological ways of life. We hope you'll be a part of this ongoing dialogue with us here at the Alliance on relating with spirits of place.
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