Extraordinary Women

Worldwrights Leading The Way

Over five days I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to participate in webinars where my writing coach, Jennifer Browdy, interviewed five other extraordinary writers, women who through their written words and actions, have invited each of us to actively participate in the intentional regeneration of Gaia, the goddess of Earth and the mother of all life. As a result of having been abused, ignored, disrespected, and plundered by humans, Gaia is sadly approaching an irreversible demise.

All five presenters were loving, compassionate, spiritually mature women who, with love, stressed the urgency that all humans participate in immediate actions that could reverse the current direction of Gaia’s extinction. They were not doomsayers, rather, each of their unique approaches held common threads: halting Gaia’s demise requires all humans to wake up to the truth that in twenty-five years Gaia’s slow death will have reached a point from which there is no return, and the remedy to reverse her certain fate will require vital actions on all our parts.

As individuals, how do we actively participate in the lofty task of renewing and restoring Gaia’s original vibrancy? I learned that, unless you’re a climate scientist or an economist, there remain ways we can actively participate: we all have to do more than recycle and limit our use of plastics. What does that mean in practical terms? For those of us who have been introduced to shamanic traditions it’s imperative for us to be consistent in regular acts of reciprocity. We must be vigilant, pay attention, and notice Gaia’s gaping wounds, a result of humanity’s greed and disrespect.

Each of us can do this by, for instance, recognizing the unconscionable destructive acts of others. Let’s say we come upon a place where trees have been indiscriminatly cut down. We could stop the car, get out, and perform a ceremony that honors the lives that have been taken.

Ceremonies don’t have to be complicated, it’s our hearts intention and the compassion and love in our words that create change. For instance, we can sing to the tree stumps’ tears, express our sorrows over their death, breath a prayer into the trees’ roots, leave Gaia a gift like a pinch of tobacco, a strand of your hair, a bundle of herbs, or whatever feels right to you at the time.

You can restore parts of Gaia’s soul by picking up trash that other’s have left on her bosom. If you feel safe, you could let someone know that tossing their soda can or sandwich wrapper on the ground or into a body of water, is damaging the long-term viability of Mother Earth. Be kind, but let them know the dire consequences of their actions.

I don’t know about you, but I distinctly remember that in the 1950’s and early ‘60’s we tossed candy wrappers, soda cans, wax-paper sandwich bags, and cigarette butts from the our car windows. We were not the exception to, but rather a part of the accepted way that, during that era, people disposed of their waste while driving. Additionally, our most recent ancestors were not good stewards of the Earth. In the late 19th and early twentieth centuries, families dumped cans, bottles, jars, and paper waste in their backyards, leaving Gaia to hold the refuse of their daily lives. You may still find remnants of our ancestors’ abuse in your own backyard.

The women writers I had the pleasure of hearing speak last week, filled me with inspiration and a hope that not all is lost, that we are capable of reversing the current destructive trend. Each of them, authors of inspirational books, speak of spiritual ways we absolutely make a significant difference, participate in achieving the tipping point, that may save Gaia’s life. Here are the authors and titles of their books, that though I’ve just begun to read, I highly recommend:

Nature, Culture,and the Sacred by Nina Simons (founder of Bioneers)

Summoned by the Earth, Becoming a Holy Vessel for the Healing of our World, by Cynthia Jurs (a Dharmacharya in the Order of Interbeing of Thich Nhat Hanh)

Any Human Power, a novel by Manda Scott (a teacher of contemporary shamanic practice)

The Story is in Our Bones, How World Views and Climate Justice can Remake a World in Crisis, by Osprey Orielle Lake (founder of the Women’s Earth and Climate Network)

I would love to hear insights you may have about the ways we’re able to reverse the damage done to our planet, Gaia. You can always respond by leaving a comment below.

With hope, love, and wishes for a happy, healthy, spiritually-profound Winter Solstice and Holiday Season, in whatever ways you celebrate,

Dory