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I went there to make a medicine shield, and I wondered if I had it in me to do. How could I express the breadth of what I have been feeling with feathers, leather, and beads? What would Spirit and La Push teach me this time? I believe that everything happens for a reason. Everything. It's been a challenge to maintain this belief in the face of so much destruction, even though it is my truth. There is a very large dance going on, more than I am able to comprehend. I had come to the beach to sit with it all. I believe that the earth is evolving, and that we are offered a choice to evolve as well. "Can a huge tragedy help us all evolve?" I have been asking myself. My guidance has indicated that, yes, it is so. When all those dear ones departed, so many at once, a huge vortex was created that enabled many angelic beings to come into the earth's energy system. This uplifting energy of celestial love is assisting us today in evolving to a higher consciousness. Many, many prayers have been spoken on Earth since the 11th of September — perhaps more at one time than ever before. Prayers for healing, help, love, peace, and even for forgiveness. The sun was warm and the light breeze helped clear my weary brain. I decided to look for a heart rock. On this beach, there are zillions of stones of amazing shapes, sizes, and colors, including "La Push specials," healing stones that look like round, dark pancakes. The stones were strong with me this visit. The night before, in our cozy cabin, a song came flowing through me. Accompanied by my singing bowl, it went something like this: "As you walk along the beaches and you see all the many stones ... rolling in and out of the water, rolling in and out in the foam ... Know that every stone holds the energy of love manifested in form ... Every stone has this energy, from the earth it has been born ... As you walk along the beaches, gather in the love that is waiting there, rolling in and out of the ocean, rolling in and out of the foam." A heart rock is rare and precious. I wanted one for my shield to represent the earth evolving toward pure love; that much I knew. I strolled along the half-mile beach, picking up and putting down many beautiful rocks, but not one heart rock appeared. I saw an older couple sitting by their fancy RV with their poodles, watching a tiny TV, and the seagulls. And I had some judgments about them, I noticed. Still searching for my special stone, I saw some surfers bobbing the day away in the foamy water, and I found I had some judgments about them too. There were some men drinking beer and throwing their glass bottles into a beach fire, and my judgements jumped up again. No wonder I couldn't find a heart rock! My judgments were taking too much of my attention. I wondered if those people were having judgments about me, with feathers in my long hair and my purple scarf blowing in the wind. What if we could all just be there on this glorious day, being out in nature and having a good time? Without those judgments, I discovered how easy it was to smile a hello to the Natives, the surfers, and the RV folks. I made a personal commitment, then, to my own evolutionary process: to live without judgment. This, I can do. At the very end of the beach there is a cliff made out of sandstone. With every high tide or storm, pieces of the cliff face break off. I like to touch the cliff. It is cool and damp; it feels alive. As I touched it this time, a piece about the size of my hand came loose, and it occurred to me that I could carve a heart out of it. Always searching, my beachcomber eyes caught something on the ground: at my feet was a large eight-inch-long long knife. I guess I am meant to try carving! The synchronicity sent me reeling. "Everything you need is provided for you." How many times had I heard that? I have been studying manifesting, and now, without any effort, in fact with just a passing thought, everything I needed to get my heart rock was provided for me. I still don't understand "how" this happened. It's a skill I'd like to hone. I felt obligated to carve my heart, even though the task proved to be tedious. If the knife hadn't come to me in such a miraculous way, I probably wouldn't have stuck with it. As I worked, I became aware that I was holding a knife! Oh my God, the instrument of death in those planes on September 11! Is it a weapon of hatred, or a tool for good? It was my choice how this one was used. I chose to use this tool for good. My heart slowly took shape. In a small way, this is the big lesson. Every day I have choices to make. Every day I have numerous tools of creation presented to me. The way of the higher path is a step-by-step walk of conscious choices. I choose or I intend my actions for the greater good of all. That is my part in the great dance.
Starfeather is an artist, teacher, healer, ceremonialist, and visionary helping to reestablish the energy of the sacred feminine on the planet. She is a facilitator of spiritual retreats and of ongoing Sacred Circles and the founder of All One Circle, a nonprofit corporation for peace. Contact her at Starfeather’s Gallery, 201 5th Ave. S., Edmonds, WA 98020 or (425) 776-7595. |
I walked
the beach, glad to be away from it all. The ten days following
September 11 had been filled with intense emotion and many hours
of prayers, in circle and alone. I considered canceling my retreat
at La Push on the Olympic Peninsula, but the women who had signed
up held strong in their desire to go. We all knew that it is
healing to be on the beach, and we were hungry for it. There
is something about the crashing of the surf and the rolling of
the stones, in and out, that rock one in a field of sacred nurturing.
The pull of the tides, the setting of the sun and moon, the cloud
formations, the star canopy, the sparkling water, the awakening
of a new day, the calling of the birds, the spirit of the land,
and the Ancestors: all of these contribute to the calming, heart-opening
experience of this ocean shore.
I walked
the beach again after my work was done — and found several
heart rocks! My shield had seemed to create itself. In the center
is a winged Earth, ascending toward my heart rock. Surrounding
it, a circle of roses represents the gift of love from the angelic
realm, and feathers below honor those who died. Small rose quartz
hearts symbolize the love that grew once the judgements were
gone. The knife, a respected teacher, is sheathed and tied with
a vulture feather and beads. Rising toward the east is a bouquet
of blue feathers, symbolizing the beauty that shall emerge. It
is the awakening of a new day.