Interrelated Structure of Reality

By Rev. Amari Magdalena

With so much belief in separation of our realities on the planet, it seems appropriate to address our common link.  This is a talk I very often share with students and attendees at ceremonies and other events.  It is true, that we came to this plane to experience separation.  The reasoning proffered by some masters suggests the purpose of this is for soul’s growth.  Some believe, as do I, that it is expanded to include our soul group’s growth. The greater purpose is perhaps to appreciate Oneness.

I believe that the plan was that at some point, having experienced the dichotomies of separation and learned from them, we would wake up and master this human experience by walking deftly in both worlds. This has been called The Great Forgetting and, subsequently, The Great Remembering.

So much of the media reminds us of the forgetting.  That news can at times be daunting. Some choose to tune it out for their sanity.  Others mourn such a separated, and sorry, state of being. Others choose early checkout. Many throw up their hands in despair. Some say, “what the hell” and participate wholly in the separation.  The judgment as to the choice, is not ours to rule on.

What is at stake here in all of this, is losing a planet and the human experience.  It matters not which origin story you subscribe to, humans got here amidst a plethora of other species.  We are part of one kingdom.  Others include the Mineral Kingdom, Plant Kingdom, and the Animal Kingdoms. Divine plan was not for the Human Kingdom to be superior to the others, rather a peaceful coexistence. As the Great Forgetting took stronger hold, concepts of separation elevated the human kingdom above the others.  Man was deemed superior to all life forms.  That believe was concretized in many religious dogmata.  Also, it fed the ego: We’re Number One.”

Today many of us are acutely aware that an egoic posture over nature and the other kingdoms is dooming the air we breathe and contributing to an accelerated climate change moving towards crisis. We are seeing loss of species, severe weather patterns, changing geography, and a human doomsday clock ticking. The game of denial at the top of our own government is placing us at greater and greater risk.

The question becomes, are we the last generations to experience this good earth?  Will we hand off a decimated planet that is uninhabitable.  Do we close our eyes tightly against starving and dying polar bears? Against caged children? Famine? Violence? Is our theme song, “la de dah?”

Science is proving daily that all kingdoms on earth are sentient beings. We respond to one another energetically and it’s either thrive or descend into oblivion. Water experiments demonstrate capacity for memory. Even what we may deem as inanimate objects respond to energies. 

It is my firm belief that animate and inanimate objects on this earth are ALL made of the same essence; our difference is form.  If we were to take that a step further, and accept that we all came from the same source, then how is it possible that one object is more important than another? 

 Separation is the grand illusion. We are indeed all interrelated structures participating in a reality we call life.

I wrote years ago: “For all we touch bears us; and all that touches us we bear.  And, we are either full harvests or famines of our own delusion.”  Beyond the Great Remembering, we are now called to The Great Awakening. Let us move forward each day with absolute cognizance of our interconnectedness, thoughtfully, purposefully, and respectfully. Let every day be lived with grace and gratitude.  Walk carefully. All the ancestors, of each kingdom, are beneath us.

“In the final analysis, our most common link, is that we all inhabit this small planet.  We all breathe the same air.  We all cherish our children’s future and we are all mortal.” JFK

"...the care of the earth is our most ancient and most worthy and, after all, our most pleasing responsibility.  To cherish what remains of it, and to foster its renewal, is our only legitimate hope."  Wendell Berry

"The rule of no realm is mine, neither of Gondor nor any other great or small.  But all worthy things that are in peril as the world now stands, those are my care.  And for my part, I shall not wholly fail of my task, though Gondor should perish, if anything passes through this night that can still grow fair or bear fruit and flower again in days to come.  For I also am a steward.  Did you now know?"  J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

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Rituals and Ceremonies: Why They are So Very Important

By Rev. Amari Magdalena

It’s at that point in the wedding ceremony when I begin, “and now as these two lovely people have exchanged vows and rings of promise, by the authority granted me by the State of Washington, I now pronounce you…….” that I begin to choke up or tear up. There is something so very sacred about being involved in such a moment of joy in people’s lives.  It cements, for me, the importance of rituals and ceremonies for bonding communities together.

Each new moon, each full moon, each equinox or solstice, whether I’m alone or with a group, I acknowledge the passages of time and their meaning.  In groups, large and small, I am often witness to the power of ceremony to bring together a group of people in deep unity.  Total strangers are hugging one another and feeling a deep peace and connection with other humans.  A shift takes place that I experience more powerfully than in any other time and place.

For me it is a great shame that as organized religions moved away from heart-based traditions to more head space/mental experiences, most chose to eschew much of the tribal ceremonies and rituals of eons, labeling them Pagan!  So much was lost and what was kept seems only approximations of what was and could still be.

Perhaps what transpires is a sense of the importance of other kingdoms that we share this small planet with: Animal, Mineral, Plant, and Human.  The awareness of the elements: Air, Earth, Fire and Water add another dimension of togetherness vs. aloneness. In circle, as we touch hands, our own vulnerability and need for affirmation is recognized.  Since the many years ago when I had an entire Unity congregation stand and hold hands while we listened to Carlos and Johnny sing “Holding Hands,” I’ve seen transformation in minutes.

Why then would we choose to participate in ceremony or ritual?  Community is a big component: we find common ground and purpose as we celebrate.  Our dividing differences can, for a time, melt away in the feelings of connection.  The greater reason is perhaps the overriding feeling of Oneness: we lose our separateness as we hold hands in ceremony and we enter the precious moment of Now. 

The memorial service of John McCain was a huge example of community coming together in a ceremony to honor and bridge differences.  My own sister Leanne’s memorial, in a packed large church in Thornbury Bristol England, was a testament to her influence in the city and love of those whose lives she touched.

Another purpose of ritual or ceremony is to quiet the chaos, still the noises-outer and inner and to surrender to something greater than our small individual universes and to, in the suspended sense of time, enter into magic!  And what I know to be true is: “Evolution will, not in my opinion, wait for us to find time to participate.  It will roll on.  In the direction that the planet is currently headed, that may breed disaster for humanity.  Thus, I feel it is so imperative for us to make that time and space to gather together with intention of facilitating our individual and planetary upliftment.” ¹

Wherever you are, I implore you to create Peace Circles as we did in the 1990’s.  Gather with your friends and neighbors in a circle. Focus on the world you wish to live in.  Hold an earth ball or an imaginary one, turn it around feeling the oceans and land masses.  Acknowledge all the diversity of each of Earth’s kingdoms. Chant, “Peace” and “Planetary Harmony.”  Close, holding hands, and sing for one more time, Imagine along with John. You will feel better and that energy will encircle the planet, much as our jet streams do, yet with a loving energy.

 “When humans participate in ceremony, they enter a sacred space.

Everything outside of that space shrivels in importance.

Time takes on a different dimension.

Emotions flow more freely.

The bodies of the participants become filled with the energy of life,

and this energy reaches out and blesses the creation around them.

All is made new; everything becomes sacred.” Sun Bear

^1. Blue Moons and Golden Suns: Meditations & Celebrations for Aligning with Natural Rhythms.