The last day of the BDANC Michaelmas Gathering was on the New Moon heralding Rosh Hashanah – The Jewish New Year, (רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, literally “head of the year“) the first of the High Holy Days or Yamim Noraim (Days of Awe). Rosh Hashanah invites us to celebrate new beginnings – birth & creation on many levels. The liturgy suggests that Rosh Hashanah commemorates the creation of the Earth.
Family-oriented services often include a birthday cake for the world. Customs include sounding the shofar (a hollowed-out ram’s horn) & eating symbolic foods such as apples dipped in honey to emphasize the sweetness of starting the cycle of seasons once again, & round challah to remind us of the eternal wholeness in the cycles of life.
From one angle in working the mystical side of Cabbalism,we can see this as a commemoration of the creation of Adam & Eve, & their first actions toward the realization of humanity’s role in the world. It combines seriousness with celebration & begins the 10 days of repentance that culminate in Today’s High Holy Day of Yom Kippur. This Autumnal New Year focuses our attention on themes of judgment, repentance, right memory & the Presence of the Divine (The Shekinah) in the world.
Gloria had a ram’s horn which CG could have sounded for us, but with the day so full we never brought that piece in. Instead we headed over to the Community Building for some delightful Eurythmy with Cynthia Hoven. We clapped out our names finding the similar or diverse rhythms to our fellows. We played with a children’s story, then wove a beautiful eurythmy form to a wonderful poem. Such joy.
After another hardy breakfast we gathered in a circle under the warming Sun for the ‘Anthroposophical Salon’, where we further explored the theme of ‘Bridging Heaven & Earth’ which I had brought as the keynote on Saturday. This time digging deeper & getting more personal & biographical. I began by teaching the song: ‘When you were born you cried, & the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries & you rejoice.’
I brought in this Steiner quote from The Dead Are With Us: “In the spiritual sense, those from the ‘past’, have not really passed away, but are still there. In physical life human beings have this conception in regard to Space only. If you stand in front of a tree, then go away and look back at it later on, the tree has not disappeared; it is still there. In the spiritual world this is so in regard to Time. If you experience something at one moment, it has passed away the next so far as physical consciousness is concerned; spiritually conceived, it has not passed away. You can look back at it just as you looked back at the tree.
Richard Wagner showed that he had knowledge of this, in the remarkable words: “Time here becomes Space”. It is an occult fact that in the spiritual world there are distances which do not come to expression on the physical plane. That an event is past means simply that it is farther away from us. I want you to bear this in mind.” ~Rudolf Steiner – GA 182 – Nuremburg, February 10, 1918
We then talked about how to connect with the ‘so-called dead’ since we know they have not really ‘passed away’ but are still with us – The best times being before sleep & after waking.
Our conversation wove a powerful chalice allowing folks to take turns pouring their heartfelt stories of the Farmer, & the Human Being: Stephen Decater, into the sacred space. Cathartic tears & laughter flowed & sparked, opening us to the spiritual world, pouring blessings into the group & onto the land.
When we ended with the song, it came forth with a sense that the past was honored & healing -the present acknowledged & open, & the future ready to manifest in freedom & grace. And so it is, & ever shall be…
It was the perfect ending to this gathering of the most amazing hard working human beings, in service to the Higher Will, enlivening & ultimately redeeming Mother Earth, so that our Earth may become a Star…
And as I mentioned in Part 2, before we left Gloria took us to a magical place divined by Earth Healer Marko Pogacnik’s daughter Anna, where the ‘future potential’ radiated out into Round Valley. As we drove up I could sense a powerful essence; that side of the mountain seemed to be especially lit from within. Yes, there is always hope for healing – for this the future calls.
Friends these kinds of vortexes are all around us, even in the city, waiting for us to tune into their forces, enhancing them with our heart-thinking.
Stay tuned for the final chapter of our ‘Festival of Life Tour’
~hag
TODAY on this High Holy Day of Yom Kippur 2022, there is a powerful opportunity to take up the tradition of granting & seeking forgiveness, making amends, atoning for our sins – those times we missed the mark.
So dear ones I publicly ask for forgiveness – of myself – & from you. And to all that I have wronged, knowingly or unknowingly – I humbly apologize for any harm I have caused you, consciously or unconsciously.
“I am sorry, Please forgive me, Thank you, I love you…”
May there be healing for all.
I pray that our fasting will bring true & lasting purification, opening us to a hallowed Space & Time full of deep reflection & blessed illumination, bringing a good sealing in the book of life for a sweet New Year, where we can truly live “Christ in me” – & see the Christ in each other.
~hag
Yes, dear friends I am back making podcasts on ‘I Think Speech‘ check out the new episodes:
Michael & All the Heavenly Hosts
& the healing story of change & transfomation: of ‘The Farmer’s Hat‘ from part 3.
Thank you for these sharings. I know so many of these folks well having worked side by side with them. Blessings on your journey. Anxious to see where you go next.
Greetings Daena – Thanks for being part of the team of Earth Stewards!
Come visit us in the Windy City sometime!
xox