Today in the Red River Valley it rained a cold, steady rain all day long. Unfortunately, my day planned for an unusually long day of driving around in the rain for various reasons. I would have much rather curled up with a book and a fire and a cup of cocoa!

But, of course, all is as it is supposed to be! As I was out in it all day long, I was reminded by Spirit of the power of intent message given to me as it relates to weather some time ago.

We are always in reaction to the weather.

If it’s a sunny day… many people’s mood shifts to happier or at least more pleasant the moment one steps out into a glorious blue sky with sunshine!

If it’s a cloudy, cold, wet, windy day…many people’s mood shifts to Eeyore’s sad world. Perhaps complaining more, fretting more, becoming frustrated or even angry if plans or a flight must be changed which in turn causes an even more amplified reaction…which may entail keeping an eye on the sky and the forecast with the intensity of a spanish bull eyeing a red cape.

Depending on the ferocity of the weather it can even obviously produce a great deal of fear or anxiety. Here in the Red River Valley basin, we collectively saved the city just last year when our Red River that interwines through the North Dakota city of Fargo and connects with our Minnesota neighbors on the other side of the river in Moorhead. With the spring melt the river rose to a record crest of 40.84. Flood stage is 18 feet!

Residents made and hand in hand piled on at least 12 miles of snow-packed sand bag levees, national guards men manned the levees, U.S. Coast Guard helicopters rescued homeowners on their rooftops, Army helicopters dropped “sand bombs” on top of breeches and we all held our breath as the water lapped near the top of the levees. It was surreal for what seemed like months but really was a period of days as the city was ultimately saved… largely by it’s own citizens filling a mind boggling 3 million sandbags.

Ask any resident and they will tell you that we saved the city with sheer will and INTENT not to let the river get the best of us. Through snow, sleet, rain and exhaustion. Many homes were lost and thousands suffered severe emotional trauma and exhaustion.

The area has received 44.9 inches of snow this winter, slightly MORE than what we received last year. The city is currently prepping one million sandbags in preparation for flooding and putting in clay dikes once again.

My home is not in the flood plain but my basement was flooded when in the middle of the night our sump pump died unable to keep up with the swiftly melting snow mountains in our yard. In a year that was our slowest economically to date. We keep a vigilant eye on the pump, hose and yard this Spring but we have long since wiped out fear or it’s many cousins (anxiety, anger, frustration etc…) from our vibrational field. Yet, I have many friends who have that tired, distant look in their eyes that are in the flood plain, eyeing the river once again. It isn’t hard to hear the flood “buzz” or palpable fear this time around at just about every store I visited today.

But, if you believe in the power of intent as I do…I say: Watch what you think/feel!

Our thoughts, feelings, emotions manifest and co-create everything we see all day every day why not the weather?

Think about THAT!

Reflections on Relationships

by Jill Westerholm

Here at this little blog I have enjoyed writing in my free time over the past few years about where we live, what we are doing, as individuals and as a collective, the food we eat, the miracles that have been uncovered and are about to be discovered. The good and bad of the unfoldment in this Great Emergence. It is a literal day to day account of the “We are the Ones we are waiting for” Hopi Prophecy for the coming world.

And in my annual winter retreat and hibernation, when I read more, become unplugged from both electronics and those I interact often with, I have so far been mostly reflecting upon the prophecies question…“What are your relationships?” It is this that I ponder now as I sift through the place where I now sit. I bask in the sunlight of gratitude of the most magnificent relationships I have co-created, vibrated to, and come home to.

Yes, let’s start there! Oh what I come home to! My home structure is a humble one. It shows evidence of our struggles over two decades. There are screens that need replacing, remants of carpeting where carpet was intended to be laid, walls half painted, appliances missing that need to be replaced. But, we have a sense of humor about it all now. Perhaps God wants us to lower our carbon footprint! It’s easy to have a sense of humor with the amount of Love that is inside it’s walls. In my home, I have come home to the one I love for 20 years now. We married young in our early 20’s but we had more than half a decade to explore, adventure, discover together before we brought children in to this world. Of all my relations, this is the one I most treasure and treat delicately still after all these years. Because without him, I’m just a wood pile without a match. What amount of warmth would a wood pile put out compared to that of a robust fire on a wintery, snowy morn? That is the difference he has made in my life. Certainly, it has never been easy and has often been downright tragic. We’ve endured so many countless “landmines” and yet there he is, still lieing at my bedside. I’m so grateful that he has always supported me in all my changes, twists and turns on this earth. No matter what I decide to venture into, he is there cheering me on and believing in me. How lucky am I? It still moves me when he gives me reiki healing for a headache, or is tender with our now teenage daughter. And it still makes my heart aflutter when he runs up to give me a kiss goodbye before heading out the door. Or even when he calls in a free moment at work. Here we are still figuring it out together. There’s something to be said out about sheer courage and stick-to-it-ness of Love that brings forth a deeper spring of the purest water flowing through of acceptance, unconditional love, and real true blue forevermore sacred relationship with your soul mate and best friend. No matter what I’ll be right here next to you. Is as if we sit atop the mountain knowing this now to the deepest parts of our marrow. And that knowing brings forth a peace exilir that gives life a much easier flow to each and everything we encounter on the road ahead. Which leads me to looking upon the faces of our children with amazement. They are a road map of how far we’ve come both in their size and in their nature! I could stare at them for hours. Sometimes,I find I will gaze upon them and they will catch me and say “What?!” and there’s no way for me to put into words all that I am feeling as I relish in their beauty and the idea that our love brought them here to this world. At times, I perhaps wasn’t as delicate as a paper doll with them as I was in the beginning sorting our way through parenthood in our own way as best we could. But I return there now, and bask in their peaceful, joyful manner. As I try to listen more closely to each and every conversation of ponder, of amazement, of struggle, of emotional growth, of frustration, of criticism as they push through the contrast of Life to become the most beautiful people! And I’m still moved by their friendship with each other. Whether we hear them laughing hard in a downstairs bedroom or working out a new, silly duet on the piano that closeness is still thankfully evident. At nearly 14 and 12 it is as if I’m seeing them for the first time as they change before my eyes minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day… here they are. Growing to nearly our size. Loving us still. Laughing along side of us. Becoming their own selves. Healthy, talented if not gifted, silly despite it ALL…how much more grateful could my heart be?

From here we go to family, a loving mother who gives so freely and lovingly of her resources and time it touches me deeply to always ask God and all my team of resources to please bring it back equally times ten to her all for that she gives to us and others! Always asking, what can I help you with? How beautiful is that? Nothing brings her more joy than helping, being here for, and loving her children.
And when in the most frustrating moments, finding the laughter! I so get that from her. I’ve been missing the Daddy who left just a few months ago now, in moments it hits me so strong it’s hard to breathe. Wishing I’d have spent more time with him while he was here but life as a working mother and wife consumed me in his final years. But,I strive for no more crying, just gratitude for the love. For the laughter. For the adventures. For the look in his eye when I’d wrap my pinky finger in his even in adulthood. For the stories. Oh, did he live and have stories! In death we can always find a deeper appreciation for life and this reflection upon my relations really began with his departure. Sister and brothers who are near and who may be so very different from me, yet they are appreciated and loved as part of the quilt of our family… each a unique thread and their families a patch of a very special familial quilt.

And finally, as I ponder my Relations, I’m most surprised at the turns and transformations my friendships have taken. As a child, friendships were very important to me. If you asked my mother to distinguish me from my siblings it would be this friendship factor. I apparently had a great number of friends and they were important part of my life. At a young age, an undeterminable number of pals helped me to escape, to giggle, and a I guess just to feel free. At mid life, it has come full circle as my friends today do this for me and more! I examined these relations harder as the Hopi ask early on on this spiritual path and in some ways I guess I let go of my stronghold of my priorities of friendships once I was married and then had children. Friendships fell in at a distant third and even fourth after my career. And it showed. Then when I really needed a friend to lean on when hard times knocked at my door. They weren’t there. It was hard to reflect on such pain as calling a friend that in my heart I felt would always be there, only to discover Life took us both to new and distant shores. Then,I simply took my ball and went home. Too many other new friends came by who I didn’t have the energy or time to invest in. Time and time again, it seemed I was too hesitant and too disappointed to want to go outside to play. And when I did, I didn’t really enjoy the company or the actions or discussions of my company enough to want to continue the effort of venturing out. But then as time passed by and I had time to regroup, a rebirth occurred. I found a few old friends and we picked up as if time hadn’t passed. I met new ones that touched me and saw me more deeply than old ones ever would have. I may not see them often, still the busy mother and wife that I’ve been for so long, but despite that they are more precious to me then I ever imagined. These new friendships are so beautiful! I feel that they were brought in on angels wings and at times because of this they feel often so fragile and delicate. Like a tulip whose bloom can be dashed away so swiftly by a strong spring wind. They have busy lives just as I do. But as I ponder my relations, I feel it’s worth trying to stay in touch with them. To make time for conversations with them. To feel their great hugs and hug them back. Hard. I am so grateful now of all my relations including this treasure box of friends now both old and mostly new. She helped me to cry again. She always makes me laugh. She’s just like me. He told me with his spiritual gifts why the bad stuff happened and it finally made sense enough to let me face it and let go. She encouraged, no PUSHED me through to use my spiritual gifts. She tells me like it is when I need to hear it most. Tough Love.
She tells me she loves me already. And I believe her. They love who I am and do not try to change who I am. They encourage me when I try new things. Even though for some we are just getting started, they still feel they can be the ones that when I’m old gray it will feel as if they’ve always been there and just as if I am there for them, for once and evermore they’re always there when I need them, just like I always dreamed of. The Prophecy says among other things….“Know your garden” “Create your community”. “Be good to each other” “This could be a good time!” “See who is in there with you and Celebrate!” Celebrate indeed. Thank you my dear beloved, my family, and my friends old and so very new. I love you deeply and completely. Namaste.

I hope you enjoy this update  from my blog www.greatemergence.net and I invite you to check out my new Dowsing/Energy blog at www.celestialcures.blogspot.com

(Published in Edge Magazine in 2007)

My husband and two children recently took our second day trip up to the Mississippi headwaters and Lake Itasca near Park Rapids, Minnesota.  We decided to splurge and rent a pontoon for a few hours to explore the Lake even further this time. Previously we had ventured out on Kayaks. After driving the boat for just a few minutes we picked out a spot to drop anchor and swim and have a picnic lunch on what couldn’t have possibly been a more gorgeous day.

Almost immediately after we dropped anchor my husband noticed a bald eagle above the tree line. We all saw it right away by where he was pointing. As soon as we noticed and said hello to this majestic creature–it flew closer until it was directly above us circling as if to say “I’m so glad you see me!”

I hadn’t read  the “Eagle” chapter in my Medicine Cards book for a while but I knew it well. Still, I am always amazed at how at different times, different things resonate or jump out that I didn’t really feel before. And so I was eager to read about Eagle medicine again that night when we returned home. Once again we were strengthend and touched by its Truth.
Immediately we recalled the mysterious and magical story of the dancing Eagle feather from our first trip to the Black Hills several years ago. This brilliant white feather was literally twirling  just above our head in absolute mid air as we were entering a park and it stopped us dead in our tracks! It was attatched to nothing like an optical illusion the brain tries to comprehend. We looked at each other to be sure the other was seeing it and that we weren’t imagining it.  Reaching out to touch it we were certain it wouldn’t actually be there. It was and it’s now framed and in a special spot in our bedroom beside the picture of the Bald Eagle that swooped down toward us on our Honeymoon. What a glorious way to begin a lifetime together. Indeed Eagle medicine has always been nearby. An Apache I corresponded with in a Spiritual forum online said this feather that danced before us in the hills of Black Elks’s homeland was a great Honor of the Great Spirit given to us because we walk the True Path with Spirit. He also said the feather actually carries the strength of Spirit in it!   This most recent sighting in what our children aptly named “Eagle Bay” on Lake Itasca reminded me of this at a time when we truly needed it most.

Mother Nature provides all the lessons we are seeking to learn and all the answers to our obstacles along the way. Of course we know now that just stepping outside for Her fresh air is enough to heal your energies. But also I’m hear to tell you as a caucasian that is constantly seeking to know the culture and wisdom of the Native Americans,  when you bring in the Animal kingdom and truly experience this that you have heard or read about you will feel so connected to Spirit that you will only seek to understand it and practice it further!

Here’s the full excerpt on EAGLE from “Medicine Cards” St Martins Press- a book I highly recommend in the energies right now– it’s by Jamie Sams & David Carsonwww.medicinecards.com I know you will find it as moving as we do.

If you have been walking in the shadows of former realities, Eagle brings illumination. Eagle teaches us to look higher and to touch Grandfather Sun with your heart, to love the shadow as well as the Light! See the beauty in both and you will take flight with Eagle. Eagle medicine is the gift we give ourselves to remind us of the freedom of the skies. Eagle askes you to give yourself permission to legalize freedom and to follow the joy your heart desires. (end of excerpt)

I encourage you to educate yourself on the wisdom of the Native Americans using this book or any other that resonates with you in these amazing times we live in!  Once you begin to open up to this beauty all around you you will truly be amazed at how often the Animal Kingdom is able to comfort, teach and delight you!