EARTH & US — Spring Equinox, the Bear Awakens

Bear medicine

About a month ago, I had a dream: I’m frantically packing a suitcase, not bringing any winter clothes, aware that I have no time left: a van is ready to leave taking people to sing in a community chorus concert, and I am missing the van and might not get to the harmony-making that I love. Just then I notice a huge black bear stretched out on the living room floor, sleeping peacefully.

Upon reflection, I saw three parts of me represented: the anxious part, trying to get things done (packing in preparation for return to Barichara); the part that loves harmony (and all it represents about human relationships) above all else; and the part in deep hibernation, at rest, completely focused within.

This winter, indeed, I have slowed down and “hibernated” more than ever before, not only because of my fractured kneecap, but also due to Covid. I was content to stay in the house for many weeks without venturing out, and then once I could drive, limited my sorties to medical appointments and grocery shopping. Never, since childhood, have I had so much free time for napping, reading, writing, dreaming, listening to music, even drawing.

So I did a little research on the meaning of Bear in Native and shamanic traditions.

Bears symbolize introspection and intuition. In both European and Native American Shamanic traditions, Bear symbolizes awakening the strong force of the unconscious. The strength of Bear medicine is the power to restore harmony and balance — to heal. The Bear Spirit is known to many cultures as the Great Healer. Bears are considered the embodiment of spiritual power and physical strength. In hibernation, Bears are seen as entering the Spirit World for spiritual re-alignment and emerging in Spring as changed and balanced beings. They awaken having become greater in spirit and lesser in body. Rejuvenated by their physical and spiritual rebirth, they emerge from their dens in the womb of our Mother, the Earth, refreshed and invigorated from a long and restful winter. (paraphrased from ShamansWay.net.)

The strength of Bear medicine is the power of introspection. In hibernation, Bear digests the year’s experience by entering the silence, the quiet mind, the Great Void, where intuition and dreams convey wisdom. (paraphrased from the Medicine Cards by Jamie Sams.)

With these messages, I felt a great appreciation for Bear. I saw how, despite the pain and disability of a broken kneecap, there were many gifts: time to slow down, reflect, digest my experiences in Barichara, and receive the kind generosity of friends bearing gifts of food, medical equipment and emotional support. It is now over three months since my surgery, and I’m walking with greater strength and endurance each day.

Equinox

Spring, my favorite season, is arriving. With daffodils in full bloom, trees blossoming pink and white, and warm sunny days getting longer, I am — like Bear — rousing myself from my winter torpor and feeling renewed! In my “sit spot” in the front yard, sometimes lying stretched out and listening to the birds, I‘m hearing messages. “Cheer, cheer, cheer, cheer.” “Shift, shift, shift, quick!”

As the sun enters Aries, the theme is initiation, the spark of energy that instigates new life and growth, in alignment with goals and heart’s desires. This Equinox is a fertile time for envisioning and creating a bright future for our dreams and soul longings, as Mercury (mind, communication) meets Jupiter (fortune, opportunity, expansion) in the spiritual sign of Pisces. May you find the wind beneath your wings in this season!

Return to Barichara

On April 28, kneecap nearly healed, I’ll be flying back to Colombia at last. The next large parcel of degraded land, known as “Las Albercas” (Pools of Water), is now being negotiated, financed partly through cryptocurrency, despite the owner’s previous reluctance to sell! This is land which Joe Brewer and others hope to restore and replant, to bring back a river that once ran through it. I can’t wait to see Joe, Elise, Margarita, Rafa, Shona, Paul, and other friends. Thanks to all who donated, I’m looking forward to presenting Paul and the farming cooperative with a check for a biogas digester! And continuing to work with water…

Stopping the drought-fire-flood cycle

Alpha Lo, a member of the Earth Regenerators international community, has done insightful research on the “small water cycle.” In a recent webinar he showed how the devastating drought-fire-flood cycle, caused by deforestation, farming and grazing, urbanization and paving, can be reversed. This cycle has wrought destruction in Australia, Brazil, California, British Columbia, and many other areas. Wildfires can result in a water-repellent soil that’s hard to hydrate. The solution: prevent drought by creating methods for keeping the rainwater in the landscape instead of draining it off, where it flows into rivers, carrying precious water and topsoil away to the sea. Good soil, rich in organic matter, is like a sponge. For each 1% increase in organic matter (soil carbon), 168,000 more liters of water per hectare of land can be held in the soil. Farmers gain fertility as well as moisture, by adding organic matter to soil. As it evaporates, water cools the air.

Arizona was once home to the Santa Cruz River. But dams were built, groundwater pumped out, and the river no longer flows. According to water-harvesting permaculturist Brad Lancaster, Tucson has enough rainfall to meet everyone’s needs, if water is harvested mindfully. For example: large rainwater cisterns, curb cuts to allow water to flow into the landscape, swales on contour, and creating depressions where trees are planted, to catch rainwater. According to Brock Dolman, co-director of the WATER Institute, our current rainwater management practices are “Pave, pipe, and pollute;” better to “Slow it, spread it, and sink it.”

Wuhan, China is known as a “Sponge City.” In 288 pilot projects, 60–85% of Wuhan’s rainwater is harvested, using permeable pavements, rain gardens, green roofs, swales, and rainwater storage modules, coupled with tree planting and protection of rivers, lakes and wetlands.

California’s central valley suffers from drought, but was once primarily wetlands with a large lake from the snowmelt of surrounding mountains. In California, 40% of freshwater is used for irrigation, 10% for urban needs. For years, much of the water from Owens Valley has been exported to Los Angeles, leaving the valley dry. Wetlands were drained to make larger farms, and irrigation systems continue to carry away water. This is 2–3% efficient. A wetland farming system is 100% efficient and highly productive. Wetlands naturally hold sediment and build fertile soil; they provide an excellent buffer for fires. Even a small change in agricultural water use will impact the whole system.

Restoring rivers, forests, and wetlands means more groundwater can be stored. Typical industrial “dry farming” requires underground drainage systems which carry away water; this system needs to be replaced by regenerative agriculture. Wetlands and aquifers store water, slow fires and floods. Slowing the flow of rivers, as beaver dams do, helps recharge aquifers and promotes growth of the ecosystem. Floodplains work better than levees and dams.

“Watershed Wisdom Council” — Imagine neighbors working together, engaging with farmers and businesspeople to manage rainfall in order to maximize its absorption into the landscape. “We must learn to see water as source, not resource,” Dolman says — water is sacred, our bodies are made from water.