Elders Gather to Usher in Peace and Unity

by Eleanor Gallagher

The upcoming Spring Equinox offers people worldwide a chance to unite prayers and intentions for a New Civilization, as two visionary bridgemakers and Indigenous Elders gather to bring into reality an ancient prophecy of uniting the Americas, thus spreading unity and peace to the whole world. In Peru on the March Equinox of 2007, peacemakers will gather on the shores of Lake Titicaca, uniting the hearts of humans with the heart of Pachamama, our Mother Earth, through the divine Feminine which is the Lake. Incan prophecy
states that when the Condor (South America) flies again with the Eagle (Central and North America), peace will reign on Earth. The intention of the visionaries organizing this event is to bring Elders and Wisdom Keepers from all tribes of the Americas together, to create a unified intention for peace and understanding, to share song, dance and ceremony, to put aside past suffering and separation, to say to the Mother, “Thank you. We are here as One. We are listening.”

The Gathering is the vision of Jorge Luis Delgado, a Spiritual tour guide and Chacaruna or Bridge Person, with deep roots in Andean culture and Incan spirituality. He has chosen Adam Yellowbird, founder of ICA, Earthdance and Earthworks for Humanity, as his North American coordinator. The two have worked for months to invite and secure funding for the Elders who will gather on the shores of the Lake for nearly a week of Council, ceremony and cultural exchange.

While there are only accommodations for 200-300 people to be physically present at Lake Titicaca, the call is put forth to all those who dream of a New Civilization to hold synchronous gatherings and ceremonies around the world, linking intentions for peace and gratitude for Mother Earth through her sacred sites, waterways and within our hearts. According to Yellowbird, this Equinox holds a unique opportunity for humanity to listen to Mother Earth, heal emotions and the sacred Feminine through the element of water, bring all the elements back into balance, re-member our connection to the natural world, and break through barriers with cultural exchange.

“We can all be sparks on the front line, giving the New Civilization a foundation. We can become illuminated beings,” explains Yellowbird. The Gathering provides us with an “opportunity to come back together, to really go inward where we’re at and catapult ourselves into the next place.”

The process begins with purification, says Yellowbird: vision questing, fasting, sweat lodges, taking care of the Earth, changing our diet, respecting our fellow relations by purifying disagreements and arguments through communication. All this allows us to be more open to hearing the Earth, and less caught up in the mind’s games of separation.

“We have a chance to re-member ourselves, bring our pieces back together,” he says. “Old ways and experiences may block the new information. We must vision goals and dreams of reuniting and not get sucked into old paradigms. We have to decide where we want to look. We must reprogram our minds. Our nature is to look at the negative. We must look into our hearts and share the dream of making a difference.”

Those gathering at Lake Titicaca will arrive with no agendas or preconceived ideas of what the ceremony should entail, says Yellowbird. “Our job is to purify ourselves to be hollow reeds for this important information that Lake has stored for humanity.”

The natural world is just waiting for us to ask for healing, to give gratitude, to join back with her, our root, says Yellowbird. By going to the Source within, we can access universal energy and let initiations happen inside as we re-member ourselves.

Delgado offers an Andean ritual. “The new dawn, the first light, produces a very important effect,” he says, “which is to awaken and become conscious and present with our own authentic being. This takes us automatically to understand that we are all rays of the same Sun with our own gifts. And if we expand that consciousness which lives in each one of us, we can transform any situation in our lives.”

The Spring Equinox energy coupled with the Lake (considered by many to be the Feminine Center of the planet) provide ideal circumstances for humans to heal and birth a new way.

“What better place to catapult ourselves to the next place than the Mother?” says Yellowbird. All sacred sites are connected through the Earth’s waterways, so ceremonies especially at rivers, creeks, lakes and springs around the world will anchor the energy of the Gathering and the Equinox over all the Earth. Water represents our emotions, and has a unique ability to heal past wounds, especially those rooted in the last 500 years of history in the Americas. Again, Yellowbird emphasizes that water holds new vibrations and important information from Mother Earth about how to make our transition into the prophesied 500 years of peace. All we have to do is listen for it.

For example, says Yellowbird, people in the Sedona, Arizona area are concerned about development around Oak Creek. “We should go to the Creek and listen,” he says. “What does the Creek want? That’s where our answers are.”

Yellowbird urges people to go to sacred sites near where they live, to listen for a call from a particular site, to visit the sacred places of our ancestors, many of whom lived in peace and harmony with Earth. He suggests beginning with gratitude, making offerings back to the Earth to help lift the heavy energy of greed and lack that prevails in many places and many hearts.

“Give what you can. Nurture the Earth in a gentle way. We must be fruitful and abundant to manifest it for ourselves,” he explains. People can perform simple rituals of remembering the Solstices and Equinoxes, Earth’s natural cycles. Yellowbird says that a ritual can be as simple as lighting a candle on the Equinox to hosting a 2- or 3-day event including meditation, council circles, Earth Acupuncture and especially songs and dance.

One of the most important elements of the Gathering in Peru will be cultural exchange among the various tribes. Karpay Ayni is the sharing of the unique treasures of each community, “the gift that makes us happy,” Delgado explains. Through songs and dance, diverse peoples can communicate through their hearts, bypassing the mental barriers that have created separation and suffering.

“Celebrations are a really good way to bring about healing and unity,” says Yellowbird. “We can just relate to each other and feel our similarities through stories and songs.” He says it’s advised for people who are holding gatherings to invite people from different cultures to share music and dance.

Regardless of whether we choose to connect with others at this Equinox, all are urged to pray and hold intentions for peace and unity.

“We must keep in our vision the praying and especially the happiness in thinking that this (the fulfillment of the prophecy) is happening right now, and this Gathering is a real manifestation in this reality,” says Delgado.

For more information about the Elders Gathering in Peru visit www.earthworksforhumanity.org or email info@earthworksforhumanity.org.

[Eleanor Gallagher writes out of her home in Arizona).