THAT is a Mexican proverb. And it’s gold.
An organic farmer told me at the weekend that when he hears people speak of soil being made up of elemental and chemical compounds – X% nitrogen, plus X% carbon, plus X% sulphur – it’s SO far off the mark.
Because soil is alive.
It’s literally, predominantly made up of living organisms.
Shamanically, the soil – the good earth beneath our feet – IS the collective dreaming
The unconscious.
The lower world
The underworld.
The so below…
The *everything* we cannot see about ourselves, and our world.
Shamanic definitions are fluid and shift across space and time… it’s why I think a lot of people who practice are reluctant to put their thoughts, experiences, and knowings into print or onto paper. As quickly as I say “it’s this way” someone else may say, “well no, that’s not how I see it/ dream it/ live it…”
By its very nature, shamanism is non-dogmatic
Maybe that’s why a lot of it moved underground. These fluid, non-specific ways of describing the world and working with her energy and life force gave everyone a little of their own power. And when religion moved into the ancient lands here, most shamanic practices were pushed out.
Suppressed.
Repressed.
Demonized.
Because beliefs give people power...
Change people’s beliefs, and you take their power.
Yet by moving ‘underground’ over many centuries, shamanic practice moved into the place where, ironically, its power was kept safe.
Down into the so below.
The Underworld.
The unconscious…
And now as we excavate our shadows, bringing all of this silenced energy up into the daylight, the ancient wisdom comes up too.
Thank you for keeping it safe for so long, good Earth.
