Suicide Is The Biggest Killer Of Men Under 45 In The UK. Once upon a time we all lived as members of the same tribe immersed within nature. If we trace our soul or ancestral families back far enough this is where they ultimately end up, as part of one clan, of the same origin.
Within that tribe we would have done everything for one another for free. We would have erected our shelter together, hunted and gathered for our food as one, cooked the meals within community and looked after one another's children. We would have met in circle and been able to speak our truth authentically and been listened to with an open heart. We would have had a close affinity with all that lay around us, a connection with all flora and fauna alike. We would have gone through our respective rites of passage together, all known our purpose and what our individual medicine power was that we brought to the community at large. As men and women we would have known what was expected of us within society. We would have been led by a council of elders, grandmothers, all acting in the best interests of the planet, making no decision that would harm any child of the next seven generations to come of any species. With the social breakdown that we are now faced with and the amount of suicides that now exist within our community it smacks to me as if we are living in a world gone wrong, of a society that has strayed way off course as to where it is meant to be, we are in effect 'the lost tribe'. Whether it is men under the age of 45, sport stars that are away from the football pitch or boxing ring or celebrities struggling to deal with the spotlight and its various angles, all are living with anxiety and depression and many are choosing to end their lives prematurely, unsure of the reason why they are here or who they have become. We have lost our connection to our roots, we have strayed far from that which would bring us home to ourselves, we have distanced ourselves from our Earth Mother and are unaware of our own true nature. That is why I am choosing to adopt the practices I am now with my fellow shamanic practitioners attempting to bring the old ways back, to arrange to meet people in circle, in nature, or even around a table, just to be able to help people reconnect with something beyond themselves, to relieve some of their mental angst. To form a connection and offer healing, coaching and guidance back to some degree of sanity. Speaking from personal experience when I too have got lost upon the path, and experienced my own anxiety and depression which I have done on many occasions, it is only nature that has managed to bring me back to where I have needed to be, my own centre. The nature based practices that I have adopted and managed to amalgamate into my own life have an incredible ability to heal, to start to bring wholeness back to ourselves. To reconnect to something greater than ourselves and then to reboot us. A wounded, fragmented soul has no chance of a happy life, it has been adapted, urbanised, made to fit into a culture that is unnatural for it, to conform to an assumed better quality of life in the city, but at some stage in our journey that facade cracks and falls apart because of our lack of connection to the wild around us or even the wild within us. It is only nature that can help to restore any balance. So it is proving through scientific research also. A recent study carried out by the Universities of Plymouth, Exeter and Derby along with Natural England too has found that 'physically and psychologically reconnecting with nature can be beneficial for human health and well-being, and at the same time encourages individuals to act in ways which protect the health of the planet.' More details of the study can be found out here. It is what native people have known all along. It is our task now to step out into nature and begin to come home to ourselves by using various shamanic practices. Answer The Call To Adventure now to find out how you can best begin to reconnect to nature yourself through the services that I can offer you through Allies Of Nature. If you care to comment on this blog with regards to any issues or feelings it brings up for you please feel free to do so below.
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A Powerful Circle Of Animal Allies. In shamanism it is believed that if we journey through life without the assistance of a power animal or spirit guide we will continually feel lost, be unsure of ourselves, our purpose and the unique gifts that we have to offer the world. We will most likely remain incomplete, fractured and wounded for many years.
Just like in Phillip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' and James Cameron's 'Avatar' where the lead characters all have power animals that assist them in their daily tasks and life passage, we too have such companions, in spirit form, available to us once we learn how to tap into their connection and qualities. If you are unsure of whether you have a power animal or not assisting you, they will most likely make themselves known to you through your passions and dreams. Alternatively in modern day living they can be seen in logos and advertising. If for instance there is an animal that you have been particularly drawn to in your life and have pictures of them plastered all over your walls then this could quite possibly be an indication of your power animal. Otherwise there may be an animal that regularly appears in wildlife programs or when you are out and about walking the land. It seemingly magically appears just when you are turning on the TV or passing its den. This animal is most likely trying to gain your attention for a particular reason and it too could hint at being an animal spirit guide for yourself. If we wish to seek clarification as to whether this animal is our power animal or not we can always take part in a shamanic drum journey, where to the beat of the drum we can voyage through our third eye into the world beneath the surface of the Earth. Here we can see what animal spirits want to greet us within the darkness as we take a subconscious passage into the dream state. Once we start to understand the unique essence of our power animal we can begin to appreciate our skills and attributes that are mirrored through it. Also, as we start to establish a resonance with this work and build a relationship with our initial companion other animals too can start to appear with particular tasks for our existence. Eventually we will be able to build a whole circle of allies to assist us in our quest for wholeness. Where these animals sit within our circle can determine the special message that they wish to bring to us and why they are here to help us at this time. Once we understand about the circle and the medicine wheel itself all begins to become clear. For me I have four main spirit animal allies in my circle, black panther of the West, grey wolf of the North, red stag of the East and orange tiger of the South, or this is how I refer to them in any case. I have a lot of other animal spirit guides too that come along at timely intervals with their own particular mission for me. The wildlife programs and films that I have watched over the years that have most resonated with me have been the likes of Big Cat Diary and Born Free. I have had a fascination with the larger feline animals of the world, especially when deemed to be at large within the UK too, including one that happened to be spotted just yards away from my second parental home some years ago. It was therefore no great surprise to me that when I searched for my initial power animal, a big cat in the form of a black panther presented itself to me within a drum journey. I know her to be my true power animal because she brings with her a healing ability which enables me to use my all seeing eyes to peer beyond the veil and look deep into things and people for the benefit of their own healing, coaching and guiding. She has a very sleek, sensual and feminine quality to her and has been journeying with me for most of my life, largely unnoticed. I have spent a great part of that time under her influence being steered by lunar energy and feminine creative qualities. In my shamanic training however another animal came to assist me in order to bring more equilibrium to my being. The red stag introduced himself to me in no uncertain terms to be the representative of my lesser known masculinity. He was delivered to me in a vivid dream on the first vision quest I took part in. It felt like a life changing experience and for a time he gave me a new medicine name to work with in Running Deer. He helped me journey towards a more balanced perspective on life counteracting the feminine. Another animal that sits in my circle is the tiger which most easily connects me with my passions and emotions. A signature species of the planet the tiger makes me aware of the deep love affair that I have with the Earth itself and all the inhabitants thereof. As a truly beautiful creature she makes me aware of not only her plight in the world but that of all species still alive with her habitat loss and threat of existence at the hands of man. The tiger brings to me a purpose and a passion to all of my work. Finally the wolf of the North sits proudly at the top of my circle and shows me the way, being the pathfinder that he is, his qualities include his strong heart, faithfulness and being of service to the clan that he is most closely aligned with. He, I believe, is sniffing out a new tribe or soul family for me to be a part of. Together they are an awesome foursome who are all helping me to become a more whole and complete individual able to lead his own life more assured of his own qualities, to which I am eternally grateful. In finding your own power animals you too can begin to bring a greater sense of wholeness to your being. Let me know if I can be of any assistance to you in helping you to find your own animal spirit guides by way of a drum journey or any other healing, coaching or guiding session I can take you through for that matter also. If you care to comment on this blog with regards to any issues or feelings it brings up for you please feel free to do so below. My Medicine Shield Back in August 2018 I came to the end of my Three Year Shamanic Training, the culmination of which saw me produce this Medicine Shield, designed to truly depict who I am, even though at the time I didn't wholly realise what this meant. However there were enough clues in the imagery and my final Vision Quest to suggest what it could be hinting at. As I have journeyed in the weeks and months since, the shield has given me much greater clarity, proving to be a great teacher in its own right.
Whereas in the past I have run companies in graphic design, branding and personal development and always chosen logos that in some way shape or form related to nature, there was always something missing, most likely because I wasn't really sure of my own unique identity behind the brand, my own true self. However, this shield truly represents me and my recent journey, it holds all of my medicine power. I know it and love it deeply because it has come from a truly intimate place within my soul, each element being spelt out to me within nature as an essential part of who I am. I shall now carry this image with me, quite literally, for the rest of my life. This I believe is the strength of shamanic training and working with spirit in this way. It gives you this essence of who you are, this understanding, this knowledge, by giving you riddles along the way for you to solve in divine right timing. I had been drawn to include flowers in the motif, for what reason I did not really know but they had been very much a part of every ceremony I had done in nature. I knew this was seemingly a very feminine thing that I had to depict within any would be warrior shield but I just knew they had to be in there somewhere, intuitively, instinctively, they wished to have their presence known. There were the Foxgloves that had stood as guardians in the darkness of a Devon forest, protecting me on one scary, lone vigil night, as I was being introduced to my first power animal, the black panther, representative of all my feminine qualities that had dominated my life to that point. Then again that same flower had stood tall in the full glare of sunlight in a Druid Welsh valley where I received a dream as vivid as you could imagine of my second power animal, the red stag, who started to bring forth my masculine side, so sadly missing from my previous existence. The two animals together would give me the balance that I so desperately needed. Here in the shield too was the Thistle whose seeds had blown continuously through the 'Shedding Of The Skin' ceremony that I had completed within the first 12 months of my training where I left my past behind me to witness my full power blowing on the wind spreading its potency as far as the eye could see. Then there was the Wild Rose itself, which I was still yet to discover its true meaning until only this past week. For this summer solstice I was guided to create my latest flower essence, the Wild Rose. One of the things that I had been given from my last deep immersion in nature in the final days of my training was the fact that I could in time start to work with flowers and flower essences in particular, little realising then how much I was going to love this voyage of discovery once dipping my toe in the water. Signing up to the Chalice Well Flower Essence Practitioner Course back in March is seemingly the best thing that I have ever done. I believe the flowers have heightened my connection to nature and spirit, they have been continually calling me to make essences from them, to understand spirit better through them, so as to frame all of my other work and build a brand to help my fellow 'Allies Of Nature'. Creating my own essences of Blackthorn, Bluebell, Red Campion, Foxglove and now Wild Rose a story has begun to be told of how they all link together and the beauty held within each one of them in their individual qualities. The Wild Rose speaking most highly of a return to source, it being the original rose where all roses have arguably come from, getting back to the real essence of what it is to be who you truly are. Then to live from that place, with a strong heart, seizing the moment, seizing the day, carpé diem, in how you live your life for the rest of your existence. This is what the shield most represents to me I feel that solstice moment of the full sun in the background, being at its height, its zenith, with the masculine stag in the middle ground with all its power and might, and the flowers in the foreground representing the warrior, guardian, protector, with the strong heart. From here comes the pure joy of the swallow, dancing in the sky, and ultimately the swallowtail butterfly itself behind it all, unseen, who helps form the brand of 'Allies Of Nature'. So there we are, that is me, in all my glory. As this shield becomes more ingrained within my psyche and I devote more of my time to be able to work in my element, sure of who I am now. I hope this will begin to reap rewards not only for myself, but for all the people that I am lucky enough to come into contact with to assist in their own personal development and for the rest of the planet also. If you care to comment on this blog with regards to any issues or feelings it brings up for you please feel free to do so below. Bluebell - Inner Sense These past few months have seen a shift in what I am now to offer through Allies Of Nature. When I completed my shamanic training last year I knew from what I had conceived upon my Medicine Shield that flowers in some way shape or form were going to be a part of my future. The animals and birds had introduced me to The Shamanic Path and had helped me travel along it thus far, but it was the beautiful petal headed plants, ever present in all my Vision Quests that seemingly, more fervently, wanted to take me on the next step of my journey.
Over the last couple of years in particular I have become more aware of the abundance of flowers within nature. As our countryside has become less cultivated, had less pesticide put upon it, had more areas set aside for wilderness and less verges cut on a regular basis due to county council cost savings, so the wild flowers and blossoms have returned to our hedges and roadsides, like which I cannot remember. It is this, or spirit in its many guises has just wanted me to pay more attention to it and become more aligned again with nature, in order for me to truly understand it as a real ally in our everyday existence. For once we start to discover what is at the very essence of every living piece of flora or fauna alive on the planet today, its unique identity, and realise how we can benefit from that mammal, bird, insect or plant with what it wants to bestow upon us, absorbing that essence into us in one way shape or form, then the real healing of our planet can begin. The game changer upon the Earth today is when we start to understand that the animals and flowers that exist around us are here for own personal development and journey towards wholeness. When we begin to grasp this concept is when we start to open up to the great mystery of life. Provided of course that we are able to leave enough space for nature and allow all these great species to stick around long enough to be able to teach us all of their ways. That way, we will not make them extinct simply through our own ignorance and unconscious expansion. This is what essence work and indeed animal spirit work is all about I believe. Not only the flower essences that I am now beginning to offer people but the essence of every living creature on the planet too. What is it that makes a tiger a tiger, an elephant an elephant and a Bluebell a Bluebell? What special thing does it do that no other entity can do upon the planet? What way of being does it want to communicate to us that we can learn from and amalgamate into our own existence for our own benefit once we know how? This can only be communicated to us when we become still, quiet, and just listen to all what is going on around us, then spirit begins to percolate the message through to us that we desperately need to hear for our own health and wellbeing. To capture an essence of a flower one ventures out into the woodland, hedgerow or grassy meadow, the environment where that plant exists, and then sets down a bowl of holy spring water next to it. The vibration from that flower then radiates in the direction of the cut glass vessel and is captured in the water, like that of its own reflection, an imprint of what it is to be that particular child of Mother Earth herself. What comes to us in the witnessing of that process, what nature wants to tell us is going on at that time, helps form an impression of what that essence is all about and the quality of that plant that it wishes to communicate to us. In taking of those waters, that quality can then in turn be transferred to ourselves, where we can start to heal as individuals and indeed excel, helping us to become all that we wish to be. We work in a similar way with the animals but in an ever more spiritual context. As you will appreciate it is a lot harder to keep an animal still long enough to capture its essence, so as a shamanic practitioner or animal essence provider you have to invite the spirit of that animal to work with you in a similar way to that of the flowers. That way there is no need to restrain the animal itself, or god forbid harm it in any way in order to capture its essence, no need to consume or acquire a particular body part to gain its quality, the essence of that animal can simply be infused into a healing remedy or potion in a similar way to the flowers through the holy water. In a recent trip to a woodland in South Devon to capture the essence of Bluebell, I was first given the word innocent, as all flora and fauna are innocent upon this planet and deserve to be treated that way. However me being me, as the particular wordsmith that I am, working in conjunction with spirit I felt that word evolve into 'inner - sense'. So if I am to learn anything from the true power of Bluebell it is to gain an understanding of one's own true inner beauty, my own 'inner - sense' of who I truly am. In essence!! If you care to comment on this blog with regards to any issues or feelings it brings up for you please feel free to do so below. Take me to your bosom, oh bountiful Mother Earth.
Let me lick upon your nipples, upon hillsides you have birthed. Cradle me in your mountain tops, hold me in luscious ravines. Enthrall me with your peaks and troughs, allow me to sleep in meadows and dream. Embrace me in your valley's cleavage, wrap me in mists of silk. Permit me to drink of your waters, and suckle of your milk. Pull me close into your body, envelope me with your love. Grant me to listen to your heart beat, just a molecule from above. Cuddle me in forests, cover me in grassy plains. Drape me in savannah, keep me from going insane. Warm me in your deserts, caress me on your beach. Touch me ever so softly, with your flora and your beast. Clothe me in your estuaries, serenade me with morning song. Nurture me with field and hedgerow, feed me landscapes to which I long. Sit me upon your plateau, nuzzle me with marsh and steppe. Bounce me upon your tundra, speak to me words I'll never forget. Kiss me with your sunsets, painted vivid upon the sky. Tuck me in at night, all the stars bedecked within your eye. Whisper to me with your wind, sprinkle me with your sand. Be forever next to me, walking with me hand in hand. By Simon Blackler Copyright © Simon Blackler 2018 If you care to comment on this poem at all please feel free to do so below. We cling, to the branch of our birth.
To the only twig, we will ever be known. Through storm, or gale, or merest wisp. Whatever essence of air, has ever been blown. We're stuck, steadfast and rooted. Glued tight, to our parental limb. Eternally joined, by umbilical chord. Or simply attached, at nature's whim. Through every battle, that's ever been encountered. Every war, that has ever been fought. To whatever beauty, our eye has been captured. Creatively imagined, or conceivably thought. We've grown, through the budding of spring lime. And matured, through deep hearted, midsummer green. We've faded, in the waning of the autumn red. Being stripped bare in winter, never again to be seen. But here lies the glory, not only in the living. But in the dying and the deadness too. Where in one final, gusted breath of existence. Stalk is clipped from stem, in two. So then, upon the breeze released. Cartwheels are spun, on currents of time. As we join, with all others deceased. In one spiralling dance, of drift and mime. To where one's final resting place will be. Where tethered boat, does ebb and does flow. Taking the rough with the smooth, in the estuary. Where seagull, pochard and cormorant go. To the clean slate, is where we must eventually fall. Wind gathering us, by the heap and the pile. Adding compost to the new, with the souls of the old. Until the next acorn does drop, resetting the dial. By Simon Blackler Copyright © Simon Blackler 2018 If you care to comment on this poem at all please feel free to do so below. Guaranteed To Wake You Up In The Morning. Every morning the shamanic warrior stands with a choice before him or her. To take a risk and live this day in touch with the soul, to thrive, be zingy and full of energy by stepping into the cold shower first thing in the morning, or to remain governed within the comfort zone of the ego, surrounded by the luxury of the everyday and stick with the hot rinse.
For me this past week marks a threshold of 12 months of cold showers. It started on 27th September 2017 and give or take the odd day when it was impossible to have one, and there was no waterfall to use as an alternative, then I have been true to my choice, the decision that has stood before me daily beneath the shower head, to turn the tap to blue rather than red. The teaching stems from the First Nation people, when the grandmothers of the tribes took their young ones every day of the year to the river, the waterfall or the ocean, to have all the red blood cells race to the surface of the body and invigorate the whole being. When we are immersed beneath the ripples, the spray and the waves, it brings us to first attention and we feel fully present with all life around us. Today we don't have the rivers and oceans readily at our finger tips when making the commute to work so we have to make a compromise with the cold shower, but the effects can still be the same. Over a period of time we start to build up more healthy, brown, lean fat within ourselves as opposed to the white, fatty fat that otherwise will remain in existence. We blow the cobwebs away from the night or day before and are ready to greet the next 24 hours as if it were our first here on Earth. The way of the shaman is to choose to be on this edge, to go beyond the norm, because here is where the answers lie to one's life. So with the shower, so with every choice one is faced with in the day long journey as the Earth spins one full rotation dawn to dawn as we endeavour to move closer to our true selves. The cold shower can be seen as the first step along The Way Of The Warrior. It doesn't have to be this way of course there are other things that you can choose to do to take you into the mystery and soul of your being, through ceremony and ritual in other morning practices or indeed throughout the day, but for the sake of really moving into the now, there is arguably none better than this most obvious option. Of course we don't have to jump right in, we can start with warm water and switch to cold as we shower, as I have done in the past, but eventually comes the day when you just decide to embrace life more fully and take the plunge straight off. You will find that once you begin to shake the ego's thought that this isn't such a good idea, that cold actually isn't that cold after all. Water can't go below zero degrees because it would freeze, it will be warmer than what you might first imagine depending on where your shower exists in proximity to nature the length and breadth of the nation. It has other advantages too, saving you money, using less heat and electric within the household for the benefit of not only your pocket but that of climate change too. It is simply the notion of it that we have to get over, realising how strong our ego is that wants to keep us small, protected and well within our comfort zone, unfulfilled, stale and dead. Once we embrace the concept however, our energy levels start to rise, we are prepared to risk more and live a more fulfilled life, we become more vigorous and begin to thrive. We are then ready for the next choice towards a better life. If you care to comment on this blog with regards to any issues or feelings it brings up for you please feel free to do so below. Everything Is Enhanced When Entering Sacred Space. Part of the reason for a lack of blogs over the past couple of months is due to the fact that I have been engaged in two rather large ceremonies and a whole load of smaller ones too.
When engaging in the shamanic path regardless of whether you intend to become a shamanic practitioner or not, ceremony, ritual and the ability to create a sacred space for yourself becomes an ever more important everyday aspect of your life. Through this practice you start to establish a relationship with the sacred and dive into the great mystery of all things. We must not underestimate the power of ceremony. If the right intention is set and space is created, with the utmost integrity, for whatever purpose is going to be performed, then spirit will most likely take note and answer in no uncertain terms if the plea for help is a sincere one. We are all familiar with ceremonies that are set up to mark the importance of people stepping over new thresholds or transitioning into a new existence through weddings, graduation and the like, in shamanism it is no different. It just seeks to go a little further in creating more ceremonies for more purposes, like for visioning what your life is truly about by way of a Vision Quest, what you want to really leave behind in your life once and for all via a Burial Ceremony or purely to grant forgiveness, give gratitude or release attachment to things through a Fire Ceremony. When one partakes in these events as I have done in the past few weeks being prepared to go to an extreme in order to do so, you make a pledge to nature and spirit, that becomes very difficult, if not darn impossible to renege on when the answer comes back to you in such crystal clear form as to the promise you have made. There should be no turning back. If you are to resist however, you know you are going to betray your own spirit, your own soul and potential future well being in the process. Life is urging you forward and ever onward, if you dig your heels in you become stale in your comfort zone and start to die, alternatively you grasp the opportunity, leap forward, go with the flow and start to truly live as if your life depended upon it, because it literally does. We are here to live our lives to our fullest potential, it may take us years to release ourselves from the shackles that forever hold us back, it may take us that long to find the ceremony or ceremonies that are finally going to unlock the key to set our spirit's free. In shamanic practice the tiniest of shamanic healing sessions, merest morning practice or subtlest of fire ceremonies can start to open up this portal for change within us if they are held with the right integrity and intention. That is the driving force behind everything one does as a shamanic practitioner, healer or coach, it is no different in my own daily practice to when I hold space for anyone else, the potential for transformation always exists, we never know when our connection to spirit is really going to kick in. If you care to comment on this blog with regards to any issues or feelings it brings up for you please feel free to do so below. What Legacy Do We Want To Leave Our Children? The Children’s Fire is one of two sacred laws that govern a large percentage of First Nation People. It is a fire that represents not only the children of this generation but that of the next 6 to come, making 7 generations in all.
When the law refers to The Children it means all the children of the Earth, not solely human beings, all the species of flora and fauna that are alive on the planet today. The law decrees that no decision should ever be taken by the current community, any individual or group, that would bring harm in any way to The Children and so risk extinguishing The Children’s Fire or prevent it from burning quite so bright in future years. That is why a candle or flame exists at the centre of any council that sits within that culture to remind one and all of the consequences any motion being carried or lost has with regards to the relationship held with The Children. When we think about the global issues we are now faced with today in relationship to The Children’s Fire it perhaps brings all of our decision making into perspective and question. This is what the children of the Earth, led by Greta Thurnberg, are trying to bring to the attention of all the adults on the planet today. When we continue to burn fossil fuels, emit greenhouse gases and create plastic pollution, are we creating a better environment for The Children to live in or worse? When we simply create more human beings, ever expanding our own population whilst impacting heavily on all other species environments and habitats, are we creating a better place for The Children to breathe and thrive in or otherwise? When we contribute to our own overcrowding, poverty, famine, malnutrition and dis-ease within our own society as a consequence of our continued growth and urbanisation, are we leaving a healthier legacy for the next generation or not? In many a spiritual practice, ritual or ceremony a fire is often lit to help commemorate it, to add to the sanctity of the event. As the candle or flames flicker we are enchanted by the dance in front of our eyes, we love the warmth and comfort that it brings, the excitement of its brightness, mystery and creativity, but we also appreciate its vulnerability at the same time. We are fully aware of how too little or too much wood, wind or water might contribute to the fire dying or going out. We watch over it like a mother would tend a child to keep the balance, the embers glowing, the kindling alight, the fuel forever burning. That same respect, care and attention now needs to be administered to The Children themselves, as a part of The Children’s Fire. If we are to have a community that will continue to warm us and carry our light forward, bewitching us with its presence, we must now bring ourselves back into alignment, to recreate the right relationship again to The Children. Then we will be able to ensure that The Children do indeed have enough wood, wind and water to continue to flourish and bloom whatever their creed or species maybe. Here lies the peace that we seek for ourselves, others and the planet, the unconditional love that we wish to hold for one and all, to allow us to sustain all life alive around the globe at this time and that which still has to follow on behind as is decreed within The Children's Fire. If you care to comment on this blog with regards to any issues or feelings it brings up for you please feel free to do so below. The Question We Now All Need To Ask Ourselves! At the Royal Wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex the Most Reverend Michael Curry talked about the Power Of Love being a transformative, redemptive force within the world once people embraced the understanding of what this truly meant, for both themselves and the planet.
I want to bring that Power Of Love into this blog whilst writing about what some of the paradoxes are of being a human in this day and age and what it is to live my own life as a consequence at this moment in time also. For when the Power Of Love is referred to at a Royal Wedding, as one pundit quite rightly picked up on, there is normally at least one dear aunt amongst the congregation that will inevitably want to start to talk about children and when one son or daughter might appear on the horizon, perhaps with the aspiration that many more will follow on behind, to represent what traditionally one might believe to be a happy, healthy, abundant family. This has been one of the most fundamental questions one would ask a fellow human being for many generations almost as soon as the confetti has hit the ground. However, perhaps now the question that more pertinently needs to be asked is ‘how many children are you planning on having?’ Today one of the paradoxes of being a human is the fact that in order to continue to exist and sustain ourselves as a species we need to reproduce the next generation. However given the population size we now are at, with no natural predator, if we continue to reproduce without consciousness, we inadvertently bring harm to ourselves and the rest of the planet in our expansion. When we solely think about our own selves and how many children we desire on having we don’t necessarily think of all the other offspring of the Earth, all the other inhabitants of the planet too, and the balance required for all to be able to survive and thrive in their own habitats. I would suggest that given a relatively equal split of males to females alive on the planet today within the human population (105 to 100 at birth according to the World Health Organisation) that merely 2 children per woman per lifetime is enough for us to aspire to having in order to keep our population at a more sustainable level. Here the offspring natur-ally replace the parents within one life cycle. This is with the caveat that the mean number of generations alive on the Earth at any one time stays at roughly 3 and doesn't extend to 4 with increased health and life expectancy. When commenting on any population growth issues I do so from a perspective of being fully aware of the impact my own family has had on society throughout the last century. I'm sure when my grandparents decided to give birth to 9 children 90 years ago they had very little thought as to what impact this would have on the population as a whole if everyone behaved in the same way. Growing up I was blissfully unaware of how many extra houses would need to be created in order to accommodate my rapidly expanding family, and how much nature would have to be sacrificed as a result. I was somewhat oblivious to the situation when enjoying countless family parties as one of 22 cousins. From just my grandparents alive in 1928 there are now 66 extra people in existence here on Earth purely amongst my own relatives (not including spouses). Sir David Attenborough, a patron of Population Matters has stated that he has ‘never seen an environmental problem that wouldn’t be easier to solve with fewer people on the planet, or harder, and ultimately impossible, with more.’ I believe if we are to truly embrace the Power Of Love now, we need to do so in a global context and realise what effect we have on the rest of our world with the choices we make, for there is a collective consciousness at work between us all that states whether an action is acceptable or not when truly tuned in and properly aligned to that of all creation. This collective consciousness I believe is now saying to us, ‘Time's up, reign yourselves back in and realign, treasure all around you, flora and fauna alike, whilst considering the amount of children you have, reducing it to two and maybe even one for the benefit of all.’ Any one of any influence and power within our society in my book has to take their own fair share of responsibility to be seen to be having the right amount of children. This is because a large part of society look up to them and model themselves upon them and believe consciously or subconsciously it is OK to follow suit. The very fact that the groom's brother and sister in law, the Duke and Duchess Of Cambridge, have now just recently given birth to their third child, the Queen and Prince Phillip before them having had four in their own lifetime, David and Victoria Beckham having also had four and other aspirational celebrities like Kim Kardashian having had a similar amount, tends to send a certain message out to the masses. I just wonder if having as many children as you like is giving the right indication to the rest of society as to what is OK to do in our modern day existence? My intention here is not to point the finger and bring blame or shame upon anyone who has chosen to have any more than two children, for what is done is done and we are all culpable as I have previously mentioned. It is just purely to bring awareness of how many children we are having and what effect this has as a consequence on the rest of the planet and our environment around us when we choose to do so. It does however bring a pang of sorrow to my heart whenever I hear of this having occurred due purely to my love for nature. How many environmental activists I wonder march on Downing Street and the like chaining themselves to the lampposts or sitting prone in Parliament Square with 4 or 5 kids in tow? They complain about the environmental impact of climate change when creating more and more children arguably is the major contributory factor. If we elect to have more than two children in any one family, at the very least we need to be living a carbon zero lifestyle, being greener than green and endeavouring to live with as little or no human impact upon the Earth as is possible. This is the true Power Of Love that is needed today, the love for the planet itself and all of the other inhabitants that share our world alongside us in order to create the right relationship to it again and bring ourselves back into balance. If you care to comment on this blog with regards to any issues or feelings it brings up for you please feel free to do so below. |
AuthorSimon Blackler Archives
April 2023
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