Hopi Prophecy

In the post yesterday I wrote of an impactful section at the first of the new book, SocialChange 2.0, referring to the First Earth Run in 1986. I don't really like to just copy sections of other writers work but there is a page or so here that bears quoting. I don't have a Native American background in my heritage but my kids do and there is much beauty within that tradition. Much more so than we were led to believe via our national history of relating to the indigenous peoples of the Americas.

" The lighting and launch of the torch of peace on its journey around the world were to take place at the United Nations in New York. The torch was to be lit from a fire created at a sunrise ceremony on the grounds of the United Nations by two Native American elders, Chief Shenandoah of the Iroquois Nation and Grandmother Caroline of the Hopi Nation. ...The Hopi are the "keepers of the dream." They serve as stewards of the most profound belief and hope on the planet; that human beings can live in harmony with one another and the Earth.

The Hopi people are also keepers of the Hopi Prophecies, reverently handed down from one generation to the next for more than a thousand years. The most important of these prophecies states that when humanity is on the brink of self destruction, the Hopi must deliver a message at the great hall of mica. If this message is received, the world will begin the "great turning" toward a thousand years of peace. If it is not received, the world will continue its direction and enter into a thousand years of darkness and war. The prophecy states that the Hopi will have four attempts to deliver the message.

The Hopi elders determined that the time described in the prophecy had come, and the great hall of mica was the glass United Nations building on Manhattan's East Side. For the sake of the world, they diligently sought an audience with the leadership of the United Nations. Their previous requests for an audience with the United Nations had been turned down three times, so this was their final chance. The native cultures were closely tracking....It was September 16 1986, the opening day of the U.N. General Assembly---the international day of peace in the international year of peace...Chief Shenandoah of the Iroquois Nation rubbed two sticks together, in the ancient way...into a blazing fire....Grandmother Caroline offer(ed) the prophecy..."Humanity" she said in her soft voice, "is at a crossroads. To continue on this planet, we are being called to achieve a higher level of global community, where we can experience that which unites us." ...Her profound message of hope inspired everyone in attendance. Over the next eighty-six days, it would be communicated in one form or another to the twenty-five million people and forty-five heads of state in sixty-two countries who would directly participate in the passage of the fire..." So it was spoken by these primitive animistic indigenous peoples of our first nations. Who, I ask, are the true primitives? Peace! RV

Circle of Life/ Circle of Love!

So today's thought is about a journey I'm undertaking the next couple of weeks. At the get go it will be a trip up to the Gardens in Victoria, B.C. and then a "Labyrinth" gathering/workshop on Bainbridge Island. Two of my favorite things gardens and labyrinths in the same outing. I would love to install other labyrinths as the opportunity arises and truth be known the medium of installation is just about as varied as the people desiring them. I happen to like the pattern (5 or 7 circuit) of the one at Ashland hospital. And the location is just about perfect for contemplation. And I'm a devotee of using pavers (cobble stones) as they have a very modern link as well as a tie to the middle ages use of cobblestones. They have a denseness and strength and at the same time they are all individuals getting together toward a common goal. Kind of like the path I am seeing for the Emergent movement. Honoring the component units but looking toward the big picture. Reading a book right now written by a writer, social activist, social architect,and a social entrepreneur by the name of David Gershon. He has done a lot of work with ecological and sustainability issues primarily with cities and states over the last thirty years or so. I'm sure I'll be referencing this work more in the days to come but for now here is just one of the comments from the introduction: "This book offers an inspiring evolutionary blueprint for transforming our social systems, and provides some of the most effective organizing principles, empowerment processes, and movement strategies that are emerging in our time. For our rising generation of Millennial activists, student organizers, and young social entrepreneurs, Social Change 2.0 will unquestionably play a significant role in bring forth the next great wave of social change." - Joshua Gorman (Generation Waking Up). One of Davids first organizational successes was a global torch run in 1986, an international year of peace. There is an account in the first chapter about this run and its relation to a Native American (Hopi) prophecy. It brings goosebumps to me when I read the story. I will include that story in my next post as it does deserve one of it's own. And that is just in chapter one. Strikes me that this book could be the fleshing out of the philosophies and theologies I've been touching on since the first of the year. Later! RV

Contingent Sovereignty!

Below is the text from Wikipedia regarding the concept of contingent sovereignty. It is still evolving and currently not codified in international law. In my opinion the concept of absolute sovereignty is the national equivalent of the individual ego and as such needs to be recognized, honored, and refocused in light of the Love of creation.

"Contingent sovereignty refers to the new and still evolving theory which challenges the norm of non-intervention in the internal affairs of countries, commonly associated with the Westphalian doctrine of sovereignty.

Stewart Patrick of the United States State Department has described the contingent sovereignty as follows.

Historically, the main obstacle to armed intervention-humanitarian or otherwise- has been the doctrine of sovereignty, which prohibits violating the territorial integrity of another state. One of the striking developments of the past decade has been an erosion of this non-intervention norm and the rise of a nascent doctrine of "contingent sovereignty".

This school of thought holds that sovereign rights and immunities are not absolute. They depend on the observance of fundamental state obligations. These include the responsibility to protect the citizens of the state. When a regime makes war on its people or cannot prevent atrocities against them, it risks forfeiting its claim to non-intervention. In such circumstances, the responsibility to protect may devolve to the international community.

This emerging consensus reflects the traumas of the twentieth century. The seminal event was the Holocaust, but it was hardly the last to shock the conscience of humankind. From the killing fields of Cambodia to the bloody hills of Rwanda, a litany of atrocities has mocked our earnest, repeated pledges of "Never Again".

Following the NATO intervention in Kosovo in 1999, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan described what he termed a "developing international norm...that massive and systematic violations of human rights wherever they may take place...should not be allowed to stand." No longer should frontiers be considered an absolute defense behind which states can commit crimes against humanity with "sovereign impunity."'

Couldn't have said it better myself. I do hope that although not currently codified into international law that this concept will get the attention it, and creation, deserves. My only comments would be two. One is that this does sound so much like the concept of an international bill of rights I mentioned in the last post. And secondly, it should be pretty obvious that this litany of atrocities is not limited to the twentieth century. This has been the history of mans inhumanity to man. The fate of the conquered by the victors. The difference is that IN THIS ERA we as an international community, or maybe better stated Global Community CAN DO SOMETHING about the litany. On this day before the celebration of Easter, I pray that God will guide such a refocus in the spirit of the truly risen Pax Christi. Amen! RV P.S.- That word used in the passage above -nascent- is a new one to me. I love it and hope it refers to much in this emerging era. It means "Being born; coming into existence".