The Earth Needs Your Voice

A personal note from Jim Thomas, teacher of the In Unison with the Earth, guided sound and toning meditation: 

 

I have been an acupuncture practitioner for many years. A hall mark of that healing paradigm is the recognition of a human beings place in the world, and indeed, the universe. An experience of health or well-being comes when we are aligned and in balance with ourselves, our families, our communities, our nation and our world. Any disruption or imbalance on these levels of relationship will result in experiencing some distress in the body/mind/spirit. Personal health is not viewed as an isolated event but rather as a reflection of the quality of connection with our inner and outer worlds. For many years, I have worked with individuals to bring healing in their inner lives, with their families and communities but have felt a calling to begin to directly address the distress felt by all people, about the state of our relationship to the Earth. Given that the earth is one of the foundational sources of our lives, the impact of our isolation and disassociation from this life source has profound consequences on our capacity to flourish. This distress reverberates within our personal lives, our families, our communities, nations and world.

 

From my own personal experience in Nature, I have come to the conclusion that changing my attitudes and behaviors towards the planet does not come from just following rules about what is “good for the environment”. As we have seen with the response to challenging climate changes on the planet, where the problem
and solutions become quickly politicized, there is a denial that these issues are just symptoms pointing to a much more fundamental cause- our broken relationship with the planet itself. From this understanding I believe that we must fall in love again with the earth. Perhaps the word “again” is not quite right, as if that love has disappeared. I believe it has never has left us, and the memory of this deep exquisite relationship lies deep within our hearts, waiting to be rekindled. We must find ways to experience a change of heart that will then change our minds. Our behavior will then change, not because we are abiding by a set of rules, but rather that our hearts have been reopened and touched by the beauty we are an integral part of. I am reminded of the quote attributed to Chief Seattle, a Suquamish and Duwamish chief:

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“This we know. The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. This we know. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family. All things are connected.

Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.”

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Will we surrender, and allow ourselves to be knocked to our knees in recognition of the gifts we continually receive? Kahil Gibran speaks of the earth’s unconditionally given gifts like this:

"We pierce your bosom with swords and spears.
And you dress our wounds with oil and balsam
We plant your fields with skulls and bones.
And from them, you rear cypress and willow trees,
We empty our wastes in your bosom and you fill
Our threshing floors with wheat sheaves,
And our winepresses with grapes.

We extract your elements to make
Cannons and bombs but out of
Our elements you create lilies and roses
How patient you are Earth, and how merciful!
Are you an atom of dust raised by
The feet of God when He journeyed from
The East to the West of the Universe?"

So, it is from this place of wanting to create an experience of
reconnecting our hearts to the planet that In Unison with the Earth has come in to being. Using “language” that touches the heart- meditation, poetry, guided imagery, music, nature sounds and toning together in community- we can heal this relationship together.
I am currently offering In Unison with the Earth guided sound - and - toning meditation weekly at the Samara Healing Center, in Taneytown, Maryland, and at private venues in the mid-Atlantic region. I am also now training facilitators in this process to expand its availability in the region and eventually across the country. I want to personally invite you to further explore this site to learn more  about the meditation itself and our training program to see if you feel inspired to join us!

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Please don’t hesitate to email or call if you have questions or want more information.

In Unison,
Jim

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Learn more about

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The In Unison with the Earth guided sound - and - toning meditation.

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Effortlessly by Mechthild of Magdeburg
English version by Jane Hirshfield

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Effortlessly,

Love flows from God into man,

Like a bird
Who rivers the air
Without moving her wings.
Thus we move in His world
One in body and soul,
Though outwardly separate in form.
As the Source strikes the note,
Humanity sings —
The Holy Spirit is our harpist,
And all strings
Which are touched in Love
Must sound.

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The In Unison with the Earth meditation is a guided process that uses imagery, poetry, nature sounds, shruti box, singing bowls and voice to deeply reconnect participants to themselves and Life by:
-Working with the giving and receiving of Life energy (chi or prana) through the breath
-clearing stagnant energy in the body/mind/ spirit with sound
-grounding into the earth and opening our hearts to the unconditional giving of the Earth.
- Experiencing our bodies as ecosystems similar to our planet.
-Surrendering to the intelligence that governs the forces that guide all
Life

-Listening to the voice of the drum to connect with ancestral support
and the wisdom traditions that honor the Earth

-Creating openness and spaciousness in both the vertical and horizontal dimensions
-Experiencing the universal mind in the universal body
- Toning in unison from the voice of our hearts and consciously
rejoining in the symphony of Life
-Learning to use silence as a way to integrate Life experience
These donation-based meditations are currently held weekly on Friday
mornings from 9 to 1030am at the Samara Healing Center, Taneytown,
MD. (click here to register)

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