Message from the Grandmothers

September 2005

What follows is a journey I took to the Grandmothers on Sept. 7, shortly before the monthly Grandmothers' meeting at my home to ask them how we could be of service. They answered my question in their own inimitable style. Their answer is for me. Their answer is you. Please take from it whatever you can use.

Sharon

Distressed by the devastation in Louisiana and Mississippi, I journey to the Grandmothers to ask what we can do to be of service. There is a Grandmothers' meeting coming up and I want to know how the group can be of help at this time. The Grandmothers are in Eagle form today, and instead of answering me directly, they insist that I fly with them. I follow for a few moments as they swoop, dive and make patterns in the air and then we land, perching together in a nest, so small we can barely fit in. Although the nest is crowded, it feels comforting and secure to nestle in so close. Our feathered bodies press against each other and overlap in such a way that we seem to form one mass. Huddled together here, we look like one giant organism. I laugh as I realize what they are communicating to me. We Are One.

Again I ask my question, "Grandmothers, what would you have us do at this time?? They respond, "Feel our heart beat," placing an emphasis on Our. They don't mean that I am feel the Grandmothers' heart beat, but the beat of all our hearts together. I am to call upon the collective heart. "Focus in your chest," they say. "Move inside it, and watch the way your awareness moves outward from your heart." I do as they say and notice that the movement of awareness forms concentric circles, like those made by dropping a stone into water. The Grandmothers say, "As each circle fans out, your awareness of your heart's essence grows. And, because we are sitting together in close proximity, the experience is amplified. Awareness grows and grows."

I sit, aware of the Grandmothers and aware of other forms of the Divine, and as I do, I sense my heart getting bigger and bigger. "Our hearts are magnifying one another," the Grandmothers explain. "Everything is expanding." As I hear their words and begin to feel this expansion, I notice that some blockages within and around my heart are softening. "Heart wishes to resonate to heart," the Grandmothers say. "The desire for expansion and connection is intrinsic to who you are as human beings. It is intrinsic to

who each one is. As you sit with us now, great expansion and connection is taking place."

"For years we have worked with you on expansion," they say. "This work is continuing and it will continue. In addition to expansion, however, you can now experience that all of our hearts are connecting." As I hear them I am overwhelmed by a feeling so potent I find myself struggling to name it. It's a physical feeling of happiness, perhaps a bit like bliss, but there is also a forceful quality to it. I feel a connection to the Grandmothers and to everyone all at the same time. It's such a strong feeling and as I puzzle over this the words "One Heart" come to my mind. "One heart," the Grandmothers say, and instantly I am flooded with love and compassion. A wave of love hits and it's so strong I can barely go on. "One heart," they repeat. Now I understand. This is what I am to pass on at the next Grandmothers meeting.

They nod "yes," and say, "think now of sitting close together with many others. We are also with you, we are part of this gathering. We sit so close that we all touch and press lightly in on one another. This is just as it was for you in the nest with us; here too all are gathered together, folded into a very small space. If you think of sitting like this as you meditate by yourself or as you lead a guided meditation you can replicate the sensation of security and closeness you felt with us in the nest. When you sit together in our presence your hearts will touch one another. Each of your hearts will also be held and surrounded by ours."

Giving me a serious look, the Grandmothers said, "Let some of the pain you have felt in your life come up to the surface of your mind now. Pain caused by feeling separated from one another and pain caused from feeling separated from the Source. Let pain come into your awareness now." They hum to themselves for a moment and then say, "We see that as soon as you gave this pain permission to arise, it did. It is indeed arising." Whew! I exclaim, as a wave of grief hits me. The Grandmothers are right. As soon as they encouraged me to invite it to surface, pain rose up in me, filling my chest

and stomach. Now, overcome by grief, I begin to sob. "Stay in your heart," the Grandmothers say.

"Stay in your heart," they repeat. "The grief you are carrying; grief about present situations in your country and the world, grief you have carried your whole life, grief you have carried for many lifetimes, even for millennia, is coming up now. We ask you to stay focused in your heart and let it come. We will do this with you. You are not alone in this work; we are with you. We hold and surround you. We assure you that there is purpose for what we ask you to do. We do nothing without reason and would not ask

you to experience this were it not necessary. Stay within your heart," they repeat. "It is important to let this pain rise up. There are waves of pain and anguish ready to arise now," they say. "Let them. We are holding you. Our hearts are great, and so is your heart," they assure me. "One heart," they say. "Great heart. Full heart. Full. full, full of love and compassion, wisdom and understanding. This is your heart," the Grandmothers

say. "Rest in this place. Breathe deeply and rest within your heart.

"Your heart is healing and growing," they say, and add, "there is nothing more beautiful than the expanding heart." I hear their words and see something bright, a deep red in color that extends outside my body. It is my heart, huge and magnificent. "A thing unto itself," the Grandmothers say. "This expanded heart that you are seeing will touch many," they say. "Experience the size of your heart now that pain has surfaced and been taken care of. Your heart extends out far beyond your body. And as you sit with us in this nest, your heart is merging with our hearts. All hearts gathered here are merging together, and as they merge each one is strengthened, beautified, made greater and more full.

"Do not try to make this happen," they say. "There is no effort here. Simply stay within your heart and from this central place, experience what is happening to you. Take a few deep breaths," they say, "to let your body and mind absorb and assimilate the truth of this experience. For many years now we have been telling you that you are great, that you are much more than you have ever imagined. We have repeated these words to you over and over again and have many times given you experiences of this truth. Now you are ready to live from this place. Each of you is ready.

"Together as one now we rise up," they say, and no sooner do I hear their words than I feel myself lifting upward along with everyone else. Together we form a red-colored sun shape that floats upward. "One great heart," the Grandmothers say, "rising and expanding all the while. We are floating with a purpose. We move together. Time and space are of no consequence," they say. I look down and see that we are hovering above the city of New Orleans and the low country of Louisiana and Mississippi. "Stay within your heart," the Grandmothers caution. "STAY WITHIN YOUR HEART!"

"We surround you," they remind me, "and make it safe for you to be here to do this work. As you hover over this place, staying focused within your heart, you allow much of the pain, fear and grief held in this area to soften. Just as moving into the consciousness of the one heart enabled the pain in your individual heart to be revealed, softened, and in many cases eliminated, so now this great heart hovering over the Mississippi delta softens the anguish here.

"Hold this area in love and STAY WITHIN YOUR HEART," they command. "Because there have been so many images of horror about this place, your mind easily goes to those images and overwhelms you. This is why we keep reminding you to stay with us inside the expanded space of your heart. This allows the work to take place effortlessly. Think of, feel, remember, call on and evoke our presence or the presence of any form of the Divine you love. We will surround you, stay close to you and hold you. This makes it easy for you to stay in your heart. It is the presence of the Divine along with your intention to stand steady within your heart that enables this work of lifting and healing to take place.

After a few minutes they say, "Now you may begin to think again of the physical place where you are sitting and meditating and allow yourself to slowly come back there, all the while staying within your heart. Breathe deeply," they remind me. "We want you to know that there is no time when we are not present to hold you just like this. There is never a time when we are not this close to you. Feel us now," they say, "and remember this.

"Whenever you find the presence of pain in your heart, breathe deeply. Breathing like this will allow us to lift and fill you even more full with divine presence." Having said this, the Grandmothers begin to chant, "We are one in the spirit. We are one with the source. We are one in the spirit, we are one with the Source. And we know that our unity can never be destroyed, for we know of our one heart by our love, by our love. Yes we know of our one heart by our love." They want us to sing this song.