Being in Service During Global Crises
We would need to have our heads buried in an ostrich hole to not notice that times have been a wee bit turbulent lately. Additionally, if you are in any way sensitive or “dialed" in” to Spirit, odds are you may have sensed the intensity ramping up over the last seven years. Maybe you’ve had challenges within your family, your partner, your health, your career, finances, or with several facets of life all at once. Maybe you’ve been directly witnessing acts of hatred or violence in this country or abroad. Maybe you are affected indirectly. Maybe you or someone you know is personally and deeply affected by a political movement that is against your beliefs and ethics as a human being on this planet. Maybe you’re grieving the effects of climate change right before your eyes. Maybe you feel overwhelmed by all of it lately and cannot consciously discern the root cause.
The writings of author Byron Ballard have become curious to me as of late. She has called this intense transition of humanity Tower Time, referring to The Tower card in the tarot deck. The Tower is associated with sudden and often disruptive acknowledgment of a situation along with potentially destructive change due to the same situation. Ballard’s way of bringing this revelation to the surface of the collective conscious does bring language to our intuition. It also serves to validate the messages from Spirit that many are receiving.
From Ballard’s words:
How do we glide away from the mess and the pain and not look back to those falling faster and faster?
We don’t. We can’t. It is not in our nature. And so we bear the wounds and we keep on, even as we feel the spiritual life-blood leaking out, only to be replaced by ennui and despair. In our circles, we call for “grounding”: we speak the words of guided meditations in which roots grow from our feet and sink, gratefully, into the Earth.
What we are seeing now are the proverbial tidal waves of turbulence. These waves have been happening for centuries but the shapes of the players in this drama are coming out of the fog. We are currently experiencing a spiritual and global conflict on many levels. What will become of these situations? Of this world? I believe it will take some grit and soul searching for each of us before the answers are manifest. It takes proactive stamina to center ourselves against the onslaught of these tidal waves of this time. If we have mustered the energetic stamina and centeredness, even for just today, that is commendable.
For those of you who practice energy work in any modality, you might find yourself asking, How can I be of service in such overwhelm?
This is a good question. How do we begin metabolize the mass shootings that keep occurring? How can we stand in solidarity with so much disconnect and hostility? What are our feelings regarding the rejection and non-acceptance of other in so many forms? Where do we draw our strength from when collectively we haven’t even felt safe enough to heal from the global trauma of Covid and the intensifying political climate here in the US?
From where I stand as humble practitioner on the coast of Maine, no one with whom I have worked has come out unscathed… not one of us. This is more than the stars and planets aligning. There are energies that are in direct conflict with each other in the Otherworld, and we are feeling it on this plane. I have been informed of it for the past year, but others have been getting information about this for several years. The prolific author Morgan Daimler writes about her experiences here. Druid, priest, and author John Beckett mentions it here. The one thing I have been told by spirit is that our strength lies in coming together and creating joy despite the turmoil. Energetically, this is actually helpful, although perhaps challenging to do in times of overwhelm.
Every one of us processes these daunting collective turbulences differently. We are all here in a body to navigate our individual lives and so, we respond uniquely. Just because one person responds one way to an experience does not inform whether or not they are generally “lower” or “higher” vibration. We must be cautious about throwing out judgement that is being masked by what I have dubbed as “ascension snobbery.” This is just another form of separation manifesting in spiritual communities. It likely comes from needing to feel “better than” and is rooted in wounding around self-worth. If we are really committing to the work, holding empathy for others is essential. Let us not forget the value of being an authentically kind, thoughtful community member. We’re all in this together in this world. Whether our paths are similar or different, we all have a life journey to walk and some parts of them are quite arduous. It’s healing to know that you’re not alone during these trying times.
Holding space is the practice of allowing others to process their own individual journey while the listener refrains from fixing their situation, and it’s one solid way we can be empathetic and healing for others on a personal level. We are not helping when we spiritually bypass others’ emotions or thoughts; or by assuming to know what someone needs without directly asking them. During times like these, the best thing we can do is gently support each other with empathy and presence. We need to remind each other that we are accepted, seen, and heard for who we are. It’s also important to do this for ourselves, i.e. putting the oxygen mask on first. I have been shown many times by Spirit that when we encounter crisis, that it is in those times that we must remind each other that we have the power within to muster up the fortitude to keep going, no matter how challenging things might seem.
What if someone I care about who seems to need healing most will not accept it? I get asked this occasionally from clients and students who want to help loved ones but feel helpless in doing so due to another’s beliefs or choices. For example, if a loved one is battling addiction it is heart-wrenching to watch but we cannot control the choices they continue to make for themselves. The only thing we can control is our response. There are plenty of options that do not interfere with someone’s free will (which is unethical):
If you know how to you can journey to ask your helping spirits to be shown anything you might be able to do in response to the person in question without interfering with their free will. The statement of intention for a journey in such a situation would be something like, “Please show me how I might respond in a supportive way to {name} who is suffering at this time.”
Offer your prayers to Spirit (yes, they do make a difference, particularly with someone who is connected to a divine power).
Practice daily devotion. If you have particular guides, helping spirits, or gods/goddesses that you work with, set up an altar or shrine to honor them and spend time speaking with them daily, such as in the morning or evening.
Drum or rattle while you pray to your etheric allies for a positive solution to occur for the highest and best (while staying non-attached to the outcome, which can be challenging).
Light candles while you pray and drum/rattle. This makes a strong intention that will be heard by your spirit team.
Ask your helping spirts or guides to bless someone or a situation. You will not be interfering with anyone’s free will when you ask this.
If the person(s) in question is amenable, you can ask for direct permission to write the name(s) of certain people and place the paper under the altar cloth so that all healing benefits can be received.
What if I want to hold space for a family or community (or even larger group, such as the people in a country)? In the event where mass suffering has been experienced most of us don’t contend too well by standing by. Here are more ideas:
You may use any of the above suggestions while holding a particular family, community or group of people in your heart (this includes our non-human kin too!).
If you have an altar or shrine, write a word to encapsulate the situation and place under the altar cloth with an intention for a positive resolution (practicing non-attachment).
If you know how to journey, ask your helping spirits to show you a ceremony to perform to manifest a positive solution that you may not even have thought of yourself. Of course, you’ll want to carry out the ceremony as soon as you are able!
As empathetic people, offering help is our nature. On the energetic level, we need to understand that although thoughts and prayers actually do work, they can take some time to manifest. We must also understand the importance of taking action as well as holding strong intention. Taking action and speaking up is how we show up in solidarity for others, even if those in need are miles away. After all, apathy breeds enabling and consent to injustice. You might join gatherings that have inspirational ideas and gainful measures for supporting others who are in need. You might also make donations to qualified organizations, such as the Red Cross, or to a particular organization or country in need, or to the ASPCA.
In shamanism, there is a saying about “holding others in Light.” That means we are actively seeing someone or a place or group of people in their highest, most healed version of themselves. It works! I personally do this when I pray for others, whether a group, individual, human, or non-human.
Although we cannot control the outcome of these times, we can do our best to stand strong and stand together so that we are not overtaken by the turbulence.
With permission, I am sharing my helping spirits’ message regarding being in service during global crises:
The act of joining together during a crisis is profound. When humans join hands in compassion to hold space for the tragedies that often occur in your world, your hearts sync together. Do you realize that we see the strands of light interwoven around the globe when you do this? Although you may not realize it, the love and compassion that is ignited does counteract the energies that have brought about the event.
