Life with Australian Aboriginals

Today I share the following story with you from when I was living with the Australian Aboriginals. I don't recall ever sharing this outside of oral story telling and I hope you enjoy it.

Our Limited Lens

The heat of the fire was so intense that I could barely breathe
Layers of flies landed on me and found their way to my eyes, ears, nose, and mouth
Next to me sat an elderly man that smelled so bad that I wanted to run for cover

This was the odd scene I found myself in during June of 2001 when I was living with a tribe of Aboriginals in the Australian Outback.

Thoughts swirled in my mind as I tried to grasp what was going on. I had been invited into the Aboriginals camp by one of the elders and I knew it was a great honor. Yet the physical environment was so uncomfortable and the two of us couldn’t communicate. All I could think about was “What am I doing here?” I stayed with this man, who we called ‘Jimmy’ for a few minutes and tried to observe him carving wooden sticks. I just couldn’t relax though and soon I held up my hand to say good-bye, rose and left the circle.

As I walked away I could feel my body reacting – it was as if I had a powerful energy running through me. I could somehow feel the boundary of his camp even though there was no physical marker. The group traveling with me stood nearby wanting a similar invitation from Jimmy but none came. We had been told by our interpreter that we were not to enter the camp without an invitation so I was thrilled when Jimmy waved me toward him after we returned from digging our lunch of honey ants. As I neared the edge of his camp, my body vibrating with an electricity I had never felt before, I started to understand part of why I was there. I stepped over the invisible boundary between my world and his and the realization hit me strongly.

It wasn’t about us understanding each other’s language or me being comfortable in his very different world. It was about the honor of being in the presence of an Aboriginal elder that came from a lineage reaching back 60,000 years and it was about something much larger than that. There was a Spirit there that I can only name as God. I stood on that red dirt for a split second and then turned around and looked at my newfound friend. His eyes found mine and he waved me back into his world.

I returned and sat once again near him at the edge of the blazing fire where his music stick tools lie in the dirt heating for use. The fire wasn’t hot like it was before though – the flames were just a few inches from my legs and yet it was quite comfortable. Something had changed. The flies were gone and the foul smell of Jimmy had disappeared. So what had changed on that fateful day? Only my perspective.
This was the first time that I telepathically communicated with another human being with such crystal clarity. I could hear every one of his thoughts and he taught me how to carve and mark these music sticks without uttering a word. When he was pleased with my work he held up his thumb and showed me his toothless grin. We laughed together in that space and a new world opened to me. I continue to communicate with Jimmy even though many miles separate us. My life was expanded that day and has never returned to its original dimensions.

I tell you this story because so much is dependent on what we believe to be true through the lens of our eyes that are limited. When we open to a possibility greater than we can see, we open to a world that is beautiful beyond belief – where we can connect with people across cultures and language barriers, where we can see and appreciate the reality of another person.

So I leave you with these questions: What opportunities have you walked away from because the situation didn’t quite fit your idea of comfortable? What will you do differently now to open to another’s world?

There are deep connections waiting that can change your life.

Another thing that I learned from the Aboriginals was about going on Walkabout whenever they are called to gain focus and clarity on their life's path. If a Walkabout feels right to you this summer, call me and we will create a plan for you, from just a few hours to several days.

Back to Nature

As we gather on our virtual acreage today, I invite you to bring with you all of the items you have gathered from nature over the years. Have you discovered rocks, sticks, feathers, leaves and such from your outdoor adventures and taken them home to hold their preciousness near you? Bring them here today in your mind so we can all share their beauty. Thank you. I'm glad you are here.

Nature has been a huge gift in my life. As a young child I used to crawl through tall weeds in search of snakes and I would crouch down low when one slithered by, fascinated by its form and the way it moved. I would climb high into tall trees to see the lay of the land and the horses in the back field. Over the years I found natural treasures and took them home. About six years ago my then 5 year old nephew came to my house and shook his head in my living room as he said 'Too much nature.' I was surprised and didn't understand . . . until now.

Last Tuesday I traveled once again to a sacred site in the heart of our heartland. On the long list of items I was intuitively guided to take with me were some of my earthly treasures. I half wondered what I was going to be led to do with them and also simply trusted that I had been thinking for a while of gifting these to people because I knew their time with me was nearly done. At the first stop on our journey, I took the feathers one by one and watched them float to the earth. In the presence of those moments it was as if the birds they once belonged to gathered and rejoiced. The feathers, sticks, turtle shell, and rocks that I returned to nature were once prized possessions, gifted to me and souvenirs from travels far and wide. I have spent countless moments feeling them and seeing them in my space. What once was sacred to me called to be released back to nature.

Symbolically I felt the connection between what I have taken from the earth and what I choose now to give back. The earth is our home and my mind is meandering to how well we have taken care of her, how well I have taken care of her. We walk upon her and sometimes take for granted her solidity. It felt absolutely right for me to release back into nature what I had taken. I understand what the earth was teaching me. What I was really going for when I gathered these was to feel more connected to earth and to her beauty. Now I have that in lots of other ways. I commit to being closer to her in place of me taking parts of her closer to me.

I'm not suggesting for you to do the same but I invite you to contemplate the balance of what you have received from our earth mother and what you have given. If it feels out of balance, trust you will find the right way to bring your relationship with her into wholeness. Since last October I have spent a lot of time talking with and listening to the earth. She is so open and so grateful and so ready for change. I am in awe of the miracles that are happening in the moments outside of my awareness. Again and again I have been reassured that despite what quakes may come that the earth and all that is a part of her is well prepared.

Next week I will begin my outdoor living experience as I travel throughout the heartland camping. I don't know all of what this journey is about but one thing is clear. I was not meant to live in a box, metaphorically or literally. A house with four walls doesn't feel right to me right now. The wide openness of fresh air and wilderness is my next step. Like a turtle, I will carry my home with me through September pending further guidance. Starting June 2, I will periodically invite you to join me for what I'm calling a Walkabout based on my teachings by the Australian Aboriginals in 2000. This will include vision questing, campfire coaching and conversations and overnight slumber parties if you are so led. : ) More about that soon. I welcome your questions as they come.