New Year's Blessings

​Hello Friend,

     The Gregorian New Year has started and we are past the bright lights, hectic pace, and rich meals that seem to be hallmarks of the holiday season here in the modern world. Wrapping paper, ornaments, and garland have been put away for another year and my home feels in some way empty without all of the twinkling distraction that comes with our cultural ideas of how to celebrate. When the festivities of the season have come to a close I find myself in the same frame of mind each year. What now? How do I embrace this new time that is devoid of the frenetic energy of the past weeks? What is waiting to unfold in this fresh space? What endeavor is asking for me to lean in and make real?

       Just like the New Moon on January 6th, this time of the New Year is a time of incubation. The Moon is not absent in this phase it just rises and sets close to and with the Sun. An act of symmetry and dichotomy at the same time. The Sun, past the Winter Solstice, slowly spending more time with us. Luna's shadowy, hidden, secret, fluid energy waiting to reveal itself all in good time as the days and nights progress. The Sun and the Moon in their never ending dance across the sky.
Here in the north the land lies quietly beneath its blanket of snow. The wild life of the forest sleeps or moves slowly and quietly. The streams, lakes, and rivers burble beneath gleaming ice almost as if deeply dreaming in their dark depths. Trees creak in the cold chill and biting wind. There are sharp cracks from limbs falling from their heights as if the trees are shedding old ideas and outdated patterns. All is dormant, waiting, musing, and drawn in for the deep part of winter. 

       In looking out at the natural world I see that my feeling of post-holiday emptiness is just a trick of the mind. In truth it is a landscape that is pregnant with possibility. Mother Earth, Pachamama, does not leave empty spaces. There is always something present. We just have to be open to looking for what it is. Her gifts are all around us waiting to be appreciated on their own terms, not by our preconceived notions.

     This quiet time of the Earth is one of her greatest gifts. A time to reflect on what has gone before and also a time to rest, contemplate, and seek within for what will support us in the coming year. A time to ask of ourselves what is waiting within me to be expressed. A time to prepare and hold space for whatever manifests.

   The OMEC mission is to encourage a sacred and responsible relationship with the Earth and preserve the ancient wisdom ways of indigenous shamanic cultures. We are all indigenous to this precious planet that we call home. So I would like to extend to you a few invitations.

   I invite you to go out upon the Earth in this fallow time of year and leave offerings to the dreaming streams, the slow and sleeping wildlife, the musing trees, the enduring stones, the whipping wind, and all the spirits of the land. Birdseed, cornmeal, tobacco, your breath, song, prayer, or your presence are gifts that we can give to the land in appreciation for all we receive from her. As we follow the energy of the season and go within, take a moment to extend out as well. As we are a part of nature you just may find that in your giving you find that you are appreciating and nourishing all of yourself as well.

   I also invite you to take some time exploring the many offerings here at OMECand Shamanic Reiki Worldwide. We offer many programs and books, as well as participation in projects that speak to how we can walk this earth in a more conscious way bringing us closer together in community. 

Brightest New Year's Blessings,

Christopher T. Franza / Board of Directors, OMEC