The Gateway of Initiation
by Linda Heron Wind, Ph.D.
Initiation is a natural phenomenon. It consists of stepping away from
what has been, through a gateway that is neither here nor there and finally
into a new place that is unknown until you get there. Caterpillars do
this when they go into a cocoon (the gateway) on their way to becoming
a butterfly. Humans do this as they pass through transitions in their
lives from being a child to an adult or from an adult to a wisdom keeper.
There are many examples of initiation in nature. Indigenous people ritualized
these transitions as times of gaining wisdom and power. In our culture,
we not only lack the rituals around initiation, but we are taught to hold
on to what is and grow in a linear fashion.
Initiation is not linear but a circular movement. In a sense, the changing of the seasons represents an initiatory experience with growth and flowering in the spring and summer followed by the dying off and stillness of the fall and winter gateway. A seed is a gateway with great potential that cannot be seen in that form. With our linear programming we tend to resist the process of initiation, where we stand in the gateway empty feeling like all that we know is gone and we don't know what is coming next.
Humanity is now in a great initiatory process. We are moving from a world
that has been the same for many generations. This world we know operates
on physical principles and has given rise to great knowledge and awareness
of the physical dimension. The place we are moving to is a level of consciousness
that transcends the physical and operates on energetic principles. We
are currently in the gateway, neither here nor there, feeling very shaky
with the not-knowing.
There are many smaller gateways within this
period of initiation that began with the Harmonic Convergence in 1987
and will end with the winter solstice in 2012. The Harmonic Concordance
last November was a gateway as was the Venus passage between the Earth
and the Sun in May-June earlier this year. The Fall Equinox was a gateway
between the pillars of the New and Full Moon this month. And now we are
approaching the pentagrams as the pillars around a solar eclipse and ending
with a lunar eclipse in October.
These events are large accelerations of energy
that make it easier for us to move into new places that we can now only
imagine. In a sense, these energy accelerations are creating a ritual
that involves not only all of humanity but the Earth herself. Our willingness
to step through the gateway of this new time, this new consciousness,
is what will change things on Earth. For each of us, the issues and circumstances
we find ourselves in right now are all different but uniquely designed
to provide us with the opportunity to move through this initiation. We
can do it gracefully with trust and surrender or we can resist and refuse
to go. Yet moving with this energy may bring not only great change but
also freedom within ourselves that we can now only dream, while resisting
will bring a greater sense of entrapment within a world that no longer
nurtures us.
Certainly we can choose to step through the gateway at another time but moving when the energy of the Earth and stars are perfectly aligned is much easier. Make use of this energy by choosing to leave old habits and ways of responding to life behind if they no longer serve your highest good. Have the courage to choose thoughts, words, actions, and feelings that are consistent with the world of unity and connection that we say we want. We are the ones we have been waiting for and this is the time for choosing. Let's dance through this gateway into a world of harmony! How would that change the way you respond to your life? Feed these images gourmet meals of your energy during this time of initiation, for we must collectively call this new world into being.
Initiation
Into new territory
Holy, virgin ground
If you have comments on these articles or ideas for future topics, call Linda Heron Wind at (585) 924-5620 or send e-mail to LHWind@aol.com.
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