I was recently invited to address a gathering of clergy who are being trained to serve as resident chaplains in the pastoral care department of a major urban medical center. Specifically, they asked me to present the shamanic point of view of team building with an emphasis on creating alliances and community.

What a fascinating assignment. I immediately sat myself down to give some serious thought to the substance of their request. After much rifling through of books and files as well as several sessions of deep meditation on the topic at hand, I realized that there is no such thing.

From a shamanic point of view (as well as quantum scientific thought) separation is a false concept. It is redundant to think of reaching out to build teams, alliances, and communities, since we are already all connected, allied, joined together as one. The fact is there is no such thing as opposing sides.

There is only one side: just us folks, all of us everywhere, trying to live life as best we can, much more alike than different. There is no us and them. There is only us. We — all of us who occupy this planet: organic and inorganic; living and not; past, present, and future — are  the world.

We come from our Mother Earth and return to Her belly. We are made of the same substance as the sea, the soil, the stars. There are, and ever have been, only so many molecules in existence, and all the rest — birth, growth, death, decay, development, change, evolution, transformation — is really just about recycling.

We breathe the same air as our cave-dwelling ancestors, continually inhaling and exhaling, trading carbon dioxide and oxygen with our plant relatives untold billions of times over the millennia. And the same holds true for water. We drink the tears of crocodiles and elephants. We wash in the drainage of the ages. It rains, it pools, it evaporates, it rains. We drink, we pee, we drink, we pee. Again and again and again in a grand scale cosmic round robin.

All borders and boundaries and separations are pure illusion. Each time we touch someone we leave some of our skin atoms behind and pick up a parcel of new ones in an intimate epidermal exchange. Thus we merge, quite literally becoming part of each other. I am you and you are me and we are we. We are all in this together, inextricably bound, riding on our beautiful blue planet through space and time. We are one team, one community, one world, one living, breathing entity. And the sooner we realize it, the happier, safer, and saner we will be.

Today we are surrounded by artificial division, manipulated resentment and fear-mongered anxiety. The real dynamic being played out right now is not about conflicting religious, economic or nationalistic factions. It is not even about war. The struggle is actually between those who believe that the world is defined in terms of contrast, of black and white opposition — good or evil, right or wrong, war or peace, with us or against us — and those who are able to see things in a more harmonious, holistic and congruent manner.  

These are deciding times. It is imperative for those of us who perceive the big picture to make a concerted effort to reach out in ever-expanding circles of affinity, support, and empathetic embrace. Now is the time to create healthy, functioning networks in recognition and in honor of our mutual state of being and our common fate.

Let us come out of the cocoon closets of our isolated, separate selves and set our intentions on unity. Let us come together to make connections. To make friends. To make sense. To make art. To make amends. To make whoopy. To make time. To make magic. To make love. To make change. To make peace in our hearts and on the planet.

Let us project ourselves outward as cooperative partners; as interconnected members of our families, communities, species and world; as consciously coexistent inhabitants of our planet, and as conscientious co-creators of our combined future. Life on Earth depends upon our interdependent efforts.
 
Yours for a fabulous fourth of July,

xxQMD

 
When the 13th day on the month lands on a Friday, the culturally unfavorable attributes of each are multiplied by infinity. Friday, the day of original sin, the day Jesus died, the day of public hangings, in combination with 13, the number of steps on a gallows, the number of coils of rope in a hangman’s noose, the number of the Death card in the tarot deck, is indubitably designated as a day of portent
and doom.

The pitiful suicide note of a window washer that was found with his body in a gas-filled room at his home and quoted in a 1960 issue of the Yorkshire Post, underscores its powerful, popular reputation, "It just needed to rain today — Friday the 13th — for me to make up my mind."  Poor sod.

But up until the patriarchal revolution, both Fridays and 13s were held in the very highest esteem. Both the day and the number were associated with the Great Goddesses, and therefore, regarded as the sacred essence of luck and good fortune. Thirteen is certainly the most essentially female number — the average number of menstrual cycles in a year. The approximate number, too of annual cycles of the moon. When Chinese women make offerings of moon cakes, there are sure to be 13 on the platter. Thirteen is the number of blood, fertility and lunar potency. 13 is the lucky number of the Great Goddess.

Held holy in Her honor, Friday was observed as the day of Her special celebrations. Jews around the world still begin the observance of the Sabbath at sunset on Friday evenings when they invite in the Sabbath Bride. Friday is the Sabbath in the Islamic world. Friday is also sacred to Oshun, the Yoruban orisha of opulent sensuality and overwhelming femininity, and Frig the Norse Goddess of love and sex, of fertility and creativity. Her name became the Anglo-Saxon noun for love, and in the sixteenth century, frig  came to mean “to copulate.”

Friday the 13th is ultimately the celebration of the lives and loves of Lady Luck. On this, Her doubly-dedicated day, let us consider what fortuitous coincidences constitute our fate. The lucky blend of just the right conditions, chemistries, elements and energies, which comprise our universe. The way it all works. The way we are. That we are at all. That, despite whatever major or minor matters we might think are unlucky, we have somehow managed to remain alive and aware. This Friday the 13th, let us stand in full consciousness of the miraculousness of existence and count our blessings. Knock on wood.

With blessings of nectar and honey,

xxQMD

For years, there has been a certain auspicious day every spring when a bumblebee would fly onto my terrace garden where it would hover contentedly everyday, all day long, throughout the entire summer, until a certain day in autumn when it would fly away.

This ritual visitation took place without fail for more than 15 years until a few years ago when my bee stopped showing up. I say “my bee.” But was it? Could it possibly have been the same bee for a decade and a half? How long to do bees live?

Or did my fuzzy fat friend select a successor who also passed the mantle when her vacation time was up? But whether or not it was the same bee, it was definitely my bee. My buddy. My constant summer companion. My nectar-gathering compatriot.

In Hellenistic Greece, bees were understood to be related to and a manifestation of the muse. My bee was an inspiration to me, as well, and I missed her visits dearly. And so did my flowers.

My bee isn’t the only one who stopped showing up. Millions upon millions of bees all over the world have been abandoning their hives and simply disappearing. Scientists named this mysterious phenomena colony collapse disorder.

If they are dying, they have chosen to do it in private, because large numbers of their corpses have not been found. Last year I found three dead bee bodies on the sidewalk just outside of my building. I saved their remains and added them to my growing collection of dead bumblebees. I keep my beautiful box filled with dead bees on my healing altar, where I pray for their wellbeing.

In some areas over sixty percent of the American honeybee population has died or disappeared during the past ten years, and this trend is continuing around the world. The potential results of this trend are terrifying. After all, one in three bites of all that we consume has been pollinated by bees.

In 1923 Rudolf Steiner predicted the dire state of the honeybee today. He said that within fifty to eighty years, we would see the consequences of mechanizing the forces that had previously operated organically in the beehive — including breeding queen bees artificially.

Well, I could have them that the Queens don’t take interference kindly. And now they are having their royal revenge — a terrible, drastic, exacting retribution, which maybe, just maybe, might force us to rethink our precarious relationship with Mother Nature.

Last week, my bee came back. I was completely delighted, overtaken by the depth and passion of my joy at our reunion. She hovered in front of my face for a moment then landed on my leg. And stayed there for a really long time, our bodies buzzing in unison.

Soon I noticed that she was uncharacteristically lethargic. Oh, no! Did she come back to die on me? I began to stroke her back ever so softly. I whispered prayers and gave her reiki. Then, because I had to leave, I placed her on the dirt of one of my flowering plants. If she was going to die, I wanted it to be in nature.

When I returned home a few hours later, the first thing I did was rush out to check on the bee, half expecting to see her lying on her back with her legs sticking up in the air.

But she was gone. Just gone.

“Like the bees from which this exhibition has drawn its name, we are individuals, yet we are, most surely, like the bees, a group, and as a group we have, over the millennia, built ourselves a hive, our home. We would be foolish, to say the least, to turn our backs on this carefully and beautifully constructed home especially now, in these uncertain and unsettling times.”
-The Museum of Jurassic Technology, Venice , CA

With blessings of nectar and honey,

xxQMD

Lately I’ve seen several outrageous television commercials that blithely extol the benefits of throwaway dust rags and floor mops and disposable baby bibs, of all things. Apparently the landfills are not yet filled to over-flowing capacity with pampers as I had assumed. As it is, every American uses an average of 4-6 trees a year on paper goods, wood products, and newsprint.

Knowing myself to be a concerned citizen and certified Queen of Reducing, Re-using and Recycling, I feel morally indignant in the face of such crass waste. The mere sight of The New York Sunday Times stacked in high piles at the newsstand fills me with queasy guilt. Heaven forbid I should buy one. I take my own bags to the grocery. I use cloth napkins and hankies and refuse to use paper towels. I’m the one who used the same paper bag for 65 days worth of coffees-to-go.

All well and good, but what have I done lately? What did I do today?
This is an important distinction: what did I do versus what did I not do. The issue is not how many trees did I save, but how many trees did I plant? I am 62-years old. That means that I should have planted 250-350 trees by now to replace those that I have used. While I have conducted quite a few tree-planting ceremonies over the years, I still owe the earth a new orchard, at least.

Maybe it is self-defeating to think that we should be giving up comforts and luxuries in order to be more environmentally correct and connected. Such negative terminology doesn’t make acting conscientiously seem like a very attractive prospect, but rather like some sort of deprivation that would appeal only to martyrs. That’s just bad psychology. Unproductive. The medicine does not have to taste bad in order to work well.

Perhaps it is more fruitful to think not of giving something up, but of giving something back. It is the most elemental and universal rule of etiquette that if you take something, you put it back; if you use something, you replace it — plus some. While saving and conserving are admirable virtues to be commended and encouraged, being generous and proactively responsive is equally crucial to our survival, body and soul. Take less. Give more.

It is pay back time. So I pledge to plant trees this Spring. As many as I can. Won’t you join me?

Let’s plant trees everywhere. In our gardens, inside our houses, throughout our parks and school-yards. Even those of us who live in the most crowded cement cities can join a community garden or participate in a park clean-up and planting day.

We can “buy” acres of rain forest to give as gifts or have trees planted in honor of all the special occasions celebrated by friends and family. We could adopt a neighborhood or a stretch of highway and help take care of it. Like a brigade of Green Guerilla Queens, we could spread out and scatter wildflower seeds in every vacant lot, strip, mall and avenue median. Just like Queen Lady Bird did.

With best vernal blessings,

xxQMD

 

Mother's Day was originally started after the Civil War,

as a protest to the carnage of that war, by women who

had lost their sons.

 

The following is the original Mother's Day Proclamation

written by Julia Ward Howe in Boston, 1870:

 

"Arise, then, women of this day! Arise all women who have heart,

whether our baptism be that of water or tears!

 

Say firmly: 

“’We will not have our great questions decided by irrelevant

agencies. Our husbands shall not come to us, reeking with

carnage, for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken

from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of

charity, mercy and patience. We women of one country will be

too tender of those of another country to allow our sons to be

trained to injure theirs.'

 

In the name of womanhood and of humanity, I earnestly ask

that a general congress of women without limits of nationality

may be appointed and held at some place deemed most

convenient and at the earliest period consider with its objects

to promote the alliance of the different nationalities, the

amicable settlement of international questions, the great and

general interests of peace."

 

Let us take her eloquent plea for peace to heart. In the name

of all the mothers all through time beginning with the creatrix

Mother Goddesses and in the interest of our precious Mother Earth,

let us lend our voice, our time, our money, our energy and our

passion to the cause of peace on the planet. 

 

xxYour Mama Donna

 

 

 

I can’t believe that I didn't post at all last month. Where did April go? The weeks and months, it seems, just melted into each other. But each day seemed endless.

Last week I bumped into my neighbors Time and Andrea as I was out walking Poppy in the morning and they were leaving for work. We stood around talking for a few minutes, and then we each proceeded with our day. It was a long and tiring day — for me, at least. Filled with work and play, spirit and pleasure.

Late that same evening, I was out with the dog and once again saw Tim and Andrea as they were getting home from work, dinner, and a couple of sets at a music club. Again, we hung around and chatted. I said something like, “When I saw you guys last week…” And Tim said, “that was this morning!”

How could that be? It seemed like forever ago. Time is such a slippery scoundrel. It is impossible to pin it down long enough to grab hold of it. It just keeps slithering away.

Time is a paradox, at once temporary and permanent, external and internal, objective and subjective. And it is so confusing. Days that are weeks long and filled with 10,000 things. Weeks, which seem like seconds, fleeting and ephemeral. 

"When you sit with a nice girl for two hours, it seems like two minutes. When you sit on a hot stove for two minutes, it seems like two hours that's relativity."
-Albert Einstein

Time flies and time stands still. Time passes, but is forever. Time creates. Time maintains. Time destroys. I save time, I waste time, I keep time, I lose time, I kill time, I make time, I take time out.

Time is a sneak thief, hell bent on racing toward my mortality, so I will do all I can to outsmart it by savoring every precious moment, by being conscious, focused, and conscientious in each second. By being here now.

Blessings of eternity,

xxMama Donna

Well, I am fine. Out and about and as good as new. Whew ! That was a long haul. But now I am finally finding my way back to my body again and doesn’t it feel fabulous.

Before my famous fall I had started to wear a pedometer with the goal of walking at least 10,000 steps a day, which is recommended for optimum fitness. When I first crawled out of my convalescent bed I put the pedometer back on and measured my first attempts at hobbling about. I could only handle around 400 steps a day.

Now, a month later, I am doing 10-11,000 steps every other day. I walk every morning — in the park if I possibly can. Starting the day in nature, walking through the woods and along streams sets me up for the entire day. It is more nourishing than breakfast.

In a couple of weeks I will get back to my water aerobics class. It is still too cold. Even though the pool is indoors and the gym is quite warm and everyone else in the class (all of whom are older than me) manages to get there rain or shine or snow, I just can’t seem to be able to rouse myself from my flannel sheets to go jump in the water.

But my excuses are almost over. As soon as the weather warms up to the 50’s I’ll be there. The water movement will be great for strengthening and stretching my weakened and stiff muscles. Besides, it is fun and I love it. And I can have a sauna afterward.

Yoga is another story. I am craving the forward bends and stretches and sometimes stop in the middle of working to bend down to my toes and just hang out, as it were, for a minute or so. It releases tension and feels like a mini vacation.

But it really hurts to stand on my knees for any of the table positions or the child pose. Even so, I will start to do some of my yoga tapes and skip the parts I can’t do.

Last week I went to a belly dance extravaganza. The music is so mesmerizing and invigorating and the dancers were so sensual and lithe, it made me want to take lessons. My friend Suzanne said that she would take them with me, which is great because without her I would be the only chubby middle aged woman among all the young sprites. Now we will be two Queen goddesses!

I have never, NEVER been an active, athletic person, but something about having been injured and immobile for so long has lit a fire under me. And for the first time in my life I have wanted to exercise, move, groove. What fun!

The emails responding to my fall keep coming in. And so so many many of them relate stories of their own recent falls. The number is staggering. What is going on? It is like the ground is being pulled out from under our feet.

These are women and men from all over the country and beyond. Is there a common denominator that connects us? Is this a general trend? What is going on?

Well, there does seem to be a connection. I did notice that almost to a person, everyone on this list is either a spiritual practitioner/healer or an artist of some sort. We are all cultural creatives, out-of-the-box thinkers, visionaries, empaths, seers.

We are the first responders. And, with our world so seriously out of whack, there is a lot to respond to these days. We are surrounded by unhealthy, unstable, toxic conditions. There is so much pain and suffering, exploitation and domination on our poor beleaguered planet.

And we tend to take it all in. To take it upon ourselves to fix, to transform whatever/whoever needs help. Whenever. We are overwhelmed. We are exhausted. Is it any wonder we are shaky on our feet?

Here are some of the letters. What do you think is going on?


I am writing because I have fallen twice in the past month, and that is HIGHLY UNUSUAL. I have been feeling less sure-footed and "out of the flow" just enough to have it be on the front burner of my awareness. Therefore, when you wrote that others in your circle have reported falling lately, and it peaked your curiosity, I couldn't resist writing and introducing myself. So, thank you for your New Year reminder of the importance that we be solidly grounded. I am adding that to my intentions.
-Susan, CA

 I wanted to let you know that I also fell a month ago in the kitchen of the Harrisburg Unitarian Church. Yes, I do need to be more centered. There were many healers on hand when I fell. I have recovered with much help also. Aren't sisters great? Peace,
-Randa, PA

I know how you must feel since I fell on ice a few weeks ago and tore tendons in my shoulder and rotator cuff. It's been very painful.
-Vince, NY

As you mention the trend of many of us falling, I have to report that my best friend in Florida took a tumble (for no apparent reason), broke her arm and hand in three places and had two surgeries. After reading your note, I stopped and recalled that I've fallen (flat out down on the ground — and once rolling) three times in the past six months. Every time, I've gotten up, stunned that I'd not gotten seriously hurt. Not even a bruise. Blessed be.  
-August, CA

Funny thing, the likelihood of falling again, whether spiritually or physically, is sometimes great if you don't watch your footing along the path. I stumble quite a bit myself with my head in the clouds and all. Just the other day I was so taken with the beautiful deer in my backyard, I fell right out the backdoor....geeeez....right smack dab on my keester. It wasn't a graceful fall either. First the ankle went sideways, the elbow hit the siding twisting the arm as I tried to stop myself and then the whole body went into this type of goofy mode as I continued my descent to the concrete. It was quite a sight to behold. Needless to say, I was sore for a couple days but not too bad. Thank Goddess for extra padding in the caboose!
-Kimi, NJ

This Mars retrograde causing accidents, especially when combined with anger, speed and fatigue. It is opposing Pluto for the next couple of days and we all should be careful. I fell on my right shoulder 3 times between April and July and was very injured. I had a slight fall this afternoon as well. I am going to be very careful for the next month, especially the next few days.
-Nan, TX

My brother-in-law in Rochester, NY, fell two weeks ago today and broke 3 ribs. Needless to say, he's been in quite a bit on discomfort & pain. However, your words about people falling reminded me, too, that I've been hearing a lot about peoples' falls. Lots of them. Certainly will pass that "awareness" along & remind folks to slow down and be careful.
-Pam, NY

I also have tripped and fallen a lot of times this year, and I now go downstairs like an old lady. I also fell going up the stairs near the swimming pool and I injured a rib. Very painful and it took 6 weeks to heal! Also still have a lump on knee from another fall! With me I think it is that I forget to lift my legs enough. But it must be a common occurrence in "Older" people, because we got a leaflet through the door the other day, which invited us to come to a meeting (of old age pensioners!) to learn how to avoid falling! Yuck!
-Bé, England

 I just fell down the stairs and hurt my back.
-Emma, NY

My friend’s husband, a young man, fell down the stairs on his way to work. He broke is neck and died instantly. What a tragedy.
-dava, VA

I just tripped over my dog and broke both arms.
John, FL

I was so sorry to read about your fall, then I had one, too — in the darkest dark, out checking to see if the car was locked, slipping on a wet rock, going down on my tail bone. Now I am on drugs and a walker for 8-10 weeks and it hurts.
-Jo, AZ

Having taken several nasty falls myself (the last of which entailed a 3-day hospital stay due to fractured ribs and a collapsed lung), I know how painful recovery can be. And I know how frustrating immobility can be! Active minds demand active bodies.
Smoky, IL

 Thanks for this post about slow life
     Hmmmmmmmm
     I just  fell last  week
     Toooooooooooooooo  muchhhhhhhhhhhhhh  everything
     Sending rest & love to usssssssssssssss
     -Linda, NY

Funny — I fell walking my friend's dog and sprained my ankle. I put too much ice on it and got burns and also cracked my left pinky finger — now taped together. I am in constant pain and will take months to recover. Yes, my friend also fell on black ice upstate — sad — she is in lots of pain. Don’t know if it is cosmic or what, but so many of my friends have been falling also. Wonder what these falls mean? Please pray for me too. Thanks.
-Naomi, NJ

We are fragile in such funny ways. So strong and then, our bodies... I am taking care of my mother. She fell walking home and fractured her kneecap. She is 89.
-Annie, MA

 I too fell the other day, on my knee, outside. Maybe bad weather for priestesses. I'm certain it's karmic.
Marion, NY

I know what it is to fall and sprain/break things, having experienced it myself not too long ago. This may be an astrologically prone time for falling, because Gail's brother-in-law AND her sister both fell within one day of each other, one broke his femur and the other her arm and wrist.
-Charoula, OH

Thanks for reminding us to stay grounded. I, too, have heard about people falling down.
-Sheryll, CA

Very strange point about many others falling. My mother has been experiencing this to the point where she's been going in for all kinds of tests to find out what's wrong.
-Lauren, NJ

I am so glad you are recovering and taking a moment of rest. I think the cosmic effect of so many falling is just that. Slowing us all down a beat.
-Ra-el, CA

We're thrilled to hear you are doing much better. Your accident gave you an opportunity to receive love and healing exclusively, instead of giving it all the time. If there are people in your circle who are also falling, it is probably because (like attracts like!) they are also generous, loving, giving people who needed to be forced to sit still and receive love, nurturing and healing. Does it make sense now?
Love, peace and blessings,
Marcy, NY

 
And here is a lovely affirmation from a reader that I would like to share with you:

I, Queen Mama Donna (Insert your name here.)
keep my feet firmly planted
in the love I have for myself
and the love others have for me.
I am always steady on my feet.
When I fall, I fall only into love.
-Rev. Deborah L. Roberts, WI

With blessings of balance,

xxQueen Mama Donna

Well, it has been quite a ride since my fall. Or, to be more precise, it has been a non-ride, a total no-go for nearly two months.

To make a long, painful convalescence short, I have had an enforced period of rest and slow living, which I have so desperately needed for a very long time. Which is probably why I fell in the first place. My body really needed to sit down and stay put for a while. For weeks on end, as it turned out.

I have had quite a few nasty falls in my adult life, five this year alone. Some people fall ill when they are overworked and overwhelmed. I just fall. Fall down on the job, as it were. I keep keeping on until I am standing on my last leg which can no longer support me. And so then I fall.

Clearly the lesson is in learning my own limitations. In honoring my own exhaustion. In slowing down for a change. In stopping while I am still standing. In being kind and indulgent to my Self. In respecting my royal prerogative to rest when I feel like it.

Sound familiar?

We Queens live lives enriched by our own hard won sense of purpose, passion and power. We live in an expanded universe of possibility as we strive to fulfill our own best potential, and at the same time further the causes that we promote for the good of all.

We hold positions of influence and responsibility. We are directed and enthusiastic. We are excited and charged. We are also, some of us, driven. There is, after all, so much to do and so little time. We are raring to go. And go. And go. And keep right on going.

My dear, regal sisters, we mustn’t allow ourselves to get carried away by busyness. (Do you hear me, Queen Mama Donna?) It is so easy for the demands of the outer world to lure us away from our essential Selves, to sever us from our own inner center of gravity.

This internal/eternal Self is what gives us our energy, our inspiration and our moral authority. If we lose contact with our soul being, we lose our balance, our perspective and our effectiveness. We lose everything.

We must, for the sake of our Selves, for the sake of each other, for the sake of our entire beleaguered planet, make our Self-care become a priority. Let us take the time to nap, to meditate, to walk under the trees, to stare out the window. Time to be. There is so much at stake.

We must be vigilant Queens, unrelenting in the defense of the sanctity and sovereignty of our own Self-concern — physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual — if we are to be fit, wise and worthy enough to rule our domains.

May we enter this new year with both feet on the ground, firmly rooted and steady. May we stand in our center, unshakeable.



 

 
Five weeks ago today I fell in my office. I don't know what happened. Falling is a funny (though definitely NOT humorous) thing. One minute you are going about your business and the next, you are on the floor.

As I crashed down, I heard an ominous POP. Luckily, my dear assistant was here. And also luckily, I was able to see my acupuncturist right away. I did not break anything, but I tore my psoas muscle. I never even knew I had one. Never heard the word before. But I learned that it is a very major muscle, one of the largest in the body. It encircles the lower torso like a girdle and connects the pelvis, hips and spine. Essentially, it holds the upper and lower parts of the body together.

The first thing everyone asked was whether I had broken anything. I might have been better off if I had. Apparently, an injured muscle is much more painful and takes much longer to heal than a broken bone. Indeed, the pain in my groin and sciatic region has been excruciating.

I have been seeing my acupuncturist regularly and have received some miraculous energy healing, as well as reiki and homeopathic remedies. These have all helped enormously, but mainly what was and still is needed is total rest. I used a walker for a couple of weeks, which made it easier to get to and from the bathroom, but I stayed in bed most of the time.

Every day brought a small (SMALL) improvement in terms of pain and also range of motion. I am grateful, because I am a zillion times better now, but I still hurt when I step on my right leg and am exhausted by every step I attempt. After 4 weeks, it is clear that this will be a long haul to total recovery of my mobility.

My healers tell me that I need at least another week of serious bed rest and I am glad to comply, because I do feel like I need it. But the good news is that I have been hobbling without the walker and use the cane less and less. So all of the rest and treatments have been working marvelously. And by next week, I should be up and about in some fashion — surely not at my usually intensity, but I will not be bedridden any more!

I am overwhelmed with the tremendous support that I received this month. When word went out about my accident, my spiritual communities — my students, clients, readers, and colleagues came through for me both spiritually and physically in so many wonderful ways.

I received thousands of emails and cards from all across the country as well as Canada, England, Spain, Greece, Australia, and Iceland, which cheered me no end. Also, poems and prayers to inspire me, lots of great advice as to healing modalities, gifts of ointments
and oils and liniments, long distance reiki and healing, and money to help defray all the costs in a month when I could not work.

How can I ever express the depth of my gratitude? Your love and support humbles me and makes me so proud.

I did notice something troubling in all the emails that I have been receiving. So many of you have also been falling of late. An amazing number of you have been tumbling down and receiving a wide array of injuries of your own. Is this cosmic? I don't know. But I want to
suggest that we all be a little more aware, a little more careful, a little more centered as we negotiate our lives.

These are disorienting and troubling times and we need to be solidly grounded. The world needs us to be strong and healthy — ready, willing, and able to care for ourselves, each other, and our poor precious planet.

I send blessings of gratitude and healing to you all. May we enter this new year with both feet on the ground and our ideals and ethics, our prayers and blessings, our best intentions of love and peace soaring above in heavenly majesty.

xxMama Donna