Seed NewsvineAfrican Journey
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Africa has never presented strongly to me as a destination for
travel. I had read many accounts of it's history during my youth,
but a history which told of exploitation of resources and people,
wars and the building of empires, rather than the stories of the
land and her people. As a result of my association with the Avalon
community, I had the good fortune to meet with Munene and Liz, both
of whom had a close connection with Credo Mutwa, a Zulu sangoma
from South Africa. I was interested to meet with him and hear his
stories, but again Africa seemed a long way off, and my commitment
at the time was working with the healers of South America and their
particular medicines.
Whilst in the exploration of that realm, I found myself once again
in Brasil with a Colombian shaman of my acquaintance. I had spent
some time prior with him in Colombia, and synchronicity was flowing
rapidly, suggesting a journey of significant unfolding. I had been
ten days in Brasil with a particular group of people, and the final
ceremony with that group had been a difficult one for many, with
the confrontation of fear being the focus for the night's work. I
had worked through the night, assisting the shaman in maintaining
the integrity of the circle, despite repeated attempts to disrupt
that integrity. I was not alone in this work, as all there present
were clearly aware of the seriousness of the situation, drawing
close to the fire and offering a collective rejection of
negativity. Finally, having reached the limit of my patience and
endurance, I invoked the name of an ancestral shaman which had been
offered to me in ceremony some six months earlier. The power of
that connection made manifest was a stream of strange language with
which the ancestors were called, the forces of nature invoked and
the spirits of the surrounding land called upon to insist upon an
end to fear. The call was made not only for that group, but for an
end to the war and oppression so prominent across the globe. I
moved away from the fire and danced around the boundary, rattling
and singing forth a language of my cells, a heartfelt call of what
it is to be truly human.
When I returned to the fire, chest heaving from my exertions, the
environment had changed, peace and clarity were obvious and the
faces of those around the fire reflected the absence of fear. I
made a gesture of apology toward the shaman, hoping I had not acted
to disrupt his own process. He smiled and offered in his very
limited English.
"You African Shåman!"
I was puzzled, as I had discussed the ancestral shaman with him
earlier, and he had told me of his origin in the Vaupess region of
the Amazon. A number of other people approached me later to ask of
the langauge. "It sounded almost African" was the
consensus.
I enjoyed the peace and clarity of the collective mind, free of
fear and thought little more of it until four or five days later as
I was assisting the shaman in the preparation of medicine for the
coming week's ceremony. It was a long process which involved
stirring of the brew for many hours into the night. At around
midnight as we were working, a man arrived from Kenya. He had been
booked to arrived a week before, but was delayed in London by bad
weather, and in the United States by visa problems. When he was
brought to the kitchen where we were working, the shaman asked if
he knew any shaman from Africa. He said that he had not worked with
Kenyan shaman but had met with a shaman from South Africa named
Credo.
My interest was piqued.
"That's very interesting, I know someone from Sydney has a strong
connection with a South African shaman named Credo".
The newly arrived Kenyan (Edwin) asked my who that might
be.
"Munene", I replied.
"Ahhh, Munene" he responded "We are old school friend's from Kenya,
we have known each other for many years!"
I laughed at the workings of spirit, as this connection was
discovered within minutes of meeting each other.
A few days later, I sat in ceremony with Edwin and, in the dawn
light sang quietly at his side an Icaro recently taught me by the
medicine. He shuddered as it came to a close, and made to move away
from the fire, to retire for breakfast. As he did so he put his
hand upon my shoulder. I subsequently received a vision of great
power, unusual for the peak of the ceremony was long passed. In it
I saw great volumes of heavily polluted water pouring over Victoria
Falls. As the dead, corrupted water poured over the brink, it fell
away to a great chasm filled with jagged rubble and the moans of
despair of millions of people. It spoke of great poverty and
disease, and was a difficult thing to hold after the efforts of the
previous night. Nonetheless I felt it a great gift and later Edwin
and I met as different men.
"Difficult gift you offered me, brother" I offered.
"Much work to be done", he returned.
"Much work indeed", I acknowledged, our hands clasped across the
table, a light of newly recalled fraternity between us shining in
our eyes.
The days following were fraught with difficulty, and I did not have
the opportunity to cement that connection with Edwin.
Upon my return to Australia i again met with Liz,
synchronicitously, in Avalon. We discussed my Brasilian visions of
Africa and the connections with Munene. She offered her feeling
that it would be good to meet with Credo. I agreed, but again could
not see the material possibility of that occurrence in the short
term. As I walked away , however, I felt the strong current of
spirit in support of that meeting, such that I turned back,
surprised by the intensity of it, to tell her.
Some months later, I had the opportunity to work with LIz, and so,
the spirits of the land of Africa. During that meeting, certain
places were spoken of as significant to Liz. When I returned to my
home, I looked on the internet for information about Credo. The
first article I read contained a description of a place almost
identical to that described in the work with Liz.
To that end, I have made the decision to trust in the language of
Spirit, the language of the heart, and travel to Africa this coming
November to meet with Credo, and share the journey with
Liz.
As always my focus remains upon the healing of the heart, and I
would welcome the company of like minded, open hearted people to
share with us what promises to be a magical journey to the land
which gave birth to Humanity.
Simon