Of the Land (Part 1)

I believe it is possible for all of us to become "of the land". On the simplest level, all that is required for this is a change of perspective, a change of story.

Most of us have an unconscious habit of seeing ourselves as separate from the land under our homes, the land under our feet. We feel a collective shame around the various land grabs that started in colonial times. We feel grief and a vague responsibility for the loss of wild habitat, clean waters, and abundant animal and plant species where we live. Contemporary cultural narratives suggest that only people with a genealogy tied to the land can ever truly belong. As most people don't have an ancient genetic lineage to where they live, they are left in a perpetual and unconscious state of not belonging, of not having a home. It is an understatement to say that healing the earth will be difficult if humans on a fundamental level do not feel accepted by the very land beneath their feet.

"Until you make the unconscious conscious it will rule your life and you will call it fate." Carl Jung

Much of the practice that we do in Zhineng Qigong surrounds seeing the hidden patterns/stories that rule our lives and claiming the agency to change them. This is not fantasy or making up convenient stories so that we can feel better. It is akin to catching a ride on an eagle's wing to fly to the top of a mountain peak. Where before you could only see the familiar landscape (e.g. unconscious patterns and stories), you now can see a kaleidoscope of images, all of which are true and equally valid. It is perfectly reasonable to choose a new story from this array that brings more love, connection, and unconditional acceptance to your life.

When I fly with the eagle to the top of the mountain, what I see is a never-ending expanse of land and sea and land again. The boundaries I once superimposed on myself to denote city and state and country and continent fall away. What I see is a simultaneous invitation for deep connection and belonging to the specific place of my home and an equal invitation to connect and belong to the entire earth. The concept of being foreign or alien to the land dissappears and makes no sense. My belonging is as strong and rooted as is my willingness to reach out to connect and participate. My belonging is as deep and integrated as I am able to connect deeply and completely with all of my surroundings.

There are many barriers to us fully integrating the truth of our own unconditional acceptance to and from the land. One barrier is that we don't have accurate language to describe what I'm talking about. The word "native" has specific legal and political connotations that would not be accurate to confuse with the contents of this essay. It comes from the Latin word "nativus", to be born and suggests that being native is linked to a birthplace. It is also dominantly and legally used to describe someone of First Nations descent, which is not what we're talking about here. The word"indigenous" also has similar roots and is used in similar contexts. Both words imply birthright, which, given the migratory and ever changing nature of both humans and plants/animals, is far too limited to be relevant for much of life on earth.

What I am looking for is a conceptual framework to describe the state we arrive at having received the truth from within ourselves mirrored back at us from the natural world, that we belong, unconditionally. Though this truth has been with us since the moment of our birth, it is one that most of us require the grace of infinite mercy to return to and the strength of a community to stabilize. We return to the state of "of the land" together.

Though becoming "of the land" may be theoretically simple, it is certainly not a process an easy or quick process. It could very likely be a multigenerational endeavor.

"The Journey of 1,000 miles begins with one step." Chinese Proverb

To be continued...