Story Info

Toben
Megan Toben
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
2018

Story & Experience

We gathered together with members of The Eco-Institute Staff & young adults from the Odyssey Fellowship Program, who collectively decided to hold our ceremony with the waters of the 4-acre pond that exists here with us on the land where we live. We began with a meditation about how this very water has existed on earth for over a billion years, and throughout that time, it has taken countless forms. Students offered thoughts about the various forms this water might have passed through, including snow, sleet, rain, river, ocean, cloud… and including the bodies of life forms like dinosaurs and humans. We spoke about how essential water is to Life, and I shared teachings I was given by native grandmothers at Standing Rock. Together we created little “prayer boats” with flowers, candles, quartz crystals, and each a bit of the beautiful golden yarn. At sunset, we set them adrift with our gratitude and prayers for the healing of all the waters of the world. We were an international group, including people from Puerto Rico, the Netherlands, Ontario, and Brazil!

We gathered together with members of The Eco-Institute Staff & young adults from the Odyssey Fellowship Program, who collectively decided to hold our ceremony with the waters of the 4-acre pond that exists here with us on the land where we live. We began with a meditation about how this very water has existed on earth for over a billion years, and throughout that time, it has taken countless forms. Students offered thoughts about the various forms this water might have passed through, including snow, sleet, rain, river, ocean, cloud… and including the bodies of life forms like dinosaurs and humans. We spoke about how essential water is to Life, and I shared teachings I was given by native grandmothers at Standing Rock. Together we created little “prayer boats” with flowers, candles, quartz crystals, and each a bit of the beautiful golden yarn. At sunset, we set them adrift with our gratitude and prayers for the healing of all the waters of the world. We were an international group, including people from Puerto Rico, the Netherlands, Ontario, and Brazil!

Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

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