Spring/Summer
2002 Issue Welcome
to the third issue of our Online Newsletter.
In the first two issues, I featured articles on service programs being conducted
around the world by individuals and organizations using the Alaskan essences.
In this issue, I highlight the Reindeer Moss essence and its healing implications
in light of the events of 9/11/2001. You can read past issues by clicking on the
link(s) below.
Reindeer
Moss and 9/11
By Steve Johnson
Ground Zero
In
April of 2002, I gave a two-day workshop on the Alaskan Essences in lower Manhattan,
New York City. It was late afternoon a few days before the workshop when I arrived
in the city, and I knew I had to go to Ground Zero that evening.
 This
was my first time in the city, so to get to Ground Zero I followed the lights
that had recently been set up there-two powerful beams that radiated into the
sky and were quite visible above the surrounding buildings. When I was about four
blocks away, I stepped into a very tangible energy field. It was like walking
into another reality. I stopped and tuned in and felt an extremely powerful and
compassionate field of angelic healing energy. I could sense a dome of light over
this part of Lower Manhattan and the energy of rejuvenation was very strong. I
continued and walked around the various areas that has been set up for observation
and memorials and then headed back to my friend's apartment. The
energy of healing and reconciliation that I felt that night was profound. This
healing was taking place on a vibrational level and was primarily focused on the
loss of life and the impact to the Earth resulting from the attacks. It was extremely
important to me to feel the strength and potential of this healing energy, and
to realize how available it was to anyone around the world who needed it. My sense
was, "this part of the city is in good hands, but what about the rest of the city,
and beyond?" I came to the realization that the healing of 9/11 will not just
take place at Ground Zero, but in and through the hearts of each person who suffered
a loss, or was in any way affected by these events.
 The challenge here is to open our hearts,
regardless of the pain or sadness we are holding, so we can receive the abundant
support and healing energy that is available. As each one of us does this, we
allow this healing light to spread out into the rest of New York City, the United
States, and throughout the world.
For many, this opening is difficult.
Reflecting on my experiences at Ground Zero, and on insights gained during my
workshop in lower Manhattan and from the essence work I have done with clients
over the past 11 months, I have come to realize that what is calling out to be
healed is not just the shock, trauma, and loss precipitated by this terrible event,
but something far deeper. I feel that what happened on 9/11 shook loose a huge
unresolved layer of grief and sadness from events we as humans, and more specifically
as Americans, have experienced in the past. The Earth has been holding this energy
for hundreds of years, but now it has been released into the collective consciousness
and we are being asked to confront and integrate it. Luckily, we have the tools
to do this-there is an abundance of healing light available on the planet, and
we have vibrational essences. In this context, one Alaskan essence has come up
for my clients more than any other-Reindeer Moss.
The Plant
Reindeer
Moss (Cladina stellaris) is one of the most prolific plants in Alaska, ranging
across millions of acres of forest and tundra. Despite its common name, it belongs
to the lichen family. Instead of growing from roots, lichens attach themselves
to soil, rocks, and other suitable surfaces using small fibers. Plants grow directly
from other plants to form a network of intertwined branches that cover vast areas
like a carpet.  Reindeer Moss draws its sustenance
directly from the elements, expanding and contracting very quickly in response
to changes in humidity and temperature. This symbiotic relationship makes it a
very precise indicator of rapid changes in the quality of the environment.
Reindeer
Moss is one of the oldest plants on the planet. As a member of the lichen family,
it has witnessed the passing of ages and of many cycles of human experience. It
is also interesting to note that individual clumps of Reindeer Moss have a lifespan
that exceeds our own. Plants grow very slowly, producing a new branch every year,
and mature when they are about 100 years old.
The Essence
Reindeer
Moss works with the archetypal levels of grief and loss that are a part of our
legacy as members of the human family. A prime example is the collective loss
experienced by Native Americans after being removed from their homeland and placed
on reservations. These people had a living and respectful relationship with their
land. Then they were displaced and put somewhere else. Because of that severing
they lost something inside of themselves, something they were never able to regain.
This kind of loss became a psychic wound for that whole culture.
The levels
of grief and loss that are addressed by Reindeer Moss are geologic-they transcend
time, place, and individual history. This 'geologic emotion' is the same for anyone,
regardless of their culture, who has ever had this experience of displacement
or loss of connection.
This essence heals by opening our awareness of
the continuum-the constant and eternal nature of life. It can help us look at
the rich tapestry of human history and see the commonality of experience and suffering
that we have shared with all people for millennia. With this increased awareness,
we are better able to make sense of what is happening in the present, and how
it fits into the whole of our remembered experience.
At its most profound
level, Reindeer Moss supports the creation of a new kind of commonality. Right
now, we are unified in our suffering. This essence will help us acknowledge and
heal our suffering, but more importantly, to feel a sense of family and unity
that, in comparison, is much stronger and deeper. Then we will be able to move
through our commonality of suffering to a commonality of joy and purposeful co-creation.
Therapeutic Application
Since 9/11, Reindeer Moss has been
indicated for many clients who were directly or indirectly affected by the events
of that day. In my work with these individuals, I saw that they were all suffering
from an overwhelming sense of sadness that they could not explain, even after
taking into consideration the severity of what happened. I came to realize the
reason for this deep suffering was that they were attempting to heal some of the
collective loss and grief held by our society as well as their own. This, coupled
with their need to process past memories of being disconnected from home, family,
and the Earth, was proving to be very difficult.
In this regard, the awareness
that Reindeer Moss brings is very important. It can help us understand that our
feelings about 9/11 are part of a much bigger reality-the collective experience
of the human race. It will also help us enlarge our view so we can examine our
current emotions of grief, sadness, and loss within an even larger context that
goes beyond our history as human beings, the perspective of the Soul.
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