~ May 2019 ~

Welcome to the monthly newsletter of the Eagle Condor Council  
 

Time of the Sixth Sun - Movie and Docuseries

Cultivating and Tending Medicinal Relationships with Coffee

UPDATE! Weaving the Golden Thread-Pilgrimage 2019 to Peru

Registration Open for 2019-2020 Eagle Condor Healing Intensive

First-Monday Tobacco Ceremony with Firewalker

• 05/02-05/05 A Men's Four Day Ritual Intensive with Elder Malidoma Some' and Jon Rousseau, Brittany's Mountain Retreat Leicester, NC, CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO
• 05/03-05/04 Grandfather Tobacco Dieta and Initiation Retreat with Jeff Firewalker, Asheville NC, CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO
• 05/06 6:30-8 PM Monthly Tobacco Ceremony with Jeff Firewalker, LeCoeur, 602A Haywood Road, West Asheville, CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO
• 05/17-05/19 N'ustas Healing Forces of Nature with Ellen Kittredge and Suzannah Tebbe Davis, Flat Rock, NC, CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO
• 05/18 8:30 AM - 6:30 PM Holotropic Breathwork Workshop with Ashley and Chuck Wile, Irmo SC, Newcomer introduction the night before, CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO
• 05/24-05/30 Deep Healing and Integration Retreat with 3 Master Plant Teachers and Prajna at Hidden Paradise, Spain, CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

• 06/01-06/02  Learning Puja Ceremonies with Bill Francis Barry, Shelburne MA USA (60 minutes from BDL International Airport)  CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO
• 06/03 6:30-8 PM Monthly Tobacco Ceremony with Jeff Firewalker, LeCoeur, 602A Haywood Road, West Asheville, CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO
• 06/26 6:30 PM & 06/30 7:30 PM Wisdom Keepers at Glastonbury Festival with Jeff Firewalker, Elizabeth Jenkins, Jyoti, Graham Hancock and many more Worthy Farm, UK   CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

• 07/19-07/26 8 Day Silent Shamanic Healing Retreat with 3 Master Plant Teachers and Prajna in Costa Rica, Central America, CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

• 08/16-08/24 Creative Seekers Tour of Scotland with Suzannah Tebbe Davis, Tebbe Davis and Mark Nicol CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

• 09/27-09/29 2019-2020 Healing Intensive / ECC Mystery School Starts  CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

• 10/20-11/3 Weaving the Golden Thread Pilgrimage to Peru with Lea Motlow and don Beto, CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

One of the great tragedies of our time is our growing sense of separation from the world around us. This sense of separation is expressed in our use of language as well as our behaviors, practices, beliefs, and perceptions.  We have gradually lost touch with our true inherent relationship with nature and, as a consequence, ourselves.

This perceived disassociation with nature has led to an impoverished inner landscape that we seek to fill with acquisition, consumption, immediate gratification, and security. Yet, no matter how successful our efforts, we fail to fill the void.  Some understand that the antidote is a reframing and reprioritization of relationship.  Indigenous people living closely with nature, view relationships very differently than we do in the industrialized world, acknowledging that everything around them has living energy and therefore is treated with respect.

One practical example is our relationship with coffee in the industrialized world.  Coffee is an indigenous plant that grows wild in Ethiopia, where it is prepared in communal ceremony to honor relationships with family, friends, and guests.  Traditionally, coffee is not consumed every day, and would never have been drunk “on the go” or for an energy wake up. The coffee ceremony is revered specifically to celebrate and honor relationships.  The ceremonial practice and reverence for the coffee bean itself is a part of the coffee bean’s heritage and living story.  

What many people traditionally do drink every day for personal enjoyment and health is called “kuti”; or coffee leaf tea.  This doesn’t mean that today we shouldn’t drink coffee, but that we need to consider our relationship with it.  Understanding, acknowledging, appreciating, and engaging in the traditional ceremonial practices and knowledge related to coffee and other plants of consumption will help us cultivate better relationship, one adjusted to be more considerate and reciprocal; more in ayni.  Recognizing a living energetic connection to coffee and other foods as living beings, these relationships become truly medicinal.

Traditionally, in Ethiopia, a woman of the household prepares the coffee for ceremony, and this is considered to be an honor.  Green whole coffee beans are first roasted over an open flame in a small cast iron pan. These beans are then taken and ground down with a wooden mortar and pestle. Once ground, the coffee beans are then steeped in boiling water for a short period of time.  Following this, the liquid and beans are strained through a sieve.  The warm liquid is then poured into small handle-less cups from one foot above.  The cups are filled to the top.  The repetition of brewing, straining, and pouring is performed for three rounds with the same ground beans.  The first round is called “awel”; meaning “first”; the second round is called kale’i; meaning “second”; and the third round is called “bereka”; meaning “to be blessed”. The intention of the ceremony is to invoke a blessing upon the participants. A similar ceremonial practice of invoking blessing upon visitors and guests is also performed by the Igbo people in Enugu, Africa,  by performing a ritual breaking of a kola nut. The number of pieces signifies specific meaning and omen, and most of the time, the elder facilitator of the ceremony knows just how to crack the nut in order to transmit good omen. The pieces of the nut are then eaten by all participants. The Igbo believe that the kola tree is the original tree. Imagine how things could shift if the drinking of cola soft drinks honored these traditions and heritage!

Of course, the coffee plant has migrated all over the world, and our modern culture has created many spaces and tools for drinking coffee.  For those of us looking to adapt and adopt a more respectful relationship with coffee and all nature medicines, there are specific approaches we can take. First, if possible, commit to participating in a traditional coffee ceremony with some people from Ethiopia.  You can also communicate with the coffee spirit:  express your intentions and introduce yourself in ceremony.  Open your energy field to the coffee plant, be still and listen deeply.  Notice the changes to your relationship to coffee and the medicine that has been gifted.

"My journey to the various sacred lands of the High Andes in Peru was one of the deepest blessings I have received in my life. The Paqos welcomed us as family and did not waver in that relation our entire time together. This aided our group to deeply bond and gave us a sense of innate care and support of one another during this pilgrimage. They also were impeccable in their prayer and held us in such gratitude for supporting their ceremonies. And at the end of the day, they had nothing but smiles, jokes, and the lightheartedness of a child to share with each of us. It was contagious. 

This trip is powerful for the beginner and advanced student alike. It is a way to come back to the earth, back to the heart, back to simplicity. Reflecting on all the amazing mountains, waters and bodies of lands we fed with our prayers and offerings, it is hard not to just bask in the inner peace that was nourished during this profound time in my life. I am infinitely grateful to all humans and nonhumans who aided in supporting the happening of this life-changing trip. Our group is in touch to this day.”

SHEA MICHAEL (2018 PERU PILGRIMAGE)

“My trip to Peru was filled with so many experiences, that it’s hard to put into words. I went on this trip not having a clue about what I was about to embark on, but also with a strong sense of urgency, feeling a need to walk these sacred lands. I am beyond grateful that I heeded the call. I came back forever changed, reborn as a truer version of myself. I learned what it really means to be connected to our beloved Mother Earth, and the elementals that comprise her. The level of prayer that I witnessed with the beautiful, big-hearted Paqos is something I had never experienced in my life. The reverence they hold for Pachamama, and their sacred mountains and nature spirits, is nothing short of holy. Their patience and willingness to teach, walk us through step by step, made this experience so beautiful. 

From the beautiful sacred Mountains to the vast and breathtaking Lake Titicaca, to the sacred ruins and the Peruvian people, this trip is a once in a lifetime experience. One of my highlights would be staying with a host family on Amantani Island. After a long ceremony, we were given the opportunity to hike to the top of Amantani mountain with the Paqos, and be present as they built a sacred fire, and offered our prayer Despacho to the mountain spirit. It felt like we were on top of the world, far above any light pollution, seeing the Southern sky and feeling into the mountain spirit who was welcoming and accepting our prayers. It was truly a magical experience! If you are ready to move forward, step deeper into exploration of self, this trip is for you. ”

DANIELLE MILLER (2018 PERU PILGRIMAGE)