A Call to Ceremony this Solstice
At a moment foretold in prophecy, Indigenous elders invite us to join synchronized ceremonies on June 20, to swathe Earth in a 'blanket of peace.'
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“We just grow the light in our heart, the light in our thoughts, and that, synchronized, will create a frequency, so that the darkness loses its power.” — Mamo Lorenzo Izquierdo Arroyo.
Resonant World #89
In 1964, a group of elders known as the Council of Indigenous Sages of Colombia issued a rare call to the outside world.
The time had come for people from every country, culture and background to gather at Earth’s sacred sites. By holding synchronized Indigenous ceremonies, diverse communities could unite to bring people and nature into balance.
The elders did not extend their invitation lightly.
The rituals, songs, prayers and invocations at the heart of these ceremonies would have significant real-world effects, the sages knew.
The ceremonies would — in effect — serve as an interface between consensus reality and subtler realms, channelling the power of shared intention to trigger change in mysterious, nonlinear but very tangible ways.
A Renewed Call
With the climate and extinction crises having accelerated exponentially over the past 60 years, the Colombian elders have renewed their call — inviting people everywhere to join synchronized Indigenous ceremonies at sacred sites around the world, in-person and online, on June 20, the solstice.
For the past year, Kaiāulu, a Hawaii-based nonprofit, has been supporting Pacha K’anchay, Mamo Lorenzo Izquierdo Arroyo and other members of the Council of Indigenous Sages of Colombia to stage New Moon ceremonies, weaving a field of ever greater coherence among hundreds of participants ahead of the solstice. I met Prajna Horn, co-founder and executive director of Kaiāulu, at a symposium five years ago, and have done some pro bono communications work for the project over the past couple of years, inspired by its mission to blend Indigenous wisdom and modern science to protect remaining primary forests, and intrigued by the cosmology underpinning the ceremonies.
From a materialist-reductionist scientific perspective, it would be easy to question the relevance of the solstice rituals, or whether they’ll have any impact beyond fostering a sense of connection for those taking part.
But the ceremonies held by the Colombians and elders from many other traditions are based on different assumptions about how reality works, and the power of shared intention to shape the course of human affairs.
‘Grow the Light’
The Colombians see the gatherings as catalysts for a fundamental shift in how modern societies relate to the natural world — transforming a mindset of separation and domination, into one of reverence, stewardship, and sacred reciprocity. Only such an evolution in consciousness, the elders believe, can deliver the kind of systemic changes needed to steer the world onto a sustainable path.
Speaking from his farm in a mountainous region of Colombia a few weeks ago, Mamo Lorenzo explained that the elders believe that Indigenous languages and songs are vibratory emanations from Mother Earth herself. When these vibrations are lost, then Earth starts to get sick. By revitalising the vibratory patterns encoded in Indigenous cultures, the ceremonies can unlock a deeper process of repair.
“We are not working against the dark, but if the vibration of light grows, then the dark force starts losing power,” Mamo Lorenzo told me. “We don’t work against anything, we just grow the light in our heart, the light in our thoughts, and that, synchronized, will create a frequency, so that the darkness loses its power, automatically.”
Time of Prophecy
I also spoke with Puna Kalama Dawson, a Hawaiian elder and co-founder of Kaiāulu, who I interviewed last year for the Pocket Project’s Climate Consciousness Summit 2023. (You can watch our latest conversation on the YouTube video at the top of this page, or read an edited transcript below).
Aunty Puna explained that we’re entering a time long since foretold by her ancestors, when humanity is facing a stark choice: come together, person-to-person, to create the solutions our governments have shown themselves incapable of providing, or face eradication via climate and environmental collapse.
Synchronized ceremonies, aligned with ancient calendars based on the cycles of sun, moon and stars, can help create an energetic “blanket of peace,” she explained, and support a broader impulse towards ethical and ecological restoration.
“The leadership of our world has decayed to a point where any direction that our governments are going to go will not create the necessary balance. The balance can only come through the people,” Aunty Puna said.
“So how do we address it? We address it one-to-one. And through the vibration of the voice, the vibration of the dance, we create an elliptical resonance around our Earth. And if everybody is doing this, can you imagine the change?
“So the Holy Hour needs to happen…The Indigenous practices are there to remind us what we have, and the responsibility we have to ensure the continuity of life. And the continued expression of grace and gratitude. That can only happen with collective thought. So, we are the balance. We as a people are the balance that the world needs.”
You can find an edited transcript of our conversation below.
And if you feel called, you can sign up to receive details of how to join the ceremonies here:
Podcast Transcript:
The Call to Synchronized Ceremonies this Solstice
Matthew Green and Kumu Hula Puna Kalama Dawson
Matthew: There’s been a call that has gone out from Indigenous elders, to stage synchronized ceremonies at Earth’s sacred sites in the coming months. What is behind that call? And why are these ceremonies so important?
Aunty Puna: “Every culture, like my culture, has been given the responsibility of caring for Mother Earth, and all that is found in the areas where we live. And our kupuna, our elders, have instructed us to hear, see, feel, express, and appreciate with grace and gratitude all that we have.
“And it’s important that we continue to maintain not just the quality, but the instruction, that comes with all these gifts that we live with, like the sun, like the moon, like the stars, like our ocean, like the resources that we have in these lands. It’s our responsibility to ensure that they will be there for all the generations that come after us. This is what our kupuna have done for me. They set the instructions into motion so many generations ago. They left messages in the songs, the dances — the vibration, and the understanding.
“I’m going to reference the wisdom of our ancestors in ensuring that what we are experiencing today was set into motion, and prepared and cared for, by all of them. And likewise, I need to continue to carry forth all that they have made and prepared for us in the same way — for all the children and grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-greats that come after me. And this is a universal thought. This is in every culture: the beauty of recognizing that we are one world, one people, and we share all of these things, each in our own area, in our own space, in our own way. But can you imagine the whole world doing the same thing in the same moment?
“Our timeline of life is described by the rising and the setting of the sun, the moon, the stars, the constellations, all of the whole world and experience of unity. Because what I see here, in my area of the world, is also seen on a completely opposite side of our world. We measure life by time. And so we are all a part of this ocean of time. And we motion from moment to moment.
“How we describe it in Hawai’i is Hula, Lua and Huna. The spirituality of who we are, where we are, the expression of male and female energy, the recognition of how we are nurtured by the elements. Every culture is speaking the same words, saying the same thing, and understanding the urgency of putting things back to how it was originally given to us. This is what this intention of a synchronized expression of caring for the world [via Indigenous ceremonies at sacred sites] is drawn upon.
“But with intention, what are we doing? We’re doing what we know. How are we doing it? In the way it was given to us.
“And why is it for the betterment of all mankind?
“What happens here in Hawaii, definitely will influence what happens on the other side of the Earth. And it goes both ways. So to have our Earth, in chaotic unrest, we’re responsible for doing everything in our power to help, and be a part of helping to turn things around, or to bring things back, to put things back where they belong. To honour nature, to honour what we’ve been given: The ocean, the sky, the trees, the grass, all of these things that help us to live, and breathe, and experience, and be cared for — all of these things have been given to us for the purpose of care, appreciation and understanding, and we must do the same.
“And so, as the [Colombian] elders called and re-initiated that idea of one world, one people, one nature, it was very, very easy to listen. So I know that my nephews, my nieces, my brothers, my elders, I know we are all singing the same song, and doing the same practices that were given to us with that intention.”
Matthew: There’s an urgency, there’s a scale and breadth to this call that that feels very new. I’m wondering, why is it so important to be doing this work right now?
Aunty Puna: “Our world, our governments are in complete chaos. We cannot call on our governments to do what’s necessary, they have expanded the misuse of nature. And so we are the people, we are the government — meaning we have the power to turn things around one-to-one, we don’t need armies.
“Now, we can’t discount for chaos. But we have to realize that this is happening in every part of the world, that the leadership of our world has decayed to a point where any direction that our governments are going to go will not create the necessary balance. The balance can only come through the people. So the urgency is right now. If you look at our world, the change in leadership is happening everywhere.
“These designs of time were created by, and recognized by, our ancestors. We looked at the sky, and we looked at the earth, and we are reminded of time.
“When I say that our whole world, or the leadership, is in question at this time, it was foretold that we would come to a point in time, where we would face a critical mass of choices that would definitely either bring us to a point of complete eradication, or turn it over, and create an opportunity to lift things up.
“By choice, we make conscientious agreements of thought, to do whatever is necessary at this point in our lives to help maintain and care for what we have. When you listen to the leadership around the world, it’s not anything in that direction — none of them are saying these things. What they’re saying is, ‘we need to get this, we need to do this, we need to do that.’ They’re not thinking to put things back, or to make things in balance. It’s all about acquisition. And because it’s about acquisition, it’s the wrong ingredient.
“We’re experiencing extreme heat, extreme warmth, hurricanes, tsunamis — you name it, it’s happening everywhere. No-one is left out. So how do we address it? We address it one-to-one. And through the vibration of the voice, the vibration of the dance, we create an elliptical resonance around our Earth. And if everybody is doing this, can you imagine the change?
“We’re not creating something new. We’re recognizing what we’re capable of doing, and encouraging others to be a part of that. It’s all about the collective consciousness. It’s all about room for everyone. No separation.
“If you look at our governments, everything is about separation: eliminating this group, that group — nothing cohesive, nothing to bring things together. So the Holy Hour needs to happen. And it’s not going to happen without the people.
“The Indigenous practices are there to remind us what we have, and the responsibility we have to ensure the continuity of life. And the continued expression of grace and gratitude. That can only happen with collective thought. So, we are the balance, we as a people are the balance that the world needs. And it’s done simply.
“We don’t need ammunition of any kind: All of the things that have been manmade to create dissent, or separation, none of that is needed. So it doesn’t cost us anything of monetary value.
“Man must must follow what was put into motion by natural law, nature’s law, and that’s what we all celebrate: vibration, energy, can overcome the negativity that people are experiencing.
“A kind thought travels. Everything that we do can impact a great outcome, when it comes from your unihipili, your soul. In all Indigenous cultures, the foundation is found there, in the soul. So that is the celebration.
“Our Earth’s people are going to experience this next half of the year unknown sadness, we know that it’s been foretold.
“And so, as the people of the world, we can help to flatten that energy — we create a blanket of peace around the world because of the power of thought, and intention is that strength that we hold as a people.
“And how easy is that, to have a timeline, to know that this is coming?”
Matthew: So the Summer solstice ceremonies are going to be very important given what is in store later in the year. How is it that ceremony can affect people in this way? What makes them so impactful?
Aunty Puna: “If you realize when people come together in one thought, when they say ‘oh, you can move mountains,’ that is the absolute truth. And to these New Moon ceremonies across the globe, people have come from every walk of life, and every expression of life, all wanting the same thing. They’re talking about peace around the world.
“Oftentimes, when people do come, what I believe is the greatest opportunity is that people feel like they belong. And when people feel that they belong, they become a part of not just the thought but the energy and the vibration.
“They’re a part of the whole. This is the intention: It’s about everybody belonging. We will not go to war with one another when the foundation is built in appreciation, gratitude, and love. And that is the biggest intention that we all hold.
“If we can create a relationship around the world, which is what we’re doing, I know the choices that everyone makes are going to be good ones. Especially in choosing leadership. People being in touch with their own naʻau, or their spirit, or their intuition, is really the greatest gift. Because time has taught us to step away from that.
“And that’s why they come, whether they have culture or no culture, they come because they feel they belong. It will definitely make a difference to our world. Absolutely.
“These things have been planned aeons ago. We’re just living now, the experience and the reality of what was prepared for our corner is so necessary in today’s time. And I trust that it will help to bring peace to our Earth.
“We’re all seeing the same thing. All the elders, were all recognizing the same messages. And I say this to you, because everything is defined, like our island is defined by what happens in the heavens, what the star system is, everything is governed, you know, by our sun, the moon and the stars, everything motions, helps us motion in this way. And its everywhere. It’s not just here in Hawaii.
“So I know that we’re all moving in the same direction. No matter all the motions that we do, everything that we motion in time is all numbers. And, you know, in looking at the different cultures across the world, how certain constellations govern what they do, when they do it, and how they do it, we’re the same. That’s why this universal music, song, dance, why it’s happening.
“If you take measurement of the beats, and the rhythms, you’re creating, you’ll find that it is the rhythm of the breath of the Earth, how the motion of the waves move. You know, everything has a relationship. That’s why [the ceremonies] will succeed.
“Because we’re all about relationship. While we are in relationship with ourselves, our families, our extended family, and then the whole world, it’s about relationships.
“Our governments have lost their understanding of nature’s law, of free relationship. So they took the wheel away from us and we’re paying the price.
“So how we turn that around? That’s the kuleana, that’s the responsibility that we have. You must help help in creating the necessary solutions. It’s not that hard. It really is about speaking to the soul.”
Note from the Editor: A labour of love, Resonant World is written in the gaps between work I get paid to do, notably editing investigations at nonprofit climate news service DeSmog. It’s a huge boost when people become paid subscribers, and support of any amount affirms that my mission to support the global community of practitioners engaged in supporting people to integrate individual, inter-generational and collective trauma has value. Thank you!
I’m deeply grateful to receive this post and these words today. I just set out on a journey- packed all I needed in my car and am camping my way across the US visiting intentional communities and sacred natural sites. The words of the Hopi and Māori as reported in the call to ceremony struck a deep resonant chord in me. That my tribe will be those others who have let go the sides of the river and swam to the center gives me deep hope and strong intention. Thank you for your work in sharing these teachings and bringing this invitation to share in ceremony! Dana