So here we are on earth. We can’t get this moment back, life is short and each moment spent with someone special may be the last. In this time we call the present, I have learned, that the perception of ourselves and others as different is directly linked to the story of separation. We have the option of sitting passively and watching, as if separate, or realizing our part in it, and taking action. Taking action means stepping into the river, the path, and the flow of energy that leads you forward to follow your purpose.

It means overcoming one’s fear of the unknown and finding the courage to implement the decision to do what is right for yourself and the world as we are all part of it. The path forward is to be kind. Kind to your own heart and kind to others, great and small, and not to isolate each other with intimidation and bullying, for being and thinking differently, but to appreciate each flower for its own precious properties. We need to learn to pray, by standing on our knees on the earth.

When one stands on one’s knees, it’s easier to tune into your heart, and be humble and aware, that we are equal. Nobody is more special than anyone else.

These are the lessons I have learned in recent years from my Shamanic healer, alchemist, herbalist, homeopath, traditional healer: Zanemvula, on the White Path. Zanemvula helped me and many others overcome the pain and trauma of separation and depression with the lessons he taught. 

Depression is very rife at this time. I see it as the under-tow, pulling back after the tidal wave that was Covid 19 and all that went with it. Many of my friends and their children have been knocked into a deep black hole that they could not see their way out of. Just recently another beautiful friend chose to pull the plug on this life. There is no judgement on those who have already made the decision. (I have had assurance that she is in a happier place now.) But those who are left behind have to work through layers of trauma and confusion and deep regret and grief.

But if you are considering to follow that road, take heed. Even if you are feeling completely worthless and a burden on society and your family, take a step back for a moment.

 Ask someone neutral for help. If you do the dreadful deed, there will be much more sorrow, much more heartbreak for those left behind, than you would ever imagine. We are all connected. So if one jumps, the next one is pulled along too. It’s very hard to lose someone to suicide. One is left with survivor’s guilt and much more. I know of many families who have had multiple suicides, because one triggers the next. 

There is more love in this world than you know, even if the critical voices in your belly are telling you that you are a bad person and unworthy, etc. Zanemvula called those voices, “Entities of trauma.” or Tokoloshe’s. Little gremlins telling you you are “not good enough.” He had a cure for that. Stand on your knees. Chew on a dab of bitter pepper bark, and follow the instructions bellow:

Zanemvula said that choosing suicide as an escape is like taking off your jacket when you are cold.It doesn’t solve the problem. There are better ways to get through it. There are tools to be found.

Start by kneeling on the ground. Find your roots, feel into your heart.

When we stand on our knees we embody humility, and the understanding that all beings are equal. Nobody is more special than anyone else. There is no judgement. Just being.

We get out of our heads and into our hearts.

Then we feel your connection with the earth and one can get in touch with who you are and where you came from.

Your ancestors can help you too and you can help them.

When you heal your ancestral patterns then you heal your lineage.

When standing on your knees, imagine that beneath your kneecap is the rest of you leg standing in the ground. Beneath your imaginary feet is a blue light, your base-base chakra. That keeps you grounded. A meter above your head is another light chakra. So now you have those two extra chakras to keep you aligned. Listen to your heart and you will be guided. 

Now, standing on your knees, and feeling into your heart, you can say a prayer for all beings, your ancestral lineage, and those who will be born to your lineage into the future. And you can say a prayer for yourself, and one for the earth, and all the beings that are giving you a hard time right now, as well as those who bring you joy. The prayer will help align those chakra centres too.

It’s the Hopononopo: ”I am sorry, Please forgive me, I love you. Thank you.

Say it to each of them, and say it for yourself.

We are all equal. None of us are alone. We are all one with the earth and she is one with us.

It’s been a busy 3 months, since we said goodbye to our great teacher Zanemvula in November, whose name means bringer of rain, but his work and life have not been in vain.

Once upon a time, long ago, I met this man with a long white beard walking alone at a festival called “Learning Clan.” He was doing energy work. Sealing the cracks, finding “Blessing Points,”-energy points- removing entities, cleansing and holding space, but I didn’t know then what he was doing or who he was.

I asked him a question, quite out of the blue, because he seemed so wise. I was worried about the drought at the time. I asked him when the rain would come.

“When the people of the land come together, the rain will come. ” He replied.

Thank you Zanemvula/Peter von Maltitz. Camagu!

We listened at your feet to the words you spoke,

of ways to overcome the patterns, that kept us stuck

in the infinite loops of Samsara, you showed us

the herbs and how they related to the patterns,

you gave us a road map, of how to step through the Matrix.

How to find our way on the path, stepping, lightly on the white sand.

Through the Fynbos, touching plants, seeing their golden hearts,

listening,

tasting, and observing with awareness,

observing ourselves in how we execute our decisions

and how we directed ourselves, in accomplishing our tasks.

how to go about completing the journey we had begun.

You told us how to overcome our fear,

which sits in the kidneys,

with fine needle-like leaves of Psolaria Pinnata, as we strung our white beads,

So we drink what you called the “Humilitea” and begin our transformation.

Shedding our skin like the snake, and healing our hearts,

We practice standing on our knees with our invisible roots deep in the earth,

connecting all that needs stirring,

in the water as we grind the roots of the Silene to a fine white powder,

stirring the Ubalau in the water, and inhaling the foam to cleanse the bubble of our perception.

The more we saw, the easier it was to accept that we are all equal and there is no separation.

We began to understand how to look Beyond the physical illusion and see the patterns in people and landscapes.

We learned to feel the subtle energies.

And in this place, we learn to meet the water spirits and embrace the Kundalini snake,

the golden thread of our energy field, the divine within,

we find pleasure rising as we begin accepting ourselves,

loving ourselves, we see each other without fear of averted eyes, with clarity and wholeness.

We see each other.

Releasing our blocks in divine surrender.

By overcoming our overwhelming emotions,

we learn that by choosing to take action to step into our flow of power,

we can overcome blame.

Stepping out of victim into warrior mode, we drink the tea of courage and let go of what no longer serves us. And to help us observe our decisions.

We become brave like the Lion. We take courage and become decisive.

Then we direct our path with the endurance of the horse and heal our hearts emotionally and physically with the help of Leonatis – (Wilde Dagga) the bitter and potent one.

We gallop along our path as we grow in strength.

That is when we are strong enough to walk into the forest at night and find the herbs we need along the way to sustain and help us shine our own way even in times of uncertainty in the deep unknown.

Find focus with the help of the Eagle and the bark of the tree from the ancient Forrest where we meet ourselves.

We learn to ride the winds as we complete our final ceremony by the fire for three nights, we must learn to see.

That is the path of the healer, the one that teaches us to be free

because there is no separation between you and me.