New Age, Alternative,
Metaphysical Publication
Aquarius-Atlanta.com

Intimate Relationship:
Marriage to Self, Place & Spirit

By Jesse Wolf Hardin

“To all our relations...” - AmerIndian Prayer

Know it or not, we relate to all that exists, and to all that has ever existed - to every thing, from the familiar and the close at hand to the eminent energies of far and distant galaxies. And thus, all things are our relatives, our extended family. Contemporary social and environmental insanity can be traced to our inability or unwillingness to recognize the myriad “others”- other people, other species, the rocks and the rivers - as the family members they truly are, and to honor their integrity the way one would ideally honor their parents, their children, their husbands or their wives.

The return to balance requires we recognize the fact and understand the subtleties of relationship. It requires we relate intimately to the multiple aspects of our authentic self, to those castaway “others,” to animate place and omnipresent Spirit. For the rest of Nature, intimacy is simply a matter of proximity and familiarity. For separative humankind, intimacy is also a voluntary discipline, involving our deliberate and active participation. It is a mandate, a crucial quest to really know and to love the self again, and thereby erase the destructive effects of inculcated insecurity and low self esteem. To love the others as ourselves, from “homeless” panhandlers to cattails, condors and creeks. To love the land as our source and context, and Spirit as the source and context for the living land.