Life Cairn in Totnes for Honouring and Grieving Extinction ~ 1st Dec 2018

“It’s Important”.
​“It is love”

We shared our deep longing to be engaged in the profoundly bewildering times of our collapsing and transmuting world. ​

The human community is gathering ~ Join us !

thus bringing up an immense grief, un~skilled and feared in many of us.  

A Life Cairn

They are not dead. Death being food for the birthing of new life, no ~ they are extinct! ... can we ponder on the difference in our own heart and the impact on our soul?  ​

Each of us will carry a stone representing an extinct species.

Laughing Owl Extinct ~ in 1914. The species had succumbed to the clearance of its habitat to create farms, and to newly introduced predators.

“It’s Important”. “It is love”, wrote Poppy, 8 years old, at the end of our Totnes Life Cairn community meeting.

​We gathered in Totnes, last week, to design together the creation of a memorial for the honouring of Extinct Species for the 1st December 2018 on Sharpam Estate*. 

Most of us had read the IPCC report* adding weight to the Message of Water* and most recently Extinction Rebellion* and Rising Up* all rippling in each one of us as we sat.  

We shared our deep longing to be engaged in the profoundly bewildering times of our collapsing and transmuting world. 

How can our actions really matter? 

How can we attempt to make meaning when reading the published numbers* of our extinct species being between 100 and 150 species a day? 
Every 24 hours ~ animals, invertebrates, fungi and plants will never court, sing, nest, seed, dance their life bringing rituals again.  They are not dead. Death being food for the birthing of new life, no ~ they are extinct! ... can we ponder on the difference in our own heart and the impact on our soul?  

​As an designer of eARTh rituals including Grief Composting Circles I know that we cannot and must not meet this stage of awakening alone. 

We are increasingly noticing that we need to gather and rise up in circles and community groups to meet the enormity of the consequences of our long term disconnection to the inter connectedness with all of Life thus bringing up an immense grief, un~skilled and feared in many of us.  

We seem to be totally astonished by the depth of our love for our Earth. 

The child’s presence, her holding of Love as a beacon alchemised the space and the meeting. Her mother sat there by her side, strong and open.
I felt that Poppy’s presence brought some sanity to our community. 

I remember doing the Council of all Beings* with a whole classroom in london some years ago. Each child chose an other than human being to speak for and from. Animals, rivers, mountains, tiger, worms and bees entered the class room among others . The children made masks to personify each of the sentient beings. They then spoke from that place sat in council with a talking stick.

I then understood that children know what is going on here on Earth at this time. I feel that children deeply need and deserve beautiful, strong and lovingly held spaces where they can bring their voices to the adults and to each other about what is going on in our world.

Thank you my dear Poppy for bringing your beautiful self and your lion heart to the meeting of the memorial for extinct species - a life Cairn which will be created by our community on 1st December 2018 . 

We will depart from STEAM PACKET INN at 11:30am in a procession towards the site on Sharpham Estate about 30-40 minutes walk away, following the river Dart. 

Each of us will carry a stone representing an extinct species.  We might stop a few times for a song or a poem.  We might carry a mask of be face painted .  We will then, once on the site offered by the Trust, place our stones, naming these animals, plants and other organisms that are no longer on our Earth...  We will then have a grief ritual with music and songs and allow what needs to move, move through us.

After a while we might feel a natural move towards celebrating who is still alive that we long to protect.

It is important and yes it is love! 
Join us! All welcome. 

Azul Valérie Thomé 
More details at SOULand  
Facebook event Page: Life Cairn in Totnes