The Spirit Counsel - Part One

It has been 30 years since the end of the war, yet Phaelan and Avia both remember the conflict as if it was yesterday.  As Avia walks over the uneven stone path that she and Phaelan made themselves many years ago, she reflects on her life as today she celebrates her 70th anniversary as master of her vessel.  The ceremony they are walking towards is for her and her long time friend Phaelan.  The invitation to attend ceremony came from the other ambassadors of the Spirit Counsel to honour their life long achievements and so they walk towards the counsel chamber that they made deep in the woods.  

As Phaelan walks beside her, each of them leaning on one another for mutual support, she weeps as she wishes that their parents could be there to celebrate this ceremony with them.  She misses her mom dearly as she was the inspiration that helped her explore her skills and abilities when she first discovered them as a small little girl.  It was those skills that helped her and Phaelan find a way to end the war and create the Spirit Counsel as a way to bring peace to their relationships with the other spiritual beings in their lives.  

A ray of sun shine breaks through the canopy above as the forest opens up to a large lake, the sun warming her face and reminding her that her mom is there in spirit and always will be.  The tears running down her face dry up in the sun and gentle breeze that rustles the leaves as they approach the rustic wooden counsel chamber.  It does not look like much, but it is sacred ground as a ring of trees and rocks surround a central fire in the middle of a small island, with a short tombolo connecting it to the shore.  Around the north side of the island is a number of tall trees, their branches hanging majestically over the site to shade the participants from the warm sun.  The crackling of the fire announces their arrival to the sacred circle.  Spirit Counsel can now commence.  

The representatives of the Fin Water League surround the island by water while the Winged Confederacy sit within the branches of the Plant Nation Consortium.  The Four Legged Alliance sit upon the stones while the Belly Crawling Guild and Single Celled Conglomerate take up their positions among the rotting logs that make up the circle.  As Phaelan and Avia enter the circle as representatives of the Two Legged Cartel, they pause, bowed their heads and give their offering of tobacco to the fire, land, air and water.  

Phaelan is the first to speak as he expresses his gratitude and appreciation for the invitation. 

"We are honoured by your invitation to join Counsel on this beautiful day", he said.  "My dear friend Avia and I have worked hard to learn your language, speak your tongue and find ways to communicate with you all.  As a result of a life time of hard work, we have found a way to cure our deafness and blindness.  We give thanks to all of you for your patience and for helping us along our journey.  We humbly request permission to be seated with all of you at this Spiritual Counsel Circle so that we may join sacred ceremony with you all."

Avia squeezed Phaelan's hand in approval as the protocol was performed flawlessly and with honour.  She wanted to show him her approval without disrupting the ceremony.

White Eagle stood up from his perch on the branch, opened his huge wings and flew down to the edge of the fire.  He bowed to the old couple standing there before him, across from the flames of the central fire. 

"Phaelan and Avia, you honour us with your words and spirit.  You are welcome to join this Spiritual Counsel Circle as our brother and sister."  

Avia translated for Phaelan as she was able to communicate with the members of the Winged Confederacy, Four Legged Alliance and the Fin Water League.  Phaelan was no slouch either as his expertise was building a relationship with the Single Celled Conglomerate, Belly Crawling Guild and the Plant Nation Consortium.  Together they were able to establish a protocol to bring all the members together and found a way to bring peace between them all.  

As Avia and Phaelan took their place among the Spiritual Counsel Circle, she sat quietly, reflecting on the sacred space and time that she helped build.  Thoughts of her childhood came flooding back as her mom taught her that all life was sacred and how to build a healthy relationship with these spiritual beings using respect, honour and consent, rather than using the old ways of the Two Legged Cartel.  Learning how to quiet her mind so that she could actually hear the animals talking to her, opened up a whole new world for her to learn and explore.  She no longer felt alone as she realized that every being on this planet was there to help her grow and learn.  This humbled her greatly.  Having Phaelan as a child hood friend just propelled them both into a life long journey that neither of them never could have imagined when they were young.  She will never forget those early lessons that she learned from her mom during those informative years.  

Her mom was considered a crazy bush woman and she was attacked many times by people who did not comprehend.  Their own ignorance resulted in violent behaviours as they feared what they did not know.  It was these foundational fears that Avia and Phaelan worked so hard to over come in order to bridge the gap and get to the point where they could help build the council and stand as ambassadors to the council and sacred stewards of the land.  The courage that she learned from her mom carried forward in her and she was forever grateful for the experience.

Each of the other ambassadors got their chance to speak in the circle as they each expressed their gratitude and appreciation for the friendship and support that they received from the council but specifically for the contributions that Avia and Phaelan made to help form the counsel.  Avia was translating for Phaelan and Phaelan was translating for Avia.  It was a mutually beneficial relationship.   

As each ambassador spoke, they acknowledge their own spiritual growth was dependent on all the others in the circle, Avia witnessed an affirmation from each ambassador as they committed to continue to fulfill their spiritual roll within the cycle of life and death while spending time here on Mother Earth and following her rules.  

After all the speeches were done, the sacred circle was dissolved and the two elderly ambassadors got up and left the circle the way they came in.  As the sun peered on their back, they both ventured slowly back to their home fire.  They both lived in a small cabin not far from the counsel chamber as they both accepted to be the stewards of this place they call home.  The smoke still billowed out the stone chimney as they left their meal to simmer while they were gone.  Phaelan turns to Avia with a smile on his wrinkled face as the white long hair flows over his shoulders and part way down his back.  

"My dear friend, it has been an honour and privilege to work with you all these years.  We have accomplished something that our ancestors have worked hard to achieve for generations.   I could not have done this without you and I thank Creator, Mother Earth and all the ambassadors for the time of my life.  I love you dearly."

Avia's eyes well up once again as she peered into his eyes.  Her own silver hair matching his as he speaks softly to her.  

"My dear Phaelan, you see me, into me and through me.  Your sight has always been powerful and your heart even more so.  I've always felt supported by you and never afraid to take the risks that we did.  All because you were there for me and knew how to stand in your own power.  You never engaged in violence against me and that provided me with the support and security I needed to do this work.  It was only together that we could end the war and bring peace to our hearts so that we can manifest it for Mother Earth as well.  You were the spokesman for us and you never spoke out of turn as I was always your counsel.  Your words were firm yet loving because they were always tempered by me.  By doing that, you honoured me more than anybody else could ever do.  For that I will always be grateful."

As Avia spoke her truth, tears ran down Phaelan's cheeks as her words sank deeply into his heart.  They both had no masks, so there was nothing to hide from each other or to block the loving truth.  As a result, it sinks in deeply and intimately.  They both felt safe with one another as they found a relationship based on non-violence, consent and mutual interests.  As a result, they were able to support each other through their own healing and call each other out on their shit.  It was a no-nonsense relationship and it ended up being very productive and prosperous as a result.  The relationship transcended the physical vessels as they were able to look past the physical and build a spiritual bond that was strong enough to change the world.  It came closest to what they knew love to be.

Just as they sat down to eat their meal, they heard their bell ring at the gate.  Their dedication to non-violence dictated that Phaelan put up a bell at the gate so that people would respect their space.  Even though the war ended 40 years ago, there was still lots of people who have not learned the new ways and still engaged in violent behavour.  Their own dedication to peace required firm boundaries.  As Phaelan got up to see who was at the gate, he saw a young couple standing there.  It looked like they had been homeless for some time.  Their clothing were torn and dirty.  They both were skinny and looked broken.  Their hair was unkempt and they had no shoes.  

Phaelan walked to the end of the walkway to see what he could do for the young couple.  The young man spoke first as he saw Phaelan approach.

"Good day to you sir.  My name is Tom and this is my wife Chloe.  We have been searching for you for weeks.  We humbly ask if you would be willing to teach us your ways.  We heard rumor of the Spiritual Counsel and we would like to create one on our own land.  However, we need elders to mentor us through the process. We surrendered our old ways as our parents taught us about the war.  We don't want to walk that path so we worked hard to heal and find a new way of living our lives.  Your story spans the globe and we ask if you would be willing to be a mentor to us as we feel stuck and want to move forward."

Phaelan turned to the house to call upon Avia.  Before he could even open his mouth she suddenly manifested right beside him out of thin air.  He was used to her doing that as she found ways to travel even before they met.  As they met the young couple for the first time, they both knew this day would come as they worked a life time to prepare for this day.  They welcomed the young couple into their home.  They could feel in their heart the sincerity of their request and spirit moved them both to grant their request.  

"First things first.", Avia said with compassion and a big smile on her face.  "You look hungry and your vessels need tending." She gestured the both of them in as she opened the gate.

As the young couple walked through the gate, the Plant Nation Consortium offered Avia some berries for the young couple as they just happened to be in season.  Phaelan asked for permission to pick the berries and the plants rejoiced and graciously consented to the picking. 

Phaelan then spoke softly, "Tom and Chloe, these berries were given to us by the Plant Nation Consortium of their own free will.  May the berries nourish your vessels as they welcome you to this land.  Your vessels are now a part of this land and you are welcomed as our brother and sister and theirs.  We welcome you both and ask that you join us around our home fire.  The matters that you speak of we can address tomorrow."

Tom and Chloe looked at one another as smiles broke the somber look on their face.  They knew they would be okay now and their excitement to get to work would have to be tempered by a warm meal, cozy fire and restful sleep.  They turned to Phaelan and accepted the berries and were amazed at how powerful a simple ceremony could actually be.  They knew they were in the right place.  They were ready to get to work, but had no idea what was in store for them, but they were willing to go 'all in' and completely surrender to the process.