GAIA MANDALA

Earth Treasure Vase for Bindaluk, Jawoyn Country,
Katherine, Northern Territory, Australia

Filmed on this Earth Treasure Vase Pilgrimage in 2013. Uluru custodian, Uncle Bob Randall, leading us all in his Kanyini Sunrise Prayer. Filmed at Uluru, Australia, by Anthony Carlson for the Earth Treasure Vase Global Healing Project.

For the next three days in Sydney, we attended teachings from His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Bodhicitta, the altruistic aim and selfless desire to realize enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings.

During his public talk, the Dalai Lama said, “We must take care of the land as it is the basis of our future. We have only one blue planet and we must think of our global humanity and take global responsibility for the global issues we face now.” He encouraged us to “develop a sense of the Oneness of humanity and a warm-heartedness towards our fellow human beings.”

“Compassion is our nature,” he observed. “Please lead a meaningful life and be a friend in your community. Train in a peaceful mind so that at the end of life you will be happy.”

We were hosted by Uncle Bob Randall and his wife, Barbara, and unlike most visitors, were allowed to camp on Aboriginal land inside the park, far from the tourist town that has grown up around Uluru. Uncle Bob, a respected elder of the Anangu people of the Central Australian Desert, is a custodial elder of Uluru and was introduced to us by Jeremy as the “Dalai Lama of Australia.”

Uncle Bob welcomed us to country in the traditional way and invited us to feast on kangaroo tail roasted in a bed of hot coals…a local delicacy! Uncle Bob and Barbara told us stories, sang songs and danced around the campfire until we collapsed into our tents for a good night’s sleep made for dreaming.

The next morning Uncle Bob led a sunrise ceremony at Uluru, transmitting his deep love and respect for the land to each of us. “Kanyini,” the Aboriginal principle of unconditional love with responsibility that is Bob’s main teaching, began to take root as we walked around Uluru that day. At one point we each carried the Earth Treasure Vase in a slow walking meditation around a section of rock sacred to the Feminine. (For more on Uncle Bob, see the beautiful film, Kanyini, here.)

The community there has become increasingly alienated as tourism has taken hold of their sacred land and the Australian government asserts its power over the traditional owners. We were happy to meet members of Bob’s family, guides and artists who joined us. Fellow pilgrim David Bacon had crafted a hollowed out piece of New Mexico pinon to bury the ETV in and sponsored several artists to paint the ETV “casket” that night, resulting in an even more beautiful ETV offering for Australia.

From Uluru we flew to Darwin, a coastal town in the Northern Territory, linking Australia to Asia and the island cultures of the Southern Pacific. Long ago these lands were connected and this ancient Oneness is still alive today in the songlines of Arnhem Land.

At sunset, we were again welcomed to country by Bilawara Lee from the saltwater people of the Larrakia Nation, who met us on the beach to share her blessing and personally place a specially chosen crystal into the Vase for its further activation. Our group had grown to 18 now to include Jeremy’s trusted team of Ben Manbulloo Emery, Therese Hogan and Leanne Bird. Julian Silburn, a didjeridu master and sound healer also joined us to bring his powerful gift to the ETV. We took the Vase to the water’s edge and bathed it in the ocean’s moisture, offering our prayers for a new story of collective awakening for life on Earth, as tiny phosphorescent creatures danced in the lapping waves at our feet. The solstice was upon us.

That night my dear sisters, Nina and Lynn, kept me awake until 1:30 am and filmmaker Anthony Carlson assisted in arranging the technology for the live global call and ETV meditation organized by the Shift Network and Gaiafield Project. I was thrilled to experience the presence of hundreds of friends on the path of global healing joining us online to activate the Earth Treasure Vase mandala as the Australia vase was in the final stages of gathering energy for its completion! I felt a powerful convergence as we meditated together across space and time!

If you’d like to listen to a recording of the call go here.

Our group received such spiritual support from this extended family that at 3 am, when the call was finished, we jumped up and down, holding hands and beaming with excitement for the final chapter of our journey — burying the Vase.

So beautifully orchestrated…and fun besides. Many, many layers of land, life, people and landscape of the heart. When I was in Australia, I was aware of being as present as I could be each and every moment. This experience is something I will carry with me…in my veins…in reflection…quiet…beauty…adventure. It was a true honor to be by your side, dear Cynthia. — Lynn Augstein

Thank you, Cynthia, for the vision you have held and for the trust and patience and incredible stick-at-it-ivity you have shown over the last 23 years! Thank you for allowing us to ride upon the magic carpet of your blessings and join with the Spirit of the Earth in Service. Your baby will rest well in Margaret’s virgin soil and the blessings will sing out into the world. I am sure the blessing has been felt and received and great things will come from your work. Thank you too for the honour of being the custodian of these 4 beautiful little babies. (Jeremy was given 4 small Earth Treasure Vases by Cynthia). I will look after them like my own and place them with great care and reverence. Margaret, Earth Mother, I love you. Thank you for welcoming us into your heart and into your land, which in truth are inseparable. Thank you for the love and trust and kinship and connection you have blessed us all with. I hope to do my Mother proud. – Jeremy Ball, Chief Transformer at Transformational Tours

Traditional ownership of land is not outrightly granted to Aboriginal people in Australia, they have to prove continuous habitation, which is obviously a bit of a pricey archaelogical process, and if their ownership of land is not recognised, then it is easier for mining companies to have access to the land. And so maybe as more land is recognised as a place of belonging for people through archeological findings, and as we learn more about the deep nature of that belonging through people like Margaret, maybe something can shift in the way we all relate to country and it can flow on to government and corporations. Big dream to meditate on there! Thank you for leading us into this unfolding journey, Cynthia. It is an unutterably immense honor to walk with you, to walk with you all. – Therese Ngarritjan Hogan

The little vase has a power, personality, and presence that I don’t know quite how to describe. The Vase came everywhere with us. I walked around Uluru with it, looking pregnant as it hung around my neck, zipped in under my jacket. At the end of the trip, we traveled way up a gorge to Auntie Margaret’s ancestral land. When I first got out of the car, my whole body started vibrating. I think perhaps you can get a sense of some of the magic looking at the pictures —like the rainbows in the light and the spirits of the land dancing in the light and shadow, spiraling and radiating out. I have been acclimating slowly – I really feel changed by the journey and it is taking me some time to integrate and find a new way of being. – Nina Utne

As you know words can’t really describe how beautiful and sacred the experience truly was. I feel that a part of my spirit is still up in the land there. I felt that Margaret opened a doorway for us all that is such a rare and sacred gift. To be introduced to the spirit of the land, to her ancestors and welcomed in such a heartfelt and generous way is just phenomenal! I am still coming to terms with how incredibly fortunate we all were to be there holding ceremony on sacred land with a beautiful elder holding space for it all. — Julian Silburn

Margaret’s infectious joy and loving spirit embraced us all and her presence was a great blessing and true gift. She cackled and laughed and told incredible stories around the fire at night. She informed us that we would be given “skin names” which identifies us as family with her and her mob (the Jawoyn people) and clarifies all our relations. That first night, she dreamed of my teacher, Charok Rinpoche, from whom the treasure vases had come so long ago. She welcomed us so fully, so openly, and so happily that by the end, we were deeply bonded to her and her land through our skin and in our deepest hearts.

We visited a billabong on the solstice where Julian, Therese and her colleague, Michael, played a beautiful musical offering into the Vase. Later, Aunty Margaret organized us into a procession led by drum and didjeridu, she and I following side-by-side with Vase and bell in hand and the group behind us for a walking meditation (at her slow, barefoot pace)…the sound of the bell ringing out into the landscape. At the rock-painting site we walked to, Julian played the didge to the ancestors and performed a healing ritual that took me to the edge of the universe and back.

Tuning in to the land as we were, our group became acutely aware of the effects of this mine and could feel the distress in the land all around us. Jeremy had dreamed of a place to bury the Vase he thought was nearby. We were feeling our way there when Aunty Margaret sat me down to discuss our plans. “You are welcome to go there, honey, if that is the place you feel you must take “your teacher,” but it’s right in the flood plain and may not be the best place. I have some land that would be very good. I’d like to take you there. It is a place where “your teacher” will be very safe and protected for all time.” As we listened to her describe her land, Jeremy saw clearly that this was the place of his dreams.

The next morning we rose at dawn with strong motivation to drive to Aunty Margaret’s land and fulfill our mission to bury the Vase on the full moon that night. Galvanized by our higher purpose and the clear direction provided by Margaret, we traveled across country and made our way towards the sacred Aboriginal land we could never enter without Margaret’s permission. She informed us the road was very bumpy and bad for us “white fellas”…and she meant it. The 4WD came in handy as the long road turned to dirt, and then just a track in the forest. One vehicle got stuck in the mud crossing an overflowing spring.

Eventually, we realized the entire area was IT and anywhere would be perfect! Asking to be guided, Jeremy and I walked up into the rocks to find a good home for the Vase. We could feel the local spirits, protectors, devas and ancestors watching closely and cheering us on. We had arrived. As the sun drew low, Jeremy went back to tell Ben to bring the group. Margaret hunkered down to hold space and I was left alone to find the spot.

I was drawn to a rock overhang with a small cave and just enough dirt to dig a very nice hole for the Vase. A slender tree grew up amongst the rock in front and many large boulders provided ample seating for our group’s final ceremony. Jeremy, whose life purpose is devoted to Mother Earth, took one look at the site, nodded, “Yes!” and began to prepare the land to receive the Vase — carefully digging and building a rock wall to fully enclose the Vase at the back of the cave and gathering rocks to surround the Vase in front after it was buried, sealing it in the rock for all time.

I made an altar and began to meditate. Holding the Earth Treasure Vase, I spontaneously touched the ground beside me and realized that like the Buddha under the Bodhi tree, I was summoning the Earth to witness all of our prayers culminating at this great moment — 23 years of practice that had become my lifework. I could feel the entire global community in the Vase — all of our intentions, our deep love and caring, and the responsibility we have collectively accepted as part of the interconnected web of life at this time — and how we are awakening to become holy vessels ourselves. Tears streamed down my face as I felt the impact of having arrived at this moment and the Great Perfection that has accompanied us every step of the way.

I had brought Earth, herbs and medicines from every ETV location and as our chanting built up a powerful energy, I sprinkled these into the container around the Vase with David working away and the group chanting more and more strongly. A potent alchemical mixture was being cooked up that night!

Suddenly we noticed that the campfire Margaret had lit, to keep her and Ben company as they held space below, had taken off and was burning through the underbrush out of control. “Is everything ok down there?” we yelled. “Yep” was Ben’s reply. Again, “Is the fire really under control?” “Yep,” again was the answer. We had seen that burning unwanted undergrowth was a common practice in those parts: clearly the people knew how to manage the land in this way. So we continued, realizing that Margaret was intentionally doing her part to clear away the obstacles and work her own magic into the alchemy of the moment. She was keeping those “cheeky” buffalos away from us too!

Our little Vase was finally sealed upon sealed upon sealed inside the casket — never to be disturbed — and to the heartbeat of a drum and Julian’s evocative Native American flute, I placed it in its cave and offered three full prostrations, my skin and that Earth now One. In partnership, Jeremy came forward to cover the Vase with dirt then rock, every stone finding its rightful place with the encouragement of the group, sealing our treasure inside.

Bidding farewell and covering our tracks, we quietly made our way down the hill to Margaret, aware that the fire had indeed stayed low and calm and successfully burned off and away. She laughed and hugged each of us, saying that she would protect that place forever and offer her prayers every time she came that way, adding that the only folks to know would be her husband and sons.

Back at camp we could not sleep, quickened by the altered state we were in and the beauty of the moon and stars shining so bright in that exquisite place. Dreamtime memories were reawakening and Julian played his didjeridu throughout the night for everyone to receive a sound healing as we soaked up every last drop before reluctantly departing the next morning.

It is clear now that with Margaret’s ongoing prayers and protection, what we accomplished that night will live on in the dreaming stories of her family and be passed from generation to generation. Our Jayown family, the ancestors of this most ancient land and all future generations have joined together as One for the benefit of all, in a timeless moment of healing for the whole Earth.

Australia, that most ancient land with its incredible wise culture, has been honored, included and brought into right relationship with the whole of the Earth.

The light emanating from the Vase in that protected land behind the veil is rippling out endlessly into a new time….

….a time of connection and collaboration, of Unity and Oneness in the collective awareness of our shared responsibility to accept the privilege along with the whole of creation to participate with great joy in one thousand years of healing.

Thank you for the opportunity to live this legend, tell this tale, and for listening. Your presence and participation in realizing the promise of this story has brought immeasurable benefit to the Earth and all beings.

Cynthia (Bungann)

After 9 years, the Earth Treasure Vase was returned to Alliance for the Earth to be accomplished. We offer our deep gratitude to Pamela for her stewardship and for her many good efforts to find the right person and situation to entrust the vase to. We have discovered from experience that each of these holy vessels have a life of their own and that the way forward opens in divine timing, not our own.

Ben writes that the best translation for his name, “Manbulloo,” is “the messenger,” which is all about his role/job “to bring words from mob to mob, black and white.” Here, “the messenger” shares his insights about the Earth Treasure Vase and the Dreaming to his sister, Bungann Cynthia.

Letter from July 10, 2013
“Maybe I may explain a little about things here. My bloodlines, which I pay respect to now, stem from the Mannaroo (Black Duck Mob) which is a small area on the south coast of New South Wales, which is of the bigger Mob, the Yuin people. I have spent many years with this mob, learning the ways, walking the bush, hearing the stories, sitting in ceremony and going through my initiation ceremonies.

So I come from a long line of people who are freshwater and saltwater people where, like many areas, have been forced to lose, hide or dismiss their heritage and background. For example, my father experienced how in parts of Australia as late as 1955 it was still national law to “shoot trespassers on site.” So this often meant many of our people met terrible ends. This saddens my heart so much as it was not that long ago….It is no wonder now that these wonderful aboriginal people are so closed and frightened to open their culture to the Gubbah (white fellas)!!

So much unrest and distress is so close to the current issue of land rights and Native Title in Australia, so for our group to not only be allowed onto Traditional Land, but to be welcomed and taken onto it with such loving arms by Mumma Margaret, a Traditional Owner, is truly something even I am blessed and honored to be a part of…

See, the land is truly alive and all we are is so connected to this that everything we do or say and even feel has an impact. So my learning with my elder uncle is a journey to purify my soul and heart, to be one with all and to truly listen to my ancestors who all live and breathe through the land. This is the true meaning of respect! It is what I am whole-heartedly committed and connected to, and am honored to be learning.

I believe in my heart Mumma Margaret truly understood the importance of this journey and her and her spirits, ancestors not only allowed, but invited the vase to be placed in this most special place…..Your vision Bungann, spirit and heart, I believe is what Mumma felt so strong and held in her heart….us men fella Bungari’s just did what we were told and kept you safe, and made it work to do what you came to do…..

And when I was down wind, sitting by the fire with Mumma, keepin her safe from them “cheeky buffalos”, whilst you mob was up the hill placing the vase, she shared a tear with me and said…

“This place was a place she would only tell David (her husband) and her sons and kin about, that she would always stop on the way through this place and ‘say hello,’ bless and protect the vase for all her time and make sure her boys would too.”

Then I asked her, “Is this something that would become a dreaming story?” and her reply was, “That’s good my son, you understand and are walking true to your mob.”…Then, “Where’s my cuppa tea?” and “Can I have a biccy too?” We laughed and laughed…

So, this is how dreaming stories are made. We tell the stories by the firelight to our young ones, they depict and explain why things are…and I believe this one will live through words and fire for all time to come. Mumma will be already telling of how a group of wonderful people came out to this place, did some special ceremonies and camped and enjoyed her country, and I promise you that when the young ones go to Jawoyn country they will hear the story of this…”

The ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commission) has just begun to show a TV documentary in four parts called First Footprints. The star of the first episode is Aunty Margaret. It is a remarkable and beautifully produced piece featuring Aunty Margaret at the temple caves with international archeologists. The timelapse photography can be viewed here

For me the journey was profoundly touching. Layer by layer, we were welcomed and given entrance by the indigenous elders and by those great beings that are ‘’country’’. As we all honored each other and all kingdoms of nature, sacred relationship was built. This in turn gave permission for further and deeper openings to be created.

The jewel in the heart in this regard was the welcome to country given to us by both Uncle Bob and Barbara (Uluru), and Aunty Margaret (Katherine).

The welcome is based on the understanding that if you are not of that particular place/country then the trees do not know you, the animals do not know you, the land does not know you, the people do not know you, so you must be welcomed by those who are from that country and once you have been welcomed then this is your land. You are family forever.

These indigenous people who have known and still know death, abuse and terra nullius, welcomed us to country in a way still breaks open my heart and graces me in such a way that touches me and warms me with tears.

I was born in Australia and have lived here for 63 years but this was the first time I have been so profoundly met by the heart and spirit of this land. I have been welcomed to ‘’country’’ and have now become a part of it. I now have such a deep and abiding experience of belonging.

This is the power of the Earth Treasure Vase to create belonging for all people, with all peoples, across this planet.

Uncle Bob and Barbara and Aunty Margaret are so one with the Law. They live within the principle of non-separation in spite of the depths of injustice they still have to manage. With this welcome and gift of entrance, the great gift of this ETV, with its interconnectedness with the other 29 (first generation) vases, was initiated, placed and blessed in many folded ways.

The profound effects that will follow may be held in mystery at this time, yet all of us had a sense, an experience of awe, a place of knowingness that great things will arise.

I travel with the memory of the beauty of the land after we left the final ritual. It was spellbinding. The slender white trunks of the gum trees in the dark of the night were so energetically alive, so outreaching. Our auras were so wide and leaping – we were meeting in a new space, embracing in sacred delight. The cathedral cliff face was sparkling with little fire lamps lit by the blazoning bush below that was afire. And all was held by the wondrous full moon. We all had a sense of being one in a great work. As the fire burned throughout the night and the didgeridoo solemnized the land, we and the land were singing together and the song was sung across all lands.

Here was the beginning, the beginning, the beginning.

A web of light around our biosphere connecting many hearts and prayers through each vase is not only a beautiful image but an inspired message. Thank you Cynthia for taking the journey – each step of the way – and most importantly for completing the promise. Thank you, the last ‘’little vase’’, for closing the circle. – Gaie Alling, aboard the research vessel, Mir, in Sri Lanka.

May the power of love, silence, and truthfulness invested in this vase radiate out to the entire continent of Australia to bless her and her people. May this vase activate the global grid of the Earth Treasure Vase project for the benefit of all Earth beings. May Peace Prevail on Earth. – David Nicol in California

You, little vase, are part of an amazing journey of many other vases over the last many years. May you thrive in your new home. – Linda Osborne.

Inner peace, communal love, global harmony. One earth, one sky, one humankind. – Afzar in Indonesia

To bring to balance masculine and feminine energies on earth. To have women as leaders in the world. To bring peace on the earth. To remove the barriers between countries. To have respect and love for human race. To remove all the trauma/wounds from our energy bodies – to heal us. To raise consciousness on earth. To bless our teachers. To overcome our fears/separation/doubts. To help us see who we are. To help women – to help women – to help women. To bring unity and consciousness on earth. – Mina

In this most ancient sacred spot, from our deepest center, we place these prayers for great beloved Earth and her beings. In the spirit of Big Bill Neidje, voice of the Kakadu, we sing praises for the Great Dance and all the dancers. – Joanna Macy

Welcome Mother Sun to Mother Earth

It is really good to see You.

May the blessings of your Light

Be the light of Love that will remain with us today and always.

From the highest point above and below me,

Throughout the Universe,

Extending beyond the horizon in all directions,

I call on All Things before me,

That Was, that Is, and that Will Be,

To come and meet with me

And create a sacred space

From which we can acknowledge the right of All Things

To live in love, light, peace, and harmony throughout their time,

As being given that right by The Tjukurrpa.

To all those who desire to live according to the Kanyini Principles of having unconditional love

For each other and all living,

In the name of All that is Sacred and Holy,

…So let It Be.

Resources

The film Kanyini (about Uncle Bob Randall) – www.kanyini.com
The Shift Network – https://theshiftnetwork.com/
The Gaia Field Project – www.gaiafield.net
Recording of the Global Solstice Meditation in Australia (2013) – https://events.iteleseminar.com/?eventID=41651535&preview=
First Footprints Photography Reel – https://vimeo.com/69846045