Picasso Dreams

Find Your Dream

"You have to look deeper, way below the anger, the hurt, the hate, the jealousy, the self-pity, way down deeper where the dreams lie, son. Find your dream.  It's the pursuit of the dream that heals you."  --  Billy Mills, Oglala Lakota

How to Neutralize Drama

from thepowerpath.com 

by José Stevens - How to Neutralize Drama

When was the last time you read a headline, watched the news, or heard the latest going on in the political arena and felt yanked into anger, discouragement, outrage, or despair? How often, when you have been to a social gathering, did you feel annoyance with someone whom you got stuck sitting next to or were forced to listen to? For most of us these events happen almost daily and yet we take them for granted. They are all examples of swinging on the pendulum away from neutral to the side of upset and resistance. Sometimes we are yanked the other way into a sense of elation when we feel we score some points in a discussion or make a good showing or think we are going to make a lot of money on some scheme. In a shamanic sense these little events do not stack up to lasting happiness. They are a result of imprinting, social programming, or family injunctions that are deeply embedded in the subconscious. Usually they are related in some way to whether we feel loved or not.

The good news is that there are many shamanic methods to reduce and eliminate the retaining walls in the mind that keep us from growing, expanding, and meeting our full potential as human beings. Shamans the world over, speak to the importance and power of erasing personal history and detaching from the drama to become neutral once and for all. Only when we are not caught up in identifying ourselves with this event or that, only when we are not resisting what is, do we find our true power and become able to access the Inner Shaman. Let us go into some of the major processes that allow us to not only to clear the clutter and find the power within, but to revolutionize the world with a new dream.

Recapitulation

In a shamanic sense recapitulation means to review, to repeat the evolutionary stages we have been through, to recap the major themes of our lives. Interestingly it also means to repeat the process of surrender. The purpose of reviewing the major events of our lives is not to indulge in repeating the drama but to surrender to it, to accept it, to put it exactly where it is and thus take the energy out of it by not resisting it anymore. The reason that we carry so much baggage is that we tend to resist our experiences because we don't like them, we don't want to experience them fully when they happen.
Let us say for example that you have a social trauma, someone embarrasses you in public, insults you, or humiliates you in some way. A part of you says "no, no, no" while it is happening.

 Immediately afterward you try to forget it, wish it had not happened, and so on. This resistance causes the condition to persist and all you can do is circle around and repeat the memory of it over and over much to your chagrin. The memory of the trauma stays with you as a highly charged unpleasant memory. It holds a large part of our energy in a kind of timeless state of repetition. By surrendering to it you let it go and free up the energy around it.

Now when shamans refer to erasing personal history they do not mean that you suddenly never had the trauma or the event you have resisted. What they actually mean is that you rob it of any energy that is being held or trapped within you. To erase personal history means to render it neutral so that you don't care any more that this event happened. You don't care any more because it no longer influences you one way or the other. If it no longer influences you in a bad way you need not resist it any more.

The Shamanic Power Of Neutrality

Most people hear the word neutral as a negative. They are afraid that being neutral is boring, completely uninteresting, like being dead. In fact it is true that many humans are addicted to drama and find trouble rather delicious. This is especially evident in teenagers who embrace drama with regularity much to their parent's exasperation. Why indeed do so many young people choose to run with a destructive crowd? The truth is that it is more exciting than being obedient or following the rules. Even adults get into dramas on a regular basis. They take small insults and blow them up into major fights. They love nothing more than to participate in office politics, inheritance fights, vendettas, gossip, and slander. More than a few lawsuits are simply blown up situations resulting from people spoiling for a fight. 

There is nothing at all wrong with much drama. Drama is entertainment and without it we would not be able to enjoy classic stories, novels, films, and plays. Rough challenges and difficult lessons make for an interesting life. But in the end all this drama and challenge can become tiresome, a big distraction leading to confusion and unnecessary suffering. When all is said and done there is no shamanic power inherent in suffering even though the shamanic path can be quite difficult at times. Shamanic initiation, like working out or training for a marathon, may be challenging, however the objective is not to suffer but rather to bump up to the next level of ability and effectiveness.

In the end, when on the shamanic path, approaching life with clarity, sobriety, and focus leads a person much more rapidly to their freedom and power. Then life becomes incredibly interesting but not in the way a child would think of excitement. Being able to change someone's life for the better is as exciting as it gets. Helping someone to let go of their fears to become courageous and powerful is truly dramatic but not in the way most people think because it must be done without identification, without a lot of hoopla, without self-importance

When you are not neutral you cannot create your dream, you simply recreate what you have resisted. From a shamans point of view you can begin to create only when you do not care if you are the one who gets the credit. That is why most shamans worth their salt, do not even call themselves shamans. If you pay attention, you will discover that your Inner Shaman is always neutral, always sober, not engaged in petty ego games. In the end you cannot advance on the shamanic path without finding the neutral position. Your life may not look interesting to many who are engaged in the old patterns but it will be totally riveting to the new you. In fact you will find that those interested in conventional forms of drama will studiously avoid you because to them you look like someone who will not engage them, who will not play their games, someone they cannot create karma with. When you are neutral you will no longer attract thieves, attackers, or violent people. You will not have to worry that bad things will happen to you. Now that is a good thing for you. Let them go their way and you go your way, the way of power.

1. Here is a process that shamans use to recapitulate or find neutral. Think of a person, a situation, or an event in your life in which you are not neutral. This might be a memory of a childhood event, a divorce, the death of someone you cared for, the loss of a pet, a business downturn, or just about anything that has caused you grief and still does when you think about it. Notice your lack of neutrality and what emotions get triggered as you contemplate it.
Now the first reaction for most people is blame. "He did this to me." She screwed me over." "It's your fault." Notice the blame and the intensity around it. Notice thoughts of get-back or revenge. Notice thoughts of poor me.

Underneath blame, anger, grief, shock or loss is almost always fear. This is what most of us hate to admit. Notice any number of conclusions you came to as a result of the event or situation: "The world is not safe. What if I never find love again? The world is unfair. What if this affects me negatively for the rest of my life." And so on. What was this conclusion that you came away with and made part of your belief system? 

In non-neutral events there is always identification with something not good. Your ego wants you to identify with something narrow, something limiting, something that makes you smaller, a thing that disconnects you from your sense of power.

What did you identify with as a result of the memory? Notice that this is different from the belief you adopted. This is an actual identity you adopted: "I am the jilted wife or husband. I am the victim of a robbery. I am the abused one. I am the victim. I am the injured one. I am the loser. I am the one who makes mistakes. I am the one who will pay forever. I am stupid. I am rejected. I am powerless. I am crazy. I am an idiot. I never learn. I am completely worthless. I have no self-control." Blah, Blah, Blah. 

Look and see that you made a choice to believe this, to accept this, to become this. You choose your response to your experience.

Is this what you want? How attached are you to the identity? Are you willing to let go of it? Are you willing to release the drama around it? How many cookies and how much secondary gain do you derive from this? Is this the way you get people to feel sorry for you? Is this how you feel sorry for yourself?

 Notice there is no power in any of this. It's a losing proposition. It will only create more of the same. This can be hard to look at. Stay with it.

Now raise the questions: What if I gave this belief up? What if I let go of this identity? Who would I be without it? What would I be?

Make a list of as many of these dramas as you can remember. It is easier to do this according to categories, breakups, accidents, losses, and so on. This may take some time, an hour or two every day, like a project you might do for a week or two. It is actually a small investment for the return.
Focus on each one of the dramas and with intention breath it out moving your head from left to right. Don't forget to clear the space around you after you are done by using some sage, incense, or pure natural tobacco smoke.

This then is the relatively simple process of recapitulation. To do it successfully you will have to take responsibility of each item on your list.

2. There is an even simpler process of release. That is, for each item on your list breathe in saying accepting and breathe out saying releasing.

3. The most powerful time to find neutral is right in the moment when the event is happening. Notice that you are going out of neutral. Here you have a choice of several responses. A) See what is happening and quickly say to the event, "You have no power over me." B) Or, you can say, "I am the word through this event, this person, this situation." This will raise the frequency automatically and cut off the action of the ego. C) Give the directive to your heart, "Correct Neutral Now."

In other words there is always something you can do or say quietly that will give you your shamanic power back. The key is you have to find a way to disrupt the automatic mechanical dominance of the false personality or ego that is attempting to use the event for its own aggrandizement. You may not find immediate success with these responses and tools. They take practice. The important thing is that they represent you being proactive and not passive in the situation. Little by little you will move toward neutral. Try not to start with an extremely difficult situation. Start with something manageable and work up from there. Remember, being neutral is effective, being reactive and not being neutral is business as usual.

Questions and Answers:

Just wondering if you could comment on the purpose the dysfunctional congress is serving to move us forward?

The stuck congress is serving to wean people from reliance on the government to solve all the problems. Instead the people themselves will have to assume leadership because the congress, through gerrymandering and manipulation, does not represent them any longer.

What is a nature of blessing?

First of all a blessing can be performed by anyone who wishes to. One may bless a person, an animal, a house, a business, land, or whatever one wishes. A blessing is an intention to hold that which is blessed in the highest regard, in its original state of perfection, to see it as an expression of Spirit or the Creator. The intention is that all good will come to pass with regard to what is being blessed. There is a difference between a true blessing and the fear that something bad might happen as when a mother hastily blesses her son as he goes off to war fearing she will never see him again. In a true blessing fear has no place, only the highest frequency is bestowed on the that which is blessed. There are no right words for a blessing, sometimes no words at all are needed, just a smile of compassion or love. Words might include: "I bless you with health and happiness and may you be surrounded by love wherever you roam." Hands are made for blessing so one can hold them over whomever or whatever they are blessing.

April Forecast

From Lena at The Power Path School of Shaminism

APRIL 2013
The theme for April is MOMENTUM.

When something has momentum it takes more of an effort to change its course, and less of an effort to move it in the direction it is already going. This is a tricky month as momentum will take hold in whatever direction you happen to be putting your focus and energy.

For example, if you are in a bad mood, that mood is in danger of gathering momentum. If you are focused on a creative project of your choosing, it will also gather momentum. It is very important that you are focused on the things you want in your life at this time for they are the ones that will gather momentum.

This is a highly creative and productive time. The challenge will be to stay directed and to have the discipline to move yourself out of situations and away from negativity that you would rather not be gathering momentum around. This will take discernment, the use of good boundaries and a commitment to some truth telling about what serves you and what does not.

If you find yourself in a downward spiral where everything seems to be falling apart in a big way, you may need to look at the truth of allowing something you have been holding onto to dissolve and leave your life. You may finally have the momentum to move yourself out of a situation that is not healthy or serving. On the other hand, a creative project that is aligned with spirit may have just been waiting for such a time to take off.

Whenever you have a great deal of creativity you also have destruction. Destruction as an energy can be used wisely this month as a way of cleaning and clearing and changing your environment to something more compatible. It can also be used as a tool to end something that needs to be completed. If however you are engaged in negative behaviors, bad attitudes and addictions, this destructive energy can turn against you and you could both experience and witness a very grim side of it. This month will be especially difficult for those who struggle with addictions.

With that said, however, it could also be an extremely positive month for those who have struggled with addictions in the past but are now willing to tell the truth and focus on changing their behavior at a deeper level. This willingness and determination to proactively create a better situation for themselves will gather momentum and has the potential for profound and permanent change. People with addictions will need a lot of support this month as the creative side of the month can offer many distractions that end up derailing good intentions.

Distractions will show up in the form of unimportant things vying for your attention. For example, if you suddenly find yourself fixated with how dirty your car is and begin the process of thoroughly cleaning it, this better be what you want to do with your time because it will gather momentum and you will not be available for something else that may be more important. PRIORITIZE this month and be disciplined about your priorities because if you are not, something will come in to distract you and gather up all your momentum and creativity. This is especially true around someone else's project or situation. Make sure you are telling the truth to yourself about what you are willing to do and what is really a distraction that becomes an energy leak.

This is a good month to revisit the concept of energy leaks as a model to help you with organizing where your focus is and what serves you as opposed to what is distracting and non-serving. An energy leak is something that bleeds your vitality and gives nothing back. It can be a bad habit or behavior, unnecessary worry, a relationship that takes and never gives back, and any time your obstacle gets the better of you (Stubbornness, Impatience, Martyrdom, Self-Deprecation, Arrogance, Greed, Self-Destruction). Remember that MOMENTUM will attach itself to wherever you are focused this month so if it is to any one of these behaviors you may be in trouble. There is a difference between a true energy leak and a necessary responsibility. A necessary responsibility will ultimately lead you towards your goal, an energy leak will not.

Be aware and be present this month. If momentum is taking you in the wrong direction, examine it. If your truth tells you that dissolving is a good thing, allow it. If momentum is simply taking you in a negative direction, use your own inner discipline and determination to change it. Sometimes this is not easy so you may need to ask for help. We always recommend baby steps and this month even the baby steps will grab the momentum and move you quickly in the right direction.

As to the creativity, set some boundaries so you don't bite off more than you can chew at this time. Make sure that what you are focused on is what you really want. This may be a time to revisit your goals and dreams and to refine them if necessary. Make sure they are yours and not someone else's. The need for Freedom is huge this month and shows up as the freedom to choose, the freedom to think for ones' self and the freedom to eliminate what does not serve.

Opportunities:

To jump-start projects in a highly creative way
To complete something efficiently and with integrity
To increase your abundance, health, vitality, joy
To become more and more clear about what serves you and what doesn't
To work on your boundaries
To create something spectacular
To make a big change in the right direction

Challenges:

Distractions
Other people's drama
Addictions
The 7 Obstacles
Scatter and Chaos
Too much on your plate

Bottom line: It's your life. You get to choose. Do it for yourself. What do you want? Stop whining and take advantage of this fabulous opportunity

How the month shows up:

YOU PERSONALLY

It is time to live the life you want. Don't be afraid to put what you want out there. Ask for it. If it's not right, it won't happen. If it is right, the momentum will engage and you will get it in spades. The lessons personally this month are around seeing just how much you get in your own way. If you ask for something, observe what shows up. Don't reject it before you examine if it is a tool that spirit is handing you to better achieve your dream, or if it is a distraction you have created for yourself as a test.

Work on your boundaries. They will certainly be tested. Work on your energy leaks and get to know yourself better from your own perspective. This is a "take charge" kind of a month. If you don't, you will be yanked around by someone else's momentum and someone else's dream. If you lose your center, stop everything, take a deep breath and go back to your own priorities. You will find that if you ignore your own priorities and allow something else to distract you, you will become very irritated and your irritation will gather momentum. If this happens you need to consciously reset what you are doing, and/or whom you are with to get back on track.

RELATIONSHIPS

Be very aware of the dynamic of relationship this month. You will experience that you have the power to move a relationship either in the right direction or the wrong one just by having the focus and discipline to refrain from negative responses. If you put positivity into a relationship, either that relationship will grab onto it and the momentum will drive it into a good direction, or the relationship will fall away because it cannot
follow.

If a relationship is one where a difficult karma is present, the karma may be amplified or accelerated by the momentum. It is a good month to examine what can be completed and finished using the destructive energy that accompanies creativity. Many relationships can be reset and changed from an old dynamic to something that serves better. Some relationships will end simply because they are past their time or no longer appropriate.

Let's just say that there will be a lot of work in relationships, some setting of boundaries especially against negativity, and a great deal of creativity available to move them in a positive and exciting direction.

THE ENVIRONMENT

Any seed that was planted in dealing positively with the environment will gather momentum this month. Any ideas or proposals that resonate with the greater collective around having a better relationship with the environment will have a chance to become well anchored and gather momentum. When the timing is right, things can move very quickly gathering the momentum they need to take root and become viable.
For your own part, we recommend looking at your own environment to see what is irritating to you and what may need to change, be completed or refined. It is certainly a good month to clean out your garage, basement, closets, junk drawers and any other space that may irritate you when you notice it. You will experience a great deal of energy, motivation and momentum for such projects. Making space in your environment makes space for more creativity.

In terms of weather and climate, weather trends will gather momentum, storms will gather momentum, and there is an opportunity to work with the weather in aligning yourself with what is and seeing how that reflects in your own life. We could have big surges in energy such as waves, earth movement, tides, floods and wind.

HEALTH AND THE PHYSICAL BODY

The body is till struggling to keep up and needs a lot of nurturing, reassurance and exercise. Similar to last month, the recommendation is to move, move, move. You may be surprised at what the body is capable of when it gathers momentum for something. You will need to be very disciplined not to go into the negative or any fear based worry about the body. If you do, that fear, negativity or worry will gather momentum and what you believe to be true about your body and your health will be accelerated and magnified.

This is where the discipline for change is important because you could experience great change for the positive around the body OR great change for the negative around the body. The choice is yours.

The adrenals are still challenged as well as sleep and erratic energy levels. Increase your minerals and drink plenty of water.

FINANCE, PROJECTS, PARTNERSHIPS, BUSINESS
This is an excellent month to jump-start and move ahead full on with any business idea or creative project. This may be the month where those of you that need to change how you are supporting yourself can do so. Look for many changes in jobs, career dreams, people going back to school, people dropping out of school after realizing it is truthfully not for them, people closing businesses or starting businesses, restructuring partnerships, telling the truth, investing from the heart and taking the freedom needed to make their own choices.

This is also a good month to do some focused prosperity work to increase your positive beliefs about abundance. Any discipline of this nature will gather momentum and have positive far-reaching effects. It is an excellent time to re-examine your beliefs about finances and what is possible for you. Stretch a little and use the momentum and creativity to expand your havingness.

POLITICS AND GLOBAL ISSUES

Watch for intensity in the areas where the momentum is latching on to negative, aggressive, destructive behavior between people or countries. On the other hand, initiatives and proposals of a positive nature that bring global society together in a positive way will gather momentum as well. It is actually possible to see major changes occurring in a shorter amount of time than anyone thought practical. Because this is a highly creative time, it affects society and community. Look for interesting and creative ways that this energy may show up.

DATES AND TIME FRAMES

April 1-7: Take an inventory of your energy leaks, the things that do not serve you, and what is unimportant on your plate. Tell the truth about what you want and where your boundaries need to be. Clean something out in your environment and practice focusing on the positive.

This is a time frame that sets up the month so use it wisely so don't get distracted and don't wallow in negativity. Take the freedom to choose clearly and with integrity. How you organize this week energetically will have an effect on the weeks to come. It is a powerful month with great opportunities. Don't waste it.

April 8-15: A creative surge influences everything we do. If destruction is where you are focused, work with it appropriately to complete something that needs completing. This is not a soft or slowly paced time and the lessons tend to be on the harsh side, the gifts large and the momentum overwhelming.

The best thing is to stay focused on one thing at a time. It will get done very quickly and creatively. Then you can move on to the next project. If you are clear about your priorities and have set up good boundaries, the creative momentum of this time should be an asset to you rather than a hindrance.

April 10: New Moon is at 3:38 AM Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) Get clear on your priorities, examine your energy leaks, and ruthlessly cut off what does not serve. This is a very good day to clean, clear, eliminate, prune, and make space. Remember that when you make space, the creativity will naturally flow in to the vacuum.

April 15-22: This could be a challenging time for some especially around truth, distractions, too much on your plate and battling your own limiting beliefs. You could be plagued with uncertainty, chaos, doubt, frustration, impatience, and irritation at self and others. This is a time to take a deep breath and re-set yourself as many times a day as needed. Pick one project at a time, one focus at a time and when all else fails, clean something out.

The truth around certain relationships will also become very clear at this time and you may be faced with some hard decisions. Remember to use integrity and appropriate destruction when ending or changing anything that does not serve.

April 23-30: This is a time of noticing markers. Notice what is being handed to you by spirit, what is dropping into your lap, what seems to be falling apart no matter what you do and what seems to keep following you around, vying for your attention. Assume that nothing happens without a reason, so notice, witness and take stock of exactly where you are, what you are doing and whom you are with.

How do you feel? If positive, the direction is right and you can keep on going. If negative, ask what is not right. Take another inventory of where you are and of what needs to change. Have gratitude for what you have accomplished and where your creativity did shine.

April 25: Full Moon with a Lunar Eclipse (the first of three) is at 1:58 PM Mountain Daylight Time. This is a time to connect with who you are at this time. Appreciation is important as well as gratitude. This is a time to honor anything that has happened in a big way in your life. Practice moving any fear towards excitement and enthusiasm. Trust that spirit has handed you exactly what you need regardless of how you may define it as positive or negative.

Have fun!

Blessings,
Lena

 

Struggle

individuality is an illusion

"It is proposed that the widespread and pervasive distinctions between people (race, nation, family, profession, etc., etc.) which are now preventing mankind from working together for the common good, and indeed, even for survival, have one of the key factors of their origin in a kind of thought that treats things as inherently divided, disconnected, and 'broken up' into yet smaller constituent parts.  Each part is considered to be essentially independent and self-existent.

The notion that all these fragments is separately existent is evidently an illusion, and this illusion cannot do other than lead to endless conflict and confusion.  Indeed, the attempt to live according to the notion that the fragments are really separate is, in essence, what has led to the growing series of extremely urgent crises that is confronting us today.

Thus, as is now well known, this way of life has brought about pollution, destruction of the balance of nature, over-population, world-wide economic and political disorder and the creation of an overall environment that is neither physically nor mentally healthy for most of the people who live in it.  Individually there has developed a widespread feeling of helplessness and despair, in the face of what seems to be an overwhelming mass of disparate social forces, going beyond the control and even the comprehension of the human beings who are caught up in it."  

   -- David Bohm, Wholeness and the Implicate Order

Love

 

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” 
― Martin Luther King, Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches

“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.” 
― Mother Teresa

“Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.” 
― Mother Teresa

“You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching,
Love like you'll never be hurt,
Sing like there's nobody listening,
And live like it's heaven on earth.” 
― William W. Purkey

“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.” 
― Mother Teresa

“You can't measure the mutual affection of two human beings by the number of words they exchange.” 
― Milan Kundera

“One love, one heart, one destiny.” 
― Bob Marley

“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” 
― Mother Teresa

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” 
― Lao Tzu

“A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved.” 
― Kurt Vonnegut, The Sirens of Titan

“Sometimes it's a form of love just to talk to somebody that you have nothing in common with and still be fascinated by their presence.” 
― David Byrne

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” 
― Mother Teresa

“Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more. You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. When something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself. Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful. There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are. The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever. Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it’s like being young again. Colours seem brighter and more brilliant. Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn’t exist at all. A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day’s work and always brings a smile to your face. In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby. Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon. You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life.” 

― Bob Marley

The Role of Spirituality

Elephants

Eat Healthy

Tacitus

Hafiz

Dead or Alive?

Thanks to my friends at Pachamama.

More Rumi

Rumi

"When I say to you,  ‘You are lovely’,  you do not believe me, because of the blemishes you know so intimately; but those blemishes are the scars of your sufferings and they shine out of your soul, radiating beauty, the way the daisies do in the long summer grasses. So when I say to you. ‘Even with closed eyes, I still see how beautiful you are’ it is true. Believe it. Believe it. -- Rumi

Ecuador to auction off more than 3 MILLION hectares of pristine Amazonian rainforest to Chinese oil companies

via The Guardian

Ecuador plans to auction off more than three million hectares of pristine Amazonian rainforest to Chinese oil companies, angering indigenous groups and underlining the global environmental toll of China's insatiable thirst for energy.

 

On Monday morning a group of Ecuadorean politicians pitched bidding contracts to representatives of Chinese oil companies at a Hilton hotel in central Beijing, on the fourth leg of a roadshow to publicise the bidding process. Previous meetings in Ecuador's capital, Quito, and in Houston and Paris were each confronted with protests by indigenous groups.

 

Attending the roadshow were black-suited representatives from oil companies including China Petrochemical and China National Offshore Oil. "Ecuador is willing to establish a relationship of mutual benefit – a win-win relationship," said Ecuador's ambassador to China in opening remarks.

According to the California-based NGO Amazon Watch, seven indigenous groups who inhabit the land claim that they have not consented to oil projects, which would devastate the area's environment and threaten their traditional way of life.

 

"We demand that public and private oil companies across the world not participate in the bidding process that systematically violates the rights of seven indigenous nationalities by imposing oil projects in their ancestral territories," a group of Ecuadorean organised indigenous associations wrote in an open letter last autumn.

 

In an interview, Ecuador's secretary of hydrocarbons, Andrés Donoso Fabara, accused indigenous leaders of misrepresenting their communities to achieve political goals. "These guys with a political agenda, they are not thinking about development or about fighting against poverty," he said.

Fabara said the government had decided not to open certain blocks of land to bidding because it lacked support from local communities. "We are entitled by law, if we wanted, to go in by force and do some activities even if they are against them," he said. "But that's not our policy."

 

Amazon Watch said the deal would violate China's own new investment guidelines, issued jointly by the ministries of commerce and environmental protection last month. The third clause of the guidelines says Chinese enterprises should "promote harmonious development of local economy, environment and community" while operating abroad.

 

Fabara said he was not aware of the guidelines. "We're looking for global investors, not just investors from China," he said. "But of course Chinese companies are really aggressive. In a bidding process, they might present the winning bids."

 

Critics say national debt may be a large part of the Ecuadorean government's calculations. Ecuador owed China more than £4.6bn ($7bn) as of last summer, more than a tenth of its GDP. China began loaning billions of dollars to Ecuador in 2009 in exchange for oil shipments. More recently China helped fund two of its biggest hydroelectric infrastructure projects. Ecuador may soon build a $12.5bn oil refinery with Chinese financing.

 

"My understanding is that this is more of a debt issue – it's because the Ecuadoreans are so dependent on the Chinese to finance their development that they're willing to compromise in other areas such as social and environmental regulations," said Adam Zuckerman, environmental and human rights campaigner at Amazon Watch. "The message that they're trying to send to international investors is not in line with reality."

Last July the inter-American court on human rights ruled to prohibit oil developments in the Sarayaku, a tropical rainforest territory in southern Ecuador that is accessible only by plane and canoe, in order to preserve its rich cultural heritage and biodiversity. The court also mandated that governments obtain "free, prior and informed consent" from native groups before approving oil activities on their indigenous land.

 

A TV news report broadcast by the US Spanish-language network Telemundo showed members of Ecuadorean native groups – some wearing traditional facepaint and headdresses – waving protest banners and scuffling with security guards outside the Ecuadorean government's roadshow stop in Houston.

 

"What the government's been saying as they have been offering up our territory is not true; they have not consulted us, and we're here to tell the big investors that they don't have our permission to exploit our land," Narcisa Mashienta, a women's leader of Ecuador's Shuar people, said in the report.