A week later and I think I’m done clearing all that came up for me after coordinating and participating in the Penn Cove Lang Healing! I thought that I had planned the event for the whales and the land to heal, not for myself to heal. This event was the catalyst for providing me the opportunity to deal with some old issues. Things I’ve been working through this past week include fear, resistance to being the leader, jealousy, doubt, unworthiness, possessiveness, shame/embarassment fear, jealousy, doubt, unworthiness, possessiveness, shame/embarassment along with joy, gratitude, amazement, wonder, hope, admiration, and more gratitude.
Last summer my family and I visited Coupeville, WA on Whidbey Island. We ended up in Coupeville quite by accident; we had spent the weekend in Port Townsend exploring and hoping to see some of the Southern Resident Killer Whale family off the coast in the Strait of Georgia. On Sunday we rode the ferry from Port Townsend over to Port Susan, hoping to see a whale on the ferry crossing. Once on the island we just started driving and soon found ourselves in the cute, very old-fashioned town of Coupeville. We found a parking spot and started checking out the shops. A few moments after getting out of the car I felt my stomach clench up and anxious feeling arising from I didn’t know where. The feelings intensified as we wandered through a couple more shops. I told my family I needed to leave, that I was having these feelings I couldn’t explain. They agreed to go after a trip out to the dock at the end of the wharf. While my husband and daughter were checking out the area I saw a placard explaining about Penn Cove orca captures in the late 1960’s. Suddenly it all made sense–THIS was Penn Cove. THIS was where five orcas were rounded up with explosives and nets and sold to marine parks for profit. THIS was were five helpless orcas were killed and sunk to the bottom of the cove during the captures. I knew exactly why I was feeling the tight stomach and the anxiety once I knew what town I was in. It was grief I was feeling. The grief of the orca pods I hold so dear to my heart. The grief of the land and the water surrounding it. We departed a short time later and headed back to the ferry dock to return home.
The experience left me shaken and wanting to help. I knew I was taking a Land Healing class in September and figured I could use what I learned in that class and go back to help heal the land of its trauma and past. A classmate, Kimi, was very into dolphins and whales so I asked her to join me. She agreed and we decided to go in the spring.
Fast forward to May 2017: It was amazing to plan this event and have SEVEN other people show up, four of whom had never had any experience with land healing. I was very impressed by those four: they put themselves out there and came to this event simply because their spirits encouraged them to show up. What a great example of listening to your higher self. I was also impressed by the four of us who did have land healing experience–each getting out of our own ways and setting aside a whole day to do something that we love.
Leading up to the event, I had it in my head that I was the coordinator. Initially, I made sure to invite only people who had taken a land healing class. I thought that I would just pick a date, have people show up, and everyone do their own healing in their own way. As the date approached, I found myself inviting anyone who wanted to come. I still was not thinking of myself as the leader of the event at this point. The story I was telling myself was that people were gathering together to offer healing in the way they knew how and that I was just one of the people. It wasn’t until the Friday night before the healing event that I FINALLY admit to myself that, yes, I was the leader of this group and event. That’s when I kicked into high gear, preparing for the healing the next day. I spent a lot of time on Friday and early Saturday morning clearing the energy around the event, grounding Whidbey Island and Coupeville, and talking to the ancestors about how the healing was going to unfold. I would have loved to have been doing those things throughout the entire planning process, but now I know to do so for next time. My resistance to being the leader stemmed from the fact that I did not want to be responsible if anything wild or crazy happened to anyone during the healing. Realizing that the whole thing would not have come together if I wasn’t prepared to lead the others helped me to see that I had the skills and tools to handle anything that may arise.
During the healing we encountered a lot of pain and trauma from the water in Penn Cove, the mussel beds where the Penn Cove mussels are grown, and from the land that makes up Coupeville. Most of the healers went down to the beach to work while two of us went onto one of the docks used during the orca captures. Each of us offered our own version of healing. Some simply grounded the area and showered it with cosmic gold energy. Others brought gifts to offer the land (tabacco, sacred water, shells, etc). We all worked for about 40 minutes and then reconvened as a group at the end. Everyone shared what they observed. The main theme was around the greed and disregard for the land. The group observed that many things had been ripped from the land and sea in the area: the Natives when the settlers arrived in the late 1800’s, the whales during the orca captures of the ’60’s, and the mussels each harvest season. We thought that this was the root of the greed–all of those things were done for profit and with no regard for the land and sea from which the beings were taken. The gratitude that washed over me after I offered my healing was incredible, like a tsunami wave pouring over my whole aura and body. It was seriously one of the best feelings I’ve ever experienced in my life. Overall it was quite a humbling experience.
The full double rainbow!! Kimi, Rebekah, and I were driving back to our room for the night on Friday when we came around the corner and BAM! There it was in all its glory. The brightness of the colors and the fact that I could see the ENTIRE rainbow was breathtaking. Both rainbows enveloped the cove like it was being hugged. Others were pulling over around us to share in the excitement and experience of seeing a full double rainbow. I experienced such a sense of belonging sharing that moment with perfect strangers who were all witnessing such unexpected beauty together. It really left me feeling invigorated and I took it as a sign that our event was in line with the highest good.
I know many others wanted to join in but that this date didn’t work for you, so I have planned two more dates to offer more healings. The first is on Saturday, July 15th and the second is on Saturday, September 30th. Hopefully one of these dates works and you are able to join in if you are called to do so.
Many thanks to those who helped from a distance as well (Angie, Julie, Marcy, and Cindi amount others)–the grounding you provided really made a difference. Much appreciation to Kimi, Yvonne, Kate, Rebekah, Claudia, Kathy, and Nancy for your participation as well; it was so fun spending the day together!
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