Yes, Charlie, this is the time, and we on Orcas are ready. We are in our positions, we’ve sufficiently prepared ourselves, and we are ready to move forward.

It is all Written on Our Hearts.

The Presentation Stella and Charlie brought to Orcas was the spark we needed on Orcas to move us from dwelling on what is wrong with our Educational System, to discovering the possibilities that arise from receptivity, deep listening, and trust in our true nature.

Charles and Stella helped our group stay in that quiet place of openness, while we listened, shared, decided it was time to go forward, and while we talked about our next steps.

How accustom we are in our culture to staying in our heads when it comes time to make decisions, get things done, do our work. We have been taught to believe the heart cannot be rational, and should only consulted in matters of personal relationships. To get things done efficiently, we believe, we must remain rational, clear headed, and detached.

We become then, also detached from the truth of our being - which is not only heart centered, but includes the head, spirit, mind, body, earth, stars, universe...

We are parts of a whole that is so vast and unexplainable, that when our minds get close to it, they shut down. We, as a culture, have become afraid of this shutting down, and do not have many systems in place to help guide people through this process. Oh, sure, we have mental health facilities, ritalin, and all sorts of labels we can put on people who are simply, waking up to the truth of their expanded selves - or in the case of many young people, struggling to remain in that expanded self.

Our culture has developed many powerful systems that seem to be designed to keep people from even thinking about these matters. And yet, the human spirit cannot be squelched. We are speaking our truth, regardless of what is going on around us, because, at this point, as Charlie wrote in his post, we now know who we are.

Indeed, “We are the ones.”

The Next Steps

When I spend time with young people, I often ask myself these questions.

Who is this being before me?

Why are they here?

What are their gifts?

It’s amazing how these three simple questions will provide me with so much information. Often the information comes in at first, as an overwhelming appreciation for the incredible being that stands before me, and I connect with all the beautiful work they are here on earth to do. I might not always be clear about their specific work at this point, but being able to see their light seems to be the first step.

In spending time with the person, watching them in action, I might get more information about them, and as it comes in, I may or may not share it with them. I often wait until I’m guided to say something, and this is usually when they are most ready to hear and accept it.

I feel called at this time on Orcas, to help create opportunities of time and space for young people to explore, with the help of trained, skilled adults, these important questions. Who am I? Why am I here? and, What are my gifts? Charles and Stella have called those people who do this and other inner work, “Stewards of Learning”.

We have many on Orcas ready to do this work, and who wish to become Stewards of learning. We hope to go forward, with the continued guidance and partnership of Charles and Stella to help train these willing Stewards.

It also seems that a next step for all adults who feel called to do this work, might be for them to also ask themselves the questions, who am I, why am I here, and what are the gifts I have to share?

In asking myself, “Who am I beyond daughter, mother, educator, writer, friend, etc.?” I have discovered my being to be so great, it encompasses everything. I begin to know myself as everything. Then, going even deeper, I have caught glimpses of what it also means to be no-thing. These experiences have been both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.

When asking myself, “Why am I here? - what part of the vast whole am I here to express?” I might come up with Harmonizer, Connector, Nurturer, etc. These answers also may change over the course of my lifetime.

I may have been a system buster in my past, in resistance to systems I saw were killing people’s spirits. Now, I might be called to help transform those systems. I have changed from a system buster to system transformer.

As for gifts, we’re all accustom to listing listing the things we’re good at - skills we might have. This is great, and these skills are a part of what we have to offer, but I also like to go a little deeper into my “gifts of the spirit.”

For example, I seem to be gifted with a great intuition about people, I can often see their life purpose clearly, and can help guide them towards understanding and sharing their gifts. I also have the gift of healing, as I’ve been working with Reiki for years, and have recently been learning about sound as a powerful tool for transformation.

It seems as if I was born with these gifts, but in order to make best use of them in the world, I have, over the course of my development, needed the guidance and training from someone who has sufficiently developed their gifts. Some of that guidance has come from people, although much of it has come from the unseen world. Call it intuition, spirit guides, my higher self, ancestors inner teacher - it matters not what I call it, what matters is that I’ve developed the habit of listening, and have had the courage to take action based on what I’ve heard and learned.

So, again, I keep coming back to these words - given to me by that unseen help..

It is all written on your hearts.

Thank you Charlie and Stella for helping us draw out the wisdom and knowledge that is within each and every one of us, and for opening us up to the possibilities for us to eventually help the young people of Orcas Island to do the same.

In Deepest Gratitude,

Samara Shaw

Orcas Island, WA