When Disaster Strikes

Peace and Calm energy can be a precious gift

When there’s a disaster somewhere, especially where we have a connection with people or places, our hearts want to fly there and physically help all who are suffering: our family, friends, and strangers.

I know there was widespread devastation and death from Hurricane Helene in many places, but this post is about Western North Carolina. I’ve written before about my plans to move to that part of the country - once in 2012 and again in 2020. Both attempts were thwarted by a mysterious but insistent bolt of intuition by The Voice, who emphatically said, “NO. This is not the place for you.”

I was heartbroken. The first time I laid eyes on those mountains, I cried. In the photo above, I spent one of my favorite afternoons on Big Bald, celebrating a birthday with two new friends. We briefly hiked along a section of the Appalachian Trail to get there.

It must have been those majestic mountains that led me to add, “ and I want to see mountains” to my 2020 moving mantra: “I want to move somewhere where I can walk out my door into the woods.” I ended up with both of those things here in New Hampshire. North Carolina was not meant to be.

But, it was so familiar and eerily, like when I first visited Scotland in 2015. It felt so much like home that I was homesick for it when I returned to the States.

When Hurricane Helene happened, my first thoughts were of all the people I had connected with there, but most especially, I thought of Asia. I have been following Asia Suler of One Willow Apothecaries on Instagram for many years; I love her authenticity, youthful wisdom, and deep love of the Earth.

In 2019, I decided to travel to her Winter Intuition School in Marshall, North Carolina. I remember thinking, “Shouldn’t I be imparting some intuitive wisdom here?” I was in my late sixties then. I don’t know how old Asia is, but she is wise beyond her years—an old soul, I imagine.

I mentioned that the first week we were there - while sitting around in a circle with mostly younger women, and Asia’s immediate response was, “Well, that’s because of women like you who have paved the way for us.” She was reverently honoring the few Crones in the room, knowing that the word most often used as an insult to older women is actually meant to be reminiscent of a crown of wisdom. That’s Asia for you.

While I believe I’ve become wiser in my elder years, I want to pay homage to a group of women and one young man, all in their 30s and 40s, who are so wise that sometimes I can’t wrap my brain around it. They have enriched my life in so many ways. And while they’re always commenting on my wisdom, I marvel at their own.

On the first day of Winter Intuition School, I walked down to the river with Asia for a little group ceremony. She looked at me with that twinkle in her eyes and said, “You have fairy blood, don’t you?” We both giggled. “Takes one to know one,” I said. That memory is so clear in my mind, and it’s one of the things I love most about Asia - her unabashed love of and belief in the elementals.

Those two weeks were pure Magic.

It was when I met “The Wild Unknown Animal Spirit Oracle Deck.”

I thought I’d get a Bear, Turtle, or Wolf card, but it was Peacock with a beautiful message instead.

So, it was Asia that I first worried about when I heard of the devastation. I learned from a mutual friend that her family and their home had survived but that the building that housed One Willow Apothecaries in the town of Marshall was destroyed. You can read about it here.

The mountains and valleys in Western North Carolina are teeming with lightworkers, healers, artists, and musicians—lots and lots of conscious people. Many deeply sensitive souls. And folks who have lived in those mountains for generations. Some small towns I visited when looking for a home were swept away.

Just a note - I am painfully aware of all that’s being said about how and why this might have happened, but I won’t go down that rabbit hole today. I will say that witnessing the miracle of community working together on a massive scale, along with people coming in from near and far, is to see the best of humanity.

Not everyone, however well-intentioned, is equipped to be that person who travels to a disaster site, rolls up their sleeves, and helps to mend what is broken. These people are truly disaster-earth angels. Many who are capable and have the strength rushed in to deliver supplies, rescue people, feed and clothe them, gather lost and traumatized animals, clean up unliveable sites, etc. It is beyond heartwarming to see this happening. And you know it’s not only the people on the receiving end who benefit. The helpers’ hearts are growing, as well.

People who live in areas like Florida cope with hurricanes as a way of life. And, as I write this, I just heard that another massive one is on the way. Residents have had to board up their homes and head north.

I don’t watch the news, but I have watched enough on social media to see firsthand accounts of the utter devastation wrought by Helene. However, I’m not dwelling there too long because while I want to be informed, I don’t want it to send me into a dark hole that serves no one.

If we can’t jump in a car or fly a plane to help, there is much that we can do. Send money or supplies. Spread the word. Pray.

Shamanic practitioner and teacher Sandra Ingerman taught me that sending out the energy of pity into the collective field helps no one. Instead, she would say, picture the person (I would add, the place) thriving and healthy again.

Because I know that so many people deeply feel the loss of their homes. Their comfort and security. Grateful, to be sure, for their lives, but it must be like a death to lose a home that way.

The mantra I often say is:

“I am safe. I am happy. I am healthy. I am at peace.”

Or,

“We are safe. We are happy. We are healthy. We are at peace.”

I have repeated those words over and over many times - especially during storms.

When I decided to write this post, I opened my laptop but closed it immediately.

Instead, I decided to walk up the road to Sweetfern Hill. I sat with Sweetfern, the Quaking Poplars, and the tall Pines on the edge of the clearing. Putting myself in Nature, drinking in her Peace, and sending it out into the wide world is the most important thing I can do right now.

Nature heals us like nothing else, and of course, to think of the devastation of Nature in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina breaks my heart. I looked around me at the scrappy Pine trees and tall Maples that had reached so high because the forest used to be dense here, forcing the trees to reach for the light.

That’s what will happen eventually where the devastation occurred. Many trees will be left to become homes for wildlife, and many will be cleared away and perhaps become firewood for those who need it.

Smaller trees like Birch and, yes, the Quaking Poplar/Aspen will soon proliferate. When I stepped outside yesterday, two Quaking Poplar leaves were lying right by my door. They had already turned yellow. I took that as a sign.

While meditating in the wee hours of this morning, I had a vision of a yellow-gold Water Lily like this one:

Only, it was growing in the middle of the muddy and ravaged French Broad River. I came out of my meditation, puzzling what it meant. I reached for my copy of “Nature-Speak: Signs, Omens & Messages in Nature” by Ted Andrews.

But, when I opened the book, it opened to the page about Poplar!

The spirit of the poplar tree is most concerned about the earthly and mundane matters of the people in her environment. She teaches us how to endure the hardships of life and to keep our roots strong.

—Ted Andrews

And there’s this about the Water Lily that I saw in my meditation:

Resilience and Endurance

Despite being rooted in the murky depths of water, water lilies are able to rise above the surface and bloom in all their glory. This serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of resilience and endurance – qualities that enable us to overcome life’s obstacles and emerge stronger than before. By drawing on our inner strength, we can weather any storm and come out victorious.

Rebirth and Renewal

In many cultures, water lilies are associated with rebirth and renewal. Their ability to grow in stagnant waters symbolizes the power of transformation – that even in challenging circumstances, we have the capacity to grow and evolve into our highest selves. This is a message of hope and inspiration, reminding us that change is possible when we embrace it wholeheartedly.

Steven Jones, “The Spiritucal Meaning of Water Lilies”

Each of us - if we cultivate that Peace within and outside of ourselves - will cause a ripple of Peace and Calm to be shared with all who need it. Isn’t it better to do that than to send out our energy of anger, worry, or grief? I’m not saying that we shouldn’t let our emotions be felt - it is necessary to allow them to be felt before moving them out of the body so they don’t stay stuck inside us. But, for those not in the eye of the hurricane, other disasters, or a raging war, we can send joy, love, and even laughter into the collective energy field.

Many people in my life seem to be living in their own state of disaster, far from an actual hurricane but just trying to get through each day without collapsing from exhaustion or grief.

One friend was away tent camping with a group in the Cherokee National Forest on the Tennesee/North Carolina border when Helene came through. Trees were crashing down around them. Returning home to her family, I doubt she has had time to process the trauma from her experience.

Every time I go out into Nature - for a walk in the woods or to sit by the Pond, I picture them healthy and happy.

The other day, I finally got help clearing out the barn to start making art again. It has been a long time coming, and I am taking it back from the mice. (Fingers crossed!)

My mind drifted to the Appalachian Trail and how it runs through North Carolina and New Hampshire - just about an hour north of me. I was happy about that - feeling the connection via the mountain range to its people.

As I was clearing off a table cluttered with miscellaneous items, two cards fell to the floor, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. They were cards for two of Asia’s flower/mineral essences I had bought from her in 2019. Talk about synchronicity.

I exchanged messages with Asia the next day, telling her about the synchronicities. She also has a deep connection with Scotland and said that the Appalachian Mountains are somehow connected to the Scottish Highlands! And, indeed, they were once the same mountain range!!

Later in the afternoon, I reached for a bag from my coat rack, and another bag fell from behind a coat to the floor. It was Asia’s tote bag that came with her book, “Mirrors in the Earth.” I hadn’t seen it in months. You can’t make this stuff up.

This morning, it had a rainbow on it!

When healing is needed at the deepest level, nature will always call us back home.

Asia Suler, “Mirrors in the Earth”

I had just listened to a chapter in the book about Mica. I’m beginning to feel Asia, and I have a synchronicity portal open between us right now. Synchronicity abounds, especially in Nature or a quiet, creative, contemplative space.

And though Asia might be exhausted and busy shoveling toxic sludge right now, I do not doubt that the writer and teacher that she is is probably brimming with more wisdom that she’ll one day share with us all.

I’m sitting in The Quaking Poplar Barn now (as I’ve recently renamed her.) Blue Jays are making a ruckus outside. I have a jar filled with Sweetfern and a dish of my favorite crystals on my writing table. Not a mouse in sight. Only the sound of falling leaves on the skylight roof. And the Dragonfly who has been in here since cleaning day. I’ve left the barn doors open for her to fly out, but she seems bent on sticking around for a while.

I never take the comfort of this special place for granted.

Oh, the irony that Helene happened when and where she did. Asia was in the middle of teaching a course called The Sensitive Series. I’ve loved so many of Asia’s other online courses that I was also participating in this one. With my sun sign in Sagittarius, I’m a hopelessly lifelong student.

Yesterday, I was listening to her morning meditation and heard these words:

Today, a new day begins. And my spirit is glad to be here, because today there is the possibility for a new beginning.

In any moment, at any time, light can stream in. Things can shift, ease, be changed and transformed. I am changed and transformed, simply from remembering this.

Today, I have everything I need to flourish in body, spirit and mind. I accompany myself throughout this day. I am held.

Today, a new day begins. And I allow the medicine of what is here to touch me, help me, carry me…

…Today, a new day begins and I can release any worries about the day ahead, because I know that there is a force of deep benevolence that is taking care of me, that sees the wider picture, that understands why I’m here, and that is holding me through it all.

I will bet you that Poplar groves will rise from the devastation in the forests. The rivers will settle down and bring forth much change. They always do. Cleanup will take a long time, but life will begin again.

If you’re someone whose life is calm right now, maybe you can join me in lighting up the energy field with our Love.

Maybe together, we can blast our Peace and Calm to put the brakes on Hurricane Milton and send him packing out to sea.

Bodhisattva Prayer for Humanity

“May I be a guard for those who need protection
a guide for those on the path
A boat, a raft, a bridge for those who wish to cross the flood
May I be a lamp in the darkness
A resting place for the weary
A healing medicine for all who are sick
A vase of plenty, a tree of miracles
And for the boundless multitudes of living beings
May I bring sustenance and awakening
Enduring like the earth and sky
Until all beings are freed from sorrow
And all are awakened.”

—Shantideva, Indian Buddhist sage, 700 AD

Much Love,
Barbara

P.S. Asia also has a wonderful Substack called

Mothering Depth

If you’d like to help her rebuild, you can click here.

And here are two organizations that have been recommended to me:

Beloved Asheville
Asheville Humane Society

Or…

Heal on, Appalachia