Diary from the pilgrimage :
September 27th 2008
by Leila Dregger
In the Anandamayi hostel in Bogota, our team has prepared a beautiful camp for the international participants arriving for the pilgrimage. The organization team has been doing a great job preparing all the actions that are planned: the five-day walk through the rain forest to visit the remotevillages of the peace community, the Global Campus with different seminars and practical training, and the media coverage by a film team.
In addition to the participants from the peace research village, Tamera, more participants have arrived, including Sami Awad from Palestine, and Hernan Braveheart, a Lakota shaman from the USA and Peru. Unfortunately the inventor Juergen Kleinwaechter had to cancel his participation because his company needs him at this time.We hear daily from San Jose de Apartado and our team there about the preparation of the place. A large group of Indigenas is planning to participate.
The short time in Bogota is not enough to really get to know this town.
We live in the old city which sometimes look like a village because of its little houses. We see many beautiful people, but also many uniforms and guns, and many poor people as well. Beauty and suffering come very close.A seller of "minutes" - which is one of the many people whose mobile you can use - told us, "Internationals are not in danger in Colombia. The only ones who have to be afraid are the poor people, because our president hates the poor."
Meanwhile we get into contact with a rich and beautiful group of people who want to create a different world.Some of us visited a conference of the ecovillages in Colombia which took place in a University. Among the speakers were Dorothy McLean, cofounder of Findhorn. Many there know about Tamera and were stunned to see us here. They want us to help to get in contact with the peace villages, and this connection can become very important.
We also met the shaman Taita Orleando Gaita, who had received the alternative Nobel Prize and represents a Colombian Indian nation. He and his group maintain sacred places throughout the country by protecting them, and also through rituals. He is an impressive man, full of humor and spirit. He invited our group the prepare for the pilgrimage with a intensive ritual lasting an entire night. Twelve people are presently taking part in it.
As soon as they come back we will head towards Apartado via Medellin by bus.We will continue this diary as soon as we can.Visit with Gloria Cuartas
Thursday 25th September 2008
by Sabine Lichtenfels
We start early in the morning - Meike, Anna Conte, Benjamin von Mendelssohn, Sami Awad, Airilio(our guide), a driver, and Sergio who drives the other car. He is a professor at the university for environmental research. We stop in a ministry in Usme to ask for permission to visit the biggest area of lagoons in the world, called Paramo. This is a name for places which have a very special botanical variety that only exists here.Two young women who work for the ministry join us. Anna Marie is a very special person that we get to know. She is about twenty-five years old and deeply connected to nature. We pass excavations which are 25,000 years old and an equally old cemetery which was discovered just this year.Later Anne Marie explains the meaning of the name "Usme." It is "nest of love." In former times two lovers met here, a Spanish man and an indigenous woman. The other people were against this pairing, and they had to escape to the mountains to live their love. Anne Marie recalls many beautiful indigenous tales of this kind.It is a beautiful mountain range, and we drive for two hours until we stop at the first lagoon which is 3700 meters high. It is a sparse area with dark rocks and special mountain plants. What touches the soul is something different and beyond words. Quickly we climb up the mountain; a light earth receives us and gives us the feeling that we are walking on sacred ground. Immediately I feel connected to my dream. It is like flying. In our silent prayer we get the feeling that we are welcomed by many beings. Two eagles fly above us.Anne Marie speaks words of welcome, so simple that they go immediately into the cells. They could be our words. Where do these people get the deep empathy with the world and with nature, and with the future of the earth? I am not used to meeting these kind of people outside of community. Anne Marie has developed a school where children and parents and teachers come together and learn together. She spoke in a very committed way about her country and her love for it.We stop again and again to connect with the land. I feel a living spirit everywhere. Two eagles fly and the sky is light. Anne Marie is very touched and says this is a special welcome. Eagles are protective spirits, "Muiscas," and the sky becomes clear only when people are welcome, because they come with great respect and a special mission.Time moves fast. It is an unusual delegation. I have never before come together with officials from Ministries and professors in such an intimate prayer and meditation. I take this place into my heart deeply. It is as if we were called.We stagger back home. The richness of the impressions and the change of the climate is a lot for the organism. Ten minutes of deep siesta, and then we continue to an official date with Gloria Cuartas who receives an important award for human rights from France. First I didn't like the idea of going to an official reception - big tables, everyone sitting around a bit helpless, strange music.Orlando is sitting at our table, and we are very surprised that he is here. I ask him if it is really right to join his ritual the following night if we have to continue afterwards to the pilgrimage. He just says that it is the best way to prepare:"If there are unconscious fears in you, they will reveal themselves and you can overcome them. In addition, you might foresee a lot. It will purify body and soul and prepare you. Some say you are weak when you are sensitive, but this is wrong. This is the actual strength."The evening with Gloria becomes much more moving than expected. A journalist who had lived with her for a short time in prison reads a moving text about her life and commitment. Revolutionary songs are sung, and Gloria speaks with such a big heart about her life and her work that we are really touched. The people are much less formal than they would be in a German event. The hearts also speak.Gloria also mentions Tamera in her talk and she says in deep appreciation to me how much power and hope she has gained through our work and how many wounds she could heal. I am deeply touched and firmly embrace her afterwards.We were introduced to many people in the peace movement; for example, Pietat Cordoba, who is another carrier of hope like Gloria. She is very threatened in the moment. Immediately a feeling of love flows. She thanks us very much for how much we take care of Gloria.
September 27th 2008
by Leila Dregger
In the Anandamayi hostel in Bogota, our team has prepared a beautiful camp for the international participants arriving for the pilgrimage. The organization team has been doing a great job preparing all the actions that are planned: the five-day walk through the rain forest to visit the remotevillages of the peace community, the Global Campus with different seminars and practical training, and the media coverage by a film team.
In addition to the participants from the peace research village, Tamera, more participants have arrived, including Sami Awad from Palestine, and Hernan Braveheart, a Lakota shaman from the USA and Peru. Unfortunately the inventor Juergen Kleinwaechter had to cancel his participation because his company needs him at this time.We hear daily from San Jose de Apartado and our team there about the preparation of the place. A large group of Indigenas is planning to participate.
The short time in Bogota is not enough to really get to know this town.
We live in the old city which sometimes look like a village because of its little houses. We see many beautiful people, but also many uniforms and guns, and many poor people as well. Beauty and suffering come very close.A seller of "minutes" - which is one of the many people whose mobile you can use - told us, "Internationals are not in danger in Colombia. The only ones who have to be afraid are the poor people, because our president hates the poor."
Meanwhile we get into contact with a rich and beautiful group of people who want to create a different world.Some of us visited a conference of the ecovillages in Colombia which took place in a University. Among the speakers were Dorothy McLean, cofounder of Findhorn. Many there know about Tamera and were stunned to see us here. They want us to help to get in contact with the peace villages, and this connection can become very important.
We also met the shaman Taita Orleando Gaita, who had received the alternative Nobel Prize and represents a Colombian Indian nation. He and his group maintain sacred places throughout the country by protecting them, and also through rituals. He is an impressive man, full of humor and spirit. He invited our group the prepare for the pilgrimage with a intensive ritual lasting an entire night. Twelve people are presently taking part in it.
As soon as they come back we will head towards Apartado via Medellin by bus.We will continue this diary as soon as we can.Visit with Gloria Cuartas
Thursday 25th September 2008
by Sabine Lichtenfels
We start early in the morning - Meike, Anna Conte, Benjamin von Mendelssohn, Sami Awad, Airilio(our guide), a driver, and Sergio who drives the other car. He is a professor at the university for environmental research. We stop in a ministry in Usme to ask for permission to visit the biggest area of lagoons in the world, called Paramo. This is a name for places which have a very special botanical variety that only exists here.Two young women who work for the ministry join us. Anna Marie is a very special person that we get to know. She is about twenty-five years old and deeply connected to nature. We pass excavations which are 25,000 years old and an equally old cemetery which was discovered just this year.Later Anne Marie explains the meaning of the name "Usme." It is "nest of love." In former times two lovers met here, a Spanish man and an indigenous woman. The other people were against this pairing, and they had to escape to the mountains to live their love. Anne Marie recalls many beautiful indigenous tales of this kind.It is a beautiful mountain range, and we drive for two hours until we stop at the first lagoon which is 3700 meters high. It is a sparse area with dark rocks and special mountain plants. What touches the soul is something different and beyond words. Quickly we climb up the mountain; a light earth receives us and gives us the feeling that we are walking on sacred ground. Immediately I feel connected to my dream. It is like flying. In our silent prayer we get the feeling that we are welcomed by many beings. Two eagles fly above us.Anne Marie speaks words of welcome, so simple that they go immediately into the cells. They could be our words. Where do these people get the deep empathy with the world and with nature, and with the future of the earth? I am not used to meeting these kind of people outside of community. Anne Marie has developed a school where children and parents and teachers come together and learn together. She spoke in a very committed way about her country and her love for it.We stop again and again to connect with the land. I feel a living spirit everywhere. Two eagles fly and the sky is light. Anne Marie is very touched and says this is a special welcome. Eagles are protective spirits, "Muiscas," and the sky becomes clear only when people are welcome, because they come with great respect and a special mission.Time moves fast. It is an unusual delegation. I have never before come together with officials from Ministries and professors in such an intimate prayer and meditation. I take this place into my heart deeply. It is as if we were called.We stagger back home. The richness of the impressions and the change of the climate is a lot for the organism. Ten minutes of deep siesta, and then we continue to an official date with Gloria Cuartas who receives an important award for human rights from France. First I didn't like the idea of going to an official reception - big tables, everyone sitting around a bit helpless, strange music.Orlando is sitting at our table, and we are very surprised that he is here. I ask him if it is really right to join his ritual the following night if we have to continue afterwards to the pilgrimage. He just says that it is the best way to prepare:"If there are unconscious fears in you, they will reveal themselves and you can overcome them. In addition, you might foresee a lot. It will purify body and soul and prepare you. Some say you are weak when you are sensitive, but this is wrong. This is the actual strength."The evening with Gloria becomes much more moving than expected. A journalist who had lived with her for a short time in prison reads a moving text about her life and commitment. Revolutionary songs are sung, and Gloria speaks with such a big heart about her life and her work that we are really touched. The people are much less formal than they would be in a German event. The hearts also speak.Gloria also mentions Tamera in her talk and she says in deep appreciation to me how much power and hope she has gained through our work and how many wounds she could heal. I am deeply touched and firmly embrace her afterwards.We were introduced to many people in the peace movement; for example, Pietat Cordoba, who is another carrier of hope like Gloria. She is very threatened in the moment. Immediately a feeling of love flows. She thanks us very much for how much we take care of Gloria.
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