by Dana Taylor

As Hurricane Harvey churned toward Texas, I sat upon my yoga mat in my Hawaiian apartment meditating on the gathering storm. Could it be calmed, dissipated or diverted as I’ve seen mass prayers seem to do in other weather events? I prayed and asked. The answer was NO. Snap shots played on my mental movie screen. An unstoppable force of wind, rain, and destructive floods. People caught in harm’s way. Buildings, businesses, homes underwater.

From an esoteric standpoint, I wasn’t surprised, even as my gut felt sickened by the coming toll on thousands of families. The predictions of this year have been unfolding. The Year of the Rooster. All the political figures crowing (or tweeting) of their greatness and might. Doreen Virtue had prayed “protect the children” for May, the month of the London concert attack on young music fans. She predicted riots in the streets throughout the year and a cataclysmic event near the fall. Hurricane Harvey fits the bill. 

The hurricane isn’t simply a weather event. It is an energetic event. Some might call it an Act of God. Yet, cosmically, it may be a case of like attracting like. The energy emanating from the US this year has been turbulent and destructive. Angry people expressing themselves in marches, profanity, and violence. Gun addiction and hate crimes on the rise. We’ve created a whirlwind of hatred and frustration, sending it into the very atmosphere, calling it our way. Gaia listened and delivered.

We humans are powerful creatures, unconsciously manifesting the daily events of our lives. It’s easy to see the friends around us calling forth the bad relationships and financial disasters. Not so easy to see our own fatal attractions. Collectively, we also manifest as a family, community, city, state and nation. The power of the manifesting is daunting at the national and global level. Why, you might even get a huge “once in a thousand years” hurricane.

“The hurricane isn’t simply a weather event. It is an energetic event. Some may call it an Act of God. Yet, cosmically, it may be a case of like attracting like.”

So, now the test before us is what kind of energy do we send out to deal with this national crisis? Does mob mentality rule? Every man for himself, the looters are loosed on Houston, followed by martial law? Or do we take a path of rescue, reconciliation, and healing?

We’re at a pivotal point, a crossroads. We can continue down a path of destruction and hatred, thus calling more destruction and hatred our way. I suppose a nuclear bomb would take it to the next level.

Or we can collectively choose peace, kindness, compassion and love. Hurricane Harvey presents an opportunity to bring out our highest nature or debase humanity even further. Which way will we go?

Of course, I’m a romantic at heart, a believer in happy endings after the Black Moment. A spiritual Pollyanna. I have hope that we can collectively come to a place of reconciliation, help our neighbors, treat others as we would like to be treated.

If we set our minds and hearts to it, we can manifest a much better world. It takes an act of will, and then Love put into action. It begins with you and me, one person at a time. My greatest hope is that suffering from Hurricane Harvey takes us collectively to a place of redemption of our national soul and makes us a more compassionate people.

God bless Texas, and all of us.

Dana Taylor