September 2 , 2010

Dear Friends,

As the record breaking (again) heat of summer brings the tomatoes to full ripeness and the harvest is aplenty I notice the beginnings of reds and yellows in some of the trees. The slow but sure decent begins as summer wanes into autumn while we experience one of the driest seasons since we’ve been in the Green state where abundant water is seemingly never an issue. We are grateful for our spring that continues to bless us with sweet delicious water even though rain will be a welcome relief when it comes.

GREEN NATIONS GATHERING
SEPTEMBER 24-26

Time is drawing near so please register today with Rowe Conference Center at www.rowecenter.org. For full details of the gathering please go to www.greennations.org.

If you are on the west coast and missed one of the Plant Communication; Reclaiming Our Birth-rite weekends there is one more this season in Vancouver, BC. Visit our website www.partnereartheducationcenter.com for the details

CELEBRATION by Pam Montgomery

As the Green Nations Gathering approaches I reflect on what it has been for me and so many others over the years. Beginning in the early years at the Pathwork Center in the Catskill Mountains of New York we have dedicated ourselves to celebrating the green beings and the people who love them. We also continue to honor the indigenous peoples of this land whose ancestors lived side by side with these native plants for centuries allowing a kinship to flourish. It has been 22 years since that first gathering when it was all so fresh and exciting. Because the plants are the magnanimous beings they are we are still learning about their medicinal and edible properties and the healing ways of their vibratory resonance while joining together with others who long to walk a sustainable path on this sweet Mother Gaia with the plants as their guides. Through the years we have felt the importance of holding the spirit of the gathering in a conscious way through offering a prayer lodge. We have always included fire circles bringing the transformative quality of fire into our midst along with song, dance and storytelling keeping alive the old ways that continue to be at the heart of all celebrations. As I look back I see how we have changed, literally been transformed by these green beings. It brings to mind the eloquent words of Stephen Buhner as he writes about the Green Nations Gathering, “At those conferences and gatherings I experience something I have found no other place. Those who gather there do so because once upon a time a plant saved their life. And once that happens, nothing is ever the same again. Something has entered inside them, something invisible, something that changes their lives and how they, in their lives, perceive and relate to the natural world around them. They have connected the most primal survival part of themselves to the wildness of the world.” When I reflect on Stephen’s words I cannot even begin to count how many times in the most simple of daily ways I have been saved by a plant. After more than two decades of joining with folks at the Green Nations Gathering I still look forward to celebrating the plants and their incredible healing ways along with people, like you, who love plants as much as I do. Let the plants touch you, change you and even save you - come celebrate the great blessing of plants in our lives at the Green Nations Gathering.
www.greennations.org.
www.rowecenter.org.