STROMATOLITE
My interest in this special Stone Being came about after I’d seen a documentary on cyanobacteria. Please keep in mind I’m not a scientist. I’m sharing what I’ve discovered from a lay person’s perspective and from the information available to me. I don’t claim that this information is 100% accurate. If anyone has information to offer, and cares to enlighten me, please get in touch.
Billions of years old, these simple, primitive bacteria are believed to be one of the first life forms. Our world was very different then. The atmosphere was filled mostly with Carbon Dioxide, unbreathable to the Life Forms that inhabit the world today. If it wasn’t for these ancient, simple beings, life as we know it would not exist today. Cyanobacteria had the ability to create their own nutrients (carbohydrates) from carbon dioxide and water using light as an energy source (photosynthesis). The waste product from this process is ... you know it ... oxygen!
Cyanobacteria are the ancient ancestors of plants. Millions of years ago, in a very unique and co-creative way, Cyanobacteria joined with Eukaryote cells (a more complex form of life which contains a nucleus - and the beginnings of all plant, animal and fungi). These 2 forms of life came together in a symbiotic relationship (which some would view as parasitic). It was a give and take relationship ... the cyanobacteria made food for the eukaryote host in exchange for a home. The truly first example of “room and board”. The part of plants that makes their own food (the chloroplast) is actually a Cyanobacterium living within the plant’s cells. The chloroplasts in modern plants are the descendants of these ancient symbiotic cyanobacteria.
You can understand from this why I would be so fascinated by these ancient creatures. I decided to see if I could find a fossilized specimen so that I could learn more firsthand. What I found was Stromatolite. Stromatolites are the oldest known fossils dating back over 3 million years. The name is derived from the Greek meaning “stony carpet”. They are fossilized layers of bacterial mats. Minerals and grains of sediment would become trapped in the sticky layers of mucilage surrounding the bacterial colonies, which would then grow upwards through the sediment to form a new layer.
Something else that I discovered and believe to be important is that Stromatolite is of interest to NASA as it is an indicator of life (perhaps because it is the earliest form of life). See: http://microbes.arc.nasa.gov/movie/small-qt.html.
I began to search for some specimens of Stromatolite and then I realized ... I already had some ... I love when the Universe arranges for me to have what I’m looking for even before I begin looking for it. I think that this happens all the time ... it’s just a matter of noticing it.
Having Stromatolite in my hand ... seeing it ... feeling it’s energy ... and adding to that what I learned about the physical make up of the stone being, I see something which comes together beautifully and synchronistically. In the formation of Stromatolite, the bacterial colonies create layers of who they are ... mixing with all that is around them but not getting stuck themselves ... and then simply moving above that mix of debris and the old parts of themselves and creating a new fresh layer - pure of any old layers or attachments. I see the support Stomatolite has been offering me with a huge clearing energy that has been sweeping through here recently. I am supported in feeling all the disparate energies and simply allowing them to be ... accepting them as they are and not getting stuck in judgements or labels.
Here’s part of a song I heard relating to the shifting energies here that was connected to Stromatolite:
... “It was an “old” energy being brought up to the surface to clear out - the last layer of this energy. All that you need to do is let whatever comes up around it to be, without attACHing to it - or attACKing it.
THAT IS IT. There is nothing more you need to do. Be all of who you are in each moment. All that comes up is part of that. If you allow it to be, it will settle in a layer, forming one part (layer) of the pattern that is your life. Look to the Stromatolite. See how they have done that. Each layer is a vital part of their entire pattern. All the layers are beautiful and important to the pattern.
Right now the story itself is not the focus ... it is the feelings behind the story. Just feel the fullness of each thing as it arises without getting caught up in the story. ....
Stomatolite has been making its presence known in many ways and there have been many connections to it through many aspects of my life. Today it was time to listen to it’s song. A lot of what I’m sharing in this piece on Stromatolite is personal ... as is the song. I’m not one to share the “personal” stuff - at least not to any degree. But what I’m feeling from this magical stone is that though it may seem personal (to me) ... it is a story we all share. We’ve all been caught in sticky mix of who we truly are and the physical forces of our personal Universe (nature vs. nurture?). We leave parts of ourselves in the layers of our life, getting stuck in the past and things we believed to be true. I think that there is a piece of each of us in Stromatolite’s song ... and if that’s not true for you ... well then you can just enjoy the parts of it that speak to you.
Deep breath ... now I’m diving in ...
October 20, 2009
There is a movement within the Stromatolite - a visible, layered movement - a pattern. Patterns hold records of movement of time, like the rings of a tree (which is interesting because moss/algae, which is descended from cyanobacteria, is ancestor to tree).
They are in a sense keeper of the Earth’s records - an ancient library - Gaia’s baby book.
What is your song?
You feel our weight and our strength and you know that there are many of us here.
You are seeking a song ... we each and all have many such songs. We weave a pattern with our stories. A pattern of the beginnings of THE STORY ... a story of time.
We came up from a pool of bubbling magic. The substance of all substances to come. We were the first - but not the first, for we are not really separate from any others and there were others already here.
It is a challenge to focus on our story for there are so many stories here. We will help.
We were among the first to express ourselves in a way that was unique to our expression. We play with these words because it is a subject that is very strange to you, though not new. You do know of what we speak - or you would not understand us at all.
You hear many whispers ... even at the beginning we were of many whispers. But we have expanded as all have and now the whispers are more. Like the murmur of a large crowd of people. Each have their own voice and then there seems to be another sound produced by the collective voices. You know the sound we speak of. You still don’t know why that sound makes you uncomfortable. No worldly story can explain it.
Yes you’re beginning to understand. This is the energy of group. This is the reason you formed the image of the Bee collective in your mind’s eye. Just as the Bees are heard in a different way in their hive [than the single bee] - their collective form, this is the same dynamic of any group or crowd of beings - be it human, animal, insect or plant. Just because the sound is not physically audible to you, does not mean it’s not there and you do not feel it.
Take your time here. We will help you to understand. We know this is uncomfortable for you. There is no rush - we are friends to time.
So, the reason the energy of group can feel uncomfortable is that individual identity is not a focus and those thoughts that are unique to your individual expression must conform (change form) to mesh with the others. You are co-creating a different pattern. Many come together to form one. You are truly already one with them at your deepest point - at your root, but you have forgotten this. It is the only way to have your own unique expression ... and you like it. So when you’re asked to “conform” to the group, you must let go of the pattern you’ve created and allow it to reform in unison with the other patterns.
You’re not giving up your identity - though it may seem that way. You’re just adding new colours and textures to your pattern. Interestingly and perhaps surprisingly, the stronger you are in your true identity, the easier it is to conform to a group.
When you are in your true identity - when you know who you are - love who you are - accept who you are unconditionally - it becomes easier to be among those who are different than you.
[I'M THINKING STROMATOLITE CAN BE AMBASSADORS OF PEACE]
We, at our beginnings were doing the opposite thing to that which we are discussing here. We were learning to separate from the group and become individual unique expressions. Yes we are a group and not individual consciousness, but in context we are speaking of one of the first groups ever ... the beginnings of separate thought patterns.
Becoming a part of a group and separating from a group may seem to be complete opposites from each other, but really they are the same movement. It is an action of shifting consciousness from one pattern to another. The pattern may be - or seem to be - completely different - but the shifting movement is the same.
Ultimately at your essence you are both the individual and the group and at the same time neither. You are always ... the I AM.
We have come to offer support at a very special time. It is a time of full acceptance and open expression of your individuality without fear. Whether you are alone - with one other - with many others ... whether you are learning or teaching ... speaking or listening, you are who you are and we come to remind you that you can be all of who you are without any fear.
We whisper in the voices of all who have ever been and all who are here now and all who will ever be ... we whisper your name.
SONG Part 2
October 21, 2009
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We always have more to say. We could fill many pages with our stories.
You have a question as to whether you should share our songs with others ... whether you would be honouring and respecting us. You do already have the answer. It was given as the question arose yesterday.
Trust yourself. allow the words you say to others to be mirrored back to your heart. Trust yourself. We know you do. The Universe conspires with you in your trust. You see that in many ways you will always receive those confirmations - those synchronistic experiences that scream out to you ... YES ... You’ve got it. You’re doing it. We join in the cheering. We are your personal fan club. We love you unconditionally. We support you in all that you do. You can do no wrong in our eyes.
We are there in all the starts urging you on ... telling you that you can do it. We are there through the haul - supporting you, encouraging you when doubt creeps in. We are there when you’re almost at the finish line. When you’re tired and don’t know if you’ll reach the yellow ribbon. We are there shouting ... you can do it! We know you can do it! And when you are filled with a new found burst of energy, gaining strength and speed, crossing that line with grace and confidence, we are there too ... applauding you. We rise in standing ovation. Our cheers are heard above all other sounds.
Trust yourself. We know that you’ve been doing it. Now do it with our support. Now do it with encouragement. Now do it with us cheering you on. Now do it without fear.
It’s no less than what you offer others ... there it is again .. that voice of doubt. It is no longer yours ... it fades in volume. It cannot be heard through all the cheers. All you have is trust.
Ok ... so there’s the question again. This is - yes - very personal. But the message is not yours alone. Your experience is very personal, but many share the same one. We speak to you now ... but we are speaking to many.
This message is no different than any other message. They are all personal and they are all universal. The more personal they feel ... the more deeply they will be felt.
So in sharing this message, as in all that you do ...
TRUST YOURSELF.
You will now the how, and the when and the if ... and we will be with you cheering you on.
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Thank you for your cheers and your support.
