What Could Possibly Go Right?

What Could Possibly Go Right?: Episode 63 Pat McCabe

December 7, 2021

Show Notes

Pat McCabe (Weyakpa Najin Win, Woman Stands Shining) is a Diné (Navajo) mother, grandmother, activist, artist, writer, ceremonial leader, and international speaker. She is a voice for global peace, and her paintings are created as tools for individual, earth, and global healing. She draws upon the Indigenous sciences of Thriving Life to reframe questions about sustainability and balance, and she is devoted to supporting the next generations, Women’s Nation and Men’s Nation, in being functional members of the “Hoop of Life” and upholding the honor of being human.

She addresses the question of “What Could Possibly Go Right?” with thoughts including:

  • The exploration of the “perfect design for thriving life as human being here”
  • The responsibility to understand the consequences of humanity’s actions on our interconnected world
  • The realization that the “modern world paradigm is a choice”
  • The co-witnessing of today’s issues and retelling of our old stories can “change the trajectory into the future”
  • The reconciliation between the masculine and feminine, and that “men are not the patriarchy; the paradigm is the patriarchy”

Connect with Pat McCabe

Website: www.patmccabe.net

Facebook: facebook.com/womanstandsshining

Vicki Robin

Hi, Vicki Robin here, host of What Could Possibly Go Right? a project of the Post Carbon Institute in which we interview cultural scouts, people who see far and serve the common good, asking them all our one impertinent question. With all that seems to be going awry, what could possibly go right? Our guest today is Pat McCabe, also known as Woman Stands Shining. She is a Diné (Navajo) mother, grandmother, activist, artist, writer, ceremonial leader and international speaker. She is a voice for global peace, and her paintings are created as tools for individual, earth and global healing. She draws on the Indigenous sciences of Thriving Life, to reframe questions about sustainability and balance, and she is devoted to supporting the next generations, Women’s Nation and Men’s Nation in being functional members of the hoop of life and upholding the honor of being human. Her primary work at this moment is the reconciliation between the masculine and feminine, Men’s Nation and Women’s Nation, remembering, recreating or creating a new narrative for the sacred masculine and addressing the archetypal wounding that occurred in our understanding and abuse of technology in prayer ceremony, and science. I enjoyed this conversation immensely and I believe you will, too. There’s a presence about Pat, there’s something about what she says that had me settle into a deeper place in myself than I ordinarily operate, and so I allowed to go a bit longer. I think you’ll see why.

Vicki Robin

Welcome, Pat McCabe and thank you so much for joining me on What Could Possibly Go Right?, a project of the Post Carbon Institute. You are extremely generous with your time, I believe, because you carry important messages from your nation for Western nations in this time of conflict, climate heating and coming apart everywhere. So in the past interviews, I’ve posed our one question, “What could possibly go right?” to wise and farseeing people from around the world. After 60 such conversations, even with important clues, I now see the solutionary mind behind my question, a mind that seeks with great dedication and love, answers. I have one of those minds and I’ve done all in my power for 40 years to find the keys to our demise, and open channels for change. Sincere as this inquiry has been, I now see it as a binary frame; if there is a wrong we can name and a right we can enact. But I now see that that’s sort of reinforcing a mental approach to what seems to be a worldview embedded in all of us, and that we all create from and if we seek other voices, if they have solutions, we’re still holding firm to a problems have solutions mindset.

And some problems do have solutions, material problems, like a leaking roof or a sputtering car. But we are constrained now I believe by a mindset or belief system or worldview, illness embedded in all of our governance and economic structures. And I think you travel and speak to offer humbly and without judgement that I can tell a window into another way of seeing and being. You aren’t glorifying and reifying indigenous ways, you speak from what you’ve been taught and what has been a North Star for your nation and indigenous peoples around the world. So with all of that and with that opening, which may or may not spark something in you, I will turn this over to you with this question, but I’m paraphrasing it. With all that seems to be going awry, what are we not seeing that could guide us to a better way for humans to inhabit this earth?

Pat McCabe

Thank you so much, Vicki, and thanks for having me. This was something that came up on a panel, I was the only Indigenous person on a panel, and this was relative to COP26. And I just had to name I said, this might sound shocking, but it really shouldn’t, if you think about it at all. I’ve been rooting for the collapse of the modern world paradigm for a long time. So I would just have us, as you say, here note that for indigenous peoples, in general, that the modern world paradigm is what caused us to believe that it had the right to overcome all other paradigms, and attempted to do so and still attempts to do so by force. Sometimes it looks more like economic force or other kinds of force, but that was the experience of indigenous peoples all over this earth. And so I think it is important to take a moment to look at it from that perspective and say, Why wouldn’t I be rooting for the collapse of that mentality and just that destructive force, not only on peoples but on places on waters, etc.

So, there’s some young people that I spoke with who go so far as to say that the apocalypse is a colonial construct. So we’ll just put that out there to to stew a little bit, to marinate just a little bit here at the very start of this conversation. Now, that’s not to say that I don’t understand that there is an enormous amount of suffering that has already gone on as, as the collapse has begun. Or, for some people, it’s been going on for quite a long time. The holy people, my spirit helpers have told me that by the time this change, this transformation or this collapse, hits first world nations we’re going to be very, very far into it. And so I don’t think it’s quite registered with first nations yet. I don’t mean First Nations Indigenous; I mean, first world is the word I’m looking for. First world societies. But that is only because I think it’s being kind of well hidden. There’s still a great shell game going on, in the financial markets, even with food. We’re starting to watch what’s happening, it’s starting to register that we might not get our Christmas presents on one level, and then there’s those who are giving heart and soul at COP 26 and they’re definitely getting it, right? Those who are protesting outside and those who are holding conversations, the actual conversations that need to be had around our humanity’s relationship to planet, to Mother Earth.

So I guess some of what you said provokes that in me to say out loud here what are we maybe missing here? From my culture’s perspective… Well, I didn’t start out with my own introduction about my culture, so I’ll say a little bit there. I was born into, by blood I’m Diné. Born into Diné nation, and so I’ll say <in Indigenous language>. And so I’m telling you about my mother’s clans, and then I was also adopted into the Lakota spiritual way of life and in that way, I was given the name <in Indigenous language> and that translates maybe roughly in English to Woman Stands Shining, or as I’ve been saying lately, Woman Standing Shining, because I see myself now as this catalys, as this energetic, as this female of our kind. I can have a sacred influence on all that I encounter. So I really want to acknowledge that for us in general, but also for myself as to be led in that way, and to really bring to bear that medicine for all of us.

I’ll stick with Diné cosmology, my clan grandfather spoke many times about how we have already travelled through worlds. You may hear different indigenous peoples talk about maybe this is the Fifth World or the Sixth World. That’s not something that’s really held in the modern world paradigm or the Western science paradigm exactly. Or not in the same way, for sure. And so that means we have already lost worlds, we have already had to begin again. We have stories about how humanity came to survive some of these losing of worlds. So we have our allies in our stories about who helped us be able to begin again, right?

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And so from that perspective, I will also say that, my clan grandfather told me that, that we even know the reason for at least one of the worlds that we lost in the flood. He says that we lost that world because men and women believe they could live without each other. So there even seems to me almost like a little bit of a more moral cause and effect that is named, at least by some of my elders about why we’re losing these worlds. And here we are at the brink of a possible another loss. And I want to reiterate in this disposable society that I don’t intend to say that, these worlds are lost, no big deal. It’s a pretty big deal. Very big deal. And so, but, but it helps me to have that context and that framework, as I look at our situation.

And so what I see is that, I often use this symbol here. This, some people know it as the Medicine Wheel, I often refer to it as the Sacred Hoop of life. And this, this medicine wheel can describe, that every single living being on this Mother Earth gets to have a seat on this Sacred Hoop. And every single member has some kind of perfect design to uphold, they’re part of that Sacred Hoop. And somehow, we, the five fingered ones get to have a seat on that Sacred Hoop amongst all of our relations, which is, to me an incredible, incredible, miraculous, gift. And, and place of honor to to have a seat on that Sacred Hoop of life. And so, I’m going to say that somehow we must also have a perfect design for thriving life. And the question is, do we do we know what it is? So this has been, a big part of my scientific inquiry is, who am I? What do I know? How can I know? And what do I know about my perfect design for thriving life as a human being here? And what specifically is my part as the female of our kind to uphold humanity’s part of the Sacred Hoop?

So that’s been a deep exploration for me for quite a while now. What this implies is how interrelated, how interconnected we are. We are interbeing. And I love that word, we are interbeing here. And what that is saying is that I think this is the lesson of these worlds, is that we get to have, we get to do whatever we want to do here. I mean, look around, look at what’s happening on this Mother Earth right now. Especially in well, pretty much only in regards to humanity. We are doing anything that we can dream up to do. We just do it. Now, we’ve been sort of getting away with that. Not exactly because the consequences have been building and now they’re snowball and avalanche size, but we have been feeling that was our place to do that. And, and we’ve been allowed to do that.

But we’re running up against a natural boundary, if you will, and that is we might get to do whatever we can dream up to do but we might not then get to live on this earth. So that’s a heck of a boundary right? But what I also want to say is, every single thing that we do in such a system is this, even our water system. Science calls it a closed water system, it’s always circulating, it’s always been the same water, right? And this also speaks to how interrelated we are, everything that we put in that water is going to come around back to us, we can’t send it away somewhere. And we and not only that, we have to be able to use this water again, to live and for every living thing to live. And so this interbeing is saying that every single action we take affects every other being. Every action we take affects every other being sooner or later. So it’s, it’s a heck of a setup, if you think about it to be here on this Mother Earth, and to be given absolute freewill. And then having to notice, and this is kind of a juvenile in my, from where I said, it’s a juvenile thing to have to be taught, and to notice that your actions affect others.

But this does seem to be like the spiritual arena almost, for us to, to grapple with and to reckon with at this time. So we’re really being asked over and over all these questions, I feel like around climate, around science, around government. around economics, everything is asking, Can we fully allow in the truth that everything we do affects every other? And can we fully allow in the truth that if anybody suffering, we’re going to suffer? Can we really allow in the truth that I can’t be well if you’re not well? Then when I look at indigenous perspective, and teachings from the elders, that is what is embedded deeply in so much of our spiritual practice and societal structure and relationship with earth and water is, is these have been the bumpers that have been guiding where we, as human beings can travel and live in a good way, and, and cause everything to live in a good way.

So again, I’ve been saying it’s not that we weren’t smart enough to build a nuclear weapon, we are. And it’s not that we didn’t have the smarts to do all these things that are going on, that’s why people have mistakenly looked at us and said, Oh, these primitive people. But that’s not it. It’s that indigenous peoples or certain factions of humanity, have been guided by this principle that whatever I do affects everything. And that’s a responsibility that I want to take seriously. And in a situation that we find ourselves in now that might feel daunting or restrictive. But when I look at the way my my ancestors lived, and how those traditions are still carried forward, to harmonize like to really use all of your ingenuity, and all of your intelligence and all of your curiosity and creativity and all of these things that are so inherent to human beings, my clan grandfather used to say, here we are, holy earth surface walkers dazzled by creation coming upon temptation.

So, I mean, he was talking pre-colonization, right? Human beings have had this temptation and this curiosity thing going right, that’s inherent in us. But to use all of those faculties to harmonize, and where all of that human impulse, I guess I’ll say, and maybe instinct too, gets channelled into beauty, into celebration, into praise. into spiritual life into just really deep and beautiful ways to love and acknowledge each other. Animals, plants, everything around. So it really led us into as human beings on this earth into some really extraordinarily beautiful places. And this is what I feel like modern society, modern world paradigm doesn’t have much experience with and it’s it’s devastating. I think it’s devastating. And as I watch young people, I really feel for them. And I always want to say to them and I want I say that everybody, this is such a magical and mysterious, fantastical creation that we have been set in, if we only knew, if we could only open all of our capacities to participate in ways that are not harmful to anybody or anything, what an amazing gift of life. We could have. And some of us have known and are and are attempting to carry forward, even in the face of a paradigm that sees things from a very, very different way.

Vicki Robin

So much in what you just said. And I really thank you for the evocation. There are words and there’s symbols. But there’s something behind all of this that that I can feel, and I, one of the things that I’ve learned through doing What Could Possibly Go Right is my little quip, you can’t heal the world if you can’t feel the world. I think what you’re saying is that, that we with a modern worldview are not yet feeling the consequences of our actions, and so we’re not responding in an appropriate way. So that’s a piece of what I’m hearing.

Another piece of what I’m hearing is, is basic, the set basic truth of the golden rule. It’s in other language, do unto others, as you would have others do unto you and others is everything, the trees and the grass, etc. And I’m also hearing from what you’re saying that, this question of who are we as humans, what is our role if everywhere we step where we seem to be squashing something, if we feel like this, these giants in the land that just don’t even understand what’s under our feet. I hear you saying that. Now, I’m just I’m saying this to check myself that Creator in some way has given us this free will to find our rightful place, that there’s this creativity, this praise this awe and wonder, this, like saying back to all of life, how beautiful you are, how beautiful you are.

That feels like I mean, I’m sort of listening for Okay, fine, what’s the solution? What did Creator tells us to do? But it feels like that’s, that’s something of what you’re indicating. It’s an attitude of praise, and wonder and respect. And we can still have all the fun we have as creative humans with that attitude, and that’s not punitive. That’s not saying, oh, naughty western mind. It’s sort of more saying, there’s an opportunity here that you are totally missing. And some people have said, Western civilization is a bunch of toddlers. We don’t even know our power, we just sort of like flailing around trying to prove ourselves. But that, that, I feel like you’re saying, there is something on the other side of this collapse, and even through it, that has the seeds of finding our rightful place on that hoop.

In other words, it’s sort of like you have to be taken by the ear. Don’t just sit down, and listen, and listen, just, I don’t think we’re going to get anywhere by solving this. I think it’s listening. It’s like, we’ve had a listen, maybe for several generations. So these are some of the things I’m taking away, I call this what we’re living in is the era of consequences. We’re just, you were just reaping the whirlwind. I’ve said, in my own work, we are free to have do and be anything we want. But we are not free of consequences. And I think that’s a bit what you’re saying. And there’s another term, Armageddon is another term that used like in Christianity, which is the apocalypse, which actually is sort of like the falling away of illusion, the seeing behind the screen. It’s the great revealing that’s what it is, it’s the revealing and so, we’re enduring revealing the consequences of our mindset. So can you offer some words about like, as you say, there’s so much suffering that’s, that’s with us now and coming, and how do we live through this time? How do people of goodwill, maybe still toddlers crashing about? How do we live through this time?

Pat McCabe

Well, I have this saying that, that through this time, what I want to keep my eye on is I want to uphold the honour of being human being to the very best of my ability. So I continue my study into what, I guess, this paradigm for me is about who we are, where we are, how it is. And, and so if I, I want to continue to walk forward with a sense of truly the deep honour and gift that this life is, that has been given to me and to us. And so I want to keep expressing, expressing gratitude that way. And I want to keep expressing honour and respect for all of the other living beings around me. And, and I guess I will say that, I feel like, people always want to know, what do we do? What’s the point ABCD. And, and I don’t know, I don’t even know what to say to that, if really pressed there.

But I just feel like for us to begin to reorient, to understand the story that we have, that we have accepted and been embedded in, and to realize that it’s a story. And that my spirit helpers told me always, you guys can have it any way you want it, that you’re in a free world construct, you can have it any way you want it. And right now, you’re saying you want it like this, and there’s this really succinct meme out and it says something like that you guys can have it any way you want it. And right now, you’re saying you want white supremacy and credit scores? Like that’s what you want to reduce this whole planet down to? White supremacy and credit scores, like, out of all the options, this is it? And we’d call ourselves like the pinnacle of the evolution Um, yeah, no.

So I guess what I feel to do, rather than try to name the specifics, which some people get frustrated with me, and other indigenous people get frustrated with me about. But I want to say, first let’s, let’s realize that the paradigm, the modern world paradigm is a choice. And let’s notice, that all of the way it has been from its foundation to all of its evolution in the last 5000 years, all the human systems of governance, economics, health, education, the biggies that way, they were all created without thinking about putting life at the centre. And they were all created as though we could not understand this concept here, this interbeing. That was nowhere in their construct. They were created with the idea that everything is for human beings. And as it turns out, we actually need some other beings in order to even be ourselves.

So part of the task, then, for me, it seems, is to begin to notice how my identity is tied into the systems. And, so this is where I feel like I have this enormous privilege, it has sometimes been very, very painful, and didn’t feel like a privilege at all, but to actually operate out of two different paradigms, two different understandings of how to be human on Earth, is actually a huge privilege. Because if I had only been born into modern world paradigm, and if I had only witnessed that and only been presented with that multi-generationally, why would I think there’s anything else I would just be like, well, Wall Street, that’s how Earth is. This is just how she is, and, or pharmaceuticals. That’s just how she is.

So this is what I feel like my role is a lot of the time is to try to say, well, they’re here’s these other humans and here’s how they think about it. And they’re in the exact same circumstance exact same sky exact same water, exact same mothers, fathers, children aunts uncles, the dilemma of eating food, the dilemma of ageing, and they’re choosing to go about this in a really different way. What can we notice about that? What does that say to you about what is possible? I do feel that at this time.

Well, one of the things that happened at a gathering, I was at the New Story Summit, in which all these people have been gathered from all parts of the earth. This was in 2014, Findhorn in Scotland. And all of these different peoples had been gathered. And we thought, well, if we get this really amazing cross section of humanity, perhaps we can tell, begin to create a new story. Because we’re always operating out of a story, we’re story based beings as human beings. So narratives are very important, which of course, media is very aware of, advertising is very aware of, we are totally geared towards stories.

So the idea was, well, the story we’re in now is leading to death. So perhaps we can come up with a new story, or at least the beginnings of the elements of what is the new story that we would want to be in. And it was complete chaos, and totally wild and absolutely necessary and amazing. But there was one moment where things had broken down into chaos. So I went outside, and I was sitting in the dunes. And, and my spirit helpers came to me and they said, rather than try to tell a new story, from this point forward, you would be better off retelling the old story. And if you go back and retell the old story, you will automatically change your trajectory into the future. So rather than try to tell a new story, from this point forward, you’d be better off retelling the old story. And if you go back and retell the old story, you will automatically change the trajectory into the future. Well, so that, that sat in my bones, right, that rang true in my body, but I thought, What in the world am I going to do with it? So but I will say that I’ve been kind of living out of that council since 2014. Not that long, but I really gear much of my work my efforts of being human being towards that.

And, and so I’m learning what does it mean to retell the old story? Well, there are stories that are being retold to us right now. In many different ways. So one thing that I noticed that’s arising is, is what I’m calling co-witnessing. And co-witnessing is, for instance, here in the United States, when George Floyd was murdered, in broad daylight on the street by a police officer. It wasn’t  that black people didn’t understand that this had been going on or that this was possible to happen. No, they understood, they were very clear that this was a danger to their lives, such that they would have to have talks with their children, about what to expect when they left the house, and how to try to preserve themselves in such a situation. So they were very clear on it. But what was really amazing was all of a sudden, there’s this outcry from all over from all factions about, oh, my God, how could this happen? How could this happen that this black man that a police officer could kneel on this black man’s neck and press the life out of him for 10 minutes on camera in broad daylight? So there was all of a sudden this like, well, I just call it co-witnessing, because it’s like a denial dropped somehow. And, and people’s eyes are on it, people’s hearts are in it, they hear the story. And they’re wondering, and so all of a sudden, that narrative, that  has only been held by one part of the population is being held across many parts of the population. That’s an interesting phenomenon to me. I don’t know why it didn’t happen before. I don’t know why it’s happening now. But it is.

And I will say the same for the residential boarding schools, for Indigenous children. It was law that children would be taken away from their parents and sent to these residential boarding schools and the purpose of those residential boarding schools was, absolutely, I mean, it was written on the walls, it wasn’t some kind of secret that we want to make their own cultures so repulsive to them, that they will never return to them. So this was like, the deepest assimilation project, right. And, and so all these little kids were taken away from their families, by law and brought into these residential boarding schools. And so now all of a sudden, we’re finding these mass graves of these small children on the grounds of the Catholic boarding schools in Canada. And there’s a call for an investigation to go on here in the United States. That’s one thing we could do. Press your political people to say, yes, we do want to see that happen. That’s something I would call for. Because I think that we’re ready for that kind of co-witnessing in this nation, about really what it took to build this nation, to superimpose this nation upon a humanity that had civilizations that had risen and fallen for millennia on this continent.

So what am I saying? I’m saying that, there’s something about this co-witnessing that is retelling the stories for us, and giving us some more information, giving us impetus to take bigger risks, I’m going to say bigger risks in relationship, bigger risks of generosity. That’s what I think is happening with this co-witnessing. So that’s just one aspect of retelling the old story, there are so many that I’m learning about, and that my work has been based on. Even just to talk about modern world paradigm is a retelling of the story, because that’s been the only game in town. Right? But now there’s this cracking open of people wanting to understand, like, how can I begin to grapple with with what’s happening and, and so I feel like retelling the old story by saying this is just one way of being human. Whereas that has not been welcomed. My ancestors could have said that a long time ago, my great grandparents, they wouldn’t have been heard, nor would my grandparents. Nor were my parents. So it’s my generation where I get to sit on your show here. And honestly, I’m podcasting, summiting, webinars going like crazy right now. It’s kind of a miracle that my generation’s voice is the one that is ready to be heard.

Vicki Robin

Yeah, I love that. I think so beautiful. And it seems like that relates back to the upon the idea of the Apocalypse, the co-witnessing, or even personal work about shadow work. You don’t go like to a weekend workshop and go like, I’m going to go to shadow workshop. And I’m just going to get all that sucker out. And that is what has been hidden, that needs to be revealed for us for our wholeness. And in a way we’re so spiritually weakened, by not knowing these stories, the old stories not having access to another story or other stories. And so I’m just, I’m profoundly grateful. I have do have one other question. And I know we only have a couple minutes. I heard you say today, and I’ve heard you say other times, that it’s about an imbalance between men and women, that the separation of men and women is one of the lost worlds. That’s what happened. And I’ve heard you say that. You went to indigenous people, I believe in South America. And there was a call that went out and only women appeared. And they thought deeply, and they said, this is significant. And so could you just say a little bit about the the healing, whether it’s between men and women, masculine and feminine patterns of relationship? Is there something that you could share about that?

Pat McCabe

I think the quickest way to say what I like to say the most about it is to say that in ceremony, I was told this thing that has changed everything and that was that the spirit guide said to me, you think you know what masculine is but you don’t and you think you know what feminine is but you don’t all you know is how those two energetics behave when you plug them into a power over paradigm. But if you plug them into a different paradigm, they behave in a completely different way. So for me, now, there’s a retelling of the old story quite succinctly because it’s the spirits talking, they have a great way with talk, it was saying what needs to be said in a short space. But so what I feel like that does is one, I’ve been saying this thing lately, and I just feel like one of the greatest untapped human rights sources. I mean, I don’t even know I’m trying to work on my language that’s such an extractive language. But, but but let’s just say for the moment, one of the greatest untapped human resources that we have yet to see come to our aid is the sacred masculine. And that is, I believe, because, one, in the power over paradigm, I say might makes right. You have to overcome another in order to have what you need. So it’s highly highly competitive, it’s not conducive to cooperation, collaboration, and men will dominate in such a system where brute force is really the currency there. We make it polite in different ways. But ultimately, it’s brute force. And so therefore, it is inherently violent, I will say, and so as long as that was the only playing field that humanity thought they had to, to enact being human, and the men have been going for it, they’ve been doing what they can to at least, somebody’s got to win in this in order to be able to live, somebody’s gonna win at that game. And so, so we equate that paradigm with men.

But I myself say men are not the patriarchy, the paradigm is the patriarchy. And, and so we don’t even know who men are. Because we, many of us, including myself, have been pointing our fingers at the men and saying patriarchy, you’re the patriarchy, you’re the problem, you’re the one. And, and it sure does look that way, in many instances, but I’m gonna say that if we can have the willingness to separate the men from the paradigm, then we have element x here, or maybe it’s element y, I forget. But anyway, and we don’t know what they’re capable of, we don’t know what happens when they step into their perfect design for thriving life as holy surface Walker. And so I’m very excited at this prospect.

But I can tell you, one thing that will happen is when they step into that place, there is going to be a level of safety that we have not known for some time, because they’re stepping out of the violent paradigm, which means we’re gonna have to create something that has an opportunity to not be violent that way. When you put that sexuality and masculine Eros in a power over paradigm, well, you get what we have. It’s frightening, right? And so men themselves are afraid of their own Eros. And yet, I have to say, because it’s such a prominent part of their way in general, that’s kind of a generalization I guess, I have to believe it’s part of their perfect design for thriving life contribution, and therefore it should be honoured and respected by all of us.

How do we get to that point, I don’t know. But once that happens, I feel like this safety factor is one, going to open up the feminine Eros in a way that we have not seen for thousands of years, when she can really be freed, to do what she knows how to do, what she was made to do. And many cultures have really benefited from the medicine of her sexual and sensuous travels, basically, to travel to other dimensions to travel to even off planet to bless, huge. Bless the whole planet at once. But also to receive insight and information, it can be kind of a vision quest in sexuality for a woman. But that has not been able to be present. And so I also asked, and maybe we can end here is what how will the earth respond to such safety from our kind of the masculine stepping fully into sacred masculine, we don’t even know how she would respond. Right now, I would imagine she has, she also has to have something of a defensive posture. So all possibilities still humming in the air as far as I’m concerned.

Vicki Robin

What could possibly go right? All possibilities humming in the air, the liberation of our minds and hearts and lives from a paradigm that produces what we’ve seen in this world, the destruction we’ve seen. I love the potency and the non-answer, the non-solution of this. Thank you so much, Pat McCabe. I feel very privileged to have received the teachings that you’ve offered today.

Pat McCabe

Thank you very much. My honor.

Vicki Robin

Vicki Robin is a prolific social innovator, writer, speaker, and host of the What Could Possibly Go Right? podcast. She is coauthor with Joe Dominguez of the international best-seller, Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship With Money and Achieving Financial Independence (Viking Penguin, 1992, 1998, 2008, 2018). And author of Blessing the Hands that Feed Us; Lessons from a 10-mile diet (Viking Penguin, 2013), which recounts her adventures in hyper-local eating and what she learned about food, farming, belonging, and hope. Vicki has lectured widely and appeared on hundreds of radio and television shows, including “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “Good Morning America,” and National Public Radio’s “Weekend Edition” and “Morning Edition.” She has also been featured in hundreds of magazines including People Magazine, AARP, The Wall Street Journal, Woman’s Day, Newsweek, Utne Magazine, and the New York Times. She currently lives on Whidbey Island in the Puget Sound and is active in her community on a range of social and environmental issues including affordable housing, local food, and community investing. For fun, she is a comedy improv actress, sings in a choir, gardens, and nurtures a diverse circle of friends.

Tags: cultural stories, indigenous lifeways, interbeing