Healing the
Global Village

I am writing you to speak of an initiation process into eldership that I have been invited to receive by Malidoma Som�. Malidoma is a West African Shaman and an initiated elder of his village of the Dagara tribe people in his community in Burkina Faso. I have agreed to undertake their initiation process that will, upon completion, allow me to stand as an initiated elder in the Dagara medicine and bring it to the community and world.  As you may know, I have completed a two-year intensive with Malidoma called the Indigenous African Spiritual Technology (IAST). Furthermore, I have been studying with him as a member of the East Coast Village (ECV). Currently I am bringing the work of the ancestors into communities and the world as a Shamanic Practitioner and Diviner.  This offer of elder initiation is profoundly humbling for me and I am clear, deep within my bones, that this choice is in alignment for who I am and what the call of the ancestors are asking: for this medicine to be brought into the world for you and your communities.

The initiation process has already begun for me as I humbly ask to be held by my communities and to be sponsored by my communities with the sum of $5000 in my tentative initiation from July 10 - 26, 2009 of this year.  Many of you know that much of my work is about holding intentional space and that it is hard for me to ask to be held myself.  But this is what I am asking.  I am reaching out to you, from a very humbled part of my being, and asking you to hold me in my intention by financially supporting my elder initiation.  I thank you from a deep place within my bones of truth for all your support.

One vision of how this might happen is to see this experience akin to the model of the CSA: a Community Supported Agriculture project.  In a CSA, people give the farmer money in the Spring, when she needs it most for seed and equipment, in exchange for a share of the harvest.  So perhaps you could see this as a spiritual CSA, a sister raising a sum of money in her community. You can send in an intention from your heart place to what you may want to release or manifest. I will take that into the 16 days of my initiation process carrying your intentions. These will be burned at the end of the initiation and then there will be information that comes back to you and your supporting communities. You may ask 10 people in your community to support the adopting of this elder initiation in your geographic area, each donating $20 per person so the wealth can be spread to your community. After the initiation I can come to your area bringing the medicine of the ancestors and the Dagara Cosmology into your community, for example, in the form of a community grief ritual, radical water ritual, earth, nature, mineral or a radical sacred fire walk.  This will all be done through the divination process as to what is the highest good for the geographic land and people of the land and community.

Please take a few days to consider if this request is in alignment for you and your community and family.  If you are moved to assist in the manifestation of the call, my intention, and all the gifts it is bringing about, please visit the Community Support page of this site.

If you would like to speak directly with me, please call me directly at (978) 479-1335.  With great EN+R+GY, I am eager and willing to speak with you about this transformation and about my work healing the Global Village.  You can also email me at annsousa@yahoo.com.

In deep appreciation, your sister,

Ann Sousa