Many people have asked me if Sangomas have predictions? Recently a journalist contacted me and asked if Sangoma people have anything to say about the recent natural disasters occuring in the planet. I said yes we do and it all revolves around the importance of man re-aligning with nature in a wholesome way.
In 1992 I had a strong vision whilst walking around my garden. I was told about a tidal wave that would result in the largest loss of life in recent history. I was told that it would happen in about 10 years time, and it would signal the time for me to start working in a spiritual way to help people re-align themselves with nature in a respectful way. When the Tsunami struck in December 2004 I was on a yoga retreat off the West Coast of Ireland. It was a snowing outside and a bit chilly. At that time I was planning on going on a 3/4 month yoga retreat, training course in Australia. The realisation of the Tsunami struck home the importance of all of us to live with more respect and love for the natural world. I was already in training to become a Sangoma, and the hurricane was a clear sign that I needed to move forward with my training.
I have had many dreams since, and a few of them speak about natural disasters. The message is simple 'we need to reconnect, and re-align ourselves with nature'.
In the last few years I have had other dreams about the collapse of the world as we know it. My last dream was just before the banks collapsed in the UK in 2008, America and then globally. In that particular dream I was told that things would change in the sense that there would be more natural disasters and a greater loss of life. I was told that it is natures’ way of bringing us back into balance. The lesson here for us is ‘RESPECT’ or as we Sangomas would say in Xhosa or Zulu ‘hlonipa’. We need to learn to respect one another, our communities, our old people and Nature. But respect not just in words but in actions. As a Xhosa Sangoma I teach people ‘Ubuntu Ubunzulu’ which are the sacred Sangoma teachings of the Xhosa people related to our humanity ‘Ubuntu’, and the depth of our humanity (Ubunzulu) which speaks of our interconnectedness to nature and the ancestral/ spiritual world.
Our human race is arrogant, and we think we are in control of nature, and that we own nature . This is not so. The recent volvano in Iceland (begining of May '10) which grounded European planes for almost 2 weeks was a sobering reminder that 'we' are not in control, and that we are all at the mercy of Mother Nature. As a Sangoma I found this very humbling and beautiful despite having to change my return flight to the UK. I was happy to spend another 2 weeks in South Africa.
I was on the BBC, radio 4, ‘Saturday live’ show with Fi Glover on 5th September 2009 (see my home page for interview). Before the show, Simon, the producer asked me if I had to look back on my career for the last 50 years or so what would I like my legacy to be? I said for the old people to be respected and loved, and likewise for our Ancestors to be respected and loved, because then we as human beings would be more in balance. I think this is what these natural disasters are calling us to do. To be more loving, more caring and more respectful of ourselves, one another and nature.
So where does this leave us in the future?? I think mankind as we know it is going to have to become more sensitive in order to survive. This can only be a good thing.