Follow the Drinking Gourd

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a beautiful baritone voice sang “Follow the Drinking Gourd,” the song of slaves making their way north to freedom along the Underground Railroad by following the Big Dipper constellation, or “drinking gourd,” which points to the North Star.

A drinking gourd was part of the daily physical reality of slaves who drank water from it. In stellar form, it was a spiritual reality from which they could drink hope, guidance and freedom. Symbolically, water, necessary for life, represents spirit. The Big Dipper consists of seven stars. Metaphysically, seven is the number of completion. The slaves could complete not only their physical journey to freedom guided by the North Star, but also their spiritual journey into an awareness of themselves as whole, equal and complete expressions of Spirit. The North Star trued them up, kept them on course, both physically and spiritually.

It is interesting to note that not only is the North Star the brightest star in the Ursa Minor constellation, it is 2.5 times brighter today than when Ptolemy observed it according to research reported in Science magazine. Astronomer Edward Guinan considers this to be a remarkable rate of change. He says, "If they are real, these changes are 100 times larger than [those] predicted by current theories of stellar evolution." Change. A remarkable rate of change. Increasing brightness of a guiding light. Certainly these are relevant themes in our lives today, both individually and collectively.  

The inaugural speech addressed rapid changes taking place in our country and our world. It set a course still in alignment with the North Star of the Drinking Gourd, weaving together the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the inauguration of a new legacy on the same day: “We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.” For the first time, women’s rights, African-American rights, gay and lesbian rights were combined as civil rights in an inaugural speech – the increasing brightness of a guiding light.

For the first time in several years, the Spiritual Adventuress found the usual, year-end rituals to release the past and intend the future held no energy or inspiration, but asking herself some questions about her North Star did.  What is your North Star this year? How will you emancipate yourself? What path takes you to freedom? What star will guide you to your destination? Reflecting on the inauguration contributed too. What are you inaugurating, beginning, starting, creating in your life? Choosing touchstone values as a guiding North Star for the year can be energizing and inspiring. This approach was fulfilling and successful once before when the Spiritual Adventuress used darshan, or an audience, with Mother Meera to determine her North Star while editing a book.

Mother Meera, born Kamala Reddy in 1960, is believed by her devotees to be an embodiment (Avatar) of the Divine Mother (Shakti or Devi). Several years ago, there was an opportunity to see her face-to-face at UCLA. The audience was conducted completely in meditative silence. When it was time for the Spiritual Adventuress to edit a friend’s book about energy gardens she created in Peru’s Sacred Valley (Chakra Gardens: Opening the Senses of the Soul), determining the editor’s role was essential. Clearly it was to keep the book in the writer’s voice, not the editor’s. Clearly it was to assure the book channeled the highest light or spoke the greatest truth. Additional guidance for the editing process came from extracting the essential qualities of the darshan experience with Mother Meera: Surrender, Devotion, Humility, Compassion and Service. These qualities became the North Star that guided the way whenever a decision had to be made about how to proceed. The book was selected as Best Metaphysical Book of 2010 by Writer’s Digest. The guiding light showed the way. When we are open and receptive, guidance can appear in a variety of ways, even as a drinking gourd pointing to a star and freedom.