I have to admit I’m scared. I think a lot of other people are scared, too. There is a collective consciousness of fear in my country and around the world because of what is happening in the run-up to the United States’ presidential election. It’s a terrible feeling, because the collective consciousness can affect me whether I want it to or not, and it feels like something I can’t control.

Last night, I had a terrible nightmare. This is something that hasn’t happened to me since I don’t know when. I dreamed that an intruder was in my house. He had moved the washing machine to a place it shouldn’t have been, and water was leaking through the floor boards and onto the floor below.  I don’t even have a second floor. In the dream, investigators came and we found a large mound of partially eaten dog food on an old tin plate in the attic. Floor boards were missing and it, too, was in horrible disrepair. It was dangerous to walk there. I don’t even have an attic. Or a dog. Surely my cat would have warned me if a dog had entered our space, I thought in my dream! Also, in the dream, the lights went out in my house, and I went outside in my pajamas to see if others’ lights were out too.  Mine was the only house that was dark. I woke up screaming in fear. I don’t think I’ve ever done that in my life. Analyze away, my friends.

The collective consciousness I am talking about is something like an allergy – another thing I’m experiencing here for the first time. The juniper trees are emitting a pollen that is so intense this year that many in Sedona are feeling miserable, especially those of us who are new to the Southwest. They say the first year is the worst, and that we newcomers will feel better next year. It makes you feel tired and sick. It’s in the air, and it feels like something we can’t control.

But this morning I realized that what feels like something we can’t control doesn’t always have the power we give it. The pharmacist I went to see advised an OTC allergy medication. I took it, and it dried things up, but I still felt tired and sick. And then, I did something wise. I looked to Nature. The place from which my discomfort was emanating also offered its antidote. I see a naturopathic doctor out here, like the one I saw back in Maryland. Naturopaths look to the causes of dis-eases more than to alleviating the symptoms. Their philosophy is that the body heals itself if you can give it enough support. I’m not talking about surgery for appendicitis here. I’m talking about things like allergies. So…I got a Chinese herb from her that supports the immune system, and a tumeric-based capsule that relieves allergies. Guess what worked?  After just a few days of taking these supportive plants, I felt like a human being again. I did not put any toxins in my body, (which those OTC drugs are full of) and yesterday, I felt well enough to drive out to one of my favorite sacred places. It happens to be full of juniper trees. And I was fine.

Today, despite the nightmare, I’m still feeling well. What seemed like something out of my control was not. I just had to know where to look for relief.

As to the collective consciousness of fear, I can either add to it, or I can create a sacred space for myself and add to a collective consciousness of peace. That also exists, even in this toxic atmosphere. I have chosen the latter. All the years of spiritual searching have taught me that there is something within myself that is sacred. Holy. Peaceful.  Yet, despite all the years of spiritual searching, more often than not, I have to be prodded to seek it. Fear usually drives me there. As it has done this time. For me, the first step toward It is prayer and meditation. It’s very much like returning to Nature for support of my spiritual immune system. As I returned to my sacred place among the red rocks, I returned in my mind and in my spirit to the sacred place I know is there. Inside. In my mind. In my heart. In my spirit. Both natural remedies – one for my body and one for my soul – are provided by a Power Greater Than Myself. It took a few hours and a nightmare, but I got there.

Finding the remedies and putting fear in its proper place takes work. I have to take my herbs and get enough sleep, I have to pray and meditate, and I have to keep working on the campaign of my choice. I am doing that, by the way, and have been for weeks. I can’t just cower in fear at home in my bed. I have to do the footwork. Literally. And it’s hard, believe me. Anyone who has done this knows the animosity you encounter in the field. It’s like pollen. In your face. People are tired of the race and they’re tired of people like me asking them to go out and vote. But tell me, what’s the alternative?

And so, my dear Friends, whatever happens, I will work hard to stay in my sacred space, even as the juniper trees happily and energetically emit their pollen (How else will we have new juniper trees next year?). Did you know that juniper berries were gathered by Native peoples and used as an aid in digestion? Everything has its positive side, at least in Nature. As the presidential election winds down to its cliff-hanging conclusion, I try to remember that it will be over soon. Whatever the result, it can have no effect on the sacredness that is inside me. It has been given to me by the Universe, it is untouchable, and it is always present. But I still have to create a space for it in my heart and mind. Sometimes by the hour.

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Read The Messenger: The Improbable Story of a Grieving Mother and a Spirit Guide by Helen Delaney. Find it at www.amazon.com or www.themessenger.space