The Making of a Decolonizer: Our Global Embedded Nature - Being In Tune - Following the Signs

The world has been an interesting place over the past year and a half, to say the least. Amidst a global pandemic marked by loss, grief, and frustration, a basic sense of safety has been uprooted for us all. Vivid displays of the fact that people are not treated fairly have also reminded many, especially those that don’t fit a specific human prototype, that there are very few spaces where they have ever felt safe. Collectively, we are navigating a consistent and persistent sense of uncertainty in trying to overcome the infinite number of obstacles that accompany the pervasive and insidious viruses of COVID-19 and white supremacy. Although seemingly insurmountable, with these struggles comes hope through illumination, evolution, and carving a new path forward. The ongoing moment has forced many of us to pause, reflect, rethink, and recreate our lived realities – professionally, personally, and purposefully. I, Shaunda Lewis, am one of those people experiencing this recreation process.

I believe that we are living through a once in a millennium transference of global power and energy. Humanity is navigating a once in a century global pandemic and push for civil rights. We are operating amidst a “Great Resignation” with workers taking back their power and dictating their circumstances. According to astrology and astronomy we have just experienced significant cosmic events. They include the “Great Conjunction” with Saturn and Jupiter having been the closest they’ve been in 800 years, entering the sign of Aquarius during the winter solstice last year, and jumpstarting our global shift into the “Age of Aquarius.” According to numerology that astrological event was due to the opening of the 12/12 portal, with energy activation felt through the December solstice. Just last month we experienced the longest lunar eclipse in 580 years, and this month, we have the December 4, 2021 solar eclipse at 12*12’ Sagittarius. Also, according to numerology we are collectively being propelled away from the energy of those born in the last century, to those born in this century; from those born in the last millennium, to those born in this millennium. As a universal student of history whether we look at it from a historical, philosophical, or spiritual level, we are at an inflection point in our global arc of time. Our arc of history is eventful, and worth exploring in order to discover how we got to where we are today, and to determine how best to shift as a collective in order to evolve to better ways and higher consciousness. [1] [2][3]

For me personally, the circumstances setting the context for which we are collectively operating have greatly shifted my engagement in the world. Earlier this year, after over a decade of spending my professional time meandering through the public, private, and non-profit social impact spaces, I quit my job. I quit! On February 2, 2021 I quit my brand new, cushy, six-figure program officer job at a foundation with close to a billion-dollar endowment in the middle of a global pandemic.

E N O U G H! Those were the letters that flashed in front of my face just two days earlier. Those were the letters that flashed in front of me as I pondered how best to get through another year; another six months; another three months; another two weeks working for another institution that perpetuated inequity in the name of alleviating it. I couldn’t do it anymore. I needed to jump out of the boiling water and jump into the circumstances I knew to be right.

Boiling water is exactly how the energy felt. In trying to make sense of my feelings and frustrations, I did what I normally do, I paid attention to the signs – numbers in my case. Repeating number patterns and sequences have been gracing me for some time now, and in paying attention to them and their meanings, I have gathered guidance in immeasurable ways. An ancient practice from the Egyptians and Babylonians, and practiced in its modern form in the west from the great mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras, numerology has allowed people for millennia to access information beyond the realms of logic. Many refer to repeating numbers as “Angel Numbers” in that it is believed that they are a form of communication from your team of angels occupying the dimensions beyond the earthly plane. It is through my research into the repeating numbers that I realized my personal feeling of a necessary shift in how I operated my life, wasn’t just me. It wasn’t just people who share my racial identity, or gender identity. It wasn’t just those that experience overt and covert forms of systemic oppression. It wasn’t just all people that don’t fit the white, western European human prototype – the “Global Majority.” It wasn’t just because we have all (regardless of our identities) been forced to pause, reflect, adjust, and say an uncomfortable amount of goodbyes to our friends and loved ones who have left this earth sooner than we anticipated. What I’ve been guided to through the numbers is that this is a collective, universal energy. An inflection point that is transferring us into a brighter age of human existence. An age away from the egoic thought and action through conquer and colonize strategies, into one grounded in supporting the collective, embracing of the infinite way of being, and rooted in care, compassion, and love.

What we know of transition in general is that it is usually an uncomfortable moment to occupy. You are stuck navigating ambiguity and the unknown. There may be desires or projections for what may be, but they are only driven through hope and action. Many of us experience fear, loss, or a shedding of old beliefs and values during transition. What transition almost always breeds is inevitable and eventual change. There is dissonance with that – physical dissonance and cognitive dissonance. There is a quote on cognitive dissonance, thought to be from French Caribbean born psychiatrist and philosopher Frantz Fanon:

Sometimes people hold a core belief that is very strong. When they are presented with evidence that works against that belief, the new evidence cannot be accepted. It would cause a feeling that is extremely uncomfortable, called cognitive dissonance. And because it is so important to protect the core belief, they will rationalize, ignore and even deny anything that doesn’t fit in with the core belief.[4]

Transition or change happens over time, but it is not bound by a specific amount of time. What does transition from a century into a new century, or a millennium into a new millennium look and feel like? How long does it last? What if the masses resist that change, how long will an effective transition take? Will it ever be effective?

The number pattern “1212” has been a pronounced repeating number pattern in my life in various forms every day at least once a day for the past three years. It is a number pattern with loaded meaning. Every time I research its meaning, I get a deeper understanding of its significance in aiding continuous growth, development, improvement, and overall evolution. In seeing 12/12 or 12:12 or 1212 in December of last year, and in also being aware of the 12/12 portal that occurs every year, I discovered that the December solstice that closes out the 12/12 portal energy on December 21, 2020 was also colored by an astronomical event that hasn’t occurred for 800 years, and an astrological event that happens every 200 years.[5] In numerology and astrology, the 12/12 portal is an energy activation portal that symbolizes rebirth, renewal, and growth. [6][7] The December solstice which typically happens on December 21st every year is the day of the year, depending on where you are on earth, that has the longest night (darkness) or day (sunlight). On December 21, 2020 (the December solstice for 2020), planets Saturn and Jupiter were the closest they had been in over 800 years, and if you looked up to the night sky, they appeared as one full moon or star. Saturn and Jupiter also entered into the air sign of Aquarius, ending the 200-year cycle of both planets primarily occupying earth signs, and the launching of a 200-year cycle of both planets primarily occupying air signs. Many believe that the December 2020 energy activation and cosmic events have officially transitioned earth out of over 2,000 years in the age of Pisces and into over 2,000 years in the age of Aquarius. Through interviewing numerous astrologists, Mary Grace Garis at “Well + Good” writes the following:

The Age of Aquarius follows a…progressive, forward-thinking, "we versus I" mentality of visionary, rebellious, innovative, and eccentric Aquarians. It focuses on humanitarian pursuits of valuing each person's individuality, holding and taking care of each other as a unit, and also disrupting the system. As Adama Sesay, astrologer and creator of Lilith Astrology, points out, there will be a major shift in power dynamics in this era. "For eons the power has rested in traditional, oppressive hierarchical structures, and their beliefs dictated our reality," says Sesay. "[In the Age of Aquarius,] the power is turning over to the individual, and giving the freedom for you to choose your own reality based on what aligns with your soul."[8]