Earthkeeper Family

As the Elders request, we share the ways that are native to the earth through ceremony and teaching…we remember their words, “Ceremony serves the people”.

Across the country, folks are asking to be taught through ceremony. The Elders disclose, “It is time…the people are ready…your job is to share and guide ceremony…leave the rest to Creator.”

As I travel and meet new people, what jumps out about this new generation, is their enthusiasm for learning the lessons that come with doing ceremony. There is this willingness, or passion for ceremony and lodges, that transcends the feel good side of ceremony. They participate so that the problems will arise, so the buttons will be pushed, so things can be dealt with and transformed. This is so revitalizing!

Ceremony connects us to Spirit…our prayers are heard and we grow and change. As ceremony is the “fast track” to change, it’s important to go within and make sure it is our path before we step into ceremony. Remember, Creator will never give us more than we can handle.

Most of us have learned to come to ceremony for the feel good factor…and there’s nothing wrong with that, as it’s part of the walk. But not knowing the rest of the ceremony story, can unwittingly bring tests and trials which we don’t realize are part of the ceremonial walk we initiated. So when difficulties arise, we often start pointing fingers…it was the ceremony, the energy, bad ju-ju, the people, the elder or the leader…definitely something outside ourselves that caused the issue. And we often complain to others about it, unaware that we are increasing our lessons.

We need to understand the words of the Elders who say, “The **Red Road (spiritual/earthkeeper road) will be the most difficult path you will love”. They share this because they know that the act of stepping into ceremony…

…any kind of ceremony, is a spirit signal…a signal giving permission to the Spirits working with us, to do their job of getting rid of that which no longer serves us. Our personal Spirits (who some call angels), always come for our highest and best good. Consequently, situations or people get put in our path so we have an opportunity to recognize that which is in need of change. Who or what shows up is not what we think it is.

What shows up is really us…we are showing up, disguised as someone else or a situation, so the promise of ceremony can be fulfilled. And when we don’t pay attention…we get hit by a pebble, if we don’t heed the pebble, we get hit with a stone, if we don’t heed the stone, we get hit by a boulder and so on.

Our hearts came on-line with Spirit, so to speak, when we started these spiritual ways. Our hearts know what we need.

May each of us recognize our heart way, because after the boulder…yikkes, yikkes, yikkes…the mountain is falling…the mountain is falling! lol

Thank you Creator for loving us so and for your guidance as we learn. Thank you for the ceremonial way that serves the people. Thank you Spirits.

Hugs, Tracy ~ Each person is responsible to find the truth’s they came to learn. We share what has come to us. Take what you want…leave the rest…we share because it’s time. May each person’s heart come in-sync with the beat of Mother Earth so you might find your ways.

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**Red Road - basically, according to what we have been taught, walking the Red Road is a metaphor for living within Creator’s Ways — a life of truth, friendship, respect, Spirituality, and humanitarianism. Walking the Red Road is mainly in our heart. It’s a way of walking with the earth instead of upon it.

Originally posted in November of 2006

At the All My Relations Sundance, we were honored to pour an Earthkeeper Sacred Stone People’s Lodge for the Dancers.

After the Lodge, I was approached by another Sundancer asking, “What tribal tradition does the Lodge follow?”.  It comes from the ways of Mother Earth, I shared.  My brother said, “But it feels very ancient…what Native tribe is it?”. It was then that I realized, soon it would be time to share about the Earthkeeper knowings.

When Dave and I learned the Ways of the Earthkeeper Sacred Stone People’s Lodge,  John Many Voices shared a story he had never told before and would only speak once. We have kept this story close to our heart as guided. However, a dream came to us. Incredulously I kept saying, “What…share this via the internet???” But years later this dream still comes, and the Elders keep nudging us, so it’s time.

Hollis Little Creek, an Anishanbeg Midewiwin, had been looking for the one who would know the ancient Earth ways. So John spent a decade or so with Hollis looking. Over their years together, John said, “I was a pain in the ___(you know what) to Hollis as I was always screwing up or not listening”. You see John was always listening to Mother Earth.

Many years later, Hollis traveled to find John On the Hill. It was during that meeting that Hollis told John it was him who he was seeking. John laughed as he told the story saying, “You know, I’m just a hill-billy”. However, Dave and I came to understand that John touched deeply the heart of Mother Earth and was guided from that ancient realm in ceremony.

            Photo by Janisse

Since then, we have come to know, that one of the beauties of the Earthkeeper is that we can transcend whom we belong to as a culture, as a people or as a tribe. We do so by going to that realm that’s before the traditions. We go deep into the very heart of our Mother the Earth. We go into that place that determines culture and are embraced by Creator through Mother Earth and Father Sky in that realm.  And they begin to work their magic through our soul.

Through Creator, Mother Earth expresses herself through dreams and symbols. Creator provides these symbols that are used in the traditions…sun, moon, water, wind, fire, earth, eagle, blue heron, condor, crane, jaguar, spider, wolf and etc…all across the world. The culture does not determine the symbols. It is these symbols that determine the culture itself….these that Creator has given so lovingly to us through Mother Earth. So rather than the ceremony of a particular culture, we begin to express Earth ceremonies.

And given the particular geography of where we are, the elements of that place will be present and weave their spiritual presence into this expression of Mother Earth’s soul, Creator’s soul, which is expressing through us and the ceremonies. Thus the ceremonies are going to take on a particular form. That form may have many elements that are very similar to indigenous people who live or have lived in these very similar geographical parameters with the same animals and terrain.

By touching into the heart of Creator, through Mother Earth, these ceremonies began to express themselves through our lives and the weaving of the elements that are natural in our environment. We create from our soul a ceremony, a means of establishing spiritual commune, that are touching into the very same sources from which our indigenous ancestors receive their guidance, direction and enfoldment for ceremony. We weave our thread of consciousness into the tapestry that already exists in that region and become of that tapestry. And as we become of that tapestry, we exhibit the qualities, characters and expression of the tapestry of Spirit, which is native to that land.

John deeply touched Mother Earth, where the traditions are determined, and the ancient ceremonies expressed themselves through John, just as they did with our Ancestors. Lucky for us, John shared them with us.

Hugs, Tracy ~ Each person is responsible to find the truths they came for. We share what has come to us…take what you want…leave the rest…we share because it’s time.   May each person connect through Creator with Mother Earth and find their Way.

                Spring Equinox at Chichen Itza, Mexico

In the ways native to Mother Earth, our New Year starts with the Spring Equinox.

It is the beginning, the Sunrise, a time to start anew and a time of welcoming new things. It’s the birth of the early day and the greeness. It means entering the circle….the circle of life.

After a long winter, everyone is ready to be outside.

                                Saemieh Tribe in Norway

For our Saemieh Family, it’s the time of the Reindeer dance honoring the return of the Sun. For our Ute family, it is the time of the Bear dance honoring renewal of life. For our Earthkeeper family, it is the time of entering the circle of seven ceremonies in Appreciation of Mother Earth (see Earthkeeper Family Ceremonies under pages section).   

In each tradition, we enter the circle, leaving our troubles behind so we can start our life anew.

We wish you joy in your new life.

Hugs, Dave,Tracy and Janisse ~ Each person is responsible to find the truth’s they came to learn. We share what has come to us. Take what you want…leave the rest…we share because it’s time. May each person’s heart come in-sync with the beat of Mother Earth so you might find your Ways.

              www.mikebonell.com 

Recently, I became an unexpected explorer faced with the need for healing. And as I journeyed, I re-encountered the ways that were so tenderly safeguarded by our South American relations. These ways have been quietly waiting for us, for the time when we would be ready.

As we enter this exploration, it might prove useful to refresh your memory on the Luminous Field teachings, posted over a year ago on 2/21/2007, because what I share today, builds on that previous teaching: Let There Be Light : South American Andean Shaman Teachings  – (click title for easy access)

The venture pushed me deep into remembering…remembering the tools the Elders gifted over the years, and remembering the Light. The gentle people of the Andes, the fearless caretakers who kept the wisdom secure, have been so patient as we got stuck…mired in the physical. Would the time ever come when we, humankind, would be ready to return to ourselves?

As the Andean teachers share, our body is surrounded with a Luminous Field, made up of Light….five (5) Light energy levels, vital to our walk with the earth. Our guides, don Al verto, don Alberto, don Ipupiara, and dona Cleicha, all share that our skin is not the outermost boundary of our body as we have come to believe. It is the Light, the Luminous field around our physical body that delineates our outer boundary. And it is vital, as it is the program that runs the machine…governing among other things, the health of our bodies and DNA.

I believe this Light or Luminous Field is the Within that the one they called Jesus, in the Christian way, talks about in Luke 17:20-21, And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, (as to) when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation, Neither shall they say Lo here! Lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you”.

                           www.mikebonell.com

As I understand it, each energetic level of light serves us at whatever level we are operating from in the moment. It is just as it should be for us at that time. And each particular level we function within, expands and takes up the majority of the space in our Luminous field. There is no right or wrong level, only gradations of energy. As always, we have the freedom to chose — free will.

We have been given such a divine organism, so perfect in design, that if problems arise, they are dealt with at the level above the one they were created in. Of course, the ultimate level we endeavor to function in is the Spirit Level, which encompasses all levels. We might call this level the Christ-consciousness, God-consciousness, Universal-consciousness or All-That-Is.  Whatever name it is given, it is one with the Light of Creation.

The Five Energetic Planes:

Physical

Our society has been stuck, functioning in the physical for millenniums, even after enlightened ones came to help us move beyond. The physical is where we deal in the material. Survival and self-preservation modes flourish. War and weapons are prevalent. Mother Earth is considered a commodity. And in regards to healing, physical remedies and weapons are used to combat illness.

I spent much time here, (10 weeks), besieged with physical remedies for a virus that ultimately turned into pneumonia. First, I armed myself with the natural ways of vitamins, homeopathic remedies, vibrational techniques, and natural foods; eventually assaulting it with pharmacudical medicine - 4 different types of antibiotics, inhalation therapy, and steroids. When my body rejected these, I moved to the level of emotions.                               

 

Emotional

It’s where the emotions hang out: mad, sad, glad or afraid (the four core emotions in which all emotions have their origin). Compassion or aggression are the result as you experience caring or blaming. And as my health weakened, I became mad then sad…and “cried me a river” as the song goes. Our guides share that emotional release triggers a response in the physical (endorphins come to mind), providing a bandaid for the illness. In some cases, glad emotions have kept illnesses in check for years.

My beautiful family engaged in antics that made me laugh, and I smiled as my laughter triggered coughing, coughing, coughing…and my mind started searching for an alternative.

 

Mind

It is where we gather ideas, inquire, solve complex issues, and start figuring out the root causes. We make affirmations. Psychology may be used to intervene. Superstition also resides in this level as well.

So I applied the mind to figure out the source of my illness. And friends and family started giving me their ideas too. I liked the advice about checking out Louise Hay’s book, Heal Your Body - a book on the mental causes for physical illness. And as I looked up the progression of my journey, I learned the mental process went from “lack of joy flowing through my life”, to “silently arguing and quietly yelling and screaming” (mostly at myself), to “emotional wounds that are not allowed to heal”. Eureka, I had found it!!!…and I said the affirmations suggested. But I was still feeling awful. Somewhere in the back of mind emerged the thought that maybe it wasn’t time yet, that I might be on a journey. And I landed smack dab in the middle of the soul level.

 

Soul

It is the place of meditation or spiritual practice. It is where images, music, poetry, dreams, myths, visualizations, and creativity dwells. It is the place of the sacred journey where we honor all experiences as part and parcel of our walk. We listen…we forgive.

So my family did ceremony, and I visualized healthy lungs, listen to music, prayed and sat in silence. Eventually I found the forgiveness that the opportunity of pneumonia had given me. I forgave myself. And for the first time since this journey started, I felt better. And “lo and behold” I received a call.

The voice on the other end said, “So are you ready to heal the pneumonia that you carry forward from your Ancestors?” Darn, I thought I was well on the road to recovery. “For now you are,” came the reply, “but we carry forward our family’s propensity for a disease in our DNA as well as the energy of our experiences in this lifetime and previous ones. We will pass these onto our children and grand-children if we do not restore them back to their pristine creation.”

…And the Seven Generations our Elders talk about, immediately became more touchable and personal. Yes, yes, yes…I was ready to heal it for me, for my ancestors, for my child, and for my future grandchildren. And I heard a smile in his voice, “Very important choice, because when one heals at the Spirit level, one heals not only for the self, but it is healed for all those ancestors who have gone before and for all those who are yet to come”.

Just hearing his voice had already moved me into the Spirit level. There are shamans or enlightened ones that by just hearing their voice or being in their presence, one touches the Universal-consciousness.

 

Spirit

This level exist outside of time yet within our luminous body. It is the place of no-time, non-attachment, non-engagement, non-judgement and alchemy. It’s where we know our perception of the world determines our world. We understand interconnectedness, that we are all one, that Spirit is in all. As the one who they called Jesus, in the Christian way, said, “Split open a piece of wood, and I am there. Lift up a stone, and you will find me beneath it.” (Thomas 78). We know that God is masquerading in all things…God is experiencing herself/himself/itself in every being, including ourselves and our enemies. It has been called the Christ-consciousness, God-consciousness, or Universal-consciousness.

And we find “magick” here, within us, or what I call the Abracadabra state…where we can change things before they come into existence. We can dream a new world because we are in no-time.

 

So I did the Smoking Mirror ceremony, looking into my eyes reflected in a mirror, asking to “clear the smoke” so I could be shown the time, place or person (in my ancestry, past life or present life) where it began and know the lesson it was bringing.

I watched many faces come in that reflection before a hummingbird appeared signaling the achievement,…and I saw a young boy, laying on the side of an ancient road saying, “Heal and know the Spirit is a part of you and always has been.” And the teachings of the Andean Luminous Field came flowing back to consciousness.

I became aware that the hummingbird was taking me to a time before the boy was sick. He put his beak into his body and pulled out the culprit DNA strand, and Shazam… it vanished into thin air while another pristine one appeared and entered the boy. The Seven Generations were healed in that instant, and I could see myself as healed. (I swear I could hear Bugs Bunny humming the song “It’s Magic” from the cartoon Transylvania 65000 …la na dee dee da da, na la dee daa, Abracadabra!!!!! …give yourself a smile and see the cartoon at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27J2N1TCzcY  note - the singing section starts at the 04:26 mark)

I was soaring like an eagle, and as the image in the mirror evaporated, a luminescent white light with a tinge of blue filled the reflection and flowed out over me. From my core the words “Thy will be done” came, so Spirit would prevail. Thank you Spirit.

Over the next months, I will continue the work with the “Smoking Mirror” to help this corporal body to slowly loosen it’s anchor, and move into the future of health, focusing on other medical issues of my family and past lives. And I can hear a voice saying, “In the Spirit world, in no-time, it is already done“…and I will arrive there when it’s time for me.

Thank you Universe, Creator, Light of Creation and our Andean brothers and sisters. “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine!!!”

We’ll finish with some final thoughts. We need to keep in mind that the world is dreaming itself into being anyway, and the tall ones are dreaming it, and the four-leggeds are dreaming it, and the gilled-ones are dreaming it, and the plant world is dreaming it, and the winged-ones are dreaming it, and the creepy-crawlies are dreaming it, and the stone nation is dreaming it…each in their own way. Are we, humankind, ready to start dreaming it too?

Hugs, Tracy ~ Each person is responsible to find the truth’s they came to learn. We share what has come to us. Take what you want…leave the rest…we share because it’s time. May each person’s heart come in-sync with the beat of Mother Earth so you might find your Ways.

I was asked, (or was it told..hmmm), by an Elder yesterday, “What did you learn in 2007 and why haven’t you shared it yet?”

I replied, “I don’t know that I have anything to share right now,”…

…and through the silence on the other end of the phone, I knew she was giving me “that look”!!! You all know “that look”…the one that only the Elders can give you…

OK…I give…Uncle!!!!

So, I burn sacred herbs, as I share…(let’s see what comes)…:

We need to remember that the essence of a give-away is to identify an object that we are attached to and want very much to keep…but we give it away as a sacrifice or surrender if you will. Remember, our emotional self is often connected to our possessions, and releasing them can heal us, as well as our relationships. I share this so our 2008 give-away blankets, instead of “garage sale” type gifts on them that we no longer need or can use, can be full of gifts from the heart that help us all to heal.

I recalled the new era, called the “New Pachacuti”, which began in 1989 as shared by our Andean teachers. In that year, the Dalai Lama traveled to South America to meet with the Spiritual Leaders of the world. He acknowledged that the center of spiritual power on the Earth was moving from Tibet to the Andes with a shift from the male to female energies so we might come to balance. Mother Earth was moving the energy from Tibet to a mountain in Chile bringing it through every region of the earth for cleansing and adjustment.

When it passed through our Midwest region in 2000, we did a ceremony called the Earthkeeper Dance for Peace, dancing on the back of the “Dragon”, which the earth energy is called as well as “Kundalini Serpent” and “White Serpent”.

Llama Norbu, who had left Tibet with the Dalai Lama, arrived a few years later to dance with us, honoring the ceremonies.

However, the “Dragon” was delayed or held back at the Panama Canal…and many of you remember doing ceremony in 2003 with the Mayans, (earthkeepers did one on the shores of Lake Michigan), so the “Dragon” could cross to it’s final resting place in Chile. In actuality, the Mayan Elders shared recently that they had done the ceremony in 2001 with the “Dragon” crossing in September of 2001. And by “coincidence”, we were dancing our second Earthkeeper Dance for Peace at that time, with John Many Voices listening to Mother Earth to guide us.

It’s very important to note, that there is no time in Spirit, so whenever the prayers are done is the right time. Not one person or one group’s prayers or ceremonies are more important than others. When the “critical mass”, if you will, of prayer is reached, each prayer that has happened and each prayer that will come is essential. It’s like time travel or more a “no time” phase that is foreign to us corporeal beings.

I share all this now because the Elders say that by the middle of 2008, the final ceremonies will be completed to anchor and honor the “Dragon”, in preparation for 2012 and the ushering in of the new energy. Everyone of you who has been called to do ceremony, from offering a prayer as you head out for the day, to participating in a dance…remember, it is no small thing you do, as John liked to say. Mother Earth has responded. And I believe the ceremonies will go on and on and on!!!

I observed the secret of Ceremony. Ceremony is often thought to be about the ritual or the skills of the leader. However, ceremony is truly about the light…the light within. Ceremony creates a world of balance, so each person participating can illuminate that which is within them, thus giving them an opportunity to transform and be in joy. And those opportunities arise during and after the ceremony…with folks experiencing their “buttons being pushed” …pushed so those areas in need of change or healing are illuminated…giving each person a chance to “make good”, or “make nice” as our young people say today.

I learned through Drunvalo Melchizedek that the Maori Elders - the Waitaha in New Zealand - shared with the world, one of their sacred prophecies; “a pivotal moment in history will happen in August of 2009 when the heavens will open and our brothers and sisters of the universe will reveal themselves”. And I remember Grandma B sharing long ago, that she does not worry about our future because the star nation will return. (Drunvalo has a new book out called, Serpent of Light.)

I learned it’s important to do ceremony with computers and be mindful of thoughts around them. Computers exist because of crystals. It is the living nature of the crystal/silicon that allows computers to do what they do. The crystals hold the program, and computers are nothing without the use of crystals. Not only do crystals hold programs but they hold thought patterns too. So be mindful of your thoughts around crystals. No wonder the Elders say, “leave handling or working with crystals to those who understand them”.

I revisited that Creator already has placed within us all that we need. If you have forgotten who you are and think it’s someone else or something outside of you, then you have no power to find the solution. If it is someone outside of you who can only change the problem, then you’ll have to wait for some miracle worker to come and change it for you. However, if you see you are the problem, then you can see that you are the solution as well. You have the power to transform.

Finally I am to share that I learned the answer to any question….and the answer to any question is always, LOVE.

OK…I shared what made itself known…now to wait for the next call…

Thank you Mother Earth. Thanks for the journey and the chance at peace.

Hugs, Tracy ~ Each person is responsible to find the truths they have come to learn on Earth. We share what has come to us. Take what you want…leave the rest…we share as it’s time. May each person come in-sync with Mother Earth so each might find their Ways.

Original written on September 29, 2007

I had envisioned quite an ambitious schedule of ceremonies for the Earthkeeper Dance this year and boldly sent the schedule to all who were invited. However, things have a way of changing in spite of us.

photo’s by Chris Blackwolf

We took extra time and care in setting up the Sacred Circle, as we prepared for the Ancestor’s visit and those who would join us in ceremony.

photo by Vera.

So when we stepped into the waters of Lake Michigan in our first ceremony, I knew things would change. I knew we would not be able to honor what had been planned for the ceremonies.

I lamented the passing of what we thought was the ceremonial plan. I stood there, stripped to the bone…with tears in my eyes…praying for guidance. And my tender-hearted daughter came over, and gave me a hug and my heart knew it would be OK even though my mind hadn’t come on board yet. My mind was engaged with the concerns…of letting people down, of not fulfilling the promise of a schedule, of the criticism…all that ego stuff…

Then a sea gull caught my eye, and I remembered the gull with the Doritos bag at a previous ceremony, bringing joy to Margie and the rest of us…illuminating what was to be known, reminding us to not get all holy about it…and my tears became tears of joy.

photo by Chris Blackwolf.

As the second ceremony progressed, the concern was released to the Ancestors through the ceremonial fire and I got myself out of the way. And by the final ceremony under the moonlight, the Ancestors had illuminated that which was in need of change in each of us, giving us an opportunity to transform and be in joy.

I laugh at myself as I type these words, remembering words Dan Standing Turtle shared in what was to be his final lodge with us, “If you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans. ”

Thank you Creator for your grace, love and joy.

Hugs, Tracy ~ Each person is responsible to find the truth they have come to learn on Earth. We share what has come to us. Take what you want…leave the rest…we share because it is time. May each person come in-sync with Mother Earth so each may find their Ways.

As one of the most obvious, powerful and revered objects in the physical world - the Sun has naturally attracted the attention and obtained the homage of many races. Many cultures have ceremonies honoring the Sun.  And Sundance ceremonies are part of many cultures across Mother Earth as I, Tracy, encountered at a young age, in the Republic of China.  The Da bai Hu Villagers have a Sundance that is performed around the first day of the lunar year.

One day the village shaman approached my parents as we were watching the neighboring farmer till his rice field with his prized water buffalo.  The shaman invited our family to join what we found out later was a Sundance ceremony. The ceremony is ancient. It honors the Sun for giving life to Mother Earth and venerates Creator who in ancient times, revealed to a young couple the way to survive.

According to legend, once in remote antiquity, heaven fell, the earth cracked, and fierce floods dashed to the sky. In the whole world, only Mahei and Maniu escaped death because they followed Creator’s directions to use a tree trunk and the skin of a water buffalo ox to make a Sun Drum. They fasted for four days as guided by Creator. Maniu played the Sun drum and Mahei danced. When they found they survived the flood, they gave thanks by continuing to dance for four days. And the Sun, through union with Mother Earth, brought life back to the land. As Mahei danced, he gave flesh sacrifices as the buffalo ox had with its life so that they could live.  He also gave flesh sacrifices in honor of all the relations who had given so much more by perishing.

The Villagers feel deeply indebted to the kindness of Creator, Father Sun, Mother Earth, and the Sun drum, for saving the lives of their ancestors. As a result, the Sundance has been handed down from generation to generation. They believe that the Sundance will bless and protect the people of the world.

Young men fast and dance for four days around a tree, which represents the tree given by Creator to make the Sun Drum. They offer flesh through wounds, inflicted by a ball made of sharp sticks to honor the sacrifice of the buffalo ox and all the relations who perished. The offerings are made to honor Creator and the Sun who with Mother Earth brought abundance to their ancestors and to all people. The ceremony culminates on the fourth day in a dance procession to the Ocean with Sundancers and Villagers.

Sun Drum in procession

We joined the procession to the ocean. All the while, we knew we were witnessing something very sacred. However, we had no interpreter. So we followed the hand signals of the Village Shaman who, to our dismay, gave us a position of honor near the front.

At the ocean, the Shaman entered the water, wearing only a loincloth, and offered his flesh. The Sun Dancers gave flesh offerings too, giving of their blood to honor the water. When the Sundancers came back on the shore, the Shaman offered prayers to Creator and a Miracle happened. He put his hands together as if receiving something, and a huge ball of flames appeared in his outstretched palms. All on the shore fell down prostrate on the ground. I fell down too, thinking he may throw the flames our way, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the flames. And then I knew, the flames were the Sun and in the Sun, Creator had come. I sobbed in ecstasy, and my Mother thought I had hurt myself when I went down. I get chills as I remember.

We learned a week later from an interpreter, that what we had witnessed was a Sundance. He shared the history. But what surprised him most were the flames as this was the first time flames had come. He told us how fortunate we were to have witness something so very rare. He said holy men were converging on the Village and meeting with the Shaman to interpret the meaning. We never did hear the results. But I didn’t have to; I knew Creator had smiled on the Earth.

Thank you Creator, Father Sun, Mother Earth and the people of Da bai Hu Village for keeping the prayers alive.

One final sharing…the word I use to describe my first experience attending a Native Sundance is “thunderstruck”.   To be in the presence of a sacred Sundance, so similar to the one I had experienced in the Da Bai Hu Village an ocean away, left me thunderstruck.   

Through Creator, we are more alike than we are different.

Hugs, Tracy ~ Each person is responsible to find the truths they came to learn on Earth. We share what has come to us. Take what you want…leave the rest…we share because it’s time. May each person come in-sync with Mother Earth so they might find their Ways.

I lived in South America for four years after grad school, and a part of that time I spent teaching at an international school in Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela - on the confluence of the Orinoco and Caroni Rivers bordering the Amazonas region.  I enjoyed endlessly watching Anteaters and Sloth’s meandering through town as the Macaw’s serenaded.  I’d spot Jaguars at times at the edge of town,  and I am ever grateful to the Howler Monkeys for waking me with their deafening talk when they’d come through, reminding me to listen to Mother Earth.

My passion was going to “la selva” on weekends to spend time with the Wa’ rau, Yano’mamo, or Pe’mon tribes.  I learned so much from them and it’s time to share about the wisdom of dreaming. 

Tracy with Wa’ rau Elder Tapi   

When I arrived for the first time at the Wa’ rau village, the villagers were standing on the shores of the Orinoco waiting.  They had dreamed my coming and greeted me like an old friend. 

To the Wa’rau, Yano’mamõ and Pe’ mon people, dreams are the actual reality, and everyday reality is the dream.   Their role of dreaming is ”poles apart” from how dreams are viewed in the “modern” world. For these tribes in the Amazonas region, there is a continuity and relationship between dreaming and waking. Dreaming is not just something that goes on during sleep. 

They have this routine that everyone in the tribe does, that could be compared to the way Americans have a morning cup of coffee. But instead, they get up and have a cup of this particular tea that makes them vomit. They do this in the early morning about 4-ish a.m.  It’s a cleansing, a releasing of anything that no longer serves them, so they can start the new day.

Then they relate their dreams from the night before. Just as one might get up in the morning in North America and read the newspaper or tune into a morning news program to see what happened in the world while one was asleep, the Wa’ rau do the opposite.  

Among the Wa rau, no one dreams for the individual. They dream for all. It’s only in sharing the content that they get the complete picture of what a dream means. And so their dreams are interpreted as a group.

Usually, there’s an elder person in the household who does the interpreting. Or if they do a community-based dream sharing, there is a set of elders who do the interpreting. It’s a very remarkable thing, because it moves dreaming out of an individual’s inner experience, the way we see it in contemporary Western society.  The dream journey is used for the community because it suggests the strategies for the day’s activities and the future.   

In the tribe, every person searches for what they call “Arutum”, or guiding vision, which comes from the forest.  Much like our Going on the Hill.  (Remember, as shared in “Healing the Apparent Estrangement of People from Mother Earth”,  Ipu shared, “Connect to Mother Earth, and you connect to the Great Spirit automatically.)   If a big decision needs to be made, a person will go to sleep next to a big tree to find the answer, sometimes taking plants to help them with the journey. 

And their dreaming serves a strong practical purpose.  It was through this kind of dreaming that Wa’ rau, Yano’mamõ and Pe’ mon Elders and Medicine People were originally warned that their jungle and way of life would be under threat.  That they must seek a partnership with committed people from the modern world in the North. This was the vision behind the founding of the Pachakuti in 1989, the vision of the Condor and Eagle.  It also was the beginning of the Pachamama Alliance in 1996 in which those of the North are helping the tribes of the Amazonas to map their territory, to organize their tribes, and to develop communication skills with the outer world. This kind of assistance is enabling them to save their forest and their way of life.

And in contrast to Western dream interpretation, where “drug-induced” visions have a category all their own, the source of a dream is of no significance to the Wa rau. Whether a vision is via plant people or occurs during normal sleep, the interpretation is the same.  

Of course, our ”modern” culture believes that the dreams are individual and we take pride in our individuality, sort of a cult of narcissism and self-focus.   And in our search for individualism, we have grown disconnected from our deeper selves, our community, our environment, and our sense of the Sacred. We struggle to make sense of the subtleties of inner experience in a culture where reality is defined by that which can be physically measured. What I believe is that the only reason we all don’t realize that our dreams are communal is that we don’t tend to share them, even though our Elders have always said that the visions are for the community.  

For us, periodically we send our visions/dreams in letters to our Elder, as she utilizes communal visions to help with understanding the way of things.  And I have noticed the similarities between the Wa’ rau and the Native American Church Ways, however, there has been a shift away from communal sharing of dreams/visions as a frequent practice in the Native American Church.    

We all dream parts of something, and this implies that if people took more time to share their dreams, we could begin to construct a more positive model for the future.  We need to access all aspects of our consciousness, not just use our rational intellect. 

I invite you to start sharing your dreams with each other, so we might,  through looking at other’s dreams, arrive at a view of the whole.  Each of us carries a part of the bigger picture.  Maybe folks can start a dream circle for your group and share your dreams  (puts a new spin to the idea of a Dream Team, heh?).  Start sharing dreams with your Spiritual Leaders.  For Earthkeepers, you could send them to me   youncedjt@verizon.net  , I’m willing to compile them for the whole, using the sacred ceremony for dreams, and I’ll seek guidance from my Elders and share what comes at our ceremonies, where we can add time for sharing dreams.  Whatever, works…just start sharing.

Let’s leave our self-focus on the shelf.  Particularly now, when we’re trying to come up with solutions to a better future for everyone.  Let’s start thinking like the Wa’ rau, in these community ways, so we can co-dream and co-interpret in ways that are affirming. 

Thank you Mother Earth for helping us to hear Great Spirit through our community of dreams. 

 As we Spiritually awaken, we become more aware of how truly similar we are across this Earth. 

 Hugs, Tracy ~ Each person is responsible to find the truths they came to learn on earth   We share what has come to us.  Take what you want..leave the rest…we share because we care.  May each person come in-sync with Mother Earth so they might find their Ways.   

Thank you to Mary Schliz for helping with the rememberings through her work with communal dreaming and sharing such similar experiences with the  Ach’ uar tribes.