We are living in contentious and unsettling times; in a world of winners vs. losers. A simple comment can start a battle that wounds and separates neighbors, friends, and family members. We all seem to be hyper-vigilant to catch that moment when we can say whatever we must in order to be right and to harshly judge or dismiss those we see as being wrong. We are tired and on edge. So tired!
But there is another way. The way of the Buddha and the Tao, of early Christian mystics and wisdom keepers. And the way of Indigenous Peoples. These are ways that are thousands of years old. Yes, there were conflicts and disagreements. But inherent in these ways is a different worldview and a different understanding of the Spiritual realms. We can again learn these ways of seeing and being. In fact, we must learn if, indeed, we would save ourselves and our universe.
For the better part of four decades, I have been blessed with deep friendships with Lakota, Dakota and Ojibwe Peoples. They have welcomed me, befriended me, taught and mentored me. They have shared their homes, their families, their food, their sacred ceremonies and oral traditions with me. They have made me a relative and have prayed with me and for me. These relationships are solemn and sacred, a lifetime commitment. I did not seek this way but it found me. It has given me a calm and peaceful center and confidence and trust in a non-dual universe, a circular worldview.
Most Native Peoples have unitive consciousness. There is life or Spirit in all things - in the deer and the buffalo, the butterfly and the flower, the waters and the rocks, sky, wind, rain and sun, the eagle and the bear, the fishes and the humans. All are in relationship with one another, none superior or inferior but equal in importance and reliant on one another. The Lakota term "mitakuye oyasin" means 'all my relatives' and implies all of these mutually supportive and interdependent relationships.
Foundational to this unitive consciousness is the knowing that all of life is sacred and that this Sacred is a constant movement or energy flow. A Lakota Spiritual Elder who was one of my first teachers often speaks these teachings saying, "Taku Wakan Skan Skan," which can be translated 'something Sacred is moving here.' But this translation does not convey all that Lakota Peoples know of the teaching behind the words. As close as our Western minds can come to grasp these teachings of relatedness, and Spirit in all things, and Sacred Moving is in the understanding of quantum physics or sacred geometry; scientific validation of ancient indigenous knowledge. We can speak of a holographic or holistic universe that is non-dualistic and each is a part of every other.
We are on the brink of creating a new world that is more loving and inclusive. It is long overdue. We are beginning to see with the eye of our hearts. Native prophesies have long spoken of these times. Our indigenous brothers and sisters have been waiting for us. They reach to us in friendship and love and inclusion.
But there is another way. The way of the Buddha and the Tao, of early Christian mystics and wisdom keepers. And the way of Indigenous Peoples. These are ways that are thousands of years old. Yes, there were conflicts and disagreements. But inherent in these ways is a different worldview and a different understanding of the Spiritual realms. We can again learn these ways of seeing and being. In fact, we must learn if, indeed, we would save ourselves and our universe.
For the better part of four decades, I have been blessed with deep friendships with Lakota, Dakota and Ojibwe Peoples. They have welcomed me, befriended me, taught and mentored me. They have shared their homes, their families, their food, their sacred ceremonies and oral traditions with me. They have made me a relative and have prayed with me and for me. These relationships are solemn and sacred, a lifetime commitment. I did not seek this way but it found me. It has given me a calm and peaceful center and confidence and trust in a non-dual universe, a circular worldview.
Most Native Peoples have unitive consciousness. There is life or Spirit in all things - in the deer and the buffalo, the butterfly and the flower, the waters and the rocks, sky, wind, rain and sun, the eagle and the bear, the fishes and the humans. All are in relationship with one another, none superior or inferior but equal in importance and reliant on one another. The Lakota term "mitakuye oyasin" means 'all my relatives' and implies all of these mutually supportive and interdependent relationships.
Foundational to this unitive consciousness is the knowing that all of life is sacred and that this Sacred is a constant movement or energy flow. A Lakota Spiritual Elder who was one of my first teachers often speaks these teachings saying, "Taku Wakan Skan Skan," which can be translated 'something Sacred is moving here.' But this translation does not convey all that Lakota Peoples know of the teaching behind the words. As close as our Western minds can come to grasp these teachings of relatedness, and Spirit in all things, and Sacred Moving is in the understanding of quantum physics or sacred geometry; scientific validation of ancient indigenous knowledge. We can speak of a holographic or holistic universe that is non-dualistic and each is a part of every other.
We are on the brink of creating a new world that is more loving and inclusive. It is long overdue. We are beginning to see with the eye of our hearts. Native prophesies have long spoken of these times. Our indigenous brothers and sisters have been waiting for us. They reach to us in friendship and love and inclusion.
In respect and appreciation of my Native teachers and friends,
I offer these words.
indigenous
Does Raven exist apart from the Sun,
or Corn apart from Squash and Beans,
or soft brain-tanned Moccasins apart from
Sacred Fire and Buffalo?
Does the Tree exist apart from the Sky,
or the Waters apart from the Lands,
or the flutter of Butterfly wings
from Warm Winds,
or My Life apart from Yours?
© phyllis boernke 11 November 2020
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