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Earth People Magazine
Volume
1 Number 4
Now
Playing: 'Cherokee Morning Song'
By: Robbie Robertson and The Red Road
Ensemble
‘Yin
and Yang’
By: Cathy (Caspar) of Meredith
[This copy does not do justice to the
original colour painting, or its print.]
Contents
Woman
of Power [also for men. Ed.]
By:
Lynn V. Andrews
Maori
Teachings
By: Dr. Rangimarie (Rose) Turuki Pere
Raven
Song
By:
Raven Wi’ (Given in Vision)
Release
By:
Lynn V. Andrews
Masculine
By:
Lynn V. Andrews
 
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Leakage of Power
By: Brooke
Medicine Eagle
A message given
in vision from her book:
‘Buffalo
Woman Comes Singing’ (p.248)
Anything
that is not serving All Our Relations in a high and useful way
is not
worthy of attention or energy from a Warrior Woman.
It is a leakage of power
Sitting Owl's Editorial
I have been especially blessed with permission to reprint the work of
the best selling author, Lynn Andrews. The work that appears is taken
from her 'Woman at the Edge of Two Worlds - Workbook', and is full of
many excellent ceremonies, teachings and meditations that I recommend
to anyone. Although her work, and particularly this one, is designed
to help empower women, her teachings are universal and have helped me
enormously on my path as a shaman. I recommend any of her books.
Margaret Bond from W.A., who did the fantastic drawing of Bull Chief
Apsaroke on the cover of Vol. 1 No. 2 Issue, has sent me some
information about him which I have included.
I must tell you about an experience of messages within messages. It
began as John (Fire Wolf) was leading his group with me in the
Stone-people (Sweat) Lodge. John devoted a round to the discussion of
White Buffalo Calf Woman’s message and the prophesised sign of the
birth of a white buffalo calf, which had come to fruition in recent
years. However there was new information that the calf had apparently
charged some spectators and had been shot by the park ranger. We
decided during the round that this news was still in fact a positive
sign in that it did not negate the original sign and in itself was a
positive symbol of the duality of life and death. Then at the end of
the round, John announced that he had just been given a song from
Spirit called ‘Buffalo Woman Comes Singing’. If that wasn’t
enough of a message, a couple of days later I was perusing the shelves
of my favourite second-hand book shop, when I spotted a book by Brook
Medicine Eagle called ‘Buffalo Woman Comes Singing’.
Many people have said that they like the way I write about the truth
of life, but if only they knew how difficult it is for me to do this,
as all subjects are so inter-connected that as I try to write on one
subject, I find it almost impossible to separate my thoughts and
experiences. It is also because anything we can think about is
actually in metaphoric form. But I have been asked to write on a
subject that I feel is very important for humanity to understand, for
the healing of humanity and the planet. The subject is that of the
biggest addiction for the majority of people worldwide, money and the
materialistic greed, desires and fears that come as a result of having
an economic system dominate and govern our social system in the way
that it does.
At times I have been accused of being judgmental, so I would like to
say that I believe that the idea of being ‘non-judgmental’ is
directed at people who use judgment as a means to be "better
than" and to have power over another person. But when it is used
in a compassionate way to bring awareness to the possible damage to
others and to All Our Relations, judgment is not only valid, but also
a very healing quality.
Here is how Brook Medicine Eagle describes the way Master Kakafayat
would teach:
“We [The class] asked him why he was so harsh, and his reply was,
”You think I am crushing you, devastating you. In truth I am
crushing who you think you are, so that the beauty of who you truly
are can emerge.” He called this ‘Ruthless Compassion’, and
helped us to understand that the truth, rather than the experience of
being coddled and mollified, would in fact set us free; and that what
we usually think of as love is not love at all. Being nice is not
being loving, unless it is in absolute integrity with what you feel at
the moment, it is just a cultural conditioning for social acceptable
behaviour. What is truly loving is to be truthful, to stop treating
the other person like a weak, fragile doll whom the truth may damage.
That kind of treatment is the most deprecating thing we can do to
another, reinforcing their self-image as small, weak, and
incapable.”
 
Grandmother Spider Woman
and or
Grandmother Thought Woman
  
Part 1
Pima
Indian Creation Story
From:
‘Buffalo Woman Comes Singing’
Creator had made the people, but there
was no light. The people appealed to Creator for help, and he sent
them Grandmother Spider, who helped them fashion a hide shield and
throw it into the sky, where it hung as the sun. Yet, there was still
half their day that was not well lighted, so they asked
Grandmother’s assistance again. This time she wove an iridescent web
between Heaven and Earth. Then Creator spewed water over it, and in
each place where a droplet hung, a star was formed, and lighted the
night for people. Grandmother Spider’s medicine is the weaving
together of Heaven and Earth to create enlightenment.
 Part
2 
Grandmother
Spider
and the Dream Catcher
Legend has it that one day Grandmother Thought Woman looked down from
her place in the Great Mystery, the Void in which Spirit Beings like
herself live, and saw to her dismay that the human children she had
dreamed into existence were sad a afraid. They had lost sight of the
path and were wandering aimlessly through life. Grandmother Thought
Woman knew she had to do something to help her children, so using
great power and concentration, she dreamed herself into reality as a
dew drop on a tobacco leaf - a very sacred herb. After many days of
recovery and transformation and more recovery, Grandmother Thought
Woman went to the Great Willow Tree and asked for a single branch,
which after receiving it and giving thanks for it, she bent it and
bound it until it formed a perfect circle. This circle, which had no
beginning and no end, was meant as a symbol representing the
continuous cycle of life, death and rebirth, a concept forgotten by
the children of Grandmother Thought Woman.
After this, Grandmother Thought Woman went to the Mighty Eagle and
requested a single wing feather, which after receiving and giving
thanks for it; she suspended it from the powerful circle. The feather
taken from the wing of the Mighty Eagle would teach her children to
have the courage to believe in their own abilities, and to have the
strength in their own convictions. Grandmother Thought Woman wanted
them to know no boundaries to how high they could soar or to the great
things they could achieve so long as they believed in themselves the
way she believed in them.
Grandmother Thought Woman also wanted her children to always remember
their connection to Great Spirit and the Creator who had allowed them
to exist in the first place. So Grandmother Thought Woman transformed
herself into the Wise Woman known as Grandmother Spider Woman. It was
Grandmother Spider Woman who had sung the universe into reality
millions of years before. Grandmother Spider Woman weaves the Web of
Fate, which is also represented as the Wheel of Life.
After Grandmother Spider Woman had completed spinning the beautiful
and protective web in the centre of the powerful circle, she placed a
single turquoise stone in the very middle of the web as a symbol of
connection to the Creative Force, clarity, peace, communication and
protection.
Grandmother Thought Woman looked at the Dream Catcher and was pleased.
She pondered on it for a moment, and in her mind's eye pictured the
benefits the sacred tool would help bring to fruition. On taking it to
her children, Grandmother Thought Woman explained its importance and
sacred significance to the people.
The story went something like this:
As
you sleep your subconscious mind wakes up and actively partakes in a
life unknown to you. Sometimes its adventures are good; promising and
even prophetic, but sometimes its adventures are bad, dark,
threatening and foreboding.
On your waking, glimpses of these adventures remain in your conscious
memory and either excite you with their possibilities, or fill your
heart with dread. And when this is the case, our mind becomes confused
and we are hesitant to go back to sleep, lack of sleep results in an
unproductive day due to fatigue. By hanging the Dream catcher above
where we sleep, either from the ceiling or on a wall, your dreams will
be ‘scanned' and protected from negativity. All dreams will be drawn
to the web, like bees to honey, and all positive dreams will be
permitted to pass through to be enjoyed by you as you sleep. Negative
dreams or nightmares, will be trapped in the web and destroyed by
Grandfather Sun's first rays in the morning. They will melt and turn
into dew, and trickle down the feather of the Mighty Eagle. Eagle's
spirit, which is still alive in the feather to a certain extent, will
cleanse the nightmare of negativity, so that when it drips off the
feather's tip as the first jewel of the morning, it will return to
Mother Earth and be welcomed, never to haunt you again.
This is the legend.
After telling the story, and reassuring her children of her eternal
love for them, Grandmother Thought Woman returned to the Void, her
place in the Great Mystery, where Spirit Beings like herself live.
Part 3
Grandmother
Spider
and Sacred Herbs
Copied
from ‘Raven’s Reflections’
First woman was Grandmother Spider, she gave birth to herself from the
void, and it took a long time, a long, long time for She had nothing
to work with except the power of her own thought. She dreamed her
thought into substance and as soon as She was born, She began to spin.
She wove the Sacred Spiral upon which the universe was born. Stars
hung like dew drops on the Spider’s web in the morn.
As soon as She was finished, She travelled back to the centre, to the
vortex, to the place where She was born, and She began to dance. She
took the Sacred Rattles and Four Sacred Bundles out of her Medicine
Pouch. She dreamed herself four daughters, one Black, one Red, one
Brown and one White. She placed one daughter on each bundle and danced
and dreamed and Thought them alive
Grandmother Spider and her four daughters dreamed the Earth. When it
was ready the daughters came to Earth to live. They became the mothers
of the first human families and the Sacred Grandmothers of the Four
Directions.
A long time passed. Grandmother Spider grew lonely for her children.
She came to earth as Thought Woman. After wandering the Earth, She
decided to make a home. She built Her Lodge in the forest near a
meadow where a Shaman and his Apprentice lived.
She and the Apprentice became lovers, and together they had many
children. Eventually, a drought came over the land and there was
nothing to eat. Thought Woman's children were crying because they were
hungry.
She went to the shaman and his Apprentice, and said, "You must
kill me so my children will not go hungry." First they refused
because they had both grown to love her.
She wandered around with tears in her eyes looking for something for
her children to eat. When She was sure She could find nothing, She
insisted, “Kill me, it's the only way I’ll ever be happy again.
When they finally agreed, She instructed them in how it was to be
done. First they prepared a field by removing the rocks and larger
plants. Then they used their digging sticks to rough up the surface of
the soil, next they cut Thought Woman's heart from her chest and
planted it to the West of the field, then they dragged her body across
the field until all of the flesh was worn from Her bones. Last, they
planted her bones to the East of the field.
When they were finished, the thunder beings came to mourn Her passing.
Their tears of rain made the land fertile, green and magical. And from
Thought Woman's heart grew the first Oak tree that had acorns of many
kinds. From Thought Woman’s flesh grew Corn of many colours. And
from Thought Woman's bones grew the Sacred Herbs for Healing, Ritual
and Ceremony, and burning them when we want her to hear our dreams.
Circles,
Cycles,
Spirals and Spheres
 
Inspired by: Frank Cullen of ‘Thoughtful Themes’
Hello
Sitting Owl,
Received with great thanks your two magazines and found inspiration in
them. It is amazing how there is the common thread running through all
seekers, the search for true identity and the relationship that it has
with the whole of creation.
The circle is certainly, as you pointed out, the oldest of symbols,
but does it remain true for us. There has been a great development in
understanding and appreciation combined with the technical advances of
the limited physical human mind, and I wonder if the circle is a true
image.
A circle can only be seen if you are standing directly in front of it.
If the circle remains stationary and we move around it that circle
becomes a thinner and thinner ellipse until it disappears into a
straight line. But consider the sphere.
We know now that atoms neutrons, molecules and even DNA chains all
have the shape of a sphere. If we consider the sphere to represent us,
the sphere will always seem to be a circle no matter what direction
you view it from. The sphere also has a centre, which remains constant
no matter where you view it.
The sphere could represent the unlimited potential that we have within
us which comes into force in our lives when we are united with the
centre or the deep internal core of our being.
Please do not think this is a refutation of your excellent article,
because it is not and is not meant to be. It is possible for man to
get stuck in tram lines of thought, e.g. the concept of the soul first
came into being over 2500 years ago and aesthetic practices and images
of duality has been in human thought ever since. Even to Malcolm
Frazer oft quoted line "life wasn't meant to be easy" is a
throw back to the soul concept. Life wasn't meant to be easy, it was
meant to be ecstatic.
Man with his negative ideas over the centuries; have manipulated us
into living lives full of death, without connection to the internal
core of our being.
Best regards
Frank.
Namaste’ Frank
Thank you for your important comments on the article ‘Circles and
Cycles’ in the previous issue of ‘Earth People’.
However the human mind is only limited by its belief systems, a
subject I hope to be discussing in the future.
Firstly, the DNA chain is actually a spiral, which points out that:
although the Medicine Wheel (Vol. 1 No. 2) represents time as a
movement from birth in the East around to old age and death in the
South (for the Southern Hemisphere), it also represents time in one
year (the four seasons), one day, and down to one split second of
thought, where all aspects of the wheel are considered and thus
balanced so as to bring a balanced judgment to that thought. We must
balance emotion in the North with conscious knowledge and wisdom (the
Mind) in the South and balance Spirit or ideas in the East with matter
or manifestation in the West. With this balance, it brings us to the
centre of the situation (life, or self), which is the Axis Mundi, or
the source. However, the next moment of thought, day, year etc. is
again affected by the different aspects of The Wheel, however it is
never the same moment, day, year or lifetime, so we have, by the
previous judgment, made a step up, due to a revelation or down, due to
a lesson to be learnt. This step is what creates what is referred to
as the ‘Sacred Spiral’, which is still represented by the Medicine
Wheel circle.
And secondly, as you have pointed out the image of a sphere is much
worth considering, however the fact is that the sphere is still
represented in the Medicine Wheel, in that as you hold your centre
(Axis Mundi) in balance, you must also connect Father Sky, Heaven, God
etc ABOVE, with Mother earth, the material world, BELOW. As the Hopi
people say: “Beauty before me, beauty behind me, beauty to my
left, beauty to my right, beauty above me and beauty below me. I’m
on the pollen path.” Meaning the path
of life and Bliss.
According to Frank Fools Crow (Wanbli Mato – Eagle Bear) 1890 –
1989, the Ceremonial Chief of the Teton Sioux:
The Stone-people Lodge (Inipi, Purification or Sweat Lodge) not only
represents the womb of Mother Earth for rebirth and the universe but
also, once the above-ground part is covered and all items and tools to
be used are inside, it becomes the dwelling place of Wakan -Tanka
(Great Spirit, Creator, God the FATHER etc.) and Tunkashila (the SON)
above, Grandmother Earth below and the Persons of the Four Directions
(the Holy Spirit).
See Below and article on 'Circles and Cycles' in Vol.
1 No. 2 and the Medicine Wheel there.
Diagram
of Sweat Lodge (flattened)
and the 16 Great Mysteries
This one
begins in the West as some of the Native Americans do (don't ask me why).
Basic
form taken from:
'Gift
of Power - The Life and Teachings of a Lakota Medicine Man'
By: Archie
Fire Lame Deer & Richard Erdoes
added to
WOMAN OF POWER
SACRED WHEELS
By
Lynn V. Andrews
Copied
with permission from:
‘Woman at the Edge of Two Worlds–Workbook
The Self-Worth and Power Woman sacred wheels are aspects of the
teachings of Woman at the Edge of Two Worlds, who is an archetype, a
goddess figure who stands at the gateway between the first world (the
first ring of power in a woman's life) and the second world. The first
world is dedicated to physical existence: the raising of a family, acts
of power that have to do with career, choices in relationships, and
dealings with conditioning of family and society. At the second ring of
power (the second world into which a woman is initiated by Woman at the
Edge of Two Worlds) the great goddess provides a bridge for a woman's
voyage to the enlightened, sacred life that marks the second half of her
evolution.
Women all over the world are struggling to understand the true meaning,
the essence, of their lives. I have experienced with my teachers, Agnes
Whistling Elk and Ruby Plenty Chiefs, that the feminine rites of passage
are gateways into the sacred mysteries of a woman's existence on earth,
times when she can discover the deeper meaning she has sought. And yet,
these rites of passage are usually silent, unmentioned and mysterious
journeys.
At the nucleus of the sacred rites of the feminine are the sacred wheels
that help each woman discover her own personal mystery and illuminate
her private relationship to the totality of her own life process. As she
develops, she begins to choreograph the energies of the universe in a
very new way. Every woman experiences and expresses this new
understanding of self and sacredness differently. This experience can be profoundly
strengthening and full of joy. To ensure such a positive effect each
sacred rite of passage in a woman's life needs to be fully illuminated
so that the actual event becomes the beginning of a new and beautiful
way of life.
These wheels are about the sacred rites of the feminine. They are about
the uses of the energy that all women possess and how to use this energy
in relation to your universe and to the spiritual and sacred aspect of
your being. In working with these wheels, you will be reintroduced to
the deep, internal beauty that comes with age, the beauty that makes
itself visible by virtue of its innate power. As you feel this beauty,
you will express it, and all those with whom you come in contact will be
touched by your newfound strength, your heightened awareness, and the
loveliness that emanates from deep within you.
In most sacred teachings in the world there are secret keys that make
the teachings work like magic. Without the keys, the teachings can
become knowledge, but never wisdom. They become the difference between
information and experience of truth. When a key is given to you and if
you handle it properly, it changes you. When that change occurs, a space
is created between the known ground where you have always lived and
unknown territory. It is within that space that a true relationship with
life is born. I present to you sacred wheels for you to work with
through the coming year. The Sisterhood and I designed the wheels as a
result of the needs and the dynamic energy of the women I have worked
with through the gateway of wise-blood.
The wheel entitled Self-Worth is a wheel that involves inner searching
or an implosion of energy. Sit in the centre of an actual wheel that you
construct or a wheel in your mind. A partner can work with you by
sitting in the four different directions as you move around the wheel. A
partner helps you hold the "power" of a direction and keeps
you honest with yourself. When you finish, your partner changes position
with you. The most important experience of this wheel is taking in
energy, or an implosion of energy. Experience that feminine use of
energy to its fullest.
The next wheel, Power Woman, acts as the key for both wheels by being a
reversal of energy, or an explosion of energy, as a celebration of what
you have found to be the core energy of your expression of power as a
woman. Without the celebration, the Self-Worth wheel goes dormant. Do
the Self-Worth wheel many times, and then move on to your Power Woman
wheel. These can be done over and over to centre yourself and to help
you grow through each passage in your life. They are invaluable, as you
will see, as tools for your path of empowerment.
Sitting
Owl's comments
As you look at these Sacred Wheels, you may notice that they are
equivalent to my Medicine Wheel as seen in Volume 1 Number 2, only
rotated ¼ turn. This rotation indicates to me that it is possible to
use any variation of a Medicine Wheel with success. However I feel that
if the wheel is positioned according to the nature of Mother Earth and
Father Sky wherever you live, it increases the success of connecting
your inner life’s circle with your outer circle of the universe. But
the important thing to remember is that at any moment of life when we
make choices, we must move between our mind, emotions actions and spirit
for balanced and harmonic judgements to be made. [Ed.]
Woman of Power – Self-Worth
|
NORTH WEST
Giveaway
Superstition
|
NORTH
Spirit Lodge
Am I worthy of success?
Do I deserve cosmic power?
Do I live my spirit truth?
Retrieve your spirit now.
|
NORTH EAST
Giveaway
Fear.
|
|
WEST
Emotions Lodge
I can’t express the goodness of life if I don’t love myself.
Sadness & hurt can be an addiction.
I need more time.
|
WOMAN OF
POWER
SELF-WORTH |
EAST
Mind Lodge
How do I play the
trickster self? How do I trick myself and others? Am I a fraud?
|
|
SOUTH WEST
Giveaway
Judgements
|
SOUTH
Physical Lodge
Relationship to my
beauty.
Relationship to money.
Fulfilment:
*Socially.
*Friends & Family.
*Acts of power.
*Vocation.
|
SOUTH EAST
Giveaway
Poverty consciousness.
|
Money and the
Economic System
I have read and heard all sorts of arguments justifying the use of money
or an economic system in our human society. One argument equates money,
business and economy with the universal laws of abundance. And I have
seen one advertisement costing 100’s of dollars saying: “Wealth
and Spirituality are not mutually exclusive.” Yes spirituality is now being marketed as
“The
Rapidly Growing Multi-billion Dollar Personal Growth Industry.”
I have even heard very wise and spiritual people say to me that this
current economic system is the current ‘reality’ of our world
society, and that you must be a part of it to change it.
While my understanding of life and quantum physics indicates that there
is a measure of truth in all the arguments I’ve heard, I must remind
you of two facts.
Firstly, it is this money, economy based principle that has helped to
create the greed within our social system and therefore the rape and
destruction of our Mother Earth and our own minds.
Secondly and most importantly, money is a tool, and as all tools, it is
supposed to serve humanity, as I’m sure it did for a good many years,
and as a humanity we have a lot to be grateful for the knowledge we have
gained via the use of money.
On this subject Joseph Campbell refers to “The Machine”
saying that the first time anyone made a tool, taking a stone and
chipping it to make an axe, is the beginning of a machine, the turning
of outer nature into your service. But then he says that there comes a
time when the machine begins to dictate to you how you are going to
live.
This is where money and our economic system are today. Where the system,
the machine of this economic system, is now dictating to man that we
spend 36+ hrs per week working, and 90% of our consciousness on where
the money is going to come from and where it is going to go to.
I can’t help thinking of Pink Floyd’s two songs: ‘Money’ (it’s
a crime), and ‘Welcome to the Machine’.
Joseph Campbell says that the universal truths that can be found in any
of the mythological stories and ancient metaphors can still work to
guide and inform society. And that one of the best examples of these
truths being clothed in modern metaphors is the ‘Star Wars’ trilogy,
where Darth Vader represents the machine and addresses the problem of: “Is
the machine, and the state is the machine, is the machine going to crush
humanity, or serve humanity. And humanity comes not from the machine,
but from the heart.”
Chogyam Trungpa in ‘Shambhala – The Sacred Path of the Warrior’
says this about money and wealth:
“If people are poor, they want to take money or resources away from
those who have more. And if people are wealthy, in the sense of having
money, then they want to hold on to what they have, because they think
that giving up some of their money will make them impoverished. With
that mentality on both sides, it is difficult to imagine any fundamental
change, taking place. Or if it does take place, it is based on
tremendous hatred and violence…
"Of course, if you are starving, then what you want is food. In fact,
food is what you need. [Not
money. Ed.]… People
with money have been willing to sacrifice thousands of human lives to
hold on to their wealth, and on the other side, people in need have been
willing to massacre their fellows for a grain of rice, a hope for a
penny in their pocket…
"But the real meaning of wealth is knowing how to create a gold like
situation in your life.”
And he says that this wealth comes from putting your own energy and
effort into caring for your world. And by doing the mundane and
sometimes dirty jobs for yourself, which not only saves you money but is
also more dignified. It is this dignity that makes one wealthy. In light
of this, I can now see that I am and have always been one of the
wealthiest people on the planet. This is because I usually clean, fix
maintain, tune, service, improvise or go without all my things quite
happily, although sometimes I do so with a little grumble of complaint,
as I’m not perfect.
The great ceremonial chief of the Teton Sioux, and holy man Frank Fools
Crow (1890-1989) in dialog with author Thomas E. Mails in the book
‘Fools Crow – Power and Wisdom’ discusses his abilities to lure
whatever he needs thus:
“How about money.” [Thomas asks]
“You can lure what you need, but that fancy new car you drive, you had
to get that with your natural power. Spiritual power is for other
things… My luring is always done for something for my people…”
“Some television evangelists,” [Thomas said] “claim that God
blesses people who give generously to their cause. What do you think
about this?”
“I have heard about that, and what they mean is, give generously to
them.” Fools Crow commented with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
“Lots of people have told me that with my curing powers I could become
a very rich man by demanding high payments. But that is not what Wakan-tanka
[God] wants me to do, and the power is His anyway. He has made it clear
that being rich does not bring happiness, and that it takes people’s
mind away from Him. Some time during their work (Ministry) the
evangelists will pay a big price for this misuse of power. No one abuses
the things of Wakan-tanka and gets away with it forever.”
Crowfoot, a Blackfoot Chief who was born in 1821, in what is now the
province of Alberta Canada, was quoted as saying the following in;
‘From the Heart – Voices of the Native Americans’:
“Our land is more valuable than your money. It will last forever. It
will not ever perish by flames of fire. As long as the sun shines and
the waters flow, this land will be here to give life to men and animals.
We cannot sell the lives of men and animals. It was put here for us by
the Great Spirit and we cannot sell it because it does not belong to us.
You can count your money and burn it without the nod of a buffalo’s
head, but only the Great Spirit can count the grains of sand and the
blades of grass on the plains. As a present to you, we will give you
anything we have that you can take with you; but the land never.”
In April of 1890, in his dying hours, his last words were of life, as
quoted in ‘Touch the Earth – A Self-portrait of Indian Existence’,
Compiled by T.C. McLuhan.
“What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the
breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which
runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.”
So money has served man’s life, but it has now well and truly gone
past its use by date in this throw away society and it is time we threw
it away and began a new social system based on love, compassion and the
connectedness of all things. But I’m always open for debate.
Maori Teachings
By: Dr. Rangimarie
(Rose) Turuki Pere
Te Wheke – The Octopus
The simple teachings reach into the past, present and future of the
ancient teachings of Hawaiki. The author’s learned teachers and
forebears from Ngati Ruapani, Tuhoe Potiki and Ngati Kahungunu received
insight and knowledge that had been transmitted to them over a period of
twelve thousand years.
Some of the knowledge has been written now. Such knowledge has been held
in trust through the spoken word, so that people outside the selected
students could not tamper with what was intended from the beginning.
Te
Wheke – The Octopus
Celebrate infinite wisdom in terms of the
ancient teachings of Hawaiki.
An explanation follows: The head represents the child/family. Each
tentacle represents a dimension that requires and needs certain things
to help give sustenance to the whole. The suckers on each tentacle
represent the many facets that exist within each dimension. The
tentacles move out in an infinite direction for sustenance when the
octopus moves laterally. The tentacles can also be intertwined so that
there is a merging, with no clear-cut boundaries. The dimensions need to
be understood in relation to each other and within the context of the
whole.
Natural Skin Care
By: Raven Wi’
Not only can herbs feed our
bodies cells, tissues and organs, but herbs can also nourish and
revitalize our hair, skin and nails. Our skin, which covers our muscles,
tendons and soft tissues, is the largest breathing organ of the body.
The body releases toxins and poisons through the pores of the skin in
the form of perspiration, oils and skin eruptions like acne, eczema and
seborrheal, to name just a few maladies that can become an unsightly
nuisance.
Human beings have pampered their bodies, skin, hair and health, since
before the beginning of recorded history, using natural substances
available to them. The ancient Egyptians used Kohl for their eyes, not
only for beauty, but also for protection against disease. They used
essential oils to anoint and perfume the skin. The Romans used herbal
face packs and soaked in flower-scented baths using essential oils and
the petals of flowers. Galen, a Greek physician in the 2nd century AD
developed the first basic recipe for cold cream.
Many cultures still use plants as their primary cleansing and
beautifying substances for their simple beauty preparations.
While healthy skin, hair and nails begins with a wholesome diet, low in
fats, sugars and processed foods, we must also take care of our
extremities and protect them from pollution, extreme weather, stress and
injury.
Following are some easy to make, natural recipes for body care. All the
ingredients, listed here, are widely available and many are sold in
drugstores or supermarkets, health food stores or, can be found out in
nature. Your preparations will not last as long as the ones you can buy
"ready made" because of the stabilizers and preservatives
added to the products. It is best to make small batches and keep them
refrigerated. For some skin lotions, you can add jojoba oil, which is
actually a liquid wax derived from the bean of a plant. Jojoba will not
become rancid which makes it a valuable carrier for many home remedies.
Remember to use caution if you have a history of allergies. You can test
your creams and other preparations by placing a small amount on a cotton
ball and taping it to the inside of your forearm for 24 hours prior to
actual use. This will give you an accurate assessment of the chemical
reaction to your body.
HERBAL FACE AND SKIN CARE
Facial Astringents - for deeper cleansing and tightening of the skin and
reducing pore size.
SUGGESTED HERBS:
Sage - Sage will make an excellent astringent Chamomile - Will make a
gentle astringent Yarrow with added Witch Hazel Extract (2-4 T*) for a
more bracing astringent
THE BASIC RECIPE
1/2 cup of Vodka
4-5 drops Tincture of Benzoin (available at most pharmacies)
1/4 - 1/2 cup dried or fresh herbs
Place herbs in jar and cover with vodka. Cover tightly with lid and
shake jar once a day for one week. Strain liquid into clean jar and add
the same amount of herbs to the liquid and shake occasionally for
another week. Strain liquid through a coffee filter into a clean jar,
and add Benzoin, shake well and refrigerate. Use once a day after
cleansing face.
HERBAL FACE TREATMENT
Great skin food and most beneficial if done weekly. The entire treatment
will cleanse and exfoliate the face, nourish and get the circulation
going to promote new cellular activity, tone and firm, and help diminish
fine lines.
ONCE A WEEK
Begin by cleansing with a gentle face lotion and rinse with warm water.
Try an herbal steam facial, which moisturizes, cleans the pores and
increases the blood flow to the surface of the skin. It is best to make
an herbal steam bath in a bowl because the herbs can clog the sink's
drain.
Use one or more of the following herbs:
1 T*. of crushed fennel seeds and mix with,
1 T. of dried peppermint or dried spearmint
2 T. of dried chamomile flowers
1 T. of dried elderberry or lavender flowers
2 tea** of powdered liquorice root or dried parsley.
1 T. of dried sage or yarrow leaves
1 Qt.*** of boiling water
Place herbs in a heat proof bowl and pour the boiling water over them.
Put your face over the bowl and tent a towel over your head and the
bowl. Keep your face about a foot away from the water and steam for 7-10
minutes. Pat your face dry, and apply a moisturizing cream to lock in
the dampness on your skin. This is also a good way to clear the sinuses
or treat a head cold. Pour boiling water over eucalyptus, tea tree
and/or peppermint for head congestion.
For deeper cleansing, follow with an exfoliating scrub.
For-oily-skin use herbs that are tannin-rich like agrimony, lady's
mantle, raspberry leaf or yarrow.
For dry, rough skin use flax seed, kelp or another mucilage rich herb.
Try adding a little aloe Vera to the mask.
For very dry skin use one egg yoke mixed with 1/4 of a cup of honey. Add
a little milk or yoghurt if the mask is too thick.
To stimulate the skin use peppermint, rosemary, elderberry flower or
eucalyptus leaf.
BASIC FACE MASK RECIPE
1 1/2 T. regular oatmeal
1 T. almond meal
1/2 cup boiling water
1 tea. dried rosemary leaves (substitute herbs in other recipes for the
rosemary)
Pour the boiling water over crumbled herbs and steep for a few minutes.
Strain. Add moist herbs to oatmeal and almond meal. Add just enough of
the herbal liquid to make a thick paste.
Wash face thoroughly, before applying the mask. You can then either
steam your face or lay a warm, wet washcloth on your face. Apply the
mask to your warm skin and leave on for 15 to 20 minutes, letting it dry
completely. Gently wash the mask off, with a soft wet washcloth. Pat dry
and apply a rich moisturizer.
A WONDERFUL SKIN TREATMENT
Papaya and cucumbers make the best natural skin treatments around. Both
of these wonderful edibles are great for dry flaky skin and blemishes.
Take a wedge of ripe papaya and scrape off the seeds. Scoop out the pulp
and mash it up. Smooth the pulp over your face avoiding eye area. Leave
on for a couple of minutes and wipe it off with a washcloth. Splash your
face with cool water.
Slice a cucumber and lay some of the pieces on your blemished skin for
10-15 minutes. This is great for puffy eyes too.
ALOE VERA COLD CREAM
1 T. aloe Vera gel
1/3 of a cup olive oil
1 T. white bee's wax
2 T. anhydrous lanolin,
2 T. Rose water
2-3 drops essential oil (choose either rose, lavender, eucalyptus or
peppermint)
Using a wire whip or blender, mix the aloe gel into the oil. Set aside
and melt the bee's wax with the lanolin in a double boiler or for half a
minute in the microwave. Slowly stir in the essential oil mixture. Stir
in the Rose water and the essential oil. Keep stirring until the mixture
starts to thicken. Pour into a jar and cap tightly.
The aloe adds a wonderful texture to this lovely, cleansing and
moisturizing cream.
ROSE WATER & GLYCERIN LOTION
This was very likely a favourite of our grandmothers and mothers. This
traditional mixture makes an effective basic moisturizer and hand
lotion. You can adjust the proportions according to your skin type and
the seasons.
For oily skin: mix 2/3 of a cup of rose water with 2 T. of glycerine.
For dry skin: mix 1/3 of a cup of rose water with 1/3 of a cup of
glycerine.
For rose water glycerine gel: Dissolve 1 tea. plain gelatine in 1/2 of a
cup hot water. Blend in 1 teaspoon oil of rose and 3 T. glycerine.
To make rose water: Add 1 teaspoon of soluble rose oil to 1/2 cup of
distilled water.
Blend the rose oil with glycerine until it is smooth and creamy. Pour
into a clean bottle and cover tightly.
*T. = Tablespoon,
**tea. = Teaspoon,
***Qt. = quart
By: Raven Wi’
Raven Song
By: Raven Wi’
Given in a Vision
in 1994
Raven Wings touch
the sun
Raven Wings for everyone
Hey Ya Hey Ya Hey
Hey Ya Hey Ya Hey, Hey, Hey
Fly with Raven in the sky,
Dance with Raven and fly high
Hey Ya Hey Ya Hey
Hey Ya Hey Ya, Hey, Hey, Hey
Sacred Dance to the drum
Wings outstretched to the sun
Hey Ya Hey Ya Hey
Hey, Ya Hey Ya Hey, Hey, Hey
Dance with joy for all to see
Dance with love for you and me
Hey Ya Hey Ya Hey
Hey Ya Hey Ya Hey, Hey, Hey
Shared by Raven Wi’
A PRAYER FOR BALANCE
By:
Lynn V. Andrews
Oh, Great Mother,
As I look out across the desert, Green from rain,
And the mountains in the distance,
I ask that you give me guidance along my path of heart,
I ask that you help me to understand my powers of creativity.
As the clouds above me cast shadows on the desert floor,
I know that
I have often lost my way,
And when the shadow aspects of myself diminish my life,
I become afraid.
Oh, Great Mother, Take my hand,
Help me to see the trail,
So that I may find my way home.
I am often tired these days.
I think sometimes that I will be bereft of balance forever,
That there is no one to help me.
But as I look at the great mountains in the distance,
As their silhouette is etched against the sky
With such clarity, I know that somewhere in my heart
I have known such clarity before,
And that you are there for me.
It is only me that sometimes refuses to see you.
And I will open my eyes now,
And I will see your face, just as the sunlight
bursting through the
clouds Illuminates the flowers all around me.
I will begin to shine as they do.
I am flowering for you, Great Mother.
I am lending my beauty to the universe for a short time.
And I realize that this life is a process
Of seed and stalk and growth and flowering,
And then death.
But death is only a rebirth back into spirit, a rebirth back into
life.
And you may call me anytime, Great Spirit,
Back into your arms.
So I am here for you, Great Mother,
I am here for you, Great Spirit,
I am like a hollow log
With your love and your energy flowing through me Forever.
Help me to walk in beauty and power
All the days of my life.
Ho.
Copied
with permission from:
‘Woman at the Edge of Two Worlds–Workbook’
Bull Chief Of the Apsaroke
Supplied
by: Margaret Bond W.A.
Art:
'Bull Chief Of the Apsaroke'
By: Margaret Bond W.A.
Bull Chief of the Apsaroke, or Mountain Crow, was born
around 1825. He was a member of the Fox warrior society, and was
placed four times at the head of the procession as they marched to
the celebration dance; this position was accorded only to the
bravest man present.
Bull Chief distinguished himself in battle against the Lakota, the
Nez Perce, the Shoshone and the Piegan. He reflected the
determination and personal strength that was required not only for
hunting and combat but in spiritual pursuits as well, like physical
isolation, fasting and rigorous physical rituals. The men of these
societies sought visions that would give them guidance and power.
Back
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Release
By
Lynn V. Andrews
Anytime you are possessed by an emotion that you cannot control,
know that it does not belong to you. Imagine that the negative
emotion is muddy water pouring down through your hands, legs, and
feet and into the earth. Or take that emotion into your hands and
release it like a hawk, let it fly away. We tend to hold on to fears
and negative energy in an addictive way. Release your fears and let
power come into you. Create a welcoming void within, through the
power of release. Release is one of the most important acts that you
can learn on your path to power.
Copied with permission
from:
‘The Power Deck’
Masculine
By: Lynn
V. Andrews
Carrying your gift of consciousness
from the heart of woman, of Mother Earth, trek toward the summit of
higher knowledge. Because of male and female imbalances, the earth
is in danger of dying. Remember that the power of the masculine
explodes as the power of the feminine implodes, and a sacred spiral
of life is set into motion. One cannot live without the other. The
masculine God is in search of the feminine Goddess. He brings gifts
of driving force to her powers of intuitive, creative receptivity.
Both are equal warriors in the fight against ignorance. Balance your
masculine and feminine energies through meditation and awareness of
when you are carrying a male or female shield. This is your struggle
in life and a great source of power for you.
Copied
with permission from:
‘The Power Deck’
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