Spring is Here! It Is Time to Step Out from The Closet!
I can hear you all now, eweeeeeeee what closet is bear talking about? Well I hate to disappoint you all but I am speaking of the many closets that exist out there…Why, because many of us are there hiding in them and if we really look closely and were really honest about it we would see ourselves peeking out from some form of a closet that we have been hiding in.
Each closet may be a bit different but the purpose remains the same… fear…and once we settle in that place of fear, hiding there seems easier than stepping out into the light where everyone can see us as imperfect. And the thought of that is terrifying; I know I have been there many times throughout my life.
Is it hard to come out, sure it is…
How hard is it to come out and tell people you are in bankruptcy?
Or looking your family in the eyes and saying I am gay?
How hard is it to hide in a closet if you cheated on your partner?
Or looking at your kids and telling them you are divorcing their dad or mom?
How hard is it to tell your parents something you fear will disappoint them, no matter how old you are?
It is not that one or the other is harder…for they are all hard.
So why is it we compare our closets without looking in our own?
All closets are hard… one is not better or worse than the others…one is not easier than another…for they are all hard…
At one point or another we all jump into the closet and hide, because they feel safe for us…at least for a little while. We can hide from what is on the other side of the door of that closet. No matter what our reasons are however, it is not a healthy place to live.
So why is it so hard, because we make it so, we worry about what others are going to think how they are going to react and I get that I truly do. We worry about loosing people over the issues, what is going to happen when the cat is let out of the bag.
Why? Because they all cause stress, it is normal and it is something that our brains do and is absolutely normal. Yet what happens when we choose to stay in the closets for long periods of time, not sharing the worries, concerns or secrets we have been holding on to so tightly? We play havoc with our own bodies for holding stress in can bring on illness, disease, heart attacks, it throws us off balance emotionally , physically even sometimes socially.
So what places us in there, what makes us step into that dark space behind the closet doors? Fear…fear puts us in the closet and we continue to feed it by hiding in the closet.
Okay so take a deep, deep breath and turn the knob on the door and step out of the closet.
Be real positive about it, be ready to get real back when you do. Take a step to release the fear. Authenticity…Be Direct, apologize if you need to for something you have done. However be unapologetic….do not apologize for who you are, never for who you are, for you are human like the rest of us, perfect in your imperfections.
Write your own story. Remember, if you feel scared in that closet you are not alone. It is hard but no matter what your closet is made of or where it is… there are others just like you waiting to do the same… so step out into life, and remember closets are not made for living… but the World is.
Let us focus on causing a change of Positive thought
Of positive being….
For all those who have dreamt, for all those who have sacrificed, and for those who continue the fight for peace… may the light of the Holy Father Creator Shine on you and continue to add strength and courage to your being….
I call to the sacred winds…to carry my words
To the Grandmothers and Grandfathers of the North, the south, the east, the west, Above …below and within…
I call to the sacred winds to carry my words to the Winged ones…the Four Leggeds…the Plant People…the Crystal Keepers, the Thunder Beings, the Angelic Realm…Mother Mary and Magdalene…my Brother Christ and all the nations that love us.
I thank you for all the many blessings that you have shared with us today and beyond and I ask that you hear our prayers whether spoken our held silently within our hearts.
Today I ask that you hear our prayers as we stand humbly before you, small and human.
Help us to remember we are all but a tiny part of a great universe, that we are all connected as one…
Bring us the strength we need to walk our paths without ego or judgment…
Allow our hearts to hear what our ears are missing
Teach us how to allow forgiveness for others and ourselves
Fill our being with the unconditional love that you so freely offer all.
I call that we be reminded we are all no better than or less than one another.
Guide us through our days, to help us with our humanness…that we learn to reconnect with others in gentle and positive ways.
May our energies join together and be added in a never ending stream of healing, Grace and Understanding… may it encompass and wrap around all life …in gentleness
I call to you oh Ancestors … who have sacrificed so much and asked for so little in return… help to guide and encourage us to walk a dream that is not forgotten, a dream that will guide us to a way of peace for all living things….
As we speak these words and they fill our hearts and spirit… may it be so…
I thank and honor all that have heard our prayers and answered them…
Aho…
To you all take this peace we have shared with each other this day…and spread it around to all those who will listen and more so to all those who will not… Be the light of reminder… the dream that is not forgotten … the dream of one nation of human living in peace…
“We don’t choose our totems. Our totems choose us!” This is one of the first basic concepts of Totems.
Totems are hard to explain at times, but what we need to understand is what a totem is before we can comprehend what it means to follow their teachings. Once we understand the concept, it helps us to learn the messages they then have to offer and teach us.
A totem shows up to us as a spiritual sign or entity. They come to share and teach the knowledge they hold to help and assist us with our own lives, how to relate to others and the world around us. Totems are not worshiped, we follow the teachings they offer, we incorporate the way they deal with life into our own to help us move in positive steps on our paths.
We don’t control them and often it is difficult to explain our draw or affinity to them… yet there is a deep connection inside of us that responds to them when the show up in our lives. Why we ask ourselves… because it is natural to do so.
Walking with a totem will put certain disciplines in place for us that are not always easy to walk. The knowledge and lessons they share with us are rather set as goals to be like or a way of life to aspire to.
They come in many forms and will often show up at just the right time in our lives, and sometimes they will walk with us our entire life cycle, keeping spiritual watch over us. They will show up in our lives as an animal we are drawn to, such as a wolf, a bear, an eagle, lion or elephant, a tiger.
People often ask what is my animal totem? How do I know if I have one?
My reply is to open yourself up to the possibilities, look around your life at the pictures or items you collect, we all have them whether it is a honey bee or a bear, a snake or a turtle…. They are all there to share with us wisdom that will help enrich our life and challenge our souls to grow into the positives that are possible. Teaching us to cope, deal, create and live happy and productive lives.
Follow me as I take you through a journey of discovery each week in to the World of Totems… and during the week with my Card of the Day!
Learn what the World of Spirit and Totems will share with each and every day with us if we will only open to it!
Mitakuye O’yasin
~ bear Medicinewalker
Music by Joseph Strider available at http://josephstrider.com/
“Smoke ’em if you got em” Hawks Flight
There is a story of creation the Cherokee People one that speaks of a female sun as well as what is called an Earth Diver. It begins at a place beyond memory, when the world was covered with water. When all life, all that was Sacred lived in Galunlati or what is known as the vault in the sky beyond the rainbow. A place that was so crowded the creatures could barely move around.
The creatures decided to seek a solution to this discomfort and it was decided that they would send the Water Beetle down to the watery earth below. The Water beetle bravely dove down into the waters and soon surfaced bringing with him a gob of mud that he began slowly to spread out in order to create a surface. This surface soon became the earth-island. Soon after Creator attached the sky using four pieces of rawhide tied to the four sacred mountains that lie in the Four Sacred Directions. The Beetle smiled at Creator.
Yet still the earth was muddy and too soft for the creatures to live upon. So it was then decided that Buzzard would be sent down to locate a dry spot in which the creatures could dwell. Finally he came upon a place where the mud was drying out. The Buzzard then took his great wings and used its wide wingspan to flap creating mountains and valleys. The Buzzard smiled up at Creator.
When the land was ready the other creatures began to migrate down from beyond the rainbow. As they arrived they were saddened to find that their new home was dark with no light. So they decided to pull Sister Sun down from the vault of the sky showing her the path she should follow each day. She agreed and smiled at them and Creator.
Soon Creator sent the plants down to live among the animals and sustain them, asking that the plants and the animals all stay awake for seven days. Most of the creatures fell asleep before the time was up, but Owl stayed awake and was given the power of night vision.
Some of the plants also managed to stay awake the entire time and they, the cedar, pine, holly, spruce and a few others were then permitted to keep their hair throughout the year. The other plants were told they would have to shed their leaves each year when the cold began and grow them again when the weather began to warm up, testimony to their sleep and broken promise to the Creator.
Creator then decided to form a man and a woman. The man proceeded to press a fish against the woman, which made her grow large and eventually give birth to a child. Every seven days she gave birth to another child, until the Creator decided to place a cycle on her so that she could have a new child only once a year. This is how we, the Cherokee People came to be.
Good day all! Welcome to a the world of bear…today I would like discuss a bit about Kachina’s…
The Hopi people believe there are two forms of everything on the planet: physical and spiritual. The word “katsinum” means spirit, and this is where the word “Kachina” comes from.
The story of how the Kachina came to the Hopi people starts off long ago in a village of our ancestors. Drought had taken hold of the lands and people for many years. Slowly as the food stores ran out the people began to die. When it was thought that all hope was lost, the Kachina Spirits saw the people suffering and took pity on them. They decided to show themselves and materialized in human-like form to teach them how to grow food, bring rain and heal the sick through prayers of song and dance.
At first the people were very afraid of the Kachina’s, thinking they maybe evil because they had never shown themselves before. So the villagers they began to gather their weapons to drive them away. The Kachina’s, however, blessed the people through song and dance; and produced gifts of food for them and helped to heal the sick, they brought the rains back the thirsty crops. So, thankful to the Kachina’s the Hopi people asked them to become a part of their tribe. And it became so and in the village they all lived together for many years.
As time passed the people began to get lazy. No longer hungry or dependent on the weather to assist them with their crops, they began to neglect their sacred way of life. Fields were choked with weeds, husbands and wives became promiscuous, and elders who could no longer care for themselves were forgotten. Children were left alone crying and dirty, and their homes began to crumble.
The Kachina’s seeing that because they had with the Hopi people, things came to easy to the villagers and they soon forgot how to be humble, how important the need for prayer and honor were. So they decided that it would be best to return once again to where they had come from, thus allowing the people to return to the rightful way of life.
The people realizing what was about to happen begged the Kachina’s to stay, but their pleadings were denied. However before leaving the villages, the Kachina’s agreed to teach the Hopi people once again how to prepare offerings, ceremonial dress, songs and dance for how to harnessing the power of the elements. Only then, once they understood how to once again be humble …to honor the cycle would the Kachina spirits deliver their prayers to higher deities to bring rain, bountiful harvests, health and happiness to all the people of the world.
Now I will share with you the story of the Blue Kachina…
This story of the Blue Kachina is a very old story, I was told this story when I was in my teens by grandmothers that attended a gathering I was at. I was intrigued and remember it well.
“It was said that first the Blue Kachina will start to be seen at the dances, and would make his appearance known to the children while the night dance was occurring. When this happens it will warn us that the end times are very near. Then the Blue Star Kachina will physically appear in our heavens which would mean again that we are in the end times.
It is foretold that in the Final days we will look up in our heavens and we will witness the return of the two brothers who helped create this world in the birthing time, the guardian of the North and his Brother the guardian of the South. In the final days the Blue Star Kachina, who is Uncle to the two guardians will return to be with them and they will return the Earth to its natural rotation which is counter clock wise.
If we look to the many petroglyphs within the Mayan and Egyptian pyramids we also can see evidence it this story. The rotation of the Earth has been manipulated by not so benevolent Star beings. The twins will be seen in our North Western skies. They will come and visit to see who still remembered the original teachings flying in their flying shields. They will bring many of their star family with them in the final days.
The return of the Blue Star Kachina will be the alarm clock that tells us of the new day and new way of life, a new world that is coming. This is where the changes will begin. They will start as fires that burn within us, and we will burn up with desires and conflict if we do not remember the original teachings, and return to the peaceful way of life.
It is important to understand that these messages will be found upon every living thing, even within our bodies, even within a drop of our blood. All life forms will receive the messages from the Guardians… those that fly, the plants, even the rabbit. The appearance of the Guardians begins a period of seven years that we will have the opportunity to change, to remember and honor the old ways, the Sacred… Everything that we experience is all a mater of choice, and if we choose correctly we bring back together a world that will reunite, balance and a sacred way of life.
Let us raise our intentions to our consciousness and voice by sending healing energies and prayer up this day… Today I pray for all those who ask, all those in need, all those who do not ask … I pray that we are given the strength, the joy and the love that is needed in our days…
I call to the sacred winds…to carry my words
To the Grandmothers and Grandfathers of the North, the south, the east, the west, Above …below and within…
I call to the sacred winds to carry my words to the Winged ones…the Four Leggeds…the Plant People…the Crystal Keepers, the Thunder Beings, the Angelic Realm…Mother Mary and Magdalene…my Brother Christ and all the nations that love us.
I thank you for all the many blessings that you have shared with us today and beyond and I ask that you hear our prayers whether spoken our held silently within our hearts.
Today I ask that you hear our prayers as we stand humbly before you, small and human.
Help us to remember we are all but a tiny part of a great universe, that we are all connected as one…
Bring us the strength we need to walk our paths without ego or judgment…
Allow our hearts to hear what our ears are missing
Teach us how to allow forgiveness for others and ourselves
Fill our being with the unconditional love that you so freely offer all.
I call that we be reminded we are all no better than or less than one another.
Guide us through our days, to help us with our humanness…that we learn to reconnect with others in a gentle and positive way. Offering smiles when they are needed without thought, shoulders or ears to help ease another…and words that will uplift or soothe.
Keep our children safe and strong in this troubled world… I ask that on this day and days to come…guidance is shared with our children to help them as they walk their paths. Help open their eyes so they can learn and see the right way of things, teach them to respect all life no matter how small, open their ears and minds so that they may understand things that are being taught to them in a good and gentle manner…open their hearts so that when the harshness of the world falls at their feet, they can cope and handle it with compassion and understanding.
I ask that today and all days ahead, that we honor the traditions and the teachings of our Ancestors. Remembering to offer prayer and thanks for all the blessings in our lives.
That we remember to think of others comfort before our own by assisting our Elders and caring for our children and each other. That we choose correctly and we bring back together a world that will reunite, balance and a walk in a Sacred way of life.
I thank all those who have walked with us and answer our calls…this day and in days to come…and honor you …AHO
So my wish to you all today is that we take some time to honor the Ancestors, to think about choices that we make…and that we choose the right ones that will balance us and help us honor the Ancient Guardians…
May your day be bright and filled with faith. For it is way past time we remember we are all related.
Mig’wetch
~bear Medicinewalker
“Dancin’ in the Light” from Wind Dreamer and Jan Michael Looking Wolf. Available on I tunes and at http://www.lookingwolf.com/
Most of the Peoples Nations have stories about the ‘Sacred Pipe’. Many of you may think of it as a Peace Pipe. Hollywood has glamorized the pipe through old western movies. Yet they could not be farther from the truth.
Sacred Pipe is to the Native American People as the cross would be to Christian cultures. The pipe, in many forms is prevalent in most tribal cultures around the world. Every Nation has used the pipe in some form of ritual and have passed the stories of where the pipe came from. One of the more well known is the Lakota story of the White Buffalo Woman bringing and sharing wisdom’s with them.
It is not important how the pipe first arrived, or who it came to first. What is important is that the pipe is revered as a sacred item and was a gift handed to us by The Creator. The Sacred Pipe was brought to all people of this world, for we all must share this world, as one race …the Human race This story shows the importance once again of the Pipe as means to Prayer, Balance and healing.
At a time when the world was new, a tribe of red skinned people came to live on the lands around The Blue Smoke Mountains. This is a time animals of the world still spoke to all of us teaching us how to live and care for the land. These people were called “Ani Yun Wiya” or the One True People. In this tribe lived a brave warrior woman.
She was called ‘Arrow Woman’. As a young woman she was taught to use the bow, the spear and the knife. Even though it was a man’s job to hunt and fight, Arrow Woman could shoot straighter with the bow than any man. She could throw the knife so as split a branch no bigger than your thumb and she could throw the spear into eye of a hawk in flight. Because of all this, no one would tell her to act like a woman should within the tribe.
One day while on a hunt, Arrow Woman came upon the tracks of “Yona” the bear. She saw blood on the ground and knew him to be wounded, so she followed his tracks high into the mountains. Soon she came to a place that she did not know. It was at this place, a place known only to the animals that she finally saw “Yona” the bear. He had a deep gash in his side. As she watched him, he bowed down in prayer. She saw him bowing toward a large field of tall grass and speaking words that she had not heard before. Suddenly, the grass shimmered and became a lake. Arrow Woman saw “Yona” the bear, dive into the water. After a time he emerged from the water, his side was completely healed.
“Yona” the bear looked up and saw Arrow Woman walking towards her he spoke, “This is the sacred lake of the animals. It is called, ‘Atagahi’ and its location is known only to the animals. It is where we come for healing and strength. You are the first human to see the Sacred Lake. You must never tell your kind of it’s location for it is the home of ‘The Great Uktena’. After speaking to her “Yona” the Bear turned and walked into the woods and disappeared.
Arrow Woman sat and contemplated all that had occurred. Yet she was tired from following “Yona” all day and needed to rest a while. So she built a small fire next to the lake, and sitting down she began to prepare a meal that she had brought with her. She reached over and took a drink of the water from the lake as she did Arrow Woman felt instantly refreshed. Amazed, she felt strong as Yan’si the Buffalo, and as if she could run faster than Coga the Raven could fly. The woods were quiet, the Sacred Winds where sleeping, Father Sun was shining bright, the surface upon the lake was completely calm, Arrow Woman began to get sleepy.
It was at this time that ‘Uktena’ appeared to her. As a child she had been told of him yet no one in her tribe ever claimed to have seen him. High above the water he raised his great serpent’s head, the jewel in his forehead glistening. He began to move toward her. Arrow Woman grabbed up her spear and stood up to face the great creature coming to her, standing proud, showing no fear, the way any warrior should. She raised her spear and prepared to strike the huge beast.
Uktena stopped a short distance from her. He smiled at her, showing his fierce rows of teeth he began speaking to the brave woman on the bank of his lake, “Put down your weapons for I mean you no harm. I come only to teach.” Arrow Woman laid down her spear and began to relax, somehow knowing He spoke truly.
Uktena told her to sit and to listen. He then dipped his head below the surface and came back up a moment later. In his mouth he had a strangely crooked stick and a leather pouch. These things he laid on the ground in front of Arrow Woman. Then the teaching began.
“This that I have laid before you is the Sacred Pipe of The Creator. Pick up the pipe. The bowl is of the same red clay The Creator used to make your kind. The red clay is Woman kind and is from the Earth. Just as a woman bears the children and brings forth life, the bowl bears the sacred tobacco and brings forth smoke. The stem is Man. Rigid and strong the stem is from the plant kingdom and like a man it supports the bowl just as man supports his family.”
He then showed Arrow Woman how to join the bowl to the stem saying, ” Just as a man and a woman remain separate until joined in marriage so too are the bowl and stem separate. Never to be joined unless the pipe is used.” Uktena then showed her how place the sacred tobacco into the pipe and with an ember from the fire lit it so it burned slightly. He then spoke these words, “The smoke is the breath of The Creator, When you draw the smoke into your body, you will be cleansed and made whole. When the smoke leaves your mouth, it will rise to The Creator. Your prayers, your dreams, your hopes and desires will be taken to Him in the smoke. Also the truth in your soul will be shown to Him when you smoke the pipe. If you are not true, do not smoke the pipe. If your spirit is bad and you seek to deceive, do not smoke the pipe.”
Uktena continued his lesson well into the night teaching Arrow Woman all of the prayers used with the pipe and all of the reasons for using the pipe. He finished just as the moon was beginning her nightly journey across the sky in search of her true love. He told Arrow Woman to wrap the pipe in cloth, keeping the parts separate. With this done He told her that she would never again be able to find this place but to remember all that she had learned. He then returned to depths of the lake. Arrow Woman saw the water shimmer and become again the field of grass. She left, taking with her the pipe and her lessons and a wondrous tale. Ever since that time, the People have used the sacred pipe and never again has any man seen the sacred lake of Uktena.
The Sacred Pipe is not a symbol of things that are sacred. The Pipe itself is sacred. Not everyone is called upon to be a pipe bearer. The person who carries the pipe and practices the pipe ceremonies and traditions has a great responsibility to his brothers and sisters, his land and country and to the Great Earth Mother.
The pipe bearer does not ‘own’ the pipe that they carry. They simply carry the pipe until the time comes for them to pass it to the next bearer. The pipe bearer is given certain powers of sight from the pipe as well as an ability to heal and purify. Should the bearer fall from grace and become a liar, thief, neglected their duties when asked, or become deceitful, the pipe would repossess these gifts and then the possibility of misfortune for the former bearer may exist.
I ask that today and all days ahead, that we hear the words of this Pipe story, that like the pipe we honor and respect ourselves, treating tradition and ceremony as Sacred. That we understand our responsibilities that we carry as we walk. Accepting the great gift Creator has asked us to care for…our human selves.
So my wish to you all today is that you have heard the words I shared today, and it helps you to stop and think, we are all sacred…we have all been given a great gift and responsibility. Our human self is like the pipe that was shared with the Ancestors in time long ago…but that to this day it is to be considered Sacred. So treat yourselves with honor… with respect… for like the pipe…we do not ‘own’ this human vessel that holds our soul. It simply carries us our soul until the time comes for us to journey to the next realm.
Blessings,
bear Medicinewalker
“Prayers from Within” by Award Winning Musician Jan Micheal Lookingwolf available at http://www.lookingwolf.com/
In the beginning there was only blackness, no one could see anything. People kept walking into each other and stumbling around blindly. Soon they gathered to discuss the problem, “What we all need is to be able to see.” They all agreed but were not sure what to do, they needed to find light.
Fox said he knew others on the other side of the world who had plenty of light, but they were too greedy to share it with anyone. Possum said he would be glad to steal a little of it. “I have a bushy tail, I could hide the light inside all that fur.” It was agreed and decided he could try to get some light for them all, so he set out for the other side of the world. There he found the sun hanging in a tree and lighting everything up. He quietly crept over to the sun taking from it a tiny piece of light and stuffing it into his tail. But the light was too hot and it burned all his fur. Soon the people discovered his theft and took back the light, and ever since, Possum’s tail has been bald.
“I will try,” said Buzzard. “I know better than to hide a piece of stolen light in my tail, I will place it on the top of my head.” He flew to the other side of the world and swooped straight into the sun seizing it with his claws. He then placed it on his head, where it proceeded to burn all his head feathers off. The people seeing him on fire and trying to steal what was theirs, grabbed the sun away from him, and ever since that time Buzzard’s head has remained bald.
Grandmother Spider said, “I will try!” So she set about the task of making a thick walled pot out of clay. Next she spun a web reaching all the way to the other side of the world. The fact that Grandmother Spider was so small, none of the people in the village of the sun even saw her coming. Quickly Grandmother Spider snatched up the sun and placed it in the bowl of clay carrying it back home along one of the strong strands of her web. Now her side of the world had light, and everyone rejoiced.
Grandmother Spider brought not only the sun to the Cherokee, but fire with it and she taught the Cherokee people the art of making pottery.
“I am Dedicated to Educating and sharing the Native culture with the World. It is not enough merely to teach the ways of our Elders. We must honor those traditions by sharing and educating the World. Inspiring others …Inspiring our Youth. Through the Music… the Arts…the stories…” Mitakuye O’yasin ~bear Medicinewalker
“Join Me as I continue the Sacred Hoop Project into this Year 2016…the year of Truths!”
