GATHERING WORDS

 

I love trails. I find them very hard to resist actually. They call to me. They seem to be aware of my unsatiated curiosity. I can walk tirelessly hour after hour, completely enveloped by the beauty around me. It is not the trail's end that intrigues and sparks my curiosity, as much as the step by step wonderment of the journey. Every wind and bend excites me. It is not the arrival of a destination that spurns me on, for with every place my foot gently kisses the earth and with each step I take, I have reached that destination in time. To focus on the end, would mean to miss the colors, sounds, sights, aromas, and textures of the things around me at the moment. So I am intrigued by trails, because to follow them leads to a deeper discovery of myself. They are trails that begin, wind and turn within my own heart. Unending trails, like my unending curiosity and delight in discovery. Trails are a divine path between my heart and our Creator's, where all the beauty He has made tells of Him. The fact that someone went before me and made a way for me, resounds the words, "This is the way, walk ye in it". :)  ... But there is so much more ...

I am reminded of a quote from Cleone Thunder of the Northern Arapahoe: “The old people would gather words as they walked a sacred path across the Earth, leaving nothing behind but prayers and offerings.”

Walking the trails reminds me how I learned very early in life the sacred art of gathering from watching the elders as they walked on in front of me. I learned the sacred way we are to gather herbs and plants and nuts … and I learned more and more over time how to gather words. Gathering words is a beautiful thing. Every stick and stone has a history. Each leaf and blade of grass has a story. When we are connected to the earth and living in harmony with all that inhabit her, we learn the language of the 4-legged … the winged … the water and those that swim, and of those that creep and crawl upon the ground. We learn to hear the clouds and the color language of the flowers. We learn the deep wisdom of the trees and the musings of the wildflowers. It is all about connectedness. It is all about being in tune with and aware of our environment as we walk along … gleaning from what we see, hear, smell and touch … allowing these beautiful messengers of Creator tell of Him and bring words of healing, guidance, and wisdom to our lives. We learn to be aware of our surroundings and what it is we are thinking and feeling as we walk along. This is the way we gather words.

I have learned from the elders that as we walk along we also gather the wisdom and prayers of those that have walked before us. And as we walk along, saturating the earth with our own prayers, we leave them for another to gather, who will walk this way later. It is believed that the earth absorbs these prayers and readily shares with those who will listen … and receive … and give ...

I love my long walks along the trails, through the woods and along the lakes. It is a beautiful way for my mind and my heart to be free … an open basket ready to gather beautiful words (and a few beautiful images with my camera). Try it and see for yourself ...

 

Listen to what nature is saying all around you. Pay attention to what your thoughts and emotions are as you experience what the earth has to share. Pick things up and examine them along the way. Touch things, smell things, stop and look closer at things, listen carefully to what you hear, and amuse yourself with the gleeful antics of the animals you encounter. Thoughts, feelings and prayers will change and be redirected with each touch and sound, with each new discovery you find. It is never too late to learn the sacred art of gathering and being a part of the sacred circle of connectedness. May the peace and wisdom Creator offers, fill you up as you gather words through His beautiful messengers all around you. Leave nothing behind but your prayers, good thoughts and offerings, so the one who comes after, like you, will gather abundantly.

 

SILENT WARRIORS

I had a recurring dream.

In it I could see and hear children happily playing with the earth,

connecting to it …

writing in it with sticks, 

working it with their hands, even tasting it at times.

We were created to connect with the earth. And yet, in recent times, man has ripped up the earth and carelessly built and paved … destroying the life-giving nutrients the earth has to offer. Man has filled the earth and water and sky with their poisons, man-made chemicals that were never meant to be a part of the natural world. And from the disunity and the segregation between man and earth , our children are sick, even dying. We have poisoned ourselves and our children, and our childrens’ children. Man has even gone so far as poisoning with harmful additives in food, and even worse, mercury and other harmful preservatives found in many household cleaners, soaps and immunizations. The rise in the  number of children on the autistic spectrum (or rainbow as I prefer to call it) has risen to epidemic proportions. The more poison we pump into our young ones with every generation,

the more adversely the children are affected.

Silent warriors … 

you so bravely face your world,

a world that has been less than generous to you.

Often in silence, trapped deep within yourselves …

wanting to speak …

wanting to communicate …

wanting to participate in life …

and yet unable.

Silent warriors … you so sweetly carry on, teaching a lost world, enduring the physical pain and emotional torment of what a decaying society has done to you.

 

Silent warriors … you are not alone.

Creator has not forgotten you.

Creator has not turned His face the other way

while your little bodies struggle to function.

 You are a wake up call to the world ..

To show them just how far they have fallen …

to show them how disconnected from the earth  they have come …

to show them the consequences of walking

in a way not in harmony with the earth, sky and water.

 

You, my little ones, are sadly the by-products of the poison man has made. My heart will beat for you when yours is too weary to bear this world. I will be for you a safe place when your senses are on overload. I will be the quiet voice who will encourage you because I believe in you. I will be the arms in which you can hide … to vent your frustrations and pain that comes with not being able to communicate like you would like to ... the pain associated with knowing you are different and not knowing why. I will be for you a shield where no one will point the finger at you … no one will speak ignorantly of you …

for you are very intelligent, though silent.

 You are very inquisitive, though silent.

You are very perceptive, though silent.

Your silence speaks louder than any spoken words can, and you , my sweet ones, are amongst the greatest teachers this world will ever know.

You are amongst the bravest warriors this world will ever know.

And I will pray without ceasing for you …

sending up smoke for you …

asking Creator to send forth His healing rain upon you …

and thanking Him daily for the privilege of knowing you and the gift of you that He has given me … and the joy it brings my heart to see the gift of each of you being unwrapped one bow at a time, with each babystep forward you make … each a marvelous achievement in my eyes … filling my heart with hope, that this thing called autism will soon pass … and the silent warriors of the autism rainbow will come forth and blossom, bringing forth the healing and wisdom the earth and those that inhabit her are so in need of today.

 

 

WINGS OF CHANGE

 

The owl is a magnificent bird and one I am very familiar with.

 

I know there are many teachings on the owl and many different people and cultures view them differently. A lot of people fear them and associate them with unpleasant things. I have NEVER feared an owl and I have NEVER associated them with unpleasant things. I was taught the owl is one of the sacred few who stayed awake for the creation of the world. For this reason, Creator gifted it with wisdom and a special ability to see into the night and see things hidden, and an acute hearing to hear things unheard. 

 

The owl is a sacred messenger. I have heard many teachings from other people of how the owl is associated with death and for that reason it is much feared. That is not my experience or the way I was taught. When the owl presents itself, it comes as a blessing and a sacred helper. It comes to take dead things away … not people per se, but the things in our lives that are dead or no longer needed that can cause us to become unbalanced if they are not removed. And many times things creep into our lives so gradually and set up camp that we do not recognize them for what they are and the negative effect they can have upon us … until the owl shows up.

 

The owl can peer into the night of our circumstances and see things for what they really are. The owl can look into the shadows of the heart and peer into the darkness to the depths of the soul and see what is there, and how it is effecting us now and how it will effect us later. On silent feathers it comes quickly, and quietly begins its work of cleansing and removal of the dead things within us and in our circumstances. That is what the owl does. It carries these things away so that we may restore our balance.

 

It is equipped with amazing hearing and is easily alerted to the silent agony of the heart, and it responds. I love the owl. I have great honor and respect for it and the sacred work it does. With owl, comes the removal of dead things and the promise of change.

 

My grandmother used to send owls to me. She somehow knew I needed them to follow me and watch over me. She would never interfere in my decisions or the things that happened in my life, but she always sent an owl to follow me by day and watch over me by night. And as a person who has lived through some horrific things that would have destroyed a lot of people who have experienced far less, I have remained for the most part, incredibly balanced. The Creator and my grandmother blessed me with the owl’s gifts, and even now, owl will show itself, when it is time to let go of something that will cause me harm and become terribly unbalanced in my spirit, mind, body and emotions.

 

But these are my personal experiences and beliefs about the owl. They are wonderful teachers as well. And each type of owl carries a unique medicine. Creator equipped them in a wonderful way. I have been taught that the reason the owl moves its head rather than its eyes to see, is to teach us to remain focused in the way we need to go so we are not distracted by things that do not concern us or that would lead us astray. 

 

Their vision is so powerful and acute that it is believed to have the power to see into the future. In this way, Creator often sends this winged messenger to us to help us on our life journey, to help us get to the places we are meant to go, so we can do the things that we are meant to do.

 

The owl comes to us on wings of change and if we receive its message willingly, it can lead us to a better place of balance, through the night, into a bright new day.

 

WHERE WATER MEETS ICE

 I have always found great comfort in bears. Ever since I was a small child, I have been especially drawn to the polar bear. Every documentary, every book, every picture and every zoo visit,  I always found myself drawn to the polar bear's eyes. It was the bear's eyes that spoke the loudest to me. I was a child who knew much fear, and in the depths of the polar bear's eyes, fear was not present. It was the absence of fear that drew me to it. I found a great comfort in this magnificent creature who possessed a quality I so much desired. And it was in this bear's presence, my fearful heart was still. I would get lost in its eyes, as the bear's spirit recognized my own and its coal black eyes could see right through me, and could see with crystal clarity the fear that was within. It knew it had a medicine I was so very much in need of.

I learned early on in the teachings of the medicine wheel how our emotions are fluid like the water. This particular bear can be found in places where the water meets the ice and it possesses a powerful medicine to those who have struggled emotionally and have been frozen by fear. It gives a voice to the ones whose words have been swallowed by it.

The polar bear has an acute sense of smell and uses it to hunt. One of its hunting methods is what is termed "still hunting" where the bear lies in wait near a seal's breathing hole in the ice. When the seal exhales, the bear is able to smell its breath and reach in with a mighty paw and sweep a seal out of the water. It is able to smell fear as well. And if we allow this powerful bear to teach us, it will show us how to smell fear and sweep it away by following its example.

The polar bear's feet are highly adapted to walking on ice. The padding on the bottom serves as an anti-skid device making it easier for it to maneuver over snow and ice without slipping. It teaches us the importance of developing sure footing, and a confidence to stand, without slipping and sliding across the ice we know as frozen emotion. These magnificent and exceptionally large feet also help the bear to swim, making it move easily through emotional waters where fear often hides.

Polar Bears are exceptionally insulated with blubber and 2 very thick layers of fur - a thick, dense under layer and an outer layer of guard hair that is actually hollow and transparent. This special physical trait of the bear serves to protect it from the freezing temperatures and teaches us the importance of protecting and insulating ourselves from the paralyzing effects of fear and frozen emotion. It helps us to see fears for what so many of them are ... hollow and transparent, empty and void of power once we are able to recognize them and see through their source of deception.

I have great respect for the strength and power of the polar bear.

It is a great teacher and an incredible healer ...

and shows us just how to say PHHFFFFFT in the face of fear. :)

 

TRUE COLORS

 

This is my favorite time of year. The colors and aromatic scents of autumn are exhilerating to me. I know when I begin to see the great bear's blood upon the leaves, that they will soon be making their departure from the branches that hold and support them.

It is the fallen leaves that touch my heart so.

Each has a story.

Each has a truth.

Each has a sacred purpose.

The trees do not drop these leaves because they are worthless and no longer useful.

These leaves provided nourishment and shelter;

they were homes and resting places.

Each leaf touched another life somehow.

As the leaves begin to fall, the trees do not cast them away as

yesterday's glory, but rather they freely release the leaves to dance

upon the wind so they may add to their story, and touch even more

with their truth and sweet purpose, in their return to the earth mother.

 

They are not severed from the branches that once held and

supported them, but rather, free to fly, allowing the tree time

to rest for the bringing forth of new leaves who will have divine

destinies of their own. It is a beautiful and delicate cycle.

 

The leaves themselves may be dead,

but never their truth and never their purpose.

They simply live on in other ways.

 

For what is a story, if it is not shared?

And what is a truth if it is selfishly held on to?

The trees release the leaves to be a continued blessing.

Every leaf I see touches my heart in its own way as I remember its story

and recognize the blessing of its present reality

as it journeys on its sacred mission to winter places.

 For as the earth nods off in winter slumber,

within the fallen leaves,

there rests sweetly the plants and animals

which will emerge again in the spring.

The leaves tell us in their own colorful way ...

if you have a story, tell it;

if you have a truth, share it;

if you have a purpose, do it ...

 for these are the things that endure and live on.

 

BLUE HERON'S TRAIL

Spent the day yesterday, walking the Blue Heron Trail. It wasn’t a preplanned event, but it was the way my heart told me to go. And of course, the first thing  to greet me when I arrived at the marsh was the blue heron. 

 

The wind off the marsh was strong and made it hard for me to stand perfectly still, unlike the heron, who stood motionless, unmoved by the winds. It just stood there, peering deep into the water.

Though my heart was greatly drawn to the silent strength this bird was exhibiting, I was not as focused as the heron was, and was seeking shelter from the wind that was making it hard for me to even walk across the bridge.

I headed across the bridge to the other side, where there were many trails to explore. As I approached the other side, the thunder of the wind was silenced by a greater thunder - a shriek, which took me by surprise. A greater blue heron flew above me, calling, and as I watched it fly over, I noticed it flew in the direction of a path called The Blue Heron Trail. It wanted me to follow. It had called to me, so I would not miss where it wanted me to go.

 

So I chose to pursue my friend down the trail honoring its name and this encounter had me thinking even deeper. 

I walked, lost in thought, only to be brought around again by  other blue herons standing motionless, peering into the depths. Each heron I saw was deeper into the water than the one before it.

Emotions are a fluid thing, like the waters. There are times when it is necessary for us to look deeper into those emotional waters and examine closely what is there. It is necessary for healthy growth, to recognize what is there, what should be there and is not,  and what does not even belong there. It is a time to look honestly at the heart through the cloud of emotions and understand the reason(s) for the things we feel and align these feelings once again with truth.

 

I have been taught that the deeper the heron stands in water, the deeper our self-reflections should be. The heron is a good teacher in this way. It is a solitary bird, an intensely focused bird. It can teach us the way of quiet strength and self discovery as we look deeper into ourselves.

 

It takes great courage and focus to face our emotions sometimes. For the emotions can be tricky as much as they are delicate. In the deeper, clear waters much is seen:

like examining the places where the wings of the heart have been torn;

 

Or facing the pains of being pulled apart where we have felt vulnerable and exposed;

Or recognizing and understanding our motives that disguise themselves as something else;

 

Or feeling taken advantage of and trampled underfoot;

No matter how difficult it is to sort through emotional debris at times, the encouraging thing is that there is always room to continue growing.

By coming to the place where our feelings and truth align and balance, the heart will find a way.

It is often a slow process …

But the heron invites us into the deeper waters of reflection and encourages us to focus …

to take the time to sit motionless and examine ourselves from within, until all that reflects back at us, is pure beauty.