A White Seashell Healing Circle

From the book, “Dancing With The Wheel – The Medicine Wheel Workbook,” by Sun Bear, Wabun Wind, and Crysalis Mlilligan (1991)


What you need:  Smudge materials, enough white shells to make a circle, (notebook, pen or tape recorder optional).


Estimated time:  One hour.

1.      After smudging an area, make a circle of white seashells large enough to lie in.  Lie down in the circle, inviting in the healing, cleansing powers of the ocean, water elements, and the powers of white that are purity, enlightenment, perfection, balance, peace, tranquility, and evolution.

2.      Allow yourself to doze off.  Be aware of your dreams. They can bring a message to you.

3.      After twenty minutes, or when it feels appropriate to you, slowly get up and dismantle the circle with a prayer of thanks to the different elements that were there for you.  You can do this exercise at the ocean with the additional healing elements of wind and the sound of the rolling waves.

4.      Write or record your impressions.

Raven Steals The Light - The Jesus & Mary Story

            Cherokee DNA when tested has historically tested as Middle Eastern and/or North African.  It is said that the Cherokee are considered one of the “Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.” In other words, the Cherokee are more Jewish than your typical American Jew.[1]  So would it be so unbelievable to find similarities between Native American tales and the stories we find in the Bible?

            For example, the story of “Raven Steals The Light.”  There are a few different versions of this story throughout Native America.  But this particular story I am sharing with you originates in Alaska, where darkness reigns from November through late January, depending on where you live within the state.

Raven Steals The Light

There once lived a very powerful and rich chief who had a beautiful young daughter. Somehow, the chief got the sun and the moon and he hung them up in his house. Because he had the sun and the moon, it became dark everywhere.

Because of the darkness, the people could not hunt or fish. When they went out to find wood to burn in their fires, they had to crawl around in the forest feeling with their hands until they found something which might be wood. Then they would bite it to make certain that it was indeed firewood.

Raven learned that the great chief had taken the sun and moon, so he went to his house to take it back. He asked the chief if he would return the sun and moon, but he would not. So the smart black bird devised a plan.

He saw how the chief's daughter went to a small stream to get water every morning, so he hid near there and waited for her to return. When he saw her coming down the trail, he turned himself into a fingerling, a tiny fish, and jumped into the water. After the girl arrived, she filled a bucket with water. Then she dipped her drinking cup into the stream and Raven, disguised as a fingerling, quickly swam into it. She did not see Raven and drank the water.

Inside her body, Raven turned into a baby and so the girl became pregnant. After a short time the daughter gave birth to a baby boy which was really Raven. The baby grew fast and was soon a young boy. The grandfather was very fond of his grandson and would do anything for him. One day the boy began crying for something.

The chief asked him, "What do you want, grandson?"

The boy pointed to the sun and moon hanging from the ceiling. The chief decided to let him play with them if it would make him stop crying. So the boy took them outside and played with them for a while, but then he threw them high into the air. When the old chief ran out to see what had happened, Raven became himself again and flew away. Since that time there has been light.

Do you see the similarities between this story and the Jesus and Mary narrative?

The four Gospels begin with birth/baptism/water. Jesus was born in the Age of Pisces (the two fish) to the Virgin Mary. The Chief’s daughter had a virgin birth. She didn’t get in the family way by having sex with a man.

In addition, the raven is referred to as a trickster; another word for trickster is magician. Jesus was a magician. He performed miracles.

Furthermore, to stop the suffering of man, God (the Chief) gave his only son (grandson) the light (knowledge) so the humans could see what was hidden in the dark.

Jesus was a teacher. He taught us all we need to survive and rise above this earthly existence; from the cradle to the grave. Jesus even goes as far as to tell us that we can do the same magic he has done. Because Jesus is not only the Sun of God, he’s the Son of Man.

John 14:12-14: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. I will do it.”

Jesus was not the only teacher among us. There are many – Buddha, Muhammad, White Buffalo Woman just to name a few. They all had the hearts of poets and like most poets they taught and inspire love.

You can call them just stories, but regardless of origin or religion they are very similar; just a different perspective of the same scenario.

One God, one people, and one Mother Earth. Peace out!

---

[1] https://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/cherokee-dna.htm

Fish Food - The Book of Life

I wrote my second book in 2017.  It's called, 

"Fish Food - The Book of Life."  

This is the gift God gave me to share with you.

You can get your copy at LuLu.com or Amazon.com

If you enjoy this blog, I guarantee you'll love "Fish Food."

If you would like an autograph copy, simply email:  WoMenHead101@att.net

Thank you!

For the Love of Music

30 some years ago I lived in San Diego County (El Cajon, California).  In 2017, the wife & I took a two week trip out West without any reservations or schedule.  While we were out and about, we decided to hit up San Diego.  They have the best Mexican food in the country.  So we made it our mission to watch the sunset on the West coast, eat tacos for breakfast and grab a 91X t-shirt.  91X is an independent radio station that specializes in Alternative music.  

We watched the sunset, and hit up a taco shop as soon as we arrived in San Diego.  Then it went all downhill from there.  We were unable to find any 91X apparel; apparently they discontinued selling such stuff, and I had to settle for an El Cajon Harley shirt.

I love San Diego and to this day I listen to 91X on my computer.  Well finally, 91X began selling clothing again.   On Christmas day I ordered a 91X shirt and it arrived on New Year’s Eve.  But I was bummed because I had just done my laundry and I refuse to wear anything that hasn’t been washed first.  

The next morning, as soon as I awoke, I threw that shirt in the washer, but then I realized that the Buckeyes were playing in the Rose Bowl, and there was no way I was going to wear any other shirt that day other than an Ohio State t.  So finally, tomorrow arrives and I put my new 91X shirt on, and I swear to God I feel like Batman. 

Maybe it’s a sign of things to come in the New Year.  Happy New Year to all – here’s to making dreams reality!

The Spirit of Money

THE SPIRIT OF INTIMACY, by Sobonfu Some’, whose name means “keeper of ritual,” was born and raised in Burkina Faso.  She was a member of the Dagara tribe of West Africa.  The following is a short excerpt from her book in regards to money.  After all, “tis the season!”

Many factors contribute to the frequency of divorce in the West – money, job conflicts, infidelity, anonymity, isolation.   These result from a lack of spirit’s blessing and of community support.  In the village, these are not issues.

You have to go back to the fact that everything in the village, including money, is spirit-based.  It is only when money is taken out of its spiritual context that it becomes this huge giant that we have to struggle with.  Money was originally intended for spiritual usage.  It was taken to shrines and placed there as an offering.  It wasn’t used as a source of power. 

It’s when we start to disconnect money from its original meaning that we disconnect it from spirit.  Then we start to use it as a source of power.  Just like intimacy.  When we disconnect it from its spiritual base, we cut off it roots, and it becomes this vague thing just floating around without any kind of focus.

In absence of spirit, money becomes connected to “mine” and “I” and it’s mine, it’s not yours.  It does not belong to the community and does not have anything to do with spirit.

People make money into a personal thing.  It becomes all negative power and no spirit, giving it so much more energy than what it has in reality.  In this case it can only become an obstacle that divides people.

In a place where spirit has been forgotten, a true sense of identity is likely to be missing.  And since we have to have an identity beyond our social security number, people base their identity on their work.  Many people cannot separate their identity from what they do in their professional life.

But when you have a true sense of identity, you don’t feel insecure about sharing what you have.  And you will never find yourself fighting over the demands of a job.  – Sobonfu Some (Author of “The Spirit of Intimacy”)

In Memory of Elsie Jane Hesson-Giesige

Jun 24, 1944 – Jul 20, 2018

I just found out this past Friday that my Aunt Elsie passed away.  She said she didn’t want a funeral, or anything along the lines of a celebration or a wake.  She even donated her body to science.  I tried to talk my mom into a get-together of the remaining family, but she said Elsie would get really mad if we did.  But I can’t help myself.

My aunt was there when my parents divorced in the early 70’s.  I didn’t know much of mom’s family at that time.  Mom had to go to work out of town and she talked Elsie into babysitting us in the evenings, while she was gone.

Elsie shared in my desire to watch the Twilight Zone.    She told me she went to school with Rod Sterling, right here in Ohio.  I don’t know if that was true or not, but Elsie was a classy gal.   She taught me the art of letter writing, and insisted that I write her letters in order to achieve a Girl Scout badge I was after.  She taught me how to embroider too.   

She was the best babysitter I ever had.  She helped me through a difficult time in my life.  She certainly would have made a great mom.  Elsie never had any children of her own, but after her best friend died, she raised her friends’ two boys. 

Mom said most of the family didn’t know Elsie, not even my cousins.  What a shame. 

Elsie and I lost touch over the years, but every once in awhile I would drop her line from wherever I was living at the time, and she would always write me back.   A couple of years ago I spoke to Elsie on the phone, before she had surgery on her heart.  I’m glad I did. After the surgery she wasn’t quite the same. 

Unfortunately she could no longer care for herself and was stuck in a convalescent home.  She still knew what the hell was going on though.  One day the nurse’s aids skipped my aunt when it came time to shower, and Elsie stripped herself naked and wheeled her way down the hall demanding they clean her now!  Laugh out loud, I can see me doing the same thing.

I see a lot of Elsie in me.   Although she didn’t want a funeral, I cannot let go without giving thanks. I could not find an obituary for her, so I share this story.  And I don’t give two hoots if she does get mad.   Elsie was a person; a human being, and a good one to boot.  She deserves way more than my silence; like I’m supposed to simply let go without a word?  No way!  I can be just a bull-headed as she can be! 

I’ll never forget her.   She is in my heart where she will live forever. 

“Thank you for being my aunt, and being there for us when we needed you Elsie.”

 

 

Elsie and Me
Elsie hated getting her picture taken too!  It's a very flattering picture though, so I don't think she'll mind.

 

Memorial Day Weekend

I mowed the back lawn this morning, and I finally dragged that huge old grill to the front of the house for the trash-man to pick up.   I see him drive past while the grill clings to the fence gate.  After trimming the yard, I have to remove 3.5’ x 6’ area of sand that had accumulated under the grill.  That means walking with a shovel full of dirt to the various holes the dogs dug out around the foundation of the house. 

There’s a swimming pool calling my name. 

I have to empty the rain water off the pool cover anyway, before it begins to drag the sides of the pool inward draining it of its water. 

After my little splish splash, I decide to read a book.  Within an hour I went inside to get my iPod and Bose speaker.    It’s not even noon yet, and I find myself in the pool again.  By now I have grabbed my pipe and lighter and decided it’s going to be a mental health day.

I feel a tug of guilt because it's only Thursday, and my wife’s at work, yet here I am enjoying myself.  So I get my laptop out, and I’m using my djembe (drum) as a patio desk.   That way I can say I did some work today, in an attempt to relieve the guilt.  Still, my room with a view is far better than my wife’s. 

But as I float on my back in the red-neck Rivera, I watch the small rolly pulley  wrens whistle and play within the ivy vine that climbs the tree.  “Wow, I see a baby red-headed woodpecker!”

I love woodpeckers!   They are drummers too.   I wonder if there is a nest within the vine.  He just jumped out from nowhere.

“Oh wow, and there’s a hawk circling directly above me!”  I catch glimpses here and there as the powerful rapture flickers in and out among the branches of the mighty oak tree.  “What a treat!”

I am so fucking blessed!  This day is a blessing!  Now comes the tanning oil, and eventually the Florida afternoon rain arrives, but the sun still shines. as water falls from the sky.   I just love it! 

The communion between humans, nature, and the holy spirits who watch us, protect us, and love us, is one to be respected and honored.  With great gratitude I thank you Creator for this special day.  And thank you to the lovers of life – regardless of which side of the curtain you’re on (and special hugs for my wife) ♥ 

Have a Happy & Safe Memorial Day Weekend!

Photo by Time