Honoring Land Ancestors, The Osage

Today, walking in Overland I noticed a sign that mentioned an old Indian burial ground... I wandered behind a church and said a prayer on the grassy slope there... honoring ancestors. I decided to research the native American, indigenous people of the st Louis area...

The largest and most powerful tribe was the Osage.

Here we see an Osage warrior.

"The men are tall and perfectly proportioned. They have at the same time all the physical qualities which denote skill and strength combined with graceful movements. . . .

by Charles Evret de Saint-Me

". . . their ear[lobe]s, slit by knives, grow to be enormous, and they hang low under the weight of the ornaments with which they are laden. There is a complete lack of beard and eyebrows on their faces, for they carefully pull out the little hair which happens to grow there.

"Their calm, dignified faces show great shrewdness; there is something soldierly and serious about the expression. Their hair is black and thick. The Osage shave their heads, except for the top, from which two strands of hair branch off and grow straight back to the occiput, where they form a tuft which falls to the lower part of the neck; between these strands grow two braids, the beauty of which consists in their length. . . .

"The [Osage Indians] seldom go out without painting themselves; the colors they use are, first, vermillion, then verdigris [greenish-blue], and then yellow, which they buy from the trader; lacking these, they use ochre, chalk, or even mud.

"The Osage always paint red that part of their head around their hair, the eye-sockets, and their ears; these are the national colors, the war-time paint. The other colors, indifferently put on the other parts of their bodies, depend upon their individual fancy."

-Victor Tixier, physician, 1839

I am moved by the discipline, ritual and self respect that comes through these images and writings.  I long for the days when tribal earth- and ancestral-honoring traditions connected people to each other, the past and the land. I long for a deep sense of respect for oneself and for the land as a way of life that is shared in community.

by George Catlin

#osageindian #osagewarrior #missourinative #nativeamerican #nativelands

The Gardens of our Hearts

Last week was the last meeting of my small group workshop series with a group of 7 lovely people who delved into their perceptions, self-beliefs, masks and behavioral habits that hold them back from deeper connections... and we shared artwork of our heart's gardens that have flowers planted with immediate and honest communication and weeds pulled by settling broken agreements and taking responsibility...

by Wendy W

I also read a section in Part 4 of David B. Wolf's book, "Relationships That Work: The Power of Conscious Living" and when I read this sentence, I stopped, and said. "This is the culmination of the whole book." Then I read it again: "By doing some clearing work, by pulling weeds and watering flowers in the garden, we can clear the field and thus make it easier to choose being."

People were moved by this metaphor and the deep meaning of it... it resonated for some people and definitely for me.

This has been a very growthful series for me as a facilitator and in connecting to my deeper self under looking good or being right. Definitely the most challenging thing I am doing... calling for me to connect more deeply to my heart and my authentic moment, and to use each interaction as an opportunity for growth and group realization, letting go of the agenda and staying connected to compassion for the each person.

I am doing more workshops and book practice series... and wanting to share my experience and approach to communication, self awareness and healing while sharing inspirations of my growth and of nature, so I created a new Facebook page to explore these and share events and opportunities for connection: www.facebook.com/pg/realizeyournature

by Kathleen M

by Susan A

by May L

#selfrealization #consciouscommunication #empathiccommunication #ecotherapy

Elephant March

I stand for wise use of resources and protecting those who cannot help themselves, including the mighty gracious, sacred elephant.

I will be marching in the International March for Elephants in Washington DC on October 4.

Elephants are extremely social, emotional, intelligent beings, that depend on the teachings of the matriarch for herd success and happiness. They remember, and visit their dead. They ritualize events such as births, reunions and deaths in their family units.

They communicate to other elephants across miles of terrain and stay strongly connected to each other that way, and remember each other strongly after many years of being apart. They weep with tears and sobbing when they are frustrated or sad. 

They are being killed by the 1000s and are being DECIMATED towards extinction.

How can we re-invigoroate funding for US Fish and Wildlife to help protect them?

Better yet, how can we convince those that buy ivory goods that it is not worth the price of the lives of elephants?  see this 1 minute animation.

My niece and two nephews are coming with me to be in the march. What an amazing opportunity for all of us. We will make paper mache tusks a few days before and carry those with us. I might make a 3D puppet of an elephant out of Sweetwater coffeebags. That would be a great use for those.

I have never met an elephant. I will meet elephants next year when I go to India and Thailand. Elephants have definitely gotten into a core part of my heart... because they are special beings that are being attacked without much mercy, and I can't stand to think about it. So action must come next because I do love elephants.

My Old Ignorance of the Elephant Spirit

I read the book the Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony, and was so moved, awed and shocked by the interactions and society of the elephants including their long-distance communication and ESP-type perception. The book is an autobiography of Anthony's chapter in life of saving a unruly herd of elephants that required many sleepless nights camping by an enclosure (a boma) to

stay close to the distrustful group as they got accustomed to their new place and to him. He spoke to them often so they would feel his intentions after a time. He spared no expense to build a serious fence to protect them from poachers and from villagers whose fields, if trampled, would give them license to kill.  Once out of the boma, they tested the big fence, wanting to go back to their original home. They knew the direction to go and made a run for it once. A skilled helicopter pilot herded them back, and saved their lives doing it.

Over some years, he and the herd got to know each other. I could not put this book down, learning about the social lives of the elephants and for the connections he created with his soft patient presence with individual elephants as he would encounter them in their daily routines during his cruises through the property. The elephants finally recognized that place as home.

When Anthony died suddenly of a heart attack in Europe, the elephants traveled 12 hours to get to his house a day or 2 later in S. Africa. They had not been there  in three  years. They stayed there, near the fence around the house, for two days. Maybe they were saying goodbye... showing their appreciation and trust with Lawrence... or maybe they were performing a funeral rite. I cried for their sorrow, their unity in emotion, their acknowledgement of their friend and I cried for the beauty and realization of the magic of these beings. I felt almost betrayed, that this aspect of elephants - belonging to a level of beings with that type of consciousness was not in my ken, much less common knowledge as I felt it should be.

They stayed present with his spirit, his passing and their intention to honor him... and maybe with their own sadness. It seems that the elephant is more present and honoring of a death than we are. This event alone has put me on a path of creating change for elephants and learning more and more about them.

We all know dolphins communicate and in India they were recently declared dolphins to be non-human persons: “[Their] unusually high intelligence as compared to other animals means that dolphin should be seen as ‘non-human persons’ and as such should have their own specific rights and is morally unacceptable to keep them captive for entertainment purpose.”

I implore India to do the same for their own native Asian elephant. Can all nations do this for dolphins, elephants and  primates? Will that make a difference to all the killing that is happening for the sake of ivory in Chinese markets? Can we then move to respecting all animals and giving them respect and space to be? 

When will we see that we are not superior to other animals? When will we break free of our egos and superiority complex and realize we have become frail and ignorant of earth which is our source of life and connection to everything?

I am happy that elephants are still alive and that so many people are working hard to protect them from the killing that is rampant right now, as the demand for ivory is very high in China. I know we can change it.

source: http://www.beliefnet.com/Inspiration/Home-Page-News-and-Views/Wild-Elephants-Mourn-Death-of-famed-Elephant-Whisperer.aspx?p=1

Sostice Swamp Recognition

Winter solstice, 2012, end of the mayan calendar. Three friends are in Mexico or Guatemala at sacred sites for this day.  I chose to experience a forest alone.

I took the day off and drove near Palatka and hiked, wandered, stretched, contemplated and lay down in Rice Creek Swamp conservation area for 4 slow, allowing hours, celebrating solstice and the cycles of everything.

I felt blissful and grateful to be out walking among tupelo, cabbbage palms and palmetto all mossy in the morning light. I kept smiling in the sun, feeling grateful on the dewey trail. I spoke my gratitude for so many things in my life I am so fortunate to have. People in my life, my own realizations, my own capacities.  

I took photos. I saw amazing beauty and smelled, felt and contemplated so many points of life. It feels important to get close to the ground. 

I was noticing how natural it was to be there, and how fortunate I was to be in this place right now. I had not walked or hiked in months becausee of fatigue and illness. Being in the swamp was a most commfortable feeling, like I was in the place I belonged, a home.

An essay by Lane and Sarah Conn inspires me. They talk about ecological identity. I can go into a natural space on my own terms, like going out to find songbirds with binoculars, or I can just open all my senses to whatever experience might happen. The experience or recognition may be unpredictable. It is a challenge for most people to slow down from their manic overstimlated state where they have become conditioned to be talked at through sounds or pictures. A person may feel restless or worried about time they are wasting.   The Conns state "In order to open yourself to the direct experience of another being, you must shift from a precipitating to a participating mode of interaction, from making it happen to sharing in the happening. ... You can turn your gaze toward a leaf or blade of grass and allow it to present itself to you, to imagine it coming into your consciousness instead of your going out and getting it. You can allow other beings to knock on the doors of your awareness, to visit on their own terms and in their own language."

What a wonder it is to stop, look and listen to what is in that moment in that place. The most unpredictable discoveries do occur. I found an incredible fungus inside a tree trunk that was dusting spores all down the wood onto the earth. It's sister fungus was doing the same at the entrance to the hole. It was like a Missouri cavern of regal majesty, in miniature, down there at the ground.

 

Today was solstice a special day for many. New phases, new cycles are always coming. I prayed... and meditated a bit. I prayed that humans slowly do start shifting from productivity, work, intellectualism, competition, power and numbing themselves with entertainment/technology to becoming more awake, aware and connected to each other, to earth and to their own hearts. 

Other discoveries: emerging mosses, a burned out tree, red water flowing, and uncountable sensations of awe and inclinations to say Hello! as a greeting to all the beings and interim cycles of their lives I encountered, or recognized by luck or by patience, there, near the ground, or there in the air.

Musa 1

Vertical rustling,
dry by my ears
as I swing
down,
so the water-blood of the musa bursts forth, the life
that keeps growing
up and green, high out of that compost,
the sentries of stalks,
solid life like thighs,
keeping watch for the heart
that longs to hang,
red, heavy, luscious,
softly in the air,
given space

as a beacon of truth
to it’s purpose
of opening red curtains
bearing an orchestra of fingers
that play
the heartstrings of the apis
that harmonizes the keys
to unfolding and creation.
I love the banana.

#poems #poetry #banana #musa #bananaflower #bananatree

Colorado Butte Poem

Cottonwoods winding and slumbering with streams
(ribbons on grassland wrap),
festooning round butte outcrop gifts,

where hunters received their buffalo vantage,
and settlers received a view of their claim.

The mother, she rose up with clay
and with shale....

She gave and is giving still.

by Kathleen McKee 



Credit: Annie Griffiths, National Geographic


Credit: AirPhoto.com


Credit: Royce Bair


#poem #poetry #butte #cottonwoods #west