Regaining the Sacred Way

[SilentFeathers]

We are hunter gatherers by nature....except now a days we do our hunting and gathering at the grocery store. Where is the sacredness in buying a rib-eye steak wrapped in plastic and laced with chemicals for 18 bucks from Walmart?

It really wasn't that long ago, perhaps just 100 or 200 years ago there was a deer hanging from a tree ready to butcher or pops went out and killed a chicken that wasn't laying eggs anymore for dinner and mom was cutting off the bad spots from some spuds and onions that were rotting and growing roots from the pile of "things" laying in the corner of the root cellar.....perhaps they blessed their food and were thankful for it too!

A step further? Where is the sacredness in buying a pair of pants made from cheap materials that won't last 1 year from a 12 year old child getting paid 40 cents a day in China or Pakistan?

Are we really still hunters and gatherers? Or are we really just folks who lost the sacred way, who take almost everything for granted, and who, for the easy way, are just takers? Takers of any and all things to avoid the sacred way? Consciously or not, that is what the majority of us are doing.....

I for one am as just as guilty of ignoring the sacredness that has been lost, as I slave away 60 or 70 hours a week working so I can sometimes buy that $18.00 dollar chemical laced rib-eye at the local grocery store!

But I am aware....and I try to bring balance by bow hunting and using a rifle and shotgun occasionally to hunt.....I also grow some plants for food and can and preserve things that I can gather.............all in a sacred way the best way I know how considering the circumstances and the times we live in.

[DeDukshyn]

Double thanks for that one! :)

[SilentFeathers]

SPIRITUAL DEBRIS

Many of us lately are caught in a lot of worry and stress over certain things involving the economy, world events that are causing harm and destruction to our planet and life in general, relationships, parenting, etc. These are natural feelings that all of us have yet sometimes they can become overwhelming and devour us spiritually, which in turn devour us physically.... or vice-versa.

We may become stuck with spiritual debris that creates a blockage and prevents us from moving forward in our journey. This debris can be fear, uncertainty, depression, emotional pain, etc. This debris must be moved out of the way because it is not only disease like, it is very dangerous to ourselves and others.

Yes there are a lot of bad things going on in the world today, yes your life may be turned upside down and major challenges await you and are in your face, but crawling away or hiding among the debris is not where any of us need to be. Constant worry or fear of what’s coming is spiritually damaging and not what the Creator wants us to do with our lives. Yes we must deal with all these obstacles, but the true challenge is not to be physically and/or spiritually devoured by them. These challenges are not going to go away anytime soon and are just a part of life and we still all have a job to do regardless. Our jobs are to get through any and everything that we are faced with during this life walk and pass the test and to learn from these challenges. To remain true to ourselves and to make our Creator aware that we on an individual level are capable of overcoming these challenges and worthy to be a trustworthy spiritual warrior in the presence of Great Spirit, our Creator. That we choose our spirit and our Creator over physical and material obstacles/existence. That we will not be devoured by petty physical challenges and that what really matters is spiritual, which is much bigger.

Pain and suffering is all a part of physical life and no one is immune to it. Good things and bad things happen, none of us can escape this while in the physical. We were never meant to be immune to these things nor ever meant to have the ability to escape these realities while life walking on Mother Earth. It's all a part of our purpose spiritually and very difficult to understand to say the least while we are here in the physical. Personally I feel it is all a part of a transformation process to become God-Like or to become spiritually mature, such as a child becoming adult.

Nothing has really changed much in thousands of years if you really look at the bigger picture of things. Yes, there are more of us here now and lifestyles have dramatically changed, but spiritually the same goals and challenges haven't changed much. We are dealing with many of the same things our ancestors have dealt with thousands of years ago. Different props and players, different waves and currents, but basically the same spiritual challenges. More importantly, we are now facing a time spiritually where many are learning that we have been duped and mislead through the ages. Many knew this same thing ages ago but were massacred for it, today the penalty is not so severe and in your face. Same thing today spiritually as back then but different time and results. Yes times and circumstances have changed over the ages, but the prime directive remains the same as it always has been.

These huge challenges that we are facing today are some of the most important spiritual lessons mankind has ever faced. Same lessons as ages ago, but on a grander scale and involving many more souls. More is at stake of course and as all things in the physical universe, out with the old and in with the new. We already know that no one can physically survive this existence, but spiritually we can. That alone should be enough to make us understand what is most important during this life walk. Peace to all of you and let's wash away the spiritual debris that is cluttering our vision so that we all can move forward together, not alone...

[Nasu]

Great post. Not sure if you've seen this short video, but it sure explains what happened to us hunter gatherers, we became consumers! Check it out if you've not seen it..... N


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GorqroigqM

[greybeard]

American Indians were very respectful to all life---anything that they killed for food they thanked before eating.
I heard something interesting as part of a TV drama---it was just thrown in but so true.
Captain Cook was being praised as being the great explorer and then it was pointed out that the islanders lead an idyllic life before they were colonised.
They then were taught materialism, to use guns, and then there were the missionaries to point out that their free life style was sinful.
Each one of those fore mentioned were equally guilty of destroying an ideal life style---then of course there was the white man's diseases which they had nothing in their immune to protect them selves against, these illnesses killed thousands.

Civilisation---ha they became Christian or were slaughtered.

Chris

[Guish]

29390

Liberation lies in the simplest actions.

[Aspen]

I greatly admire the sacred knowledge of the indigenous peoples of North America. There is a simplicity and great wisdom in the Seven Grandfathers:

The following quote is from an Ojibway website http://ojibwe.net/projects/prayers-teachings/the-gifts-of-the-seven-grandfathers/

The Objibway " view the Seven Grandfather Teachings as traditional knowledge that collectively represents what is needed for community survival. The origin of the teachings is unknown but elders confirm these are important verbs that have long been a part of the language. These fundamental teachings became widely known as the “Seven Grandfathers” when the Anishinaabeg slowly began to control their own education during and after the American Indian Movement. As elders began to retell stories they heard as children they connected the present to a past when these values were both a part of ceremonies and everyday life. Regardless of how they came to be used together, when they now appear in a circle they symbolize much of what defines Minobimaadizi / Living Well.


As Principles for Living
Each Grandfather Teaching is a gift the Anishinaabeg carry, a potential tool for living a good life. Our understanding is that as we use these gifts our experience of living improves. Using these gifts in our lives is an ongoing challenge for each of us, requiring attention, discipline and perseverance.


1. Minwaadendamowin – Respect
Place others before yourself in your life don’t look down on anyone.


Respect your fellow living beings.



2. Zaagidiwin – Love

Niintam ga zaagidiz jibwa zaagaag goya bekaanzid
It is my turn, I have to love myself before I can love anyone different

miidash ji maajtaayaamba ji biindaganaag bimaadiziwining.
then I will be able to start to bring that person into my life.


3. Debwewin – Truth


Ke ganawaamdizan goya jibwa dibaakanad ezhi-bimosed.
You have to look at yourself before you judge an other’s way of walking.



4. Aakodewewin – Bravery

Noongwa wii mshkowendamiing miinwaa wii mshkogaabwiiying manjiidig waa zhiwebadagwe.
Right now to hold firm thoughts and strongly stand when you don’t know what will happen.

Hold firm in your thoughts and stand strong even when you don’t know what will happen right now.

5. Nibwaakawin – Wisdom

Nibwaakawin n’ga shkitoon wii gwektaagoziyaanh miinwaa wii minodaapanamaa goya e-kidod.
Wisdom I am able to speak well and to take well (what) someone says.

Wisdom allows me to eloquently and correctly interpret others ideas.

6. Miigwe’aadiziwin – Generosity

Shkitamaawin e-yaaman miinwaa miigwewaadiziwin gdaasawenmaagen.
Ability you have and generosity to disperse to others
You have the ability to give things away and distribute what you have.

Aasagaabwichigewin / Aankenmaagewin / Naakwenmaagewin – Generosity
Standing together / Transferring / Responding to needs

7. Dibaadendiziwin – Humility


Dibaadenim g’wiijibimaadiz waa ezhi wiijsemad.
Be humble you walk with yourself to the way you walk with someone.

Humble yourself to your fellow human in the way you walk with him or her.


Using the Gifts
We use these gifts everyday. They work best when used together.

According to Dominic Eshkakogan, “Each of these teachings must be used with the rest… to leave out one is to embrace the opposite of what that teaching is.”

[Aspen]

I agree that we don't think of our day to day life as anything sacred, not most of us anyways. Simplicity in all things would help so much. I think of it as the KISS rule, keep it simple stupid. Keeping a day simple without too much packing too much into it keeps it less stressful and we savour each thing, remembering it afterwards.

I was reading about research in the 1970 when they hooked up lie detector equipment to plants and it showed that when raw plants were eaten after people said a blessing over them, they appeared to experience less pain/ trauma.

Being grateful for everything helps us to be calmer, and appreciating and focusing on the things money can't buy (like appreciating nature and human relationships, pets, art, creative self expression) improves our emotional and mental health.

In recent years I have made a conscious choice to live without fear. It has made a night and day difference. Much of our fear is learned and is programming.

I try to buy quality and keep things for years or buy second hand. There are many ways to live with simplicity and humility on the earth.

Thank you so much Silent Feathers for your inspiring thoughts!!!

[Earthlink]

Everything here, even individual atoms that bond to form, say, H2O, is a co-operative, however these "institutions" and paradigms that have been constructed and maintained here on Earth want nothing to do with any type of co-operation that does not involve them exclusively. It is what it is, and when I was young and in primary school, the Canada Food Guide showed up, for the first time. How convenient that was, for, it took the 12 basic food groups and reduced them to only 4, of which beef and dairy were in 2 of those 4, or, fully half of all the basic food groups were shown to be animal products. That original and first food guide was distributed to primary school students and older throughout Canada, and, clearly written in small print on it were the people who wrote it: The Beef and Dairy Bureau.

The Beef and Dairy Bureau are one of the most heavily subsidized parasites in Canada, and the world, today. They are tied into farm subsidies for cow corn, and those seeds and fertilizers and the pharmaceuticals for the growth hormones and anti-biotics that are also heavily subsidized and pumped into livestock in copious amounts.

Doesn't change the facts in my mind that meat is murder, for, it is. Why do Deer not get to be grandparents and see their children's children mature, and then die of old age, as would be natural? There are years numbering anywhere from 800,000 to several million, where Human Beings or our direct ancestors, as in, our great great great .... great grandparents, survived here without even being able to eat meat.

If I gave you a leather jacket and all you had were your teeth and your finger(nails) you would not even be able to tear a hole in it, and you would break your teeth trying, so, don't even try. And, as tools didn't show up for many many years in our history, it remains a physical impossibility for Humans to ever have even been hunters and gatherers. Eating dead un-refrigerated meat will kill you, but regardless without scissor teeth, we were never able to replicate what wolves or tigers can do. We have the teeth of herbivores, not carnivores.

Just more bunk.

Bunk runs this world today.

I know that the hypnotized never lie.

(not sure if you posted this on April 1 for a reason or not)

[SilentFeathers]

Personally, I really enjoy a plate of venison tenderloins, mushrooms, and onions. I also just recently seen a couple of coyote's murder a young deer, I doubt if the coyote's had a hunting license either.

We all have our perspectives, I don't expect everyone to agree with mine.....