Identity issues

I see so many people worried about their "identity". Worried about how people see them, what they call them, and how important it is to their existence. I am only going to be human. And simply being human I can change my identity as a I need to just by what I pick up and put in my hands. I can pick up a hammer and saw and I can be a carpenter. I can pick up weapon and be a soldier. I can pick up a book and be a teacher. I can pick up a paint brush or a musical instrument and be an artist. I can pick up a pen and be a writer. Others can ask me to pick up responsibility and I can be a leader. I can pick up all kinds of medicines and be a healer. I can pick up a child and be a parent. I can pick up someones hand and be a good partner. All the identities are open to me now. And I can take all that energy that I used to use trying to prove who I am and instead use it to actually get something done. Free yourselves. There is way too much to do to spend so much time looking in the mirror.

yin and yang

A call for peace too often falls on deaf ears. A call to war is too often heeded. But both are rarely led...or bled for... by those that call for it. For victory of either both peace and war need to be led by those that believe in them and are willing to make ultimate sacrifices for them. For this end we have both light or darkness.

Cooperation

Cooperation and community is harder to do then division and dissent. But it sure builds things that are much more worth the effort and that last much longer. Most kids get this. Anyone who understands or has ever been on a team of any kind knows this. So who can teach the people that are our leaders this? Too many of our political, social, religious and economic leaders don't understand it. Even so many "tribal" leaders don't get it. Everybody trying so hard to win. Nobody trying hard to win...together.

"Our society has hit rock bottom and we need to DO something!"

Generally in my usual cynical manner, I would tend to agree with the rock bottom part.

The only problem is that if it is true, at that point humanity would be pretty damn powerless to do much about it anyway. It’s pretty hard to rise up against Apache helicopters (or something equally as deadly) with rocks and sticks. It can be done (and has been) but at one horrible cost. And then would those that did manage to rise to power be any more humane about how they led the new society? History has shown us many times, that most likely they would not. No revolution has ever done much on a humanitarian side after the fact. Most move right to control, subjugation and retribution. And so the cycle repeats itself. So force, although tempting and perhaps inevitable is probably not the answer to solve the bigger problems.

No I think there has to be a real evolution of some kind. Some way for us to unite with a common goal in mind. Maybe its environmental issues, maybe it political or spiritual, maybe it’s defending the fucking planet from evil aliens or big space rocks hurtling towards us to make us the next great extinction. What really makes us dumb is that we have united in the past, as neighbors as communities and as countries to fight against huge odds to defeat all kinds of problems and threats. So. We know it can be done. But yet in all of our historical wisdom, in all of our religious and political fervor, utilizing all of our many diverse spiritual beliefs, we cannot find a way to act globally as people. Could it be that the "People" at the top of dare not let us? Could this be their greatest fear? Because we continue to have fear of each other, could it not be that this is their single most powerful tool used to keep us in their control? If we ever find a way to bring down those barriers and keep them down, the tables would be turned forever and the next phase of our evolution as a human species and as a society could begin.

In response to yet more endless debates on a serious issue and problem

Some more kids died in a school. Guns were involved. Again. Both sides of the issue are getting out there sabres and rattling them. Including on Facebook and other social mediums. As usual I will be one of the folks in the middle. But of course nothing will change because nobody really offers any solutions beyond absolute measures that neither side will budge about. So the likelihood of a repeat of the problem will continue. History doesn't repeat itself because it is an unbreakable force but because we do not use it to our advantage. The answer is not in the extreme views. So it is not in "take all the guns away" and it is not in "give everybody guns". Both of these views do not move towards a solution. In fact they continue to get in the way of one. I am posting this just to share my observance of this issue, not to start a public debate on my page. That would be pointless. But people DO need to start looking for some kind of middle ground answers and it will probably show up as something neither side has even considered as an answer yet. Being myopic about an issue causes that kind of blindness.

The Many pathways to self-discovery…after looking at many and walking a few, these are steps I see common to most. I personally use the movements on a Medicine Wheel to show examples of this, but there are many ways to do so. A good story that tells of this kind of journey is the one about Jumping Mouse. The link below is an online version of it.

http://www.hyemeyohstsstorm.com/7frecce/emouse2.htm

1. Curiosity…a sense of something larger…a glimmer of something that must be understood…the answer to a question (why).
2. Search for answers, usually starting with the easily accessible (low risk).
3. Finding some answers and feeling some excitement because of the level being reached.
4. Suffering from a feeling of defeat because of the rebuttal or rebuke of others in our circle who “know” more or who would defeat our victories.
5. A period of perceived contentment (sometimes lasting lifetimes)
6. Another glimpse…this time of something even more compelling then the first.
7. The Great Journey…this time sacrifices are made. Risks are taken. A resolve sets in as new discoveries are made. Goals are set. Teachers are found.
8. A pinnacle is reached…a profound truth or an understanding of it is fully developed. The person is changed. Metamorphosed into something new.

This cycle is repeated. Sometimes ego and fear causes detours. If the ego gets too great, then too much time is spent needlessly trying to get others to see the same glimmer. This gives an opportunity for fear if others do not readily see the same pathway. This invalidation leads to distrust and in some cases defeat of self worth. Only after another encounter of spirit does the movement begin again.

If the cycle can be completed and the metamorphoses can be confirmed, another set of parameters will exist. These include possible physical and mental changes but may include other “gifts” to open more doors and show more possibilities.

Each step of the person who is intrigued by the “glimmer” or nagged by the question is of course “meant to be”. Each decision along the way is an opportunity. As I proceed in my own journey I try to examine each one and also try to look at the outcome to see what I can understand from it. And I continue to use the gifts I have been given so far, to “tap in” to the source of much information.

Selling the teachings ($300 sweat lodge ceremonies and “Weekend Spiritual Retreats) Why I don’t like the idea of selling what I know.

  On speaking with several people lately I am concerned with what the Native spiritual world can give of itself. Much of how we choose to connect to the world around us has to do with ceremony of various kinds. That is also a big part of other religious and spiritual pathways too. Because of the spiritual hunger many people are facing, they are willing to pay to try to have someone help them achieve another step forward. And of course it is a great temptation resulting in the sale of ceremony and sacred teachings. So how does one allow others to experience these things? I would say it must be given freely. To allow others the opportunity to look for the way that gives them the connection to Creation they seek one must be simply available. Rather that means the student has to travel to the top of a mountain someplace or to come to a lecture, who knows. Lately I see many attempts to offer spirituality for a price. It has been a problem for most spiritual disciplines. Even though sometimes the information, ceremonies, etc are correct or helpful, this leads to jealousy, contempt and more distrust.

  

Because of this, true spiritual teachers are sometimes ridiculed, scorned or choose to hide away from the public. Real spiritual knowledge is both priced and sought after by so many that if someone has some of it, it is likely to be viewed as a commodity rather then a gift. The absurd part is that if someone is willing, they can develop the gifts themselves. All of the world’s many enlightened know this. Even the ones that do decide to sell a way towards it.

  I think a better way to help people find their way is to share. To exchange what we know (or think we know) and do learn from each other. I don’t know a single teacher, who is worth much as one, that doesn’t also consider themselves students as well.