Gaia Community: WhiteWolf's Blog

Wannabee, New-Ager, I Hate That Crap

http://whitewolf.gaia.com — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 04:11:30 GMT

One of my friends on FaceBook from the Narraganset Indian tribe posted a link having to do with regarding the Eagle Feather Laws. Now many of you may not know, but it is illegal for anyone who is not a member of a federally recognized tribe to possess an eagle feather. The eagle is a protected animal and there is a repository by the government that takes in eagle carcasses that were found and disseminates the feathers to members of federally recognized tribes for use in their ceremonies.
The crux of the appeal in a lawsuit is because a white man who chose to live amongst the Paiute and learned the ceremonies and for all intents and purposes was "like" a tribal member. However, after he was found to have eagle feathers in his possession that had been gifted to him, he was arrested and charged. The argument is that because he practiced the same spiritual practices as the Paiute, or rather the Paiute of the Native American Church, he should have his spiritual practices protected as well. Well, I will leave that for the lawyers to argue. Personally, a turkey feather works just as well for me, so I am not compelled to obtain an eagle feather. It is more about what is in your heart and your intent.
What got me torqued about the article wasn't the subject of the article, but rather the comments. It didn't take long for the first person to come out slinging the Wannabee, New-Ager labels around. Yes, there are many whites who get involved in or rather pretend to be involved in Native American spirituality and prey on others who are trying to find another way. However, I will submit that there are also many Native Americans who also seek to profit off of Native American spiritual practices. However, this person, in the article walked the walk and talked the talk. He took time to learn and was an active member despite never being able to be a recognized member because of his blood. I won't get into the whole blood quantum deal. History is replete with those of European blood that joined with various tribes. Will Thomas actually became chief of the Tsalagi (Cherokee). Of course, with blood quantum, Will could never even be a member of a tribe these days.
Let me break for one moment because I know that many non-Native readers have no idea what I am talking about. In order to get federal recognition, Native American tribes have to set a blood quantum. That is the percentage of your blood that is of that particular tribe. So say, one grandparent was Native American, you would have a blood quantum of 25. As long as the tribe's blood quantum level is below 25, you can be a member of the tribe. Now just be careful you don't marry out of the tribe, because eventually you will find that your children or grandchildren no longer are members. Now, I ask you, what other group in the United States has to set a blood quantum? Worse, you have to be able to prove it? Of course, if you don't get that recognition, you miss out on some of the government programs and the ability to start a casino to raise money for the tribe. So yeah, it is a complicated matter, but let me get back to my point.
I wrote a blog once that raised the question, what if we get our spirituality from the land we walk? What if that is the draw for many people to Native American spirituality? Yet, if you learn about this way of life and find a truth in it, where can you go? What can you do? Well, for one, you had better have a very thick skin because you are going to get it from both sides. You become a loner walking between two worlds. You are called a wannabee, New-Ager, or worse, plastic shaman, by Native Americans, and well, at minimum thought to be strange by your own race. Most people don't understand Native American spirituality. I might recommend a good book by Vine Deloria called God is Red. It might help to clear things up. Now for many non-Native who find a truth in this path that some call the White Path, others, the Good Red Road, very few will be accepted by their local tribe. I wish to add that there is good reason for the distrust, but unfortunately, it ensnares many who are "called" to this path. So where do they go, well they end up reading books which may or may not have been written by Native Americans. They may end up seeing someone at their local spiritual shop, I hate the term New-Age as a lot of the practices followed by those on that spiritual path are following ancient traditions. And yet others may end up with someone named Flying Eagle who probably has less Native American blood than the Pope. So they learn as best they can and practice as best they can. Their spiritual practice may become a hodgepodge of tribal customs and ceremonies. The best I can offer them is to follow their heart and listen.
One last thing I would like to say on this. What would be so bad about people learning to walk softly on the earth. What would be so bad to learn about giving thanks to the herbs that heal, the animals that give of themselves to feed us. What would be so bad to give thanks to the Creator, the Great Spirit, the Great Mystery, or whichever name you choose to relate to the spiritual center of all things. What would be so wrong to walk in a manner of respect for all of life. Now, I am not romanticizing Native Americans. I can see with my own eyes many that have lost their way. What could it hurt for more people to walk a more spiritual path? I think it was a Lakota, Ed McGaa, who wrote about the Rainbow Tribe. A tribe of people from many races coming together to perform ceremony, to share, to relate. Of course, he has been maligned by his own people for doing so. So what is the answer for those who are drawn to this path? I guess it is just to continue to follow your own path and walk between two worlds. It takes courage and strength, and a very thick skin.
My heart to your heart, one heart, one spirit.

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Wisdom From a Fortune Cookie - Coincidences

http://whitewolf.gaia.com — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:13:44 GMT

Okay, so daughter is still sleeping, son is off playing a game in his room, quite time for a few as my vacation winds down. So I decided it was time to write another. I go to the cupboard, mind you, not where I stashed the cookies for future columns, but ones I saw that someone else stashed in another cupboard. Part of me was saying, no, these aren't the ones meant to be written about. Not being a superstitious person, knock on wood, I brushed it off.
Well, I went over to the trash so I could tear the cellophane to deposit it directly in the trash. Plop, there went the cookie too. Fortunately, mostly paper that it landed on, so I fished it back out. Still part of me said, leave it there and get another. I didn't want to be wasteful, though, in the end, the cookie does go in the trash. Hey, I wasn't going to eat it after it went in. I took the cookie in my traditional way, and snapped it open. I pull out the slip of paper and it says:

"There are no coincidences"

Dah, dah dummmmm. Boy, how do you take that after what just happened. So why were those cookies apart from the others? Why were they in the cabinet with the dishes where I had to retrieve dishes for the breakfast meal? What diabolical plot was hatching here? Oh, it didn't help that my son left a movie on the kitchen table too, Final Destination 2 or 3 not sure. Interesting, but if I remember the one that my daughter watched, there were no coincidences in that movie either.

But seriously, it is said that everything has a purpose. Things happen in our lives to guide us, give us lessons, or in some cases warn us of danger. We may say that these are coincidences and brush them off, but those who walk a spiritual path, speak of these as signs. Throughout our lives we are given these signs to help us along our path. Many times we simply choose to ignore them or just brush them off as coincidences. In many indigenous cultures, the people were raised to watch for signs. In many cases, it was for the survival of the people. They could look at the sky or smell the air or watch the wildlife and know that some ill was coming.

You hear the saying, all things happen for a reason. Yet, we rarely ever stop to ask why, or what lesson is this bringing, or what message should I take from this? Through the years we have been taught to not believe in the spirit world. Or if we do, to see it as ghosts, goblins and other strange things. But what if there is another world? A parallel world that is beautiful and wondrous and inhabited by spiritual beings that wish to help us? What if they are the ones that are sending these signs in hopes that we are open and can understand the meaning?

Shamans and others who are taught to interact with the spirit world perform a function within their societies. They are well respected in their communities, not so much in the western world, but in other places that still practice traditional ways. They are known for their ability to "journey", to travel to the spirit world to find answers that may help their community. They journey to bring healing. They learn to interact with the spirit world for the betterment of others. While shaman is an Eastern European term, anthropologists have used it as a blanket label for all indigenous healers and holy people. This is offensive to some, who will politely, or sometimes not so politely remind you that they are not shaman, they are Laika, Curandero/as, or simply healers. Yet, all of these healers share a common purpose of helping their community.

Here in the US, we are currently looking to "fix" our health care system. For many, it just doesn't work. I won't get into a debate on that here and now as it could be a whole missive on its own. The thing I want to point out is a stark difference between western medicine and indigenous. Indigenous medicine is holistic. By that, I mean that they treat the whole person. A healer more than likely is quite familiar with the person being treated. They probably have treated the whole family, and in some cases for generations. They will know things that may affect a persons spirit. They know that healing has to take place there also. Modern medicine, looks at symptoms and throws pills at you. Indigenous medicine looks at root causes. In many cases it will be because of an imbalance in the persons life. They will work to not only cure the symptom, but work to heal the spirit and bring the person back in balance so as to prevent a recurrence. Often the "medicine" used is simple herbs, or a mixture of herbs. Many years of training goes into that herbal medicine.

Much of the medicine that we know today started as simple herbal medicine. Taking the healing powers of sage, is not profitable as sage is everywhere. So drug companies isolate that part of the plant that they believe brings the healing powers. They can then manufacture and most importantly patent the medicine to increase profit. Yet, there are many side affects to these medicines. Side effects that are not present when the herb itself is used because there are other properties in the herb or combination of herbs, roots, and flowers, that counter the negative part of the "medicine". Another difference in medicine is that drug companies make medicine for profit. Indigenous healers look at a plant as family. They don't just rip up a bunch of plants and use them. The herbs are approached in a spiritual way. Prayers are said over the plant and usually an offering is made of a pinch of tobacco or corn meal or such. They give thanks to the plant for giving of its life to bring healing. They do not collect all the plants in an area, but rather take only what is needed leaving the rest. As they prepare the medicine, more prayers are said. They honor the spirit of the plant. With modern medicine we are no longer connected to the plants spirit. It is a pill, pop it, and you will feel better we are told. Yet, in the end, we need more and more as we are never truly healed.

Sometimes I wonder if what we really need for a new health system is to throw out western medicine and bring back the healers and holy men. People from within the community who are prayerful and spiritual and know you. In this way they can heal the whole person and get at the root cause of what is making us sick. When you start reading stories of indigenous healers and some of the "miracles" they have performed, you begin to wonder. Maybe there is hope as I have heard that some hospitals are beginning to introduce alternative medicines like Reiki as part of the healing.

If you are interested in Native American healers, I highly recommend two books Fools Crow, Wisdom and Power, and Black Elk Speaks.

Just remember, there are no coincidences, only signs. We must open our hearts and learn to listen from there.

My heart to your heart, one heart, one spirit.

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Wisdom From a Fortune Cookie - Wiping Out the Years

http://whitewolf.gaia.com — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:45:18 GMT

FortuneCookie

Okay, went to Orchard of Hawaii Friday night to get take out. Put aside the fortune cookies so that I will have inspiration without having to go back for a while. So let's see what we have. Take off the cellophane wrapping. Grasp cookie in left hand, middle finer in the V, index on the right half, ring on the left, and split. Two perfect halves from which to extrude the nugget of wisdom. You have to keep with rituals no matter what you do. Whether it is a simple thing like opening a fortune cookie, or saying prayers, smudging, or entering the woods. Now let's see what we have:

"A kiss makes the heart young again and wipe out the years."

Interesting. When you think about it, how old does one feel when alone compared to when one is loved or in love? Personally, I can remember trudging through the woods feeling like each step was in mud. Oh, wait, it was, but that is besides the point. When we are alone, we can feel heavy, old, and in extreme times, wishing for the end.

Yet, how much different we feel when we feel loved or are in love? It is those times you can run through the woods, vaulting stone walls like a young buck. There is nothing like that feeling. There is a lightness, an energy that if we could just bottle, would be amazing. The whole world is alive an beautiful. Everything we see takes on such beauty. Roses smell sweeter. Why we might even say hello to a passing skunk rather than running and hiding.

Most of our time, though, is spent in that in between. At times we feel old, tired, and wishing this journey were at en end, and others we feel happy and light, and never wanting it to end. It is like a roller coaster. At the low end, we feel alone and at times, unloved.

In the last writing, I spoke of being the glow worm. This is one of those times when you can reach out to another and yourself glow. Think about it for a moment, if a kiss makes the heart feel young again, then couldn't simply showing someone you care and reaching out to them, at least help raise them up? Now, I am not saying go up and kiss a stranger, that could have some implications. What I am saying is that simply acknowledging someone you see down in the dumps, reaching out to them, maybe just listening, helps them to feel that someone cares. I have written over the years about reconnecting. We have become so distant from each other that it becomes difficult at times to reconnect. If we open our hearts and take the time to see the opportunities and maybe take that minute out of our lives to reach out to someone else, maybe they won't feel so old.

The thing is, that sometimes, that reconnecting, that reaching out, has a marvelous impact on ourselves. We glow. There is nothing like helping someone else get over a hurdle. Sometimes all it takes is taking the ten minutes or so, to listen. A good counselor will not tell you what you should do. They will simply listen and guide you to keep focused so that you, who all ready know the answers, can find your way through the morass to the solution.

So, here is my challenge to you. Help make someone feel younger. Reach out, listen, or simply be there. Help them to unload their burdens and feel young and light again. Oh, and if you feel so inclined to pass out kisses, well I am approaching my 51st year, so I could use all that youth medicine I can get. LOL. Of course, I am only kidding.

My heart, to your heart, one heart, one spirit.

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Wisdom From a Fortune Cookie - Glow Little Glow Worm

http://whitewolf.gaia.com — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 01:47:22 GMT

FortuneCookie

Returned to Orchard of Hawaii for lunch and some fortune cookies. Not quite Quan's, but it was more about inspiration, not great taste. It wasn't too bad. Fried Rice was a bit dry, but the only other place I know is another fifteen minutes down the road. So what was the morsel of inspiration that I received for this effort?

"If we are all worms, try to be a glow worm"

Okay, well many people would have trouble with the idea of being equated to worms, but in the spirit of Mitakuye Oyasin, we are all related, I can accept this. In thinking about this, these days many of us feel like worms. In these days of outsourcing and cutbacks, many of us feel like worms in our jobs. How many of us feel as if the Sword of Damocles was hanging over our heads. We are under constant pressure to work longer hours with no raises, and always with the feeling that if we protest, we will find ourselves on the outs. We put up with long, thankless hours, just to ensure that our families are provided for. In other words, we feel like worms.

I spoke of worms in an earlier blog. I spoke of reconnecting and told of the importance of the worm. While many may deride this brother of the earth, he does perform an important function. Worms help break down decaying material. The worm holes help to aerate the soil and provide pathways for the water to get to the roots. So if someone says you are as low as a worm, you can now tell them thanks, because you are important.

So knowing just how important you are, it doesn't matter what these others think of you, what matters, and take this to heart, what matters most, is what you think of yourself. You are important! All life is important. So knowing this, don't let them get to you, but glow. Glow little glow worm, glow. Let that inner spirit that is the essence of who you are exude the brightest light you can. No matter what slop they throw at you, do your best. The only way you can do this is by remembering that the only critic that is important is you. If you give in to the will of others and allow them to dictate how you feel then you will allow the darkness to envelope you. If you reach into yourself and believe in yourself and who you are then all the external things become mere distractions and your light begins to shine despite the darkness they throw at you. You are the glow worm! Glow, baby, glow!

My heart to your heart, one heart, one spirit.

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Have We Lost Respect of Others in Our Pursuit of Wealth?

http://whitewolf.gaia.com — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 18:38:50 GMT

A friend on Facebook has been trying to get the word out about Walmart wanting to build a Sam's Club on a graveyard. Now I want you to think about this for a moment. Picture your grandparents or their parents graves. Now picture a bulldozer just coming in and plowing them under and erecting a Sam's Club. How would you feel? Would you even allow it? Apparently in Oxford, Alabama they think it is okay. The almighty dollars pull has blinded the leaders so that Walmart, with little regard for the souls buried there, can just plow them under and build a Sam's Club. Are you with me so far? Are you questioning the sanity yet?
Okay, a little more info.
The friend I speak of is a Native American journalist named Neyom Friday. She has been trying to bring attention to this with little result. You see, the graveyard in question is an ancient Native American burial mound. So does that make it right to you? Were you outraged a moment ago, but now maybe are saying, oh, it is only an old Indian burial mound, that's okay. Well, it's not! Respect for the ancestors should know no color, race, creed, or sex. All burial grounds should be treated with the same respect and dignity. How much longer before it isn't just an Indian burial ground, but your own ancestors being plowed under?
Google Sam's Club, Oxford, Alabama. If you are outraged, send emails to Send all emails to cityhall@oxfordalabama.org Let them know that all ancestors deserve respect.

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Why Couldn't Our Great Economists Have Foreseen This?

http://whitewolf.gaia.com — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 10:30:16 GMT

bread-line

Okay, so I read today that IBM is laying off 4,000 people and off-shoring the jobs to India. This is nothing new and has been going on for quite a while now. Companies under pressure from stockholders to turn a profit and a big return on investments, have been moving jobs out of the country for years. I ask anyone to go to a store today and try to find an article of clothing Made in America. I had commented about an article that was written, I believe in Mother Jones about a reporter who tried to buy just American for a week and had great difficulty. Even in my own neck of the woods where the twin cities of New Bedford and Fall River were home to the textile industry saw all of that go away. Once humming factories have long since been converted to office space, apartments, outlet stores, or gone up in infernos fueled by floors soaked for decades by oil from sewing machines. In my lifetime, I saw the great Fall River Knitting Mills go the way of the dinosaur. They used to make great sweaters, but started to lose business from off-shore where they don't have child labor laws or worker's rights.
So rather than just getting product from overseas, they are now exporting whole jobs. It is more blatant, but guess what. There is nothing you can do about it. That's right nothing. What are you going to do to a company like IBM? Stop buying ThinkPads? Um, no, they sold that out to Lenovo. So what can we do? Nothing.
I hate to be a downer, businesses are in the business of creating profit and big returns for their investors. They outsourced a lot of manufacturing. What did they have left? Jobs. They have to turn a profit, that is what our culture demands. So they start cutting jobs to keep the returns via dividends coming. After all, when the economy takes a downturn, investors shouldn't take the hit. Cut executive salaries, are you nuts? Like Boston radio host Jay Severend said, and mind you, I don't agree with him or his ways, but happened to hear him talking about this, if you reduce executive salaries then the only people you will get to run the companies are some professors from Harvard. I think the point being made is that these guys know how to run a business but don't make the million dollar salaries. Well, maybe that is what we need. Because quite frankly these guys that are running the companies for million dollar salaries and bonuses to match, are driving companies in the ground. The unfortunate part is they are driving our economy into the ground also.
So, what I have to ask all these economic gurus that were saying how great things were as the DOW broke 13000, how long did you think this paradigm would work? At some point we had to reach that tipping point where we got rid of so many jobs that it started to affect retail sales. And of course, because companies are stuck in that old paradigm, just react in the same way they have been conditioned, they lay off workers. So even more people are put on the bread lines and guess what, retail sales go down, oh of course, execpt Walmart. So with sales down, profits down, what do companies do, the only thing left they can, lay off more workers.
Of course, at some point we had to hit the tipping point.
So this news about IBM putting 4,000 more workers on the skids and sending the jobs to India is just a continuation of the same old paradigm. Why can't we do anything? Well, besides these corporate execs not listening, IBM with the sale of its PC division to Lenovo got out of the consumer market. They sell services to corporations. Since sending jobs overseas allows them to sell those services for a lower price, corporations, their customers, are happy. Are you beginning to see how this paradigm is like a snake eating its own tail? At some point, you run out of tail.
So to hear people in shock about this economy, in shock about how retail sales are down, housing sales are down, car sales, in shock that we have to have yet another round of layoffs.
So what we need is a new paradigm. We need a way to get all these people back working. Unfortunately, until we do, we will just continue this spiral.
In the interim, maybe we should relearn the old ways. Start by planting mini-gardens. Be sure to use heirloom seeds so that you can keep your own seeds and be able to replant the next year. Learn how to can and preserve foods. Learn how to make your own bread. Our grandparents and great-grandparents survived the depression by coming together and helping each other. So until corporations get the bigger picture and stop being more concerned about investor returns and executive bonuses, than in what they are doing the economy, it is up to us to help each other.

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Sorting Through the Haze of Spiritual Fog

http://whitewolf.gaia.com — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 20:18:19 GMT

"What is the truth?"
"What path is the right path?"

These were questions I yelled out during prayers one day. When I finally quieted my tirade and heaved a sigh and watched the scenery fly by, the answer came back to me, "If I gave you the truth, you would not have the journey."

In that one sentence, it summed up what has been a fascinating journey. One in which each time I thought I found an answer, I came away with ten more questions. I laughingly refer to it as falling down the rabbit hole with Alice.

As many of you who have followed my journey know, I was raised Catholic. I followed a path given to me by others and even came close to becoming a priest. People noted my spiritual nature and because most everyone was Catholic, a priest seemed a good fit. Oh, I was a Youth Minister for a couple of years, but the closest I came to the full commitment was sitting in the Diocesan offices having an interview. The Monsignor was please with my answers until he came to the one, "How do you feel towards women?" Well, now, being Irish, the wit took over before I could catch it, and that old Tommy Tune song from Finian's Rainbow came to mind and out I blurted, "If I can't be with the one I love, I'll love the one I'm with." Bzzzzzt, wrong answer. Thank you for playing, try again another time. Next!

Maybe it was a good thing as I ended up not being locked into a singular dogma that constrained thought to only what came out of the Holy See. Of course, the more I learned about the Catholic Church and its dark underbelly, the more I was happy not to have walked down that path, though I think I would have made one heck of a priest.

Well, my life after that was spent in spiritual fits and starts. The place where I felt most comfortable and at home was in the woods. So it was there that I would talk to God. My personal life had many ups and downs too. Two failed marriages later, I found myself having a breakdown and serious identity issues. I spent five years in counseling only to find that it was okay to believe as I did. My spiritual path was my own and now that I owned it, I had to find out what IT was. I knew from experience that being Catholic was not a fit. So I set out to find out just what I believed and what I could learn. I left my heart open to other paths and investigated at will. Eventually settling down to learn about indigenous healing or as anthrosociologists like to call, shamanism. (Please understand that I know that Native Americans are not shaman, neither are Curanderos or Laikas, it is an eastern European that unfortunately, anthrosociologists like to use to classify all indigneous healers in one lump.) .I investigated many aspects of healing from reading various books about Native American tribes. I read some of the American Shaman writers like Sandra Ingerman, Alberto Villoldo, and many, many others. I read about the sacred drum medicine of the Manianka of Mali. I also took time to read spiriitual writings from Black Elk, Fools Crow, and the Dali Lama. I also learned from Native American friends who were healers.

Let me back track one moment. You may ask why I chose this path. Ever since I was in high school, I have always acted as a "counselor" to others. My school counselor noted this and wanted me to switch my career path from Food Service to psychology. Well, I was going to a regional school and if I switched from Food Service to psychology, I would have had to return to my own school system. So I stayed in Food Service and just continued to do what ever I could to listen and try to help others. This has continued all through my life, and even now I wish I had the time and resources to return to school to take up psychology as my next career. It wasn't just my words and listening that helped to heal. When I was a Youth Minister, one thing people noted was that when I gave the kids back massages after having to sit for long periods, they would say that my hands would get hot and they could feel it go through them. They would soon fall asleep and when they awoke they said it felt like they had slept all night and were The thing is, that when I ran away from Youth Ministry, in part because I feared I was being called to be a priest again, I kind of renounced all my gifts. So part of my journey has been to try to reclaim these gifts so that I may help others. But beyond words and healing hands, I wish to learn about herbal medicine and healing the spirit.

On this path, I have read from many different sources. One of the first books that helped me to open my heart to many paths was a book called Seven Masters One Path by John Selby. John brings together teaching from seven great masters, Krishnamurti, Lao-tzu, Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, Gurdjieff, and Patanjali in one book to help people to find ways to meditate. I thought at the time, what a concept. Here was a book that actually took these seven teachers from different philosophies and brought them together as equals. No one was saying, you have to believe this, or that, just a collection of great wisdom. So I opened my learning to include Buddhist wisdom, Native American teachings, and even some Hindu teachings. One particular one, I often quote:

“There are hundreds of paths up the mountain,
all leading in the same direction,
so it doesn’t matter which path you take.
The only one wasting time is the one
who runs around and around the mountain,
telling everyone else that their path is wrong.”

Hindu Teaching

I found such profound wisdom in this that I have reposted it on my many blog sites. Another that I found profound came from the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama:

"Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it."

How many of us follow a path simply because those who have come before us have done so? We may feel a calling to walk this way or that, but because of tradition, dogma, or just simple peer pressure we follow the path others dictate for us. I offer another quote:

"Leaders don’t force people to follow –they invite them on a journey." – Charles S. Lauer

So I invite you on a journey. A journey of discovery of your own path, your own destiny. I pray that you will step back and look at your beliefs, your dogmas, and reread the quote above from the Buddha. Ask if this truth that you have been following is your truth.

Of course, this isn't always as easy as saying it. One thing on my journey that I have had to attempt to overcome is the societal and religious constraints put on us. When it comes to things spiritual we are told what to believe and what not. If we are to open our hearts and explore our own spiritual path, we have to quell the feelings of disbelief and open ourselves up to the great possibility that we may experience things beyond wonder. The problem I have had is that from a very young age, I was hit with "There is no such things as ghosts", "I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. I believe in one Holy Roman and Apostolic church...". How can one overcome a lifetime of being told that there is just one way and supernatural things don't exist? It has been a lot to overcome, but I have seen and heard things that have slowly whittled away at those old beliefs. But they still are there in the shadows ready to jump out and say, this isn't real, I was thinking about this the other day as I was reading a collection of essays in the book, Toward 2012: Perspectives on the Next Age by Daniel Pinchbeck and Ken Jordan

Let me preface before I continue that I have suffered back problems for a while now. I have some arthritis in my back as well as scoliosis and slight whiplash from an accident about six years ago. One of the spots that I have a lot of trouble with is right between the shoulder blades. it feels like someone takes an ice pick and plunges it right into my spine. I see a chiro who fixes me up, but given the amount I drive and moving disk arrays and servers, it doesn't take long to get out of whack again. Of course, the insurance company in their infinite wisdom limits me to twelve visits a year, so the rest of the time, I have to live with the pain. That being said.....

I was reading one of the essays and it introduced a new phenomenon that I had not quite heard of yet, WingMakers. In the essay, the author talks about their experience in "getting their wings". There are some that believe that the approach of 2012 signals the entering into the fifth world and an evolution of man into Homo Luminous. As part of this, some surmise that we will "sprout wings" and take on a more angelic appearance. Of course, as I stated before I have a lot of old dogma to overcome and first impression was to scoff. Right at that moment, as that thought was entering my mind, that stabbing right between the shoulder blades happens. Was it Carl Jung that said there is no such thing as synchronicity? Let me tell you, when you are reading such a thing and then get hit with excruciating pain right in the place where the person is saying that their wings were budding, you really begin to wonder. One of the thoughts that flashed in my head was a memory of my Air Force days. I had been upstairs in Bubba Brown's room with some of the guys playing cards. Of course, being servicemen, with poker, there is drinking. At one point, one of the guys lunged across the table and grabbed Bubba around the throat. He said the devil was inside of Bubba and he had to kill him. Three guys tried to pull him off but couldn't make him budge. I placed a hand on his shoulder and his whole continence changed and he relaxed and released. As soon as I let go, he was back at Bubba. I was not restraining him. I merely touched him. I touched his shoulder again and he released Bubba. I told the guys to get Bubba in the other room and I told his attacker that I was going to take him back to his dorm. He looked at me and smiled. He told me, "I see an angel in you". I kept my hand on his shoulder all the way back to the dorm and when I got him in his room, he just flopped on his bed and passed out. I tell you, it made me start to question.
Of course, wouldn't the next essay in that book be from a former Evangelical who spoke about how we need to relook at Christianity. I think the title was that we had to get Christ out of Christianity. I think it is more like we have to get him back in as he had some great teachings.

I think in the end encountering things like this that make you question and help us to throw off the bonds. As we move from NO WAY, to do you think it is possible? We begin to open our minds and hearts to greater possibilities. Some say that all this hoopla about 2012 and ascension or new worlds, is just a bunch of hoo hah, but what if? What if we stand on the brink of a great jump in the evolution in man and the only thing holding us back is that voice from the past saying, "There's no such thing as ghosts"? What if we free our minds as many indigenous cultures do and open our hearts to the spirits that walk the earth, that may just help and guide us. What if?

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Lost Friends and Days Gone By

http://whitewolf.gaia.com — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:50:02 GMT

Maybe it is just getting old, or a touch of nostalgia, or just becoming senile. Who knows, but I found myself trying to look up old friends on the Internet. Let me tell you, that is no easy task. This is especially so, when so many years have past. I don't know what has gotten me in this mood, but I just feel a need to reach out and connect with people I loved so long ago. Like those from my days at Little Rock AFB. When you are in the service you are sometimes more than just friends, but you become family. Now finding the guys is hard enough, but how do you find the women when many may have taken on another name?
I tell you there are many people who I have walked along with through my life. They remain in my memory and always will. Some, I remember their face, in one particular case, their shape, but forgotten their name. Some may have passed on like my good friend Reverend Purdie. I was spiraling down, drinking heavily, when that man helped me to name my demons and turn my life around. My Air Force career would have been ruined and was very close to being so, had he not sat me down. There was Carl, one of the other cooks, but I can't remember his last name, and of course, Rose Marie Harris. All good people. My partner in crime, Mark Watts. We had such a great time together. I had one of the best teams with Mark, Mary Hernandez (engaged at the time to Oscar Ortiz), Yung Cho Healey, Candy Hart, Dottie Chavers, Mama san Chung, Aura Tyte ( I think that was how you spelled her name.) Candy was Dottie's Daughter. Dottie and her husband Jim and I were friends after work also. Oh, and Blondie. I will always remember her as Blondie, though for the life of me can't remember her real name. Others that I hung around with or teamed with every now and then, Dave Kristofferson, Clay Wickham. Clay, his wife Sue, and Karen Shadowens used to hang together. I still remember Noreen Malenga who was Karen's roommate and whom I dated for a bit. My buddy Carl Bullock, who at first we were at each others throat and old Dusty Rhodes had to separate us, but in the end, we were the mobility team that went every where together. There was Ron Krank, and Manny Roman. Roger Samples did the crash kitchen. Bubba Brown and the Bubbettes. Bubba and Clay were from up my way as well as Ron. I remember the uptimes and the down times when we lost Washington in a plane crash. He had come through the line that night and Mark and I fed him, joked as we usually did. I got the call later that night that the plane went down and to alert mortuary services that they had bodies coming in. It still makes me cry to remember that night.
I remember Jim Chavers having to go in for a procedure, er um, down below. Dottie rolled when I stopped at Bayou Catfish Kitchen and brought Jim's favorite. Beans with Jalepenos. I can still hear him when I shut his El Camino's doors, "Take it easy Croft, this ain't a Ford". I had a Torino at the time. I had the hots for Candy, but then so did every other guy on the base. I used to go to her apartment and I think her roommate had the hots for me. She must have, she came out one time in a towel and just let it drop. I just wish I could remember her name. As it turned out, we had mutual relations around the third cousin level.
I tell you if it wasn't for Reverend Purdie, I would have missed out on some great times and some great people. I just wish I could reconnect with some. I found Cruize on Classmates a few years back. I'll never forget when a bunch of us jumped in Danny Stephens truck and drove up to Heber Springs to jump off the cliffs. We put a vodka bottle in the end of a watermelon and wrapped it in a towel. As we drop up the road with it cradled, it looked like we were giving vodka to a baby. The looks we got, but boy was that watermelon good. Of course, drinking and jumping off cliffs isn't exactly smart and I got a broken toe out of the deal, but hey, young, stupid, yep, me.
Another time, Kristofferson and I took a bunch of people out horseback riding. Kris and I used to go to this place a lot and were familiar with the horses. I always took Red, he was on Whitey. One of the guys that came said he was experienced so they gave him Blue. Well, Kris and I trotted on up ahead of the others because the slow pace was killing us. When I came back to check on the others, they were pointing into the woods and told me that Blue took off that way. I told them to wait for Kris and took off into the woods. I got Blue and darn, I can't remember his name, cornered in some brush. I told him to get off Blue and get on Red. He did and then started arguing with me about which way to go to get back to the others. He started off away from everyone, but heh, Red was trained, I whistled for him and he turned around with Ozzie cursing me. I got him back to the others and he had to listen to the ribbing. I guess not everyone from Oklahoma knows how to ride.
Of course there we were caught off guard. We pulled a twelve overnight one time and then took off to Heber Springs for the day. Got back in time to go back to work and pull another twelve. Dog tired by morning and ready to hit our racks when I got the call. Call your men in, this is an alert. Dang, so much for sleep. Wait until the next crew came in to relieve, off to the barracks, change into fatiques, grab duffle and head to the flight line, off to Missouri, set up camp, and then finally get to crash. I was wiped by the time we got back to base, but there was Fred Jenkins telling me I had to work, but sending Mark home. Well, he was married and his wife missed him. Dang, I hated being single at times.
I guess those days in the service will always stay with me. I was fortunate to be between wars. The closest I came was when the hostages were taken in Iran. We were mounted up and ready to go. With the team I had, I think we could have pulled it off. Had I not been stuck in Arkansas for my full hitch, I might have reupped. If they had given me England, I would have been there. Instead, I let my Irish get up and quit the service. Heck, I could have been retired by now.
So if any of you happen along Bossier City and run into Dottie and Jim, tell them I said hey! Last I knew, Mark was still in North Little Rock, though his wife Betty was from Memphis area. Manny is probably back in New York. Ron, maybe in Mass. Danny Stephens in Texas, and Jack Stephens in Illinois, I think. Mary may be back in San Antonio.
I guess I have rambled on for long enough. Let me leave you with something Jack Stephens used to say, "Can't ya see, can't ya tell, don't ya know?" Man that guy could sing I've Been Everywhere better than anyone I know.
Good friends, good memories.
Thanks for listening.

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Unity - Impediments to the Colors Coming Together - Change Things

http://whitewolf.gaia.com — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 22:48:24 GMT

If you light a lamp for for somebody, it will brighten your path. - Buddhist saying

Whenever we refer to things that are not good, we say they are dark things. Are they truly dark? Or is it that they just don't have enough light shining on them. Over the past few writings, I have sought to bring a light on those things that I perceive are keeping us from finding that world of light, harmony, peace, and abundance for all. Even if it was just a spark of light, it was at least something. As the saying states above, I also took the time as I was writing to look at how I related to others and the world around me. In attempting to shine a light for others to see some of the things I see as things that separate us, I also could look at things in a new light. The question that plays in my mind is have I shown even a spark?

Sometimes our light goes out but is blown into a flame by another human being. Each of us owes our deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this light. - Albert Schweitzer

Given the counts or comments that i have seen, so very few people have gone to, let alone read, what I have written. I have truly believed that I was guided to write what I did. If so, to who was it intended? Yet, as I have come to learn, sometimes it is just that one little spark that gets passed on and soon the spark draws into a flame that grows into a fire. The question is, how can I fan those flames? We have grown so disconnected not only from the world around us, but from each other. In our striving to succeed, be noticed, get ahead, we have put more and more barriers between us. So what can we do? After all, what good is pointing the things that separate us without also offering possible paths of reconnection.

Well for one, start honoring each others paths. Stop being the one running round and round the mountain telling everyone else they are on the wrong path. Take the time to learn and understand others paths. In removing ignorance, we can keep ourselves from being drawn into the hate and prejudice that separate us. We can start by not getting drawn into the hate being put against Muslims around the world. The whole religion is being condemned because of terrorists who happen to be Muslim. If we were to do that, Christians would have a lot to answer to, ask any former prisoner of the Indian Schools. We need to stop treating whole religions, countries or races for the acts of people who are a subset of those groups. Maybe if we all got a copy of Idiot's Guide to Islam, or Hinduism, or any of the other faiths that we interact, don't understand, and need to understand in order to accept and relate.

Another thing we can do is to start looking at how we relate to each other. Whenever we have a negative feeling towards another, take a moment to ask ourselves why? What is it about this other person that makes us feel off? In’ lakesh, I am another you. Think of this when relating to another. Think of them as another copy of you on a different path, with different clothes, maybe a different skin color, hair, eyes. If it really was another you, what would you say to them? What would you ask them? What could you learn from them?

Rather than accepting what our leaders tell us about another country, go to the library, buy a book, learn for yourself. Buddha Gautama Siddhartha said, "“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.” Why then do we simply accept what is spoon fed us by the media and our own government. Who knows, maybe you might just find some interesting things about these other countries that you never knew.

Get out to the woods! I can not stress this enough. I do not get out to the woods enough and I practically lived there as a boy. The only way we are going to learn to respect nature is to get out in it. If we become familiar with that tree or stream or stone, would we so readily plow it over? Wonder out in the woods and find a stump or rock to sit on for a bit and just sit out in the quiet of the woods and take it all in. Soon, you will find that it isn't so quiet. The woods are alive with sound. Whether it is the jay screaming "tief, tief", or the woodpecker rat-a-tat-tatting on the tree above you, or the squirrel scampering on the branches, the rabbit hopping along, or the croaking of the frog, the chirp of the cricket, the wind whispering in the pine, the woods are a cacophony of sound. Sit there for a bit and look around at all the trees and wildlife. Okay, now picture it as a parking lot and shopping center, or a new housing development where the trees have all been leveled and houses that no one can afford have been erected. Can you let these new relations be wiped out for another Walmart?

I wish I knew what to suggest on the job front. Too many companies are laying off more and more people to balance their books and keep the money going to shareholders, but then sit scratching their heads because sales are down. Um, duh, you aren't the only company laying off and with everyone worrying about surviving, there is no discretionary cash to spend on a new TV or Blue Ray player. Got to love Hyundai's new commercials saying that if you lose your job, they will buy your car back. Okay, but a car basically drops $1,000 in value going out of the lot, are they going to pay you what you owe? Or are they going to give you blue book? I understand the mentality. It is all about trying to sell cars when no one is buying because of the economy. But I digress as I usually do. The other problem with trying to change the mindset of corporations is that upper management is not going to listen. Worse, I have even heard it said before the last time we were in a down economy, you don't like it, go get another job. They know you are stuck and take advantage of it. The Big Three automakers didn't get it when they were pointing their finger at labor costs as the major problem as they arrived in their private jets. Hey, I am open to any suggestions from people that might help others to change the mindset of corporate America.

When it comes down to it, we are the spark. If we don't start fanning the flames of change, nothing will ever change. As Desmond Tutu said, "Do your little bit of good where you are; its those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world." I think the first step in doing this is to look at our own hearts. Take a few minutes each day and remind yourself as you start the day that we are truly all related. Say to yourself that each and every person you meet during the day is another aspect of yourself. If you encounter someone that you find offense with, instead of focusing out towards them, ask yourself, am I seeing within them something that I don't like about myself? have I ever acted like this person to another? Am I judging this person on preconceived notions, learned prejudices, or even media influences? Now look at that person again. Is there something in that person that you see as good? Are we so locked on the negative that we cannot see past it to find that good?

For the past two years I have been writing on Unity and Reconnecting. I have felt that I was led to write the things I have. That it was now time for the people to come together. One heart, one spirit. I have been disillusioned over the two years, feeling that though I was guided to write what I have, no one was reading. Well, some of you were. I have had some tell me that my writings are too long and take too long to read. I am only being the "hollow bone" as Grandfather Fools Crow says. I just start and let it flow. I have been told that a white person doesn't belong walking the red path. They told me to go be a Buddhist. All I can respond to that is thanks, as I took the time to read some Buddhist writings and found more great wisdom there, including the quote from the Buddha that I included above. My path has led me on many winding roads that has exposed me to many traditions, wisdoms, situations, and especially the people who have helped me to learn and grow. So yes, while I was trying to light the path, that light shown for me to see new things and look at life and my own connections in a new way.

I think I am going to take some time to address my own path. I truly want to get back to the woods. I also have another three sand paintings that I was supposed to have made last year, but kept putting off. I have to finish the pipe bag that I have to bead the turtle on. I have to basically get back to my own training so that I can better serve the people. To think that much of this all started with the vision of the turtle that is in the picture here. The shell is divided into thirteen segments. Three of each of the four colors and the center of the shell a combination of all the colors representing the coming together. This is the turtle that I painted with colored sands on the desert floor during a ceremony in New Mexico. I painted the same turtle of colored sand on a granite ledge back here in Massachusetts. I truly believed that the ceremony that I performed was to set the spirit of that turtle free to travel across all of turtle island to unite the people. It is said that at Black Elk's passing, he wept because he did not see his vision come to fruition. I pray that I will have a different fate. I pray that the spirit of unity that the turtle represents will cross all of turtle island and that somehow, someway, the people will reconnect with each other. Instead of fighting over scarcer and scarcer resources we will come together to find solution that will help all people. It all starts with ourselves. We have to start relating to each other from the heart. We have to treat each other and all of creation as if each person that we encounter, whether human, tree person, rock person, four legged, winged, or others, as if they were another of ourselves. We especially need to stop looking at nature as a thing to be plundered.
I am another you.
My heart to your heart, one heart, one spirit.

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Unity - Impediments to the Colors Coming Together - Sex, Gender..

http://whitewolf.gaia.com — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:41:54 GMT

We seem to be constantly looking for way to differentiate ourselves, to separate ourselves from others. Is it ego that drives this need to be different, better, special? Over the past few writings I have talked about the many ways that we have come to push ourselves apart from each other, to disconnect from each other, and from all of life. Whether we use imaginary boundaries and call them countries, differences in the way we perceive our spiritual beliefs and call it religion, or differences in the shades of our skin and call it race, we try to find the smallest difference and blow it up and point to it to say, "See, I am better than you!" As if this weren't bad enough, we also use sex, gender, and sexual orientation as one more weapon in our arsenal of separation.
Before I get too deep into this, let me first differentiate between these three. While many applications may read sex or gender when referring to the request for information as to whether you are a man or a woman, the truth is, that should say sex. Sex is the physiological differentiation between men and women. Of course, we are so into our black and white world, that we see this as an either/or proposition. Yet, in truth, all three are linear and we fall some place on the line. There are some who are born with both male and female genitalia. Decisions are made either by the doctor or the parents and the sex is decided by others. In one such case, the person grew up with a condition known in the DSM-IV as Gender Dysphoria. This is where they grow up feeling that they are in conflict with their bodies. They perceive themselves to be a gender opposite than what their physical attributes would say. In other words, they may feel they are a woman in a man's body. Or they may feel they are a man in a woman's body. In the aforementioned case, the person grew up with gender dysphoria and then found out later that they had been born with both genitalia and the doctor made a choice. They sought out the doctor to kill them. In this case, the doctor guessed wrong. This isn't always the case though. Please do not confuse transgendered people with transexuals. There is a distinct difference between the two.
Gender is the way we perceive ourselves regardless of our genitalia. This is also linear and not quite black and white. We sometimes see this as masculine and feminine traits. We don't fall either distinctly as one or the other but rather fall somewhere along the line. For the most part our minds are in alignment with our bodies, but if people understood what people who suffer gender dysphoria had to go through, they wouldn't be giving the sneers and jeers behind their backs.
The same can be said for sexual preference. Of course California's passing of Proposition 8 shows how we use sexual preference to separate us. Why is it so important for people to push their own idea of right and wrong on others? Science has shown us that even in the animal kingdom there are gay animals. There is some evidence that it may be genetically passed down. I have one question for those who are so against gays have equal rights as everyone else, and use God as their justification, what if he intentionally created gays in order to control population? Why, if God is so against it, there is evidence of gay animals? I think it was in Legally Blond 2 that the Senator admits his dog is gay. Yet, if you mention science, then those against claim that it is Gay agenda and not real science. The thing is what if all those who claim that it is against God are wrong. What if it is God's intention? Are you willing to continue to say that gays are lesser than you and an abomination? Of course, there are those that will say that maybe those who speak loudest against and are most fearful of the "gay agenda" really are afraid of their own desires. After all, just as sex and gender aren't exactly black and white, neither is sexual orientation. We actually fall somewhere along a line. Sometimes having feelings for both sexes, or bisexual. The "B" in LGBT. (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered).
Of course, there is still issues between men and woman and the "gender barrier" known as the glass ceiling. This spawned the feminist movement that sought to bring equality. It took many years, but a woman can be a CEO of a company now. Back in the 60's, the Civil Rights movement sought to level the playing field with regards to race. Today we have a black man on the verge of being President. Why can't we skip the whole movement and just shoot straight for equality and just accept everyone as an equal?
Maybe if we focused more on our own paths and not spending so much time telling everyone else they are on the wrong path, we all can get up the mountain without stepping on everyone else to get there.
My heart to your heart, one heart, one spirit.

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Unity - Impediments to the Colors Coming Together - Ourselves

http://whitewolf.gaia.com — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 14:55:27 GMT

What a curious sort is man. We are always saying how much we want peace and harmony in our lives, yet we do everything possible to prevent it. Think about this for a moment. There are two driving forces to having a "successful" life, fame and fortune. We hear this so often. He has gone off to seek his fame and fortune. Yet, when you think about it, these two driving forces are at odds with what we claim to desire, peace and harmony. For in seeking out fame and fortune, we have to compete with others in order to amass that fortune or bring notoriety to ourselves. This is not to say that we don't, at times, work together towards that common goal, but for the most part, it is a solitary pursuit. These two are like the cocaine of life though. Once you have that taste, you want more and more until you can no longer control the desire, it controls you. How many times have we heard about Hollywood heroes who have meltdowns despite having the fame and fortune? How many times have we heard about the bad behaviour of the rich and famous, or the power mongers of our society?
How can people who supposedly have so much, be so unhappy? I don't know how many times I have heard someone say that if they had their money, they wouldn't act like that. Want to bet? Ego drives our desire to be known, to be more than what we are. Ego is never satiated. It is always hungry for more and more attention. It is a gluttony of the mind. We acknowledge this, even if unwittingly in our terms, he has a big head, she is full of herself. We would like to believe that if we were in the same position that we would not act in such a way. Yet, are we sure we wouldn't? And why are these people unhappy? Could it be that as ego grows it begins to take any criticism or negative comment as a personal attack?
Fortune is much the same in that it is an unquenchable thirst. Once we have tasted we desire more. We are driven by the desire to amass. The more we amass, the more we feel we need to protect that which we have amassed. Often times, we put more energy into protecting our things than we do our friends and families. The further along this path we go, the less we see others and their needs and only have eyes for things that we covet? Why else would someone with millions of dollars spend hundreds of thousands to retrofit a jetliner so that it is like an Airstream in the sky?
I remember for myself as a young man thinking if only I could make $15,000 a year, I would be set. Once I made it there, it became $20,000 and so on and so forth, until I came to realize that as my income grew, so did my desire for things. So I was stuck on a treadmill that there is no end to. No matter how much you make, your desires grow to match and you are always chasing the carrot. Once I stopped needed to have things, my need to increase my income also abated. I found that I could continue to live on the same amount with maybe the occasional adjustment for inflation.I found the need to compete abated also. I was all ready pretty sure that I wasn't destined for fame and fortune, so my ego was pretty much in check.
So let's say for the moment, that we come to the realization that fame and fortune are like a drug that we will never get enough of. Suppose we break our addiction to this, can we also change the way we deal with others?
One of the needs of ego is to promote ourselves, to make ourselves seem more important than others. We sometimes do this at the expense of others by trying to diminish them in some way. How many times do we hear about how someone stepped on others on their way to the top. Of course, getting to the top brings along the baggage of insecurity that someone is going to topple you. So you demean those you feel threatened by so as to raise yourself up. Bullies are notorious for this. The most insecure people are bullies. They need to put others down in order to make themselves feel good.
It is this desire or need to elevate ourselves that brought about bigotry and prejudice. We seek out that differentiating quality in others whether it is their race, creed, sex, sexual orientation, or even blemishes or deformities. We use that difference so as to say, see you are not like me so I am better than you. You then set out to diminish them in some way. The Civil Rights movement came about because African Americans had had enough. Many whites believed blacks to be inferior yet, do we not now have a black President? Native Americans in this country were thought to be uneducated savages, yet wasn't it Chief John Ross of the Cherokee who took the State of Georgia to the US Supreme Court and won? Of course, it was a bittersweet defeat as President Andrew Jackson told the court, they made the ruling, now try to enforce it, and then ordered the removal of the Cherokee and others to the Indian Territory. This march in the dead of winter in which many lost their lives came to be known as the Trail of Tears. When you look at all the inventions in Asia including the transistors that miniaturized the radio, how can anyone deny intelligence there also. Just because we are different, does not make us less. We must be careful of the yardstick we use to measure. There is a prophesy, I believe it was Hopi, in which it talks of the four races being sent off in four directions to learn different things. At a time in the future, all the colors would come back together and share the wisdom of what they found and this would bring about a time of peace and harmony for all people. Yet, if we do not open our hearts to each other, how can we come together? There are also those who follow the crystal skulls that believe that these skulls when brought together will release great knowledge that will help us in the future. They will only come together when we as a people come together. For as long as greed and power blanket the earth, the information imparted could be put to bad use.
If we truly desire peace and harmony in our lifetime, then we as a people need to make a concerted effort to look at the way we treat others. We must learn to accept each other with all our differences. We need to treat others as we would treat ourselves. Not just say the words, but act on them. When the day comes when we don't have to have protests against discrimination like Proposition 8 in California, when we can learn to accept each other as another of ourselves on a different path, a different journey, and respect that, only then will we begin to bring peace and harmony into our lives. We need to take a look at our lives and what we deem important. We need to look at how we treat others, and maybe even take stand with our brothers and sisters in support of equality.
There is a quote that I will paraphrase as I can't remember its source.
"Do not stand in front of me, for I may not follow. Do not stand behind me, for I may not lead.Stand beside me and share the journey."
My heart to your heart, one heart, one spirit.

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Unity - Impediments to the Colors Coming Together - Countries

http://whitewolf.gaia.com — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 12:50:15 GMT

Continuing on with the theme of working to remove the impediments that keep us from coming together, one heart, one spirit, I would like to turn my attention to countries.
No borders
No fences
No walls
No borders
No fences
Unbound
From Unbound by Robbie Robertson.

If it isn't religions that seek to keep us separate, it is our own "motherlands". How long had the US and Russia been at odds. Each of our countries telling us that the other was evil. Yet, if individual people from each of the prospective countries were to come together, we would find that they would be sharing in the dance and music if given the opportunity. Yet, in some cases, these very same countries actually make it illegal for you to associate with someone from a supposed "enemy" country. Imagine being jailed for simply stopping to have a drink and a laugh with a stranger. Imagine being jailed or at least subjected to extreme questioning and suspicion for simply breaking bread. Yet, that has happened and in some cases continues to happen. Imagine that you are subjected to questioning simply for being of a certain decent. Yet isn't that what is happening to many around the world? Where do these suspicions come from? Our governments continue to tout propaganda regarding other countries to instill fear so that we will not come together as a people and find that the emperors have no clothes!
Can you imagine the richness of our cultures if all our wisdom, all our songs, all our dances were allowed to be shared?
There are so many prophesies that talk of a time when we all will come together to do such a thing. According to one, each of the races was sent off into a different direction so that they could concentrate on their own wisdom. When the time was right, they would all come together and share what they had found. This would bring about a time of peace, balance, and harmony. What happened? Well, for one, we have religions that try to tell you they are the one true religion and that you have to follow them. Two, our own governments that try to make us believe that all others are lying and that we are the one true "heroes" of the world and whatever we do is for the good of all. The thing is, if you even question this, then they denounce you as unpatriotic, a traitor, a communist, or socialist.
Where did these borders come from? Where did these artificial lines in the sand arise from? Why do we continuously feel that we need to build these fences? Whether it is the Great Wall of China, the Berlin Wall, or this spiffy new wall they are building along our southern border.
Our governments work overtime to make sure that we are fearful of others. They need to. This was no more evident than under this latest administration that took a horrendous act and fanned the flames of hate, fear, and distrust. In just a few months, this country looked on every Middle Eastern person, whether a first, second, third, or even fourth generation, with distrust and fear. People who got on a plane with someone from Middle Eastern decent, or even looked Middle Eastern, would cause great unease. Unspoken questions about whether they were there to hijack yet another plane. The old Cold War game of distrust was put back in full force and helped to stir the drums of war. We were led to believe that our government was here to defend us from these terrorists. So we went into Iraq. Hmmm, wasn't it Osama Bin Laden that attacked us? Oh that's right, weapons of mass destruction. What, there wasn't any? Well, we have the troops over there anyway...
The thing is, our leaders, no matter what country, have a propensity to instill fear in the populace in order to take their power from them. After all, we have to surrender our power to them so they can protect us. That is why it was so easy to pass the UnPatriot Act, um, sorry, the Patriot Act, to take away our rights and give the government more power. The US is not the only government guilty of this.
We are told that the fence along our southern border needs to be put in place to stem the tide of illegal aliens coming in and stealing our jobs, our government services, our healthcare. Yeah, they are taking the real choice jobs aren't they? Let's see, laborers, hotel maids, dishwashers, farm workers, yep the choice jobs that every American is clamoring for. I worked for a hotel company and they could not get enough people to take those hotel maid, busboy, laundry, and other cleaning jobs so they had to bring in workers from Jamaica for the summer. Yet, they stirred up all this brouhaha about closing the borders and set about building a wall along our southern border. Oh, but we can skip over that golf course because hey, illegals don't cross the fourteenth tee. So we don't need to build the wall right through the golf course, but those houses over there are okay to build through. The fear fermented so much that we can no longer just drive up to Niagra Falls unless we want to stay on the Buffalo side. We have to apply and get approved for a passport. So we have to go through all this government questioning to get a passport just so we can cross a bridge to Niagra. No more can you just take a cruise over to Bermuda without first getting grilled by the government in order to get a passport. Who are they trying to protect? Or is it just another way to gain more information about the populace? My only concern is that they will give me a passport just to get me out of the country and then not let me back in. Which of course can happen if you make it on their list or have a name similar to one that is on the list.
Can you imagine a world without all these fences and borders? John Lennon posed that question in his song, Imagine. One of the big reasons that you hear from those wishing to impede the flow of illegals is that they are taking from resources that should be going to our own citizens. Yet weren't we supposedly one of the most prosperous countries in the world, yet we couldn't share? Part of the reason that many Mexicans and other illegals come into this country is seeking a better life. Yes, they don't follow the right channels, channels that are bureaucratic and slow. Their families are hungry now. Imagine for a moment if we did away with all the borders, all the fences, all the nationalities. Imagine if we truly acted in the true spirit of religion, coming from the heart. Imagine if we saw that people in another area of the world were starving and we brought them food and medicine without asking for anything in return. No negotiations for land, resources, mineral rights, just out and out love for one another. What would this world be like if we didn't have a flag to fight for?
Imagine.
I have read in numerous writings that it is time to bring balance back to the world. For too long the world has been dominated by male, especially alpha male, energies. This has kept the world at war and out of balance. Maybe it is time to pull in the fangs and claws and start introducing more feminine energy to the world. Note, that I am not saying to put women in complete charge, but a balance. It will be a long tough road to get there given that there are many areas where women are considered chattel.
I guess the point I am trying to make is that it is time to stop taking our governments at face value and start questioning the reasoning behind their actions. When we hear someone questioning the government and getting assailed for doing so, stand up for them and say, there is a true patriot for they have the courage to stand and ask the questions. Remember, that here in America, it is supposed to be a government of the people, by the people, for the people. If you, the people, aren't asking the questions of the government, then you have given your power away and deserve whatever government you get. We are at a crossroads with a new government coming into play. It is time to take a stand and have a voice. It is time for the people to hold their government accountable for whatever lies and deceptions may have transpired over these past years. It is time to chart a new direction. Not a direction born of fear, hatred, and hoarding of resources, but one of heart. One heart, one spirit, one people. No borders, no fences, unbound. It is time to let our spirits soar free from fear.It is time to break down the walls and fences that divide us and take the time to learn of these other cultures and remove the ignorance that divides us. Maybe if we stop seeing those on the other side as enemy, we might see that they are just like us, just trying to survive in this world of diminishing resources. Maybe if we start to come together as a world community instead of individual countries clamoring for resources to hoard, we might just find that bringing together the wisdom of all the people may be just what we need to find our way out of the morass we have gotten ourselves into.

I will leave you with a quote I used in the last blog. I think it is just as fitting in this one.
Leaders don’t force people to follow – they invite them on a journey. – Charles S. Lauer

If your leaders need to resort to fear and division in order to lead, then they are not true leaders. What we truly need at this time are not leaders in power, but healers. Maybe President-elect should invite the Grandmother's Council to bring their feminine wisdom into his cabinet. As I write this, the image of Grandmother Mona Polacca comes to mind.
www.nativevillage.org/Interna...page.htm

There is something about her. I feel it.
My heart to your heart, one heart, one spirit.

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Unity - Impediments to the Colors Coming Together - Religion

http://whitewolf.gaia.com — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 23:21:12 GMT

You hear many speak of envisioning a new world. They believe by us concentrating on the world we would like to see, we can bring it about. This is all well and good, but I think we have to move beyond just thinking about the world as we wish to see it, and start to take actions to make it so. Unfortunately, in order to do this, we have to work on changing the mindset of the people. In my last blog, I spoke about our current economic status and how we have to change the way corporate America sees its people. In the next couple of blogs I hope to look at ways that maybe we can start changing our mindset with regard to religion, countries, races, and gender/sexual orientation/sex.

In this first segment on religion, I would like to explore ways that we can get beyond the dogmatic beliefs of religion that work against the people coming together. I often quote an old Hindu teaching:

“There are hundreds of paths up the mountain,
all leading in the same direction,
so it doesn’t matter which path you take.
The only one wasting time is the one
who runs around and around the mountain,
telling everyone else that their path is wrong.”

I find this to be good wisdom in that it basically says that we should honor each others paths. There are those who believe that we are not humans having spiritual journey, but rather spirits on a human journey. If that is the case, then couldn't it be possible that we each may have our own spiritual direction. Yet, we always seem to follow the path and beliefs of our fathers and mothers. Though in truth, this may not be our own calling. Belief.net has a questionnaire that one can take to see how your own beliefs, your own feelings align with various belief systems.
http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Quizzes/BeliefOMatic.aspx

It would be interesting to note just how closely our results from this test are aligned with the religions that we have been following. I was raised Catholic, but never really believed in it. I had a tough time reciting the Nicene Creed. I just couldn't buy that the Catholic Church was the one and only. I was more at home in the wood. I found peace in sitting in a small glade with the sun filtering through the trees, the squirrels, rabbits, and birds around. Listening to the babble of the brook as it ran over the rocks. This was my church. This was where my spirit was alive. Yet, I followed the belief of my parents even to the point of going to the Chancellery to see about becoming a priest. You see, I have always been seen as a spiritual person and given that I was Catholic, many believed I should be a priest. For the longest time, I endured being called Father Ed. Yet, I never really believed in the church. I think I would like to be a spiritual leader, but I don't know as I could be a part of an organized religion.

It seems like the major religions are more about control and domination. The Catholic church has a real dark side in this concern. There is still in effect a Papal Bull regarding the taking of lands from non-believers. This was put in place before Columbus and was one of the reasons Columbus had the "authority" to do what he did to the people he encountered. The Grandmother's Council recently went to the Vatican in hopes of meeting with the Pope and having this rescinded. The Pope decided to get out of town and went on vacation. The Grandmothers Council is a group of indigenous Grandmother, elders, who have come together from many traditions in order to bring about change. http://www.grandmotherscouncil.com/ Of course, it isn't just the Catholics, look at the Muslims, and their Jihads. Mind you, it isn't the religion itself per se, but the leaders who seek to dominate and control. If one were to follow the true teachings of Jesus or Mohamed, we would have a lot more tolerance in the world. Some theologians believe that Jesus had traveled with John of Arimethea to learn of other beliefs. It is said that in the Gospel of Thomas, once thought of as heretical by the Catholic church, not sure if it still is, that Hindu and Buddhist influences can be read in the quotes. In short, I believe that if any religion tells you they are the only one, they are the true religion, unless you follow them, you will not be saved, RUN! Oh, and if they talk about having a Kool-aid party, um, pass.

I have always thought that if religions were not so afraid of losing power they would consider allowing the teaching of a diverse set of beliefs so that people can find their own paths. Even if the young people, in the end, stay with their parent's religion and beliefs, they at least would have been exposed to these other beliefs, removing the ignorance that prevents us from honoring and respecting other paths.

When you find yourself saying negative things about other religions, ask yourself, "What do I really know about this religion? Am I just following the ignorance and hatred of others? How can I learn about other religions and beliefs so that I can remove my own ignorance and learn to accept their path?" Mind you, I know these days with all the hype about how all Muslims are terrorists, which is a total fabrication in order to to control through fear and hatred, it is hard to see other religions in a good light. I ask that you not buy into the negative images and take time to learn for yourself. Go to Amazon or your favorite book store, and on their search put in, "idiots guide to buddhism" or hinduism, or islam. Another resource for books on religions is Oxford University Press. http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/ReligionTheology/?view=usa
The thing is to get beyond ignorance and not be drawn in by others ignorance but take the time to learn for ourselves and share what we learn with others. In this way, we remove ignorance. Of course, you will have some, like that priest that I wrote about back around Father's Day, who will tell you not to listen to these others. It is out of fear that these words are spoken.

Oh, and how did I make out on the quiz from Belief.net?
1.     Neo-Pagan (100%)
2.     New Age (89%)
3.     Mahayana Buddhism (87%)
4.     Unitarian Universalism (85%)
5.     Liberal Quakers (81%)
6.     Jainism (70%)
7.     Theravada Buddhism (70%)
8.     Sikhism (69%)
9.     Hinduism (69%)
10.     Scientology (68%)
11.     New Thought (66%)
12.     Reform Judaism (65%)
13.     Taoism (62%)
14.     Baha'i Faith (61%)
15.     Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (59%)
16.     Secular Humanism (55%)
17.     Orthodox Quaker (53%)
18.     Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (48%)
19.     Orthodox Judaism (48%)
20.     Islam (43%)
21.     Nontheist (30%)
22.     Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (29%)
23.     Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (25%)
24.     Seventh Day Adventist (25%)
25.     Eastern Orthodox (24%)
26.     Roman Catholic (24%)
27.     Jehovah's Witness (18%)

With Roman Catholic coming in at number 26, is it any wonder I had trouble becoming a priest? I had thought about joining the local UU church, but then we were considering moving so I figured I would wait. I know what I believe, I just need a community that shares my beliefs. In the meantime, I will continue to learn so as to remove ignorance from my own mind. I pray that others will follow this path also.

I believe that many religions can learn from this quote:
Leaders don’t force people to follow – they invite them on a journey. – Charles S. Lauer

I will leave you with one more quote from the Buddha.
Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.
    The Buddha

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Uranium Found in Kansas Drinking Water - From bluejay

http://whitewolf.gaia.com — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 20:47:50 GMT

(FYI- what is NOT mentioned in this article is the fact that the Oglala aquifer is a HUGE water supply line... much of it has its "headwaters" in the area where our relatives have been fighting uranium mining for YEARS! The "powers that be" have yet to be testing for as much as they need to be thanks to the proliferation of the large-scale factory farms and their massive levels of nitrates dumping into our waters! Well, I guess this goes to prove just how far reaching the damage can spread from the origin of contaminations of ALL kinds!)
bluejay

Uranium Found in Kansas Drinking Water Supplies

http://www. ens-newswire. com/ens/nov2008/2008-11-28-093. asp

LAWRENCE, Kansas, November 28, 2008 (ENS) - The radioactive element uranium has been found above federal limits in the drinking water supplies of nine Kansas communities, says Don Whittemore, a geochemist with the Kansas Geological Survey. Now these communities must devise solutions to bring down the uranium levels.

Possible solutions include relocating wells, buying water from other suppliers, or installing a treatment system, such as reverse osmosis.

In 2003 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency set a drinking water standard for uranium at a maximum contamination level of 30 parts per billion and gave public water providers until December 2007 to complete monitoring. Not all Kansas communities were able to meet the standard.

"The Arkansas River corridor in southwestern Kansas is especially susceptible to levels of uranium above EPA standards due to water-consuming agricultural practices in eastern Colorado," said Whittemore.

"Low levels of naturally occurring uranium picked up by the river from Cretaceous shales in Colorado are increased as water is lost to evaporation and transpiration," he explained.

Water from the river and shallow aquifers in Colorado is diverted into irrigation canals, farm fields, and reservoirs, giving it greater exposure to evaporation and transpiration. As a result, flows decline and concentrations of almost all chemical constituents, including uranium, increase before the river enters Kansas.

"When these enriched levels are added to natural uranium already present in groundwater in portions of the Ogallala aquifer in Kansas, it doesn't take much to get above the standard," Whittemore said.

The High Plains aquifer, which includes the Ogallala, is the source of most drinking water in western Kansas.

Some cities along the Arkansas River, including Garden City and Dodge City, have approaches in place to reduce contaminants and they were able to meet EPA standards.

But nine Kansas communities and water districts must now deal with water supplies that consistently registered above federal standards. They are - Atwood, Clay Center, Gaylord, Morganville, Norton, Oberlin, Lakin, Rooks County Rural Water District 1, and a Garden City subdivision. Private wells are not monitored.

In Lakin, uranium levels in the city's main well were above the standard over the four-year monitoring period.

"When out of compliance, communities such as Lakin are responsible for fixing the problem," Whittemore said.

A water supply that does not meet EPA standards has to be monitored quarterly while the community works to reduce the contaminants. Lakin and the other Kansas communities are currently investigating their options.

Because long-term exposure to high levels of uranium may cause kidney damage and increase the risk of cancer, the maximum contamination level for uranium is a primary standard, meaning it was enacted to protect public health and is legally enforceable. Natural uranium's capacity to be toxic, or poisonous, not its weak radioactivity, is what raises health concerns.

"Like mercury and arsenic, uranium can be toxic in high doses over a long period," Whittemore said.

As in the Arkansas River valley, high levels of uranium in other parts of the state are derived from Cretaceous-age shales deposited between 65 and 142 million years ago. The uranium leaches into the groundwater when the subsurface shales are weathered by rainfall recharge.

"Cretaceous shales tend to contain higher concentrations of naturally occurring uranium than other rocks in the Great Plains," Whittemore said.

In Kansas, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment's Bureau of Water is responsible for regulating all public water supply systems and has adopted the EPA's drinking water standards.

The EPA also recommends secondary, nonbinding, standards for dissolved solids, such as sulfate and chloride. High levels of these nontoxic salts and minerals, common in the Arkansas River system, negatively affect the aesthetic qualities of water, including taste, smell, and color, but are not generally considered to be health hazards.

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What is Wrong With Our Economy???

http://whitewolf.gaia.com — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 13:59:04 GMT

From a blog on CarTalk: "Here they are asking for this enormous amount of money from US the taxpayers...telling congress that GM is burning through cash...AND they had the audacity to fly to this hearing in the Corporate $36m private jets. One congressman asked them..."Couldn't you downsized to at least First Class?" GM has at least 1 corporate jet. Ford maintains 8 corporate jets.

So instead of cutting their own PERSONAL EXPENSES...they lay off workers...Close plants."

Yet, the sad part is that this attitude isn't confined to just the auto industry, it is pervasive throughout corporate America. Even my company who still had 7% growth has laid off people, cut office parties, and stopped unnecessary travel. Of course, AIG may have finally got it with their recent news that the top seven execs are foregoing bonuses and the CEO will only be taking $1 pay for the next two years. Well, it took all that negative publicity after they got their handout and went out and partied, and then the auto industry execs getting their hand slapped for coming to Washington in their private jets. The main thrust of many companies is return for investors. The product becomes secondary. We'll get to the product in a moment as it turns out that much is not even made in this country. It is all about profit and return to investors. So anytime there is concern about profitability where are the cuts made? Exec bonuses? Exec perks? Nope, first knee jerk response is layoffs. Cut the work force, putting more of a burden on those left. Of course, those that are left won't squawk because the unspoken feeling is that if you complain, you could join your coworkers on the breadlines. Look at the news these days and we hear the layoff word over and over and over. Yet, execs are still getting huge salaries, perks, and golden parachutes.

Hopefully, the mentality is changing, but the best job in America is a Corporate CEO. Where else can you take on a company, run it into the ground, and when let go, get millions in compensation? And while you are at the top, you get a car, maybe even a jet, unlimited expense accounts, and so many other perks. The only other people in a company who can do a shit job and still get perks is the sales teams. I don't know how many times I have worked for companies that have cut the production/manufacturing force while hiring more sales. The sales teams go off site for team building at Las Vegas or the Bahamas. I have raised this question before, if the sales team are not doing their job, why do they get to travel and have their numbers added to while manufacturing/production has to cut?

It is just a paradigm that I have seen time and time again. Whenever profits slip, we lay off the work force, close plants, put more and more out of work. Yet, these are not the only issues, the other is outsourcing. Go into a store or a market and just try to buy American made or grown goods. Go on, try it. Mother Jones just did an article on this. O Say Can U Buy? www.motherjones.com/commenta...-buy.html The author tried to buy just American for one week and found that if you could find it, it was expensive. Another article from Mother Jones, When All-American...Isn't , www.motherjones.com/commenta...ican.html shows that even the vaunted Budweiser is no longer American. Of course, it still is brewed in the US, but it is no longer an American owned company. Two interesting points were brought up. Target and Gap keep the "Made in USA" label alive by making garments in offshore US territories like Saipan. Saipan? Do US Territories have to abide by US regulations for labor? This one floored me, APPLE JUICE 75% of it is imported; half of that comes from China. China???? Whatever happened to as American as Mom's Apple Pie? Um, does the pie come from China too? Of course, we won't go there about quality in China. It used to be a running gag that Made in China meant cheap, but lately the news from China is that it is deadly too. Yet, we will continue to import clothes, toys, and even food from China. Why haven't we stopped imports from China even though we have found food tainted with Melamine, toys with lead paint, and so many other issues. It just seems that everything these days is made in China. I bought a belt at a western wear store in Sedona. Nothing says American like western wear right? Wrong, got it home and as I was putting it on, I noticed the little stamp, made in China! Why is China so cheap to buy from? Well maybe slave labor might a major part of it. As my friend Will reminds us, Falong Gong practitioners are rounded up and thrown into prison or retraining camps where they are forced to work while being reindoctrinated. For more info, check out, www.faluninfo.net/

So the American worker is under siege. From Corporate Execs reaping outrageous salaries and bonuses, outsourcing, cutbacks, layoffs, its a wonder anyone is working anymore. As if that is not enough, the upward spiraling of health care costs is driving more and more to the poor house, but in the meantime not getting the care they need because though their health care costs are rising, the services are being reduced. Of course, there is a large PAC between the insurance companies and the health industry to prevent people from signing onto socialized medicine. One of their biggest arguments is that if you let the government run health care your taxes will go up and the government wouldn't provide the service. Um, let me see, what is the single most rising chunk out of my paycheck? Taxes? Nope. That would be health care deductions. Maybe it wouldn't rise so fast if the government ran it. Their other argument about cutting services is so lame as not to be mentioned when they continue to deny service to many. Of course, fuel costs have also hit the American people hard in the wallet. I find it interesting that as Bush's term comes to a close, the price of a gallon of gas is returning to those 2004 levels. So maybe Exxon/Mobil won't reap another billion dollar quarter profit. Hey, it was a nice ride, while it lasted. With Obama as a proponent of a Windfall Profit Tax, I think they saw the handwriting on the wall. So maybe just a little relief there, but other costs are just whacking consumers left and right.

Now that is the key word here, consumers. Let's think about all that has been said here about the American worker. Many have lost their jobs or their job is in peril at this time. Let me tell you, unemployment doesn't cut it. I was laid off after 9/11 in a terrible economy and spent six months on unemployment. I had to tap my 401k just to make the rent. Of course, the government doesn't care why you are taking the money out, so I got whacked with the taxes and 10% penalty so that further depleted my funds. I couldn't afford much, so I bought food when my kids were coming over on the weekend and survived on what was left over for the rest of the week. Even now, I am not happy with my job, but can't even think about leaving it. And even though I get a decent wage, it is dig in time because you don't know what is going to happen and my wife is being outsourced.

So we hear in the reports that consumer confidence is down, retail sales are down, and the retail industry feels that the outlook is going to be very bleak for Christmas. Well, duh! I am working and I have not been in a mall probably since last Christmas. I haven't bought new clothes for myself in years. I usually get a new shirt or pants for my birthday or Christmas. My car is over 177,000 miles and due for brakes and shocks. (It is a 2004, but I have a long commute which kills my back and my kids live fourty minutes away and I have to go get them twice a week.) Now, I have all ready told my kids that Christmas will be lean this year. Yet, I am in a good place. I have a job, my wife is still working until the end of the year. So the question is, who is going to buy all the goods that these corporations are bringing in from other countries? They have pushed the American worker out so that they could have slave labor in other countries manufacture their goods for pennies and then wonder why no one here is buying their stuff? The unfortunate part of it is that we are just as complicit because we flood the likes of Walmart and its ilk to get cheap items. In tough economies like this, we are drawn to the discounters for the cheap items made in places like China because we can't afford anything else. So we exacerbate the problem as we buy less and less American goods and causing American companies to either have to layoff workers or close their doors.

The real question is how to turn things around. Well for starters how about tying execs fates to the fates of the company like in the old days. If the company is failing, they don't get bonuses. If they fail to turn the company around, they don't get a golden parachute out the door. And they don't get automatic bonuses even in a failing economy. Get rid of the perks such as private jets and such. Tie their fate to the fate of the workers, then maybe they won't be so quick to lay people off. I believe it was a Boston radio talk show host said that you can't limit executive perks because then the only people you would draw would be college professors. My response is that maybe that is exactly what we need since many of these execs are more interested in their big houses, fancy cars, and private jets than in whether the company makes it. Of course, it isn't just the execs, but on the other end too, we the consumers. Maybe if we started taking an interest in buying American, manufacturers might just get it and then they might start hiring people. Hmm, novel concept, hire people, put them to work and give them a decent wage so they can, wait for it, oh, I think you guessed all ready, yep, buy something. Some company has to get the ball rolling. They have to say enough, hire back people, get them working and putting money back in the economy. We as consumers also can start taking measures by trying to find those few remaining American goods and buy them. Failing that, don't support slave labor in third world countries or forced labor camps in China. Look for things like Fair Trade products where companies get certified for giving a fair price to the locals for products grown or made in other countries. It may cost a little bit more, but remember the reason for the cheap price most times is because someone else is being forced to make that product for little or no pay.

For a starting point on buying American, google Made in the USA or go to sites like www.madeinusa.org/

As long as we continue to buy these cheap goods from China and third world countries, we are only contributing to the demise of the American Worker.

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Year of Hope - Removing the Ignorance That Separates Us

http://whitewolf.gaia.com — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 21:03:18 GMT

From the book Weather Shamanism by Nan Moss and David Corbin:
"From the Talmud we have the adage, "We do not see things as they are. We see them as we are." Lacking this awareness, we can easily fall into the deception of regarding any particular worldview as the correct version of reality and defend it -- sometimes with great hostility -- by dismissing or denouncing the perspective of others. History is replete with examples of wars and other tragic tales caused by the collision of worldviews."

What a powerful statement that is.

In this one paragraph, they have managed to sum up just about every conflict that man has had with each other. The sad thing is that even in its simplicity, many, or rather I should say most, people just don't get it. I have often related that Hindu teaching:

“There are hundreds of paths up the mountain,
all leading in the same direction,
so it doesn’t matter which path you take.
The only one wasting time is the one
who runs around and around the mountain,
telling everyone else that their path is wrong.”

it is interesting that a new friend I met on Myspace when introducing herself said how she was pagan and hoped that I was okay with that. What a sad commentary on our world that she would even feel that it was worth saying. Maybe I am just a strange duck, okay, yes, I am a strange duck, but I mean with regard for accepting others paths. Rather than standing against them, I seek to learn their path, both to remove all ignorance and to honor their path. I work with a few Hindu people and have been gifted a copy of the Bagavad Gita to read. I pray I spelled that right. I have stood up for Muslims because I feel that our government has been the worst offender in stirring up the ignorance and hatred because of a group of fundamentalists. Hey, I don't see them lambasting all Christians for bombing abortion clinics or beating up gays. They will be the first to point out that it is just a small group that is doing those things and you can't blame all Christians for the actions of those few. I then turn to them and say, "Exactly, so why are you blaming all Muslims for the actions of the few." The standard response, "Well, it's just not the same."
Out in California another travesty is playing out as the people of California are making it illegal for gays to marry despite that the courts there all ready said they could. So they were able to get married, but now because some ignorant people got it put on the ballot, it is going to be illegal and what of the people who all ready got married. What are they saying to them. Psych! Just kidding, you're not really married anymore? Just for counterpoint to some of the lame arguments against, we have had Gay marriage in Massachusetts for a number of years now. Guess what, I don't see gay people running naked through the streets or standing on street corners handing out pamphlets enlisting people in Gay Army. I know that seems a little over the top, but believe me, there are some people who fear this. I belonged to a Father's that sent out emails that were originally to deal with the outrageous child support guidelines in Massachusetts. It also talked about shared parenting, but when they started about gay marriage and how we had to stand up for this, I asked to be removed from the list. The gentleman who owned it told me that it is an important issue to fathers because they will be recruiting your sons and daughters. Huh? This is just the level of ignorance that permeates our society. Of course the dominant culture or groups will press their agenda, their ideals. If you don't believe it, ask any Native American in this country about Indian Schools or the Canton or Hiawatha Indian Insane Asylums. Many medicine man ended his life in one of those asylums for refusing to "convert" and "renounce" their ways.

So going back to the original quote from Weather Shamanism and the Talmud, "We do not see things as they are. We see them as we are.". We shape our perception of things around us based on our ideals, our prejudices, our teachings. If we truly want to see things as they really are and lose the blinders of ignorance, then we have to take the time to learn and grow. Who knows, maybe you might find that instead of the Catholic religion, you like the Wiccan way. Maybe rather than Methodist, you like Baptist. Maybe you find truth in Buddhism or Hinduism. Maybe instead of sitting down in front of the TV or reading that trashy novel, we pick up an introduction to Buddhism, The Idiots Guide to Wiccan, Shamanism for Dummies. I know that the Borders and Barnes and Noble in your neighborhood has a section. Usually pushing Wiccan, Shamanism and such into New Age which puts further stigmatism on them. You could try online at Amazon and search. A good place is Oxford University Press, www.oup.com/us/catalog/g...gionTheology/

Here in the US, we have made a step that I hope moves us back into balance with the world around us. People who live in fear and ignorance need to control others as we have seen with this administration. Maybe with President Obama we will open our hearts and minds more and walk out of the darkness, out of the fear.
There was an old song we used to sing in Youth Ministry:
Let there be peace on earth,
and let it begin with me.
Let there be peace on Earth,
the peace that was meant to be.

With God as our Father,
brothers all are we,
Let me walk with my brother,
in perfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me,
let this be the moment now.
With every step I take,
let this be my solemn vow,

To take each moment and live each moment
in peace, eternally.
Let there be Peace on Earth,
and let it begin with me.

Words and Music by Jill Jackson and Sy Miller, Circa 1955

it was a powerful song when all the kids sang together. It brought great hope that one day, these young people would be coming together not as Christians, or Muslims, or Hindus, or Wiccan, but as people. One heart, one spirit, uniting us all in a common goal of peace, harmony, and love for all people.
And let it begin with me.
Salaamata, Anachemowegan, Patz, Yatanpa, Koosi, Kupia Kumi Laka, Achukma, Satta, solh, Paix, Mir,Kappia,Nrim-khyam-ye
No matter the language, it all means the same, Peace. You see, we all know how to say it. If you want it in other languages go to www.columbia.edu/~fdc/pace/
No matter the nation, religion or peoples, there is the word peace. Let us remove the ignorances and find peace in our hearts for all people.
My heart to your heart, one heart, one spirit.
dohiyi

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Year of Hope - Polanka - A simple letter to reconnect

http://whitewolf.gaia.com — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 01:09:16 GMT

The special gift of letters I received for my birthday reminded me of a ceremony we had when I was a Youth Minister. We had a program at the center, a retreat called Search. During this retreat, teenagers were assigned to tables unbeknown to them other teens who had made the Search all ready were at the tables as table leaders. Each of these table leaders had a talk to give on various subjects from friendship to religion, to honesty and such topics. These were followed by table discussions and exercises. It was a great program that inspired many kids. The one that really touched me was Saturday nights when we had Polankas. These were letters of support sent from friends, family and others. I don't care how tough a kid appeared to be, once those letters were opened, Niagra Falls.
Of course, that is how I felt as I read the letters of support, thanks, and well wishes for my fiftieth. I shared some of that in my blogs. One of my friends on Gaia, Mila, told me that it inspired her to write a letter. Not an email, not a text message, but an old fashioned, pick up a pen and paper and write letter. It got me to thinking about how we seemed to have lost that art. Oh, it is still nice to get that email or text message, but a letter always seems more intimate.
So I allowed my mind to wonder a bit more. All last year I wrote about reconnecting. I talked about reconnecting with the trees, the rocks, the water, the animals and insects, but mostly with each other. What a wonderful way to reconnect with someone than by sending them a letter telling them how much they mean to us, how much we miss them, how much they influenced you on your journey. So what say we all take up pen and paper and write just one letter, just one note, just to send a moment of reconnection to another.
There was a song that we used to sing at Search. It only takes a spark, to get a fire going. And soon all those around will warm up to its glowing. That's how it is with God's love, once you experience it. You want to sing, it's fresh as spring, you want to pass it on.
So maybe, when you end that letter, you can add those words to the end. Pass it on.
I thank you all for listen to my rants, ponderings, and wonderings.
My heart to your heart, one heart, one spirit.

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Halfway to a Hundred - Experience! - Part Three - The Letters

http://whitewolf.gaia.com — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 20:57:49 GMT

I have shared with you the journey that my wife gave to me as my fiftieth birthday and our fifth anniversary. Amazing month this September. Not only my fiftieth, but also my fifth anniversary, and my son became a teen . I have been struggling lately with my own spirituality. I have felt disconnected and really could not be inspired to write. Part of that was the workload thrust on me, but also this being the Year of Hope, I just didn't see any. I had spent all of last year writing of Unity and Reconnecting. Yet, when I looked around, I felt as if nothing I said made a dent. People were still rude to each other. People still did not care about each other. Even going to the woods found no peace as the dirt bikers were tearing up the woods and killing off rare herbs like Indian Pipe. I found that more and more of my time was being chewed up so that I had little time for prayer and ceremony. Add to that the rising gas prices and the economic downturn. Let's not forget the billions a month being spent on Bush's war. I just found it difficult to find any hope in this morass. So my wife sought to take me back out west and take me to someone to do a clearing way for me. I must admit, that it helped a bit. Oh, the world hasn't changed much, just my view of it. I began to remember that despite all the chaos around us, we still had a chance to come together as one people. One of my online friends, CowboyAngel, just wrote a piece about this using the Red Sox as an example. Looking back through the history of the US, we have had our backs to the wall countless times. Yet, when the chips were down, we came together as a people. Not the government, oh they don't even know we exist anymore, I mean the people. Look at Katrina. If it were left to the government, many of those people would still be homeless. It took groups like Habitat for Humanity and even actors like Brad Pitt and even Michael Moore to come together. John Stossel did a thing about this on 20/20 the other night. He showed the paperwork that has to be filled out to build these houses. I think he said that taped together the pages would go 1 1/2 times the length of Giants Stadium. Yet, the American people came together to help each other. In that, there is hope.
So maybe there is something to write about there. The thing that struck me this birthday was the most precious gifts I was given. When I was in Youth Ministry, we held retreat weekends called Search. During a part in the weekend, i believe it was Saturday night, we had Polankas. Polankas were letters written to you from family, friends, and supporters to tell you how much you mean to them and how much they support what you are doing. Well, that is what happened this birthday. It started with a card from my daughter, she is my step-daughter, but I like what I read from Ed McGaa once, there is no step in a family. They are either family or they are not. So she is my daughter. In her letter she said how she was not sure at first, mostly because of my sense of humor. In time, she said that she saw the way her mother lit up when I was around and how I brought love into her life. She told me how she was glad that I came into their lives. Then Cindy handed me the letter from her mother. Her mother said how when she first met me she loved my hair. I think it was a bit long then, but I think it reminded her of my father-in-laws hair when he was young. She told me how blessed they felt that I came into their lives. She said about how happy Cindy looked when I was around.
My sister-in-law sent me an email. In it she told how the family had come to love me and take me in as their own. She noted how I related to my sister-in-law Cheryl and thanked me for being there for the family when she passed. She thanked me for helping her when she was down. She is fighting MS and struggles at times to keep a positive outlook. She told me that I have helped her. She says that when she is feeling down, she hears me whispering in her ear to be positive and work through it. She also mentioned about how I brought so much into their lives and mostly how I had touched hers.
My father-in-law also wrote a letter. This is a letter I will cherish. My father-in-law suffers Alzheimers and while he does pretty good, he does have his bad times. Let me share just a portion of it:

Thank God or who/whomever had you and Cindy meet - marry, etc. Before I forget of my spelling hand gives out, you are chosen! One for Cindy + the rest of us. You always seem to smile (which at first had me worry) Now! I know its how you are.

There was more, but you get the idea and I would like to keep some of it private. I love you too Papa.
The one that really got me welling up and mind you, I had to hide it because she was looking just for that. A letter from my daughter. You know how it is as a parent, you really don't think you are getting through. If I cannot get through to my own kids, how am I to reach the world? I was thinking that I wasn't doing a very good job there. Then I read her letter. She went on to tell me about the many things the we have done together. She told me that the memories of climbing Silver Cascade and the many other escapades into the woods will always be remembered. She told me that she knows she fought me about going into the woods, but once there she began to feel the wonder that I was trying to get to them, but thought I had failed. She reminded me of the times when I raised her up, how I taught the two of them to face the odds and to have faith in themselves. She noted that even when she slipped up, I was there to help dust her off and be her strength. She told me that I had served as an example of the person she wants to be. And she thanked me for making her the person she is. Oh, she is not quite polished yet, but I will say that I admire my daughter for the courage she has shown at times. She is really becoming a wonderful lady that I am very proud to call my own. Now if I can just get her to treat her brother a little better. LOL.
In the end, what I came away with was the greatest gift of all. A reminder that no matter what, I do have the ability to touch people's hearts and help them overcome the odds. And, since this is supposed to be the year for it, give them hope.
So, I will close now with a prayer.
Creator, oh hear my plea. I ask that the people come to know hope. I ask that their hearts become full so that they feel that they need to give their love to others so as to keep room for the love you continue to send. I pray that the hearts of our leaders become open and that they reconnect with the people and the earth. I pray that we open our hearts, that we act as those who came together for the victims of Katrina. That we show love and respect to each other. That we work to raise each other up. That we learn to honor each other's path. That we remember that the only one not getting up the mountain is the one running round and round telling everyone else they are on the wrong path. I pray that peace, harmony and balance, once again return to the land and the people.
Hear my prayer
My heart to your heart, one heart, one spirit

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Halfway to a Hundred - What a Great Time! - Part Two - Grand Cany

http://whitewolf.gaia.com — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 00:13:35 GMT

Phew, playing catchup is no fun. It has been a heck of a week. Okay, now where did I leave off yesterday. Oh, that's right, I said I would talk about the Grand Canyon. Well now, pull yourself up a log, sit by the fire while I tell you about this special day.
We met MIke the day before to go over our itinerary. That's one of them there fancy words for what we going to do. Heh. Anywho, we decided to meet around 6:30. He was thinking earlier but then decided to wait a little longer so that we could see Oak Creek Canyon as we drove through it. Actually up and over it. So we packed up a couple of gallons of water. I remind you that in the high desert it can be deceiving as it is not baking hot, but it is very arid. You have to keep yourself hydrated. We had packed some food also so we could picnic up there.
Well, we heading through uptown Sedona heading towards Oak Creek Canyon. Mike had us swing down this little side road where we could go over a small bridge that took you over Oak Creek. Did I tell you it is the only continuously running water there? Reminded me of the rivers in New Hampshire. Back up to the main road (89a) and up into the canyon. He noted a spot off the side of the road where they have a fountain where you can refill your jugs with spring water if need be. Free.
Very soon we were in Oak Creek Canyon and winding up the sides. You have to go up and over to follow the road up to Flagstaff. The road was narrow, twisty, and very close to the edge. Didn't help that we had rented a Toyota 4Runner figuring we might need the off-road ability. It did have a very large tank, which was good for this long trip, but murder at the pump. The view through the canyon was breathtaking. It was a long way down if I veered too far right. I held my breath. Okay, not really.
We followed 89a up to Flagstaff and jumped on 40 to circle around town to the east. I forget the highway we picked up, but we were heading up to Cameron. On the way, Mike had us stop at Sunset Creater Park. The park boasts remnants of the lava flow when the mountain exploded. There were various levels of lava rock, from the huge boulders of black to the fine sand on the hills where the weather had beaten it down. We walked through part of the park, noting the plants that managed to grow through all of this. One hill was entirely covered with the lava now disintegrated into small gravel and black sand. They don't let people go up the hill so as to preserve its appearance. We saw a similar lava field off of Route 40 in New Mexico last year. This particular one is said to have traveled all the way down to Sedona, leaving in its wake very fertile soil.
We headed out from there and on up through the Dene (Navajo) Nation, stopping off at the ruins of Wupatki. I think I spelled that right. These were ruins much like the Anassazi left behind only redder. It is amazing that a lot of these ruins were abandoned around the 1100's yet most of the walls are still standing. Can you imagine our houses today still standing after standing abandoned all these years? It is interesting to note that each family had an apartment that was maybe 8x8 if that. Of course, they spent most of their time outdoors and used these rooms just to sleep or storage. There was also a round walled in area, that I believed, based on what I knew of the Anassazi, to be a kiva. This would be where meetings and ceremonies would take place. Further down was another one but oblong with openings at both ends. The archeologists surmised it must be a ball field since the Sanaqua were descendants of the South American tribes. I noticed that it was right alongside the wash, so I thought that it might have been used to capture the rushing water during the rains and they would close off the holes when it was full creating a reservoir. After all, the things we know now of the Aztec, Olmec, Inca, and others were that they were brilliant builders. Just off to the right from that was a unique feature the Native Americans called "the Breath of the Earth". There was a hole in the ground that led to an underground cavern. When the air pressure was high, it would suck air in, when the air pressure was low, it would blow it out. Thus, the breath. Really quite an amazing place set in a valley where you could see for miles.
Leaving off there we traveled north and soon Mike pointed out to our right. He told us that area was what a lot of people come out to see, the Painted Desert. He said there wasn't much out there, he thought the things we were seeing were more special. We continued driving on up and stopped at a Dene roadside stand. Some amazing artwork, especially the horsehair pottery and statues. They also had some great jerky. We got back in the car and Mike pointed out that paralleling us was the Little Colorado with its own sets of canyons. Mike said that the Little Colorado flowed blue while the Colorado flowed green. He loved to camp at the spot where they came together. Caveat campers, even if the sun is shining when you are down in these canyons, keep your ears open. A storm could be going on twenty or thirty miles away and all that water comes and meets and rushes down these canyons. If you hear the rush of water, get to high ground quickly.
Eventually we entered the park and stopped at the Watch tower. The tower designed by Mary Coulter was to blend in with the surroundings and have a great view of the canyon. Built from stone it features a gift ship and then a tower that you can climb up in and look out over the canyon. The stairs going up are very narrow and it is open all the way down. Well, anyone who knows me knows that I have a problem with heights. I had more than ample trials to overcome this fear. I did go up and even looked over the edge to take a picture of Mike and Cindy down below. Neither was going to go up. The interior is done very nicely. They hired a Hopi artist to do the paintings on the walls. The chairs and a table in there are made from limbs and hides. I believe the shot here was taken down one of the paths near there. Now, I have heard some people say that the Grand Canyon is just a big hole in the ground, but what a hole. It goes on and on with varying colors from the reds found down south in Sedona to the white limestone. The limestone is there because at one time, this was ocean bottom according to geologists. it is hard to believe when you are standing there looking down into the canyon that at one time this was once under water.
After staying at the Watch Tower for a bit, we headed on to another stop. I don't remember all the names, but needless to say, when you stop, it is like seeing the canyon all over the place. Two things affect what you see, the viewpoint, and the lighting. I really suggest that anyone going there take the time to spend the day. You may think you stop once and that is it, but each lookout point offers its own views and visions. Oh, and Mike warned us when we stopped for lunch to keep our food close. The squirrels are rather aggressive as I was later to find out. No, he didn't take my food, but crawled up on the wall in front of me and then down right near me and over my shoe to get at some food. I have been around squirrels all my life but never had one come right up to me like that. Mike said that if I had food in my pocket, he might have gone in after it. While at one stop, we were treating to a pair of turkey vultures flying in the canyon. Their wing span is about six feet but they looked no bigger than a raven from where we stood. At one of the information boards we noted one of the dangers, not being knowledgeable of the terrain before hiking.
An olympic marathoner and her friend decided to go down into the canyon. Between the two of them they had a couple of power bars, an apple and only a litter and half of water. They enjoyed the decent, the views and the wildlife, but soon her friend started to get sick. You have to remember that you are at an altitude in a dry climate. Drink plenty of water is the rule. Well, she found some shade and tucked her friend in there. She then started back up to get help. She didn't make it. Searchers did find her friend alive and she survived. The lesson to be learned is that you can be in the greatest of shape, but this is harsh country and needs to be respected. Don't be fooled by its beauty.
Well, we continued on our trip until we made it to the main entrance. We were going to camp out here until sunset and then get something to eat. This is where I met Mr. Squirrel, but better yet three condors. Unfortunately they were resting at the time, so I only got pics of two on a rock ledge and one in a tree. By this time the afternoon sun was starting to cast long shadows on the canyon. Like I said, stick around, the lighting changes and it is an entire new canyon. I snapped off dozens more pictures and then we decided to go down over near the mule trail. Mike said that it was a great opportunity for us to go "below the rim". Mike and I made our way down the trail over thirty feet down the canyon. Cindy said it was just a little too close for her, so she stayed at the upper level . I managed to take a shot of her "below the rim:". Only ten feet, but still below the rim.
There are two mule tours. A day tour that goes down most of the way and out over the mesa. The other goes down beyond the mesa to the canyon floor. I believe Mike said that was an overnight tour. Where the overnight trail breaks away from the day trail is a wooded area. From the canyon top, it looked like a green strip of bushes. Mike laughed. He said there is a camp ground in the trees and they are 100 feet high. Um, let me just back away from this edge a bit. Yeesh! we went back up top and nosed around in the gift shop. Cindy went over to check out the hotel. I went over to the Hopi House which was another Coulter designed house fashioned after the ruins like Wupatki. It housed a museum and gift shop.
By this time, the sun was starting to set. The whole canyon took on the warm glows of oranges, golds, and reds. Once again, a new view of the same scenes that gave a totally new look. The condors were gone, so I missed them taking off. Darn. The area we were was at an indent rather than a point so the sun set over the point to the west of us.
Once the sun was down, we went to the restaurant inside. We had a great meal to restore our energy. What a day. All we had left was the long drive back to Sedona.
Going out the main gate you passed hotels, motels, and restaurants. A kitchy difference from the beautiful way when we came in from the east. By this time it was dark and we had to keep talking so that Cindy could stay awake. She had decided to do the driving as I drove all the way up and Mike wasn't covered on the rental. We went down the road and passed the Bedrock Campground with the big Fred Flintstone. Glad we didn't come this way in. It was long straight roads all the way down, that is until we hit Oak Creek Canyon. Let me tell you, Cindy was wide awake through those twisty roads up and over the mountain. We managed to make it home in one piece. Tired, but full of awesome visions.
I was truly blessed and have great thanks for all who helped to make this trip the fantastic adventure it was.
As great as this trip was, it didn't measure up to the notes, emails, and letters that I received from my wife's family and especially my daughter. My daughter's letter brought tears to my eyes. Something she was hoping for I think. LOL.
Hopefully tomorrow, I will tell of these greatest gifts.

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Halfway to a Hundred - What a Great Time! - Part One - Sedona

http://whitewolf.gaia.com — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:45:12 GMT

First I would like to take the time to thank my wonderful wife, Cindy for the great trip she had planned for over a year. I would also like to thank my daughter Neilie for giving her mother the week from her timeshare so that we could go. Neither would tell me where I was going. They were pretty good about keeping the secret all year up until two days before we were to leave, Cindy made the mistake of using my laptop to check the weather. She didn't put it back on the page I was on, so I nosed to see where she had gone. I kept quiet until the next day. I would also like to thank Mike Fitzgerald, my brother-in-laws cousin who took time out of his life to show us the sites and ensure we had a great time.
The trip was amazing. We left Boston's Logan Airport just as the sun was setting. It took a long time to set as we were heading west. So I had sunset almost all the way to Phoenix. Cindy pulled out all the stops and even got us first class out, though we were shoehorned in on the return trip. Why is it that airlines feel that they have to cram people into such little spaces. At 6'2, 245, I am no slight man. I could barely move. Anyway, that might be another rant for another time.
We arrived in Phoenix around 8:30p, I think. It was still around 97 degrees. Phoenix is in what is called low desert. As we were being bussed out to the rental car place, we were amazed at the size of the cactus. I believe these are called Saguro, but can be mistaken. These are the ones you usually see in westerns with the arms on them. Being as we got in late, Cindy had set us up with a hotel. Unfortunately, we got directions to the wrong one and had to have our reservations switched from the other. Same hotel, different sections of town. We walk up to look out our door and see palm trees. Well we saddled up and heading on out to Highway 17 and north towards Sedona. We stopped in Camp Verde to see Montezuma's Castle. Guess how much it cost us to get in? No guess? Nothing! It was my birthday. Oh, okay, it wasn't my birthday, but the National Parks giving a free day to celebrate Citizenship Day. The Castle is an old Sinagua cliff dwelling. It is built right into the cliffs with some "apartments" down along the wall. Cindy was impressed with the Sycamore trees. She loved the mottled bark. We got to see a lizard lazing in the sun and a walking stick. A walking stick is an insect that looks like a stick. This is located near the Yavapai/Apache Casino, so naturally, we had to go and make a donation. Cindy loves the slots. We ate at Johnny Rockets which was a real treat.
After our stopover at the casino, we got back on 17 and headed north. The further we went the shorter the cactus got until we were in high desert and the Sagura were replaced with Prickly Pear. Prickly Pear is a low growing cactus with Mickey Mouse ear type leaves. They were fruiting while we were there. We fortunately were cautioned not to try to pick them. Oh, not because it is illegal, but because you will get these little hair-like cactus needles in you. The spikes on the prickly pear is not your worry, it is those almost microscopic hairs that stick in you and you need a magnifying glass and tweezers to take out. You get off of 17 at 179 and continue north. As you come up into Sedona you are met with the red rocks. Rising up to your right is Bell Rock. If you do go and decide to stop, be sure to get a Red Rock pass. If you leave your car without one, you will get a ticket. You can stand at your car and take pictures, but don't leave it. You might call Bell Rock the gateway to Sedona. From here on in, it is a 360 view of beautiful rocks, buttes, and mesas. A butte is tall and narrow, a mesa is wide and flat on top. Another thing you will note is that they name all the rocks. Bell Rock, Cathedral Rock, CoffeePot, Snoopy, Elephant, and on and on.
As you come to the center of town, you come to the "Y". The "Y" is where Rt 179 meets 89a. Because 89a goes west in one direction and then northeast in the other, it forms a "Y". We stayed at a resort there called Los Abrigados.
Los Abrigados is really nice. The rooms are like you would find in a Residence Inn with mini-kitchens, but with separate bedrooms like a small apartment. Outside our room was the two restaurants on property, Steaks and Sticks and Joeys. Steaks and Sticks has great prime rib and wings. Joey's Bistro is an upscale Italian restaurant dedicated to famous Joeys. Pictures of Joey Bishop, Joe Piscopo and others adorn the walls. Right nearby is Tlaquepaque, (Tuh-lackie-packie) which has numerous art galleries, shops and restaurants. You can see the sycamores growing out of the courtyards as they built around the great trees rather than plowing everything under. Different head in Sedona. Even with the widening of 179 so that emergency vehicles can get by the traffic and the new rotaries at the crossroads, they took care to preserve the vegetation and transplanted the trees. Around here, they just plow everything under and then bring in new trees. In Tlaquepaque there is also the Oak Creek Brewery restaurant where we met Lakota Wolf. Cindy and Lakota hit it off right away and I just sat and ate as they went on and on as if they knew each other for years.
Heading up the Y you can go left which takes you into the "standard" town businesses, banks, restaurants, Safeway, and such. Oh, and the Coffeepot restaurant which offers 101 different omelets. It is in front of Coffeepot the stone formation. The is also a great Italian restaurant which is kind of upscale called Dahl and Deluca. We had just come back in from the back country and weren't exactly dressed, but they let us in anyway. What a sight! If you head northeast from 179 you go into what I call uptown Sedona. This area has all the tourist shops, tours, and restaurants. This is the way to head out to the Grand Canyon also. We had lunch at the Wildflower and sat on the deck overlooking the rock formation called Snoopy. This is where we met up with my brother-in-laws cousin who lives in Sedona and served as our guide. He told us all about the area and where to go and what to see. He was our tour guide on our day trip up through Oak Creek Canyon, Sunset Crater Park, Wupatki, and the Grand Canyon.
We got ourselves settled in, met with Mike and then the adventures began. It started with a Pink Jeep Tour to Broken Arrow. Broken Arrow is where the movie of the same name was filmed in the fifties. This tour is not for the faint of heart as they take you up and over the red rocks . It is well worth it though. Like Rae, our guide, told us, "Even the restrooms have a great view!" Got that straight. Everywhere you looked was an amazing view. There were prickly pear, sycamore and juniper breaking up the red rock. We even saw a mule deer! No Javelina though. The Javelina is a peccary that is indigenous to the area. It is the official mascot of Sedona. In uptown they have statues of them which they have painted or adorned in various fashions. Rae was a card. A Jersey girl who came out like many of the people and just stayed. The tour continues and you are treated to the many twists and turns of the trails and eventually finding yourself in a 45 degree downhill position. Not for the squeamish. It takes them many weeks of training on these trails before they are allowed to take people out.
The next day we headed out to the Grand Canyon. We had Mike in tow and he took us out the back way through Oak Creek Canyon, up towards Flagstaff and Sunset Crater Park and Wupatki, through the Dene (Navajo) Nation and into the Grand Canyon. I will talk about that in another blog as that was an amazing sight in itself.
Now Sedona is an interesting town in that it has three influences, the Native American, the artist community, and the New Age. Sedona is unique in that it has four vortexes right in town. Vortexes are swirling energy centers. The earth is surround by an electromagnetic grid. Sometimes where these grid lines come together vortexes are created. They are all over the country, but in Sedona, there are four locations. So for many New Agers, this is a spiritual center. There are many New Age shops around besides the artist studios and Native American shops. I think this site explains it better than I can. Harold and Mark were wonderful people and added to the greatness of this journey. http://www.sedonamysticaltours.com/
We spent one day just browsing around uptown going in the many shops. I got hold of some Buffalo and Ostrich jerky which was pretty darn good. Cindy is fond of minerals, geodes, and crystals. She found many shops to explore. We did stop in the western way store to get some hats. Mike told us that being in the high desert you are nearer to the sun, so we needed to protect our heads. Oh and drink plenty of water. It takes a while for your body to adjust so you have to keep water with you all the time. We did hit the New Age Center across the street from Tlaquepaque. What an amazing collection of Buddhas, Ganeshas, Quan Yins, gems, geodes, minerals, books, and music. As an added bonus, when you go out into the little side rooms where they have more Buddhas and fairies, the Oak Creek runs run underneath you.
I could go on and on. Tomorrow, Hopefully, I will post our Grand Canyon tour. And then I wish to finish it off with the greatest birthday presents of all, letters and notes from my Mother-in-law, Father-in-law, step-daughter, and an extra special one from my daughter. I will not share the letters themselves, but what they said and the impact it had on me. So stay tuned.
My heart to your heart, one heart, one spirit.

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