Native American Healing Traditions and a few thoughts on love/emptiness

[skydog]

 

Ok Just to start with Id like to say.

 

Some people go on and on about emptiness.

 

Like Nothing really exists, everythings just an illusion, detach from everything. Imo this can very quickly and easily become concepts themselves and false.

 

I mean I have a mind, I have a body. People know what the sun is and what a dog is.

 

Bushmen Shamans the oldest tribal spiritual peoples emphasise the importance of feeling love in their shaking ceremonies to open the heart.

 

Sufi Mystics also focus on love first to open the heart.

 

Native Americans use plenty of prayer.

 

Imo someone trying to access certain states of being without love or connection of the heart is doing it wrong. This can easily become nihilism, depression and dark. I mean you can observe it in the aggressiveness of some of the people who claim to be spiritual masters but attack anyone who disagrees with their views on this forum.

 

I know people will likely ignore this. But I just felt like giving my view.

 

When I do spontaneous movements if my heart is open and I feel love its a mystical experience if not it is a completely different one.

 

I am not actually giving an opinion because one can also say that emptiness is all there is and be happy in pain.

 

 

The Challenge of Healing

Native American healing is not an academic discipline that can be learned from books. Nor can it be grasped by participating in rituals, visiting power places, or following in the footsteps of other healers. The lessons are learned from nature, from the original elders: stone, water, earth, fire, air, animal, and plant. Their power enters into the soul through dreams and vision- seeking and during times of sacrifice and fasting. We fast from food, from water, from words and busy-mindedness. In some traditions, a seeker also fasts from light, meditating in a dark chamber or cave. Healing power comes as a grace to those who are humble enough to listen and courageous enough to express and act on their vision.

The Native American way is not for everyone. We each have our unique talents, gifts, and life purpose. Health is enhanced by discovering that gift and expressing it in a way that brings harmony and happiness to our communities and world. "You don't choose the medicine," said Keetoowah, "it chooses you." This is especially true of spirituality, the medicine path that leads people to the Divine. Don't pursue God like an object that you can grasp; rather live in a good way and you will receive what is needed. You may find that your medicine is Jewish, Christian, Celtic, Norse, or African. It is most likely the religion of your ancestors. However, it is also possible that your path is unique and not easily categorized. No spiritual gift or life purpose is better or worse than any other. In fact, each facet of the human spirit fits together like a puzzle-- like the continents that were once joined. After all, even science must now admit that people are more similar than different. There is greater genetic diversity between two lowland gorillas living in the same habitat than between an Alaskan Inuit, an Australian aborigine, and an Italian. If we have a single genetic ancestor, then perhaps we also share a common, though fragmented, spiritual teaching. A phrase from the original instructions is written in every soul.

The path of a Native American healer is not easy. An invitation must be extended by an elder or a spirit, and/or one may be compelled by a vision or deep intuition. And tests must be passed. The healer may find him or herself wounded and challenged as Spirit offers lessons in compassion and fortitude. I had to symbolically face North, the direction of Winter and death, during a seven year period of illness and personal hardship. I was lucky and passed through my "dark night of the soul" to stand in the East, the direction of Spring. Some people are not so fortunate; they face North and die. I am not trying to scare you away from Native American medicine if that is your calling. However, it is important to understand that although all paths are equal, they are not equally smooth or easy. I remember sitting with Keetoowah and a group of spiritual seekers one day. A young white man asked Keetoowah, "What do I need to do to become a medicine man?" Keetoowah scolded the man for his presumption, "I wouldn't wish that curse on anyone. And you can't do anything to become a medicine person!"

How to Learn About Native Culture

We do not have the right to trespass on Native American sacred sites or ceremonies any more than we may enter a person's home without permission. It is not that particular ethnicities are excluded because of the color of their skin. The problem is that many people have a romantic or stereotyped view of Native Americans, and thus pursue teachings for the wrong reasons. Rather than following an authentic inner voice, they believe that Native ways are adventurous, fun, and exotic and that it is their right to imitate and appropriate them.

Remember, also, that Native healing is only one aspect of Native culture. There are many respectful ways to learn about Native American culture, including:

• Reading. There are many excellent books about every facet of culture. See the resources at the end of this article for some that I especially recommend.
• Observing or participating in intertribal dance, music, and cultural gatherings known as pow-wows. When the master of ceremonies announces, "Intertribal. Everyone dance!" that includes you! The location and dates of pow-wows can be found in News from Indian Country and Native Peoples Magazine, listed in resources below.
• Enjoying the arts, culture, and history presented at Native American art shows, galleries, trading posts, and at museums such as the National Museum of the American Indian, the Gilcrease Museum, the Pequot Museum, the Heard Museum, the Iroquois Museum, and the many fine museums of individual Indian nations, often located on reservations.
• Listening to Native American music. Music is an important key to culture. You can find Native music in trading posts and most music and museum shops. Vendors at pow-wows have the largest selection.
• Offering financial support to organizations that defend the land and rights of Native peoples, such as the Native American Rights Fund (1506 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80302).
• Learning how to be a better protector and caretaker of your local environment through peaceful political activism (including voting) and ecologically responsible behavior that reduces consumption and waste.
• Exploring "primitive," that is, primal survival and living skills, such as building shelters, starting fires with a wooden drill, tracking, and recognizing and using local healing herbs.
• If an invitation is extended, observing or participating in Native American ceremonies. Many of these, such as the Sweat Lodge, are widely practiced and sometimes open to non-Native people as a way of building cross-cultural bridges. Learn the proper etiquette and protocol for the ceremony by asking more experienced participants or your host. Beware, however, of individuals who charge money for sacred ceremony. Educational seminars may require tuition; but according to Native tradition, it is immoral to equate healing or ceremony with a specific bundle of "frog skins" (green currency, or any other color of money).

Sharing the Wisdom

Certain aspects of Native American culture can and must be shared if humanity is to survive. Native traditions can teach us how to live in harmony with the land and each other and to prevent the widely prophesied "Earth Changes." The foundation of Native American culture and healing is traditional values. When Seneca elder Twylah Nitsch was a young girl, her grandfather placed twelve stones on the ground in a circle and described how each symbolized a gift along the Pathway of Peace, a road to balanced living. I use a similar wheel to teach my students, derived primarily from Grandma Twylah, but also from the teachings of other elders. The gifts are:

1. Learning. Learn from all our relations, from mountain, plant, animal, human, from dreams, from elders and children, from stories and life experiences. Good learning creates connection and caring; poor learning is intellectual baggage.
2. Respect. Honor all forms of life; do not be careless in your thoughts, words, and actions. Respect yourself; low self-esteem insults Creator's precious gift of life.
3. Acceptance. We cannot grow unless we accept who we are and have the courage to face and learn from our weaknesses and shadows.
4. Spiritual Sight. Sight and insight are equally important. Spiritual sight means ridding the mind of mental screens, so that we perceive the world without preconception, stereotype, and prejudice.
5. Listening. The spiritual person is a good listener. Native American elders sometimes test prospective students by observing how comfortable they are with silence. The narcissistic person is always thinking and speaking and thus has nothing to express but his or her own opinions. There is no silent space in which to simply listen and experience.
6. Speaking. If we can hear the truth but are afraid to express and live it, even when it goes against the crowd, then we can never find inner peace. Walk your talk, and talk your walk.
7. Love. Keetoowah once said to me that he used to fight his enemies, but later decided he was going to love them to death! Love is for warriors, not whimps. Indian healers like to remind Christians that Jesus' love did not prevent him from throwing greedy merchants out of the temple. Actions that increase love are good; actions that decrease love are evil.
8. Service. Service is more than "helping." Some people help from a position of superiority and expect something in return. True service is selfless and without ulterior motive.
9. Relationship. Native American prayers frequently include the expression "All my relations." We are all related, like plants growing from the same soil. The action of any member of a community affects all members. We are accountable to each other and to all of nature. A feeling of connectedness is the source of responsible action.
10. Creativity. Nature never repeats herself. Although we are all related, we must each find our own path to Creator. An Innu elder once told me, "If you sing someone else's song, you are called a liar in my language." Creativity means allowing the mind to soar like the eagle. The eagle does not follow any one else's ruts and leaves no track in the sky.
11. Dynamic Spirituality. The spiritual person does not sit in a cave and wait for "enlightenment" before doing good in the world. A medicine person is in the front lines. A warrior like Geronimo would lead his warriors, not watch from the hill top. Spiritual warriors stand up for what they believe in and fight against injustice.
12. Gratitude. Gratitude is more than saying "thank you." We can express gratitude through music, song, prayer, dance, and art. When we are grateful to Creator for our gifts and blessings, we strengthen those blessings. If you receive a meaningful dream, thank Creator for the dream, and it is more likely to come true. If a deer crosses your path or an eagle flies overhead, thank these "creature teachers," as Twylah Nitsch calls them. Spiritual powers that appear in vision are more likely to hang around when they see concrete expressions of gratitude. They don't like to be taken for granted.

Closing Words

Like other spiritual paths, Native American tradition emphasizes ridding the mind of selfishness and egotism. "Ego means Edging God Out" -- ego blocks the voice of spirit. Even if you are not invited to a Sweat Lodge or Sacred Pipe Ceremony, you can still learn the wisdom of Native American healing. Have the courage to meet life face to face, nakedly, as in the Sweat Lodge. Become a hollow reed or pipe through which the Creator can send His/Her sacred breath and guidance.

Resources

Suggested Reading

Cohen, Kenneth. Honoring the Medicine: The Essential Guide to Native American Healing. NY: Ballantine Books, June, 2003.

Beck, Peggy V. and Anna L. Walters. The Sacred. Tsaile (Navajo Nation), AZ: Navajo Community College Press, 1977.

Four Worlds Development Project. The Sacred Tree. University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, 1988.

• What is Native American Healing?

By "Native American" I mean the indigenous people of North America, as defined by Native American nations. Only these sovereign nations have the right to define tribal identity. And I use the term "healing" to distinguish it from curing. Curing is the domain of licensed health-care providers, such as physicians. It means applying a therapy with the purpose of eradicating disease. Curing can be measured and replicated. Healing, on the other hand, means to make whole and holy, to establish a greater connection between self and nature, self and community. It focuses on qualitative change more than quantitative, on spiritual well-being more than cure. Of course curing disease is a desirable outcome or side effect, but it is not the primary purpose. In fact, only the Great Spirit knows the ultimate purpose or outcome of a Native healing ceremony. Native American healing is part of Native spirituality. It goes way beyond science and medicine.

• In other words, we should not attempt to license medicine men?

The very idea is absurd and I would even say insulting. Neither licensing boards nor government agencies, whether state or federal, should interfere with Native American spiritual practices and religious freedom. You can't test or expect uniform answers from healers who are given unique instructions by the Great Spirit! Also, each of the more than 500 tribes in North America have their own culture, language, and healing traditions.

• Are you a medicine man?

In my view, the term "medicine man" is an honorific, a title conferred by a Native elder or community because of a person's healing knowledge, wisdom, courage, and selfless attitude. It is not proper for a person to call him or herself a medicine person.

• How old is Native American healing? Do you believe that it was already in existence when Native Americans crossed the Bering Straits on their way to the New World?

No one knows the age or origin of Native American healing. It has been practiced in North America for at least 40,000 years, and possibly for much longer. Anthropologists are now forced to admit that they seriously underestimated the antiquity of the occupation of North America. Some tribes' oral traditions describe volcanoes that have been extinct for one million years. How do you explain that?

• I can't

Well, here's my version of the Bering Straits legend. Native Americans started in North America. They traveled from North America across the Bering Straits many years ago, when North America and the Russian Far East were connected by a land bridge. They didn't like what they found there, so they came back. And that's why you find evidence of cultural diffusion going both directions.

Honestly, I think the Bering Straits nonsense was created by Europeans to prove that, since Native peoples were not originally in North America, the colonizers had as much right to the land as they. With this kind of logic, it is more correct to say that both Europe and North America belong to Africa. After all, geneticists are certain that homo sapiens originated there.

• You call your book Honoring the Medicine? Does this title have a special meaning?

Yes, the medicine is that which inspires a sense of the sacred. It is a power in people and in nature. It is the breath of the Great Spirit. The purpose of my book and the dedication of my life is to honor the medicine. Honoring the medicine is also a principle in Native American healing practice. Healers teach their patients to discover and honor their unique medicine-- their life purpose. Honor the medicine by living it, by having the courage to express it and use it for the good of others. To honor the medicine is to live a satisfying life.

• What, from a Native American viewpoint, are the primary causes of disease?

People become sick because they do not follow the Creator's instructions. They bend to the conditioning influences and pressures of educational and religious institutions. They fill their lives with things and their minds with noise rather than silence. They forget how to listen to the deepest voice, a voice that is both inside and outside. I would say that this is the primary cause of disease.

Yet Native people, like modern physicians, recognize that there are many causes of disease. It is never simple. According to Native teachings, there may be physical reasons for disease, such as exposure to viruses or bacteria; emotional factors like depression or anxiety; and spiritual factors such as living without gratitude, breaking taboos, or vulnerability to negative or even evil forces.

• How do Native healers treat disease?

There is no universal method. It depends on the culture of the healer and his or her training, sensitivity, vision, and connection to spirit. However, if we look at Native cultures generally, we can say that certain methods are extremely common-- and these are explored in detail in my book. For example, all healers pray; most sing and use sacred instruments such as the drum. And many Native healers practice, counseling, ritual, massage or laying on of hands, and herbal medicine. And, by the way, most healers use therapeutic humor. I've learned most of my jokes from Indian people.

• Have Native healing methods changed over time, or are the methods today the same as those practiced in the past?

Some methods have remained relatively unchanged, but many have evolved because of innovations and visions of influential healers and because of cultural exchange between healers from various tribes. Also, Native healers do not live in a vacuum. They are part of both the modern world and the ancient world. Today, it is not uncommon for a healer to pray over a prescription drug to increase its efficacy or to refer a patient to a physician to treat the medical side of a problem.

• Have you performed any miracle cures?

Well they may seem like miracles because the Great Spirit is beyond our knowledge. For example, after one brief ceremony, a man with advanced multiple sclerosis was able to walk normally. A Vietnam vet overcame many years of post traumatic stress disorder after a ceremony in which he asked forgiveness of one of his victims. A drug addict stopped using drugs and got off the streets after an exorcistic ritual. I recount some of these stories in my book, but please remember that I did not perform the cures. The Great Spirit is the doctor. I just helped to make a connection with His/Her miraculous power.

• What do you charge for a consultation or a ceremony?

Nothing.

• Nothing?

Yes. Now, I can only speak for myself. I am not saying that other healers shouldn't charge for their services. But as I have been taught by my elders and instructed by Spirit, it is wrong to charge money for a traditional healing. When a person is sick we should not take advantage of him or her. A doctor should be generous and thus must be willing to be the poorest of the poor. I have never charged a fee for Native American medicine. Yet, this does not mean that healing is free. Some sacrifice, some offering must be made by the patient. Perhaps a pilgrimage or a fast, perhaps a donation to a Native charity-- something to demonstrate dedication, resolve, and good will. The patient may also need to pay travel expenses for a healer and his or her helpers and host a feast. In the old days, a patient might give horses and blankets; today a patient might offer personal gifts as well as money. But I personally feel that it is wrong to set a fixed fee for traditional healing.

• Does Native American medicine include practices that people can do for their own healing?

Of course. For example the Lakota holy man, Fools Crow would doctor himself by sitting in the sunlight and using his hands to energetically remove unneeded or toxic forces. But the most important self-healing practices are 1. learning how to maintain inner silence and 2. spending as much time as possible in the wilderness. Herbal medicine and diet are also important components of a Native American self-healing program. I am a proponent of natural foods; we should eat fresh, seasonal, local, and organic. And stay away from the three whites: sugar, salt, and white flour.

• What about "bad medicine" or sorcery. Do you believe that it really exists?

The human mind has the power to influence its own physiology in a positive or negative way. We also have the power to influence others. The greater the power, the greater the responsibility to use it correctly. I know people who have been the victims of curses. It is real, and curses work whether the victim believes in them or not. I tell several stores of curses and cures in my book.

• Are there any dangers? For example, do Native American therapies produce side effects?

Before I answer this question, let's look at the record of western medicine. More than 200,000 people die each year in hospitals because of unforeseen effects of medication. Many people also die from surgical complications. And if we look at subjective reactions to western medicine, it is even more grim. Patients generally feel worse after seeing a physician. Taking penicillin or having blood drawn or one's anatomy probed is not fun.
By contrast, Native American medicine is generally safe and free of unpleasant side-effects. Of course there are some commonsense precautions, such as not advising an anorexic to fast and not feasting a diabetic on donuts. Significantly, patients generally feel better after visiting a Native healer than they did before seeing him or her.

• Is Native American healing used as a stand-alone therapy? What do Native people think of Western medicine?

No person or culture has a monopoly on healing wisdom or technique. Is Western medicine a stand alone therapy? Or does the patient need the loving support of his or her family to truly overcome disease? Does the patient require counseling or lifestyle changes? Perhaps the patient must take herbs or yogurt to heal his intestines after a course of antibiotics. What therapy on earth is a stand alone therapy? Native American philosophy is pragmatic. If it works, use it. Native medicine men do not hesitate to personally visit doctors for bacterial infections, trauma, diabetes management, and many other conditions. They go to the optometrist and the dentist, just like you and me.

• What illnesses can Native American healing cure? Is there scientific evidence?

I have personally facilitated healings from cancer, arthritis, chronic pain, encephalitis, migraine, Crohn's Disease, fibromyalgia, diabetes, chronic fatigue, asthma, multiple sclerosis, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and other conditions. Not all aspects of Native healing are subject to measurement. For example, we can measure distinct changes in brainwaves, blood chemistry, and skin conductivity in both the healer and patient, but we cannot measure the Great Spirit or his power directly. We can determine the biochemically active agent in a healing herb, but cannot measure how the prayers of the healer empower that herb.

Some of the best healing research was conducted at the Menninger Institute during the 1980s and early 1990s. Compared to untrained people, exceptional healers were able to produce unusual electrical currents on the skin and electric fields around their bodies. The results were published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

• How many healers were tested?

Nine.

• You were one of those healers, weren't you?

Yes.

The Personal Side

• Your last book was about qigong, Chinese healing therapies, and you are well known as master of qigong. I understand that you even speak the Chinese language. Is qigong related to Native American healing, and how do you manage to teach or write about these two different subjects?

There are two major similarities between qigong and Native American healing. First, both qigong and Native American medicine are ancient and indigenous healing systems. Second, people who pay close attention to their bodies and to nature discover similar things. Thus, both cultures recognize the existence of subtle, invisible life currents, connected with the breath. And they independently created similar methods of balancing these life currents with acupuncture and massage. The Native American and Chinese healing systems are complementary. There are, however, some important differences.

I feel that Native American healing is more truly holistic. It examines not only the energetic components of disease-- the specialty of qigong and acupuncture-- but also the emotional, mental, spiritual, and environmental. It also places a strong emphasis on the intuition, visions, and dreams of the healer.

Why should it be difficult to write about or teach both Chinese and Native American traditions? If I told you that I was teaching French and Tibetan, you would say I was "talented." If I had graduate degrees in psychology and theology and taught courses in both, you would not assume discord-- provided that I didn't speak French while teaching Tibetan or confuse the psychology of Freud with theology of Hassidism! I teach and write about two different but related subjects. As an educator I keep them distinct. I see no need to fit myself into a box. Specialization is a European, colonial concept.

• How do Native people feel about you writing about Native American medicine?

Elders have encouraged me to share what I know. A Cree medicine man did a ceremony over the title page of my book. The spirits blessed it and told me to publish. I had the same positive reaction from the many elders I visited or asked to review my work. They know that I am aware of traditional protocol--there are many things that I will not write about or allow to be recorded. Some teachings must be earned or only given at certain times.

• How did you become interested in Native American medicine?

The medicine chose me. It is not a matter of interest or choice. I do what I have to do. To live any other way is to be disrespectful to the powers. If you are asking about the particular circumstances that clarified my life path-- that is easier to answer. When I was in my twenties I went on a pilgrimage, a search for life purpose that led me to a very special place-- a lake at the top of the continental divide, the home of Thunderbird, spirit of the West. Here I was given direction and purpose.

• How does a person become a medicine man or woman?

Some people are born with the gift; it is in their blood and family line. Some receive it ceremonially, in a kind of initiation or transmission. But, to me, the most important way to become a medicine person is through personal training and sacrifice.

• How were you trained?

I have been initiated into various Native American medicine societies. Elders have also transmitted the power of sacred stones and plants into my body and spirit. And, my formal adoption by a Cree elder was certainly a kind of initiation. I carry songs and teachings from my adoptive family. But, as I said above, the most powerful way to become a healer is through personal training. I have apprenticed with elders, participated in ceremonies, fasted, and prayed for a vision of my life purpose.

• Are there any teachers that had a particularly strong influence on your life, and could you tell us something about them?

I tell stories about my teachers in a lengthy chapter at the back of my book. One of my most influential mentors was the Cherokee healer Keetoowah, who gave me my Indian name "Bear Hawk" and first taught me doctoring. He was a powerful and kind person and full of humor. He once told me that he'd done everything in his life except scalp a white man. He used to be quite a warrior, but in his old age, he said, "I've decided to love my enemies to death!"

• Any closing words or advice?

Very few people are called by spirit to become medicine people, and even fewer survive the tests and tribulations of this path. But everyone can benefit by learning the values and ancient wisdom of Native peoples. My book emphasizes these values and teachings. My ultimate goal in writing Honoring the Medicine was to inspire people to live with greater honor and to respect themselves, each other, and the earth.

 

Edited March 10, 2013 by sinansencer

[Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan]

leaves a longing in my heart.


It is always there, but i cant ignore it after reading all that... *sigh* D:

[manitou]

Nice post, Sinancencer - the native American tradition is very close to my heart as well.

 

My husband Joe, an apache man and a shamanic one as well, helped someone cross over the other day. What an honor it was, to have Mo die with his head in Joe's hands; Joe just told him to stop breathing, that it was no longer necessary for him to be here. There was one final breath after that, and then he just stopped breathing. what a beautiful transition. He had been suffering with cancer for a year.

[skydog]

NAJA cool, I do believe someone said you were a native american before why not lol

 

Manitou, thanks for sharing that is interesting........

 

 

Some further thoughts

 

Over analysing and over questioning is a result of a blocked heart

 

There is little need for clarification when the heart is open

 

The native americans often talk about inner silence too not saying I think its bad to "meditate" but I just think some people go extreme with this and void is form and form is void.

 

Clever analytical wisdom from a blocked heart is incomparable to stupidity from an open one.

 

Smiling just for its own sake and effortlessly (not too strained) seems to really open the heart as does laughing, drumming, poetry etc.

 

But the heart gets very excited with cultivation and wants to go to extreme so probably good to be balanced and sober with it too

Edited March 10, 2013 by sinansencer

[Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan]

the most nativity i share is being born here, sharing a reality, and having a spirit... I am a seventh generation Oregonian, but by no means am i anything other than "just another white man".


I hold the ideal harmony of their lifeways in my heart. but my heart is a prisoner of the united states government's nasty karma.

[Birch]

From my small understanding of buddhism (which is pretty bad BTW) the argument around non-existence is about 'reifying' (I think I got the spelling right and yes, I referenced the r-word ;-)) any specific 'thing' into a static self-existing state that doesn't change. That 'thing' doesn't exist but that's really it.

 

What's interesting however and in my very personal opinion is why people would like to tell me that I don't exist. That there is no me and so on and so forth. I haven't understood why so far. I know it confuses the hell out of me to try to discuss these things with people who insist that I don't exist.

 

Very interesting post on Native Americans. They were also told they couldn't exist. And actively discouraged from their practices and harmed in the process of assimilation.

[taijistudent]

It is essentially the same as ancient Daoism. Extremely similar to my own personal practice. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

[Ya Mu]

It is essentially the same as ancient Daoism....

My thoughts as well. Have several stories and experiences that confirm this for me.

----------------------------------------------

In general,

A person is not going to "become a medicine man" just because they think they want to be. Nor through academic study.

 

Yes, the truths from this culture can be integrated into one's perception, just as the truth's from Taoism But we should not wish to emulate a culture that has made as many mistakes as any other just because it seems sexy, which is what I see a whole lot of people in the USA doing.

[3bob]

The word no-thing is closer to the right meaning... and no-thing me and you surely do exist as a heartfelt joy that springs forth irresistably! (and if such were not so we would not even be here pondering same on whatever level we have attained so far)

[skydog]

Man I wish I lived liked that in mexico, it is my goal eventually, i keep getting urges to just go, had a job interview just today man it makes me so angry how most people live...anyways

[taijistudent]

Man I wish I lived liked that in mexico, it is my goal eventually, i keep getting urges to just go, had a job interview just today man it makes me so angry how most people live...anyways

Everywhere it is approximately the same nowadays. One just has to learn to adjust.

[manitou]

Man I wish I lived liked that in mexico, it is my goal eventually, i keep getting urges to just go, had a job interview just today man it makes me so angry how most people live...anyways

 

 

Isn't that the truth? There's a part of me that would love to live in a shack in Mexico like don Juan Mateus, out in the middle of nowhere, and worry about nothing but occasionally watering my bouganvilla. Reading and serendipity, that's all.

[Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan]

Everywhere it is approximately the same nowadays. One just has to learn to adjust.

i disagree. vehemently.

[skydog]

From my small understanding of buddhism (which is pretty bad BTW) the argument around non-existence is about 'reifying' (I think I got the spelling right and yes, I referenced the r-word ;-)) any specific 'thing' into a static self-existing state that doesn't change. That 'thing' doesn't exist but that's really it.

 

What's interesting however and in my very personal opinion is why people would like to tell me that I don't exist. That there is no me and so on and so forth. I haven't understood why so far. I know it confuses the hell out of me to try to discuss these things with people who insist that I don't exist.

 

Very interesting post on Native Americans. They were also told they couldn't exist. And actively discouraged from their practices and harmed in the process of assimilation.

 

Yeh I see..lol

[skydog]

My thoughts as well. Have several stories and experiences that confirm this for me.

----------------------------------------------

In general,

A person is not going to "become a medicine man" just because they think they want to be. Nor through academic study.

 

Yes, the truths from this culture can be integrated into one's perception, just as the truth's from Taoism But we should not wish to emulate a culture that has made as many mistakes as any other just because it seems sexy, which is what I see a whole lot of people in the USA doing.

 

Yeh I guess so.

 

I was reading that one has to feel a great calling/a need to cure their own pains/sicknesses. I think this has been true for me.

 

I guess that a lot of people do tend to perfectionise the native american culture when it seems to have made a lot of mistakes..

[skydog]

Oh and I can share opinions with naja, taiistudent and manitou at different times and based on how im feeling.

[skydog]

Native American and Aboriginal traditions suggest that being in tune with your purpose/and or not being in tune is extremely healing for the body, like the spirit just knows and you will feel sick if your not. I can see why I actually get that sickness if not and power if I am.

 

Also interesting the use of drums, always puts me into trance, kind of incorporate it with relaxation.

 

Also interesting sometimes methods, techniques can become a hindrance if done out of fear or rushing or tension, like to become somebody or get somewhere, like the other day was rushing to do all my exercises but actually was making me tense and if all of life is qigong then not doing any of those exercises and just being relaxed can be better.

 

Also connecting to feelings like "safety" "relaxation/harmony/trust" can be very powerful, kind of like prayer but apparantely seems "new age"