Indigenous Worldview (Interview With the Elders):
When a warrior proclaims to the world that it’s a good day to die, it means that this is a good day to meet the Creator. He has prepared himself and is ready at any given moment, carrying no shame of doing any type of dishonorable acts toward any of his people or relatives.
He is proud that he’s able to achieve this, maintaining his honor and walking without shame. On any given day he is ready to give his life. He can face any battle because of the commitment he has made to himself and by living his life honorably.
This is the whole concept of spiritual warriorship. Most of a warrior’s life is spent preparing, training, and disciplining himself to abide by the natural laws of the universe, respecting the sacredness of all life. He has developed in himself a high degree of personal integrity and is prepared to sacrifice their own life, if need be, to defend the people.
Today, these concepts and basic principles are still valid. Indigenous young people, in understanding these basic principles of warriorship, can prepare themselves to become better human beings, to be of service to their own people and to work on behalf of the Creator. Such preparation, through education, involves discipline and enables them to succeed.
Today, indigenous people are facing a different type of war and must create a different type of warrior. We are at war with ourselves because of different historical experiences. We can derive spiritual strength from certain aspects of our tradition and are able to succeed as human beings.
Excerpt from A Life of Miracles
In March of 1993, I moved back into my former house. By then my daughters were grown and had moved out. During the next several years I raised my son and two other boys who were having family difficulties. The boys liked the peaceful and nurturing atmosphere of my home. After a long and tedious legal battle, I was able to retain the house and my son.
I started to teach the boys the information I was receiving through dreams, visions, and insights. Over a three-month period, I would occasionally hear the flapping of a bird’s wings next to my pillow. I received the insight that it was the protection of a Native American shaman. In prayer, I asked to see this guardian and a Native American, named Grandfather Stalking Wolf, appeared. During his infrequent visits, I became aware of the aliveness of all things, so everyday life became a holy journey.
Later we discovered that he had also taught Tom Brown Jr., who published several books revealing Grandfather’s teachings. The books became a beacon of light to us.
These teachings prompted us to spend many hours in nature learning to feel the essence of the trees and rocks. On occasion we saw little elementals or nature spirits flitting among the trees.
Bathing became a sacred ritual as I acknowledged and thanked the water. I honored the fire as I cooked for my family and I blessed the food, thanking the spirits of the plants and animals for the nutrients they had offered.
While in prayer, I was taken out-of-body and found myself next to a blue, radiant pool of water. A female being, clothed in luminous foam and blue light, emerged from the pond and floated above it. She instructed me to look into the pond, and I could see the seas and oceans, the rivers and waterfalls, the clouds and rains pass before my eyes. I realized that all the waters of the earth were the physical manifestation of one grand archetypal spirit: the spirit of the water.
I routinely welcomed the rain spirit, knowing that the general consensus was that a rainy day was a “nasty” day and that this attitude must make her feel unappreciated. Due to my honoring the rain, she responded to my requests. I called upon her during times of drought or when we needed sunshine and she cooperated.
Due to the bond I developed with the water spirit, she responded to my emotions. The slightest upset on my part immediately caused water to spill or flow. On one such occasion, a parent of one of the boys came into my home and disrupted the sanctity we had created. I found myself becoming upset. That day the pipes burst independently of each other, on all levels of the house, flooding every floor. My insurance was canceled since the event simply couldn’t be rationally explained.
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The basing of a culture on eternal, cosmic principles, brings vitality to the social structure and hence, to the people. The balance of the feminine and masculine archetypes is of vital importance. The Indigenous cultures of all lands thrived by balancing these aspects. (see Journey to the Heart of God).
