Healing the Earth/Ourselves Newsletter January 2008
Vol. 8 No. 1

Greetings! Osiyo!

Ruminations on Ceremony
By Jim PathFinder Ewing (Nvnehi Awatisgi)

Now is the going within time, that is, the time when the Earth lies dormant in these climes.

It is a time when people should be "going within," finding new treasures inside, sharing thoughts and stories, and enjoying inner fires, not burning up their energy with outside things.

Our ceremonies, dancing the Bears, has been put to bed, and it's right and fitting. The bears are in their dens, dreaming the world, allowing us to participate in their dreams, so that when they awake in the spring, the world will awaken with them.

Ancestors Went Within At This Time
Our ancestors used this time to go within. They didn't run helter skelter all around trying to please everybody with gift giving and so forth. They were in balance with the Earth Mother and respected her ways. The people worked hard over the warm months to make their way, plant their crops, and store what they would need for the winter, just as the little squirrels do, the ants do, the all the little beings that have homes in the Earth, the soil, the trees. This is the way of life.

Stories Told To Keep the Cycle Going
At this time, people would tell stories to the young people, so that they would have stories to tell when they were old. The cycle continues.

In this vein, lately I have been remembering and ruminating on ceremonies. A little yellow bird has been coming to me and reminding me of the great Medicine Wheel ceremony that took place in 2006. And I have been thinking of my friend Bennie Blue Thunder LeBeau, who coordinated the event, and of Grandfather Martin Martinez, whose vision it was to have a great Medicine Wheel Ceremony uniting all peoples to help heal the Earth.

Grandfather Martinez passed on in November, 2006, so he no longer walks among us. A Dine, or Navajo, it is not the way of those people to mention the names of those who have passed on, but we are not Dine, and so we remember him, and remember him fondly.

It is with great humor that I note that Bennie and Steven McFadden, of Chiron Communications, who was instrumental in putting out the word to make the 2004 ceremony a success, now are both on Facebook. If you want to link up with them, link up with our "invitation" on this page, look under "friends," and click on them. I'm sure that our friends are their friends, and vice versa.

I borrow some of this from my friends Bennie and Steven, in helping remember and relate the power of the ceremony of 2004 and its importance even to today. Any errors in memory or interpretation are mine, not theirs.

To read more of the ceremony...

http://www.chiron-communications.com/communique%209-2.html

And, of the ceremony and LeBeau, and his upcoming ceremonies:

http://www.teton-rainbows.com/

Also, for more on Grandfather Martin, see:

http://www.8thfire.net/Day_163.html

And for more on McFadden, see:

http://www.chiron-communications.com/stevenbio.html

Grandmother and Grandfather - Honorable elders Janice and Martin Martinez mark their 60th wedding anniversary with family and friends. Daughter Kay stands behind them. Photo by Stephen Clarke. From: Steven McFadden: http://www.8thfire.net/Day_163.html

Vision Came On The Mountain
According to wisdomkeeper Steven McFadden, Grandfather Martin’s vision came to him in the spring of 2002 when he and other medicine people visited the sacred spring on Turquoise Mountain at Grants, N.M., to offer gifts to the mountain and its holy ones as they have always done. Grandfather Martin for many long years was the keeper of Tsoodsil, this sacred mountain of the Dine.
Upon this occasion, in his prayers, he had a vision: The warriors on horses of long ago appeared. They were carrying a staff with eagle feathers from many nations.

The Thunder called to them, “Why aren’t you doing the ceremony?”

The mountain communicated with him: "My children come together as one, and you will overcome everything before disasters come…earthquakes, tornadoes, and more. Ceremony together will help. Have more than one family involved. Welcome people with different feathers and different nationalities and traditions to come and pray with you. Pray together, pray as one, all colors. All will share the same vision. This will help."

So Grandfather and his wife Grandmother Janice commenced to make this vision reality.

The question was how to bring the people of all nations together.

The People Responded to Spirit’s Call
It was then that Eastern Shoshone Spiritual leader Bennie LeBeau came with a message: Mother Earth is calling all cultures to come together in Sacred Ceremonies now to restore balance and harmony. He was joined in this task by Leon Secatero, a Canoncito Navajo Spiritual Elder,

And so, the 600-Mile Medicine Wheel Ceremony of May 8, 2004, was born.

Of course, that ceremony went far beyond 500 miles. It was our honor to be an ambassador for the ceremonies here in Mississippi, and we held ceremony on the Mississippi Gulf Coast at Ocean Springs in conjunction with the ceremonies. It was most powerful. Dolphins came and swam in their own medicine wheel just off shore. Nor have we stopped offering ceremonies. Last year, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, when the state chapter of the United Way offered a retreat to help those who had been helping storm victims to heal and rejuvenate themselves, we were most honored to be invited to do ceremony. At that time, a bald eagle came and drew circles in the sky above us, finally swooping down when we were at the Western gate, to obtain food. So, this circle that began in 2004 is still circling, bringing in the dolphins, the eagles, the land, the people in healing ways.

Healing The Earth Is Focus
To help alleviate worldwide concerns about past, present, and future earthquakes and volcanic activities within Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, the elders have envisioned a unified ceremony to include the western territory of North America.

As a traditional Navajo Medicine Man, Grandfather Martinez was called upon again and again in his life to enact ceremony to help other human beings who were sick, or returning home from war, or the many life transitions. He earned high respect for the healing he brought to the people.

He believed strongly that all peoples should participate in prayer ceremonies, all human beings are members of the five-fingered tribe. This teaching some of us have kept, and continue to keep, despite calls by some to keep knowledge hidden, or secret.

As Steven McFadden relates: While Bennie initially saw the massive Medicine Wheel ceremony-taking place over a 600-mile radius, reaching out from the center point of the Four Grandmothers (the Western sacred mountains), Grandfather Martinez saw it more globally. They came to agree that everyone who chooses to participate, at whatever holy sites are accessible to them anywhere in the world, would be invited and welcomed.

Need Remains Even Today
Then, as now, the call for people of all nations, races, and traditions to participate in ceremony came at a time of widespread military conflict, and of profound environmental damage to the earth, the wind, the fire and the water. It is also a time of intense culture war. As McFadden relates, the same kinds of passionate forces that bitterly pit religion against religion, race against race, and political party against political party, are also at work in Indian Country. There are many factions. Not everyone endorses the idea of White, Red, Black, Brown, Yellow and Rainbow peoples coming to participate together in ceremony.

Bennie says that the big mess the world is in now is the very reason why the ceremonies were preserved for so many generations, against such overwhelming persecution. “This is why the ancestors suffered and sacrificed, to save the songs and dances that set a tone of harmony in the relationship between the human beings and the earth, for the universe which provides our essential sustenance of food, water, and shelter.”

As, Grandfather Martinez said, “All cultures must be valued and welcomed, not one left out.”

And so, they did this sacred ceremony, and it was good. All peoples participated. And its energy continues to go out, even though some, such as Grandfather Martinez, can no longer walk with us on this path.

Thunder Still Speaks
The memories of that ceremony are still strong with me, even after these four years. They set into motion in my own life a number of changes, including a lot that could not be imagined.

It is still up to us to carry our medicine with us, to help heal the Earth, to heal our relationships with others, to walk softly upon the Earth, and to support those who are keeping the light of spirit visible in times of war, division and darkness.

The Thunder still speaks: “Why aren’t you doing the ceremony?”

We continue to do ceremony here. We have been doing Medicine Wheel ceremony here in Lena since 2000, every month for eight years now. Hundreds and hundreds of people have joined our ceremonies here in Lena over the years, even if only once or twice, and thousands more have participated worldwide at a distance.

In the Spring as noted in the last newsletter, we will be bringing the Bear Dance to Mississippi, given permission to continue this Yokuts healing dance we have done for a fifth year when we wake the Bears up in March. As with Grandfather Martinez’ vision, it also is the product of a vision provided by Spirit. See: http://www.blueskywaters.com/beardancehome.html

Keep us in your prayers.
Where we will hold dance is still up in the air. In order to have room for the Bears to dance, and for us to expand our ceremonial offerings, we are in negotiations with moving to a bigger place.

The house we have found is actually smaller, but it has about six acres. (Presently we live right on a rural highway, with no yard at all-we garden in a driveway!)

It may or may not happen. We have put it in the hands of Spirit.

See you in the Spring?

Aho.

Drum Circle
The January Medicine Wheel Drum Circle was Dec. 29; next one will be in February.

A Little Help For Assessing Time/Space

Each year, I eagerly look forward to getting my copy of Kathleen Jacoby’s numerology report that tells me month by month what types of energies to expect in my life. If you’re a subscriber of PlanetLightworker Magazine, you’re familiar with her monthly numerology column. Her uncanny ability to cipher what is going on in our lives is truly astounding. For $29.95 plus shipping and handling $1.95, a person gets a CD that gives insights about the opportunities and challenges of the year as it applies to them and some inspirational pep talks, as well. To order, contact KathleenEJacoby@aol.com and she will contact you to obtain the necessary information to send a reading. It works. Try it.

Also, check out her book: Vision of the Grail: A Spiritual Adventure at the Dawn of the 21st Century By Kathleen Jacoby ISBN 1-930126-07-7 Publisher: Lightlines Publishing Quality Paperback: $14.95, 296 pages. It’s available from her Web site: http://www.grailvision.com

While you are at it, you might consider the Mayan Codex devised by my late friend Ian Xel Lungold, based on the work of Carl Johan Calleman. It offers a daily glimpse of the energies each day. I use it every day to get a sense of the Medicine Wheel for each day. See: http://www.mayanmajix.com

Ascension Test: Crystalline Power
They say that no two snowflakes are alike. Have you seen them? Pictures of snowflakes show an incredible diversity, from spindly ones to thick ones to ones with lots of points on them to snowflakes that look like little Christmas trees. We think of these things with joy, and celebrate them as reflective of our own diversity. But, consider them, too, for their Power. How great is Creator’s power that such diversity – virtually unlimited – exists upon our world. If such a force for change could be harnessed for high purpose, how incredible the goodness that could result.
Aho.

From the Blog...
Raffling Medicine Man's Drum Jan. 15

Our friend Peter Catches, a 38th generation Lakota medicine man, is having his drum raffled by a youth group called “The Indigenous & Irish Alliance” to raise money for Oceti Wakan, his organization that helps indigenous youth retain their culture. The drum has been used for the past couple of years in ceremony, so it’s definitely a nice drum. The raffle ends Jan. 15. Anyone interested in participating in the raffle, contact Sean. He has the tickets. His email address is: usmem@cgrp.info

According to Staci Luton, adminstering the raffle: The winner will be announced at http://www.indigenousandirishalliance.moonfruit.com ,as well as on the Native Voice radio show the day the raffle is drawn on Feb. 1st with the show airing from 5-7pm mountain time from http://www.kbhuradio.com ; also the winners will be announced on the radio show's myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/nativevoice891 , and also will be contacting the winners directly to notify them.
Address for the raffle stubs and money to be sent to is:

Staci Luton
P.O. Box 412
Spearfish,S.D.
57783

If you have any further questions feel free to email Stacy at veganangel@aol.com

For more on Oceti Wakan, see the Web site: http://www.ocetiwakan.org/. Or contact: Cynthia L. Catches, P.O. Box 1958, Pine Ridge, SD 57770. The photo is of Peter’s Drum.

Anyone who has read our Web page and newsletters over the years, and our books, is familiar with Peter's work, and the Spotted Eagle way of medicine. He is a great treasure, and his work for the people is much needed.

You can make donations directly on their site: http://www.ocetiwakan.org/
You might consider ordering a copy of Peter’s book, Sacred Fireplace (Oceti Wakan): Life and Teachings of a Lakota Medicine Man. See their Website.

Aho.

PathFinder

Also from the blog:

Dance of Oneness
Eastern Shoshone Spiritual Elder Bennie LeBeau writes of a gathering of the nations of the Eagle and the Condor to take place this summer, 2008. He is working with the nations to allow this to come to pass.

He writes: On August 8, 2008 the all Nations of the Black, White, Yellow and Red Nations are invited to finish much needed work to further heal the Grand Teton Medicine Wheel Circle and the Big Bear Medicine Wheel in California simultaneously. We are working directly with many Indigenous Elders on the importance of this and how this ceremony can work healing the environments within the Earth, Wind, Fire and Water.

Please have those that may be interested in donating funds to finance this work to please contact me at: bzahants@yahoo.com or my websites are: www.teton-rainbows.com and www.earthwisdomfoundation.com and http://www.viisionslifeforcefoundation.com/.

Me again: I think he's supposed to get on an airplane and travel somewhere this week, so he could probably use any donations that people may have to give for this important work ASAP!

:-)

The picture above is of Bennie; he also has one of Waya's necklaces.

Wado!

PathFinder

For more blog posts, see
http://blueskywatersblog.blogspot.com/

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Thank you! Wado!

May You Walk in Peace and Harmony!

Aisv Nvwhetoheyada ale Nvwedoheyadv

Many Blessings!

PathFinder

This newsletter is offered with prayers for healing, growth and development by Jim PathFinder & Annette Waya Ewing, Healing The Earth/Ourselves.
For more information, or to read past newsletters, see our Web site: Healing the Earth/Ourselves www.blueskywaters.com
We do not charge for ceremonies. See Ugista ti. If you believe you receive a benefit from this, and the work we do, a donation would be gratefully accepted. To make a donation via secure PayPal using any major credit card, please click the "donation" button on the Web site. Donations are not tax deductible.
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Copyright © 2008 All Rights Reserved Jim PathFinder Ewing Healing The Earth/Ourselves www.blueskywaters.com. This free e-mail newsletter is sent by affirmative voluntary subscription only. Permission is granted to reproduce and/or forward, but please credit the copyright or whoever is credited.
Namaste! Mitakuye Oyasin, Gus dii dada dv ni, Sa'ah Naaghaí Bik'eh Hozhoon. Blessings To You and All In Your Sacred Circle and "Keep in touch . . ." -- PathFinder