The Presence of Earth

I sit at home making use of my desk and WiFi Hotspot from my phone.  Thank you mother.

I asked my friends via Facebook if they would give me a word, phrase, idea, object, subject, theme, quote, and the like, to give me an idea of what to write about.  One of the first words a friend posted was indigenous.

 

For me, indigenous means native.  Native means the people who have lived on the same lands for hundreds and thousands, more like, years.  They are people who have learned to work with the land.  They work with the land in such a way that does not pollute it.  Indigenous symbolizes a way of life where one lives with the land.  When one lives with the land by listening to it one’s mind becomes clear and calm. 

Some are afraid of the woods.  There are all kinds of things that might harm us if we do not know what we are doing.  Indigenous peoples are people who know what they are doing in the forest.  They know the plants, the animals, the seasons, they know the tribes next door; they know their tribe intimately.  Their way of life has structure and follows the seasons.  Native peoples have ceremony in alliance with the Earth.  They have families that see the Earth as mother, sustainer and giver.  And so the Earth is honored by people giving back in some way- cornmeal sprinkled on the ground, a prayer giving thanks to the bounty from the fall harvest, or simply a tuning-in to the presence of Earth.

Most of us are non-indigenous, yet we are all indigenous to the planet.  Some of us may be brand new to this planet and living our first life.  Those new to the Earth could be said to be the most non-indigenous.  Some people have been living lives on this planet for thousands of years and know the Earth intimately. 

Indigenous peoples, I believe, believe that everything has a spirit and all those spirits are connected to the Spirit of Earth, animate and sentient. The Earth is a mixture of feminine and masculine.  The low tides are calm and gentle- feminine, the high, active and powerful- masculine.

Imagine living hundreds, thousands of lives within an indigenous tribe.  With each life one learns new knowledge that is remembered within the DNA passed on in the next life.  Learning the language of the seasons, the essence of each plant and animal, and even the stars above is a part of tribal life.  Indigenous cultures know we came from the stars.  It is in their creation stories.  Check out this article that connects creation stories of the Native Americans to the Pleiades:  https://www.gaia.com/article/who-are-the-pleiadians

In this day things are complex in different ways.  We have different types of technology.  The indigenous have a technology that is awareness of Earth.  It is the intimate knowing of plant speak and bird talk.  What this means is that each plant offers its own medicine and when one tunes in to the plant and asks, the plant will speak its medicine.  This plant may have many different types of medicine and each type may react differently for each person.  When talking to the plant the plant may give different instructions for different people. 

Walking in the woods is like walking upon the clouds.  The forest sounds, each one telling a story.  Being barefoot and walking, listening, hunting, perhaps, or simply playing and being with the forest is its own medicine.      

The Indigenous have an intimate knowledge of the Earth.  They know how to cooperate and listen in an open-minded way.  Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer is a marvelous book about a scientist who is also a Native American.  She tells of her Native American stories and traditions.  She also offers a scientific knowledge that is complimentary to her native traditions.  In one chapter, Robin shows that humans must interact with the natural so that it can thrive.  An experiment showed that sweet grass did best when it was partially harvested rather than left untouched.

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If there is anything we could do together as a planetary people it would be to give indigenous peoples the respect they deserve.  By giving back their native lands, and allowing native peoples to continue as they had for thousands of years, would help to bring back a knowledge and wisdom of Earth Living that is near forgotten.  Some states like Maine are making small steps by honoring native peoples with Native American Day.  It is like honoring ones grandparents who have been on Earth longer and have knowledge that only experience can give. 

To be indigenous is to be one with the land and have the upmost respect for it.  May we all attain this indigenous state-of-mind.  The Earth is always speaking to us, telling of its mysteries.  When one goes out into the woods and takes quiet time nature will show itself to you; it will show you, you.  Try it and see what you learn. 

Here is a wonderful article about how scientists and indigenous peoples are working together to bring about a balanced way of living: https://e360.yale.edu/features/native-knowledge-what-ecologists-are-learning-from-indigenous-people

In this wondrous universe the sky is filled with our ancestors beckoning us home a home which is now right here where life began for us hundreds of thousands of years ago to learn to be, love and live with oneness with the Earth and all life.