July 2008

Hau kola na tiyospaye (Hello friends & extended family),

Welcome to all new Circle members! Each section of the Circle of Nations newsletter is written 'facing' one of the four sacred winds, beginning with the east, then the south, west and finally the north. This is to honor the old ways. It is to teach and to help us to focus and find the center. I have designed the Native Circle website in the same spirit. I welcome you all to the Circle....

EAST - Wiyohinyanpata - Yellow (Four Winds)
A thought about living simply....
I saw a television commercial recently which made me wonder. This particular advertisement was for a toy for toddlers. I watched with bewildered fascination as the features of this toy began to explode on the screen. In the end, there were countless bells and whistles and buttons and knobs and levers and voice automation and things that sing and things that talk and things that teach and things that spin and things that twirl and things that wiggle and............ Wow. Talk about sensory overload. What in the world does a toddler need all that for? The short answer is - they don’t. And the overload is not just limited to children’s toys. Is there even such a thing as a phone that’s just a phone anymore? Hardly. Now we’ve got phones that are also cameras that are also day planners that are also calendars that are also computers that are also music players and on and on it goes. And the sensory overload doesn’t stop there. Have you seen a musical concert lately? Even just watched the Grammys? With only a few exceptions, no longer is a musical performance valued for the sheer merit of the music. Now, along with the music, there are videos, dancers, actors, trapeze artists, fancy light shows, smoke, fog, dry ice, pyrotechnics, confetti, people flying over the stage, and people dressed up in every color and flamboyant costuming imaginable. When is enough enough? And who is it that thinks we need so much stimulation in order to appreciate, enjoy, learn from, or even be wowed by an experience? Now, I can appreciate a multi-sensory experience as much as the next person, but somewhere along the way we have gotten way out of balance. I have had people come to visit me here in these ancient mountains who go a little stir crazy because there isn’t a thousand things going on every second. I have even been told I am a bit boring! And why? Because when I am home my lifestyle is relaxed, peaceful and simple. And I am the same when I am on the road or on tour. I may be doing a lot when I travel, but I remain in a place of simplicity in my spirit, wherever I am. Simple living is something you take with you into every day and every moment of your life, not something you seek to find on a vacation! Ever hear the expression, less is more? I’d like to elaborate on that here....
There is something beautiful, powerful and profound in the simple things of this world. A lone hawk soaring in the sky. The realness that comes when we get back to basics. It is interesting to note that even the word ‘simple’ is often given a negative connotation in today’s world. At very least it is looked upon as the stuff of children, beginners or novices. The truth is that the most complex wisdom is found and expressed in simplicity. And the experiences that matter most, and impress us the most, are those powerful, profound moments of simple beauty. So how do we learn to live more simply in a world addicted to sensory overload? The answer is simple. (good one huh) Do less, be more. Say less, listen more. Worry less, believe more. Run less, walk more. Fight less, love more. Judge less, forgive more. Stress less, relax more. Complain less, accept more. Plan less, flow more. Are you seeing a pattern here? Less... Is... More. I will stop here with the words, because I know that when you say less, it means more....


SOUTH - Itokagata - Red (Red Earth)
A word from Peggy....

Attention Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Florida folks… we will be doing concerts in your area soon!

We are well into July and in many places it is raining like spring. We have certainly had our share of rain and storms in the Ozarks. All around us looks like a rainforest. It is very beautiful, but I do feel very sorry for those who lost their homes to the floods. Our prayers and thoughts are with you all. We are just getting geared up for the second run of our Elk Dreamer tour. We will be in Grand Ledge Michigan at the Opera House on the last day of this month. It is a Thursday night concert. Grand Ledge will be close for you Indiana, Ohio and Michigan fans to attend a concert.
We will also be in Bay City and then heading to Dayton Ohio for a Mending Medicine Retreat and Concert. Check out the website for special deals on tickets and more information about our fall line-up of retreats.
The JTH Schedule
We could use some help with our August concert in St. Augustine Florida, if you are within a couple hours of that area, please let us know if you can help.
Please keep posted to John’s website as we are very excited about new projects to be released this fall. The first ever John Two-Hawks flute book will be available for release on the week of our Flute Discovery retreat in Sept.!!! And we are looking to release the new debut Badlanders CD the third week in Oct. right before the Mending Medicine retreat!!
John Two-Hawks signature t-shirts will be available back online in 10 days, in all sizes.
The newest JTH Signature Flute “Medicine Wheel”, with a total of 44 signed and numbered by John and made by Gary Reed will be available for purchase on this leg of our tour. It will be available on the website around the first of Sept. Awesome, awesome flute.
By the way we do still have a few of the first John Two-Hawks Signature series flutes available.
Hope to see some of you soon on the road in a few weeks!
Simply live and live simply...

Blessings,
Peace,
Peggy
Native Circle
John Two-Hawks


WEST - Wiyohpeyata - Black or Blue (We are STILL Here!)
The power of flexibility....
I once saw a troupe of female Chinese acrobats do their amazing routine. It was incredible to watch these tiny women, who at first glance seemed so delicate, lift themselves up with one arm and bend and twist their bodies in unimaginable ways, all while balancing on that one arm. When they completed their routine, I came away marveling at how strong those young women were. You see, the greatest strength lies not in that which is big and mighty and will not budge, but rather in that which has the ability to flex and bend. The hickory is not so strong as is the willow. When any adversarial force presses against us, the key to survival and harmony is flexibility. Another key is to resist resisting. Watch the willow in the wind. It will sway with the force of the wind, not against it. This does not mean that you just give up. Check the trunk of the willow as the wind blows hard on it.... it is firmly planted in the ground. So too, can you be planted firmly, yet allow yourself to flex and bend and flow with the forces and energies that come into your world. If you try to go in a certain direction with anything, and something just seems to be resisting, just flow with it and you will find another way. Want to heal the world? Realize world peace? Flexibility is the only way. When human beings can learn to share space and time with one another in a way that is flexible, wars will end and so will hunger and poverty. The problems we see in the world today are all the result of a lack of flexibility. You see, flexibility is selfless and wise. Stubbornness is selfish and ignorant. The problems of our time are as childish as two boys in a sandbox fighting over whose way is the right way to play. In the end both boys are happier when they stop being selfish and share. Flexibility in action. The more flexible and bendable you get, the stronger you will be, and the more balanced you will be. Who knows, maybe one day you will find yourself balancing on one hand.... And maybe one day, humanity will find itself balancing on one planet....


NORTH - Waziyata - White (Words of Wisdom)
A few tidbits from my contemplations....

Less is more, and more is less

Extravagance is a thrill, simplicity is power

Dance, even when you can’t hear the music

Friendship needs no words, just ask a dog
(We love and miss you Buddy)


May Wakantanka encircle you and yours with faith to believe, hope for the future, and love for all....

As always, in the spirit of mending the sacred hoop of the nations of the world
Your Oglala Lakota friend and brother,
John Two-Hawks
http://www.nativecircle.com
http://www.johntwohawks.com
Reprinting of this Circle of Nations newsletter is encouraged! All I ask is that it be printed in its entirety, with no changes, and that I be given proper credit, unless I have otherwise okayed it. Wopila (great thanks)!