August 2009

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)
Hehaka Sapa (Black Elk) once said ‘The holy land is everywhere.’ I want to ask you to consider this old Lakota traditional world view for a few moments....

Life ever feel too complicated? Ever catch yourself wishing you could escape it all? I, for one, often think about the kind of lives my Lakota ancestors lived in the times before European contact. A time before i-phones, i-pods and i-hop. A time before e-mail, e-commerce and e-coli. A time before land-mines, land-rovers and land-fills. A time of peace, respect, honor, humility and wisdom. A time of simplicity. Our ancient Indigenous ancestors are often labeled ‘primitive’ in anthropology texts. The notion is that complexity in the design, creation and use of material possessions and objects indicates superior intelligence. To put it flatly, that notion is arrogant, it is false, and it is dangerous. A quick glance at the state of the world and where all this ‘advanced, superior intelligence’ has gotten us, and it is easy to see that something is gravely wrong with that concept. We desperately need to get back to the basics. Our ancestors understood that in simplicity there is wisdom. Imagine a society with no monetary system, no prisons, no bills, no taxes, no employers or employees and no need for a financial retirement plan. Imagine living in a simple world where the things that matter most are not 'things' at all, but people, virtues and happiness. Imagine a life where that which is the most valuable of all is your honor. Now, none of our ancestors had everything figured out perfectly, yet we stand to learn a great deal about ourselves, what our life is really all about, and how to live it with purpose and meaning if we can learn the power and wisdom of simplicity our ancestors understood almost innately. So how do we do that? We surely can’t all go back in time! Here’s my advice.... Find your secret place. Seek it out. Pray about it. Listen to your heart. Let the spirits show you. You don’t need to go far. It can be a quiet stop off on the way home from work. It can be a private room in your house. It can be under an old tree in your back yard. Wherever it is, make it yours. Your secret place. Honor that space in a sacred manner, and go there. Spend time just breathing. Put your bare feet on the ground and feel the love of your earth mother come up into you. Feel the wind on your skin. Let your voice rise up and sing the song of your spirit without words. Let your ancestors show you the way. Do not allow worries and stress to exist in this place. Do not go there expecting anything. Let it be as it is. Sit with it. Center yourself. This is a crazy, mixed up world we live in. Yet even so, what Black Elk said so long ago remains ever true.... ‘The holy land is everywhere.’ Yes, that’s right, even under that old tree in your back yard....



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

I started a letter yesterday… but now I can’t find it. I will rationalize my disorganization by saying that a little disorder leaves room for the Spirit to move. And though I speak ‘tongue in cheek’ as I look around the stacks of paper in my office, I secretly know that truth is found in that statement. Perfection, control, organization, though tidy, can also spell uptight, unwavering, and stressed out. You have seen these people, you may be these people.
I for one can’t seem to get it together…. messy hair…. little to no makeup….too many projects, too little time, too many bills, too little money…on and on. However I have a great solution to most of these ailments. Most of the time I don’t care! Wow I said it Sister…. red marks all over my paper, so what, I did the assignment and I thought it was pretty good and if you didn’t like it well, you must not recognize genius (sorry, a memory from 10 years of Catholic School).

Not that apathy is an appealing trait. You know the old adage, ‘Ignorance is Bliss.’ Well actually there may be some wisdom to that old saying. You cringe, you are uncomfortable… this is not what you were raised to believe. Am I lazy? Am I a slob? Maybe, but I don’t think so. I do manage to get a lot of things done. But the older I get the less important those things seem.
Grandma’s know, holding babies trumps most any other thing that needs to be done.
Grandpa’s know a teachable moment with a grandchild outshines a freshly mowed lawn.
Try a day with nothing to do …. Sacrilege!
You have permission Go out and PLAY (and make up your own game.. then you can change the rules when you want to).
You are valued for who you are not what you do!
You are lovable just because you are and for no other reason.

Now I need to go do nothing
blessings,
peace,
Peggy

The Mending Medicine Retreat with John Two-Hawks Oct 24th-27th The Bomb BE THERE!
Read more about it by clicking HERE!

The Flute Discovery Weekend - Open to Everyone Sept 11th-13th
Read more about it by clicking HERE!

Concerts
Fort Smith / Alma - Alma Performing Arts Center - Sept 18th - Order Discount Advance Tickets!
Eureka Springs - St. Elizabeth's Parish Center - Oct 24th - Order Discount Advance Tickets!
Concert attendance has been down this year, so we hope you can make it, and bring a friend!

IRRESISTIBLE DEAL OF THE SUMMER
THINK AHEAD SHOP AHEAD!!!!! Birthdays, Anniversaries, Christmas and just to giveaway
or a gift to yourself!
Two-Hawks Signature 2-CD Set - Normally $26 - SALE PRICE: UNBELIEVABLE - only $12.00
Peace on Earth Christmas CD - Normally $16 - SALE PRICE: UNBELIEVABLE - only $10.00
Limited Time Offer available only at the Official John Two-Hawks website!
Order Yours Now!



WEST - Wiyohpeyata - Black or Blue (We are STILL Here!)
Man versus Nature....
I’ve seen a lot of TV commercials and now even a few reality shows where the concept is ‘man versus nature.’ This concept comes from the confused idea that somehow we are not connected to the natural world. That we are not a part of it. Stemming from that same idea, is the myth called ‘independence.’ This notion that somehow we can survive without any connection to the earth and each other is not only ridiculous, but it has contributed to a lot of what ails people in today’s western world. I have a raccoon who comes to visit my bird feeder nearly every evening. I always let her get her share before I come and take it in. She also enjoys tipping over my trash can quite frequently. That’s okay too. Annoying perhaps, but okay. We need to learn to live with each other on this planet before it’s too late. It starts with learning to live with the earth, then all its creatures, and flows outward from there to our own kind. In reality (pun intended), we are not in some epic battle against the earth and its foes. We are connected to it. We are related to it. We are family. Mitakuye Oyasin we say in Lakota - All are my relatives. It is time for humanity to find once again our place in the sacred wheel of life. I don’t want to give away the end of the show, but in the real ‘Man versus Nature’ reality show.... man loses. So live with the raccoon and her family in peace. Live with the bear, the mountain lion, the crocodile and the mouse in peace. And live with your human neighbor, no matter how different you are from each other. Yes, we will annoy one another sometimes, but we need to learn to live with each other in peace, for our grandchildren’s future, and their grandchildren’s future. After all, we already know how the show ends if we don’t....



NORTH - Waziyata - White (Words of Wisdom)
Some thoughts from my contemplations....

Never curse the wind.... it is the Creator’s breath, bringing forth all life.

Finding your humility now is a gift.... finding it later is a given.

There is always good fortune hidden somewhere in misfortune.

In all things, seek balance.... even in your seeking of balance.


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)!