Water was served

Water for the day
There once was a church that held an Annual Communion Service. The tradition was that every adult would bring a small container of wine to church. During the service, each person would come forward and pour their wine into a beautiful bowl to be consecrated and blessed. After the ceremony there was a pot-luck banquet and the blessed wine was enjoyed communally.

Now not everyone brought the same kind of wine. Some folks brought expensive wines of impressive vintage. Others brought more commonplace wines. But somehow, the blending of the wines always miraculously managed to achieve a communal average enjoyed by all, despite the differences in the types of the individual contributions.

One year, a member had along week at the office and was too tired to stop at the local wine seller. Rather than go empty handed, she arrived early, snuck into the kitchen, filled a cup with water, and poured the water loudly into the bowl, so everyone could hear her contribution. Another member was busy coaching his sons little league team and did the same thing. As did the member who was traveling on business and the one who was just out of sorts and just forgot. An old time member who had done a lot every year for the church. said he would skip the wine this week, as he was tired. The "super volunteer", who takes every task on every task thrown his way, declared, "One more thing and I'll flip my lid. He and the old timer, both brought water. Now a two new members, were unclear about the concept and felt intimidated. They watched and both brought water as well. Last but not least, one member of the congregation just brought water to be different this time.

That day when the ladle was dipped, water was served.

Miracles are made and served with faith and works. Each and every thing we do or refrain from doing, touches others. If one or two bring water, everyone will enjoy wine. That is a sort of love within the community. It's in joining together, freely, passionately and with the power of God's Love that we can grow in Uniting for the cause of the Metis and thus the rest of The Peop

Metis Celebration & Pow-wow

I will be attending a Metis Celebration and Pow-wow this next week-end in Lewiston Montana. I will report back on the 8th of September.

show details Aug 25 (2 days ago)

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METIS CELEBRATION
AND

LITTLE SHELL TRIBE OF CHIPPEWA INDIANS POW WOW
SEPTEMBER 2, 3, 4, AND 5

CENTRAL MONTANA FAIRGROUNDS, LEWISTOWN, MT

CELEBRATION SPONSORED BY METIS COMMITTEE

POW WOW SPONSORED BY LITTLE SHELL TRIBE: President John Sinclair, 1st
vp
Ronald Doney, 2nd Vp Ken Erickson, Sec/Trea. Randy Randolph, Council
members Steve
Doney, Jesse Azure, Brad Brough

Pow Wow or Celebration information contact: General info: Robert E.
Lafountain 406-698-8571
or John Lafountain 406-403-5493; Booth info: Donna Walraven
406-452-2812

AGENDA:

THURSDAY, SEPT 2: 3 p.m, Booths open; 7 p.m. Open mic/open music;
Socializing
FRIDAY, SEPT 3: 11 a.m. Booths open; Socializing; 7 p.m. Metis
National Anthem, events
begin; 8:30 p.m. Fund Raising Auction (Bring items you can donate);
9:15 p.m. Fiddle, Jig and
Waltz contests (prizes Awarded)

SATURDAY, SEPT 4: 10 am. Little Shell Tribal meeting; 12 noon (sharp)
Parade on Main
Street (prizes Awarded); 1 :30p.m. Grand Entry 1st Pow Wow Session;
5:30 p.m. Free Public
Feed; 7:30 p.m. Grand Entry 2nd Pow Wow Session; 9 p.m. Princess
Crowning

SUNDAY, SEPT 5: Socializing; 1 p.m. Grand Entry 3rd Pow Wow Session; 3
p.m. Silent
Auction Concludes; 5:30 p.m. Contestant winners named



NO ALCOHOL OR DRUGS
DOGS ON LEASH OR PICKET
TWO FOOD CONCESSIONS
NUMEROUS BOOTHS
MONEY PRIZES FOR:

Parade

Fiddle Contest
Jig Contest
Waltz Contest
PowWow

NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR:

Lost or stolen articles or children
Personal Injury

POW WOW CATEGORIES:

Traditional, Fancy, Grass, Jingle, Tiny Tots
and Golden Age

Open registration Saturday noon to

first Grand Entry
SPONSORSHIPS INVITED FOR ANY
EVENT (Contact Organizers)
CAMPER FEE (for electrical users and

reserved spots)
SPECIALS INVITED
DONATIONS WELCOME

SECURITY PROVIDED ON SITE 2417
PUBLIC INVITED·NO ADMISSION FEE

The Breath of the Universe

We can entrust the wind to carry our voices out into the world, knowing it will be carried to its perfect destination. We can connect ourselves with a basic force of nature by focusing on the essential element of air during a wind meditation. To begin we center ourselves on our breath. We inhale the life-giving force, feeling it fill us, and then releasing it into the world letting our breath mingle with the breath of nature. If we cannot feel the wind right now, we can recall times when the wind has sent us gifts of caresses on bare skin, ruffling our clothes and playing with our hair. We can evoke sounds carried on the wind, maybe laughter or song, or perhaps just the wind’s own voice through the trees or across the landscape of our ears. Maybe we summon up an image of falling flowers or leaves from above, with vivid colors being set free with the wind’s encouragement. We may envision birds drifting on unseen currents with wings unbent, or flags and banners unfurled in the breeze. The scent of a sea breeze may come to mind, or the aromas of freshly baked treats or fragrant blooms that reach us from a distance.



As these memories enliven our senses, we’re feeling the vital force that surrounds and animates us. We can look to the trees to sway in time with nature’s rhythm. Just as we can be soothed by the wind, we know that nature has great power. In a rush it can, block out all sound, leaving us with only the beating of our hearts.

Wind can even make the inanimate dance and whirl as graceful as a Willow Tree. With a gentle sigh, the wind has carried sailors to faraway lands and balloons to great heights. We can entrust the wind to carry our voices and best wishes out into the world, or up to Grandfather, always knowing it will be carried to its perfect destination. Releasing these precious offerings to its care, we remember that nature’s power is as close as our breath, and we breathe deeply once again before returning to the world around us.

Dksha

Dksha
Permanent Enlightenment

A divine energy transfer` known as Dksha‘, is obtained from those specifically gifted and trained to offer it.

Dksha is a Sanskrit word, meaning benediction or invocation of divine help, a divine energy transfer. Described as a golden ball of energy descending into the head, this energy activates a shift in the brain, allowing you to realize your oneness with all creation. This is the true meaning of “enlightenment”. It is a state of mind in constant recognition of the reality of oneness. The cause of the majority of suffering in the world is a sense of separation from the world, each other, and from our source. The pure energy transferred through dksha helps you realize that the sense of a separate self is an illusion. Once in this higher state of consciousness, it is permanent.

To experience the divine energy transfer of dksha, you do not need to change your lifestyle or make any vows. It is not limited to followers of any one religion, nor does it come with rules for the practice of a set of rituals. The state of mind attained with dksha is not one that is through personal effort. Only someone specifically trained can activate the various centers in the brain with their energy, initiating the process of change that allows an intelligent flow of cosmic energy to elevate you into an altered state, restructuring the brain and awakening the seeker to the awareness of wholeness and oneness. Since it is a biological event, anyone can experience it.

Though enlightenment does not happen instantly for everyone, lives have changed significantly in terms of overall happiness, a capacity for love, and a sense of peace. Those who have attained enlightenment say, it is not a mystical state that takes you out of this world, it allows you to experience the divine in everyday life. Because of this, each time another person accepts dksha and raises their consciousness, all of us move toward the ultimate goal of uplifting the consciousness of humanity to one of connection and unity. Dksha is a step in the universal enlightenment of all creation.

So what!

So, this week has been a wrestling match with my health. I had hoped I would be able to glide through it with ease. Instead there was a bout with some intestinal thing that lasted for the week. By Friday, I was dehydrated and looking for the great fountain of healing. Nettie and I were busy with the many little things that can be a blessing or plague one's life. For us, it usually is a small set of learning's and blessings...not this week. Staying close to the home safe rooms meant we went very few places and yet, I was able to meet with my writing group in Portland, and my spiritual group in Vancouver. Portland has two more lesson meetings left and Vancouver will be an on going series of learning exercises in the ways for Healing any and everything. It fits into my life work as a Healer and Elder in the Metis Nation of the U.S.. This I am very humble about.

I was able to help with church today, beating in honor of the Four Directions as we opened the Mass for the People. I am now looking for a group of First Nation and Metis (mix-bloods) men and boys that would like to drum at least once a month. I have been approached by one woman to see if there could be a monthly mixed drum group for anyone who would like to participate in free drumming. I will need to fix my thoughts on that possibility and pray about it. Mother Vicky is interested in having a Drum Circle once or more than once a month. She understands she may not be allowed to attend the Circle. She is very interesting person and quite spiritual. I am studying the Book of Acts in the New Testament.
Right now that goes along with my studies with The Order Of St. Luke the Physician (OSL).

I have found that the older I get the more I want to search for my spiritual roots. There was a time that my thoughts wandered away from all non-tangible life. From me early childhood and through my teen years, well into my adult life, I found any non-tackle forms of being were too uncomfortable for me. Viet-Nam did not help a bit. Too much distraction and there seemed to be no cure for what was going on and the god's were too busy to engage in the solution of War and Death. I had lost all hope in there even being a god to rely on.

It has taken almost 50 years to even entertain the idea of a Living God and what he expects ME to do about War and lack of Love in the world. Healing can truly occur when many minds come together with a focus on one thing. IF the few who gather are not able to heal the wound, then more must be added until there is enough praying People to make the difference in our Worldly Living. Things can be changed by the influence of Healing Prayer of a common goal.

I will expound on this another time. Right now, I need to move out of here and see IF I can find people who would be willing to help change the world for the better.

Peace and Harmony,
Rocco

The Mind Follows no Time Line

Try to learn something new this week. This keeps our energy active which affects not only you, but those around you as well.


The talents that intrigue us the most oftentimes seem to exist just outside the reach of our grasp, even though we are all capable of mastering new crafts and skills. Life has a tendency to intervene in our best-laid plans, and it is easy to sacrifice a dream when facing unrelated obligations. We may also feel that we are too set in our ways to absorb fresh skills or that doing so would ultimately prove a valueless undertaking. However, learning is, first and foremost, an exercise of the mind. To learn, we must first truly believe we can learn and that the abilities we gain as a result will serve to enrich our lives. Once we do, we discover that education and practice inspire us and awaken us to a whole new range of possibilities.

When you challenge yourself by committing to master a new pursuit, you affirm your belief that neither chronology nor fear need be an impediment to your growth. You comprehend the value of learning, the interest it adds to your day-to-day experiences and the creativity it inspires within you. Being a beginner can be hard, and you may find yourself tempted to give up, but try not to let yourself become self-conscious. If you are revisiting an activity you enjoyed in childhood, you may take in information more slowly than you once did or you may pick it up again like it was yesterday. The simple fact that you are pursuing a path because you want to, means that your determination will give you the strength to cope with any difficulties. Your ability to work toward an goal will be heightened by your sincere desire to grow as an individual.

Try learning something new this week. What have you always wanted to do? Take a dance class, learn to sail, knit a sweater, sculpt—whatever you choose, your life will be enriched with fun, new friends and the pride of trying something new.

A Lesson from Peter

I can summarize what we can learn from Peter’s 3 denials that he knew Jesus in 3 sentences. The first sentence is: “Life is filled with broken promises.”

The 2nd sentence is: “Even knowing of so many broken promises, most of us spend significant time & energy choosing to do good anyway.”

The 3rd sentence… well, I’ve changed my mind about giving you the 3rd sentence. I’m not going to tell you that one after all. What can I say?” Life is filled with broken promises deal with it.”

Everywhere we turn in the material world we can see broken promises. Instead of hope, we are given hurt.
Instead of love we are handed fear. Instead of community we can find ourselves in isolation.
& I know that there are many outside these walls, in our own families, our friends & coworkers & others who face broken promises in far greater magnitude than you or I do.

As a response to this reality, I’d like to tell you 4 stories.



The first story is about 2 little boys. Their father was a truck driver. He was left to care for them one evening when he had to go down to the trucking company to unload & fill out the customary paper work. While the father unloaded, the boys had fallen asleep in the cab & when he had to go into the office to complete the papers, concerned with leaving the sleeping children visible in the cab, he carried the boys to the back of the empty truck, laid them on cargo blankets, closed the door. As fate would have it, the boys woke up & found themselves alone & trapped in a strange, dark place. The younger of the 2 boys was filled with panic. He couldn’t even see his brother in the dark. “Doug, are you here?” he asked. “I’m here,” came the response.

Left alone, feeling abandoned, cast out on their own, the 4 year old turned to his 5-year-old brother & asked, “So, what do we do now?” “I guess we’ll have to find a place to live,” was the response. But they both realized that this would require money, so the talk turned to what kind of jobs they could get. “What can you do?” the younger asked. “I think I could probably cut people’s grass,” the older replied. The younger felt a new sense of dread realizing that he didn’t know how to cut grass & he couldn’t think of anything he could do to make any money at all. Sensing his little brother’s anxiety the older said ,“You can help me.”

But that was, essentially, the extent of their plan – their entire hope for the future – hung on the possibility that they could cut someone’s grass. Not the way either of them thought their life would go. “Life is filled broken promises.”

The world never did find out if they could make a living cutting grass, for immediately following their moment of resolve, the door to the back of the truck slid up & there, standing in the glow of the parking lights, was their father. An immediate sense of rage fell over that younger boy as he realized what had happened. It eventually turned to relief but he never – ever - forgot what it was like to be trapped in that dark place & what it felt like to be abandoned.

The second story involves these same 3 characters a few years later - after ‘the divorce.’ Divorced & often separated from his children the father wanted to try & build some understanding & connection & feel closer to his children.

So, he did is what a lot of parents do – when his children visited, he read to them at bedtime. But contrary to stories other parents might choose, he didn’t read Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan or other fairy tales. Each night he read from a book by a child psychologist about divorce. Neither of the boys could decipher much from that evening ritual. Nevertheless, the routine continued for many weeks. Until, one night, towards the end of reading time, the man came across a line that he read in a different kind of way. He slowed down. The line was, “Just because a father becomes divorced it doesn’t mean he doesn’t love his children.” Then the man stopped altogether. & he read that line again, this time with his voice quivering as though he might suddenly cry.

Then he closed the book, kissed the boys goodnight, and left the room. It’s probably not necessary to tell you that neither of those boys understood a thing that was written in that book. And yet, it doesn’t take much to realize that they understood everything about their father’s faltering voice, the line that he repeated & his goodnight kiss.

The youngest boy in these stories, after a difficult realization that “life is filled with broken promises,” eventually became a Unity minister & one day in a lesson he said, “Nothing of what I have managed to accomplish in my life could have possibly happened without the ‘unmistakable truth that “Life is filled with broken promises. I became a minister because I have experienced what it was like to be trapped in a dark place. & I became a minister because I was unwilling to live in a life where deceit & disappointment is the only rule.

The next story happened in the early 1400’s. A man lived in Bohemia (what is now Czechoslovakia). His name was Jan Hus. He was a scholar & priest in the Roman Catholic Church & what we would, today, call an activist. He was very popular among both young & old people for they saw his life as a symbol of hope.

Hus deplored the corruption that riddled church practices & took great pains to change them. Two points in particular were abhorrent to him. First, the belief of the Church that only priests could participate in Holy Communion. Hus believed that everyone was entitled to share the wine of the chalice during communion & deserved a chance to hold it & pass to their neighbor the elements of their faith. Secondly, Hus believed that worship should be spoken in the common language, instead of Latin which no one understood.

For this he was tried & convicted of heresy by the church. He was offered several opportunities to recant — but he refused to do so. The punishment for such heresy was death. On his birthday, July 6, 1415, he was stripped of his vestments, taken to a field outside Prague & burned at the stake. He never rescinded his beliefs. Instead, he sang a hymn as the flames mounted around him. However, before he died, he made a prediction in the form of a joke, based on his name. In the Czech language “Hus” means “goose.” As he was being tied to the stake, he called to his tormentors, “You may roast this goose today, but one hundred years from now a swan will arise, whose singing you cannot silence.”

He was right. Less than one hundred years later, the Reformation swept Europe & the fire of religious liberty swept throughout Western Civilization.

We have come a long way from those dark times. And yet it is obvious that many of the attitudes & broken promises, which create darkness & barriers between people still exist today. The question I have for you is: “How do you handle life’s broken promises?” My choice to become a minister was the only practical response I could see to the broken promises I knew in my own life.

Let me tell you now the 4th story. A little boy found himself locked in the bathroom. His cries brought his frightened mother to the other side of the door & when he heard her he began to cry louder. She tried to explain to her son how to unlock the door but he was crying too hard to hear what she was saying.
& then to make matters worse, in a panic of jumping up & down, the little boy inadvertently hit the light switch & turned out the light. Now it was dark. Louder cries came forth & then he started pounding on the door in frustration. Finally the mother could hear him slump down against the cold bathroom tile.

Getting down on her knees the mother tried peering through the crack at the bottom of the door & she saw his cheek as he too tried to get his face low enough to see through the small space. With an idea, the mother quickly got a flashlight. She knelt down & turned the flashlight on so that it shone through the crack at the bottom of the door.

“Do you see the light, honey? Can you see it?” The boy stopped crying for a second & said, “I can see it. ”
“That’s me!” she cried. “The light is coming from me. I’m right here!” “I can see you, mommy, but I can’t get to you.”

Then the mother took her other hand and slid 3 fingers under the door & wiggled them. “Can you see my fingers?” she asked. “I can see your fingers!” he replied. “I can see them.” “Grab hold of my fingers,” she said.

And he did – for the entire hour it took for the next door
neighbor to take down the door that kept them apart.

Everywhere around us it is the same. In this community, in history and in our lives: if we want to offer a real response to life’s broken promises we must be willing to be a light.

Which brings me, finally, to the 3rd sentence I promised you & that is this: The only success we will know of building from broken promises, a new dream of hope, will be measured by how & how far we are willing to carry our own light in what is often a dark & lonely world.

In a life full of broken promises, it is always within us to choose to do good anyway. Because we know, that the hardest of all broken promises to endure is the promise we break to ourselves by not making the difference in our own lives & in our world that Jesus told us that we are capable of & through the good work that we do, the hope that is ultimately restored may, indeed, be our own.

A Promise

The promises you make in this life start you dancing with the joy of ‘that splendid torch.’ But it is the promises that you keep that will ensure that you keep dancing & stay in the flow of life. A promise is your word, whether spoken or implied, cast forth into physical reality. It is a covenant you make with the world. It says: “This shall be done.”

When you make a promise you set up an energy imbalance. For example: Let’s say you tell your best friend you’ll take him or her to dinner next Wednesday night as a birthday present. You create a tension with a promise, the expectation of something yet to be done.

When you put your word out before you like this, you create a ‘gap’ that can only be closed when you do what you said you’d do. Now, imagine that it’s Wednesday & you’re at dinner with your friend. See how the tension resolves? The energy field is now once again balanced.

The energy dance that keeps us moving on our spiritual path involves creating & resolving imbalances. When we produce a ‘gap’ we’re pulled forward to close it.


We often neglect to consider the effect of not keeping our promises. When we don’t do what we said we’d do, we’re left with the tension of incompletion. Unfulfilled promises are energy drains because we expend more energy to keep a gap open than we do when we resolve it.

Each unfulfilled promise draws energy to itself & becomes a block to the flow of God’s energy. It saps your power. You can become physically, emotionally & even spiritually so tired that you have no energy & it doesn’t matter with whom you made your promise. In fact, many of us are much better at keeping the promises we make to others than keeping the promises we make to ourselves.

The universe doesn’t care with whom you made the contract. Not keeping your word to yourself is still not keeping your word. It produces the same gap so it is just as significant as failing to keep a promise to someone else. The important thing to realize is that every broken promise we experience is a wake up call.

Order of Saint Lukes the Physician

I am reporting that I have become an associate member in the Order of Saint Luke the Physician and have been elected to a position of Co-convener. It is an international society of Healers working together and in their small groups to heal all that abides here on Mother Earth. It's charge is A to Z in healing from the poorest to the grandiose of all creation. Right now I am engulfed in a 26 week course of study on the HEALING METHODS of THE CHRIST and how I and we can utilize the same methods to enact the same results. I find it most interesting, when I think about the healing methods I use as Native Metis Healer. My goal is to utilize both methods combined to enrich my work with the sicknesses of the Earth.

I know there is nothing that is accomplished without the invocation and help from The Creator. To truly be a Healer, I must keep myself in touch and in tune with His Will in all things. This kind of connection needs an acceptance of the role of G-d / Grand Father in my life. This is to be a grand new adventure!

Face Book ect...

Good Afternoon, There are times that I review the many sites I use, only to find I am sorry I have joined them or that I have outgrown the site. Today I am reporting my resigning from `facebook' to go back to a more stable way to connect with my friends. That is why you will no longer find me available there. I will use my address book to locate all of you to inform you of my move. Those who wish to join me here or at the other MNUS site, maybe the "what Now" site will be getting am invitation from me at those sites as well.

Here in the the U.S.A. we are having a time in getting the government to accept the largest Indigenous group of people as an aboriginal race. You may or may not know that we have for these past 10 years working with states and federal agencies in recognizing us in an individual agency basis. We as a nation have had been able to cross the borders into Canada with the right passports, or I D cards and our MNUS cards. The MNUS card has the recognition as the second form of citizenship I D. What we do not have is the rights of Canadian Metis to hunt, fish and to live as a 3rd aboriginal race in Canada. We are not able to use their medical facilities nor join in on any Metis Ceremony unless specifically invited. Joining the Canadian Metis Council (CMC) has the ability to take part in their Ceremonies, celebrations, and Sacred Gatherings.

Here in the U.S.of A. we are starting to find ways to celebrate our common ways with each other, and help learn those ways that are not specific to each tribe. To learn what is the same about all of us is part of a way to heal our wounds inflicted in the older times. To see those things that the same or similar, gives us a basis to stand on as Brothers and Sisters.

I have found that prodigious is lost with understanding and from understanding comes love. Love for our Brothers and for our Sisters.

O.S.L.

Here we are at the end of January and thus far I've been able and fortunate to keep up with some letter writing and posting to my Facebook. It looks like I will be attending a Write Around Portland workshop in February through April. It one of those exercises I enjoy to stimulate my creative juices. My learning in the Order of Saint Luke the Healer is moving along, Lesson four is coming up next Tuesday.

Doing Drum Repairs and building for individuals is part and parcel of my monthly enjoyment, Last night I performed an exercise in Drum Meditation for the Unity Church here in Vancouver WA. It went very well and was received with much appreciation.

As part of my learning needs is to learn Italian, The local junior college offers a course in conversati0nal Italian. I would like to incorporate the language in my next book. "The Storytellers" is in the editing stage. When I get it back, I will pass it along to the publishers for a
Books-on-Demand publication. For a first book, I think this is the best way to go for me.

Ended ear

I was able to watch last year come to an end from my appartment here in Washington. We had a quiet evening filled with our love for each other, the Wife and I. the week before I was sick with a stomich flue and stayed ini bed from Christmas day to the following monday. Then a short trip to the INlaws. Had a great dinner with Mary, Walt and Jenni at Marys lovely home.
Ohana was a true respectable pet for the whole trip.he was calm and quiet, which surprised me completely. It was a pleasure to travel with her, After arriving home, it was nice to be in our comfort Zone. The smells and surroundings of home can be such a secure felling, I can see why the Elderly want to stay home more and more as they age. I am in that sort of space now and think it may become stronger as time passes.
News from the expectations in the future? Yes, I am trying to get people interested in joining the Me'tis Nation of the U.S. here in Washington. I am also working to become a Prayer Healer with-in the O.S.L.. Working with several friends, I have in mind to have a circle of meditators meeting weekly here in my home, to focus on extending energy to heal the scars of Mother Earth i and about Vancouver, Washington.
Lastly, I am making a calander to help me remember events I have committed to, ie. my Blog, web site, interest groups, and Genealogy. Maybe if I can do things in a more orderly fashion, I will be better able to keep up this year. that's all for today.

Thanks Giving

This year we tried something new and invited others w/o family close by to dinner. We ate till we were full. Then we lazied around for the rest of the day enjoying each others company and expecting at least one drop in, which happened. I ate about 1400 calories for the day but have decided that two days in November w/o testing is o k by me. Now that it is the day after Turkey Day, I can relax and try to not focus on what is next.

I will be traveling to Southern California and visit with my Sister and her family, plus Heather. It is hard to not have Heather about at this time of year.

Looking for Mr. Big

Looking For Mr. Big
by Bernadette Voorhees

Have you ever had a time in your life when something you needed turned up missing? Something you counted on?
I’m not talking about little things like socks or keys or phone numbers written on scrap paper, things that routinely fall between the cushions on the sofa & get sucked into the netherworld between galaxies or those things you chalk up to something the dog chewed up & carried away. Those things you can forget & attach a little sticky note to the refrigerator asking other people in the family if they’ve seen it. I’m talking about bigger things, things we can spend months or even years looking for like our sanity or our identity or our purpose in life, the kind of things that don’t fit on sticky notes or refrigerators.

In Woody Allen’s short play, “Mr. Big,” a detective named Kaiser Lupowitz is hired by a Vassar philosophy major to find something that turned up missing, a missing person to be exact. Kaiser questions her & discovers, early on, that the person she wants to find is God. When Kaiser asks her what God looks like, she admits she has never seen him. “Oh great!” he responds. “Then you don’t know what he looks like? Or where to begin looking?” “No. Not really,” she replies. “Although I suspect he’s everywhere. In the air, in every flower, in you & I & in this leather sectional sofa.”
“Uh-huh,” Kaiser thinks. “So, she’s a pantheist.” Following
the twists & turns of the parody investigation, Kaiser later talks to the police. He is asked if he’s still looking for God, the ‘Great Oneness, the connection between all things, Creator of the Universe, Mr. Big?”
When the detective nods the police tell him that somebody answering to that description has just showed up at the morgue. After reviewing the facts, Kaiser & the policeman conclude that the divine murder wasn’t a professional job.
‘Couldn’t have been,’ they say. ‘Probably done by an existentialist,’ they surmise. When Kaiser asks how they could know, the sergeant answers, “Haphazard way it was done. Doesn’t seem to be any system followed.”

I know of families where, if God turned up missing, it wouldn’t be much of a problem. Families where it would be a problem if someone left a sticky note on the refrigerator asking if they’d seen God, or if they wouldn’t mind helping to look for God. Families where it would be a problem if their teenage son came home from school & said that he’d FOUND God. In many households, seeing God’s picture on a milk carton wouldn’t raise many eyebrows.

For some, God just turned up missing one day & they never bothered to file a report & some people were so turned off by a long history of personal experiences with hell & brimstone pastors preaching sin & shame & misguided people in their lives who told them so many times that ‘God was going to punish them for this or that;’ that they finally summoned the courage & good common sense to get rid of such a hurtful & destructive God themselves. Many people in Unity share a history like that & say that even thought they finally understood that the role of God was never meant to be a harmful or negative thing in our lives that their family or friends still believe otherwise & while they held on to God, their family & friends went missing.

Woody Allen wasn’t the first to write about the killing of God. Many people before & since have reflected on the idea of ‘theocide’ if not carried it out themselves. The point I’m making here is that since the purpose of worshipping God is to inspire you to become more God-like, when you realize that the God you’ve been taught to believe in is a vengeful, condemning & punishing God, isn’t it better to kill off such a God than to become more like Him.

But then what do you do when all that’s left is the chalk outline of where God used to be in your life. ‘What do you do to fill that place?’ What do you turn to? What do you believe in? What do you worship if all you are left with is a God-sized hole? Nothing? Anything? Does this matter?

Carl Jung, one of the father’s of modern psychology, wrote a book called “Modern Man in Search of a Soul.” In it he said, “About a third of my cases are suffering from no clinically define-able neurosis; but [instead] from the senselessness & emptiness of their lives. This can be described as the general neurosis of our time.”

The general neurosis of our times is meaninglessness, emptiness, the feeling that something is missing. And the questions that cry to us out of our emptiness are simple: ‘What should I be doing with my life?’ What can I do so that I can someday look back & feel like my life was significant? When I die will my own disappearance leave the world richer, poorer, sadder, or just less crowded? Unlike some other religions, the question we in Unity wrestle with isn’t whether there is ‘life after death,’ but whether there ‘life after birth & life before death.’ These are questions that we usually turn to God with for help. But when we’re worshipping a God that demands blind allegiance, or for whom we can find no allegiance, we must contend with the emptiness on our own & make no
bones about it, rather than living with emptiness, we will learn to fill it by turning to something or someone.

In his essay on the Oversoul, Ralph Waldo Emerson talked about this saying: “A person will worship something – have no doubt about that. We may think our tribute is paid in secret, in the dark recesses of our hearts – but it will get out. That which dominates our imaginations & our thoughts will determine our lives & character. Therefore, it behooves us to be careful what we worship, for what we are worshipping, we are becoming.”

“What we are worshipping, we are becoming.” This is so true. Yet how many of us are always aware of exactly what we are worshipping? How many of us will honestly admit to what habitually dominates our imaginations? If you asksomeone what’s more important: having the latest computer, boat, car or thing off Madison avenue or devotion to family, their answer will likely be family. But if you watch how they live their lives & what they spend their time, energy & money on you are likely to see otherwise.

Emerson is referring to the idolatry we commit when we confuse or simply replace the worship of something meaningful with something that’s merely alluring. The voices that call us to keep up with the Jones’ or look as good as the people around us are just a few of the voices that often live in the available emptiness of our soul. They can, as Emerson notes, ‘dominate our imaginations & determine our character.’ But possessions, success & vanity are only a few of the tempting false gods that will try to roost in an empty nest.

The world is not unfamiliar with the gods of power, fame & influence. Jesus & other Master’s all warned against their seduction saying such things don’t bring peace. The drive for power & fame, like wealth, leads people to see their lives in terms of competition & attempts at domination rather than cooperation & relationship with the highest & the best for all concerned as the end result. The exercise of power can make human relationships very difficult not to mention unbalanced.

Rabbi Harold Kushner said “There is a tricky link between the quest for love & the quest for power. If you love someone because they always try to please you, because they always do what you want them to, that isn’t love, that is just a round about way of loving yourself. Power, like water, flows downhill from someone in a higher position to someone lower down. Love can be generated only between people who see themselves as equals, between people who can be mutually fulfilling to each other. Where one commands & one obeys, there can be loyalty & gratitude, but not love.”

If we need an example of those who would try to convince us that love will come through approval, obedience & submission, we only need look at how a cultured, educated people like the Germans could have let a man like Hitler come to power to know this is true. Likewise, words of such gods of approval are also found in the journal of a medieval Spanish monk when he wrote, “I am confident that, after my death, I will go to heaven because I have never made a decision on my own. I have always followed the orders of superiors & if I ever erred, the sin is theirs, not mine.” Such a heaven could only be filled with souls who spent their lives as sycophants & know only conformity and obedience. For myself, I couldn’t imagine a greater hell.

The Roman poet Ovid told a story of 2 characters who were dominated by false gods & the fate they encountered. It is about a young pair named Echo & Narcissus.

“Echo” was a maiden so named by the God Juno whom she served as a handmaiden. Juno wouldn’t stand for brazenness & when she heard Echo’s tongue speak for itself, she cast spell over the maiden that reduced her ability for speech to the shallow mimicry of other people’s words. No independent, original thought of her own could escape her lips. This would become a tragedy for Echo, later on when she met a young boy named Narcissus. Narcissus was endowed with beauty so great no one could resist him. It was prophesied at his birth that he would live to an old age, unless he somehow caught sight of himself. Echo, seeing his beauty, tried to draw Narcissus to her, but she had no words of her own to attract him. When he rejected her, she hid behind some trees where she pined & pined until her body wasted away leaving only her voice to echo others around her. Narcissus escaped Echo by running to a still & clear stream, where he bent down to get a drink. As he did, he saw his reflection on the surface of the water. Thinking it was the most beautiful person he’d ever seen looking up at him, he bent down to kiss the surface. This he did over & over, never able to coax the reflection out of the water & thus pining away there for his inability to take his eyes off himself. In his last few breaths he lamented his unrequited love, saying ‘Alas,’ & from the trees nearby came Echo’s haunting voice, ‘alas, alas, alas,’

The ‘kingdom of God’ is found by people learning how to come together with all of their beauty & brazen independence, a kingdom built on recognition of mutual strengths. Echo & Narcissus were not able to achieve this kind of relationship& for good reason, they had chosen to follow, or were directed by what Ovid calls ‘smaller Gods.’

Any God worth following wouldn’t prompt or expect us to become blindly obedient, only able to echo other people’s words or ways. Parroting scripture is a way to be religious, but without some authentic insight & voice of our own, there is nothing significant within us that will allow more than the most shallow connection with others, this is what Jesus called ‘second hand light’ & blind repetition that results in the sins of the Father being visited on the son.

When we seek to fill that God-sized hole with gods of Power, wealth, fame or vanity we become narcissistic; Trying to captivate or control others & draw them & bind them to us never allows us to see beyond our own image which we have to do in order to truly appreciate who they really are, what they really think & what they have to offer & what they actually do as individualized expressions of God.
Now more than ever, it feels gods that demand obedience or who rule through the power of shame are turning up more & more as missing or in the morgue. & ‘We the people’ seem to be taking on more and more responsibility to fill the emptiness – in our own souls and in our own country & in the world – with something godly of our own. A new vision for transparency & accountability that seems to elude the olds Gods of power.

& If you wonder what guided & inspired me this morning with such a hopeful vision where the powers tells us that things are still bleak, I ask you to reflect on the principles Robert Steyn followed in his efforts to rid South Africa of Apartheid.

1st “First, finding compassion for those other than myself’

2nd practicing non-judgmentalism & acceptance of all people, including their ability to learn & do!

3rd & third, “When living amidst a society with a sick & twisted ideology it is imperative to hold up a vision of that which is good and decent and kind in our humanity.”

These 3 ideas are as holy as any I’ve read in the Bible or heard anywhere else. & in the end it doesn’t matter whether the acts of our conscience come from God’s word, the words of those acting in godly ways or Jiminy Cricket. It’s only important that we begin to ask ourselves some hard questions & begin to consider what we worship & what we are becoming individually & as a family & as a church & as a country and that we begin to take ourselves seriously. If we don’t know one else will.

I’d like to close with these thoughts from Buddha.

The thought manifests as the word.
The word manifests as the deed.
The deed develops into a habit,
And habit hardens into character.
So watch the thought and its ways with care,
And let it spring from love,
Out of respect for all beings.

Circles

Pow-Wow’s, Sweat Lodge’s, Gatherings, Ceremonies, Elders, Medicine Man and Woman, Chief, Warrior, Clan, Brave, and Circles of all kinds. These make up the world of a Native American both First Nation and Métis. Our lives are governed by the code for sacred living, honoring all that is created. We have lived and now live knowing who we are what our relationship is to the Creator and Mother Earth. We live with a series of circles, where we teach, play, learn and age.

Powwow is when different tribes or clans come together to celebrate an event. Maybe a good hunt and to share the bounty from Mother Earth. Maybe it is a time when many tribes come together, usually once a year, to make marriage contracts and weddings with a give-a-way for the new couple to gain in the wealth of the families. It is also time when a tribe does ceremony because of a season ritual. Maybe it is harvest time, planting time, hunting time. Maybe it is a ceremony for the rite of passage from a boy to a man or a girl to a woman.

Sweat Lodge is for the healing of the body, mind and spirit of an individual. There is a Sacred Way to make these healings work. Songs to sing, herbs to use and a pipe to smoke for prayers to travel on to reach The Creator.

Women’s and Men’s circles are gatherings in the interest of bonding, sharing, and creating ritual. The origins of these circles are ancient, but they are as modern and important as when they were first created. There are no hard and fast rules to form a circle. Some circles invent their own agendas, goals, and ceremonies. Some circles are open to new members at all times, while others are by invitation

In a typical circle, the members sit in a circle. Generally, for the sake of cohesiveness, an Elder or Chief leads the circle. . One circle leader may choose to teach a rite using song to release negative energy, while another leader may feel inspired to lead a silent meditation. On the other hand, a circle may choose to focus over the long term and gather around a particular intention, such as working to determine a way for healing Mother Earth.

At their best, circles perfectly illustrate the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The work that can be accomplished, within the loving embrace of our brothers and sisters, is far more powerful than what we could achieve on our own. If you are not already part of a circle, you may want to start or join one. It need not be just your blood family. Friends holding concerns about some idea or other can meet and through prayer and meditation make a difference in the community or neighborhood. Follow your intuition as to those with whom you would like to work, reach out to them, and set a date to begin. After that, stay focused on what you are concerned or thankful for.

Our church community is an example of such a circle. When we gather here to glorify The Creator, we act in consert to make our lives more Christ-like. Here we are able to listen to the Elders of the past sharing their sage advice on how to live with each other as well as what to do when we come to a crisis. Here we learn to love one another.

When we share our wealth with the greater circle by the tithe of our bounty, we become part of a circle that helps provide the funding for the many circles our votes have elected to support. Other circles help provide us with a grounding in the Church Community.


Sharing our time and support can be shown by participating in the Friendship Gathering after Mass in the Fellowship Hall.

Shareing our time by volunteering for any one of the many circles (committees ) needed to be manned to help lead the way in our greater Circle called St. Luke’s/San Lucas and to Vancouver.

When I was a small child, I lived in a village governed by a circle of Elders who held the wisdom of my People. I was expected to participate in village life with both my time and my funds. At six years of age, I sold newspapers on the corner of Main Street and Bond Ave, giving a share of what I earned as a gift to the greater circle. I taught by living example to the younger children the values taught me by my Elders.

When the time came to share a story, I knew to share a story from my young life. Other children shared their day’s adventure as well.

By the time I moved away, I had been taught the value of Family. Not only the Birth Family, but also this included close family from all walks of my life. I knew the necessity of giving my time, my funds and to share my life with others. I was taught that, because I have little, I am blessed. My best is to share my Knowledge with those younger than me. As an Elder, I must share my life experiences or there will be no one to tell the history and teach the Medicine Way and tell the stories to the next generation. Then they will be lost and not know their Way to the land across the other side.

Being generous with what we have, is nothing more than being rich with what abounds from Mother Earth. Returning the blessings we receive freely shows our love for our Church, our Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Our Family as well as ourselves.
If we are able, after Mass, instead of leaving, try something new and join your church family in a shared circle of love and fellowship. Join us in the Fellowship Hall for a cup of hot drink and some small treat.

It is pledge time, when you can see your opportunity to share what you have, as the old woman in the parable of the two coppers. You will be blessed 10 fold for your gifts. Share of your learning by joining in a circle of friend who have a like interest, or maybe experience a new interesting talent by learning from someone who is sharing his or her talents.

To become a part of your church family is to become part of a circle for health, wealth, companionship and spiritual growth.

May the Great Spirit be with you as you travel this life and may Mother Earth heap gifts upon you beyond measure; I pray this day in His Name. Amen!

Life changes

Good morning to my world,
I have recently heard that I am now a member of the Diabetes Club. Yesterday, I start on my lifetime use of oral medications for this haunting disease. My wonderful bride of 20+ years is helping me to adjust to my newly developing regiment for food and drink. I am slowly going more toward a vegetarian way of eating. Part of what I would like is to have many folks communicate with me on line. This "one more thing" series of life's lessons is trying and exhausting. To do it alone or with no outward communications, is not good for me.

My yesterdays

I have been having a hard time these past few weeks. My body has given up in many ways. Leg cramps are here to stay, even as I try to adjust to the leg cramps with minerals as supplements. Driving has fallen off to almost nothing and I prefer to stay home and doodle my days away.

My book is almost finished and with about 4 chapters to edit, I will be able to close it before Christmas. I would like to have it published in time for the holidays. It has been a long hard struggle to get to this point in creating the book. It's title is "The Storytellers Gathering" set in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. The book is mostly [95%] native stories either created by myself or retold from stories I have heard. I think there will be about 325 pages plus photos, maps, charts and the like.

Another thing on my hobby list is the coloring of 19th century sketches. I use a multi media [ie. pastel oils and pastel pencils, water colors, coloring pencils, and chalk]. I've sold none of them but I've not tried either. Could be this coming Fall season I will find the courage to have a small showing at some location here in Vancouver, Washington.

My jewelry making is still slow and confined to; Silver and Turquoise or Hematite and Turquoise. I finished one piece that was evaluated and valued at $350.00. I hope to produce three more at around the same value. Make photo copies of them and place a notice that they will be for sale at the high bid price of the first piece. That is, if the committee will allow me to do that.

Well keep your heads up and your hearts open to new love. Be sure you allow the higher power in you to shine forward as a beacon to all you meet and all you try to heal with Love and Empathy.

RULES TO LIVE BY

A Dog's Purpose?

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker 's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.

The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's Death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives.
Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, ''I know why.''

Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation. It has changed the way I try and live.

He said,' 'People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?'' The Six-year-old continued,

Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long.''

Live simply.

Love generously.

Care deeply.

Speak kindly.

Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.

Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure Ecstasy.

Take naps.

Stretch before rising.

Run, romp, and play daily.

Thrive on attention and let people touch you.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.

On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.

When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.

Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

Be loyal.

Never pretend to be something you're not.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.

ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY!

RULES TO LIVE BY



A Dog's Purpose?


Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker 's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.

The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's Death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives.
Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, ''I know why.''

Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation. It has changed the way I try and live.

He said,' 'People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?'' The Six-year-old continued,

Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long.''

Live simply.

Love generously.

Care deeply.

Speak kindly.

Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.

Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure Ecstasy.

Take naps.

Stretch before rising.

Run, romp, and play daily.

Thrive on attention and let people touch you.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.

On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.

When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.

Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

Be loyal.

Never pretend to be something you're not.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.

ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY!

Welcoming new members

The dynamics of the families we belong to evolve over time. When we welcome an individual into our family—whether that individual is human or not—a transformation takes place, a shift in the energy of the family unit. The birth or adoption of a child, the introduction of a spouse or stepparent, or a pet, can mark a new direction in the life’s flow of energies for the family as a whole. A simple welcoming ritual can serve as the platform upon which every member of the household, old and new, gathers together to joyfully mark this new phase of family life. Encouraging every member of the family to take part in the ceremony, will foster a sense of unity and help members come together to grow into the new family paradigm as a group.

The transition from one family dynamic to another isn’t always clear. The needs and desires of new members may not always correspond with those of other members of the household. It is precisely because the introduction of a new family member can interrupt the flow of energy which the family previously thrived that it is so important to respect the change and honor the induction of the new member.


When welcoming an adult into the family unit, a simple sand ceremony can reinforce each member’s individuality and symbolically integrate the newest family member into the whole. During the ceremony, parents, children, and extended relations are given sand of a different color or texture and, one by one, pour it into a thoughtfully chosen container. The rainbow of sand can then be displayed as a reminder of family unanimity. To honor the introduction of a child, parents can hold a ritual during which they formally introduce their child to the other members of the family and invite each to speak a blessing over the child.

Animals can be honored by having the family form a circle around the animal and shower it with words of greeting and love. Keeping a special place as a safe haven for the animal, will show a feeling of respect for the animals well being.

Each family is different and may feel more comfortable using a ritual or ceremony of their own design to welcome the new member to their household. However it chooses to honor a new family member, know that the decision to acknowledge the manner in which the household has grown, will make the transition a beautiful and memorable event in the family history.