SPIRIT        LODGE   LIBRARY Myth & Lore Page 16 - part 2

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Some of the 86 pages in this Myth & Lore section are below. The rest will be found HERE

Atlantis & Lemuria	Black Corn Woman	Blue Moon	Celtic Moons, The Flood	Celtic Moons, The Stag	Celtic Moons, The Wind	Chethlahe Call Back Your Spirit	Children of the Sun	Coyote And Firefly, How Firefly Got His Blinking Light
Creation Of The Animal People	Creation Stories	Faerie Chair	Faeries	Ghost Dance	Grandmother Dawn Sky Weaver On Four Stones	Grandmother Moon 2 pages	Grandmother Moon’s Lessons For The Year	Grandmother Spider Steals The Sun
Great Mystery	How Coyote Got His Cunning	How Snake Got To Grow	How The Chipmunk Got Its Stripes	How The Rabbit Lost His Tail	Hummingbird Brings Back Tobacco	Indigenous Little People And Nature Spirits	Iroquois: Stone Throwers, Secret Forest Little People	Kokopelli (or Kokopilau): The Flute Player

Grandmother Moon
By CinnamonMoon

JUNE: STORYTELLER
Storyteller is the Guardian of Medicine Stories therefore she teaches us how to tell stories that contain lessons. Her encouragement lights the way to becoming a student in life as well as the teacher so that we may preserve the wisdom gained. She begins telling her stories to children at 3 years up to around 11 years of age. At that point the truths are seeded well as they begin their first Rite of Passage breaking away from the younger children to begin their lessons on the journey into adulthood. At 11 years old the boys would go with the men to begin learning about becoming warriors and manhood while the girls began learning from the women about their passage into womanhood.

Now, in the meantime the stories shared with little ones are about having faith, being humble and staying young at heart. She encourages them to continue to love life and enjoy it while keeping their innocence and wonder intact as they continue to grow up. She reminds them to never close that door, for it is in their free and open spirit that joy lives and breathes in their daily life. This is one of the reasons that indigenous people have such wonderful senses of humor. Not only does the humor lift the spirit, it keeps one young and healthy releasing endorphins through the body and while the technical aspects of laughter may not be important here, it does function fully in that capacity. Humor breaks the spell of negative thinking, scatters negative energy, shatters fears, and helps us see through illusions we weave for ourselves when we face the Unknown in life.

Many of this Grandmother's stories are presented to the little ones as the lore of the Creature-teachers and the Medicines they each hold. The children love the animals of the Earth and revel in their antics and mishaps or the exciting adventures they explore. Children so readily step into those stories and live them as they are being told; it's just so precious to see their little eyes lighting up and the wonder on their faces. And in those stories steeped with the truths of morals and ethics, of integrity and character, of foolishness and heroism they learn. In the stories she shares with us as adults we receive the myths that speak to us in the same manner.

In her book, The Thirteen Original Clan Mothers, Jamie Sams tells of how Toucan brought Storyteller a two-fold warning: firstly that if the Children of Earth forget to laugh at themselves, they will perish from the actions they take when seriousness strangles their sense of play and laughter. Toucan went on to explain that the Human Tribe (and I do see humanity on the whole as the Earth Tribe so I loved that expression) … the Human Tribe needs to be shown how to use humor to diffuse potentially painful or destructive situations. If they forget how to balance the sacredness with the irreverence, the joy of living will be lost.

The other half of Toucan's message related to the Oral Traditions themselves in that when a medicine Story has been passed to many generations and contains truth, those wise ways will support humans in their growth throughout time. Toucan also stressed that by allowing those stories to die we would be creating a grave injustice. It would cause the Children of Earth to change and some would lose their connections to the natural world. The stories of the Creature-teachers, the Stone People, the Standing People, the myths of the people and the lore of the Ancestors will keep that connection strong and help us see it present in our daily lives, even if only through our dreams. Toucan explained that the Medicine Stories do keep them connected to the rest of the global family. And that any person who can speak the truth while telling a tale that will give listeners a way to reflect on their own lives without pointing a finger, well, that person will carry Grandmother's Medicine and Toucan's as well. This is because these two warnings will allow those listening to come back into balance, and when that happens unity will be achieved.

Jamie went on to say that Grandmother's response showed her irreverent humor by stating: "If we do not pay attention to the wisdom found in the telling of tales, we may find ourselves showing our tails to the world." I loved that comment!

As clever as Grandmother is, she knows that the hard lessons found in imbalance reflect our pain and sorrow, and that laughter brings out our joy of being human. Each of us will need to find the Universal Truths for ourselves in whatever ways they may be presented through our experiences. And you can bet the bank that Storyteller is telling you a story whether you choose to listen to her or not. By looking at the issues in your life while she is walking with you through her cycle, and of course listening to what she's telling you about those matters, you will begin consciously passing through the evolution of your spirit and literally witnessing your own journey. You'll see how to navigate your way along it.

Her stories are such a comfort to those who are confused, frightened, road-weary, frustrated, lost or struggling on their Sacred Paths. And aren't we all at times? I know I am. We need to give thanks to her for sharing her tales so that the truth and learning to speak it with wisdom will keep the sacred traditions alive. Blessed are the children that sit circled at her feet; their early lessons with her are then carried forward into adulthood where the individual understands the value of speaking personal truth and honors their Sacred Point of View. They understand when we are asked for an opinion we are to speak from that perspective and a lovingly gentle heart. We learn too that if we are not asked we are to zip our lips and not offer unwanted comments. That way we don't interrupt the speaker and perhaps learn more ourselves.

The teachings she imparts tell us that speaking the truth does not harm another when spoken from the heart. Projections of self-righteous judgment comes off critical an harms another's self-image. Therefore, by speaking truth from our hearts we gift truth instead of wounding with it. She greets her listeners respectfully thanking them for being with her and recognizing that even the children are mature spirits in little bodies. As she greets her listeners they are put on notice to give her their full attention. Where she speaks to children her stories are short, she knows they have small attention spans; and when she speaks to adults they can be anywhere from a short tale to an epic adventure.

The lessons she shares in her stories impart the wisdoms she holds for she is the Keeper of Oral tradition. Her duty is one that holds the wisdom and keeps it alive and active for each of us. She shares the hard lessons that have guided others through life weaving the eternal truths into them. Her stories do not change, the Oral Tradition requires they be told as they have been heard, word for word so no truths are colored or omitted. In this way truth is heard and we learn how those characters in the stories found their way to their truths…that are going to be Universal Truths and they will speak to us just as she does.

When I was a little girl and just Knew things that I couldn't explain I felt the knowledge came to me from what I called Ancestral Memory. I don't even know where that term came to me from as I certainly hadn't heard it at that point in my life but I used it all the time to explain the Knowing. I felt it was in the genes so to speak. Later, as I became interested in NA teachings I heard this same theory presented as fact. I knew it was a truth but had not, until then, heard it spoken by another. It is taught by the Elders that the blood flowing through our body is our connection to the generations that have gone before us. This concept is found in many other cultures as well and today Science is showing us validation through the discoveries within DNA. Indigenous teachings tell us that through our Ancestral lines we can Know their stories, their lessons, and tap the collective consciousness or Universal Consciousness through accessing this path available within us.

As the Keeper of Heyokah Medicine and Humor she teaches lessons on how to balance the sacredness with irreverence using humor creatively. When we are afraid, and Storyteller has tales of great fears to share, she weaves in the irreverent humor teaching little ones how to dispel fears through the sacredness of irreverence. As adults we need to remember this innocence where the child in us could laugh at mishaps that came about through careless actions of others and note to ourselves not to make those mistakes. The truth hidden in the humor was to see the warning signs of problems and avoid them in the first place. Something children and adults can easily do. Like Coyote, who is the Great Trickster that tricks us into learning things the hard way by putting the jokes on us in clever ways, Heyokah Medicine can put the humor on us in irreverent manners that will teach us to laugh at ourselves without recriminations. This is a beautiful gift to be able to laugh at ourselves when we do something foolish…and a greater gift to recognize we need not make that mistake again. Heyokah Medicine points to things we cannot see in ourselves and helps us reflect on our weaknesses or foolishness be that in actions or our way of being at the time.

This Medicine teaches us that if we can laugh at ourselves we can overcome our dramas and our illusionary demons that bind us to that drama and the chaos that comes with it. By tricking us into growth through laughter the learning process becomes fun. And the Heyokah shows us how to enter the Oneness through our spirit to know its desire, it's journey, and will do this through the contrary side of any lesson before us. Heyokah Medicine is like reverse psychology with a comical twist to it. In this way we learn that the spirit can see much further than we can so when we connect to our spirits we are shown a wider path and the reaches of the horizon are clearer. Our minds are very stubborn, we've talked about this many times in that they like to take control of things. Heyokah Medicine easily slips past that stubbornness and surprises us with insights. By walking with this Medicine Storyteller becomes the Sacred Clown and the lessons she shares in the process are subtle so we can choose to reflect on them or ignore them.

Cleverly she creates new stories from her experiences and those shared with her by others. She will use what she observes around an individual to fashion a story about someone just like them in helping that person to see the folly they are putting themselves through. Wolf is very closely tied to all the Grandmothers, always at their side for Wolf is the Great Teacher and shares the ability to create the new paths of learning and teaching. This Grandmother and Wolf are old, old friends. As Grandmother has passed through many seasons she's learned the gift of easing the pain of others by teaching that the discomforts we feel are warnings that indicate our body is changing. She knows that there are some who cannot deal with discomfort because they do not understand that sickness, chills, fever and purging are the body's way of eliminating and shedding so we can break free of limitations. So she will teach how to embrace those discomforts to find the freedom from them through our spirit. She helps us to understand that when we allow that understanding to come forward we free the body. She teaches about trouble and danger having warning signs that we need to pay attention to, and that when we do that we avoid painful lessons. Painful lessons come to us when we ignore the warning signs, so we must be aware of all situations that could entrap us in the mire of drama, carelessness as in daydreaming too much and not paying attention to what's going on around us falling prey to mishaps, or even life-threatening situations…any number of which could place us in the way of physical harm.

She is also the Teacher who Teaches Without Pointing a Finger…the Preserver of Speaking from Personal Experience and Truth…showing us how to speak from our experience without judging others or being self-righteous. Storyteller teaches us how to speak the truth. She teaches us to speak in honest, clear and precise ways so that our thoughts and words are well presented without confusion for others. In her stories are tales of those who had to find their faith by working their way through the Forest of Confusion that grows in our heads. So she uses the stories of others and how they learned their lessons along their paths in life so that we can gain insight into our own challenges and times where we enter different Rites of Passage.

Rather than pointing a finger, and we all know when we do that three more are pointing right back at us…Storyteller weaves her stories to embody the characteristics of someone's life lesson and brings a little of that Heyokah Medicine into play by tricking the listener into safely seeing their situation as Witness to someone else's mishaps rather than having to confront their issue directly. In this way the individual can choose to go within and explore their own path and actions upon it, make any necessary adjustments called for and step back out into the world without embarrassment or being humiliated. It opens the eyes of those who are blinded by their own short-comings in a very gentle manner yet the truth is conveyed all the same. She tells stories of those who speak half-truths, break trust placed in confidence, have become gossips an rumormongers and helps us see they are wounded. Their very inability to speak truth tells us that they deceive themselves for they end up projecting those deceptions, deceits, illusions covering up their wounds onto others or onto circumstances around them rather than assuming responsibility for themselves.

Storyteller sometimes dreams things that she later weaves into her stories that she shares with us and she will teach us to do the same. She learns of different Medicines this way in order to share that wisdom. Through her the Oral Tradition continues to live, as long as those who are willing to speak of their truths that have been passed from generation to generation. She teaches us that through stories we can impart wisdom too, and as we share them we give them life, and we remember the lessons they hold as well. It is such a joy to walk with her and learn the ways of storytelling for ourselves. But she must now pass us over to the next Grandmother for Storyteller's time is at an end. Before she releases us she whispers in our ear: Remember when you are confused or uncertain, when issues come up to listen for my stories or remember those I've just shared with you. Remember to see your stories unfolding and to weave them for others when you have found the wisdom in the lessons they hold. Then she blesses us and waves us on as Loves All Things comes into view.

JULY: LOVES ALL THINGS
*Loves all things is the 7th Grandmother and the Mother of Unconditional Love, all acts of pleasure, the Keeper of Sexual Wisdom and Self-respect. She is the sensual lover, the Mother-Nurturer, the Warmth of the Feminine and the Guardian of the Needs of the family. In this her Medicine teachings are about how to use respect, trust, intimacy loving all aspects of our lives and all relationships in them. She teaches that through love that as physical beings we are sexual creatures so we can be loving parents, sensual partners and lovers, and at the same time a trusted friend. She teaches us the lessons in forgiving ourselves as well as others so that we can develop acceptance by casting away our critical natures. She teaches us how to Love the Truth in all life forms as well as the wisdom of compassion. She teaches women about Motherhood and all of us about the sacredness of all our actions.

Loves All Things teaches us how not to judge others, to love our bodies, to honor the pleasures we are blessed with in being human come to us as gifts from Mother Earth…the sacred feminine essence of life. Through her we learn to express a happy heart in all that we do, to dance with joy and twirl around now and then. To put a skip in our step once in awhile and that we can do this without manufacturing ways to escape our pain through substances or addictions or negative patterns of behavior.

*As the Guardian of Unconditional Love she reflects her relationship to Grandfather Sun who shines that love on all creatures great and small…on each of us. Grandfather Sun does not discriminate who receives his warmth and radiance, it's there for all of us and Grandmother wants us to know that the love of the Great Ones is there for each of us equally as well. She's not walking with us to judge the things we do or don't do, instead she understands we need room to explore, to make our mistakes, to mess our lives up royally sometimes, and then when we're ready to make changes she's there to lovingly guided us through them without recrimination. She knows, too, that we'll be more than capable of being hard enough on ourselves.

This Grandmother sees that as the consequences of our actions come full circle they don't bring us pleasure if we've not been loving towards others. If we have then she smiles upon us to celebrate our rewards. But if we've done something we're now regretting or coming to regret she helps us find our way through it gently telling us 'you can do it, come on, I'll walk with you, you're not alone in this' and she walks with us as we come back into harmony with our spirit. Sometimes she reminds us of our past experiences to help us remain in balance too. She's a liberal Grandmother, her rule is to allow the room for everyone to be and experience the things they need to in order to grow. There are no strict rules or regulations with her and she's not going to micromanage anyone either. Instead when we've had a harsh reality hit she stands with her arms open saying: "come here, Child, let me love you." And she nurtures us through our pain, our devastating grief as illusions shatter or life hits us between the eyes, through our broken hearts that need mending, through the disappointments and sorrows we all face.

*She teaches us about the Universal Law of Cause, Effect, and Retribution…we talked about this recently with you. Basically it's about us being the cause of our own actions, those actions having an effect on others in our environment if not the environment itself, and then the rewards or consequences we experience when our energy comes back full force. Remember, all energy returns to its source. So the Golden Rule of 'do unto others as you would have others do unto you' holds true. People and events are reactionary just as the Universe is, so if we're loving and nurturing then that's what will return to us. Perhaps not exactly in the same fashion we sent it out but when it returns it returns in a fashion we need at the time. Positive actions attract positive results and negative actions attract negative recoil. It's as simple as that. If we're respectful of ourselves we'll treat others that same way, and as we treat them with respect they're return that to us.

By being respectfully truthful with ourselves and others we can express our love to all things and find ways to exert our free will that are filled with beauty and kindness. She knows when we follow her teachings that we will evolve regardless of what the situations we experience may be. She knows too that if we are deeply wounded that our healing may take many turns around the Wheel of the Year before that healing is complete so she does not judge us by how fast we learn or how steady we are on our feet. She just helps us to them when we're struggling and sends us love as we pass through our periods of transitional growth. She walks with us until we break free of the patterns that lead to self-sabotage or self-defeating results, she walks with us until we see that it's time to stop doing the same negative things over and over hoping we get different results. She knows better and she lets us figure that out for ourselves if we're not paying attention to her lessons as we go.

Loves All Things wants us to understand that there is such glorious liberation when we learn to love our Self…our Inner Spirit and to let that light shine through to the world around us. When we come from the heart, from the spirit within us, we hold that unconditional love for our own BE-ing and for others as well…we see their spirits shining in the midst of their darkness and we reach out just as Grandmother does to steady those who are seeking to brighten their beacons. She shows us that there is no benefit to anyone to judge others who can't see yet, they are simply unable at this time to open their eyes wide enough but we can still love them without attachment to the things they do or don't do. We don't have to join in their actions but we can still love and bless them. There may have been a point in time when we were just like them, making it very easy for us to see the lessons they're calling to themselves since we've passed through them. But if we remember our turn came to open our eyes and we held them shut tight until it arrived then we cease to judge and begin to understand everything comes in its own time to each of us.

This Grandmother encourages us to develop self-expression through love and to give of ourselves impeccably…to put our best efforts forward whatever they may be at the time. No some days that's not going to be very much that we have to offer, especially if we're struggling through something ourselves at the time, but whatever we give, if we give it our best it's enough. For this reason, this Grandmother exemplifies all grandmothers everywhere, she is the Guardian of the Children and loves them for who they are. She keeps that child-like wonder alive in herself and she shares that with us as we go about our paths of discovery no matter how old we are. She shows us as adults how to hold to that love and guidance as we rear our own children by accepting, giving and finding wonderful ways to love ourselves in the process too. It becomes joy-filled wonderment filling our days then. We take pleasure in the discoveries and the truths we are shown.

As Mother-Nurturer she embodies the sensual lover and stands as Keeper of All Acts of Pleasure as well as the Guardian of Sexual Wisdom. That wisdom is reflected in our relationships not only with our spouses, but our relatives and friends of both genders. Through devotion we are strong and through our weaknesses we become aware of our vulnerabilities. This Grandmother teaches us to accept our nature for what it is and love it rather than judge ourselves harshly. She wants us to learn that we can accept these same strengths and weaknesses in ourselves as well as in others. For that reason she teaches us to understand and embrace our human limitations and then to strengthen them through our spirits as we reflect the Unconditional Love back through ourselves…and then out into the world around us without the need to judge anyone.

Loving unconditionally we become patient and supportive of others who are growing at their pace just as we're learning and growing at our own speed. She points us to our talents, abilities, and our gifts so that we learn to see them for ourselves and later to point them out to others. In this way we learn the meaning of self-empowerment and we come to know our courage and strength that reside within our spirits will be there for us whenever we have need to call upon it. We're here to learn folks, that's a simple fact, and as we learn and experience life we give that knowledge and understanding to the Universe where all of Creation celebrates our progress with its own growth and evolution. It's all One.

Unconditional Love is sacred love. In her lessons of sensual pleasure she teaches us that our bodies are instruments that respond to pleasures and she teaches us how our senses convey it to us. We can take sensual pleasure in the fragrance of a flower, in the voice of a waterfall, in the stars that bedazzle the night sky…the sensations of the body may be heightened by the touch of a texture or someone's touch upon our skin, by a fragrance, a sound, a taste, or something that appeals to our eyes. As adults we may become aroused by these things and if we are to take pleasure in them then we're to see that there is nothing wrong with that. The elements of nature can arouse pleasure for us just as other humans can and it's natural to want to drink in that goodness.

As we step into the Oneness of nature immersing ourselves in that pleasure we come to know the Unconditional Love of Spirit and Mother present and permeating throughout our bodies. We feel the ecstasy of that love and we dance in it just as we feel the ecstasy of the love in our partner's touch. The sensations are the same, they are simply sourced in different places and for this reason she helps us see how to Love All Things, deeply, unconditionally, to see the beauty and the potential within the relationships we fashion whatever they may be and with whatever life form we may be encountering. The more we love the more the nuances of love begin to speak to us and share their beauty as well as their truths. Why should we not delight in all the things life holds for us? All we have to do is see them through the eyes of our spirit to love them no matter what form they may have physically. The sunrise that takes our breath away, the panorama of the view from the mountaintop, the light of Grandmother glistening off the still waters of a river, the swaying dance of meadow grasses kissed by the Wind…so much, such simple pleasures and how often do we stop to love them?

She will show us how to let our eyes dance from one thing to the next flitting as if a bee from flower to flower and drinking in the nectar of life that chases away the fears we hold if only for a brief moment until we can confront them. She teaches us to savor the flavors of life to give thanks for the beauty it holds…beauty that has nothing to do with commodity markets, or capitalism, beauty that is free and there to be shared by all of us. It comes to us unconditionally, doesn't it? And you know when we come from our unconditional hearts toward ourselves or others that same beauty is present in us. Why not share it sensually? This is not the intimacy of sexual acts, but it could be if we choose that in right manner for ourselves. Whatever we do, wherever our joy resides, we're touching unconditional love.

Unconditional love protects those it touches, enhances the energy of the touch, nourishes and nurtures, and it creates beautiful memories we can later recall and potentially share with someone. She helps us see that every woman is an extension of the Earth Mother, every man an extension of the Sky Father, and through her lessons she reflects their unconditional love to us. In these lessons are experiences that lead to understanding the value of respect, trust, and intimacy in order to love honorably. It's the respect that gives foundation for learning to trust, and in that we learn to love what does not bring us harm. It is there the intimacy of the heart begins to express itself freely and that unconditional love flows so beautifully. In that the sacredness of our unions, again be they partners or with other individuals, or some other life form is gifted to us through our experiences to be understood and therefore become our wisdom.

As Frank Fools Crow said: "The knowledge and wisdom are meant to be passed on to others." and this Grandmother teaches us how to do that through unconditional love of all things with no guilt, or fear or pain. Through our partners in life we come to happiness and the discovery of what it is to share our lives with someone. Through our children we come to remember the joy of discovery and exploring life. Through our friends we know the joy and wonder of experience and being alive in warm sensual exchanges that range from one end of the spectrum to the other. Unconditional love flows from our hearts, we cannot contain it, and it feels good when that happens.

Oh she knows we'll be tested again and again where love is concerned. She knows that the pain of being human, of suffering loss and grieving loved ones who must pass before us can taint our hearts in bitterness or sorrow, perhaps both. She knows, if we allow that pain or sorrow to grow that it will taint the beauty life holds with resentments that rob us of the joy of living. And she understands that when we hold resentment we begin to judge things as fair or unfair, right or wrong, worthy or unworthy. So she opens her arms to us and holds out her hands to take that from us and nurture us back into harmony with life again.

Loves All Things knows that this sort of healing takes time. In her wise understanding she knows grief is something that will be short-lived for some and longer for others. Therefore, she nurtures us patiently bringing back the lessons to help us re-discover joy. Unconditionally she gives us time to grieve and then starts to slip the good memories into our dreams, to weave them into thoughts, to tuck them into our minds and in so doing she allows us to awaken to them gradually. She knows we'll hold them close in our hearts and that our hearts remember the love. Gradually our hearts begin to feel young again, willing to explore life again, willing to love again and we feel alive once more willing to risk it all for the joy of living. She knows we will once again delight in the innocence and wonder.

This Grandmother understands when we can't hold our pain inside an unleash it at other sources. She knows that we're projecting blame where we can't understand ourselves, where our own wounds are so intense that we simply can't help but to cry our anguish. And she shows us compassion in place of judgment. She shows understanding and lets our anger or rage directed at life dissolve. Then she gently takes our arm to walk with us and allow us to drink in moments of beauty as we begin the journey back to wholeness. She teaches the power of Unconditional Love to heal, to turn the heart of ice into a passionate flame again by showing us the damage a heart of ice brings to others in our lives and how it brings imbalance to the world around us. She knows that some of us have to hit rock bottom first though, that some of us have to dive deeply into the darkness of our pain or wounds; she understands that sometimes she must startle or shock us before we can see the light her lessons bring and come to once again value the power of love.

Unconditional love sets no boundaries. It finds no fault. It does not punish. It does not drive us into Shadows. It does not breed vengeance, fear, bitterness, jealousy, hatred, spite, guilt, shame, resentment or any other negative emotions. Instead, it shares the nurturing abundance of the heart, the beauty, the joy and utter delights that life holds. Unconditional love is our birthright. She shows us how to willingly lay claim to it by looking within ourselves to find something of beauty, by looking out from the eyes of our spirit to see something of beauty in the world around us, and little by little we make it our own radiating it to others and attracting loving relationships in all their guises to ourselves. She shows us how to hold gratitude for the love and healing in life, how to allow it to protect us and make room for it to grow.

It's in this way she accompanies us as we walk through our Shadows and tame our primal nature allowing our spirits to rise up into our awareness and raise our consciousness of what the power of love can do. Such journeys are not always easy, but they hold great beauty in their wisdom once we've completed them. They give us the knowledge and skill to help others heal when they are walking through the Valley of Shadows too. Her lessons, passed on through us, can help others to see they too need to be gentle with themselves. And as we share that enlightenment we can then rejoice in the progress they make. We'll be feeling the gratitude in our hearts as they do that because we see we were blessed to be there to assist them both with strength and gentleness and it simply feels good to give love.

She is the Keeper of Forgiveness she teaches us to heal our broken hearts. She teaches us that when someone is speaking ill of another we're to speak of the qualities of that person. If someone is feeling rejected we're to embrace them with loving nudges and encourage them to keep going. If someone is angry and raging she teaches how that's really self-loathing and that with love the anger can be dissolved. For those who are coming to adulthood she teaches that loving our bodies in a respectful manner attracts the sacred intimacy we long for allowing us to see the partner that will respect us, who will be faithful and trustworthy, who will remain intimately close at our side. She shows us that through the love shared we will bring forth young and with love nurture them in the lessons she's brought us through. She shows us how to share the beauty, wonder and excitement life holds through our hearts and spirits…through our own Unconditional Love.

Through learning to forgive ourselves we learn to forgive others and teaches us that through our tears we begin to transform the negative perceptions we hold into positive energy flowing from our hearts. She helps us see that there is no separation, that through our spirit we are connected to loving all things and we do this in the manner we learn to love ourselves. Loves all things teaches us to Love Truth.

AUGUST: SHE WHO HEALS
She Who Heals is the Intuitive Healer, Midwife, Herbalist, Keeper of the Healing Arts, Singer of the Death Song and Keeper of the Life and Death Mysteries. As such she is Guardian of the Medicine Roots and Healing Herbs and the Servant of Humanity. This Grandmother is the Mother of Intuition, All Rites of Passage, Cycles life and therefore she teaches us how to serve others with a happy heart by using our healing abilities. Her lessons include how to understand and honor the cycles of birth, death and rebirth. Lessons that teach us how to believe in the miracles of life through our connections to our spirits. She teaches us how to understand the Plant Nation and the healing uses of all plant parts. In this way she teaches us how to Serve The Truth.

She Who Heals steps forward, her basket filled to the brim with different herbs to share their Medicine with us. She wears a beautiful smile knowing she's closely connected to the spirits of the plants and she's eager to help us learn how to create a relationship with them as well. She understands they will teach us about their Medicine, their cycles, and how to put them to good use. Now, just as she understands our cycles of life, death and rebirth her lessons include which parts of the plants to use for different healings, and when to gather them.

Her knowledge of herbs takes the passing of many cycles to fully understand, for there are many different ways the roots, leaves, and flowers bring to us. In indigenous teachings we're taught that the desire of the Plant Nation is to assist us in survival. At times Healers must take the lead and aggressively demonstrate competence when circumstances are critical or difficult. She teaches efficiency, competence and follow-through so that no time or energy is wasted. Badger is one of the Creature-teachers that will instruct us on herbology as well as the lore of the land in which they grow. Grandmother will open you to understand the essences and which Medicines will prolong life, ease labor in birthing, or immobilize the patient to set a broken bone or mend a deep wound.

She who heals knows about the regeneration of all things into other forms understanding that nothing is ever lost. She teaches us to recognize this in nature as decaying vegetation creates rich humus and fertilizes the ground so that the seeds of last year's growth can germinate, sprout and grow strong. She knows how galaxies have new suns from the decay of stars, or how the body mends flesh wounds with new cellular growth. She knows that the spirit within each of us is eternal and will take many forms throughout time. She understands the power of the toxic and poisonous plants and how small amounts of them can heal or be used to numb or still a patient.

Not only does she heal physically but she knows the healing arts for mental and emotional as well as spiritual healing too. She understands that we are all capable, through our will and spirit, to transmute negativity and limiting concepts casting off the way of constriction to open our minds and hearts to be healed. She knows the life force flows through the body and recognizes the spirit's ability to heal as well as the mind's ability to compel or deny healing. She will share all this knowledge and more so that all those who learn to heal through her understand the importance of recognizing, mind, body and spirit as a process. The physical body that is being attacked by illness is a symptom of a much deeper problem that will relate to mind or spirit, perhaps both, and when the physical symptoms are treated she begins to treat the mental state of her patient and their spiritual vitality.

In her role of Midwife, She Who Heals serves her sisters easing their labor while they are giving birth. She knows how to position the body to work with the rhythms of pain and how it needs to flow through each contraction in order to bring the child into the world. And she is impeccable about her work, patient and compassionate as she takes charge, she does not show any signs of concern to the mother if problems are arising. She knows she must listen to the voice of her own spirit as it guides her through the use of her skills and knowledge for it sees things beyond what her human eyes have been trained to take note of. She knows her spirit will summon her to attention if, during a period of quiet, her mind begins to drift to other things. She will teach us these things as well.

In many of the different indigenous cultures it is taught that at the time of labor the spirit of the newborn child hovers near. It's a light blue in color for those with eyes to see it and those tending the birthing will watch for its presence. As the baby works its way down the birth canal and begins to crown the spirit enters the body through the soft spot on the top of the head. This spirit is capable of communication before entering the body and will at times speak with the Medicine Person or with the mother. Sometimes the life of the child will be discussed, sometimes it's the birthing process itself, and visions sent by the spirit are quite common as well. Mothers are known to Dream the spirits of their unborn children from time to time too, and conversations lead to an understanding of the gender, the nature, the life of the child as it makes its earthwalk are often exchanged. Such mothers will speak of these things to those who understand them. This Grandmother knows how to guide the mother with soft words during labor and take her into the Silence where she can hear the voice of her unborn speak to her and will do so in times where the mother's strength is waning.

Child labor is a high risk time, it demands much of a woman's body and energy levels can be exhausted. When that happens labor can cease so She Who Heals knows the drain and weakness calls for understanding, she will teach how to work the mother's body for her, how to stimulate the life force to flow strong again. She does this with methodical massaging of the hands, arms, legs, lifting the mother's head and shoulders, rubbing her back or stomach to encourage the restarting of contractions. She knows that the mother can draw strength from her own spirit by whispering her name and opening to the connection where her spirit will send her strength, courage and stamina to complete the birth. And she teaches that negative thoughts or expression should never be allowed around the birthing mother or anyone who is ill for that matter, encouraging only positive thoughts and actions.

As Keeper of the Life and Death Mysteries she teaches us about the cycles of birth, death and rebirth. We've talked about the birthing, let's examine a little of the mystery of death. It is said that when someone dies they Drop their Robe, meaning the spirit leaves the human body behind, it's robe, and journeys into the spirit world. Chief Seattle is famous for his statement that "There is no death, only a change of worlds" and this often brings comfort to those left behind to grieve. Grieving and mourning the loss of a loved one holds purpose. The cries, tears and death wails of those who mourn lift the weight of grief from us, they allow us to release the pain we feel. Not only that but the spirit of the departed uses those vibrations to direct itself onto the Blue Road of Spirit as they make their journey Home. Those among the living need to express their sorrow at the loss of their loved ones as part of the process or letting them go and letting the truth in their hearts speak eases their minds and hearts.

She Who Heals will counsel those left behind through the stages of grief understanding that as their loved one is preparing to move on all will go through these stages in their own way. At first there is the disbelief that it's happening, the denial and refusal to accept what is apparently inevitable. Then anger, 'why me' or 'why them' comes into play and we have to allow that to pass through us, release it, and move forward. From there the next stage is central to the process, it's where we bargain with Spirit and Mother to spare the life of our loved one or our own as the case may be. This is where 'I'll do this if you do that' comes to bear and we bargain in all sorts of ways knowing in our hearts that hope is fading. As hope fades depression follows and we feel the weight of helplessness pass through us. This stage is difficult for others to cope with too because they can't do much to force progress as it's such an individual issue. The final stage of grief is acceptance where we come to our understanding that we must accept the truth. As we do this we seek answers from Spirit and we find our way to peace…again, whether we are the one Dropping our Robe or not. We all grieve in our own way. Some do not show it outwardly and refuse help as they process and that's their choice. Others will seek help to ease the process and expedite their passage through it.

When someone has Dropped their Robe an honoring ceremony is conducted. Those outside indigenous teachings will call that ceremony a funeral or memorial service. The indigenous ways are beautiful, and briefly the grieving loved ones gather to honor the spirit of their loved one. They share stories of how they came into each other's lives, share lessons the departed taught them, things they shared that were funny and through the tears and laughter they bid farewell. Prayers are offered to Spirit asking that the journey of their loved one be a gentle one, that they be welcomed with love and that the love for that individual go with them as they step into their new life. For those left behind this ceremony lifts their spirits, connects them to the understanding of the cycle of life, and they are able to depart with a smile and good memories to keep them company. Grandmother will teach us this understanding.

She understands there are times when the choice of life and death are out of our hands, and the birthing process is a good example. It is up to Spirit and Mother, up to the spirit of the child and the birth mother in their will to live and bring forth that life. In times of distress and complications she knows that a strong connection between the mother and her own spirit is called for. We've touched on that while talking about her Midwife skills, but She Who Heals knows that if there is hope for the unborn to pull through the labor process the mother's connection to her spirit and the spirit of the child is vitally important. In this way the Great Ones, the spirit of the unborn, and the mother's spirit will all feed the strength necessary to complete the birth. She who Heals will never let her concern show on her face or allow the mother to see how helpless she may feel. Instead she encourages the mother to continue trying. She puts her faith in Spirit and Mother then knowing that at times our healing skills do not serve, that we are capable of only so much and while we can at times save a life we cannot determine the outcome at all times. We cannot cure the incurable, nor stop Death from walking through the door. All we can do is our impeccable best, so she teaches us to appreciate and celebrate life, to honor the living and those who have gone before us, and to understand that death is part of the natural cycle leading to another birth in the spirit world or this one.

She Who Heals is the Keeper of the Growing Cycles of the Medicine Wheel and all Rites of Passage. She welcomes new spirits into the world, escorts those leaving along the Blue Road, serves the people by sewing up their wounds, setting their bones, birthing their babies, or doctoring their bodies and spirits as needed. She is always there to help us heal and understand. Her lessons teach us about gestation, birth, growth, death, and rebirth. And in her teachings we come to the lessons of how the Cycles of life turn, of when to fight for life, when to let go, and when to turn to our spirits to make a choice. She teaches those choices must be honored and that we must accept death as simply another cycle leading to rebirth. As a Creature-teacher Bat Medicine will come into play there and she'll likely instruct us to seek that knowledge and wisdom. In this way she helps those she teaches to see there is nothing to fear in death, to see it as an exciting new adventure and embrace it when our time comes or we're tending the time of another. Her lessons are going to point out that death comes in many forms, many layers, many dimensions of life where it is an ending but also a new beginning. It may be the end of one career and the start of another, the end of one relationship and the start of another, the end of one way of Be-ing and the start of another, or the end of a physical life and the start of the fullness of a spiritual one. Her lessons help us to understand that death is merely an illusionary finality, and as our Wheel of Life turns for us or for our loved ones we're to celebrate the turning, to honor the passage and the earthwalk we're making for it is part of our evolution.

This Grandmother holds strong Medicine and embodies the Earth Mother's love for all her children, the desire for their well-being, and the nurturing she offers us so unconditionally. She walks with us for 28 days each year to remind us that she is there to assist our healing, and our understanding of what it is to be human. She sees our spirit's essence enter our bodies at birth, see the dis-ease and suffering we go through during our lives, and she reminds us to connect to our spirits for greater insight and enlightenment as we make our earthwalks. She shows us that in this way we can work with our spirits to understand and fulfill our life's missions. If we've lost that connection she'll teach us how to find it again, and when our journey here has reached its end she will prepare us for the rebirthing process and change of worlds.

It's in this way she is perceived as the Mother of all Rites of Passage: the Harvest feasts, birthing, naming celebrations, weddings, deaths, Council Fires of her teachings, and celebrations marking moving into adulthood or other accomplishments in life. The lessons around these Rites of Passage include a lot of work with our spirits for she wants us to Remember…to call back our Old Memory or reclaim the memory of our spirits and lives past so that we understand our journey through this life better. Tapping into those memories bring our connection to our spirits into a deeper and stronger awareness that sustains the conviction of our path. She understands that when and how those connections are made are going to be up to each of us to determine. But she is there when the time comes to explore these things and will teach us how to go about it.

She knows that every turn of the Medicine Wheel an each spoke or path upon it brings growth for as we journey along it we undergo change. She knows our old way of Be-ing transforms in the process into a new and expanded evolutionary stage that gives deeper meaning to our life. She knows that as the Wheel turns she will return with it to teach us more as we continue to grow and change and at times undergo shamanic deaths to be reborn in our spirits. Those times are often difficult and can be painful so she is there to assist us through those Rites of Passage too. As she pales in the darkness of night we feel her gentle hand placing ours in the hands of the next Grandmother, Setting Sun Woman.

SEPTEMBER: SETTING SUN WOMAN
Setting Sun Woman is the 9th Grandmother, she's the Keeper of Tomorrow's Dreams and Goals, and Guardian of the Needs of the Next Seven Generations, Mother of the Proper Use of Will…the will to live, to survive and will power. She's the Keeper of Mother Earth's Resources and Guardian of Preservation. This Grandmother's lessons include how to preserve and use our resources without wasting anything, learning to prepare for tomorrow through planning today, making and meeting goals. She teaches us how to show compassion in the ways we live; how to properly use our will or intent to provide for future generations thus she teaches us how to Live the Truth.

As Keeper of Tomorrow's Dreams and Goals her lessons are about the proper use of will to insure the abundance of the future. Indigenous teachings focus on the sustenance of the next seven generations because what we do today will carry its effects that far into the future. To insure the well-being of tomorrow's children we plant 7 plants and harvest one, we pass seven trees and harvest one from there, we plant keeping in mind that nature will claim some through upheaval in the climate conditions and the wild creatures of the Earth Mother are going to need sustenance too.

She instructs us so that we will recognize that the will to live, the will to survive require impeccable intentions in preserving the Earth Mother's resources. That is truth and she teaches us how to live it. She stresses the importance of intuitive understanding, the feminine principle of nurturing concerns, dependability, nurturing, inner knowing, achievements, reliability, receptivity and goals.

As Guardian of the Unborn Generations, she stresses lessons in taking only what we need, using all parts of plants, animals taken in the hunt, and anything else we harvest so there is no waste. She points out that as we depend on Mother Earth for our sustenance She depends on us, we are her caretakers and must honor Her, giving thanks for the abundance and looking after it well. As the Keeper of Preservation her lessons are in gardening saving the seeds of plants we harvest this year for next year's crops. She guards over all plantings, all creatures and stones as well as the extinction of any part of the earth family through evolution so they can adapt to the changing world we live in.

There are lessons where she teaches us how to go within, entering the internal stillness just as we enter the stillness of the night. She does this as other Grandmothers have and will do reminding us to discover our own truths present within our spirits. To do this we cleanse ourselves, smudging to purify our energy and clear away any residual negative energy around us. In this way we not only refresh ourselves but we enter the Silence to be recharged replenishing our spent energy.

This Grandmother teaches us to face the future head-on without fear knowing that we've done all we could to ensure a good tomorrow. Bear walks with this Grandmother where he shares his ability to hibernate and go within himself as well as the nurturing tenacious willingness to meet all challenges head-on. She teaches us that as we think of our Spirit Helpers and Creature-teachers whether in recall of times past or those to come, that we are to give thanks and show our gratitude for their companionship as all the Grandmothers before her have shown us, and those that will follow as well. It is the right way to show our love and appreciation, not just feel it, but to express it.

The first 3 Grandmothers show us the outer world of the Sacred Masculine, the next 6 show us the deeper inner world of the Sacred Feminine, the last 3 complete the Sacred Masculine and the 13th Grandmother brings them all into union within her. If we look at the Medicine Wheel we will see that the Sacred Masculine is active in the spring and summer, the elements of Air an Fire, where the Sacred Feminine is active in the autumn and winter, the elements of Water and Earth.

This Grandmother is yet another of the Clan who brings us into the darkness of the Starry Medicine Bowl where we see the campfires of the Ancient Ones lighting the night sky. It's there that our Totems will often show themselves as outlined within the patterns the stars form with their presence made known they too will help us with our introspections. She takes us into the darkness of the Womb of the sacred feminine, the womb that holds hold all potential both above in the night sky and below within the hollows of Mother Earth herself…and within all women. It is the future that is coming into being that is shown to us there, it is the place we go as we discover our inner truths and choose which of those we wish to bring back out into the world of form with us.

If we are walking with her among the Star Nation we will discover there is a universe within us as well, one where we can uncover the ancient truths through our inner knowing. These truths are those that guide us along the Good Red Road as the living spirits that we are. She teaches us that we are not just bodies with spirits but that we are limitless spirits within the human body. All our creativity and wisdom, all our strength and courage, our awareness and will plus a whole lot more is going to be present within our spirits. We are the ones we've been waiting for, we are the promised ones, and it's up to us to recognize that. We do have the power within us to ensure the survival of ourselves as well as our brothers and sisters and the next seven generations. It's up to us to learn how to do that though and she's more than willing to walk with us and share her wisdom so we can.

She knows that the children of tomorrow are our future and it's up to us to ensure their needs will be met and the sustenance to survive waiting for them, and we're to hold them in our hearts as we hold those relatives and friends we love in our hearts today. We must learn to hear their voices and not forget them and this Grandmother will teach us how to walk in balance with them in our hearts so that we are in balance with the future. If we each do this in our own way then we are contributing to the future, no one person is going to be able to tend all issues the future generations will need. However, if we each do what we're best at and follow our hearts to where our passions reside then in our wonderful variety of ways the whole is tended and the next seven generations are insured that the resources they need will be there in abundance just as they are for us today.

By persisting and remaining faithful to her teachings we find our sustenance is met as well as that of others. We are creatures with minds, with creative abilities and we are capable of employing strategy as well as planning how to carry it out. We must remain flexible and willing to grow in our knowledge and understanding so we create good changes for the future. It's not about the material world of possessions, it's about the quality of life, when needs are met for the greater whole there is time to gather possessions. Conserving resources and using them properly when they are scarce is important. The children of tomorrow are the promise of tomorrow.

There will always be those that counter such efforts, those who walk in ego, greed, lust, and seek the power of control over others. But their numbers will diminish as we lead by example and that happens one person at a time setting the example. Those with good hearts will walk in a right manner according to their nature. All we have to do is our part, great or small, it is equal. We can touch a thousand lives to make a difference or touch one life and make a difference because that one life may go on to touch a thousand others. It does not matter if our reach has limits around it at a given point in time, what matters is that we walk with integrity, with right intent, and that we walk as impeccably as we are able.

She teaches us about the sacred spiral that spans 8 Suns and 8 Moons wherein we all process our lessons before moving to the next experience. The sacred spiral applies whenever we are completing a process of any sort. It is during this period that we reconnect to our spirits, spend time in our Sacred Space, go within ourselves and explore the directions we've taken and where we're going next. We balance between our feminine, spiritual, and masculine nature each Moon seeking to hold to the balance and unity within ourselves through our truths and we bring them out into the world to share with others who are searching for the ways to find their own.

We balance the masculine mind with the feminine emotions, the masculine action with the feminine heart and we center ourselves between them, in the center of our spirit where our connection to the Great Mystery resides…this is a powerful lesson that Setting Sun Woman teaches. She knows that every individual, regardless of gender, can do this and she encourages each of us to come to this understanding and develop our own ability to reach that center. As Jamie Sams puts it: "The Earth Tribe could be assured of a bright future by balancing both sides of their natures with the Spiritual Essence that connected them to their infinite capacity to create tomorrow by living in harmony today." I like that! The receiving ways of the Sacred Feminine are to be balanced with the giving ways of the Sacred Masculine so that each of us is able to reach inner peace living in harmony with our spirit and All Our Relations.

As the Keeper of Tomorrow's Dreams her lessons include banishing negative thoughts about the future from our minds. Like attracts like and if we perceive negative outcomes then we feed them and call them into being. Instead by holding positive thoughts and carrying out positive actions we feed and call into being the positive outcomes that will sustain the next seven generations…sustaining our children and their children and the grandchildren of all generations to follow. By sharing these teachings with our children we insure that they will pass them onto their little ones and in this way the understanding and wisdom move forward through the generations to come. We need to learn to adapt our thoughts, feelings and actions to the changes that life brings into being for it is always evolving and we can learn to flow with it if we so choose…we have the choice to Live the Truth.

And so, as this Grandmother's light grows dark she passes her place as our companion to the next Grandmother: Weaves The Web.

OCTOBER: WEAVES THE WEB
Weaves The Web introduces herself as the 10th Grandmother stepping forward in October and is the Mother of Creativity, the Muse, the Artist, the Creatress and Manifester of Dreams…she Who Brings Visions Into Reality. This Grandmother is the Guardian of Life Force, Who Teaches Women to Give Birth to Their Dreams. She's also the Keeper of Survival Instinct and the Mother of the Creative and Destructive. Weaves the Web teaches us how to Work With Truth where her lessons are about using our desire to create and bring our dreams into tangible forms. They include how to tap the life force using energy to build, change, or manifest our needs. How to manifest our visions and give them life through our actions and artistic talents. How to create new from old and how to destroy the limitations of creativity.

As the Creatress and Manifestor of Dreams who teaches us to give birth to them, Weaves the Web teaches us to use our hands, minds, hearts and spirits to create beauty through the truths we hold inside and make them tangible. She teaches arts and crafts, taking dreams and ideas to make them tangible through our creations. She tells us that in using our hands we are demonstrating our willingness to serve others and express our creativity in positive ways. She teaches us that the energy we put into things needs to be positive so our creations bring pleasure or service as we develop our talents. She also teaches us that we are to destroy limitations so that we can create something new and that in the creation process we're to diligently nurture the things we are bringing to life.

As the muse she inspires our ideas and calls us to bring them to life through the desires in our hearts adding beauty in the expression and thus giving form to our visions. Using the Medicine Bowl as an example, if we are to fashion one ourselves the energy going into it imbues it with our life force and imprints that into the fashioning. It creates a connection to the bowl (though there are other ways to do this too so don't worry if you come by one some in another manner) wherein we can scry or gaze to find more inspiration. When we create things the energy can be felt through our body and flowing down our arms into our hands. Completion of the work brings a sense of satisfaction and the work itself is easy because coming from our hearts working with our minds it becomes a labor of love. Seeking to become an expert at what we create gives each creation life and purpose just as all living things possess.

Weaves the Web knows that each painted symbol and every color used holds meaning and reflects the purpose or teaching the item represents or is to be used for. Through self-expression the items reflect how we feel about ourselves and how well we've developed our skills to allow the images within our mind's eye to come to life. She knows how quickly children learn to perfect their talents, what natural mimics they are and how willing they are to practice repeatedly until they get things right. She encourages us to see how deeply and sharply children observe everything of interest to them, they don't miss much, and when details slip past them we can point them out so they understand processes better. Willingness in a child to please and achieve comes when they're encouraged and acknowledged for what they do. They are very capable, when they've practiced and honed their abilities, of mastering things adults can do.

A child will put all their effort toward success, they put their little hearts into things. Watch a child at play, they play hard, they are fully immersed in whatever it is they are doing and nothing else matters. They do not allow themselves to be side-tracked and we, as adults, often have to tap them on the shoulder or raise our voice to get their attention. When they are working with their hands the delicate details stand out to them, and they learn the value of precision when we guide them well. They learn about size and balance, when to make things weighted or light to fit the purpose for which they are being designed to serve.

This Grandmother teaches us how to bring our visions into reality and that when we begin learning to weave our webs as children we grow to be masterful adults. If we're fearing failure or the inability to find our inspiration we can turn to her to show us how to take the necessary steps to tap into our creativity. She will come to us through our dreams and Medicine Bowls showing us how to flow with creative energy tapping the inspiration and confidence we need to create our visions and bring them forth. She will help us tap into our deep desires, inspire our choices to embrace them and become our Muse. Grandmother Spider wove the Web of Life and her Medicine is strong with Weaves the Web. Because of this she can teach us to weave with energy as well as the materials of the natural world around us. She can teach us how to weave anything into reality for ourselves, be that an item, a song to publish, a career, family, lifestyle, whatever it is we want to create she'll be happy to show us the way to make our world beautiful.

Weaves the Web teaches us that each original creation we bring into the tangible world is a process of experience, the bones are what we create, and our tending them becomes the flesh. Before creating the spiritual study center guidance came telling me to 'put the flesh on the bones', Spirit Lodge at Yuku was already created, it had its beauty and was fully formed but people needed more that wasn't being offered, the flesh so to speak. In that and through a series of inspirational experiences, the concept of spiritlodge.info began to formulate itself and the study center that would help limitless numbers of people to grow and develop along their spiritual path was fashioned. Today it is a living entity serving all who choose to avail themselves of any or all that it offers for that purpose. We choose our experiences and we create our way through them consciously fashioning beauty as we go. That beauty can then be shared with others.

It's the sharing touches that Grandmother teaches us about for they are important to the creations we fashion because everything connects in some fashion within the Web of Life. We can use our Medicine Bowls to scry our inspirations, to see what is coming into our lives, or to see what our creations will bring to the lives of others. She teaches us to see these things and trust that we are being shown the truth that we're to work with, that our dreams and inspirations, when brought forth in a right manner are meant to be fulfilled. Now as the Guardian of the Life Force and Keeper of the Survival Instinct, this Grandmother is the Mother of the Creative and Destructive force. She teaches us to create good health and develop our spiritual potentials by accessing our abilities on mental, physical, emotional and spiritual levels. Then she teaches us that through employing our talents we have the tools we need for survival. She shows us how to tap into the life force to grow beyond our fears or perceived limitations by working with the elements of Air, Fire, Water and Earth that we've come to know through the Seven Sacred Directions. She teaches us how the Medicine Wheel is a tool of weaving as well, and if we stand back to look at it we can see the Web of Life that Grandmother Spider has fashioned reflected in it. The invisible silvery strands that connect one stone to the next begin to show themselves and we see the pathways to finding our answers, fulfilling our curiosity that leads us to explore and to find our inspirations allowing us access to our spiritual potential.

She shows us how to weave the elemental forces and mix them as the essences of creation that they are, to thank them for their blessing of assistance as we create and thus show our gratitude to Great Mystery for bestowing these gifts and relationships upon us. When we employ the creativity of our spirit in the work we do we focus our energy into our efforts imbuing them with that very life force as we bring them into being. When crafting our tools, our ceremonial objects or anything else we are putting life force into them to empower them as they serve our needs through the extension of our self-expression.

In order to survive in life we must learn to weave our way through it and she teaches us how to creatively do this. She shows us that whatever we're weaving into being is going to touch a web or circle of creation that someone else has fashioned, how it will touch the webs and circles Mother Nature has fashioned and those Grandmother Spider has woven into the Universe. Everything is connected by its very existence. And she teaches us how to avoid becoming trapped in our webs if we do not weave them with the truth that our hearts and spirits show us so she instructs us on focus with the truth so we weave with it instead of entrapping ourselves in illusions or deception.

Lessons along that line include observing those who have created with things other than truth. A creation born of greed turns on us and eats at us from the inside out because it does not allow room for giving, receiving, or sharing, it clings tightly around our hearts and encases them like a cocoon. Creations that are carelessly or too hastily fashioned lack the skill to endure and are weak. Creations born of fear will call to us the experiences we need to transmute the fear developing the strengths to do so often through trial by fire and all too often a doctorate from the School of Hard Knocks. So in this we learn that when we create from love and the heart's desires to share with those in the world around us the abundance we bring forth comes from the beauty of that creation and it will sustain itself due to the mastery employed. We all have the ability to become master weavers.

Like the skilled tracker that can follow a trail through the wilderness, Grandmother Weaves the Web teaches us how to see the signs of the trails we've made in life as well as the signs we are leaving for ourselves and others as we move forward. It does not matter what direction the trails have or are taking, whether the path is convoluted or straight, when we learn to see our way we make a pleasant journey and are never lost or wandering in confusion. This is one of the lessons in survival that she teaches. She can teach us to back-track or to fashion a new path of our own making this way. By leaving a gift of gratitude for each thing we take to fill our needs we see our markers as will all those who have the eyes to see them. Now in the olden days when people were living off the land those markers were often found upon the ground. Today society has us traveling concrete paths or stone walkways that can be just as confusing unless we notice where we've left our mark or where we're leaving it in terms of today's lifestyle. That may be a person we've touched, a gift we've bestowed, a difference we've made in some fashion, wherever we touch or weave our energy leaves a trail for us to follow or a pathway we're creating and we need to be mindful of what the energetic strands of our webs are creating for others who will encounter them so it's looking beyond the self to the greater whole.

In surviving she teaches us how to gather energy, how to store a portion away for times of need rather than spending it all in one place. That energy may take many forms: elemental force energy, effort put forth in serving others, health, sustenance, knowledge and wisdom, the list is quite long. Just as we have a season for harvesting what we need to get through the winter months she teaches us to read the shifting winds and seasonal signs that mark those times of gathering the energy or needed materials to us. When to gather the herbs for healing, how to creatively store them so they maintain their potency, how to prepare and gather our supplies, tools, and use our time to build or make things that are productive and useful. In this manner we are using the energy to make our life one that is filled with beauty born of desire and given our full attention to see to all the necessary details.

Once we've mastered our own creative abilities she shows us how to share them with others, including the children in our care. Those lessons include surrendering ourselves to the creative process of flowing with our dreams and visions and journeying into them initially so we can feel and understand what it is we are desiring to create on a spiritual level first. Perhaps a journey within our hearts or our minds, perhaps both, to see what it is that we truly desire and have hidden from ourselves so we can manifest that desire with love as we give it life. Having mastered our creativity we can teach others how to tap into their own using their imaginations and encouraging the little ones to continue doing so since they're naturals at it to begin with. We can share the joy of creation and the happy heart it brings about, share the wisdom of how we do things and the magic that creation holds. Children already know how to create that sort of magic when they play pretend and weave their fantasy worlds for play so we are to encourage them to continue developing their skills and bringing them into the physical world. Teaching a child to use tools and fashion others, to build what they need to get where they want to go no matter what it might be, keeps their little minds openly active, it teaches their hands skills, it keeps their hearts happy, and lets their spirit express itself.

She teaches practical gratitude for the sustenance we're given and that when we take something for our use, no matter what it might be, that we are to make a token offering. To use hunting for an example the animal would be thanked for its sacrifice in providing food to honor its life and then, just as when one of us Drops our Robe, its spirit would be released ceremoniously. It need not be formal, but it would need to be honorable and prayers offered. She teaches us to bring creative joy to children and encourage that when they are playing or doing their chores so that they put that into everything they do in life. We're to pass that same child-like wonder and joy onto the adults we assist when they've forgotten how to tap into it so that all those we share with can create beautiful lives for themselves filled with potential in the same way.

A creative mind allows this and should always be cultivated with joyful expression from the heart and spirit. When we share with others, children or adults, as they embrace the teachings we've come to possess they will reflect those teachings in their lives. The knowledge, skill, and understanding are passed on and respected with the same pride that a mother's heart holds for the accomplishments of her child. She reminds us that the creativity of children is natural to them when they test authority, boundaries, patience, and wisdom as well as our resolve.

I remember when River's sister was in kindergarten. She came home from school one day and asked me what family the Panda Bear came from. I told her it was the bear family and she said: "WRONG!" Very authoritatively. She'd learned in school that day that they were from the Raccoon family and instructed me on what I didn't know with her newfound wisdom informing me that her teacher was smarter than I was. (Laughs). She was mighty proud of herself and I had to teach her a lesson in respect for what others don't know rather than seeing her knowledge as superior and that she should share it lovingly instead. She was resistant at first and I had to take a firm loving hand to make my point. I wanted her to see that in holding her knowledge arrogantly that she was limiting the sharing capabilities that she had and her creative self-expression was far better. Grandmother teaches that both creation and destruction can lead to creative reinventing as we take what doesn't work and fashion it into something that does. We can create loving families, new ideas, extend ourselves, weave patterns and webs that will serve us on our earthwalks and serve those we share with on theirs. In this way the spirit of this Grandmother passes from one to the other even if they don't know her for who she is, they know her wisdom.

Having mastered our skills we learn to accomplish tasks efficiently and with agility…sometimes at the same speed our inspirational thoughts pass through our mind as we pluck them from the air. We learn that being lazy and procrastination are simply a result of lacing inspiration and that when we see the potential and possibilities instead we are tapping into the unlimited resources available to us. Years ago I was given a little exercise to list several household items. Say a dozen of them. And then the task of finding 20 ways other than the intended use to employ those items. It was fun, taxing at times, but it brought about the creative uses. How many ways can you use a butter knife? Well off the top of my head a few would be wedged into a door jam for added security, as a book mark, to prop open a window, as a screwdriver, as a paint spatula, to pry something open, as a spacer between books on a shelf, as a scraper, you get the idea. And when we take the child-like wonder within each of us and apply it in that same manner we come up with so many possibilities to take what we have at hand and create something new.

When we let the child-like wonder within our hearts and spirits come forward we are honoring the sacred feminine and masculine within ourselves for the feminine is the creative idea and the masculine is the fashioning of it. Our paths grow rich with the beauty they hold, our hearts joyful as we journey along them, and we learn to flow with life and all its changes this way, to find our purpose or teach others how to find their mission in life and to express it. Grandmother Weaves the Web reminds us to weave, to create a way for the wisdom to be handed on to others and live through the generations to come so that others who come long after us can manifest their dreams and visions too. Then she bids us farewell until her next return placing our hands in those of Walks Tall Woman.

NOVEMBER: WALKS TALL WOMAN
Walks Tall Woman is the Guardian of Leadership and the Keeper of New Paths; the Mother of Beauty, Grace; she’s the Keeper of Innovation and Persistence. A Role Model of Health, Physical Fitness, Stamina and Letting the Heart’s Desire Take the Lead; the Keeper of Personal Impeccability and the Guardian of All Forms of Inner Strength teaches us a great deal. Her lessons instruct us on how to be our personal best while still being vulnerable and human; how to keep our bodies and minds flexible and in good health through advancing and retreating; how to seek and find new paths to growing and learning, leading through example; how to develop inner strength; how to attract and release; and in this way she teaches us how to Walk the Truth.

The 11th Grandmother, Walks Tall Woman, teaches us to understand when we want situations in life to change that change happens because we choose to act and create it, not because we sit around expecting others to do it for us. The magnetism of leadership she represents is in her use of authority and walking with the 3-I’s (Integrity, intent and impeccability). She leads by example doing her personal best to explore all options internalizing them before taking her actions. She teaches us to look for efficient and inspirational ways to do things creativity without destroying the old ways or traditions of others. With her truths added to the old ways she brings creative potential forward as she enhances them. She helps us to see that we’re to do this in a right manner persisting with our focus on health, attitude, inner reflection and listening to our spirit while facing our challenges or obstacles.

All the while there is steady focus on our endeavors with a solid foundation beneath us and the truth in our hearts as we respond. Responsibility is merely the ability to respond to a given situation but we must know where our thoughts are leading us, what our actions are taking us to, and what will come of that. Then we must walk in accordance with our truth and let those who would follow us do so, those who choose not to are to be honored for their choices. She encourages us to seek balance between work, entertainment or relaxation, and time in the Silence.

Walks Tall Woman shows us her wisdom by the example, as she helps us to focus on our physical bodies, exercise, grace, and balance within our center of gravity. A friend brought this up recently saying the best way to feel our center of balance is to stand on one foot and become consciously aware of it. And these lessons include the balance of mind because that supports the body’s health or works against it depending on whether or not it is in a positive or negative state. These lessons include balanced emotions because if our emotions are out of balance we’re going to feel uncertain, confused, bitter or angry and that is disruptive to our spirit that wants to be balanced with our overall being. It’s also disruptive to our awareness and bringing its presence into our consciousness. We balance with the spirit when we see ourselves not as a body with a spirit inside, but as a spirit inside the body. From that perspective we do come to understand that we are unlimited in our potential and aware of our whole self.

Grandmother’s lessons are about learning to nourish ourselves on all levels. That means filling our needs through proper grooming, diet, exercise, relaxation or entertainment, and getting plenty of rest. Along with that, she helps us understand the importance of keeping our perspectives in order and maintaining good attitudes. When we act from integrity with good intentions as we persevere toward our goals or heart’s desires we are honoring our truth. Stamina to maintain our steady pace, or flow with changing paces as the case may be, comes from being aware of our needs and meeting them so we can remain in the flow of life rather than trying to fight against it. Live then becomes synchronistic.

Our actions speak for us regardless of what we might verbally profess. The speak of our truths telling others about our levels of self-respect, integrity, compassion, honor, and how loving our hearts are…or lack thereof by the way we walk our talk, treat others, and express ourselves. These things are all reflections of how we perceive our personal truths and she teaches us to look at our reflections. There is no need to fear what others may think when we know we are being true to our self and walking in a right manner. If we walk our talk we will be respectful of others, honest, speaking and acting truthfully without having to profess ‘who we are.’ Our own integrity and inner knowing that we are in harmony with life, that we honor Great Mystery, our spirits and All Our Relations is enough. This is where our inner strength, courage and fortitude are sourced and Walks Tall Woman teaches us that pride in our accomplishments is healthy. It builds self-esteem, not arrogance, lends confidence not conceit, equality rather than superiority…we don’t need to make others feel less of themselves, that is so unhealthy and does little to foster good relationships. The better we become at walking in our truth and honoring our way of being in the world of form the more joyful our hearts become.

This Grandmother teaches the value of perseverance by showing us we are ever a work in progress. She honors the fact that we’re human and all we have to do to meet our challenges is become aware of the rhythms of life changing our stride as needed to remain in balance with them. Sometimes there is value in finding new ways of achieving things, or taking a new direction to get somewhere we need to go, or in doing our work. She teaches us to observe, create, and remain open to options. If they resonate with truth for us then she encourages us to explore them. She knows if we see value in what we’re discovering for ourselves that we’ll apply the knowledge or actions without disrupting the flow of life or the lives of others.

Walks Tall Woman has learned to move with the grace she possesses through the Creature-teachers. Antelope Medicine is one of her gifts and offers the readiness to take action. She teaches us the value of practicing how we walk and adjust our balance with each step we take to get to know our center of gravity found in our hips. She helps us learn to see through inner vision making our bodies lighter and more graceful. Teaching the arts of changing stride, using our intent to propel the body, understanding the body’s rhythm in motion, and scouting the paths we want to take we learn a great deal about movement from her. She does not show the least bit of superiority toward others, but is always encouraging and supportive in her teaching role. In this way she insures that we learn not to belittle those who are bold enough to try something new for the first time. Belittling others only serves to discourage them from growth and she knows that.

Even the smallest children will imitate their Elders by finding new ways to assist in the chores that are necessary to keep life moving smoothly. The Mother of Innovation makes learning fun by creating games for both children and adults to foster self-esteem about the accomplishments made by the efforts they put forth. Feelings of pride in accomplishment and work well done tend to keep gossip and petty arguments at bay because the productivity makes us happy and leaves little desire to waste time on idle preoccupations and negative energy.

The power of Horse Medicine is in her ways as well, and she shares this through the proper use of our gifts, talents and abilities balanced between the tangible and intangible worlds. She wants us to understand that while we’re earthbound in our daily lives we are also connected to the movement of life, and like Horse, we can learn to be one with the Wind an aware of the Sky Father at the same time. It’s when the two worlds are in union that we attain the balance within ourselves to see the beauty of the living spirit present in our lives and thus our physical and spiritual power can be used as called for. This Medicine is about the proper use of our will, endurance, authority, and talents without backsliding into abuse or misuse. She teaches us that to give thanks to Great Mystery for our successes and all new skills we attain we show our gratitude and release the fear of taking action. We discover that in learning new skills we avoid the hesitation that could have robbed us of future victories whether they are small or large.

The spirit of triumph keeps us productive, it reminds us of those innovative ways we can accomplish tasks and those we’ve applied remain fresh in our minds. It’s when we’re not caring properly for ourselves that we begin to get irritated begin to show disgruntlement or start bickering like little children do when they’re bored. As the Guardian of Leadership she is very aware when something is amiss and encourages us to sharpen our own awareness by standing back when we sense something to be wrong so that we can listen and observe to see what the cause of disruption stems from. She wants us to continue our activities but remain observant until we’re sure we’re ready to address the disruptive issues and then to do so by example.

Once the source is discovered she teaches us to seek the Silence, laying our body upon the Earth Mother and connecting to her unconditional love. Then, to allow the light of Grandfather Sun to shine upon us warming our hearts as we seek a clear answer to the situation. In essence we’re to take our troubles into the Oneness for clarity by raising our awareness higher so we can shamanically journey or enter the DreamLodge. It’s there we may find our Spirit Helpers coming forward with a lesson or perhaps the Creature-teachers will instruct us on shapeshifting with them. When the latter happens we begin to shift our perspectives because we see through their eyes (and this can happen when standing in the shoes of another person as well). Shapeshifting with the Creature-teachers is a skill that must be carefully developed and she shows us how to achieve that knowledge. There are many benefits to doing this because when in their form we become one with them, we feel the things they feel: desire, hunger, stalking prey, vulnerability and being preyed upon, safety and peace, danger, and needs being met. Then she teaches us how to return to our human form again so we can take the necessary action regarding our issue of concern. She knows the energy signature of each Creature-teacher’s power intimately and therefore recognizes it whether the Creature is manifesting or simply allowing its presence to be felt. She will teach us about the value of reading energy signatures, heeding our senses and trusting what we feel; then tracing those feelings back to their source for our validations.

When addressing the balance and harmony between all living creatures she points out that in the Dreamtime there is no threat between creatures that would otherwise be natural enemies and they work together there so we can relax our worldly fears. To enter the Silence we must slow ourselves down to speak with the Creature-Teachers and Totems along with the Guides that are here walking with us in great numbers. She encourages us to listen for their voices and then to speak with them. They know our thoughts, so we can think or speak aloud to them and they will communicate telepathically speak either through our minds or audibly in the physical sense.

Leading by example is Cougar Medicine, it’s living what you know to be truth, walking in it comfortably with conviction, and leaving others to their truths which may or may not be the same as your own. Now the Totem Library we offer will give you far more information on the individual animals and their Medicines, but it’s important here to see what Grandmother wants us to learn about this power of leadership. First of all she instructs us to always be compassionate, caring, and forthright with people. That through our actions we show the children how to walk new paths and create innovative ways of correcting wrong attitudes while following their heart’s desires. She demonstrates the importance of balancing action with the strength of inaction where we take the time to reflect and regroup our thoughts, dreams and energy.

She shows us that it’s in the Silence where we can safely release our sorrows, frustrations, pain, and other negative thoughts, feelings or emotions so that they do not turn our hearts to ice. Frozen hearts cannot be home to a happy spirit or welcoming to any relationship. Those negative impressions that we as individuals need to be wizards of wonder at all times are an illusion, impeccability is good of course, but we need to be impeccable with ourselves, not just the work we do. That means honoring our needs as a human being, honoring our personal best but also showing our feelings and needs to others. If we don’t our only spiritual experiences are going to be found outside ourselves and there are worlds of wonder within us too. If we’re focused on the external we become lost to our spirit by not allowing it to share its knowledge or enlightenment with us. If we don’t allow our needs to be honored then we set a standard by example that others can never attain. It gives them the sense we are superior and they are weak. So when we lead by example in a right manner we show what it is to walk in Beauty and the fact we’re both spiritual and human as being honored. Through her teachings we come to see that being human is not about judging weakness, it’s allowing the tears to fall and begin the first stage of change within ourselves. If we make mistakes we need to see we’re in the process of honing and learn to honor our errors for the lessons they bring us. Her lessons on perseverance help us see that we continue to practice our skills or work with our abilities until we do master them. This includes our creative innovations and actions, but it also includes acknowledging our human side too. We think we’re being vulnerable when we yield to our needs but the truth is that we need to make a commitment to allow yourself to become a male or female, to see that vulnerability is really a strength, not a weakness.

First things first of course but as we pass the seasons in her company her lessons deepen and she will teach us about our Shadow-nature. Those lessons instruct us so we can see that we likely have a fear of looking at what’s buried deep inside us, to enter into soul-searching journeys or what is often said to be the reflections within the Great Smoking Mirror…the reflections of our inner truths. One of those truths is that every single human being has a Shadow side to them. To discover what it is and how to tame it’s contrary nature we need to face that truth of what it is for each of us. It’s not always pretty and we don’t realize when we feed it our power always, but if we seek it out we will find it and be able to bring ourselves into balance. If we are faced with a truth within ourselves or in presenting truth to another we’re to address it clearly so we can reach the heart and know it for what it is. When we hold truth in our heart we can speak it and walk in it and it is felt in our energy signature by others.

When do not honor our own humanity we signal fears and criticism from our Shadow and it feeds off the fear making us feel unworthy of rest, pleasure, or a life that includes good friends, a supportive mate who will love you for who you are, not who they want you to be or what you’ve achieved. For women she teaches that we are the natural nurturers of the world in so many ways. The Earth Mother is calling to her daughters to listen to her, to come to her for the nurturing they need to sustain themselves so they can nurture others. Indigenous teachings tell us that as women we must insist on the time needed to receive that nurturing from our Mother. Each of us are to retreat during our menstrual flow for this is the time when the Earth Mother feeds all women if they are willing to spend three days and nights in total silence. Since we are open to receive during that time we become the vessels of love created by the Great Mystery. During the remaining days of the Moon flow we are to keep company with our sisters, sharing experiences, making rafts, and processing our inner thoughts. It is at this time we have the power to claim any available energy in our midst because we are receiving.

Some other lessons of Grandmother revolve around being human and showing mercy toward yourself. This is because our Shadow does not show us mercy, it drives us to go beyond what is possible or right for ourselves. Perhaps making promises that force us to walk under the Shadow’s tyranny turning us into beasts of burden. Even a beast must rest however, and timing our rest periods is important. Going within ourselves we find the great inner strength through being gracious to our human body that is worthy of both rest and pleasure.

Walks Tall Woman knows that many of us walk with Skunk Medicine unknowingly. This Medicine has it’s attributes for it carries the ability to attract or repel what we need in life. Like Jamie Sams says: “If your ego is not your amigo you stink!” I like that quote, too. By attracting our Shadow nature we end up repelling the voice of our spirit that is filled with wisdom and insight. We begin listening to all the negative connotations the Shadow would rather have us believe about ourselves…unworthy, useless, needy, greedy, lustful, you name it, the Shadow will fill our heads with self-sabotaging self-accusations of being less than we truly are. Learn to listen to your inner voice and what it’s telling you, learn to break the tension you feel through laughter, and stop beating yourself up, stop the internal berating, blaming, teardowns for what you have yet to achieve or do. You’ll get it done when you get into balance.

Grandmother wants us to understand that balance protects us from becoming too busy to notice our needs. Walks Tall Woman her face so as to illuminate our hidden fears as well as our strengths. Seeking balance by confronting our Shadow-selves allows us to share our joys and sorrows, and then face the world as Sisters and Brothers of the heart…by example we demonstrate both the softness and vulnerability that is our gentle strength. We learn to become free spirits with unlimited potential through all aspects of ourselves. By walking your talk in a right manner you will never find yourself imposing your limitations or expectations on others, and by honoring the times when retreat is needed we learn the lesson that through letting go we are taking wise action. Therefore the only conquest she teaches us is of the Self. As Jamie says: “Walks Tall Woman” whispers to women everywhere that the nurturance and support of the Sisterhood and the Earth Mother are available to any woman who is willing to honor her right to be by making the commitment to herself.” I would add to that only that she whispers this to men as well. We are all influenced by her teachings.

And so the time has come for her to bid us farewell and introduce us to the next Grandmother: Gives Praise, as she steps into view.

DECEMBER: GIVES PRAISE
December’s Grandmother is Gives Praise is the Mother of All Acts of Thanksgiving and Keeper of Abundance; the Guardian of Ceremony and Ritual, the Keeper of Magic; the Mother of Encouragement and the Guardian of Celebration; the Wisdom Keeper of the Act of Giving and Receiving who teaches us how to return thanks for the abundance we need before it arrives, making space to receive it. She brings us lessons in how to celebrate every victory in life with joy—ours as well as the accomplishments of others; how to use right attitudes to create magical changes in the Self; how to create abundance through praise, giving, and receiving. Her lessons are about how to be Grateful For The Truth.

Gives Praise teaches us how to be grateful for everything we experience in life. She helps us to understand that in returning thanks we make room to receive future abundance in our lives. Part of the lessons she teaches us will be the focus on how we need to heed the simple pleasures of life that are so easily taken for granted: a beautiful sunrise or sunset, the abundant crops and the rains that fall to nourish them. The beauty of the landscape, another day to walk through, the materials we need to provide food, clothing and shelter for our families, the riches of the earth that allow us to create and fashion items to trade or implements we need, the love of family and friends to keep us nourished, the companions we walk with so we are not alone physically or spiritually. We need to be able to see the blessings in our lives to feel the fullness we have been given. When we can see them our hearts become happy and they feel the need to express that joy through the gratitude of celebration.

If we ignore our blessings we quickly open ourselves to focus on the negative things in life and we become easily depressed. When we hoard or become selfish unwilling to share we discover loneliness for we push others out of our lives in fear they will take what we have struggled to achieve for ourselves. Selfishness and hoarding can also call for life to take from us if others do not. The gifts are meant to be passed on through sharing whether they are tangible or not. By taking what is not ours, helping ourselves to things that belong to others we can lose our privileges and be punished or taken out of society where the blessings are taken away. When this happens the individual quickly comes to understand the hard way what the importance of proper give and take mean. This Grandmother will show us the crooked path of those who are so disrespectful and desire to fill their empty lives simply with material objects, greed, or arrogance that will never bring them fulfillment or allow their spirit to grow stronger. It dims the light within us to do such things and it leads us upon the Crooked Path of Shadow Lessons, into suffrage situations, through painful experiences in order to open our eyes and enlighten us. We can avoid such journeys by heeding the wisdom of Gives Praise.

Celebration is a way to share the abundance that comes into our lives and allows the joy to flourish. As the Mother of Abundance this Grandmother teaches us the wisdom that every benefactor needs a recipient and every recipient needs a benefactor. She teaches that by sharing we avoid the staleness of hoarding things, the clutter that accumulation of too much in our lives can bring to block our paths of growth. She teaches that through sharing our abundance we are demonstrating our gratitude for what we are able to give away to sustain others.

The lessons of this Grandmother stress the importance of making time to celebrate the gifts in our life. She teaches us to show Great Mystery how thankful we are for all that life provides us and in this way we complete the process of exchange. She also teaches us that our rituals must hold meaning in our hearts, that if we are merely addressing things by memory without attachment to our hearts we are not showing gratitude, instead we show emptiness of the heart. An example might be someone who is Catholic who is told during confession to say so many Hail Mary’s, for those who do not know what that is it’s a prayer for forgiveness. Now if those words are spoken by memory, perhaps fast just to get through the penance, they are empty words and would carry no value. However if they are spoken sincerely from the heart with integrity and good intention then we have spoken our truth. Whether we are asking for forgiveness or celebrating a rite of passage, a mastering of ability or skill, a turning point in our lives or some accomplishment, the words we speak in ritual or ceremony need to be heart-felt. They need to hold meaning or the celebration is empty; it becomes insultingly dismissive of the Great Ones, our Spirit Helpers and our Totems. Such empty hearts serve only to please our earthly senses, not strengthen our spirits.

She teaches us how we are able to heal our wounded spirits through every experience we are blessed to pass through. She teaches us to help us understand that the more challenging our experiences are, the more obstacles we encounter, the stronger our spirits become when we embrace the lessons as they arrive. This is because the challenges challenge our potential to grow and develop that inner strength. They drive us to go within to search for and find the truth about ourselves. As we make our discoveries we discover our potential, the truth about situations, circumstances and life itself. Therefore, we’re to give thanks for the truths we are shown in whatever manner they present themselves.

When a child comes to us wounded by the things others say or do this Grandmother teaches us to remember the discomforts of the adolescent years we experienced. As we remember our wounds and how we overcame the pain of how we felt so out of place among others we begin to recall not only specific instances we can share but we recall the difficult years as we journeyed into our adulthood. We recall the beauty of the lessons once we learned to embrace them and the abundance we gained in the process. We remember the guidance and loving encouragement of this Grandmother’s presence in our life as well as those who were physically present to guide and encourage us to keep going. We then begin to see how we are to encourage those who come to us, young or old, by taking them into our heart and showing them how to reclaim their birthright and the magic of life. We remember the importance of taking them into our arms and holding them if they are weak. We remember to encourage them to let the tears flow to wash away the pain they have been holding back. Through her lessons we learn to create a safe place to BE who we are and to offer that wisdom to those who seek to do the same.

Once we, or the individual seeking our healing skills, enters into that safe Sacred Space she shows us how to count each blessing and be grateful for each lesson in life. She teaches us not to rob others of their sense of self with cruel remarks, or strip them of their right to learn by trying something new, or to trip them up on purpose by misleading them into problematic actions. Instead she shows us how to offer love, encouragement and praise for every ability, skill or talent that progresses or becomes mastered. She shows us that when we are patient as the young move out of their clumsy ways into grace we can help them not only learn about the magic of life, but to see it reside within themselves too.

Grandmother knows that in nourishing self-esteem it allows us to reclaim our true self. She recognizes that in releasing and giving away our pain it allows us to be happy again. She understands that if we are faithful in expressing our gratitude we can brings into our lives all the things we dream of achieving. Celebration honors and blesses the individual as well as the community or family that gathers, it continues to contribute to the greater whole of each person present. This is done through continuing to share the same love and mutual respect begun by our parents, grandparents and Elders. Through demonstrating her gifts of encouragement, nurturing, praise and love this Grandmother creates the fertile, magical life we long for. She shows us how those seeds stored in our DreamWeave are germinating in our hearts and spirits, how our minds fertilize them, and our actions allow them to grow strong in the world of physical form. As we fulfill our DreamWeave we are to remember that we are assisting Great Mystery in fulfilling itself too, and in gratitude Great Mystery and Mother Earth bestow their blessings upon us. This is the right manner of give and take, it is the flow of reciprocity the Universe is responding to.

Gives Praise’s lessons of returning thanks in order to make space for the abundance found in the Beauty Great Mystery has provided us allows us to receive the blessings that are continually being sent our way. This is the magic of becoming a self-assured individual and it is brought to fullness through the compassionate and caring guidance of this loving Grandmother. As we exhibit the inner strength we hold we demonstrate our connection to our spirit and the Great Mystery. We learn that out of our former pain we develop compassion and empathy for other’s feelings. These insights and sensations reflect our gentle hearts that understand and the reflection attracts the admiration of all those we cross paths with. Through sharing the lessons and understanding our old wounds brought us we too can teach how the pain was transformed into much more than a bad experience. We can share how to transmute its contrary nature into both physical and spiritual expressions of beauty. True to our self, the inner light shines from our eyes…you always hear me saying ‘You stand in your own light…make it shine’ this is how it’s done.

Our personal journey is our story, sharing it with others tells them of the potential that resides within our spirit and lets them consider their own potentials too. It is our Medicine Story, and it speaks of how we’ve learned to hold faith and hold gratitude by seeing and acknowledging the blessings our lives hold for us. At times it tells of blessings that come gifted as icing on the cake but it more often addresses those that are hard won through the challenges and obstacles we’ve learned to overcome. We tell our story to those who can learn from it, to those who need to see that every single lesson in life is a gift and that each time we express our gratitude in a heartfelt manner we make room for greater gifts to come. Holding faith in the unlimited potential of our spirits, in the unlimited potential of the Universe to match us step for step as we open wider and wider to receive, we can demonstrate how we open our arms to others to share those blessings that come our way in whatever fashion they present themselves. Grandmother reminds us that when we are to help others find their way to healing that we’re to remember the gradual shifts during the years of pain we experienced. She wants us to remember how they are part of the process of giving birth to our dreams…they are the key to a path of fulfillment that brings continued and permeating happiness into our earthwalk.

Grandmother Gives Praise demonstrates through her teachings that to touch the magic in life we have to do no more than choose to change our conscious awareness. We also have to walk in right attitude by changing our hearts when they have become embittered and closed by pain. In this way we learn how powerful we are as spiritual beings, how capable we are of manifesting miracles and bringing magic into our lives as well as the lives of others. This understanding is to be celebrated with joy and as we show our gratitude we complete the cycle each series of lessons creates. Knowledge gained by experience leads to understanding, and as we assimilate what those experiences bring our way we hone our abilities, skills and attributes. As a result of our efforts we create a wise relationship with our spirit and sense of self, we know how to employ the knowledge as well as when and where to do so. In this way the Wheel of Life continues turning and leading us into the next round of experiences that will allow us to keep evolving and accomplish our mission in life whatever it may be.

We create greater abundance in life by sharing with others…and a new experience each time we do so. As that happens we begin another leg of our journey through our earthwalk. Each experience raises our conscious awareness and we create the path to the wonder, excitement, and joy our hearts feel as the path before us continues to unfold. By changing our attitudes we discover that we’re encountering the tangible results of holding positive attitudes in our conscious awareness and just how vitally important to the outcomes we seek that has become. If we are thinking along negative lines we make room for the Shadow of Fear to grow, we entertain thoughts of the worst possible outcomes or experiences possible, we learn to mistrust, become staid in our actions and unproductive. This is because the Fear takes over control of our actions or inaction and calls out in a loud voice for those very things to become tangible realities in our lives. We’re magnets for our lessons and attitude is altitude when it comes to what we are summoning to ourselves.

Gives Praise helps us discover the truth about negative energy, of how it is a thief in the night that violates our Sacred Space and steals away the abundant pleasures life holds. She teaches us how to reweave the negative patterns and the destruction they bring us to simply by transmuting our attitudes and our awareness so that we can shapeshift into more positive patterns of experience. Our free will allows us the option of choice, to do as we see fit, and this Grandmother points us in the direction of exercising our free will in a right manner. We can choose how to express it in our unique and individual ways or we can follow ancient traditions of showing gratitude and thanksgiving for things in life. But…we must always remember that our choice of action is ours to make, we are responsible for it, not someone or something else.

Grandmother teaches us to walk with a grateful heart in right attitude so we can produce miracles, so we can heal, so we can explore wonderful new paths and keep the magic alive within us. By changing attitudes we raise our conscious awareness in the process of choice and exercising our free will as we take action. Our perceptions of life begin to change, our awareness of our spirit grows stronger, and communication with it does too. Our hearts become lighter as our spirit grows in presence within our awareness and that inner light grows too. It can go from being a pilot light waiting to be ignited, to a flicker in the shadows or to a bright beacon shining in the darkness not only for ourselves but for others as well. The beacon attracts others looking to find their way and that’s why I’m so fond of asking people: “You stand in your own light…how will you make it shine?”

We can heal the world of its suffering and misery through practicing the things the Grandmothers her have shown us. Just think of the children placed in our care, of how we are nurturing them. If we nurture well, if we praise what is good in their nature, celebrate their achievements and foster good self-esteem we create the path to wholeness as adults for them. If we teach them to be thankful for their abilities and the skills they develop, if we teach them how to foster the growth of their talents we create a path of confidence and trust in themselves. If we teach them to open their hearts and respect themselves as we’re doing in our own lives, well, we create a path to healing any wounds they may encounter in their journeys. If we teach them to honor the truth found in each experience we create a path to their spiritual evolution. Giving thanks for their triumphs, celebrating life, teaching them to respectfully share that same encouragement with others by praising their accomplishments and showing gratitude for the touch they have made on that child’s life, we create a path that will ensure companionship throughout life as that child grows to become a well-balanced, peaceful adult passing on their wisdom. One child at a time, one person at a time, one family at a time, one touch passed on to another and another brings about the change. What we focus on and hold in our awareness is what we will manifest. Being that we are all co-creators ask yourself what you are weaving into your DreamWeave and the DreamWeave of the children as well as the adults in your company. Taking this insight into your awareness allows you to become a strong contributing factor toward global unity. It starts with each of us.

There is magic in life and this Grandmother teaches us how to enter the Silence to create the internal changes we need so that our actions will speak well of us. It’s then that our efforts produce the manifestations we desire. She shows us that through introspection and interaction with guidance it is through the Silence we can see into the physical issues as well as the spiritual ones. This allows us to understand the right course of action to take so that our leadership will produce positive and often surprisingly outstanding results. She helps us to understand that it is through our desire to change personally that we contribute to the greater whole in a positive manner and are able to effect change in our lives as well as the lives of those around us. Like magic it just happens. A positive attitude not only lifts our spirits but it lifts the spirits of anyone we come into contact with. Being able to share our joyful heart with laughter and amusement in any situations we experience does become contagious. It spreads gently into the lives of those who cross our paths each day. She wants us to understand that being human is a blessing, a wonderful experience that gives us time to explore a path of self-discovery and brings forth the enlightenment of all the wonders life holds for us. And she wants us to understand that is up to us to create a safe environment for not only ourselves but for the children we nurture as well as the adults who enter into our Sacred Space.

In this way we tap our ability to live in Oneness with All Our Relations. We become our own magic wand wielded in humility and gratitude, a magical creature balanced to walk between the worlds so that our spiritual and physical paths join together in union. We learn to appreciate all the different roles in life for none of us are capable of fulfilling them all by ourselves. We appreciate the diversity and how that diversity serves the greater whole as we elect the roles we’ll take and leave room for others to do the same. In this way we contribute to global unity. She helps us understand that by leading a life in a right manner we become living examples of balance through reason, discernment and being receptive to spiritual input to guide us along. Further, she helps us to connect to the Sacred Feminine teachings of being helpful to others, of caring and nurturing through compassion so that we can offer our encouragement and support as they make their way along their earthwalks.

Grandmother Gives Praise teaches us to be like the arrow…straight in our integrity, straight with our intentions, straight with our purpose so that we will land in the center of our target with true aim…with the truth in our hearts. The arrow is the symbol of the path of truth in all indigenous teachings, broken it is the symbol of broken truth, broken vows, broken relationships, endings that have come about because faith and gratitude were not upheld. She teaches us how to speak the truth and be a living example of it to others.

By giving thanks to All Our Relations, to our Totems and Spirit Helpers that walk through life assisting us, for the abundant gifts in life brought by the Earth Mother and Sky Father we are free to humbly ask for continued blessings. Giving thanks for the Good Medicine that resides inside the hearts of our spirits and family members, for the way those gifts of love will touch everyone daily, we raise our awareness and maintain an appreciative attitude. This allows us to lead by example as we express it. In this way we can introduce our children to the gifts that each Clan Mother carries, the lessons and wisdom they can impart and teach them how to see that for themselves. We teach them to celebrate each accomplishment and rite of passage in life with thankful hearts and we pass that gratitude to the generations that follow. We teach them to trust that their lives will bless and enrich all circles of life as we honor All Our Relations and return thanks for the celebration of being alive, of what we have been given, of knowing all we will ever need is present through the abundance of our Earth Mother. We demonstrate how each of us, though different in our contributions are equally beautiful creatures and co-creators adding to the DreamWeave we hold and the greater DreamWeave of Great Mystery as it unfolds.

For all these reasons we are free to dance and celebrate all new beginnings, all the precious gifts life holds, and we can show our Earth Mother and Sky Father our eagerness to share our gratitude. We can do this by giving respect and thanks for our Elders who bring us wisdom of the years they have spent in their earthwalks. We can demonstrate the unity of the extended global family by letting the joy in our happy hearts shine on the goodness in not only ourselves but upon that same goodness in others. By recognizing that each ceremony or ritual we perform is a celebration and a way to give back in some fashion through our open hearts that are not only willing to give but to receive the blessings of abundance in life. Gives Praise knows that in time her lessons and understanding are passed on allowing each of us to reclaim the lost magic in our lives as long as we are willing to open our hearts and express our joy and gratitude for all the seen and unseen miracles of life both present and in the future.

As this Grandmother’s light fades into the darkness of the night she smiles and places our hand in the hand of the 13TH Grandmother: Becomes Her Vision.

13th GRANDMOTHER: BECOMES HER VISION
Guardian of Transformation and Transmutation this Grandmother is the Keeper of the Emergence of Spirit into Physical Form; the Mother of Alchemical Changes and Rites of Passage into Wholeness; the Guardian of Personal History, Becoming and Myth. She teaches us how to become our visions and our own wholeness…how to release the old Self and step into the realized dream…how to honor the process that brought us through the changes and transformation…how to mark the Rite of Passage into Wholeness an celebrate the Vision we have become…how to Be The Truth!

Becomes Her Vision is the Guardian of All Cycles of Transformation and is the Grandmother of the 13th Moon Cycle. Her lessons teach us how to bring our spirits forward in our physical form living as conveyers of Great Mystery’s love. As we live loving lives spiritually aware we begin the journey to living up to our full potential and manifesting our DreamWeaves. It is said that when we are able to achieve this level of awareness we will claim the Fifth World of Peace and Illumination as our own…the Change that we hear spoken about the year 2012 is often eluded to as a time when the 5th World will be known to all of humanity as we recognize the Oneness present in our lives and therefore the presence of Great Mystery, of the Sky Father and Earth Mother that are our spiritual parents. This Grandmother holds the essence of not only herself but of her 12 sisters and through the teachings of the 13 Grandmothers we come to know the mystery of the Sacred Feminine within ourselves. She is the promise the future holds for us and that promise is embodied in these teachings.

Becomes Her Vision is the Mother of Change, through her we come to recognize that every lesson and cycle of transformation we pass through is necessary for us to experience in order to spiritually evolve. Each of the Grandmothers are role models for walking our paths in truth, but Becomes Her Vision shows us how to unify our understandings and walk our paths in the conviction of our Sacred Point of View and as authentic spirits … by that I mean as human beings who are consciously aware of their Inner Spirit and walking consciously with it as a co-creator. Through her we come to see the need to stay our paths and not allow drama or intrigue to waylay us. We begin to see that the illusions of the world of form can draw us from the path and in that prevent us from manifesting our DreamWeaves.

Grandmother demonstrates the process of Change through her merging the spirits of the other 12 Grandmothers with her own, in this way she undergoes a complete transformation of the body, heart, mind and spirit taking it from the sense of the human self to become an infinite self. We begin to understand that the spirit within us is the true self and we begin to live our lives in that truth. When we achieve this level of awareness and master it (which can take several cycle with all the Grandmothers) our understanding that our spirits are eternal, their potentials infinite, and that we are indeed co-creators solidifies within our Sacred Point of View. We become extensions of Great Mystery capable of expressing unconditional love for All Our Relations.

It is at this point the understanding of our spirit becomes known to us. We have been shown, through our spirit and guidance, our path of destiny, the mission that our spirit came to fulfill, and our capacity as spirits to expand our abilities to limitless proportions achieving amazing feats. However, until we do master this and bring all parts of ourselves (mind, body, and spirit) into union the understanding remains incomplete. Once achieved we know this truth for we feel it flowing throughout our body and all that exists, we see it and we become it. Shapeshifting experiences begin to happen on spiritual levels, we enter the Oneness and become One with it. We are all and nothing at the same time. So each time we enter we come to understand a little more of what that means. It’s a blissful state of being and it is both beyond words and intoxicating at the same time. With each transformation we make we bring ourselves closer to that unification and one step closer to becoming our visions. As we achieve our goals a new vision comes forward to expand our Sacred Point of View.

You’ve heard me say that our comfort zones are regulated by boundaries and rules and that as we step into a new comfort zone the boundaries change, the rules change, and what once guided us becomes passé as we realize new rules that are to be followed. It’s a bit like going from one state to the next, each state is independent but it falls under the umbrella of the Federal regulations…in this case those regulations are governed by Universal Laws, truths that cannot be refuted. If we were to look at a regulatory government agency it will have security clearances that have to be passed. Our transformations are a rite of passage and those security clearances are too. They allow us access to a new level of understanding, to a restricted area for those who have not past the tests that would validate their rite of passage as authenticated. We can claim we have such knowledge and skill but spiritually speaking words won’t get us through the passageway, our abilities and our higher conscious awareness do that for us. As we embrace new truths we take another step along that path.

This is the spiral dance, the sacred stages of evolution of our spirits as they continue to take us through different levels of understanding. Now this can become a house of mirrors for those who do not see the lessons for what they are and they will find their way out through trial and error. However, those who walk consciously aware of their spirits have a special advantage, our spirits shine our inner light on those mirrors and we see it reflecting back at us so we know not to bump our noses and we see where there is no reflection but a beacon on the path where there are no mirrors. We find our way in and out much easier. The spiral dance of evolution is eternal. Our spirits come into this earthwalk with us in the same manner we take a class at school. They’re here to learn the human condition and our bodies are the vehicles that allow them to stay grounded while taking host with us. They have passed through many lifetimes in many different ages, dimensions and worlds of reality. This earthwalk of ours is but a moment in time for them and time only matters to us. The spirit, being eternal does not need a watch, it needs to be active and to accomplish the manifestation of the DreamWeave. It is within the DreamWeave that we fulfill our missions, our purpose in life.

For this reason, Becomes Her Vision is also the Guardian of Personal Myth. Our spirits have an individual story to tell, a saga of lives lived and experiences passed through as well as those that are presently underway. Our spirits know what the future is meant to be, what the DreamWeave is for this lifetime, what the duties taken on are to fulfill as our personal missions. Each spirits’ story is therefore a personal myth that follows archetypal roles and relates to a universal mythos.

These myths become our personal story too and as we raise our awareness we begin to see where we truly do live the myth woven into our lives.

Part of that awareness comes through when we achieve successful rites of passage…the spirit within us celebrates that achievement and we feel the elation permeate our being. Every choice we make, every goal we set, everything we choose to do determines how our story is going to unfold. The exercising of our free will determines our mistakes, our successes, our blockages and our challenges. And while the myth is well known to our spirit, unfortunately we as humans taking life pass through the veil of forgetfulness. Until we connect to our Inner Spirit and establish communication at best we will hold fragmented pieces of the DreamWeave. Each spirit that takes human form has a story to tell and a myth to explore as they make their sacred earthwalks and they must communicate it to us through our sensory impressions and our awareness, through our dreams and moments of enlightenment. This is their place in Creation at this time, and each spirit is unique in the way it expresses the myth it is presently experiencing. For the spirit the myth is their living story that continues to evolve. We, as individuals reflect the journey of our spirits consciously or not. We are blessed with the gift of free will and can choose how we will walk through life, but it is the combination of all our lives in unison that tell the history, present and future of life itself…we are all part of the whole of Great Mystery, and it is through us, through our spirits that the Great Mystery experiences what Creation is creating.

Becomes Her Vision helps us see that each choice we make, each action we take will alter or assist our path and ultimately the successful journey of our spirit. The magnificence of Great Mystery is the magic in life and the fact that ultimately all we have to do is choose to BE our true self, to allow our spirit to guide us and show us the way, well it’s such a simple thing once we figure it out, but getting there from here takes enlightenment so we can learn how to make that decision for ourselves. Once we choose to embrace our spirit and ‘recognize’ it as a living entity that dwells within the frame of our human body we begin to open the channel for that communication to take place and the relationship between human and spirit develops a very strong bond.

If we choose to be aware and merge with our spirit then we need become nothing more, we need no labels because we become our visions and know that we are unlimited in be-coming more simply by manifesting our DreamWeaves. We are many things to many people in the sense of human awareness, spouses, parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, friends, professionals but those are all only individual aspects of who we are in totality. No one label is going to fit us at all times. Labels define us to others in the roles we are taking relative to their relationship with us but they do not define who ‘we’ are as a whole. Our spirits do that and if we recognize ourselves as spiritual entities that is enough. I say this because as spiritual entities we are connected to and fragments of Great Mystery at the same time…each of us is an extension of the Oneness, of the Big Plan, and we are both tangible and intangible in that extension. We are the fragments of the whole of Great Mystery’s expression of Self and our spirit is our expression of Self…when we allow it to come forward instead of dismissing it. The Grandmothers’ teachings help us to understand this a little at a time as each of the 12 walk with us year after year. And Becomes Her Vision helps us put that year into perspective as we assimilate all we’ve come to know and understand so that we can take our steps in enlightenment and weave our Dreams wisely.

Becomes Her Vision reminds us that we are all children of the Great Ones, each of us is precious and loved unconditionally, and each of us is meant to fulfill our dreams so that we can grow and transform ourselves through a process of evolution that contributes to the greater whole of humanity and life itself. As we achieve one goal we find another waiting and in this way our own dreams evolve. The DreamWeave is one of our choosing and on a larger scale it is the choosing of Great Mystery, the Great Plan that we cannot fully fathom. Yet at the same time we are that plan…we are a part of it. Evolution is a fact of life and therefore the dream evolves with us, it is continually unfolding in our lives. Through our discernments and exercising our free will we make choices that alter the course of how our path unfolds expressing our uniqueness. This, too, is part of the Great Mystery’s plan, we were fashioned by the Great Ones as co-creators and they work in partnership with us. Are you in partnership with them consciously or is that partnership known only to your spirit? This Grandmother wants to show you how to answer that question by presenting you with lessons that will teach you how to achieve that state of heightened awareness…and hold it…how to walk between the worlds authentically conscious of each step you’re taking and why you’re taking it. She is here to assist us along with her 12 sisters.

From time to time she reminds us to see how the lessons interweave and as they do they depict our tapestry, a story we are weaving for ourselves as we live our personal myths. She has embraced each cycle of teaching that her sisters have experienced and she’s made those experiences her own weaving them together within the Web of her being to reflect the Web of Life so she can share those experiences and feelings with us. She is the culmination of our journey through all 13 Moon’s each year. In this way the essence of each Grandmother brings us through a specific Rite of Passage with the Truth…the truth about being human, about being a spirit, about being part of the Great Mystery, about being a part of the Web of Life, about being part of the Oneness, about being a child of the Universe and the Great Ones. Each Rite of Passage is witnessed by Becomes Her Vision, her eyes befall each of us as we pass through our lessons and she watches as they lead us to the next level of experience.

She knows we must journey in the spiral dance so that we come to understand the teachings. All at once it is too overwhelming so each year she observes us pealing back another layer of illusions and uncovering new enlightenments as we grow. Each year she bids us well having helped us to put it all into perspective. Now each of us will experience those teachings in our own unique ways according to the way we live our lives. Where we’re standing at the time in relationships, situations, circumstances and with our desires is right where we need to be so there is no call for comparing ourselves to the progress of others, we need to honor our own and respect where they are standing, nothing more.

No one can promise you that life will be easy, it is filled with pain and sorrow as much as it is joy and happiness. Consciously or not, we have a big say in what we will experience. Once we learn to understand what our free will is all about, and yield our control to our spirits co-operatively we can choose what we will or will not experience the majority of the time. There will be occasions where experiences that are not always pleasant do take place, generally this is a lesson we have failed to witness for ourselves some other way, a lesson we have refused to see. Perhaps it’s one we don’t even realize we need or are blind to for one reason or another and life brings us to face the teachings through trial and error at such times…and now and then through trials by fire.

Becomes Her Vision knows that pain can instill fear and that fear is something we tend to weave with illusionary threads of false realities. Some fears are valid, for instance, all elements have a destructive force within them, all elements are wild and untamed by us, tamed only by Mother Nature herself…however we can learn to work with their natures, learn to calm them and adapt to their attributes within ourselves for they are of us too. Yes, of course, Fire will burn us, but it doesn’t have to burn us each time we confront it either. How we confront our fear of Fire will determine if we learn to work with that element or believe we are clumsy with it and continually self-sabotage our own efforts. If we challenge our fear with caution in our actions we can hone our skills to overcome it and when we do we respect its potential to do good and to bring destruction. We come to understand it’s attributes and in that to work with them taking precaution to not let things get out of control and set a wildfire raging. It is the same with each elemental force as well as everything else in life.

How we perceive, our Sacred Point of View, what our intentions hold, our attitudes, our integrity, our impeccability, our courage, strength and conviction, our DreamWeave, our awareness of our Inner Spirit, our ability to develop a strong connection with guidance…all these things come into play. Becomes Her Vision knows these are the tools we need and that they are present within us. She knows we can call upon them whenever we have need. She knows that we can choose to know and walk in the unity, equality and essence of our beings throughout eternity…if we choose to do so. And if we make that decisions she is more than willing to help us learn how to go about that process of change.

The combination of all her sisters’ wisdom, knowledge, talents and gifts are gathered in unison within Becomes Her Vision. She is the Grandmother that teaches us how to put it all together within ourselves so that we can understand our place within Great Mystery and the Oneness. Each of us must come to understand these teachings and complete the Rites of Passage before we can realize our DreamWeave, the destiny of our spirits and the mission we came to fulfill through manifesting it. Our DreamWeave contains all that we are to achieve, all that we are to become, and all that we are to fulfill. That’s powerful! It’s seeded within our hearts and spirits, we are the ones to nurture it, we are the ones to bring it forth, we are the ones we’ve been waiting for. And we are blessed with so many Helpers…the 13 Grandmothers are there, the elemental forces are there, our Spirit Helpers, Guides, Totems, and our Ancestors are there all willing, able, and ready to help us. All we have to do is say so.

It’s through the teachings of all 13 Grandmothers we learn how to enter into our consciousness and raise our spiritual awareness through seeking enlightenment. We learn how to enter the Spirit World of infinite dimensions connecting with our Guides and Spirit Helpers through the gateways that each of the Sacred Directions offer us. We learn through their teachings how to enter the DreamLodge to understand our DreamWeave and the Helpers that have kept us company to assist with our manifestation efforts. It is in working with the 13 Grandmothers that we learn to assimilate and unify the teachings we’ve received, to make our journey through their Rites of Passage, and recognize this is the purpose of our life’s journey, of our earthwalk. Each year we cycle with the Grandmothers and if we raise our awareness to their presence and the blessings their lessons hold for us we will find ourselves growing and evolving exponentially.

It is through conquering our fears and embracing the lessons we are blessed to receive that we come to our self-empowerment and authenticity of Self. We have to learn to filter it all and Becomes Her Vision graciously helps us to do just that. She, together with her 12 sisters represent the Earth Mother’s love for all her children…for all of them and that includes you! Mother’s love is unconditional; she sees each and every one of us as precious. It was the Earth Mother who sent her daughters to teach us in the roles of the 13 Grandmothers. As we undertake their instructions we come to see how, by shifting our perspectives, we can bring unity, harmony, and beauty into any circumstance, situation, or relationship we encounter…even if that means extracting ourselves to continue our journey minus negative relationships that cannot, at that time, change for the better. We will meet uncooperative individuals now and then. Because this is a challenging encounter we must learn how to discern when enough is enough and it’s time to part ways from them. We will encounter sorrows and we must learn how to discern where we are in our grieving, where we are in healing our wounds and when enough is enough and it’s time to act. We will encounter difficult situations or circumstances. Life does challenge us but through our higher awareness and our sensory abilities we have the knowledge, skill and tools to raise our awareness so we can overcome them and grow.

We will be tempted at times through emotional states to react from knee-jerking sensations and it is up to us to realize we need to bring our emotions under control by balancing them with the pure logic of the truth before us. We will at times get drawn into the drama of others’ lives, or feel them trying to draw us into their problems. Discernment skills will help us to see the truth present and if that drama is going to be something we and those involved will benefit from or not. With all that these Grandmothers teach us, Becomes Her Vision is the one that helps us take the sacred mysteries within ourselves to assimilate and absorb them, to make them a part of us consciously. She teaches us how to transmute the contrary, toxic experiences, the suffrages we’ve known, the Shadow Lessons we’ve encountered and the wounds we’ve sustained into positive attributes. She teaches us compassion for ourselves and for others. She teaches us how to appreciate the lessons both good and painful and to forgive those who have worked against us so that we become Healers in our own right. She wants us to understand how to cast aside the illusions and false-beliefs that create Shadows around the Truth.

This Grandmother teaches us the lessons we need to take the intangibility of the spiritual enlightenments we’ve received, the intangibility of our sensory perceptions, the intangibility of our spiritual attributes within ourselves alongside the intangibility of our respective spirit out into the world of form. It is through us that the spiritual becomes manifest and through us that our DreamWeave takes form. It is with the light of the spirit within us we come to see how to do these things for it shines on the truths that the Grandmothers present it with, and this Grandmother helps us see how it all comes together as One.

She reminds us to open our hearts to our DreamWeaves and our earthwalk, to nurture them with our Medicine gifts and knowledge, to gracefully bring them into the world when we sense the time is right…and to watch over them as they develop. She teaches us how to remember to learn about the truth within ourselves, to honor it, accept it for what it is, to see it in our visions and the world around us, to hear it spoken by our spirit as we make our journey through life. She reminds us that with our spirit we can lovingly speak the truth, love it and therefore serve it. She reminds us that we’re to live it each day, work with it and walk in it. She reminds us to show our gratitude for it and to become Truth just as she has done.

Her lessons will test us at times to see if we do understand the patterns at play and have mastered our ability to weave them or unweave them if need be. She will test us to use our gifts and our knowledge of the truth in our daily lives. She wants to know if we walk aware of, and with our Totems and Spirit Helpers, if we realize we can call upon her Medicine, the Medicine of Butterfly that transforms itself from an egg that hatches into larva to a cocooned stage of developing metamorphosis into a beautiful winged spirit. And she wants to know that we fully understand these four stages of transformation that each Rite of Passage contains.

Change is going to happen, that’s inevitable, and she wants us to realize that resisting it is dangerous often leading us to create difficult situations or circumstances for ourselves. The harder we fight the harder it is to get through the transitions. Change promotes growth and that means we have to shed the old before we can fully immerse ourselves in the new form we are taking. This is the magic in life and we are a part of it, it resides within each of us, we are our own magic wand. Just as the Butterfly has four stages of growth we, as humans, have four too: birth, childhood, adulthood and old age. We pass through those stages of growth physically and the Rites of Passage they each hold for us in the physical sense. Now these passages are not always pleasant but they do hold beautiful moments as well when we learn to balance ourselves in the process. Spiritually speaking that’s no different so understanding these stages is important because when we hold that knowledge we can work with them to make our own transitions and the manifestations of our DreamWeaves into far more creatively positive experiences.

The egg stage is the conception, we give birth to an idea, an action, a newly emerging ability. The larva stage is the experience of learning and growing to strengthen ourselves as we define an lay our foundations within our Sacred Point of View. It becomes sacred to us based on the experiences we’ve held. The cocoon of the caterpillar is akin to the assimilation process where our ideas are creatively shaped and formed through our truths internally so we can later manifest them through our actions. With these perspectives in place we begin the process of changing within ourselves and as we develop and hone our understanding along with our skills we begin the process of reorganizing, readjusting, and putting all the pieces together. Once we’ve accomplished the unification process this Grandmother represents we begin the final stage…we emerge from that cocoon with the realization that we are changed for the better and that we are ready to step out into the world of form as a spiritual being in a human body. The emerging from the internal changes is the conceptualized metamorphosis that manifests physically as we break free of old limitations reflecting the light of our spiritual awareness and essence in the process…we radiate the glow of enlightenment we hold.

Becomes Her Vision reminds us that there are times to withdraw from the world around us so that we can go within ourselves and let things take their own course. We walk in our own understanding able to trust what we Know within ourselves, what guidance is showing us, and what we’ve come to experience as truth through the lessons we’ve received and the homework we’ve done. We can walk our path with strength, and with courage as we step forward doing so with our eyes open and the conviction that we’re on the path that is right for us. This is not only true for us but for everyone else who is on the path their path, it’s the right one for them. When we can see this for ourselves we understand the meaning of Canku Ota, of Many Paths, and we understand the truth in honoring them all.

Once understood we can help others make their way through their Rites of Passage too, and in this sense we do become teachers though we do not need to label ourselves as such, we simply help those who come to us for assistance. We respond and we share our knowledge of the truth for we have become it. Our eyes have been trained in the same manner the shaman’s eyes have been trained…to see the truth and to look within the darkness of the unknown to find it. We’re to use our abilities, our senses, our Medicine to manifest change within ourselves and to bring forth our DreamWeaves by weaving the truth within ourselves out into the world around us so that we can share the beauty of all that we are…all that we have become. Grandmother Becomes Her Vision helps us evolve in this manner year after year after year for we are always becoming more of the truth. We are always gathering more of the truth, we are always exploring and growing and evolving.

Her lessons are reminders to heed the voices of Nature and the rhythm of energy signatures as they meet our own so that we learn truth. She reminds us to honor the sacred space of others as well as that of friendships we make by keeping our integrity within our higher awareness. Her lessons about honoring the truth in all its manifestations are important. They are lessons that help us see the path before us remains open within our Sacred Point of View and our connection to the Earth Mother, for we are her daughters and sons in manifest physical form. She teaches that at one time or another we well all stand at the different points and paths of the Medicine Wheel and that is how it should be.

Now, while these are the Women’s teachings they will apply to men as well for no one truly escapes them. Men, though, well, they must come to bring balance within themselves with their feminine side to understand them. Women find it very natural to do this where men may struggle more. In this way each of us can emulate this beautiful Grandmother, we can Become Our Vision. We invite you to call upon her when you have need, call upon any of the Grandmothers and they will come to you. The journey to truth is the journey to your spirit where truth resides reflecting itself back to you. It is the essence of the spirit within you that is your truth. Aligned to the Great Ones within the Oneness, with the Universe and cosmic consciousness, it is the essence of your being and to honor it you must learn to Become Your Vision, to Become the Truth. In this you have the power to tap into unlimited potential within yourself as you walk between the worlds aware of the DreamWeave and become an active part of its creation.

I’d like to conclude this series of discussions leaving you with the 7 points of wisdom given to Jamie Sams by her teachers and presented in her book: “The 13 Original Clan Mothers.” (Which is the most concise book I’ve found to date encompassing the indigenous Moon Lore teachings.

1) There are no rules on how to grow or change.

2) All self-imposed rules or judgments are limiting illusions.

3) The Great Mystery cannot be solved, so don’t try.

4) Everything you seek can be found within you.

5) Laughter and irreverence dissolve the illusions and the fear.

6) Unseen worlds exist within the tangible and cannot be separated.

7) You ARE, the moment you decide to BE.

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