Listening Woman ~~

Echos of the Ancestors
Ride the Winds of Change,
Voices of the Creatures
Calling out my name.
Singing Spirits on the breeze,
The crashing of waves to shore,
The pounding of Earth Mother's heart,
Teach me what to listen for.
In stillness, before dusk and dawn,
Hidden messages are set free.
Like the chants of my People,
Their rythms speak to me.
My ears can hear this music,
And my heart can understand.
Clan Mother of Tiyoweh,
I am yours to command.
I listen for your whispers
On a course you will chart,
Searching for the still voice
That lives within my heart.
~~
Listening Woman, the Clan Mother of the Fifth Moon Cycle, teaches us that all human beings have the potential to hear the still voice within their hearts. We know this voice by the serenity it makes us feel and the joy that fills us when we follow the messages it gives. The heart's voice leads us to the place of inner peace where we are in harmony with who and what we are. This place of inner knowing and at-one-ment cannot be taken away. When we seek the heart's voice, we reside in the safety of being serenely balanced and feeling marvelously alive. The Ancestors called it Tiyoweh, the Stillness. Those who seek it will always find it within.
Jamie Samms~Earth Medicine

I am sharing this because as I was reading today, this is the passage I came
upon. I remember so many times in my life where the balance and harmony of things seemed to be eluding me and the only way I ever found it was to stop, and listen to that voice inside myself. This felt so personal today.
Tiyoweh...the Stillness; it is my heart place. It is essential.

Here Is the Relaxation Technique I am teaching my son. When we began he was almost 7. It has been suggested by the school system that my son, Geoffrey, may have some neurological deficits. Autism, what a scary thing for a parent to hear. All because he won't look strangers in the eye and because he prefers not to play with children who have no respect, and because his fine motor skills are delayed. He listens to the voices of the wind and the animals and the ancestors. One night as I was putting my son to bed, he twined his arms around my neck and told me he had seen a bald eagle flying over his school bus. He said it was a great gift. He hugged my neck tight and asked me to sing him a lullaby. Together, we sang the Cherokee Morning Song, then I rubbed his back until he fell asleep. This child is perfect. BUT it is in his best interest to address all aspects of his uniqueness. He is unique. He is perfection. I deny this label.

Every person has a sacred space;
a place totally their own that no one can touch.
When they feel that overwhelming feeling of loosing control,
they can find their heart beat.
It is a centering place.
Put your hands on your heart.
Feel it. Focus . . . da duh, da duh,
say it with the beat.
Listen to it beat. Feel yourself calm down. Breathe.

Breathe again. Feel the rhythm and loosen your arms.
Relax your forehead. Breathe.
It is your sacred space.
Own it. Become it . . .
this is where we hear Creator's voice
and where He listens to us.
The beat is our connection to Mother earth.
Shhhh . . . listen . . .

It is just a technique for calming down, but it is good to think of something like this. Geoffrey is getting the feeling behind what I am telling him. We do this together now as part of our bedtime ritual. It is becoming part of how I teach him prayer.

Peace.
With love,
~Nvyaosani
AniGatogewi


I had this cool HUGE conversation with my son and feel compelled to share it. I woke him up at 5:50 am. I shut off the lights first and opened the windows. The birds were singing so loud. I rubbed his back and told him to "wake up. I have something I want you to hear." He rolled onto his back and opened his eyes and I asked him to listen to the birds thank Creator for another day. I told him all living things look to the sunrise each and every day. The birds do their loudest and most beautiful singing to greet it.

Later as I was driving Geoffrey to school he decided to ask me how animals pray. He said "there have to be lots of animals who can't pray because . . . take the aligator for instance, he can't put his front legs together cause he'd sink." I'm trying to just listen to my child ask his question and honestly I almost lost it and started laughing. It was NOT the time to laugh because he was dead serious. I let him finish and pause for my answer.

I tried to explain that praying is something humans do. We are made in the image of God and we have the ability to reason. It's hard to explain reason to a 7 yr old, but he's pretty advanced in his vocabulary. I told him that animals honor creator by doing the things they were made to do. Like the beaver builds his dam and his ability honors Creator. Geoffie popped up and said "yeah, and it can keep other animals from falling off the waterfall. That's doing service!"

We talked about 10 individual creatures and how they would honor their Creator. The shark, the whale, the dolphin, dogs, horses, a chipmunk, the beaver, a spider . . . The conversation ended with us talking about how a person's life should be a prayer. Everything we do should honor God. Everytime we sing or laugh or work it is an opportunity to show honor and LIVE our prayer. He kinda changed the subject and asked about the sky then, so I let it go.

Later, my 20 yr old daughter, Kayla and I were talking about this and she asked me how I would have answered if he'd asked me if ROCKS pray. So I told her.

If every thing is energy, part of the ALL, then the rocks are part of that energy and as Creation prays and honors Creator, so do the rocks. Each of us unique, connected, purposeful in BEING - - - all related.


again, I am,
Nvyaosani