Jamie Sams 1994 Earth Medicine: Harper Collins.
I have read this book many times and to me it is like an old friend
which I never seem to tire of. It is a set of 364 poems and sort stores
based on Native American Spiritual teachings of the thirteen Original
Clan Mothers. The thirteen Original Clan mother represent the gifts and
abilities that humankind can develop so that they can live in harmony
with all life. The book is meant to be read in tune with the readers
own menstrual cycle or by the by the moon if you happen to be a man
like myself.
I have chose this book because by looking a different culture often
helps us to see our common humanity and the universal spiritual truths
with all things. The book works like a self help guide in which one
learns to see the world in a different way with the goal of live in
harmony with all life.
Page 10
³Loneliness
Loneliness only stays to haunt those who have forgotten the presence of
their Relation; their Brother and Sisters, the creatures; their
Cousins, the plants and stones; their father, the Sky, and their Mother
the Earth
We are reminded that our family of Relations is always waiting for us
to come and the beauty of the natural world. When we rediscover their
company, we are never alone.²
Talks with Relations is the first Clan Mother, is about see the other
in Buddhist terms the above extract expresses that we are never truly
alone and see the other in terms of one¹s family which is a lovely way
of looking at it.
Page 36
³ Ancient Knowing
The wisdom of the Ancients,
Floats upon the seas,
Nestles in the forests,
And stands among the trees.
This ancient form of knowing ,
Grows amidst the sands,
Waiting for the human race
To learn from the land.
There among the whispers,
Of creatures stone, and wind,
The wisdom of the Ancestors
Is waiting to befriend
Any human seeker who
Wants to find the way,
Honouring the ancient wisdom
Through actions taken today.
Application is everything. Wisdom is spoken from the intellect but not
integrated into behaviour it carries no clout. Is it time for you to
live the wisdom, instead of intellectually espousing what you believe
is correct
behaviour for the enlightened?²
Wisdom Keeper is the seconded Clan Mother The extract show that the
wisdom is not only waiting but want to befriend you And like in
purelands is open to any human who want to find or in other words who
has Talks with Relations is the first Clan Mother, is about see the
other in Buddhist terms the below extract expresses that we are never
truly alone and see the other in term of one family is a lovely way of
looking at it. faith.
Page 172
³ Eternal Flaws
The universe is flawless, evolving
At its own harmonious rhythm,
With raw creative force guiding
Its every move.
The only eternal flaw in this universe seem to be found in the way
human beings insist on seeing creation through the eyes of limitations.
Maybe that is one reason faith came into being . if we can¹t see the
overview for ourselves, noticing that the whole is flawless, we need
faith to take us beyond our limitations. Even that human frailty has a
perfect place in the Divine Plan. Perhaps the Great Mystery¹s intent
was to confront the human mind so we could learn to trust instead of
trying to reason and figure it out! After all, everything and every
force in our universe is basically balanced and neutral. It is the
human species that judges every feeling, event, experience, person, or
thought as being good or bad . maybe through faith and trust we can
stop the labelling and begin to look at life as just being.²
The storyteller is the Clan Mother of the sixths moon. What can I say
to me this extract express the idea of our bombu nature just by calling
the divine the Great Mystery. In Native American spirituality you are
not meant to be solve the Great Mystery and would be foolish to try to
do so. It is faith takes us beyond our limitations. The idea of
everything being balanced and natural and it is our judgment that
distorts shows the grasping nature of our minds.
Page 273
³Boredom
The little boy was busy; his face was intently focused on the toy horse
he was making from the bones of a former meal. He had received a lock
of mane from spotted friend, his older brothers favourite pony. He was
given a length of sinew from his grandmother and his mother had
contributed a scrap of trade blanket. The face paint was donated by his
grandfather, and his father had given him a leather thong.
In the minds eye the tiny warrior could see the bone horse painted with
his medicine symbols. The scrap of trade blanket would make the saddle;
the thong would be the bridle. He envisioned the beautiful mane and
tail being wrapped with sinew and was happy as he began his creative
adventure.
When he was nearly finished, another boy arrived, scuffing at the earth with his moccasin. The little brave cast a glance at the one kicking up the dust and asked him to stop. The other boy complained that he was bored and had nothing better to do.
The creative child looked astonished and finally replied how can you
be board? The world is alive. The game the earth mother gave us is
creating beauty from what we have at hand. Don¹t you want to show the
creator you are willing to play.²
Weaves the Web in the Clan Mother of the tenth moon, show us our
potential for living. I picked this passage because to me it show how
we are all interdependent and how much is given with love to us if we
only have the right attitude to eye it.