Category: Existence

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Divine I Am Existence

2023 Light at the end of the tunnel

Clarity brings prosperity is how I would sum up 2023. New doors opening to opportunities I dream to manifest, while old doors closing. Feeling the embodiment of that which I know is mine by divine right. 2023 had a balance of growth and celebration, of ritual and ceremony. Every day has been a ceremony. Mindfulness with each breath in each step. Through frustrations and worry, into absolute faith in the great mystery.

2023 Intuitive Painting

This year I started facilitating intuitive painting sessions in the studio garage. The first month was July, and there were 6 participants. I offered it again in August, October, November and December. Each month people would come back, and new people would join us. By December we were up to 15 people every week. The community and creative space is so rich and powerful, shining light on our paths so that we might know ourselves deeper and more fully.

2023 was a great year for building community through creating!

2023

Presentations

The universe heard my call when I asked for opportunities to share my stories, gifts and art with adults and teachers.

MAEA Healing Hands

I presented a Healing Hands workshop at the 2023 Maryland Art Education Association’s Conference for Central zone. I love doing this workshop with art teachers. It’s such a powerful time to release and redirect our energies into the energy we want to embody.

PechaKucha

I was invited to participate in the 2023 York PechaKucha Volume 21 night, and I presented about my life as an artist, educator and how the Anishinaabe teachings parallel to my life as a creator.

YWCA

The YWCA of Hanover invited me to share Indigenous teachings with their middle school students on Indigenous Peoples Day, and was interviewed by a local news station.

Kutztown University

A week later I was asked to participate in Kutztown University’s Indigenous Peoples Showcase. I live painted and sold my work during the event. The painting was purchased by Kutztown Multicultural Center and hangs there in the Union Center.

Spring Grove High

The same week I spoke at my son’s high school during their Indigenous peoples day, and shared my artwork and stories with 300 high school students. It was a huge success and I am excited to do it again next year!

PowWow Live Painting

I was also a live painter at The Baltimore American Indian Center PowWow at the Maryland State Fairgrounds. This was such an amazing experience for me. I felt my ancestors in the beat of the drum and the paint showed me many things. The piece I created there is called Follow the White Feather. The woman who won the highest bid on the painting had an incredible story about following the white feather. The universe always speaks through experiences with others.

Agent of Change

At the beginning of this year I was awarded Maryland Art Educations Agent of Change award. Such a really special award, as I work hard to make sure all of my students know who they are and how beautiful and important it is to respect the differences of all people.

Paintings Sold

This year I sold so many paintings, and really stepped into my artist journey. Creating more this year than ever! Meeting so many amazing people who share their love of art and life with me. It’s so beautiful to see someone resonate with the energy of my work.

Mindfulness

I was published in a new book by my friend Jane Dalton, called The Mindful Studio. Mindfulness is such an important part of life, I strive to practice it and to share it with others.

Gratitude

There are so many other beautiful experiences I had this year, it would take me forever to write about them all. One of the things I want to do more consistently next year is write. I love writing and have missed it this year. Even though I have LOVED being so active and doing so many things, I see how important it is for me to take time to sit and process those experiences. Writing helps me do that.

Through all of the amazing experiences, its been most beautiful when I find myself able to be grateful for the hard experiences. The tough deep diving into old patterns and thoughts.

I find that gratitude easily when I think of all the lives I’ve been able to touch with my art and sharing my gifts. I am so grateful for every being that has taken a chance and listened to their heart, because it lead them to me and I learned something about myself in a more complete way. I appreciate the love and support from all of those who give their time and energy to share their stories and remember we are all connected.

Migwetch to each of you, may you find peace and joy in this very moment. <3

Categories
Art Existence

Canvas Rebel, Voyage Baltimore Interviews

Before Canvas Rebel, in 2021, I was interviewed by Voyage Baltimore,

Canvas Rebel

Hi Raine, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
I grew up in the suburbs of Baltimore, with my mom, dad and two sisters. My mother is Turtle Mountain Chippewa, and attended boarding school from the time she was 6 until she graduated. As a result she learned very little about our ancestral teachings. So I grew up in typical American culture in the 1980s. I got where I am today because of those who came before me. I am Turtle Mountain Chippewa and German Irish. My ancestors survived many things, and it is because of their resilience and love that I am able to be who I am today.

It all started when I was a little girl, watching Bob Ross paint happy trees and mountains. I remember setting my paper up like a canvas on an easel, mixing colors, and tapping the brush on the paper along with him. I always loved to create. I remember during the holidays I would use construction paper to create real-life scenes of fireplaces and Christmas trees with presents under them on the walls in my room. I would doodle on pages of paper and fill each space in with a different design. Or build little towns with scrap blocks of wood in the yard. Creating has always been my favorite pastime.

Canvas Rebel Interview

In October I received an email from a project off shoot of Voyage Baltimore and was interviewed by Canvas Rebel online magazine

Here are few highlights from the interview!

Is there a mission driving your creative journey?

My goal and mission is to help people to remember we are all connected, through the use of our imaginations and sharing our stories. My goal as an artist is to create art that expresses my story, which is to share with the world my experiences and how I interpret my connection to all around me. My mission is to use my art and passion for creative living to inspire others to share their stories through creative expression. Filling the world with humans who have self-awareness through a connection with themselves and the world around them helps us remember we are all connected. I often ask myself what happens when we all remember we are all connected? Simply asking the question leaves a person with the realization that we must respect each person’s part in this dance of life. Living life in harmony, with gratitude.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding thing for me as a creative is sharing my intuitive gifts. I tap into energy, to create one-of-a-kind art for each individual person. Intuitive henna readings, and birth chart paintings are a few ways I share this gift.

Intuitive Henna readings are when I spend time meditating with a person’s energy and see their energy through visuals and feelings. I use those images and the feelings of the flow of the energy to create their unique design at that moment. The design is created as a temporary tattoo which lasts anywhere from 1 to 3 weeks. When I am creating the design, I share with each person the feeling of the energy and how it relates to them. Every time I do a reading the client is surprised by the images I create, and the feeling I share with them. Being able to share my gifts with someone through art, and allow them to connect with art and themselves, is such a rewarding experience.

I love to be able to sit with another person and share my creative gifts to help them know themselves better. This is the most rewarding and the reason I started doing intuitive birth chart paintings for clients. I read the energy of their birth chart and create a piece of art that helps them see themselves better. Sharing the reading with each client helps them to know more of who they have come to this earth to be. The mission is to remember we are all connected, and I do this by helping others see themselves through art.

What does it mean to be a Canvas Rebel?

To me a canvas represents a blank slate to create new works of art. Its a new beginning and a perfect place to build a reality that I desire.

As for the word rebel, it is one who resist authority, control, or convention.

When I paint I am totally a rebel… on canvas. Resisting conventions or ideas that painting has to be one specific way.

<3

Categories
Existence

Yoga Love Festival 2022

  • Yoga Love
  • Image gallery image

The second annual Yoga Love Festival was held at Amethyst Retreat Center. This year was wonderfully planned to flow in and out of sound, yoga, and art experiences at a beautiful and sacred space.

Yoga Love

The first festival was held before the lockdown, and was a beautiful event, but this years topped it.

There were local artist, healers, food vendors, musicians, and dancing!

There was an amazing artist from Pennsylvania that created a performance piece! King Prolific painted this upside down and then lit it on fire to reveal the woman!

There was Yoga, and Love.

Every year I look forward to this event! If you haven’t been, you need to keep your eyes out for it next year!

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Existence

Inclusion Festival 2022

This was my first year at Inclusion Fest. It was held at the Kempton Community Center in Pennsylvania.

Inclusion Festival is an accessible music and wellness festival for everyone! Designed to accommodate all ages and abilities, featuring sensory-friendly and empowering live music, immersive experiences, and a large variety of educational and recreational workshops.

Inclusion Festival

Inclusion Festival and our year-round inclusion programs are initiatives of Accessible Festivals, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to making music and recreation accessible to all people.

Inclusion Festival was co-founded in 2017 by Amy Pinder and Leah Barron. Amy and Leah met at a music festival in 2014, where they realized they shared the same passion and vision of creating a festival that welcomed people of all abilities. A few years later, another festival brought them together as they found themselves serendipitously camped next to one another and spent the weekend discussing how to turn their dream into a reality.

Accessible Festivals was co-founded in 2014 by Austin Whitney and Oren Shani. Six months after a car accident that left Austin paralyzed from the waist down, he attended a music festival that left him feeling joy and hope for the first time since his spinal cord injury. He joined forces with his friend Oren and decided to dedicate his life to helping others have the same positive and transformation experience.

Each of our inclusion programs celebrate the value of all abilities through music, art, nature, movement, and more— with a goal of shifting culture at other community events and spaces so inclusiveness and accessibility become the norm.

https://inclusionfestival.com/about-us/

My friend, Hex Botanical goddess, Alison Hunley invited me to join her as a vendor. I am so glad I did. It was the most wonderful weekend.

There were many wonderful activities and workshops for kids and adults. It was great that our kids were able to come and enjoy the event with us. They really had a great time doing all of the tasks and workshops. Playing on the playground and enjoying the hammocks! It was a very safe and supportive environment. Reminded me of a festival style Kids Yoga Love festival!

I had a wonderful weekend… from making bags for meals on the go, or watching Element sift for crystals! I also enjoyed doing the silent dance party. It was so fun and freeing. There were fire dancers with amazing performances. Old typewriters that we could write our manifestos on, and decorating the tablecloth with florescent ink.

Lets not forget seeing Kuf Knotz and Christine Elise play again!

It was such a creative and magickal weekend. Dancing and singing and creating with one another and our children. What a great way to bring in this new season.

  • Inclusion

I am so excited for next year! A beautiful way to bring together community and support one another.

Categories
Existence

The Other

other

There are times in our lives where we need the point of view of an “other”. When we are so far into our own set programming, it is vital to have an opposing force that generates the movement of energy. And once the energy is stirred…we can filter through the programming…and redirect that energy intentionally in a way that is aligned with our truth.

The only way to know when are aligned, is when you have intentionally made choices that lead you on the journey to uncover and remember your truth… and then the universe speaks to you through sycnronicities, and signs… bringing people into your life you could’ve never dreamed existed.

There is strength in the awareness that contrast is necessary for expansion, learning, growth, and manifesting a life that you are satisfied in.

Indigenous communities were great representations of this… There were ceremonies for when young men and woman reached puberty and really dived in deep to find their purpose…. though ritual and ceremony with themselves, with no distractions… with intention to know thyself more fully.. and to continue to learn about one’s self through every experience. Each having their own path and each person in the community respecting and acknowledging the other’s path.

Other Mirrors

When we are all aligned with our truth, we can assist the others in seeing their truth more clearly. We reflect their being back to the other more clearly when our mirrors are polished from within.

Let’s create a cultural dynamic where we seek out one another for our differences in a positive way. To learn and grow and support the awareness that we are all different, and possess different gifts that are vital to our ability to survive and thrive.

other

It also helps us to see one another and respect each others being. Like the total embodiment of Namaste. We are all connected.

#reemergence #reawaken #recreate #selfawareness #weareallconnected

*artwork created using Wombo.art in collaboration with AI.

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Existence

We are ALL Connected

All Connected

We are ALL connected…. each of us. If no one shares their stories and teachings and thoughts and ideas with each other, then no one will grow or change. We are meant to be here for each other…. and not just for those we like.

Remember.

ALL of us are ONE.

People are here to show you all something about yourselves, like you are meant to show others about themselves…and how do we best do this… by first being grounded and centered within ourselves and our OWN connection to creator… and not letting things knock us off center emotionally but rather seeing all things as a challenge to grow and learn from. By polishing our own mirror.

I keep seeing others putting things down and breeding negativity by expressing how dissatisfied they are with things. There is a difference between moving through awareness, acknowledgement and action… and getting stuck in it.

Release.

When people just want to hold on to the old narratives, the energy tends to vibrate at a lower frequency. If we aren’t moving through the past and becoming more present, then we will never create a future we truly desire.

The mindset has to be shifted.

All Connected
ll

Treat others how you want to be treated. Period. Not treat others how you want to be treated, until they don’t treat you how you want to be treated.

I had this conversation last weekend about the IGGY culture, and how there is this idea that when someone presents us with something we don’t like, that we do not have to “take” it and can simply block or ignore them. Those people are VITAL to our learning about the deepest parts of ourselves. We should be examining ourselves and the things people do which trigger us so bad that we want to ignore them. Finding out where those feelings come from… where are their roots… questioning ourselves deeply, and recreating our responses rather than simply reacting.

I’ve always felt that things that are the most challenging to do or begin, usually have the greatest gifts in the end.

Reemerge.

So this means we have to sit with our shadows, and really listen for and to our intuition. Meditate. Have faith that what you feel and hear is truly aligned with your highest good, and for the highest good of all.

This is the meaning of true unconditional love. This is the living example of love… and true awareness that we are all connected. Love all ways.

The Anishinaabe see respect as an awareness that we are all part of creation and so what I do to you I also do to myself… the ultimate respect is to know that others are embodiments of the great mystery and we are all connected.

Know thyself and love thy neighbor as thyself. ❤

#remember #release #reawaken #recreate #selfawareness #reemergence

Categories
Existence Art

South Africa – An Artizen Experience

On November 4th we arrived in Johannesburg South Africa. The day we had been planning and fundraising for was finally here! The airport was big and gray, as thunderstorm rolled in. We met with our fellow Artizens, the Tanzanian Magomamoto Theater Group, along with a new friend Bonface from Kenya.

South Africa

The drive from the airport to the hotel was a beautiful sign of the power of the arts to bring people together. We shared songs and drums, and sang together in our different languages.

When we arrived at the hotel, we were greeted by two local South African women who just so happened to be at the hotel for breakfast, which neither had ever done before. The universe brought us angels to help us accomplish our tasks! The one woman Hanna, my newest friend, assisted us in so many things…. from finding a local woman to purchase fabric from, to taking us to the store two days in a row to gather materials for our workshops. She even took me to the airport on my last day.

Artizen Conference Day 1 – Creation

Our first day of the Artizen – Art for Social Transformation conference was amazing. Jennifer Foylan presented the keynote speech about her journey through the life cycle of the butterfly. While she shared her story, I created a live intuitive painting for her, in front of the group. This was a powerful time to show how art can express our experiences and emotions.

I was apart of the group that presented on the birth of the caterpillar and the transitional stage in the cocoon. Linda M and Raisa J were my team mates, and we each shared pieces of our indigenous knowledge with those who attended.

Day one was the birth of the caterpillar, where Linda shared the creation story and the medicine wheel knowledge and Raisa presented the tradition of ribbon skirts and how each is connected through creator. I assisted the students that attended in creating a mandala based off of a workshop Linda does through her art therapy presentations.

The mandalas were a collaborative group project that started with 4 questions:

Who am I?

Where did I come from?

Why am I here?

Where and I going?

Participants were asked to create a visual representation of their answers to these questions using the mandala template that was pre drawn. Each group member had a task of completing a section, while they worked together on the meaning. After the students created their mandalas, each group shared what it meant to them.

This was powerful because students in South Africa do not get the arts in school. This showed them how powerful of a tool art is to help share your stories and connect with one another.

Day 2 – Begin Ribbon Skirts

Day 2 of the Artizen 2021: Turtle Island to South Africa conference we traveled, with our new friend Hanna, to find fabric, ribbons and sewing machines for the ribbon making workshop we presented for a group of women from South Africa who are domestic abuse survivors.

Along the way we met a beautiful soul at Spirit of Stone and were gifted amazing stones and medicines. Stuart does amazing energy work in South Africa and I look forward to returning again soon to participate in experiences with him!

We were also so blessed to have found a local woman who had traditional fabric from Kenya, Mo_Fabrics_More. It was such a blessing to purchase fabric from her and support a local small business entrepreneur.

The workshop was wonderful. It was at the Turquoise Harmony Institute. Jennifer shared her story and journey through domestic violence and sexual abuse, and Raisa discussed how ribbon skirts are a form of traditional art that is healing. Even though we weren’t able to begin sewing the skirts, we had each woman pick a fabric they wanted to make their skirt from, and we measured and cut the fabric to prepare for the next day, when we worked with the women to add their ribbons and sew their skirts.

We selected fabric with the color purple intentionally, as is the color for domestic violence awareness. The women who were participating in the workshop are survivors of gender based violence, and sexual abuse. They are working with Disele May, who has created the Disele May Foundation to help women overcome these struggles.

Constitution Hill Gala

After the workshop we attended a gala… all I can say is… amazing powerful work was being done there… doors opened… and I am ready. The gala was held at Constitution Hill in the old women’s prison. There were speakers from the beginning of the apartheid, and those that worked to bring democracy to South Africa. The speakers were powerful, the performances were divine, the food was delicious and I was asked to share about my White Buffalo painting “Hope”, which was donated for silent auction. Our day even included another rainbow! Our work is blessed… as we remind each other through art that we are all connected.

Day 3 – Performance Art and Sewing

This day began with a beautiful tour of the only constitutional court in the country of South Africa. It was amazing seeing the structures of the holding cells for the jail used during the apartheid. Getting to spend time in such an historic place that was FILLED with art was super inspirational. It reinforced the need to tell our stories through art to heal past traumas.

South Africa

After our tour we participated in the keynote speech, and addressed students from another school. Linda, Raisa and I shared our teachings and stories with the students. And they were blown away by our spirit names.

After the keynote, we continued to work with the women who have survived domestic violence, to create healing ribbon skirts. They LOVED it!!

After completing day 2 of 3 for ribbon skirt making, I participated in a performance with Shanna and 12 other amazing artists. It was such a powerful experience to dance free as an Indigenous person from Turtle Island on the land of South Africa.

Lastly there was an art tank competition, where Teaching Artist Institute awarded one local artist with a small stipend and free business coaching for a year. It was amazing to see all of the local talent. Arie Squires also was apart of the conference and she selected one young woman to personally mentor in branding and business!

Day 4 – The last day of the conference

Before heading to the conference, we visited the Tanzania Embassy with our new Tanzanian friends of the Magomamoto theater group. It was the first time Indigenous people visited with the Ambassador. We made history! We sat and talked with the ambassador about using art for social transformation, and we even got to sing the Tanzania anthem together!

After the embassy, we ended the conference at Amajika Performing Arts center. The ladies from Disele May Foundation were able to complete their skirts. It was so powerful to hear their stories and witness the beginning of beautiful transformations, from victims of gender based violence to superheroes reclaiming their power! Thank you Disele May for following your heart so others might thrive.

Shanna taught performance dance to the kids and women there. It was powerful hearing them sing and seeing them do their traditional dances!

While there I created a flower of life community mural to symbolize the connections we all have to one another. Art to remind us we are all connected.

The kids who attend the art center on Saturdays painted it in! Children in South Africa do not get art in school, so Tu Nokwe has different art lessons for them at the center on Saturdays. The children love it so much, they try to come other days as well! It was such a blessing blessing work with them and hear them say how soothing and fun it was to paint! So blessed to bring Creative Balance to South Africa!!

Thank you Kim Poole, Haki Shakur Ammi, and Firdoze Bulbulia for organizing such an amazing event. This was history in the making and I am so excited about the partnerships we’ve created and what change will come from them.

This experience was life changing for myself and so many others. I am humbled and honored to have been able to attend and participate. Thank you to everyone who donated and supported this trip. This is only the beginning.

Categories
Art Education Existence

Connected

Amethyst Retreat Center hosted a Community Weekend event with the focus on the Gift-Giving economy structure. There were many creative and talented people there sharing their gifts; reiki, massage, art, readings, astrology, herbalism, nutrition, wellness, music, and more.

We are all connected.

The gift I shared was of self-awareness through creative expression. I asked attendees to consider the following questions:

How can we use art to remind us of our connectedness?

What happens when we remember we are all connected?

How do you connect with yourself, and others?

When someone was ready to respond, we presented them with a community mural that had been sketched out and painted the night before. The mural is our visual representation of the importance of our connection. Each mark adds to the whole of the image, and is vital in representing the energy of the space!

I have to give a shout out to my two awesome helpers, Rachel and Elijah! Both of them were there from the beginning helping to fill in spaces and make sure it was ready to be painted on the next day. Thank you!!

So, the design has a lot of elements to it! First I wanted to honor the Susquehannock Indigenous people, who inhabited the land before we were blessed with it.

In the Susquehanna River there are petroglyphs from the Indigenous people on rocks all throughout! A few of these petroglyphs were incorporated into the design…. human, thunderbird, water, and Manitou (the Great Mystery or Creator.)

The center of the mural is a totem of the Amethyst crystals, a rising thunderbird, and the spiral sun of the Amethyst logo. In the center of the thunderbirds chest is a handprint that symbolizes all those who are not seen and recognizes their being.

A sunrise over the Susquehanna river covers the garage doors.

The left of the mural is a flower of life surrounded by concentric circles in colors of the rainbow.

Each attendee left their mark on the mural in response to their remembering that we are all connected. The marks created by each person added to the creation of the mural, like we each add something to the play of life.

connected

I am beyond thrilled with the outcome and in awe of life because of each and every beautiful soul that shared themselves for this project.

Thank you Karen for believing in the vision and hosting such a beautiful community gathering.

There were so many other amazing things happening while I was painting away. Music by artists Natalie Lain, Grace Mahar, Daniel Flatley, Don Kovacs. Bhante Soma and Nancy Romano, Blue Lotus Buddhist Temple PA led us in a meditation with singing bowls. Tai Chi with Breanna. Yoga and Sound with Phyllis Vara. There was a Plant Walk with Calyx Liddick, Director, Herbalist, Teacher at Appalachia School of Vitalist Herbalism & Ecology, and a demo – Installing Solar Panels on a Tiny House with Bob Newmyer.

A Gift Economy talk where we gathered to hear the stories of transformation and the wisdom shared by individuals who are answering the call and are cultivating their gifts into services that inspire, heal, and nourish others. Karen Kovacs facilitates a group discussion with Erin Shrader, Calyx Liddick, Jennifer Rabenstein, Nicole Sharkey, and myself.

On Saturday and Sunday morning there was breakfast made by Lisa and a community potluck on Saturday night.

Thank you to everyone who helped to make this weekend happen, and to everyone who attended! Together we create beautiful things, especially when we remember we are all connected.

Categories
Spirituality Divine I Am Education Existence

Music as Medicine

Music as Medicine

The Singing the Bones class with Lydia Violet, and Leah Song from Rising Appalachia, was a deep dive into the history, stories, songs, and cosmology that came before me…. that made me who I am.

Music as Medicine

They guided us in exploring the cultural inheritance of one of our ancestries through researching myths, folktales, archetypes, musical instrumentation, and song. By the end of the 6 week course, I had a deeper understanding of the cosmologies/myths/stories held within my cultural lineage. I saw so many connections to my Annishinabe heritage and my Scottish Celtic heritage. I was also able to redefine what having a relationship with my ancestors means for me. 

Music as Medicine

The Music As Medicine Project (MAM) was created by Lydia Violet Harutoonian, M.A, lifetime musician and dedicated student of Joanna Macy’s. While pursuing her Masters in Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness at the California Institute of Integral Studies, Lydia entered an in-depth study of some of the history and perspectives that have generated our current planetary crisis. For the past 9 years she has studied closely with deep ecology elder and Buddhist scholar Joanna Macy, learning how we can metabolize our pain and care for the world into profound resilience and energy for action. She is also an accomplished musician who is deeply inspired by folk, blues, and protest music traditions. 

We are a collection of all the actions, thoughts, and experiences of those who came before us.

I decided to research my fathers heritage, Scottish Irish German, as I have been very much involved with digging deeply into my mothers heritage, Ojibwe. I have always felt like the magic in me comes from my native heritage. Though I have learned a lot through researching Scottish Irish and German heritages… the Celtic people were very magickal.

Uncovering more information about the cosmology of the Celtic people, I found so many similarities to Ojibwe teachings. From drums, rattles, turtles, and ceremonies. It was a huge realization again, that we are all connected and everything comes from within.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the class, it was so amazing hearing everyone’s journey and being inspired by everything that was uncovered.

“People do meditation to find psychic alignment. That’s why people do psychotherapy and analysis. That’s why people analyze their dreams and make art. That is why some contemplate tarot cards, cast I Ching, dance, drum, make theater, pry out a poem, and fire up their prayers. That’s why we do all the things we do. It is the work of gatherings all the bones together. Then we must sit at the fire and think about which song we will use to sing over the bones, which creation hymn, which re-creation hymn. And the truths we tell will make the song…

…The old woman sings over the bones, and as she sings, the bones flesh out. We too ‘become’ as we pour soul over the bones we have found. As we pour our yearning and our heartbreaks over the bones of what used to be when we were young, of what we used to know in the centuries past, and over the quickening we sense in the future, we stand on all fours, four-square. As we pour soul, we are revivified. We are no longer a thin solution, a dissolving frail thing. No. We are in the ‘becoming’ stage of transformation.”

– Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Women Who Run With the Wolves

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Divine I Am Existence Spirituality

Hierarchy: Sacred Ruler

Hierarchy

I recently read an article on how Maslow got it wrong when he developed his hierarchy of needs. Learning that Maslow spent time with the Blackfoot tribe was a new discovery for me.

Hierarchy of Needs
Hierarchy of Needs vs. Siksika Perspective

The Blackfoot belief is not a triangle. It is a tipi where they believe tipis reach to the sky.

Self-actualization is at the base of the tipi, not at the top, and is the foundation on which community actualization is built. The highest form that a Blackfoot can attain is called “cultural perpetuity.”

Hierarchy

The world Hierarchy means: SACRED RULER. The earliest sense was ‘system of orders of angels and heavenly beings’. This idea of a system or organization in which people or groups are ranked one above the other according to status or authority.

The word sacred means connected with God (or the gods)… it comes from the root word for consecrate, which is dedicated or devoted. So hierarchy truly means a system devoted to God that organizes an arrangement or classification of things according to relative importance or inclusiveness.

What if we envisioned a hierarchy of our individual needs as as sacred way to connect with the divine! That is how the indigenous cultures saw it.

The Siksika tribe perceived existence in fluid way. They viewed time as cyclical and saw how each aspect of life was related… aiming to restore balance through their actions.

The idea of community actualization being based off of the fact that we are already born with everything, already divinely ourselves… is so powerful. It speaks to the idea of how important a creative, explorative, supportive and imaginative community actually is to self awareness!

In order to flow in the cycle of duality it is important to see that we must return to self awareness in order to remember the importance of self actualization. This can be done through cultural awareness. Once we have that cultural awareness, we can then start to have more self actualization, which will perpetuate our basic needs and safety, and cultural actualization. So it was important for Maslow to get it wrong in order for us to be clear on the entirety of the topic.

The way indigenous spiritual leaders took care of their tribe makes so much sense for the survival of their people. To create a safe space for the tribe members to be be their best selves. This relates so much to the Celtic tradition of the king marrying the land! The king married the land which showed his loyalty and allegiance to the land that supports his people and his life.

Another thing about this article that is interesting is the idea of wealth and how it was not about accumulating property and possessions. Sometimes I think people forget that money is simply a physical representation of their own current.

Money is not the root of all evil but rather the flow of the current of self actualization. If we stop connecting the idea of wealth to money, and allow money to be a manifestation of the wealth of our own energy… then we open ourselves up to receiving that which is divinely ours.

The word WEALTH comes from the root word for WELL or HEALTH. It has nothing to do with the idea possessions or money, though our current definition is simply that…. an abundance of valuable possessions or money.

What if we saw our will and our health as our most valuable possessions? When we hold that perspective we receive the flow of “money” as a physical manifestation of that awareness.

We are sacred rulers of our own design, our own life. We have the ability to create a hierarchy that resonates with who we truly are. Perhaps its time for a new hierarchy to be envisioned. <3