Shamanism and Native Spirituality

Power

Hear me, four quarters of the world– a relative I am! Give me the strength to walk the soft earth. Give me the eyes to see and the strength to understand, that I may be like you. With your power only, can I face the winds.

Great Spirit…all over the earth the faces of living things are all alike. With tenderness have these come up out of the ground. Look upon these faces of children without number and with children in their arms, that they may face the winds and walk the good road to the day of quiet.

This is my prayer ~ hear me!

~Black Elk, Sioux Indian

The story of False Face as told by Mad Bear Anderson.

I will tell you his story – who he is and how he came to look like that. But he is gone on now, evolved beyond this. These Beings have graduated and gone to a higher world – and they are high, high, high, beyond us. Yet we keep the False Face in this form and we pay honor and respect to it. It reminds us of a lesson far ahead of us – a hard lesson that we have yet to learn.

I call him False face even though that wasn’t his name at his time. That was never the name of him or his people but that is how we refer to it. False Face had studied and learned all the basic things in the universe. Then he had prepared and developed himself in all the medicine ways. It took centuries of hard work, but eventually he developed all the spiritual powers known on this Earth. He knew all the ways of the Creator.

One day False Face stood out in a large field looking at the skies and at the mountains in the distance. And he thought to himself: Knowing as I do all the ways of the Creator, all things in this world are possible for me. I now understand how all things are done. Why, if it should be my will, those mountains should have to move.

And then he heard the voice of the Creator whom he knew as the Great Lord of the Universe. The voice said, “Yes, I am the Lord and the mountains are there by my will.”

False face paused for a moment. Many times he had heard the voice of the Creator; but now he was thinking only of himself. Speaking aloud, he announced in a powerful voice, “I have come to know the ways of the Lord and I can duplicate them all! I can move these mountains if I wish!”

And the Creator repeated, “Yes, I am the Lord and I can move mountains.”

“Not you!” shouted False Face. “I am referring to myself, I am talking about me. Have I developed all this for nothing? Can I do nothing myself? I have learned all the rules of power and creation! Do you still think I am useless without you?”

“You are never without me,” the Great Spirit answered in a gentle voice, “for I am always with you.”

“But I know all your secrets now,” False Face protested. “I know how you do all these things.”

“It is because you have come to me,” said the Great Spirit.

In spite of all that he had learned, in spite of all his training and wisdom, False Face experienced a rush of great pride and anger, and he shouted at the Creator. “Go away. Leave me alone. I don’t need you anymore. I am now powerful and you want to think of me as your little child. I am not your little child anymore. I can do anything that you can do. So just leave me alone.”

“Alone?” said the Great Spirit. “There is no alone. How can I leave you? We are one and cannot be apart.”

These gentle, loving words only made False Face more angry. It seemed to him, in his anger, that the Lord was discrediting him in spite of all his long efforts and the remarkable knowledge and power that he had attained. It seemed to him that the Great Spirit was still claiming all power for himself.

In his angry state, False Face determined to have a contest with the Lord of the Universe and he challenged Him. “I know you don’t want these mountains moved, Lord. But I am going to move them against your will. Then you will see that I am something in my own right. You can pit your power against me if you wish, Lord!”

“I do not pit anything against anything,” answered the Lord. “This idea of a contest is a temporary dream. Wake up and come to me now and you will see that nothing is anything in its own right apart from all that is.”

But False Face repeated his challenge, “You are trying to take everything away from me, Lord. You cannot take this chance away. Do what you like. Oppose me if you like, but I am going to move these mountains anyway, knowing that you want them where they are, so that it will be clear that it is done by my will alone.”

False face waited there in the field, grim and determined, and there was nothing but silence. So he went about the contest. Though he strained with all his might, trying everything that he had learned and developed over the centuries, nothing happened. Nothing at all. There was only a soft breeze, and the mountains stood in the distance as always. he flew into a rage, cursing in a way that cannot be repeated and, when there was only silence, daring the Lord to respond. He called the Great Spirit a fake and a liar, claiming the Creator had pitted his Great Will against him in spite of promising he would not.

Then an idea occurred to him. He would have his contest yet. He shouted at the Lord, daring the Lord to move the mountain while he tried to block Him with his own will as the Lord had done to him. He believed that if the Lord had neutralized his power then he could do the same to Him. But he also believed that the Lord might well want the mountains where they were and would be unwilling to move them. In either case, nothing would happen. He craved to claim victory over the Lord and he felt sure he would win his dare.

He shouted his challenge again. He clenched his fists and squinted his eyes and screamed into the sky; and before he could finish his sentence, he heard a trembling and a rumbling. He spun around to look just as the mountain was coming to his side. That was a mistake, for that caused the mountain to strike his face and break his nose.

And at that the gentle voice of the Great Spirit was heard again. “Now look what we have done to our beloved self. No matter. It is very temporary. We shall now set it right with our collective will, shall we?”

False Face felt a moment of great pain, and then he had a sudden awareness. There was no contest. There had never been any contest. This was another of his countless lessons. But this was the ultimate lesson and he had arranged it – he and His Own Self – so that he could be free from the desire to be a separate, independent something in its own right. So that he could be free from being apart and alone.

-oOo-

Mad Bear went on to say:

“Just think what we have to look forward to. After all our learning and development, we are still going to come to that last great contest – that last big hurdle for the powerful ego. Isn’t that something? But once you have made that last hurdle, that’s it. Then you graduate and go on to a higher level. “

Some day, if you are lucky,
you’ll return from a thunderous journey
trailing snake scales, wing fragments
and the musk of Earth and moon.

Eyes will examine you for signs
of damage, or change
and you, too, will wonder
if your skin shows traces

of fur, or leaves,
if thrushes have built a nest
of your hair, if Andromeda
burns from your eyes.

Do not be surprised by prickly questions
from those who barely inhabit
their own fleeting lives, who barely taste
their own possibility, who barely dream.

If your hands are empty, treasureless,
if your toes have not grown claws,
if your obedient voice has not
become a wild cry, a howl,

you will reassure them. We warned you,
they might declare, there is nothing else,
no point, no meaning, no mystery at all,
just this frantic waiting to die.

And yet, they tremble, mute,
afraid you’ve returned without sweet
elixir for unspeakable thirst, without
a fluent dance or holy language.

~ Geneen Marie Haugen

The Medicine Bundle is a collection of items that has come to you in a variety of ways and that represent the Totems of your Power Animals or Allies among nature. In a Medicine Bundle you might find a seed pod, a Tobacco tie, a ball of dried sap from a Pine tree, a scalplock, an Elk tooth, Horse hair, a quarts crystal, an Otter tail, a Stone Person, a special string of beads, and/or any other item that represents Medicine to the Bundle’s owner.

In ancient times many of the items were of special significance among the Tribes and Nations of Native America. For instance, the Crow believed that an Elk tooth was Medicine that would bring abundance in a material manner to the owner. A piece of blue cloth meant good luck, Bear hair and claws would keep a Warrior’s Horse in prime shape, and a Swallow wing would give the power to evade enemies.

Medicine Bundles were used for many different things. There were bundles for personal Medicine, Tribal Bundles, Warrior Bundles, Sun Dance Bundles, Giving Birth Bundles, Hunting Bundles, Dreaming Bundles, and Vision Bundles. Some Bundles would be created by a Medicine Man or Woman for special  needs, or people could create their own. Some were passed down before death to a family member or worthy Tribal Member. This passing of the Medicine was to ensure the proper use and Guardianship of the Medicine Bundle.

Each Medicine Bundle came with its own set of rules.

For instance: if the owner had a Warrior Bundle that gave him great strength in battle, his Allies connected to that Bundle may have forbidden him to eat female Deer meat and never paint his face with blue. The gentleness that is a part of the Doe could inhibit his actions in Counting Coup. Blue face paint could draw him toward the Road of Spirit and might bring an early death.

Every Bundle has a specific purpose, and must have regulations that will strengthen the Medicine of the Bundle’s Allies. Thoughtless actions can create havoc in the harmony achieved between the Medicine Helpers and the person seeking assistance if there is no respect for the Bundle’s natural sense of order. The same rules apply to a smaller Bundle worn on the person, which is called a Medicine Pouch.

Medicine Bundle Copies

Some Warriors purchased special copies of a Bundle from another Tribal Member whom they respected. If these Braves had no vision of what their own Medicine was, they were left with no protection. The Allies of nature had been called upon but for one reason or another, some Warriors could not receive their Medicine Dreams. Possibly the problem was that they were not in touch with their female receptive energy due to the rigors of having to prove their right to be Warrior Clan. In any case, to be an unprotected Warrior meant sure death at an early age.

To lie about having received messages from your Power Totem or a vision of your path was to invite disaster, and yet for a Tribe to have a Brave without a Medicine was worse.

The predicament was solved by wise Medicine Men, Chiefs, or great Warriors. These men would accept Horses or other valuable items for a copy of their Medicine Bundle. The Bundle’s maker never put every object that represented his total protection into the copy. The reason for this was that to Give Away all of your Medicine would leave your spirit at risk. No one should ever know all the items in a Personal Medicine Bundle. If someone was trying to use bad medicine to attack a powerful leader in a Tribe, they could harm that person by knowing their Medicine and using sorcery.

The penalty for stealing another’s Medicine Bundle was death. Unless invited, it was forbidden to touch any personal possession belonging to another Tribal Member – man, woman, or child.

Different Types of Medicine Bundles

Tribal Bundles, called the Grandmothers, were the oldest and most sacred. Next came the Sundance Bundles and then the Warrior Bundles. This order of sacredness reflected the Medicine and strength each Bundle had provided the Tribe over long periods of time. Every winter that passed successfully gave further strength to the Bundles.

Individual Sun Dance Bundles were made up by each Brave’s sponsor, who was already acknowledged through acts of courage. The sponsor placed Totem objects into the Sun Dance Bundles that had been passed through many lines of Ancestor Warriors.

No Bundles, however, were more sacred than the Tribal Bundles. These Grandmother Bundles ranked highest in the most ancient, tried and tested Medicines and represented the combined spirits of all Tribal Members – past, present, and future generations. The Grandmothers were so named because they were Tribal Bundles that carry the nurturing Medicine needed by all their children. Like every grandmother in humankind, these Grandmother Bundles seek only the best for their grandchildren.

The Tribal Bundles have been passed down through a line of Guardians. At one time these Bundles had to have their own Tipi and were set up in the camp as a protection for that Tribe. These Grandmother Bundles were protected usually by Warrior Chiefs who had honored themselves and carried strong Medicine. The Tribal Bundles were considered living beings and were never left alone and unprotected.

Today the Grandmother Bundles have been secreted away and many are protected by Grandmother Elders as well as by some Medicine Men. These are among the most sacred objects of the Native American people and still hold the spirit of all the Native American Nations.

The Personal Medicine Bundles can be carried or worn on the person. These Bundles are called on when needed for strength and/or courage during daily activities. Some Medicine Pouches are worn around the neck and are smaller versions of the Medicine bundle. These Medicine Pouches are a reminder for the wearer of the talents, abilities, and Power Animals who will aid them in walking tall and in balance. They are also used for protection.

The Bundles carried by women are not spoken of very much in written history due to the secrets of the Medicine being reserved for the Sisterhoods. The Warrior Clan knew that the women were naturally more adept at receiving due to their female nature, and thus, the women were always honored for their inner-knowing and the Woman Medicine they carried.

These female Medicine bundles could be used to promote fertility, to aid the male Warrior who walked at the woman’s side, to seek new healing techniques with herbs, to aid in delivery of a child, to bring abundance to the lodge, or to maintain a happy family.

The women have always been separate in their use of Medicine and have honored their own societies. They have never had to go through the rigors of physical tests of strength to achieve vision. They are Mothers of the Creative Force of the Universe and naturally receive the messages of their Medicine Helpers to keep and maintain the strength of their Personal and Sisterhood Bundles.

Making and Giving Medicine Bundles

Each object that comes to you to be a part of your personal Medicine can be placed in a piece of hide and wrapped like you would cover a gift, folding all four corners of the hide to the center and then tying the Bundle four times with cords of buckskin.

Medicine Bundles vary in size from something that fits in the palm of your hand all the way up to the size of a newborn baby. Some Medicine Bundles are rolled and some are folded into the pieces of hide. You may want to put some of the smaller objects into a Medicine Pouch and wear it at your waist or around our neck.

If you want to make a Medicine Bundle for a special friend, you would need to look at what kind of Medicine you want to share. Then call on the Four Clan Chiefs (the Four Directions) to send you a dream or vision of what to include. This could be A Bundle for a young wife who fears her first pregnancy, a young man going into the armed forces, a newly-wed couple, someone buying land who would need a Guardian Spirit for the protection of that land, or a friend who is ill. Every kind of Bundle is a gift of Self and is only to be shared with those who will honor the sacred responsibility of the Bundle’s Medicine.

If you are an Elder, you may want to pass your Medicine to a younger person who you know will accept the responsibility with honor and courage. The Bundle may also be passed to another if you do not intend to Drop Your Robe (die). If a person should Drop The Robe before passing the medicine Bundle to someone else, that Bundle and all of the Sacred Medicine belonging to the deceased person should be burned so that the spirit will have no Medicine strings attached to this Wheel of Life and may be free to move on to the Blue Road of Spirit.

Accepting Medicine that has been passed from an Elder or another person with great strengths is not to be taken lightly. It is a great responsibility to respect the life and deeds of another person, carrying yourself in a manner that would allow the original holder of that Medicine to take pride in your action. If you dishonored the life of that Elder or the Medicine, you could receive your share of hard knocks from the Allies.

The Allies understand that all acts of physical life are sacred in their proper time. The allies teach us how and when to experience every act along the Sacred Path with beauty.

~Jamie Sams

In the very earliest of times,
When both people and animals lived on the earth,
A person could become an animal if he wanted to
And an animal could become a human being.
Sometimes they were people
And sometimes animals
And there was no difference.
All spoke the same language.
That was a time when words were like magic.
The human mind had mysterious powers.
A word spoken by chance
Might have strange consequences.
It would suddenly become alive
And what people said wanted to happen
Could happen ~
All you had to do was say it
Nobody could explain this:
That’s the way it was.

~An Old Eskimo story

Spirit Rap by Astarius Miraculii

I Invoke, Decree and Dream Awake the full cellular ascension of my being; physical, mental, emotional, spiritual in this Now, with the full support of God/Goddess, the Ascended Master realm to include:

  • Our Ascended Master Self,
  • Father Saint Germain,
  • Sananda,
  • the Holy Mother Mary,
  • Quan Yin / Goddess of mercy,
  • Archangel Michael and the legions,
  • Ashtar and the entire command,
  • Babaji,
  • Raphael,
  • Gabriel,
  • Clan of the Trumpet Angels,
  • Aboriginal and Tribal Shamen,
  • Goddesses of Fortune,
  • Angels of Light,
  • Elohim,
  • Clan of the Serpents,
  • Shiva,
  • All Christ frequencies,
  • All Animal Totems,
  • Elementals of Fire, Air, Water and Earth,
  • all Divine Beings of Light, Love and Ascension, named and unnamed,

To activate the cells within my being who are your counterparts.

With the unified power of the One, I decree my highest good always operating in this now. I decree grace and mercy always operating in this now. I Invoke decree and dream awake the full truth and reality of Ascension in this Now.

I invoke and dream awake with every breath that I breathe, the violet fire, transmuting my whole being. I invoke and dream awake the full current of Ascension in every cell of my being.

I AM ASCENDED!

I invoke and dream awake expanded God consciousness, fully realized in me as unlimited abundance fulfilling my every need and desire. I invoke and dream awake the ending of procrastination, tiredness, blockages, obstacles and unhealthy belief systems. I decree immediate abundance in my life.

I invoke and dream awake my liberation from all karmic debt. I am Infinite Opulence.

I invoke and dream awake my personal empowerment in every instant that anyone is impacted by my Being and Creations.

I invoke and dream awake the Infinite empowerment of my sexual, spiritual, mental, emotional, physical and financial relationship with Life.

I invoke and dream awake sacred sexuality, erotic innocence, and always express the sacredness of sexual force, for pleasure, creativity and healing. I invoke and dream awake World Universal Healing from all sexual woundedness and shame.

I invoke and dream awake world wide release of all 150 manipulating forces and beings who would control humanity, past, present and future.

I invoke the Angels and Ascended Masters to re-align and heal all mis-used energy, to include the full restructuring of our DNA.

I invoke and dream awake the transmutation of all negative and judgmental projections.

I invoke and dream awake my constant ability to be centered and balanced in my psychic perceptions and empathic nature. All overwhelming psychic energies are released by me automatically, easily, effortlessly.

I Am Empowered by Everything!

I invoke and dream awake my Lucid Dreaming each night I sleep and total remembering when I awake.

I invoke and dream awake my Infinite harmony with God/Goddess I Am.

I invoke and dream awake the full expression of my Miraculous Healing Power. My Life is a continuous stream of Miracles.

I invoke and dream awake my Infinite ability and willingness to receive all Life’s Blessings.

I invoke and dream awake a constant attitude of Gratitude for my whole life, all my Accomplishments and Blessings, including the same for the Universe at Large. I invoke and dream awake the full Blessings of God/Goddess, the Ascended Masters, Angels, guides and Beings of Light to Bless this Earth.

I invoke and dream awake all my Decrees, Invocations and Prayers I have released to the Universe and open myself to God’s response, support and Love in my Highest Good.

I invoke and dream awake the release of all past, present and future lifetimes of decrees and vows, which would bind me to limitation, lack, density and anything not of Ascension in this now.

I invoke and dream awake the full reclaiming of my Eternal Self as Powerful, Loving and fully aligned in abundant God Consciousness.

I invoke and dream awake the total dissolving of all manipulating forces, which would bind this earth plane in fear.

I invoke and dream awake the influence of the Ascended Master realm and Angels to intercede and raise the vibrations higher, to bring darkness into the Light, raising the frequency of Love and God Consciousness on Planet Earth in this Now.

I Invoke and Dream Awake the Ascension of Planet Earth in this Now!

Copyright 2000 Astarius Miraculii
From CD Spirit Rap & the book Miraculii Song of Ascension

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Truth
"Take your false face off. There is no need to throw your hands up in despair!"
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