Water
Calm, cool, clear
Clutchingly cutting through cluttered mind
Memories meekly mature
Reminiscences of stillness
Symbiotic suddleties so serene
Sudden sensations
Washing over
Peering into peaceful pools
Dark and bright
Reflection-where air meets surface
Capturing colors, and movement of winged ones' flight
Through foliage so green, so green

~Felicia Ravemore

Bell Hooks

from "When Angels Speak of Love"

2.
in love
there are no closed doors
each threshold
an invitation
to cross
take hold
take heart
and enter here
at this point
where truth
was once denied

Lynchian Thoughts

"Transcendental Meditation allows any human being to dive within. Why would we want to dive within? Why would we want to experience suddler levels of mind and intellect? Because at the suddlest level of intellect we transcend and we experience the unbounded ocean of consciousness.  The home of all the ideas; modern science's unified field--where anything that is a thing is at its origin. And it's a field of pure creativity. You grown in this and life gets better. Ideas flow. Intuition grows. Negativity begins to recede. Anger, fears, sorrows, depressions, anxieties--all these things that restrict the flow of creativity and are like a heavy heavy weight on us begin to lift away. That is what I'm interested in."

~This is from an interview with David Lynch as part of bonus material from his latest film "Inland Empire." I have watched The Secret and attended Lynch's and Dr. Haglin's lecture tour when they came to UO in 2006 and talked about the effects of TM. I am fascinated by Quantum mechanics and theories, and David Lynch and his films. Not only is he also from Idaho, but he started off as a painter. He still makes paintings and has showings, apparantly. Like him, I have been drawn to Eastern practices and spiritual wisdom, had a strong sense of something greater and a source that I can tune into easily and freely which is the same source of my artistic perceptions, inspirations and being as well as my spiritual being. I feel a passageway through the visual world, much as I imagine he has. When he lectured at UO, he spoke about how he got into film making. He said he was a painting in the studio at school in college, and suddenly it began to move. He said he wasn't "on anything" (i.e. psychedelics). That was basically all he said, with words, but the way he said them I grasped more of what he was relating--that he had had a sort of otherworld experience where this mundane reality began to melt away, so to speak. Painting can do this, as it is like a deep meditation. When I am working often, this is the state that I go into--a sort of otherworldly state. I pick up on it in other people's art and great artists relate this most effectively. It is something so powerful, that absorbs you, that takes you into that otherworld that is so much beyond our mundane day to day realities. It gets you in touch with the greater reality and your own spiritual being, your own soul essence. To make art that does that, you have to be in that state where you are attuned to that source, I believe, and your expression is coming from that place. You begin by listening to yourself and allowing yourself to feel whatever you are feeling, and then go beyond that to your soul and what is experiencing and feeling. This is what I try to do with my art practice. It is not so much unlike a yoga or spiritual practice, in fact very much similar. It reminds me of a Swami Vishnudevananda quote that I read long ago, something like: "There are many radii to the same center".

"Love is something you and I must have. We must have it because our spirit feeds upon it. We must have it because without it we become weak and faint. Without love our self esteem weakens. Without it our courage fails. Without love we can no longer look out confidently at the world. Instead we turn inwardly and begin to feed upon our own personalities and little by little we destroy our selves." ~from "My Heart Soars" by Chief Dan George

Excerpts from Wilma Mankiller's "Every Day is a Good Day"

Wilma Mankiller has been one of the most inspirational people in my life. She is a powerful spiritual, indigenous, and women's rights leader, the former chief of the Cherokee Nations. I took a class from her when I was at University of Oregon that totally changed my perspectives on feminism. From an indigenous woman's standpoint, feminism is a rather complex issue. Little do we know, the originators of women's rights and feminist leaders, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, got their ideas from observing the gender roles of American Indians on the East Coast. I wrote an essay about this for a Women's In Politics class at UO back in 2006, which has since been lost, unfortunately, or I would go more in depth here. At any rate, what I found most truthful about Wilma's teachings is that it is important for women to stay attuned to their feminine energy and nature. Gender roles are not bad when a woman's roles are that of her nature, and a man's are that of his nature. Many Indigenous American tribes held the elder women as the true leaders of the tribe, because it was understood that a woman's power is that of wisdom and intuition from deep connection with nature. But men, as I understand it, took on the role of being chief, because that was a man's nature--to speak in from of people, to be "strong" in that way. A woman's energy is softer, but no less powerful. I think equality and power come from staying true to your own nature, whatever that may be, and not being limited or forced to be something different, more masculine or more feminine. It works both ways--for men too. It was so interesting to learn about these cultural differences and another facet of Native American culture and life ways that is seemingly so much more advanced than modern society's, along with sustainability and spirituality. Wilma would not speak in class hardly at all--but she was so, so present. You could feel her presence and it spoke masses. The presenter of the class, Leonnard Strickland, would do the speaking. I have since begun to understand how masculinized I feel living in American society as a woman. This society was created by men, and since the second wave feminist movement of the 60's where women got equal rights in the work place, I believe there has been a great disillusionment of what equality means. Our genders are different, and there are a range of genders besides strictly male and female as well, and this is something that does not "fit" with this society, it's not something taken into consideration with professions and employment positions. One's strengths are not always going to be so "yang" and "projecting" like that of dominating masculinity. I believe it is something that has been conformed to, and perhaps engrained, and this furthers the disillusionment about equality and what that really means when we are not just talking about a man and a woman having equal opportunity in the work place, where women essentially are forced to become like men in many senses. It's more about the whole structure of patriarchy itself. I see so many women and feel myself too, forced to become masculine in this society, and no longer treated like a lady but required to maintain a masculine air in order to survive here. I believe that some of those gender roles that have been lost are truly not oppressive to women's liberation. I know many women nowadays take offense to "chivalrous" behavior from men. Men just don't know what to do anymore! I like to be attuned to my femininity and to be made to feel like a lady--respected, appreciated, acknolwedged and seen for that more suddle, gentle energy that I possess and that is who I am--and I don't mean my hair, nails, makeup, clothing, bikini line, etc. In fact, I don't see those things as signs of femininity at all. I believe women who find power in using their sexuality are only feeding the male gaze, objectification, and the continued oppression of women as a whole. And it is only a temporary fix-good looks don't last long, nor do they give you the inner satisfaction and fulfillment that one may be striving to attain at such lengths through the material realm. That's my rant. Now enjoy what these wise women have to say.

"Jaune Quick-to-See Smith describes the capriciousness of appearance: "In my art and life, I really strive to reverse the old adage that what you see is what you get. If I can be Coyote and practice my sneak-up, I can engage the viewers from a distance with one image and lure them in for exposure to another layer, which changes the initial view into quite a different reality. After all, that is what ethnic culture is all about--or even an ongoing relationship. What you see on the surface is never the same again once you begin to plumb the depths."

Most people know very little about indigenous women, except for a few almost mythical icons such as Sacajawea, an intelligent, resourceful Shoshone interpreter who accompanied the Lewis and Clark expedition in the early nineteenth century. This appalling lack of accurate information about indigenous women fuels negative stereotypes. Television film, and print media often portray indigenous women as asexual drudges or innocent children of nature, while rail-thin white women are held up as idealized representations of compassion, beauty, and sexuality. In film, as in the larger society, the power, strength, and complexity of indigenous women are rarely acknowledged or recognized.

While the role of indigenous women in the family and community, now and in the past, differs from nation to nation, each of the women at this gathering stated unequivocally that there was a point in time when there was greater equity between men and women, and that balance between men and women must be restored if we are ever to have whole, healthy communities again. Lurline Wailana McGregor says, "In the past, men and women had very specific roles that complemented each other, assuring a functional and thriving community life. Although these roles are less rigid today, they are no longer balanced. Western cultures devalue women. So now we struggle for equity in the workplace and recognition in our own communities. 

Navajo women once controlled the economy by owning and managing the livestock, and Ojibway women trapped small animals, dressed furs, and built canoes. in some indigenous communities, women chose lives that transcended gender roles. Historian Connie Evans described a trader's observation that a Gros Ventre woman dressed as a woman but sat on the council and ranked as the third leading warrior in a band of 180 lodges. She eventually took four wives.

Women have played a significant role in Cherokee society for a very long time. in the distant past, Cherokee people believed that the world existed in a precarious balance and that only right or correct actions maintained that balance. An important part of the balance was equity between men and women. Women were consulted in matters of importance to the community, the clan, the family, and the nation. When a man married a woman, he took up residence with the clan of his wife. Cherokee people trace their clan ancestry though women. THere once was a women's council composed of women of each of the seven Cherokee clans. A special woman served as the chief beloved woman, or Ghighau. Female warriors, called War Women or Pretty Women, were tribal dignitaries. There was a belief that the Great Spirit sent messages through women. A woman's power was considered so great that special women were able to declare whether punishment or pardon was to be inflicted upon those who offended the mandate to engage in only right or correct actions.

From the time of European contact, there has been a concerted attempt to diminish the role of indigenous women. But even with the sustained efforts by the federal government and various religious groups to totally assimilate them, women continue to play a critical role in many indigenous communities in formal and informal leadership positions in every sector of tribal society and the larger culture around them."

~Mankiller, Wilma; p. 8-9, Every Day is a Good Day, Reflections by Contemporary Indigenous Women

Spiritualism is the highest form of political consciousness.

~Haudenosaunee message to the world

(p. 11)

"The spiritual life of indigenous people has been studied, copied, parodied, and exploited, but it has rarely been understood. Some indigenous spiritual practices, such as the Ghost Dance, the Sun Dance, and the Stomp Dance, were once outlawed, forcing the ceremonies to be performed in secret. Despite several hundred years of religious groups, the spiritual lifeways, practices, and traditions given to indigenous people by the Creator at the beginning of time continue in round houses, longhouses, kivas, ceremonial grounds, and other sacred places, as well as in their daily lives. Tribal people have tenaciously fought to maintain their traditional lifeways and value systems. 

Various Christian groups sent legions of missionaries to convert tribal people, often by separating children from their families in religious boarding schools. Long before the current international scandal regarding Catholic priests sexually abusing children, in tribal communities there were many stories of extreme physical and sexual abuse at religious Indian boarding schools....Ojibway educator Faith Smith describes her experience at a mission school as follows: "For a while I attended a mission school, and that was the first time I had ever seen people so white. They were just kind of glowing. They used to wear black habits and it was almost like this iridescent whiteness in the middle of all that black material. And they were the meanest, nastiest people in the world. They would use a ruler or strap on us to punish us for all kinds of stuff. Their behavior seemed peculiar since they always talked with us about the values of Christianity." Rosalie Little Thunder describes herself as a recovering Catholic who has undergone the painful process of healing from her indoctrination at a Catholic boarding school. 

Though indigenous people now embrace a wide range of spiritual practices from Christianity to Buddhism, many continue value tribal knowledge systems and spirituality and often turn to their own indigenous spiritual beliefs for solutions to contemporary problems. Some people attend the church of their choice and also participate in traditional tribal ceremonies. Linda Aranaydo says, "Sprituality is not exclusive, and I don't have a label for it. I feel comforable going to any place where people go to pray, where people are meditating, where they are going inside themselves to be quiet for a while and listen to life, or where they are being together to comfort one another in a sacred way." Juane Quick-to-See Smith says, "Praying is like gaining supernatural power outside yourself, a power beyond what you can control."(p. 12)

Your heart is like the ocean into which thousands of rivers pour without overflowing.

Your mind is like the clear sky, endless and free, raised high above this world.

Your being is like the tree that gives its shade, and yields sweet fruit to all.

The tree does not cling to its fruit, nor withholds them from those who throw stones.

Like your heart, the tree offers its fruit to all, no matter into whose hands they fall.

~Paramahansa Swami Maheshwarananda

"The angels are so enamored of the language that is spoken in heaven, that they will not distort their lips with the hissing and unmusical dialects of men, but speak their own, whether there may be any who understand it or not."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson