Messages in the fire

I am in my Native American life.

This meditation starts where I am standing on my usual cliff, overlooking the vast valley of nature. I am alone to start off with, so I call upon my brother to join me. He stands with me on the cliff and we look out. He tells me we are going somewhere new today. He takes me to the sea, we are standing at the shore looking out. He says to me I am on earth to see things from both perspectives. I must see what is on the surface (of human beings and situations) like the eagle does, and he shows me the eagle which flies up high above and sees everything from the bigger perspective.

Then he says but you must also see what lies beneath, like the ocean. Then we go underwater, I am amongst fish and I touch the depth of the ocean where it is tranquil and quiet. This is where the depth of emotion lies, where the truths are stored but they are not shown. I am to see and feel this. He points up, and through the water I can see the sky above us. He shows me that when I am underwater as we are, I cannot see what I could see from up there as an eagle. And when I am up there as the eagle, I cannot see the depths of the ocean as I do when I am a fish. He says that to be able to complete my task, I must see and feel both. Always. I must always have my eyes open.

We go back to the shore, he shows me the line of the ocean that separates the two worlds. He points at it and says, see the line, there must be no separation for you. Feel the ocean, the water and how vast it is. How much lies beneath, which is as vast as she is. There is more to her than meets the eye. I listen and look at him, quiet and taking it in.

He then tells me that we are going somewhere else, so we turn with our backs to the shore and walk into the jungle. Inside, he tells me see how much foliage there is here, see how thick the foliage is. I can see the rays of sunlight coming through by the tiny gaps that there are many meters up above us, and in the sunlight I see the particles in the air. He says, see there is life here even though one can’t see through or walk through easily. He says humans are this way, they are like an overgrown jungle, they do not know what beauty there is inside. We then get to a stream which is flowing downwards, and it dips into a pool of water before it flows down again. We are standing by the pool of water. He says that humans have these pools of water inside their overgrown jungles, but as they do not know they are there, they get stuck. And therefor they do not flow, like the stream. The stream gives life to the jungle, but if there is something inside the pool stopping the stream from flowing, that part of the jungle can die.

You must facilitate the pool and streams flow. If we follow the stream up, and here he starts climbing up following the stream, we can find it’s source. Often the source is from a tip of a mountain, which is cold and so far from the jungle, that it may feel very different. It is colder and sharper up here and one can see clearly. However once it reaches the jungle, it encounters foliage, rocks and blockages. We must remain like the tip of the mountain, pure and sharp. This is our source.

I listen and watch as my brother guides me through the jungle.

Then he takes me back to my usual cliff, there is sit cross legged on the warm rock. There is open space beneath me. He stands to my right and says, you can come here anytime to talk to Mother Nature. Listen to Mother Nature, to what she has to say to you. You are a portal, you are a earth healer. Mother Nature needs you to be alert and connected to her to communicate through you. You must come here more often to listen to her sounds. I feel the breeze come up under my chin and the warm sun on my back. It is blissful.

My brother then takes me to a cave. He is holding a torch in his left hand to make way. The walls are red and so is the ground. The air is very hot and damp in here.

We come to an opening where there is a cool air breeze coming from further inside the cave. He holds the torch up against the wall and shows me drawings our tribe ancestors have made there. They are in Black on the walls of the cave.

I see a fire, and three people sitting in a line by the fire. They are sitting cross legged and have shawls on. The fire is big and is burning Into smoke, this smoke expands up into different animals.

I ask him what they are doing, he says speaking to the spirits.

I see they have some little stones placed by their feet, they are smooth pebble like stones with engravings on them. One has a bear paw, another water, another an eagle and another a beetle. These pebbles are placed by the fire whilst the ritual is being chanted and the spirits being called. Then, once the spirits are ready, the pebbles are thrown into the fire. The pebbles each have a connection to a god, depending on their symbol. The symbol is chosen on which god is being called and for what reason. Every individual has their own symbol, god and pebble which is particular to them which is used.

Once the pebbles are thrown into the fire, the spirits travel up through the flames and into the smoke. And through the smoke they come alive. I see in the painting, big bears and eagles and shapes of animals. The spirits are there in the smoke.

I asked why did they use to do this? He replies to talk to spirit. To connect with them and honour them. He says you have your own too, and hands me a pebble. The pebble is a symbol of a flying beetle. And it looks like this:

He says this is mine and I am to use it when I need to speak to Mother Nature and spirit. I can sit and line them up to prepare myself to connect. Just like our ancestors. I look at the pebble he has given me in my palm, and hold it tight. He says I must keep it on my person, in my right hand pocket. So I put it in the pockets of my suede skirt.

I now know it is time to go. I thank my brother for showing me all of this and giving me so many lessons in one. He tells me I must come back more often, to he connected. I will.