Listen to indigenous voices, native voices. We are in this amazing time right now where the internet, YouTube particularly, is allowing a new generation of indigenous speakers to start bringing forth their different perspective.
Yes. I realized that this means not me. Right?
Just think of the timeline we are on. White civilization came and conquered native people all over the world. And then, like two generations ago, the grandparents of today’s young adults, were all thrown into Christian schools to drive the native out of them, to destroy their culture. And it very nearly did.
It’s taking them time to rebuild it. Right now we have just a handful of older native people who are coming out to talk. They are remembering what they were taught as children and sharing it. All over the over the world: Australia, New Zealand, the United States, South America.
These voices are starting to come out and the young people are starting to listen to them. The old wisdom wasn’t completely lost even though it was seriously broken.
It’s coming slowly back to us now. And even better than that it’s being translated into our language. It’s coming back as something that’s going to that’s useful for all of us.
They speak from a very very different perspective than any white spiritual teacher or teachers from India, or Hindus, or Buddhists.
They have interesting teachings about what to do with your mind in difficult situations. We have this opportunity right now to listen to actual people who were raised in the traditions.
One thing you’ll notice is that they talk about how they were taught from the day they were born. They were constantly told: you are part of everything. All the other animals are brothers and sisters. We are not above them. They’re not here for our consumption. They are our fellow beings. The plants, and the trees, and the mountains. Everything is our are fellow beings.
If you wanted to make a hierarchy then we’re down on the bottom of it because they have wisdom that we don’t seem to be able to tap into as easily. We are the younger brother who needs to watch the bigger brother and learn. we watch and listen to learn. Watch the mountain. Watch the water.
We have this opportunity right now. These voices are starting to show up. Look for them, find them. Listen without your normal brain chatter. Listen to the way they talk and when little bits of it start coming in to your own experience and meeting up and then you’ll go, “Oh yes. Yes.”
When you hit that yes then you’ve learned something. Now we have something to share, something to bring together, as we rise up as as one humanity. As we become one with the environment.
We’re in very interesting times.