Holding a place for The Medicine.

Sometimes while setting alone late at night Spirit walks into the room. My body reacts in many different ways. Sometimes my eyes flood with tears. Sometimes I shiver. Sometimes I am excited. Sometimes I just sit and listen. But every time I am in awe of the power of it. Spirit enters the room, how can I say it?…”Constant”. I am always flooded with emotion. In that moment my vision clears and from this place I can see great distances. I use to see that if only we could all see from “here” the Earth could be right. But you see, over time, the more I understand the breadth of my vision. I have come to understand my job was never to bring that clarity!

The Old Ones have come to me with their message. “Hold a place for The Medicine”!! What is this….Medicine you ask? It is walking with The Constant Spirit!  Not as the world sees fit but with the rightness you truly know in your heart. Trust you now! Respect you now! Accept you just as you are now!!! Honor The Earth Mother and ALL upon and within Now!!! Because Death is always only one heartbeat away, All you really have is Now!!! And why would Creator ask any Less of us. Because only you, can see as you see, which is your gift. And my “Gift” is to hold a place for The Medicine!

Mvto

Jim TwoFeathers

My New Writing

Water Prayers

The old Medicine Man stops along side the stream and takes in his surroundings. He takes in the trees and boulders he has learned to know and respect so well, remembering thoughtfully this place and how many times over the many years he had stopped here to rest on his journey to the Gathering of Elders. The stream, full as usual with the spring rains, fills the air with the familiar sounds and smells of the Water Beings rushing over the boulders on their way to the Great Water. He walks over and steps onto his old friend, a large flat boulder at the edge of the stream and begins…

He takes his well worn backpack off his shoulders, reaches in and pulls out his Medicine Bag and opens it and pulls out his tobacco pouch and pipe bag and lays them gently on his old stone friend now warmed by the morning sun. With a painful grunt and creaking bones he sits cross-legged with his pipe bag and Medicine bag spread out in front of him next to the water. . Out of his Medicine bag he pulls a worn folded square piece of red wool cloth and places it unfolded on the stone. With practiced hands he reaches into his Medicine bag and pulls out his old abalone shell with it's smoke darkened inner bowl. Then he pulls out a small bag full of white sage and cedar mix and lay them on the cloth. He opens the bag and sticks his nose at the opening and inhales deeply taking in the familiar fragrance of the sage and cedar. With a prayer of thanks to the Sage and Cedar beings he crumbles them into his abalone shell and sits it on to the cloth. He pulls his pipe bowl out of its deer hide pouch and his pipe stem out of its pouch and lays them respectfully onto his cloth. Out of his shirt pocket he pulls out a small box of matches out of which he pulls a match and lights it and gives thanks to the Fire Beings for bringing light and warmth into his life and then picks up the shell and lights the sage and cedar mixture while blowing the breath of life gently until it glows and a wisp of smoke rises Skyward. Out of his Medicine bag he pulls an eagle feather. While holding the smoking shell he waves the smoke over his head and his body He then picks up each of the other sacred objects laying there and waves the smoke over each of them, his lips always moving in his prayers of cleansing for all. He then pulls out his tobacco pouch and picks up his pipe bowl and begins to fill it with small pinches of tobacco. Each pinch with its own prayer to the Tobacco being. He takes out one final pinch and offers it to water beings and puts it into the rushing water and watches them race off to the Great Water. Holding his still unconnected stem and pipe bowl he holds them to the seven sacred directions: East, West, South, North, then touches the Earth Mother, and holds them up to the Sky Father and then to himself, each with their own prayers. He then inserts the male symbol of the stem into the female symbol of pipe bowl with the prayer of the union knowing the pipe was live and ready to give birth to the smoke as prayers to the Great Spirit. With another fire stick he lights his pipe and gives his final prayer, the Water prayer because he was here to honor the Life-giving Water Beings. For some years this part of the ceremony brought him sadness because he could not do what he had been able to do in his youth during this ceremony. Drink the Water! So this part of the ceremony had changed and the prayer was changed to; “May this stream one day run clear cold and pure as it once did”. As he smokes his pipe he reflects on his past years in this sacred spot doing this ceremony again with sadness knowing this simple ceremony was done by so few. And knew that when it had been done by many the Water did run clear, cold and pure! In his head he hears the voices of all the Tree, Plant, Stone, Animal, Fish….All of the beings saying, “Remember us and all will run clear, cold and pure”.

After finishing his pipe and ceremony the Medicine Man repacks his pack and stands and gives a small bow to all and turns and walks on to the Gathering.

Remember!!!!!

Jim TwoFeathers

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