A Cute and Thought-provoking little story.

This little story was given to me ages ago by a friend.  It is a German story translated by Reflexologist Hanne Maquardt.  I hope she doesn't mind me sharing it with you.

Do You Believe in Life After Birth

There were twins in the belly of their mother

One twin asked the other

"Do you believe in life after birth?"

"Yes - here inside we grow and get prepared for what happens later."

"What a nonsense!" replied the twin.

"I am not quite sure, but I know it will be far brighter than inside here."

"What a nonsense.  I can't imagine it!"

"Yes, and we shall eat with our mouth and we will even walk around."

"Eat with our mouth?  Why do you think we have an umbilical cord?  And as for

walking, it's too short to walk far.  What a stupid idea!  I have never heard of anybody

who came back from 'after birth'."

"I am sure it functions somehow.  And I know we might even see our mother."

"Mother??  Never heard of such a thing as a mother.  Where is she?"

"Well, she is all around us.  Through her we are nourished."

"I don't believe you!"

"Well, if you are very quiet, you might hear her sing or feel how she caresses our little world."

Crazy Horse - We Hear What You Say by John Trudell

LOST BIRD OF WOUNDED KNEE - AN UPDATED REVIEW

As I mentioned on the re-opening of the Medicine Bowl Cafe, I have decided to condense most of my ramblings and scribbles into this one blogsite - at least the ones I think may be of interest and/or help to some of you.  The following review was written a few years back and circulated in my client newsletter but I think it's worthy of posting here not only from the point of view of Lost Bird's story but also to honour the courage and spirituality of the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota nations.

A few years back, I stood on a hilltop with the sacred cottonwood trees far below me alongside Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota.  It was a sunny day and there was a tranquil warm breeze on my face.  I was standing alone before a grave marked "Lost Bird" with tears streaming down my face.  Our Guide, Serle Chapman had told us, with care and respect, the story of the Wounded Knee Massacre before we arrived there but he couldn't have prepared us for the emotions we would feel at the top of that hill, overlooking the river where so many men, women and children were slaughtered.

All the emotions I felt on that day returned to me when I started to read "Lost Bird of Wounded Knee" by Renee Sansom Flood.  Renee has a foot in each camp, so to speak, as she is a white woman married to a Dakota man and has an Indian child.  She has spent years researching Lost Bird's story and her book is the haunting account of the young Indian girl's short tragic life.

Lost Bird was found as an infant, after a four-day blizzard, under the frozen body of her dead mother at Wounded Knee.  She was kidnapped by a man who was to become the future Assistant Attorney General of the United States, Leonard Colby, who then adopted her as a "living curio" and exploited her in order to attract prominent tribes as clients of his law practice.  Renee Sansom Flood traces the short life of Lost Bird, who was only 29 when she died and tracks down her sad, sunken grave to a place in California.  Her description of the scene at Lost Bird's exhumation in California and subsequent re-burial at Wounded Knee is heart-wrenching yet tender, as Chief Arvol Looking Horse and The Wounded Knee Survivor's Association painstakingly bring Lost Bird back to her homeland, to be buried with her relatives.
It was all the more poignant for me because I had the honour of being invited with my companions to meet Chief Arvol Looking Horse, so as the scene unfolds around the graveside, I can 'see' clearly Arvol's huge frame, tenderly taking care of the things that needed to be done in the Lakota way to bring Lost Bird home.

Arvol is the 19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Pipe of the Lakota, Dakota & Nakota Great Sioux Nation.  To be invited to visit him in his home was a huge privilege and only possible because of the great respect held by the Lakota people for our tour guide, Award-winning writer, photographer and historian Serle Chapman.  Arvol was given the heavy responsibility of the C'anupa (the Sacred Pipe) at the age of 12 and has spent his life working towards World Peace.  His home is a humble caravan set amidst green meadows heavy with the smell of sweet meadow grass and wild sage, silent except for the sweet song of the meadowlarks and the neighing of the horses as they play freely together.  All his visitors are received here in this over-crowded caravan which has an 'extension' to provide extra room.  We were warmly welcomed by Arvol who offered us coffee before we sat down to listen to his words.
He spoke with us about how people misuse their energy instead of putting it to good use.  He spoke about the sacredness of their ceremonies and implored us to pray for all humanity and practice forgiveness and "letting go".  He spoke about the importance of loving others even though they do wrong.   I don't have the vocabulary to describe how deeply that visit to his small, cramped caravan affected us all.  I knew that as Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe,  Arvol carries the heavy responsibility of travelling the world promoting peace, so it seemed unreal that we were sitting here on the floor of his caravan, drinking coffee with him, hoping to remember every word he quietly spoke.

As our visit was coming to an end, a group of students arrived for their appointment with him.  Instead of ushering us out, we were invited to shake hands with one another and sit together, wherever we could find a small space, on chairs and on the floor so he could proudly show us a video about the Legend of the White Buffalo Calf Woman.

So as I read Renee Sansom Flood's account of Lost Birds' return to her homeland, I can picture clearly in my mind's eye Arvol's huge frame and feel his gentle words in my heart..............

We need a great healing

And we need a Great Forgiving

But healing can't begin without forgiveness.

We must forgive each other,

Forgive our loved ones,

Forgive our friends

Forgive our enemies

Forgive ourselves

We need to pray even for a person who has done us wrong!

In our Tiospaye, our family

when two people fight

they are made brothers or sisters.

Forgiveness itself is a powerful medicine.

We need forgiveness to create Peace!

He-c'e-tu-yelo!

(So Be It)

A while after I wrote this review, I was talking to someone who tours America frequently.  I asked if he had been to South Dakota and he told me how disgusted he was with 'the state of the place' at Wounded Knee.  The memorial wasn't how he thought it should look.  He mentioned the graffiti he saw everywhere and the stalls on the surrounding roads selling hand-made wares.  I could feel the anger rising up inside me "Was that ALL he could see?"   Then I was reminded of Arvol's words on Forgiveness.   He couldn't possibly know the poverty that these proud people live in.  He hadn't heard the whispered stories of their lost generation, couldn't possibly know the raw heartache that still exists among the people who, yes, are trying to make a living and save enough for the gas bottles which will keep their families warm in their trailers during the vicious South Dakota winters.  One woman told me how 17 people lived in her trailer, too many to sleep inside, so some had to sleep in their cars.  Yes, there is a huge alcohol and drug problem and the sense of hopelessness felt by the younger generation is evident.   Unemployment and illness, in particular diabetes is a huge problem. Serle Chapman is doing an exemplary job in raising people's awareness of their plight, so that they see more than just graffiti, more than the beaten up cars on the reservation.  So they can take a peek into the hearts of these proud people.  I was hoping Barack Obama would make a difference to the indigenous nations,  I hope it's a work in progress but if it is, it isn't happening quickly enough.  

Finally, my purpose is not promote Go Native America here, but I truly believe that their integrity is second to none so if you want to see into the hearts, minds and daily lives of these wonderful people, there are no better guides than Serle Chapman and Wilmer (Stampede) Mesteth.  You will take home with you so much more than a few necklaces and dreamcatchers.  

If you decide to visit Wounded Knee independently on your travels, please be respectful and gentle to the sellers who may approach you to buy their wares and remember their struggle to keep warm in the bitter cold South Dakota winters.  I expect you're thinking "Why doesn't the US Government help them?"  

I know the answer to that one.

Lost Bird of Wounded Knee - Spirit of the Dakota is published by Da Capo Press, 

ISBN: 0-306-80822-6

Links:  

www.writingsources.com  (Website of Renee Sansom Flood)

www.wolakota.org   (Website of the WoLakota Foundation)

www.gonativeamerica.com   (Highly respected and Premier hosts of Native American tours)

DON'T DIE WITH YOUR MUSIC STILL IN YOU

This is an updated version of a blog I wrote last year - one which I have decided to update and repost because I am hearing from people just how much coming to a DreamBoard Workshop helped them to focus on "the music inside them" and achieve more than they had could possibly have imagined.   You could too.......

I am among the millions of fans of Dr Wayne Dyer.  He never fails to uplift me with his wisdom and warmth.  When I received a copy of his film "The Shift" which I ordered from Hay House, I watched the whole film 4 TIMES on that first day.  I have never done that with any other film and I have watched it even more since.  

His message of "Don't Die With Your Music Still In You" hit home hard to me as I was rushed by ambulance into hospital at the beginning of last year.  The pain was excruciating - I instinctively knew that it was serious and that I was bleeding internally.   The morphine didn't seem to be working -  only the gas and air gave me relief and allowed me to slip away into darkness.  I could hear the voices of my husband and son, as if they were miles away and I heard myself chanting "Om Namah Shivaya" over and over until I felt something being placed into my hand.  I heard my son telling me it was his Angel Stone - the one he carries everywhere with him. The darkness was inviting, I just wanted to drop deeper into it then  I heard him say  "You are the strongest person  I know Mum, stay with us" and I realised that I wasn't ready to leave this beautiful planet - or my family - just yet.  I was approaching 60 years of age yet there were still so many things I wanted to do - so much MORE music left in me.  I prayed to God to let me stay - the kidneys in Chinese Medicine are linked to FEAR (False Evidence which Appears Real) and I realised that my whole life has been plagued with fear - fear of loss, fear of not being good enough - fear of success - fear of rejection - the list is endless.  As I surfaced from the darkness into the pain again, I promised God that I would release my fears and finish what I came to this planet to do.  There is Music Still In Me, my years working as a Therapist taught me so much about the freedom of forgiveness, how the archaic wounds of our past can colour not only our own future but also the future of our children.    If we don't do the work on ourselves, which is an essential part of achieving  inner peace, it means our children will probably have to do it in their lifetime.  Working on ourselves is, quite possibly, the greatest gift we can offer to our children.The hospital discovered that I had severe internal bleeding from an Angiomyolipoma, a benign tumour on the kidney which had spontaneously ruptured.  It is, apparently, very rare.  I said flippantly "Well, I guess that means I can't go to India then" and the consultants told me that if the tumour hadn't ruptured when it did, it would have certainly ruptured on take-off with possibly lethal consequences.  I know that the Angels were looking after me - they weren't going to let me die with My Music Still In Me.  

I wrote this post early in 2010 on another blog but am sharing it again in the Medicine Bowl Cafe because we ALL have Music Still In Us.  Music that can make a difference in the world, if only we can let go of our fears and perceptions of what we can and cannot do.  We all have something we are really good at, something we love doing and we don't serve humanity by pretending we are not good enough to do it.   I still have Music In Me and although illness over the last year or so made it difficult to connect with, I know I am getting closer to it now.  If it wasn't for the illness, I would never have heard the message the Universe was trying so hard for me to hear.   I have always believed that sometimes the healing is in having the illness and now that has been my experience.  So I'd like to ask you:-

What Music is Still Inside You? 

Is there something you love doing?  Something you get lost in, which makes time seem to fly by?  

Could doing what you love make a difference to someone's life?  

Could doing what you love bring you financial abundance if only you let go of the fear that someone else is better than you?

I'd love to hear what Music is Still Inside You.  If you're not sure what that is I have something in the pipeline that may help you.  Watch this space!

Namaste

Hi folks

Taking a break from stringing our wonderful organic, home-grown runner beans to welcome you back to the Medicine Bowl cafe.  They smell divine, I wish we had smelly-net - or perhaps not!

I'll be condensing my other blogs into this one from now on because I am now up to 3 and failing miserably at keeping them up to date.  How DO these expert daily bloggers find the time!  I promise to try  and fill the Cafe with interesting stuff to inspire you, or to make you smile, or to make you cry. Please drop by regularly and join in with your comments if you wish to.

From my Spanish retreat, I hope to be adding some of the rambles I have written over the years in my client's Medicine Bowl newsletter plus some daft poems that I've written which surprisingly, people seem to like.  

Back to the beans now.  Don't forget to drop by from time to time.

The Numerology of Jade Goody

Since the sad news of Jade Goody’s death on Mothering Sunday, there has been much discussion about why she became so popular. What was it about her that touched so many people?
For a while now, I have had an interest in Numerology – only an interest – I cannot claim to be an expert on the subject but I was intrigued to find out what Jade’s numerology was.
Numerology is the science of numbers which has been around for 2,500 years since Pythagorus created the Pythagorean Number System. He believed that the vibration or “tone” of the universe at the exact time of birth has an influence over a person’s character and destiny in life. I developed an interest in Numerology after reading Glynis McCants excellent book “Glynis Has Your Number” and I’ve used it time and time again to help me understand people’s characters, including my own!
Jade was born on 5/6/1981. Based on the information I have and on my own limited experience, this is my interpretation of why Jade was loved so much.

Jade had a Soul Number of 7. She would have found fulfilment in nature’s beauty. She needed a strong spiritual base that she could really believe in and this aspect of her vibration really emerged during her final days when her marriage and the christening of both her sons and herself became so important to her - she wanted her boys to be able to connect with her through Jesus. People may have been surprised about this as this is not a side of Jade they would have necessarily have seen. Our Soul vibration is what we feel inside but others don’t see.

Jade also had a Personality No of 7 which meant that her faith was doubly important to her. She would have been a keen observer of life but privacy would also have been very important to her. Her friends would have confided in her.

Jade had a Power Name Number of 5 which makes for a very high-energy person – a celebrator of life. There would never have been a dull moment with Jade around. She would have loved to travel and loved to make things beautiful both in her surroundings and for other people. She would have been an excellent party-giver and this showed in her wedding arrangements and even to the finer details of her funeral, which she has asked should be a “Celebration of her life”.

Jade’s Birth Day Number was also 5 Having these two 5s would have made her very high-energy indeed. Some of the TV clips of her life really showed this. Also these two 5s in her vibration would mean that she could become bored very easily. At times, her double 5 vibration may have been exhausting for those around her.

Jade’s Life Path was 3. Our Life Path is our most important number because it is the sum total of our birth date and it is the vibration at which we came into the world. It is the number we must act upon in order to be truly happy. Jade’s 3 vibration would make her a born communicator, a born performer. She would love any sort of creativity, communication and connection with people. The downside of the 3 vibration is that if we are not able to express that creativity, we will create some kind of drama – anything to avoid being bored! The 3 Life Path has to guard themselves against extreme highs and lows. Jade would have wanted the world around her to be beautiful and she would have wanted to make it beautiful for others too. An important thing to remember with the 3 vibration is that if there are emotional scars from the original family which have not been dealt with, or if as a child you did not get the praise which you so desperately needed, this could cause you to live on the negative side of your vibration. Perhaps an example of this was Jade’s publicised confrontation on Big Brother – 3 vibrations must learn to bite their tongues if they are living on the negative side of their vibration. They tend to learn from adversity and there were certainly some tough lessons for Jade following Big Brother. The best medicine for a 3 vibration though is laughter and Jade enjoyed a lot of that, judging from the TV clips of her life.

Finally, Jade had an Attitude Number of 2. She would have been easygoing, loving and romantic. She would also have been intrigued with anything psychic or metaphysical and in touch with her intuition. She was fascinated by other people, seldom bored and very compassionate towards others.
Jade died on the 22/3/2009 which in Numerology is a 7 day. 7 is a spiritual number, she had put her house in order and aligned herself and her boys with her faith in God. She raised awareness of cervical cancer and the importance of its early detection and has probably saved countless lives. She did what she came here to do and left with dignity, surrounded by love. Her boys will grow up to be proud of her….

Incidentally the Chinese associate “Jade” with the 5 cardinal virtues of charity, modesty, courage, justice and wisdom. They also believe Jade has healing powers.

Fascinating isn’t it.

The above information has been sourced from “Glynis Has Your Number” written by Glynis McCants and published by Hyperion Books. ISBN 1-4013-0142-8.

Snow causes loss of over £1 billion!

Am I the only person who doesn't care about the loss of £1 billion yesterday? All the news bulletins were focused on road and rail chaos (yes, admittedly it is important to know), and how businesses would suffer as a result of Mother Nature covering us in the most beautiful blanket of snow we've seen for years. At the end of each bulletin though, it showed the photographs which we were all sending in.....families having fun tobogganing by whatever means possible, trays, bin liners, actual toboggans if you were lucky enough to have one and, like my youngest son, even ski-ing. One clip showed a gentlemen who announced with glee "I've wanted to do this for YEARS" as he sped off on his skis down his urban street. I bet it took years off him! We walked through the woods with our neighbours and their children, with the grown-ups shaking the trees over the heads of the children causing them to collapse screaming and giggling under masses of snow. It was magical.

We have lived in our street for 22 years without meeting as many people as we met yesterday. Our son compared it to the 19th century when the streets were full of people - not vehicles. I didn't meet anyone who appeared to be worrying about the loss of £1 billion - did you?

There was a TV clip of a gentleman who was berating the government for not clearing the roads. He described us as "being like a third-world country". What a shame. This weather happens so rarely in our part of the world (the south of England), how can we justify spending millions on snow-clearing equipment which only comes out of the hangar once every 20 years. Boris Johnson tickled me pink (yet again) when he said in an interview that "It's the right kind of snow, just the wrong quantity of it". I am still laughing about it. Thank goodness that we've now got Boris and Barack instead of Ken and George! One says exactly what he thinks, regardless of whether its pc or not and the other means what he says - in no uncertain terms.

Anyway, the reason for this blog is because I wanted to say that Mother Nature is the BIG boss and we would do well to remember that and SURRENDER to the joy that she brought to us all yesterday. If everything comes to a standstill for too long, yes, we need to get it clear so we can deal with the health and safety of the frail and make sure everyone has enough food. But ONE DAY - come on - let's just all enjoy it. I've always said that we are our children's memory makers - when our children look back to February 2009 will they remember the fun in the snow or the fact that businesses had a bad day? No need to ask. Us Brits are ALWAYS great in a crisis - that wartime spirit is just under the surface waiting to come out so we can get creative. I have heard that people are much happier now than they have been in a long time, despite the credit crunch. We are discovering the fulfilment of cooking from scratch again, of "make do and mend" and trying to find ways to save energy.

A few years back, whilst caught in a bomb scare on the island of Ibiza, thousands of us were stuck on a concrete road in the July heat for 5 hours while the police carried out a controlled explosion in the airport. The Red Cross did us proud - arriving eventually with millions of bottles of mineral water. We saw angry people, frightened people, kind people who gave their hats to the disabled in wheelchairs and we saw that good old British spirit in the face of adversity. I did ask this man's permission to take this photo, because to me, he represented the essence of our countrymen - he surrendered to the situation and did the only thing he could do to avoid sunburn - HE PUT A CARDBOARD BOX ON HIS HEAD!!

Enjoy the snow, won't you...............