The time has arrived for me to pause and share my progress. The following is merely a brief summation on the ‘whole’ of my learning’s. As this college year flows by I will release windows to the world of my living endeavors. It is ultimately up to the observers to find/foster within themselves the seeds for greater understanding. It is my hope that this years project can be viewed with eyes that have chosen to be liberally educated and wholly conscience.
Imagine a world of impeccable people. People who hold their personal power in a responsible balanced way. Share their gifts selflessly. Who realize the past, live in the moment and create a better future. The sort who work for the common good of the whole (all things of existence). Stewards of the cosmos. Knowers and practitioners of universal and natural truth.
As stated at the beginning of this program I am learning about shamanism and ancient knowledge systems. I am interested in how we as human beings can live in a ‘whole way.’ The kind that flows with universal/natural law - a people who live as part of the ‘Hoop of Life.’ We have within us the ability to raise our conscience and evolve into higher realms (physical and spiritual planes) of being. We can tap into our innate inner-beings for healing, truth, full understanding. We are a strand on the web and also the web itself.
I have read and assimilated the following books thus far:
§ Fools Crow – Wisdom and Power
§ Plant Spirit Medicine
§ The Three Halves of Ino Moxo: Wizard of the Upper Amazon
§ Native American Spirituality
§ Zulu Shaman
Between now and spring quarter I will be reading/assimilating the following:
· Earth Medicine
· Earthway
· The I Ching
· Native American Spirituality: A Walk in the Woods
· Ecopsychology
· Earth and Other Ethics
· Pedagogy of the Oppressed
I will also be reviewing/re-reading any and all of the following subject areas and author’s written works:
ü Deepak Chopra, M.D.
ü His Holiness The Dalai Lama
ü Jose Arguelles, Ph.D.
ü Tom Brown Jr.
ü Black Elk Speaks
ü Black Elk’s The Sacred Pipe
ü Journey to Ixtlan: The lessons of Don Juan
ü Mother Wit
ü Taoism, Zen, & Buddhism.
ü Sustainability, Ecology, & Ethno-botany
ü Chakras, Reiki, & Acupressure
ü Universal Declaration of Human Rights
ü International Covenant on the Rights of Indigenous Nations
That is a general view of my project theme and some of the written works I am learning from. I would like to note that my learning experience is a life long endeavor, a journey if you will. I learn by living in a conscious multifaceted experiential way. The main reason why I am in this program is just this, we learn by living. You may be wondering - what is the rest of my project? Well – to start, I live in an ‘intentional community.’ A group of individuals (on the younger end of the scale - eleven adults and six children) who have formalized to purchase thirty-six acres of land. We are placing this earth space into a land trust to protect the trees and other aspects of its’ inherent beauty (in perpetuity). So, I live a simple rustic life-way – I heat my cabin, carry my water, am my own builder, plumber, electrician, farmer, etc. We are engaged in all sorts of activity whether it is for the community, the individual are our beloved land. My project is lived in this place.
I am partaking in a Vision Quest process that directly relates to the shaman studies. I am a firm believer in inner-wellbeing. By learning this life-way I am better able to directly help those in my community. All of us have undesirable parts within that could be better filled by love, compassion and balanced energy. It is everything I can do to promote inner-wellbeing though various healing modalities. Also, by living off the land I come to be a part of the bigger picture; living in sustainable ways, reducing my footprint, giving back to the source from which I came.
This brings me to the ancient knowledge systems or ‘life-ways.’ We as humans deserve to evolve. We are higher-minded beings who know better than that which we have been shown to believe- meaning that I have a responsibility to manifest a future that honors all things. I can do this by utilizing “what is” and help create a life-way that is in harmony with the biosphere. I look to the past, to our ancestors, to the places of our planet when/where collective commonsense and stewardship stood/stand hand in hand, where universal truth is the law.
Enough said. You will have to wait and see. I will be presenting with many forms of art/crafts, digital media, and potentially a small book. Also, I have placed a ‘wish’ into the void so that I may travel late winter quarter. I would like to return to my birthplace of Zimbabwe and gain a balanced perspective on the survival/sustainability of ancient life-ways and the desecration of mother earth and her oppressed human cultures.
Peace and good cheer, Granty.