PEGI EYERS ~ Ancient Spirit Rising
"The First Ones" © Milka Lolo
The majority of the world does not find its roots in western culture or tradition. The majority of the world finds its roots in the natural world, and it is the natural world, and the traditions of the natural world which must prevail. [1]
(Haudenosaunee Address)
The land is our greatest strength – if we look to Her we will survive. [2]
(Wisakedjak)
In the magnificent journey to reclaim our own Ancestral Knowledge, our essential bond to the land and our own form of ecocultural identity on Turtle Island, there are diverse paths and modalities that can lead our hearts and minds back to the natural world. From the minute they rolled out the pavement, my sense is that the western world has been devolving (!), and that every technological advance and infrastructure development is another act of self-destruction, when compared to the infinity of sacred treasures found in Indigenous life.
Situated at the core of western civilization is the master narrative of Christianity encoded in our expulsion from the Garden of Eden, and this scenario has been reenacted over and over for millennia. Reinforced by the isolationist perception that nature is a hostile force, cultural groups worldwide have hidden themselves away from the dangers of wild animals “red in tooth and claw” and the vagaries of weather, and better to make your stronghold fast.
Over time, the culmination of this vast separation from the natural world has become a huge embarrassment to the artists, mystics, visionaries, and practitioners of our European-based Old Ways, who have tried to amalgamate elements of nature worship and earth connection into the public sphere, keeping indigeneity alive in a covert way, and adding a much-needed eco-awareness to the western canon. For centuries religion, philosophy and science developed elaborate theories to justify and cloak our separation from the natural world, inevitably coming full circle in contemporary times to spiritual ecology, the “greening of religion,” and a scientific backtrack to the original cosmology of Indigenous Science (found all along in living Indigenous Knowledge [IK] systems).
(Haudenosaunee Address)
The land is our greatest strength – if we look to Her we will survive. [2]
(Wisakedjak)
In the magnificent journey to reclaim our own Ancestral Knowledge, our essential bond to the land and our own form of ecocultural identity on Turtle Island, there are diverse paths and modalities that can lead our hearts and minds back to the natural world. From the minute they rolled out the pavement, my sense is that the western world has been devolving (!), and that every technological advance and infrastructure development is another act of self-destruction, when compared to the infinity of sacred treasures found in Indigenous life.
Situated at the core of western civilization is the master narrative of Christianity encoded in our expulsion from the Garden of Eden, and this scenario has been reenacted over and over for millennia. Reinforced by the isolationist perception that nature is a hostile force, cultural groups worldwide have hidden themselves away from the dangers of wild animals “red in tooth and claw” and the vagaries of weather, and better to make your stronghold fast.
Over time, the culmination of this vast separation from the natural world has become a huge embarrassment to the artists, mystics, visionaries, and practitioners of our European-based Old Ways, who have tried to amalgamate elements of nature worship and earth connection into the public sphere, keeping indigeneity alive in a covert way, and adding a much-needed eco-awareness to the western canon. For centuries religion, philosophy and science developed elaborate theories to justify and cloak our separation from the natural world, inevitably coming full circle in contemporary times to spiritual ecology, the “greening of religion,” and a scientific backtrack to the original cosmology of Indigenous Science (found all along in living Indigenous Knowledge [IK] systems).
The Seven Grandfather Teachings ~ foundational to Anishnaabe IK
Already in place as they have for millennia, it is the IK/EIK (European Indigenous Knowledge) in every domain of human activity that hold the key to our mutual uncolonization process and survival into post-industrial society. The popular praxis that a “new view of reality is emerging in which spiritual insight and scientific discovery both contribute to an understanding of ourselves as intimately interwoven with our world”[3] (Macy and Johnstone) implies that we need to conjure up a brand new paradigm, a cutting-edge convergence of modern technology with spiritual enlightenment. The truth is, everything we could possibly need is already waiting to be found in earth-connected IK/EIK systems, and this actuality is expressed by renowned Mexican scholar Gustavo Esteva.
“The system is not working, and everyone is realizing it. People are looking everywhere, imagining and theorizing the possibilities, grasping at more creations of their own making in the built infrastructure, seeking the paradigm shift in science, technology, medicine, the Occupy movement and so on that needs to happen, whereas it is already in place as it has been for millennia, being lived by Indigenous Knowledge and Indigenous people. Any course-correction discipline to decolonize ourselves is already in practice by Indigenous peoples, from astronomy to ethnobotany to medicine to food sources to community living, to intimate knowledge of the land base. You name it, it is already being lived and practiced. The only thing that the dominant society needs to access this storehouse, held by the people for the people, is humility. The paradigm shift is already being lived by millions of earth-connected cultures and Indigenous people worldwide, and the time has come to let the slowest set the pace.”[4]
In the throes of Euro-civilization building in the Americas, vital aspects of sustaining our eco-identity while existing under the blanket of colonialism seems to have fallen to the green thinkers, the herbalists, the naturalists, the wilderness guides, the artists (yet again!), the outcasts, the discontents, the malcontents, the cultural creatives and the introverts. An interesting contemporary phenomena is the anomie of certain people visiting the cities who experience great discomfort, sensitive souls who cannot abide the noise, pollution, and grey-on-grey tangle of the urban jungle. This almost begs the question that there must be two distinct types of humans, those that have evolved in the artificiality of cities - the thriving urban dwellers who love their metropolises - and those to whom concrete urban spaces are anathema. These "pastoral" folk are out-of-step with the values of Empire, and need to maintain their kinship to the natural world at all costs. Some have even gone so far as to say that “souls who are more comfortable in the cities are no longer comfortable on this planet, and should travel to another planet!” [5] (Krow Fischer) Then there are the folks who exist in a kind of liminal space or twilight zone, somewhat urban while their hearts continue to resonate with the natural world, forced to live in small cities yet not fully embracing the rural life or countryside either.
“The system is not working, and everyone is realizing it. People are looking everywhere, imagining and theorizing the possibilities, grasping at more creations of their own making in the built infrastructure, seeking the paradigm shift in science, technology, medicine, the Occupy movement and so on that needs to happen, whereas it is already in place as it has been for millennia, being lived by Indigenous Knowledge and Indigenous people. Any course-correction discipline to decolonize ourselves is already in practice by Indigenous peoples, from astronomy to ethnobotany to medicine to food sources to community living, to intimate knowledge of the land base. You name it, it is already being lived and practiced. The only thing that the dominant society needs to access this storehouse, held by the people for the people, is humility. The paradigm shift is already being lived by millions of earth-connected cultures and Indigenous people worldwide, and the time has come to let the slowest set the pace.”[4]
In the throes of Euro-civilization building in the Americas, vital aspects of sustaining our eco-identity while existing under the blanket of colonialism seems to have fallen to the green thinkers, the herbalists, the naturalists, the wilderness guides, the artists (yet again!), the outcasts, the discontents, the malcontents, the cultural creatives and the introverts. An interesting contemporary phenomena is the anomie of certain people visiting the cities who experience great discomfort, sensitive souls who cannot abide the noise, pollution, and grey-on-grey tangle of the urban jungle. This almost begs the question that there must be two distinct types of humans, those that have evolved in the artificiality of cities - the thriving urban dwellers who love their metropolises - and those to whom concrete urban spaces are anathema. These "pastoral" folk are out-of-step with the values of Empire, and need to maintain their kinship to the natural world at all costs. Some have even gone so far as to say that “souls who are more comfortable in the cities are no longer comfortable on this planet, and should travel to another planet!” [5] (Krow Fischer) Then there are the folks who exist in a kind of liminal space or twilight zone, somewhat urban while their hearts continue to resonate with the natural world, forced to live in small cities yet not fully embracing the rural life or countryside either.
Wherever one is situated, to heal our rift from nature and reclaim our ecological self, we need to put the highest value on loving and experiencing the land, for this is how our IK/EIK will emerge. To this end, my book Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community offers a collection of diverse paths, both ancient in origin and modern in voice, that place the Earth First. These chapters Include:
Go Outside
Earthing
Animism
Ecomysticism & Nature Spirituality
Ecopsychology
Earth Story
Sacred Sites
Earth Love
Rewilding
Earth Rights
Earthing
Animism
Ecomysticism & Nature Spirituality
Ecopsychology
Earth Story
Sacred Sites
Earth Love
Rewilding
Earth Rights
"Border Crossing" © Lisa Ericson
“Nature gives birth to your soul – and that of all other animals and plants on the planet. You can count on wild nature to reflect your soul, because soul is your most wild and natural dimension.”[6] (Bill Plotkin)
NOTES
[1] Jerry Mander, “A Basic Call to Consciousness, the Haudenosaunee Address to the Western World,” In the Absence of the Sacred: The Failure of Technology and the Survival of the Indian Nations. Sierra Club Books, 1992.
[2] Public Energy, Wisakedjak/Mazinaw Rocks, dance theatre performance, Market Hall, Peterborough, ON, 10/31/2013.
[3] Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone, Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re In Without Going Crazy, New World Library, 2012.
[4] Mexican activist, “deprofessionalized intellectual” and nomadic storyteller Gustavo Esteva, Traditional Elders Conference 2013, Lecture, Indigenous Studies Department, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, January 28, 2013.
[5] Krow Fischer, Weavers of Light: A Channelled Book of Knowledge for Our Changing Times, Here On Earth, 2008.
[6] Bill Plotkin, Soulcraft: Crossing into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche, New World Library, 2010.
[1] Jerry Mander, “A Basic Call to Consciousness, the Haudenosaunee Address to the Western World,” In the Absence of the Sacred: The Failure of Technology and the Survival of the Indian Nations. Sierra Club Books, 1992.
[2] Public Energy, Wisakedjak/Mazinaw Rocks, dance theatre performance, Market Hall, Peterborough, ON, 10/31/2013.
[3] Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone, Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re In Without Going Crazy, New World Library, 2012.
[4] Mexican activist, “deprofessionalized intellectual” and nomadic storyteller Gustavo Esteva, Traditional Elders Conference 2013, Lecture, Indigenous Studies Department, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, January 28, 2013.
[5] Krow Fischer, Weavers of Light: A Channelled Book of Knowledge for Our Changing Times, Here On Earth, 2008.
[6] Bill Plotkin, Soulcraft: Crossing into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche, New World Library, 2010.
| Pegi Eyers is the author of "Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community," an award-winning book that explores strategies for intercultural competency, healing our relationships with Turtle Island First Nations, uncolonization, recovering an ecocentric worldview, rewilding, creating a sustainable future and reclaiming peaceful co-existence in Earth Community. Available from Stone Circle Press or Amazon. |
