Kindling the Native Spirit: Sacred Practices for Everyday Life - Denise Linn 2015

Introduction

When I was younger, I thought I’d live forever, but I’m no longer under that illusion. I know that my time on the earth is limited. I used to be passionate about learning as much as I could. However, now, in my autumn years, I have a profound desire to share what I’ve gained over my lifetime. I want to ignite, even more, our sacred connection to nature and to the ancient traditions that evolved from living in harmony with the land. This is more important than ever before.

In the relatively short time I’ve been alive, I’ve seen many native cultural practices extinguished as a result of the technological advances that have surged across our planet with such rapidity. Ancient, sacred traditions are disappearing in alarming numbers. Potentially, in one more generation, much of the native wisdom could be destroyed, and we could be left with only notations and photographs in history books and reenactments for tourists, serving as echoes of lost wisdom.

Increasingly, it’s not possible for people to live on the land as their ancestors did for very practical reasons such as regulations, land rights, and federal rules affecting every aspect of native life. Additionally, it would be arrogant to deny native cultures use of modern conveniences like satellite dishes, the Internet, televisions, cars, and phones because of our concern about the old ways dying. And as former Eastern Band Cherokee Chief Youngdeer said, “We hate to lose them, but the old ways don’t put bread on the table.” Even though the old ways are indeed dying, my prayer is that the native spirit will live on within each of us.

Here’s the truth: I am not an expert in any culture. I am not a medicine woman, nor do I represent any tribal tradition. I’m sharing my perceptions from my time spent with various native cultures, and hopefully you’ll find this helpful in your own life. My experiences are viewed through the lens of my life and my passion about each of us being co-caretakers of our beautiful Earth for future generations. I believe there’s extraordinary value in embracing some of the old ways and kindling the native spirit that resides within. The future of our planet may depend on this.

Although I am a member of the Cherokee Nation (and I am proud of my heritage), this book doesn’t represent a particular tribal tradition. In the United States alone, there are over 600 different tribes, and around the world, there are thousands of varying tribal traditions, and each community has its own unique practices. This book is not about adopting a particular tribal tradition (nor should it be, for that is the responsibility of the elders of each clan to pass down). This is a book about igniting the native spirit that dwells inside of you, for if you trace your ancestry back, you’ll find that your forebears lived in a native way. The ancestral memory of those times dwells in your genes. In this book, I share general indigenous practices that, in many cases, span the globe. Most of the information can be easily incorporated into your life, and by doing so you become an Earthkeeper—a sacred guardian of the earth’s wisdom.

Before we jump in, however, it might be valuable to share a bit about my journey and how I came to be so fervent about igniting the indigenous spirit within each of us. My Cherokee heritage comes from my mother. I wasn’t raised on a reservation, but I was very aware of my lineage. My mother seemed to be in a constant state of anger about the way that Indians (as they were called when I was a child) were treated. I remember when my mother, my sister, my brothers, and I were stuffed into a 1950 Chevrolet on our way from Ohio to Oklahoma to visit my grandparents. In the late afternoon, after driving all day, my mother piled us all out of the car into a motel reception area that had a vacancy sign in the window. She walked up to the counter and with a weary voice said, “We’d like to get a room for the night, please.” The motel clerk looked at my dark-skinned Cherokee mother, and then gruffly replied, “There’s nothing available. We’re filled up for the night.”

As we were leaving, another family with kids in tow (all with fair skin) arrived and asked if there was vacancy. This time, the clerk said, “You’re in luck! We have one room left.”

Experiencing prejudice was not an unusual experience for my mother. In the era that she lived, Indians were second-class citizens. For example, although other minorities and women had the right to vote much earlier, it wasn’t until 1948 that all individual state laws denying the vote to Native Americans were overturned. Many Native American soldiers, who fought valiantly for the United States in World War II, were unable to vote when they returned because their state laws forbade it. My mother enlisted during WWII and worked as a surgical nurse, to the point of severe exhaustion. She explained her desire to join the military in this way: “Denise, I know what it feels like to be part of a defeated Cherokee Nation. I will fight rather than be a part of another defeated nation.”

But there was no fight in her that night as we left the motel. Her downcast eyes, pursed lips, and the way her shoulders drooped spoke of an extinguishing rage interwoven with a forbearing resignation. We got in the car and drove silently until we found a motel that accepted us.

As I was growing up, my mother alternated between uncontrollable anger and deep sorrow about the way her people were treated. She had several pages of well-worn papers that listed all the treaties that the “white man” never honored. When her frustration mounted, she would pull out these lists and clench them in her shaking fists.

“These are the treaties that the white man broke. He didn’t keep even one of them. Not one!” My siblings and I knew it was best just to lie low and wait until the rant was over. My mother had all the sorrow of her ancestors, but little access to their traditions. Without the healing ceremonies of her people, her wounds continued to bleed. Eventually my mother was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and was institutionalized in a mental hospital. Although schizophrenia is a genetic condition, her anger certainly magnified her symptoms.

Perhaps if she’d been raised in a traditional way, it might have been better for her. But my grandparents wanted to protect their family from the rampant prejudice at the time, so they told their children not to tell anyone they were Native American. My mother and her sister were told to try to bleach their skin with lemon juice. My grandparents felt that for their kids to thrive, they needed to integrate with white Western culture. My mother resented this. (Even as a young girl she understood the value and importance of claiming her roots and honoring her ancestral path, and she used to sneak out at night to join the stomp dances of other tribes. She didn’t go to Cherokee tribal ceremonies for fear that her parents would find out.) I pay my respect to my mother for her pain, and I also pay respect to my grandparents, who tried to do the best they knew at the time. Of course later, in the late 1960s, being Native American became something to take pride in, but it was too late for my mother and her parents.

I never planned on pursuing an interest in my Native American heritage. I wanted to be a scientist. My father had a master’s degree in chemistry, and my mother had two master’s degrees and worked as a chemist before having children. Growing up, our parents taught us that the only things that were real were those that were tangible. They were also both atheists. My mother wasn’t interested in the spiritual traditions of her ancestors; without being raised in a traditional way, she found no comfort in them. She wanted the security of the physical world that science could provide. My parents told me that if you can’t prove something using measurable facts, it doesn’t exist. As a child this made sense to me. I loved the purity of science, and I planned on following in my parents’ footsteps. However, I had a very dramatic experience as a 17-year-old that changed the course of my life and nudged me in the direction of my native heritage.

My journey into the realm of my ancestors began on a summer afternoon in the Midwest, almost 50 years ago. It was a glorious day, with a golden haze dusting the fields. Rows of tall corn sailed by me, on either side, as I happily drove my motorbike down the back roads of our rural farming community. Suddenly, the serenity was shattered by a bullet. My unknown assailant left me for dead. In that one piercing instant, my life and all that was familiar to me spun crazily. And when it settled, I was no longer the same person.

Someone driving by, who saw me on the side of the road, summoned an ambulance, and I was taken to a nearby hospital. As I lay in the emergency room, struggling with severe pain, abruptly it all subsided, and I was enveloped in a quiet stillness. A velvet-soft blackness descended. Was I dead? Then, suddenly I was bathed in brilliant light. It was a most peculiar experience—because I was that luminescent light. I then became aware of music that ebbed and flowed like shimmering waves. It was more exquisite than any symphony I’ve ever heard. This undulating harmony pervaded me until I became the music. In that moment, I was made only of light and sound.

I had no sense of time—no past or future. Everything was Now . . . and at the same time, I felt so loved and so very loving. It was love that’s as natural as breathing, like an unlimited ocean penetrating every cell of being. I wanted to stay there forever . . . because I’d been there before. I was home.

Then, unexpectedly, a deep and powerful voice declared, “You may not stay here. There is something you still need to do.”

I shouted, “No!” as I felt pulled back into my body.

I later discovered that my experience was similar to what many describe as a near-death experience. These individuals often report seeing a bright light, feeling an extraordinary peacefulness, and experiencing a sense of familiarity. My near-death experience profoundly challenged my beliefs about the nature of reality. Everything that I’d previously believed to be true began to slowly disintegrate; and in its place, a new understanding started to emerge.

It seemed that my life was to take an entirely new direction. As I recovered from my injuries, I began to see lights around objects and around people. Everything had varying color and intensity of hue. Every blade of grass, every tree, every person, even stones and inanimate objects all had light radiating out of them. I also began to hear tones that no one else could hear. Every leaf, every cloud, every animal had a kind of harmonic sound. I experienced the world in such a different way; it wasn’t composed of separate parts, but it seemed to be one great weaving of consciousness, light, and sound. Everything was connected to everything else.

Another astonishing revelation was the awareness that I wasn’t my body. As a result of the shooting, even though my physical being was damaged—my body lost a spleen, an adrenal gland, and a kidney; there was damage to my stomach, intestines, lung, and diaphragm; a hole through my spine; and also a plastic tube was inserted to replace part of my aorta—I was whole. To me, this was an amazing realization. It was a subtle shift, but simply beginning to identify with my spiritual essence—instead of my physical presence—allowed me to recover more quickly. I became extraordinarily healthy in spite of my injuries.

As a result of my shift of perception, my desire to become a scientist waned and was replaced with a burning desire to understand more about what I was experiencing. I eventually discovered that the way I was sensing the world, was, in fact, similar to that of my ancestors and other native people around the world. The ability to see light around people, hear the songs of the grasses, connect with spirit beings, and perceive the world as a great weaving of energy was something that those in earth-based cultures knew and understood.

I wondered, If this was the way our distant ancestors experienced life, why have we lost that ability? And how can we regain it? (I write about my experiences of being shot and subsequent realizations from that event in my book If I Can Forgive, So Can You.)

Coming Home

My passion for exploring my own native soul ignited an odyssey that took me to various places around the globe. I met and studied with many remarkable teachers from whom I gleaned much of the wisdom that I’m sharing in these pages.

My first teacher was named Morrnah Nalamaku Simeona. She was a recognized kahuna lapa’au (traditional Hawaiian healer) and was eventually called a living treasure of Hawaii. I was 19 years old and living on Oahu (where my younger sister had moved before me) when I met her. I wasn’t looking for a teacher at the time, but as the saying goes, “When the student is ready, the teacher appears.”

I’d never had a massage, but I’d heard it could be relaxing, so I flipped open the Yellow Pages (which had hundreds of massage listings), and I randomly picked a name and made an appointment. The massage studio was in Waikiki, in a basement spa located in the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

I was sitting in the waiting room when the door opened and the masseuse—a robust, gracious Hawaiian woman—stepped forward. Upon seeing her, I burst into tears. I didn’t know what was happening or why I couldn’t stop crying, but I felt like I had come home. It was such an overwhelming experience that I wanted to drop everything in my life and learn from her. (This was a big leap, since in those days if a young woman said she did massage, most people thought she was a prostitute. To obtain a massage license, all you needed to do was be fingerprinted, register with the vice squad, and get a syphilis test. That was it. But what people might think of me didn’t matter. I wanted to learn from Morrnah.)

For months I begged her to teach me, and she always said no until one day she found out that I was of Cherokee heritage. She said, “Ah, then you will understand the old ways.” (I have since learned, however, that kindling the native spirit depends more on your heart than your blood, but for Morrnah my heritage was important.) And thus began my training. She taught me massage, and I worked with her in the same spa. During our time together, she taught me about the ancient Hawaiian ways of healing, herbal medicine, and even about the “little people” (the elf-like menehunes) and earth spirits. She also taught me how to unblock stuck energy, enlist the help of ancestors, release earth-bound spirits, clear possessions of stagnant energies, help those that had passed on, and talk to land spirits. In this book, I share some of her wisdom with you.

Keep It Simple

Another teacher who made a deep impact on me was Dancing Feather, a Tewa Pueblo Native American. He also came into my life in an unusual way. I was living in Seattle at the time, and one day I received a phone call. The man on the other end of the phone spoke in a native accent that was so strong that it was hard to understand him. He explained that he’d read an article about me a year before and for 12 months he’d been praying about it in the kiva (an underground traditional place of prayers). He explained that he was old and wanted to pass on what he’d learned, but the younger tribal members only wanted phones, televisions, modern conveniences, and fast cars. They didn’t want to learn the old ways, so he’d been praying for someone to teach when he ran across the article. He told me that he prayed about it for a full year because he wanted to be sure . . . especially as I was of a different tribe.

Eventually I made numerous journeys to Taos, New Mexico, to learn from him. Dancing Feather was humble, serene, and only spoke intermittently; yet, over time he taught me about shape-shifting, listening to the land, ancient protection methods, and the power of the red earth. (Although what I learned from him helped me in my own life, I do not in any way represent Tewa tribal knowledge, nor should I . . . as that is the role of the elders of the tribe.) A few years later I was with him as he lay dying in the Santa Fe Indian Hospital. I was very sad, and I also felt guilty for not having learned more from him. He’d chosen to teach me, yet because I was so busy in my life, I hadn’t taken the time to learn as much as I could. I knew his knowledge would die with him, and my regret was palpable.

In a plea to garner any last wisdom from him, I asked, “Dancing Feather, what is the most important thing that you would have me know?”

With his gnarled, weakened hand, he beckoned me to come close to him. I lowered my ear near his mouth. Then he whispered these words: “Denise . . . keep it simple.”

Keep it simple? Surely he hadn’t said that. I didn’t move my ear because there had to be more. But that was his dying wisdom to me: “Keep it simple.” It took me years to understand how these last words were his most profound.

We Are All Connected

I had many inspiring encounters with native healers from various cultures; however, in the early 1990s, I was invited to travel to South Africa, where I met another teacher who touched me in a compelling way. In Bophuthatswana I had the honor of spending time with Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa, a Zulu sangoma (healer, shaman), high sanusi (visionary, seer). He’s recognized as one of the most distinguished and revered spiritual leaders of the Zulu. We huddled together in his hut made of straw and mud in a traditional Zulu village. This large, impressive man, dressed in skins and wearing various bones and stones around his neck, seemed primal and noble, and yet at the same time, he was one of the most articulate people I’d ever met. For example, when he found out I was of Cherokee descent, he began a discourse on the similarities between the Cherokee language and his own.

He knew details about the Cherokee traditions that I wasn’t aware of until I went back home and did extensive research. How could he possibly know about the Cherokee language and their traditions? He didn’t attend any school until he was 14 years old and then only sporadically. Somehow, even living in a hut without library facilities and long before the Internet, there was no subject about which he couldn’t converse. Some people told me that he’d even speak in different languages to those who visited him from far-off lands. It seemed that he was able to tap into some form of collective unconsciousness.

In my time with him, he shared his concern for the spirit of the earth and how she’s grieving because of the ecological disasters that are occurring. He talked about the urgency for people to see the living entity in every tree, plant, animal, and stone. He said this was essential in order for our planet to survive into future generations. He talked about a need for experiencing the interconnection between all beings and all forms of life. He also shared ancient Zulu prophecies that are being fulfilled today. He believed that, in no small way, the survival of the planet depended upon us returning to our native roots.

Being Native Isn’t What’s in Your Blood;

It’s What’s in Your Soul

The first time I met the respected Australian Aboriginal elder Nundjan Djiridjarkan, he was wearing skins—kangaroo skins, to be more precise. I met him when he came up to introduce himself at the end of a lecture I was giving in Perth about astral travel. He had a wooden staff and large initiation scars across his upper arms that could be seen through openings in the kangaroo skin. It seemed so out of context to see someone looking like this in a city. He looked like a bushman who’d stepped out of time. (He was so revered by his culture that when the Queen of England came for a visit, this was one of the elders with whom she met.)

He introduced himself, and explained that he’d heard there was an American woman speaking about astral travel. He said he came into town because he was skeptical of what I might have to say. However, evidently I surprised him. He then explained to me that Aborigines have always had a tradition of astral travel—traveling without the body over long distances—and he wanted to teach me more about their traditions, but first we needed to see if we were of the same clan. Otherwise, it was taboo.

Through a set of experiences in the bush, we discovered that I was the same clan, and so I learned from him and his people. In this book I have included some of the things that I learned from him, but only the things that I’m allowed to share, because much of Aboriginal spirituality is not to be shared. One of the most profound things I learned from Nundjan Djiridjarkan, however, was that being native isn’t what’s in your blood, but instead what’s in your soul. He talked a lot about the importance of people finding the native spirit that dwells inside of them. It was an honor to learn from this respected elder.

Although some people in the Northern Hemisphere think of Australia and New Zealand as very similar, the native population is, in fact, very different. Years ago, when I was lecturing in Auckland about the native spirit, a Maori woman who had attended the lecture told me that what I was teaching was very similar to the beliefs of her people. She invited me to visit her marae (sacred communal meeting place). This was an honor, so a time was arranged and I prepared gifts. (Whenever you visit a native clan, tribe, or village elder, you should bear gifts. This is important.) When I arrived at the marae I brought gifts, but the Maoris were a bit dismayed because I didn’t have lots of people with me. Formal meetings are very ceremonial and, as I learned, the formal visitor arriving at the marae is supposed to have their people with them. Luckily I was “loaned” some Maori people for the meeting ritual.

For the ceremonial greeting, we stood outdoors in a line—me with my “borrowed” people—in front of the wharenui (meeting house). The tohunga (spiritual leader) lined up with his people facing us. “My” people began to sing. It was beautiful and seemed to echo to the heavens. Then those standing with the tohunga began to sing in response. This went back and forth for a long time as we slowly moved forward, until the two lines were standing across from each other. Then we all went into the wharenui, where more ceremony occurred and where each person stood and shared his or her ancestry and then more songs were sung.

Over the years, I visited with the people from this Maori tribe many times, and the tohunga came to visit us in the States, as he was interested in learning Native American traditions. From the Maoris I learned about the healing power of the oral tradition, songs and chants, storytelling, offerings to nature spirits, how to speak to the spirits of the land, “little people,” and the importance of honoring one’s ancestors. One time I asked why they were willing to share their traditions with me, as I wasn’t of Maori blood, and I was told in words nearly verbatim to those of my Aborigine teacher: “It’s not what is in your blood, but what is in your soul, and you carry the Maori native spirit in your soul.”

I’ve only mentioned a few of the many people and cultures from which I’ve had the honor of studying. Sometimes the meetings were brief but meaningful—a shaman in Brazil, the hill people in Thailand near the Myanmar border, healers on the Mekong in Vietnam, Mayans in the Yucatán, a Lapland shaman in Finland, and various elders from different tribes of the Americas. And sometimes I was immersed in the culture for longer stretches of time. But in every case, there were similarities that spanned countries and cultures. For example, every native culture around the world considers the natural world to be alive and conscious; every tree, mountain, and river is thought to have a conscious spirit with which we can commune. Those in native cultures also speak of treating nature with reverence; there’s the belief that what we do to the land, we do to ourselves because we are intimately connected. All the native cultures that I spent time in believe in having gratitude for even the simplest of things, such as being thankful to the sunrise, and to a cooling breeze, and to corn spirit for providing food for the people. The similarities are what I call the native spirit.

There’s immense value in igniting your native spirit because when you do, your intuition expands exponentially. Gateways to spiritual realms open, and life-force energy fills you. You’ll find that more often you’ll be at the right place at the right time. And your self-esteem expands because so many in the spirit world are guiding you and believing in you. This book is a way to find that place of inner wisdom within you.

In the first chapter, “The Call,” you’ll gain an understanding of how to connect to and hear the call of the forces of the natural world. You’ll also discover how to answer the call of the forces of nature to activate sacred aspects of your life—thus, tapping into your authentic self and remembering who you are. In the second chapter, “The Gateway,” you’ll learn how to tell what your personal spirit animals, plants, and stone totems are and how to hear secret messages from beyond. In the third chapter, “The Deepening,” you will practice communing with Spirit by discovering how to find your true spirit name, make a spirit stick, and call Spirit with a drum or rattle, as well as understand the power of creating your own medicine bag and more. In the fourth chapter, “Great Mystery,” you’ll learn how to “see” fairies, create your own vision quest, become invisible, use your dreams for remarkable insights, and shape-shift. Finally, in the fifth chapter, “Right Relation,” you’ll begin to live in sacred balance and discover how to create powerful ceremonies, learn the importance of sharing your personal story, and know the ways in which prayers of gratitude can transform your life. I look forward to sharing this journey with you.