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

Becoming an Earthkeeper
Right Relation: Living in Sacred Balance

Stepping into your role as an Earthkeeper means that you begin to live in “right relation” with the world around you. You walk in harmony with the natural world, and you literally feel the pulse of the earth within you. And as a result, the spirit of the planet blossoms in your soul. The rivers are your blood; the wind is your breath. You’ll begin to sense the world around you in a different way. Your awakening as an Earthkeeper will be palpable. In unseen yet tangible ways, you’ll sense the profound effect you have on others and the planet as a whole.

One small shift can change everything. As John Muir said, “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.” One single shift can have far-reaching results, whether it’s in the physical or spiritual realms. When one stone is added or subtracted from a stream, it can forever alter its course. A similar thing also occurs in consciousness. If even one person shifts their consciousness and activates their inner native spirit, the world changes. In the Aboriginal worldview, everything leaves a record in the land. Every meaningful life event and every activity creates a kind of vibrational echo that can be felt far into the future. Your consciousness counts. As you plant seeds of compassion, love, and support, they will blossom for future generations.

Here’s an example from the natural world of the impact that one shift can make. By 1926 all the wolves in Yellowstone National Park had been killed. As a result, elk and deer proliferated without their natural predators. Since one thing had been removed from the ecosystem, the entire ecology changed. Then, between 1995 and 1997, 41 wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone. Although this was a small number of wolves for such a large area of over 3,000 square miles, something remarkable began to happen. An amazing explosion of biodiversity occurred as a result. Wolves are predators and they take life, but they also give life to an environment. When there were no wolves, there were too many deer and elk and they overgrazed the valleys. As soon as the wolves arrived, elk avoided valleys, where they would have been easy prey; so bushes, flowers, plants, and trees grew. Aspen and willow groves sprung up where there had been almost barren land.

The landscape was dramatically altered in just a few years. The new trees provided cover for large numbers of birds, and the berries on the trees provided additional food for the bears. The rivers no longer had their banks trampled down by the elk, so pools formed, and the rivers became more fixed in their course, and the water became clearer. Beaver then increased their dams; and more otters, muskrats, and ducks moved in. The wolves also hunted some of the coyotes, which meant more mice survived the appetites of the coyotes, which meant more bald eagles and hawks that eat the mice. And the dwindling population of foxes increased, because there were fewer coyotes to hunt them. One small shift made a huge difference.

In native tradition, there’s a continued awareness of the effect of our actions on the generations ahead. For example, one should never make a major decision without considering the effect on the seventh generation to follow. How very different our world would be if we all adhered to this way of thinking. We would still have lush rain forests, clean water, and clear air. These are physical things, but the native consciousness and awareness that we cultivate within ourselves is also a part of our mystical lineage. As an Earthkeeper, the clarity, strength, focus, and passion that you ignite within yourself is not a small force. It can indeed be your bequest to the future.

INVITING NATURAL FORCES INTO YOUR LIFE

When you become an Earthkeeper, the rhythmic language of the natural world begins to sing within you. Every part of nature—every flower, bird, and tree—has a unique language and its own cadence. If you take a moment to become very still, you can feel these rhythms inside of you, because you are a part of the cycles of nature.

I once spent the night in the outback with some Pitjantjatjara Aboriginal people in Australia, sleeping in a dry riverbed. When I awoke, I opened my eyes just in time to see the last star dissolve into the gray sky of early morning. It was so quiet. Then, as the the first ray of light rolled across the land like a great wave, a hum began to rise as one kind of insect and then another joined together in a song of awakening. When birds started singing, it was like a grand orchestra where one by one the instruments join in, building to a crescendo. I could feel the earth’s rhythm in my bones; I could inhale her rhythm into my body. It was like an immense heartbeat surging inside me, around me. And along with this rhythm I could feel a yearning growing within me. It was a deep longing for something I couldn’t quite remember, but knew that I had lost.

As nature is disappearing around us, we’re losing vast tracts of the wilderness inside ourselves as well. It’s as if the fertile soil of the soul is being gradually depleted. Every day as we lose part of our natural outer heritage, our inner heritage diminishes as well. Ancestral memories of life in the deep forest are being replaced by images of afternoon traffic and the sounds of pneumatic drills. Sirens drown out the songs of the birds. Something within us is dying as the chasm between humans and the natural world widens.

In the previous chapters, we’ve learned many different ways to kindle our native spirit, but in order to do this in totality, we must also activate the natural forces in our daily lives. Here are six ways to do it:

1. Shape-shift into the earth.

2. Spend time in wild or natural regions.

3. Be barefoot on the earth.

4. Embark on inner journeys into nature.

5. Bring nature into your home.

6. Cultivate gratitude.

1. SHAPE-SHIFT INTO THE EARTH

When you begin to think about the planet as a living, conscious organism, it can shift the way you perceive your relationship to the earth. This in turn can affect the way you live your life so that your life reflects the nature of this relationship. One excellent way to ignite this connection is to go on an inner meditative journey and imagine that you’re shape-shifting into the earth. Much like shape-shifting into a fox or a tree, as we discussed in Chapter 4, becoming one with Earth is an ancient and time-honored shamanistic tradition.

EXERCISE: BECOMING THE EARTH

Close your eyes. Enter into a meditative space and imagine that your body is beginning to expand . . . becoming bigger and bigger . . . so big, in fact, that you can feel yourself as the earth. Feel the deep heat in your core. Let the coolness of your oceans refresh you. Feel yourself revolving around the powerful force of the sun. Day turns to night and night to day again. Sense the warmth and light of the sun on half of you, while the other side reposes in darkness. You are always in a balance. When the warmth of summer is on one half, the coolness of winter encompasses the other. You’re spinning in a vast and infinite cosmos.

2. SPEND TIME IN WILD OR NATURAL REGIONS

From a scientific point of view, nature and everything around you is composed of atoms, which are the basic building blocks of the universe. Yet, when an atom is examined, you discover that it’s nearly all empty space. Most of it is vast emptiness, dotted with small amounts of matter, not unlike the void of outer space that’s dotted with planets and stars. However, this emptiness is not barren, cold, and lifeless. It contains potential energy waiting to be born. It’s an invisible force that holds the world together.

Native people intuitively knew about this infinite space of the universe, but what scientists call emptiness . . . they called Spirit. Throughout history, earth-based people have always understood the earth to be a living being. If you want to honor and activate the hidden forces within your life, one of the most powerful ways to do this is to spend time in nature. However, do this without jogging and without a cell phone, a musical device, a watch, or a laptop. Simply be present in nature. Inhale it. Stretch out in tall grasses and feel the earth’s cadence ripple through your body. Dig your hands into soil or sand. Stand with your back to a tree. Take an afternoon stroll through a park. Dangle your feet in a creek. See, hear, feel, and smell it all in silence.

3. BE BAREFOOT ON THE EARTH

Throughout history, native peoples almost always spent time barefoot, sitting and sleeping on the earth. Through direct contact (or through sweat-moistened animal skins used as footwear or sleeping mats, which acted as electric conductors) some of the electrons that exist on the surface of the earth transferred into their body. Being in close contact with the earth is called “earthing” and has been found scientifically to have great health benefits.

Mounting evidence suggests that the oscillation of the earth’s electrical circuitry helps create a positive environment for the normal functioning of our bodies’ systems. In other words, direct contact with the earth allows the electrical flow of the planet to stabilize the bioelectrical environment in our organs, tissues, and cells. Moreover, these oscillations may be important for setting the biological clocks regulating diurnal body rhythms, such as cortisol secretion. Research also suggests that direct contact with the earth can reduce acute and chronic inflammation. Emerging research points to clinically significant positive changes in sleep patterns, including sleep apnea and insomnia, pain reduction, reduction in respiratory conditions, better nerve health, and a blood thinning effect. Reduction of primary indicators of osteoporosis, improvement of glucose regulation, and a strengthened immune response are also linked to spending time with your feet on the earth.

A more recent, but yet to be definitively proven, theory that has sound science behind it is the idea that earthing can have a positive effect on the water structure in our cells—especially blood flow and cardiac rhythm. The water in our cells achieves its structured balance from the natural electromagnetic field of the earth, and it becomes disrupted when we are not in contact with the earth, which in turn can contribute to health problems, including strokes.

Our bodies are genetically programed to be in contact with the earth. (It’s only been in the last 50 years or so that we’ve been wearing insulating rubber or plastic soles on our shoes that separate us from the electrical flows of the earth.) Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman—in his lectures on electromagnetism—states that when the body is “earthed,” it becomes an extension of the earth’s gigantic electric system, and when this occurs, our bodies move into a natural harmony.

Some effective surfaces to ground yourself are grass, sand, moss, stones, bare soil, and unpainted/unsealed concrete and brick. You can also remain partially grounded, even if you’re not barefoot, by wearing shoes with no plastic or rubber in them when walking across these surfaces. Staying grounded in a modern dwelling is more difficult. It’s challenging to be earthed by going barefoot inside your home, as many common flooring materials are poor conductors.

In one double-blind study, 28 subjects were divided into two groups: one was grounded and one was not. Ten exercises were then repeated five times over a one-hour period. Blood was taken before and after each exercise and analyzed for blood viscosity using a scanning capillary viscometer. The results concluded that those who were earthed significantly reduced their systolic blood viscosity and diastolic blood viscosity (which means their blood was thinner, which is good). Less viscous blood allows more oxygen flow into the body and decreases the chance of a stroke.

Studies also show that earthing the human body creates significant effects on electrophysiological properties of the brain and musculature. Even a few minutes a day being in close contact with the earth can make a difference. Although substantial further research needs to be done, these preliminary studies give credence to the notion that it’s good to be outdoors and in contact with the earth.

4. EMBARK ON INNER JOURNEYS INTO NATURE

In addition to spending time outside, you can also connect deeply to nature through visualization exercises. This is amazing but true. It works because there’s a place in the brain that believes what you visualize is real and responds physiologically. For example, research done at Manchester Metropolitan University has proved that muscle strength can be improved by 16 percent just by visualizing exercising a muscle. In a study conducted by sports psychologist David Smith, the muscle strength in the small finger was first measured in a test group. Participants were then divided into three groups. One group performed strengthening exercises; the second group only imagined exercising the little finger; and the third group did nothing at all. The exercisers increased their muscle strength by 33 percent. There was no improvement in the group that neither exercised nor visualized, but the group that only visualized exercising the finger showed an improvement of 16 percent in muscle strength.

Imagining yourself in nature can have a similar effect on your body as actually being in nature. For example, when people are actually in nature, their blood pressure and pulse decrease. Similarly, when people visualize being in nature, their pulse and blood pressure are reduced. The brain often responds physically to the things we visualize, as if they were actually occurring. Even just a few moments of visualization can deepen your connection to nature! Here’s an easy exercise that you can do:

EXERCISE: SUN-DRENCHED SEASHORE VISUALIZATION

Imagine that you are at the seashore stretched out on the sand. You feel totally at ease as the warmth of the sand radiates up through your body. The sound of the waves crashing against the shore brings wave after wave of relaxing energy flowing through your body. A lone seagull circles lazily overhead in a vivid blue sky, and you know that all is well.

5. BRING NATURE INTO YOUR HOME

You and your body are a part of nature. Your body is the result of an evolutionary process of nature over millions of years. As humans we’ve had thousands of years to adapt to natural environments, yet only a few generations to adapt to urban spaces. Our bodies have a hereditarily programmed need to spend time outside; they’ve adapted to nature, just as every animal and plant has done. When an animal is removed from its natural habitat, its energy usually wanes. It’s encoded to interact with its particular environment. Our bodies have been taken out of our natural ancestral environments, and most certainly this is causing great difficulties for us. If we don’t include the forces of nature in our environments, not only do we rob ourselves of a rich source of aesthetic and spiritual satisfaction, but also we place our health at risk. Our salvation lies in bringing nature back into our environments.

Nature can be found in the four elements—Air, Water, Fire, and Earth—that comprise the natural world around us. Each element, as we saw in Chapter 1, has a unique rhythm that’s essential to the balance of life. By simulating the natural cycles of each element, you can bring even more harmony into your home and into your life. For example, when you open your windows to allow sunshine to flood in, you’re connecting to the Spirit of Fire. If you have a home fountain, the natural sound of the water on the stones can connect you to the movement and rhythm of the Spirit of Water. Put some pinecones in an earthen pot or diffuse essential oils to invite the Spirit of Earth. Playing a recording of songbirds, even if you live in a city, invites the Spirit of Air. Recent research has found that listening to nature sounds at work has a restorative effect on cognitive abilities. While listening to natural sounds such as songbirds, rain, or ocean waves, workers not only performed better at their tasks, but they also reported feeling more positive about their environment. When you bring the rhythms of the elements into your space, you’ll feel even more deeply connected to all life on Earth.

When you invite the feeling of nature into your home, it isn’t just for psychological reasons—there are solid physiological reasons as well. Research has shown, for instance, that heart-surgery patients in intensive care units who viewed landscape scenes (via paintings or photos) reported less anxiety and stress and needed less pain medication than a control group that was not exposed to the pictures. People recovering from appendicitis surgery needed less time to recover if they were either in a room with a window out to nature or had a room with realistic artwork of nature. (Curiously, but not surprisingly, those with the window to nature and the artwork of nature had similar recovery times. Those with no window or nature artwork had slower recovery times. And, those with abstract or modern art had longer recovery times.) Additionally, anything that gives the illusion of nature, such as fireplaces, wildlife videos, or aquariums can have a beneficial effect on the viewer. This gives credence to the idea that the more you can create aspects of nature in your home, the more you will benefit.

6. CULTIVATE GRATITUDE

Living in right relation and being an Earthkeeper especially means being grateful to all of Creation. The native view of prayer is different than the Western one. Often in Western religions, we pray for things. We might pray for a new job or pray for the healing of an ailment. And we, as a culture, assign one day a week for our devotions. But in native cultures, prayers are constant and daily, in simple, deep, and profound appreciation for the blessings received. Instead of asking for something, the prayers are of appreciation and gratitude. Gratitude infuses life with vibrancy. Here is an example of a prayer of thankfulness:

EXERCISE: A PRAYER OF GRATITUDE

I thank you, Creator, for this remarkable day. Thank you for the grass beneath my feet and the clouds in the sky above me. Thank you for the wondrous ability to see, hear, smell, and feel the vast and infinite universe in its glory, and for the sun, moon, trees, mountains, streams, rivers, and seas. I am so grateful to you for your blessings, guidance, and love. Thank you, thank you, for this day!