Whispers from the indigenous ancients of Éire and Albion. This post offers some glimpses into the pre-colonial/pre-statist culture of the Druids, Brehon and their Celtic cousins.
Rather than a return to ancient paganism ("The gods of the pagans are demons" - 1 Corinthians 10.20; Psalm 95.5) we should return to authentic Christianity which is the pre-1958 Judeo-Masonic takeover Catholic Church, about which many lies are widely believed, like killing 8 million witches. (Most "witch" burnings, etc. were by Protestants.) See, e.g., traditioninaction.org/movies/026_BBC.htm (Inquisition article & video)
Ahh I have been fact checked by the Church, that is very amusing, thanks for that.
So you would have us swear fealty to the Church of the same "authentic pre-1958 Christianity" institution that put out the "Papal bull" or decree (a Pope 1493 dictate) which later morphed into "The Doctrine Of Discovery"?
No thanks.
For those that are not aware, the "Romanus Pontifex" was a Papal Bull dictated by Pope Nicolas V on January 8th, 1455 which stated:
"Invade, search out, capture, vanquish and subdue. All Saracens and pagans whatsoever, And other enemies of Christ wheresoever placed... And reduce their persons to perpetual slavery..."
That became the legal concept referred to as "The Doctrine Of Discovery" and was used by governments all over the planet to justify the murderous imperialism, land theft and attempts at cultural genocide visited upon indigenous peoples all over the planet (including my Gaelic and Welsh ancestors of Éire and Albion.
The institution you put on a pedestal is so far removed and twisted from the wise teachings of Jesus of Nazareth it usually does more harm than good now. Typically it is used as a weapon of psychological warfare to control the masses and convince impressionable humans to fight each other, so that those that live opulent lifestyles can continue to do so.
Rather than return to "paganism" and rather than look to other humans in institutions or in books (via christianity) for a pathway to know the will of the Creator, I go straight to the source and cut out all the middle men. My path is a path of Spiritual Autodidacticism.
Rather than stagnate in the fear, arrogance and anthropocentric delusions of grandeur that are the corner stones of the institutions you put on a pedestal, I would invite you to let God guide you directly through learning to perceive his will as it is manifested in his design of the natural world around you (as the Druids did and many of the cultures of Turtle Island did).
There is a reason that Jesus of Nazareth would go into the wilderness for days at a time to commune with the Creator, as in such places his voice can be heard and his will perceived much more clearly than in any church or book.
You're right in saying the church, at least the one under the NWO Globalist asset Francis (and his 5 predecessors beginning in 1958: whitesmoke1958.com) usually does more harm than good now. But the true Catholic Church has done inestimable good, bringing Europe out of the Dark Ages, founding hospitals, universities, helping the poor, & so much more, but above all it is the one Ark of Salvation, the chosen vehicle by God to apply the merits of Christ's sacrifice on the Cross for the forgiveness of sins & the possibility of attaining the salvation of our souls. There is no forgiveness of sins in any other religion.
This very popular book made a great impression on me when I was in my mid-20s. The writing style is appealing as well.
Your promotion of autodidacticism reminds me of something St Bernard of Clairvaux (d. 1153) said: "He who sets himself up as his own teacher becomes the pupil of a fool." ;)
But I suppose if it's combined with prayer to God (not to Druids) for enlightenment it can be profitable.
Your emperor Constantine manipulated version of the teachings of wise men and women (manifested in the dogmatic beliefs you endorse) is not something I see value in preserving for future generations. Those archaic systems of psychological warfare will be left behind to decompose along with the Statist regimes and serve to nourish the seeds for new ways with their cautionary lessons of hubris and superiority complex delusions run awry.
Perhaps you did not read the post on spiritual autodidacticism as you apparently do not realize that through seeing Mother Earth as my teacher I am learning directly from the physical manifestation of the architecture, genius and voice of God.
The Druids were the learned ones of ancient Éire (Ireland) and Albion (Briton) they studied God's design for 17 years as apprentices to become physicians, botanical experts, poets, judges and priests. That pathway of learning is much more advanced than any institutionalized pathway of learning for those life paths in modern society. They knew more about the will of the Divine Creator than your Catholic Church as they studied his work directly, and did not just regurgitate the writing of some other humans. Through their animistic reverence for our non-human kin they expressed the most powerful form of prayer and respect for the Creator, that which serves to be in service of protecting and nurturing Creation.
Many will cling to anthropocentric delusions of grandeur and hubristic superiority complexes (wrapped in a thin veneer of religiosity) as this is the wide and easy path, it comforts the ego and lets one stagnate without having to take an honest look in the mirror. I pray that in time they will choose courage and integrity over stagnation and arrogance to choose to connect directly with the Creator rather than look to the facade of religious institutions claiming to be able to enable you to connect to God.
May the deep knowing you were born with when you came onto this Earth that allowed you to directly connect to God arise into your conscious mind and liberate you from the futile and circular path of looking outside of yourself to know the Creator, May this knowing nurture and inspire you in a way that no book, church or preacher ever could.
I think you don't really know a person, without knowing where they came from. I cannot tell you my give names, because i made some people angry being awesome. But My irish clan is cassidy -healers- (i believe they worked with the MacGuires), adopted into the Kennedy and Cronin Clan. My most influential Wendish ancestor Is Helge. One of those was a deprogramming expert, so. here i am. Good to meet you! anyway i have already written about the magic of the elements, their challenges, and the way they interrelate, elsewhere.
There are different levels of knowing a spiritual being and different levels of knowing a person.
Those who attune their innate modes of perception that are beyond the intellect and 5 senses (as I feel you have) can get a sense of a being (an eternal spiritual essence or "soul") through nothing more than eye contact and/or physical touch. Some can even do that to varying degrees with a picture or a recording of the voice (my wife is one such person).
Knowing a person (a human being that is a marriage between spirit and flesh) is a different story as that is a unique being that has never existed before and will never exist again. They are the culmination of ten thousand ancestors stories and blood flowing in their veins combined with their unique live experiences. That person looking out at the world through a kaleidoscope of consciousness that was influenced by the position of the stars and the planets relative to the Earth when they arrived as an infant, the tilt of the planet relative to the local star Sol and the bioregion they were born in (that shapes their microbiome and influences their thoughts). So many facets to know in a person, the ancestry tells an important part of the story, but even that, only a part of the spectrum that defines the essence of each person.
Thank you for sharing those facets of who you are as a person, I am honored to know you and walk this Earth along side of you at this time of the turning of the ages.
I think it's important to remember we're all indigenous to the earth, even if we're mongrels and generations removed from our roots. We all come from tough, resilient lineage or we wouldn't be here.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts my friend. I agree each of us are indigenous to Earth in a literal Merriam-Webster sense.
I would however question whether or not many humans on Earth are "living as if our children’s future mattered, to take care of the land as if our lives, both material and spiritual, depended on it." (source: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7209133-for-all-of-us-becoming-indigenous-to-a-place-means ). Many of us (including myself as it is a perpetual journey of learning to move into further alignment with that way of living) have quite a ways to go in order to be able to rightly define our selves as "Indigenous" to Earth in that context.
I feel it is important however to re-iterate that each and everyone of us have ancestors that were indigenous to a specific place on Earth and not only that, they were living as beings Indigenous to Earth (in the second definition I provide for the term above).
There are threads of wisdom that are able to be picked up and woven together by each of us, to create a new fabric of Indigeneity which will connect, nourish and protect our descendants 7 generations down the line. Each of us is called to discover our own unique threads that can be woven into a tapestry of an emergent culture on this Earth which is yet to be. That culture (which is decentralized in its origins, not limited by genetic exclusion, based in integrity, humility, courage and global in scope) will truly be Indigenous to the Earth in all ways.
While the colorful tapestry of some the genetic lineage of many modern day humans may be defined as "mongrel" to some, it is also possible to acknowledge that some of the most soul and body nourishing heirloom plants (whether medicine, food or flower) could not have become what they are now, without the mixing of their ancient indigenous place based (progenitor) genetics being with other plants and the stimulus of new lands... and so it is with the modern human.
Rather than attempt to breed "purity" in a genetic sense the emergent culture I move to co-create will focus on breeding or sculpting/honing (or perhaps more accurately, the revealing of) the heart, mind and spirit to be a pure expression of the unique God given gifts we arrived with. Through embracing that which is unrepeatable and imbued with a particular medicine from the Creator that resides within each of us, bringing those unique gifts forward and allowing our spirit to guide us in collaboration with others doing the same, we become the medicine that the living Earth and our human family needs, we starve oppressive and tyrannical institutions and plant the seeds for a new culture to be born and grow in their place.
Somewhere I saw a meme about a gardener blaming the seeds for not working hard enough when they didn't produce. I think the same is true of blaming people rather than the conditions they're subjected to. That's why I focus on the system and imagining how we'd design it.
Someone told me that 49% of the land in California and a quarter of the US is 'owned' by the federal gov't. Nixon's doing with the Conservation Act at the same time he took the US off the gold standard. I think that all peoples taking responsibility and having authority for the lands around their commonwealth is a part of reclaiming our indigenous heritage.
It's our nature to live as our indigenous ancestors did but we have 5000 yrs, by my calculations, of being ruled by others who want us to produce for their benefit, not our own or our seven generations. I don't think, personally, individuals can be blamed for how they make their way in these compromised circumstances--even those in power, who are winning at the game but didn't invent it.
I love your metaphor of threads of wisdom we're weaving together for a new indigenous fabric. Beautiful! And the tapestry of lineage as a weaving of the heart. Gorgeous and so true! Although I do have a soft spot for mongrels, who are my favorite breed :-)
If you do not believe in blaming others for their choices how do you reconcile that worldview with your statement regarding these situation you describe as "being ruled by others who want us to produce for their benefit" ?
Are you not blaming these "rulers" for their forcing others to "produce for their benefit" ?
In my opinion, working to change the system so that people have an easier time making "better choices" is synergistically supported by a perspective that involves holding ourselves (and each other) accountable for actions that either align with our God given discernment of actions that are aligned with compassion, respect, humility and integrity or not.
I do not think that sitting around finger pointing at "the bad guys" or "the nasty idiot people" (put whatever demographic you want in there that many might blame for all our problems) while doing nothing to change "the system" and culture we live in is healthy nor constructive, but I also feel that completely ignoring/avoiding people's agency to choose behaviors is not healthy nor productive either.
Reality and truth exist outside of the black and white dichotomies we often adopt to categorize and describe the world and this dichotomy we are discussing here is no exception.
Through declaring that no-one is accountable for their actions because "the system made me do it" we offer a perpetual cop out excuse to those that have (through their choices) developed a habit and pattern of duplicity, violation of others and selfishness and they will cling to that justification and hold it close as they continue said behaviors (emboldened by their victim mind state thinking of blaming the system for making them do what they do).
Through sitting around finger pointing at others or ourselves and blaming without taking any action to become the solution and embodiment of what we do want to see manifest in the world around us, we allow the world to continue to degenerate and spiral into further darkness through our passivity.
Separate from those two perspectives is a path that both acknowledges that we are born into a system designed to psychologically manipulate humans into conforming into certain behaviors, while also acknowledging that even though humans are under pressure, some strive to use that pressure and friction to sharpen their mind and open their heart rather than allow it to shape them into "another brick in the wall". That path also involves taking decisive action to dismantle oppressive systems, abandon hubristic/fallacious worldviews and plant the seeds for an emergent culture to germinate, take root and create a world and system that 7 generations from now, will empower humans to be even more capable and supported in choosing actions that nurture their spirit and are in service of life. That is the path I walk.
Thank you for your kind words about my metaphor and thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Tereza, I do appreciate hearing all different viewpoints; it helps me see the pulse of society. However, your thought that individuals cannot be held accountable is not one in which i can align. This is why. Firstly, we are each responsible for any action we take or do not take (as they both have natural consequences). Unlike the people who suffered through the holocaust and survived, we are not victims. In fact, even many of those who went through the holocaust did not see themselves as victims. I do not see it as blame but as taking responsibility for our choices. We have allowed ourselves to get to this point in society. At any time we can choose to stand up and say no to the path we are being led down. I do not hold anyone but myself responsible for my life, as well as what i tolerate or accept.
Secondly, there are many people throughout history who have stood up against parents, educational institutions, rulers, governments and other oppresser, when they decided what was happening was harmful to themselves or to others. In today's society, it often seems that people prefer choosing to play the victim card rather than taking responsibility for what is happening around them. It is one thing to just admit that one wants to just enjoy life and not care about what is going on because everyone has free will... a choice but pretending that there is nothing one can do is totally different. That is buying into learned helplessness and that means buying that one has no control over their situation and therefore stops trying to change it, even when they could potentially do so.
However we are in agreement about Gavin's beautiful metaphor. He knows how to draw a picture with his words... such talent. His words move my heart.
Well said, but when people continue talking about "The Song That Never Ends about the Event that Never Happened," which is responsible for so many bad things in our world, the truth needs to be told. The Real Holocaust was against the German people, as Dr Alan Sabrosky explains: rumble.com/v5hxf65-alan-sabrosky-on-the-real-ww2-holocaust-against-germans.html
I agree we are each responsible for the actions we take.
I also feel that considering mitigating circumstances, ubiquitous environmental pressures and other variables that exert an influence on the development of humans and influence their choices is worthwhile, but I do not agree with what Tereza appears to be saying about giving anyone and everyone a carte blanche cop out excuse to be able to do what ever they want and then blame it on the system they were raised in.
As you astutely point out, many humans living in extremely challenging and oppressive conditions throughout history (and at present day) have summoned the gumption and courage to go against the grain and make the hard choice to walk a path of compassion and truth (even when they were surrounded by violence and brought up in a system full of lies).
The Brehon judges would look at the action of the individual, ensure it was confirmed to be witnessed by multiple individuals and then consider mitigating circumstances before rendering their judgement of the restitution required of the violating party, but the free will of the individual was always honored in that they chose the action and thus must face the consequences. That law applied to the Nobles Of The Wood (the elder trees) and was applicable to people living in poverty just as much as wealthy individuals or clan leaders. The motivation and situation of the one violating the sacred trees would be considered but the judgement nevertheless involved the offending party taking responsibility for their choices in one way or another.
The Brehon rendering judgement upon a militarized RCMP officer that chooses to follow nefarious orders to commit heinous acts of violence against their fellow humans would likely receive a different judgement of restitution than the farmer that decided without any external force pressuring him to engage in that same act of violence, but they would both be held accountable in some significant way regardless of the mitigating circumstances.
Thanks for your kind words about my metaphor my love.
Hello, Johrey. Thanks for responding, I had a feeling you might.
You write, "I do not see it as blame but as taking responsibility for our choices." Taking responsibility for your own choices isn't blame. But that's not what you're doing. You're saying that while you're a good person who takes responsibility, others see themselves as victims, have allowed society to get to this point, don't stand up against what's harming themselves or others, just want to enjoy life and don't care about what's going on, have learned helplessness, and don't try to change it even when they potentially could. That's blaming others and deciding that you're morally better than they are.
I think you and Gavin are very moral people, but I also believe that about everyone else. When I look around my life, I see people doing the best they can. I'm grateful to have the choices I do. If I were in their circumstances, I'm not sure what would make me do better. Would I have been born into their life with a greater capacity to choose good? If that's true, then God is unfair. How can I blame them for how they were born?
My focus is on changing the system and giving everyone better choices.
Actually while it is interesting that you tell me what i am saying, i would suggest that instead it is what you are reading it as, based on your perspective at this time. And yes, i am aware at times we all do that. But what you think i was saying is not what i am saying. When i said i do not see it as blame but as taking responsibility for our choices i was refering to what you had said, "I don't think, personally, individuals can be blamed for how they make their way in these compromised circumstances". My mother raised us to take responsibility but there were many times growing up when i did not want to take responsibility my choices but she showed me through natural consequences how being a victim just made me in a rut, so i began to choose differently. That is a lifelong process but whenever as an adult, i will catch myself playing the victim card, "why is this happening to me" and i remind myself that i am in control of what i accept and what i do not. Then i sit and reflect on how i can change whatever it is to make it more beneficial for all.
And for the record, i am definitely not better nor worse than anyone, Tereza. A better capacity to choose good??? What is good??? We all have the capacity to make choices. Perhaps we are talking about different things. I am saying that each of us is responsible and accountable for our lives despite what authorities may say or do and that true freedom only comes from taking responsibility for your life. What are you talking about?
Personally, my truth is that i am not good, nor am i bad. Those are labels. I do not do labels. I am just me. Sometimes i move smoothly along this path and sometimes i stumble. While other times i fall. I have not a privileged life. In fact, many have asked me how i handled all the trauma i had through my life but i see those times of trauma as opportunities to see others with compassion and understanding. Most importantly to me, i have gratefully had God in my life every step of the way and to me that is who i hold on to and the only one whose opinion of me, matters. But each time i reach out for God, He helps me back up. By the way, i do not accept that God has anything to do with how you are born. i believe you choose it before you come into these bodies and you do that to enable you to gain the experience you need to help your true self gain understanding. God is love, only love and God does nothing but support OUR choices, because that is how we develop understanding and appreciation for this experience.
So you thought i might respond. Interesting comment. Why is that?
You say, "My focus is on changing the system and giving everyone better choices."
I see it as lasting change happens from within so if we want the world to change it has to happen from the inside out in each of us. We can be there to support each other but we are each responsible for doing the work.
I'm sorry, Johrey. I stopped responding to Gavin's stack before because you picked apart everything I said. I don't know why I provoke that response in you. But it's not worth the conflict. Even when I'm trying to say that no one's better than anyone else, you respond as if I'm trying to make myself better than you. I truly wish you and Gavin well, but I think it's best if I bow out.
Rather than a return to ancient paganism ("The gods of the pagans are demons" - 1 Corinthians 10.20; Psalm 95.5) we should return to authentic Christianity which is the pre-1958 Judeo-Masonic takeover Catholic Church, about which many lies are widely believed, like killing 8 million witches. (Most "witch" burnings, etc. were by Protestants.) See, e.g., traditioninaction.org/movies/026_BBC.htm (Inquisition article & video)
endtimes.video/catholic-inquisition-myths-busted
Ahh I have been fact checked by the Church, that is very amusing, thanks for that.
So you would have us swear fealty to the Church of the same "authentic pre-1958 Christianity" institution that put out the "Papal bull" or decree (a Pope 1493 dictate) which later morphed into "The Doctrine Of Discovery"?
No thanks.
For those that are not aware, the "Romanus Pontifex" was a Papal Bull dictated by Pope Nicolas V on January 8th, 1455 which stated:
"Invade, search out, capture, vanquish and subdue. All Saracens and pagans whatsoever, And other enemies of Christ wheresoever placed... And reduce their persons to perpetual slavery..."
That became the legal concept referred to as "The Doctrine Of Discovery" and was used by governments all over the planet to justify the murderous imperialism, land theft and attempts at cultural genocide visited upon indigenous peoples all over the planet (including my Gaelic and Welsh ancestors of Éire and Albion.
(For more info read: https://archive.org/details/becoming-a-good-relative/IMG_0565.JPG and )
The institution you put on a pedestal is so far removed and twisted from the wise teachings of Jesus of Nazareth it usually does more harm than good now. Typically it is used as a weapon of psychological warfare to control the masses and convince impressionable humans to fight each other, so that those that live opulent lifestyles can continue to do so.
Rather than return to "paganism" and rather than look to other humans in institutions or in books (via christianity) for a pathway to know the will of the Creator, I go straight to the source and cut out all the middle men. My path is a path of Spiritual Autodidacticism.
(for more info: https://gavinmounsey.substack.com/p/spiritual-autodidacticism )
I honor and acknowledge the wise animistic perspectives of my Gaelic ancestors and of my indigenous brothers and sisters that persevered here on Turtle Island (despite the despotic, psychotic, hubristic and nefarious attacks by the Church onto their culture, for more info read: https://gavinmounsey.substack.com/p/the-rise-of-anthropocentrism-bright and https://archive.org/details/becoming-a-good-relative/IMG_0567.JPG ) and I will breathe new life into those ways of seeing and living now.
Rather than stagnate in the fear, arrogance and anthropocentric delusions of grandeur that are the corner stones of the institutions you put on a pedestal, I would invite you to let God guide you directly through learning to perceive his will as it is manifested in his design of the natural world around you (as the Druids did and many of the cultures of Turtle Island did).
There is a reason that Jesus of Nazareth would go into the wilderness for days at a time to commune with the Creator, as in such places his voice can be heard and his will perceived much more clearly than in any church or book.
Thanks for the comment.
You're right in saying the church, at least the one under the NWO Globalist asset Francis (and his 5 predecessors beginning in 1958: whitesmoke1958.com) usually does more harm than good now. But the true Catholic Church has done inestimable good, bringing Europe out of the Dark Ages, founding hospitals, universities, helping the poor, & so much more, but above all it is the one Ark of Salvation, the chosen vehicle by God to apply the merits of Christ's sacrifice on the Cross for the forgiveness of sins & the possibility of attaining the salvation of our souls. There is no forgiveness of sins in any other religion.
This very popular book made a great impression on me when I was in my mid-20s. The writing style is appealing as well.
www.sacredheartshrine.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Life-of-Christ-Fulton-J.-Sheen.pdf
Your promotion of autodidacticism reminds me of something St Bernard of Clairvaux (d. 1153) said: "He who sets himself up as his own teacher becomes the pupil of a fool." ;)
But I suppose if it's combined with prayer to God (not to Druids) for enlightenment it can be profitable.
Your emperor Constantine manipulated version of the teachings of wise men and women (manifested in the dogmatic beliefs you endorse) is not something I see value in preserving for future generations. Those archaic systems of psychological warfare will be left behind to decompose along with the Statist regimes and serve to nourish the seeds for new ways with their cautionary lessons of hubris and superiority complex delusions run awry.
Perhaps you did not read the post on spiritual autodidacticism as you apparently do not realize that through seeing Mother Earth as my teacher I am learning directly from the physical manifestation of the architecture, genius and voice of God.
The Druids were the learned ones of ancient Éire (Ireland) and Albion (Briton) they studied God's design for 17 years as apprentices to become physicians, botanical experts, poets, judges and priests. That pathway of learning is much more advanced than any institutionalized pathway of learning for those life paths in modern society. They knew more about the will of the Divine Creator than your Catholic Church as they studied his work directly, and did not just regurgitate the writing of some other humans. Through their animistic reverence for our non-human kin they expressed the most powerful form of prayer and respect for the Creator, that which serves to be in service of protecting and nurturing Creation.
Many will cling to anthropocentric delusions of grandeur and hubristic superiority complexes (wrapped in a thin veneer of religiosity) as this is the wide and easy path, it comforts the ego and lets one stagnate without having to take an honest look in the mirror. I pray that in time they will choose courage and integrity over stagnation and arrogance to choose to connect directly with the Creator rather than look to the facade of religious institutions claiming to be able to enable you to connect to God.
May the deep knowing you were born with when you came onto this Earth that allowed you to directly connect to God arise into your conscious mind and liberate you from the futile and circular path of looking outside of yourself to know the Creator, May this knowing nurture and inspire you in a way that no book, church or preacher ever could.
So it is and so it shall be.
I think you don't really know a person, without knowing where they came from. I cannot tell you my give names, because i made some people angry being awesome. But My irish clan is cassidy -healers- (i believe they worked with the MacGuires), adopted into the Kennedy and Cronin Clan. My most influential Wendish ancestor Is Helge. One of those was a deprogramming expert, so. here i am. Good to meet you! anyway i have already written about the magic of the elements, their challenges, and the way they interrelate, elsewhere.
There are different levels of knowing a spiritual being and different levels of knowing a person.
Those who attune their innate modes of perception that are beyond the intellect and 5 senses (as I feel you have) can get a sense of a being (an eternal spiritual essence or "soul") through nothing more than eye contact and/or physical touch. Some can even do that to varying degrees with a picture or a recording of the voice (my wife is one such person).
Knowing a person (a human being that is a marriage between spirit and flesh) is a different story as that is a unique being that has never existed before and will never exist again. They are the culmination of ten thousand ancestors stories and blood flowing in their veins combined with their unique live experiences. That person looking out at the world through a kaleidoscope of consciousness that was influenced by the position of the stars and the planets relative to the Earth when they arrived as an infant, the tilt of the planet relative to the local star Sol and the bioregion they were born in (that shapes their microbiome and influences their thoughts). So many facets to know in a person, the ancestry tells an important part of the story, but even that, only a part of the spectrum that defines the essence of each person.
Thank you for sharing those facets of who you are as a person, I am honored to know you and walk this Earth along side of you at this time of the turning of the ages.
Well said! I think of us and everything as fractal multidimensional, energy beings.
I think it's important to remember we're all indigenous to the earth, even if we're mongrels and generations removed from our roots. We all come from tough, resilient lineage or we wouldn't be here.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts my friend. I agree each of us are indigenous to Earth in a literal Merriam-Webster sense.
I would however question whether or not many humans on Earth are "living as if our children’s future mattered, to take care of the land as if our lives, both material and spiritual, depended on it." (source: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7209133-for-all-of-us-becoming-indigenous-to-a-place-means ). Many of us (including myself as it is a perpetual journey of learning to move into further alignment with that way of living) have quite a ways to go in order to be able to rightly define our selves as "Indigenous" to Earth in that context.
I feel it is important however to re-iterate that each and everyone of us have ancestors that were indigenous to a specific place on Earth and not only that, they were living as beings Indigenous to Earth (in the second definition I provide for the term above).
There are threads of wisdom that are able to be picked up and woven together by each of us, to create a new fabric of Indigeneity which will connect, nourish and protect our descendants 7 generations down the line. Each of us is called to discover our own unique threads that can be woven into a tapestry of an emergent culture on this Earth which is yet to be. That culture (which is decentralized in its origins, not limited by genetic exclusion, based in integrity, humility, courage and global in scope) will truly be Indigenous to the Earth in all ways.
While the colorful tapestry of some the genetic lineage of many modern day humans may be defined as "mongrel" to some, it is also possible to acknowledge that some of the most soul and body nourishing heirloom plants (whether medicine, food or flower) could not have become what they are now, without the mixing of their ancient indigenous place based (progenitor) genetics being with other plants and the stimulus of new lands... and so it is with the modern human.
Rather than attempt to breed "purity" in a genetic sense the emergent culture I move to co-create will focus on breeding or sculpting/honing (or perhaps more accurately, the revealing of) the heart, mind and spirit to be a pure expression of the unique God given gifts we arrived with. Through embracing that which is unrepeatable and imbued with a particular medicine from the Creator that resides within each of us, bringing those unique gifts forward and allowing our spirit to guide us in collaboration with others doing the same, we become the medicine that the living Earth and our human family needs, we starve oppressive and tyrannical institutions and plant the seeds for a new culture to be born and grow in their place.
Thanks for the comment.
Somewhere I saw a meme about a gardener blaming the seeds for not working hard enough when they didn't produce. I think the same is true of blaming people rather than the conditions they're subjected to. That's why I focus on the system and imagining how we'd design it.
Someone told me that 49% of the land in California and a quarter of the US is 'owned' by the federal gov't. Nixon's doing with the Conservation Act at the same time he took the US off the gold standard. I think that all peoples taking responsibility and having authority for the lands around their commonwealth is a part of reclaiming our indigenous heritage.
It's our nature to live as our indigenous ancestors did but we have 5000 yrs, by my calculations, of being ruled by others who want us to produce for their benefit, not our own or our seven generations. I don't think, personally, individuals can be blamed for how they make their way in these compromised circumstances--even those in power, who are winning at the game but didn't invent it.
I love your metaphor of threads of wisdom we're weaving together for a new indigenous fabric. Beautiful! And the tapestry of lineage as a weaving of the heart. Gorgeous and so true! Although I do have a soft spot for mongrels, who are my favorite breed :-)
If you do not believe in blaming others for their choices how do you reconcile that worldview with your statement regarding these situation you describe as "being ruled by others who want us to produce for their benefit" ?
Are you not blaming these "rulers" for their forcing others to "produce for their benefit" ?
In my opinion, working to change the system so that people have an easier time making "better choices" is synergistically supported by a perspective that involves holding ourselves (and each other) accountable for actions that either align with our God given discernment of actions that are aligned with compassion, respect, humility and integrity or not.
I do not think that sitting around finger pointing at "the bad guys" or "the nasty idiot people" (put whatever demographic you want in there that many might blame for all our problems) while doing nothing to change "the system" and culture we live in is healthy nor constructive, but I also feel that completely ignoring/avoiding people's agency to choose behaviors is not healthy nor productive either.
Reality and truth exist outside of the black and white dichotomies we often adopt to categorize and describe the world and this dichotomy we are discussing here is no exception.
Through declaring that no-one is accountable for their actions because "the system made me do it" we offer a perpetual cop out excuse to those that have (through their choices) developed a habit and pattern of duplicity, violation of others and selfishness and they will cling to that justification and hold it close as they continue said behaviors (emboldened by their victim mind state thinking of blaming the system for making them do what they do).
Through sitting around finger pointing at others or ourselves and blaming without taking any action to become the solution and embodiment of what we do want to see manifest in the world around us, we allow the world to continue to degenerate and spiral into further darkness through our passivity.
Separate from those two perspectives is a path that both acknowledges that we are born into a system designed to psychologically manipulate humans into conforming into certain behaviors, while also acknowledging that even though humans are under pressure, some strive to use that pressure and friction to sharpen their mind and open their heart rather than allow it to shape them into "another brick in the wall". That path also involves taking decisive action to dismantle oppressive systems, abandon hubristic/fallacious worldviews and plant the seeds for an emergent culture to germinate, take root and create a world and system that 7 generations from now, will empower humans to be even more capable and supported in choosing actions that nurture their spirit and are in service of life. That is the path I walk.
Thank you for your kind words about my metaphor and thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Tereza, I do appreciate hearing all different viewpoints; it helps me see the pulse of society. However, your thought that individuals cannot be held accountable is not one in which i can align. This is why. Firstly, we are each responsible for any action we take or do not take (as they both have natural consequences). Unlike the people who suffered through the holocaust and survived, we are not victims. In fact, even many of those who went through the holocaust did not see themselves as victims. I do not see it as blame but as taking responsibility for our choices. We have allowed ourselves to get to this point in society. At any time we can choose to stand up and say no to the path we are being led down. I do not hold anyone but myself responsible for my life, as well as what i tolerate or accept.
Secondly, there are many people throughout history who have stood up against parents, educational institutions, rulers, governments and other oppresser, when they decided what was happening was harmful to themselves or to others. In today's society, it often seems that people prefer choosing to play the victim card rather than taking responsibility for what is happening around them. It is one thing to just admit that one wants to just enjoy life and not care about what is going on because everyone has free will... a choice but pretending that there is nothing one can do is totally different. That is buying into learned helplessness and that means buying that one has no control over their situation and therefore stops trying to change it, even when they could potentially do so.
However we are in agreement about Gavin's beautiful metaphor. He knows how to draw a picture with his words... such talent. His words move my heart.
Well said, but when people continue talking about "The Song That Never Ends about the Event that Never Happened," which is responsible for so many bad things in our world, the truth needs to be told. The Real Holocaust was against the German people, as Dr Alan Sabrosky explains: rumble.com/v5hxf65-alan-sabrosky-on-the-real-ww2-holocaust-against-germans.html
And/or these articles:
https://realnewsandhistory.com/01-31-24/
Auschwitz Baby Boom: https://realnewsandhistory.com/ausch-babes/
I agree we are each responsible for the actions we take.
I also feel that considering mitigating circumstances, ubiquitous environmental pressures and other variables that exert an influence on the development of humans and influence their choices is worthwhile, but I do not agree with what Tereza appears to be saying about giving anyone and everyone a carte blanche cop out excuse to be able to do what ever they want and then blame it on the system they were raised in.
As you astutely point out, many humans living in extremely challenging and oppressive conditions throughout history (and at present day) have summoned the gumption and courage to go against the grain and make the hard choice to walk a path of compassion and truth (even when they were surrounded by violence and brought up in a system full of lies).
The Brehon judges would look at the action of the individual, ensure it was confirmed to be witnessed by multiple individuals and then consider mitigating circumstances before rendering their judgement of the restitution required of the violating party, but the free will of the individual was always honored in that they chose the action and thus must face the consequences. That law applied to the Nobles Of The Wood (the elder trees) and was applicable to people living in poverty just as much as wealthy individuals or clan leaders. The motivation and situation of the one violating the sacred trees would be considered but the judgement nevertheless involved the offending party taking responsibility for their choices in one way or another.
The Brehon rendering judgement upon a militarized RCMP officer that chooses to follow nefarious orders to commit heinous acts of violence against their fellow humans would likely receive a different judgement of restitution than the farmer that decided without any external force pressuring him to engage in that same act of violence, but they would both be held accountable in some significant way regardless of the mitigating circumstances.
Thanks for your kind words about my metaphor my love.
Hello, Johrey. Thanks for responding, I had a feeling you might.
You write, "I do not see it as blame but as taking responsibility for our choices." Taking responsibility for your own choices isn't blame. But that's not what you're doing. You're saying that while you're a good person who takes responsibility, others see themselves as victims, have allowed society to get to this point, don't stand up against what's harming themselves or others, just want to enjoy life and don't care about what's going on, have learned helplessness, and don't try to change it even when they potentially could. That's blaming others and deciding that you're morally better than they are.
I think you and Gavin are very moral people, but I also believe that about everyone else. When I look around my life, I see people doing the best they can. I'm grateful to have the choices I do. If I were in their circumstances, I'm not sure what would make me do better. Would I have been born into their life with a greater capacity to choose good? If that's true, then God is unfair. How can I blame them for how they were born?
My focus is on changing the system and giving everyone better choices.
Actually while it is interesting that you tell me what i am saying, i would suggest that instead it is what you are reading it as, based on your perspective at this time. And yes, i am aware at times we all do that. But what you think i was saying is not what i am saying. When i said i do not see it as blame but as taking responsibility for our choices i was refering to what you had said, "I don't think, personally, individuals can be blamed for how they make their way in these compromised circumstances". My mother raised us to take responsibility but there were many times growing up when i did not want to take responsibility my choices but she showed me through natural consequences how being a victim just made me in a rut, so i began to choose differently. That is a lifelong process but whenever as an adult, i will catch myself playing the victim card, "why is this happening to me" and i remind myself that i am in control of what i accept and what i do not. Then i sit and reflect on how i can change whatever it is to make it more beneficial for all.
And for the record, i am definitely not better nor worse than anyone, Tereza. A better capacity to choose good??? What is good??? We all have the capacity to make choices. Perhaps we are talking about different things. I am saying that each of us is responsible and accountable for our lives despite what authorities may say or do and that true freedom only comes from taking responsibility for your life. What are you talking about?
Personally, my truth is that i am not good, nor am i bad. Those are labels. I do not do labels. I am just me. Sometimes i move smoothly along this path and sometimes i stumble. While other times i fall. I have not a privileged life. In fact, many have asked me how i handled all the trauma i had through my life but i see those times of trauma as opportunities to see others with compassion and understanding. Most importantly to me, i have gratefully had God in my life every step of the way and to me that is who i hold on to and the only one whose opinion of me, matters. But each time i reach out for God, He helps me back up. By the way, i do not accept that God has anything to do with how you are born. i believe you choose it before you come into these bodies and you do that to enable you to gain the experience you need to help your true self gain understanding. God is love, only love and God does nothing but support OUR choices, because that is how we develop understanding and appreciation for this experience.
So you thought i might respond. Interesting comment. Why is that?
You say, "My focus is on changing the system and giving everyone better choices."
I see it as lasting change happens from within so if we want the world to change it has to happen from the inside out in each of us. We can be there to support each other but we are each responsible for doing the work.
I'm sorry, Johrey. I stopped responding to Gavin's stack before because you picked apart everything I said. I don't know why I provoke that response in you. But it's not worth the conflict. Even when I'm trying to say that no one's better than anyone else, you respond as if I'm trying to make myself better than you. I truly wish you and Gavin well, but I think it's best if I bow out.
Oh, wow, Gavin! I'm going to savor this tomorrow when I have the time. And thank you for sharing my post! I need to get Diana's new book ASAP. XOXO
I look forward to hearing your thoughts my friend. My pleasure sharing your post!
I just finished her book, such a lovely bit of poetry at the end.