SPIRIT        LODGE   LIBRARY Myth & Lore Page 16 - part 1

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Some of the 86 pages in this Myth & Lore section are below. The rest will be found HERE

Atlantis & Lemuria	Black Corn Woman	Blue Moon	Celtic Moons, The Flood	Celtic Moons, The Stag	Celtic Moons, The Wind	Chethlahe Call Back Your Spirit	Children of the Sun	Coyote And Firefly, How Firefly Got His Blinking Light
Creation Of The Animal People	Creation Stories	Faerie Chair	Faeries	Ghost Dance	Grandmother Dawn Sky Weaver On Four Stones	Grandmother Moon 2 pages	Grandmother Moon’s Lessons For The Year	Grandmother Spider Steals The Sun
Great Mystery	How Coyote Got His Cunning	How Snake Got To Grow	How The Chipmunk Got Its Stripes	How The Rabbit Lost His Tail	Hummingbird Brings Back Tobacco	Indigenous Little People And Nature Spirits	Iroquois: Stone Throwers, Secret Forest Little People	Kokopelli (or Kokopilau): The Flute Player

Grandmother Moon
By CinnamonMoon

PREFACE:
The information I'm sharing has been taken from knowledge gathered through years of practical experience, oral teachings that have come my way, along with years of study notes that unfortunately were not accredited to their appropriate authors. I've found much of this information collaborated and expanded upon in Jamie Sams' book: "The 13 Original Clan Mothers," which I'm including as further reference here. There is the Celtic insight shared from my friend DragonHawk through his research into Celtic lore based on the writings of: Alexei Kondratiev in the book "Celtic Rituals: A Guide to Ancient Celtic Spirituality," thank you DragonHawk. The material is as accurate as possible under these circumstances. I have found solid insight as well as rewarding experiences working with this knowledge base and trust those of you who choose to explore them will find the same results.

While the Moon Lore teachings present what I would call specific perspectives to work with, what insights we gain in that process apply across the board with Nature too. The aspects of the elemental forces are at play, and we begin as we follow the Moon teachings to see that flow of nature, the cycles and patterns that are constantly at play throughout the year. When you overlay the Moons with the Seven Sacred Directions for instance, you get the breakdown of each element in motion as the cycle of the year unfolds. The energy flow, the rhythm and Dance begin to make sense to you.

Each year these lessons come forward in a timely way. We explore through the Moon Cycles a step at a time to understand and take in the teachings that allow us to share with others. We, as women, feel the ebb and flow of the Moon's energy through our bodies during menses which can make it a bit easier for us to relate to those aspects as we merge with them and unify through the Oneness of that energy. This is where we come to know the fertile energy of the Self. The teachings apply to everyone, not just women, but for the most part we don't pay attention to the Moon to the depth that our ancestors did and that leaves many people lacking this extremely helpful perception in their day to day lives. Clients and seekers alike call asking me "What's happening in my life?" month after month and the sorting as well as explaining process ensues. Think about this pattern of unfolding monthly cycles as you look forward and back over the year that has just passed. See how it has applied in your life…altering your perspectives, your experiences, relationships, and your spiritual journey.

For those individuals who intend to follow the guidance of these particular teachings a light begins to shine ahead on the path they're walking…while those who are learning by experience will find the light shines on the path behind them…they can see what they've been through but are in the dark as to what remains before them.

In Nature-based teachings, the spiritual essence of all forces at play are recognized as sentient and therefore they are personified. When explored seriously we discover there is a relationship to humans and a direct channel will open to the essence creating an avenue for communication to be established. When someone says that the Earth Mother came and spoke words to them they are talking about literally hearing her voice. It is a woman's voice that contains the unconditional loving essence of all motherhood. When she speaks to me that love permeates every inch of my being and the unconditional love radiates its warmth through me. I feel her presence whether she is physically or spiritually showing herself or not. In hearing the tone of address she uses her essence carries forward with each word spoken. This voice impresses us as the external permeates our being. Grandmother Moon is a bit more subtle, she whispers to us through our hearts and minds and we come to learn to communicate with her that way. Grandmother Moon escorts us through our deep inner journeys and sheds her soft light into the darkness of the shadows there. She sheds her light into our lives this way to help us discover the truths we seek.

OPENING TO GRANDMOTHER MOON'S LORE:
By opening ourselves to the teachings of the Moons we become willing to raise our conscious awareness so that the path and experiences before us are easier to see. We gain that foresight and therefore the understanding of what to anticipate and how to react to events as they unfold. Practical application of her lore serves us as we strive to grow spiritually in our daily lives. In the indigenous teachings the Moons are called 'Grandmother's' because all of life is seen from the perspective of the cosmic family. Following the Grandmothers' ways you will come to know what to expect…at the very least in a rudimentary manner at first. Later, after having passed through some experiences and placed your foundations, you are able to focus deeper as the lesson re-present themselves down the road. Remember, these lessons recycle through our lives each year. It's like going to college where English 101 is presented the first year, English 201 is presented the second year…foundations building upon each other expand our understanding. So by looking ahead at the month's lessons and knowing you have a month with each aspect to learn about yourself you'll see you're also learning about others and the world around you. Your powers of observation will grow strong this way.

The Grandmothers take turns as our teachers, they are always present, always expanding on the gains we have from recent events and those from the year before too. In this manner we grow in knowledge, understanding to gather our wisdom as we evolve. Each year is an unfolding cycle, a process that spirals outward expanding on the truths we're shown. Choosing to walk with these Medicine teachings takes you beyond simply grasping the theory to really knowing them for yourself. Taking them into practice I find them assisting me in preparing for what lies ahead and stumble on my path a lot less. Grandmother's lessons are always about truth and one thing I can tell you is that in finding that truth within myself I'm able to embrace it and easily walk in that awareness. I may not like having to address it sometimes, but when I can be true to myself I know I can be true to others. You'll find it's the same for you. No one wants to live a lie, that's not really living, it's only an illusion being cast and that creates a path of shadows. The truth makes us stronger, our path takes on conviction and walking it is an honor.

It's all One. We hear that over and over again and within the patterns of Nature we see the teachings presented repeatedly from different perspectives. Balance is one of the consistent factors. As we lay our foundations the teachings of the Moon break them down further expanding the understanding through focus on specific details. That creates a flow as one aspect moves toward the other letting us feel the rhythm of the Dance, the steps that we take. There is a sway to the rhythm, just as the Moon influences the rhythm and sway of the sea, we know wave after wave comes to shore as the tide fluctuates and creates that rhythm. As we study Grandmother's lore we catch the waves, let them wash over and through us with their energy and knowledge. Through those experiences we gain our understanding of those rhythms, their cadence and their energy. We understand the different melodies of the different Songs and we learn to Dance each Moon. In that process we learn to Dance the Wheel and all its other mysteries.

PERSPECTIVES:
While the Moon lore teachings present specific perspectives to work from, what insights we gain in that process apply across the board with Nature. That expands into the big picture as well as focuses in on our respective individual issues. We learn how the rhythms create cosmic Songs and Dances that apply to us in our unique fashions. The aspects of the elemental forces are at play, they are always present in one form or another and with each season there is a dominant element leading that dance. As we follow Grandmother's teachings that flow of Nature allows the cycles and patterns that are constantly at play throughout the year to become familiar to us on spiritual levels.

We know them well on physical levels because we live them, but all too often we stop there and don't see the deeper implications. It's through those implications that we build upon and expand our understanding as we gather knowledge adding it to our foundations. Since I work from indigenous perspectives with the diversity of an eclectic cultural and traditional background, my ability to share with you comes through this layer of insights. It allows me to explain the teachings in this way. Now, it is possible you're coming from another perspective which may take a different approach but either way the end result is the same regardless of how differently the definitions may be presented. Over the years I've found those variances only amplify and enhance the understandings we gather to ourselves. Therefore the impact is no greater or less either way. As we bring the eclectic aspect of various cultural beliefs into play we simply begin adding more pieces of insight and things validate themselves to us as we go by enriching our understanding. It is a process that just keeps going outward from there.

Because we all have issues on a personal level…those unique lessons that are custom designed for us specifically…they may or may not resemble the issues of others. If they do come to parallel in certain cases then those individuals will be compatible to walk with as we learn and they will bless us with someone we can share our experiences with…someone who can grasp that insight along with us and help us sort through things. If they don't match up in some fashion then we aren't going to be in harmony with that individual at that time. Hence, we may feel it is best to keep a measured distance or part ways with regard to what we're embracing and experiencing. They won't 'get it' and we'd be wasting our time and effort as well as theirs trying to explain. So sometimes we're going to be attracted to others (like attracting like) and sometimes we'll feel the need to pull away, in either case our sensations tell us what to do and that should be honored. There is nothing wrong with that when you see it from a neutral point of view that does not emotionally attach to the situation. It's the emotional attachment that causes our confusion and leads to problems. If we disengage emotionally and look at things through logic we can see why the decision needs to be made and understand why it's happening the way it is. This allows us to act with grace rather than friction.

In the natural cycle if one takes an element from the perspective of the Seven Sacred Directions it's attributes teach us about the different stages present in the cycle of Nature throughout the year. We come to understand and experience these attributes whether that element is in the lead or not and what lesson or lessons they bring to us through our conscious experiences is powerful insight. By focusing on the spiritual contexts brought into play we come to see deeper into the physical aspects too. Each element teaches us through this same pattern. As we flow with them, we're able to raise our conscious awareness to align with the seasons, with the elements at play, with Grandmother's teachings. This lends us the understand of how that affects not only our personal interests and the world around us, but also the individuals we know because we can see how they're responding and if they are consciously aware or not.

We see how to work with that energy, how it weaves and how to direct it through our will as it is responsive to us. Remember, these are sentient energies. Just as a river has banks that run along its course, we're like the jutting bank that pushes the energy outward or the cove that draws it inward. We can break away like a chunk of land and fall into the water or spiritual perspective to become one with it. We can sink into the depths to explore it or we can float along the top and allow it to show us things as we go. We can resist by kicking and screaming thrashing in a chaotic manner getting nothing but fear out of the experience. How we respond determines what we will gain and how difficult or graceful our Dance will be.

It's through Nature-based perception our insights allow us to recognize that half the year is dominated by masculine forces and half by feminine…that's the balance and they each have their turn in bringing forth their fullness through the "Light of understanding" or "enlightenment". As we understand that we can work with the elemental forces through the seasons while we learn from Grandmother Moon at the same time. Those seasons each hold three Moon cycles and we sues those to resolve our issues, to manifest, to weave energy, to heal, to spiritually evolve year after year as we have need to do. We can also go through it by ignoring these things but they will still take place. Nature is Universal Law in action and we are not immune to it. It's just that when we are unaware of the spiritual implications when the law goes into effect we're taken by surprise as events unfold instead of being prepared for them. Prepared in our perspectives we hold the understanding of the patterns at play through the theoretical foundations. Those patterns expand our perspectives as we follow along them rather than limiting ourselves unnecessarily. The more willing we are the more graceful our Dance becomes.

Each Moon enlightens us by shedding its light upon its lessons assisting us to raise our consciousness…it doesn't matter what tradition we explore, the universals are going to be present in some form. The issue of enlightenment that aids us in raising our awareness is not going to happen with only one Moon. It will happen a little at a time with each successive Moon, just as it happens that the year turns with the seasons, and the years turn the decades in their fullness. Each Moon cycle enlightens us through our ability to embrace its reflective efforts as it grows Full. That lets us digest and cast off what we no longer need as it moves toward decrease taking what's no longer needed from us as it wanes. The rhythm of each Moon's respective cycle teaches us how to move with each melody they play in regard to the attributes we're to focus on as their lessons are presented. Those lessons will directly relate to our personal issues in life that need resolution and they will help us get to know each Grandmother intimately. It doesn't matter if the issues we're dealing with are internal or external initially because they must all be internalized first before we can act on them and initiate the changes that will lead to our growth successfully.

DANCING WITH THE MOON:
If you are Dancing and flowing in the rhythm of the Song each Grandmother is singing to you then you literally feel the melody behind it. Your senses respond and your spirit moves you to work with the pattern as you take your steps. Your actions will follow the rhythm synchronistically whether your steps are the same as another's doesn't matter, both of you would appear to be choosing to 'Dance this way or that way' but you'd both be Dancing in your own style to the same beat all the same.

Now the indigenous myths tell their story their way but the stories are basically the same in any tradition…they just have different ways of presentation. Taking that concept a step further to exemplify things if we look at Christianity and it's means of teaching about the things Jesus shared we're exploring those same teachings along with the 'how to' aspect through the 13 Grandmothers. In Christianity the pretext of Jesus' teachings was presented through the 12 Apostles, he was the 13th factor…the unification factor or Universal Truth as the Creator in human form. It was through the physical form that God incarnated in Jesus. Each of the 12 Apostles told of his teachings through their own eyes and understandings. Their perspectives or their take on what Jesus had shared with him created the New Testament or teachings that followers of that religious path adhere to today…a culmination through various perspectives of all that Jesus taught….that's the same factor that the 13th Moon holds.

Keep in mind that each element is a vessel that contains its own form of that Higher Intellect. For instance, taking Water as an example and observing through its various stages of form, we can see what it is showing us at any given time. Flowing freely the insights are going to come easily to us, if it is clear they are easily understood, but if it becomes muddied our understanding is going to be confusing to us or disjointed. If it's frozen we aren't going to 'get it' until the spring thaw comes and we begin to grasp the trickle of its knowledge and start to grasp what it is about and where it's taking us. As we come to see the relevance in our lives we also begin to see the relevance in the lives of others and the world around us. When this correlates to the lessons of the Moons as they come into play we have a deeper perspective and understanding of the patterns we need to work with. The Moons teach us about the patterns just add the elemental forces do.

WHAT THE PATTERN SHOWS US:
Initially we begin by observing the energy signature of the lessons and what's happening around us as well as within us. In seeing similar lessons at play with those we interact with we can see where we've already passed through those lessons as they weave their paths, or Dance their Dance, we can see where they're going. It may validate for us that we don't need to re-walk those paths but the pattern is still in motion as we walk on in our own direction. Well, the Moons teach us about the pattern just as the elemental forces do and sometimes we're asked to observe as a reminder to ourselves to keep the insight we've gained in our awareness as we move forward…this happens generally when we're going to need to apply that awareness soon. It's like sitting in on a lecture to refresh our own memories. Each year as we pass through the Moon cycles we're initially refreshing ourselves before we take it deeper and to get more out of it.

As we go deeper we learn that sometimes the new ways being shown will in effect highlight the old ways that are no longer able to serve us and we release the old for the new. There's always a process of discarding something that is no longer applicable to make room for what is applicable…be that a perspective we held to get us where we're going today, a relationship that we held for a time of companionship, a situation or circumstance, a boundary or territory, a comfort zone we grew overly accustomed to…if it no longer fits where we're at it must be discarded. Now that discarding can be a graceful parting through understanding or a conflicting experience challenging us with the difficulty to get through it. It depends on how we Dance it and each Moon cycle gives us the opportunity to discard as it hits the midpoint of Fullness and moves into decrease. As it decreases we let go, as it grows Full we gain or receive our enlightenments which are always gifts. Each season and each Moon cycle it contains has its own maximum energy peak at the midpoint of its fullness and then begins to wane allowing the next Moon or season or year to come forward and carry the melody along…and us with it.

THE 13 GRANDMOTHERS:
The truths each of the 13 Grandmothers share will fall together in a specific order and I'd like to share a quick overview of that before we step into the details of each. In introducing them to you we are exploring the meanings behind those names in accordance with the Seneca tradition but I will also give examples of other names they go by to demonstrate the variety of presentations and attributes they hold. Each of their lessons teach us how to recognize truth and embrace it in a right manner as we reflect on it inwardly for balance and then project it through our actions back out into the world around us.

In January the first Grandmother we meet is Talks With Relations; she teaches us the lessons we need about learning the truth. In February Wisdom Keeper steps forward to teach us about honoring the truth. In March Weighs The Truth brings us lessons in accepting truth. April introduces us to Looks Far Woman who shows us how to see the truth. May is the time for Listening Woman to come forward and she brings us lessons on hearing truth. In June it's Storyteller who steps into the picture to help us learn to speak the truth. July brings us to meet with Loves All Things who teaches us the lessons about loving the truth. In August She Who Heals teaches us about serving truth. Autumn arrives in September as Setting Sun Woman brings lessons on living the truth. In October we meet Weaves the Web who teaches us to work with the truth. Then in November Walks Tall Woman is the teacher that brings lessons about walking the truth. December's Grandmother is Gives Praise and she teaches us lessons about BE-ing the truth. Finally, the year concludes with the 13th Grandmother who is a culmination of all these truths in union…truths about life, ourselves and others…about All Our Relations and her name is Becomes The Vision. She teaches us how to BE the truth.

We all want to know the truth of things, don't we? It is during the 13th Moon that we arrive at a time when, through our natural abilities and the knowledge we've gained, that we come to understand the process of conscious change or transformation. When you put these lessons together and see how they function the process of working with them becomes quite intriguing. Truth strengthens us, changes us, tempers us, and it makes the road ahead easier to navigate. It is often said that 'Truth is a mighty sword' and it is one that can pierce through matter to inform it. At the same time it is a double-edged sword, on side that protects and defends while the other destroys and makes way…and on the whole it protects us from the illusions it destroys. You have to be willing to see it, to take it up and accept it, to work with it for the tool that it is. That means learning how to wield that sword and hone your skills in the process…you are the Sword of Truth, we all are.

THE MATRIX:
The essences of the feminine teachings are deeply imbedded within the Moon Lore of the Grandmothers. They hold a body of lore that reflects light into the darkness within us as we search spiritual and sensory pathways within ourselves. While the essences of the masculine teachings are just as deeply imbedded within this same body of lore as it pertains to the searching and sensory perceptions of our pathway within our daily lives. In the Men's teachings the names often refer to Nature and the animal essences so those Medicines will also be active in some capacity during the cycle. For example, January's Wolf Moon is a time of year when winter's harsh conditions force the Wolf to enter into populated areas, encampments, villages, towns or farmsteads in search of food. March's Worm Moon is a time of year when the rains begin and Worms come up out of the ground. April's Crow Moon will find the Crows out and about gathering for their stockpiles all that they can steal for themselves. These two energetic genders combine to show us our inner and outer place in the world.

Our inner reflection has many layers, so the lore opens our eyes gradually as just the light of the Moon gradually increases through its different phases. These lessons come as they come, often through many different experiences. With these teachings and the outline of understanding they all bring us to, we are able to allow a process of experience to continue year after year after year. We expand our knowledge and the understanding therefore moving gradually into our wisdom over time. Greater skills develop to serve us as we deal with life and our process of growth. As the patterns form they teach us things about ourselves and like a mathematical matrix, they teach us how to solve any equation we place into them. There is value to the Grandmother's matrix.

Women's Medicine is a matrix, Men's Medicine is a matrix, the Seven Sacred Directions are a matrix, and the Medicine Wheel is a matrix. So in understanding the Moon matrix it allows us to understand those aspects of shamanic teachings. The teachings are something we're all exposed to, men and women alike…whether aware of that or not, we each experience it personally and socially as a whole. If we are aware the lessons begin to show us our evolutionary process and we find our bearings with far more clarity.

Each Moon represents the influence for the month in which it resides. That's pertinent to the aspect of truth it represents. The names, as I've mentioned, will vary culturally and traditionally depending on the teachings we're exploring so keep in mind these are Seneca names. You may find it helpful to take each Grandmother and the lessons she brings noting that at the top of each month's calendar page as a reminder. Many people like to do this and find it helps them hold that focus when things unfold.

MOON PHASES:
Naturally with 13 Moons to discuss we need to be aware of the push and pull of activities we want to undertake. As the Moon is waxing Full it produces an energy force supporting increase, and as it wanes growing dark it draws with a force bringing decrease. Seems simple enough, doesn't it? Well, it is simple, our bodies react to this push-pull feature of cyclic energy just as the oceans react and plant growth reacts, all that lives and breathes reacts to it…and so does our energy work.

The Moon holds sway over emotions, our imaginations, and our behavior. At its increase or fullness, it heightens things (think full light); at its decrease it diminishes things (think fading to darkness). How can we use this to our best advantage as we seek truth and weave our DreamWeaves? Well, we can literally ride that energy, work with it, and adjust our work through perspectives that then compliment the nature of the cycle at the time. For instance, if you wanted to work to lose weight the natural inclination would be to begin a diet as the Moon begins to grow thin. But what if you don't want to wait another two weeks? What if you want to start when the New Moon is growing full? How do you turn the situation into a positive force? You begin your diet and ask Grandmother Moon to draw her fullness from you. As you lose weight the Moon gains and it's just a slight shift in perspective or weaving but it works. Learning to work with the Moon's cycles will help avoid frustrations and wasted efforts. Because the Moon represents the more passive feminine energies as opposed to the aggressive masculine energy of the Sun its influence is considered to be receptive. Like the ocean's tide it pushes and pulls at us and because it influences the tides of energy the work we are doing is influenced as well. Being receptive it will influence the delving into our inner realms, dreams, journeys, and states of mind.

Each Moon contains four cycles or periods of approximately 7 days for each circlet of phases it holds. Twenty-eight days with each phase having an influence that is changeable. Therefore, these changing phases allow us to work in receptive and adaptable fashion to any circumstance you can imagine. The New Moon is considered the Child, it sprouts and grows as an inspirational quarter develops. This indicates a time of deep inner reflection where listening to your inner voice will bring forth your more spiritual abilities and their growth through the truths you uncover. The Moon is associated with fertility, ruling the tides, the germination of seeds, menstrual cycles and conception. Thus the waxing crescent is the first phase of growing Full and symbolizes new beginnings and growth. This is an excellent time for beginning projects and dealing with plants; it is a time for all growing thins. After the New Moon haircuts grow out more quickly; in fact everything seems to flow more quickly as a general rule of thumb. This is where we begin to introduce ourselves to new Totems or to renew relationships with old ones, it awakens the spirits of the Totems and is a time of instruction and listening so we can learn to better communicate.

The first quarter is the Maiden, a time of flowering and pollination as we cultivate our lessons. The waxing Moon is the growing period as the Moon grows Full; a time to deepen spiritual and emotional connections. Here we need to allow the lessons to unfold as they work to teach and continue to energize us. The Full Moon is the Mother stage. A Full Moon represents the Mother, her wholeness and creative as well as intuitive foundations indicating maturity, especially of a more maternal nurturing disposition. Here the Moon bears fruit in the harvest as manifestation comes into being. It's also an emotional time (lunacy, loony, lunatic, etc. are often terms we hear during this phase). It's a time when feelings seem more intense, a time to drive carefully and to watch your emotional reactions. Also the Full Moon does affect others around you who may not be as aware of these implications and it's to your advantage to keep that in mind as you interact with people. It's a nurturing time to celebrate the connections between self and other life forms drawing that energy into ourselves.

The third quarter initiates the waning Moon and begins the cycle of decrease. This is a time to turn inward, make plans, and allow things to germinate. During the Waning Moon things may grow more slowly and energy may be low. Haircuts at this time, for example, will take longer to grow out. Some people feel depressed or physically and energetically depleted with the Moon that has waned to its lowest point and then it's time for the New Moon to begin to show herself again. Take time to rest during the waning Moon, be good to yourself and release any negative residue from work you've done or experiences you've encountered and certainly from outworn ideas or concepts. During the Dark Moon, the final phase before the New Moon arrives, we continue with the discarding. This is the Old Moon or Crone who brings a deeper decline and is symbolic of old age. In this fourth and final quarter we cultivate the seeds that will be transforming with the next New Moon. It is here we do our deepest cleansings or purging. The wisdom of this phase is that of experiencing all others and coming to a full understanding of how these phases support our efforts, how to weave in a right manner and make the fullest use of that knowledge as we possibly can. Each Grandmother passes through the Child, Maiden, Mother, and Crone stage.

MOON MAGIC:
An example of working magically with the Moon is found in the old ritual of Drawing Down the Moon. In essence it is found in many different traditions as the act of calling into yourself or invoking the energy so that you can wield it. Invoking is calling something to you, evoking is calling something up from within yourself. By placing your wrists together and cupping the hands it lets you create a visual cradle or vessel to receive. With arms extended toward the Moon you are essentially holding it in the cup of your hands. This allows you to maintain your focus intently on the Moon and if you squint your eyes the light is reflected in rays that go out in each of the four cardinal directions. There will be one ray coming straight toward you from the center of the Moon and it is along this ray that you draw the energy to yourself. You can then trace that energy back to the Moon and journey to it or you can call it to you.

As an aside, ritual candles, incenses, and images are only props. They serve to help strengthen your focus but the magic is the art of using them to aid you in employing your psychic talents in an effective manner. It is the science of control of the secret forces in Nature. Causing change via your Will or intent, through concentration and attention using the power of the mind itself. At that point your 6th sense comes into harmony with your other 5 senses. It's there that you tap into the ability to reach beyond the present. Then just as we can feel changes in barometric pressure and sense a storm coming, our psychic energies react in the same manner. Change is produced by the cause we set into motion as we release the energy along with our Will.

Keeping in mind the Moon phases, the cycles and how the energy flows our work in action is aligned to them. Our work through our lessons aligns to them as well. And as we complete our yearly cycle we come to the wisdom that the 13th Grandmother brings into play knowing how to weave and why, how to weave with right action for the higher good realizing what affect that will have on not only our desires but on others. We see the big picture through her eyes. In her wisdom she reminds us that the first Full Moon of the year in January begins the Grandmother's teachings. Each monthly cycle encompasses the focus of those respective lessons. As the years turn the ways of the Grandmothers become deeper through imbedded experiences as we build upon the previous year's teachings. The foundation builds upon itself in this way from the time we are young until we begin our rite of passage into the different phases of growth.

Part of the Moon's magic is found in the growth cycle of Women's Medicine and the rite of passage into the menstrual mysteries as she comes to understand what it means to become a woman. Women's Medicine holds the life force in that menstrual blood and this will overpower the Medicine of Men. All things are born of Woman and therefore the predominance of Moon Lore is a feminine focus whether we are of a male or female body ourselves. As each year concludes the teachings of the 12 Moons are encapsulated, assimilated and unified through the 13th Grandmother. She also helps teach us that the Moon Lodge itself is the time of menses in women; a time when a woman would isolate herself and not influence the Medicine of others drawing from them as her power is peaking. During this time her focus is on these teachings and setting her frame of mind through understanding in relation to the lessons of the month. It is during this time that she receives enlightenment, assimilates and then embraces this wisdom.

In Native teachings the Moon Lodge is one of the ways a woman vision quests, and it is far different from the physical sacrifices of the Men's ways. Women's questing is gentler because her body sacrifices itself with the cycle of menses and in childbirth. It is said that Spirit said Women sacrifice enough therefore they do not need to do more. However some women choose to expand their questing and sacrificing into more assertive ways. Some will do skin cuttings giving of their flesh for ritual tools or other needs; others will do piercings of the flesh; and still others will Dance or fully undertake the vision quest as a man would do…however these are elective choices and are not required. The Moon Lodge provides the 3 days of focus to walk through that Moon cycle focused on these teachings and exploring them deeper.

EXPLORING THE GRANDMOTHERS:
And so we scoot back to the beginning where in our exploration and the sharing of these teachings I mentioned they are based on my own eclectic studies and personal experiences as well as the oral teachings I've received. I have also drawn from the resources provided in Jamie Sams' book: "The 13 Original Clan Mothers" as I believe this and her book "Dancing The Dream" are her masterpieces. They are the most comprehensive written presentations of Women's Medicine perspectives I've come across so far. That's something rare as most of these teachings are handed down through the oral tradition. I feel both books are a solid asset to anyone beginning to explore this body of knowledge and a necessity in their reference library.

Timing is everything and there's time for you to absorb some of this insight before you begin working with the teachings themselves.

JANUARY: TALKS WITH RELATIONS
This Moon is where you will meet Talks With Relations and her lessons about learning truth. Talks With Relations is Mother Nature, she is the Keeper of Rhythm, Weather and the Seasons; Guardian of the Languages of the Trees, Stones and Creatures; Maker of Relatives, Keeper of Earth's Needs and Mother of the Planetary Family. Therefore, she teaches us how to understand the unspoken languages of Nature through kinship with all life forms…languages the shaman knows well and speaks fluently.

By connecting ourselves through Mother Earth and Father Sky we center and learn to balance our awareness between the two and all that exists in the process. This connection is important because it allows us to see the truth residing in these relationships both spiritually and physically. That's where we enter the Oneness where all truth resides. Practice centering as you enter into the teachings of the Grandmothers and you'll attune to their ways very quickly because it is through our hearts, spirits and senses that the spiritual and physical worlds do become One. It's there that the limitations of being human shatter as the illusions they are because through our spirits we are limitless in our potential. Through our spirit we open to all of Creation and all that the Universe holds is made available to us.

Talks With Relations also brings lessons in how we are to enter the Sacred Spaces of others with respect. Other lessons include how to honor cycles, rhythms and changes of the seasons and weather. In this way we learn how to meld with the life force and rhythms in all dimensions while learning more about the truths of each. This year (2010) the New Moon arrives on January 15th, the first quarter on the 23rd, and the Full Moon shines her beacon of light on the 30th. It is this Grandmother who teaches us the kinship with all life and the Spirit Helpers of nature: the Winds, Cloud People, Thunder-beings, Creature-teachers, trees or Standing People, Plant People, along with the SpiritKeepers of Air, Fire, Water and Earth and all other life forms. This group is our kinship with our Planetary family, our teachers, our relatives, our brothers and sisters. Our Mother is the Earth, our Father is the Sky, and our Grandfather is the Sun while our Grandmother is the Moon…and so…We Are All Related. To learn truth we must open ourselves to these worlds within worlds with a sacred willingness to learn and understand the rhythms as we explore her teachings in becoming Makers of Relatives.

Talks With Relations is the Guardian of Languages of the Trees, Stones and Creatures…let's look at those lessons. To learn truth we must first open ourselves willingly to the worlds within worlds that form themselves within the body of Great Mystery. She teaches us how if we willingly surrender to our senses, if we learn to feel them and listen to them so they can guide us we learn about truth. In this way we also learn we can communicate within the scope of the different languages we are embracing. These languages are often spoken through the senses and so she teaches us about the willing surrender to Sacred Space and Sacred Points of View they reveal-our own or those of others. We learn to be polite, to ask permission to enter that space so that we can learn these languages.

In that surrender to truth we employ our senses to our observation skills which grow acute and allow us to feel things and better understand others as well as the solutions to issues relative to our lives. Observing situations, circumstances and the actions of others allows us to begin picking up on the different languages that are heard through our hearts rather than through our ears. Silent languages in that sense, those that perhaps come in body movements, facial expressions and gestures or in what's not being said openly. Now where that applies to other people you know these same skills of observation will apply to the energy signatures of other life forms and entities you encounter. There are so many languages to explore.

Truth speaks to us through our senses, we feel it, and it comes in a wide variety of ways. The more we open the more we discover. Opening goes beyond our minds and includes opening our hearts so that our senses can begin to align with all the rhythms present. Those rhythms are comprised of energy signatures and carry information to us; so by properly entering the Sacred Space of our various relations we begin the communication process learning how to talk with them so they can share the many truths they hold. If we have issues in our daily lives they will help us learn to see how to apply those truths to resolve them.

Truth is born of Universal Law and all paths teach this. For this reason we spend the month practicing this opening up of our hearts, minds and senses to all that exists. Naturally we do it a little at a time so we get a feel for the rhythms or cadence of the languages. They shift and trigger different sensations that we get a 'feel' for and our minds begin to recognize what the heart knows to be truth spoken in shamanic fashion. As this ability develops we find we are able to function better with changes that come our way because we are synchronized to the energy at play and understand how to Dance with it. Grace comes over time too so be patient with yourself. Being in touch with your senses on this level is a very natural form of protecting yourself from danger too so it serves many purposes and lends a wealth of insight into yourself as well as daily affairs.

As Mother Nature she is the Keeper of Rhythm, Weather and the Seasons….let's look at those lessons. Mother Nature teaches us to find our own rhythms and therefore come to respect those of others. Everything and everyone that exists has its own Sacred Space and rhythm. Here we learn to understand about entering that Sacred Space and Dancing the rhythms it holds. We do this with respect asking permission rather than just barging or stomping through it creating disturbances or destruction. We have no right to do that to others and we should not allow it to be done to us either for that matter. In asking permission and having it granted that will depend on the intention held…and yes, sometimes we need to find permission from our own spirit to enter into its Sacred Space, that can only come when we are in a right frame of mind to begin with. Otherwise it seems the door is barred to us. In all cases the Universe is responsive to us and all other life forms are too.

All forces of nature have cycles and patterns to those cycles. If we attune to them we can see how the energy is moving and how the growth of all things-including ourselves-is taking place. Learning the truth is an advantage that blesses us with the joys of self-discovery, of adventures that enlighten and expose us to dimensional realities and truths too. This awareness serves us well and it impacts on others in good ways as we learn to assist them when they need our help. We learn the 'right manner' of caring, compassion, celebrating life, and sharing with others as others have shared with us. We learn reciprocity. By opening our hearts the Spirit Worlds open to us, we begin to see them, to interact, to communicate and to embrace.

As Guardian of Weather and the Seasons, Mother Nature teaches us that weaving with the forces of the elements is delicate work because every action brings a reaction. We are thus the cause of action taken, that action will have an effect on not only ourselves but others, and therefore we will experience the return of the energy we send out…along with whatever momentum it has picked up on the way. So if intention is good we will receive blessings and if it careless or ill-willed we will receive retribution---both come anywhere from 3-10 times greater than when we initiated things. For this reason she urges us to take caution so that the rhythms can be maintained properly. That's done from our center with strides taken in balance based on this insight. Through using our sensory impressions we come to recognize the importance of our own rhythms…of resting when our body is tired, of nurturing ourselves when we feel out of sync, and of utilizing our energy when we feel charged up.

We're not to push ourselves beyond our limits nor are we to expect others to do that for us. The respect we show ourselves is to be shown to all other life forms. We learn how to avoid wasting time by making the most efficient use of it. One of the things we tend to waste time on is frustration, we fluster and focus there instead of on productivity or our attempts to grow through communication. Again, this includes our work along spiritual development lines as well as with others in our lives.

As the Maker of Relatives she is the Keeper of Earth's Needs and Mother of the Planetary Family…let's look at those lessons. Through our desire to learn and understand the rhythms of these relatives we explore the lesson of Making Relatives. In this we learn respect for Sacred Spaces…our own and those of others. Lessons here involve understanding right relationship to Self and others as a result…respect and kinship with all life forms calls for integrity and good intention being presented to the best of our ability. Remembering that we treat others as we wish to be treated helps if you're not used to honoring yourself as you should…an important factor to remember because all our lessons start with us by recognizing our own Spirit and honoring it through our actions, it expands from there.

These lessons allow us to bring forth the opportunity to see similarities that bring us together rather than differences that keep us apart. We come to recognize that the differences are our unique traits and ways of BE-ing making us who we are. Those differences should be honored as well and in doing so we come to the truth that with 'right relationships' we begin to Make Relatives and create our spiritual family relationships. Communication with that family is up to us but Grandmother will show us how to open so we can do just that if we turn to her lessons. Our Planetary Family is comprised of Self/Inner Spirit, physical family, friends and acquaintances and even our enemies. It is comprised of the Creature-teachers, the Green-growing-things, the Two-leggeds and Four-leggeds, the Winged-Ones, the Finned-Ones, the Creepy-crawlers…of all life forms. As we interact with them in unity we grow in the truth that is revealed…we begin to see the beauty and honor their talents and knowledge bring forth to contribute to Creation.

Grandmother Talks With Relations is there waiting for you to open your heart, she will nurture you, help you develop self-respect, inciting the sense of adventure you knew as a child discovering the world…a world you may have forgotten existed…a world far greater, much bigger than you may think it is. She will help you discover that for yourself when you explore her ways. This is exactly why that child-like wonder seeded deep within your heart is so important to bring forward. It serves on so many levels and aids you to break free of the limitations the adult mind sets itself to owning. Those limitations are nothing more than illusions.

We must learn to live with these truths and function based upon them so as we focus on the teachings of the other Grandmothers we begin to see where they are applicable in our daily lives. The issues we personally face make the lessons and experiences they bring us through quite intimate. Each month the sorting process ensues and patterns unfold as our perspectives begin aligning through our experiences, relationships and spiritual journeys. I personally like to be as prepared as possible and with Grandmother Moon's teachings in hand I stumble a lot less. Her lessons are always about truth and one thing I can tell you is that in finding that truth within myself…and embracing it, it's very easy to walk in that awareness. You'll find it's the same for you as the truth makes you stronger and your path takes on conviction walking it becomes an honor.

We all want to know the truth of things and it's in the process of consciously choosing to apply our natural abilities and the understanding we gain that we begin to consciously choose to change and transform our lives. How can we use this to the best advantage as we seek truth and weave our dreams? We can literally ride that energy, work with it, and adjust our perspectives to compliment the nature of this cycle. Each aspect of the respective Grandmothers' lessons is like a puzzle piece…we have to turn them around and around sometimes to see how they fit, try them up against other puzzle pieces to see where they match up, but when they click into place the picture the puzzle forms grows a little clearer and we've learned something about ourselves. Sure it can be exhausting and frustrating at times, even when you know what's happening, but it's a lot easier when you've got a bit of the roadmap to follow. The map shows the way, the journey unfolds when we follow it, but until we arrive we still don't always know just what things will look like.

We begin by seeking knowledge of our Self, by creating a proper environment to bring forth our growth. This is a process by which the conscious and unconscious mind begin to cooperate to draw relevant information out of chaos in answer to any question we may pose.

FEBRUARY: WISDOM KEEPER
As Talks With Relations smiles seeing that we are beginning to Learn the Truth and value relationships she releases our arm and introduces to February's Grandmother, Wisdom Keeper. The lessons continue now to teach us about honoring the truth. Wisdom Keeper is the Protectress of Sacred Traditions, the Keeper of the Stone Libraries and Mother Earth's History; she is the Guardian of 'the Remembering' and the Art of Memory; she is also the Mother of Friendship, Unity, and Mutual Understanding. Her gifts are powerful as she teaches us the Arts of Self-development and Expansion. Here we learn how to access the Earth Mother's Memory, our own personal recall, as well as ancient wisdom and knowledge. It is through her we learn how to understand the wisdom that every life form holds and its missions. It's through that understanding we come to see that the many missions serve our global family, just as the many different careers found in our society serve the communities we live in. She teaches us how to be a friend and to restore broken friendships by honoring the viewpoints of all life forms. In other words she teaches us how to Honor the Truth.

As we center ourselves and enter the Oneness with this second Grandmother we come to know the Historian, it is through her that we access the records of the Earth and she begins to share truths teaching us how to honor them in all things. The Truths we were shown with Talks With Relations make way for Wisdom Keeper to take us into the libraries of truth found in the keeping of the Stone People. She teaches us how to access that history through the rocks and stones of the Earth Mother. In this she also teaches that we are to honor the truth as it is seen from the Sacred Point of View of each individual for that view forms by the different events, conditioning, experiences and manner in which they walk through life. We're all different, just as the rocks and stones are different, but we are all the same. That is to be honored for there is truth held within the journey of each life form.

As humans, our egos tell us we are superior to other life forms. We all too often believe that our path, our journey, our religion or tradition is the 'only' path to enlightenment, understanding and wisdom and that's simply not truth. Wisdom Keeper, as the Protectress of Sacred Traditions, shows us what Canku Ota, the 'many paths' of Truth, really means. For when we come to see that Truth resides on all paths we see that all paths are Sacred. In this she opens us to know her in her role as the Mother of Friendship. It's here she begins teaching us how to be a friend so that we can make friends. We do this by honoring the Sacred Point of View of others which includes our relationships to all other life forms for they are the friends that will open their doors to us and aid in our Self-development. When we learn to honor the truth residing with others we begin to open to other cultures, life forms, tribal ways, traditions, races and creeds and in that we begin recognizing the patterns and threads weaving similarity through them all. We may embrace some and discard others as relevant to our path but we do not dishonor them because we can see where they honorably serve the needs of other pathways.

Sometimes called the Grey Lady, Wisdom Keeper is a Grandmother who walks the wisdom trail of neutrality by teaching lessons about embracing All Our Relations equally. As she walks with us she will point out how not everything in life is going to be either all black or all white. She opens our eyes and minds wider by introducing us to those grey areas where wisdom mingles in the neutrality…in the common ground of similarities that begin to present themselves. She demonstrates through her own honoring of the Sacred Space and Points of View others hold that we do not need to defend ourselves through conflict in order to protect or prove our own ways. In this we come to see that it's within the grey areas that her grey hands guide us to see through our own Truth, through our sense of Self from our Sacred Point of View, that we can honor our Self and theirs at the same time. In doing so we learn a little more about what it means to walk in a right manner. We develop a much stronger sense of Self this way and learn to make respectful room for others to do the same…the same…it's the same for all of us and we begin to see that through the eyes of our spirit. We come to see that by honoring others and befriending them we can share in their Truths as they enhance our knowledge and understanding thus add to our wisdom. As they share with us we exchange our Sacred Point of View and share our Truths with them and together we gracefully pass through those grey areas adding to each other's understanding, knowledge and wisdom. We step deeper into the Oneness that unites us all through Universal Truth each time this happens.

I have a dear friend who walks a path other than my own. A path formed from another culture and colored by other eclectic traditions since this person has walked along several paths in the past just as I have. Some of those paths are similar to those I've walked and some are very different. The path they walk today is one I studied many years ago when interest in my ancestral ties to it was highly activated. However, the NA path called out louder to me and I chose to walk it instead. As we've shared our understandings we have come to see some common ground…ground here being the Land we were born to as well as the lands of our Ancestors. Decades have passed since I walked that path so in our exchanges I've once again tapped back into Ancestral memory, back into the recall of my own memory with the freshness our exchanges have brought forward. It's a very enjoyable and enlightening experience because the knowledge I've gathered through NA teachings is showing me the grey areas where the similarities are present. Now this particular friend came along several years ago and we met through the sharing of shamanic beliefs that I held to satisfy my friend's curiosity. Our friendship developed through those stages when I was walking in the shoes of a mentor or Coach. Today we've switched places and my friend is mentoring me, Coaching me along and helping me to see into the grey places Wisdom Keeper is so fond of. Having studied other teachings along the way, we both hold respect for what we've each learned. We can share the insights openly and honorably…whether we literally embrace them as our own is not of importance to our relationship. But, the understanding is because it allows us to see into the other person deeper. It allows us to appreciate their contribution to the greater whole of life through the Truths they hold…contributing through that united front to All Our Relations.

Today this same friend is refreshing my old memory of those cultural ways and in the sharing not only are the things I was taught so long ago resurfacing but new and deeper concepts are being imparted to me. While they are expressed differently they do align to the NA teachings of the Grandmothers and in that I can see the complimentary depths that the union of the two bring about. There is no sense of knowledge being wrong, there is no feeling of rejection the truths as false illusion, only the embrace of the ah-ha moments where similarity unites in Truth and enhances it. It's beautiful! The new understanding my friend is bringing to light for me is not necessarily new in the sense of a new school of thought. It's the old knowledge and Truth it holds passing through me once again. It speaks to me folding itself around my spirit and my spirit recognizes it can embrace what's being shared. This process we've shared over the years of exchanging our histories, our knowledge and experiences has brought about a mutual understanding and led to some good debates, to deeper thinking, as well as a deepening of our friendship over time. We hold respect for one and other and we do not see ourselves as one being wiser than the other; instead we see ourselves as equals walking our paths of growth by sharing our journeys together. I have many such friendships that have been developed through the years in this manner and I'm sure most of you can think of a few yourselves. What if we focused on fostering such friendships with all those we met? Well Wisdom Keeper encourages us to do just that!

We can also develop the same types of friendships with other life forms. Imagine what the world would be like if we all did this. Wisdom Keeper teaches us just that…as the Mother of Friendship. She teaches us how to develop a right relationship with All Our Relations through our spirits, through our True Self for it is a spiritual connection that creates that bond. And as the Mother of Friendship she can and will teach us how to mend those friendships that have broken down for one reason or another.

As Keeper of the Stone Libraries and the Earth Mother's History she is also the Guardian of 'the Remembering' and the Art of Memory wherein we begin to recognize and recall the Oneness that forms our global Unity, our mutual understandings of what unity really means…we learn the Truth about how to work together through honoring one and other-as I shared a moment ago with you in my friendship example. We can call upon her to share her Medicine and learn to tap into the past utilizing the Stone Libraries that tell of the Earth Mother's history, her evolution and her nature in its primal fashioning. Think about it, archeologists, geologists, scientists and other experts along those lines know how to speak these languages and embrace the knowledge they hold. Yes, it's through their physical experiences, they come to know how to let the Stone People and rock formations tell them things, it's through the things they explore they gathering the stories they tell. That's one way of connecting. But when we allow Grandmother Wisdom Keeper to teach us she teaches us to see as the shaman sees, to walk the spiritual path to the Stone People and the knowledge they hold in their Library along this spiritual path the discovery becomes magical. It goes far beyond what the experts discover in the physical sense.

Have you ever sat holding a crystal or stone and opened yourself to what it's journey has been? Have you ever let them tell you about the things they know and what their nature is, what gifts they hold, or more? You can do this, and when you take the time to explore such moments of Silence with one of our Stone Relatives you may well find yourself escorted on a shamanic journey or gifted with visionary experiences. They may also gift you with their Medicine Ways teaching you how to heal or nurture yourself as well as others. They are very good at healing our wounded spirits too. I've mentioned in the past that we all have strengths and weaknesses in our sensory abilities. This is because our strengths reside in the timing of our births which creates an affinity with those influences present at that moment…planetary relationships with the celestial, mineral, animal, and plant Kingdoms are our first introduction to family and it's important to remember this as we come to meet the Grandmothers. Whichever Grandmother presides over your date of birth will, as a rule, allow her lunar influence to readily be a more natural connection where understanding comes easier to us as opposed to others, those born under the influence of another Grandmother, may have to apply themselves with a bit more effort. It's the same thing that happens with our affinity to an element. Those born under Water will relate better or more readily to the teachings found there than say someone born under the influence of Fire might and vs./vs.

Now just because it appears easier for one individual than for another, does not mean it is impossible for us, in fact, each and every one of us can make these connections. We are still all related so it simply means at times we may need to apply ourselves with a little stronger focus. You may see this demonstrated through your own physical family where there are some members you can relate to better than others, yet you still love them all, you still connect with each of them on some level. Well the Stone Nation is a large part of our planetary family and when we connect with them we can learn of their history, their stories and attributes, their Medicines and the healing or nurturing abilities they hold. It's through the Stone People that we can tap into the past and learn many things that are going to be to our advantage today. There are Stone People that will help us tap into our personal histories as well, they open us to ancestral memory, to the re-membering of our own spiritual journeys through past lives, and through that they open our eyes to the journey we are making at this time as well for it is but a continuation. When we can see the histories and our present positions we begin to look ahead and see where they are taking us. By honoring our journey and the journey of others we begin to see where this Grandmother shows us a path of planetary unity. We're all journeying through our life cycles and our spiritual destinies are unfolding.

Wisdom Keeper teaches us the importance of that unity to get through our journey, the relationships we develop assist us as we make our way and bring us the companionship we need so we do not feel so alone. They enrich us and they aid us in the evolution of our spirit through the knowledge and understanding we gain as we progress. In this we come to know the value of relationships and mutual understandings no matter what path our relatives walk. In this way she teaches us the art of Self-development and Expansion through accessing Mother Earth's Memory, through personal recall, and the ancient wisdom she holds. It is through her we learn how to understand the wisdom that every life form holds and its mission so that we can honor and perhaps contribute to that mission in some fashion just as that life form is contributing to our passage. For these reasons, when we can see the Truth through the Sacred Point of View held by others as well as our own, when we can understand the Truths exist on all paths and in all relationships, when we can reach out and tap the Truth of All Our Relations in a right manner we are learning how to honor these Truths. It's an insight that allows us to see the beauty in all our journeys, it allows us to see why we want to honor them.

As Wisdom Keeper imparts her lessons and her time with us has passed she will let go of our arm introducing us to the next Grandmother, Weighs the Truth.

MARCH: WEIGHS THE TRUTH
Weighs the Truth is the Keeper of Equality and the Guardian of Justice; she is the fair Judge of Divine Law and the Destroyer of Deception; as the Mother of Truth and Protectress of the Underdog, she is also the Mother of Self-determination and Responsibility. When the third Grandmother of the year steps forward we come to her lessons about human rights and equality. Her lessons are not from the laws of humanity but from the Divine Law of Spirit where we are all precious children, all loved, all equal, all a part of one enormous cosmic family. Each of us holds equal value regardless of our station in life or the path we are walking through it. She is the Guardian of Justice but she does not judge our actions nor does she punish, instead she teaches us about Divine Law lovingly presenting those principles of unconditional love. She teaches us to feed the positive, to focus on that rather than the negative and to do this through our spiritual awareness. Through the eyes of our spirits and the warmth of our hearts she aids us in raising our consciousness to merge with the Universe and Cosmic order, with Divine Law.

One of the first Divine Laws I first learned was that of Cause, Effect, and Retribution. That old saying: "What goes around comes around" is true. We are the cause of our own actions, no one else. We're the ones taking action and what we do will have an effect on our relationships, issues, situations and environment. As we act we set things into motion with our will and in the end all things return to their source. This is Divine Law, therefore we will reap the rewards or retribution as the energy returns to us. IF I choose an action that harms another then consciously or not I have called the lessons in accordance to that retribution to myself. If I choose action that benefits another or in the least does not disrupt others then Divine Law will see that I am not disrupted or that I am blessed. Divine Law is Universal Law, it applies to all of us, to you and everyone else. It will supersede the laws of society. It applies to all without exception…therefore your choices define the blessings and rewards that come your way as well as the difficulties that lead to trials by fire. When we perceive justly the truth in the equality in life then we will hold ourselves accountable for our actions. We will not go looking for someone or something to lay blame upon, we will assume our own responsibility. Our actions and our words are born of our choices. Therefore Grandmother's lessons include what I call the 3-I's: Integrity, Intent and Impeccability and they carry the themes of ethical conduct, fair-minded principles and standards that value All Our Relations and all of life. Those ingredients lead to solutions or resolutions to problems rather than us being the cause of them. They lead to healing rather than harming, and to accepting Truth for what it is rather than buying into illusions or falsehoods.

By accepting truth we see the error of our own ways when we make mistakes and if we are truthful with ourselves we will see the lesson before us. It's there we choose to alter the course of our actions in the future, make amends where we are able, and do the right thing. By keeping truth in our awareness we avoid repeating mistakes. We do everything we can to see all sides in matters. This is where the foundations of the Seven Sacred Directions serve us for they show the way to look in, out, over, under, around and through things to gain our clarity. If we do this we will not be deceived by the manipulations, half-truths or the deceptive Shadows others may cast. It is in this way Weighs the Truth is the Destroyer of Deception and she can teach us to do the same.

When we are swayed by illusions, by social status, by positions of empty power, popularity or fame, perhaps by self-importance and ego, we embrace our own humility for Divine Law will come calling to humble us. When we see injustice around us, the underdog who is being abused or victimized by it, the feeble and weak, the elderly who struggle it is our place to respond…to assume the responsibility and protect our brother or sister in the same manner we would stand up for any family member needing assistance. By not fostering deception we assume this same responsibility for we destroy it by bringing truth to bear in a neutral manner. We are not here to slay the deceivers, to punish them and make them pay, nor are we here to judge anyone for the path they walk, that is between them and Spirit, they call Divine Law to themselves, we slay instead the deceptions and Shadows. Now this means we must accept truth whether we like it or not and that is not always easy. Weights the Truth will show us the means to find the balance we need, the right manner to address matters or to employ Self-determination in the actions we take.

That same Self-determination means that we have the strength not to be led astray by others who would confuse or influence us through manipulations. We have the strength not to succumb to temptation to walk the Crooked Path of Shadow. She will teach us to see the truth in what brings our hearts and spirits joy, to honor that truth by acting on it. In this way we bring joy and honor to the world around us. The energy we walk with is positive energy, uplifting, happy energy and that's contagious. Accepting the truth begins within us, within our hearts and our spirits. It is embraced at the core of our being, and when we have found this ability through the lessons Grandmother shares we learn to accept the truth around us too. To accept the truth within ourselves we must look within through the eyes of our spirit, through both the sharp eye that sees clearly and the soft eye that understands. It means we must be willing to face our own Shadows and destroy them by bringing them out into the Light to examine them.

I mentioned she's the Protectress of the Underdog…and she is. Equality is very important in keeping our integrity and egos in check. Taking advantage of others when they are vulnerable in any fashion is not walking honorably and so we will experience lessons where we may need to protect those who are unable to care for themselves in some manner. When we are moved by the plight of someone to assist them we feel our spirit telling us it's the right thing to do. Doing the best we can and giving of ourselves what we can give is the right thing to do. Sometimes it's a smile, sometimes it's a helping hand or a good ear or a shoulder to lean on as they get their balance, sometimes it's helping to share the load of their burdens in some way, but it's something someone needs that we have to give. Grandmother Weighs the Truth taps us on the shoulder and says: "Look over there, is there any reason why you can't do something to help?" and of course how do you tell your Grandmother no? You don't, you smile and say of course I can and you do that with a joyful heart. At such times the reward is in the doing. It feels good. We feel that truth move within us, we feel it weigh in our hearts, and then we simply do what needs to be done to the best of our ability. That's impeccability. We accept what we feel and we act on it.

Knowing our own strengths and weaknesses or our own vulnerabilities is important because that knowledge shatters any false illusions or delusions we might otherwise have about ourselves. When we learn what we are capable of, when we focus on the strengths we do have and what we can do instead of what we can't we find we can do many things and accomplish much in life. All we have to do is listen to the truth within us and accept it for what it is. Build upon our strengths, whatever they may be, and we will find our way to successful growth. Once we've found it we can pass that pattern on to others and help them empower themselves. Weighs the Truth has beautiful lessons to share with you.

She's the Mother of Self-determination and Responsibility who teaches us how to respond and how to be Self-determined, or act in a determined manner through our spirit, not just our physical being. Sometimes we're not sure how to respond to something or someone and we need to weigh that out. We don't do that with just our heads, we enter the Silence and we do it with our heads and our hearts, we need them both. They are our scales of justice. Our spirit being the axis for the balancing of our scales, will speak to us and say: "This is the right way" and we Know what to do, we feel it. But you can't just enter the Silence and sit with Grandmother's wisdom without hearing what she has to say. Learn to stilling the chatter in your mind, be still like the Silence, listen and you will hear her speak.

There are times you will go deeper Still to listen to the voices of Spirit or Mother Earth, it will depend on what you're facing with your issues but Weighs the Truth will teach you how to do this…she'll point out the reasons and the advantage if you let her. It is there in the Silence we remove the lies, deceptions and illusions we hold, she shows us how to cast them aside and take the issue into the Light where such things cannot hide. The Light will show us the truth be that our own or another's for Weighs the Truth can place us in another's shoes to understand their troubles too. I know I feel gratitude for what I'm shown. It allows me to honor the gift by giving thanks for the lessons I've received whatever they may be, and you will find it is the same for you.

Discerning truth means that we must learn to discard the Shadows by releasing the illusions, we do this through observing and our using ingenuity to see into things to draw the truth into the Light. Again, we employ the teachings of the Sacred Directions and the perspectives they bring to our Sacred Point of View. Then we discern what it is by assimilating what we are shown setting our emotions aside, we examine with a clear mind and a good heart. We may sleep on it and sometimes we may need to do that for up to 3 nights before we've seen the fullness of things. We may need to call upon guidance to show us more before we can come to understand. Grandmother will teach us that it is the right way to wait until the truth is clear before drawing conclusions. She is not one to misjudge anyone and she certainly wouldn't want to see us doing that either. We have to weigh the rights of all those who will be affected by our actions be that an individual or the community. We must expand our understanding beyond ourselves and consider the underdog who is weak, the one who is old or feeble, the one who is disabled or cannot fend for themselves. And then as Grandmother lifts her Grey Hand she reminds us that before we act we're to remember that nothing is ever all black or all white. Sometimes the truth hurts and we must accept that too…accept it with love in our hearts and understanding in our minds.

Divine Law disbursed with unconditional love for all who fall under it and all who walk with it. It is followed by walking our path in faith knowing that it is a path walked in right manner. There is gratitude for that guidance we receive though the lessons may be challenging at times we learn well from those challenges, they make us all the stronger. We feel gratitude for the path that unfolds under her Light, for the one that shows us the healing of resolution through truth. Sometimes we employ ritual to learn her lessons in Just Action and sometimes it's as simple as reading an energy signature and responding to it then and there, but whatever is called for it will fall under the Universal Laws Grandmother teaches. Sometimes we become the burden basket if we are asked to weigh the truth, but by observing Grandmother's ways we learn that weighing it well is important to be balanced fairly on the scales of justice.

APRIL: LOOKS FAR WOMAN
Looks Far Woman is the Seer, Oracle, Dreamer, Prophet; Keeper of the Golden Door and the Crack in the Universe; the Mother of Visions, Dreams and Psychic Impressions; The Guardian of the Dreamtime and the keeper of Inner Potential. She teaches how to understand our visions, dreams, feelings and impressions. She brings the lessons of how to enter the Dreamtime, stepping into other realms of dimension through the Crack in the Universe by properly using our psychic abilities and gifts of prophecy to serve humanity. She will show us how to use spiritual boundaries, psychic self-defense, and respect those boundaries in others. And instructs us on using our inner potential to become healed healers. She teaches us how to see the truth.

As the 4th New Moon rises, Looks Far Woman steps forward to walk with us through her sacred teachings. As the Keeper of the Crack in the Universe she holds open the door to enlightenment. And she smiles opening her arms wide when she sees us coming. It is then she will guide us through a portal leading to passageways of experience sharing her teachings. Through her generous love and compassionate ways we come to see how to step through this doorway to other realms, tap into Universal Consciousness and discover that all answers reside there. Her lessons teach us about cosmic understanding so we may comprehend the Oneness present within the Great Mystery, ourselves and within all things. Her lessons show us that it is through our spirit we that we expand beyond the limitations of our human bodies to grow wise. She shows us how to step beyond our hesitations born of self-doubt, beyond our fears born of illusions into the vastness of the unknown. She smiles as we come to see that truth resides within us as well as in the world around us. In this way we arrive at new levels of understanding our own potential while discovering the truth hidden within our spirit to realize that it is through our spirit we are able to connect to the Oneness where worlds within worlds, cycles within cycles, potentials within potentials exist. Grandmother gently encourages us to keep striving to achieve our understanding of the Great Mystery in order to comprehend how our spiritual evolution unfolds.

While the Great Mystery remains ever a mystery, it is present throughout all of Creation where it holds the beauty of experience. It is through our spiritual experiences that we discover this beauty is found in each and every life form be it in this world or a parallel realm. It is the beauty found within each and every single moment of manifestation. It is the beauty found in the orchestration of Divine Timing as she reveals the means of uncovering Divine Truth. She helps us to understand that by seeing truth we are able to watch the Great Mystery unfold in its continual dance of change as we come to recognize the growing potential that comes forth from Creation.

Looks Far Woman also teaches us to respect the boundaries of others and not intrude on their Sacred Space without an invitation or having first asked permission. These lessons also include the drawbacks of looking too far into matters too soon. You may wonder about the importance of that but it's to avoid destroying the beauty of a moment that has not yet arrived. Have you ever discovered a gift package with your name on it and peeked inside only to see something so special that you are devastated by spoiling your own surprise? We become crushed by the knowledge that it was 'the gift' we wanted and the joy of receiving it has been greatly diminished. Sometimes by looking too far into matters we spoil the joy of moments to come robbing ourselves of the thrill of being alive, of experiencing wonder and creating our special memories.

As the Mother of Visions, Dreams, Shamanic Journeys and Psychic Impressions her lessons teach us to prepare ourselves to receive these insights by properly undertaking the rites that purify, center and ground us for successful endeavors. Through her, we learn that we may try time and again before we successfully learn to see through the eyes of our spirits. Therefore we come to understand the value patience she demonstrates as we seek the truth, employing compassion for ourselves and for others through nurturing our faith. In order to do these things her teachings require us to be present, to hold our awareness of our bodies in our consciousness for balance. If we are willing she will escort us as we begin to Dreamwalk and find our way back again.

She will teach us to surrender to the Dreamtime and enter other worlds of reality that exist within the layers of the Oneness as we Dream solutions or seek visions. As The Guardian of the Dreamtime and the keeper of Inner Potential it is through her lessons we come to see the truth present in our DreamWeave as well as in the world of form. This is so we can utilize that knowledge ourselves. She knows the Creature-teachers that walk with us, our Totems, pass on their Medicine teachings showing us how to call upon our own like attributes and abilities through recognizing our similar physical traits and personalities. She helps us understand how to run the energy of the life force through ourselves utilizing the natural forces present creatively in our daily lives as we manifest our DreamWeave.

As a visionary she will teach us how to recognize our sensory impressions, dreams, visions and feelings. She teaches the value of practicing exercises and willingness to spend the hours needed to focus on a single place so we become so familiar with it that we can pop in anytime we have need just by thinking of it. She brings us to exercises that call for us to still the chatter in our minds so we can grasp that fleeting piece of a vision or inspiration then track it back to its source to reveal the bigger picture. In this way we learn to validate our abilities as she imparts the light that shines on our path allowing us to recognize our own hidden inner potential. The lessons include the interpretation of messages, visions, symbols and sensations to see the Truth residing in the world of form and the unseen worlds on the other side of the Veil.

She teaches us to meld our consciousness within the Oneness and surrender our minds to the flow of the forces within the elements of nature we are calling upon. Through her we learn how to breathe in and ride the element of Air on the back of the Wind; how to allow Fire to burn away our distractions, distortions and illusions; how to allow Water to cleanse our being of the need to control the journey by flowing with it and allowing it to carry us; and how to let the Earth with its magnetic forces ground us through our womb. Then we learn to open our hearts giving over to the experience as it unfolds as we surrender to the satiating love of Great Mystery as we enter the Oneness in totality.

We can all achieve and access these gifts if we open our hearts to Spirit and guidance. So it's important that we learn how to observe the changes in weather and observe the natural world to read the signs that come through the elemental forces at play. She will teach us to see the Cloud People and understand the messages they bring us as come to see the life force moving through our lives. As she brings us through experiences we come to understand our potential, for in her wisdom we find value in sharpening our mind. She'll have us employing exercises whereby we learn to close our eyes and recall the finer details of what we have just seen take place. This is so powerful! There is a lot of information hidden in the details and we can use that to our advantage. She may ask us to recalling the details of encounters we have had in the recent past with others to examine what we observed about them when our paths crossed.

These exercises show us the obvious truths aiding us to hone our ability to See things the way the shaman sees. They prepare us to see further over time as we seek the details our spirit shows us when it journeys. Grandmother's exercises prepare us to look deeper into the future where all potentials and possibilities reside. In this way we come to understand that through our spirit we can co-create and manifest within the world of form. With the information we gather in our dreams or visions the ability to co-create, to choose whether or not we wish to manifest what we've seen or to experience the realities we've been shown grows stronger. It is our choice to change the course of our lives and employ our free will. Now Grandmother does see the truths

about us. She knows whether or not we will choose to embrace these options now or later. Since the future is mutable, she knows that as we learn to see further into it we will come recognize that nothing is concrete therefore…the future can change if we choose to change our actions or alter our decisions by exercising our free will and we can alter that future with each choice we make. How exciting is that?!

As Seer, Oracle, Dreamer, and Prophetess Looks Far Woman stresses the importance of heeding details, the techniques of recalling all information we're shown and honing those abilities. She imparts the value of discerning the difference between true prophecy or merely probability through understanding the visionary signs, omens, portents or symbols we are given. This Grandmother sees and encourages us to express ourselves, she points out that all things in existence have a spirit form containing the essence of life. Through teaching us to properly enter the Silence she will assist us in discovering the mysteries of the spirit within us and with that, the potential found residing in the intangible worlds of dimension as they interplay in our lives. She teaches us to use our Sight to find lost objects, dis-ease, to read the faces of the Cloud People, travel on the Wind, break through illusion and in this to retrieve information.

Now, this is done through nature itself as we discover each spirit essence in the natural world is ready, willing and able to assist us to understand its ways. It's how we learn to gather our own Medicine to ourselves and they will share their ways to enhance abilities when approached in a right manner. In so doing, we uncover the truths present in all things, places and states of being. This allows us to begin to see the patterns that weave within one and other. It's really exciting to discover their energy signatures and see them flowing, to begin recognizing how they function and how to function with them. In this way we begin to understand how to weave our own probable futures and within our community to serve the greater whole as well as ourselves. She is teaching us to move through the earth to find buried objects, to see the presence of Shadow and shield against it in the purification rituals that prepare us for a vision. We must achieve a balanced nature in our attitude accepting right manner and our relationship to the Earth Mother. She shows us how our breathing brings that state of balance into being as we go into and return from our journeys.

Her lessons include foretelling future outcomes and remaining aware of the entrapments that come should we project our desires or expectations into them. That trap only leads disappointment because projection clouds our vision of other potential opportunities…the very opportunities she can teach us to explore. As we explore options we uncover different possibilities. Options are a gift, they afford us choices and the bless us with the ability to know when a path is right for us or not. If we feel it is one of Shadow those other options may well hold a better outcome so in this way she teaches the clarity of truth in the obvious and how to see what is before our eyes so that we can grow in any situation.

Other lessons she brings our way are those of scrying or summoning visions through various means. You might be inclined to pick up a crystal ball, a mirror, gaze into the water of a lake or pool as Grandmother's reflection dances upon the surface, or perhaps be drawn to gaze into the starry night sky. As you walk with her, perhaps someone in the physical sense is walking with you as well and will teach you how to create a Medicine Bowl for yourself so you can look beyond the world of form and journey into the Void of Creation. Grandmother knows our fears

of the unknown and we will see she is patient as we step deeper into her lessons. She also knows that those fears are but illusions holding us back in trepidation yet when we learn to believe in ourselves they fade. She doesn't have to tell us that, she won't spoil the surprise that way, instead she lets us discover these things for ourselves while gently encouraging us to keep going. Her compassion for our challenges when facing our fears is unbelievably tender, she is so patient, and if that means walking with us through her cycle this year and patiently waiting for her turn again next year then so be it. She will not rush us.

Through Looks Far Woman's nature we learn to emulate her ways. As she nurtures us gently through our healing stages so that we can let go of our fears a little at a time and looking no further than we dare to see, we learn to help others do the same. Looks Far Woman can look beyond the emotional attachments we hold, past our anger, our fear, our pain into our spirits and she can teach us to do this too. When we can do it for ourselves we have gained the ability to heal, and therefore the ability to heal others. She knows that even when the Light of the spirit is dim it can be nurtured back to burn brightly when cared for with tenderness and she teaches us to become the healed Healer.

She knows the healing sound of a gentle loving voice, and how our words spoken can at times reach out and touch the shattered spirit calling it back from the darkness of trauma. She knows how that gentle voice can touch the spirit within a broken body that has suffered abuse, or how it can summon the spirit back from disease, illness, or coma. She will teach us how to speak and sing to the spirit to soothe and comfort it through our own spirits…how to stand between the worlds to do this holding our awareness of both sides of the Veil simultaneously intact and gently bringing the spirit back through stages of reclaiming the shards of a broken spirit in the healing process. She does this by looking far into other realms to retrieve those shards and by seeing the truth of what is required to insure safety and comfort during the mending of that spirit.

Looks Far Woman teaches us to see and understand that our pain can open us to seek healing and in that to see the truth that lies within forgiveness and releasing those who inflicted the suffering upon us. As we do this we open to our own gifts that emerge as we pass through the dark night of our soul to reclaim the love of Great Mystery and our connection to Spirit. In the joy of knowing we can employ this knowledge and understanding to heal others enhancing the world around us as we move beyond the limits of pain into the joy of truth.

Within the context of her lessons are those tied to healing wherein we learn to heal ourselves becoming healed Healers. She knows the value of a familiar voice and of speaking to those whose spirits have fled or sent shards of themselves flying into these other realms. She knows how to search for them and gently call them back. She knows those familiar voices open a path way for the spirit to follow and return along. She thus teaches us the value of creating Sacred Space around those who need healing by fashioning a shield that is both physically and energetically constructed.

Sometimes the ability to See and heal tests our courage and strength as we pass back through memories of trauma. Sometimes we are tested to see traumatic events that are a potential the future if change does not take place first. These darker images we are shown are not necessarily fixed, they often point to the fact that choice is before us we need to make a careful decision

looking at things from all angles, from the Seven Sacred Directions to avoid such outcomes. Therefore we are being given forewarnings alerting us that time may be of the essence and to forearm ourselves with our choices.

Regardless of the form that the healing takes, be that mind, body, emotions or our spirit, Looks Far Woman sees the path to be taken and will show it to us. In her compassion she knows patience for the totality of healing and therefore can teach us the same. She holds the truth of those healing stages by looking into the spirit to see where trust or faith may have been broken, where vulnerabilities are present creating weakness, and whether or not through caring for the individual there can be a return to wholeness. By looking into our past and seeing the truth we heal ourselves and release old wounds so that we are better prepared to face the present moment and thus look into the future. Therefore, this Grandmother will teach us to call upon the forces of nature to affect the healing environment in many ways. Firstly in creating a safe, Sacred Space to work in protecting the one to be healed. Likely she will ask you to journey with her and show you how this is done.

She knows the importance of expressing gratitude to the Great Mystery as each successful step in the healing process is achieved. As we do this we make room for the blessing of the next phase to arrive. Once the physical healing is complete there is more to be done, that the mental, emotional and spiritual healings must be completed as well. There are times those processes can take several Moon cycles calling for the passage of time before wholeness is achieved. These healing processes may call for a soul-retrieval which can take several sessions. For some that can be terrifying so Looks Far Woman imparts the need for compassion in our work and courage in finding the strength to clear our Shadows and see clearly again. Through her own actions she teaches us that words of encouragement add to the strength of others when they are striving to learn these things and that we should share those words to assist them through their frustrations to see the truth.

She knows that if we are to be successful in sharing our knowledge with others we must be impeccable about that sharing so that they are able to pass that knowledge on as well. It's then that our touch goes out into the world for it expands through the teachings that will be passed on properly. We must teach those we share our knowledge with to share in that same manner. We must learn to share with each other impeccability, demonstrating our integrity and good intentions, the 3-I's. We learn these things through the ways of Looks Far Woman for she is exceptionally nurturing, patient, and loves to light the way so that as we develop our abilities we proceed in a right manner. That allows us to bring forth the enlightenment of Great Mystery for humanity. So it is that we pass the teachings down through the ages to come by example, and through our conscious awareness of who is capable of holding the knowledge along with the understanding.

We give gratitude to her willingly for in her generosity we recognize we can now See the Truth as she leaves our side.

MAY: LISTENING WOMAN
Listening Woman is the Mother of the Stillness and Inner Knowing teaching us how to enter the Stillness and hear our heart's small, still voice within. Teaching us how to find and understand the Inner Knowing we carry in our Spiritual Essences. She is the Keeper of Discernment and Guardian of Introspection teaching us how to listen to the viewpoints and opinions of others and the voices of the Ancestors. She is the Interpreter of Messages from the Spirit World teaching us how to understand body language and unspoken thoughts by hearing with the heart. As the Counselor and Advisor she teaches us how to listen to other viewpoints and step into them to know their truth. She teaches us how to hear the Truth.

Now in her lessons on entering the Stillness or the Silence as I call it, she wants us to learn to listen to the messages all around us…those of nature, those of our hearts, messages from guidance as well as the views of other individuals. She wants us to learn to communicate with the Creature-Teachers and come to know Great Mystery for ourselves so she gifts us with access to the Silence so that we can begin by listening to the whispers of our own spirit and know the potential we have to achieve entry into the Oneness to access the voice of inner truth.

Grandmother Listening Woman helps us to listen to all viewpoints through all their representations in our world. In this way we come to the harmony that is found in respecting each life form and its Sacred Space as well as it's Sacred Point of View. There's nothing to fight over, but if we shut out those truths we cannot learn or expand our growth into understanding, instead we limit our perceptions and hinder our own passage. We need to listen to what is being said to find our answers. If we're doing all the talking we can't listen and in our archives you will find our show on the Power of Listening which may be helpful for you to review. Basically, if we ignore others or cut them off when they are speaking because it's something we'd rather not hear we actually could be halting our own growth. Many people avoid the truth fearing it will be painful but it's in the willingness to listen to something about ourselves when it's presented compassionately that we begin to heal. Grandmother teaches us how to compassionately listen and develop that talent for delivery of truth to ourselves so we can heal our wounds and later heal those of others.

Jamie Sams calls the 13 Grandmothers Clan Mothers, she sees them as the Moon Clan, a group of spiritual teachers that teach the ways of truth and it is this beautiful Grandmother who listens to us with her heart as well as her ears. She will show us how to hear the unspoken desires of not only our hearts but of the hearts within others…and the unspoken fears we all hold. Through her lessons we learn about the unspoken…the nonverbal languages of the Stone People, the Green Growing Things, the Creature-teachers, the elemental forces, and the voices of the Ancestors that come through the Veil of the Spirit World. It's through her ability to be totally still so she can take in all these impressions that she is able to conceptualize the Oneness and her whole being and she can teach us to do the same.

Wouldn't you like to know how to discern whether people are speaking the truth? You can, just by listening to the inflections and feelings contained in their words. This Grandmother does not judge those who feel they must lie, she knows that by showing them compassion we are demonstrating spiritual maturity because that individual is masking a wound or fear of some kind or they wouldn't feel the need to lie. She is able to hear every single thought, sense every fraction of a feeling, and receives this insight through the Silence she holds within herself. This allows her to foretell a probable future and point out our potential to walk in a right manner, along the Beauty Way or…or allow our fear and wounds to set us walking a crooked trail of deception as we deceive ourselves. And she will warn us if we are off balance or send us encouragement when we walk with grace.

Omens, signs, symbols, portents, they come to us as the signposts in life because Grandmother has heard our hearts, listened to our intentions, heard our secret desires, felt our needs and she reaches out to us to help us find our way to them. She'll send the messages we need to us through Nature, Ancestral Spirits, the Creature-teachers, or the voices of our own spirits. She knows that our evolution matters because she's been witness to the truth for a long, long time. She sees the way things have gone awry with those how hide behind half-truths, or twisted truths to mask their intentions. She's seen the greed and lusting for control and the forked tongues used to gain it through words that have two sides to them. She knows that when we heed her lessons and hone our abilities we create tools within ourselves that will allow us to easily discern the masks of hidden agendas or secret motivations that would bring us harm.

She can bestow upon us, through her lessons, the gift of being an observer of truth by teaching us how to enter the Silence of our own being without preconceived notions while we listen to the words of others. She'll teach us how to set aside our expectations so we can uncover the truth without creating illusions around it. As we learn to observe one movement we observe others and soon we're seeing every movement of the bodies of those we interact with in whatever form they may present themselves…human or otherwise. We learn to listen carefully to the rhythm and pitch of the voices that speak to us, to the energy that tells us if someone is excited, serious, nervous or shy, trying to hide something or being openly honest through valuing the hidden truth in body language.

As the Keeper of Discernment she will help us see that each time we are being warned we will feel it in our solar plexus, the spot where that 'gut feeling' surges through us at the center of our body. If there is a warning it disturbs our sense of tranquility or balance, it disrupts our feeling of peace and tells us we must be cautious and listen closely to what's happening. Now there are always those times when circumstances tell us we must pay attention to actions instead of words spoken. Perhaps someone is across a room and we can't literally hear what they're saying, or we sense their words are not what we should be listening to. We might be outdoors and subject to bad weather conditions that are distracting us through our physical comfort zone through temperature, storms, or heavy winds. Maybe our own mood isn't the best at the moment and we're feeling upset, agitated, or impatient. All these things can challenge us to remain focused or mask our perceptions so it's very important we learn to set those things aside and be aware of the need to take a stronger focus. We need to go further into our ability to listen through our heart and the impression we get there. How does the heart feel? How is it speaking to us? What is it telling us? Perhaps we'll hear the voice of our spirit speaking when we do this as speaks to reveal a truth we should heed. We're stretching and strengthening our ability to listen for the truth.

As the Guardian of Introspection she teaches us to take the time we need to tap into the viewpoints of others. That may mean taking time by ourselves to do that, especially if we've been asked advice. I've always been taught that if the answer is not clear to me I need to sleep on it. That process might take one night or two, perhaps even three before the answer comes to me.

I've had times where I needed to enter the Silence daily for a couple weeks before the answer showed itself to me so it's important to realize this and know the value of sitting with what we've gathered from our meetings. Politely ask the individual or persons seeking your assistance to return the next day for your view on matters and explain that you want time to sit with the issues. Then take the time to enter the Silence, to go within to inspect what you need to examine. This allows you to expand yourself beyond the physical limitation of your body so you can go into the Silence where the voice of your spirit will speak with you. It allows you the space to enter into a state of heightened awareness tapping into the understanding you need. You will be shown all the steps in the journey that need to be taken and how, through each lesson she brings you to that entering into this sacred place of Oneness you are completing a state of wholeness within your Self. The voice of your spirit will welcome you, and when you hear it you know you are speaking with your True Self, opening the lines of communication that you need in order to know your truths.

Now when that happens for the first time be prepared for a flood of mixed emotions: awe, excitement, gratitude, wonder, love, fulfillment, nurturance, belonging, satisfaction, and achievement and the burning desire to know more about this experience can hit all at once. It's amazing and it doesn't stop that time, it's like that every time you enter but it settles over you faster and balances out with your body's rhythms once you've had a little practice. This Grandmother knows that when we enter the Silence it requires us to center first, to ground ourselves and become aware of the Earth Mother's presence and her nurturing tenderness as well as her protective nature. We have to center ourselves with Spirit where we feel the protection of our spirit and can thus enter into the essence of the Great Mystery's Oneness within us. Achieving this state of higher awareness and conscious intent we know the meaning of the words ecstasy, bliss and utter joy, of elation and enlightenment for the lights do come on.

It's in the Silence that Grandmother listens to our hearts, dreams, wishes and needs then sends us signs and messages to help us find our way. We can do this, each and every one of us is capable of accomplishing this and with practice it becomes something that takes very little effort to do. It's definitely a gift you can bestow upon yourself if you want to. And through learning to listen to the voices of the natural world, or the voices of guidance from your Spirit Helpers, voices that carry words of wisdom and insight that enlightens, you will come to know your own compassion, patience. Entering the Silence teaches us about boundaries for our Sacred Space and therefore how to keep the feelings and troubles of others out of it. We learn not to listen to illusionary fears…our own or those of others, how to recall and repeating all we have heard so we can track the truth and the answer we seek. We learn to hold our faith and trust in our innocence while holding to our convictions for our path, our abilities, and the connection we're establishing to guidance and Great Mystery. Through humility we keep our pathway clear of obstruction, unlimited in its potential, and hold skepticism as well as arrogance at bay by refusing to allow any of that to daunt our progress.

As the Guardian of Introspection she understands that in experiencing the Silence in all its forms, internal, external, physical choice, we are reflecting through our realized wholeness. She can teach us to ride the waves of emotions and feelings in order to discover all facets of ourselves. Through trusting our feelings we learn to discern the many levels within us that are necessary for hearing truth. By seeing the harmony of each other's views and standing in each other's shoes to take in the opposite view we come to respect other's opinions.

Now, in the yearly cycles that will follow her visit we'll continue to explore her lessons year after year as we develop our skills along these lines and the lines of the other Grandmothers. They walk with us through a pattern of understanding the stages of insight and development of abilities we need to embrace. By asking ourselves pointed questions we learn to find our own answers. If we think clearly and call to memory feeling our way and honoring the voice of our spirit as well as guidance we do learn to hear the truth inside our hearts. As we learn to enter the Silence we also begin to feel safe, heard, and recognize our ability to tap into the inner knowing. Then we can let it shines forth as it reassures us. Some will feel frightened of the Stillness at first as it's strange and unknown to them. Some may feel afraid of the darkness within the Void and what might be hiding there, and perhaps some will be scared of what they might hear because they have been denying the truth inside themselves for so long. It's really nothing to fear but you have to explore it to find that out. In hearing the voice of your spirit speak for the first time you're going to start to realize your potentials. But without the ability to listen to your spirit or guidance so you can truly learn about your hearts' desires and inner truths you're going to feel lost. The welcome sanctuary of the Silence assures you of all this the first time you go into it.

Listening Woman teaches that the first step on each of our paths is in learning to listen to our bodies, then to each other…with respect. Later she teaches us how to listen to nature, how to hear and interpret those messages, and the voices of the Ancestors that ride the Winds…and they do ride on the Wind, I've heard them many times myself. As our path to understanding the Oneness of Self and the Universe develops further we learn to listen to our own spoken words so we can compare what we say to the truth within us that our spirit has been revealing. It becomes a process of change through elimination determined by our hearts and the enlightenments we've passed through…we learn to speak in a right manner this way so we don't weave illusions for ourselves or for others.

Healing comes through this process as our hearts begin to feel the joy of liberation truth brings forth. We begin to understand what inner peace really means as the seasons pass by us and we learn to see that others are discovering this too. We're not on our paths alone here, more and more people are seeing spiritual enlightenment all the time and with it the world becomes populated with spiritually aware individuals. The numbers are growing and you can count yourself among the many who are finding their way Home to Spirit and Mother as we learn to spread the Love they hold for each of us around. As the Love they feel for you spreads and flows within you, it becomes a part of your awareness and you'll be able to share that with others. You'll hear their voices when they speak in whatever form that speaking may take. Sometimes it's audible, sometimes it's simply felt but you know it's them talking. It's undeniable. As the numbers of spiritually enlightened people grow, no matter what path they take to find that enlightenment, those individuals will hear the pureness within the hearts of like-minded or like-spirited people. We are coming into the understanding of what the harmony of Creation is all about…what the Great Mystery has held out to us for so long. We'll begin to see how to live as one supporting without judgment or exception through discernment. The Winds of Change are blowing and they are whispering to all of us. Listen to them from your heart. This Grandmother will help you hear the voices, she will help you to hear the truth. Call out to her, she'll hear you.

She's waiting for your invitation so she can show you how to discover your path as it unfolds. She's waiting for you in the Silence, in the stillness of the night, go to her, let her show you further along the path that is taking you Home.

You know, as we enter the Silence we center by drinking with our senses all that is around. We get ourselves into a comfortable position and honor the Seven Sacred Directions, then closing our eyes we enter into the into the dark womb and nothingness of the Void where the Silence resides. It's there we feel our bodies and we go deep within them, past our body into our spirit and then we hear our own heartbeat…we feel its rhythm slow as we take our deep breaths. Slow breaths that allow us to feel ourselves matching the rhythm of Mother Earth keeping time with her heartbeat. And then it happens, we step between the beats and enter the Silence where the messages come to us. The voices we hear, be they of the Mother, Spirit, the Creature-teachers, our Guides or other Spirit Helpers speak to us through the Silence. They fill our minds and hearts permeating our being and we recognize through all our senses that they are speaking truth. That is undeniable.

To listen with our senses we focus them slowly on each of the Sacred Directions while we're in the Silence. We take them in one at a time, letting the impressions we pick up formulate images or concepts of what we are being exposed to. One by one the wholeness forms our perspectives within our Sacred Point of View based on what we've seen and heard. We may feel textures, shapes, density, gender, and any number of things that will help us formulate our visions. Sometimes Listening Woman sends us a vision and we step into that to explore with our senses in this same manner. We touch with our senses to hear, see, taste, touch and smell things arriving at total understanding of what we're being exposed to. Listening Woman smiles upon us with gentle eyes and her essence brings the reassurance that all is as it should be.

As the Keeper of Discernment she teaches us through our senses and we learn to feel our way through things formulating the concepts and images. We feel trepidation, fulfillment, fear, pleasure, pain, joy, and an endless array of sensations that all speak to us of things the energy signatures around our issues contain. We find our sense of direction by listening and noting where the sounds around us are coming from. Once we have a sense of direction we can extend our sense of hearing to follow the sound back to its place of origin. We can do the same when we capture something in the tracking process. Tracking is merely tracing things either back to where they came from, or following them to learn where they are going. We can track energy signatures of any sort of energy this way…including thoughts.

As the each sound echoes through the Void it sends out waves of vibration. These are vibrations we can feel touching us and even passing through us at times. That allows us to experience them on an energetic level where we learn to recognize their signatures. We can feel solid forms through touch and let their energy touch us back, let it seep into us to speak. Using the Stone People, be they large or small, as an example: If they are small we can hold them in our hands. If they are large we can place our hands against them. The palms of your hands are sensory tools as there is a chakra in the center of the palm that will open to allow you to receive information. Grandmother teaches that the Stone People can help us discover our own gifts and abilities.

So in the darkness of the Silence we learn to develop the skills we need to understand. That way we can utilize them as we explore the layers of Self as well as our senses and their extrasensory ability to allow us to retrieve information. There is no confusion within the Silence, but there is clarity through the truth of what we experience there. In this way we can take that knowledge and skill back out into the world through our new understanding. You'll discover there are so many ways to employ our spiritual insights and abilities in daily life. Through simply focusing our will or intent to do so we bring the spiritual into the world and it serves us well. Now we learn how to do that seeking of truth in the Silence first. It is through our senses we come to hear the truth spoken. As we enter with our questions we feel the Silence it wrap around us and bring comfort, a feeling of safe exploration is present there and we reach out with our questions through our senses to retrieve those answers. We feel when we can trust the answers, when there is kinship to them or the things we discover, our spirit responds along with our senses and we literally feel the truth stir within us. The connection to it is crystal clear, sharp, heightened by our conscious awareness.

In entering the Silence we learn about patience as we explore. We learn to take our time allowing our senses adjust to the different dimensions, energies, or entities, to the images and symbolic representations that we connect with. As they adjust the clarity comes and with that truths are revealed. Listening Woman teaches us how to isolate our hearing and let it become the prominent sense. The others join in unison as secondary indicators. Listening Woman is always gently reminding us to remain silent, to listen for the truth before we speak or act. She knows we have urges to quickly grab at things and 'hurry up' but when we do that we can all too easily overlook important pieces of insight we need. So she nudges to remind us to keep our mental, physical, emotional and spiritual essences in balance while we work in this manner. As you work more with her you'll come to see her wisdom and feel her smile as she gifts you with that knowledge and understanding.

Remember, it is through understanding our experiences that wisdom is gained. So with each year that passes, with each visit from this Grandmother, with each time we experience her lessons we grow deeper in our understanding and receive more wisdom. Because she returns yearly we can remain patient for knowing she will cycle through our life again and again and again. There is no need to rush through her lessons, they will remain the same, it is only the things she shows us that will change as they are always relative to our needs, our issues, our situations or circumstances and the relationships we hold in our personal lives.

Listening Woman will teach us how to listen with our hearts to understand the language of unconditional, unrestricted spiritual Love. She teaches us how to listen to the hearts of others too so we know their unspoken intentions as well as their needs. In her lessons she teaches that by observing the expressions, body movements, and feelings of others as they express themselves we can gain the full impact of their message in our exchanges. To do that we need only focus our awareness and senses on the person speaking without interrupting them so that our day to day living becomes a little more insightful. By the time they've stopped talking to us we'll have seen what we needed to see and through our discernment know how we will respond. Often as we're doing this we can telepathically hear their too. That happens as we access their inner knowing by touching on it with our own. The individual may or may not know how to do this but they will likely feel you touch them this way. You may see them startle at the recognition whether you intend for this to happen or not. If it happens on its own be respectful and pull back. Always ask permission to step into their Sacred Space that far. Some people willingly enjoy experimenting with you so you may find a partner to work with along that line but if someone appears resentful or fearful do pull back respectfully.

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