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THE PATH OF THE FEATHER
By Mouse

I would love to explore the Path of the Feather further.

What I have learned and experienced so far, is that the feather travels where it is needed, the
Wind picks it up and brings it elsewhere. Feathers are relatively easy "road signs" too... The most
important one is that the Path of the Feather appears to be a life-long kind of vision quest... not
exclusive to a specific time or series of circumstances - but in general, every step, every breath,
every intent and thought becomes related to Spirit, guided by Spirit, inspired by Spirit.

The Path of the Feather is about me going inward to my Source - by surrendering to Spirit and
Mother Earth... then everything I am surrounded by and observe and experience becomes sacred,
a teaching, an instruction,... and it becomes a path of Service to Spirit - all three combine into
one - they're like the stages that Jamie Sams mentions, there's no beginning, no end - they
intertwine continuously and perpetually. Infinity... I would appreciate others sharing their
experiences and insights and questions about the Path of the Feather.

CinnamonMoon:
I was shown the Path of the Feather (though I've always walked it as you describe) during Vision
Quest in ‘99 when it was "named" to me and I watched two paths merge into one. I'd been
serving the Rainbow Path as well. So this was very interesting. In that vision I was given
enlightenment from each of the elemental forces and specific Medicine to work with, a
Ceremony, a Song, Dance, and Spirit Name. There are four very specific areas this path covers
for me as a result of that. So for me the Path of the Feather is as you describe, but there are also
agreements made between our Inner Spirit and Spirit sometimes that can define it a bit more.
Now this seems, based on what I've come to understand, to vary from individual to individual.
Many do walk this Path and not all are going to enter into the fullness of its service. They may be
the single feather, they may join at will with the wing for a cause, or they may be a feather in
that wing so to speak and go into the full service focus. There are many levels to it depending on
our own journey.

The analogy of the Wind that carries the Feather is very appropriate and that is indeed how we
seem to be moved, up and away to land somewhere else. Flitting energy. And the ability to soar
higher if the need arises to seek further guidance. I've flown out into the universe on journeys to
the stars this way, and in that received awesome lessons. And I've seen the touch be so minute
you wouldn't think it even mattered and yet it ends up being very powerful in the result. Like a
whisper that catches your ear with just the right information at a crucial time. It's beautiful, it's
touch both gentle, strong, and sometimes prodding. LOL But it's a beautiful path to be walking,
and one of tolerance and liberation, the freedom to BE is there for all.

WolfSpirit:
Mouse, A single white feather was the first spiritual gift I received about 5 years ago now. At the
time I received it I wasn't really walking my Spiritual path very earnestly and I was in need of
healing, so to me my feather came as a healing tool.

But looking back over my journey since receiving the feather, I can see how it has guided me to
different places to receive the healing I needed. It's funny too that Cinn should bring a feather
Ceremony to the Lodge, as, after a long period when other gifts became central to my journey,
my feather came to me a few weeks back.

Given that my feather came back at a time of rebirth, I can see now that the feather leads us on
our journey almost like a marker to show that a new direction is to be followed. My feather
seems to bring me strength to take those new paths, and in each case the journey has been to
stand on my own learning, and to seek out the medicines that are right for me: to make choices
for myself and not be swept along in the energy other's close to me have created for themselves
that are not part of my journey.

So, my feather tells me that just as the feather stands alone, so must we learn to stand in our own
power and not be dependent on others or their journey.

DesertMoonRose:
Greetings!
(The other part of my journey is described in Earthwalker's thread but the questions were better
off in here.) Although I did meet up with a Medicine Woman significant to me, I did not travel
with one totem or medicine elder/SpiritKeeper. Instead, I saw several different people in various
lifetimes: the Celtic warrior, a tribal warrior with headdress, riding a horse, an Egyptian
woman, a monk in a monastery and a medicine man with eagle headdress.
As of last year, I became aware of quite a few lifetimes. I'm wondering why I'm still delving into
them. Last year, the lifetimes I saw explored the interconnectedness between myself and a few
other people I knew. It was underlining those relationships as opposed to the ones I saw
yesterday.

There was also another difference from the other journeys I've seen. I traveled to the bottom of
the ocean, teeming with life. I traveled with a man on a snowmobile and with an air force pilot in
his jet in the sky. I did not get the significance of this unless, it was underlining life connecting
on all levels.

I seem to be traveling all over the place so, I am left wondering why? Does this part have to do
with my medicine path or was it underlining the connecting force of life?
Peace and Light of the Moon,

StarDreamer:
Thank you for opening this discussion...it's been very valuable to me. Ties together some pieces
for me.

I received a white feather early on in my intentional journeying about 4 years ago...first
intentional journey, btw. I had met the guide who gifted it to me during a surprising vision I
received while musing on a trip I'd taken through the Southwest with my parents when I was a
child. I was abruptly taken to what I determined as an NA council meeting. I understood his
name to be Elder Hawk...he wore a hawk headpiece. I was aware of others there, but my focus
was totally on him. He began to draw things in the dirt with a stick...wavy horizontal lines...he
looked at me and I knew their meaning was directly for me. Then he gifted me with a tiny piece
of tortoise shell. That was all to that vision, but it intrigued me and during my next meditation I
held Elder Hawk in my mind and journeyed to that Council again.

This time I saw myself sitting at that Council more clearly. There was another NA man who was
not pleased that I was there and was expressing his displeasure to Elder Hawk. He threw angry
looks my way as I sat and observed. Elder Hawk stood up and came over to me. The other man
stood to block Elder Hawk's way, but Elder Hawk raised an arm and the other man deferred to
him. Elder Hawk then pulled a feather from his headpiece and handed it to me. I saw the ire and
frustration in the other man's face as he turned away in resignation. As I held the feather it turned
completely white and I was instructed to put it in my hair pointing up. The clothing which I was
wearing at the time...a soft, brown leather dress...turned white, as well. I understood it to be
white deerskin. When I journey I am always clothed in my white deerskin dress and white
feather.

When I came to SL and saw Cinn talking about the Path of the Feather and being a Feather in
Spirit's Wing, it was like little fireworks went off inside me. I knew I was called here to learn
more about that Path...my Path, too.

Interesting that the white feather, Hawk and Deer (through its skin) were part of those visions,
too, Earthwalker. To me they have been symbols...visible reminders to walk with me... of the
strength and wisdom in observation, gentleness, peace and compassion. There are many levels of
those qualities, of course, and my path has opened up since then to embrace many totems and
guides to help me find my way through those levels, but Elder Hawk and his wisdom and that
White Feather have continued in their prominence and focus for me ever since.

StarBearWalking:
Greetings Everyone! Thank you all for sharing. I don't have the words to tell you the
comfirmations I am getting from your sharing. I will share what has been happening with me in
relationship with the Feather Ceremony. First off I hadn't been online for about 4 days. That
morning I was called to SL and started reading the Ceremony. I had to stop reading, smudge and
participate. Since then a Hawk has been showing herself to me almost every day. This Hawk has
turned White for the Winter season. *only a few brown feathers show* We have been in such a
drought that our winters have been warm and brown. So this is the first time I have seen a White
Hawk. Her mate has also shown himself *he is more brown than white, as the female does most
of the hunting* and they have both shown me their nest. Hawk is a messenger for me. Your
sharing here at SL and some messages in the physical world have shown me more of the Web of
Life. Thank you all!

BearInMind:
The Feather Ceremony introduced to me by CinnamonMoon was awesome. Thoroughly. I
responded from my heart, because I was *in that Sacred space of the Circle* If it were my 131st
post, I would not have copied and pasted the person's 672nd post before me and just changed a
few words. I think any response to that type of thing should come right from the depths of the
soul. I honor the Feather Ceremony and will bear it in mind, because in it, I learned what it
means To Be A Feather In Spirit's Wing and for that, I am ever so grateful. Thank you again,
CinnamonMoon, for sharing that treasure from Spirit to you. Is that what is meant by Heart to
Heart, Spirit to Spirit?

CinnamonMoon:
No, heart to heart and spirit to spirit means just that, a reach from one person to another with
heart and spirit...pure and sincere and I suppose you could include that touch of the feather in
that but I've never taken it that way. It's more an honoring of the person and their path along
with our own whatever it may be.

BearInMind:
I was thinking about that "honoring a person’s path" whatever it may be saying. I'm not sure that
I want to honor a person’s path, whatever it may be....I assume that a path of "love and light"
would be honorable, yes? Is a path of hatefulness and darkness one to honored as well? To me it
would be like that guy in the Coyote story you shared with me... the one who chose to sit in the
middle of that... stuff...

CinnamonMoon:
Honoring a person's path is honoring their right to walk it and the lessons it will bring them,
regardless of whether it's Dark or Light. It means that we don't force ourselves or our views
upon them and leave them to their own journey. Now honoring that path does not mean we have
to share it so in the case of someone walking a Dark Path we can honor their journey, feel
compassion for their choices and the results they will bring, but we don't have to be a party to it
or "save their soul" as it were. We honor their right to walk and learn as they are meant to and
we can walk our own Path of Light this way. If they ask for our help we can give it. If another
walks a Path of Light and we honor it in the same way we can opt to walk with them for a time or
throughout the journey if it meets our needs too. It's respecting people for who they are and what
they choose to do regardless of our own opinions of right and wrong. Giving them their space to
learn and grow as they need to, and ourselves the same things.

BearInMind:
Nope. I won't honor a dark journey. Sorry. Not me. Contrary to popular belief, I am not in the
soul-saving business either, and that was a very long answer Cinnamon Moon 1. I'm very aware
of the lug-dropping here. I hope the person for whom you wrote it will be satisfied. As what it is
I know you are addressing, I do not have to respect anyone who has no reason to hate or resent
me, yet who does anyway because they cannot stand up and face the challenge of dealing with
their own issues. I don't have to respect that. If that is a demand in following this Way of Life,
then perhaps I need to take a closer look at what I'm dealing with, because it severely clashes
with my moral values. Is that some kind of doctrine here, to honor the right of others to walk off
a cliff?

I am being asked here to sit right next to ignorance and smile as if it is a beautiful day in the
neighborhood and nothing is wrong. What are moral values anyway?
Are they based on opinions of right and wrong? Heck.
It's not even WORTH bending-over-backwards anymore for in the face of ungrateful ignorance, is it?
Ha-ha-haaaa.... Fine.
I am now more than willing to sit back and watch dark hate fall backwards off a cliff... It would be my pleasure...

CinnamonMoon:
First of all you didn't "get" what I was saying at all. You saw what you wanted to see in my
words. That's NOT what I said.

"Nope. I won't honor a dark journey. Sorry. Not me."
Me either, I don't honor where that journey is taking someone, but I do have to get out of their
way and let them take that journey if that's what they are set on doing. So in that sense I am
honoring their *Lessons* upon it and the journey they take to them. It's not for me to get out
there and save people from themselves either. But I don't need to make room in my life for their
choices either, I will go my way and honor them letting them go theirs...unless they ask for my
help and show me they really want it. That's ALL I was saying. It had nothing to do with what
you are or aren't involved with. You asked a question and I responded to it.

"Contrary to popular belief, I am not in the soul-saving business either, and that was a very long
answer CinnamonMoon."

I do have that tendency. Can't seem to get through Brevity 101, a class I keep repeating. Ask
anyone around here. They'll agree.
"I'm very aware of the lug-dropping here."
Nope, wasn't dropping any lugs. Just speaking from my perspectives.
"I hope the person for whom you wrote it will be satisfied."
I hope it helps anyone that reads it. It's up to them to take it or leave it. That's honoring their
path too.

"As what it is I know you are addressing, I do not have to respect anyone who has no reason to
hate or resent me, yet who does anyway because they cannot stand up and face the challenge of
dealing with their own issues."

I wasn't addressing anyone's personal issues. That's for you to sit with.

"I don't have to respect that. If that is a demand in following this Way of Life, then perhaps I
need to take a closer look at what I'm dealing with, because it severely clashes with my moral
values. Is that some kind of doctrine here, to honor the right of others to walk off a cliff?"

What *anyone* does upon their path is their business. If they bring it to me I'll deal with it. But
until then I must honor what *they choose* to do. Pure and simple. Those are the teachings of
the path I walk, and they are how I walk it.

"I am being asked here to sit right next to ignorance and smile as if it is a beautiful day in the
neighborhood and nothing is wrong."

If something personal is wrong it belongs off the boards and in private between the two involved.
If the other person refuses then that needs to be honored. If they accept then it can be worked
out. One way or another both will receive the insights they need to walk their path.

"What are moral values anyway? Are they based on opinions of right and wrong?"

Yes, IMHO, they certainly are. But what's right for one person may be wrong for another and
we're not to judge. That's between that person and Spirit. It's up to us if the path they walk is
wrong for us to go our own way and leave them to theirs. Not complicated at all.

"It's not even WORTH bending-over-backwards anymore for in the face of ungrateful ignorance, is it?"

You can't force others, only when they are willing and want help and ask for it are they ready to
receive it. That's what tells you if you can or can't help them. Otherwise you honor their choices
and let them make their own mistakes, learn their own lessons, and leave them be. It's as simple as that.

"Ha-ha-haaaa.... Fine. I am now more than willing to sit back and watch dark hate fall
backwards off a cliff... It would be my pleasure... *zips lips*"

Dark hate, well that will burn itself in the consumption of its own Fire then won't it? If you don't
feed the fire there's nothing to harm you. This wasn't about you, it was addressing the question
only. I'm sorry you took it personally. It’s important to understand what it is “To Be A Feather
In Spirit's Wing.”

BearInMind:
“First of all you didn't "get" what I was saying at all.”

Oh yes, I got it loud and clear I have no honor whatsoever for anyone who deliberately follows a
path of hatefulness and darkness, and I most certainly do not plan to honor any of their lessons
on their journey because they are THEIR lessons which I would not care to even touch with a 10-
foot pole. Why are you harping on saving people? I already said that contrary to popular belief I
am not in the soul-saving business. Besides, this is broaching religious dogma and not the type of
thing that is involved in spirituality, yes? After all, "soul-saving" is that's Jesus' job; not mine.

I love your lengthy messages; they're generally filled with love and light, and I'd be derned the
day I see you say something as gracefully as you do with very little words. Your words add color
and flavor to your messages; they bring the visuals; I can even hear the tone. Well, never mind...
I'm too immature to be able to see the color, taste the flavor and hear tone from some people's
perspectives. Sheeeeeee.... maybe I'm not "normal" like you guys. Who was it... MizzMo...
StarDreamer08? Someone who compared people who are "normal" who lack in "extra" gifts that
all humans have access to but few learn to tap into? The person basically said those people are
not really normal because they are not using as much of what they are given by Spirit as humans
as "we" are. The person said that "we" are "normal." Well, maybe I am not "normal" as you all
are. Maybe I AM just as "normal" as the people who do not recognize or utilize any "extra" gifts.

Let me go crawl back into the past and sit in my stepmothers lap so she can shove me off and tell
me I have no idea of what I am talking about. Yesssss... Listen to her tell me I'm not old enough
to know this and that... Yessss... I love to hear her shaking voice when she says, NO THAT IS
NOT WHAT GOD TOLD YOU BECAUSE HE DOESN'T TALK TO CHILDREN LIKE
THAT.... Yessss. Good Golly I didn't realize how much I missed my stepmother's discouraging words.

*spits at the memory*
“I wasn't addressing anyone's personal issues. That's for you to sit with.”
*stares at you incredulously* Umm... OOOOooooOOOOooooOOOOhhhhhh-KAY, thanks.
Wow. This is really intense... I would have NEVER thought that ... oh let me just shut up. This is
incredible. I can't believe this. *steps back*
“Dark hate, well that will burn itself in the consumption of its own Fire then won't it?”

Yesssss, it sure will, won't it. Maybe I'll do like I used to... Go running through the Libraries and
absorb myself in myself. Go back to being self-centered and just study and ask what I want to
know and leave all the chit-chatty-chitty-chat stuff alone. Yessss. Pick up my ego that helped me
get where I am. I thought it would be a good idea to sacrifice my beloved ego and put it in the
White Feather to blow wherever Spirit's breath sends it. Is it too late to snatch it back? Yes,
maybe I should just go back to thinking only of myself and my own needs and forget about the
rest of the foolishness... Except... the thing that happened in the past when I ran through the
Libraries asking questions and ignoring the chatter is that I'd get BLASTED from out of
NOWHERE. All while minding my own business. Go figure... It's over for me. All that dumb
madness is over for me. I'll just watch what happens from a safe distance away fromt he edge of
the cliff. I've got my videophone so I can catch it all when it happens. Looks like Spirt Blew my
White Feather right into a sewer, eh? Great. Story of my life... try doing something good for
myself and always faced with opposition. WHEN will I learn how to do as the Romans do when
in Rome??? WHEN??? Yep... looks like it's just me, myself and I again....

After a while, you learn the subtle difference between holding hands and chaining the soul...
And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning and company doesn't mean security...
And you learn that kisses aren't contracts, and presents aren't promises...
And you begin to accept your defeats with your head UP, your eyes AHEAD, with the grace of a
human being, and not the grief of a child...
And you learn to build all your roads on TODAY because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for
plans, and the future has a way of falling down in mid-flight!!!
After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much...
So you plant your own gardens, and decorate your own soul instead of waiting for someone to
bring you flowers.

And you learn that you really CAN endure
That you really ARE strong
And you DO have worth
and you learn
and you learn with every goodbye
AND YOU LEARN

Unregistered Guest:
It works both ways, Bear In Mind. Honoring a person's path is just that. Honoring it. That means
stepping back and accepting that they need to walk their own path. That means keeping quiet and
not forcing oneself upon them. Sometimes folks don't want or need "help". They already know
what it is that they need to do while on their path. They don't need a young whippersnapper
coming around trying to "change" them just because that whippersnapper thinks they see
something that needs to be changed. It gets frustrating after a while and how do you know what
path they are on? Have you walked it with them? Does that make you all knowing? No. It makes
that whippersnapper look "pushy". The Path Of Light is not an easy one as some may believe.
There is ridicule that is suffered because they have the backbone to walk their own path. They're
ridiculed because they have strength and they stand by their principles. no matter what the cost.
That is honor and courage. Sometimes people walk on their path alone because they are most
comfortable that way. Perhaps it's because they are very advanced and don't need to be held by
the hand all the time.

Those who are starting out on their path do not understand this. Yes, it's exciting but this is why
they need to learn respect and to honor other people's paths. If they cannot do this, then perhaps
Shamanism isn't for them.

Earthwalker:
Bear In Mind, Another jiggle. To me, “honor” is to respect without judgment. It doesn’t mean
agreement but means respect for others right to choose. You can hate the choice but still respect
the person. The choice is their personal journey through life and made based on personal
perspectives of which we typically have little to no knowledge. Therein judgment would be inappropriate.

In life. we come together from different positions on the Medicine Wheel. Someone looking at life
from a different view doesn't always come to the same conclusions does someone standing in a
different perspective. It doesn’t mean their choice is wrong; that is a biased judgment (biased
from our own perspectives). Yet we can certainly acknowledge that their choice would be in
appropriate for us. Nevertheless and despite their choice based in free will, the person deserves
respect. It is no different that a person addicted to something. One hates the addiction but still
respects the person. Just because we have been given a genetic makeup that is not addictive
doesn’t make us better than the other person, just different; with different lessons to learn in this earthwalk.

When you speak about not honoring a person on the dark path, I would have to ask how you
cannot learn about light without the dark? Therefore the person, in fact maybe giving you a gift;
the gift of contrast. I am not saying that you have to agree with the path and you can dislike the
path but still their needs to be respect for the other person and an appreciation for what the
contrast has shown you on your path.

In the case of severe depression etc. a person is not operating from a position of choice; they are
not using free will. Their choice is likely based on a chemical imbalance or disease state that
needs to be corrected just as cancer etc. would. In these cases sometimes intervention is
appropriate but only to the degree where the person is given back their free will so they can
make appropriate choices for themselves. In all cases, respect is a necessary ingredient since
without it we become judgmental in tone. When that occurs we go down the road of the
conquorer and initiate the dark path within ourselves. Just look at the world today, instead of
living with and in respect for nature we try to conquer it and in that we ourselves create the very
path of destruction which we were trying to conquer.

It really is simple; it’s about respect verses judgment. Living with nature as opposed to
conquering it.

CinnamonMoon:
BIM~You're taking comments made personally, and you're making them personal intentionally
here. I was answering a question, not drawing lines to anyone or between anyone. Stating my
opinions. You don't have to agree, but if you are interested in the things I teach this is one of the
lessons. It's not about being selfish, it's about walking through life with respect for ALL OUR
RELATIONS...people have a right to experience life as they choose to, we do need to honor that.
We don't need to condone their choices. There's a difference. We don't need to partake in their
lives or their lessons or come near them. That's what our own in-sight allows us to see. This isn't
complicated. But there's a lot of anger in your voice here, and you continue to come back to
issues around your step-mother, which are not the issue here. No one's telling you that you can't
see things, we're trying to help you see them clearly. That's all. When you ask questions you
have to be willing to hear the answers. We all do. Otherwise we're just talking to ourselves.
When you post a question people here will answer and it shouldn't lead to an argument or a
personal issue. We need to honor that's how they see things. It's simple as that. Personally
everyone here is here to share what they can and find what they need. We're all here for that
same reason as it applies to the path we choose to walk.

Earthwalker:
Bear In Mind, But, I did answer your question. All answers are not in words; they are often
found in the silence between them.

CinnamonMoon:
Mouse began this thread with good intentions, she was curious about the Path of the Feather
itself, and was really hoping we'd share what that means to us or how we see it as a result of our
experiences. I'd like to bring it back on track there and talk about my experience with this
particular path since it's the one I walk. Hopefully that will help others join in, I don't mean to
silence anyone or dominate the thread. *Intent* is important to me because that is very much a
part of the Path of the Feather, and spirituality in general. Perhaps some of you will recognize the
Path of the Feather to be one you've been touched by or walked in some manner, or perhaps it
will help some to see just what kind of path they are walking and where they can begin to define it.

Intent is important to any path we walk, it was one of the first teachings that was brought to me
when I began to study the Medicine Ways. Intent is a big part of how I walk my talk, how I serve
on my path, and I happen to walk The Path of the Feather. I haven't talked about that openly to
people, just in aspects of it by bits and pieces to this person or that person. Putting it into full
context is way too massive so I'll share what I can here and how I came to understand my own conduct.

How do we *intend* to use the knowledge we are seeking for ourselves...what are our intentions
after we possess it?

My first Medicine Teacher asked me that question when I asked to learn the Medicine Ways. So
while I wasn't asked to specifically define my intentions, I was asked to examine myself and
understand what they were...how did I *intend* to use that knowledge and what would I do with it?

To me, *Intent* is the reason/s we put behind the action/s we take and I knew I had good
intentions. I never wanted to harm another with that knowledge. I knew I loved to share so I
knew I would share it with those who held those same intentions. The private teachings I give to
others comes from this seeding and yes, I'm selective, I have to know someone's intentions
before I give up what I worked so hard to achieve. I will not see it abused. I honor that effort and
the gains this way, I honor my teacher this way for that Medicine was shared with me, and I took
responsibility for that knowledge when I received it.

Intent is everything. So with good intent I share it, and I look into people in ways that are given
to me to see, and I choose carefully based on what I'm shown. I walk with my Medicine too and
it goes where I go and it is very much a part of me. I honor that. It is my intent to walk a path of
honor. This was part of that lesson for me, but it began to expand once the concept was embraced
and understood this way...I merely began to see that it applied to every single thing I did. Intent
is everything. It determines the momentum behind our actions in a sense and it combines with
the second lesson: Impeccability.

Impeccability is how we apply all that we are and put that into our efforts, not better or to any
degree lesser than anyone else, it's not about who's stronger or who wins, it's about how we apply
ourselves to what we do. My impeccability determined my dedication, my focus, and that came
from my interests...what turned me on? What did I want to learn next? How did I begin to take it
all in and become a part of it? My Medicine Teacher wanted to know that next.

I knew it had to totally absorb my attention and desires or I couldn't put all of myself into it. I
had to learn to act from my heart, from what I loved or wanted to strive for with all my heart. I
learned that impeccability applied to the Path of the Feather, but at that time I didn't know its
name, it was manifesting itself through me and my experiences, it was what it was and I just
walked in that manner.

I should have had a clue early on with all my feathered Guides and my being an Air sign, with
the elemental force of Air so powerful at a very early age, but I didn't associate these things then,
they just *were* and were part of my reality. So these introductions and ways were like old
shoes, they were in my heart, the good parts of me that I could improve on as I grew. Those parts
of my nature fit the path, they filled me, in my heart and I could give them impeccably to all that
I did, it's who I was.

Impeccability didn't mean I had to be the best, it meant I had to give my best. My Medicine
Teacher explained that impeccability was all Spirit asked of any of us, no matter what we were
asked to do...to just do our best, be our best, not best others. A gentle approach to self-acceptance
and the acceptance of others for who they were. I learned to honor my path and theirs in this way
too. I began to embrace the gentleness of the Feather and the path that was forming before me. I
still didn't see the direct connection, by now I was in my early 20's, it just *was* the way it was.
And then my teacher gave me my third lesson...I was asked what integrity meant to me...what
*was* integrity?

Wow, how do you nutshell that one? Integrity means that one's word is their bond, they must
speak their truths, must walk their truths, must honor their truths....must know their truths to
know themselves. Integrity means that one must stand in the light of that truth no matter what
others think, say, or do and it is a part of their character. Integrity means that one walks with
respect, for themselves first so they can demonstrate that same respect to others. Integrity means
that there must be compassion within us for ourselves so that we understand our humanness, seek
our spirit and make a connection to the Creator to find that...it means we then can have
compassion for others and their searching...again honoring self and others...again seeing from
different perspectives, and accepting they are aspects of the whole...the small part I played in that
was humbling, and I knew I wanted to serve the whole...I knew that I would and that's where part
of my integrity toward my path and ways was born. Again, serving the gentle strength of the
Feather and the Path...I did not have a name for it yet.

Whether you walk the Path of the Feather or some other path in life, the Truth of that Path is
going to be the same as the Truth of the Path another walks. It doesn't matter, these are Spirit's
Laws, they are found everywhere, just expressed in accordance to the Path or individual that
holds them. In a perspective that fits that attunement. It's still there. I began to see this pattern I
see so many other places overlaying itself...this pattern is Cosmic Law, it is a layer within the
Web of Life and it is part of the pattern we apply to staying in the flow and supporting the whole
as we stand within it. That's how I saw integrity through my eyes.

The Web of Life is not who's in the center...that's Spirit's honored role, life revolves around
Spirit, around the Creator, and Spirit penetrates and permeates all dimensions as if within the
body of Spirit. So it was where we stood and what I did about it, where I was asked to focus my
attention that I had to walk with Integrity, with right Intent, and with Impeccability.

These were some of the very first lessons I was given... posed as simple questions when I first
put my foot upon the path of formal instruction. Simple questions asked in a simple way and
unfolding answers within me that just kept expanding into all areas of my being and
understanding. The first day I stepped upon the Path of the Feather and knew it for what it was
came many, many years later.

Initially my Medicine Teacher began by teaching me that the answers weren't out there
somewhere...they were in me. And in that I understood the reason my Medicine Teacher drew a
Circle and sat along the edge beside me. Spirit, the Master Teacher, sat in the center. Any who
wanted the Medicine Teachings would have to sit in the Circle and listen to the Master Teachers
speak. They would need to walk or Dance to Spirit to get there. I asked my teacher how to learn
these paths and Dances...So began the Medicine Wheel teachings that showed me which paths
would take me there and the lessons they would bring as I Danced along them.

There are countless paths that weave their way to Spirit, countless paths...the Path of the Feather
is but one, and each path is a feather in Spirit's Wing in its own right. Again the Truth of that, the
teaching, the pattern overlays, another layer of the onion that grows larger with our
understanding. This too is part of the Path of the Feather. I'll share more of this in other threads
as time goes on. I just thought I'd give you all some food for thought, perhaps some insight to
your suspicions on what path you are walking, or validation if it is indeed this path.

DesertMoonRose:
Greetings! I do not know yet, if my path is one of the feather or something else entirely. I have
noticed that participating in the feather ceremony has continued my progression and evolution of
my path. (I have to point briefly where I've been at to connect to the feather ceremony and my
own path.) I've been studying bits of Wicca, Shamanism and Buddhism in the past year or so. As
the road deepens, I find those three paths keep continuing to cross into mine.

Case in point: Yesterday morning, I found myself dreaming a very real dream. I dreamt of graves
and artifacts that you only find in Celtic Ireland. They were of Gaelic origin, as were the
ceramic triple goddess statue that I saw. Now, at this point, I was not studying anything
Gaelic/Celtic; however, I know I had a past life in Celtic Ireland.

Now to further illustrate this point, I was all ready to delve into this dream as perhaps, it was
important to my path. I certainly thought that as delving into past lives seems to be related to
aspects of two of my major totems. I had to wait, though, as I had a shamanic circle to go to last
night. As, it turns out, I was the only one that showed up beside the instructor. She decided to do
a meditation and tailor it to me, so it ended up very beneficial.

The meditation the instructor picked was a Buddhist-related one. She picked it upon the basis of
what I said to her. It ended up being very appropriate as it was all about focusing loving, healing
thoughts toward others and oneself. This showed me a different way of healing one's energy but,
also directing it toward others, especially those who are angry.

I found this ironic as this meditation emphasized healing for myself and healing others in my web
of life. If I parallel that to the feather ceremony, it's about me traveling on my own path while
being in harmony with others in this web of life called Spirit Lodge. Parallel worlds within each other.

I realize last night that these worlds are merging somewhat. My direction for writing was echoed
there as it had begun to echo here a couple of weeks before. The aspect of delving into past lives
begun last year has begun to manifest here for me online, offline and dreamworld. That
manifested during the feather ceremony and has continued. I'm sure there's more to it as its
aspects of totems but, it will continue to unfold its own way.

I'm sure I'm just at the beginning of this walk but, I will continue as this unfolds.

BearInMind:
Earthwalker, you never answered my question from the "My Beast of Deceit thread referred to in
my 877th post here that CinnamonMoon deleted, in any kind of way, shape or form, just as for
some reason you never DO answer any of my questions. It's okay though.

Minna:
BIM ~ couldja inbox? You asked about a response to a different thread in this feather thread. It
messes up the continuity, like I'm doing now. Earthwalker answered you in this thread about
something and you mentioned that the answer didn't feel clear for you. Everybody doesn't have
to answer anyway. I answer you a lot when you don't even ask. And sometimes you can ask and
people don't answer. But can we stay with feathers in this one? This is a special thread for me to
read.

The reason I'm 'answering' about your question to Earthwalker is that I already inboxed you
about this so I thought I'd put it out here and show how kind of a toe-stubber the thing is. Then
admin can take it out for better thread continuity and un-messiness. ('Kay, admin?)

CinnamonMoon:
StarDreamer, Reading back over this thread a comment you made stood out to me and I wanted
to respond to it.

“When I came to SL and saw Cinn talking about the Path of the Feather and being a Feather in
Spirit's Wing, it was like little fireworks went off inside me. I knew I was called here to learn
more about that Path...my Path, too.”

You know that's exactly what Spirit wanted Spirit Lodge to be...not specifically for the Path of
the Feather though that is walked here as well, but so that those who came would find "their
Path" and way to Spirit...whatever it might be. I just wanted to thank you for saying so. It
brought a huge smile to my face. Whether people stay or move on, we're here so they can do
what they need to do and find their way wherever it may take them. It's nice to see that
happening. Thank you for saying so. And thanks for staying with us too! You have the Feather's
touch.

StarDreamer:
Awww...thanks, Cinn! Just telling it like it was for me and happy to share that with others here on SL.

EaglesHand:
While in Maine I spent quite a bit of time (in short cold snatches) outside.... being one of those
un-rehabilitated smokers I would go out on the porch for a cig so as not to pollute Dad's home.
One early morning (about 6am)as I was standing outside I watched a small white feather being
wafted about by the breeze. It was a beautiful clear morning with a fresh dusting of snow
covering the yard. In the first light of dawn the feather seemed to glow as it danced across along
it's unique path. It would briefly settle onto the snow then spiral up in to the air, flit across to the
bushes, then dance into the street. At one point it looked like it was going to land right at my
feet... but Spirit had another destination for this feather and the breeze carried it off toward the
center of town. As I was watching it I seemed to hear music on the wind ... like a deep drumming
sound.... though the town was very quiet. The sun was just coming up and had not yet cleared the
tops of the houses across the street. The first rays of light lit the ice on the trees from below so
that they looked like they were adorned by myriads of fairy lights.

Ah, Spirit, how beautiful this world is. Even in sorrowful times the path of the feather, the magic
of the dawn, and the heartbeat of Mother Earth brings joy and solace.
Today I found two quotes that seem to belong here.....
"By accepting you as you are, I do not necessarily abandon all hope of your improving"....
Ashleigh Brilliant

"The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the
sails" .... William Arthur Ward

JaguarEyes:
I'd certainly welcome more knowledge with regard to impeccability since I've been drawn to this
teaching through my path work recently. This is very important to me now as I am being 'forced'
to work on my actions and thoughts. This is the bend, or turn in my path, and I have to work
through it carefully as I have been tested many times during recent weeks. An interesting thread
thanks very much..

SilverEagleDreamDancer:
“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the
sails" .... William Arthur Ward”
I really like that one EH

CinnamonMoon:
Jaguar Eyes ~Impeccability is not about being better or competitive with others, it's about doing
the best you can with what you've got. So giving of yourself 100% (be that a reality of the
moment of 10-100%) to the task at hand is all Spirit is going to ask of you. Just to do your best
with what you’ve got to give, that's all.

Minna:
The Path of the Feather ~ this is such a lovely phrase. I picture a feather, as EaglesHand
described it, floating, resting, floating up again, whirling...going where the wind of Spirit wafts
it.
Mouse, when you said: "What I have learned and experienced so far, is that the feather travels
where it is needed, the Wind picks it up and brings it elsewhere" ~ I could see this feather.
Then I thought about my own time in my career, and how we came to be here in our home on
this special place.

I worked for the same program for from 1974 to 2001, and during that time I worked in several
different functions and departments. The thing is, the program was new when I first came, hadn't
even been enacted as an official program - it was a pilot project. Then the child support program
was enacted into law in 1975, and we were off. Over the course of my career, it just never
seemed to work when I would apply for a different job - I think it was only once that i got a new
job within the program by applying for it. For the remainder of the 26 years i was taken, or
bumped or reorganized, shoved or requested into whatever area I seemed to be of use.

Twenty-six years, and I only applied for the first position, and then shortly thereafter for the next
one and all the remaining positions just happened. And it was always in a new area of the
program that needed ground floor development. (I think it's because I'm much happier in an area
with limited guidelines and procedures - just lemme work!) More often than not, I was one of the
first assigned to that area. If I wasn't one of the first, then it would be an area in development or
the development of something - a new system. Or sometimes an area had had some kind of
trouble and they were looking for something in particular to place in that area - me.

The times I applied for a different job, except at the very first, as I mentioned - well, they just
never worked out. Sometimes I thought I might be lazy or not ambitious. Well, I'm not
ambitious, but I did work hard and care a lot. But when an area of the program got too
procedural and restrictive - stodgy, well, a new or developmental area would open up and -
they'd need me. Neat.

This never occurred to me as unusual until I read this thread. It was just the way my career life
seemed to work. Now I think all the positions in all the areas in 26 years, and I'm bemused. I can
see my career path as a feather - just me being sent here and there.

Then the way we got this good place, overhearing a conversation on the smokin’ porch at work
about a friend selling his place, and we found our builder ~ it just flowed out to happening. Our
builder had dreamed of us before she met us. She was really surprised to meet the two people
she'd seen in her dream!

I've never been very good at intentional directing, but I haven't ever really needed to be. I just
(whether I knew it at the time or not) wound up where I needed to be.
So, I know this is mostly talking about 'mundane' life, but my mundane life was my path of
service - to children, to parents, to the public, to my colleagues. And looking back, it looks like a
feather trail to me.

How lovely…feathers, feathers, feathers ~ it's just a new feather-thinking obsession

CinnamonMoon:
But Minna...that's JUST how we take the spiritual service into the mundane to co-create with
Spirit. We have to touch lives, and the feather's touch is a gentle one. *Grins* It has many levels
of perception and it passes through all dimensions.

BearInMind:
I was reviewing Eagle Medicine and I'm not sure how significant the following information is to
the Feather Ceremony, but I thought I'd add it:

Illumination
In Earth Medicine, we recognize the Eagle (all members of the Eagle family) as a symbol of a
powerful, spiritual energy. Because the Eagle soars so close to the Grandfather Sky, it is believed
that Eagle hears the voice of the ~Great Spirit~ and is thus a link between the Divine and the
Two-Leggeds (humanity)

Bald Eagle feathers are treasured and revered amongst the Native People, for they are recognized
as containing a very powerful Medicine energy/magic). While speaking in Truth, seeking to
bridge differences, or in asking for guidance and Illumination for a course of action, the Eagle
feather is held during ceremonies to draw in such spiritual illumination.

As a means to speak with spiritual clarity and Truth, the Speaker will hold an Eagle feather,
either as it is attached to a ~Talking Stick,~ or held in the hands. This serves as a connection to
the Divine, so that all words that are spoken, are spoken from Higher Intent, and also as a means
of asking that the Ancestors and the ~Great Mystery~ speak to and through, the Holder of the Feather.

***Thus, One who flies with the Eagle, has a responsibility along the Good Red Road, to operate
from Higher Intent, to develop the latent abilities of Illumination, and then freely share this
Illumination with Others. Obviously, this is no small task, or one to ever be taken lightly, for the
ramifications are very far reaching, as are the Gifts and blessings for the Self
and Others, which ripple outward from this particular attribute.

CinnamonMoon:
Thank you BIM. All feathers are relative to this ceremony and depending on which one is being
used (which species) the influence will shift in that direction. The ceremony itself and the gift of
the White Feather from Spirit's Wing to each participant is a bit different, devoid of influence
from any source other than Spirit and bringing forth the enlightenment each individual needs.
But it can be applied to working with any creature as well. The basic concept of Feather
Medicine is here and will serve anyone wishing to pursue it further.

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