POEMS, PROSE and PRAYERS

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Comment by Kirstin Harriet Øyen on March 14, 2012 at 1:39am

Comment by Terri Benning on June 12, 2010 at 5:07pm

Oops, I meant to include this link to pictures of the Valley of the Moon taken from the top of Hood Mountain. Some beautiful images here.
http://mishalov.com/mt-hood-22sept05/index.html

Comment by Terri Benning on June 12, 2010 at 5:02pm

Douglas, your dream reminds me so much of dreams I had as a child, wherein native children were teaching me the ways of the ancestors. These dreams had more to do with telling the time of day by the position of the sun, the "directions" of the blowing winds, marking my trail with piled stones and identifying landmarks so I could find my way home. I was just four years old when I first moved onto a huge ranch, and at that young age, one of my biggest fears was becoming lost in all that space!

I began having Hansel and Gretel dreams at first, which quickly evolved into dreams of playing with and learning from my new dream-time Pomo Indian friends. To this day, I still have a great sense of direction, which is perhaps one reason why I am so involved in working with all of the various directions to this day. :-)
Teaching surely can and does occur on a spiritual level when the heart is truly "with the people", regardless of the color of one's skin.

Your story not only reminded me of these very special childhood dreams and memories, but also of the fact that these indigenous spiritual guides and teachers have always been there for me, and still are to this day.

By day, our land was covered with Pomo artifacts and arrowheads, grinding stones and bowls, and these items became my daily play things as I was growing up. There were also a lot of animals on our property, both domestic and wild. There was also a sacred burial ground and I always knew instinctively to walk around it, rather than through it. Even the horses knew to keep off of that "sacred ground", although the cows were not quite so perceptive in that way.

Treasured memories, both waking and sleeping dreams, that have shaped who I am today, even as your dreams have shaped who you are today as well Douglas. Thank you for sharing some of your sacred dreams, "visions" and memories with us too. I feel honored to have met you and am happy you're here with us.

Best blessings to you, Terri

The sacred land where I grew up, along Hwy. 12 in the Valley of the Moon, Kenwood, CA. The photo below shows the ranch itself from the top of Mount Hood, which is the large parcel of open land in this photo. Most of the artifacts and arrowheads were found in area along the creek (under the shade trees) on the left corner of the tree lined front field. (comment cont. below photo)

This "valley of the moon" was so beautiful that the local native people brought their elders to live out their remaining days in peace here. Today it is the home of a large retirement community called Oakmont and much of the open land has been sold to developers or has been converted from cattle county to grape vineyards and spas. It doesn't even look like the same place I grew up any more, but I suppose that's true for many sacred land sites these days unfortunately. It's just SO sad. My heart still belongs to the land I grew up on though, as you can no doubt clearly see from this rather lengthy response to your dream tale today. :-)

Comment by Douglas (Spirit Bear) Neely on June 12, 2010 at 8:00am

I hope you all enjoy this tale of a young brave finding his way in life! It came to me in a dream one night several years ago! Many Blessings to all that read this Thank You All!

Comment by Douglas (Spirit Bear) Neely on June 12, 2010 at 6:09am

The Gift Bow and Arrow!
As a young boy I made myself a bow and arrows for play,
All the other boys in the tribe made their bows and arrows
We would play like we were hunting wild game for food
Then one day my father came to me and said this is the day,
This would be the day I would first take my little bow and arrow
Into the wilderness as he hunted, he was hunting for deer
He showed me how to be as quiet as the birds of the air
How to look for signs, follow the tracks and shoot the deer
As he hunted I followed silently, watching and imitating his moves

I missed playing with friends however I knew this would be
An important step in the rest of my life, He was showing me how
To provide the days foods not only for me, but all the tribe.
The men of the tribe would form hunting parties and hunt
Providing food for the whole tribe, not just his family
This was an important thing to learn, that everyone
In the whole tribe will benefit from the day’s hunt
I would go into the wild for some time following close
To my father echoing his every movement in the hunt
Until one day my father came to me some time after the hunt
He told me of my future how one day he would no longer be there
He told me how it would be my responsibility to help
Provide the food and provide protection of the whole tribe
He told how one day I would have a family of my own
And that the rest of the tribe would help provide for them
He told me of how one day I to would take my own son
Into the wilderness and show to him how to hunt
This is the day that he gave me “The Gift Bow and Arrow”
This gift I would carry on my first real hunt on the next sunrise
I slept not that night, eager for the next day’s hunt
I desired so to be able to bring home a deer
On my first day’s hunt, which we have been
Told was a sign of abundance to come in our future!
We entered the forest and spread out for the hunt
There only moments, I saw a large deer in front
Of me I drew down on him and he fell, I brought
the deer to the tribe and we feasted all day long!

Douglas (Spirit Bear) Neely

Comment by Terri Benning on May 20, 2010 at 12:29pm

I would encourage folks to add their poems, prose and prayers to the DISCUSSION FORUM (above) so all of the responses to your post will be on the same thread, which makes finding and reading them a whole lot easier. :-) Here's some "how to" information that you might find helpful as well. ;-) Nice to see some conversation sparking up here. Keep 'em comin' ... :-) Ter

HOW TO USE THE DISCUSSION and COMMENT FEATURES:

Comment by Terri Benning on May 20, 2010 at 12:21pm

hey Vonney, feel free to post any poems that you like as well, even if you didn't write them yourself. That's what this group is here for. :-)

Comment by Yvonne on May 20, 2010 at 10:36am

Oh yes, Mother of the Stars - beautiful. Silence - awesome! All poetry people are bringing to this page is great! I think this is my fav group so far! Keep them coming. I am not a poet or writer, but I certainly enjoy the reading :)

Comment by Terri Benning on May 20, 2010 at 10:31am

Hi Morning Star,

This artwork piece is entitled "CLOAK of the MATERNAL SKY." and is by the awesome artist Jonathon Earl Bowser. Your poem reminded me of it. You can check out more of his amazing artwork at:
http://www.jonathonart.com/

Comment by Terri Benning on May 20, 2010 at 10:20am

I love this ... very, very nicely written and expressed. Thank you for sharing it here, Morning Star. :-)

Mother of the Stars...
Her hair is long and Black
as a ravens' feather...
Her eyes as Blue as the pool in the sky...
Iam swimming in her eyes
and I feel she can see into my soul...
She breathes the breath of spring
And She planted a seed in the scarlet valley
of my heart of hearts...
She is the Sacred Mother..and the Rose of my heart...
Iam holding a white candle and Staring at the flame
as suddenly it becomes two flames kissing each other...
My Eternal Soul-Mate..and tonight She danced for me...
Mother of the Stars...
By Glen

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