THE FORCE OF THE PRIMAL # 4

LESSONS FOR US

 

“I only went out for a walk and finally decided to stay until sundown, for going out, I discovered, was actually going in.” John Muir

 

Somewhere beyond the walls of our awareness, the Esau side, the hunter side, the seeking side of ourselves is waiting to return.” L. Van der Post

                                   

We cannot retain the purity of the hunter-gatherer's indigenous soul but we can retain their consciousness if we choose to appreciate and learn it. The best way to do this is to simulate the hunter-gatherer experience as much as feasible by having as little between us and nature as possible.

 

Nature’s Sacred Space.

 

The soul's fulfillment is through the experience of the senses.
The soul's conversation is not of the mind. It is best heard with the senses.

From my flesh shall I behold God.

The route to God is through the senses.

 

If we immerse in nature in the right way we can experience the sensory, "Soft Fascinations" that enable a meditative state. This can include a sense of equanimity, balance and harmony, recognized as an alpha rhythm on an electroencephalogram. 

These fascinations include: The meditative mantra of the bush - its plethora of insect, bird and animal sounds. The sound of the wind in the trees and those of a babbling brook. The sights, scenes, scents and aromas. The harmony and complexity of the “mini-fields” – an ant or termite colony or a beehive. They are further enhanced by the daily, monthly, and seasonal cycles leading to entrainment with the rhythms of the nature. The hunter-gatherers had their own zen or yoga in wild places. With right intention nature can also meditate us.

 

God’s rivers of pleasure and good are fed by the watershed of the soul’s capacity for enjoyment and of their emptying into its ocean.

 

The ancient sages taught that the mystery of who we are is contained in the four winds and that without them none of creation would exist.

 

Each of the Four Beings of nature is animated by the breath (wind) of the Creator. Each with its own unique vibration and each with its own consciousness, related to the density of that vibration. When we are alone in nature for long enough we can begin to sense this. Five days  would be ideal, also with a lot of alone time.

 

“If the people had not been gifted with Divinely inspired scriptures, they could have learned all they needed to know from the animals themselves.” The Zohar

“There is not a single blade of grass that is born of the earth that does not carry within her immense wisdom and immense heavenly power.

Humility and awe let one see most clearly and hear most truly.” The Zohar

“Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.” 
Kahlil Gibran

 

Before civilization developed the Hero/ine's quest of necessity occurred in wilderness. Today many are still venturing into wild places to attain inner guidance and hopefully a vision of who they are and what they need to do.

Wilderness, wild places - or nature in any ideal circumstance - can be used as sacred space for the quest. It may be done elsewhere but She is a preferred environment.

 

“A human cannot live and temper his/her metal without honor. There is deep within him/her a sense of heroic quest and our modern way of life with its emphasis on security, its distrust of the unknown and its elevation of abstract collective values has repressed the heroic impulse to a degree that may produce the most dangerous consequences.”  

 L. Van der Post

 

If we immerse ourselves inwardly in nature She can present us with all the polarities required for growth. Wildness was the classroom for  indigenous people – the supreme test that could test one’s metal.

 

“If we are willing to open up to it then it is just the unknown, the unplanned, the unexpected, the unfamiliar which can best teach us. In the tiny prefix “un” which so often spells trouble, lies the potential for change, for the new, for the hitherto unconsidered, unimagined, unrealized.” R. Hinshaw

 

The Vision Quest

"So the young man went North seeking the “Singing Stone.” After many adventures he arrived in the North and found his grandfather sitting upon a stone waiting for him. The Singing Stone is not to the North said the grandfather, it is to the South. So he journeyed South and after many adventures he found a dragonfly. The Singing Stone is not to the South sang the dragonfly it is to the West. So he journeyed West and found a mouse. The mouse answered the Singing Stone is not to the West it is to the East. So he journeyed East and after many adventures he arrived at a strange camp. He headed towards the camp but pulled up short when he saw the paintings and signs on the lodges were foreign. He decided to go ahead in spite of the “Bow of Tension Pulled within Him.” Finally he reached the circle of lodges. Then his sisters, mothers, brothers, fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers, uncles and aunts and all his relatives came out to greet him saying, welcome to our Counsel Fire Singing Stone." H. Storm

Many indigenous peoples had rites of passage and initiations for their youth - something lacking in modern societies. This enabled the initiate to cross the threshold from adolescent into adulthood and taking the appropriate responsibilities for sake of the tribe that suited their signature or core strength, their destiny or purpose. 

For Native Americans it was the Vision Quest where also adults seeking clarity would venture into nature's sacred space alone and fast for a vision, a dream or a message. Fasting was a key component of the journey. Westerners now are doing the same quest usually for four days of alone time with fasting followed by   a reintegration or incorporation phase.

The polarities they encountered may have included; terrified/tranquil, hard/soft, hot /cold, heat exhaustion/freezing, hungry/satiated, starving/renewed, thirsty/quenched, dehydrated/replenished, dark/light, sun/moon, sickness/healing, metaphoric death and rebirth. 

 

Without taking such drastic challenges - nature's polarities can still help us find either clarity or the middle way of the Buddha.

 

Balance is achieved by harmonizing polarities. Dualities come into harmony by negotiating a third or middle path... 

 

The fundamental notion of equilibrating the opposites is omnipresent in all beliefs. This universal truth is crucial to our understanding of how we transcend and transform.  

 

The most profound sound of all is that of silence – not the silence that is the absence of noise, of quietness, but that in which we hear the longings of our heart and ponder our response.

 

We are even able to hear the soft, still, silent voice of the Creator if ego is put aside and we listen carefully. God wants a personal relationship with us but most of us cannot imagine this is possible. We are here to co-create with the Creator. S/He needs us to help complete creation. 

If we venture forth into nature - the more wild the better - for a reasonable amount of time, we begin to bond with the three other beings of nature.  Power plants and or power animals present themselves in our relaxed state and can guide us with messages and metaphors of where we need to be next and what we need to release from in order to get to a new phase in our lives. Our dreams improve as do our intuitive senses.