The Secret Prophecy of the Grandmothers

[Guest guest]

inuitlu allailu sisters,

our time of sharing has come.

~granni~

 

& #8776; & #8776; & #8776;

 

In a magical valley, protected by the ancient spirits

of the towering Catskill Mountains, a sacred fire was

lit.

 

Surrounded by the golden woods and in the cool, still,

evening air of mid-October 2004, the flame initiated

an unprecedented and historic gathering of thirteen

indigenous Grandmothers from around the world, keepers

of their tribes' teachings from original times. The

Grandmothers had come to fulfill another ancient

prophecy, known by many of the world's indigenous

tribes: " When the Grandmothers from the four

directions speak, a new time is coming. "

 

The council, which had been spoken of in prophecy and

seen in visions since time immemorial, finally emerged

in the aftermath of 9/11. The Grandmothers'

participation in the council had been foretold to each

of them in different ways. When they were very young,

a few of the Grandmothers had been told by their

grandmothers that this was their destiny. All of the

Grandmothers had been invited long ago, in a time

before time as we know it, to meet at the coming of

the Great Turning to become a force for peace in the

world. Prophecy revealed to each one that they must

now share even their most secret and sacred ways with

the very people who have been their oppressors, as the

survival of humanity, if not the entire planet, is at

stake.

 

The urgency of the world's situation requires a global

response. The Grandmothers, living legends among their

people, represent tribes from the Arctic Circle; North,

South and Central America; Africa; Tibet; and Nepal.

As the wise women, curanderas, shamans and healers of

their tribes, they were bringing to the council new

visions and new prophecies for humanity, their tribes'

rich and varied sources of wisdom, and each tribe's

unique and secret teachings for living within the

Divine Order of all things.

 

Until recent history, in every part of the world,

communities of indigenous peoples functioned as if One

with their particular environment. As a result, the

many tribes of this earth mirrored the lands of their

origins and thus revealed the great diversity inherent

in humanity. The unique culture of each of the

thousands of indigenous tribes evolved from their

necessary participation with the animals, plants and

the climate of the land in which they lived.

Traditions, rituals, stories, art and music were

created that were specific to their place on Earth as

the flowers and trees found there. This is why

indigenous peoples say that if their connection to the

land is gone, as has happened to most Native

Americans, they are no longer who they were.

 

Some tribes, like the Cheyenne and Lakota, are taught

that their first language was given to them by the

animals and sounds of nature in their environment.

This first language is still used in ceremony and

ritual because according to tradition these sounds

have the power to open the doorway to the Spirit

World. Legends remind the tribes that all they know

they learned by observing the various families of

nature and that their role in return is to respect

Mother Earth and be Her caretaker. Such intimacy with

nature has enabled those who have remained on the land

of their ancestors to live from the land and still

maintain the Earth's balance for tens of thousands of

years.

 

Basic to each tribe's survival, the Grandmothers say,

was their ability not only to live in harmony with

nature but with one another. The strength of the tribe

was founded on family, and the well-being of each

family was essential to the well-being of the

community. Nature was seen as mirroring the different

roles within a family. The common wisdom was that we

are Spirit alive in the flesh. The Earth was seen as

the Great Mother, the giver and nurturer of life.

 

Because of their absolute dependence on nature,

indigenous peoples held that all of life was sacred.

They did not see themselves as separate from nature or

the cosmos, the Grandmothers tell us. So what was done

to the Earth and the inhabitants of the Earth was done

to themselves. Everything was a part of the One. The

animals and plants or Earth were never objectified.

The objectification of nature opens the door for

mistreatment and lack of respect. " The one who sees

'thou' is not the same as the ego seeing an 'it'. "

 

In accord with the inherent authority within a family,

traditionally the women elders, the grandmothers, were

the ones who were looked up to as guardians to watch

over the physical and spiritual survival of the

family, and thus the tribe. They became the keepers of

the teachings and rituals that allowed the tribe to

flourish, and they upheld the social order. In many of

the tribes around the world, including the great

Iroquois Nation, the Council of Grandmothers was

always consulted before any major decision was made,

including the decision of whether or not to go to war.

 

Indigenous peoples lived in a communal system that was

based on reciprocity -- everyone sharing what they had

and everyone taking care of everyone else. There was

no hoarding, thus no one in the tribe ever went

without and all prospered equally. Food brought back

by the hunters was for the the whole tribe. If one

hunter was particularly skilled or successful, there

was no concept of keeping more for himself as a

result. Instead, he was given a place of honor in the

tribe.

 

Since there was no perception of scarcity, except what

the whole tribe experienced, there was no need for

excessive accumulation of personal holdings. The

tribes knew what they needed to do to sustain

themselves sufficiently. Most had learned that sharing

and transfering increased the value of what was given,

and accumulation beyond the point of enough actually

stopped the flow of resources. When everyone

benefited, the individual benefited more. Now, for

most indigenous people, one step out of their

community and into the modern world, and they can't

eat or find shelter or live without money. One day in

civilization can wipe out thousands of years of

sustainability.

 

We can learn from the tribal system how all of

humanity can thrive today, the Grandmothers remind us.

And indigenous peoples can also learn from the modern

world how to sustain themselves when moving outside of

their traditional communities.

 

Also common to indigenous peoples, the Grandmothers

say, is an honoring and dependence upon the Spirit

World, the world that is accessed through nature.

Among many indigenous peoples, the stones are the most

revered spirits. In fact, the most ancient memories

are attributed to the stones as the stones are among

the oldest beings on the planet. Most indigenous

teachings hold that it is in the heart where the

living spirit can be seen, and within that spirit is

the very essence of the Creator, or the divine force.

The simple act of picking up a stone, and holding that

stone being in silence, changes a person in subtle and

profound ways. Finding the worlds within stone spirit

reveals further worlds within oneself, the

Grandmothers teach us. Having the courage to look

within and without was an important attribute in most

indigenous cultures. In fact, having such close

contact with nature made such an inner journey

unavoidable.

 

Visions, dreams, prayer, ceremony and ritual are the

means to access the sacred Spirit World through

nature, the Grandmothers tell us. Ceremony and ritual

allow participation in the myths or archetypes or

ancestry of the culture and serve to take one out of

any shallow 'ordinary' reality. Rituals powered by

intention focus concentration, enabling access to more

rarefied levels of the mind for communication with the

spiritual realms for prophecy and guidance and to

influence events. That is how knowledge of the healing

powers of plants was first gained, how understanding

was developed about the importance of honoring the

four directions and the five basic elements: earth,

water, air, fire and light. Anyone who has ever been

swept away by the beauty of a sunset or found an

answer to a problem while communing with nature has

caught a glimpse of the worlds that are open to

indigneous peoples who foster this true knowing.

 

Spirituality's highest purpose is to touch a mystery

beyond words, which is perceived only in silence and

solitude, the Grandmothers relate. Listening within

the silence puts one in touch with the energy,

vibration and spiritual forces that are at the heart

of Creation. The realms are real, not of the

imagination, and can only be reached by a quiet mind

and by practice. This does not mean there is a lack of

critical thinking, only that fighting the experience

of connectivity, the now, while approaching that

moment, blocks the experience of knowing. The

Grandmothers show that we must return to our own inner

spirit and the spirit of the all which we have

abandoned while looking elsewhere for happiness.

 

The Grandmothers know there has been an undeniable

corruption of humanity's spirit. The global human

family, a macrocosm of the tribal system, is lost in

confusion and sickness. We are disconnected from

ourselves and the planet that nurtures us, body and

soul. Violence and war have bred hunder, poverty, loss

of culture, and a lack of understanding concerning

basic human rights. Our waters, the blood of our

Mother Earth, have become too polluted to drink, and

the air in some places to polluted to breath. Do we

really want it this way, they ask? Do we not want a

future generation? We have lost the most fundamental

teaching: that all life is sacred. All life is One.

The Grandmothers say we will wake up from our trance

now, as the Earth has begun shaking.

 

Prophecies of each of the Grandmothers' traditions

state that we have entered the Purification times. The

purification process is a natural cleansing of all the

accumulated negativity caused by being materially

instead of spiritually oriented. All of life must be

honored and protected again, allowed their natural

source of shelter and nourishment. Since all of the

living cosmos is connected, the Grandmothers teach

that healing, quality of life, and spiritual

evolvement are never separate from politics and

consciousness. Culture that does not derive or base

itself on nature's harmony has no roots and can't

survive long. Without a deep connection to nature,

people drift into sickness, grow negative, and destroy

themselves spiritually and physically. Deeply

connected to nature, we witness beauty everywhere,

including wholly within ourselves.

 

Each part of the world spectrum holds wisdom, a key to

reigniting humanity's pure spark. The Thirteen

Grandmothers came in council to share their prayers,

rituals and ceremonies to create global healing and

forge an alliance creating one voice. They speak of

ways of bringing about sustainability, sovereignty and

a unified alliance among all the Earth's people in the

interest of life and peace.

 

http://www.grandmotherscouncil.com/