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Traveling the Blessingway-part 2
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Walking your path
The stories in Native American cultures explain how things came to be on earth. They also seek to understand the human condition, divulge knowledge of the ancestors and instruct the listeners on how to live and even evolve.
Navajos find little distinction between thought and physical reality so the stories can have far-reaching implications as we travel hozhoogi or the Blessingway. The Blessingway is that line or path that bisects the universe from which all things in our lives are born; on one side is harmony (hozho) and on the other is disharmony (hochxo). Both must exist for its counterpart to exist. If you can accept at least on some level the premise that thought creates reality and that there is little distinction between thought and reality, the stories of native cultures can be incorporated into your spiritual practice. By recreating the original event (story) in your mind (e.g. in a meditation or ceremony) you can bring forth and assimilate the energies expressed in the story and truly participate in your spiritual progression.
Throughout life, aspects of self will transform us as we evolve. As we pursue a harmonious existence we search for energies that may enhance our lives. We assimilate and internalize some things and discard or lose others. Yet, not all things retained are beneficial nor were all things lost detrimental. Indeed, as we travel the Blessingway we may lament the loss of aspects of our former selves. While some parts are consciously discarded, others may be inadvertently lost. Sometimes these lost aspects were simply forgotten or ignored and sometimes they were lost as a result of life circumstances. The good news is you can always go back and retrieve those lost energies. In the Navajo emergence story (how the Navajo came to the earth’s surface) this recovery of lost energies is expressed.
In the Navajo emergence story, the underworld where the Dine’ (the people-Navajo) lived had become overcrowded and resources were scarce. The people had become complacent and didn’t want to change the status quo even though the situation there was untenable. So, First Man employed Primal Coyote to kidnap Water Monster’s two children knowing full-well what the end result of that would be. Water Monster was so outraged she flooded the underworld so the Dine’ had to leave the first level. They climbed through water reeds to second level but the water kept rising so they climbed to the third and finally the fourth, making their way to the earth’s surface. Before leaving the underworld First Man purposely left behind the medicine bundle that was necessary to bring about the way things are on earth today. Once everyone had arrived on the earth’s surface it was discovered the medicine bundle had been left behind. First Man then sent Water Bird back to retrieve the medicine bundle. Once the bundle had been brought to the earth’s surface, its energy was reanimated. First Man blew through one of the reeds onto the medicine bundle and literally breathed new life into the bundle. His breath carried diyinii or the divine ones. The important lesson here is you can always go back to retrieve and reanimate aspects of your past selves necessary for a good life.
It is important to note while it is necessary to consciously retrieve the lost energy, the retrieval must be accompanied by reanimation. How each person may use this knowledge is up to the individual. If you know what is missing or lost, you have already taken the first step. If not, you can begin the journey by seeking that answer. In my practice I have done both. For example, if I know what has been lost I may begin my meditation by quieting my inner and outer mind then journeying into the underworld (you can go anywhere you find significant and that represents your inner self). I travel through a water reed by riding Spider as he is my totem of the down direction but you can travel however you prefer. Once there I walk until I find the aspect or energy I’m seeking. If I don’t know what energy I’m seeking I trust I will know it when I see it. Once I’ve found it I conduct a ceremony in my mind (since there’s little difference between thought and physical reality) whereby I first smudge (cleanse) the area with burning sage. What the energy looks like is up to you. I would then place the lost energy into a medicine bundle or bag. I may then smoke the sacred pipe (again in my mind). As I inhale, I take in the diyinii. I then exhale through a water reed onto the medicine bundle to reanimate the energy; I then give thanks, place the bundle around my neck and return to the earth’s surface.
To make this meditation even more powerful you may wish to accompany the thought with some physical action such as actually creating a medicine bag or bundle and place in it something that represents the energy you are reanimating.
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