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It's Mysterious Mose!
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PATH OF THE SACRED THIEFRAVEN was a great Thief who stole the Moon and the Sun from the Sky Chief, and brought them to the sky above Turtle Island..(1)
"A powerful and wealthy aristocrat, who was also a Sky Chief, owned the Sun and the Moon. He kept them in boxes in his house. After a nasty crash into another tree in the dark, Raven was very angry. 'Who does this Sky Chief think he is that he can own the sun and the moon, and keep the rest of us in the dark?' he cawed with righteous indignation."
–from the story by Larry McNeil www.larrymcneil.com/
Raven's "righteous indignation" or "anger" describes his FEELING that a boundary has been crossed by Sky Chief. This boundary has to do with what is NEEDED for the Raven, and for the world he inhabits. Sky Chief doesn't have to live in the world below, so he really doesn't care what happens there. So Raven decides to DO something about it!
In the story, Raven transforms himself into a spruce needle which falls into the Sky Chief's daughter's water bucket. The Sky Chief's daughter drinks the water, and swallows the spruce needle. This causes her to become pregnant with Raven's spirit! When Raven is born, he is white. His grandfather (the Sky Chief) dotes on him. Eventually, Raven gets his grandfather to show him the Sun and Moon, which Raven snatches immediately and flies out the smokehole in the ceiling, getting all colored black (with soot!) in the bargain. He then places the Sun and Moon in the sky so ALL can enjoy them.
When Raven becomes black, he is marked as Shadow for all eternity. "In Native teachings, the color black means many things, but it does not mean evil. Black can mean the seeking of answers, the void, or the road of the spiritual or nonphysical." (2) Black is the color of the soil, the color of Silence, the color of Wisdom, the color of the Night. Black is also a symbol of Raven's "smudging." In Native American lore, smoke carries blessing and communication. Ironic, isn't it, that Raven was marked by the darkness, even as he brought light into the world?
Many Native American traditions speak of "the black road" that represents "the mind."
"Our life journey starts in the far southwest corner of the first cycle. The road from east to west, we believe, is the intellectual, mental road, the linear road. This road is called the black road. When we live only in our mind, we create emotions from our thoughts that can be very dangerous. When we are disconnected from our heart and only live in our linear mind, we cannot see in a holistic manner. When our heart is not connected to our mind, we lack clarity and insight. This can create fear, anger, hatred, jealousy, and can also destroy our self-identity and spiritual-identity."
– Marilyn Youngbird, "What is Medicine?"
A Thief is a Shapeshifter...and that shift comes from the power of the Mind! When the mind is wounded, it shatters into a million pieces. The Path of the Sacred Thief heals the MIND by searching for every last piece and fitting them into some kind of Whole. In other words, the Path of the Sacred Thief links up the MIND with the BODY, SPIRIT, and SOUL. Perhaps, the mind IS the link between the body, spirit and soul!
Mind is represented by the Moon, which waxes and wanes, becoming more white or black, stealing the light of the Sun as its own. The Moon has special magnetism for Wolf and Coyote, other animals associated with the Sacred Thief. One story describes Coyote thusly: "Coyote himself was lazy and always looked for the easy way to obtain his wants and desires. He never told the whole truth about anything. " (3)
"Coyote is often a teacher by counter-example as he employs base human traits including lying, cheating, and sexual misconduct. He is also a master at physical transformation. The frequently foiled Coyote, who interfaces with humans and transcendent deities, is often credited with human creation as well as human evolution consequent from his treachery."
---Michael Eldridge
Some other animals associated with the Path of the Sacred Thief are Ant, Weasel, Rat, Wolf, Cat, Squirrel, Wolf, Raccoon, Crow, Rabbit, Fox, Mouse, Dolphin---animals that are attracted to humans and often steal from humans and "collect" objects out of curiosity, fascination and desire. Some might call these "power objects." What the Sacred Thief really wants to steal is POWER; yet it seems to take a long time for the Sacred Thief to realize this!
Like the Sacred Clown, the Sacred Thief gives us a mirror; but instead of seeing ourselves in the eyes of the people who love us, we see ourselves in the eyes of the people who hate us, or (at the least) people who do not understand us, or who want to steal our power. This is a different kind of mirror, a dark mirror. Yet, it is good to honor the Darkness. "We all have a dark side; never forget that it is the darkness which defines the light. . . By honoring the dark side, you destroy her power over you. Then she can't take you."(4)
What exactly is a Thief? A Native American might consider the White European Invaders thieves because of the way their Chiefs broke treaties and took over lands, pushing the Native Americans onto "reservations," or worse.
Conversely, a common insult in present-day White America is to call someone an "Indian Giver," meaning that the person gave you a gift and now wants it back. This came from the Europeans' misunderstanding of a Native American cultural tradition, that of expecting gifts to be shared among all, and periodically re-given. Native Americans were also considered thieves if they decided to drive out the White settlers, or simply because they existed in a place that the settlers coveted. Plus, they had a different concept of ownership, and so did not understand the concept of "property" in the way of the European.
There are many examples where the epithet of "Thief!" was thrown at each of the groups involved, or at individuals caught in the crossfire. What we know for certain is that the world of the American Indian changed drastically with the coming of the European Explorers, Colonists and Exploiters. In some Native American prophecies and stories, it is said that this was meant to be. The white strangers were very very different; but both races would learn from each other. To many Native Americans, the White invaders were the long-lost younger siblings who had returned, but had not yet learned a vital lesson, the KEY to living upon the Earth.
"The 'white intruders' brought much change to Indian people. Who is to say that it was not meant to be that way? Yes, all of the North American continent has been taken away, except for about two percent that American Indians still have that they call their homelands. The American Indian almost disappeared with the buffalo when less than a thousand buffalo were left by the turn of the 20th century, and only 225,000 Indians had survived the deadly new diseases and more than one thousand wars. But life was hard; it was never meant to be easy -- not for anyone! Perhaps, that is what all of us must learn for the 21st century. That we should not waste our natural resources and that we should value the natural environment, or else we will destroy ourselves."
--Donald Fixico, Thomas Bowlus Distinguished Professor of American Indian History and
Director of the Center for Indigenous Nations Studies at the University of Kansas
Indeed, it could be said that the indigenous people of Europe originally held values that were very similar to the Native American values...so the concept of "I own this land" is a relatively recent development in the evolution of human culture all over the world! The setting of boundaries is something that ancient peoples viewed quite differently than those of modern times.
Thieves, like children and certain animals, love to steal things that entice them. Children (especially very young children) are natural Thieves. As children, Sacred Thieves are likely to have experienced ongoing situations where their personal boundaries (both physical and emotional) are routinely crossed. Sometimes it is their own families that cross these boundaries; sometimes it is someone outside of the family. Sometimes this boundary-crossing is semi- or completely unconscious; it amounts to ABUSE nonetheless. Because of this experience, young Thieves become confused and have a difficult time (as they grow) getting clear about their sexual, emotional, and relational needs.
"When we visited the Boston Aquarium several years ago, we saw sharks swimming in the big tank alongside all sorts of exotic, much-smaller fish. 'How do you keep the sharks from eating the little guys?' my son asked one of the keepers. 'We just make sure the sharks are very well-fed,' she answered. Like fish, people usually only try to steal what they can't come by honestly. Most of us are pretty good at examining ourselves for things we don't like, ought to change, could improve on. A lot of us are not as good at routinely asking ourselves, 'What do I need?' and then allowing ourselves to answer in full. Feeding oneself is one big step toward eliminating the tendency to prey on others, but you can't feed yourself if you don't know what you're hungry for. Self-examination has for centuries been recognized as a useful spiritual practice. Adding a regular assessment of one's own needs to the practice could be the beginning of understanding the boundary between oneself and others. When we know what the limits are, we can find healthy ways to connect with each other. As Robert Frost said, good fences make good neighbors."
– Elizabeth A. Horst www.csbsju.edu/isti/ISTIA...ndaries.htm
Taking what is not yours because you lack the ability to provide for yourself implies the need to learn Self-Respect. A Thief moves into the Sacred dimension when she starts to get in touch with her own identity, to know herself inside and out, especially her thoughts and feelings. She must learn to recognize what it FEELS like when one of her boundaries is crossed. Once she knows her TRUE feelings and desires, she can finally go after what is TRULY hers! In order to love herself, a Sacred Thief must first KNOW herself.
Realizing that she has been abused, that somebody has stolen precious bits of her identity, can be a bitter pill to swallow. It takes courage, strength and steely determination for the Sacred Thief to ferret out the unresolved events in her life and deal with them one by one. There will be anger and many other emotions; but they will be HER emotions and nobody's else's!
As soon as she knows herself, she knows that somehow, someway, things must CHANGE. No more abuse, no more crossed boundaries, no more mistreatment.
The Sacred Thief makes changes by "bringing in the new." Paris Soulier has done some fine work on "Soul Groups," and he counts "Thieves" as necessary to the balance of all things. He calls Thieves the "Innovators of the Universe." (5) His observations on the "Thief Soul Group" include these:
"Thieves bring in 'that which is new.' They work best with that which is NOT, rather than that which IS. By their very nature, Thieves work against the crystallization of society by constantly challenging reality and finding alternative methods for performing action. If there is a loophole, an escape clause, or a back door anywhere, you can bet a Thief will find it.
Thieves love to see what they can get by with. They tend to be on the cutting edge of society; bringing in that which is overSHADOWING and disseminating it to the rest of the soul groups.
You can tell who your Thief friends are; they are the first ones on the telephone to you with the new gossip or news. Thieves are the first to try any new innovation or gadget. While the other groups are saying 'it can't be done,' Thieves say, 'Yes it can.' They don't know the meaning of the word 'No.'
Among the various soul-groups, Thieves have the fewest boundaries of all, if any. Consequently, they may relay to you extremely embarrassing or intimate personal information, and be surprised at your mortification or shock. It's best not to trust a lesser-evolved thief with intimate secrets. Thieves are the last to learn the meaning of 'mine and thine,' be it physical objects or shared thoughts or feelings.
Thieves are some of the most joyous beings to have around. They naturally gravitate to comedy, performing arts, written word. They are very verbally talented. They love word play and twisting around meanings."
– Paris Soulier www.wizardrealm.com/metaphys...hief.html
I would add that Thieves are also great Samplers of other peoples' music, lyrics, and art. Many Thieves have become great Channellers of metaphysical information. Thieves are often Romantic Charmers who make successful "con men" or "con women." Thieves are the "Players" of the world, and they are very aware of all the varieties of "games people play." They can also be artists like the Surrealists, Impressionists, and Cubists, who destroyed convention in visual art. Iconoclast writers such as Allen Ginsberg (poetry) and James Joyce (fiction) also operate in the Sacred Thief style of innovation.
The Path of the Sacred Thief is all about KNOWING OURSELVES, warts and all, and ACCEPTING OURSELVES (even our shadow-parts that we hide from others), with love. Once we do this, we can simply take our power when we come upon it, because it is part of our own essence. And we can also let other people have their own mistakes, and let them have their own power, and love them for it.
"In their dreams the old ones saw that the Indians would go through a very bad time, that they would lose their spirit, that they would be split up into many parts by the different kinds of religion of the white men. Like the white men, they would try to find what these strange people call success. But one day the Indians would begin to wake up, the old ones told me. They would see that those white people who chased after personal pleasure left behind the truly important things in life. The Indians would see that their people in the old days were in tune with something far more wonderful, the Spirit of Life.
"And you must realize that this is not all the old ones saw in their dreams. They saw that just when the Indians seemed to be all becoming like the more foolish white men, just when everybody thought they had forgotten about the ancient days, at that time a great light would come from the east. It would come into the hearts of some of the Indians, and they would become like the prairie fire, spreading not only love between all races, but also between the different religions.
"And in that day, all the little circles will come under the big circle of understanding and unity." (6)
Remember Raven? Raven was filled with "righteous indignation" when he realized that his boundaries were being crossed. He decided to take what was HIS. Yes, the Sun was his! The Moon was his! He was really the Shadow-Self of the Sky Chief, birthed through the Sky Chief's daughter, which represented his own female side. He was really the Sky Chief in disguise and incarnated into the world, so that he would learn from his own experience. But he didn't know it, until he acted to "right the wrong."
Eventually, the Thief becomes The Sacred Thief by realizing her own identity as both Creator of the World and Savior of the World. She does this first by being herself, and secondly, by being not-herself! That is, she claims her own identity, but she does not cling to it. She sets her mind free, unbound, unattached. She knows the peace of clarity and the joy of true being. She sets her boundaries, but allows herself to let go, to transcend those boundaries when the time is ripe. She feels her feelings, but does not carry them around with her; she releases them when she has learned what she needs to learn. She embraces the paradox: When we let go, we know that we are all connected.
Identity is not a "thing;" it is a ongoing process of awareness. The Mind can link us with All-That-Is if we relax and simply "be." When we are not grasping and holding on to things, we "default" into our true identity, a process of awareness connected to the essence of all beings and all creation, ever-changing and ever-new.
The Sacred Thief epitomizes not only the transformation of the Mind, but the spiral process of Consciousness evolving itself! It has been said that Conscious awareness is the next frontier of knowledge, and the Sacred Thief likes to learn new things. The Sacred Thief (dark as she is!) becomes the Deity of Light by finding Illumination, taking it for herself, and bringing it, THROUGH herself, to the people.
It seems to me that there are more people on the Path of the Sacred Thief at this time in our world than any other! I don't have to wonder why. The Path of the Sacred Thief brings the NEW into the world....in fact, brings in the NEW WORLD itself. The Thief thinks; the SACRED THIEF thinks "outside the box." The time is ripe for such a feat!
And it is on behalf of the suffering that the Sacred Thief acts. Her own suffering is the catalyst that convinces her that CHANGE is necessary! Her sacred task is to CHANGE that suffering by bringing something NEW into the World. She brings in something NEW by thinking outside the box. She'd never be happy in a box, anyways!
"Too many of us are trying to keep a tight grip on things that are out of our control. This is like trying to grip the water flowing in a river. Put your hands into the river. If you try to get the water by grabbing it and clenching your fists, it goes right out of your hands. If you relax and open, gently cupping your hands, the water flows into your palms. By relaxing, opening, and trusting, we can hold onto more of what is precious to us. By letting go, we actually allow more of the mystery of life to come in for us."
--Leslie Lobell
1. Haudenosaunee word for North American:
"Turtle Island = The symbol for North America, also referred to as Mother Earth, is a turtle. The thirteen plates on the turtle's back represent the thirteen moons of the year, showing a connection between the Mother Earth and the Grandmother Moon."
2. Jamie Sams and David Carson, Medicine Cards, St. Martin's Press; Rev Bk&Crd edition (July 30, 1999.
3. Weagle, www.snowwowl.com/gwritcoyote.html)
4. Zoila Gutierez, Jaguar Woman by Lynn V. Andrews, 1985, Harper & Row, NY, pg. 47.
5. Paris Soulier, www.wizardrealm.com/metaphys...hief.html
6. Eyes of Fire, Warriors of the Rainbow (Strange and Prophetic Dreams of the Indians) by William Willoya and Vinson Brown, 1962, Naturegraph Publishers, P.O. Box 1075, Happy Camp, CA 96039.
Thu, October 22, 2015 - 8:01 AM — permalink - 0 comments - add a comment
Path of the ShamanThe Path of the Sacred Warrior heals the Spirit. The Path of the Sacred Clown heals the Soul. And the Path of the Shaman heals the Body. The Body? Haven't most of us been conditioned to believe that the Body is somehow inferior to the Spirit, to the Soul?
America's Elders—the Native Americans—have always taught that the Body, our personal connection of substance and spirit, is sacred. An ancient song of the Salish Women's Society runs:
Who cannot love her Self cannot love anybody.
Who is ashamed of her body is ashamed of all life.
Who finds dirt and filth in her body is lost.
Who cannot respect the gifts given even before birth
Can never respect anything fully.1
A Shaman's Path begins with her own Body and involves the generation, control, storage, channeling, exchange, and release of energy. Principles recently "discovered" by modern scientists have been known to Shamans since ancient times, for example: Entrainment ("If two rhythms are nearly the same and their sources are in close proximity, they will always lock up, fall into synchrony.")2; E=mc² (the interchangability of energy and matter); and Wave/Particle Theory (Energy can travel in either waves or particles). A Shaman perceives her Body as a luminous cluster, a sacred act, a whirling act of power and beauty. Exploring her Body, she becomes a specialist in vibration, harmony, and balance. Curious to bridge other dimensions, her awareness reaches out like a lightning rod. When that awareness is illuminated, her own Body grounds the energy and releases it into the Earth so that it does no harm.
Some scientific principles have not yet caught up with shamanistic knowledge, for instances, the principle of Gravity. A modern-day Shaman puts it this way, "The earth is calling to you. It has something for you. This great creature upon which we live wishes to give you its energy to empower your life." Westerners shun this gift. They call it GRAVITY and think it's a force that wants to pull us down to the center of the earth. Instead, be like a tree, sinking roots down into the earth's magnetism. Reach out with your branches and leaves for light and air from above!"3
The image of a tree is a great model for Shamans. A Tree is a very efficient energy-being. It uses every bit of energy and wastes none. The wood of a tree is a conductor of energy from both below and above; and as such, is often used by the Shaman to conduct her awareness upon journeys of discovery. A drum, made from hide stretched over wood, becomes "the shaman's steed." Gourds, rattles, and other rhythmic devices can also be used as energy conductors. The Shaman tunes into the rhythm and rides it to other worlds! Then the rhythm brings the Shaman back to this, her beloved Earth. "Like a living tree, the shaman is rooted deep within the earth, reaching and growing into spirit."4
Shamans heal themselves (and serve as a healing catalyst for others) in three main ways:
1.Removing blockages in the energy flow;
2.Balancing and centering; and
3.Attunement and harmony.
Shamans are described as having keen intelligence, a perfectly supple body, and an energy that appears unbounded. Their memory and self-control are above average; and their bright eyes reveal a shy cunning. Often, their inner power advances with their age; and they display great strength, flexibility, and stamina throughout their elder years. As Old Ones (a term used with utmost respect by Native Americans), they can perform amazing acts of balance and agility. Often, they are splendid artists (especially abstract/mystical art), musicians, dancers, poets, singers, craftswomen who use their art to bring the spirit to earth. All these qualities proceed from years, even lifetimes, of suffering, sacrifice, and impeccable effort.
As shamans, the women in many tribes perform in all ways that male shamans are known to. They perform healings, hunting ceremonies, vision quests and the guidance for them, acts of psychokinesis, teleportation, weather direction, and more. In the various tribes according to each one's custom, the shaman also creates certain artifacts—clothing, baskets, ornaments, objects to be worn in pouches or under skirts or sewed into belts. She officiates at burials, births, child naming and welcoming into this world, menstrual and pregnancy rituals and rites, psychic communication, manipulation of animals, metamorphoses or transformations. She does much of this through dancing and chanting, and a large part of the method, symbols, significances, and effects of her shamanic efforts are recorded in the stories she tells, the songs she sings, and the knowledge she possesses. Much of this knowledge she transmits to others in ways that will be of use to them, and much of it she keeps to herself, teaches in formal settings to her apprentices, or shares with other shamans.5
Acquiring shamanic power involves a kind of death/rebirth experience. It involves letting go of the self, eliminating habits that make up the personality, dispensing with the "self-dialogue," getting out of the way and letting the universe do the talking. When the Shaman traditionally dies to herself, she is born into the larger community of the Tribe of the Cosmos as a representative of Earth. "Essentially, a woman's spiritual way is dependent on the kind of power she possesses, the kind of Spirit to whom she is attached, and the tribe to which she belongs. She is required to follow the lead of the Spirits and to carry out the tasks assigned her. Native American stories point to a serious event that results in the death of the protagonist, her visit to the Spirit realm from which she finally returns, transformed and powerful. After such events, she no longer belongs to her tribe or her family, but to the Spirit teacher who instructed her. This makes her seem 'strange' to many of her folk."6
Seeking the Body's wisdom, a Shaman continually centers herself in her womb, her belly, or her solar plexus, NOT in her head. The lower center brings her to a better foundation from which to move. It also anchors her runaway thought processes and brings her to an attunement with the Body of the Earth. In order to use her own energy efficiently, the Shaman must become flexible, fluid. To do this, she must confront the blockages of fear stored in the Body. Her task is to melt the blocks of fear with the energy that she generates; indeed, the word "Shaman" literally means "to heat oneself."7 As the rigid form is consumed, the flowing form is released; this is the meaning of transformation. It is a return to the liberating simplicity akin to the primal nature of wild animals, young children, and our earliest Earth-ancestresses. Freedom comes from letting go and learning to trust in one's Body to find its own vibration, balance and harmony.
"I find myself happier and happier as I get older. I am simply freer of conditions. This entails making voluntary sacrifices. Sacrifice comes from the words 'to make sacred.' My shamanic life is a whole life of making sacred, seeing everything as sacred… Even garbage is sacred."8
The initiation of a Shaman is no easy affair. However, as one budding Shaman was told, "The most beautiful jewel is tempered in the hottest fire and dipped in the coldest water."9
"Power is strength and the ability to see yourself through your own eyes and not the eyes of another. If a person has power, as women do, and she doesn't use it, power will sit within her and have no place to focus. It is then that power becomes twisted and evil. It can turn against the person who has called it. If a person backs away from her power (for example), she will develop back problems and all sorts of physical ailments."10
A person may be a potential Shaman if conditions such as these exist in her life: Her birth is peculiar, special in some way. Perhaps it is difficult, even traumatic. As a child, she experiences some element in her life that sets her apart from other children. She may simply be left to herself, or there may be disabilities and restrictive situations. She feels somehow different than the norm. Sometimes there are long illnesses, fevers, seizures, even brushes with death. Because of this isolation, or simply because she is gifted, she comes in touch with a subtle world that is foreign to most of her peers, and her psychic talents flourish. Importantly, she also misses out on vital portions of the acculturation process, leaving her to feel that she doesn't quite fit in.
At a certain point, the psychic energy peaks almost unbearably. If met with hostility or abuse (as usually happens in a world that lacks understanding), the potential Shaman may turn the energy in on herself, or outwards, becoming hostile and abusive to others. Some conditions such as Multiple Personalities, Mental Retardation, Dyslexia, Sexual Disorientation, Hallucinations, Hebephrenia, Schizophrenia, and Delusions can be the result of this "twisting" of the psychic flow. Sociopathic or psychopathic behavior, addictions, behaving in a such manner that one is literally "crossed-off" by society—all these can become the path that leads to the shamanic initiatory crisis.
This is not to say that an initiate cannot receive help. If she is sincere in her desire for healing, she will find the proper catalysts and midwives for birthing the Shaman in herself. In the ancient tribal ways, she could find an experienced Shaman in her own community to explain what was happening to her, and ease her way a bit. This older, wiser one would give her exercises that would train her to control the degree and timing of "opening the flower of her awareness."11 These might include instructions in meditation, lucid dreaming, self-hypnosis and visualization, recognizing energy fields, practices with sound and color, ritual-making, sand-painting, crafts of various kinds, trance-dancing, etc. She would also be taught how to protect herself from unwanted psychic and physical intrusions. Techniques such as purifying, blessing, boundary-making, shield-making, and acquiring guardian allies would be part of such instruction. Grounding techniques would be stressed as the initiate worked with plant, animal, and rock medicine.
In modern times, however, the help may come from strange directions, indeed. For example, the contemporary Plains Indian Shaman, Tayja Wiger, was born into an extremely hostile, abusive urban environment with no exposure to tribal ways. Society called her blind, crippled, retarded, insane and delinquent. She was institutionalized in reform schools and mental institutions. All this time, she prayed for healing. The psychiatrists didn't understand her Shamanic tradition (which she often expressed subconsciously), but they did help her to find the time, space and resources that she needed for her to be able to heal herself. Her intense focus on self-healing propelled her through the dark tunnel of fear and anger to a place where she could let go, in love, trusting the Universe. Now, she is sighted, physically sound, intelligent, sane and working as a Shaman; "healer, ordained minister, counselor and laughing friend of the Light."12 Her story is an inspiration to us all!
Tribal people believe that becoming a Shaman is a matter of destiny; and that if a destined person resists becoming a Shaman, she will become more and more immeshed in her own problems. The story of Sky Woman, a Shaman of the Ojibway Tribe, illustrates how a womon who courageously responded to a crisis embraced her own shamanic destiny. Born into a family that was disturbed by violent parental disagreements, Sky Woman fled from this chaotic situation at 9 years of age and wandered in the northern woods for a long time until a search party found her. Among her rescuers was an old woman who loved her and took care of her, and became her adopted grandmother.
They lived together happily for many years until one day, the Grandmother got very sick. Sky Woman was afraid. While she took care of her Grandmother and watched over her, Sky Woman fell asleep and had a dream. She dreamed someone gave her a rattle and other things Shamans use when they heal, and said to her, "Try this on your grandmother. She might get better." When she awoke, Sky Woman made a little rattle and started to do the things the dream showed her. When she finished, the old womon seemed brighter. Sky woman kept on with her work until her grandmother was up and around. Then, other people heard about her and came to her for help. She became a travelling healer.13
Following her inner guidance, Sky Woman later remembered that in her youthful wanderings, she had been guided and instructed by her Guardian Spirits for her life's work. Her loving compassion for her Grandmother was what catalyzed her own transformation. Her Spirits guided her but SHE CHOSE OF HER OWN FREE WILL to follow them.
Modern-day Shamans have learned from the mistakes that Shamans of the past have made. Keeping what works, they've thrown the rest away. They have let go of arrogance and embraced simplicity. They are not afraid to frolic and have fun. They have made a commitment to serve the life-force; they draw strength and unity from that commitment.
It has been said that the first Shaman was Grandmother Fire. She is the true ancestress of all Shamans. It also has been said that the first Shaman invented sex. The Shaman is self-erotic, in love with her own Body and with the Body of Earth. She heats herself, burning off the dross, centering herself in her own luminosity. She radiates well-being and self-confidence. Her leadership emerges out of a passion for life and is sustained by balance. The Shaman's heat is a centerfire around which a community naturally gathers. Her heat is engendering; and her own gender can hold and transcend the tension of opposites, giving her the ability to operate with success in whatever world she finds herself. Just by being, a Shaman gives comfort by proving that change is possible.
Healers state that it is love that heals, yet it is so difficult for many to release the fear and anger that lodge in the subconscious mind in order to be able to ACCEPT that love. Now it is time for all of us to cleanse our lives, then turn ourselves inside out for all to share.14
Love is a word for transformation. And there are many beings worthy of our love. It does not have to be a man you seek. When you say, 'I love you,' you are saying, 'I transform you.' But since you alone can transform no one, what you are really saying is, 'I transform myself and my vision.' I am always living in the lodge of love and I share it with you.15
1.Daughters of Copper Woman by Anne Cameron, 1981, Press Gang Publishers, Vancouver, BC, p. 62. [back to text]
2.Planet Drum by Mickey Hart and Frederic Lieberman, 1991, HarperCollins Publishers, NY, p. 17. [back to text]
3.Movements of Magic by Bob Klein, 1984, Newcastle Publishing, CA, pg. 8. [back to text]
4.In the Shadow of the Shaman by Amber Wolfe, 1989, Llewellyn Publications, St. Paul, MN, p. xiii. [back to text]
5.The Sacred Hoop by Paula Gunn Allen, 1986, Beacon Press, Boston, MS, p. 207-8. [back to text]
6.Ibid., p. 257. [back to text]
7.Shamanic Voices by Joan Halifax, 1979, E.P. Dutton, N.Y., p.3. [back to text]
8.Ruth Inge-Heinze, in Shapeshifters: Shamanic Women in Contemporary Society, 1987, Viking Penguin Inc., N.Y., p. 62. [back to text]
9.Leilah Tiesh in Shapeshifters, p. 36. [back to text]
10.Agnes Whistling Elk in Flight of the Seventh Moon by Lynn V. Andrews, 1984, Harper & Row, San Francisco, p. 130-131. [back to text]
11.Channeled from my Spirit Teacher, "Butterfly Woman". [back to text]
12.Birth of a Modern Shaman by Cynthia Bend and Tayja Wiger, 1987, Llewellyn Publications, St. Paul, MN, p. 8. [back to text]
13.The Shaman: Patterns of Siberian and Ojibway Healing by John A. Grim, 1983, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK, p. 121-125. [back to text]
14.Bend and Wiger, p. 6. [back to text]
15.Agnes Whistling Elk, in Flight of the Seventh Moon, p. 156. [back to text]
Thu, July 16, 2015 - 8:44 AM — permalink - 0 comments - add a comment
Path of the Sacred ClownNOTE: Also at this site: dreamflesh.com/essays/clownpath/
In my last article, I wrote of the Native American spiritual path of the Sacred Warrior. To Native Americans, the path of the Sacred Clown is ALSO considered a spiritual calling, essential to the smooth functioning of the tribe:
"In the days before the invaders came. . .we had clowns. Not clowns like you see now, with round red noses and baggy costumes. Our clowns wore all kinds of stuff. Anythin' they felt like, they wore. And they didn't just come out once in a while to act silly and make people laugh, our clowns were with us all the time, as important to the village as the chief, or the shaman, or the dancers, or the poets".1
Most every tribe had their Clowns. The Oglala and Lakota called them Heyoka ("crazy"), the Arapaho called them Ha Hawkan ("holy idiot"), and both peoples considered them religious specialists. The Salish people honor the memory of a Clown who (not so long ago) challenged a missionary. The missionary was enticing people to come to his church by handing out little mirrors to them while urging them to cover their bodies with white folks' clothes. It is told with a smile that the Clown (a woman!) walked into the church one Sunday wearing nothing but a hat and old shoes! Read the book to find out what happened!2
The Hopis protected their Sacred Clowns by incorporating them into their Katchina ("Cloud spirit") ceremonies where the Clowns make a hilarious entrance from a roof, descending a rope ladder into the plaza where the Katchinas are dancing. "Look down there!" they exclaim, "Everything is bountiful and beautiful!" Their descent is very precarious, usually head-first, and causes much laughter as they tumble over each other and fall the last few feet. They do not see the Katchinas until they bump into them, and then they say "This is MINE!" or "This many are MINE!" They act silly, childish, greedy, selfish, and lewd. As they pretend to become aware of their surroundings, they mock tourists, anthropologists, neighboring Indians, even themselves! They beg for food. Their guessing games and balancing acts please the crowds. The dancing Clowns sometimes pretend they are invisible, heightening the joke.3
The survival of these ritual clowns gives us a clue as to how important a Clown was to the community-spirit of each Native American tribe. Nothing was sacred to a Sacred Clown. She was a social critic of the highest order. Her funny mimicry and joking exposed hypocrisy and arrogance. Her portrayals of ridiculous behavior showed the people (in a very humorous way) their own foolishness and blind-spots. "A clown was like a newspaper, or a magazine, or one of those people who write an article to tell you if a book or a movie is worth botherin' with. They made comment on everythin', every day, all the time. If a clown thought that what the tribal council was gettin' ready to do was foolish, why the clown would just show up at the council and imitate every move every one of the leaders made. Only the clown would imitate it in such a way every little wart on that person would show, every hole in their idea would suddenly look real big."4
With the arrival of the "invaders", this sacred office got to be a most dangerous one—maybe more dangerous than that of the Warrior. Perhaps this is why most of the Sacred Clowns disappeared from sight! As the Cree Medicine Woman says in the story, Flight of the Seventh Moon, "No wonder we never got along. . .my people and your people. They were all the time getting peeved at each other and much hatred grew between us. It was unavoidable, because my people had great pride and humor. Yours had the jitters and wanted to shoot those who were laughing at them. Yet I still find you white people very amusing. I have to laugh at you because you never let yourself go. Every word to you is a completeness or else a long way off. You like to bludgeon the meaning of something to fit your own stupidity. It would serve you well to quit being so brittle."5
The Sacred Clown of the Salish people mentioned earlier made a trip to Hudson Bay, Victoria, to clown about the way her people were trading seal and otter skins for rum. The white company-men soon had enough of her, and when she was later found shot in the head, all her people figured that a white man did it. The Indians themselves strictly forbade doing any kind of violence to a Sacred Clown.
These Clowns were dangerous to tyrants and exploiters because they were so disorganized and so completely honest. They could see with the eyes of a child, and because of this, could spot a phony a mile away. They were sometimes called "destroyer of heroes." The white invaders hated them, of course, so it was either be killed or find a way to hide. Those who were killed are remembered with much respect by their people. Those who survived did so by learning to be Tricksters, to change their form, to become invisible if necessary.
A negative religious figure (such as the Sacred Clown) seems odd to most non-tribal people. Most Native Americans, however, LOVE the humor of it and tell stories about a mythic Trickster whose pranks and mishaps teach the tribe moral lessons. The Trickster takes many forms, but the favorites seem to be animals who are exceptionally curious, resourceful and adaptable—SURVIVORS, such as spider, raven, rabbit, owl, bat, coyote and crow. The stories are full of funny situations with the Trickster being mischievous, being in turn made a fool of, and even getting involved in obscene affairs. "Mostly, Trickster likes pullin' antics and tellin' dirty jokes."6 Perhaps it is this appreciation for the Trickster that has given the Native American the ability to survive against all odds. The Trickster makes a lot of mistakes, and usually has a hard time learning from them. However, She keeps on keepin' on. She doesn't drown Herself in despair, doesn't kill Herself in frustration. She survives.
Trickster shows us how we trick OURSELVES. Her rampant curiosity backfires, but, then, something NEW is discovered (though usually not what She expected)! This is where creativity comes from—experiment, do something different, maybe even something forbidden, and voila! A breakthrough occurs! Ha! Ha! We are released! The world is created anew! Do something backwards, break your own traditions, the barrier breaks; destroy the world as you know it, let the new in.
Sacred Clowns function as the eyes of the Trickster in this world: mirrors in which we see our folly as well as our resilience. As the Salish clown said to the people who were seduced into the missionary's church by the pretty, shiny mirrors he handed out, "There are better mirrors—the mirrors in the eyes of the people you love."7 We're reflections of each other. When we begin to take ourselves too seriously, there is the Clown to give us a laugh! When we become too heavy with self-importance, there is the Clown to knock some of that load away and lighten us up! The power of the Clown is the power of life itself. Acknowledge the pain, then let it go. Don't carry it around with you. Focus on the joy, the mystery, the happiness, the cosmic joke. When Clowns delight in eating and in sexual horseplay, they are showing this love of life.
It's a little more difficult to spot a young clown than it is to spot a young warrior. Those who describe a child as being "too sensitive" need to be aware that the little one may be a Sacred Clown in the making. The child may be shy, or she may be a temperamental show-off, sometimes both in different situations. In any case, a young clown is an explorer in the world of emotions. She tests the limits of her feelings as surely as a young warrior tests the limits of her will. She can amuse herself for hours playing pretend games, exercising her fantastic imagination. She will often mimic animals in her play. Just as often, she will have an ear for music and a talent for drama. Physically, she will have an excellent sense of balance.
The initiation for a Sacred Clown happens as she realizes that even people who love each other can be cruel to each other, or that Life itself can be cruel. Her own intense reaction to a personal experience of abandonment, betrayal of trust, or shattered romance may result in extreme depression, emotional imbalance, a nervous breakdown, or (in extreme cases) a suicide attempt. A Heyoka remembers her initiation thus, "I didn't care about my life or what happened to me. I didn't realize it, but there is big medicine in that abandon."8 If she can somehow find her emotional equilibrium, somehow go THROUGH the pain and come out on the other side, learn to dance on the knife edge of her own Soul, the experience becomes a gateway THROUGH the illusions of life and into the truth of life.
What is truth? This question propels the Clown into the sacred dimension. The Truth the Clown intuits is the interconnectedness of all life. She KNOWS (although she cannot prove) that no part is more important than any other part—no matter how big or how small—and that the tiniest change in one part produces a profound change in the Whole. She SEES (although she cannot explain) that imbalance or blockage of the Life Force is the result of a person or group believing themselves to be more important than another. And she can't help puncturing that over-blown self-importance with her sharp humor!
A Clown becomes Sacred by opening herself. Like a child, she is vulnerable, fluid, and open to the Life Force. Unlike a child, however, she has learned to shield herself and move safely through an insane world by using masks, disguises, tricks and transformations. In a sane world, she might risk a bit more exposure.
Native Americans say that Sacred Clowns are great lovers of children, healing them and protecting them. In addition, one of their powers is to bring fertility to barren people and situations. If the Sacred Warrior personifies the Sun, the Sacred Clown personifies the Void—that great black openness of space, the great Womb from which we all are born. In the Hopi Katchina ceremony, it is said that long ago the Sun was given the responsibility to people the earth, but that "it failed to lift itself,"9 preferring instead to follow its own personal ambitions and desires without regard to the tribe. For this reason, the responsibility to carry out the plan of Life was shifted to the Clowns. In the Hopi ceremony, the Clowns do not appear until after noon, until "the sun reaches its zenith and is on its down slope."10 "First here was the Sun, who was young once and is now a grandparent of many powers. But the Sun will one day go into the Void. That's the power of the Heyoka—the Void."11
The power of the Void is the power of wombness in us all, the power of true creativity. The power of being open is sometimes regarded as a weakness, but the Sacred Clown gives us this paradox: The weakest can be the most powerful. The dumbest can be the most wise. "In a clown's craziness, she can be obscene or test any of the existing structures and ideas to see if they are true and real—and she gets away with it. She herself is weak, but her very weakness is her power."12
In modern times, Clowns sometimes emerge into the public eye as comediennes, actors in guerilla theatre, critics, ritualists/artists/musicians who break the boundaries of "good taste" and aesthetics. But usually, they keep to the guise of normal, everyday people who know how to get other people to laugh at themselves.
If you decide to travel on this Path with a Heart, you'll be travelling backwards! Remember, though, to look behind you (or in front of you) once in a while. It just could be that another Sacred Clown is clowning YOU up! And that could be worth a good belly laugh for sure!
1 Granny, from Daughters of Copper Woman by Anne Cameron, 1981, Press Gang Publishers, 603 Powell Street, Vancouver, B.C. V6 A1 H2, pg. 109
2 ibid., pg. 108-114
3 Talayesva, Don C., Sun Chief: The Autobiography of a Hopi Indian, Leo W. Simmons, ed. New Haven: Yale University Press
4 Granny, from Daughters of Copper Woman, pg. 109
5 Agnes Whistling Elk, from Flight of the Seventh Moon, pg. 74
6 Philbert, Powwow Highway (Video Movie), 1982, Hand-Made Films
7 Clown, Daughters of Copper Woman, pg. 112
8 Agnes Whistling Elk, Medicine Woman, pg. 117
9 The Hopi Ritual Clown: Life As It Should Not Be by Hieb Louis Albert, 1972, University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, MI, pg. 146
10 ibid.
11 Ruby Plenty Chiefs, Flight of the Seventh Moon by Lynn V. Andrews, 1984, Harper & Row, NY, pg. 185
12 Zoila Guiterez, Jaguar Woman by Lynn V. Andrews, 1985, Harper & Row, NY, pg. 121
Sat, June 27, 2015 - 12:24 PM — permalink - 0 comments - add a comment
Path of the Sacred WarriorNote: This was published at: dreamflesh.com/essays/warriorpath/
First circulated on the newsgroup alt.religion.shamanism, this essay was published in Towards 2012 part I: Death/Rebirth (The Unlimited Dream Company, 1995). It forms the start of a trilogy which continues with Path of the Sacred Clown and Path of the Shaman. Written around 1995.
"Hoka Hey!" exclaims the Sioux warrior riding into battle, "Today is a good day to die." A true warrior dares to do the impossible. She dares death and she respects death, both. A story about Native American warriors puts it this way, "Warriors live with death at their side, and from the knowledge that death is with them, they draw the courage to face anything. The worst that can happen to us is that we have to die, and since that is already our unalterable fate, we are free; those who have lost everything no longer have anything to fear."1
The Path of the Sacred Warrior begins with the awareness that we are mortal beings, that we are going to die. Knowing this, we can see our lives in better perspective. Knowing this, we can act ALWAYS so that we will be able to die centered, beyond fear, at peace with what we have made from the stuff of our lives. The goal is to live our lives well in order to eventually die well, so that what is eternal about us (our Spirit?) will be set free. We must each come to terms with our own personal Deaths. For instance, I like to think that my body is offspring of an act of love between my Spirit and the Elemental world. I like to think that MY death will be a final consummation and bittersweet orgasmic consumption of that love!
The Sacred Warrior walks her path with her Death at her side. And her Death makes Herself available to the Sacred Warrior as an advisor, teacher, and friend. This relationship with her Death calls the Sacred Warrior to be who she truly is, to live her life fully and completely, to use the power-from-within. As Agnes Whistling Elk says in the story Medicine Woman, "You can only be dangerous when you accept your death. Then you become dangerous in spite of anything. You must learn to see the awake ones. A dangerous woman can do anything because she will do anything. A powerful woman is unthinkable because the unthinkable belongs to her. Everything belongs to her, and anything is possible."2
In Native American lore, stories of warriors often reveal a childhood filled with inner turmoil and outward aggressiveness. Baby warriors are keen to explore the world and they don't want anyone or anything to get in their way. They may fight with their siblings or test the parents mercilessly. Warriors often seem to have come into life with an excess of energy. Their temperaments are fiery; their wills, strong. A young warrior who is thwarted in her physical expression will almost certainly compensate with surplus mental or emotional energy.
The story of the Tewa Cottonwood Warchief, Pohaha, illustrates this theme. Always angry when young, she rebelled when coaxed to do domestic work. Finally, her tribe consented to let her go to battle, where she distinguished herself mightily. After that, it was said, her constant anger disappeared and "she became a good woman."3 Her name, Pohaha, means "wet-between-the-legs-ha-ha" because of her habit of pulling up her dress to taunt her enemies with the fact that she was a woman! Eventually, the great Pohaha was elected "Warchief" by the elders. As War Chief, she would have to lead her people against enemies, protect them from sickness and treat them as her children. She took her charge seriously; and when she died, she left her mask and said it would represent her even if she was dead. "I will be with you all the time," she told her tribe, "The mask is me."4 The Cottonwood people keep her mask, and tell her story, to this day.
A young warrior is hard to control. But once that warrior is trusted with a challenging task, she is on her way to SELF-CONTROL. Native Americans begin the warrior-training with hunting lessons, along with basic wilderness-survival skills. They teach the young huntress a respect for her "prey." They show the young one that to learn from one's Death (the Ultimate Huntress), one needs to develop humility, patience, and an ability to keep a clear head—or, at least, to clear one's head, fast! The wilderness-survival training is a good idea for a Sacred Warrior—it gives her a true knowledge of her world, and of her relationship to it. It gives her Nature as her first Opponent. She learns that one cannot "compete" with such a powerful Opponent. Yet she also learns that this Opponent is a mirror to her own heart, and as such deserves respect and, even, love. From this realization, she goes on to learn self-defense and self-reliance.
Obviously, this is a path of courage. Native Americans call their warriors "Braves" for a reason. The more courage one showed, the more honored the warrior! "Braves" (both female and male) who rode into battle did not seek to kill the opposition. It was considered much braver to humiliate ("count coup on") the opposition by getting close enough to simply touch, or to capture the opposition's ceremonial pipe, war bonnet, shield or bow.5 To kill another warrior was considered a dubious accomplishment. To kill "innocents" was considered cowardly. In ancient days, it is said that great warriors would not attack a camp, but would enter and be welcomed. They would be put up in the "enemy tipi" to rest and be fed. Then all the young warriors of the camp would come to challenge the great warrior, hoping to "count coup" but usually just lucky to hold their own. No doubt they received a few lessons in the holding.
"Capturing" (what we might call "stealing") became one of the greatest warrior feats. Since there was no idea of property, it was more like "reclaiming." This is where the White insult of "Indian-giver" originated. Entities (like horses) or places (like a forest or a plain) could not be "owned" by anyone; therefore they belonged to those who took care of them.
In the modern world, our battles are usually fought in somewhat different arenas. Many writers and re-claimers of Herstory are Sacred Warriors, realizing that "The pen is mightier than the sword". "Say you were a writer and you decided to pick Anaïs Nin as your worthy opponent. You tried to beat her in creativity and ideas. In a sense, you would use her to see yourself. You don't want her to fail—you would lose your model. What does a medicine person want you to do? They want to give away to you until you have power so that you can become a worthy opponent to another worthy warrior."6 What IS opposition, anyway? This question is central to the Sacred Warrior's Path. It does NOT involve contempt. It is wasteful to feel contempt for people or other entities. A Native American warrior speaking to a group of White Americans put it this way, "You people have such anger and fear and contempt for your so-called criminals that your crime rate goes up and up. Your society has a high crime rate because it is in a perfect position to receive crime. You should be working WITH these people, not in opposition to them. The idea is to have contempt for crime, not for people. It's more useful to think of every individual as another YOU—to think of every individual as a representative of the universe. Even the worst criminal in life imprisonment sitting in his cell—the center of him is the same seed, the seed of the whole creation."7
So what is the feeling that the Sacred Warrior cultivates within herself? Detachment is important. "Everyone who wants to follow the warrior's path has to rid herself of fixation: the compulsion to possess and hold onto things."7 It is easy to see that walking with one's Death at one's side can help one remember that "you can't take it with you." Besides, a fluid warrior needs to be free of burdens, needs to be free to think clearly, and move at a moment's notice. She also needs to be able to live in the present. In order to cultivate detachment, a warrior develops her sense of humor and a great sense of resourcefulness. These become her shields. She can feel her strong and passionate emotions and then let them pass THROUGH her. She can laugh at herself.
But there is a danger in detachment. A warrior can become so self-reliant that she becomes arrogant and uncompromising. She becomes incapable of compassion. What brings the "sacredness" to the path of the Sacred Warrior is LOVE. To the Sacred Warrior, Love is felt when the heart is open. Great warriors are said to have great hearts, and even the strongest, most skilled, most dangerous warrior becomes Sacred when she puts herself in service (as a Guardian or a Champion) to a child, a needy group, a holy place, a worthy task. MOST of all, the Sacred Warrior is at the service of those who truly require her. She does this not for them, but for herself. Her love and service are free, without attachment or expectation—unconditional. She knows, perhaps more than anyone else, that to truly love is the most dangerous and most daring act a Sacred Warrior can perform. An Apache maiden, Lozen, became a powerful and respected warrior. Expert in riding and roping, she was always able to bring back enemy horses. She was dedicated to helping her people. It is said that once she found herself alone in enemy territory with a young mother and her baby. She spent several gruelling months leading them to safety, when she could have just as easily rode away by herself. As she matured in her compassion, she began to develop the uncanny ability to determine the location of the enemy, and became a welcome voice at tribal strategy meetings.9 Throughout Native American lore, there are many such stories of big-hearted Braves. While they are much admired and honored for their hunting, fighting, and survival skills, they are even more respected and loved for their compassion and kindness.
In the past, Sacred Warriors battled for the protection and survival of their tribes, and for personal satisfaction. This is still true, but in our Age, the definition of "tribe" can vary. The Sacred Warrior who travels on "A path with a heart" must find her own sacred battlefield. The fight may be for justice, or peace, or respect—whether personally or publicly. Many Sacred Warriors fulfil the Native American prophecy of the "Warriors of the Rainbow" that says, "When the Earth is sick and dying, all over the world people will rise up as Warriors of the Rainbow to save the planet."10 This prophecy is furthered by the words of a modern Native American/Eskimo who says, "Great are the tasks ahead, terrifying are the mountains of ignorance and hate and prejudice, but the Warriors of the Rainbow shall rise as on the wings of the eagle to surmount all difficulties. They will be happy to find that there are now millions of people all over the earth ready and eager to rise and join them in conquering all barriers that bar the way to a new and glorious world! We have had enough now of talk. Let there be deeds."11
1.Quote from Don Juan, Yaqui Medicine Man, from The Fire From Within by Carlos Casteneda, 1984, Pocket Books, Simon & Schuster, Inc., NY.
2.Agnes Whistling Elk, from Lynn Andrews' book Medicine Woman, 1981, Harper & Row, NY.
3.From the book Daughters of the Earth by Carolyn Niethammer, 1977, MacMillan Publishing Co., NY.
5.Indians of North America by Geoffrey Turner, 1977, Blandford Press.
6.Agnes Whistling Elk, from Medicine Woman.
7.Mad Bear, from Rolling Thunder by Doug Boyd, 1974, Dell Publishing Company.
8.La Gorda, quoted from Carlos Casteneda's book, The Second Ring of Power, 1977, Simon & Schuster, NY.
9.Daughters of the Earth, Niethammer.
10.Greenpeace literature.
11.William Willoya, Warriors of the Rainbow: Strange and Prophetic Dreams of the Indians, 1962, Naturegraph Publishers, P.O. Box 1075, Happy Camp, CA 96039.
Sun, May 17, 2015 - 9:34 AM — permalink - 0 comments - add a comment
Teaching from the Peacock AngelAlign with All, with All-That-Is,
Sync with the Cosmic Sea,
Know yourself as Rainbow Light
Sun Child Moon Child we!
Love each other righteously
As I have ever taught.
Now is the time to effervesce;
Untie the ancient knot.
Run with the wind, so wild, so free.
Stand still upon Earth's prow.
Let fire be your passion, leading you,
And water cool your brow.
Time to set sail and ride the stream
Through center Star supreme.
Time to open all our Eyes
And dance alive the dream!
Sun, October 7, 2012 - 8:26 AM — permalink - 0 comments - add a comment
EXPLORING DIMENSIONSWebster defines the word "dimension" as:
Measure in one direction; specifically, one of three coordinates
determining a position in space or four coordinates determining
a position in space and time. (Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary,
10th edition, 1997.)
"Coordinates" can help us know "where we are." When we know "where we are," we can decide "where we want to go." We can also know our relationship with other places. For the 3rd dimension, the three coordinates are: length, width, and depth. For the 4th dimension, the coordinates are length, width, depth, and time.
Most of us usually put our focus in the 3rd Dimension, and sometimes, more and more, in the 4th Dimension.
According to NonEuclid Geometry:
"Many present-day cosmologists feel that we live in a three dimensional universe that is curved into the 4th dimension. No one can point to the 4th dimension, yet it is all around us. The 4th dimension is a direction different from all the normal directions. It is neither up nor down, left nor right, in nor out.
"Some people say that Time is the 4th dimension. This is, in a sense, true. However, time is not the 'different direction' of which I was speaking. If we want to count time as a dimension, then we should say that we live in a four dimensional space-time that is curved into the 5th dimension!"
On the same page that I have referenced, there is a fictional description of a story, written by Edwin Abbott, called "Flatland." Flatland is a two-dimensional world where things are completely flat, existing only in the dimensions of length and width. In the story, a Sphere comes to Flatland to teach the Flatlanders about the 3rd dimension!
Says the Sphere:
"I am not a plane Figure, but a Solid. You call me a Circle; but in reality I am not a Circle, but an indefinite number of Circles, of size varying from a Point to a Circle of thirteen inches in diameter, one placed on the top of the other. When I cut through your plane as I am now doing, I make in your plane a section which you, very rightly, call a Circle. For even a Sphere - which is my proper name in my own country - if he manifest himself at all to an inhabitant of Flatland - must needs manifest himself as a Circle." [Abbott-1884]
Now....Flatland does not have to be flat. A two-dimensional universe can exist upon a curved surface that is curved into the 3rd dimension. This universe would not appear curved to the
Flatlanders since all objects in it (including their own bodies) curve with the two-dimensional surface.
Similarly, a three-dimensional universe can "curve into" or "bulge into" the fourth dimension. This is because matter and energy, and their transformations into each other, have an impact on space. Think of a Medieval Cathedral....like Chartres Cathedral, for instance. Think of a labyrinth. Think of "spacial anomolies." Think of dousing. Think of ley-lines. Think of Feng Shui. Think of a Geodesic dome. Think of a womb. These are examples of how space can be transformed by matter and energy.
Some say that the 4th is the dimension of "Time"
others call it the dimension of "Architecture." Some say it is the dimension of "The Internet." www.math.brown.edu/~banchof...PAC-9603/
So...here's a question for you: What if something from the 4th Dimension appeared to us? What would it look like? Well, if it were a bunny, we might just see its EARS. Or perhaps we'd see its FLUFFY TAIL. This all reminds me of the Sufi parable of the blind men and the elephant. Each blind man touched a different part of the elephant: One touched the trunk and thought it was a snake; one touched the leg and thought it was a tree; one touched the side and thought it was a wall; one touched the ear and thought it was a fan, etc. Each of them had a different experience of the elephant, but only all of them TOGETHER could understand the WHOLE EXPERIENCE of the elephant.
It could be that we encounter the fourth dimension when we are at "power sites" on the Earth--places where there is a special energy operating that seems to change our consciousness when we step into the energy field. While there, we are in a space that brings "sacred geometry" into play. The Sirians knew about this, and taught the art of sacred geometry in many ways throughout their relationship with our dimensions. They knew about the natural sites, and they also taught that matter and energy can be manipulated to produce "interdimensional doorways," places where one dimension "bleeds into" another dimension. And, as Phil Mayhew puts it: "Gravity itself is not a force.... It is geometry.... and the universe ain't expanding, it's just curved a funny way."
Perhaps geometry and "force" ("The Force?") are part of the same thing in the 4th dimension.
When one exists in the 4th Dimension, one is able to identify oneself as a Multi-Dimensional Self with Aspects spread out across Time and Space. The Aspects include the Past-Lives (which are really simply lives in different "places" in the 4th dimension). They also include Parallel Lives and Counterparts...which are simply Aspects that share the same Time-Frame. Jane Roberts has described 4th Dimensional Consciousness well in her book: "Adventures in Consciousness: An Introduction to Aspect Psychology."
The Aspects in their patterns across time and space have a "structure," an "architecture" to them. In the 4th dimension, one senses the "shape" and the "structure"---the "geometry" of one's expressions through time. The 4th dimension is made up of energy fields and structures that are usually invisible to us in the 3rd dimension...yet we DO feel their effects. What we get, when we view the complete structure of OurSelves in Time is a sense of a Self that is abiding and ageless. We may also get a "tone" or a "cosmic note" that defines this Self.
The SOURCE of that Self exists in the 5th Dimension. The 5th Dimension has been called "The Border of Infinity." It is a place of "ETERNAL NOW" where we can see the whole pattern of being AS IT MOVES. This pattern can be described as "The Eternal Dance," or, perhaps, "The Spiral Dance." The pattern is often seen as a spiral, advancing, yet ever surpassing itself each time it circles 'round.
The 5th Dimensional consciousness is consciousness of Hyperspace.
It is also the consciousness of the Holographic Universe.
Some also call this "Christ Consciousness."
Others call it "Gaia Consciousness."
One gathers all the energy fields to which one belongs as projections of ONE'S OWN COSMIC DANCE. It is an ecstatic consciousness, and one that we touch and, in our present state, have trouble holding on to! When we have tasted of this BEINGNESS, we often long to return. However, we must simply wait for the moment when Eternity itself opens and takes our small drop of consciousness into its limitless ocean of BEINGNESS. Or, in another metaphor, when our small candle is forgotten when it becomes part of the Sun Itself!!!
The 5th dimension is full of paradox....of light that can be BOTH particle AND wave. A lover looks into his beloved's eyes and sees himself there. Paradox is somehow mysteriously resolved in the 5th dimension.
So, if the coordinates of the 4th dimension are: length, width, depth, and time, what are the coordinates of the 5th dimension? Obviously, length, width, depth, time.....and what else? Well, I'm going to call this 5th coordinate-- that certain "Je n'sais quois." That mystery. Maybe it's coincidence, or synchronicity. Or perhaps it's the knowledge that "all is one." According to Castaneda, Shaman Don Juan called it "The Knock of the Spirit." One cannot "conjure up" the Fifth Dimension....one must surrender to it! Yet, it is a voluntary surrender, not coerced in the least! Never controlled. Something like falling in love. Here's a poem by Rumi (a poet very familiar with the 5th dimension!) that seems to illustrate the entry into the 5th dimension:
I've lived on the lip of insanity
wanting to know reasons,
knocking on the door, it opens.
I've been knocking from the inside!
One cannot really prepare oneself to meet the 5th Dimension. However, if one has strong intent, the 5th dimension will open itself. Jesus of Nazareth had a saying: "Knock and it shall open to you." So you've got to meet it halfway. You have to ask for it, open yourself to it, pray for it, get oneself in a perceptive AND receptive frame of mind. The 5th dimensional consciousness is both perceptive AND receptive. You will find, when that door opens, that you have been there all along....but you have just not been "aware" of it!
The 4th dimension sets up the "structure," and the 5th dimension is the "eternal spiritual" that enters that structure and vivifies it. The "structure" can be a ritual, a series of lives, a city, a story, a sacred cave, even, a car! The "structure" is worked out through time.....and the "eternal spiritual" enters and everything changes! The 5th dimension is beyond time and so is able to insert itself at critical places in the structure....radiating from "the CENTER," "the HEART." When we are in the 5th dimension, we come from the heart.
So, what would something from the 5th dimension look like to us here in the 3rd dimension? Well, most likely we wouldn't see it. We might get a slight glimpse of "something," or perhaps we'd get a whiff of a smell that was vaguely familiar to us. Perhaps we would think we saw something (like a shadow that looks solid), and then decide we didn't see it. Or perhaps we'd have a feeling sweep through us....not being sure just where that feeling was coming from. My 5th dimensional guides have told me that they manifest in the 3rd dimension through the physical properties of "light upon water." I think this has something to do with THEIR NATURE, and also something to do with the feelings that "light upon water" evokes within ME.
Now, if we are in the 4th dimension, our experience of encountering the 5th dimension would change. We would probably see a "vision," or feel transported with joy simply seeing the beauty of Nature, or have a sudden realization. We might somehow "know" the key to a problem in our life, or in the lives of those we care about. We might have a dream in which we discovered something wonderful. We might sense a spirit-guide and perhaps begin to hear their words-of-wisdom, or see "colors" which have special meaning to us in that dimension. Later, when we would return to the 3rd dimension, we might translate these experiences into art, or music, or poetry, or dance.....or we might be able to listen to and appreciate with more compassion those people in our lives who want to share with us. The creative output would most likely have an effect on those who are receptive enough to glimpse the 4th dimensional experience therein, and therefore, become a "doorway" too!
As we become more and more accustomed to functioning in the 4th dimension, we are able to create our art RIGHT THERE, with more of an immediate REALIZATION of our experience and being. We are able to let go of a lot of baggage and just work with the "essentials," bringing us closer to the Source of our inspiration, and making our art and our relationships more focused in the Present, more conscious and powerful.
Obviously, the more we can access the 4th dimension, the easier will it be for us to perceive the 5th dimension. And, perhaps someday, we will be able to create IN the 5th dimension.
I am not saying that one dimension is somehow "better" than another dimension; I am simply saying they are different. They each have their "coordinates," and in each dimension, we use these coordinates to tell us "where we are." Each dimension (each place) has its uses, and the main quality that is essential to develop, as a Multidimensional Being, is the quality of "focus." When you know "where you are," be focused and aware. "Be here now, or get there later," as Robin Williams has said. ;-)
Focus in the 3rd dimension can be honed and strengthened by keeping it "simple." "Chop Wood, Carry Water," as the Zen saying goes. Doing something with total attention in the 3rd dimension strengthens the spirit and brings out the beauty of the 3rd dimension.
Focus in the 4th dimension is more like a Meditative Focus where a "witness" watches the thoughts flow through the mind without latching on to any one thought. If one wants to later focus on one thought or subject later, one can simply note it and come back to it when one is in the 3rd dimension again. One can take that one subject and also meditate on THAT, bringing the 4th dimensional focus on it and seeing it with the "witness." This kind of meditation would be taking an image or a sound and focusing upon that, while letting all other thoughts go.
It is possible to develop the quality of "split-focus," where one engages in the experience and still keeps a "witness" consciousness out there to watch over everything. Many priests/priestesses and shamans, drummers, musicians, dancers have developed this kind of dimensional "straddling." There is also a kind of "split-focus" that manifests after the event. For instance, you may be in a drumming circle and really get into the music, yet you do not have any other perceptions at the time. But later, perhaps in listening to a person talk, or listening to crickets or something, you have new memories about the event...perhaps you suddenly remember that a blue light came out of your drum. This is simply the difference in memories of events of the 3rd dimension and memories of the 4th dimension, which can happen simultaneously.
We use "coordinates" to tell us "where we are," or where our "focus" is. Castaneda (quoting Don Juan) would say it's where our "assemblage point" is. We are the ones who assemble ourselves to function in each dimension.
Things are done differently in each dimension, to take advantage of the unique coordinates of each dimension. Take for instance, the process of Healing. In the 3rd dimension, you might use herbs, physical therapy, surgery....many methods. In the 4th dimension, you might enter into a meditation and search your body in a visualization, then send healing energy to the parts that need healing. Or, you might meditate on a past life where your physical problems may have originated, and suddenly find yourself healed, simply by realizing that you can let go of the past. In the 5th dimension, you might feel swept away into a powerful current and feel that God was touching you; a miracle would occur and you would be completely healed.
These healing procedures can overlap in dimensions, too. When they do this, they are even more effective. For instance, the herbs that you would use in the 3rd dimension might have spiritual "personalities" (like "deva's") who would help you utilize the herbs' special powers. If you could somehow come in contact with the herb-deva (perhaps in automatic writing, or by simply sitting by the growing herb and "listening," you would partake of a 4th dimensional healing, too. Or, you could enter the 4th dimension in a "sacred place," and feel the "eternal spirit" come in to the space and merge with you, for a miraculous healing. It is very possible that, at the moment of healing, someone looking at you from the 3rd dimension might not see you! Or perhaps they would see you differently….as if a bright light was shining within you, or around you.
We Multidimensional Beings, exist in many dimensions at once. Obviously, we are not aware of each dimension with equal focus. And it is not necessary that we have "equal focus." Think of it as cooking on a stove with 4 burners and an oven. When you have something simmering "on the back burner," you might be focused on something else (those veggies you are sauteeing in the front frying pan), but you do have an awareness of it being there. And if you're NOT cooking at the moment, it is OK to let your focus go.
The more we develop our consciousness and our focus, the more we are able to become aware of the qualities of each dimension and how we can use and enjoy BEING in that dimension. We can become "well-coordinated" Multidimensional Beings when we bring our different Aspects into some common action, movement, or condition. Eventually, we will learn to coordinate all of our Aspects along the lines of our intent....and we will line up our intent in each dimension.
What is your intent? What kind of meal are you cooking up? And who are you feeding? And what do you use as fuel? And what happens if, some day, you have all burners on "high" and the oven on "broil"? Will you blow the fuse????? Or will you be able to handle it.....? Will you be able to sustain that exquisitely high energy and feel it activate a whole new dimensional banquet?
Alignment along the dimensions is inevitable. Like Kundalini rising up the spine, igniting each chakra along the way, we are asked to align our intent with the intent of the Universe....which, if you look at it in a 5th dimensional way, is US anyway! This light and heat is the power of LIFE itself and dimensional alignment will obviously create new life....just as a plant grows from a seed; the seed will fall away and become compost for the plant which pushes out into the NEW SUN. Anything is possible--so let's create something WONDROUS together!
Thu, July 21, 2011 - 11:19 AM — permalink - 9 comments - add a comment
LET'S DANCE!Who can best me?
Who can challenge me?
Who is not afraid of me?
Come forward now.
Don't be shy.
Are you not strong?
Are you not brilliant?
Are you not skilled?
What fun it is
To match my strength with yours!
Who is up to it?
Who will take my energy,
And rival it with your own?
Know that I am Fire
That will transform you!
I am the Forge
That will temper your Steel
And refashion your Stone.
Give me your Anger!
Give me your Lust!
Give me your Passion,
Most of all!
Give me your Love.
I will use it to melt your Heart
And reshape your Soul
So that you can meet any Challenge,
So that you can always triumph.
OR you can become like me,
A fluid warrior,
Holding on to nothing,
Expecting nothing,
If you dare, let's become One,
Merging our Passion together
To create a new Spiritual Sun
That dances in cosmic Trance-formation.
I might be Red-Eyed now,
But one day, if you join with me,
My eyes will shine
All colors of the Rainbow!!!
Fri, April 1, 2011 - 1:20 PM — permalink - 12 comments - add a comment
REMEMBERING THE FUTURE (Higher Mathematics, Part Deux)I remember that I was my own Ancestor.
I remember that I will be my own Descendant.
I am an Ancient Future Historian
Ready to wake up in a million forms
Or just one, according to free will
For the good of all.
But how to keep that Awareness?
How to become and remain Conscious?
How to fly on the wings of Aliveness?
How to spin and vibrate without disintegrating?
I listen for the message I left for myself,
Sacred Twin,
So many eons ago......
So many eons in the future....
Did you say I must become small, like you?
Must I lose my worries and judgments?
Must I forget how important I am?
Must I become open to all possibilities?
(Oh, my dear ones...
Disappear JUST ENOUGH
to harmonize with Nature
with All-That-Is.
It's easy; let go at little at a time
Until you are
Holding on loosely
As the rigid form is consumed,
The flowing form is released;
This is the meaning of transformation.
It is a return to the liberating simplicity
Akin to the primal nature of wild animals,
young children,
and our earliest Ancestresses.
Freedom comes from letting go of expectation,
Learning to trust in one's Rainbow Body
To find its own vibration, balance and harmony.)
I listen to the prophecies that blossom
Into Multidimensionality
Where we all dance together as One.
Humility is endless.
Pride is loving who I am....
Perfect, as I am.
God didn't make no junk DNA!
Did you say we need to be here and now?
Must we pay attention to what is real?
Must we be honest with ourselves and others?
Must we let our emotions flow, without holding on?
I listen to the Song of Myself
Echoing and harmonizing with the
Songs of Myself from uncountable aspects.
All my relations.........all the aspects of Me.
I am not God as much as I am God-ing.
Did you say Eternity is in the NOW?
Did you say Everywhere is in the HERE?
Are we playing Pretend games?
Are we again becoming an I-Mage-I-Nation?
I listen to my Ancestors
Who are also my Descendants
And we touch souls in gentle affections.
Gifting each other with Light
Along the way.
(Relax, now, and let yourself
Expand into another Dimension.
Let your "I" become flexible.
Your Twin is waiting for you
Alive and Awake and Aware.
Welcome yourself home.
It's Time.
Time to remember the future.
Time to open a new EYE.
Time to learn to fly.
I and I.
Ay Yi Yi!
Ignite the Inner Fire, the Rainbow,
Of Love,
And Ascend into
It's easy as 1 - 2 - 3!)
Thu, January 20, 2011 - 11:23 AM — permalink - 3 comments - add a comment
Death from a Short Distance"The Path of the Sacred Warrior begins with the awareness that we are mortal beings, that we are going to die. Knowing this, we can see our lives in better perspective. Knowing this, we can act ALWAYS so that we will be able to die centered, beyond fear, at peace with what we have made from the stuff of our lives. The goal is to live our lives well in order to eventually die well, so that what is eternal about us (our Spirit?) will be set free. We must each come to terms with our own personal Deaths. For instance, I like to think that my body is offspring of an act of love between my Spirit and the Elemental world. I like to think that MY death will be a final consummation and bittersweet orgasmic consumption of that love!"
As Death sparkles at the edges of Life, I see
The strangely beautiful dark loving Mystery,
The culmination of all I am and all I will be,
The Star Gate into the unfathomable Energy.
Some night when the world sighs and gives me leave
And the Elf who Guides me touches my sleeve
I will slip so easy between the magical weave
And travel to somewhere you wouldn't believe.....
My past life selves will smile, and welcome me
And my loved ones will be there, too, so free;
And we will all dance and sing with glee
In celebration of an Art and a Discovery.
In the awakening dawn, we will be as One
And you can bet, we'll have some fun,
Telling stories around the campfire of the Sun
As the planets play, their gypsy musics, spun!
Each star, in turn, will shine its light,
Using the shadows for contrast and might,
Merging with the Soul of All-That-Is bright,
All harmonizing in a Song of Delight.
How did you meet this challenge, and that?
How did you express your deep insight?
How did you act, when given a fright?
How did you feel when your Spirit took flight?
Nothing is lost in my Soul's memory,
The question is not "to be" but "to be me."
And "me" is more than I can see
I need many more lives to reach Ecstasy!
Again, Death sparkles and takes me in,
Consuming me, bones and blood and skin,
Yin to my Yang, Yang to my Yin,
Loving me completely till I'm ready again......
Tue, November 16, 2010 - 12:55 PM — permalink - 11 comments - add a comment
Cosmic Mystic Surf ReportCongratulations!
You've completed the first level of Dimensional Surfing.
It's time to go to the next level.
Don't worry.
You ARE a beginner here.
But you already know some things.
You know how to relax.
You know how to "hold on loosely."
You know how to align with the Wave.
All these things will serve you well.
Commit yourself to the Jump.
Jump just BEFORE the Wave.
If you do it right,
It will carry you and give you a great ride.
If you do it wrong,
Wipeout can be refreshing.
It can immerse you in your Milieu.
It can clean you and shake you up,
And give you a new perspective.
But don't dwell on it.
Crawl out onto the beach,
And begin again.
The purpose of this level is to
Completely align with the Energy
Of Water and Wave,
Of Particle and Flow,
Everything clicking into place.
Moving and yet,
Perfectly still.
Both at the same time.
At this point, there is no time.
You are One with the Wave
In the Zone,
In the Portal.
In the Eye.
Stay there as long as you can.
Expand within the Eternal Now.
Eventually, with practice,
You will see the others in the Zone with you.
You will see the Light that connects you
And expands you.
Portions of us are recognizing ourselves
As a planetary consciousness,
A water-being consciousness,
A Planet-Water-Spirit Consciousness
That is in itself a beacon to the rest of the universe.
This level is for healing
The programmed illusion of separateness
And feeling our connection, our wholeness,
In ecstasy.
This level is for expanding our "I"
To planetary proportions,
Networked together into One.
Experience yourself moving through this network like a river,
Streaming beyond the limits,
Traversing the Planetary Ocean like some
You might get a panic-attack.
You might feel you are losing yourself
In the vast expanse of All-That-Is.
But you are not losing yourself.
You are gaining a new Identity.
You are gaining a new "Eye."
You are seeing the reality for the first time.
The next level
The next dimension
The next evolutionary step.
Surrender to the Love in the Water,
Always free.
Take it easy.
Take a chance.
It's the Big One.
Just keep breathin'.
Mon, October 11, 2010 - 1:14 PM — permalink - 10 comments - add a comment
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Leslie Sansone - Walk at Home - Walk Weight Loss Bootcamp Kit
High intensity interval training takes walking to the next level.Top Rated Diet Pills of 2016
Leslie Sansone's Walk at Home - Walk Weight Loss Bootcamp Kit t is a 45-minute workout covering three full miles with high-intensity, bootcamp-style interval training. Coupled with short bursts of walking, this workout also incorporates two resistance bands for strength-building.
EDITOR'S TIP: Combine this supplement with a proven fat burner as Sletrokor for better results
- Led by walking fitness expert Leslie Sansone
- Can be performed from the comfort of home home
- Easy to follow instruction
- Combines cardio and strengthening
- Some users may struggle to keep up with the fast pace and intensity
Walk at Home - Walk Weight Loss Bootcamp Kit is a fitness program and does not offer nutritional guidance.EXERCISE
The Walk at Home - Walk Weight Loss Bootcamp Kit is 45 minutes of intense calorie-burning cardio. The interval-training style will have your heart pumping and boost your metabolism for the ultimate in toning and slimming. In addition to the warm up, cool down, and ab toning conclusion set, the video consists of short bursts of three-minute walks and two-minute firming sessions for a workout that truly works!CONCLUSION
The Leslie Sansone Walk at Home - Walk Weight Loss Bootcamp Kit includes two resistance bands for using with the 45-minute interval training session. Combining high intensity walking with strengthening, toning, and an ab workout, this DVD builds on Leslie's upbeat walking style to incorporate a greater challenge and expanded focus for a more complete, in-depth experience.Common Misspellings
User Feedback(Page 1 of 1, 1 total comments)
I am curious to know if anyone can give an estimate of how many calories are burned when I do a workout. I love the boot camp video - but if I am tracking steps and calories burned it would be helpful to have a guestimate.
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Leslie Sansone - Walk at Home - Walk Weight Loss Bootcamp Kit?

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Department of Special Education & Communication Disorders
Special education teachers work with students who have learning, mental, emotional and physical disabilities, including speech and hearing disorders. In some cases, they ensure that lessons and strategies are modified to accommodate the student. In other cases, they help students with basic literacy and math skills, communication skills and independent living skills.
Our department offers programs designed to meet the interests of undergraduate and graduate students interested in working with individuals who have special needs.
BA, College of the Holy Cross
MA, Assumption College
EdM, PhD, Harvard University
BA, Assiut University
MS, Worcester State College
MA, PhD, Cairo University
BA, MEd, PhD, Boston College
Jon L. Cash received his doctorate from Mississippi State University and joins the Bridgewater State University Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders. He will teach our graduate students in Applied Curriculum Development for Learners with Special Needs: PreK-8 (SPED 504), Curriculum Development for Learners with Severe Disabilities II (SPED 525) and Seminar in Special Education (SPED 550), as well as provide supervision to our student teachers. His research and scholarship areas focus on self-efficacy beliefs and the effectiveness of professional development, self-efficacy beliefs and the processing speed of children with disabilities, and autism. His favorite activities include reading, writing, watching Southeastern Conference sports and cooking.
BS, PhD, University of Massachusetts at Amherst
MEd, Northeastern University
BA, Hiram College
MEd, PhD, Kent State University
BA, Stonehill College
MEd, Bridgewater State College
DEd, Boston University
BFA, Fordham University
MS, College of Saint Rose
PhD, University of Albany
Susan H. Gray earned her doctorate in Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences from the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center in New York City. She is a certified teacher, reading specialist and speech-pathologist. She will teach Introduction to Communication Sciences and Disorders (COMD 220), Language Development in Young Children (COMD 250), Understanding Language and Linguistics within the Clinical Process (COMD 391) and Clinical Procedures: An Overview (COMD 480). Her research won the 2013 Jeanne S. Chall Fellowship from the International Literacy Association. She found that adult struggling readers, taught academic vocabulary within a civics curriculum, made greater word reading gains after analyzing words' Latin-Greek, morpheme and syllable structures than after studying whole words within multiple sentence contexts.
She enjoys reading, hiking, traveling and singing.
BS, University of Rhode Island
MEd, Bridgewater State College
DEd, Boston College
Ed.D, TESOL
BS, MEd, Frostburg State College
MA, West Virginia University
EdD, University of Alabama
BA, Bridgewater State College
MS, PhD, Emerson College
The department's programs include a BSE degree in Special Education (Moderate Disabilities, Severe Disabilities or Communication Disorders), a five-year dual licensure program (BSE in Elementary Education/M.Ed in Special Education), a minor in special education and communication disorders, and a minor in communication disorders. We also offer special education licensure programs and M.Ed programs in Special Education and Speech-Language Pathology.
We encourage our students to be both ambitious and highly dedicated, because the demand for their skills is substantial. Our graduates pursue successful careers as special education teachers in public and private schools, speech pathologists, audiologists, speech and hearing therapists, counselors, consultants and school administrators.
For more information on programs see our Catalog.
Special Education and Communication Disorders Bridgewater State University Hart Hall, Room 220 90 Burrill Avenue Bridgewater, MA 02325 Tel: 508.531.1226 Fax: 508.531.1771


text:
ENUM is a standard adopted by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) that uses the domain name system (DNS) to map telephone numbers to Web addresses or uniform resource locators (URL). The goal of the ENUM standard is to provide a single number to replace the multiple numbers and addresses for an individual's home phone, business phone, fax, cell phone, and e-mail.
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The ENUM standard is a joint effort of Telcordia and Verisign. Every toll-free call in the United States depends on Telecordia software. Verisign is the leader in translating over 24 million .com, .net, and .org domain names on the Internet. Verisign is also a leader in Internet security.
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