Introduction
“The searcher in the modern world no longer has a clear and pure path to follow and finds in its stead only foggy, vague distortions of the original truths. And so the searcher never fully understands where he or she is going; the successes are few and far between, and the results questionable. The greatest teachers of the spiritual world are still out there, not to be found in dusty books or hidden temples, but in the temples of creation and through vision….. What follows is not a field guide to the spiritual world….(but as) an introduction to the greatest teacher of all – nature, the vision, the Creator”.
“Others in this modern society, feeling the void of material existence, want desperately to believe in the magical world of spirit. In a way, their searching adds a certain mystical existence to their lives…. They search out endless religions, gurus, and philosophies. They play with crystals, meditation, songs, chants, ceremonies. They reach toward the customs and traditions of cultures other than their own mixing and matching, hoping to create out of it some personal religion or philosophy. But in the modern era, where results are immediate, people are rarely willing to dedicate the concentrated amounts of time and energy to just one path. They get bored quickly with anything that requires time and dedication. They want to be instant gurus, shamans, and healers, without paying the price…. When their quick fixes do not pan out, they are abandoned or lost, and the people once again return the their desperate searching”
Grandfather
“They had forced their religion upon the people, and though this religion held many truths spoken, rarely did the whites live the truths they espoused. Their black robes might speak of peace and love, but their lives were struggles of greed, power, and war.”
Fusion
“Grandfather said that there were only two types of people in the world, critics and doers…. Doers are the people that the critics criticize, because they are the ones doing. With doing there is living. Doers are the people who make change, who never criticize, because they are too busy doing.”
“I had been looking forward to exploring the lower swamps, and now the whole day was wasted, boring, and rather debilitation. I lacked energy and drive to do anything and chose to lie down and bemoan my imprisonment…. I decided to try to change my debilitation perception and to look at it as an adventure and a challenge…… I found that there was no such thing as a good or bad day; there is only kind of day we choose to look at.”
“We learned through the teachings of Grandfather and through survival, that we have within us a primitive self-a self that could be called upon for insight, or for power in a time of need. This is a basic self that all beings carry within; a primal self closest in kin to the spirit-that-moves-in-all-things. We learned that the only thing standing in the way of this inner primal self was logical thinking and the restriction of the society we lived in.”
The Trail
“Animals, like humans, make in life the mistakes that will ultimately lead the their death, either physically or on a spiritual and emotional level, as with this deer. People and animals that stay on the same paths in life will eventually wear themselves into ruts-a complacency to life born of the false security, comfort, and monotony of that path. Soon the ruts become so deep that they can no longer see over the sides. They see neither danger nor beauty, only the path before them, nor do they abandon that path so often traveled, for fear of losing their security and entering the land of the unknown.”
“He had stressed the use of the old customs, traditions, and ceremonies, and stressed following them precisely. Now he was contradicting himself….. He smiled “Custom, tradition, and ceremony are but tools for a spiritual path. Once learned they are used to make your own path. The only danger would be for those who did not learn the use of the tools fully and tried to walk a spiritual path. They would be thrashing aimlessly in the dark and eventually hurt themselves and others. That is the trouble with this modern world; everyone wants things too fast without taking the time to learn the tools before setting out on his or her journey. Anyone who has the tools and follows the paths of others will only meet a dead end and pain.”
The Veils
“Grandfather had often described what he perceived as the plight of modern society, a society decieved by its shallowness into confusing material acquisition with fulfillment and yet in turn frustrated by its haunting sens of lack. There is a spiritual world beyond the fleshly existence of modern man, a wold of the unseen and the eternal, a world that most people never really understand or seek to know. Certainly, he said, there were the meager attempts by modern man to reach this spiritual world, but at best, they were superficial, all too complicated with customs and traditions that no longer seemed to work. Most of modern society has lost its ability to see beyond the flesh and the logical thinking, which is its guiding force. Yet society so desperately seeks fulfillment outside the realms of that superficial flesh. It seemed to Grandfather that after man acquired the comforts of flesh and the heights of learning, he is then left lost and searching for more to life. He acquires more and more of the false gods of the flesh and mind, and he soon finds that the acquisitions of the flesh can give him no more. He seeks wilder forms of entertainment and toys, and nothing fulfills his most desperate yearnings or the emptiness inside of him.
In desperation he searches for a deeper meaning to life, but there are no answers. In frustration, he turns to drugs, alcohol, or sins of the flesh to quench his pain. Some end with killing themselves. Others realize that there must be more but do not know where to find it. Religions spring up, and philosophies that are only but a Band aid. Nothing really works for him. Modern man then grasps for straws, following anyone or anything that point the way to enlightenment, or playing with any spiritual toy that brings relief. In the end, non of these things will ever quench his inner fires of searching and loneliness. Even his children at an early age are realizing the futility of it all, feeling that there must be more for them than theoretical knowledge and owning. He is lost, desperate, and destined to live out his existence in exile from what life is all about, marking time and awaiting death to free him.
Grandfather felt that somewhere in man’s ancient history society lost its communication with the spiritual world and with the spirit-that0moves-in-all-things, the life force. Grandfather knew that man was a duality, part logical and physical, but mostly spiritual. The problem is that man has concentrated on mostly developing the logical mind, while allowing the spiritual consciousness to atrophy. Grandfather felt that man found it difficult to deal in the realms of the spirit and south the logical, as it was more provable, probable, and less work. This pursuit of the logical then followed mankind through the centuries and into modern times, where now he believes only in things manifest in science and knows nothing based on faith. Thus logical man began to persecute and eradicate all who dealt in the spiritual, considering them pagans, insane, or lunatics. The spiritual way of life interfered with man’s science and explanation, and showed the shallowness of society’s meager attempts at being religious.”
“Trying creates impossibilities, letting go creates what is desired….You believe that penetrating the veil is impossible, because that is what you have been told to believe. You have created that reality based on other people’s beliefs that there can be no world of spirit. Somehow, you think that it must be difficult to enter this realm and that you must suffer and try hard to get there. This then is what you have created. But when you have absolute faith, learn to let go completely and purely, then, and only the, will you touch the veil.”
Vision
Grandfather stressed the Vision Quest as being as equal in importance to our survival path as survival training, awareness, and asceticism. The Vision Quest was held in the highest reverence as the ultimate sacrifice of self. Indeed, the quest was more important than any other spiritual sacrifice, but it could not stand alone. Nevertheless, the Vision Quest did what could not be done with asceticism alone. It answered the deepest spiritual questions, directed our lives, and helped us transcend the realms of the flesh to the purity of spirit. The quest was the ultimate self-denial, requiring us to fast from all things familiar, including rational through. It was a “little death” that sacrificed the self for the wisdom of the grander things of life and spirit.
