Recent Sunday Spiritual Celebration Notes
Black Elk believed he had an obligation to "help to bring my people back into the sacred hoop, that they might again walk the red road in a sacred manner pleasing to the powers of the universe that are one power."
In its final chapter, Black Elk Speaks, Black Elk poignantly reflects on the moment Red Cloud convinced him and others to surrender in the wake of Wounded Knee:
“And so, it was all over. I did not know then how much was ended. When I look back now from this high hill of my old age, I can still see the butchered women and children lying heaped and scattered all along the crooked gulch as plain as when I saw them with eyes still young. And I can see that something else died there in the bloody mud, and was buried in the blizzard. A people's dream died there. It was a beautiful dream.
And I, to whom so great a vision was given in my youth,—you see me now a pitiful old man who has done nothing, for the nation's hoop is broken and scattered.”
I spoke last week about Vision. We talked about, that, “A people without a vision perish”. Another translation says it this way: “A people without revelation will fall into unrighteous living, while they that cling to wisdom (Sixth, Sacred Teaching) will flourish.” (Proverbs 29:18)
Today (28 August) I want to explore and expand that teaching a bit deeper, and in a way that is more personally relevant.
We have established amongst ourselves, clearly we are among and in the presence of the Seventh Generation Prophecy (Crazy Horse, 1 September 1877) awakening, fulfillment and manifestation. Our’s, this generation, is the generation Crazy Horse foresaw as the generation of restoration and reconciliation, of healing and wholeness, of unity and harmony, of peace, and of love for and among all living things; not as this race or that race, this nation or that nation, this party or that party, rather we usher in a race and nation of humanity, when and where, at “that place within you, and I at that place within me, then, we shall be as one.” That is the destiny of the Seventh Generation. Simple as that.
But, as we saw in the laminations and angst Black Elk experienced when he said, reflecting on his life’s journey, “Now, here I sit on this high hill of my old age…and I who was given such a great vision of healing and prosperity for my people…realize now, I did nothing…..”
You see, a vision without the doing is nothing more than a illusion; a myth, a fantasy, if you will. An opportunity without engagement is wasted. The vision, or revelation, is a gift, a calling even, from the Creator, Great Spirit given sometimes individually, sometimes communally, sometimes corporately. And yet the vision, command, instruction, to “go” goes nowhere until the first step is taken. (Note even here how this reasoning follows the Seven Sacred Teachings: we begin by humbling ourselves [“If my people, who are called by my name will humble themselves, pray, and seek my face and turn from their evil/wicked ways, I will hear their prayer and heal their land,”], et al through the courage and to wisdom and love.). It takes great humility and honesty (integrity ) to be gifted a vision/revelation, it takes great courage to pursue less we succumb to the tragedy, sorrow, and sad legacy Black Elk assigned to himself. And, what a loss that would be.
So, here is a question: How big is your Vision? How big is your Divine Dream? How deep is your Revelation? The answer to that will likewise shape and define the depth of your prayer (note again the verse above “If my people will call on me, I will hear their prayer and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 4:17) (Clearly, and admittedly, we live in a world that Crazy Horse foresaw: a sick world of broken promises, disillusionment, longing for light again. We all have agreed likewise as we have spoken of this before.)
Something I have learned from my own experience of visionary prayer, is that when I make a good prayer for a need, for example, something in my life that I need to support and sustain myself, I have found that the object of that prayer is exactly what I get. While that is a magical and miraculous thing in and of itself, what if my dream, my vision, my prayer had been much bigger? Would the benefit of my prayer not be according to the measure or depth of the vision that informed the prayer?
What did I learn from that? I learned to dream bigger. I learned to dream deep. I learned to pray bigger, boldly and more confidently. I expanded my vision and it became bigger. Subsequently then, my prayer elevated to a much higher level, and my prayer was more in alignment with the agreement of my vision. My vision began to inform my prayer.
The Big Black Book offers this exultation: “Dear friends, it is my good prayer that you prosper in all things, and in all ways, even as your soul prospers.” (3rd John 1:2) Now, notice the key to that: “even as your soul prospers”. Know this: the soul is where your vision is birthed.
The soul is where your vision lies and rests - your Divine Agreement, your purpose, that which you chose to incarnate into this Earth Walk. You see, when you get that Divine connection aligned in your soul and in your spirit, that vision begins to cook. It begins to burn. It becomes brighter it becomes bigger.
And so should that expansion influence the depth, gratitude, greatness, and grandeur of your prayer. It is my belief that you can have all you desire and deserve, in a good way, or all of the reasons why you think you that you cannot of do not. But, you can not have both. You can have events or excuses. You can have results, or you can have reasons “why not”. Again, you can not have them both.
So, how big I your vision? How big is your dream? Are you walking in the humility, honesty, and courage it takes to be even gifted a vision, a revelation? How is your vision influencing your prayer?
Perhaps as you are hearing/reading this, you realize identity of your vision has not yet been revealed. If that is true for you, then go into your quiet place, within you, and begin to pray for a vision, or for clarity of purpose and intention of that which has already been given to you. In the old days, and still in many indigenous cultures, when a young boy reached the age of puberty he was taken into the wilderness by the Elders to prepare for and cry for a vision. This was called their Vision Quest (whanblachea in Lakota). This took great courage as it involved four days of isolation, fasting, refraining from water, and intense prayer, and often terrifying visitations When he returned to the Elders, the vision was communicated, told to them. The young boy, now a man, was given a new name, forever marking the advent and impartation of his vision.
If you find yourself yet without a vision, a Divine revelation, or if you seek or need clarity for/on that which you have been given already, go, pray, cry for your vision, your own clarity, and have the courage to do so, and then the courage to engage and implement it.
If we are to fulfill the ultimate destiny of the Seventh Generation Prophecy, we must be a people of great vision. Can you, will you dare to dream big?
I speak often, and even speak of my own journey as the Journey of Magic and Miracles. What do I mean by that? A miracle is that which occurs for and about which there is no logical, reasonable, scientific justification for its occurrence. The magic is that sense of awe that overwhelms you when the miracle occurs.
Creator invites us to dance in the garden of Magic and Miracles. He expects and requires of us only five things:
Show Up
Be Prepared
Pay Attention
Plant Good Seeds
Pray and Dream Big!