Secret Prophecy of the Grandmothers
WE, THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF THIRTEEN INDIGENOUS GRANDMOTHERS, represent a global alliance of prayer, education and healing for our Mother Earth, all Her inhabitants, all the children, and for the next seven generations to come. We are deeply concerned with the unprecedented destruction of our Mother Earth and the destruction of indigenous ways of life. We believe the teachings of our ancestors will light our way through an uncertain future. We look to further our vision through the realization of projects that protect our diverse cultures: lands, medicines, language and ceremonial ways of prayer and through projects that educate and nurture our children.
Inuitlu allailu sisters, our time of sharing has come.
~granni~
In a magical valley, protected by the ancient spirits
of the towering Catskill Mountains, a sacred fire was
lit.
Surrounded by the golden woods and in the cool, still,
evening air of mid-October 2004, the flame initiated
an unprecedented and historic gathering of thirteen
indigenous Grandmothers from around the world, keepers
of their tribes' teachings from original times. The
Grandmothers had come to fulfill another ancient
prophecy, known by many of the world's indigenous
tribes: "When the Grandmothers from the four
directions speak, a new time is coming.”
The council, which had been spoken of in prophecy and
seen in visions since time immemorial, finally emerged
in the aftermath of 9/11. The Grandmothers'
participation in the council had been foretold to each
of them in different ways. When they were very young,
a few of the Grandmothers had been told by their
grandmothers that this was their destiny. All of the
Grandmothers had been invited long ago, in a time
before time as we know it, to meet at the coming of
the Great Turning to become a force for peace in the
world. Prophecy revealed to each one that they must
now share even their most secret and sacred ways with
the very people who have been their oppressors, as the
survival of humanity, if not the entire planet, is at
stake.
The urgency of the world's situation requires a global
response. The Grandmothers, living legends among their
people, represent tribes from the Arctic Circle; North,
South and Central America; Africa; Tibet; and Nepal.
As the wise women, curanderas, shamans and healers of
their tribes, they were bringing to the council new
visions and new prophecies for humanity, their tribes'
rich and varied sources of wisdom, and each tribe's
unique and secret teachings for living within the
Divine Order of all things.
Until recent history, in every part of the world,
communities of indigenous peoples functioned as if One
with their particular environment. As a result, the
many tribes of this earth mirrored the lands of their
origins and thus revealed the great diversity inherent
in humanity. The unique culture of each of the
thousands of indigenous tribes evolved from their
necessary participation with the animals, plants and
the climate of the land in which they lived.
Traditions, rituals, stories, art and music were
created that were specific to their place on Earth as
the flowers and trees found there. This is why
indigenous peoples say that if their connection to the
land is gone, as has happened to most Native
Americans, they are no longer who they were.
Some tribes, like the Cheyenne and Lakota, are taught
that their first language was given to them by the
animals and sounds of nature in their environment.
This first language is still used in ceremony and
ritual because according to tradition these sounds
have the power to open the doorway to the Spirit
World. Legends remind the tribes that all they know
they learned by observing the various families of
nature and that their role in return is to respect
Mother Earth and be Her caretaker. Such intimacy with
nature has enabled those who have remained on the land
of their ancestors to live from the land and still
maintain the Earth's balance for tens of thousands of
years.
Basic to each tribe's survival, the Grandmothers say,
was their ability not only to live in harmony with
nature but with one another. The strength of the tribe
was founded on family, and the well-being of each
family was essential to the well-being of the
community. Nature was seen as mirroring the different
roles within a family. The common wisdom was that we
are Spirit alive in the flesh. The Earth was seen as
the Great Mother, the giver and nurturer of life.
Because of their absolute dependence on nature,
indigenous peoples held that all of life was sacred.
They did not see themselves as separate from nature or
the cosmos, the Grandmothers tell us. So what was done
to the Earth and the inhabitants of the Earth was done
to themselves. Everything was a part of the One. The
animals and plants or Earth were never objectified.
The objectification of nature opens the door for
mistreatment and lack of respect.”The one who sees
'thou' is not the same as the ego seeing an 'it'.”
In accord with the inherent authority within a family,
traditionally the women elders, the grandmothers, were
the ones who were looked up to as guardians to watch
over the physical and spiritual survival of the
family, and thus the tribe. They became the keepers of
the teachings and rituals that allowed the tribe to
flourish, and they upheld the social order. In many of
the tribes around the world, including the great
Iroquois Nation, the Council of Grandmothers was
always consulted before any major decision was made,
including the decision of whether or not to go to war.
Indigenous peoples lived in a communal system that was
based on reciprocity—everyone sharing what they had
and everyone taking care of everyone else. There was
no hoarding, thus no one in the tribe ever went
without and all prospered equally. Food brought back
by the hunters was for the the whole tribe. If one
hunter was particularly skilled or successful, there
was no concept of keeping more for himself as a
result. Instead, he was given a place of honor in the
tribe.
Since there was no perception of scarcity, except what
the whole tribe experienced, there was no need for
excessive accumulation of personal holdings. The
tribes knew what they needed to do to sustain
themselves sufficiently. Most had learned that sharing
and transferring increased the value of what was given,
and accumulation beyond the point of enough actually
stopped the flow of resources. When everyone
benefited, the individual benefited more. Now, for
most indigenous people, one step out of their
community and into the modern world, and they can't
eat or find shelter or live without money. One day in
civilization can wipe out thousands of years of
sustainability.
We can learn from the tribal system how all of
humanity can thrive today, the Grandmothers remind us.
And indigenous peoples can also learn from the modern
world how to sustain themselves when moving outside of
their traditional communities.
Also common to indigenous peoples, the Grandmothers
say, is an honoring and dependence upon the Spirit
World, the world that is accessed through nature.
Among many indigenous peoples, the stones are the most
revered spirits. In fact, the most ancient memories
are attributed to the stones as the stones are among
the oldest beings on the planet. Most indigenous
teachings hold that it is in the heart where the
living spirit can be seen, and within that spirit is
the very essence of the Creator, or the divine force.
The simple act of picking up a stone, and holding that
stone being in silence, changes a person in subtle and
profound ways. Finding the worlds within stone spirit
reveals further worlds within oneself, the
Grandmothers teach us. Having the courage to look
within and without was an important attribute in most
indigenous cultures. In fact, having such close
contact with nature made such an inner journey
unavoidable.
Visions, dreams, prayer, ceremony and ritual are the
means to access the sacred Spirit World through
nature, the Grandmothers tell us. Ceremony and ritual
allow participation in the myths or archetypes or
ancestry of the culture and serve to take one out of
any shallow 'ordinary' reality. Rituals powered by
intention focus concentration, enabling access to more
rarefied levels of the mind for communication with the
spiritual realms for prophecy and guidance and to
influence events. That is how knowledge of the healing
powers of plants was first gained, how understanding
was developed about the importance of honoring the
four directions and the five basic elements: earth,
water, air, fire and light. Anyone who has ever been
swept away by the beauty of a sunset or found an
answer to a problem while communing with nature has
caught a glimpse of the worlds that are open to
indigneous peoples who foster this true knowing.
Spirituality's highest purpose is to touch a mystery
beyond words, which is perceived only in silence and
solitude, the Grandmothers relate. Listening within
the silence puts one in touch with the energy,
vibration and spiritual forces that are at the heart
of Creation. The realms are real, not of the
imagination, and can only be reached by a quiet mind
and by practice. This does not mean there is a lack of
critical thinking, only that fighting the experience
of connectivity, the now, while approaching that
moment, blocks the experience of knowing. The
Grandmothers show that we must return to our own inner
spirit and the spirit of the all which we have
abandoned while looking elsewhere for happiness.
The Grandmothers know there has been an undeniable
corruption of humanity's spirit. The global human
family, a macrocosm of the tribal system, is lost in
confusion and sickness. We are disconnected from
ourselves and the planet that nurtures us, body and
soul. Violence and war have bred hunder, poverty, loss
of culture, and a lack of understanding concerning
basic human rights. Our waters, the blood of our
Mother Earth, have become too polluted to drink, and
the air in some places to polluted to breath. Do we
really want it this way, they ask? Do we not want a
future generation? We have lost the most fundamental
teaching: that all life is sacred. All life is One.
The Grandmothers say we will wake up from our trance
now, as the Earth has begun shaking.
Prophecies of each of the Grandmothers' traditions
state that we have entered the Purification times. The
purification process is a natural cleansing of all the
accumulated negativity caused by being materially
instead of spiritually oriented. All of life must be
honored and protected again, allowed their natural
source of shelter and nourishment. Since all of the
living cosmos is connected, the Grandmothers teach
that healing, quality of life, and spiritual
evolvement are never separate from politics and
consciousness. Culture that does not derive or base
itself on nature's harmony has no roots and can't
survive long. Without a deep connection to nature,
people drift into sickness, grow negative, and destroy
themselves spiritually and physically. Deeply
connected to nature, we witness beauty everywhere,
including wholly within ourselves.
Each part of the world spectrum holds wisdom, a key to
reigniting humanity's pure spark. The Thirteen
Grandmothers came in council to share their prayers,
rituals and ceremonies to create global healing and
forge an alliance creating one voice. They speak of
ways of bringing about sustainability, sovereignty and
a unified alliance among all the Earth's people in the
interest of life and peace.
The Secret Prophecy of the Grandmothers
http://www.grandmotherscouncil.com/
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