Listening To The Elders Speak

Your ancestors are calling you.

Those of us who travel in the spirit realms answer when we hear the call. We come to listen.

With tears in my eyes I remember all of the listeners who came before us. All those who have carried these sacred medicine traditions along the hands of so many generations.

As I come to thank the elders, their presence echoes through me as I see their faces beyond the veil. Arising grief and overwhelming gratitude in my heart for the many ancestors who risked and lost their lives to carry the medicine traditions before us, for the good of the earth and our communities.

Bowing down to all those who have lived on the edges, who were marginalized, who are forgotten, who were beaten down, who were not given voice or power in the human world.

Bowing to the edge walkers, the dreamers, the magic keepers, the healers, the artists, the children, the storytellers, the witches, the invisible ones, the warriors, the mystery holders, the ones who have walked into darkness and into light.

Bowing to all of our infinite teachers. The generations of elders, shamans, medicine men and women, animals, and plants now walking in the spirit realm… speaking through our hearts.

The spirits whisper in my ear what they whisper to many of you… Remind them again of the sacred in all things.

They touch my heart and speak.

Help them to listen to the earth from their heart. Help them to listen to each other. Only the heart hears all things.

They touch the soles of my feet, whispering… Listen from your feet. The earth remembers. The earth will show you the way forward. Feel her.

They place a plant’s roots in my hands.
The plants will help you find your way back. They are the voices of the Earth mother… they feel everything she feels. Listen to the whispers in the roots. They will take you back. Follow the roots. They know the way.

With tears in my eyes, opening to the spirits, I ask them to speak into me. I pray that more of us listeners will speak. The earth needs us now. 

There is no more important work than listening from our hearts.

We awaken, and hear the spirits of the earth whispering from all directions. 
From the wisdom that arises, we find the guidance to create powerful change.

This is the time to listen to those who have come before. Those who have carried the wisdom traditions for so many generations. Now is the time they tell me. Do not wait. Mother Earth needs us now. The ancestors need you now. Their souls are aching to find peace on their home again.

Grandmother points to the plants and the river beside us. She says,
You are made of the plants and the river. The stones by your feet. The clouds in the sky. Your body and mind are made of the same things. We have forgotten this. You are river, stone, and plant. Their voices are in your cells, you share the same language. You share the same heart. Open yourself. Let them speak through you.

Grandmother holds out her hands, showing me a cloth bundle of herbs and stones. 

This is the medicine we have always carried. It was gifted to us when we came onto this earth, to keep ourselves always connected to our mother. The stone people give us their medicine, feeding our bones and teaching us the wisdom of the most ancient on earth. They remind us of our home in the stars, as some of them came from the sky.

She says, my ancestors carried this medicine here for you, we have carried it long distances so that all those who suffer in mind and body can be healed. We have carried the seeds you need for tomorrow, for future generations, and for all of our relations. It is you who will have to plant the seeds, and we will breathe on them for you. We will pray over them with you. Our strength is with you now. You are not without our help. More spirits than you can imagine are helping the great family now.

Carry our seeds with you, the dust of our grandfathers, the ash of all that has burned and been purified in the sacred fire. With the tears that have been shed by the many who came before you. In your heart is the circle of all of life, the council of all beings, eternally whole and complete.

She places her hands over my eyes to close them,
Close your eyes and see them. They are all there, and they will always be there. Nothing is ever lost.

She smiles to me with tears in her eyes, her hand reaching into my heart, the dust of the ancestors swirling through our breath.

We always reside in spirit together, no one is ever lost. Listen to them. They are speaking through you.

Sage L. Mauer, 2016