Tundra Memory

The voice of the tundra in the socio-economic maelstrom repeats itself in bio/re-generational continuums in sequential cycles of repetitive memory as reduced through planetary absolution of rendered carbon diodes suppressed by multi-visual angst such is vanity in the pathos of removable enumeration of focused patterns of completion whereas the discord disintegrates into dynamic dissonance of fading echoes as we stand at the portals of intense departures in the manner that ice begets ice and where the melting overlaps the sweating we discharge co-genital mesmerizing liquidation fluidity such is the status of plasticity merging with layered frequencies that denote static alignment in the receptor section of parallel stellar encoding as the planets shift and the rhythm of hiss induces extra-sensory elongation between the moment of arrival and the awareness of purpose left at the edge of fruition after leaving the train station and experiencing extreme dislocation but that wasn’t the point of motion after all while we stand at the portals and scream of not getting the picture/this is no picture/ and walking up past Broadway and cutting over to Vine where the Candy Man jams to the sonic blast of universal energy incoming constantly near the flux of continental plates that rub up against each other like wolves in a pack hunting elk across the sub-tundra as the gain degrades and the music fades and we’re left with substandard recordings of Jim Morrison recounting the vintage waves of heat patterns across the Great Divide layered with acid in the midnight sun where ice slowly regains dominance over sweat and it starts all over again in a fast forward reeling of tundra memory re-membered.

Oliver Loveday © May 31, 2012 2pm EDT

Loveday Studio

Identity dissolving into the fog

In the

Old Ways

in order to have an identity a young person has to have a dream (vision) that shows them who they are. This dream comes from the Ancient Ones, those relatives of the spirit world who have taken on the role of sticking around and serving as a bridge between those of us in the material world and the Great Mystery that dwells in the Great Beyond. There are different ways to connect with the Ancient Ones in order to get the dream, and when you get your dream, we don’t tell you, you have to tell us. No one comes between a person and their relatives of the spirit world. The only concern would be if a person attempted to make up a good story and relate it as though it was given to them by the Ancient Ones and then it would be taken into question, as this happens sometimes.

There are many ways we visualize our relationship with the Ancient Ones, and most of these images are nature-based as they relate to the world around us in a spiritual manner. In the spiritual journey throughout life the first dream-vision is the foundation for all other dreams that follow and build upon the first vision. For some, the journey through this life is going to be fairly basic and they get a good vision to start with that guides them for many years. Others might have new challenges that come along in the journey that requires a bit of an upgrade. Each person has an individual relationship with the Ancient Ones with respect to whom they are, but as a general rule, one needs to step out into isolation from the normal social life for a short time in order to pay attention fully to the awareness so there are no distractions or interruptions while accessing the connection with the Ancient Ones. This is referred to in the

Old Ways

as a Vision Quest, and it is generally the most important ritual that a person might do in life. Each tribal people have their own customs and I can’t cover every tribal custom from all over the world and I mean no disrespect towards any people or culture when speaking in a brief manner about what little I know on the topic.

As the Mother is in transition and a lot of things have happened here on Turtle Island (The Americas) over the past few hundred years, I’ve heard it said that a lot of wisdom is being lost due to the cultural and racial genocide against tribal peoples. The same could be said of many other tribal nations around the world. As I considered this for some time many years ago, it became apparent to me that the wisdom might have come from some other source other than of human design, and if so, that wisdom is still accessible to us, so nothing is lost as we go through this period of stress when some things are lost for a while. The important thing is to remember how to access this information. That is the big deal. We don’t have to keep information in our pool of wisdom if it isn’t needed right now, but we do need to know how to renew the pool on an “as needed basis”. That understanding that remembering how to access the bridge is very important became part of my vision and role. It is still out there, all of it. We just have to come forward with respect and honor those that serve as a bridge between this world and the world beyond that has the knowledge and wisdom we need in order to survive. There is too much wisdom in the mystery for humans to integrate into our reality, so we just have to request enough to get by for a while.

At some point a person might get ripe enough in spirit to attempt the journey into the mystery. Some stories tell of a man or woman crossing into the spirit world in a dream or vision via the rainbow. This journey into the Rainbow Nation is one of the most difficult challenges a person can attempt, as it requires that the person leave behind their identity as defined by that first vision. They become dependant upon the ancient identity for distinction of self which is invisible to them but visible to others who have the gift of spiritual sight. A person has a sense of being a drop of water in the morning mist and all sense of self dissolves into the fog of nothingness. They make the journey into the spirit world across the Rainbow Bridge where there is no distinction of self, only a sense of everything and nothing at the same time. There is no time or space. Just everything and nothing all at the same time and never at all. It is important that we work towards becoming prepared to walk across the Rainbow Bridge because those that do so will eventually be given the opportunity to take on the role of one of the Ancient Ones sometime in the distant now of future time markings. Everything changes and cycles through and those serving in the role get to do other things after a while, so it is up to us to do the work and get ready to relieve them when the time comes.

I love the stories of how a young woman with a pure heart was able to walk across the Rainbow Bridge and walk with the Thunder Beings or how a young warrior chased the bear up into the Star Nation and continues to chase the bear across the sky each night. These are stories about those who made the journey into the world of the Nation of Ancient Ones. They are around us all the time, giving us the knowledge and wisdom we need as Red Path Nation People (People who walk the path of the heart in this physical world). That is their name for us. They don’t have physical bodies like we do and so we have to do some things for them with our hands and breath so they feel complete somehow. That is why the grandfathers and grandmothers will sit and smoke alone some days. The Ancient Ones need to do their ceremonies but they can’t make smoke and offer it up, so we do that for them so they can make good prayers and ask for blessings in their ways. It’s good to have a balanced relationship with the Ancient Ones in this manner. They give us what we need from the other world and we help them walk in balance in their bridge world. That is why it is good to offer tobacco to the Elders who honor this relationship in a good way. The tobacco is used to offer up smoke so the Ancient Ones can say their prayers too. In this way, there is much beauty in this world and we are all given a good blessing. Like dew on the squash blossom, we all are given water (spiritual nourishment) for our thirst. A-ho!

Oliver Loveday © May 6, 2012 9:30am EDT

"Bear Walks Through a Dream" March 25, 2011
Collection of Lisa DeVos, Saginaw MI

Ego Death Personified

The Vader Gators don’t want folks to know this. The spiritual axiom is that it takes a healthy ego in order to experience ego death. In the random curve of eventuality all spiritual journeys lead to the healthy ego. Some just take the long way around. Some people get addicted to pain and really do have to take the longest possible path to that destiny. Any and all spiritual journeys bring the person to that point wherein they arrive at the state of a healthy ego. At that point it is up to them to make the leap of faith into ego death. All the rest of us can do is show the way for those that come behind us.

The discipline of unification towards a healthy ego is short-tracked through several approaches which involve engaging with a mentor. As related in the past, the spiritual warrior chooses a discipline and uses that discipline to control fear rather than letting the fear control the warrior. The warrior tradition evolves from a universal non-gendered function of self integrated into the whole (Holy) experience of total consciousness as an observer of both internal and external stimuli that allows the person to become aware of all forces at play from within the observable reality. Everything else is mystery. The encodement of disciplinary observation is imparted through the teachings provided by one’s mentor which is going to transfer an understanding that one’s self has the indelible mark of identity that no power in the Universe can alter. It is through the awareness of cause and effect that one arrives at the knowledge that they “reap what they sow” and no force in the Universe can alter or block that process. Once that fear has been addressed and resolved, then each person will step forward in their journey towards arriving at a healthy ego.

In the teachings of the spiritual warrior it is presented as a challenge of preparing for ego-death that the warrior becomes competent in the discipline of creativity. It is through the function of creativity that the warrior steps outside the pre-defined ego status and encounters the mystery and derives some manner of expression from that effort that can be communicated to others. The general manner by which one does this in tribal culture is via ritual. The healthy ego will manifest through the process of practicing all expressions of creativity. All spiritual disciplines integrate the creative process into the work.

As it has been expressed in this passage that “all spiritual disciplines lead to a healthy ego”, and that this is true in the knowledge that each individual will be given many opportunities to work through the dysfunction of an unhealthy ego until they are ready to unify all the efforts into an integrated-self as a healthy ego and arrive at the point where the leap of faith into ego-death will happen. That being said, there is no need to make the distinction between “good medicine” and “bad medicine” or “white magic” and “black magic” because it has been stated implicitly that the Universal Law of Causality means that each person gets back what they put out, so whatever effort is made becomes a method of feedback that informs the person about the merits of their effort towards arriving at a healthy ego. Therefore, all paths eventually lead to a healthy ego. It is just a question of how much pain a person has to put themselves through before having enough and merging onto the path of total unification of self wherein all selfish desires and expectations will be addressed through the discipline of the chosen path. The unhealthy ego harbors aspects of selfish intent while the healthy ego arrives at a point of acceptance that perfection is an expression of unification through total awareness.

The Vader Gators are good teachers if the information one is seeking is a good reason to turn around and go in the other direction in their spiritual journey. Knowing that all paths lead to the same destiny frees all pilgrims from pride, a major spiritual barrier, and gives us the ability to support each other in our journey, even if that person is heading full steam ahead towards the Vader Gators. After enough pain and suffering has been gleaned, they’ll do the same thing we did back there somewhere. Know what I mean, Vern?

Oliver Loveday © May 3, 2012 6:15pm EDT

The Ego Cage

The problem with the Euro-centric (aka Western Culture; aka white man’s world) concept of ego is how constrictive it becomes. It is impossible to remain within the parameters of the construct of “ego” as identified by Western Culture and function as a healthy individual. While the word is derivative of Ancient Greek culture, it has gone through a transformative redefinition process in order to reflect the cultural ideals of the time and place that has rendered it an ineffective term with respect to the human psyche.

The dilemma is borne out of the empirical need to generate a system of “otherness” that allows the King of the Empire to be considered a person chosen by the unseen spiritual guidance (reductively referred to as “God” in the Euro-centric construct of the hour) to hold dominion over all subjects under him. The King is perfect and the subjects are imperfect, and that is how it will be forever and ever. As such, the ego, that definition of “self” within the subordinate subject in the Kingdom, is an imperfect ego. This model of “self”, that has been distorted from the original concept in order to impose dominance over society, implies that all those under the King suffer from some imperfection and can never achieve the state of perfection because God will only choose one and that one is the current King. (Most Kings came into power through physical prowess or under-handed treachery, but details are always irrelevant in matters such as subjecting subjects to subjection.)

A few centuries after the Order of the Sacred King had been well established throughout Europe, along comes a group of people with the bigger, bolder plan that redefined the ego into an even greater dysfunction of humanity. The deification of Jesus of Nazareth is well documented in historical sources not readily available to the general public (subjected subjects don’t need to know the facts) wherein a similar model of a God-appointed human being becomes the King over all, As that person is no longer resident in the physical realm, it is up to others to define the role and manner with which the subjects are to follow as members of that “Kingdom of God”. Unlike the small tribal groups that functioned in Europe for a few eons before all of this happened, where the King became King because he was a leader of warriors (which meant he was out in the front line of battle when such an event occurred) those in charge of ruling over society were well entrenched in secure quarters. Should a battle break out, they gave orders from the safety of their secure quarters and men on the battle field, less worthy of the blessing of safety during battle, had to carry out those orders. This became the model for the “sacred order of society” as well as the secular (or profane).

Thus a society evolved out of the notion that regular humans are imperfect and incapable of achieving the status of perfection that only God could award to one person and one person only. This negative feedback from a dominate force rendered those of that society into servitude to that dominate force which was also made up of mere mortals. It’s a great power grabbing scheme. Unfortunately, it also suggests, as a dogmatic religion, that human beings can achieve perfection in the spirit world after their demise by way of giving up their will and lives to the control and power of the dominate human persona. The philosophy of the imperfect ego suggests that the person is not good enough, will never be good enough, and the best that person can hope for is to sacrifice their life and compromise their integrity as a human being in order to, perhaps, no way to tell for sure, achieve perfection in the next world. This gives the warrior great motivation to fight to the death on the battle field. The leader isn’t there to die first, as things once were in the manner of tribal culture, so the spoils of victory come with very little pain on the part of the supposedly God-appointed leader.

The human ego as a function of the warrior in battle, is the will to survive. Diminishing that construct in any way diminishes the warrior’s will to survive and becomes a model of fatalistic defeatism as a function of “self”, no matter what the outcome for society or the enrichment of the (non-warrior) leaders. When the construct of the fatalistic imperfect self is imposed upon society at large, there is a constant anxiety of not being good enough, which leads to fear-based behavior that explodes into materialistic efforts to possess enough stuff so that the person takes on the appearances of Godly features. The person is never going to be good enough within this construct, so the focus is futile, while the true human nature issue of being a person whose first goal is to survive and thus after that is to develop spiritually in order to further the ability to survive and pass on the teachings of survival to the offspring is thwarted. The ego that is always going to be imperfect, no matter what, becomes the ego that is fear-based. That gives those who dominate others the power to reap the rewards those under them achieve while the subordinates live and die in order to do this. This yields into societies that praise suicide bombers and support drug addiction to the point of fatal behavior because the feedback from that society is that attempting to do anything else is futile, so why bother.

A philosophy that garners a positive approach to the survival of a person in the role of a warrior, who is willing to sacrifice their life in order to protect the lives of others within their society, would avoid defining “self” or “ego” as an imperfect function of a human being. A better option would be to define the person, in whatever manner or terms, as constantly mutating into a new persona with the ultimate goal of achieving the status of humanly achievable perfection. The first order of business is the survival of the person, after which options can be defined wherein they go through various roles as warrior, parent, spouse, teacher, or grandparent no longer viable enough to provide knowledge or resources to their social group, so the ego arrives at a point of accepting the need to take a walk in the blizzard so that others may have the limited amount of food available. That model of an ego is life-affirming function of a person. It genders the idea that a person can seek to enrich their life and the lives of others through spiritual discipline with the time not spent addressing survival issues, whether this is the protection of the whole social group of people within that society, or the work of parenting as a mother, in what has always been and always will be a life-threatening experience of which humans have to endure in order for the species to survive.  A model of “life-affirmation ego” expands beyond “self” to include others as a function of a healthy ego. The model of the imperfect ego subjected to the will and power of a dominate force is the model of an unhealthy ego that has other agendas at stake other than the survival of the person being subjected to the dominate control of other human beings. As such, the current term of “ego” implies that my human spirit is in imprisoned in a reality imposed upon me from outside forces who seek to have me align myself with that philosophy so as to enrich those in control. I systematically reject the definition of ego as defined by those with ulterior motives and embrace the function of ego that is life-affirming and spiritually dynamic in a manner that makes me feel good about whom I am as a healthy, well-balanced person.

Not only do human beings make terrible deities, but they also make terrible spokespersons for deified human beings. So long as I remain human in function and accept that others function as human beings my life remains a lot healthier. I reject the “ego cage” the white man continually attempts to impose upon my human spirit and embrace the model of “one step beyond….” A-ho!

Oliver Loveday © May 1, 2012 12noon EDT

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