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