WELCOME
Ogen'akwa Okwa're. Gloden Bear aka Bill
She`kon
- Hello
First I`d
like to give thanks to the Great Creator
for giving
me another day on our Mother Earth
" (A Warriors Prayer, by David McDonald )"
To The Graet Creator I gives thanks
for our women
who bear us children in Our Likeness,
our women
who must endure the pains of giving birth,
who must endure
the sadness of the loved ones' hurts, who
must endure the great
loss of a loved-one's departure to the
Spirit World, who must
remain strong in their teachings and their wisdom!
I have been asked what is a sweat
lodge
Today I will hand the talking stick
to
Immortal Thunder and Lightening Woman
Del Ashkewe and Paula Johnstone
The Sweat Lodge
Sweat lodges are traditionally constructed
of willow branches
covered with matting, dirt, bark,
and grass.
In contemporary lodges tarps may
be used to aid in steam retention.
The lodge is low and entrance is
by means of a ground level opening.
Inside the hut there is a dugout
pit for the heated rocks
and participants sit on mats or
blankets around the perimeter.
In the Shuswap tradition the entrance
to the lodge is facing east -
where the sun rises.
The earth from the interior pit
is mounded outside the entrance
way to be used as an altar while
the fire for heating
the rocks is in a direct line a
few feet beyond the altar.
Twenty eight volcanic rocks are
heated in the flames and the
sweat begins when seven of the
heated rocks are placed into the interior pit.
Entering on your knees you crawl
around the left rim of the circle.
When all are settled the tarp is
closed on the entranceway.
If one is to lead he then initiates
the prayers.
The steam rises from incantations
of water spilled periodically over the rocks.
Purification/Sweat Lodge Ceremony
The Healing Medicine of the Bear
Bears are considered the Embodiment of Spiritual
Power and Physical Strength.
Rarely seen, bears seemingly live as spirits,
without a body,
visible to the eye only as foot prints in the
sand, traces of passing left behind by great
mythical beings from the Land of Spirits. Bears
constant in their conviction have walked
the same paths generation after generation, wearing
deep furrows into solid stone. Bears
were thought to die each fall, to be reborn each
spring, verifying in life, their Spiritual Power
over death. Proof, that Bears were given the
Power of Resurrection through Rebirth.
Stories such as these are told to Native children
living in the Northern Hemisphere the world over,
to teach them the Word of the Creator God and
where to find it in nature,
to ensure that Native Youth enter adulthood,
as whole and mature beings.
Walking into a den in winter, Bears fall into
a great sleep, entering into the Spirit World
for spiritual re-alignment. Emerging in Spring,
as changed and balanced beings, Bears awaken
from their long journey in the spirit world,
having become greater in spirit and lesser in body.
The shedding of fat symbolises the shedding of
worldly goods which human beings have to
shed to be reborn. Jubilant in their return,
rejuvenated by their physical and spiritual rebirth, they
emerge from the womb of our Mother, the Earth,
through the exits of their dens. Leaping and
bounding like children bonding with their Mother,
the bears knead the Earth to awaken, needing
Her to renew all things, so Her children might
be fed. Refreshed and invigorated from a long
and restful winter, they honour Her with sounds
of joy and dances of renewal. Thankful for the
gift of life, they stand erect, with outstretched
arms, a sign of allegiance honouring their Father,
the Sun, thanking Him for His warmth and the
gifts of love that He provides for all living things.
Thus begins, the annual rites of renewal, that
all life might be awakened and all things renewed.
The Sacred Teaching of the Sweat Lodge
,
This process of rebirth is enacted by Human Beings,
who have chosen to walk
a Sacred Path on Earth, through their participation
in the sacred rites of the Ceremonial Sweat Lodge.
Once a tribal person is decided in their choice
to hold the Conviction of Love in their heart,
and they are comfortable with their choice, they
begin to carry out their chosen conviction
in deed, by walking upon the cedar path that
leads to the ceremonial sweat lodge of forgiveness
and rebirth. Entering on hands and knees through
the Entrance of Illumination, in the East, illustrates
to Human Beings they are Spirits of Light, borne
through thoughts which emanate from Our Father,
the Sun, the Sol/Soul of All Creation. When you
were thought of by the Creator God, you
were given consciousness as a Spirit of Light
and by choosing to enter His Heart as
a Spirit of Love, you were given Life. It is
then you, as a Spirit of Love and Light, were allowed to
enter the Womb of Earth to become one of her
children by being given substance and
purpose in life. By entering through the Eastern
door of the Ceremonial Sweat lodge,
we as Spirits of Light choose the Conviction
of Love, the Will of God, and Everlasting Life over
our own desires or free will. We re-enact this
spiritual process of rebirth, by re-entering the Womb
of Earth, through our own free will and surrender
that will, choosing to be reborn as whole
and balanced beings. We, like the Bear choose
through deed, to dedicated our lives to respecting
and caring for all life, and through this choice,
re-affirm ourselves as Spirits of Light to the Creator God.
Men and women physically naked and spiritually
bear/bare, crawl on all fours,
into the Sweat Lodge as an act of humility before
God and sign of respect,
of the Serpent, this is symbolic of growing greater,
through the shedding of old
habits for a new and more fruitful life. Information
is gained by initiates, through an honest
exchange with their mentor, prior to entering
the Sweat Lodge, instructing initiates about
the directions in which they are to be seated.
This will ensure that the initiates are set before the
correct door, through which the appropriate guiding
spirits flow, enabling the guiding
spirits to directly assist them in their spiritual
growth and rebirth. The closing of the door
flap leaves them feeling vulnerable, in total
darkness, with only the warmth of the Grandfathers
(rocks) in the Womb of Earth and the calm voice
of their Mentor, to assure them of their safety.
Deprived of light, forces participants to use
their other sensibilities to assess their surroundings.
Breathing in the heat of the moistened air, hearing
the sizzle of water vaporising on the heated rocks
, feeling the dampness of the Earth rising from
the ground, making them aware of the aromas of earth,
willow, cedar and heated stone. Sensing the aloneness,
in the all oneness of the dark, making
them aware of their seclusion, they become aware
of their need for life. Listening for the
shared breath of those in fellowship with God,
voluntarily synchronising their breathing with
the breathing of those around them, causing all
participants to join in Oneness through the
Breath of Life. In the beginning there was the
Deep and there was darkness upon the Deep…..
Sharing consciousness in the Womb of Earth as
they once shared life as new spirits
in the Heart of the Sun, they pray for wisdom
and guidance for their teacher and the courage
of their conviction for themselves. Through spiritual
teachings and moral guidance shared by
the Spiritual Mentor or Medicine Person conducting
the Sweat, the minds, hearts and spirits
of initiates begin to be corrected. All thoughts
are realigned with the Natural Order of the
Universe, with the thoughts of their Father,
the Creator God and their Mother, the Earth.
The Elemental Spirits of Fire, Water, Air and
Earth assist in the correcting of the hearts
, minds, bodies, and souls of the participants.
When the Loving Spirit of the Creator God
is allowed to enter each soul, a healing takes
place and the transformation is made complete.
With the beating of the drum and enchantment through
songs and chants of joy, All life celebrate
their spiritual growth, through the spiritual
acceptance of their convictions. Hearing the heartbeat
of the Universe, entranced by the rhythmic beating
of the drum, enchanted by the word and
sounds being sung, their Spirits are unified
in life, joining in songs as one body and voice,
weaving with the rhythym of the Universe, becoming
strands in the web of life through love.
In harmony as one voice they sing the song of
the Universe, "One heart, One mind, One soul",
a song of sharing, respect and love for the Spirit
of Life, Honouring the Creator God and
All of His Creation. This reminds all Spirits
of the Order of the Universe and the Oneness
of All Creation that is the Great Spirit, of
the Creator God.
The raising of the ceremonial lodge is sacred,
for every aspect of its construction, holds
the spiritual constructs which will make its
ceremonial purpose whole and sacred. Holes
for the Sweat Lodge are aligned and dug, and
upon the placement of the pole, a principle
of life is prayerfully placed into the Spirit
of Tobacco, which is then respectfully placed in each hole.
The Spirit of the prayer is the instruction for
the tree limb, which can then become one of the pillars
of this sacred temple of life, the Sweat Lodge.
The poles represent the principles of life,
the concepts of truth, the true foundations that
uphold every spiritual lodge. Between these poles
, are the doors, the entrance for the Elemental
Beings, that hold the powers of the four cardinal
directions, the spirits of fire, earth, water
and air. Fire is the faith and spiritual conviction that
brings in the light of knowledge and wisdom.
Earth is the love and caring that brings forth the
promises of life. Water is the consciousness
of the soul of Mankind, and the awakening of the
Sea, the ebb and flow of life. The Air is the
Breath of Life and the Spirit of the Divining
Winds and Rains of War. The Cedar that you sit
upon represents the love and peace of the
continual cycle of life, on Earth. The Sacred
Pipe represents the male and female spirits of the Family
of Man, and when shared and smoked, unifies us
through Truth, with All our Relations,
in the womb of Earth, the Sacred Sweat Lodge.
The secondary directions, or sections between
the cardinal directions of the lodge,
are the entrances of the Guiding and Protecting
Spirits of the Universe. These sections indicate
the directional flow and stations of the Universal
Spirits. The stones or Grand Fathers
symbolise the Head Spirits of the Universal principles
and convictions of life.
In the safe and cocooning body of the Sweat Lodge,
you are given time to pray and meditate,
shedding the hardships of your past life, forgiving
all beings that caused you harm. In accepting
the love and forgiveness of the Creator, you
really forgive yourself for participating in all forms
of darkness(there are no shades of darkness,
if it is not light, it is dark). You put your past deeds
where they belong in the past! Then you forgive
others their past deeds, never remembering
them or making them a part of you, and you never
use their past deeds against them. You forget
the past, for it will only spoil the beauty of
your gift of life, the present, the new day the Creator has
provided for you. Once this is done, you bring
your thoughts into alignment with the Creator and
you are able to see the purposes for your life
on Earth. When this is done, you receive true healing.
For healing starts in your mind and heart, flows
through your spirit, cleanses your soul, and begins
to change your body, making you whole. You are
now made new, not the same being
that entered the Sweat Lodge.
Men and women emerge as spiritually greater beings
from the Sweat Lodge, which was
opened to them at the setting of sun, the evening
of time, the evening of all things. Spiritually greater,
through their alignment and balance with every
living thing, in accord with the order and harmony
of the Spirit of the Creator God, that flows
throughout the Universe. Male and female, once again
on hands and knees, exit the lodge wet with sweat
from their spiritual rebirth to emerge as new beings
. Removed were the remaining impurities from
their physical body and shedding the last of their
material beliefs, that belonged to the World
of Man, beliefs cumbersome to spiritual beings.
Enlightened in the Sweat Lodge through Sacred
teachings, these Spiritual Beings, reject every
concept and ideal that alienated them from the
Creator God. Carrying these ideals and
concepts made them strangers to themselves and
strangers to one and other. Through the
Ceremony of the Sweat Lodge, they accept to become
the selfless and loving beings, that God
made Mankind, for one has to remain kind to be
accepted as kind.
Joints cramped from sitting in a foetal position,
they attempt to stand erect, wobbling and
weak-kneed as a new born deer, they learn again
to walk on their new found legs, on the firmer
ground of truth. Rejuvenated by the refreshing
movement of the cool drying of the air, they stand
erect reaching out to the stars, heavenly bodies
of light set in the night sky, guiding us throughout the
night and throughout all of our lifetimes on
earth. Regaining the use of their legs, they run to the river
to re-enter the Flow of Life remembering themselves
to the River as a Flow-er/Flower of the Tree of Life,
washing away all impurities. As new-born beings,
they wash away the wickedness and transgressions
of their past lives, from their mind, heart,
body and soul. They have now been re-born into the
Family of the Creator God through the Ceremony
of the Sacred Sweat Lodge.
Everything that Native people did was a ceremonial
rite and everything they built was
made sacred in it's construction by principles
needed to become one with the Universe
and the Creator God. All of His instructions
are made visible through signs and symbols,
that the Creator God gives freely to His Children,
so they may be guided throughout all of
their generations forever. Praise be given to
God that you may be reborn spiritually through
this ceremony, just as you are reborn in spirit,
continually forever. Created in the image of the
Creator God, made One with His Great Spirit,
you are a perfect Spirit given everlasting life.
You are born only once, made to flow through
a physical body. You are not the body,
you are a Spiritual Being. You are Some One.
Joined with all your relations, you share in Oneness.
Finding their upright stance, those reborn are
then, re-introduced and given to the Moon,
the Doter/Daughter of Earth, as one of her own
to be taught and guided by her through
all of our life times on Earth. Accepting in
humility, she would always be a greater spirit
than us throughout all of our lifetimes on Earth.
We are to accept all of her teachings without
question or deviation for she is the Mother of
Respect and Harmony, and Grand Mother
of all Mankind. We are born through the Earth,
then given to the Moon, our second mother
, to care for as Her own. As spirits we enter
this world through her. She(the Moon) in turn
, gives us to our earthly mothers, who provide
us with a body and care for us. Our Earthly Mothers
, who in turn, return us at the end of our earthly
walk, to our first Mother, the Earth,
who gave birth to our Spirits. You emanate as
a feeling thought of desire, from the Sol
of the Creator and are given life by being born
through his heart and love, the Earth. A
child of the Creator is born only once as a spirit
and lives many lives through rebirth forever.
All of God's Creation teaches us this over and
over.AHO!
This is an explanation of the reason for the Sacred
Sweat Lodge Ceremony, taught through
the Spirit of the Bear. The Bear teaches many
other Sacred teachings too.
WRITTEN BY Del Ashkewe and Paula Johnstone
Immortal Thunder and Lightening Woman
