Native American Lore

Some thoughts share by native americans that are worth to think about

Mario Benedetti

One of the most extraordinary poets of our modern world has pass away. And even when he is now on the stellar journey, his work will remain for years.

He may not be very well know on the english speaking world. And even when translate a poem is so much complicated and never give the true feeling of the original work, some of you may appreciate his poetry this way:



Much more serious

All the parcels of my life has something yours
And that is in true nothing extraordinary
You know it as objectively as I do
However there is something that I would like to clarify to you
When I say all the parcels,
I don’t refer just to this that we have now,
This of waiting for you and Aleluya find you,
and damn it loosing you,
and find you again,
and I wish that was all.
I’m not meaning that out of the blue you say to me, I’m going to cry
And I, with a discreet lump in my throat, come on, cry.
And that an invisible cute rain protect us
And may be because of that the sun rises.
I neither refer only that day after day,
Our little and decisive complicities stock grow
Or that I can believe that I can transform my defeats into victories,
Or you give me the tender gift of your most recent desperation.

No.
This is much more serious.
When I say all the parcels of my live
I mean that in addition to this sweat cataclysm,
You are also rewriting my childhood,
That age in which one says adult and solemn things
And the solemn adults celebrate it,
Instead you know that that is not worth of it.

I mean you are remaking my teenager years,
That time on which I was an old man full of jealousy,
And you, instead, know how to extract that moor
My joyful germen and to water it just by looking.

I want to say that you are shaking my youth
That pitcher of clay that nobody took in their hands,
That shadow that nobody get together to their own shadow,
And you, instead know how to shake it
Until the dry leaves fall down,
And only the frame of my truth without heroic deeds stand.

I want to say that you are holding my mature days
That mixture of atonishment and experience,
That weird confine of anguish and snow,
This candle that ilumínates death,
This precipice of poor life.

As you can see this is more serious,
much mor serious,
Because with these or other words,
I want to say that you are not only
The dearest girl you are,
But also the esplendid or cautious women
That I loved or I love.

Because thanks to you I found
(and you could say it was about time, and will be right)
That love is a cute and generous bay
That lights up and darkens down
According with how life comes,
A bay where ships come and go,
Come with birds and omens,
And go with mermaids and dark clouds.
A cute and generous bya,
Where ships come and go
But you,
Please,
Don’t go


Don´t Save Yourself

Don't Save yourself,
Don´t be immobile
On the edge of the road,
Don't freeze the joy,
Don't love with reluctance,
Don't save yourself now
or ever,
Don't save yourself,
Don't fill with calm,
Don't reserve of the world
Just a calm place,
Don't let fall your lids
Heavy as trials,
Don´t speak without lips,
Don't fall asleep without sleepiness,
Don't think of you without blood,
Don't judge yourself without time.

But if in spite of everything
You cannot avoid it
And you freeze the joy,
And you love with reluctance,
And you save yourself now,
And you full with calm,
And you reserve of the world
Just a calm place,
And you let fall your lids
Heavy as trials,
And you speak without lips,
And you fall asleep without sleepiness,
And you think yourself without blood,
And you judge yourself without time,
And you are immobile
On the edge of the road,
And you save yourself,
Then
Don't stay with me.


Tactic And Strategy

My tactic is
Looking at you,
Learning how you are,
Loving you as you are,
My tactic is
Talking to you
And listening to you
To build with words
An indestructible bridge
My tactic is
Remaining in your memories
I don't know how
Nor with which pretext
But remaining with you.
My tactic is
Being frank,
And knowing that you are frank,
And not selling each other
Simulations
So that between us
There is no curtain
Nor abyss.
My strategy is,
However,
Deeper and
Easier,
My strategy is
That one of these days
I don't know how
Nor with which pretext
You finally
Need me.

Liminal

I was writing an entry in my Spanish language blog, about a great fusion group called Salsa Celtica, that by the way, is highly recommended for those who like either salsa or celtic music, or both. But I’m not going to repeat the same that I posted there. However the topic of the syncretism, fusion, cross-over, and many other names came to my mind.

How can we define ourselves? Is definition by itself a way to put boundaries to our experiences or a way to state that you are part of something? Mixing over everything is good?

Well, it’s very complex to answer this questions with a single yes or no, as most of thing in life they are full of colours, and not only black or white. We need some definition, some stability in our lives. For some is the need to know who they friends are, for others, know that the person you love, loves you back and is that there’s a commitment in there. For others is religion, work, sport, etc.

But having a wider spectrum than the majority of people is really to not be defined? For example, I’m following a spiritual path that even when is mainly based on celtic spirituality, it also have something of eclectic paganism and I even incorporate the Christians roots of my childhood. That, I assure you, in not drifting in the limbo between all this, I have very clear what I believe and what I don’t, I have very clear what it’s really rooted in the past and what is a modern interpretation, however, I don’t need to totally reject the ethics and even some of the spirituality that shape me as a boy and a teenager; nor I reject that some modern interpretations of ancient lore has value; I just make a great effort to don’t loose of my sight the main tree of my grove, the one on which I’m centred, the celtic reconstructionism.

But whilst examining my life I saw that pattern repeated in several points of my life: I can write with my right and my left hand. I love music cross-overs and fusions, to explore into different rhythms, melodies, styles. My favourite time of the day are sunrises and sunsets. I fancy both women and men. I’m an engineer who loves spiritual thinking and philosophy. All that elements of my particular life make me think about the concept of liminal spaces in the celtic myths.

The liminal spaces where the most sacred ones, they were the times and places where magic was more powerful; they were entrances to the other world, and sources of wisdom. There was an important colour for them, nglas, which was between our grey, blue and green. It had, or represent at least, the three realms of which this world was made, Samhain and Beltaine were taken as liminal day between the dark and the bright side of the year. etc. There are a lot of references in literature and myths.

The question is why? what are the attributes of those places moments... are they important because they are not defined, because they are open to more possibilities? or are they defined in their own nature but not by our standards?

We live in a world where everything tends to be dualistic, you are with me or against me, you are good or evil. And by those standards, yes people like me, moments like those, places like that, are undefined. But I really thing that they are not, that what we need is a wider spectrum of definitions, a perception that life is not a simple as black and white, and then realise that the beauty, the power of the concept of liminal is that its definition is to itself and not to exterior forces. Just look around you, do you see a static and perfectly defined nature, or do you see a diversity of colours, smells, tastes, shapes and sounds.

Don't be afraid if reality is not simple and flat, that is what it makes it so beautiful, that is not.

The great Argentinean writer, Borges, in a short story, that some could classify as “Magic Realism” (what a lovely literary term, isn’t it?) defined the maximum expression of Liminal that as the Aleph "The only place on earth where all places are -- seen from every angle, each standing clear, without any confusion or blending”.

So it’s not to be undefined, is a definition beyond boundaries.

What I Have learn...

I’m in my second week in my new work, getting back to the UK after for months, now for a long term staying. How much? I really don’t know but it’s going to be some years. Las year I begun what you could call a “life changing journey” starting with my site assignation at Tampico, Mexico; the first time I was really living by my own, away from friends, family and my home city. Then the big step, go to Britain to begin the MSc. A new country, a new culture.

During that year I was fortunate enough to travel around several countries, so I met different people, weathers architectures, etc. a lot of changes, a lot of new stuff, very difficult to assimilate in that short time.

What I have learned from that year? Well first of all, as you can witness from this blog, it was a very interesting journey from the spiritual point of view, a journey of self discovering, of discovering the ancient lore of this land, and of the nature itself; also a journey to realize that indeed there’s only one truth, but there are many many forms to reach that truth, or at least try to reach it. Many paths, many different beings apart of we humans. It was and still is, since I have a lot to learn from this land, and I mean from Britannia herself; a exciting and extraordinary experience.

On the other hand it was also a journey to know human kind. I was fortunate enough to meet people from across the globe, form Europe, Asia, Africa, America … I think I just missed to knew people from Oceania to say I know people from the five continents. That has being marvelous, so different countries, customs, histories and stories to tell. However to be exposed to that so varieties of cultures, give me the change to know human as a whole, and realize that even when the differences exist, they are minor, and that everybody is just human

On Sussex I was very lucky to know people from so different countries as Vietnam, Germany, India or Kenya. But I could learn that the things that united us were more than the ones that separate us. We all share the same fears, the same dreams, the same happiness and sadness about things. We are all one big culture that has to be called humanity.

But I also learn that we give excessive importance to try to state clearly what make us different. Yes, there are differences, but they are just superficial. That was very evident to me on this first visit to Chile, a country far away, geographically speaking from my Own; but very close in terms of culture, customs, etc. However their inhabitants try hard to make it note that they are so different from their neighbors, even when they are not.

Now, in this work, this new town, I can very easely make a list of the differences from my previous work; you know the quality of life and all that stuff. But still is a country like my own, a country populated by human beings. Some people realize that some time ago, so I’m going to quote Carl Sagan on this:

An extraterrestrial visitor examining the difference among human societies would find those differences trivial compared to the similarities. Our lives, our past and our future are tied to the sun, the moon and the stars…We humans have seen the atoms which constitute all of nature and the forces that sculpted this work…and we, who embody the local eyes and ears and thoughts and feelings of the cosmos, have begun to wonder about our origins…star stuff contemplating the stars, organized collections of ten billion billion billion atoms, contemplating the evolution of nature, tracing that long path by which it arrived at consciousness here on the planet earth…Our loyalties are to the species and the to the planet. Our obligation to survive and flourish is owed now just to ourselves but also to that cosmos ancient and vast from which we spring. We are on Species. We are start stuff harvesting starlight.


We have to look for the common good before selfish interests, but not in the nationalism point of view, but in a planetary one, we must know that we all are one society, and have one planet, and unless we try to work together and stop seeing the other as weird, different and therefore dangerous and frightening, we are going to blow off all this!

I also learn the meaning of a cosmopolitan city, and that doesn’t mean a big and populated city, it means several cultures, religions, sexual preferences, tastes, etc. living together in harmony (or trying to) by tolerance and good living.

That I think was the main learning of this year, of course there was also a big change in the emotional/sentimental point of view, but that is no topic for a public blog LOL

So here I am, in a new adventure, a lot of challenges, a lot of opportunities and of course a lot of fears, but above all that, a lot of dreams to make true.

So, as a citizen of the world, I’m beginning this new journey of life, independence, dreams. Wish me luck!

Ord Brighideach

Today I start a commitment, one I have tought about it, and take in the form of a gaesa. This will be a new step in my journey, one I'm happy to take. Fate has drive me to this new path, and I accept it in joy. I join the Ord Brighideach, and today as part of the Mistletoe-Cill Drualus, I have take the 14th shift, that starts today at sun set.

Here my oath, speaked loudly to the winds, written loudly in this place in no place, but present every where

Bright Brighid hear my prayer
I make my oath to you this day

As I light this flame to honour you
As I light this flame inside of me
May your light be within my life
Day by day, night by night

May your fire forge my will and my strength
May your fire heal my body and my heart
May you fire inspire my soul and my mind

I will keep your fire inside my soul
I will light you fire every twenty days
I will keep your light in my life

I make this oath to comply with my gaesa
To honour my commitment, to honour my word

No fire, no sun, no moon shall burn me,
No lake, no water, nor sea shall drown me,
No arrow of fairy nor dart of fay shall wound me,

No sickness will hurt me, no despair will bit me
So under the protection of Brighid I am

So under the oath of Brighid I will be

Your flame present in the earth below us
Your flame present in the sea aroud us
Your flame present in the sky above us

Bride above me
Bride around me
Bride below me
Bride infront of me
Bride on my back

May you be blessed always