I do not simply come to speak of totems this day, but I have asked for this subject because it is the starting point for you to begin to accept, to nurture and to honor those you share this planet with, and it is important. It is one way for you to begin to acknowledge that you are not alone.
Suzanne Maresca: Good morning and welcome to another exciting edition of Heavenly Blessings with Linda Dillon, the channel for the Council of Love and author of The Great Awakening, and myself Suzanne Maresca, sitting in for GD.
Today we’ll be talking about totem animals, a subject close to my heart and one that I’m surprised to discover that even seasoned light workers may not be aware of.
Our guest to discuss this fascinating topic is Chief Sitting Bull, who I’m very excited to be able to speak with. Sitting Bull is a wonderful resource for this kind of information. Cross-culturally those who live closest to the earth enjoy a special relationship and understanding with our animal family and I’m looking forward to hearing the perspective of one who lived it.
Until a few days ago I never would have dreamed of having a conversation with Sitting Bull. I haven’t had any detailed memories come into my awareness about past lives yet, but my heart knows that I’ve had many in North America as a tribal member. When those feelings come up, along with them comes an energy of loss, like those days were filled with wonder, grace and beauty and I want that feeling again. It’s a memory of living in true community and I think that’s what we’re rapidly moving into again.
Good morning, Linda!
LD: Good morning, Suzy, and what a wonderful introduction. Yes, this is a little bit of a change of pace or direction for us after finishing our series on the divine qualities. And the Chiefs are back. So it will be very interesting to have an updated conversation with Sitting Bull and see what the Council of Elders, in terms of the Native American tradition, what they have to share with us about their wisdom and their insights. Not only just into our animal spirit friends and our actual animal friends, but in terms of even a broader perspective of what’s going on.
I wanted to share what I think is a funny story about how I came to be working with the Native American Chiefs. You and I have never really talked about our backgrounds and how we have sort of arrived where we are.
But in the two minutes we had before the show we started talking about how so many light workers and love-holders probably have started their spiritual journey, particularly if they’re North America, South America too, well Latin America, and slightly different journey if you’re in Europe, but certainly for those of us who are in North America, so many of us started our journey by turning towards the shamanic journey by either training or beginning to look at and gain a sense of sustenance and beginning to understand the richness of the Native American tradition and what it had to offer us spiritually. And beginning to quench that thirst for “oh my gosh there has to be more.”
SM: Yes, and the discovery of who we are innately connected to Gaia and pretty much everything on the planet.
LD: In 2006 we had…the Council of Love always has an annual gathering and that’s what’s happening in Joshua Tree in September, but they have always had a theme. And in 2006 it was the tenth anniversary of our annual gathering so it was a big deal and the theme that the Council came up with was Honoring Gaia, Honoring Earth.
And so it was all about Gaia and Earth and the elements, the animals, the medicine wheel, within and without, and that was great. So we started prepping and it was months before the gathering, so it was probably during the course of the summer months and I started to feel, one by one, the Native American Chiefs arriving and there was Sitting Bull and the real group that I worked with was Sitting Bull, Chief Joseph, Cochise, Geronimo and Red Cloud. Yeah, powerful, powerful…so they started to come and visit me and downloading meditations, etc. for the gathering.
Well one night I’m lying in bed and Sitting Bull and the Chiefs, right next to me, Sitting Bull is standing there…now you know I know I live an odd life and it’s not unusual to have our star brothers and sisters or some archangel show up in the bedroom, but I had never had the Chiefs show up in quite this way, so I’m lying in bed and I’m wide awake and I’m looking at them and you know, when you’re lying in bed and the person that you’re in bed with also is wide awake but you’re not saying a word to each other; and all of a sudden Isaac said to me very quietly, very calming, “Where’s John Wayne when you really need him?”
And for months, it just continued. It started with the Chiefs, and then the bedroom was full; all Native American male spirits, but then the women started coming as well, Sacajawea, and the house was full, literally, for months.
And over time there have been times when the Chiefs have come back to visit. And they always surprise us and Eliza, my dog was sitting here and that’s probably why they were barking, they can see the spirits in the room. And we just lived together for months.
A couple of days ago Isaac looked at me and he said, “They’re back, aren’t they?” And the house is has been full again for the last couple of days and particularly Sitting Bull – who I just love and admire so much – has been present.
So while we’re talking about totems today, because I think this is a great place to start, and I think it’s one of the places where we can learn where there’s tangible touchable assistance available to us. But this whole subject, and I would never pretend that I am anywhere near an expert on this…I am definitely a student of this tradition – but it’s just nice to have a chance to talk with you and with our listeners about this whole area.
SM: I agree. I think it was a brilliant idea that you had to do a show like this. And one thing that occurs to me is that it is very helpful for people who are not quite so comfortable stepping into their own power that we can borrow from our allies, because every animal has a specialty, just like the archangels, just like we do, that we can borrow wisdom from.
And it’s a really good introduction, or maybe we can call it a gateway, for people to accept that this is also part of us. We love our animals and are more than willing to express our appreciation for the magnificence that they are. The thing is, we really are all one and that includes the animals with us. So we have access to those things; it’s just part of the energetic grid that we can plug into.
LD: And it’s really easy to plug into. And like you say, it gives us that reminder that we really are all part of One and so just as we have animal totems, there are flowers…in the middle of the night they are talking to me about flowers and different plants that we’ve always been drawn to that are there to help us and to help us in different ways at different times.
Totems are not necessarily physical animals. We call them our spirit guides or spirit animals very often when we’re referring to them. And each of us have nine of these totems, these animal spirit friends, who are with us, whether we know it or not. It’s like whether you know your guides or not they’re still there.
And so these animals travel with us through lifetime after lifetime after lifetime. And they follow the Native American tradition of the medicine wheel – north, south, east and west; and each of those has different qualities that you and I can talk about with our friends who are listening in today. Then we have above and below and within. And there are ways to figure out and discern that.
And then there are those who are most close to us who walk with us on our right-hand side and our left-hand side. So we have this group of totems that are helping us with different aspects of our life. So when you put it in the framework of the medicine wheel, it really helps because each area within the medicine wheel also teaches you about different qualities of who you are.
I know, because we had our two minute conversation that you had studied and followed the shamanic path, probably far more than I have, although I should say the only teacher I’ve ever had was Wallace Black Elk and Lynn Andrews. Lynn Andrews’ books got me started. If you want to start on this path, that is where you should go.
SM: Those are great books. I actually still have them on my shelf. It was many years ago that I was reading them. In my understanding, and I knew that we were going to have a slightly different understanding, so this could speak to the levels of engagement; on the energetic level of engagement all things are the same. But then we have the literal, the symbolic, the mythic and the energetic.
On the energetic level cross-culturally, shamanic practices are all the same but there are different traditions and things like that. So In my understanding the different allies that we have some of them can be with us through many lifetimes; some can come and go.
Maybe there’s been a day that bumblebee is really your ally for that day; I think that that’s a possibility as well. So we have a medicine ally, medicine being power; a visionary ally, a journey ally, a life guardian; there are so many different aspects of the way that each of these teachers and guides really help us and play a part in our lives. And sometimes they show up like signs in nature.
LD: When an animal keeps showing up, then it’s for you to know that they’re talking to you. They’re drawing your attention to something.
SM: Especially if they show up three times. If you see a hawk three times in a day, or a hawk three times in a vision, that’s a special message.
LD: Absolutely, absolutely. It’s good that we’re coming from slightly different perspectives. I love it. The point being is that each of us have these animals and certainly if I had grown up in India I wouldn’t be having the same, well maybe I would… because one of my totems is actually elephants. I’ve been attracted to elephants my entire life. But those animals may be slightly different depending on where you’re living, where you’ve chosen to be born, and therefore have the experience of that realm of the animal kingdom.
SM: So someone from North America could easily have an African lion for a totem. But what you said before was something that I want to add about, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a physical animal. My daughter has a huge water dragon for an ally. So, I haven’t seen any of those this lifetime, but I know they’re around.
LD: Oh yeah, they are absolutely around.
SM: So it doesn’t necessarily have to be a physical creature, it can be a mythical one and the mythical creatures are just as real as the other ones; we have just been unable to see them.
LD: Yes, I have talked to people who have had, for example, unicorns as one of their totems. Unicorns haven’t been around in a very long time. Although even as I’m saying that, I’m hearing that they’re coming back. Wouldn’t that be nice?
It’s to open your heart and to open your mind to what is possible. And to accept the help and really the love and support of what your totems are offering you. Regardless of what tradition, each animal has hundred of qualities, but at any give time, maybe one day it’s the bees that are talking to you, the bees, as we know, how busy they are, like what is it they are talking to you about? That’s part of the discernment. Are they talking to you about the honey and getting the sweetness of life from the nectar of life, or are they talking about you feeling stung. And those are very wide, different interpretations, which only you can answer.
SM: And their industrious nature, there are all manner of things I think it’s really important to track, when you see a sign in nature what were you thinking about at the time that the animal showed up.
LD: Yes, and to accept the little ones as well, like you’re saying, the bees, the hummingbird which is joy, the ants, the mice, the squirrels; when I’ve talked about this subject in classes, everyone is always thrilled if they’ve got a bear or a buffalo or a mountain lion; but it’s not a pecking order. Because each and every animal has this integral part to play in that tapestry of the planet.
SM: Exactly, you can look at a mouse and ask them to help you focus on details. There’s all kinds of things they can help us with on any level. It doesn’t have to be a big ferocious creature. But if we need ferocity on a given day, then right on. Another wonderful thing that animals can help us with is perspective.
If we are having an especially emotional experience, and we want to try to lift up out of the emotions, we can make a point to connect perceptually with say a snake. Snakes do not have limbic systems, there’s no emotion involved. They go belly-to-belly with Pachamama, the earth, and if you want to separate yourself from emotion it’s good to put yourself in the perceptual state of the serpent. Then you can change your perspective on a given situation.
Or, for example, if you need to have an outlook that’s got altitude; you can ask to merge with the eagle, or hawk or condor – one of the high flyers. It could even be the turkey vulture who does the cleansing of the earth.
Depending on what you need, you can call in that perspective or step into it and merge, and when I say “merge” people are going to listen to that and say, “Well how am I supposed to I do that?” But it’s all imaginal work. Our imagination is far more powerful than we give it credit for in most cases.
LD: It’s imagination but it’s also recognizing that in nature on this wonderful diversity of what’s been placed on the planet, or chosen on the planet to be with us, particularly with us at this time, that each being has a role to play. And it’s funny because sometimes when I’m channeling in individual sessions, people’s guides will say, “Well I hate being underemployed; you never call on me for anything.”
And there’s all this help and assistance that’s available. And I think it’s true also of the animal kingdom, that we’ve become, aside from our domesticated animals, we’ve become so distant from the animal kingdom that we tend to forget that they are out there and available and their spirits are strong and helpful.
SM: It’s interesting because I was having a conversation with a friend the other day and asking, and I usually do this when I’m talking to people about totem animals, if they’re having a particular problem in their life or sometimes I’ll ask if there’s an animal that you feel really connected with. I’m surprised when somebody comes across with ‘no, not really’. But they think about it for a little bit and this friend I was talking to the other day talked about how he goes to feed the pigeons all the time and how he really appreciates them; and I said “well, there you have it. There are aspects of the pigeons or the doves that you really love and appreciate. There’s a connection there and to recognize it and to recognize that there are things about doves that will be helpful for you in your current situation.” Everything happens on purpose, especially right now, everything is completely on purpose.
LD: Yes. There is no coincidence.
SM: It doesn’t have to be a physical sign in nature, because some of our animals we will never see. If I saw an otter in the brook that runs across my property, I would be in incredible joy. But there are no otters in this brook. So it could be in the form of dreams or just a real love and appreciation above others. If we love all animals, but this one in particular – woman medicine and joy and playfulness, which obviously the dolphins will give to us, but it doesn’t have to be something you see. You can recognize the connection aside from that.
LD: You’re absolutely right, in fact, it’s funny you’ve chosen otter because otter is one of my totems and when I lived in Niagara I lived on a wetlands with Lake Ontario in front and a river behind me and the otters would come and they would play and play and play and they really taught me so much at a time when I was taking myself far too seriously.
Well, why don’t we do a little meditation and get into some discussion with our listeners because I think there are lots of questions today.
SM: Well we do, we actually have many listeners lined up for calls. So if you can hang in there for a little while we’ll be getting to callers in a little while but I’m happy that we have so much interest…Yeah, let’s do a meditation.
LD: Okay. So take a nice, deep breath and let’s make this breath today the color of the red rocks of Sedona, that dirt red, that red mud of the Mississippi, of old brick. And in terms of your chakras this ray sits in your pubic area and the purpose of your pubic chakra, which is one of the new chakras, is to assist in the creation and the creativity on earth. And it connects us to Nova Earth and to Gaia.
So, breathe in this beautiful brick color, old brick, and as you breathe it in, taste it, taste that red dust of Sedona, of the red rocks, of the mountains, of the dirt, feel it on your tongue because this is one of the tastes of Gaia. And with me anchor in your heart because all the work we do together, all the fun we have together comes from being anchored in the heart and in the love.
And allow yourself to drift, but not above earth, but very close to her. And feel yourself opening to invite your spirit totems, your spirit animal helpers, to come forth and assist you this day. And even if this is something that you have never thought of before it doesn’t matter. Allow what you need in this moment of your Ascension and in this moment of your life to come and simply appear either in front of you or behind the screen of your closed eyes or in your tummy as just an intuitive knowing or in your heart.
So, maybe it is the strength of the bear or the desire or even the need to go into hibernation, to take some time out and to be strong enough to do that. Or maybe it is what Suzy and I were talking about…either the river or the sea otter who carries the quintessential feminine energy taking care of her pups and playing; or the beaver building your new world, building your inspiration into something tangible; or the spirit of white buffalo, of wisdom. Don’t go to who you think you ought to call in. Just allow your totems to reveal themselves to you and to explain to you in this piece of your journey, of your spiritual path, of your awakening.
Now with me, go deeper, deeper, and ask this animal, this totem, what it has to tell you; what is the message that it wants to share with you this day. And listen, not merely with your ears but with your heart. And receive the love and the support, the same way you do from your guides. And relax and receive as I take a moment to step aside…
Sitting Bull: I AM Sitting Bull.
SM: Welcome.
SB: Yes, and welcome to you and to all of you of all the tribes and of all the nations that have gathered to join with the kingdoms and the elements, the earth and the air, the fire and the water, with the animals and with the humans.
You may wonder what an old Chief has to say, but my friends there are many similarities between our journeys and our pathways as there are with the entire Council of the Elders. For I know what it is to travel far in your journey and sometimes to have to leave your home and that which is familiar and that you have come to know and to love and cherish.
I know what it is to be disdained and to be dismissed because of the spirit path and the path in human form. And you have to flee and to have to fight. But I do not come this day to talk about losses; I come to speak to you about what you think of victory and reunion.
Because you are the prophecy that has been common to all traditions and that is that you join as one tribe, as one people, honoring and respecting and enjoying in celebration, ritual, ceremony, the traditions of each other, ignoring violent history and knowing of peaceful history and the ability to create greater peace.
This was always my goal. It was to build the understanding of Great Spirit, of what you think of as One, and for the communion, not only with the animals and with our sacred Mother, Gaia, but with each other as well.
It is not impossible to live together in peace and it is not impossible to live together in peace with the animals who are truly the equal inhabitants of earth with you. This attitude of superiority begins to fade and it is time that it faded because what it allows to happen is the richness of each person’s talents to actually be permitted to come forth.
And each person’s talents are necessary, not only for the survival of the tribe, but for the peace and enjoyment, prosperity and abundance of the tribe. So one may be a medicine woman and know the way of plants and herbs. And another may know how to call in the stars and speak to the moon.
Where another can speak to the animals. Where one is a horseman and another knowing how to read the signs of the trees and whether we will have a harsh winter or not. All are equal because all are in service to Great Spirit and to the Mother who holds us, to what you think of as Gaia.
So I do not simply come to speak of totems this day, but I have asked for this subject because it is the starting point for you to begin to accept, to nurture and to honor those you share this planet with and it is important. It is one way for you to begin to acknowledge that you are not alone.
And this is truly the most severe illness, dis-ease, of the humankind. It is this feeling of isolation and that you are not supported or understood in your journey. That is not true.
It is not true in terms of your animal friends, and it is not true in terms of your ancestors and we who have gone before you. There are very few of you who have not had any lifetime in one of the tribes or another. It is one of the reasons you have returned to this place called North America, to Turtle Island.
But each of you, whether you are in New Zealand or Australia or Europe or Japan, you have your connections and they are equal and just as powerful, particularly as you join now as one tribe. So I leave you with this thought; this is your time of victory, both personally and together. But it is also your time to realize that victory is never earned or won alone. So celebrate together. Honor your family and I do not simply mean your current biological family. Honor your family and go in peace. Ho!
SM: Thank you, Sitting Bull. May I ask a question?
SB: Yes.
SM: As you’re speaking it occurs to me that it might be helpful for people to be able to access our past incarnations as an indigenous tribal member and I was wondering if you could offer some suggestions as to how people could get in touch with that. I mean, we are gathering our parts, our aspects into ourselves and certainly many of our past incarnations, skills and memories would be helpful for us in this time. Have you a suggestion how we could access that?
SB: As this channel, as my sweet friend, has spoken to you, I have helped with the medicine wheel many times. Now the medicine wheel represents the directions but it also represents the realm of human experience. You may think of it simply as a circle and the reference points are what you use everyday, north/south/east/west.
But what I suggest for this exercise that you ask me about, my dearest is that you go to the center of the medicine wheel and yes, it is always best to do sacred ceremony of this nature, either as the moon rises or the sun rises, so it can be your choice. And if you are not in a position to do this then simply visualize that you are at sunrise or sunset. But it is new beginnings that you are seeking. And so I would suggest to you that sunrise is the time.
Go to the center of the wheel, to the heart of the wheel, and simply sit down. Now I am asking you to sit down so that you are in a very peaceful and relaxed state. You are not threatening any, and it is important that most of you is touching Gaia. So I want you to feel the earth, even if you are sitting on a bed or a chair, feel the earth connection. Most of you do not get your feet dirty often enough.
As you sit there, simply ask – yes I will help you – and so will Cochise and Geronimo, so will Joseph and Red Cloud. But I will sit in the center with you and ask your being from other lifetimes, whether you are ancient medicine woman or young brave, to come to you and pay attention what direction they come to you from.
So if it is East, for example, and I am not asking you to become historians, but you will know it is an Eastern tribe, perhaps Mohawk or Algonquin.
Or is it the North? Is it the far north? Is it the Innu? Or is it the West, and where in the West? Is it the Navajo, or Apache? Or even the South. So pay attention to the direction and the way in which you are dressed in that lifetime.
This is not a difficult exercise that I give you. So simply ask them and for some of you it may be one, for others it may be several. And simply ask them to come and sit with us in the center of the circle of the wheel and in this way you will come to know who you have been. Now, some of you have come from extinct tribes and that is sad. But it does not mean that you did not survive and that you did not have life. So do not judge who joins you and in the same way you can ask the totems to come from each direction, if you choose, as well. It matters not because eventually you will leave the center of the circle with me and you will go on your journeys and you will bring your friends.
SM: May I ask another question?
SB: Yes.
SM: I’ve been finding in my spiritual evolution that my animal allies are taking more of a background position and I’m wondering if that’s a natural progression as I learn to access for myself the things that I’ve looked to them for in the past.
SB: They have given you their gifts. Think of it this way: yes it is a natural progression but I also do not want you to forget us – we old people and animals. So when you are a child you are tended to and you are taught many lessons. And even as you come of age and you have done your journeying there are still many lessons that lie ahead. And so, it is the reunion with your totems, with your animal helpers that is important time to time.
Because, like your guardians, what you think of as guardians, guides, angelic realm, each has a place in which to assist you. So often there is a grave underestimation of the help that is available to you. But every now and then one of your totems will raise their head and let you know to pay attention.
So yes, it is “do not forget where you have journeyed from.”
SM: Yes, we need to know where we’ve been. So, Sitting Bull, I so appreciate having this conversation. We have many callers lined up. Would it be all right to take some callers?
SB: Yes. Linda and I, and you my friend, for this is intended this to be a lively conversation.
SM: Beautiful. Thank you so much. Area code 248, are you with us?
Caller 248: Yes, thank you.
SM: Hi. Have you got a question or comment?
Caller 248: I’d like to know, for all the little fairy elementals out there, how do we work with the fairy realm?
SB: You work with the fairy realm the same way you would work with the elementals and even with the totems. But what I also wish to remind you as fairies, that you also have your allies. Do not forget the ladybug and the hummingbird again, the flycatcher, the caterpillar, the tiny spiders, the worms, particularly the worms who spin silk.
So it is much the same way and you could sit in the center of the wheel and ask your fairy or different pieces of you, of who you have been, because you know, everyone thinks of the fairies as tiny and so they have become but that was only because the white man came to step on them and to try and control. So it is ancient energy that is very powerful with magic. And often we would call upon this magic in our ceremony. So that is how you work. It is the playful, gentle energy, but it is also the very watchful, cautious energy. It is time for the fairies to be re-invited to come out and play.
Caller 248: Is there a name for them?
SB: You mean the fairies?
Caller 248: Yes, in a more native way.
SB: No. We would call them fairies. It would be too confusing because I would need to speak to you in dozens of dialects. We would always call them ‘the light beings’.
SM: Thank you for your call.
Caller 248: Thank you and Suzy, I wanted to mention one last reference to Linda’s CD she put out years ago called Spirit Speaks and I think it’s still up on her website …www.counciloflove.com…for those who would enjoy this and maybe there is a downloadable version too. Thank you.
SM: Okay. Thank you. This is a strange number, 333, are you with us?
Caller 333: Hello everyone and hello Sitting Bull. I live in nature, so I have many animals, wild animals, the area. And recently, there has been an unusual gathering of falcons near the land. And they were chasing something and it was incredibly beautiful, but I was wondering what could be the message because I have a very strong connection with them. So, if you could give my your opinion on that, please.
SB: It is important for all of you, whether you live as you say in nature or in the center of a city, to pay attention and what you have seen is a gathering of the energies of the hunters and what we would call the watchers and observers.
For the eyesight and the speed of the falcon is mighty. So they are telling you dear one to be in a place of clear observation and get ready to move quickly to claim your dream.
SM: Thank you for your call. Area 970, are you with us?
Caller 970: Good morning, it’s Judy. Good morning Sitting Bull, what a wonderful honor to have you here. I am wondering if you could please tell me the message that my most significant totem is giving me now for this interesting time in my life?
SB: But it is for you to discern. It is not for me to tell you. It is for you to speak with the animals. I did not come to simply say this is your totem and this is what they are saying to you. What I have asked you to do is to speak with them. Because they speak to your heart, they speak to your mind; you know the qualities of each of the animals, like the deer that you are observing and the gentleness that they carry. So pay attention.
Caller 970: Thank you…and the bear that was telling me to be fearless the day that she was on the deck trying to get into my mother’s house.
SB: But are you not that bear?
Caller 970: I hope so. I appreciate your time.
SB: I suggest to you that you are.
SM: Thanks Judy. Have a great day. David, are you with us?
David: Yes. It’s so nice that you know my name by now. Hello Suzy, hello Linda, and hello Sitting Bull, it’s a great honor to talk to you all. I understood that we are supposed to talk with our animals by ourselves, but nevertheless I will ask these questions and then you may answer what you want to tell me.
The first one is, my girlfriend and I have a really nice cat and she’s now thirteen years old, and I communicate with her and there was a young, her name is Lena, young Lena and she was drinking out of a puddle, and out of the puddle there came a wild hawk. And I thought about a monster coming out of the water, so I thought that there’s a virus in the water. We always give her really good water out of a bottle. I got the message that she feels incarcerated so we let her in the garden and now she still has the diarrhea and we really don’t know what to do anymore. So if you have a suggestion I would be really glad to hear it.
SB: First you don’t look at the hawk emerging from the water as a monster. For the hawk can dive to grab the fish, the prize. And emerge and fly free with the prize. So in many ways, what your cat was doing in this vision was also seeking for the prize, for what would nurture her and what she was also showing you was who she travels with and who she was been. So she is showing you that although she has come in this lifetime as a sweet little pussycat that she is also a fierce, free hawk that knows how to soar. That is why she is constantly asking to be liberated. No, I am not suggesting that you let her run free because you live in a dangerous area and you would not wish for her to be injured. But she is also telling you that she would like some fish.
David: Thank you for that answer. It wasn’t actually a flying hawk; it was like these pigs, of the woods like a wild hog…
SB: But she has been a hawk. She has not a hog, not that there’s anything wrong with a hog, the wild boar is powerful. But that is not the image.
David: Can you talk about what it means that there was a wild boar coming out of the water?
SB: It is the strength. It is the family strength, for the wild boars are tenacious but they are powerful but they are also very much family animals. They move in packs, in tribes, in extended family. They protect them and their young. When they are injured they do not abandon one another; they tend to one another and they heal the wounds.
David: Thank you for understanding the wild boars more. Thank you. I was still in fear consciousness, I think, in that part…
SB: You think because they are ugly that they are not beautiful, but they are.
David: Thanks, I can see that and this connects wonderful with my second question. Because at night I was in the woods with my girlfriend and we did a ritual to heal the woods, because we thought it was a little bit enchanted. I did a Hopi singing with my wind staff and she also did some singing and then we heard sounds in the woods and we were really ‘oh my gosh, what is that?’ because we called the spirit of the wood and then it came. And we were like ‘okay, it could be the spirit of the wood, but we thought some dangerous wild boars’ so we were a bit afraid and went. But my question is maybe you have another suggestion for how we can heal the spirit of the woods where we live.
SB: The spirit of the wood has spoken to you already. And you have awakened the spirit and let him, and it is a ‘him’, know that there is an ally. So, what you have done, my friend, and I do not say this because I have had moments of fear, but you do not invite somebody to come and meet you and then run away. It’s not very hospitable is it? Go back to the woods and bring the offerings, bring the sacred tobacco or some offering that you wish to make as a gift to the spirit of the wood. It is the acknowledgement that counts, and it is the acknowledgment and the love that will do the healing.
David: That’s great. Thank you for the time. Maybe just a short, last question; does it have something to do with the old church that is nearby the wood?
SB: No, it does not. The wood allowed the church to come and share his sacred space. Now there has been pain and suffering in that church and if you’re going to clean up anything that is as you have put it “enchanted”, then I would suggest that it might be the church. So, go and sage.
David: Go and sage…what does that mean?
SB: It means go and burn sage in this area.
David: Ah, okay, that was wonderful advice. Thank you Sitting Bull, thank you Linda and thank you Suzy, bye bye.
SM: Okay David, have a good day. Wonderful. Area code 778 are you with us?
Caller 778: I’m from Vancouver, British Columbia and this last week it feels like I’ve opened up inside myself the most beautiful connection with myself as a Mohawk warrior that got killed in battle in the 1600’s and speaking Algonquin. And the pain that I felt over the love of my life being murdered with smallpox blankets in New England, it was horrendous and it’s like I did unfinished soul business, and just the joy and love and the depths of such crystal clear clarity of oneness with everything like plant, animal, trees, sky, stars – it just opened up a beautiful blossom in this life.
That was followed by myself as a nine-year-old girl speaking Algonquin in New England and living in the forest. And it feels like my Akashic Records are opening up and I’m grounding in Gaia through my previous lives where I was totally one in my life and I come from, not urban, I grew up on the farm, but extremely fundamentalist, very perfectionist, clinical, sterile spirituality and now it’s blossomed into a non-linear, non black and white but multi-color, just everything opening up in my deepest heart imagination.
I wanted to ask if there’s anything that Sitting Bull would like to…it feels like I’m surrounded by so much more than I can possibly… so I’m open and I would like to listen to what Sitting Bull has for me…
SB: You know I am a being of very few words. And so what I say to you is keep going. Your travel and your journey has really just begun. Keep traveling dear friend.
Caller 778: Oh wow. Thank you.
SM: Thank you for calling. You have a wonderful day. Area code 206 are you with us?
Caller 206: Yes, hello. I just have a question. When you invite a spirit to eat breakfast with you or to share a little bit of time with you, and you have some offerings, like a meal, what happens with the meal afterwards? Do you enjoy the smell of the food and what happens to the food after that? Can it be reused or it has to be thrown away?
SM: Are you asking about making a spirit offering of food?
Caller 206: Yeah, when you invite somebody to eat breakfast with you, like a spirit…what happens with the food after that and do they enjoy the smell of the food?
SB: We enjoy the invitation. But the offerings that we often ask for or welcome are tobacco or corn meal or whatever you choose, but if you are asking me to sit down for example and share your breakfast of eggs and bacon or perhaps wild boar and bread, then I will enjoy it but it will not appear that I have touched it. So do not waste food. Do not waste food. It is too important and there are too many that go hungry.
So what I ask of you is either give me half of what you want, and then eat both parts for me, or simply set a place and allow me to sit with you.
SM: Beautiful. Thank you for calling. Have a great day. Sitting Bull, if I might, I hesitate to introduce this because it’s not a very happy subject, but if I can ask you to speak to this for a moment. Last night I was made aware of a situation of some terrible animal abuse on a social website. And of course then I sent my golden light to the cat that was involved and also to the person, the person who did the terrible thing to the animal because in my view, that is the only thing to do and the thread was full of hatred and anger and all kinds of negative emotion toward the person that was abusing the animals.. We love our animals and we get so hyper-charged on animal abuse and I want it to end more than anything. But the way that I see it ending is for us to send the golden light, or whatever love and light we can to the person that is so terribly wounded that they lash out and do such things to our animals. So, would you please speak to that?
SB: We have watched the slaughter of the buffalo and the murder of the people. And we have watched the abuse of skinning buffalo alive, knowing that these who were doing it were not only desecrating the land and our food source, our animals, but the spirit of these mighty beings. And that this would wreak havoc as it did amongst all peoples and on the land.
So we know about the potential for human beings to be very abusive. What we used to do, what is often not covered in your history books, in this situation of such slaughter, is we would go amongst the dead and dying and we would sing our songs to Great Spirit and we would sing our buffalo songs as well to accompany their spirits on their journey.
But in our ritual and our ceremony and in the midst of such pain we prayed for the awakening of these hunters that they would understand what they were truly doing because obviously they were very ignorant of the way.
Now it has taken a very long time to restore the buffalo and it will never be as it once was. But the buffalo hunters, many who have reincarnated, by the way, as Native American, they have learned.
And so, all you can do is pray and ask Great Spirit to touch their hearts and their minds so that these atrocities, whether it is a small cat or a buffalo or a wolf, that they will see the error of their ways and come to honor the animals and the spirit and the freedom and the rights that they have.
So, yes, do not fall into hatred and judgment. I have begun today by saying it is a time of victory. I do not say this blithely. I say this that you are in a place now where all the tribes, the black, the yellow, the white, the brown, the red, come together. But you cannot come together if you are saying “well you are expelled to the wilderness because of your ignorance” – it does not work that way. The tribe can heal the one who has gone astray. It is up to the tribe.
SM: Thank you so much for that. Sitting Bull, thank you for joining us on this day. And I so appreciate all the helpful information that you’ve given to us. Is there anything else that you would like to say in closing?
SB: I say come and sit with me in the early morning on the prairie plain and let me show you the way. For there are many lessons still be learned and joy to be remembered. Ho!
LD: Hi, it’s Linda.
SM: Hi Linda, welcome back.
LD: Well, thank you. What an honor. I wanted to mention, you know how we all have our favorite books and both of us mentioned Lynn Andrews this morning and let me tell you, she is a great starting point. But I bet you there are all kinds of people out there that are saying. “Well how do I figure out what my totems are?” And there are many great books out there. But the one that I have returned to year after year after year is Jamie Sams’ book called Medicine Cards – it comes with a book and a deck of cards. It’s called The Discovery of Power through the Ways of Animals. And even though there are lots of books out there, this is like Louise Hay’s, You Can Heal Your Life, that I go back to, it’s sort of like a Bible that I go back to again and again and again. So, if you’re looking for more information on how to do this, this is a great little starter kit and she can walk you through it and the graphics and the drawings are beautiful, the energy is beautiful.
And yes, there is still a CD on my website called Spirits Speak; in fact, it was the first of a trilogy of meditations with the Chiefs. And now I feel inspired to record the other two. It’s about working with the medicine wheel and the medicine wheel within and the animals. So get yourself some info and just get going, and pay attention.
I’ve got to tell you, the other morning, I’ve lived in Florida for about ten years and I’ve seen an armadillo a couple of times, we used to have an real old boy that I used to see coming every now and then through the yard. But the other morning I was going out to walk Eliza and there was this young armadillo, a baby armadillo, across the street at my neighbor’s house and he turned and he looked at me and I swear he was smiling. And he ran across her lawn, ran across the street and came tearing up the swale, up to our yard and he was just coming right at me and he was smiling like he was saying “there you are” like “I’ve got to talk to you”. Well I went into the house because I didn’t want Eliza to get in the mixture of that, but I really got the message like ‘what is the armadillo saying to you?’ I mean, it was unmistakable. So it’s like pay attention to who is showing up, who’s showing up in your life. The energy of the armadillo, because they have those wonderful shells, is boundaries, and maintaining your boundaries, being clear about what those boundaries are. So it was something I had to sit and meditate on and think what am I up to that this animal has so vigorously arrived first thing in the morning.
SM: It’s definitely worth the time to contemplate and feel into those messages and be available to them. I would like to add also that there are some fabulous books by Ted Andrews, one in particular called Animals Speak that goes into more depth than the medicine cards. He has full chapters on how to discover your totem animals, rituals, etc., so it’s very helpful.
So anyway, it’s been a lovely show. Thank you callers, and thank you Linda, and thank you so much Sitting Bull.
LD: Oh, thank you and there you go…two great books that you can go and get and get started. So next week I believe we are going to talk about guides and how to get in touch with our guides. And so, that should be a lot of fun. I don’t know who’s going to be our guide in that journey but you know someone’s going to show up. Thank you Suzy, as always.
Channeled by Linda Dillon 05-07-13
