Kindling the Native Spirit: Sacred Practices for Everyday Life

We sat huddled in silence around a tree-sheltered campfire on the side of the mountain. Holding the palms of our hands out to be warmed by the flames, we gazed up at the stars. The sound of a lone owl punctuated the stillness, as tiny embers spiraled up and dissolved into the darkened sky. I inhaled the damp night air—it smelled of moist earth, smoke, and pine—and looked at the faces of those who sat around me. Their bodies glowed like wavering, liquid amber in the flickering light. These were healers from various indigenous cultures who had gathered for a special ceremony high in the Cascade Mountains. Afterward, around the fire, we took time to absorb the events of the day. Then quietly, a Maori healer from New Zealand pointed up to the sky and said, “Do you see that star, Denise?”

When I followed his finger to the heavens, I didn’t see just one—I saw thousands of stars. I tried to convince myself that I knew the exact star he was pointing to and mumbled, “Umm, yes?”

“That’s your personal star. Each of us has a star, and that one is yours.” He said it with certainty. “I’ll ask you where it is tomorrow night, and I know you’ll be able to find it.”

I wasn’t so sure of that, but I asked him what he meant when he said that we each had a star.

He replied, “When I was a child, the Old Ones told me that when each person is born, a star is given to them. The star oversees their life, and all anyone ever needs to do—when they’ve lost their way—is to look for their star in the night sky. Their star calls to them to remember what’s truly important in life.” The other elders around the fire nodded as he spoke.

I don’t know if I can find my exact star, but I’ve found that simply looking up at a starry sky and knowing my star is shining down on me makes everything that isn’t important in my life fall away.

The call to remember who you are can come in many forms. It can come from the land, from your ancestors, from the depth of your soul, from the elements . . . or even from a star. It’s a beckoning to evoke the awareness of who you really are. It’s a hallowed request to step beyond the boundaries of your identity into the vast, vibrant realm of the universe. However, until you answer the call, there may be a kind of yearning for something that you can’t quite grasp. It’s like being homesick for a place that you can’t remember.

When you answer the call, you’ll find the ancient landscape deep within you, where sacred mountains carry memories of creation within their folds. You’ll discover inner rolling hills that hold vestigial memories of your past and your future. These memories undulate between hidden plains like great buttocks, breasts, and pregnant mounds of life. It’s where mysterious gorges within you are filled with forgotten dreams and sparkling rivers of your essence that carry the scent of life. And when you travel to the center of this inner realm, you’ll know that you’re home.

Being home means looking beneath the surface of life . . . and tapping into the powerful natural forces that dwell there. Native people understood how to access those streams of energy to gain vitality and significant insight into their lives. In this chapter, you’ll learn how to achieve a greater understanding of the potent energy influences around you. You’ll discover how to connect with the innate majesty of the elements of air, water, fire, and earth, as well as the sun, the moon, and the Spirit Keepers of the directions. (For example, you’ll learn how simply facing in the different directions can invite various kinds of energy to flow into your being.) You’ll also realize how to answer the call to activate the passionate wilderness in your soul. This is one of the most extraordinary journeys that anyone can take in their lifetime . . . and it’s vital to do this sooner rather than later.

From scientists and politicians to psychics and visionaries, predictions about the future suggest that we have entered into one of the most challenging centuries of human history. We stand at the crossroads of either the destruction or regeneration of our planet. At the same moment as rapid advances in medicine, science, and technology are occurring, our ecology is on the verge of collapse. And it’s happening at an accelerated pace. Each step has potential consequences. We can be mindful of those steps, knowing that the wisdom of the natural world is always present . . . or we can acquiesce to the modern paradigm of attempting to control the earth rather than walking in harmony with her.

In many ways, there has never been a more powerful time in the evolution of our planet than right now. It’s a period like no other in history. What we do in this single generation will dictate the destiny of generations ahead. And it’s not simply about physical acts, such as planting more trees or saving the whales (which, of course, are worthwhile and necessary activities). In a deeper sense, it’s about a shift of consciousness, the ripples of which can radiate out in all directions, touching the hearts of many.

“We are each reﬂections of the earth. What we do to the earth, we do to ourselves.”

— GRANDMOTHER ELIZABETH ARAUJO, RESPECTED MAYAN LEADER AND MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL OF MAYAN ELDERS

The challenge is that most humans don’t see themselves as a part of nature, but somehow superior to it. If we didn’t feel separate from the earth—if we could feel her soul inside of us—we would treat her so very differently. Even though modern technology has made our lives easier, our subconscious tells us a different story. Our disconnection from the natural world has made many become spiritually disorientated. And not only are we disconnected from the land, but also we’re becoming increasingly disconnected from each other.

It’s not uncommon for people to go out to dinner and then spend much of the time on their electronic devices, rather than in conversation. Modern mothers today often look more at their cell phones than into the faces of their infants as they are nursing. (Not having direct facial connection can diminish mirror neuron development in the child.) The rise of electronic communication in our society has begun to replace human contact, and we’ve suffered a loss of quality and quantity of close friends as a result. Since 1985 the average number of close friends most people have has dropped dramatically . . . and the numbers keep decreasing.

Research has also shown that the use of computers has a dramatic effect on a child’s brain development—even educational games. Computer games affect neurological reactions, hormones, and biochemicals (such as adrenaline) that increase heart rate and muscle changes for a fight-or-flight response, which can become an ingrained, permanent response to life. Also, the overuse of computers during childhood development through adolescence can cause the prefrontal cortex (which regulates emotions, complex thought processes, and problem solving) to not reach its potential. And every year more and more people spend more time with their electronic devices than in conversations with “real” people.

As a culture, we’re in such a hurry that we wait only a few seconds when we phone someone before we hang up. Additionally, we’ve become myopic and only think of short-term profit and benefit. We aren’t addressing how our actions affect the seven generations beyond us—this is about 140 years—as decreed in native tribal traditions. The way we’re going, the future of our planet will be bereft in a relatively short time simply because of our actions today. How different our lives would be if corporations and policy makers carefully considered the ways in which their actions affect our descendants in the future.

However, it’s possible to reinvent our own personal destiny, as well as that of our planet. In the native cultures that I’ve spent time in, repeatedly I’ve heard that we’re entering a time of darkness. This might be true as our seas, air, and land are being polluted and disregarded. Yet there is a universal law: “The greater the darkness, the greater the light.” There has never been a more compelling time than right now for your light to shine fiercely, graciously, and beautifully. You are needed. It’s time to answer the call.

Each of my native teachers brought an understanding about this pivotal time and shared strategies that we can all use to survive and thrive in the years ahead. They each believed that survival depended on courageous individuals stepping forward and embracing their own native soul. Those who welcome their inner indigenous spirit know how to push off from the shore of normal reality and enter the vast flow of life where the world is alive—where every tree has a voice, every mountain has a soul, and every flower has a song. We think that we’ve forgotten how to take this journey, but inside each of us is a place that remembers . . . and the voices of our ancestors are calling us to awaken.

The ancestors I’m talking about aren’t just the ones that dwell in a spirit world; they’re the collective ancestral soul that resides deep inside of you. This book isn’t just about heeding wisdom or learning new techniques; in its deepest sense, it’s a touchstone to help you recall the knowledge that already exists within you. If you trace your ancestry back far enough, you’ll discover that you have earth-based ancestors who lived in harmony with nature and understood that all things are connected. Their very survival depended upon their ability to interface with the natural world . . . and you carry their DNA. You carry their memories. The native spirit already dwells in you!

Interestingly, recent science has been giving credence to the idea that memories can, in fact, travel through the generations in our DNA. Researchers from Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta have shown that it’s possible for information to be inherited biologically, through chemical changes that occur in DNA. During their experiments they learned that animals could pass on learned information about stressful experiences to subsequent generations; in one case, it was a fear of the smell of cherry blossoms. This suggests, from a scientific perspective, what earth-based cultures have always intuitively known—that our experiences can be transferred from the brain into our genome, allowing them to be passed on to later generations. Professor Marcus Pembrey, a geneticist at University College London, said the work provided “compelling evidence” for the biological ancestral transmission of memory.

You contain the blueprint of your native ancestors that dwell within you. When I was with the Aborigines in the bushland of Australia, Nundjan Djiridjarkan told me that young Aboriginal children, who had never been taught the old ways about particular ancient Aboriginal art motifs, had been spontaneously creating them without ever being instructed. He maintained it was the ancestral soul.

We are at a turning point in the history of our planet, and many of the old ways are dying. This we know. Of course change is the way of life, but if the old ways that help us establish deep connections to our living planet continue to die, then our souls are deprived. It’s my intent that, by following some of the suggestions in this book, such as drumming, creating a spirit stick, and listening to the messages in the wind, you’ll be answering that hallowed call. And your life will be enriched as a result.

The first step to ignite the native spirit within you is to connect with the natural world. This begins by understanding that everything in the universe has consciousness. Even the most hardened skeptics would agree that animals are conscious beings. And modern science has discovered that plants can respond to the energy field of humans. However, even though science hasn’t decreed it to be so (at this time), no less conscious are the stones, mountains, and rivers. Native people always knew that everything has a consciousness. Blessings were asked of the Spirit of the Sea before a fishing trip and the Rain Spirit during a drought. To those earth-based clans, the spirits of the natural world were real. The earth was called “mother” or “grandmother,” and clemency was asked before digging into her flesh. In every way, native people honored their connection to the living, conscious world around them.

The idea that something as big as our planet might be alive is very difficult for some people to comprehend. However, it’s fascinating to notice that the earth regulates her environment in much the same way that the human body self-regulates in order to maintain constant conditions within itself. For example, a human body in good health maintains a temperature of approximately 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. During the summer and winter, despite the fluctuations of outer temperature, the body adheres very close to this norm. When body temperature drops below this, you begin to shiver and your skin contracts, raising body temperature. When body temperature rises above 98.6 degrees, your pores will open and release perspiration, thus bringing body temperature back down through the cooling process of evaporation.

Similarly, the temperature of the earth has remained at an average of 55.4 degrees Fahrenheit for 3,800 million years, even though the sun became 25 percent hotter and brighter during this period of time. As the sun became hotter, the plants on Earth drew in more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, thus reducing the greenhouse effect warming the planet. In other words, Grandmother Earth devised a way to maintain her constant temperature for millions of years . . . until now, when human interference over a short period of time has made it difficult for her to stay in balance.

Another example of the remarkable ability of the planet to self-regulate is the salinity of the sea. The level of salt in the ocean has remained at 3.4 percent for thousands of years, even though rivers are continually washing salt from the earth into the sea. Similarly, the oxygen content of our atmosphere stays at 21 percent, which is the necessary level for life to exist on the planet. When you know, in the depth of your being, that the earth is alive and each of her elements is alive, it can transform your life in subtle yet profound ways.

In native traditions the world is often thought to be divided into four elements—air, water, fire, and earth—which are thought to be each imbued with a spirit that can be accessed for balance and wholeness. In other words, the four elements are not just inanimate aspects of nature. They are actually alive—as alive as a friend or family member.

Almost all indigenous people honor and acknowledge the elements. However, in our modern culture, it’s often difficult to feel our intimate connection to these living elemental forces, because most of us only identify with our bodies. We draw a kind of boundary that stops with our skin. Sometimes we identify with our possessions or even our family members, but it’s a limited experience of “self.” Our true self is so much larger, more majestic, and far-reaching than this. To answer the call of the Spirits of the Elements—sky, lake, lightning, and mountain—is to allow your personal identification to expand so that you begin to recognize yourself in the universe and the elements around you. In other words, your identity grows beyond the confines of your physical body and becomes part of the collective whole. Additionally, when you connect with the innate energy of the elements, there is a profound, positive effect on every aspect of your life. Answering the call of the elements is simply a matter of taking time to be aware of them . . . and now the journey begins.

In tribal traditions of the past, water was lifeblood. Watering holes formed the central axis for the tribe or clan. It was there where the women did their washing and collected water for cooking. These were the places where people would convene to discuss the weather, share news, and talk about the latest hunt or crop. When those in an earth-based culture called upon the Spirit of Water in a ceremony, they weren’t just saying words. There was the understanding that there was an actual, real spirit that they were addressing. They believed that the Water Spirit was healing and renewing; likely, the Christian tradition of using water as a baptismal way of being born anew has its source in much older, native cultures.

To answer the call of the Spirit of Water, simply be aware of the water that is within you and around you from rain, fog, and snow. Also take note of the water you drink, bathe in, and ingest when eating fruits and vegetables. The water you just sipped may have at one time been frozen high on a snowcapped peak, or maybe it cascaded down a mountain stream or came from deep within the earth. It’s believed that the water inside of you carries all these memories; it has an energy echo of having been in a cloud above the earth, falling as soft, gentle rain on a high plateau, and flowing as a current at the bottom of the sea. In the deepest sense, the water inside of you is not separate from all water on our planet . . . and it remembers.

From soft mists to rain, fog, streams, rivers, waterfalls, lakes, oceans . . . even from the water in the blood that surges through your veins . . . the Spirit of Water is calling you. It’s calling you to understand that you are not separate from the waters of our beautiful planet. There are many ways to do this. For example, before drinking a glass of water, my Hawaiian kahuna teacher would place her hand over the top of the glass and give thanks to the Water Spirit for its blessings. She said this awakened the Water Spirit and that water that was blessed and energized had life force in it. Answering the call of the Spirit of Water activates ﬂow in your life and brings emotional balance, as well as cleansing and healing energies.

When you answer the call of the Spirit of Air, you know that the air you breathe is connected to all the air on the planet. In a purely physical way, the oxygen in the breath you just took contained argon atoms that were inhaled by your most distant ancestors . . . and will be inhaled by your descendants. It has been in every nook and cranny of our planet. The air in that breath also contained at least 400,000 of the same argon atoms that were inhaled by a shaman on a high mound in ancient Mongolia, an aesthetic in the Himalayas, and a native storyteller in the Amazon.

The life force in the air around us is the common element that we share with all living creatures and plants on the planet. Native people looked to the skies to connect with the Creator and thought that the winds and the birds were spirit messengers. They believed that though you cannot see it, the Spirit of Air was real nevertheless. As a suggestion, whenever you’re aware of a breeze or the wind, turn to face it and be still. It’s not uncommon for a message to emerge for you when you do this.

The Spirit of Air exists in the inhalation and exhalation of your breath, soft breezes, warm autumn winds, rippling grasses, delicate seedpods lofted into the air by a gust, an eagle soaring on warm air thermals, and aspen leaves quaking in the wind. Even hurricanes and tornadoes carry the Spirit of Air. A simple way to connect with the air is to raise your arms high and inhale deeply, with awareness of that breath. Answering the call of the Spirit of Air activates freedom, perception, communication, and seeing life from a higher perspective.

Since the first cave dwellers discovered how to ignite flames to dispel darkness and disperse coldness, fire has been considered sacred. The constant interplay of light and shadow affects every part of life. Native people were inspired and fascinated by the power of fire that ranged from the radiance of the sun to the warmth of an evening campfire; in some tribes the sun was even honored as a god. The Cherokees had a sacred fire burning constantly, which was rekindled once a year during the Corn Festival. It was thought that the ceremony held the spirit of the tribe together. The sacred fire provided a sense of connection to the ancestors, the stars, and the Creator. The oldest Mayan ruins from 1,000 B.C.E. suggest ancient solar rituals and fire ceremonies. Ancient native people believed that the Spirit of Fire was a living and breathing organism essential for life.

The Spirit of Fire exists in the single flame of a candle in a cave, the warmth of a campfire, the stars above, the red flaming sunset, the dappled golden sunlight in a summer meadow, and the radiant sun above. As a suggestion, simply light a candle and look deep into the base of the flame with the sense that you are not separate from the deeper energies of fire. When you answer the call of the Spirit of Fire, vitality, purification, transformation, and life-force energies are activated within you.

Of the four elements, none has been as revered as the earth. Our connection to the earth goes back to the beginnings of our history. Myths in native cultures abound with stories of human beings emerging from its fold. The earliest native and ancient cultures honored Grandmother Earth as a conscious being who oversaw life in all of its phases. She was considered a fecund provider and nurturer for all her inhabitants. The ancient sensibility was one of living with the earth, instead of merely on it.

In native traditions, there is profound love of the earth. People sit or lie on the earth with the feeling that they are being mothered and healed. Here is one example from Lakota Chief Luther Standing Bear:

It was good for the skin to touch the earth and the old people liked to remove their moccasins and walk with bare feet on the sacred earth. Their tepees were built upon the earth and their altars were made of earth. The birds that flew in the air came to rest upon the earth and it was the final abiding place of all things that lived and grew. The soil was soothing, strengthening, cleansing and healing.

That is why the old Indian still sits upon the earth instead of propping himself up and away from its life-giving forces. For him, to sit or lie upon the ground is to be able to think more deeply and to feel more keenly; he can see more clearly into the mysteries of life and come closer in kinship to other lives about him [Land of the Spotted Eagle. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 1933].

The idea that we are a part of the earth isn’t uncommon. When I invited an Aboriginal elder from Australia to visit us in the United States, he replied that he couldn’t be separated for that long from his spirit, for his spirit lived in his homeland. He said he would potentially weaken and even die if he did. I’ve heard, over and over, a similar belief throughout my time in native cultures. There is the belief that part of our soul is embedded in the earth, and that we can be diminished when we travel if we don’t take our spirit with us. Perhaps this is part of the reason why travel can be so challenging for some people. Here’s one family’s cultural practice, as told by Wilma Spear Chief of the Blood (Kainai) Tribe, we can adopt that can help with this:

I am from Alberta, Canada—I’m a Blackfoot woman, as well as a member of the Blood Tribe. Our people were not afraid to travel because of a practice we had. When we were children, my mother use to call out our names whenever we would go somewhere. It could be to a nearby town or just to visit relatives in another part of the community. We would always respond, and she would say, “No, I am calling your spirits so they can come with us and not linger.”

The belief is that if you didn’t call your spirit, a part of you would feel lonely for the place you left behind . . . and not fully be present in your new surrounding. To this day I continue this practice and have taught my children to do the same thing, as they travel often. Perhaps because we were a nomadic tribe—our people were hunters and followed the Buffalo—we needed to develop ways to keep our spirit with us.

Our belief in a sentient Earth has almost disappeared in modern society. The dismay at the waning of this long-held understanding was passionately expressed at the end of the 19th century by Smohalia, an Oglala Lakota Sioux holy man:

You ask me to dig in the earth? Am I to take a knife and plunge it into the breast of my mother? But then when I die she will not gather me again into her bosom. . . . Then I can never enter her body and be born again. You ask me to cut the grass and the corn and sell them to get rich like the white men. But how dare I crop the hair of my mother?

Since we have lost our sense of connection to a living earth, in many ways we’ve lost our place in the cosmos. But perhaps buried deep in the psyche within each of us dwells the idea that human life springs forth from the earth, because more people are beginning to gravitate toward this ancient outlook.

From her majestic mountains, resplendent forests, open savannas, vast deserts, fertile valleys, and sweet meadows, the Spirit of Earth is calling you. As a suggestion, go outside and put your hands into the dirt. No gloves, no shovel. Simply reach your bare hands into the soil. Inhale the earth’s loamy scent. Imagine that your hands have roots that are rapidly growing and traveling beneath the surface to far mountains, to valleys under the sea, and all throughout our planet. When you answer the call of the Spirit of Earth, stability, grounding, healing, ancient wisdom, and power are activated in your life.

Physicists acknowledge that the atoms and molecules in all things are in constant motion. They declare what ancient native mystics have always known—that beneath the surface of physical objects, energy swirls into form, dissolves, and coalesces once again. The world is in a constant dance of fluid patterns of ebbing and flowing energy. Underlying this motion is a cyclical, spiraling cosmic order. This understanding of the great cycles within all of life is what Black Elk, the renowned holy man of the Oglala Lakota Sioux, called the sacred hoop or sacred circle:

Everything an Indian does is in a circle and that is because the power of the world works in circles and everything tries to be round. . . . The sky is round and I have heard that the Earth is round like a ball and so are all the stars. The wind, in its power, whirls. Birds make their nests in a circle for theirs is the same religion as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same, and both are round. Even the seasons, from great circles in their changing, always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle . . . and so it is in everything where power moves [Black Elk Speaks: The Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux (1961), as told to John G. Neihardt].

In past times, native people honored the sacred circle and what it represented. The circle was so important that it played a central theme in tribal ceremonies throughout the world. Rituals of purification were often performed in a circular manner. When the elders came together in council, it was in a circle so that all were included, each having an equal say. Sacred dancing was often performed in a circle. The circle evoked the feeling of completeness and wholeness; it allowed one to align with the center of the universe. The circle represented totality—the beginning and the end. When asked to delineate one’s life with some kind of timeline, those in Western culture usually draw a line, while those in native cultures often create a circle. This linear/cyclical vision of life is one of the major differences between a Western view and a native view of the world.

The sacred circle is a healing tool that can be used to soothe your soul by symbolically molding together the fragmented parts of the self. In the following sections, you’ll learn to answer the call of each of the four directions that comprise the cardinal points of the circle and to integrate each of them into your life.

In Western culture we usually think of medicine as the pills that a doctor gives us, but to Native Americans, medicine is what heals. It’s a very different definition of the word, and it’s one that puts the emphasis on wellness and balance rather than sickness. To a native person, spirit heals, right actions heal, and living in harmony with the land heals. All of this is a form of medicine.

Many people think of a medicine wheel as simply a Native American circle of stones. However, what they don’t understand is that a medicine wheel is much more than a gathering of stones; it’s a symbolic representation of the cyclical cosmology of life.

Medicine wheels have been used for mystical purposes by tribal cultures for a long time. Some of the oldest found by archaeologists date back 4,500 years ago. Presumably, this tradition goes back even further. The stones are only a physical representation of the sacred circle that encompasses creation. It’s an outer manifestation of an inner mystical force. It represents the four elements and the four directions. It’s also a circle of protection and healing.

Using ceremony, intent, and love, you can create a medicine wheel that can be a protected sanctuary and a sacred space where a vortex of energy can build. As you spend time in stillness in your medicine wheel, it can help you become even more balanced. (In Chapter 2, you’ll learn how to build your own medicine wheel.)

Reverence and gratitude for the directions is beautifully captured by Charley Elkhair of the Delaware Tribe:

We are thankful to the East because everyone feels good in the morning when they awake, and see the bright light coming from the East; and when the Sun goes down in the West we feel good and glad we are well; then we are thankful to the West. And we are thankful to the North, because when the cold winds come we are glad to have lived to see the leaves fall again; and to the South, for when the south wind blows and everything is coming up in the spring, we are glad to live to see the grass growing and everything green again. We thank the Thunders, for they are the manitous [the spiritual and fundamental life force, understood by Algonquian groups of Native Americans]. It is omnipresent and manifest everywhere that brings the rain, which the Creator has given them power to rule over. And we thank our mother, the Earth, whom we claim as mother because the Earth carries us and everything we need [M. R. Harrington, Religion and Ceremonies of the Lenape: Indian Notes and Monographs. Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, vol. 19, 1921].

In modern times, directions are something you hope your GPS will accurately relay. But, there is a more in-depth energy associated with east, south, west, and north. In some cultures “above” and “below” are added, making six sacred directions, and some even add a seventh, which is the center point. In native traditions, the directions are vibrant, alive, conscious energies that affect us in every moment. To embrace the native spirit, heed the call of the directions, which in some cultures are called the Four Winds, the Four Guardians, the Four Protectors, or the Spirit Keepers. In every moment the four directions carry messages to you . . . and when you answer, they’ll guide you in all areas of your life.

Indigenous people honor the Spirit Keepers of the directions. The Aztecs used the directions to divide the world into four regions. The Olmec temples in Mexico were built in alignment with the magnetic directions, as was the entire sacred Mayan city of Teotihuacán. Navajo sand paintings symbolize the four directions and are created during a ceremony reenacting the creation of the world.

When Black Elk was nine years old, he became very ill and was unresponsive for several days. During this time he had a vision in which he was visited by the Thunder Beings and taken to the Grandfathers—the spiritual guardians of the six hallowed directions. In his writings he says that the “spirits [of the directions] were represented as kind and loving, full of years and wisdom, like revered human grandfathers.” In his vision, Black Elk was then taken to the center of the earth, to the central mountain of the world at the axis of the six sacred directions.

Black Elk’s vision speaks of the holiness of the circle and the living spirit that flows from the four directions and above, below, and within. Even though you may not be aware of it, in this moment the directions are affecting you. Literally, they are encoded in your brain and their energy flows through you. From the beginning of time, we’ve defined the space around us in terms of four orientations—that is, we see things as being in front of us, behind us, and to the right or left of us. This corresponds to our experience of our planet, which rotates on an axis, defining north and south. Our awareness of the directions is also associated with the rising and setting sun, which gives us a deep-rooted sense of the east and west.

Our sense of direction may also be connected to the magnetic flows of energy around the earth, called the Van Allen belt. Birds navigate their migration routes by sensing these subtle variations in the earth’s magnetic field. Neurons in the brains of the birds are tuned to respond to signals from the directional magnetic field and register its strength. Research has shown that humans also have neurons that can sense directional magnetic flows. However, when we’re in our homes or in cities, there are strong electromagnetic fields from power lines, appliances, and other forms of modern life that disrupt our sensitivity and connection to the natural magnetic flows of the earth.

In many ways, as we’ve lost our ability to sense the directions of the natural world, we have lost our direction in life. However, we can still answer the call of the directions, and following is some information about how to do that.

Note: In the Northern Hemisphere, we associate the Spirit of the North with winter, coldness, and darkness; however, in the Southern Hemisphere since south is the direction of cooler climes, you’ll need to reverse these meanings. But because the sun and the moon always rise in the east and set in west, no matter where you are on the planet, these qualities remain the same and are relevant to both hemispheres.

The east is the place of the rising sun. In earth-based cultures, the morning was the time to face east and send prayers to the Creator. Often when homes were constructed their entrances faced east to allow Spirit Keepers of the East to enter the home and empower the coming day. The east is associated with awakenings. It is the place of hopes, dreams, and new plans. To answer the call, arise before dawn and then open your arms to the rising sun. Inhale the fresh morning air. If you’re not a “morning person,” you can welcome the rising of the moon. (The moon always rises in the east, though the exact location and time will vary depending on the time of the year and the phase of the moon.)

Symbolically, the beginning of the medicine wheel is in the east. The east is the home of new beginnings. The energy of the east symbolizes spring, the dawning of the day, and the waxing of the new moon. New life. New birth. Seeds are planted. New sprouts push through the soil. Eggs in nests wait to hatch. Babies are born. In the creativity cycle, the east is the place of activation of ideas.

The Spirit Keeper of the East is calling you. To answer this call, face toward the sunrise. Allow the coming light to ignite new energy in every area of your life. When you answer its call, you activate the energy of new beginnings, potential, new ideas, inspiration, optimism, growth, vigor, and enlightenment.

Moving around the sacred circle in a clockwise direction, you journey to the south. This is the symbolic home of summer, the midday sun, and the full moon. Corn is high. Days are warm. It’s the time of fullness and expansion. As the east represents the time of birth, the south is associated with growth and the time of childhood.

Ideas born in the energy of the east are nurtured and magnified in the south. Imagine yourself embraced with sunlight and feel your heart expanding in all directions. This is the energy of the south.

The Spirit Keeper of the South is calling you. To answer this call, face toward the south. Imagine that the light of the midday sun is illuminating your heart so that your heart may illuminate the world. When you answer its call, you activate the energy of expansion, fruitfulness, passion, activity, exuberance, vitality, and life force.

In the cycle of life, the west is the realm of autumn, the setting sun, and the waning moon. Crops are harvested. Leaves are falling from the trees. It’s the time when the new beginnings of birth and childhood have been surrendered, and the teenage and early adult years have emerged. It is a time of discovery, transformation, and experimentation. In the creativity cycle, after you activate an idea in the east and nurture it in the south, you then experiment with it in the west. To put an idea into form, you need to see what works and what doesn’t work. In order to do this, you must try it out, watching it change and go through various transformations.

The Spirit Keeper of the West is calling you. To answer this call, face west and travel in your imagination to the top of a high plateau. The sun is setting. The colors of the day are fading into the deeper colors of the night, as the warmth around you ebbs into the coolness of the evening. A profound peace settles over the land. When you answer its call, you activate the energy of completion, harvest, transformation, change, transition, surrender, release, and letting go.

As you complete the circle, you arrive in the north. In the cycle of life, the north is the realm of winter, the darkest night, and the dark of the moon. It’s also rest, contemplation, completion, and consolidation. In the human cycle, the north is associated with the achievement of maturity, the accomplishments of the middle years of life, and the transition to old age. The energy of the elders resides in the north. The north is the home of darkness and inner mysteries. It’s also the realm of death and rebirth. An idea that was conceived in the energy of the east, nurtured in the south, and tried out in the west, now reaches the place of consolidation and realization in the north.

To answer the Spirit Keeper of the North, face north and imagine that you’re standing in the cold darkness of a winter night. The stars are shimmering overhead, and a blanket of snow covers the land as far as you can see. But, you’re aware that beneath that stark chill and quietude, preparations are under way for a time of new beginning. When you answer the call of the north, consolidation, introspection, tranquility, meditation, retreat, rest, renewal, dormancy, inner guidance, incubation, wisdom, and reﬂection fill you.

The Spirit Keeper of Above, sometimes called Grandfather Sky, is calling you to see things from a higher perspective. Allow your spiritual branches to rise high into the heavens. Raise your arms overhead. When you answer the call of above, openness and freedom fill your life.

The Spirit Keeper of Below, sometimes called Grandmother Earth, is calling you to take your spiritual roots deep and to honor the earth and gain wisdom from her. Stand with your arms at your side, palms open. When you answer the call of below, you stand tall in your truth, grounded, stable, and strong.

The Spirit Keeper of the Center is calling you to the place of unity, wholeness, and healing. The center is where all the directions emanate from and return to. It’s where the separate parts of self come together to become whole. The Hopi of the American Southwest use the word tuwanasaapi, which means the place of belonging, the place where you’re in your true home, the centering place, or the spiritual axis of the universe. When you understand the hallowed energy of the four directions, you began to understand the cycles within your life, and your own journey around the sacred circle of life. You recognize that each part of the wheel symbolizes a different aspect of yourself and your life. The center of the circle is the dwelling place of the Creator, where the forces of the universe merge into one.

The Spirit Keeper of the Center is calling you to remember who you are and from where you have come, and to know that the Creator dwells within you. Stand with your hands on your heart. When you answer the call of the sacred center, loves ﬂows through you and to you.

EXERCISE: THE FOUR GATEWAYS

This exercise is most powerfully done in nature, but you can also do this in your home as long as it’s quiet.

Close your eyes and imagine that you’re standing in the center of a medicine wheel, and in each direction there’s a gateway. Through each gateway, a spirit guardian approaches you with a message. Turn to each of the four directions to sense the energy ﬂowing from that direction, and then ask yourself, If I knew what the Spirit Keeper of this direction would want me to know, what might it be?

As you connect with the sacred center of the directions, find the sacred center within yourself. From this place, all things are possible.

Almost all living things, including human beings and even the smallest single-celled organisms, have some sort of internal time-keeping system that depends on the sunlight. Our native ancestors intuitively understood this and knew how to live in harmony with the cycles of the sun. They realized that the sun synchronizes rhythms of growth and dormancy, rest and activity.

We are each profoundly affected by the cycles of light and dark, and most of our biological rhythms require sunlight. Within our bodies are numerous biological clocks, which are highly complex with deeply ingrained, repetitive cycles. For example, our body temperature and serotonin levels change with remarkable precision every day. The level of hormones regulating growth is higher in the summer than in the winter. In fact, every biological function of the body follows precise cycles that are dictated by the sun. These rhythms evolved at a time when humans lived more closely with nature. A body’s metabolism, for instance, slows down in the autumn, probably as a way of conserving body fat for the long, cold winter when food would be scarce.

Although some of our biological cycles have evolved to the point where they can be maintained without natural sunlight, our well-being decreases without regular exposure. The modern inventions of electricity and lightbulbs have increased our productivity; however, these advantages have also disconnected us from the natural cycle of day and night. Interestingly, research has found that for those who have trouble sleeping, one week in nature (without any electrical devices) could reset their biological body clock and synchronize their melatonin hormones (which aid in sleep) with the sunset and sunrise.

Our bodies are programmed to be active in the day and to wind down in the dark; in native cultures, one would work in the daytime and relax around the fire in the evening to share stories, recount the events of the day, and enjoy a meal together. This rhythm of work and rest allowed one to renew one’s energy, and it unified the family energy. In our modern life, it’s not always possible to do this, but whenever you have a choice, try to be active in the day hours and rest in the dark hours. When you answer the call of the cycle of the sun, a natural rhythm begins to arise within you, which in turn brings a natural rhythm into your life.

EXERCISE: RHYTHM OF THE SUN

One of the ways you can reestablish your connection to the rhythms of nature is to emulate natural cycles of light in your home. For example, if it’s still dark outside when you wake up on a winter’s morning, instead of immediately turning on bright lights, begin your day by lighting a candle or using very dim light. Gradually progress to full-intensity lighting. This modulation reflects the way morning sunlight starts with pale light, which slowly increases in brightness and intensity.

Also, as much as possible, spend time outdoors in natural light, or sit near a window. This process can be reversed at night—rather than having the lights on bright at night, dim them and light some candles or make a fire. This gives the message to your body that you’re in alignment with the natural rhythm of the sun, and this in turn ignites the native soul within you, and it also helps balance your inner biorhythms.

Another potent cycle, especially for women, is the cycle of the moon. Its gravitational pull affects the tides and the surfaces of the earth, as each month it actually subtly distorts the earth, pulling one side toward it. This cyclical pulling dramatically impacts our energy, our body fluids . . . and for a woman, her menstrual cycles. It’s not a coincidence that a woman’s menstrual cycle and the cycle of the moon are the same number of days. In native cultures, moon ceremonies were considered as powerful as sun ceremonies, and it was just as important to adhere to the cyclical nature of the moon as that of the sun. Someone who’s in touch with the cycles of the moon will be more connected to his or her own internal rhythms. Each cycle of the moon is divided into four phases—new moon, waxing moon, full moon, and waning moon. There are not set times when one ends and another starts; they just flow into each other, as does your own energy cycles. Here are some traditional meanings:

Eons ago, when people slept under the stars, women’s bodies naturally harmonized with the phases of the moon. Most women had their monthly cycle during the new moon. The full moon was thought to be the time of fertility. During the expansive energy of the full moon, it was not uncommon for ovulation to be at its height. Menstruation (also called “moon-time”) was a time of powerful community among women in earth-based cultures. Often women would have their moon cycle at the same time, so their gathering renewed connections with each other. Females in a tribe would gather in what was called a “moon lodge” in Native American traditions, or “the red tent” in Middle Eastern traditions. They didn’t forage, cook, or prepare food. They allowed themselves time for rest and renewal. (The older and younger women would take over the chores so the menstruating women would have this time in the moon lodge.) As they gathered together, the women pulled their energy inward and replenished themselves, in preparation for the month ahead. Unfortunately, our modern-day culture doesn’t allow women to have downtime during their moon cycle, so we no longer honor this important tradition.

Since we have become separated from the natural world, our body rhythms and our moon-times no longer correspond with the lunar rhythms, and hence we are out of balance with nature. However, there is a way to help harmonize your body rhythms. During the new moon, make your bedroom as dark as possible, and during the three or four days of the full moon, if the moonlight shines directly into your bedroom, open the curtains. If not, consider sleeping with a small night-light, which will serve to mimic the moon’s glow. There is a place inside you that will respond. Women who have done this report that it feels like something that had been out of sync moved back into balance.

When you answer the call of the rhythm of the moon, life becomes less of a struggle. You’ll find an easy ﬂow occurring in your life.

EXERCISE: HONORING THE MOON

Stand outside at nighttime as often as you can, and take a “moon bath” by allowing the light of the moon to wash over your body. Or, stand by an open window and open your arms to the moon.

My mother used to say that it was important to be cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Hence, we had very little heat in the winter, even when the snow was deep. And we never had air-conditioning and rarely had fans in the summer. She said it was Cherokee wisdom to feel the seasons; it would keep us healthy. I don’t know that this is true, but my brothers and sister and I were healthier than most kids.

Our native ancestors respected the cycle of the seasons; it was the great medicine wheel of life, and it was essential for their survival. However, in Western culture we spend so much time indoors that we’ve lost our connection to nature’s ebb and flow and to the vital energy it can bring into our lives. The cycle of the year contains times that are better suited for busy activity and other times that are better for withdrawing. As with the four directions, each of the seasons has its own energy: birth, expansion, cultivation, and renewal.

Consider making seasonal altars. An altar doesn’t need to be religious. It can simply be a place to honor what is sacred in life. For example, to create a spring altar, you can place spring flowers and seeds (to represent the springtime and new beginnings) on a shelf, a nightstand, a coffee table, or a window ledge. Various fruits and grains can be placed on a seasonal altar to represent summertime. You might also consider creating ceremonies to welcome the spirit of each season. When you place autumn leaves and small gourds on your seasonal altar, for instance, you can do it with prayers for bountiful harvests in life. As you take the time to honor the cycle of the seasons, you’ll find that your life becomes more harmonious. Here are some things you can do to live in balance with the seasons:

When you answer the call of the seasons and begin to live more in alignment with the cycle of the seasons, relaxation and inner peace start to grow.

Rush-hour traffic noise has replaced early morning birdsong. Streetlights have replaced the stars. The flicker of television sets has replaced the tribal campfire. This diminishment of direct experiences of the wild is especially evident in today’s children who have constrained lives with little or no intimate connection to the natural cycles of life. They are lost in a sea of video games, cell phones, texting, and e-mail. The baby boomers are probably one of the last generations to have spent their childhood hours playing hide-and-seek in the woods, exploring creek beds, scrambling up trees, and sledding down hills.

The latest research declares that when children have direct experiences with nature, they reap profound benefits. Researchers cite less anxiety and depression, less prevalence of ADHD, higher levels of creativity, improved self-esteem, enhanced brain development, and a sense of connection to the community and the world around them. This gives credence to the belief that within our ancestral coding is a memory of—perhaps, even a yearning for—the sounds, colors, textures, and smells of the pines in the mountains, the high grasses on the savanna, the verdant green of a rain forest, and the vast expanse of the desert.

One of the most powerful ways to move into harmony with your life is to spend time in nature. This dramatically increases your instinctual reaction to people and situations. However, it’s not enough to take a stroll in the woods. While you are in the wilderness, imagine that you are dissolving into the environment around you. Additionally, visualize energy tendrils from the earth reaching up inside of you to activate your inner wilderness. Answering the call of the wild means that more and more, you trust your gut. Even if someone says the right words and even if (on the surface) everything looks good . . . if it doesn’t feel right, step away. Don’t always believe what you see and hear. Believe what you feel and know. The soul loves the truth, and it’s easier to discover the truth when the instinctive, wild place within you has been activated.

When you answer the call of the wild, you recognize that you are not separate from the wild and uninhabited places on our planet, and your intuition and instinctual reaction to life increase.

Not only can you answer the call, but also you can “put out a call.” Indigenous people developed the skill of calling animals to them as a necessity for survival. They spoke with the elk, deer, and buffalo spirits, asking for guidance in regard to the hunt. There was reverence involved in any taking of life, as it was believed that the spirit of the animal sacrificed itself to provide sustenance for the tribe and should be honored for its gift. There was also calling to find berries or roots, or calling rain when crops were dry. One could call for bravery during battle, or call for strength during childbirth. The ability to “call” leads to a deepening of your connection with the earth’s cycles. Even those who are certain that they can’t master the technique are able to do so with practice.

Learning to call helps you connect to the unseen realms of natural surroundings. You can call animals, plants, weather, opportunities, and even personal qualities. Here’s a little-known secret: if you want to call something into your life, find its sound and imagine the tone deep within you. Every part of our splendid universe has a sound. Every blade of grass, every stone, and every star has its own tonal vibration. Even qualities like integrity, truth, and love have specific sound vibrations. When you discover the tone of something you desire, you can draw it to you by allowing its sound to expand inside of you. This is how some native tribes did their hunting and gathering. For example, they imagined the sound of a particular plant or animal and allowed that sound to hum inside of them; this would lead them to the healing herb or game.

You also have an individual sound that resides in your core. When you find your personal sound vibration, you can harmonize with the universe. To learn how to find the sound of things takes practice. For example, when you’re calling animals, you can tell when you got the right sound because the animal will appear. Here are the steps to learn to call:

Please be patient, and remember that learning to call takes practice. Start with calling animals, as this way you can tell if you got the right sound or not. Always give thanks to the animals that appear, and when you’re calling, be sure to add the intention that it’s in the highest good of all. You could start by going into a park and calling a squirrel or a crow and see what happens. Once you find that you are gaining success with animals, you can go on to other things or qualities.

To activate the native spirit within you, the first step is to honor, acknowledge, and realize the depth of your connection to the natural world. As Black Elk said:

The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells Wakan-Tanka [Creator], and that this center is really everywhere, it’s within each of us [The Sacred Pipe: Black Elk’s Account of the Seven Rites of the Oglala Sioux (1953), as told to Joseph Epes Brown].

Let nature and her cycles become your teacher and your healer. The awareness that you’re not separate from the seasons, the ebbing and flowing of light and dark, or the elements and the directions of nature will begin to awaken within you echoes of ancient memories of who you are and what your true destiny is. It’s an act of power to begin this journey.