Podcasts about sacred instructions indigenous wisdom

In this episode of the Quillwood Podcast, host Eric Garza talks with Sherri Mitchell, a Penobcsot attorney who speaks and teaches around the world on issues of indigenous rights, environmental justice, and spiritual change. She is the author of the book Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change, and talks with Eric about the Wabenaki legend of the Cannibal Giant, the connection between overconsumption and trauma, and waking up to the pervasive grief of patriarchal colonialism, among other things.Outline00:00 - 02:23 — Introduction02:23 - 07:50 — Origins of the Cannibal Giant story07:50 - 10:41 — Demonstrating the truths we see in our lives10:41 - 14:43 — Trauma and people's susceptibility to consumerism14:43 - 20:24 — Helping people wake up to the impacts of consumerism20:24 - 25:11 — The connection between depression, anxiety and grief25:11 - 30:05 — How trauma is cumulative30:05 - 33:46 — Sherri's approach to healing collective trauma33:46 - 39:18 — The wounds we carry from patriarchal colonialism39:18 - 48:56 — Amplifying emotional intelligence48:56 - 50:56 — Exploring our inner landscapes50:56 - 52:59 — Episode wrap-upLinks and ResourcesWatch on YouTubeQuillwood AcademySacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change, by Sherri MitchellSacred Instructions (Sherri's website)Columbus and Other Cannibals, by Jack D. ForbesReport: Murder and Extremism in the United States in 2018 (Anti-Defamation League)Sacred Instructions Facebook PageSupport the show

Notes: Today's song is by Gabriel Paul, of the Crow and Eel Clan of the Penobscot, whose homelands are located along various waterways in Maine and the Canadian Maritimes. The song is a song to thank and honor water. I encourage you to learn and take it to water near you to sing -- and then maybe create your own water song and connect to the water that is near you! Gabe describes the song's origins on this webpage, and he and his niece, Leigh, have given permission for this song to be sung and shared freely. It is a privilege to be invited to sing in the language of the Penawahpskek nation, and I'll help you learn it with care – but know that we are guests, and I'm sure I have an accent – it's okay to be uncomfortable, and honored at the same time. Then visit the Penobscot nation site to respectfully learn more about these people who claim one of the oldest continuous governments in the world. ​ A people who have lived in one place for 11,000 years have a very different perspective than mine, as a child of immigrants. In this episode, I quote Weh'na Ha'mu' Kwasset (She Who Brings the Light), an Indigenous writer and visionary who was raised on Penobscot land, and is also known as Sherri Mitchell. Her book is Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change. Links: Youtube recording of Leigh Neptune singing this song. Penobscot nation natural resources webpage on Nepi Nuts and Bolts: This song is unison, unmetered, Ionian (major). ​ Visit abreathofsong.com for lyrics, more of Patty's artwork, and a way to nominate songs or songwriters for the podcast. Join the A Breath of Song mailing list to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me. Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!

Pathways for reducing carbon emissions include electrifying transportation and replacing fossil fuels with wind and solar power. But in this time of national reckoning on racial and economic disparities, there is growing support for a more holistic approach. This view holds that the climate crisis won't be resolved until we first address the systemic imbalances that have fueled it – racism, capitalism, white supremacy and patriarchy. In their recent book, All We Can Save: Truth, Courage and Solutions for the Climate Crisis, co-editors Katharine Wilkinson and Ayana Elizabeth Johnson bring together the voices of women artists, writers and change-makers who are at the forefront of climate action. “The work that we're doing is instigating or nurturing a feminist climate renaissance,” says Johnson, “which is what we feel the climate movement so desperately needs right now.” Guests: Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, marine biologist Katharine Wilkinson, Vice President, Project Drawdown Co-editors, All We Can Save:Truth, Courage and Solutions for the Climate Crisis (One World, 2020) Christine Nieves Rodriguez, Co-founder and President, Emerge Puerto Rico. Sherri Mitchell, author, Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change (North Atlantic Books, 2018) Heather McTeer Toney, National Field Director, Moms Clean Air Force Jainey Bavishi, Director, Mayor's Office of Resiliency, New York City Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pathways for reducing carbon emissions include electrifying transportation and replacing fossil fuels with wind and solar power. But in this time of national reckoning on racial and economic disparities, there is growing support for a more holistic approach. This view holds that the climate crisis won't be resolved until we first address the systemic imbalances that have fueled it – racism, capitalism, white supremacy and patriarchy. In their recent book, All We Can Save: Truth, Courage and Solutions for the Climate Crisis, co-editors Katharine Wilkinson and Ayana Elizabeth Johnson bring together the voices of women artists, writers and change-makers who are at the forefront of climate action. “The work that we're doing is instigating or nurturing a feminist climate renaissance,” says Johnson, “which is what we feel the climate movement so desperately needs right now.” Guests: Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, marine biologist Katharine Wilkinson, Vice President, Project Drawdown Co-editors, All We Can Save:Truth, Courage and Solutions for the Climate Crisis (One World, 2020) Christine Nieves Rodriguez, Co-founder and President, Emerge Puerto Rico. Sherri Mitchell, author, Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change (North Atlantic Books, 2018) Heather McTeer Toney, National Field Director, Moms Clean Air Force Jainey Bavishi, Director, Mayor's Office of Resiliency, New York City Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pathways for reducing carbon emissions include electrifying transportation and replacing fossil fuels with wind and solar power. But in this time of national reckoning on racial and economic disparities, there is growing support for a more holistic approach. This view holds that the climate crisis won't be resolved until we first address the systemic imbalances that have fueled it – racism, capitalism, white supremacy and patriarchy. In their recent book, All We Can Save: Truth, Courage and Solutions for the Climate Crisis, co-editors Katharine Wilkinson and Ayana Elizabeth Johnson bring together the voices of women artists, writers and change-makers who are at the forefront of climate action. “The work that we're doing is instigating or nurturing a feminist climate renaissance,” says Johnson, “which is what we feel the climate movement so desperately needs right now.” Guests: Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, marine biologist Katharine Wilkinson, Vice President, Project Drawdown Co-editors, All We Can Save:Truth, Courage and Solutions for the Climate Crisis (One World, 2020) Christine Nieves Rodriguez, Co-founder and President, Emerge Puerto Rico. Sherri Mitchell, author, Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change (North Atlantic Books, 2018) Heather McTeer Toney, National Field Director, Moms Clean Air Force Jainey Bavishi, Director, Mayor's Office of Resiliency, New York City Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(episode script)[frogs 2017 05 22, Preston River, QC]Welcome to the conscient podcast. My name is Claude Schryer. Season 1 was about exploring how the arts contribute to environmental awareness and action. I produced 3 episodes in French, 15 in English as well as a series of bilingual blogs and videos. You can see and hear them at https://www.conscient.ca/. Season 2 is about accepting reality, working through ecological grief and charting a path forward. Today you'll hear episode 1, called reality. It touches upon our perception of reality, the possibility of human extinction, eco anxiety and eco grief, hope, arts, storytelling and the wisdom of indigenous cultures. The episode mixes quotations from 28 authors with field recordings from my simplesoundscapescollection and from my soundscape composition, Au dernier vivant les biens. This poetic layering of ideas and sound is how I make sense of life and the world around me.A complete transcript of this episode, including weblinks to the source each of quotation and field recording, can be found in the episode notes. The rest of season 2 will feature interviews with thought leaders, in English ou en francais, about their responses and reactions to episode 1. This is where I will be fleshing out some of the questions I raise in the episode with experts and thought leaders. Please stay tuned. Veuillez noter que cette émission est également disponible en français. [e11 Arrival 2017 09 19, Dash-8, Ottawa Airport, ON]*Journalist Jack Miles, If a tree falls in a forest, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?Reality, as defined by the Oxford Dictionary, is “the state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them.” Instead of being the method through which we observe a thing, reality is the nature or truth of this thing.  [e55 crôute, 2018 01 28, Duhamel QC]Definition of Reality in Buddhism,WikipediaBuddhism seeks to address any disparity between a person's view of reality and the actual state of things.[e97 raven 2018 07 24 Saturna Island, BC]Writer Sherri Mitchell, Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based ChangeWe must tune in to our ability to see beyond the physical reality that surrounds us and awaken to the vast unseen world that exists. [e169 chorus 2018 05 26 Duhamel, QC]Cultural theorist Thomas Berry, The Dream of the EarthOur challenge is to create a new language, even a new sense of what it is to be human. It is to transcend not only national limitations, but even our species isolation, to enter into the larger community of living species. This brings about a completely new sense of reality and value. Historian Paul Krause (also known as Hesiod),Francis Bacon's Philosophy of Scientific ConquestFor Francis Bacon, man is superior to nature. But man is also alienated from nature. Nature is harsh and unforgiving and something that needs to be conquered. Rather than seeing man as part of the web of nature, Bacon sees man as existing in a natural empire.[chainsaw, 2016 12 04, Duhamel QC] [ice falling, 1990 North Bay, ON]Political science professor Thomas Homer-Dixon, Commanding HopeToday's globe-spanning crises all stem from common sources: beliefs and values that are too self-centered, political systems that are too hidebound, economies that are too rapacious, and technologies that are too dirty for a small, crowded planet with dwindling resources and fraying natural systems.[birdsong, 2020 03 14, Biosphere2, AZ]Activist Naomi Klein, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The ClimateWhat the climate needs to avoid collapse, is a contraction in humanity's use of resources and what our economic model demands, to avoid collapse, is unfettered expansion. Only one of these sets of rules can be changed, and it's not the laws of nature. Philosophy professor Todd Dufresne, For the Love of Wisdom: Climate Change and the Revenge of HistoryWe're all being “radicalized by reality.” It's just that for some people it takes a personal experience of fire, landslide, or hurricane to get their attention. I'm afraid it takes mass death and extinction.Whoever survives these experiences will have a renewed appreciation for nature, for the external world, and for the necessity of collectivism in the face of mass extinction. There's hope in this — although I admit it's wrapped in ugliness.[2 appel, Au dernier vivant les biens, 1996 Montréal QC]Environmental humanitiesprofessor Jennifer Atkinson, Facing It Eco-anxiety and climate grief are sometimes framed as “disorders” but in fact these feelings typically arise from an accurate perception of our ecological crisis. It may be more appropriate to identify eco-anxiety as a “moral emotion” – a sign of compassion, attachment to life, and desire for justice. Our future remains unwritten, and by embracing the unknown we are better able to reframe our thinking in empowering ways. Writer Rebecca Solnit, Hope is a​n embrace of the unknown​: Rebecca Solnit on living in dark timesHope locates itself in the premises that we don't know what will happen and that in the spaciousness of uncertainty is room to act. [33 nuage, Au dernier vivant les biens, 1996 Montréal QC]Dharma teacher Catherine Ingram, Facing ExtinctionLove, what else is there to do now?  Here we are, some of the last humans who will experience this beautiful planet since Homo sapiens began their journey some 200,000 years ago. Now, in facing extinction of our species, you may wonder if there is any point in going on.  Journalist Dahl Jamail, The End of Ice: Bearing Witness and Finding Meaning in the Path of Climate DisruptionMy heart breaks for what we have done and are doing to the planet. I grieve, yet this ongoing process has become more like peeling back the layers of an onion — there is always more work to do, as the crisis we have created for ourselves continues to unfold.  And somewhere along the line I surrendered my attachment to any results that might stem from my work. I am hope-free.Journalist Richard Heinberg, The Big PictureHope is not just an expectation of better times ahead; it is an active attitude, a determination to achieve the best possible outcome regardless of the challenges one is facing.[protest, 2017 01 21 Ottawa, ON]Activist Greta Thunberg, Message to world leaders at #DavosAgenda For me, hope is the feeling that keeps you going, even though all odds may be against you. For me, hope comes from action not just words. For me, hope is telling it like it is.[8 capital, Au dernier vivant les biens, 1990 Montréal QC]Law Professor Shalanda Baker, Revolutionary Power: An Activist's Guide to the Energy TransitionWill we redesign systems to replicate the current structures of power and control, or will we reimagine our system to benefit those are so often left out of discussions regarding systems design? [49 temps, Au dernier vivant les biens, 1998 Montréal QC]Writer Britt Wray, Climate tipping points: the ones we actually wantWhen a small change in a complex system produces an enormous shift, that new pathway gets reinforced by positive feedback loops, which lock in all that change. That's why tipping points are irreversible. You can't go back to where you were before. A tipping point that flips non-linearly could be the thing that does us in, but it could also be the thing that allows us to heal our broken systems and better sustain ourselves. [7 brassage, Au dernier vivant les biens, 1996 Manitoba]Public policy professorEric Beinhocker, I Am a Carbon AbolitionistHumankind is in a race between two tipping points. The first is when the Earth's ecosystems and the life they contain tip into irreversible collapse due to climate change. The second is when the fight for climate action tips from being just one of many political concerns to becoming a mass social movement. The existential question is, which tipping point will we hit first?[41 profondeur, Au dernier vivant les biens, 1980s Ice breaker, Nunavut]Zen teacher David Loy, Ecodharma: Buddhist Teachings for the Ecological CrisisThe Buddhist solution to this predicament is not to get rid of the self, because there is no such thing to get rid of. The sense of self needs to be deconstructed (‘forgotten' in meditation) and reconstructed (replacing the ‘three poisons' of greed, ill will and delusion with generosity, loving-kindness and the wisdom that recognizes our interdependence). Just as there is no self to get rid of, we cannot ‘return to nature' because we've never been apart from it, but we can realize our nonduality with it and begin to live in ways that accord with that realization. [43 réveil, Au dernier vivant les biens, 1990s Church bells, Europe]Actor Dominic Champagne, Le fond de ma pensée (in French only)Knowing that I will be leaving my three sons a world in worse condition than the one I inherited from my parents, knowing that we are contemporaries in a world where our actions are jeopardizing the future of life on Earth and knowing that the situation may get worse, what am I doing with my life? How can I keep putting on shows and spinning balloons on my nose as if nothing had happened?Journalist Julia Rosen,An artist set out to paint climate change. She ended up on a journey through griefSociety tends to see climate change as a scientific issue, rather than a cultural and political challenge that demands our full humanity — the kind more often explored and addressed through art.Composer R. Murray Schafer, Au dernier vivant les biensLook at war. People who want to use noise as a kind of weaponry. To frighten them.  To scare them. To beat them down. To pulverize them. If you want to destroy people. One of the first resorts you have is to noise.Artist David Haley, Going beyond EarthlyWe now need aesthetics to sensitize us to other ways of life and we need artists to sensitize us to the shape of things to come.[28 liquide, Au dernier vivant les biens, 1998 Montréal QC]  Artist Diego Galafassi, How the arts might help us grapple with climate changeArt is a space where we can ask very difficult questions and explore things in a more open-ended way and not be committed to solutions. Artist Lance Gharavi,In a climate crisis, artists have a duty to speak up – but what should they say?While individual works of art, ‘however genius,' may have value, they won't do the trick. What we need is for all art to be about climate change.[Marche sonore 1, Grenouilles, 1992 Montréal QC]  Composer Robert Normandeau, Marche sonore 1It's a bit like taking a frog, which is a cold-blooded animal, and putting it in a jar of water and heating the water, little by little. The frog will get used to the temperature rising and rising, and it will not notice that the temperature has risen and one day the temperature will be too hot for it and it will die. Therefore, our civilization, in terms of sound, looks a bit like that, that is to say we get used to it, we get used to it, we get used to it and at some point, we are going to have punctured eardrums. Historian Yuval Harari,Why Did Humans Become The Most Successful Species On Earth?If you think about any religion, any economic system, any political system, at the basis you will find some fictional story about God, about money, about human rights, about a nation. All these things are fictional stories. They are not a biological reality, but it's a very powerful and convincing and benign fiction that helps us organize our political and legal systems in the modern world.Writer Charles Eisenstein, To Reason with a MadmanExpository prose generates resistance, but stories touch a deeper place in the soul. They flow like water around intellectual defenses and soften the soil so that dormant visions and ideals can take root. Writer Richard Wagamese, Embers: One Ojibway's MeditationsTo use the act of breathing to shape air into sounds that take on the context of language that lifts and transports those who hear it, takes them beyond what they think and know and feel and empowers them to think and feel and know even more.  We're storytellers, really. That's what we do. That is our power as human beings.[fireplace, 2021 01 26, Duhamel QC]  Composer Claude Schryer, story from participation at How does culture contribute to sustainable futures?Here's a story.  Once upon a time… I think it was during the fall of 2019, I was at a meeting about how the arts and cultural sector, and in particular indigenous traditional knowledge community, could play a much larger role in the fight against climate change. I was very fortunate to be there, and I was very excited to learn more. So, we sat around a table, not quite a circle, but close enough, and each person shared knowledge and some stories. I spoke about how the institution that I worked for was trying to become greener and walk its talk on environmental issues. Others spoke about issues like built heritage and intangible culture and hat kind of thing. Then, the representative from an indigenous cultural organization took my breath away when he said that it would ‘likely take as long to resolve the ecological crisis as it did to create it'. Now, I played this back in my mind: take as long to resolve the ecological crisis as it did, or as it does, to create it. How is this possible? and then I said: ‘but, but we do not have that kind of time'. Or do we? We all looked at each other in silence. I'll never forget that moment. [e105 thunder, 2018 08 04, Duhamel QC]Activist Sheila Watt-Cloutier, Our survival utterly depends on living in nature, not apart from itIt's important to recognize how closely linked environment, health, economics, culture and rights are in our society. The Earth is a living, breathing entity just the same as our bodies are. Our survival utterly depends on living in nature, not apart from it. Writer Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of PlantsThe land is the real teacher. All we need as students is mindfulness.[frogs 2017 05 22, Preston River, QC]Dharma teacher Catherine Ingram, Facing Extinction : Despite our having caused so much destruction, it is important to also consider the wide spectrum of possibilities that make up a human life.  Yes, on one end of that spectrum is greed, cruelty, and ignorance; on the other end is kindness, compassion, and wisdom. We are imbued with great creativity, brilliant communication, and extraordinary appreciation of and talent for music and other forms of art. There is no other known creature whose spectrum of consciousness is as wide and varied as our own.*I agree with Catherine that we humans are conscient beings, with an unlimited capacity for, yes, greed, cruelty, ignorance and selfishness but also for kindness, compassion, wisdom, creativity and imagination.My own understanding and perception of reality have been transformed since I started writing this episode. Yuval Harari's statement about how ‘fictional stories are not a biological reality' shook me up and woke me up.More and more, I now see, and more importantly, I now feel in my bones, ‘the state of things as they actually exist', without social filters or unsustainable stories blocking the way. So where do we go from here? Eric Beinhocker reminded us earlier in the program that humankind is in a race between two tipping points: irreversible collapse or mass social movement.  My heart, of course, is with massive social movement, there are signs of it growing, however, my rational mind, informed by science, sees irreversible collapse as the most likely outcome. and this collapse has already begun and so we must make every effort, for the benefit of future generations, to slow down the collapse while a mass social movement grows. Personally, my hope is that we find a way to accept reality, to work our way through ecological grief and to chart a path forward. My dream, as zen teacher David Loy suggests, is that one day, we can ‘realize our nonduality with nature and begin to live in ways that accord with that realization'.  *You've been listening to reality, episode 1 of season 2 of the conscient podcast. My name is Claude Schryer. I would like to warmly thank the 28 individuals who I quoted in this program. Some of their quotes have been slightly abbreviated for concision and clarity. I also want to thank all those who have helped me produce this episode, in particular my wife Sabrina Mathews and podcast consultant Ayesha Barmania.Please keep in mind that this podcast is a work in progress and that I'm aware that my work has moments of incoherence, contradiction, unconscious bias, a bit of panic and some naïveté, among other things, so please feel free to challenge my assumptions, share your thoughts and join the conversation through conscient.ca. Also keep in mind that these are troubling and challenging issues, so please do not hesitate to reach out to support groups or counselling services in your community for help. A reminder that episode 2 (é20 réalité) is the French version of this program and episode 3 will be the first in a series of conversations with guests about their response to the reality episode.Take good care and thanks for listening.[e74 sky, 2018 08 04, Duhamel QC]Thanks to Hélène Prévost and Lolita Boudreault for their support. *END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODESHere is a link for more information on season 5. Please note that, in parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and it's francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I publish a Substack newsletter called ‘a calm presence' which are 'short, practical essays for those frightened by the ecological crisis'. To subscribe (free of charge) see https://acalmpresence.substack.com. You'll also find a podcast version of each a calm presence posting on Substack or one your favorite podcast player.Also. please note that a complete transcript of conscient podcast and balado conscient episodes from season 1 to 4 is available on the web version of this site (not available on podcast apps) here: https://conscient-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes.Your feedback is always welcome at claude@conscient.ca and/or on conscient podcast social media: Facebook, X, Instagram or Linkedin. I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible. Claude SchryerLatest update on April 2, 2024

Pathways for reducing carbon emissions include electrifying transportation, replacing fossil fuels with wind and solar power. But in this time of national reckoning on racial and economic disparities there is growing support for a more holistic approach. This view holds that the climate crisis won’t be resolved until we first address the systemic imbalances that have fueled it - racism, capitalism, white supremacy and patriarchy. In their new book, All We Can Save:Truth, Courage and Solutions for the Climate Crisis, co-editors Katharine Wilkinson and Ayana Elizabeth Johnson bring together the voices of women artists, writers and changemakers who are at the forefront of climate action. “The work that we’re doing is instigating or nurturing a feminist climate renaissance,” says Johnson, “which is what we feel the climate movement so desperately needs right now.” Visit climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts for more information on today's episode. Guests: Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Marine Biologist, Co-editor, All We Can Save:Truth, Courage and Solutions for the Climate Crisis Katharine Wilkinson, Vice President, Project Drawdown; Co-editor, All We Can Save:Truth, Courage and Solutions for the Climate Crisis Christine Nieves Rodriguez, Co-founder and President, Emerge Puerto Rico Sherri Mitchell, Author, Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change Heather McTeer Toney, National Field Director, Moms Clean Air Force Jainey Bavishi, Director, Mayor's Office of Resiliency, New York City This episode was recorded in September 2020.

Sherri Mitchell (Weh’na Ha’mu Kwasset) is a Native American attorney, teacher, and award-winning activist who grew up on the Penobscot Indian Reservation (Indian Island), Maine, and is the author of Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change. In this episode, she is joined in a conversation with healer and movement builder Brenda Salgado. Together they explore Native American mythology and cosmology as a means of healing our collective wounds. This episode was recorded during a live online event on August 1, 2020.

Sherri Mitchell is an attorney who speaks and teaches around the world on issues of indigenous rights, environmental justice, and spiritual change and author of the book Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change. She talks with Eric about the Wabenaki legend of the Cannibal Giant, the connection between overconsumption and trauma, and waking up to the pervasive grief of patriarchal colonialism, among other things. Listeners can find transcripts, show notes, and other associated premium content at patreon.com/ericgarza.

How do we heal ourselves, our relationships, and the world we live in - all at once? How has our society created rifts within us (and between us) that get in the way of fulfilling relationships? With indigenous wisdom that has been handed down over thousands of years, today’s guest will help you heal the splits in your life and develop deeper integrity. Her name is Sherri Mitchell, and she is the author of “Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change”. A member of the Penobscot Nation, Sherri has also been actively involved with indigenous rights and environmental justice for more than 25 years. Instead of turning a blind eye to the ways that our cultural legacy gets in the way of connection and healing, today we will walk together down a practical path of truth, healing, and spirit. As always, I’m looking forward to your thoughts on this episode and what revelations and questions it creates for you. Please join us in the Relationship Alive Community on Facebook to chat about it! Sponsors: With Real Roses that Last a Year, Venus Et Fleur offers luxurious, bespoke arrangements that will be a reminder of your thoughtfulness long after the day you give them. Visit VenusETFleur.com/ALIVE and enter promo code ALIVE for complimentary shipping in the US thru 2/29 at 11:59 pm EST. Find a quality therapist, online, to support you and work on the places where you’re stuck. For 10% off your first month, visit Betterhelp.com/ALIVE to fill out the quick questionnaire and get paired with a therapist who’s right for you. Resources: Find out more about Sherri Mitchell on her website. Buy Sherri Mitchell’s book, Sacred Instructions, on Amazon. I want to know you better! Take the quick, anonymous, Relationship Alive survey FREE Guide to Neil’s Top 3 Relationship Communication Secrets Guide to Understanding Your Needs (and Your Partner’s Needs) in Relationship (ALSO FREE) Visit this episode's page on our website - https://www.neilsattin.com/sacred to download the transcript of this episode with Sherri Mitchell. Or text "PASSION" to 33444. Support the podcast (or text “SUPPORT” to 33444) Amazing intro and outro music provided courtesy of The Railsplitters Transcript: Neil Sattin: Hello and welcome to another episode of Relationship Alive. This is your host, Neil Sattin. I like to bring in all kinds of ways to help us heal and grow and to take on the issues that impact us most, both in our lives, just as humans on this planet and particularly in our closest relationships with our partners. And, I'm often looking for new or different ways or in this case of what we're going to talk about today, ways that have been with us as humans for thousands of years. And there's something powerful in that. There's something powerful in the wisdom that's come down through generations and generations of connection to spirit, connection to life, connection to love, connection to wisdom. And within us being able to heal the ways that we ourselves have been brought into a culture that asks us to do one thing, like, for instance, fall in love and marry someone and and be happy with them for the rest of our days. But in the end, doesn't offer a lot in the ways of really how to do that successfully. And in fact, it could be that at the very root of how we learn to exist in this world. There are some core elements that are getting in our way. So. For today's conversation, I have a very special guest who I found out about through Peter Levine in a conversation one day, when I was asking him about whose work does he find or did he find to be really powerful. And that might be a great guest for the show. And as luck would have it, the person that he suggested lives right here in the same state where I live in Maine. And she is the author of the recent book "Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit Based Change." Her name is Sherri Mitchell and she is a member of the Penobscot tribe here in Maine. And she is also a distinguished lawyer and humanitarian and has been working for years in the fields of international human rights. And she has several projects that are helping to heal the world at large and in the process to heal the relationships that we experience with each other and all of the divisions that are happening in the world right now and within ourselves, as well.  Neil Sattin: So if you want to get a transcript of today's episode, then you can visit Neil-Sattin-dot-com-slash-sacred. Or as always, you can text the word passion to the number 3-3-4-4-4 and follow the instructions. And those instructions for downloading the transcript are fairly simple. You know, enter your name and email address. Today, we're going to tap into a deeper set of instructions. A deeper set of instructions that are here to help us thrive and change the way that we live.  Neil Sattin: So, Sherri Mitchell, thank you so much for being here with us today on Relationship Alive.  Sherri Mitchell: Thank you for having me, Neil.  Neil Sattin: I'm wondering if we could start with that sense of kind of where we are right now. That was something that really struck me in reading your book. Right off the bat, this description of how the experience that we're born into kind of sets us up for division from each other. I'm wondering if we can start there with this sense of the ways that that Western society is perpetuating a sense of division that is alienating us from each other and from ways of actually healing as a society.  Sherri Mitchell: I think it's more than just contemporary society. This is something that has been conditioned into us, embedded into our thinking for millennia, that we have at least two millennia of real belief in separation and this idea that difference is dangerous and that oneness means homogenization. And so, when we're coming together and we're approaching one another, there's this inbred fear that we carry with us into those encounters. And the discomfort that we're feeling is something that we've also been taught not to experience, not to be able to be at peace with our discomfort. Any type of discomfort or pain, we're conditioned to deflect it, suppress it, project it, medicate it, avoided it all costs. And so that prevents us from really sinking into the discomfort that naturally arises when we come together because of this conditioning and prevents us from moving through the masks and the walls that have been created for us by others and handed down to us as this epigenetic inheritance within our DNA and our blood memory. And in order to be able to really address that and override it, we have to really become intimate with it. And that requires us to overcome a great deal of conditioning and ingrained thinking about how we view ourselves in the larger context of life. And so, you know,it's not a simple task of just realizing that the idea that difference is dangerous is inherently wrong. The idea that oneness and sameness are not equal. It's it's not just overcoming those ideas. It's overcoming impulses that arise within our limbic system that make us feel that we are in danger. That there's some threat to our lives being posed to us when we're facing this discomfort. And so we have to be able to work through all of those things and have a greater understanding of those things so that we can move forward into a path of healing that legitimately gets us to the place where that healing can occur.  Sherri Mitchell: You know, one of the things that I have been quoted as saying is that we can't demand anything of others or even of ourselves, if we're unwilling to create the world in which that thing that we're asking for can be made available to us. And so it's really about creating a world where that healing can actually take place. In that world that we have to create is one that is filled with understanding and awareness of where we've been and how we got here.  Neil Sattin: Yeah, and yeah. There's so much to unpack in what you were just saying. So I'm just kind to like sitting there in the in the midst of all that and feeling the power of, yeah, just how ingrained some of these responses are and also how they're not things that you would necessarily notice because they're just kind of what arise from, well, it almost feels naturally. But I say that and at the same time, I know that the experience, for instance, of children is is very different. So even a child who's carrying the lineage of trauma, let's say, through their genes, in their DNA. You know, for me, when I think about my legacy, there's this legacy of worry that that seems to have come from my forbearers. And I'm doing my part to heal that worry and learn to trust life. But the children, at least the young children that I know, they seem to get it in a different way. The interconnectedness that we that we actually are a part of. So somewhere along the way, the learning happens or the learning meets the legacy.  Sherri Mitchell: Right.  Neil Sattin: And we have to unravel that somehow.  Sherri Mitchell: Mm hmm. Yeah. I have a story from when my son was small. He's a grown man now. And when he was three years old, getting ready to go to a community gathering and I was putting his native regalia on him, you know, and I had mine on and we were getting ready to go out the door. And I asked him, "Do you want to see herself?" And he excitedly said he wanted to see himself. And he was, you know, three years old at the time. We didn't have cable in the house. I was very, very careful about what I allowed him to ingest in that way. And we lived in a tribal community. So he was growing up in a very strong native family, surrounded by native people. At that time, and when he looked at himself in the mirror, he started to cry.  Sherri Mitchell: And I asked him what's wrong, and he said, "I don't want to be in Indian, and they always kill the Indians." Neil Sattin: Wow.  Sherri Mitchell: At three years old. Wow. And it broke my heart. And my mind is reeling. Where did he get this idea? We're not watching John Wayne in our living room. You know, there he's certainly not surrounded by an ideology that I could pinpoint in any way that would give him this idea that he was a target because of his identity. And yet at three years old, he had somehow absorbed this idea and was able to articulate it back to me. This understanding that indigenous people are targeted for death. And you know that that was the point in time for me where I really started to look into more deeply the ways that we form ideas, the ways that we formulate our sense of safety in the world, how we develop our sense of belonging. And probably 15 years later, I ended up working for the civil rights division of the Maine Attorney General's Office as an educator. And one of the stories that came forward during one of these sessions was of two women, one of whom was at the playground with her, her child and her child, was two or three years old the time. And a mother who was a little person, whose child was also a little person, came walking up to the swim swing set and her child became inconsolable. She was terrified of them. And the mother was horrified. She kept trying to make it OK, make it OK. And she could tell that the other mother was feeling really uncomfortable and that it was hurtful for her. And she was horrified to think, where would my child get this idea that these other human beings, who look different than than we do, might be dangerous to her? And there was there was no immediate explanation for that belief that this child was acting out of.  Sherri Mitchell: Then there was another mother who was a black woman who said that when her child started daycare, they had had a similar reaction to another black child who had darker skin than that they did. And so somehow this child saw the darker skinned black child as being a danger to them. And so we have this this belief within us because our... for all of our cleverness, and there's air quotes around this advancement, we still haven't, you know, been able to deal with the part of our primitive brain that recognizes differences as danger. We're still responding to some of these challenges that come before us in the world. Certainly where we're dealing with a higher level of stress than perhaps we have and in a very, very long time. Certainly not throughout history, because we've had much more stressful times in our past. But as a species anyway. But we we're dealing with a degree of stress, where we're getting stressful impulses presented to us throughout the day, time and time and time again, trauma across the globe, playing out on our screens in real time before our eyes. And we don't have the mechanisms within our brain to be able to distinguish the difference between, you know, some of those things and being confronted with a saber tooth tiger.  Neil Sattin: Right.  Sherri Mitchell: Because we're still in that place. And so, you know, we have to start to purposely evolve our consciousness purposely work with these impulses, because people just say, "I don't know, I just have a feeling in my gut that that this, you know, that this person isn't trustworthy." And I remember that there was a lot of talk about that going on when Obama was running for president. And politics aside, what I think of Obama, what anybody else thinks of Obama, you know, isn't part of the discussion. But it was interesting to me to see that there were a lot of people who couldn't point to any one thing they didn't like about him. They just said there's just something about him that makes me feel that I can't trust him or makes me feel unsafe. And when I when I posed the question, do you think it could be that he's a black man? They immediately scoffed at that idea. But we have had this history of leaders that look a specific way, you know, these middle to elderly, white men who have become the image of acceptability for leadership. And then when people start coming along, that challenge, that image, we experience some of this cognitive dissonance where we can't we can't reconcile what we're seeing, the difference in what we're seeing with what we've learned to be identified with as safe.  Sherri Mitchell: And so we're being confronted rapidfire right now with all kinds of things that don't meet the imagery that we have been taught to believe is the safe norm. We're experiencing that in regard to gender fluidity, for instance. We're experiencing that with a real change in the fabric of what leadership looks like, with the most diverse Congress being elected in the history of the country. Right. You know, there's there are all kinds of all kinds of things that are cropping up. And the backlash against that is deepening some of the trenches within our minds that are related to this embedded thinking.  Neil Sattin: Right. Yeah. And I mean, I'm also reflecting on relationships where the way that they tend to unfold, you fall in love and falling in love, whatever differences you notice in a person, we tend to find them charming or kind of gloss over them, and the initial phase of of relationship is about finding all the ways that you're the same. And then the reckoning starts to happen when you realize how different you are and where so many people are unequipped to navigate this terrain of, wow, you are different, and that feels dangerous to me the way that really different for me. And so it can happen in those really intimate interpersonal spaces as well as on the political or global scale like you're describing. And for me, it makes me wonder like, well, go ahead. Yeah.  Sherri Mitchell: Well, I was just going to say it can be as simple as a difference between how we wash the dishes, right?  Neil Sattin: Right. Yeah. Yeah. I mean you hear the stories all the time of like, you know, that's not how the dishes go in the dishwasher. You know, if you have a dishwasher, I don't have one. But yeah, it's hilarious. But those things aren't so hilarious when you're trapped in the middle of it and you feel like a life with the person who's in front of you is going to be one where you where you are truly in danger. And so you're responding from that place. So whether it's in your home or we're walking down the street, it gets me really curious about now that we've identified that there is something deep within us that recoils in some way from what we perceive as a division between us and another. What do you know about how to how to bridge that gap in a way that that brings that brings connection back?  Sherri Mitchell: I think that the first step, as it is with so many things, is just acknowledging that there is a problem with our thinking and realizing that we don't have to follow the dictates of all of the voices in our heads. One of the one of the things that came to my attention years ago, was this realization that I had this belief that things should be done a certain way. And one of the most common phrases in my family was, why are you doing it like that? And you know, and if you couldn't explain why you were doing it the way that you were doing it, then you were discredited.  Sherri Mitchell: And so, it became this this kind of this defensive mechanism that developed within me towards defending my way of doing things that caused problems in the relationship that I was in, because it hadn't occurred to me that other ways might be equally as valid and that they did not pose a threat to my identity or sense of value and worth in the world. And so learning to recognize that we have these ways of being that actually inhibit us from sharing intimacy with those that we want to be close to, even when we have a strong desire to be in close, intimate relationship with someone. All of these different ideas, I call them masks are preventing us from actually seeing the face of our beloved. And so the first the first part of that process is, is recognizing that we have these masks that are impeding our ability to see clearly the world that we know exists beyond our illusion. And so if we can first start to recognize that there are obstacles in our way that are preventing us from seeing clearly and begin to explore and examine them, not in a way that punishes, not in a way that pokes and prods, not in a way that tries to fix or resolve, but just in a way that allows us to understand more fully the processes by which we come to our conclusions. Then we can begin the process. Step two of engaging, those beliefs and ideas and applying our critical thinking and applying our core values. What do we really want to bring forward into our relationship with this person? Do we want to be able to give them full acceptance? Well, if we do? Then we need to really be fully accepting of ourselves first. How can we sit with and engage these processes that are rising up within us that are going to make us very uncomfortable? And just be there in the presence of those thoughts and ideas without having to respond to them? How can we be with our discomfort without having to immediately try to fix it or apply some balm to it? Projected outward, once we can learn that there is a safe place for us to be, with all of the things that make up who we are, then we can begin to make space for sitting with someone else in that same space. That true level of deep acceptance. And once we get to that place, how we load the dishwasher or whether we have a dishwasher becomes irrelevant. Right? We are able to see something much deeper in them because we understand the complexity within ourselves and that these automatic responses aren't a reflection of who we are. They're a reflection of how we've been taught to behave. And there's a very big distinction there between the two. And so, you know, we really have to engage this process of getting to know ourselves more deeply. And driving down the road, I can see something on the side of the road and a thought will automatically pop into my head. And I can attribute that thought to specific relative. Right? And I can say, OK, thank you, Uncle so-and-so, thanks for sharing. I'm gonna choose to see this differently in this moment. That's a process that we all have to go through and it requires us to be willing to show up in the moment that we're in with an awareness and to have a really heavy pause. You know, that's one of the challenges I think for us is that, there's so much rapidity, there's so much lack of time given to our our responses these days that it becomes a challenge. One of the things that I write about in the book is this concept of Indian time.  Neil Sattin: Right. So fascinating to me. Yeah.  Sherri Mitchell:Yeah. That's become kind of this cliche for being late, right? Oh, I'm running on Indian time and I used that excuse one time when I was in my in my early 20s and my grandfather sat me down and said, "How you're using this term is a misrepresentation of its true meaning. That what Indian time really is about is about taking the time to sit with something, you know, sit in circles, see it from all sides, really understand it before you make a decision. It's about making the time and taking the time to make a good decision and to make an informed decision." We don't do that with ourselves. We don't take the time or make the time to sit down and to understand ourselves fully and to understand the moment that we're in fully and to recognize the different voices that are coming in that might be informing us at that time, and then critically thinking about which information do I want to bring forward. We don't give ourselves that pause for that moment to to be able to do that. And so, I've talked to a lot of people who have wanted to sit with and learn from different indigenous elders that I'm connected to, and one of the first things that I explained to them is that there is absolutely no need to fill the silence with chatter, there's no need to fill the space with something that you can just let that space remain empty, and be patient for what will rise up, because there is a longer pause ratio for a lot of these indigenous elders than there is in the common way that we speak. And our tendency is that as soon as the other person stops talking, we have to fill that space with something. So as soon as the question is posed, we have to automatically give a response. If we can give ourselves a longer pause ratio between the inquiry and the answer, we can begin to give ourselves space, to really start consciously greeting the moment that we're in and, you know, that's a challenge for us because of the speed at which society is moving right now.  Neil Sattin: Right. You're, for one thing, making me super self-conscious about not just jumping in with another question in this moment. But I was reflecting, too, on how even in podcast and and you have a podcast, right? "Love and Revolution Radio," are you still doing that?  Sherri Mitchell: We're not still doing that. We stopped a little over a year ago. We took a pause. My co-host was was going through a challenging health crisis. And then we were both, you know, really, really super busy. And we're trying to figure out a way that we could continue to do it. So it's on pause for now. We may pick it back up down the road, but for now, it's we're on sabbatical.  Neil Sattin: Got it. OK. Are our older episodes available for people to listen to?  Sherri Mitchell: Oh, yeah. There are hundreds of episodes in the archives that people can listen to.  Neil Sattin: Great. And the reason I brought it up was I was thinking about how the trend in podcast editing is to edit out all of the spaces. I think it's to maybe help people consume more content more quickly. And I like the first time my editor did that to one of my conversations, I was like. "Umm. It doesn't sound right." And so to me, that preserving that space is super important. But to really put it in perspective. I'm wondering if you could share your a little bit of your story around, because this is the part that really was fascinating to me was this sense of things can sometimes take a long time. And you mention the dreams that you kept having and not knowing if it was a sign of something that you were supposed to do in this lifetime or if you were simply meant to hold the story and that and pass it onto the next generation. And as I was reading that, I was just thinking about how different that is from I think the the more conventional perspective, which is kind of like I need to do something now, like it's up to me to effect change in this world or it's up to me to whatever it is, versus like, no, this could be I could just be a steward of this idea for someone else to carry when the time is right.  Sherri Mitchell: Yeah. So the story you're talking about relates to one of our prophecies. And I had been having a dream since I was a small child so I was about four years old, this recurring dream about being in this place where runners were sent out in every direction through this mound space and these underground tunnels and and people from all over the world came and, a seed was brought up at the end by the elders that I was asked to go and retrieve. And that seed was the seed of the origins of our relationship. And so when I started in my 20s, when I started telling the elders about that dream, you know, I had been having that dream at that point in time for close to 20 years. And they said, well, that dream is connected to the prophecy of the reopening of the eastern doorway. The eastern doorway is where creation sits. And those things that are created under that eastern doorway then grow and move to the west, which is the gateway through which life leaves this earth. And so the relationships that were formed here under this eastern doorway, this spiritual gateway between the indigenous peoples and the newcomers, was forged in blood. And so that seed was damaged and it was toxic. And the dream was a reflection of that. In that, you know, there was a time that was going to come when we would have to come back under that eastern doorway to heal that seed of that relationship that had begun and to make new sacred contracts with one another, new sacred agreements with one another as human beings to live in a different way, in relationship to one another, and then to also live in in a different way, in relationship to the rest of life. So, I had that dream, as you said, for 43 years before anything ever came of it. And I had talked to the elders about it, and they had confirmed that  this is what this was connected to. And I brought it up again, you know, five years, 10 years and, I asked, when are we going to hold the ceremony that this prophecy talks about, because we've got some real problems going on here in the world that need to be addressed in relation to how we're relating to one another, how we're engaging one another, and the elders in the way that they do just said, "Oh well, they'll let us know when it's time." And so that went on for a long period of time. And then one of the clan mothers from my territory pulled me aside one day after ceremony and said, "You know, I've been thinking about this dream." And she said, "Sometimes she said it's not for us to act on." She said, maybe you're just meant to be the keeper of that story. And what I want you to do is when you go out and do that, because I was working with indigenous spiritual elders from all over the world at that point, she said, "What I want you to do is every time you go to be with these spiritual elders in their territories, whenever you're in a ceremony with them, I want you to tell them that story. And keep that story alive and make sure that you're telling it to our young people, too, so that they can keep passing that story on." And so that's what I did and I did that for. A long period of time, and then in 2016, I got a phone call from one of the elders from the South that I had been working with for more than 20 years, and he said to me, "That dream that you told us about came up in our ceremony this past weekend. And I think that there's there's something coming up in connection to that. So you might want to talk to your people." Right after that, I got another call from another elder from the West who said the same thing. Who said, "We would do the ceremony this past weekend. And that dream that you told us about when you're here came up in that ceremony with a couple of people. And I think you need to tell your people about that." And then I got a call from another grandmother who was in the North who said, "I had a dream last night that you were telling me again that story about your dream." And, then I told her about the other two calls that I had received. And she said, "Yeah, it's time to sit down with your people and talk about that." So I called my clan mothers and some of the hereditary chiefs from our region, the spiritual leaders. And we got together and talked about it and they said, "Yeah, we've been getting signs as well that now it's time.".  Sherri Mitchell: So, you know, 43 years after I started having that dream I got this instruction from my elders, because I asked them, "Well, when are you going to do the ceremony?" And they laughed at me and they said, "No, you're going to do the ceremony and we're going to support you. And what you're gonna do is you're going to invite all the elders, the indigenous spiritual elders that you've worked with over the past 20 years, 25 years, to come and support you and to be here with us for this gathering." So that's what that's what happened. And they came, and we had people from six continents that came to share in this ceremony with us. And it's a 21 year ceremony that goes to all of the directions. And, the fourth year for the ceremony is gonna be this coming summer here in our territory. And before it travels to the south. And so it's grown every single year where people from all over the world are coming to sit with us in ceremony to heal their relationships with one another as human beings and to heal their relationship with Mother Earth and the rest of creation. And it's just become this incredibly beautiful thing to witness. I feel like I'm just standing in the doorway of it and and watching it unfold. It has a life of its own. And so, that's an example of just being patient with the information that's coming in, that there may not be an immediacy to the response to it. It may be that the story is building and being created within you. And so, that's why the last chapter of the book talks about what does it mean for us to be living in a time of prophecy? What are our roles as witnesses to prophecy? Is it just this passive spectator type event or are we meant to meaningfully engage with the prophecies that are unfolding around us? And how do we know when the time is right? To to do that? And I think that, what we've learned to do with some of the information that's coming in for us is we've learned to do something symbolic around it, rather than actually diving in deeper and being clear about what the right movement is. We just do something even if it's not the right thing, because we have this immense need to keep moving. And what ends up happening is that we have these large scale symbolic gestures that occur that don't really deal with healing on a deep level, the root of the issues that are being discussed.  Neil Sattin: Right. Right.  I mean, just hearing you describe this process is so moving to me.  And I find myself wondering, you know, as we as we kind of sit in a moment of indecision or we're being really impacted and and trying to take in, you know, the fact that we might be looking at the world or at a particular situation through a mask that we're wearing, from your perspective, how do we invite the the the deeper knowing and also be able to recognize it when it arrives? Sherri Mitchell:Well, I think that one of the things that is most important that I wrote about in the book is about really coming to know the teacher within, because we tend to be led so easily by the opinions of others who we hold in high esteem. And so my advice to people is to really take the time to cultivate a relationship with that teacher within, the one who holds your highest level of truth. The one that is most aligned with your deepest and purest itself. And then no matter what you're given for advice from another, you know, whether it be me or some other figure that people hold in esteem, they're able to process that through, this knowing that lives deep within us to gauge whether or not it's in alignment with their highest truth. And so I think that that that question is somewhat subjective depending on what one's deepest truth may be. For me, that process is about being able to allow our style ourselves to be still allow ourselves to learn when we're hearing the voice of truth within us and when we're hearing a prerecorded message of somebody else's ideas. Right? So it all kind of comes back to the same thing. And being able to open up the space within us. So, we have one of our creation stories, which is not in this book, it's gonna be in the second book, he follow up book, "Sacred Laws," talks about the sacred feminine and the sacred masculine. And so the sacred masculine is this pool of energy, this pool of matter, unrealized potential, that just sits there stable waiting and is not animated and brought into form until the sacred feminine speaks into it and creates vibration and frequency that create the form that emerges. And so that feminine interior, divine, creative, intuitive knowing is what speaks into form the physical manifestations that we create out in the world, and it's that dance between the masculine and feminine and being able to realize that we all have that exact thing within us. We have that that pool of possibility, that field of matter, that masculine action oriented activity out in the physical world element that's waiting within us to be formed. And the division that we've created between the voice of the sacred feminine and the movement of the sacred masculine has created a rift in the forms that are being created. So we have this real imbalanced creation that is moving out into our physical reality because we haven't learned to heal that rift between the sacred masculine and the sacred feminine within us. And when we are able to do that, then we hear the heart based wisdom, the intuitive guidance of that sacred feminine. And it guides us to create the forms and the movement out in the physical world that are going to be a balanced representation of wholeness from within us. And so if we want to be able to really get in that space where we know that what we're creating, what we're moving out in the physical world, is a true representation of our highest knowing and heart based wisdom.We have to be able to heal that that division between the sacred masculine and the sacred feminine within us. And so that process of engaging that teacher within introduces us lovingly to those aspects of ourselves that have been divided, that have been fragmented off, that have been broken down into commodified salable parts and that prevent us from emerging as whole beings in the world today, which we're needed as whole beings in the world today. That's how we offer our gifts to the world. What we were born for exists within our wholeness. And so if we want to be able to realize the purpose that we were born for, we have to be able to emerge as whole human beings. And, you know, part of that process is healing the division between our body and our spirit, healing the division between our sacred masculine and our sacred feminine, healing the division between our higher truth and the ideas that have been embedded into our into our ways of being. And so all of that healing has to take place in order for us to be able to show up in the world in the ways that we were meant for. And so that's how that process unfolds for me. That's how I see it. But like I said, that's you know, that's something that people have to arrive at that place in their own ways and with their own understandings.  Neil Sattin: That was such a beautiful way of also like summing up so many things that we've touched on in this conversation. I'm wondering if we have time for one more question before you go?  Sherri Mitchell: Sure.  Neil Sattin: I'm curious about when you find that you are someone who is engaged in this process of connecting with your inner teacher and confronting the masks that you're wearing and operating from this place of how do I heal the divisions, how do I create this wholeness? How do you hold yourself in relationship to people who maybe aren't going through that process for themselves? And, you know, obviously that's possible again in the world at large. And often this comes up in relationships, right?Where someone is kind of the growth focused person and the other person just kind of has their head down and and doesn't care or doesn't care to engage in that way? Sherri Mitchell: Yeah, I think it's a challenge at times to do that. And a conversation that I had with my ex-husband one day while I was making dinner and he was standing on the other side of the counter from me as I was chopping up vegetables and we were talking about something. And he was just standing there looking at me dumbfounded. And, you know, we had been together for quite a long time at this point in time. And I asked him, "What's what's wrong?" And he said, "I just realized that this isn't a phase, like you really do want to save the world. And I just want to live in it." And and I said, "Well, somebody has to make sure you have a good place to live." And, you know, then we just went back to cooking dinner. But that that moment was the beginning of the end of our relationship, because there was a level of simplicity, a level of detachment that he felt most comfortable in that I would never feel comfortable in, because I was this voracious seeker of truth that, you know, I came I came in with a fire that drove me to seek levels of truth on many different fronts. You know, spiritually, socially, in regard to justice. All of these issues that were really feeding this fire within me that I had been born with because that was what I was born for. And we were able to sit down together and to acknowledge that we wanted very different things for our lives going forward. And that the pathway leading into the future for us was not a pathway that merged any longer, that these pathways were were divergent, but we were able to sit in ceremony together and lovingly untangle the ties that we had made to one another and to wish each other well on that pathway that we would each be traveling into the future with love and respect for one another. That doesn't mean that whenever you get to these places of division that you have to separate from the ones that you love.But sometimes the greatest act of love that we can offer someone is to just accept who they are, and where they are, to allow them to continue to flourish into who they are becoming. And we can do that with them, in relationship with them, in close proximity, or we can do that with them, in relationship with them, with some physical separation. And only the individuals who are involved in that moment in time together can decide. Do we do this? Is it a continued act of love for us to continue to walk this pathway together? Because we again, where we're filled with all of these ideas of what we're supposed to do. Who we're supposed to be. What it's supposed to look like for us. And when that doesn't resonate with our truth, we find ourselves in constant conflict. So we have to get to a place where we're doing that meaningful work in a way that aligns with our deepest truth. And in order to get to that deepest truth, we have to move through all of the filters and the tapes that we've been carrying with us, that tell us who we're supposed to be, you know, who I feel I was meant to be in the world, is not a person that could have sacrificed their own dreams in order to fulfill somebody else's need at that moment in time. And the love that that other person had for me was such that they did not want to restrict who I was becoming in order to make them feel safe in the world. And and so, you know, we have to be able to hold ourselves, I think, to that that moment of fire. And try to see each other with eyes of of real love. Like, is this person that I see before me, someone that I am capable of giving absolute acceptance to, regardless of what that means to me? Am I allowing this person to become who they are choosing to become in a way that is meaningful and in alignment with their own truth? Or am I trying to restrict them based on my own fear? Am I capable of dealing with my fear in this moment and allowing them to become while allowing myself to become as well without running away? Right? So there's this element of running away that we do that is not about consciously thinking about how can I best love this person in this moment, in truth?  Neil Sattin: Right.  Sherri Mitchell: AndI think that place right there is the juicy bit of life. Can we sit with the discomfort that we're feeling? Can we deal with our ego? Can we deal with our fear and our need to control? Can we just get to that spot of of real love and acceptance? And then from that place, looking at each other without having to fix or to change or to judge or explain, choose to accept each other in that moment. And cycle forward into whatever future it is that we're holding the dream of within us together, or if it's a more loving act to allow our paths to diverge at that point in time. And I don't think that people do that. I think that people, you know, people throw around this this term, "conscious uncoupling," right now. And I think that there's an element of beauty in that. That we don't always have to be what somebody else wants us to be and still be demonstrating acts of love, that sometimes it's an act of love to say, "I'm sorry that this conflict exists between us. I'm, you know, going to stand here firmly in my own truth and I'm going to lovingly accept what comes up for you in this moment. And hopefully you can look at me with some loving acceptance about what's coming up for me in this moment, and we can make space for each other to be uncomfortable and then to settle in to the real baseline love that we have for one another, and be able to discuss this in a way that allows us to both become the most whole versions of ourselves and to make a decision in that moment on what's best for us."  Neil Sattin: Mm hmm. Yeah, I'm right there with you. And I think that that's such an important element of moving the paradigm of relationship in a more whole direction than than the ways that, you know, historically the way that we've bound ourselves to each other without really thought of everything that you just named, the way that that's creating challenges for people that don't necessarily need to need to be perpetuated. Sherri Mitchell: Yeah.  Neil Sattin: So yes. The way that you know, I had the Gottmans here in Maine recently, John and Julie Gottman, for a live version of my show here in Portland. And as I was sitting with them, I had this thought, which is that so much of the energy that we've put into how to make relationships work, how to help people succeed in relationships has like been based on this presupposition that longevity is somehow the marker of success in a relationship. And so if you take that as a given, then from that point unfold, all of these things that are about like fostering longevity. That, the lens changes a little bit when you're looking at it from a place of who am I, who am I meant to be when I get past what I've been told I should be? And who are you meant to be? And how can we love each other in that? And how can we make choices? Sometimes really challenging choices, but be rooted in that love for each other, even when it represents a divergence or an acknowledgement of some core differences? Sherri Mitchell: Yeah, I think what tends to happen is that people let go of and sacrifice pieces of themselves in order to achieve that goal of longevity. That is the social standard of success. Andone of the things that I do in one of my trauma workshops is I give participants a meditation to have them go into each relationship that they have and ask themselves what aspects of myself have I had to give up in order to be in relationship with this person? What dreams of mine have I let go in order to be in relationship with this person? What parts of myself have had to be suppressed in order to make this this person happy? And then to look at the way that that giving away of aspects of themselves has actually led to a lot of the problems that rise up in the relationship because you're no longer the person that that other person thought you were, but you're also no longer the person that you know yourself to be. So you're in conflict continuously. And so we've we've been raised under this capitalist system that leads us to believe that we are either a consumer or a commodity. And so,we are constantly looking for ways to sell ourselves, whether that be to our friends, to our families, to our faith communities, to our employers, to our potential partners. We look for the aspects of ourselves that we believe are going to be most saleable to that other that we want to be in relationship with. Sherri Mitchell: Or, that we want to create this sense of inclusivity and belonging with and we sacrifice the aspects of ourselves that we don't feel line up. And in doing so, we never, ever know if we in and of ourselves are lovable because we're only putting forward an image that we believe will be acceptable to whoever that other is. And so the aspects of ourselves that we hide become cloaked in shame and in fear that if they escape, we're no longer going to be lovable because we've made this contractual agreement on a spiritual level to only show this aspect of ourselves that we feel it's going to be acceptable. And so, you know, when we're in that situation, which is a majority of the world, we don't know if we, the wholeness of who we are, is truly lovable. And so we live in constant fear of losing the love that we have put forward conditionally. We've put ourselves forward to be loved conditionally rather than unconditionally. And so we have to have the courage to bring forward all aspects of ourselves. And it's so cliched at this point in time, right?. But the courage that's required to be able to do that is phenomenal. It's phenomenal because we all need a sense of belonging, connectivity, inclusivity and the threat of losing that registers in our primitive brain as being ostracized at a time when our connectivity was absolutely crucial for our physical survival. And so it wasn't very long ago that when somebody was ostracized or moved beyond the pale. Right, that that they were no longer guaranteed safety. Right. Because they didn't have the safety of the group. And so we actually recognized that in our bodies. This  fear of not belonging, this fear of not being included, is equated with actual death in our physiology, the way that our body chemically responds to it. And so we have to be willing to work with that system so that we can evolve it, so that we can consciously evolve it into realizing what is the real threat here? The real threat is death to our whole selves, death to own truth, in order to barter for acceptability. That's conditional. And can we have the courage to move beyond that? Can we have the courage to show up with all of our our parts available to be seen, and see if we can be accepted as we are? That's the real dance that we have with ourselves in order to be able to have truly intimate, truly loving relationships with others.  Neil Sattin: Well, what you're talking about is something that's impacted me personally very recently, so I'm really taking that all in very deeply. And I think my wish for all of you listening is that you feel inspired to be courageous in this absolutely essential and cliche way of discovering who you are and being willing to offer that courageously in the world.  Neil Sattin: Sherri Mitchell, it's been such a pleasure to talk with you today. Your book, "Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit Based Change" is so full of good stuff. We've only really scratched the surface today. So, I definitely recommend checking the book out. And I'm excited to hear that there's another one in the works. When's that due to come out? Do you have a sense or?  Sherri Mitchell: I'm not sure if it'll be out in 2020 or early 2021. I'm hoping it'll be out by the end of 2020.  Neil Sattin: Got it. Well, that's definitely something to look forward to. I hope we can have you back on the show to talk about it.  Sherri Mitchell: That would be wonderful.  Neil Sattin: And if people want to find out more about you, what's the best way for them to do that?  Sherri Mitchell: They can go to my website, sacred-instructions-dot-life, or they can follow me on social media. My public Facebook page is Facebook-dot-com-slash-sacred-instructions. And I do have Instagram, but I'm terrible about social media. I need to have somebody come along. I've accepted that about myself.  Neil Sattin: Same.  Sherri Mitchell: Yeah, you know, that's just not the thing that I do well. And so I'm constantly searching for the technology person who can help to deal with that aspect of my life. But I do my best.  Neil Sattin: Well, hopefully you can call that person in. So that people can, you know, watch your life from the outside and hopefully come and participate through, I mean, it sounds like you're offering workshops and the ceremonies that you're hosting. Sounds so powerful. And again, if you want to get a transcript of today's episode, just visit Neil-Sattin-dot-com-slash-sacred or text the word "passion" to the number 3-3-4-4,-4. Sherri Mitchell, your native name. I'm going to just invite you to say it means she who brings the light. And I definitely feel like you've been bringing the light today to to me, into our listeners.  Sherri Mitchell: Thank you. So we'd say in our language, the words that I offer for all my relatives and my name in my language, Weh’na Ha’mu Kwasset. Neil Sattin: Thank you so much. So good to meet you and be with you today.  Sherri Mitchell: Yeah, you too. Thank you so much, Neil. 

Today’s guest is the author of an incredible book that I strongly urge you to add to your collection, “Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change.” Sherri Mitchell was born and raised on the Penobscot Indian Reservation and her professional career spans work as an attorney, policy advocate, civil rights educator for the Maine Attorney General’s office, and founding director of the Land Peace Foundation. In this compelling book, she shares with us knowledge and lived experiences that weave together the political, scientific, ethical, and spiritual aspects surrounding a multitude of complex issues that we must traverse for a deeper collective healing from the trauma of colonization. This book brings forward unique wisdom teachings from First Nations people that can set us all on a better course. In this podcast, we explore how to silence ourselves to hear the wisdom of our highest authority and how quantum entanglement probes us to right our relationship to life itself. We discuss the myth of separation and how oneness and sameness are not equal. We deconstruct the ways that water has been colonized and how this threatens our very existence. We acknowledge the power of co-creation and untangle how our rights must always be grounded in a corresponding set of responsibilities. We end our conversation with a fascinating review of Indigenous teachings on the roles of sacred feminine and sacred masculine energies and how to keep them in balance for a harmonious way of being. Through it all, you will be struck by the deep intuitive knowing that comes from a way of life that is guided by sacred instructions. May this be the invitation for you to walk in the world in this more enlightened way as well. Podcast

Join Sarah Holmes and guest, Sherri Mitchell for a discussion of protecting land, water and indigenous rights and the connection to individual and global health. Sherri is the founding director of the Land Peace Foundation, co-host of Love (and Revolution) Radio and author of Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change. Previously aired 11.29.18. The post Protecting Land, Water and Indigenous Rights – November 26, 2019 appeared first on KPFA.

IntroductionWelcome, new moon, new Modern Folk. I am very excited for you to hear my interview with my guest today. I recently had the honor of connecting with Sherri Mitchell, the author of the book Sacred Instructions. If you know me well personally, or listen to this show, then you have heard me talk about Sherri Mitchell before. Her book and her teachings have inspired me deeply and changed my life and I am extremely excited to share our conversation with you. But first, here is a brief update on what Emily, Clemence and I have been up to.. If you are listening to this on the release date, March 6, then perhaps you have set some intentions for yourself during this time of opportunity and new beginnings. If you are listening to this at some other time….well then hello from the past. As i have mentioned several times, Emily and I have committed to doing a 3 day cleanse every new moon this year. We take this time to clean up our inputs…..omitting coffee, alcohol, processed sugars, grains, dairy. And also taking more time for individual and family reflection and goal setting. This is basically replacing the 2 or three week cleanses we often do once or twice a year. This also represents a tangible step towards our goal to physically, spirituality and emotionally orient ourselves to real and observable phenomena around us.  Releasing this podcast on new moon is another step in that process, one that i had overlooked, but that was recommended by my friend and previous guest on the show, Allison Murphy. These are subtle changes, in practice and in perspective, but they feel good. Hunting. I have been researching hunting quite a bit lately. I am a complete newcomer to hunting and there is a lot to learn. I find the whole idea of hunting both exciting and intimidating. There is also the choice of bow or rifle. I am pretty sure I have settled on bow hunting for this first season. I have gone back and forth on this many times in my mind. Ultimately though, everything about bow hunting feels like a better fit for me. Typically, bow season is late summer/early fall so it isnt quite as cold out, which in my mind makes for more pleasant time in the woods. Bowhunting requires a more intimate knowledge of the animal being hunted. I like the idea of learning more about the animals I am hunting. This really goes back to the idea of orienting to the natural world around me. For much of my life i have been oriented to the seasons in a very different way. When i was a kid, summer was when the swimming pool was open and we would visit the grandparents. Winter was when we would cross our fingers hoping for now days to cancel school and we would build forts with sticks and leaves left behind from autumn. As an adult, winters have been for skiing, all the other season are for mountain biking. Summer used to be for climbing road trips. I used to think there were only rumors of Elk in the forests of oregon, i sure never saw one from my mountain bike or on a hike in the Three Sisters Wilderness. Now I am learning that the elk are up there, but they are smart and observant and stay far away from the areas where me and most everyone else from Bend is recreating. So yes, hunting….I hope to use it as a means to understand the seasons and the land and how I am part of the whole thing rather than just a spectator, consumer, or recreator. The same can be said of our efforts to grow more food here in our yard.  Again, small changes, big lessons and better late than never. It is snowy and snowing outside currently in Bend. The last couple weeks have shown us that winter did not forget about us. However, Spring is just around the corner and I am looking forward to getting outside and pruning my trees. I love pruning trees but i always feel like I have taken off way too much. My friend Megan over at Boundless had some recommendations for my trees, I should have her and David over for dinner and to formulate a pruning plan. I also will be expanding the capacity of our garden so i need to prepare a new garden bed. I am looking forward to getting some seeds in the ground as soon as all this snow melts, which may be a while. In the dietary realm, I have been avoiding wheat this last month, and I have been feeling pretty good about it. I have known for years that i should probably avoid wheat, both from the results from a food intolerance test and also from personal observations about how my body and my mind responds to wheat. Interestingly, the intolerance test told me to avoid wheat, not gluten. This means that according to this test, i can still eat other grains containing gluten including rye and spelt. Emily has been making some delicious Sourdough 100% rye bread, and we have also made SD rye, spelt biscuits and spelt pizza. Last winter i did most of the bread baking but Emily has taken the reigns on the bread baking, I need to get myself back in the game. Anyhow, I feel really good having omitted wheat from my diet. Some things I have been learning from lately. Rich Roll Podcast, Two episodes with guest Zach BushGMO's, Glyphosate and Healing the Gut The Science and Spirituality of Personal and Planetary Transformation Farmers Footprint, is a series of short films that shed light on how big pharma and big agriculture have eroded our soils and our health in the name of making more money and under the disguise of scientific progress. The film also shows how small farms are using the techniques of regerative agriculture to take back the land and the health of their families and communities. This film highlights what i believe are some of the most biggest opportunities at hand to address important issues from individual and community health to national security to environmental stewardship.   Heart of Business, Heart of Money online class with Mark Silver This is something that Emily discovered and when she brought it up as something that we could maybe do together i thought it sounded like a great idea. At first glance the class looks like a course on money and i immediately pictured sessions on budgeting, spending, debt and topics like that. Now, while those topics are discussed, the class is really more about understanding and healing our emotional and spiritual relationships with money and with our selves. It has been really interesting and has helped me to put certain parts of my life into better perspective. For me personally, some of the key words or feelings that come up when money or spending or debt is involved are scarecity, paralization, fear, hoarding, security and protection. These teachings have helped me to be less controlled by some of these concepts and find a bit more of a feeling of abundance and safety. I am sure that anyone working through these teachings would describe it differently because it is very personal work.  But i have found it helpful, so i wanted to share that with you. Most of what i have been pondering or working on these last few months falls into one of a couple broad themes. Listening to your heart, and finding your true path, and sharing your gifts with the world. Environmental stewardship, manifested in regenerative agriculture, local food, social justice issues. These themes are a large part of what Modern Folk is meant to explore. Also, these themes are among the many important topics addressed by my guest on the show today. Sherri Mitchell, Weh’na Ha’mu Kwasset is an Indigenous rights activist, spiritual teacher, and transformational change maker. Sherri was born and raised on the Penobscot Indian reservation (Penawahpskek).  She speaks and teaches around the world on issues of Indigenous rights, environmental justice, and spiritual change. I hope you enjoy our discussion.  Interview Notes: Setting the stage for an open conversation. Acknowledging white male privilege Sharron Blackie. The Hedge School Podcast. Sacred Instructions Creation stories Everything is connected Quantum entanglement Original Sin, Illusions of separation Compassionate awareness Michelle Alexander. The movement is no longer the resistance, the resistance is now the opposition to the movement. Healing Turtle Island Ceremony   Modern Folk logo by Stefan Perkinz greasywhisper.comTheme music by Lee Rosevere Support for Modern Folk comes from my wife Emily Wiggins. Emily is a Naturopathic Doctor in Bend OR.dremilywiggins.com  

Sherri Mitchell is an attorney who speaks and teaches around the world on issues of indigenous rights, environmental justice, and spiritual change and author of the book Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change. She talks with Eric about the Wabenaki legend of the Cannibal Giant, the connection between overconsumption and trauma, and waking up to the pervasive grief of patriarchal colonialism, among other things.

Join Sarah Holmes and her guest, Sherri Mitchell, for a discussion of Indigenous land rights, protecting water and sacred sites. Sherri is the founding director of the Land Peace Foundation, co-host of Love (and Revolution) Radio and author of Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change. The post Protecting Land, Water and Indigenous Rights – November 29, 2018 appeared first on KPFA.

This week on Love and Revolution Radio, we speak with Terry Patten about how to work for heart-based change. Terry comments on his book, a New Republic of the Heart, and explores inner and outer transformation with us on the show. Sign up for our weekly email: http://www.riverasun.com/love-and-revolution-radio/ "Find some friends with whom you can do thing to make a difference. Find ways to work within the system, against the system, and around the system. And do it knowing that you're in solidarity with the future of life and everything that is good and true and beautiful in this world." - Terry Patten About the Guest: Terry Patten speaks and consults internationally as a community organizer, philosopher and teacher. He's spent the past 15 years working on the integral project of evolving consciousness and healing our global crises through spirit-based activism. He's also involved with restorative redwood forestry, creating alternatives to fossil fuels, and building up sustainable economies. Music by: "Love and Revolution" by Diane Patterson and Spirit Radio (Used with permission) www.dianepatterson.org A New Republic of the Heart by Terry Patten https://www.terrypatten.com/a-new-republic-of-the-heart/ Resources Listed in the Book (A Great List - Check It Out!) https://www.terrypatten.com/resources/ Nonviolence Minute Excerpt: http://www.hopedance.org/home/awakenings/3112-the-soul-of-activism About Your Co-hosts: Sherri Mitchell (Penobscot) is an Indigenous rights attorney, writer and activist who melds traditional life-way teachings into spirit-based movements. She is the author of Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change. Follow her at Sherri Mitchell – Wena’gamu’gwasit: www.sacredinstructions.life Rivera Sun is a novelist and nonviolent mischief-maker. She is the author of The Dandelion Insurrection, The Roots of Resistance, Billionaire Buddha, and The Way Between. Her essays on social justice movements are syndicated by PeaceVoice, and appear in Truthout and Popular Resistance. http://www.riverasun.com/

This week on Love and Revolution Radio, we speak with Edward Hasbrouck, who, while traveling across Europe by bicycle, is also organizing a campaign challenging the future of the US military draft. Find out where and when the next national hearings by the commission polling the public about the military draft are going to be held. And find out how the US military is eyeing the possibility of expanding draft registration to women . . . and also thinking about a universal conscription into the military that would included everyone from medical personnel to tech support to your grandmother. Sign up for our weekly email: http://www.riverasun.com/love-and-revolution-radio/ ""It's not just that there's a threat of a draft. Resistance to the draft has been a tremendous victory. We need just a small step further to follow through on that to get draft registration ended, to abolish the Selective Service System, and most importantly to finally force the government to acknowledge that our people power limits the extent to which they can wage war." - Edward Hasbrouck, Draft Resister About the Guest: Edward Hasbrouck is author of the series "the Practical Nomad", one of the go-to authorities on international travel, an investigative journalist, and also a human rights activist and an advisor on travel-related civil liberties issues. He's a man with many hats, and he joins us today to talk about the effort to end the US military draft. More Info About the Draft Commission Hearings and Draft Resistance: http://resisters.info/ Where to submit a comment: http://www.inspire2serve.gov/ Background on Draft Resistance https://hasbrouck.org/draft/background.html "A Speech: For Antidraft Rally, DC, March 22, 1980" by Denise Levertov http://www.peacebuttons.info/PDF/0322.1980_A-Speech-For-Antidraft-Rally.pdf Women's Draft? Sign Me Up To Abolish War! by Rivera Sun http://www.riverasun.com/womens-draft-sign-me-up-to-abolish-war/ Music by:  "Love and Revolution" by Diane Patterson and Spirit Radio (Used with permission) www.dianepatterson.org About Your Co-hosts: Sherri Mitchell (Penobscot) is an Indigenous rights attorney, writer and activist who melds traditional life-way teachings into spirit-based movements. She is the author of Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change. Follow her at Sherri Mitchell – Wena’gamu’gwasit: www.sacredinstructions.life Rivera Sun is a novelist and nonviolent mischief-maker. She is the author of The Dandelion Insurrection, The Roots of Resistance, Billionaire Buddha, and The Way Between. Her essays on social justice movements are syndicated by PeaceVoice, and appear in Truthout and Popular Resistance. http://www.riverasun.com/

This week on Love and Revolution Radio, we speak with Rev. Bruce Wright, one of the organizers of the 26-year old Poor Peoples Economic and Human Rights Campaign about their recent 140-mile march from Philadelphia to DC, and the revival of Dr. King's Resurrection City. (This campaign is different from the Poor People's Campaign with Rev. Barber, and we'll talk about the differences on the show.) Sign up for our weekly email: http://www.riverasun.com/love-and-revolution-radio/ "This campaign grew out of historic roots and the understanding that the best solutions for ending poverty and homelessness come from the people affected by it." - Rev. Bruce Wright About Our Guest: Rev. Bruce Wright is the cohost of the Revolutionary Road Show, a radio program broadcasting out of Tampa, FL. He is an organizer for the rights of unhoused peoples and a dedicated campaigner to the economic and human rights of all. He runs the Refuge, an international network of outreaches that work in solidarity with homeless and poor people. Rivera had the opportunity to meet him in Florida and see his work among those facing homelessness first hand, and it's an honor to have him on the show. Contact Rev. Bruce Wright refugestpete@gmail.com 727 278-1547 Refuge Ministry http://refugestpete.org/ Poor People's Economic and Human Rights Campaign http://economichumanrights.org/ 2018 Poor People's March on Washington, DC http://economichumanrights.org/2018-poor-peoples-march/ Images from the March on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisa.richards.752/posts/10214467418392566 Video: https://www.facebook.com/ppehrc/videos/10156485175368011/ Poor People's Economic and Human Rights Campaign on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ppehrc/ Principles of Unity (check this out!) http://economichumanrights.org/principles-of-unity/ Revolutionary Road Radio Show https://www.facebook.com/events/2067054283569122/ Moving Onward: Beyond Racial Division to Class Unity by Nelson Peery and Brooke Haegerty https://www.amazon.com/Moving-Onward-Racial-Division-Class/dp/0967668700 Music by:  "Love and Revolution" by Diane Patterson and Spirit Radio  www.dianepatterson.org About Your Co-hosts: Sherri Mitchell (Penobscot) is an Indigenous rights attorney, writer and activist who melds traditional life-way teachings into spirit-based movements. She is the author of Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change. Follow her at Sherri Mitchell – Wena’gamu’gwasit: www.sacredinstructions.life Rivera Sun is a novelist and nonviolent mischief-maker. She is the author of The Dandelion Insurrection, The Roots of Resistance, Billionaire Buddha, and The Way Between. Her essays on social justice movements are syndicated by PeaceVoice, and appear in Truthout and Popular Resistance. http://www.riverasun.com/

This week on Love (and Revolution) Radio, we speak with mythologist Sharon Blackie, author of "If Women Rose Rooted" and "The Enchanted Life", about the power of myth and story in transforming ourselves and our world. Sharon speaks about her journey from a corporate office job into her deep dive into the world of nature, myth, and place. In this show, she shares insights and thought-provoking ideas about the importance of reconnecting with the rest of the Earth at this time in human history. Sign up for our weekly email: http://www.riverasun.com/love-and-revolution-radio/ "If women remember that once upon a time we sang with the tongues of seals and flew with the wings of swans, that we forged our own paths through the dark forest while creating a community of its many inhabitants, then we will rise up rooted, like trees. And if we rise up rooted like trees, well then, women might indeed save not only ourselves, but the world."- Sharon Blackie, If Women Rose Rooted. Links: Sharon Blackie http://sharonblackie.net/ If Women Rose Rooted https://www.amazon.com/Women-Rose-Rooted-Authenticity-Belonging/dp/1910463663 The Enchanted Life https://www.amazon.com/Enchanted-Life-Unlocking-Magic-Everyday/dp/1910463884/ The Hedge School www.thehedgeschool.org Music by:  "Love and Revolution" by Diane Patterson and Spirit Radio  www.dianepatterson.org About Your Co-hosts: Sherri Mitchell (Penobscot) is an Indigenous rights attorney, writer and activist who melds traditional life-way teachings into spirit-based movements. She is the author of Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change. Follow her at Sherri Mitchell – Wena’gamu’gwasit: www.sacredinstructions.life Rivera Sun is a novelist and nonviolent mischief-maker. She is the author of The Dandelion Insurrection, The Roots of Resistance, Billionaire Buddha, and The Way Between. Her essays on social justice movements are syndicated by PeaceVoice, and appear in Truthout and Popular Resistance. http://www.riverasun.com/

(Sorry for any confusion everyone, but we are having trouble with the system. Hopefully it is all worked out.) This week on Love (and Revolution) Radio, we focus on the powerful themes and subjects in Sherri Mitchell's newly released book, Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change. If your heart has been aching for ways to rethink this thing called life, this is the show for you! Sherri talks about Indigenous perspectives, cultural practices, and understandings that offer a different way of both looking at the world and living in it. Tune in for a lively discussion on rights and responsibilities, nature-based connection, balancing the divine feminine and masculine, and core cultural concepts that will leave you with lots of juicy concepts to think about all week long! Sign up for our weekly email: http://www.riverasun.com/love-and-revolution-radio/ "The status quo is maintained by the cycles of conquest that we have been participants in; and if we want to truly change the paradigm that we're living in, we have to be able to approach these things with a completely different set of values." - Sherri Mitchell, Weh'na Ha'mu' Kwasset Find Sherri's book "Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change" here: http://sacredinstructions.life/ " Love and Revolution" by Diane Patterson and Spirit Radio www.dianepatterson.org About Your Co-hosts: Sherri Mitchell (Penobscot) is an Indigenous rights attorney, writer and activist who melds traditional life-way teachings into spirit-based movements. She is the author of Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change. Follow her at Sherri Mitchell – Wena’gamu’gwasit: www.sacredinstructions.life Rivera Sun is a novelist and nonviolent mischief-maker. She is the author of The Dandelion Insurrection, The Roots of Resistance, Billionaire Buddha, and The Way Between. Her essays on social justice movements are syndicated by PeaceVoice, and appear in Truthout and Popular Resistance. http://www.riverasun.com/

After a year-long hiatus (during which Rivera healed from cancer and both of your favorite cohosts wrote new books), we're back with new episodes of Love (and Revolution) Radio! Sign up for our weekly email: http://www.riverasun.com/love-and-revolution-radio/ "Our modern day myths, our hero stories, are rooted in the stories of collective struggle that have gone on all over the world." - Rivera Sun "Love and Revolution" by Diane Patterson and Spirit Radio www.dianepatterson.org About Your Co-hosts: Sherri Mitchell (Penobscot) is an Indigenous rights attorney, writer and activist who melds traditional life-way teachings into spirit-based movements. She is the author of Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change. Follow her at Sherri Mitchell – Wena’gamu’gwasit: www.sacredinstructions.life Rivera Sun is a novelist and nonviolent mischief-maker. She is the author of The Dandelion Insurrection, The Roots of Resistance, Billionaire Buddha, and The Way Between. Her essays on social justice movements are syndicated on by PeaceVoice, and appear in Truthout and Popular Resistance. http://www.riverasun.com/

Join Sarah Holmes and her guest Sherri Mitchell. Sherri is an indigenous rights attorney, co-host of Love (and Revolution) Radio and author of Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change. Fund drive. The post Interview with Sherri Mitchell – May 10, 2018 appeared first on KPFA.

Sherri Mitchell, Penobscot, an Indigenous lawyer, writer and activist, has a new book, “Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change,” which explains her personal journey to activism and both how our societies have arrived at this time of grave threats and what we can do to create change. Some of our tasks are to recognize that colonization has not ended, the ways it manifests itself and how to begin the process of decolonization. We can do that, in part, by working to protect water sovereignty. Sherri talks about the mobilization at Standing Rock and the rise of Water Protectors. Then we speak with RaeLynn Cazelot, United Houmi and Pointe-au-Chien, who is a Water Protector working to stop the Bayou Bridge Pipeline (BBP). The BBP is being built by Energy Transfer Partners, the same company that built the Dakota Access Pipeline in the Dakotas. Currently, Water Protectors are holding a week of action against the BBP in Louisiana. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.