Rattling the Bones

The West of the Medicine Wheel is where we find the Sun setting.  Here we explore our mortality, we let go, we fall into somber and dream.  I just returned from Vancouver, B.C.   I travelled out West to visit with my in-laws who retired in Port-Albernie a little over fifteen years ago.   I was also invited to give an introductory Conference, in Vancouver to promote our up coming workshop on Indigenous Dreaming, in October.   A few of our friends moved to B.C. in the last twenty years and we looked forward to connecting with them again.   Finally, I hadn’t been in Vancouver since 1986 (Expo) and looked forward to a 2 nd visit.     With four different reasons to head out towards the West -- I can't say I'm at all surprised to have anchored into a journey; which quite remarkably revealed the West of my personal Wheel and it's collective connections.  It will take more then one blog entry to go through all of what I've learnt and healed through this latest trip

The title came to me when talking to Lisa about a dream of me working with Elders. I'm not shy to say that I am 63 years old this year. The past decade has been one of adapting to aging in a society which worships youth. We've come a far cry from our Ancestors who respected and honoured their Elders for their wisdom and experience. Today we hide our Elders away in old folks homes as if it is a crime or shameful to grow old. They are often seen as a burden to society. Then we spend a fortune on wrinkle cream, hair dyes, hair transplants, botox injections, plastic surgery, etc.... to ward off the inevitable with every ounce of our being. It gets a little tiring after awhile to fight against nature.  What is the value of Seniors in today's world? It's true that Elders today can't guide the youth when it comes to technology. Maybe  age is more of a curse than a blessing in our modern world. But there is more to life than computers, iPhones and video games.  My