As told to Neaseno by Newgekwep, his grandfather.

 

THE CIRCLE OF LIFE

Wawyéyabmadzewen

LIFE consists of the FIRE, the ROCK, the WATER, the GREEN.

It also contains the two legged, the four legged, the creeping crawling things, the winged ones and thus exhibits the past, present and the future in all of these things.

When we are in the CIRCLE we are part of all LIFE.

LIFE is a very sacred thing and no one who is part of the CIRCLE is exempt from anything he/she does. We all affect each other with whatever thoughts, actions, words, thus prayers we make. When we think good thoughts they affect everyone. Likewise, when we think bad thoughts they affect everyone also.

By the same token though, we shall be part of whatever we do, think, and speak. In other words, we shall be judged by our peers, by the spirits, and by the GOOD ENERGY which placed us on this earth/altar.

Some say we shall be judged by whatever we put out there, into the air or universe. We must always realize how powerful our words are and how sacred our language is.

We are created, sacred human beings given the ability to think with a free moral choice. Unlike the animals and some inanimate things, we are not in a perpetual state of grace. i.e., the ability to be free of sin or amoral/immoral thought patterns.

And what is sin to the Neshnabek people?

Is there such a word, or anything like it in the Neshnabe language?

The answer is a resounding NO!

If we consider the nature of SIN, as opposed to the word itself and its implications, then we have a different picture, thus a better understanding of English words having to do with separation and judgment, but they do not necessarily have any direct meaning or correlation in the Neshnabe tongues.

Sin to us, is any act, any thought, any word which threatens to bring disharmony or separation to the common people we are part of and separates us from the love of the Creator or GOOD ENERGY.

We are all part of a placement by something which loved us into being and caused us to be lowered to this earth/altar to be caretakers, all else had specific instructions to do whatever. The very name we are called by; NESHNABEK refers to the male species which was lowered to this altar.

We come from the sacred STAR nations which were used to inhabit this earth and given instructions to repopulate the world for good, with that spark of energy we received from the Great Energy or Fire Force.

The Seven Star Nations are a shadow of what was, what is to come into being, and what can/shall be now. There were originally Seven Father Nations of which all tribes on this hemisphere are part of. Those Seven Brothers or Ogemas married Seven Star Nation sisters to repopulate the world they were sent to be part of. They were also told to remarry the people of the earth who lived through the Third Purification in order to repopulate the earth with Star Nation Seed.

That Star Nation Seed has to do with the GOOD ENERGY of the universe and must be in all people in order to effect the cause of GOOD in this world.

We have been given a tremendous power to do GOOD and overcome evil in our time. We must do it and become GOOD for all people everywhere throughout the earth.

The two leggeds I spoke of earlier are part of something far greater in scope of what LIFE is and means. It contains the distant past, the HOLY present, and the totally HOPEFUL future. Those two leggeds cannot afford to make any mistakes with the HOLY power of the STAR Nations they possess. We must use it for the GOOD I spoke of and effect the cause for all mankind of which He/She was slated for from eternity past.

When we realize how HOLY we are, the goodness we are surrounded by, and thus created for the purpose of spiritually repopulating this earth, then shall we see as we are seen, and know as we are known. Time shall speak of many powerful things which have to do with this earth time and the extensions of time allotted it over the years of creative energy, solely for the sake of those who abide here and need the help of the universal powers which continue to speak of that Star Energy.

Every time one goes out at night to observe the night sky, it should be a reminder of where they came from, thus where they are going again. Some of our holy people even carry sacred names having to do with the stars, sun, moon and other heavenly bodies, along with the general directions of up, down and within. Our children need to be reminded of where they come from and their responsibilities to the ceremonies held periodically among their people. If they become accustomed to how they must conduct themselves and what their responsibilities are, they will thus be made ready for life and death.

There was a time when the sacred FIRE burned forever in eternity past prepared as though by some giant hand of the cause or supreme will of the Spirit. Only the sacred stones of fire were to be tenderly placed in that fire to be kept pure and wholly consecrated for some future use only the Spirit saw.

The star nations are always there as constant reminders to those who live on this earth and where they came from, thus where they are going again. We are relatives to all we can see and kin to all that surrounds us. Our eyes will tell us who our relatives are and the sacredness of all we see. We all sat as stones in the sacred fire above and were made ready to come into this world at each of our appointed times. Stones are held sacred to our people and stones are what purify us in the sacred sweat ceremony which we should visit, from time to time. There are multiplied billions of stones in the universe of universes which speak of our distant past and the relations we had in the before times of our lives.

It was said among our elders that we came from a SACRED FIRE above.

This FIRE burned with a consistency and a commitment that spoke of the love it had for all it contained within the sacred "loins of creation" it touched or affected/effected. Some have been been allowed to envision this FIRE from above and to see the "sacred stones of fire" sitting in its midst.

We are of that FIRE and we are correctly called the Fire Generation, thus the distant stars are our relations, along with every created being of those galaxies we see yonder when we gaze into the night sky

That Sacred Fire means the "Creative Loins of the Spirit of Life." We are told we are 98.6 Fahrenheit degrees and if that temperature varies too highly, it is said we are feverish. We are alive by the Fire within us. When we are cold it is because the Fire has left and returned to the Source.

The Lamp of our Being was lit and spoken into existence when the Creator spoke the word of Life through the sacred Megis shell, and blew the breath of Life into each human being. That is why we are called the Fire Generation.

We are often told the Ancient Fire Spirit which lit every human being is also called Shkwedensi in the Potawatomi language. We are kept alive by that spirit and the constant exchange of oxygen and the Liquid Life being pumped to various parts of our bodies are which nourish us and sustain us.

One might say there is a miniature explosion going on inside of us by way of our hearts beating and providing the impetus of supplying blood and oxygen to our vital organs and body.

 

As told to Neaseno by Newgekwep, his grandfather.