The Lakota phrase Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ describes Reality by addressing it as “All My Relations.” All humans, all animals, all plants, all the waters, the soil, the stones, the mountains, the grasslands, the winds, the clouds and storms, the sun and moon, stars and planets are our relations and are relations to one another. We are connected to each other in multiple and vital ways. When one is in pain, all are harmed. When there is justice for one, there is more justice for all.
It is time for the dominant culture to finally learn that its people cannot harm those it deems lesser than themselves simply because it wants to and can. This is, simply, wrong. It violates the fundamental nature of reality. Actions that violate the fundamental nature of reality build tension into the system that eventually causes a loss of balance and a rebound of consequence to those who broke natural law. This is true whether the ones being unjustly persecuted and abused are human beings whose color or religious beliefs are not those of the dominant culture, or parts of the natural world that those of the dominant culture judge as insentient or even not-living. In all these cases, the dominant culture judges these “others” as unacceptable or lesser than themselves, and therefore undeserving of respect and reciprocity.
Being “woke” is not simply a matter of learning what words to speak. Truly right words can only come from a heart that is open to the living world’s grief, that is willing to be broken by the pain of this grief. Such a heart experiences the pain that all the rest of creation has suffered for generations upon generations, and in doing this it helps to share and bear that burden. Only then, once the true heart has shattered from this pain, can Real Knowledge flow into it. It enters through the spaces between the shattered fragments. This is the pathway to true healing, for that heart and the heart of creation itself.
===Notes about the translation and meaning of Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ:
Although “All Our Relations” is the most common translation of Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ — even Vine Deloria, Jr. defines it as such in his books — the phrase actually bears within it rich layers of additional meaning that cannot be easily translated into English. It’s important to point this out because words and ideas, stories and rituals, are bound together into a single reality that must be respected, not misappropriate. In the video, the late Sicungu Lakota Elder Albert White Hat, a friend who was on Tapestry’s board for many years, explains this matter of language and concept being inextricably interwoven.
The Native relationship to nature is revealed in Native hunting and food-growing practices. It is believed that the animals we hunt, whom we view as our relatives, offer themselves to us as an act of Metta. In return, the hunter must do something for the animal, for instance a deer dance or buffalo dance, to thank the animal and pray for regeneration of the animal’s family. When it comes to the food that we grow, we have dances and seasonal fertility rituals, which are ceremonies that bring us into direct relationship with the spirit of plants and Earth consciousness.
I see the whole Native way as realizing our relationship with everything and ourselves as an integral part of all things, which in turn causes us to treat the Earth and other forms of life with respect, as part of our family. Western civilization is finally recognizing that relationship. Suddenly people are saying that the Earth is alive and talking about Gaia and holistic worldviews and systems theory. Native people are basically saying, “Yes, welcome home.”
The Indian elders say, “We must remember also the four-footed, those who swim and those who fly, those who crawl and those who move very slowly like the stone people, and all the green and growing things.” Within this sacred circle we are one. What we do affects everyone, everything. These great teachings remind us of our responsibility to care for all life. In our pursuit of progress and comfort we have separated ourselves from our place in this great circle. Earth traditions bring us back into harmony and balance within the circle.The Lakota end all prayers with “O Mitakuye Oyasin,” meaning “I do this for all my relations (or all sentient beings).” Dualism happens when egocentricity develops, creating a split with nature, each other and all life. When I was departing for a yearlong retreat in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, I told the medicine woman Bertha Grove, “I’ll be alone for a long time.” She replied, “You’re not going to be alone. When you go outside and look around, you won’t feel alone at all. You’ll be completely accompanied by the trees, the plants, the birds and the animals.” For many years, I had learned about nonduality and the teachings of integration, but Grove’s way of saying it was like a direct transmission.
Animism flows from the belief that everything is part of an interconnected web of life. It is deeply embedded in many indigenous worldviews and as well as nondual meditation traditions from Tibet, India, China and Egypt. Both animism and nonduality share some profound philosophical and experiential similarities.
While not explicitly labeled as apophatic, many indigenous religions share core principles with apophatic theology, particularly in their emphasis on the mystery of the divine, the limitations of human language, and the importance of direct experience. The apophatic lens can offer a valuable framework for understanding and appreciating the diverse spiritual expressions found in indigenous cultures. The concept of the “Unknown God” in ancient Egyptian religion, and the debate among scholars about whether it was monotheistic, henotheistic, or polytheistic, can be seen as related to apophatic ideas, as it acknowledges a divine reality beyond human comprehension. How it Relates to Indigenous Religions:
While apophatic theology is primarily associated with specific theological traditions like Christian mysticism and negative theology within Hinduism and Islam, its core principles resonate with some aspects of indigenous religions.
Emphasis on Mystery:
Many indigenous traditions emphasize the sacredness and mystery of the natural world and the divine, often employing symbolic language and ritual practices that point to something beyond literal explanation.
Reverence for Nature:
Indigenous religions often have a deep connection with the natural world, viewing it as imbued with spiritual power and interconnectedness, which can be seen as an expression of the divine in a way that transcends human concepts.
Oral Traditions:
Many indigenous traditions rely on oral traditions and stories, which often utilize metaphors and symbolism to convey spiritual truths, rather than relying on propositional statements.
Focus on Experience:
Indigenous spiritual practices often prioritize direct experience and personal connection with the spiritual realm, rather than relying solely on abstract theological doctrines.
Both challenge the rigid subject-object dualism and reductionist materialism that dominate modern thought and instead present an interconnected, holistic and kinship-based worldview and an embodied experience of existence.
I believe our ecological crisis of climate change and biodiversity collapse is ultimately a crisis of consciousness. Our disconnection from nature fuels both ecological collapse and a mental health epidemic. Reclaiming the felt sense of interconnectedness found in animism and nonduality is a powerful antidote to our alienation.
I have found that practicing nondual awareness and spending more time outdoors exploring with mindful awareness practices can dramatically reduce self-reflective overthinking, help to get to the root of today’s existential anxiety epidemic and heal our alienation from nature. Through nondual awareness practices, we can start to feel a deeply rooted sense of aliveness and kinship with all other living beings. In animistic cosmology, we are not separate from nature and we exist within a kinship worldview where we feel fundamentally at home in this world. In animism, there is no strict division between self and nature; rather, existence is participatory. The forest is not just a backdrop for people but a dynamic, intelligent presence.
“We are divine, and we must live not by the survival of the fittest, but in a way that supports everyone and everything on this planet” Bruce H. Lipton
The time has come to use our powerful technologies for the good of all, rather than for the delusional good of the self-proclaimed fittest. The idea of separation, which finds its expression in the reductionism of classical physics, must be replaced by the experience of union and inclusion already evident in the holism of life. “There is not a single isolated fragment in all of nature, each fragment is part of a harmonious and complete unity” (John Muir). Only by recognizing this crucial interdependence can humanity go beyond the repetition of the same dysfunctional patterns that have caused so much unnecessary suffering to our species and to the ecosystem. Many sages throughout history have suggested that we are beings of light that will not die with the death of the body, because we are here to learn and grow. I think we are here to learn to collectively create new worlds in which to operate at a much higher level of cooperation, creativity, and fulfillment than we now can at this early stage of our spiritual evolution. The possibility of experiencing our true nature is already supported by the enlightened personal experiences of millions of people around the globe, and by countless “anecdotal” facts and events that science hesitates to investigate. If we open ourselves to this potential that is dormant in us and ask our greater self to show the way, we may soon be able to experience an unsuspected unity in our lives, the early signs of humanity’s awakening to its true power and purpose.
Only when we truly comprehend that we are responsible for our experiences and that the choice is ours alone, can we begin to truly know ourselves and the world. To know ourselves more and more, we need a new empathic science that can convert scientific knowledge into deep lived knowing and from it generate new scientific knowledge. Similarly, we need a new rational spirituality that can convert lived knowing into new scientific knowledge and from it generate new lived knowing. These two disciplines can then intertwine in endless and mutual crescendo. This is the essence of the Creative Principle of One. Within this vision, empathic science and rational spirituality, integrating and interweaving, will evermore increase our loving, joyful, and fulfilling union with the Whole.
I think that the positive forces that will create our future will not be the forces and the laws of matter, but those of conscious cooperation, comprehension, and love for others that all beings in existence must sooner or later manifest because these values are the essence of our deepest nature. I also think that the most effective way to achieve union is through a process of collective and cooperative creation of a just, empathic, and loving society through right and courageous actions informed by the heart and by the intuitive and rational mind. Then our experience and knowing will grow in our hearts and they will guide our individual actions through an ever-higher level of consciousness.
copyright: Federico Faggin 2023Irreducible: Consciousness, Life, Computers and Human Nature
It was not a state of thinking but a state of living and being. It was pure consciousness. What I call a magnificence state of oneness that transcends duality. Getting me in touch with the parts of me that are eternal, infinite, and encompasses the whole. This was awesome; no longer becoming entrenched in beliefs that lock us into a state of duality and puts us in a constant state of judgment. What we endorse is considered good or positive and what we don’t is not, which also puts us in a position of needing to defend our beliefs. When others don’t agree and when we invest too much of our energy in defense, we become reluctant to let go even when ideas no longer serve us. That’s when our beliefs start to own us instead of the other way around. Having pure awareness, on the other hand, just means realizing what exists and what’s possible without judgments. Awareness doesn’t need defending. It expands with growth and can be all-encompassing, bringing us closer to the state of oneness. This is where miracles take place. In contrast, beliefs only allow what we deem credible while keeping us out of everything else.
Non-duality is a state of pure awareness which has a state of complete suspension of all previous held doctrine and dogma. It was when I was willing to let go, I received what I wanted, truly what was mine. Strongly held ideologies actually work against a person. Needing to operate out of concrete beliefs limits my experience because it keeps me within the realm of only what I know and my knowledge is limited and if I restrict myself to only what I am able to conceive, I’m holding back my potential and what I allow into my life. However, if I can accept that my understanding is incomplete and I’m able to become comfortable with uncertainty, this opens me up to the realm of infinite possibilities. After the non-duality, I am able to know and let go. When I suspend my beliefs as well as disbeliefs, I leave myself open to all possibilities. It also means that when I’m able to experience the most internal clarity and synchronicities, my sense is that the very act of needing certainly is a hindrance to experiencing greater levels of awareness. In contrast the process of letting go and releasing all attachment to any belief or outcome is cathartic and healing.
I saw this statement: All Humans can become a Buddha. If the definition of to become is, ‘to come into existence’ my personal understanding is different as written below.
Or every human being have a Buddha-nature and by following the Eightfold Path they can realize it fully. For example, if you have a gift that is well wrapped in coverings, once you unwrap the gift completely, you finally realize what the gift is, which, in fact, is the same as when it was wrapped. It is the same about the Buddha. We are all intrinsically a Buddha, it is just that we have veils that hide our realization of that. The veils are lifted with the Path of ethical conduct (Sila), mental discipline (Samadhi) and wisdom (Panna). One doesn’t ‘gain’ Buddhahood but instead removes the veils or obstructions that prevent one from knowing that their nature is already Awakened.
The human body is a miraculous, self-repairing organism.
Let’s look at a few of the many important reasons that science explains. Homeostasis is how your body regulates your internal systems so they function correctly. Your body works best when its internal environment — including things like temperature or oxygen levels — is just right. Balance is key because too much of even the most essential things can be harmful. In fact, you can’t survive without homeostasis and the processes that drive it.
The body features a brain that can store roughly 2.5 million gigabytes of information and a heart that pumps approximately 2,000 gallons of blood daily and beats over 3 billion times in a normal lifetime. Our blood vessels, if laid end-to-end, could circle the Earth four times, while the nose can distinguish over 1 trillion odor mixtures and the eyes can distinguish roughly 10 million different colors. The Microbiome contains about 35 trillion cells, and microorganisms can outnumber these cells to 39 trillion. Every minute, 300 million body cells die, but that’s really just a small fraction of the total cells we have. We produce 300 billion new cells every day and your body is constantly repairing and rebuilding.
Stardust Component: The atoms in your body are billions of years old, forged in exploding stars. Finding and maintaining the balance of homeostasis takes careful planning, that can make a big difference in your quality of life. The human body is indeed an astounding and sophisticated, interconnected and constantly interacting, both internally and externally, organism and we need to honor this gift with care and love.
A famous quote regarding this concept is by Chief Seattle: “Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect”. This emphasizes human interdependence with nature and responsibility for the ecosystem.
Here are more quotes highlighting that we are part of the web of life:
“Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.” — Chief Seattle Xavier University.
“We do not weave the web of life, we are merely a strand in it.” — Chief Seattle.
“We shall walk together on this path of life, for all things are a part of the universe, and are connected with each other to form one whole unity.” — Maria Montessori Medium.
“Nothing exists in the universe that is separate from anything else. Everything is intrinsically connected, irrevocably interdependent…” — Neale D. Walsch Medium.
“The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these living beings…” — Thomas Merton Visible Network Labs.
“I am a part of all that I have met.” — Lord Tennyson Visible Network Labs.
“We are connected to all life on Earth. We are all part of something larger.
We are all Interconnected even with the Universe 