violates a basic law of nature: The dead shall become food for the living.”
Friday, July 10, 2076
Mother Elizabeth told me that native cultures believe the entire earth is Holy Land. You don’t have to go anywhere to be in the Holy Land, therefore, because it is all around you. She said native cultures have a reverence for all life, and try to live in harmony with the world.
She said that our Western civilization, which wiped out most of the native cultures in the world, sees nature as an adversary; this attitude is the cause of the great environmental challenges we face in 1992. “Today,” she said, “mankind is at peace with the earth. The way the Indian relates to nature is a model for us.”
Indians see themselves as participants in the Great Mystery of Life, she said. The old Christianity, on the other hand, said that life was a trail of tears. The old Christianity condemned the world and declared that the senses and the body could not be trusted. Man was supposed to rise above his sinful nature; only then could he be saved.
“It was not man who was flawed, it was his beliefs,” she said. “Your religion told you the heart of man was wicked; therefore, many men failed to love themselves and in fact felt guilty to be alive. Guilt has it value—when you violate others or nature, for example—but if you believe you are an unworthy creature you will attract unnecessary and unpleasant experiences into your life and you will limit your growth.
“Your science, which was more influential than religion in your day, taught that life was without rhyme or reason: an accident in an uncaring universe. Your science also said that you were a naked ape, implying that your actions were determined by instincts and other inherited tendencies. And your psychology taught that man was a victim of past events, especially those in early childhood. The result of these ideas of science and psychology was that many men felt they were not responsible for what they did. Is it any wonder then that vandalism, violence, and disrespect for others were rampant in your society?”
Elizabeth told me the negative beliefs of our time had been replaced by such positive ideas as:
You are a worthy creature; you have a right to be here.
Each individual is responsible for his life.
The universe is designed to support your growth.
She said, “Today the Gaian Catholic Church preaches the true meaning of Christ’s teachings: God is on the earth, within Its creations. Since God is present on the earth, then life is blessed, and heaven is here and now.
“I know this may sound strange to you, but there could be no peace in the world before man learned to be at peace with himself. How could man trust his neighbor before he trusted and loved himself? I think man’s failure to trust his body and his own intentions is the reason for the military buildup after World War II.”
Saturday, July 11, 2076
To Sunday, June 28, 1992
There was a little ceremony for me in the central hall. It involved an Indian medicine man in native costume performing a dance and chanting: “Beauty before me, beauty behind me. Beauty to the left of me, beauty to the right of me. Beauty above me, beauty below me.”
After the ceremony I thanked my hosts for allowing me to stay with them and I said, “When I arrived here two weeks ago, I did not know what to expect. I believe now that I have awakened to a future I had imagined in moments of hope and inspiration. I will return to tell my brothers and sisters about this time, and do my best to make it a reality in my world.”
This has been a story from the world of dreams. It is a story of a future we can have, not one that must be. There are many possible futures; we have the power to choose which one we will experience.
If I were to sum up the message from this future in a few words, they would be: The challenges of today cannot be overcome until we realize we are not the owners of the
Friday, July 10, 2076
Mother Elizabeth told me that native cultures believe the entire earth is Holy Land. You don’t have to go anywhere to be in the Holy Land, therefore, because it is all around you. She said native cultures have a reverence for all life, and try to live in harmony with the world.
She said that our Western civilization, which wiped out most of the native cultures in the world, sees nature as an adversary; this attitude is the cause of the great environmental challenges we face in 1992. “Today,” she said, “mankind is at peace with the earth. The way the Indian relates to nature is a model for us.”
Indians see themselves as participants in the Great Mystery of Life, she said. The old Christianity, on the other hand, said that life was a trail of tears. The old Christianity condemned the world and declared that the senses and the body could not be trusted. Man was supposed to rise above his sinful nature; only then could he be saved.
“It was not man who was flawed, it was his beliefs,” she said. “Your religion told you the heart of man was wicked; therefore, many men failed to love themselves and in fact felt guilty to be alive. Guilt has it value—when you violate others or nature, for example—but if you believe you are an unworthy creature you will attract unnecessary and unpleasant experiences into your life and you will limit your growth.
“Your science, which was more influential than religion in your day, taught that life was without rhyme or reason: an accident in an uncaring universe. Your science also said that you were a naked ape, implying that your actions were determined by instincts and other inherited tendencies. And your psychology taught that man was a victim of past events, especially those in early childhood. The result of these ideas of science and psychology was that many men felt they were not responsible for what they did. Is it any wonder then that vandalism, violence, and disrespect for others were rampant in your society?”
Elizabeth told me the negative beliefs of our time had been replaced by such positive ideas as:
You are a worthy creature; you have a right to be here.
Each individual is responsible for his life.
The universe is designed to support your growth.
She said, “Today the Gaian Catholic Church preaches the true meaning of Christ’s teachings: God is on the earth, within Its creations. Since God is present on the earth, then life is blessed, and heaven is here and now.
“I know this may sound strange to you, but there could be no peace in the world before man learned to be at peace with himself. How could man trust his neighbor before he trusted and loved himself? I think man’s failure to trust his body and his own intentions is the reason for the military buildup after World War II.”
Saturday, July 11, 2076
To Sunday, June 28, 1992
There was a little ceremony for me in the central hall. It involved an Indian medicine man in native costume performing a dance and chanting: “Beauty before me, beauty behind me. Beauty to the left of me, beauty to the right of me. Beauty above me, beauty below me.”
After the ceremony I thanked my hosts for allowing me to stay with them and I said, “When I arrived here two weeks ago, I did not know what to expect. I believe now that I have awakened to a future I had imagined in moments of hope and inspiration. I will return to tell my brothers and sisters about this time, and do my best to make it a reality in my world.”
This has been a story from the world of dreams. It is a story of a future we can have, not one that must be. There are many possible futures; we have the power to choose which one we will experience.
If I were to sum up the message from this future in a few words, they would be: The challenges of today cannot be overcome until we realize we are not the owners of the
Similar Books
