Manifesting Success “The Indigenous Way”

Under a glimmering full moon my sisters and I began our monthy ritual. The medicine bowl was set in the middle of four candles, one for each of the four directions. The bowl was filled with water, to capture our prayers and the moons energy. We sang a chant to heal the ocean, songs to heal our earth. Then we shared our stories. Every story can have a message. It is through sharing our stories that we learn from each other. A story is mythology in its simplest form, calling us to remember what we are here for; why we are alive and how our life matters. The art of listening to our stories is the indigenous way.

My story began innocently. The day that I was called to play bigger, be stronger, was the day my 22-year old son died suddenly of a heart attack. My rose colored glasses broke, leading me down into the depth of my being. I found myself crying on the ground or staring at the stars reexamining my life, his life and what really matters. Success and my coaching business crumbled along with my dreams . I was without answers, and a million questions. Leading me straight to the inner gateway of the dark night of the soul.

Only a mere five days earlier, my son and I had gone together to film Grandmother Agnes Baker Pilgrim, elder of the Takelma Tribe and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz for a river mining hearing. Grandmother is a member of the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers who represents a global alliance for healing Mother Earth and all living things. She is the keeper of the Salmon Blessing, and a protector of the river. While visiting, grandmother asked if I started gathering women. She had told me she had a vision of me before she met me on a TV screen gathering women, she wanted to know had I started?On the way home, my son said “ You should support her work, she is a wise women and I think you should adopt Grandmother. His request surprised me, and I was intrigued, completely touched by his obvious caring for the planet and humanity. But adopt her? Never did I dream that this would be his last request. Nor did I see this would be his way of taking care of me.

So began my journey to understanding the importance of the indigenous way. I discovered what savvy really means: practical know how with the wisdom of a sage. I honestly thought I knew everything about the Law of Attraction . After all I had been a teacher and practitioner for over 30 years. Another lesson, never think you know everything about anything. Because even though my life reflected abundance in every corner there was a hole in my heart. With my sons physical being gone, I had a big fat deep hole in my heart, which I did not know how to heal. I listened for answers and discovered I was not alone. The voice of grief was crying out all around America so loud the pain was having an effect clear across the ocean.

Picking myself up off the floor, I went to see Grandmother and told her of my son’s request. She told me she had two sons who had died who now help her with her work though the spirit world. Grandmother could tell my mind was over processing. She told me: “the greatest distance in the world is 14 inches from your head to your heart.”

Grandmother also told me “I was seeing in between the worlds.” She was right, I was seeing a new birth, a new baby, and a new relationship being born. Yet there was so much mystery surrounding my vision. For the next two years I was gifted with the opportunity to shift from coaching others to coaching myself and nurturing my soul. Grandmother was a hand pulling me forward. Validating my connection to the unseen, while teaching me about the 13 Indigenous Grandmothers. I could sense the Grandmothers were called to not only bring the indigenous wisdom but the feminine energy so needed today.

One late afternoon, I took Grandmother to do some errands. On the way home, she mentioned that because of her travels and talks, she had missed her monthly board meeting with the doctors who always give her 300 dollars toward her expenses. She then casually mentioned that she would like to go to the Aquarius Bookstore but she knew I had other plans. I heard my inner voice tell me “take her”, so I obeyed. Before our tea water was hot, a small crowd was surrounding Grandmother and she began her teachings:
She told us that we are all water babies. The crowd drew in and increased in numbers as she taught us how to honor precious water. I asked Grandmother if she would like to do a water blessing right here. She agreed, so I asked the owner Fred if he could help us set up an alter, and provide a bowl for the water. It just so happened that he had just sold an ancient Tibetan bowl, which had not been picked up yet. He called the new owner of the bowl and not only did she agree, she was coming down to the store to be a part of the ceremony
You can become spellbound watching Grandmother pray. The power of her connection to the unseen is amazing. One by one, people stood in line to apologize for their misuse of water and then thank the water for giving them life. There were tears, love and hugs. On the way home Grandmother told me that the women who owned the Tibetan bowl gave her 300 dollars. “Thank you Creator,” she said.

Being with the Grandmothers reminded me of my own Grandfather. Grandfather also used indigenous ways, through his faith. He was an extremely humble man who believed as we give, so shall we receive. Grandfather owned a small grocery store in the heart of Southern California. During the depression he gave large amounts of credits to many people. I only heard of these stories from those who stopped to thank him. I asked him once if they paid him back. He said “they did by their great loyal support after the depression was over”. I asked “but how did you pay for it all”? He said: “Where God is there is supply.” My grandfather was a very successful businessman, from always listening to the needs of others with the same priority as his own. His actions were like putting wood on the fire. By keeping people warm and fed, his business stayed lit.
Just remembering Grandfathers example showed me how our blueprint for business has reversed. Grandfather held so much faith that he could hold up and support a multitude. Today’s business plan looks more like a pyramid. The bottom ones lose from giving their money to the top, the middle struggles to try to reach the top, and the top get richer from being on top.

The candles were all most out; our stories had made many rounds. Sharing our elder’s wisdom and the stories of our present time, we agreed that everything is important now: every step, every action, and every prayer. Society is evolving, leading to a whole new paradigm, which ironically is returning to our ancestor’s wisdom . This wisdom will light our way through the future, by pulling the wool off our eyes.
Before my sisters and I say goodnight to the moon it is custom for each sisters to declare our intentions for the next moon phase.
I looked at the moon with tears in my eyes and said “ Let me be an instrument to help heal grief is America, through erasing fear and replacing with love, restoring our connection with above and below, the invisible and the visible.

I encourage you to gather under the moon. Share your stories, they are your gift. Stories create a shift, and this shift creates a healing. Healing spreads like wildfire igniting a passion to share the healing, and spread the wisdom. This ancient ritual works in all areas of our life. There is only one rule; every story of fear is replaced with love and compassion.

Dear Reader, This is a tribute story to Debbie Chambers author of Manifest Success who passed on in 2010. I wrote this story as I was ask to be an contributing author in her book “Manifest Success Vol. 3: Successful, Savvy, Socially Conscious” I could feel as I wrote that I was bridging a change shifting away from all this Manifest Success stuff we see in internet marketing to being honest heart centered. Money puts so much pressure on us, only because so many of have forgotten that joy cannot be bought. The sadness of how many women shop only to fulfill the lack of joy in their life. I know I was one of them