Dallas Chief Eagle–spirit led life

As I mentioned yesterday, there is a meeting tomorrow, 2/18/2018, 3:00 PM, at the Kuehn Conservation Area, to organize a Friends of Prairie Awakening-Prairie Awoke group. If you have an interest in native matters, I hope you will attend.

Stand with us in the arena, carved into the tall grasses of the prairie, and experience the song, dance, drums, flute and stories of the First Peoples of this place. As the prairie is once more awakened, we are hoping you can step inside these stories and awaken yourself here in the wilds of your home. From <http://www.iowalivingmagazines.com/2015/08/18/dallas-county-conservation-board-public-programming-special-event-press-release/>

Although many Bear Creek Friends have been involved with this for many years, the ceremony last September was the first I was able to attend, and I was so impressed. To learn more about this in preparation for tomorrow’s meeting, I’ve been doing a lot of research.

Dallas Chief Eagle, from Pine Ridge, has participated in many Prairie Awakening ceremonies. I saw the amazing hoop dance he and his daughter performed. Then I was really moved by the way he spoke around the bonfire that evening about a spirit led life. He spent quite a bit of time talking about clearing your mind to allow space for the spirit. Then we all practiced that with some time of silence. He asked the children what they felt afterwards, and they said peace and calm.

There is a recording of a wonderful interview with him on KHOI 89.1 FM in Ames, IA, recently, where he talks much more about living a spirit led life.

Following are some notes I took as I listen.:

Teach how to turn my brain off.
How do we turn our bodies off? How do we turn our emotions off?
Allow the spirit the space that it needs so that it can move and be the leader.
Don’t move, we sit in silence, we turn off our brains, and turn our attention to the spirit.
Rock has sat there for many years. Doesn’t move.
Peace, compassion, clarity, calm is the outcome.
I teach people how to do this.
There is a power in that spirit.
Don’t give attention to our bad habits.
Our own spirit can show up for us.
Turn all the channels off and turn it over to the spirit.

I became a volunteer and got a badge so I can go into the prison system.
Before I go into the prison system I’ll sit and calm myself.
Prisoner: ‘No one has ever called me a spirit before.’
Many of us are overwhelmed emotionally, mentally. Lots of pain and confusion we can eliminate if we get into the spirit mode.
We are all related by the spirit. Rock is the older spirit. Sit with the rock and have a conversation.
If you know how to get in spirit, that can be a new habit when you are facing danger and other problems.
Every time you turn to the spirit it will give you peace and insight. And we all have that.

Description of sweat lodge. Healing through laughter or heat.

Dallas Chief Eagle has been allowed to have sweat lodges in prison.
“I have been alcohol, drug free for about 35 years.”
“I would say maybe 90% of people do not know how to manage their own spirit.”
Many use the quick fix system. All they know. That will not fix what is wrong with us.
We are looking for long term sustainability.
Lakota saw the spirits that are all around us.
Discussions on spirit led language. Is it spirit led and what does that mean? How do we go about doing that?
How do we bring those spirits together to make decisions.
A universal language that can benefit all cultures.
We live in a world that can learn, practice and appreciate the message we have to give.
There is a place inside yourself that is very magical. The happy hunting ground is in you now.