Burial Rites

As you know, when one of the People dies, their body is taken to the burial mound and left there with a few reminders of who they were and what they did for the People while they walked the earth.

The birds and worms and beetles take the body, fragment by fragment, and return it to the the earth. As time goes by the mound becomes covers with soil and plants and eventually disappears into the earth. The earth is enriched and produces grass and flowers and fruit to feed the creatures of the earth.

The spirit goes to the sky to join the other spirits and are moved by the wind and the sun and the weather for ever, as long as the sky will last which is forever.

The spirits care for us and can help us. All you have to do is frame a question in your mind and open your mind to accept the answer the spirits provide. This is harder than it sounds. It helps if you can spend some time by a burial mound and contemplate the view. Examine the sky and the earth and the weather and the wind. These are eternal and will help calm your mind and help frame the question and prepare your mind for the answer.

Some questions are trivial and can be answered by the people around you. “Should I plant beans or grain?”. “Is it time to harvest or time to hunt?”. These are trivial and mundane questions and you do not need to bother the spirits with these questions.

I have asked the spirits questions like “Why is my spirit troubled and why am I not happy?”. The answer I received was in the form of another question. “What do you need make to make you happy? Do you need riches? Do you need power over others?”

“I have sought wealth and riches and power over others.” I said. “These things did not bring me happiness because they were not really things I wanted, but only things I thought I wanted because I saw others who had them. I have seen others obtain these things and for some they bring happiness but they brought me only worry and troubles because there is always someone with more power and more riches. Having these things brings only jealousy and envy and the lust for more.”

“I would be happier with myself if I knew that I was loved and respected, and that those whom I loved and respected knew that I loved and respected them. If I knew that then I would know that I had lived a life which had enriched others as well as myself.”

The spirits replied “You must contemplate the actions of your life each day and the acts of others which affect you. Remember to act towards others only with love and respect and note when others act with love and respect towards you. When the time comes to judge your life you should consider if you have treated everyone and everything with love and respect. Not just people, for the earth herself provides for us and she must be treated with respect as well as the living things that move upon her. The regret you feel towards those things or people you have not loved or respected is a heavy weight to take with you through this life and into the world beyond.”

I listened to these words and thought deeply about them. The counsel of the spirits seems wise. By loving and respecting the earth and all those things and people who live upon her, I can ease the burden and enrich the life of those I meet.This is a gift I can give over and over again which also enriches me each time it is given. At the end of each occasion, each day and at the end of my days I will be content to know that my time here has been spent well and the the world has been made richer by my passing through her.

This is my conversation with the spirits. Your conversation may be different but I pass it on to you because the words seem wise and full of meaning to me. Take what you like from my words and use then if you find them helpful.