GLOBAL VISIONS
BUILDING COMMUNITY
L.E.T.S. Support... ...continued from page 15
Sweat Lodge Ceremony... ...continued from page 13
end, to create an opportunity to experience Sweat Lodge Ceremony without needing to register for a regular Four Quarters event, with some time included for conversations and teachings. Make no mistake, no one will be going home from these events a Medicine Person or, perish the thought, a “Shaman.” It doesn’t work like that. So manage your expectations, and your ego. You may come away knowing better which end of the pitchfork is pointy, to respect hot rocks, and with a better understanding of what we do, how to help, and some idea of why we do this. You’re going to chop wood, carry wa - ter, and haul stones. Come with work gloves and boots, sleeves rolled up, and an open mind. Also, the Land itself is beautiful and healing. Ceremony made in the natural world away from noise and chaos will bring benefits even if you don’t set foot in the Lodge at all, and spend the weekend sitting under a tree next to the creek. Waste yelo . It is good I am here. A complete Lodge Ceremony in most traditions is typically four rounds. The length of each round of sweat varies, depending on the ceremonial tradition, the number of people, and the tenor of their prayers. It’s perfectly fine if people only sit the first round or two. Late - comers may enter on round breaks if there is space. Space in the lodge is always based on the safety of the participants, and anyone may leave at any time. The familiar call of “ Mitaquye Oyasín! Open the Door!” is all that is required. Mitaquye oyasín …”All my relations” (or more colloquially “we are all related”) is a common greeting, affirmation, prayer, teaching, and overriding worldview in Lakota world and for and many other Native nations. We say it and remind ourselves of this truth often. The Ceremony area is an alcohol- and drug-free space. Intoxicated, altered, or stoned persons will be asked to come back another time. It interferes with the ceremony, and very uncontrolled things can hap- pen, and not in a good way. It is also deeply disrespectful, particularly to Native nations whose people have suffered mightily with the impor - tation of alcohol to North America. However, one can absolutely pray for sobriety; in fact, we encourage it. We do not use peyote, ayahuasca, or other psychotropics in our cer- emonies. Those are other paths, with their own specific training and purposes. There are other places to find those things. We also respectfully ask Moontime (menstruating) Women to please speak to the ceremony leader before participating. Most tradi - tional Sweat Lodge protocols have ceremonial constraints concerning the very powerful sacred energies carried by moon women. You may wear, or not wear, what you see fit; but due to the sandy site we do suggest shorts, a wrap, sweatdress, or sarong. We also sug- gest caution about metal jewelry. Given our river is just a few steps away, you will find a towel or two very useful. It is highly recommend - ed that participants hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Sacred offerings to the site, the staff, or ceremony leaders are also perfectly appropriate. We have been asked about Children’s Lodges and Women’s Lodg - es, and other special requests. When possible, we try to accommodate them. We are limited by the availability of our handful of Ceremony Leaders. And always, the safety of the people is our first and highest priority. Period. Each and every one of you deserves no less. The Lakota pray, “ wani wachin yelo - I want to live.” Therefore, we do this so that the people may live. So do come to Sweat. Bring your voices, your prayers. Your good, willing hands, and your big hearts. Each and every one of you who comes in a good way is welcome around our fires. Inípi tokša echáni! Mitaquye oyasín. See you at Sweat soon! We are all related. Kurt Griffith / Talking Stone is the Sweat Lodge Liaison at Four Quarters Interfaith. If you have questions, or for more information, please contact the Four Quarters Office, office@4qf.org, 814-784-3080; or visit: www.4QF. org/earth-spirit/sweat-lodge-teachings.
new things and bring people together. In my own attempts to initiate change particularly in the algo- rithms of streaming sites, I’ve had one successful interaction so far with an independent algorithm programmer at a playlist-reporting site who agreed with some of my assessments. He couldn’t do any - thing about the streaming sites’ algorithms, but he was able to go be - hind the scenes to update some information that streaming sites use so that world fusion music in general, and Ancient Future in particu- lar, will be included in one of the sets of data they have access to. It’s a small but hopeful step toward progress and change. For the fans of Ancient Future and world fusion music, this means they can now help out by making their own world fusion music play- lists on their favorite streaming sites, as that internal data is very im- portant to the streaming sites’ algorithmic selections. The more peo - ple show an interest in world fusion music, the more it will show up in recommendations. Your playlist can help make the world a better place! More world fusion music artist recommendations for you to ex - pand your listening minds: Shakti with John McLaughlin and Zakir Hussain, Mariah Parker’s Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble, Sheila Chandra, Don Cherry, Angélique Kidjo, Ravi Shankar, and Mynta. Matthew Montfort, leader of the band Ancient Future, is a pioneer of the scalloped fretboard guitar. DigitalDreamDoor.com, a curated “best of” site, recognizes him as one of the world’s 100 Greatest Acoustic Guitarists. He has recorded with legendary world music figures such as tabla master Zakir Hussain and performed concerts worldwide. He wrote the book Ancient Traditions – Future Possibilities: Rhythmic Training Through the Traditions of Africa, Bali, and India , which is used by many mu- sicians to improve their rhythm skills. Support Ancient Future on all of the streaming sites: https://www.ancient-future. com/pr_letslive.html. Support Ancient Future’s ‘Archive of Future Ancient Recordings by signing up at https://www.ancient-future.com/afar.html; join our email list at https://www.ancient-future.com/guest.html.
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