Poem: Indigenous Is

A short poem I started writing last week and finished it this week. Sometimes poems percolate and then come into form. Enjoy!


Indigenous Is

11-09-09

Indigenous is not a skin color,
Indigenous is not my nose,
Indigenous is not my eye color,
Indigenous is not my lips,
Indigenous is not romanticizing ancient teachings,
To appropriate,
To disseminate,
To cut to pieces,
And abbreviate in a research document,
Indigenous is removing layers of shame from your ancestors trail,
Indigenous is stepping up to the plate,
Healing and creating a new way for future generations,
Indigenous is standing tall,
Indigenous is standing beautifully,
Indigenous is an honor.

Update: Stupak/Pitts Amendment & Healer Notes

I am pro-choice. We had an above ground pool in my family as a kid. For fun my parents put all sorts of bumper stickers on it. One of the stickers was a pro-life sticker. My Mom is and always has been pro-choice. Later when I asked her about it she said that she just had it and put it on the pool to add to the collection of stickers. I don't know why I remember that one in particular but I did.

I read daily about reproductive rights, feminism, and pro-choice issues. I will always read about these issues. All night I have been reading the updates on the Planned Parenthood facebook page. Earlier this evening I found out about the Stupak amendment. Representative Bart Stupak is in Michigan's 1st congressional district which represents most of Northern Michigan and the entire Upper Peninsula. Since I just moved to my new community I am getting involved here in Northern Michigan. Mr. Stupak is not my representative but as soon as I found it I have been waiting to hear the results of the vote that took place tonight. The update is that the Stupak/Pitts Amendment was adopted. 64 democrats voted yes on this amendment.

Please make sure you take action and contact your representative. I just want to know why we are taking steps backwards on women's health? Its almost 2010!

Please click on these news stories below and find out how you can take action:

See how your representative voted here.

In Pelosi's House, 64 Democrats Sell Women Out

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/taylor-marsh/in-pelosis-house-64-democ_b_349769.html&cp

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/taylor-marsh/in-pelosis-house-64-democ_b_349769.html&cp

PLANNED PARENTHOOD CONDEMNS PASSAGE OF STUPAK/PITTS AMENDMENT

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Healer Notes on This Amendment...

As a healer I may feel, see or know things long before I know why I am experiencing what I am. It is not much later, maybe a few hours or days later, that I know why I felt what I did. Earlier today I went to a community event. I arrived home from the event feeling a bit tired and exhausted. Its not like me to feel tired or exhausted because I am a very high energy person. Usually if my energy is low it means that I am doing some healing work either on myself or others.

Right away upon arriving home I made some food and took a nap. During my nap I was trying to do some energy and healing work on myself so I could make diagnosis of why I was feeling so off. I am a sensitive spirit as most healer's are. It is a gift to see, feel and know things. To transmute energy, heal and to help others heal is a blessing. On the contrary, it can be very challenging to go through the heaviness and the weight of toxic energies. I have learned through the years to feel, allow, transform and transmute energies. I have fined tuned the process in the last year so I am spot on with what is happening with me. Tonight during my nap I saw energy that was being moved from the base to the top of my spine. Yet, I didn't understand why this energy was not flowing through me. Instead it was being trapped in my body. I didn't know what this was connected to and had not read about the Stupak/Pitts Amendment yet. Also, during the day I felt a heaviness around my throat. I didn't know why I felt this because I have been working for years on clearing my throat chakra from all of the oppression and negative energy that was located there. I felt like I had cleared a lot of energy from this chakra but apparently I was picking up something else.

After my nap I smudged to clear my energy. My throat stops feeling tight. I meditated for a bit and ground into the Earth. I turn on my laptop and log onto facebook. I read what is going on the Planned Parenthood facebook page. I put the pieces together. It makes sense that I see energy going up and down my spine. The whole body is important in healing work but the spine is very important. The spine is where energy from Heaven and Earth can blend. During my nap I realized that my energy was being trapped. This amendment traps women. My throat was feeling tight because this Amendment silences us as women and takes our rights away. Maybe my throat had a tight feeling for those who feel like they could not speak about this issue? My hope is that now after tonight more women step up to the plate for our rights. We can't allow our rights to be taken away from. I was seeing and feeling what I was tonight for a reason. Now I can direct my energies to choice and voice.


Okay... its late here... goodnight all!

Arrived in Northern Michigan

Dear Blog Readers ~

I have arrived in Northern Michigan! I am sitting in a tea house right now drinking some green tea and having a really nice cookie. It feels so good to be here and be home! I will update my blog with new stories and pictures soon. And I will respond to your questions too very soon!

I also have some awesome news I just met Chris Eyre - who is the Director and Producer of Smoke Signals - which is my favorite movie. He is in the tea house I am in right now having tea. He and another movie Director are looking to make a movie(s) here in Northern Michigan.

This is the place to be!

Peace and Blessings,
Cecelia

Ask Me a Question...

Hello to all my readers!

I have so much I could write about. Ask me a question or two and I will write something new about my life experiences on this blog. Some of you know me a little better than others. But go ahead and comment. I will see what sparks my interest!

Peace!

Poem: Spiraling, Healing, Earth

I did a meditation the other day where I sent a lot of the older worn out energy in my life to the Earth. I literally saw it being recycled in a matter of minutes. The Earth works with us and not against us. This meditation works for everyone so try it and read this poem I wrote about my experience!

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Spiraling, Healing, Earth

I can see it,
The spiraling Earth energy,
Recycling,
My energy,
I send to,
The Earth,
Spiraling,
Healing,
Recycling,
Earth supports us,
The energy returns greater,
The Earth wants us to,
Send the energy we need healed,
To her,
And it will come back to us,
To everyone,
In a different way,
Recycling,
Healing,
Supported.

Moving North!

Thought I would update my blog readers on my move! I was laid off from my job down in the city and in a matter of days the Universe, Creator, and Goddess aligned me with a new job in Northern Michigan! I am moving near Lake Michigan and in Anishinaabe territory! It is so exciting because I have been praying to the land to bring me home. Detroit Metro is not home - the energy here is very dense and heavy. It does not serve me (not sure that it ever has) and I am now free from it! Home is the land, forest, sand dunes, small lakes, rivers and Lake Michigan! Home is a strong community and a smaller community of people. I have a half dozen good friends in Northern Michigan and I hope to make some new connections. I have realized recently that I thrive best in smaller places, towns and organizations. So here I go! I love Northern Michigan! The forest and the big lake will now be my neighbors!

You can check out a few previous posts below that show more pictures of Northern Michigan. The beauty and bounty of the land and life are revealed in these posts:

• Why I Love Michigan
• Dear Lake Michigan
• Home "Up North" Pictures
• Dear Sleeping Bear
  

Good Harbor & Lake Michigan - best crossroads ever - I definitely will always STOP here!

Poem: Awaken Now

Awaken Now

12-12-2008

A line of elders cheer me on,
I am urged to walk on this path,
For I can only see a few steps ahead of me,
Some elders and ancestors shake my hand,
Others offer some wisdom,
A blessing,
Healing,
I am four years old,
I am curious,
Curious about the world,
I shout,
“Infinity, infinity, infinity,”
I am amazed by life,
My presents,
The Wrapping paper,
Came from the Earth,
I am eight years old,
My path grew colder,
I cut my wrists,
But I feel it is like art,
To inflict pain on my body,
I gaze up at the stars,
Feeling at home,
I am twelve years old,
My jean jacket,
Pockets filled with change,
Smoking a cigarette,
Riding my bike with the purple tire in the front,
Pink tire in the back to my friends house ¾ of a mile away,
It’s a quiet Sunday,
We sneak some alcohol from her parents cupboard,
I ride my bike home at night,
To slow down I let me white shoes from Payless drag and bounce off of the payment,
I walk inside my home and run,
I am sixteen years old,
After a long day of practice I gaze up at the sky,
Feeling connected to it,
My first moments of oneness,
The grass below my running shoes,
I walk home,
Walking under the train bridge,
Thinking about the Earth,
The healing,
I am twenty years old,
My running career just died,
My heart is on fire,
Blackened,
I run,
Hate,
The land I cannot feel,
Torment of the past,
I live in self deprecation,
Radio,
Loud music,
Stereo out of control,
Dark spirits,
No angels,
I am twenty four years old,
My healing has begun,
I try to love me,
I try to love my body,
My whole self,
Its not working,
I crumble,
But,
Begin rebuilding,
I am here now,
Twenty-seven years old,
I am here,
Healed,
Ancestors show me my journey,
What I have chosen to face,
What I have chose to heal,
And I smile at them,
They smile back at me,
They point down my path,
There is a bright light,
And at the end,
Ancestors wait,
Elders wait,
Smiling as I make my way down this road,
Arriving,
Now.

Poem: Anger at the Register

I wrote this poem today while on a break at work today. It just had to come out. I was a cashier at health food stores and coffee shops during undergraduate school. I was also a collegiate athlete for two years in cross country and track before I worked most of these jobs. I was a hard core runner! But when I quit running in college my life as I had formerly known it was over. My confidence in who I was crashed fast. When I quit running I had to work whatever part time job I could find because my job when I was an athlete was running full time and then some. I had low self esteem and lacked confidence to ask about doing internships in my department in college. I wandered lost for many years after I quit running. By the time I got to graduate school I was encouraged by my professors and people in my department to do internships. I have been rebuilding my confidence and life since 2002. Its been 7 years since I quit running and college. I tried to run over the years and it never felt right. I tried running recently and it feels so good again. Finally, it is a match! The poem below is a reflection of energy I am purging and releasing. It can hurt to revisit this but it is essential to write this to bring wholeness in my life again.

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Anger at the Register

I've got anger at the register,
Sidelined running career,
I sit on the bench,
With my hands covering my eyes,
Covering my tears,
I've got anger at the register,
I'm Native,
You can't see me,
I cover my body,
I run away,
I've got anger at the register,
Customer service,
Poverty level wage,
Beer bottle curse,
Wripped and torn receipts,
I've got anger at the register,
Ringing up your groceries,
Bagging them,
Green counter,
Dirty counter,
I've got anger at the register,
A hole in my jeans,
In junior high,
Principal assuming I was dirt poor,
Stigmatized working middle class Native youth,
I've got anger at the register,
I can't eat,
I can't sleep,
I can't be me,
I breathe your toxic air,
I've got anger at the register,
I am just another women of color,
Ringing up someone's groceries,
While I go hungry,
In more ways than one,
I've got anger at the register,
Because I want peace in my life,
But,
I've stepped over every land mine,
Inside my mind,
I've got anger at the register,
My soul deep rooted to the Earth,
You keep cutting my roots,
Removing me,
From my home territory,
I've got anger at the register,
These lights in this store I work at,
Are hurting my soul,
Dig into me,
Toxicity,
I've got anger at the register,
I've got anger at the register,
Anger,
And most wonder why the working poor are so mad.