All Related

Kurt Talking Stone

l came to Earth Religion through a rather circuitous route, via Zen, Shinto and martial arts, and an extended foray into eclectic Paganism, eventually settling in the Native American practices of the Lakota people.

 . On that path, lies the phrase mitaquye oyasin – “we are all related.” Not just our families and clans, but all the people, the beasts, the land, the stones, the water, every bit of creation is all connected. at extends right down to the sub-atomic level, we, and everything around us, are all made of the same stuff . If you accept that, you come to the understanding that everything we do matters, no one and nothing is unimportant. Every action, every intention, however small, effects the whole.

Furthermore, all of it is sacred. Not just the church and the temple and the altar. Yes, there are powerful places, where energies, entities and people gather, where many prayers and ceremonies are made, but that takes nothing away from the sacredness of the whole of creation. Anywhere you can touch the earth, breathe the air, or see the sky, you’re in church.

With those thoughts in mind we are all powerfully advised to take better care of the Earth. is land, the air and water, it is our family, our home, our Mother. The separateness from nature that seems to be such an ingrained part of mainstream and western thought is an utter illusion. What we do to the land, to our food, the air and water, how we husband the Earth’s resources, we visit upon ourselves... and all our relatives.

Mitaquye oyasin. ❧