A couple of months back my “Book of the Month” slot took a back seat and became “Book of the Quarter”.  LOL

I’d picked Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions not really knowing what to expect. There are some great reviews on Amazon – so I was looking forward to an enjoyable read. I found the book uplifting, informative, funny but profoundly sad as well.

Lame Deer was many things in his life including a Lakota holy man.
His colourful life took many twists and turns as he tried to make his way as best he could.

Reading this book really highlights the plight of the indigenous people in the US and Canada over the last couple of centuries.

The deliberate extinguishment of whole cultures and the tremendous difficulties faced by all the children who were forcibly indoctrinated into another life through the education system is tragic.

For these children the consequences of being taken away from their families, their roots cut away in government schools, forbidden to speak their own language, adrift in a hostile world, would colour their whole lives. They were no longer part of the old world, couldn’t speak the language, had lost the traditional beliefs and life framework and yet were not to be accepted in the new world either.

Restricted on reservations, impoverished – as traditional ways withered with each passing generation.

You can’t stand in the way of progress – some would say.

And to some extent that’s true. Probably most of these settlers were driven by desperation as well, having left famine and injustice in their old homelands , trying to carve out a life for their own families, willing to brave all the dangers to try for a new start.

It’s difficult to see how the overall result of this clash of cultures could have turned out differently given the settler’s drive for land, gold and “green frog skins”.

But the ongoing policy which treated these peoples as sub-human and allowed the state to remove the children from their families was totally wrong.

This same attitude to the weak, powerless or different can be seen throughout the world. Here are a few examples of the disregard and contempt for others which is all too common throughout history:-

  • As early as 1618 children were being forcibly migrated from Scotland to the Americas to work only ending in 1757.
  • From 1762 onwards – landowners in Scotland evicted thousands from their homes so that they could profit from raising sheep instead. Many of these people would have travelled to the Americas in desperation.
  • In the first half of the 20th century forced sterilisations as part of eugenics policy were carried out on 65000 people in 33 states in the US
  • Lobotomies were performed on thousands of unsuspecting mental patients in both the US and the UK from the 1930′s onward.
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    You’ve got to wonder how these people justified their actions to themselves.

    When we look at our lifestyle today and compare this to our great grandfather’s time there have been great changes throughout the world. Family life has changed out of all recognition. Old certainties have dissolved. It seems that money rules in our consumer led society. When you see where this love of those “green frog skins” took the American Continent and consider the banking crisis we’re going through it’s obvious Lame Deer wasn’t far off the mark.

    But things never stay the same for long – there are lots of positives as well.

    The love of money which is personified by the grasping banks and company directors with their excessive bonuses is no longer acceptable to most people. Social Media, Twitter, Facebook, the internet mean that it’s easier for people to see other people’s point of view, to find out about their lives and beliefs.

    Lame Deer came from a culture where at every family celebration there would be a “give-away”, it was felt to be shameful to have more than your friends and family. In his disdain for those “green frog skin” dollars he was right on the money.

    We all need to earn a crust to keep the wolf from the door but the most important things in life are the ones money can’t buy – belonging, community, kindness and compassion.

    Other links:
    Wikipedia Information on Lame Deer
    Native American Boarding Schools
    Saving Native Langauges
    To Walk in Beauty: A Navajo Family’s Journey Home
    Highland Clearances

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    Why are some – should that be MOST – New Years Resolutions doomed to fail?

    For more years than I care to remember I’ve silently started the New Year with a wish to change in some way or another – usually related to improving one of my many failings.

    Be a better person – lose weight – get the accounts ready on time this year!! – stop procrastinating – you know the sort of thing. Beat yourself up why don’t you!

    Almost without fail the resolution is unlikely to last to the end of January, discarded almost as soon as the christmas decorations are taken down.

    There have only been two resolutions that I’ve kept – so why did those succeed where all the other fail?

    Looking at the list above you can see the resolution is coming from a mind-set of “my existing life is lacking something or isn’t good enough”

    - be a better person comes from I’m not good enough
    - lose weight comes from I’m not good enough because I’m fat
    - get the accounts ready on time comes from I’m not good enough because I’m disorganised
    - stop procastinating comes from I’m an inadequate person who likes to avoid things

    It’s easy to see why they’ve failed – they’re not attractive enough as ideas to keep me coming back to them for any length of time.

    Let’s face it I am the way I am because I like to be that way. If I’m overweight and disorganised then it’s because I don’t focus on these areas of my life – I always have other things which are more interesting to me, better ways to spend my time.

    Looks like the resolution must be appealing enough to me for it to stand a chance of lasting long enough to take root.

    So would it be possible to find a different way to look at one of my constant failed resolutions which would work?

    What works for you?

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    Did you know that ayurvedic foot massage – padabhyanga – stimulates marma points on the feet. Marma points are thought to be connections between the physical body and the energetic or quantum body. The quantum body is thought to be the body’s blueprint.

    By treating the underlying quantum mechanical body itself, Ayurveda can bring about changes far beyond the reach of gross physiology….at the quantum level, no part of the body lives apart from the rest.
    Deepak Chopra – Perfect Health (Revised Edition)

    To find out more about Ayurvedic Foot Massage – check out the upcoming workshop in London.
    I’d like to find out more myself so if you know anything about padabhyanga or marma points – why not leave a comment.

    Some links to further information
    Vedic Society
    Image showing the location of the marma points on the foot. Scroll down to the bottom of the page.

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    Icy pavements this winter – don’t be caught out.

    How many of you dread the snow and ice each winter? Each year it seems that the roads and footpaths are neglected while cash-strapped local authorities prioritise gritting to just the main trunk roads. For short journeys it would be far less stressful to leave the car at home when there’s snow and ice around. [...]

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    Changing your life – 5 simple first steps

    So you’re not happy with the way you live your life! Why not do something about it? If you’re miserable, frustrated, angry or depressed then you owe it to yourself to try to do something about it. But where to begin? When you’re feeling low it can be difficult to see where to start. Before [...]

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    Rambling journey to modern apartheid

    Looking at life as a journey is a concept which never occurred to me till around 8 years ago. I was in my early fifties and at a friends house when she asked everyone to say a few words about their journeys. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that my reply was brief and not [...]

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    My Pilates Progress

    Thought I’d let you know how my pilates adventure is getting along. Well gentle reader you’ll be glad to now that I’m still attending weekly classes on Monday nights. My sillhouette is still gargantuan but I can definitely feel those core muscles contracting and sometimes I kid myself on that a long hidden waistline lurks [...]

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