I just finished an absolutely life changing book, Secrets of the Talking Jaguar, by shaman/writer/beautiful and rare human, Martin Prechtel. I won't launch into the whole book in this post. I will just strongly recommend it and promise you you will walk away seriously questioning the teachings of civilization, while yearning for something much deeper. Anyway, drop the $15 and read the damn book. Seriously.
In this post however, I want to cover something Martin covered toward the end of the book about this cultures fear of death. He believes that part of this culture's sickness is its fear of death and the unknown. Being a part of the natural world and living in close with the land, with the vulnerability, precariousness, and wildness of life is something that modern man is very much afraid of. And so, the creation of cities, skyscrapers, nuclear reactors, cars, war machines, factory farms, etc. ad nauseum, is civilized man's way of trying to fight off death, trying to make an immortal mark on this planet. In every indigenous culture, death is very much a part of life. It is not hidden from the children. It is not ignored. Yet within the dominant culture, people get their security from the new: the new I Pad 2, the new clothes, the new car, the new office, the new house. We must fight off the old at all cost, as it reminds us of how temporary and precious our lives really are. This makes us depressed to realize this, because most of us are wasting our lives making money. We have very little awareness of the potential of our own souls and our deep connection with the great circle of life.
I have thought about death quite a bit my whole life. I have mostly been terrified of dying. Ever since I was a child, I would get this feeling in my body, realizing my inevitable death, and it was a terror of a feeling like no other emotion I have ever felt. It has only been in the last couple of years that I have started to develop a new attitude about it.
There is a beauty and mystery to the great circle of life and death, and we cannot fear it to the point where we try to stop it. We are animals. We spend our lives taking from the soil, eating plants, eating animals, consuming life to survive. And when we die it is our great offering to the circle of life to go back to the soil, to give back what was given to us for all of these precious years. Death can be a meaningful experience, one that we can face with courage and dignity.
I want to re enter the circle of life. I don't want to die in a big wooden box, pumped full of formaldehyde. I want to feed the earth with my flesh and soul, not continue to poison her even after my death. And I also want to spend my life joining in the effort to stop this cultures drive for immortality. I want to see cities eventually grind to a halt, in the hopes that the real living world can again become the predominant culture. We must grasp these concepts if we are to achieve a culture of biodiversity and balance.
Ok, tonight I have another video by French rapper, Keny Arkana. This song is so beautiful. Enjoy and goodnight.
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