How the Hopi Create Their World
By Keith Varnum
God gives food to every bird, but does not throw it into the nest.
- Montenegrin Proverb
“Do you hear that?” I whispered to my friend
Tobias.
“No, what?” he answered under his breath.
“Drumming. The sound of soft,
distant drumming.”
“No, but I see a faint glow over there by
the cliff. Like a small fire. A vague, flickering light cast against the rock
face.”
My friend Tobias and I
love to explore old Indian ruins in
.
One day, while
exploring a windy, arid, remote mesa in the high northern desert of Arizona,
Tobias and I happened upon an Anazazi Indian ruin
with several partial dwellings still standing. The crumbling abodes were awash
in relics of antiquity. Delighted to find a site that obviously hadn’t received
many visitors over the years, we dropped to our hands and knees, and sifted
through the dirt for artifacts to help us understand the long-departed
residents. Our efforts were rewarded with arrowheads, pottery shards and
corncobs preserved by the extreme dryness.
In the center of
this native village is a large oval pit about sixty feet wide. Surrounded by a
wall of very carefully fitted slate stones, the pit sinks approximately five
feet into the ground. This submerged ring of stones is called a kiva by Native
Americans.
The structure served as a ceremonial circle
for Indian rituals. Spellbound by the aura
and electricity we sensed within the ceremonial pit, Tobias and I
speculated about its history. As we sat on the sun-warmed stones in the kiva,
we longed to know the specific nature and focus of the ancient rituals
conducted by the Anazazi Indians so long ago.
The absolute quiet and serenity of the kiva reminded me of a psychology experiment I read about in college. The
research project revealed a
fascinating quality inherent in a vacuum. Relaxing in the ominous
silence of the kiva, I related the experiment to my fellow explorer.
Scientists set up a near vacuum in a
completely empty room. Installed in this
vacuum-sealed room were a speaker and a listening device. From outside
the room, one of the researchers spoke distinctly one secret word, known only
to him, through the speaker into the room.
The chamber was then locked and sealed for five years. At the end of the
five years, the scientists returned. From outside the room, they turned on the
highly sophisticated sound sensing equipment to listen to whatever they
could hear from inside the room. The device picked up the
secret word spoken into the vacuum
five years earlier! The sound vibration of the word was still alive and detectable within that environment after five years.
The kiva was almost as
still and empty as I imagined a
vacuum to be. It was the kind of quiet that
absorbs every sound. Even the intermittent whistling of the wind was consumed by
the all-prevailing silence.
Sitting in
this timeless place, we allowed the tranquility to envelop us. I sensed the
space around us had been this serene for the last thousand years. That’s when
the notion came to me. Was it possible
that whatever happened in the kiva a millennium ago still exists on some
subtle, vibrational level, just like the sound of the spoken word in the
scientists’ vacuum? And, like the word, is that vibration accessible and
perceivable now?
What
an exciting concept! I turned to Tobias to share my proposal, “Maybe we could contact whatever
occurred in this kiva long ago. Perhaps even hear part of a ceremony.”
Tobias caught
my enthusiasm. Blond, blue-eyed and innocent, Tobias had the adventurous curiosity
of his Norse forebears. He was as anxious as
I to see if such a feat was possible. We were flush with excitement. We
were on a mission to connect with the kindred souls who had preceded us on the
planet!
We decided to sit quietly inside the circle and open ourselves to
sensing any vibrations remaining from previous activities in the kiva. The most
we expected was something along the lines of what we’d experienced before—a
faint vision, a vague mumbling, or, if extremely fortunate, a hazy, dreamlike
apparition.
After about half an
hour, neither of us had picked up any sound or sighting. Then suddenly, to our right sat a Native American
Indian—in the flesh! I tentatively reached over lightly touching him to make
sure he was real. I was taken aback by my discovery. “Yes,” I nodded to Tobias, “the man is a solid, physical human
being. He’s not a phantom!”
The stoic Indian sat
cross-legged on the bare ground. A hundred canyon-like lines etched his
noble, bronze face. He looked ancient, and very sweet and gentle. His
soft eyes, quietly smiling, were so
penetrating I kept losing myself in his calm, accepting gaze.
A
reverent silence engulfed the three of us for a very long while. Finally the Indian elder smiled and
stated, “You’d like to know the purpose for which we used this ceremonial
circle. Is that not right?”
We had not expected a living tour guide and
eagerly bobbed our heads up and down to indicate “yes”—a thousand times “yes!” He nodded, took a long, quiet breath and began our
lesson in creating abundance:
“Many, many moons ago, when the antelope ran
free, the buffalo grazed across all the land, and my brothers and sisters lived
in harmony with each other and Mother Earth, we would meet in this circle every
fall for the most important ceremony of the whole year. This most sacred, vital
ritual was attended by the chief of the tribe, the medicine man, the tribe
elders and all of those who had achieved the
status of a brave—the hunters of the tribe. After many days of
purification through chanting, drumming and praying in our sweat lodges, we sat
around this circle in silence and waited until the Great Spirit honored us with
a vision.
“Then, one by one, each
brave would see and feel the
specific animals they would kill and bring to the village as food for the tribe in the coming year. Each
animal’s spirit made an agreement with the warrior who would be killing
the animal. For a period of time, their
spirits would commune in the beauty and harmony of their shared
intention. In this time-honored way, the warrior would connect with each bison,
antelope and deer that he would be providing for the tribe. When his vision was
complete, the brave announced to the rest of the group what he had seen and
experienced.”
At this point, the Indian took a full breath
and said in a very deliberate manner:
“And on this day, the
entire year’s food supply for the
tribe was created.”
He stared at us closely to see if we heard his last
statement. Satisfied, he
continued:
“Each warrior waited until he saw, greeted and came to a mutual
understanding with the spirit of each buffalo, antelope and deer before
announcing to the circle, ‘I will bring so many buffalo, antelope and deer to
the tribe in the coming year.’ And so it went until, one by one, each brave met
the spirit of each animal that would come to him to be killed in the next year.
One by one, each warrior announced the food they would provide to the tribe in
the coming year.”
Again, the venerable,
timeworn storyteller paused. With great passion, he looked directly into our eyes—first mine, then Tobias’. I
have never felt such a piercing gaze. His
look penetrated the depths of my soul.
Dramatically, he drew air into his lungs. Repeating his message, he
declared:
“And on this day, the entire year’s food
supply for the tribe was created.”
Once again, he waited until he sensed that
the import of his words was fully absorbed before resuming:
“After all the braves had proclaimed the food they would bring for the
coming year, the chief, medicine man and elders would bless the ceremony. All
would leave the kiva knowing that on this day, the entire year’s food supply
for the tribe was created.”
Again, he waited,
watching to see if we were fully digesting his last sentence before speaking again. He continued in a very
emphatic tone:
“In the winter when the warriors could not
go out hunting because there was a blizzard with snow drifts twenty feet high,
the chief, medicine man, elders and braves would meet again in the kiva and
wait in silent, expectant meditation. Soon, from the wind-swept prairie and the
snow-covered plateaus would come a bison, a deer or an antelope.
On its own, the animal would find its way into the tribal encampment and then
into the kiva circle. The creature would stand in the center of the circle until it recognized the brave with whom it
had made a spirit agreement. Then the animal would walk over to the
warrior, stand right in front of him, and calmly allow itself to be killed in a
very quick and painless way. The creature gave itself up to the brave, as
previously agreed in the kiva, so that the people would have food during the
harsh, winter months. For, on that special day the previous fall, the entire
year’s food supply for the tribe had been created.”
It wasn’t until the Indian told us about the
animals coming into the circle in the winter and recognizing the warriors with
whom they had an agreement that Tobias and I finally realized what the Indian
was telling us. And at the exact moment we got the point of the story, the old man disappeared in front of our
eyes. Not believing our vision, we scanned the kiva quickly, thinking he
must have been a very fast escape artist. It was thirty feet to the edge of the
circle and neither of us saw him leave. He vanished the second we understood
his message!
Driving back to
The message Tobias
and I received in the kiva was simple, yet profound: the power to create lies
in the Present, not in the future. Creation happens now when declared with power, heart and strong intention. Then, that which is created in the
Present unfolds in future time and space according to our mutual
agreements with the rest of the living beings of Mother Earth.
***
This true story is an excerpt from Keith’s latest
book, Inner Coach: Outer Power:
Forty-eight firsthand
stories reveal the amazing creative powers within you that can heal your body,
expand your heart, and attract phenomenal abundance into your life. Fresh and
captivating, Keith shows you the practical, everyday use of levitation,
alchemy, multi-dimensional travel, near-death experiences, out-of-body
journeys, parallel realities and time-tripping. Spiritual teachers unveil their
secrets to happiness. Ancient shamans impart how to manifest an easy flow of
money. Angels illustrate how to heal the body instantly. Nature devas share keys to attracting soulmates.
Spirit guides demonstrate how they can save your life in a crisis. Using his
vast exploration as a healer, mystic, acupuncturist, urban shaman, filmmaker,
personal coach, and seminar leader, Keith helps you become a real Miracle
Maker!
Available at bookstores, Amazon.com,
or www.TheDream.com
About
The Author
Keith Varnum has 30 years of practical success as an author, accupuncturist, personal coach, filmmaker, vision quest
guide and international seminar leader, and is the owner of http://www.TheDream.com
and http://TheCareerDoctor.net.
Keith@thedream.com
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