I watched how people started to interact, at first tentatively, but with more gusto as the meal proceeded. Breakfast was prepared by the cooks Siedeh and Zane, who were in complete generous service to the event. We were instructed to keep the fire burning throughout the gathering. The sky was overcast but as the ceremony continued, and the many offerings to the fire were made, the day became brighter and brighter, and not only in the sky, but also in the faces of the people as well. This was accompanied by honoring a small piece of the sun’s fire on Earth, a special and brilliant campfire. David “Tall Pine” White, a direct descendant of the Nipmuc people who lived on this land for thousands of years, along with two Anishinabe medicine people, Elizabeth Babin and Brian Matrious, led us in a remarkable greeting to the Sun, known in Ojibway as Mishomis, or Grandfather. Saturday morning we gathered in the lower fields at “Earthlands,” an exceptionally beautiful 60-acre woodlands tract and retreat center in central Massachusetts. All else would be “decided by Spirit.” I knew that this would take a great deal of trust on my part but would be crucial for success.Īt 6 a.m. Their only advice was that we eat our meals at certain times (for the cooks’ sake) and have a sunrise fire ceremony on Saturday morning. In listening to the elders on Friday, I understood that my desire for a clear and defined schedule of activities would need to be revised. I realized, even though the event was billed as a dialogue, that for this first Gathering it was time for non-Natives to simply listen to what the Natives had to say. On Friday evening the 12th, I greeted the Native elders (defined as wise and respected leaders who take the traditional, time-tested, view in human affairs) and asked them what they wanted to do for the following 2 days.

Immersive sounds compendium sse healing