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Showing posts with label Indigenous spirituality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indigenous spirituality. Show all posts

Saturday, January 08, 2011

Desert women's business 25-29 March 2011 #desert #women #indigenous #Aboriginal #NT

Amplify

INVITATION TO 
DESERT WOMEN'S BUSINESS UMUTJA
25-29 March 2011

Nellie Patterson and the Pitjantjatjara elders 
in Central Australia 
invite you to share in Women's Business 
at a very sacred healing area 
approximately 150 kms from Uluru
(This is a long drive on a desert track).


Cost:    $1500.00
Pickup:  The Outback Pioneer Motel, Yulara.  Tel:  (08) 8957 7888
Deposit:   $500 by 31st January, 2011  
Balance:  $1000 by 28th February, 2011

SORRY NO REFUNDS AFTER 28th FEBRUARY
 Fee covers transport to and from Yulara 
(also there is a free shuttle bus from Yulara Airport to the Outback Pioneer), 
all meals, swag and cultural fees.
  
DETAILS:

We are travelling to very powerful land and we are asked to come with deep respect for the law and culture of this area bringing only an open attitude and willingness to be guided by the elders.
  • We meet at the Outback Pioneer at around 12 noon on 25 March. Please be ready to load up into the Troopies by then so that we can reach our destination early. We will return to the Yulara Ceremonial site as usual for rest and integration of our experience at Umutja and then return to the Outback Pioneer around Noon on 29 March but earlier times can be arranged for flights if necessary.
  • We travel in 4x4 Troopies. Space is very limited so luggage must be kept to an absolute minimum (additional items for before and after the event can be stored at the Outback)
  • You will need to bring 10 litres water for personal use - can be purchased at Yulara when you arrive.
  • We provide swags but please let us know if you are bringing your own so that we do not double up.
WHAT TO BRING:
  • warm sleeping bag, small pillow and sheet
  • large tarp for over and under swag  approx 3 metre x 4 metre
  • soft bag for clothes etc - keep it very small for transport
  • water and drinking bottle
  • torch – headlights are easier and best
  • black skirt, knee length or longer. You will spend most of your time in this and will need very little additional clothing for the site other than some warm covering clothes for the evenings and early mornings and maybe socks and beanie for bed if nights get cool.  A sarong or two comes in handy too.
  • wipes like wet-ones, for washing
  • toilet paper and small trowel
  • zip lock bags for your own rubbish (incl. used toilet paper!!)
  • small towel
  • sunscreen and hat
  • insect repellent
  • Gastrolyte or other electrolyte drink
  • additional food for snacking on if you need it.  MEALS ARE SIMPLE, VEGETARIAN, AND NUTRICIOUS.  (Let us know if you have special dietary needs and we will see what we can do, e.g. gluten free).
  • willingness to assist in the kitchen for preparation & clean-up at meal times (a roster will be available for you to sign up on)
  • willingness to assist with serving our Aboriginal sisters at meal times.
  • we are asked not to bring any recreational drugs, alcohol, drums and other instruments, jewellery, healing items like crystals, etc. as they interfere with the way the women work with the land in ceremony.  Photography is not allowed and we are asked to keep our writing, artwork for later. 
  • it is important for you to know that you will be responsible for yourself and your experience at this event as it is not covered by insurance.

ADDITIONAL ITEMS AS GIVE-AWAYS IF YOU WANT:
  • the ladies love and need black skirts - mostly large size
  • wool - red, white, black and yellow
  • white feathers
  • paints, brushes
  • canvas
Please email Lorraine at lorrainemoses1(at)bigpond(dot)com to book, also for more information.

Please send deposit or full fee to:
 St George Bank
Account Name:  Lorraine Moses
BSB:                112-879
Acct No.          473807023

Or:  Mail a cheque/money order to:
Lorraine Moses
PO Box 88,
Alice Springs NT 0871

VERY IMPORTANT 
PLEASE BE SURE TO ADD YOUR NAME WITH YOUR DEPOSIT 
AND LET ME KNOW BY EMAIL WHEN YOU DO THAT, 
OTHERWISE IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO TELL 
WHO HAS PAID WHAT -  MAMMOTH TASK! 
THANKS.

Please feel free to phone me if you have any questions 0428 406009.

Love and blessings,  Lorraine




Further reading:

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Tuesday, June 29, 2010

An old friend turns up on Bush Telegraph: Ian Robinson, spiritual and desert adventurer

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Ian Robinson at The Living Desert, Broken Hill


Dear desert people,

Please go the Bush Telegraph site.
Scroll down to Thursday 24 June 2010
select Desert Spirituality and listen
and you can hear my old and dear friend
Ian Robinson
in conversation with Michael Cathcart.
The desert pictures on the slide show
on the sidebar
were taken on a retreat near Broken Hill
led by Ian.
You can also type Robinson into the search facility
in the top left hand corner of this blog,
and you will find an Ian Robinson presence on this blog.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From here:

Desert spirituality

We all know what the desert holds; intimidating horizons, confronting silence, a threat to safety. But one of its extraordinary secrets is spiritual.

And those willing to confront this vast, imposing environment and learn the essence of being Australian have been lining up for a powerful retreat into Australia's interior.
It's an extraordinary journey and Ian Robinson, Western Australian researcher into desert spirituality and biblical traditions of the desert, is one of those leading the way.
He's a minister and evangelist who takes people into the desert to confront not just the environment but themselves. His book is 'This Thirsty Heart: Spirit Journeys in the Deserts of Australia'.
In this report: Ian Robinson, minister involved in research into desert spirituality and biblical traditions of the desert and leader of desert expeditions with Spirit Journeys.



Related reading:
 Seeking the Centre: The Australian Desert in Literature, Art and Film 
Seeking the Centre: The Australian Desert in Literature, Art and Film 
 
Australian Desert Exploration Breguet French Print 1934 


 Sacred Waterholes in Desert By Linda Smith From Her Australian Art Portfolio - 1000 Piece Puzzle 
Sacred Waterholes in Desert By Linda Smith From Her Australian Art Portfolio - 1000 Piece Puzzle 


A World of Relationships: Itineraries, Dreams, and Events in the Australian Western Desert (Anthropological Horizons) 
A World of Relationships: Itineraries, Dreams, and Events in the Australian Western Desert (Anthropological Horizons) 


Uluru: Sacred Rock of the Australian Desert (Natural Wonders) 
Uluru: Sacred Rock of the Australian Desert (Natural Wonders) 


Hunters and Trackers of the Australian Desert 
Hunters and Trackers of the Australian Desert 


The Secret of the Australian Desert 
The Secret of the Australian Desert 


Daisy Bates: Grand Dame of the Desert (Australian Life) 
Daisy Bates: Grand Dame of the Desert (Australian Life) 


Daisy Bates in the Desert 
Daisy Bates in the Desert 


Further reading:



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Monday, June 28, 2010

Indigenous spirituality - from Cherokee to Dreaming

An integral part of Desert Spirituality is respect for First Peoples everywhere and respect for their spiritual beliefs. Those of us who have become settler peoples in the lands of First Nations have much to learn from them: of the land, other species, environment and ecology as well as the matters of the spirit. Where possible the desert spirit wishes to establish friendly and respectful relationships with indigenous people to the benefit of all of us. This below is a small contribution to these insights. Hat Tip to Eagle Man of Rosebud for passing it on.

~~~
Cherokee Legend


Do you know the legend of the Rite of Passage
to adult hood of the Cherokee youth?

His father takes him into the forest, blindfolds him and leaves him alone.
 He is required to sit on a stump the whole night.  He must not remove the blindfold until the rays of the morning sun shine through it.  He cannot cry out for help to anyone.


Once he survives the night, 
as he passes from dasy to night to dawning, 
he is a man.
He cannot tell the other boys of this experience.  
Each onemust come into manhood on his own.

The boy is terrified. He can hear all kinds of noises. Wild beasts seem to be all around.  Perhaps some human might do him harm. The wind blows the grass and earth, and shakes his stump, but he sits stoically, never removing the blindfold.  This is the only way for him to become a man.


Finally, after a horrific night
the sun appears and he removes his blindfold.

It is then that he discovers his father sitting on the stump next to him.  
He has been at watch all through night, protecting his son from harm
  


We, too, are never alone.   Even when we don't know it, God -  the Creator Spirit - is watching over  us,  sitting on the stump beside us.   When trouble comes, all we have to do is reach out.


If you liked this story, pass it on.  
If not, you took off your blindfold before dawn.

Moral of the story:
Just because you can't see God - the Creator Spirit,
Doesn't mean He is not there.
"For we walk by faith, not by sight

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Further reading and listening:

Mother Earth Spirituality: Native American Paths to Healing Ourselves and Our World (Religion and Spirituality) 

Walk with Spirit, a Native American Approach to Spirituality 

Tribal Winds: Music From Native American Flutes





Religious Business: Essays on Australian Aboriginal Spirituality

Aboriginal Spirituality & Biblical Theology: Closer Than You Think


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