Charlie "Red Hawk" Thom

 

I mourn the loss of Charles "Red Hawk" Thom, Sr., Northern California Native American Karuk medicine man and ceremonial leader, who passed away last Tuesday (Oct.8) at the age of 85.  He was one of the last traditional medicinemen (shaman) who had been trained in the old ways.  Known to many as the guardian of Mt. Shasta and the other ceremonial sites in Northern California and Oregon, he was also an esteemed elder to the Karuk, Kiowa and Hoopa tribes; faithfully serving his people for many years as the keeper of their culture, traditions and sacred knowledge.  He was instrumental in getting official federal recognition for his tribe and was a catalyst in the legalization of Native American ceremonies.  Grandpa Charlie was also involved in natural resource management and the protection of their sacred tribal grounds. 

 

Born in Fort Jones, California on April 4, 1928 and orphaned at a very young age, Charlie Thom was raised by the elders of his tribe in the ancient medicine ways of the Karuk Arara (Up River People), who have possibly lived in the same area since the Ice Age.  As a child, he was hidden from the authorities who required all the Native American children to be taken to boarding schools for assimilation, and was brought up instead to be a medicine man.  He was one of the remaining few who fluently spoke his ancestral Karuk language, and had vast knowledge on his people's history, ceremonies, stories, sacred songs and dances.  Grandpa Charlie was considered a "Living National Treasure" by his tribe.

Charlie leading a Sweat Lodge ceremony on Panther Meadows in Mt. Shasta

 

"Red Hawk Walking Backwards" was his ceremonial name, which signified his sacred path in retracing his people's cultural heritage.  40 years ago, he made his sacred sweat lodge ceremonies public, attracting people far and wide. In 1983, Charlie Thom addressed the UN Delegates in the United Nations at the Dag Hammarskjold Auditorium to plea for help in protecting their sacred ceremonial sites.  A ceremonial leader, environmental-social activist, teacher and spiritual guide, Grandpa Charlie has guided hundreds of people from all over the world to live in the wisdom of the ancient ways and to exist in harmony with nature, with each other and with themselves.

 

Known to his friends and family as a kind, humble, gentle, generous and light-hearted person, hundreds of people worldwide mourn the loss of Grandpa Charlie.  He was pre-deceased by 4 of his children; but survived by 14 others, as well as numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who will miss him.  We should all remember him in our hearts as an eternal teacher and guide who lived as he preached, and as a concrete example of how we can all live in harmony with all of creation.

James Arthur Ray's Mistake

James Arthur Ray was found guilty of 'Negligent Homicide' on the sweatlodge deaths of three of his "Spiritual Warrior" participants.  In October 2009, about 60 of Ray's followers crammed into a 415-square-foot hut heated with red-hot rocks. Ray, a charismatic guru, told his followers it would be a "rebirthing" but it instead turned into a fatal experience for three people.  According to prosecutors, one witness said, "20 people got sick. Overheated and throwing up."(http://abcnews.go.com/US/james-ray-found-guilty-negligent-homicide-arizona-sweat/story?id=13908037) 

Native American Elders and Medicine People have been warning the public of this danger for years.  The Inipi, what non-natives refer to as a sweatlodge, is a spiritual ceremony that should be treated and respected as such.  It must be conducted by a "real" Medicine Person, who was initiated into its sacred and ancient teachings.  Have you heard of a Mass being conducted by a lay person?  I'm sure most Christians will be shocked at this comparison, but God did not give Native Americans an inferior form of worship.  All of our Spiritual traditions around the world (the ones that espouse Love, Kindness and Oneness) are as valid as the other.  The Native American spiritual traditions are just as sacred as any Religious ceremony, and should be conducted as they have always been, lead by the valid and initiated priesthood (Medicineman) of that faith.    

I am actually shocked at how people readily adopt alternative spiritual ceremonies as if they are hosting a 'clam bake.'  I understand that most people do not really want to change Religions readily, because such descisions are hard to make.  But no one really needs to change their Religious affiliations.  Whatever Faith you were born with is actually adequate, if you just take the time and effort to dig deeper into its inner teachings.  Adapting the teachings (philosophy) of other Religions and spiritual beliefs to augment your own, is also acceptable (for we are still evolving towards a unified Faith).  But performing a mock ritual, immitating something we saw, read or heard can be dangerous.

Spiritual rituals and ceremonies are not only sacred because of their esoteric meaning and symbolism.  In some Faiths, particularly the shamanic kind, these rites also are charged with energies (or Spirits), both constructive and destructive.  These sacred ceremonies must therefore be conducted by people who were trained to handle these invisible and supernatural powers.  These qualifications cannot be earned by a diploma or a seminar, no matter how many you earn.  It takes years of training and acceptance, not only by a traditional practitioner, but also by the energies that you have to work with. 

James Arthur Ray's Spiritual Retreat in Arizon

James Arthur Ray may have had good intentions for starting out his Self-Help business, but Spirituality is never for sale.  Human Spirituality is the most sacred thing in our lives.  It is our connection to the Divine and it was meant to be freely shared -- just like breathing.  Charging people for salvation and peace in any way shape of form is his second mistake.  No one should make a business out of spiritual salvation, because profit taking is aligned to our lowest mental vibrations.  Having that mental state in a spiritual space attracts unwanted lower vibratory energies (Spirits).  Jesus was vehemently opposed to it, Buddha was a beggar and Lao Tzu was a hermit for a purpose.  My elders always warned me to never seek the guidance of anyone who charges for their services, because this was the most obvious sign that the person is not what they claim to be.

I have attended dozens of Inipi sessions, both secular (healing ceremonies) and initiatory, but since I have not specifically trained (as well as fasted and sacrificed) for the Inipi, I will never attempt to conduct one-- copy or imitate what I have seen or heard.  Spiritual training and the gifts they come with, must be approached properly (usually traditionally).  Spiritual energy is like electricity, it has a positive and negative charge.  The negative charge is always present, but to conduct the alternate positive current, you body, mind, soul and spirit must be a strong enough to withstand the shock.  Any blockages of any kind, will kill or maim you.   

"Seek and you shall be guided."  It does not say enroll or sign-up.  Seek spiritual truths inward, not outward.  Keep learning.  Keep praying.  Keep Meditating.  But always be humble.  Humility is the truest bench mark to Spiritual growth and maturity (and the truest conductor for positive energy).  When you are ready, the teacher or teachers will come, because your very own spiritual vibration will attract them to you.

Divine Healing

"Healing" is a coordinated process between God/the Divine, the healer and the patient.  These three important variables must be present in order for "true healing" to occur.  This is the root of all ancient healing modalities since the dawn of time.  Different religions and belief systems have attributed the cosmic/divine component (God) to whatever diety they currently believe in or to nature, or to Chi (Prana), or to science (medicine).  But the healer (doctor/shaman/medicine man) has always been present to mediate between the patient and the Divine.

Our bodies are actually built to heal itself.  But because we are also made up of Mind, Energy and Soul (aside from our physical body), the complexity of our nature sometimes leads to a breakdown of sorts, which results in disease and sickness.  The root of "disease" afterall, is dis-ease or disharmony in our system.  When a breakdown happens, a third-party expert (detached from the subjective experience of the disease) is generally better equiped to channel and administer the skills required to realign the body to health.

The healer serves as a conduit for the Divine, the cosmic forces or energies needed for the healing to happen.  While there are people who can actually heal themselves (Yogis, Masters), most people are not yet in that stage of development where they can regulate their own spiritual, mental and soul bodies -- It is like performing surgery on your own body (difficult but certainly possible).  It is also the reason why no one healer can cure all diseases.  We are still in an evolutionary stage where we still need one another.

Each healer has a specialty.  Medical doctors specialize on the physical, psychiatrist and therapists treat the mind, priest/rabbis/monks deal with the soul, while shamans and energy practitioners channel energy.  Traditional healers and medicine people generally specialize in either the mental, soul or energy (spirit) bodies, but many practitioners combine all three, as well as offer traditional massage and herbal therapy to realign the body too.  No one has a monopoly on health.  It is therefore vital that healers cooperate with one another to give the patient the best possible care.  But without exception, the source and drive of all healing comes from the Divine (God) -- the deepest part of ourselves inside and out, where our "being" and the Cosmos unite.

We are truely one with God.  But our physicality deceives our minds and makes us believe that we are limited and localized within our bodies.  God surrounds us and permeates every cell in our bodies.  God is Chi, God is Prana, God is all science, God is the Cosmic Mind.  These things are united as one, with all the known forces in the Universe and beyond.  We are more than our bodies, and this reality makes it possible for us to heal.  The only service the healer (no matter what type) does, is to realign us back into unity with the Divine.  The Divine is always present and available to anyone, it is our own nature and distorted perspectives that misaligns our system and causes disease.

Welcome

Healers and healing have existed since the dawn of humanity.  Like a "fail-safe" mechanism for humans, the Creator provided us with technicians to help our bodies and minds reboot when it gets glitches.

Shamans or Medicinepeople have been with us since the beginning, venturing into the unknown to guide and protect us, as healers, artists, spiritualist, storytellers and visionaries.  As we embark on the 21st century armed with our latest technology and science, we have to be aware that we still have a lot of questions that remain unanswered and we still need our shamans to boldly lead us into uncharted territory -- only now we refer to our modern day adventurers and explorers as scientist, inventors, engineers, doctors, surgeons, therapists, psychologists, healers, innovators, filmmakers, actors, writers, etc.

I created this blog as a forum where I can toss wild and sometimes irreverent ideas and opinions for anyone to repond to. Because I believe that we are all searching for "Truths" in the end, and that it is basic for all of us to want to evolve and learn as human beings. Let us embark on this sacred journey together with the blessings and love of our Creator.

Welcome.