Sturmboe

[Sturmboe]

Dear people,

I´m new here. I`m German, female and use a german nickname "Sturmboe". "Sturmboe" in english is "squall", I love the storm, the only reason for my choise.
I just speak my mother tonque german clearly and got problems with the english language. I use a creation of google translator and the poor rest of my school - english I´ve still not forgotten - I hope you can understand me ... but hmm, ... well, we will see.

Greetings

[Defend the Sacred]

You're making sense. I can understand you. :)

[earthw7]

welcome

[earthw7]

Hello Earthwoman,

I got a considerable question, if you wish you can answer.


Time ago I asked for mental illness which can harm Non - Natives who are taking part in Native ceremonies, ceremonies which do not belong to their non - native - life. Maybe ceremonies are leaded by frauds, maybe it is a avarice for absolute power. But is this the only problem? Till today I got no answer.
It is not easy to comprehend, what happen to Whites, they become ill, they suffer and still keep on taking part in this - especially to them - false way of life.
This does not happen to you Natives, well, it is your way of life.


The frauds, the power and the money could be a part of this problem, but this is not all I think.
When White got mental illness, for e. g. the mediumnistic psychosis with its accustical and visual hallucinations (they say they got contact with deceased persons, talk to spirits),
could the awarness of this mentall illness be dangerous for your way of life one day?
Could this problem be a way to destroy your Native way of life once again, to forbid once again - and than official - your ceremonies and destroy your culture, because white people would say, "this mentall illness must be also a problem to Natives"? This was a thought rised in me, when think about, why my question was not answered.

There was a time, whites have been fordbidden your culture, than they try to steal and destroy it by frauds - till today.
In recent times more and more psychologists got more interests and respect for your culture, accepting your way of life, believing, that the spiritual way can heal indeed. But is this true? Is this the way we are honest and we should go? Or another fraudulant way which misleads whites. For e. g. some are using shamanic ceremonies (they know it by this name, often got no background knowledge), Yoga, Buddhism, etc., this is not our white way of life. Is there a warning from the elders to psychologists?

Well, there must be differences not just in the way of life, that we white get mental illness. You Natives need your origin ceremonies and way of life to live your history, your identity.

I try to understand whites, try to comprehend, why they are living a fraudulant (ceremonial) way which destroy themselve - but it is so difficult, and I am white.

Best regards from a loveley raining and stormy Hamburg
Kerstin



Dear Kerstin,
I have replies to your message but the message site would not let it go though so I am trying again to reply.
I would ask why you would you pray to harm people, I don't believe in harming people in fact that is why the site
exist to make sure people are not harmed by frauds.
I have never heard of anyone getting mental ill because their go to our ceremonies,
but I have heard of mentally ill people who use our ceremonies to try to heal themselves.
Our ceremonies are about balance in your life and the world around you and no I never
heard of our people becoming mentally ill because they go to ceremonies. I have been taken
part in my ceremonies all my life and never had a problem and so do my children and grandchildren.
We don't believe in this talking to dead people, I have seen so many from Europe who claim a dead chief
came to them in a dream and guilds them ...... We just laugh at this crazy concept.
Just from the way you wrote your post I think you don't understand our ways and you have
some sort of new age version of our ways in your mind. Our ways are about keeping in balance. Mental illness is not balance.
We have never lost our ways when the United States outlaw our ways we took them underground,
our ways are the center of who we are. Our ways don't have mental illness attach to them.
I am unsure of what you are saying but our ways are healing but should be left to our people,
Our people have a unique culture and whites don't understand that it is a way of life not a weekend shaman stuff they do.
I don't know those other cultural ways like yoga, and Buddist just like I don't understand the concept of Christianity,
I never try to understand white people, I don't have the answer for you but I know my ways are good for me.
Hectu yelo

[Sturmboe]

Hello Earth,

I believe that the ceremonies are important to you and your people, they are your life. Sorry, I don´t want to impart your ceremonies will bring you people out of balance.

I don´t know how it is for non - natives practising native way of life, nor taking part in ceremonies. I got respect for your life but it is not my way, well in this way I got no experience - how could I understand you really. I just can try, but to comprehend your life indeed - impossible.

I got no new age idea in my head, I just try to understand what is going on with our white people, who are yelling for help and are not reachable. I come to know few people who live a new age life or religious hardliner, and in my work I cannot reach them.
In some hospitals with patients with mantel illnes psychologists and medicine doctors are using in therapies different ways from different cultures, for e. g. yoga, buddhism and shamanic. I have doubt, these are good ways to help us white people here in germany. This is my sight.

In this case I can imagine that we white can get mental problems taking part in foreign ceremonies. This mental problem does not rise by taking part in a ceremony, this is not what I want to tell. The mental problems could be rised up because we do not understand the ceremony and the experiences turn us upside down, we have never lived this way of life, where are these ceremonies born and rising in. There are different way of lives, different way to talk. Not everybody can stand by this experiences he will get and the way of thinking / talking, which is so different from our white way of life. It is not the problem of the ceremony, it is a personally problem of this person of our people.


Greetings
Sturmboe

[Defend the Sacred]

non - natives practising native way of life,

The non-Natives who misappropriate from Natives aren't "practising native way of life." They are imitating. They are mimicking. Unless they've lived their lives in a Native community, they don't have a clue what a "Native way of life" is. And even if they have lived the majority of their lives in a real, traditional, in-person, Native community, they still don't know what it's like to be a Native. They only know what it's like to live with Natives.

I think what you might be getting at, Strumboe, is that some cultural outsiders who mimick ceremonies will try very hard to call spirits. But since they don't have the proper cultural context, language, lineage or training, they either fail to call any spirits at all, or may call spirits that don't wish them well. Not all spirits are good.

If they're doing this in another country, and spirits show up, those spirits aren't Native American spirits. And by assuming they are, they may have done things that upset the spirits of the land where they live. Every land has both good and bad spirits. Or spirits who aren't good or bad, but will treat people a certain way depending on how they are approached.  That's why living cultures have extensive protocols and lore about how to do it right, as well as an understanding of how things can go wrong.

[Sturmboe]

It