Ceremony and COVID times
Teachings come from everywhere when you open yourself to them. That’s the trick of it, really. Open yourself to everything and everything opens itself to you. – Richard Wagamese
Ceremony, Virtual Ceremony and what the COVID-19 guidelines are NOT restricting us to do
What is Ceremony?
Ceremony is an action and a way of being. It is the act of bringing ourselves closer to Creator, returning to reverence and our original connection. It is remembering to remember. It is humbling ourselves, giving thanks, petitioning our prayers, contemplating and feeling. It is visioning, dreaming, and intuiting.
Ceremony is introspection and expansion at the same time. It is digging deep and listening to our truest innocence and awareness while opening ourselves in awe of the divine. It is recognition of the vast interconnectedness of the universe. It is the process of aligning our energy to the greater flow of Creation. It is a sacred hoop and exchange of loving awareness and acceptance.
Although we are always within and a part of this vast exchange, we sometimes trick ourselves into believing we are separate or disconnected. In fact, this is why ceremony was created by our ancestors – to remind us that we can never truly be disconnected from spirit. It is within us, around us, behind us and before us.
In the not so distant past, our spiritual practices were ripped from our people – forbidden, outlawed and we were criminalized for believing, speaking and practicing. This era of colonial violence still permeates our communities to this day, as many of our people have carried the burdens and trauma within our DNA and found ways to cope through numbing, avoiding, and escaping.
Our own culture and ways of taking care of ourselves became weaponized against us to make us feel dirty, undisciplined, unworthy, and dehumanized. Through generations of resilient and powerful ancestors, we continue this process of remembering to remember who we are and our vibration through our prayers, songs, chants, touching the earth, cleansing with the waters, purifying with the fires, breathing and feeling the sacred breath and winds, re-connecting to our own medicine, and healing frequencies of kinship and language.
What is COVID-19 is asking of us?
All science and theories aside, this virus is real. Though the data may incite some to brush this off as an illness less lethal than the seasonal flu, the virus is not to be taken lightly.
Our elders say to respect the virus but not to fear it. Perhaps that is the key to this virus’s impact – the fear and pandemonium it is ensuing around the world. Our comforts and pleasures in our Western societies are being threatened – we cannot enjoy social gatherings, share food, and engage in our work and lives as fully as we once did during pre-COVID times.
In quite literal terms, we know that this virus spreads and it will either make you sick or make you die. It is low frequency and mindless. We see it attaching itself to our young people – many who are struggling with finding their paths and roles in our societies. We see it claiming our old people and those who are battling illness and dis-ease. The virus is out of balance and so is our society and planet.
COVID-19 Guidelines – Religious Gatherings and Worship Services
As of November 21, 2020, the Public Health Orders were released to bring us back to a sense of lockdown. The PHO state the following:
Religious in-person gatherings and worship services are suspended under the order. For example:
Do not attend a service at a church, synagogue, mosque, gurdwara, temple, or other places of worship
Religious services can continue using remote or virtual attendance options, like Zoom or Skype.
You can still visit your place of worship for individual activities. For example:
Contemplation or personal prayer
Meal preparation as part of a religious service
Places of worship are to have no in-person services with the exception of certain ceremonies including baptisms, weddings, and funerals with a maximum of 10 people in attendance. Associated receptions are not allowed.
When we analyze this - we can identify that these public health guidelines are not reflective of our rich and diverse cultures. It reflects so-called Canadian, or settler culture that predicates 3 key ceremonies throughout one’s lifetime - weddings, baptisms, and funerals. We see this subtly implies a catchphrase for ALL ceremonies, however, it has many implications for our peoples who have MANY ceremonies to honor and celebrate all stages of life, rites of passage, and support our families through grief and loss.
A new, old trauma
We are living in prophetic times.
Although we are not experiencing the same threat to our cultural practices as our ancestors did in 1880 during the Potlatch Ban, stating in Section 3 of An Act Further to Amend The Indian Act, 1880:
3. Every Indian or other person who engages in or assists in celebrating the Indian festival known as the "Potlatch" or in the Indian dance known as the "Tamanawas" is guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be liable to imprisonment ... and any Indian or other person who encourages ... an Indian or Indians to get up such a festival or dance, or to celebrate the same, ... is guilty of a like offense ...
The current public health restrictions trigger the blood memory within us, reminding us of being controlled and forcibly removed from who we are as a People. This was the truest intent and force of assimilation by the Canadian Government and Church.
For many Nations, our cultural resurgence is in a fragile state and our people are in dire need of healing.
We can recognize that, YES - our ceremonial gatherings are being disrupted by this virus and the public health guidelines. We can also recognize that our regalia and sacred instruments are NOT being confiscated. We are NOT being imprisoned or penalized for practicing our culture (unless we are protecting the Land from corporate interests).
This is not the same as it once was and our culture and spirits can NEVER be eradicated from us.
We can collectively work ourselves out of this trauma response and focus on what we can uplift during this time. we can strengthen our minds, bodies, and spirits with our own medicine, discipline, family, and virtual connections.
What is Virtual Ceremony?
Virtual ceremony is a process of connecting to the sacred by means of technology. It is an ambiguous space/time continuum where we can access virtually and symbolically to exchange our vibrations with our community and loved ones. It provides a means for us to feel connected, seen, heard, or ask for guidance from our Cultural Keepers, Healers, and Elders.
I believe this is one way we can be innovative, much like our ancestors have always been. They used the tools and resources they had on hand to survive. We have the technology to connect with one another. As imperfect as it is, it is what we have.
There will be many limitations to technology, but it is a start. It may be the catalyst we need to help us pursue the ceremonies and daily practices we can do on our own terms and in our own territories. It may provide a platform to give and receive the guidance and courage we need to create new / remember old ways of taking care of ourselves and our families.
There are many questions I have about how to go about virtual ceremony:
· How do we do this in an inclusive way?
· What is appropriate to share in a virtual space?
· Should we (or should we not) record our virtual ceremonies?
· How do we host virtual ceremonies? Not asking about hosting platforms, how do we respect and honor the host if/when we are all connecting from different territories?
· How do we support our Elders in navigating technology?*
*This may be the most important question I am grappling with and seeking ways to safely train our Sacred Knowledge keepers to continue their important work via technology.
Clearly, there are many shortcomings of ceremony in the virtual space – we do not experience our senses as fully as we would while sitting in our Bighouse, kneeling in a Sweat Lodge, dancing in a Sundance Arbor, or singing together in circle. We do not feel with our whole bodies when we are sitting in front of a screen – perhaps this will take effort in building up our imagination and visualization capacity. More likely, this blip of time will strengthen our patience and hopefully lead us to fundamentally change the direction of humanity.
So as our Elders teach us to respect the virus and not fear it. So how can we respect this virus and protect ourselves from it? How can we raise our own frequency, vibration, and awareness?
Ceremony is the way.
It may seem like an easy solution, although it is not lost on me that many of us feel overwhelmed by the thought of doing this unguided and alone - I am overwhelmed by this in my work and life.
What the Public Health Guidelines say (and do not say)
What they tell us:
· Wash your hands.
· Wear a mask.
· Stay home.
· Remain physically distant.
· Do not travel.
What our teachings guide us to do:
· Wash your hands and pray for and to the water.
· Wear a mask as well as your spiritual protection (medicine bags, devils club, cedar and other sacred items)
· Stay home and take care of your sacred space, loved ones, and homestead.
· Remain physically distant and deeply connected to your spirit.
· Do not travel but go to the Land – go to the forest, go to the ocean /rivers/lakes and cleanse daily.
Other gentle reminders and practices:
· Wake up with the Sun, breathe deeply, and give thanks.
· Food is our first medicine. Nourish ourselves.
· Move, walk, dance, stretch, rest.
· Sleep deeply, connect with your dreams.
· Slow down, take time for contemplation and meditation.
· Learn songs, dances, and language at home.
· Be present with your family. Call your relatives and Elders. Share videos and letters.
· Find ways to release heavy emotions in a safe way.
· Make art. Make love. Express joy.
The bottom line is, WE DO NOT NEED PERMISSION TO PRAY! We are not restricted in connecting to spirit and Creator. Healing and protecting ourselves from this virus requires us to collectively and individually raise our consciousness and re-align ourselves to spirit.
He’am.
Gila’kasla
References:
Potlatch Ban: Abolishment of First Nations Ceremonies (October 16, 2012). Retrieved November 22, 2020 from https://www.ictinc.ca/the-potlatch-ban-abolishment-of-first-nations-ceremonies
Province Wide Restrictions. (November 21, 2020). https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/covid-19-provincial-support/restrictions
Wagamese, R. (2016). Embers: One Ojibway's Meditations. D & M Publishers.