Sweat Lodge

Halloween has come and gone. The guys from Mexico and Nigeria didn't know what trick or treating is so I told them the story behind it and said, We have to go out. It is Halloween. So we went has ninja turtles while Carl went as a nun. Lately I have been Mountain biking even though it is starting to get too cold for it. I went to kettle Morraine state forest. I was very impressed by it. It was a lot better than what I was expecting. It had a touch of everything. Hills to climb, Pine forest, evergreen forest, prairie lands, Granite rocks, thick woods, ponds, lakes, bridges, mud spots, sand spots and more. It was a great ride. However I wasn't too thrilled that I has to first pay to get on state forest land and then I had to pay just to use the bike trail. I have never been to a state like that. Most states you don't even have to pay to get on state forest property. The leaves have mostly fallen which made some parts of the trail tricky because I didn't know what was underneath it.
I brought my bike into a shop because my front wheel can't hold air more than 24 hours. Needed a new stem. They said come back in 30 minutes. I decided to walk to St. Josephats basillica. Beautiful church. An old polish church. Huge, Old, and very detailed paints and mosaics. Very impressive. When I was walking back to the bike shop. I'm not in the greatest area of town. I was wearing my Sweden Jacket. Some one threw a glass bottle at me as they were driving by in a car. Suddenly the glass exploded at my feet. I didn't even flinch. I thought really are you kidding me. Who tries to throw a glass bottle as a drive by on a person with there back turned to the car. Either God is looking out for me that I didn't get hit on the side walk or this guy has really bad aim. I was probably only 12 feet away.  Well I didn't get hit so I let go.
 
I went Mountain biking at Crystal ridge ski hill. It is basically a tiny 200 ft hill that goes down into the woods. Maybe 5 miles or less worth of trail. Not much but it is something. I gave a presentation on Tanzania for a Retirement community up here. The old folks seemed to really enjoy it. I answered questions and some people wanted to donate money to support the community in Tanzania. Classes are going well. Turned in another Philosopher paper on Plato's the Meno and analyzed his theory of Recollection.
Sunday I attended the Congregation of the great Spirit. It is a Catholic church with Native American traditions. I really enjoyed it. To start off the mass there is a small drumming circle behind the altar. They drum and chant in Lakota tongue. Then they do a smudging for everyone and the altar with sage, cedar, tobacco. We then Chanted to the four directions in Lakota. Then the Mass started. It was a very neat mass. At the end they did a blessing for a young native going into the marines. An old Native former vet gave him a blessing. He smudged the young man with the different herbs and waved an eagle feather at him and talked about the challenges and difficult , violent reality he is about to faith. He said, "They will break you down. But remember the spirit is always with you". Then every one came up at once and put a hand on the young man and did a final blessing. It was a very powerful, strong sense of community. They deeply care for each other. It was a beautiful experience. I then went with Ben to think it is was called Katy's diner and had the Cornbeef and hash for breakfast. It was the same Meal Hilary Clinton ordered when she was there in 2008. They had pictures all over. It was very good.

On monday I went to a sweat lodge. The man who started the sweat lodge back in the 70's is in the hospital and they did a sweat for him. Infact there starting another sweat right now during his surgery. The sweat on Monday was for his and everyone's suffering. They blessed each of us by smudging green sage and then did it to the lodge. We then one by one crawled into the the lodge. They rolled in 14 grandfather rocks which have been sitting on the fire for 4 hours. It was black in there with glowing rocks. They sprinkled tobacco, sage, and cedar on the rocks and they crackled and sparked. The first rock they did a chant for all there ancestors , whether they have, two legs, four legs, wings, or fins. They were singing in Lakota and pounding the drum. They kept splashing the water on the grandfather rocks. It got hotter and hotter. After a while I really got absorbed into the Native singing and was trying to participate in the chanting. I was dripping with sweat. They gave me sage to put behind my ear. They said if you start to feel really bad put your head down and sniff the green sage. I never had any problems but I was glad when they open the door flap in between rounds and let the cold wind blow in. The next round was for our prayers we had. While the signing and drumming was going on a rattle was passed around and when you recieved the rattle you would shake it and say your prayers tot he great spirit. They had also added 7 more rocks at that round to heat it up more. The third round they passed around a shupa or a peace pipe. They passed the peace pipe to each person around the circle. One would grab the pipe touch it to each shoulder then head then raise it to the sky for the great creator then you would take 4 to 5 puffs and then pass it to the next person. After that they rolled in 7 more grandfather rocks. This was the thanksgiving round. We sang the loudest during this round and everyone raised up what ever they were thankful for. Then it was over before I knew it. Two hours went by so fast. I was dripping with sweat. I crawled out into the 29 degree whether with the wind blowing. The ground was really cold on my feet. I cooled off really fast. Infact I started to freeze. I thanked eveyone. We then headed inside to the American Indian school for a feast of Venison, summer sausage, Bread, potatoes. It tasted good. There was 8 of us. 1 Lakota who lead it, 1 Mohawk, 1 fondu Lac, and the rest white guys. I felt like I was floating for the next hour. Very cleansing experience. I look for to the next time I get to participate. It is a very powerful way to pray if you ask me. I feel we are missing a lot of these important rituals in our society today. I feel it really forces one to get in touch with Nature and the creator.