be a watcher of your heart

February 11, 2023

Train Up a Child

“Grown men can learn from very little children for the hearts of the little children are pure. Therefore, the Great Spirit may show to them many things which older people miss.”
~ Black Elk

Thoughts from the Story of Sacajawea —

It is February 11, 1805. The biting wind rattles the shutters of the room at Fort Mandan. Outside, a full moon shimmers off the icy backs of buffalo, and a wolf stretches his neck out to howl across the frozen river.

It is a frigid night, yet a night that changes everything … for a newborn babe is born at Fort Mandan. Sacajawea, only 16 years old, through a difficult and painful birth, delivers her first child, a son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau (Pomp). The explorers don’t realize it, but that night miraculously “shifts” the energy of the entire expedition. That night the “Universe” calls each of them to a new, higher purpose, through a brilliant Light – a child with unlimited possibilities.

At the time, the explorers and Sacajawea, did not know their position in the matrix of history. In fact, Captain Lewis had his doubts about taking a baby on that harrowing trek. None of the men understood the child’s importance for future generations. But, through the experience, each of the men were “called” to this unique moment in time, to help nurture the first-year of a child’s life. Indeed, it was a journey of discovery in more ways than one.

They watched him smile and laugh for the first time, they watched him crawl and walk and begin to eat on his own, and talk. They worried for his safety and some nearly gave their lives for his life. York, 6’4” African American slave, sang to him and carried him high above his head around the camp fire. Captain Clark loved him so much he nicknamed him “Pomp,” and called him his “little dancing boy.” They all cheered when he took his first step after a particularly stressful day on the trail.

The foundation of a human being’s journey begins in the first year of life. Like a sponge they soak up every light and dark moment. Sacajawea and 31 men gave this little boy his beginning, and the expedition was far more enriched and powerful because of the child. Children are brought into our lives not only for us to teach them, but for them to teach us how to remember our spiritual selves – the ultimate calling. In Sacajawea’s story, it is Pomp who helps his mother deliver the prayer at the Great Water – a message to all people of the world.

After the expedition, Captain Clark did not forget about Pomp. When he was nine years old, the captain became his benefactor and gave him an education. The young man grew up and traveled to Europe, where he learned five languages and danced with queens.

Ultimately, Pomp became an explorer and an interpreter, known as a “storyteller” around the campfires of the old west. And what incredible stories he had to tell! No one knows what his life would have been like, if he had not been a part of the Lewis and Clark expedition. But, indeed, he was richly blessed with a unique and magnificent “first-year” journey of a lifetime.

ONWARD, toward our Quest.
Jane

August 10, 2021September 9, 2021

Sacajawea Respects the Elders

Scene from Sacajawea, The Windcatcher
After a harrowing trek, near-starvation and dangerous conditions, the explorers finally make it across the treacherous mountains led by Old Toby, the Shoshoni guide. Their clothes are rotting off their backs – their moccasins worn through, and the lack of food and water has made them weak and vulnerable. But then, their guide sees the crooked tree trunk, affirming the trail. He points ahead… and they continue to trudge onward on a worn path through the trees until they arrive at an abandoned Indian village.

Sacajawea and the men are exhausted, the baby is hungry and crying. A large pack of wild dogs yelp and run around them, pulling at their clothes, sniffing the packs…

Then, without warning, a band of Nez Perce warriors with spears raised, rush the group, threatening to kill them, grabbing for their guns – intensity rises. But, an elder woman of the tribe, Watkuweis, a shaman, comes forward, wielding authority…. She protects the explorers, rattling the animal sculls on her staff and singing a high-pitched trill.

In that moment, not only does the woman see Sacajawea with her eyes – she also sees her heart through a greater vision. Watkuweis touches Sacajawea’s chest and says, “Your spirit is weak…”

We know something about Sacajawea and her people, through her respect for her elders – both for her chief, Cameahwait, and the shaman. As the story goes, Sacajawea had just faced a devastating disappointment and loss that forced her to arrive at this place.

But the shaman already knew Sacajawea was coming, and she had a prophesy for her that would change her life. Though it was cryptic and seemed filled with the unknown in this moment – by the end of the story, the one thing Sacajawea cherished the most, would be protected by it.

Being shown the vision of her own hurting spirit gave Sacajawea determination, as Watkuweis told her, “Your hurt will lead you to another.” The elder woman saw far beyond where Sacajawea was in that moment – and Sacajawea honored the elder by trusting her wisdom without hesitation, despite the darkness of her circumstances.

What would life be like without the darkness?
The darkness gives us depth perception, choice and opportunity.
Without darkness, we could not, nor would not,
appreciate the light.
Be thankful and grateful in all things.
And keep walking…*

These words came from our journey to tell the story of Sacajawea. The depth of her sorrow, the sadness and disappointment formed a great lesson for each of us. She saw through transparent vision, because of her respect for her elders, to carry-on, to be more than what she felt, to look past what her immediate situation was showing her. Therefore, we remember this young Shoshoni girl, and it is one reason we believe, and know, her story WILL be shared, in the perfect timing, with the entire world.

*From the book, “Awakening” the lessons learned from Sacajawea and our journey.

February 22, 2021

Stoke the Fire

When Sacajawea was a little girl, she was kidnapped, abused and heartsick. She had to live with people she didn’t know. Yet the Great Spirit was showing her something, for her heart was known…

What Sacajawea felt and saw, and what she chose to do helped her become the person she needed to be. For she was given a unique and magnificent purpose that transcended her lifetime.

What we do on this earth is only part of what we bring to generations. The body is merely temporal – our energy, our spirit, our vibration lasts an eternity.

Sacajawea has continued her journey for over 200 years. She still walks toward her purpose through the hearts of those who are open to learn and to listen. The days we breathe are the days we learn, and the revelations we awaken to, are what we bring to eternity. That is what ignites love in the world.

It is Sacajawea’s destiny to stoke the fire through her story and her light. It is our destiny, too.

June 25, 2017October 25, 2020

Sacajawea was a watcher of her heart

What will we learn from life? Will we just exist day to day or will we venture out, will we walk with courage into the unknown? What are the lessons we learn from Sacajawea as she set out on her journey of discovery? A real journey, yes — a metaphoric journey, absolutely. Not lessons of the mind, but spiritual lessons, written on the heart.

Sacajawea the movie LLC In 2013, I had an experience that literally changed my life. At the time, I was on an intense spiritual journey, tearing down the walls and barriers I had carried from my life, pouring out and filling up with things that required Belief. Not belief in an idea, but Spirit-driven belief in what I did not fully understand.

This particular afternoon I was walking back from the mailbox, thinking what a beautiful day… when I had a strange sensation. Yes, I was walking, but I was seeing “me” from above me. I saw my facial expressions, my movements, my physical self, walking along… I saw what others see. I saw something else, too, it was energy and light all around me — I could see inside, as if transparent. I recognized a deep longing to know Truth and Love in my life, and a revelation: I am so much more than the physical self.

From that time on, I began to be a “watcher” of my heart, assessing my thoughts and actions as a human being, inside and outside myself. I began to focus on changing the things that did not, and do not, move me toward Truth. Even now, sometimes it’s hard to know what’s good and what’s bad, right and wrong. I make mistakes… But the answers are already written and revealed through belief. It takes courage to be a watcher, for we must squarely face what we see.

Over the last 14 years, Sacajawea has become a vital part of my walk. She has shown me many things in my life (even before I knew), she has given me words and kept me going when the path became hard on the journey. She has never made it easy for me because she understands the magical purpose of darkness and how it reveals the more-powerful light. It is a light we must choose to embrace.

As a Native American, Sacajawea understood the power of intuition, she respected her Oneness with all things and the earth, and she was the watcher of her own heart — she was wise, brave and a visionary. Sacajawea, The Windcatcher, has traveled far to reach us. It is part of the world’s enlightenment, and the change we seek — a deep longing for Truth and Love. Let us wake up our spirits, let us prepare, and let us be ready to listen to the messages from the ages.

ONWARD, we have no fear.

Jane