Some may think we live to please; we live to learn so that we can earn and live more to earn more, to offer more and to have more on offer. Some believe we are only here to serve without knowing whom they are serving or who is to be or needs to be served.

Somewhere, on the way we become more and more entwined in sustaining the life we create without realizing that there is someone else who is not given a voice. Someone or something deep inside of us is ignored and remains unrecognized. The more we live to please and be pleased, the more the opportunities of recognition decrease. Is there someone within the environment of our world who can draw our attention to such blindness and deafness? Could this someone be our Nature Kingdom, the Earth we live on? In a seasonal greeting, Wind Daughter, Medicine Chief of the Bear Tribe called attention to:

"Autumn – (Fall) Mudjekeewis, Spirit Keeper of the West. It is the place of maturity, a place of responsibility. It is a place to look back on in the seasons of before. It is a place to offer thanksgiving for the harvest. What was and has been fruitful, what needs to change and what needs to stay the same."

The West is Heart ‑ it is the time when the heart speaks and calls out to be heard. It is the time of heart challenges ‑ questioning all as to whether it is "true to the heart" and reminds us to go further and deeper. To reach above and beyond the known ‑ to raise the roof of the mind because how else can we learn the true language of the heart?

All challenges, be they romantic emotions, those of strife and heart ache, chaotic work situations or, the challenge in expanding our true reverence of life, ‑ all are merely opportunities for true growth into wisdom. What is wisdom? It is knowledge that is taken to heart. We cannot attain wisdom without the experience ‑ so we must count our selves lucky to be awake enough to have a "Life of Creativity and Opportunities".

The West challenges the stronghold of the mind by providing such situations that challenge the mind's hold over our feelings. It does so by constantly testing our attitude, creating situations that throw our neatly organized filing system upside down and even over board. Only experiences of "challenge" will liberate us into true feeling. They are to take us more and more into our true and greater self. Knowledge is part of the filing cabinet and wisdom are experiences of life lived or when knowledge was put into practice. It is the purpose of life to offer opportunities and challenge our concepts so that we apply our knowledge to reap wisdom. Wisdom is therefore the product of a mind that surrendered into the heart and achieved "quality". This quality is LOVE - its current is the essential life force for all life. And it is a golden celestial fire, original in quality, as it is sole source, the essence of our soul.

The West always offers discernment at all levels - particularly the way we pursue quality of life. It aims at reminding us not to seek quality "outside" our self. Not to look for it in others or in the world of knowledge and things. Instead, we, our self are to become “quality". Expressing it in attitude leads to its expression in the way we live life. True quality can only be experienced. It cannot be taught from a book. This natural quality is often "unknown to those who dwell in the known and familiar environment of the world of their mind." An ever-evolving reverence of life can only take place when mind and heart unite. Achievement of this is made possible by the way we live life.

When the mind is the tool of the heart i.e. when inspiration, thought and action are based on heartfelt caring, achievement of quality is then made possible. This is not possible when only the mind is in charge with its intellect. At this point mind and intellect only serve the emotional needs that sustain the world of duality and fear. This is why the West challenges each and all of us to look inside our heart and recognize that it offers true liberation from dualities and limitations. It will convey its challenges whether we like it or not.

The tool of the West is color and the tool of our heart is life ‑ the way we live life and life is love in that it is a creative expression of love. All of it can and ought to be very colorful. When things happen in our own back yard, to the self or within the family, it is a call "to find that little voice within" and ask our self whether the activity, or the way we lead life is in harmony with it? Is it in furtherance of our inspirational creativity? What can activate this little small voice? The small voice – like an “inner knowing” springs to life with each innovative idea, inspiration or inhalation of breath that is inspired by a natural beauty or by sheer ugliness of sight and circumstance. Some call it instinct or gut feeling.

Thus, if life is love what is its tool that awakens the small voice within?

This tool is WOMAN – the feminine principle who is also a symbol of "growth, creativity and expansion" ‑ she is Heart. Where-as Man – the masculine principle is Mind. In turn, is it man that awakens the "small voice" within woman? For the woman man is a "reminder" to look further and deeper. All in all, the small voice in woman is activated by the “Language of the Natural World of the Earth” and reminds her that she has the key to that which liberates the heart of Earth.

(Let us think about this for a moment ‑ modern day woman and man ‑ each individually represent the mind and the heart of God. No wonder our world is upside down and ruled by the golden calf - the monetary system that keeps us emotionally chained to the world of duality. Our realities are created by the thoughts of our sub‑conscious and conscious mind. They are the magnets of attraction of most of the circumstances we encounter. Do we actually have the right to bemoan our fate or ever feel victimized?)

West is like a woman. It is the love of a woman that inspires the joining of mind and heart. Interaction and experience will reveal the quality. True quality will allow individual expansion of the heart‑mind connection and it’s blending. I.e. a blending should inspire the type of inspirational creativity that empowers individuality - the individual heart space. It should encourage appreciation of the type of independence that leads to developing hidden potential through inspirational creativity. This would be an ongoing creativity that inspires a creative partnership rather than leading a busy life. Inspirations placed into action are in harmony with the heart space. They avoid falling into a humdrum slumping back into the armchair kind of routine. Instead they inspire a deep breath of exhalation from a quiet inner stimulant. For what is love between man and woman? It is a synchronistic union of a quiet creativity that inspires motion. God's world is quiet but speaks to us through life and the natural world.

Yes, life is about learning and serving but the difference is in who learns and who is served. We have been misled in thinking that life is all about self-enrichment and personal gratification. We can only achieve harmony and thereby true enrichment when we cease to take things personally. All experiences only happen for the purpose to awaken us into true self-realization. To put us in touch with the core of our being i.e. getting and remaining in touch with the "inner self” through the heart space and create a harmonious relationship with the self. This gives the personalized mind the opportunity to recognize the heart and join into the partnership. Disharmony or discontent with the self prevents true growth or inner expansion. None of this can be willfully achieved.

The actions of a “person of heart” are a "synchronistic expression of oneness" in addressing the needs of the self to those of others and the way life is lived. For example: we cease to wear many hats and instead focus on becoming more and more our true self in every day life while addressing the needs of the moment. Thus, we can apply ourselves creatively from moment to moment as we give it our very best without looking back or ahead.

The West is the "door to the Heart" of the World we relate to and connects to the heart of the Earth from whence it heralds teamwork. The East is "door to the Mind" of the World and the Earth. The South is the school of life and the North is in essence the "road of life" ‑ from the known to the unknown and from that which we experience to that which we have understood. In the South we experience life and the North gifts us with new experiences of Life. We cannot reach the North by bypassing the West. Whenever we try to remain in the realms of the mind, clinging to logic and the world of the intellect, we are trying to skip past the West and instead are aiming directly for the North. Since God speaks to us through life, the natural world, since it is the stage setting for all events and circumstances, we are not allowed to forget the West in its expression as Autumn - our true heart. Likewise, the storage of the subconscious mind can only be reorganized or cleared by experiences that challenge feelings from the heart.

The Earth is the collective body of human consciousness, expressing her attitude through the geographical directions. The Earth has a sub‑conscious & unconscious mind as well, and it too can only be re-organized and lightened through the heart. All her sentient life can walk through the West, the doorway to her heart. This is why there is a Sacred Destiny for this continent. But who was it that has the key to the heart of the Earth? Will we remember if we raise our sight to see the bigger picture and will we also remember who it is that can use this key in a naturally inspiring way?

The greater perspective to the Western World ‑ a greater perspective to a personal situation ‑ a broader horizon to the one I see and am used to seeing? And then one might ask: “why should we even bother to see the greater perspective?” Well, when we do so, we are not pulled into situations; we remain in our own energy space or space of heartfelt consciousness. This makes it possible to use a natural sense of discernment. It is natural because it is not influenced by the outer circumstance but rather stems from deep within us. This sense of discernment eventually connects us with the heart space and our true inner self. Thus, our choices will be in harmony with our inner self and its entire growth process as it naturally expands in its reverence of all life. At this point we are able to choose opportunities that allow us to live life truthfully ‑ naturally and productively. They also come our way naturally instead of us having to seek them out. This then is true power and life itself does not have to give us wake-up calls as in painful situations. Instead, we can enter into an ongoing process of self-enhancement that is in harmony with natural life and its evolution. True teamwork at all levels of life.

The West - the Autumn is the "stand of heart" ‑ a "stand of truth". "It is the void ‑ as in depth". Altogether, it is the place of "true healing and true sight". So, how can we stand in the West wind and admire the Autumn colors? How can we see with heart when we are used to seeing with the mind?

Wind is like breath. Wind is the voice of Nature, the voice of Earth and her Autumn winds heal heart and mind. What is healing? Healing is an expression from the heart space as in healing from within. It is the art of re-organizing, simplifying and harmonizing. What is seeing? True sight is the art of feeling. A feeling that recognizes movement ‑ motion of the bigger picture. All is really very simple, no matter what it is; healing from within is the first requirement. Healing returns the most complicated back into simplicity. Since simplicity is the greatest enemy of the educated mind, it tends to remain unrecognized. This shortens our sight to a personalized view, and it is an impediment to seeing the larger picture.

Thus our reality is driven by the mind in a world that speaks to the mind and stems from the mind. Therefore, we need not look to the world for the cure but take a closer and broader look at ourselves. Whether male or female, we need to reach above and beyond our mind and its known norm to avoid our habit of psycho analyzing and categorizing. Instead, return imagination into our life and focus on breathing. Breath is the great unifier as it connects us to all levels of Life and it is Life itself within all dimensions. It has long been accepted that breath changes consciousness and imagination is the essence of consciousness. Thus, breath is not only vital in sustaining life but it is the magical force that activates the core essence of life. Be it a matter of mind or heart, standing in the wind while taking a deep breath is really helpful:

"Let us close our eyes and with our eyes closed we inhale deeply and imagine that we can still see ourselves – our whole body. While exhaling gently, we place our focus on our chest as we inhale and exhale. The chest connects to the sensing and feeling heart space and we watch it rise and fall as we continue breathing. From this stance we take a good look at what excites us and how it does so. We imagine the person, thing or subject matter in front of us. Is the impact felt in the solar plexus or does it inspire a deep feeling of an unknowable depth, conveying a sound and solid peace and quiet? This would be the type of sensation that speaks to our inner self and helps in developing our still small voice.

Alternatively, does it inspire a sensation in the back of the neck or in the upper chest? Does it inspire feelings of: "can't wait to run there or be there? Life won't be complete unless I am there. - Or, loving another person inspires the feeling of completing the self, a cure against loneliness." If any of these notions are experienced, we have stepped outside ourselves, away from our heart space and the mind is controlling the emotions. Instead of feeling from the heart space, the mind serves as an emotional stimulant. Living outside ourselves is taxing, draining on our energy resources and thereby dis-empowering. We easily jump into the exterior when confronted by upsetting situations because they are like “wild fires” that suddenly flare up and consume. Actually, negative emotions make it all much easier to recognize that we have stepped outside ourselves and are thereby empowering the exterior situation, person or subject.

We rarely feel the need to question happy circumstances. It only occurs to us when problems arise. As long as the little known personal self is served, the need to question will not be felt. Neither does there seem to be the time, because the stimulant and the involvement invariably take place instantaneously and simultaneously. The power of heart can only be activated when we remain in our own inner quiet space. Instead of mentally jumping into the perceived notion or subject, we breathe, inhaling and exhaling to attain a sense of detachment. With repeated application we become more alert and aware of our inner heart space. Thus, we naturally attract experiences that empower the heart space. Emotional confrontations will alert the vibration of the West – to activate our sense of discernment. Instead of stepping into the situation and loosing energy, we grow and expand and it connects us to our energy source. In doing so we reclaim our heritage and all is naturally reorganized. This type of empowerment creates a natural magnetic attraction to all that is of nourishment or enhancement to the true inner self. At the same time the radiation of this magnet nourishes the essence in others and in life around us.

So, the message is: We are alive to find our true self - our soul and its spirit needs to experience life through our physical body by using the mind as an intelligent tool. The "still small voice of our soul is heard from our heart space.” To hear it, find it and commune with it means that we have to first engage into such activities that speak to it. This means that we need to know our true needs and then satisfy those first. As members of a self indulgent and ego centered society we know that impersonal and selfless service leads to recognition of divinity. Yet, we are here to evolve into divinity and this can only be achieved by becoming more and more who we truly are. To bring into the physical the "Greater Self" (the wise one of inner knowing) the one of known and unknown quantity as in one of many. Thereby, our true needs will change as layer by layer our inner true self is revealed from within our heart.

This requires that we partake of that which speaks to our inner self - the heart and return the favor to life with heart. The heart connects to our soul and its essence is fire - LOVE - A golden celestial fire and original in quality as its force is an atomic accelerator. It is the essential life force, a living light for All Natural Life. All of Nature - the Earth and All her Kingdoms require this life force. We, the people are conductors of this life force. To convey it we first need to connect with it ourselves and remain connected. Earth and her Nature assure that connection. To learn her language is to move with her seasons as we pay attention to her cycles and interact with her kingdoms. In doing so we learn to see the greater picture from a base of natural harmony that enables the sight of feeling. It offers a broader viewpoint of a greater perspective than the one available from the personalized mindset that merely seeks to serve the known self. Thus, during this natural harmonious interaction the golden celestial light is conveyed into the area of our focus. Thereby the soul is given its voice and the cycle of abundance of receiving and giving begins. This cycle starts when our thoughts are synonymous in the expression of how we treat ourselves, others, all of nature and the way we live life ... and that is how we love and bring our inner world into the outer.

The Earth, the Cosmos, Nature in its entirety will not let us forget the reason why we have physical life. All is under contract because we are embryonic particles of light scattered throughout the entire worlds of nature. This relates us in the energy of light, from the lesser to the brightest, from tiniest creature to the largest and through physical life unification and transformation is achieved. Therefore, it is all about unification of the self rather than self-gratification. It is only then, that we can provide a true and natural service to God's creation. Only then will women remember that the role of their physical gender is to "engender true quality in all species" and claim their rightful appointment as Nature’s mediators to achieve this. Thus, women provide the incentive to evolve into "People of Heart". Indeed, women have the key but the ones to use the key and liberate Earth are those of "quality". Who are they? None other but the "People of a Golden Heart" that is in alignment with the inceptive life force from the celestial golden fire. This turns them into women and men of perfectly balanced gender. The divinity of the feminine is in its inspirational fire that empowers the return of "natural and true quality of gender" - as a Celestial Fire of Love Restoring Whole ALL Sentient Life of Earth & the Cosmos!

(*) The soul can split the sky in two, and let the face of God shine through.

Thus, a woman who is awake, truly loves life and is able to enfold all in a loving embrace achieves this during every day of her life!

(*) Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892‑1950), U.S. poet. Renascence, st. 8.