A recluse living in the Rocky Mountains with his dog, Shawnee, White Feather tells stories that lead us back to the primal joy of our existence. His philosophical and metaphysical essays push the envelope of our perspectives while grounding us to the feelings that connect us with our source. With insight and feeling, White Feather shares his journey through the shift in consciousness the world is going through, compelling us to look at our own journey. To discuss White Feather's writings and other philosophical and metaphysical subjects with others, visit White Feather Forum.
Thursday, September 16, 2004
Journey to Tele
by White Feather
When the old man stepped up to cross the bridge, he paused and turned to look at his family waving good-bye to him. He knew that he would never see them again, although they did not know that. Looking at their faces, the old man was not sure if his family members were sad to see him go, or straining to wait out the next few minutes for him to be out of sight so they could go on with their lives. Waving, but not smiling, the old man turned back around and proceeded across the narrow walking bridge that was suspended above the deep canyon below.
The old man was embarking on the final trip of his life; a trip that would take him far from the land where he had lived most of that life. He went eagerly, though, without a shred of regret or remorse. As long as he could remember, the old man had always wanted to see the sacred city of Tele, and now he was finally going. The only uncertainty was whether his tired old body would survive the grueling 800 mile trip.
Halfway across the foot bridge, the old man stopped and turned around for one last look at his family and the land that had been his home. The look was quick, though, as others were crossing the bridge behind him and he did not want to hold up traffic. After seeing his waving family briefly, he then looked down at the deep canyon below him. Far below was a small ribbon of a river. The old man could see birds flying above the river. It was odd to be so far above the birds. Holding on to the side ropes to steady a growing uneasiness, he regained his balance and looked ahead, slowly resuming his walk across the bridge.
When he reached the other side, the old man did not look back. As he stepped onto the path that would take him out of the mountains, his focus remained on the journey ahead.
Copyright © 2002-2004, by White Feather. All Rights Reserved. Books By White Feather
When the old man stepped up to cross the bridge, he paused and turned to look at his family waving good-bye to him. He knew that he would never see them again, although they did not know that. Looking at their faces, the old man was not sure if his family members were sad to see him go, or straining to wait out the next few minutes for him to be out of sight so they could go on with their lives. Waving, but not smiling, the old man turned back around and proceeded across the narrow walking bridge that was suspended above the deep canyon below.
The old man was embarking on the final trip of his life; a trip that would take him far from the land where he had lived most of that life. He went eagerly, though, without a shred of regret or remorse. As long as he could remember, the old man had always wanted to see the sacred city of Tele, and now he was finally going. The only uncertainty was whether his tired old body would survive the grueling 800 mile trip.
Halfway across the foot bridge, the old man stopped and turned around for one last look at his family and the land that had been his home. The look was quick, though, as others were crossing the bridge behind him and he did not want to hold up traffic. After seeing his waving family briefly, he then looked down at the deep canyon below him. Far below was a small ribbon of a river. The old man could see birds flying above the river. It was odd to be so far above the birds. Holding on to the side ropes to steady a growing uneasiness, he regained his balance and looked ahead, slowly resuming his walk across the bridge.
When he reached the other side, the old man did not look back. As he stepped onto the path that would take him out of the mountains, his focus remained on the journey ahead.
Copyright © 2002-2004, by White Feather. All Rights Reserved. Books By White Feather
Thursday, September 09, 2004
The Great Chicken Robbery
by White Feather
When I was in high school I worked as a head cook at a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant. One night, just as closing time approached, I finished up all my work and went to tell the manager I was leaving. He, and a manager trainee, were getting ready to start the night's paperwork. The counter girl was about to lock the doors and then count her money.
I clocked out and headed for the front door. The counter girl was maybe ten feet behind me with the keys to lock the door after I left. As I left the front door of the restaurant, three young stocky men came into the door. I nodded and said hello as I passed them. I remember thinking, "Whoops, more customers. I guess they're not closing just yet." I was out of there, though, so I never looked back.
What I didn't know is that those three burly men were not last minute customers, but rather robbers who had come in to rob the restaurant. Just seconds after I passed them, they pulled a gun on the counter girl who was going out to lock the door. They then brought her into the back into the manager's office. They then made the manager open the safe then they beat him over the head with the gun butt, giving him a concussion. After gathering all the money, they locked the manager, manager trainee, and the counter girl in the freezer, where they were trapped until the other manager came in the next morning.
I went home and slept soundly, went to school the next day, and then after school I went in to work. That is when I finally found out about it. I was blown away by how close I came to being part of that little drama.
It was that counter girl who was telling me everything that happened. After recounting all the grisly details, she cocked her head to one side, and said, "You know, I'm glad you left just before it happened."
"Oh, why's that?"
"Cuz you would have tried to do something heroic and someONE would've gotten shot. You would've tried to take all three of those guys out."
My mouth dropped open. I couldn't believe she would think that. Didn't she know that I was an extreme pacifist? It shocked me to hear her say that, but it also made me think, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that she was correct. Subsequent experiences in my life have reiterated that fact.
I have come to realize that I have no doubt as to my ability to defend myself if my life were threatened. This doubt is easy to have when one has never exercised those defensive abilities. The reason I have no doubt is because I have experienced another aspect of myself that was an Indian warrior on the Great Plains during the White Man/Indian wars. I have experienced several very strong interfaces with his being; interfaces that were essentially a full stepping into his being, and having him step fully into me.
This other aspect was a warrior; a murderer. He killed hundreds of people. He was an utterly fearless warrior. He thought nothing of going up against a dozen adversaries all at once. He simply had no fear. I have felt his strength and his fighting spirit, and most of all his extreme fearlessness. It's one of the most intense things I've ever felt. If I am in danger I can call him forth and let him take over my body. He has stepped into my body before, and let me tell you, it is a mind-blowing and body-blowing experience. I never experienced fearlessness in this life until he stepped into my body. I never experienced such raw intense energy. I've never felt so invincible.
Imagine growing up an extreme pacifist with lingering subconscious memories of being a savage warrior who killed many people. This warrior aspect of mine has a lot to do with why I'm an extreme pacifist, and he is also a big reason I am able to be such a staunch pacifist. Feeling his warrior mojo intensified my pacifist leanings, but more importantly, it taught me a lot about fear. Overcoming fear is a huge part of being a successful warrior, but paradoxically it is also a huge part of being a successful pacifist.
Fear is what magnetically attracts to us that which we fear. So any self-defense we may need would only be a self-defense against our own fears. Any dragon we feel compelled to slay is only one of our own fears. Fears need not be slain; just merely let go of, and replaced with self-love...which every fear is designed to lead us back to. Not until we truly love our selves can we truly be pacifists. When we love our selves, and do not live in fear, then those fears will not present themselves as something to be slain. There is no need for violence or self-defense.
In a state of duality, one attracts that which one projects. Project violence; you get violence. Project fear; you get something to fear. Project love without fear, and get love without fear. Pacifism is not just about not hitting other humans, but it's also about being in a state of joy and love that only attracts more love and joy. When in this state of joy and love, one's guidance will make sure you are not in a place of danger. The vibrations will be very dissonant to you, and you'll just want to go somewhere else. Your house can be right atop an earthquake fault, but the day of the earthquake you'll get the urge to leave town. It won't be a fear, though; just an urge. A true pacifist must decipher between one's guidance and one's fear. Following one's fear will always eventually lead one to the object or subject of that fear. Following one's guidance leads us to the love and joy that is underneath all those fears. So pacifism has a lot to do with following our guidance and not giving into fear.
It was my guidance that kept me out of that restaurant robbery scenario (just barely). At the time I really didn't have any fear of that situation, so I didn't attract it directly to me. I'm sure the other people involved would say that they never intended to attract something like that to them, but it's not a matter of conscious intention so much as subconscious vibratory attraction. Our guidance will take us anywhere we want to go, but when we don't follow our guidance, fear kicks in and will lead us to the same love and joy and understanding that our guidance will lead us to, but it will lead us there through all those fears. Violence is not the pacifist's most imposing obstacle. It is, rather, fear. One cannot be a victim without fear.
Copyright © 2002-2004, by White Feather. All Rights Reserved. Books By White Feather
When I was in high school I worked as a head cook at a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant. One night, just as closing time approached, I finished up all my work and went to tell the manager I was leaving. He, and a manager trainee, were getting ready to start the night's paperwork. The counter girl was about to lock the doors and then count her money.
I clocked out and headed for the front door. The counter girl was maybe ten feet behind me with the keys to lock the door after I left. As I left the front door of the restaurant, three young stocky men came into the door. I nodded and said hello as I passed them. I remember thinking, "Whoops, more customers. I guess they're not closing just yet." I was out of there, though, so I never looked back.
What I didn't know is that those three burly men were not last minute customers, but rather robbers who had come in to rob the restaurant. Just seconds after I passed them, they pulled a gun on the counter girl who was going out to lock the door. They then brought her into the back into the manager's office. They then made the manager open the safe then they beat him over the head with the gun butt, giving him a concussion. After gathering all the money, they locked the manager, manager trainee, and the counter girl in the freezer, where they were trapped until the other manager came in the next morning.
I went home and slept soundly, went to school the next day, and then after school I went in to work. That is when I finally found out about it. I was blown away by how close I came to being part of that little drama.
It was that counter girl who was telling me everything that happened. After recounting all the grisly details, she cocked her head to one side, and said, "You know, I'm glad you left just before it happened."
"Oh, why's that?"
"Cuz you would have tried to do something heroic and someONE would've gotten shot. You would've tried to take all three of those guys out."
My mouth dropped open. I couldn't believe she would think that. Didn't she know that I was an extreme pacifist? It shocked me to hear her say that, but it also made me think, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that she was correct. Subsequent experiences in my life have reiterated that fact.
I have come to realize that I have no doubt as to my ability to defend myself if my life were threatened. This doubt is easy to have when one has never exercised those defensive abilities. The reason I have no doubt is because I have experienced another aspect of myself that was an Indian warrior on the Great Plains during the White Man/Indian wars. I have experienced several very strong interfaces with his being; interfaces that were essentially a full stepping into his being, and having him step fully into me.
This other aspect was a warrior; a murderer. He killed hundreds of people. He was an utterly fearless warrior. He thought nothing of going up against a dozen adversaries all at once. He simply had no fear. I have felt his strength and his fighting spirit, and most of all his extreme fearlessness. It's one of the most intense things I've ever felt. If I am in danger I can call him forth and let him take over my body. He has stepped into my body before, and let me tell you, it is a mind-blowing and body-blowing experience. I never experienced fearlessness in this life until he stepped into my body. I never experienced such raw intense energy. I've never felt so invincible.
Imagine growing up an extreme pacifist with lingering subconscious memories of being a savage warrior who killed many people. This warrior aspect of mine has a lot to do with why I'm an extreme pacifist, and he is also a big reason I am able to be such a staunch pacifist. Feeling his warrior mojo intensified my pacifist leanings, but more importantly, it taught me a lot about fear. Overcoming fear is a huge part of being a successful warrior, but paradoxically it is also a huge part of being a successful pacifist.
Fear is what magnetically attracts to us that which we fear. So any self-defense we may need would only be a self-defense against our own fears. Any dragon we feel compelled to slay is only one of our own fears. Fears need not be slain; just merely let go of, and replaced with self-love...which every fear is designed to lead us back to. Not until we truly love our selves can we truly be pacifists. When we love our selves, and do not live in fear, then those fears will not present themselves as something to be slain. There is no need for violence or self-defense.
In a state of duality, one attracts that which one projects. Project violence; you get violence. Project fear; you get something to fear. Project love without fear, and get love without fear. Pacifism is not just about not hitting other humans, but it's also about being in a state of joy and love that only attracts more love and joy. When in this state of joy and love, one's guidance will make sure you are not in a place of danger. The vibrations will be very dissonant to you, and you'll just want to go somewhere else. Your house can be right atop an earthquake fault, but the day of the earthquake you'll get the urge to leave town. It won't be a fear, though; just an urge. A true pacifist must decipher between one's guidance and one's fear. Following one's fear will always eventually lead one to the object or subject of that fear. Following one's guidance leads us to the love and joy that is underneath all those fears. So pacifism has a lot to do with following our guidance and not giving into fear.
It was my guidance that kept me out of that restaurant robbery scenario (just barely). At the time I really didn't have any fear of that situation, so I didn't attract it directly to me. I'm sure the other people involved would say that they never intended to attract something like that to them, but it's not a matter of conscious intention so much as subconscious vibratory attraction. Our guidance will take us anywhere we want to go, but when we don't follow our guidance, fear kicks in and will lead us to the same love and joy and understanding that our guidance will lead us to, but it will lead us there through all those fears. Violence is not the pacifist's most imposing obstacle. It is, rather, fear. One cannot be a victim without fear.
Copyright © 2002-2004, by White Feather. All Rights Reserved. Books By White Feather
Thursday, September 02, 2004
Happiness in Marriage
by White Feather
No one can make a person happy except that person. You can express happiness, but you can't force another to be happy. That is an infringement of free-will. A marriage is a contract between two individuals to experience a time-frame together but each individual is responsible for their own happiness. When one individual looks to the other for happiness, they will never find the real deal because the real deal can only be found within. They may still find a lot of good stuff together, but the real deal is within. When one individual attempts to force their perception of happiness on the other, that short-circuits both individual's ability to find happiness within.
We marry someone because we love them. Of course we want them to be happy. But it is not our duty to make them happy, because we can't! All we can do is go within ourselves and find our own true happiness and then exude it and project it out for our partner to see how grand the happiness within can be. But you can't force a partner, or anyone, to go within. You can only be an example.
If you feel like your spouse's happiness is your responsibility, then you're going to feel guilty every time they're not happy. Why would you do that to yourself? You're loading yourself down with sticky gooey tarry guilt for not doing something that you can't do anyway. And then, the more unhappy he/she is, the more guilt you feel, and then arises the possibility of you blaming him/her for your guilt. This is keeping you from finding your happiness within. The only way off this emotional see-saw is to just stop. You've got to get off the seesaw long enough in order to go within.
Happiness is something that we share with our partner. We share our own happiness with them, but we do not impose that happiness on them and we do not try to direct their happiness. All we can do is share unconditionally. The very second we expect a certain type of response or the very second we judge a response that we are getting, we are being conditional, and we're back on that seesaw. If we are sharing our happiness with our mate and we are EXPECTING ANYTHING AT ALL IN RETURN!, then we are not sharing unconditionally.
No one can keep you from the birthright that is your happiness within unless you allow them to--and even then it is still YOU that are keeping yourself from finding the happiness within through your allowance. Just don't blame him/her. That's just more sticky gooey tar for the mix.
Blame, fear, doubt, sorrow, anger...whew, it can get pretty sticky and gooey and tarry. But how do we get out of sticky, gooey tar? By releasing all judgment! Expectations are a judgment. In releasing expectations and other judgments that we hold about our partner, we find a whole new layer of expectations and judgments we didn't even know we had. We release those and then we find another whole layer of expectations and judgments. Most marriage partnerships have many, many layers of goo. It can take a while to release all those many layers of expectaions and judgments, but when we do and our partner is still there, then we've got a pretty darn good love bond with them. And if, after all the releasing of judgment, the partner is no longer there; that is okay, too, because we will have found our happiness. If we are holding fear and doubt and expectation as to whether or not they will still be there, then we are just adding more judgment rather than releasing it. And if we are dependent in any way on them for our happiness, then we will never find it.
Yes, what I am saying may sound extreme, but it is the point everyone will eventually get to, so we may as well start thinking about it now to help draw that point closer to you. Every single relationship reaches a point where the two individuals must release each other. It is my contention that you cannot truly love someone until you completely release them. To me, the wedding seems to be the best time to release someone. That almost never happens. Most of us won't release our mates until either we or they die--and even then many of us won't release. Marriage is too often used as a crutch rather than a co-creative partnership. We hold on to our partners for dear life and in the process we strangle each other and keep each other from the happiness within. Release.
Copyright © 2003-2004, by White Feather. All Rights Reserved. Books By White Feather
No one can make a person happy except that person. You can express happiness, but you can't force another to be happy. That is an infringement of free-will. A marriage is a contract between two individuals to experience a time-frame together but each individual is responsible for their own happiness. When one individual looks to the other for happiness, they will never find the real deal because the real deal can only be found within. They may still find a lot of good stuff together, but the real deal is within. When one individual attempts to force their perception of happiness on the other, that short-circuits both individual's ability to find happiness within.
We marry someone because we love them. Of course we want them to be happy. But it is not our duty to make them happy, because we can't! All we can do is go within ourselves and find our own true happiness and then exude it and project it out for our partner to see how grand the happiness within can be. But you can't force a partner, or anyone, to go within. You can only be an example.
If you feel like your spouse's happiness is your responsibility, then you're going to feel guilty every time they're not happy. Why would you do that to yourself? You're loading yourself down with sticky gooey tarry guilt for not doing something that you can't do anyway. And then, the more unhappy he/she is, the more guilt you feel, and then arises the possibility of you blaming him/her for your guilt. This is keeping you from finding your happiness within. The only way off this emotional see-saw is to just stop. You've got to get off the seesaw long enough in order to go within.
Happiness is something that we share with our partner. We share our own happiness with them, but we do not impose that happiness on them and we do not try to direct their happiness. All we can do is share unconditionally. The very second we expect a certain type of response or the very second we judge a response that we are getting, we are being conditional, and we're back on that seesaw. If we are sharing our happiness with our mate and we are EXPECTING ANYTHING AT ALL IN RETURN!, then we are not sharing unconditionally.
No one can keep you from the birthright that is your happiness within unless you allow them to--and even then it is still YOU that are keeping yourself from finding the happiness within through your allowance. Just don't blame him/her. That's just more sticky gooey tar for the mix.
Blame, fear, doubt, sorrow, anger...whew, it can get pretty sticky and gooey and tarry. But how do we get out of sticky, gooey tar? By releasing all judgment! Expectations are a judgment. In releasing expectations and other judgments that we hold about our partner, we find a whole new layer of expectations and judgments we didn't even know we had. We release those and then we find another whole layer of expectations and judgments. Most marriage partnerships have many, many layers of goo. It can take a while to release all those many layers of expectaions and judgments, but when we do and our partner is still there, then we've got a pretty darn good love bond with them. And if, after all the releasing of judgment, the partner is no longer there; that is okay, too, because we will have found our happiness. If we are holding fear and doubt and expectation as to whether or not they will still be there, then we are just adding more judgment rather than releasing it. And if we are dependent in any way on them for our happiness, then we will never find it.
Yes, what I am saying may sound extreme, but it is the point everyone will eventually get to, so we may as well start thinking about it now to help draw that point closer to you. Every single relationship reaches a point where the two individuals must release each other. It is my contention that you cannot truly love someone until you completely release them. To me, the wedding seems to be the best time to release someone. That almost never happens. Most of us won't release our mates until either we or they die--and even then many of us won't release. Marriage is too often used as a crutch rather than a co-creative partnership. We hold on to our partners for dear life and in the process we strangle each other and keep each other from the happiness within. Release.
Copyright © 2003-2004, by White Feather. All Rights Reserved. Books By White Feather
