Outside the Sweat Lodge

Being a person of prayer keeps me sometimes inside a different loop than other people. It's enhanced when I'm a part of a group but can't be with them for one reason or another to participate exactly the way they are. Understanding these many layers of participation and my part in them started last year when the first Immersion group went to the Rosebud and I was too ill to go. It could have been a time of "why me" but it turned into a time of "what can I do from here?" God led me into the circle of prayer, which He used again in a powerful way this year as my companions in immersion learned immersions true meaning in their sweat lodge experience while I remained on the outside to pray.

Some of the things that God used to drive my prayers on your behalf ~
Our spiritual leader for the experience, Ed Harrison, said in answer to my question about what to do for my participation in keeping the space sacred, "Be respectful, and humble. Be open and be ready for the sacred." Or words to that effect. Consequently, as best as I was able I never took my eyes off the lodge as you entered in, while you were there, or after you came out. Your sacred space needed to be honored and cared for is what I took Ed to mean, and that was my job.

Russell from the Tree of Life had said that the sweat lodge experience was like birth. You would be entering into a womb and feel its nurture, you would experience pre-birth, birth and rebirth. So it was no surprise here that the opening prayers were from the creation story, Gen. 1-2. I lamented the lack of a Lakota version but God reminded me that He is the author of all creation and that its story was being told. What I needed to pray was this version and let God do the translating into your experiences, Lakota, Yankton, Ashinabe (sorry if I spelled that wrong), Cree, Anglo, etc.

The imaging of God breaking the darkness with the first light as you experienced your first quarter in the sweat lodge came out when Teresa said at Carpenter Shop the following day how God was spreading the light into the darkness on the reservation and across the whole land.
So a place of safety was created for your womb experience, for God to bring forth whatever He wanted to in and through you.

Next, when the spirits were being called down, something both Richard and Ed warned about in checking our own spiritual states at the door/flap, I was moved to pray Jesus' temptation in the desert. I called on His strength to stand strong in words and deeds, to remember what and Whose you are. For the three prime lessons from this Scripture as I understand are 1) We are not fed through our bodies, their basic needs, but we are fed and nurtured by the Word of God; 2) We are not to foolishly test the Lord, which we won't if we stand securely on 1); and, 3) Worship and obey only God/Creator. Then we are told to turn from sin towards God for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. You were safe from the spiritual powers since Creator/God was there to guard your back, as the Lakota so often said.

In the last round for all of you came the words and imagery of Rev. 22. Read the whole thing for the special images but here was God's particular word. "And He pointed out to me a river of pure Water of Life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb, coursing down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew Trees of Life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month; the leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations." That stopped even me and I read it again before I went on. To heal the nations. Your sweat lodge was a significant step into that river to reach the leaves for healing the nations.

What was different for the men and the women was in the third round for each of you. As I said, my eyes were on you so I knew when the rounds changed. This was my call from God for you, to be respectful and humble, to be open, to watch, wait and pray, to keep the space sacred.

In the third round for the men, the text was Ezekiel 37:1-14. Since I had just done a paper on that and the Matthew text I asked God if this was me or Him. I felt led to read on and it would make sense. The key verses start at 10 and continue through 14. I'll let you read them for yourselves to know the specifics but generally this is a much misinterpreted Scripture about bodily resurrection. The ancient Hebrews would have understood the whole vision as one of restoration to the land and their own restoration as a nation, and their call to be a part of it for the healing of not only themselves but of all nations. Do I hear a theme? It seemed to be a call to the warrior men to work toward this end as they are empowered. I can't speak for you, what Creator said to you or how He empowered you, but that's what I prayed for you.

For the women, another cliche', Proverbs 31? I was well compelled to read it but from the beginning, not starting at verse 10. Then, I was affirmed, it would make sense. The keys are in verses 8 and 9. "You should defend those who cannot help themselves. Yes, speak up for the poor and needy and see that they get justice." I read it twice just to be sure, to realize that the following verses are quite possibly being misused. It is this for which we are given winyan power, woman power, is what I understand. It is this for which I prayed the remainder of the verses as it included me, too.

And that is what I offered, but remember, Creator spoke to you about your personal experience. I'm sharing only what was asked of me. In it I hope you find something meaningful. And I hope you know how honored I was to pray into your sacred space and help keep it safe for whatever Creator had/has for you.