Women and Rites of Passage

by Dr, Illana Berger

"There is no light as brilliant
as that light which emerges from out of the darkness, and no
wisdom as great as that wisdom which emerges from out of
nonsense."          -Rabbi Shim'on bar Yochai (2nd century)

We live in a time when we are bombarded by mixed images, messages and temptations to go, do, be someone, accomplish something, travel, change the world, heal the world, fulfill the American Dream, reject the American Dream, be wise, be thin, be strong, or powerful and it goes on and on! As women the challenge becomes how we find the truth of who we are in the midst of all the demands of family, work, school and our need for connection, intimacy and fun! Whew!

Without the guidance of a spiritual tradition – which is waning in our culture with the demise of the church, the dismantling of values through fundamentalism and economic progress -- it has become difficult to develop the inclination or find the clarity to stop and rediscover the direction of our lives. We know or suspect that there is more to life, more joy to discover, more awe to experience and yet often we recoil into complacency for lack of any other known options.

More and more women are finding themselves faced with life threatening illnesses such as cancer and heart disease. It is no wonder that the two illnesses that we face as women are a disease of colonialism (cancer) and one of a broken heart (heart disease)! Many women are also encountering such illnesses as lymes disease that is passed to us from walking in the woods and connecting to nature, or diabetes, which is brought on by an unbalanced relationship with food. These areas, the heart, nature, community and food are the places where we, as women, hold power – or have held power in the past.

Whether disease, illness, depression, divorce, displacement, unemployment or emotional struggle enters our lives, it becomes a teacher at the most profound level. It calls us to wake up and grow. To wake up and listen. To wake up and see the world we are living in. To wake up and discover whom we are, where we have been and where we are going. It calls us to wake up, connect, heal and transform our world. Whether it is our little world of family and friends or the greater global world – women beyond the age of 35 must eventually step onto the path of her own destiny and be the medicine woman, the healer, and the wise one. This has always been so. It is still so today. The question for many women is, how?

Given the world we live in, given the demands of each of our lives, given the economic and social constrictions of society, how do we find the path, and then, how do we walk upon it? This is a question that is frequently asked.  It is required of each of us to look deeply within ourselves for the answer.  Our culture and our cultural conditioning and priorities does not allow much time for us to dive into our own wisdom in order to discover the answer to our deepest questions. Nor does our society provide the opportunities for enough silence so that we might hear the directives of our Ancestors or the Spirits that guide our lives.  Taking the time and making the commitment to STOP and listen to the deep silence in our world is one way in assisting with our walk, our unique path, toward our given destiny.

Rite of Passage is often encountered as a Vision Quest in the ancient ways of the Native American Ancestors.  Most Vision Quests require a commitment to three or four days on the mountain with no food and often no water. It is in that intensity that the visions and Ancestor spirits find a open heart and willing ear to the wisdom of the past and the future.  For women this intensity is not always what is needed.  For many women, our very lives have been a continual Vision Quest; a deep hunger  and thirst.  Just the abillity to be in the wilderness, to be quiet, to bask in being rather than doing is a transformational time.  It becomes a kind of remembering of who we are, what matters to us, what calls to us, and why we came here. It is here, in the presence of your true self that you can reclaim your life, reclaim your joy and rediscover your limitless freedom to fulfil your given destiny.

Remembering the Indigenous Mind:
A Journey of Healing and Transformation

by: Illana Berger, Ph.D.

The intention of this paper is to initiate a conversation that might stimulate the healing and transformation of the human soul. This particular conversation revolves around the nurturing and healing of our relationship with the Ancestors through the process of de-colonizing our minds, our bodies, and our spirits. Before we can understand the process of de-colonization as a vehicle for transformation, we must look at colonization itself and the ways in which it governs all of our lives. The concept of colonization is entirely of the a western mind, borne out of power and control. The antidote, as will be seen below, is found in a different mind, known as the indigenous mind. These different minds speak to us in different tones or modes. While the western mind is familiar to us in much the same way as the air we breathe, the indigenous mind appears to have been long forgotten. By recovering our indigenous mind, we allow the healing of spirit and souls, bring ourselves into greater alignment with the Ancestors, and are able to walk with renewed vigor and clarity for the greater purpose.

Colonization and Imperialism

Colonization is the insular articulation of an imperialist center. Webster defines imperialism as a policy or practice of extending rule or authority of one country over other countries or colonies. Imperialism has the power and ability to stretch out its arms to places, peoples, and economies all over the world.

Colonialism/imperialism appears in several forms. The first form is perceived as economic expansion. Throughout time, human populations have exchanged/interchanged goods with each other in the process of commerce. However, in the system of imperialist commerce, techniques of control are dictated in order to secure economic markets and financial investments for the purpose of domination and power. The second form is perceived as domination over other. This is the method of exploitation and subjugation of those without power, mostly aboriginal or indigenous peoples whose lands and resources are considered valuable or empowering.

Colonialism/imperialism strips identities of the colonized that are perceived to hold authority and a sense of community. It attempts to divide those whose lives are intertwined and interdependent. The removal of cultures from their homelands, the elimination of aboriginal languages, and the prohibition of rituals and cultural practices are but a few of the tactics employed by the colonizer (imperialist government and societies) to gain authority and control over the indigenous populace.

The last form that imperialism expresses itself in is the reach of colonialism into our heads, using convoluted methods of mind control through reasoning as a form of knowledge. Ultimately though, it is not just the conquered that need to be subjugated. The subjects of the kingdom or the citizens of the dominant culture must also be kept under control and in service to the greater imperialist ideal and undertaking. Therefore, following many generations of colonialist practices and ideology, all participants in the society are ultimately colonized in subtle and/or unconscious ways.

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