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The Great Awakening
Words spoken (
Black Elk's Prayer
) on the song (
Hawkwind "Black Elk Speaks"
) are by American poet
John G Neihardt
known to the Oglala Souix as Flaming Rainbow.
Patterns and Coincidences: A Sequel to "All Is But a Beginning" by John Gneisenau Neihardt: This volume is a continuation of the autobiography of John G. Neihardt "All Is But a Beginning" offering a final glimpse into his fascinating life. Covering the years 1901-1908, he weaves a mosaic of personal fulfillment, joy and sorrow, reflecting on the successes and failures he experienced during his "mature" years. As only he could, Neihardt shares a mingling of romantic anecdotes alive with names and faces he sought out or fought for along the way. Writing with warmth and sensitivity, the late Poet Laureate of Nebraska tells of his early newspaper days, his struggle to write poetry, his family, his encounters with nature, his relationships with Indians, and the various people who, whether met once or often, had a profound effect on his life. Using a conversational style, the author does not present episodes in chronological order. Rather he begins to elaborate on one memorable experience, then quickly draws out, without warning, another one that occurred years later, tying them into a pattern or coincidence. The book's Epilogue is written by Neihardt's daughter, Hilda Neihardt Petri. Summarizing her father's visions, daydreams, and philosophy, she movingly concludes that with his death on 3 November 1973 Neihardt's "great adventure had begun." The late John G. Neihardt is best remembered as an authority on the traditions and customs of the Sioux Indians. Neihardt, named Poet Laureate of Nebraska in 1921 and Prairie Poet Laureate of America in 1968, was literary editor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch from 1926 to 1938 and poet in residence and lecturer in English at the University of Missouri-Columbia from 1949 to 1965. The author of some twenty-five volumes of poetry, fiction, and philosophy, his works include "Black Elk Speaks," "Lyric and Dramatic Poems," and "A Cycle of the West." Black Elk's Vision, "Medicine Man - Black Elk's Story of the Great Circle": Black Elk Speaks by John G Neihardt, Hoop of the Nation. |
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indian and great spirit story
told my son the "indian and great spirit story"... it goes like this... son you are an indian... as we walks along... indians must walk very softly... to not make a sound... so's they can listen to all the sounds 'round them in the wood... keepin' their eyes open... for danger... especially danger... for sometimes wild animals will attack... if they can sneak up on you... and sometimes you need food... and so must hear and see the deer... so's you can git close enough to kill a deer for food... for yourself and your family... to keep from bein' starved... sometimes the danger is other indians... from the enemy tribe or the white man... atryin' to sneak up on you... they will kill you... maybe after torturin' you a while... takin' your hair... cuttin' you open and up a bit... so son you are an indian... but you must be very quiet and listen to ALL the sounds... and see ALL the sights 'round the woods you go... sometimes when listenin' to the birds closely... you notice they make frightenin' sounds... meanin' there's danger in the area... so's you can take precautions son... then as the indian gits pretty good at the listenin' and seein'... over a long time... the indian begins to notice that the great spirit... seems to be talkin' to him... in what he the indian sees in the woods... when doin' the seein' and 'earin'... more and more the indian begins to understand the great spirit is ALL 'round him... and after a while the indian starts to notice... he is 'earin' and seein'... inside himself thoughts and scenes... seems from his friends the other braves and squaws... and from his forest friends the deer, birds, insects and other animals... and in what he sees in the flowers, trees, plants and green and other colors... ALL the stuff 'round he sees... the talkin' waters especially... the flyin' geese... the boilin' fish... all the stuff 'round... the indian soon notices that the great spirit is a talkin' with him thru all the stuff 'round... and as the indian gits older and wiser and more experienced... he begins to take on a personal kind of friendship with the great spirit... yes son you must be very very quiet and listen to 'EAR son... and yes son you must also be very very quiet and scan with your eyes all 'round to SEE son... for there is danger every where son... so the son begins to learn the real reason for the 'EARin' and SEEin' on the lookout for the danger... is the great spirit's way of gittin' the indian to begin to seek out the company and understandin' of the great spirit... in a personal kind of friendship way with the great spirit... and i told my son... that is what i will call his "you be an indian son" lesson...
so's he will know what i mean in the future... as his mother, friend and i continue to train him in the "you be an indian son" lesson... also i told him 'bout the geese that flew in harmony... till they encountered a mild disturbance... that of me and jasper standin' there watchin' 'em... and they tended to part and flow into two streams to flow to fly 'round us... and in the breakin' of the harmony pattern... a few of the geese did a lose the balance dip... for a few seconds till they got adjusted... and could git back into the flocks' harmony once again... that i told my son, was the "goose balance dip" lesson... so's he will remember it when we might talk in the future 'bout his learnin' of stuff... especially when you, his mother and i are continuin' to work on atrainin' him... to be jist like his father... a regular chip off the old block... he is... and i'm sure we'll train too our two daughters to be like mom and friend... when you, their mother and i are continuin' to work on atrainin' the two daughters... NEAT huh dear... July 1993: "I read a couple more chapters in the John G Neihardt book today, and was struck by a line in it: "I am halfway convinced that there are dynamic patterns in our cosmos; that somehow some of us are caught up in such patterns and must fulfill them at any cost. I don't know just what I mean, but I suspect I mean something worthy of consideration". YEAH!! WHAT HE SAID!!! That's exactly what I feel is going on here. I couldn't stop this if I tried... Not that I want to. I think it's so awesome and wonderful... Why would I want to stop it? And to try to explain it to someone on the "outside"... is almost impossible... Anyway... I loved the line. It will help me explain this whole thing, I think. At least it seems to explain it to ME." |
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