Category: Psychedelicatessen

I Hear America Singing

by Walt Whitman (from Leaves of Grass)
I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be
blithe and strong,
The carpenter singing as he measures his plank and beam,
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work,
or leaves off for work,
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the
deck-hand singing on the steamboat deck,
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter
singing as he stands,
The wood-cutter’s song, the ploughboy’s on his way in the
morning, or at noon intermission or at
sundown,
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at
work, or of the girl sewing or washing,
Each singing what belongs to him or her and to no one else,
The day what belongs to the day – at night the party of
young fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.

 

feature: Sita Sings The Blues

Grab the popcorn and the kids. Great message, lots of humor and plenty of great music. Enjoy!

See more at Sita Sites. More about the artists that brought this wonderful story to life here.

Sacred math and the sacred hoop

words from Black Elk, Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux 1863-1950

“You have noticed that everything an Indian does in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything and everything tries to be round.

In the old days all our power came to us from the sacred hoop of the nation and so long as the hoop was unbroken the people flourished.  The flowering tree was the living center of the hoop, and the circle of the four quarters nourished it.  The east gave peace and light, the south gave warmth, the west gave rain and the north with its cold and mighty wind gave strength and endurance.  This knowledge came to us from the outer world with our religion.

Everything the power of the world does is done in a circle.  The sky is round and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls.  Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours.  The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle.  The moon does the same and both are round.  Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing and always come back again to where they were.

The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves.  Our teepees were round like the nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle, the nation’s hoop, a nest of many nests, where the Great Spirit meant for us to hatch our children.”

Over a hundred years ago Black Elk had a vision of the time when Indian people would heal from the devastating effects of European migration.  In his vision the Sacred Hoop which had been broken, would be mended in seven generations.

The children born into this decade will be the seventh generation.