The “Sacred EarthWalk, Wisdom Of The Elders” is the first of a series of Sacred EarthWalk books that explores our relationship and place in the World and Universe by challenging the conventional and perhaps the unconventional wisdom that often masks the reality of our existence.

More than twenty years ago I began my journey down what is known as the Red Road. It was at a gathering of First Nations People at the home of William Commanda who was known in some circles as the “Dalai Lama of Canada”. At this remote Reserve in Maniwaki, Quebec, called Kitigan Zibi, I met people who I thought no longer existed. The gathering consisted of mostly people of the Algonquin, Cree, Ojibway and Mi'kmaq Nations with only a handful of white European descendants. There I heard the call of warning about the future of Humankind. But mostly what I felt was the rightness and integrity of those people, who collectively call themselves Annishinabeg, or the “Good People”.

I had no desire to be an 'Indian' or to live like one. However I was drawn not only to their message of change, but also and more importantly to the deeper foundations of a way of life that seemed to me more successful and sustainable than the confusion and obvious failures of the dominant culture.

I returned to Canada again and again, not to gain wisdom but to serve these Elders in the most humble ways, getting a cup of coffee for a Grandfather sitting at the fire, putting a blanket around a Grandmother’s shoulders, splitting wood, tending the fire and so on. Through the years I was gradually accepted into their circle, and was gifted the Medicines of the Pipe, the Sacred Fire, the Vision Quest, and the Sweat Lodge.

It was Grandmother Lillian Pitawanaqwat, who drew me to her and imparted the Seven Grandfather Teachings to me in ceremony after ceremony. These Teachings of Honesty, Humility, Courage, Respect, Generosity, Wisdom and Love have given me a solid foundation for my life.

My book, “Sacred EarthWalk, Wisdom of the Elders”, comes from the life I have led, and the Elders who shared their lives with me. Strictly speaking this book contains nothing that came directly from them. As William often told me, "Don't use my name. Yours is good enough." After he and Lillian passed over, my understanding of the love they showed me deepened and somehow this little book blossomed.

This book, Sacred EarthWalk, Wisdom of the Elders, is written for that one person who I don't know, who lives some place I've never been, who is waiting for the promise that these Teachings will provide.

The invitation that is implicit in this book is to look deeper into what surrounds us and informs us. It’s an invitation to the reader to open up to a wider understanding of how Life moves within us. And with that information, the purpose of this book is to show how we as individuals can more easily move in this world with integrity and hope.

So here are the guide posts that I was given: Honesty, Humility, Courage, Respect, Generosity, Wisdom and Love. They make sense to me. One Teaching leads to the next until the Medicine Wheel of Hope and Love is complete. And in this book I've added some of my story and journey because my life really happened to me. And in telling these stories I am willing to make myself vulnerable to you, to prove that I really mean it.

Attention to our existence must and in some fashion will always be paid. There is so much going on outside our bubble of our understanding and experience. A way must be found to lift the veils at least a little so that we expose ourselves to that Great Mystery that surrounds us. Many of us turn to plants and other substances thinking that will hasten our connection. But these experiences are temporary and only aggravate our longing for that divine connection.

My hope and desire is that what is read in these will begin the lifting of the veils, and impart the same joy and gratitude that I feel every day when I allow the Great Infinite Mystery into my tiny bubble of existence.