TALKING STICK
by Andre from Denmark
I hear that there had been some talk about the "talking stick"
here in Ecotopia, and first I want to say, I agree that "the
stick" is not a solution to our meeting's problems. But any-
way, the stick is good for something, that's why I here want
to give a short description of the sticke as I had seen it
being used...
It's told that the stick is used among Indians and tribes. In
fact, one half-Indian, whose name was Medicine Story, had for
years travelled among prisons in the USA, where he was allowed
to sit with young people in a circle where the talking stick
was passed around. For the first time, these hard men were put
in a situation where they very unusually had all of the ot-
her's attention for as long a time as they wanted. It created
many "miracles" where these men for the first time in their
life were opening up their souls to other people. Some were
crying, tears and feelings were suddenly allowed, and very
often it changed these men forever...
When I first experienced the stick myself was on Nordic Ting
meeting. For several years up North it had been a tradition to
make that kind of meeting among people from all over Scandina-
via every summer. In the evening around the campfire, the
stick passing around, and creating a strong spiritual energy
wehre every word in the night goes up in a kind of spiral. We
say all is connected, that holistic all hang together, and in
the end of these meetings you really "feel" the deeper under-
standing of that. Normally, we make these meetings for 10 days
every summer, and people come again and again. This year we
had 80 people in the circle.
I had also seen the talking stick used at the European Rainbow
gathering, where we this year had 1500 together in Ireland.
And for sure, the talking stick is not a solution for handling
such big meetings! Everybody had to come very close to each
other, and the quickest person to grab the stick had the words
(it means that meetings very often begin early and last until
dinner, where we sit far from each other and nobody can hear a
word). And really, it doesn't function, people (men) talk a
lot, not always interesting, and only monologue! But where do
we have solutions to these problems? Here on Ecotopia?
I think we have to continue to carefully work on the "meeting
problems" for our future is maybe hidden here, as a seed.
Becasue where we better can search and find together with many
people, we will find a way. I think an "innercircle" open for
everybody, will be some kind of an answer to our problems, but
that is another article. I really want to say thankyou to
everybody for this time in Ecotopia - hey men and women we
really create great love!
Love for the future, Andre