The 11th Hour

"You have been telling people that this is the eleventh hour.

Now you must go back and tell people that this is the hour!

And there are things to be considered:

Where are you living?

What are you doing?

What are your relationships?

Are you in right relation?

Where is your water?

Know your Garden.

It is time to speak your truth.

Create your community.

Be good to yourself.

And not look outside of yourself for a leader.

This could be a good time!

There is a river flowing very fast.

It is so great and fast that there are those who will be afraid.

They will hold on to the shore.

They will feel that they are being torn apart, and they will suffer greatly.

Know that the river has its destination.

The elders say that we must let go of the shore,

push off into the middle of the river,

keep our eyes open,

and our heads above the water.

See who is in there with you and celebrate.

At this time we are to take nothing personally,

least of all, ourselves.

For the moment that we do,

our spiritual growth comes to a halt.

The time of the lone wolf is over.

Gather yourselves!

Banish the word struggle from your attitude and your vocabulary.

All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

We are the ones that we have been waiting for."


-Cherokee, Elder, Will Rockingbear

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The HOPI TRIBE

Will Rockingbear
May 7th, 1935 – January 11th, 2013

What is the 11th Hour?

Learn more about the Cherokee

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Internet Memes...

A message regarding the 11th Hour: 
Karl Scherer, March 22, 2003

Dear Friends,

As the Hopi tradition is  probably the oldest  existing oral tradition on Turtle Island claiming the same incredible amount of historical lineage as 
does  BON, and having visited and studied with Hopi Elders in the seventies; as well as talked at length with Lopon Tenzin Namdak on significant 
similiarities both in teaching as well as ritual in the Native American and BON traditions, I feel inclined to comment on this "message" :

 It is  as highly unlikely that this mesage - nice as it sounds - originates from the Hopis, as it  was unlikely  that H.H. the Dalai Lama was the source for the 3rd re-emergence of the new age "nepali-good-luck-tantra" on the internet. As a matter of fact this "message"  seems to originate from an Cherokee elder named Will Rockingbear otherwise not noted as a spiritual Leader amongst Native Americans and seems inconsistent with authentic statements made by HOPI Lineageholders themselves except for the first 6 possibly 9 lines of the  "message".  Otherwise it seems at best a well 
meant but strongly edited and synthesized amalgam with line number (10) "DO NOT LOOK OUTSIDE YOURSELF FOR THE LEADER";  
already contradicting Hopibeliefs  in the  value and the sagacity of  the leadership of their Spiritual Elders. 

 Additionally Hopis are not inclined to authorize Native Americans of other tribes as their spokesmen simply because almost all of them have resorted 
to war in the past, whereas Hopis are bound by their vows to never resort to violence. According to Hopi beliefs to truly be a HOPI you have to undergo at least a 12 year course of intense initiations, retreats and ritual practices and then prove your understanding in  action for  at 
least a few more decades before being capable of representing the teachings...

The  "message" appears to be a part of the partially well meant yet in effect destructive , but ongoing re-design and appropriation that many ancient and authentic traditions suffer from  attempts made by the dominant culture to "fit for our modern world".
In fact it downplays and contradicts in part the powerful spiritual message the Hopi tradition has to offer to the world. In this and in many other respects  it shows the same tragic pattern in the 
fate of Tibetans and Native Americans, being marginalized in their own countries and facing ongoing genocide - both physical and spiritual - by 
the hands of their invaders.

So as most people on this newsletter are both U.S.citizens and  followers of BON - being another tradition facing extinction in its homeland -  I 
apologize to take your time to draw your attention to such issues as the one at hand. Small as it may seem it shows that even in such small issues core spiritual beliefs are excerpted, taken out of context and re-framed to fit the liking of the "Zeitgeist". In effect it is as imperialistic in spirit as when  the 
people who invaded it,  named the continent  America  and did not even pause to ask the people they stole it from what the name of  their homeland had been for millenia...

In any case this   "message"  was also featured on a website of the so-called "Rainbow Tribe" and an anti-globalisation group called  "The Tribal Messenger"  which otherwise  certainly makes a laudable effort to present the real message of the Hopis as told to them on various rainbow gatherings.

The Hopis do in fact  have a  powerful message for the world as which guardians they perceive themselves - but it is much more dire and speaks of 
major ethical self-restraints and personal and global sacrifice (quite in the sense of the paramitas being accepted as the universal code of ethics worldwide) that need to be made to avoid catastrophe.

As it makes specific references to the "Cosmic Egg" and the "Swastika" symbolism also known in BON and speaks of an invasion from the "west" - possibly the Far East - and hopes for help from a man with a "Red Hat" or "Red Robe" and the land becoming "red", I feel it justified to send a few excerpts and links to the followers of BON being another one of these ancient lineages protecting all beings and leading humanity in its quest forrealization.

In  short excerpts the message of the Hopis has been summarized in issue # 37 of Techqua Ikachi - their own newsletter - as this PROPHECY.

The Hopi play a key role in the survival of the human race through their >vital communion with the unseen forces that hold nature in balance, as an example of a practical alternative to the suicidal man-made system, and as a fulcrum of world events. The pattern is simple. "The whole world will >shake and turn red and turn against those who are hindering the Spiritual Way." 

PROPHECIES WHICH BECAME HISTORY ALREADY : THE GOURD FULL OF ASHES 

Eventually a "gourd full of ashes" would be invented, which if dropped from the sky would boil the oceans and burn the land causing nothing to grow for many years. This would be the sign for a certain Hopi to bring >out his teachings in order to warn the world that the third and final event would happen soon. That it could bring an end to all life unless people correct themselves and their leaders in time. 

Hopi leaders now believe the first two events were the first and second world ward and the "gourd full of ashes" in the atomic bomb. After the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki teachings formerly kept secret were compared and released to the world. The details presented here are part of those teachings. 

FURTHER PROPHECIES: 
THE DAY OF PURIFICATION  

The final stage, called "The Great Day of Purification," has been described as a "Mystery Egg" in which the forces of the swastika and the Sun plus a third force symbolized by the color "red" culminate either in total rebirth or total annihilation--we don't know which . But the choice is yours, war and natural catastrophe may be involved. The degree of violence will be determined by the degree of inequity caused among the peoples of the world and in the balance of nature. In this crisis rich and poor will be forced to struggle as equals in order to survive. 

That it will be very violent is now almost taken for granted among Traditional Hopi, but man still may lessen the violence by correcting his treatment of nature and fellow man. Ancient spiritually-based communities, such as the Hopi, must especially be preserved and not forced to abandon their wise way of life and the natural resources they have vowed to protect. 

The man made system now destroying the Hopi is deeply involved in similar violations throughout the world. The devastating reversal predicted in the >prophecies is part of the natural order. If those who thrive from that system, its money and its laws, can manage to stop destroying the Hopi >then many may be able to survive the Day of Purification and enter a new age of peace. But if no one is left to continue the Hopi way, then the hope for such an age is in vain.

The forces we must face are formidable, but the only alternative is annihilation. Still the man-made system cannot be corrected by any means >that requires one's will to be forced upon another, for that is the source of the problem. If people are to correct themselves and their leaders, the gulf between the two must disappear. To accomplish this one can only rely on the energy of truth itself. 

This approach, which is the foundation of the Hopi way of life, is the greatest challenge a mortal can face. Few are likely to accept it. But once peace is established on this basis, and our original way of life is allowed to flourish, we will be able to use our inventive capacity wisely. 

To encourage rather than threaten life. To benefit everyone rather than giving advantage to a few at the expense of others. Concern for all living >things will far surpass personal concerns bringing greater happiness than could formerly be realized. Then all things shall enjoy lasting harmony. 

Just what are the Hopi prophetic instructions regarding the United Nations and what constituted fulfillment? The Hopi are not charged with just another appeal for peace, nor do they request membership in the UN. Once more voice added to the chorus of those calling for peace would add little compared to the true significance of what Hopi tradition has to offer the modern world through this forum. When it was suggested that they join the UN the Traditional Hopi--half jokingly--would respond: "No, we're waiting for the UN to join us." Quite literally they are waiting for other nations to return to that way of life which can continue endlessly. Which is the deeper meaning of the name, HOPI - people of PEACE. 

The communication effort of the Hopi and the developments that led to the existence of the United Nations are parallel responses to the invention of the atomic bomb. From the Hopi perspective these two efforts ought to enhance each other for the benefit of the entire world. 

Centuries before the arms race began the alternative to war was being put into practice by migrating societies who slowly formed a spiritual political union at Oraibi, the oldest continuously inhabited village in the western hemisphere. To the Hopi, the UN has great significance within this pattern. 

The basic premise is that humans can not simply make their own laws and enforce them with weapons without regard to natural order. The very means of enforcement violates that order, causing precisely the suicidal situation now faced today. Lest the Hopi be accused of being overly ethnocentric, they point out that all peoples once practiced the same alternative to war and the Hopi simply call out to a return to our common heritage before it is too late. "Perfect Consideration" could eliminate all war. 

A CHALLENGE BY THE ELDERS 

How can there be peace? Nowhere is there peace, not even within Hopi peaceful society. Bahanna society, every nation on earth, from people in high places down to the lowest cast are not at peace. How can peace be accomplished when weapons are made to kill? How can there be peace if people hate, not love? Perhaps the only alternative now is "Purification." 

Do not lose hope. 

Good Day 


Source: JCrows, The Hopi Elders