A long time ago, when I was in Ocosingo Mexico… Deep in the middle of this beautiful vast country, I was able to live with Abuelito Don Marzo.  An incredible Mayan Mexican Elder and His wife Abuelita Sylviane, A beautiful french woman who moved to Mexico when she was 18 and married Don Marzo.  Creating a family of 5 they pursued their love and devotion to the spiritual walk and now decades later, teach many students across the globe, are part of the elder wisdom council, and run 2 eco-villages that are self-sustaining and strive to teach others to live in balance in harmony with the land while learning the rites of passage and teachings of the Mayan ways.  

My personal roots in Lakota take me far back to 2005 when I learned of my Lakota heritage through siblings that told me of my lineage.  As I deepened into my spiritual path and connection with these roots I began to learn what is termed the Red Road.  And learned how to “walk this Red Road”.  The red road is simply a term that means a spiritually connected life.  one that is in the right relationship with the creator and creation.   Through this work, this way of life there is a profound identification that comes with it such as the spiritual warrior… the protector, the steward, and the guardian.  I learned to be that warrior, to fight for consciousness, and healing, to fight the political system, to fight for clean water, for the land, and for indigenous rights.  And that warrior  - carried deeply into my work and offerings to the world, and more importantly into my own path and relationship with myself.  I came to my own healing journey, fighting… 

I had to know, had to understand, had to suffer to heal, sweat it out, move it out, clear out, clean out … fight the battles of the mind, the laziness of the body and so much more.  In the traditions of the red road, everything is symbolic,  the sweat lodge, the directions, the bands, the tipi, the circle, and the directions.  You learn that every piece of wood, every branch is alive, has a purpose, and a way to do it right.  In a sweat lodge, the number of sticks used to make the lodge all have meaning, including the type of wood used. And not honoring the traditional way of good is frowned upon.  Down to the little rules of showing shoulders, wearing only cotton, no makeup, or jewelry, walking a certain way, and really the list could go on.  Years of sweat, and study, and learning (with my craving for knowledge) led me to be a very proficient intellectual teacher of these things, however, there in the middle of Mexico, learning the temescal (Mayan & Aztec sweat lodge) from Don Marzo… Everything came apart in my mind. 

After a week of prayer, learning, listening to the teachings, experiencing ceremonies, healing techniques, and songs… We began to learn how to build the temescal.  We tore down the old one by taking off the old blankets, and tarps, and untying the bamboo wood poles that fashioned the temescal shape.  After the tear-down was complete with the ceremony.  We began our hike into the Mexican jungles up a mountain to a little old lady’s shack to offer grain, potatoes, corn, and money to ask permission to take some wood from her area for the temescal.  an hour later, we were chopping large poles out of tall Mexican trees and cutting the bark off.  This is where I began to unravel.  You see in the Lakota way, we are only to use a certain type of wood for sweat lodges.  And from what I knew of the Aztec way, the same principle applied as the temescals were typically made either 2 ways… bamboo poles or straw and dirt dried into what would look like a brick or stucco-type hard shell.  

I began to literally panic.  This is an elder, why are we using this wood? what’s happening? does he know? is he a fraud? why is he allowing this during our training and initiation?  

Me, being well… me, had to know, had to ask questions.  and thank goodness for our language barrier as I could understand Spanish but could not speak it better than a 2-year-old… I asked all the questions, what does this wood represent?  what does this mean?  As we build the temezcal, my questions continued, yet due to my baby Spanish, I mostly received strange looks from my Abuelo… the stress built and now we began to put the cross branches on to strengthen and hold the lodge.  *** Now again, in the Lakota ways of the red road… everything has a significant meaning and you have to learn it.  So I began asking even more questions, having other students translate more questions for me, translating that in the red road this meant this and that meant that.  Don’s irritation was not visible, but my high sensitivity felt it rising… yet out of my mouth, yes another question…  

Don turned to me and looked me dead straight in the eyes, and in his best English (I didn’t even know he could speak any English) said to me “Keia, this is NOT RED ROAD… This is the white road, this is the path of the stars…. he looked up and waved his hands to follow the path of the milky way that would cross our night sky later.  He turned back to me and said so gently that it pierced my heart like an arrow… This path of stars…the type of wood does not matter, the meanings of each pole do not really matter.  the only thing that matters is the prayer that happens inside.  He took a breath and went right back to work.  

I dropped to my knees… and started balling right there. Realizing the powerful truth of this.  The deep truth.  That truth of what is really true… The red road was to guide me to my heart… but in my heart, I still had an ego, the arrogance of the mind… I still had known, instead of understanding … or wisdom through experience of a long life lived. It reminded me how the rules or the red road, which at one point in my life taught me so much, that the red road was absolutely necessary to develop the discipline to walk a spiritual path.  That to learn was to help begin to cultivate my mind and body, like the toiling and aggregation of the garden soil preparing to plant the seeds of next year's harvest.  And here it was the seed that would forever change my path….  Now, don’t take this lightly …. if you have ever watched a seed sprout… know that its shell and outer container come completely cracked, undone, and by all means, could look like absolute destruction… but those who know, know the process of life.  Like the egg of a woman engulfing that sperm and thought she ate it whole… what was gone, wasn’t really gone, just transforming into new life.  

I now teach the path of the red road (with permission and blessings of my teacher) to others and strive to emphasize this path as a path of heart.  I help to teach the warrior ways but with the emphasis that what we are really fighting for is consciousness.  Fighting a battle within ourselves to discover the truth of who we are as creation and creator.  I am not a Lakota teacher but I do however teach some of the ways of the Lakota, (again with PERMISSION and blessings of my Lakota teacher).  These teachings influence the spiritual red road teachings as a way towards developing a spiritual path and honoring the indigenous ancestors and my Oyate (Lakota for family) connections of the Cheyenne River Sioux Itazipco Band of the Lakota Teton Nations.  I have continued my work in the red road since I heard the call and invitation to the Moondance… and Anahuac Nations-based red road path.  In Lakota there is Sundance… and in ancient times Sundance was primarily danced only by men.  And in South America, there was the Moondance that was danced by the women of the Aztec cultures (Both warrior dances of ceremonial prayer, fasting, and dancing for four days and four nights.  There was both the sundance in the north and Moondance in the south that carried the balance of the masculine and feminine prayer for our way of life, which is a spiritually connected way of life, a life of prayer.  These were honored as the great ceremonies of the indigenous of the Americas.  During the colonization of South America, the women were forbidden to participate in any ceremonies, rituals, and more, killed and murdered, raped and persecuted.  Any painting, documents, or historical evidence was destroyed and thus entered the era of patriarchy, colonization, conquering, and destruction.  

Recently as this world has entered into the time of the 7th generation, the time of prophecy… We have entered into what the elders call the great awakening, the shift, the time of choice… In Lakota it is the time of the black snake, the Anishinabe call this the time of the 7th fire, the Hopi prophecy speaks of the rainbow warriors and the Maya call to the shifts of the time of the sixth sun.  The Aztecs deem this as the great dance and so on… As this began, many women felt the call of the shift first, thus the rise of women… the call of the wild woman, and more and more and more women globally began to seek their connection to the spiritual, to an embodiment, to their voice, their womb, their yoni, their blood and birthing and finding their way back to ancient wisdoms stored within the bones. Wisdoms hidden within our own genetic nature that would awaken at the the right time… like a fruit that falls off the vine when perfectly ripe and ready.  

Grandmothers that had been dancing the sundance because of either relation or calling to dance the mens prayer due to the deep need to follow the path of prayer.  Through their dances, and sacrifice to bring vision, direction and guidance from creator, grandmothers from the south americas and north began to have visions of the moondance.  and as a small group formed they began to do the research guided by spirit for the answers to the visions of moondance.  There they found remnants of ancient codexes from the Aztec scribes of what was the ancient Moondance lost to colonization over 5=600 years ago.  Gathering the information and with prayer, they went to the council of Lakota and Leaders and Keepers of the Sundance prayer and asked for coverings, blessing, and permission to be assisted in the rebirth of the Moondance.  Today it is an Anahuac nations dance for women, four nights of dance and prayer under the moon guided by the chief abuelas to call for women to return to our path of prayer for the clean waters, soils, air, food, and future for the next 7 generations.  The Anahuac nations, as I am taught by my Abuela, represent ALL indigenous cultures from all of the Americas from the tip of Alaska to the bottom of Patagonia.  No one is excluded…. 

Recently after a ceremony, I held for a beautiful soul who also walks the red road, we began talking about intentions for the medicine journey… and as this person spoke, I was reminded gently by a spirit about the red road… And the story of my experience with Elder Don Marzo came up.  In her quest to come home to herself, to release that old familiar pain of wanting to go home and not knowing where that is she spoke of that pain felt of being here, being human.  As someone who has walked the red road for a couple of decades, I began to resonate with the feeling that sometimes we will walk a path, trying to fit ourselves into that box, or way of life because we have not yet truly found our heart.  And at some point, the rules of the red road, the rights of passage, and the deep meaning of everything that is taught in the red road become all there is.  For some people, this path can be stifling if you have not yet connected and unified within the heart.  It’s like trying to find a culture to belong to when you feel like you don’t belong anywhere.  If you haven't come home to yourself… this is where adopting another way of life can still be unsettling.  Like you are doing all the things you are supposed to do, you know all the things you are supposed to know yet there is still that thing that is misaligned…  This is the reason to have a teacher because they will see it and help guide you… 

As I shared this story of the White road and the breakthrough piercing of my own illusions, protective barriers, and the use of the red road as an identity rather than a way of heart… The white road reminds me of the wisdom of knowing and remembrance of what is important.  “The prayer inside”.    

Later I was asked to share more about the white road, and although I am by no means an expert on ANYTHING, I will share what spirit has guided me to see and understand as I continue my journey to remembrance. 

As for the "White Road"... in the sacred hoop of life...  there are "roads" we walk.  Highly signified by color (or frequency and vibration).  Many tribes assign their own colors to represent "qualities, character or states of being" that are represented by each color.  That color then unfolds into a path, a way of life, and teaching for the growth and evolution of one's soul.   The ancient teachings call for the healing of the sacred hoop of life, represented often by pictures of all of humanity encircled, and connected around the great tree of life.   This hoop is the culmination of all that is sacred and holy.  In the red road Lakota teachings, everything that is circle is sacred, is holy… meaning the sun is holy, the moon, and this whole earth (our mother) are holy and sacred.  everywhere we walk is sacred ground and the teachings call for us to remember that.   When I look at a circle, I see the spectrum of light, color, frequency, vibration, experience and so much more… it is all-encompassing, not any one thing above another but all equal parts of the whole.  These are the teachings of the talking circles in Lakota.  All are to be respected.  

When I see at the aspect of color and humanity, there are quadrants of people generally characterized by skin, white, yellow, black, and red.  When I look further into the color representing consciousness and our duality of nature which is a principle teaching of the Aztecs, martial arts, and most paths that encumber the Warrior ways: there is the black and white, which signified the duality of masculine and feminine nature… In the colonized way, this has been taken to mean good and evil… in lamens terms, we live in a world that is programmed into the belief that “white” represents good and “black” represents bad… From this consciousness comes the white colonizing patriarchy to overtake and dominate any color that is not white as it must be bad, less than, savage, evil, disgusting, broken, and in need of learning how to be “civilized”.  

Knowing this helps me to look at a circle and see the spectrum of light… on one aspect yes there is white and another black… but in the realms of art and frequency… I can only explain it as this… There is what we know, what we know that we don’t know, and the part that we don’t even know that we don’t know.  In broader terms of color… we first see black-or white… duality… Then comes option the spectrum of the rainbow, colors of varying degrees, then choice or expression of the choice… these are the multi spectrums of each individual color.  Then there are the colors that our consciousness is just barely beginning to recognize… the infrared, the ultra violet… and in recent times the bioluminescent.  Right now we are sensing the multidimensional aspects of “seeing’ multidimensional frequencies of color (light) such as 5d, 6d, 7d beings etc. along with 2d aspects and 1D singularity understanding.  yet we must remember that there is a full spectrum… At this point, most people hearing this are getting excited.  kinda like a mental stroking, a pursuit of knowledge and understanding that gives the mind a sense of pleasure… And if you feel the drive then sure you can study it more…  but for the purpose of this writing here, I want to go back to the question that this sister had about the white road. 

In the Teton nations and Lakota band, my teachings share that many, and pretty much most of all of humanity walking a path known as the black road (the path of unconsciousness). This black road is a path of greed, lust, murder, envy, hate, jealousy, destruction, singularity, selfishness, betrayal, lie, and injustice.  It is a cloud of unconsciousness that has darkened the consciousness of mankind as the spread of the viral-like patriarchal virus of colonization and conquering.  Remember the four colors of humankind? The white nation was said in prophecy to carry the gift of the mind, the intellect, and understanding… yet this gift is not without danger as when one carries this sharp blade it is bound to cut the carrier if not balanced by the hands of the other four corners of humankind.  This is that slice of the mind.  The great split… And the seeking of only the intellect as the source of power…. forgetting the need to balance the gift of the mind with the other gifts of the other 3 corners.  The gift of the body, the gift of the heart, and the gift of the spirit. 

All of these gifts, four parts of the whole balanced through the purification of each gift through the work, teachings, and wisdom of the others.  These gifts represent our totality in the 3rd dimension.   The mind, heart, body, and spirit.  

The black road is taught as the unconsciousness that is created by the lack of balance.  The darkness is without light…. without the light of consciousness.   

However, I believe that it is the far tipping of the scale into the unconsciousness that has been the birthing point of the great awakening.  It is, from my wisdom, in this darkness that light can be birthed.  When the unconscious aspect has remained unconscious for so long that it begins to awaken to the truth that it is unconscious… Thus the shell of that seed begins to crack… This is the essence of life that births in truth. 

In the east, there is the "yellow or golden" path, The path of light by mastering the mind, and entering that state of illumination… To “see” see with the mind's eye the greatness of the source.. This is taught through martial arts, yogic paths, Vedic philosophy, entering into the state of oneness with this light through meditation, chanting, and repetitious practices that allow us to bypass the mind, and see with the eyes of the pineal, the third eye… all to take us to an awareness... through high intellect, mastered thoughts our mind becomes one with the consciousness of source.  In the America path the moves to bringing the physical body into alignment with this consciousness...  

❤The spiritual path (or source-connected path) is called the Red Road... This path found in many of the red nations signifies the road traveled from the mind space towards the heart...  through this, we learn rituals, rites of passage, prayer, song, sweat lodge, dance... the tools that help us to heal the unconsciousness of the body. to allow our beingness to get to the heart space... for the great union.  *for it is from this place that we actually learn how to pray and create in union with the will of the great mystery, and not our own. These are the sacred fires, the ceremony, and the transformation. 

When we master the red road... meaning living a heart-centered life, we then move to the blue road... This signifies the medical path.  The aboriginal, the strength of the water, to harmonize the sacred waters and connect to the living spirit ~ the path to carry circle, medicine, and represent others, hold space for others... because we know how to stay out of the way and allow people to find their own way, with subtle guidance, permission, compassion, unconditional love, and forgiveness.  The mastery of this path is important because you learn how powerful we are and how our emotions can be created in quantum realms.  We must learn to create from stillness, silence, reflection, truth, and integrity.  This is that womb space, that magic, the potency of creation. Holding others with the love of a mother birthing a child… from her… 

From this space… this is where the gift of the white road becomes.  the white road… the path of stars… this is where we see the freedom, that the unconscious leads to seeking, searching remembering, and finding… consciousness… we see that the grief and death of this life are the full circles of death and bliss.  Without one there is no other.  the white road ushers us into remembrance of what is important, what matters, what is real, what is truth… that the complexities are all the ways of unconsciousness… yet will lead to consciousness.  There is no failure, no right, no wrong, only experience.  No winning, no losing, nothing, and yet everything.  It is knowing that every soul here is on their own journey… and collectively we are creating a new earth, as we explore the very essence of who we are as God and reclaim the power of choice… to create an experience in trust… In wholeness, in knowing that every single thing is holy, and all the rules are but guidance to help to heal… self-imposed by our own consciousness for these times.   The white road is permission, self-initiation, trust, and humility of the spirit that drives the mind to seek intelligence for gain.  

This is a path that carries a great extreme… This is the full opposite of the black road of unconsciousness.  And if we are not mastered the other paths then we are not balanced in this hoop.  We can easily be set on the pendulum swing back to the space that we need to heal… Throwing us right into entering back into the darkness of the void, the path of the circle of the rainbow… If not grounded and centered it can be overwhelming navigating the many paths, the many deities. the rules, the rights the dos and don'ts, the colors (frequencies and vibrations, dimensions and realms) can be overwhelming and if there are still aspects that need to be healed within, the reflections of our own colors get mirrored powerfully, and in strange ways… hence the "trickster energy".  Many get caught up in lust, and greed, seeking power, seeking knowing, seeking fighting to win, fighting to ease the pain of experiences not honored.  These pieces of unconsciousness are still hidden in the body, the undealt with shadows from the black road…This place will be that void, back into the womb of unconsciousness until we can walk again, learn to see again, learn to articulate truth… If we are clear, and we can maintain the bands through the teachings and learnings, staying humble, then through grace, we are shown the truth That all is as it should be for this great purpose… and to speak out against anything without the actions to back it up is just words… words that carry into this realm more judgment, more pain, more duality.  more right and wrong.    

The white road… (white being clear, light, essence is the culmination of ALL color, all frequency) white is the presence of all color!   It is the rebirth… it is the cosmic connection and remembrance.  it is becoming home within this life and being present to experience everything as a gift!  to hold this space in CenterPoint is the great death at the feet of the source allowing for the undying to take control, to surrender to the will of the creator that can move through you… the pure holy, unblemished nature that brings the hoop together… and to allow that permission for the release of letting all that we know to go, given over as the great gift,  to do it all over again and again for just the experience in trust that source is being birthed through us, and we aren't the ones birthing anything… this great surrender of all knowledge is that last piece… actualizing that part of the circle that represents the part that we don’t know.  

Just like God wants to go on a water slide over and over for the fun of it.  No intention, no great purpose, but purely the free will of creation by, for, and through love... Because of love.  And we are but flowers blooming in a season to allow the consciousness to become aware and birth more creation for the great purpose of creation, experience, expansion and play... This is love and all there is.

Keia