Mitakuye Oyasin

The ceremonial blanket | submitted by Amara Charles

“I think everyone has their own interpretation of the word… but in my experience of my life, I found that it means responsibility, almost a call to action, or an acknowledgment of your relationships that you have in your lifetime. Mitakuye Oyasin translated to English means ‘All my Relations’. So in your responsibility to all your relations you are acknowledging that you are your brother’s keeper, you are acknowledging that you are a relative to the land and to the environment, and to the human beings around you.

We say Mitakuye Oyasin in the beginning and at the ending of our ceremonies. But we also say it in the morning – and in the evening and in those times of hardship and times of happiness or in our own minds. Or you may walk with it in the way of your own life, that people know when they say those words Mitakuye Oyasin, that they may see you in the vision of their mind. They may see that responsibility that you are upholding and that is something very powerful for our community, our families, our loved ones and even our enemies to see that we would humble ourselves and walk in that manner.”

Andrew Ironshell
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation Kyle, South Dakota August 2012

I am touched by these words as I sit here in Santa Fe gifted by a friend with time to write in her beautiful home. Mitakuye Oyasin is the overwhelming feeling of sad yet joyful hope that came over us like a cloud as we stopped on the way here and met a Zuni warrior named Quam Medicine Bear on the Mogollon Rim.

June 4, 2017

What’s your dream?

A Woman's Way to Lead - Scholarship Winners | submitted by A Woman's Way to Lead Creative Team

Thank you, everyone, who participated in the scholarship contest. We were moved by everyone’s passion and beautiful expression.

The first place winner of the scholarship contest is Elizabeth with her submission of “A Woman’s Way to Lead” song she created for this contest. You can hear her playing the piano, as she sings the song she wrote here:

And our second winner is Anisoara with a video of her talking from her heart:

April 26, 2017

A Love Cruise

The ever-present desire to love more | submitted by Amara Charles

As I’m about to venture off on a family trip to the Bahamas to celebrate my Mom’s Golden Birthday, I can’t shake the feeling that this is the trip that matters most. I’m so proud of her age, but even now she gets mad if I say how old she is, so let’s just say it’s really golden 🙂

Being an ecstatic traveler who’s often worlds away (even when I’m in the country), I know that there is an invisible, inescapable family tether that is tied to every action I take. Usually, I’m not thinking about those original knots that launched me into life, but they’re having their way all the same.

When I reflect on the love I feel, the love I’ve received, the love I’ve given, as well as the love I missed or withheld, my heart beats with the feeling I could have done more.

March 24, 2017

Honoring the God in Every Man

One man's sharing from the Prague Quodoushka | submitted by Anonymous

Something magical happened in Prague. As we presented the first Quodoushka in the Czech Republic, we felt in the people this hunger for the ceremony that brought our gathering to such a profound level of beauty, honoring respect, and love between the men and women.

It happened that we had very few men in the group, and after a gorgeous ceremony celebrating feminine beauty, there was no time to include the men. So the next day, one man expressed his deep disappointment with such honesty and heart, it changed the whole direction of the workshop.

I told this beautiful gentleman of a dream I had in the night where a man asked me to release a poison that was stuck in his head. As I pressed it out of his head it came out roaring like a rocket. So we decided in the moment to create an honoring ceremony where eight women shared the gifts she felt men bring to her, and then each man expressed what women bring to him. It was indescribably beautiful. We were all weeping in gratitude.

Here is one man’s way of sharing what happened for him:

I want to share in more detail how powerful the “Honoring Men” ceremony was for me. It is important for me to write this but I also hope that what I write sparks some magical memories of the time we shared at the Q in Prague, 2017.

September 2, 2016

How We Like To Be Loved

submitted by Amara Charles

What would happen if you allowed the men in your life to love every bit of you? Can you imagine having men who wish to provide whatever they can; able to take you into realms of pleasure that thrills you to the bone? Can you picture the kind of guy who’s turned on every time he makes just the right move at just the right time?

Here’s what I’ve noticed about certain men; when given the right kind of clues, they’re absolutely eager to delight us.

But why do men seldom succeed as much as they could? Why do they frequently fall short, leaving things unsaid and untouched? And why do they so often seem clueless, asking us what we want?

In my experience, training a man to catch our signals of desire is a matter of learning how to inspire him rather than asking for or demanding what we want. Yes, we can ask, and sometimes even demand that he steps up or slows down. But there are better ways to inspire men to love us the way we’d like to be loved.

First, keep in mind what inspires men most, especially during sex:

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