“Upon suffering beyond suffering, the Red Nation shall rise again and it shall be a blessing for a sick world. I see a time of Seven Generations when all the colors of mankind will gather under the Sacred Tree of Life and the whole Earth will become one circle again.” –Crazy Horse

Your skin may be white, black, brown, red, yellow, or whatever other stereotypical color you wish to marginalize skin color with, but your heart is red. It bleeds red no matter your race, nationality, or creed. We are all united in red, and the red nation has the potential to rise again and be a blessing for a sick world, but only if we can get over our pseudo power and false pride.

The heart is greater than money; but it is also greater than patriotism, nationalism, and dogma combined. The human heart is greater than any perceived color. It is all colors and none...

The human ailment of not being able to accept the ‘other’ spans countries and ideologies alike. To categorize differences under labels such as religion and culture with the assumption that we will all leave each other well alone only seems to exacerbate them, for we will always come up against those who deeply uproot, even threaten our beliefs and attachments to them.

So surely a more healing way then, is to focus on ways to deal with other’s fear and ultimately begin to work on the fear within ourselves. As every traveler will know, these differences inevitably come up when arriving and spending time in a foreign country, and expose just how deep those roots really delve, particularly when those differences are worlds away from our own perceptions. This applies to every country, and can often be called nationalism, or prejudice, but the one thing we can always rely on is that one will always come across it and probably be the target of a fair few assumptions and harmful stereotypes that the people throw our way.

“All space is sacred space. Every inch of Mother Earth holds a specially energized connection to some living creature, and is therefore to be honored.” ~ Jamie Sans

Snake
The more widely recognized chthonic, or ‘earthbound’, and therefore evil symbol of the serpent has given snake a mixed reputation for centuries. The Greeks recognized this as the three Gorgon sisters; Medusa being one of them, Christianity and Islam as the serpent who tempted Eve, and the ‘evil’ of the snake translated itself as bad luck for the city of Thebes which was said to have its foundations built on a giant serpent.

In more enlightened circles, the snake is a symbol of medicine and health. The Bowl of Hygieia, Caduceus and Rod of Asclepius denote pharmacy and healing, whilst in India snakes have been worshiped as Gods with the cobra wrapping its way around the necks of Vishnu and Shiva, and women to this day still pouring milk on snake pits as a gesture of reverence. Nagraj is the King of the Snakes, and many believe the snake to also be a symbol of fertility.

“Your opinion is your opinion, your perception is your perception–do not confuse them with ‘facts’ or ‘truth.’ Wars have been fought and millions have been killed because of the inability of men to understand the idea that everybody has a different viewpoint.” -John Moore

There is only one thing we truly own while we are here on Earth. One thing that can never be taken from us and that we carry with us every single place we go every day of our lives. This thing is our perception. Our perception is completely unique to us. No one ever, anywhere, will ever have the exact same perception of reality as we do because there is no two people whose lives have been exactly the same.

The way we were raised, the culture we grew up in, the relationship we had with our parents and siblings and the types of music, books and movies we have been exposed to, all play a part in forming our perception. Our perception changes naturally over time. The perspective we had on life at 10 years old is completely different than the one we have at 25 years old. If we are lucky, at a certain point in our conscious evolution comes a shocking discovery… our perception does NOT equal truth.

More and more people are claiming to have awakened spiritually and sociologically, accepting the idea that there is more to life than our physical existence, and realizing that our monetary system and public institutions are subject to significant corruption.

These are evidently realizations which require considerable thought and an open mind. Realizing that our world is screwed up and spiritually void is one thing. Acting to make positive change is another.

Part of acting to make positive change is to embrace humility. Moving in a humble manner through time includes realizing that everyone has had different life experiences, has come from a different sociological background, and has been genetically dispositioned to favor certain tendencies of thinking. Not everyone, in his or her current mindset, is capable of perceiving our world’s state of affairs and our state of existence like you, or has the same intuitive abilities and critical thinking skills as you.