Basic Toteg Tribe Philosophy
by Joseph Bearwalker Wilson

     The Elder Gods are the Primal Goddess and the God -- the Unknowable Feminine and Masculine which are emanations from the Incomprehensible and Ultimate Void which I call Grandmother Space. Our physical manifestation of The Goddess is Mother Earth. Our physical manifestation of The God is the Sun. Without their union we simply would not be. We owe our bodies to the body of Mother Earth and the energy which activates them to the body of Father Sun. This is an observable fact.

     Their union brought forth life as we know it. Since this is the case all manifestations of life are their children and we are brothers and sisters to all manifestations of life in the mineral, plant, and animal kingdoms.

     Just as we have consciousness the Goddess and God have consciousness. We can think of consciousness as being a projection of Spirit, so the Goddess' and God's consciousness is an expression of Their Spirit. Since we are born from Them our Spirits or Souls are also an expression of Their Spirit or Soul. Likewise that which we think of as being the other Gods, Goddesses and spirits are projections of Their Spirit and Soul. Like us they are unique beings which are ultimately one with Mother Earth and Father Sun. For the most part they share Mother Earth's physical body and express themselves through it. Because of this the minor details of how they are perceived by us will differ in different parts of the world, though their essence will be the same in all parts of the world. Vague images of Gods, and Goddesses essence can be perceived in such symbols as Nymph, Mother, Crone, Hag, Horned Man, Hero, Heroine, Crippled King, Trickster, Tyrant, Hermaphrodite, Truth, Wisdom, Love, Intelligence, Compassion, Conflict, Confusion, and many others.

     How people have perceived these Gods, Goddesses, and spirits and what they have called them has varied with the geographical location they lived in and the language the people spoke. In their original language the Gods' and Goddesses' names have always been descriptive titles. As the title is imported into other languages it loses its meaning and the sound becomes a "name" which has attached to it a personified conception of the God or Goddess. This conception carries with it the cultural and geographical expression which was appropriate to the people who originated it. This conception is interpreted and changed by those who have adopted the "name". By doing this they lose the meaning which was given to the original people.

     Mother Earth and Father Sun communicate with us through these Gods, Goddesses, and Spirits. They do so now, just as they did to ancient peoples all over the world -- through our dreams and visions. our dreams and visions are affected by first, the geographical location in which we live now, then by our culture, genetic makeup, and the experience of our Spirit and Soul. The way these Gods, Goddesses, and Spirits appear to us and affect us will also vary depending upon our individual levels of spiritual maturity.

     I teach people to focus on the Earth Mother and Father Sun in their own geographical location so that they can become open to spiritual communion through the their own dreams and visions. In this way we strive to get the most pure spirituality for each individual without someone else being an intermediary. Often these dreams and visions are of the ancient Gods and Goddesses in a form that is appropriate, for the person who has the vision, to here and now. I want to emphasize that the content of any one's dream or vision is always valid for that person, but may not be valid for anyone else. It's only when several different people have similar dreams and visions that we may surmise that they might have a validity for others.

     When we open ourselves spiritually to our awareness of Them in Their true state we come closer to becoming one with Them, and thus to our awareness of oneness with Mother Earth and Father Sun. When we are completely aware of our oneness with Them we will have attained Enlightenment.

     We should try to "walk in balance on Mother Earth and live in harmony with all our relations." The ideal of walking in balance on Mother Earth is that of being ecologically balanced. The ideal of living in harmony with all our relatives gives clues on how to be ecologically balanced. By observing nature, you can learn how animals and plants live and die according to their own nature, and how they fit in with all other life. We are no different, except that we have modified our behavior from our basic nature to something which allows us to live in much larger social units than our nature intended. If you take animals and plants natures as metaphors for living and intelligently apply to life what you learn, you will become more balanced in the physical world yourself.

     The other two of the "three planes of existence" are often called the mental world and the spiritual world. In order to find balance in the mental world you need to discover your own true nature and be true to it as best you can. This requires a rigorous self analysis which often lasts a lifetime. When you discover your own true nature and follow it as best as possible, you will find that your life, although still troubled by mundane matters, is more pleasant, and that you are superior at what you do to maintain life. A rough example would be a person whose true nature is that of a physician. Because of circumstances that person may have studied to become an architect instead of a physician. Although he or she might be a good architect, he or she would not only have been a better physician, but would have been much happier in life. Being an architect is off-balance for that person's nature. Being a physician is in balance for it.

     Finding one's true nature is similar in the spiritual world. There we must also subject ourselves to a rigorous self-analysis to discover our true spiritual path. Some people go from group to group, teacher to teacher, searching for someone who resonates with them to help them find that path. Some are lucky and eventually find the right place for themselves. Others use a more introspective technique.

     As individuals, we need to work to find our own balance in each of these areas, and then work to harmonize them within ourselves. In this way we come closer to a Realization of our oneness with the Mother and Father.

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