Do You Remember

My song awakened ancient memories within him and he began to dance, embracing his native heritage. He was born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

“Do you remember, an aspen leaf, when it’s fallen
Do you remember, your Spirit’s song, when it’s callin’
Do you remember, do you recall
Do you remember, that you are One with All”

I was giving a workshop in northern Alberta for young people with developmental disabilities and their staff. The woman who picked me up at the airport told me about the boy as she was driving me to the venue. She was hoping that my work would inspire his creativity and make an important step toward facilitating his healing. The turquoise sky and multicolored autumn leaves painted the scenery for our trip. There is a majesty about this expansive country. People who live in the north have a loyalty only understood by them.

The first thing I learned from my students was to throw out all my preconceived plans. These awesome souls were my teachers and they came alive to music and rhythm. I asked them to imagine their favorite costumes. They love color! The young boy pictured himself dressing in vibrant blues, reds and greens.

About mid way through our session, my intuition led me to sing “Do You Remember”. The chanting at the beginning and ending of the song had been recorded at a Cree Pow Wow. I turned on the background music and invited the boy to dance. He pulsed with rhythm as he took center stage. The other participants copied his moves.

The staff and I were mesmerized as we watched the artistry unfold before our eyes. He felt the primal rhythm in his very soul. The words were mine and they were his; they belonged to all.

“Do you remember, the primal dance, whose drums are beating
Do you remember, the Cosmic Theme, that keeps repeating”

He became the dance and with complete abandon, twirling and praising, he ground the energy deep into the center of the earth. The rhythm and volume built in intensity; the group circled around each other, flinging emotions to the wind.

“Do you remember, that I AM Here and I will guide you
Do you remember the Sacred Fire dwelling inside you”

Now it was drawing to a close. After I sang the last words of “Do You Remember”, the chanting and drumming faded into the distance. Completely attuned to the Presence, the boy slowed the pace of his moves. Finally he knelt, reverently, and his friends followed suit. He looked up at the sky and offered a silent prayer.

Time was suspended.

I distinctly remember the beginning of my love affair with the native tradition. My husband, Tink Robinson, and I wrote, produced, directed and performed our shows in the Wild Horse Theater at Heritage Fort Steele, BC for 13 seasons until 1989. We entertained tourists from around the world, but people from the surrounding area would return to the theater many times during the summers. Some of our regulars included Adolf and Beverly Hungry Wolf and their children, Wolf, Okan, Iniskim and Star. After the performances, we would invite them to join us and the rest of the cast for a campfire. The setting was awesomely beautiful. We lived on a flaxen meadow, with the towering Rocky Mountains providing the backdrop and the Wild Horse Creek and the grand Kootenay River lending the music.

The Hungry Wolfs invited Tink and me to join them for a meal in their home west of Skookumchuck, BC. So, on a day off we headed out of the Fort to a days adventure. We had been given general directions, and after bouncing along on a winding dirt road up and down through trees, we parked at the top of the hill. Adolf Hungry Wolf was a train enthusiast and had many rail cars and cabooses on his property. He was also honored to be the keeper of the medicine bag for his adopted tribe. Adolf is a prolific author of native culture and railroad history. All of his books, translated into many languages, are listed with Amazon.com.

We gazed down at the valley hugged by the Kootenay river. Half a dozen laughing excited dogs charged up the hill to greet us, then guided us back down to the cabin. There was no electricity or running water and neither were needed.

We all took our shoes off at the door and were led into the cozy little dwelling. The meal was delicious, the conversation delightful, yet profound. But what I remember most was the feeling that we were completely at one with these beautiful people – as if we had known them forever.

Awakenings across time and space deep within cell memory, revealed images to me of honoring Mother Earth by living in tune with the land. It is from this awareness that the words, music and rhythms for ‘Do You Remember” were born.

We are on the threshold of a New Dawn with peace and abundance for all. Just imagine … everyone embracing a consciousness of Love, celebrating our differences, yet knowing that we are all One. If we can picture this, we can create it. Our own I AM knows exactly what part we have to play.

“Do you remember, do you recall
Do you remember, that you are One with All”

p.s. To listen to a clip of my song, “Do You Remember” –  click here.  Or to download a copy of the song for yourself,  go here!

p.p.s. Check out my brand NEW ‘From Spirit to Story to Song’ Website Home  for more fun and inspirational stories.  While you are there, download my song and free gift for you, “Give Yourself Love”.

© Judy Armstrong 2013