Forgive my rambling in the previous post. I was having fun while hinting that what goes on in one's mind is like a universe in its complexity, including what we know and what we have made up, a knowsis of knexions between facteems, if you will tolerate my lexical excesses for another sentence.
It is quite remarkable that we can communicate at all, but perhaps there is enough shared experience stored in our neural networks that my words mean something to you and we can find a way into each other's knowledge space, even invite others in until our knowses overlap in shared culture. If the word culture doesn't ring your bell, try your own neologism. Polyknowsis springs to mind, at least my peculiar mind. Take it a step further and imagine cultures worldwide overlapping, a sort of geoknowsis. Then go back in history and include human cultures past, present and future as anthropoknowsis. No need to exclude other things, sentient or not, living and nonliving beings uniting in panknowsis.
Strange to the western mind, sharing knowledge space with something like water. Yet not so strange. Welcome, Water. We need you. A knowsis without the wisdom of water wouldn't work; and that was common knowledge here in North America before the invasion.
Then we came and proved it wouldn't work. If our mining poisons your stream, move on; you're in the way of progress. Recognize this sort of disrespectful, unrestrained, self-absorbed "western" culture? Feels like home, and it's time for renovations. Much indigenous wisdom that has been suppressed looks enlightened in a world that has been damaged by our aggressive weknowsis.
I think the way forward is to learn respect, restraint and reciprocity, embracing wisdom where we find it. If not, a regenerating world will decide we are the ones in the way.
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Honouring Water: First Nations
Water Crisis in First Nations: The Conversation
An American Water Crisis: CBC News, March 12, 2023
I recently completed a book -- a typiclal mystery/thriller -- that had as a central element the ability to communicate with animals. One of the author's acknowledgements was the help of a "horse whisperer" although she extended the talent to dogs. It was interesting to consider that some people have the ability to "speak" with the animals.
ReplyDeleteNot everyone could do it; not everyone acknowledged it even existed, but the successful accomplishment of the plot relied on the talent and on the ability of the characters to build collaborative and respectful relationships with their dogs and horses.
As we pay more attention to our indigenous peoples we hear more all the time about their willingness to communicate with the non-human entities in creation. Not just animals, but rocks, trees and water.