All My Relations
This is a powerful phrase rooted in Indigenous worldviews, often spoken at the end of a prayer or ceremony.
All My Relations signifies unity and interconnectedness. It acknowledges that all beings - humans, animals, plants, rivers, mountains, the earth, the sky - are relatives. We are not separate from the world; we are part of a sacred web of life.
It is a reminder to live with respect for all beings and to act with care, compassion, and accountability. It’s often spoken as a deep affirmation of interbeing and reverence. It reflects a way of being and knowing where relationship is central to identity, ethics, and existence. It challenges Western notions of individualism and hierarchy.
Last week in our Sunday class, Fyre Jean Graveline, LIFE As Medicine, reflected on her blend of connection.
“How can my Settler ancestors, the French and the Orcadian, be at home in this one body with also my Indigenous ancestors, the Saulteaux, Cree, and Anishinaabe? How is it to be more than one in one body? I also identify as Two-Spirit or Multi-Spirit or Indigiqueer, which means that I feel like I hold both the male and the female energies also in this one body. Much of my work in my art is really trying to come into some wholeness with that process of merging multiple identities within.
Also, how are we all kin and how does that include Mother Earth? Who are we as this conduit - Ancestors and Descendants, Earth Mother and Father Sky. I'm in this mix of grounding between those energies all the time. That's the scope of my kin. That's who I am in my daily existence, in my daily world.” Fyre Jean Graveline
This week our somatic inquiry is on where we belong and the elements that blend together in us - our identities, relationships, and kin.
Who are your ancestors? Specifically and generally? Through your mother’s line and your father’s line? How connected do you feel to them?
Who are your descendants? Biological? Heart?
Who have you influenced through relationships and friendships - through your kindness, your presence, perhaps your teaching? Close in and further out?
What not-human Beings are you connected with? Four legged, ones that fly, crawl, Standing Ones (trees). What is your relationship with Earth Mother and the elements? Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Sky.
Taking in this blend of connections, what sits easily within you?
“Are our mind, our spirit, our heart, and our body in alignment with our ancestors and our descendants? Are they in alignment with Earth Mother and Father Sky? How are we connected? And how do we help ourselves when we feel fragmented? When we feel disconnected? How do we restore our balance?” Fyre Jean
Join us to explore together this week in our Sunday free community class. Details here.
As part of our exploration, I invite you to participate Friday at 6:45PM Eastern for an hour of stillness meditation Connection With Earth Water Fire Air Spirit. You can also reflect in this 15 minute guided practice.