It sounds like you have had life-changing and meaningful experiences thanks to the kind teachings of the Lipan Apache. That is very precious and I couldn’t agree with you more about the vital aspect the whole natural world, and recognizing that you are part of it, plays in healthy living. This is something of which I am keenly aware and my time spent just being out of doors is the best time of my life.

Thank you for sharing what you know, and I hope that people will see your recommendations of resources in California for bettering one’s awareness of the natural world. How wonderful that these gentlemen are willing to teach others. That is a real blessing.

One quick note about the honey and why it isn’t considered to be vegan – it isn’t about whether it’s processed or not that makes it problematic. Commercial honey production results in the death of countless bees, as well as bringing up the problem of taking their hard-work and food away from them to use for yourself, instead of letting them use it for their own needs. Rather like taking milk away from baby calves for yourself. So, this is why honey is not a vegan product: it involves taking from animals without their permission and many die in the process. I believe it’s up to everyone to make their own choices that are right for them, and thought you would be interested to learn why it is that vegans don’t eat honey. Something to consider.

Please, come again!
Mim

We tend to think that communication is limited to verbal or visual, but much of the communication that goes on is spiritual.
Look at a flock of swallows or a school of fish. They are moving as one entity, not playing follow the leader!
I am a beekeeper, and although scientists try to explain their communication through visual means alone, how do all the bees in the hive know what job they are to be doing at any given time? You look at comb being built, and you see that each cell is built by many bees, yet each bee seems to know exactly what size cell needs to be built in a particular spot, so when one bee leaves to collect more material the next one that walks up doesn’t need to ask what is being done there, it just continues the work like it had been there all along.
When they are getting ready to swarm, a change happens with all the bees that are going to swarm, and not the others. (oh, and I consider honey the be Vegan, since the bees just are slightly processing it, not making it from something entirely different!

Once we are able to hear and speak the language of nature, we have a new outlook on life, and living in harmony with nature is much easier.

I think I saw that you are out in Northern California (I am in the Napa Valley area), and there are some good people out here that help recover our lost senses. Jon Young is one of the leading ones out here. You will hear a lot about Bird Language, but it also extends to the rest of creation. Tom Brown Jr/Tracker School also does a lot on Awareness, and since he was taught by one of the last Apache Scouts, he is the one that passed a lot of the primitive skills down to many of the other wilderness skills schools. He comes out to the Santa Cruz Mountains area usually in the winter or spring each year for a few weeks. And there are other smaller groups that teach these skills in various areas.

If you really want to communicate with the animals (and the plants too! , start learning wilderness awareness!

Way to go, I love this site!

Chip