Good morning.
I am recording this from a little place called Nibing,
Ontario,
In northwestern Ontario,
Just northwest of Lake Superior.
My name is Cindy.
My spirit name is Standing Strong.
My clan is Caribou.
I'm from the Red Rock Indian Band,
And I live here on this really beautiful,
Really sacred land that I call Nibing,
Which means it is summer.
I'm here today with my probably all-time favourite passion,
Which is animal spirit guides.
I love to share with people about these guides.
Today,
I wanted to talk to you about Bear,
Or Makwa.
The bear has been very,
Very special in my life.
It brought me a vision at the end of 2006,
And this vision led me on this amazing spiritual journey that I'm on.
I honoured that vision with a book that I wrote.
It's called Walking with Grey Wolf by Standing Strong of the Ojibwe tribe.
You can order an e-version.
I think it's less than $5.
I also have printed copies if you're interested in one.
I followed the breadcrumbs that Makwa,
Or the bear,
Gave to me through that dream.
It's guided me to this place where I am today.
The bear was also there to show me where to cut down saplings for the teaching lodge that I learned later that I'm responsible for.
This spring,
The bear came often.
I had three different bears here this spring.
They let me take their pictures and videos.
I have extensive videos.
They were just being,
Laying in the grass,
Chewing on the dandelions or the grass.
I even managed to catch one picture,
One video of the bear crossing the river.
That was very exciting for me.
Seeing these beings in their natural habitat is very uplifting and brings me very,
Very much joy and love.
I just really enjoy it.
What is the bear sharing with us?
The bear is representative of the grandfather teaching about bravery and courage.
Of course,
The bear is bringing us those messages to encourage us to be brave and courageous.
It also reminds us about our boundaries,
To identify what our boundaries are and maintain them.
There's many other messages from the bear reminding us to be gentle,
Be gentle with ourselves,
And to be very loving with those that we're close to.
There are different messages,
Whether it's a black bear or a grizzly bear.
I recently had a dream about a grizzly bear.
This grizzly bear joined me with whatever I was doing.
So if I was in my truck,
It was in the truck with me.
If I was in the house,
It was in the house with me.
We were carrying on a conversation.
If I was outside or doing a gathering,
It was with me.
I feel like it's a follow-up to the very first vision.
I should take note of that someplace.
I think I did a recording or I noted it in my journal.
I better take note of the date.
That's a special date.
I encourage you to pay attention to the animal spirit guides that are coming to you.
They could be coming to you in different forms.
Maybe you're seeing them on the TV over and over again.
Maybe you're hearing about them.
They are bringing you messages.
So don't doubt that for a second.
The more that you acknowledge those messages,
Honour them,
And respect them,
The more messages you are going to receive.
It's quite a beautiful relationship.
So yeah,
It's about interconnectedness.
Today we're talking about interconnectedness with Makwa,
The bear.
Yeah,
Wishing you a joy-filled day.
And please share with me any experiences you've had with Makwa or any questions that you have.
Miigwetch.
Miigwetch.
I wanted to add that one of the tracks here on Insight Timer is the drumming and singing song Spirit Bear.
So yeah,
I hope you enjoy that and maybe you can learn how to sing it.
And if you have any questions about that,
Yeah,
Feel free to reach out to me about that as well.
Okay,
Have a great day.
