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 The Windwalker  At birth, the first son was dedicated to the creator and marked for wind walking.. The morning of his 18th year, he arose at dawn and was washed by the elder women of his tribe..Standing still, as he was cleansed, not saying a word, he repeated the prayers of the creator..thanking him for this chance to walk with him and preparing himself for the rituals to come..He became a baby again..everything being done for him..symbolic of his rebirth into the wind..They offered him the sacred water..that came from the spring at the bottom of the mountain..source of all life..and only offered to wind walkers..The women clothed him in a white loincloth then led him to the base of the mountain.  As the morning sun reached its peak, he began to climb the mountain, following the medicine man in ritual silence. . This was a long process..at each pause on the mountain's steep slope, sacred white sage was burned and thanks to the Creator was given. He took it all inside of him and repeated the scared words over and over to help him walk the wind...By the time he reached the top..all doubts that he could do this must be gone..to doubt..was to fail..to fail was to die..but ahh, to succeed.. He would walk the wind...The walk up the mountain took many hours and they arrived at the summit at almost sunset...  Already he could see the beautiful sacred hawks circling the top of the mountain..riding the wind..He paused for a moment watching in awe and wonder as they dipped and soared..the setting sun making them seem on fire..As the moments passed..he stood on the sacred stone..on the edge of the mountain where his father, grandfather and great grandfather awaited him. They each had an item of sacred feathers..those gleamed from the hawk..at his death and passed from generation to generation..His father put on his wings of feathers..his grandfather his feather headdress..his great grandfather his winged anklets...He was ready..The apex of the setting sun made the mountain gleam as if on fire..the tribe below watched in wonder as the creator welcomed their brother into the arms of the wind.. He took a breath..stilled his heart and jumped off the precipice.. "Na ta nee wah.." he cried..as his back arched and he began to fall... "I walk in the wind!"As he fell..the change began..he began to catch a current of wind..dipping and soaring in the blaze of the setting sun..surrounded by the mighty hawks..his soul soared with them..he was one of them... He was a wind walker... All night..he learned the ways of walking the wind..how to catch each breeze..how to spread his wings... how ro circle in unison..how to hunt..how to see in the darkness and to find his way by the light of the moon..He learned the language of the hawks..became one with them.. and all too soon it was almost dawn..The time to come back to the earth..to walk among his people again.. He floated down to the sacred stone..His father, grandfather and great grandfather waited for him..His great grandfather touched his hand..the first to greet him..and he felt a surge of energy he had never felt before..as hearts and souls and bodies merged into one for a brief moment....Suddenly, his great grandfather seemed to float before his eyes..and in the next moment...he was changed..into the most beautiful hawk..He spread his wings and joined those circling the mountain..One of the sacred seven...the wind walking was passed... To the next generation...Great grandfather was changed now..his turn to be one with them...forever... They all three said goodbye to him...and watched as he dipped and soared..his wings outstretched..each finger of his wings a blaze of light....walking the wind... They turned to descend the mountain..glancing one last time at their ancestor.. The newest wind walker led his father and grandfather down the mountain.. He would never be the same boy..who went up that mountain..he was forever changed.. He was a man.. He was a wind walker..Maria Lindberg  ***No one knows why or how..the Indians stopped walking the wind.. I was a windwalker.. This story was inspired by my trip to Stone Mountain Georgia.. Back to Map Back to Inner Magic Graphics By:   Music Sacred Ground
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