Category: Teaching

• Dreaming Hope

  The world is in a hard way. Sometimes I imagine that anything I may do is likely to have no real impact. In those moments or days I get pretty glum. A few nights ago I had a dream. In the dream I was watching folks going about their day-to-day routines. Each person emitted a…

  Michael Watson PhD

  January 15, 2015

  Shamanism, Teaching

  Dreaming, healing, Shamanism

• What Coyote Might Teach Us

  Yesterday we took down most of our Christmas decorations, including the small Nativity set which consists mostly of an array of animals, both wild and domestic, that surround a manger and child. The idea behind the tableau is the ancient circumpolar Indigenous knowing that the animals welcome us at birth, and support us throughout our…

  Michael Watson PhD

  January 5, 2015

  Climate Change, First Nations, Stories, Teaching

  coyote, Native American, Shamanism, Winter Solstice

• In Good Faith

  The other evening I received a distressing phone call. It was one of those calls that stuns: confusing, painful, and shaming; it was also a misunderstanding, a misreading of an action I had taken in good faith. The caller’s response was understandable given what I now know, although their approach to addressing the problem was…

  Michael Watson PhD

  October 15, 2014

  native american, Shamanism, Teaching

  Alternative Medicine, cultural conflict, healing, Indigenous, Shamanism

• The Spirit of South Wind

  Yesterday, Grandfather South Wind blew strongly for much of the day. In the evening Jennie and I packed a picnic and headed for the lake. Jennie had noted that we would not have many more opportunities for our beloved picnics this year, so off we went. When we arrived at the lake the South Wind…

  Michael Watson PhD

  September 10, 2014

  Nature, Shamanism, Teaching

  autumn, South Wind, spirits