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All was Welcome There



One of the things that really kept me returning to the temazcal, was the acceptance of diversity inside the circle. Our visitors included people from all walks of life, different races, different religions, and others without religion. A ceremony tied to Native American roots, the temazcaleros accepted me, a non-native, open-heartedly. Likewise, they have shown respect my beliefs and disbeliefs.

A few years after coming back to the U.S., from Mexico, I heard something that reminded me of that attitude among the temazcaleros. I heard the song, "All is Welcome Here," ... a recorded version by Deva Premal and Miten, I believe.



German-borne, Deva Premal, a meditative spiritual new-age musician, who drew from Buddhist and Sanskrit mantras, sang it with Miten (Andy Desmond), a Brittish folk singer. It goes like this:

All is Welcome Here

Broken hearts and broken wings...
bring it all; bring everything.
Bring the song you fear to sing.
All is welcome here.
Even if you broke your vow a thousand times...
Come anyhow.
Step into the power of now.
All is welcome here.
La la la la la.
La la la la la la.
La la la la la.
See the father and the son.
Reunited here they come,
They’re dancing to the sacred drum,
They know they're welcome here.
I see the shaman
and the mighty priest.
I see the beauty and the beast.
We’re singing, “I have been released.”
And I am welcome here.
La la la la la.
La la la la la la.
La la la la la.
All is welcome here!
La la la la la.
La la la la la la.
La la la la la.
I stood alone at the gateless gate
too drunk on love to hesitate.
To the winds I cast my fate
and the remnants of my fear.
I took a deep breath and I leapt,
and I awoke as if I'd never slept.
Tears of gratitude I wept.
I was welcome here.
La la la la la.
La la la la la la.
La la la la la.
All is welcome here!
La la la la la.
La la la la la la.
La la la la la.
So bring your laughter
and bring your tears,
Your busy lives, … your careers, ...
And bring the pain you
carried for years.
All is welcome here.
Freedom is not so far away
And there's only one price
We all have to pay:
Live our dreams till they fade away
and let them go.
Live our dreams
And let them go.
La la la la la.
La la la la la la.
La la la la la.
All is welcome here!
La la la la la.
La la la la la la.
La la la la la.
La la la la la.
La la la la la la.
La la la la la.
All is welcome here!
All is welcome here!
All is welcome here!
All is welcome here!
Hello, here!
Hello, here!
Hello, here!
Helloooooo!

During that time I had been separated from the weekly ceremonies and celebrated and practiced alone, remembering the time I spent with the Osos Mario and Lety (see lead photo) in the Circulo de los Osos (the Circle of the Bears), in Durango, Mexico. I enjoyed interacting with a spiritual group that was open to ideas from outside their own belief system. The song, "All is Welcome Here," reminded me of the temazcal; not because I'd ever heard it there, but because it echoed the spirit of acceptance.


We are All Relatives

Frequently, fierce ants would bite caminantes (literally, "those who walk," implying, "those who walk the Red Road") in the Osos' temazcal, leaving a painful, swollen, reddened, blister around the bite area. Bitten children would nearly always cry and ask permission to exit the lodge, and some of the adults, likewise, would make a considerable fuss about them. However, Oso Mario reminded us that we were visitors to their home and that we should understand that they are our brothers.



Likewise, scorpions ... one of the world's most deadly species, the Durangan Bark Scorpion (Centruroides suffusus, I believe), would sometimes scurry out of the "ombligo" (belly button) in the center of the temazcal. The heat from the "abuelitas" (literally, "grandmothers", or red hot stones) introduced into the ombligo would drive them out of nooks and crannies in the soil, where they were hidden. It was dark in the temazcal, and sometimes only the reflection of the red hot stones on their shiny exoskeleton would reveal their presence among us.

Likewise, the Oso would defend the tiny eight-legged brothers, grabbing them by their tails, kissing them, and releasing them just outside the lodge. "¡Todos somos familia!" ("All of us are family!") he would say.


All were welcome there. All is welcome here.



... con todas mis relaciones! Aho!


References Consulted


Whitebird, F. 2010-2017. Levels of Lakota language. Lakota Country Times (http://www.lakotacountrytimes.com/common/PastArchives/1237.html), Reviewed 2 February 2017.



Lead photo, by the author, originally published on Mexconnect.

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