"Ghost Dancer"Pottery by Chris Meadows
Ghost Dance Fever
By John Atkinson
Memoir
In the old days, Native ghost dancers stomped feet to exhaustion so they could enter the spirit world, a world with visions of their ancestors. I’ve been in that world but from another route. Crossing America, I never got sick as long as I was on the move. The journey staved off illness. Only when I stopped to rest could I afford to be ill. But on the move, a phenomenon in my mind shifted to another level, a consciousness on the dream world plane. I could endure physical hardship with impunity. I could be dehydrated and not know it and not care. At those times it was hard to tell apart the spirit world life and the desire to journey, to eat and to drink. In the ghost dance fever, I was forced by a spirit life, a will of its own. That strength became a soul, and that person faced obstacles, which led to my true nature; who I am as a man. In this primitive state of mind lived the anorexic child. To a sober mind the spirit world is a reality of an odd nature, a state of being experienced and never understood. While in the dream-life consciousness, foolishness makes perfect sense. That’s because it’s in the mind of Earth Maker, the Great Mystery. That was all I cared to know. I recognized the spirit world dreams when they were awakened from exhaustion. Stupid as they could sometime be, I knew what was going on, that I had tapped into the spirit life of my forefathers. The exhausted high-stepper liked his God-like world because it went beyond time and the desire for food. But in the long journey, there were prices to pay when I stopped to sleep. The restless traveler didn’t want to forfeit his dream world. I learned not to go into ghost dance fever too often. I learned to eat and to take my rest.
Timekeeper
John Atkinson is the author of TIMEKEEPER, a magnificent book about a young boy who fights to overcome illiteracy. Timeekeeper, ISBN 978-0-9776076-5-5, is available in hardcover or paperback .To order your copy call 1-800-228-9316. International orders call: 00-1-831-238-7799 or visit: www.fisherkingpress.com
2 comments:
Quoting John Atkinson:
"The exhausted high-stepper liked his God-like world because it went beyond time and the desire for food."
Dear John, am I on the right track in seeing your use of "food" as a metaphor for the collective material needs of mortals? If that is the case, I identify with your feelings:
"The restless traveler didn’t want to forfeit his dream world."
On a conscious level, even though, we understand the potential toll our dream worlds take on us in the long 'dance', once having started , we cannot easily escape its constant lure. However, I do commend you in having found the balance between the two worlds and the wisdom that you express in your final two lines:
"I learned not to go into ghost dance fever too often. I learned to eat and to take my rest."
With best wishes,
Füsun A.
Dear Fusun, you are right on. I'm following my dream but at a cost. Although I wanted to play it safe when I was a young man I didn't. I hope you read Timekeeper. That will explain a lot about me. It was written as a memoir. The first three chapters are posted on this blog.
My dream continues. Fisher King Press made a press release the other day on my novel Dark Shadows Red Bayou. I can't be but so excited because I'm writing about two cultures that seem to clash from the beginning, Christian and the Natural Way. I've worked on the book a year and only have a hundred pages. Of course I've pitched out hundreds of pages. Scary
I love the poem you wrote last month. I connected. Thanks
PS I wanted to be a follower but couldn't find the tag. Please visit again
John
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