I asked him " Were you having fun outside?"
"Oh! Yes" was the response.
Another question came to mind, "Do you know about the little people?"
An expression of surprise came over his face, "Yes daddy, they live in the tree!"
I thought to myself 'Out of the mouths of children can come some of the most profound statements.'
I smiled a knowing smile and wondered what things my 2 sons are going to get up to when they grow to maturity and are properly educated in the Waldorf way!
I came across an article in a local spiritualist magazine about this very subject and I would like to share this with this group. It has tie ins with previous discussions on the subject. I hope its author does not mind.
By Tanis Halliwell
Nature spirits or or elementals , as they are called, exist through out the world in all countries and cultures. they are the elves, goblins, brownies, leprechauns and what are generally called "the little people" in folk legends. They dwell in natural places in old forests, running brooks, deep oceans and high mountains. In some cultures these beings are well known in others almost lost or forgotten. The Maori of New Zealand call them the 'people of the mist' and in Japan they are called 'kami'.
The Haida
In northern British Columbia in Canada are the Queen Charlotte Islands that the Haida people refer to as Haida Gwai. I was invited there to give a workshop there on the subject of nature spirits. While there I met many Haida people and spoke to them about there experiences with elementals. captain Gold is a Haida who has spent most of his life studying the history of his people. He said that although he has never seen the little people himself some of the elders have spoken to him about them.
"The little people live in the forest and are as high as this," he said opening his left hand and pointing from the bottom of his wrist to the point of his middle finger - a space of about 8 inches. They have retreated from us because we are talking the wrong path. They watch everyone."
He paused before continuing. "I've never seen them, but my sister had something happen. It was in the mid 1950's and my older sister was in Charlotte with others on a hike. At least 4 of them got split up from the others in the Millar Creek Valley. They were a day or 2 in the bush. While way up, and getting dark, they were panicking and trying to chose a way, when they came across a babies footprint in the mud. The footprint led them to a creek, witch they were then able to follow out to a road."
"They look just like us," captain Gold said, "but they're small. They live amongst the old trees so they are not happy about logging that is destroying the forest. Long ago in Haida Gwai there were grasslands and the little people have been here since trees started in the grasslands."
He continued, "Haida believe that even the trees have souls and I talk to the trees before cutting one. Even the rocks have souls, but there time, like that of the trees, is different. It takes a season for a chop to be felt on a tree. the rocks have been here for thousands of years. They move around but much slower than us."
"Are there any other elementals that the Haida believe in?" I asked Captain gold.
"Another one of what you call elementals, is creek woman. She is normal looking, actually human size, because our elders do not refer to her as as over large or as tiny. She lives at the head of creeks. Out of her pours forth the creak, the river, the fresh water sours. that is how the salmon come back and are reborn. Also in the sea are the ones we call the devil-fish who have society like the humans under the water. They can change shape and become humans."
Hearing him speak I was reminded of the Selkies of Celtic mythology. Selkies are seals who can take human form and marry humans. I said good-bye to captain Gold and his wife Berniece.
The next day I was walking in an old growth forest when I felt myself called by the little people. A group of them approached me. They ranged in height from about 8 inches to almost 2 feet and I was surprised to see how they were dressed. Some wore blue jeans, others had on the yellow hats that loggers wear and some carried fishing gear. I could tell by their choice that they had been watching humans closely and had chosen cloths that they had seen on humans in Haida Gwai.
"Why are you not known by many Haida?" I asked.
"They do not believe in us so we disappear," one of them replied. "Without their beliefs we become smaller and many of our races have died out. In fact, we lose the memory of what we were just as the Haida loose the memory of who they are."
"How could the Haida and all people start working with you again?" I asked.
"The Haida ," one of the elementals respond," are natural leaders. There strength, however is in the third dimension, rather than in the more subtle realms where we dwell. Still there are ones among the Haida - and other folk as well- who can speak to us and we would welcome that contact."
Tanis Halliwell's web site is at (3w's) iitransform.com
There is only one more thing I wish to share an experience I had some time ago when I was walking amongst the old growth in a place called Cathedral Grove. I was enjoying the atmosphere, breathing in deeply and enjoying the peace of the place. I decided to do some Qigong to further the experience I was having. I proceeded to go through my movements, when I felt something from the giant tree I was standing next to .
A voice seemed to emanate from it, "WHY ARE YOU HERE?"
I responded in my own way meekly, "I have come to worship."
I then proceeded to do the movements and my energies went through the roof and I have not been the same since!
PEACE
eric
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