Blackwolf Jones and his wife Gina Jones co-wrote a book together in 1995 titled “Listen To The Drum“.  I’ve read the book through once and want to go back and really study it now.  I found a lot of inspiration in this book and also some answers for my own spiritual journey as I try to walk on the Sacred Path.

The book teaches and guides us to return to the Self within us and to the healer that resides in all of us.  Blackwolf and Gina fill the book Listen to the Drum with stories, prayers, and tools that help us to walk in balance and harmony.  We learn to listen to nature, ourselves, and the silence within us.  We learn to become masters over our fears, to make wiser decisions, and the importance of blessing all children of this earth.

Robert Jones (Blackwolf) is of Ojibway heritage and is a licensed psychotherapist who presents seminars and lectures on Native American healing. You can read more about Blackwolf in a discussion from 1997. Gina Jones is of Mohawk ancestry and is a teacher, writer, and poet.

The essence of the book is to listen to the drum that beats within us, the rhythm of our own soul. A form of meditation that takes you on an unbelievable journey to find yourself and what your purpose in life truly is. To find out about yourself and to learn to dance to the beat only you can hear.

It was in this book that I first learned of the Lakota prayer “Mitakuye Oyasin” that I sign my posts with. This prayer is simple, yet so profound. Translated it means: We are all related.  You pronounce it: mi-TAHK-wee-a-say.

Another very meaningful part of “Listen To The Drum” for me was the chapter on the Sacred Quiver.  It speaks of the container made from the fabric of awareness and holds two kinds of arrows. The straight arrows and the crooked arrows.  The application for ones life is to try to remove as many of the crooked arrows from our quiver as we can.  Crooked Arrows  would be:

• Self-Centeredness
• Fear
• Dependency
• Denial
• Expectations
• Stress
• Depression

We will talk more in the days to come about the Sacred Quiver and other lessons from Blackwolf Jones in the book “Listen To The Drum”.  In the meantime, may you have fewer crooked arrows than you do straight arrows in your Sacred Quiver.

~ Mitakuye Oyasin ~ We are all related