THE WEB OF LIFE
by Taino Ti (I share the Spirit of the Earth with you)
an excerpt from Grandmother Spider And The Web
Of Life
© Spider 2000
When the Universe was still so dark that not even shadows
could be seen in the night, Grandmother Spider sat in her
web in the Sky World, waiting and watching. No one knows
how old Grandmother Spider is, or how long she sat waiting
for the Universal Mind to awaken. But, every Creature Being
who has ever lived knows her song and dance as the weaver
of the Web of Life.
From her web, Grandmother Spider observed the first thoughts
as the Universal Mind awakened from the dream. Seven energy
beings floated out from the shining light in the center
of the Universal Mind and solidified into bright, shining
stars who went out to take their places in the Sky World.
Grandmother Spider took a very deep breath and softly began
to sing her weaving song while she danced across the Sky.
As she spun her thread, Grandmother Spider envisioned the
Web of Life. Within moments, she had woven her web connecting
the seven stars and creating the Spirit Doorway through
which all of the rest of life would enter.
The seven stars reflected the spectrum of all colors within
their glow. Dancing with the colored light, shadows came
into being as the darkness took form. More thoughts flowed
from the Universal Mind, entered through the Doorway of
the Seven Stars, and took their places in the Sky World.
These became more stars, suns and planets. Then, many other
thoughts entered the Universe, each one taking a specific
place according to the universal dream of harmony. Each
thought was a spirit essence who dreamed an individual dream
for manifesting life. Grandmother Spider spun her web around
each new energy being and the Universal Web of Life shimmered
in the reflection of Great Mystery's light.
Singing her song and weaving the Web of Life, Grandmother
Spider continued with her work. The Sky World filled with
light and life as her creative process unfolded. As the
stars, suns and planets prepared to give birth to their
children, Grandmother Spider spun her cord even longer,
so that all of the newly born could be included in the Web
of Life. Grandmother Spider continues to weave the Web of
Life throughout every cycle of creation.
All life everywhere in the Universe is connected by the
Web of Life. We are not separate beings. We are each a part
of the Great Mystery, manifesting as an individual awareness
in a separate physical body, but sharing the same energy
as all other life. The energy web is anchored within our
center and is our connection to the Great Mystery.
Along with Grandmother Spider's web cord, we carry within
our center our dream for living that includes a promise
and a purpose. Before we came into the Earthwalk, we chose
the gifts and talents that help us create the reality that
we envisioned. We also chose the lessons and challenges
that motivate our learning and growth. Our dream for living
carries a specific vibration of sound and color that guides
our spirit essence in it's flight from the Universal Mind,
through the Sacred Cave, and into the womb of our physical
mother. During our Earthwalk, we live our choices and lessons,
and develop our talents and gifts, as we meet each situation
and challenge of our growth. We must remember our purpose
and promise and focus our life in this direction if we are
to be happy and fulfilled.
Grandmother Spider weaves the Web of Life around us when
our spirit essence enters its physical body inside the womb
of our mother. From feet to head, our spirit essence is
woven together with our physical body as Grandmother Spider
sings her weaving song to us. When she completes her weaving,
Grandmother Spider does not cut the cord, but leaves an
energy trail with her weft thread that goes out from our
center to connect with the next Creature Being that will
enter the Web of Life.
The gift of Grandmother Spider is the personal energy web
that we walk with throughout our entire life. This energy
web allows our spirit essence to experience our senses,
emotional feelings and physical pain and pleasures. This
connection also allows our physical body to develop an intuitive
perception of Universal Wisdom. Through the web, we can
work with energy for creativity and healing. Our personal
energy web maintains our connection to the Web of Life and
the Great Mystery. This gift of Grandmother Spider insures
that we are never alone, for through it we always share
the love of All Our Relations.
Our energy web surrounds our physical body, enveloping
it with a vibrating energy that is our personal rhythm.
Our energy web is connected to our physical body through
energy centers that are the communication channels between
our physical body and spirit essence. Our mind is the link
between body and spirit essence, interpreting and directing
the flow of energy back and fourth. Breathing and movement
enables our body to direct energy and our thoughts to affect
our physical health. To live in comfort, we need to maintain
a balance of body, mind and spirit within our personal energy
web.
Grandmother Spider is always busy with her work, as the
creation of life is happening at every moment. After connecting
each Creature Being within her vibrating threads, Grandmother
Spider goes on to the next, spinning out a continuous cord
in her never ending dance. A Creature Being enters the Earthwalk,
then a Plant Person, a Stone Person, a Water Person, a Four-Legged,
a Two-Legged, and on and on. For each of these, Grandmother
Spider weaves a personal energy web and extends her cord
out from this Creature's center to continue on with the
weaving of the Web of Life.
The Web of Life is a beautiful braid that holds the energy
of all life together. Grandmother Spider's dance of spinning
and weaving continues indefinitely, as new patterns within
the web are being woven every moment when each new life
enters the Earthwalk. At the other end of Grandmother Spider's
tapestry, the web is always unraveling, as every spirit
essence travels back through the doorway of the Sacred Cave
to the Spirit World when life is complete.
All life shares an equal place within the Web of Life.
The gifts and contributions of each and every Creature Being
are very important for the survival of MotherEarth. Each
Creature Being, in following through with the performance
of their specific life task, affects the welfare of all
the other Creature Beings in the web. Without the benefit
of even one Creature's work, the Web of Life would lack
the energy of wholeness necessary for the circle of life's
cycles to continue on with their rhythm.
WEAVING THE WEB
This started out as a children's activity but is
equally fun for all of us who still remain children in our
heart. This exercise is done with a circle of people as
an affirmation of our connection with the Web of Life and
a way of bonding the relationships within a group.
You will need a big ball of yarn or string. Have everyone
bring an object that represents one of his or her gifts
to place on a blanket in the center of the circle. For example,
the object can represent a favorite activity or skill of
the person, such as a tool, paint brush or crayon. The object
can also represent a favorite thing or special interest,
such as a flower, teddy bear or photograph of a pet. Everyone
will sit in a circle with their gift on the blanket in front
of them. The eldest woman in the group will take on the
leadership role of Grandmother Spider and will direct the
exercise.
Begin by having everyone place their hands on their center,
left hand first with right hand on top. The pads of the
thumbs should be touching and pointing towards your head.
The group takes five deep breaths together, inhaling slowly
to let your breath circulate to every part of your body
and exhaling swiftly to release any physical stress or thoughts
you are ready to let go of. The five breaths will put everyone
in the present and allow the energy of the group to harmonize.
Direct everyone to feel their connection to the Web of Life
through their center where they carry Grandmother Spider's
cord.
Grandmother Spider begins by telling the story of how she
weaves the Web of Life. Use the story of Grandmother Spider
in this chapter and embellish it with any details that you
feel inspired to add. Tell about how Grandmother Spider
weaves all of MotherEarth's Children into her web as they
emerge from the Sacred Cave, and finally, she weaves the
Two-Leggeds into the web. Be sure when telling about all
the Creature Beings connected within the Web of Life, to
say a few words about the gifts they bring to share with
others in the web.
When Grandmother Spider gets to the part in the story where
the Two-Leggeds are connected in her web, take the ball
of yarn and tie the beginning onto your belt or make a loop
around your waist to symbolize the connection that we have
with the Web of Life. Say your name to the group and pick
up the object you have brought, stating the gift you bring
to share with the rest of the Web of Life. You can also
chose to share why this gift if important to you and how
you use your gift to benefit All Our Relations in the Web
of Life. Continue to hold your gift and pass the ball of
yarn clockwise (to the left) to the next person. This is
the direction that brings life into being.
Each person will take the ball of yarn and connect at their
center by wrapping it around their waist. Each person says
their name to the group and speaks about the gift they have
to share with the Web of Life. As the ball of yarn makes
its way around the circle, we feel the energy of our connection
with each other. We appreciate the gifts that each has brought,
recognizing that everyone has a special gift to share and
that no two persons or gifts are exactly alike. We allow
each person the opportunity to speak, without interruption,
as we connect our web. Everyone can say whatever he or she
wishes as long as they are holding the ball of yarn, and
everyone has a chance to speak and be heard. When the weaving
is completed, acknowledge that all of the gifts shared within
the circle have created a place of wholeness.
It is easy to visualize our connection in the Web of Life
when we are wrapped up with yarn. When one of us moves,
our action directly affects our closest neighbors. If one
person attempts to get up and walk away from the web, s/he
cannot move away without taking the entire web along. This
is a good time to include teachings about interacting with
All Our Relations in a responsible way or a visualization
of sending a thought of honoring All Our Relations out to
every Creature Being in the entire Web of Life. We visualize
our thoughts merging together within the web that we have
created within our circle and then going out on the Web
of Life to connect with All Our Relations on Earth.
When we are finished, the last person to connect the web
begins to disconnect her/him self by unwrapping the yarn.
When s/he hands the ball of yarn to the next person, s/he
thanks them for sharing their gift and gives them a hug.
The web continues unraveling, all the way back to Grandmother
Spider. Each person will leave this encounter knowing their
connection to the Earth family and the affects of their
thoughts and actions on the rest of the Web of Life.
