Journey for Health and Peace 1 response dyarrow share 11:04 PM May 28, 1996 (at igc.apc.org) From: "David Yarrow" close the circle ~ mend the hoop ~ weave the web Journey for Health and Peace by David Yarrow May 28, 1996 Roy Steevenz was born in Indonesia of an indigenous Indonesian mother and Dutch father. As a young man Roy joined the merchant marine and sailed the world. His voyages eventually landed him in Los Angeles. There Roy became involved with Macrobiotics -- a way of life based on traditional Oriental philosophy, diet, culture, and spirit -- taught by Japanese adventurer and peace activist Georges Ohsawa, and his students in America, such as Herman & Cornelia Aihara in California, and Michio & Aveline Kushi in Boston. Soon Roy became Director of the East West Center of Los Angeles, macrobiotic community center in the City of Angels. In this role Roy oversaw a thriving center offering classes, books, foods, community dinners, healing services, and educational programs. Roy was a Senior Teacher to counsel and guide people who sought relief from critical, often terminal illnesses. Roy ran the LA Center nearly 18 years. Early in 1986, Roy met Yogesh Ghandi, grandson of Mahatma, who led India's nonviolent revolt against British colonial rule. Turning point in Mahatma Ghandi's struggle with English imperialism was his Salt March, when he led thousands in a walk to the ocean to make salt to protest a British salt tax. Yogesh, in the tradition of his ancestor, was on a Salt March -- a walk for world peace across America from Los Angeles to the United Nations in New York City. Roy left his family and LA EastWest Center to join this Salt March. Roy distributed literature calling for a Macrobiotic Health and Peace Corps to teach healthy, wholistic, traditional living and healing. The March visited the Hopi Indians who live in the Painted Desert of northeast Arizona in nine villages atop three mesas. "Hopi" means "peace," and the Hopi claim to be the original inhabitants of North America, which they call Turtle Island. One Hopi village -- Oraibi -- is the oldest continuously occupied settlement in North America. Sadly, by the time the Salt March reached Denver, personalities and politics pulled it apart. But Roy persisted. Where does a Salt March go in America? The Salt City. So, in summer 1986 Roy came to Syracuse, the Salt City, at the heart of New York, the Empire State. There I ran Wellspring: The Center for Self Healing. Roy spoke to our small macrobiotic community, then I took him to Onondaga Nation to meet a few clanmothers, chiefs and leaders in this ancient indigenous community. Onondaga Nation is Firekeeper of the Grand Council of a Five Nation Confederacy founded by a legendary man remembered as Peacemaker. For a few years I had kept my garden there. Afterward, Roy confided his personal vision to return to the Painted Desert to live with the Hopi people and encourage traditional culture and diet. He felt the Hopi hold a key to the destiny of Humanity on Earth as we rapidly spiral into an end of a Century and Millennium. He said both prophecy and star knowledge say world changing events will soon sweep our planet to challenge human consciousness, spirit and survival. I agreed. Two years later I was in Charlottesville, Virginia working as Associate Editor of John Mann's SOLSTICE magazine. and writing my book Dragon and Ice Castle: Sacred Space in the Finger Lakes. One day John handed me a package from Thomas Tarbet of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Inside were four carefully written articles about the Hopi. Since 1965 Thomas associated with Hopi traditionalists and prepared his essays under their guidance. One -- Tuuwaqatsi -- described Roy's return to the Hopi and his effort to heal Titus Qomayumptewa, a badly injured elder, and one of the best Hopi farmers. In 1990 I talked to Thomas Tarbet by phone about Roy's life with the Hopi. Roy had become a controversy in the Hopi community, since he, with Titus, advocated abandoning white man foods and culture and return to traditional Hopi diet and way of life. Younger Hopi resented this outsider who, through their elder, asked them to give up modern commercial culture's conveniences. I could imagine Roy quietly reminding his detractors he himself was half indigenous bood. Yet, insisted Thomas, "if Roy continues to play his cards well, traditional Hopi may take him underground with them when Purification Day comes." I thought this a high compliment of Roy by the Hopi. We all knew Purification seems now inevitable and immanent. In August 1992 Theresa Ghandi -- Yogesh's wife -- drove me from our home at Crystal Hill in Eden, NY to the Buffalo airport to fly to Minneapolis to teach a workshop -- Close the Food Circle: building sustainable regional food systems -- at the No. American Greens Economic Conference. The next day -- Hiroshima Day -- while visiting electrical engineer Spark in southwest Wisconsin, my left hand touched a 6,000 volt power line. Scorched, shocked unconscious, I fell from a roof to break vertebrae and ribs. I was in a Wisconsin hospital eight months. In 1994, in a Vermont hospital still recovering from my near-death encounter, I received electronic mail from Alpha Institute in Aurora, Colorado with an Affidavit drawn up by Thomas Tarbet on Roy's behalf. Titus had adopted Roy as a son. Titus died and willed his land to Roy. Roy, with Titus' daughter, signed this legal document that Titus' land was sovereign under the Creator, not subject to rules of any human nation or government. Today humans face serious challenges of world peace, land preservation and ecosystem regeneration. A few people committed their land and their lives to create Community Land Trusts: legal entities chartered to hold land in trust for future generations. European kings -- sovereigns who owned the land by Divine Right. At Onondaga Peacemaker instructed the Grand Council chiefs and clanmothers to keep, caretake and guard land and its life for the Seventh Generation. Traditional wisdom is we can own what is made by our hands and minds, but land -- made, not by humans, but Creator -- can't be owned. I tell this tale because Roy's act -- to declare land sovereign under Creator -- shines light down a path out of our current danger to a future bright with hope, love and life. Roy's act is our next step on a path to realign Human Law with Divine Order. In April 1996, after writing this document, I saw the thread of Roy's story emerged in my life every two years. Was it time for a new page in Roy's journey for health and peace? I didn't doubt Roy's feet were still firmly on the path. Three weeks later Roy called from Arizona. The next week his three essays arrived: Global Moccasin Ceremony, The Tawa Message, and Global Liberation. The first described how Titus fulfilled his destiny at the time of the birth of the white buffalo calf in Janesville, Wisconsin on Aug. 20, 1994 -- exactly two years and two weeks after my 6,000 volt catastrophe. Birth of the white buffalo calf held deep spiritual signifcance for the Lakota nations of the northern plains. White Buffalo Calf Woman had brought the Sacred Pipe and instructions how to live in peace. Lakota Chief Arvol Looking Horse, 19th generation carrier of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Woman Pipe, had called for World Peace and Prayer Day on June 21, 1996. I was already distributing copies of this message. Recognizing the timely, critical significance of Roy's call for Global Moccasin Ceremony to unite East and West, I immediately typed his message into my laptop to circulate via Internet and hard copy. That Sunday, at a Christian fellowship service led by a healer from India, I took my first steps in 3 and a half years since Hiroshima Day 1992. The next weekend friends took me to a Buddhist Peace Pagoda in Grafton, NY to celebrate Buddha's birthday and deliver the calls of Roy Steevenz and Arvol Looking Horse for unity and healing of Earth and Humanity at the Summer Solstice. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For additional information about Roy Steevenz, Titus Qomayumptewa, the Hopi Indians, Global Moccasin Ceremony, Chief Arvol Looking Horse, World Peace and Prayer Day, and the white buffalo calf, please access the following topics: Hopi: the People of Peace Global Moccasin Ceremony World Peace and Prayer Day Miracle: The White Buffalo Calf Tree of Peace: New World Democracy These documents available by fax or snail mail from Turtle EyeLand. For more information, send $1 and your address to Turtle EyeLand. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ for a green and peaceful planet for the Seventh Generation David Yarrow at Turtle EyeLand c/o Broeckx, P.O. Box 6034, Albany, NY 12206 dyarrow@igc.apc.org 518-426-0563 *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Birth of the White Buffalo Calf lets us know we are at a crossroads -- either return to balance or face global disaster. It's our duty to return to sacred places and pray for world peace -- if we do not do this, our children will suffer. -- Chief Arvol Looking Horse, Lakota-Dakota-Nakota Nation 19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ** WORLD PEACE AND PRAYER DAY ** JUNE 21, 1996 ** JOIN US IN PEACE ** *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*