Elders?
I don’t suppose anyone knows where I can find some Elders?
I do mean the capital-e sort of Elders. The sort who have received the wisdom of their ancestors and lived long enough to learn what it means. The sort that had already been there and done that before I was even born. The sort that don’t need myopic dogmas or clever theories because they have actual experience. And the sort that are happy to tell you all about it because that’s what Elders do.
I have attempted to patch together some wisom, but I don’t really know what it means. I think I might be getting there, but I don’t have any idea how to do that. And I’m trying to shed dogmas and theories as best I can, but experience is proving tricky to come by.
So, I need myself some proper Elders. The only problem is I don’t think Western culture has had Elders readily available for quite a long time. By this point, I’m guessing that they’re very nearly extinct in these parts. I’d be happy to look elsewhere, but I don’t know where to start looking.
If you have any suggestions, I’d be happy to hear them. 
July 19th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
Retirement communities perhaps?
July 19th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
I was thinking of a more traditional sort of Elder, the sort to which I could say “I had a seizure when I was 14 and my reality split open, what does that mean?” and they’ll know what I’m talking about.
July 19th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
Yeah, I think all the Elders went to Valinor a few thousand years ago.
Wait…those were the EldAr! You want Elders, not elves.
Maybe try the Succubus Club…I hear there are some VERY traditional Elders there…
In all seriousness…I’m really not sure that who you are describing truly exists outside of fiction. If any do, they probably live in a cave somewhere–far away from television and cell phones…and people.
July 20th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Busy next weekend? :^)
“The Annual Elders’ Gathering is a multicultural celebration where people of many nations come together to pray, share and study ways that we can contribute to peacemaking in the world.
Each year we return to the sacred fire in the Arbor of the Peace Village to listen as Native Elders speak about ancient teachings and prophecies that will help prepare for the years to come.
The Annual Elders’ Gathering is a non-profit event hosted by Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo Chief of the Green Mountain Ani Yun Wiwa ( Cherokee ), Sunray Meditation Society & The Sunray Peace Village Land Trust.”
http://www.sunray.org/
July 20th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
Unfortunately, our friend Dhyani Ywahoo is actually Diane Fisher, a con artist with no ties to the Cherokee Nation.
http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=75.0
July 21st, 2008 at 8:52 am
Damn. Fake Elders…
Disillusionment abounds - Two weeks ago I was about to quote the “Letter from Chief Seattle” that Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers refer to extensively (and quote in its entirety) in The Power of Myth. Turns out that letter was written by a dude named Ted Perry for an independent film about ecology in the seventies.
In his defense, Perry himself has tried to correct the misunderstanding several times, but people, yet again, seem to prefer the myth to reality and the legend lives on…
Perry is disgusted by the whole thing and refuses to make further comments, but when he spoke to Newsweek in 1992 he asked “Why are we so willing to accept a text like this if it’s attributed to a Native American? It’s another case of placing Native Americans up on a pedestal and not taking responsibility for our own actions.” Sounds about right…
Interestingly enough, Perry is a professor at Middlebury College. What is it about Vermont that makes it such a hotbed for fake wisdom?
Sigh…My Inner-Cynical Bastard is enjoying this way too much.
http://www.synaptic.bc.ca/ejournal/newsweek.htm
Seriously though, if the 13 Indigenous Grandmothers turn out to be a Baker’s Dozen of Great Aunt Tilly(s) from Toledo, hell will be paid in full.
So sayeth me.