Kamana.org - Student Services

By Kamana Instructor Kat Koch

I was checking out the new Kamana.org site and I happened upon a video interview with Jon Young about where the word Kamana comes from. In the video Jon talks a lot about the future generations and their relationship to Kamana, both in Akamba culture and within the Kamana Program. And it got me thinking about my relationship to them. It is the one section of my Field Inventories that I still struggle with. Even when I do my Thanksgiving Addresses, I never quite know what to say when I get to that spot. I guess I haven’t fully developed my authentic relationship with this aspect of awareness.

The future generations are the unborn, the yet to come. Intellectually I know that when we think about them we are expanding our awareness over time and space and hopefully making decisions about our world that include them. But I don’t feel my connection to them in my body and, as many of you may know, I need that in conjunction with my intellect for my relationship with them to be real. I’ve spent a lot of time recently connecting with the ancestors and when I come to this part of my TGA, it shows. I feel at ease with them, like they are old friends (which of course they are!).

So, I’m going on a quest. For the next few weeks I’m really going to focus my attention on them. I’m going to develop my relationship with them by bringing my awareness there as often as I can remember. I’ll create a trigger for myself. Every time I start my car (the irony is not lost here) I will think of the Future Generations.

If there is a subject on your field inventory lists that you still don’t feel connected to, join me and take the next couple of weeks to connect with it. Create a trigger for yourself and make sure you take time to reflect upon what you are learning.

All of that said, I want to add something. And this something has to do with leaving blanks in your field inventories. The whip-master Kamana instructor inside of me wants to chide people when they do this. There is a part of me that finds it completely unacceptable, especially if you are in Kamana 3 and beyond. A blank space means there is a blind spot in your awareness. And that is okay, that is what Kamana is for, to help has become more aware or what we previously were not. But there is never really any excuse for a blank space in your inventories.

If you didn’t notice anything during the week at your sit spot about a particular area, then learn something new. Do a bit of research, either in your field guides or online. Learn a story, a fact, a something. This can be inspiration for when you next go outside. Can you find the new constellation you learned? Can you discover any squirrel sign? Catch my drift here?

I want to shout to the heavens, “NO MORE BLANKS!” Will you join me?

5 Comments Posted Leave a comment

Neal Ritter (Lafayette): I run a small farm on the plains in Colorado. The owners bought the property about 15 years ago, and planted 40+ trees in the acre surrounding their house, leaving the rest bare. That area feels like an oasis, is full of materials for survival skills, cover and food for animals, in general a soul enriching area. Seeing the change they have made there makes me understand the value of caretaking a landscape. I deeply wish that same attention had been given to the rest of the property, but I am given hope that is doesn't take that long. So I am planting trees. In the past three years, I have planted nearly 200 trees, from small starts to 15 foot oaks. Orchards, windbreaks, and beautiful berry shrubs. In several years, I will be able to bask in the shade of some of these, but the majority will be for my grandchildren and great grandchildren, both biological and those coming after. I think using our mind's eye and heart to but ourselves in the place of the future generations informs our decisions, and gives of deeply rooted reasons to give thanks to them for guiding our own path towards healing the earth.

Kat Koch (Duvall): I've been talking to my friends about the future generations and their personal relationships with them. My friend Angie thinks of all creation when she considers those yet to come. My friend Sol thinks of future beings, but is also really connected to the children who will become adults when we are elders and she feels that really helps her to connect.
Me, well, my relationship is developing slowly and I am feeling good about that.
I'm reminded of olive trees when thinking about the future generations. An olive tree can take 35 years to produce fruit, wow! So when you put an olive seed in the ground you are planting that tree for your children or grandchildren...

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