I am back in N.W. Montana after travels for the last two weeks. We were in Hotsprings, MT. over New Years and did a Pipe ceremony there for about 30 people. The main focus was on re-evaluating our paths/dirrection in light of changes and decisions made over the last few months. We also prayed for the health/healing of several Elders and friends. One of the issues was release from addiction. When we do a ceremony for this kind of thing there is usually a two week "grace" period, so to speak, where the grip of the addiction is weekend or taken away. It is of the upmost importance that one uses this window to build new habits to replace the old ones. If you just float through this time thinking you have been released from the addiction, you will fall back into it when the medicine granted to you through the ceremony abates. Also, it is important to reform your relationship to the spirit of whatever has you under its additcion. For instance, tobacco is a plant but a spirit as well. I have a relationship with it based on it being sacred to me. If you are trying to quit smoking, you need to use the time granted to establish a new relationship with the spirit of the plant. Aplogize for abusing it, ask for its help in overcoming your addiction.

  I will write more in a day or so about the power and spirit of the hotsprings, that place is amazing!

 Blue sky,

 Jim

I am still on the road returning from the ceremonies held in Arizona on the 21st, and after. I will give you all a full report in a few days, possible after the next ceremony on the 31st in Northern Montana. For now I will tell you that during the ceremony in Camp Verde last Sunday, we (around 50 folks) were blessed with continuing sundogs from the start of the ceremony and continued for 4 hours following. We also saw a very rare sign in the sky, not the horizon mind you, but directly over head. There were three seperate rainbows above us, one was inverted. From what we were told this is something so rare that only one has been reported in the last 40 plus years of weather history.

 According to many Elders in the early 1800's, they said that one of the signs of the shift or change of the worlds would be increased sundogs. I will give more information about these predictions in a few days, until then, thank you all for your understanding in waiting for my post on this.

 Blue sky, (and sundogs!)

 Jim Tree