MINERAL
For many indigenous cultures, Mineral is the elemental energy that allows us to remember, to communicate with one another, to express deep feelings, to remember our origins, to honor our ancestors, and to help us remember our purpose in life. On the wheel of life, Mineral is located in the West. For indigenous cultures, our bones, not our brain, are the storage house of memory. An elder might say: “This is in our bones just as it was in the bones of our ancestors.” Even in our culture it is not uncommon for someone to say, “I knew it in my bones.” This type of ‘knowing’ refers to a deeper and more elemental way of knowing than is possible with rational thinking.
Any creature born with bones is to be born already possessing certain knowledge. For indigenous cultures, no one comes into this world without possessing some knowledge and it is the culture’s charge to help the person learn what this knowledge is and to help the person develop his or her ‘innate’ knowledge.
Indigenous people don’t learn by looking outside themselves — they strive to learn how to remember the knowledge they already possess. As an Educator (from the Latin ‘educare’ — to call forth) it is my charge to ‘call forth’ the wisdom, the gifts, the talents, the potential that already exists within the person. Educators call forth that which is ‘hidden’ from the person.
The person who has a Mineral nature speaks a great deal because Mineral verbally expresses or reveals what is stored in one’s bones [or what is stored in the culture’s bones]. Mineral-people are great story-tellers and are fascinated with stories, myths, and traditions. They love metaphors and symbols and use them to enhance their stories. Some Mineral-people are poets or writers of songs or hold the proverbs of the culture and share them when they are needed. Through their stories, poems, songs, proverbs, etc. they praise, remind and warn.
A culture rooted too heavily in Mineral is frantically involved with communicating and communicating to the point whereby no one really listens or pays attention. Mineral cultures are also steeped in argument and debate as contrasted with dialogue and deep conversation. Mineral-people are outgoing to the point of being verbally over-whelming. Their gift is the gift of ‘remembering’ — remembering one’s (including the culture’s) origins and purpose.
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