Inner and Outer 'Workings' of Our Cycles of Truth

There are 12 Cycles of Truth as shared  by Twylah Nitsch, the Seneca  Elder who brought these teachings into the world.
As I have worked with these cycles, I have come to see the first five Cycles of Truth are invitations and instructions for relating to our inner growing, knowing, being.  They are in some ways correlated with our senses.**
1. Learn Truth--touch
2. Honor Truth--taste
3. Know/Accept Truth--smell/scent
4. See Truth--sight
5. Hear Truth--hearing/auditory
(Working with each of these cycles incorporates and helps us develop our intuitive/sixth sense.)

The remaining seven Cycles of Truth are invitations and instructions relating to knowing, being and expressing in the world around us, in our relationships with all-people,creatures, places and things. As we work with cycles 7-12 our intuitive senses and our connection to our understanding of Source also grows and develops.

6. Speak Truth  --speaking only truth as we understand Truth
7. Love Truth --Truth as expressed through our heart
8. Serve Truth --live servicing truth as we understand what is Truth
9. Live Truth -- awareness of Truth resonating in our being
10. Work/Walk Truth  --conscious and intentional expression and actions in/of/with Truth
11. Share Truth --willingness to share in actions, words and intention our understanding or Truth
12. Thank Truth --living in/with gratitude

When Jamie Sams wrote her The 13 Original Clan Mothers, she honored the 13th Cycle 'Be Truth', is the clan mother, Becomes Her Vision.  This cycle occurs as the final new moon of the year in our Gregorian calendar.  In my work, I use this thirteenth cycle as a month of reflection, self assessment and integration.

**These are my interpretations and understanding.  It is not my intention to represent them in any way as 'official'.

Self Reflection: Moving through the 13th moon cycle,  take time to review and reflect on your experience with each of cycle of Truth.

All Truth Cycles Imply Movement

Rhythms and cycles imply movement
They also imply there is a repeat in pattern, an ongoing return to repeat,
or to begin again further down the path
or further up the spiral.

Life has rhythms and cycles as well.
Perhaps this is why some of us are drawn to journal amidst the moon cycles,
using the Cycles of Truth as our guiding star.

To Share Truth is 'Walking Our Talk'.  We are growing, changing and 'choosing' beings.  The moment we entertain stubbornness or status quo we are no longer in a present time, we then are no longer in Truth. A very blunt spiritual teacher once said to me "You are either dynamic or dead; ultimately there are no other options."

We are all walking a spiritual path in our life, and by being conscious of our path we remain in motion. Our spirituality is a dynamic process; spirituality is NOT passive!

Self Reflection: Do I experience my spirituality as dynamic? passive?

Carolyn comments: Depending on where the teachings on the cycles of truth are sourced, the 10th and 11th cycles both may refer to Walking the Truth.  This could be a confusion in translation or interpretation, but I have come to understand this seeming confusion not as confusion, but as an invitation to be conscious of the ACTIVE action required in both October's cycle of 'Work/Walk Truth' and November's cycle to 'Share Truth' as Bob and Lee Nitsch name these cycles, or 'Walk Truth' as Jamie Sams and Kenneth Cohen acknowledge it. The teaching source (Grandmother Twylah Nitsch) is the same.

Gifts of the Cycles of Truth: The Pathway of Peace Meditation

This is a reading of the Pathway of Peace Meditation pages 95-97 in Honoring the Medicine by Kenneth Cohen

Pathway of Peace Meditation


Self Reflection:  Listen to the meditation, familiarizing yourself with the seven stepping stones and their gifts.  It is suggested you take 30 seconds to a minute (or more) at each of the steps to fully integrate the fullness of each stone along the path of the meditation.  This will require pausing the video and taking all the time you need/want before proceeding.  Alternately, over the course of a week, meditate with one of the pathway stones on each of the seven days.

One Minute Running Out the Door Alignment Prayer

 I like my rituals to be uninterrupted, so I plan them for early dawn hours. In these days, at the close of summer holidays, schedules are getting back in sync for fall—school, work, whatever.  These schedule changes call for adjustments in my personal routines, as well.

My morning ritual takes some time, and part of the frustration of these end of August days is when the morning changes interrupt MY morning prayer and contemplation routine. 

When this happens, I have a one minute ritual, my ‘running out the door into my day prayer’.  As I go out the door I notice whatever it is Creation presents to me from nature: a tree, bird, animal, the morning star or the moon. 

I notice and I say: “Good morning, Creator, thank you for listening; thank you for hearing, thanking you for being.  Your being allows my being. I ask (insert a request for a definitive support for your day).” Then I say again.  “Thank you, thank you.  A million, million times thank you.”  

When this becomes a committed one minute ritual of every day, life changes for the better.  This prayer sets a template for our day. Try it! 

PS: This prayer is an adaption I learned through the teaching that originated with Twylah Nitsch.

Self Reflection: As I leave my home for the day, I notice whatever it is Creation presents to me from nature and greet the day: “Good morning, Creator, thank you for listening; thank you for hearing, thanking you for being.  Your being allows my being. I ask (insert a request for a definitive support for your day).” Then I say:  “Thank you, thank you.  A million, million times thank you.”  

Learning Truth Through Our Kinship with ALL Beings

Twylah Nitsch, the Seneca elder who, at the encouragement of her Grandfather, Moses Shongo,   brought the Truth Cycles out to the world, shared her story of connecting with her Stone Person guide. In her journey learning to connect and communicate with this Ancient One, who Twylah relayed 'chose her', found his way into her life. This stone person offered a way for Twylah to listen for guidance in a new way. This way of learning took her beyond her known way of communicating with humans, animals, and even trees. She learned a new capacity for relating with ALL manner of Creation.  In the act of being with the stone people, Grandmother Twylah learned a deeper way of learning the truth of her world. This experience of learning truth through the stone people is easily available to everyone, to each of us.

Self Reflection: Find a stone that calls to you and make it your traveling companion as you move through your day. Hold this stone in the palm of your hand in your prayer, meditation and contemplation time. If you listen, stone-person will indeed share with you and be a steadfast partner on your journey.



   

Meeting the Relatives of Twylah Nitsch

Today (and tomorrow) I will spend my day(s) with the son and daughter-in-law of Twylah Nitsch. Twylah is the Seneca Elder who has informed and inspired my moon cycle work and my quest to know and live ever more fully in Truth.  I never met this generous and giving elder while she was still living in her human body, but I have felt her presence with me many times in spirit.  So, I feel blessed to spend time with her children. I will listen carefully to what they share and pass on what I am able.