Andrew Ramer
Declaration on the Role of Gay Men in the World
posted to www.WildFaith.com by permission of Andrew Ramer
We are an ancient people. Because we live between male and female, matter and spirit, the living and the dead, and because we come from every other people, we are honored in many cultures for our capacity to link, connect, and unify. We have been called gate- keepers and bridge builders. We are the Walks-Between People, a natural healing and peacekeeping force in the world.
As consciousness scourts we explore the terrain of life to find what is new and needed. We are transformational artists and beauty-makers. We are healers, especially gifted as midwives for the dying. We have always met in sacred groves, for we are the guardians
of the trees. Some of us work alone, others in community. Sometimes we work through our actions, and sometimes we work silently, in prayer and meditation. Now is the time
for us to own who we are, as individuals and as a tribe, in a world that needs our gifts.
Rub your body from head to toe. Standing, put your right hand on your lower abdomen between your navel and pubic bone, and say out loud, "We are a sacred people." Notice where you feel sacred in your body and mind, and where you don't. Over time, breathe sacredness into every part of yourself, for we are priests of Father Earth and Mother Sky.
Drop your right hand. Put your left hand on your heart and say, "We are a healing tribe." Notice where you feel healing in your body and mind and where you don't. Over time, breathe healing into every part of who you are. We are the Hand Tribe, blessed with the gift of sacred touch. At the core of all our gifts is our capacity for healing and renewal.
Keep your left hand on your heart and place your right hand on your abdomen again. Feel the energy that begins to spiral between both hands, filling your body. Send this energy down through your feet into the living body of Father Earth, and up through the top of
your head into the vastness of Mother Sky. Breathe in both of their energies and let them merge in your body. Be conscious of your sacred task and the ways that you can manifest it in the world. If you are doing this in a group, feel your separate energies join together
in a vast column of light, a sacred tree of life, one that weaves together Sky and Earth.
Face the four directions, starting with the east. Say out loud to each one, "We are a sacred people. We are a healing tribe." Then inhale deeply, and with a strong exhalation send
out your energy in that direction. Let everyone know that we are here to embody our sacred task -- helping to transform the world, in ways that emerge from who we are and always have been. Send energy to all the men of our tribe, and send energy to any troubled people or places in each direction. Remember that we are men who love men.
We are the Walks-Between People. Now is the time for us to do our work in the world.
Copyright (c) 2002, Andrew Ramer. Please make copies of this page exactly as it is.
For more information on the Walks-Between People read Two Flutes Playing.
Originally presented at the Fall 2002 Conference of Gay Spirit Visions.
