Reclaiming Wonder and Hope

Summary

Wesselman encourages us to move beyond “hand-me-down” beliefs and religions. Instead he invites us to co-create with spirit and follow a path of direct experience of the sacred. Our collective plunge down the steep slope of progress has come at the cost of a deep, intuitive connection with nature and our authentic spiritual selves. This has resulted in a collective and profound disenchantment of life. Wesselman recollects several poignant memories of personal times of enchantment. He shares with us the meaning and origins of the Native American Ghost Dance, which is a “reaching back into the past to connect with deceased ancestors.” This dance was a tremendous gift by the Northern Paiute prophet named Wovoka to the Native American community at a time when the ancestors were gone, the elders were gone, and all those who knew the prayers and the songs and the magic were gone.

Wesselman tells us, “The purpose of the dance was to bring back knowledge from the past to help revitalize Indian culture and spirituality.” In many ways, we’re faced with a similar situation today. We are in desperate need of an upgrade, a new story upon which the mythic foundation culture rests. He says, “The old story about who we are, what we’re doing here, and what this world is all about is no longer supporting us. It’s no longer meaningful to us and we’re in need of a new story.” He goes on to remind us that often we do not include our human species on the endangered species list. This deep dialogue explores a way to reclaim the wonder and hope that will give meaning to our lives and our world. (hosted by Justine Willis Toms)