The Red Road

The long road winding began in the stars, spilled onto the mountain tops, was carried in the snow to the streams, to the rivers, to the ocean… it covers Canada, Alaska, America, Mexico to Guatemala, and keeps winding around the indigenous.

The Red Road is a circle of people standing hand in hand, people in this world, people between people in the Spirit world, Star people, Animal people, Stone people, River people, Tree people… the Sacred Hoop.

To walk the Red Road is to know sacrifice and suffering. It is to understand humility. It is the ability to stand naked before the Creator in all things for your wrong-doings, for your lack of strength, for your dis-compassionate ways, for your arrogance. Because to walk the Red Road you always know you can do better. And you know, when you do good things, it is through the Creator, and you are grateful.

To walk the Red Road is to know you stand on equal ground with all living things. It is to know that because you were born human, it gives superiority over nothing. It is to know that every creation carries a Spirit, and the river knows more than you do, the mountain knows more than you do, the stone people know more than you do, the trees know more than you do, the wind is wiser than you are, and animal people carry wisdom. You can learn from every one of them because they have something you don’t. They are void of evil thoughts. They wish vengeance on no one, they seek justice.

To walk the Red Road, you are given rights. You have the right to pray, you have the right to dance, you have the right to think, you have the right to protect, you have the right to know Mother Earth, you have the right to dream, you have the right to vision, you have the right to teach, you have the right to learn, you have the right to grieve, you have the right to happiness, you have the right to fix the wrongs, you have the right to truth, you have the right to the Spirit World.

To walk the Red Road is to know your Ancestors, to call to them for assistance… it is to know that there is good medicine, and there is bad medicine… it is to know that Evil exists, but is cowardly, as it is often in disguise. It is to know there are Evil Spirits who are in constant watch for a way to gain strength for themselves at the expense for you.

To walk the Red Road, you have less fear of being wrong, because you know that life is a journey, a continuous circle, and a sacred hoop. Mistakes will be made, and mistakes can be corrected… if you will be humble, for if you cannot be humble, you will never know when you made a mistake.

If you walk the Red Road, you will know that every sorrow leads to a better understanding, every horror cannot be explained, but can offer growth. To walk the Red Road is to look for beauty in all things. To walk the Red Road is to know you will one day cross to the Spirit World, and you will not be afraid…

I walk the Red Road.

As a student of the Lakota language, Daryl’s primary goal is to bridge the gap of understanding between Native and Non-Native cultures and belief systems.

Though Daryl follows  the path of  the Red Road he does not feel that his choice of honoring creation is for everyone. Daryl  does not believe that one path or belief system is more sacred than another. It is truly what is in a persons heart. Practicing the American Indian earth religion is a guidline to remember a more balanced way of life, and a format to continually create a better one.

Nila has worked in the metaphysical field for 30 years and has been in private practice for the past 17 years. She has enriched the lives of her clients, which are located throughout the world, and range from presidents of corporations, police officers, movie industry professionals, entrepreneurs and therapists to homemakers. Nila has successfully assisted people with trauma, severe illness, addictions and multiple personality disorders as well as women with abusive relationships. She has also helped artists and writers to eliminate blocks to their creativity.

Nila hosts workshops and retreats and conducts Earth Ceremonies with her husband of 25 years, a Sundancer from Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. She has been a guest on radio shows and teaches a workshop intensive on the Sacred Tarot. Her basic "Soul Retrieval" or fragmentation integration technique has been included in published materials by nationally recognized author Jamie Wood. Nila is also a founding member of the Council of Crones of First Woman's Church, Hathor Chapter.

She is affiliated with Neuro Engineering, Inc. a Los Angeles based organization providing training and certification programs in the most advanced techniques in creating immediate change in practically any situation, no matter how challenging.  Neuro Engineering provides tools for creative expression, building rapport and turning ideas into reality.

Nila works with individuals as well as groups and is also available for workshops, retreats and seminars nationally and internationally. Currently, Nila co-facilitates an annual workshop and retreat to Kadavu, Fiji and offers many certifications, workshops and classes at Four Crows, a store owned by her and her husband which offers Native American and non-native handmade handcrafts, workshops, classes and circles, and is the home of the American Indian Cable Network.

For more information, please contact Nila at 714-534-4444.

The Lost People
by Thom Hartmann