Where Do We Want This Story To Go?

written by: Jon Lee Rucker

I would like to invite you, to share in a co-creation of Culture.

And what is culture?

Culture is the very thing that is going to save us.

And how do I know this?

Because culture is the very thing that has been destroying us...

Our human culture is the story we tell about our existence. It is the story of who we are; the world we live in and how it came to be; why we are here; our reason for living; our history; what we aspire to be; what is important; how we live; how we spend our time; how we treat each other and the other species on the planet; our role on this Earth; and what will be in the future.

Modern culture has driven human behavior to the point of nearly consuming ourselves to death. We have been led to believe that human beings are at the top of the food chain, the pinnacle of evolution, God’s greatest creation above all other species of life.

This idea has propelled human civilization to seek to dominate the entire web of life.
Dictators and emperors have risen to power, and without remorse have murdered anything standing in their way of establishing “God’s kingdom”.

The indigenous people who stewarded the Earth for centuries were nearly wiped off of the map, by the blind wrath of genocide. Colonizers spread a message that these people were inferior, that their ways were evil and that it was God’s will to civilize them.

And than there is the story of original sin.
Deep within the shadow of human progress, innovation and advancement, is a deficient self image. That human beings were cast out from Eden, and Jesus was brutally nailed to a cross for our sins. We shouldn’t trust ourselves. We shouldn’t trust each other. We should trust the MAN in the position of spiritual authority. We tell ourselves that our salvation will one day come, and yet deep down, we collectively do not believe that we are worthy of salvation. And so we are made to feel trapped, that the system is broken but we can’t fix it; that it’s going to get worse before it gets better; that the apocalypse is coming; that their can never be peace and that humans need to suffer.

There is another part of this modern story, which most of us learn at a very young age.
We are taught to compete, to climb to the top of the social ladder. We are taught to participate in a hierarchical system.
We are sold the dream of getting rich, acquiring as much material wealth as possible and one day to have other people working underneath us.
We take on all of these loans and debts and spend half of our life working endlessly to pay it off. The majority of people are hopelessly devoted to perpetuating modern slavery. A very small percentage of people own the majority of the worlds wealth and control the majority of the population.

While this small percentage of wealthy elitists live a life of material abundance, the rest of us are made to believe in scarcity, that idea that there isn’t enough for everyone.

I could go on and on about all the ways that the story we’ve been sold is the driving force of all the poverty, war and suffering we see today. But I’ll stop there.

Now let’s go back in time...

Let’s look at those indigenous people that I mentioned earlier.
What was their culture?

Well I wasn’t there. I didn’t see it with my eyes.
But I’ve been fortunate enough to have spent a good portion of the last 8 years learning first hand about indigenous culture, which has survived through oral transmission for centuries of time.
I’ve also had a chance to read about many Ancient cultures from all over the world.

I learned about a sacred circle, the Circle of Life, which we are all a part of. Red, Black, Yellow and White, all genders, all ages, we are all equal in this circle. The insects; winged ones; two leggeds; 4 leggeds; the elements; WE ARE ALL ONE.

We are a part of God’s beautiful creation. Father sun shines his light on Mother Earth, and she gives birth to us all through the Water. The Earth is our body, the water is our blood, the air is our breath and the fire is our spirit. Each creature, was created with a purpose, to be a part of the balance and ALL LIFE IS SACRED.

Nature’s imperative is for life to flourish.
Our planet is abundant, and has enough resources to provide for everyone. The Earth is our home, and everything upon her from the smallest speck of dust to the largest rock formations and great big oceans are all conscious. We are all interconnected and interdependent.

Human beings, the five fingered people, we have a role to play. We have been given the task of caring for all of life. We are stewards of the Earth. Human beings were responsible for creating the Amazon Rainforest. We can turn deserts into food forests. Or we can turn forests into deserts.

There is no scarcity. This land is abundant.
All of this magnificent beauty is our birthright.

We are not born sinners, we are born innocent.
When you look into a baby’s eyes, and you hear its laughter, and you hear its cry, you can feel the purity of that child. We are all born that way. In society we lose our innocence. We are not born violent.
It is because we are deprived of the things that we need which is why we grow sick.

We are the children of Mother Earth under the sun. WE ARE ONE with all of creation.
This is the only reality that we have ever been a part of.
Modern society is an illusion, it is a lie.

You are reading these words, you know they are true. You were born with this truth deep inside of you.
The indigenous peoples would plant trees for the future generations. Their way of life was based on what would have the most positive outcome for 7 generations.

It is said that we cannot know where we are going if we don’t know where we come from.
Maybe we cannot change the past, but WE CAN REMEMBER. We can remember a time where human beings lived in harmony with the Earth. We can remember that we are not separate from nature, but that WE ARE NATURE. Participating in destroying nature, is participating in the destruction of ourselves.

Millions and millions of people all over the planet are awakening from the illusion. Humanity is reawakening to the truth of our existence.

Culture is something that each one of us is contributing to every day.
From the things we buy; the clothes we wear; the food we eat; how we talk; the things we post on social media; the way we spend our time; the way we engage with life around us.
We are writing this story.

What if we could consciously co-create culture?

We could work together to write the story of the beautiful world that we inherited; the story of how we were led to forget who we are; how we came so close to the brink of mass extinction, and we decided that we are going to UNITE AS ONE PEOPLE under the sun! That we will bring food to the needy; Justice to the people of the Earth; assist nature to heal and clean the ecosystems; create a bright future for our children; a thriving web of life for many generations to come!

This is the mission of PermaJam:

To provide a safe space for people of all ages, genders, colors and faiths to discover new and ancient ways of living in harmony with the Earth. In our circle of shared responsibility we Co-create Regenerative Culture and entrust a thriving Web of Life to future generations.

PermaJam is about collaboration, rather than competition. We stand beside anybody, or any organization out there that is doing good work to uplift humanity.

You are invited, to be a part of weaving this beautiful web of culture.
We need help, we cannot do it alone.
If you have beautiful music, poetry or art;
If you are involved in a project to help humanity and the environment;
if you have a blog you want to write;
knowledge you wish to share;
If you have Medicine for the People;
then YOU ARE INVITED to share.

REGENERATIVE CULTURE IS:

Eco-conscious music and art; awareness and mindfulness; youth empowerment; bio-diversity; microbiology; minimal waste; Permaculture; symbiotic relationships; Indigenous Wisdom; natural building; meditation and yoga; foraging; tending the wild; plant medicines and herbalism; the earth is sacred; earth is our mother; we are all related; water protectors; 7 generations; soil health; air and water quality; growing food; composting; non-violent communication; gender equality; Racial equality; reconciliation; Restorative justice; social justice; healing; Web of life; interdependence; Reclaiming; decolonizing; be the change; conservation and preservation; liberation from fossil fuels, crypto currencies; alternative currencies; Community; act locally think globally; primitive skills; intergenerational; non-gmo; organic; Barter; gift economy and more!

PermaJam Mandala Artwork by: Amanda Parry Oglesbee

I do not know all of the answers.
But I trust that if we ask the right questions,
and we allow those questions to lead us,
then we can create a beautiful future.

IT STARTS WITH OUR CULTURE,

AND WE ARE THE ONES TELLING THE STORY.

All my Relations, Aho.

P.S. These ideas are not new. I want to thank every one that has ever stood for justice and the liberation of all life. I want to thank the Indigenous Peoples; the first nations; the original stewards. I want to thank all those that shared their good teachings. I want to thank Daniel Quinn, author of the book “Ishmael”. Thank you to Grandmother Patricia Anne Davis. Thank you to all my brothers and sisters who pray with me and help me to be a better human being. Thank you to all the ones out there pioneering solutions and every one using their sacred gift of life to inspire positive change. Thank you Amanda Parry Oglesbee for the original artwork PermaJam Mandala. Thank you everyone that has been a part of the PermaJam journey, for all of your contributions. Thank you to UNLOK. Thank you to everyone that took the time to read this post. Thank you to Creator, to Mother Earth, Father Sun, the elements without which there would be no life.

For more information on ways to get involved please email: fam@permajam.com