“Sensitivity to geomagnetic currents is a function in animals that can be referred to as nothing less than an intelligence” Voices of the first Day, Robert Lawler.
When we observe nature, really paying attention to the patterns of the leaves, the rhythms of the birds, the cycles of the weather and so on, it is evidently clear that there is a remarkable innate force operating within all life that has some form of blueprint knowing of survival.
Not just survival, but thriving and adapting within its ever-changing environment.
This can be observed throughout the animal kingdom, a beautifully wild instinct of knowing, without being taught. How do the baby Sea Turtles know upon hatching that they must hurry down to the water and swim, how do they know which way the water is, how do they know how to swim? Or the great migrating Channel Billed Cuckoos who fly from Papua New Guinea to Australia each year to lay their eggs in the nests of an entirely different bird species, yet these young Cuckoos know instinctively where to fly back to every year, without being shown.
The innate knowing within all creatures in undeniable, and expressed throughout nature everywhere.
Science has leads that may help us understand this intricate and complex phenomena a little more, yet the more scientific answers one finds, the deeper into the metaphysical one is led.
Like all organisms within this vast universe, The Earth is a living organism which has a magnetic field that interacts with all inhabitants. One could say this magnetic connection is the voice of the Earth, guiding us from within. Speaking to us on a molecular level. This is the case for all animal species, and we humans are apart of that and always have been.
All Indigenous tribespeople from all over the world have attracted the attention of many anthropologists and archeologists alike for many reasons. One of them being their remarkable tracking and navigational skills. Deemed by many to be some kind of supernatural relationship between human and other-than-human.
From The Bushman of the Kalahari desert to the Amazonian Tribespeople tracking through the rainforest, we find this deep rooted mastery apart of Indigenous living all over.
The Australian Aboriginals are a phenomenal example of this interconnected relationship.
Many early anthropologists visiting Aboriginal tribes left many accounts of the Indigenous’ ability to navigate through dense and vast landscapes arriving at the sacred site or camp that to a newcomer would seem to be in the middle of no-where. There is an old saying from the 1800’s “No one has ever met a lost Aboriginal”
An excerpt from David Kowalewski essay on Ecopsychology says
“An Englishman in Australia came across an Aboriginal sitting on the ground staring into space and asked, what are you doing? “Tracking” came the reply, “but you’re not moving” objected the Englishman. “I don’t have to”, “I’m tracking out there, “pointing to a distant hillside. He then proceeded to describe the location of the creature and sketch all his tracks. The Englishman later verified the claim”
I like to use these example’s of tracking to emphasise on the deeper relationship that is existing between human and other-than-human. Something is formed when all of the senses are used and infused with the metaphysical senses of energy. A focus that has taken years, actually lifetimes to master. An attention to detail and observation that has become foreign to the modern mind.
One must only observe the Aboriginal culture to see that their lifestyle and rituals were very much an infusion of the material world (hunting, birthing, water, sex) and the “Dreamtime” spiritual world.
What has Aboriginal Spirituality got to do with the innate intelligence within all life on Earth? Everything.
This understanding shows deep and purposeful awareness and relationship with all living things. Living life from this perspective not only connects us with all of creation but reveals our place within it. Which is referred to in Indigenous culture as the Lore. All of life stems from the foundations of Lore, which keeps harmony, balance, growth, accountability and health in check. If you break the lore the consequence is unforgettable.
In modern culture, our laws stem from control, slavery, greed and ownership, the complete opposite of indigenous culture.
So how can we connect with the Innate Indigenous Intelligence that exists within us all when we find ourselves in a society that goes against the very thing that connects us all?
Well, simply by asking that question is a great place to start. The more we learn about Indigenous lifeways the greater we can empower ourselves with these ancient seeds of wisdom and connectedness. Spending time in nature always reveals the truth of reality.
Everything we have learnt as humans has been from generations of observation and interaction with the animal and plant kingdoms. The bush is our oldest living library!
The more we create space to learn how to be human again, what that feels like on a sensory level, the closer we become with this ancient Intelligence within.
I recommend reading the book SandTalk by Tyson Yunkaporta if this evokes a deeper curiosity within.
