OUR STORY

A New Mind For A New Earth

Origin of Soul of the Mother

The ceremonial heart of ISS; a space for healing, training, and spiritual guidance.

Diane Longboat holding a stone shape into a turtle on her hand
Diane Longboat holding a stone shape into a turtle on her hand
Diane Longboat holding a stone shape into a turtle on her hand

Born of Vision – In Diane’s Own Words

One’s life journey begins before conception where spiritual gifts and mandate are embodied in the soul.  Dreams and visions have been part of my consciousness since childhood on the land of the family farm at the Grand River. As with many who are called, I needed to heal to approach sacred service with transparency and truth. 

In January 1994, at a time of great illness, the White Buffalo visited me with a message.  

You will return to the place where you were born.

You will light a Fire of Peace.

To that Fire, the Nations of your people will come seeking the true living essence of the Creator, not to change who they are, but to deepen their relationship to the Sacred.

It is not meant for you to work alone. The Creator will send the strongest Warriors to serve the Fire of Peace as part of their life’s calling.

When you are strong enough, the doors of the Lodge will open, and you will admit people who are white, yellow and black.  The Creator will raise up, not only the Red Nation, but all Nations of the human family, with love. 

You will have what you need, people will give. The messages will manifest in the world.

Diane Longboat walking with grandmothers
Diane Longboat walking with grandmothers

A Belief in the Message: Grounded in Spirit 

By August of 1994, my family and I moved to the Grand River, and two weeks following the move, the first Fire of Peace was lit. For the next several years, local community members came to the Sacred Fire for healing, teachings and for developing their gifts.  Six Sweat Lodges, tipis for men’s and women’s fasting lodges and a central lodge were built. Travel to First Nations was requested by communities in order to bring teachings and healing for spiritual awakening, a deep remembrance of who we are an Indigenous peoples. 

Diane Longboat in a ceremony around the ceremonial stones in Ireland
Diane Longboat in a ceremony around the ceremonial stones in Ireland

Throughout the 30 years of Soul of the Mother (SOM), no funding was ever sought, but donations for work came in to support those in training and to support the cost of tobacco, medicine, cloth and food offerings for ceremonies. As those serving the Sacred Fire of Peace, we self-funded the costs and our own travel to ceremonies to heal and learn. No one on the Council of Soul of the Mother has ever been paid. 

Diane Longboat and Indigenous elders
Diane Longboat and Indigenous elders

We were called internationally to gatherings such as the World Spirit Forum in Arosa, Global Passageways international rites of passage ceremonies in Hawaiʻi, the Jung Institute in Zurich, and the Institute for Noetic Sciences in Palm Springs. 

Diane Longboat and Indigenous elders
Diane Longboat and Indigenous elders

The networks of spiritual leaders and Healers grew, and relationships of mutual support formed beyond imagination. Today, we can look in any direction-north, south, east and west, nationally and internationally and count on deep spiritual connections as one family.  

Diane Longboat sitted in the Lodge with another elder
Diane Longboat sitted in the Lodge with another elder

As one is transforming into leadership, it is critical to apply the gifts to one’s working life in education-creating First Nations House at the University of Toronto and in health-bringing cultural traditions and healing practices into transformative policies, clinical services, reconciliation action plans, redevelopment opportunities, therapeutic art, and building networks of mutual support in hospital systems in Toronto and Ontario. 

Diane Longboat and Indigenous elders
Diane Longboat and Indigenous elders

We were called internationally to gatherings such as the World Spirit Forum in Arosa, Global Passageways international rites of passage ceremonies in Hawaiʻi, the Jun Institute in Zurich, and the Institute for Noetic Sciences in Palm Springs. 

Children working on the garden
Children working on the garden

As Council members of Soul of the Mother, we grew individually into our gifts, and formed a not-for-profit, Planting Seeds of Hope (PSOH) to focus on the critical nature of connecting children and their families to the land. At the World Spirit Forum, we met Joaquin Leguia, the ED of ANIA, Children’s Lands.  PSOH became the only site in Canada authorized to share the pedagogy and programs designated by UNESCO for ANIA.  Today, we have been endorsed to become an international training centre for Children’s Lands.  


Sunset and a view of a lake
Sunset and a view of a lake

As one is transforming into leadership, it is critical to apply the gifts to one’s working life in education-creating First Nations House at the University of Toronto and in health-bringing cultural traditions and healing practices into transformative policies, clinical services, reconciliation action plans, redevelopment opportunities, therapeutic art, and building networks of mutual support in hospital systems in Toronto and Ontario.  

As Council members of Soul of the Mother, we grew individually into our gifts, and formed a not-for-profit, Planting Seeds of Hope (PSOH) to focus on the critical nature of connecting children and their families to the land. At the World Spirit Forum, we met Joaquin Leguia, the ED of ANIA, Children’s Lands.  PSOH became the only site in Canada authorized to share the pedagogy and programs designated by UNESCO for ANIA.  Today, we have been endorsed to become an international training centre for Children’s Lands.  

A New Mind for a New Earth

The evolution of Soul of the Mother birthed the Institute for the Study of Spirit, a national Indigenous women-led charity with the mandate to support the healing of Mother Earth and contribute to the spiritual evolution of the human family.  

"ISS is a sacred circle for spiritual transformation in service of planetary healing."

Diane Longboat

lake and trees behind
lake and trees behind

A New Mind for a New Earth

The evolution of Soul of the Mother birthed the Institute for the Study of Spirit, a national Indigenous women-led charity with the mandate to support the healing of Mother Earth and contribute to the spiritual evolution of the human family.  

"ISS is a sacred circle for spiritual transformation in service of planetary healing."

Diane Longboat

Diane Longboat and er brother and other elders
Diane Longboat and er brother and other elders
We:
Respond to the growing call for spiritually-centered systems metamorphosis from organizations, foundations, and charities, both internationally and nationally, serving Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples
Offer leadership development, spiritually grounded and centered on self-development for one’s gifts and spiritual calling or mandate
Model the exemplar of values and principles of love, respect, compassion, unity and peace that are community oriented with global influence. 
Field full of flowers and blue sky
Field full of flowers and blue sky

©2025 Institute for the Study of Spirit. All rights reserved

©2025 Institute for the Study of Spirit. All rights reserved