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.
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.
From Left to Right: Cindy White, Cheryl Demmerts Fairbanks, Kahontakwas Diane Longboat, Kim Langbecker
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 as Indigenous peoples.
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.
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.
The wetlands at Planting Seeds of Hope.
Crawford Lake.
From Left to Right: Terrellyn Fearn, Diane Longboat, Dan Longboat, and Cindy White inside Lodge of Nations, Covenant of Nations Gathering
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.
