The revolution starts... now
Spiritual elders, concerned citizens believe the truth will set us free in 2007
Jim Sanders

James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, died on Christmas day — a fitting end to what was another soulless year here on planet Earth.

Thank goodness the human soul is as eternal as the sounds of James Brown, because in 2006 humanity tried its best to snuff out human spirit.

No handshake at church on Christmas Eve and no donation to a Christmas hamper can hide the fact that we all participate daily in a system in which most of the world suffers so a few can benefit. As long as global capitalism keeps on truckin’, the world will never understand the true meaning of Christmas and the birth of Jesus.

Love for your friends and family is not what it’s all about — love for all life is the message.

Do we love the young children in China who slaved to make our gifts? Do we love the trees that died so we could box and wrap them? Do we love the factory animals slaughtered for our gluttonous meals?

As we say goodbye to Christmas 2006, our ‘soul spark’ is at an all-time low. The flame of life is almost out.

Recently I was fortunate to spend some time with Don Cardinal, a Cree elder who lives in Seven Sisters, Man. Over coffee at his place, he explained to me how there are eight sacred fires. The seventh of these fires is the fire of the human spirit. He told me that when the Seventh Fire is low, one must use the Eighth Fire of all life to re-ignite it.

That is exactly what he and many elders from all over the Americas accomplished at the Igniting the Fire Gathering this past September at Manitou Ahbee in the Whiteshell Provincial Park. During a four-day ceremony, they lit the Eighth Fire of Life in order to re-ignite the flame of the human spirit.

Don Cardinal described to me how this ceremony was done in order to invite the ancestral spirits to come and bring peace and balance back to the Earth. Don believes, as do many indigenous elders, that a time of healing is coming to the world. The first step to this healing process, he explained to me, is that the truth must be flushed out.

All the lies and corruption perpetrated by those with power and money need to be cleansed.

Governments, corporations, churches are all in need of a good truth purge. The system is constipated with greed and power, and it’s due for a dose of spiritual Ex-Lax. Once the truth is out, then people can begin to heal and the soul of humanity can become the roaring fire it should be.

Rest assured, 2007 will be as insane and absurd as 2006, but thanks to the dedicated spiritual work of elders such as Don Cardinal, better times are on their way.

I fear for those politicians and leaders who are deceiving the public, because their house of cards is about to come tumbling down. For those with things to hide, the truth is going to burn.

Now that I get to write this column every week I will do my best to help with the purge.

Jim Sanders is a local documentary filmmaker and co-founder of Dada World Data Productions.