WHO WE ARE:

WHO WE ARE:

EARTHS HEALING HEART DRUMMERS is a growing group of individuals who have been supporting a vision I received to begin a 24-hour-a-day-drum prayer through the internet. My name is Bill Cote, my traditional name is Chal.Si.Nam.Men. About three years ago while my father was ill I received a vision to begin this drum prayer. Since then I have shared this vision with many of my friends and elders.

My vision is to begin a 24-hour-a-day-drum-prayer that is continuous and can be participated in by individuals, friends, and communities. I began this effort believing a prayer that encourages people of all cultures, races, religions, etc will focus our intention to begin to replace the fear and mistrust so prevalent in our society and in the world with trust and cooperation. I have followed a Native American Spiritual path for the past 20 years and have developed a strong belief in the power of prayer. I have also experienced our society becoming more and more full of fear and suspicion.

In June of this year I attended the World Peace Forum in Vancouver British Columbia. We maintained a continuous “heartbeat” drum rhythm for the 6 days of the conference as a prayer for world peace. We then moved to Olympia Washington where we continued that drumbeat for another 6+ days. Our effort was an encouragement to many both in Vancouver and Olympia. We believe it is important, (actually Critical) at this time for all people to peacefully and respectfully stand and speak about the problems we face in our society and in the world.

respect and that honesty are strong and essential values to a community. Today most of us are so caught up in the struggle for what we call survival that we have lost that essential element of spirituality and good human relations—respect for our brothers and sisters. At the same time we have created leaders and institutions that seem to honor money and power rather than people. The tragedy of this is that most of us feel helpless to have any meaningful input to the social system we are living in. A friend of mine said we need to realize where the real power in this country is. It is with the people. When the people accept this responsibility will we begin to address the many complex problems we face in today’s world. Many of us believe it is not ok for our country to act like the biggest bully in the schoolyard of the world, but that we need to work together with others in our own country and in the world to deal with the issues creating so much anger, violence, poverty, and fear in our world. Drumming gives us a means to begin to come together with our brothers and sisters to pray together, to start to share our feelings and concerns with one another, and to reach out into our communities with an alternative to the helplessness so many of us feel. We need to begin to address the real issues of how we are creating a society of wealth at the cost to thousands of humans who are disenfranchised and discouraged. As my father was dying I realized that all the money in the world would not replace the value of the time I spent with him. We need to find the time to nurture this human connection with our brothers and sisters and then I believe we will be able to find solutions.

This task is a difficult one in many ways. It requires we consider our life in relation to peace. Do we have peace in our family, in our heart, in our community? If we do not what do we need to change? What do we do with our time that creates peace in the family, in the world? How can we address these issues without losing the conveniences of modern scientific achievement we so value? How can we begin to get information from our institutions and media that is reliable. How can we help other countries from our heart rather than only from our armament? I strongly feel it is NOT OK for our country to continue to inflict injustice on the world and to ignore real issues at home – not in our name; not in my name!

We are asking people to help us. We recognize the importance of the separation of the state and religion. However by using the spiritual principles of respect and trust that all religions are based on we can begin to reestablish relationships and communities based on trust and cooperation.

We can come together in our homes and communities and drum. We ask people to drum at the rhythm of the heartbeat—the sound we all heard in the womb. When we drum or listen to the drum beating at this rhythm it reconnects us to that sacred feeling we all experienced in the womb. When we reconnect with that sacred feeling we find the means to treat ourselves and others with respect. All spiritual paths and even science recognizes the interconnectedness of all of nature, which includes us human beings. We need to develop our relationship not only with our brothers and sisters but also with the earth. Recognizing and honoring this vital connection with the earth can help us, The earth is alive and will help us when we respect her. we need to recognize our bodies are made of this earth and we need to develop a respectful relationship with the earth before we totally destroy this home we live in—the earth. To help us in this endeavor we encourage people to join us in the drumming, sharing, seeking wisdom and guidance from elders and spiritual leaders.

I thank the friends who have supported me and shared their encouragement for me to follow this vision. I also believe with the guidance of the elders and with us working together we can make a difference in the world that passed onto our children. Thank You