All My Relations

On some level, we all know that we are all one. Throughout North America, Indigenous people have a very sacred and old expression of this oneness. You may have heard it used - “All my Relations”.

I heard this expression used for years without fully understanding its meaning. A few years ago I had the honour of an elder’s explanation of the true meaning of “All my Relations”.  My previous understanding of the expression was shaped by my very limited Western teachings.

All my Relations” is used to refer to our connection to all sentient, living beings. It refers not just to humans, not even just to life on this planet, but to all sentient beings every where. That includes the living beings of the human world, the plant world, the animal world, the mineral world and the spirit world. It includes our ancestors as well as our children's children's children. It includes all sentient forms of life, in all times, and all places.

All my Relations” is also an acknowledgement of, and invitation to, the holy spirit beings that assist us on our spirit path. “All my Relations” acknowledges that we are all one, that we are all interdependent, that the harm of one is the harm of all just as the blessing of one is the blessing of all.

Saying “All my Relations” is a way of connecting spiritually to all of life, to all of creation, humbly, as an equal. It is also a way of acknowledging our responsibility to all of creation, to all life, a way of showing respect to all life that is here now and all life that lives for the next seven generations.

The power of that much Love stirs me very deeply and I continue to learn more about these three simple words every time I hear or use the expression. I share this learning as a way of creating more space for all those who resonate with this way of being, including me.

All my Relations,
Artemis Fire