From The Daily Dialogue
From The Daily Dialogue
Broadcast of 5/29/98
Subject: [DailyDialogue #148] Truth and Dialogue
"My name is Malidoma. It means roughly "Be friends with the stranger/enemy." ... I am here in the West to tell the world about my people in any way I can, and to take back to my people the knowledge I gain about this world. My elders are convinced that the West is as endangered as the indigenous cultures it has decimated in the name of colonialism. There is no doubt that, at this time in history, Western civilization is suffering from a great sickness of the soul ... In the face of all this global chaos, the only possible hope is self-transformation."
-- Malidoma Some', Of Water and the Spirit
Malidoma comes from the Dagara tribe in West Africa He was kidnapped from his family at an early age by Jesuits, who placed him in boarding school and gave him a western education. As an adult, he returned to his tribe and underwent a belated tribal initiation. Afterward, his tribal elders commissioned Malidoma as an emissary to a dominant culture, seeking to change its consciousness, one person at a time.
I met Malidoma at a retreat for men, several years ago. His speaking manner and his presence were memorable. He spoke plainly, with obvious humor and lightness. He touched me. I believed he was telling the Truth.
This recent emphasis on tribal peoples in these notes has a very fundamental relationship with the philosophy and practice of the dialogue. When we dialogue, we seek two things: connection and truth. We will miss both if we remain seduced by the dominant culture.
Experiment: Visit your library and find a book written about tribal living. Skim through it for a minute or two to see if it piques your interest.
Affirmation: We find truth in our practice of the dialogue.
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