The most advanced scientific view has found that in the sub-atomic realm, there are no longer any things: there is only a dynamic flux of process and relationship.  This was an astonishing discovery, but it was not new.  Indigenous people for millennia have seen the cosmos as a place of kinship – a place of harmony and beauty.  Come join us as we explore the beginnings of a new language – a language that is now emerging through dialogues with Native elders, quantum physicists and other Western scientists.  Come join us as we explore the connections between the Quantum realm of Energy and the Indigenous Spirit realm.

The Cosmological Meaning of Time and Origin
from Western and Indigenous Science Perspectives

They say the faster you travel, the slower time moves.  What does that mean in a modern society obsessed with moving faster and faster?  Is the modern notion of Time breaking apart?  Did the cosmos begin or was it always here?  Is time a dimension; an illusion, or in the words of Grandfather Leon Secatero, the 5th Element?

What are the ramifications of the way we think about time?  Must there always be a beginning, middle and end to all things?  What if instead we were living in accord with natural rhythms of the cosmos?  Is time a constant or a flow of experience or is it possible to begin to think about time in a completely different way?

What is the deep underlying philosophy of Indian time?

A possible point of connection between modern physics and Indigenous philosophy is in consideration of the pervasiveness of Energy in the universe, which Indigenous people call Power.  Modern physics and Indigenous philosophy both agree that there are unseen dimensions of the cosmos.  String theory predicts the cause of standard model particles, including the hypothetical Higgs particle, considered by some physicists to be the cause of inertia.  Could the Higgs particle it be a clue to the origin of the cosmos in the early Universe (after the Big Bang) and the unification of the four known fundamental forces of nature (Grand Unified Theory)?

For ten years, SEED Graduate Institute has brought together Native and Western scientists in an exploration of the underlying principles of the cosmos.  In this, the Tenth Annual Language of Spirit dialogue, we will explore what Western scientists and Indigenous elders may have in common in a pursuit of understanding the origin of life and the nature of Time.  In so doing, we hope to shed light on an overall understanding of the interconnectivity of life and what it means to live in time with all our Relations.  This promises to be another incredible year as we embark on this exploration together.

History of the Dialogues:   In 1992, the late David Bohm, famed colleague of Einstein's and Leroy Little Bear, JD, former Director of Native Studies at Harvard, brought together a meeting of the minds between quantum physicists, Native American scholars, and linguists to discuss the underlying principles of the Universe... more Excerpt from Glenn Aparicio Parry’s Dissertation Chapter Four:  Dialogue Film Screening:  Saturday, August 9, 2008 -- 7:00pm.  Don't miss the screening of The Language of Spirituality by Anthony Dellaflora.  A fascinating documentary based on The Language of Spirit Conference, this film explores the connection between modern physics, Native American worldview, and Language.  Buy The Language of Spirituality by Anthony Dellaflora.
Special Pre-Conference Workshops Saturday, August 9th, 2008 Embassy Suites Hotel Pat McCabe:   Writing for Worldview Purification   09:00AM - 01:00PM Amit Goswami:   Creative Evolution   02:00PM - 06:00PM		More Conference Information Full Conference Schedule Full Brochure 2.72 MB

Dedicated to the memory of
Paula Gunn Allen (1939-2008) and Dan Moonhawk Alford (1948-2002),
friends to all people with an open mind and heart.
 

Conference Participants
		David Abram, PhD:  Cultural Ecologist, Philosopher.  Publications include The Spell of the Sensuous:  Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World (Vintage, 1996).			Andy Hilgartner, MD:  General semantics scholar.
		Leroy Little Bear, JD:  (Blackfoot) Former Director of Native Studies, Harvard University.  Aboriginal Person of the Year, Canada, 2003. Linda Hogan, MA:  (Chickasaw) Poet and author, including Dwellings:  A Spiritual History of the Living World.  She is the recipient of numerous awards for her writing. Leon Secatero:  (Canoncito Band of Navajo) Headman, Spiritual Elder, Council of Spiritual Elders of Mother Earth. Nancy Maryboy, PhD:  (Navajo / Cherokee) Educator, Cosmologist.  President, Indigenous Education Institute. Phil Sakimoto, PhD:  Astrophysicist, Univ. Notre Dame, member, Board of Directors Astronomical Society of the Pacific. VerlieAnn Malina-Wright, EdD:  (Native Hawaiian) Former President, National Indian Education Association.			F. David Peat:  Author of Blackfoot Physics, Physicist, Director of the Pari Center for New Learning - Torino, Italy. Amethyst First Rider, MFA:  (Blackfoot) Creator of Trickster Theatre, Canada. Amit Goswami, PhD:  Quantum Physicist, Institute of Theoretical Science, Professor, Author of Quantum Creativity.  See Pre - Conference Workshop, Creative Evolution, for full biography. Donna House:  (Navajo/Oneida) Botanist, Landscape Architect for Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian. Ashok Gangadean, PhD:  Professor of Philosophy at Haverford College, Founder and Director of the Global Dialogue Institute. Angelita Borbon:  (Pasqua Yaqui) Practitioner of Sacred Science; fluent in Mesoamerican oral tradition.
		Matthew Bronson, PhD:  Linguist, Professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology at California Institute of Integral Studies. Mimi E. Lam, PhD:  Theoretical Chemist, Adjunct Professor, Aboriginal Fisheries, University of British Columbia Fisheries Centre. Jim Ryan, PhD:  Program Co-Director, Asian and Comparative Studies, California Institute of Integral Studies Jerry Honawa:  (Hopi) Hopi Tribal Elder, Advocate for water and environmental restoration. Lee Nichol:  Writer, Educator, Editor of David Bohm's On Dialogue, On Creativity and The Essential David Bohm.			Pat McCabe:  (Navajo) Artist, poet.  Pat's paintings are created as tools for individual, earth and global healing.  See Pre - Conference Workshop #1 for full biography. Roberto Gonzalez-Plaza, PhD:  (Native Chilean), Faculty, Indigenous Education Institute. Tobasonakwut Kinew:  (Ojibwe) Elder and ceremonial leader, former Chief, Ojibways of Onigaming, Pipe Carrier, member, Mitewiwin. Bruce Wilshire, PhD:  Senior Professor of Philosophy, Rutgers University, Author of Metaphysics:  An Introduction to Philosophy. Phillip H. Duran, MS:  (Tigua) Physicist, former dean of Science & Mathematics, Northwest Indian College, Bellingham, WA

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