Isle of Skye Peace Chamber
Isle of Skye 2017
Ocean & Scotty Graham
oceanandscotty@btinternet.com
Honoring those walking Mother Earth with
Wisdom-Innocence, Purpose and Integrity…
Our Sacred Elders.
March of 2017, I was gifted with the blessed opportunity to be with two very special Elders, Ocean and Scotty Graham, who have and continue to dedicate their energies to the teachings of Grandfather Joseph Rael-Beautiful Painted Arrow. They are longtime participants of the Dance, the builders of the Isle of Skye Sound/Peace Chamber, and holders of Ceremony.
In 1990 Ocean “put out a prayer regarding Earth healing” and was called to dance the first Drum Dance in the UK, organized by Lindsay Sutton, a student of Joseph Rael’s and co-author of Tracks of Dancing Light by Joseph Rael. This first Drum Dance is where Ocean met the Chief of the Drum Dance, Grandfather Joseph Rael-Beautiful Painted Arrow! The trajectory of her life path at this point became clearer.
THE ISLE OF SKYE SOUND CHAMBER:
In 1993 after experiencing her 3rd Drum Dance, Ocean, the other dancers and support team, and Joseph Rael were picnicking after the Ceremony, and Joseph shared his incredible vision of the Sound Chambers. As Joseph was articulating his vision, he pointed to Ocean and said, “you will build one” and Ocean thought “no I won’t…I don’t have any land…money…impossible!!!” Then, the resources began to manifest. Ocean met Graham Brown, an acupuncturist, who built structures that he considered to be acupoints for the Earth. In 1993, in Northern Skye, ground/rock was broken, and the first Sound Chamber on Skye, set in a beautiful location overlooking the sea, was in process of being birthed. One of Ocean and Scotty’s daughters, Selena, at 11 years old, dug the sipapu and arranged crystals around the sipapu circle. In 1994, The Isle of Skye Sound Chamber was completed. The Chamber has a 7-sided reciprocal frame giving it a strong foundation with Earth, and a whimsical eco-environmental turf roof. From the inside, a beautiful reciprocal ceiling draws the eye to Father Sky. See a photo of the ceiling here.
Guardians of the Peace Chamber:
South: Whale – emotional healing
West: Cheetah – awareness/listening
North: Bald Eagle – surgery
East: Nubian Ibex – Ancestral memories
In 1997, Joseph offered brief blessings and then Jeanne White Eagle and John, the ‘God-parents’ of the Sound Chambers, came and did a Sound Activation Ceremony.
Ceremonies and Activities held in the Sound Chamber and on the Land:
Meditations
Therapies and Healing
Sound Work
Dance and yoga
Many Sacred Ceremonies
Sweat Lodges
Retreats
Counseling
Spiritual Space
A Little HerStory/HiStory
Ocean was grown in England and in 1968 she and 4 older siblings relocated to Israel and were educated at the Kibbutz school, where Ocean became a serious pioneer of the Kibbutz communal group. She briefly returned to England, “found it all rather boring” and returned to Israel. Around this time, Scotty, had just split with his first wife and went on a Walk-About. He went country hopping all around Europe and eventually landed in Israel. In 1974, Scotty and Ocean met in Israel and became friends. In 1979, after various independent traveling’s back and forth from Israel to Scotland, Ocean and Scotty together, moved back to Scotland, Isle of Skye, and bought a house and 3 Light House cottages. They ran a self-catering business out of the Light House cottages, and raised two girls, Selena and Aliza. Scotty and Ocean have been together for 41 years and have been married for 39 of those years!
ABOUT THE DANCES:
Scotty has served the Dances as Dog Soldier and has been Alpha Dog for 10 years, as Drummer in the Drum Dances and as Moon Mother (an archetypal role served by both genders).
Ocean has also served the Dances in various roles, as Chief of the Drum Dance for a number of years, (recently handing the position of Chief over to Catherine Barningham), as Moon Mother, and as Deer Woman (Kitchen Chief). In 1999, Ocean danced her first Sun-Moon Dance in Australia and has continued to dance or support in one of the roles. She has participated in 35 Dances, involving the Sun Moon Dances, and since 1990, Drum Dances. In 2008, Ocean attended the International Chamber Keeper Gathering, and participated with ALL the Dance Communities around Britain in building a Chamber in Selkirk, called The Light House, for the International chamber keepers gathering. The Dances have been growing in Britain and Scotland. There are now regular dances in Manchester, Norfolk and one in Pluscarden, and the dances have blessed many other places in the UK.
Ocean and Scotty’s daughter, Selena, danced her first Sun-Moon at Casurina, in Australia at age 18, and currently fills the role of Head Moon Mother at the Manchester Dance.
LETTING GO OF A LIFE CHAPTER
In April of 2016, Ocean and Scotty made a decision to move to Lossiemouth, Moray, Scotland, to be closer to their 4 grandchildren. Ocean works in this new location in the Home-Health Care field. Before departing Isle of Skye, they performed a Sacred Ceremony to close the Sound Chamber, and now are renting out their home, the Isle of Skye Peace Chamber and the Peace Chamber Land on Skye. A Sacred Earth-space, which memory holds dearly, in a heart-space of Love.
SACRED DRIFTING WITH ELDERS
When Ocean contacted me last April and said, “I think you will need to take us off the Sacred Drift list, as we are closing down the chamber and moving”, I said, “ I would still like to meet with you and honor your path by learning about your lives and how you have served in the Sound/Peace Chamber communities.” Ocean was supportive and keen to engage in this unknown process, and this is what unfolded…
The time spent with Ocean, Scotty and Meri (the Springer Spaniel) was delightful, educational, hearten-ing, nourishing and enriching and I absolutely reveled in the sonorities of their respective accents!
Ocean offered several interesting explorations for us to experience. We toured the ruins of the Elgin Cathedral and gawked at the fantastic Architecture and history. My interest in the original peoples of Scotland, the Picts, piqued when seeing the symbolic stone carvings at the Cathedral.
One evening Scotty, Ocean and I ventured to the Cave of Clay Sound Chamber, located in Moray, close to where Ocean and Scotty live. Here, we engaged in Sacred Ceremony with the Elder/Keeper of the Cave of Clay, Stella Longland. Ocean generously wanted to give me the opportunity to meet Stella and offer Sound Journey in this Sound Chamber, in lieu of the Isle of Skye Chamber. The collective Sound Journey was magnificent and it was wonderful to meet Stella and have the opportunity to connect intimately with the Cave of Clay Chamber. Read about the making of this lovely garden Sound/Peace chamber here.
The next day, Ocean took me to explore the Fantastic Findhorn Eco-village Community and Dunes! We explored the Whisky Barrel Houses, the interesting architecture and acoustics of the concert hall, a potter’s whimsical artwork and the Nature Center, where we entered into Sound Ceremony. The Nature Center is built into the side of a knoll and resembles a Sound Chamber Kiva and a sweet Hobbit House. There were Buddha statues scattered around the eco-village, giving this Earth-space a serene and peaceful vibe. I encourage a visit to their website.
One morning I went for an exploratory run to the sea in Lossiemouth, absorbing the fresh salty air, the sounds of seagulls, the extraordinary architecture, the yellow flowering Gorse, a seal resting on a large stone, the beauty of the wet stones and small shells leaving their intricate patterns on the beach and the balancing-peaceful-pulse of the ocean waves.
One of my favorite things in Life is hearing the musical flow of accents. I have ‘threatened’ to place a book of poetry into the hands of my friends from New Zealand, South Africa, Ukraine, France, England and now Scotland, and have them read to me for hours. HA!!! Scotty took me up on the offer!!! In our final evening together, Scotty, a Bonnie Scotsman through and through, with a delightful accent, read the poetry of Robert Burns to Ocean, Meri and Me, by the fire, in the comfort of their sitting room! What a scene and fine joyful experience!!! My favorite Burns selection that Scotty brilliantly recited, and granted me repeated performances, is “To a Mouse”! THANK YOU SCOTTY!!!!
Wee, sleekit, cowran, tim'rous beastie,
O, what a panic's in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty,
Wi' bickering brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee,
Wi' murd'ring pattle!
I'm truly sorry Man's dominion
Has broken Nature's social union,
An' justifies that ill opinion,
Which makes thee startle,
At me, thy poor, earth-born companion,
An' fellow-mortal!
I doubt na, whyles, but thou may thieve;
What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
A daimen-icker in a thrave 'S a sma' request:
I'll get a blessin wi' the lave,
An' never miss't!
Thy wee-bit housie, too, in ruin!
It's silly wa's the win's are strewin!
An' naething, now, to big a new ane,
O' foggage green!
An' bleak December's winds ensuin,
Baith snell an' keen!
Thou saw the fields laid bare an' wast,
An' weary Winter comin fast,
An' cozie here, beneath the blast,
Thou thought to dwell,
Till crash! the cruel coulter past
Out thro' thy cell.
That wee-bit heap o' leaves an' stibble,
Has cost thee monie a weary nibble!
Now thou's turn'd out, for a' thy trouble,
But house or hald.
To thole the Winter's sleety dribble,
An' cranreuch cauld!
But Mousie, thou are no thy-lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men,
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!
Still, thou art blest, compar'd wi' me!
The present only toucheth thee:
But Och! I backward cast my e'e,
On prospects drear!
An' forward, tho' I canna see,
I guess an' fear!
Another beautiful gift from Ocean and Scotty was in the relaying of their understanding of Scottish history. There are a plethora of fascinating stories and mythic legends regarding Scottish origins, and the one about the Scots being able to trace their ancestry to the Egyptians interests me greatly. Historians and DNA Scientist have been looking into the validity of the Scots tracing their ancestry directly to a pharaoh's daughter, Scotia, known as the “Mother of all Scots, where the name Scotland originates, and her husband Gaythelos, a Greek king. It is believed that Gaelic came from this King’s name, Gaythelos. Scotia and Gaythelos had a son called Hiber, which is where Hibernia originates; the classical Latin name for Ireland. To learn more about this fascinating story, go here.
Ocean told me of a Cherokee Man she knows, with a Scottish last name, and a bit about the ways of the original Scottish Clan Chiefs and Native American Chiefs. I immediately was deeply interested in the more recent Story of the Scots and their migration to Turtle Island (North America), and specifically, their relationships with the Native Americans, particularly the Cherokee Nation. I immediately started to research what Ocean had imparted to me, and found this…
“It has been widely reported that historically there has always been a great affinity between the Scots and the North American Indians and the reasons suggested have been the similarities between their cultures and the fact that, generally speaking, if the Scots wanted to settle on Indian territory, they tended to ask, rather than take! “
To learn more go here.
REMERCIERS:
To Stella…thank YOU for opening up space and time in your life to allow for the Cave of Clay experience that we all enjoyed, for feeding me the traditional Bread and Butter pudding, and for the gift that you gave to Ocean to give to me. XO
To Scotty and Ocean…Deep Heart-felt gratitude for the many ways you nourished and enriched the experience of Scotland for me, for opening up space and time in your life to share with me, for the pick-up from and drop-off to other destinations, for your support of the Sacred Drift and most of all, for sharing your Playful Wisdom-Innocence! You are truly Beautiful Wise Hearts Beaming with Light!
