The Deep Heart of Birth
How do we welcome new life into this world?
Neikame (nay-kah-may) is the name for this area of life and has been given to Lifeways from the Huichol tradition of Mexico. Neikame is the aspect of corn when she first begins to burst forth from the ground. What power, strength and yielding was required for Mother Earth to open up and for corn to come forth? When Neikame emerged, she was still somewhat fragile. Her voice was tiny and pleading because she knew that something was needed in order to thrive, and she couldn’t do it alone. She said “please tell the people to come and make offerings to me.” The locust heard the faint voice of Neikame and with his big voice was able to sing to the rest of the people so that they would come and make offerings.
It is natural for new parents to start with a variety of questions: What does it mean to bring a being into this world? How can parents, family, and the community prepare for this new life? How do we know if things are going well? What kind of support should the community provide in raising a child?
This program celebrates the sacredness of birth and encourages practices that reconnect us with the value, wisdom, mystery, and joy that come with the beginning cycle of life. When we engage with and welcome new life as a community, we nurture balanced children and invest in a stable and healthy society.
We offer this program in a weekend or an evening format, depending on the needs of the parents and their community. Attendees can ask, listen, share, learn, and be transformed by the powerful force of birth, as mothers, fathers, community members, and as people who were birthed themselves.
You’ll take away tools and perspectives for the journey of pregnancy, birth and the initial steps of parenting, gain reassurance about the process, and learn what you can do to help welcome in new life.