Much of our inaction stems from our avoidance about acknowledging the destruction in the world. Though the pain may seem too great for us to bear, once we allow ourselves to feel, the pain gives us reliable information about our love for the world and becomes a source of motivation to strive for change.

The world I love is being killed
It's everywhere I turn
It wounds my soul and my spirit cries
Seeing everything start to die

The pain I feel is a sign of life
It lets me know I'm still breathing
The pain I feel helps me give my all
So the world I love can live on

While it takes great courage to challenge the current system, it is also a relief, because our animal soul has long been waiting to be freed from its cage.  In this chant, we invite our deepest instincts to come out of hiding to be treated with respect.

Tonight, come close
Animal soul
Drink deep

Release your voice
Animal soul
Be free

It's all about relationships.  Not only is our work based on a desire for mutuality and respect among humans and with our natural world, our success depends on our ability to negotiate and communicate our collective actions.  This chant is a meditation on the ways in which differences among us can be integrated into a larger picture of unity, even if our paths diverge.

Merge and separate, moving in compassion
Merge and separate, different but the same
Merge and separate, moving in connection
Merge and separate, different but the same

I am not like you, you are not like me
We come together in perfect harmony
I am not like you, you are not like me
We come together symbiotically

The difference between a chant and a song is that a chant is something that is repeated to generate a particular mental state.  This chant is an expression of courage, determination, and ferocity to protect that which we love most.

I'm a warrior
Fearless and heartstrong
Behold my power
To undo past wrongs
In service
To one another
Ancestral justice
And our Earth Mother
 

In revolutionary communities, we can use ceremony as a way to align ourselves with our purpose and raise energy to be effective in our actions.  This song celebrates our indebtedness to the elements from which we draw our strength.  

Thank you for the ground beneath my feet on which I stand
Thank you for the animal skins on which I place my hands
Thank you for the sky above for always being there
Thank you for the fire that is the heart inside this prayer

A radical change in culture is based in a new relationship with our landbase that is reciprocal and interdependent.  This chant expresses intent to serve and protect that which serves and protects us, which is ultimately an expression of love.

This land is holding me, healing me, wholing me
I will protect its beauty, purity, and harmony
The land and I are lovers
The land and I are one

Making radical changes in our culture may feel uncomfortable at first, but our wild natures are encoded in our ancestral DNA.  This chant reclaims our true, ecocentric identity.  The third line of this chant can be modified in the moment to name other nature elements that surround you.

I'm returning to the wilderness
with my body and my soul
Like river, stone, coyote, and moon
I'm embracing my true nature