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I'd like to begin tonight with a story I heard many years ago about an African tribe

and in particular in this African tribe, the way the birth of a child, the birth date

was remembered and it wasn't remembered by the actual date the child was born or when

the child was conceived as his in some cultures.

But the date was when the child became an idea or thought in the mother's mind because

all of life really comes out of awareness and when the woman decides she's going to have

a child that fills her and she goes off and sits under a tree by herself and she listens

until she hears really the song of the child's soul in some way calling to her.

And then after she hears that she goes back to the man that's going to be the child's

father and she teaches it to him and they make love to physically conceive the child

and in some way they're singing the song as a way to invite the child in.

And then as the story goes and I'll read it, the mother teaches the song to the midwives

and the old women of the village so when the child arises the old women are around

her, the midwife and they sing the song to welcome the child.

And as the child grows up the other villagers are taught the child's song so they fall

down, they scrape their knee, whatever, somebody can pick the child up and sing the song to

them.

Or when the child goes through then grows up and goes through rights of puberty as a way

of honoring that person they sing the song.

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