Book Review Part 1: Journey to Eloheh (by Randy and Edith Woodley)

Today, a book is being released into the world and you would be doing yourself a great favor if you were to read it. The book is Randy and Edith Woodley’s newest book, Journey to Eloheh: How Indigenous Values Lead Us to Harmony and Well-Being. 

I was blessed to have been part of the launch team and thus I was able to read it already. It deserves 5 stars. However, I learned much from the book that already has, and will continue to, impacted my life. Before I offer my review of the book (check in tomorrow), I offer this:

From Chapter 12 on Authenticity: Speaking from Your Heart

There’s a story told on the Wind River Indian Reservation about the noteworthy Shoshone Chief Washakie, who lived through most of the nineteenth century. Washakie was being honored by the president of the United States with a silver saddle. The president’s aides had accompanied the gift all the way to Wyoming, and journalists were there, ready to report the old chief’s reaction.

After the gift was given, Washakie said nothing. One of the envoys asked Washakie to comment. Still, Washakie stood in solemn silence. Again, the men from Washington pressed the chief for a response. “Don’t you want to send a message back to the Great White Father in Washington, DC?” one of them asked. Yet Washakie never moved his lips.

Members of the press and government officials alike were indignant. How dare this old Indian slight the president in this way?

One more time they asked Washakie for a response. Finally, the uncomfortable silence was broken. This time Chief Washakie moved slowly to the center of the platform. He opened his mouth to say just these few words: “The White man thinks with his mind, and he has many words to describe his thoughts. The Indian thinks with his heart, and the heart has no words.”

In understanding the Harmony Way, we need to talk about how we speak—and how we don’t. We need to consider the differences in how we all use words. For many Indigenous people, there is a sort of primal power in our words and especially in our oral traditions. The journey to Eloheh includes thinking carefully about our words and what they reveal. It means learning to speak from the heart.

Today, on the release of the Woodley’s beautiful book of goodness, harmony, and wisdom I choose to begin by waiting as I learn to think with my heart.

Randy Woodley giving us a tour of Eloheh