Native American Spirituality

[Passionaria]

This is dedicated to Spiritdancer and Waxnrope from the depths of my heart I send prayers of: love, care, nourishment, support, timely intervention, resources, and the strength of heart to see you through this difficult journey. I am here for you both, always, with much LOVE.........

Pashi

[Passionaria]

Black Lodge Singers- mighty mouse


Black Lodge Singers- Looney Tunes


black lodge singers- spongebob squarepants

[Spirit Dancer]

Originally Posted by Passionaria

This is dedicated to Spiritdancer and Waxnrope from the depths of my heart I send prayers of: love, care, nourishment, support, timely intervention, resources, and the strength of heart to see you through this difficult journey. I am here for you both, always, with much LOVE.........

Pashi

Pashi
On behalf of my family I thank you
for the light and love you so willingly share we are grateful to you.
Many Blessings Always
SD

[Spirit Dancer]

"But in the Indian Spirit the land is still vested; it will be until other men are able to divine and meet its rhythm. Men must be born and reborn to belong. Their bodies must be formed of the dust of their forefathers' bones."
--Luther Standing Bear, OGLALA SIOUX
It is said when we walk on the Earth, we are walking on our ancestors and our unborn children. This is the relationship Native People have with the Earth. It is this relationship which gives insight into the Earth's rhythm and heartbeat and creates the feeling of belonging. If you feel you belong to something, you'll treat it with respect. If you feel you are above something, you'll treat it with disrespect. Indian Spirituality is tied to the Earth. We belong to the Earth along with all other creatures on the Earth. We must align to this realization.

Great Spirit, today, teach me to respect the Earth Mother.

[Passionaria]

June 21st is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, and it is considered a holy day by many indigenous people here on the planet. It is said to be a very powerful time to pray for peace and harmony in the world. In recognition of this indigenous holiday, Native people have established “World Peace and Prayer Day.”

This is from the Wolakota Foundation:
http://wolakota.org/menu.html

Following the birth of a White Buffalo Calf in 1994, the Keeper of the White Buffalo Calf Pipe for the Lakota, Dakota, Nakota Nations, Arvol Looking Horse, was directed to honor the Four Directions with ceremony on June 21st. According to Lakota Star Knowledge, the birth of Miracle, a female white buffalo, signaled a time of earth changes and the coming of the mending of the Hoop of All Nations. The Summer Solstice is said to be a powerful time to pray for peace and harmony among all Living Beings. Grandmother Earth's gifts, the air, water plant, animal and rock nations must be allowed to heal if we are to live in harmony with Her.

All Nations recognize Sacred Sites as Places to gather or perform private ceremony. For countless generations these Sites were honored, cherished and strengthened through ceremony and Our Mother remained healthy. To ensure the lives of future generations for all our relations, we must begin again to honor, cherish and renew Our Mother.

For four years, beginning in 1996, Chief Looking Horse honored June 21st by offering ceremony in the Four Directions. He traveled to Gray Horn Butte in Wyoming (aka Devils Tower), the Cree Nation in Canada, Pipestone Quarry in Minnesota and to Costa Rica. People of all the Nations of the globe were invited to offer ceremony at Sacred Sites. Thousands around the world have responded and began honoring their local Sites. Following the Wopila (Thank-you ceremony) in the "Heart of Everything That Is," the Sacred Black Hills in 2000, it was decided that Chief Looking Horse must once again offer ceremony to the Four Directions of the globe. He began in Ireland in 2001, South Africa 2002, Australia 2003, and Japan in 2004. In 2005 the ceremony returned to the Black Hills to offer another Wopila on Turtle Island (North America) to complete his commitment to bring about awareness.

We are now promoting to create a mass awareness of all nations, all faiths, one prayer to encourage everyone to take time on June 21st and join in the united prayer/meditation to heal our Grandmother Earth.

[Spirit Dancer]

"The god that people reject is not the true god, it is a god they have conjured up apart from proper education, and understanding. In such cases, the least Fools Crow will do is to call their assumptions into question, and force them to re-evaluate their position."
--Thomas Mails on Fools Crow, LAKOTA
Inside of every person - man, woman, and child - is the knowledge that there is a Supreme Being. Many of us have been taught that the Creator is a punishing God. We have been taught about feelings of guilt and shame when we do things wrong. We have been taught that God gets angry and disappointed with us. The Elders teach us that the Creator is a loving and forgiving God. He loves us during our good days and He loves us during our bad days. He doesn't know how to do anything but love. If I really want to find out about the true God, I only need to ask in prayer. There is one thing that God cannot do and that is refuse help to one of His children who asks.

My Creator, I ask You to be a part of my life today. Whisper to me Your wisdom. Let me feel Your presence. If I am doubtful and afraid, show me, in terms I can understand, You are real.

[Passionaria]

This is the "talk" I wanted to share with you. You can find out more about Winona by going to : http://www.honorearth.org/

[Spirit Dancer]

"The one who wishes to be a true medicine person must be a person of faith, and they can only work successfully with those who also have faith."
--Fools Crow, LAKOTA
Medicine People are spiritual beings who have made a decision to seek the Red Road. They sacrifice and seek the way of the Creator. After many years of dedication, the Grandfathers teach them about power, and about laws, and about how to use the medicine. The Medicine People develop tremendous faith in their medicine and in the Creator. When we go to the Medicine People, we too must have faith so they can help us. We can only be helped if we want to be helped. Because the Medicine People know how to help - that is only one half of it. The other half is up to us. We must have faith that the medicine has powers to help.

My Creator, faith is belief without evidence. Today, give me the faith. Let me trust that You are running my life. Let me know You are in charge of all things. Let my mind not wonder; let me stand strong on Your path today.

[Spirit Dancer]

"Believing people can soar beyond ordinary life."
--Fools Crow, LAKOTA
We are created by God to be vision people. First we set the goal and then we see. If we create within ourselves a picture or vision and we hold that picture or vision in our mind, whatever we picture will show up in our reality. If we can see ourselves being educated, then schools and teachers will show up in our lives. If we picture in our mind a positive, spiritual person to be in our lives, we will attract this type of person in our relationships. How big can our dreams be?

Great Spirit, let my visions today be Your vision. Put within me a vision of the being you would have me be. Then help me to keep the vision in my mind.

[Spirit Dancer]

"We are called hollow bones for our people and for anyone else we can help, and we are not supposed to seek power for our personal use and honor."
--Fools Crow, LAKOTA
In order for us to use our power well, we must become a hollow bone. We must prepare ourselves to become a channel. Our channel must be clean before we can use our power well. We must be free of resentments, guilt, shame, anger, self pity, and fear. If these things are in us, we cannot be hollow bones. These things block us from our power. The cleaner we are, the more power we move. We must become a hollow bone so the Creator can use us to do what he wants us to do.

My Creator, remove from me today all resentment, anger, fear, guilt and selfishness. Do not let my weaknesses stand in the way of my usefulness to You. Make me a hollow bone so Your power can flow through me.

[Spirit Dancer]

"...when faithful human beings or other creatures called upon them for help, they [the Powers of the Four Directions] must send their powers..."
--Fools Crow, LAKOTA
Each of the four directions has special powers. These powers or Grandfathers are there to help us. The powers are from the East, the South, the West, and the North. To call upon the power we need to stand in the center and face each of the directions and honor all forms of life in each direction. Facing the East we honor all the two legged, four legged, winged ones, plants' nation and the animals. We repeat this prayer in each of the four directions. This allows us to become centered. When we are centered, then we are ready to call the helpers. It is said, when the student is ready, the teacher appears. If we are to be ready, we need to remember to always get quiet first. We do this by honoring and praying to the four directions.

Grandfathers from the four directions, come to me today with Your powers. Give me Your gifts so I can serve the people.

[Spirit Dancer]

"What could be greater than to be Wakan-Tanka's mind, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, arms, hands, legs, and feet here on Earth?"
--Fools Crow, LAKOTA
In order for the Creator to do His work on this earth, He needs the human being to do it. How He guides us is through our eyes, ears, hands, nose, mouth, arms legs and feet. We are instruments of the Creator. We are His keepers of the Earth. We are the keepers of our brothers. We are to teach His children. We are to respect the things He has made. We are to take care of ourselves and treat our bodies and our minds with respect. We are to do respectful things. We are to walk the Sacred Path. We should have good thoughts. We should do only things that we think the Creator would have us do. What an honor to be a human being. What an honor that He would talk to us and guide us to perform His wonders.

Oh Great Spirit, let me appreciate the role you have given me. Let my sense be sharp to hear Your voice. Keep my mind clean so I can do the things You would have me do.

[Spirit Dancer]

Great Spirit
More than ever allow me to be strong, hear your words
and know my path is set and I walk with faith in you,
and the strength you've taught me guides me daily.
SD

[Spirit Dancer]

"We forget so we consider ourselves superior. But we are, after all, a mere part of the creation and we must consider to understand where we are and we stand somewhere between the mountain and the Ant. Somewhere and only there is a part and parcel of the creation."
--Chief Oren Lyons, ONONDAGA
Every human being gathers information from the center of a circle. If we are not careful, we soon think we are the center of all things. Therefore, it is easy to become self centered. Once we become self centered we start to think we are above all things and therefore superior. But we are really only one part of a great whole. The universe is all connected. Each part is here to do something special and according to its design. We are here to honor and respect the job of each part. We are neither above nor below anything. We need not be ruler over anything, we need only to live in honor and harmony with the system.

My Creator, help me to view and conduct myself in a manner of respect, dignity and honor to all creation. Let me see You in all things.

[Spirit Dancer]

"Words hypnotize and deceive everyone at one time or another, but these hypnotic words cannot last long in the hearts of true warriors."
--Barney Bush, SHAWNEE
We are a part of an interconnected system. Words in themselves have no meaning. It is the spirit and intent behind the words that really show the meaning. We are connected to each other at the center of the atom which makes up the air and our body. The center of the air's atom system is connected to the center of our body's system. I am connected to you and you are connected to me in the center of our being. If my words have no meaning, you can feel this through the center of your being.

Great Spirit, help me make my word good. Let me do the things I say I will, and let me say the things I will do - and do it.

[Spirit Dancer]

Stronger Than You Know
Getting Ourselves Worked Up

We are almost always stronger and more capable than we believe ourselves to be.


Our capacity to cope successfully with life's challenges far outstrips our capacity to feel nervousness. Yet in the weeks, days, and hours leading up to an event that we believe will test our limits, we can become nervous. While we may have previously regarded ourselves as equal to the trials that lie ahead, we reach a point at which they near and our anxiety begins to mount. We then become increasingly worked up, until the moment of truth arrives and we discover that our worry was all for nothing. We are almost always stronger and more capable than we believe ourselves to be. But anxiety is not rational in nature, which means that in most cases we cannot work through it using logic as our only tool. Reason can help us recognize the relative futility of unwarranted worry but, more often than not, we will find more comfort in patterns of thought and activity that redirect our attention to practical or engaging matters.

Most of us find it remarkably difficult to focus on two distinct thoughts or emotions at once, and we can use this natural human limitation to our advantage when trying to stay centered in the period leading up to a potentially tricky experience. When we concentrate on something unrelated to our worry—such as deep breathing, visualizations of success, pleasurable pursuits, or exercise—anxiety dissipates naturally. Meditation is also a useful coping mechanism as it provides us with a means to ground ourselves in the moment. Our guides can aid us by providing us with a focal point wholly outside of our own sphere.

The intense emotional flare-up you experience just before you are set to challenge yourself is often a mixture of both excitement and fear. When you take steps to eliminate the fear, you can more fully enjoy the excitement. Though you may find it difficult to avoid getting worked up, your awareness of the forces acting on your feelings will help you return to your center and accept that few hurdles you will face will be as high as they at first appear.

[Spirit Dancer]

"I'm an Indian, I'm one of God's children."
--Mathew King, LAKOTA
My Creator, today let me remember the reason I'm here on Mother Earth. Let me look into my own eyes and see the beauty You have created. Let me have good thoughts. Being Indian is not the color of my skin. Being Indian is to listen to my heart, to think only the things You have taught, to watch nature, and live in harmony. Being Indian is to walk in prayer, to talk to You constantly during the day. Being Indian is to act and to walk in a sacred way.

Today, let me think in beauty, let me walk in beauty, let me pray in beauty.

[Spirit Dancer]

Nourishing and Cleansing
Performing Daily Ceremony

We can engage in daily practices that include ritual and ceremony, reminding ourselves throughout the day of the sacredness of this life.


When we perform or participate in rituals and ceremonies, we enter into a state of mind that is different from mundane consciousness. Ranging in significance from bedtime stories to weddings, ceremonies and rituals are acknowledgments that an event or period of time has special meaning. As a result, they can have the effect of drawing us into the moment, inviting us to pay closer attention and tune into the subtle energies that are always present but that often go unrecognized. In addition, as we perform the same actions we have performed before and will perform again, we immerse ourselves in a river of continuity that extends back into the past and forward into the future.

Many of us have distanced ourselves from rituals that may have seemed too constricting or too attached to an organized religion we have chosen not to follow. However, we can reclaim the practices of ceremony and ritual to good effect, imbuing them with our new consciousness, and we do not have to wait for a big event to do it. We can engage in daily practices that include ritual and ceremony, reminding ourselves throughout the day of the sacredness of this life. In fact, if we look closely, we will see that our days are already made up of rituals, from the time we wake up to the time we retire. So we do not need to change anything except our perspective to imbue our day with an air of ceremony.

Most of our daily rituals revolve around nourishing and cleansing, both of which have always been sacred acts. With this in mind, we may pause before each meal, close our eyes, and say a silent thank you to the universe that provides. If we want to get more elaborate, we can light candles or bless our food. Similarly, as we wash ourselves in the morning and evening, we can choose to see the grace in this act of cleansing and purification as we release what has past and prepare ourselves for the new. We can be as simple or as complex as we like, so long as our attitude is one of reverence for this sacred moment in this sacred life.

[Spirit Dancer]

A Refuge of Your Own
Creating a Garden Sanctuary

Think about creating a garden sanctuary to reconnect with nature and honor yourself and mother earth.


Each of us has been blessed with an innate need to celebrate and glorify life. At a most basic level, we honor the forces that came together to bring us into being by caring for our bodies and our souls. To truly rejoice in existence, we must also learn to cultivate loveliness in those special places that replenish the soul. When we create a garden sanctuary, we are reminded that we are a part of both nature's essence and something more. An outdoor retreat is a place we can surround ourselves in nature, beauty, and the life force. It is not difficult to create a sanctuary—we should endeavor, however, to create sanctuaries that speak to us as individuals.

Whether we have a yard, a grassy corner, a patio, or a porch at our disposal, our creative potential is infinite. Any of these spaces can become a magnificent garden. When we feel drawn to specific themes such as Zen, angels, paradise, or the ethereal, we should explore them. Décor and furniture crafted from natural materials like wood and stone blend seamlessly into nature. Yet we can also augment the natural world by filling our garden sanctuaries with statues, bells or gongs, or colorful flags. Running water, like that in a created stream or fountain, helps energy flow smoothly. If space is a concern, crystals and mirrors can fulfill the same function. Hidden features like concealed swings and reflecting pools veiled in shadow can surprise and delight. As your garden sanctuary evolves, remember to invite the elemental spirits of nature to assist you in your efforts to create a small pocket of harmony, beauty, and peace in your own backyard. If you have not already felt their presence, sit quietly in your garden and reach out to them. You will feel these earthly guides at your side as you continue to develop your sanctuary.

In the refuge of brilliant color, sweet scents, and stillness you create in your garden, the burdens imposed upon you by a sometimes hectic world will melt away. The splendor and tranquility of what you have brought into being will entrance you, allowing you to forget the constraints of time and space. No matter how large or small your garden sanctuary, the time you spend reveling in its pleasures will refresh your spirit and provide you with innumerable opportunities to celebrate life.

[Spirit Dancer]

Bounded by Wellness
Send Healing To Yourself

Try to spend time each day to send yourself love and light. Often we neglect doing this for ourselves as we are busy tending to others.


Most people, when given an opportunity to aid someone in need, are eager to do whatever they can to be of service. Those of us who have chosen to make healing the world a vocation are grateful for any occasion to send light and love to people in our immediate spheres of influence and beyond. As we apply our passion and our principles to this altruistic endeavor, we often forget to send ourselves the same bountiful gifts of wellness, though we ourselves may be in dire need of it. We overlook ourselves, not because we forget, but because we fear that focusing on the self is an indicator of selfishness. It is moreover much more difficult to heal oneself than to heal others because the seeds of uncertainty are more easily banished when we act on another's behalf. When we send healing light to ourselves, it is important that our intentions and our self-trust be stronger than ever to counteract doubt.

As we bless ourselves in this way, we serve as both an active channel and a passive destination. This should not change the way we interact with the valuable energy we wish to receive, however. Though we may be tempted to consciously direct or influence the manner in which light impacts our lives because we know ourselves most intimately, we should not try to control its path. When we draw the white light of protection and purity to our bodies, taking it into ourselves with each inhalation, our belief in the fact that it will naturally move toward areas of dysfunction will ensure that it flows through every muscle and organ. And when we fill our spaces with this light, our environments are cleared of all the negative energy that can sap our strength and our spirit. Surrounded inside and out with healing light, we feel safe and protected, healthy, relaxed, and content just as those who regularly receive such loving gifts from us do.

If you sincerely believe that there is a part of yourself that exists independently of upset and illness, the love and light you send yourself will help you connect with it. You will see the affirmative impact of this connection almost immediately when you include yourself in the recipients of your healing gifts, as life's frustrations become more tolerable and your bliss becomes ever more palpable.