Native American Spirituality - Page 7

Spirit Dancer · 03-01-2010, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liquefaction

I just want to tell all of you that I really enjoy this thread! There is a lot of wisdom in these words.

Some years ago(10+) I started to read about Native American Spirituality and went to see a shaman. It changed the way I saw the world, into a more positive/understanding light.

Thank you all for reminding me of the power of this knowledge!

Welcome and i'm glad you find positivity in the elders word. May your day be blessed.

Lady Jewel · 03-01-2010, 06:24 PM

An American Indian elder described his own inner struggles this way: "Inside of me there two dogs. One of the dogs is mean and evil. The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all the time." When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied, "The one I feed the most."

Unknown

violaine · 03-01-2010, 10:35 PM

Spirit Dancer · 03-01-2010, 10:53 PM

There is hope if people will begin to awaken that spiritual part of
themselves, that heartfelt knowledge that we are caretakers of this planet.

Brooke Medicine Eagle

Spirit Dancer · 03-01-2010, 10:59 PM

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwi0vGNDwU0"]YouTube- Great spirit[/ame]

Spirit Dancer · 03-01-2010, 11:13 PM

"We are taught to believe that the Great Spirit sees and hears everything, and that he never forgets: that hereafter he will give every man a spirit-home according to his deserts....This I believe, and all my people believe the same."
"Chief Joseph - Nez Perce"

Spirit Dancer · 03-01-2010, 11:18 PM

"The difference between the white man and us is this: You believe in the redeeming powers of suffering, if this suffering was done by somebody else, far away, two thousand years ago. We believe that it is up to every one of us to help each other, even through the pain of our bodies. ...We do not lay this burden onto our God, nor do we want to miss being face to face with the Spirit Power. ...We want no angel or saint to gain it for us and give it to us second-hand."

-John Fire Lame Deer

Spirit Dancer · 03-01-2010, 11:22 PM

May their roads home be on the trail of peace,
Happily may they all return,
In beauty I walk.
With beauty before me, I walk.
With beauty behind me, I walk.
With beauty above and about me, I walk.
It is finished in beauty.
It is finished in beauty.

Liquefaction · 03-02-2010, 08:08 AM

"You already possess everything necessary to become great."
A Crow Proverb

TIMBERWOLF · 03-02-2010, 08:31 AM

"Civilized people depend too much on man-made pages. I turn to the Great Spirit's book which is the whole of his creation."
~Tatanga Mani~

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=511JXdLbUOc&feature=related"]YouTube- native american the song of wolf[/nomedia]

TIMBERWOLF · 03-02-2010, 08:43 AM

ALL IS FINISHED I WANTED TO GIVE SOMETHING OF MY PAST
TO MY GRANDSON.
I TOLD HIM THAT I WOULD SING
THE SACRED WOLF SONG OVER HIM.
IN MY SONG, I APPLEALED TO THE WOLF
TO COME AND PRESIDE OVER US,
WHILE I WOULD PERFORM THE WOLF CEREMONY.
SO THAT THE BONDAGE BETWEEN MY GRANDSON
AND THE WOLF WOULD BE LIFE LONG.

I SANG.
IN MY VOICE WAS THE HOPE
THAT CLINGS TO EVERY HEARTBEAT.
I SANG.
IN MY WORDS WERE THE POWERS
I INHERITED FROM MY FOREFATHERS.
I SANG.
IN MY CUPPED HANDS LAY A SPRUCE SEED..
THE LINK TO CREATION.
I SANG.
IN MY EYES, SPARKLED LOVE.
AND THE SONG FLOATED
ON THE SUN'S RAYS FROM TREE TO TREE.
WHEN I HAD ENDED,
IT WAS AS IF THE WHOLE WORLD
LISTENED WITH US
TO HEAR THE WOLF'S REPLY.
WE WAITED A LONG TIME
BUT NONE CAME.
AGAIN I SANG,
HUMBLY
BUT AS INVITINGLY AS I COULD,
UNTIL MY THROAT ACHED
AND MY VOICE GAVE OUT.
ALL OF A SUDDEN
I REALIZED WHY NO WOLVES HAD HEARD
MY SACRED SONG.
THERE WERE NONE LEFT!
MY HEART FILLED WITH TEARS.
I COULD NO LONGER
GIVE MY GRANDSON
FAITH IN THE PAST, OUR PAST.
I...WEPT IN SILENCE.
ALL IS FINISHED!

CHIEF DAN GEORGE
SALISH
(1899-1981)

TROOPER · 03-02-2010, 10:55 AM

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTY2pmKguDg"]YouTube- Ghost Dance[/ame]

TROOPER · 03-02-2010, 11:42 AM

Native American Prayer

Oh, Great Spirit
Whose voice I hear in the winds,
And whose breath gives life to all the world,
hear me, I am small and weak,
I need your strength and wisdom.
Let me walk in beauty and make my eyes ever behold
the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect the things you have
made and my ears sharp to hear your voice.
Make me wise so that I may understand the things
you have taught my people.
Let me learn the lessons you have
hidden in every leaf and rock.

I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother,
but to fight my greatest enemy - myself.
Make me always ready to come to you
with clean hands and straight eyes.
So when life fades, as the fading sunset,
my Spirit may come to you without shame.

~~ translated by Lakota Sioux Chief Yellow Lark in 1887 ~~
published in Native American Prayers - by the Episcopal Church

Spirit Dancer · 03-02-2010, 06:37 PM

"The voice and the heart are not working together."
--Barney Bush, SHAWNEE
We can say any words we want with our voice but we cannot hide the true meaning and the true spirit behind the words. The true meaning is always understood. The voice is heard in the physical world, but the meaning is transmitted in the spiritual world. If our voice says one thing but the heart is saying something else, it's the something else that is heard. It is said that the truth will set you free. Reaching the truth means your voice and your words will be in alignment with the heart.

Great Spirit, let my tongue, speak the truth today

Spirit Dancer · 03-02-2010, 06:43 PM

Shooter Teton Sioux

All birds, even those of the same species, are not alike, and it is the same with animals and with human beings. The reason WakanTanka does not make two birds, or animals, or human beings exactly alike is because each is placed here by WakanTanka to be an independent individuality and to rely upon itself.

Spirit Dancer · 03-02-2010, 06:59 PM

Our first teacher is our own heart. - Cheyenne

Spirit Dancer · 03-02-2010, 06:59 PM

Lakota Instructions for Living

Friend do it this way - that is,
whatever you do in life,
do the very best you can
with both your heart and mind.

And if you do it that way,
the Power Of The Universe
will come to your assistance,
if your heart and mind are in Unity.

When one sits in the Hoop Of The People,
one must be responsible because
All of Creation is related.
And the hurt of one is the hurt of all.
And the honor of one is the honor of all.
And whatever we do effects everything in the universe.

If you do it that way - that is,
if you truly join your heart and mind
as One - whatever you ask for,
that's the Way It's Going To Be.

Passed down from White Buffalo Calf Woman

Spirit Dancer · 03-03-2010, 09:41 AM

"For me writing has become prayers that say, `Great Spirit, return to us our freedom, our land, and our lives. We are thankful for the present from which we learn how to be thankful for the past, and how to be hopeful for the future."
--Barney Bush, SHAWNEE
We Native people have really been tested. This testing is having our land taken from us, our culture challenged, and our way of living altered. Gratefully, we have not lost our spirituality. Our spirituality has been the key for our people making it through all of these tests. Our prayers are strong. Indian people have also been able to adjust to change and still keep their culture and spirituality. Today, we should be grateful to the Creator for the present and for the lessons of the past. May our future be guided by the Great Spirit.

Great Spirit, thank You for Mother Earth and Father Sky. Thank You for my life.

Spirit Dancer · 03-03-2010, 09:44 AM

Like the elephant, we are unconscious of our own strength. When it comes to
understanding the power we have to make a difference in our own lives, we might
as well be asleep. If you want to make your dreams come true, wake up. Wake
up to your own strength. Wake up to the role you play in your own destiny.
Wake up to the power you have to choose what you think, do, and say.

TIMBERWOLF · 03-03-2010, 10:32 AM

The Creator designed us to learn by trial and error. The path of life we walk is very wide. Everything on the path is sacred - what we do right is sacred - but our mistakes are also sacred. This is the Creator's way of teaching spiritual people. To criticize ourselves when we make mistakes is not part of the spiritual path. To criticize mistakes is not the Indian way. To learn from our mistakes is the Indian way. The definition of a spiritual person is someone who makes 30-50 mistakes each day and talks to the Creator after each one to see what to do next time. This is the way of the Warrior.

03-01-2010, 10:35 PM	#123
violaine Timed Out How Do You Identify?: atypical Preferred Pronoun?: plague words and phrases Relationship Status: love wise guys of the avian world Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: wekiva springs basin Posts: 3,236 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 9,934 Thanked 3,293 Times in 1,301 Posts Rep Power: 0	rth ox Last edited by violaine; 03-01-2010 at 10:40 PM.

03-01-2010, 10:53 PM	#124
Spirit Dancer Senior Member How Do You Identify?: Complex but Tender Preferred Pronoun?: ~Ma`am~ Relationship Status: Shotgun Rider Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Following the red road Posts: 4,519 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 9,304 Thanked 12,913 Times in 3,466 Posts Rep Power: 21474856	There is hope if people will begin to awaken that spiritual part of themselves, that heartfelt knowledge that we are caretakers of this planet. Brooke Medicine Eagle __________________ “For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.” Judy Garland

03-01-2010, 10:59 PM	#125
Spirit Dancer Senior Member How Do You Identify?: Complex but Tender Preferred Pronoun?: ~Ma`am~ Relationship Status: Shotgun Rider Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Following the red road Posts: 4,519 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 9,304 Thanked 12,913 Times in 3,466 Posts Rep Power: 21474856	soothing [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwi0vGNDwU0"]YouTube- Great spirit[/ame] __________________ “For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.” Judy Garland

03-01-2010, 11:13 PM	#126
Spirit Dancer Senior Member How Do You Identify?: Complex but Tender Preferred Pronoun?: ~Ma`am~ Relationship Status: Shotgun Rider Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Following the red road Posts: 4,519 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 9,304 Thanked 12,913 Times in 3,466 Posts Rep Power: 21474856	"We are taught to believe that the Great Spirit sees and hears everything, and that he never forgets: that hereafter he will give every man a spirit-home according to his deserts....This I believe, and all my people believe the same." "Chief Joseph - Nez Perce" __________________ “For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.” Judy Garland

03-01-2010, 11:18 PM	#127
Spirit Dancer Senior Member How Do You Identify?: Complex but Tender Preferred Pronoun?: ~Ma`am~ Relationship Status: Shotgun Rider Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Following the red road Posts: 4,519 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 9,304 Thanked 12,913 Times in 3,466 Posts Rep Power: 21474856	"The difference between the white man and us is this: You believe in the redeeming powers of suffering, if this suffering was done by somebody else, far away, two thousand years ago. We believe that it is up to every one of us to help each other, even through the pain of our bodies. ...We do not lay this burden onto our God, nor do we want to miss being face to face with the Spirit Power. ...We want no angel or saint to gain it for us and give it to us second-hand." -John Fire Lame Deer __________________ “For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.” Judy Garland

03-01-2010, 06:24 PM	#122
Lady Jewel Member How Do You Identify?: * Preferred Pronoun?: * Relationship Status: * Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: * Posts: 298 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 120 Thanked 322 Times in 124 Posts Rep Power: 791	An American Indian elder described his own inner struggles this way: "Inside of me there two dogs. One of the dogs is mean and evil. The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all the time." When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied, "The one I feed the most." Unknown

03-01-2010, 11:22 PM	#128
Spirit Dancer Senior Member How Do You Identify?: Complex but Tender Preferred Pronoun?: ~Ma`am~ Relationship Status: Shotgun Rider Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Following the red road Posts: 4,519 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 9,304 Thanked 12,913 Times in 3,466 Posts Rep Power: 21474856	May their roads home be on the trail of peace, Happily may they all return, In beauty I walk. With beauty before me, I walk. With beauty behind me, I walk. With beauty above and about me, I walk. It is finished in beauty. It is finished in beauty. __________________ “For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.” Judy Garland

03-02-2010, 08:08 AM	#129
Liquefaction Member How Do You Identify?: Femme with a dash of tomboy. Preferred Pronoun?: She Relationship Status: Single Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: California Posts: 101 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 126 Thanked 81 Times in 28 Posts Rep Power: 3593	"You already possess everything necessary to become great." A Crow Proverb

03-02-2010, 08:31 AM	#130
TIMBERWOLF Member How Do You Identify?: Old Butch Preferred Pronoun?: Lesbian Butch so that would be she, but I come to just about anything S Relationship Status: Single Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: FL Posts: 384 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 218 Thanked 591 Times in 212 Posts Rep Power: 4807545	"Civilized people depend too much on man-made pages. I turn to the Great Spirit's book which is the whole of his creation." ~Tatanga Mani~ [nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=511JXdLbUOc&feature=related"]YouTube- native american the song of wolf[/nomedia]

03-02-2010, 08:43 AM	#131
TIMBERWOLF Member How Do You Identify?: Old Butch Preferred Pronoun?: Lesbian Butch so that would be she, but I come to just about anything S Relationship Status: Single Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: FL Posts: 384 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 218 Thanked 591 Times in 212 Posts Rep Power: 4807545	ALL IS FINISHED I WANTED TO GIVE SOMETHING OF MY PAST TO MY GRANDSON. I TOLD HIM THAT I WOULD SING THE SACRED WOLF SONG OVER HIM. IN MY SONG, I APPLEALED TO THE WOLF TO COME AND PRESIDE OVER US, WHILE I WOULD PERFORM THE WOLF CEREMONY. SO THAT THE BONDAGE BETWEEN MY GRANDSON AND THE WOLF WOULD BE LIFE LONG. I SANG. IN MY VOICE WAS THE HOPE THAT CLINGS TO EVERY HEARTBEAT. I SANG. IN MY WORDS WERE THE POWERS I INHERITED FROM MY FOREFATHERS. I SANG. IN MY CUPPED HANDS LAY A SPRUCE SEED.. THE LINK TO CREATION. I SANG. IN MY EYES, SPARKLED LOVE. AND THE SONG FLOATED ON THE SUN'S RAYS FROM TREE TO TREE. WHEN I HAD ENDED, IT WAS AS IF THE WHOLE WORLD LISTENED WITH US TO HEAR THE WOLF'S REPLY. WE WAITED A LONG TIME BUT NONE CAME. AGAIN I SANG, HUMBLY BUT AS INVITINGLY AS I COULD, UNTIL MY THROAT ACHED AND MY VOICE GAVE OUT. ALL OF A SUDDEN I REALIZED WHY NO WOLVES HAD HEARD MY SACRED SONG. THERE WERE NONE LEFT! MY HEART FILLED WITH TEARS. I COULD NO LONGER GIVE MY GRANDSON FAITH IN THE PAST, OUR PAST. I...WEPT IN SILENCE. ALL IS FINISHED! CHIEF DAN GEORGE SALISH (1899-1981)

03-02-2010, 10:55 AM	#132
TROOPER Timed Out How Do You Identify?: Permanently Banned 09/11/2010 Relationship Status: Single Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Chicago Posts: 304 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 506 Thanked 191 Times in 138 Posts Rep Power: 0	Ghost Dance [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTY2pmKguDg"]YouTube- Ghost Dance[/ame] Last edited by TROOPER; 03-02-2010 at 10:56 AM. Reason: Finished?

03-02-2010, 11:42 AM	#133
TROOPER Timed Out How Do You Identify?: Permanently Banned 09/11/2010 Relationship Status: Single Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Chicago Posts: 304 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 506 Thanked 191 Times in 138 Posts Rep Power: 0	Native American Prayer Oh, Great Spirit Whose voice I hear in the winds, And whose breath gives life to all the world, hear me, I am small and weak, I need your strength and wisdom. Let me walk in beauty and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset. Make my hands respect the things you have made and my ears sharp to hear your voice. Make me wise so that I may understand the things you have taught my people. Let me learn the lessons you have hidden in every leaf and rock. I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother, but to fight my greatest enemy - myself. Make me always ready to come to you with clean hands and straight eyes. So when life fades, as the fading sunset, my Spirit may come to you without shame. ~~ translated by Lakota Sioux Chief Yellow Lark in 1887 ~~ published in Native American Prayers - by the Episcopal Church Last edited by TROOPER; 03-02-2010 at 11:48 AM. Reason: typo

03-02-2010, 06:37 PM	#134
Spirit Dancer Senior Member How Do You Identify?: Complex but Tender Preferred Pronoun?: ~Ma`am~ Relationship Status: Shotgun Rider Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Following the red road Posts: 4,519 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 9,304 Thanked 12,913 Times in 3,466 Posts Rep Power: 21474856	"The voice and the heart are not working together." --Barney Bush, SHAWNEE We can say any words we want with our voice but we cannot hide the true meaning and the true spirit behind the words. The true meaning is always understood. The voice is heard in the physical world, but the meaning is transmitted in the spiritual world. If our voice says one thing but the heart is saying something else, it's the something else that is heard. It is said that the truth will set you free. Reaching the truth means your voice and your words will be in alignment with the heart. Great Spirit, let my tongue, speak the truth today __________________ “For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.” Judy Garland

03-02-2010, 06:43 PM	#135
Spirit Dancer Senior Member How Do You Identify?: Complex but Tender Preferred Pronoun?: ~Ma`am~ Relationship Status: Shotgun Rider Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Following the red road Posts: 4,519 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 9,304 Thanked 12,913 Times in 3,466 Posts Rep Power: 21474856	Shooter Teton Sioux All birds, even those of the same species, are not alike, and it is the same with animals and with human beings. The reason WakanTanka does not make two birds, or animals, or human beings exactly alike is because each is placed here by WakanTanka to be an independent individuality and to rely upon itself. __________________ “For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.” Judy Garland

03-02-2010, 06:59 PM	#136
Spirit Dancer Senior Member How Do You Identify?: Complex but Tender Preferred Pronoun?: ~Ma`am~ Relationship Status: Shotgun Rider Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Following the red road Posts: 4,519 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 9,304 Thanked 12,913 Times in 3,466 Posts Rep Power: 21474856	Our first teacher is our own heart. - Cheyenne __________________ “For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.” Judy Garland

03-02-2010, 06:59 PM	#137
Spirit Dancer Senior Member How Do You Identify?: Complex but Tender Preferred Pronoun?: ~Ma`am~ Relationship Status: Shotgun Rider Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Following the red road Posts: 4,519 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 9,304 Thanked 12,913 Times in 3,466 Posts Rep Power: 21474856	Lakota Instructions for Living Friend do it this way - that is, whatever you do in life, do the very best you can with both your heart and mind. And if you do it that way, the Power Of The Universe will come to your assistance, if your heart and mind are in Unity. When one sits in the Hoop Of The People, one must be responsible because All of Creation is related. And the hurt of one is the hurt of all. And the honor of one is the honor of all. And whatever we do effects everything in the universe. If you do it that way - that is, if you truly join your heart and mind as One - whatever you ask for, that's the Way It's Going To Be. Passed down from White Buffalo Calf Woman __________________ “For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.” Judy Garland

03-03-2010, 09:41 AM	#138
Spirit Dancer Senior Member How Do You Identify?: Complex but Tender Preferred Pronoun?: ~Ma`am~ Relationship Status: Shotgun Rider Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Following the red road Posts: 4,519 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 9,304 Thanked 12,913 Times in 3,466 Posts Rep Power: 21474856	"For me writing has become prayers that say, `Great Spirit, return to us our freedom, our land, and our lives. We are thankful for the present from which we learn how to be thankful for the past, and how to be hopeful for the future." --Barney Bush, SHAWNEE We Native people have really been tested. This testing is having our land taken from us, our culture challenged, and our way of living altered. Gratefully, we have not lost our spirituality. Our spirituality has been the key for our people making it through all of these tests. Our prayers are strong. Indian people have also been able to adjust to change and still keep their culture and spirituality. Today, we should be grateful to the Creator for the present and for the lessons of the past. May our future be guided by the Great Spirit. Great Spirit, thank You for Mother Earth and Father Sky. Thank You for my life. __________________ “For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.” Judy Garland

03-03-2010, 09:44 AM	#139
Spirit Dancer Senior Member How Do You Identify?: Complex but Tender Preferred Pronoun?: ~Ma`am~ Relationship Status: Shotgun Rider Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Following the red road Posts: 4,519 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 9,304 Thanked 12,913 Times in 3,466 Posts Rep Power: 21474856	Like the elephant, we are unconscious of our own strength. When it comes to understanding the power we have to make a difference in our own lives, we might as well be asleep. If you want to make your dreams come true, wake up. Wake up to your own strength. Wake up to the role you play in your own destiny. Wake up to the power you have to choose what you think, do, and say. __________________ “For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.” Judy Garland

03-03-2010, 10:32 AM	#140
TIMBERWOLF Member How Do You Identify?: Old Butch Preferred Pronoun?: Lesbian Butch so that would be she, but I come to just about anything S Relationship Status: Single Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: FL Posts: 384 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 218 Thanked 591 Times in 212 Posts Rep Power: 4807545	The Creator designed us to learn by trial and error. The path of life we walk is very wide. Everything on the path is sacred - what we do right is sacred - but our mistakes are also sacred. This is the Creator's way of teaching spiritual people. To criticize ourselves when we make mistakes is not part of the spiritual path. To criticize mistakes is not the Indian way. To learn from our mistakes is the Indian way. The definition of a spiritual person is someone who makes 30-50 mistakes each day and talks to the Creator after each one to see what to do next time. This is the way of the Warrior.

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