Native American Spirituality

[Spirit Dancer]

Resilience and adaptation. These are qualities that can be quite beneficial to us, but which we tend to struggle greatly with. First of all, we tend to do our best to avoid situations in which we need to show these qualities, for they're very often unpleasant. Why do we need to show our ability to adapt unless someone's put some barbed wire in our way? Why do we need to adapt unless we need to grow around a nail or through a chain link fence?

If someone does put an obstacle in the way of the direction in which we're growing, we tend to complain a lot before we even think of adapting to the new obstacle. We tend to say it's not fair, and the obstacle should be removed! Unfortunately, I think, we far too often succeed in removing the barrier before we ever have to learn how to grow around it, and we end up learning nothing from a potentially great learning opportunity.

We can learn from the trees who stand their ground day after day, just doing what trees do. They grow to be strong but flexible, and it's not their strength that allows them to withstand severe storms, but their flexibility. When they meet an obstacle, they grow slowly but surely around it, without a single complaint (that we know of, anyway!)

This moment requires something from you, be it patience, understanding, strength, courage, or something else. There are examples of all these things to be found in the natural world, role models for us to learn from and to take valuable lessons from. The lessons are there for us, but the question is whether or not we see and accept them.

[Spirit Dancer]

"The man who sat on the ground in his tipi meditating on life and its meaning, accepting the kinship of all creatures, and acknowledging unity with the universe of things, was infusing into his being the true essence of civilization."



Luther Standing Bear, OGLALA SIOUX

[Spirit Dancer]

Some insight on our traditions:
Native Americans place a lot of importance on identity and a person’s name. As a matter of fact, individuals frequently will have a new name bestowed upon them as adults and some will actually receive several different names throughout their lifetime. A Native American can request a new name and the tribal Name Giver, or kabir, will consider the request. He could consider the name request for any length of time from a few days to a year. He will bestow the name on the requester during a naming ceremony after the name “comes to him.” The new name will be somehow connected to nature, frequently animals, but not always; trees, the sky, clouds and bodies of water are also commonly used for names. Actually, anything connected with nature that somehow signifies a personality trait of the requester can be used. The tradition of naming even through adulthood represents the changeable nature of humans and that people are not destined to always be the same.