Native American Spirituality

[Spirit Dancer]

"You must be prepared and know the reason why you dance."
--Thomas Yellowtail, CROW
Inside every human being is a need to dance. We dance to music. Have you even wondered why people are moved when they hear an Indian Drum? The drum is the heartbeat of the Mother Earth. Every Indian dance is for a purpose and a reason. Every Song is for a reason. The beat of the drum makes our bodies, minds, and spirits join together in harmony. It allows us to connect to Mother Earth and to each other. The dance aligns our minds to think spiritual thoughts. Dancing to the drum is healthy.

Great Spirit, today, I dance to honor you.

[Spirit Dancer]

"Conciliation is the key to survival. Peace is the goal."
--Haida Gwaii, Traditional Circle of Elders
When we make decisions or experience conflict we need to look at the greater whole. The end result we want to accomplish is peace of mind. If we keep this goal in mind, we will, overall, live a happy and fulfilling life. Everything in the world is constantly changing so we should not resist this change. A good question to ask ourselves is, "would I rather be right or happy?". If we would rather be happy, then it is easier to let the little things go. If we would rather be right, we tend to look for the WIN/LOSE.

Great Spirit, today, give me the tools to seek peace of mind.

[Spirit Dancer]

"Each creature has a medicine, so there are many medicines. Because they are so close to the Creator, they are to communicate that medicine. Then they bring help and health."
--Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTA
The Elders say everything has a purpose and everything has a will. We should never interfere with purpose or the will of everything. Every plant, creature, animal, insect, and human being has a purpose to be here on the Earth. Each has a special medicine to contribute for the good of all things. Each person also has good medicine, a special talent, a special gift. These medicines are to help others or to help make us healthy. What is your special medicine?

Creator, today, help me discover and use my medicine to serve a greater good

[Spirit Dancer]

"The real meaning of life is your family, the love that you have, the respect, the traditional ways, and carrying on with them."
--Ethel Wilson, COWICHAN
The family is the seed of the future. The family is the key to the transfer of cultural information. We should really take a look at how we are looking at our families. Are we treating each family member with respect? Are we passing on the traditional ways? Are we teaching the old songs? Are we participating in the ceremonies? Are we showing the family members how to pray? Are we encouraging each family member to be spiritual? Think about these things today.

My Creator, today, let me show respect to each family member.

[Spirit Dancer]

You should respect each other
and refrain from disputes; you should
not, like water and oil, repel each
other, but should, like milk and
water, mingle together.

The Buddha

[Spirit Dancer]

"Each person's prayers can help everyone."
--Thomas Yellowtail, CROW
Prayer is our entrance into the Unseen World. It is by prayer we can call upon the powers and laws of the Great Spirit. The Spirit World has powers and laws that are different from the Physical World. The spiritual laws allow healing to take place; they allow forgiveness to occur; they cause miracles to happen; they cause hate to disappear; they heal broken relationships; they guide every moment of our lives; they allow us to love even when it's hard. Prayer allows us access to the Spirit World.

Creator, teach me to pray.

[Andrew, Jr.]

Spirit Dancer,

I find this thread so comforting. Thank you. I come here every day, and every day I find a post of something of interest to me. I appreciate it very much so.

[Spirit Dancer]

Originally Posted by Andrew, Jr.

Spirit Dancer,

I find this thread so comforting. Thank you. I come here every day, and every day I find a post of something of interest to me. I appreciate it very much so.

Andrew
You're quite welocme, I'm glad you find comfort here. My friend I hope your day is beautiful. Here the storms are raging and even the cell towers are acting bizzare.

[Andrew, Jr.]

Spirit Dancer,

I am just living life day to day. Life is a gift.

[Spirit Dancer]

"In some mysterious and wonderful way you are part of everything, Nephew. And in that same mysterious and wonderful way, everything is a part of you."
--Nippawanock, ARAPAHOE
In order to experience this, we must be aware of how limited our senses are � eyes, ears touch, smell, taste. These senses help us to function in the Seen World. What we see is interpreted by our minds and put inside our belief system, and this can become our reality. But there also exists an Unseen World. In this world we experience connectedness; we experience the mystery; and we experience another whole point of view. If we pay attention to both the Unseen World and the Seen World, our belief systems will print in our mind a new and wonderful reality. We will see and know we are a part of everything.

Great Spirit, today, give me the knowledge to know this mystery.

[TROOPER]

"You must be prepared and know the reason why you dance."
--Thomas Yellowtail, CROW

[TROOPER]

[TROOPER]

[TROOPER]

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[TROOPER]

[TROOPER]

[Spirit Dancer]

"If those bad words come, I let them come in one ear and go out the other. I never let them come out of my mouth. If a bad word comes in your ear and then comes out of your mouth, it will go someplace and hurt somebody. If I did that, that hurt would come back twice as hard on me."
--Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTA
What do we do with temptations when they come? What do we do when we hear gossip? What do we do when we hear bad things? If we hear these things and pass them on we will not only hurt the other person, but we will do harm to ourselves. We must be careful not to hurt others. Whatever we sow we will simultaneously reap for ourselves. We must be accountable for our own actions.

Great Spirit, today, let no words come from my lips that would hurt another

[Spirit Dancer]

Originally Posted by TROOPER

This one i'll share with the hubby as I know hy'll appreciate the thought
and spirit of it. Thanks again.

[Spirit Dancer]

"The law is that all life is equal in the Great Creation, and we, the Human Beings, are charged with the responsibility, each in our generation, to work for the continuation of life."
--Traditional Circle of Elders
Every generation is accountable to leave the environment in healthy order for the next generation. Every generation is accountable to teach the next generation how to live in harmony and to understand the Laws. We need to ask ourselves, "What are we teaching the next generation?". Each individual is directly accountable.

My Creator, teach me inter-generational responsibility.