Native American Spirituality

[friskyfemme]

SpiritDancer,
Thank you so much for posting these wisdoms. I read here always. You provide a daily inspirational.

[Spirit Dancer]

Originally Posted by friskyfemme

SpiritDancer,
Thank you so much for posting these wisdoms. I read here always. You provide a daily inspirational.

Thank you FriskyFemme they help me to see and live better, even when I'm in a hurry I try to find time to post them. Glad you enjoy them also.
Have a beautiful day.

[Spirit Dancer]

"People think other things are more important than prayer, but they are mistaken."
--Thomas Yellowtail, CROW
An Elder once said the most important thing you can do in the course of a day is to pray. If we get up late or oversleep, which is more important? Rush to work without praying or pray first and then go to work? The Elders say it's more important to pray. If we get angry, should we act on our anger or should we pray first? The Elders say it's more important to pray first. If, during the day, we face indecision, what should we do? PRAY. If, during the day, we become irritated or we experience fear, what should we do first? PRAY. The Warrior who prays first will lead a different life from those who pray last.

Great Spirit, teach me to pray first!

[Spirit Dancer]

Originally Posted by wolfwalker

last week, i found the need to cry and let out the pain and confusion of the things going on in my life. it was healing and helped to give me back myself.

wolfwalker

Wolfwalker
It's always great to return to oneself, it's even better when we freely cleanse our souls. Glad you were able to find you once again.

[Spirit Dancer]

"With children we always have to think about seven generations to come but yet unborn."
--Janice Sundown Hattet, SENECA
What we do today will effect the children seven generations form now. How we treat the Mother Earth will affect the children yet to be born. If we poison the water today, our children's children will be affected by the decision we made. Our children are the gateway to the future. Let us conscientiously think about the children and the seven generations to come.

My Creator, I thank you for my ancestors, seven generations ago.

[Spirit Dancer]

"We know that in all creation/Only the human family/Has strayed from the Sacred Way."
--OJIBWA Prayer
How have we gotten so far off track? What has happened to us? What is happening to our family? How did it happen so quickly? Every individual needs to answer these questions for themselves. What do we need to do to start living the Sacred Way again? Pray! Today I will start praying. I pray the Creator will lead all Native People to a great healing. I pray we'll be free from alcohol and drugs. I pray we will return to the culture, to spirituality and to unity.

My Mother, help us to heal ourselves. Make us strong again

[Spirit Dancer]

"You can pray for whatever you want, but it is always best to pray for others, not for yourself."
--John Fire Lame Deer, LAKOTA
When you are selfish and you pray, you are requesting things to flow only to you. When you are selfless, you are praying for things to flow to others. The old ones say this is the highest form of prayer. Praying this way is according to the Natural Laws.

Great Spirit, today, let my thoughts be about others.

[Spirit Dancer]

Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing,
and always come back again to where they were.
The life of a person is a circle from childhood to childhood,
and so it is in everything where power moves.

Black Elk

[Spirit Dancer]

Love is something you and I must have. We must have it because
our spirit feeds upon it. We must have it because without it we
become weak and faint. Without love our self-esteem weakens.
Without it our courage fails. Without love we can no longer look
confidently at the world. We turn inward and begin to feed upon
our own personalities, and little by little we destroy ourselves.
With it we are creative. With it we march tirelessly. With it, and
with it alone, we are able to sacrifice for others.

Chief Dan George

[Spirit Dancer]

"As we plunge ahead to build empires and race for supremacy we should stop and listen to [the female] song of life. For without the female there is no life."
--Oren R. Lyons, Spokesman, Traditional Circle of Elders
Women are created with the ability to produce life. Women have a special tie to the Earth Mother. They have something in common. They are the source of life. The Earth Mother gives songs to the Woman to sing. These songs are about life, about beauty, about children, about love, about family, about strength, about caring, about nurturing, about forgiveness, about God. The World needs to pay attention and listen to Her. She knows.

Great Spirit, let me listen to Her songs.

[Spirit Dancer]

Each thing in the universe is a vessel
full to the brim with wisdom and beauty.

Rumi

[Spirit Dancer]

"Everybody should pray together, cheer along, root along. That brings the circle together. Everything is together."
--Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTA
Life on the Earth can sometimes be very complicated. Sometimes we think we are alone in our problems. Sometime we even withdraw. Then the problems become even more difficult. We need to watch out for one another, to care for one another, to pray together, to encourage one another; and we need to support one another. Behaving in this manner will bring the circle together.

Great Spirit, today, let me support my brothers and sisters.

[Spirit Dancer]

"Women. They have the power of generations. Women have the power to have children and not to have children."
--Cecilia Mitchell, MOHAWK
The Woman is not only the key to life; she is also the key to future generations. An Elder once joked that the Woman only needs the man for one night. We need to look at and respect the power of the Woman. She is special and we need to treat her that way.

Great Spirit, today, let me show the greatest respect to our Women.

[Spirit Dancer]

"The very dust under your feet responds more lovingly to our footsteps than to yours, because it is the ashes of our ancestors, and our bare feet are conscious of the sympathetic touch, for the soil is rich with the life of our kindred."
--Chief Seattle, SUQUAMISH
If you respect something, it will respect you back. If your ancestors respected something, the future generations will be respected back. The Indian ancestors always showed great respect for the Earth. That's why the Earth is so respectful to Indians today. Every Indian naturally feels connectedness to the Earth. We know the Earth holds our ancestors. If we continue to respect Mother Earth, our children will benefit and so will our grand- children. Today, we should think about and pray for our Mother Earth.

Grandmother, let me have strong feelings for our Earth today.

[Spirit Dancer]

Receiving and giving are opposite energies that are inextricably linked together in the natural flow of life, like inhaling and exhaling. If one aspect of that cycle doesn't function, the entire cycle ceases to function and the life force cannot move freely. If you can't inhale, you will soon have nothing to exhale,
and before long, your body will be unable to continue living.

Shakti Gawain



Generosity has a flip side that few of us tend to notice--it's the side of us that accepts gifts and caring and other people's generosity with graciousness and appreciation. It doesn't reject what others wish to give us out of a false sense of modesty or a desire to seem humble to others; it allows others to give to us, and thus feel the great feeling that comes from doing something for us.

Somehow we've come to believe that it's okay to refuse gifts or help from other people. We have to do things on our own, completely alone, and it may even be a sign of weakness to accept someone else's help. But ask yourself this: how does it make you feel to help someone else out? It makes you feel pretty good, doesn't it? Well, if you don't accept help from others, aren't you robbing them of the chance to have this great feeling for themselves? Aren't you depriving them of the chance to learn what it means to give selflessly and to help another human being?

When we see a movie in which some character looks at a gift from someone else and criticizes it, we cringe and we start to despise that character, for we can see how damaging the behavior is. We know just how great it would be for that other person to have the gift accepted gracefully and gratefully. We see how selfish it is to think only of their own attitude towards the gift, and not the attitude of the gift-giver.

Inadvertently, perhaps, we all do the same thing when we turn down help, when we turn down gifts, when we disregard advice. As Shakti says, though, we can't exhale if we never inhale; our giving will be weak if we never learn to take. One of the most generous things we can do for others is to learn how to accept their generosity towards us.

[Spirit Dancer]

The idea of full dress is preparation for a battle comes not from a belief that it will add
to the fighting ability. The preparation is for death, in case that should be the result
of the conflict. Every Indian wants to look his or her best when they go to meet
the Great Spirit, so the dressing up is done whether an imminent danger is an oncoming battle or a sickness or injury at times of peace.
Wooden Leg (Cheyenne)

[Spirit Dancer]

"Everything really is equal. The Creator doesn't look at me any better than He looks at the trees. We're all the same."
--Janice Sundown Hattet, SENECA
Sometimes humans think we are the center of the Universe. Sometimes we think we are above or better than other people or things. The Great Spirit made a set of Laws and Principles by which all things should live. Everybody and everything lives by the same Laws. We are all made of atoms just like the trees. The life force in the middle of the atom is the life force of the Great Mystery. It is the same for everything. We are all equal in the eyes of the Creator.

Great Spirit, today, I will respect your handiwork.

[Spirit Dancer]

"Together we can end the Holocaust against the environment."
--Haida Gwaii, Traditional Circle of Elders
We are all familiar with the Holocaust against the people. When this happens we feel bad and we vow never to let it happen again. We need to seriously examine what human beings are doing to the Earth and the environment. Many species are extinct and many more will become extinct during the next 10 years. We are methodically eliminating life that will never return again. Today, we should take time to pray real hard so we wake up before it is too late.

Great Spirit, today, I pray for us to awaken to what we are doing.

[Spirit Dancer]

Today, look at the blue sky, hear the grass growing beneath your feet,
inhale the scent of spring, let the fruits of the earth linger on your tongue,
reach out and embrace those you love. Ask Spirit to awaken your awareness
to the sacredness of your sensory perceptions.
Sarah Ban Breathnach

[Tommi]

Let the good pass through and the web do it's job. Renew as needed.




Rolling Thunder