"It is not through the great skill of the hunter himself that success is achieved, but through the hunter's awareness of his place in Creation and his relationship to all things."
Thomas Yellowtail, CROW
If only the human being could understand the power of proper relationships, the need for power and control could be abandoned. It's not what is going on that matters, but how we look at what is going on. It's our relationship to it that counts. Nothing in the world has any meaning except the meaning we give to it. To be more effective at this, we need to consider our relationship with the Creator. Our relationship to the Great Spirit determines how we will perceive the meanings we put to places, people, institutions and things. We need to let the Creator tell us and guide our thoughts about these relationships. Any relationship that we have that is causing problems means we need to pray for a new point of view.
Creator, let me see the world and the people through your eyes.
Nothing equals the loveliness of a summer morning when the first rays of sunlight sweep a field of wheat ready for harvest. The honey-colored heads bow with the weight of grain and the moisture of dew. Few of us could miss the peace that comes when the first light breaks through the foliage at the far side of the woods. It beams misty shafts of gold into areas untouched at any other time of day. It passes quickly and leaves the need to see it again. A miracle happens with the morning light. Worried thought lightens with the trill of the summer tanager. The wild purple cone flowers make their appearance in the meadow - and so the day begins.
~ Warm as go gi a ga li s gv, the peaceful day begins. Warm as summer sunshine, the peaceful day a leni s gv. ~
Have you heard how dreadful the neighbors are these days to ignore another's plight, and how the world has gone to the dogs because people don't care? Have you heard how hardened hearts are and how callous and unfeeling the human race has become?
It may be true such things do happen....for we hear about it daily. But it likely is that we hear more about the unusual than the usual.
For have you heard about the builder who laid his own plans aside to help another build his house....and the lady who gave her home and nursing care to someone who had no other place to go. Or the child who found its needs fulfilled in the love of a foster mother.
We may ignore, but we can never erase the love of the human race. The world may abound with sordid happenings; it may revel in senseless activities. But called to help, the greater number will respond without thought of the cost to themselves.
Of these things we hear so little. With these we come in contact every day and accept it as the normal pattern of life....which it is....for each unthinking, infantile mind there are two great thoughtful ones. And the second great Commandment still works its wonders in all our lives.
"We need to save those Elders who cannot speak for themselves -- the trees."
Haida Gwaii, Traditional Circle of Elders
The trees are the Elders of the Earth. Go to the forest or to the mountains and find a young tree. Then find and old tree. Spend time with each. Sit by the young tree and listen to your thoughts. Then move to an old tree and listen to your thoughts again. Just being in the presence of an old tree, you will feel more calm. Your thoughts will contain wisdom and your answers will be deeper. Why is this so? These old trees know more, have heard more and are the Elders of the Earth. We must ensure these trees live so we can learn from them.
My Creator, help me to protect the trees and listen to them.
The mind is like a bag with a drawstring. When the string is pulled so tight that nothing can go into the bag or come out - that is nervous tension. The problem is held in and the solution is kept out. At these times it helps to walk - at least far enough to detach from everything that reminds a worrier that he is hemmed in. While the feet are busy, the mind relaxes - maybe not to the point of being tranquil but at least to be able to adanv tesgv, think clearly or work things out mentally. And during the walk, deliberately turn thoughts to vision - seeing every detail, every sunflower. Look at the shape of a leaf, the spider's web, and look for color, and be grateful for the ears to hear and the eyes to see. Nothing heals the spirit and opens the way like turning loose of a problem.
~ Neither anger not fear shall find lodging in your mind. ~
We are all aware of the emotional effect color creates. And for this reason we choose colors that please the eye by first pleasing the inner emotions. Certain colors have the same effect on many, while other colors affect each of us individually and in particular ways.
Red has an exciting effect; green is cool serenity, orange is the color of vivacity, and brown tones are restful earthy colors. People dress to enhance their appearances with certain colors. Homes are decorated and offices are planned to create pleasance surroundings.
And we as individuals possess moods of many colors. Yet, we are far more careless about the color of that mood, letting the attitudes and colors of others dictate to us how we are to behave. If we could remember when we meet people whose moods are black to remind ourselves that their moods are their own, there would be less involvement in the emotions of others.
We are so vividly aware of color, we must not be reckless in recognizing the color scheme within our own personality. Whether it is a vibrant color, sophisticated, or bright and witty, color always works its subtle magic.
"If there is a shadow of a doubt someplace, that will cause a weakness."
Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTA
In the Spiritual World there is a spiritual Law. The Law says like attracts like. This means whatever mental picture we hold inside our minds we will attract from the Universe. To make this Law work we must maintain a constant picture. If we picture or vision something, and along with this picture we have doubting thoughts, our vision will not happen and we will get EXACTLY what we picture or vision. The Law always works. A doubting vision will not materialize what we want. A vision without doubt will always happen. This is a spiritual Law.
Confession may be good for the soul, but it seldom makes the one that heard it feel good. The nee to clear the air or get something out in the open can cause a bigger rift than the reason for confessing in the first place. Words cannot be retrieved once they are spoken. They are gone and calling them back is impossible. Some weigh on people's hearts like hi lv s gi nv ya, many stones or heavy rock. Some are flung, like di ga it s di, a spear, to wound. And most should never have been spoken. Life and death are in the use of words. If we feel the need to confess something, we should do it where the listener knows how to handle what we say. It is an unthinking person that needs to be relieved of a burden to the point of putting it on someone who may find it hard to bear.
~ He knew his words were bad; he trembled like the oak whose roots have been wasted by many rains. ~
If everyone were alike, what a dull world this would be. It is the individuality of each person that makes the world so interesting.
The tremendous differences in people give a wide range of personalities, beliefs, and appearances to every group, no matter how small.
If all the flowers in the world were of one color, would we think them beautiful? It is the variety and wide range of rainbow colors that keeps us fascinated.
Cowper wrote, "Variety is the very spice of life, that gives it all its flavor." So many have no thought of life except what they will east, what they will wear, and how they can entertain themselves. And then we come on someone who has the ability to see loveliness in the sunlight and charm in quiet rain. They can say things to encourage, to make calm and peaceful.
We meet many different kinds of people. Some we love and some we like and love, which is a terrific difference. It is to find a wholeness or a part of our lost self in someone else. It isn't that they are so much like us or that we believe the way they do, but that they communicate, and it is this rare communication that respects the differences between peoples.
"So we are connected to the moon. That gives us power, a connection to the earth and the moon, men don't know about."
Cecilia Mitchell, MOHAWK
The Elders tell us that the Woman has access to special powers. The Earth Mother gives her love in a special way to the Woman. The Moon also gives special powers to the Woman. She uses these powers to nurture, heal and guide the people.
Great Spirit, today, give a special Blessing to our Women.
It is unfortunate when someone fails us, but it isn't as bad as when we fail ourselves. The minute we make a mistake or fall short, we begin to condemn ourselves. How could we have been so dumb, so inept, so careless? We are victims by our own mouths. It is too easy to make a habit of thinking we are second-rate, not quite equal to others. If we say it enough times, we think it, and it feeds down into our hearts to surface again when we don't need it. Who can love us if we do not love ourselves? Who will build us up if we are busy tearing us down? Confidence is winning over self - not others. But we have to stir up the gift that is within us, see that we appreciate all the small things we can do well. We can only be what we give ourselves power to be.
So often it is difficult to know where the line lies between kindness and domineering. It doesn't sound as if the two could possibly mix, but sometimes we're inclined to think it a kind of goodness when it actually becomes domineering.
It is often then best of kindest think to let others think for themselves. Even though the helpfulness is of love, it can be smothering to the ones who want to breathe freely, even of their own problems.
Concern can turn to possessiveness in the space of a moment and do it so suddenly it is almost impossible to comprehend. All individuals have the right to make their own mistakes and also the undeniable right to correct those mistakes. It makes help appreciated when it comes and then help is recognized as help and not ownership.
If we were all told what to do, it would relieve us of the burden of the responsibility of thinking, planning, or making decisions. Our lives would be literally free of care. And there are those among us who love to direct the traffic of other people's lives. But have you noticed how detestable it is to them to have the smallest suggestion made concerning their own? What a display of vanity!
There are always sycophants, or "apple polishers," if you will, who fawn and flatter the vanity. But to have one's vanity built to great heights is not always an act of love, but more often subtle scorn.
Love is the only force against vanity. Love does not wish to command, but only to serve. If love cannot tell the truth it does not speak. Vanity separates, love joins. Love does not ask that another take the responsibility, but it asks only the strength to bear it.
"Every part of this soil is sacred in the estimation of my people. Every hillside, every valley, every plain and grove, has been hallowed by some sad or happy event in days long vanished."
Chief Sealth, DUWAMISH
Native people say the Earth is sacred. Some places on Earth will feel more sacred than others. You can often feel the sacredness of these places because of what has happened on them. If you do a ceremony on a certain place and return later, whatever happened before will still be there to help you. Even if someone you didn't know did something on the Earth and you come along later, the powers will be there to help you. This is why the Earth is sacred and these special places are sacred spots.
My Creator, let the powers of the sacred places help the people today.
Near is the lion on our path. But if we turn around and face it straight-on, it will slink away. The sooner we learn that fear has no power but what we give it, the sooner we gain control of all our emotions. The Tsalagi may know fear, but his stoic expression will never reveal it. To a Cherokee, u na ye hi s di, fear or alarm, is the face of the enemy that tries to numb his mind and spirit to make it easier to conquer him. The lion's roar is silenced the minute we face it down with our own ga na nv di s gi, war whoop, that shows we mean business. We have no intention to stand still and let fear open the door to worse things. By the faith words of our mouths we turn away, not only the lion, but all it represents.
In every society there always seem to be people who feel it their duty to read the riot act to whomever, in their opinion, is in need of it at the moment. Come be my friend until I have time to let you know the things you're doing wrong. This is a committee of one, in all my busy days....taking time to straighten out all who are not conforming to my ideas.
Who, in all the world, has so much wisdom as to consider themselves so forever right....to be capable of such certainty as to what another person should do. And even if they should be right, who commissioned them in all their wisdom to speak the words that have such power to wither a spirit.
When the world has so much hurt, why should one voice be raised against another who has not spoken an unkind word in its direction. When even the strongest is so in need of compassion and love, why is one voice, sharp edged and driven deep, allowed to speak.
Our words can build or destroy. And we never really know just when something we say may make a decision for someone else, to give them courage or further dear. But God help all who have not learned that the words we speak come back to us.....many times.
"Each day, whatever I am doing, I am always praying and thinking of God."
Thomas Yellowtail, CROW
Have you ever tries going through your day and carrying on a conversation with the Creator? Many of our Elders live in prayer. They talk to the Creator like the Creator is their best friend. It is easiest to do this if we pray in the morning and ask the Great Spirit to direct our thinking. When the Creator in involved in guiding our lives, we will have less stress, anxiety and tension. Maybe this is something we would like to try today. "Oh, Creator, look at the Sun, how beautiful you have made it. Oh, look at this child, isn't she just beautiful! Well, Creator, I'm not sure how I should do this task, what do you think? This person is starting to irritate me; I need your help to redirect my thinking. Thanks for returning me to a peaceful mind." Remember, the Creator also has a sense of humor.
Ideas are like eggs in an incubator. They must be kept warm and protected until they have grown enough to hatch. Our need to go wo in ha, talk on and on, can do away with a promising situation before it has ever had time to take form. Left to develop, it may have been a great blessing to many - but tampering with it in our belief that we can do anything and say anything aborts it. There is a time to speak and a time to keep silent, but it takes wisdom to know the time. Most things can only stand one telling, and it had better be where it stands a chance to survive. Until that time, don't talk, don't count.
~ Grandfather, Great Spirit, once more behold me on earth and learn to hear my feeble voice. ~
So much has been written about happiness - the way to it, the reasons for it, the symbols of it - and still people search for that very special something that will assure happiness forever after. Of all the recipes for lasting happiness, we finally have to mix our own. But the one thing everyone has in common is the need for a little bit more. We have this and this, for which we are very thankful, but always the need is extended to that little bit more.
Happiness is like any other part of our lives, we must use wisdom in seeking it. We too often rush headlong into something that seems to be instant happiness, all the time telling ourselves we can right the wrong at a later time. But happiness doesn't remain happiness for very long when it has such strings attached.
In order to e rightly happy we concentrate on getting, but it is giving that we find most necessary to mix into every recipe. To some happiness will always be elusive, never quite settling anywhere, never quite revealing itself, for they have yet to learn that happiness has the wings of angels, the breath of God, and the love of man, all hidden within Him.
"Behold, my bothers, the spring has come; the earth has received the embraces of the sun and we shall soon see the results of that love!"
Sitting Bull, SIOUX
Spring is the season of love. Spring is the season of new life, new relationships. It is the springtime that really reacts to the new position of Father Sun. New life forms all over the planet. Life is abundant. New cycles are created. Mother Earth changes colors, the flowers are abundant. It is the time for humans to observe nature and let nature create within us the feeling of Spring. We should let ourselves renew. We should let go of the feeling of Winter. We should be joyful and energetic.
My Maker, let me, today, feel the feelings of Spring.
There is an undercurrent that feeds us false impressions like a gentle trap that tells us we are doing right - because it feels right. Feelings are so easily manipulated they can't be trusted as a measure in anything. We stay with bad habits because it feels right. The habit comforts our feelings and the familiar touch makes us believe we can't give it up. But it is the path that winds back through the same experiences - almost like being lost in a jungle. We think we are on the right road out, until we find our own footprints going around and around. Whether it is a habit or a person, or a situation we are trying to escape, we have to know our feelings are not to be trusted. They keep us knocking on a door that seems like home but is simply the same stopping-off, na hna I, familiar place. Beware of feelings that deceive.
It has been said that there is no deceit in touching the pen to sign a treaty, but I have always found it full of deceit. ~
You speak to me of faith and the church you attend. The most important faith will be the way you feel about it within you. Don't ever let anyone tell you that it is too unsophisticated to think about such things. For it is the very basis on which you draw your breath. Without faith there's no hope.
The most beautiful thing about life is that we can begin it anew each day. We need to forget every unpleasant thing that has ever happened to us, every shallow thing that has no meaning, every unkind word or deed or thought and start all over again.
And the only possible way to do it is by faith. Faith, faith, in yourself, faith in God, and faith that right will win. And facetiously stated, "Them that has gets." If you have a little faith it will attract more - if you know about it within you.
"The faces of our future generations are looking up to us from the earth and we step with great care not to disturb our grandchildren."
Traditional Circle of Elders
The leaves, when they are finished with their life on the trees, will return to the Earth. The leaves that return to the Earth are the future trees. So inside the Mother Earth are the future forests. The human, when finished with its life on the Earth, will return to the Earth. So in the Earth are our future grandchildren. Knowing this, we should be respectful of the place where our future generations live. Only take from the Earth what you need. Every time you pick a plant or Medicine, leave an offering and leave a prayer. Be respectful and walk in a sacred way.
Great Spirit, teach me to respect the place of future generations.
Personal balance, says the Cherokee, is a matter of self-restraint, steadiness and consistency. We like to think we have some of each. We want to believe we know a good thing when we see it - and because we can see it we can possess it as well. Balance means living du yu go dv, squarely, or with truth. It means seeing that what we believe and what we talk about dictate what we get out of life. If we shortchange, we get shortchanged. If we whip and beat and scheme to get the better of someone, time will equalize it. No one really gets away with anything. We love to win, but if deceit comes in, so do all the factors of balance. A smokescreen blows away with the slightest change in pressure. We get what we give - good or bad.
~ Do not wrong or hate your neighbor; for it is not he that you wrong; you wrong yourself. ~
Do you want to know the truth about worry? It hits everyone. It is not an ailment just for weaklings or cowards. Worry is the cat you throw out only to have it back in before you can close the door.
Worry has another side. It proves we care very much, and that we appreciate our God-given gifts and loved ones. In a way, it is a sign of strength, for if we can turn it to faith, then faith can be just as strong. And to overcome worry, or to at least control it, there must be faith.
Faith, and the knowledge that if you could be in all the places, watching closely all the things about which you are concerned, you couldn't do a tenth as much good as one simple prayer.
We are taught, "Be not anxious," "Fear not," and "Be not afraid," and too quickly we become anxious, fearful, and very frightened. But even then we have only to put worry to flight by remembering those quieting words that are so absolutely true, "Be still and know that I am God."
Recently we had a summer storm. It was rumbling and heavy with darkness. The lightning flashed across the sky, and trees bent back and forth in the uncertain currents. When the first huge drops of rain spattered across the walks and lawns, our thoughts turned to the safety of anyone or anything that might be caught out in the wind and rain.
We've been through many summer storms. Some of them left permanent marks upon our memories. The threatening, the darkness, the pressure of the atmosphere are not so different from the emotional storms of the human life. We see lives under pressure bend to and fro in the uncertainty of life. We know concern for the safety of those who experience emotional storms. Then we know the only answer is in God's hands. There is no other way.
radiance and peace.The good earth rights itself quickly after a storm. Nature comes forth more richly for having gone through the storm, and the scars are lost in new growth. And blessed are we when we lift ourselves up to a new, deeper
"We have and old saying, Everything living must die. Only the rocks and mountains are forever."
Archie Fire Lame Deer, LAKOTA
The Creator designed all life to happen in a circle. For example, the cycle of life for the human being is Baby, Youth, Adult, Elder, then we die. The trees and the leaves happen in a circle; the leaves bud, then the leaves mature, next the leaves change color and at last they fall off the tree to return to the Mother Earth. The birds bear their young, raise their young, then they die. The salmon are born, swim to the ocean, live their lives, swim back to the spawning grounds, then die. All aspects of the Life Cycle should be honored.
Part of the world's problem with education is that common sense cannot be taught. It is not a result of education but exists in spite of it. If something is missing in the handling of ordinary problems, it is usually common sense. Many are blessed with extraordinary charisma, the gift of grace or special qualities the Cherokee calls a da to li s di. But to be used to any degree, charisma must backed by practical wisdom - common sense. We can be ready for anything and equal to anything if we are infused with the inner inspiration to develop common sense. The genius may know he has a fine mind, but common sense is needed to manage it.
~ While the Indians received us as friends, and listened with kind attention to our propositions, we were painfully impressed with their lack of confidence in the pledge of the Government. ~
To have the desire to quit in the face of despair is not a new story. As long as time, people have wanted to give up when something hindered their progress. But such adversity is sometimes the right time for people to become acquainted with themselves.
It has been written that a smooth sea does not make a skillful mariner. The storms of human life, like those of the seas, awaken us to sharpening our abilities and strengthening us to overcome these present storms to the point where we seldom have to face them again. Most of living is a lesson, and the sooner we learn to study and develop the sooner we are rid of the teacher.
But in the words of Jeremy Taylor, "It is impossible for that man to despair who remembers that his Helper is omnipotent." And it is impossible for people not to progress if they acknowledge their Helper in the most minute details of their lives.
Prepared for the worst? Forget it! Only worry prepares for the worst. If problems come to you, meet them with courage when they arrive. And worry has never produced courage. Faith produces courage, and keeps us from crossing all those unnecessary bridges. In fact, we cross bridges that have never been in existence, and have no strength except that which we give them by constant preparation for something that isn't good.
Promise yourself to cross no bridges this day except those you find immediately before you. And nine times out of ten they will lead only to happiness.
"The basis of knowledge is the fire, rock, water, and green. But when that power was given to man, he used it to twist his own mind. Tunkashila gave man just one drop of that wisdom."
Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTA
All of Nature has the wisdom to follow the Natural Laws. All of Nature knows how to live in harmony and use this wisdom in a good way, with exception of the human being. Often we misuse this wisdom. Wisdom always remains with those who use it in the proper way. Nature has used this wisdom well, so now we need to go to Her so we humans can relearn and change our lives. May we start doing this today, before it is too late.
Creator, let me be open to the lessons that Nature can teach me.
This is the age of questioning. Nothing can be accepted at face-value the way it once was. A man's word has been broken so many times that we are convinced no one can be trusted. But such evidence is not always true. Emotions and unrestrained imagination makes us assume that certain people are not trustworthy. If we are going on hearsay we are in no position to judge. When enough time has passed we will know what is true. Until then it is wise to withhold opinions and refuse to believe the worst of anyone - even if something has given us reason to be suspicious. The loss is too great to du a da hi s to di, to accuse or make a charge against people, without knowing if it is true.
~ You have come here to buy this country of ours, and it would be well if you came....with the price in your hand. ~
The longest face and the saddest cry Always seem to come with the question why
Why did you take what belonged to me?
It has always been mine, or can't you see
That you have no rights, to right to claim,
And you did just that, you're to blame
For all my unhappiness, all of my tears.
Well, perhaps not all, part were my fears.
And I suppose if I think I can also say
That if I've lost anything, it's really the way
That I treated the things that used to be mine.
I saw clouds on the days where there was really sunshine,
I turned often to darkness instead of the light.
I saw all of the wrong, but never the right,
And in all honesty I suppose I must say
If I've lost anything, I gave it away.
"Today, what is important for us is to realize that the old sacred ways are correct, and that if we do not follow them we will be lost and without a guide."
Thomas Yellowtail, CROW
A long time ago the Creator gave to the people all the knowledge on how we should live and conduct ourselves. The Native people have been influenced be outside "tribes" who don't know about the Sacred Way. Our Elders still know about the old sacred ways. We need to consult and talk to them before it's too late. Every family needs to seriously evaluate whether they are living according to the old knowledge. If we are faultfinding, putting one another down, being selfish, being violent to our spouses or children, if we are cheating and being dishonest, then we are not living the old Sacred Way. The old way is about respect, love, forgiveness and sharing.
Great Spirit, today, teach me the old Sacred Way you taught my ancestors.
When we lean solely on the past, we remember vividly the things that never were. If something was u wo du hi, beautiful, the present time fades in comparison. If it was bad, it too often consumes our joy in every new day. It is a daily matter to pick up the good and put down the not so good. We hope to preserve the precious and lose what oppressed our happier natures. But it requires us to monitor what we are thinking about and how we tell it - and not pull up the flowers with all the weeds. If we had the capacity to be happy at one time, we still have it. It is just that we have it in a new time, under new circumstances and with a spirit freed from the past. The worst slave is the one who dwells on and relives the past in all its murkiness.
~ I will not dwell on, nor mourn over, our untimely decay, nor reproach our paleface brothers for hastening it.... ~
If you could remake your personal world, how would you want it? Very few can answer that question immediately. Many cannot answer after a great deal of consideration. Maybe we are drifters to a degree. There seems to be a certain amount of apprehension and fear about saying, or even thinking of what we want out of life. It may be that we feel some of it isn't right to want, or that maybe we are asking more than should be our share.
Money is probably the first thing that most people think about, because of what they could do for themselves and for others. But what of health and peace and love? Without these all the fame and money in the world would be entirely meaningless. Without a spiritual foundation to one's life, all our desires are built on sand. Without knowing where we're going, we are drifters.
To know what we want with good is the first and most important step. As Carlyle wrote, "The man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder - a waif, a nothing. Have a purpose in life and, having it, throw such strength of mind and muscle into your work as God has given you."
Tennyson wrote these beautiful words: "More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of. What are men better than sheep or goats, that nourish a blind life within the brain, of, knowing God, they lift no hand of prayer both for themselves and those who call them friends!"
What on this earth could we possibly have of good that has not come from the Almighty? What inroads are made into disease and sickness, what light has focused more understandingly on mental illness and weaknesses, without having been revealed through something greater than we are?
'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler
If you could remake your personal world, how would you want it? Very few can answer that question immediately. Many cannot answer after a great deal of consideration. Maybe we are drifters to a degree. There seems to be a certain amount of apprehension and fear about saying, or even thinking of what we want out of life. It may be that we feel some of it isn't right to want, or that maybe we are asking more than should be our share.
Money is probably the first thing that most people think about, because of what they could do for themselves and for others. But what of health and peace and love? Without these all the fame and money in the world would be entirely meaningless. Without a spiritual foundation to one's life, all our desires are built on sand. Without knowing where we're going, we are drifters.
To know what we want with good is the first and most important step. As Carlyle wrote, "The man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder - a waif, a nothing. Have a purpose in life and, having it, throw such strength of mind and muscle into your work as God has given you."
Tennyson wrote these beautiful words: "More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of. What are men better than sheep or goats, that nourish a blind life within the brain, of, knowing God, they lift no hand of prayer both for themselves and those who call them friends!"
What on this earth could we possibly have of good that has not come from the Almighty? What inroads are made into disease and sickness, what light has focused more understandingly on mental illness and weaknesses, without having been revealed through something greater than we are?
And indeed, to what can we contribute the smallest or the greatest amounts of success, the love we share, the true joys, the peace, and our very breath. How presumptuous of us to believe we own one thing of lasting value that doecome from God. s not
"For me, the essence of a medicine man's life is to be humble, to have great patience, to be close to the Earth, to live as simply as possible, and to never stop learning."
Archie Fire Lame Deer, LAKOTA
The Medicine people focus on their Being, not their doing. After all, we are human beings not human doings. The Medicine people are very patient and consciously trying to live a live of humility. Medicine people are servant leaders. Their main purpose is to serve the needs of others. By this service attitude, they become the leaders people listen to and the leaders the people want to follow. The Medicine people say everyone is their teacher. Maybe we should try to live this way ourselves; humble, patient, honoring the Earth and listening to our teachers.
Grandfather, today, let me know all people are my teachers and I am the student.
Success or a s qua dv, as the Cherokee use the term, is a sense of doing something and having the rewards. But anyone has to take care that a little success does not weaken effort or steal initiative. Persistence must be our constant companion for however long it takes and for whatever it requires of us, to keep stretching our limits, refining our spirits, renewing our minds. Things have never been important to the Cherokee as much as land and home and family. But success means different things to different people. Nearly all agree that dignity and respect are symbols of success - and spiritual foundations are not just buildings or groups but an inner power and strength of an individual.
~ Among themselves every warrior is an orator.....an excellent way to whet the courage of their youth. ~
Aim high, even though it seems at the moment you'll never reach that cherished dream. It is your duty to lift yourself above mediocrity. And if you're afraid your dream will sound foolish, then don't talk about it, work for it.
Some dreams have gossamer wings, too fragile to discuss. We can be so zealous about our plans that we talk away the mystery and lose interest in the things we've begun. Zeal can burn itself out in one, quick, bright flame, or it can be nurtured into strength that is the basis for greatness.
If dreams have substance, then they may well come true. And if they are in line with the law of good, then there will be someone who want to help. To have the desire to do something that will benefit others, the desire to serve, is to have a dream with solid possibilities.
The aims, then, must be deserving as to become duties. It falls to certain individuals to develop a gift and to use it in helping other people. As German philosopher Immanuel Kant has written, "What are the aims which are at the same time duties? They are the perfecting of ourselves and the happiness of others."
If you do not know any of the songs, ask an Elder to teach you. Get yourself a drum. When you sing a song and play the drum, you'll be surprised how your mind, body, and spirit will react. Everything becomes calm and joyful. Our bodies love the songs. The songs allow us to touch the hand of the Creator. When we sing and touch the Great Spirit's hand, He gives us power. Songs are another way to pray.
How would we feel, what would we be doing or thinking if we are not in this situation? Strange as it sounds, these are questions that can guide us our of a place that is testing us severely. Just focusing outside a limited position helps us to see ourselves delivered and well. We must see it by using the same what-if that is so easy for us in negative ways. E gi ya in ha, we are called, says the Cherokee, to use all our mental and spiritual resources to see ourselves free. It is never that we are sick and trying to get well - but that we are well and something is trying to make us sick. If we have a problem with a positive vision, then we can go back to being a child. Children have no trouble pretending. It is fun, it is joyful, and it raises the level of awareness to a healthy high so the body and mind can take over and restore and renew.
~ House made of dawn. Restore my feet to me. Happily I recover. My interior becomes cool. As it used to be. I walk. In beauty it is finished. ~
Courage must have its everyday face. We can't preserve it just for special occasions. We must have courage when we are disappointed, because disappointment is a robber of reason and faith, and even dignity. We must remember that whatever we have to meet there is something within us to help us meet it. But it is like a vein of rich ore. We must tap it, know what it is, and turn it into a finished product that will serve a purpose.
Every day we must have courage to forgive. The adamant we shall always face, but to forgive is to disarm. To forgive is to release and to release is to remove the graceless things that make it necessary to forgive.
A little common, everyday courage can give a life so much more to live for and to find contentment in the knowledge that today I did not give on to the smaller self. And I can draw on the strength from One who bore personal suffering with supreme courage.
A comforting adage is that it is always darkest just before the dawn. The darkness of fear and worry and misunderstanding can last only so long, and then the light of dawn breaks through to show everything in its true perspective.
To someone who is troubled, the darkness holds only the most frightening difficulties. This kind of night seems to have no end, but given a little time it will pass, as will our problems.
The very fact that we are not alone should give some comfort, for no matter what we are experiencing someone else has been there too. We must not delude ourselves with notions that we are meant to be cross-bearers forever.
And frequently, they are much better people who emerge from their own night to remember that it is as important to have faith in the dark as it is easy to have faith in the sunshine.
"I am particularly found of the little groves of oak trees. I love to look at them, because they endure the wintry storm and the summer's heat, and, not unlike ourselves, seem to flourish by them."
Sitting Bull, SIOUX
Every season, Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, has gifts that it gives to all creatures. The animals will develop thicker furs just before Winter and will shed this fur in the Spring. Squirrels will store their food in the Fall; other animals build up fat so they can hibernate during the Winter. We can watch all forms of nature and see all creatures work in harmony with the seasons. The secret for us is to learn by observing nature. Watch the trees. Learn from them. We human beings need to learn the gifts and blessings of the seasons.
Grandfather, Grandmother, teach me to live in harmony with the seasons.
Talking too much is a little like painting a picture. It is frequently what we leave out that makes it the masterpiece. We don't have to tell everything we think - not use every color on the palette. Subtlety makes someone else think, and that is more important. Our tendency is to think that no one understands unless we spell things out for them. It is hard to keep our mouths shut when we want to say something so much - usually with a da li s ga na ne hi, irony or a degree of sarcasm, according to the Cherokee. Silence can be as unkind as saying too much but in the long run it serves a better purpose in preserving friendships. There is a time to speak and a time to keep silence, but it is a person of rare sensitivity who knows when the time is.
~ Tell your children of the friendly acts of Indians to the white people who settled here. Tell them of our leaders and heroes and their deeds. ~
Why is it that the things we love can cause us so much pain, and perhaps without realizing it? Why is it that we find so much to worry about in all the "what ifs" that cross our minds with such persistence? What makes fatigue follow us through the hours and drain away precious strength that we need to help us in our daily routine?
All the things that plague us daily have one common cause - fear. To some, fear is a constant companion. We may call it by many other names such as necessity, time, busyness, demands, but all of these can be forms of fear.
Fear produces the most mental, physical, and spiritual fatigue that has ever overtaken humans. It rushes us so that we have accidents. It drains us of strength to resist illness. It tells us we cannot produce enough to meet the demands upon us. And it builds within our minds such dire images so that we cannot face the simplest.
Fear has one antidote. It is not to stop worrying and take it easy, but it is faith. Adverse conditions cannot break us in the face of faith. Faith allows us to look fear in the eyes with such confidence that it loses its power over us.
English divine, Frederick William Robertson, wrote, "To believe is strong. Doubt cramps energy. Belief is power."
"Respect should be given those indigenous nations who still carry on their ceremonies; still following the ancient laws of nature with songs and ceremonies."
Oren R. Lyons, Spokesman, Traditional Circle of Elders
Many of our Tribes still have the ceremonies, songs and traditions. Today, the ceremonies and songs are coming back even stronger. The Elders have a lot of this knowledge. The young people need to learn these songs and traditions from the Elders. This is the strength of the people. The ancient Wisdom and Knowledge of ancient Laws are hidden in the ceremonies and songs. We should seek out these songs and ceremonies.
Great Spirit, teach me the songs and ceremonies. Make my eyes open to see.
Some of us have kindred souls that understand what we feel, what we think, and what we need. These special people seldom bother with a lot of talk - but their quiet companionship is balm to the spirit and enough without words. Wherever we are on the pathway - the Cherokee calls it ga lo hi s di - one of these special persons has known loneliness, felt the solitary hours, heard the empty echoes, and is there to mark the way for us. We are assured of company, told that we will make it - that we are almost there now. Suddenly there is a corner to turn, a light to shine, hope and a hand to support us. Then, in quiet communication, we reach back and take someone else's hand.
~ They were kind to me, those old men, when I was working hard to learn from them these sacred songs. ~
At those times when we have planned for something and have our hearts set on our affairs going in a certain direction but they fail to materialize, we are disappointed. If we have any faith at all, we must remember that one door never closes but another opens. That which once seemed the right thing to plan for may not hold all the things that would be for our good in the long run. It may have been right in the beginning, but as time passes and other events come into being, a change may be necessary for the benefit of the over-all picture.
Sometimes we fix our attention so rigidly on one thing, one part of life, one person, that a change throws us into a state of extreme disappointment. But disappointment, like all of the emotions, can serve to strengthen rather than take away. The attitude with which we face life can determine its outcome.
We can look with woeful eyes on the negative mental attitude and wallow in self-pity, or we can flip the mind to the upper side and let the positive mental attitude bring to us the strength and peace we need.
Disappointment is something no one has escaped. The many plans we make sometimes fade like mist in the sunlight. A cherished dream may take another shape and to lose that vision can throw a dim view on all of life. Because one tiny part could not be fulfilled, we are so tempted to let all of the rest go with it.
But if only we could wait a bit. So often we then come to realize the reason for our change in plans.
Sometimes disappointment is the very thing that keeps us mounting the steps upward, keeps us stretching our minds to understand. And it may test our spirits. For if disappointment can make a spirit bitter, the joy of accomplishment would have soon soured.
There is no joy in a disappointment, but it may be the thing to save us from a life of mediocrity.
English novelist Edward George Bulwer-Lytton wrote, "Man must be disappointed with the lesser things in life before he can accomplish the full value of the greater."
"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.
Everything is fresh and new on a June morning. Someone performed a miracle while we slept. The air was cleaned to crystal clarity, the rising sun glistens on every leaf and blade of grass. The hills are new green from spring rains and the horses that graze there are sleek and shiny. Such rewards, such a as s dv, are for the early riser, the one who greets the day with thanksgiving and praise. Regardless of how many tagalongs from yesterday threaten, they cannot break the spell of the beauty at hand. Another opportunity, another splendid day that is so oblivious to the schemes of man. To go with it, to rise with the morning mist, is to know the freedom and restoration in the soul of the American Indian.
~ To the Indian, words that are true sink deep into his heart where they remain; he never forgets them. ~
Isn't it true that when someone days something is wrong, our first thought is, "What have I done wrong now?" That constant fear of having a finger of accusation pointed in our direction - that guilt complex that can plague us into admitting guilt when it isn't ours.
Shakespeare wrote, "The mind of guilt is full of scorpions." And surely it is. For we often take more on with a feeling of guilt than is required of us. It is more often a feeling of fear; fear of being ridiculed, blamed, or even threatened.
A guilt complex can be erased. Not in a day, and maybe not completely, unless we are dedicated to keeping it out of our minds. We are so prone to throw fuel on the fire that we must always be completely aware of the thoughts we entertain.
But certainly, with turning to our innate faith and wisdom we can find enough courage to recognize the ghosts of guilt and see them for what they are.
Perhaps in the final analysis we find we were not guilty at all. We feel relieved, but if we were guilty, the relief of admitting mistakes is just as great.
"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 reevaluate 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.
Chances are we never recall just when we made the biggest decisions in our lives - unless we can remember some of our quietest moments. We think of change coming with fanfare, but that so seldom happens. Most of the time we silently recognize the great things in our lives long before we bring them our to be known by everyone. It is hard to say just when the change began. Some of it is even ga lv quo di, sacred to us, not easily shared - nor wise to share, because it is our own that comes from somewhere deep within us. There is an inner life that makes changes easier because it prepares us to accept what we cannot change - and more importantly, to change what we can.
~ The whole world is coming. A nation is coming, a nation is coming. The Eagle has brought the message to the tribe. ~
David White Hawk Administrator
Elder's Meditation of the Day June 5
"It is not through the great skill of the hunter himself that success is achieved, but through the hunter's awareness of his place in Creation and his relationship to all things."
Thomas Yellowtail, CROW
If only the human being could understand the power of proper relationships, the need for power and control could be abandoned. It's not what is going on that matters, but how we look at what is going on. It's our relationship to it that counts. Nothing in the world has any meaning except the meaning we give to it. To be more effective at this, we need to consider our relationship with the Creator. Our relationship to the Great Spirit determines how we will perceive the meanings we put to places, people, institutions and things. We need to let the Creator tell us and guide our thoughts about these relationships. Any relationship that we have that is causing problems means we need to pray for a new point of view.
Creator, let me see the world and the people through your eyes.
Jun 5, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
June 5 - Daily Feast
Nothing equals the loveliness of a summer morning when the first rays of sunlight sweep a field of wheat ready for harvest. The honey-colored heads bow with the weight of grain and the moisture of dew. Few of us could miss the peace that comes when the first light breaks through the foliage at the far side of the woods. It beams misty shafts of gold into areas untouched at any other time of day. It passes quickly and leaves the need to see it again. A miracle happens with the morning light. Worried thought lightens with the trill of the summer tanager. The wild purple cone flowers make their appearance in the meadow - and so the day begins.
~ Warm as go gi a ga li s gv, the peaceful day begins.
Warm as summer sunshine, the peaceful day a leni s gv. ~
Jun 5, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler
Have you heard how dreadful the neighbors are these days to ignore another's plight, and how the world has gone to the dogs because people don't care? Have you heard how hardened hearts are and how callous and unfeeling the human race has become?
It may be true such things do happen....for we hear about it daily. But it likely is that we hear more about the unusual than the usual.
For have you heard about the builder who laid his own plans aside to help another build his house....and the lady who gave her home and nursing care to someone who had no other place to go. Or the child who found its needs fulfilled in the love of a foster mother.
We may ignore, but we can never erase the love of the human race. The world may abound with sordid happenings; it may revel in senseless activities. But called to help, the greater number will respond without thought of the cost to themselves.
Of these things we hear so little. With these we come in contact every day and accept it as the normal pattern of life....which it is....for each unthinking, infantile mind there are two great thoughtful ones. And the second great Commandment still works its wonders in all our lives.
Jun 6, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
Elder's Meditation of the Day June 6
"We need to save those Elders who cannot speak for themselves -- the trees."
Haida Gwaii, Traditional Circle of Elders
The trees are the Elders of the Earth. Go to the forest or to the mountains and find a young tree. Then find and old tree. Spend time with each. Sit by the young tree and listen to your thoughts. Then move to an old tree and listen to your thoughts again. Just being in the presence of an old tree, you will feel more calm. Your thoughts will contain wisdom and your answers will be deeper. Why is this so? These old trees know more, have heard more and are the Elders of the Earth. We must ensure these trees live so we can learn from them.
My Creator, help me to protect the trees and listen to them.
Jun 6, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
June 6 - Daily Feast
The mind is like a bag with a drawstring. When the string is pulled so tight that nothing can go into the bag or come out - that is nervous tension. The problem is held in and the solution is kept out. At these times it helps to walk - at least far enough to detach from everything that reminds a worrier that he is hemmed in. While the feet are busy, the mind relaxes - maybe not to the point of being tranquil but at least to be able to adanv tesgv, think clearly or work things out mentally. And during the walk, deliberately turn thoughts to vision - seeing every detail, every sunflower. Look at the shape of a leaf, the spider's web, and look for color, and be grateful for the ears to hear and the eyes to see. Nothing heals the spirit and opens the way like turning loose of a problem.
~ Neither anger not fear shall find lodging in your mind. ~
DEKANWIDAH
Jun 6, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler
We are all aware of the emotional effect color creates. And for this reason we choose colors that please the eye by first pleasing the inner emotions. Certain colors have the same effect on many, while other colors affect each of us individually and in particular ways.
Red has an exciting effect; green is cool serenity, orange is the color of vivacity, and brown tones are restful earthy colors. People dress to enhance their appearances with certain colors. Homes are decorated and offices are planned to create pleasance surroundings.
And we as individuals possess moods of many colors. Yet, we are far more careless about the color of that mood, letting the attitudes and colors of others dictate to us how we are to behave. If we could remember when we meet people whose moods are black to remind ourselves that their moods are their own, there would be less involvement in the emotions of others.
We are so vividly aware of color, we must not be reckless in recognizing the color scheme within our own personality. Whether it is a vibrant color, sophisticated, or bright and witty, color always works its subtle magic.
Jun 7, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
Elder's Meditation of the Day June 7
"If there is a shadow of a doubt someplace, that will cause a weakness."
Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTA
In the Spiritual World there is a spiritual Law. The Law says like attracts like. This means whatever mental picture we hold inside our minds we will attract from the Universe. To make this Law work we must maintain a constant picture. If we picture or vision something, and along with this picture we have doubting thoughts, our vision will not happen and we will get EXACTLY what we picture or vision. The Law always works. A doubting vision will not materialize what we want. A vision without doubt will always happen. This is a spiritual Law.
My Maker, today, let my vision become strong.
Jun 7, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
June 7 - Daily Feast
Confession may be good for the soul, but it seldom makes the one that heard it feel good. The nee to clear the air or get something out in the open can cause a bigger rift than the reason for confessing in the first place. Words cannot be retrieved once they are spoken. They are gone and calling them back is impossible. Some weigh on people's hearts like hi lv s gi nv ya, many stones or heavy rock. Some are flung, like di ga it s di, a spear, to wound. And most should never have been spoken. Life and death are in the use of words. If we feel the need to confess something, we should do it where the listener knows how to handle what we say. It is an unthinking person that needs to be relieved of a burden to the point of putting it on someone who may find it hard to bear.
~ He knew his words were bad; he trembled like the oak whose roots have been wasted by many rains. ~
KEOKUK
Jun 7, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler
If everyone were alike, what a dull world this would be. It is the individuality of each person that makes the world so interesting.
The tremendous differences in people give a wide range of personalities, beliefs, and appearances to every group, no matter how small.
If all the flowers in the world were of one color, would we think them beautiful? It is the variety and wide range of rainbow colors that keeps us fascinated.
Cowper wrote, "Variety is the very spice of life, that gives it all its flavor." So many have no thought of life except what they will east, what they will wear, and how they can entertain themselves. And then we come on someone who has the ability to see loveliness in the sunlight and charm in quiet rain. They can say things to encourage, to make calm and peaceful.
We meet many different kinds of people. Some we love and some we like and love, which is a terrific difference. It is to find a wholeness or a part of our lost self in someone else. It isn't that they are so much like us or that we believe the way they do, but that they communicate, and it is this rare communication that respects the differences between peoples.
Jun 8, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
Elder's Meditation of the Day June 8
"So we are connected to the moon. That gives us power, a connection to the earth and the moon, men don't know about."
Cecilia Mitchell, MOHAWK
The Elders tell us that the Woman has access to special powers. The Earth Mother gives her love in a special way to the Woman. The Moon also gives special powers to the Woman. She uses these powers to nurture, heal and guide the people.
Great Spirit, today, give a special Blessing to our Women.
Jun 8, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
June 8 - Daily Feast
It is unfortunate when someone fails us, but it isn't as bad as when we fail ourselves. The minute we make a mistake or fall short, we begin to condemn ourselves. How could we have been so dumb, so inept, so careless? We are victims by our own mouths. It is too easy to make a habit of thinking we are second-rate, not quite equal to others. If we say it enough times, we think it, and it feeds down into our hearts to surface again when we don't need it. Who can love us if we do not love ourselves? Who will build us up if we are busy tearing us down? Confidence is winning over self - not others. But we have to stir up the gift that is within us, see that we appreciate all the small things we can do well. We can only be what we give ourselves power to be.
~ These words are mine and they are true. ~
CHIEF MENINOCK
Jun 8, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler
So often it is difficult to know where the line lies between kindness and domineering. It doesn't sound as if the two could possibly mix, but sometimes we're inclined to think it a kind of goodness when it actually becomes domineering.
It is often then best of kindest think to let others think for themselves. Even though the helpfulness is of love, it can be smothering to the ones who want to breathe freely, even of their own problems.
Concern can turn to possessiveness in the space of a moment and do it so suddenly it is almost impossible to comprehend. All individuals have the right to make their own mistakes and also the undeniable right to correct those mistakes. It makes help appreciated when it comes and then help is recognized as help and not ownership.
If we were all told what to do, it would relieve us of the burden of the responsibility of thinking, planning, or making decisions. Our lives would be literally free of care. And there are those among us who love to direct the traffic of other people's lives. But have you noticed how detestable it is to them to have the smallest suggestion made concerning their own? What a display of vanity!
There are always sycophants, or "apple polishers," if you will, who fawn and flatter the vanity. But to have one's vanity built to great heights is not always an act of love, but more often subtle scorn.
Love is the only force against vanity. Love does not wish to command, but only to serve. If love cannot tell the truth it does not speak. Vanity separates, love joins. Love does not ask that another take the responsibility, but it asks only the strength to bear it.
Jun 9, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
Elder's Meditation of the Day June 9
"Every part of this soil is sacred in the estimation of my people. Every hillside, every valley, every plain and grove, has been hallowed by some sad or happy event in days long vanished."
Chief Sealth, DUWAMISH
Native people say the Earth is sacred. Some places on Earth will feel more sacred than others. You can often feel the sacredness of these places because of what has happened on them. If you do a ceremony on a certain place and return later, whatever happened before will still be there to help you. Even if someone you didn't know did something on the Earth and you come along later, the powers will be there to help you. This is why the Earth is sacred and these special places are sacred spots.
My Creator, let the powers of the sacred places help the people today.
Jun 9, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
June 9 - Daily Feast
Near is the lion on our path. But if we turn around and face it straight-on, it will slink away. The sooner we learn that fear has no power but what we give it, the sooner we gain control of all our emotions. The Tsalagi may know fear, but his stoic expression will never reveal it. To a Cherokee, u na ye hi s di, fear or alarm, is the face of the enemy that tries to numb his mind and spirit to make it easier to conquer him. The lion's roar is silenced the minute we face it down with our own ga na nv di s gi, war whoop, that shows we mean business. We have no intention to stand still and let fear open the door to worse things. By the faith words of our mouths we turn away, not only the lion, but all it represents.
~ I turn with a shout that we are saved! ~
STANDING BEAR
Jun 9, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler
In every society there always seem to be people who feel it their duty to read the riot act to whomever, in their opinion, is in need of it at the moment. Come be my friend until I have time to let you know the things you're doing wrong. This is a committee of one, in all my busy days....taking time to straighten out all who are not conforming to my ideas.
Who, in all the world, has so much wisdom as to consider themselves so forever right....to be capable of such certainty as to what another person should do. And even if they should be right, who commissioned them in all their wisdom to speak the words that have such power to wither a spirit.
When the world has so much hurt, why should one voice be raised against another who has not spoken an unkind word in its direction. When even the strongest is so in need of compassion and love, why is one voice, sharp edged and driven deep, allowed to speak.
Our words can build or destroy. And we never really know just when something we say may make a decision for someone else, to give them courage or further dear. But God help all who have not learned that the words we speak come back to us.....many times.
Jun 10, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
Elder's Meditation of the Day June 10
"Each day, whatever I am doing, I am always praying and thinking of God."
Thomas Yellowtail, CROW
Have you ever tries going through your day and carrying on a conversation with the Creator? Many of our Elders live in prayer. They talk to the Creator like the Creator is their best friend. It is easiest to do this if we pray in the morning and ask the Great Spirit to direct our thinking. When the Creator in involved in guiding our lives, we will have less stress, anxiety and tension. Maybe this is something we would like to try today. "Oh, Creator, look at the Sun, how beautiful you have made it. Oh, look at this child, isn't she just beautiful! Well, Creator, I'm not sure how I should do this task, what do you think? This person is starting to irritate me; I need your help to redirect my thinking. Thanks for returning me to a peaceful mind." Remember, the Creator also has a sense of humor.
Grandfather, Grandmother, let me walk in prayer.
Jun 10, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
June 10 - Daily Feast
Ideas are like eggs in an incubator. They must be kept warm and protected until they have grown enough to hatch. Our need to go wo in ha, talk on and on, can do away with a promising situation before it has ever had time to take form. Left to develop, it may have been a great blessing to many - but tampering with it in our belief that we can do anything and say anything aborts it. There is a time to speak and a time to keep silent, but it takes wisdom to know the time. Most things can only stand one telling, and it had better be where it stands a chance to survive. Until that time, don't talk, don't count.
~ Grandfather, Great Spirit, once more behold me on earth and learn to hear my feeble voice. ~
BLACK ELK
Jun 10, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler
So much has been written about happiness - the way to it, the reasons for it, the symbols of it - and still people search for that very special something that will assure happiness forever after. Of all the recipes for lasting happiness, we finally have to mix our own. But the one thing everyone has in common is the need for a little bit more. We have this and this, for which we are very thankful, but always the need is extended to that little bit more.
Happiness is like any other part of our lives, we must use wisdom in seeking it. We too often rush headlong into something that seems to be instant happiness, all the time telling ourselves we can right the wrong at a later time. But happiness doesn't remain happiness for very long when it has such strings attached.
In order to e rightly happy we concentrate on getting, but it is giving that we find most necessary to mix into every recipe. To some happiness will always be elusive, never quite settling anywhere, never quite revealing itself, for they have yet to learn that happiness has the wings of angels, the breath of God, and the love of man, all hidden within Him.
Jun 11, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
Elder's Meditation of the Day June 11
"Behold, my bothers, the spring has come; the earth has received the embraces of the sun and we shall soon see the results of that love!"
Sitting Bull, SIOUX
Spring is the season of love. Spring is the season of new life, new relationships. It is the springtime that really reacts to the new position of Father Sun. New life forms all over the planet. Life is abundant. New cycles are created. Mother Earth changes colors, the flowers are abundant. It is the time for humans to observe nature and let nature create within us the feeling of Spring. We should let ourselves renew. We should let go of the feeling of Winter. We should be joyful and energetic.
My Maker, let me, today, feel the feelings of Spring.
Jun 11, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
June 11 - Daily Feast
There is an undercurrent that feeds us false impressions like a gentle trap that tells us we are doing right - because it feels right. Feelings are so easily manipulated they can't be trusted as a measure in anything. We stay with bad habits because it feels right. The habit comforts our feelings and the familiar touch makes us believe we can't give it up. But it is the path that winds back through the same experiences - almost like being lost in a jungle. We think we are on the right road out, until we find our own footprints going around and around. Whether it is a habit or a person, or a situation we are trying to escape, we have to know our feelings are not to be trusted. They keep us knocking on a door that seems like home but is simply the same stopping-off, na hna I, familiar place. Beware of feelings that deceive.
It has been said that there is no deceit in touching the pen to sign a treaty, but I have always found it full of deceit. ~
STANDING ELK
Jun 11, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler
You speak to me of faith and the church you attend. The most important faith will be the way you feel about it within you. Don't ever let anyone tell you that it is too unsophisticated to think about such things. For it is the very basis on which you draw your breath. Without faith there's no hope.
The most beautiful thing about life is that we can begin it anew each day. We need to forget every unpleasant thing that has ever happened to us, every shallow thing that has no meaning, every unkind word or deed or thought and start all over again.
And the only possible way to do it is by faith. Faith, faith, in yourself, faith in God, and faith that right will win. And facetiously stated, "Them that has gets." If you have a little faith it will attract more - if you know about it within you.
Jun 12, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
Elder's Meditation of the Day June 12
"The faces of our future generations are looking up to us from the earth and we step with great care not to disturb our grandchildren."
Traditional Circle of Elders
The leaves, when they are finished with their life on the trees, will return to the Earth. The leaves that return to the Earth are the future trees. So inside the Mother Earth are the future forests. The human, when finished with its life on the Earth, will return to the Earth. So in the Earth are our future grandchildren. Knowing this, we should be respectful of the place where our future generations live. Only take from the Earth what you need. Every time you pick a plant or Medicine, leave an offering and leave a prayer. Be respectful and walk in a sacred way.
Great Spirit, teach me to respect the place of future generations.
Jun 12, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
June 12 - Daily Feast
Personal balance, says the Cherokee, is a matter of self-restraint, steadiness and consistency. We like to think we have some of each. We want to believe we know a good thing when we see it - and because we can see it we can possess it as well. Balance means living du yu go dv, squarely, or with truth. It means seeing that what we believe and what we talk about dictate what we get out of life. If we shortchange, we get shortchanged. If we whip and beat and scheme to get the better of someone, time will equalize it. No one really gets away with anything. We love to win, but if deceit comes in, so do all the factors of balance. A smokescreen blows away with the slightest change in pressure. We get what we give - good or bad.
~ Do not wrong or hate your neighbor; for it is not he that you wrong; you wrong yourself. ~
SHAWNEE CHANT
Jun 12, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler
Do you want to know the truth about worry? It hits everyone. It is not an ailment just for weaklings or cowards. Worry is the cat you throw out only to have it back in before you can close the door.
Worry has another side. It proves we care very much, and that we appreciate our God-given gifts and loved ones. In a way, it is a sign of strength, for if we can turn it to faith, then faith can be just as strong. And to overcome worry, or to at least control it, there must be faith.
Faith, and the knowledge that if you could be in all the places, watching closely all the things about which you are concerned, you couldn't do a tenth as much good as one simple prayer.
We are taught, "Be not anxious," "Fear not," and "Be not afraid," and too quickly we become anxious, fearful, and very frightened. But even then we have only to put worry to flight by remembering those quieting words that are so absolutely true, "Be still and know that I am God."
Recently we had a summer storm. It was rumbling and heavy with darkness. The lightning flashed across the sky, and trees bent back and forth in the uncertain currents. When the first huge drops of rain spattered across the walks and lawns, our thoughts turned to the safety of anyone or anything that might be caught out in the wind and rain.
We've been through many summer storms. Some of them left permanent marks upon our memories. The threatening, the darkness, the pressure of the atmosphere are not so different from the emotional storms of the human life. We see lives under pressure bend to and fro in the uncertainty of life. We know concern for the safety of those who experience emotional storms. Then we know the only answer is in God's hands. There is no other way.
radiance and peace.The good earth rights itself quickly after a storm. Nature comes forth more richly for having gone through the storm, and the scars are lost in new growth. And blessed are we when we lift ourselves up to a new, deeper
Jun 13, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
Elder's Meditation of the Day June 13
"We have and old saying, Everything living must die. Only the rocks and mountains are forever."
Archie Fire Lame Deer, LAKOTA
The Creator designed all life to happen in a circle. For example, the cycle of life for the human being is Baby, Youth, Adult, Elder, then we die. The trees and the leaves happen in a circle; the leaves bud, then the leaves mature, next the leaves change color and at last they fall off the tree to return to the Mother Earth. The birds bear their young, raise their young, then they die. The salmon are born, swim to the ocean, live their lives, swim back to the spawning grounds, then die. All aspects of the Life Cycle should be honored.
Great Spirit, today, let me enjoy today.
Jun 13, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
June 13 - Daily Feast
Part of the world's problem with education is that common sense cannot be taught. It is not a result of education but exists in spite of it. If something is missing in the handling of ordinary problems, it is usually common sense. Many are blessed with extraordinary charisma, the gift of grace or special qualities the Cherokee calls a da to li s di. But to be used to any degree, charisma must backed by practical wisdom - common sense. We can be ready for anything and equal to anything if we are infused with the inner inspiration to develop common sense. The genius may know he has a fine mind, but common sense is needed to manage it.
~ While the Indians received us as friends, and listened with kind attention to our propositions, we were painfully impressed with their lack of confidence in the pledge of the Government. ~
1876 PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION REPORT
Jun 13, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler
To have the desire to quit in the face of despair is not a new story. As long as time, people have wanted to give up when something hindered their progress. But such adversity is sometimes the right time for people to become acquainted with themselves.
It has been written that a smooth sea does not make a skillful mariner. The storms of human life, like those of the seas, awaken us to sharpening our abilities and strengthening us to overcome these present storms to the point where we seldom have to face them again. Most of living is a lesson, and the sooner we learn to study and develop the sooner we are rid of the teacher.
But in the words of Jeremy Taylor, "It is impossible for that man to despair who remembers that his Helper is omnipotent." And it is impossible for people not to progress if they acknowledge their Helper in the most minute details of their lives.
Prepared for the worst? Forget it! Only worry prepares for the worst. If problems come to you, meet them with courage when they arrive. And worry has never produced courage. Faith produces courage, and keeps us from crossing all those unnecessary bridges. In fact, we cross bridges that have never been in existence, and have no strength except that which we give them by constant preparation for something that isn't good.
Promise yourself to cross no bridges this day except those you find immediately before you. And nine times out of ten they will lead only to happiness.
Jun 15, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
Elder's Meditation of the Day June 14
"The basis of knowledge is the fire, rock, water, and green. But when that power was given to man, he used it to twist his own mind. Tunkashila gave man just one drop of that wisdom."
Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTA
All of Nature has the wisdom to follow the Natural Laws. All of Nature knows how to live in harmony and use this wisdom in a good way, with exception of the human being. Often we misuse this wisdom. Wisdom always remains with those who use it in the proper way. Nature has used this wisdom well, so now we need to go to Her so we humans can relearn and change our lives. May we start doing this today, before it is too late.
Creator, let me be open to the lessons that Nature can teach me.
Jun 15, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
June 14 - Daily Feast
This is the age of questioning. Nothing can be accepted at face-value the way it once was. A man's word has been broken so many times that we are convinced no one can be trusted. But such evidence is not always true. Emotions and unrestrained imagination makes us assume that certain people are not trustworthy. If we are going on hearsay we are in no position to judge. When enough time has passed we will know what is true. Until then it is wise to withhold opinions and refuse to believe the worst of anyone - even if something has given us reason to be suspicious. The loss is too great to du a da hi s to di, to accuse or make a charge against people, without knowing if it is true.
~ You have come here to buy this country of ours, and it would be well if you came....with the price in your hand. ~
STANDING ELK
Jun 15, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler
The longest face and the saddest cry
Always seem to come with the question why
Why did you take what belonged to me?
It has always been mine, or can't you see
That you have no rights, to right to claim,
And you did just that, you're to blame
For all my unhappiness, all of my tears.
Well, perhaps not all, part were my fears.
And I suppose if I think I can also say
That if I've lost anything, it's really the way
That I treated the things that used to be mine.
I saw clouds on the days where there was really sunshine,
I turned often to darkness instead of the light.
I saw all of the wrong, but never the right,
And in all honesty I suppose I must say
If I've lost anything, I gave it away.
Jun 15, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
Elder's Meditation of the Day June 15
"Today, what is important for us is to realize that the old sacred ways are correct, and that if we do not follow them we will be lost and without a guide."
Thomas Yellowtail, CROW
A long time ago the Creator gave to the people all the knowledge on how we should live and conduct ourselves. The Native people have been influenced be outside "tribes" who don't know about the Sacred Way. Our Elders still know about the old sacred ways. We need to consult and talk to them before it's too late. Every family needs to seriously evaluate whether they are living according to the old knowledge. If we are faultfinding, putting one another down, being selfish, being violent to our spouses or children, if we are cheating and being dishonest, then we are not living the old Sacred Way. The old way is about respect, love, forgiveness and sharing.
Great Spirit, today, teach me the old Sacred Way you taught my ancestors.
Jun 15, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
June 15 - Daily Feast
When we lean solely on the past, we remember vividly the things that never were. If something was u wo du hi, beautiful, the present time fades in comparison. If it was bad, it too often consumes our joy in every new day. It is a daily matter to pick up the good and put down the not so good. We hope to preserve the precious and lose what oppressed our happier natures. But it requires us to monitor what we are thinking about and how we tell it - and not pull up the flowers with all the weeds. If we had the capacity to be happy at one time, we still have it. It is just that we have it in a new time, under new circumstances and with a spirit freed from the past. The worst slave is the one who dwells on and relives the past in all its murkiness.
~ I will not dwell on, nor mourn over, our untimely decay, nor reproach our paleface brothers for hastening it.... ~
SEATTLE
Jun 15, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler
If you could remake your personal world, how would you want it? Very few can answer that question immediately. Many cannot answer after a great deal of consideration. Maybe we are drifters to a degree. There seems to be a certain amount of apprehension and fear about saying, or even thinking of what we want out of life. It may be that we feel some of it isn't right to want, or that maybe we are asking more than should be our share.
Money is probably the first thing that most people think about, because of what they could do for themselves and for others. But what of health and peace and love? Without these all the fame and money in the world would be entirely meaningless. Without a spiritual foundation to one's life, all our desires are built on sand. Without knowing where we're going, we are drifters.
To know what we want with good is the first and most important step. As Carlyle wrote, "The man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder - a waif, a nothing. Have a purpose in life and, having it, throw such strength of mind and muscle into your work as God has given you."
Tennyson wrote these beautiful words: "More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of. What are men better than sheep or goats, that nourish a blind life within the brain, of, knowing God, they lift no hand of prayer both for themselves and those who call them friends!"
What on this earth could we possibly have of good that has not come from the Almighty? What inroads are made into disease and sickness, what light has focused more understandingly on mental illness and weaknesses, without having been revealed through something greater than we are?
'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler
If you could remake your personal world, how would you want it? Very few can answer that question immediately. Many cannot answer after a great deal of consideration. Maybe we are drifters to a degree. There seems to be a certain amount of apprehension and fear about saying, or even thinking of what we want out of life. It may be that we feel some of it isn't right to want, or that maybe we are asking more than should be our share.
Money is probably the first thing that most people think about, because of what they could do for themselves and for others. But what of health and peace and love? Without these all the fame and money in the world would be entirely meaningless. Without a spiritual foundation to one's life, all our desires are built on sand. Without knowing where we're going, we are drifters.
To know what we want with good is the first and most important step. As Carlyle wrote, "The man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder - a waif, a nothing. Have a purpose in life and, having it, throw such strength of mind and muscle into your work as God has given you."
Tennyson wrote these beautiful words: "More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of. What are men better than sheep or goats, that nourish a blind life within the brain, of, knowing God, they lift no hand of prayer both for themselves and those who call them friends!"
What on this earth could we possibly have of good that has not come from the Almighty? What inroads are made into disease and sickness, what light has focused more understandingly on mental illness and weaknesses, without having been revealed through something greater than we are?
And indeed, to what can we contribute the smallest or the greatest amounts of success, the love we share, the true joys, the peace, and our very breath. How presumptuous of us to believe we own one thing of lasting value that doecome from God. s not
Jun 16, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
Elder's Meditation of the Day June 16
"For me, the essence of a medicine man's life is to be humble, to have great patience, to be close to the Earth, to live as simply as possible, and to never stop learning."
Archie Fire Lame Deer, LAKOTA
The Medicine people focus on their Being, not their doing. After all, we are human beings not human doings. The Medicine people are very patient and consciously trying to live a live of humility. Medicine people are servant leaders. Their main purpose is to serve the needs of others. By this service attitude, they become the leaders people listen to and the leaders the people want to follow. The Medicine people say everyone is their teacher. Maybe we should try to live this way ourselves; humble, patient, honoring the Earth and listening to our teachers.
Grandfather, today, let me know all people are my teachers and I am the student.
Jun 16, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
June 16 - Daily Feast
Success or a s qua dv, as the Cherokee use the term, is a sense of doing something and having the rewards. But anyone has to take care that a little success does not weaken effort or steal initiative. Persistence must be our constant companion for however long it takes and for whatever it requires of us, to keep stretching our limits, refining our spirits, renewing our minds. Things have never been important to the Cherokee as much as land and home and family. But success means different things to different people. Nearly all agree that dignity and respect are symbols of success - and spiritual foundations are not just buildings or groups but an inner power and strength of an individual.
~ Among themselves every warrior is an orator.....an excellent way to whet the courage of their youth. ~
WILLIAM FYFFE
Jun 16, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler
Aim high, even though it seems at the moment you'll never reach that cherished dream. It is your duty to lift yourself above mediocrity. And if you're afraid your dream will sound foolish, then don't talk about it, work for it.
Some dreams have gossamer wings, too fragile to discuss. We can be so zealous about our plans that we talk away the mystery and lose interest in the things we've begun. Zeal can burn itself out in one, quick, bright flame, or it can be nurtured into strength that is the basis for greatness.
If dreams have substance, then they may well come true. And if they are in line with the law of good, then there will be someone who want to help. To have the desire to do something that will benefit others, the desire to serve, is to have a dream with solid possibilities.
The aims, then, must be deserving as to become duties. It falls to certain individuals to develop a gift and to use it in helping other people. As German philosopher Immanuel Kant has written, "What are the aims which are at the same time duties? They are the perfecting of ourselves and the happiness of others."
Jun 17, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
Elder's Meditation of the Day June 17
"Your power comes from the songs."
Ethel Wilson, COWICHAN
If you do not know any of the songs, ask an Elder to teach you. Get yourself a drum. When you sing a song and play the drum, you'll be surprised how your mind, body, and spirit will react. Everything becomes calm and joyful. Our bodies love the songs. The songs allow us to touch the hand of the Creator. When we sing and touch the Great Spirit's hand, He gives us power. Songs are another way to pray.
My Grandfather, teach me a song today.
Jun 17, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
June 17 - Daily Feast
How would we feel, what would we be doing or thinking if we are not in this situation? Strange as it sounds, these are questions that can guide us our of a place that is testing us severely. Just focusing outside a limited position helps us to see ourselves delivered and well. We must see it by using the same what-if that is so easy for us in negative ways. E gi ya in ha, we are called, says the Cherokee, to use all our mental and spiritual resources to see ourselves free. It is never that we are sick and trying to get well - but that we are well and something is trying to make us sick. If we have a problem with a positive vision, then we can go back to being a child. Children have no trouble pretending. It is fun, it is joyful, and it raises the level of awareness to a healthy high so the body and mind can take over and restore and renew.
~ House made of dawn. Restore my feet to me. Happily I recover.
My interior becomes cool. As it used to be. I walk. In beauty it is finished. ~
NAVAJO PRAYER
Jun 17, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler
Courage must have its everyday face. We can't preserve it just for special occasions. We must have courage when we are disappointed, because disappointment is a robber of reason and faith, and even dignity. We must remember that whatever we have to meet there is something within us to help us meet it. But it is like a vein of rich ore. We must tap it, know what it is, and turn it into a finished product that will serve a purpose.
Every day we must have courage to forgive. The adamant we shall always face, but to forgive is to disarm. To forgive is to release and to release is to remove the graceless things that make it necessary to forgive.
A little common, everyday courage can give a life so much more to live for and to find contentment in the knowledge that today I did not give on to the smaller self. And I can draw on the strength from One who bore personal suffering with supreme courage.
A comforting adage is that it is always darkest just before the dawn. The darkness of fear and worry and misunderstanding can last only so long, and then the light of dawn breaks through to show everything in its true perspective.
To someone who is troubled, the darkness holds only the most frightening difficulties. This kind of night seems to have no end, but given a little time it will pass, as will our problems.
The very fact that we are not alone should give some comfort, for no matter what we are experiencing someone else has been there too. We must not delude ourselves with notions that we are meant to be cross-bearers forever.
And frequently, they are much better people who emerge from their own night to remember that it is as important to have faith in the dark as it is easy to have faith in the sunshine.
Jun 18, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
Elder's Meditation of the Day June 18
"I am particularly found of the little groves of oak trees. I love to look at them, because they endure the wintry storm and the summer's heat, and, not unlike ourselves, seem to flourish by them."
Sitting Bull, SIOUX
Every season, Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, has gifts that it gives to all creatures. The animals will develop thicker furs just before Winter and will shed this fur in the Spring. Squirrels will store their food in the Fall; other animals build up fat so they can hibernate during the Winter. We can watch all forms of nature and see all creatures work in harmony with the seasons. The secret for us is to learn by observing nature. Watch the trees. Learn from them. We human beings need to learn the gifts and blessings of the seasons.
Grandfather, Grandmother, teach me to live in harmony with the seasons.
Jun 18, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
June 18 - Daily Feast
Talking too much is a little like painting a picture. It is frequently what we leave out that makes it the masterpiece. We don't have to tell everything we think - not use every color on the palette. Subtlety makes someone else think, and that is more important. Our tendency is to think that no one understands unless we spell things out for them. It is hard to keep our mouths shut when we want to say something so much - usually with a da li s ga na ne hi, irony or a degree of sarcasm, according to the Cherokee. Silence can be as unkind as saying too much but in the long run it serves a better purpose in preserving friendships. There is a time to speak and a time to keep silence, but it is a person of rare sensitivity who knows when the time is.
~ Tell your children of the friendly acts of Indians to the white people who settled here. Tell them of our leaders and heroes and their deeds. ~
CHEROKEE INDIAN COUNCIL
Jun 18, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler
Why is it that the things we love can cause us so much pain, and perhaps without realizing it? Why is it that we find so much to worry about in all the "what ifs" that cross our minds with such persistence? What makes fatigue follow us through the hours and drain away precious strength that we need to help us in our daily routine?
All the things that plague us daily have one common cause - fear. To some, fear is a constant companion. We may call it by many other names such as necessity, time, busyness, demands, but all of these can be forms of fear.
Fear produces the most mental, physical, and spiritual fatigue that has ever overtaken humans. It rushes us so that we have accidents. It drains us of strength to resist illness. It tells us we cannot produce enough to meet the demands upon us. And it builds within our minds such dire images so that we cannot face the simplest.
Fear has one antidote. It is not to stop worrying and take it easy, but it is faith. Adverse conditions cannot break us in the face of faith. Faith allows us to look fear in the eyes with such confidence that it loses its power over us.
English divine, Frederick William Robertson, wrote, "To believe is strong. Doubt cramps energy. Belief is power."
Jun 19, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
Elder's Meditation of the Day June 19
"Respect should be given those indigenous nations who still carry on their ceremonies; still following the ancient laws of nature with songs and ceremonies."
Oren R. Lyons, Spokesman, Traditional Circle of Elders
Many of our Tribes still have the ceremonies, songs and traditions. Today, the ceremonies and songs are coming back even stronger. The Elders have a lot of this knowledge. The young people need to learn these songs and traditions from the Elders. This is the strength of the people. The ancient Wisdom and Knowledge of ancient Laws are hidden in the ceremonies and songs. We should seek out these songs and ceremonies.
Great Spirit, teach me the songs and ceremonies. Make my eyes open to see.
Jun 19, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
June 19 - Daily Feast
Some of us have kindred souls that understand what we feel, what we think, and what we need. These special people seldom bother with a lot of talk - but their quiet companionship is balm to the spirit and enough without words. Wherever we are on the pathway - the Cherokee calls it ga lo hi s di - one of these special persons has known loneliness, felt the solitary hours, heard the empty echoes, and is there to mark the way for us. We are assured of company, told that we will make it - that we are almost there now. Suddenly there is a corner to turn, a light to shine, hope and a hand to support us. Then, in quiet communication, we reach back and take someone else's hand.
~ They were kind to me, those old men, when I was working hard to learn from them these sacred songs. ~
PLAYFUL CALF
Jun 19, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler
At those times when we have planned for something and have our hearts set on our affairs going in a certain direction but they fail to materialize, we are disappointed. If we have any faith at all, we must remember that one door never closes but another opens. That which once seemed the right thing to plan for may not hold all the things that would be for our good in the long run. It may have been right in the beginning, but as time passes and other events come into being, a change may be necessary for the benefit of the over-all picture.
Sometimes we fix our attention so rigidly on one thing, one part of life, one person, that a change throws us into a state of extreme disappointment. But disappointment, like all of the emotions, can serve to strengthen rather than take away. The attitude with which we face life can determine its outcome.
We can look with woeful eyes on the negative mental attitude and wallow in self-pity, or we can flip the mind to the upper side and let the positive mental attitude bring to us the strength and peace we need.
Disappointment is something no one has escaped. The many plans we make sometimes fade like mist in the sunlight. A cherished dream may take another shape and to lose that vision can throw a dim view on all of life. Because one tiny part could not be fulfilled, we are so tempted to let all of the rest go with it.
But if only we could wait a bit. So often we then come to realize the reason for our change in plans.
Sometimes disappointment is the very thing that keeps us mounting the steps upward, keeps us stretching our minds to understand. And it may test our spirits. For if disappointment can make a spirit bitter, the joy of accomplishment would have soon soured.
There is no joy in a disappointment, but it may be the thing to save us from a life of mediocrity.
English novelist Edward George Bulwer-Lytton wrote, "Man must be disappointed with the lesser things in life before he can accomplish the full value of the greater."
Jun 20, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
Elder's Meditation of the Day June 20
"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.
Jun 20, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
June 20 - Daily Feast
Everything is fresh and new on a June morning. Someone performed a miracle while we slept. The air was cleaned to crystal clarity, the rising sun glistens on every leaf and blade of grass. The hills are new green from spring rains and the horses that graze there are sleek and shiny. Such rewards, such a as s dv, are for the early riser, the one who greets the day with thanksgiving and praise. Regardless of how many tagalongs from yesterday threaten, they cannot break the spell of the beauty at hand. Another opportunity, another splendid day that is so oblivious to the schemes of man. To go with it, to rise with the morning mist, is to know the freedom and restoration in the soul of the American Indian.
~ To the Indian, words that are true sink deep into his heart where they remain; he never forgets them. ~
FOUR GUNS
Jun 20, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
'THINK on THESE THINGS'
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler
Isn't it true that when someone days something is wrong, our first thought is, "What have I done wrong now?" That constant fear of having a finger of accusation pointed in our direction - that guilt complex that can plague us into admitting guilt when it isn't ours.
Shakespeare wrote, "The mind of guilt is full of scorpions." And surely it is. For we often take more on with a feeling of guilt than is required of us. It is more often a feeling of fear; fear of being ridiculed, blamed, or even threatened.
A guilt complex can be erased. Not in a day, and maybe not completely, unless we are dedicated to keeping it out of our minds. We are so prone to throw fuel on the fire that we must always be completely aware of the thoughts we entertain.
But certainly, with turning to our innate faith and wisdom we can find enough courage to recognize the ghosts of guilt and see them for what they are.
Perhaps in the final analysis we find we were not guilty at all. We feel relieved, but if we were guilty, the relief of admitting mistakes is just as great.
Jun 21, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
Elder's Meditation of the Day June 21
"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 reevaluate 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.
Jun 21, 2012
David White Hawk Administrator
June 21 - Daily Feast
Chances are we never recall just when we made the biggest decisions in our lives - unless we can remember some of our quietest moments. We think of change coming with fanfare, but that so seldom happens. Most of the time we silently recognize the great things in our lives long before we bring them our to be known by everyone. It is hard to say just when the change began. Some of it is even ga lv quo di, sacred to us, not easily shared - nor wise to share, because it is our own that comes from somewhere deep within us. There is an inner life that makes changes easier because it prepares us to accept what we cannot change - and more importantly, to change what we can.
~ The whole world is coming. A nation is coming, a nation is coming. The Eagle has brought the message to the tribe. ~
WOVOKA
Jun 21, 2012