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Post by Shaman on May 18, 2008 16:19:15 GMT -5
Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 16 "But one should pray in one's heart during a sacred ceremony; this is the purpose of the ceremony, to purify the participants both inside and outside." --Thomas Yellowtail, CROW How do you know if you are praying from your heart or from your head? Pray from your head and you will feel nothing; pray from your heart and you will feel feelings. You may feel sorrow, you may feel joy, you may want to cry, depending on what you are praying for. During the ceremony, the cleansing will take place. The Medicine Wheel teaches the four directions of inner power: emotional, mental, physical and spiritual. The prayer controls the emotional, mental and physical. When we ask for purification of our feelings, our mental mind and our physical body, the spiritual direction causes the cleansing to happen.
Great Spirit, create in me a clean heart.
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Post by Shaman on May 18, 2008 16:19:55 GMT -5
Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 17 "Women know more about love than men do...Love is taking. Love is sharing. Love is learning things about each other." --Mary Leitka, HOH The Elders say Mother Earth shares Her special gifts of love with the Women. The Women know about bringing forth life and nurturing their offspring. Through this gift of love the Earth really makes the Woman special. Men should look upon the Woman with a Sacred Eye. She should be respected. The Woman is a role model for love. When the Woman talks, we should listen; when she shares, we should be grateful. We should all learn about each other.
Grandmother, teach me to love with the power of the Woman.
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Post by Shaman on May 18, 2008 16:20:25 GMT -5
Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 18 "Our people don't come in parts. Either you are Indian, or you are not." --Nippawanock, ARAPAHOE We really need to take a look at how Indian People are talking about Indian People. We say there are Rez Indians, Traditional Indians, Urban Indians and Breeds. This type of thinking will keep us separated. An Indian is an Indian, a brother is a brother, a sister is a sister. We are all related. Today, let us respect ourselves and our people. Today, let me realize Indians are Indians.
Great Spirit, let me see the Unity of the People. Indians are Indians.
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Post by Shaman on May 18, 2008 16:20:58 GMT -5
Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 19 "We all come from the same root, but the leaves are all different." --John Fire Lame Deer, LAKOTA We all come from one Great Spirit but we are all different and unique. Nothing in the Great Creation has a twin that is identical. Even children that are twins are different. Every single person is extremely special and unique. Each person has a purpose and reason why they are on the Earth. Just like every leaf on a tree is different, each one is needed to make the tree look like it does. No leaf is better or worse than the other—all leaves are of equal worth and belong on the tree. It is the same with human beings. We each belong here and do things that will affect the great whole.
Great Spirit, today, let me see myself as a valuable contributor to the whole.
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Post by Shaman on May 18, 2008 16:21:30 GMT -5
Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 20 "You must be prepared and know the reason why you dance." --Thomas Yellowtail, CROW Inside every human being is a need to dance. We dance to music. Have you even wondered why people are moved when they hear an Indian Drum? The drum is the heartbeat of the Mother Earth. Every Indian dance is for a purpose and a reason. Every Song is for a reason. The beat of the drum makes our bodies, minds and spirits join together in harmony. It allows us to connect to Mother Earth and to each other. The dance aligns our minds to think spiritual thoughts. Dancing to the drum is healthy.
Great Spirit, today, I dance to honor you.
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Post by Shaman on May 18, 2008 16:22:00 GMT -5
Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 21 "Conciliation is the key to survival. Peace is the goal." --Haida Gwaii, Traditional Circle of Elders When we make decisions or experience conflict we need to look at the greater whole. The end result we want to accomplish is peace of mind. If we keep this goal in mind, we will, overall, live a happy and fulfilling life. Everything in the world is constantly changing so we should not resist this change. A good question to ask ourselves is, "would I rather be right or happy?" If we would rather be happy, then it is easier to let the little things go. If we would rather be right, we tend to look for the WIN/LOSE.
Great Spirit, today, give me the tools to seek peace of mind.
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Post by Shaman on May 18, 2008 16:22:28 GMT -5
Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 22 "Each creature has a medicine, so there are many medicines. Because they are so close to the Creator, they are to communicate that medicine. Then they bring help and health." --Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTA The Elders say everything has a purpose and everything has a will. We should never interfere with purpose or the will of everything. Every plant, creature, animal, insect, human being has a purpose to be here on the Earth. Each has a special medicine to contribute for the good of all things. Each person also has good medicine, a special talent, a special gift. These medicines are to help others or to help make us healthy. What is your special medicine?
Creator, today, help me discover and use my medicine to serve a greater good.
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Post by Shaman on May 18, 2008 16:23:16 GMT -5
Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 23 "The real meaning of life is your family, the love that you have, the respect, the traditional ways, carrying on with them." --Ethel Wilson, COWICHAN The family is the seed of the future. The family is the key to the transfer of cultural information. We should really take a look at how we are looking at our families. Are we treating each family member with respect? Are we passing on the traditional ways? Are we teaching the old songs? Are we participating in the ceremonies? Are we showing the family members how to pray? Are we encouraging each family member to be spiritual? Think about these things today.
My Creator, today, let me show respect to each family member.
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Post by Shaman on May 18, 2008 16:23:52 GMT -5
Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 24 "Each person's prayers can help everyone." --Thomas Yellowtail, CROW Prayer is our entrance into the Unseen World. It is by prayer we can call upon the powers and laws of the Great Spirit. The Spirit World has powers and laws that are different from the Physical World. The spiritual laws allow healing to take place; they allow forgiveness to occur; they cause miracles to happen; they cause hate to disappear; they heal broken relationships; they guide every moment of our lives; they allow us to love even when it's hard. Prayer allows us access to the Spirit World.
Creator, teach me to pray.
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Post by Shaman on May 18, 2008 16:24:17 GMT -5
Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 25 "In some mysterious and wonderful way you are part of everything, Nephew. And in that same mysterious and wonderful way, everything is a part of you." --Nippawanock, ARAPAHOE In order to experience this, we must be aware of how limited our senses are—eyes, ears touch, smell, taste. These senses help us to function in the Seen World. What we see is interpreted by our minds and put inside our belief system, and this can become our reality. But there also exists an Unseen World. In this world we experience connectedness; we experience the mystery; and we experience another whole point of view. If we pay attention to both the Unseen World and the Seen World, our belief systems will print in our mind a new and wonderful reality. We will see and know we are a part of everything.
Great Spirit, today, give me the knowledge to know this mystery.
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Post by Shaman on May 18, 2008 16:24:58 GMT -5
Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 26 "If those bad words come, I let them come in one ear and go out the other. I never let them come out of my mouth. If a bad word comes in your ear and then comes out of your mouth, it will go someplace and hurt somebody. If I did that, that hurt would come back twice as hard on me." --Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTA What do we do with temptations when they come? What do we do when we hear gossip? What do we do when we hear bad things? If we hear these things and pass them on we will not only hurt the other person, but we will do harm to ourselves. We must be careful not to hurt others. Whatever we sow we will simultaneously reap for ourselves. We must be accountable for our own actions.
Great Spirit, today, let no words come from my lips that would hurt another.
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Post by Shaman on May 18, 2008 16:25:43 GMT -5
Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 26 "If those bad words come, I let them come in one ear and go out the other. I never let them come out of my mouth. If a bad word comes in your ear and then comes out of your mouth, it will go someplace and hurt somebody. If I did that, that hurt would come back twice as hard on me." --Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTA What do we do with temptations when they come? What do we do when we hear gossip? What do we do when we hear bad things? If we hear these things and pass them on we will not only hurt the other person, but we will do harm to ourselves. We must be careful not to hurt others. Whatever we sow we will simultaneously reap for ourselves. We must be accountable for our own actions.
Great Spirit, today, let no words come from my lips that would hurt another.
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Post by Shaman on May 18, 2008 16:26:45 GMT -5
Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 27 "The law is that all life is equal in the Great Creation, and we, the Human Beings, are charged with the responsibility, each in our generation, to work for the continuation of life." --Traditional Circle of Elders Every generation is accountable to leave the environment in healthy order for the next generation. Every generation is accountable to teach the next generation how to live in harmony and to understand the Laws. We need to ask ourselves, "What are we teaching the next generation?" Each individual is directly accountable.
My Creator, teach me inter-generational responsibility.
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Post by Shaman on May 18, 2008 16:28:25 GMT -5
Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 28 "Indians living close to nature and nature's ruler are not living in darkness." --Walking Buffalo, STONEY There are many Indian people who are living according to nature and according to ceremony and culture. They may not have a lot of material things, but that doesn't mean they are not successful. What is success anyway? Can success be measured by material things? What is it we are really chasing anyway? The Elders say that what everyone really wants is to be happy and have a peaceful mind. Material things by themselves do not bring happiness and peace of mind. Only spiritual things bring happiness. When we live a spiritual life we will not have darkness. Instead, we will be happy.
Great Spirit, today, let me walk the Red Road.
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Post by Shaman on May 18, 2008 16:30:02 GMT -5
Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 29 "The old people came literally to love the soil and they sat or reclined on the ground with a feeling of being close to a mothering power...The soil was soothing, strengthening, cleansing and healing..." --Luther Standing Bear, OGLALA SIOUX Have you ever noticed the relationship between children and the soil? Watch how happily they are touching the dirt. The children play in it and eat it. If you are stressed, go to a spot on the Earth, sit down, put your fingers in the dirt, dig in it. Wash your hands in the soil. When you touch it, notice what it does to your hands. Our bodies love to touch the Earth. Sometimes we get too busy and forget these simple things. Maybe you'll even want to plant a garden or flowers. These things are mentally healthy.
Great Spirit, today, let me touch the Earth so the Earth can touch me.
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