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Post by artanaro on Feb 27, 2006 7:07:34 GMT -5
Elder's Meditation of the Day - February 27 "The Old Ones have always said that no matter who despises or ignores you, no matter who keeps you from entering their circles, it is right to pray for them because the are like us, too." --Larry P. Aitken, CHIPPEWA You don't know how an apple tastes until you taste it. You don't know what a fish tastes like until you eat it. You don't know how it is to be a woman unless you are one. You don't know what it means to have a baby until you have one. So it is with the natural laws. An example: the natural law of forgiveness says, if you hate someone, pray for the person to be blessed with happiness, joy and all the blessings of the Great Spirit. You will not know about this law unless you do it. The natural law says love others as you love yourself. If you hate yourself or feel guilt in some area of yourself, you will tend to judge and condemn your neighbor. You cannot give away what you don't have. You teach your children by your example, not by your words. The natural laws are written in our hearts. Great Spirit, teach me how to look into my heart. www.whitebison.org
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Post by artanaro on Feb 28, 2006 8:19:51 GMT -5
Elder's Meditation of the Day - February 28 "Ultimately, nature will do the teaching." --Tom Porter, MOHAWK There are things man has control over, and there are things man does not have control over. No matter how smart we get, whether it be in technology or science, there are things we will never control. The Great Spirit carefully protected and hid the control over certain things in the Unseen World. There are forces in the Unseen World that make sure humans don't mess things up. The bottom line is, no matter what we do, nature will have the last say. Nature is the teacher, we are the students. May we honor and respect our teacher. Great Spirit, today, help me to live in harmony with people, principles, and life. www.whitebison.org |
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Post by artanaro on Mar 1, 2006 6:37:58 GMT -5
Elder's Meditation of the Day - March 1 "The beginning is purification, that's the first step..And purification means purification of body and mind. You don't purify the body without cleansing the mind; that's the way it works." --Rolling Thunder, CHEROKEE If we have bad thoughts or poison in our minds, they will eventually show up in our bodies in the form of headaches, pains, and stomach problems. It works this way because we are interconnected. Our minds and our bodies are one system. So when we start to grow, or commit to the Red Road, we need to start cleaning up our thoughts and start showing respect for our bodies. We start purifying our minds by prayer and meditation, and we start cleansing our bodies by getting the right amount of sleep and developing good eating habits. Today, I'm going to observe my thoughts. Will my thoughts be clean today? Great Spirit, let me focus on Your love today so my mind will be pure. www.whitebison.org |
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Post by artanaro on Mar 2, 2006 6:31:17 GMT -5
Elder's Meditation of the Day - March 2 ".the voice and the heart are not working together." --Barney Bush, SHAWNEE We can say any words we want with our voice but we cannot hide the true meaning and the true spirit behind the words. The true meaning is always understood. The voice is heard in the physical world, but the meaning is transmitted in the spiritual world. if our voice says one thing but the heart is saying something else, it's the something else that is heard. It is said that the truth will set you free. Reaching the truth means your voice and your words will be in alignment with the heart. Great Spirit, let my tongue, speak the truth today. www.whitebison.org |
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Post by artanaro on Mar 3, 2006 7:03:04 GMT -5
Elder's Meditation of the Day - March 3 "For me writing has become prayers that say, `Great Spirit, return to us our freedom, our land, and our lives. We are thankful for the present from which to learn how to be thankful for the past, and how to be hopeful for the future." --Barney Bush, SHAWNEE We Native people have really been tested. This testing is having our land taken from us, our culture challenged, and our way of living altered. Gratefully, we have not lost our spirituality. our spirituality has been the key for our people making it through all of these tests. Our prayers are strong. Indian people have also been able to adjust to change and still keep their culture and spirituality. Today, we should be grateful to the Creator for the present, and for the lessons of the past. May our future be guided by the Great Spirit. Great Spirit, thank You for Mother Earth and Father Sky. Thank You for my life. www.whitebison.org
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Post by artanaro on Mar 4, 2006 11:54:25 GMT -5
Elder's Meditation of the Day - March 4 "My father told me.that Hopi earth does contain my roots and I am, indeed, from that land. Because my roots are there, I will find them." --Wendy Rose, HOPI/MIWOK Everything that comes from the earth will return to the earth. We should be able to realize the connectedness to the earth. We should be able to feel toward Her just like She is our real Mother. We can easily feel this connectedness if we can answer these three questions: why am I?, who am I?, and where am I going? If we cannot answer these questions, then perhaps we need to talk to the Elders. go to the Elders and ask, "Grandfather, why am I?; Grandmother, who am I?; Oh Great One, where am I supposed to go?" The Elders will help us with these three questions. Grandfather, help me to stay centered today. www.whitebison.org |
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Post by artanaro on Mar 5, 2006 6:32:19 GMT -5
Elder's Meditation of the Day - March 5 "I have always searched for my place and my people." --Wendy Rose, HOPI/MIWOK For every human being to feel connected, we must have the feeling of belonging. That is one of the values and benefits of a culture: it creates the feeling of belonging. If for some reason, while you were growing up, you did not develop the feeling of belonging, a search will be triggered and a restlessness will be present in your heart. You will have a hole inside you, something missing, until you find your place and your people. Remember, we can get this feeling of belonging when we realize we belong to the Great Spirit and that He really loves us a lot. My Creator, today, I belong to You. Let me feel Your presence. Thank You. www.whitebison.org |
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Post by artanaro on Mar 6, 2006 7:31:03 GMT -5
Elder's Meditation of the Day - March 6 "And there are Four Corners of the Earth that we talk about, the Four Colors of people, and the Four Winds. You see the winds-they are spirits." --Grandfather William Commanda, ALGONQUIN The Elders teach us about the four directions. If we learn about direction, we also learn about attention, about focus, and about power. Each direction has spiritual power. In the morning, go outside, face the east and get still; then, listen to your thoughts. After you have done this for a while, turn and face the west. Get quiet once again and listen to your thoughts. Did your thinking change when you changed direction? Great Spirit, teach me the power of the four directions. www.whitebison.org |
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Post by artanaro on Mar 7, 2006 7:24:19 GMT -5
Elder's Meditation of the Day - March 7 "We are responsible for the condition of the Earth. We are the ones who are responsible and we can change that. If we wake up, it is possible to change the energy. It is possible to change everything." --Hunbatz Men, MAYAN The environment we want outside will be created by the mental pictures we have inside our heads. We must have the right environmental picture as well as the right values. These values will give the mental picture its true meaning. If we respected Mother Earth, we would not throw garbage on Her, nor would we put poison in Her. We would not misuse Her in any way. Mother Earth is like She is today because of the mental pictures of previous generations as well as the mental pictures of our own generation. If we want the environment to change, each individual must change their mental picture. "As within, so without." Great Spirit, today, let me be alert to Your guiding voice www.whitebison.org |
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Post by artanaro on Mar 8, 2006 5:48:57 GMT -5
Elder's Meditation of the Day - March 8 "Balance is implicit in the Red Road. When you're on the Red Road, you are in the center. Yet, you do not go to either extreme, and you allow both sides to exist. This is accomplished by continually postponing surrendering to temptation, whatever it may be. It is saying `later' instead of `no.'" --Dr. A.C. Ross (Ehanamani), LAKOTA The Sacred Path of life has a middle, a left side, and a right side. As human beings, we are designed to walk this middle path as much as we can. As we walk, we will stray to the left and to the right and come back to the middle. Straying to the left or right side is as sacred as being in the middle. Sometimes we call this straying our mistakes. We are designed by the Creator to walk to Sacred Path of life, and realize that our mistakes are the source of lessons. These lessons give us our wisdom. It is not wrong that we are tempted. What matters is what we do with the temptation. Great Spirit, today, let me enjoy the Sacred Path of Life. www.whitebison.org |
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Post by artanaro on Mar 10, 2006 7:40:22 GMT -5
Elder's Meditation of the Day - March 10 "I know Grandpa told me that to smoke is wakan (holy). The smoke you inhale represents the spirits of everything you put into the pipe. When you breather in the smoke, you are asking to become one with everything or to become whole." --Dr. A.C. Ross (Enhanamani), LAKOTA The smoke allows us to go from the Seen World to the Spirit World. It is in the Spirit World where we are all connected. In this way, we can become one with all things. Our pipe is sacred. We need to be respectful of our medicine. When we smoke the pipe, we need to have good thoughts because these thoughts are shared with the Spirit World. The pipe, the smoke, the spirits, our thoughts-these things are Wakan. Great Spirit, today, let my thoughts be Wakan. www.whitebison.org |
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Post by artanaro on Mar 11, 2006 7:16:03 GMT -5
Elder's Meditation of the Day - March 11 "The symbol of wholeness, represented by the medicine wheel, is still being used in D/Lakota ceremonies today. The center where the "X" crosses is considered the home of Tunkasila, Wakan-Tanka. I speculated, `If this is the symbol of wholeness, the symbol of the psyche, with Wakan-Tanka at the center, then Wakan-Tanka would be within you.'" --Dr. A.C. Ross (Ehanamani), LAKOTA The Medicine Wheel represents everything. All the directions originate from the center outward. The center is the home of the Creator. The Medicine Wheel represents the human being. At our center is the home of the Great Spirit. This is why we are spiritual. The easiest way for us to find Wakan Tanka and talk to Him, is for us to become centered. This means, relax our bodies, still our minds, let go of our emotions and listen quietly. Shhh. Be still. My Creator, let me walk in the stillness today. www.whitebison.org |
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Post by artanaro on Mar 14, 2006 8:14:27 GMT -5
Elder's Meditation of the Day - March 14 "The concept that we are all related is one of the basic philosophies of D/Lakota religion." --Dr. A.C. Ross (Ehanamani), LAKOTA The Medicine Wheel teaches the four directions of the races, Red people, Yellow people, Black people and White people. These four directions are symbolic of all races. Everything in the circle is connected and related. All races are brothers and sisters. If we are related to each other, then it is important to love one another as brother and sister, aunt and uncle, Fathers and Mothers, Grandfathers and Grandmothers. We need to care for each other and especially respect each other. We need to honor one another's differences whether that difference is the color of our skin or our opinions. We should respect differences. My Creator, let me feel the connectedness to all things. Let me know the lessons I need to learn today. Above all, let me feel my connectedness to You. www.whitebison.org |
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Post by artanaro on Mar 15, 2006 8:00:05 GMT -5
Elder's Meditation of the Day - March 15 "We were taught generosity to the poor and reverence for the Great Mystery. Religion was the basis of all Indian training." --Charles A. Eastman (Ohiyesa), SANTEE SIOUX Every Indian knows and has a feeling inside that, bottom line, our real purpose on earth is to be of service to our fellow man and to be of maximum service to the Great Spirit. The Creator designed the earth to be self supporting --everything is interconnected and all things were created to be of service to each other. The Indian way is to pray about all things. Religion is not separate from any part of our lives. Everything is spiritual and we are to view all matters in this way. Family is spiritual, work is spiritual, helping others is spiritual, our bodies are spiritual, our talk is spiritual, our thoughts are spiritual. We need to practice seeing all things as spiritual. Great Spirit, today let me help the needy and allow me the wisdom to have respect and reverence for Your teachings. www.whitebison.org |
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Post by artanaro on Mar 17, 2006 8:37:59 GMT -5
Elder's Meditation of the Day - March 17
"By listening to the inner self and following one's instincts and intuitions, a person may be guided to safety."
--Dr. A.C. Ross (Ehanamani), LAKOTA
Be still and know. The Medicine Wheel teaches the four directions of inner power-not personal power, but the power of the Great Mystery. These four directions are emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual. As our emotions get too far our of control, we simultaneously create an equivalent mental picture, our physical body fills with stress and tension, and we become spiritually confused. When we experience these uptight feelings, the best thing to do is mentally pause, slow down our thinking, breathe slowly, or pray and ask the spirits to help. Only when we approach the stillness of the mind do we get access to our spiritual guidance system. To be guided, let your mind be still.
Creator, today, let me reside in Your stillness.
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