Lighting the Path Less Taken

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Last edited by Sage/Debs on Sun Oct 04, 2009 1:38 pm; edited 1 time in total

My thanks to: http//:www.whitebison.org

Elder's Meditation of the Day - October 1

"So don't be afraid.
What we left behind,
leave it back there.
Try to do some good.
Let's try to take a step,
try to think something good."
--Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTA

Every day is a new day. Sometimes we make mistakes.
We do not need to carry these mistakes along with us.
Take the lessons and leave the mistakes behind.
Look forward to today.
Today we can do something good.
Today we can have good thoughts.
Today we can think kind, uplifting thoughts about ourselves.
Today I will think good about ...

My Creator, today I ask You to direct my thoughts.

Elder's Meditation of the Day - October 2

"Laughter - that is something very sacred, especially for us Indians."
--John (Fire) Lame Deer, ROSEBUD LAKOTA

Laughter is mental,
laughter is emotional,
laughter is physical,
and laughter is spiritual.
Laughter helps us find balance.
If we get too angry, laughter will turn that emotion in a balanced direction. If we have a mental picture of someone who is too strong, laughter will help ease the tension. If the body is stressed, laughter will release natural relaxants into our muscles and our nervous system. Laughter often changes our attitude. We need to lighten up and laugh more.

Great Spirit, teach me to laugh.

Elder's Meditation of the Day October 4

"Search for the truth.
Indian values teach the holistic approach to the use of technology for mankind's good."
--Al Qoyawayma, HOPI

The Great Spirit had given us certain values to live by.
If we learn to think in harmony with these values such as; respect, love, patience, tolerance, commitment, trust, etc., we cannot get off track.
No matter what we do, we will always be in harmony. For example, if we are respectful, then we will respect the earth, our children, our women, our men, and ourselves. Indian values help us walk under the guidance of the Great Spirit.

My Creator, today I search for the truth, Your truth. Please let me see it.

Elder's Meditation of the Day - October 5

"The dances are prayers."
--Pop Chalee, TAOS PUEBLO

When we dance to the drum we pray to the Creator and attract the heartbeat of the earth.
We never dance without reason; every dance has a purpose. We dance for rain; we dance for healing; we dance for seasons; we dance for joy; we dance for our children; we dance for the people; we dance for courage.
The drum plays to the beat of the heart, to the beat of the Earth. The drum connects us to the Earth while we dance our prayers.

Oh, Great One, let my dance and prayer be heard by You.

Elder's Meditation of the Day - October 6

"Lots of people hardly ever feel real soil under their feet, see plants grow except in flower pots, or get far enough beyond the street light to catch the enchantment of a night sky studded with stars. When people live far from scenes of the Great Spirit's making, it's easy for them to forget His laws."
--Tatanga Mani (Walking Buffalo), STONEY

Nature is life's greatest teacher. The natural laws are hidden in nature. Hidden are solutions to everyday problems such as; conflict resolution, how to forgive, lessons about differences, how to manage organizations, how to think. Hidden are feelings. You can look at something and you will feel it. At night, have you ever looked at the sky when there are no clouds? As you look at all the stars, your heart will become very joyful. You will walk away feeling joyful and peaceful. We need to visit nature so we can see and feel these things.

My Creator, let me learn nature's lessons.

Elder's Meditation of the Day October 7

"We have a biological father and mother,
but our real Father is Tunkashila [Creator]
and our real Mother is the Earth."
--Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTA

Who really gives us our life? Who really gives us our food and nurturing? Who really allows us to be born? We are born through our parents who act as the vehicle of life for the Creator and Mother Earth. Our parents take care of us for a little while and when we are ready we must leave them and be faithful to our true Father, the Creator, and our true Mother, the Earth. Then we need to be of service to the Creator and be respectful to Mother Earth.

Great Spirit, thank you for being my Father. Teach me to honor the Earth.

Elder's Meditation of the Day - October 8

"I think there was a big mistake made (when) people separated religion and the government. That was one of the big mistakes that was made, because when they did that, then they removed the Creator from their life - or at least from half to three-quarters of their life."
--Tom Porter, MOHAWK

The Elders tell us that every thing the Creator made is interconnected. Nothing can be separated. The Elders say we should pray before we do anything. We should ask the Creator, what do You want us to do? We are put on the Earth to do the will of God. If we run our governments, communities, families, or ourselves. Without the spiritual we are doomed to failure.

My Creator, guide my life to include the spiritual in everything I do.

Elder's Meditation of the Day October 9

"That spiritual power I wear is much more beautiful and much greater.
We call it wisdom, knowledge, power and gift, or love.
There are these four parts to that spiritual power.
So I wear those.
When you wear that power it will beautify your mind and spirit.
You become beautiful.
Everything that Tunkashila creates is beautiful."
--Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTA

When I was young, I asked my grandfather, "What should I pray for?" He thought for a long time and then he said, "Pray only for wisdom and for the knowledge of love."
This makes a lot of sense. No matter what happens I ask the Creator to show me the lessons I should be learning. I pray for Him to help me learn the lessons. By doing this everyday we become beautiful human beings.

Great Spirit, grant me Your wisdom.

Elder's Meditation of the Day October 10

"I think that's what unity is -
knowing one another,coming together,
and working with no conflict."
--Chief Alan Wilson, HAIDA

When we are aligned with spiritual values, we cannot be in fear or conflict.
When we are aligned to spiritual values, we have the Creator whispering solutions in our ears.
Unity is one of the spiritual values.
When we value unity we value solutions.
If we think this way, then we have no conflict within ourselves.

Great Spirit, let me see through Your eyes.

I "do" like this one greatly!

Elder's Meditation of the Day - October 11

"Men and women have an equal responsibility to restore the strength of the family, which is the foundation of all cultures."
--Haida Gwaii Traditional Circle of Elders

The family is the heartbeat of strength of the culture.
The grandfathers and grandmothers taught their children; they in turn had children who taught their children.

If the family isn't taught the culture, then the children become adults, and the adults become the grandfathers and grandmothers, and the result is the culture becomes lost. This is how language is lost; this is how dances are lost; this is how knowledge is lost. We need to listen to our Elders, today, before it's too late.

Great Spirit, teach me the culture so I can teach the children.

Elder's Meditation of the Day - October 13

"So unbelievable things like that happen.
But you have to believe it first.
Not wait until you see it first, then touch it, then believe it...
You have to say it from the heart."
--Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTA

The power of our belief system is incredible.
The power of faith is a very natural power.
How do we have faith?
Inside of our minds we form a mental picture with our self talk. Self talk is recorded in our minds in three dimensions - words that trigger a picture, which has a feeling or an emotion attached to it. Once we get the words and the picture, it is the emotion that makes the idea turn into a belief. You get the right emotion by saying things from the heart. The heart is the source of emotions which can cause unbelievable things to happen.

Great Spirit, with You everything is possible.

Elder's Meditation of the Day - October 14

"Each soul must meet the morning sun, the new sweet earth and the Great Silence alone!"
--Ohiyesa (Dr. Charles A. Eastman), SANTEE SIOUX

The most important thing we can do during the course of the day is pray in the morning. There is a special time in the morning that has great power. This is the exact time the sun is rising. During the rising of the sun, everything on the Earth is waking up. Animals, plants, birds, and humans will be blessed at the rising of the sun. This is a special time to help us prepare for the day. During this time we ask the Creator to bless our day. We ask Him to guide us, to protect us and to give us courage to overcome the day's obstacles. Doing this everyday will give us knowledge of God's will for us.

Grandfather, Grandmother, guide my path. Let my thinking be guided by You.

Elder's Meditation of the Day - October 15

"All of us begin to rethink what is good about ourselves -
put the past where it belongs -
and get on with the possibilities of the present!"
--Howard Rainer, TAOS PUEBLO-CREEK

There is a saying, you move toward and become that which you think about.
So the question for today is, what are you thinking about?
Are you thinking bad things about yourself or are you thinking good things about yourself?
Are you thinking about a worldly life?
Are you thinking good things about people or are you gossiping about people?
Are you focusing on past things or are you living in the future?
We need to bring our thoughts into the NOW, right here.

Great Spirit, let me experience living in the present moment.

Elder's Meditation of the Day - October 16

"Many religions have been brought to this land.
And the way my religion is, they teach me, and they taught me, and told me to respect all religions. And I still do that."
--Horace Axtell, NEZ PERCE

The Creator put on this Earth many different religions which represent different roads to walk to God. All religions are right and good if the path is the path to God. Should we be judging which road is better or worse than the other? When we accept each other's way we can stand in a circle, hold hands and listen to each other as we pray to God. Let us be more accepting of the religions of others.

Great Spirit - God, Grandfather, Grandmother, Lord - let me know peace.

Oh I do love this one

Elder's Meditation of the Day October 17

"Peace... comes within the souls of men when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the Universe dwells Wakan-Tanka, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us."
--Black Elk (Hehaka Sapa) OGLALA SIOUX

If we are to know peace we must look within ourselves.

In order to do this, we must learn to be still.
We must quiet the mind. We must learn to meditate.
Meditation helps us locate and find the center that is within ourselves.
The center is where the Great One resides.
When we start to look for peace, we need to realize where it is within ourselves.
When we experience conflict we need to pause for a moment and ask the Power within ourselves, "How do you want me to handle this? What would you suggest I do in this situation?" By asking the Higher Power for help we find peace.

Creator, help me to find peace.