Lest We Forget....

C D B? (Old joke).....I'm trying to be "Amusing".

 So, then as I see it, we are in the position 

that we need to speak for those who are

unable to be heard.  I say this because I once

mistakenly thought that our non-two-legged

relatives were "those who are unable

to speak for themselves"....but see that's not

true, they can, will and do speak for themselves, 

but us two-leggeds are making so much noise that we are usually unable/unwilling to hear/listen to what they are telling us.  I know for myself, personally, I still hear them & I listen and I do my best to be of service to them. 

I basically don't give a fig for the two-leggeds, our heads are so stuck that I'm thinking it might be too late for us...the greed, the self-absorption, the active ignorance (call it stoopidity), the short sightedness/tunnel vision....The MEMEs. and refusal to take responsibility for anything that does not self gratify.

I mean just look at the trash on the roads, in the parking lots...even @ the Library I work in (an Upper Class Neighborhood)...there is trash all over.  Look at the abandoned animals, children, adults....  Look at the poisons we happily, willingly, purposely consume.....it's no wonder we are sick.

Example..... kidney & liver disease but you Never drink water.....you only ever drink Diet Soda & coffee....so what do you think is going on there?  Is your body trying to tell you something?   You're obese & have diabetes but you insist on Diet Soda (for breakfast even), and you live on junk & fast foods....so what the Hell do you think?  

Come on folks...these things are "non-brainers".....You don't have to be a super model in a high fashion magazine, or a celebrity, or in People magazine to be happy.  You need to find balance, get over your childhood (it's called Therapy),  be One with Creator & assimilate into a more natural (Green/Healthy) lifestyle.

Yeah...that's the ticket!   Get a healthy, balanced life or your gonna end up getting off the planet sooner than you expected (which could be a good thing).

So...here's something more to ponder on:

Elder's Meditation of the Day - June 29

"We forget so we consider ourselves superior. But we are, after all, a mere part of the creation and we must consider to understand where we are and we stand somewhere between the mountain and the Ant. Somewhere and only there is a part and parcel of the creation."

--Chief Oren Lyons, ONONDAGA

Every human being gathers information from the center of a circle. If we are not careful, we soon think we are the center of all things. Therefore, it is easy to become self centered. Once we become self centered we start to think we are above all things and therefore superior. But we are really only one part of a great whole. The universe is all connected. Each part is here to do something special and according to its design. We are here to honor and respect the job of each part. We are neither above nor below anything. We need not be ruler over anything, we need only to live in honor and harmony with the system.  Elder's Meditation of the Day - June 2 "The Natural Law is the final and absolute authority governing E Te No Ha, the earth we call our Mother." --Traditional Circle of Elders There is no power greater than the Natural Laws. These powers were set up by the Great Spirit in such a way that the human being has no access to it, except by obeying. If we choose not to follow the Natural Laws, our live will be filled with confusion, tension, anxiety and stress. If we poison the Earth, we poison ourselves. If we poison the Water of the Earth, we poison ourselves. As we do to the Earth, we do to ourselves and our children, even the children unborn. May we think about this today and ask ourselves, "Are we holding and acting toward the Mother Earth in a good way?" Great Spirit, teach me the Natural Laws that govern the Earth

Love: Elders' Meditation: April 18, 2009

"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.


I like today's meditation. Mostly because it points out the true nature of women, and what we are capable of. What, maybe is forgotten about us...

I find, that are certain people that when I'm around that I really want to love...I really reach out to...Those that just being around causes my heart to open. I don't always know what to do with that, because there is that fear & knowing that once I leave...everything will go back to as it was before; the silence, the isolation, the feeling of being forgotten about, & the unfulfilled desire. And for sure that is anti-love and totally crazy-making.... hopefully one day very soon, we will find ourselves back in the arms of those that truly and deeply love & comfort us and for whom we feel the same.

360: Elders' Meditation: June 13, 2008

"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 Spirt, today, teach me the old Sacred Way you taught my ancestors.

360: Elder's Meditation: March 22, 2008

"Everything's so simple, and we make everything so complicated. That's why we're confused."
--Vickie Downey, TEWA/Tesuque Pueblo
The Creator designed a very simple set of Laws for us to follow. If we follow these simple things, we'll be happy. If we don't follow these simple things, our lives become complicated. For example: Respect Mother Earth Love one another Be truthful Give to your brother and sisters Be gentle with each other Be happy Following these simple Laws will have great rewards.

Great Spirit, let me lead a simple life.

360: Elders' Meditation: January 6, 2008

Elder's Meditation of the Day - January 6
"When we're through with this earth and all these problems, we don't have to come back. But as long as we're here we have a job to do and a purpose to fulfill and that means dealing with the circumstances around us."
--Rolling Thunder, CHEROKEE
We are put on the earth to participate in life. We have a beautiful mind, we have the ability to pray, we have the ability to change, we have the ability to accept, and we have choices. All things God created are constantly changing. This constant change causes our circumstances to change. Sometimes we say life is difficult. During these times we need to use our tools: the tools of prayer, and the tools of meditation. We are designed to change and live joyfully on this earth. The only requirement for living joyfully is to live according to the laws, principles and values given to us by the Creator.

Great Spirit, give me Your courage today, and guide my footsteps.

360: Healing Unci Maka (Mother Earth): October 23, 2007

ROLLING THUNDER

While working for the Menninger Foundation in 1971, Doug Boyd met Rolling Thunder, a spiritual leader of the Cherokee and Shoshone tribes. About the shaman, Boyd wrote, "Each day it was becoming clearer to me that Rolling Thunder was a teacher who could offer me insights that I could never achieve in the laboratory or discover in the library."

One day during lunch, Rolling Thunder explained the Indian's view of chaos through ecological imbalance.

"When you have pollution in one place, it spreads all over. It spreads just as arthritis or cancer spreads in the body. The earth is sick now because the earth is being mistreated, and some of the problems that may occur, some of the natural disasters that might happen in the near future are only the natural readjustments that have to take place to throw off sickness. A lot of things are on this land that don't belong here. They're foreign objects like viruses or germs. Now, we may not recognize the fact when it happens, but a lot of the things that are going to happen in the future will really be the earth's attempt to throw off some of these sicknesses. This is really going to be like fever or like vomiting, what you might call a physiological adjustment.

"It's very important for people to realize this. The earth is a living organism, the body of a higher individual who has a will and wants to be well, who is at times less healthy or more healthy, physically and mentally. People should treat their own bodies with respect. It's the same thing with the earth. Too many people don't know that when they harm the earth they harm themselves, nor do the realize that when they harm themselves they harm the earth...

"It's not very easy for you people to understand these things because understanding is not knowing the kind of facts that your books and teachers talk about. I can tell you that understanding begins with love and respect. It begins with respect for the Great Spirit, and the Great Spirit is the life that is in all things -- all the creatures and the plants and even the rocks and the minerals. All things -- and I mean all things -- have their own will and their own way, their own purpose; this is what is to be respected.

"Such respect is not a feeling or an attitude only. It's a way of life. Such respect means that we never stop realizing and never neglect to carry out our obligation to ourselves and our environment."

Rolling Thunder offers a philospohical or religious basis for contemporary ecological thought. His view is fundamental to understanding Native American belief systems. Certainly, there are sound scientific reasons supporting the various ecology movements, and for scientific minds that may be enough. However, integrating both views may ultimately prove more reliable and productive than choosing one or the other.


If you have a chance to make life better for others and fail to do so, you are wasting your time on Earth. No matter what our station in life, we are here to serve, even if that sometimes means making the greatest sacrifice of all.

Sooner or later you are going to learn just as I did, that there's a difference between KNOWING the path and WALKING the path.
http://www.theupcn.com/

360: Elders' Meditation: October 20, 2007

Elder's Meditation of the Day - October 19
"The teachings are for all, not just for Indians... The white people never wanted to learn before. They thought we were savages. Now they have a different understanding, and they do want to learn. We are all children of God. The tradition is open to anyone who wants to learn."
--Don Jose Matusuwa, HUICHOL
In the summer of 1994, a white buffalo calf was born. This means that now is the time for all races to come together. The Elders say that at this time a voice from within will speak to everyone. It will say now is the time to forgive, now is the time to come together. Are we willing to do this? Are we willing to quit judging other people? The Elders say, He will be talking through people of all races and gender. We need to open our hearts and welcome our brothers and sisters.

Great Spirit, let my ears be open as I walk the path You have chosen for me.

360: Unci Maka: August 10, 2007

Elder's Meditation of the Day - August 10
"Nature is the storehouse of potential life of future generations and is sacred."
--Audrey Shenandoah, ONONDAGA
We need to honor and respect our Mother Earth. She is the source of all life. The sun shines life to the earth, then the earth produces life in all forms and in a balanced way. Everything is here to serve everything else. If we interrupt the flow in any way, we leave nothing for the future generations. Before every decision is made, we should ask, and answer, a final question, "If we do this, what will be the effects on the seventh generation? What will we cause our children to live with?" We need to have respect and love for all things and for all people. We need to do this for ourselves and for all the children still unborn.

My Creator, let me look at nature today and let me have the highest respect for all the things I see. All the two legged, the four legged, the winged ones, the plants, the water, the air, the Mother Earth. Let me have respect for myself.

360: Tobacco Offerings: July 27, 2007

This is why, when I go out to the land, I put down tobacco. I know my
prayers are heard, for all involved. For the land, the Spirits of the land,
the crops (pumpkins & gourds), for the one who care takes that land & crops, and for myself.

I believe putting down tobacco (and cedar) really does make a difference,
and the love & caring (even though not evident) it is there and on a soul's
level can be felt...and even the most wee bit of love can be felt....
Whether we choose to allow that wee bit of love into our hearts (to mend our
bruised ego and comfort us) is something else.

When kind words and loving actions fail....I rely on the tobacco and Creator
to let my heart be revealed. For that is all that remains to be done.

Elder's Meditation of the Day - July 29

"When we want to talk to Him we burn tobacco and it takes our prayers all
the way up to the Sky World."
--Louis Farmer, ONONDAGA


Our herbs and our medicines are all here for the purpose of serving.
Offering tobacco as a gift to the Creator is proper use of our medicine. In
this way, we are able to communicate from the physical world to the
spiritual world. Sometimes we have a hard time coming up with the right
words when we pray especially if we are really mixed up. The tobacco and the
sage will take the intent to the spirit world. The meaning behind the words
are more important the the words. The Creator always knows our intent. The
tobacco helps us get to the Sky World.


Today, my Creator, I offer You this tobacco. I want to thank You for being
in my life. I want to tell You how much I appreciate the honor of being here
to serve You. Tell me this morning what I can do for You. You are the reason
I live.

360: Wondering Aloud: July 26, 2007

I was sitting in a "traditional" Inipi (sweat lodge) last Saturday, once again wondering what happened to the offerings of tobacco robes and ties we once made when we sat before those Tonka Oyate and the Tunkashilas. I mean I make my 14, 25, 50+ "Thank-you" ties and hang them above me, but I'm talking about the ones for the lodge itself. Then I got to wondering about the lack of Canunpa on the altar.....

I remember, back maybe 8-10 years past, when I would sit in lodge and the people would put up the robes and ties as thanksgiving offerings in every lodge that took place as well as having a filled Canunpa on the altar.

I remember my Grandpa Wallace teaching us, that these are offerings to the Spirits to thank them for coming and sitting with us, for hearing and answering our prayers....like that. That the Spirits come in the Initi (lodge) and see the robes & ties and pass through them and around them (dance around them is Grandpa's term), and they are happy with those offerings we made.

That the Canunpa is what takes our prayers to Creator... for as it sits on that altar between the Initi and the Peta (Fire), that those Spirits pass through it, around it...like that and pay attention to the prayers that go into it.

So then, as I think about those things....I wonder what the Spirits think, now that we are neglecting to make those offerings of thanksgiving... Will there come a day, when the Spirits begin to feel neglected and unappreciated? Will there come a day, when the Spirits decide not to come when we call?

I don't know...just wondering aloud.

Mi Takuye Oyacin