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: Peace: September 16, 2007

The first peace, which is the most important,

Is that which comes within the souls of people

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 (the Great Spirit),

And that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.

This is the real peace, and the others are but reflections of this.

The second peace is that which is made between two individuals,

And the third is that which is made between two nations.

But above all you should understand that there can never

Be peace between nations until there is known that true peace,

Which, as I have often said, is within the souls of men.


Black Elk, Oglala Sioux & Spiritual Leader (1863 - 1950)

360: What Does Love Mean: July 5, 2007

What does Love mean?


Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. These are some of the responses he got from 4 - 8 year olds when asked "What does Love mean?"

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"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore.

So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love."

Rebecca- age 8

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"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth."

Billy - age 4

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"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other."

Karl - age 5

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"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs."

Chrissy - age 6

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"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."

Terri - age 4

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"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make ! sure the taste is OK."

Danny - age 7

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"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more.
My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss"

Emily - age 8

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"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."

Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

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"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,"

Nikka - age 6

(we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)

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"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday."

Noelle - age 7

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"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well."

Tommy - age 6

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"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.

He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore."

Cindy - age 8

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"My mommy loves me more than anybody

You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night."

Clare - age 6

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"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken."

Elaine-age 5

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"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford."

Chris - age 7

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"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day."

Mary Ann - age 4

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"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones."

Lauren - age 4

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"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you." (what an image)
Karen - age 7

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"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross."

Mark - age 6

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"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget."

Jessica - age 8

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And the final one --
A four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.

Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said,

"Nothing, I just helped him cry"

360: Thoughts on Love: May 6, 2007

Thoughts on LOVE:

"Love is a verb. One demonstrates one's love through one's actions. A person can only feel loved when someone else shows their loves with kisses, hugs, caresses & gifts. A lover will always promote the physical & emotional well being of the person they love."

"Love is a decision, not an emotion...we choose to love or not to love. Although our soul recognizes our beloved, in the end it is our choice."

The truth is "And in the end...the love you take is equal to the love you make" -The Beatles... So then the best way to get love is to give love. To be loved, we must be love.

"With love there is no painful reaction; Love brings only a reaction of Bliss"

"The highest understanding of love lies in its power to transform lives, restore health, and bring about a total sense of well being."

360: More Grattitude: April 29, 2007

What I am Grateful for:

• My Life
• Canka Luta Waste (Good Red Road)
  
• My Family
  
• My Friends
• Aristophanes (Bud) & Zeinab
• Graduation (MLIS)
• Pejuta Wakan (Sacred Medicines)
• My co-workers & my Wonderful Job
• Knowledge & Wisdom (to know what to with the knowledge)
• Blackberries
• Toffee Coffee Chip Ice Cream
• Frapps
• Wakiyan (Rain)
• Room 213 @ the Inn At Avila Beach
• Gourds
• My Ordination
• Grandfathers Wallace & Marcellus
• Tonka Oyate (Stone People)
• Adak, Mariah, Socrates, Handsome, The Two, Joe & Glory
• Muhu Tasen & the Bears
• Sister "Sleeps with Bear"
• All who Love & Support Me & those who don't
• That "Man" I Love & our Lessons

Mi Takuye Oyacin

360: Grattitude: April 28, 2007

Gratitude:

An attitude of gratitude is the way to live...So you think you have nothing to be Grateful for?

Try giving thanks for any or all of the following:

• Waking up in the morning & getting out of bed
• Indoor plumbing...not to mention Hot Water
• Clean drinking water
• A roof over your head
• Your cat/dog/snake/gerbil
• Food to eat
• These here Medicine Ways / Canka Luta Waste
• Those who have gone before sacrificing their lives for ours
• Ice Cream in 31+ Flavors
• Your loved ones
• Mother Nature
• Dark Chocolate ;-P
• Your Life

So when in a funk....do what I do; sit down with a piece of paper & ink pen and make a list of all the things you are Grateful for....You'll soon feel better. The reason I tell you this is I was in a bad way for 3+ years, and every night before going to sleep, I wrote down at least 3 things I was grateful for that day in my weekly planner. For sure this helped to change my life.

Mi Takuye Oyacin

Hope this satisfies your request Angel!

360: Entry for August 29, 2006

This was sent to me by a friend. Read each one and pause before reading then next. You're going to feel really good by the time you finish reading.


1. Falling in Love

2. Laughing so hard your face hurts

3. A Hot shower

4. No lines at the supermarket

5. An up front parking space

6. A special glance

7. Getting mail

8. Hearing your favorite song on the radio

9. Lying in bed listening to the rain

10. Hot towels fresh from the dryer

11. A real icecream shake

12. A bubble bath

13. Giggling

14. A good conversation

15. Sitting on the beach watching the waves

16. Finding a $20 bill in a coat pocket

17. Laughing at yourself

18. A midnight phone call from the one you love that lasts for hours

19. Running through sprinklers

20. Laughing for no reason at all

21. Having someone tell you that you are beautiful/handsome

22. Friends

23. Accidentally hearing someone say somthing nice about you

24. A first kiss

25. Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left before you have to get up

26. Spending time with old friends, or making new ones

27. Playing with a puppy or a kitten

28. Swinging on swings

29. Sweet dreams

30. Eye contact with a cure stranger

31. Making homemeade cookies

32. Watching the sunrise/sunset

33. Watching someone open a gift (that they especially wanted) from you

34. Knowing that someone you care for misses you

35. Getting out of bed every morning and being grateful for your life

36. Being hugged by someone special

37. Knowing you've done the Right Thing, No Matter what anyone else thinks