Dark Garden

I once had a garden filled
with flowers of dark thoughts
but they needed constant attention to grow
& one day I decided
I had better things to do.

From StoryPeople.com

We are Flowers of the Earth


Ancient Native Hawaiian Saying "Na Pua O Honua" (we are flowers of the earth), The people, and the fragrance is their personality of each one. Different yet sweet and intoxicating. Through that fragrance we spread our Aloha to all of creation. Aloha is the behavior taught to us by the creator so we can live in harmony and sweetness with each other. Mahalo.... Kauila

Flowers of the Earth

Everything on our Earth is alive

"In the Indian way, we are connected to that flower if we understand its spirit, the essence of its life." --Larry P. Aitken, CHIPPEWA

Everything on our Earth is alive.
Every rock, every plant, every animal, every tree, every bird,every thought is alive. This is true because everything is made by the Great Spirit and the Great Spirit is alive. We need to slow our lives down each day and realize, consciously, that this is true. First we need to realize it, second, we need to acknowledge it, third, we need to appreciate it and, finally, we need to go on.
Great Spirit, let me see life through Your eyes.
Today let me be alive.

The Spirit Wind

Every breath we take brings God within us.
God is ever present within our being.
We don't have to look for God outside, God is within us.
Kauila Clark, Hawaiian Healer (below right)



Gen 2:7 And Jehovah God formed the man out of dust from the ground,
and blew into his nostrils the breath of life;
and man became a living soul. (LITV)

Speak the Truth

"It does not require

many words

to speak the truth."

Chief Joseph

Sacred Creation

All of this Creation is Sacred
And so do not forget
Every dawn as it comes is a holy event
And everyday is holy,
For the light comes from "WAKAN-TANKA"
And also you must remember
That the two-leggeds
And all other peoples
Who stand upon this Earth
Are Sacred and should be treated as Such

"White Buffalo Woman" Sioux Sacred Woman, quoted by Black Elk , (Oglala Sioux)1947.

The Serpent and the Eagle

A little girl asked her grandmother why life is sometimes so painful.
Her grandmother looked at her, considering a moment before speaking.

“We all have an eagle and a serpent inside of us. The serpent brings thoughts and feelings of worthlessness, and the idea that it is other people that cause us to feel that way.”

She paused, and then continued.

“The eagle flies high, sees far,
and hopes to learn from the Great Spirit and to follow the Spirit’s way.”
“My granddaughter, life gets difficult during those times when the eagle and the serpent are locked in a necessary and mortal fight to the finish.”

The granddaughter pondered for a while what her grandmother had just told her. Then she asked,

“Which one wins?”

Grandmother answered,

“The one you feed wins.”

Adapted from a First Nations story about two wolves fighting within us.

Our Deepest Fear

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond Measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other
people won't feel insecure around you. We were born
to make manifest that Glory of God
that is within us.

A portion of the Inaugural Speech of Nelson Mandela (1994)

We Need to Love

"My friends, how desperately do we need to be loved and to love.
When Christ said that man does not live by bread alone, he spoke of a hunger.
This hunger was not the hunger of the body.
It was not the hunger for bread.
He spoke of a hunger that begins deep down in the very depths of our being.
He spoke of a need as vital as breath.
He spoke of our hunger for love."

Chief Dan George

Show Respect and Give Thanks

Show respect to all people and bow to none. When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, The fault lies only in yourself.

Tecumseh - Shawnee-(1768-1813)

All things tell of Tirawa

In the beginning of all things, wisdom and knowledge were with the animals, for Tirawa, the One Above, did not speak directly to man. He sent certain animals to tell men that He showed Himself through the beast, and that from them, and from the stars and the sun and moon, should man learn.. all things tell of Tirawa.

- Eagle Chief (Letakots-Lesa) Pawnee

Endless Patience

With endless patience you shall carry out your duty, and your firmness shall be tempered with tenderness for your people. Neither anger or fury shall lodge in your mind, and your words and actions shall be marked with calm deliberation.

from the Constitution of the Five Nations.

Into The Wings


I never dreamed the Great Spirit

would answer my prayer.

I am free from the bonds

of darkness forever

in the wings of the eagle.

Excerpt from "Into the Wings" by Lawrence T.
Copyright Lawrence T. 2002
http://theonewhowalks.homestead.com/TheOneWhoWalks.html

All Rights Reserved

The Spirit Wind

Every breath we take brings God within us.
God is ever present within our being.
We don't have to look for God outside, God is within us.
Kauila Clark, Hawaiian Healer (below right)



Gen 2:7 And Jehovah God formed the man out of dust from the ground,
and blew into his nostrils the breath of life;
and man became a living soul. (LITV)

MY INDIAN HEART

take away what is rightfully mine,
what I was born for, what I’ll die for,
take away my language, my dress,
my way of life, not owning the land,
take away my brothers and sisters,
leave us no place to stand,
but you can’t take away my heart,
my Indian heart....
for it shall always hear,
the wolves singing at night,
the eagle welcoming dawn’s early light,
and it shall always see,
the people with so many needs,
the trapped hearts crying to be free,
and it shall always smell,
wood smoke keeping us warm,
wood smoke kissing a chilly morn,
and it shall always taste,
the bitter tears of what is lost,
our way of life so carelessly tossed - aside,
and it shall always feel,
our ancestors crying to our souls,
singing of a time, when we were whole,
so you see - you have already lost,
so before you even start,
remember this - you cannot take away,
my Indian heart...

Melody Jackson mjackson@gci.net

Juneau, AK 99801United States

TODAY

Today, I am more native than yesterday,
I didn't hurry so fast, running from my past,
I sat real still when I was alone,
didn't have to call someone on the phone,
listening to the silence until my head heard,
my heart speaking to me....
And my heart spoke of purpose in my life,
of seeking integrity in myself,
of walking a solitary path of peace,
seeking harmony instead of wealth,
of seeing the strength in a prayer,
sharing with my children the power there,
of honoring everything that is alive,
being one with nature, not strife....
On this journey I walk,
my heart continues to talk,
turning me into what I was born this day,
for I am more Native than yesterday....

Melody Jackson

mjackson@gci.net

Juneau, AK 99801United States

Silence

The Wise Man believes profoundly in silence - the sign of a perfect equilibrium. Silence is the absolute poise or balance of body, mind and spirit. The man who preserves his selfhood ever calm and unshaken by the storms of existence - not a leaf, as it were, astir on the tree, not a ripple upon the surface of the shinning pool - his, in the mind of the unlettered sage, is the ideal attitude and conduct of life. Silence is the cornerstone of character.

Ohiyesa (Charles Alexander Eastman) - Santee Sioux

Sun Dancer Christ

God must be at the center
of the affairs of men
on this earth.
Without Him,
we cannot walk in harmony.

from One Church Many Tribes by Richard Twiss

Native American Jesus

http://mattstone.blogs.com/

God has prepared the way for the First Nations
to go into all the world as ambassadors
of the gospel.

from One Church Many Tribes by Richard Twiss


Lakota Trinity

http://www.rapidcitydiocese.org/Ministries/