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Over the past few years I have done a lot of reading and research on the many forms of Native American Spirituality… It has been a safe haven for me… There are not a lot of rules and regulations… it is simple and personal… but yet global at the same time… Mitakuye Oyasin is a lakota saying that translates “We are all related.” The we here is everyone and everything… We are all in this together… Man, Flora, Fauna, the earth itself we are all connected… There are many teachings about loving and caring for all… They even have some messianic stories that parallel the story of christ… Arrow to the sun… for one…
Anyway… just thought I would share where I have been hanging out spiritually for the past few years…
Love yourself… Love your bothers and sisters… whether they walk on 2 legs or 4… and love and care for the planet that gives us life… air to breathe… water to drink, and food to eat…
Sounds alot like yeshua… Love yourself, love your god, love your neighbor… do these things and you have kept the law…
Peace & Much Love
David
That’s cool. More evidence to me that “God” transcends Christianity.
Agreed SavageSoto… and god should transcend our understanding… I have had this long standing belief that if I can comprehend god… then whatever I understood is no longer god… it seems to me that either god is something beyond our comprehension or it is not god at all…
AnonymousThanks for sharing that. I have always wanted to check out Native American Spirituality, but was always afraid (before I left the church) that I might be opening some sort of doorway for Satan to gain access and set up a some sort of stronghold. How stupid and silly in retrospect!! But I held that belief for so long that I actually forgot about wanting to learn more about Native American spiritual beliefs. Thanks for the reminder!
AnonymousI totally believe God is a transcendent idea. I appreciate the handhold of faith that Christianity is/was in my life, I was a very blessed person in not becoming all tangled up in the restrictions on God. I never agreed with the sermons I heard about God having limitations of any kind. I don’t know where I got my belief in omnipotence but it has made me balk at more than one ugly sermon about Gods limits. Hallelujah. It seems the seeds of love landed and planted deep in me. I am ever so grateful for that merciful place from which to view Church teachings, or any teachings for that matter. Being able to know, no one can take God’s love and God’s involvement in my life away, has been a huge comfort to me, always. Sometimes I wonder why I got that and so many didn’t.
I am an eighth or something close to that, Cherokee. There are Cherokee grandparents on both my mother and fathers side. I am currently thinking about approaching a local tribe for adoption. lol. What do you think of that? I don’t know if they adopt into this tribe or not, but I was seriously thinking about trying to meet with some of the elders to discuss my desire. I would like to live on tribal land and try to help support the local tribal community. The Native peoples know they are at a time in their evolution to become again teachers about living on the earth in harmony. I think that is an admirable and important idea. I think there is so much to love and respect about our Aboriginal Tribes. Their histories and stories are wonderful to learn about. You can see so much about the practical use of a religion in the everyday with their practices and rituals. God is Great. I love HIM everywhere I perceive HIM and I perceive HIM, everywhere!
Interesting topic David. I live in Arizona and used to work for a non-profit substance abuse rehab. Getting in on the reservations took hard work and learning to understand the spirituality of each tribe. AA meetings talk about a higher power which seems generic, but tends to lean to the Judeo-Christian god. On the reservations, I had to participate in talking circles as part of the therapeutic process for members of the tribe. At the time I was transitioning out of the church, but I’d often leave those meetings feeling a deeper sense or spirituality than I found in a church. Though my spirituality is now focused on self enrichment and not a deity, I still value what I learned from my Native co-workers and patients on the reservations.
AnonymousI too am interested in learning about Native American spirituality. I have a friend who is actively involved in her tribe here in Washington and the stories she shares…amazing.
In college I learned (“learned”) that my white privilege meant that it was unacceptable for me to try to insinuate myself into Native American anything. I understand and respect what is behind that reasoning, however, I now fear to tread on anyone’s shoes by being interested in or taking on any kind of Native American practice, such as smudging. It’s similar to when I heard an Eastern Indian saying in an interview how “cute” his culture thinks it is when they hear white people saying, “Namaste.” Ouch.
However, I’ve decided to ask my friend if she would be willing to teach me. She’s lovely and very open and kind. We’ll see what happens.
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