FOUR
Nun ki'
FLOWER MONTH
Tsi law 'nee
The Great Spirit made the Indians to be a single people, quite distinct from white men and for different purposes.
TENSKAWATAWA - SHAWNEE PROPHET
April 1 - Daily Feast, Volume II
April! Golden girl of the year, clad in the newest shade of green with meadow skirts strewn with every color and cradling nests of baby birds close to your breast. Your jewels sparkle in the morning mist, long strands of dew drops draping the fence rows and turning to emeralds and rubies in early morning light. Tears come easily but you are often laughing as you move through a range of temperatures that gives the human spirit reason to celebrate. You are adored, sweet girl of spring, for life the way you serve it.
~ My heart is filled with joy when I see you here, as the brooks fill with water when the snow melts in spring. ~
PARRA-WA-SAMEN - COMANCHE, 1867
"A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II" by Joyce Sequichie Hifler
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Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 1
"People think other things are more important than prayer, but they are mistaken."
--Thomas Yellowtail, CROW
An Elder once said the most important thing you can do in the course of a day is to pray. If we get up late or oversleep, which is more important? Rush to work without praying or pray first and then go to work? The Elders say it's more important to pray. If we get angry, should we act on our anger or should we pray first? The Elders say it's more important to pray first. If, during the day, we face indecision, what should we do? PRAY. If, during the day, we become irritated or we experience fear, what should we do first? PRAY. The Warrior who prays first will lead a different life from those who pray last.
Great Spirit, teach me to pray first!
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THINK on THESE THINGS
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler
Leisure - what is it? It is that beautiful something that escapes us most of the time. Leisure, like most everything else, can be found if we truly want it. We seem to have the ability to do most of what we set our minds to do, and the less important things can be set aside for this particular thing.
We get pretty stale when we never take time to relax. A few hours of getting away from even a beloved madhouse will make a new human being out of a bundle of nerves.
Pursuit of leisure is to lose it. We can't suddenly say that the next five minutes will be for complete relaxation. It takes that long to begin to unwind. Gaiety and rhythm and frivolity are shunned by most minds. But if there are none of these, even in the smallest amounts, then leisure is more of a restless shuffling - like a night out with no place to go.
We need to exercise our minds a little to achieve and goal, and leisure is definitely a goal!
Aho , Amen , e-men .
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WAKINYAN
(THUNDERBEINGS)
KEYWORD-- ENERGY
TRADITION.
Inyan, Spirit of the Stone, created Wakinyan, who became the Thunderbeings, the force of electricity on the earth. Wakinyan is the spirit who controls the essence of the clouds, the motion of hurricanes, tornadoes, and storms. In the language of the Lakota people, Wa is the flying of the snow and Inyan is stone. Wakinyan is the physical electricity that comes from the water, the earth, and the air, building up to create thunder and lightning.
Many tribes honour Thunderbeings, represented as the Thunderbird. Wakinyan flies without eyes, without ears, without mouth, without nose. Even in visions, no one can behold Wakinyan whole. Those to who he comes to in dreams do everything backward, Heyokas, sacred clowns Wakinyan is the force of truth: He strikes down anyone who lies while holding the Sacred Pipe. His spirit-eye opens with the flash of lightning and the sound of thunder.
Message from Wakinyan.
To know me, know the storms I bring, storms that cut like a knife through the building heat of the day. Know the raw power of the Lightning that flashes and sears. Know the sound of my voice as I call out when I am charged to do.
I am created from Stone. In his wisdom Inyan sent me forth into the world to oversee the caretakers of Earth, to assist them in their role. I am like no human. I am electric energy, and I course through all things. My current cleanses and destroys. My great wings bring sudden and terrible winds. The raw energy from my eye changes the vision of a human.
GUIDANCE and REFLECTION
As we walk upon the earth let our natural polarities direct us. We can choose how to conduct our energies and where to direct and channel them. Using our own individual skills let our unique energy flow in the direction of the highest good. Let us be aware however, in which direction we cast our lightning bolts; taking care not to throw them in a haphazard manner. Careless use of energy may mean wasting our energy on projects irrelevant to our inner self. When energies are not wisely conserved but are short-circuited, a storm brews within, and we are more likely to throw our thunderbolts without control. There is an endless supply of energy. Wakinyan generates all that we need. All we have to do is ask for guidance and then get ready to throw our thunderbolt to illuminate the path forward.
Affirmation.
Through my spiritual eyes I will see the path laid out before me with clarity allowing my energy to be clear and focused.
Aho , Amen , e-men .
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Dance to Heal the Earth
Whenever you dance, wherever you dance, dance to heal the earth!
Dancing is power. Dancing is prayer. Some say that all is dance. Maybe. Now there's a big dance coming, a dance to heal the earth. If you're reading this, you're probably part of it. You take part whenever you do whatever you do to help heal the earth. When you recycle. When you choose to show love, to fight for justice, to bring healing, to bring out what is good in others. When you avoid cruelty and dishonesty and waste. When you are outraged. When you speak out. When you give. When you consider the generations to come. When you protest to the oppressors and encourage those who feel the cutting edge of injustice. And, of course, when you dance. There is a tree that all the prophets see, and whenever you let your love show, you make the flowers grow.
Soon this dance will be done in a big way, in the old way, on sacred ground. All living things will take part. If you want to, you can take part. No one is twisting your arm. You can stop any time you need to, and start up again whenever you're ready. If you've read this far, you probably know what I'm talking about. You've probably been doing it in one way or another for a good while. Soon will be the time to make no bones about it! Cut loose!
Anytime you dance, anywhere, whether at a party or in church, dance to heal the earth! Let your feet beat a healing rhythm into the earth. Let your feet beat a strengthening rhythm for those who struggle the hardest. Let your feet beat a life-giving rhythm for all peoples, regardless of race or national boundary, regardless of whether we're human or whether we're the trees, the air, the fish, the birds, the buffalo, the bear, the crow. We come out of hiding, we come back from the dead, and we dance, and our dance is a prayer, and our songs and our rhythms and our breath give life.
Is the music they're playing some mindless jingle? Never mind, as long as it's not bad music, and you can dance to the beat! Make your own words, and make the words a prayer. A prayer for the end of exploitation, a prayer for the end of lies, a prayer for healing, for justice, for life. Remember your prayer-song, feed it and let it get strong and pass it along. Dance and pray, whenever you dance, dance to heal the earth.
Have you seen anything? Wear it out! Make it so that all can see what you see! Take a white T-shirt and mark it with your dreams. Is there anything you'd like to tell the world? Take your shirt and mark it with your song! This is the way it has been done, so you can do it too. Use any color except black (there are reasons for that that will become clearer later), and you'll probably find that a loose, pure cotton T is most comfortable for dancing in. Cos this is an actual dance, you dance hard, you sing and breathe hard and sweat. Wear it when you plan to go out dancing, to dance to heal the earth.
Some people do this dance while fasting, and dance for several days straight. But even a few minutes of dancing helps, and joins with all the other dancing going on, everywhere on Earth. Not everyone can fast these days. Besides, you never know when you're gonna dance, and you have to eat sometimes! But if you plan to dance, hold off eating till later, or just have a little. It's easier to dance if you don't have a hotdog weighing you down.
Some people say, do not do sacred things where people are drinking and partying. But all the universe is a sacred place. It really doesn't matter what others are doing, you can make a place sacred wherever you are, with your intention and your prayers. Some people use smoke to make a place sacred; a cigarette or incense stick will do fine. You can dance to heal the earth anywhere, even a party or a bar! The earth is everywhere, so you can dance anywhere to heal her. Only one thing. Please hold off drinking or using any other intoxicants till you're done. It works better that way.
The Lie has gone far enough. It spreads and makes everyone sick. Now is the time for this dance to begin. It, too, will spread, and it will bring healing to all. In the beginning, they say, God put a rainbow in the sky, to let us know that Spirit never forgets. Now is the time for us to put a rainbow across the earth, to let God know that we, too, remember.
Dance to heal the earth. Not just when you're dancing, but always. Live the dance, whenever you move, in all you do, dance to heal the earth.
Aho , Amen , e-men .
Earth Teach Me to Remember
Earth teach me stillness
as the grasses are stilled with light.
Earth teach me suffering
as old stones suffer with memory.
Earth teach me humility
as blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth Teach me caring
as the mother who secures her young.
Earth teach me courage
as the tree which stands alone.
Earth teach me limitation
as the ant which crawls on the ground.
Earth teach me freedom
as the eagle which soars in the sky.
Earth teach me resignation
as the leaves which die in the fall.
Earth teach me regeneration
as the seed which rises in the spring.
Earth teach me to forget myself
as melted snow forgets its life.
Earth teach me to remember kindness
as dry fields weep in the rain.
Aho , Amen . e-men .
Great Spirit, God, Creator of All
Great Spirit, God, Creator of All
I welcome You into my heart, mind, body and soul
There is always room for You here.
Grant me the wisdom to heed my inner voice
And the strength to stay grounded while I sing my sacred song.
Guide me down my chosen path and give me the courage to pursue
what is available to me.
I am thankful for the lessons and grateful for my struggles;
I have not forgotten what has brought me to where I am today.
Open my heart to the healing wholeness of nature;
We are all related, and through this I will find serenity.
Great Spirit, God, Creator of All
Cleanse my spirit and wash my soul.
There is always room for You here.
Aho , Amen , e-men .
Great Spirit Prayer
"Oh, Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the wind,
Whose breath gives life to all the world.
Hear me; I need your strength and wisdom.
Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect the things you have made and my ears sharp to hear your voice
Make me wise so that I may understand the things you have taught my people.
Help me to remain calm and strong in the face of all that comes towards me.
Let me learn the lessons you have hidden in every leaf and rock.
Help me seek pure thoughts and act with the intention of helping others.
Help me find compassion without empathy overwhelming me.
I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother, but to fight my greatest enemy
Myself.
Make me always ready to come to you with clean hands and straight eyes.
So when life fades, as the fading sunset, my spirit may come to you without shame.
Aho , Amen , e-men .
God's Minute
AND MANY SPREAD THEIR CLOTHES ON THE ROAD,
AND OTHERS CUT DOWN LEAFY BRANCHES FROM
THE TREES AND SPREAD THEM ON THE ROAD. THEN
THOSE WHO WENT BEFORE AND THOSE WHO
FOLLOWED CRIED OUT HOSANNA! "BLESSED IS HE
WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!"
( MARK 11:8-9 *NKJV )
Dear Member's,
Jesus' final week of His Earthly Ministry began with
Him riding a donkey colt into the City and thus His
triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Thus fulfilling this
Prophecy of Zechariah, REJOICE GREATLY,
O DAUGHTER OF ZION! SHOUT O DAUGHTER OF
JERUSALEM! BEHOLD, YOUR KING IS COMING TO
YOU; HE IS JUST AND HAVING SALVATION, LOWLY
AND RIDING A DONKEY, A COLT THE FOLD OF A
DONKEY. ( ZECHARIAH 9:9 )
Remember, this was Sunday of the same week that
Jesus would be crucified, and the great Passover Festival
was about to begin! Jews came to Jerusalem from all
over the Roman Empire during this week-long celebration,
to worship and remember the great Exodus from Egypt.
( EXODUS 12:37-51 ) The same people who cried out
"HOSANNA! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE
NAME OF THE LORD," changed their cries to "CRUCIFY
HIM, CRUCIFY HIM!" before the week was over.
( MARK 11:9 & JOHN 19:6 )
So on this Palm Sunday we reflect on Christ's last
few days in human form, and what a great price HE paid
for our sins! FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT
HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHO-
EVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH BUT
HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE. FOR GOD DID NOT SEND
HIS SON INTO THE WORLD TO CONDEMN THE WORLD,
BUT THAT THE WORLD THROUGH HIM MIGHT BE
SAVED. ( JOHN 3:17-18 )
What a tremendous price and sacrifice that was!
This is a true demonstration of how very much our
Heavenly Father loves each one of us!
So Member's, why not pause for a moment or two and
Thank our Savior for what HE did for you, and me,
and the rest of HIS Children as well. Why not also
attend the Church of your choice, and tell HIM how
much you love HIM, for that will make HIS Day!
With My Love & Prayers,
your servant , Pastor cougarmoon
