by lovelylil 18 Replies latest jw friends
James Thomas,
What a wonderful quote! I love it and am going to keep it. I collect quotes and hang them around my computer. That is soo true. One way of finding God is in reading what is written by believers in him but another just as valid way is to look around us and appreciate all the things he created! I often find God in this very way. Thanks for sharing that. Lilly
Purps,
That is so true, and beautiful! Lilly
Lovelylil:
One way of finding God is in reading what is written by believers in him but another just as valid way is to look around us and appreciate all the things he created! I often find God in this very way.
The difference is much like the contrast between reading about skydiving, and actually doing it. One is a mental exercise in juggling thoughts and words, and the other is meeting with reality.
j
so true. I was trying to bring out this point, because some people believe you can ONLY find God in the pages of the bible. Many people do in fact find God in nature and by having a personal connection with all things in this world. Great analogy though. Lilly
The reason I chose to abandon all religious beliefs is that thoughts about a tree, are not a tree; beliefs about a god, are not God; and there can be realized an endless presence of the Divine in simple and silent being.
j
Blackfoot
AKA Blackfeet Nation
Purps:
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf wins?" The old Cherokee simply smiled and replied, "The one you feed."
This so true, and one of the reasons it is so extremely important to learn to be present and watch the mind. It's not about judging or condemning thoughts; it's about consciously choosing to empower certain thoughts over others. That said, thoughts are not what we are. Our true Being is the vast indescribable depths which silently views it all. This, we all have in common. This, is what unites us all. j
Really nice thread, Lilly! I have blood of several different Native American tribes... quite a few generations back. I have always been fascinated with Native American culture & religion. I can imagine living so close to nature would make it very hard to put God in a box. It's hard to express how I feel about all this without coming off sounding like a parody of the "Circle of Life/Lion King" stuff... hehe.
I enjoy the way JamesThomas words things... there is a beauty & truth in simply existing, being still, so close to the earth & other creatures that seems hard for many modern "civilized" people to understand. Some of my most spiritual experiences have been outside listening to the roar of a waterfall, or under the shade of a huge, ancient tree... a far cry from the Kingdom Hall! Such a beautiful planet we live on.
I really appreciate what you said here:
One way of finding God is in reading what is written by believers in him but another just as valid way is to look around us and appreciate all the things he created! I often find God in this very way.
It would be nice if more people felt this way.
Anyway, here are some quotes I really liked. Some I've known for a while, others I just uncovered with Google. :-) Hope you enjoy.
Before eating, always take time to thank the food. - Arapaho
If a man is as wise as a serpent, he can afford to be as harmless as a dove. - Cheyenne
Do not judge your neighbor until you walk two moons in his moccasins. - Cheyenne
All who have died are equal. - Comanche
Man's law changes with his understanding of man. Only the laws of the spirit remain always the same. - Crow
Wisdom comes only when you stop looking for it and start living the life the Creator intended for you. - Hopi
If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies in yourself. - Minquass
We are all one child spinning through Mother Sky. - Shawnee
I saved the best for last. I absolutely love this one. So much wisdom in these words.
So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and grovel 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. Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision. When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home. - Chief Tecumseh
Interesting thread. I really like this idea. I have a great book you might really like Lilly. The Essential Mystics. I got it at Borders on the Bargain table about a year or so ago, and occasionally I still one or two there. The authors last name is Harvery. Its a great collection of writings. Christian to Tao to Native.
Here are a couple of my favorites. Kind of long, but they are well worth the read imho.
Chinook blessing Litany
We call upon the earth, our planet home, with it's beautiful depths and soaring heights, it's vitality and abundance of life, and together we ask that it
Teach us and Show us the Way.
We call upon the mountains, the Cascades adn the Olympics, the high green valleys and meadows filled with wild flowers, the snows that never melt, the summits of intense silence, and we ask that they
Teach us and Show us the Way.
We call upon the waters that rim the earth, horizon to horizon, that flow in our rivers and streams, that fall upon our gardens and fields and we ask that they
Teach us and Show us the Way.
We call upon the land which grows our food, the nurturing soil, the fertile fields, the abundant gardens and orchards and we ask that they
Teach us and Show us the Way.
We call upon the forests, the great trees reaching strongly to the sky with earth in their roots and the heavens in their branches, the fir and the pine and cedar and we ask them to
Teach us and Show us the Way.
We call upon the creatures of the fields and forests and the seas, our brothers and sisters the wolves and deer, the eagle and dove, the great whales and the dolphin, the beautiful Orca and salmon who share our Northwest home and we ask them to
Teach us and Show us the Way.
We call upon all those who have lived on this earth, our ancestors and our friends, who dreamed the best for future generations, and upon whose lives our lives are built, and with thanksgiving, we call upon them to
Teach us and Show us the Way.
And lastly we call upon all that we hold most sacred, the presence and power of the Great Spirit of love and truth which flows through all the Universe, to be with us to
Teach us and Show us The Way.
and the next one.....
O Great Spirit (traditional Native American Prayer)
Whose voice speaks in the winds, and in the trees, whose breath gives life to all the world. Listen to Your creature! Hear me! I am small and weak. I need your power. I need your wisdom. Let me walk in beauty and let my eyes be glad, beholding the red and purple dawn. Make my hands touch al things you have made with love, and help my ears to hear Your voice in everything. Make me wise that I may understand the sacred teachings you have taught; help me learn the lessons hidden in every leaf and every stone. O Wakan Tanka, I need power not to be greater then my relations but to conquer the enemy in myself. Make me ready to come to You always with a pure heart and with clear eyes, so when the time comes for my life to fade away as the sunset fades, so may my spirit come to You with honor and without shame.
I found this one off the net which goes along with what James Thomas said:
"If you take [a copy of] the Christian Bible and put it out in the wind and the rain, soon the paper on which the words are printed will disintegrate and the words will be gone. Our bible IS the wind." Statement by an anonymous Native woman.
A link to native american beliefs:
