"Each soul must meet the morning sun, the new sweet earth and the Great Silence alone!"

--Ohiyesa (Dr. Charles A. Eastman), SANTEE SIOUX  

The most important thing we can do during the course of the day is pray in the morning. There is a special time in the morning that has great power. This is the exact time the sun is rising. During the rising of the sun, everything on the Earth is waking up. Animals, plants, birds and humans will be blessed at the rising of the sun. This is a special time to help us prepare for the day. During this time we ask the Creator to bless our day. We ask Him to guide us, to protect us and to give us courage to overcome the day's obstacles. Doing this everyday will give us knowledge of God's will for us.  


Grandfather, Grandmother, guide my path. Let my thinking be guided by You.

V to deželo je bilo pripeljano mnogo religij. Pot moje religije je učenje, naučili so me in mi povedali naj spoštujem vse religije. In to še vedno počnem.

--Horace Axtell, NEZ PERCE  

Creator je na zemlji ustvaril mnogo različnih religij, ki predstavljajo različne poti do Boga. Vse religije imajo prav in so dobre, ko pot vodi k Bogu. Mar res lahko obsojamo katera pot je boljša ali slabša? Ko sprejmemo poti od drugih lahko stojimo v krogu, se držimo za roke in se poslušamo kako molimo Bogu. Bodimo bolj sprejemajoči do drugih religij.






Veliki Duh - Bog, Ded, Gospod - naj spoznam mir.






"Many religions have been brought to this land. And the way my religion is, they teach me, and they taught me, and told me to respect all religions. And I still do that."
 
--Horace Axtell, NEZ PERCE  

The Creator put on this Earth many different religions which represent different roads to walk to God. All religions are right and good if the path is the path to God. Should we be judging which road is better or worse than the other? When we accept each other's way we can stand in a circle, hold hands and listen to each other as we pray to God. Let us be more accepting of the religions of others.  


[b]Great Spirit - God, Grandfather, Grandmother, Lord - let me know peace.[/b

"But we have to stick by the wisdom of our ancestors..."

--Paula Weasel Head, BLOOD  

A long time ago the Elders and our ancestors learned to walk on the Earth and to live in harmony. They were taught the Laws which govern everything, and they were taught traditional values. This wisdom should be made available to the younger generations. We need to speak to the Elders and learn from them. We need to do this so we can pass the knowledge on to our children.  


My Creator, help me learn the wisdom of my ancestors.

"As Elders, it is our place to show respect to our young people in order to gain respect."      

--Grace Azak, NISGA'A

The attitude of our leaders will be the attitude of the people. The attitude of the parents will be the attitude of the children. If respect is shown from above, respect will be developed below. If the Elders show respect, the younger people will be respectful. As above, so below. This happens because of interconnectedness. The heart of the Elders is connected to the heart of the youth.

Great Spirit, in the fall season let me respect both the Elders and the youth.

"Growth is a painful process."
 
--Wilma Mankiller, CHEROKEE  

Whenever we grow, we usually need to let go of emotional attachments. Letting go can be painful. Sometimes growth allows us to deal with fear. All fear can fit into two categories: one, we're going to lose something we have, and two, we're not going to get something we want. Both of these categories can cause pain. The best way to grow is to pray to the Great Spirit and ask Him to guide and protect us. All growth is guided by God.  


 
My Creator, guide my growth today and give me Your love and courage to help my pain.

"We create that bad among ourselves. We create it; then we try to call it devil, Satan, or evil. But man creates it. There is no devil. Man creates the devil."  
 
--Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTA  

Inside every human being are the laws and codes by which we should live. These laws and codes are communicated to us through a little voice. When we are still, this voice guides us. If we choose to live out of harmony, our lives become filled with anger, hate, selfishness, dishonesty, etc. When these things appear in our lives, we give up accountability and blame it on something or someone else. If we want to live in harmony, we need to pray our way back to living the principles the Creator gave us.  


Grandfather, today let me walk with the principles.

"It seems that if Elders can feel that you are open to learning, they are more than generous with their teaching."  

--Chief Councilor, Lenard George  

There is a saying, when the student is ready the teacher appears. If the Elders sense that you are ready, they will help you see and learn new things. Most human beings love to share what they know with people who are excited to listen. If you are talking to someone and you feel they really aren't listening, you won't want to tell them much. Before you go talk to the Elders, examine your motives - are you really excited about listening to them?  


My Creator, give me an open mind.

"Our religion seems foolish to you, but so does yours to me. The Baptists and Methodists and Presbyterians and the Catholics all have a different God. Why cannot we have one of our own?"  

--Sitting Bull, HUNKPAPA LAKOTA  

The Creator gave each culture a path to God. To the Indian people, he revealed that the Creator is in everything. Everything is alive with the Spirit of God. The water is alive. The trees are alive. The woods are alive. The mountains are alive. The wind is alive. The Great Spirit's breath is in everything and that's why it's alive. All of nature is our church, we eat with our families in church, we go to sleep in church.  


My Creator, let us leave people to worship You in the way You have taught them.

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