~~ PUEBLO INDIAN PRAYER ~~ AMAZING GRACE ~~

As I have indicated in prior posts, while I am not Native American, I feel the Spirit of the Native American. I do not believe that all the events in my life associated with Native Americans are coincidental. I believe ever since I had a Native American Babysitter when I was very young I was drawn to our first people. As I grew older my connection became more clear not just from experiences  in the United states, but also from  my travels abroad. 

Below is a very inspirational Prayer. It magnifies what I feel is the essence of  all indigenous people, not just Native Americans. Having purpose in life can make you happy and feel fulfilled. Never give up hope for a brighter and better future while making footsteps  on Mother Earth. No matter what situation you find yourself in, believe in yourself. 

Know that spirits past of friends and family are beside you! Feel their grace, feel their energy and love. You may feel alone, yet you could be in a crowd supporting you.

 PUEBLO INDIAN PRAYER:

"Hold on to what is good, even if it's a handful of earth. Hold on to what you believe, even if it's a tree that stands by itself. Hold on to what you must do, even if it's a long way from here. Hold on to your life, even if it's easier to let go. Hold on to my hand, even if I've gone away from you..."

AMAZING GRACE in CHEROKEE language by Walela:

"u ne la nv i u we tsi

i ga go yv he i

hna quo tso sv wi yu lo se

i ga gu yv ho nv

a se no i u ne tse i

i yu no du le nv

ta li ne dv tsi lu tsi li

u dv ne u ne tsv

e lo ni gv ni li squa di

ga lu tsv he i yu

ni ga di da ye di go i

a ni e lo hi gv

u na da nv ti a ne hv

do da ya nv hi li

tsa sv hna quo ni go hi lv

do hi wa ne he sdi"

Below is the best rendition of the popular song Amazing Grace I have heard. Please play the video. In the mix of the video there are scenes from my favorite movies on Native Americans.  

Consider this Native American Prayer

"Oh Great Spirit, Whose voice I hear in the winds and whose breath gives life to all the world, hear me: I am small and weak,

"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. Let me learn the lessons you have hidden in every leaf and rock. 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..." Chief Yellow Lark, Lakota Tribe.

MOTHER'S DAY ~~~ THE BEAUTY OF A WOMAN

 My beautiful mother and me just days before she moved on to the spirit world

As I was working in San Diego  California recently I found myself with a little extra time which I used at a book store browsing through books on Philosophy and Religions. While I was there I found a "Bargain table"  for the upcoming Mother's day celebration. It just suddenly hit me that my Mother is in the spirit world and not in our worldly form for the first time on Mother's Day.

It also hit me that my mother's energy has always been with me and never left me. I feel her love even more than when she traversed this realm. I do believe it is more common that people share this same experience when our mother has moved on. It is not only assuring that our energy never dies, but that loved ones can open their heart and can take their  bucket of life to the fountain of memories and to fill it. 

That connection does not have to be at a grave site. you can open the channel where ever you are.  On this particular day I was certainly blessed that on an otherwise stressful day, my Mother sent waves of positive energy.  Thank you Mother for always being there with us.

I wrote a poem which has been shared at various venues where you might have read it before. I am inspired to post here with this opportunity of not only appreciating our mothers but all women  on this planet:

Enjoy and have a blessed day with your mothers and beautiful women.  

THE BEAUTY OF A WOMAN

It is through a woman, a man can be complete.

It is through a woman, the Creator sends his sacred life

Tears for a woman can clear the path for love

Love for a woman can make a man a better person

 
The warmth of a woman knows no boundaries

The body of a woman is sacred as are her heart and soul

The love from a woman is celestial bliss

In that love, man experiences Peace, Tranquility and Totality

Women are a gift to be appreciated for all times and eternity

For --- without women we would not be

Emotions from Stephen July 2009

 

~~~ EARTH DAY ~~~ BOSTON ~~~

With the continuing gratuitous killings  such as the recent events at the world famous Boston Marathon in the US we experienced another reminder and lesson that we need to sweep our own Porch before we can attend  matters beyond it. Man needs to change from within first so he is able to see clearly his surroundings. Only then can we appreciate what Mother Earth has to offer and how we can nurture her and protect her from further destruction.

Do you believe for one minute that these two men  who did so much physical and emotional trauma to his fellow humans ever took a stroll through the forest  just to be close to Mother Nature?

This starts at home with the parents. What is really sad is "Officials believe this terrorism was motivation by religion".  ~~ That the two brothers appear to   have been motivated by a radical band of Islam, but, do not seem to be connected to any Muslim terrorists groups, This should not be confused with your average dedicated Muslim .

If this is true, ~~ one could suspect that world unity, peace, and appreciation were not promoted in this the suspect's family. 

Spirituality is a must. It is spirituality that is the flow of blood of Religions. Without it, religion can be just a another set of rules and laws which generates another source of income

As I said before, Mother Earth will not end life as we know it with catastrophic events . It will be humanity which will self destruct.

Let us meditate on this day for a peaceful world, that Mother Nature will flourish  in spite of mankind. Allow your spirituality to guide you in what ever religion you participate in.

~~~ WHO AM I ~~~

This maybe is the most important question in the universe. I was inspired to write this post when I saw the movie adaptation of the stage production, "Les Miserables".  ( it happens to be one of my favorite musical productions). For those not familiar with this masterpiece: It is essentially a story of a man who was convicted for steeling a loaf of bread for a starving man. He Served 20 years in prison and when he was finally released, he led a life of crime until he came upon a Mon-senior Priest who took him in. 

The man call Jean Valjean (the main character in the play and in the movie Hugh Jackman played Jean Valjean)  stolled the church's candle sticks and was caught and brought back to the Mon-senior who in turn not only covered for his actions, but, also gave him the Candle sticks. In turn Jean Valjean  agreed to live a life of good and help  others. 

He becomes the mayor in a small village where he is adored! Held in the highest esteem.  ~~ then his past caught up with him and he is forced to make some decisions including adopting a girl whose mother was slated as a prostitute  and died from illness. He promised he would raise her daughter so she could rest in peace.

I believe we all have lived through spiritual changes in our live. Reflecting back on my life I can clearly  separate or partition my life into 4 different phases.

Aristotle, the great Greek Philosopher,  once said  

" we are what we repeatedly do"

I believe that this message infers that we can be ever changing throughout our journey here on Earth.

 

I have to admit that in my past "life I did tread amidst dark shadows and said and did things I wished never happened. There were incredible events that will not soon be forgotten. Like a puzzle you might be able to put all the pieces together so you may see all of who you are.  

I would like you to do an exercise  that may help you  see all of who you are as every thought, every word, every action is recorded in the sacred halls of the universe. You cannot use an eraser to change your past. There are no mulligans in life ( a golf term for taking an errant  shot again.)   All of the events of your life have contributed to who you are today. Knowing yourself better may guide you to a happier and more fulfilling life.

I want you to meditate or just set in a quiet place and write down your earliest memories. You might recall certain events, sad, happy, etc. You might classify your events by school years,  relationships certain traumatic events, etc. Write them down for future reference or simply write them down for the moment. Writing gives thoughts life! The function is more poignant. 

I have a follower who stated to me that he does not like meditating because the process brings back sad memories and times of serious challenges in his life. I informed him that  he does not have to give this negative  energy any life. He can  simply acknowledge them as part of his life!

Discover your evolution and realize the  power and beauty from the heavens.  That you have become one with the universe. 

There is a song called "Who Am I" in this production and Jean Valjean struggles with his past and wants to know who he is, ~~ thieve he was or the beautiful person he became in his later life.

I cannot help but share the video from "Les Miserables" I feel the passion of the evolution of Jean Valjean' soul.  

You are  what you think. May your thoughts be as beautiful as the Great Creator made you!

~~ POPE ~~ MAN ~~SYMBOL

I also viewed some of the pomp and circumstance on television with the new Pope being introduced to the  Catholic community  and christian followers. Hundreds of thousands attended the announcement and millions from all over the world watched on television. As I was viewing the event I could not help wonder how many of the crowd really knew this man and were willing to support and follow his  Spiritual guidance. After all, ~~ the only people who really knew this man were the Cardinals who elected him as Pope and the parishioners at his church.

It occurred to me that humanity in general likes to be part of a crowd and have something to cheer about, regardless of what it is people are cheering about. They feel like they belong somewhere and feel valued. 

Sometimes dogmatic ceremonies in church get in the way of spiritualism. I should know, I was baptized in the Greek Orthodox Church and was a priest in the Orthodox church which is even more dogmatic than the Roman church. This is  also because Orthodoxy is is the oldest form of Christianity in the manner the liturgies and sacraments which are performed as they were in the beginning of Christianity. It predates Roman Catholicism by 100 years plus.  The Roman and Greek Orthodox churches were united until the Great Schism in the 11th century when the Pope of Rome separated from the Pope of  Constantinople (Today's Istanbul). The separation was based on dogmatic issues such as Priests being allowed to get married in the Greek church and not in the Roman church. The interpretation of the Holy Trinity (The spirit, God and Jesus) Thus the holy sacrament of  communion was viewed differently, dogmatically speaking.  The Pope of Rome proclaimed himself as infallible. In other words is not capable of error  ~~ in plain words.

Ceremonies in the Greek Orthodox church are very long that includes Weddings, Baptisms, Funerals and so on.  Each ceremony can last over an hour with all the pomp and circumstance.

I have given you a little Ecclesiastical history as a basis of my experience and feeling about dogma vs. spirituality.

It is my impression that there are people who use the church as a crutch.  Believing that if he follows a set of rules and regulations he will be "saved" or ~~  justified in doing actions that  may be harmful to his fellow human or any form of life on the planet. Why you ask? ~~ he can go to confession and be absolved of all his sins and actions. Then repeat his actions all over again and return to the confessional for another absolution. Going to church every Sunday gives him more "badges of honor".

In my spirituality, "church" can  be  experienced not only every day, but every minute of every day. It is my life blood. 

As the "Fiddler on the roof" would say ~~ TRADITION! !~~ Yes, humans love to follow tradition as do animals follow a routine in life. We may call it a ritual. They feel secure in repetition. 

I believe the Pope is a man with all the human frailties   contrary to what the Roman church says. The Pope is not a deity, nor is he Jesus. He is not infallible.  I do believe he is an important  symbol to the church. He represent the collagen of the Catholic church as do the Archbishops of the Greek Orthodox church.

Set aside the dogmatic differences between the two churches they both share in the responsibility to uphold tradition handed down by the Apostles of the New Testament.

Having said all of the above, I do not condemn structured religions. They do good for their followers. They offer a conduit to communicate with the Great Creator. My position is from personal experience ~~  which is very credible ~~ that  Spirituality  can be compromised by focusing on dogma and traditions rather than on the Creator inside all of us. I have said this before: ~~ Mother Earth is my church and all of her life are the parishioners.

 

Regardless of your religiosity may we pray and meditate for world peace and unity. May we not harm anyone or anything within the golden rule  that binds all religions.

Love and Peace!