After I read Infidelpig’s dairy of his return from Vietnam and the injustice that he saw in that small Wisconsin town, toward the Native American peoples, I did indeed need to pray to Great Spirit. It brought up some very painful memories that I had witnessed growing up in Michigan. That races of people were unable to enter a store, restaurant or public restroom because of their skin color or culture, was a reprehensible act of ignorance and racism. That Jim Crow laws were alive and well in the Upper Midwest and West, only geared to the Native populations, not unlike the African Americans that lived in the South. I don’t look Indian so this prejudice was not perpetuated upon me, yet I was abused for being an Indian from my own family.
My father and most of his family never accepted me, my mother or my brothers and sister. We were outcasts, something not mentioned, only one of my fathers sisters ever recognized that we even existed. As I grew up, I strived to hide my other self; I worked hard to destroy that which was inside me. I watched others of my race try to do the same things. When you are repeatedly told that you are not worth spit, because you are an Indian, that you have no value because you are of a race of people who were defeated. You have no power, no land, and no right to anything because we stripped you of your humanity. It can and does send a powerful message. I hear so many things coming from the right, as they strive to vilify and demonize those of us who are left of Ronald Reagan. I do mean that in all sincerity. The right is indeed feeding the wolf of hate, discontent and anger.
I hope that Infidelpig’s “The Two Wolves Within”, will help all of us in our cause. To bring forth the best that we have to offer in this struggle to regain our country from the Worshippers of power and money. We must continue to feed the wolf of patience, principle, ethics and tolerance in order to achieve our goal of eliminating the corruption and moral degradation that has permeated our country’s government. I offer to you these guiding principles as a means to an end, a way to achieve a balance and harmony within the life you lead today. I have strived to make these the guiding path of my spiritual well being. They have brought me from the depths of hell as a homeless heroin addict, to a life that truly has meaning. I have a life that gives me all that I could ever hope for and more.
“Spiritual matters are difficult to explain because you
must live with them in order to fully understand them.”Thomas Yellowtail, CROW
“”””””””””””””””””””””””More below the fold””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
I have read many comments about the moral decay and dissonance that is the message being promoted by the religious right and the current administration. My favorite is this, I often wonder why their heads don’t explode with the dissonance that is occurring by their actions and their stated pious words. Personally I don’t believe there is any dissonance for these people, their words are a smoke screen, a cover, so they can do the wickedness that dwells within their hearts. I hope that those individual’s who have in the past supported these wicked/evil people, will soon wake up to the tremendous harm that they have helped perpetuate upon the people of the US and the world. I hope that the moderates in the Republican Party, those people for whom the constitution and the liberties that are granted to us as a people will take back their party and work with liberal/progressives to repair the damage caused by this horrendous administration.
Striving to live within a framework of spiritual principles is never easy, yet it’s rewards are immeasurable. As a human being, I recognize my infallibility, my desire to achieve everything the fastest and easiest way possible and when I do that, I usually end up making a mess of my life. I have found that when I walk the walk of my spiritual principles, I rarely find myself in any type of quandary or moral dilemma. Life is never easy, nor does it have to be difficult, we as human beings have the ability to make choices that will determine whether or not we will have dissonance inside our heads. I choose today to eliminate as much conflict from my life as possible. My choices on how to live my life are brought forth by my openness to the spirit world that surrounds me in my daily life.
I have chosen not to feed the wolf of anger and hatred. I choose to feed the wolf of honesty, integrity, ethics, love and freedom. We all have to make choices daily, many of them will have profound impacts on our lives in small ways and others can impact us for decades. I know there are many who will read this and state, well I don’t believe in God, Yahweh, Allah, Buddha, Great Spirit or any other so called Higher Power. I offer you this, living by spiritual principles does not equate to acknowledging there is a Higher Power, it only says that you understand and accept that personal responsibility for ones actions, thoughts and processes, gains you a higher level of spiritual development. I have met many spiritually developed individuals who are acknowledged agnostics/atheists. They live their lives with an understanding of how they impact others and how others will impact them. They offer kindness, honor, acceptance, joy, love and hope where there was none before. Being Spiritual is not equated to how often you attend church, pray, how much money you have, where you live or what you possess. These measurements hold little meaning in the grander scheme of life. Spiritual living for me follows this basic understanding of my life and my role in the world in which I live.
To know something we must become one with it. We cannot know what a flower smells like until we actually smell it. Close your eyes and experience the fragrance.
The Elders say there are two worlds, the Seen World and the Unseen World. To experience the Seen World we need to physically pick the flower and smell it. To experience the Unseen World we need to know about principles, laws and values; and no matter what our mind or our physical senses tell us, we must decide and act on these principles.
If someone does wrong to us, we must pray for that person or persons to have peace, happiness and joy in their life. We must not get even or retaliate in any way. Only by doing this can we understand spiritual matters.
Great Spirit, give me your power whenever my weakness shows so I can live by spiritual decisions
I know that I have not always followed my beliefs, values and principles when I speak of the current administration. I have used demeaning language, showed contempt, showered upon them verbally abusive language and have displayed disgust and hatred for them. After reading InfidelPig’s essay, I have affirmed my willingness to change my attitude toward those whom, I believe are seeking to destroy my country. I have lived for more than 50 years, more than half of that time I lived in spiritual dissonance. I have found for myself a path that brings harmony to my spirit and provides me with the tools to be the best human being I am capable of being today. I don’t know how well I will be do in this change of attitude, but my heart is willing and my spirit brothers have shown me that demeaning those that I have conflict with is not going to help me facilitate change in this world.
I sought help for my spirit; I created a medicine wheel, smudged and prayed. I opened my heart and mind to all the spirits that surround me and listened, quietly meditating and hearing those that came before me. I am of the coyote clan, the little trickster, but also the helper of the Human beings. I know that my ancestors lived in a spiritual world that was very much like what we are experiencing today. I feel that I have been shown a way to help, a way to facilitate change, a way to bring others into a path that very well may cause an upheaval with in our country.
I hope that you will pass this code on to your friends. Lets show those that would defile us, defame us, try to force us into their pattern of attacks, that we are above them. We are the best, greatest hope that America will one day soon, really become the greatest country in the history of the world. Not because we have the largest and best military in the world. We shall be known as the greatest, because we honored our commitments to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all the peoples and spirits of this world.
I realize that I have posted this ethics code before, yet I also recognize that something of value, never really becomes boring or repetitive. I offer these to you, as a gift, a treasure that will help you create a life that is beyond measure in its joys and happiness. I pray that each of you finds your spirit guide that you will know your life still has unlimited possibilities for growth, understanding, joy, happiness, love, honor and integrity. I have been given the most precious gift I could ever imagine, the privilege of raising two children, whom I pray that I will instill within them all of the wonders of life and glory of living it within a spiritual framework. If they look upon me one day and say to, that the most important thing I taught them was to rely upon their spirit to guide them, I have done the best I could as their parent.
NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN TRADITIONAL CODE OF ETHICS
…From “Inter-Tribal Times” Oct 1994
- Each morning upon rising, and each evening before sleeping, give thanks for the life within you and for all life, for the good things the Creator has given you and for the opportunity to grow a little more each day. Consider your thoughts and actions of the past day and seek for the courage and strength to be a better person. Seek for the things that will benefit others (everyone).
- Respect. Respect means “To feel or show honor or esteem for someone or something; to consider the well being of, or to treat someone or something with deference or courtesy”. Showing respect is a basic law of life.
a. Treat every person from the tiniest child to the oldest elder with respect at all times.
b. Special respect should be given to Elders, Parents, Teachers, and Community Leaders.
c. No person should be made to feel “put down” by you; avoid hurting other hearts, as you would avoid a deadly poison.
d. Touch nothing that belongs to someone else (especially Sacred Objects) without permission, or an understanding between you.
e. Respect the privacy of every person, never intrude on a person’s quiet moment or personal space.
f. Never walk between people that are conversing.
g. Never interrupt people who are conversing.
h. Speak in a soft voice, especially when you are in the presence of Elders, strangers or others to whom special respect is due.
i. Do not speak unless invited to do so at gatherings where Elders are present (except to ask what is expected of you, should you be in doubt).
j. Never speak about others in a negative way, whether they are present or not.
k. Treat the earth and all of her aspects as your mother. Show deep respect for the mineral world, the plant world, and the animal world. Do nothing to pollute our Mother, rise up with wisdom to defend her.
l. Show deep respect for the beliefs and religion of others.
m. Listen with courtesy to what others say, even if you feel that what they are saying is worthless. Listen with your heart.
n. Respect the wisdom of the people in council. Once you give an idea to a council meeting it no longer belongs to you. It belongs to the people. Respect demands that you listen intently to the ideas of others in council and that you do not insist that your idea prevail. Indeed you should freely support the ideas of others if they are true and good, even if those ideas are quite different from the ones you have contributed. The clash of ideas brings forth the Spark of Truth.
- Once a council has decided something in unity, respect demands that no one speak secretly against what has been decided. If the council has made an error, that error will become apparent to everyone in its own time.
- Be truthful at all times, and under all conditions.
- Always treat your guests with honor and consideration. Give of your best food, your best blankets, the best part of your house, and your best service to your guests.
- The hurt of one is the hurt of all; the honor of one is the honor of all.
- Receive strangers and outsiders with a loving heart and as members of the human family.
- All the races and tribes in the world are like the different colored flowers of one meadow. All are beautiful. As children of the Creator they must all be respected.
- To serve others, to be of some use to family, community, nation, and the world is one of the main purposes for which human beings have been created. Do not fill yourself with your own affairs and forget your most important talks. True happiness comes only to those who dedicate their lives to the service of others.
- Observe moderation and balance in all things.
- Know those things that lead to your well being, and those things that lead to your destruction.
- Listen to and follow the guidance given to your heart. Expect guidance to come in many forms, in prayer, in dreams, in times of quiet solitude, and in the words and deeds of wise Elders and friends.
