Thoughts on Native- American wisdom

[coral1]

Hi Nick

  I`m currently reading a book called " Blackfoot Physics"by F.David Peat.It`s an interesting look at the similarities between the scientific and native american world view.Check it out!

Happy Trails

[shaman]

The one I like the most is: "The earth does not belong to us, we belong to it".

All the religions have actually in their core (though not anybody can reach the core) meditation: Sufism in Islam, Kabbalah in Judaism, etc... The Native Americans had their "medecine men" who were Shamans (similar to the shamans found in Asia, Europe, - Russia,.etc..) who meditated to reach an altered state of consciousness (transe) to access the astral, etc... In the religions like Judaism and Muslim one reaches to access the "oneness" or God. In budhism, Indouism, etc... one reaches for the "oneness" or "mindfulness" (no-thing-ness) without calling them God. Meditation can be carried out silently (sitting quietly, doing nothing, Zen...), or with prayer and phrases/mantras, such as Om Mani Padme Hum in Thibet, or Rebono Shel Olam in Kabbalah/Judaism, etc... or through dancing/smoking,... ==> shamans of the Americas.  

Many of the people who "started" a religion were in some remote place (Abraham, Moses, Jesus, in desert-like places, without much food for days, weeks, years even; like monks in Thibet), very similar to the places in (e.g.) New Mexico or Arizona, where the Native Americans are now a majority. During the night it is the starry sky that becomes the object of the meditation, it is where one can find God in Kabbalah, or the mythology, etc...

So in short, the Natvie Americans have kept the essence of their shamanism/meditation, while the others have added a lot to it. All the laws (in christianity, judaism,..) are laws to make oneself better and feel better about himself (originally) which are needed in order to be able to meditate. In Asia these are not set up as laws but as a set of "positive" and "negative" sides of the person, where one has to reach for only the positive ones to reach the highest level of the meditation (oneness, nothingness). It seems that the Native American have "sayings", "proverbs" instead of laws, such as the one I quoted "the land does not belong to us, we belong to it". These are viewed as realities as one meditates on life for example.

[harlequin_star]

i believe that the Native Americans knew so much. They lived with the land, asking PERMISSION to hunt for food. Then they thought everything had a spirit; rocks trees animals, etc. Then when organized religion came and converted them, it took all then had and threw it out the window (although, some of the native americans were still allowed to worship in the own way, very little though) I think that they were the first to acknowledge the existance of spirit guides. It's unsettling how far off we've gotten. The Native Americans didn't have any organized religion, nor prophets (such as Jesus, Buddha) yet they shared the same core beliefs. It makes you wonder a bit. .mabe we listen to what other people tell us too much without thinking on our own.
pssssst! i like that quote "The earth does not belong to us, we belong to it." i'm gonna steal that if thats okay!

[twstedrage]

It's sad how americans have converted a once proud and one with the earth culture to casinos, dunkedness and not what they were ment to be. Don't get me wrong there are still native americans that fallow the old ways, but many of them are lost now. Just like all of us. Anyways I think they were better off before the corruptions of the early American settlers.

[Euphoric Sunrise]

I have a lot of respect for the Native American Indiands, and i put the Aboriginies of Australia in the same boat. They both had amazing knowledge and connections with the universe that evaporated when their land was taken over and the modern world settled in.

The wrong-doings put aside, i think we still have a lot to learn from these cultures. I find them to be very intriguing, even fascinating. Many may consider us to be the more advanced culture, and in a sense we are more advanced, but in the spiritual sense, in the sense that counts, i think modern man is lagging far behind the Natives.

[shaman]

Poem from the Native American...

All as it was in this place timeless.
All as it was between the human soul and the earth.

For there is not difference between
The life of a man and the life
Of all growing things.

WHo is to say if a man
Shall not be a tree instead?
We pray to all of nature and do it no harm.

These are our brothers
All men and all animals and all trees.

Some part of ourselves
Is in earth and sky and everywhere.

It shall continue
As long as nature follows its own purpose.
It shall continue
As long as we know what we are doing here.

[Nick]

Thanks everyone for your comments, thoughts and quotes of poems and such. The point for me is that we are one human family with elemental and native wisdom to be found. We just need an ear that listens.


All the best,

[Nick]

Much of my time lately has been spent driving back and forth from California to Arizona, as my wife and I will be relocating to Flagstaff, Arizona in the late summer of 2004. Whenever we are in Flagstaff (or 'Flag' as the locals call it) we encounter many Native American people who live in and around Flagstaff (and for that matter throughout Arizona).

I have been doing a lot of reading on Native Americans too. There are some great books such as: Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown, and other books from the "Native American" (known to some as American Indian) point of view.

Thoughts and quotes on spiritual wisdom pepper the books, so I wanted to share one that I particularly liked:

"We had no churches, no religious organizations, no sabbath day, no holidays, and yet we worshiped."
-Geronimo (1829-1909) Chiricahua Apache chief