Our Creator is like our parent or grandparent. He loves us as His own children. He created us because he wanted us to exist, so it is only natural that he should care about us and want the best for us. In this vain, we should look to him as we looked to our parents while we were growing up. If we were in pain, we went to them for comfort. If we were hungry, we looked to them to feed us. If we were afraid, we ran to them to protect us and guide us. So it is with God, our Creator. He does not want us to suffer and go hungry. He does not want us to live in constant fear.

Children, go to your Father above the skies. Ask him for all the things you need to survive and for the things your heart truly desires. Then, most importantly, remember to give Thanks to Him for his gifts of love!

Now, it does NOT matter how you pray to ask for something or to give thanks, it's only important that you do it! I've had people ask me to teach them "Indian" prayers. They say they don't know how to pray like an Indian. Well, that isn't necessary. God will hear your prayers if you're driving in the car or standing in the shower! He will listen to your heart no matter where you are. He'll just be happy to hear from you.

But, sometimes, people need to "do" something to make them feel connected and to focus on their prayers, so in this case, I am happy to teach my way of praying, when I go to "meditate" and talk more closely and earnestly to the spirits.

I am of Cherokee blood, but I was taught other ways, such as those of the Lakota, Abenaki, and other woodland tribes. So, I will teach what I have been taught by my teachers to honor them. I have comfortably combined all the ways I've learned, as none of these ways are wrong.

You may recall seeing in movies, the "Indians" praying with a pipe, or taking a pinch of tobacco and extending their hand upward to the sky. You might even have noticed that they make gestures to several different directions. They are honoring all the spirits, everywhere. This is one way to pray and make an offering to Spirit. What I'm going to teach here is a way to make a "place" of prayer for longer times of meditation.

The Lakota use what is called a Medicine Wheel. There are many ways to make a wheel to pray in. In your planning and construction, you must let the spirits speak to you and guide you. They will not teach you something that is wrong. You may use the Stone People, the oldest living creations on the earth, to build and mark the directions. If you pay attention, you will hear each stone speak to you and they will tell you in which direction they wish to be placed. You may use logs, or place sticks into the ground, if you have no stones. You must mark all four directions, East, South, West and North. You must also mark in some way, the Powerful center, which is where Grandfather resides. It is the most powerful part of your wheel. There is more to constructing the medicine wheel, but this is the most important part, and, in order to keep it uncomplicated, I will stop at this point.

May the spirits and the Creator guide you in your prayers and may you find peace and contentment within your prayer or medicine wheel.

SOME THOUGHTS ON DEATH AND THE SPIRITS

Many times I've been asked to speak on death and the spirit world. I can speak only from my own experiences. I don't expect everyone to agree with my thinking, but, perhaps, something here will enlighten or help someone. Maybe it will ease a sorrowful heart and give new hope.

Unfortunately, or maybe Fortunately, I've experienced a couple of NDE's, or "Near Death Experiences"
Perhaps, it's because of these experiences I've been permitted to know others who had already crossed over. They chose me to pass along messages to friends and loved ones left behind. And, because I've been privy to this experience, I've come to understand that we don't change "who" we are when we die. Our bodies do what they're biologically meant to do, but the essence of who we are, our actual living Spirits, don't change. Our personalities do NOT change, except perhaps, to become more understanding and loving. Of course, this also depends greatly on what kind of person you are at the time of your passing.

Each time I left my body, the experience was very different. The first time I "died", I saw my body knelt next to the bed, and I felt myself come up outside of my body, passing through the ceiling, and out into a black void. It was terrifying, because I KNEW exactly what had just happened at that very moment, and I was not prepared for it.

Only mere weeks earlier, I had become a new mother, but I'd also suddenly developed some sort of respiratory problem. On this particular day, I was unable to breath at all, so I knelt by the bed to pray for God's healing. I'm sure He heard my prayers! As I ascended higher and deeper into this void in total fear, I heard a comforting voice which I recognized.

YES, I believe in Jesus Christ! He was there to comfort me. When I heard his voice, I was immediately comforted. All fear subsided. I had even begun to appreciate where I was. I didn't want to return to the earth, to my life. I experienced the most peaceful feeling I'd ever known! At this time, I had no worries about my baby or my husband. I knew they would be all right.

But, even in my great anticipation to continue on my journey, I was told I had to go back! That my time on the earth was not finished. I believe this happened at that particular time for a couple of reasons. First, I was seriously ill and He used that time to completely heal me. Secondly, it helped me to KNOW He Lives and there is nothing to fear from death, unless you're not ready to own up to your shortcomings as a person. When I was sent back, I could not believe my experience but was thankful for it!

The second time it happend was quite different. I had been preparing for the first day of our powwow in New England. I suddenly felt all the blood and life drain from me, as if it had run right out from my feet into the ground, and I felt myself falling to the ground, but I never felt the impact. Instead, I felt myself being drawn into a brilliant golden orange-yellow light that was so warm and...well, it felt like unbelievably Pure LOVE!!! That's all I could think...just pure love! It was as if I were floating right into the actual Face of God!

As I was making my way to the bright white center, I looked down over the Powwow grounds I'd just left. I saw all the people there, inside the dance circle, holding hands. I could hear their prayers rising up, but I could not make out a single word. It was like there was no English being spoken, just unearthly sounds of earnest pleading.

I also saw what appeared to be masks that changed their appearance, their painted designs, encircling me as I approached this Light. Soon after that, I saw my son, who was in his Grass Dance regalia, running after me, his hands out-stretched, reaching for me and crying, "MOM!!!!!!", begging me to come back.

The next thing I knew, I was in the emergency room of the hospital. I looked around the room where I saw my daughter crying because she'd been told I died!
I reached out to her and asked her why she was crying. She screamed, threw herself on my body, and suddenly there was a mad rush of activity. Doctors and medical technicians pumping the blood pressure cuff, listening to my heart, asking me all kinds of questions. I insisted that I was actually quite alive and well.

After much arguing with the attending physician, I got up and returned to the Powwow that day. I had too much to attend to at the powwow to be lying around in a hospital bed!

When I got to the Powwow grounds, I was taken to a tent to rest where all those wonderful prayerful people came by to wish me well. I was approached by a very loving and very well known Native, who is also a decendant of a Medicine Grandmother. She told me that she had seen where my spirit had gone when it left my eyes...my body. She had looked up and saw an eagle flying into the "sun"! She told me that all the people there had gone into the circle to pray for me. She said when I was taken away in the ambulance, my son, who had not been permitted to go to the hospital, ran out into the middle of the field near the circle. He was in his dance regalia, and to NO drum, he began dancing harder than they had ever seen him dance before. They saw him stop suddenly, tear his medicine bag from his neck and open it up, offering it up to Grandfather, then emptying the contents of it onto the Earth Mother, as he dropped to his knees and prayed! He had truly sent his spirit out to bring me back!

When I told her about the changing masks, she explained to me that I was being shown "false faces". That there were some people among my own people who were not what they pretended to be, and that this powwow would bring them out.

She was so right, and everything happened just as she said it would. Soon after the powwow, those people showed themselves and they were no longer counted among my friends nor considered a part of our tribal community.

Sometimes, we have to DIE to know more about LIFE. It's not uncommon, really, and it's even Biblical. In the Native community, it's called "Dying many times to become a Medicine Person." It's part of the ritual, but we have no control over this part of our preparation. Chosen Medicine People sometimes must die many times, which gives them the opportunity to gain greater knowledge and wisdom of things they will need in order to help those who are both living and deceased.

This gives us the ablility to communicate and understand the needs of those who have gone on before us. There are time when they may have a message that needs to be given to those who are still living.
This is not something I "practice". It's not witchcraft or anything evil. It is a GIFT from the Creator, God. I believe this with all my heart.

This gift helped me to help my mother get through the death of her husband, my step-father. It also helped to answer questions my sister had about a visitor who had come to her bedroom at night several times.
It helped to get a message to a Nation of people who needed to cease with a court battle over land rights.
This gift is not something I call upon, but I gladly accept and use when directed by God and the Spirits. He always puts the right people in my path when this gift is needed. And just as we have responsibilities on earth, and work our way to higher levels in life, we have the same experience in death. We may not all go to the same places when we die. We may not all do the exact same things, but we all will have "jobs" to do, and I believe that we work our way up to different levels of "Heaven", if you want to call it that.

We don't die and become Angels. Angels already exist and have their place in God's plan. But, I believe that God allows us, as living spirits, to return to the earth to our loved ones after a time. Perhaps, after we've somehow earned the right, if that's what we wish to do. We might come sometimes to protect those we love, or to take care of "unfinished" business. That is, if we can find someone who can recognize our presence, and can help us to do just that.

I know this may seem like a lot to read, but believe me, this is so miniscule compared to my experiences and the things I've learned. If you have a question about my thoughts on this subject or if you'd like to share your experiences with me, I'll always be happy to hear from you.

Don't be afraid. We are all children of the Creator, and if we live in Him, and believe what He speaks to us, He will always take care of us and give us the Gifts He wants us to have. We all have jobs to do on this earth, but sometimes we don't accept the responsibility or the gifts that are the tools He wants us to use to complete the tasks He's given us.

Don't be afraid. When you think you hear a loved-one's voice say your name, you did. When you think you see them from the corner of your eye, you did. If you know you felt them touch you, they did! They can and do come back to be with us, to watch over us and to guide us from time to time. That is the Gift from the Creator, our God. He didn't give us to one another just to remove us from each other forever. We are all related, living and deceased. We are all "Living Spirits", children of the Living Creator! Here again, we find "Balance". Amen, Aho, HoWa!