the voice of the soul...
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The faces of living things are alike.
With tenderness, they have come up out of the ground.
Look upon your children that they may face the winds
And walk the good road to the day of quiet.
Grandfather Great Spirit
Fill us with the light.
Give us the strength to understand and the eyes to see.
Teach us to walk the soft Earth as relatives
To all that live.
Blow softly upon your house.
May the Great Spirit
Bless all who enter there.
May your mocassins
Make happy tracks in many snows,
And may the rainbow
Always touch your shoulder.
Today we have gathered and we see that the cycles of life continue.
We have been given the duty to live in
balance and harmony with each other and all living things.
So now, we bring our minds together as one as we give
greetings and thanks to each other as People.
Now our minds are one.
We are all thankful to our Mother, the Earth,
for she gives us all that we need for life.
She supports our feet as we walk about upon her.
It gives us joy that she continues to care
for us as she has from the beginning of time.
To our Mother, we send greetings and thanks.
Now our minds are one.
We give thanks to all the Waters of the world
for quenching our thirst and providing us with strength.
Water is life. We know its power in many forms -
waterfalls and rain, mists and streams, rivers and oceans.
With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the spirit of water.
Now our minds are one.
We turn our minds to all the Fish life in the water.
They were instructed to cleanse and purify the water.
They also give themselves to us as food.
We are grateful that we can still find pure water.
So, we turn now to the Fish and send our greetings and thanks.
Now our minds are one.
Now we turn toward the vast fields of Plant life.
As far as the eye can see, the Plants grow, working
many wonders.They sustain many life forms.
With our minds gathered together,
we give thanks and look forward to seeing
Plant life for many generations to come.
Now our minds are one.
With one mind, we turn to honor and thank all
the Food Plants we harvest from the garden. Since the beginning of time,
the grains, vegetables, beans and berries have helped the people survive.
Many other living things draw strength from them too.
We gather all the Plant Foods together
as one and send them a greeting and thanks.
Now our minds are one.
Now we turn to all the Medicine herbs of the world.
From the beginning, they were instructed to take away sickness.
They are always waiting and ready to heal us.
We are happy there are still among us those special few
who remember how to use these plants for healing.
With one mind, we send greetings and thanks
to the Medicines and to the keepers of the Medicines.
Now our minds are one.
We gather our minds together to send greetings
and thanks to all the Animal life in the world.
They have many things to teach us as people.
We see them near our homes and in the deep forests.
We are glad they are still here
and we hope that it will always be so.
Now our minds are one.
We now turn our thoughts to the Trees.
The Earth has many families of Trees who have
their own instructions and uses.
Some provide us with shelter and shade,
others with fruit, beauty and other useful things.
Many peoples of the world use a
Tree as a symbol of peace and strength.
With one mind, we greet and thank the Tree life.
Now our minds are one.
We put our minds together as one and thank
all the Birds who move and fly about over our heads.
The Creator gave them beautiful songs.
Each day they remind us to enjoy and appreciate life.
The Eagle was chosen to be their leader.
To all the Birds - from the smallest to the largest
- we send our joyful greetings and thanks.
Now our minds are one.
We are all thankful to the powers we know as the Four Winds.
We hear their voices in the moving air
as they refresh us and purify the air we breathe.
They help to bring the change of seasons.
From the four directions they come,
bringing us messages and giving us strength.
With one mind, we send our greetings
and thanks to the Four Winds.
Now our minds are one.
Now we turn to the west where our Grandfathers,
the Thunder Beings, live. With lightning and thundering voices,
they bring with them the water that renews life.
We bring our minds together as one to send greetings
and thanks to our Grandfathers, the Thunderers.
Now our minds are one.
We now send greetings and thanks to our eldest
Brother, the Sun. Each day without fail
he travels the sky from east to west, bringing the light
of a new day. He is the source of all the fires of life.
With one mind, we send greetings
and thanks to our Brother, the Sun.
Now our minds are one.
We put our minds together and give thanks to our
oldest grandmother, the Moon, who lights the night-time sky.
She is the leader of women all over the world,
and she governs the movement of the ocean tides.
By her changing face we measure time, and it is
the Moon who watches over the arrival of children here on Earth.
With one mind, we send greetings
and thanks to our Grandmother, the Moon.
Now our minds are one.
We give thanks to the Stars who are spread across
the sky like jewelry. We see them in the night,
helping the Moon to light the darkness and bringing dew
to the gardens and growing things. When we travel at night,
they guide us home. With our minds gathered
together as one, we send greetings and thanks to all the Stars.
Now our minds are one.
We gather our minds to greet and thank the enlightened
Teachers who have come to help throughout the ages.
When we forget how to live in harmony, they remind us
of the way we were instructed to live as people.
With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to these caring Teachers.
Now our minds are one.
Now we turn our thoughts to the Creator, or Great Spirit,
and send greetings and thanks for the gifts of Creation.
Everything we need to live a good life
is here on this Mother Earth. For all the love
that is still around us, we gather our minds together
as one and send our choicest words
of greetings and thanks to the Creator.
Now our minds are one.
We have now arrived at the place where we end our words.
Of all the things we have named, it was not
our intention to leave anything out. If something was forgotten,
we leave it to each individual to send such
greetings and thanks in their own way.
Now our minds are one."