" You know nothing about me until you have seen my spirit."
Makwa
A few years ago, I was honoured to be able to attend a powwow near my home, set up by the Mohawk brothers & sisters. It was the first day of the powwow & we waited with anticipation for the Grand Entry through the Eastern door to the Sacred Circle. A beautiful moment & I looked forward to it.
The time came to enter the circle, & as did, the announcer had the brothers who fought for Canada in various armed forces form a line so we could honor them & shake their hands in thanksgiving.
Natives aren't usually honored properly by the government for their participation.
As I went from brother to brother shaking hands, I stood beside the other warriors & there stood before me one who towered over me. He was an older man, kind in spirit & he just stared at me.
I extended my hand toward him & instead of grasping it, he embraced me in a huge
( makwa) bear hug. He held onto me until he finally let me go. To my knowledge I was the only one he had hugged that day.
He spoke some words to me & I passed on down the line to the others.
I danced hard that day. Around 4:00 pm we sat at a picnic table relaxing after a long day. I was dancing in the Circle that evening too & wanted to rest. I was exhausted.
I noticed a man crossing the crest of the hill just above the table were we sat. He was a big man. I had forgotten about the meeting earlier in the day. I noticed as he headed straight for our table.
Leaning on it with both hands he said, " I know you & I know your whole family." I was dumb founded. " What was going on?"
I was at a loss to understand why this stranger would out of nowhere come up to us & say this. He never did tell me his name.
He started telling me about what had happened that morning with the hug & all. He told me that he was a high priest in our teachings & I felt truly honoured that he would address me.
He then called his wife, Anna, over to tell her the story. I still didn't know why he was telling us all of this. He told her of meeting me. He told of being told in his spirit to hug me instead of shaking my hand.
He also told something very different. He told Anna that when he hugged me he felt something. Anna asked if it was energy & the reply he gave was, " No, Not like the kind of energy as we know it."
" It was a spirit that went from this man's body into my body." He told of it being such a gentle spirit & that it reflected through me & in me.
I have always known there was something else spiritual inside me. Even as a child I could feel something extra there. Not in my physical but spiritual. I could always feel this presence.
We talked for along time about the powwow, about this happening that he had just experienced. He had such a gentle spirit himself even before he hugged me. He was such a brother with living love flowing through him that it emanated all around him.
He imparted something very special to me as we talked. He said he had watched as I danced in the Circle. When Natives dance it is not just a dance. We dance with love. We dance in the spirit.
We dance for a variety of reasons including prayer. We dance not only in the physical but in the spiritual also. He told me the greatest advice I could ever receive. He said, When you dance in the Circle, always remember, the drum is the heart beat of the Indian Nation. When you hear the drums beating, you are hearing your own heart beat. The drums are our very life.
Listen to the drums, follow the beat of the drums until it becomes apart of you. Dance to the beat of the drums as one. Become one with the drums."
I listened to this wise one & I listened not only with my ears but in my spirit.
I danced again that night & as I did, his words came back to me. Words of life to not only my dance but also my spirit. His words echoed in my mind... " The drum is the heartbeat of the Indian nation.
Be one with the drums." Those words of truth poured over me again & again. At each step I took I could hear them echoing in my ears, my mind, my spirit. They were literally living words.
I did. I listened. I heard the voice of the drums calling me. I asked the Creator to guide me in my dance. I danced like I have never dance before in my life. I became one with the drums that night.
They were not separate from me but apart of my very being. I could see others watching as I danced the sacred dances. I didn't care. It was like I was taken over by the beat of the drums, filling me with new life, new hope, new joy & peace. I had someone remark later as to my dancing which I was grateful for.
To this day, I listen to the heartbeat of the drums when I dance. I listen to what gives us life in our spirit. When we feed our spirit it shows on the outside. I still to this day hear those chosen words of one so wise in love.
The last day of the powwow, we met again. The dancing was over. The celebrations were over for another year. This same elder approached me as I stood by our tent, & we talked.
Before we parted ways, we hugged once again. It was a brotherly hug of living love. As we hugged, I whispered in his ear, " The Creators blessings on you, my brother."
As I looked up, I saw tears forming in his eyes. Those eyes of love. I will never forget him nor his wife Anna. It was such a special meeting, A destined meeting between not only the physical but a meeting of spirits. We promised to meet the following year in the Sacred Circle to talk.
We never had the opportunity to attend the following year. I wish we had. I think of him & Anna often.
I feel their love, their warmth, their gentleness of spirit each time I remember them.
Hopefully, someday I will be honored to be able to meet them again. Not only did my spirit touch this mans spirit but in turn, both him & his wife touched & changed my life with that meeting.
I know that someday, whether it be here or in the next realm we will meet again & we will sit & talk about truths in the spirit.
Each time I relay this story it stirs my spirit & brings tears to my eyes. It happened to me &
I am so truly honored that we met & joined our spirits in truth & love. Only from our spirit can we ever experience something like this.
The Creators blessings on both this special person & his wife, Anna.
Makwa
Dalton
Smudging goes back I believe to the beginning of time as a way to personally cleanse ourselves of unwanted negative elements such as stress, anger or any negative energies that may be around us.
I have personally used smudging in such things as clearings of negative energies & presences, used it in healings for myself & others. It is a positive way to rid those energies & produce a calming, peaceful effect on the mind, body spirit, plus the atmosphere around you.
You may ask, " Does this involve drugs?" No. This has nothing to do with anything like that. So, if you were hoping on catching a buzz off the herbs forget it. This is the wrong site for you. You would not be ready to receive these teachings. They are for spiritual advancement only.
The only things used are all natural. I will give you the herbs that I use when I smudge here in this article.
They are:
sweet grass, buffalo sage, tobacco, cedar. Sometimes, I'll throw in a bit of lavender & maybe some rosemary.
Smudging is a ceremonial rite. It is sacred not only to yourself but to millions across time who have used this practice in their own lives.
It is used by many types of people such as natives, which I am, wiccans, those who practice meditations plus many more.
In our native teachings it is sacred. It is our way of reaching inside ourselves to wash away that which is not desirable. It is our cleansing.
Smudging is serious business & needs to be looked at as such, respecting the practice & the sacred herbs.
We use this practice as a way to offer our prayers to the Creator & Mother Earth. When we smudge & offer our prayers, we believe that the smoke of our smudge is carried to the Great One & with it goes our hearts most inner desires.
It has been said that when we offer the smoke of our smudge, the elders who have gone on before us also offer their smudge to further along our prayers.
Smudging is not just a physical action, but has spiritual overtones to cleanse, strengthen, purify & open up possibilities to your physical & more importantly spiritual world. It is an essential part of your personal being, physically / spiritually.
How To Smudge
Note:
I do not recommend this practice for those of you who may be inflicted with any respiratory problems.
You will need something to hold your herbs in that will not break from the smoldering herbs. I use an abalone shell. It you have a large feather to fan the smoke with you can use this also.
Add some of the herbs to the shell or whatever you have, but be careful not to add too much. The more you add, the more smoke it will produce, unless you are doing a smudging of an area outside.
Remember, this is a sacred rite & needs to be done in a sacred manner showing respect for what you are doing.
When you smudge each area, ask your Higher Power to cleanse away all negativity. ie: your eyes.." Please keep my eyes pure today so that I will see only good in my life & good in others."
Place your shell, etc, on a solid object if you are smudging for your personal use. Light the herbs but be careful. You are dealing with hot stuff. Excuse the pun.
Do not allow the herbs to burn up in the flame but instead, take your feather, if you have one & fan out the flames, producing only the smoke. There are various parts of your body that you will cleanse in this rite.
The eyes:
Close your eyes for this one & cup the smoke, bringing your hands close to your eyes. Allowing the smoke to reach this area. Remember to keep your eyes shut so that the smoke does not enter your eyes.
When you smudge your eyes, you are purifying your eyes so that in your desires you are asking that you may see & accept with your eyes only that which is good, rejecting all that is negative for you to see.You may open you eyes for the rest.
Once again, cup the smoke & repeat the same to your ears. In this way you are asking that you will hear & listen to only that which is positive, rejecting gossip & negative talk.
Your lips:
Do the same to the lips, so that you will only speak that which is right & truthful.
The mind:
Your mind is a playground & needs to be cleansed also. Cleanse the mind area to repel negative thoughts & that you will only concentrate & think on those things which are positive & good.
Your heart area.... spirit:
This is not for the heart per say as in the muscle but what we mean here is the spirit of us which is inside our physical being.The true & real us.
Smudge this also so that you will become purified in your spirit without any negativity living within. Remember, what we do in the physical comes from the mind & our desires in our spirit to produce in the physical.
Your body:
This repels any negative energies around you. It also has a protecting element involved with it. It literally covers you with the essence of the smudge for your physical being.
Cup the smoke & start from your head, moving over the head & down over your body. Repeat if you think you need to.
Do the feet, then take your feather, etc, & smudge your back area as best you can. If you are smudging with someone else, they can do your back for you also.
This is your act of purification. Your personal reaching out from the physical to the spiritual. You are not only touching your physical with the smudge but also your spirit. If you perform this rite each day, you will find that you will grow in mind & spirit. It will open doors to you from within yourself that maybe you never knew existed as to your spiritual self.
Always keep in mind that what you are doing here is not only as I have said physical, but spiritual.
Reach out to the Great Spirit, your guide, your God, your Goddess, whoever you may honor when you do each part & earnestly ask for that part of your body & spirit to be cleansed.
You will feel the difference. You will see the difference. You will know that something awesome has taken place in your life if you allow it to work.
Others also, will begin to see the difference in you. The love showing through. The peace within & without.
Always remember to be thankful. Give thanks for your life. Give thanks for all that is good in your life. This is also part of smudging. To experience cleansing in your life. To offer thanks for your life.
To be thankful deep inside, feeling it for all that you ask for in life & what you have received & what you are about to receive.
Be thankful & you will see such a difference in your life & within yourself that the transformation will make. It's all because of you. You are spiritual living inside your physical body.
When you feed your spiritual, you also feed & uphold your mind & physical. We cannot expect healings or whatever we are asking & seeking to take place fully unless we are in balance in all areas of our life.
Life is full of struggles, but we don't have to sit & wallow in life's depression. We can rise above situations if we know how. We can even learn to take charge of negative situations in our lives & reverse them for the better. I'm going to teach you how.
Dealing with life's circumstances lies within us. We hold the power to fulfillment. We only need to learn how to tap into its resources.
Our power lies within each of us as I have said. The greatest hindrance to spiritual & outward success lies within us. We are the creators of our destiny, our success or our doom. How we choose to live our lives determines our outcome.
Negative produces negative. Positive actions & thoughts produce positive reactions, not only from us but in us. Both negative & positive thoughts, actions, reactions can affect not only us but those around us as well, plus the whole atmosphere around us.
Peace draws peace. Love draws love, but negativity draws negativity. Deep inside ourselves we hold the key. If we are of a positive nature, full of love & out giving, it shows on the outside. The same goes for those who are negative.
We cannot give true. open love & kindness if we are filled with bitterness, anger, hate, self indulgence or any other negative action, thought or reaction. We need to rid ourselves from these things before we can produce the good elements.
We don't need to fight to get rid of that which is undesirable but rather, each day, each night set yourself aside, quietly, thinking on that which makes you happy, satisfied, loved, full filled. Concentrate on only that which is good. Give thanks to for those good things in life.
Turn your eyes away from the stress, the problems of the day. Think only on the good, the pleasant, the loving times in life. Be thankful until you actually feel the negativity melting away, the love slowly flowing in.
I'm not saying it will be easy, especially the first time you try it, but believe me, it works if you keep at it. Refuse to allow the negativity to touch you. Refuse to be apart of it at all.
Accept only that which makes you smile inside,. Accept that which is only good & kind inside. Look deep within yourself. Under all that stress, all that pain or whatever you're feeling lies love, pure love.
You may say, " I can't feel any love. That's alright. Understand one thing. We are all created in love spiritually, created through love spiritually & from love spiritually. We may experience trials in the physical, but we can over come them by searching for that love. By learning to open up to love.
Underneath all those trails, all those tears, all that anger or pain lies love. We can't get away from it. It is such a part of us because we are created ' Love".
How can we escape that which we are ?
Reach out, give thanks, feel the sadness disappear the hurt mend, the anger vanish just by reaching inside yourself, reaching down for love which you possess.
It cannot be destroyed. It is us. It is who we are inside. The hate, the pain, the stress or sadness are reactions from out side forces in our lives that are affecting us. They do not have to have control of our lives if we refuse to allow them that right.
Keep bringing your thoughts back to what you want & that is joy, love peace, happiness.
Refuse those ugly thoughts to burden you down, to weigh you down. They are not apart of who you are. They are but a byproduct of life & we DO NOT have to accept them.
When we learn to bring joy back into our lives, we will, if we keep giving thanks for what we really want, what our true desires are we will see our desires come to pass in our lives. But, we must never give up in watching for it, in seeking for it.
Be thankful for what you desire even before you have received it as if you already have it in your life. Believe it's there with you now in your life. Hold onto it & never let go. It's your answer.
Don't allow anyone or anything to rob you of it for your life.
When we send out negativity, negativity returns to us in like manner. In other words, what we send out will eventually return in our lives. If we send out the positive thoughts, feelings of love, we will experience the same returning to us in like form.
Our desires, our loves, in our lives can & will be made manifested if we look to the answers as to being thankful for our lives, thankful for what we have & what we want in & through life.
Be honest with yourself. You have to want the change to take place. You, yourself have to want your life to be better, to be more peaceful, more caring,more joyful in circumstances.
We may not like what life throws at us, but we do not have to be beaten down by it. We can still hold our heads high, looking for & to the answers for our lives.
If we can't see the answers, simply ask for guidance from your source, being thankful that the answer is there for you. It just has to be revealed.
I believe that before we came here to planet Earth, our answers were already prepared for us. All we needed was the proper time to ask for that which already exists.
We can wallow in self pity or we can take a stand & ask, trusting for the help we need & see what we need materialize in our lives. I prefer to ask my higher power for help, believe that
I'm not alone in my struggles, keep my eyes on the answer that I know will come in the right time & joyfully give thanks each & every day for the change, the love, the fulfillment in my life that I desire.
Reach out, give thanks, learn to be thankful for your life. The bi products are secondary. They can be dealt with. The most important thing in your life, to make your life, to shape your life is inside you. Look within. You will find the answer.
It is my greatest desire & prayer that you will find the keys to your life. That love shall be with you in all things & that joy, prosperity, peace & love shall always be your constant companions.
Blessings,
Dalton ( Makwa)
If you have an questions, & would like a personal reply please feel free to contact me at:
makwawebsites@yahoo.ca
or
leave a comment if you like on the site.
" Knowing that you have working with you a force ( love & gratitude), which never yet has failed in anything it has undertaken, you can go ahead in the confident knowledge that it will not fail in your case either."
Robert Collier ( 1885 - 1950)
