Haudenosaunee* Thanksgiving Address
Greetings to the Natural World.
Part 1.
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.
The Earth Mother
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.
Check out my comments on this on Today’s World page.
*The confederacy, made up of the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas. Indigenous peoples of North America.
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Peace…
Peace is not just cessation of war. It is personal tranquillity and mental calm; it creates a state of friendliness to replace strife which brings joy and fulfilment in life. The application of mental direction of thought is used effectively for healing, so why not for peace within self and throughout the world? Use your ‘Spirit in Action’ to make a difference.
SNU Philosophy and Teachings.
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How Insignificant We Are.
Before I was six years old, and my grandparents and had taught me that if all the green things that grow were taken from the earth, there could be no life. If all the four-legged creatures were taken from the earth, there could be no life. If all the winged creatures were taken from the earth, there could be no life. If all our relatives who crawl and swim and live within the earth were taken away, there could be no life. But if all the human beings were taken away, life on earth would flourish. That is how insignificant we are.”
Russell Means, Oglala Lakota Nation (November 10, 1939 – October 22, 2012).
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THE TRAIN OF LIFE.
“At birth, we board the train and meet our parents, and we believe they will always travel by our side.
As time goes by, other people will board the train; and they will be significant i.e. our siblings, friends, children, and even the love of your life.
However, at some station our parents will step down from the train, leaving us on this journey alone.
Others will step down over time and leave a permanent vacuum.
Some, however, will go so unnoticed that we don’t realise they vacated their seats.
This train ride will be full of joy, sorrow, fantasy, expectations, hellos, goodbyes, and farewells.
Success consists of having a good relationship with all passengers requiring that we give the best of ourselves.
The mystery to everyone is: We do not know at which station we ourselves will step down.
So, we must live in the best way, love, forgive, and offer the best of who we are.
It is important to do this because when the time comes for us to step down and leave our seat empty, we should leave behind beautiful memories for those who will continue to travel on the train of life.
I wish you all a joyful journey.”
Unknown.
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Obviously selfish requests cannot be called prayers because they have no real value. No one in the realms beyond your earth is interested in purely selfish requests that want more possessions, more money or more houses. These will not add one iota to your spiritual nature or increase your mental development.
Silver Birch.
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In all things Spiritual our 5th Principle reigns supreme – “Personal Responsibility”.
Tom Johnston.
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A frog does not drink up the pond in which it lives.
American Indian proverb.
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Look to the old, they are worthy of old age; they have seen their days and proven themselves. With the help of the Great Spirit, they have attained a ripe old age. At this age the old can predict or give knowledge or wisdom, whatever it is, it is so.
Black Elk.
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Stress, anxiety and depression are caused when we are living to please others.
Paulo Coelho
If you are open-minded and ready to learn, there are many things which you can learn. Not only from books and instructors but form the very life experience itself.
Haile Selassie.
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“Perhaps they are not stars in the sky, but rather openings where our loved ones shine down to let us know they are happy.
Eskimo saying.
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To be spiritual is not by praying and going to church.
Spiritualism is the understanding of the universe so that it can be a better place to live in.
Fela Kuti.
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“When you like a flower, you just pluck it. But when you love a flower, you water it daily.”
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Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.
Robert Louis Stevenson
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Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.
Warren Buffet.
A lot of the problems we face to day is because of lack of forward planning.
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Let us sacrifice our today so that our children can have a better tomorrow.
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.
If all who have sacrificed a little today it could mean there will be a tomorrow.
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Faith is like Taking the first step when you don’t see the whole of the staircase.
Martin Luther King Jr.
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Much of what we take for granted- someone else is praying for.
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We should all think on those words the next time we waste clean drinking water and food etc
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Do not regret growing older it is a privilege denied to many…
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The real differences around the world today are not between Jews and Arabs; Protestants and Catholics; Muslims, Croats, and Serbs. The real differences are between those who embrace peace and those who would destroy it; between those who look to the future and those who cling to the past; between those who open their arms and those who are determined to clench their fists. ~William J. Clinton, 1997
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Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world…would do this, it would change the earth.
William Faulkner.
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Religion and football seem to bring out the worst in people. Just look at the violence that has been committed in the name of religion and the violence surrounding football. Take both religion and football out of the equation and would be able to have a more peaceful planet? I doubt it as mankind would find other things to bring out their violent streak.
Tom Johnston
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“Life is so short, we should all move slowly.” Winter affords us the opportunity to physically slow down. It is hard to walk through snow and when we are walking on ice, we must watch our steps carefully. Take a meditative walk down the block where you live and be thankful for winter and the chance to move slowly through the world.
Thich Nhat Hanh, the Zen monk
Between individuals, as between nations, peace means respect for the rights of others.
Benito Juarez, Zapoteca (1806-1872
Autumn is a second Spring when every leaf is a flower.
Albert Camus.
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Never look down on anyone unless you are helping them up.
Jesse Jackson
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In Spiritualism there should be no one thinking they are better than anyone else, we are all part of a team The committee, medium, healers, congregation, we are all looked upon as the same by the spirit world, so why should we look down on anyone?
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Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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“Patience” – something that so many of the human races lack these days.
Even in our religion, so much is fast tracked at the present time. Instead of taking time to gain knowledge of our own abilities and of the spirit world, so much seems to be geared towards forced-growth. As we all know, vegetables that are not given time to slowly mature, lack taste. When we race through development circles our mind does not have time to grow and develop, slowly gaining knowledge one step at a time, like a plant produces leaf after leaf before it buds and flowers. Knowledge and experience is never gained by rushing – but by having patience.
I look on Spiritualism as the “quiet religion”.
A religion that is based on Seven Principles. Principles were not intended to be binding rules or the basis of a dogma but to provide a moral and ethical framework upon which people can base their lives.
A religion that does not complain in the media about government policies or how certain groups of people lead their lives.”
A religion that does not push leaflets through letterboxes, nor its members stop people in the street.
A religion that does not tell its members if they don’t attend church each week that they will not be allowed entry to the Spirit World.
Tom Johnston
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We never know the worth of water till the well goes dry.
A Scottish Proverb.
We can pity those who have to walk miles each day for water, but we can never know what it is like for someone in that position, unless we experience everyday living with almost no water. Maybe we should try walking four miles to a supermarket for four litres of water, and on returning home let the family use only the water in those bottles for twenty-four-hours. Then retrace your steps to the supermarket the following morning and go through the same procedure again. . I doubt many of us would last the first 24-hours without turning on a tap.
I know the proverb is only using “water” as an example for so many things in our lives that we take for granted, maybe we should all take time to take stock of what we use and abuse each day without thinking. .
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“Freedom from fear” could be said to sum up the whole philosophy of human rights.
Dag Hammarskjold the second Secretary-General of the United Nations.
We all have our “fears, and fear can manifest its self in so many ways, making it impossible for many to have any reasonable quality of life.
There is the fear of the threat from others in our communities … where many fear when darkness falls and they wait for the next stone or brick to hit their window. Those who go out every morning praying that their car has not been vandalized.
There are financial fears, where no matter how hard one works they are in constant fear if they will be able to pay that next bill that pops through their letterbox or that they will be in a job the following week.
The fear of health problems both mental and physical.
And there is the fear of death… Whether it is our own demise or that of another, death has troubled all our minds at some time or other. Let us hope that our Spiritualist churches can be a little oasis, taking the fear from the minds of those who enter. Not only from getting a message from a loved one that has passed over to the spirit world, but also in our philosophy, spiritual healing, friendly greeting and understanding. Hopefully we can plant a seed in the minds of those who fear death, that it may only be moving on to a different phase in our eternal lives, and although we may be parted from loved ones for a short time, we will eventually meet up again.
When all the trees have been cut down,
when all the animals have been hunted,
when all the waters are polluted,
when all the air is unsafe to breathe,
only then will you discover you cannot eat money.
Cree Prophecy
Yet man did not listen to these wise words….But all is not lost… We all can play our part;
With recycling all we can…
Stop taking short unnecessary journeys by car if we are fit.
Turn our central heating down a degree or two.
Turning of lights when we are not in the room [T1] .
Don’t take the water that runs from our taps for granted – treat it as a precious resource.
We can cut out waste in our lives…If we all play our part we can at first… STOP… and then hopefully… reverse… the damage that has been done to our planet.
Let we Spiritualists play our part in saving Planet Earth
Remember the saying “Tall oaks from little acorns grow”.
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Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend – or a meaningful day.
— Dalai Lama
Each day we see someone new enter our churches, some to stay, and others to move on… For those who move on I hope that we have helped them in some small way, that their brief visit has been meaningful.