The traditional worldview of our Ancestors was one based upon the acceptance that we are sacred beings placed upon a nurturing Mother planet, by an all-powerful and loving Creator. They taught that all of life is sacred and that each living being had a spirit. Each living thing deserved respect in reverence to the Creator, maker of all things, therefore connected to all things. How can we use this traditional framework or philosophy to help us travel along the path of peace in the ego-dominated world of today?

It is possible now to use this sacred teaching as a standard for living. First of all, start by opening your mind and heart – your entire being- to receive the Great Spirit’s love in full measure. So many people today limp through life starved for love, because they haven’t learned how to accept and receive love. If we learn how to receive the unconditional Love of the Creator, no other form of acceptance is needed for us to live a peaceful life.

This step requires an act of faith; believing that the Great Sprit loves us with boundless, everlasting Love. Learning to receive is also a discipline, a training of your mind to trust the Creator, coming close to the Great Spirit with confidence. In this way, by accepting and knowing love ourselves; we can see others in this light as well.

Remember to purify yourself before prayer, and spend time in the study of love and peace. Claim dominion over your mind and focus your thoughts in the direction of faith, discipline, and training. You can learn to override the ideas sent your way from unclean spirits that have fed lies for generations to our People. Learn to recognize deceptive intrusion into your thoughts. A favorite deception of the enemy of Love is to undermine your confidence in the Creator’s unconditional Love.

Fight back against these lies! Do not let them go unchallenged. Spiritual warfare is active across Native America and we must resist the dark plague of generations. This plague manifests among our People as broken souls filled with disease, dysfunction, and oppression. We can learn to bring to light the sacred teachings of our Ancestors. There is an Obsidian stone known as the Apache Tear and it can be seen as a source of inspiration because even the darkest stone, when held up to the light, is overcome with illumination. Draw near to the Great Spirit, and His Presence will envelop you in Love.

“We should understand well that all things are the works of the Great Spirit. We should know that He is within all things: the trees, the grasses, the rivers, the mountains, and all the four-legged animals, and the winged peoples, and even more important, we should understand that He is also above all these things and peoples. When we do understand all this deeply in our hearts, then we will fear, and love, and know the Great Spirit, and then we will be and act and live as He intends.” - Black Elk, Oglala Sioux