God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
the courage to change the things I can;
and the wisdom to know the difference.
the serenity prayer - alcoholics anonymous - reinhold niebuhr
I am a shooting star woman, says
I am a shooting star woman, says
I am a whirling woman of colors, says
I am a whirling woman of colors, says
I am a clean woman, says
I am a clean woman, says
I am a woman who whistles, says
I am a woman who looks into the insides of things, says
I am a woman who investigates, says
I am a woman wise in medicine, says
I am a mother woman, says
Holy Father, says
I am a woman wise in medicine, says
I bring my lord eagle, says
I bring my opossum, says
I bring my lord eagle, says
I bring my whirlwind of colors, says
Father in heaven, says
Saint Christ, says
Father scribe, says
I am a spirit woman, says
I am a woman of light, says
I am a woman of the day, says
I am a Book woman, says
Holy Father, says
I am a saint woman, says
I am a spirit woman, says
I am a woman who looks into the insides of things, says
I am a whirling woman of colors, says
Holy Father, says
With the saint, says
With the saintess, says
Holy Mother, says
I am a spirit woman, says
I am a saint woman, says
I am a Lord eagle woman, says
mesoamerican indian - mazatec - maria sabina
O our Father, the Sky, hear us
and make us strong.
O our Mother, the Earth, hear us
and give us support.
O Spirit of the East,
send us your Wisdom.
O Spirit of the South,
may we tread your path.
O Spirit of the West,
may we always be ready for the long journey.
O Spirit of the North, purify us
with your cleansing winds.
american indian - sioux
I desire neither earthly kingdom
nor even freedom from birth and death.
I desire only the deliverance from grief
of all those afflicted by misery.
Oh Lord, lead us from the unreal to the real
This is a song only the Apache elders and shaman/medicine wo/men have used for all these 80 or more years and now I am passing it to you, Mr. Two Feathers!" He concluded, "Be wise with whom you use it with and to whom you pass it along to, for it is a sacred song."
Now I give this to you, my Soma Friends and Family, hoping you will be cautious with them and regard them sacred.
t2f
It is the English translation of "The zee tsa lit ni Song";
The Friendship Prayer Song
""I stand inside a circle wo/man, they say
Long life in a circle, it is made, they say
Inside in a circle, dances, long life they say
Having been prepared he walks like good friends, they say
A blanket underneath, mother earth rests
Earth on top of, people scattered about,
their talk good, their thoughts good, their laughter good,
their property of all kinds, good, uncountable
Having been prepared he walks, they say
Long life like, good chief never he trouble
Having been, he walks, they say.""
~Apache
Johnny said that this song, along with others, has been hidden from view for over 80 years from Western culture. The songs were recorded once by a BIA Agent according to his grandfather around 1910 when he was very young, and the name the Shaman who sang this song had long been dead. And as in the Lipan Apache (or N'de-tinde), for all Apache Tribes, this tradition as he Johnny shared with me came from someone who's name is not allowed to be spoken in public.
Johnny said "my grandfather shared this song along with others with his own children when they all came to visit once a year, and because we came with our father, we as well were privilege to it as small children around an open fire every year when we would come and visit for a month.
This is a song only the Apache elders and shaman/medicine wo/men have used for all these 80 or more years and now I am passing it to you, Mr. Two Feathers!" He concluded, "Be wise with whom you use it with and to whom you pass it along to, for it is a sacred song."
Now I give this to you, my Soma Friends and Family, hoping you will be cautious with them and regard them sacred.
t2f
Hear Me
Hear me, four quarters of the world-- a relative I am! Give me the strength to walk the soft earth. Give me the eyes to see and the strength to understand, that I may be like you. With your power only can I face the winds. Great Spirit...all over the earth the faces of living things are all alike. With tenderness have these come up out of the ground. Look upon these faces of children without number and with children in their arms, that they may face the winds and walk the good road to the day of quiet. This is my prayer hear me!
Black Elk, Sioux Indian
Promise me,
promise me this day,
promise me now,
while the sun is overhead
exactly at the zenith,
promise me:
Even as they
strike you down
with a mountain of hatred and violence;
even as they step on you and crush you
like a worm,
even as they dismember and disembowel you,
remember, brother,
remember:
man is not our enemy.
The only thing worthy of you is compassion –
invincible, limitless, unconditional.
Hatred will never let you face
the beast in man.
One day, when you face this beast alone,
with your courage intact, your eyes kind,
untroubled
(even as no one sees them),
out of your smile
will bloom a flower.
And those who love you
will behold you
across ten thousand worlds of birth and dying.
Alone again,
I will go on with bent head,
knowing that love has become eternal.
On the long, rough road,
the sun and the moon
will continue to shine.
recommendation - thich nhat hanh - 1965
The reflections are many,
but they are each reflecting the same sun.
Similarly, when we come to know who we truly are,
we will see ourselves in all people.
I can't recall why I know about Maxine Hong Kingston, but her name is very familiar for some reason.