ECOLOGY & SPIRITUALITY

As part of our regular Satsang Meetings we look at a variety of Spiritual Practices and issues.At our recent Day of Reflection we looked at Ecology and Spirituality. One of our areas was the contribution of Native American Spirituality. The following two prayers were used to aid our time for personal reflection

Native American Prayers for the Earth



UTE FAMILY & DWELLING

The Native American Ute peoples are part of the Uto-Aztec peoples  of the Americas .No-one knows there exact origin. However, from about 1500 they were known to occupy the South Western Part of the United States, in present day UTAH, Colorado and New Mexico.

Like many of the Indigenous  peoples of North America, and  in common with the many Aboriginal peoples of the world, the Ute people had a spirituality that was rooted in Nature and in their understanding of the land, the environment, their inter-connectedness with all  creation and  their sense of the  In- Dwelling Presence of the Spirit.

The following is a typical prayer from their Spiritual Tradition.

Earth, Teach Me

Earth teach me quiet - as the grasses are still with new light.
Earth teach me suffering - as old stones suffer with memory.
Earth teach me humility - as blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth teach me caring - as mothers nurture their young.
Earth teach me courage - as the tree that stands alone.
Earth teach me limitation - as the ant that crawls on the ground.
Earth teach me freedom - as the eagle that soars in the sky.
Earth teach me acceptance - as the leaves that die each fall.
Earth teach me renewal - as the seed that rises in the spring.
Earth teach me to forget myself - as melted snow forgets its life.
Earth teach me to remember kindness - as dry fields weep with rain.                                                    

An Ute Prayer

 The following is a prayer from the Iroquois Native American Tradition. These were a peoples who occupied the North Eastern Part of North America, in Modern day New York and up the Quebec.  Like all of the Native American peoples, the Iroquois have a profound and deep reverence for Creation and its wonderful diversity of nature, creatures and peoples.

Thanksgiving

We return thanks to our mother, the earth, which sustains us.

We return thanks to the rivers and streams, which supply us with water.

We return thanks to all herbs, which furnish medicines for the cure of our diseases.

We return thanks to the moon and stars, which have given to us their light when the sun was gone.

We return thanks to the sun, that has looked upon the earth with a beneficent eye.

Lastly, we return thanks to the Great Spirit, in Whom is embodied all goodness,
and Who directs all things for the good of Her children.

Iroquois