’tis the season of things falling away

of the great turning and looking within

all the while smiling thank you, thank you, thank you

~

today’s almost full moon in taurus of rebirth provides a perfect backdrop for celebrating thanksgiving and with everyday being a day of gratitude on our earth mother, may we all be filled with Wopida Tanka, Great Thanksgiving, every day for the boundless gifts always being showered upon us…

 “Each day has a moment of eternity waiting for you. Each day has a portal, a threshold, a liminal moment in which everything could open up and reveal itself to the eye that can see.” ~William Blake ~

here’s a long moment of eternity for us to share and a onederful practice to begin and end the day with, a wonder-filled way to luxuriate in reverence and devocean in the river below the river, in the deep stillness of the running wave where the dance of life begins…

Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address Greetings to the Natural World

The People

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.

Now our minds are one.

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.

The Waters

We give thanks to all the waters of the world for quenching our thirst and providing us with strength. Water is life. We know its power in many forms- waterfalls and rain, mists and streams, rivers and oceans. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the spirit of Water.

Now our minds are one.

The Fish

We turn our minds to the all the Fish life in the water. They were instructed to cleanse and purify the water. They also give themselves to us as food. We are grateful that we can still find pure water. So, we turn now to the Fish and send our greetings and thanks.

Now our minds are one.

The Plants

Now we turn toward the vast fields of Plant life. As far as the eye can see, the Plants grow, working many wonders. They sustain many life forms. With our minds gathered together, we give thanks and look forward to seeing Plant life for many generations to come.

Now our minds are one.

The Food Plants

With one mind, we turn to honor and thank all the Food Plants we harvest from the garden. Since the beginning of time, the grains, vegetables, beans and berries have helped the people survive. Many other living things draw strength from them too. We gather all the Plant Foods together as one and send them a greeting of thanks.

Now our minds are one.

The Medicine Herbs

Now we turn to all the Medicine herbs of the world. From the beginning they were instructed to take away sickness. They are always waiting and ready to heal us. We are happy there are still among us those special few who remember how to use these plants for healing. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the Medicines and to the keepers of the Medicines.

Now our minds are one.

The Animals

We gather our minds together to send greetings and thanks to all the Animal life in the world. They have many things to teach us as people. We are honored by them when they give up their lives so we may use their bodies as food for our people. We see them near our homes and in the deep forests. We are glad they are still here and we hope that it will always be so.

 Now our minds are one

The Trees

We now turn our thoughts to the Trees. The Earth has many families of Trees who have their own instructions and uses. Some provide us with shelter and shade, others with fruit, beauty and other useful things. Many people of the world use a Tree as a symbol of peace and strength. With one mind, we greet and thank the Tree life.

Now our minds are one.

The Birds

We put our minds together as one and thank all the Birds who move and fly about over our heads. The Creator gave them beautiful songs. Each day they remind us to enjoy and appreciate life. The Eagle was chosen to be their leader. To all the Birds-from the smallest to the largest-we send our joyful greetings and thanks.

Now our minds are one.

 The Four Winds

We are all thankful to the powers we know as the Four Winds. We hear their voices in the moving air as they refresh us and purify the air we breathe. They help us to bring the change of seasons. From the four directions they come, bringing us messages and giving us strength. With one mind, we send our greetings and thanks to the Four Winds.

Now our minds are one.

 The Thunderers

Now we turn to the west where our grandfathers, the Thunder Beings, live. With lightning and thundering voices, they bring with them the water that renews life. We are thankful that they keep those evil things made by Okwiseres underground. We bring our minds together as one to send greetings and thanks to our Grandfathers, the Thunderers.

Now our minds are one.

 The Sun

We now send greetings and thanks to our eldest Brother, the Sun. Each day without fail he travels the sky from east to west, bringing the light of a new day. He is the source of all the fires of life. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to our Brother, the Sun.

Now our minds are one.

 Grandmother Moon

We put our minds together to give thanks to our oldest Grandmother, the Moon, who lights the night-time sky. She is the leader of woman all over the world, and she governs the movement of the ocean tides. By her changing face we measure time, and it is the Moon who watches over the arrival of children here on Earth. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to our Grandmother, the Moon.

 Now our minds are one.

The Stars

We give thanks to the Stars who are spread across the sky like jewelry. We see them in the night, helping the Moon to light the darkness and bringing dew to the gardens and growing things. When we travel at night, they guide us home. With our minds gathered together as one, we send greetings and thanks to the Stars.

Now our minds are one.

The Enlightened Teachers

We gather our minds to greet and thank the enlightened Teachers who have come to help throughout the ages. When we forget how to live in harmony, they remind us of the way we were instructed to live as people. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to these caring teachers.

 Now our minds are one.

The Creator

Now we turn our thoughts to the Creator, or Great Spirit, and send greetings and thanks for all the gifts of Creation. Everything we need to live a good life is here on this Mother Earth. For all the love that is still around us, we gather our minds together as one and send our choicest words of greetings and thanks to the Creator.

 Now our minds are one.

Closing Words

We have now arrived at the place where we end our words. Of all the things we have named, it was not our intention to leave anything out. If something was forgotten, we leave it to each individual to send such greetings and thanks in their own way.

Now our minds are one.

~

let us close this ceremony with the lotus of gratitude meditation by curling all fingers close to the heart and one by one uncurl a finger like a lotus petal rising from the mud and sound a gratitude for this moment continuing until all fingers are unfurled like a beautiful lotus in full bloom  with its roots grounded in the mud…. now, weave your fingers together and place them on your heart for all of the bounteous thanksgivings to enrich the core of being, our one great heart…

“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.”

~  Meister Eckhart ~

~

“Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings.”

~ the Dalai Lama ~

~

the cosmic hum reminds me daily, of late, about the importance of the only practice we need – repeating the name of the only one of us here – which brings us into true nature polishing the mirror of our one heart… after a decade of running a continuous chant of thank you, thank you, thank you, today, on the eve of the feast of one of our consciousness carriers of great mother energy, Mary Magdalene, i real-eyes the name for me is thank you and the name thank you has been polishing the mirror of our one cosmic heart for some 3650ish days cataly-sing a flowering field of miracles and holy synchronicities as more and more of the clouded surface has been windexed to reveal the central sun that always shines…

let us join together in this moment of eternity as peacemakers of the earth mother/sky father following the teachings of the Great Peacemaker who a thousand years ago came across the Great Lake Onondaga, now known as Lake Ontario, in a stone canoe to the warring six-nation confederacy of the Haudenosaunee… gradually, his words and actions won the people over, they accepted the Great Law of Peace, buried their weapons (hatchets) under the Peace Tree by Lake Onondaga and formed councils for making wise choices together… let us take this moment of eternity as still does the Onondaga Nation, whose name means Keepers of the Central Fire, to enter sacred space with some quintessential prayers of thanksgiving, singing of the name bringing us into the oneness we are…

~

THE PEOPLE
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 give greetings and thanks to each other as people.
Now our minds are one.
~
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.
~
THE ENLIGHTENED TEACHERS
We gather our minds to greet and thank the enlightened teachers who have come to help throughout the ages. When we forget how to live in harmony, they remind us of the way we were instructed to live as people. We send greetings and thanks to these caring teachers.
Now our minds are one.
~
THE CREATOR
Now we turn our thoughts to the creator, or great spirit, and send greetings and thanks for all the gifts of creation. Everything we need to live a good life is here on this Mother Earth. For all the love that is still around us, we gather our minds together as one and send our choicest words of greetings and thanks to the creator.
Now our minds are one.
~
CLOSING WORDS
We have now arrived at the place where we end our words. of all the things we have named, it was not our intention to leave anything out. If something was forgotten, we leave it to each individual to send such greetings and thanks in their own way.
Now our minds are one.

~

with Thanksgiving Day rapidly approaching in the USA and everyday being a day of gratitude on our earth mother, may we all be filled with Wopida Tanka, Great Thanksgiving, for this day that came into being thanks to the compassion of the indigenous for the colonists’ suffering… may we all be filled with Wopida Tanka, Great Thanksgiving, every day for the boundless gifts always being showered upon us…

let us dance and sing these sacred words together…

~

“Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be worthy of the trust of your friends and relatives, and look upon them with a bright and friendly face. Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer of the cry of the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of your pledge.

Be fair in your judgment, and guarded in your speech. Be unjust to no one. Be as a lamp to them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, and a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression.

Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all your acts. Be a home for the stranger, a balm to the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive. Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring.

Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of humankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility.“

~The Blessed Beauty~
(The Spiritual Teacher who revealed this Sacred Teaching, also known as the Ancient of Days)

~

let us close with the lotus of gratitude meditation by curling all fingers close to the heart and one by one uncurl a finger like a lotus petal rising from the mud and sound a gratitude for this moment continuing until all fingers are unfurled like a beautiful lotus in full bloom  with its roots grounded in the mud…. now, weave your fingers together and place them on your heart for all of the bounteous thanksgivings to enrich the core of being, our one great heart…

being thanks with every breath for gratitude is the greatest and parent of all virtues…

with Thanksgiving Day rapidly approaching in the USA and everyday being a day of gratitude on our earth mother, may we all be filled with Wopida Tanka, Great Thanksgiving, for this day that came into being thanks to the compassion of the indigenous for the colonists’suffering… may we all be filled with Wopida Tanka, Great Thanksgiving, every day for the boundless gifts always being showered upon us…

~

let us dance and sing these sacred words together…

~

Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be worthy of the trust of your friends and relatives, and look upon them with a bright and friendly face. Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer of the cry of the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of your pledge.

Be fair in your judgment, and guarded in your speech. Be unjust to no one. Be as a lamp to them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, and a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression.

Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all your acts. Be a home for the stranger, a balm to the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive. Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring.

Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of humankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility.

~The Blessed Beauty~
(The Spiritual Teacher who revealed this Sacred Teaching, also known as the Ancient of Days)

~

let us close with the lotus of gratitude meditation by curling all fingers close to the heart and one by one uncurl a finger like a lotus petal rising from the mud and sound a gratitude for this moment continuing until all fingers are unfurled like a beautiful lotus in full bloom  with its roots grounded in the mud…. now, weave your fingers together and place them on your heart for all of the bounteous thanksgivings to enrich the core of being, our one great heart…

~

being thanks with every breath for gratitude is the greatest and parent of all virtues…