In the Spiritual World there is a spiritual Law. The Law says like attracts like. This means whatever mental picture we hold inside our minds we will attract from the Universe. To make this Law work we must maintain a constant picture. If we picture or vision something, and along with this picture we have doubting thoughts, our vision will not happen and we will get EXACTLY what we picture or vision. The Law always works. A doubting vision will not materialize what we want. A vision without doubt will always happen. This is a spiritual Law.

The family is the seed of the future. The family is the key to the transfer of cultural information. We should really take a look at how we are looking at our families. Are we treating each family member with respect? Are we passing on the traditional ways? Are we teaching the old songs? Are we participating in the ceremonies? Are we showing the family members how to pray? Are we encouraging each family member to be spiritual? Think about these things today.

From battlefields to backstreets and bedrooms, women across the world are being subjected to terrifying levels of abususe. We can't sit back and say it's not our problem... these are our sisters.

Did You Know?:
About 25,000 brides are burned to death each year in India because of insufficient dowries. The groom's family will set the bride on fire, presenting it as an accident or suicide. The groom is then free to remarry.

One in every three women in the world (up to a billion), have been beaten, forced to have sex or otherwise abused, often by a friend or family member.

In a number of countries, women who have been raped are sometimes killed by their own families to preserve the family's honor. Honor killings have been reported in Jordan, Pakistan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and other Persian Gulf countries.

According to the World Health Organization, more than 135 million girls and women had undergone female circumcision, and the number is rising at a rate of two million a year. Today, this practice is carried out in 28 African countries, despite the fact that it is outlawed in a number of these nations.

Rape as a weapon of war has been used in Chiapas, Mexico; Rwanda, Kuwait, Haiti, Colombia, Yugoslavia, and elsewhere.

Each year two million girls between the ages of five and 15 are forced into prostitution and the traffic in women is currently (03/04) worth up to $7 billion a year.

In the United States, a woman is beaten by her husband or partner an average of every 15 seconds and a woman is raped every 90 seconds, while in France 25,000 women are raped each year.

In sub-Saharan Africa, the epicenter of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, nearly 60 percent of infected people were women - a rising trend exacerbated by the belief in some countries that raping a virgin would cure the perpetrator of the disease.

Educate yourself. Contact your representatives often.
Vote! Fight! Keep going until it's done!

"We once thought you people came to live with us. You still could have that chance. We're still here, and we live on this land. We don't live in your libraries in the pages of your books. This project is not for digging up our pottery-or for digging up our bones, for that matter. It's not even for digging up data and statistics about us. We have a long surviving and sacred tradition and an experiential wisdom that's been passed on for more centuries than you people can imagine. This is your chance to benefit from that. All you have to do is be quiet and listen and quit worrying about proving and believing. I want this to happen because this is still our home here, and you are our guests here-and because you still do not understand our home and you are spoiling it."

Why do you believe the things you do? Do you believe, as I do, that to walk in a balanced way that you have to have physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual aspects to your way of life? If so, in the spiritual catagory, why do you believe the way you do? I suggest to you that if your answer is either "because that's the way I was brought up" or "because the Bible tells me so", that you have not done your personal spiritual work to arrive at a healthy place for yourself. It is important that our faith speaks to our own spirit, and that the way we celebrate ourselves and Life is a good way that honors the Creator (rather than one we have been given through our birth to a particular family or into a specific country).

Even though there are many paths into the Garden (i.e., Creator has many faces, many names)... following any one path of faith without having thought it out, prayed about it, studied its history, etc. is a shallow, lazy way to walk that will never give you the opportunity to fully feel a part of All-That-Is. How can you truly say I am a Christian, or a Buddhist or any other faith if you have not shown yourself in these ways to be serious about your beliefs?

As a woman of mixed heritage who follows the Red Road, I practice my spirituality by taking care of the Land and my older brothers and sisters - the animals and birds. I work to be a good example to my fellow two-leggeds, and honor the Elders in a real world sense. I honor my Lodge and my Country and our Mother Earth. I praise Creator for the lessons he sends me in hard times, and praise Creator for the joy he sends me in good times.

For those of you on the Red Road, I honor you. Ours is not an easy way to walk... but there are so many benefits that I know that as you study and pray and go to the Elders for direction, that you will find every aspect of your life blessed. Remember to always (every time) offer sage or tobacco to the Elders when you approach them for teachings. Remember also to always (every time) bring sage or tobacco to your Lodge Keepers when you sit in Circle with them. In this, the traditional way, you show them respect for all they do.

"Perhaps someday we will come to regard our children not as creatures to manipulate or to change but rather as messengers from a world we once deeply knew but which we have long since forgotten, who can reveal to us more about the true secrets of life, and also our own lives, than our parents were ever able to."

WOMEN PLAYING THE BIG DRUM
In the twenty-first century, as Indigenous cultures continued to adapt, evolve and move forward, and given the fact that women are taking back the drum which is their right to do because of the lack of leadership shown by Native men, it is becoming more common to see women big drum groups at powwows. This is a slow evolution because of the fierce patrilineal protection of turf (unfortunately learned behaviour by Native Men). There has been animosity and outright refusal to allow women drum groups to participate at certain powwows and other events.

Ms Thunderbird says, "Get with it, times have changed, women's voices must be heard by whatever means if Mother Earth has any chance of survival."

It is our Sacred Duty to Learn and Share.
We are Wisdom Keepers.

Sweet Grass: Sweet grass is as it sounds, a scent that is sweet and pleasant when burned as incense in a braid or thrown loose on a fire. It is used to honor the Wakan Tanka and bring blessings to those in prayer, while at the same time sending prayers above on the rising smoke, as the Great Spirit understands this language better than words. In addition to prayer it can be used for purification and for healing.

Sweet grass was introduced to the people by Okaga, the south wind. It grows in the plains and mountains and can reach five feet in height. It is cut and most commonly braided.

Sage: Burning sage sends a more bittersweet smell into the air when it is used in many different prayer and sacred rituals or for purification. It is used on the floor of the sweatlodge, as the base of a vision quest bed, in medicine bundles or at the buffalo skull altar. It is said burning sage keeps evil away.

Tate the wind, son of Skan, the sky, is said to get his power from sage. The silver-leaf sage plant is the incense of the seven sacred rituals, and while used in almost every ceremony, sage is particularly important within the Sundance. The dancers chew sage to alleviate their thirst and wear crowns made from the sage plant.

Tobacco: Tobacco is smoked in the scared pipe, also rising to the sky as a visible prayer or breath on the wind. Tobacco offerings are made by taking a small amount of tobacco and wrapping it in tiny squares of colored cloth of the four sacred colors. These tobacco tie offerings are made to stand for a promise or request made to Wakan Tanka.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
- Margaret Mead

Teach the People Better

---

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."
- Will Rogers

Skophipa from the Kalispel People

HEALERS (Medicine Women)
Plains Indians used various wild berries and herbal plants in ceremonial rites that celebrated the gift of life from Mother Earth and the continuation of its people. The women gathered herbal plants and stored them for seasoning or flavoring and for medicinal purposes in healing. The knowledge of herbal medicine was not confined to the women, but generally women seemed to be more familiar with various herbal potions and brews. In some tribes, a woman - usually the wife of a medicine man - learned secrets in healing natural illness with herbs by assisting the medicine man. In other tribal communities women learned the art of doctoring with herbs from their mothers and grandmothers. In general, if a woman inherited the right to become a medicine woman, her powers still had to be validated by a dream in which a spirit, in the form of a human, an animal, or perhaps just a voice, gave her personal knowledge. Women who had the gift for curing spent considerable time wandering around the areas surrounding their encampment, gathering herbs and other natural ingredients to prepare their medicines. In most Plains tribes, a medicine woman was not allowed to practice by herself until she reached middle age and older. The power to heal usually remained with a woman until her death.

Like her male counterpart, a medicine woman was considered by early Plains Indians to have a special connection to the spirit world and that link is what empowered her to heal. Emotional afflictions required supernatural remedies to recapture the soul. Generally all healers called upon the aid of an ally from the spirit world to guide them in curing illness. Plains Indians believed that both physical and emotional illness reflect an imbalance between the natural world and the spirit world. A healer's task was to restore harmony and balance using herbs, poultices or spoken formulas.

In some tribes, women who acquired supernatural abilities became shamans. Shamans were believed to possess the power to influence the good and evil beings in the spirit world. A woman who wished to become a shaman usually sought training from an established shaman in her community. If the old shaman chose her as successor, the younger woman took over the shaman's position when she passed away. The new shaman used the songs and the formulas she inherited, as well as her own creations, to cure disease, predict the future or control the weather. Plains Indian women gained respect and prestige by practicing medicine in their communities. The realm of medicine women in the culture of early Plains Indians was probably one of the women's most powerful roles.

Everything looks better after a nap...
Sending you guilt free permission to to be tender to youself.

PEACE -
Nowadays, on a global scale, the leaders of the decision-making process are 96% men... only women only 4%. Not only the time had come, we were already late. We as women need to start working immediately and get together with representatives of women's organizations. The time had come. Go to the web link in the lefthand column: Women Waging Peace!

Offered to us from Doris of Sacred Lands

FYI -Below is a letter written by Thich Nhat Hanh to religious leaders, and especially to the Muslim community. If you are in touch with people for whom you believe this is appropriate, please pass it along.

The tenth mindfulness training of the Order of Interbeing established by Thich Nhat Hanh and others during the Vietnam War reads, in part: "A spiritual community should take a clear stand against oppression and injustice..."

Thay's commentary reads, in part: "This should be done with a clear voice, based on the principles of the Four Noble Truths. The truth concerning the unjust situation should be fully exposed (the First Truth: suffering.) The various causes of injustice should be enumerated (the Second Truth: the causes of suffering). The purpose and desire for removing the injustices should be made obvious (the Third Noble Truth: the removal of suffering.) The measures for removing the injustice should be proposed (the Fourth Truth: the way to end suffering.) Although religious communities are not political powers, they can use their influence to change society. Speaking out is the first step, proposing and supporting appropriate measures for change is the next. Most important is to transcend all partisan conflicts. The voice of caring and understanding must be distinct from the voice of ambition."

Monks and nuns from Deer Park Monastery near San Diego, as well as lay practitioners inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings, will be coming to the Oct 26 San Francisco demonstration. There is a gathering called "People of Faith United for Peace." Monks and nuns from Maple Forest Monastery and Green Mountain Dharma Center in Vermont, as well as lay practitioners inspired by Thay's teachings who are on the East Coast will be coming to the demonstration in Washington, DC.

Here is the letter:
Thich Nhat Hanh
Plum Village
13 Martineau
33580 Dieulivol France

October 15, 2002

Dear respected friends and religious leaders,

We have been looking deeply into the threatening possibility of war with Iraq. Many in our community have lived through war in Vietnam and we are deeply concerned about how to avoid the terrible tragedy of war with Iraq. We know that we will all suffer if this happens and it is likely that those in your Muslim American communities would suffer profoundly. We are afraid that this suffering is being over-looked in the current political climate. We understand that right now is a difficult time for the Muslim American and Arab American communities across the country. We want to extend to you our heartfelt support and care.

How can we help avoid this war and this suffering? How can we, in the Buddhist community, and other communities, support our fellow Muslims? In our discussions and meditations we have envisioned some ways towards peace, and we would like to share those with you. We hope that you might be able to put these ideas into motion.

We believe that at this time it is of great importance for Muslim Americans to voice their concerns to the whole nation. President Bush needs to hear your fears and concerns about this possible war because you are American citizens, our brothers and sisters. We urge you to continue in your efforts to communicate with President Bush, other political leaders, and the people of this country. We are confident that by speaking out you can make a difference.

We also feel that President Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi people need to hear your fears and deep desires for peace as fellow Muslims. We believe it would help the current situation if you as a Muslim American community urged the Iraqi government to use all means possible to avoid war. We feel all people in the U.S. would be deeply moved by a peaceful vigil in Washington D.C., in which Muslim Americans-- supported by interfaith and peace organizations --demonstrated their opposition to this potential war. Monks, nuns and lay people from our community would like to invite you to join them and several interfaith and peace organizations on the evening of October 25th in Washington D.C. Several Muslim and Jewish leaders in D.C. have already expressed their support. There are also a people in the Los Angeles area interested in organizing a similar vigil in California. We invite you to join us there as well.

We see clearly the beauties in the Muslim tradition-the practice of generosity, goodness, devotion and your deep desire for peace. We feel people in our country would be very inspired by such a peace vigil and your practice of nonviolent action in these difficult circumstances. It would also remind the nation of the gift your religion is to our society. We are ready to help and participate in this inspiring and transformative action. We know that you may feel very alone right now and we extend to you our full spiritual support and love.

With our deepest respect and concern, Thich Nhat Hanh, the Plum Village community, and many Buddhist communities of mindful living.

Frank M. Tedesco
Agriscience & Environmental Horticulture
Pinellas Technical Education Center
St. Petersburg, Florida
frankmtedesco@yahoo.com
Cell: (727) 512-4805