The Old Ways

   Throughout my life I have investigated and followed many different religions, looking for something I wasn't even sure existed. In the depths of my heart I knew a part of my Spirit had been displaced and so I carried an empty space within me. There were times when I would stop searching but sooner or later I would be drawn back to continue my journey.

    

     I now follow what I call the The Old Ways or the Red Road and have been for almost 20 years. The Red Road is a concept that means following the right path in life. It is motivated by the beliefs and spiritual teachings of the Native American people. The teachings are beautiful and quite simplistic.

     I knew from the time I was a small child that my father was Ojibwa but I never had the opportunity to meet him. I was raised as a white child and I followed their ways of life. As a young woman I set out on my own journey. It has taken me many years but I have finally arrived to where I was meant to be.

     I used to call myself a spiritual pagan for want of a better word because I had come to realize it wasn't religion I was looking for to fill the void. I wanted something more, something that filled every aspect of my life, not just Sunday mornings.

     I am self taught and have no formal training on the subject but I do know what is right for me and what has worked. I don't profess to be an expert because life is always changing and we must change and grow with it. I am still learning each and every day.

     Vine Deloria Jr wrote: "The first and great difference between primitive religious thought and the world religions...is that primitive people maintain an air of mystery through their bond with Nature. The world religions sever that relationship and attempt to establish a new, more comprehensible one."

     There is nothing complicated with living a spiritual life. Years of religious instruction has made us believe that to live a good life we must live by a certain set of rules with no deviations what so ever. Living in step with Nature is a simple day by day experience. Each day can bring us a new way to look at what is around us. Each day gives us the chance to honor the gifts that are given to us.

     We must learn to honor the Earth beneath or feet. It is our home. Treat it with dignity and respect. It alone gives us all we need to survive. Technology is just icing on the cake.

     We must learn to respect Nature and what she has to offer. She is the Mother, the Guardian, the Teacher and the Healer of our home, the Earth. She teaches us about healing, harmony, creation and peace. To many of us no longer remember how to listen.

     We must learn to give thanks to the Great Spirit who is a part of each and every one of us. He teaches us right from wrong and yet allows us to make our own choices. The journey we walk is entirely up to us but we are destined to repeat our mistakes over and over until we learn the lesson.

     Black Elk a medicine man from the Lakota people believed he had an obligation to help bring the people back to the Sacred Hoop. He new that everyone needed to walk in a sacred manner. This was his prayer:

Prayer For All Life

Hear me, four quarters of the world -- a relative I am

Give me the strength to walk the soft Earth, a relative to all that is

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, my Grandfather, 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 wind and walk the good road to the day of quiet

This is my prayer, hear me

Black Elk

Judy