Sacred Steps

Through the Messages in Sacred Steps, Learn to:

• Understand Yourself & the World Around You
  
• Use Tools to Develop Your Focus & Connection
  
• Find Structure in Your Life in the Middle of Turmoil
  
• Recognize the Power You Have to Transform Your Life
  
• Change the World by Changing Your Perceptions
  
• Use Positive Ways to Repair Damage to Ourselves & the World
  
• Make Prayer, Faith or the Strength of Knowing Work in Your Life
  
• Promote Unity Instead of Diversity
  
• And Much, Much More!

EXCERPT:
Page 149

He sighed, "I think we have made life too difficult for ourselves these days. With all the technology that has been brought into our lives to make things simpler, has also come many other complications, laws, rules, and so forth, that have left us distrustful of anything freely given. We have forgotten how easy it can really be."

"It's another avenue of the fear and doubt that prevents us from realizing our connection," I said. "And so it stops us from realizing our true potential."

Thomas nodded. "Now where was I---?"

"The second door," I reminded him.

"The second door," he picked up his previous thoughts immediately. "This is the time for us to call the energy of the spirits in to share the lodge with us. We offer of ourselves, so that we can fully connect with them and the intent of what we're trying to accomplish."

"The third door," he continued, "is the healing or medicine round. We have expressed and focused our intent, we've called and connected to the energy of the non-physical and now we take the focus of the first and second doors and put them together. It's generally the hottest round because the heat intensifies our focus, and our focus in turn tends to intensify the heat."

Excerpt:
Page 197-8

Again, I felt strangeness in the fact that the people around me seemed to just accept my presence in that time and place, as though it were natural for me to be there. I knew, from what little I had learned of Native American spirituality, that the people held their spiritual leaders in high regard. For some, it was believed that the spirit of the Creator himself touched him. There was seldom anything said to question his actions, as they expected what he (or she) did was of the Creator's intent and the explanation would unfold itself to them, as they needed to know. I don't think this was always the case, but at least was prevalent enough in their culture.

How different, I speculated, from the white man's way of embracing their spiritual leaders. Not so different from the start of it, where a person felt the call of the Creator, or felt the pull toward that central Source of loving energy. He experienced the wonder and joy in his heart and sought any knowledge and connection that he could in order to bring himself closer to the Creator. He wanted to become more in tune with that feeling of wonder and joy that faith in the Creator brought in ever deepening levels.

When a community was in need of someone to guide them in the ways of religion or spirituality, the leader was chosen by the people based on availability and the depth of the person's knowledge and experience. The needed a comfort level, they needed to know that they had someone more knowledgeable than themselves to turn to. They looked for someone who they felt had a stronger faith and deeper connection with the Creator and could properly guide them in matters of spirit and religion.

End Excerpts