In the Grandmothers’ traditions, it is believed that children are not born with original sin but with original sanctity and are gifts from God, reflecting the balance of the mother/father principle of Creation, the source of all life. In the Lakota tradition of Grandmothers Rita and Beatrice Long Visitor Holy Dance, children are considered sacred beings. The teachings of their holy woman, White Buffalo Calf Woman, say that children have an understanding that goes beyond their years. All of us are born with spiritual values already given to us by the Creator, they say. Because children are believed to be gifts from the Creator, they should be treated with generosity to awaken their innate goodness and to help them attain self-realization…..Carol Schaefer

love fills empty vessels……there’s so much love….not enough empty vessels….re-imagining conscious integrity and joy invites aliveness, inspiration and a romancing of emergence into the well…..fill it, overflow, fill it again…

Let go of the ways you thought life

would unfold; the holding of plans

or dreams or expectations- Let it

all go. Save your strength to swim

with the tide. The choice to fight

what is here before you now will

only result in struggle, fear, and

desperate attempts to flee from the

very energy you long for. Let go.

Let it all go and flow with the grace

that washes through your days whether

you receive it gently or with all you

quills raised to defend against invaders.

Take this on faith: the mind may never

find the explanations that it seeks, but

you will move forward nonetheless.

Let go, and the wave’s crest will carry

you to unknown shores, beyond your

wildest dreams or destinations. Let it

all go and find the place of rest and

peace, and certain transformation.

….Danna Faulds

sing a sweet lullaby to your heart…

To bless whatever there is, and for no other reason but simply because it is- that is our raison d’etre; that is what we are made for as human beings. This singular command is engraved in our heart. Whether we understand this or not matters little. Whether we agree or disagree makes no difference. And in our heart of hearts we know it. The human heart is made for universal praise. As long as we pick and choose, making praise depends on our approval, we are not yet responding from the heart. When we find our heart, we find that core of our being that is attuned to reality. With clear vision the heart sees the ultimate meaning of all: blessing. And with clear intent the heart responds with the ultimate purpose of life: blessing. Suddenly everything is simple. Gratefulness says it all. Can the spiritual life be that simple? Yes, what we secretly hoped is true: it is all that simple. What brings fulfillment is gratefulness, the simple response of our heart to this given life in all its fullness……Brother David Steindl-Rast