December 31 - Daily Feast

December 31 - Daily Feast A feast is a huge banquet of wonderful foods and wonderful friends to share it. It is a time when people honor people - and many memories are laid aside for this celebration. But another kind of feast is in the heart - at the core where life is decided. It is the human way to believe himself victim of many things, and he starves at his center. He worries excessively about who will take care of him and who will feed him and if he will survive at all. Never start a day without gratitude - without an inner singing of "Praise God from whom all blessings flow!" Never start a day being sour and hard to get along with. Never talk trouble nor give credence to those who do. Never give another person reason to be unhappy..... And remember, this is your day. This is a day of celebrating new life and purpose. ~ On the other side of the river there is plenty of buffalo. When we are poor we will tell you. ~ BLACKFOOT - MOUNTAIN CROW 'A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II' by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - December 31 "They must give themselves to Wakan' Tanka and live a spiritual life. They will have the peace that frees them from fear." --Frank Fools Crow, LAKOTA There are two wills available for us: self will and God's will. Our choice is: figure it out ourselves, or have the Creator involved in our lives. If we are honest with ourselves and look at past experiences, what are our lives like when we try to figure it out ourselves? Is there fear, confusion, frustration, anger, attacking others, conflict, fault finding, manipulation, teasing others, belittling others or devaluation? If these things are present, they indicate that we are choosing self will. What is it like if we turn our will over to the Creator? What are the results if we ask the Great Spirit to guide our life? Examples are: freedom, choices, consequences, love forgiveness, helping others, happiness, joy, solutions, and peace. Which will I choose today, self will or God's will? Creator, I know what my choice is. I want You to direct my life. I want You to direct my thinking. You are the Grandfather. You know what I need even before I do. Today I ask You to tell me what I can do for You today. Tell me in a way I can understand and I will be happy to do it. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler Today I hear the laughter of children at play. Their voices filled the air almost like chimes. And I felt their arms about my neck and their sticky kisses on my face. How blessed I am! Today I heard a mockingbird trilling out every single song it every heard from its winged friends. I closed my eyes and in the trees I heard all the voices I've heard since childhood, and it took me through all the happy, breathless, precious times I loved so much. Today I heard my mother's voice calling to me happily. It was a good, strong, healthy voice that has called to me courage, and hope and peace, and shall continue to call down many lanes to me. Today I heard my child's voice. I heard her singing, I heard her praying, I heard her laughing and talking. I heard her teasing and moving from place to place in all the activities I love to see her in. Now, even more than ever I realize how grateful I am that God has given me the excellent faculty of hearing. I shall with all diligence try to hear nothing evil, but only love and peace which is my heritage. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

December 30 - Daily Feast

December 30 - Daily Feast We move now toward a new year. It gives reason to think who we are and what we are about. Do we reach eagerly toward the future or does it frighten us with its weapons and voices and anger? Think long and hard about this, for it reveals your state of existence. A person cannot go on thinking "someday" and change anything. But to say that this day is the day to make changes and to bring one's own personal spirit into alignment, that is an accomplishment. Some feel they are not good enough to be any different. But what they don't realize is that making the effort to change makes them good enough. A person can't get there until he takes an action. ~ Some of our people have gone from here in order that they may have a change. ~ SPOTTED TAIL - SIOUX 'A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II' by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - December 30 "Always remember that the Great Mystery is good; evil can come only from ourselves!" --Grandmother of Charles Eastman. SANTEE SIOUX The Great Mystery is love, good and principle. He is a guiding Father. He doesn't play games. He knows only how to love. Sometimes, when things go wrong, we blame Him or others. Usually, if we are honest, we can see how decisions or things done in the past put us in a position to be hurt. It comes back to us. When this happens, it is not something the Creator caused, but something we, ourselves caused. Most of our problems are of our own making. When this happens, we should correct what we've done, ask the Great Spirit for forgiveness and pray for guidance in the future. My Creator, bless me with Your good. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler Henry David Thoreau, whose cry was "Simplify! Simplify!" went to great measures to prove to himself, and perhaps to society, that life could be lived in the most simple manner and at the least expense. With only a few dollars he managed to provide for himself the things of absolute necessity for quite a long period of time. Not many of us would care to exist on the absolute necessities. We have become too much accustomed to easier living. Things that were once thought of as luxuries are now considered necessities. And yet, with all of this, life is anything but simple. We seem to have the ability to complicate the best laid plans and find ourselves shadow boxing. Like many of the trite old adages, "Life is what we make it," is so true. By our own minds we accept or reject, by ignoring or by searching out the causes of shadows and removing the cause. It is whatever we elect to do about our individual lives that makes the difference. But we shall make great strides when we recognize the supreme excellence in all things of simplicity. We don't need to worry about doing without the necessary things in life - if we have a grateful heart. A grateful heart is not just remembering to write a few words to someone who has done a kindness, or saying thank you graciously and at the right moment. A grateful heart is the feeling of great blessings which precedes that thank you note and that verbal expression. A grateful heart is one that always knows the fullness of that rich feeling of first being grateful without cause. And then, all other gratitude and its expression comes naturally. Perhaps true gratitude is a grateful though toward heaven that I should be chosen to fill this spot, do this work, and have been given the strength to do it. It was Romaine, the English theologian, who said, "Gratitude to God makes even a temporal blessing a taste of heaven." We can have so much more heaven with a grateful heart. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

December 29 - Daily Feast

December 29 - Daily Feast Never turn your good successful idea into an organization and set up councils and committees to run it. If you do, you will lose the common touch and the organization will turn to catchy phrases and initials that identify it. Committees will spend their time having lunch and talking about promotion rather than quality. People lose sight of quality and service as they try to squeeze out more hours, more money, more product that no longer is what it once was. Watch out for titles and power and wretched little people who want recognition with as little work as possible. Come down off of it. Do good service, make a good product that is not chicken soup from chemical flavorings. Do everything with the motto, "I can be trusted." It will amaze you what it can do. ~ General Howard said, "Shut up! The law says you go on the reservation to live, and I want you to do so. ~ 'A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II' by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - December 29 "What you see with your eyes shut is what counts." --Lame Deer, LAKOTA Another whole world opens up when we close our eyes and calm our mind. Be still and know; be still and hear; be still and see; be still and feel. Inside every person is a still, small voice. Sometime it is necessary to close our eyes to shut down our perception in order to see. Try this occasionally; when you are talking to your child or spouse, close your eyes and listen to them. Listen to the tone of their voice; listen to their excitement; listen to their pain-listen. Great Spirit, today, let me hear only what really counts. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler Realizing that there is a multitude of wonderful things to appreciate, we must shake them all together in our minds and wait for the chosen one to rise to the top like bubbles. Life is such a challenge, such a joy to live when it is appreciated. If we could only realize who gave us life, we would understand even more why the Creator intended us to appreciate and love all that is about us. The thing we can appreciate are never in any particular order, but mingled together as they are in our lives. We can so beautifully and joyfully appreciate the sound of our children's laughter when sudden happiness overtakes them; the tremendous and moving power of silent prayer; a strong voice singing a song of inspiration, or of sentiment; early morning sunrises, misty pink and fresh; a mockingbird singing out its heart in the depth of night; the touch of souls in understanding; violin music; and our children in prayer, in spells of delight, or in any other moment. To name them all would be an impossibility, to live them all is a blessing. We must not pass these things by without appreciating them. We must not lose them by failing to give thanks. These are the things we always have near us, and we can appreciate them merely by attuning our senses to them. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

December 28 - Daily Feast

December 28 - Daily Feast A very long time ago, among the pages of words written by ancient men is a phrase so potent it still works today. It says, "Call the things that be not as though they were." So life is hard and scary and you have messed up miserably. Then change it by saying what you do want - by calling into being the way you want things and circumstances to be. Your words have power. They create. They shape. They call into being what you want. You have been digging in your heels and declaring that nothing can be saved. Don't you know you are doing it? Cancel everything negative you have ever said - be truly sorry for it. And then take hold of your tongue and demand it speak right. ~ You propose to give us land where we can live in quiet. I accept your proposal. ~ LITTLE RAVEN - ARAPAHO 'A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II' by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - December 28 "I believe that being a medicine man, more than anything else, is a state of mind, a way of looking at and understanding this earth, a sense of what it is all about." --Lame Deer, LAKOTA The Medicine Wheel explains different ways of looking at the world. The four directions are the East, the South, the West and the North. In the East is the view of the eagle - the eagle flies high and sees the earth from that point of view. The South is the direction of the mouse. Moving on the earth, the mouse will not see what the eagle sees. Both the eagle and the mouse see the truth. The West is the direction of the bear - the bear will see different from the mouse and the eagle. From the North comes the point of view of the bison. To be a Medicine Man you must journey through all points of view and develop the mind to see the interconnectedness of all four directions. This takes time, patience and an open mind. Eventually, you understand there is only love. Great Spirit, today, allow my mind to stay open. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler Is there ever a perfect time? A wise mother says there isn't. She advises us to take life by the hand and march right into the middle, and then start digging out the corners. She says not to wait for a perfect time to do anything, because a perfect time never quite makes it. We simply have to go ahead and make it as near perfect as possible. A perfectionist is usually someone who can never find the perfect way, and gives up in futility. But the one who aims at perfection and does not wait for it, is at least moving and there's nothing useless about that. Unless we are moving, we resemble Tennyson's description: "Faultily faultless, icily regular, splendidly null, dead perfection; no more." We have to face life, not under the pressure of perfection, but by pure faith. We have to go on accepting and rejecting as we come to each phase. "For perfection does not exist," said eighteenth century writer Alfred de Musset. "To understand it is the triumph of human intelligence; to expect to possess it is the most dangerous kind of madness." In the rush of too much to do, we stack up for ourselves things we are going to do, things we ought to do, and things we intend to do. We do first the things of necessity, we take time to think a little about what we ought to do, and the rest is left to good intentions. Frequently the good intentions hold the key to our happiness. While we bog down in the necessities of living, the things that mean so much slip away unnoticed. We always expect other people to know that we intended to do this or that, but we must realize that they cannot read our good intentions. Good intentions have the same look as nothing at all. And we have to draw our own conclusions as to what our thoughts and feelings are. Only if we express them can we ever hope for others to know what we would like to do, even though circumstances may hinder us. It has been written that intelligent beings have what it takes to surpass themselves. By sensible thought we can actively express our good intentions and this opens the way for fulfillment. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

December 27 - Daily Feast

December 27 - Daily Feast See with the bright light of your heart, and don't turn eyes to the dark. It is there, but don't make eye contact or it will follow you home. Turn away from the sludgy, dirty, dark blue-black that makes up most of what we hear and see. Don't think you have to take it in because you have to work to live - and to work you must take on some of the cheetah's spots. When sad eyes and performance voices turn to you and tell you that you must accept what is wrong, that you must have compassion, ask, "For what?" If someone want to go to hell in a hand basket, there's not much you can do - but never be guilty of telling that person he can't help himself. The Great Spirit never made him that way. ~ I have been in a great many councils, but I'm no wiser. ~ TOO-HOOL-HOOL-SUIT   -   NEZ PERCE 'A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II' by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - December 27 "When temptation comes, I don't say, `Yes," and I don't say, `No.' I say, `Later,' I just keep walking the Red Road-down the middle. When you're in the middle, you don't go to either extreme. You allow both sides to exist." --Dr. A. C. Ross (Ehanamani), LAKOTA We need to practice controlling our focus. Whatever we focus on we become. We also become whatever we practice. We need to focus on balance. Whenever something comes along to tilt us off balance, we need to be grateful, because it allows the opportunity to practice our focus. Sometimes this is called temptation. Temptation in itself is not bad. What really counts is what we do with it when it happens. We need to practice controlling our focus and keeping our thinking focused on the Red Road. Great Spirit, today, guide me through my temptations and allow me to focus on the Red Road. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler Are you one of those people who degrades yourself in idle conversation until it becomes a fact within your mind? Has it become your belief that this is true humility, talking down your abilities, hiding your light, refusing to accept your rights as a child of God as being meek and humble? This thing called life is given to us for a purpose, never to downgrade; no more than we should blow it out of proportion by thinking too highly of ourselves. Each life is important, each breath for a purpose, each moment a time for learning. Walt Whitman has written in Leaves of Grass: "Whoever you are! Motion and reflection are especially for you; the divine ship sails the divine sea for you. Whoever you are! You are he or she for whom the earth is solid and liquid, you are he or she for whom the sun and moon hang in the sky, for none more than you are the present and the past. For none more than you is immortality." By our words we reveal our minds. It is so easy to refuse to be a channel through which the best can reveal itself. And it is so easy to forget that our song of life, as Whitman has written. "The song is to the singer, and comes back most to him. I swear the earth shall surely be completely to him or her who shall be complete!" Human beings worry a great deal about what others think. It is a nagging worry that somehow the curtain that protects our privacy from the eyes of the world will suddenly drop and allow us to see all the things our pride has hidden. Why is it that we seemingly need to be clever in order to handle the world? Why can't we just live honestly and openly, without scheming and trying to appear that we are something we are not? The world is so heavy laden with priggish pride that the clean simple truth is lost in playing it cool. Why can't we quit being something pent up inside and be something like sunshine or showers right out here where we can enjoy it or get over it? Socrates said that the shortest and surest way to live with honor in the world is to be in reality what we would appear to be. And we may just as well, because of there isn't a good cake under all that frosting, someone is going to know it anyway. To drop all pretense and say with genuine honesty, "This is the way I am" would be to find a whole new way of enjoying the simplicity of being ourselves. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

December 26 - Daily Feast

December 26 - Daily Feast Early winter mornings have a special quality, a clarity where long thin shadows and ice crystals in emerald and topaz lie on the grasses. With the exception of a chortling blue jay there is little noise - as though everything bedded down last night and it reluctant to come out. A red tail hawk in search of breakfast rides the air currents far overhead where it can spot anything moving. It is strange that nature pays so little attention to what we think is beautiful in their domain - but it is equally strange that we are so oblivious to the supernatural that waits on us to recognize it. ~ The Great Spirit is our fathers, but the earth is our mother. She nourishes us, and what we put into the ground, she returns to us. ~ BEDAGI - WABANKI, 1900 'A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II' by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - December 26 "The way of knowledge is like our old way of hunting. You begin with a mere trail -- a footprint. If you follow that faithfully, it may lead you to a clearer train - a track - a road. Later on there will be many tracks, crossing and diverging one from the other. Then you must be careful, for success lies in the choice of the right road." --Many Lightenings Eastman, SANTEE SIOUX An entire apple tree is initially contained in the seed. Visions are initially contained in the idea. If you trace the path of a blooming flower backwards, it goes from the blooming flower back to a bud, back to a stem, back to a seed. So it is in the way of knowledge. Often we will experience a hunch or a feeling that we are supposed to do something. At first it may not make any sense. This is the seed stage. Once we start to investigate, more gets revealed. As more is revealed, the more knowledge we get. This is the way the Great Spirit guides us. Great Spirit, help me to choose the right choices. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler All things in sequence, first the bud and then the flower. We can no more hold back the blossom than we can the daylight. It is inevitably there, beautifully delicate and subject to crushing. Only through very careful tending will it withstand the winds and rain and pressures of the outside. Sequence is the order of human life. God intended us to unfold as the flower: first the seed in the fertile soil, the birth, the growth, the learning, the discoveries, the knowledge, the desires, the fulfillment as each phase of life follows its own sequence. We hold back the flowering of life only if we want it to be nonexistent, for it must progress. And in some of the most tender spots progression must be slow, easy, and reverently handled, for it can be as fragile as the flower. There is within us a delicacy of thought which entwines itself throughout our beings, crossing from phase to phase, creating within us conflicts not easily understood. Something out of sequence in one phase may postpone the flowering of another phase. The very roots of our souls must be watered with reverence to successfully follow the sequence of life. If no other human understands or cares to understand, if we do, then continue - first the bud and then the flower. Of all the intricate and complicated creations in the world, humanity occupies the first place. Our lives are made up of such flexuous combination of body, soul, and spirit that we do not even understand ourselves. We all desire to know what makes us tick and how to go about making ourselves tick better. Whether we realize it or not, we are in search of the truth of our own being. Why are we here? What step should we take next? One problem after another, question after question brings us to this place again and again. They are our personal problems and the wisest of persons cannot give us the answers. We will always need help to encourage us in our search but we must go within ourselves to cure, to live, to feel, to believe. We must win our own hearts before we can find happiness with others. We must know what we want and be willing to share it with others, for it is written that life is made up, not of great sacrifices or duties, but of little things, in which smiles and kindnesses win and preserve the heart. English divine John Mason wrote these words, "By these things examine thyself. By whose rules am I acting; in whose name; in whose strength; in whose glory? What faith, humility, self-denial and love of God and to man have there been in all my actions?" *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

December 25 - Daily Feast

December 25 - Daily Feast If I could lay before you the dearest gift this morning, it would be a time of no beginning and no end. It would be life filled with good health and peace and inner joy that can only come from the Spirit. You would quietly refine your thoughts and words so that you never draw to you anything but the finest. You would rest deeply and breathe in sweet peace. You would know the tremendous difference between the material and the spiritual - turning from anger and frustration to a safe haven of love. You would always be the most loyal friend - not to me but to yourself. All the issues of life rise out of the heart - so this is a gift from heart to heart. ~ I have expressed my heart to you. I have nothing to take back. ~ CHIEF JOSEPH - NEZ PERCE 'A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II' by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - December 25 "When you see a new trail, or a footprint that you do not know, follow it to the point of knowing." --Grandmother of Charles Eastman, SANTEE SIOUX We never gain new knowledge or new experience unless we are willing to take risks. It's good to be curious. Also, it pays to be cautious. Walk in balance. The path of the Warrior is filled with opportunities to seek new knowledge. As we travel down the Red Road, we will run into trails of opportunity. Down each of these trails are experiences from which we will learn. Experience plus action is the beginning of knowledge." Great Spirit, help me to make good choices in choosing only the trails You would have me take. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler There's a song that says "....it ain't necessarily so," and it certainly isn't! How often we accept someone's casual remarks as fact. Even appearances can be misleading. But, knowing this, we still have a tendency to take a thread and build a yard cloth. It makes all the difference in the world what we believe. To simply accept an opinion, even our own when hastily formed indicates a lack of sound thought. We sometimes have the failing of believing everything we hear. But it is far wiser to know with certainty, the facts about a teaching by looking at its followers. The eyes and ears of our hearts and spirits are often more accurate in determining right from wrong than we can expect from normal hearing and seeing. However blessed we are to have our faculties, we are still in dire need of that sixth sense known as common sense. Only the very foolish can close their eyes to truth and accept without question the many issues of life that face us daily. Surely we must form opinions and carry on, but we need those who have the ability to think clearly and truthfully. All else is merely opinion. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

December 24 - Daily Feast

December 24 - Daily Feast O Lord, on the eve of Your birth, may all things and all humanity bow their knees to the gifts You have given and are still giving. Nothing has ever compared to what is ours through Your giving. We ask one other gift, that those who suffer and those who are bitter and unforgiving will know how to get past the seeming irony of this time and claim their greatest gift. It is not meant to go to waste - not meant to be withheld. Better than diamonds, better than gold, better than high success, this gift of life is in the throes of change. Our privilege is to change with it, to know all the mysteries - not for the sake of mystery but for its purpose, to heal, to restore, to preserve. ~ I see before me men of age and dignity....men of good judgment and consider well what they do. ~ SPOTTED TAIL - SIOUX, 1700s 'A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II' by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - December 24 "Believing people can soar beyond ordinary life." --Fools Crow, LAKOTA We are created by God to be vision people. First we set the goal and then we see. If we create within ourselves a picture or vision and we hold that picture or vision in our mind, whatever we picture will show up in our reality. If we can see ourselves being educated, then schools and teachers will show up in our lives. If we picture in our mind a positive, spiritual person to be in our lives, we will attract this type of person in our relationships. How big can our dreams be? Great Spirit, let my visions today be Your vision. Put within me a vision of the being you would have me be. Then help me to keep the vision in my mind. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler Did you know that when we poke fun at someone else we're covering up our own embarrassment? We all have shortcomings, peculiarities about ourselves that we take no pride in nor want others to know about. So, frequently we call attention to the "different" traits of others. Sometimes we believe they are not aware of their own problems, but they are. They are super conscious of them, and because of it they must escape though finding something about someone else they believe is worse than their own. Truly wise persons are those who take their own unique qualities and build around them. Some of the most fascinating people are those who surround their unusual features with such exquisite mannerisms and beautifully developed personalities so handsomely as to make others ordinary. It has been written by Augustine, "This is the very perfection of man, to find out his own imperfection." *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

December 23 - Daily Feast

December 23 - Daily Feast Great and wonderful gifts have poured in over the years to enrich and strengthen life. A piece of plaster board painted and set outside to dry before it could be used as a blackboard, was found by the cow and she nibbled off the corner in search of salt. It worked out all right, because the paint made slick spots where the chalk would not work. And on cold winter mornings around the holidays Grandmother, E li is, would skim the frozen cream that rose to the top of a crock of milk. A little sugar turned it into ice cream that was delicious, even in the coldest weather. The weather was cold and the snow was so deep I was told that Santa might not come through for a few days. But when the school bus made it to deliver the neighbor children they stopped at our house. On Christmas morning I had a doll with red hair and eyes that opened and closed. Love always triumphs. ~ Cultivate peace at home. ~ PETALESHARO - PAWNEE 'A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II' by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - December 23 "It's not the package and the wrapping which counts but what is inside, underneath the clothes and the skin." --Lame Deer, LAKOTA Our eyes and ears gather information that is fed to the mind, and we tend to form judgments, opinions and assumptions on what our perception is. We might see someone act a certain way, then label that person forever, not at all concentrating on what is inside the person. It matters not our height, our size, our facial features, or our gender. What matters is our thoughts. Good thoughts overcome all obstacles. Great Spirit, let my inside contain Your qualities. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler Leisure - what is it? It is that beautiful something that escapes us most of the time. Leisure, like most everything else, can be found if we truly want it. We seem to have the ability to do most of what we set our minds to do, and the less important things can be set aside for this particular thing. We get pretty stale when we never take time to relax. A few hours of getting away from even a beloved madhouse will make a new human being out of a bundle of nerves. Pursuit of leisure is to lose it. We can't suddenly say that the next five minutes will be for complete relaxation. It takes that long to begin to unwind. Gaiety and rhythm and frivolity are shunned by most minds. But if there are none of these, even in the smallest amounts, then leisure is more of a restless shuffling - like a night out with no place to go. We need to exercise our minds a little to achieve any goal, and leisure is definitely a goal! *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

December 22 - Daily Feast

December 22 - Daily Feast Right now the season is at high glitter. Christmas trees in the square are covered with twinkling lights and shops and eating places teem with people in a holiday mood. Gifts of love and obligatory gifts pass from hand to hand and most lay their differences aside for a short time. A time is recalled when the love and happiness were poured into our little homespun Christmas tree, and I wished for lights. My little Cherokee u in tsi, Mother, took me to the doorway and pointed at the heaven so aglitter with stars. She stood quite still for a few seconds and the smiled at me and said, "It kind of puts a light bulb to shame, doesn't it?" ~ .... Ere you change conditions that have brought peace and happiness. ~ PUSHMATAHA - CHOCTAW, 1700s 'A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II' by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - December 22 "From Wakan Tanka, the Great Spirit, there came a great unifying life force that flowed in and through all things-the flowers of the plains, blowing winds, rocks, trees, birds, animals-and was the same force that had been breathed into the first man. Thus all things were kindred, and were brought together by the same Great Mystery." --Chief Luther Standing Bear, SIOUX The Great Spirit has six things that make up this life force. They are life, love, intelligence, soul, principle, and truth. These are the reasons the life cycle continues. None of this can be altered by man, but we can have access to these powers any time we wish. Just think about it-anytime I have a need I can access one or more of these powers." Oh Great Mystery, let me know how to use these powers. Today, let me love life, let me know truth, let me live by principle, and let me follow Your intelligence. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler A lady of much wisdom has often remarked, "If you want to feel well all the time and feel alive, you have to keep the rhythm in your body." Rhythm, the gentle, easy flow of life. Ordinarily we think of keeping time with music when we think of rhythm. The very idea of allowing one's self the frivolity of feeling rhythm - and such a wonderful idea! There is an underlying rhythm to all of living. Whenever there is life, there is that pulsating rhythm that has everything on the move. There is harmony and there is a subtle smoothness to finding one's own pace. When we get out of step and resist that pace, we have "one of those days" when everything goes wrong. William Shakespeare wrote, "The man that hath no music in himself, not is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils; the motions of his spirit are dull as night, and his affections dark as Erbus. Let no such man be trusted." *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

December 21 - Daily Feast

December 21 - Daily Feast Rebellion rises in us when one of our customs has to be changed. We think even when times were not east, bits and pieces meant something to us. Leaving it behind means a little of us must stay as well. Familiar memories can be treacherous. They grip the spirit and tell us we are losing something that cannot be replaced. But therein lies the fallacy. We do not replace what has been dear to us. We fold it in love and put it in safekeeping - while we add something new that has a place of its own. One thing does not have to pay the price for the other. Knowing this, we love what was, and enjoy what is. ~ Let us both own this place and enjoy in common the advantages it affords. ~ LITTLE TURTLE - MIAMI, 1700s 'A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II' by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - December 21 "He [The Great Spirit] only sketches out the path of life roughly for all the creatures on earth, shows them where to go, where to arrive at, but leaves them to find their own way to get there. He wants them to act independently according to their nature, to the urges of each of them. --Lame Deer, LAKOTA Every person is created with purpose and with direction. This purpose and direction is written in our hearts when we are conceived. In addition, we are given access to a quiet guidance system which helps us find our purpose and our direction. We need to recognize this guidance system. It's called intuition, the quiet voice, urges, the knowing or the feeling. Once we locate our purpose and direction, we are given skills, talents and abilities that are unique to only ourselves. We must practice daily prayer and meditation with God to find this information. To be solid and confident in ourselves, we always need to be able to answer three questions: why am I?, who am I?, and where am I going? If I can answer these three questions, I always know I'm OK! Great Spirit, show me my path of life. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler America's art critic Henry Theodore Tuckerman believe the hand to be the mind's own perfect subject. As physical labor shows in a man's hands, so does illness, or greediness, or strength. No other part of the body so expresses human behavior. With our hands we work, play, communicate, love, and express our fear, joy, and grief. These beautifully sensitive symbols of faith, love, and friendship are the hands of time that never stand still. They clasp to us the things we love, the books we read, the seeds we plant, the stitches we sew, and the civilization we build. This marvelously made human hand, directed by the mind's eye, the mind's ear, and the heart's desires, works every waking moment to express it's owner's life. The gentle touch, so closely linked with our emotions, can also be the unmistakable expression of strength and honesty. And the most beautiful of all, the praying hands, for surely they are conscious only of God. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

December 20 - Daily Feast

December 20 - Daily Feast We view life with our hearts - and if someone does not have it in his heart to see something very beautiful, he will see only the hardship and distrust. Two people in nearly identical circumstances can wake up to the same news, the same information, the same landscape - and see it in totally different ways. One expects trouble to pass - and gives it time. The other sees problems pouring in faster than she can solve them. One sings, the other cries. We have to check our reactions and then check our hearts for corrected vision. This is our privilege - this is life meeting our expectations. ~ We took an oath not to do anything wrong to each other or to scheme against each other. ~ GERONIMO - CHIRICAHUA APACHE 'A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II' by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - December 20 "My pottery is the handiwork of God." --Teresita Naranjo, SANTA CLARA PUEBLO The Great One has given every human being at least one special talent and one special gift. We need to develop and practice these gifts because they are the handiwork of God. Maybe we are artists-when people look at our work it puts joy in their hearts; maybe we are singers-when people listen to our songs, their hearts are happy; maybe we are writers of song or poetry-when people hear or read our work, it may change their lives. We need to honor ourselves and our gifts. We need to thank the Creator for our talents and our gifts." My Creator, let me use my gifts to further Your work on the Earth. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler All the world listens for the voice that speaks with its heart. How important is the tone of voice, no matter what position we hold in life. The voice of authority, the demanding, commanding and authoritative voice has little lasting effect upon its audience. But the voice of kindness, the cheerful and friendly voice creates  receptivity that few can resist. In the words of Longfellow, "How wonderful is the human voice! It is indeed the organ of the soul. The intellect of man sits enthroned, visibly on his forehead and in his eye, and the heart of man is written on his countenance, but the soul reveals itself in the voice only." The voice on the telephone creates a picture for the listener. With the business of the world being run to a very great extent by telephone, it is of the utmost importance what sort of picture that should be. No matter how sharp, strong, hard, flat, weak or soft, that voice creates an impression. If only we could have our voices played back, we would hear ourselves in one of those categories. Even animals and children respond to voices as they truly are. All the actions in the world speak loudly, but the voice of love, the voice of friendship, and the voice of encouragement are the sweetest of all sounds. The truly sincere quality in the voice is from the nature within, springing from concern for those about us, the divine love, the deep feeling for all of life. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

December 14 - Daily Feast

Friends, I will be gone on a short vacation for the next week. The Daily Feast will resume, hopefully, Saturday 20th. December 14 - Daily Feast If a person is unhappy with himself, he is going to cause others to be unhappy as well. His house is divided against itself - and so it can't stand, and it makes him more unhappy. It is said that every time someone does something wrong, someone sacrifices. It almost seems the innocent have to pay because the guilty will not accept the responsibility. And so the time comes when we stand back and let the irresponsible put down their feet. As long as someone stands for them, they will not learn to stand for themselves. The greatest gift we can give such people is to let them alone - let them find their standing place. ~ We should be better pleased with beholding the good effects of these doctrines in your own practices than with hearing you talk about them. ~ OLD TASSEL - CHEROKEE,   1777 'A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II' by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - December 14 "Male and female is fundamental to life; partners in work to be done." --Oren R. Lyons, Spokesman, Traditional Circle of Elders The Great Spirit created a system which would allow us to reproduce, to have companionship, to love, to laugh, to cry and be happy. Man and Woman each have gifts the other doesn't have. But, together they have these gifts to share with each other. The Great Spirit made it this way. So let us treat each other with respect. Let us look upon each other in a sacred way. Grandfather, Grandmother, bring the spirits to teach us. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler As long as there has been a human race there has been someone crying out, "No one understands!" Somewhere along the way communications have broken down and the result is misunderstanding. To be misunderstood is painful. We keep wanting to explain and explain until we get our message across. Sometimes it is the lack of the wise use of words. Then, it may be an unwilling ear. But whatever the race, the politics, sophisticated or home grown, everyone has the desire to be understood. They want every motive, every mood, completely and unquestionably understood. But to be completely understood can also have its rebounds. A goddess can turn into a woman, and a hero can slip into a man when only one of their moods is completely understood. Understanding breeds familiarity. Familiarity many not breed contempt, but it can certainly take the edge off the mystery. And, it is mystery that keeps life interesting. In all wisdom, we should worry much less about being completely understood, and make a more diligent effort to understand others. Something dies within us when no one cares. It is a circumstance of our own making when we have failed to give to another the thought and concern that would have helped when it was most needed. Sorrows can be borne because others care. Greatness can be achieved because someone cared. To care is our purpose. Who knows but that these small acts of sympathy and understanding may place another life into the one slot on the jigsaw puzzle of life. If we were all the things we expect of others, the result would be perfection. We would be perfect in forgiveness, faithful in love, and devoted in the welfare of others. Such excellence has never been accomplished, except that we work continually for it. To work for it, we have to care. And for someone to care is the thing that matters. "Instead of allowing yourself to be so unhappy, just let your love grow as God wants it to grow; seek goodness in others, love more persons more; love them more impersonally, more unselfishly, without thought of return. The return, never fear, will take care of itself." - Henry Drummond *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

December 13 - Daily Feast

December 13 - Daily Feast If there is no one else in the whole world around you, celebrate the season. Never say there is no use in decorating for Christmas when you are alone. But it is the best of reasons - you. You are as important to the Lord as anyone else on earth. If you have to, buy and gift wrap your own present and put it under the tree. Don't wait for someone else to guess what you want - you do it. Keep the savory aromas of home cooking in your own kitchen, set the table and eat from a China plate. This is a special time, so be a special part of it - music and all. If you are a joy to be with, you won't be alone. ~ Have I any apology to make for loving the Indians? The Indians have always loved me. ~ GEORGE CATLIN - ARTIST 'A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II' by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - December 13 "In our language there is no word to say inferior or superiority or equality because we are equal; it's a known fact. But life has become very complicated since the newcomers came here. And how does your spirit react to it?. It's painful. You have to be strong to walk through the storm. I know I'm a bridge between two worlds. All I ask is for people to wash their feet before they try to walk on me." --Alanis Obomsawin, ABENAKI For native people who speak their language, English can be very confusing. Many times you cannot express in English the true meaning of Indian words. When we hear something in English we sometimes react or our spirit reacts. Sometimes we need to use English words out of order to express our true meanings. We need to be patient and pray. Living in two worlds can be difficult. Life is painful sometimes. The pain of life is where the lessons are learned. Creator, let me learn the lessons You have taught my people. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler Others don't seem to be interested in our excuses - they merely want performance. Alibis for lack of service, lack of ability to give a full measure of trust make a bad servant. And we are all servants, serving each other in one way or another. It is an unhappy one who is not depended upon for something. There is great satisfaction in being needed, even to the point of doing more than one is capable of. English divine Sidney Smith once wrote, "Try to make at least one person happy every day, and then in ten years you may have made three thousand, six hundred and fifty persons happy, or brightened a small town by your contribution to the fund of general enjoyment." We cannot move a step upon this earth without finding someone to serve. And as we serve each day, we never stop to consider how many we've made happy; but it should be very vivid in our minds how many we've made unhappy. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

November 12 - Daily Feast

November 12 - Daily Feast Misery seems to justify making someone pay - but there is sweet revenge in finding our own inner spirit can expand quickly to push out unfairness and bitterness. Who doesn't have the right to be bitter? A hard thing to forget, a mountain to overcome - but such peace follows. Peace spreads like warm honey across a hot biscuit and permeates all the little places that capture and hold it. The heart lifts its hands in praise for relief from the darkness of bitter memories. All of us can do it - all of us must if we are to be well and have something to share. Just let it go. Life will balance the books, it always does. ~ While living I want to live well. ~ GERONIMO - CHIRACAHUA APACHE 'A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II' by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - December 12 "In order for our children to survive in the world, they need a firm understanding and belief in the basic principles of sharing freedom and respect of individuality." --Haida Gwaii, Traditional Circle of Elders There is a saying: Tell me, I'll forget; Show me, I'll remember; Engage me; I'll understand. The adults need to determine what the younger generation is the learn. The principle of sharing keeps the youth from being greedy and selfish. The principle of freedom teaches the youth about choices, decisions and consequences. The principle of respect keeps us from playing God and becoming a controller of all things. We need to learn theses lessons so we may demonstrate them for our children. Great Teacher, help me to understand Your principles. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler At night sometimes the world seems so topsy-turvy and you're so weary of doing things the same old way. Then nothing seems to please....You try desperately for something new and different, something that doesn't seem so much like you. Why? Tonight you are different. One cannot expect the world to be top side up all the time. Such perfection does not come so easily to human nature. And always there is a search for something new and different. A change of pace....that thought that I don't want to be me today, to think my thoughts and do my daily chores. I want to make a complete change now, to know a whole new way of life. And it is good to leave behind the many daily situations that sometimes stand too closely to be seen clearly, but to be wise enough to know which things should be left behind. There have been clean sweeps that have left behind the dearest things....and have taken along the same dreary, dark unhappy things of the mind that should have been left behind. A line from the prayer of serenity is "The wisdom to know the difference....." And wisdom, says Samuel Taylor Coleridge, is common sense in an uncommon degree. If one has the wisdom to wait a bit, wait until morning - or several mornings - that uncommon degree of common sense will give us the wisdom to know the difference. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

December 11 - Daily Feast

December 11 - Daily Feast When peace is scattered, imagine a flock of gentle sheep and lambs feeding in sunny meadows. Their slow gentle gait across the slopes and among the grasses is so peaceful that the whole atmosphere is laced with serenity. And then think what it is when a few goats get in with the sheep. Mischief begins. It is not the nature of goats to graze peacefully. They move among the sheep causing restlessness until the whole flock is ill at ease. There are goats among us. They cry and nip and bite, they stir up activity that is not congenial, and it is a real job to separate the sheep from the goats. And more than this, we have to make sure we are not one of the goats. ~ Selfhood is ever calm and unshaken by the storms of existence. ~ OHIYESA 'A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II' by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - December 11 "Peace... Comes within the souls of men when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the Universe dwells Wakan-Tanka, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us." --Black Elk (Hehaka Sapa) OGLALA SIOUX If we are to know peace we must look within ourselves. In order to do this, we must learn to be still. We must quiet the mind. We must learn to meditate. Meditation helps us locate and find the center that is within ourselves. The center is where the Great One resides. When we start to look for peace, we need to realize where it is within ourselves. When we experience conflict we need to pause for a moment and ask the Power within ourselves, "How do you want me to handle this? What would you suggest I do in this situation?" By asking the High Power for help we find peace. Creator, help me to find peace. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler A graphologist is a handwriting analysis expert who can take apart the loops and dashes of our penmanship and tell us about our nature. We have a natural curiosity about ourselves. We want to know whether our self-image is the true one. We often think we are capable of seeing another's true nature, but we seem to lack the ability to really know ourselves. In fact, so much about us reveals our disposition and temperament that it can be distressing. Our handwriting may tell us about our emotional nature, and we may learn that we are introverts by the slant of our letters, but much of our disposition can be self-analyzed by the way other people respond to us. It doesn't take a graphologist to tell us that if we are inconsistent in our friendliness, if the tongue alternates acid and honey, if we continually complain, continually gossip, criticize and pout, we are revealing a nature we too often think is hidden. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

December 10 - Daily Feast

December 10 - Daily Feast A great loneliness falls on some people at this time of the year. They feel the holidays are not for them - but for the happy people. But what they do not know is that the happy people could be live they, themselves, are if they would let it happen. Everyone has something to handle, something that hurts down deep, but it would be wrong to give in to the spirit of loneliness or grief. This is something trying to steal our peace of mind and we are not going to let that happen. When loneliness and melancholy knock on the door, take up the welcome mat and determine never to let them in again. ~ The white man is still troubled with primitive fears. ~ LUTHER STANDING BEAR - CHIEF 'A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II' by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - December 10 "Come forward and join hands with us in this great work for the Creator." --Traditional Circle of Elders, NORTHERN CHEYENNE The Elders have spent years learning to pray and communicate with the Great Spirit. Their job is to pass this knowledge onto the young people. The Elders have told us we are now in a great time of healing. The Creator is guiding them to help the young people figure this out. We must get involved and participate. We should pray and see what it is the Great Spirit wants us to do. We need to sacrifice our time to help the people and to be of maximum use to the Creator. Every person is needed to accomplish this great healing. Creator, whisper what You want me to do. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler The greatest tragedy of life is not that we quarrel with our fellows, but that we do not take the time to know them. In his great understanding of man and nature, Thoreau wrote, "Let a man take time enough for the most trivial deed." Take time. How often what seems to be an unfriendly atmosphere is only a lack of time. Some of our dearest friends are hidden behind the mask of hurry. And we need so desperately to know each other. Understanding comes when people are allowed to talk to one another. They discover the ways and needs, the loves and hopes, and the despairs and fears when they take enough time to speak of them. All these things that make for understanding and compassion come from personal contact and the knowledge and practice of good will. People become more civilized, more peaceful, more as God intended them to be when they take time to make friends out of acquaintances. To be a good listener endears many a friendship. Everyone needs someone with whom to talk at length on all subjects without later regret. It has been written, "What a great blessing is a friend with breast so trusty that you may bury all your secrets in it." And how often we need to be that friend and be the listener, and to make sure we are worthy of that trust. Listening comes in many ways. We listen with all our senses, knowing many times without having to be told what someone's needs are. Charles Dickens said that no one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it for anyone else. And it just may be by listening that we lighten another's load. Sometimes we listen with our hearts and understand in silence. Sometimes we simply have to put ourselves into a situation to understand all sides of it. And we best do so by listening. All our lives we carry secrets with us that we long to reveal to someone who understands. There are relationships in our lives better and closer than the ordinary. Closer yet than brothers or sisters are those with whom we can share all our secrets, we think. What a sad state of affairs when life imparts that others cannot always be trusted. What a shock to realize we have given all our hearts and bared our souls to people whose curiosity was the only motive that compelled them to listen. Phillip Massinger, sixteenth century pot wrote, "I have played the fool, the gross fool to believe the bosom of a friend would hold a secret mine own could not contain." Not one of us can testify that we have nothing within our lives and thoughts that we cannot reveal. And many of us have not expressed our innermost thoughts because we have found no one in whom we can confide. As Shakespeare said, "Many a man's tongue shakes out its master's undoing." Sometimes the loquacious tell their secrets not out of a need to tell them, but out of a love of talking. One of the greatest feelings in the world is to discover we haven't told something we cherish very much to someone we once thought we could trust. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!