If you would take a moment to stop and just think a second to realize how plants interact with all of our lives. They hold deep within them and are often willing to share knowledge with us easily and quickly, at other times not so much. They are around us and vibrantly position themselves within our human world to give and give whatever it is we need.
Think about it, there is a plant that holds every cure, every need for us humans on the planet, we only need to appreciate that … stop destroying the forests and trees … and embrace the idea of it.
Walk the world we live in and understand that there are plants that share themselves in order for us to use their smoke for prayers and cleansing. This is part of our Sacred Spiritual Walks. I am asked all the time about rituals and ceremony, yet people do not open to what is already in place, the steps that we need to follow to honor and respect what has been shared with us by the Great Mother Earth.
When we burn some of these plants the aroma produced will assist us to travel to a different state of mind and allowing us to enter into a deeper part of our souls. The very scents they share can inspire and awaken us to help guide us as we walk the human. Smudging with sacred sage and herbs as well as smoking sacred tobacco are two of the ways I implement and honor the plant world in my own walk. We use smudging to remove negative energy to bring rise to visions, clearing sacred space and opening our soul so that we are open to knowledge that the Ancestors wish to share and the healing energies we call for to be used for positives as we journey upon this world. It is best to smudge after sessions of healing work when we come in contact with any negative energy, removing any negative energy that may hang on or linger. This is much like disinfecting a room or place after an illness.
Tobacco is used for the rising smoke from our pipes to carry Prayers to the Ancestors and the Creator, also for honoring events in our lives and placing them in prayer ties, a pinch for a prayer or offering for a soul that is transitioning or traveling, including the many creatures we may come across that have passed.
Plants and herbs are found on all continents, the being in the types of plants and herbs that grow and are found to be indigenous in the various regions. All of Creation is sacred and has purpose. Using what is shared with us by the Plant People and the Creature world and using them with positive purpose is to honor and respect their life. All of the Plant People carry their own medicine which they happily share with us if we will but listen.
If they decide that they will work with you, they will share all about themselves, what their uses are and how to use them in positive ways that will not only help yourself but others as well. The Plant People hold the knowledge of the cures for disease. The more that are destroyed on the planet, the more information to that knowledge slips out of our reach.
Remember to always thank the plant that has honored you with its medicine by leaving an offering of tobacco anytime you take something from the natural world. This will acknowledge to the Plant People, the Ancestors and the Creator that you are indeed sincere about the use and knowledge that you seek from them and that you are working with them for spiritual purposes.
The Creator has put all we need to survive and walk our paths here on this planet, so we need to recognize that nature is also living sacred beings. Show gentleness, be respectful, and honor all life as Sacred. There is a Native tradition that I honor of walking by seven plants before picking anything. In this way, we leave enough for the next 7 generations, also by replanting what you have picked to ensure that tradition.
The four sacred herbs represent the Four Directions they are: Cedar, Sage, Tobacco, and Sweet grass. They are used in smudging, cleansing, and for prayers to connect us with our Spiritual selves. Each contain and share their own medicines.
Sweet grass is the sacred herb of the North, a purifying herb used to cleanse the mind, body, and spirit.
Cedar is the sacred herb of the South; it purifies as well as pulls positive energy into your sacred space.
Tobacco is the sacred herb of the East, the direction of Grandfather Sun, Eagle, and the Creator. We send our prayers up in its smoke, and Eagle takes them to the Creator.
Sage is the sacred herb of the West, used in smudging to purify, and to send prayers to the Creator.
At times we will be called to use specific herbs or plants, and when this happens, we must honor that request, for the plant is speaking to us for a reason, and it usually refers to what we are experiencing in our journey at that time.
Mitakuye O`yasin
~ bear Medicinewalker
Canyon Records present Louie Gonnie “Pathways to Destiny”
