#Sweetgrass | bear Medicinewalker

Today is about the Sacred… today is all about being Gentle with yourself and others. We all have been experiencing some very in your face energies as of late, especially coming out from under that Wolf Moon over the weekend, with that in mind we need to remember that it takes time fro our spirits, souls, emotional, physical to process all that has occurred. whether we can physically see or understand it right away is not what is important… what is important is that we are not crazy…the energy was INTENSE! It was all about processing and moving forward, moving through… situations, obstacles, parts of the journey that are tough. But we can all handle it, for we are never given so much that we can not survive it. It may often feel that we will not, but in the long run we will Survive it ALL!

So with that said, be gentle with yourselves… remember to honor the Sacred of you and the Sacred Hoop… we are all but Human and can only take a step at a time!

Associated with the element of Air. The botanical name is Heirochloe odorata, currently growing mainly in the plains across the United States and on up into Canada. The plant can induce a soporific effect and have been used in meditation and shamanistic rituals with the belief that it has some mild psychotropic properties.

Native People believe that Sweet grass is the first plant that covered the Great Mother Earth. It is viewed as Sacred; we often use this plant for religious purposes such as making incense and calling spirits as well as to aid us during fasting. Drawing in positive vibrational energy along with purification it drives away the negative spirits and energies while the sweetness draws in the positive energies and spirits to assist us and guide us in the right ways.

When we use Sweetgrass for smudging drawing in positive energies it changes the energy of one’s space and being. Traditionally you will see the Sweetgrass twisted into braids commercially, and sometimes in smudge packages…I have braids in the rooms of my home and among my sacred objects. I often add clippings into my own smudge mixture with the White Sage, for it adds purification to the intention and space.

Sweetgrass can instantly change the energy surrounding one’s physical body and environment while improving our emotional state, bringing it to a renewed perspective. It draws the feelings of abundance and uplifts our spirits as it invades our senses. It also provides a positive energy to our auric fields and is useful as we perform energy work or healing practices. Used when you need to balance or are in need of comfort, it will bring calmness and peace to your thoughts. I have found it to immediately give me a sense of empowerment, of clarity, and the ability to refocus my thoughts in order to gain a better perspective from a more positive place.

“I am Dedicated to Educating and sharing the Native culture with the World. It is not enough merely to teach the ways of our Elders. We must honor those traditions by sharing and educating the World. Inspiring others …Inspiring our Youth. Through the Music… the Arts…the stories…”
Mitakuye O’yasin
~bear Medicinewalker

“Join Me as I continue the Sacred Hoop Project into this Year 2016…the year of Truths!”

Vanilla Skies” from Jonny Lipford available on Itunes and at http://www.jonnylipfordmusic.com/

This card and the other Totem of the Day cards are part of the “Mitakuye O`yasin – We Are All Related” Spiritual deck that I have created and is available at https://bearmedicinewalker.com/mitakuye-oyasin-spiritual-oracle-deck/

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”