Black Elk 1863 - 1950 Every step you take should be a prayer. And if every step you take is a prayer, then you will always be walking in a sacred manner. -- Black Elk _________________ Heȟáka Sápa (Black Elk) (December 1863 – August 19, 1950) was a famous Wičháša Wakȟáŋ (Medicine Man and Holy Man) of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux). He was Heyoka and a second cousin of Crazy Horse. Black Elk was born in December 1863 along the Little Powder River (thought to be in the present-day state of Wyoming). According to the Lakota way of measuring time, (referred to as Winter counts) Black Elk was born the Winter When the Four Crows Were Killed on Tongue River. When Black Elk was nine years old, he was suddenly taken ill and left prone and unresponsive for several days. During this time he had a great vision in which he was visited by the Thunder Beings (Wakinyan), and taken to the Grandfathers — spiritual representatives of the six sacred directions: west, east, north, south, above, and below. These ...spirits were represented as kind and loving, full of years and wisdom, like revered human grandfathers. When he was seventeen, Black Elk told a medicine man, Black Road, about the vision in detail. Black Road and the other medicine men of the village were astonished by the greatness of the vision Black Elk had learned many things in his vision to help heal his people. He had come from a line long of medicine men and healers in his family; his father was a medicine man as were his paternal uncles. Late in his life as an elder, he related to John Neihardt the vision that occurred to him in which among other things he saw a great tree that symbolized the life of the earth and all people. Neihardt recorded all of it in minute detail, and consequently it is preserved in various books today. In his vision, Black Elk is taken to the center of the earth, and to the central mountain of the world. What mythologist Joseph Campbell explained as the axis mundi, the central point, the pole around which all revolves...the point where stillness and movement are together... Black Elk was residing at the axis of the six sacred directions. Campbell viewed Black Elks statement as key to understanding myth and symbols. As Black Elk related: And while I stood there I saw more than I can tell and understood more than I saw; for I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of all things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being. And I saw that the sacred hoop of my people was one of many hoops that made one circle, wide as daylight and as starlight, and in the center grew one mighty flowering tree to shelter all the children of one mother and one father. And I saw that it was holy. Black Elk had many visions throughout his life which reinforced what he had experienced as a boy, and he worked among his people as a healer and medicine man. Grandfather, Great Spirit, once more behold me on earth and lean to hear my feeble voice. You lived first, and You are older than all need, older than all prayer ... You are the life of all things. ***** The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people 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 (the Great Spirit), and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us. This is the real peace, and the others are but reflections of this. The second peace is that which is made between two individuals, and the third is that which is made between two nations. But above all you should understand that there can never be peace between nations until there is known that true peace, which, as I have often said, is within the souls of men. ***** Every step you take should be a prayer. And if every step you take is a prayer, then you will always be walking in a sacred manner. ***** Great Spirit, Great Spirit, my Grandfather, all over the earth the faces of living things are all alike...Look upon these faces of children without number and with children in their arms, that they may face the winds and walk the good road to the day of the quiet. ***** A warrior who had more than he needed would make a feast. He went around and invited the old and needy....The man who would thank the food--some worthy old medicine man or warrior--said: ...look to the old, they are worthy of old age; they have seen their days and proven themselves. With the help of the Great Spirit, they have attained a ripe old age. At this age the old can predict or give knowledge or wisdom, whatever it is; it is so. At the end is a cane. You and your family shall get to where the cane is. ***** Grown men can learn from very little children for the hearts of the little children are pure. Therefore, the Great Spirit may show to them many things which older people miss. ***** The life of an Indian is like the wings of the air. That is why you notice the hawk knows how to get his prey. The Indian is like that. The hawk swoops down on its prey; so does the Indian. In his lament he is like an animal. For instance, the coyote is sly; so is the Indian. The eagle is the same. That is why the Indian is always feathered up; he is a relative to the wings of the air. ***** In our language there is no word to say inferior or superiority or equality because we are equal; its a known fact. But life has become very complicated since the newcomers came here. And how does your spirit react to it? Its painful. You have to be strong to walk through the storm. I know Im a bridge between two worlds. All I ask is for people to wash their feet before they try to walk on me. ***** The first day of fall brings with it the promise of quiet and peace. A stillness permeates the woods and about the only sounds are woodpeckers drumming on a hollow tree and blue jays squawking at squirrels they cannot tolerate. A sweet peace that connects with us and helps us relax. The hills are rose-beige and rounded on top with horses grazing quietly along the sides. Deep ravines where water has eroded the dirt are dark marks such as a child would make with a crayon, and most likely have housed a bobcat or two. This is the season when we do not hunker down and endure but we enjoy to the utmost. The color, the fresh air, the fall fruit and vegetables and smell of earth turned up by the plow. If something is not right, fix it, and dont let this pleasant time go to waste! ***** Like attracts like. If we give up, so will others. If we cry, so will they. But if we decide this is a new beginning, others will take courage. We influence other people. Our attitudes send out ripples of feeling - like the scent of flowers that floats on air currents. What we think and say sets the stage for what is to happen. We can change our minds, our words, our attitudes, and we stop crying. We act like our prayers are already answered and take steps to show we believe it. When the early morning sun breaks through the far side of the woods, the dark places are lighted and much healing takes place. And so it is with us. ~ Great Spirit, you lived first, and you are older than all need. ***** I think the spiritual values come first and everything else follows. To properly develop, the human being needs to learn the guiding principles. It is from these principles that we make our decisions. Spiritual values are the guiding principles given to us by the Great Spirit. He says if we live by these spiritual values, the results we experience will be good. These spiritual values will develop and guide the human being by helping us to think right. Right thinking will improve our choices and decisions. Doing this will bring good consequences. Great Spirit, teach me values first. Black Elk, Oglala Sioux & Spiritual Leader (1863 - 1950)
Posted on: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 06:18:07 +0000
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