Tag: Cherokee Feast of Days

June 12 – Daily Feast

There is an undercurrent that feeds us false impressions like a gentle trap that tells us we are doing right – because it feels right. Feelings are so easily manipulated they can’t be trusted as a measure in anything. We stay with bad habits because it feels right. The habit comforts our feelings and the familiar touch makes us believe we can’t give it up. But it is the path that winds back through the same experiences – almost like being lost in a jungle. We think we are on the right road out, until we find our own footprints going around and around. Whether it is a habit or a person, or a situation we are trying to escape, we have to know our feelings are not to be trusted. They keep us knocking on a door that seems like home but is simply the same stopping-off, na hna I, familiar place. Beware of feelings that deceive.

It has been said that there is no deceit in touching the pen to sign a treaty, but I have always found it full of deceit. ~

STANDING ELK

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

‘THINK on THESE THINGS’ for June 11

‘THINK on THESE THINGS’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

So much has been written about happiness – the way to it, the reasons for it, the symbols of it – and still people search for that very special something that will assure happiness forever after. Of all the recipes for lasting happiness, we finally have to mix our own. But the one thing everyone has in common is the need for a little bit more. We have this and this, for which we are very thankful, but always the need is extended to that little bit more.

Happiness is like any other part of our lives, we must use wisdom in seeking it. We too often rush headlong into something that seems to be instant happiness, all the time telling ourselves we can right the wrong at a later time. But happiness doesn’t remain happiness for very long when it has such strings attached.

In order to e rightly happy we concentrate on getting, but it is giving that we find most necessary to mix into every recipe. To some happiness will always be elusive, never quite settling anywhere, never quite revealing itself, for they have yet to learn that happiness has the wings of angels, the breath of God, and the love of man, all hidden within Him.

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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

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June 11 – Daily Feast

June 11 – Daily Feast


There is an undercurrent that feeds us false impressions like a gentle trap that tells us we are doing right – because it feels right. Feelings are so easily manipulated they can’t be trusted as a measure in anything. We stay with bad habits because it feels right. The habit comforts our feelings and the familiar touch makes us believe we can’t give it up. But it is the path that winds back through the same experiences – almost like being lost in a jungle. We think we are on the right road out, until we find our own footprints going around and around. Whether it is a habit or a person, or a situation we are trying to escape, we have to know our feelings are not to be trusted. They keep us knocking on a door that seems like home but is simply the same stopping-off, na hna I, familiar place. Beware of feelings that deceive.
It has been said that there is no deceit in touching the pen to sign a treaty, but I have always found it full of deceit.

 

~STANDING ELK

 
‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler
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June 7 – Daily Feast

Confession may be good for the soul, but it seldom makes the one that heard it feel good. The nee to clear the air or get something out in the open can cause a bigger rift than the reason for confessing in the first place. Words cannot be retrieved once they are spoken. They are gone and calling them back is impossible. Some weigh on people’s hearts like hi lv s gi nv ya, many stones or heavy rock. Some are flung, like di ga it s di, a spear, to wound. And most should never have been spoken. Life and death are in the use of words. If we feel the need to confess something, we should do it where the listener knows how to handle what we say. It is an unthinking person that needs to be relieved of a burden to the point of putting it on someone who may find it hard to bear.
~ He knew his words were bad; he trembled like the oak whose roots have been wasted by many rains. ~

KEOKUK
‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler
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June 6 – Daily Feast

The mind is like a bag with a drawstring. When the string is pulled so tight that nothing can go into the bag or come out – that is nervous tension. The problem is held in and the solution is kept out. At these times it helps to walk – at least far enough to detach from everything that reminds a worrier that he is hemmed in. While the feet are busy, the mind relaxes – maybe not to the point of being tranquil but at least to be able to adanv tesgv, think clearly or work things out mentally. And during the walk, deliberately turn thoughts to vision – seeing every detail, every sunflower. Look at the shape of a leaf, the spider’s web, and look for color, and be grateful for the ears to hear and the eyes to see. Nothing heals the spirit and opens the way like turning loose of a problem.

~ Neither anger not fear shall find lodging in your mind. ~

DEKANWIDAH

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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June 5 – Daily Feast

June 5 – Daily Feast

Nothing equals the loveliness of a summer morning when the first rays of sunlight sweep a field of wheat ready for harvest. The honey-colored heads bow with the weight of grain and the moisture of dew. Few of us could miss the peace that comes when the first light breaks through the foliage at the far side of the woods. It beams misty shafts of gold into areas untouched at any other time of day. It passes quickly and leaves the need to see it again. A miracle happens with the morning light. Worried thought lightens with the trill of the summer tanager. The wild purple cone flowers make their appearance in the meadow – and so the day begins.

~ Warm as go gi a ga li s gv, the peaceful day begins.
Warm as summer sunshine, the peaceful day a leni s gv. ~

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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June 4 – Daily Feast

June 4 – Daily Feast

What is so strange about using our words to build? Doesn’t it make more sense to build something than to tear down? Who is closer to us than ourselves – other than Above-the-Sky, Galun-lati! We spend most of our time listening to our own words – words that go into our ears to build or tear us down. Sometimes they whisper in our silent talk, sometimes we say them and they affect us deep in our hearts. Confidence may come because of what someone else told us, but it is maintained by what we tell ourselves. We boot it every time we say we can do what we once thought impossible. We lose it by confirming what fear told us is true. Talking can change our circumstances when we change the words.

~ Tecumseh said to Big Warrior, “I will stamp my foot on the ground and shake down all your lodges.” (An earthquake struck and tumbled the village.) ~

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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‘THINK on THESE THINGS’ for June 1

‘THINK on THESE THINGS’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

There is much to be said of small things. Even in this age of emphasis on bigness, we must realize that bigness is only a mass of small things. An idea is a small thing. With it we can change our world. We can take a tiny seed and give it careful attention and reap a hundred fold. We can take a little idea and give it our attention and build it into a fortune.

A smile is a small thing. Smile once at someone in passing and three will return the smile. Smiling is so contagious that it moves from person to person until a hundred smiling faces are the result of one.

A thought is a small thing. One thought inspires another and another until a mental image is formed. From that mental image blueprints are drawn. And from those blueprints worlds are built.

Here is a small thing. One tiny glimmer of hope can lift us out of the deepest pit of darkness. One whisper of encouragement will help us to know that as long as there’s hope there is an excellent chance.

A wish is a small thing. Like a little prayer, it climbs the steps to an idea that makes a smile and gives us hope to make our wishes come true. For in small things are all great things formed, in little beginnings the possibilities of great events.

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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

 
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June 1 – Daily Feast

June 1 – Daily Feast

 
JUNE


Da tsalu’nee
Green Corn Month

I am….the Cherokees are….your friends…..Our wish is for peace. Peace at home and Peace among you…..
CHIEF JOHN ROSS

June 1 – Daily Feast

The morning is quiet and the high-pitched cry of the hawk carries clear to the quail and rabbits that rely on their sharp hearing to skitter out of sight. The hawk is hunting, and the small things of nature want no part of it. Threatening sounds – whether from a t wo di, hawk, or sirens, or angry voices – are frightening. As a child, a lesson in survival was learned when a rabbit ran the length of a field beneath a barbed-wire fence with a hawk in pursuit. The hawk was not about to fly into the barbs and gave up to hunt easier prey. The rabbit lay spent from fear, panting and gasping – but unafraid of a child that was no adananuladi, no threat or danger. It is easy to go weak from fear. But how many know where to run to when angry sounds threaten? The hawk does not hover over us but Yoweh does.

~ I hear nothing but pleasant words. ~

MONGAZID, 1825

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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March 28 – Daily Feast

March 28 – Daily Feast

Few sounds in nature are harsh. Even the rolling thunder that rumbles across the sky has solemn beauty. The wind makes whistles in the treetops and wild birds warble like rivulets of water that make harps among the shallows. The frenzied crash and blare come from man. The woods comfort with their sounds. A tiny yellow warbler with black wings sits in the redbud tree and makes the sound of an astral flute, a clear call for peace and harmony. If the bird wants a tranquil place – how much more we need it. A wet-weather spring feeds the ground from beneath, giving ferns moisture and life. In the rainy season the water flows and the delicate fronds mingle with the water creating a swishing sound. Surely we can absorb the serenity to heal and soothe our souls.

~ Creator of the world, Maker of all men; Lord of lords, my eyes fail me…..for the sole desire to know thee. ~

INCA HYMN

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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March 27 – Daily Feast

March 27 – Daily Feast

When we were born, we could not walk or talk or even focus our eyes. But the ability to do all these things and more was born in us. By continual effort, we still grow and learn and develop our identities. We learned early that we were not a bird and not an animal. And this is where personality begins to question – then, what am I? Who am I? Why am I here? Is this an identity crisis? No, it is a belief crisis. Every person has a hard time believing he has a specific reason for being here. Some have such a hard time believing that they go out and demand what others have. They see themselves outside the circle – not believing their own words and beliefs put them where they are. To a Cherokee status is freedom to move, freedom to achieve honor within himself, freedom to worship, and freedom to do what is right without ridicule.

~ They (the Cherokees) are apt in catching the spirit of growth…. ~

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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March 26 – Daily Feast

March 26 – Daily Feast

To be convinced that we are not alone in whatever place or situation we find ourselves is to have wisdom – exceptional wisdom. But when that wisdom is there and nothing can shake it, a need to share is strong. Everybody doesn’t have the gift because everyone doesn’t want it. Some can’t even believe that anyone else has it. So, we should never try to convince them. If we are convinced, then, that is sufficient evidence, and other things will add to it as we go along. The Great Spirit speaks to us in sweet languages, so unique we cannot miss the import of what is said. To receive such a gift can change a situation from deep fear to one of total contentment and love.

~ I heard the mockingbird singing in the moonlight. I knew that moment that I would get well. ~

LONE WOLF

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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‘THINK on THESE THINGS’ for March 21

‘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.

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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

March 21 – Daily Feast

March 21 – Daily Feast

Other people have problems the same way we do. If the get loud about them, we don’t have to react. Resistance makes difficult times even more difficult to handle. It helps not to threaten but to let things cool down naturally. The Cherokee word for this is, to hi ge se s di, making peace, or peace for the earth. Forgiveness seems to be a necessity for so many things that are wrong. Forgiveness never degrades but elevates, and is not to let someone else get away with something but to free ourselves from an entanglement. It frees us from bitter resentment that can make us sick – and can help heal the sickness if it is already there. Eventually, it makes us glad that we did not react, doing and saying things for which we would later be sorry.

~ They fight among themselves, but if you strike at them they will turn on you. ~

LITTLE CROW, 1951

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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‘THINK on THESE THINGS’ for March 20th

‘THINK on THESE THINGS’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

How weak-willed are we at times when we’ve made a decision and know we must stand on it. It is so much easier to give in to the easy way of doing things.

We are almost a “house divided against itself,” and the strain of staying with a decision seems almost our enemy. But we never gain much stature by giving in to ourselves against our better judgment. And we never get anywhere by scattering our efforts.

Making a decision is difficult enough without losing one’s determination in following through. Laying down the responsibility is somewhat like warning children to behave themselves and then permitting them to continue to misbehave.

How long has it been since you’ve proven to yourself that you mean business in carrying out a plan?

A man of wisdom has written that we have firmness of character when we have the ability to say “no” to the wrong as well as to those things which are good but stand in the way of our progress.

Always remember that to want something that is good and right is the blessing. God gave us the ability to desire or we would never have thought of using it. But God also gave us the ability to cry, to feel pain, and the freedom to choose whether we go on or quit.

In our lives we face many decisions. Some are hard to make because we know we must turn our backs upon something that seems harmless at the moment simply because we know it would not be good in the long run.

But there are also decisions that are more challenge than decision. They are the good things that are placed before us, and our will to follow through is tested. When defeat seems sure, then is the time to begin to fight. When others are quitting, then is the time to throw more strength into the battle. Anything worth having is worth working for, and is of lasting value.

Very often these sieges must be made silently and without seeming effort. And yet we know we cannot get something for nothing. We have s service to perform. We can make it a drudge, or we can make it a delightful experience, according to our faith. Be persistent. Unless you do not particularly want your dreams to come true, you can’t afford to know the meaning of apathy. You must continually be on the scene with the muscles of your mind toned.

It isn’t difficult to have a dream. But it often ceases at that point. The willingness to follow through, the determination to look impossibilities in the eye and trudge on must be practiced before that dream can amount to anything. All along life’s road there are those who would discourage you, very often in ignorance, not realizing the effect of their words upon you. It is then that you must muster the strength to believe that theirs is only an opinion while your plans are based on the principle that all good things come to those who hustle while they wait.

It is too bad that they cannot see your invisible companions, persistence, faith, and a worthwhile plan. Smile and walk on.

There is a Divine Being with whom we can place all our obstacles, all our doubts and dears – and then our work begins. We give lovingly of friendship, of any kind of help that we are capable of giving, of positive words and thoughts and understanding.

Give without thought of return. For while we are giving with loving selflessness, life shapes for us our heart’s desires.

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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

March 20 – Daily Feast

March 20 – Daily Feast

Someone said the test of courage is not to give up but to rise up and take dominion over melancholy moods. To give in to mood swings from sadness to anger makes finding stable ground even more difficult. In fact, it probably cause more, nu ne lv na, which in Cherokee means mischief or harm, than any other thing. When talking to someone trustworthy does not ease the stress, then writing it can make a world of difference. Writing it to ourselves can bring out many causes for sadness or anger that we didn’t know we were harboring. A daily journal has been the source of help in learning what we store away unconsciously, only to come out and whip us at the most unlikely times. It is a way of cleaning house and making corrections in the privacy of our own minds without having to tell the world.

~ Do not hurt your neighbor, for it is not him you wrong but yourself. ~

THE SHAWNEE

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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“THINK ON THESE THINGS’ for March 15th

‘THINK on THESE THINGS’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

It is written that where there’s a will there’s away. If a desire is sincere and the results are for the good of everyone, the first giant steps have already been taken. American clergyman Joel Hawes has been quoted, “You may be whatever you resolve to be. Determine to be something in the world, and you will be something – ‘I cannot’ never accomplishes anything; ‘I will try’ has wrought wonders.”

A positive attitude can be one of the greatest joys to experience. To begin a day by willing everything good, and meeting any obstacle with the idea that it has no power, can make some of the most sudden and drastic changes in anyone’s life.

To be something or someone is one of the strongest desires, but it does mean sacrifices of doubt and apprehension and feeling sorry for oneself. It means standing straighter when it is more comfortable to crawl. It means laughing instead of lamenting. It means thinking positively and speaking good words.

It is said that a great deal of talent is lost in this world for the want of a little courage. We often think of courage as the kid that wins wars and braves new fronts. But there is another plain, ordinary kind of courage that helps us face our everyday problems.

There is a surprising lack of this kind of courage, and it leads us to seek ways to dodge our responsibilities. It takes a tremendous amount of courage to face everything and everyone and take a firm stand for what we believe. It takes courage to admit we have weaknesses and needs that we must overcome. It is a daily fight to follow the right road when the wrong one looks so smooth. And it takes courage to believe, when obstacles face us.

God has given courage to each of us, for strength to overcome is available to all who are courageous in asking for help to be courageous.

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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

March 15 – Daily Feast

March 15 – Daily Feast

Why judge yourself by what someone else is saying? They only know what they think. Can we fit our lives into the narrow confines of theirs? We can search our own souls. And most likely, we will find that we have connections uniquely our own – deeper in many ways than those with whom we would like to be in accord. But there’s no way we can whip ourselves into being like someone else. We can only make ourselves better. Regardless of how we have been conditioned to think, we know right from wrong. It is innate and speaks loud enough that if we want to hear it, we will. The only thing that keeps us from hearing is the clamor of voices outside ourselves – and they have no other purpose but to destroy. Don’t dally with trouble. Refuse to be a part of anything you would not look at in the light.

~ Each man is good in His sight. It is not necessary for eagles to be crows. ~

SITTING BULL

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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March 13 – Daily Feast

March 13 – Daily Feast

There are special places in our lives that live on forever. Just entering there in memory makes them live again. We feel the heat and the cold, catch the fragrance so familiar, the aroma of certain foods, or even hear a bit of a song. There are too many reasons to count, too many feelings, for us ever to lose touch with some part of us that was then – and is now. People are part of our memories, too – living within our thoughts and influencing our thinking like the wind that we feel but cannot see. We are made up of many things, many experiences that we do not want to lose, but we also have the power to keep yesterday in its place and make the most of today. Yesterday was the foundation, but today is the house, and we’re living there and keeping things in their proper order.

~ As a child I understood how to give; I have forgotten this grace since I became civilized. ~

OHIYESA

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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March 11 – Daily Feast

March 11 – Daily Feast

Can you see the wind? Can you see the fragrance of flowers floating on the breezes? Can you see thought or what it is that changes a tree from bare limbs and brown leaves to lush green? Can you see love or joy or peace? We can only see evidence of these invisible things, and it is enough to make us know they do exist. The substance of life is so evident, so real and beautiful. Why is it that we ever question the existence of our Creator, who set all things in motion? Are we so base, so grounded that unless it gives us momentary pleasure, feeds our starving appetites, we cannot recognize the greatest help available? It is Galun lati, the Great Holy Spirit, invisible but more real than all we see that is tangible.

~ We see the changes of day and night….the seasons, the stars, the moon, the sun. Anyone must know it is the work of some one more powerful than man. ~

CHASED-BY-BEARS

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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