To Aikya on Seeing God Everywhere Every Day

[Guest guest]

Aikya wrote:

 

My focus for a while has been to see God in everything...

My mind responds immediately to Native American material and one of

their prayers works for me for this focus...

Now I walk in beauty.

Beauty is before me.

Beauty is behind me,

Above and below me.

 

 

 

Dear Aikya ~ I too respond immediately to almost anything that has a Native

American focus (also I have two Native American spirit guides). I too love the

prayer you gave. When I was studying the Navajo Blessingway, one of the

things I did was read several books where there were entire passages from the

Blessingway. It is so beautiful. You start by going back to the moment before

time began, where there are no conditions, hence anything is possible,

including miracles. This is done by telling the Navajo Creation Story (actually

most

of the "telling" is sung or chanted). Then there is an honoring of the 5

directions (or 6, depending on whether you view them as spatial directions or

elements. The element are fire, water, earth, air, ether. The directions are N,

S, E, W, and up, down. Then there is a lot more that happens (these

ceremonies last 9 nights, which I find interesting because I have learned that

some

Hindu ceremonies, such as Navaratri also are 9 days/nights.

 

At some point during the ceremony, the prayer you gave is said. The version

I learned is a bit longer. Here it is:

 

I Walk in Beauty

Before me, all is Beautiful,

Behind me, all is Beautiful,

Above me, all is Beautiful,

Below me, all is Beautiful.

All around me everywhere,

All is Beautiful.

 

Not that different from the version you gave.

 

There is another part of the Blessingway that I love, which is where the

participants identify with the Earth, actually in the sense of viewing the Earth

as a "person." This view of all that is with each thing, person, animal,

plant, etc. being an actual "person" permeates Navajo spirituality, and when I

learned this, the phrase "all my relations" took on a whole new meaning. If I

see a rabbit as being a "person" just like me, it is very difficult not to be

respectful to the rabbit. In a sense, this is another way of seeing God in

everything.

 

This is the chant/song I wrote to convey this "personalizing" for use in

ceremonies. It is pretty much taken right from the Blessingway. I merely added

chant music, and shortened it a bit.

 

Earth's feet are my feet,

and thereby, I go through my life.

Her voice is my voice,

and thereby, I go through my life.

Her legs are my legs,

and thereby, I go through my life,

Her heart is my heart,

and thereby, I go through my life.

Her spirit is my spirit,

and thereby, I go through my life.

Earth's feet are my feet,

and thereby I go through my life.

 

I love this one ... and if I truly see the Earth, Bhu Devi and Mother calls

Her, in this way, it is much more difficult to mistreat her in any way. Ho ~

Linda