Heartnotes

     He was double-wrapped in a blanket, bound with ropes, and lay face down on the altar in the middle of the floor when the lights went out. He was all alone.        He was summoned to find a cure for a very sick elder, and the community had come together in support late in the night. My friends and I were at Six Nations rez and had come to offer our prayers. Friends and relatives came from all over, bringing food to share with all who were there. Children remained quiet as young and old prepared for the hour or so ahead of them.       My energy was elevated and my mind was fully present as it recorded every single detail. I felt honored to be able to offer my prayers to Creator for the purpose of this sacred ceremony. We were probably close to fifty spread out across the room forming a large human circle of intent. Cross-legged on the floor, we all sat waiting for the ceremony to begin. Even though the fragra...

     Heading to Six Nations Rez in Canada, I was stuffed in the middle between two Mexica brothers in the backseat of my friend’s SUV. There were seven of us, and it was going to be a long, cramped drive, but I didn’t care. We were heading to Sundance, and Chief Arvol Looking Horse was running it. It was going to be my first time, and I was really excited to be doing the first of the four-year commitment there instead of baking in the hot sun in the Arizona desert.        It was late in the evening by the time we arrived, and it was a cold night to be sleeping in a tent with no fire to keep warm, but somehow we all managed.      Morning came early as other dancers milled around the campgrounds, preparing themselves for the days ahead. It was four days of dancing from sun-up to sundown in the sweltering heat with no water, wearing moccasins and a red calico print dress. I was ready.      The dru...

Forty-something people were crowded in the lodge that day and hysteria began to rise in my throat. Claustrophobic, but there was no way out; the door was closed. My heart thudded wildly and the temperature kept rising and rising. I was smashed into the uppermost part of the east side of the lodge when the sweat broke out and cascaded down my forehead, tears streaming from the corners of my eyes. It was my very first time in the sweat lodge, and “grandfather,” Don Cardinal, was doing his thing. It was the East door, and he called in Creator, the ancestors, and the helper spirits. I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck prickle as I felt my ancestors brush past my face and pass through my body. I could feel their overwhelming joy that I had chosen to come back home. I heard whispers and some words I understood completely. All of a sudden, I heard this little whimper and a small voice that said, “Help me, please, I can’t make it. I have to get out of here. Please, I want out.”...

Dear Beautiful Ones,      As you make your transition into this new year, take heed. It is time to lay down all of the ugliness that has riddled your thoughts. Identify, overcome, and let them go so that you can excel in this next phase of your existence. You are the one who needs to be more aware of the things that you do to sabotage yourself. Seek peace within and be a martyr to your own soul. Justice, truth, and fulfillment of your own destiny will make your light grow brighter. Make yourself a priority, because there is no one better or more deserving. Do not shortchange yourself with foolish lies that you entrapped yourself with.      Walk into this new year with faith and peace in your heart. Surrender to your loving nature by becoming the glue that binds up wounds and heals the sick. Together we all form a cohesive network of continuous energy. You matter, and every person has something to contribute in this life. There is no task th...

Dear Beautiful Ones, There is much love that surrounds each and every one of you today, and every day. Lift up your hearts and take it. It’s all for you. There is nothing that God wouldn’t do for you. You are the ones that make the world a little brighter. Be strong in your praises and do not doubt for a second, for a second can be just enough time for the thorns to poke through. You are radiant and magnificent and each and every one of you merge together to form a perfect piece of the puzzle. Let the divine presence of God continue to shine through you. Let go and allow compassion and kindness to rule your hearts. Step out of the mundane and take giant steps forward. There is nothing to fear. Each and every one of you is growing tremendously and will be taken care of. Trust, trust, trust. There is nothing sweeter than a soul cleansed with love. Be an example of truth and help set others free, no matter how difficult the challenge may be. You are all here for each other and have ...

  Dear Beautiful Ones,      Sometimes life has a habit of pulling us down when we get caught up in all the things that we feel we need to do. We tend to not take time to take care of ourselves and often put things off for another day. Our own uniqueness gets lost among the many reflections of busyness.      I was having one of those days where I had a thousand things on my mind and wasn’t paying much attention to anything in particular. Not staying in the moment, and certainly not thinking about anything magnificent. I was oblivious to me. I had just returned home from running errands and decided to take the garbage bins out of the street and into the backyard. They had already been emptied so I figured I might as well get that chore out of the way.       As I wheeled the first bin into its designated spot, a plain looking grasshopper jumped into my path to sun himself. I mouthed a “hello little grassh...

Dear Beautiful Ones,      Sometimes the best laid plans don’t always seem to bring the desired result. Often we give up just when the very thing that we have been working toward is about to come to light. “If you take a look around you and pay attention to the natural world, then you will understand how things work,” a great medicine man once told me.      Several weeks ago, a little spider came to my room and decided to make a home for himself inside the window sill next to my bed. He was all alone in that window and wasn’t any bigger than a speck of dirt. Every day I watched that spider. At first he didn’t seem to be making much progress and even wondered what he was eating to stay alive. Slowly he built a thin spiral web that went down into the groove of the window sill. Each day I watched that spider, and each day that little spider made progress. The thin web became pretty thick after spinning layer upon layer. Since I never saw any ...