Seven Steps of Walking the Red Road (Quote from book Red Hat Speaks)
Step 1: Observe nature with awe and gratitude. A sense of love and respect for all creation will begin to grow within me.
Creation. Our universe. The cycles of life and death. A vast composite of exquisite harmony--a truly beautiful harmonic symphony of melodious verse, with each vibratory element sustaining one another, loving one another. This is truly a miracle of melodies played out in the grand scheme of creation.
As we quietly observe a tiny red bird sitting on a branch serenading the early morning sun, we begin to understand the magnificent beauty of nature. The glorious sunflower that bows its head to the east, the little bear cub that goes into its first winter of hibernation, and the salmon that swim upstream every year to spawn, are all wondrous signs of the glorious harmony of nature. As we focus on Mother Earth, and the family of creation that she nourishes, we become filled with an exhilarating sense of awareness of the awesome blessing Great Spirit has bestowed on us. We are filled with a sense of love and respect, and with an overwhelming sense of gratitude. We begin to understand that we are all part of this miraculous environment.
Many yearn to return to an age of peace and harmony where we can all live in brotherhood, and in balance with creation. No one stands alone. We each need to understand that peace and harmony in the world begins with the love in our own hearts.
The ancestors watch with hopeful hearts that we will create a nurturing world for our children--that we will each contribute toward balance and respect for all creation.
Step 2: Learn to trust Creator, and accept my circumstances. Overcoming adversity will produce spiritual growth within me as I walk the Red Road.
A sweet, gentle melody drifts throughout the room, as mothers soft humming accompanies the delicious aroma of homemade bread. Warm contentment floods the soul. The ancestors smile.
The warmth of a mothers love is the foundation of the Cherokee way. Love is what it is all about. As we receive this love from mother, and other clan members, we learn to receive this same warm love from Creator. As this overwhelming love fills our heart, it overflows, and others around us receive of its blessing--the flow of Living Waters. We learn to give and receive unconditional love. It flows freely and abundantly between us, Great Spirit, and others.
Sweet, sweet contentment. Fragrance of sweet grass and sage smoke permeate the air. All is in harmony with Creator. Life is in balance.
Then one day we realize that there is something really wrong here--we are discontented with our circumstances. The warmth is gone, and a dark, foreboding coldness has set in--a coldness that chills the soul. We no longer experience love. We start to think, if we could only get more things, more power, more ego building, then surely we would be happy.
So we try to get, get, get, taking unfairly from others in the process. But happiness evades us. We become a sad, loathsome specimen of humanity. We no longer like whom we have become.
Where is the light that will lead us back to Creator, back to a joyful reunion with Him?
It is such a simple way back. It is in giving that we receive joy. It is in loving that we find love. It is in being a friend that we will have a friend. When we truly search for Creator with all our hearts, we will find Him. We will begin to understand the wisdom of the ancestors.
We choose whether we will walk in darkness or in the light. In the Dead Sea Scrolls, we are told how to distinguish between those who walk in darkness (sons of darkness) versus those who walk in light (sons of light.) We are told, if we will hurt a person to gain a thing, we are children of darkness, but if we will give up a thing for a person, then we are children of light.
When we look within ourselves, we know if we have chosen to walk in darkness or light. Also, by the fruit of our lives, so does everyone else. We hide nothing! We deceive only ourselves if we think others are unaware of our darkness!
If we want to return to our true Cherokee way, we must learn to walk in the light. We must learn to be content in the circumstances in which we find ourselves. We must learn to trust Creator, and live in harmony with all of Creation. Only then will we find true peace and joy, and learn to live in the wisdom of the ancestors.
Step 3: Seek for truth within myself, that I may remove hypocrisy and evil intent from within my heart.
In the very beginning, Creator gave us teachings to live by. These teachings lived in our hearts as spiritual truths that brought us abundant joy as we walked hand in hand with Him.
We knew how to love, honor, and respect our fellow brothers and sisters. In Native American culture, these teachings were passed on by stories and other word of mouth teachings during times of family and community bonding.
These were precious times, part of Cherokee culture. However, we taught our children most of all by the way we lived, especially how we treated others, how we treated all creation with respect, and how we lived in the will of Great Spirit. Many of us yearn to return to this mode of living and believe we can.
For most of us, the statement, Abstain from doing evil, is pretty clear. However, more understanding can be gained from the wisdom of ancient Hindu writings, and the teachings of ancient Jewish sages, that could help us learn to walk the Red Road in harmony with Creator, and thereby regain more of our Cherokee culture.
How we treat others is who we become. The more hurtful things we do to others, or say to others, or about others, the more tendencies (samskaras (Hindu)) we create within ourselves to do these things. We grow more and more into mean-spirited, hurtful people who turn their backs on Creator. We move into a darker, and darker state of being. Evil behavior is an addiction that feeds on itself.
However, there is a cure. The reverse is also true. The more we perform kind actions, with an attitude of unconditional love, and treat others with loving-kindness, tolerance, and respect, the more these tendencies will begin to grow within our own hearts. We will move closer, and closer to walking in harmony with Great Spirit. Our joy will grow in direct proportion to our attitudes of unconditional love, accompanied by actions performed with loving kindness and compassion.
We can regain true Cherokee culture as that practiced by our ancient ancestors. When we break old habits of evil tendencies, and develop new loving habits, we will become true Cherokee who walk harmoniously with Creator.
May Great Spirit guide our walk in the wisdom of the ancestors.
Step 4: Repent and humbly surrender my will to Creator, that I may become one with Great Spirit.
The joy of walking in harmony with Creator cannot be surpassed by any worldly activity. It produces a profound sense of peace ad completeness--it answers the question Who am I?
Then we might be led to ask ourselves, How can I find my way into this oneness with Creator?
First is the knowledge that when we search for Him with our whole hearts, we will find Him. However, to receive His blessing, we must be mentally and spiritually prepared. This is where repentance and humility come into the picture.
When our hearts are in a non-repentant state, we are rebelling against Creator with our entire being. In essence, we are shaking our fist at the universe. Likewise, arrogance, pride, and self-will close the doorway of communication with Him--we choose to lock Him out.
Repentance and humility are the open doorway to Creator. Through this doorway, we move into harmony with His loving spirit. This is the doorway through which we communicate with the ancestors--through which joyous blessings flow.
Total surrender of our will to Creator, in an attitude of repentance and humility, opens the doorway to Him, and we enter His spiritual realm. Our spirit merges with His, and an overwhelming gladness fills our being. We become complete in the fullness of His spirit, within the purpose for which we were created. In essence, we become one with Him.
Step 5: Communicate with Great Spirit from my heart--listen, and live the insight I receive.
As we live and breathe, we are one with Great Spirit. It is just as natural to be in Creator as it is to breathe. As the innocence of a newborn baby reflects Him, so must we return to this same state of innocence, in total trust of Him, if we are to return to the way of the ancestors.
The loss of unity of mind and heart is probably the greatest loss that keeps us from truly walking the Cherokee way. As an ancient sage tells us, Creator is on our lips, but far from our hearts. We can try to convince others that we walk with Great Spirit by speaking about holy things. However, our actions speak much louder than our words, and our actions betray what is in our hearts, and what is in our hearts is who we really are.
How long can we sit on the fence and pretend to be walking with Creator, while in truth we are merely vacillating between darkness and light. If we are trying to keep just a little evil in our lives, then we are like lukewarm water. Putrid! When will the specific moment in time be reached when we hear the words, So be it! You have chosen--you are what you have chosen to be!
There is a way back to unity in Creator. We need to start developing loving thoughts and loving habits. Our thoughts become actions, which in the end will determine our destiny.
May we walk in unity of body, mind, and spirit--in the wisdom of the ancestors.
Step 6: Learn true abstinence--it is in serving others, with an attitude of loving-kindness, that I create a flow of Living Waters which will purify my heart.
A hungry little girls face lights up with a smile, as we hand her a delicious hot meal--a plate filled with mashed potatoes and gravy, turkey, cornbread dressing, corn, squash, cranberries, and a hot roll. Our heart swells with joy. We gave up preparing a dinner at home so we could be here at the shelter to give a bit of happiness to someone else. This is true abstinence--to abstain from self-indulgence so we can lovingly share with someone else.
An act of kindness done for another, is the greatest gift we can give to ourselves. It unclogs our own heart, thereby allowing for the flow of Living Waters--and flowing water purifies. And, as the heart is purified, it fills with the comforting warmth of love and compassion. Oh, for the secure, comforting arms of mother, and the warmth of her love when we are feeling down or depressed. These comforting fruits of love and compassion are the fruits that bring joy to the ancestors.
It takes so little for us to share some good energy with another, and with our environment. May we each have the opportunity to lighten the burden of someone less fortunate than ourselves--may we share the gift of Living Waters.
May we face each new day praying that Creator will send someone our way--someone we may serve with humility and loving-kindness, that we may create a flow of Living Waters which will purify our hearts.
Step 7: Attain complete, joyous harmony with Great Spirit--walk the Red Road. This requires that I totally surrender my will to the will of Creator, and love others unconditionally without judgment because that is who I am.
The truth of the ancient Hebraic teaching, telling us to love Creator with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves, quickens our spirits. And again, the teaching to do this and life would be ours, assures us of His great love and promise.
This promise is not just for a future time, but life on this earth truly blossoms when we walk in harmony in the fullness of His spirit.
How did we Cherokee lose our culture? What is missing that we no longer walk the way of the ancient ancestors--the Cherokee way?
We need to understand the questions of, What must we do? and How do we do it? to redeem the way of the ancestors.
In the first command above, to love Creator with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves, we are told what to do. The ancestors have also revealed how we are to do it--total surrender to the will of Great Spirit, and unconditional love without judgment toward our fellow man. (Judgment stops the flow of love!)
There are at least two things missing from our lives today that prevent us from walking the Cherokee way. First, we need to learn ceremony and the traditional way of the ancestors. But is this enough? No, this will not return the ancestral way. We must have the spirit also.
Now, if we combine the traditional knowledge of the ancestors and elders with the spirit, then the Cherokee way will come alive!
Let us walk in the traditional, and spiritual ways of our ancestors. (Aho--so be it!)
Much love and warm thoughts, Dorothy K. Daigle, The Lady in White
Dorothy learned from Cherokee elder, John Red Hat Duke, of the Keetoowah spiritual ways. She cared for him the last years of his life, and had many deep, spiritual discussions with him. Her understanding of the Keetoowah spiritual ways are included in two books, Red Hat Speaks, and Red Hat's Wisdom. She now lives in the mountains of Colorado.
Ronald Reagan
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