Grandfather, Wakan Tanka,

teach me to trust my heart, my mind, my intuition,

my inner knowing, the senses of my body,

the blessing of my spirit.

Teach me to trust these things so that I may enter

my sacred space and love beyond my fear.

And thus walk in balance with the passing

of each glorious sun……

 

Lakota prayer

 

 

THE SACRED RED ROAD

 

 

    Walking on the Sacred Red Road is following the Great Spirit, the Mother Earth and the sacred ways of the Native North American Ancestors. We start to walk on this road when we recognize and answer the call to restore the sacred balance in our life and the will to live through the teachings of the Sacred Circle of Life, and when we recognize and feel in our heart the inestimable value of this ancient way to live and interact with the World. 

 

    Creation follows the Universal law of equilibrium, and moving, transforming, and growing in cycles, in circles. Our Sacred Mother the Earth whirling and dancing in circles around our Sacred Father the Sun and initiating and completing her four cycles of transformation through the equinoxes and solstices. We are dancing and cycling with her through our four stages of life by being a child, an adolescent, an adult and an elder. In the Sacred Circle of Life the center is the Creator of All, the Great Spirit who dwells in everything. The circle is the People and all Creatures. In the circle nobody is higher or lower because everybody has the same distance from the center, has the same value and the same power which is the gift of life. 

   

    The foundation and the essence of the Sacred Red Road are respect and caring for the self and for all Creation and living by true spiritual values, dreams and visions, and by following spiritual guidance from the Spirit and from the Elders. It is a way to listen to our spirit and to the living spirit in all; to the Great Spirit, to Mother Nature, to the Universe. It is not a philosophy, a religion or a belief system, it is a way of life, a way to live in harmony with the self and with all Creation, not only thinking or talking about it, but to walk and to live that way. To be aware that in the Sacred Circle of Life all beings are gifted and have a sacred purpose and the sacred right to be, to be respected and to be cared for. The strength of the circle depends on how much everybody cares about each other. Purification, healing, spiritual connection, listening and acting through the heart in the benefit of all is the way to find our sacred place and purpose in the Sacred Circle of Life on this road. 

 

    As human beings, like anything else, we are born from the Great Mystery, free and equal and we all share the same space and resources and the same parents; Mother Earth and Father Sky. We are all family, all related. Our relatedness is not only with other human beings, but with all known and unknown Creatures in this Universe, the Galaxies, the Stars, the Planets, the Mother Earth, the Four Elements, the Rocks, the Plants and the Animals. We can´t even exist without them.

 

    Walking on the Sacred Red Road is a very beautiful way to be a true human being. It is not about gaining power over anything, but to gain spiritual power within, in the benefit of all Creation. It is a way to honor Creation and to walk in balance, in harmony, in beauty with the Sacred Source of All, with the Ancestors, with all our relations and with our self; the Sacred Child of our Celestial and Earthly parents. When we truly respect and care about all creation then we can live and grow in harmony, in peace and truly be happy.

 

    On the Sacred Red Road, men and women are equally Caretakers of the Sacred Tree of Life, the Source of All Our Relations. We are directly responsible for how and what we create for the next seven generations to come and we have to live and to act through that awareness. To walk and to live on this road, we need to commit ourselves to unconditionally serve the well-being of All Creation and want to live in peace. We need to accept and to be conscious that we are only caretakers and not owners of this world and that we came here to share; we aren’t meant to possess anything or anybody. We are infinite spirits passing through this form of existence with a sacred purpose to fulfill.

 

    On the Sacred Red Road we are to walk our talk and to honor our truth as we know it. We walk in a humble way and listen and follow guidance from the Spirit World and from the Spiritual Elders. We learn to trust our heart and the guidance and learn to let go, to sacrifice what is interfering with our higher will, with our higher self. We need to be willing to be more and more honest with our self and with others and to remember that all things have a price in life, but that spirituality and spiritual values can´t be gained by money, stealing, lying, cheating or appearances. 

 

    A tree can´t give fruit without passing through the stages of growing roots, a trunk, branches, leaves and flowers and can´t grow and flower without nourishment. When we step on the Sacred Red Road we have to walk with nature and grow by the laws of nature and learn how to know, respect and work with our own cycles and how to harmonize them with the Universal cycles. On this road nourishment comes from spiritual connection to the Great Spirit, to Mother Earth, to the Elemental Forces and to the Ancestors. Nourishment also comes from connection with Nature, with the Spirit World, with the spiritual elders, with our spiritual circle and from a sincere commitment to live a simple and spiritual way of life. We nourish our spirit through prayer, fasting, purification, ceremonies and through unconditional service to the Creator, to Mother Earth, to the elders and to the people. Without discipline, without commitment and the completion of what we commit ourselves to, there is no true forward movement or spiritual growth.

 

    Walking on the Sacred Red Road is not about acquiring knowledge of how to do things in an archaic way, but to open our heart to learn how to use the wisdom and the ancient ways of the ancestors, transmitted to us by true spiritual elders, with our own wisdom and visions, earned through self-sacrifice and unconditional service. Being a Spiritual Warrior on the Sacred Red Road signifies to walk in peace and to honor All Life in a humble way. The weapons of a Spiritual Warrior are respect, caring, truth, awareness, compassion, kindness, devotion, selflessness, generosity and courage to live by these values. The strength of a Spiritual Warrior comes from a willingness to accept who he/she is and to be spiritually responsible for his/her acts and behavior. Traditionally, our fundamental responsibility is to be a protector and provider if we are a man and to give life and nourish life if we are a woman.

 

    Wearing a pair of pants doesn’t make somebody a man, wearing a skirt doesn’t make somebody a woman. Wearing feathers or having a pipe doesn’t make somebody to be a true spiritual person. We have to be recognized by the Spirit on the Sacred Red Road and by the spiritual elders and earn in a spiritual way our sacred objects and the respect and recognition of the people through using them well. We have to remember that spiritual leaders and elders always have to be honored and respected, but also that they are human beings, not higher than anybody and they struggle sometimes too and need help and support like anybody else. We walk this road voluntarily and a true spiritual leader doesn’t force anybody to follow his way or his vision, but rather guides in humbleness, kindness, compassion and through example. On the Sacred Red Road spiritual people don´t declare or promote themselves to be a medicine man, a medicine woman or a spiritual chief, but the people recognize and honor those qualities in that person.

 

     We are human beings and we all come here to grow in awareness. We are all learning every day and we need to be humble, but not ashamed, about our ignorance and neediness, so that we are able to become teachable, so that are able to truly learn and advance on this road. The one who opens his ears can listen, the one who opens his eyes can see, the one who opens his mind can be aware and learn, and the one who opens his heart can truly receive and give. Nobody is better or worse than anybody and we all have parts to heal and gifts to share.  All of us fall or step aside of the sacred road one way or another and more than one time. But if we point our mind, our eyes and our heart towards our healing as human beings, towards the healing of all suffering beings and the healing of our mother the Earth, we can get up and walk again with honor. When we are lost in drug or alcohol addictions, in a material way of life, in criminal activities, in diseases or other miseries of the modern world, if we have a sincere intention to change and to heal, we are meant to be helped and guided on this road without judgment or discrimination.   

   

     We walk the Red Road in a sacred manner and in beauty.  It´s not about walking better, faster and easier than others, or who has more, or the strongest and fanciest medicine objects or regalia. Sacred means when we give the highest value, honor, respect and appreciation to someone or something. We need to remember that disrespect, abuse, judgment, oppression, control, racism, manipulation, greed, rudeness, jealousy, competition and selfishness are not honorable ways to walk the Sacred Red Road. Also remember that being vulnerable, weak, out of balance, lost and needing help is not shameful for anybody on this road. We all can go through a hard time, we all need help from each other one day or another, so we need to humbly support anybody in need. Once it will be our turn to receive that help, that kindness and compassion. All of us came to walk this road to heal and nobody should take advantage of or put down anybody in these kinds of situations on the Sacred Red Road.

 

    When we ask for help from a spiritual elder or a spiritual person on this road, we do it without expectation with respect and humility and we should be treated in the same way. We offer tobacco because that person will pray for us with that tobacco. Tobacco has the sacred purpose to open the doorway to the spirit world in the Native North American tradition. It is a sign of respect to the spirit world, to the spiritual elder and to the Sacred Red Road. The person we ask for help has four days to answer to the request.  He or she has the right to refuse the request if unable to help and will return the tobacco and any gift that has been offered. Traditionally, we offer a gift in relation to the value we give to the request and to the person asked for help. There is no meaning to ask for help if we are unable to listen, accept, or respect the wisdom being shared or if we don’t value to follow the instructions and guidance being given.

 

    Our life, our body and everything essential to live and to grow in this life are offered to us in abundance and unconditionally from the Source of Life. We are only caretakers. We don´t own our medicines, we don´t carry them, they carry us on this road. They come to us, we earn them, learn from them and use them well, so their strength and our strength grow. If we abuse them, they become useless and meaningless spiritually and we can hurt our self and others with them. When we walk on the Sacred Red Road we use and share them unconditionally for the benefit and the wellbeing of those in need. It is not a way of life to be rich and famous. 

        

    To walk and to live by the spiritual teachings of the Sacred Red Road, and to be aided and healed by this way of life are not privileges of the chosen ones, one nation or one race. This way is to serve all mankind and all life. In the Sacred Circle of Life nobody is excluded. This road isn´t meant to be owned by anyone and is meant to be open to anybody with a good heart and a sincere intention in his or her mind to heal, learn and help. Those with pure intentions are meant to be welcomed and are never to be turned away.

 

     When we think or feel we are being called to this road and we want to answer to that call, at first we have to be honest about our intentions and see if they are truly related to healing. We might need to ask our self what we can offer for what we truly need from this road. Remember that the Great Spirit always wants the best for us and life works in mysterious ways.  Things are not always what they look like at first glance. If we do our best and it´s really meant for us, the road will open and when we follow our heart and are ready to listen, the spirit will guide us to the right person and to the right place, like it did to me. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

   

 

 

     I would like to pass the eagle feather to you and I invite you to express what is in your heart. I created this site for you. All your comments, insights and sharing’s are welcomed. When you express your thoughts, feelings about the site or your experiences on the Sacred Red Road, please do it with respect and caring, with an open mind and heart in the benefit of all of us. This way we can share and inspire each other with our hearts. Thank you for taking your time to read the site.  All my relations.

 

    Everything in this site is free to copy, to distribute and to share with anybody, in any country and at any time, if it is not for monetary gain. Please do not change anything in the text you copy and indicate the origin where it comes from, referring to this site and to me when you share it.

 

    If you want to organize ceremony, teaching or healing with me, send me your inquiry and I will answer as soon as I can. 

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