Wednesday, August 4, 2010

A Unique and Blessed Experience

I was recently blessed with a sacred smudging ceremony.

Smudging is an important spiritual practice
for the Native American culture.
 It is believed that it can help you stay positive
and bring good energies
 into your home
 and your life.
For maximum benefits
 it should be approached
 like a sacred sacrament.
Purity of intent
is the most important factor
 in smudging.
    It should be considered sacred
and treated with respect,
 and you will be rewarded with blessings
 and good vibrations!


Dennis Eaglehorse
Dennis Eaglehorse is now a special person
in my life,
one I will never forget.

 He began by speaking in the Lakota language
for a long while.
He had special items he used in the ceremony.
Of course no photos were allowed.

The smoke enveloped me...
 feathers touched my head...
 feathers touched my shoulders...
I heard the Lakota language throughout...
Turning, turning, turning....
Experiencing many feelings in my heart
as I listened intently.
I don't know how long it took...
but I savored every moment.
...........

He then sat and spoke to me awhile in English,
and then gave me a hug.

Dennis gave me some  items to take home with me
to keep in a medicine bag of my own...
for healing...
for good energy.

Dennis Eaglehorse,
a member of the Lakota tribe,
and his family
were introduced to me by my sister Lanette.
A thank her so much for that.

Dennis and his family were also interested in seeing
my round robin doll
Shimasani,
whose persona is Native American.
So during the blessing I held her as well.
(I will be adding this experience to her journal.)

Dennis's three sons
Tacha (deer),
Tatonka (buffalo)
and Sunkmanitu (wolf)
 perform
live history Native American dances,
keeping their culture alive
and educating people about
the Native American ways.
 Dennis is a wonderful artist,
and has one of his pieces
in the Smithsonian.
Dianne, his wife,
and his sons are artists
in their own right.
Every year they
organize PowWows
and Gatherings,
 one being in Bandera, Texas.

Please visit this link
http://www.bccourier.com/Archives/Community_detail.php?recordID=090827C1
to read the story of how he grew up,
surviving many hardships
by believing in God,
 the great spirit Tunkasila,
and his Grandfather.
It will touch your heart.

 His family truely has
Lakota Pride.

Savor the Day!
Yvonne

8 comments:

Magpie's Mumblings said...

I just read the article about him - what an incredible life he has had. Thank you for telling us about him.

Barbara/myth maker said...

So glad to hear you had a wonderful smudging ceremony.

quiltmom anna said...

Yvonne,
I teach in a school where we offer Cree as a second language. Over 90 percent of my students are First nations, Metis or Inuit. Each morning we say a Cree Prayer and use smudge to pray to the creator. We use sage, cedar and sweetgrass as smudge. We ask the Creator for his spirit to help us be good listeners, say good things and take care of the people that we love. The smudge is a purifier or cleanser and helps us to have harmony between our mind, body and spirit. Those are some of the things that have been shared by the elders who have helped me with the smudge ceremony with my kindergarten students. If we are having a day where we are needing extra support we sometimes will smudge a second time.
Thanks for sharing the article and your smudging experience.
Regards,
Anna

Unknown said...

What a wonderful experience for you, thank you for sharing that and the link for his story.

We smudge our house as well with white sage to release negativity and clear the space.

Yvonne said...

I'm glad you visited the link and read the story of Dennis Eaglehorse, Mary Anne. I thought it was very interesting.

Yvonne said...

Thanks for visiting Barbara. The smudging experience with Dennis Eaglehorse was one I'll never forget.

Yvonne said...

Anna (quiltmom) your comment was equally as interesting. I wish more people knew of the Native American ways. Thanks for your visiting.

Yvonne said...

Whytefeather, Thanks for your comment. Smudging is very interesting isn't it. I learned of it quite a few years ago but never got smudged myself until this time.