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Native American Culture, Medicine, & Beliefs
Cherokee Medicine, Ethnobotanical Beliefs, And Wisdom
Exodus 19:16-19 "And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. 18 And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. 19 And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him in thunder"
Disclaimer: I feel like the things I say on this website piss people off. I bring up multiple traditions, and have my own views and opinions. It tends to upset the free speach police. We live in America. My goal isnt' to upset people.
The Sacredness Of Natural Gifts To Man From The Creator
One thing that I really admire about both the Native Americans, and other indigenous cultures, is their respect, and appreciation, and gratitude for all that the creator has given us. As it is written in a book called "Medicine Of The Cherokee, The Way Of The Right Relationship", "There is a simple innocence about the complex nature of nature." A Nachez Medicine Elder once said: "It(nature) is as it always was, but we as humans try to change it to make it ours. In fact, we are the younger, because nature was here before us. So we must honor nature, and in doing so, we honor our ancestors who realized the critical balance we have with all things."[1] When modern America was inhabited by the Native Americans, there were no prohibited gifts from the creator. Jewish prophecy warns of future prohibitions of these sacred gifts. In the bible, it states that in latter times there will be: "Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats(ethnobotanicals), which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving".[1 Timothy 4:1-4] The word "meats" is in reference to herbs, as confirmed by Genesis 1:29 when it refers to "every herb bearing seed" as "meat": "And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat." It's also confirmed again in Ezekiel 47:12 when it mentions a medicinal plant growing on the side of the river, and it states that: "The fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof shall be for medicine". The author of Medicine Of The Cherokee, talks about how his mom shared many Cherokee teachings with him, one being that all life is to be respected, to protect Mother Earth, and nurture the plants and herbs.[1] Modern society takes nature for granted, and pollutes it, disrupts its natural symbiosis and health, and utterly disregards its sacredness. I wish Christians would be more like the Native Americans. 911 wasn't a thing when they inhabited the land either, as they lived off the sacred herbs as the creator intended, rather than serving a serpent on the side of the ambulance, w.h.o. idol, and u.n. idol, and their pharmakeia abominations.
A quote from an elder mentioned in a book that I cite states: "We have been so busy learning and doing, that we have forgotten how to really listen."[1] One Native American Elder refers to the process of spiraling to a higher level of awareness and understanding as "spirit-learning".[1] Higher levels of awareness and understanding come from learning how to hear in the spirit. Hearing the creators voice requires making time to embrace the stillness, and the sounds of silence.[See Simon And Garfunkel Song] It also requires spiritual discernment. "My eyes are awake through the night watches, that I may meditate on Your word."(Psalm 119:148, NKJV) In Revelation 1:15, "Gods voice" is referred to as "the sound of many waters". This correlates with the great flood from the book of Genesis, and actually correlates with what Native Americans believed, and other indigenous cultures, rather than the idea that the creator is a giant caucasion dude in the sky with a white beard. The Jewish text does not describe a humanoid, but rather a spirit. St John 4:24 "God is a spirit". This description of Gods voice as rain and storms, also correlates with Exodus 19:19, where it states that God spoke in thunder. It's pretty fascinating that what the bible describes is closer to what the Native Americans believe, rather than what most Christians believe, in terms of the nature of "God".
The example of the great "I AM"(of the bible) speaking in thunder in Exodus 19:19, can be thought of as the Jewish version of a pagan phenomena called "omens", being that it is VERY similar, but slightly different. Indigenous cultures believe(and myself as well) that nature communicates, and that everything in the natural world is symbolic, and has meaning, purpose, and a voice of its own.[2][3] Ecclesiastes 3:1 "There is a time and purpose for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:" To quote from a book written by a Native American woman named Mary Summer Rain, "As in all dreams, the surrounding circumstances and conditions will enable you to discern the meaning."[2] The natural world communicates, as does the dream realm. I've witnessed this myself and also see it to be true. The exciting part about learning about all of these cultures for me, is seeing a certain amount of truth in all of them. I feel like I have a greater understanding of the bible because of my interest in all cultures, rather than just one. You gotta be careful though, as I still struggle with being herded in the wrong direction. The Native Americans had secrets too, as stated in one of the books that I cite frequently on this blog:, "Indian Medicine is considered personal and private, and the same is so for many other tribes and indigenous peoples from around the world."[1] This reminds me of a fantastic quote from the Jewish scripture, Daniel 2:28 "There is a God in heaven that reveals secrets" Another interesting verse that I feel correlates with this is in: Revelation 2:17. ESV: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit speaketh. To the one who conquers I will give some of the secret(hidden) Manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it." FYI: The word "occult", means hidden, or secret.[x] The Native Americans held on to occult knowledge, or as the book I cite puts it, "Specific things and ceremonies will not be revealed, but respected as being sacred to an individual tribe."[1]
Native Americans believe in all sorts of supernatural things, including visions, dream interpretation, the use of sacred plants to stimulate consciousness, awareness, to worship, to gain wisdom, and to heal.[1][2] I state an O.G. Observation: when I say that: The concept of "prophecy", "visions", and dream interpretation, is pretty much universal across all faiths. In the Jewish/Christian faith, dreams and visions are also mentioned(including dream interpretation), as well as dream interpretation, in Job 33:14-18 it mentions that God speaks through dreams and visions, and even goes on to point out that most don't hear. When we look at the few prophets who contributed to the bible, we can see that very few were appointed to teach, indicating that few hear. I don't think that most humans today even realize that the spiritual is real, as they have been physically, mentally, and spiritually dumbed down, distracted, and essentially enslaved by the modern ways of life, also known as the new world order. The book Earthway, that's written by a Native American woman named Mary Summer Rain, includes a dream dictionary, with the full interpretations of each dream symbol included. This is yet another similarity between the Jewish/Christian faiths, and the Native Americans as well as the indigenous cultures, as they share these beliefs. Daniel 1:17 "Daniel was gifted in understanding all sorts of visions and dream" A lot of the ethnobotanicals that I discuss on this website were used by shamanic cultures to induce visions, to stimulate dreams, etc. Indigenous cultures cherished these phenomena, whereas the modern world seems to scoff and laugh at them. Dream interpretation and experiencing visions, among other things, was once a way of life, but today these phenomena are mostly viewed by many as merely a fairy-tale.
I agree with a lot of what Native Americans believe, and even share some of the same beliefs. I don't agree or subscribe to all of them though. I believe the bible when it warns against graven images(sigils and occult symbols, like those used in astrology), and must warn against this practice. "There is a story, long guarded as the origin of the use of Pine in ceremonies and at certain special times for burning to carry a message to the stars."[1] The quote I just shared, is the reason why I put out a gentle biblical warning prior to sharing it. I'm not trying to be offense, or push beliefs down anyones throats, but feel obligated to warn and share my views, that are based on real experience. Anyway, I found this quote interesting for several reasons. In the Jewish text, Revelation 1:20 reveals to us that "stars", are symbolic of angels. The satanic sigil of the official satanic temple is a 5 pointed star, which is symbolic of the fallen angel of lucifer. With this in mind, the Cherokee belief translates to: "burning incense carries a message to the angels". What's interesting about that? The Jewish text states in Revelation 8:3 that: "And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne." BTW: An angel IS a spirit. According to Merriam-Webster's dictionary: An Angel is: "A spirit being serving as a divine messenger and intermediary and often as a special protector of an individual or nation" "God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.", St John 4:24. Notice how popular the five pointed star is in America today, notice it.
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[1] Garrett, J T, and Michael Tlanusta Garrett. Medicine of the Cherokee : The Way of Right Relationship. Santa Fe, New Mexico, Bear & Company Publishing, 1996.
[2] Earthway: A Native American Visionary's Path To Total Mind, Body, And Spirit Health. Book by Mary Summer Rain ISBN-13: 9780671706678
Other Sources:
Encyclopedia Sources:
Other resources:
M.A.P.S. Ethnobotanical Studies By Scholars
PubChem - pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov