June/July 2010

Hau kola na tiyospaye (Hello friends & extended family),

Welcome to all new Circle members! Each section of the Circle of Nations newsletter is written 'facing' one of the four sacred winds, beginning with the east, then the south, west and finally the north. This is to honor the old ways. It is to teach and to help us to focus and find the center. I have designed the Native Circle website in the same spirit. I welcome you all to the Circle....

EAST - Wiyohinyanpata - Yellow (Four Winds)
There exists in the twilight a powerful opportunity to try out your ‘spirit eyes’. It is during the twilight period each evening that the hawk lies down for the night and the owl awakens.... The hawk has day vision. A hawk’s sight is such that, if it was able to read, it could read a newspaper from two miles away. The owl, on the other hand, has night vision. It can see in the night like the hawk sees during the day. Thus, there are two kinds of ‘seeing’. Day vision is like our physical eyes. We see the physical world around us with our ‘day vision’. There are few mysteries and we can see most everything in our world without much trouble. Night vision is like our spiritual eyes. The night is like the veil that exists between the two worlds. The things of the night are often a mystery to us, much like the things of the spirit. One must spend a lot of time out in the night to develop the vision of the owl. Night sight is not easily achieved. Developing your spiritual eyes takes time. One must be willing to commit to walking a spiritual path and to accept that sometimes your ‘night eyes’ will play tricks on you! You may not always immediately comprehend that which your spirit eyes see. Some things may seem strange or unusual. This is why we American Indian people call our Creator ‘the Great Mystery’! So do not be afraid of the ‘dark’ of the spirit realm. Allow your eyes to adjust, and you will soon discover that you really can see. You will learn to look beyond the paradigms of this physical world to a place of infinite wisdom. You will be filled with humility upon realizing your weaknesses, and this will empower you. Do not believe everything you see.... Instead, believe in that which you do not see. Seek that powerful place where day meets night.... It is a window into the spirit world....

(Excerpt from the 'Good Medicine' Book by John Two-Hawks)


SOUTH - Itokagata - Red (Red Earth)
A word from Peggy....

Well it has been awhile since the last newsletter, we have had our Ohio Flute Discovery Retreat, Been to Ireland, had our Women of Wisdom Retreat and tribute Concert for Nancy Cooper Maier.
Time has been just flying by. I am actually dizzy from the activity. But there are still many dates and new concerts for me to tell you all about. Some are still in the works and some are set in stone. Summer Special is a BIG HIT! 2 CDs Earth ~ Fire ~ Water ~ Wind (Newest) and Wind Songs (Grammy nominated) both for only $20.00... will continue for a few more weeks, get this deal while it lasts!

July 30th thru August 1st - Mending Medicine Retreat in Dayton Ohio... Sign up now

July....... 31st – Earth ~ Fire ~ Water ~ Wind Concert in Dayton Ohio....Tickets still available online

Aug....... 7th - Grand Ledge Michigan Art Show
14th - Yellow Spring Ohio Art Show

Sept....... 10th, 11th, 12th Flute Discovery Retreat in Eureka Springs, AR... still a few openings. Sign up today.
18th - St. Louis Missouri TBA watch website
27th – Chattanooga, TN (closed to the public)

Oct 21st thru 24th - Mending Medicine Retreat in Eureka Springs, AR - register online or by calling 888-790-9091

Oct…….23rd - Earth ~ Fire ~ Water ~ Wind Concert, Eureka Springs, AR tickets online
Oct…….23rd - Circle of Nations Honors Banquet tickets online

Nov……. Mississippi - TBA - Earth ~ Fire ~ Water ~ Wind Concert

Check out the NEW John Two-Hawks Signature Tea!

Thank you all so much for your support and good energy.... little drops of rain wear away the greatest of stones.... now go and Heal your World!
Peace,
Peggy


WEST - Wiyohpeyata - Black or Blue (We are STILL Here!)
The storms of life will come. No matter who you are or where you come from, the Wakinyan Tanka will visit you somewhere along the path of your life. There is no escaping it. When I was 6 years old, my mother and father split and went their separate ways. The storm rolled into my life then, and got more and more intense and destructive as the years passed. It was nearly 20 years before the clouds dissipated and the sun broke through, but there I stood, damaged sure, but not destroyed. What I learned from the storm, and took with me throughout my life, is that the rain will soak into you. When you find yourself in the midst of a storm, you will be saturated with it, you may indeed be afraid and you may also be wounded in some way. There is no escaping the mark a storm will leave on your soul. But the lesson doesn’t end there. The final lesson is about choice. It is about choosing to either let the lightning destroy you, or using it to empower you. There is a powerful gift which is absorbed into the spirit from the storm. Look deep into those marks left by the storms of your life; for it is there that you may find your medicine and your power. It is there that you can find compassion, empathy, and even wisdom. And it is there that you will discover that courage is born in strong winds, and that you have prevailed. And because you have prevailed, you have lived to tell, and have a story rich with experience, pain, joy, sorrow, defeat and triumph. This is the gift of the Wakinyan Tanka, the Thunder Beings, and it is rarely realized in the midst of the storm. It is a gift which reveals itself once the thunder and lightning have passed, and with the sun on your face, you can contemplate your life and the wisdom you have gained and taken with you along the way. I have learned that the power of the Wakinyan Tanka stays with us long after the storm has passed. And it is up to us what we do with that power. We can choose to ignore it or even use it in a negative way. Or we can choose to use it to reach out to others in the spirit of mending and healing. This, my relatives, is the gift of the Wakinyan Tanka.

(Excerpt from the 'Come to the Fire' Book by John Two-Hawks)


NORTH - Waziyata - White (Words of Wisdom)
Some thoughts from my reflections....

Worry is the expression of a deep belief in that monster under the bed....

Thank the earth when you take from her. This is respect....

Keep your word when you give it. This is honor....

Seek happiness, and you will always find your way....


May Wakantanka encircle you and yours with faith to believe, hope for the future, and love for all....

As always, in the spirit of mending the sacred hoop of the nations of the world
Your Oglala Lakota friend and brother,
John Two-Hawks
http://www.nativecircle.com
http://www.johntwohawks.com
Reprinting of this Circle of Nations newsletter is encouraged! All I ask is that it be printed in its entirety, with no changes, and that I be given proper credit, unless I have otherwise okayed it. Wopila (great thanks)!