Meditations with the Lakota : Prayers, Songs, and Stories of Healing and Harmony

• Native American meditations that help the reader find spirit in everyday life. • Intimate meditations offer insight into the symbology of the Lakota religious experience. • Lakota elders present the ancient prayers that weave together psyche and spirit. • New Edition of Meditations with Native Americans . The Lakota, people of the sacred buttes of the Black Hills, hold a rich tradition that connects the world of visible creation to the world of spirit. A century after the battle at Wounded Knee, Lakota elders are beginning to speak their belief that this spirituality is indigenous to every man and woman. By inviting all nations to recognize their interdependence with one another and with the earth, Native Americans can help modern man and woman find a personal relationship with nature and a willingness to view creation as sacred. Many feel that this spirituality is not a luxury but a necessity. From impressions and teachings gathered over decades of living with the Oglala Sioux and participating in their ceremonies, author Paul Steinmetz has compiled a book of provocative meditations centered on creation spirituality. Lakota elders join the author in evoking the essence of the sweat lodge ceremony, the vision quest, yuwipi meetings, and the teachings of Buffalo Calf Woman and the sacred pipe, offering the reader a focus for prayerful intention in finding spirit in everyday life. This insider's view reveals the Lakotas' profound interconnectedness with all matter, a weaving of psyche and spirit that is the call to consciousness so crucial at this time. Cover Image Title Page Acknowledgments Table of Contents Foreword by Dr. Åke Hultkrantz Author's Preface Introduction The Lakota Indians Traditional Lakota Spirituality The Native American Church Christian Influences Prayer Before Meditation Chapter 1. Traditional Lakota Spirituality: The Sacred Calf Pipe Chapter 2. Traditional Lakota Spirituality: Relation to the Earth ... Chapter 3. Traditional Lakota Spirituality: Spiritual Food Chapter 4. Traditional Lakota Spirituality: The Sweat Lodge Ceremony Chapter 5. Traditional Lakota Spirituality: The Vision Quest Chapter 6. Traditional Lakota Spirituality: The Sun DanceChapter 7. Traditional Lakota Spirituality: Yuwipi Meetings Chapter 8. The Native American Church: The Altar Chapter 9. The Native American Church: The Water Drum Chapter 10. The Native American Church: The Morning Water Woman Chapter 11. The Native American Church: Peyote Visions Chapter 12. The Native American Church: Eschatological Reflections Chapter 13. The Christian Influence Footnotes About the Author About Inner Traditions Bear & Company Books of Related Interest Copyright & Permissions Gathered over decades of living with the Oglala Sioux, Paul Steinmetz has compiled a book of Lakota meditations that offer a prayerful focus for finding spirit in everyday life. These ""prayers"" reveal the Lakotas' profound interconnectedness with all matter, a weaving of psyche and spirit that is a call to consciousness.;Cover Image; Title Page; Acknowledgments; Table of Contents; Foreword by Dr. Åke Hultkrantz; Author's Preface; Introduction; The Lakota Indians; Traditional Lakota Spirituality; The Native American Church; Christian Influences; Prayer Before Meditation; Chapter 1. Traditional Lakota Spirituality: The Sacred Calf Pipe; Chapter 2. Traditional Lakota Spirituality: Relation to the Earth ... ; Chapter 3. Traditional Lakota Spirituality: Spiritual Food; Chapter 4. Traditional Lakota Spirituality: The Sweat Lodge Ceremony; Chapter 5. Traditional Lakota Spirituality: The Vision Quest