Doug Good Feather > Quotes

“Listen to the Earth. It speaks.
Listen to the Fire. It speaks.
Listen to the Wind. It speaks.
Listen to the Water. It speaks.
Listen to your Heart. It knows.
—the Ancestors”
― Doug Good Feather, Think Indigenous: Native American Spirituality for a Modern World

“Our whale relatives were designed with no significant method of defense and are placed by the Creator to live in--by human standards--the most hostile environment on earth, the open ocean. The whale people show all other animal nations that genuine nobility does not require jeweled crowns, a manufactured aristocratic title, or even being an apex predator. The whale people elicit awe for being the living embodiment of noble dignity. People all over the world ride out onto the ocean to experience this dignity up close and personal. Genuine noble dignity is only possible with the total release of control. In other words, we walk away from our own sense of dignity when we allow or apply oppression on anything or anyone else.
We know what it means to respect someone for who they are, or for what they've achieved, or for the way that they do something that we regard as meaningful. Dignity is our inner sense of respecting who we are, what we've achieved, and how we behave. Essentially, dignity is how we respect our self.”
― Doug Good Feather, Think Indigenous: Native American Spirituality for a Modern World

“To be wise is to be relational. When it's time to offer advice, don't give direct advice, but instead offer something relational so that those listening can arrive at their own conclusions. Many times, the person you're advising already knows what to do; they're just looking for permission to do It. We cannot give them that permission--that permission must come from within themselves, through free will. WIsdom has a lot to do with guiding people to their own conclusion rather than leading them to your answer.”
― Doug Good Feather, Think Indigenous: Native American Spirituality for a Modern World

“...when you communicate with an indigenous elder, you may notice they speak deliberately and may take long pauses between thoughts before they reply to your question. They are allowing their information to be heard and thought through and for the intention of the message to blossom in its own space. In most conversations in modern society, many of us aren't truly listening as much as we're just waiting for the slightest pause so we can jump in and speak to fill the void.
We must be mindful that a pause is not an invitation to give feedback if feedback was not asked for. Understanding the pause in a conversation is the difference between talking
"at" someone and talking "with" someone. Practice pausing before you speak. When you do speak, evaluate if what you have is to contribute is even relevant and beneficial to what's already been said or what is already understood. The old ones teach us that our tongue is connected to our heart-the lesson being for us to learn to speak through our heart rather than letting whatever comes into our brain go running straight out of our mouth.”
― Doug Good Feather, Think Indigenous: Native American Spirituality for a Modern World

“Lilla Watson, an indigenous Aboriginal Australian elder, offers us these wise words of empathy:
If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.
This is a powerful description of empathy, but what does it mean for our liberation to be bound up with that of another person? Martin Luther King, Jr., explains it further.
While confined in a jail in Birmingham, Alabama, he wrote:
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice every-where. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.
The "inescapable network of mutuality" King is referring to is the potential humans have for compassion.”
― Doug Good Feather, Think Indigenous: Native American Spirituality for a Modern World

“Begin by calling in your council of spirit guides.
Grandfather, I'm calling on you; I need your guidance now.
Grandmother, I'm calling on you; I need your guidance now.
Ancestors, I'm calling on you; I need your guidance now.
Creator, I'm calling on you; I need your guidance now.
2. State your prayer in simple terms.
I am facing [INSERT TROUBLING ISSUE], and I don't know what to do. I bring this issue to you for your guidance. Please bless this prayer with clarity, protection, and favor for the highest and best good for all.
3. Pray for Mother Earth.
And please bless our Mother Earth with healing and protection and ease the suffering of all her children.
4. Close with gratitude and remembrance.
I am grateful--Mitákuye Oyás'in

[(Me-talk-oo-yay Oy-yaw-sin) an indigenous lakota phrase that has a combined meaning of “we are all related” and “all is connected.”]”
― Doug Good Feather, Think Indigenous: Native American Spirituality for a Modern World

“The old ones say that we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors but that we borrow it from our children.”
― Doug Good Feather, Think Indigenous: Native American Spirituality for a Modern World

“People who are highly empathetic often get burned by ungrateful people and burned out by helping too much. The key is to determine the best use of our energy and then set a limit on it.”
― Doug Good Feather, Think Indigenous: Native American Spirituality for a Modern World