to help yourself & resources

By Phil Shapley (White Wolf)

Getting close to the Creator, has many wonderful benefits:

1) the Creator's spirit can guide your actions-- what to do or to avoid

2) His spirit gives peace of mind and confidence when faced with challenges

3) your prayers can be answered, including those for personal help, for others, and resources and the environment

4) you will live your life in a way that is pleasing to your Maker and which generates positive energy which helps the Creation instead of negative energy

5) when you die and your spirit returns to the spirit world, you will return to the most beautiful part of that world, perhaps even where the Creator resides

To obtain these wonderful benefits, you must be open to what your Creator would teach and change the way that you live so that it is harmony with the Good Way, the higher way, the Creator's loving way, the way that made the Creation possible.

You must be open to new ideas, to new ways, higher, more spiritual ways. To get close to your Creator, you must work to put off the instincts that come naturally. These include selfishness, pride, fear, materialism, jealousy, immorality, etc. It takes effort to become moral, generous, patient, loving, forgiving, fully trusting your Creator (faith), etc. This is especially challeging when in difficult situations, you can't see the way out but rely on the promptings of His spirit. Making these changes may seem hard but with the help of the Creator, they can be made. The effort is worth it.

How do you start? You must be open to new perceptions, new ideas. It helps to realize that things are not going well in the world, that we need to learn and live a higher way.

This transition is helped when you are aware of the love your Maker has for you. How do you learn this? You start by doing good deeds and sincerely pray to know that there is a loving Creator. Your sincerity includes the desire to do good, wanting to know and letting this information improve your life. Under such circumstances, sooner or later, you will feel a warmth, a love, a peace which will fill your bosom. You will be deeply aware that you have a loving Creator.

Though I advocate starting as above, you can proceed directly by following 1 of 3 routes:

Route 1: Visit with respected Native Elders and practice what they teach.

Route 2: Perhaps better than Route 1, undertake a serious pursuit of spiritual knowledge by studying and experiencing Native, Christian, Jewish, etc. teachings. (Native and deeper Christian teachings are compatible but the emphasis can be different.) But beware, there are false teachers in all spheres that seek to deceive. Associate yourself with good teachers and develop a relationship with your Maker so the He can guide you.

Route 3: Though like Route 2, there is a difference. Align yourself with a church that has deep spiritual teachings and associate with Native Elders and study their understandings.

How do you proceed with either of these three routes? You start by applying, experimenting with one or two of the teachings. If it is a good teaching, you will have a good experience, a peace. This is evidence that it is a true teaching. But don't stop there, practice other teachings. Again, if they are good teachings, you will have good experiences. Keep going, keep learning. With your experiences, you are gaining knowledge. Thank your Creator for it. And as you continue to experiment with spiritual truths, you gain additional knowledge and are beginning to realize the validity of the spiritual. Keep learning, the journey is beautiful!

If you seriously pursue any of these routes, you will begin to understand that everything has a spiritual dimension, and as you develop, you will soon be able to apply spiritual concepts to benefit yourself and others, including resources. And you will develop a respect for and love for Mother Earth and Nature. You will have a desire to live as your Maker advocates. You are developing a relationship with your Creator. For more on getting close to our Maker, see the web section entitled: Things We Might Learn From The Creator.  Most other papers are also useful.

With the knowledge that now you have, you will be living in a way pleasing to our Creator. You can have a close relationship with Him having prayers answered, gaining incites especially from the scriptures, having peace of mind and self-confidence, etc.

I conclude with some comments on the journey that I have made. I have worked for Native First Nations, studied Native teachings and have traveled with their spiritual leaders. Also, I have joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and have intensively studied its teachings, including The Bible and Book of Mormon.

I find Native and the Churches teachings compatible though the emphasis is different. Native traditional teachings emphasize relating directly to the plants, animals, weather, the elements, etc. in the Creation and in doing this, obtaining their help and assistance. They also greatly respect the Creator and teach living as He asks, including living a strict moral code.

Latter Day Saints focus more on directly relating to the Creator and obtaining help from the Creation through appealing to the our Maker. A strict code of conduct is taught. They recognize the Creator to be Jesus Christ and teach the role He plays, especially the role of His Atonement that enables our transgressions to be forgiven.

There is an unusual benefit claimed by the Latter Day Saints-- they claim to have a special relationship with the Creator's spirit, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost. It results in extra guidance and understandings. This may be hard to accept but I find it to be the case-- the spirit much helped me write these papers. Also, there is a priesthood that is able to do wonderful things, such as healing the sick (where there is sufficient faith and it is wise in the eyes of the Lord). Of course, faithful people frequently have their prayers answered, but at times, a priesthood administration is necessary.

* See Hugh Nibble. 1994. Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints. Part 1: Environment. pp. 3-104. Deseret Book Co., Salt Lake City, Utah.