Mother Earth Spirituality: Native American Paths to Healing Ourselves and Our World (Religion and Spirituality) [Paperback]

Ed McGaa (Author), Marie N. Buchfink (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Religion and Spirituality | Publication Date: May 10, 1990

"A dear stream of practical knowledge with the mind change we need to save the life of our Mother Earth--and ourselves . . . This is a book for every person who loves this planet. Eagle Man shows us the joyful path home to our universal Mother."

?ynthia Bend, Water Spirit Woman, co-author of Birth of a Modem Shaman

"A rich panorama of our native heritage which allows the seeker access to the heart of the Path of Beauty. Ed McGaa has walked this path so that all people may live in harmony."

?amie Sams, Hancoka Olowanpi, author of Midnight Song: Quest for the Vanished Ones

"Ed McGaa is one of the first persons who can write about 0glala religion in the first person because he has lived it. For years anthropologists have hoped a Native American would portray that society from the inside out. Ed McGaa has. It's about time."

?illiam K. Powers, author of 0glala Religion

"Fascinating as well as inspiring reading. Ed McGaa makes an excellent spiritual guide and intellectual teacher . . . The information stimulates the mind, the drawings delight the eye, and the ideas soothe the spirit."

?ack Weatherford, author of Indian Givers

"Profound and insightful . . . Mother Earth Spirituality will be of great importance to those of us, both 'rainbow' and non-Indian people, who walk over land in search of a deeper spiritual life . . . For us, this book is an invaluable guide showing us how to do it."

?red Alm Wolf, Ph.D., author of Taking the Quantum Leap

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ed McGaa, J.D., was born on the Oglala Sioux reservation in South Dakota and is a registered tribal member. He served in Korea as a Marine Corporal before earning an undergraduate degree at St. John's University in Minnesota. He then rejoined the Marine Corps to become a Phantom F4 fighter pilot in Vietnam, where he flew in more than a hundred combat missions. Upon his return McGaa danced in six annual Sioux Sun Dances. The Sun Dance led him to the seven Mother Earth ceremonies under the tutelage of Chief Eagle Feather and Chief Fools Crow, two Sioux holy men. Eagle Man holds a law degree from the University of South Dakota and is the author of Red Cloud: Biography of an Indian Chief; Mother Earth Spirituality: Healing Ourselves and Our World; Rainbow Tribe: Ordinary People Journeying on the Red Road; Native Wisdom: Perceptions of the Natural Way; and the novel Eagle Vision: Return of the Hoop.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Harper; 1st edition (May 10, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0006250963
• ISBN-13: 978-0006250968
• ASIN: 0062505963
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #49,209 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #8 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Earth-Based Religions > Gaia
  • #18 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Earth-Based Religions > Native American

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

117 of 120 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Native American ways of living have much to teach us, February 28, 2004

By 

DAVID-LEONARD WILLIS (Thessaloniki Greece) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mother Earth Spirituality: Native American Paths to Healing Ourselves and Our World (Religion and Spirituality) (Paperback)

After reading "Black Elk Speaks" I picked up this book because I believe that Native American ways of living have much to offer us. We neglect their wisdom at our peril. It is a great privilege that we have access to their knowledge on how we can live in harmony with Mother Earth. The author starts with the question why he should teach non-Indians about Native American spirituality and answers that it is time to share that spirituality because it does not belong to the Indians alone but to others with the right attitude; we all live in one world. If kept within the Indian community their old wisdom will not be allowed to work its environmental medicine on the world where it is desperately needed. A spiritual fire that promotes a communal commitment to a worldwide environmental undertaking is needed. Native or primal ways will fuel that fire and give it great power. Mother Earth can be revered, respected and protected.

He then quotes the letter from Chief Seathl (Seattle) to the President of the United States of America in 1854 - one of the most unusual and eloquent letters that a President can have received. "How can we buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?" The truth is that we could really stop here, go into a quiet room and reflect on those three sentences and we will surely discover the root cause of many of our ills. We put a price on everything the Indians think has no value and we place no value on everything the Indians think is valuable. Sparkling water in a stream flowing through a wood has no value to us but it is the essence of life to the Indian. Having polluted our rivers and killed the fish we are at long last starting to ask ourselves those very questions that Chief Seattle asked of the President 150 years ago.

Another point made by Chief Seattle haunts me. "...to harm the earth is to heap contempt on the Creator. The Whites too shall pass; perhaps sooner than all other tribes. Continue to contaminate your bed, and you will one night suffocate in your own waste." How many of us today are saying somewhat similar things to our deaf leaders? But the heart and soul of the Indian way of life lies at the end of Seattle's letter, "So, if we sell our land, love it as we've loved it. Care for it as we've cared for it. Hold in your mind the memory of the land as it is when you take it. And with all your strength, with all your mind, with all your heart, preserve it for your children, and love it ... as God loves us all. One thing w know. Our God is the same God. This earth is precious to Him. Even the white man cannot be exempt from the common destiny. We may be brothers after all. We shall see....." How many of us would claim that we have loved the land as the Indians loved the land, or cared for the land as the Indians cared for the land? If we answer 'no', then surely that means that we have something to learn from the Native Indians. I am sure that if Chief Seattle were here today he would cry to see what we have done to those lands the Indians held sacred. He would cry for the pain inflicted on the earth. He would cry for us who in our greed and selfishness have wrought such damage on ourselves and our children.

I agree with and applaud Ed McGaa. A spiritual fire that promotes a communal commitment to a worldwide environmental undertaking is needed. Native or primal ways will fuel that fire and give it great power. We should all learn something from this book. But not just read and think and speak. But act. This book is nothing if we do not act on it. This is what Stephen Covey was telling us in "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change" that first we have to change ourselves, and only then we can change others and the world.

Einstein told us that we need a higher level of thinking to get ourselves out of the mess than the thinking that got us into the mess. Stephen Covey tells us that in such situations as we are in today we need a quantum change that can only be brought about by a completely new paradigm. Our current way of living is the paradigm that got us into the mess. The Indian approach is probably the paradigm that will get us out of the mess. If we read this book with an open mind and without prejudice, I believe that the Native American paradigm should be at the top of the shortlist of new paradigms from which we should make our selection for building the world we want for our children.

44 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best...., September 7, 2000

By 

Grant R. Schnarr "Author" (Bryn Athyn, PA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mother Earth Spirituality: Native American Paths to Healing Ourselves and Our World (Religion and Spirituality) (Paperback)

Ed McGaa has written one of the clearest explanations of Native American spirituality to date. This book speaks in simple terms and translates ancient customs into modern language for the average reader delving into a new cultural approach to spirit and mother earth religion and philosophy. If you are exploring Lakota religion for the first time, this is one of the best introductory books available.

68 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good book on Oglala Sioux religion and spirituality., June 28, 2000

By 

W. Lambdin "Two Bears" (Ellensburg, WA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mother Earth Spirituality: Native American Paths to Healing Ourselves and Our World (Religion and Spirituality) (Paperback)

After reading "Native Wisdom" by the same author I had to read this earlier work.

This book includes several ceremonies.

Peace Pipe Ceremony

The Sweat Lodge

Vision Quest (Crying for a vision)

Sun Dance

Yuwipi

and more.

Includes the legend of Buffalo Calf Woman and bringing the pipe to the Sioux.

Includes the vision of Nick Black Elk (a Sioux holyman).

Includes a Sioux-English dictionary (It can be difficult to find what you are looking for).

Includes a glossary of natural names.

Mr. McGaa describes the pipe as a portable altar. This is absolutely correct. The pipe bowl represents the feminine aspects of creation, and the stem represents the masculine forces of creation, and the smoke is offered to the seven sacred directions; N,E,S,W, Above, Below and Center.

Mr. McGaa also calls the Wotai (personal stone)as a portable altar. I disagree with this. It's true that you can present the personal stone to the directions. In my opinion; the personal stone doesn't come close to representing the level of sacredness as the pipe.

Questions or comments? E-Mail Me. Two Bears

Wah doh Ogedoda