Cherokee Reminders to Live By

Principles to live by from living ancient peoples are so powerful. And so needed right now.

When I attended the Elders Gathering at the Sunray Peace Village at the end of July, I was handed a page with the Seven Reminders of the Tsalagi/Cherokee ancestor known as the Pale One, and the Nine Precepts that maintain right relationship.

The Pale One was a divinely born man who helped the Tsalagi come back into alignment after a period of trouble, much like the Peacemaker of the Haudenosaunee/Iroquois Confederacy.

The Seven Reminders of the Pale One

1.  What walks, swims, flies, or creeps is in relationship; the mountains, streams and valleys and all things are related to your thought and action.
2.  What occurs around you and within you reflects of your own mind and shows you the dream you are weaving.
3.  Three principles of awakened mind guide enlightened action: Will to see the Mystery as it is; Intention to manifest one’s purpose for the benefit of all; Courage to do what must be done.
4.  Generosity of heart and action brings peace and abundance for all in the circle.
5.  Respect for elders, clan, land, and nation inspires acts in harmony with the sacred law, good caretaking of the gifts received.
6.  Actions to benefit the land and the people unto seven generations shape the consciousness of the Planetary Caretaker, dreaming those yet unborn, ever mindful of life’s unfolding.
7.  To be in good relation, transforming patterns of separation, pacifying conflicting emotions, is to experience the wisdom within, still lake of Mystery.

 Nine Precepts in the Code of Right Relationship

1.  Speak only words of truth.
2.  Speak only of the good qualities of others.
3. Be a confidant and carry no tales.
4. Turn aside the veil of anger to release the beauty inherent in all.
5.  Waste not the bounty, and want not.
6.  Honor the light in all. Compare nothing; see all for its suchness.
7. Respect all life; cut away the ignorance from one’s own heart.
8.  Neither kill nor harbor thoughts of an angry nature, which destroy peace like an arrow.
9.  Do it now; if you see what needs doing, do it.

Here’s a suggestion: Pick one reminder or precept each week, be mindful of it, and carry through the actions that it implies or directs. Notice how your life shifts. When you have completed all 16, begin again. Share this list with others and invite them to partake similarly.

You can also find these powerful reminders and precepts in Dhyani Ywahoo’s book Voices of Our Ancestors, pp. 20–21.