7/30/2019 Newsletter December 2008 - In Lakech Namaste

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Mitakuye OyasinInL

akechA

laKin

It wasnt all that long ago that I had no idea what namaste (nah-mah-stay) was or meant. It took only one picture to know what it

was. It is an eastern greeting found often within Hinduism and

Buddhism. Namaste involves the coming together of the two handsabout chest level (heart) accompanied by the bowing of the head.

I also had no idea what In Lakech Ala Kin was or what it

meant, nor did I know what Mitakuye Oyasin was or what it

meant. In Lakech Ala Kin is a Mayan greeting and MitakuyeOyasin is Lakota greeting.

I found it fascinating how similar these greetings are despite thefact that the Lakota are part of the Sioux and are from the area

around North and South Dakota, the Mayans are from Mexico and

Central America and of course despite being spread out around theworld, Hinduism and Buddhism find their roots in places like India and Tibet.

Namaste has several related meanings. Ac-cording to one web site, this word conveysthe following meanings: 1) the spirit in me

greets the spirit in you 2) I greet the placewhere you and I are one 3) I salute the Lightof God in you 4) I recognize that within eachof us is a place where Divinity dwells and

when we are in that place, we are One 5)The God in me sees and knows the God inyou and6) May God within me, bless you.

It has been said that this greeting recognizes the equality of all and pays honour to the sa-credness and interconnection of all as well as the source of that interconnectedness, whichI would call God. What would this world look like if we all believed this to be true about

everyone we came in contact with? What would happen if we actually lived our lives from aplace of namaste?

According to Aluna Joy Yaxkin (www.AlunaJoy.com) In Lakech Ala Kin, the Mayangreeting, means I am another yourself. Traditionally, it is interpreted as I am you, andyou are me. As you can see, it isnt much different than I greet the place where you and

I are one, found within the namaste meanings.

Namaste: a Sanskrit wordI bow to the divine in you

I am you and you are me

7/30/2019 Newsletter December 2008 - In Lakech Namaste

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It may be a little hard to see but if you look closely you cansee the hands upon the chest in this photo, somewhat similar

to the namaste greeting.

We have come to a time where spirituality and science areconfirming that everything we do, everything we say and

even the things we think, not only impact us, but they impactothers as well and actually impact our universe.

What would happen if when you met someone you actually

took the time to be aware, to be in the NOW, and with rev-

erence placed your hands over your heart, bowed and withlove and respect greeted that person with namaste or In

Lakech Ala Kin?

Mitakuye Oyasin is a simple two word Lakota prayer thatmeans all my relations or we are all related. This involves

honouring the sacredness of each persons individual spiritual

path. Mitakuye Oyasin also means we recognize the sacred-ness of all life and we make it a priority to create an aware-

ness that will not only be positive for the one who says the

prayer but will also bring about an increase in positive energyfor the entire planet. It is prayer that leaves no one out, something Jesus pointed us towhen he let us know that even our so-called enemies are truly our neighbours.

Several months ago, concerns were expressed when I included in my weekly teaching asection on namaste. Some wondered why I included a Hindu greeting in a Christian Bible

study. Today, not only do I share with you a Hindu greeting but Mayan and Lakota ones aswell.

Why? Because the world would be a much better place if we all honoured the divine within

ourselves and everyone else, if we realized that we are all inter-connected and I am you

and you are me on a deep spiritual level and, as a result, we truly are all related. Wouldntthe world be a different place if all our actions were based on those truths?

We are all related