The Seven Sacred Teachings with Carolyn Landry

Welcome to the 7 sacred teachings where ancient wisdom meets modern living. Join us as we journey through the timeless teachings of truth, courage, respect, honesty, wisdom, love, and humility, guided by the wisdom of indigenous ancestors and the sacred connection to the land. Every story shared, every lesson learned, is a step towards harmony, sustainability, and the deepening of our spiritual paths. Now, let's walk the red road together with your host, Carolyn Landry.

Hello, everyone, and welcome to my podcast. Thank you all for tuning in, and thank you to the ancestors for the continued guidance, and thank you to creator for this beautiful life. Thank you. I heard this analogy a long time ago and it really resonated with me then and it still resonates with me. And it is pain is to the body like suffering is to the mind.

I realized that pain to the body is not optional, but suffering to the mind is always optional. And I've come to see through experience that all my suffering comes from my mind, my old programming, old thoughts believed in, my belief system, and my default mode. As I realized these things and understood it, I saw that all my conflicts that appeared to come from outside of me were coming from within me. Understanding that I knew I had internal work to do, reconciliation to self, returning to true nature, and returning home to the 7 sacred teachings. It took dedication and commitment to self to start this journey.

That was the first step. And as I stepped on to the red path, it was scary at first. It was a lot of fear and resistance came from my identity. Distractions came, and addictions felt stronger. But I remained dedicated to in my suffering as I knew it.

And as I noticed and looked at the chaos during that time, I knew there was a place of calm, of stability in something that was solid and unmoving and unchanging. I knew that was truth. I look at this stage of the journey as walking through fire. It gets hot the closer you get to it and sometimes it seems unbearable the closer we get to it, but courage and wisdom enter in, and we know we must walk through it to burn the things away that we don't need. That's one analogy I use for this practice around the 7 teachings.

And another one is, I use the oxygen mask in the airplane when the plane loses its pressure. And if we don't put the mask on ourselves first, others could and will be in danger. So we have to look after ourselves first. We have to make sure that we're good and that we can manage our mind, manage our body, so that we can help others and do the internal work that's necessary. And that is to go within and seek truth.

And it really is that simple even though I say it is simple. It does require real commitment to take that leap. It's not difficult to do, but the mind will tell us and sometimes the thought of freedom creates fear in our minds. And any form of fear in the slightest bit is the cause of procrastination in any degree and sometimes holds us back from our first step towards the right path. So we have to be aware of that.

As I journey through my human suffering and my commitment to understand it, I went to, my support system, my family, friends, elders, spiritual leaders, and spiritual gatherings. And it was the first step to opening my heart and mind. I began to hear things in a different way, in a loving way instead of the old ways I was hearing things before. And I learned to listen with my heart. I listened without interrupting.

I heard stories coming from other hearts, and I learned to follow instructions on opening my mind and heart and committed myself to doing the teachings instead of just talking about it and taking it in as knowledge. I knew instinctively I had to experience it in order to even speak about it. Soon, wasn't too long, I found alcohol and nicotine no longer served me. Family ties grew stronger. Community relations got better and I was able to apologize and make amends without guilt and shame.

It all came naturally. My addictions left me. I forgave myself for believing and acting in an old belief system and a sense of responsibility was now something I did instead of just talking about it. Reconciliation starts within. If we are unable to reconcile our inner conflicts, how can we ever reconcile with others?

Just wanna leave that question with you. The inner work I'm speaking about is around the sacred teaching of truth. We have it within us. We are it. If we notice any injustice outside of us and we feel uneasy about it or confused about it, that is the gift.

That is the perfect opportunity to do the inner work. If there is a reaction with the emotions, whether the emotions are weak or strong, just take a moment, pause and go in. Ask yourself, why is this bothering me? Never give this thought to mind because the mind will make stuff up around it and justify it. So just let it sit inside, go make a tea, sweep the floor, scrub the toilet, do something that doesn't require a lot of mind work, but something that needs to be done because somebody has to do it.

When we are in a state of presence like that and searching within at the same time for truth, the 7 sacred teachings now are at work looking for that balance to reconcile the inner conflict, and the answer will come. And if you are about to make an unfair judgment on another person, even the family pet or the weather, give yourself a moment. Go in and ask yourself, is that judgment accurate? Could that judgment affect another person negatively? Is it a lie or is it some sort of deception?

And then trust the process. Truth will come to the top. Truth always arises to the top. And once truth is summoned in that way, all the other teachings are now active. Every journey begins with a single step, so, take that first step towards seeking and finding truth and embrace the journey of self discovery and personal growth.

Journey with me on the sacred path. I'm Suttnagamah. Wlalio gizalulo mottosip. All my relations, thank you all. I love you all, and until next time.