Well, today May 30, 2010, we embarked on Chapter 3 of our Forum Third.  Isn’t the site for our camp fire selected by John, Rekamepip, glorious?

 
Our great friend, Kicking Bear, provided us with the title, Aisvi Gvdodi Tsunali, which means Walking With Friends in Tsalagi (Cherokee). 
 
This is the beautiful and humble blessing he has given to Chapter 3. 
 
Osiyo Digusdi –
 
We enter this Circle with a reverence for all the beauty that is around us.  We watch the passing of the sun and the passing of the moon, one and the same, the Circle of Life that never ends.
 
We feel our footsteps moving lightly upon the ground, and we feel Mother Earth breathing quietly, touching us silently.
 
We can smell the aroma of sage and tobacco, sweetgrass and cedar, and we feel the sacredness of the moment. We take notice of the smell of the soil beneath us.
We enter the Circle and we bring with us all those things that have power for us, all the feelings, all of the memories, all of the people we have known and know now, all of the places, the faces, and the experiences that have brought us to this moment.
 
We can smell the distinct aroma of each of the seven sacred woods as they offer themselves in splendor and the wisdom of time.
 
We feel the rhythm of the drum penetrating our body and mind, vibrating and whispering to our spirit like an ageless river flowing through us.
 
And with each heartbeat of the drum, we can hear the distant footsteps of our ancestors. Like a gentle rain, they are always there, always moving calmly in the soft, misty light of the dim morning and the quiet of the evening’s fall. We see them moving slowly, shifting in unison, smiling in the distance.
 
Sacred tobacco is sprinkled upon the fire and begins its journey to the Creator, conveying the thoughts and feelings of those in the Circle.
 
The prayers tell of the way in which we come before the Creator in a humble manner giving thanks for the beauty of Creation, and through the wood and ashes of the fire, we again see our connection with Mother Earth.
 
Through the billowing smoke that rises, faintly twisting into the Sky World, we see our connection with the Creator and all that is. As we watch the smoke dance on the wind in balance and harmony, we remember what it is like to move upon the wind – boundless, limitless, and flowing through all that is.
 
We welcome you to this fire and ask that you respect it and those that sit around it.

Treat all as brothers and sisters, for we are all related. It is like walking with friends.

Let us all walk in balance and harmony.

It is ALL osda.