
Wisdom Lessons
Spirited Guidance from an Ojibwe Great-Grandmother
by Mary Lyons
Publication Year: 2018
Wisdom Lessons, by Ojibwe Great-grandmother Mary Lyons, is the culmination of a lifetime steeped in indigenous spiritual traditions, as well as the proverbial school of hard knocks. At once plainspoken and lyrical, Grandmother Mary offers invaluable lessons for anyone interested in living in alignment with their higher self.
A spiritual advisor, storyteller and wisdom keeper, Grandmother Mary travels and teaches internationally, with a focus on healing children, families and communities from the negative effects of alcohol and drug addiction. She has dedicated her life to helping others.
Table of Contents
WISDOM LESSONS
Table of Contents
Prayer of Choice
Prologue: FOLLOWING THE PATH OF THE ANCESTORS
I. DANCING WITH THE ANCESTORS
If We Do Not Listen
Little Spirits
An Ancestral Gift
Finding Gitchie Manidoo
The Identity Dance
A Spiritual Journey on Mother Earth
Family
A Grandmother’s Awakening
Extended Family
A Needless Battle
Consistency
Your Ancestors Live Within You
Spiritual Shift
The “We” Journey
We Are the Manifestations of Our Ancestors
To Be Indigenous Is To Be Colorful
Ancestors’ Messages
II. SWIMMING IN TAINTED WATERS
When The Teacher Is Alcohol and The Substitute Is Drugs
Addiction
An Old Way Of Thinking And A Celebration Of A New Day
Dark Alleys
Blanket of Shame
Chasing Craziness
Spirit Guides
In Whose Shell Are These Dancing Demons Partying?
Positive Growth, Finding Balance
The Awakening: Pain As A Career
What Makes Me Cry
A New Journey
Strangers Among Us
The Challenge
Honor a Woman, Honor Life
Who’s Fooling Who?
The Spiritual Bank
Return to the Water Gatherings
Swimming in Tainted Waters
At The End Of the Road
A Native Story
III. FINDING BALANCE
Ownership
Balancing Act
Stinking Thinking
Overworked
Patience in the Face of Confusion and Frustration
Smiles and Laughter
Mending The Family Circle
Judgments
Be your own teacher for the day
Emptiness and Doubt
Bad Medicine, Bad Karma, Bad Choices
Pedestal Thinking
Powerlessness vs. Empowerment
I Am Who I Am Today, By Choice
Today’s Adventures
The Gift Of Giving
Chakras Are A Relative Of Indigenous Balance
Acts of Kindness
Positive Energy From A Negative Source
You Are Not The Judge; You Are The Student
Happiness Is A Choice
The Gift Of A Day
Spiritual Drumbeat
IV. PRAYERS IN MOTION
Free Will
The Journey
Faith
The Journey From Within
The True Gift
Don’t Forget To Water Your Plant
Finding A Common Spiritual Ground
To Stand Within Your Own Spirituality
Life Breeds Warriors
There Is A Reason We Are Called Warriors
Tobacco Prayers In Motion
The Gathering
Ancestral Pride, A Partnership with the Past
Eagle Dreams
A Spirit’s Prayer
Walking the Red Road…With Gratitude for my Family, Friends and Teachers
Tobacco Prayer to the World
Praise for Mary’s book:
When I am an elder, I hope to have half the wisdom and sacred knowledge that Grandmother Mary has. Her book is a testament to the strength of our ancestors and the hope of the future. She reminds me how strong I am and that every day is a new day. Her book inspires me to remember the past and look towards the future, all while living and laughing in the moment. —Kathryn Holt Richardson, J.D.
Grandmother Mary Lyons is a true Wisdom Keeper. Each chapter of this wonderful book is a gift! Grandmother Mary’s loving presence in our lives is an example of her truth as she lives and breathes the breaths of her ancestors. In each moment you spend with her you know you are in the presence of an elder who has walked the path of life true to the sacred teachings of Mother Earth. —Patricia Morris Cardona, APRN, BC, and Daniel J. Cardona, MD, co-founders of The Cosmic Mysteries School
Mary Lyons | About the Author
Great-Grandmother Mary Lyons, Ojibwe Elder from Minnesota, is a spiritual advisor, storyteller and wisdom keeper. She travels and teaches internationally with the Indigenous Grandmothers of the Sacred We, a pan-indigenous group led by Sufi teacher Devi Tide.
She is the founder of the Minnesota Coalition on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, an Indian Child Welfare Act Expert Witness and a Native American Family and Child Advocate for the Tribes. She was a keynote speaker at the Parliament of World Religions in Utah and at the People’s Climate March in New York City in 2014. She is a winner of the Congressional Angels in Adoption Award, nominated by Senator Norm Coleman of Minnesota.
She currently serves as a counselor for the women’s sobriety group Women of Wellbriety International, which she co-founded. Grandmother Mary was one of many Native children removed from her home and placed in an institution; she has first-hand experience of the negative effects on children and families of alcohol and drug addiction. After her own recovery, guided by her ancestors, she has dedicated her life to helping others, including fostering and adopting many children with family difficulties, disabilities and fetal alcohol syndrome.