The old Lakota was wise. He knew that man's heart, away from nature, becomes hard; he knew that lack of respect for growing, living things soon led to lack of respect for humans too. — Luther Standing Bear
The old Lakota was wise. He knew that a man's heart away from nature becomes hard. — Luther Standing Bear
It is important to understand that there are many different ways of seeing the world and expressing the wisdom of Native belief...No one voice speaks for all voices. — Joseph Bruchac
Indians and animals know better how to live than white man; nobody can be in good health if he does not have all the time fresh air, sunshine, and good water. — Flying Hawk
Nature never says one thing and wisdom another. — Juvenal
Wisdom accepts that all things have two sides — Carl Jung
The wisdom of nations lies in their proverbs,
which are brief and pithy. — William Penn
Each man is good in the sight of the Great Spirit. — Sitting Bull
Wise people have an inward sense of what is beautiful, and the highest wisdom is to trust this intuition and be guided by it. — Aristotle
The Great Spirit Chief who rules above all will smile upon this land... and this time the Indian race is waiting and praying. — Chief Joseph
Humans have externalized their wisdom-stored it in museums, libraries, the expertise of the learned. Dog wisdom is inside the blood and bones. — Donald McCaig
Wisdom is not finally tested by the schools, Wisdom cannot be pass'd from one having it to another not having it, Wisdom is of the soul, is not susceptible of proof, is its own proof. — Walt Whitman
In goodness there are all kinds of wisdom. — Euripides
Native American Wisdom Quotes
If you talk to the animals they will talk with you and you will know each other. If you do not talk to them you will not know them and what you do not know, you will fear. What one fears, one destroys. — Chief Dan George
We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children — Chief Seattle
Wisdom and peace come when you start living the life the creator intended for you. — Geronimo
It hurts because it matters.
We do not want churches because they will teach us to quarrel about God. We do not want to learn that. We may quarrel with men sometimes about things on this earth, but we never quarrel about the Great Spirit. We do not want to learn that. — Chief Joseph
Where no one intrudes, many can live in harmony. — Chief Dan George
How smooth must be the language of the whites, when they can make right look like wrong, and wrong like right. — Black Hawk
Be not afraid of going slowly, Be afraid of standing still.
The faintness of the stars, the freshness of the morning, the dewdrop on the flower, speaks to me. — Chief Dan George
Everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the power of the world always works in circles. — Black Elk
The land is sacred. These words are at the core of your being. The land is our mother, the rivers our blood. Take our land away and we die. That is, the Indian in us dies. — Mary Brave Bird
Knowledge was inherent in all things. The world was a library. — Luther Standing Bear
Ancient Wisdom Quotes
What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others. — Pericles
I make ancient wisdom relevant, but through modern research and science. — Jay Shetty
As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters. I wish you all very good lives. — J. K. Rowling
How you make others feel about themselves says a lot about you.
Through consciousness, our minds have the power to change our planet and ourselves. It is time we heed the wisdom of the ancient indigenous people and channel our consciousness and spirit to tend the garden and not destroy it. — Bruce H. Lipton
The older I get the more wisdom I find in the ancient rule of taking first things first. A process which often reduces the most complex human problem to a manageable proportion. — Dwight D. Eisenhower
When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you. — Lao Tzu
A ship in harbour is safe but thats not what ships are for.
The mystic and the physicist arrive at the same conclusion; one starting from the inner realm, the other from the outer world. The harmony between their views confirms the ancient Indian wisdom that Brahman, the ultimate reality without, is identical to Atman, the reality within. — Fritjof Capra
Do not say a little in many words but a great deal in a few. — Pythagoras
For the May Day is the great day,
Sung along the old straight track.
And those who ancient lines did ley
Will heed this song that calls them back...
Pass the cup, and pass the Lady,
And pass the plate to all who hunger,
Pass the wit of ancient wisdom,
Pass the cup of crimson wonder. — Jethro Tull
To sit patiently with a yearning that has not yet been fulfilled, and to trust that, that fulfillment will come, is quite possibly one of the most powerful "magic skills" that human beings are capable of. It has been noted by almost every ancient wisdom tradition — Elizabeth Gilbert
When the Earth is sick, the animals will begin to disappear, when that happens, The Warriors of the Rainbow will come to save them. — Chief Seattle
You ask me to plow the ground. Shall I take a knife and tear my mother's bosom? Then when I die she will not take me to her bosom to rest. — Wovoka
Old age is not as honorable as death, but most people seek it. — David Gemmell
Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision. — Tecumseh
We were contented to let things remain as the Great Spirit Chief made them. They were not; and would change the rivers and mountains if they did not suit them. — Chief Joseph
Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view and demand that they respect yours. — Tecumseh
The earth was created by the assistance of the sun, and it should be left as it was. The country was made without lines of demarcation, and it is no man's business to divide it. — Chief Joseph
All things are bound together. All things connect. — Chief Seattle
We are going by you without fighting if you will let us, but we are going by you anyhow! — Chief Joseph
Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle. — Black Elk
What could be more lonely than to be enveloped in silence, to be the last of your people to speak your native tongue, to have no way to pass on the wisdom of the elders, to anticipate the promise of the children. This tragic fate is indeed the plight of someone somewhere roughly every two weeks. — Wade Davis
We do not want churches. They will teach us to quarrel about God. — Chief Joseph
Like the grasses showing tender faces to each other, thus should we do, for this was the wish of the Grandfathers of the World. — Black Elk
When someone was so poor that he couldn't afford a horse, a tent or a blanket,
he would, in that case, receive it all as a gift. — John Fire Lame Deer
We believe profoundly in silence-the sign of a perfect equilibrium. Silence is the absolute poise or balance of body, mind, and spirit. — Charles Alexander Eastman
So long as mists envelop you, be still. Be still until the sunlight pours through and dispels the mists - as it surely will. Then act with courage. — Chief White Eagle
Listen, or your tongue will make you deaf. — Terri Farley
I have Indian Blood in me. I have just enough white blood for you to question my honesty! — Will Rogers
The power of the world always works in circles. — Black Elk
We were like deer. They were like grizzly bear. — Chief Joseph
Birds make their nest in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours. — Black Elk
Our land is everything to us.... I will tell you one of the things we remember on our land. We remember that our grandfathers paid for it - with their lives. — John Wooden
The earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of earth. If men spit upon the ground, they spit upon themselves. — Chief Seattle
Second, this epic tale allows the audience to actually listen to the Native Americans and receive their wisdom. Spielberg conveys the respect for Native Americans that is normally lacking in Western films. — Beau Bridges
Our fathers gave us many laws which they had learned from their
fathers. These laws were good. — Chief Joseph
When a child my mother taught me the legends of our people; taught me of the sun and sky, the moon and stars, the clouds and storms. She also taught me to kneel and pray to Usen for strength, health, wisdom, and protection. We never prayed against any person, but if we had aught against any individual we ourselves took vengeance. We were taught that Usen does not care for the petty quarrels of men. — Geronimo
What you have in your mind, your talents, your native abilities, no one can take from you. When you die, you take them with you. Use them diligently while you are here. — Alfred Armand Montapert
Verily, I say unto you, that the wisdom of man, in his fallen state, knoweth not the purposes and the privileges of my hold priesthood, but ye shall know when ye receive a fullness by reason of the anointing: For it is my will, that in time, ye should take unto you wives of the Lamanites and Nephites, that their posterity may become white, delightsome and just, for even now their females are more virtuous then the gentiles. — Joseph Smith, Jr.
He who would do great things should not attempt them all alone. — Seneca
In Conclusion
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