The Four Paths: Prayers, Truths, and Commitments

The Four Paths: Story, Spirit, Land, and Community, are the heart of this work. Each path is a source of healing, belonging, and wisdom. Together, they offer a holistic way of living and relating, rooted in Indigenous teachings and open to all who seek wholeness.

The Four Prayers

Each Path is honoured with a simple prayer, words of gratitude, hope, and intention. These prayers can be spoken individually or woven together as a larger prayer to Creator, the ancestors, and all our relations. Many find that beginning each day with these prayers helps set a tone of humility, gratitude, and openness to growth.

For Our Story:

May we honour the stories that shaped us, and find courage to heal and share them.

For Our Spirit:

May we be guided by what is sacred, finding meaning and connection in our own ways.

For Our Land:
May we walk gently, listening to the wisdom of the earth, and remembering we belong to the land as much as it belongs to us.

For Our Community:
May we nurture kinship, kindness, and belonging, weaving a web of care that holds us all.

Woven together, these prayers become a larger invocation, a way to greet the day, ground ourselves, and invite Creator’s guidance:

“Creator, help me honour my story, walk in the light of Spirit, care for the land beneath my feet, and nurture the community around me. May all my steps today be guided by gratitude, humility, and kindness.”

This practice echoes the Indigenous tradition of greeting the directions, the land, and all our relations each morning. It is a good way to open one’s day, centering ourselves in balance and intention.

The Four Truths

The Four Truths are gentle reminders, simple, powerful teachings that guide our journey on the Four Paths:

Every story matters and can be healed.
Each person’s journey is important, and healing is possible for all.
Spirit is in all things, and all ways of seeking are honoured.
There are many paths to the sacred; each is respected.
We are part of the land, and the land is part of us.
Our well-being is braided with the earth’s well-being.
We belong to each other; healing is strongest together.
True healing happens in community, not in isolation.

These truths offer a foundation for personal and collective growth, much like the Four Directions teachings found in many Indigenous cultures, which remind us to seek balance and connection in all aspects of life.

The Four Commitments

The Four Commitments are promises we make to ourselves and each other as we walk the Four Paths:

Listen deeply.
To ourselves, each other, and the world around us.
Walk with humility.
Knowing we are always learning, and every person and place has something to teach us.
Meet all with kindness.
Especially in moments of difference, struggle, or pain.
Honour growth, celebrate small steps, learn from struggle.
Every bit of progress is worthy of celebration; mistakes and setbacks are teachers, not failures.

Bringing It All Together

The Four Prayers, Truths, and Commitments are more than words, they are living practices. When woven together, they help us walk in balance, greet each day with gratitude, and build circles of healing and belonging. Whether spoken aloud, whispered in the quiet of morning, or shared in community, these teachings invite us to live with intention, respect, and care for all our relations.

For those new to the Four Paths, beginning each day with these prayers and commitments is a powerful way to open your heart, honour your journey, and invite Creator’s guidance for whatever comes.