THE SACRED ART OF NAVAJO SANDPAINTING

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Navajo Sandpaintings, also called dry paintings, are called "places where the gods come and go" in the Navajo language. They are used in curing ceremonies in which the gods' help is requested for harvests and healing.

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The figures in sand paintings are symbolic representations of a story in Navajo mythology. They depict objects like the sacred mountains where the gods live, or legendary visions, or they illustrate dances or chants performed in rituals.

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Sandpaintings are but one rite in a ceremonial. From the distinct set of paintings that belong to a specific chant, the chanter selects those that will best heal the patient, never using the entire repertoire of paintings on a single occasion. In the two-night form of a chant, one sandpainting is made, while the last four days of a nine-night ceremonial would have sandpaintings. After its sanctification, the patient sits on the painting while the chanter performs a ritual to enhance the absorption of its healing power. Immediately afterward, the remains of the painting are taken outside to an area north of the hogan, where they are returned to the earth.
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According to Navajo belief, a sandpainting heals because the ritual image attracts and exalts the Holy People; serves as a pathway for the mutual exchange of illness and the healing power of the Holy People; identifies the patient with the Holy People it depicts; and creates a ritual reality in which the patient and the supernatural dramatically interact, reestablishing the patient's correct relationship with the world of the Holy People ( GriffinPierce 1992:43). For the Navajo, the sandpainting is a dynamic, living, sacred entity that enables the patient to transform his or her mental and physical state by focusing on the powerful mythic symbols that re-create the chantway odyssey of the storys protagonist, causing those events to live again in the present. The performative power of sandpainting creation and ritual use reestablish the proper, orderly placement of the forces of life, thus restoring correct relations between the patient and those forces upon which the patient's spiritual and physical health depend. The sandpainting works its healing power by reestablishing the patient's sense of connectedness to all of life ( Griffin-Pierce 1991:66).

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From the http://www.navajopeople.org/ website

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GLUTTONY

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Gluttons dig their graves with their teeth.

Jewish Proverb

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There are more gluttons than drunkards in hell.

Anonymous

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Most people eat as though they were fattening

themselves for the market.

Edgar W. Howe

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If I ran an ad in the papers in New Mexico calling

for movie extras in an upcoming production titled

FATTY PIGS ON PARADE, I'd get about half

the state to show up.

Todd Phillips

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The sin of Gluttony or Greed is one of careless overindulgence in the pleasures that God created as part of Nature. Just as Covetousness focuses on desirable objects, Gluttony focuses on pleasurable feelings or sensations of every kind. Gluttony is often regarded as a “warm and friendly” sin that permits good relationships with other people — friends can go out together to enjoy a movie, a meal, or a drink. At least, it begins that way, but in Gluttony the desire for pleasure does not know when to stop, because the focus on God has been lost. In his earlier work, the Inferno, Dante provides a vivid picture of Gluttony as it really is — a cold and lonely spiritual void. In Gluttony’s extreme forms — alcoholism, eating disorders, and drug addiction — its true nature is clearly revealed. To be freed from these extreme forms of Gluttony requires more than human effort — but that is true of all sin. No sin can be defeated without God’s help.

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In Ephesians 5:18–20, Paul tells us that we should focus on spiritual pleasures first, and reminds us of the natural counter-prayer associated with Gluttony: the giving of thanks or saying Grace. This focuses our attention back on God, and reminds us that any pleasure we feel uncomfortable thanking God for is a pleasure best avoided.
Tony Dekker
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Here's a few websites with info, advice, and prayer:
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http://www.catholicbible101.com/overcominggluttony.htm

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http://www.christianforumsite.com/threads/prayer-to-overcome-my-physical-gluttony-emotional-obession-with-food.24652/

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http://www.ellenskitchen.com/dashof/gluttony.html

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