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Post by dancingwind on Aug 16, 2005 15:45:15 GMT
Hi there! ;D Today I looked for stones to build a medicine-weel at a river nearby my home My idea is to be taken a wooden plate which I covered before with natural sand ( I would like to fix the sand before with glue or something else) and put then the stones in form of a medicine wheel. Thus I can be connected with the power of the medicine-wheel and the Great Spirit. In addition I will complete this with a a small cermony after I finish it. Love, Brigitte  |
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Post by emmess on Aug 16, 2005 18:56:17 GMT
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Post by dancingwind on Aug 16, 2005 20:02:12 GMT
Thanks much, I`m happy for all informations I can get and the diagram is also very helpful too. Suggestions and comments are very welcome too.  Love, Brigitte ;D |
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Post by dancingwind on Aug 25, 2005 6:30:56 GMT
Hi! ;D Yesterday evening I finishing to create my Medicine Wheel This afternoon I will do a ceremony and some rituals (with incense ) to initiate it. Love, Brigitte Note: emmess, thanks much my dear for the Links  the instructions have been all very helpful. PS: Funny story, I told my Reiki-Teacher that I have made a medicine wheel. I knows that I´m doing and interested in a lot of other spiritual topics. He told me that I´m a spiritual vagabond... ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D I´m sure he just kidding .... |
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Post by emmess on Aug 25, 2005 14:40:30 GMT
He's probably right - a vagabond is simply a wanderer - I am too - everything I have found has been incomplete - like puzzles with pieces missing - and I look for more information - lately, information I've found has been confirming what I know - so - be a vagabond Always follow your feelings, your intuition. Move on when it's time to move on - Don't hang onto something if it no longer feels good - we're here to BE happy - not to look for happiness - you won't find it. Just BE! Happy! Gather information, gather experiences - you are in control - you are the universe! Focus on health and joy - BE health. BE joy! There's MY thought for the day! LOL |
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Post by dancingwind on Aug 25, 2005 14:58:55 GMT
He's probably right - a vagabond is simply a wanderer - I am too - everything I have found has been incomplete - like puzzles with pieces missing - and I look for more information - lately, information I've found has been confirming what I know - so - be a vagabond Always follow your feelings, your intuition. Move on when it's time to move on - Don't hang onto something if it no longer feels good - we're here to BE happy - not to look for happiness - you won't find it. Just BE! Happy! Gather information, gather experiences - you are in control - you are the universe! Focus on health and joy - BE health. BE joy! There's MY thought for the day! LOL My dear it seems that your thoughts are coming at the right time. I see it like you I´m a wanderer and moving on to gather and make spirituell experiences in my life as much I can. That is MY WAY and is there something which intersted me much I go for it and learn as much I can. Thanks for encouragement.   love, Brigitte ( ;D ;D the vagabond.... ;D ;D ) |
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Post by stef on Aug 25, 2005 15:36:12 GMT
Brigitte and emmess, you both have great attitudes, learn and grow and be happy ;D ;D I'm forever searching for information, my brain's happiest when it's thinking and being fed with new information. Keep it up ;D The learning never ends love stef |
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Post by Mickuk on Aug 25, 2005 18:27:36 GMT
He's probably right - a vagabond is simply a wanderer - I am too - everything I have found has been incomplete - like puzzles with pieces missing - and I look for more information - lately, information I've found has been confirming what I know - so - be a vagabond Always follow your feelings, your intuition. Move on when it's time to move on - Don't hang onto something if it no longer feels good - we're here to BE happy - not to look for happiness - you won't find it. Just BE! Happy! Gather information, gather experiences - you are in control - you are the universe! Focus on health and joy - BE health. BE joy! There's MY thought for the day! LOL Hi emmess,, Many thanks for a very good thought for the day a wonderful message made me feel good and many thanks to Brigitte for starting a great thread very interesting i love learning new things love, Mick |
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Post by emmess on Aug 25, 2005 20:02:34 GMT
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Post by dancingwind on Aug 26, 2005 16:56:45 GMT
The Medicine Wheel
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Let yourself really hear, really feel, really see.
Let yourself be a human being…
Only when you are real with yourself
Can you find the right path in life…
Tom Luian (1988)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Recovery Medicine Wheel
The term "medicine" as it is used in the term Medicine
Wheel
refers to a healing, a teaching, an enlightening, …
spiritual
energy. A Medicine Wheel can best be described as a
mirror
within which everything is reflected…
The Medicine Wheel encompasses the Four Directions,
Four
Winds, Four Grandfathers, Four Elements (earth, fire,
air, water),
four races of people in the human family (Black,
White, Red &
Yellow). We the people have four aspects to our
nature, four
major realms of human existence.
North — the physical realm
East — the realm of knowledge & enlightenment
South — the spiritual realm
West — the realm of introspective thought
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Walking the Steps
Walking the steps of the recovery medicine wheel means
choosing a starting point & continuing in a sun wise
direction &
back to your beginning place. A circle has no true
beginning nor
ending point, so when you have traveled through the
wheel back
to where you have started; you are ready to begin
again… with
new understanding. This is a life long quest…
This Medicine Wheel concept is ancient, passed through
the
generations. It is a spiritual, emotional,
psychological & physical
improvement model. To be used by & for those who seek
inner
peace, spiritual strength & a healthier mind & body.
It is a
powerful tool with which a person can utilize to
maintain sobriety
& sustain recovery. It is especially beneficial to
ACOA,
Codependents & people with addictions.
Think of the steps as you would the paddle of a canoe.
The
paddle has great potential for moving you along a
river. But it is
up to you to put the paddle in the water, push forward
& adjust to
the current. In the same way, the steps of the
Recovery Medicine
Wheel will have great potential for moving you along
the "River of
Life" to recovery. BUT, you must apply them sincerely!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
North
Physical Realm
The north is the place of beginning because it the
place of
rebirth. You must make a decision in your life to stop
physically
abusing your body.
1. Beginning today… I will take good care of
myself.
If you are abusing; drugs, alcohol or food, you must
start by
recognizing the damage you are doing to your body. You
must
take aggressive steps to get treatment for your
addiction.
2. Beginning today I will regain a balance in my
life; by
developing an understanding of the important
connection
between the physical, emotional, psychological &
spiritual parts
of my existence.
This means you will begin to see the entire picture of
your life. In
so doing… come to understand that the physical well
being
involves the need to become enlightened. It also means
to
become aware of the important connection between;
emotions,
life stress, sense of self & the effect these life
elements have on
your physical health.
3. Beginning today I will stop inflicting pain
(physical/emotional)
on myself & others.
If you hurt inside… if you have anger/pain you must
release it at a
safe time & in a safe manner. If you are causing pain
in any
form… it must stop… beginning today.
4. Beginning today I will come to an
understanding that change
is a process.
People from dysfunctional families are NOT accustomed
to
process living. They go from Crisis to Crisis.
Recovering people
must LEARN to live life as a process. Understand &
accept that
this learning takes time & the changing takes time.
You may not
be able to expect an overnight miracle but you can
expect a
miracle over time…
------------------------------------------------------------------------
East
Realm of Knowledge & Enlightenment
The east is the morning direction. New day, new,
light, new
thought & resolve…
1. Beginning today I will reawaken to all
creation & all of the
beauty that exists in the world around me.
Like everything worthwhile, opening up again takes
work. Open
yourself up to new experiences, new persons & new
awareness.
Begin today; to be… to become… to live…
2. Beginning today I will release myself from a
Narrow view of life
& begin to grow, learn & gain new knowledge.
You must now begin to give up you narrow & self
destructive view
of life. Venture forth. Challenge yourself to learn…
to grow… & to
gain new knowledge… Go beyond fear to begin feeling
that you
are worth while, that you can make a positive life
change.
3. Beginning today I will remember that I have a
sacred right to
live my life as I wish & need to bring harmony &
balance into my
existence by respecting the life rights of others.
You have the right to be you. You do not have the
right to play a
role assigned to you by your dysfunctional family. We
need to
have love & respect for others as well. We must learn
to balance
our rights, needs & desires with those of others in
order to
achieve harmony. You need to have love & respect for
others as
well. We must learn to balance our rights, needs &
desires with
those of others to achieve harmony.
4. Beginning today I will work on understanding
the changes I
must make in order to achieve personal harmony,
balance &
freedom.
Consider the cognition & behavior changes that will
bring you
freedom from your addiction. Move away from old,
dysfunctional,
destructive life patterns to new balances, functional
ways of
living. Fear must be replaced with a feeling of
personal strength
through the caring support of the self by the self &
of the self by
others. Co-operation must replace tyrannical control &
love must
replace self hatred.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
South
Spiritual Realm
The south is the realm of existence where we will make
a
connection with a spiritual power greater than
ourselves. Some
may see this greater power as the collective essence
of all
people. Others may see this as being pure energy. What
matters
is that every recovering person connects with a
spiritual
essence, a power that is greater than him or herself.
1. Beginning today I will come to an
understanding of my special
relationship to Mother Earth & release my pain to her.
We see the Earth as the Mother to all living things.
The soil
provides us with food, the stone & soil that trees are
in the earth
can provide shelter for us. If we know and respect the
earth, she
will always provide for us. In your recovery, Mother
Earth will heal
you with her beauty & energy. Touch Mother Earth & ask
her to
remove your inner sadness, anxiety & fear. Ask her to
allow you
to let go of negative thinking & negative self
perception. Release
your pain to Mother Earth & you will be refreshed,
released,
reborn & freed.
2. Today I will come to understand my
relationship with Father
Sky.
Father Sky is wind, rain, snow, thunder & lightening,
stillness,
movement, clarity & cloudiness. It can either take or
give life.
Father Sky will act as a reminder of the feelings
within you; both
gentle & destructive. If you watch & respect the ways
of Father
Sky, you will understand the meaning of balance & feel
within
you a sense of strength & ability.
3. Today I will seek the connection I have with
all of the universe.
This step teaches us to understand humility &
belonging. We
can continue to heal ourselves by sharing knowledge &
love with
others. This love & connectedness must be supportive &
uplifting. It must be unconditional love. It should
not be the kind
of love you expected in the past or had expected of
you when
drugs & alcohol were involved. That type of love is
not love at all.
You must say; "I am going to begin caring for myself &
accept the
love & support from others."
4. Today I will reconnect with & nurture my own
spirit.
This is the most direct, yet difficult step within the
spiritual realm.
This step asks you to nurture your own spirit. To do
this you must
connect with your inner self, with that most private
part of you.
You must be able to acknowledge your fears, desires,
emotions
& feelings of distress. Most of all; you must learn to
care for your
own spirit. Think of your spirit as a child. Find out
what can be
done to help that child. See if the child needs love,
reassurance
or comforting. Is the child angry? If so let the child
express some
anger. Find a safe time & place for that child to let
that anger go.
That safe time may in a therapists office or in a
sweat lodge, in a
support group or in the solitude of your own room. You
should
find someone who will be caring, supportive &
nonjudgmental.
Treat your spirit, yourself, with love.
Seek out your inner self. Heal your spirit…
------------------------------------------------------------------------
West
Realm of Introspective Thought
This is the realm where we must look within ourselves
& be
honest with what we see or find.
1. Today I will speak honestly with myself.
This step is asking you to stop suppressing feelings,
stop
turning off emotions & stop denying that problems
exist. For
example if you are an adult child of an alcoholic, you
may want to
appear helpful, calm & in control. In reality you'd be
acting helpful
as a means of avoiding rejection. You may appear calm.
But it is
a way of showing inner tension & fear. Your controlled
exterior is
likely an attempt to cover up your feelings of failure
& inadequacy.
In order to be healed, you will need to begin speaking
honestly
with yourself. As you become aware of the truths of
your current
life experiences, path to recovery the choices you
make will be
clear.
2. Today I will look at my problems & my
accomplishments with
a willingness to commit myself to positive growth &
change.
A person's ability to look at both problems &
accomplishments
can be an indicator of his/her sense of self. At this
point in the
Medicine Wheel, acknowledgement of both problems &
accomplishments return balance to your life.
Commitment to
positive growth & change provides the path to healing.
3. Today I will examine the ways in which I have
tried to
manipulate, control or manage the lives of others. I
will make a
commitment to stop this behavior.
This step has a great deal of meaning for recovering
addicts,
adult children of alcoholics, co-dependent persons as
well as
those from dysfunctional families.
The person must realize that when performing the
controlling
behaviors that he/she is bringing harm to themself as
well as
the individual they have infringed upon.
Let the addicted person or significant other fix their
own problem.
The responsibility of owning their own problem &
facing the
consequences will be the other persons problem. You
need to
stop attempting to manage others & focus on taking
responsibility for your own life, your own recovery.
4. Today I will acknowledge that change in my
life must begin
with me.
This step is an action step in which you empower
yourself to
make positive life changes. No one else but you can
make
changes in your own life. No one else can stop your
addiction.
Others can help you, encourage you, support you, but
only you
can stop your addictive process.
Discover your personal path to recovery. A
recovery/support
group, a therapist or trusted other & your own insight
will help
you unravel the meaning of each step of the Recovery
Medicine
Wheel. Many traits of this medicine wheel are like
other
therapeutic healing methods; 12 step, reality therapy
& behavior
modification therapy to name a few. We hope you have
been
enlightened as to the use of the medicine wheel in
healing
through this information paper.
By D. Howse & K. Ogen
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