Native Individuals have an method to well being and wellness that stems from the assumption that sickness is said to greater than the physique. We consider that illness is said to imbalance. Imbalance will not be restricted to the bodily physique however reasonably it’s an extension of all the our bodies – bodily, non secular, psychological and emotional. On this article, I’ll introduce you to the Medicine Wheel and share with you my understanding of this because it pertains to our well being and effectively being. We’ll then go into depth on every of the our bodies and you’ll study to make use of and apply the Medicine Wheel in your life to create concord and steadiness.
The Medicine Wheel is each a software and a information that was given to us by the Creator and utilized by Indian folks for a lot of issues, together with therapeutic and wellness. Generally phrases, sickness is the bodily manifestation of non secular, psychological and/or emotional imbalance. It has been identified for a while that stress and nervousness are linked to well being. Our happiness and attitudes are an vital a part of therapeutic once we do get sick. Within the Nice Wheel, every little thing is linked; all issues are associated. The method to wellness is extra holistic – one that appears at a bigger image for doable causes and options.
The bodily, non secular, psychological and emotional our bodies are represented within the 4 quadrants of the equilateral cross discovered within the heart of a circle. This cross and circle are the symbols for the Medicine Wheel. The circle and/or glyph is symbolic of many issues, in reality ALL issues. The circle is perfection, steadiness, life, the Universe, infinite potential; the glyph is neither plus nor minus. All issues are in and part of this circle.
As a software and a information we are able to consider the Medicine Wheel like a map. Like a standard map, there are reference factors that function navigational landmarks or could also be symbolic beginning factors that we all know because the 4 cardinal instructions – east, west, north and south. (There are literally six instructions within the Wheel as a result of there’s additionally “above” and “beneath” generally referred to by Indian folks because the “above world” and the “beneath world”, or Father Sky and Mom Earth.) Every of the 4 our bodies corresponds with the 4 instructions.
The east corresponds with the bodily, the south with emotional, the west with the non secular and the north with the psychological. A simple solution to bear in mind the way in which the 4 our bodies relate to the 4 instructions is to consider the Medicine Wheel like a human physique. The head or thoughts (psychological) is within the North simply as north is all the time “up” on a standard map. The coronary heart (emotional) is within the south simply as the center is decrease within the human physique. To recollect the east (bodily) and the west (non secular), simply keep in mind that we rely on the solar for our literal bodily existence. We’d like its gentle, its heat and its vitality to bodily survive. Simply because the solar rises within the east to supply for our bodily wants and then turns into twilight because it slips into the west, so, too, are you able to suppose and be reminded of the non secular connection to the west. You could have heard reference to the “twilight years” or possibly you may have heard the time period “the solar setting in your life”. Indians consider that when the spirit leaves the physique that it goes into the west. The spirit returns to the non secular realm.
All issues are associated and all issues work collectively. Such is our well being – bodily, non secular, psychological and emotional. Whenever you work with this information and place your footsteps in concord with this historic knowledge, you’ll discover energy!
Our focus can be on the 4 our bodies and their interconnectedness to well being. We may even talk about the 2 different instructions – above and beneath. These signify the social and occupational elements of our effectively-being.
THE EAST – the Bodily
The solar is a life-giving supply that’s central to all life on the earth. The significance given to the solar by Indian folks is marked by the reverence they present it. The solar is our father in the identical manner that the earth is our mom. Like a father, the solar gives for us and offers us warmth and gentle – and works with mom to supply meals for us. Simply because the solar rises within the east signaling the start of a brand new day, of latest life, or of a brand new cycle – so, too, can we put “new beginnings” within the east on the Medicine Wheel. When a baby is born, he enters the primary of 4 phases within the progress cycle: toddler, little one, grownup and elder. As a result of this new life is a starting, the earthly journey has its begin within the east.
First, there’s the necessity to feed and nourish the physique in order that it has every little thing it must carry out at its optimum capability. Weight loss plan and vitamin are an vital ingredient. We need to put good issues into our our bodies whereas defending it from the issues that may hurt it. Our physique does a great job of filtering and voiding itself of poisons however once we devour portions of toxin-like substances, akin to these present in medicine, alcohol, and tobacco, the physique has to combat exhausting to revive and keep steadiness. Abuse of any of this stuff typically indicators that one thing is unbalanced in a number of of the opposite our bodies – non secular, psychological and emotional – all of which makes us extra vulnerable to sickness.
Along with weight-reduction plan and vitamin and the avoidance of poisons, the physique want train. Train ought to are available two kinds – energy or resistance coaching (weight lifting) and cardiovascular train (akin to bike driving, swimming, stair climbing or strolling). Something that’s cardio works to raise the center charge. With train, the physique’s immune system is strengthened and its means to make use of and assimilate vitamins is enhanced. The physique wants blood and oxygen and train will increase the move of each.
As with every little thing steadiness is the important thing. The physique wants relaxation in the identical manner that it wants train. Every individual is completely different of their want for sleep simply as they’re of their want for train. Relaxation is a essential element to a wholesome regime. A balanced portion of every day needs to be devoted to correct train, good vitamin and relaxation to maintain the bodily physique in steadiness and performing at its optimum degree.
THE SOUTH – the Emotional
Because the solar travels in a clockwise route across the earth, so we are going to honor this by touring in the identical route across the Medicine Wheel. With that, we enter the south and the emotional physique. Our emotional physique has each an interior and an outer facet to it. Emotional well being is the attention of not solely our personal emotions, but additionally how we connect with others.
First we should perceive and handle our personal emotions and sense of effectively-being. When an individual is in a state of steadiness, there’s a common feeling of positivity and even enthusiasm about life. The distinction between life and dwelling is the distinction between existence and thriving.
There are only some feelings however all kinds of emotions that stem from them. Worry, anger, happiness, unhappiness/grief and love are the bottom feelings. Emotional maturity comes as we study to successfully handle and address these feelings, in addition to associated ancillary emotions. In the identical manner that we should discover and dedicate time every day to constructing and sustaining the bodily physique, so too should we find time for the care and progress of our emotional physique. The each day follow of meditation is a profit. Take day out of every day to seek out issues that you’re glad about and grateful for. Ship that gratitude within the type of prayer as it would enable you to develop into extra conscious. Consciousness is essential to progress and growth in our emotional well being. Specializing in and making time for the optimistic relationships in our lives can be essential. When {our relationships} are steady and wholesome, they add to our state of effectively-being. We will exist with out different folks, however we won’t thrive. To place it merely, we have been created a herd animal and as such, we are supposed to work collectively for the nice of the herd. {Our relationships} are the outward facet of our emotional physique, simply as self-consciousness is the interior.
You could have observed that there are completely different sorts of feelings. I’m reluctant to make use of the phrases “optimistic” and “unfavorable” when talking of feelings since there might be studying and progress from ache… in the end making it a optimistic occasion in our lives. Worry is a superb instructor particularly once we work to regulate and evolve from it. Emotions are clues that we want so we are able to make changes in our lives. Once we really feel good, we go for extra of the identical. Once we really feel unhealthy, we make corrections to really feel higher. All of this must be tempered with logic and steadiness. There are numerous issues that may make us really feel good that, in extra, might be unfavorable. Some feelings make us really feel good and some make us really feel unhealthy, however all are essential to our emotional frame of mind and our studying.
THE WEST – the Non secular
Why are we right here? What’s our purpose for being? Are we a part of one thing larger than ourselves? What is that this larger factor? These are among the questions requested (and generally ignored) by folks. We largely settle for the necessity for meals, clothes and shelter (our bodily wants) and acknowledge that we really feel and are sentient beings (emotional), and that we possess the facility of thought (psychological) however spirituality is the one factor that folks can someway deny. For many who do acknowledge and settle for that we’re non secular creatures, additionally they know that there’s a have to feed and nourish the spirit simply as we have to take care of our bodily, emotional and psychological our bodies.
One of many methods we do that is by means of prayer and meditation. Each thought that comes from our thoughts and each phrase that comes from our mouth is a prayer. Once we suppose, we ship although vitality out into the world and universe. Because of this we needs to be cautious with our ideas. Whether or not we all know it or not, our ideas are intentions that exit from us even when we’re not aware of it. Our phrases convey into the bodily realm that which we expect. Consciousness that our ideas and our phrases are types of prayer ought to have you ever asking “to what, and for what, do I pray?”
Our spirit is our essence – what we’re at our core. To be non secular is to boost our essence to the very best degree doable. We do that by means of our ideas, phrases and deed AND fixed consciousness! Feed the physique, thoughts and coronary heart good issues and you nourish the spirit. Search understanding and fact and dedicate a portion of every day to prayer and meditation and your spirit can be robust. One other factor that’s vital to the spirit is the angle of gratitude. Our thanks is the one factor that we can provide to the Creator that is not already His. No matter it’s that you’re grateful for once you dwell upon it in your thoughts, we give again to a beneficiant universe from the center. The spirit is nourished by means of this.
THE NORTH – the Psychological
Now we have the capability for limitless studying. The mind continues to develop all through our lives however like our physique, coronary heart and spirit, we should feed it good issues.
The psychological facet of our being is vital as a result of the thought is the beginning of what we work to create. Change your pondering and you alter your beliefs. Change your beliefs and you alter your actions. Change your actions and you alter your character. Change your character and you alter your future. All of it begins with the thought. That is our alternative to create, by means of our intention, the life that we would like for ourselves. Whenever you give attention to the optimistic issues in life, optimistic is the result. To develop into conscious of ideas that may want adjustment or change, meditation is central.
Along with meditation, we need to stimulate and problem the mind and dedicate a portion of every day to mental pursuits and progress. Puzzles, studying a brand new language, enjoying a musical instrument, something that causes the mind to work might be germane to progress.
I am unable to stress sufficient the facility of being optimistic and conserving your give attention to the nice in life. The time period “we reap what we sow” is true. Whenever you ship good issues out to the universe, you get good issues again. The seeds that you simply sow as we speak are the backyard from which you’ll eat tomorrow.
MOTHER – the Social
I hesitate to assign a route to this facet due to the unfavorable connotation affiliation with “down” so I exploit “Mom” as a result of Mom vitality flows upward with Father vitality spirals downward. To recollect this you possibly can consider “Mom Earth” and “Father Solar”. Collectively they kind a twin helix that spirals by means of all issues. In folks this vitality travels by means of the pure channel in our backbone.
We must always take care of our social/communal surroundings like a mom who cares for her little one. In Native tradition, there’s a robust sense of neighborhood as a result of we acknowledge that “It takes a village”. All that we’re as people impacts the entire, which impacts us in return. We have to care about the entire simply as we care concerning the self and all the dimensions that make up that being. We depend on others for a lot of issues. We depend on the creatures and different beings on this earth for our very survival. We’re a herd animal and, as such, we have been meant to know our place within the nice circle of life. We are supposed to understand how we relate to all others – and how they relate to us. Every individual contributes both positively or negatively to his or her surroundings and neighborhood so it’s in everybody’s’ greatest curiosity to try for a wholesome relationship with the world and all the creatures in it.
Relating this to the 4 levels of the expansion cycle, when a child is born every little thing is finished for the newborn. He’s clothed, fed, cleaned and tended to by another person. In a way, the world (not less than because the child is aware of it), revolves round him. As he grows and his consciousness will increase, he sees an even bigger world and it’s a pure inclination to strive and grasp that world so he turns into extra unbiased – going additional and doing extra for himself. Finally in his studying, he discovers that the world turns into much less about him and extra about the entire. If his studying is in steadiness, he is aware of the significance of serving the entire as a result of he is aware of that serving the entire is, in essence, serving the self.
A portion of our dwelling needs to be devoted to neighborhood service on some degree. On the root of that is studying to dwell in concord with our surroundings and the neighborhood – receiving from them and giving to them.
FATHER – the Occupational
Occupational is greater than what we do to earn a dwelling. It’s how we “work” to complement our lives and how we contribute to the entire of society. It rises above merely performing a process to doing so with a optimistic angle.
In our occupation, we are able to purchase new expertise, uncover new concepts, all of which may feed our bodily, non secular, emotional and psychological our bodies. Understanding how work contributes to our personal life, our households, our neighborhood and our world can elevate a process-oriented place to one thing extra significant and fulfilling.
A key to discovering this success is discovering one thing that you simply love to do… discovering one thing that’s in keeping with your values, morals and beliefs. Barring that, it’s about having the suitable angle, working together with your coronary heart, and discovering pleasure within the achievement and the doing as a result of you already know what you do is vital on so many ranges. Do it such as you imply it!
SUMMARY
Vitality is throughout us. We’re created from vitality. There are numerous completely different types of vitality: warmth, gentle, male, feminine, optimistic, unfavorable and so on. There may be additionally a Common Vitality – a divine vitality – that once we faucet into it and align ourselves with its move, is life altering.
To align ourselves with this move we should convey all the our bodies talked about above into concord. When all the our bodies are in concord and steadiness, it’s like all the planets aligning for us and our good.
Vitality is about vibration and vibrational ranges. If we’re to resonate with these issues on a better vibrational degree, we should first elevate our personal. We enter this greater stream by making higher decisions that have an effect on all ranges and all our bodies. These decisions come from optimistic ideas and actions. Our quest for good well being and effectively-being has, at its coronary heart, the hunt for a great life. Being effectively resides effectively.
Within the conventional manner, I place this info at your ft. If you happen to ought to discover one thing good in it, decide it up and stroll with it as a result of it now belongs to you. We do that with items of this nature as a result of we perceive that every individual has their very own free will. With that free will comes a duty for this present of life that’s ours. Every individual should take the initiative and be an energetic participant to his or her effectively-being. The symbolic “laying at your ft” exhibits that you need to take it upon your self to select up and use this info. Like some other remedy, this solely work should you take it.
My prayer is that every individual will discover steadiness by means of this consciousness which can then unfold into the entire of our world and mend the Sacred Hoop of Life that has been damaged for too lengthy.
In Spirit,
Ralph P. Brown (Tawennihake)
