ZOOM MEDICINE WHEEL COURSE

 20th Sept to 17th Jan 6-8pm UK time on Sundays

The purpose of indigenous ways is to create and maintain balance as a human being, both within ourselves and with the world around us. The self, for indigenous peoples, is not isolated as in the modern world, but relational. The Medicine Wheel, which originated in the Americas, is rooted in the 4 Elements of the natural world, and is one way of maintaining this balance.

 

During this course we will spend one month on each of the 4 elements of Fire, Water, Earth and Air. In this way we will have time to live with them and get to know them. These Elements correspond respectively to the East, South, West and North of the Medicine Wheel that we shall be using. There are other correspondences as well, many of which we shall be exploring.

 

It will be very much a personal journey for each of us, as we look at our lives from the point of view of each Element/Direction. It will also build a sense of community, as we listen and respond to each other’s stories. I have just finished running the same course during lockdown, and the format worked well.

 

The basic structure will involve myself talking about the Wheel for approx. 1/3 of the time, and the rest of the time will be the participants sharing their own stories, according to the particular aspect of the Wheel under discussion. I also hope that you will construct your own Wheel, and develop a ceremonial relationship with it, as well as spending time in nature with each element as we are exploring it.

 

The themes will include:

 

EAST

Sources of wonder and inspiration as a child, as a teenager and as an adult. Times when a new element entered your consciousness, and the transformations around that.

 

SOUTH

The child – is he still there? How do you play? Do you have trust in life? Your shadow side, the woundings from childhood and from the culture. What has emerged from your most difficult periods?

 

WEST

Incarnation. What dreams did you start your adult life with, and how much were they your own? How do you manage the material world, and what is your relationship story? And what have been your encounters with death?

 

NORTH

The place of the Elder and balanced judgement. Did education teach you to use your mind? Are you able to appreciate all sides of an issue and those who differ from you politically? What is community about?

 

And finally (bringing in, as we sometimes will, the intermediate directions, in this case the North East), what dreams are you choosing to live by? Who do you want to become?

Money: I will be running this group on a donation basis. You will be donating directly to the Coyote Institute in the US, which is run by Lewis Mehl-Madrona (I recommend his book Coyote Medicine), who is part Cherokee-Lakota, and trained both as a traditional healer and a conventional doctor, both of which he has a passion for.

 

Lewis wrote to me: “We are primarily working with the 5 tribes of Maine, with Pine Ridge and Cheyenne River Reservations in South Dakota, and with Kodiak Island, Alaska. There's also Wabanaki Public Health, whom we partially support in Maine.”

 

I suggest a donation of between £50 and £150, or equivalent. Or more if you want! 

 

Here is Lewis' website: http://www.coyoteinstitute.us/donations.html

 

There will be a maximum of 15 participants so that we all have time to talk, and there will be a 2 week break over Christmas/New Year. If you wish to come, please comment underneath this post. If we are not over-subscribed, I will OK you to make a donation, and once you have done that, you will be on the course.