Spirituality and Self Help
The Four Directions and Walking the Medicine Wheel
This morning, I did twenty minutes of yoga, forty minutes of meditation, prayed to the Creator and the four directions, smudged my altar and affirmed positive statements to carry me through an anticipated fantastic day.
My name is Crystal Wolf and I am a Spirit and Life Consultant, a Seer and an Intuitive Educator. My home is in the Greater Sudbury Area. I have been doing spiritual work for over twenty three years and I travel extensively to do this work.
Today's teaching is on the Four Directions and Walking the Medicine Wheel.
In the last twenty years, the teachings of the Medicine Wheel have become an integral path for not only the Native People but for others all over the world who are interested in maintaining the balance within themselves and within the Earth Mother.
The Wheel is a universal symbol because it is a circle, and the circle represents the creation of life as an infinite cycle of birth, death and rebirth. The Medicine Wheel is one way of honouring the energy of the earth and of celebrating and strengthening that energy. The Medicine Wheel is the Native People's idea of the universe and each individual's place in it. At birth, each of us enters the Wheel at one particular beginning point and this entrance gives us certain powers, gifts and responsibilities within the four directions on the Wheel. This place gives us our first ways of perceiving things, that which is the most natural. Throughout a person's journey around the Wheel, they have the obligation to grow and to seek understanding from the other directions so that they can incorporate these attributes into becoming a full and balanced individual that can make good decisions along their life's unfoldment.
The construction of the circle begins with twelve to sixteen stones, each representing a part of the universe. Within the Wheel are the four spokes that are named for the four directions- East, West, North and South. The symbolism of the number four is important. The number four stands for power. To participate in the construction of a Medicine Wheel or to participate in a Medicine Wheel ceremony is both an honour and a re-affirmation of a person's journey within their own Wheel of Life.
My first participation in the construction of a Medicine Wheel and in a Medicine Wheel ceremony was in 1985 through invitation by a Cherokee Elder. During this ceremony a buffalo skull was placed in the centre of the circle and as participants we were asked to wear head-dresses and animal regalia. Each person entered the wheel from the East and walked inside the Wheel in a clockwise direction (the way of the sun) once, until each of us was settled on a particular position in the circle.
Each cardinal direction is associated by a certain colour, certain attributes and has an Animal Spirit Keeper that represents this direction. In the Cherokee teachings, the colour for the East is red with an Eagle as Spirit Keeper representing illumination and new beginnings. The South is represented by Yellow or White with a Wolf Spirit Keeper who represents knowledge, power and family. The West is Black with a Bear Spirit Keeper representing purification, death, re-birth and life experiences. Finally, the North is in White or Pale Blue with a Buffalo as the Spirit Keeper. The Buffalo represents prayer, health, renewal and spiritual attainment.
The Medicine Wheel, with all it's variations is more than a circle of stones: it is a road-map to life, a path to follow, and a way to grow. This is the reason that there are now many Medicine Wheel gatherings and many Medicine Wheels being built so that the healing of the sacred circle can prevail within the Earth Mother and within ourselves.
Everyone has a place on the Wheel. Everyone travels around the Wheel and depending on one's birth, karma, and growth experiences, one will acquire the gifts, and powers of the four directions as we come to them in our life journey.
Affirmation for the day
I am alive, I am thankful, and I shall accomplish this day, for the benefit of myself, my family and all beings, these three specific things........for example.... I shall realize my creative gifts today, I will create better relationships with others, I will not be attached to
unhealthy foods.
Repeat this affirmation three times. Visualize in your mind's eye the manifestation of this affirmation.
If you affirm that you want to have a better relationship with co-workers, then visualize you and your co-workers seated in a circle, surrounded by pink light, talking heart to heart and working together. It is important to believe your words and to cultivate faith that you will manifest your sacred gifts in life.
Aho and Blessings of Light
Crystal Wolf
tario
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