StrongHearts Quest for Truth, Justice and Healing
MEDICINE WHEEL CONCEPT AND ASPECTS
relational is the 4th
The ever popular and relatively modern concept of the Native American Medicine Wheel as a symbol of Native North America is key here. This widely used symbol is commonly said to be made-up of four aspects or parts.
These parts are usually called; 1. physical, 2. mental, 3. emotional and the 4th - spiritual. These parts are of the human being and are essential to a human being's balanced, harmony and well-being. Each of these parts must be developed and taken care of... understood and functional in every part of the person's life.
I believe that there is a great problem with this concept for us - "Indians". I do not say this out of a prejudice or some kind of elitist position. I say this out of experience - from my own life and that of the many people with whom I have worked with.
By this I mean that, when the aspect of spirituality or spiritual or spirit is compartmentalized for us - Native Indigenous people of North America and even those of all of the Americas - we lose a whole lot of our natural connection to good life. We tend misuse faith teachings - traditional and cultural teachings to deny our truth in terms of disconnection from TRULY healthy and well living. We tend to fall into compartmentalizing our natural way of "practicing our faith" much like many religions do theirs. You know - where we use teachings and traditions to manipulate the truth about our responsibility and accountability about how and who and why we are dong life right now and this applies to what we have lived wrong for a long long time.
An example is - waking in the morning and acknowledging the sun as a grandfather by putting some offering down or acknowledging this planet as a GRAND-MOTHER EARTH (note here I did not say mother-earth) again by offering a prayer or offering of some sacred medicine... and so on.
** What is important to KEEP IN MIND is that these things were done in a natural way. These sacred ways were done so naturally without a set-up. These faith ways were not done for some ulterior reasoning like say - to win the lottery or maybe a war. The expression of our faith was as natural as the sun coming up in the morning and water running. **
In my years of doing my own recovery I have experienced the challenges of replacing "learned early family-of-origin conditioned" behaviors" or "ways of doing and dealing with life and its' stressors - good or bad stressors". I say this because we - AND pu-leeze! Never mind other races of people for now - WE tend to adopt a CON-FESSION type way of religion rather than our original way of natural faith and sacred living. We tend to want to "short-cut" our healing by saying something like this -
"I did this ceremony" or
"I can do this traditional way" or
"I am a pipe carrier." or
"I am a sundancer." or
These are examples of SOME things SOME disturbed people may say - NOT ALL! these examples must be taken in context of this article. There have been too may of our people suffering without ever knowing of the ceremonies or traditional ways - our people who have never experienced our natural faith ways. I am referring to those few who may ACT BETTER THAN... you know... holier than thou.
They may think and act as it they have done some other so-thought-of-as a superior accomplishment because of our old ways - our traditional or cultural way... a ceremony or tradition.
For example: A sundancer suffers for the people and pierces his body and fasts and dances for 4 days for 4 years and claims to be healed over other peoples. When the truth of the situation is that NOW with accomplishment the Sundancer must help others - must serve others as a warrior.
The key is to serve with sense of humility and humbleness and serve with dignity and integrity for the ones who need and for their own stronghearts.
The quest is to change within and heal from past harms and damage and to stop abuse and damaging others... and to be an example to others who need to believe in the Red Road.
And it does matter whether or not that you are traditional or Christian or some other way of faith! Please know that being healthy and well comes out to one place - natural living in peace and love with justice for all. Justice for all - beginning with you! Give and get justice just as love and peace are for all.
Remember to ask for strength to walk your talk. Ask for strength to be honest and forthright about YOUR old ways which caused or cause you troubles or bring about hurt to others. This is where true healing takes place and the Creator takes hold of your life... this is done with you knowing. And when you know you will share this with others.
Open you heart and mind to what part you play in what is going wrong in our communities. We are the mothers and fathers and children of our people.
Last Updated (Monday, 23 January 2012 19:46)
WHEN SPIRITUALITY FAILSNow, 40 years for sure, we have been “allowed” to get back to our original “religion”; Our original way of practicing our faith. For those us who don't know or don't remember; at that time our original “spirituality” was out-lawed - banned by the law of our conquerors. We were efectively cut-off from our natural traditional cultural ways of doing our faith in the free way of our ancestors. We were virtually imprisoned in the way of our own hearts and minds. We began a deep-destructive inprisonment, We were denied our living healthy and well – balanced and harmonious within our traditional ways. For sure at that time when they said we could not do our ceremonies, we lost our way of practicing our faith freely and were already in trouble. But, we were in trouble already because we had lost our most natural freedom - the freedom of movement as the wind moves through the grass. Freedom as the buffalo roams in the prairies and freedom to live with the moon and stars and the seasons as was god-created abd given. But It was when we were denied our freedom to live this exclusive freedom that our spiritual expression began to wither and disconnect. Note that I do not say die because you cannot kill spirit! Now each of us must come to terms with how and when and why we began to struggle with living life with the conquerors. Each of us must re-experience what living productively and connected in our once balanced and harmonious way with and to our families and to the rest of this society really is. Today, we may learn our “spiritual ways” from someone who knows our tribe of origin’s teachings. Best we are offered these teachings with no strings attached. We may also be welcomed to take part in some other tribal way which is being offered by an elder in our territory. Either way we will develop knowledge and experience in fulfilling our faith deprivation. We will learn much of who were once were and how we once lived – faith wise. This is the quest of the spiritual warrior. And you are the spiritual warrior - we all are. Pilamaya - Mitakiue Oyasin Last Updated (Thursday, 19 January 2012 19:02) Buffalo Sage Wellness - True Rehab ProgramThe Buffalo Sage Wellness House "FAITH is YOUR ACTION of LIFESTYLE - You WILL SEE IT WORKING." The Buffalo Sage Wellness House is a women's prison pre-release preparation program. This proogram is focused on "Aboriginal Women" and uses "traditional cultural approach" to making appropriate change and preparation. I see this program as another real, true conviction to re-habilitation / healing change program. This is another pilot project to showcase healing rehabilitation - spefically for people incarcerated and convicted of crime(s) and who are facing release. These types of re-hab (healthy healing change re-training) are like rooster salt peter. I watched this program being featured on CBWT National News on televison last night - January 18th, 2012. The video is linked at beginning of article. This program is under the Native Counselling Service of Alberta (NACS) I wrote to them after watching the story: Great program - thank you
Hello Ms. Carefoot, I watched the story of you all in the Buffalo Sage program. I congratulate you all for your openness and forthrightness... for sharing. I have worked in juvenile corrections and volunteered in adult institutions. I currently work privately as a lifeskills trainer. As for myself, I have experienced life as a Native person here in Winnipeg since 1952. I have worked for the national chief Phil Fontaine as a special assistant for some 10 years and was the security for Elijah Harper AND I have done extensive intensive training AND therapy for my own personal dysfunctions. I trained in Experiential Psychotherapy and Psychodrama and a number of other modalities of contemporary healing AND I have had to re-establish my connection to being "aboriginal" and putting into a more healthy and well perspective of being an "Indian". For instance - I share that the medicine wheel is divided into 4 aspects. These aspects are - 1. physical 2. mental 3. emotional 4, RELATIONAL (not spiritual) Because all aspects of life, living and doing healing are spiritual. And - because we as native peoples have to recognize that we had our expression of faith, hope and our beliefs and values and too - we had a conscientious and natural expression of faith in living. The reason for separating from the compartmentalizing of the "SPIRIT" id very important in healing because too many time and for the past 30 years or so of "Native Cultural promotion" - too many of us have not seen or not seen enough of our own deep participation and perpetuation of dysfunctional living and life. Also that many of us have become institutionalized and cannot "functionally imbed" into our psyche and lifestyle the "em-power-ment" of learning our traditional and cultural ways - even 12 steps and / or contemporary religions. The emphasis is on emotional understanding and emotional intelligence and re-vamping our emotional expression, our emotional "baggage" and intellectually practicing learning and doing better or more healthy and well relating to OUR PRESENT EMOTIONAL package. After all - acting is where it all starts and ends... and we can all act as if. This in little blurb is why RELATIONAL is the fourth aspect of the medicine wheel. Take food as another item - why do we over eat and destroy our self and even our relatives with food? Over eating or not understanding foods and nutrition. We must learn to relate to food in a healthy way - with understanding how we feel think and believe about food. An example. Anyhow, I am not writing for a job. I am writing to offer my support. My support can be tailored to fit the needs of the inmates. (I call them inmates out of respect for the law and the penal system.) I offer to write free of charge to you and or to your program. I have had a web site for the past 10 years, it is called www.spirit-warrior.ca - I have changed service provider and web-page set-up recently, so much of my writings are not transferred over to the new site. I offer a program to mostly native people (payment according to their ability) which I call the StrongHearts Circle of Life Way. This program is an experiential life skills training program. It is based in experiential learning and the goal is to have clients develop a more useful functional understanding of theirs and our emotional actions, reactions, interactions and how and why we got this way. I heard the young lady say that she had a problem with anger. I believe that we must learn that anger is OK when the old built-up pent-up stuff is identified at its source are understood and resolved. And how big anger is RAGE and that this is a learned "re-lating way " and shame plays a huge part in these over-powering feelings and choices. And I realize that I've gone a little on and on. Once again I offer my support respectfully. Pilamaya, Mitakuye Oyasin - Thank you, We are all related Jaye La Vallee Winnipeg Manitoba
PS: I would be willing to write some group exercises if you wish. A complete list of my trainings and credentials are listed in my website should you need also. The reply:
Thank you so much for your kind comments Jaye. I will keep your email on file. Thank you again for supporting our important work in helping these strong and brave women transition back into the community.
Claire E. Carefoot
Director: Buffalo Sage Wellness House
J.A.LaVallee. [
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Last Updated (Thursday, 19 January 2012 11:35) |