native american
The Ancient Wisdom Of The Two Wolves
The story of the Two Wolves holds a special place among my childhood favorites. The moral of this Native American wisdom tale, thought to have originated with the Cherokee tribe, serves as a daily guiding light in my life.
I must confess, there is some sentimental bias on my part, as this story also brings back lovely memories of my remarkable grandfather, Sequoia, a former medicine man and chief of the Cherokee Nation.
Variations of the story exist in various Native American cultures, and it typically goes like this:
One evening, an old Cherokee is teaching his granddaughter about life and says, “My daughter, a fight is going on inside all of us each day. It is the battle between the two wolves.”
“One wolf is evil — anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other wolf is good — joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.”
The granddaughter thinks about it for a minute and then asks her grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”
Full Moon Release Ritual
Tomorrow’s Gemini Full Moon will be the last full moon before the winter solstice. Traditionally also known as the Beaver Moon, Frost Moon, or Mourning Moon, this full moon is a perfect time for introspection, spiritual contemplation and inner transformation.
The November Full Moon invites us to gather our resources, release what no longer serves us, and embrace the transformative power of the changing seasons.
As we prepare for winter within and without, we can cultivate the resilience and wisdom necessary to meet the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. The ideal way to do this is through a full moon ritual.
Full moon release rituals have been practiced for centuries in various cultures and spiritual traditions. The goal of these rituals is to create space for growth, transformation, and new beginnings. The phases of the moon are traditionally associated with cycles of growth, decline, and renewal, making the full moon a particularly powerful time to release negative energies, unwanted patterns, and emotions that no longer serve us.
The ancient Egyptians worshipped the moon goddess Isis, who symbolized fertility, magic, and transformation. They believed that the full moon had the power to cleanse and purify.
Comparison Poisons The Heart, Mind And Soul
When we are going through difficult times, we tend to compare our struggles and suffering to the lives of others and measure ourselves by their perceived happiness, joy and success.
We often do this these days by comparing our own lives to what others post on social media. Then we judge and mentally torture ourselves for not living up to other people’s highlight reels of happiness and good fortune.
Sure, it is sometimes beneficial to self-reflect and strive for more based on the examples of others who serve as our role models. However, when we indiscriminately compare our own life journey to everyone else’s, we end up diminishing our own uniqueness and value.
While social comparison can motivate us to improve and grow, it can also lead to toxic self-judgment, envy, resentment, and extreme unhappiness. Constantly focusing on the highlights of other people’s lives quickly becomes toxic and self-destructive.
However, this tendency is not a character flaw in some of us. In fact, it is a natural evolutionary instinct that we all have. Our ancestors survived by living in social groups. Our tendency to compare ourselves to others is therefore a very common human trait, rooted in our evolution as a species.
The Mythical Legacy Of Dogs
The cat isn’t the only pet with a long history of myth and legend. Dogs have played an important role in human culture and spirituality for centuries.
The dog, or “man’s best friend,” is the subject of many magical tales, wisdom traditions, and folklore throughout the world. Like the cat, dogs were companions of the ancients and are still considered symbols of loyalty, courage and protection.
In Greek mythology, dogs are associated with the goddess Hecate, who is also known as the “dog goddess.” She is the goddess of witchcraft, magic, and the crossroads, and is typically depicted in ancient Greek art with a pack of dogs at her side.
Today, the brightest star in the night sky, Sirius, is also known as the Dog Star, because it is traditionally seen as the protector of the night sky. In many cultures, Sirius has been associated with dogs because of its brightness and prominence.
Perhaps the most famous dog in Greek mythology is Cerberus, the three-headed guardian of the underworld. Cerberus not only prevented the dead from leaving the underworld, but also the living from entering it. He was finally captured by the hero Heracles in one of his twelve labors. Another famous Greek dog is Laelaps, a swift dog given by the god Zeus to the hunter Actaeon. Laelaps was so fast that he could catch any prey, but he was also cursed to always catch his prey.
The Spiritual Symbolism Of The Circle
The circle has a profound and universal meaning in spirituality across cultures and belief systems. It symbolizes a variety of spiritual concepts and offers insights into the interconnectedness of life, the cyclical nature of existence, and the infinite potential for growth and transformation.
The circle represents unity and oneness. It is a symbol of completeness because it has neither beginning nor end. This circular continuity reflects the eternal nature of the soul and the interconnectedness of all living beings.
In Native American spirituality, for example, the medicine wheel represents balance and harmony between all aspects of life, including the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. Similarly, in Hinduism, the concept of samsara refers to the continuous cycle of birth, death and rebirth, with the circle symbolizing the eternal journey of the soul.
In Christianity the circle represents eternity and sacred union. It is referenced in the Bible as the shape of heaven, and as the beginning and ending of time. For Christian couples, the unending circle of a wedding ring is also the symbolic expression of their sacred, eternal union.
Turn Your Home Into A Sacred Space
How many times have you needed a timeout, or place of refuge to clear your mind? Seeking peace and balance is vital, with all of the breakdowns and breakthroughs occurring in our personal lives, and the world today. This is why making your home a scared space is essential to your energetic well-being and mental health.
For me, an energetically healthy home is a reflection of who I am spiritually and what I believe. We all have a unique story that is to be expressed in our immediate environment, thus making it holy and sacred.
When you infuse your home or a room with your divine essence, you are creating Heaven on Earth and raising the vibration of the world.
You don’t need to invest a lot of money since simplicity is key.
Declutter
From past experience, the best place to start is by removing all the clutter in your living space that is no longer wanted or needed. Sell it, donate it, or simply toss it, depending on the condition, value and sentiment. This is a fundamental principle in the ancient Chinese tradition of Feng Shui to live in greater harmony with your environment.
By cleansing and purifying the energy in your living environment, you wipe the metaphysical slate clean and allow new inspiration, people and ideas to manifest. Sometimes we become stuck in a recurring cycle or pattern of doing things, until we remove an element, or find another perspective.
Follow Your Passion And Truth
In Native American tradition, human existence and well-being is based on the Medicine Wheel, also known as the Sacred Hoop, that consists of the Four Directions, Father Sky, Mother Earth, and the Spirit Tree. Together these ‘spokes’ of the wheel honor all aspects of human existence, growth, balance, and well-being: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.
In each lifetime, we are destined to achieve progress in one or more of these areas until, finally, after many incarnations, all the ‘spokes’ of our wheel are complete – all the way from the inner hub to the outer rim. At that point, we have completed our various missions through many incarnations in a myriad of schoolrooms, and we finally achieve ascended mastery.
When all our spokes are complete, we leave this dense, earthly dimension and arrive at the highest plane of existence, the realm of the Great Spirit, traditionally known as the ‘Hunting Grounds of the Ancestors,’ and since the arrival of Christianity, as ‘Heaven.’
In this state we never need to descend again, and will remain infinitely in the higher dimension. We are liberated from the endless cycle of rebirth and reach a new level of consciousness and enlightened existence, known as nirvana in Buddhism, moksha in Hindusim, and eternal life in Christianity.
As a result, from a spiritual stand-point, we are offered a smorgasbord of options and choices that we may need for our particular journey in this lifetime. The enthusiasm and passion we feel when we are guided to a particular path is spirit directing us toward the ‘curriculum’ we need to complete in order to achieve our ultimate goal of transcendence in one or more spokes of our wheel.