Circlekeepers

Ghost Dance

2009-07-03T21:58:00.001-07:00

You don't stand a chance

against our prayers
You don't stand a chance
against our love.
We shall live again.
We shall live again.

— Robbie Robertson - Ghost Dance
Music for Native Americans

White Buffalo Woman

2009-07-03T21:40:00.000-07:00

A very long time ago, they say, two scouts were out looking for bison. When they came to the top of a high hill and looked north, they saw something coming a long way off, and when it came closer they cried out, “It is a woman!” and it was. Then one of the scouts, being foolish, had bad thoughts and spoke them; but the other said: “That is a sacred woman; throw all bad thoughts away.”

When she came still closer, they saw that she wore a fine white buckskin dress, that her hair was very long and that she was young and very beautiful. And she knew their thoughts and said in a voice that was like singing: “You do not know me, but if you want to do as you think, you may come.” And the foolish one went; but just as he stood before her, there was a white cloud that came and covered them. And the beautiful young woman come out of the cloud, and when it
blew away the foolish man was a skeleton covered with worms.

Then the woman spoke to the one what was not foolish: “You shall go home and tell your people that I am coming and that a big tepee shall be built for me in the center of the nation.” And the man, who was very much afraid, went quickly and told the people, who did at once as they were told; and there around the big tepee they waited for the sacred woman. And after a while she came, very beautiful and singing, and as she went into the tepee this is what she sang:

With visible breath I am walking.
A voice I am sending as I walk.
In a sacred manner I am walking.
With visible tracks I am walking.
In a sacred manner I walk.

And as she sang, there came from her mouth a white cloud that was good to smell. Then she gave something to the chief, and it was a pipe with a bison calf carved on one side to mean the earth that bears and feeds us, and with twelve eagle feathers hanging from the stem to mean the sky and the twelve moons, and these were tied with a grass that never breaks. “Behold!” she said. “With this you shall multiply and be a good nation. Nothing but good shall come from it. Only the hands of the good shall take care of it and the bad shall not even see it.” Then she sang again and went out of the tepee; and as the people watched her going, suddenly it was a white bison galloping away and snorting, and soon it was gone. This they tell, and whether it happened so or not I do not know; but if you think about it, you can see that it is true.

—Black Elk
Niehardt, “Black Elk Speaks”

North of the Wheel - Turning Knowledge into Wisdom

2009-06-28T21:24:00.000-07:00

The Place of Synthesis
Air
The Stars
Animal Kingdom
Crystal / Mountains
Winter / Midnight
White & Blue
Elder’s Lodge
Mind
White Buffalo & Snowy Owl
Philosophy & Science
Completion

About the North

The first quarter moon brings a quickening of the spirit like the Earth as she gathers together her energies for the creation of new life. The North is the place where knowledge is turned into wisdom through concentration, synthesis and clarity of intent. It is the North that brings us the gifts of seeing how all things fit together.

Native People use the words “power” and “medicine” to mean to same thing. When we act from our own personal power, which is “power in accordance with” rather than “power over,” we are expressing our “original medicine,” the gifts that we were given at our birth.

As you visit the North this week, spend time with your elders. Ask them about the changes that they have seen on the earth in their lifetime and take the time to listen to their answers. With the clarity of the crystal, the brilliant white of the snows and the clean, crisp air of the mountains, reconsider your intention and how it has manifested so far.

The Ritual of the Give-Away

One of the most important aspects of Native American teachings is to complete the circle or cycle of giving by returning an offering in thanks for what has been received. To make this act a sacred one, it must be done with a joyful heart and a humble attitude.

Traditionally, gifts of tobacco, sage, cornmeal or corn pollen are left as tokens of thanksgiving when we take something from nature. When you are given a gift from nature and you have no tobacco, sage or corn with you, leave a strand of hair or a bit of water in order to complete the circle — a grateful exchange of goods and energies.

The term "Indian Giver" is misunderstood by contemporary culture. A closer look reveals the true essence of the term. If a gift was given, and the receiver had no use for the gift or did not use it in an honorable way, the giver had the responsibility to take it back and give it to another who would use it and honor it properly. Consider the gift of living on the earth that we have been given. Perhaps our lack of caring for her properly is why we feel that she is being taken from us. Learning the lessons of the give-away help us to restore "right relations" with Mother Earth.

Keeping Quiet

2009-06-27T21:19:00.000-07:00

Now we will count to twelve
and we will all keep still.

For once on the face of the earth,
let's not speak in any language;
let's stop for one second,
and not move our arms so much.

It would be an exotic moment
without rush, without engines;
we would all be together
in a sudden strangeness.

Fishermen in the cold sea
would not harm whales
and the man gathering salt
would look at his hurt hands.

Those who prepare green wars,
wars with gas, wars with fire,
victories with no survivors,
would put on clean clothes
and walk about with their brothers
in the shade, doing nothing.

What I want should not be confused
with total inactivity.
Life is what it is about;
I want no deal with death.

If we were not so single-minded
about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing,
perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves with death.
Perhaps the earth can teach us
as when everything seems dead
and later proves to be alive.

Now I'll count up to twelve
and you keep quiet and I will go.

— Pablo Neruda, 1958

New Moon - The West of the Wheel

2009-06-21T17:38:00.000-07:00

The way you are in silence is the way you are a part of the wheel.

Women’s Lodge
Earth
Mineral Kingdom
Obsidian & Onyx
Autumn / Evening
Black & Brown
Intuition & Introspection
Body
The Dreaming Bear
Crow & Raven
Magic

The new moon—the dark moon is a time for going within, remembering and integrating. Like the Dreaming bear, it is a time of death, intuition and introspection. The West is a good time to plant things which grow down such as potatoes, peanuts, onions, carrots. Things that grow deep into the rich soil of Mother Earth.

When we integrate the lessons of the West, we have the tools needed to make important decisions and life changes from a place of personal power. Sometimes the journey feels dark and frightening, but as we find ways to gather courage, we become spiritual warriors. The Medicine Wheel teaches us to face our darkness, to find our blessings within the void and to move through it and into our wisdom with tempered strength.

Take plenty of time this week for quiet reflection. Don’t expect answers this week, for this week is about letting your intention gestate and grow strong. Remember, all great ideas begin in the void.

Still Hunting Meditation

Find a secluded spot in nature where you can sit on the ground, facing West. Then, sprinkle a circle of tobacco, sage or cornmeal around yourself in a clockwise direction. Sit quietly for awhile “Still Hunting.” Observe carefully all that is around you. When you have filled yourself with the beauty of the earth, express your appreciation and respect in any way that feels right for you. Give-away everything to Mother Earth that is holding you back from being all that you can be. Ask her to transform any pain or confusion you have held into pure light. When you are complete, thank your sacred circle by leaving a pinch of tobacco, sage, corn meal, a strand of hair or a sip of water in the center.

Treat Your Feet to Something Special

2009-06-20T18:51:00.000-07:00

It's easy to see how the SOUTH of the wheel is where your feet are. Ann Sibbet has been my friend, colleague, Medicine Sister, and Movement Guru for a long time. I've been video taping her classes with the idea of brief online lessons of some of her vast tool bag of body knowledge. Make your feet happy by following along!
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The Labyrinth at Piccolo Pastures

2009-06-19T11:48:00.001-07:00

I've had the pleasure of participating in Circlekeeping work with Karene Piccolo for many years now. Yesterday I visited her labyrinth for the first time. CLICK HERE to see a video. ((This takes you to my mac.gallery. Click BACK to come back to the blog.)

Reflecting on the Circle

2009-06-17T17:29:00.000-07:00

The Indian has struck our vulnerable spot, unveiled a truth to which we are blind.
— Carl Jung, Memories, Dreams & Reflections

The reason we chant is to open up the channel between our head and our heart, to open ourselves to Great Spirit. — Wallace Black Elk

The more we meditate on the Medicine Wheel, relating to the Greater Wheel above, the Cosmic Wheel, relating these to circles, spheres, mandalas of other traditions, the deeper grows our realization of the oneness of the myriad paths leading to the Center.
—Evelyn Eaton (Grandmother Mahad’yuni)

There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.
— Rumi

May You Walk in Beauty - Susan Grace Lawton & Shannon Wells
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American Indian Religious Freedom Act - 1978

2009-06-15T11:08:00.000-07:00

In 1978, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act was passed by Congress reestablishing the right of Native people to practice their religion. Many ceremonies had been made a federal offense at the end of the nineteenth century. This new and powerful voice gave birth to a resurgence of interest in earth based spirituality and shamanism. For the first time since the publication of Black Elk Speaks, originally published in 1932, John G. Neihardt, information about philosophy, rituals, chants, and symbology was shared in a public way. The Lakota Sioux, Cheyenne, and Cherokee providing the most outspoken teachers who encouraged All people to seek harmony with the earth.

In 1986, I had to honor of attending a Sweat Lodge Ceremony with Wallace Black Elk, Black Elks grandson. I transcribed this from his teachings that day.

“Without Mother Earth we have no place to go, so that is why I am telling you this now. The Wheel must become your heart. Offer stones, fire, water, breath, but the greatest offering is that of your Self. You are standing on the same universe on which I am standing. We are no different. I say it this way so you will learn, because you have a lot to learn. There will be countless people who will hear these words and will know the truth. Out of nowhere, Earth People will rise and will help our world. Medicine People will now assist you and be your guides. They will comfort you, heal you and console you. I tell you this for courage, for you will need courage. I tell you this because I love you as I love the earth." — Wallace Black Elk,
Easter ‘86

Last Quarter Moon - South of the Wheel

2009-06-15T08:17:00.000-07:00

Today we move to the SOUTH of the wheel. The children's lodge and the place of trust and innocence and of close up vision.
Water
Moon
Plant Kingdom
Emerald & Catlinite*
Summer / Midday
Green & Red
Children’s Lodge
Emotions
Mouse, Coyote, Dolphin & Otter
Music, Song & Dance

* Catlinite or Pipestone is used to make the bowls of Sacred Medicine Pipes.

— Playing Meditation —

Go to the ocean or visit a lake, river or pond (at mid-day if you can) at least once this week. Remember what it was like when you were a child playing in the sunshine and the water. Recapture those moments by inviting your inner child to play with you. Sing or hum the chants or songs from your childhood and move to the rhythm of the water.

— Cleansing Meditation —

Identify your childhood wounds; the stories you often share about yourself that express your childhood pain and keep you “stuck”. Offer these wounds to the waters and allow them to be washed away by bathing or washing your hands in the water. Acknowledge yourself for your inner strength and for the contributions that you have made to your own healing.

— Sitting Meditation —

Pay a visit to a special tree at midday. Choose a good solid tree and sit on the ground with your back against its trunk facing the South. Imagine that this is the Tree of Life, the channel that connect Heaven and Earth. Imagine what the roots are like as they grow deeply into the ground creating stability and foundation. Look up at the branches and experience how they grow upward and sway in the breeze. Trees teach us about the ability to be flexible; to bend in the wind and return to center. Remember to leave a gift for the tree before you part company.

About the South

2009-06-15T07:29:00.000-07:00

Invocation for the South (This takes you to a file on my website. Click BACK to come back to the blog.)

Last quarter of the moon — waning moon—is a time of youthful energy, sensitivity to the feelings of others and for an appreciation of the arts. An idealistic time, it is a perfect moment for renewal and regeneration through letting go of situations, attitudes and emotions that no longer serve you. Sitting in the South brings the power of blossoming and unfolding when you desire to learn the lessons needed to make changes.

Since the South is the direction of water and of the plant kingdom that provides us with beauty, food and materials that enhance our lives, spend time this week tending plants. Water them, prune them, talk to them and listen to them. Bring flowers into your home or workplace and bring flowers to others to brighten their day.

Celebrate water by taking lots of showers or baths this week. Experiment with essential oils and bath salts. Play in the water and take time to smell the flowers. These are the lessons that the South provides. (Photo at Wingaersheek Beach, MA. ©2005, Susan Grace Lawton)

Song for the South: I Will be Gentle wit h Myself
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The Sacred Circle - Black Elk - Oglala Sioux

2009-06-10T08:35:00.000-07:00

Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle. The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same, and both are round. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves. Our teepees were round like the nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle, the nation's hoop, a nest of many nests, where the Great Spirit meant for us to hatch our children. (From First People )

Photo © 2009, Susan Grace Lawton

Sacred Places in North America

2009-06-09T15:42:00.000-07:00

In the early 90s I was given a book by Courtney Milne called "Sacred Places in North America." At the Big Horn Medicine Wheel in northern Wyoming, Milne climbed into the bucket of a hydraulic lift and was hoisted forty feet into the air above the wheel to photograph it. This became the starting point of his photographic journey as he followed each spoke across the continent in search of sacred landscapes.

At the beginning of this blog, I wrote about finding the first stones that I used to create the Circlekeepers circle on Wrights Beach in Northern California. Turns out it's on one of the radiant spokes of the Big Horn Medicine Wheel. What an inspiration! And this just a little corner of his earth-healing work. www.courtneymilne.com

I use this book when teaching Medicine Wheel 101. A perfect portrait of the interconnectedness, and sacredness of the earth and of ourselves as her stewards.

Photo ©2005, Susan Grace Lawton - Goat Rock, north of Wrights Beach

About the East - Full Moon - Place of High Up Vision

2009-06-07T21:12:00.000-07:00

Invocation for the East (This takes you to a file on my website. Click BACK to come back to the blog.)

When we become aware of the phases of the moon, we synchronize with the ebb and flow of the invisible and visible energy forces of the lunar cycle. The full moon is the crescendo of the cycle and is a time for both completion and new beginnings.

We begin our journey around the Medicine Wheel on the full moon and from the East, for this is the place of the rising sun where each new day begins. It is the place of fresh and vibrant energy and of high vision. To learn about and embrace the lessons of the East, carefully consider your intention for this lunar cycle. Does it represent your authentic self without lies and judgment? The East brings to you the medicine of awareness and truth in the light of the sun.

Practice telling the truth from your heart this week. Speak the truth to everyone, but most of all, speak the truth to yourself.

The Place of High Vision
Fire
Sun
Human Kingdom
Amber
Spring / Dawn
Yellow / Gold
Men’s Lodge
Illumination
Enlightenment
Linear Thinking
Hawks & Eagles
Art & Writing

Song for the East : Fly Like An Eagle ((This takes you to a file on my website. Click BACK to come back to the blog.)

Seeing the Circles of Sound

2009-06-07T17:47:00.001-07:00

In my Medicine Wheel 101 presentation, I use a photograph from Carl Jung's "Man and His Symbols" of the circular pattern that sand creates on a thin sheet of metal when a violin bow is drawn across the free edge of the sheet until it emits a note. The sand grains form symmetrical circular patterns, opening to the 4 directions. So every tone that we hear, is in essence, a Medicine Wheel. I've always enjoyed that notion, and found this on youtube to illustrate.

Prayer for Entering the Sacred Circle

2009-06-07T13:19:00.000-07:00

Grandmothers, Grandfathers, Wakon Wakon Tanka*
I send a voice of praise and thanksgiving.
May I be as a hollow reed for your divine light.

Open the path for me and I will surely walk it,
for I say, yes, yes, yes, yes
to your divine will for me
and all that you have made.

Mitakuye Oyas’in**

*Creator, Great Spirit
** All My Relations

Photo ©2008, Susan Grace Lawton
Indian Beach, Pt. Reyes National Seashore, CA

2009-06-06T21:22:00.000-07:00

The Sacred Circle

The sacred circle or mandala can be found as a prominent symbol in all forms of worship. Circles painted and etched into stone and created by stones have been found in the caves of our earliest ancestors, for indigenous people pray and celebrate using the sacred circle. Perhaps the first Medicine Wheel dates back to the time that humanity was given the gift of fire, for as long as we have been sitting around the fire and telling our stories, we have acknowledged universal truths and our part in the great circle of life.

The circle is a universal symbol of wholeness and unity since the circle has no beginning and no end. The turning and returning cycles of life, death and rebirth, the movement of the sun, the moon, the seasons, the stages of our lives; reminds us how everything we do, and everything we are, is interconnected in a perpetually revolving cycle.

2009-06-06T18:12:00.000-07:00

Preparations

Like any journey, it is important to pack well in order to have everything you need. For this inner journey to be effective, it is necessary to set aside time and make a commitment to the process: daily meditations, weekly meditations and activities and time to reflect upon the insights that you receive.

• Create a support system. Let friends and family know that you are doing the Circlekeepers cycle and set aside time to share your insights with them along the way.

• Make a special altar for your intention. Display photos, drawings, jewelry, pottery, sculpture and objects from nature that symbolize your focus for the cycle.

• Get regular massage and/or counseling.

• Participate in a “Media Fast.” Turn off your TV and radio. Ignore the newspaper. Instead, focus on spending time in nature and with yourself.

• Become aware of any addictions that no longer serve you and take this opportunity to make new choices about them.

• Simplify your diet. This is a good time to get back to basics. Choose your food mindfully as precious fuel for body and soul during your journey.

• Give thanks every time you use water. Use it as a ritual of purification and thanksgiving. Drink plenty of clean water, enjoy baths using special bath salts and essential oils, and sing in the shower.

• Adopt an attitude of thanksgiving. Take notice of the gifts you receive from moment to moment.

• Learn and use the chants. Chanting opens the pathway from the mind to the heart. Learning about the Wheel is learning to think with your heart.

• Recycle. By paying closer attention to the fact that there is no “away” in which to throw things, we assist in caring for and healing Mother Earth.

• Write, draw and refer to your journal often. Record your thoughts and feelings about each direction that you visit and review your intention weekly.

• Listen to new music that is affirming and uplifting.

• Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find.

A Beginner's Mind & Mythological Thinking

2009-06-06T08:50:00.001-07:00

The beginner’s mind is an open mind that is able to experience each moment as entirely new. Without prejudice or judgement we learn to participate in the world as an attentive, grateful and passionately interested observers. This is the opposite of creating emotional dramas for ourselves just to feel alive. A beginner’s mind can bring about a compassionate mindfulness that has the power to create peace and the ability to heal physically, emotionally and spiritually. Using our beginner’s mind when approaching the Medicine Wheel creates a garden where our spiritual stories can be tended.

By exploring our own inner landscape and calling upon archetypal guides to share their teachings with us, we are actively engaging our subconscious to come out and play. This mythological thinking gives us ways to connect with ourselves and with each other using deeply meaningful symbology, often unlocking whole new worlds for us to explore.

When we align ourselves with the lunar cycle and with the earth and sky using a beginner’s mind that is open to imagination and myth, our interior landscape shifts and soon we begin to feel called upon to do our highest creative work in the world. For to be all that we are meant to be is the only true gift that we have to offer. To quote Wallace Black Elk, “offer stones, fire, water, breath, but the greatest offering is that of self.“ Before beginning your Lunar Cycle Journey, ask yourself these questions:

• What is my place in the universe?
• What gifts have I been given?
• How well have I tended my “spiritual garden? ”
• How can I best share the gifts that I have been given?

Open your mind to finding your own individual answers, for the truth can always be found within.

2009-06-05T18:28:00.000-07:00

My first video attempt at "How to set up your Circlekeepers Medicine Wheel.

2009-06-05T17:27:00.000-07:00

Sunday begins the next Circlekeepers cycle. Full moon in Sagittarius. Sagittarius represents idealism, faith, enthusiasm, the quest for meaning, and a generosity of spirit. This Full Moon offers the union of the physical and the spiritual in seeking to turn knowledge into wisdom.

As I set my intention for this lunar cycle, I get ready to carry this with me to each of the four directions to ask the wisdom that each one has for me. The East - The Place of High Vision, The South - Scrutiny of the Mouse, The West - Place of the Dreaming Bear, The North - White Buffalo - The Place of Wisdom, and the Center, orobos - Place of all beginnings, and all endings.

Please let me know if you'd like to join me on this lunar-cyber journey by leaving a Comment. I'll be carefully considering what I want to accomplish in this next lunar cycle as we move into the fullness of summer. What's your intention?

— Mitakuye Oyasin (Lakota word meaning "All My Relations.")

2009-06-05T11:51:00.000-07:00

According to my age, I was in the south of the wheel when I first went to Wrights Beach in Bodega Bay on the northern coast of California. Close to the shoreline were millions of beautiful stones. On a perfect, sunny, breezy day, I lay on my stomach amid the stones and began to choose my favorite ones. It was well over an hour when I stood up to depart, my pockets filled with pleasing stones. I realized what a wonderful meditation it had been to carefully regard the world of small things and the rejuvenation I felt from the whole experience. It didn't take long to start to arrange the stones in Medicine Wheels, as my feet were firmly planted on the good red road by then. The medicine wheel kit developed further as I entered the west of the wheel, the goes within place where we must travel to gain our wisdom. Here is a photo of those original stones and the first day of a new way of being.

2009-06-05T11:49:00.001-07:00

Circlekeepers Lunar Cycle Journey been created to help you deepen your relationship with nature and assist you in remembering an ancient way of thinking. What you will discover is a multi-dimensional and interactive meditational journey that teaches the symbology and philosophy of nature-based spirituality by using the concepts of the Medicine Wheel in a focused and directed manner. This provides a pathway, or a bridge that connects us with the sacred in our everyday lives.

By setting an intention, creating a sacred space and participating in daily rituals, weekly meditations and activities throughout one lunar cycle, you are guided around the wheel, learning the attributes of one of the cardinal directions each week in an experiential way. The process integrates left and right brain activity and imprints the subconscious with the concepts of awareness, initiation, reflection, synthesis and integration.

As a road map for the human journey and a mirror of the universe, the Wheel also holds the wisdom of both linear and non-linear time. Each time we sit in meditation with the Wheel we bring our awareness to the center of the circle — the still-point around which everything else revolves. The more we sit with the stones, place them, listen to them; the easier it becomes to move into an expanded state of awareness. It is said that our Guides and Allies are always willing to speak with us if we’d just slow down and listen. Using the Medicine Wheel as a meditative tool provides a way to slow down and listen.

Learning about the Medicine Wheel is a process of remembering. Allow your intuition to guide you as you journey around the wheel; for this is a pathway to trusting your own inner wisdom. Sharing the process creates ever-expanding circles of healing. The more circles we create, the easier it is for all of us to live in balance and harmony.

Coming into Alignment with the Lunar Cycle

When we consciously align ourselves with the lunar cycle, we actively participate in a powerful metaphor that helps us move into an awareness and appreciation of our interconnectedness with all parts of this amazing universe. This type of thinking is healing thinking, for the day-to-day realities that we create for ourselves depend upon our moment to moment thoughts, dreams and imaginings. When we begin to think in healing ways, our lives begin to heal and become more joyous.