Sun Bears Vision
A Native American Medicine Wheel
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Medicine Wheels date back as far as the Great Pyramids of Egypt. They are found all over North America in different sizes and shapes, with the most famous being the Big Horn Medicine Wheel in Alberta, Canada. Medicine Wheels are used for a multitude of ceremonies from honoring the seasons, healing, and simply honoring and understanding life. It was and still used as a way to define life from nature's perspective. In the late 70's a Chippewa Medicine Man named Sun Bear re-introduced his vision of the Medicine Wheel to bring harmony and balance to all people. He called it Earth Astrology to recognize that the support for all life is mother earth. Using a Medicine Wheel not only teaches about life but teaches how to honor all life, live in harmony, in balance and give healing energy to Mother Earth.
Sun Bear's Vision of the Medicine Wheel
When we build Medicine Wheels today it brings a tremendous sense of connectedness to each other and all life because it is symbolic of all life. Using different types of Medicine Wheels, (totems or nature representatives) brings a unique message from each totem as well as each part of the wheel, as Sun Bear puts it; the Medicine Wheel is a springboard of power that will allow you to link up with all energies of the universe. We know all life is energy, so all life has a spirit. The many teachings that come from this tool of understanding help us to see our visible world and our invisible, spiritual world. Each spirit in nature is connected in life by the creator and those spirits of nature can help humanity connect to creator by connecting to them and listening to their message.
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You can think of a Medicine Wheel as being a road map in the grand spiral of life;
the spiral of coming from and returning to our creator. When we take a slice
out of the spiral we call it a circle or cycle. Within this circle, all parts of life
become a living reality where we can SEE how we each participate.
Where we can understand our connections and conflicts in everything
we do and all relations we experience including society at large.
A Medicine Wheel is an experience of the heart, where all truth
and love reside. There is no belief system, or religion other
than honoring all life as equal, loving, connected and in
harmony as we are all ONE in the creators vision.
The Medicine Wheel will help us find ourselves and our role.
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Ceremonies are a way humans can interact with the dance we call life, that provides a certain value. They can inspire us to become something more, or allow us to honor the gifts we receive in life. Ceremonies are a way to give our personal energy back, by our voice, singing and word, which belies all creation. Allows us to express love through our heart, with prays and mantra. Give blessings to all with our eyes, sight and vision. Ceremonies in nature allow on to honor Mother Earth and all her living beings.
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Humans have many symbols in life that connect us to the past and bind us together. We all have a common thread that runs through us called the collective consciousness. These symbols come to us in many forms and fashion. The Medicine Wheel is a tool that helps us define the symbols and how to apply them in our life to become whole. Participants in Medicine Wheel ceremonies most often receive visions ranging from animal spirits to the Archangels. Experiencing a Medicine Wheel ceremony for the first time can be life altering. Learning to build a Medicine Wheel along with the rituals and ceremonies is a spiritual gift to yourself that will continue to teach you for the rest of your life.
-Marvin L. Wilkerson, Earth Astrologer
