The Wheel Of Spirituality Pdf Free Download

To get a bit personal I will say that I identify strongly with and hold a worldview strongly influenced by ideas from Darwinism, quantum mechanics and pantheism. I was raised in a CBF church and find a lot of value in many of the messages in the Bible. But do I feel comfortable or welcome discussing my spirituality in all Christian circles? The answer is no.

This stunning collection of more than two hundred meditations introduces us to the Spirit Wheel and the four directions that ground Native spirituality: tradition, kinship, vision, and balance. The life we inhabit together has been called many things by Indigenous people: the Spirit Wheel, the hoop of the nations, the great circle of existence, the medicine wheel. We are all on that ever-turning wheel, Charleston says--all of creation, people and animals, rocks and trees, the whole universe. Together we can turn toward the wisdom of our ancestors, kinship with all of Mother Earth's creatures, the vision of the Spirit, and mindful balance of life. We are all searching for belonging and a vision of the world that makes sense. We can meet those longings as we ponder the blessings of Spirit Wheel, in the breathtaking moments when insight becomes an invitation to wonder.

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Among the many meanings attributed to the medicine wheel are the four states of being, which will be the topic of this blog! The four states of being include the physical, spiritual, emotional, and mental states, each represented by a separate quadrant on the medicine wheel. In the Indigenous culture, balance is emphasized in all things, including in the four states of being.

Because balance is so heavily emphasized by the Indigenous culture, the connection between spiritual wellness and overall health is widely recognized. For Indigenous peoples, fostering a connection between themselves and the universe is deeply important, and one of the key foundations of spirituality. When the spirit is aligned and balanced, our overall health and wellbeing is improved.

Indigenous people use the medicine wheel to help to pass on and maintain traditional teachings, such as the four states of being. Each state of being, represented by a quadrant on the medicine wheel, makes up a portion of the whole, and without one the others cannot be balanced.

The physical being is represented on the medicine wheel by the red quadrant, which also represents the direction South, the element of fire, the sacred medicine sage, and the season of Summer. The physical being or body is, as you might suspect, your physical form. The bones and muscles that make up your form are those things that physically carry you through life, and represent an important part of your existence.

The spiritual being is represented on the medicine wheel by the yellow quadrant, which also represents the direction East, the element of Earth, the sacred medicine tobacco, and the season of Spring. Your spiritual being manifests itself as a connection to the greater world. In the Indigenous culture, the spiritual being is often referred to in reference to a connection with the Creator.

The emotional being is represented on the medicine wheel by the black quadrant, which also represents the direction West, the element of water, the sacred medicine sweetgrass, and the season of Fall. The emotional being is the aspect of ourselves that carries our feelings and emotions and recalls our past experiences to inform our future ones. The emotional body stores our feelings, fears, anxieties, and triumphs, and recalls them for us when the time is appropriate.

The mental being is represented on the medicine wheel by the white quadrant, which also represents the direction North, the element of air, the sacred medicine cedar, and the season of Winter. On a basic level, your mental being exists as your conscious thoughts, but on a deeper level, the mental being represents your deepest desires and beliefs. In other words: your values.

The other familiar medicine wheel image is the iconic circle divided into four separately coloured quadrants. The number four has great significance in most Aboriginal cultures. The black, white, red, and yellow medicine wheels that we frequently see in logos, on drums and in art are all somewhat different. The one shown here is a compilation of some of the many attributes or powers that can be included in the medicine wheel. This one does not include the inner circle, or centre, which is usually green and given the attributes of learning, self, balance and beauty. Certain culturally significant animals, being part of the natural world, are also often included.

The medicine wheel is interpreted uniquely by each culture. The order of the colours is not the same in each culture, nor are the attributes, and it would be wrong to make a sweeping generalization that indicated otherwise. The next time you see a medicine wheel, take a moment and think about its history and cultural significance.

Christine, wonderfully written. I too have learnt a lot from friends that live in Wikwemikong, on Manitoulin Island. I live in Tobermory to the South. The whole concept of the medicine wheel, the teachings, and the concept that they are truths to be learnt and applied to our village life and to our own hearts. So refreshing to my soul. Baamaapii

Gaia-centered spirituality revolves around our life here on Earth rather than an afterlife paradise. It acknowledges and builds on the cyclical processes of life created by Earth, Sun and Moon. Women have always been connected through our menses to the lunar cycle, and consciously reconnecting to the lunar cycles by celebrating the new and full moons takes us deeper into our own feminine process. The larger cycle of the year is celebrated through the eight-fold path of the Wheel of the Year, which encompasses the interweaving of masculine and feminine energies.

Spiritual wellness may not be something that you think much of, yet its impact on your life is unavoidable. The basis of spirituality is discovering a sense of meaningfulness in your life and coming to know that you have a purpose to fulfill.

Many factors play a part in defining spirituality - religious faith, beliefs, values, ethics, principles and morals. Some gain spirituality by growing in their personal relationships with others, or through being at peace with nature. Spirituality allows us to find the inner calm and peace needed to get through whatever life brings, no matter what one's beliefs are or where they may be on your spiritual journey.

Similar wheel/chakra symbols are one of the most ancient in all Indian history. Madhavan and Parpola note that a wheel symbol appears frequently in Indus Valley civilization artifacts, particularly on several seals.[6] Notably, it is present in a sequence of ten signs on the Dholavira Signboard.[6] As a solar symbol it first appears on clay seals of the Indus Valley Civilisation from 2500 BCE.[7] Such a wheel is also the main attribute of Vishnu.[7]

Some historians associate the ancient chakra symbols with solar symbolism.[8] In the Vedas, the god Surya is associated with the solar disc, which is said to be a chariot of one wheel (cakra). Mitra, a form of Surya, is described as "the eye of the world", and thus the sun is conceived of as an eye (caku) which illuminates and perceives the world.[9] Thus, a wheel symbol might also be associated with light and knowledge.

The Buddha is said to have set the "wheel of dharma" in motion when he delivered his first sermon,[12] which is described in the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta. This "turning of the wheel" signifies a great and revolutionary change with universal consequences, brought about by an exceptional human being. Buddhism adopted the wheel as a symbol from the Indian mythical idea of the ideal king, called a chakravartin ("wheel-turner", or "universal monarch"),[7][12] who was said to possess several mythical objects, including the ratana cakka (the ideal wheel). The Mah Sudassana Sutta of the Digha Nikaya describes this wheel as having a nave (nbhi), a thousand spokes (sahassrni) and a felly (nemi), all of which are perfect in every respect.[9] Siddhartha Gautama was said to have been a "mahapurisa" (great man) who could have chosen to become a wheel turning king, but instead became the spiritual counterpart to such a king, a wheel turning sage, that is, a Buddha.[13]

In his explanation of the term "turning the wheel of Dharma", the Theravada exegete Buddhaghosa explains that this "wheel" which the Buddha turned is primarily to be understood as wisdom, knowledge, and insight (a). This wisdom has two aspects, paivedha-a, the wisdom of self-realisation of the Truth and desan-a, the wisdom of proclamation of the Truth.[9] The dharmachakra symbol also points to the central Indian idea of "Dharma", a complex and multivalent term which refers to the eternal cosmic law, universal moral order and in Buddhism, the very teaching and path expounded by the Buddha.[14]

There are different designs of the Buddhist dharmachakra with 8, 12, 24 or more spokes. In different Buddhist traditions, the different number of spokes may represent different aspects of the Buddha's Dharma (teaching). In the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist tradition for example, the 8 spoked wheel represents the noble eightfold path, and the hub, rim and spokes are also said to represent the three trainings (sila, praja and samadhi).[15]

In Buddhism, the cyclical movement of a wheel is also used to symbolize the cyclical nature of life in the world (also referred to as the "wheel of samsara", samsara-chakra or the "wheel of becoming", bhava-cakra).[9] This wheel of suffering can be reversed or "turned" through the practice of the Buddhist path. The Buddhist terms for "suffering" (dukkha) and happiness (sukha) may also originally be related to the proper or improper fitting of wheels on a chariot's axle.[16] The Indo-Tibetan tradition has developed elaborate depictions called Bhavacakras which depict the many realms of rebirth in Buddhist cosmology. 006ab0faaa