THE SELF LIBERATOR'S DIGEST

VOLUME THIRTEEN

Rubin face vase.

Necker Cube

As we look at the cube, it shifts on us. First we are looking at it from one perspective, then from another. As far as we can tell, we are not "doing" anything. The cube itself appears to shift. It seems to us as if reality itself is changing under our eyes. This is the clear feeling we have before we dismiss the entire problem by deciding it is simply an "optical illusion." Similarly, when we look at the Rubin Figure it seems to shift by itself from vase to two faces and back again. Of course, these are optical illusions. The implications, however, are more important than that. When we examine our perception and feeling, we find that it seems to us that the cube is moving. Then we decide that it "really" is the mind that is moving. Perhaps there was more to the Zen story than we first realized.

from Alternate Realities by Lawrence LeShan

"Each of us is a cell in a greater body: the body of mankind. To be a human being is to be a human being regardless of race, color, creed or country. And, once we truly understand ourselves, we in fact understand each other."

D. Trinidad Hunt

Martin Buber

John Stuart Mill

He who is attached to things will suffer much. A contented man is never disappointed. He who knows when to stop does not find himself in trouble. He will stay forever safe.

Lao Tzu

Richard Bach

T.H.Huxley

Your life is not your master. It is your child.

Emmanuel

Arthur Schopenhauer

Helen Keller

A gem is not polished without friction nor is a being realized without trials.

Chinese proverb

Now stop the words.
In the centre of your chest open the window:
Let the spirits fly in and out.

Rumi

Rainer Maria Rilke

Michel de Montaigne

Sioux proverb

David Bohm

Ortega Y Gasset

Srimad Bhagavatam

Friedrich Nietzsche

Anais Nin

T.S.Eliot

Stephen Levine

Chuang Tzu

Oliver Goldsmith

George Bernard Shaw

Benjamin Disraeli

Epictetus

Willis Harman

Maybe

A few days later the horse returned and brought two wild horses with it. The neighbours all rejoiced at his good fortune, but the farmer just said, "Maybe."

The next day the farmer's son tried to ride on of the wild horses; the horse threw him and broke his leg. The neighbours all offered their sympathy for his misfortune, but again said, "Maybe."

The next week conscription officers came to the village to take the young men for the army. They rejected the farmer's son because of his broken leg. When the neighbours told him how lucky he was, the farmer replied, "Maybe."

The meaning that any event has depends upon the "frame" in which we perceive it. When we change the frame, we change the meaning.

Positive Steps

Change is a normal part of life.

At times like these it is normal to feel anxious, confused, afraid or depressed. Try taking a positive step to look after your mental health when change is looming.

There are positive steps you can take ....

Accepting who you are.

Talking about it.

Keeping in touch with friends.

Asking for help.

Doing things you enjoy.

Surviving.

Remembering you are not the only one.

Taking time to think.

When to seek help.

• low
• worthless
• tired and irritable
• hopeless
• over the top
• suicidal

• sleep
• eat regularly
• concentrate
• enjoy the things you usually like doing

from Positive Steps by Health Education Authority (isbn 0-7521-0950-2)

"I am a genuine fake"

Obafemi Adewumi

Ass and Camel

A: You have evidently not heard the tale of the donkey and the camel.

A donkey and a camel were walking together. The camel moved with long strides and the donkey moved impatiently, stumbling every now and then. At last the donkey said to his companion, "How is it that I am always in trouble, falling and grazing my legs, in spite of the fact that I look carefully downwards as I walk; when you, never seems to be aware of what surrounds you, with your eyes fixed upon the horizon, keep going so fast and yet seemingly at such leisure?"

The camel answered: "Your problem is that your steps are too short and by the time you have seen something it is too late to correct your movements. You look all around and do not assess what you see. You think that haste is speed; you imagine that by looking you can see; you think that seeing near is the same as seeing far

"You guess that I look at the horizon. In fact, I am merely gazing ahead so as to work out what to do when the far becomes near. I also remember what has gone before, and do not need to look back at it and stumble once again. In this way what seems to you baffling or difficult becomes clear and easy."

Similarly, donkey-minded people are those who believe that they can learn enough to improve themselves or their lot by short-sighted means. This includes not looking towards the future or even into it. It includes demanding a certain pace without realising whether it is counter-productive or not. The ass is the ordinary person, the camel is the Sufi.

Right and Wrong Study

The results obtained, however, will depend upon how correct the method was.

Equally, the understanding of these results depend upon sufficient knowledge to evaluate them.

It is for these reasons that learning, both among the Sufis and in education and teaching in general, require expert guidance from outside, if that guidance does not exist inside the learner.

Such guidance may be unfamiliar in form or associations: but it is never random. It mediates the manner, the time, the place, the company, involved in the learning process and its applications to specific instances.

There are three erroneous "paths" which have become associated with Sufism, due to ignorance of the matters just referred to. These are:

1. Scholastic study which takes the literal for the figurative (or vice versa); which works selectively, using only some sources; which it tries to organise through an unsuitable pattern, and so on;
2. "Guruism" (called in Persian piri-muridi) producing a circus, running on the energy of crude emotion, imagined to be spirituality, and may be either self-deceived or spurious;
3. The morbidly religionist, characterised by sad and depressing approach but excitatory movements, sometimes of a revivalist nature.

Ignorance of the existence of the design and measure reality has caused all legitimate spiritual teachings to fall into the hands (in part at least) of the personality-types which distort the teaching's outer shape into one of these three categories. Effectively, they are, all three of them, cults.

Three Significant Modes of Human Organisation and learning

• The General and informational,
• the More Specific or specialist,
• and the Personally Experiential.

Information about food; organisation of food; consumption of food, in that area. In the area of religion, we have information and general exegesis (doctrine), followed by application of religious organisation (rules and worship), and finally, personal experience of spirituality.

All religious systems are based on personal experience (stage one) which has been codified (stage two) and applied to a community (stage three). When the three ranges become confused or if one is forgotten, people imagine that the organisation is all, or that the rules are paramount, or that neither of these matter since they are seeking only personal illumination.

When people agitate for personal experience, they may attack institution or dogma, imagining that these are what stand in the way. What they have in fact encountered as problems is the growth of those areas until they claim to represent, extinguish or replace personal experience. What has happened is that the balance between the three elements is lost, not that one or another is paramount or interchangeable with others.

Thus: we may know about food or have the apparatus to obtain, taste and digest it. This does not mean that we are organised to do so; or that we can taste it without obtaining it. Similarly, if we have tasted it, this does not imply that we have the information or organisation to recognise or obtain it a second time.

This simple formula is so little known that one almost hesitates to enunciate it. It is however, essential for restoring the balance in access strategy - the retrieval of Truth and awareness of fact.

from The Commanding Self by Idries Shah

The Flowering Mind

Pretty flower
Caught my mind,
watched it bloom
repeatedly.

Pretty flower
Caught my heart,
now I grasp
impermanence

For naught but memories
are we
fed by experiences
good and bad
which through attachment
to pleasure or pain
creates the flower called my mind

Obafemi Adewumi (15-April-1998)

from Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu

Anonymous

"One of self-cultivation extends to his awareness to know people and correct himself."

Ni Hua Chang

A vision without a task is but a dream, A task without a vision is drudgery, A vision and a task is the hope of the world.

Sussex England church 1730 A.D.

Learning To Learn

Planet Earth is a giant classroom and the very nature of life on Earth is learning.

The Human body is a natural learning suit designed specifically to assist us in our development while we are on Earth.

The brain, as the central unit of the body suit, works day and night to support us in our life work.

Children learn by osmosis; what they love, they eventually become.

Remember to remember who you are and why you are here.

Our beliefs and attitude shape our reality.

I turn all mistakes into opportunities for learning and growth.

Turn Failure Into Feedback : Every small failure is an "after-the-fact" character opportunity in disguise. By reviewing, analysing and correcting all of our mistakes, these small failures become feedback and thus opportunities for learning and growth. By turning all of our mistakes into opportunities for learning and growth, we begin to maximise our performance potential. Mistakes are part and parcel of the discovery process; the "wrong" way is the avenue through which the "right" way is discovered.

Judgement blocks learning.

Blocks to Learning :Any unconscious beliefs, attitudes and perceptions that limit our ability to receive or retrieve information. The most common blocks to learning include fear of failure, fear of success, low self-esteem, lack of self-confidence, an "I already got it" attitude, judgement, lack of willingness, and negative peer pressure. The blocks to learning must be removed in order to realize our full performance potential.

The Comfort Zone is our area of safety and security; it is made up of our old habits and things that we know. It is only when we leave our C-Zone and enter the unknown that anxiety, insecurities and fear arise. The Catch 22 is that real learning only takes place in the area of the unknown outside of our Comfort Zones. Therefore, opportunities for learning and growth are often accompanied by mixed emotions. When we enter the unknown and try something new we may experience everything from excitement and anxiety to out and out discomfort and fear. Even if the change is a healthy one, the emotions experienced during the learning and growth process are usually mixed.

The amount of resistance to change is equal to the Distance plus the Speed we travel out of our Comfort Zone. R = D + S

Expand your Comfort Zone one step at a time.

Empty your mental cup.

Reframe negative beliefs.

Our performance potential is unlimited.

The optimal mental climate for learning includes trust, joy, optimism, spontaneity and exhilaration.

In our new learning to learn model, mistakes are part of the learning process. The "wrong" way is the avenue through which the "right" way is discovered.

Inclusive sorting makes our goal conceivable and achievable.

If it is possible in the world it is possible for me.

Creating an inner climate of possibility unshakles us from our past and allows us to create a future of our choosing.

Ganus is the fuel for learning. To have ganus is to have the spirit, the desire, the will, the fire, the craving, the hunger, the yearning and the inspiration all rolled up in one.

As we release ourselves from the chains and fetters of limiting mental attitudes, we shall once more discover our own inherent brilliance.

Intellect is elastic; it can be stretched and expanded. The more we learn the greater our capacity for learning.

Our life is our private laboratory for learning.

We reclaim an infinitely powerful ability when we learn to "stay with it" until we get it.

Process + Product = Outcome
Process is the "how" of learning; it is the way we go about learning. Product is the "what" of learning; it is the material or curriculum we are working with. The outcome is the end result and it includes both the skills (such as focus) and character abilities (such as patience) developed in the process, as well as the material or the product learned. Often the benefits achieved in the process are just as valuable, if not more valuable, to the goal of life-long learning than the product. As we learn "how" to learn, we can choose any "what" to learn.

As we pay attention to the process of learning, learning becomes easier.

As we begin to see ourselves as separate from and bigger than our reactions, we quicken and expand our ability to learn.

Planet Earth is a classroom and those who come to us are our teachers along the way.

The body's natural learning ability is disabled by stress.

The fight or flight response : The Physical reflexive system for dealing with perceived environmental threats. The fight or flight response mobilises our body's energies for external activity: to either fight the sensed threat or run from it. Neurochemicals are released in the brain, glucose floods the system, and blood is shunted from the brain to the muscles for muscular activity. The learning potential of an individual drops sharply during the fight or flight response.

The relaxation response : A phrase coined by Herbert Benson, the relaxation response can be learned to relieve stress and anxiety and ameliorate constant low-grade arousal in our bodies. When relaxed, the brain's electrical activity drops and oxygen going to the brain increases, thus, increasing the body's natural ability to learn and retain information.

The relaxation response mobilises the body's energies for internal activities and learning is an internal activity.

The theta brain range holds the key to the secrets of rapid learning.

The human brain has seemingly infinite storage and retrieval capabilities.

The natural language of the brain is sensory-based.

The more senses we involve in each memory moment the easier retrieval becomes.

The brain responds to novelty, variety and change.

We are our own life artist; we chisel our destiny by the little things we do daily and we mold our character by the habits that we form.

Change your destiny one little habit at a time.

Vision plans establish a bridge between this world and the world of possibility. It is our sacred link to a world not yet manifest, pregnant with potential and alive with promise.

Visioning creates the inner blueprint for change.

A clearly defined vision plan becomes fuel for the fire of action in the years ahead.

Self-cultivation : Self cultivation is a lifelong learning model for behavioral change based on the metaphor of the seed in the soil. Self-cultivation is mental gardening; the planting and nurturing of healthy seed thoughts. It is the means by which we can achieve all of our behavioral and skill development goals. Self-cultivation leads to refinement of character; and ultimately, to the fulfilment of our destiny.

As human beings we can choose to change.

Life is a process and as long as we're alive we have an opportunity.

Both behavioral and skill development are the goals of change while self-cultivation is a means of achieving these goals.

Self-cultivation is a lifelong process.

Using self-cultivation we ultimately reap the harvest of a well refined character.

The nature of our character determines the nature of our destiny.

Self-cultivation is a self-fulfilling prophesy.

Take time to design your destiny.

Remember to remember : A term that is always used in reference to a wake-up call of some kind. Remember to remember who you are: a wake-up call to remember that you are a being living in a body. Remember to remember why you're here: a wake-up call to remember that you are here to contribute to life on Earth in some small way.

Destiny is done one day at a time!

Self-cultivation is the secret of every extraordinary human being down through the ages.

Every great human being stands on the shoulders of another great human being.

What we model we become.

Play the "act as if" game; act as if you are whatever you want to be.

Questions are the key to generating solutions.

The function of the mind is to merge with what it focuses on.
Herein lies the primary law of the physical body suit. This law explains a myriad of effects in the physical universe. It explains why children, when they become adults, often develop the same habits that their parents had regardless of whether they liked the trait in their parent(s) or not. It also explains why we become what we love, for whatever we are in love with something or resisting it, we are focusing our attention on it. Because the function of the mind is to merge, where we put our attention is where we get the result. On the other hand, by right use of this law all human beings can free themselves from the limiting chains of the past. Love what is good and we become good; focus on men and women who are models of excellence and we raise our level of excellence.

Trust life and life's processes because life works!

Mind generates Thought ... Thought leads to Actions ... Repeated Actions form Behavioral Patterns ... Behavioral Patterns eventually become Habits ... Habits etch deep to form Character ... And, Character finally determines the Destiny of a Human Being.

As we consciously expand our Comfort Zone with healthy habits, we free ourselves to focus on the bigger picture of our lives.

That which is unconscious runs our behaviour.
This refers to all the unconscious patterns that have been either imprinted or programmed into the subconscious mind. These unconscious patterns become the drivers of behaviour.

Create healthy habits, and healthy habits will carry you when you need them.

The central curriculum on Planet Earth is the study in the art of being a human being. Life is our laboratory for learning and growth in the human experience.

As we unlock the doors of consciousness we awaken to our unlimited performance potential.

Know that you are a cell in the body of infinite life and expand your connectedness with all.

Rehearse, prepare, practice and perfect for we are living but a short time upon the stage of life.

The Process of Changing : There are definite stages to the process of making a change. In order to make change, learning and growth an ongoing part of our lives, we must understand these five stages so that we will not be caught off guard when they appear.

• Stage 1: Denial
  The first stage in making a change is often denial that there is any change to be made. A system at rest tends to remain at rest. In order to remain at rest, we often defend and justify the way we are while judging others who exemplify the new possibility. "I'm fine the way I am" is the central theme of this stage, and it's byline is, "but that is strange." In this stage the new possibility lies just beyond the power of our ability to imagine it for ourselves at that time.
• Stage 2: Acceptance
  If we continue to expose ourselves to the new idea or possibility, we eventually enter the Acceptance phase in the change process. This is a period of incubation; acceptance of the new idea of change may occur quickly, or, as in the case of confronting a large change, it may take months to realize. In either case, we now value the change and view it as a positive choice. We have moved from rationalizating and justifying our position to considering the new possibility.
• Stage 3: Willingness
  With the advent of willingness we now perceive the change as a personal possibility. In this phase we have arrived at a new inner plateau in which the mind and heart are now willing to make a change. Ultimately, willingness is a prerequisite for any learning and growth; without our consent change becomes drudgery.
• Stage 4: Decision
  When we finally and fully accept the need to change and we are willing to do so, an inner call to action is heard and a decision for change ensues. Now the floodgate opens and the pent-up energy is released in the direction of the objective.
• Stage 5: Action
  At this point it is often best to advance out of our Comfort Zone one step at a time. However, many people, experiencing this pent-up surge of energy, go ripping through their Comfort Zone zealously bound on achieving an instantaneous transformation not realizing that old habits run deep. Every living system, including our habit pattern system, seeks to maintain equilibrium, and if we push for a radical transformation, we do not allow the system time to rebalance throughout the change process.

Character Opportunities : Any seeming obstacles in our path that might deliver an opportunity to practice patience, service, silence, or any of the great attributes of a human being. Character opportunities show up everywhere: on the freeway when someone cuts in front of us, in line at the grocery store or bank, with our spouse or children when we have seemingly reached the limit of our energy or patience. Every character opportunity occurs at the edge of our Comfort Zone allowing us a chance to develop greater mastery over our emotions and our mind.

Whole Body Listening : This method of listening turns hearing into a whole body experience and heightens both receptivity and mental acuity. Whole body listening expands perception and allows intuitive whispering and sensations to be experienced. Whole body listening enhances communication personally and professionally.

Groking : Groking occurs naturally when we practice whole body listening. To grok something is to grasp it: to get the marrow, the inner meaning, the crux, or the gist of it. It is to get the essence of a communication or sharing such that we are able to recreate it in our own language. By practising groking, we can all become contributors to the planetary evolution. Groking enables us to learn quickly and to share what we have learned with others.

Exclusive Sorting : The method of sorting incoming sensory information that separates the individual from the learning experience or the teacher. Exclusive sorting isolates the individual and disempowers the individual's learning process by closing off the domain of possibility that the environment may be offering at any given moment. Exclusive sorting immediately precludes the possibility of rapid change or growth by defending the status quo. Notice your inner dialogue; words such as but, however or because often reveal an exclusive sorting process. When you catch your inner dialogue precluding the possibility of change, turn it around.

Inclusive Sorting : The method of sorting incoming sensory information that merges the individual with learning experience and the teacher. The attitude of a person who sorts information inclusively is, "If he can do it, I can do it too!" Inclusive sorting liberates our performance potential by enabling us to hold everyone who is more developed than we are in any given area as a model of possibility rather than a reason for inadequacy. Inclusive sorting also helps us to view all learning experiences as character opportunities in disguise. An exclusive sorting mechanism might be, "Why is this happening to me?" While an inclusive sorting mechanism would be, "This is happening to me to develop attributes such as patience, stillness, humility, commitment, discipline, etc."

Universal Mind : The term universal mind is used in reference to the infinite intelligence of the universe which is available to us at all times. All we have to do to "tune in" to the universal mind. We must stop our minds by fully focusing our awareness on a still point within, To get answers to questions or solutions to problems, all we have to do is clarify the question or problem, then release it and silence our mind. When we are completely still our inner receptivity becomes a metaphorical lightning rod attracting the electrically energised answer. If you do not get an immediate answer (within 20 minutes or so) go about your daily business maintaining this inner receptivity. Usually the answer will arrive within a day or two. Universal mind's delivery system is often extremely creative for it transcends physical law and thus can use the physical universe as its personal speedy delivery system.

from Learning To Learn by D. Trinidad Hunt

Everyone grieves. When we have a grief issue to deal with, we tend to go through four stages (according to Elizabeth Kubler-Ross). In the first stage, we deny the event; second, we bargain to have the situation changed; next, we become very mad, sad, and scared; and, finally, we reconcile to the event and experience forgiveness and gratitude. Grieving is a necessary and important event that will reoccur for each and every one of us throughout our lives. If we take responsibility and deal with the feeling, then we will not be dragging it along and plugging up our capacity for joy. As I move through life, I experience many losses. That is the nature of life on this planet. Sometimes the loss is a small one, and sometimes it is a very big one. Sometimes the loss is an illusion that I have held for many years. Whatever it is that I have lost (or must give up), I must grieve. I must forgive myself and the person and events about whom I have experienced a loss. It is imperative that I take responsibility for the impact the loss mad on my life and that I take the time to deal DAILY with the feelings that arise as a result of the loss. I must do this until I am completely clear of the archaic feelings and unfinished business I have with the person or event that trouble me.

I say "must." The reason is that I have discovered that this is one of life's imperatives. If if do not do my grieving about the old hurts and insults, then, when I am faced with the here and now grief experience, I will end up having to dredge up all that old energy along with the current experience.

Now stop reading, and write down as many of your grief and loss issues as come to mind in the present moment.

LOSS
We are all products of our growing up, and we carry within us a Child-part who continues to feel as strongly as we did when we were that age. Those of us who deny the Child within may expect to have psychosomatic disorders and/or symptoms of the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as our bodies and psyches try to deal subconsciously instead of openly with the stress of the unexpressed grief. PTSD is what people experience after coming out of a major disaster experience such as war, fire, a hurricane, a shipwreck. Anytime that I deny my feelings my body will react with old feeling states, and when there is enough backlog of those old feeling states, some part of my body will overreact. This will be manifested in what is my "target organ," and I will have stomachache, colitis, skin conditions, and a myriad of disorders now known to have a psychological basis. Some people will overreact and make a big deal out of some minor event in there life.

At this point you could list the bodily problems you have now in your life.

There is a tradition in North American Indian culture that suggests that if you have a grievous matter to deal with, go out into the woods or to a place where you will be private and dig a hole in the ground near a tree or bush. Pour all your feelings into that hole. When you are quite satisfied that you have your spirit emptied of the foul stuff, cover the hole and thank the tree for listening and thank Mother Earth for receiving your grief. Then go about your business feeling better about yourself and more connected to the universe. Thank the tree or bush for witnessing your grief process.

ATTACHMENT and Broken Bonds

1. I may ignore (deny) the loss, and go on as if nothing happened. Many individuals who do this will pay the psychosomatic price for the choice, later suffering more and more bodily problems. Often these problems are a mystery even to professional persons, and more so to western medical professionals that are consulted. Eating a healthy diet and living in a healthy environment are part of the preventive picture, and having a healthy internal, psychological environment is the other part that must not be neglected.

2. I may get stuck in the loss cycle and replay the past over and over in what are called flashbacks, "Script scenes," or even karmic debts. The repeated scenes become familiar patterns in our lives, recurring regularly and causing familiar and unwanted pain and perplexity. I call these "gifts from the universe" - as if the universe were telling me to look at my script and to learn from them, instead of continuing to deny the pain it presents to me.

3. Or, I choose to resolve the loss and find new meaning in my relationship to the person or object or situation to which I was attached.

The Magic Shop

This Wise Old Person tells you that this is a place where you can realize your dreams if you wish. What you have to do is to select an item from the shop that is symbolic of some status or change you wish to accomplish in your life. In its place you may leave an old habit, feeling, job, person, or grief issue you no longer wish to have in your life.

Since this is a magic shop, anything can be taken in exchange for anything you wish to leave. You are told to take your time looking around for just the right symbol, and also to think carefully about what you wish to leave behind that is dysfunctional or painful to you. Take a few minutes to wander around the shop looking at all the wonderful items and mulling over what it is you wish to leave behind in exchange. When you are ready, put your unwanted item on the shelf, and take in its place the item you most want to symbolise this change you are about to make in your life. Take a few minutes to talk with the Wise Old Person and tell him/her what it is that you are leaving behind and what it is you are taking in its place. The Wise Old Person tells you that you have three weeks to change your mind, if you want the old habit, behaviour, grief issue, etc. Back, you can come back and return your new found item and retrieve the old. This is because it is sometimes scary for people to give up the old and familiar, and also they need more time to think about it before giving it up entirely. When you are done, thank the Wise Old Person and leave the shop finding yourself back in your favourite village, town, or city. Walking down the street, allow yourself slowly and easily to come back to the present waking reality.

In the days and weeks ahead, allow yourself to find the item you took in the Magic Shop, perhaps at a flea market, in your grandmother's attic, or in an antique shop. Acquire the item as a concrete symbol that you are accomplishing the goals in your life.

Medicine Wheel: A Metaphor for the Grief Process

We start in the South, which is the place of the Healer and of the Inner Child of the past where we are called upon to shed our skins as the serpent does, and to be close to the Mother Earth in our process. We can call upon the spirits of the winds of the South to help us deal with our grief issues from the Child part of our personality and from our Inner Healer. In dealing with past griefs, we face the challenge of our family-of-origin. In dealing with the present grief we face the challenge of abandonment and how our inner Child feels about the current loss we are suffering. This is the challenge of the open heart, the full heart, the strong heart, the clear heart. The mode of healing is storytelling; the type of meditation is lying down; and the music is drumming.

We move to the West, which is the place of the Warrior. It is in this direction that we are called upon to face our deepest fears and to face our mortality. This is where the spirits of the Jaguar and the Grizzly Bear come to teach us about our fears and about our lack of integrity in our lives. In the West is where we deal with the grief around giving up our illusions. We have to deal in this quadrant with our loneliness and our deep terror about never again seeing this one who has died. The sound is from the sticks and bones; the type of meditation is sitting; and the healing salve is silence.

In the North we are offered the task of Mastery. This is the direction of the leader or teacher in us, and here we are given the opportunity to share our knowledge with others. Our guides are the bison and the horse. In this direction we face the deepest rage in our being about being here. This is where we are "mad at God/Goddess" and where we deal with our fundamental rebellion against being alive, against being here, against having to take responsibility for being alive. In addressing our archaic griefs we are called upon to forgive all of our family members and, ultimately forgive ourselves. In dealing with current grief issues, we deal with the forgiveness of the person who has died or forgive the aspects of the events that are grieving us, etc. The music for this direction is the rattle; the meditation is the standing meditation; and the healing salve is dancing.

In the East we have the task of creating a Vision for ourselves. This is where we go on a vision quest and ask spirit for help in seeing far and wisely. We are assisted in this direction by the spirit of the Eagle who flies high and can see very far. The healing salve for this direction is singing. We are called upon to use our inner vision, our intuition, and our wisdom, and the meditation for this direction is the walking meditation. When I have done my grieving in this direction I have looked at what I need to do in the other directions so that I can free my energy to be fully committed and fully present in my Vision. My present grief work addresses the current loss in terms of how it affects my accomplishing my Vision.

So since the Medicine Wheel is a circle, we can start anywhere in it and do it over and over again as we move through the spiral of life. We are challenged to face our feelings in each direction and to do something about releasing the energy we carry with those feelings so we can move on in our personal growth and find our energy freed to create our Vision.

This Ritual can be done in imagination or it can be done in actuality using the Ritual of the stones for the basis. It is a Ritual that can enter all aspects of your life on a daily basis.
(This material is adapted from a lecture by Angeles Arrien.)

from Good Grief Rituals by Elaine Childs-Gowell