Let us not waste these mellow and stately days wondering where all the blossoms went. Let’s build a fire and marvel at the clearness of the stars. Let’s put some food on the grill and enjoy some time with each other while the evenings are still mild. Let’s be glad we’re not sweaty and covered with bug bites. We’re grownups, now. Sure we have responsibilities, but we can face them refreshed if we can learn to relax and be grateful for what we have while we have it.

Being grateful means stopping and taking notice of what makes us glad in life. When we do this we are living fully. When we let go of petty annoyances and take a moment to reflect on a cloud’s shape, smell a ripe strawberry or laugh with a child, we connect with positive energy. The more we choose to accept and do positive things and discard things we know are negative, the more we become positive human beings.

Our world has been suffering from an imbalance of unhealthy negativity for quite some time now. We can fix this. If we take the time to train ourselves to recognize the truth and to maintain that recognition, we will never be at a loss for knowing what is the right thing to do. When we regularly connect with our world and ourselves, we need never feel alienated or misunderstood. We are together. The world goes on. With every positive step we take we are actually improving our world. We count.

Some people will argue that one person’s positive actions are not enough to change things, but let’s tell the truth. One person does make a difference. The entire population of the planet is made up of individual persons. When we choose to be kind, even when many others have chosen otherwise, it makes a difference. Think about this. When we choose to use our minds, even when many others have been thoughtless, it makes a difference. We must not allow ourselves to follow others just to fit in. We are more valuable than that. We must have the courage to recognize for ourselves what is truly good and use this knowledge to light the way for ourselves and for others.

Rocks are. Plants grow. Animals move about. As humans, our special talent is our great intelligence. When we ignore this gift, or deny it to others, we are wasting the very thing that makes us special. No matter who we are, where we come from, or what we believe, the most important thing we can do is to use our intelligence (and allow others to use theirs) to make good choices in life.

A mind that experiences the seasons of life has all the tools it needs to face any kind of weather. Nature has provided us with diagram after diagram showing us how everything cycles. When everything is wonderful, we still need to be wise and careful because changes will come and we need to be prepared. When things look bleak, we can find strength in the knowledge that this too shall pass and whatever positive things we can do will help us into a brighter time. This is the wisdom of middle age. We know where we’ve been. We can see our past mistakes and glories and if we’re smart, we can learn from them. We also know where we’re going. Whatever we do from here on out has got to count, now more than ever. So we’d better make it good while we still have life ahead of us.

People all over the world meditate using various methods. All of these ways are good, because all involve taking the time to quiet our thoughts enough to receive inspiration. When we release ourselves from the grip of reactive everyday thinking we can calm down and find good and effective ways to deal with our lives.

Medicine People are those who feel the call to meditate every day. Though the rest of us may not be able to afford the time to do this, if we can break out of the mundane at least once in awhile, we can gather the resources we need to help solve any problems we may face. This is about making a connection with everything else and knowing where to find that connection in times of gladness as well as turmoil. This is about gathering spiritual strength, letting it heal, letting it teach, and letting it go to renew itself again.

Even when we cannot meditate fully, if we have established a good connection with our world we can at least take a moment to acknowledge it each day. This can help remind us to be balanced as we go about our business of living.

It would be nice if we could all see the complete horizon from where we live, but many of us live in woodsy places or cities and cannot. We can still contemplate the four winds, the sky, the earth and the Great Mystery though, because we know they are there. We can make the connection with them no matter where we are. When we breathe, we breathe with them. Just the act of breathing can balance us when we connect with everything else.

Some methods of meditation suggest walking around a basic Medicine Wheel formation, and addressing each of the four winds, the sky, the earth and the Great Mystery, or Great Spirit. At each point, we stop and quietly or out loud acknowledge an aspect or more of the particular direction. Then we quiet ourselves for a few moments just to be available to that particular source. Often what we receive is a feeling of centering and balance, which can be wonderfully refreshing to our minds. Other times we may get an inspiration that will be very positive and can be quite moving. When we are blessed with these, we can be grateful and pass the positive energy along.

After going around the Wheel, some suggest to honor each point again in the opposite direction to release the energy back to each source. The idea behind this is to demonstrate that we are not taking and holding the energy all for ourselves, but are letting it go so it can continue to help others. Not everyone mentions this, but it seems like a thoughtful gesture.

Another way to continue the good energy is to pass it on by simply being decent to other people and taking good care of our world. When we show respect for other people, we are illustrating our wonderful connections in the Medicine Wheel. We must always acknowledge others, even when we disagree with them, because we are each part of the whole. A nod to a stranger or to an enemy can do a world of good for you both. When we do so, we are recognizing the truth that others are part of this world, too. We can also give time or resources to people that could use them. A balanced person can afford to be generous in some way, because he or she knows that what goes around comes around. As we travel the Medicine Wheel we will receive, give, and receive again. It’s up to us to keep that going.

Give back to society. Pick up trash. Smile at an old person. Drop a bad habit. Learn from the past, but don’t dwell there. Forgive yourself, forgive others, adapt and move forward as the wonderful person you really are, the sacred person you have always been, inside. We are all connected, not just one religion or race but ALL of us. It is time to go on as part of the whole. We are individuals but we are not alone. We are all together in the Medicine Wheel, in this world right now.

We are not looking to be “holier than thou”, but holier with thou. Nothing is below us but Mother earth: our support. Nothing is above us but Father Sky: our breath of life. As we learn to become positive people, everything positive is on our side. We have backup. Meditation makes this a personal experience.

Though it is recommended that we should, for the most part, be silent about our meditations especially when we are beginners, please allow me to share some examples of the kind of inspiration that can be received. Most come as illuminations of unspoken thought that have then had to be translated into words, so I hope they will not be too clumsy. Please consider them a gift that can be valued or not, depending on your point of view. I realize that they may not be for everybody and acknowledge that we may differ in our opinions. I attempt to respect all our relations, everywhere.

I realize, acknowledge and accept that some Native American groups are wary of “non-Indians” practicing these methods. Who can blame them? Some very misguided and faulty-thinking people who mistakenly called themselves Christians thought that they had the only “right” way to be spiritual and were extremely abusive to Native Americans who felt otherwise. The actions of the people who did these awful things, i.e.: kidnapping Indian children and imprisoning them in schools far away from their families to brainwash their culture out of them, are actually not in keeping with the teachings of Jesus Christ, so those people were not good Christians and were clearly not thinking in a balanced way. All decent people everywhere know that what matters most is not our color or the symbol we wear around our necks, but that we learn to take responsibility to be good in this world.

Obviously, there are extremists in some of the world’s religions that still seem to think they have some sort of right to cause violence against those who are not of their faith, but more and more people are seeing that this is not in keeping with the good teachings of any sane person, and they are rejecting these ideas. A good path is one that is straightforward, makes sense and will accept any individual. The Medicine Wheel is one way to understand our connections with one another. Though these ways have been carefully protected, some Native American people are now open to sharing with those who seek the opportunity to learn this wisdom, whether or not they are of the red race. We all need healing. This is not the only way, but it is a good way. In the interest of peace, we hope it can be shared freely and honestly.

When we harm anyone, we harm ourselves. When we do good for anyone, we do good for ourselves. We are all needed to heal this world, even non-Indians. We must be careful to respect one another because we are all connected.

Some people won’t understand this way, and that’s all right. We needn’t pester them about it. If they are getting what they need to be kind and fair in this life by doing things another way, then we can accept that they are fine in their part of the wheel and leave it at that. Not everyone will be drawn this way, and that is just as natural as anything else. Each rock is an individual.

The person who is driven to know more about this path will go looking further no matter what positive or negative feedback is furnished by anyone.

In the Native American tradition a Medicine Person shares without asking for pay, but if we as students find a good source of knowledge it is considered excellent form to show thanks through a gift. What comes around goes around. If you find a link that speaks to you, do help support it if you can. If not, a respectfully small note of thanks can also be encouraging. If there is no other way, just passing on positive energy will do.

An extremely fortunate student will find a live teacher, or rather- the teacher will find the student. We can’t just look one up in the phone book, and if there are any listed there for hire, Beware! Wheel Medicine is not a commodity for sale. It belongs not to those who merely have the cash to spend, but to those who will use it well.

Afterword