The Native American Medicine Wheel - a wisdom tool for planning your life choices

The Native American Medicine Wheel



The Native American Medicine Wheel comes from a deep, natural and ancient wisdom, which would be well worth finding out more about if you are interested. But you don’t have to ‘believe’ in it for it to help you make good choices in your life. 

The Medicine Wheel is like a map of life. It is used as a path to understanding, a focus for ceremonies and a basis for healing. It encompasses everything - from the mystical void from which all existence sprang, all the physical elements, the inter-connectedness of all things, and respect for ancestors and nature. 

The wheel can take the form of an arrangement of stones on the land or a work of art. Different tribes each have their own version. Different systems of colours and meanings have been assigned to the directions of the wheel, such as the stages of life, the seasons, physical elements, and animals.

In the version which inspired the LifeEditor, the wheel is like a compass. Each cardinal direction represents an element: fire, earth, water and air. The in-between directions represent other key factors which shape the energy of life: concepts of self, the sub-conscious, patterns and rules, and priorities. 

These ideas will help you look at your choices from different angles to see how good they are for you. Here is a sample of the questions the model prompts you to ask yourself. 

The first cardinal direction in the Wheel is the East is where the sun rises. It’s the direction of a new dawn. It represents fire and the sun, whose energy is the source of all life on earth. 

The element of fire triggers expansion and passion in the human spirit. It is our divine spark. It illuminates our path toward enlightenment. It encompasses creativity and adventure. 
When it is healthy it offers a continuous opportunity for development and enrichment. But if it is unhealthy it can take the form of fantasy and illusion.

• Does this choice seem like a new dawn for you?
• Does it set your heart on fire?
• Does it offer an opportunity for expansion and development?
• Does it enable you to see a path of positive progression for you?
• Will it feed and nourish your spirit?
• Will this be a creative adventure for you?

The Life Editor model based on the Native American Medicine Wheel has similar questions on all the 8 directions of the Wheel. It shows you how you feel about each question on a spider graph, and composes a personalised feedback text based on your answers. 

The tools are available to download as Microsoft Excel files. They are free to download and use. Visit www.thelifeeditor.com 

6 wise ways to rethink your life story

www.thelifeeditor.com

The Life Editor is a personal decision making aid designed to help you make good life choices. 

It draws on a diverse range of wisdom traditions – from Buddhist, to Native American Medicine and Astrology – to help you broaden your perspective and hopefully make a choice that is right for you.

The decision-support models are delivered by download as MS Excel files. You answer a set of questions and get an automated feedback report. There is no third party involved and no advice is given. Your decision is up to you.

The downloads are unpriced – if you find the Life Editor process beneficial, you can go back and pay what you think it’s worth. Users are encouraged to share their experiences to help other people make good choices too.

There are 6 wise ways to help you make better life choices: 

Native American Medicine Wheel

From an ancient, natural tradition, in which people saw themselves as part of nature, the Medicine Wheel is like a compass to use for both navigating and healing. It will provide you with some unusual and thought-provoking perspectives.

Astrological Houses

Not a horoscope, but a comprehensive model of the human experience from birth, through all the stages of development, to integration with the world at large. This approach combines astrology with psychology in a subtle and insightful way.

 

Buddhist Wheel of Life

The Buddhist Wheel of Life has got to be one of the most famous and enduring models of the human condition ever created, and one of the most profound and stimulating aids to managing your life. Every choice we make creates karma – make sure yours is positive.

Advice from Atisha’s Heart

This is heart-felt advice from a great Buddhist teacher to his students. Whether you are a Buddhist or not, you will find in it a form of universal wisdom which can help guide us to make good life choices which benefit ourselves and others.

Western Wheel of Life

A modern, Western secular review of all the main aspects of a person’s life: things like occupation, friends, family, finances and so on. The model is divided into Current Situation and Future Situation enabling you to do a ‘before and after’ comparison.

St Ignatius of Loyola

Inspired by a sixteenth Century Spanish nobleman with curiously modern ideas, this model will help you test if your choice feels right, for the right – or wrong – reasons, and whether it is free from all forms of negativity.

Go to www.thelifeeditor.com and let me know what you think.

One misty morning

It all started one misty morning. I looked out at the grey sea merging into the grey sky and thought: this is heaven. People think they die and go to heaven. But we’re in it now. Or could be, if we only made the right choices.

I had a vision of a place where you could go for a retreat. It was a cross between a hotel and a video editing suite. An angel hosted the session. She showed you sequences of your life on a video screen. You could see how the choices you made had certain consequences. But if you weren’t happy with the outcome, you could edit the story and get a better one.

That is the dreamy way the Life Editor was born. A way of editing your life story.

Over the next 18 months I worked to create something that would help people make better choices in life. The first model I worked on was the Native American Medicine Wheel. The trialists all said the ideas were a bit strange and I thought , “Great, I’m onto something.”

I was excited that I was creating something which would take people out of the familiar, the well-trodden path, the conventional way of viewing their lives. By offering an unfamiliar, slightly disorientating environment, I could help them to see their lives, their choices and possibilities from new angles.

Researching the models was a huge task but a really rewarding one. Not every idea worked. But the ones which did were really interesting and taught me a lot. I had a strong feeling that I was creating something of value.

And because it was my own work, no one could tell me “that’s not right”. I was my own boss, and it was really liberating.

As time went on, and I put more and more months of effort into it, I began to wonder how much people would pay for it. If I marketed it well, I could make a bit of money here…

But that didn’t sit right. Obstacles arose. The scale of the investment necessary to make it a reality became daunting.

So one sunlit afternoon on a boat coming back from Capri, I had an epiphany. “Give it away.” Don’t charge anything. Make it a gift to whoever needs it. If they want to give something in return, that's fine, but they don't have to. 

Then things started flowing again. And now, three months later, it’s just about ready to go live.

The Life Editor will be gifted to the world in the next few days at www.thelifeeditor.com

Go have a look and let me know what you think.