FLUDDITE MEDICINE WHEEL
…and your PERSONAL EIGHT (P8)
 PLACELocation, Climate, Shelter & Infra. |
| POLITICS Gov’t Organization & Laws |
| PRESENTATION Arts & Media Communications |
| PRODUCTIVITY Technology/Employment/Economy |
| PEOPLE Origins by Race, Ethnicity & DNA |
| PHILOSOPHY Trad. Religious & Other practices |
| PSYCHOLOGY Values & Attitudes |
| POSSIBILITY What’s Next & What Ifs ? |
1 – directions: east, south, west, north
2 – color. Yellow, red, black, and white
3 – Clan: Whites, Blacks, Yellows, Reds
4 – Self: Wholeness, Protection, Growth, Nourishment
5 – seasons: spring, summer, autumn, winter
6 – natural elements: water, wind, earth, fire
7 – Animal: Wolf, Eagle, Bear, Buffalo
8 – Medicine: tobacco, cedar, sweetgrass, sage
9 – stages of life: childhood, adolescence, adult, elder
10 – states of being: spiritual, physical, emotional, mental
11 – P8 – Body: Place, Politics, Presentation, Productivity
12 – P8 – Mind: People, Philosophy, Psychology, Possibility
13 – APFC – Audience, Purpose, Form, Content
14 – 4Es – Entertain, Educate, Enrich, Enlighten
15 – 4As – Artist, Artwork, Audience, Attention
16 – 4Ms – Rock, Paper, Scissor, Glue (methods)
17 – Agreement 1 – Be Impeccable with Your Word *
18 – Agreement 2 – Don’t Take Anything Personally *
19 – Agreement 3 – Don’t Make Assumptions *
20 – Agreement 4 – Always Do Your Best *
*src: 17-20, The Four Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz
~ Michael J. Walsh January 2023
Medicine Wheel (circle)
There are many explanations for the meaning(s)attached to the Medicine Wheel amongst the Indigenous nations of North America, which are found on the computer on sites such as dragonflycanada.ca & mesacreativearts.com. But a full explanation of its symbolic importance is also a history lesson which is thousands of years old.
Draw a Circle & divide it into 4 equal segments. Then identify what is occurring within these segments in a continuous, circular and seamless, never-ending flow from beginning to end again & again & again like our lives that are time/timeless across the universal sky.
For example:
North/South/East/West > White/Red/Yellow/Black > Fire/Earth/Air/Water > Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall > Mental/Spiritual/Emotional/Physical. & many more examples from around the world with all its P8 components present.
Triangle
The Triangle has three sides arranged so that its base ascends to a pinnacle point. Using this basic shape, we can draw parallel lines ascending from the base to its top inside the triangular space. Now we can list groups in our society and their relative positions in the hierarchy from top to bottom or vice versa using the P8 model to identify these groups. For example, consider who rules in a college re: decision making and the power to affect the well being of all those under their control. Is it a democratic design where equality and shared benefits are equally distributed at all levels on the pyramid? Then see how it narrows to one in control at the top, whose leadership provides for the well being of those beneath him. But what happens if the triangular shape is corrupted by the inappropriate behaviour of someone above you, who does not respect those beneath him that are dependent upon his fairness for their survival and well-being. For this shape to work it must be built upon a set of values that are understood and shared by all its participants, which can be a mean challenge however, when greed and self interest begin to surface.
Result: Triangle starts to have fissures and cracks, which will lead to its eventual collapse unless a solution is found that satisfies everyone. Negotiated and fairly developed might save the Shape but it takes time to strengthen its hold. Or a failed negotiation will become a Revolt that ends in its collapse.
AND
Always remember what happened to Ozymandias, who had failed to listen to the echoes in the corridors and whose mighty kingdom lay in disarray after his fall.
Square
The Square becomes a series of self-contained boxes that give us a safe haven where our choices are predictable. We repeat ourselves inside these boxes repeatedly over time to conform to public taste and acceptance. However, once we begin to question what we want to communicate, thinking outside the box provokes us to tear down the box’s walls and search for a new meaning outside the box. Maybe we had become stuck on the Medicine Wheel and had lost the determination to seek out new horizons. We had become bored, dissatisfied and frustrated because the box’s walls were too high and climbing out meant work. Or our frustration had become so exhausting that in a rage we smashed through the wall seeking our freedom. Then thinking outside the box becomes our new beginning, helping us to move around the Circle on a journey to a fresh start and self- awareness.
