Law of Initiation, Week Four, Sample from 1,000 Day Wisdom Wheel Tour

[This sample page shows you what the 3 Year Wisdom Wheel course looks like. It covers one Law per month, in greater depth, than this Year on the Wisdom Wheel blog. You can learn more at www.thewisdomwheel.com]

Day 441

Hope is how capitalism binds us to the wheel.  Richard Vine, author in 'New Criterion' magazine essay (May 1989)

Daily Guidance: What keeps us intellectually, emotionally or spiritually tethered to social systems after our Initiations? What does it take to break away? As your time with this Law comes to a close, make some notes about what you've learned after your initiation to the Law of Initiation.

Spent my day at the Babson College Executive Education Center, initiating 16 managers, in the practice of sitting circle and using the Wisdom Wheel. Malcolm and another faithful CircleKeeper, the one who set up this opportunity - were also present and co-facilitating. We arrived early, to lay out the large stones and the pillows in a special room, before joining the leadership development group so we could listen to the session which preceded ours.

The group was discussing a book they’d read, Just Enough, by Laura Nash & Howard Stevenson of Harvard Business School. The book had not stirred up any excitement and most admitted they had forced themselves to finish it. One man said, 'The title alone makes it sound like you have to settle, for mediocrity.

I glanced through the pages and found everything so measured and careful, as if all the passion had been bled out. Are they implying that it is too dangerous to want more or to care too much?  Just Enough might work for some people, but those who follow its philosophy are not going to change the world or challenge the status quo. (Harvard is known for producing conformists and conservatives for the most part.)

The book did contain a spiraling kaleidoscope model I liked, with four principles; Achievement, Happiness, Significance and Legacy. These made a natural segue into the Wisdom Wheel presentation after lunch. Everyone took a pillow and sat on the floor, and the change of posture helped to initiate a different kind of exchange. After a brief orientation to the Wheel and the quadrants, I invited the group to place the four principles of the book onto it:

Achievement went into the East, the place of Right Action and intellect Happiness went South to the place of Trust and emotions Significance was placed in the West, the place of Higher Purpose Legacy went North, the place of Integrity, elders and syntheses.

I noted the fact that the word wisdom was not used anywhere in this book, except in conjunction with the wisdom of entropy. We had only two hours with the group and that is not enough time to teach them how to apply the Wheel, but at least they had an introduction to the Laws. About half of them signed up for the daily email service to learn more.

Today was the first day of summer for me. This marks the beginning of the actual month of the Initiation Law which is the Birth Law of all those born under the astrological sign of Cancer, the Crab - June 21- July 21 approximately.

Initiation blog

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Introduction to the Wisdom Wheel Quadrants

The Wisdom Wheel Quadrants
 

Before we set off next month on this 365 day adventure, to study one Universal Law each 10 days, here's a quick intro to the quadrant system we'll be using.


To plumb the depths of these 36 Laws, we'll look into these areas: 


1. The intellectual aspects and how these Laws affect us mentally
2. The emotional aspects and what impact they have on our feelings
3. The physical and intuitive aspects and how they affect our senses
4. The spiritual aspects in how our spirits respond to them


You can see, in the graphic above, that these four quadrants are shaded and labelled. They go clockwise, from mind to heart, then body to spirit. You could just as easily begin with the heart of any Law, or the spirit of any Law, but for our purposes, we'll start with the intellectual. Because you are learning this over the Internet, and you are reading this information, it must first pass through your head. If you were sitting down, in a circle around these stones, you would be in more of a feeling and sensing mode. 


Each person has a tendency to rely more upon one of these quadrants. This becomes your default mode. Studying the Wisdom Wheel encourages us to move along, and enlarge our sense of possibilities, by considering all the quadrants, perspectives and powers of these Directions. This helps us get out of our ruts and into a more flexible way of being and doing.


Post your comments and questions as we go along.   

Short Video and Picture from the Wisdom Wheel

Found a link to this You Tube video, in an email from a friend today. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHjFg1tLbBQ&feature=related   (If the link doesn't take you to the video when you click on it, just cut & paste the entire blue line above into your browser & that will work.) 
I'd forgotten Susan Grace Lawton, my original medicine wheel teacher and videographer, made this with me in 2010. It's only 8 minutes long but provides an introduction to the Wisdom Wheel, and explains how it came into my life in the winter of 1994-1995.
It also describes various applications the students and graduates have done with the Wisdom Wheel, from Habitat for Humanity to the General Electric Corporation. 
Next time, we'll make a video showing how we lay out the stones, and how a study group gathers to 'sits circle' and teach each other about the 36 Universal Laws. 
In the meantime, here's a photo from our last get together, thanks to Catherine's camera.

   (From left to right, starting with bottom row) Anna Aramini, Martey Rhine, Penny Coppen, Marlene Snecinski, Catherine Sarni, Malinda Branson, Loretta Symons, Cynthia F. Davidson, Malcolm F. Davidson, Jim Mangan, and Rod Jensen. (Other members not present, but maybe next time!)

Complete 2012-2013 Schedule for a Year on the Wheel

We will continue meeting on the first Thursday of each month. (See dates below.) 

April 5th meeting, Balance begins on 8th, Awareness 18th, Self 27th

May 3rd meeting, Right Relationship on 6th, Cause & Effect 16th, Process 26th

June 7th meeting, Faith on 5th, Love on 15th, Right Action on 25th

July 5th meeting Trust begins, Higher Purpose 15th, Integrity on 25th

August 2nd meeting, Beauty begins 4th, Eternal Present 14th, Initiation 24th 

September 7th meeting, Shadow on 3rd, Journey on 13th, Forgiveness on 23rd

October 4th meeting & Clarity begins, Choices 14th, Renewal on 24th 

November 1st meeting, Purification 3rd, Surrender 13th, Enlightenment 23rd

December 6th meeting, Creativity on 3rd, Courage 13th, Commitment on 23rd 

January 3rd 2013 meeting, Giving & Receiving on 2^nd, Immortality on 12^th & Ultimate Reality on 22nd

February 7^th meeting, Pure Potential on 1st, Power on 11th & Compassion 21st

March 7^th meeting, Cycles on 3rd, Sacred Oneness on 13^th & Great Mystery 23rd

April 4^th meeting wraps up another cycle. What will we start next?

Online ‘virtual’ meeting plans are in the works, and teleconference options are also being explored. Contribute your ideas. Offer to host an online event. Use Facebook & other social networking media to involve others who might benefit from joining us this year.

Many of you have been receiving one email per week during the last 3 year Cycle. This time you must subscribe to the blog http://ayearonthewisdomwheel.blogspot.com/  to receive the postings and to post to it. 

Instead of doing one Law per month, as in the past, we’ll cover three Laws per month, doing one Law every 10 days. You are strongly encouraged to share your personal experiences online as you apply these principles in your daily life.

  

We’ll collect your posts the end of this experimental year, to use in an e-book. Post news stories that catch your eye, or anything you see in work or family life where these Laws (or their absence) gives you new Awareness and insight. Let’s grow the wisdom of the Wheel beyond our circle.

Point it out where you see these Laws in action, especially in good ways. Together we can demonstrate how the use of better laws can better our lives, individually and collectively.

Saluting the Wisdom (& Humor) of my Fellow Circle Keepers

Law of Great Mystery #36

This week in Colchester, at Catherine's lovely home, we wrapped up another Three Year Cycle on our shared Journey, completing Great Mystery, the 36th Law on the Wisdom Wheel, which always marks the end of our consecutive study Cycle. 


Rod & Loretta, Catherine, Marlene, Martey, Malinda, Anna, Penny, Jim, Malcolm and I (plus those who join in spirit) gathered to sit in a circle, around this familiar arrangement of stones. Since 1999 we've been gathering at each others homes; smudging, singing & praying before sharing our 'found wisdom' from studying & applying these Universal, Natural, Spiritual Laws. 


You can just imagine how much laughter there was, as we've been focused this month upon the Law of Great Mystery. What a 'Divine Comedy' life is, as we see it playing out in our lives. Catherine deserves to be nominated as our resident comedienne, for she regaled us with tales of woe and dramatic hand gestures (which some of us tried to imitate). Absolutely priceless moments.     


As we celebrated the completion of this particular shared Cycle, I could feel in my bones the deep, embodied wisdom of this precious community of fellow souls. As Loretta put it, 'The Wisdom Wheel has become part of us...' Likewise it has helped us become part of each others karma. My gratitude to these Wise Ones knows no bounds. 


Next month we start a new Cycle, and shake things up a bit. Our 'Year On the Wheel' experiment starts with our meeting on April 5th. We will cover all 36 Laws in 365 days, rather than three years. In addition to continued attendance at monthly meetings, I urge us to keep a written, online record, of what we learn while studying one Law every 10 days. Post observations and comments in this blog, or on the Wisdom Wheel's Facebook page, so others can participate. The world could certainly use more wisdom.    


Friends & family can join us by subscribing to this blog or coming to monthly meetings.