May 18, 2021
The Sacred Pipe – The Legend of the ‘Canupa’
The Sacred Pipe is known as the Canupa in the Lakota language. The Canupa is an essential tool of connection. Of all the tools, it is the one which develops the deepest awareness. It creates an amplified connection with the intelligence that is commonly known as intuition. According to legend, the Canupa came to people a long ago in a time of great need. It was brought to the people to show how to live in right relation with the earth
You might be asking yourself “How is it possible that a “primitive” ceremony could possibly help the modern world. The answer it this, the indigenous perspective is based on survival and how people relate to the Earth. Because they recognize that their life depends on a number of essential factors (connections) – they hold these to be sacred components of life. The first sacred connection: How do you relate to the natural world? The second
May 18, 2021
Women in Culture – Native American Wisdom
This way of life is based on observation of energy movement and how the energies are related. By developing this understanding we begin to see creation as the movements of the Great Mystery. We can witnesses the creation born off of the Great Mystery in the wheeling of the stars, the beauty of a sunrise, the song of the birds, and the movement of the seasons. It is all becomes an expression of the Mystery.
The Native American Sweat lodge is one of the most profound healing and transformative indigenous ceremonies that I know. At the age of 16 I attended my first traditionally run Sweat Lodge and personally experienced the power and beauty of this ceremony. I’ve repeatedly witnessed this transformative and restorative power of the sweat lodge for over 23 years. Sweat Lodges Around the World There are many forms of the sweat therapy found across the world,
May 18, 2021
What is a Vision Quest?
The ceremony of the Vision Quest is one of the most universal and ancient means to find spiritual guidance and purpose. A Vision Quest can provide deep understanding to people, helping them to understand their role in life. Vision Quest of the Past Vision Quest is one of the original ceremonial techniques, practiced by all people of every culture. In many ancient cultures these types of ceremonies were part of a person’s learning journey in
As part of a growing outdoor learning movement, Forest School has arrived in Ireland! 20 people from all backgrounds – Lecturers in Early Years, Primary teachers, Outdoor Education – all people with a significant number of years working with young people gathered at Kippure Estate, in County Wicklow, to complete the 4th ever Forest School Programme Leadership in Ireland. Our Circle of Life Training team from the UK and Ireland arrived a few days in advance
May 18, 2021
The Next Stage
With the more orthodox side of Circle of Life Rediscovery’s work being known to me, it was time to experience what makes this particular CIC all the more distinctive – the work led by Salvatore Gencarelle. Teaching the traditions of the Lakota people, one of the Transformative Learning courses that Sal leads allows the participation of the Rites of Passage or life-stage honouring; that is the ceremony of honouring the transition from one stage of
May 18, 2021
Beyond The Walls: My First Camp
Having joined the Circle of Life team on an internship, Marina and I agreed that the best way to truly understand the work that I would be promoting would be to submerse myself in it. With the first camp of summer fast approaching, it was decided that my latest camping experience since Cubs would be located in, hopefully-not ironically named, Battle. Memories of unassailable tents and chillingly awkward wash basins preoccupied my thoughts. Upon meeting the team,