Medicine Wheel and 12 Steps,(6 Tuesdays beginning January 16, 2024)

Our modern thinking gives us goals to meet and looks for the event that will solve our “problems.”  This linear way is not found in nature.  Indigenous people, being more in touch with natural processes, tend to view change as a circular process.  In this workshop we will view the 12 Steps and other transnational life processes from this perspective - on the Medicine Wheel. To lead this workshop, Jim Frank draws from his many years of personal recovery and native spirituality.  In a circle, we will also see how ritual and sharing can help us to rediscover the old way of seeing our life’s challenges on the circle and the wheel and how to use the 12 steps to transform them.

Jim holds an MA in Psychology, is a counselor, a teacher and a ritual leader.  More about Jim and other  events can be found at: www.jimfrank.net

This is a workshop for everyone.  The aim of this workshop is to move towards metaphoric thinking, like indigenous people think.  The Native American Medicine Wheel models a four sided transformational process that is both ancient and alive. The four directions of the wheel describe our world, and their study allows them to be accessed as guides on our personal journeys. We will explore how recent findings in Brain Science fit inform our spiritual journeys.  We will see how 'spiritual practice' supports a life based on prayer, meditation and self-examination. The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous are the core transformational tool of the modern self-help movement and they are the most successful method known for addiction recovery.  When worked with the Medicine Wheel, these two models of transformation provide a powerful synergy. The steps offer clear imperatives while the Medicine Wheel can answer the question, "What step am I on?" This is especially useful for those who are recovering from multiple addictions. But even more significant is that the Medicine Wheel facilitates using the Twelve Steps for life events other than alcoholism or addiction.  This works for all of life’s events, not just addictions. It puts the steps into practice in all one's affairs.

We will meet in Miami, the room in the barn here in Malvern. There will be a COVID protocol that may include tests and masks - all attendees must be vaccinated.