In my series of comparisons between my model of human complexities and ones introduced and used by other people, we encounter of course striking similarities but also some extra added inspiring novelties. This time I compare “the Medicine Wheel” of the Sioux tribes in the USA, with thanks to Ruby June for providing me with the YouTube links.

The Medicine Wheel
The natural wisdom of the Indians is of course well known. Watch it being explained on YouTube by an educated medical physician, with personal roots in these tribes. He posted three short 10 minute films:

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIGrFHy463g

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK-RdmQwIvI

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HF1UBY2vjQ

Indian Medicine Wheel

The explanation done by someone educated in modern medicine makes it even more powerful. We live in times that money driven pharmaceutical industries together with growth economy focused politicians try to do their best to place the only medical truth in pharmaceutical science, eliminating all reference to the healing powers of nature and our own selves. Common sense and the Medicine Wheel will help us find the right balance ourselves, no matter what certain external forces claim.

The Medicine Wheel shows the human being also as a circle in which the four conscious building elements: ratio, emotion, body and spirituality, find their place. In the kernel of the circle is our balanced self, connected to the universe as if we were (and are) individually the Whole. Travelling along the outer circle we live our conscious building experiences as a self learning and healing human being through each of the four elements. Also the interaction with other human beings is shown and the danger of breaking up the wheel, creating severe imbalance.

Note: When we Google on the Medicine Wheel we will find that the usage of the colors and the significance given to them is not always the same. This should not confuse you. It is a learning process that travels into your own soul and understanding through reflective interpretations. Do not imply accept the models and description. Apply them to your own life and circumstances and make up your own mind. That is what matters and what all others did who published something on the network.

Human Complexities
My model does not start with the circle but with a two dimensional cross that shows the inner conflict between “to be” and “to do” that produces the self conscious self the action and reflection. Have a look at a short YouTube contribution about the positioning of Sustainocracy, a new democracy based on all these wisdoms together. Sustainocracy is becoming a practical reality in my own surroundings in the Netherlands.

English: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWgVbDL4Tco

The evolution of humankind

In the Human Complexities model the horizontal and vertical lines are  fixed, representing the learning process on the TO BE line, from nothing, all the way up to the higher conscience. And the (co-)creative organizational process of TO DO that produces awareness through action and establishes communities and cultures. Both lines can collapse due to intense human mentality, periods of risk avoidance and crises. The dynamics here is represented by the spiral line along time travelling and interacting through the four states.

The four quadrants that appear can receive the same explanation as the Medicine Wheel, adding the extra dimension of an evolutionary learning process in the shape of a spiral. The model of human complexities can be further enhanced by using the dynamics of moving up and down the levels of the being and doing from an individual and societal perspective. We can show cultural impositions and dogmas but also the evolutionary progression of humankind. The evolutionary line is the result of the spiral and moves from chaos through the point of self awareness finally to sustainable wellness.

It would go too far to explain all the healing awareness dimensions that can found by applying both models together. Just place the center of the individual Medicine Wheel on the spiral path of Human Complexity and see or feel what happens with individual dominance, imbalance,  breakings and healings.

Both models together, for individual and community usage

Take also your own country’s societal culture and place it in perspective of time by choosing a significant historical event to define a starting position on your communit’s spiral. I did that as an exercize in 2011 in a chapter of my book in English for the USA, Netherlands and Spain. Feel free to experiment with it all yourself, applying also the Medicine Wheel, to your own self and your community. Dare to have an open mind, challenging yourself to let go of your own dependencies and dogma’s. Look at yourself and your surroundings from the perspective of rationality, emotions, spirituality, physical health and awareness. What do you see? Can you find balance yourself now with all this information, or do you need help?

Change yourself and you changed the world

The historic and modern wisdom of above simply shows us that we are a unique self aware species from the universe. In many parts of the world we have developed ourselves into a fragmented shackle of a human made (consumer economic) system that tends to disconnect us from our universal roots and learning processes. Until we are surprised by a natural, personal or other form of crisis. Then we encounter our imbalance and are forced to reflect to refind ourselves. This is happening to many people today. They suddenly find themselves deprived of the external securities that kept them blind for reality.  They start searching for renewal of their comfort and often start again by addressing the external world rather than the inner world. Only when they are painfully confronted with the fact that true sustainable progress does not come from outside but from within they start finding blogs like this. We then change.

We subsequently tend to feel disturbed that the rest of the world, and especially our immediate surrounding, claims a certain behavior from us and does not accept our change. Rather than being critical to our surrounding we should be critical with ourselves. When we learn to apply the Human Complexities and Medicine Wheel we will find that our interaction with our surroundings changes. The surroundings will react surprised and defensive. After all it is us that changed, not them..

If you free yourself from all the imposed dogma’s, even if this results in a confrontation with your own old beliefs and direct surroundings, you free humankind. It is up to your surroundings to follow your example, even if this is, at first, received with incredulous reactions, laughter and negation. When they do (and they will eventually) the world will change because you changed.

In that new world we will meet and co-create together.