The Cherokee Full Circle A Practical Guide to Sacred Ceremonies and Traditions Paperback - 2002

First line

From the dawn of time, human existence has borne witness to people banding together in the face of adversity for the sake of survival.

From the rear cover

NATIVE AMERICAN SPIRITUALITY The Cherokee Full Circle gathers techniques representing Native American cultures from across America to teach the inherent dynamics of right relationship and apply them to the healing path. The Four Directions, the four seasons, and the four elements that make up the sacred hoop of the Circle of Life must be in right relationship with one another or disharmony will result. Native American ritual has always emphasized the restoration of balance through ceremonies that provide a forum for learning, transition, and expressions of personal growth. In The Cherokee Full Circle Cherokee authors J. T. and Michael Garrett offer traditional Native American exercises, teaching tales, and rituals that explore interrelationship as a tool for individual and group healing. The authors provide a comprehensive overview of Native American spiritual traditions and demonstrate how these ideas and methods can be applied universally to deal with life's situations--from depression and grieving to finding purpose and establishing positive relationships. J. T. GARRETT, Ed.D., is a member of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee from North Carolina. His son, MICHAEL GARRETT, Ph.D., is the author of Walking on the Wind and together they are the authors of Medicine of the Cherokee. As students and teachers of Indian Medicine, they draw on the ancient wisdom teachings of their Medicine Elders on the Cherokee Reservation in the Great Smoky Mountains. Each fall the authors convene a Full Circle gathering, at which they teach ceremonies for right relationship.