The Cherokee Story

There is an old Cherokee story, that of the white and black wolf, that has become popular in the white world, but is only half told.

In it, the grandfather is talking to his grandson about how inside of each of us lives a white wolf and a black wolf. The white wolf is all that is good about us, and the black wolf is all that is bad. The white wolf thrives on justice and peace and the black wolf thrives on anger, fear and hatred.

What the white world has adopted of this tale is this:

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy.

"It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego." He continued, "The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"

In the white world, the story ends like this:The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

In the Cherokee world, the story ends this way:The old Cherokee simply replied, "They both win."

and the story goes on,

"You see, if I only choose to feed the white wolf, the black one will be hiding around every corner waiting for me to become distracted or weak and jump to get the attention he craves. He will always be angry and always fighting the white wolf.But if I acknowledge him, he is happy and the white wolf is happy and we all win. For the black wolf has many qualities - tenacity, courage, fearlessness, strong-willed and great strategic thinking - that I have need of at times and that the white wolf lacks. But the white wolf has compassion, caring, strength and the ability to recognize what is in the best interest of all. You see son, the white wolf needs the black wolf at his side. To feed only one would starve the other and they will become uncontrollable. To feed and care for both means they will serve you well and do nothing that is not a part of something greater, something good, something of life. Feed them both and there will be no more internal struggle for your attention. And when there is no battle inside, you can listen to the voices of deeper knowing that will guide you in choosing what is right in every circumstance.Peace, my son, is the Cherokee mission is life. A man who has peace inside has everything. A man who is pulled apart by the war inside him has nothing. How you choose to interact with the opposing forces within you will determine your life. Starve one or the other or guide them both."

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Tree Magic

Healing with Trees

Healing with trees is an ancient tradition and is practiced even today. Trees hold a significant place in the well being of nature lovers. The amount of wisdom that can be gained from trees is limitless. Trees are spiritual symbols of nature which represent patience, connectedness to earth, to always be in the present, optimum utilizing of resources, to reach high without losing the ground, to be available for others, and many more of such simple yet valuable pearls of wisdom.

Moreover, Indian culture holds a special place for the sacredness of trees and are often worshiped and prayed by people belonging to Hindu religion. Any temple in India will be found surrounded by at least a few trees within the temple premises and are offered prayers and thanksgivings.

Apart from scientific facts about the medicinal values of trees, nature lovers and spiritual seekers believe that trees help in cleansing the negative energy possessed by us. When a person feels lost or depressed, sitting under a tree gives much relief. Like every living form, trees also have an aura around them, and it is possible to connect to a tree and communicate for the exchange of energy, by which one can feel much relieved of worries and stress.

The documentary below demonstrates how one can practice Tree Magic in daily life.

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Signs To Know You Are Meditating The Right Way.

Often people who are new to the practice of Meditation will encounter many questions about their progress in meditation and whether they are doing it the right way. These doubts are very common and essential for those who practice meditation regularly. It is important to observe some subtle signs which will indicate progress in meditation.

Here are some of the signs which you can look out for the next time you sit for meditation. 

• Spontaneous Relaxation - Very often you may observe that some parts of your body relax by themselves. You may feel slight jerks in certain parts of your body after which there will be increased relaxation and you become comfortable with your posture. 

•  Subtle Vibrations - After few minutes of meditation you may notice your eyes and eye lids are subtly vibrating. This happens because you are consciously aware of your body organs. 

•  Sense of Rhythm in Breathing - You might begin to notice that your breathing follows a rhythmic pattern. This indicates you are developing better concentration in meditation. 

•  Paying Attention to Distant Noises - This is a very good sign which indicates you are being aware of external sounds. During the meditation you may suddenly become aware of the sounds around you like the chirping of birds or distant vehicle sounds. However, do not continue to consciously try to keep hearing such sounds or you would get distracted.

• Seeing Patterns of Moving Light - This is one of the interesting experience during meditation. You may see some strange patterns of colorful patterns of light. This is a very good sign which indicates you are focused "within". After the meditation session, you will realize that you were not aware of any external happenings when you could see the patterns of moving light.

• Feeling of Calmness - If you meditate regularly you will observe that you have a sense of calmness during meditation and throughout the day. Also, you may experience little reluctance to end the meditation session.

•  Vivid Dreams - Continuous practice of meditations will lead you to have very pleasant and vivid dreams. Sometime, you may notice that you sleep during the night is more comforting.

These are some of the signs which are difficult to notice and grasp, and one may often overlook during meditation. However, as you learn to practice deep meditation, your experiences will be much different and intensely comforting.

Apart from these, some very common signs which give assurance of meditating the right way includes, better concentration during your daily activities, being less responsive to external occurrences, a sense of equipoise in all kinds of situations, being more contemplative and many more which you can sense yourself if you pay little attention to the changes that happen in your lifestyle.

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