“We have the opportunity to build a Rainbow bridge into the Golden Age. But to do this, we must do it together with all the colors of the Rainbow, with all the peoples, all the beings of the world. We who are alive on Earth today are the Rainbow Warriors who face the challenge of building this bridge,"
~Brooke Medicine Eagle, Daughter of the Rainbow, Crow and Lakota ~
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The Native Americans believe that the supernatural spirit world is the abode of good and bad spirits. The good spirits help men and the bad spirits are able to harm men. It is the bad spirits that caused suffering, sickness and disease. When a man became ill it was believed that a bad spirit had entered his body and taken his soul away. Native Indians therefore believe that sickness stems from spiritual problems and that the Shaman possesses the powers of spiritual healing to disarm bad spirits and heal and protect their owners. The spiritual healing practised by the Shaman is focussed on the restoration of a person to return his being to a healthy and pure state by the actions taken during Shamanic healing and various ceremonies and rituals.
Ceremony is an essential part of traditional Native healing. Because physical and spiritual health are intimately connected, body and spirit must heal together. Traditional healing ceremonies promote wellness by reflecting Native conceptions of Spirit, Creator, and the Universe. They can include prayer, chants, drumming, songs, stories, and the use of a variety of sacred objects.
Healers may conduct ceremonies anywhere a sick person needs healing, but ceremonies are often held in sacred places. Special structures for healing are often referred to as Medicine Lodges. Wherever they take place, traditional healing ceremonies are considered sacred, and are only conducted by Native healers and Native spiritual facilitators. Non-Natives may participate by invitation only.
Spiritual Healing is a form of Native American medicine that uses help and guidance from the spirit world in traditional rituals effected by a medium, or Shaman, to produce natural healing energy to treat the whole person - mind, body and spirit. It can also be referred to as Shamanic Healing. The knowledge of spiritual healing is what the Native Americans mean when referring to “medicine” or “mystery.”
Native American Spiritual healing is part of a belief system that incorporates different elements of Animism, Totemism, Shamanism, Fetishism and Ritualism. The Shaman is believed to have a spiritual connection with animals, supernatural creatures and all elements of nature and possesses the ability to undertake spiritual healing.
Methods of healing include prayer, chanting, music, smudging (burning sage or aromatic woods), herbs, laying-on of hands, massage, counseling, imagery, fasting , harmonizing with nature, dreaming, sweat lodges, taking hallucinogens (e.g., peyote), developing inner silence, going on a shamanic journey, and ceremony.
Herbal medicine is being reintroduced through various forms of alternative medicine. Out on the market we see aromatherapy, acupuncture, herbology, and many more forms of alternative medicine.
Herbology is a practice which seeks to heal people through a variety of herbal supplements. Howard Buckingham, a clinical herbalist that works with North American herbs, comments that he "sees clients with arthritis, skin problems, prostate, impotence and hormonal problems, menopause- a lot of different ailments that people have....Taken in the right dosage and often in the right combinations, herbs can help a person a great deal" (in Wolf 1). He further discusses how people use herbs to help relieve the side affects they experience through Western medical procedures.
Aromatherapy deals with various scents to change the mood of individuals. Melinda Wolf comments that "In addition to candles and oils, consumers can purchase soaps and shampoos that can be used to practice this alternative medicine. Those who use this method say the scent can alter moods and enhance the body, mind, and spirit" (1). Aromatherapy is very powerful according to Mary Emmons, a massage therapist in Wauwatosa, WI. "Different scents have different effects. Lavender helps bring peace and balance and has been known to help ease respiratory problems such as asthma and bronchitis; basil helps stimulate brain function; mandarin has a cheerful refreshing and inspiring effect in the individual" (in Wolf 7).
Acupuncture, considered a form of alternative medicine in Western culture, is considered mainstream in China. Acupuncture involves using needles to treat a variety of ailments.