I first came across The Medicine Way in the Native American section of my local library. It was the only book in the section that wasn’t strictly historical so it stood out on the shelf. But it was such an interesting book that I decided to purchase my own copy when I had to return it to the library. The Medicine Way by Kenneth Meadows is my favorite kind of book. One which doesn’t simply ask you to read it. It asks you to really deeply engage with it and with the concepts it presents. It asks you to go out into the world and embark on “quests” and “adventure tasks”. It asks you to perform rituals and other spiritual practices. And through these activities it provides an opportunity for real personal transformation.
That’s why I say it’s my favorite kind of book. My favorite books meet three criteria: they provide valuable knowledge, they inspire, and they provide practical ways to internalize and embody the lessons learned. The Medicine Way checks all three boxes. This trifecta is the perfect recipe for transforming lives. Information is important and we need to learn new things to continue to grow and develop, but without inspiration to act on it it remains in our heads. And providing practices allows people to more effectively assimilate and internalize what they’ve learned.
One thing you should not expect from this book however, is initiation into a specific Native American spiritual tradition. It is not a book about Lakota or Navajo spirituality specifically, for example. Kenneth is very open about this and about his influences and teachers many of whom are mentioned by name in the introduction and acknowledgements. He draws from many different Native American and other indigenous traditions to present “a shamanic path to self-mastery” for a Western audience. It is a path to living in greater harmony with Nature and having a greater appreciation for our Native American brothers and sisters. In the author’s words:
“Let me make it clear that the teachings given in this book are not those of a particular tribe or group, but are an attempt to present the fundamental essence that impregnated them all in spite of geographical, historical and cultural differences. This fundamental essence instils a recognition of the holistic nature of the universe in which all things are interrelated, interconnected and immersed in the Great Everything called Wakan-Tanka.”
The book is organized into two parts: the preparation, and the realization. The first part, preparation, covers the philosophy and symbolism of this path including teachings on the elements, the directions, spirit totems, the structure of the medicine wheel and the numerology associated with it, and a map of consciousness. There are a few exercises in this part of the book but the majority can be found in part two.
I do want to mention that this is an older book. It was published in 1990 and most of what he talks about in chapter two ‘Ancient Origins’ has been thoroughly disproven at this time. Specifically, the section about the crystal skulls. There was a lot of interest from the New Age community at the time in these crystal skulls that were supposedly pre-Columbian Native American artifacts but were actually all 19th and 20th century productions by skilled artisans in Germany working with imported quartz crystal from Brazil. This is a short chapter and can easily be skipped or ignored without detracting from the rest of the book. I found that it in no way diminished the potency of the book itself. The analysis that was done to disprove the pre-Columbian origin theory of the skulls wasn’t performed until over a decade after the book’s publication from what I could tell.
I found chapter six ‘Directional Technology’ to be particularly profound. It focuses mostly on providing a road map for internal harmony through the lens of the classical elements and their directional correspondences. One of my favorite quotes from the book is in this chapter:
“Part of our problem is that when we suffer discomfort and pain or when there is disharmony and confusion in our lives, we don’t treat this as a signal that it is we who are out of alignment — out of balance within ourselves. We have been conditioned to treat only symptoms and effects, rarely the cause, so we take another tablet, smoke another cigarette, have another drink, or seek escape in a television programme. It is like stuffing a fire alarm with rags instead of dealing with the fire that triggered the alarm.”
The whole purpose of the Medicine Wheel is to help us identify where we are out of alignment or balance and get us back on track. And chapter six is also where the first ‘Adventure Task’ can be found. Each adventure task asks you to go out into Nature and find something or connect with something which will be a part of the path from then on. For example, the first adventure task asks you to gather stones of certain colors and sizes that you will use in later rituals.
The rest of the book, ‘Part Two: The Realisation’, is a series of exercises in which you will explore your inner life by working with the different paths on the Medicine Wheel. It is essentially a system for producing insight and realization in specific areas of your life and then integrating those insights. As such, the exercises alternate between active and contemplative and each builds on the last. Along the way you will also be introduced to a variety of symbols and concepts from Native American spiritual traditions such as smudging and the symbolism of the sacred pipe.
In all there are six exercises, six adventure tasks, and five rites, or rituals, included in The Medicine Way which form a very powerful and effective path for cultivating wisdom, self-realization, and a greater appreciation for the spiritual contributions of our First Nations brothers and sisters, and connecting with Nature.
If New Age rhetoric bothers you, be warned, there is a bit of that you will have to overlook, but I assure you it is worth it. For all the hate they get, the New Agers were more often right than wrong and had many valuable insights that even the most cynical scientists are beginning to appreciate and acknowledge. The practices and exercises speak for themselves and, like most good teachers, Kenneth doesn’t simply tell you to accept what he says, he asks you to discover the truth for yourself.
(Link to purchase: The Medicine Way)
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Thanks for reading and thank you for your support!
Love,
Justin
❤️🙏☀️