Medicine Wheel

The main similarity that I see between the Mdeicine Wheel and the Labyrinth are the deliberate actions that you take to cleanse your mind and prepare for prayer. In the Labyrinth, a person walks through specific paths and stops at certain junctions to begin prayer. Likewise, the Medicine Wheel has specific entranceways where prayer are offered and certain actions, such as drinking sage tea or puffing the peace pipe are performed. Both the Medicine Wheel and the Labyrinth are tools that are used to focus a person's mind on prayer.
I thought the Medicine Wheel was very interesting. Each part of the ceremony-collecting rocks, drinking the tea, puffing the pipe-are designeed to complement a normal prayer and aids a person in concentrating on prayer. My favorite part of the ceremoney was the smudging ceremony. I've been smudged before, but now I have a greater understanding of the meaning and symbolism behing the smudging ceremony.

Mariah

The Medicine Wheel and the Labyrinth are two extremly old prayer forms. They both are considered a pilgrimage or journey to get closer to God. The labyrinth is seperated into four quadrants. The medicine wheel has four gates as if your entering in the four directions, east, west, south, and north. Also these four symbolize the different races as if bringing all four races together because we all make up humanity. Another similarity is the way we walk these two journies. We meditate and be very quiet during this journey it brings us closer to God. Last simailrity is the center of the two journies contains major symbols. The labyrinth has a circle with a cross symbolizing enlightment and christianity. The medicine wheel center is either a big grandma (rock) or a fire which symbolizes God creating all of the universe. These two prayer forms are very similar.
I enjoyed the medicine wheel. When i left i felt closer to God and nature.
What most interested me was the whole setup. It is really symbolic and intersting to think how creative this prayer form is. Being out in nature brings people closer to God. We can hear and feel our surroundings in earths natural form.

Medicine Wheel

The labyrinth and the medicine wheel are similar in the fact that in both experiences you are supposed to be quiet so that the person who is on this journey can be closer to God. In the labyrinth you are expected to be quiet out of respect for others who are on the same journey. In the medicine wheel you are quiet so that you can get closer to God. I find it really interesting that although this two prayer forms developed on two completely different continents that they are so similar.
When we went and did the medicine wheel I found that it was very peaceful. I really enjoyed doing the medicine wheel after reading all about it. I liked the fact that we were outside praying with all of the sounds of nature.

both forms of worship, the Labyrinth and The medicine wheel, are all about a journey of meditation, sacrafice and prayer. Although they are both from different continents and they both have basically the same reasons of doing things. In the medicine wheel all are suppose to be quiet and at peace with God for some of the time. When people walk the Labyrinth they are exspected to be quiet so they don't disturb others and also they are closer to God. Both of these forms are about being one with God and listening for him. In the Medicine Wheel time is taken to listen to nature so that God can speak through that. Each one of these forms of worship have different worships however. The Medicine Wheel has the fire, gates in the different directions and the stones that are properly known as grandma's. The Labryrinth however is more general and personal. People say what prayers they want and walk as slow as they would like. It is more of a personal prayer. Like the second Labyrinth links says " the labyrinth becomes a metaphor for the journey of life: although full of twists and turns, each of us is on a single path through his or her life, and yet each person's journey is a separate and distinct qualitative experience." And this is the perfect idea of what both of these forms of worship are about.
As far as my expirience at the medcine Wheel, I found it very quiet and easy to pray. All the actions that we did had a good idea behind them and all went for the betterment of being closer to christ. I found the it became better to pray outside in an isolated area rather then a building. The sounds of nature really helped set the mood to meditate and listen for God through those those sounds. It also gave a better sense of freedom because we were not confined in walls. Overall it was a great experience.

Marina-Medicine wheel.

Before going into my personal experience of the Medicine Wheel, I learned about the Labyrinths which are a big part of the ritual. They are ancient human symbols known to go back at least 3500 years that were incorporated into the floors of the great Gothic pilgrimage cathedrals of France in the twelfth & thirteenth centuries. It is for meditational purposes. It has no dead ends, tricks, or even choices of directions; you just walk.It symbolizes the journey to our true selves and then back into the everyday world we live. It makes our brain use imagination and creativity along with taking us to a meditative set of mind. It removes strength and gets us to out true selves. It is good for spriual growth and self-peace and satistaction. It symbolizes our journey of life.
The Medicine Wheel was an inspiring experience that enriched my understanding in tribal rituals. It calmed everyone down along with giving them a peaceful experience filled with a lot of new information. Before we could enter the holy part of the medicine wheel we were a ll smudged. That symbolizes the purity before walking in. We then walked along a path of labrytinths which was very meditational. After that, we found grandmas that stood out and burned them. We then gathered around with the insencse in the air and shared our prayers and intentions. This conclued the experience with communiation to God.