Our forebears used simple, organic structures of “social architecture” to assure that all voices were heard in order to find their way to the same kind of balance that they saw in the rest of nature. Nature uses universal principles of balance to foster life that is capable of sustaining itself generation after generation after generation. These principles became known in many diverse cultures of the Americas as "The Medicine Way."

Medicine, as used in the term "Medicine Way," comes from a mistranslation of the word Medowewin, an indigenous word meaning "Wholeness." A Medicine Man or Woman was one who aided a person in restoring a larger wholeness to his or her body and life.

The term "Medicine Way," therefore, means a Way of Wholeness - a way where each decision is considered from a number of perspectives, so that nothing is left out - a way where our connection to the larger whole of life is built in to our thinking, speaking and acting - a way in which we see ourselves as a part of life, not separate from it - a way in which the Sacred, or the Holy is not compartmentalized, but is invoked and considered in all of our human activities - particularly in the ways we interact with each other every day.

Medicine Wheels are maps of wholeness and balance derived from thousands of years of observing what “works” in natural systems. Each wheel is related to and builds upon every other wheel. There are wheels for knowing ourselves, wheels for gathering wisdom, for making decisions, wheels for healing and many other wheels for seeing into and resolving life’s difficult challenges. We might think of them as compasses that help us find our way when we are lost, in danger or seeking to discover the next layer of awareness of who we are, how we choose to live and what is ours to do in this life.

“Finding and voicing our soul's longing is not enough…. If our intention is to change who we essentially are, we will fail. If our intention is to become who we essentially are, we cannot help but live true to the deepest longings of our soul.” Oriah Mountain Dreamer, The Dance. In the Medicine Way, there is no greater responsibility than to live and express fully the essence of who we are – in concert and harmony with other humans and with all of life.