Our Philosophy
A medicine wheel is a Native American image that represents what one writer calls “a mirror in which we can better see what’s going on within us.”
Medicine Wheel at RedCliff is a program for students seeking inner peace, spiritual strength and a healthier mind and body. It is a pattern for living in harmony and balance.
You may already have sought professional help in the past. Perhaps you have a diagnosis such as ADHD, or bipolar mood disorder, impulse control disorder, substance abuse, or any number of difficult conditions. You may have been told your diagnosis is the root of your problems.
While your diagnosis is an important contributor to your problem, it is not the root. The real problem is you are on Developmental Vacation™. That means rather than face your problems you’re doing all you can to avoid them. You are looking for the easy way out.
As a young adult, you now face grown-up expectations. The things you do to cope with those expectations are only creating more problems. You’re not a kid any more. But in many ways, you’re still acting like one.
You may be reluctant to end your Developmental Vacation™ because you haven’t developed mature ways of coping with difficulties. Medicine Wheel is a safe place for you to learn those skills. No one can give them to you. You must earn them for yourself.
A Native American medicine wheel generally represents seven directions: North, South, East, West, Mother Earth, Father Sky and, at the center of the wheel, the Spirit. Each of these directions represents specific attributes.
As you learn and practice these characteristics you develop positive coping abilities. You learn to manage your life by overcoming challenges. Medicine Wheel will help you see what you are capable of becoming.
This isn’t a boot camp. No one will try to force you or intimidate you. It isn’t a country club or adventure camp. No one will be there to pamper or entertain you. The only way for you to learn is by doing.
You will experience greater peace and joy than you have felt in a long time as you feel new strength in your mind and body.
The choice is yours. You can keep hoping there will be someone in your life that will come along and fix the world for you, or you can decide that you’re going to fix your own life.
While many events and circumstances may have contributed to your situation, the responsibility for correcting the course is yours - and yours alone.