Lightningbolt (Native American studies)
"Readers who enjoyed Storm's classic Seven Arrows, an exploration of Native American culture, will especially treasure the engrossing reading experience provided in this magnificent volume."--Body, Mind & SpiritIn this gripping spiritual autobiography that begins where Seven Arrows ends, Hyemeyohsts Storm chronicles his life and how it has been enriched by the power and intricate sophistication of a discipline that reaches back tens of thousands of years to the Mayans and beyond.As a young Cheyenne-Sioux-German mixed blood--a metis--distrusted by white and "full blood" alike, Lightningbolt is a "reservation kid" bitterly obsessed with poverty and warfare. He seems destined for a tragic end until he meets Estcheemah, one of the most powerful Medicine Chiefs who has ever lived. Moved by her power as a Healer and Self-Teacher, Lightningbolt begins his initiation, learning of the old temple-schools, the discovery of the eternal Zero, and the myriad interlocking Medicine wheels which mirror Sacred Life and the Universe; the balance of Female and Male; and the Circle of Law, the first democracy created by humans. These teachings are shared with the reader not only through words but through full-color Medicine Wheel illustrations, breathtaking nature photography, and fascinating re-creations of Mayan art and artifacts.        A rich blend of spiritual adventure, lyrical beauty, profound wisdom, and love, Lightningbolt delivers a courageous and timely message--that the Medicine Wheels are an inheritance that belongs to all of Earth's peoples. They have the power to transform not only each individual but also the course of humanity. The legacy of the Medicine Wheels renews our understanding of the true intelligence of our Sacred Mother Earth, and teaches that without healing of the Self there can be no healing of the world.