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J.T. Garrett, Ed.D., and his son Michael Garrett, Ph.D. are members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Full Circle is based on the books written individually and together by J.T. Garrett, Ph.D. and Michael Garrett, Ph.D. as authors to preserve the wonderful and beautiful ways of right relationship, as well as the plants as Medicine and ceremonies of the Cherokee. "Every Footstep
IS the Journey"..... Michael Tlanusta Garrett
A Prayer Oh Great One, may we always seek to walk
the way of right relationship, in harmony and balance,
being a keeper and protector of Mother Earth. Wa-doh!
About Full Circle
FULL CIRCLE is a group experience based on Cherokee teachings for harmony and balance. The traditional and cultural teachings of earlier Cherokee provide us with a way of right relationships and our connection with everything on Mother Earth. This is an experiential journey into wellness and self-discovery through group sharing and activities. The earlier Cherokee teachings provided wonderful stories of life values based on the Four Directions of physical, mental, spiritual, and natural aspects for guidance. The sacred-7 represented these four directions, including the lower world, the center, and the upper world within the Universal Circle. The primary teachings focused on how to use the teachings of the Four Directions for understanding our purpose as "helpers" to all things and protector of Mother Earth.
Reference is made to Indian Medicine in these teachings, which has a much broader meaning than use of medicine today. Everything in our lives is considered a part of our Medicine Bundle or Medicine Way. While there are some wonderful advancement in medicine, there are some very helpful teachings or ways for us to better understand our own "Medicine." Helpers such as herbs and natural remedies, along with food nutrition, stress control, and activities of our daily lives makeup our Medicine. Our healing becomes our Medicine, and our Medicine becomes our healing way of life. Full Circle provides teachings based on traditional Indian Medicine and modern natural remedies for everyone to consider using in their Medicine Bundle.
In Full Circle, we celebrate life and give thanks to the Great One in our own way with song-chants, music, drumming, and coming together in the circle. Participants are fully involved in their own way to assure comfort for each individual in the group process. Activities occur both inside a modern hotel conference space and outside in the natural surroundings of Mother Earth. We want everyone to touch Mother Earth, and be touched by the experience in their own way.
Animal Guides
JT "Sa o gah" The animals have much to teach us, and the lessons are many. We tend as humans to just want a simple list of what to do and not to do. That is one reason we are comfortable with the lessons of balance, ie, good and bad. Things are clear, or are they? The animals were so important to the earliest generations of native peoples of all cultures, primarily because the lesson was about balance, or "live and let live."
Our energy is a mix of many of these animals with one dominate theme from an animal spirit, ie, the bear or the wolf, the bird or the dolphin. We learn from them the "nature" of true spirit and survival, which is to be adaptable to any situation. Instead of being right or wrong, the question becomes if it is "right" for our relationship to keep nature in harmony and balance. If not, then we destroy one eco-relationship, and we create another, which as to survive on its own, ie not burning all the fossel fuel, destroying the air quality, or poluting the water supply. A lesson of the animals is so simple, but......the animals share with us their lessons of power, humility, simplicity, family, etc for us to learn the real lesson of HARMONY and BALANCE. Our challenge is to internalize the power messages of the animals, to find our own animal power, and to live it. We also should know that the animal "spirit" lessons can come to us and other animal spirits come to us for life lessons or for messages. An example could be the life of John Denver, an advocate and naturalist in his songs, but challenges in his life. Do we want to live the lesson or learn the lesson that the animal is trying to teach us in life? Remember that nature can be cruel, so can life. It is really not the survival of the fittest, but being "fit" to survive. In that sense, we have to be helpers to each other and our environment to be fit for our challenges in life.
Full Circle and Cherokee Clans
Full Circle teachings often used the seven clans with groups that learn about the tradition of the clanship through the mother. The clans are as follows: WOLF, BIRD, DEER, PAINT, LONG HAIR (Wind), WILD POTATO (Bear or Racoon)
Full Circle uses the clans as groups to have participants share in the learning experience of each clan and cultural differences and opportunities. Each clan as each Cherokee town was autonomous as a people and location with its own local chief. Exception to this was Chief Moytoy in earlier times, about 1730 recognized with allegiance to Great Britain as the “great chief or king of his people,” but referred to as the Principal chief, which is followed today. Full Circle teachings include the teachings of values followed by each clan as participants learn to utilize the values most comfortable to their way of life. This also encourages individuality as part of a family, clan, and tribal way.
WOLF (A Ni wa yah)—As one of the largest clans, it was also where most of the war chiefs were from, as the wolf people were excellent hunters and trackers. They were also keepers and domesticated wolves and the only clan permitted to kill a wolf. Their “Power Sticks” and arrows were decorated with the fur of animals to give them the vision, strength, and cunning to hunt and to be warriors. The Wolf Clan people were very competitive and successful ball players.
BIRD (A Ni tsi s kwa)—As keepers of the birds, they were looked to for ceremonial feathers. he Eagle feather being the most honored with only those “trained” to capture an Eagle or take a feather. They were the keepers of the Hawk and Raven feathers used in special ceremonies. Full Circle teaches about the sacredness and use of feathers in healing and in ceremonies. Of course, there are some information that is considered to sacred to share with others not trained and members of the tribe. The Bird Clan people were considered the messengers.
DEER (A Ni ka wi)—As keepers of the deer, young men and women were trained to be fast runners and excellent hunters. They were often runners that would travel long distances to carry messages from the Principal Chief for ceremonies and to announce the Green Corn Ceremony. The “old ones” called these skilled runners “deer-riders” and talked very little about how they were trained to “move through time and space.”
PAINT (A Ni wo di)—This clan was known for their paints, especially the red paint used by the “red-faces” for ceremonies and as a warrior and hunting paint. The clan was well known for Medicine Men and Priest with special abilities and as conjurers. The Paint Clan people were also very familiar with rocks and in making arrowheads.
BLUE or PANTHER or WILD CAT (A Ni sa ho ni)—The Blue Clan people made what was called “Blue Medicine” from a special plant that was very respected for protecting children. They had a special knowledge of plants and their uses, as well as trees for making baskets and clay for pottery as excellent crafts persons.
LONG HAIR or WIND (A Ni gi lo hi)—The men in this clan wore their hair long and sometimes called “hair hanging down” people. The
women tied their hair back or wore it in braids. his was the clan of teachers that also observed the stars and told stories to preserve the old ways and verbal records. This was also sometimes known earlier as the Twister people because of the movement of their shoulders when walking, described as proud. This was the clan of the Peace Chief that wore a long robe of white feathers.
WILD POTATO or BEAR or RACCOON (A Ni ga to ge wi)—This clan was known for making “bean bread,” raising many varieties of beans and corn. It has been said that they were also called the “Blind Savannah” clan, but the meaning and origins have been lost in time.
Cross Over Exercise
The Cherokee Medicine Men and Women teach a way to get out of a rut or "cross over" from one direction (or state of being) to another. A Cross-over exercise is a way of getting out of an energy rut or a comfort zone that requires the shifting of mental energy. 
Find (or visualize) at stream or river of water that can be crossed by walking over a bridge. It is important to touch the water (you may not be able to physically get to it, so visualize it), and even rub some of the water on your forehead. Be sure that it is a clean stream in Nature. Give thanks
to the water and say to yourself out loud that you are going to experience Cross-over so as to move yourself in the direction of healing. {The
bridge can be visualized mentally, if you are unable to physically go to a Cross-Over location in a natural environment.} 
Stand at the start of the bridge and clear your mind. Slowly walk across the bridge while looking ahead, rather than down at the water, with your eyes slightly opened to be sure you are walking safely. "Feel" the sense of energy movement as you continue to move slowly. If someone is crossing in front or behind you, just stop and let this person pass. Continue to move across until you feel a sense of calm, then "feel" which is more comfortable: looking up the stream, or looking down the stream? Where are you on the bridge? Then continue slowly across to the other side. Once you have crossed, explore your feelings. Go ahead and write down what you feel, so you can look at it later. The messages will tell you the direction with which you are connected. Sometimes you get very subtle messages, or a picture of something that may not fit until you think about it some more. Take your time.
We will meet at the very end of the walk. Remember your feelings as you did your Cross-over.
About the Cross Over Exercise - Explanation
If you were in the middle of the bridge when you felt the sense of calm, then you are all right being with others and allowing the energy to go around you. If you were at the starting side, then you may not be ready for change. If you felt the sense of calm at the other side, then your Spirit has already made the change and may be waiting for you. Looking up the stream refers to being actively involved, and looking down the stream means you are probably ready to disengage a little now, or maybe you can just follow rather than leading. This exercise is designed to set up opposite energies. With water being a powerful energy for "clearing". While a fun exercise, Cross-Over is also very revealing for "shifting" to another direction (or state of mind or being). In Medicine of the Cherokee, JT goes on to outline various herbs that can be used to rebalance and shift your energy, to enhance the immune system and facilitate action for healing. Some thoughts from Michael Garrett as written in Walking on the Wind: In the Medicine Way, "crossing over" refers to the literal or symbolic process of being able to move between worlds - for example, between the physical world and the Spirit world. Or, it may be moving from one state of consciousness to another as a form of shifting for a particular purpose (i.e., healing) and then returning to the original state. Those who are chosen by the spirits to become medicine persons often go through a symbolic process of death and rebirth as a ceremonial way of "crossing over" into a state of receptivity that allows them to work with the Medicine. For many this is a process that takes a lifetime.
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