I just finished reading Web of Life: Guidance for Your Life Journey by Yvonne Ryves. It’s part of a series of volumes called Shaman Pathways. The book is described as providing “information, guidance and exercises to help readers find ways to connect with the web of life and weave their path within it.” It certainly does that, and provides much practical wisdom along the way.
The author begins with an overview of medicine wheels, illustrating how the concept of one’s life fitting within a circle or wheel can be found in many spiritual traditions. She walks the reader through the reasons why creating one’s own personal web of life is useful. Then comes the hands-on part, which was my favorite. The bulk of this slim volume consists of exercises for creating your own wheel, and her explanations are clear and concise.
I found the exercises easy to follow and fun to do. They helped me to clarify my thoughts on the teachers (which doesn’t mean simply people you learn from, but can also be animal totems, plants, seasons, and more) that I choose to work with in my current spiritual practice. Many of the exercises are ones that you can return to again and again, finding new ways to use and update your web as you learn and grow.
Ryves has created a very well-thought-out system with lots of room for personal creativity and flexibility. She emphasizes several times throughout the book that readers should not follow her ideas step by step, but rather adapt them for one’s own situation. Her emphasis is on exploration and experimentation, and on creating the web that is perfect for you. I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in personal spiritual growth.
You can find the book on Amazon by clicking this link.
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