Sometimes the Talking Stick should be placed "in the middle" of the circle to let everyone talk and for this purpose is here included an underlay, a small "Mini Medicine Blanket" made from a soft nonwoven felt fabric. It is for protecting the stick when it is placed may be on the floor or on the ground outdoors. It also attracts energy to the stick as it makes it more visible and gives it a little "home place". You can also make your own little blanket for it, with your own favorite material and symbols.
The Talking Stick is an excellent Native American Indian ceremonial communication tool, which can really have an instant magical effect on a discussion that is on the border of getting too intense when people start defending their own points of view. (To use a staff for communication has been a tradition in many cultures all over the world.)
The use of a Talking Stick will slow down the speed of the talk and prevent people from interrupting each other, which can otherwise create emotional reactions, especially when people have totally different views about something. Such an emotional reaction triggers the defense instinct and when the mental fight has started it can be impossible to "get back" again because the brain has already got fueled with "aggression hormones". If you start using the Talking Stick before that happens, you can sometimes prevent an otherwise inevitable quarrel from starting! So it is a really magical Medicine Stick.
During the last 15 years in our society we have had many current topics that have divided people into two opposite camps and any meeting, also within families, could quickly be changed into a war zone, a mental battlefield, where people got so angry that they did not even want to see each other again.
If you ever feel that people have different views on something, you can stop the spontaneous talking and introduce your Talking Stick. That can happen anywhere and that is the reason why we also make small Emergency Talking Sticks that can be carried in the handbag.
You can also invite your friends to a Talking Stick Circle where a hot topic will be discussed in a more calm and creative way. The success of this depends on the proper use of the Talking Stick and the most important rules can easily be learned quickly.
1. Only the person who is holding the Talking Stick is allowed to speak.
2. The others are obliged to listen. The rabbit fur is a symbol of listening.
3. It is not a conversation about who is right and who is wrong. Everyone has the right to explain his or her own point of view and what it is based upon and what the emotional charge behind it is. "Why do I think what I think and what is my basic intention with this?"
4. The speaker (holding the Talking Stick) can also give an Answering Feather to another person who, holding the feather, has to answer a question from the speaker. When the speaker has accepted the answer the feather is taken back again.
5. If the speaker notices that a person is not listening or is not understanding, it is time to pass the Answering Feather to that person, who then has to repeat the main intent of the speaker's message, showing an emotional understanding of it.
6. Included in the rules is that you should make your best to understand what the speaker really means deep in the heart because there is probably a good reason for it. What is this reason? What are the experiences, the memories, and the emotions that have created this point of view? Tell the other people about that and maybe they will start understanding you! That is the magic of the Talking Stick and that's why it is such an excellent medicine Item that can be used in many different kinds of groups.
In the USA they have had great success with this method in some schools, where they have implemented Talking Stick Circles as a replacement for punishments.
It is good to have a Talking Stick Circle every now and then because if a problem suddenly arises you are already familiar with the use of this method so you can start up a session in a quick and easy way without having to first explain what it is about.
This is a tool for smooth communication, but as it is also a piece of original art if you prefer you can use it as a decorative wall hanging, a Boho Stick, and for this purpose, I have included a crocheted hanger.
You can also attach your own personal, favorite objects to the stick. When it is used as a Talking Stick it should be "happily visible" to draw attention to the speaker. deals
Product code: Talking Stick & Answering Feather, Ceremonial Communication Tool / deals Boho Decor, 44 cm