NAFPS Forum

Louis Melmadrona is an enigma. He is a psychiatrist and a Cherokee traditionalist. He was living and practicing in Saskatoon Saskatchewan. He is author of a number of books dealing with healing and First Nation (Candian term), Native American (American) spirituality. Does he have the sanction and tribal specific training to authenticate his claims? What do the Cherokee people say? By the way why do so many people claim Cherokee, Cheyene and Shawnee anscestory and so few claim to be Flat Head or Dog Rib ;)







[Al's note-changed thread title]

I found this on Louis Mehl Madrona...

Creating a Powerful Present: Reclaiming Hope
Cowichan First Nation "Sharing in the Light" Conference
May 6, 2004
Matt Thorpe
M. Thorpe & Associates Inc.

We have come together to open a dialogue that will give us the shared insight we need to address the devastating reality of suicide that has left a trail of shock and grief in communities across Canada. Suicide's harsh reality robs us of the bright potential of young lives, the energy and ability of men and women in their prime, and the wisdom and experience of elders who might have bequeathed unique knowledge to future generations. Of all the painful issues the members of a community must face, suicide is perhaps the most cruelly baffling and debilitating. In its wake, the various sources of light that guide the community-the insight offered by traditional values, the cherished network of caring, supportive relationships, the courage to believe in transformative growth and the visionary hope in the future-all seem to falter. Yet even in the face of tragedy, this light is never completely extinguished. Rather, it is reflected in our increased determination to uncover and recognize the meanings behind such apparently incomprehensible events, and in the courage to transform our pain into a springboard for constructive action.


Every death in the community brings sorrow, but the experience of losing someone we love to suicide is particularly heart wrenching. It is estimated that for every person who successfully commits suicide, "there are seven to ten people intimately affected: parents, siblings, children, aunts, uncles, grandparents, grandchildren, friends"[1] In close-knit First Nations communities this number is undoubtedly even greater. The most natural temptation for survivors is to retreat into denial and a return to routine behaviour patterns. Following such tragic loss, the community in general is vulnerable to the same emotions that haunt family and friends: crushing feelings of hurt, abandonment, inadequacy and rejection. Many members may display physical and emotional symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder.[2] Yet, despite the tormented sense of helplessness, efforts to resume "life as usual" only ignore the possibility of arriving at genuine healing, the kind that would focus on new ways to prevent future tragedies. In order to generate meaningful change, it is imperative that we learn how to create a powerful present in which to examine the conditions that underlie suicidal feelings, and assume a decisive presence to counteract the unconscious apathy and harmful myths that prevent appropriate responses.


A powerful present offers the community a forum where all members can participate in addressing the underlying problems that too often end in the self-inflicted deaths of vulnerable individuals. By discovering effective ways of dealing with stress, conflict and anxiety, a powerful present rejects the notion that we are merely victims of past conditions, that all our efforts to change things are in vain and our dreams of a healthy future have no substance. The image of the present as nothing more than a continuation of the past, leading to an equally predetermined future is in its very nature "suicidal." Researcher Kate Hill writes that the way an individual views his or her present situation is a basic indication of the risk for suicidal thoughts and actions: "When the present feels intolerable or the future inconceivable, death can seem to offer a solution."[3] Likewise, the way a family unit or community experiences the present determines its readiness for meaningful recovery. Without realizing it, a group may adopt a negative, deterministic concept of the present in an attempt to be "realistic" about life. But the lifesaving task of creating a powerful present demands that we move beyond fatalistic, defeatist attitudes. Only by empowering the present with the capacity to resolve past difficulties and ground future accomplishments can we reclaim hope and offer a lifeline to the most at-risk individuals in our midst. Creating a powerful present requires us to take chances, to acknowledge our interconnectedness, to recognize and discuss all aspects of experience, not just sanitized feelings and neatly organized categories of behaviour. We must forego the false comfort and judgmental practices that silence others when they most need to express their overwhelming sense of failure and loss of direction.

The statistics on suicide throughout North America, and indeed the world, are alarming. But within Aboriginal communities the figures are even more distressing. In Canada suicide occurs roughly five to six times more often among First Nations youth. The Report of the Advisory Group on Suicide Prevention states that among First Nations men between the ages of 15-24 years the rate is 126 per 100,000 compared to 24 per 100,000 for non-Native Canadian men of the same age group. Young women from First Nations registered a rate of 35 per 100,000 versus only 5 per 100,000 for Canadian women in general.[4] The loneliness and depression that often underlie thoughts of self-destruction also pose particular threats to our elders, as suicide figures for senior citizens are even higher than those for the young. Furthermore, these sobering statistics may underestimate the scope of the crisis due to unreported or misidentified fatalities, and the difficulty coroners have in establishing cause of death in some cases. Health professionals believe that many seemingly accidental deaths are in fact disguised suicides. Only sketchy figures exist for uncompleted suicide attempts, but they are also alarming, particularly since individuals often repeat their attempts until they succeed. Workers in the field suggest that, in the adolescent population across North America, there are approximately one hundred suicide attempts for every completed act.[5]

Given these grim statistics, it is crucial that we understand the realities surrounding suicide. Over the past decade a great deal of information has been generated describing the contributing factors and uncovering the myths that limit effective intervention. And yet, in our fear and confusion, we continue to perpetuate dangerously false beliefs about the nature of suicide.

Some people persist in maintaining that individuals who talk about committing suicide do not really carry out their threats. However, the research tells us that, in as many as three-quarters of completed suicides, the victims have given clear warning of their intentions beforehand. When a person expresses the desire to die or the belief that others would be better off without them, this indicates profound personal anguish and represents a vital signal that must be acknowledged, no matter how distressing it is for family and friends. Frontline workers warn that when expressions of suicidal feelings are ignored or trivialized the person may conclude that efforts at communication are futile, and regard suicide as the last remaining option. Clearly, when a member of the community attempts to verbalize a state of inner torment that they themselves may not fully understand, the only appropriate response is to listen with sincere compassion and to ensure that they get the help they need.

A related misconception states that an actual suicide attempt, if unsuccessful, is only a so-called "bid for attention." This dangerous claim frequently disguises apathy and even resentment on the part of family and friends, who may harbour underlying feelings of responsibility and guilt. A suicide attempt may represent a cry for help more than an actual desire to die, but anyone who would risk harming themselves in order to receive the attention they require to solve deep-rooted problems is genuinely in need of support, and their actions should never be dismissed. In fact, case studies demonstrate that those attempting suicide are often signaling underlying patterns of abuse, bullying or self-destructive behaviour within the family unit, workplace, school or other group-conditions that have gone unacknowledged over time. Any decision to minimize the attempt may conceal the group's unspoken refusal to confront its shared demons. If an uncompleted suicide event leaves these circumstances in place, there is an increased likelihood that the suicidal individual will try again to kill themselves, and second or third attempts are frequently successful.

A further myth we must root out is the fatalistic belief that, if someone is really determined to kill themselves, there is nothing that can be done to prevent it. This resigned attitude ignores the ambivalence that characterizes a large number of suicides. One researcher describes this inner conflict as a "tension between 'I want to be dead' and 'Help me, I want to live.'" In such cases "the desire to live, if only life were more bearable, remains strong"[6] Experience indicates that, with sensitive, informed intervention, suicide can be prevented, perhaps not every time or in all cases, but certainly in the great majority of instances.[7] Many people argue that only trained professionals are equipped to prevent suicide, that ordinary individuals have nothing to contribute. While psychological and medical treatment must be entrusted to fully qualified people, ordinary community members also have an important role to play. Indeed, certain aspects of the problem can only be addressed when concerned individuals come together to share available information and demand adequate resources for their community.

A more complex and difficult myth to confront is the one that warns that if we discuss suicide openly we run the risk of normalizing it and even unintentionally encouraging it as an option. Instances of so-called "cluster" suicide events underline the need for caution in formulating the ways in which we present suicide information, particularly to vulnerable groups such as young people in communities where multiple suicides have occurred. On the other hand, accurate, empathetic communication is the only real hope we have of changing the devastating record of lives lost. Such communication opens channels of dialogue by stressing that help is available, that the community service network is dedicated to supporting vulnerable individuals, families and groups, and that the community itself is committed to facilitating future wellbeing by building a powerful, life-affirming present for all its members.

It is deeply painful to listen to a member of our community confessing that life has become so unbearable that death seems preferable. This experience speaks to the core of our values and our sense of purpose. Yet, attempts to evade the issue hold greater risks for those in danger, who may be making a last attempt to find understanding and assistance. Lines of communication are also vital for those grieving in the wake of suicide, especially since they are also vulnerable to suicidal depression. One bereaved family member expressed it this way: "Having to go it alone makes it harder. Having no chance to talk about the experience makes it harder. Having no chance to understand what happened-guilt, stigma and silence-all make recovery harder"[8] We need to respect the fact that potential suicide victims deserve an informed society which will listen effectively and respond knowledgeably, that relatives and friends coping with the agonizing consequences of suicide deserve help in comprehending and dealing with their loss, and that all community members deserve the crucial information that will allow them to support one another in preventing future tragedies. Without such open dialogue, isolation and the confusion it breeds will cost more lives.

It is clear that communication and listening skills are fundamental to alleviating suicidal feelings, yet one of the most perplexing aspects of the dynamics of suicide is the fear many people have in confiding their personal problems or family dysfunction to skilled workers. Health and social services personnel are often viewed as outsiders, who will criticize an individual's inability to cope and make unfair judgments about the group to which he or she belongs. Talking to social service and healthcare workers may seem to be a betrayal of the very values and relationships that the distressed person relies on. This challenging situation may be even greater for members of First Nations, where a legacy of colonialist attitudes in mainstream society may make confiding to outside professionals appear, at best, unhelpful, and possibly dangerous. In such situations the community has a responsibility to mediate between individuals and external agencies and to demand respectful, culturally aware treatment for all its members. Community leaders must also ensure adequate support and resources exist for its own skilled personnel wherever possible.

In order to create a powerful present, community leaders must look beyond crisis intervention and initiate programs and policies that speak to wider issues of self-destructive behaviour. For many years health professionals have identified debilitating patterns of drug and alcohol abuse as unconscious methods of "slow suicide." In fact, substance abuse plays a fundamental part in many suicide deaths. The community makes strides toward effective prevention when it recognizes that suicide awareness, while a vital weapon in the struggle for prevention, is not enough. As we read in an article by educator Jennifer White, "We must also expect and strive to create conditions whereby people will in fact be changed by the information they receive."[9] Intervention techniques frequently place too much emphasis on the suicidal individual, labeling what they regard as a personal pathology, without investigating the larger social context. This can lead to an atmosphere of blame that further alienates those most at risk. To help counteract this, the Report of the Advisory Group on Suicide Prevention in Canada entitled Acting on What We Know: Preventing Youth Suicide in First Nations highlights the need to renew and maintain cultural continuity in order to provide a sense of identity, self-esteem, hope and "being invested in living."[10]

Efforts to incorporate traditional teachings, with their holistic spiritual outlook, into suicide prevention policies in our communities will advance a new, more humanized model for successful intervention. First Nations approaches to healing offer a degree of hope that many feel is absent in the inflexible, "scientific" outlook of mainstream medicine. In his book Coyote Medicine, Cherokee doctor Louis Mehl Madrona affirms that "for a Native American healer, the first step in treating a person is to listen. We climb into the person's world and see things through his or her eyes. This means we listen without judging or categorizing."[11] Only the community as a whole can bring about the partnerships between modern resources and traditional healing that will capitalize on the best practices of both systems.

In our discussions today we are striving to generate a light of hope that will inspire transformative change and bring genuine comfort to all participants. This light is a symbol for the emotional, physical and mental wellness that comes from concrete action. When we create a powerful present we ensure everyone can share in the radiant warmth that dispels the dark fears, misconceptions and alienation that threaten to cancel out bright lives in our midst. A powerful present means foregoing the rigid mindsets and stereotypes that buy temporary security at the expense of authentic recovery. It means rejecting the temptation to find scapegoats or to assume a posture of victimization in the wake of tragedy. Creating a powerful present means really being present to the needs of suffering individuals, actively listening when they struggle to confide feelings they themselves may find bewildering and unacceptable.

If we are truly to share in the light of our own interconnected potential, we must view the present difficulties as catalysts for growth. Individuals suffering from anxiety, depression and self-hatred no longer have faith in their intuitive capacity to arrive at solutions on their own. This is why the light of renewal can only be reclaimed by being shared throughout the community. We must have the courage to believe in a future full of opportunity for those who have lost the strength to believe in themselves. But while we envision future wellbeing, we must work to build now, in the present. If we refuse to move forward, and insist on endlessly repeating the past, we forfeit the momentum our task requires. If we jump ahead to a fantasy of future health without risk or effort, we also have nothing concrete to fuel the light. True progress demands that we have the patience and courage to meet present challenges in order to construct a foundation for lasting change.

Respectfully;
KARMA & Associates Inc.

Matt Thorpe,CEO
Sharon Willis,Research Writer


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1 C. Lukas and H.M. Seiden, Silent Grief: Living in the Wake of Suicide (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1987), p. 5
2 Lukas, p. 27
3 Kate Hill, The Long Sleep: Young People and Suicide (London: Virago Press, 1995), xv
4 Acting on What We Know: Preventing Youth Suicide in First Nations, Report of the Advisory Group on Suicide Prevention, p. 23
5 Marion Crook, Please Listen to Me! Your Guide to Understanding Teenagers and Suicide, 5th ed., Self-Counsel Psychology Series (Vancouver: Self-Counsel Press), p. 2
6 Hill, p. 160
7 Crook, x
8 Lukas, 29
9 Jennifer White, Suicide Awareness Is Not Enough, SIEC Current Awareness Bulletin, v.5, no.4.
10 Acting on What We Know: Preventing Youth Suicide in First Nations, p. 40
11 Lewis Mehl Madrona, Coyote Medicine (New York: Scribner, 1997), p. 17

I wouldn't call him traditionalist at all.

He's shown up in quite a few threads in here over the years, an academic endorsing one obvious fraud after another.
http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=331.0
http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=2356.0
http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=1533.0
http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=134.0
http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=362.0

Really, there's no excuse for what he does, because any good scholar could do a little research and see all the above are frauds or dubious characters. Instead he's spent his whole career making excuses for them.

He's also on a number of Quackwatch sites, resigning from one hospital after facing an investigation, and is accused of exploiting those with autism.
http://allnurses.com/native-american-indian/healing-takes-winding-243568.html

http://www.ratbags.com/loon/1999/10october.htm

----------
http://www.autism-watch.org/
Nonrecommended Information Sources....
Forum on Alternative and Innovative Therapies (Lewis Mehl-Madrona, MD, PhD)

Wow you guys are good! Thanx for the info Its exactly what I need.

Post Script: Dr Mehl Madrona was employed by the Saskatoon Health Region in Saskatchewan which he suddenly left over a year ago. He has since been hired by some of the Tribal Councils as a psychiatrist. He fits the description of health care the First Nations here are trying to develop. He has since been deported but has been or is about to be allowed back in the country. I have sat with him in ceremony (not his). I found him eccentric and his claims of Cherokee anscestry dubious. He is no doubt brilliant. He is on the margins of both Psychiatry and NDN traditional healing. He may be so far off the margins of both not a lot of people can understand what he speaks of. Interestingly last year he hosted a gathering of psychologists from all over North America. Though the group was small they all said they wanted to go past the limits of their profession. One lady told me. "We have had over a century of psychology yet nothing has significantly changed in that time." Quite a statement. We seem to worry about New Agers taking our stuff. (lost children running amok in a spiritual candy store) but what of mental health professionals dabbling with our stuff. Mehl Maderona is either a little understood path finder or out past Pluto. Maybe he is a bit of both. He needs to go to the hill top. Straighten things out

I think this is clearly a fraud!

It appears he is a fraud. There is no record of Cherokee lineage or community plus reports don't look too awe inspiring. Yes I'd say move him on up to the fraud section

Bringing in some links from the Lench Archuleta thread http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=2356

Workshops at yoga retreat center: Bio: http://www.kripalu.org/presenter/V0000627/lewis_mehl_madrona

Article where he claims he's Lakota, and the Cherokee used Porcupine Quills for Acupuncture  :o   (Note past tense in how he discusses the Cherokee... and I just don't think he's ever been around quills to say such a thing). I guess someone told him the Cherokee don't have sweat and some of the other rites he's imitating. Not the first morphing fraud we've seen suddenly change to Lakota:

http://www.kripalu.org/article/401

QuoteNative American Bodywork Practices
by Lewis Mehl-Madrona, MD

In this piece, Lewis Mehl-Madrona, who is of Cherokee and Lakota heritage, shares insights into types of bodywork practiced by Native American peoples.

All peoples have methods for hands-on therapy, what we now call bodywork. The Cherokee people of North America, for example, were well versed in body therapies and energy healing. They developed a comprehensive, sophisticated bodywork system that encompassed a form of osteopathic massage and manipulation, breath, and energy work. Central to this technique are the alternation of deep pressure and gentle rocking release. The breath was also used to reanimate the body and "draw spirit" into affected tissues. They also used crystal scanning and healing as well as the channeling of spirits and energy medicine.

The Cherokee were also familiar with acupuncture meridians and used acupuncture, with needles made of thorns or porcupine quills, in healing.

Madrona's website: http://www.healing-arts.org/mehl-madrona/ 

On this page he makes it clear he's selling the usual salad bar of nuage "therapies", and still selling fake NDN ceremonies. The title itself combines exoticism and spiritual tourism. "Adventures!":

http://www.healing-arts.org/mehl-madrona/mmhealing.htm

QuoteCoyote Medicine: Intensive Mind-Body-Spirit Healing Adventures

...hypnosis and/or imagery, body therapy, acupuncture, therapeutic touch, cognitive-behavioral therapy, family therapy, projective techniques including the use of native American images, shields, or animal images; and ceremony. The work might include meditation, Reiki and energy healing, yoga, craniosacral therapy, homeopathic consultation in these individualized programs.


Native American Sweat Lodge: Inipi 

Clients are introduced to the use of ceremony in therapy and for their own personal growth. Night sessions may take place outside in the medicine circle with a fire. Clients are prepared for a sweat lodge ceremony on the sixth or seventh evening and then, if they are strong enough or ready, are taken to the top of a nearby mountain to sit for the night and perhaps receive a vision. ...

That's pretty seriously offensive... "even" if it's  the newage, abbreviated and altered version of these ceremonies (much like what James Arthur Ray had people do).

Quote from: NDN_Outlaw on October 04, 2009, 03:10:26 PMHe needs to go to the hill top. Straighten things out

Looks to me like he skipped that bit, and proceeded straight to putting others out, for pay.

Here's an article on Madrona from BlueCorn Comics.  http://newspaperrock.bluecorncomics.com/2010/06/mehl-madrona-vs-facebook-critics.html. My bold.






Mehl-Madrona vs. Facebook critics

Lewis Mehl-Madrona came under fire recently for being a New Ager rather than a genuine Indian. Here's the story on him:

Lewis Mehl-Madrona
Lewis E. Mehl-Madrona, MD, PhD, (born January 26, 1954, Berea Kentucky, USA) is the author of the "Coyote" Trilogy. His work discusses healing practices from Lakota, Cherokee and Cree traditions, and how they intersect with conventional medicine (via a social constructionist model). Mehl-Madrona has been writing about the use of imagery and narrative in healing since the 1980s. Mehl-Madrona is certified in psychiatry, geriatrics and family medicine.
On Facebook several people were asking, "Who is this guy? Is he really an Indian?" Mehl-Madrona wrote the following in response:

More Indian Than Thou

By Lewis Mehl-Madrona

This weekend I was confronted by a man through facebook demanding that I prove my Native American heritage. He said I shouldn't say I have Native American heritage unless I am enrolled in a tribe.

I told him I didn't know if I was enrolled and had never looked into the issue. It wasn't important to me. I didn't want any casino money. I didn't want healthcare through the Indian Health Service. I didn't want government handouts. My grandfather (who was enrolled and was 100% Cherokee, though not genetically related to me) insisted that we never take government handouts. He raised me to follow in his footsteps. He married my grandmother, who at least thought she was Cherokee, had always been told that, and had a mother, my great-grandmother, who knew she was Cherokee, spoke the language and was a healer.

I had to think through my responses to my critic and they seemed worthy of this week's column. First I thought, since I describe myself as one-quarter Cherokee, one-quarter Lakota, one-quarter Scottish, and one-quarter French Canadian, which is as accurate as I can state it, do I need government approval to say that? I don't know anyone who requests government approval and sanctions before they say they are part French, or part Spanish, or part English. If I wanted casino money, that would seem appropriate, but I don't.

I thought this over with a friend, who said, "Why in the world would anyone tell a young person in the 1950s that he was Cherokee if he wasn't, especially in Kentucky." She had a point. It wasn't romantic to be an "Indian" until the 1970s. I grew up in the 1950s being told that I was and believing I was Cherokee, practicing Cherokee ways with my grandfather and grandmother (who raised me), and sometimes present in the background for the healings my great-grandmother practiced in our home.
This is a good answer as far as it goes. It's a lot better than all the "Native" actors who refuse to talk about their background.

I appreciate someone who's willing to describe his heritage in detail. It gives the impression of honesty and openness.

Healing for dollars

But not everyone agrees. Some comments on this column posted on Facebook:
I'm going to be honest here, claiming that someone's not Native if you don't have papers is wrong. A lot of names were changed, a lot of people left the trails, and a lot of people weren't on DAWES rolls, so whoever messaged him really did a disservice to the rest of us who really are trying to correct his problems.

For a man who owes his livelihood to the NA culture and faith and who so freely and proudly announces his Native lineage, to then not even have it occur to him to 'look into the issue' of its own validity is a bit strange!

In his response to the man confronting him he adds more insult to injury by implying that Native Americans' sole purpose for needing their heritage officially recognised is to scrounge off the government and live through handouts. In effect he is raising himself above the average Native and attempting to pander to 'white' preconceptions and prejudice in order to appease his paying audience. 'I'm a Native American!', he cries...just NOT one the THEM!!!

We are what we are! The hell with these people!

Exactly if you need a paper to tell u who u are then there are a few other problems that need addressing first.

To be proud of your Native American Ancestry is one thing, to use it as part of a business promotional packet is something else-that's called EXPLOITATION.

To use it as part of your business promotional packet and then be setting yourself up as a "Native Healer" with traditional ceremonies, whether you charge or not, you need to be trained by a legit Medicine person, and even those medicine people do not allow our ceremonies to be EXPLOITED--you can not read a book, talk to a couple of elders and think now you can do ceremonies. This is a lifetime of learning. It is a humble way of life.

I have article and in the article he said he does not know if his an enrolled member of the eastern band of the Cherokee tribe. Well I can help him with that because I have a list of all the enrolled members, and his name is not on it!

Comment:  I don't know who's right here. And I'm not sure anyone else does either.

But for Mehl-Madrona to say he doesn't know or care if he's an enrolled Cherokee seems a bit disingenuous. His answer should be "I'm not and it doesn't matter," not "I don't know but I'd like you to think I am."

As for his healing...if Mehl-Madrona is using and passing along legitimate ceremonies he learned from legitimate Cherokees, that's one thing. If he's peddling sweat lodges, vision quests, and other things that aren't part of the traditional Cherokee culture, that's something else.

I just found something of tangential relevance to this thread

Quote
Cherokee Bodywork Session can include....

~ Cherokee use of acupressure, energy meridians, crystals, and energy medicine

~ Cherokee breathwork techniques, restoring spirit to all parts of the body.

~ Imagery & dialogue into bodywork to help transform and heal trauma



Cherokee Bodywork teacher I trained with is Lewis Mehl-Madrona, MD, graduated from Stanford University School of Medicine and trained in family medicine, psychiatry, and clinical psychology. He has been on the faculties of several medical schools, most recently with the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Hawaii. He is a Native American healer and author of the wonderful book, Coyote Medicine. He is currently the Coordinator for Integrative Psychiatry and System Medicine for the Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson. For more information please go to his site: http://www.mehl-madrona.com/

source:
http://fromtheheartoftara.com/gpage18.html

the http://www.mehl-madrona.com is really not good IMHO

I am concerned that this man is promoting "Cherokee" versions of already dubious models of "therapy" including bodywork (usually massage or pressure point work), hypnosis and "breathwork".  Bodywork is sometimes a euphemism for sexual / intimate touching.  I am not claiming that is what is happening here, but in the context of all the other dodgy stuff it concerns me.  Hypnotism and breathwork concern me even more as they can be used to control and manipulate vulnerable people.

This guy if definitely someone to be concerned about IMO

Hi from Australia.

Just been emailed an invite to this event:


Weekend Workshop with Lewis Mehl-Madrona

Self-healing, Spirit & Community

A weekend workshop into healing, narrative, story and mystery


Dr Lewis Mehl-Madrona is a native American healer,  doctor and psychologist who creates and shares sacred, magical and richly informative spaces offering unique fulfilling and lasting experiences,  impacting on both professional and personal worlds.


Join us for a journey of  transformation, healing and community with Lewis Mehl Medrona, author of 5 acclaimed books, his partner Barbara and Choctaw Elder Rocky. Past workshops have provided a fountain of inspiration, new tools and fresh understanding about ourselves, each other and community.


This will be held in Warburton, in the mountains of the Yarra Valley, Victoria. This area is 1 – 1.5hrs from Melbourne and is accessible by car, airport transfer and public transport.

Dates: 7.30pm on 24th February, 10am-5pm on 25th & 26th February 2012.


If paid before 10 February 2012:

Evening talk only  $10

Sat & Sun $135 (Frid talk is free)

Includes lunches both days


After 10 Feb 2012

(unless booked out):

Evening talk $10

Sat & Sun – $165 (Frid talk is free)

Includes lunches both days



Held at the Upper Yarra Arts Centre, Warburton Hwy, Warburton


About:

Dr. Lewis Mehl-Madrona is Education Director for the Coyote Institute, an organization devoted to the promotion & study of change & transformation and a family physician & psychiatrist who has studied with indigenous healers for most of his life.

He is the author of Coyote Medicine, Coyote Healing, Coyote Wisdom, Narrative Medicine & (soon to be released), Healing the Mind through the Power of Story: the promise of Narrative Psychiatry.

Lewis will share his wisdom as a pioneer of the blending of traditional Native Healing tradition with conventional allopathic medicine and will explore how Native Americans view health and disease; who is healer and how is healing supported.

Dr. Lewis Mehl-Madrona, MD, PhD, MPhil, is Director of the Psychopharmacology Program at Argosy University Hawai'i, where he is also Associate Professor of Psychology.  He is an adjunct professor of anthropology at Johnson State College in Vermont and is Education Director for the Coyote Institute for Studies of Change and Transformation, also in Vermont, USA.

Testimonials:


"Lewis-Mehl-Madrona, together with his assistants, Rocky and Barbara, offered a deeply transformative workshop. In fact, all the workshops I've participated in with Lewis spanning a few years, have been wonderful. They have life opened inner doors of insight, experiential change and have in my case led to important external opportunities that have enhanced my life. Thank you Lewis."

-       Keith Sarah


Lewis embodies a deep understanding of the power of story with genuine compassion and humility. His workshops are enlightening and delightful. I highly recommend taking the opportunity to experience his unique approach to healing.

- Kirsty Chalmers

We warmly welcome Lewis back to Australia, where he will facilitate a range of programs for people wanting to experience invaluable insight into Native American tradition and healing practices.


For further information and bookings email parrien@hotmail.com or call             0407 650026     

Accommodation available for all budgets – just ask us.
http://www.openheartedtransformation.com.au/weekend-workshop-with-lewis-mehl-madrona/

Quote from: MsWilma on December 08, 2011, 03:32:03 AM
Choctaw Elder Rocky.

Of course the alleged NDN "Elder" has no last name....   ::)

In his book Coyote Medicine: Lessons from Native American Healing - Lewis Mehl Madrona states that maybe he is drawn to "pursuing Native American culture and spirituality" because he is in a quest for his father. His maternal grandmother had told him that his real father was a "Lakota Sioux from the Pine Ridge Agency, but that she was sworn to secrecy and could say no more".

Lewis was born Lewis Eugene McKinley, father said to be Louis Frank McKinley, mother Emma Bradley. John O Mehl Jr petitioned in 1960 to adopt him and change his name to Lewis Eugene Mehl  (public record, legal notice Hamilton Daily News Journal, July 26, 1960). Lewis claims that McKinley was most likely not his birth father.

There is a Kentucky birth record, 1954, Lewis M Madrona, Emma Bradley his mother. My guess is that Lewis added the Madrona to his name as an adult and legally changed the birth record.

He is Lewis E Mehl in 1991 marriage record and 1992 Vermont residence. In 1996 he is Lewis Mehl Madrona in Hawaii.

He says his maternal grandmother Hazel was Cherokee, along with her second husband Archie. He says Hazel's ancestors were escapees from the Trail of Tears. He says Hazel and Archie had their own beliefs - Christian and "beliefs they developed for themselves". Lewis writes "I was not taught Native American spirituality per se.".

He says his maternal great grandmother was a healer and writes of seeing her doctor people.

He graduated from Stanford in 1973, newspaper clip uploaded here.

Also uploaded is the legal notice concerning petition for adoption.

More gleanings from his book:

He says he doesn't know who his father is but was told that his father was Lakota. He says he's had visions of his father's Lakota ancestors.

So that is the basis of his Lakota heritage claim.

He claims Cherokee heritage through his maternal grandmother and great grandmother. His mother's full name is available, and he gives a first name for his maternal grandmother. If his grandmother is Hazel (Shearer) Bradley/Price, great grandmother Emma (Gadd) Shearer then all records look to be for white, Kentucky folks. (He does name Gadd and Shearer http://www.futurehealth.org/populum/page.php?p=1&f=More-Indian-Than-Thou-by-Lewis-Mehl-Madrona-100614-832.html )

As an adult medical student he wanted to find NDN mentors. He says he studied informally with two Cherokee medicine men in California. Grampa Richards (passed away Jan 1983) near Santa Rosa, Kosha near Ukiah. Also Turtle Woman "widely known across the Chippewa nation as a healer". The first full name he gives is that of Marilyn Youngbird ( http://dwij.org/pathfinders/marilyn_youngbird/Marilyn.htm ). He says Marilyn had learned sweat lodge ceremony from Wallace Black Elk.

Interesting quotes from his book:

QuoteBut because I am not a white man or Lakota or Cherokee, and because I am all three, my way is to use a little of everything I have come across.

QuoteAccording to the Native American belief system, there are no accidents.

Lewis says he learned a rattlesnake ceremony "from the last living shaman of the Mojave tribe, from Southern California.". Also that he was taught by a "Dineh elder named Hosteen Begay".

In the late 80s complaints came in about his clinic, he eventually closed that clinic down and declared bankruptcy.

QuoteCDC HIV/AIDS/Viral Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update
Complaint Filed Against Use of Typhoid Vaccine for AIDS
Newquist, Jay
December 29, 1988
The California Board of Medical Quality Assurance has received a complaint from a person with AIDS who charged a San Francisco physician with unprofessional conduct. Craig Black says he made two visits in November 1988 to the offices of Dr. Lewis E. Mehl + Associates, physicians who administer typhoid vaccine as an AIDS treatment. Mehl's associate Dr. Learie Yuhl charged him $550 at the beginning of treatment, Black says, but did not perform a full physical examination, take a patient history, or do full laboratory bloodwork. Although literature on the typhoid treatment that the physicians gave him to read said a person who has been on AZT should stop taking it for a month before undergoing the so-called Catapano protocol, Black says Dr. Yuile administered a shot on his first visit, while he was taking the approved AIDS drug. Black says the doctors, whose office is in the back of a restaurant, "play on hopes and fears of people sick with AIDS in order to make a buck." Black said he was not criticizing the typhoid protocol, per se, but the methods the physicians used. Yuille no longer works for Mehl, who says he refunded part of Black's money. Michael Smith, a person with AIDS who works as a volunteer for Mehl, defended the doctor and his unconventional methods.

http://www.aegis.org/DisplayContent/print.aspx?SectionID=87322

Lewis describes it this way in his book:

QuoteRussell replied that he was certain that I was only using the vaccine, and the evaluation fee, to rip off gay people, since I wasn't gay myself. I found Russell's large size, his dark black skin, and his Brooklyn accent intimidating as he began to talk.

He now is licensed to practice in Hawaii. http://pvl.ehawaii.gov/pvlsearch/app?_a=d&_f=n&lictp=MD&licno=9453&off=&nm=LEWIS%20E%20MEHL-MADRONA