Red Lodge Longhouse: balanced self-growth in all respects
Personal development is an attractive path for people seeking more happiness, health, and wealth of spiritual connection. The challenges of living in our fast-paced information age can be manifold. For many, finding a higher sense of meaning and purpose is an engaging pursuit. In today’s world, personal development programs are plentiful and all claim to provide the solution to life’s challenges. So in our technology-driven society, how do you sort through the variety of “quick fix” options to find something deep, powerful, and transcendent?

What is Red Lodge Longhouse?
Red Lodge Longhouse is a four-year program that facilitates the spiritual growth and development of people of all cultures and backgrounds. The program combines the greatest wisdom from various spiritual traditions and presents the teachings in a way that is relevant to contemporary life. Students integrate invaluable knowledge through ceremonies and creative teaching formats such as teachings, ceremonies, group discussions, physical training, and much more.

Over the course of four years, students are given strategies for character refinement and techniques for personal spiritual growth and development that allow participants to expand their awareness, enhance their intuition, and embrace their individual excellence. Through processes such as recapitulation and self-forgiveness, students are guided to examine their so-called unfavorable characteristics. These spiritual techniques effectively help students transform emotions such as shame, guilt, and regret into awareness, acceptance, appreciation, and self-love.

Year one: our connection to the whole
In the first year, students receive a comprehensive introduction to the core teachings of the Sweet Medicine SunDance (SMSD) path. Students learn about their connection to the universe and all life forms on the planet. They are guided to look at nature as a benevolent teacher. The first year focuses on knowing all the worlds of Grandmother Earth and how to connect with the plant, animal, mineral, human and spiritual worlds.

The Sweet Medicine SunDance path teachings are presented in a format called “Wheels and Keys.” Wheels are an ancient way of assembling and transmitting information. This approach differs from linear thinking, which is the prevailing form of reasoning today. In linear thinking, humans are encouraged to follow a series of steps, rely heavily on logic, and categorize concepts. Linear thinking is valid and beneficial in various fields, such as science and mathematics, among others. However, when people use linear thinking for everything, they stifle creativity that could lead to expansion and development.

Wheels’ teachings recognize the cycles and interconnections of life and nature. There is no beginning or end because everything evolves, changes and grows constantly. The wheel teachings evoke creativity in the thinker because it encourages people to access their own art and originality. This transformation is the “key” that unlocks the healing power of each wheel so that it can be used to bring beauty to the world.

Year two: the unknown self
As the first year is dedicated to knowing the worlds of Grandma Earth along with the wheels and keys, the second year focuses on the inner aspect of the person. Students travel deep into their personal history and come to understand how their story took hold of their body and how their personal stories were shaped and sculpted. This shaping and sculpting is what limits our human potential.

Each student gains a new understanding of “character refinement,” a difficult and difficult challenge, but also very exciting. These students come face to face with their shadow selves, the part of themselves that they are most uncomfortable with. Consciously working with your shadow allows you to reveal your undiscovered self.
The focus during the second year is to recognize one’s brilliance, confront these uncomfortable parts, and bring them out into the open. The teachings and ceremonies illuminate how each person can rewrite their existence at any time. Other teachings include the “Great Work,” which is the name for seeing what opportunities each person has in their life.

Year Three: The Healing Paradigm
Red Lodge’s third year shifts focus as students begin to learn about the Sweet Medicine Sun Dance Pathway Healing Paradigm. Year 3 pupils undergo intense training through advanced teachings and ceremonies. Students learn a deep body of teachings, tools, and techniques that rethink the meaning of health, wellness, and healing. More than the absence of diseases, ailments and ailments, health is a state of harmony and balance and is a birthright of all human beings. Health describes the vital life force energy within all people that vibrates at a strong and cleansing frequency. The healing paradigm teaches that it is possible to heal oneself and return to a state of balance and vitality.

Together, the training provided in Year 3 teaches students how to “solve” the challenges they experience in life. They learn tools to identify problems, discern the cause, and find the solution. Year 3 ceremonial experiences help students maintain what they have learned at a deeper level so that it becomes knowledge of the body.

Year Four: Warriors of Rainbow Light
The fourth year of Red Lodge reveals deeper layers of all the previous teachings. Students receive leadership training and learn techniques for personal evolution. The focus of Year 4 is to learn what it means to be of service to oneself, life and others as a Rainbow Light Warrior. This is the name given to all the people who promise to be part of the planet’s solution.

Black Lodge: Physical Mastery
All Red Lodge Longhouse programs have a martial arts training component. This training is known as Black Lodge. Black Lodge describes physical conditioning, including self-defense techniques and survival knowledge, that is necessary to maintain health, fitness, and the ability to protect yourself from bodily harm. This is an important element of the Red Lodge Longhouse and invaluable for maturation and growth.

Community: why it matters
Red Lodge Longhouse attracts curious people from all walks of life who aspire to spiritual evolution. Together, teachers and students create a community that supports each other as each person strives to become who they really are. Many participants form friendships that last a lifetime. Red Lodge Longhouse guides people to turn their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors into acts of strength and healing that positively impact their families, communities, and the world. People seeking to bring greater health, harmony, trust, and spiritual connection into their lives can attend Red Lodge Longhouse for life-transforming experiences.

Visit dtmms.org/programs/red-lodge/ to learn more about the Red Lodge Longhouse program. Open enrollment for the 2019 Red Lodge program closes April 11.