Two Wolves, a Cherokee tale

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.

One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."


During my mediation time this morning, this tale came to mind as I was making some commands. It got me to thinking—what wolf have I been feeding lately?

Yes, I’ve been commanding for what I want and that always works. I am seeing some amazing changes, yet something felt missing. There are times when I was commanding not because I wanted something—moving toward pleasure; I was commanding because I didn’t want certain things in my life—moving away from pain.

The desire to get away from my pain was greater than my desire to have what I wanted. I had unconsciously been desiring the ‘wolf’ of joy, peace, love. But it was the ‘wolf’ of lack that I was really feeding. My unintentional & unconscious goal was not in having the pleasure, but in getting away from the pain. And yet—The One Command always produced results, and I continued to shift, change & transform.

A subtle difference, but a very powerful realization. Do I stand in my lack & struggle and command from there or do I stand in my place of trust & faith and command from there?

Both yield me some amazing outcomes, but which one yields me the highest outcome & feeds my joy? It is good to command from both places. At times when you have fearful, negative thoughts, you want to stop your negative, fearful thinking in that instant.

The One Command does that—takes you out of your fear & into that beautiful theta state of All That Is to create something different. That is what we teach you; that is what works. Amazing miracles have come from doing just that.

I’m talking about something a bit different, a new awareness. I’m talking about being in a state of awareness when you are commanding. What emotional state are you in when you decide to command your heart’s desire?

Are you only commanding when you are fearful or do you also command when you are feeling grateful and want more of that?

Is it OK to command for what you want from a state of joy & pleasure? Or must you be in ‘victim’ mode & pain before you start making the changes?

Are you unconsciously using The One Command as a way to prove to yourself that nothing will ever work for you? Or do you command for what you want and then step back into your life with faith (trust without evidence), allowing yourself to experience the changes?

When you think about commanding from a state of joy for what you want---what emotions arise for you? Do you feel guilty, like that’s just not ok? Do you run a program that says you can only command from a state of pain? I’m curious, because I have noticed that in myself at times. And I’m wondering if other people have also experienced that.

There is no right or wrong when you are commanding for what you want; there are only outcomes. If you are not receiving the outcomes you desire, you might want to look at which wolf you are feeding in the moment.

I want to hear from you! What do you notice about yourself? Which wolf do you tend to feed out of habit? What do you do that works…and can work for us too?