Shamanism for Today

“Historically, shamans have always been part of the society where they lived, taking care of its problems, whenever they were allowed to operate. For centuries shamanic cultures have been persecuted in the western world until they were almost entirely exterminated. They have managed to survive in secrecy or through complex esoteric camouflage. Nowadays there seems to be more freedom and this ancient knowledge can re-emerge and be used in our own cultural context and not relegated somewhere else. The world needs shamans able to function on the roads, among the electronic equipment and engines, in the squares and markets of our contemporary society.”
― by Franco Santoro 

"I found this quote and it seemed so relevant to the times we live in. I believe that when western medicine is called for, we are foolish to not at least seek out the advice and perhaps the recommended treatment. However, through experience of both experiencing Shamanic Healing and having an active practice as well, with all illnesses, be they mental, physical or spiritual, Shamanic healing benefits the person who is in need.  So often the problem we seek help for is only a piece of the picture and real healing begins by going much deeper. Shamans look at the whole person, not just the visible problem or illness." Tana Rose Blue Deer Woman

East Gate ~ Spirit of Air

Spirit Element Helper - Air
By Cait Johnson, author of Earth, Water, Fire, and Air: Essential Ways of Connecting to Spirit (SkyLight Paths, 2003).

Simple Solution

Since the beginning, the elements of earth, water, fire, and air have been powerful forces that connect us to our planet, to our spirits, and to each other, offering guidance for our lives.

An enlivening gust of AIR whirls around us today to remind us of the importance of inspiration in our lives. We’ve all had ideas or images that just seem to descend upon us from who-knows-where; they are part of what makes life worth living. But we are often so busy that we lose the spaciousness and openness necessary for those reviving and inspiring air blessings to happen.

Concentrating on the breath is a time-honored meditation technique that helps us to be more calm and open to inspiration. After all, air, breath, and inspiration are all inextricably linked: the very word “inspire” means to breathe in.
 

Give yourself some time today simply to become aware of your breathing, without trying to change it. Are your breaths fast or slow or something in between? Deep or shallow or something in between? Truly allow yourself to pause in the place between breaths. Making a daily practice of mindful breathing--even for a few moments--honors the air that keeps us alive, and honors our own capacity to be open to inspiration.

Consider ~ Never too Much

 Never a trial that
Spirit is not there.
Never a burden that
Spirit does not bear.
Never a sorrow that
Spirit does not share.
Moment by moment
I'm under Spirit's care.

— inspired by D. W. Whittle

Reach Out to Our World of Brothers and Sisters

An old wise elder talked with me on how the 'Sweet Mystery' gives each and everyone of us is given 24 hrs a day, to do with as we will. One can choose to waste it or spend this precious gift on a life well lived. Sharing and caring, reaching out to help others and no  matter how hard things are for any one of us, we don't need to look far to see oh so many that have it much more difficult.

In my day, as an aging hippie, Kenendy said ..."ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country".  I'd like to expand on that please to "ask not what the world owes you, but what of yourself can you do to enrich the global family?"  Just something to ponder on. Blessings, Tana

Light of Enlightment

Here is something to meditate on!  Enjoy

Tana Rose Hamiter 'Blue Deer Woman' http://www.onwingsoflight.com

Lots is going on in the world today, from dreadful wars, starving children and families, the damage done to mother earth, corrupt governments, some quite close to home. Yet there are also so many people speaking out for peace, honest governments that work for the best for a global world, not just for their own profits. One thing I feel is happening, especially in the US, is that people are feeling separate from their blood families, many have no roots or culture, feeling more like wander 'muts' that a feeling of belonging. Many changes coming down the pike and it feels right to really start paying attention to who our FAMILY is, for me, family of choice is very important. People that one can be fully themselves with and at peace.

If you are feeling a little out there, alone and floundering in this fast moving age, reach out to someone, make friends, help others in need and surround your self with people who are resonating with your being. For me that is my shamanic community who feel deeply about issues I'm passionate about. Find yours and build on it. You never need to be alone unless you choose to. Blessings,,,,, Tana Rose ` Blue Deer Woman

I AM ONE

Each day when I choose to walk amongst the trees and grasses, I speak to Creator and Mother Earth and ask that they reveal something out of the ordinary during my travel. One morning I walked deeply in the woods, approaching a stream of flowing water. From behind, a faint voice called. It was a speckled fawn. From its resting place, it stood up and took a few steps toward me thinking I was its mother. 

I stood quietly still. It lay down in the grass. Taking a few steps toward it, the young one stood up, took a few steps away from me and lay back down in the grass. We did this several times, and it was obvious we knew each others place in this game of life. I finally spoke kind, soothing words to the fawn and left with a full heart. My prayer was answered.

This is the way of Creator's teachings. The trees, the grasses, the water, the fawn, and me . . . we were all one at that moment in time.  'unknown'

Stepping Outside of Time and Space

What does the Shaman See?

 

Looking beyond the surface, when someone comes for healing or being asked questions for someone or a family or community ..... Looking beyond ...

 

The shaman sees beyond the illusion, looks behind and beyond the personal stories of our lives to the patterns, behaviours, and conditioning and to all the ways we as people keep ourselves stuck, the many things that bind us, that cling to us and keep us small, all that stop us from manifesting ourselves fully into this world.

Often what brings someone for healing is not the first issue to be addressed. We are all a part of everything else, all are intertwined and a shaman needs to be able to find the treads: to see, to feel, to hear beyond the listening and find the strands that vibrate or perhaps are severed.

Healing does not come from telling your story over and over, in fact that often re-traumatizes the seeker. It is not uncommon for someone to come and ask for a 'soul retrieval' but when working with them, looking and feeling the whole of it all, to find there is work to be done before that to prepare yourself the best results.

People wanting a magic pill, or just shake the rattle and make it 'all go away' are be unrealistic. Healing and growth takes time, commitment to being willing to make what ever changes are necessary. The white coat doctor idea of take a pill and it will all be well in the morning may work for somethings, but not for spiritual healing.

Choose your Shamanic Practioner carfully. Expect experience and when you meet with them, a knowing that they are really listening to you, the inner you as well. Blessings

How Can I Walk a Path of Beauty

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your bodylove what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting— over and over announcing your place in the family of things.


-Mary Oliver

A Sioux Story - The Secret

The Creator gathered all of Creation and said:

"I want to hide something from the humans until they are ready for it.


It is the realization that they create their own reality."


The eagle said:
"Give it to me, I will take it to the moon."


The Creator said:
"No. One day they will go there and find it."


The salmon said: "I will bury it on the bottom of the ocean." "No. They will go there too."


The buffalo said: "I will bury it on the Great Plains."


The Creator said: "They will cut into the skin of the Earth and find it even there."

Grandmother Mole: who lives in the breast of Mother Earth, and who has no physical eyes but sees with spiritual eyes, said,

"Put it inside of them."And the Creator said: "It is done."


by Author Unknown


Artwork by Charles Frizzel