May 2021 — Shamanic Meditation Studies – Unity in Action!
Please note that we are scheduled to meet from 3pm – 5pm (Arizona time ) on Saturday May15.
I recommend starting and ending each day by slowly bowing to yourself in a mirror. Lovingly put the palms of your hands together in line with your heart center. Slowly bend from the hips, while keeping your back straight, and the upper torso parallel to the floor.
When accompanied with the salutation Namaste (the God that I am, recognizes that I am), bowing to the being in the mirror exposes just such a simple truth. The fine art of bowing is a divine gesture that recognizes that we are all expressions of One collective self – so let's put our hearts into it.
Pause long enough to openly receive the loving invitation, and then slowly rise back up to meet the eternal eyes of the light being – in the mirror.
Please post what you experience!
More to come!
Presently I am bowing to the smallest male bird with The loudest voice, singing over and over again all around the yard. When I get a chance to see him he is perched so proud and present! I could let it be annoying or I could fully accept who he is for who he is and what he’s singing, no judgment no comment, just be with it fully. Meet it as in everything in our lives. Thank you for the reminder Little one. Compassion and understanding on all levels. Love. Namaste.
Missy, how perfect that you and your friend were able to distinguish between the energies by what you felt. Mind does not always catch up to my responses until I’ve sat with something for a while. I’m learning to trust those feelings more and more.
Cherise I love that visual and how the little cloud was playing with you! A great idea for a children’s book … and Russ thank you for explaining what you talked about, this came up with a young friend of mine who drums with me at times. She studies with Druids here and her practice involves her herbalism. At work she was telling me how one of our potters who brought work in recently, wanted to Work with her with the Mayan ways she had been taught in Mexico and it was The way! She saw right off that it was energetically more about a power than an offering, and we both understood our feelings around it, which is exactly what you just stated! Part of it is we have these teachings and practices, but we are white women bringing forth something that is so far removed ancestrally that we don’t own anything, or profess to know. My young friend needed to talk about it and I know she kindly stood her boundary with the potter trying to Work on her. It’s interesting and I know I’ve left some drum circles because of the ego attached to the work. Love you all! On Thursday the rattles were amazing esp thru the earbuds it felt electric! One time they incorporated my hands, surrounding them as one rattle, tho I was not shaking them. I had come off a day that started quiet and turned crazy, which I let happen, some of it due to an increase in hot weather. Physically it was a good Shaking experience Keshav! And a great way to end my long day. Namaste.
Thank you for our conversation today. Upon reflecting after, it struck me that as Shaman, as healers, we don’t tell people what to think, we don’t tell people how to feel, we don’t judge what they do or do not do, but rather we straddle the gap between them and what they don’t yet see. And in this, we, as Cherise has shared, mind “the garden”, yes?
Yesterday was one of those days with computers that one cannot control. A simple form to fill out turned into hours of attempts…regardless, I got through it.
It was later in the afternoon and I went to our little stock tank pool to float in the sun and hang out with nature. A tiny cloud caught my attention, then the awareness of the multitude of bird activity in my yard swept me into their world. I looked back to see the cloud, it was gone except for a tiny dot of a blur…so I focused my gaze onto this blur and it shared a magic of becoming that ordinarily one could miss. It was like watching time lapsed photography in the present moment. This tiny cloud, shaped like a hyphen, grew and separated into two hyphens, then three, then into one long hyphen and later two little dots shaped like a colon showed beneath and then all disappeared. What a beautiful gift…just to stop and take notice of something ordinarily missed. And as I gazed at the tiny cloud and mapped its course, I could see the sparkle of energy surrounding it. My focus on this cloud was not only on the cloud but at the same time expanded to include the space in between and all around its dance of formation.
Thank you little cloud, it was so nice to meet you…
Missy, what a beautiful way to honor the special relationship between you, your horse and nature. I had the privilege to see your relationship with your horses. We were in the barn when one of your horses became spooked.
I swear your horse looked to see where we were standing, keeping us safe, before bolting out the barn.
A respectful relationship between people and animals is amazing. My cat sleeps on my bed, but when I can’t sleep, he put his head on my cheek, calming me with the sound and vibration of his purr. And please, if you haven’t seen it, go to Keshav’s YouTube channel and watch the Elvis loving bird! It is a must see.
My wake up walk this morning was around my gardens, I spent all yesterday in them prepping and cleaning for later planting. I made a memorial type garden last year where my horse was buried and I decided to tackle taking out grass clumps which took a lot of loving muscle! I transplant perennials that seed them selves everywhere and this morning it felt really good to go visit. I left half wild with grass and perennials which are fine together. It feels perfect because I never wanted to tame the wild Horse out of the horses I had , more have an understanding. I saw the symbolism today. Namaste. Love.
Happy Birthday Lori!
Happy 60th Birthday Lori!!!!
“the openness that comes only to the waking heart” what a wonderful truth Cherise. Thank you for sharing.
Ever since I stopped needing to be to work early in the morning, I start my day slowly to open to the day and feel appreciation for this luxury of retirement. Dawn and dusk are two magical times. Thanks for your sharing, Cherise.
“The Gift of Dawn”
“Dawn is coming gently and full of prayer. For this is the moment when the senses are most alive, when a thought, a touch, a piece of music can shape the spirit and color of the day.
If I rise, frantic, from my bed, full of small concerns – the mystical flow of the imagination at rest will be broken, the past and the future will rush in to claim my mind, and I will be swept up into life’s petty details and myriad obligations. Gone will be the openness that comes only to the waking heart, and with it, the chance to focus the spirit and consecrate the day.
Something precious is lost if we rush headlong into the details of life without pausing for a moment to pay homage to the mystery of life and the gift of another day.
What is needed is only a pausing of the heart so the spirit can take wing and be lifted toward the infinite.
I pause and bow my head.”
From a tiny book called, “Small Graces” – the quiet gifts of everyday life
by Kent Nerburn
Happy Mother’s Day ! I love how we all give birth to our experiences moment by moment. Forever creative beings regardless of our gender or whether or not we have given bodily birth to children. I honor all beings. May we be an instrument of healing in all that we do!
Happy Mother's Day! I gratefully bow to all of you!!!!
Happy Mother’s Day to all the Feminine Creative Beings! I bow to that, to be here sitting on my front step while the sun is rising in the cool May air. Dew is hanging from the tips of the new green leaves in the garden beside me, I breathe in the fresh air of life waking up with me, a blue jay calling out as it flys past, a Robin bouncing along the ground feeling for its breakfast. It too seems to bow to Mother Earth for the fruit she provides which feeds its new babies to be. The cycle continues in such a gentle flow. Namaste. Love.
As we gaze into the mirrors everywhere, it is important to remind ourselves that we are healers. We serve one moment, one step, and one interaction with "life" at a time.
What a beautiful quote Cherise.
Loved this quote I heard today…
“Shaman’s are gardeners of energy and what we feed grows.”
Good Morning everyone… Service…a most sacred word. I am so honored to be in the presence of all of you who are in service…service to the earth…service to ourselves…service to each other and all beings, here and beyond…
It has been an honor to be in service to my friend, Mark, who is going in for brain surgery this morning. A humble request… that we all surround him in translucent turquoise light… It has been beautiful to listen to him open to surrender…Since his diagnosis a few days ago, he has been so receptive to surrendering to the moment. We have only been connected through, phone calls and text but every conversation has been so calm and inspirational.
He was admitted into Northwest Medical Center yesterday. Having not heard anything, I texted him last night… "Thinking of you tonight and holding you in beautiful turquoise light… Every now and then…take a breath…and let surrendering to the moment pull you back to presence… I love you…" His reply… "Doing exactly that! Thank you…I love you." I bow…Namaste
Thursday's healing Village journey & a request for healing prayer… During Thursdays journey and drumming, I found myself in a lush jungle canopy, bare feet, rich earth. I came to a circular clearing. The buildings in this village had thatched roofs. At one point I was laying down and the beings that were with me were blue beings. Their bodily presence had a transparent quality, not solid but similar to watching light reflecting off moving water. I remember their hands, beautifully slender with long fingers.
What struck me the most was when they were tapping my forehead above my nose, my third eye area. I say they because I felt there was more than one energy. This light tapping began on my third I and traveled up my forehead to the crown of my head which gently cracked open the top of my head to release the blockage for healing. I noticed that the energy blockage in me was in my solar plexus area and found it interesting to have my head crack open for release especially since I usually visualized light entering my head for healing.
There was a noticed presence here…thank you Keshav… What even becomes more amazing is how this healing shifted later the same night. Around 11:30pm, I got a text from a dear friend of mine who was in the hospital, I called him. He lives here in Tucson and several months ago he had a pretty bad brain bleed. He had only just been diagnosed with Diabetes and was on new meds and it was felt that he had a severe reaction. He finally went back to North West Hospital Emergency room yesterday afternoon because of the continued headaches, the same hospital Keshav has been going to. After several tests, they found a large tumor and several small tumors in his brain, kidney and colon. Our conversation was deeply moving. Having had several life threatening surgeries myself, I was able to share how surrendering to the presence of the moment is the only way I was able to get through them…which carried life changing lessons for me…he knew exactly what I was referring to and was amazed at how quickly he got there after the shock of the doctor's news.
When I went to bed and prepared to surround him in light, I remembered the healing and blue beings. I went back to that healing but this time it was my friend, Mark, who they were tapping on… It felt like my journey was superimposed onto his and the synchronicity of the two blended into one. I shared this with him today and will continue to visualize this open channel…he is now facing brain surgery for the large tumor and chemo and radiation for the the rest…I am so grateful for these blue beings and all of you… Namaste…
Lori, I totally agree with Betty. I take your sharing as a terrific challenge for all of us. Care to share some of the specifics with me privately, or publicly here on the site.
We will be going back to that village this Thursday evening! It sure feels like home.
Thanks for that beautiful sharing, Lori.
I bow to my bed every night to recognize the oneness and show gratitude for the support. Bowing to spirit/form in a mirror every morning is beautiful way to connect with gratitude and respect with the shining light reflected back, a welcome confirmation. I have noticed the more I take care of this form through exercise, healthier eating, stillness and love, the more the heart opens and the brighter the light shines.
The more I visit “the healing village”, the stronger the connection. I don’t know if I have every felt my form so clearly in my house and at the same timeless moment been very aware that I was in the village. Not only did I feel that I was in two places at once, I felt “someone” from the village sitting next to my form, visiting me as I visited them. I physically felt my shoulder touched and felt a powerful presence. And while it felt separate, there was an awareness that there is no here or there or me or them, just circles, connections, service and love.
Om Namah Shivayah. I bow to Shiva, my true self.
I have been trying to remember each day that I am a powerful spirit having a human experience. I cannot use this power if I don’t acknowledge it. If I am committed to doing something, the “God” in me will enable me to do it. Knowing this can allay anxiety and open me to love and creativity.
This exercise will reinforce for me that I am, indeed, a being of light. That the “God” in me and the God in you is one and the same. It is a powerful knowing. Let us remember this and be a light for each other and sometimes a needed reminder of what we are.
I treasure our Thursday groups, surrounded by beings of light.