The Practice of Shamanism
The practice of Shamanism I embody is from the ancients of my maternal line and what has awakened from my Soulular structure. I have trained with a medicine woman for many years honing my skills as a keeper of medicine. Together we share the responsibility of holding the womb of the Nectar of Life Red Tent for the Sisters we serve. She holds the space of Grandmother and I, the Mother.
To be clear, and to offset concern of appropriation, Shamanism appears in cultures across the world, from the Native Americans of North America to the Druids of England. Therefore, I share the following with you...
I have been pulled by an inner knowing to make pilgrimages to sacred sites in order to imbue the resonance of that space on Earth into my Being to awaken ancient memories. I was raised on the land where the Pilgrims arrived and with a rich connection to the witches of Salem. As a young adult, I found myself exploring the sacred lands of the United Kingdom. Stonehenge remains the quietest place on Earth I have found to date. Called to live at the base of the Rocky Mountains for more than a decade, I learned the ways and teachings of the land. Head just above water and crawling between rocks, I made my way into the ceremonial center and resting place of the sacrificed warriors safely protected within the deep chambers below the ground of the Actun Tunichil Muknal cave. Archaeologists here have left the cave mostly undisturbed to preserve the integrity of the ancient Mayans ceremonies. Later, I journeyed deeper into the jungle of Guatemala to send prayers to Great Spirit from the tallest of the structures in Tikal where the ancient Mayan shamans once sent their own.
Spirit has moved me in different directions but always with the same intention -- to know thySelf deeply and to awaken the Medicine in my bones. I have lived many lives, in many spaces of our Mother Earth. Therefore, my practice, trainings, and teachings are a blend of the teachings, initiations, and formal education. If you would like to know more about my background, please see the About page.
The poem below beautifully explains how I approach working with my students and the responsibility they carry to walk this path.
To be clear, and to offset concern of appropriation, Shamanism appears in cultures across the world, from the Native Americans of North America to the Druids of England. Therefore, I share the following with you...
I have been pulled by an inner knowing to make pilgrimages to sacred sites in order to imbue the resonance of that space on Earth into my Being to awaken ancient memories. I was raised on the land where the Pilgrims arrived and with a rich connection to the witches of Salem. As a young adult, I found myself exploring the sacred lands of the United Kingdom. Stonehenge remains the quietest place on Earth I have found to date. Called to live at the base of the Rocky Mountains for more than a decade, I learned the ways and teachings of the land. Head just above water and crawling between rocks, I made my way into the ceremonial center and resting place of the sacrificed warriors safely protected within the deep chambers below the ground of the Actun Tunichil Muknal cave. Archaeologists here have left the cave mostly undisturbed to preserve the integrity of the ancient Mayans ceremonies. Later, I journeyed deeper into the jungle of Guatemala to send prayers to Great Spirit from the tallest of the structures in Tikal where the ancient Mayan shamans once sent their own.
Spirit has moved me in different directions but always with the same intention -- to know thySelf deeply and to awaken the Medicine in my bones. I have lived many lives, in many spaces of our Mother Earth. Therefore, my practice, trainings, and teachings are a blend of the teachings, initiations, and formal education. If you would like to know more about my background, please see the About page.
The poem below beautifully explains how I approach working with my students and the responsibility they carry to walk this path.
The Promise of a Shaman
Author Unknown
If you come to me as a victim I will not support you.
But I will have the courage to walk with you through the pain that you are suffering.
I will put you in the fire, I will undress you, and I will sit you on the earth.
I will bathe you with herbs, I will purge you, and you will vomit the rage and the darkness inside you.
I'll bang your body with good herbs, and I'll put you to lay in the grass, face up to the sky.
Then I will blow your crown to clean the old memories that make you repeat the same behavior.
I will blow your forehead to scare away the thoughts that cloud your vision.
I will blow your throat to release the knot that won't let you talk.
I will blow your heart to scare fear, so that it goes far away where it cannot find you.
I will blow your solar plexus to extinguish the fire of the hell you carry inside, and you will know peace.
I will blow with fire your belly to burn the attachments, and the love that was not.
I will blow away the lovers that left you, the children that never came.
I will blow your heart to make you warm, to rekindle your desire to feel, create and start again.
I will blow with force your vagina or your penis, to clean the sexual door to your soul.
I will blow away the garbage that you collected trying to love what did not wanted to be loved.
I will use the broom, and the sponge, and the rag, and safely clean all the bitterness inside you.
I will blow your hands to destroy the ties that prevent you from creating.
I will blow your feet to dust and erase the footprints memories, so you can never return to that bad place.
I will turn your body, so your face will kiss the earth.
I'll blow your spine from the root to the neck to increase your strength and help you walk upright.
But I will have the courage to walk with you through the pain that you are suffering.
I will put you in the fire, I will undress you, and I will sit you on the earth.
I will bathe you with herbs, I will purge you, and you will vomit the rage and the darkness inside you.
I'll bang your body with good herbs, and I'll put you to lay in the grass, face up to the sky.
Then I will blow your crown to clean the old memories that make you repeat the same behavior.
I will blow your forehead to scare away the thoughts that cloud your vision.
I will blow your throat to release the knot that won't let you talk.
I will blow your heart to scare fear, so that it goes far away where it cannot find you.
I will blow your solar plexus to extinguish the fire of the hell you carry inside, and you will know peace.
I will blow with fire your belly to burn the attachments, and the love that was not.
I will blow away the lovers that left you, the children that never came.
I will blow your heart to make you warm, to rekindle your desire to feel, create and start again.
I will blow with force your vagina or your penis, to clean the sexual door to your soul.
I will blow away the garbage that you collected trying to love what did not wanted to be loved.
I will use the broom, and the sponge, and the rag, and safely clean all the bitterness inside you.
I will blow your hands to destroy the ties that prevent you from creating.
I will blow your feet to dust and erase the footprints memories, so you can never return to that bad place.
I will turn your body, so your face will kiss the earth.
I'll blow your spine from the root to the neck to increase your strength and help you walk upright.
And I will let you rest.
After this you will cry, and after crying you will sleep,
And you will dream beautiful and meaningful dreams, and when you wake up I'll be waiting for you.
I will smile at you, and you will smile back
I will offer you food that you will eat with pleasure, tasting life, and I will thank you.
Because what I’m offering today, was offered to me before when darkness lived within me.
And after I was healed, I felt the darkness leaving, and I cried.
Then we will walk together, and I will show you my garden, and my plants, and I will take you to the fire again.
And will talk together in a single voice with the blessing of the earth.
And we will shout to the forest the desires of your heart.
And the fire will listen and whisper the echo, and we will create hope together.
And the mountains will listen and whisper the echo, and we will create hope together.
And the rivers will listen and whisper the echo, and we will create hope together.
And the wind will listen and whisper the echo, and we will create hope together.
And then we will bow before the fire, and we will call upon all the visible and invisible guardians.
And you will say thank you to all of them.
And you will say thank you to yourself.
And you will say thank you to yourself.
And you will say thank you to yourself.
After this you will cry, and after crying you will sleep,
And you will dream beautiful and meaningful dreams, and when you wake up I'll be waiting for you.
I will smile at you, and you will smile back
I will offer you food that you will eat with pleasure, tasting life, and I will thank you.
Because what I’m offering today, was offered to me before when darkness lived within me.
And after I was healed, I felt the darkness leaving, and I cried.
Then we will walk together, and I will show you my garden, and my plants, and I will take you to the fire again.
And will talk together in a single voice with the blessing of the earth.
And we will shout to the forest the desires of your heart.
And the fire will listen and whisper the echo, and we will create hope together.
And the mountains will listen and whisper the echo, and we will create hope together.
And the rivers will listen and whisper the echo, and we will create hope together.
And the wind will listen and whisper the echo, and we will create hope together.
And then we will bow before the fire, and we will call upon all the visible and invisible guardians.
And you will say thank you to all of them.
And you will say thank you to yourself.
And you will say thank you to yourself.
And you will say thank you to yourself.