Shifting Awareness Through Shamanic Eyes
Greetings!
“I am part of the rain forest protecting myself.” --John
Seed
“In the Koyukon world, “trees are aware of whatever
happens around them, and like all living things they
participate in a constant interchange of power...the tree I
lean against feels me, hears what I say about it, and
engages me in a moral reciprocity based on responsible
use�the forest is both a provider and a community of
spiritually empowered beings. There is no emptiness in the
forest, no unwatched solitude...” --Richard Nelson, The
Island Within
This morning I stood at my window as the sun filtered in
through dew-sparkling, lichen-covered Blue Oak branches.
The light changed from red-orange to gold to white-gold,
surrounding my body, filling my cells. In my hand a stone
from San Bruno Mountain sparkled crystal veins. I became
aware of the whole Bay--the waters, the mountains, the
cities, the people I love--and thought, "This is my body. This
is my being. Not just this small physical body, but the body of
the earth. I am connected, all the time. All I have to do is
open my awareness to this connection."
The Shamanic Way of Opening
A wonderful, inspiring way of opening awareness and
accessing our sacred wisdom is, for me, through shamanic
journeying (see link "Learn How!"). It is an empowering way
to discover
answers we need, and to develop our relationships with spirit
beings and ancestors, animals and mountains, earth
elements and star beings.
Reciprocal relationship is key. Power animals and spirit
guides--all the beings in "non-ordinary reality"--are ready
and willing to help us. The more we get to know them, work
and play with them, and develop a relationship with them, the
more they show us how to experience deep connection and
mystical vision!
I have always found that my spirit helpers give me the exact
guidance I need at any given time: they don't push me
beyond what I can do, and they keep me on track. They help
me develop my own internal authority, and discover the
divinity that lives within each of us. My job is to formulate
specific questions when I am asking for help, to pay
attention, and to maintain a reciprocal relationship with the
beings who help me. That means I hang out with them; thank
them; make them offerings; treat them as friends.
Remembering What Is In Our Cells
Molecular anthropologists say that we are all ancestors of 12
to14 people who moved north from Africa into Europe, and
across the Himalayas into Siberia, across the Bering Straits,
and into the Americas. Knowing this DNA connection, the
traditional native North American phrase "all my relations"
takes on deeper meaning. Knowing this DNA connection, the
prophesies of cultures worldwide, regarding this time of
change and opportunity leading to 2012, take on new
meaning. The worldview of shamanism is in our cells; what
we need to do is re-member.
All of us who practice shamanism have remembered by
learning experientially, by doing, by exploring. Rhythmic
percussion--drumbeat, didgeridoo, rattle--is a good vehicle,
because percussion shifts our energy and alters our
brainwaves, allowing us to stop "thinking" and access
different threads of imagination, knowing, and "seeing in the
darkness." We talk of becoming a "hollow bone" to allow
insight to flow through us and out again, bringing balance to
the world. We "see with our hearts," a crucial skill in this time
of change. And we learn to "step between worlds" as
seamlessly as a bilingual speaker switches languages.
Stepping Between Worlds
This ancient practice of stepping between worlds--shifting
out of purely visual and mental understanding into
experiential, energetic, heart awareness--broadens and
deepens our connections to the alive, inspirited, quantum
world we inhabit.
Our questions and experiences in the concrete, physical
world frame our quest for guidance in the spirit world. Let me
share a few examples of how this works with both personal
and global issues.
One of my dogs, named Waiki, was diagnosed last year with
lymphoma. As I worked to heal her on the physical and
energetic levels, I also wanted to know how to help her as
she crossed over. Since this question was beyond my
mundane knowing, I went to the spirit world for help. My
helpers showed me images of exactly how to bury her. As
soon as I made a physical altar with the bones that were to
accompany her, Waiki came into my healing space (not her
ordinary behavior), smelled everything, and lay down. From
then on, she periodically returned to "sit" with these bones,
this transition; it was reassuring to both of us. As she got
sicker, I returned to my helpers to make sure I was doing
everything I could, learning more about the role Waiki would
play after she died. When we buried Waiki, I was prepared
and incredibly comforted in the reassurance I had
received.
With the threat of a flu pandemic creating much fear in
people right now, my journey group decided to merge with a
mountain
spirit, asking "what do we need to know?" and then asking
the spirits of swine flu, avian flu, and/or mutating viruses for
more information. Experientially, our journeys were profound
(it was a challenge to speak afterwards!). Each of us, as is
typical with "world work," received personal guidance on
what to focus on: "Dissolve the illusion of boundaries." "You
are not grounded if you are resistant." "Mutation is a
vibration, not an enemy." "Silence." "Clear water." "Wind is
the connector between the solidity of mountain and the
fluidity of mutation." Such guidance, if we follow it, is what
then helps us shift awareness, and shift our
consciousness.
Harmony
Developing relationships with our helping spirits empowers
us. As we connect more deeply with what Martin Prechtel
calls "our indigenous souls," we can live in a more powerful
way; enhance our connections to all beings; and find the
specific answers we need at any particular time! As
indigenous peoples have for fifty thousand years, we can
use shamanic practices to find our way back into harmony
with the universe and our own souls, forging sacred,
reciprocal relationships that nurture the planet.
May you find harmony!
Meg Beeler/Earth Caretakers
