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Spirit-evolution
I have been itching to write this post for some time, however I have been, metaphorically speaking, running to catch up with myself as so much has happened. Finally I have the space, time, and energy to write this and let you all know what has been happening.
Some of you may have read my post about ‘Reiki & Shamanism’, where I talk about the fact that I use Shamanic practices in some areas of my life. Well, since that post, a few days after in fact, a strange happening occurred… I had a strange headache: It tingled, it made me feel ‘odd’, but didn’t hurt like a headache. As the day wore on, I began to feel disorientated and sick. Yet I was not ill, I didn’t have a cold, there was nothing else wrong with me. This feeling persisted continuously for another day, at which time I had a lay down to Reiki heal myself. I asked my Guardians for help, and asked them directly ‘what is this?’ I had the feeling they were reluctant to tell me, they got on with doing… something to me, but I kept drifting off. All I got from them was the word ‘Seperation’. My partner also Reiki’d me… and told me that he saw a black shard in my 3rd eye chakra, cobwebs in my aura, and my aura was fractured from my head (where the disorientation had emanated from) down to my Hara line.
In short, the Shamanic Reiki healings I had done had left me open to ‘negative’ energies that had attached themselves to me… and physically affected me. This realisation – that spirtual energy working could & did have an actual real-life effect shook me up the more I thought about it. I had intended to just do Reiki… and in doing Shamanic healing and not protecting myself, I left myself open to energies.
As I absorbed this over the next few days, something changed in me. A calling, a hardening, a shifting of spiritual thinking… ‘Warrior’ it said, deep within me. ‘Warrior’. My Healing self had realised something important: I am here not just to heal, but to protect. And it was then I realised also: My calling is that of Shaman. Not just to use Shamanic practices, but to BE a Shaman, to walk the walk, to apply myself fully to this path… and that includes protecting people.
This may not seem like much, but it was – is – a big deal. A spiritual evolution, if you will. A change in my very being. A few days after I consciously acknowledged and accepted that I am a Shaman, I had another strange effect… the same kind of disorientation, accompanied by emotionally disturbing feelings. I really thought I was going a little mad at one point, and had to fight with myself to stay in control. I’d done no other healings in this time, & can only believe that it was a test from the Universe to see if I really meant what I said about being a Shaman – did I scare easily? Would I quit?
Quit? How can I quit what I am?! No! The next day I put together a crystal Medicine bundle – Tiger’s eye; Tourmaline; Malachite; Citrineand a special flat stone I have with a Snake (my Animal guardian) engraved upon it. I also got a friend to make me up a crystal protection bracelet, and I bought some Frakincense as well. My intention is to make up a proper Medicine Bag, but I have my ‘starter kit’ for now.
I think more often now about the Darkness. Not that I am being ‘led’ to the ‘Dark side’, but if I am to Protect, then I must know, I must acknowledge, I must look at the darkness. It is nothing specific, it is thought, feeling, knowing. Darkness is there: I WILL face it. Yin-Yang – Balance, dark & light together is life. Everyone talks about the light: healing, positivity comments and posts on facebook etc, like ‘Stay strong, angels are with you’, ‘Let love surround you’… and so on. There is nothing wrong with this… but right now it irritates me, because it is not balanced with the fact we do experience darkness and negativity and we cannot just hope this goes away – we have to work with it and through it. In short – my thinking patterns have changed, shifted, to accommodate my new Being.
I have also collected feathers – something I’ve been drawn to since the Shaman calling. At first, pigeon feathers. ‘Not really appropriate for you’, says my other half, but on thinking, I disagreed. Consider: The pigeon is a humble bird, an
Feathers: pigeon, crow, swan, duck, geese
everyday bird, nothing special. The pigeon ADAPTED to city life, and is now a very part of the city. I wanted to wear a feather in my hair, and I did try. Not to be pretentious, not to say ‘look I’m different’, but the idea called to me, & I believe because it is a way of marking my identity to myself a reminder in the everyday world of my calling and my duty. However it wasn’t very practical and did not work very well! This has already progressed however – I very happily found some crow feathers – yes, the Dark – and put them away until I found some swan feathers (of which I am still hoping to find more). Black and white… Yin-Yang… Balance. I also have duck and geese feathers… because they are beautiful; they are part of my surroundings; they are part of my part of the Earth – it is connection. My intention is to get some purple and/or white cord, and make up feather medicine bundles, to hang up as appropriate. If I can get some clasps, then I may have a way of being able to attach and detach these feathers in my hair, as and when it seems appropriate!
The other day, I took a walk in the local park, and really noticed everything around me for the first time. I consciously connected with my surroundings, and it was beautiful. I was hoping for more swan feathers- long, full feathers, but what I got was something just as fantastic, if not more so… by dipping into closespaces half-hidden by low branches close-knit trees, and greeting the Great Willow Tree Spirit – I found two workable willow sticks! Perfect for ‘starter’/practice wands and staffs! I was so so happy.
My Willow Find
Willow Tree – Willow Spirit
I have also started seeing particular symbols at certain chakra points during Reiki healings on myself: first, I saw a Koi carp at the throat chakra, then I saw a Copper Beech tree at the Crown chakra. This is something entirely new to me, and something else to explore and work out the meanings and see what connects to the other chakras and how they fit.
And… I have begun chanting in the mornings. On the way walk back from the school run. Yes, I know, people must think I am mad. But it started one morning, a low sound in my throat, and carried on, as I looked at the sky, the trees… the Life around me. And it calms me, centres me… and I find it hard to stop. It is a chant to Nature, an acknowledgement and a thanks, it is just a simple ‘hey-yeyyey-heyyey-hiyi…’ sort of sound, that carries itself on.
So. In several weeks my whole Inner World has changed, and it has affected Who I Am on the outside too. I am still me, but I am different.. I have had a Spirit-evolution. It has taken me some while to abosrb and understand. I have passed through the other side… and there is a looooooooooong walk ahead of me. It is exciting, slightly daunting, and potentially life changing.
WARRIOR:
A Warrior always stands alert, ready.
A Warrior fights from the heart.
A Warrior fights to protect – Herself, her kith, kin & clan.
A Warrior stands. Always.
Your thoughts & comments are, as always, welcome.
Light & Blessings
Heidi
(1) Reiki Rise & Shine – Reiki & Shamanism
FROM MY FACEBOOK PAGE: LATEST POST:
SHAMANIC REIKI
What’s the difference between Reiki and Shamanic Reiki? This is a good question, one I have recently pondered.
Having now done a few distant healing sessions, I realised something that I had not known before: that what I do in these sessions is not JUST Reiki – it is Shamanic Reiki.
Reiki is healing with the universal energy, healing the chakras, cleansing negative energy and filling the recipient with self-love; confidence; health; love, and light. It is seeing colours, feeling warmth/cold/tingling, seeing or sensing auras, combining Divine energy and Earth energy.
Shamanic Reiki is to have visions whilst the Reiki is at work, going on an inner quest, talking to Spirit Guardians, the healers’ own and/or the recipient’s. It is receiving and interacting with various images and persons from the universal dimension.
I have also performed psychic surgery, banished ‘spirits’ who have been present but seem to be nothing to do with the person, and spoken the recipients’ guardians.
This Shamanic Reiki was never intentional with me – the intent was always to do a Reiki healing – yet these ‘Journeys’ simply happen… it seems to be an innate working with me. I cannot do a distant healing without Journeying, apparently. It seems as though I have an Inner Shaman.
This does not happen with direct healings. Direct healings may – and do – involve angels and reiki guides, but that is natural & ‘feels’ different. Direct healings are much more focussed on the pure Reiki Light.
There is a saying, one that has been said to me quite often through the years: “When you are ready, a Teacher will appear”. Since my early years I have longed and looked for a Teacher; first for one that would help guide and develop my intuitive, or psychic, abilities, then a bit later for my Wicthcraft practices, and most recently a Shaman. But “my Teacher” has never appeared. Up until now I have always assumed that either I wasn’t as ready as I thought I was, OR that I was just unlucky and looking/being in the wrong places.
Now however, I have come to a different conclusion: that perhaps I don’t need an external Teacher; perhaps I am a solitary learner, and that my Inner Self is my Teacher, that perhaps I should trust my instincts, my own Being, my own Inner Guides and senses more. And not only that, but perhaps I do have Teachers, but not ‘official’ ones, for that is not my path… my partner, for example, is very similar to me yet has slightly different knowledge and different ways of experiencing things… he is a ‘teacher’ to me… and others who I have crossed paths with, not ‘Teaching’, but teaching in a natural, everyday way. I certainly seem to be getting on all right without said Teachers. My progress may be slower, but so far, I believe I’m following the (my) correct path.
I would be interested to hear from other Reiki healers, to understand if this is a common result for Light workers and Reiki healers, or if it is something unique to some individual workers.
And of course, I would be interested to hear anyone else’s views, opinions, suggestions, or queries on this matter.
It is an area that fascinates me. I am not a trained Shaman, not ‘officially’, but I use Shamanic practices in other areas of my life – in fact, I was going on ‘Inner Journeys’ before I realised that it was tied in with Shamanism. It seems to be an inherent part of my Spiritual life.
Light & Blessings
Reiki Heidi
The Holographic God
A water drop (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
From the written record of human history several thousand different deities have been identified. Some you will have heard of many more you will not. Until a few years ago I would have called myself an atheist. I have now come to believe in the existence of the divine, I have my Gods to whom I connect with as often as I can. If I am prepared to acknowledge the existence of any given God, can I rationally deny the existence of any other? Some belief systems maintain that there is only one God or pantheon Gods and Goddesses, mine does not. How then should I regard my relationship to these other deities? If the spiritual and divine realms do indeed reflect the material world, then there is scope for myriad forms of spiritual beings and deities.
Many ancient pagan religions revered Gods and Goddesses under their different aspects, the Triple Goddess of neopaganism has the Maid, Mother and Crone aspects. This triple aspect feature is common among pagan deities and similar to the Christian Holy Trinity. Despite acknowledging multiple deities with multiple aspects I still consider myself a monist, that is the belief that all existence essentially comprises a single reality. That is a single divine reality, manifesting the physical universe, the spiritual realms, the soul of each individual and the Gods themselves; it has been variously called the Tao, Logos and Brahman among many other names.
It seems to me that the nature of reality and therefore the divine is holographic, meaning that each part contains within it the entirety of the whole. Normally when each of us encounters the divine we see one (or more) of its many faces. The face we see differs from person to person and culture to culture, whether or not we see that which we expect to see or whether the divine presents a face which is most appropriate to the time, place and expectations of the observer I could not say. Whoever we are and whatever Gods we call upon, it is the same divinity that gazes back at us all. This is not to say that Yahweh is identical to Odin, or that Zeus and Shiva are the same. They possess different personalities and attributes, potentially different spheres of influence and powers. They are all manifestations of the divine reality in the same way that each person is a different manifestation of the same ultimate divinity.
It has long been the goal of the wise to know the divine reality directly, it is agreed by those mystics that have experienced it that the divine is unknowable except through direct contact and practices such as Yoga and meditation. The Gods in the various forms in which they recognised are more accessible – perhaps that is part of their purpose, perhaps not – through prayer, Shamanism, meditation etc. Whilst Brahman cannot be understood except by the most elevated, the Gods represent a more discernible face that people can to connect to. If this represents intention on the part of the Gods, or whether we have evolved to be able to interpret the Gods in a way which makes sense to us I do not know. That many if not most of the Gods are anthropomorphised to some extent suggests to me the latter.
Some people may feel that this belief in some way diminishes the Gods, from being absolute in and of themselves. However this misunderstands the nature of the Great Hologram, since each part contains the entirety of the whole, each deity is no less than the entirety of reality; as incidentally are each of us as individuals. As the Hindu Vedanta philosophy says There is only Brahman.
I feel this idea accounts for the diversity of human experiences of the divine whilst maintaining the principle that we (people, nature and Gods) are all essentially one and the same infinite and divine essence. This vision of reality serves as the basis of a flexible, tolerant and all inclusive belief system, it allows me to rationally follow my chosen Gods whilst still aiming for the realisation of the understanding that I am one with Brahman.
Does this conflict or fit with your own beliefs?
Many thanks for reading, and blessings be )O(
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- “Absolute Space” – The God? (arganesh3.wordpress.com)
Shamanic Drumming: An Exploration
I promised you a blog post about Shamanic drumming and here, I keep my promise. This is not an informative post that will teach you how to drum Shamanically: rather, it is sharing the first proper experience that Neometheus and I had with teaching ourselves this important Shamanic art.
Neither Neometheus nor I are musically inclined. But for this purpose, you don’t have to be – Shamanic drumming is about connecting to the Source; the ‘Other realm’, helping to connect with [your] deities in ritual, respect, and honour. Neither do we have ‘proper’ Shamanic drums: they are expensive, and we are completely new to this. As followers of a hedge-witch path, we therefore used what we have to hand – namely, two beautiful Djembe drums. As with anything that you do in magic, ritual, or in any way connect actively with sources outside of ourselves, it is INTENTION that matters, not how much money you have spent or how beautiful or ‘appropriate’ something is.
Djembe drums and rattles
It was my desire to set up our alter for this exploration. Now, an alter is not necessary – it is more of a witch-craft aspect than a Shamanistic aspect. However, it has been a long time since I have set up my alter and connected and honoured the Triple Goddess and Horned God, and I felt the need to do this. I added to it the usual east/south/west/north symbolisms: air/fire/water/earth, respectively, a symbol of the Horned god, and the Goddess (of course), and representations of our animal spirits, as well as a couple of candles. I welcomed and honoured the Guardians and spirits of each direction, to join us in our exploration, as well as the Goddess and Horned god. I did not cast a full circle – this was not a magic ritual we were intending to do, after all. We sat next to the alter, with a drum each, and looked at each other, slightly bemused, slightly self-conscious.
Our intent and purpose this night was to attune and teach ourselves about Shamanic drumming; to find the beat within ourselves, and with each other. To understand the connection, to FEEL it. As we wish to explore Shamanic practice further, drumming is an important tool that we need to learn.
All I knew was that a Shamanic drum beat is about 220 beats per minute. I have never experienced drumming of any kind before. So- we just gave it a shot. This was an exploration, an experimentation, held in joy, light of heart (in respect and honour) and learning.
Neometheus started drumming. I started drumming. We each played around with our drums – with the beats, the tempos, the sound as fingers and palms found different parts of the drum. At first it was hard to keep a beat. I kept changing it, losing the rhythm, trying a different rhythm. Eventually, our drum-beats began to co-incide, without any conscious thought. The beat became fast, deep, and-
That’s when the beat took over me. My Mind was not in control of the rhythm: I had lost myself in the rhythm, it was as if my hands drummed of their own accord – and the drum sang back to me. There was no conscious urging of my hands; of controlling the beat or tempo, rather, my body instinctively took control whilst I lost myself in the sound of drumming.
I felt my throat opening – the urge to Voice came – a wordless sound came out of me, accompanying the drumming, and Neometheus added his own wordless counterpart. Again, surprisingly, with voice added, something changed in our beats, our melody together – and more than that – I felt the tone of the drum resonate at the exact same pitch as my Voice.
As I chanted my wordless song, my whole body thrummed at the same pitch as the drum: I felt the drum’s song flow into my throat; and vice versa. I can only compare this to the same intent as a Mantra.
Neometheus added his rattle, experimenting with that too. It worked wonderfully. I stopped my chant, my drumming becoming more gentle. Neometheus started his own chanting, and I chanted a background counterpart.
To me, lost in time and space, lost in rhythm and the Drum, it sounded beautiful, melodic, tribal. What it would have sounded like from an outside perspective, I can’t begin to imagine!
Eventually we stopped, drummed out, and looked at each other. The silence was deafening. For us, we felt that we had experienced something profound – I got a lot more from the drumming than I had thought I would. Neometheus remarked that we ‘synched’ a lot quicker than he thought we would, and this was true. It had not taken us long, and the wordless chanting was an unexpected happening. It was an amazing first session, and I learned a lot from it.
In the aftermath, we both felt ‘cleansed; as if we had done a Reiki session, or had a spiritual encounter. For me, I felt empty inside – a good empty, totally at peace, in balance, in harmony with myself and my environment.
I had not expected the session to feel, to us, so powerful – not our first experimental exploration! But the Spirit of the Shaman’s Drum must have been with us that night – I cannot think how else to describe it.
Listening to some Shamanic drumming on the internet later, we discovered our rhythm had been too fast: It’s hard to count 3-4 beats per second with no measure! Still, it had worked in a wonderful way for us. I look forward to continuing to learn and practice Shamanic drumming, and I know Neometheus does too – and now I truly know why it is termed ‘the Shaman’s Horse’!
Neometheus will be back soon… he’s writing the very next post as we speak, entitled ‘The Holographic God’.
Related articles
- Galloping Horse (redskywalkeronearth.wordpress.com)
- http://writeonheidi.wordpress.com/2013/02/09/the-shamans-horse/
The Eagle and The Serpent 