May Shamanism Column

Welcome to the Monthly Shamanism Column

MAY

INTRODUCTION:

Dreams, the nighttime variety, have been very powerful lately, and this is often a means for shamanic messages to come through. If you can remember your dreams, think of any signs from nature – were you by a lake or climbing a tree, did an animal visit you or mark you in some way? Sit for a moment before opening your eyes and bask in the dream world to see if there is a message that rings true for you. You don’t have to go to the computer to look up the dream’s “meaning.” Trust your instincts. If you see bear standing tall and beating his chest, maybe you need to stand up for something, or if birds are singing and it seems joyful to the dreaming you, maybe you need to experience more joy.

Dreaming is a very useful tool for a shaman, and it is important to remember that not all dreams happen while sleeping. Shamans who dream while awake perform an important service to all mankind by dreaming of the transformation that will lead the world in a more perfect path. The shamanic journey can be thought of as a dream that happens while the dreamer is awake but outside of normal time. Meditation is another form of wakeful dreaming. The practice of visioning is being used more and more to create positive future paths. And despite what your teachers may have told you in school, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a good daydream!

POWER ANIMALS FOR MAY:

For May, students of astrology in the United States typically associate the power animal Bull, associated with the sign Taurus. The Bull is solid, strong, practical, stubborn, slow, and stable. Bulls need security, financial and otherwise; they need solid ground under their feet. The Bull is a perfect symbol for the United States in May 2008, as our financial security is seriously in question. Bulls are slow and plodding, but once set in motion will remain at a task with great persistence and reliability. The Bull will try to get its own way, but will not take any risks.
The Native American power animal for the month of May, or the growing time, is the Beaver. The Beaver teaches many, many lessons to those with this totem; they are as busy as shamanic teachers as they are in life! Lessons of the Beaver involve cultivating flexibility and adaptability. Beaver teaches compassion, accepting others for who they are. Beavers are the builders, the creators, and can help you solve problems through creativity and work. This can be symbolized as needing to work on your foundation, or needing to build a new foundation to access new challenges. Beavers symbolize fertility and knowing how to work in harmony with the environment through their work in building dams and creating new fertile spaces. Beavers also teach inner peace and breath work; those with this totem would do well to practice meditation, yoga, or breathing exercises. Also, the beaver symbolizes accessing the hidden inner world or under world of dreams, making it possible to manifest them.
The Mayan calendar brings us the energy of Snake, one of the most powerful medicine animals, at this time of year. There are many legends and myths associated with snake, including fertility and immortality. Snake is the symbol of the South in shamanic work, and we ask snake to teach us to leave our past as snake sheds its skin, all at once, leaving behind that which no longer serves and carrying forward only that which is part of our essential nature. They symbolize swift changes, speed, agility. They have no eardrums, but sense vibrations that travel through the earth, and those with this totem may access their inner power through hearing or clairaudience. The snake’s eyes are always open, offering the gift of sight.

With so many gifts coming from our animal totems this month, each person can develop his or her own strengths. Be ready for change, a change in path, a change in foundation, a change in focus or growth.

JOURNEY FOR MAY:

I asked Beaver to guide me on my journey for May. I have never visited with Beaver, and I could barely keep up this time!

Beaver met me at the atoll pool where I usually begin my journeys. It is a peaceful place for me, away from crowds and surrounded by nature. He insisted that we get up immediately and leave, that we run quickly as the foundation was washing away. I ran after him asking where we were going. Beaver said, “I have prepared a place for you.” It was disconcerting to be leaving my familiar place and indeed watching it crumble away behind me, but I trusted Beaver and followed him through a wood to a new place that had enough shade and enough sun and a cleared space for a new foundation. Beaver instructed me in taking enough trees but leaving some for the shade and choosing where to cut.

When I asked for the gift to bring back for readers for the month of May, Beaver began slapping his tail on the ground, sending out a vibration, and he kept going faster, saying that the frequency is higher now, and we have to send out our new vibration from our new places. A strange gift, I know, and Beaver talked very fast, so I’ve done my best to keep the essence of his meaning. I hope that it resonates for you.

Thank you Beaver for your gifts.

PERSONAL PRACTICE FOR MAY:

May starts with May Day and ends with Memorial Day.

On May Day, it is traditional to leave a basket of flowers for a friend or neighbor without getting caught. If you get caught, you have to give a kiss. A nice, warm occasion to start the month. Honor mother Earth by giving a living flower in a pot so that the recipient can plant it and enjoy it for a long time to come. Also plant flowers of your own as it is said that the Earth laughs in flowers.

Memorial Day in the United States is always more poignant when the country is at war. Honor those who have left this world to take their place among the spirit guides.

Pick one of the power animals this month and find a way to honor it, with a picture or symbol. Ask for the animal’s guidance and teachings, and try to practice the lessons you receive. In most parts of the United States, it is temperate to be out in nature, so enjoy the outdoors and notice anything that calls to you – a rock, a tree, a stream. Spend some time with this teacher to learn from it.

Dreaming for the world to come
Lisa

April Shamanism Column

Welcome to the Monthly Shamanism Column

APRIL

INTRODUCTION:

In addition to the usual power animals for the month, I have been impressed by the two catastrophic crane accidents – one in New York and one in Miami – in the past couple of weeks. I realized that I have also heard several mentions of the Yoga/Tai Chi crane position in these same couple of weeks. This brings up an important point when searching for your own power animal; your own power animal may communicate to you through a variety of means – in animate form, on television, in symbols. When an animal, or in this case something named for an animal, calls your attention repeatedly, it is important for you to notice and seek the meaning that this spirit is trying to impart to you. When I studied the crane’s meaning, it does ring true for me at this point in my life.

If you welcome the animal spirit’s message, it is important to seek an appropriate way to thank the spirit, for spirit has gone to great effort to impart a message to you. This may be lighting a special candle, offering a gift to nature, or finding some representation of the animal to carry with you for a few days. It is also proper to ask the spirit guide for a message. Now on to the universal messengers for April.

POWER ANIMALS FOR APRIL:

For April, students of astrology in the United States typically associate the power animal Ram, associated with the sign Aries. The Ram’s energetic message can be summed up as balance as you climb. Rams are agile, quick, intelligent and rely on their undisturbed sense of landing ok as they forge ahead into unchartered territories. Those new lands are often up, whether on the corporate ladder or Mount Everest. Ram’s great imagination and energy fuel the upward ascent, as well as Ram’s ability to take quick action when opportunity presents itself. The shadow side of Ram lies in his warrior personality. Be careful not to climb over loved ones and others on that ascent.
The Native American power animal for the month of April is the Falcon. Lessons of the Falcon echo the warnings for Ram’s shadow. Falcon is a high flyer, an individual. But Falcon medicine workers must learn that greater good comes from sharing, and that individuality does not have to be sacrificed to work in harmony with others.
The Mayan calendar brings us the energy of Fox at this time of year. Fox, like Ram, is creative and ingenious and swift in taking action. When Fox enters your life, look for new beginnings, new creative processes. Unlike Ram, Fox teaches us gentleness and imparts feminine energies for balance. Fox teaches stillness as well as swiftness. Fox asks us to work in harmony with our surroundings and to develop patience and persistence.

The heavens and the power animals are offering us the opportunity to seek balance and harmony, and to learn how to climb or fly to our highest goals quickly. As so many of the energy workers are stating, now is the time of instant manifestation. Our animal guides can help us learn to manifest in harmony with the common good, without causing harm or injury to others. .

JOURNEY FOR APRIL:

I asked Fox to guide me on my journey for April. Most journeys are usually that, we go somewhere. But Fox just came and sat by me. The first step in any journey is to sit quietly and decide where to go. Where do you want to go?

All things are possible. All can be manifested. But if you don’t sit in stillness and determine what it is you want, where you want to go, what you will try to achieve, you may not like what you get or where you end up.

Begin at the beginning. Begin in harmony. Fox teaches patience. Good things come to those who wait. In an age of instant manifestation, we will all be called upon to know ourselves and be sure of where we are going.

This is not to say that we cannot change our minds after we start out, but that whenever we change course, we must take a moment to sit again in stillness.

Thank you Fox for your gifts.

PERSONAL PRACTICE FOR APRIL:

The most appropriate feature of the April calendar for personal practice is Earth Day, April 22. Find a way to thank our Mother Earth on this day especially for her constant support of us and every other inhabitant on the planet.

When opening sacred space, we ask the Mother to help us be good guardians of all who live on the Earth, of the stone people, the plant people, the 4-legged and 2-legged, the finned and the furred. With so many ways to offer thanks to the Earth, we should each be able to do something every day to reinforce our connection with her. Recycling, reducing energy use, going green, eating organic are all ways everyone can participate.

My own favorite new way of working for a cleaner Earth is to use Craigslist.org or freecycle.org whenever I’m planning a purchase. By reusing something that is already in the system, think of all the packaging, transportation and manufacturing waste that can be saved.

Dreaming for the world to come
Lisa

March Shamanism Column

INTRODUCTION:

As I sat down to write this column, I realized that my mesa was a mess! Not a good thing for a shaman. Each mesa has an order, a structure, that supports the shaman’s work and practice. Organizing one’s mesa is a synonym for organizing one’s life.

Even though mine had fallen into disarray for joyous purposes, I had to set it straight. I am still in the process of building my mesa, and I have been fortunate enough to have several friends travel during the past few months. I asked each one to bring me a rock for my mesa. Each person was to pick whichever rock spoke to him or her. Everyone came through many times over, and I ended up with so many rocks I didn’t know what to do. So I just kept piling them in the box with my mesa (I keep my mesa in a box to keep my kids out!). Every time I walked by the place where I keep it, I felt guilty. I realized that this problem was occurring along with the eclipses in the heavens, so it was time to make the hard choices of what to keep and how to move forward.

I opened sacred space and lit a fire to contemplate my abundance of stones. Part of opening sacred space includes thanking the Mother Earth and asking for help in being a good steward of all of her inhabitants, including the stone people. It is hard to imagine the stones having attributes of energetic beings, but just think for a moment without your preconceived notions. On their own, they are not able to travel from one spot to another, but they may be easily transported by people, animals, machinery, mudslides, waves, winds, and earthquakes. My mesa includes rocks from places where I may never myself visit, but they have come to me with their gifts! Even those traveling rocks that don’t end up in a mesa will be relocated to a new place, to become part of a new landscape, and they will have an effect on their surroundings.

I picked the new stones that would be added into the mesa, and found homes for the extra stones that were so lovingly gifted to me. For me, this work went hand in hand with the new beginning that is being called for by our star brothers and sisters in the heavens. Have you done your work to leave behind what no longer fits? Have you organized yourself in the new direction, to begin the new work for which you are being called?

POWER ANIMALS FOR JANUARY:

For March, students of astrology in the United States typically associate the power animal Fish, associated with the sign Pisces. The many meanings of fish are as deep and profound as the waters in which they swim. Whether you look to evolution, Christianity, or Buddhism, fish is an ancient and mystical symbol attached to the beginning of “life,” both in physical formation – the womb, the mother, the primordial soup of life - and conscious awakening. Fish swims with currents in water that is constantly changing. Fish signifies a time of change or movement, particularly this year with all of the changes in the heavens. Water has long been a symbol of the unconscious, the unknown. Fish, who is comfortable in this realm, can lead you to discover your deepest truths, that which is hidden below the surface. The Piscean symbol pictures two fish facing in opposite directions, characteristic of the nature of the Pisces. One fish travels wide, while the other delves deep, always finding balance by returning and sharing with one another.

The Native American power animal for the month of March is the Wolf. When Wolf appears, there are many lessons for those who are willing to pay attention. Body language conveys wolf’s message, and those with this totem use body language as a part of their medicine ways. A lone wolf may suggest the need for freedom, while a pack indicates a need for working together. A large part of Wolf’s meaning involves boundaries. Wolves are loyal to the pack but don’t compromise their own boundaries for the sake of the pack. They also defend their territorial boundaries. When wolf comes to you, it may be time to check your own personal boundaries to investigate whether you have over compromised or conversely not given enough. Create your own world by defining your boundaries.

The Mayan calendar brings us the energy of Jaguar at this time of year. Jaguar, like Fish, is also associated with creation. Jaguars tend to live in caves near sources of fresh water. Caves have long been associated with entrances to the underworld and creation myths. If Jaguar has appeared for you, it is time to go within by meditating, finding inner quiet, and ask for the messages that are held for you in the underworld. Jaguar is the guardian of the winds of the west, and his medicine gifts include teaching us to walk the path of impeccability. Jaguar is the most powerful predator in the jungle, but he takes only what he needs. Visit the underworld of the jaguar, identify your path, and learn to be impeccable with your words and deeds. Jaguar leads you on the journey of the soul, to heal your fears and awaken your inner sight.

The heavens and the power animals are offering us a tremendous lesson involving Creation for this month. Imagine your world and create it. Follow Fish through the murky underworld as far and as deep as you can, establish your own space in the world by exploring where your boundaries lie with Wolf, and follow the path created with Jaguar.

JOURNEY FOR MARCH:

I have never before journeyed with Wolf, so I asked him to accompany me to bring back a gift for March. I encountered a young lone wolf in a grassy plain, and he started questioning me about my beliefs of boundaries. What is really a boundary? Space? Time? Thought?

You can walk from one state to the next; the boundary is not real, only perceived. The same is true with countries; the boundaries are arbitrary, established by people who held that belief. I saw an image similar to the Truman Show, where it was possible to simply drop the curtain of the false horizon to see the limitless horizon of no boundaries.

Boundaries of time are not real either. For years, it was a commonly held belief that man could not break a four-minute mile. It was a boundary as solid as any other. Yet now top athletes regularly run a mile in under four minutes.

What about boundaries between people? They are false. We are all one. Boundaries are only perceived, but the one who does the perceiving knows no boundaries. Shatter the perception and the boundary falls away, and we see that there is only light, and we are all the same light.

Wolf’s greatest gift is questioning boundaries, not believing in them. Even the rocks in my mesa have learned to escape their boundaries. Thank you Wolf.

PERSONAL PRACTICE FOR MARCH:

The calendar reinforces our need to embrace change and creation this month, offering us a new moon, the Ides of March, and an early Easter (Christian). The Ides of March this year, the date of Julius Caesar’s assassination, symbolizes the fall of structure, change of leadership, an opportunity for new to come. Christian Good Friday again reinforces this idea that changes are coming, and awakening is possible.

Practice this month embracing the changes. Ask Jaguar to assist you in releasing any long held fears and fears associated with change. Embark on your path, be willing to swim far and deep to discover you own boundaries and overcome them when necessary.

On March 15, the Ides, make a mid month offering to embrace the changes. Whatever seems right to you is the right thing – write a fear on a piece of paper and burn it in a candle flame; try something new that you have always been afraid to do; take a weekend journey to a new place. Face it with a spirit of adventure and willingness.

Dreaming for the world to come
Lisa

New Year, New Beginning

Each new year signals the opportunity for a new beginning, but 2008 does even more so. This new year begins with a 1/1/1 stargate, a fantastic opportunity for starting fresh.

During the last days of this old year, take the time to clean out anything that no longer serves a purpose. Call on snake to help you in this endeavor, ask that you may shed your past as snake sheds her skin, all at once, leaving behind that which no longer serves and going forward with only your essential self.

When you clean out the old, energetically you make room for new to come in. Say a mantra or prayer as you clean out anything old. For items that are going to Good Will or other donation service, ask that the items serve a new meaningful purpose and bring good for the new recipients. For anything that you are throwing away or shredding, ask that the old energy be released and reused by the Universe.

Be sure to ask for what you want to fill the void that is left by cleaning out so that you don't start filling up all of the space with more of the same if it is no longer desired.

For instance, when shredding old credit card receipts you may ask that wealth replace the debt incurred. For old letters or articles, if it represents an unfulfilled wish, ask yourself if the wish is still relevant. Perhaps a new desire is more important. Don't linger over the unfulfilled trip, recipe, book, but instead think of the new that is now a part of your life to be.

Leaving behind also means resisting old habits, eliminating old emotional baggage, and making room for healthy new habits and wonderful new people.

Be sure to leave as much behind as possible in time for the stargate. Then you will be ready to accept the new gifts that are offered by the Universe. 2008 offers several 1/1/1 stargates if this one catches you unprepared or not quite ready to let go.

Enjoy this gift from the universe.

Alternative Thanksgiving

In our family, we are vegetarians (which has nothing to do with being a shaman), so for Thanksgiving, we celebrate a little differently than some of the folks around us. We do go to visit friends and share the big meal of the day, eschewing the Turkey. One year we tried a Tofurkey, but it wasn't for us.

But at some point over the holiday, we take a trip to the zoo. This may seem just another form of unkindness to our animal friends, but we are lucky enough to live in Miami, and we have a wonderful zoo here that is cageless and renowned for research and conservation programs. I do believe that the animals there are treated well. And the weather is always spectacular this time of year (sorry to my norther readers). Plus it is a huge zoo, so we easily walk off many of the calories from sweet potatoes, pecan pie, green bean casserole, cornbread, etc.

This year, I spent some time thinking of totem animals and what they have to offer us. The most obvious example is the pair of Andean Condors that our zoo has, because the form of shamanism that I practice comes from Peru, and the Condor is associated with one of the four directions. We thank Condor every time we open or close sacred space, and it was lovely to be able to thank this pair in person.

But the one that struck me most was a giant tortoise who walked, very slowly, across an expanse of grass right up to the fence to visit us. He stayed at the fence for a long time, looking at us as my daughters looked at him. I don't think I've ever noticed a tortoises's eyes before, and they were so kind and patient, as was he. My preschooler has had a peaked interest in the story of the tortoise and the hare this week, so it was a special treat for her.

When I read over the message for Tortoise, I realized the importance for my own life. Tortoise teaches patience and focus. I have recently been in a period of lacking focus (starting several new blogs, writing pieces here and there, working sporadically on my novel) and have been frustrated at the lack of progress. It is said that when tortoise comes into your life, he is ready to share his ancient wisdom. I thank tortoise for his gift at this appropriate time.

Look around in your own life at this time of hectic schedules. The holidays increase everyone's pace. Could you benefit from the lessons of patience and steady focus offered by Tortoise?