Transfiguration Ceremony

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Transfiguration Ceremony

Here is a transcript of a transfiguration ceremony I led for 400 people in Santa Fe in February of 2015. Please feel to use this ceremony among your friends, loved ones, and in your local community. You can use it as it is or make changes as you are guided to keep the ceremony relevant to the group you are working with.

We are spirit, if we allow our spiritual light to shine through, we become a healing presence.

Take a few deep breaths…….We do this for every living being and the Earth itself. (I whistled and rattled to begin and then started drumming.)

Take a few deep breaths and let your thoughts drift away.

As you breathe, place your hands on your heart, feel and get in touch with your heartbeat.

With our heartbeat let’s connect with the heartbeat of everyone in the room who have gathered together in behalf of all of life and the Earth.

Let us connect our heartbeat to the heartbeat of the spirit of the land where we are gathered and the helping ancestors who have loved this land so much and join in with us in our work. Connect with the heartbeat of Mother Earth.

We are body mind and spirit. When you let go of the body and your daily thoughts, your mind, who you are beyond your skin is spiritual light. Before we were born and just a little tiny light looking down on this great earth, we were excited about this incredible adventure of being born into a body and being spirit that can manifest spirit into form just like creator and the creative forces of the universe.

I invite you to travel inside to your inner world just imaging traveling within….. and experience your light. Our light is like the beauty of the night sky, our light is like a star, star light. Stars do not try to shine, they radiate through you, effortlessly and they don’t say I think I am only going to shine just on this one place on the earth. They do not send their light, they just shine.

Our light is like the sun……our spirit is like the sun that shines above us feeding all of life with the energy to thrive, unconditionally never asking for anything in return so you might choose to experience your own inner sunlight. Our light is like the flame of life, all of life.

Travel within yourself into your Inner World and experience yourself merging with a star or the sun or experiencing a flame and let that light radiate through you, absorb it into every single cell of your being like a flower that absorbs the sun or a flower, plant or tree that absorbs the rain and soak it in………………………………..

And now allow that light, it is an allowing process, without effort, let that light radiate through you, throughout this place let’s connect our lights together………………………….. Now experience that light radiating within and throughout this entire Earth touching all of life and when you feel like that light is radiating within and throughout the Earth. I invite you to stand with your hands, palms facing our Earth (I use a photo of the Earth for the group to focus on)…….and as you stand allow that light to effortlessly radiate through you while we tone together the sound of creation………….(For people who do not know how to tone I gave examples of Om or just singing a vowel and letting it flow into other vowels- o ah ooh eee)  whatever comes through you………………………….(group toning)…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

(3 -4 chimes of chimes to signal it is time to stop toning and then the drumming faded out – I had people drumming with me so I could do the chimes while they faded out the drum. You could just stop the drumming and do some kind of bells or Tibetan bowl or other sound to signal the end of the toning.)

Take a few deep breaths and be aware of yourself, take a few deep breaths. While it is important to come back and be grounded it is important not to disconnect from our light because we are light.  As you still feel that light radiating through you, experience your body, and the preciousness of being in a body. It is such a gift to be here in a body and to live on this Earth.

Imagine deep roots going down into the earth, grounding you. As you do this feel yourself coming back feeling fully present. Feel your heartbeat still connected to the heartbeat of all life. We do this work for ourselves and we do it on behalf of the web of life and the earth itself. We can all be a presence of healing and create positive change for all of life and the planet

Ended ceremony and thanked everyone for coming.

Preparing for Ceremonial Work

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Setting Up An Altar

You can set up an altar in a space where you perform your shamanic work. This creates sacred space providing a path between the visible and invisible realms. On a table or on the floor, place a special piece of cloth or a small rug. Place on the cloth or rug some crystals or stones from nature, some flowers, or even a candle you can burn when doing sacred work. Creating sacred space supports your spiritual work. Some people like to burn sacred herbs such as sage, cedar, or sweet grass. You can find incense that assists in supporting a sacred state of consciousness.

I replace certain things on my altar with new sacred objects when I feel I need a reflection of a major shift I have made in my life. My altar changes as I change.

Go to your altar when you are sending out prayers or asking for healing. I place names of people who are asking for help on my altar. I return to my altar during times when I need some comfort.

Drumming, Rattling, Singing, and Dancing

Shamans leave their ordinary thoughts and day behind and go into an ecstatic state in order to be a vessel of the helping spirits and the healing and transformative energies of the invisible realms. These are ways you can prepare for your sessions and also for your continued ceremonial work.

To prepare for our ceremonial work try to do some activity or take some action that moves you from work and the daily activities of your day so you can move fully into the invisible realms. Even a symbolic act can be helpful like washing your face or hands. It is important to leave your ordinary world behind. This is so important before we perform our virtual ceremonies together to open to the true power that can come through us as hollow bones.

Here are some suggestions:

Put on a special scarf, shirt, piece of clothing that represents you are putting your ego aside and your day behind so that your spirit can shine through.

Light a candle. Cleanse yourself by burning some sacred herbs such as sage, sweetgrass, palo santo, or your favorite incense.

Sit in silence and meditate before performing your journeywork.

Take a walk in nature.

Drum or rattle and sing or dance until you feel like you have let go of your ordinary concerns. Shamans sing a variety of power songs that assist them in moving their ego/personality out of the way so the helpings spirits can work through them. This is why shamans are seen to be “hollow bones” or “empty reeds” while they are doing their healing, divination, and ceremonial work.

To get a power song you can take a walk in nature and just let your soul sing. A traditional way of getting a power song is to sit by a tree and hold an intention for a song to come. You can drum or rattle for yourself and let your soul sing. Please do not judge your ability to sing. It is our birthright to sing. Everything in nature that is alive sings!! Singing is a great way to prepare for your shamanic work, and it also makes you feel good.

It is difficult to journey after a big or heavy meal. Try eating lightly in order to have journeys that have more clarity. Alcohol makes journeys fuzzy. Please abstain from drinking alcohol before you journey or perform a ceremony.

These are just suggestions. Find ways to prepare for your work that assist you in becoming a clear vessel to bridge the beauty, power, and healing from the invisible into the tangible realms. Preparation is key to any successful ceremony!!

 

Welcoming, Honoring, and Greeting the Helping Spirits

When you call in and greet the helping spirits make sure you use the intention to call in Helping and Compassionate Spirits. You are not just calling in ANY SPIRITS.

It is so important for you to find your own way to welcome, honor, and greet your helping spirits. This is simple courtesy. You are inviting your helping spirits to work in partnership with you and you want to begin by greeting them. If you repeat an invocation by rote it will have no power. The helping spirits read your heart not your mind. Speak to them from your heart. This is an invocation I have used simply to give you an idea of a way to create your own invocations.

The following invocation is excerpted from Walking in Light: The Everyday Empowerment of Shamanic Life copyright 2014 Sandra Ingerman (Sounds True).

Take a few deep breaths and get comfortable. Think about a favorite place in nature that you enjoy visiting. This is a place of beauty, a place where you can relax and feel calm. It is a sacred place for you. Now imagine yourself in this place of peace and healing. Close your eyes and breathe deeply. Notice how your energy flows through your body. Place your hands on your heart and feel your heart opening with each breath in and breath out. Breathe out any disturbing thoughts and breathe in love. Breathe all the way down into your abdomen. Send the energy of your breath to any part of your body that feels tense and release the tension as you exhale. Notice the thoughts, feelings, sensations, and images that arise as you breathe. Notice the sounds around you as you breathe in and breathe out. And as you continue to breathe deeply, take a step back and leave your everyday life behind you for now.

Experience yourself standing in this sacred landscape as fully as you can right now. Open your senses to take in the beauty of the landscape you are standing in. Look around you.

     What plant life is here?

     Are there any animals?

     Are there any rocks or minerals?

     Is there a body of water?

     What is the quality of earth like?

     Are you in the mountains, or in a forest, in the desert, or on a beach?

     Is the sun shining?

     Are there clouds in the sky? What is the color of the sky?

     What are all the colors surrounding you? Drink in all the colors with your eyes.

     Feel yourself fully present in this landscape. Feel the earth beneath you.

     Feel the air on your skin. Is it warm or is it cold? Is the air moist or is it dry? Is the air still, are you being caressed by gentle breezes, or is the wind        blowing strong?

     Listen to the sounds of nature. Do you hear the sounds of any water, birdcalls, or animal noises? Do you hear the wind?

Take a very deep breath and breathe in the wonderful clean and fresh fragrances of this peaceful place. The fragrances might be ones you have smelled before bringing back happy memories, or they might be new to you.

 Feel yourself absorbing the life-giving light of the sun into all your cells. Feel the emotions that arise from being in such a sacred place filled with peace and beauty. Open your heart and feel love, peace, and gratitude within.

 As you open to your sensory awareness, experience your mind quieting and your energy expanding. Experience the peace and healing of this place. You are held in the loving arms of the power of the universe and life itself. You are not alone; you are part of a greater whole. The Earth has a heartbeat, and as you breathe deeply, you experience yourself becoming one with her heartbeat. As you feel the beat of your heart like the rhythm of a drumbeat, feel your heart pulse with love and gratitude for the beauty of nature and all it shares with you.

Begin by honoring the directions.

Honor and greet the East. The East represents the spring. It is the place of the rising sun always reminding you of new beginnings and the chance of unlimited possibilities.

Honor and greet the South, the season of summer. Give thanks for the protection you receive as you live your life from a state of love. The South can represent the direction of intuition and living from a state of awe and wonder as you did as a child.

Honor and greet the West, the season of autumn and the direction of the setting sun. The West teaches you about the power of death and rebirth. There is always the new that comes from letting go of what no longer serves you.

Honor and greet the North, the season of winter. Give thanks for the wisdom that is shared from your ancestral spirits.

Honor and greet the sky above and the earth below, and acknowledge that you bridge the great powers of Heaven and Earth through your open heart. Honor your inner divine spirit that is a reflection of the creator.

Next, give thanks to the spirit of the Earth who provides you with beauty and the nurturance to thrive.

Feel gratitude for the living being we call air, which is the first living being who welcomed you into the world as you took your first breath. Air is your constant companion as you are always in connection with it as you breathe. And air teaches you about your connection with all of life as you share some of your DNA as you breathe out and breathe in the DNA of others.

Send your gratitude to water. There is no life without water. Water held you while you were growing in your mother’s womb and then escorted you into the world. Water fills your cells with life-giving nurturance.

Greet and give thanks to the sun for the energy you need to thrive. The sun reminds you of the passion for life and reflects back to you the divine light that shines within. The sun is a teacher of unconditional giving, for it gives without asking for anything in return.

Honor, greet, and give thanks to the moon and the stars for sharing beauty and wisdom and for providing you with guidance. You honor the moon and stars by shining your light reflecting the beauty of the night sky.

Breathe out love to all the living beings who live in the elements, the spirit that lives in all things. Honor the animals, birds, insects, fish, reptiles, trees, plants, minerals, and rocks.

Honor, greet, and give thanks to the spirit of the helping ancestors who have sacrificed much so that you may live a life filled with peace, harmony, love, light, and abundance.

Acknowledge, honor, greet, and give thanks to the Hidden Folk who are the fairies, elves, little people, and forest guardians who remind you of the magic of life. These nature spirits caretake the Earth and love it so. Give thanks to the Spirit of the Land where you live for providing you with a home.

Give thanks to all the helping spirits who continue to share their wisdom, healing, and unconditional love. Give thanks to them for lighting your path, leading to a deep, rich, and joyful life.

Ending and Closing

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Make sure you return fully from your journeys/meditation/ceremonial work. If you journey while performing a ceremony retrace your steps slowly back into the room you are journeying in. If you do not feel fully grounded then please repeat the return. You can do this by replaying the return beat on the CD you are listening to. If you are drumming or rattling you can drum or rattle the return beat again. Or you can find two sticks and just click the sticks together as you slowly return from the invisible realms feeling fully grounded and back.

After finishing a journey or ceremony you can do a meditation where you experience your body fully connecting with the earth. Imagine sitting with a tree and feel yourself rooting into the earth like a tree has deep roots connecting it to the earth. The stronger the roots the stronger the tree.

When you complete a journey or ceremony thank all the helping and compassionate spirits who joined in the work. Let them know your work is done. They already know this but it is simple courtesy to thank and close the circle.

 

Creating a Human Web of Light

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Imagine…“Imagine. Before you were born you were just a little spark of light connected to the creative force of the universe. You looked down on this great earth. What a beautiful planet filled with wondrous life forms. You started to ponder the possibilities of life on earth. Reader, do you remember the preciousness of life and that all life was created to experience love, light, joy, harmony, peace, equality, and abundance for all?   If you can feel this in your bones, then you know it is true. If you cannot, do not despair for I will help you to remember. We are a community of people who can gather our spiritual light and energies together to remember and to create a wondrous life for all living beings. We must remember our vision and then focus on it and hold the vision together.   This is how we thrive together in changing times.” Excerpt from How to Thrive in Changing Times  by Sandra Ingerman (Weiser 2010)

When I was researching different spiritual teachings for Medicine for the Earth I found the underlying principle of esoteric beliefs is that all life is made of light.  As human beings with egos we often forget our true nature and we over identify with our personalities and bodies.  We are light in bodies.

Alchemists did not literally change lead into gold.  Rather they transmuted heavy leaded consciousness into gold light consciousness.  Jesus in Matthew 5:30-20 challenges us not to hide our light under baskets.  When mystics all over the world perform their miracles of healing they are seen to shine and become luminescent.  Throughout Medicine for the Earth I write about the importance of the concept of light in all spiritual traditions.

We are light and we came here to shine.  But most of us have forgotten our true nature as well as why we came here.  We were created from love and light and we are love and light.  It is our birthright to shine as fully in the world as we can.

Many of us have been taught at an early age not to shine too bright.  If we shine too bright no one will love us.  There can only be a few “stars” and it is not you.  Does this sound familiar?

Why can there only be a few stars here on earth?  I have never heard anyone say when looking up at the stars in the sky, “I wish that star wouldn’t shine so brightly it is outshining other stars”.  Why do we have that belief here?

It is time for all us to shine our light, which will reflect back the beauty of the night sky above us.  We need to find our shine again so that we can light up the dark places of the world.

On a monthly basis we will create a human web of light.  This will not only bring light to places that need it right now, but it will heal us and help us remember our true nature which is light.  It will also be quite healing to know that you are hooking up with thousands of others who are remembering that we are light.  As we share this concept with others our web of light will grow which I know will have an impact on the earth and all life on it.

In Medicine for the Earth I teach that intention + harmony + love + concentration + focus + union + imagination = transmutation.  This formula will help us in remembering our light and letting it shine forth.

You can begin to get in touch with your true nature which is light by putting on some relaxing soothing music and allow yourself to get into a quiet place.  Take some deep breaths bringing you to a centered place where you will be able to experience a state of harmony and love.  Allow yourself to go inside holding the intention that you want to experience the light that shines within your being. This will bring you into a state of union with your creator or the power of the universe.  Keep your focus and concentrate on your intention.  Allow your imagination to help you feel and see your internal light.  Give yourself permission to let your light shine fully through you.  This light is always there and cannot be used up.  The capacity to share your light and be filled by it yourself is endless. Your light cannot be destroyed or taken from you. You do not have to worry about becoming depleted, as the source of this light is always abundant.

Make your experience a full body experience.  Begin by letting your light shine forth from the core of your being.  Let that light permeate every cell of your body.  Once you feel yourself filled up with your own light experience yourself pulsing connecting you with   the web of life.  Let your light shine forth through your pulsating body.  Experience your light pouring forth through every part of your body.

Once you have had the experience of your abundant light and have let it shine through you once again use your breath and intention to take you out of the state you are in.  Come back, open your eyes, feel your body, wiggle your toes, and know you are ready to connect with others who wish to shine to bring healing energy into the world.

Begin to practice with letting your light shine through you.  And next practice breathing in light and breathing out light throughout the day.

As you get in touch with your own light and shine it in your life you will change your vibration.  As we gather our lights together and share it in the world we change the vibration of the planet.  It’s crucial to stay focused on your intention.

I suggest that you add no prayers or words as you do this.  Just simply shine and allow yourself to join with a planetary web of light that will reach out to touch all the dark places in the world.

The first meditation began at the winter solstice in 2000 celebrating the return of the light.  During this winter solstice meditation people were instructed to shine their light as the solstice began where they lived.  As we did this the light grew as it moved from country to country.  The light was passed around the globe.   But we did not stop there.  We continued throughout the day and evening to shine.  In this way we began to link the web of light throughout the world by shining at the time of the solstice but we kept this web alive throughout the day and night.

The meditations to create a human web of light continue with each full moon when the power of the full moon will magnify the light we send out.  Each full moon keep working with shining your light and visualizing that you are connected to a global human web of light throughout the day and evening.  And let’s keep this going every full moon.  Imagine the healing and change in vibration that can take place in your own lives as well as on the planet.

If you work with a group during full moon celebrations link hands and link your lights together as you let your own shine come through.  Experience the light of your group linking with groups all over the world.  Experience yourself merging into one giant web of light.

If you are working alone once again get into a quiet place and let your shine come through you.  Experience yourself merging into one great community web of light that is shining around the world.

A friend reminded me that children always shine.  Bring your children into this practice with you.

Remember all life is of the light.  You are light, we all are light, we join together in a great circle and web of light.

In 2010 Kate who teaches Medicine for the Earth trainings in Delaware wrote in a suggestion. She meets monthly with a local group to weave a web of light and they have work in the following way:

“Instead of weaving the web of light up and out, we weave roots down into the earth. Once all the roots are joined with the light from everyone else the lights bursts forth from the earth and envelopes every being on the planet.”

Using the principle of as above, so below, as within, so without it is important for the spiritual community to develop the as within part. For many in the spiritual community have a tendency to leave the body during spiritual work. And the strength of our work is really fueled by our ability to stay embodied as a star shines from within.

Let’s try rooting the web of light into the earth. We want to really feel the web of light within and throughout the earth.

Instructions for Monthly Healing
  For Our Global Community

It does seem like consciousness is changing faster and faster. There are of course many rewards for this as we learn how to live in harmony. All change requires a death to occur in our lives. For as we transition into new states of awareness and consciousness we need to let go of what is not supportive.

I have never seen so many people going through hard times as I have seen recently.

As I often write on the Transmutation News we must learn how to dance different paradoxes of states of consciousness and awareness. For there are many levels operating simultaneously.

On one level we are all connected and we are spirits. From a spiritual state we are divine and perfect all the time. At the same time part of the human condition is having an ego. And the ego does see itself as separate from the rest of life. And the state of separation creates fear, anger, and a variety of other emotions. It is also the state of separation that causes physical illness.

As we continue to do our transfiguration practice we begin to heal those states of separation. We move into a higher state of consciousness and we need to learn to surrender to the perfection of the universe. And sometimes it is hard to do that and we need help in remembering our own divine light.

To help our worldwide community reading the Transmutation News I have decided to add a monthly healing circle to go along with creating a human web of light. We will continue our weaving a web of light within and throughout the earth on the full moon. And we will also create a circle that allows our radiance to shine through for those asking for help.

Here is what I suggest. If you would like to volunteer as a practitioner imagine yourself standing or sitting in a circle with other practitioners.  Remember the Transmutation News is translated into many different languages. We have a large global community working together.

Our intention is to experience our divine light and radiate it out to the inner circle.

We do not see suffering in our circle. We acknowledge the divine perfection in each person. So we do not lock people into a diagnosis of suffering rather we lift them up into their divinity.

Author and lecturer, Eric Pearl teaches, “In quantum physics if you change the behavior of one particle, another particle in a different location will instantaneously react whether inches or universes away.” Lower frequencies entrain or attune to higher frequencies not the other way around.

So back to the core principle of the Medicine for the Earth work, we change the world and heal others by who we become – by our presence and by the love and light we radiate.

We are not sending energy or trying to heal anyone. We are only allowing our divine light and love to spark the divine light of those asking for help.

Imagine yourself standing or sitting in a circle of practitioners. Do your transfiguration work and with your hands facing the inner circle radiate your divine light and love.

If you feel you need some help imagine yourself lying in a circle with people from around the world.

Your role is to absorb the light being shared by our practitioners. Think of a metaphor that might help you with absorbing divine light and love into every cell of your being.  I will give you a few examples with the hope that you will find a metaphor that works for you. You can think of a dry sponge that has been placed in water and soaks up moisture. You can think of flower that has been in rain for days or weeks and the sun shines and the flower soaks up the rays of the sun. Or maybe you can think of a flower that has been getting too much sun and it begins to rain and the flower soaks up the water nourishing it and giving it life.
Or think about a room where the curtains are closed and the curtains are opened flooding the room with the light of the sun.

Allow the light of the outer circle to jumpstart your own radiance to flow through every cell of your body. This reconnects us to our divine perfection and our connection to the web of light. This heals those states of separation that create emotional and physical illness. And it reminds us that we all have the power and strength to rise to the challenges and opportunities that life brings to us.

And you can be in both roles at different points of the day or evening. You can be practitioner at one time and then lie in the middle of our circle at another.

And as we are working outside of time it does not matter when you do this work. It is not necessary to coordinate the times in which we all work.

As with creating a human web of light we are not limited to only working on the full moon. I nurture the web of light whenever my heart calls me to. And we can certainly keep shining our light into our global circle on a daily basis. For truly our work is to learn how to shine our light into the world with each breath and step we take.