Category: English

Transmutation News – August 2014

I know our hearts are being stretched as we watch so much violence continue in so many places of the planet and also as so much life is impacted by climatic events. We continue to join our hearts together and radiate love and light and perceive all in their spiritual strength instead of focusing on suffering and weakness.

Due the urging of many readers of A Fall to Grace I have been creating a story line for the sequel to this book. And the process has been so interesting and revealing to me. I think that some of what I am working with might create a desire to reflect on your own life.

A Fall to Grace is a visionary fiction book. I based the book on events, dreams, and journeys from my own life. The only exception to this was the beginning of the book where the main character C Alexandra is in surgery to remove a cancerous tumor.

I had the flu, and I had a very high fever. I was in bed sleeping and trying to heal when I had a dream. In the dream a man with long white hair and clear steel gray eyes appeared and told me how to begin the story. He then instructed me to get up and start writing the book. In the dream I argued with him and protested. I told him I was sick. He was persistent and kept telling me to get up and write.

I finally pulled myself out of a deep sleep and got up, took out a pad of paper, and wrote the first three pages of the book. It was this dream spirit who told me to start the book with C Alexandra undergoing surgery.

I actually have never undergone surgery or had cancer. But I went with it. After I wrote those first 3 pages the rest of the story did not unfold for another 5 years. Something obviously was gestating inside of me, and I had to wait for the rest of the book to be born.

I promised a sequel and never delivered on that promise. This is not like me as I do follow through on my commitments. At the same time, I cannot force the sequel. The story will be told when the stars are aligned.

I have not put “pen to paper” yet to write down what is coming through for the sequel. But I have been actively developing the characters and the story line in my head.

Unlike A Fall to Grace the sequel will not be based on my life. It will completely be fiction about C Alexandra living in another dimension of reality.

I have the story line and the characters quite developed. I am really just waiting to complete the editing process of the two new books that Sounds True and Inner Traditions are publishing in 2015. I simply need some time to write out the story that is so deeply running through me.

Here is what I find so interesting and what I want to share with you. As I daydream about C Alexandra’s life in this other dimension, I sometimes find myself having to take a step back and question a character I created or where a plot in the book is going.

I might find myself creating a character who is getting ready to bring great suffering into C’s life and possibly break her heart. And then I stop and ask myself the questions, “Do you really want to pursue this scenario? Do you really want to bring in such a dark character into C’s world right now? And if you follow the line of the plot, do you really want this story line to be manifested in C’s world?”

I reconsider. I want C to live a life where she experiences the joys of life. But I also want her to experience the deeper lessons that come through life’s initiations and challenges. So, I am not trying to take struggles away from C.

But sometimes the story line gets so intense I feel my heart hurting in a way where I say I do not want to pursue this story line. And I erase the character and the plot in my head.

I am immersed so deeply with the book that the characters and the story line that I am creating have all become so real. It is like I am truly stepping into and inhabiting the dream and life of C Alexandra. This is one of the key steps that I have shared with you about creating the dream you wish to live in.

This takes us back to what I wrote about in the June Transmutation News about the need to tear up the script.

For shamans and mystics since the beginning of time teach that this world is a dream. It is time for us to take a step back and reflect on:

– Why did you create certain characters, events, and circumstances in your story line? Every event in your life has meaning. Why did you call it in?

– What have you learned from the events of your life? And how do you want to shift the direction of your story, the characters in it and the outcome?

– Reflecting on the power of the life story you created by your daydreams how would you change the scenarios and characters you are dreaming into being?

Here is an exercise I share in “Shamanic Visioning: Connecting with Spirit to Transform Your Inner and Outer Worlds”. I also wrote about this in my new book Walking in Light which will be published by Sounds True in 2015.

If you know how to perform a shamanic journey this is a powerful journey to do. But you can also do this as a meditation.

Do some preparation work so that you leave the distractions of your ordinary life behind. Take a walk and clear your mind. Or dance/sing/ meditate to move away your egoic thoughts away and open to the love of spirit.

Put on a shamanic musical track or drum or rattle for yourself and travel into the hidden realms. Let your intention and your imagination take you to The Land of Dreams. Once there ask to meet up the Master or Mistress of Daydreams.

Ask the Master or Mistress of Daydreams to show you how what you daydream about throughout the day is dreaming into being the life you are now living in. Explore the characters that are in your life. Learn about the scenarios and events that are now being created through your daydreams.

Ask for guidance on how you can change your daydreams so that you can also shift the story of your life. Remember the story you tell yourself is the life you end up living.

Neville taught, “The whole vast world is yourself pushed out.”

Florence Scovel Shinn taught, “Creation comes through us not to us.”

I truly believe that our destiny is to learn how to manifest spirit into form just like our creator did. And our life is a process of learning how to do this. We go on automatic and have lost awareness to the fact that our thoughts and words are invisible energies that do manifest into form.

As I written before what we feed grows. And I have continuously asked you to examine what seeds you are cultivating in your inner garden and inner landscape.

By reflecting deeply on your daydreams and what you are dreaming into being take this learning to a deeper level.

As I also engage in all the spiritual work that I suggest you do I realize that this exercise is not so simple. It is not a simple matter to be conscious of the impact of our daydreams in our life. Also, it is not always clear how certain people or events did show up in our life. The exercise I suggest is easier said than done.

But even if you can get one small clue that leads you to understand something simple in your life that manifested is a start. Don’t take on looking at your entire life script. Stay open and see if you can connect the dots to how one event or person entered into your life to give you a valuable lesson. And reflect on whether there is a small change you can make in your life that also changes the script.

I feel strongly that there is a momentum to the collective dream right now. All of life is being so deeply impacted by behaviors based on greed, hate, and power over. The collective dream is so dense and solid. And of course, using spiritual teachings the collective dream is our personal dream. At the same time every small change to our script we rewrite and every contribution we can make to change the current dream is so valuable.

I get my mail delivered to a PO Box. And part of my daily routine is to go to the post office to pick up my mail. People arrive at the post office in a variety of states of consciousness. I see people come in angry, frustrated, sad, rushed, and some just peacefully entering into this space.

It is not uncommon for me to strike up a conversation with a stranger as I am picking up my mail. One day I was reading my mail at a location in the post office that was by a window. There was a man standing next to me also reading his mail. I started up a friendly conversation with him. As I did so I could see his eyes start to shine a bit. He had such a serious look before.

When I was done reading my mail, I said goodbye to this man. He looked me straight in the eyes and said, “Thank you for brightening up my day.”

The energy behind his words were so sincere that I can hear this statement reverberating through me from time to time.

We can shift the energy of others through our presence, and we also help a person change the dream he or she is dreaming during that day. By brightening up someone else’s world we bring light and love into their dream.

The full moon is August 10. Let us gather our energies together to rewrite the collective dream to one filled with love, light, peace, and harmony. We do this by creating a human web of light that radiates within and throughout the earth. We do this by joining our hearts and divine light together to dream a new world into being

If you are a new reader of The Transmutation News you can read instructions for our full moon ceremony by visiting “Creating a Human Web of Light” on the homepage.

Transmutation News – July 2014

Recently I had a very profound realization in the middle of the night. I would like to share it with you in case my experience sparks some awakening in you.

First, I would like to give you some background information on what I feel might have inspired my experience.

During the last few months, a number of my friends, students, and peers have died. Death has been around me, and I have been reflecting on how many people close to me, that are a similar age to me, are leaving this plane of existence. I am sure this has been affecting me on a deep level below the conscious feelings emerging for me.

To add to this, I feel increasingly challenged as I watch the dense collective behavior toward the environment and all of life. The level of greed and violence continues although humans think of themselves as an evolved species.

I have always been a sensitive person and so being deeply impacted by the unconscious behavior of humans is not a new issue for me. I can imagine that many of you feel the same. I continue to engage in the spiritual practices that I teach. I do these practices throughout the day whenever my ego/personality gets triggered by what I am observing. And they do help me to shift into a more positive level of awareness.

I always felt I was born to be “a worker bee”. I do have a strong inner creative fire that keeps me working. And this creative fire has led me to work with clients, write and teach with a hope that I inspire others to live a more conscious way of life.

Those of you who know me, worked with me, or have been reading this monthly column know that I am a hard worker. I am very devoted to my work on all levels. And as you can imagine this has not always been to my benefit. But at the same time this is what I feel called to do, and I have followed my calling.

To add to all of this background information I have also dealt with riding the waves of depression and joy throughout most of my teenage and adult years.

This is all to say that I often question the meaning of life.

The end of May I woke up in the middle of the night. I was in some altered and self-aware state that I cannot explain. I was in between the worlds. I was not asleep, yet I was not awake. This state only lasted for probably one minute. In this waking dream I became completely aware of the meaning of my life.

What was of the most importance to me was that I had the opportunity to see beautiful places and landscapes on the earth. I had the wonderful opportunity to actually visit some beautiful places in my travels. And due to the media, I was able to see photos and videos of extraordinary places on earth that I could not physically travel to. I was aware that I did not have this opportunity to see so many colorful landscapes and such variety of unique life forms in any of my past lives. For in the far distant past there was not the ability to view photos that had been taken from around the world.

Being able to see the extraordinary beauty of the earth was what had the most meaning to me.

Second to that was that I experienced love.

And lastly, having the opportunity to take care of both of my parents at the end of their lives created deep meaning in my life.

Once I received the awareness of these three things that gave my life meaning I fell back into a deep sleep for the rest of the night and had some interesting dreams.

I was deeply affected by this experience upon awakening. For this was no ordinary experience of waking up in the middle of night and thinking about things on a rational intellectual level. I was in a very deep spiritual state when I had this awareness, and I felt it in every cell of my body.

It was like when I had my near-death experiences where I experienced spontaneous and profound spiritual truths and a new level of consciousness that sank into my cellular awareness creating deep inner change.

After waking up I reflected on what I received in the middle of the night. I was surprised that my work of service did not come up as something that gave my life meaning. Of course, I know and acknowledge the gifts I have shared with my clients, students, and the collective at large. But on a deep level this is not what was revealed to me as what gave my life meaning.

I have been with so many people at the end of their lives. And I hear the same thing again and again. People often reflect on what they gave priority to in life. I often hear people speak about the simple things of life that they felt were the most important to them. I rarely hear the obvious “good work” as what was reflected on at the end of life. And I don’t hear people saying I wish I worked more or harder.

This goes back to what I brought up in the June Transmutation News about “tearing up the script”.

During such an intense time of change are we focusing on what is important to our soul rather than what we think we should be doing?

I know many teachers suggest that we examine our lives as if we are looking back on it at the end of our life. It is important to reflect on how you would reprioritize your life so you can make changes now.

This month journey or meditate on the simple things that make your life meaningful. How would you change your life to make sure you engage in activities that are truly meaningful to you?

The other teaching that I received in this clear and heightened state was the importance of focusing on self-beauty. For I feel that I was also being shown how the beauty of different landscapes on the earth reflect back my inner beauty.

In my work with others, I am often struck by how little we acknowledge our self-beauty. As a collective we define ourselves by the collective definition of outer beauty. And we forget to allow the beauty of our soul to unfold like a flower blossoming in the spring and summer.

As we continue to radiate our divine light, we must also acknowledge the deep and true beauty that lies within each of us. We are as beautiful within as the earth reflects back to us with the beauty of nature surrounding us in the outer world.

A dear friend had sent me an email where she was reflecting on the teaching “As above, so below”.

She wrote that from an astrological perspective this does not assign cause and effect in the relationship between Earth and Sky. The emphasis of the teaching is with the correlation and the mirroring that occurs when Two Beings gaze upon one another; each of them mirrored in the Eyes of the Other. The Earth reflects what is in the Sky and the Sky reflects what is on the Earth.

Her words struck a chord in me thinking about gazing into the eyes of others and into the world. For if we shift our gaze and see the light in all that is what is reflected back to us. And this is ancient wisdom that has been carried down since the beginning of time.

I know I have written about this before. But it is so essential not to lose focus when we gaze into the eyes of others. As you can truly see the light in the eyes of all of life, we change our reality by shifting our perception.

Raise your awareness and be conscious about how you judge what you see in others and in the world. We always have a choice to see illness and/or suffering or we have the choice to recognize the brilliant spiritual light that is part of all of life. The more you can maintain your focus with this work the deeper you can travel in other dimensions of life. For the dimension of beauty is present at all times.

The full moon is July 12. Start your full moon ceremony with reflecting on your inner beauty and the beauty of all of life around you. Gaze upon photos of nature and of the earth and appreciate what a glorious planet we live on.

From this place of appreciating the beauty of life perform your transfiguration practice to drop what keeps you separate from your divine light. Radiate this light while focusing on joining with the beauty of our global community who is all doing the same. Imagine and gaze upon this beauty and the lights of all weaving a brilliant web of light within and throughout the earth touching, embracing, and connecting every being that is alive.

If you are a new reader of the Transmutation News please visit “Creating a Human Web of Light” on the homepage to read the instructions for our full moon ceremony.

Transmutation News – June 2014

The local and world news continues to get more disturbing as stories increase about violence, behavior based on greed, and inhumane treatment of others. These behaviors have always occurred. It is just that through modern communication we have more access to global news.

On the positive side the news is causing both local and global communities to voice their outrage about what is going on. And it is through communities of people standing together in unity and strength that we are seeing and will continue to see change happen. We cannot depend on individual leaders to create the kind of change needed to bring about a life filled with honor, respect, and equal treatment for all of life.

It is powerful to watch how people are gathering together in communities to help and support each other. It is sad that it has been trauma that brings people together in this way. But we are seeing growth and evolution as many people feel they can no longer live in isolation. A new vision about working with the feminine principle of cooperation and collaboration is emerging.

We continue to do our work together as a spiritual community using the practices I have shared with you. At first glance when reading over some of the practices they look so simple. Some people confuse what on a quick scan looks simple to a perception that the practices are for beginners. Many of us equate simple practices as for beginners and complex practices with advanced work.

This is really a misperception. Many people studying spiritual traditions don’t stick with the practices long enough and have persistence to reap the rewards. In the spiritual community there are perpetual seekers who keep looking for complex ceremonies and practices that on the outside look like they might be more powerful.

The key is to keep searching until you find a path that speaks to your soul. And once you find that path it is important to stay true to it, sink into the work, and not get distracted by other ways that look more powerful on the outside. All spiritual paths lead to the same ultimate outcome. The key is doing the work.

Most of us love to engage in shamanic healing ceremonies, and we experience a state of ecstasy in doing so. But unless we engage in the everyday empowerment of a shamanic way of life, the healing ceremonies we perform don’t have a true lasting effect.

Simple practices that are passed down through shamanic cultures are potent ways to create great transformation. But as you have discovered for yourself, in working with the material I share, they are multi-layered. There are times when you find yourself on an adventure where the path is full of joy and is easy and beautiful to walk on.

Then obstacles are put in your path. These obstacles might come from unworked material in your unconscious that reveals itself to be looked at, explored, and healed. The collective energies might not support your living a conscious way of life. You might find that the dynamics of the relationships with loved ones, family, friends, and co-workers pull you off your path leading you to question the work. The same might be true as you continue to engage with the collective energies of the planet that support giving up on dreams, staying in a trance state, and asks you to follow the norm.

I hear from many of you who continue to work with the practices I have shared reporting the benefits you have reaped from the work and also the challenges presented by staying on the path.

Perform simple ceremonies to release obstacles presenting themselves to you. When you find yourself giving up and feeling like creating a healthy way of life is not possible write your beliefs down on a piece of paper. Burn them in a sacred bowl that you can use for your spiritual work. Or think about releasing the power of a belief by breaking a stick while focusing on your intention to let it go. Make a small object out of natural materials empowered with a defeatist belief and send it adrift into a body of water. Buy a bottle of bubbles and blow any sabotaging thoughts and beliefs into the air.

As you release blocking beliefs into an element remember to transmute the energy you are letting go of into love and light. In this way you feed the elements, yourself, others, and all in the web of life with loving and light-filled energies.

A few weeks ago, I had a very powerful dream. In the dream I was attending a conference. The conference was not going so well, and the organizers asked me if I would wear my mask and costume of my spiritual teacher Isis and merge with her. They wanted Isis to share her wisdom in the group.

Well, the dream got very complex and was filled with rich symbolism. There is one part I wanted to share with you. I had dressed in the costume I wear when I merge with Isis. I was getting ready to go on stage. But I noticed I was wearing a sweater over my costume. I took off the sweater and noticed that there was another sweater under it. I kept taking off sweaters only to find that I was wearing many layers of sweaters.

I woke up with an understanding about the layers we have to keep removing to live from our divine nature. For Isis to me represents my inner divine light. But I could not really show my divine light in public because of the layers “of clothing” that I was wearing. This represented to me the thoughts, attitudes, beliefs we must continue to remove so that our divine light can shine forth in the world.

I journeyed and I put out a call into the unseen realms asking if there was a message to write about as we celebrate the solstice on June 21.

The message I clearly heard was, “Tear up the script!”

And then my spiritual teacher Isis appeared, and I asked her for more information. She brought me back to the power of the dreaming work we do together as we vision a new dream for the earth and all in the web of life.

Right now, in the world at large, the life we are living is based on a script that the collective has written.

Changing the script is certainly a work in progress. But we have to be diligent and continue to work on creating the life we want to see manifest. This takes discipline and persistence, as the dense collective energies are not aware of the power of the dream we are all creating together. For every daydream, thoughts we have, and words we speak create the world we live in. And as a society we do not focus on the power of the daydreams, our thoughts, and the words we are dreaming into being. The current dream no longer supports a state of health and well being.

Isis shared with me that it is important for all of us to take action to tear up the current script that we are playing out. I would like to encourage all of us to do this work together on the solstice.

Here are some suggestions:

If you feel inclined to do so, write out the current script of behaviors you would like to see an end to.
If you are too busy to write out an entire script, write down one or more words that describes what you would like to see released such as: hate, war, greed, or abuse.
Gather some art supplies together. You can use crayons or paint. Draw an image of what you would like to see released. For example, you can draw an image of oil polluting water.
Or you can use colors to draw or paint chaotic lines that represent energies that you no longer want to see manifest. Close your eyes and draw or paint while expressing energies to be released.

On the solstice, prepare the space you want to work in either indoors or outdoors. Welcome the helping compassionate spirits who witness and support your work. Create an altar with a candle and sacred objects such as flowers, special stones, crystals, or any objects from nature that call to you. You might want to wear something special that helps you to move from your daily ordinary consciousness to a spiritual state. You can play music, drum, rattle, and sing or chant.

Once you feel you are in the appropriate spiritual state that brings you into a greater awareness of the power of your spirit tear up the paper representing the collective script.

As an alternative you could empower a stick with the script of the present collective dream and break it. Or you can blow it into a natural object and release it into the water while focusing on destroying the current script. Of course, burning something in fire is a powerful way to work for the true nature of fire is to transmute and transform.

Use your imagination and tear up the current script of the collective dream.

As we all do this on the same day, we join our collective energies together to say “No” to living an abusive and unhealthy way of life.

Feel a space that opens in the collective field that you can fill with positive thoughts, words, and dreams. Fill the space with love.

Through writing, drawing, painting, or using a craft to create an object bring through the power of a new script, a new dream. Place this on your altar to be empowered by the collective energy of our community and the power of helping spirits and spiritual allies.

You can also sing and/or dance a new dream.

Make a commitment to continue your dreaming work. With full sensory awareness imagine the world you wish to live in. Step into the dream and live from it.

Know that your dreamwork does impact the physical world. For everything that is now manifested into physical form in your life and the world began as a thought in the unseen realms.

Engage with full sensory awareness, as you perceive the light of humans and all of life shining as brightly as the sun. It is not enough to mentally recognize the divine light of life. Project light onto all that you see.

Let go of the need to see immediate results. Your dream is now in the hands of spirit. Your role is to do the work.

On the solstice, be a light and brighten up someone else’s life. Engage a stranger in friendly conversation and get them to smile. Notice how good this feels. As we can brighten up the life of others this energy becomes contagious. And this is one way we begin to change the collective script.

As we enter a new season it is important to harmonize with the energy of the earth. Performing a meditation or shamanic journey to merge with an element or all the elements is a way to do this.

You might be noticing that an element in your area is trying to get residents’ attention through drought, fires, flooding, earthquakes, or tornadoes.

Listen to some music or drumming and imagine merging with the earth where you live, or a fire burning, a flooding body of water, or strong winds. Learn about the element by becoming it. The information you receive will go beyond a rational understanding, but rather will impact you physically as you become one with the energy of another living being.

State a decree and give thanks to the element for harmonizing with you and returning to a state of balance. Experience the element you are merged with in its perfect balance and in a state of harmony.

When you have completed your meditation or journey align your heartbeat with the heartbeat of the earth.

The full moon is June 12. Let us continue to gather our energies in love and weave a web of light within and throughout the earth. Let’s deepen our work and focus on the dream we are dreaming into being experiencing a world filled with love, light, harmony, peace, equality, and abundance for all.

If you are a new reader of the Transmutation News please read “Creating a Human Web of Light” on the homepage for instructions of how you can join us during our full moon ceremony.

I join with all in our community to send blessings to you for a beautiful summer/winter solstice!

Transmutation News – May 2014

When we focus only on the seen and visible world it is so easy to fall off of our spiritual path. The collective and the conditioned mind is drawn and magnetized to the drama and trauma of what is occurring in the outer world.

It is a challenge to be so hypnotized by our conditioning. It can be a struggle for many to focus on the beauty that life has to offer instead of only perceiving the challenges.

I was taking a walk in my arroyo after a very intense day of work. I needed a way to de-stress and clear my mind. As I have written in past, columns the arroyo I walk in is filled with magic for me. Walking the same path for 18 years and feeling my feet connecting deeply with the earth is healing balm. And over the years I have received a wealth of omens and signs that have guided me on my path and also have reminded me of the power of the unseen and the magic of life.

I really do not know how I would stay centered if I did not have such a familiar place in nature to walk in. I can visit with my favorite trees that have become friends, gaze upon beautiful red crystalline rocks, and listen to the bird songs. This is not just a place for me to receive messages; it is also a place of comfort.

Santa Fe is in a drought. As we know every place on the planet is experiencing extreme changes in climate. And if we are to believe only the research the shifts will continue to intensify. I still believe we have the power to call in balance and shift the impact of human behavior on the planet.

As I was walking, I could not help but start to worry about the dryness and the fate of this land. I got lost in thinking about the future and how long I would get to enjoy walking in this amazing and beautiful landscape.

And then I brought myself back from feeding the challenge and hardship to appreciating all the gifts I receive from the land. I brought myself back into the present moment. I had to shift my perception to see the divine health of the land.

I have written about shifting our perception and seeing the divine health of all in the web of life and the earth. I find that there is a physical shift that I can feel as I do this. When I perceive the health of the land versus the struggle, I feel my third eye opening. And with my invisible sight all that I see shifts. It is like I have another set of eyes that see into the unseen rather than only what is visible to me. With this other set of eyes, I see the strength in the trees, the plants, and all that is alive. And by seeing through my third eye, I can change what I am projecting. It is quite amazing.

Over the last few months, I have felt myself surrender more to the divine Intelligence of Nature. I feel in all my cells that The Spirit of Santa Fe knows what she is doing. I trust how she is allowing the land to be sculpted and changed. I don’t understand on a rational level all that is occurring. But I have trust and faith in the process of evolution.

We do need to keep taking action to protect our environment. But we need to blend this with strengthening our spiritual work.

A key part of our spiritual work is to keep our focus on the beauty and divine strength and light of all that is alive.

Most of us continue to seesaw back and forth with being able to touch into the divine and then back into an egoic state of worry, fear, and anger.

Try using more of your invisible senses to shift your perception of what is happening for you and in the world. Maybe focusing on and opening your third eye as I do might be a way for you to project light onto the earth and the world.

For we know that the world is our projection. When you use your invisible sight to change the image of your projection you end up changing your life and all connected to the web of life.

As I was walking with my third eye opened, I also reflected on the conditioned mind. I wondered if future generations will have an easier time perceiving and projecting love and light. I feel we are working so hard to be vessels of love and light in the midst of challenge and change.

But will there truly be an evolution of consciousness when one day only perceiving the beauty and divine light and love is how people go about their day? With an expanded sense of perception, I can absolutely see this way of living coming to fruition.

For now, we do our work and go back and forth between experiencing the divine and then getting caught up in a dual state where we also only see the struggle and move into states of fear, anger, and grief.

I am working with a friend to design an app. I am testing the first version of it, and I have a device programmed so that I receive an alert every two hours. The alert is the sound of bells. And when I hear the bells ring my task is to stop what I am doing and reflect on what I am thinking about.

There are times in my day when I love hearing the sound of the bells. And there are times when I yell at my device and feel like throwing it against the wall. When I am lost in the stress of my day, I don’t want to stop and reflect on my state of consciousness.

I can say with confidence that I respond to this constant alert in a more positive way then I might have done many years ago. I can truly see that the focus on my spiritual practices has brought me to a more conscious way of living life. And I want to be reminded that I need to reframe my thoughts and my feelings to feed the energies of light and love. Those are the energies I want to see grow in my own life, the rest of life, and in the earth. And you have to feed the energies that you want to see grow.

I also notice that even when I am irritated (to put this mildly) by the alert if I have a word, phrase, or photo that is uplifting that I can immediately look at my irritation lasts for only a few seconds. Having visual prompts around me does really work to change my train of thought.

Please consider carrying with you, words, phrases, or a photo that can help shift your consciousness. This is important to do throughout the day. For if we cannot shift our awareness and consciousness during stressful times then we need to ask ourselves what benefit will come from our spiritual work.

We cannot spend part of the day emanating love and light and then shift into anger due to the stresses that naturally occur as we work, run errands, and travel to and from places throughout the day. We cannot maintain a spiritual state only when it is convenient for us to do so.

It is important to find ways to keep your practice consistent. I find that having something I can look at essential in keeping me focused on my spiritual work.

Find something that you can carry with you that reminds you and inspires you to radiate love and light instead of frustration and self-sabotaging and self-defeating thoughts.

Notice how your practice strengthens and does become more consistent as you learn how to shift the words you use and your thoughts in a way that will lead you to a positive outcome.

Part of our spiritual practice needs to include creating regular ceremonies to cleanse from the dense collective energies. In the December 2012 Transmutation News, I suggested that we cleanse ourselves and the collective by placing dense states of consciousness into a cauldron of light.

There is a tremendous amount of fear, anger, and frustration in the collective. We add to these collective energies by feeding the collective with our negative energy. And we are also impacted by the collective energy we are part of.

This month take some time to meditate or journey on a ceremony you can perform to cleanse yourself of any energies that do not serve you or the collective.

You can use an element that calls to you to work with. If air calls to you then you can light some incense and cleanse yourself of anything that needs to be released. Remember to transmute with intention what energies you release into love and light.

If fire calls to you release energies that no longer serve you into the flames of a fire built in a fireplace. Or you can focus on the flame of a candle and let fire transmute the energies needed to be transformed. You can also meditate or journey and perform a fire ceremony to cleanse yourself in the non-ordinary realms.

You can use water to cleanse yourself of energies that need to be transformed and with intention transmute those energies that flow into the water into love and light.

Burying what you need to release into the earth, while transmuting the energy, is another way you can work. The earth will compost those energies into fertile ground when you work with the earth with honor and respect.

The next step would be to meditate or perform a shamanic journey to cleanse the dense collective energies that need to be transmuted and transformed. As we do this together as a global community, we create a clear space in the ethers for positive change to occur. And we can breathe easier on all levels.

Make a decision to perform such cleansing ceremonies on a regular basis. Just like we physically cleanse ourselves we must keep up a spiritual cleansing process too. Notice how such a ceremony supports the ease of your spiritual work. It is hard to keep up spiritual practices while you are clogged up with compromising energies.

The full moon is May 14. Start by spiritually cleansing yourself. Do some work to prepare yourself to support the depth of your transfiguration practice. Working on a superficial fashion does not contribute to the health of the web of life. Find a time to transfigure when you can let go of the demands of your life and leave your ordinary concerns behind.

You might listen to some music that heightens your consciousness. Some people find dancing or singing helpful to support a deep spiritual state. Find the way that works for you.

Transfigure and absorb the light of the divine into all your cells. Soak in the light. Radiate light so that it flows and shines within and throughout the earth. Feed the web of light with love. Let us continue to weave into being a radiant web of light.

If you are new to reading The Transmutation News please read “Creating a Human Web of Light” on the homepage.

Transmutation News – April 2014

I received a wealth of wonderful feedback about the March Transmutation News from readers from all over the world.

When I wrote this column, something deep and strong emerged while I was sitting and typing at my computer.

It has been interesting to watch the energies in the columns that I have written over the years. I started writing this column in 1998. There have been months where I feel I have shared all I can and said all I have to say.

Many years ago, I shared this in one of the Transmutation News. I received quite the response after I wrote that I was not sure I had more to say. For the following weeks I went to my mailbox at the post office and my box was filled. There were letters from readers from around the globe asking me to please continue writing the Transmutation News. So, I have joyfully continued.

I have never felt that I have forced my writing for any month’s column. But I notice how the waves of energy that flow through me shift and change. Like the waves in the ocean some go out to sea and the water is peaceful. Some waves rise up with strength and crash to the shore. In some of my columns I have asked us to reflect on what has been shared in the past. And some have more of a fiery energy asking us to stand up and do our work. There are also columns where I loop what I have already written in an attempt to complete a cycle.

I reflected on what I wrote last month. My reflection brought me to examine the core of what is driving the behavior of humanity. I do believe that the core issue is LOVE.

We all have a variety of memories of our childhood and how we were raised. Whether you feel you had loving parents or not there are still wounds and traumas you suffered. Some of these wounds and traumas were created by the abusive behavior of a parent. But most of us suffered some level of wounding through our interactions with authority figures and by society itself.

Unconditional love was not the core of most people’s upbringing. We were raised with certain unrealistic expectations placed upon us. We were told who we should be and how we should act and perform in life.

For many people these wounds from childhood created unhealthy patterns and behavior to cope with the pressures of life and the felt sense of not being truly loved for who we are. Some people turn to a life of service and try to help others. While some try to gain power and amass more on material levels. The underlying desire is to feel accepted, honored, and loved. But this desire gets buried under emotional issues that arise from the lack of unconditional love we missed receiving as a child.

We must find ourselves again. I don’t necessarily mean having a formal soul retrieval ceremony performed in your behalf. Although many who have been wounded and traumatized in childhood can greatly benefit from receiving a soul retrieval.

The issue is a soul issue of how to live a soulful life filled with love.

It is important to spend time alone in nature, in meditation, journeying, and taking time for reflection to ask yourself the question, “Who am I beyond my conditioning?” For your parents, authority figures, and society all projected an identity onto you. And if this identity does not match the true nature of your soul you will continue to search for love and acceptance. You might have accepted the projections and created a way of life to meet others’ expectations. You might feel locked into living a life that has no true meaning to your soul’s purpose. When really all you want is to be truly loved for who you are.

Only you know who you are beyond the projections placed upon you and the true nature of your soul. It is time for all of us to find ourselves again.

Over the years I have led you on a practice to meditate or journey to learn about your creator or the creative forces of the universe. It is tricky writing for a group such as ours for we all have certain phrases and words that fit with our religious and spiritual beliefs. You must find the term that fits with your belief – God, the divine goddess, Source, the creator, creative force of the universe or another term that resonates with your beliefs.

I shared the practice of meeting your creator and learning about your creation story in Medicine for the Earth and most of the books I wrote since 2000.

I do keep sharing this practice as I think it is a key practice to experience unity consciousness with full sensory awareness and how to be a vessel of unconditional love. For unless we experience in our cell’s union with our creator and the love we were created from, then these spiritual teachings become a mental understanding. And there is no power in only a rational understanding of spiritual principles. We must feel them in all our cells and live them.

The practice I will ask you to repeat is doing a meditation or performing a shamanic journey to fully absorb into your cells the love that went into your creation. We have done this before together. But this practice should be done again and again. By repeating this practice, the healing that comes from this experience can go deeper into your cells. This practice alone can be such a potent healing balm for your past wounds. For unconditional love is the source of all true healing.

You can listen to some meditation music that assists you in reaching an expanded state of consciousness. And set your intention to meet the energy of your creator and experience with full sensory awareness the unconditional love that went into your creation. This means feel how your heartbeat changes when you are embraced and filled with such love. Notice the warmth of your skin. Feel the energy flowing through your body. Notice if your toes, feet, fingers, hands start to tingle. Smell the fragrance of love.

Absorb and soak in the light into all your cells. Experience a sense of unity with your creator and all in the web of life.

When you feel ready bring your consciousness back into the room you are in. After taking a few deep breaths open your eyes. Drink in the colors and the images of beauty that you see. Feel the sensations in your body. Listen to nature singing to you. Take a deep breath and smell the scents in the air. When you are ready, eat and truly taste something fresh and healthy. Notice how your sense of taste is enlivened. Drink some water and taste the smooth sweet taste of the water as it travels through your mouth and down your throat. Touch soft textures around you and notice the feelings in your fingers and hands. Notice how your senses seem more alive.

When you continue to experience and soak in the unconditional love of your creator you will feel called to change your behavior of how you treat yourself and others. As you keep repeating this practice you will find your heart expanding so you can be a greater vessel of love in the world.

In the past I have also encouraged you to connect with your ancestors. You can do this through a meditation or a journey. We might have some difficult memories of how our ancestors behaved. But they are now in the transcendent realms and with Source. Their loving energy can provide you with healing, love, and support. For your ancestors do care about your health and well being. They want to share the energetic support needed to assist you in being successful in manifesting your goals and dreams. Let them love you and support you.

Yes, there needs to be a change in how the collective of humanity behaves towards each other and the web of life. Feeling truly loved unconditionally naturally changes our behavior.

At the same time, it is so important for us as a spiritual community to cross the bridge to walking the path of spirit versus the path of ego.

One of the key principles in the Medicine for the Earth work and other spiritual teachings is our outer world, is a reflection of our inner state.

On a spiritual level we must continue to examine what needs to be transformed in our inner state of consciousness. This has to do with how you think, the words you use, the stories you tell yourself, and the energy you send into the world. We must cultivate a beautiful and healthy inner landscape that will be reflected in our outer landscape.

Many of you know that Neville’s teachings were a strong influence for me when I wrote Medicine for the Earth. Neville’s teachings inspire me and help me transform some of my self-defeatist and sabotaging thoughts and beliefs.

Recently the following quote was shared on a Neville yahoo group. This quote comes from “The Core of Man” a lecture Neville gave 11/17/1967. The yahoo group I am signed up on can be found at:

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/nevillequotes/info.

You might need to sit with and ponder this teaching for awhile.

“If I am not in you, this dream would not be true. If everything in the world is in me, then everything in your world is in you. And if I am in your world, then I am in you.”

The full moon is April 15. There is also a total eclipse of the moon on this day. Let us gather as a spiritual community expressing our love for all in the web of life. Find a good time in the day when you can really sink into your transfiguration practice. Do your preparation work. Experience the love of your creator and absorb that love into your cells. Transfigure into your divine light. In the spirit of unity your light will begin to dance with the light of all in our circle. Together let us weave a radiant, brilliant, sparkling web of light within and throughout the earth. Feel your heart pulse with love. Feel the light radiating from the cells of your body with ease. Weave your light with the light of the earth, the elements, and all in the web of life including that of our circle.

If you are a new reader to of The Transmutation News please read “Creating A Human Web of Light” on the homepage.

Transmutation News – March 2014

On a physical level, the state of the planet seems dire. Yet on a spiritual level, it is ripe for change.

I continue to watch in amazement how decisions are made that contribute to the devastation of our environment. I also watch as many people rely on scientific research to let them know what chemicals are safe to ingest. Environmental impact reports are funded by major corporations that will benefit financially from the projects being researched.

Many people choose to stay in a trance and simply do not make intelligent choices when it comes to taking care of their health. Does anyone need a statement from researchers to tell them that it is safe to drink water contaminated with chemicals or oil and food sprayed with pesticides?

One really has to wonder why people are not relying on their inner wisdom for answers instead of giving their power away to authorities who either are not sharing the truth or don’t know the long term effects of what we are putting into our environment.

I think people know what is happening, but feel paralyzed in knowing how to contribute to making positive changes. And of course, so many are overwhelmed by life that it is easier to stay in a trance and remain apathetic. Many think they can hide their head under the covers. We know different.

In West Virginia where water supplies were contaminated with chemicals there was quite the conflict going on. Researchers said the water was safe to drink. Many parents refused to let their children bathe in and drink this water. I say good for the parents for following their common sense!

A government official stated that he was dismayed to hear residents of West Virginia say that they were being used as lab rats. But really no one knows the long-term effects on the chemicals that are being put into the earth, our water, and the air.

We have to rely on our inner knowing and intuition. For frankly human beings have been acting against nature. And since we are part of nature and not separate from it there are consequences to the actions of the collective.

I am not sure what it takes for humanity to wake up to the fact that actions taken towards the environment are impacting every living being in the web of life as well as the earth itself.

Sometimes I find my faith in the collective of humanity lessening. At the same time my faith in spirit and in the spiritual community increases. For this is where hope lies. And without hope there is no reason to continue.

Until the collective wakes up to the consequences of human behavior we must strengthen and focus our spiritual work. For spiritual traditions through the ages have shown we can transmute toxins. And this is the foundation of the Medicine for the Earth work.

We must continue to perceive everything that exists as light. We must absorb the light of the sun as well as the light of the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. We have tools to thrive during these times of apathy, greed, and ignorance of the collective choices being made that impact the earth which is our home.

We know that the divine can transmute and heal what needs healing. Through spiritual methods we can regain a sense of harmony and balance which will be reflected back to us.

We will most likely ride a different wave than people who only acknowledge the rational and ordinary realms of consciousness.

As I wrote last year our challenge is to stay focused on our spiritual work no matter what is happening in the outer world. We can no longer afford to straddle the path of ego and the path of spirit. The times we live in are requiring us to make a choice.

Although I am aware of all that is occurring in the environment, I refuse to give into a belief in lack and fear. I make a clear choice to continue my spiritual work to honor and respect nature and all in the web of life. I choose to believe in the power of spirit and will not give into the collective consciousness that is moving into fear. Fear creates the desire to control. And it is only spirit that is in control of our fate. I also continue my commitment to help strengthen the spiritual global community. For we do have the ability to create exponential change as we work together in unity.

We cannot operate out of fear and spirit at the same time.

Yes, we need to express our opinions in our communities and be a voice of reason when it comes to political decisions that affect the environment. And at the same time as a global community, we must stay focused together on our work. It is with our spiritual practices that the divine can emerge to change the world we live in. We must surrender to spirit and do our work. We must stay strong in our faith in the power of spirit. This is the only way to be a vessel of the divine, light, and love.

I still remember clearly how in the early 1990s I was watching a documentary on TV. The research was showing the level of extreme drought that would occur in many places on the earth. Living in Santa Fe, which is the high desert, I felt myself moving into a place of panic.

The next day I performed a shamanic journey, and I went to visit my spiritual teacher, Isis. I talked to her about my fear. She sternly said to me, “If you believe you will not have water then you will not have water.”

Isis shared this with me before I began working on the Medicine for the Earth work. At the time I was still writing my second book Welcome Home.

The message Isis shared with me led me to perform a series of journeys where I learned how our perception creates our reality. And this has been a core teaching of the Medicine for the Earth work.

In all circumstances, even amidst devastation and destruction, we can choose to perceive the light, beauty, and joy of life. It is in this state of heightened perception that the divine within and without can shine through. The divine can only come through when we open our hearts.

And we must remember that new life is born even as death and destruction occur.

In many of my books I have written about the spiritual community that gathered together in the 1960s to live in Findhorn, Scotland. They were intent on growing their own vegetables. But the soil was sand and did not support the growth of vegetables. When the nature spirits, The Hidden Folk, appeared and worked with the community in the spirit of cooperation and collaboration vegetables did grow. And they grew to miraculous sizes. This is a wonderful example of how we can work in partnership with nature spirits.

There are a wealth of stories that are shared in spiritual traditions about how the divine intervenes and helps out when people have done their inner personal work and are ready for change to occur.

I do believe as we strengthen and stay focused on our spiritual practices we open the veils between the visible and invisible so that the divine and the helping spirits can work with us in partnership to sustain life.

One morning in February I woke up with some thoughts swirling around. The changes we are living through are quite intense. There are the climatic changes and the increase in violence and political unrest. Many of my friends and colleagues are either recovering from severe illnesses or have passed over to the transcendent realms.

I woke up feeling and knowing that as a collective humanity is entering into the next phase of an initiation process. An initiation does create a death of an old way of living. And with all the intense change occurring I do not believe that we can sleep through this next phase of initiation.

The strength of our inner spirit will carry us through this next phase of initiation. Our body and mind do not have what it takes to power through the changes we are in. But our inner spirit does have what we need.

We must deeply connect with our inner spirit, our divine light. We cannot create a superficial connection where we only rationally grasp what divine light is.

As I have been encouraging you in the past months, please find ways to renew and freshen your transfiguration practice so that you are not working on a superficial level. Dive deep!

This same teaching holds true as we recognize the divine light in others. Often, we superficially use the phrase “everyone and all of life is divine light”. We want to go beyond a mental recognition.

Truly look through the eyes of spirit and perceive the bright light of the sun shining through all. This is what the true shamans, mystics, and healers did when they performed their miraculous healings. Truly see and recognize the light in all of life.

For those of you who do work with clients you can integrate the practice of transfiguration into your work. This is what I teach in the Healing with Spiritual Light portion of the Medicine for the Earth Training.

Sitting by your client in a transfigured state while truly perceiving them as a bright radiant light has created miraculous healing results. Dory, who does such powerful healing work, shared with me that with the results she sees she is not sure why more practitioners are not working in this way. When she works in this way she does sit in a transfigured state as long as she can maintain her concentration. For Dory this might end up being 45 minutes. She listens to meditative music such as “Wavepool” (by Robert Rand) that helps her maintain a transfigured state.

A reader of The Transmutation News wrote me and asked me to address the issue of depression. For she shared when she is depressed, she cannot experience her divine light.

I have a history of depression. And it has been my depression that led me onto a spiritual path. I did not seek traditional medical treatment. For myself I have found great success in working with my depression by deepening my spiritual practices. My depression has always led me to keep furthering my spiritual explorations and to where I am now in my growth, development, and evolution.

My changing emotional states fuels my creativity. When I do sink into a dark state, I do not fight it. I have learned just to ride out the wave. My mantra remains, “The only way out is through”.

I just accept what is. I also cannot experience my light during these times. But I do not believe my light is gone. I just cannot make contact with it. I have come to understand that this is a rich fertile time for me where something is gestating in the darkness. My creative fire keeps me moving.

So for those of you who do feel that you go through states of depression I do understand that during these times you cannot access your divine light. But please remember your light is still shining strongly through you. Nurture and take care of yourself as you are guided. As my mom used to say, “This too shall pass.” Stay with what is.

This does not mean you should not explore the root of your depression. And you should seek out medical and psychological treatment if you need it. I am just speaking to the issue of not being able to access one’s light when in the darkness.

My guardian spirit has shared with me some powerful teachings during my thirty years of working with him. He used to tell me, “Do not sit down in the darkness.” He would advise me to keep moving, and I would find myself standing back in the light. He would also say, “Do not to forget in the darkness what you learned in the light.”

Please remember that our spiritual community holds the space for all of us as we cycle in and out of phases of darkness and light. For whether or not you suffer from depression we all are all part of nature’s cycles. And in nature there are times of darkness and times of light.

I am always inspired by the creativity of young adults.

Recently I received an email sharing a link to a video of a palindrome that was written by a 20-year-old. A palindrome is something written that reads the exact opposite, backwards and forwards. A video of this palindrome appears on You-Tube. The video is less than two minutes. If you have access to You Tube you will be amazed at what this young man created.

http://youtu.be/aRG4ySdi_aE

In February I watched a very inspirational story on “60 Minutes” which is a news program in the U.S.

The program was about a group of young adults who created an organization Free The Children: Children Helping Children. This is an international charity and educational partnership working both domestically and internationally to empower and enable youth to be agents of change.

The charity and youth movement was founded in 1995 by human rights advocate Craig Kielburger. Funded to a large extent by youth the motto is “children helping children”. The charity specializes in sustainable development in Ecuador, Ghana, Haiti, Kenya, Nicaragua, Sierra Leone, India, and rural China.

The organization runs educational programs and campaigns in developed countries with the aim of empowering youth to become socially engaged.

In a time when the news mostly focuses on the violent behavior of our younger generation, learning about this group filled me with hope for the future. There are so many “children” now helping other children get an education and create a positive life.

To see the youth so dedicated to helping other youth is inspiring. And to see the impact they are having is exciting.

If you would like to learn more about their work please visit:

www.freethechildren.org

The full moon is March 16. Let us continue to deepen our spiritual work to weave a brilliant web of life within and throughout the earth. Let us continue our transfiguration work in behalf of all in our circle.

For a reminder on the healing work we can engage in on the full moon please read “Creating a Human Web of Light”. Many years ago I had added a transfiguration ceremony for all of us to engage in to strengthen our circle.

If you are a new reader of this column please do read “Creating A Human Web of Light” on the homepage of this site.

For those in the Northern Hemisphere this has been a long and challenging winter for so many. In many places around the globe there have been colder than normal temperatures, flooding rains, and paralyzing snowstorms. And then for some of us there have been warmer than normal temperatures and extreme drought. The outer reflection of the collective state of disharmony is intensifying.

On March 20 we celebrate the spring equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and the fall equinox in the Southern Hemisphere.

Remember our outer world is a reflection of our inner landscape. To celebrate the equinox, reflect on what seeds you would like to plant and nourish. Whether you are celebrating the return of spring or fall these are both potent seasons for seeding our inner garden.

We can get so pulled out of ourselves and distracted by world events. Pull your attention back into yourself, your inner world, and inner landscape. Caretake your inner garden.

On the equinox journey or meditate to connect with The Spirit of the Land where you live. Listen for any messages that you might receive about aligning and harmonizing with the spirit of the land.

The change in seasons is a wonderful time to reflect on the changes we need to make in our lives to move into a state of balance and harmony and align with the one heartbeat of the earth.

Isis has shared with me that it is so important to feel fully nourished by life. Find some time to spend out in nature. Nature is our greatest healer!

I read a beautiful ancient Chinese proverb that someone shared on Facebook. I hope this will inspire you as together we welcome in the change of season.

“When there is light in the soul, there will be beauty in the person;
When there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the house;
When there is harmony in the house, there will be order in the nation;
When there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world.”

Together we send much love to all of you for a joyous equinox celebration!

Transmutation News – February 2014

I received correspondence from many of you letting me know that the December 2013 and January 2014 monthly columns were very helpful to you. Those of you who wrote me really loved the Inner Chamber of Light practice. This is a meditation/journey you can continue to do. I visit the Inner Chamber of Light on a regular basis.

Let’s move forward with moving from a life guided by ego to the path of being guided by spirit and seeing life through the eyes of spirit. This is a bridge that we can cross together, and I invite you to join me.

I had a very interesting conversation with a student of mine who was visiting Santa Fe. We were having tea and at some point, our conversation moved to talking about the state of the world. When we look at the world through the eyes of ego things are not looking good. The deterioration of the environment is certainly continuing at a rapid pace.

I found myself sharing that even if “the world ends” during my lifetime I want to leave this earth as conscious as possible. Rachel, who I was having tea with, asked me if I really thought that leaving consciously made a difference.

This question made me pause. For I have journeyed for so many people who died. And in my journeys, I typically see them returning back to Source and oneness again. This does not seem to depend on how consciously they led their lives.

In my continued reflection on this conversation, I still feel for myself that life here on earth is an adventure. The outcome is not what I am focusing on. For we all know by this time that the outcome must be surrendered.

But it is important to reflect on how we want to spend our time while we are alive. At this point I approach my life with a sense of curiosity.

What if I fully focus my efforts on living a path of spirit? Where does that path lead knowing that I will only be shown a portion of the path during this lifetime? What amazing and incredible landscapes will the path of spirit lead me through?

I find that asking these questions and being curious fuels my exploration deeper into the path of spirit. For there are wonders, gems, riches revealed as the veil is lifted from the dense consciousness many live in now, to the realm where life shimmers with vitality and radiance.

The earth is our home. We came here to live a life filled with spirit. Our spirit is clothed by the body. And at the same time the form of our body does not bind our spirit. It is expansive and connects with the spirit that lives in all things.

The promise that life brings us is that our visions and dreams are already manifested. We just need to step fully into living the dream we have been creating. The seeds are already manifested in us. We just need to allow the growth.

Part of stepping fully into the dream is continuing to shape and work with the words you use throughout the day. For ancient spiritual traditions do teach about the power of both speaking and sending words.

We have done a lot of work over the years with transmuting the energy behind our thoughts and attitudes so that we are sending loving energies to ourselves and to all of life.

We can also pay attention to the words we are sending. Take time this month to reflect on the words that you are sending to yourself and to the world. Do your words feed the state of health you would like to experience for yourself and the web of life?

Are you sending words such as joy, peace, love, light, abundance, and health into the collective?

As a community, let us send the words we wish to see manifest into the collective.

Someone sent me an article titled, “Words Can Change Your Brain”. Andrew Newberg, MD and Mark Robert Waldman wrote the article. For more information you can visit MarkRobertWaldman.com.

The authors shared what has been shown with people who have had brain scans with an MRI. When the word “no” was flashed for less than one second the scanner showed people releasing dozens of stress producing hormones and neurotransmitters. Seeing a list of negative words for only a few seconds deepened any states of anxiety or depression.

Negative words have been found to affect the person saying them but also of those who listen to the words being expressed. Negative words actually send alarm messages to the brain.

The last point I want to share from the article is that fear-provoking words stimulate parts of the brain such as the thalamus and amygdala to react as if there are actual threats occurring in the outside world.

Over the years we have been working together to learn how to use words that reflect what we desire. For in spiritual traditions words are seen as seeds. And these seeds when watered and nurtured grow into healthy plants. Most cultures who have their own stories of creation share how sounds and words created life.

We do have tremendous power to shift our own health and that of the planet by focusing on using and sending positive words that match the state of consciousness we want reflected back by the outer world.

During the month of February let us focus our practices together on being conscious of the seed words we send out to the collective and ourselves. Let’s state and send the words that will help rebalance our state of health.

To add to this practice, take some time each day and repeat to yourself, “The earth is my home. My body is the home of my spirit.”

Go out and feel the earth each day and open your invisible and visible senses to connect with nature and all the sentient beings. If you live in a city visit a local park.

Attune yourself to the earth, moon, and stars. Move into alignment with these powerful forces that light your way.

Deepen your connection with nature and learn to communicate with the spirit that lives in all things. A new dimension of reality will continue to show itself if you focus on this practice daily.

Join with all in our global community to bless each other and all of life with love, light, joy, abundance, peace, equality, and good health.

The full moon is February 14. What a great time to join together as it is Valentine’s and millions of people take this day to honor the spirit of love. Although popular culture celebrates romantic love on this day, we all know that love is unconditional and we were created from love.

Let us join together with our hearts open to the energy of love flowing through all of life. Let us transfigure and radiate light throughout the web of light. State words of blessings for all. Let our words weave love and peace into the fabric of reality.

For those of you new to reading The Transmutation News please visit “Creating A Human Web of Light” for a description of our full moon ceremony.

Transmutation News – January 2014

Close your eyes and take a few deep cleansing breaths. Travel into your heart and start by breathing slowly with the intention to align your heartbeat with the heartbeat of the earth.

Feel your heart expand and give thanks for your life. With your breath radiate love and light throughout the earth, touching all of life.

Imagine yourself sitting with many thousands of others who read the Transmutation News. We are one unified circle.

And now join your heart with the heartbeat of our global community and together let us wish all a Happy New Year!!

Bring your awareness back to the room you are in and read on as we bring in a New Year filled with the possibility of expanded growth and change.

Time is not linear. Our mind tends to translate time in a straight line. But we are really spiraling through time. The New Year often inspires us to reflect on how we wish to change our lives.

One thing I have shared in the past is the caution about getting caught up in predictions for the New Year. I think that we tend to want to hear predictions for the year to come as a way to establish a sense of safety and a sense of control in our lives. Even if a prediction speaks to challenges we think if we know beforehand what might occur we can prepare.

One of the great teachings of the times we are living in is to expect the unexpected. For we have all seen changes and events that caught us in surprise. We live in a time where predictions can simply end up being another distraction from following our spiritual path.

We need to wake up each day knowing that we have the strength and inner knowledge to meet whatever the day brings. The day might bring us smooth waters to sail on and enjoy. Or we might find ourselves navigating through turbulence. It is all about accepting what is and using all of our tools to navigate the current waters we are in.

In the past few months I have been encouraging you to deepen your spiritual work and to truly reflect on the difference of doing your work through the eyes of spirit instead of ego. Sometimes we feel like we are engaged in spiritual practices without realizing our ego is still in control and not allowing the true strength of spirit to shine through.

This is a time in our lives where we must allow spirit to shine through us more and more. We need to stand tall and feel spirit flowing through us – above and below and to all the horizons.

What a feeling of beauty and strength accompanies such a flow. There is an unburdening of thoughts, distractions, and being caught in dense collective energies when we can do this. Allowing the light and love of spirit to flow through us is freedom.

As you continue to deepen your transfiguration practice allow your divine light to flow more throughout the day. Keep your heart in an expanded place. Don’t close down. Instead be a presence of love. I wrote about the wonderful benefits of the practice of transfiguration in December.

My absolute passion is to create communities that work with the principle of cooperation and collaboration. And I do believe it is the power of working in community that will create the changes needed in our times.

As I began writing the Transmutation News in 2000 I wrote that the stories our descendants will read will be about communities of people coming together to create a positive world to live in. These stories of how communities worked together will replace the old stories of how one hero or heroine stepped forth to save the world.

I believe that we have unlimited potential when we join in community to work with the power of focused intent. This means dropping the egoic desires and joining together in spirit with intention, concentration, focus, love, union, harmony, and imagination and be a force of change in the world.

First we need to raise our frequency by continuing our spiritual work and allowing spirit, love, and light to flow through us. When you do this you will notice yourself feeling lighter, stronger, and inspired. There is a new frequency that really needs to be brought through right now to lift the dense collective energies that have been fed by all of us.

And then we must change the vocabulary in our prayers and meditations from using the word “I” and replacing this with the word “we”.

We pray for……
We join our hearts together in behalf of…..
We see the divine light in others, a challenged part of the world, or the world at large.
We perceive the beauty of life.

Well, I can give endless examples, but you get the point. During this month of January I ask to you experiment with replacing your intentions from starting with “I” to “We”.

Use the word “we” as much as you can throughout the day. Let us work together as a community with the power of focused intent.

This still means that you have to do your personal work in order to be a healthy member of the community. You still want to work on what you wish to create. As you strengthen yourself you strengthen the community.

We are individuals having an experience of what it is like to be a human living in this world. On a spiritual level however, there is only unity consciousness. And it is in joining together in unity where we have tremendous potential to be a positive loving and healing force in the world.

I still hold a tremendous amount of hope. I still believe that a different dream can be created. Whether we will see the new dream manifest in our lifetime I do not know. But simply imagine the potential we have together if we truly focus our spiritual energies in complete union with no breaks or no weak links. Just imagine!

And as you continue to daydream you might notice that your daydreams do inform you of the personal work you need to do.

No matter how cold it is in your area, spend time in nature. For nature is the doorway that connects the visible and invisible realms. Nature teaches us how to lift the veils between the seen and unseen to perceive a new dream. There is so much to learn through the Divine Intelligence of Nature. Right now, many are caught up in how nature is reflecting a state of imbalance and disharmony within us. But when we lift the veils and step into the divine part of nature, we enter into the realm of the pure beauty of spirit manifested into form.

There is also such a power that comes from working in anonymity. Often people confuse being leaders and changemakers with having to be public. We are part of an invisible community that works together with concentration and the power of focused intent to shift the energy in the web of life.

A few years ago I shared with you how to visit the Inner Chamber of Light. I would like to repeat this meditation this month to welcome in the New Year.

I once had a very powerful journey where I was shown the power of community working together. In my journey I was taken to a territory called the Inner Chamber of Light. Once there I was met by two faceless beings. The beings escorted me to what felt was my spiritual workstation. I could not see forms, but I was aware that there were thousands of others who were doing spiritual work together in this Inner Chamber of Light. There was no talking, discussing philosophies, or comparing spiritual practices and teachings. Everyone just did their work out of love for all of life. The power was tangible in this place. I was so touched and really understood how many people around the world are doing their work in silence without having to be seen, recognized, and acknowledged for what they are doing. The power of focus and concentration and working in unity is how we can gather as a global community to be a force of change and healing in the world.

It does not matter your education or what you do for work. We all can be a vessel of love and light together and work in unity.

In some of my workshops we perform a ceremony whereas a group we travel to the Inner Chamber of Light to find our personal spiritual workstation and also to experience the power of working anonymously. In this place you can feel on a cellular level the power of working in community with the power of focused intent.

You can try journeying to The Inner Chamber of Light if this work calls to you. You can perform this as a meditation while listening to some expansive music or you can listen to some drumming and do this as a shamanic journey. In my workshops we use the music CD “The Ultimate Om” by Jonathan Goldman to do this work.

Start by darkening the room you are in. Put something over your eyes. Even if you drum or rattle for yourself put a bandana or scarf over your eyes. I find that performing this journey in darkness adds to the power of being anonymous.

Set your intention to be led to the Inner Chamber of Light. Once there you will be met by two faceless beings. They will not talk to you. They will simply lead you to your spiritual workstation. Once there take a seat. Although words will not be spoken to you will sense and intuit instructions of what you should be doing to repair the web of life. You might find yourself sitting in silence while you work. You might get up and dance and move as you perform the work you feel guided to do. You might begin to tone or sing.

As you do your work sense the immense energy and connection with others working with focused intent. Know you are not alone in your work in behalf of life. Feel the hope and passion that guides your work.

Either when you hear the return beat of the drum or when you feel ready put out a telepathic message that you are ready to leave this chamber. The two guides who escorted you to your place will return to escort you to the entrance of the Chamber of Light. Once at the entrance return back to the room you are in.

Once you have returned reflect on your experience. Take a walk in the fresh air with a sense of regained hope.

As part of a community your piece of work ripples and creates changes in the web. Your unique gifts add to the entire world community. And even just simply sharing a smile with a stranger might heal a person beyond your wildest imagination.

The full moon is January 16. Let us take the time to feel ourselves truly connecting with the global community. With the power of focused intent let’s gather our spiritual energies together. Let us transfigure and experience our divine light weaving a beautiful and radiant web of light within and throughout the earth.

For those of you new to reading The Transmutation News please visit “Creating A Human Web of Light” on the homepage.

Last month to end the year we thanked all the translators who volunteer and devote so much time to make the Transmutation News available to readers in many countries. We thanked Sylvia Edwards who volunteers her time to be the webmaster of this site.

I feel called for us to honor Bob Edgar. For Bob was the person who back in 1998 encouraged me to write a monthly column. He was the original webmaster who posted my column on Carol Proudfoot’s website Shamanic Visions. I started by writing a column sharing the teachings in A Fall to Grace. And then the column shifted to the Transmutation News.

I was not on the internet as the first years’ columns were posted. I would type the column and fax it to Bob. Wow! How things have changed.

Bob is retired now, but I want to bless him for all the brilliant work he has shared in the world.

There are times when my heart and spirit call me to support an organization whose work touches so many.

An organization I feel called to support is Two Circles – the American Indian Institute: Traditional Circle of Indian Elders and Youth. The “Friends and Family 2013 Year End Letter” sent out in December was so powerful. I immediately jumped into action and asked if there was any way they could post the letter on their website so I could link to it.

To visit the homepage please visit: www.twocircles.org. I hope you will feel called to donate to support their work. To make a donation online you will find a link “to make a donation” on the right side of the homepage. The link appears under “Friends and Family 2013 Letter”. And of course you can send a check.

The letter speaks to the many ceremonies led by Native American elders this year. There was even a delegation of four Kogi Elders (two men and two women) from La Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia who found their way to the Weaving of Women’s Wisdom gathering held at Akwesasne Mohawk Territory in Upstate New York. Haudensaunee Clan Mothers called for this meeting. They shared the binding strength of the Mother Law – the inherent feminine authority in the natural human pattern of life’s vital flow derived from the celestial mother and carried forward over millennia in a continuous sisterhood of matrilineal clanship.

The letter is four pages long and was so beautifully written by Eric Noyes, the Executive Director. There is such a wealth of information to drink in. I was completely entranced by this letter.

Eric starts the letter off by writing:
“From my vantage point the great loom that provides the frame for the weaving is our cosmic position that, according to the Maya and many other calendar-keepers from South America, finds us at the end/beginning of another “long count” cycle of light (5,200 years), which marks a speeding up of humanity’s reawakening and our ascension to a higher spiritual consciousness. It is the time of a new beginning as is written in the stars for us to see each night.”

In communicating with Eric he wrote to me that he is convinced the ancient traditional ways are not lost. And the traditional teachings offer continuity to life.

‘The Elders say our Grandfather the Fire is still here; Older Brother Sun is still here; Our Mother the Earth and Grandmother Moon, still here for us. The Elders say we still have the responsibility for the generations yet to come, and that the ceremonies will give the strength that will be required for all of us to survive.”

We are grateful for the traditional ways. And I feel it is important to honor the elders who have lit the way for us in the past and continue to light our way for the future. The Two Circles group has been together for more than 40 years.

I hope you will read the letter posted and follow your heart in invisible and visible means of support.

Blessings to everyone for a joyous and deep meaningful New Year!!

Transmutation News – December 2013

It is hard to believe that we are coming to the end of 2013. This has been quite the year for so many. And I think we all feel how change and transitions are occurring on an exponential level.

The recent storms throughout the world devastated landscapes and life. We hold all who have been displaced and hurt with love. We hold those in the Philippines in our hearts and prayers. There have been other storms and stories of devastation and loss of life. We continue to hold all in light.

Last month I wrote about being on a spiritual path and allowing yourself to be guided by spirit instead of ego.

This month I would like to summarize some practices that will help to empower you during these changing times. I have been in communication with some people who feel so overwhelmed by current world events that they do not know or remember where to begin. I hope this column helps to reinspire all of you.

My helping spirits advice to all of you is this is a good time to settle into yourself and go beyond the surface of your spiritual practices. Creating a rich and fertile inner landscape will help to carry you through what life brings.

In the last month I received such a wealth of stories from clients and students about how the practice of transfiguration has created healing for them.

For new readers of the Transmutation New the practice of transfiguration is to travel within to who we are beyond our skin to experience our divine light and radiate that throughout our body and into the world.

One veteran reported to me that a regular practice of transfiguration healed his PTSD.

I have many reports of how a regular transfiguration practice has created miraculous physical healings for some of my students.

Some people have written to me how a daily practice of experiencing their divine light helped them to ride the waves of very challenging life events.

Others have written me that a transfiguration practice has been helpful to stay grounded and centered while being a witness and holding the space for others who had become ill or suffered from a catastrophic event.

And I have unfortunately lost some dear friends and students who died recently. As they increased their practice of experiencing their divine light, they ended up dying from a place of grace and ease.

The practice is a potent way to strengthen ourselves. As we experience our own divinity and perfection, we create a state within where our cells can communicate with each other and release the knowledge we were born with of how to heal ourselves.

As we transfigure and experience a state of oneness, instead of separation, we can find a calm and centered place inside in which we can ride both the smooth and turbulent waves as we travel through the river of life.

I want to encourage you to take time each day and settle into yourself. Put on some expansive music and allow your consciousness to expand into a state of oneness. Travel within yourself and experience your inner light. Your intention is to experience who you are beyond your skin. You want to experience who you are beyond your body and rational mind. You are a spiritual being.

Experience your light radiating like a star in the night sky. Find your inner starlight.

With the practice of transfiguration, you do not effort to send light to yourself, to another, or out into the world. Just as a star in the night sky you radiate light effortlessly with no intention of where this light should go. A star does not decide where it will send its light. It simply shines.

This state creates a radiance that is healing and uplifting for you. Your eyes will shine brightly again.

When you experience the world through the eyes of spirit and radiate light throughout the world, this light and the love of spirit lifts up the veils of darkness and nurtures all of life. The more you transfigure, you will find it easier to see through the eyes of spirit. If your practice is very inconsistent it is harder to create a spiritual flow. You end up bouncing back and forth between ego and spirit and this creates a feeling of being torn, as you perceive your life and the world around you.

Experiencing a spiritual state changes our perception. And our shift of perception changes our reality.

We have to train our minds to shift out of seeing only the negative and the challenges. When we perceive the world from our divinity, we learn how to perceive the gold and richness even with all the challenges and growth experiences.

When life seems dark and filled with grief and suffering there is another level of fertile ground that transforms suffering into beauty. As you focus on the beauty, your perception changes. As your perception changes so does your life. One way to shift perception is to return to the state of awe and wonder about life that you held as a child.

Remember back when you were a child to how everything seemed so new and fresh. This will assist in experiencing the beauty that life has to offer. By doing this you might notice your attitude towards what life brings you changes.

You do need to keep improving your attitude so that you stop reacting to everything that life brings to you. You do this by lifting the veil to experience the beauty of life no matter what is occurring in the outer world.

By doing this you move into a place of love, appreciation, and gratitude for your life. This always leads to a place of inner and outer transformation.

We can get so overwhelmed by all that is happening in the outer world. Go within and do your personal work. This can be added to whatever action you are called to take to help the earth and living beings.

The intensity of change on the planet is actually forcing us to do our personal work.

Here is a summary of some very simple practices we have worked with together over the years.

Carry a rock in your pocket or have some way of reminding yourself to stop what you are doing and ask yourself the question: “What am I thinking about right now?” You want to learn to stop the negative train of thought that leads away from your desired outcomes.

Surround yourself with nature images and photos of beings that are precious to you. You could carry photos of puppies, kittens, baby animals, an ocean, river, flower, tree, or rock, etc. Whatever energy you send out into the world also goes to all life forms you hold precious. For we all are all connected to one web of life.

You can shift your negative thinking with beautiful sounds such as birds singing, children laughing, etc.

You can write down and look at inspirational words such as hope, brilliance, radiance, awe, wonder, love, etc. When you look at these words your present state will shift.

You can also carry inspirational phrases with you for the same purpose.

Think about something you are grateful for. Remember simple things that you love about life such as the first time you ate ice cream, or saw snow, etc.

It is important for us to be diligent and observe the thoughts we loop throughout the day. For we need to learn how to replace our negative and sabotaging thoughts with thoughts that will lead to our desired outcome.

Our thoughts are made of words. And words are seeds. When we speak, we plant seeds that with nurturance will grow deep roots and strong plants. What plants do you want growing strong in your inner garden and this earth garden? Remember what you feed grows. Remember the Aramaic phrase of Abraq ad Habra (abracadabra) which translates to “I will create as I speak”.

Adding to shifting our perception, living a life filled with gratitude, being diligent about the thought and words we use, we must remember that we dream our life and the world into being with our imagination.

We must all learn how to focus our imagination together to envision the life and world we desire to live in. This takes using all of our senses and stepping in the dream and living from the dream as if we have manifested it now.

We are always daydreaming. It is time for us to focus our imaginations on what we do what to create versus the chaos we are using our imaginations to dream into existence. And at the same time, we do not know what spirit and evolution is leading us towards. The paradox is to do our dreaming work while surrendering the outcome.

When you do find yourself reacting to others and to life make sure you express your feelings while at the same time transmuting and transforming the energy behind your emotions to light and love. Express don’t send. In this way we continue to feed the energy of love versus hate, suffering, and separation.

And please go outside and reconnect with nature as much as you can. It does not matter whether you live in an urban or rural environment. The earth is alive and has a spirit. Everything that exists on this planet is alive and has a spirit. It is time for us to reconnect with the spirit that lives in all things – this means all that is alive.

Connect with the heartbeat of the earth. Everyday give gratitude for your life and the earth, air, water, and the sun for providing all you need to thrive.

We have been doing all the practices I wrote about above for many years together.

For those of you new to the work the practices are written in my books Medicine for the Earth, How to Heal Toxic Thoughts, and The Shaman’s Toolkit (former title How to Thrive in Changing Times). And I teach all this work in “Shamanic Visioning” which is a 6 CD audio course produced by Sounds True.

As we move to celebrating the winter solstice it is important for us to move away from the commercial aspect of the holiday season. In past Transmutations News I wrote about creating a prayer tree in your home, at work, or in your community.

The times we live in call us to strengthen our communities. For when challenges occur it is good to live in a strong community. We have been seeing people coming together and planting community gardens. In times of catastrophe people in communities have been coming together to help each other rebuild their homes and businesses.

We can bring spiritual practices into our community. When I conducted the Medicine for the Earth Heart Study with the Integrative School of Medicine at the University of Michigan my group was positively affected by the work. When I reflect on the power of our time together people in the group were so touched by the love we created in our circle. Everyone knew how much each person cared about him or her and the success of their healing. I personally believe it was that love and support in the community that ended up creating the positive results we saw in the participants.

It would be wonderful to bring that kind of level of support into your family, your community at work, and the community in which you live.

You can make this very simple by finding a tree or bush that you can give thanks to for its willingness to carry prayers. Invite people to loosely tie-on ribbon or yarn (you do not want to choke the branches) that holds a prayer. You could set out a prayer bowl and invite people to put their prayers into a bowl. You would ask each person in your family, at work, or in your community to hold the intention that everyone’s prayers are answered. This will create a bond among people, which will have a positive impact on all. People will feel cared for and this strengthens the bond needed to be a true support for all in your community.

The full moon is December 17. We are a strong, loving, and supportive community. We gather our spiritual light to continue to weave a strong, potent, and radiant web of light within and throughout the earth.

For those of you new to reading the Transmutation News please visit “Creating a Human Web of Light” on the homepage for instructions of how to participate in our full moon ceremony.

The solstice is December 21. Let us celebrate together this change in season. We celebrate the winter solstice and the return of the light in the Northern Hemisphere and the return of summer in the Southern Hemisphere.

I would like to ask you on the solstice to perform a meditation or journey to connect with the elements where you live. Connect with the earth, air, water, and the sun. Express your gratitude for the energy and life they provide. Ask how you can be in service at this time of change that the earth is going through.

Place prayers and blessings on an indoor or outdoor altar on behalf of the thousands of readers in our global community who work together with the practices I share on the Transmutation News. Let us create our prayer bowl and feed the health and life of our circle.

For myself I feel that as the world is changing so rapidly, I need some time to reflect on how I need to change my teachings to help people deepen their spiritual work.

This summer I received two new book contracts. One contract is with Sounds True to write a book based on what I teach in my audio course “Shamanic Visioning”.

I am taking the attitude with this book that this could be the last book I write on shamanism. It might not be, but this is the attitude I am writing with. I am taking a lot of time to reflect on how I wish to shift my prior teachings about shamanism and shamanic practices to take shamanism out of the box. I feel so strongly that the practice of shamanism will change and has unlimited potential to be a healing force on the planet. But the practice of shamanism has been put in a box as people in a modern-day world have tried to give it too much form. The power of the invisible can get lost with the focus on techniques. This is just my opinion.

The other book I have a contract for is a book I am co-authoring with Llyn Roberts. We are writing a beautiful book together on reconnecting with the feminine aspect of nature. This book is so fresh and different. There is nothing on the market like it. Inner Traditions will be publishing this book. I have loved working with Llyn on this project, and I excited about the book.

This is all to say that I only have two workshops scheduled in 2014. For I am taking this year to deepen my teachings through my writings and also to have the time needed to vision what I want to teach in the future.

Of course, it is my delight to continue writing the Transmutation News.

As we spiral towards a New Year and new opportunities for healing, growth, and evolution I would like to thank all who help in sharing the Transmutation News with readers from around the globe.

Let us give thanks and gratitude to Sylvia Edwards who is the webmaster of this site. She has such a generosity of spirit and has contributed so much to keeping the Transmutation News available. Blessings to you Sylvia for all the best that life has to offer!

And just imagine all the work it takes to translate all the words I write in the Transmutation News. Please let us give gratitude, send blessings, and radiate love and light to those who so generously give their time for translation:

Katalin Abrudan – Hungarian
Lena Anderheim – Swedish
Nello Ceccon – Italian
Ines Fermoso – Spanish
Sofia Frazoa – Portuguese
Dorota Goczal – Polish
Els de Graaff-van Meeteren – Dutch
Elena Eva and Rallou Gromitsari – Greek
Annie Idrissi – French
Miriam Kisssova and Jan Lenc – Slovakian
Irina Osechinsky – Russian
Eva Ruprechtsberger – German
Tea Thum – Finnish
Simin Uysal – Turkish

We join together to send blessings, give gratitude, and radiate love and light for all of us in our community as we deepen our spiritual work together which creates exponential changes in our own lives and in the world around us.

We wish all of you a joyous solstice!

Transmutation News – November 2013

Being on a spiritual path is not always easy. For the truth of the matter is that when we are truly on a spiritual path we are driven by spirit and not by our personality and ego.

But we are human beings with a personality, ego, mind, and body. And these aspects lead us to experiencing great joy and but also lead to experiencing states of suffering. For when we perceive the world through the eyes of ego the world is not looking so good. Life is falling apart all around us. The climate is changing to such a degree that we are watching mass changes to the earth right now impacting not just humans but all of life. I don’t need to share what is happening in political and economical arenas, as this is obvious. And the violent behavior of humans toward each other and the rest of life is not what we would like to see continue.

Then we do our spiritual work. And once we are in contact with our spirit, we leave the arena of duality and move into a place of oneness. From this place of divine light and love everything looks different. For in the arena of spirit there is no judgement or imperfection. It is what it is, and spirit accepts the changes that are leading to evolution and growth.

Here lies the paradox. How to do we see the divinity in floods, drought, cyclones, war, violence, etc? And do we just sit and say that everything is in divine perfection so I should not care, worry, or take any action? The answer to this is no.

Human beings have not been taking care of the earth, which is the body that we live on. Consider your own body. If you continue to put toxins into it and do not take care of it at some point your health breaks down. When health does break down it is important to take action and make changes to how you take care of your physical body. You need to learn how to work with your emotions and mental states so that you support your health. And most people find a tremendous amount of healing in also adding some kind of spiritual practices to support their health and well being. Taking care of body, mind, and spirit all works together to create a harmonious life. Disharmony causes illness.

What we are seeing in our lifetime are the results of not taking care of ourselves but also not taking care of the earth, air, water, and sun that give us life. Not working through personal issues such as a desire for amassing more and more on the material level has created disharmony. Not working with mental states have led to people becoming power hungry causing violence towards children, women, and men and all of life.

We go into forests and jungles and cut down trees in the millions without honoring them or thinking about the web of life and how the life of these trees contributes to the health of the planet. We kill entire species in the name of “money” and not just dishonor their beauty and life but don’t recognize how they contribute to the health of the web of life. And the list goes on.

I am certainly not trying to depress anyone reading this column. You know my intention with each column of the Transmutation News is to inspire us to keep up our spiritual work.

I am just trying to say that the human race has not been spirit driven. So, although we fall into places of despair it is time for all us to stand up and do our spiritual work to shift our own consciousness and perception. It is time for us to stand up together as a global community so that we can create exponential change, which leads to healing for the earth and all of life.

And it is time for us to surrender to the fact that the earth is evolving and that landscapes are changing as they have done since the beginning of time.

We need to examine our behavior of how we are contributing with our actions to supporting the health of the earth and the climate. What are some simple changes you need to make?

I am absolutely amazed by how many people on a spiritual path do not even try to recycle. There are some very simple actions we can take to begin to move towards caring and honoring the planet and the environment.

We need to continue our work of looking at the thoughts and words we feed the collective with. We have been doing this work together for years. This is something we must keep up. To add to this, we must be diligent and vigilant about the energies behind our emotions that we send to ourselves and into the collective. What we feed grows.

We need to continue experiencing our divine light and perceive the beauty in life. We cannot stop this practice because we are troubled by world events. Spiritual work that is only performed while remaining attached to the outcome is NOT spiritual work. When we become attached to outcomes this is the work of ego not spirit.

We must continue to do our dreaming work of creating the world we wish to live in. For it has been understood and known since the beginning of time that everything begins in the invisible worlds before it manifests in the physical.

For those of you new to reading the Transmutation News all this material is written up in my books Medicine for the Earth, How to Heal Toxic Thoughts, and The Shaman’s Toolkit. As a global community we have working together for many years with the practices written about in this monthly column.

It is important to acknowledge that although much is dissolving in the fabric of reality of what is no longer supporting life that there are beautiful new weavings that are starting to manifest. Through new ways of thinking and new perceptions, millions of people are shifting into new levels of consciousness. There are positive changes occurring.

You just have to look around and see the positive changes that are happening in your community instead of only being fed “the bad news” that the media provides.

We can get so overwhelmed by the media coverage of world events. Many world events do not get covered. And in former times people did not know what was going on in so many parts of the world. With so much knowledge comes overwhelm.

Find simple practices that you can do where you can focus your spiritual work on feeding what you want to experience for all of life. Be a conscious positive change maker. Work with your emotional and mental states. Remember the literal definition of the word “alchemy” is working within and through the dense darkness inside.

Experience your pain, frustration, and levels of despair and work it through. Be a presence in the world and do your work so you expand more into being a vessel of love and light.

There is a bigger picture to what our ego and personality can embrace right now about what is occurring in the physical world. And simultaneously there is A LOT OF LIGHT manifesting and radiating through the invisible worlds.

Let go of needing to see immediate outcomes of your spiritual work. We have been part of the problem as we have allowed our own bodies and the body of the earth to be worn down. Let us be part of the solution by doing our work to nurture and feed our own health and the health of the earth and all life.

This is not the time to give up. This is the time to stand up and use the elements of the Medicine for the Earth work of intention + love + union + harmony + concentration + focus + imagination = transmutation, transformation, and creation of a good world to live for all of life.

Do not move into a place of pity for humans or any life form that is going through challenges. You end up projecting weakness onto them. Project strength and power onto them by seeing all in their divine perfection.

The full moon is November 17. Let us truly do our preparation work to move our ego and personality aside and let our divine light and love shine through. Radiate that love and light within and throughout the earth. Join together with the light of our global community to create a strong and powerful web of light throughout the earth.

For those of you new to reading the Transmutation News please read “Creating a Human Web of Light” on the homepage.

Recently I was honored by the magazine Spirituality and Health in the November/December as one of the Top 10 Spiritual Heroes in 2013. Other people honored are India Arie, Adyashanti, Paige Elenson, Chief Oren Lyons, Sister Simone Campbell, Stacey Kennealy Pema Chodrin, Robert Peng, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

What touched me about this honor was that the decision to be included in this list was based on the Medicine for the Earth work. It is wonderful to see that spiritual practices done on behalf of the planet are being honored. We have so much potential to help heal the planet right now. Let us forge ahead as a strong spiritual community creating exponential shifts as we work together in love for all of life!!

To read the article in Spirituality and Health magazine, please visit: http://spiritualityhealth.com/articles/spiritual-heroes-2013-qa-sandra-ingerman