I joined Renee Baribeau for an interview on Michael Sandler’s Show Inspire Nation. It is a really great interview where we cover a lot of topics about shamanism and performing ceremonies. To watch or listen to the show here is the link: https://youtu.be/6gd5FwlQib0
I have really enjoyed teaching my online courses. I have been teaching online for many years. These courses do not take the place of being in a physical workshop where a deeper sense of community can be built by drumming, dancing, singing, laughing, and performing ceremonies together. But in today’s world online courses provide an opportunity for people who can’t travel to a workshop.
I have learned more about teaching shamanism by being on Facebook for years reading all the posts and questions from the participants in my courses.
I have been able to clearly identify where many students are getting stuck as they are introduced to shamanic journeying. And the missing piece that people are not getting is the power of building incredibly strong and long-term relationships with the helping spirits. The key to a deep shamanic practice is to meet a spirit in a journey and look deeply into your helping spirits eyes, feeling the power of their breath, and opening your invisible ears to hear inspirational messages, and receive healing help.
In the West, instead of taking the time to build such a strong relationship like you would with the most important person in your life, new shamanic journeyers come back and immediately ask others why a guardian spirit introduced itself as an ally and how to interpret what was shown in the journey.
This behavior sets up a dead-end path in shamanism as no one else can interpret the meaning of such a sacred relationship.
I have been working with my helping spirits for so long, they are the only beings I turn to with questions, healing help, and suggestions of ceremonies to perform. I talk to them throughout the day as I would my best friends.
I have realized that the behavior of students in our modern culture crosses over to how many engage with the other living beings we share this planet with. One might sit by a tree and ask for a message or for some guidance. But it is a rare person who visits a tree every day for a year getting to know each other and becoming allies for each other.
What would happen if we build and establish strong relationships with other species? I believe we would learn how to live in harmony and raise our consciousness to healthier and kinder ways of living.
You can start with a plant in your house. Visit it daily and create a two-way relationship with it. You might not hear words spoken in your language. But overtime you will learn a shared language that will infuse your life with a sense of wonder. You could start your practice with a stone or rock or visiting your favorite tree every day. Talk to the water you drink and wash with everyday. These are just suggestions.
To add this to this I found when I first taught transfiguration people were not really connecting with the Source of light that lives within and is our authentic identity. I could see that the short comings of so many students were born from not knowing about their own story of creation. For if you do not have a strong relationship with the divine and Source, transfiguration can all become a mental concept and lose the power of transmuting heavy leaded consciousness into golden light.
To go deeper with your work, I wish to plant the seed of the need of building stronger relationships with Source, our helping compassionate spirts and learning the language of the beings in nature. We are woven together in the web of life!
This work will raise your consciousness to a beautiful place where harmony can once again return between humans and all of life. And then we don’t focus so much on the outcome of our work. For we are immersed in such magic, wonder, and awe we learn how to live fully in the present.
Tracy Shulsinger is one of these teachers. I love the work she is doing. Recently we were communicating, and she shared with me a wonderful practice. I thought the practice is brilliant and feel it is perfect to welcome in the equinox. It beautifully weaves in my teaching that shamans are gardeners of energy.
We welcome in the Spring/Fall equinox on March 20. Below is what Tracy shares with our global community.
Shamanic Peace Gardens
In early January 2019 I gathered with my monthly shamanic journeying circle and we asked our guides, “What intentions or focus are in my highest good for 2019?”
I received several beautiful and exciting answers, and I would like to share one of them with you.
My helping spirits said:
It is time to venture out into the world more. You need to involve yourself more with what is happening all over the globe, and not avoid hearing about events because of how it affects you. When you hear about something that is happening in the world that pains you to hear, instead of retreating and avoiding it, go deeper into the situation and plant shamanic peace gardens. Shamanic peace gardens will help to bring harmonious and beautiful life to the situation and to the people that are involved. As you are clearing away the debris over the Earth, you are also clearing away the debris of the situation. As you dig a hole in the Earth, you are digging deep into the situation to connect with it. As you plant a seed in the Earth, you are inserting a different kind of energy into the situation- one that will help to change, overcome, and to plant beauty and peace there. As you cover the garden with soil you are grounding and anchoring the situation with this new energy. As you water the garden over and over again, you are continuously nurturing and loving the people and situation.
To plant shamanic peace gardens, you visualize yourself at the situation, then move through the process of planting a garden. First, clear the soil, clearing away any debris over the soil. Next, dig a hole. Then place seeds into the hole. Finally, cover the seeds with soil and water the peace garden. Return to the peace garden every time that you hear or think about the situation and pour loving water onto the peace garden to help the peace, love and beauty to continuously grow.
This shamanic peace garden visualization can be done during a shamanic journey, but it is actually meant to be done during moments of ordinary reality, when you are occupied with day-to-day activities. If you overhear a tragic news report, instead of turning the channel, you can consider to fully listen, feel all the feelings that are brought up, and then see yourself going to the location and planting a peace garden. This takes shamanic practice out into the world! Also, when you stay with your feelings, and in that moment of intensity, employ that intensity to energetically support the peace garden, and thus the situation, there is greater power behind your loving action, and greater power for transforming your emotions.
I was so relieved to receive this practice. I have felt guilty for years about avoiding current events and the news, but I felt it was necessary for self care, as I would have nightmares and constant ruminations about the suffering in the world. I figured my own suffering was not helping anyone, so better to spread joy in the world by feeling joyful inside myself. But this solution never felt quite right- I was in effect, bypassing life and my feelings over and over again. Now with the shamanic peace gardens practice I can engage the word fully, protect myself by being in the energy of the peace gardens, and help to bring the energy of life, love and beauty to the places and people in the world who greatly need it. The great magic in this practice is to continuously revisit your peace gardens when you think or hear about the people or events that inspired you to plant the peace garden. Practices are most effective when repeated- the energy grows and grows, just like your beautiful peace gardens over time!
With love,
Tracy Shulsinger
Tracy Shulsinger is a shamanic teacher and practitioner in Boulder, CO. She offers a monthly shamanic journeying and practice circle, teaches students to become shamanic practitioners and does individual healing sessions.
For more information: http://shamanism.thehealingcollective.us
The full moon is March 21. We can weave this beautiful practice that Tracy shared into our full moon ceremony of Creating a Human Web of Light. Let us keep building a stronger relationship with the divine light that is also shining brightly inside of us. And let us transfigure and radiate that light within and throughout the Earth.
If you are a new reader of the Transmutation News please visit Creating a Human Web of Light on the homepage to read instructions for our global full moon ceremony.
I also wanted to let everyone know that Tatiana Starikova has volunteered to keep up the Russian translations of The Transmutation News. This is so exciting to me as some of my books are out in Russian, and it is wonderful that we can bring readers into the work we are doing. Let us join together to thank Tatiana for her generosity of spirit!
I join everyone in our community in wishing you a beautiful equinox!!
Copyright 2019 Sandra Ingerman. All rights reserved.