Thanksgiving 2020

 This year, I have found the end of summer and onset of colder weather harder than most years. The social isolation combined with shorter days makes me a little sad. That’s why SATSO’s WEG is bringing you: Wellness Wednesday for the next several weeks.

 

This year, I have found the end of summer and onset of colder weather harder than most years. The social isolation combined with shorter days makes me a little sad. So I decided to write a Wellness Wednesday . My purpose is first and foremost to let you know that you’re not alone: many of us have a hard time in the Autumn season. Second, to give you tips and ideas to keep you mentally & physically healthy. Third, to empower you to be self-aware, but not self-critical. Finally, to encourage a loving sense of humour as we surf the ups and downs that naturally occur in daily life.

 

With Thanksgiving around the corner on Monday, October 12^th it’s a perfect time to focus on GRATITUDE.  I'm privileged to be working throughout this pandemic and my job allows me to help others. Be grateful for your own strengths that allow us to help others.  Gratitude is the action of consciously choosing your thoughts. The Dalai Lama stresses ‘control of the mind’ as one of our most important skills. Choosing to focus on Gratitude once or twice a day is a step towards mental mastery.   

 

Suggested exercise:  Use a journal or a piece of paper, at the top of a blank page write: “Today I am grateful for:”  Then start listing anything that pops into your head, ie: Coffee!, My Spouse, My job, Fuzzy slippers, The Mute Button. Have fun with it.

 

I’m comfortable sharing that I’m most grateful for the people in my community and my work that have offered me unconditional support and encouragement on those days that I felt like I couldn’t do anything right. I reached out for a virtual hug and was lifted up and felt blessed. No matter what our situation, we’re simply, wonderfully human and we’re part of something larger.

 

Try practicing Gratitude, Reach out to others, and Enjoy the moment.

Our Canadian Thanksgiving originated in the 17^th century to celebrate people of multiple origins working together to bring in a harvest. Although there are many aspects to North American settlement since then,  let’s choose celebrate the rewards of working together and honour the efforts of those that came before us.  I’m grateful to be part of such a diverse and wonderful community which represents, to me, the beautiful melting pot of Canada.

Tree of Life Meditation

This is a guided meditation to be either recorded or you can simply read it and visualize it during your meditation.

Sit in a comfortable position either on the ground or in a chair with both feet on the floor. Straighten your back.

Bring your attention to your breath. Pay attention to how your body moves as you breathe, start to connect to what you feel. As you inhale, feel your diaphragm expand down and outward. As you exhale, feel your diaphragm rise up under your ribs.  Feel your ribs expand and contract with every breath.

Rejoice in your physical body, feel your heart beat and visualize all the activity and electricity in this physical body. We are divine. This vessel is a miracle of creation.

To deepen our meditation, imagine you step backwards into that space between the worlds. As if you're stepping into a hole in the wall. We step off the wheel and we watch the world turning.

Supported from behind by the other world, the non conscious realm is supporting our back. Our chest lifts to the sun.

As the Sun fills our chest, we begin to transform into a tree. We stand tall and solid upon the earth. Reaching our limbs to the sky.

As the seed of heaven and earth our earthly energy rises up our trunk, our sky energy flows down our branches. This great oneness merges in our bodies mingling and balancing.

From behind us, energy from the other side flits across our leaves like birds.

Or leaves and our roots are like conductors allowing energy to move back and forth between the worlds, up and down between heaven and earth.

The balanced God energy flowing down our trunk spreads or across the earth. We visualize the planet lighting up with divine energy. Glowing. Balanced.

We are all perfection. All one. All Spirit.

Visualize the glow spreading deep into the earth and high into the atmosphere.

Feel the joy. Feel your heart swell. Feel yourself thrive. Feel the pride and strength of yourself as the tree.

Breath.

When you're ready to close your meditation, leave the balanced heaven and earth energy glowing across the globe. Begin to withdraw your personal energy back into your physical bring, within your aura.

Feel the strength and power of your energy body.

Knowing you are of the world and yet separate from it, you are at peace. You spread energy with every step. You ease the world by being here.

You are amazing. Perfect.

Gradually seal your aura
Bring your energy back into the here and now.

Step back into the world.

Namaste.

Why Shamanism Now?

I've  recently been introduced to the myriad of pod casts available through OneCast (an app on Google Play Store).  I'm amazed to see diversity of topics and thrilled to find many radio shows on my favorite topic: Shamanism.   Someone I respect a great deal for her grounded way of teaching Shamanism is Christina Pratt.   Please visit her website's link below and  take a listen to her "weekly podcasts for shamanism, shamanic healing, and shamanic practice."

A Practical Path to Authenticity with Christina Pratt

Link to Pod Casts

Healing Meditation

Let your eyes relax and gently close. Let your face soften, breath into your shoulders and let them relax. Feel your entire body ease.  Feel the air filling your lungs with every breath. Feel your ribs expand and contract.  Become aware of the energy in your core body, your heart, your lungs, and your solar plexus.  Feel the energy moving up and down your spine from your crown to your tailbone.

Become aware of your core energy.  That fire of spirit within your physical being.  It may be within your spine, in the pit of your stomach, in your solar plexus, even in your head.  Find wherever it is for you.  Feed it with your attention.  Let it grow.  It will expand to fill your entire body.  To help this energy fill your entire body, you may feel more energy entering through your head or your feet, or some other way.  This energy is warm, gentle, loving, and peaceful.  It loves you.  It IS you.  

As our body fills we become aware of our own skin.  We feel the aliveness throughout our limbs.  Our cells are talking with us.   See your cells filled with light.  They’re glowing.  They’re smiling.  Each cell is alive.  In your mind smile at a cell, then another.  Imagine it smiling back at you. See them talking with each other.  Oh they’re liking this attention.  They work for us.  They love us.  Like a little kid, each cell wants to be helpful because they love being with us. 

As we go through our day, breathe into your cells.  Imagine them expanding with your inhale and contracting with your exhale.  Picture them stretching with you, millions and millions of little cells saying ‘Oh ya, that feels good’ or ‘Oh I’m a little tight there’.  Then breathe with them. Let them guide you in your daily yoga practice or your walk or exercise program, they’ll tell you do more or less.   See in your mind’s eye, every cell filled with light and glowing.  Know that they’re loving this.  They love you listening to them, just like kids.  

If your body tells you to just sit in meditation, do so. Enjoy whatever position is most comfortable for you, standing, sitting, lying.  As you’re still, just visit parts of your body in your mind’s eye. Say Hello. Ask if that cell or group of cells would like some energy and if so see it filled with glowing energy.  Ask if it needs anything from you.  Ask if it wants to say something to you. And listen.  Then move on when it’s content.  

Visit your body with love and gentleness.  Remember that we are peace, we are energy, we are love.  We are blessed for we know that we are Spirit. We can give what we have so we fill ourselves with love in order to share love with the world.

Shamanic Gathering in October 2014

 2014 – Bones of Fire 

2^nd SCGMSS Residential US Shamanic Gathering

October 22^nd – 26^th 2014

Samish Island Camp

Bow, Washington, USA

Link to Bones of Fire web page 

SCGMSS

 
   Monday 5th- Friday 9th, May 2014

6th BC Residential Shamanic Conference and Gathering

 The Sacred Circle of the Great Mystery Shamanic Society aims to reflect the worldwide community of Shamanic Practice and the unifying harmony between the Spirit and the Mundane, Heaven and Earth, and the inevitable living destiny of the  journey therein. This Society serves to not only maintain the ripples of Shamanic Process outward into the world community, but also, in a small way, to be one of the pebbles that creates those ripples.

Musings on Quetzalcoatl

For some reason I've never felt a strong bond with Quetzalcoatl. I always know he's around but I've had the strongest bond with Huascar, gate keeper to the underworld. Although I think of Quetzalcoatl briefly as I go through my daily chakra ritual reinforcing my archetypes, we haven't ever worked together.

Today this changed. He brought his lessons to the forefront. The timing is perfectly appropriate since the lessons align with my new moon intention to 'Cherish today & be unattached to tomorrow' which started 3 days ago with April's new moon. I started with this intention to practice the Buddhist philosophy of Deattachment. It seems easy if you have nothing you're afraid of loosing, but it's much more challenging to me when I choose to have things and people in my life who I cherish, who I can't imagine a future without. Hence, my intention to 'Cherish today, regardless of tomorrow' may seem childishly obvious but it's a major life challenge & lesson for me. It's great and is bringing me incredible joy, but it's still challenges me to be out of my comfort zone.

Quetzalcoatl has added his energy to my intention today. During my run when I reached the part of my invocation at my 6th chakra, Quetzalcoatl distracted me into my body to focus on balance, using the right leg equally as the left, thinking about how my body was moving, how my feet hit the ground, is my right side balanced with my left? Focusing on the body is a wonderful way to be present. My cells feel alive, I feel saturated with spiritual energy, I focus on accepting Earth energy and Sky energy and those being balanced and pulsing and working together in my body. Yes, it was a good run!

We've agreed to extend this balance into my heart, my emotions, how I project and accept the interactions of life & work & relationships. This is what I'm working on today and through this moon's first quarter. Can you tell I'm excited? I'm so grateful, I feel so safe and cared for by Spirit and so excited about the future. Regardless of what tomorrow brings, I feel the past, the present and the future embodied in me right now, bringing Huascar, Quetzalcoatl and Pachacuti together into one tremendous life energy. These moments make me believe in living the impossible journey and crossing the rainbow bridge. Thank you Quetzalcoatl and all my incredible archetypes and spirit guides. I do this work to bring you to life as much as you bring me to life.

Namaste