More great stories from our readers
As usual, the medium of email has brought us many wonderful messages. Here is a "collective dreaming arts project" that came to us from folks in Florida. It's a creative way to share your dreams with a larger community of dreamers! -Editors.
Calling Creative Dreamers
As We Dream, So We Become
When we dream alone, it remains only a dream.
When we dream together, it's no longer just a dream;
it's the beginning of a new reality. -- Brazilian Proverb
Dreams are the seeds of the future. They have powerful creative and healing potential. Ancients from many cultures knew and understood the wisdom contained in dreaming, as well as the insight and power gained through expressing and sharing our dreams with one another. When we share and explore our dreams together, previously unknown possibilities are born; new futures take shape.
Take the first step in bringing your dream to life. Apply your creativity and imagination to turn your dream into a poem, drawing, collage, recipe, blueprint, or any unique creation, using a 4" X 6" post card as your canvas. Include the date, your age and where you live -- if you want. Then share your dream by anonymously mailing your hand-crafted creation to our collective dreaming arts project.
We dream that through this project, we will remind one another that we are all connected and demonstrate the power of women and girls coming together in dreaming, creating and healing our future. So whether it's a daydream, a dream that comes to you while you are sleeping, your heart's desire, a forgotten longing of your soul, a personal goal for your life or a broader vision for the world---you are invited to remember and give expression, shape, color, voice, texture and form to your inner vision, your dream and to share it with the world.
Medicine Sisters Dreaming
9016 Everington
Grove City, FL 34223 USA
In the ancient dreams of our hearts we remember that we are one.
We love that last line and the dream card idea is a great way to remember our connections! -Editors.
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Here's an email account of being with the Monarch butterflies from Margi Huber at Maine Audubon. -Editors.
Have you ever heard butterfly wings? You can if you are quiet enough and if there are millions upon millions of Monarch butterflies moving around you. This past March I spent a week in the Mexican state of Michoacan leading a birding trip and visiting two of the Monarch butterfly reserves in the mountains of the Transverse Neovolcanic Belt in the eastern part of the state. Starting in the capital city of Morelia, we began our week birding in Erongaríquaro, hidden high in the western mountains of Michoacan at an elevation of 7130 feet. At the edge of town is Lake Patzcuaro, one of Mexico’s highest lakes. We then traveled to the mountains in the east (north of Mexico City) where the Monarch butterflies spend the winter.
The butterflies that are seen in these mountains have migrated all the way from the northern tier of the United States, east of the Rocky Mountains and spend the winter in Mexico. With our local guide, Luis Miguel Lopez Alanis, we learned the amazing story of the monarch butterfly and the challenges of land conservation in this area; and we stood still as a river of Monarchs fluttered by on their orange wings.
Margi is fortunate to lead groups on a variety of Nature adventures. She may be contacted at: trips@maineaudubon.org. Have you had your own amazing Nature experiences? Let us know at: editors@spiritliving.org.
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Here are some beautiful photos sent in by Ginna Jones. The photos were taken on the Rainbow Falls Trail in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park by her friend Jeff Peterson.--Editors.
And here is a shot of Rainbow Falls and a map of the hike from the area visitor's bureau.
For more information about this spectacular hike, please go to: http://www.gsmnp.com/pages/rainbow_falls.html So where are you hiking this Summer? Let us know at: editors@spiritliving.org.
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As you may know, the World Drum was hosted last July in Maine by Spirit Passages. SInce that time, it has continued it's journey around the world, doing its work of calling attention to the plight of Mother Earth. It has become a focus point for different groups of those people who love our planet and feel a strong spiritual connection to her. Here is a report of the World Drum's visit with the British Druid Order. For more information about the World Drum, its message and its journey, visit www.theworlddrum.com
The World Drum
Whitecougar, a Norwegian healer, had a vision. Birger Mikkelsen, a Sami shaman, made a Drum; the World Drum; the heartbeat of our Mother Earth. The message it carries is that humankind must change our attitude and behaviour towards the Great Mother who feeds, supports and nourishes us, from one of exploitation to one of spiritual connection. Since the first rite at the Norwegian Parliament in 2006, the Drum has travelled to more than sixty groups and more than twenty countries on four continents. From ceremonies these groups have made with the Drum, its song has sounded out, heart to heart, spirit to spirit; the voice of Mother Earth, crying to her children. In April, 2008, it came to us.
Dragon Hill, April 26th, 2008
Together with our friends of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, and others, we made a rite with the World Drum at Dragon Hill, below the Uffington White Horse. This magical site is linked, via the White Horse Hill figure, to the Ridgeway, the prehistoric trackway that runs right across Southern England, connecting via other tracks with sacred sites all over Britain and beyond. The strong focus of Earth energies in the Hill made it an ideal place for our first rite. The ceremony was focused, strong and beautiful, the sound of the World Drum combining with many other drums and voices. The Drum was carried around the circle and played by everyone as we chanted: "Earth and stone, blood and bone, all are one, all are one," carrying the message that all creatures of Earth are of one substance, bound together in the great web of life. From Dragon Hill, by Dragon paths, the message of reverence and respect for our Mother and all beings spread across the land. Days later, as I write these words, I still feel the heartbeat of the Drum and its message sounding through the Earth. May it be heard, clear and true, by all who need to hear.
Avebury, April 27th, 2008
The following day, we carried the World Drum to the ancient stone circles of Avebury in Wiltshire. The circles there are huge, wide and open, with giant entrances at the four quarters, suggesting that Avebury was intended for gatherings of whole communities. It has always seemed to me a welcoming place of powerful Earth Mother energy. It is linked with Dragon Hill by the Ridgeway. The Drum led a procession around the great banks of the henge to the southern entrance. There, the spirit guardian of the place was greeted with an ancient Greek hymn to Gaia, the Earth Mother. Three-quarters of those who joined our circle were local residents or tourist visitors to the site who had never taken part in such a ceremony before. As at Dragon Hill, everyone played the Drum as it was carried around the circle. Beautiful flute music wove the rite together. Again, the spirit was strong, the message sounded forth from the four gateways of the henge, spreading out across and through the land.
The Long Barrow
After the rite, two of us carried the Drum to the West Kennett Long Barrow, the 5,000-year-old stone-chambered tomb-shrine of our ancestors that stands on a ridge close to Silbury Hill. As Druids, we hold that such places represent the womb of Mother Earth, where the spirits of the blessed dead are held before rebirth. There, we played the Drum in the inner chamber. Shortly after the Drum began to sound, other drums sounded from the stones around us, and a hundred voices began to sing a high, keening song. The ancestors were with us. The Great Mother was with us.
Many Blessings
We feel blessed to have been a part of the great journey of the Drum. We give thanks to those who created this gift and sent it out into the world. We send our heartfelt blessings to all those around the world who have made ceremonies with the Drum before us and all who will do so after us. We are proud and honoured to be a part of this great circle of spirit.
For those who are interested in understanding more about Druidry here is the host organization's website: http://www.druidry.co.uk/whatisdruidry.html
Those of you who practice Shamanism or Wicca would certainly feel a resonance with these folks! -Editors.
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Here's a peek at some fun we had at a recent training.
Several of our students learned to "create" fire at the third weekend of our Graduate Program. This is the weekend dedicated to the element of Fire. Our guest instructor was naturalist and healer, Michael Gelsanliter. After a great presentation about his wilderness solo, he taught the group how to gather tinder, make a "one match fire" and use a primitive bow drill. Many thanks to Michael, Trish Murray, Nancy Jane Clark, Maggie Rodriguez, Peter Miller, Heather Rose Ryan, Colleen Jones-Turner and Connie Merrill for a great weekend! -Evelyn Rysdyk & Allie Knowlton.
Here's a slide show movie of the fun--hope you'll enjoy it!
Quicktime
For more information about learning to "create" fire using primitive technology, check out the P.L.A.Y. Outside section. -Editors.
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From Army Military Police to Massage Therapist
When you find out that I started my career in the criminal justice field and now finding myself a practitioner of alternative modalities, you might wonder how this transition occurred. After a successful career that encompassed military, law enforcement and the criminal justice system I became a Reiki Master, Massage Therapist, Hypnotist and Shamanic Practitioner.
These paths might seem too diverse for a person to integrate. But I have come to see them as two sides of the same coin - the discipline of warriorship. My former career involved intimate, personal familiarity with violence, chaos and death. These experiences have given me three powerful, important gifts for my healing work, those being the development of my ‘sixth sense’, the ability to see the good and bad in people and situations and the ability to believe in the power to heal one’s self.
Like many healers, my life experience has included the opportunity to heal myself. My life nearly ended, not by a bullet, but by a motorcycle accident (a classic "left-turner" if you happen to be a rider). As I lay on the pavement paralyzed below the waist, I knew my life would never be the same and that the way forward would not be easy. Yet in the end, that struggle made me stronger; it opened my heart with compassion and understanding for the suffering of others. I think of myself as a man who integrates both sides of the warrior’s experience. This enables me to help others find the balance point within themselves, so they can continue their own healing process.
As a Body and Spirit worker I strive to look at the“whole person” when attempting to best serve a clients interest.
Recently, I was presented with the unique challenge of working with a self proclaimed skeptic of alternative healing modalities who had been trained as a nurse. I’ll be honest I was a little concerned regarding whether or not I would be able to convince this person to keep an open mind. She had undergone several orthopedic procedures over the previous 5 years, the latest was a result of a motorcycle accident which resulted not only in the need for further surgery but left her with substantial anxiety. She verbalized her fear of the surgical outcomes as well as the potential changes in lifestyle that could put an end to her ability to ride a motorcycle, which was something she held close to her heart. As we discussed her fears and her goals I felt that she could, not only survive this harrowing surgical experience, but tap into her inner healer and get back on her feet and her Harley in record time.
I worked with her on two occasions prior to her surgery. We talked at length prior to our first session and supported her to identify her fears and desires. I used this time to tell her a bit about my own story of recovery and felt her openness to idea of hypnosis integrated with my Shamanic skills grow. After the second session, practice and hard work, she was ready for surgery. She approached the day without the level of anxiety anticipated, amazed the doctors after surgery with the use of little pain medication and was discharged out of the hospital days ahead of schedule. I continued to work with her on developing her inner power and she again astonished the surgeon only two weeks after surgery with what appeared to be a completely healed cervical fusion She returned back to work in addition to enjoying riding her Harley months ahead of schedule.
These instances reaffirm the powers of integrating healing modalities that provide non-traditional tools that empower people to lead more productive and healthier lives.
Bob Roffman, Cornelius, NC
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And finally this month, something from a friend. Although we'd read it before, it is still a great reminder...
Plenty Coups, Chief of the Crows, lovingly smiled at the expectant faces of the children; their cheeks flushed from the warmth of the sacred fire that crackled and sparked throwing great shafts of amber light into the night. Plenty Coups looked deeply into the golden crystal flames as he spoke from his Heart Power, “Yesterday, I saw a wolf watching us intently from the cover of the great forest. Did you know he was there?”
The children silently answered with positive nods of their heads. The wise Chief continued, “A fight goes on inside me. It is a terrible fight between two wolves. One is evil. He is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self pity, guilt, racism, sexism, resentment, homophobia, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego. The other wolf is good. He is joy, peace, love, hope, gratitude, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and belief. The same fight is going on inside you as well as inside the white man and every other person you will meet in your lifetime.”
The children thought about this for a moment and then the smallest child, granddaughter of the great chief, respectfully asked, “Which wolf will win, Grandfather?”
Plenty Coups simply replied, “The one you feed.”
That's it for this month. We'd love to hear from you! Send your submissions to us at: editors@spiritliving.org.
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