We can heal communities by shifting perception.
The Ancients knew their place in the circle of life, as caretakers of the planet – The Earth Keepers…. ancient creation stories speak of this precious human role, The Inca, The Maya and many others...
We were not cast from any garden but gifted these lands by The Great Spirit; to care for, love and tend. The Human Race was given the Earth as an act of love, an unfinished canvas, to make beautiful, to grow, to evolve…a means of expression, union and co-creation…all beings were equal in their respective labours and shared in the bounty.
This way of seeing sets up an entirely different relationship with the planet we live upon and whom we share it with…one where we have a responsibility to honour, tend and care-take…. to love, create and share…. You see, our belief of our origins creates our reality.
An Animistic or Shamanic View.
When one thinks of shamanism perhaps the mind is drawn to indigenous tribes shown on National Geographic or perhaps the Medicine man that casts the bones – divining the destiny of the tribe, foretelling the good hunting grounds and the ceremonies needed to bring the rains to replenish the lands….
These images may seem distant or even superstitious nonsense, to some even heathen - a far cry from Western European 21st Century life but it’s not as distant as you may think…. for all of our roots are at least Animistic if not Shamanistic.
There was a time when all people believed that all things have spirit, a life force – when humans recognised themselves as part of the planet and the ecology and not as Master of It.
We were all in sync with her seasons, her shifts, moods and requirements. A time when we all watched the moons cycle to know when to plant the seeds for the ripest harvest, a time when we were all able to speak with the land, the rivers, the plants and animals and they would, in their own voice, speak back to us.
Remembering
We have forgotten who we truly are and the power we hold as individuals and tribes to create lives in tune with the Earth and the Stars…. we all have the skills, the ancestral memories….it is within our DNA, just waiting to be activated.
Modern day shamanic societies still practice these ancient ways including Ancestor worship – These peoples remember the shoulders of whom they stand upon and are reverent and grateful…. they know who they are today sits with those who have gone before them…they remember their roots, their stories, their teachings and live in accordance with them.
"To forget ones Ancestors is to be a brook without a source,
a tree without roots" ~ Chinese Proverb
Modern society, cities and the structures that hold them together have offered us many things…. Sanitation, disease control, education, transport, heat at the click of a button, instant communication across the globe but it appears that we have traded something of our birth right in blindly accepting these offerings.
Claiming with one hand all that modern life has to offer, we have perhaps let go with the other hand, much of what made us….
Historically we didn’t ‘fiddle with time’ adding an hour here and taking hours here, rinsing the workforce for all they were worth.
There is a Native American saying which suggests that "only the white man would cut the end off a blanket, sew it to the other end and think that he has a longer blanket……"
We live in a manufactured society where success, status and accruing wealth is king…. yet there is something lacking in this false reality, leaving its subjects feeling restless, lost and disenfranchised…. longing for place, meaning, purpose, love, joy and balance.
You see, there is hypnosis in the air…. we are told at every turn that we are not enough…. should be thinner, fatter, richer, browner, whiter, seeking like thirsty animals……. shown that God lives outside of us, that intelligence is validated through certification and that the Sacred Unseen Life force is a myth.
As science continues to look for evidence that consciousness lives in the brain the Shaman know it’s true source...The Earth, The Stars, our collective Heart and the very fabric of the Universe.
Stopping for a moment, an hour, a week, a month or a year……take time to connect with beautiful globe on which you exist…. feel the ground beneath your feet, feel the breath that flows in through your nostrils, feeding our entire system, before releasing once more to be recycled by the plant life. Each morsel we place in our mouths, whether veggie, vegan, carnivore or fruitarian has been gifted to us from this beautiful blue green planet that we dwell upon.
Reconnect and recognise that you are part of Her and not simply here to dash about upon her skin serving dogmatic agendas.
No one owns the Waters, No one owns the Land,
No one owns the Oceans, No one owns the Sand
These are given by our Mother; The Planet provides for free
Only by the hands of the greed, does the world require a fee.
~ Unknown.
This third rock from the Sun…. just perfectly positioned in time and space, offering us the perfect conditions for our life to exist and continue….
What if, as dutifully as we rise to go to work in the morning, we rose and focused inward? Checking in with ourselves, giving thanks for the life we have and choosing how we will serve Her that offers us everything?
Making a positive contribution to the collective, the tribe, the family and the individual…
So how do we heal the disenfranchised aspects of our souls and broken communities?
Turning to nature just as our ancestors did. As they say, “Stop and smell the roses” Listen for the unique voice of the things that surround us.
Breathe, Move, Grow something, Appreciation, Gratitude
Sit around a fire as many have done before us…….
Nature heals that is no secret…. here's a little evidence...
That which we love, we care for.
Connecting to the environment encourages us to take responsibility – taking responsibility changes our perception and perspective on life and where we live…. It enables us to live differently, heal different and ultimately co-create the positive future we not only want but deserve.
Every act matters
It’s easy to believe that we are simply a drop in the ocean….to a degree that is true, BUT each drop contributes to the collective consciousness and ultimately guides us to the future… The 100th Monkey Effect comes to mind…it started with one….
Learning and participating in the Ancient Shamanic ways is an amazing contribution to make….
• Thanking the Sun upon waking and thanking once again before sleep.
• Consciously walking bare foot on the land…. asking to feel the Heartbeat of the planet as you take each step…. Her pulse is slow and deep…. match you movements to hers and feel the change, feel the peace….
• Bless the food that you eat and the water that you drink, knowing that as you do so you offer gratitude to the provider.
• Thank the waters as you rest in the bathtub at the end of a long hot day…. knowing that you will be cleansed and refreshed.
“Acknowledge the Sacred within the mundane”
These are very small way that we can begin to engage in a meaningful way with that which supports us. When we become grateful, aware, engaged and connected we create balance for ourselves and those who are around us.
Taking it a little further…
Modern day ailments of Anxiety, Depression, Stress and Separation are all quelled by interacting with way of life…. misfortune is reframed as an opportunity to learn important lessons on the souls’ path. Even death, although deeply saddening, can offer beautiful teaching at the deepest level….
Healing can be called upon when believe that everything ‘has spirit’
When we view ourselves as part of The Whole so many things are at our disposal. When we are in service to the Planet, love Her and are connected we know where to go to source medicine, renewal and peace.
The seasons show us when to rest and when to ‘make hay’…. it’s all there, laid out for us should we choose to stop, engage and re-remember what we have always known.
Actively engaging in reciprocity, we feed ourselves and all Our Relations…the Inka call this Ayni – being in right relationship with All That is, living in balance, bringing us back to our centres and our truth….
These aspects which feed the soul cannot be found in any pharmaceutical product or material crutch. Ancient teachings, beliefs, stories, tools, techniques and practices are available for us to find, acknowledge, honour and sooth that which ails us, and heal it ourselves as Sovereign Beings in ceremonial union with The Divine.
Shamanic Life
In Shamanic life ceremony happen on an almost daily basis; a spontaneous opportunity, a celebratory recognition of The Sacred – a space to manifest into the physical our Hearts intent….
Ritual too is regularly undertaken, following in the well-worn steps of tradition…Both move us from the common-place to the extraordinary….
Recognising the Sacred in the mundane moments, the beauty in the not so pretty, an observance of our place in The Cycle of Life and a knowing that we can heal ourselves when we source from The Source...
This for me, is the Shamanic Way of life…. this is not Alternative Medicine but the Original Gift that snoozes within many but lives within each of us….
To learn a little more about The Shamanic Way, Charlotte and her methods visit www.shamanicway.co.uk
Join the Wise Woman’s Forum- https://www.shamanicway.co.uk/join-wise-womans-forum
If you have questions, feel free to contact her directly at charlotte@shamanicway.co.uk
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