End of Winter: A Look Back

Looking down at the wild, snowy winter wonderland...

I can't believe I haven't written all winter long... The truth is, my Lakota Shamanism class has been kicking my ass. I've always been curious about the mystical side of life; witches, fairies, dragons, unicorns, sprites, ghosts, flying carpets - everything!

My Love, Gonzo navigating the frozen tundra!

When I was a little girl, I always looked closely at the hollows in trees, because I knew the fairies lived there. Old growth forests, mossy with age, invoked a sense of wonder and magic in the little girl that I was - and informed who I was to become, and the path I would eventually take. Nature is the heart of everything to me, and shamanism has given me the tools to understand it all and communicate with all the little spirits out there.

A bird friend of the Treehouse, eating some breakfast in the snowy morning.

Over the course of this Winter, my dreams have become more meaningful, insights more powerful, spirits have become available and ready for assignments. I've learned several methods of dream and handwriting analysis, been continuing to learn to interpret Tarot Cards, to do intuitive readings, to journey. Journeying has been my absolute favorite and very easy for me. Since I have a hard time explaining how Journeying works, I will refer to a quote by Hank Wesselman:

"In most cases, shamans enter non-ordinary reality (NOR) by ingesting a psychotrophic plant, or through the use of a steady drumbeat to alter brain function, and to achieve a Shamanic State of Consciousness (SSC). Other methods of entering the SSC are through fasting, sleep deprivation, physical exhaustion, hyperventilation, or temperature extremes, such as those experienced in a sweat lodge. Most shamanic practioners refer to three levels of NOR - the lower, middle, and upper realms. While a great deal of shamanic work occurs in the Upper and Middle worlds, most soul retrieval and extraction work occurs in the Lower world. It is in this realm that the shamanic practitioner is able to communicate with plants, animals, spirit guides and the non-living" (Wesselman 7).

- Wesselman, Hank, Ph.D. The Journey to the Sacred Garden: A Guide to Traveling in the Spiritual Realms. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, 2003

The staircase to the Treehouse seems impassible!

I've learned to journey using the drum technique, and have the easiest time entering the lower realm where I've found access to my power animals and ally animals who have given me messages for myself and for others who've asked for information. Journeying allows me, as a healer & shamanic practitioner, to bring messages to myself and clients that will only serve the highest good in accessing and achieving the dreams that we all have in life. I'm eager to continue my education and learn how to perform more complicated ceremonies like house blessings, soul retrievals, and cord cuttings, but realize I have much work to do in self-healing before I'm ready.

Ilumminated snow on the railing at night.

At the end of January, I participated in a Sweat Lodge initiation. In Lakota language, it's called Inipi which translates to, "we are going to pray." It's an ancient sacred ceremony that's probably as close to going into a church as you can get when it comes to Lakota Shamanism. The lodge represents the womb of Mother Earth, and hot stones which are invoked with the spirits of our ancestors are passed in and placed at the center. The Pourer, or leader of the ceremony, pours water over the stones to create a dense layer of steam and heat. The creation of this extreme condition allows the participants bodies to expel toxins through the sweat, while praying for healing through singing rounds of sacred songs and sharing personal wishes for healing and protection of self, our leaders, family units, whole cultures, and Mother Earth. When participants leave the Lodge, it is said that they become reborn. I was nervous and excited to participate in such an ancient and sacred ceremony. We were also fortunate enough to participate in the sacred White Buffalo Pipe Ceremony where participants blow their prayers out of their bodies and the smoke carries the prayers to the Creator. Afterwards, we had a pot luck feast and were able to sit and share our experiences from inside the lodge - It was a long and exhausting night and didn't end until after midnight.

Looking out my kitchen window...

Since the Sweat Lodge ceremony, I've been blessed to make a Medicine Bag, which holds my personal medicine and represents my spiritual connection to the Great Mystery. My teacher, Char Sundust, journeyed to investigate what materials would best serve me and my fellow classmates in the creation of our medicine bags. The answer came to her in the spirit of Horse Medicine, which represents freedom, power, divination, and clairvoyance. Char was able to procure a horse hide from which I and my classmates were led in ceremony to birth our Medicine Bags. Each of us found the spot on the hide that "spoke" to us, and reverently cut out the pieces that we would use to construct our Bags. Melissa Rosenberger (a TA of Char's, and a talented Shamanic Practitioner) led my group in the construction of our Bags. While stitching them together using natural materials, each stitch became a prayer meant to benefit us in our own healing. Before sealing them, we each placed sacred objects inside representing different things - power animals, allies, plant medicine and elemental medicine such as stones and crystals, representations of fire, air, earth, and water. The Medicine Bag connects us to our spiritual selves and the objects inside are used for healing, guidance and protection.

Looking outside my front door.

I am awed when I look back at this Winter. I look forward to the Spring and witnessing all the plants being reborn, as I feel I have somehow been reborn. Discovering my spiritual self hasn't been easy, but the benefits and lessons have been monumentally important and I'm anxious to see where this road will lead ultimately. One thing you can count on, I will always be looking for those fairies in the hollows of mossy old growth trees...

Me, my Mom, Marie, & my Aunt Doreen during Christmas