Dance of Stones – second edition!

Back in 1998 I took a road trip with a friend from Germany. At the time, I was trying to come up with a way of writing a book on shamanism that wouldn't be "just another book on shamanism." A couple days into the trip, with my friend constantly asking questions about my work, I realized that this a an excellent opportunity, and started keeping better notes. The journey took us to some powerful places, both in the outer world as well as the inner. The experiences were pivotal to my own growth and realization, and they seemed to have an impact on my friend as well. We followed the signs if synchronicity across through Brittany and across the Channel to Cornwall. At each turn, the spirits welcomed us with new opportunities for deepening.

Ten years later I published Dance of Stones: A Shamanic Road Trip, and now it is being released in a second edition from the good folks at Moon Books. Later this year, they will also be releasing my second book, Post-Tribal Shamanism: A New Look at the Old Ways.

Dance of Stones succeeded in doing everything that I had hoped. It expressed the foundation teachings of post-tribal shamanism in and accessible and coherent way. It allowed the reader to begin his or her own journey into their exploration of the deeper parts of self. It also received excellent reviews, sold much better than could have been expected and opened up doors that have allowed me to expand my teaching practice. With the re-release, I hope to be able to extend the reach of post-tribal shamanism to an even wider audience.

These teachings are need in the world today. With the various crisis of society, earth and soul that each of us are going through, it is essential to reconnect with those things that nurture our souls. The journey we took through Cornwall is only one facet of the larger fractal that we are all embarked upon. I invite those who have not yet taken this journey to join me as we set off for a deeper place within us.

the Unparented Parent

In my work as a shaman, I have been aware for awhile that – at least at a soul level – all parents love their children and all children love their parents. This begs the question of, if this is so, why do so many parents and children have such a conflicted relationship?

Having observed a great many of these parent child relationships in the healing process, I see a number of reasons for this failure of mutual trust, respect and regard. I will address one of the most common causes, which I call the Unparented Parent.

All too often in our culture, due to abandonment, death, illness or absence, children do not have a competent parent available to them in their formative years. In combination with chronic low-level traumatic stress, this can derail the emotional maturity of the child, leaving them stranded in a childish state, often for the rest of their lives. They have not received competent parenting themselves and so, when they become parents, their child is constantly in competition with that inner aspect of their child self, who still seeks the nurturing of a parent. This can lead to behaviors that appear narcissistic and inappropriate, because the un-parented child aspect of the parent is desperately trying to get his or her own needs met, and can feel very resentful and fearful of the infant that is now receiving the attention, caring, nourishment and nurturing that they feel they were denied.

This can become a trans-grenerational cycle that can inflict its wounds time and again. However this cycle can be broken by those rare adults who engage their own healing process fully, reintegrating their wounded child aspects, before becoming parents themselves.

Much of the shamanic work I do with my clients is directed at this sort of healing soul level wounds that reach back over many generations, usually to a parent who was lost to war, illness or other life trauma, leaving a family bereft.

The good news is that these wounds can and do heal. It is not to late for that child to finally receive the parenting he or she needs. What may be hard for some to hear, is that that parent needs to be you.

The search for new space - a shamanic quandary?

Recently the doctor who owns the space where my wife and I have our offices told us that we needed to find a new location as our office spaces were going to be needed for her practice. This space is a hard act to follow, as it is very much what we want in office space. It's an old house that was completely renovated, with wonderful natural light, hardwood floors, high ceilings, reception area, and an elevator.

So – for the past month, we have been scouring Cincinnati for something that would seem like a step up instead of a spatial demotion. We've narrowed the search down to a few places, each of which has its upside and its downside, which is where the quandary lies: In asking the spirits for their input, I keep getting "it's up to you. Make a decision." This is the same sort of situation so many of us find ourselves in. Presented with multiple choices, none of which is clearly the "right" one, we wish that the "Universe" would magically make the decision for us. Instead, it is a part of the process of awakening (and maturation) that we must make the choice ourselves – accepting the responsibility for whatever comes of it.

So - sometime in the next week or two – we will bite the proverbial bullet and make a choice between these different locations...assuming that the spirits don't present us with yet another option which is so clearly superior to the others....

I'll let you know.

moving forward...slowly

So - some new things on the horizon. I am working with a team to put together a webinar introduction to Post-Tribal Shamanism. If that goes well, I will move forward with putting more of the teachings into webinar format. I am not sure how much of them will actually translate to the web, but we shall see.

Also - it has been suggested that I open this blog up to other folks to write in, so that it maintains a more consistent presence than I have been able to manage on my own. With this in mind, I would invite any of my advanced students or apprentices who have an interest to contact me about writing "guest appearances" here. They would need to be on topics related to Post-Tribal Shamanism, but other than that, I think it's a pretty open forum.

The Shaman's Paradox and an Excellent Fedora

I would like to think of myself as non-materialistic. It fits with my philosophy and ethics and general worldview, so when I find myself coveting something that is – to my view – outrageously expensive and unnecessary, I have to take a moment to be mindful of what is happening.

Now, I will admit to having a fondness for fedoras and that I try not to leave the house without one. I like a warm head and shaded eyes...and I suppose there's a bit of my sense of identity wrapped up in it as well. My dad wore fedoras, and this is one way for me to express my loyalty to him. However, I generally find my fedoras on Ebay and pay no more than $50 for one, which should last me for many years. So I was surprised to find that, when I came across some truly amazing hats – the kind "they don't make anymore – being produced by a little company in Tennessee, I was so taken with them that I am seriously considering ordering one, even though they start at $800.

At first, I tried to laugh it off and let it go, only to find that the idea of wearing such an excellent hat kept re-emerging. So I took a look at it. What was is engaging about this? What deep hunger is it tapping into? Why can't I just shake it off and be done with it? It took awhile sitting with this quandary before I realized what it was about.

One of the aspects of life as a working shaman is that, on the one hand I need to keep myself very grounded in the everyday world, in order to be able to do my work and relate to my clients. On the other hand, I need to stay in touch with Spirit/Soul, in order to do my work and relate to my client's souls. I spend as much as six hours a day in soul awareness, working with clients, in addition to my own personal practice. So keeping myself grounded in the relative world of the ego is sometimes difficult. (It helps to have a lovely wife and daughter, who keep me engaged with their loving presence.) I call this the Shaman's Paradox – that I need to live and function in two apparently contradictory realities at once. Buddhists – who have an excellent vocabulary for this sort of thing – refer to it the relative and absolute. It's not that it's so difficult, but it does help to have "things" to anchor me into the the relative world. Since my ego is already aware the permanence is an illusion, it really likes to have something that is at least long-lasting. These hats remind me of the fedora I wore in art school – a gift from my friend Troy Gerth. It was a buttery soft, fur felt stetson, probably made sometime in the mid-40's. It disappeared at a senior party in the foundry, right before graduation, and it was a great loss.

When I think of wearing one of these fedoras, I feel myself suspended between the relative and absolute – enjoying the beauty, quality and comfort of the relative world, while appreciating its fleeting nature with equanimity. This brings me to a place of peace about my apparent obsession with ordering a very expensive, custom made fedora, but it doesn't get me any closer to doing so. However, it does keep me very aware of what I yearn for in this relative existence. When I hold such a well-made object, constructed from the best materials, I experience the beauty of it's design, the care with which it has been made, the sensual quality of its material and the sense of all these elements coming together in a meaningful way – assuring me that there is value in this experience of being human and being Here. I realize that I look for these same qualities everywhere in the world – in myself and in friends, in my home and – apparently – in my hats. Not such a bad thing, I think.

Note: I visited with my dear friend and mentor, Eli, yesterday. When I told her about the hats, she said, "You should do like they do in Italy. Put it on your wish list and ask your friends to contribute. Then you could have a present from all of them that you would really love."

I'm considering this.

Shaping Your Life

I just returned from my morning run and am reflecting on the lessons it offers me about life. At the moment, my body is just beginning to take me seriously again after a month off and then a couple weeks back in training. For the first week or so, it was treating each workout as a one off – not really expecting me to continue. After all, it's not easy getting out of bed at 6:00 to go meditate and it's even more difficult to then put on my running shoes and go out into the cold (below freezing!) dark night and run three miles. So why would someone who enjoys being warm and comfortable and getting a full night's sleep even contemplate such a thing?

Each morning, when I start my run, I have to disengage from my rational mind in order to get out the door. I treat it as a habit - as some odd thing that I do without thinking. This gets me out to the sidewalk and around the corner. Next thing I know I'm pounding along the pavement, shivering slightly and already beginning to drop into stride. After the couple blocks, I look up and see the moon – not quite full anymore but beautiful – and my mood begins to lighten. The first mile drops away and I am warmer and feeling good. I begin to think about how life offers such wonderful opportunities – like running – to shape our lives.

Just as my choice to get up and run or workout most mornings shapes my life now and in the future, so do the other choices we make. The more intention and awareness we bring to this process, the more clearly we can determine the life we are choosing. One of the keys to the process is recognizing and taking advantage of the opportunities we are presented with.

Gratitude is the open doorway to abundance. This adage has fueled a lot of of growth for me. Realizing that by appreciating what I have and feeling grateful for the gifts I am receiving, I open the doorway for that flow to continue. I have since realized that having gratitude to my mother and father, for the gift of life I receive from them, lets my soul know that I am ready to receive these gifts – and all other good things.

Another opportunity to consider is joy. When we experience joy, we affirm whatever we are engaging in, lending its presence strength in the matrix of our life. So, pay attention. The more you feel joy, the more you welcome experiences that bring you joy.

A final experiment for you. Next time you park your car in a metered space, consider leaving all your emotional baggage with the car. As you put your coins into the meter, think of all the burdens that you are going to be leaving with your car, while it is parked. Walk away without them. When you return, be very careful about what you choose to take back. Give it a try. I thought of it on my run this morning and am curious to see how it will work.

Soul Healing

This term – "Soul Healing" – can be read in two ways: Either as the healing of a wounded or damaged soul, or the healing the Soul offers the ego. Shamanic practice makes use of both of these meanings.

First – a brief overview of what we mean by "Soul" and how it is viewed from a shamanic perspective. From the perspective of my teachers, each human being has at least three souls while they are alive in the physical body. One of these souls comes to them at birth from their physical ancestors, and ties them to these ancestors throughout their life and even after death. I call this the "Ancestral Soul." There is also a Soul that has lived other lifetimes before this one, and will probably choose to live other lifetimes in the future. I call this the "Reincarnating Soul" or "Infinite Soul." Finally, many shamans would consider the ego, the part of you that thinks of itself as "me" and which is formed by the interaction between your other souls and your physical body, creating an interface with the world we experience around us.

At the death of the physical body, the first two souls tend to move toward the ancestors, into the Under World, while the ego portion will tend to stay near the body until it gradually dissolves. Once in the Under World, the two remaining souls will rest, coming to resolution about their shared lifetime. When this is reached, the Infinite Soul will rise up through the World Tree to the Upper World, where it will make itself available to a new baby being born into the Middle World. Here it will combine with a different Ancestral Soul and gradually form a new ego.

When it comes to healing, these different Soul provide radically diverse opportunities. The Infinite Soul is the one part of the Self that does not change. Communing with this Soul; moving into the awareness of this Soul and resting there, is a profound healing practice that impacts all the other parts that make up our sense of self, including body, mind and energy. In short, this is done by a regular practice of sitting meditation that focuses on resting in Soul Awareness. The Ancestral Soul, on the other hand, is very likely to be carrying distortions from the traumas and wounds of previous generations of the family. These wounds can be healed to a great extent, if the Soul is willing and open to the process. Finally, the ego – if we are to consider this a soul as well – carries its own share of injuries from this current incarnation, much of which can be addressed by a competent therapist. Still, there are things that can be quite helpful in the healing of the ego, which modern therapists tend to shy away from. One example of this is "soul retrieval" which can be a very effective treatment for ego/soul trauma.

This blog post is only a brief overview. Depending on responses, I may go into more detail on this in later posts.