On The Farm
The Fall Equinox is upon us. As summer unravels, the colors begin to change. The swan family I’ve been watching are getting ready to depart. The cygnets are now as large as the adults and pure white. Egrets and Blue Heron join them each morning. Changes being made very subtly as the color palette shifts, especially when the leaves begin to turn. Lots of winterizing to be done on the farm to make sure the fencing will withstand winter.
It’s easy to be overwhelmed at this time of year, as chores stack up that must be done before the cold hits. September seems to be passing so quickly and intensely. I began a practice of finding micro-moments of peace and beauty that renew me throughout my day—I don’t have to wait until day’s end, week’s end or the next holiday before I can reset. I did a short video to share this practice and included it in this newsletter. I hope it helps you through intense times that always seem to be present.
Celebrate the small things and the local things. I had a wonderful surprise going to a local sunflower festival. Walking among the rows and rows of sunflowers of all different kinds, I could hear them sing. So, I buried myself in the rows of 10’ tall sunflowers and sang with them. I became one of them. I think it’s good from time to time to become something else and take a different perspective—a more joyful one than my human perspective is sometimes.
Journey Circle
Twice each month, on the first and third Thursday, I host a journey circle. What is a journey circle, you ask? A journey circle is a group of shamanic practitioners who get together to explore a particular issue for themselves, for their communities, or for the world, using the skill of journeying to access knowledge about the issue or healing energy for an issue.
Journeying is the term used for the deep, active, meditative state which one can achieve by listening to the beat of a drum or rattle. This altered state of mind has often been called “a waking dream”, where the events and encounters have a dream-like quality, but the person remains lucid and can interact with the elements of the dream just as though they were awake. That dream-time is called ‘non-ordinary reality’, and the altered state is the ‘shamanic state of mind’, which is open to the unseen, hidden reality sometimes described in quantum physics.
Shamanism addresses the spiritual aspects of healing. The practitioner engages compassionate spirit allies (power animals and teachers) to access the knowledge, healing energy, and support that is needed for themselves or for a client. Over time, a practitioner develops close relationships with these allies and co-creates with them to help others. I offer my shamanic practice to people and their animals who have experienced trauma, are close to death, or have experienced a disorganizing event (natural disasters, homelessness, etc.). When any of us goes through trauma, a part of our soul’s essence is set aside or leaves so that we can survive the ordeal. In the case of abuse (either person or animal), the soul essence is taken and must be returned. The journey is used for diagnosis of what the client needs, healing which may include retrieval of the soul’s essence, and divination which is just plain fun as well as useful for decision making. I also use journeying in my counseling/coaching process with clients, teaching them to do basic journeying for themselves.
For the past two years, the journey circle has been exploring the Book of Sorrows, which was perfect for the pandemic. The Book of Sorrows was a gift I was given from that dream world. The circle journeyed to discover the nature of regret, anger, resentment and many other seemingly negative emotions whose sacred purpose turns out to be anything but sorrowful. We get insights about our own lives, patterns and challenges, and we are given the gift of the cosmic view, which takes us directly to the sacred purpose of the emotion itself. We are currently exploring different aspects of being in transition. Turns out we’re stronger than we thought we were.
If you are curious about journeying as a skill that could help you, similar to learning to meditate, I teach Basic Journeying: The Art of Shamanism for Practical and Visionary Purposes in Daily Life every 3 months. The next online class is October 22-23, 2022. It’s a two-day immersion from 9am-3pm each day. I begin with an introduction to shamanic practice. We all came from cultures where our ancestors relied on the medicine man or woman, the wise one of the village who could heal others, or the one who could summon the rain and fertility for the crops and herds. From there, you can join the journey circle or attend any of my shamanic classes for which journeying skill is a pre-requisite. It’s a good adventure—I hope you will join me.
Peru - Trip of a lifetime
In June, 2023, I will be leading a group to Peru to explore its culture, its people, its spirit, and its beauty. I have a few openings left (3) for this two-week trip through the Sacred Valley, including Machu Picchu, and Lake Titicaca, where we’ll stay on three of the islands, including the Island of the Sun—the origin place of the human race in Amara cosmology. The theme of next year’s trip is JOY, and why not? Several persons who have signed up are shamanic practitioners, so I know we will have ceremony included. Number of the group will not exceed 12, so it will be small enough to be flexible to your needs. If you’ve been wanting to visit Peru, now is a good time. The price of the trip is comparably lower than other outfitters for the amount of time spent there and the quality of experience is high.
If you have questions or would like an itinerary with costs, please email me at ramsey.judy003@yahoo.com. I hope you will join us for this magical trip.
Classes on hiatus
In October, I will teach A SHAMANIC VIEW OF DEATH AND DYING, just in time for Days of the Dead. That is an advanced class in which we will celebrate the end of shamanic foundation training for those who have taken the whole cycle of courses. These are amazing people whose spiritual connection has deepened and grown over the past year and a half. I love them all.
After the death and dying class, there will be no more classes until January 2023, when we begin the course cycle all over again. Stay tuned for the 2023 schedule on the website. Classes will likely be posted by the end of October.
Finding Micro-moments of peace
Where did September go so quickly? Is it just me or is everything intensifying? In these stressful times, I need renewal, but I can’t wait for the weekend for a break, because I’m generally teaching or working then. I can’t wait until the end of my day, because the days are full and long and urgent. I can’t wait until vacation time—what’s that? So, I’ve been practicing a way to receive peace and renewal where and when I encounter it—in the micro-moments.
In this month’s mini-video, I give you a way of grounding that I learned from Christina Pratt, a long time teacher and practitioner of shamanism and other amazing things. Then, I explain what I’ve been doing to renew myself on an ongoing basis. Come join me and get renewed!
Every day
I see or hear
something
that more or less
kills me
with delight,
that leaves me
like a needle
in the haystack
of light.’
From ‘Mindful’ (2004) by American poet Mary Oliver.
The Bookshelf
Blessing the Animals is a collection of poems, prayers and ceremonies from men and women of many faiths and backgrounds. These are beautiful expressions of our spiritual connection with our animal friends and offer a good source of inspiration, as well as a resource for honoring those we have known well. The book offers blessings for both companion and wild animals, as well as blessings FROM animals. It provides a unique perspective that those of us who are close to our animals can appreciate and share.
The editor, Lynn Caruso, is also a poet and writer whose contributions bind these offerings together in reflection and make a cohesive thread that runs through the book.
“May pain be far away from you,
May fear be far away from you,
May there be warm winds without storm.
And may the Lord of life
Watch over you.”
Lynn L. Caruso, reflection on a Hindu prayer