shamanic healing

Expanding consciousness

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K of Ames, Iowa wants to know:

Q. How can we humans expand our consciousness?

A. Simple. Stop doing those things that limit you and hold you back! You are created to expand beyond what you can imagine… That is your natural state of being, your birthright. As soon as you let go of the rope, the hot-air balloon will soar! You are primed for flight. Humans so easily tie themselves up with unhappy thoughts, false beliefs, unexpressed emotions, unexamined fears… All these are like boulders weighing you down. They keep you from the ultimate exhilaration of free and powerful expansion.

The belief that holds you back more than any other is the belief that you can’t change your beliefs!

Think of yourself as the leading edge of a wave breaking gently on the wet sand. Can you allow yourself this much freedom? Can you dive in with a joyful heart and let the power of the wave carry you forward?

Ask for what your heart desires. Let go of what’s holding you back. Ride the wave. Repeat! Trust in the power that unfolds within you, the same power at the heart of every seed, every egg, every pulse of earth’s energy. You have at your core the imprint of expansion. This is your driving purpose! Each to his or her own heart’s center of gravity. Hold yourself back, and you wither and die.

There is no end to the expansion of all that is. And you my dear, are an integral part of the whole. You are wanted, needed, desired. You belong here in this time and place. Now you must let go of the shore and fly! No arguments.

Has GCW lost her marbles?

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S, last seen living in Iowa asks:

Q. What is it like to get old and have lost your marbles?

A. By marbles do you mean little hardened blobs of accumulated knowledge all packaged in assorted colors; smarts you can take out, roll around and impress your friends with their color and shininess; or glassy balls of fossilized knowledge fit for a museum exhibit? Just wondering…

I’m proud to say I’ve never owned a marble and I don’t wish to start collecting shiny objects now! That is a hobby for crows… Besides, how can I lose something I’ve never had? The two-legged one tells me that marbles are shiny, pretty, colorful, long lasting ball shaped objects that make lovely clicking noises as they come together in a bag or bowl.

I feel for you if you have lost your shine, what you consider your prettiness, your fun, your bright bold colors and think that is what happens as you get older! Even if you define yourself by the lack or sufficiency of marbles in your life, you can go out and buy more, can you not? Or find those you think you’ve lost. Sweep under the piano, the bed. They’ll roll out to greet you again. Nothing is ever lost!

Dearest S, I believe you think getting “old” is a problem. Think of all that you’ve gained a a result of your age! You are magnificent in your wisdom and power, your passion for living just as I am! Yes, I have dropped some branches that were once a vital part of me, I’ve been damaged by high winds, an asphalt path has been paved over some of my roots, I’ve observed insects dining on my leaves, seen many companions send down their first roots, then by and by grow old, decline, and die. But I would not trade this temporary life in tree form for any shiny object that would promise eternal youth. Look in the mirror and love who you are! Love the feelings that course through your veins for this is your essence. Feel the joy! Without your marbles my dear, you are so much more fun and light-hearted!

What happens to the hidden folk?

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A of Waukee, Iowa asks:

Q. What happens to the Hidden Folk when land is developed and the trees there are slaughtered and the land is either built on or paved over?

A. Hidden Folk are one with their native place. They do not migrate or leave their beloved homes when the bulldozers and earthmovers come. They seek always to restore balance, to reweave the web of creation, to right what has been destroyed. They feel deeply and fiercely for the land they inhabit and protect. At times they are able to adapt to changes and work with humans so all may live in harmony with an altered landscape. They greatly favor plans which include children!

At other times when no attention has been given to the nature of the land, to water patterns, the slant of sunlight, air flow, sun and shade, the energy exchange between air and soil, the needs of children, the hidden folk pull back to the margins of their land in anger and outrage! If needed, they cause mischief to attract attention! They single out those who speak eloquently for the land, defending the perfection of nature, knowing that paving concrete over acres of land is a distortion, a gross violation of the web of life. Air cannot flow, water cannot find its rightful place, life is smothered beneath the mass of killing concrete.

If you see a blade of grass break through the paving, a seedling, a sapling, cracks appear in the concrete, you will see the hidden folk at work to reclaim their home even if it takes a hundred years. They never give up! They endure and triumph. They are the guardians of life on this earth! They are timeless.

Why do people kill?

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Thorny locust

Thorny locust

P of Des Moines, Iowa wants to know:

Q.  Why do people kill each other? (P is a veteran of two wars)

A. My beloved P, only those who feel separate from the web of all creation commit acts of violence and violation. We – all living creatures are born knowing our vital place in the web. Every one of us, every blade of grass, every tadpole, every mass of algae, every fungus on the forest floor, and yes, every human infant is innately aware of the unity that lies beyond the world you perceive with your 5 senses.

Those who somehow feel separate and alone often have been ill treated so as to distort their knowledge of wholeness. They may feel in their deepest recesses a despair, an anger, a rebellion, all because at their innermost center they know that all is one. But, they see only the surface difference, separation, attack everywhere they look. They see their world through a false lense of distortion.

This is the law of the web: Those who feel separate create more separation. Those who damage others damage the whole and themselves as well. Those who hate themselves cast hate into the web and become a hub of distortion that moves outward enveloping others unless it is rewoven and healed with love. Every action no matter how small reverberates through the web and affects every particle of energy in the universe. If you wish to create love, do so with your thoughts, actions, words.

A  state of being that you call Love powers this universe.  In time, those who feel separate will know and feel this too. Each creature on this green planet may act from separation or from wholeness and connection. Which do you choose? Never underestimate your power of creation!

How can I help the environment?

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Q. D of Des Moines, Iowa would like suggestions on how to focus her energy for the benefit of the environment.

A. Do what is needed for your own inner healing and your own deep benefit and the ripples you create will move outward to heal the environment and your world. Give yourself all that you need – care, nurturing, love, rest, play, admiration, appreciation, good food and water. Surround yourself with loving family and friends. Know that you are inseparable from your surroundings. Your feelings and, emotions are mirrored in your world.

Where are you stuck? Where and how do you allow toxic thoughts and substances to enter your experience? Witness with compassion and see how your inner personal experience is mirrored in your outer world. Clean up that which you have control over – your thoughts and reactions. Forgive those who don’t deserve it, so you can be clear and at peace.

Let go of old resentments and free yourself to take flight with a lightness and clarity you have long desired. Remember always to look within for the healing you seek in others and in your environment. Every thought, every action, every blink of your eyes, every emotion, is reflected in the web of creation in which all things are one.

What happens to tree spirits?

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M of Central Iowa asks:

Q. What happens to the tree spirit when the tree gets hit by lightning or breaks because of ice?

A. When a tree dies by lighting, ice damage, a smothering vine, is uprooted by a flooded stream, or cut at the base by humans, or any other of the myriad forms of physical death, the spirit does not die.

No spirit can ever die. Spirit = pure energy… remember your high school science lessons? Energy cannot be destroyed! Tree spirits are freed after the death of their physical aspect to enjoy the buoyancy and freedom the pure bliss of existence without a material presence, beyond the reach of the seasons, of day and night, of freeze and thaw, of woodworm, of leaf rollers, bark borers, herbicides, fires, flood, and bulldozers. All manner of physical ills are no longer of any consequence and are left behind as easily as a cottonwood seed is carried on a spring breeze.

By and by a tree spirit or a group of spirits may once again recreate the ancient cycle of life on this magnificent planet and envelop a seed or a raft of seeds and choose the beauty, the brilliant unfolding, and yes, the uncertainty of physical existence. To live in this way and feel the expansion of life through our cells, the pull of the sun and the earth is glorious!

Tree spirits and all spirits are an integral part of the web of all existence. They are to be consulted as you consider the world in which you have your being and make your choices. Each spirit is imprinted with the pattern, the wisdom and knowledge of who were created to be before time began.

What can I do to keep air and water pure?

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From A of West Des Moines, Iowa2013-01-01 00.00.00-165

Q. Grandmother Cottonwood, what can we do to keep our air (and water) more pure? My yard may not be big enough to plant more trees – maybe bushes?

A. Have you ever transmitted the energy of pollution? Many do this. Many humans do not understand how thoughts and words affect the web of life. Purify yourself, your thoughts, words, actions. Teach others. In this way you spread the energy of love and that affects every particle of energy on this earth.  As a teacher, you are already doing this. There is no need to preach! Your energy affects those near you so much more than your words. Remember this. Continue to be the light- a loving source of light in your community. Others will be drawn to you, to be warmed and lit by your flame. They will learn from you and carry this with them to bless the world. This in turn will be healing to the water air and soil because people who feel and know their wholeness do not pollute their home. You are at the hub of a web of light, the magnitude of which you can not even imagine.

Planting bushes in your yard if you are moved and guided to do this is right. Send love, beam it from your heart space and hold the growing things under your care in this light. Envision their roots, buds, the birds that will settle in, the butterflies, all the life forms your plantings support. The web you create in your space is a subset of the web of all existence. You have the power to set into motion this powerful web of love that begins in your heart and spreads to the far reaches of creation!

You are a magnificent creator! You bless this earth with your presence!

Do trees feel emotion?

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A of central Iowa wonders

Q.  Do you experience emotion?

A.  I experience a moment to moment adjustment and adaptation to the filament-fine nuances of all t2013-01-01 00.00.00-498hat is. The web of existence in which all living things, all humans, all spirits, all planets, stars and galaxies, all particles of soil, all rocks, have a part. Every decaying pine needle on the forest floor, every hair that has fallen from your head, every particle of dust all have their place in this web. All is accounted for.

Emotion for humans is a moving energy that constantly shifts and changes based on your thoughts, that is meant to flow, to teach, to enlighten, to show you what matters to you. If you pay attention you can feel these emotions in your body. They are inseparable from who you are.

I too experience moving energy, but of a different sort. Energy is transported from my roots deep in the earth with the to the topmost leaves of my crown. Then the energy of the sun flows from my leaves down through my branches and trunk to the earth. I am a column, a channel of 2 way moving energy; a pathway between heaven and earth. I experience a state of acute awareness to the web of all that is through this moving energy. It feels expansive and alive and good and you might define this as love.

In the eternal present, I simply am.

Will loneliness end?

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2013-01-01 00.00.00-493Q. J of southern Iowa wonders… “Is there an end to loneliness?”

A. Loneliness, my beloved, is a state of mind. And through this state of mind you have projected what seems to you reality. It is like a filter or lens that shows only what you expect to see and feel. In this way you miss out on the full spectrum of human experience and feel separate from others. But you are not the only one. Almost every person on this planet does the same.

You can end your experience of loneliness by first connecting with the core of your being; the essence of your soul and experiencing your true self – the black and white parts of you, the tender heart of you, the shadow and light, without judgment. Tune into your heart and acknowledge what you have long repressed and ignored. As you tune in, you must lay the brain, the intellect and the ego aside for they know nothing of your your true depths. They would have you believe that you are separate from all others.

Become a child again and feel. In this way you allow your heart to thaw. There is no longer any need for you to hide the full experience of you – the flawed vulnerable human you – from your own awareness anymore. Become your own best friend, your own loyal companion. In this way you practice what it is to have the relationships you desire. When you learn to do this, you will learn to recognize and connect to the hearts of others.

Life, death, life

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2013-01-01 00.00.00-475A of Eastern Nebraska asks:

Q. What have you learned?

A. I will run with that open question and insert a sermon I was saving for just the right time….

I’ve learned that life and transformation are one and the same. To live is to grow. To grow is to be transformed. The final transformation is what you call death. Every particle undergoes a change from being fed to being food; a change from gaining nourishment from the soil to enriching and feeding the soil, the host for other lives. Have you not seen the beautiful shell-like fungus clinging to and feeding from the body of a downed tree in winter? The youthful vigorous sapling that springs from the stump of its parent and is nourished by it?

All of life is maintained and supported by this endless cycle of life, death, life. This is the physical plane of existence, the plane you study with your science and scholarly studies, your finely tuned instruments.

Now, for the plane of existence you humans can’t see: Here there is no death. All is interwoven into a magnificent fabric of consciousness too fine to measure. Every part of the whole affects every other part of the whole. There is no way to measure where the energy of your aura begins and where it ends, if it does end. Of course, it does not end….even with the death of the body. Your energy continues, it overlaps, mingles, interweaves with the unseen energies of all that is; with trees, grasses, soil, rocks, every sentient being on the planet.

Every thought and feeling that flashes forth in your mind is made of energy. You are energy and each thought alters the fabric or web of all that is for the better, or otherwise. Which do you choose?

Life is the greatest gift, life is to be cherished, life is to be lived full out with every particle of your being. Put down roots, allow the core of the earth to pull them. Reach toward the sun, breathing in the fullness of love that is your birthright.