Being Stretched

During our February 6th conference call, we had a discussion around how one would switch from the victim mind set to the mindset of one going through initiation when faced with challenges. How would one then handle a situation differently? I gave great thought to this question and it has come up quite often for me since then in the face of challenge.

This concept was further driven home for me in reading Mutant Down Under. There were several parts of the book that I found quite helpful in assisting me in some real times of difficulty as of late. It provided me with a shift in perspective to assist me in walking through emotions and states of being that are very difficult and emotionally excruciating for me to hold.

In chapter 3, the story describes how the mutant had to walk through the desert on spinifex, with blades and thorns entering and cutting her feet. The learning was to go deeper and focus one’s attention else where, each step going farther. Eventually, her feet developed enough toughness that she acquired the ability to withstand walking on such surfaces without such pain. Chapter 9 described how when the Real People sense the bush flies approaching, they immediately stop, close their eyes, stand still, arms hanging limply at the side. They surrender to the experience. To them, everything has a purpose. In the case of the flies, they assisted in cleansing the body and eliminating toxins. The real people believed that humans cannot exist if everything that is unpleasant is eliminated rather than understood.

The concept of walking through my challenge as an initiation and the concepts and imagery provided in the book really assisted me through that difficult time. I found that when I perceived my experience as an initiation, I was unwilling to participate in old fixes to alleviate my discomfort. I was willing to go the distance. Rather than trying to fight the feelings, I surrendered to them on a deeper level than I had previously been able to when faced with these emotions. Although difficult, I moved my focus and my attention to a deeper place within me where I could just be the observer. I was observing my own cleansing and hollowing out; in a way, experiencing an undoing to make room for more of me and being ok with it! I asked to understand and learn from what was happening. I imagined myself as the tree limb that was being hollowed out by termites and used to make a didgeridoo that would play great music in chapter 17. I was giving thanks to the healing that was already taking place. These shifts in perspective assisted me in going deeper and father than ever before. I was definitely stretched. Definitely something to celebrate!

Glad to have the space to share,

She Who Remembers

Tribal Life

So... My Tribe meter is low. As I thought about what this meant to me and what actions I was taking I realized that I was just sitting back and waiting for the tribe to form into this nice, tight knit family. So I guess I owe everyone a little bit of an apology!!

This path is huge to all of us and unless we clone Robin several times over.. there's not enough of her to go around :-) My thought is that as we're each experiencing our own paths, it would be nice to reach out to our tribe (yes, that' s all of you!) and gain insight and other views as to what Spirit might be presenting. If I'm off here, please just let me know. It's amazing to me to think that our tribe consists of some amazing people! what better group to share with :-)

I will be doing my best, moving forward, to reach out to each of you in an attempt to get to know you better. After all, 4 or 5 weekends this year (although awesome!) just isn't enough to really get to know everyone. I would even throw out there that we arrange some gatherings on our own.. either to practice/discuss our path or to just enjoy the presence of each other.

When I think of our group after the year.. I think that we're building life long friendships that we can reach back on in the future. Well, we're already half way through February.. the year will be done before we know it!

So, I know this is an odd post.. but one that I feel is important.

~ Still Waters

Shamanic Code of Ethics

As we begin our year of apprenticeship in shamanism, there are many practical issues that arise. A shaman works as an agent between the spirtual realm and the real world in the behalf of their client. The nature of shamanic work itself requires the practioner to employ often unorthodox methods, however are there particulare guidelines we should be adhering to in order to ensure the best interest of our clients? And not only are we dealing with the boundaries of our clients, but the boundaries of ourselves as healers, and the boundaries of Spirit. Are there standards of practice for shamans and what would should be including in a shamanic code of ethics?

Many professions dealing with the personal health, whether physical, mental or social health require a Code of Ethics. Professions that are licensed or require state certification have written requirements that can cause a person to be prohibited from further practice of the profession if that code is violated. However, certain practitioners in the healing arts, such as those who engage in practicing shamanism and some other spiritual leaderships, may not necessarily be licensed or certified by any legal entity, yet they are still expected to adhere to a code of ethics whether it be a legal requirement or not.

According to Rev. Peggy Mott, Doctor of Shamanism for the Universal Life Church, a shamanic code of ethics can be summed up in 3 words, "DO NO HARM." Mott says, the Shaman must not do anything that in any way would cause the person needing spiritual guidance any harm . NO HARM means no spiritual, physical mental or social harm. An addition to that NO HARM requirement is that the practitioner of spiritual guidance should guarantee complete confidentiality to the person with whom they are dealing. This means that not only must the Shaman make that guarantee but that she/he must not violate it in any way."

In doing a little bit more digging around on the Internet, I came across the Unified Code of Ethics for Healers on the Council for Healing's website. The Council for Healing breaks downs their Code of Ethics under five major headings: The Healer's Purpose, Commitment to Client, Qualifications of Healer, Professional Behavior, and Conduct in a Professional Enviroment. I strongly encourage all apprenticing shamans (as well as anyone in the healing arts) to read over this code and consider how they apply to their own perceived notion of a code of ethics for shamans.

I think it was important that the Council for Healing also addressed honoring diversity and indigenous healing. "Just as there are many perspectives on the mission and purpose of healing, likewise there will be many perspectives on what constitutes appropriate conduct and behavior for different healing modalities in various social contexts and cultures. " Indigenous healers typically adhere the traditions, rules and regulations of their individual tribe and are held accountable by their community. Therefore tribal or indigenous shaman are less likely to have use for a standardized professional code. But as "western" shamans bridging that gap and interacting in a society full of professional regulations, there is definitely a need for some guidelines to ensure the best interests of both the practicioner and client.

The Council for Healing's Unified Code of Ethics for Healers addresses the role of healers and the individuals they are providing their service for, but does not address the relationship to Spirit. In dealing with the spiritual realm, what would a Code of Ethics look like when doing our work "on the other side"? What are the boundaries we are not allowed to cross, how much flirtation with Spirit and the gods are we allowed to do to affect change for our clients? I'd love to get imput from everyone on this topic, as well as your thoughts on the Council of Healing's Code of Ethics. And how does that differ from a code of ehtics you may already be bound to if you are in a healing profession?

Links to Videos

I found these shamanic videos you might enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NZpOXj6u78&NR=1

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Kxdqjn1sFM8&feature=related

Center Of The Circle Excercise

Each one of you has the task of sitting, in some way, in a modern version of Pritchel's (Secrets Of The Talking Jaguar) circle. He sat for 12 hours, looking only within the circle. He came alive to his present moment (time) and area (space). Let us know how you have done this, and what you noticed about 1) the space 2) the time and 3) the process/you. Hugs!

What is a Shape-Shifter? A Shaman?

A few of you have as your "assignment" to answer this question when someone asks: "What will a soul retrieval do for me?" You must all be able to answer this, and also "what is a shaman." Let's start a thread here to ask this question and bring our answers. Below are a few answers found in a book, but you don't want to sound academic...Imagine you are in the grocery line or at a coctail party and someone says..."your bumper sticker says you'd rather be shapeshifting...what's that?" Hugs to all.

"Shape shifter" is a modern-day term for shaman who is: "a healed healer who has retrieved the broken pieces of his or her body and psyche and, through a personal rite of transformation, has integrated many planes of life experience: the body and the spirit, the ordinary and the non-ordinary, the individual and the community, nature and super-nature, the mythic and the historical, the past, the present and the future." Shamanic Voices, by Joan Halifax, Penguin Books 1979, p.18

"The shaman's work entails maintaining the balance in the human community as well as between the community and the gods or divine forces that direct the life of the culture. When these various domains of existence are out of balance, it is the shaman's responsibility to restore the lost harmony." (ibid p.21)