John Perkins Keynote, D.C. GreenFest

Another upcoming event (October 10/11) is the DC Greenfest at the Convention Center. John Perkins, a fellow Shaman and author of several Shamanism books, will be delivering a keynote address at 2 p.m., on October 10th. His lecture doesn't look like it will deal directly with his shamanic practices; nevertheless, he is a true champion for the environmental cause.

I read Perkins' Shapeshifting book over the Summer and he went over much of what we learned-- the importance of shifting stories, shifting dreams, even the power of shifting form on a molecular level.

His personal transformation story was an inspirational shapeshift on its own: after working as a highlevel corporate operative with all kinds of exposure to crooked practices and access to world leaders, he then chose to turn his back on the world of international finance and reveal its dirty secrets.

His story also touches on one of the apprenticeship's tenets--the absolute necessity of reintroducing the wisdom of primal cultures into the West. He is as convinced as I am that our survival as a species may depend on it.

Go here for more info on John's work.

teepees, drums and alters at washington monument

17th annual prayer vigil
washington monument
saturday oct 10th at sunrise 7am
till sunday oct 11th 1pm
www.oneprayer.org
to participate in program
oneprayer4@aol.com
volunteer for friday and sunday
chrisoceanshaman@comcast.net

free and open to all

Sound and Visuals

I attended a group sound healing session last night in Falls Church, VA. The practitioner, Barry Goldstein, used tuning forks to open and balance the 7 basic chakras. Laughter Yoga, chanting, and listening to his original music were included in the mix of evening activities. He also took the time to have each member of the group use one word to describe their association with joy and then a barrier to their joy. Using guided imagery and relaxational sounds, he asked the group to visualize and then cross a rainbow bridge leaving their own self-defined island of despair for their island of joy. Holding and maintaining the vision seemed to be just as critical as the type of sounds he was using to create a meditative space. A shaman might go further by allowing these energies to be expressed or channeled physically as a way of giving form to the mind's nebulous contents.

It's always been interesting to me how certain frequencies can assist in the removal of blocks that form in and around the body. There is no standardized tuning fork method--different masters use different frequencies and scales. Barry was trained by Joseph Crane. I plan to train with a West coast healer later this year. More to come on that.

walking

A dear friend now lives in U.A.E. ,so I haven't seen her in a couple years. Yet here she came walking through my backyard and into my house a few nights ago, with another friend (each of us has been a student of Adnan Sarhan, Sufi master from Bagdad.Steve for decades, I a few years, Leilas for weeks.) We were telling funny stories of our own, a lizard in the bath room, a horse in the orchard, then slipt into
the stories we just carry from one lover to another .

A student was walking on the outskirts of town, and came upon his teacher riding a horse. They strolled along talking. The teacher began to spur the horse, and the student had to run to keep up."Look at me. Concentrate on what I am asking you" said the teacher. The student ran, and had to use all his attention to answer the questions, listen and barely keep up. Faster they went, still faster, still harder. Abruptly they stopped. He looked back over the great distance they had covered through a thorn field, but had not one scratch on him.


The water carrier for a village was a woman, who took a large yolk with two large clay pots everyday to the river and back . One of the vessels, on the right, had a flaw and lost 1/2 the water each time. It felt terrible about this and after many months said to the woman, "I really want to apologize for not being a perfect vessel. I wish I could carry my share."
The woman replied,"Look at the ground. The left side of the road is lifeless, just dirt. But the right side is lush and green and full of flowers . I knew this all along."

TaKeTiNa: Dance and Chant

TaKeTiNa is an up and coming rhythm, dance, and chant discipline. It involves basic beats layered with gentle body movements and uses a single stringed musical instrument (the berimbau) as an accompanying drone. After completing the exercise, the participants (usually in a euphoric state) all lay down and are asked to bring their focus inward. I tried it recently and found it enjoyable and insightful.