Rattling the Bones

Totems pronounced « Do-tems » is a Cree word that means « relations. » In ancient times totems were important to survival. They not only spoke about the people and how their human behaviors or abilities were similar to the animals in their environment but they also spoke of their Spirit Protectors and even magical and cultural status. The totems poles were built to speak of the community. Who was chief, warrior, healer etc…. When someone died a totem pole was sculpted to show that even after death we were connected and to leave a living archive for the people who stayed behind. The whole topic of totems was serious business in so much that it spoke of political, economical and social relations. Certain totems were seen or understood as more meaningful or more powerful than others. If you lived out west for example the Raven was seen as an important totem. Chiefs and strategic warriors were often Ravens. Up north the Bear was seen as an important omen showing the birth of a hea...

Most young people who come across “our home” have tattoos these days. Lots of them were chosen intuitively. Yet, when they find out that we (in our home) live traditionally (shamanism) they are often curious about the meaning behind the animals that are etched on their skin. One young man (a friend of my daughter’s) had this great big Eagle on his back and a Roman armour on his chest. When I asked him if he had any big story or experience to share relating to the tattoos, he was all excited. He explained that every since he was a little boy he knew deep down that he had been a warrior in another life and that the Roman armour was intimately related to him. The Eagle always seemed to be a messenger for him (and so he said). Today, he chose the Military as his life’s career. “A gift from the Eagle,” he said. I always find it incredible that people live SHAMANISM without consciously understanding the meaning of the word. It seems to be at the roots of our human experience. Animalism has b...

Synchronicity means – experiencing more than one event that aren’t meant to be connected and yet show details that bring them together. Example. Today Sylvie was taking care of the pool and Gérard came outside laughingly calling her the “Lady of the Lake.” Tonight, we went to see a movie and one of the characters said: “Are you the Lady of the Lake?” Finally, when we arrived home a neighbour said that he was searching for his dog and it was found by the “Lady of the Lake” a few houses down. Now none of these events were planned. Also none of these events are connected in any way except for the fact that they keep bringing up the notion of the Lady of the Lake. Synchronicity is often understood by common people as coincidence. In my world there is no such thing as coincidence. When synchronicities occur more than a dozen times a day, the word coincidence means “you’re too lazy to dig deeper and uncover other ways to reason out the phenomenon.” I understand synchronicity as our way to co...

Every 3 years (approx) we get a Blue Moon. This means that we have two Full Moons in one month. Mathematically this is explained through a better understanding of how we calculate our calendar. Our calendar for example is very different than the Mayan calendar or calendars used by our ancient ancestors. Since every year has an extra eleven days because of the way we separate our calendar into 12 months – every 3 years we end up with 2 Full Moons in a 30 day period. With or without this explanation though, the Blue Moon has always been a cosmological phenomenon. It is recognized in most all calendars used since the start of civilization. Does this mean that the Blue Moon is a creation of man’s mathematical thinking or does it hold cosmological power beyond the usual Full Moon movement? As most of you know women are more sensitive to phases of the Moon. Our menstrual cycle somehow follows the Full Moon cycle. If you have more than one mature woman in a household, you’ll quickly notice th...

Another BLOG about dreaming. I learnt a long time ago that dreams are not mental creations but actual cellular stories. Imagine your cells spinning like a CD and sharing with us every day a multitude of information. The cell tells the body how to function; it even awakens illness; and can also guide the way through dreams. I’m over simplifying but I think you get the idea of what I’m trying to convey. Like I’ve said before our dreams repeat over a 30 day period and they repeat all through the night as well. You’ll notice that the message will be delivered through all kinds of different forms and stories. You have more than enough time to figure out the learning and the healing that is being offered to you every month. It’s a matter of being attentive and of learning the Way of the Medicine Wheel. At first when we start exploring our dreams we share them all... and we practice the skill of interpretation until we’re experts at it. Yet, the elders will tell us that it’s important to hono...

Transitions are never easy and yet when we’ve shifted – we wonder what we complained about in the first place. What was so difficult about the unknown? I often have the impression that the word “unknown” applies to a point in time that isn’t clear when we’re submerged into the present and it’s reality. It doesn’t really exist as a reality in itself because if you really take the time to look at your life and its different details it all seems to speak about the same themes and the same kind of stories. The unknown is nowhere to be found. My kids are adults now (18 and 19 years old). They look a lot like my husband and I. People can’t tell our voices apart and if you look at pictures of us at their age – the similarities are uncanny. Since they were born there’s been lots of conversations about how the children look or behave just like us, their parents. It’s a fascination. How magical our we – to be able to create a progeny that shows resemblance to us and to o...