Rattling the Bones

I certainly don’t suggest that any of you attempt to write a blog entry on the Moon of Inter-Relations while the Bachelorette plays in the back ground. I’m telling you between the Bachelor Pad, the Bachelorette and Big Brother we certainly don’t have too many good examples on how to inter-relate in a functional way. What is sad about these reality shows is that they actually, accurately describes the way young people relate to each other. I’ve seen lots of the issues that are shown on TV in my own living room. Don’t forget I’m the mother of two young adults (19 and 20 years old) and they have lots of friends and / or acquaintances… When we learn about the Moons on the Medicine Wheel, we learn about our ego development. For lots of people ego simply implies that part of us that is arrogant, selfish, ambitious and competitive. Yet, according to Carl Jung and many shamanic traditions ego is crucial to human survival and is one of three parts that constitutes the soul. It’s absurd...

It was one of those days where I could feel spirit in all things. A summer wind was tenderly caressing the trees and the sun was playing with the clouds. Every now and again, thunder would rumble in the horizon and drops of rain would teasingly touch the ground. Wild flowers were swaying in the breeze and my rose bushes were laboring to give a second generation of buds. No matter where I glanced a feature of creation was manifesting around me. I closed my eyes and for a moment my spirit drifted through the branches of the poplars. With the tail of my thoughts I touched the edge of a nest and synchronically heard the cry of the blue Jay. Soon I was back in my chair on the porch laughing at the Jay who reproached me for my slight intrusion. It actually perched on the side of the pool barely twelve feet away from me and bickered. “I’m sorry,” I giggled and it flew away still squabbling one last insult. “Why is it,” I wondered “that I don’t mind the boundaries of nature and yet re...

I was reading a book this week which is set in the early 1920’s. What I liked about the story is that after a while I could see the men tip their hats to the women as they crossed their path; or give their seats; or open doors etc… Chivalry was practically stepping off the page. I noticed that the women in the book were appreciative, polite and somewhat flirtatious. They kept their heads down and spoke with their eyes. The way they hide behind their hats and tucked their hair close to the nape translated timidity, femininity, and prudishness. I found myself almost feeling great loss when I realized that men and women didn’t play these games anymore of bowing, dancing, and seeking each other out. “Where did it all go and why?” I found myself asking my husband one evening before bed. “Women wanted to be equal to men,” he replied as if the answer was so obvious. Still after a few moments of silence even my husband started to speak as if he also missed these old customs. “I alway...

MC recently asked the question: What is the purpose of touch? When she first asked the question she was struggling with jealousy issues. I heard behind her original question a deeper pondering: Why do we seek touch from many different people? I think that the purpose of touch is more than evident: It heals, it suits, it comforts, it secures, it excites, it confirms, it inspires, it brings pleasure and pain etc… When we explore the topic of touch we come to realize that it makes no sense to touch one and only one person for the rest of our lives. Touch is in everything we do and it’s unfortunate that we are not more conscious of it. Perhaps it is because we are immature in our experience of touch that we fall in misconceptions and inevitably end up with jealousy issues. We are no longer a society of people who lives life with the help of our senses. We do see, smell, ear, taste and touch but we don’t depend on these senses to survive. I think that most of us take for granted ...

“…many Native Americans see the use of the word "shamanism" as the height of an offensive stereotype and commercial exploitation of their people's beliefs. Many neo-shamanists and scholars are sensitive to this issue, and strive to educate the public about exploitation of indigenous cultures, as well as correcting common misconceptions about the words "shaman" and "shamanism." Tori McElroy. I came across an image today that was extremely beautiful. It was a photo by Gregg Braden of a hummingbird perched on a glass ball looking at its own reflection. For a little while I just dreamt with the image and wondered about the hummingbird’s experience. My heart started beating faster and I could smell the sweet odor of all kinds of flowers. The perfume inspired colors and they were bursting in front of my eyes. I jumped and found myself awakening in front of my computer screen. Curious, I started reading comments from other individuals ...

I just got back from western Canada. We (G and I) gave a workshop out there, in Golden, B.C. It doesn’t matter how many times we travel through the Rockies in Spring, the mountains always share with us new experiences. For example, this June there were quite a few thunderstorms in comparison to last year’s week of hot, muggy, sunny weather. It’s amazing how the mountains actually box in the sounds of nature and accentuates them in clarity. Being in the mountains during a thunderstorm was like being in a cathedral during a concert of classical music. Beautiful! The dark clouds, piercing sun rays and rainbows denoted the valleys in different shades of light and shadow, and enhanced the power of the Rockies in ways that I would have never imagined. You can check my page on Facebook for pictures. They are well worth the time. I never saw and heard so many birds and even the coyotes, the wolves and the cougars were quite vocal especially in the middle of the night. Perha...