Rattling the Bones

Lately I’ve received a few e-mails and letters from people asking questions about drums and rattles. I don’t think I’ve written a blog on this topic yet. JB wrote in his e-mail: “I often read that Drums are connected to Shamanism and often the tool of choice for Shamans. How do Shamans use drums differently than anyone else who’s in Shamanism?” I thought it was a great question. For starters, one of the reasons why a drum is an interesting tool in Shamanism is because it can mimic a heartbeat and induce a state of trance. A rapid heartbeat can trigger nervousness, excitement and even aggression. A very slow heartbeat can help in relaxation, sleep and dreaming. Every rhythm can inspire an emotion and can bring about the memory of a past experience or a parallel reality. In Shamanic circles the drum can be instrumental in healing, teaching, ceremony or ritual, expansion of consciousness as well as dreaming and journeying. Almost a decade ago I participated in a Mohawk namin...

I’d like to be able to leave an entry on my BLOG every day but one thing leads to another and I realize that there are some days where there isn’t enough time.   When my son was little (5-6 years old) he used to say that there was a CT in the past, present and future.   He believed that there were three parts to him living life in three distinct realities.   He would explain to us that a part of him self was actually dashing towards the future and that if somehow he (in the present) changed his mind on what he wanted to do tomorrow, he had to run after this CT (in the future) to stop him before he lived through the next 24hours.   We would giggle at his understanding of time; but at the same time understood quite vividly the impressions that he was describing.   Later on CT (10-13year old) would tell us that when he was happy and full time would move faster.   He would explain to his sister who often had bad days in school that it was a simple matter of controlling personal moods ....