Every morning the shamanic warrior stands with a choice before him or her. To take a risk and live this day in touch with the soul, to thrive, be zingy and full of energy by stepping into the cold shower first thing in the morning, or to remain governed within the comfort zone of the ego, surrounded by the luxury of the everyday and stick with the hot rinse.

For me this past week marks a threshold of 12 months of cold showers. It started on 27th September 2017 and give or take the odd day when it was impossible to have one, and there was no waterfall to use as an alternative, then I have been true to my choice, the decision that has stood before me daily beneath the shower head, to turn the tap to blue rather than red.

The teaching stems from the First Nation people, when the grandmothers of the tribes took their young ones every day of the year to the river, the waterfall or the ocean, to have all the red blood cells race to the surface of the body and invigorate the whole being. When we are immersed beneath the ripples, the spray and the waves, it brings us to first attention and we feel fully present with all life around us.

Today we don't have the rivers and oceans readily at our finger tips when making the commute to work so we have to make a compromise with the cold shower, but the effects can still be the same. Over a period of time we start to build up more healthy, brown, lean fat within ourselves as opposed to the white, fatty fat that otherwise will remain in existence. We blow the cobwebs away from the night or day before and are ready to greet the next 24 hours as if it were our first here on Earth.

The way of the shaman is to choose to be on this edge, to go beyond the norm, because here is where the answers lie to one's life. So with the shower, so with every choice one is faced with in the day long journey as the Earth spins one full rotation dawn to dawn as we endeavour to move closer to our true selves.

The cold shower can be seen as the first step along The Way Of The Warrior. It doesn't have to be this way of course there are other things that you can choose to do to take you into the mystery and soul of your being, through ceremony and ritual in other morning practices or indeed throughout the day, but for the sake of really moving into the now, there is arguably none better than this most obvious option.

Of course we don't have to jump right in, we can start with warm water and switch to cold as we shower, as I have done in the past, but eventually comes the day when you just decide to embrace life more fully and take the plunge straight off.

You will find that once you begin to shake the ego's thought that this isn't such a good idea, that cold actually isn't that cold after all. Water can't go below zero degrees because it would freeze, it will be warmer than what you might first imagine depending on where your shower exists in proximity to nature the length and breadth of the nation.

It has other advantages too, saving you money, using less heat and electric within the household for the benefit of not only your pocket but that of climate change too. 

It is simply the notion of it that we have to get over, realising how strong our ego is that wants to keep us small, protected and well within our comfort zone, unfulfilled, stale and dead.

Once we embrace the concept however, our energy levels start to rise, we are prepared to risk more and live a more fulfilled life, we become more vigorous and begin to thrive. We are then ready for the next choice towards a better life.  

If you care to comment on this blog with regards to any issues or feelings it brings up for you please feel free to do so below.

Part of the reason for a lack of blogs over the past couple of months is due to the fact that I have been engaged in two rather large ceremonies and a whole load of smaller ones too. 

When engaging in the shamanic path regardless of whether you intend to become a shamanic practitioner or not, ceremony, ritual and the ability to create a sacred space for yourself becomes an ever more important everyday aspect of your life. Through this practice you start to establish a relationship with the sacred and dive into the great mystery of all things.

We must not underestimate the power of ceremony. If the right intention is set and space is created, with the utmost integrity, for whatever purpose is going to be performed, then spirit will most likely take note and answer in no uncertain terms if the plea for help is a sincere one.

We are all familiar with ceremonies that are set up to mark the importance of people stepping over new thresholds or transitioning into a new existence through weddings, graduation and the like, in shamanism it is no different. It just seeks to go a little further in creating more ceremonies for more purposes, like for visioning what your life is truly about by way of a Vision Quest, what you want to really leave behind in your life once and for all via a Burial Ceremony or purely to grant forgiveness, give gratitude or release attachment to things through a Fire Ceremony.

When one partakes in these events as I have done in the past few weeks being prepared to go to an extreme in order to do so, you make a pledge to nature and spirit, that becomes very difficult, if not darn impossible to renege on when the answer comes back to you in such crystal clear form as to the promise you have made. There should be no turning back.

If you are to resist however, you know you are going to betray your own spirit, your own soul and potential future well being in the process. Life is urging you forward and ever onward, if you dig your heels in you become stale in your comfort zone and start to die, alternatively you grasp the opportunity, leap forward, go with the flow and start to truly live as if your life depended upon it, because it literally does. 

We are here to live our lives to our fullest potential, it may take us years to release ourselves from the shackles that forever hold us back, it may take us that long to find the ceremony or ceremonies that are finally going to unlock the key to set our spirit's free.

In shamanic practice the tiniest of shamanic healing sessions, merest morning practice or subtlest of fire ceremonies can start to open up this portal for change within us if they are held with the right integrity and intention. That is the driving force behind everything one does as a shamanic practitioner, healer or coach, it is no different in my own daily practice to when I hold space for anyone else, the potential for transformation always exists, we never know when our connection to spirit is really going to kick in.

If you care to comment on this blog with regards to any issues or feelings it brings up for you please feel free to do so below.