Get More In Touch With Yourself, Your Dreams And Nature. In the unprecedented circumstances we are experiencing across the globe at this moment in time I offer up 5 novel, shamanic ways that can help keep you sane through the lockdown period and actually help you to feel good about yourself, your life and your future going forward. They work well for me, so I just thought I would share them with you today.
1. The Cold Shower. Yep, harsh as it may sound the cold shower is a great way to start the day, giving you more vigour and vitality throughout it. It helps raise all your red blood cells to the surface of your being and encourages more brown, lean fat to grow in your body rather than the white, fatty fat that might otherwise be encountered. In times of lockdown, your ego will want to rule, having lots of comfort food and lovely warm showers and hot baths, your soul however wants something more. A short, sharp shock in the morning immediately takes you out of your comfort zone and starts to help you feel more refreshed, more vital, ready to get on with the day, and guess what it helps you save money too. 2. Morning Practice. Morning Practice is a way of expressing gratitude to the Earth for all that you have at this moment in time. It can consist of exercise, prayer or a combination of both and is best performed outside if you have a little courtyard or garden at your disposal. Otherwise you could do it whilst you are out on exercise, or just in your house or flat if you have nowhere else to carry this out. I normally take a pinch of tobacco from by back pocket (I don't smoke), tobacco is considered a traditional offering for gratitude. I offer this up to the 7 directions by way of a prayer. Up towards the sky, down towards the Earth, to the East, South, West, North and then the centre and I might say a few words that come to mind at the time about the things that I see in my view, like the clouds, or the robin or whatever wants to present itself at the time in gratitude for that thing and just bringing my awareness into the here and now. I also perform some exercises / active prayers toward all of those directions too which I got taught in my training, you could use Tai Chi or Qi Gong as an alternative. Morning Practice normally takes about 10 - 15 mins to be able to perform. 3. Meditation. At the very least meditation helps us to still our mind and bring us more back in touch with the centre of who we are, arguably it can help us raise our immune system too. One of the most simplest ones is the Heart Meditation that my teacher Chris Luttichau recommends. It basically involves placing one of your hands on your heart, taking a deep breath in, connecting with the heart, feeling the rhythm of your heart beat, for as long as you can, holding that breath in, then slowly releasing with the out breath. Then repeat for as many times as you can or wish in one session. When you feel you are really in touch with your heart bring forward an image that really gives you joy to focus your attention on, perhaps to remind you of where you are headed. This exercise can be repeated throughout the day as many times as you wish. It helps you to get back in touch with yourself, your heart and the real love you have for yourself. 4. Spend 15 Mins Working Towards Your Dream. Spend just 15 minutes a day working towards your dream, whatever that might be. Give yourself that time to think about what you would dearly love to be doing in your life, what would bring you most joy, what you like to create in this lifetime? Maybe just spend a bit of time thinking about it, writing about it, doodling a picture of it, researching some pictures that might look something like it. If you find yourself spending more time than 15 mins working on your dream then that's great, however 15mins doesn't sound that long does it? Very doable in fact. So let's just utilise that time and start making this world a better place for us all to live in once we have moved beyond this lockdown period again. If you don't know what your dream is then you obviously need some coaching from me, don't you??!! ;-) 5. Recap At the end of the day think about all that you have achieved today, write it down, what has inspired you forward in your life and what has distracted you from doing what you wanted to do today. Don't be too hard on yourself just concentrate on what you have successfully achieved over the past 24 hours even if it was just taking a cold shower first thing in the morning, you did do that right? ;-). They are all steps in the right direction for living a happier life. Anyway I hope this helps you in the lockdown period. I will continue to post inspiration as much as I can throughout this time and beyond whilst working on my own 5 ways to beat the lockdown as well as perhaps come up with a few more too, take care of yourselves during this time. x 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.
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Suicide Is The Biggest Killer Of Men Under 45 In The UK. Once upon a time we all lived as members of the same tribe immersed within nature. If we trace our soul or ancestral families back far enough this is where they ultimately end up, as part of one clan, of the same origin.
Within that tribe we would have done everything for one another for free. We would have erected our shelter together, hunted and gathered for our food as one, cooked the meals within community and looked after one another's children. We would have met in circle and been able to speak our truth authentically and been listened to with an open heart. We would have had a close affinity with all that lay around us, a connection with all flora and fauna alike. We would have gone through our respective rites of passage together, all known our purpose and what our individual medicine power was that we brought to the community at large. As men and women we would have known what was expected of us within society. We would have been led by a council of elders, grandmothers, all acting in the best interests of the planet, making no decision that would harm any child of the next seven generations to come of any species. With the social breakdown that we are now faced with and the amount of suicides that now exist within our community it smacks to me as if we are living in a world gone wrong, of a society that has strayed way off course as to where it is meant to be, we are in effect 'the lost tribe'. Whether it is men under the age of 45, sport stars that are away from the football pitch or boxing ring or celebrities struggling to deal with the spotlight and its various angles, all are living with anxiety and depression and many are choosing to end their lives prematurely, unsure of the reason why they are here or who they have become. We have lost our connection to our roots, we have strayed far from that which would bring us home to ourselves, we have distanced ourselves from our Earth Mother and are unaware of our own true nature. That is why I am choosing to adopt the practices I am now with my fellow shamanic practitioners attempting to bring the old ways back, to arrange to meet people in circle, in nature, or even around a table, just to be able to help people reconnect with something beyond themselves, to relieve some of their mental angst. To form a connection and offer healing, coaching and guidance back to some degree of sanity. Speaking from personal experience when I too have got lost upon the path, and experienced my own anxiety and depression which I have done on many occasions, it is only nature that has managed to bring me back to where I have needed to be, my own centre. The nature based practices that I have adopted and managed to amalgamate into my own life have an incredible ability to heal, to start to bring wholeness back to ourselves. To reconnect to something greater than ourselves and then to reboot us. A wounded, fragmented soul has no chance of a happy life, it has been adapted, urbanised, made to fit into a culture that is unnatural for it, to conform to an assumed better quality of life in the city, but at some stage in our journey that facade cracks and falls apart because of our lack of connection to the wild around us or even the wild within us. It is only nature that can help to restore any balance. So it is proving through scientific research also. A recent study carried out by the Universities of Plymouth, Exeter and Derby along with Natural England too has found that 'physically and psychologically reconnecting with nature can be beneficial for human health and well-being, and at the same time encourages individuals to act in ways which protect the health of the planet.' More details of the study can be found out here. It is what native people have known all along. It is our task now to step out into nature and begin to come home to ourselves by using various shamanic practices. Answer The Call To Adventure now to find out how you can best begin to reconnect to nature yourself through the services that I can offer you through Allies Of Nature. 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. Dr Edward Bach and Simon Blackler (two of a kind?). Dr Edward Bach was a pioneer in the creation of flower essences. He was one of the first people to understand the relationship between the state of our emotional wellbeing and that of our physical health, believing the two to be inextricably linked.
Dr Bach had the unique ability to be able to place himself in a negative emotional state. He would then walk around his Welsh mountain home sampling various dew drops on different flowers and plants, that were catching the rays of the early morning sun until he was able to decipher which one of them could alleviate the feeling that he was experiencing. He became aware that through the combination of sunlight and water a flower or plant was capable of imprinting its own unique quality or 'essence' into that water for both his and our benefit. Unfortunately for Dr Bach in order to experience this process it meant that he would often spend many days or even weeks in a very unhealthy emotional state until he found the particular remedy he was looking for. However this research, in time, gave him the ability to create his own, now famous, range of 38 Bach Flower Essences. What I have found in my own research, in creating the Allies Of Nature range of flower essences, is that the flowers seem to want to work with me in reverse. Instead of me needing to feel a negative emotional state first and then go out and find the particular flower that can give relief to it, I am presented with a flower, that most obviously wants to be the next essence in the range, before I start to experience all what that flower is about afterwards. It will start to communicate with me, internally, in feelings that I become more aware of that I wasn't experiencing before, or externally, with life circumstances that then start to appear for me. Sometimes the two are linked in order for me to maximise my learning about this particular type of flower. This unfortunately has also meant for me that I too have experienced quite unhealthy emotional states of wellbeing in the process of creating this range of flower essences, especially if the flower in question has wanted me to discover something quite revelatory about its essence. A prime example of this has been in creating one of the most recent flower essences within the range, that of Yarrow. It was an essence that was created on the 20th December but was being conceived from the end of the previous one, Dandelion, on the 26th November, a whole three and a half weeks prior. During this time I began to experience more and more restrictions, regulations, blocks and obstacles to my progression in life and with the business. Externally, this primarily was related to me realising that I had to register my range of flower essences with the Food Standards Agency. I found out on a Food Hygiene Course in early December that flower essences are technically classed as foods and as such need to be registered with the local council. I was unaware up to this point that this was necessary and therefore I was totally unprepared for what came next. Unfortunately, in mentioning the full ingredients of what makes up a flower essence, with the vodka preservative included, I landed myself in a whole load of red tape around whether I needed to have an alcohol license or not in order to be able to produce them. This would take me over 6 weeks to sort out. Internally, this started to play havoc with my mind. My ego and inner critic began to run riot over my soul and I was beside myself as to what had happened in such a short period of time, and how I might have contributed to my own downfall. The elements too were seemingly conspiring against me when it came to collecting the essence. So much so that I wasn't able to capture the Yarrow essence on the day I had first planned, on the 19th December, I had to wait another whole day longer due to adverse weather conditions and travel blockades, problems that just could not be avoided at the time, if I was to listen to my instincts and intuition. To say that I was stressed about all what was happening was a bit of an understatement. However the quality that I had to learn most aptly about the Yarrow flower essence was in fact 'acceptance'. Once I grasped this concept then all of the frustrations, tensions and negativity around my progress all started to subside. It was like as if I had to go through all of that turmoil in order to start to truly understand what Yarrow was all about. On reading this last paragraph back through wave upon wave of spiritual truth has just wanted to wash through me in acknowledgment of this 'acceptance', enough to bring tears to my eyes, to make me weep, in affirmation of this fact. Such is the power of learning what it is to be a true Ally Of Nature, or warrior for a new Earth. All is seemingly necessary, or as the Yarrow would say itself, 'It is what it is!' If you care to comment on this blog with regards to any issues or feelings it brings up for you then please feel free to do so below. In the glint of the golden light.
She whispers in the wind. Stationary, still, bobtail twitching. She gives notice of the behind. Hidden along the boundary. Her russet flank of fleece doth flicker. Heralding the rusting of the day. And the onset of night more quicker. She's gentle, she's magic. All senses fully attentive. The hush of twilight falls upon her. As evening time starts to sieve. Mist upon the valley floor. Laps up against the hedges. Ridden steeds stand tall. Shapes become foggy at the edges. A tide of black and white rolls forth. A moo-vement towards the fence. A nurturing, maternal force. Grazing upon the day's pretence. Dew dropped grasses. Bitten, scrunched and crunched. Cud chewed over, thoughts mulled. Painful memories punched. There's a gallop upon the skyline. A whinnying of an equine master. Feathered white wings take flight. As dreams approach ever faster. Darkness seeps in now. Where sunshine once lay. Silence takes hold. Time to sleep, and pray. By Simon Blackler Copyright © Simon Blackler 2019 If you care to comment on this poem at all please feel free to do so below. A Powerful Circle Of Animal Allies. In shamanism it is believed that if we journey through life without the assistance of a power animal or spirit guide we will continually feel lost, be unsure of ourselves, our purpose and the unique gifts that we have to offer the world. We will most likely remain incomplete, fractured and wounded for many years.
Just like in Phillip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' and James Cameron's 'Avatar' where the lead characters all have power animals that assist them in their daily tasks and life passage, we too have such companions, in spirit form, available to us once we learn how to tap into their connection and qualities. If you are unsure of whether you have a power animal or not assisting you, they will most likely make themselves known to you through your passions and dreams. Alternatively in modern day living they can be seen in logos and advertising. If for instance there is an animal that you have been particularly drawn to in your life and have pictures of them plastered all over your walls then this could quite possibly be an indication of your power animal. Otherwise there may be an animal that regularly appears in wildlife programs or when you are out and about walking the land. It seemingly magically appears just when you are turning on the TV or passing its den. This animal is most likely trying to gain your attention for a particular reason and it too could hint at being an animal spirit guide for yourself. If we wish to seek clarification as to whether this animal is our power animal or not we can always take part in a shamanic drum journey, where to the beat of the drum we can voyage through our third eye into the world beneath the surface of the Earth. Here we can see what animal spirits want to greet us within the darkness as we take a subconscious passage into the dream state. Once we start to understand the unique essence of our power animal we can begin to appreciate our skills and attributes that are mirrored through it. Also, as we start to establish a resonance with this work and build a relationship with our initial companion other animals too can start to appear with particular tasks for our existence. Eventually we will be able to build a whole circle of allies to assist us in our quest for wholeness. Where these animals sit within our circle can determine the special message that they wish to bring to us and why they are here to help us at this time. Once we understand about the circle and the medicine wheel itself all begins to become clear. For me I have four main spirit animal allies in my circle, black panther of the West, grey wolf of the North, red stag of the East and orange tiger of the South, or this is how I refer to them in any case. I have a lot of other animal spirit guides too that come along at timely intervals with their own particular mission for me. The wildlife programs and films that I have watched over the years that have most resonated with me have been the likes of Big Cat Diary and Born Free. I have had a fascination with the larger feline animals of the world, especially when deemed to be at large within the UK too, including one that happened to be spotted just yards away from my second parental home some years ago. It was therefore no great surprise to me that when I searched for my initial power animal, a big cat in the form of a black panther presented itself to me within a drum journey. I know her to be my true power animal because she brings with her a healing ability which enables me to use my all seeing eyes to peer beyond the veil and look deep into things and people for the benefit of their own healing, coaching and guiding. She has a very sleek, sensual and feminine quality to her and has been journeying with me for most of my life, largely unnoticed. I have spent a great part of that time under her influence being steered by lunar energy and feminine creative qualities. In my shamanic training however another animal came to assist me in order to bring more equilibrium to my being. The red stag introduced himself to me in no uncertain terms to be the representative of my lesser known masculinity. He was delivered to me in a vivid dream on the first vision quest I took part in. It felt like a life changing experience and for a time he gave me a new medicine name to work with in Running Deer. He helped me journey towards a more balanced perspective on life counteracting the feminine. Another animal that sits in my circle is the tiger which most easily connects me with my passions and emotions. A signature species of the planet the tiger makes me aware of the deep love affair that I have with the Earth itself and all the inhabitants thereof. As a truly beautiful creature she makes me aware of not only her plight in the world but that of all species still alive with her habitat loss and threat of existence at the hands of man. The tiger brings to me a purpose and a passion to all of my work. Finally the wolf of the North sits proudly at the top of my circle and shows me the way, being the pathfinder that he is, his qualities include his strong heart, faithfulness and being of service to the clan that he is most closely aligned with. He, I believe, is sniffing out a new tribe or soul family for me to be a part of. Together they are an awesome foursome who are all helping me to become a more whole and complete individual able to lead his own life more assured of his own qualities, to which I am eternally grateful. In finding your own power animals you too can begin to bring a greater sense of wholeness to your being. Let me know if I can be of any assistance to you in helping you to find your own animal spirit guides by way of a drum journey or any other healing, coaching or guiding session I can take you through for that matter also. 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. My Medicine Shield Back in August 2018 I came to the end of my Three Year Shamanic Training, the culmination of which saw me produce this Medicine Shield, designed to truly depict who I am, even though at the time I didn't wholly realise what this meant. However there were enough clues in the imagery and my final Vision Quest to suggest what it could be hinting at. As I have journeyed in the weeks and months since, the shield has given me much greater clarity, proving to be a great teacher in its own right.
Whereas in the past I have run companies in graphic design, branding and personal development and always chosen logos that in some way shape or form related to nature, there was always something missing, most likely because I wasn't really sure of my own unique identity behind the brand, my own true self. However, this shield truly represents me and my recent journey, it holds all of my medicine power. I know it and love it deeply because it has come from a truly intimate place within my soul, each element being spelt out to me within nature as an essential part of who I am. I shall now carry this image with me, quite literally, for the rest of my life. This I believe is the strength of shamanic training and working with spirit in this way. It gives you this essence of who you are, this understanding, this knowledge, by giving you riddles along the way for you to solve in divine right timing. I had been drawn to include flowers in the motif, for what reason I did not really know but they had been very much a part of every ceremony I had done in nature. I knew this was seemingly a very feminine thing that I had to depict within any would be warrior shield but I just knew they had to be in there somewhere, intuitively, instinctively, they wished to have their presence known. There were the Foxgloves that had stood as guardians in the darkness of a Devon forest, protecting me on one scary, lone vigil night, as I was being introduced to my first power animal, the black panther, representative of all my feminine qualities that had dominated my life to that point. Then again that same flower had stood tall in the full glare of sunlight in a Druid Welsh valley where I received a dream as vivid as you could imagine of my second power animal, the red stag, who started to bring forth my masculine side, so sadly missing from my previous existence. The two animals together would give me the balance that I so desperately needed. Here in the shield too was the Thistle whose seeds had blown continuously through the 'Shedding Of The Skin' ceremony that I had completed within the first 12 months of my training where I left my past behind me to witness my full power blowing on the wind spreading its potency as far as the eye could see. Then there was the Wild Rose itself, which I was still yet to discover its true meaning until only this past week. For this summer solstice I was guided to create my latest flower essence, the Wild Rose. One of the things that I had been given from my last deep immersion in nature in the final days of my training was the fact that I could in time start to work with flowers and flower essences in particular, little realising then how much I was going to love this voyage of discovery once dipping my toe in the water. Signing up to the Chalice Well Flower Essence Practitioner Course back in March is seemingly the best thing that I have ever done. I believe the flowers have heightened my connection to nature and spirit, they have been continually calling me to make essences from them, to understand spirit better through them, so as to frame all of my other work and build a brand to help my fellow 'Allies Of Nature'. Creating my own essences of Blackthorn, Bluebell, Red Campion, Foxglove and now Wild Rose a story has begun to be told of how they all link together and the beauty held within each one of them in their individual qualities. The Wild Rose speaking most highly of a return to source, it being the original rose where all roses have arguably come from, getting back to the real essence of what it is to be who you truly are. Then to live from that place, with a strong heart, seizing the moment, seizing the day, carpé diem, in how you live your life for the rest of your existence. This is what the shield most represents to me I feel that solstice moment of the full sun in the background, being at its height, its zenith, with the masculine stag in the middle ground with all its power and might, and the flowers in the foreground representing the warrior, guardian, protector, with the strong heart. From here comes the pure joy of the swallow, dancing in the sky, and ultimately the swallowtail butterfly itself behind it all, unseen, who helps form the brand of 'Allies Of Nature'. So there we are, that is me, in all my glory. As this shield becomes more ingrained within my psyche and I devote more of my time to be able to work in my element, sure of who I am now. I hope this will begin to reap rewards not only for myself, but for all the people that I am lucky enough to come into contact with to assist in their own personal development and for the rest of the planet also. 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. Bluebell - Inner Sense These past few months have seen a shift in what I am now to offer through Allies Of Nature. When I completed my shamanic training last year I knew from what I had conceived upon my Medicine Shield that flowers in some way shape or form were going to be a part of my future. The animals and birds had introduced me to The Shamanic Path and had helped me travel along it thus far, but it was the beautiful petal headed plants, ever present in all my Vision Quests that seemingly, more fervently, wanted to take me on the next step of my journey.
Over the last couple of years in particular I have become more aware of the abundance of flowers within nature. As our countryside has become less cultivated, had less pesticide put upon it, had more areas set aside for wilderness and less verges cut on a regular basis due to county council cost savings, so the wild flowers and blossoms have returned to our hedges and roadsides, like which I cannot remember. It is this, or spirit in its many guises has just wanted me to pay more attention to it and become more aligned again with nature, in order for me to truly understand it as a real ally in our everyday existence. For once we start to discover what is at the very essence of every living piece of flora or fauna alive on the planet today, its unique identity, and realise how we can benefit from that mammal, bird, insect or plant with what it wants to bestow upon us, absorbing that essence into us in one way shape or form, then the real healing of our planet can begin. The game changer upon the Earth today is when we start to understand that the animals and flowers that exist around us are here for own personal development and journey towards wholeness. When we begin to grasp this concept is when we start to open up to the great mystery of life. Provided of course that we are able to leave enough space for nature and allow all these great species to stick around long enough to be able to teach us all of their ways. That way, we will not make them extinct simply through our own ignorance and unconscious expansion. This is what essence work and indeed animal spirit work is all about I believe. Not only the flower essences that I am now beginning to offer people but the essence of every living creature on the planet too. What is it that makes a tiger a tiger, an elephant an elephant and a Bluebell a Bluebell? What special thing does it do that no other entity can do upon the planet? What way of being does it want to communicate to us that we can learn from and amalgamate into our own existence for our own benefit once we know how? This can only be communicated to us when we become still, quiet, and just listen to all what is going on around us, then spirit begins to percolate the message through to us that we desperately need to hear for our own health and wellbeing. To capture an essence of a flower one ventures out into the woodland, hedgerow or grassy meadow, the environment where that plant exists, and then sets down a bowl of holy spring water next to it. The vibration from that flower then radiates in the direction of the cut glass vessel and is captured in the water, like that of its own reflection, an imprint of what it is to be that particular child of Mother Earth herself. What comes to us in the witnessing of that process, what nature wants to tell us is going on at that time, helps form an impression of what that essence is all about and the quality of that plant that it wishes to communicate to us. In taking of those waters, that quality can then in turn be transferred to ourselves, where we can start to heal as individuals and indeed excel, helping us to become all that we wish to be. We work in a similar way with the animals but in an ever more spiritual context. As you will appreciate it is a lot harder to keep an animal still long enough to capture its essence, so as a shamanic practitioner or animal essence provider you have to invite the spirit of that animal to work with you in a similar way to that of the flowers. That way there is no need to restrain the animal itself, or god forbid harm it in any way in order to capture its essence, no need to consume or acquire a particular body part to gain its quality, the essence of that animal can simply be infused into a healing remedy or potion in a similar way to the flowers through the holy water. In a recent trip to a woodland in South Devon to capture the essence of Bluebell, I was first given the word innocent, as all flora and fauna are innocent upon this planet and deserve to be treated that way. However me being me, as the particular wordsmith that I am, working in conjunction with spirit I felt that word evolve into 'inner - sense'. So if I am to learn anything from the true power of Bluebell it is to gain an understanding of one's own true inner beauty, my own 'inner - sense' of who I truly am. In essence!! 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. Guaranteed To Wake You Up In The Morning. 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. Everything Is Enhanced When Entering Sacred Space. 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. What Legacy Do We Want To Leave Our Children? The Children’s Fire is one of two sacred laws that govern a large percentage of First Nation People. It is a fire that represents not only the children of this generation but that of the next 6 to come, making 7 generations in all.
When the law refers to The Children it means all the children of the Earth, not solely human beings, all the species of flora and fauna that are alive on the planet today. The law decrees that no decision should ever be taken by the current community, any individual or group, that would bring harm in any way to The Children and so risk extinguishing The Children’s Fire or prevent it from burning quite so bright in future years. That is why a candle or flame exists at the centre of any council that sits within that culture to remind one and all of the consequences any motion being carried or lost has with regards to the relationship held with The Children. When we think about the global issues we are now faced with today in relationship to The Children’s Fire it perhaps brings all of our decision making into perspective and question. This is what the children of the Earth, led by Greta Thurnberg, are trying to bring to the attention of all the adults on the planet today. When we continue to burn fossil fuels, emit greenhouse gases and create plastic pollution, are we creating a better environment for The Children to live in or worse? When we simply create more human beings, ever expanding our own population whilst impacting heavily on all other species environments and habitats, are we creating a better place for The Children to breathe and thrive in or otherwise? When we contribute to our own overcrowding, poverty, famine, malnutrition and dis-ease within our own society as a consequence of our continued growth and urbanisation, are we leaving a healthier legacy for the next generation or not? In many a spiritual practice, ritual or ceremony a fire is often lit to help commemorate it, to add to the sanctity of the event. As the candle or flames flicker we are enchanted by the dance in front of our eyes, we love the warmth and comfort that it brings, the excitement of its brightness, mystery and creativity, but we also appreciate its vulnerability at the same time. We are fully aware of how too little or too much wood, wind or water might contribute to the fire dying or going out. We watch over it like a mother would tend a child to keep the balance, the embers glowing, the kindling alight, the fuel forever burning. That same respect, care and attention now needs to be administered to The Children themselves, as a part of The Children’s Fire. If we are to have a community that will continue to warm us and carry our light forward, bewitching us with its presence, we must now bring ourselves back into alignment, to recreate the right relationship again to The Children. Then we will be able to ensure that The Children do indeed have enough wood, wind and water to continue to flourish and bloom whatever their creed or species maybe. Here lies the peace that we seek for ourselves, others and the planet, the unconditional love that we wish to hold for one and all, to allow us to sustain all life alive around the globe at this time and that which still has to follow on behind as is decreed within The Children's Fire. 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. |
AuthorSimon Blackler Archives
April 2023
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