Shamanic Healing
Shamanic Healing
In a time we may never remember, when all the ancients walked on pathways we have forgotten, the Earth was not as we know it today. Our Ancestors discovered a path into divine experience through a natural, mystical connection with Nature. Through this quest of outward connection came a deep, inner awareness of a new consciousness.
The indigenous Celtic tribes of my ancestors were believed to have emanated from Asia Minor and spread themselves across eastern Europe, western Europe, the Iberian peninsula and then settling in the Celtic Isles.
They were a fierce and warlike people, appropriating land as they went, but they were also a curious people and allowed themselves to be influenced by the artistic and spiritual expressions and practices of other cultures.
If we think about some of the signature characteristics of core shamanism, we would need to include: the understanding that everything has a spirit, a belief in the interconnectedness of all things, that the world of spirit or the unseen world permeates and enlivens our temporal world, and that the unseen world of spirit is available to us for wisdom, healing and protection. These beliefs are all a vibrant part of the Celtic consciousness.
The term shaman—being one who enters the spirit world as an emissary to secure healing and wisdom for the community—is obviously not a Gaelic word. In this culture, there isn’t one word to describe and capture the wide spectrum of work that would fall under the shaman archetype. In this tradition, there is a whole cast of characters, whose skills and expertise could be called upon to serve the community at different times and in different ways.
The ban feasa (woman of knowledge) or ban leighis (woman of healing) could provide remedies and healing rituals, as well as cast out spirits and break curses. The ban chaointe or (keening woman) was the one entrusted with the proper commissioning of souls to the spirit world, what we term in core shamanism, as the psychopomp.
To one extent or another, each of these individuals worked with the spirits of the unseen world, and served as a go-between.
Daily ritual required that tasks and responsibilities were undertaken with reverence and gratitude, greeting the sun as it rose in the morning, praising the fire for cooking the morning meal, thanking the cow for the giving of her milk, and on throughout the day, until it was time to bend your knee to the rising moon and smoor the ashes in the hearth with prayerfulness and thanks.
The Celts knew that these attitudes and gestures of reverence strengthened them, raised them up in the eyes of nature, in the eyes of the divine. For the Celtic people, the presence of divinity and spirit was everywhere, and this immanence required their respect and their attention and deep regard.
To the Celtic mind, the essence and beauty of the divine is everywhere and the Otherworld is right at hand.
The practice calls us to awaken our indigenous nature. It is the bedrock of almost all healing and spiritual-religious traditions. However it is not a faith, but a constantly evolving wisdom tradition in which we learn purely from our own, individual and collective, personal experience. Nor is it a religion, it is dogma-free, indeed it supports any existing spiritual practice a person may already hold
This tradition enlivens and informs both my teaching and my client work.
Soul Retrieval
It is believed that whenever we suffer an emotional or physical trauma a part of our soul flees the body in order to survive the experience. The definition of soul could be our essence, life force, or the part of our vitality that keeps us alive and thriving.
Any event causing shock can cause soul loss. What might cause soul loss in one person may not cause soul loss in another. During a traumatic event, it is a natural human response to disassociate from our bodies to cope with the pain. We go numb, or withdraw and this protects us temporarily from feeling hurtful feelings.
Commonly, when a trauma is more brief, as in a car accident, we may go through a period that feels like shock, but then slowly come back to ourselves as the danger has passed. if the trauma is more chronic: like childhood abuse or being in an abusive relationship — or physically dangerous: like being assaulted, or chronic fear. This disassociation (or soul loss) becomes more serious and prolonged: We feel apathetic towards life, or are chronically fearful, perhaps we have chronic depression or anxiety.
It is important to understand that soul loss can be a good thing when it happens to us. It is a survival mechanism. If we are going to be in a head on car accident, the last place that we would want to be at the point of impact is in our body. Our psyche could not endure that kind of pain. Therefore a part of our essence or soul leaves.
In psychology this is called disassociation. But in psychology they don’t talk about what disassociates and where that part goes. In shamanism it is understood that a piece of the soul leaves the body and goes to a territory in what shamans call non-ordinary reality where it waits until someone intervenes in the spiritual realms and facilitates its return.
There are many common symptoms of soul loss. Some of the more common ones would be where a person does not feel fully in his or her body and therefore not fully engaged in life. Other symptoms include chronic depression, suicidal tendencies, PTSD, and grief that does not heal. Addictions are also a sign of soul loss as we seek external sources to fill up those empty spaces inside of us through, food, relationships, work, or buying material.
This is vital work for the times we live in. It is time to come back home again to who we truly are and take our rightful place on the earth. It is our birthright to fully express our soul and create the world we want to live in. And it is our birthright to shine as brightly as the stars above us. It is time to share our light again in the world.
Spiritual Energetic Intrusions
Spiritual energetic intrusions are foreign energies that have lodged in your energy field and taken up residence there – they are neither good nor bad, simply energies which are in the wrong place and which don’t match with the natural resonance of your body. Spiritual intrusions are generally non-sentient energies that have found their way into your energy system and don’t belong.
One very common and often completely unconscious form of intrusion are with people who are addicted to the negativity of others or of the media including social media. Those thought-forms are often dominated by a strong negative and fear based attitude. Here these ideas are as active as a living being which feeds on the energy (in this case the addiction to negativity) of the person. The sole purpose of this energy is to continue feeding itself by maintaining this cycle. It acts like a virus in the human mind that promotes apathy, depression and a negative outlook on life. It suppresses creativity and transformation.
When this power is restored, the ’empty space’ in the energy body will be protected and again filled with vital, life-giving energy.
Power Animal retrieval:
Our Ancestors whisper to us so we may remember.
Today, many people who are descendants of forgotten Animist ways are being called upon in our dreams and through our intuition, to remember who we are and from whom we come. What we are finding is that while Human stories are unique, everyone’s common ancestor is EARTH. Star Ancestry is also acknowledged in this worldview.
Most shamanic cultures believe we are born with one or more spirit guardians in the form of a Power Animal. A power animal protects our physical and spiritual vitality. This special guardian connects you to your body, your wisdom, and to the Earth, while guiding, protecting, grounding and inspiring you. Shamans believe that when we become disconnected from our power animals we lose our personal power.
A power animal retrieval reconnects you with your special guardian, rebuilding stamina, vital energy, a sense of purpose and a connection to your gifts. Instruction is given after the retrieval to help you maintain and honor your relationship with your animal helper.
Home/Business and Land Clearings
Many homes are built without the understanding of the land they are built on. What you can see of the land doesn’t always tell you what is occuring under it’s surface.
The most energetically harmonious places on Earth are known as sacred sites. People who interact with these spaces are able to connect to a deep understanding, connection and knowledge of the consciousness held there.
At the opposite end of the scale there are places which hold stressed energy. This energy may be either naturally occuring like the energy emanating from Geological Faults or man- made created from mining, psychological projection or traumatic events. These stressed sites can then cause stress on your building as well as how you function, especially your health – your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual are all impacted.
Geopathic Stress is a mixture of symptoms not widely recognised by the pharmaceutical based medical profession but which add up to create a picture of general poor health or discomfort for a person while in their home or place of work.
Physical symptoms can range from nausea, headaches, troubled vision or prolonged periods of poor sleep to mental & emotional states that include depression, despondency and anxiety. Symptoms seem to worsen the longer the person remains in the building and improve when they are away from it.
Some people are more sensitive to their environment than others. Highly Sensitive People can be overwhelmed by the effects of different geomagnetic and electromagnetic fields within their homes, some of which are created naturally and many from electronic goods, including, Wifi, Cell Phone Towers, Power Lines and my new nemesis 5G
Just like people, all walls, spaces, homes, businesses and land retain living energy. Everything — matter or non-matter holds memories. We can’t see memories but our bodies and especially our homes ‘hold’ them.
Some of the memories are happy. Children playing and laughing. Family and friends gatherings….
Others are more disruptive. Constant arguing between partners. Negative gossiping guests.
Some discordant energies aren’t even yours although they certainly affect you!
Thoughts, words, and emotions create bubbles of energy that become embed into our physical bodies and all physical spaces. Often staying stuck until they are cleared through prayer, ceremony and ritual.
Psychic Disturbances often occur where Geopathic Stress is present. They are the activities generated by Psychic Presences within a place. Entities, and other disembodied spirits may be present there. To quote geomancy expert Sig Lonegren, they are the ‘ghosties and ghoulies and things that go bump in the night’. Most often they are attracted to the charged energy fields of Geopathic Stress, and thus those who live there. Typically places with strong yin polarity, heavy emotional trauma, and blocked or detrimental earth energies will be harboring some Psychic Presence. Some are benign, but others can be unfriendly generating challenging disturbances. These Psychic Disturbances contribute to an unsettled, sometimes eerie quality to the atmosphere of a place.
Previous owners energies could also be lingering around. Even a death in the home or on the land before the home was built may be affecting your current health and mood.
The home or business could be sitting on sacred land or a burial ground unbeknown to you. Indigenous peoples of the land may have settled there long ago leaving their imprint. It could be a positive encouraging signature or one of death and destruction. Respecting the land with prayer, gratitude, offering and thanks is a very positive start.