SJG: Standing in the face of adversity
Our topic for this meeting was “Standing in the face of adversity” so that we can step more fully into being agents of change amidst chaos. We talk about communal energies and how we can get swept away in the bigness of energies that are bigger then ourselves. The March last Friday was amazing! I attended the rally until about 1pm, and I was glad that I did! They had many wonderful speakers that day.
Please post your comment if you wish to share what you received in journey space. If you would like to join this discussion on Facebook, join our Journey Group on Facebook.
Some helpful references:
- What is Shamanic Journeying
- You watched the video below, and now you want to journey at home. What’s a suggested protocol on how to do that?
- Why is Energy Body Hygiene important when journeying
- Crafting a good journey question
- Deepening our Relationship with our Helping Spirits
- Journey Group Archives
LBC: Stacking Rocks
Last week I went off the grid for about a week. This is a practice that I wish to normalize because I would like to distance myself from technology and go back to the nature more and more as a teacher.
There is no WiFi in the forest, but I assure you will find more connection 😉
My favorite moment from this past week is of sharing this week with my son. Little bear and I are hiking in the Shenendoahs and I’m building cairns everywhere because the rocks are so happy. After about the 5th one, he goes, “Wow, Mom, some of the ones you build look pretty impossible”.
I reply, “They’re not. You just have to listen to the stone people and they will show you how they want to be stacked. It’s an act of joy and love to stack rocks, and it’s fun for them. When you breathe and share joy in your actions, it becomes a prayer to share that joy in the world”.
I remind him that he used to do it too when he was younger, but his perfectionistic tendencies kicked in and he became discouraged because he kept comparing himself to me instead of focusing on the fun.
There was this magical moment where he sat next to one of the fresh cairns I built and decided to try again. He breathed and picked up a stone, then without even trying goes, “I feel like the stone wants to stand up on its side” and effortlessly places it on top of the big rock next to another one I put on its side.
With surprise and excitement his big eyes turn to me and he goes, “Mommy!! I did it! I talked to the stone people! I just had to slow down because I was moving too fast to hear them!! Maybe I should slow down in ALL areas of my life!!!”
And thus began my tears of gratitude, for this is an ancestral pattern I’ve been working on healing in my own life. It’s amazing how without even trying, he’s feeling the grace and ease of the work I’m doing and just follows suit because it’s natural.
If you continue working on your work, the next generation feels your work naturally. There is a need to heal ourselves so we can pause and listen to the natural voices all around us again. Do things that make you feel connected and slow down. The ones who are coming will thank you, because they will feel that ease as you embody it.
It’s been a while since I wrote anything about Little Bear. It’s because he honestly did drift away from me and my practices. But all paths of love, you sometimes need to let them go and just walking your path of truth and if it fits them they will walk back with you for a short time. If you’re interested in this, you can catch up on the Little Bear Chronicles in the archives.
SJG: Battin’ down the hatches!
The suggested journey topic for today is “Batten down the hatches!!!” The element of air corresponds with out mental body, our thoughts, truth, and communication. What happens in this time of excess air? And is it a true excess of wind or just a symptom of something deeper? Sometimes in elemental medicine, one element is out of balance because there’s something else that’s happening beneath the surface. If you are being affected by the excess wind that’s in the air, what can you do to batten down the hatches within your own internal landscape to be a person of power and navigate this time of chaos?
Please post your comment if you wish to share what you received in journey space. If you would like to join this discussion on Facebook, join our Journey Group on Facebook.
Some helpful references:
- What is Shamanic Journeying
- You watched the video below, and now you want to journey at home. What’s a suggested protocol on how to do that?
- Why is Energy Body Hygiene important when journeying
- Crafting a good journey question
- Deepening our Relationship with our Helping Spirits
- Journey Group Archives
Visioning and our Capacity for Dreams
I am very excited to participate and cocreate with the beautiful Laura Durbin of The Belly Woman and April Rameé of Antler Alchemy to bring you the Red Tent Sacred Sweats! These events have been getting increasingly popular, and I’m so blessed by the community that is beginning to form around it. It’s a beautiful way for female identifying Goddesses to gather in circle and begin healing the wounds of marginalization, alienation, and separation.
The next topic for our April 14th Red Tent event is around the concept of Visioning. So often has the female spirit been so nurturing and care taking that we have been taught by our culture to take care of others besides ourself. Where have we been seduced by the dreams of others and have supported other people reaching their dreams at the sacrifice of our own dreams? This particular Red Tent Sacred Sweat, we will consciously sweat out those patterns and release the need to people please so we can chase our own dreams.
Join us for 4 hours of Ceremony and Prayer on April 14th, as we sing, sweat, and share in community. Share as little or as much as you feel like sharing, because this will be a group of safe women that you can share with.
This is also NOT a sweat lodge or a traditional Inipi. We use a contemporary shamanic cosmology to create the sacred space. This is indoors and we use a tent with electric pots of boiling water to steam herbs. Many traditions across the world do saunas, and the herbs in this particular style are from traditional Thai folk medicine. The herbs are specially formulated to make you sweat, hence why they are called “sacred sweats”.
Other details about the event:
We are offering a community space for women to connect and heal. This is a full body sensory spa experience from a Traditional Thai herbal steam sauna, to self massage, to herbal tea, to handmade traditional medicinal oils.
How Does a Full Body Herbal Steam Sauna Work?
There will be pots of medicinal boiling herbs inside the sauna tent. The aromatic medicinal herbs are transformed into the subtle medium of steam, opening up the pores and delivering the therapeutic benefit of the herbs into your entire body. This whole body treatment is deeply relaxing and rejuvenating. The sauna combined with the herbs are wonderful for general health, pain relief, cleansing of the skin, soft tissue injuries, detoxification, melting away knots and tension, releasing fascia, fatigue, headaches, colds, respiratory complaints, emotional distress, deep ailment, and postpartum care.
What Can I expect?
You can expect to:
- Experience a full body herbal sauna and learn how to do this for yourself at home.
- A sacred ceremony space.
- Tea will be served.
Traditional Thai Oils will be available for putting on your body before entering the sauna and inside the sauna.
The opportunity for 2 sauna rounds of 20 minutes each. And 2 rest rounds of 20 minutes each. Your rest rounds can be used for journaling, stretching, self massage, breathing, and rest.
A sacred space for getting in touch with your body and emotions
Connecting in community with other women.
What should I bring?
- Bathing suit (optional)
- 2 towels ( you will sweat a lot!)
- Water Bottle
- Snacks
- Journal and pen
- Warm clothes, scarves, and hats for the journey home
- Mug or travel mug for tea
Full Body Steam Sauna Contraindications:
- Pregnancy
- Fever
- High or low blood pressure
- Heart Disease
AfterCare:
- Immediately dry off.
- Shower the next day to allow the herbs to continue to sink into your skin.
- If you can, allow some rest and integration time following this event. Your body will thank you.
- Go home bundled up with scarves and hats. ♥
Event Details:
- Event located in Washington DC at a private home
- Tickets are sliding scale ($70-$150)
- 13 tickets available
- You MUST pre-purchase a ticket.
- You MUST fill out an intake/ waiver prior to this event/ upon registration.
- MAKE PAYMENTS to VENMO ( Laura-Durbin-2) or to PAYPAL (thebellywoman9@gmail.com)
- Tickets are nonrefundable.
IMORTANT:
Due to flow of the evening, safety, and keeping a safe and sacred space doors will close at 4:30. Latecomers will not be able to enter the event so please arrive early or on time.
You must fill out a waiver if you would like to attend.
Address will be given to those who fill out the intake form and purchase a ticket.
Interested in future events? Join our Red Tent Sacred Sweats Facebook group.
Completion and Congratulations!!!
I am so proud of these beautiful people that have stuck through thick and thin with the first iteration of the Soul Compass Path! We just finished the last workshop in a 9 month workshop series about learning and using basic shamanic skills to navigate your everyday life. Unfortunately we were a bit spaced out and we weren’t able to catch everyone before they went out the door, but this is the majority of people who just graduated this weekend ❤️
Are you interested in learning the basics to living well? Even if you are an experienced shamanic practitioner, this 9 month program will help you deepen your relationship with your guides and help hone your skills of discernment in a group setting so you can hold yourself accountable to a transformational process.
Yes, we accept distance participation. Yes, we do sliding scale. And yes, we welcome you even if you’re a beginner and don’t know a lick about anything but are willing to explore.
I’m excited for preparing for the new wave of students beginning in June!! If you’re interested, subscribe to the website blog or join the newsletter for the announcements ❤️
I also would like to acknowledge that I wouldn’t be here offering this today if it weren’t for the powerful community resources and teachers that have shaped me into the person who I’ve become.
The biggest things that really helped me were the Energy Body Hygiene and Advanced Energy Clearing courses offered by the Last Mask Center.
The other powerful resource that I have access to is the Cycle of Transformation and the Last Mask Community.
And last but not least, the beautiful teachers that gave me access to this information and opened the shamanic doorway of self empowerment for me. Christina Pratt, and Mary Tyrtle Rooker have been a wealth of knowledge and wisdom on my path, and I honestly wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for them. Such deep and profound gratitude.
May the Ancestors be healed by the work we do by healing ourselves. May those who are coming benefit from us as individuals living our medicine now.
Embracing Wholeness while honoring Destruction
This post is inspired by an article I read a week or so ago. It’s written from the perspective that men can embody Shiva and woman Kali without as much crossover or wholeness:
Lots of Warrior Goddess sisters are reclaiming their Kali energy, and it’s a very strong, intimidating energy. Many people when they have gotten to know me, easily see that side of me.
Let me be clear. That’s not the only part of me. I am a multifaceted human being, and to peg me in that category without seeing the wholeness of who I am doesn’t do me justice. We do this all the time to people where we refuse to see the wholeness and beauty of a person, and just mark it off as, “Oh that’s just them”. The time of that is over, and it’s time we saw and embraced each other for the wholeness of a human being instead of just putting people in a box like that’s all they are.
The (horrifically simplified) myth of Kali is about how she raged and went on a killing spree. The other God/desses tried to beg her to stop, but that made her rage grow. When they rose against her to try and stop her, her anger grew even more then that. It wasn’t until Shiva laid down in front of her with compassion that she let it all out in a productive way and stood on top of him, calm and peaceful. This union represents many things, and is an expression of life itself.
Kali is not just a destroyer Goddess. She’s this wildness – a fierce, protective energy that rises in all of us. Human kind has fallen out of right relationship with the true meaning of chaos, and a majority only know the overwhelming self induced chaos that we create ourselves. That’s not Kali. And just as with Kali, she is not a destruction Goddess 100% of the time, but that’s what people peg her as. They choose not to know the chaos of being the eye of the storm, or the ecstatic dance of a thunderbolt. Or the fierce love a Mother has for their child.
Just as the myths are stories for our psyches, they offer many different translations and I choose not to argue. My interpretation of the most famous of Kali myths? There’s this wildness that we have caged or not let out, and it’s getting angrier the more that it’s caged. When we finally find it within ourselves, it can be explosive and extremely dangerous/toxic. But the response of either falling at its knees and begging for mercy, or fighting against it will only anger it more. WE were the ones that caged this powerful part of ourselves, and it takes that fierce compassion of surrender in order to allow that transformation through love. Yes, it’s scary, but it’s the only way to break that particular cycle and satiate that pure, volcanic energy. Be in the uncomfortable and surrender to it. Don’t try to control it.
So do me a favor. Next time you look at another human, don’t label them and put them in a box. Just like I have many faces, the divine and how they show up for us take on many faces. It’s this balance of Kali and Shiva within ourselves that helps humanity out of this rut we’re currently breaking free from. Chaos is needed in this dire time of change, and we can’t do it by begging it to stop or fighting against it. It takes understanding, compassion, and that fierce, tender heart that this energy is protecting. If we run away from it, it’s still going to happen and you’re just turning a blind eye to it.
What does this look like practically? If you tell me I’m wrong and come at me with aggression, I’ll advocate for myself and hold space while you yell at me. Because I know it’s not me you’re *really* mad at. If you grovel at my feet and beg for the chaos in your life to stop, I’ll help you find the wilderness in your heart and teach you to surrender to it. It’s a long road ahead, but it doesn’t mean that we tear eachother down in the process. It’s about coming together and supporting each other in times of need. We NEED to see each other in our wholeness, and not just for one of the gifts we bring into this world. We need you. All of you.
From my fierce, wild heart to yours.
Wolf Grief Ritual
This is a do-it-yourself, at-home ritual that is simple, and easy to follow. It is recommended to have head phones in, or to use a good speaker system. It is best to turn off your phone or put it on airplane mode once you download these recordings.
Lost? Find your way back to the recorded Ceremonies page.
Grief is one of those emotions that when stuck in the body, creates a lot of stagnancy. This can manifest in many way physically, including joint pain, stiffness, muscle aches and a general feeling of malaise.
When we love something, our heart expands. Many people have felt this heart stretch, and at times it can be uncomfortable or painful. Most of the time it feels good if it’s one of those gratitude inducing moments, our heart expands in a joyful way that brings a smile to our face and lightness to our step. When the heart expansion is so large, our heart breaks because it isn’t able to hold the amount of love necessary in order for your heart to show how much you cared for that particular event/person/being. Heartbreak is a common thing that happens to humans, and is a necessary part of our personal development, otherwise how will our heart grow? Most people do not focus on the expansion, but instead focus on the pain and the love that was lost when experiencing heart break.
Many indigenous cultures all over the world used to embrace grieving rituals because they knew how important it was to release the energy of grief. There are many modern cultures today that still practice them. It is important to move grief because once we move it, we can really begin to explore the landscape of our heart instead of focusing on how broken it feels.
The wolves themselves stepped up to offer a grieving ritual to help humans process grief. I was driving in my car, and I could tell something was bothering me. I couldn’t get it out, and it felt like I wanted to cry – but it was stuck! Memories came to the surface and I had made some connections to things, and then I felt the loss. It hit me right in the chest and I felt such a blockage that my shoulders automatically slumped. It manifested as a lump in my throat and tears stung my eyes but didn’t fall down.
This was when I felt a gentle push from a spiritual muzzle behind my elbow. When I looked with my felt sense, I was able to feel and hear a wolf howling next to me. Without thinking about it (because it just felt right), I began howling and the tears gently started rolling down my face. The hot tears felt good against my cheeks, and but the feeling of stuckness in my throat got a little more intense. So again, I howled and let more tears fall.
This happened repeatedly until I was able to cry and howl for a good 5 or 10 minutes. I howled until my tears ran dry and my throat felt clear. I was back to my normal sitting position and able to start driving again.
When I sat in meditation with the wolves, the wolves shared how their hollow cries are so mournful, they carry the energy of grief up into the sky. By the time it makes it to the Sky People, the grief forms clouds and collect together as rain water. When enough grief has been collected and transformed, it rains down as nourishment for the rest of creation. The major message from the wolves, was about how we are not alone. When we cry, we can connect to others that are also crying. Grief is shared because it’s a shared experience that all humans and animals on earth have the capacity for feeling. When something has been lost, there is a reverence and a respect for it. Grieving is how we let go and allow what has been lost to rest, allowing ourselves to bring in the energy of forgiveness. Once we let go, we are fully able to embrace the emptiness within ourselves so we can learn to love again with a bigger heart.
If you are new to Ceremony or Ritual, it is important to create the space. Call in the directions and ask for support from your Spirit Guides and Nature Allies. If you don’t know how to do that, you can follow this suggested protocol that we use for shamanic journeying (just replace the journeying with Ceremony instead). It is important to both start the process in a good way, and end it in a good way.
Once you are in sacred space, set your intention to focus on what you would like to grieve. The recording can be listened to repeatedly, and as many times as needed. There are two audio files. Both are located on Google Drive, and there is the option to download them or add them to your own Google Drive. When you hover over the audio file with your mouse, there’s an option to “pop out”. When you click there, it opens up the audio in a second page, and there is where you will see the download option.
- One is the full recorded Ceremony (not including call in and call out) with prompts and time for meditation/movement.
- The second is for if you have more to grieve after you listen to the full recording, or for follow up grieving.
Full Wolf Grieving Ritual
Grieving song, no prompts
There is an option to download and listen to your song whenever you feel like you need to cry. Howling like a wolf at any of those tense moments is definitely a release and you don’t need sacred space – but I would highly recommend starting off your relationship with Wolf and using the grieving with howling as a tool by listening to the full recording first. Once you have felt the Spirit of Wolf howling with you, then you can feel free to download and listen to just the song whenever you need it.
The original song behind the ritual is by Brooke Medicine Eagle, and it is called the Wolf Chant.
These rituals are offerings and a gift from my Spirit to the Great Web of Life. I encourage you to share, and the best thing you can do is to really allow this ritual to help you move the grief so you can fully embrace being your medicine in the world. Seriously. We need you and your medicine.
If you feel called to donate, I will happily accept donations via PayPal (eagletherapiesevents@gmail.com) or Venmo (@Stephanie-Seger-1). These recorded Ceremonies are a labor of love, and the donations help support me so I can create more of these wonderful Ceremonies. Please write a note so I can track where the donations are from, since we also track ticket sales through PayPal and Venmo. You can also choose to support Eagle Therapies monthly with Patreon.
Ready to explore more? Visit these links for more offerings from Eagle Therapies
- Feeling stuck and need a little bit more assistance? Look at our list of services.
- Journey Group Archives
- Newsletter Archives
- Directory of Posts
- What is Energetic Health
- Strengthening Our Connection to Spirit
SJG: The Cage of Expectations
The suggested topic for this meeting is about the energy of expectations. Expectations have a way of bogging us down and pulling us out of the moment so we are not fully present. We ask the question tonight, of where in my life do I have hidden expectations I place on myself?
Please post your comment if you wish to share what you received in journey space. If you would like to join this discussion on Facebook, join our Journey Group on Facebook.
Some helpful references:
- What is Shamanic Journeying
- You watched the video below, and now you want to journey at home. What’s a suggested protocol on how to do that?
- Why is Energy Body Hygiene important when journeying
- Crafting a good journey question
- Deepening our Relationship with our Helping Spirits
- Journey Group Archives
Lol, it looks like I have a bad taste in my mouth or something. Didn’t expect that! 😉
SJG: Grounding In the Moment
The suggested journey group topic for this meeting is grounding in the moment. Sometimes when it feels as though life is pushing us around, it’s hard for us to be in the moment because we are constantly thinking about the past and our failures, or the possible futures. Which means we are not in the moment. Today we explore some of our most interesting roots and ask the question of what is our biggest challenge that prevents us from being present?
Please post your comment if you wish to share what you received in journey space. If you would like to join this discussion on Facebook, join our Journey Group on Facebook.
Some helpful references:
- What is Shamanic Journeying
- You watched the video below, and now you want to journey at home. What’s a suggested protocol on how to do that?
- Why is Energy Body Hygiene important when journeying
- Crafting a good journey question
- Deepening our Relationship with our Helping Spirits
- Journey Group Archives
SJG: Power of Choice
Our suggested journey topic for this session was the Power of Choice. A lot of what I have been seeing in myself as well as in my friends, family, and clients, is the blindness of how much power is in the ability to choose. Despite all of the pain, discomfort, and general malaise we could be potentially feeling in our down time – we ask the question, “What situation in my life feels like it I have no choice in the matter? And how do I take my power back in that situation?”
Please post your comment if you wish to share what you received in journey space. If you would like to join this discussion on Facebook, join our Journey Group on Facebook.
Some helpful references:
- What is Shamanic Journeying
- You watched the video below, and now you want to journey at home. What’s a suggested protocol on how to do that?
- Why is Energy Body Hygiene important when journeying
- Crafting a good journey question
- Deepening our Relationship with our Helping Spirits
- Journey Group Archives
Soul Retrieval Clinics
Many people have felt that something has been missing in their life, constantly searching and yet feeling like they’ve just scratched the surface. For those that are unfamiliar with soul loss, feel free to read this article. There is an epidemic of soul loss in our society, and Eagle Therapies feels called to step up to do our part in helping bridge this gap.
We will be experimenting with our first Soul Retrieval Clinic on Sunday, March 3rd, 2019. Based on the success of the first event, we will plan how often the events will repeat.
Why?
- Community wounds take community healing. A lot of the people I am running into have been doing a lot of personal development work on their own. When you have really deep wounds that were caused by family, loved ones, or society, it can be hard to heal on your own. There is a certain “bigness” that makes it feel super big or almost impossible to slog through as an individual. Having others that have gone through similar experiences can help “lighten the load” and help us feel less lonely on our healing journey.
- There have been a surge of people that have approached me within the last few weeks that would benefit from a Shamanic Healing, but wouldn’t be able to squeeze in an individual session at this time. Offering healings as a group is a more affordable way that people can receive the benefits of a soul retrieval, and best of all, find other people who are on the same journey of healing themselves.
- There will be a 2 week and 2 month check in on Zoom after the healing ceremony. Those who cannot be present live are encouraged to share their updates with email so we can keep in touch with each other.
- This is not just for individuals that are new to Shamanism, but others that are stepping more into their path and deepening their relationships with their helping spirits. The community container we put together often has a deepening experience where you can connect easier to your emotional, spiritual, and energetic bodies.
Logistics:
Event will take place at the Intuitive Wellness Center:
- Event on
- or
- 8996 Burke Lake Road. Burke, VA 22105
- Suite L106, bottom floor. Entrance is on the side of the building, first door on the right.
- Hours are from 1pm to 4pm
- No remote participation for this event. We will consider it for future events.
- Sliding scale between $30-$100 per participant. Cash, card, PayPal (eagletherapiesevents@gmail.com) or Venmo (@Stephanie-Seger-1) accepted
Structure of event:
- Plan to arrive around 1pm. We will begin introductions and opening exercises to get to know each other.
- Around 1:30, I will explain the process of going into sacred space together, then we will create it together. We will enter ceremonial space, and that’s where the magic happens!
- Typically there is a pattern or theme of why people have gathered together. Feel free to join me while I do a diagnostic journey to see what that pattern is, and how to proceed conducting a Shamanic Healing for the whole group. If you are new to this, then I would encourage you to meditate and reflect on what has been stirred up for you since the start of the ceremony.
- We will pass around the talking stick and share what felt/experienced during the diagnostic. It’s okay if we want to pass and not share.
- From here, it’s a group commitment to participate in our own healing. We will generate the energy through singing, dancing, drumming, or enjoy doing some conscious movement. When the timing is right, I will blow a soul part into each participant once I get the cue from Spirit. I will explain what the soul part is, what it’s gift is, and where in the body it landed. Since there will be a group of people there, I will be recording each individual retrieval so that each person has record of their retrieval during the Ecstatic experience. I will not share your experience with anyone else. You can opt out of this if you choose and if you don’t want your soul retrieval experience recorded.
- After the healing, we will rattle the space clean to seal up the work. There will be a moment of silence for integration, then we will close up circle.
- For those that choose to share, they can share their experience at the end.
Follow up
- Each individual will receive a copy of their soul retrieval recording.
- All participants will be able to participate in a 2 week check in using Zoom, to share their experience of how the healing affected them and their patterns. This is where we discuss common experiences of people integrating soul parts.
- There will be a 2 month check in using zoom, going over common experiences and “what to expect” after a soul retrieval integration.
- Those who aren’t able to make it to the 2 week or 2 month check in will receive the recordings via email.
- We will have a group email thread (since a lot of people don’t have a Facebook or are transitioning off FB) if people feel called to share their experiences with integrating that particular pattern.
Considerations for the future?
- If this event is successful, then I will consider creating similar events for Veterans, as well as survivors of domestic abuse.
Thank you for sharing in my vision by reading this post! Many blessings to you and yours ❤️