Personal Development
Developing Resilience – A Shamanic Parenting Story
I became a young Mother quite suddenly, but the more challenging aspect of it was coupling a spiritually fulfilled life while being a single parent. At the time of writing this article, my son has grown to the ripe age of 9 years old, and I am continually blessed for his existence here on this planet. I will share with you my heart, my growth and evolution as a parent. I invite you to join with me as I share my background and the struggles of raising an aware child in a society that does not cherish the sacred. I do not come from an indigenous background, but like so many other contemporary Shamanic Practitioners, I come from a broken lineage in an emotionally distant family of origin. Trying to piece together a spiritually fulfilling life while raising a little one can be challenging on its own, but here are some of the lessons and wisdoms that I have distilled from this experience so far, and I’m sure that I will be continuously growing this wisdom base.
With all great stories, we will start with the beginning. The conception of my son was surrounded by confusion, blame, trauma, and chaos. It took me years to understand the emotional baggage I carried with me. Many of my early years of raising him were scary and through the eyes of a child, because I had the emotional maturity of a child. It turned out to be a very magical experience because he is such a blessing to me. Not at the time, of course, but we always have a better view of things in hindsight. It was a challenge raising him since he was emotionally and spiritually sensitive. He was fussier than other babies, sensitive to people having a bad mood, and seemed “tuned in” naturally to the world around him. The blessing behind this meant it was easy to have age-appropriate discussions with him about energy hygiene, maintenance, and the natural world. I saw him for the true light of what he is and I have done the best I could in raising him.
In essence, I taught him things that I was teaching myself, except I would ask my guides to help the teachings be age-appropriate. I was always surprised at the ease and grace of which he answered to some of these meditations and suggestions that I reeled with for a week or two before I “got” them. He helped me develop that sense of ease and wonder, and “growing up” was less scary for me. Years later, as I reflect on that, it seems to be that with true self-healing as an adult, you have to “deprogram” yourself from what society, culture, and your family give you as core beliefs. My son constantly reminds me about deepening my roots and going back to the childlike sense of wonder—the “original” program we get handed by Spirit. In my life, he has been my greatest teacher.
I taught him how to journey at a very early age, and I remember him having to think on who his first helping spirit was. He said he felt them during the first journey, but couldn’t see them quite yet. Knowing that it was possible I could project something on him, I tried to distract myself with other things while he tried to journey again to find out who was playing with him. It made me so proud that by the time he curled into bed that night before story time. He stated plain and simple that his helping spirit was a bear. One of my main helping spirits is a bear, and hence he became my “Little Bear.”
In the early years, it was easy to keep him on the same spiritual path as me. He was joyful, loving, filled with inspiration and hope. Before the age of 6, he loved to journey and dance with me, doing the same activities as I did, and liked taking walks in the woods or talking to trees. But then he started going to school. I prepped him for it, because I noticed his eagerness in telling almost anyone that would listen about the amazing adventures he and his helping spirits would go on. Discernment was a good age-appropriate lesson about how sometimes other adults might not think the same way Mommy does, and he should be careful about whom he shares those thoughts/opinions with. He understood this on one level, but experiencing it in a public school system is a different story. Running home from the bus, he came home crying because another kid made fun of him about talking to his helping spirits under his breath. He immediately started disconnecting from the spiritual, pulling away and resisting me instead of joining along. It wasn’t until years later that I started connecting the dots.
When he stopped responding positively to a lot of the things we used to do together, it became a chore. I started leading journey groups, and instead of it being “fun” for him like it used to be, he would commonly get bored, and occasionally would get disruptive. The meditations we did together were no longer fulfilling; instead it became a thing that “my Mom does” and he would start rolling his eyes whenever I suggested it. The helpful tips that he used to look up at me to give, soon became disregarded. Talking back and becoming rude were growing steadily more frequent. The reflection this made within myself became a pile of frustration, angst, and self-blame. I wasn’t doing enough to make my kid more connected. It was “my fault” for not focusing hard enough on him, even though I thought I was doing all of the right things to feed, clothe and house him.
As I finally came into my own with my Shamanic Path, I found that it was an echo within myself that my son was reflecting back to me. He is the closest emotional connection to any human that I have, and that hasn’t changed for 10 years (I connected with him very deeply while he was in my womb). As I dove deeper into a contemporary Shamanic cosmology, I found that a lot of the threads I was bringing up were pulling up this constellation of factors that were also reflected in society. Because I was working on them within myself, my son (who is extremely open and emotionally sensitive) reflected the counterparts to the very pieces I was working on. I realized that when I was raising him previously, that he was modeling for me the very illnesses that I was trying to combat within myself. Some main ones being greed, entitlement, addiction to technology, and doing things to “prove” himself to his friends. It wasn’t until I engaged at this depth of understanding that I was able to re-prioritize a way to make him feel like his needs were being met in a way that we could explore this context together. I was exploring the depths of my own Shamanic world while leaving him out of it—which I found that for me was the wrong approach to come from. He is a part of my world, and thus is a crucial part for me to understanding myself.
As soon as I began to cultivate a deeper sense of compassion within myself for the grander vision of the situation I was in, he was of the age where he could make informed decisions about this on his own (this started around age 7). To remedy his pain and insecurities about being teased for having helping spirits in the first place, I found and networked with other parents who openly discuss these spiritual things with their children. I found family-friendly festivals where he could participate in group ritual. If things got to be really challenging and I wasn’t able to find something in the area, I invited him to participate with me during group rituals and ceremonies online via webcasting. As soon as he was able to see that there were other kids that were doing this with him, and he wasn’t the only one with a weird Mom, he slowly started coming back to opening up. Just as finding community strengthened me, finding community also strengthened his connection to Spirit.
When I stopped trying to force his healing because I thought something was “wrong with me” and my parenting skills, I opened up to the fact that there was something bigger going on. I started examining what about the situation was I taking personally, and kept asking my helping spirits questions about how I could improve my relationship with him. This way it didn’t infringe upon me “forcing” things to happen, and instead switched it to “allowing” things to happen. When I organically used the Shamanic principles I was learning from my teachers and applying them in my own life, I deconstructed and then reconstructed a way that allowed my son into the picture easily and effortlessly. I found that what I was doing before was just slapping together different aspects of living a Shamanic life and expected that it was enough. It wasn’t until I leaned into the teachings and allowed all aspects of my life to become Shamanic, did I realize that had a dramatic impact on my relationship with my son. I give great gratitude to the Cycle teachings and Christina Pratt for really driving that home. My own healing catalyzed as soon as I took root in a true Shamanic community that came together to live the same principles. It was the shift in realization that living a Shamanic way of life couldn’t just be condensed to my healing practice, but also opened up to every relationship that I had, seeing the interconnectedness of it all. The best service I did for my son was to step into a true transformational process and see how I brought my true lifes purpose into all avenues of my life, not just certain “chosen” parts.
I originally was trying to prevent him from seeing me in my deep healing, even though he was feeling it without naming it. It wasn’t until later when I noticed that when I was upset, he was acting it out. Christina teaches that young children ground to the parents because they don’t have their own sense of grounding. They depend on us to tell them what’s right and wrong, what is dangerous and what is not. Which means that we have to model for them how to live in a sustainable way. If we want to teach our kids a better way of being, we can’t take their reflections personally. We need to develop the skills that allow us to model a deeper change we want to see in the world. What I was doing before was only allowing a Shamanic life into parts of my life instead of letting it affect my whole life. I was marginalizing myself subconsciously, and in that my son modeled for me the marginalization within our relationship.
Reflecting out into the wider scope of entering a public school, if he marginalizes aspects of himself, does that really set him up for success in being able to handle criticism? I don’t outwardly view this as something as “bad,” because I find that putting challenges in front of him makes him a stronger kid. What we should be teaching kids is resilience. Children are naturally resilient to begin with, but when they start inheriting our inability to process emotions, to be taught to “hide” things because other people might not accept them fully, then we have to ask if this is sustainable. Are we truly raising children who can dream of a better dream than us adults have? Or are we raising another generation that a different version of the same thing, inheriting the generational backwash of unresolved energies?
What I have found that works for my child is a rich engagement in the activities I am doing. Going to Spirit and asking directly how I can involve him in the things I am doing now. Admittedly in the beginning of my Shamanic path, I was using my Shamanic trainings as a way to “get away” from having to be a parent, and just an opportunity to be me. As I came to a deeper understanding of myself in the world, I realized that my son is an expression of me. One with his own brain and heart. He has the ability to make his own choices, but I can’t force them. What I can do as a parent is model them as best as I can for him and to allow him to choose his own path.
Our job as parents is not to protect our children for life. It’s to give them the tools that they can help understand their context within the greater aspect of the Universe. Why not involve your kids with your transformative processing? Why not share, be open and more vulnerable with them? If you have helping spirits, try asking them how to make the conversation age appropriate so they can understand what is happening. Most of them do, but they have to have permission from adults to feel into those experiences and be able to name them so they can share and know it’s okay. The more we teach them to be independent and go to Source themselves when they are ready, the more we are empowering them to lead a rich life.
To teach our children to have depth, we have to have depth ourselves. To understand the proper way to raise a child also means to understand the cultural illnesses at hand that influence these greater aspects of our society and how we can better engage with our children to make them more resilient to them. When we build the foundation of mental wellness in our society, we begin to build structures that innately repel mental illness by their very existence. What we need to do, in my opinion, is ground these actions in ourselves as adults first, and then model them for our children. We need a more engaging way to bring Spirit into our daily lives.
Change the dream of one generation, and we can change the world.
On Children
Kahlil Gibran
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
Which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
But seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children
As living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
And He bends you with His might
That His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
So He loves also the bow that is stable.
Living a Life Lead by Spirit
This post isn’t coming from a place of trying to justify what it is that I’m trying to do. It’s a simple act of transparency to let people know where I am at. It has been encouraged of me to do because there needs to be more transparency about the process of personal development in the world. I am accepting this challenge. Not saying there’s already great work out there – but adding my own flavor to the mixture of how one can find a path to truly becoming “awake” as a fully functioning spiritual adult.
Throughout the recent years, I’ve received a lot of great compliments about how I’ve really changed foundationally as a person. People can actually feel that I’ve changed a lot, and I admit I’ve been constantly burning up like a phoenix in many aspects of my life. Even though many people have said those things about me to my face – they’re only seeing the result of blood, sweat and tears instead of the process. In the past, I have chosen not to share the dramatics about my processing because it is sacred to me. I choose to share my experiences with those that I love and trust, those that I know have gone through something similar to me. Even though the above meme made me laugh until I cried when I first saw it – it’s true. Western Contemporary culture has this big glamour over being “spiritually awake”, but what our culture is prone to is spiritual bypass. Using new age techniques to clear the upset in the moment and not finding the deep motivations behind having those triggers in the first place. I have to admit, I’m proud of the tribe that I have surrounded myself with. When I first started going through my own spiritual awakenings, I felt alone. Strong, sturdy relationships were falling apart around me, home life being shaken up, experiencing being homeless, working my heiney off with 3 different jobs 70-80 working hours a week and have ended up hospitalized because of it (not directly, but the stress of it, in my opinion, was a contributing factor). Amidst all of this chaos, what I found is that when I took the time to focus on myself, new relationships were popping up around me. I just had to slow down in order to appreciate it. The new relationships were people who have been through the same thing and have cultivated similar wisdom from these life experiences. It’s similar to that feeling as a child where you tell yourself the story, “If I don’t have this – I will DIE!”. Well it’s true. In the journey of the awakened spiritual adult, a part of us does have to die in order to give birth to a new truth within us. To stay within that realm of allowing the fear of death to motivate us, keeps us trapped in a state where we cannot move forward.
What I have noticed personally as I have become more aware, is that there’s a spectrum of people learning from experiences. One side is represented by those that go from experience to experience without cultivating the wisdom learned in that experience. They blow past that experience and move right into the next big high that makes them feel something. The other end of the spectrum are those that take the time to slow down, detach from the drama, and begin to see the reflection of the world around them within themselves and their own personal experience. As I stated above, I fill my Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook feed up with people that are actively going through this work. I make sure that what I take in inspires me, and to also know that there are other people out there making this journey with me. We don’t have to feel disconnected as we go through this work, and this is part of the medicine that I bring, and that I have distilled from my past. Yes, I’ve made horrible decisions in my life. But I didn’t realize that the biggest “mistakes” turned into my biggest blessings. So here is where I actively start sharing my journey, and I am excited you are reading this.
Stories have a lot of power, and the stories we tell ourselves can either rob you of power, or fill you with power. One of the reasons why I didn’t share a lot in my past is because I would have shared from my old perspective of being the victim. I wasn’t ready for the raw versions to come out quite yet. I have been actively pulling back those stories that make me feel smaller, that legitimized my specific role as a lesbian, single, white-looking woman. Each one of those “labels” put me in a certain role and it’s hard to break those roles and have people see me as who I really am. The stories I was telling before fed into those labels and reinforced some of those very labels that I’m trying to break. Even being a cis-female and owning it has been a journey – to break gender roles and to have people just see “me” instead of those labels. But now I’m polishing up my story telling abilities and being brave about where my path is leading me.
Once the art of story telling is explained, I get to explain the difference of “power of” and “power over”. Charles Eisenstein is a brilliant writer and visionary who speaks to the difference between the Old Story and the New Story. The old story of “power over” is in essence the story of being motivated by fear. In essence, it is manipulating, shaming, or guilting people into doing something because you’re anchoring yourself on external motivations. Most of us (generationally speaking) have grown up with this, having this way of life handed to us at birth. We don’t honestly know any other way. A “new story” that is emerging is one of “power of”. We, as a culture, are beginning to recognize and heal the stories that keep us separated, alienated, and manipulated. We are finding that our true purpose is not outside of us, but inside of us. There is beautiful movie called Moana. It’s a Disney movie about a young girl finding her life purpose, and the evolution of how she claims her power/birthright for herself, and then her people. This is the perfect teaching story, because when she feels as though she “fails”, she realizes that she wasn’t supposed to be looking outside of herself for the hero – that the ancestors and the Universe gave her the opportunity to be the hero. This is a true story of empowerment, and if you haven’t watched the movie, I politely encourage you too.
In my life, I feel like Moana right now. That I’m in the middle of the ocean finding my life’s purpose. I’m in that moment where I’m realizing that my purpose lives within me and I have the ability to bring that out into the world. It’s obviously not an easy path. When I was guided to quit my full time Veterinary job back in November, it was scary. Western Contemporary Culture, my parents, and many others gave me the warnings of not having a “real job”, and of course my inner critic was screaming that I was going to fail. By societal standards – yes I am failing. But to me and my community, I’m not. I’m finding that the stress of living a path of authenticity is tempering the steel of my blade. Stress can be turned into anxiety or excitement. There is no in-between.
You either choose love or fear.
The Old Story is based off of fear. And I’m trying my hardest to choose love. Yes, I trip every now and then. Every action I take is stirring up even more chances for that voice of fear to be prominent. To say, “get a real job”, “you’re not doing it right”, “you’re an idiot”, “you’re a failure”. But you know what? Each voice that tells me those things – I am choosing it to be the hammer strike that hits the hot metal. The hot metal is my soul, and I constantly am giving my life, spirit, and soul up to God/Spirit/the Universe right now. I am choosing to heat myself up through the dance of life and am letting these life experiences shape me into the person I truly came here to be.
I have tried searching for spiritual communities that would be accepting of me. I apprenticed under a Seminole Elder, and worked with Native American Grandmothers for close to a year. I chose to step away because I found that to not be “my path”. That time was not wasted. I deeply love and treasure the gifts, medicine, and wisdom that was bestowed upon me by that time. I am honored and humbled I had that opportunity. What I learned was to respect my elders, and to honor/acknowledge where “traditional” spiritual paths have come from. But what I bring forward into the world is not traditional by any means. What I found was that the acceptance had to come from within myself first before I sought it outside of myself.
Which is what led me to the Last Mask Community. I found Christina Pratt through my first physical reality Shamanic Teacher, Mary Tyrtle Rooker. I started listening to the Why Shamanism Now podcasts, and felt this immediate gut punch. There was this sense of what I was looking for, but didn’t know how to express it. I heard about the Cycle teachings associated with Christina through many of the podcasts, and tried to go for 3 years, but something always ended up coming up. Finally, on the third year I got in and finally went to Masks of Illusion and the Authentic Self last year. It wasn’t until the second retreat when the dots of my experiences began connecting themselves when I sat still enough to listen.
I grew up as a sensitive child in a physically abusive, neglected household. I learned how to suppress my gifts of emotional and spiritual sensitivity until it exploded out of me sideways when I was in High School. I find it to be a funny coincidence that right around the same time frame that I was in the mental institutions receiving grandiose visions of being apart of something bigger then myself, was around the same time period that the Last Mask Community came to know itself and began to form itself as a community. I knew I was looking for something, but I didn’t know it was community. We aren’t meant to do this work alone.
We are supposed to be finding others like us with similar stories, and banding together to change the stories we tell ourselves collectively as a people. To hold each other accountable for our actions and progression as people. Yes, there was that in the 2 year Shamanic Training I took with Tyrtle, however it wasn’t sustainable and all of the graduates of the program lost touch with each other. We check in every now and then, but it’s not the deep sense of intimacy that I get with opening up to a community of people that are moving through the same waters set up within a contemporary cosmology specifically crafted for this time.
Within the context of community, I learned that I contributed to the juicy energy of the community just by being me. I couldn’t have poor boundaries and depend on them to build me up. My own personal development is what matters. That’s why I found that for myself, I had to distance myself from a “real job” because I was measuring my own self worth by how much I was being paid. It wasn’t until I decided to charge sliding scale, stepping into my work full time as a local community leader/shamanic practitioner and getting paid what people could afford, that people reflected my worth to me. Not because I used their dollars as way to measure myself, but to find that what they had in their hearts was enough of a gift. Instead of looking to my clients as affirmation that I was a “good practitioner”, I instead learned to find that value within myself, and have my clients reflect a mirror to what I found I was already discovering. It wasn’t until those in my circles that kept choosing to come back to events really showed up and let me see them, that I was able to see how the groups I led helped them. To see their transformations as they grew and changed as people.
We can’t do all this deep transformational work on our own. We need witnesses to see the person that we once were and to help us become the people who were truly meant to walk this Earth. That is why I choose to step up into the public eye and share my experiences with those that choose to read. It’s scary for myself personally, but what I have to offer is a non-traditional, yet authentic set of experiences that is based off of a cosmology meant for this culture at this time. We need context in order to explore our spiritual awakenings in a way that is embracing of our true selves instead of riddled with judgement/spiritual bypass.
In order to live a life led by Spirit, it requires that you are able to clear yourself of all of the “stories” you tell yourself that keep you from living your lifes true purpose. Once we peel off the layers, living authentically is filled with ease, joy, and love. One thing about my experience right now, is that I am living very humbly. I don’t have “extra money” at this time, but my basic needs are being met. My enrichment at this time is coming from other sources rather then just monetary. People are gifting me food, offering up their houses for me to use as community spaces, paying for gas money, boots, power objects, and altar items. My son has not gone hungry, and we have always had a roof over our heads. Spiritual awakenings can be scary, but what we really need is a safe context of which to ground ourselves into as we “come online”.
Which is another motivating factor for me crafting this US Tour. I genuinely believe that we have the ability to come together and find others like us that want to either explore the beginnings of the work, or to deepen our practices together. Too long have we all fed into the lie of separation. It is now time for us to step into the story of well being, and finding or making communities that support that. Even if you’re not along the route, feel free to visit our Facebook, YouTube, or Forums to join us from a distance. We will even be live streaming certain events, so stay tuned for more adventures.
I plant this virtual blessing here, that as I continue to learn and grow about myself and my experiences, that you continue to learn and grow about yourself and your experiences. May we all take that step today that leads us closer to our authenticity and ignite that passion in our belly – the true calling of why we were born on this Earth.
2018 US Tour Itinerary
This page is specifically for planning purposes in being able to navigate logistics. This particular post will be updated FIRST, so stay tuned to this page to track navigation if you’re interested in following the adventures of the Eagle.
- Lost? Read the 2018 US Tour Landing Page
- View recorded US Tour Ceremonies or excerpts
- Want to help contribute to this US Tour? Offer up event spaces, ceremonial spaces, places to sleep along this route, local elders (with their consent), or contribute monetary wise. Every dollar donated will go directly to the success of the Big Vision of the US Tour.
- Power Objects for US Tour
- Explanation for US Tour and Discussion
- Coast to Coast – Water Blessing Ceremonies
Keep in mind that the main intent of the majority of these Ceremonies is not to draw attention, but to draw the right people that are either willing to do the work, or that are open to learning the next steps in furthering their connection with Spirit.
If you are a local business that is open to hosting events, please reach out and I will be happy to promote/advertise for your business or local Shamanic events.
The track is as follows:
June 16th – Serpent Mound, Ohio
-Recorded message and song here
-Link to Facebook, Meetup and Eventbrite.
June 17th – Rileys Bay, WI
-Private Ceremony in AM, not recorded
June 17th – Minneapolis, MN
-Private Ceremony in PM, not recorded
June 18th-19th – Black Hills, SD
-Multiple Private Ceremonies, not recorded
-Did Ceremony at Crazy Horse, went to Mount Rushmore and found the Founding Fathers crying. Coincidentally, that same day the US pulled out of the UN Human Rights Council
June 19th-20th – Yellowstone, WY
-Public Ceremonies, but not recorded
–Public Ceremony at Devils Tower, WY
June 21st – A National Forest in Montana
-Public Ceremonies, not recorded
June 22nd-29th – Portland, OR
-June 27th – Non-Local Shamanic Journey Group on Facebook and Meetup
June 24th – Mount Rainier, WA
-Public Ceremony on Facebook, Meetup, and Eventbrite
-Recorded Ceremonies and videos found here
June 30th – Mount St Helens, WA
-Public Ceremony on Facebook, Meetup, and Eventbrite
-Recorded Ceremony found here.
July 1st – Coast to Coast: Water Blessing Ceremony – Puget Sound, WA
-Public Ceremony on Facebook, Meetup, and Eventbrite
-Recorded Ceremony found here.
July 7th – Redwood National Forest, CA
-Public Ceremony on Facebook, Meetup, and Eventbrite. Not recorded.
July 8th – Mount Shasta, CA
-Public Ceremony on Facebook, Meetup, and Eventbrite
-Had a car accident en-route, was unable to make it to Mount Shasta.
July 9th-10th: Stockton or Sacremento, CA
-Awakening the Seed Ceremony – recorded Ceremony here
July 11th-14th: Salt Lake City, UT
-Shamanic Journey Group on July 11th – Recorded suggested journey topic here
-Ancestral Healing Circle on July 14th – Facebook and Meetup links.
July 15th – Arches National Park, UT
-Public Ceremony. Links to Facebook, Meetup, and Eventbrite
July 16th – Grand Staircase, UT
-Public Ceremony. Links to Facebook, Meetup, and Eventbrite
-Evening Ceremony at Lake Powell
July 17th – Grand Canyon, AZ
-Public Ceremony on North Rim. Links to Facebook, Meetup, and Eventbrite
July 19th – Bell Rock in Sedona, AZ
-Public Ceremony. Links to Facebook, Meetup, and Eventbrite
July 21st – Chaco Canyon, NM
-Public Ceremony. Links to Facebook, Meetup, and Eventbrite
Sante Fe, NM
-Public Ceremonies and events to be announced
-Lodging covered
July 25th-Austin, TX
-July 26th – Awakening the Seed Ceremony on Facebook and Meetup
-July 28th – Dance of the Bones: Ancestral Workshop on Facebook and Meetup
-July 28th – Ancestral Healing Circle on Facebook and Meetup
Greer Ferry Lake, AR
-Private Ceremony, message for details
-Tent camping
St. Louis, MO
-Private Ceremony at Cahokia Mounds, message for details
-Lodging covered
Heading home. Flexible with this part of route home.
At this point, this is the basic skeleton outline of the trip. US Tour subject to change based off of interaction with community members, Land Spirits, or what the moment calls for. If you happen to be along this route, feel free to email so we can begin being in communication with each other. I am still in the planning stages, so please…
Thank you all for your support! Let’s co-create and make this US Tour something our Descendants keep talking about!
Eagle Therapies 2018 US Tour
Other related posts:
- Explanation of US Tour and Discussion
- US Tour Itinerary
- Power Objects for US Tour
- Coast to Coast – Water Blessing Ceremony Series
- I am not a Shaman
Many contemporary people long to connect to a larger energy than themselves. We actively look for answers in community, society, and our western contemporary culture. However, the answers we are seeking in order to heal the story of separation are not going to be found in our culture. The story of interbeing will be coming from the margins.
So… Who is Eagle Therapies?
Eagle Therapies is a small business started by Stephanie Seger (me) in 2014. It was an authentic approach to me establishing myself on my Shamanic path. I have studied with Mary Tyrtle Rooker, Christina Pratt, and have taken courses with/read books by Michael Harner, Evelyn Rysdyk, Sandra Ingerman, and Betsy Bergstrom. Since the first Shamanic Journey group back in early spring of 2014, Eagle Therapies has hosted a number of different events in the Northern Virginia, DC, and Maryland area. This is the main local nest, and it has grown to a robust 8-12 events a month, centered around getting people connected with their mental, emotional, and spiritual bodies in a healthy way. Most of the time it’s through fun activities like dancing, drumming, or singing (there’s at least a little each event).
What is happening? Why take this on the road?
As I come to a deeper understanding of myself as well as deepening my connection to my Spirit Guides/Helping Spirits, challenges have been posed to me. I was clearly guided by Spirit to quit my job back in November and thus began my earnest dedication to Eagle Therapies.
Some big lessons for me at this time include trust (trust in myself, trust in the Universe, trust in my guides), humility, asking for help, and faith. Honestly? I tend to be pretty hard headed, so what’s going to push me out of my comfort zone the most? Get in front of a bunch of strangers across the US with community that I have not been tending carefully over the past 4 years… No. It’s not terrifying at all.
One of the things about being a Shamanic Practitioner, is that you have to live in good relationship with the world around you. Through a Shamanic lens, you understand that everything has a Spirit, and we are all connected and interconnected to the Spirit in all things. At first I thought this was going to be a small road trip, but I was wrong. Initially, I journeyed to the Land Spirits requesting permission to travel safely across them. They brought me to the spirit of Great Grandmother Turtle of Turtle Island. She had a mission for me if I chose to accept it (cue Mission Impossible theme).
The main reason why I was given this seed of doing a road trip last year was to offer Ceremonies similar to those I hold in the DC area across the United States. Grandmother Turtle has assured me that the time is right for me to perform what she calls “Awakening” Ceremonies. This is a “Guided by Spirit” road trip, and I’m going to be as transparent as possible with this trip, making my life on the road public for all who are willing to view. I will be bringing my son with me, for he is an extension of my heart and soul. And of course because we get into the most ridiculous shenanigans together. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and sign up for the special road trip newsletter (it will be sent out once weekly and good for those who stay away from social media).
What is an Awakening Ceremony?
To be honest, I don’t know at this point. That’s just the word that came into my head as I kept trying to describe my experiences. I plan on updating this post as time goes on so that people can stay up to date as I know and understand. What I do know at this point is that my main purpose is to connect with as many people as possible.
One of my gifts is the ability to involve people in fun, engaging activities in order to embody complex concepts with ease. The innately intelligent Land Spirits are consistent in their informing me of their earnest desire for humans to connect with them more. To pause in appreciation for the clouds while walking from your car to your work place is an example of the simplicity desired. To connect with the spiritual and natural world is uncomplicated; gratitude doesn’t need to be a complex expression.
You want an opportunity to attend a relaxed, fun drum or song circle? Oh, what’s that? You feel a stirring in your heart and you laughed like you hadn’t ever before? Good! That’s our goal. Transitioning to living a healthier lifestyle with more awareness of the world around you isn’t difficult…it’s joyful. Please join us!
There will be events along the way that will be just drum and song circles, but I will also offer Ancestral Healing Circles, Heart Centered Sound Circles, Life Compass Groups, and Awakening Ceremonies. The Awakening Ceremonies are still a little fuzzy to me, but I will be doing them daily in different areas where I will be staying or traveling through. We will be visiting multiple sacred sites across the US (Serpent Mound, Cahokia Mounds, Black Hills, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, etc). There is an Itinerary Post, and it will be constantly updated so everyone can stay on the same page. Links to events on Facebook and Meetup will be created. What I do know about the Awakening Ceremonies is that they will be planned closer to the date of performance. Some of the Ceremonies will be strong and structured, while others will leave room for the Sacred to intervene.
If you wish to be a coordinator for an event and you happen to be along the route, then feel free to message and we can most likely work something out! If you are a Shamanic Practitioner along the route, then I will be happy to advertise for your local events while I’m in town. I am flexible, and if it’s meant to happen, things will happen easily and fluidly.
The main point of this road trip is to help awaken ourselves to our true potential. We should be in right relationship with the world around us, and that starts first with where we live. It can be done through the small acts of awareness or through the deep Ceremonies of connection with the Land Spirits. Join in community, bring a friend who knows nothing about Shamanism to a song and drum circle to help open their eyes with how graceful and fun filled it can be. Inside of us is the reason why we were born into this world at this time. It is time we stepped up to be the answer to the prayers our Ancestors have been praying for. If anything, I know that I personally want to leave this world better then the way I found it so that my son and his generation have something substantial to inherit.
I will be carrying local Goose Feathers dropped naturally during molting season with me throughout the whole road trip. They will be potent power objects by the end of the trip, choosing to carry the energy of this road trip as they will be on each travel altar we set up and break down to honor the spirits of the land, ancestors, and sacred beings all around. They will be available for those that choose to donate to the road trip and want to have a piece of the road trip with them or the community.
This road trip is an immense amount of trust. This is an act of Co-Creation and I wouldn’t be able to do it without your support. If the Vision of this road trip calls to you, then please consider donating. We have chosen to go with crowd funding with reward tiers because I am willing to work for donations. Every dollar you donate will go directly to the support of this Vision, and you will get personally thanked by me. If you cannot donate at this time, then spread the word about this road trip. Contact people who might be along the route and let them know these events are coming to town.
If you read it this far, then I give deep gratitude to you as a human. You chose to donate your time and read this, and I honor your heart. May our hearts connect and share that spark of connection – if only for a brief moment. Brightest blessings, and fly high.
Journeying at Home
This is a specific break down of protocol, songs, and links that will help one prepare for journeying at home. It doesn’t take too terribly long, but it’s a practice. If this is absolutely your first time, please read this post. This is a companion guide to make it nice and short and sweet for those that want to journey on a tight schedule and still follow protocol.
If you are tapping in to a Shamanic Journey Group, it is recommended (but not required) to prepare your space before hand by either smudging with incense, sage, singing bowl, or bells. Then tap into the energy of the group by watching the videos in our journey group archives. Actually try to engage or participate by writing down your questions as you think of them, and then after you journey, share them in the posts on the Facebook Group, or on the blog post itself.
Once you are done watching the suggested journey topic, set the container by listening/singing along to this song:
The Container Song
Tune and Original Lyrics by Kellianna
Re-Written by Stephanie Seger
Facing East, I send my prayers away, away
East sky enlighten me, I pray, I pray
Air, communication, help me speak my truth
Harpy Eagle I welcome you
And give thanks for visions of peace, of peace
Facing South, I send my prayers away, away
South Sky for purity, I pray, I pray
Fire, flame of passion, help with transformation
Golden Eagle I welcome you
And give thanks for healing in peace, in peace
Facing West, I send my prayers away, away
West Sky move with me, I pray, I pray
Water, deep emotion, restore to great flow
Now bald eagle I welcome you
And give thanks for balance in peace, in peace
Facing North, I send my prayers away, away
North Sky stability, I pray, I pray
Earth, cool and dark, cradle me in your arms
Oh white eagle, I welcome you
And give thanks for teachings in peace, in peace
Mother Earth, I send you my prayers
Father Sky, I send you my prayers
Oh Great Mystery, I feel your breath in my mouth
Oh Great Mystery I welcome you
And give thanks for you in me, in peace, in peace, in peace
Then once circle is set, sing, drum or dance for a little bit. Typically in the circle we would sing one song that repeats its lyrics. Sing and dance your own song, or you can choose any number of songs from the youtube channel (it is helpful to choose before you sing the container song so there is a flow). This is also a chance for you to call in your helping spirits to be with you, and potentially merge with them through song and dance.
Then place headphones in to begin listening to any of these Shamanic Drumming tracks:
- 12 minute track – Has whistling in the beginning to call in protection and the ancestors by Sandra Ingerman
- 30 minute track – Single track drumming by Michael Harner
- 30 minute track – Single and double drumming tracks by Michael Harner
- 30 minute track – Beautiful Taiko drumming with Nagado drums, Odaiko, and rattles by Sandra Ingerman featuring Taiko Sol
Once you receive your answer, take a few moments to write down your journey notes. It’s better to use short phrases or single words to describe things. If you write in sentences, the visions and experiences tend to slip easier from your frame of mind.
After that is done, you are set to close up circle! We give great gratitude to the Ancestors, land spirits that we stand on, and then we sing this following song:
Now you are all set! And can go about your daily business 🙂
Bridge over the Potomac
I wish to share a private moment with you. Sit down with me as you read and join me up here as I share this moment overlooking the Nations Capital.
I currently live in Alexandria, and for most of my friends across the states and around the world, I live close enough to DC to say that I live in DC. I’m writing this tonight while sitting on a bench, on top of a bridge that goes across the Potomac river. I’m looking directly at the big penis of America (the Washington monument) and am considering the big internal process I just went through.
I came up here with doubts, fears and insecurities. I can hold myself together pretty well. But while I was up here, I decided to give humble offerings to each of the 4 directions (if you’re feeling lost, this is a perfect way to find yourself again and be your own compass). I don’t have much to give, but I caught myself saying, “I am enough” as I found items on my walk that were pretty and reminded me of the directions. I have to admit, I fell apart and cried up here on a bridge over the Potomac. Good thing I don’t wear makeup, because it was an ugly cry. I fell into my practice and I asked for help from the universe after I gave my offerings.
Right as I recovered from letting go and surrendering, I faced towards DC and noticed a plane was taking off from Reagan airport. It felt like the universe heard my plea for help, and I felt connected to the plane. I felt I was that plane. Full of vision and at the beginning of a long flight. I asked if this sign was for me, and right at that moment a ship came from the opposite direction, directly under me and heading straight for DC. For a brief moment I was simultaneously under an airplane and also over a water taxi at the same time. It felt right.
The only way to grow stronger in your faith is to break it. It is the process of losing it, and then finding it again. I came up here with all my fears, doubts, insecurities, and worries that I was failing. I spoke them out loud and I let myself go. I opened up to the bigger energies out there and got an almost immediate answer. It’s taken me years to build my own vocabulary with Spirit. To be able to see what these messages mean to me instead of looking outside of myself for the answer. Tonight I broke and I was held by the Universe in a safe context. Because I had my practice to fall back on. I did the crucial thing and instead gave time for Spirit to answer me back. I listened. It’s a conversation, not a one way street where you keep asking for stuff. I gave and spoke from my heart. And am walking away with a deeper sense of connection.
I couldn’t begin to find a way to thank Mary Tyrtle Rooker and Christina Lee Pratt enough. For giving me the foundation to really break down in a good way and build myself back up with the context of my true soul self and my authenticity.
So thank you for reading this, and thank you for joining me momentarily on this bridge over the Potomac while having this grand view of DC. Blessings for you to find the courage to break down and get back up again with a stronger sense of self.
Disclaimer: this whole post was written while sitting on the bridge with the view. So you technically did join me on the bridge.
Singing to your food
I know it might sound ridiculous and you’re afraid people might laugh at you or judge you if they catch you doing it. However, being kind to your food actually helps you in the long run.
Sensitive people can tell the difference when someone makes them food, and they really put their love and care into that food. When we get food prepared for us (especially from a fast food restaurant), it’s disconnecting in a way. Sure, it might taste good, but somehow it doesn’t fill us up like Grandmas Apple Pie did.
We can be magical just like our Grandparents and make amazing food with depth and meaning if we just focus our attention on our food in a conscious way. Most people live to eat. We should be making the switch to eat to live. If we slowly stop overconsuming food because the food that we cook or eat has our intention cooked into it, we can become “full” even easier. Thus learning to stop overeating can become easier.
Many people that are Reiki practitioners bless their food with Reiki. Hey, if that floats your boat then cool! I actually pray by singing. I connect my intention with my voice and singing always puts me in a good mood. I intentionally connect with the food that I’m about to cook and will often sing to it. What does that mean energetically? I am blessing my own food and eating my prayers. I’m not as disconnected from my food and I feel a sense of connection to something bigger out there in the big web of life.
Even if you’re a horrible cook and can’t cook for yourself, try just humming something to your microwave dish. Make the intention to connect to your food and give gratitude for the many hands it took to get it to your table. If you’re also looking to deepen your Shamanic Practice, set a little food aside for the land spirits and ancestors in gratitude for the food that is about to nourish your body.
When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.
Pre-Earth Day Celebrations and Fire Ceremony
During the month of March, in preparation for Earth Day, April 22nd, 2018, we will be hosting an array of Fire Ceremonies releasing limiting beliefs that prevent us from showing up in a good way. One of the ways we can be in right relationship with the world around us is by acknowledging our own contribution to feeding limiting beliefs. Many people use their busy life as an excuse not to focus on themselves. Well, this is an event that will be encouraging focus on the self so we can truly allow ourselves to be the stewards of change.
Let us usher in change and transformation!
There will be 3 different dates/locations in the month of March.
- March 10th – 2-7pm in Cascades, MD. Event link on Meetup and Facebook
- March 17th – 3-8pm in Damascus, MD. Event link on Meetup and Facebook
- March 25th – 3-8pm in Springfield, VA. Event link on Meetup and Facebook
The one I’m most excited about? The one in Cascades, MD. It’s set in a beautiful little mountain neighborhood, and we will be picking up trash along a waterfall earlier in the day. Soolah Hoops is a fire performer with a local fire troop called Pyrophoric. We will be teaming up to combine spiritual/mental/emotional diving with practical application. Fire is a wonderful and transformative tool, and we will be provided fire spinning cord cutting on March 10th. Truly let go and allow those old beliefs and what you agreed to hold you back go up in flames! Literally! We will hold space for you.
Here is the event description and itinerary (basic outline, adjust 1 hour for those participating in Cascades) for those interested in attending:
In honor of Earth Day on April 22nd, we will be laying the ground work for stepping into a new story. The stories we tell ourselves have power, and some of our old stories are rooted in old beliefs that we didn’t even know that we had. We don’t have to justify trying to “be Green” anymore. A vast majority of the population already know we need to change the way we are living because it’s not sustainable. Most people have good intentions about doing good things for the Earth, like recycling, eating green, buying organic, or using canvas grocery bags. However, good intentions aren’t enough. Typically when we are rushed or stressed, we buy food on the run, throw away trash to release the clutter instead of recycling, and forgetting the canvas grocery bags at home. It’s our human nature, and typically the story we tell ourselves is, “I don’t have enough time”, “That takes up too much energy” or “But it’s so hard to remember”. Those are all stories we tell ourselves, and they are rooted in beliefs.
For those that don’t know, a fire ceremony can be used as a transformative tool to effectively dive down into our psyche, manifest what our old beliefs are into power objects, and then release them to the fire to be transformed. Energy can neither be created, nor destroyed – only transformed. If you are trying to create a fundamental change, but are unwilling to give things up, how can you welcome more onto your plate when your plate is already full? By being able to discuss, share space with other like minded people, and craft power objects – we will lay the groundwork for a true transformative process that involves our mental, emotional, and spiritual bodies.
The schedule will go as follows, but it subject to change. This is BASIC OUTLINE:
3p – Gather and begin building a community altar. Introduce ourselves with one another, and get acquainted.
3:30 – Set the container, weave the circle, and set the intention
4:00 – Explanation of what we will be doing, and go over the plan/itinerary so everyone is on the same page
4:30 – Diagnostic journeys to see what the limiting beliefs are that we will be releasing into the power object. How do we make these objects? Share and discuss if called to. Sometimes the act of sharing helps us become more concrete about our answers.
5-6:30 – Arts and crafts time! This is where we will be intentional with our crafts. There will be a space to dance, hoop, and spin if needed in order to get into our bodies and have a more clear sense of what is happening/going on. Embodiment is key!
6:30 – Sit in silence with our power objects. Now that we have manifested them into physical reality, they no longer hold power over us in our mind/emotions/spirit. Now is the opportunity to thank it for allowing us to get this far, but acknowledging that it is time to let go. Here is where we ask what the true nature of this object is, and how we can release it in a good way.
7:00 – Fire cleansing, cord cuttings, and lighting the big fire. Last minute releases before we truly allow ourselves to experience the full “release” of tossing in these power objects
7:30 – Gathering around the fire as a group and releasing our power objects into the fire one by one. We support each other, and we become sacred witnesses for those going through their process.
8:00 – Sing one last song together as a group and begin closing up our circle, releasing the energies we called forward.
Potluck after!
Things to bring:
-Journal or something to record experiences with
-Leftover crafting supplies (scissors, paint, glue gun, twine))
-Things you’ve been meaning to burn for a while (letters from an ex, old photos, *burnable* things – ie please no plastics, make it fire friendly)
-Drum, rattle, didgeridoo, sacred objects
-Food for potluck. There will be people there with food allergies or dietary restrictions, so please if possible – list the ingredients on a note card or bring the packaging.
-Ceremony run off of donation and sacred reciprocity. Suggested donation is $20-$40 to help offset costs of running Ceremony.
Things to be mindful of:
-NO DRUGS OR ALCOHOL prior or during Ceremonial space, ESPECIALLY because we will be dealing with fire. Please be “clean” and try to refrain from drugs or alcohol at least a full 24 hours before. Prescription meds (especially if you need them to live) are an exception.
-Pay attention to boundaries and space. Not everyone is a hug-filled person. This Ceremony can get pretty intense, so please ask for consent or permission to give someone a hug/touch someone unless you know them well.
Life Compass Group
What is the Life Compass Group? No, it’s not associated with a Health Insurance Company.
I have found that the Internal Guidance System by Zen Debrucke, or what is also known in some circles as a “Truth Chord” is of vital importance of learning how to navigate your life in a graceful and easy flow. The Truth Chord is a skill that we can learn how to hone, and it becomes of utmost importance when we begin (or deepen) our shamanic journeying practice.
This group is something that arose out of a need for people to come together in a community to support each other as we begin to deepen our own practice. It is important for us to be within our own bodies as we live our life, because our body is what holds the wisdom of why we are here. Most don’t even know how to be in their body because their body is generally associated with pain.
When we focus too much on what is in the past because something is triggering us, or worrying about the future because we are worried what might happen – little do we realize we are not in our body. Our attention drifts to those past experiences, or the future possibilities and we get lost in that emotion/chaos of it all. When our focus drifts, that is when we are not here in the Now. This is an embodiment group where we will be able to clear the stuck or stagnant energies in our bodies so we can connect with it (typically with movement or singing), and then using that immediate clear channel of a body in order to gain insight on which direction we should be going in life.
This Meetup will only be an hour long, and schedule will go as follows:
7:00 – Gathering, setting up community altar, getting to know each other
7:10 – Weaving Circle, introducing ourselves and why we’re here
7:15 – Chakra clearing and balancing. Involves either movement or singing. Neither is required, but both encouraged.
7:45 – Going over different techniques for using the IGS, and having exercises to practice on our own or in a group
7:55 – Clean up! Saying goodbye
Bring your journal! This will be a fun and interactive group. If there is enough interest, it is possible this could be bi-weekly like the Journey Group.
Joining From a Distance
The biggest thing we are facing today as a society is feeling isolated. Many spiritual leaders, guru’s and mystics have already uncovered that our Western Contemporary Society has a large wound of separation. In a shamanic cosmology, we are one with everything, and there is a sacredness in all things. If one believes that God/Goddess/Spirit created the world, then by that same definition, doesn’t that mean that God/Goddess/Spirit is in everything that was created? When we feel separated from this great “web of life” as some call it, then things within our inner landscape become out of balance. If the imbalance progresses, illness or a dis-ease of the Spirit can take place. Many traditional Shamans believe that if a spiritual illness (such as soul loss) were to perpetuate and set in, it can (over time) lead to physical ailments. If you’re interested in exploring this more, there are two Shamanic Podcasts that I highly recommend which talk extensively of this perspective. There is Michael Stone with Conversations, and Christina Pratt with Why Shamanism Now.
One of the ways we can counter this illusion of separation is to remember that we are one with all things. This is where daily spiritual practices and coming together in community are especially important. The daily spiritual practice will help reinforce your own personal connection to a higher power, while the community aspect allows you to be on this journey of inner awareness with others who are trying to accomplish the same thing. The law of attraction states that like attracts like, so pay attention to what you are surrounding yourself with.
Oh no… but what if you see great events and can’t participate in them because you can’t make the commute, or you’re too far away/live in a different state?!
This is where the beauty of the internet comes in handy! I can’t speak for all people that hold distance events, but here are links to the basic guide/overview of how we will run things at Eagle Therapies so if you do not have a local community – you can still participate in one!
We use Zoom for people to interact with each other in a virtual space. Please email us at info@eagletherapies.com, or FB message us before just “showing up” virtually. This helps us prepare how we will be running the event. Here is the login information for when you do join us at a distance:
Shamanic Journey Group
There is a bi-weekly Shamanic Journey Group that meets every other week at various locations (check out our Facebook or Meetup for up to date lists). There are some people that wish to practice their journeying skills with others, and this is the perfect way to do so – whether in person or at a distance. The Journey Group has been running steadily since 2014, so there is a solid structure to hold people as they engage in the “Journey Tracks” that are posted as we find explore a topic to journey about together. For a link to an in-depth explanation for the structure and format, click here. For support for journeying at home, click here.
Ancestral Healing Circle
Once monthly around the New Moon is a Ceremony called the Ancestral Healing Circle. This is a Ceremony that welcomes both the new as well as the experienced. It is where we gather and work on the unresolved issues/patterns within ourselves, the ancestors, as well as in the land itself. The Ancestral Healing Circles have been apart of the Shamanism Without Borders community and follows the code of ethics set by the Society of Shamanic Practice. Before involving healing of any kind in our circles, we must first ask permission/consent for those that we are praying for. This is why most of the time (especially for beginner ceremonialists), we focus on ourselves and our connection to the topic at hand for the month. As Sandra Ingerman says, the microcosm reflects the macrocosm, and any inner work that we do has an effect on the greater web of life. A post is coming for a more in-depth explanation for the structure and format of joining at a distance.
If there are any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at info@eagletherapies.com or call/text 571.306.3197. And please also don’t be shy about leaving a message. We are here to help support a growing community of people that want to help each other. We’re all in this together.