Water striding...

I’m back here again, skimming the surface of shamanism. I hold no illusions here and I believe that it is naïve to think that you can become a shamanic practitioner by reading a few books or doing a weekend course (even if it sets you back $3000 and is led by a person who trained with a shaman from Native American tribe). I can’t even buy into the courses that take years (and still set you back thousands of dollars) simply because I don’t think most of us Westerners have it in us because of the belief systems we have been brought up with. Yes, there is the odd exception or two but I think we have to see them as rarities and stop kidding ourselves.

However, the more I read about shamanism the more I believe that there are people out there that can heal in the way described and do all the amazing things that are described in the books I read (if they can’t it makes for some really good stories). If all these stories do is to shift the Western materialistic view into a more all encompassing one it’s a good thing. We have sold our souls to materialism and we are paying the ultimate price for it: global warming.

Changing beliefs is probably the most potent healing tool there is. We can continue to concentrate on fixing the shell with mechanical means (i.e. surgery) until the cows come home but I think the in the end it’s our energy that needs to be worked on. That’s right, our energy, not even our minds, our spirits or our emotions. Scientists have proven now that if we break anything down far enough it always is the same thing: energy. What gives things different form is the different vibrations of the energy.

If you consider the last paragraph a load of bull, that’s cool. Most people have however had the experience of walking into a room full of people and just getting a feel of the atmosphere or mood. Or, they have met someone who just gave them the creeps or just made them feel really comfortable without doing anything in particular. How do we pick up on these things? I’d say energy. I have a cat that won’t leave your side if you are ill or feel down. How does he know? I think he feels the energy. He’s normally really high strung but when you are down he projects calm and intent.

I’m bored, bored with the normal perceptions and the hap hazard way we go through life without knowing enough even about ourselves and what makes us tick never mind how to deal with others. I hold no illusions, I will never be a shaman, but I’m curious to know some of the things they know, not to use it on others but just to figure out what we really are. Can you really become invisible to others? I’m sure there are times when you have felt that you are. Is it something about your state of mind that made it so or are people just too busy to notice you? I don’t know, but I want to find out. I want to find out how far you can push the concept of shapeshifting, time travel and reaching places without physically being there. It can be a scary thought but if it’s possible it would be a hell of a ride! It challenges everything we have been brought up to believe which is why it makes it so interesting. The backyard we normally play in with the limited perceptions it allows us to have is not big enough for me anymore, I have to climb the fence! Separation from my husband was the first step in shedding things that were holding me back. Letting go of fear of doing things out of the ordinary was the next. “Knowing” that there isn’t enough time for me to do the things I need to get over the fence is next. There is never enough time and therefore time has to cease to be of importance.

I feel a little like a water strider. I’m skimming the surface but I’m dying to know what’s going on in the waters below me. What’s it like down there and who lives there? What does it look like when you look up from down there up into our world? What are the possibilities there? What are the dangers? What can I learn there? Who will I be there? How could I possibly not be curious about it all……..