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"Peace and happiness are available in every moment. Peace is every step. We shall walk hand in hand. There are no political solutions to spiritual problems. Remember: If the Creator put it there, it is in the right place. The soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears." Tell your people, that since we were promised we should never be moved, we have been moved five times. An Indian Chief, 1876 |
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For reading purposes only!!! This experience takes years of cultivation, in other words "Don't try this at home"! by Bruce Luther What is a Shaman’s death, and who’s likely to have one? The death itself is a suspension between worlds. States of consciousness. The individual today, who is likely to have a "Shamanic Death" is chasing extinction itself. Through that process the person is readying him/herself to stand on a bridge between space and time. Native American Tradition, from my limited knowledge of it, describes a ritual of preparation. The beginning of the ritual involved the initiator burning away the world into which they were born. Removing any trace of familiar surroundings and belongings. The ritual continued in complete isolation to the tribe. The isolation took place in caves, and even in a grave excavated by the apprentice him/herself. It was left to the initiator to know precisely when the time was right to escape the isolation and take his or her new role in the tribe. The ritual could take years to complete. The ancestors of the Shamans had learned the hard way of their chosen path. It demanded an innate understanding of death and how to control it. Many went beyond the controls of fatality, prematurely extinguishing their human life. The Shamans were born with a mark. The mark was well hidden until they had been recognized by the elders. The ideas that surrounded the practice kept most people from it. A Shaman’s death was a real death to those involved. In today’s world, the solitude begins for the Shaman in streets and homes of modern society. The initiator has a strong sense of being in an unfamiliar time and place. Nothing seems as it should be. It’s hard for the apprentice to function and find a place in the foreign surroundings of his/her environment. Many times they act out in fits of madness. The strain of trying to assimilate is overpowering. They abandon the idea of becoming their true selves all together. Many turn to easier solutions, such as drugs or any means to release the suffering. For some, they find their way through the use of narcotics and controlled substance. They long for the isolation, the preparation needed to stand once again between realities. A modern day example of a Shaman’s death would be the one which came to me first hand. Most of my life was preoccupied by my unwillingness to conform. I wanted no part of conformity. It was wrong for me to accept social conditioning. The times that I broke under the pressure, I found myself healing the wounds and starting the fight all over again. My childhood was filled with abuse. As I see it now, this mistreatment was necessary for me to recognize what was laying no the road in front of me. It’s easy to blame others for the perceived destructive path which I was taking. Every choice was my own, and I needed to endure the responsibility for it. Our world does not allow us the freedom of alien thought. We are forced to embrace the material reality presented to us, or so we think. A year ago, I met someone who insisted that I go to India with him. Because I had been chasing death most of my life, the decision was easy. I did not know at the time that, that is what I was doing. Only after the event took place, did I comprehend the idea. The last day of our trip, I was confronted by a powerful negative being. That presence forced me into accepting the fact that I had to the experience the Shamanic Death. There was no alternative. A portion of our spirit is contained within our body. My spirit was conditioning my physicalness to accept the challenge of taking up my preordained position in this world. The only place for me to escape the negativity was to go to the water. My mind was spinning with sensations. My spirit was in control. My body was overwhelmed with the stimuli of the universe. All the years of abuse and dealing with the Shamanic isolation had come to their conclusion. The ritual was to take on the meaning of dying. Throwing off all that I knew of the world in which I was born. I found myself at the edge of the Adriatic Sea. My mind was spinning, reeling from sensation. What do I do now? I asked myself. I stripped off my clothes, removed the contacts from my eyes and began to swim, swimming as hard and as fast as I could. I swallowed as much sea water as my body would tolerate. When I could no longer see the shore, my body sank. I did nothing to stop it. I could see the stars turn dark the deeper my body gravitated to the bottom. I was alone, in the darkness of the planet. My fate was in the earth’s hands. All the components were there, conditioned perception, total isolation and the absence of physical means. I could see my body continuing down the column of water, yet my consciousness was suspended above it. I stood at the place where time and space no longer exist. I was outside of the universe once again in the wholeness of my spirit, my core. I immersed my awareness in my creation. I remembered all of what I am. I tossed aside the body and physical universe to reveal my essence to my human mind. The body joined my consciousness once again, and I returned to the surface. My lungs were not starved for air as I swam back to shore. I had been reborn in the total insolation of my tribe, humanity; the purpose of a Shaman’s death. The condition was to remain between worlds, all worlds, neither more in one than the other. Standing on the edge of the spiral of death, watching the flow of life-force through the "Circle of Life." After experiencing, "the death," your entire life becomes more in focus, for your complete examination. Our spirit dictates the depth of the experience. It gives to our humanness what it desires the body to carry on into the physical reality, our will, or spirit than leads us through life and creates a more fitting nature to our true likeness. Life here in the modern world is the preparation. Modern society is far removed, and distances us from our center. Engaging the world itself is all the isolation that is required. One feels like a warrior, trying desperately at times to keep the enemy at bay. It gives the shaman apprentice all the direction required to remember his/her way to the place, the space between worlds, if you can survive and keep focused on the journey. http://realmagick.com/articles/08/1508.html |
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The Legend of the Dreamcatcher[credits] Long ago when the world was young, an old Lakota spiritual leader was on a high mountain and had a vision. In his vision, Iktomi, the great trickster and teacher of wisdom, appeared in the form of a spider. Iktomi spoke to him in a sacred language. As he spoke, Iktomi the spider picked up the elder's willow hoop which had feathers,horsehair, beads and offerings on it, and began to spin a web. He spoke to the elder about the cycles of life; how we begin our lives as infants, move on through childhood and on to adulthood. Finally we go to old age where we must be taken care of as infants, completing the cycle. "But", Iktomi said as he continued to spin his web, "in each time of life there are many forces; some good and some bad. If you listen to the good forces, they will steer you in the right direction. But, if you listen to the bad forces, they'll steer you in the wrong direction and may hurt you. So these forces can help, or can interfere with the harmony of Nature. While the spider spoke, he continued to weave his web. When Iktomi finished speaking, he gave the elder the web and said, "The web is a perfect circle with a hole in the center. Use the web to help your people reach their goals, making good use of their ideas, dreams and visions. If you believe in the great spirit, the web will catch your good ideas and the bad ones will go through the hole." The elder passed on his vision to the people and now many Indian people hang a dream catcher above their bed to sift their dreams and visions. The good is captured in the web of life and carried with the people, but the evil in their dreams drops through the hole in the center of the web and are no longer a part of their lives. It's said that the dream catcher holds the destiny of the future. http://realmagick.com/articles/17/117.html |
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The PK Man Seen From an African Perspective[credits] by Awo Fa'lokun Fatunmbi 
I have been fortunate over the past ten years to have had the opportunity to study the shamanism used in the rain forest of southwestern Nigeria. This is the traditional home of the Yoruba Nation which is one of the largest cultural groups in Western Africa consisting of over twenty million Yoruba speaking people. The shamanism of southwestern Nigeria is called "Ifa" which means "wisdom of nature". Based on my experience in the study and practice of this tradition I believe that there is value in examining the world view of Ifa as one possible paradigm for explaining the data collected by Dr. Mishlove in his study of the paranormal activity associated with Ted Owens.
All Things Have Some Consciousness The world view of Ifa differs from the world view of mainstream Western metaphysics in two ways; Ifa teaches that everything in nature has some form of consciousness called ori, and it teaches that the world is a multi-dimensional reality. Most forms of shamanism teach the idea that the visible world is influenced by invisible worlds that co-exist in the same dimensional space as the physical world. The invisible realms are usually called "Spirit Worlds". The word "spirit" means "essential nature" or "essence". From a shamanistic point of view Spirits are fundamental Forces in Nature that help shape the physical reality perceived by the senses in a non-altered state of consciousness. Ifa teaches that all things in the world have some form of consciousness. The first step in developing the shamanistic skills of an Ifa initiate is to learn how to empathize with the consciousness of non human Forces in Nature. One of the easiest ways to do this is to sit in the presence of an Oroko tree. In Africa the Oroko tree can have a trunk the size of a house. Biologists estimate that as many as a thousand different life forms co-exist within the sphere of influence of one of these trees. That would include everything from tiny microbes living under the earth to birds and mammals living near the top of the trees. The cumulative effect of this vast network of consciousness involved in the cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth within a confined space can be extremely informative. Merely being in the presence of the tree produces an altered state of consciousness that seems to generate information that transcends the experience of the person involved in the encounter. The tree is a universal symbol of spiritual growth because a tree is capable of giving instruction to those who are willing to watch and listen. Communication with non human forms of consciousness is generally described by anthropologists as "possession." There are two Yoruba words for this phenomena; "Ini" meaning "I am", and "ogun" meaning "medicine". The student of Ifa who learns to empathize with the consciousness of various Forces of Nature uses their ability as a problem solving tool. From an Ifa perspective learning how to empathize with the consciousness of a cloud is a way of retrieving information related to future weather conditions. It is also the first step in learning how to influence the weather.
Shamanistic Weather Control Dr. Mishlove makes reference to numerous examples where it appears that Ted Owens effected the weather and appears to have caused lightning to manifest. In Ifa the invocation of lightning is used as an instrument of warfare. There are very specific and detailed rituals that are designed to produce and direct this natural phenomena. I have personally witnessed enough examples of Ifa initiates invoking changes in the weather that it now seems normal rather than abnormal. From a parapsychological perspective claims of effecting the weather result in a debate between two possible explanations. One explanation is that the person has a telekinetic influence on conditions that produce the weather and the other is that the person has powers of precognition and is simply predicting events while claiming to exert some form of control. From an Ifa perspective these two points of view are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Ifa makes extensive use of a variety of divination systems that are used to predict the future. If a predicted future event is deemed favorable, rituals will be performed to insure that the anticipated good fortune becomes manifest. If a predicted future event is deemed unfavorable, rituals will be performed in an effort to alter destiny. To me this ritual process suggests that there is a interactive relationship between precognition and telekinesis that does not appear to have been fully explored by Western scientist who research paranormal phenomena. This polarity would be extremely difficult to analyze in a laboratory setting. In personal terms it is the polarity between optimism that generates good luck and pessimism that generates bad luck. It is interesting to read that Ted Owens appears to have had a certain amount of ambivalence about this subject. Early in his career he believes that he is the sole agent responsible for effecting the weather then he believes that he is the messenger for entities who actually cause the event. There also seems to be some limitation on his ability to effect the weather instantaneously. His predictions typically come within varying time frames suggesting to me that there is a precognitive component to his process. This does not suggest that Ted Owens was being deliberately deceptive. It is quite possible that his intuitive understanding of the weather was expressed as the desire to invoke specific weather conditions. On an unconscious level this would be consistent with the Ifa process for invoking good fortune. The shift from thinking he was solely responsible for effecting the weather, to believing he had extraterrestrial help may have been a consequence of the improvement of his ability to see a broader range of hidden influences on his work. The idea of being a parent only becomes real at the birth of a child. Understanding evolves with experience. I would be more skeptical of Ted Owens if he claimed to have fully developed paranormal abilities that came complete with coherent explanations and impeccable laboratory proof of their existence than I am of someone who shows signs of gradual development in all three areas. Based on my own experience I have seen shamans invoke rain and watch the rain manifest. I have seen shamans invoke the spirit of lighting while their invocations were punctuated by bolts of lightning hurling across the sky. I have seen shamans command the wind to blow and demand that it stop. On one occasion a wind storm disrupted a ceremony that I was participating in, and the Ifa initiate who was leading the ceremony poked his head out of the door of the room that we were in and yelled at the wind to stop blowing. There wind stopped until after we had finished. When I asked how he did that, he answered; "You have to believe that you can." This answer is not flip. Believing that you can means that you have worked through doubt, fear, hesitation, and confusion. These are all emotions that would restrict access to ase or inhibit the manifestation of kundalini (as it is known in the yogic traditions). http://realmagick.com/articles/53/153.html |
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Alien Intelligence The problem encountered by Ted Owens appears to have been that he was trying to understand what was happening to him while his skills were developing. He appears to have devoted much of his time and energy to the task of convincing others that his paranormal abilities were real. The effort to convince a skeptic, especially around issues that generate hostile emotional reactions, is not a conducive environment for formulating clear theoretical explanations of paranormal phenomena. This is a challenging effort for a trained scientist who has no personal investment in the results of his research. For this reason I do not believe that Ted Owens' explanations about how things happened need to be accepted in order to accept the possibility that they did in fact happen. I also believe that any difficulty in accepting his explanations is not an automatic basis for doubting his sincerity. In contemporary American society hairless beings with thin limbs, large back eyes and small mouths would frequently be called "aliens". Those same beings in medieval Celtic culture might be called "ferries". In Ifa such beings are called "aja" which is the Yoruba word for dog. In Ifa cosmology dogs are the messengers of the wind. In the early days of my studies of Ifa I heard stories that I assumed were exaggerated, apocryphal, or simply symbolic. As I gained more direct experience of various phenomena, two things happened; I discovered that more of the stories were true and accurate than I had originally believed, and I discovered that my understanding of phenomena made a radical shift every time I initially encountered the phenomena. Before I experienced possession for the first time I assumed that it was a projection of some hidden aspect of the inner self. Now I believe that there is a merging of personal consciousness with the consciousness of something outside of the self. The shift in explanation is based on continuous evaluation of ongoing experience. The west African shaman Malidoma Some tells a story of being told to sit in front of a tree until he was able to speak to the spirit of the tree. After many long hours of no results he decided to pretend that he was talking to the tree. One of his elders admonished him for making the conversation up. Sometime later Malidoma reports that he was able to communicate with the tree and that as the tree began to speak, it took on an anthropomorphic form. At that point the elder agreed that he was in communication with the tree. This is a common account among those who are being trained in various forms of shamanistic discipline. An inanimate object will become transformed in the minds eye leading to a dialogue between the object and the observer. This suggests that there might be some mechanism that is latent in human consciousness that stimulates an anthropomorphic image when communication occurs between people and things. If this is true and if all things do have consciousness, this mechanism would not necessary bias the message and the mechanism could work differently for different people. It is possible that this mechanism is similar in function to the way in which we translate information when speaking in a second language. A shift occurs that enables us to start thinking in the second language so that literal translation is no longer necessary. Assuming that this analysis has validity, the implications of this theory leads to a serious problem. If the mind is able to create anthropomorphic images of inanimate conscious objects while those inanimate objects are attempting to communicate with human consciousness, how do you make the distinction between valid messages coming from Nature, and the possibility that the image is simply a figment of the person's imagination. It is very interesting to me to note that my teacher's in Ifa are very concerned about the possibility of confusing these two functions of the human mind. Ifa teaches that true communication with Nature requires that the person receiving the message has access to ase. In other words communication with Nature involves a rekindling of the kundalini experience. When this occurs there are easily observable shifts in the demeanor of the person who enters that state. Imagination does not require ase. Malidoma's teacher knew that he was not communicating with the tree because Malidoma was not in the right state of mind for that type of communication to occur. Ted Owens states that he used imagination and visualization as a key to gaining access to the paranormal. It would be fair to wonder why if the process began as imagination, it did not simply continue in the same vein and to assume that the entire event is nothing more than personal fantasy. I have found that I can access ase by repeating the invocations that were said at the time of my initiation into Ifa. I also have discovered that I can access ase by remembering the sights, sounds and smells that occurred during my initiation. Both mechanisms have the same triggering effect. All this is to say that I suspect that it was possible for Ted Owens to use visual images that gave him access to his telekinetic abilities and that these images may have been effective without necessarily generating accurate images of the true source of his power. Most shamanistic traditions have what could be called the Spirit of Fire. For Yorubas this Spirit looks like an African Warrior, for the Lakota Sioux this spirit looks like a Native American Warrior. Both images may be an authentic gateway to some form of transcendent interaction, two different forms accessing the same elemental power. Perhaps the gateway that made the most sense to Ted Owens was the image of an alien from another planet. The discussion of a possible explanation for the physical appearance of non human life forms does not necessarily call into question the material reality of these life forms. I think that it would be more accurate to say that there are a variety of shapes and forms that these life forms can take when they make themselves visible to human powers of perception. This may have more to do with human bio-chemistry than it has to do with metaphysics. It is also a possible source of the popularity of the image of shape shifters in Shamanistic literature. The perplexing aspect of the Owens story is the question of UFO's. In the West mention of the word UFO implies visitors from another planet. Based on the scientific understanding of cosmology and physics the possibility of contact between life on this planet and life from another planet ranges from slim to non-existent. For most scientist the possibility that the number of encounters that have been reported represent real interaction between humans and alien life forms is an absurdity unworthy of serious consideration. In my own study of Ifa I have identified at least forty different categories of inter-dimensional beings, and each category has a number of sub-categories. The shamanism of west Africa and south Africa makes clear reference to Alien life forms who visit the earth from different dimensions of reality and some who claim to be from specific places in the visible universe. Similar material appears in the shamanistic traditions of Native Americans, most notably the Hopi who dance in honor of their alien visitors. The Hopi are extremely reluctant to speak about their relationship with alien visitors, not out of fear of being called "crazy", their reluctance is based on a concern for the safety of the aliens themselves. Elders among the Zulu teach a form of sign language used to communicate with visitors from other planets. Efforts have been made by the Zulu elders to publish this material for the benefit of everyone. Some of the material has reached the printed page most of it has been rejected by publishers as non credible. It seems to me that the issue of credibility should be left to the reader and that any effort to edit ideas that are uncomfortable to the Western reader takes the entire concept of colonialism to a new level of insidious sophistication. http://realmagick.com/articles/53/153.html |
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Psychic Energy Every form of martial arts that I am aware of teaches techniques for using mental ability to influence the out come of a fight. The martial art that was developed in Yoruba culture is called "Aki" meaning "bravery". The physical techniques taught are relatively simple and are very similar to wrestling. The mind control aspect of Aki is extremely sophisticated and includes incantations for causing different levels of damage as the situation warrants. I have seen fighters pass out as a result of words that were spoken to them prior to any physical contact. Traditional Yoruba hunters use similar techniques to track and capture game. Some Yoruba hunters go into the forest at night without weapons. They use incantations to call animals out from their hiding places, then they use incantations to paralyze the animals which are simply picked up by the tail and brought back home. When it is time to eat the animal, the hunter will say something into the animals ear and it will expire quickly and without the necessity of drawing blood. For most Westerners this is shocking and hard to believe. In Yoruba culture it is simply a skill needed to insure survival in the rain forest. Based on my experience there is no doubt in my mind that Ted Owens may well have had the ability to do many of the things that he claimed. I base this opinion on the fact that I have witnessed similar abilities used by the Ifa elders of southwest Nigeria. What is remarkable to me is that I have been given instruction in the methodology for accessing what Western science calls PK ability and have found the methodology to be effective. I have also discovered the methodology is most effective when it is applied to solving a real problem as compared with being used simply to prove that it is possible. Ted Owens spend most of his life trying to convince others that his abilities were real. I believe that this effort effected the ways in which he chose to use these abilities and in retrospect I think it would be fair to say that some of his choices were overly emotional and counter productive. This is not a judgment of the man, disbelief of what is true and real in your personal life can be a devastating experience. Ted Owens did remarkably well considering the circumstances. Ifa is based on the idea that some people have more life experience than others. Those with more experience are considered elders. It is the task of an elder to guide those with less life experience towards those experiences that will bring wisdom, clarity and understanding of both the self and its relationship to the world. If there are elders who claim to have interaction with visitors from different dimensions of reality and visitors from different places in the universe and if these elders are will to share the wisdom of their experience I believe that this offer should be taken seriously. In the world of shamanistic belief taking this offer seriously does not mean asking the elders to prove their world view in a laboratory setting. Taking this offer seriously means having the courage to surrender to their process of instruction. You can't learn how to ride a horse by simple reading about it in a book, at some point you have to climb on to the horse's back. Any real understanding of UFOs requires a similar effort. I believe that Ted Owens suffered needlessly because he invested so much time and energy into trying to convince his peers that his abilities were real. In my experience it is much easier to develop paranormal abilities in an environment of support rather than an environment of hostile skepticism. Hopefully the lessons that we can learn from an examination of Ted Owens life will allow us to move beyond the "is it real" phase of our understanding of consciousness into the much more rewarding phase of applying the optimal levels of consciousness to the task of solving real problems. Shamans invoke spirit beings from invisible realms of reality to effectively improve the quality of life in their communities. Shamans tend to view this interaction as benevolent, desirable and part of the scheme of things. Skeptics either dismiss this all together or become extremely hostile about the notion that we are not alone. Hostility is rooted in fear and overcoming fear is the function of initiation. Every ritual initiation has a segment that challenges the courage of the initiate. Understanding the life of Ted Owens could be just such a challenge.
Article by Awo Fa'lokun Fatunmbi
In 1989 David Wilson, who has an academic background in law, traveled to southwest Nigeria where he became a member of Egbe Ifa Ogun ti Ode Remo which is a society of Yoruba diviners living in the west African rain forest. At this time he was given the name Awo Fa'lokun Fatunmbi and has continued his study of traditiona Yoruba spirituality on four subsequent trips to Nigeria. This tradtion is called Ifa. Awo Fa'lokun Fatunmbi has written three books on Ifa, Iwa Pele: Ifa Quest the Search of the sources of Santeria and Lucumi, Awo: Ifa and the Theology of Orisa divination, Iba se Orjisa: Ifa Proverbs, Folktales, Sacred History and Prayer. Brought to you by William James Related to the book The PK Man: A True Story of Mind Over Matter http://realmagick.com/articles/53/153.html |
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The Seven Shaman Principles[credits] by Serge Kahill King -
The World is What You Think It Is Positive thoughts attract positive people and events, and negative thoughts attract negative people and events. Corollary: Everything is a dream Dreams are real and reality is a dream. The only test we use for a reality check is whether or not someone else experiences it. Hallucination means "your dream doesn’t match my dream." "Reality" to a shaman is a mass hallucination, or a shared dream. If this life is a dream and if we can wake up fully within it, then we can change the dream by changing our dreaming. Corollary: All systems are arbitrary All meanings are made up and the Absolute Truth is whatever you decide it is. What matters is how well the system works for you, not how true it is (which is an arbitrary concept). -
There are No Limits We experience two kinds of limitations: creative and filtered. Creative limitation assumes the purposeful establishment of limits within an infinite universe in order to create particular experiences, made by God or our own Higher Selves. These enable us to experience life as humans on Earth (to play by that particular set of rules - breaking the rules changes to another game). Filtered limitations are imposed by ideas and beliefs that inhibit creativity rather than enhance it, like beliefs that engender hopelessness, helplessness, revenge and cruelty. They generate focus without the potential for positive action. Corollary: Everything is connected The usual metaphor is a web of interdependence. Corollary: Anything is possible All you have to do is believe. However, because you are not alone in the Universe, the degree to which something can be shared depends on the beliefs of others around you. Corollary: Separation is a useful illusion Pure empathy makes you as helpless as the one suffering. Fear make you lose sight of your role as dreamweaver. -
Energy Flows Where Attention Goes Meditation and hypnosis are simply different techniques for doing the same thing - refocusing your attention toward more positive beliefs and expectations. As states, both are identical conditions of sustained focused attention. Those aspects of your present experience which seem enduring are the effect of habitual sustained focused attention carried on by your subconscious. Corollary: Attention goes where energy flows Attention is attracted to all kinds of high energy intensity. Corollary: Everything is energy Thought is energy and one kind of energy can be converted into another kind of energy. -
Now is the Moment of Power Karma exists and operates only in the present moment. It is your beliefs, decisions, and actions today about yourself and the world around you that give you what you have and make you what you are. Thanks to memory we may carry over habits of body and mind from day to day, but each day is a new creation and any habit can be changed at any present moment - even if it isn’t easy. You select out of the immense resources of your gene pool those characteristics that best reflect your present beliefs and intentions. Your parents/social background have nothing to do with your present, but what you believe about them now and how you react to those beliefs does. Corollary: Everything is relative You define "now" based on your focus (second, hour, year, lifetime). Corollary: Power increases with sensory attention Many people living today aren’t even here - most of their attention is focused on the past or the future. To the degree they diminish their awareness of the present moment, their power and effectiveness in the present also decreases. -
To Love is to Be Happy With Love exists to the degree that you are happy with the object of your love. The unhappy part comes from fear, anger and doubt. To be deeply in love means to be deeply connected, and the depth and clarity of the connection increases as fear, anger and doubt are removed. Corollary: Love increases as judgment decreases Criticism kills relationships; praise builds and rebuilds them. When you give praise you reinforce the good and it grows. When you criticize you reinforce the bad and it grows. Corollary: Everything is alive, aware and responsive You subconscious takes any praise or criticisms it hears to heart, even if it’s directed elsewhere, even if you’re saying it. Each criticism separates you from and decreases your awareness of what you criticize, until you end up responding to a secondary creation of your own that may no longer resemble the original. When someone criticizes you, praise yourself to counteract it. -
All Power Comes From Within For every event that you experience you creatively attract it through your beliefs, desires, fears and expectations, and then react to it habitually or respond to it consciously. This does not mean that you are to blame for your abuse or injury, because you were probably not conscious of your negative beliefs, attitudes and expectations. It also does not mean the other person is innocent. Corollary: Everything has power You do not have ALL the power in the world - everyone has the same power. The good news - you can work with these powers. Corollary: Power comes from authority Confident authority is the key to conscious creation. -
Effectiveness is the Measure of Truth The means determine the end, not the ends justify the means. What is really important is what works. Corollary: There is always another way to do anything Every problem has more than one solution. If the goal is important, you should never give up, just change your approach.
Basic Format for a Ritual - Preparation
Get all your props and clothing together, arrange furnishings, set up music, plan the steps, and designate the special area. - Opening
A dramatic gesture, words of prayer or greeting, a musical attention getter, or a get-acquainted process. - Content
Doing whatever is involved with the purpose of the ritual. Generally, the shorter the content, the more formal it is (wedding vs. Olympic Games). - Closing
This is where you get everyone’s attention back and make a definite end to the ritual. Often overlooked. What Determines Effective Ritual - It must have a strong beginning and ending. Start by doing something to get everyone’s attention. At the end, get everyone’s attention again and clearly end the ritual.
- It must have strong sensory input. The more senses the better -- vision, hearing, scent are common - try adding taste and touch.
- It must have a familiar or predictable form. Include familiar sensory elements and patterns in every ritual, even though every ritual on every occasion might be different.
- The meaning of every part of the ritual must be understood. To whatever degree a part of the ritual is not understood, its effectiveness is lost. Explain before or during the ritual.
- It must be special. Make ritual times into occasions of positive reinforcement of your groups shared values.
What Makes a Ritual Special - A special area
An area can be made special in several ways. One is consecration - doing a ritual blessing. The easiest way to make a place special for ritual is by encircling it with people, especially by having them hold hands. - Special objects
Clothing, jewelry, decor, tools, food. - Special movements
Gestures, postures, dances. - Special sounds
Intonation, chanting, singing, music, percussion, prayers and blessings, special words.
Article by Serge Kahill King
© 1990 Serge Kahill King
brought to you by the Children of Ra Temple
ChildrenOfRa.org |
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What is Shamanic Healing?[credits] by Strix d' Emerys “Shamans heals themselves. By working through their pain, they learn to help others." -Wounded Healin' "But the primitive magician, the medicine man, or the shaman is not only a sick man; he is, above all, a sick man who has been cured, who has succeeded in curing himself." -Author Unknown Shamanic healing is a spiritual and medical practice based upon the belief that all healing includes a spiritual dimension. Shamans enter altered states of consciousness to communicate with other realms of reality. The shaman's journey is to help the patient or community to rediscover their connection to nature and spirit. Shamanic medicine is a tradition dating back 25000 years. The shaman is responsible for the health of the individual as well as the community. This is a physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual balance. Shamans are the ritual leader, herbalist, and mediator between the community and the spirit world. The spiritual healing methods of shamanic are now receiving increased and significant attention in our culture, because shamanic healing affects the energy field of a person. To better understand how a shaman heals it is important to understand some of the fundamental concepts of what shamanism is. It is a specific set of methodologies for accessing the spirit or energy field of anything or anyone. The shaman heals by working unseen/inner/spiritual reality to crate changes, which in turn crate changes in see/physical/everyday reality. The essential perspective of the shaman is: - Everything is alive. Everything has spirit and awareness.
- Energy and matter are the same. Everything is vibration. Everything that exists is an energy system within a greater energy system.
- Everything that exists is connected to everything else in a web of energy or life.
- Unseen/inner/spiritual reality affects visible reality.
Working within this system of perceptions, the shaman strives to create balance and harmony of the spirit. This can be focused on the individual or the community. This also can be applied to anything that exists. What distinguishes the shaman from other types of healer are his methods. The journeying, or shamanic state of consciousness, allows the shaman to send out their consciousness to obtain information from the spirit world. This information is retrieved and used for further insight or healing. Example: a shaman might assist in healing a broken bone by opening up an increased energy flow to that area, or help a person half from an emotional depression by restoring energy lost as a result of a traumatic even. By using shamanic practices a wide spectrum of healing is possible. Traditional shaman healing is done by journeying to the bat of a drum or rattle to visit a teacher/spirit/totem for guidance or wisdom. Shamanic healing takes place in many forms, depending on what the spirits recommend. This can include plant and mineral spirit medicine, through ancestral memories, soul retrieval; extraction and soul escorting. Shamans employ many different healing methods besides those acquired during journeying, these are herbs, visualization, and hands on, use of aroma, gemstones, and basic psychology. The shaman will use their lore of nature along with the ability they have to read auras and apply the knowledge of chakras to heal. The shaman understand the necessity to use both nature and spirit in healing. All of the above used in any combination may be used, along with journeying to heal. All depends upon the situation. http://realmagick.com/articles/31/2131.html |
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Plant and gem spirit medicine The exercise that was used in the beginning of the class is to use to do this. The shaman words directly with the spirit of the plant or mineral to assist in healing. The healer must ask the spirit if they fan be used to heal certain illnesses with certain people. The shaman must be willing to personalize and individualize treatments. Both the healer and the patient must be willing to work in a spirit of humility and gratitude, acknowledging dependence and partnership with non-human elements. Healing through Ancestral Memories: This includes ancestral spirits and reincarnated memories. There are spirits who have gone on before who have evolved to the point that they no longer need to be incarnated. These ancestral spirits have a vast source of knowledge and power. They are what keep the shaman connected to his/her roots. Reincarnated memories also can assist the shaman as do present body memories. If you have done something before that was successful, you will attempt to repeat it the same way, or if you have done something wrong you, hopefully, will not repeat the performance. http://realmagick.com/articles/31/2131.html |
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Soul Retrieval One of the primary service performed by the shaman is soul retrieval. The search to recover and restore a person's vital essence that was stolen or lost, from the Shamanic point of view, physical and emotional illness, as well as misfortune, are due to the loss of personal power or life force, the diminution of spirit that keeps us strong and alive. Soul retrievals are intended to retrieve the soul parts that were lost. Each piece has its own characteristic that once reintegrated enhance our own capacities in that area. Bring back this lost part is not a quick fix; the shaman then needs to work with the person to help them restore their balance. Putting the soul back is only the first step in restoring one's self. For instance, if a soul piece were stolen from us as a child that has the quality of love, we may grow up with a closed heart, making it difficult to show or give love. With the return of the missing quality our heart is healed and we now are able to begin to learn how to love. This is not easy; learning to change ways of a life time, but with patience and understanding the shaman can help others to learn how to change. http://realmagick.com/articles/31/2131.html |
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Extractions Snce the Shamanic theory of health and illness focuses on personal power, illness results when a person's spiritual power is diminished someway or when a person loses spiritual power or soul. The illness moves into the gap in the person's life force, bringing patterns of energy that are harmful for the individual. Extraction is the healing method in which a shaman locates a harmful spiritual intrusion in a sick person's body and removes it. An intrusion is something like an infection, which affects the spirit. Extractions can be done with the hand or mouth, sometimes with a power object, such as a gemstone. For most shamanic healers, the extraction process usually involves going into the Shamanic State of Consciousness and summoning one's spirit guide and building up personal power in order to confront the intrusion. The shaman fins the location of the intrusion in the body by seeing, hearing, and/or feeling it. The actual extraction can involve sucking directly on the skin, through the clothing, or with hands cupped over the appropriate area. When the intrusion is removed, it is put in a neutral place, such as a body of water where it will dissipate back into the universe. http://realmagick.com/articles/31/2131.html |
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Soul Escorting Shaman's help souls cross over to the other side because they know the terrain of the spirit world and may have even journeyed through the realms where the dead pass. They also know how to find lost souls and bring them back or escort them to their places. In summary, the practices of shamanism involves making conscious connection with that which is spirit or life that which is sacred �?all things. Healing can be accomplished through this connection by working directly to create grater balance and harmony of energy and spirit, and bringing back to the ordinary world awareness from the spirit world. To do healing works of any kind a shaman will typically journey to the spiritual cause of problems. A particular problem of everyday life might have very different spiritual causes. In other words, illness that looks exactly the same symptomatically in two different people might be the manifestation of different underlying situations. In one person, depression and fatigue can be caused from a spiritual injury to the heart; while the same symptoms might be caused from excessive worry in another. And once the shaman gains understanding of the illness, he/she has a variety of ways of healing it. http://realmagick.com/articles/31/2131.html
Article by Strix d' Emerys
Paula & Gordon Ireland Proprietors
Earth Spirit Emporium: Books & Stuff
"Where Olde Traditions meet the New Age"
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The Ten Native American Commandments[credits] - Treat the Earth and all that dwell thereon with respect.
- Remain close the Great Spirit.
- Show great respect for your fellow beings.
- Work together for the benefit of all Mankind.
- Give assistance and kindness wherever needed.
- Do what you know to be right.
- Look after the well-being of mind and body.
- Dedicate a share of your efforts to the greater good.
- Be truthful and honest at all times.
- Take full responsibility for your actions.
brought to you by the Children of Ra Temple
ChildrenOfRa.org |
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Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 15:32:32 -0400
From: Mr. Ramon Rivera <[email protected]>
Subject: YOUR HEROES ARE NOT OUR HEROES Page: http://kato.theramp.net/kohr4/HEROES.html Your heroes are not our heroes: A matter of perspective, a matter of experience By Ramon Rivera, the Jatibonicu Taino Tribal Nation, 19 July 2001 Christopher Columbus: So tractable, so peaceable, are these people that I swear to your Majesties there is not in the world a better nation. They love their neighbors as themselves, and their discourse is ever sweet and gentle, and accompanied with a smile; and though it is true that they are naked, yet their manners are decorous and praiseworthy. The King [the leader or chief] observes such a wonderful estate in such a dignified manner that it is a pleasure to see. Neither better people nor land can there be. The houses and villages are so pretty. They love their neighbors as themselves and they have the sweetest speech in the world and they are gentle and they are always laughing. The Old Navigator, Christopher Columbus Columbus ran his flagship, the Santa Maria, aground on the island of Haiti on Christmas Eve in 1492. The Arawak people helped rescue Columbus and his men and helped salvage the shipwrecked Santa Maria. The Arawak people helped Columbus dismantle the wrecked flagship and erect a fort with the salvaged timbers. In his journals Columbus wrote of the peaceful, generous nature of these Native people. He named them, Indios, which means in Spanish, Children of God. But he also wrote, that he could conquer and subjugate the whole of these people with but a small army. Now I have ordered my men to build a tower and a fort. Not that I believe it to be necessary for it is obvious that with these men that I bring, I could subdue all of this island, since the people are naked [without armour] and without arms. But it is right that this tower be made so that with love and fear they will obey. Christopher Columbus- 1493. When Columbus left Hati he rewarded the Arawak people by kidnaping 25 of them, and selling the seven or eight survivors of the return voyage to Spain, into slavery. In the name of the Holy Trinity, we can send from here all the slaves and brazilwood which could be sold. Christopher Columbus, 1496, in a letter to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella On Columbus's second voyage, he returned with 17 heavily armed ships 1500 men, cannon, guns, crossbows, and attack dogs. All of which he used to fulfill his wishes of conquest of these Children of God. After his attempts of conquest and enslavement were met with resistance his descriptions of these people became less complementary. The Native people were forced to pay a stipend to the Spanish. This stipend consisted of food, gold, cotton, and forced sex with Native women. Columbus would casually note in his journals that young girls of the ages 9 to 10 were the most desired by his men. Failure to produce tribute to the Spanish brought swift and terrible punishment. Those that did not comply were given an attitude adjustment that consisted of removal of their nose, ear, hand or foot. Those that actively resisted were burned alive. The Native people were even forced to carry their oppressors, to spare the Spanish the drudgery of walking. Under Columbus thousands of Native people were sent back to Europe in servitude, the remainder were enslaved to the Spanish invaders. So great was the death rate of Native slaves as they were being shipped from one location to the next, that Spanish historian Peter Martyr would write in 1516 that , ...a ship without compass, chart, or guide, but only following the trail of dead Indians who had been thrown from the ships could find its way from the Bahamas to Hispaniola. The Spanish under Columbus hunted the Native people for sport and for dog-food for their attack hounds. So great were the cruelties and horrible the degradations that the Native people suffered at the hands of Columbus and his men, that entire villages would bolt in panic at the sight of a single Spaniard. The whole populations of some villages would, upon the approach of Spanish soldiers, hurl themselves from cliffs, hang themselves, shoot one another with arrows, or take poison to avoid life under the boot of Spanish oppression. Others abandoned their cultivated fields and homes to hide in the forested hills where many thousands starved to death. Pedro de Cordoba in a letter to King Ferdinand wrote in 1517, As a result of the sufferings and hard labor they endured, the Indians choose and have chosen suicide.....Many when pregnant, have taken something to abort and have aborted. Others after delivery have killed their children with their own hands, so as not to leave them in such oppressive slavery. After the surrounding Islands of the Carribean were likewise depopulated, the African slave trade began to replace the now all but extinct Native people. Estimates of the Native population of Haiti in 1492 range up to 8 million people. In 1496, according to the results of a Spanish census, the Native populace had dropped to approximately 3 million. By 1516 only 12,000 remained. In 1542, 200 remained alive. By 1555, nearly all 8 million were gone. How much damage, how many calamities, disruptions and devastations of kingdoms have there been? How many souls have perished in the West Indies over the years and how unjustly? How many unforgivable sins have been committed? ...... What we committed in the West Indies stands out among the most unpardonable offenses ever committed against God and mankind.... Bartolome de Las Casas—Spanish priest and compatriot of Christopher Columbus I am often asked by my non-Native friends why many Native Americans resent the celebration of Columbus Day. Above can be found a few of the reasons why. Inspite of the efforts of Columbus and the Spanish, the Native People of the West Indies have survived. click on http://www.taino-tribe.org/jatiboni.html to view the official website of the Taino People of Puerto Rico. |
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In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations. - Iroquois Nation Maxim Who in the world does that? Well, the Iroquois, for one. Assuming one generation at 25 years, seven generations would be 175 years. There is likely something mystical about the number seven to the Iroquois, but leave that aside. Governments today are not likely to plan ahead one generation let alone seven. Why not one generation? The reins of power would likely have changed hands a few times during that period. People in western countries want immediate gratification, no matter what the cost in the future. What heroes of the international corporate community the heads of WorldCom and Enron were for a few short years. Most major crimes are committed for a short term goal. The new government of Canada abrogated its commitment to the international community by walking away from the Kyoto Protocol, an agreement its predecessor was one of the first in the world to sign. The new government has a new plan--a better plan! The new plan won't need to be evaluated until 2050, by which time all the present government representatives will be dead. House mortgages can now run 30 to 35 years, most of the working lifespan of a young person just leaving college. Major (expensive) new vehicle purchases can have loans that run for seven or more years, longer than most people want to own the same vehicle. People who make such commitments indenture themselves voluntarily for large portions of their working lives, without giving their future much thought. Returning to the Iroquois quotation, how would this maxim be passed along through the generations so that it could be followed? This saying, like all such statements of collected wisdom, would be passed to younger generations when they were children. In the absence of teaching of collected wisdom to all children today, we have situations where people, in effect, enslave themselves or imprison themselves for short term gain. No matter how many parents and grandparents pass the collected wisdom of their families down to children as they should, the messages are not reaching enough kids today. The only way to ensure that the same wise lessons reach everyone is to include it in school curriculum. This is where I will stop because I will otherwise be accused of promoting my book, which has the answers and solutions to these problems. Accused by those who have no interest in making the lives of the younger generation better than they had themselves. Or maybe they have a vested interest in keeping children ignorant so that they can be hoodwinked the way many of their parents have been. Bill Allin 'Turning It Around: Causes and Cures for Today's Epidemic Social Problems,' striving to get the word out to as many as possible before our countries impoversh themselves. Learn more at http://billallin.com |
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Is the Future Possible?<O:P> </O:P> Only Through Sustainability<O:P> What is Sustainability? "Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."-- Brundtland Commission Report Sustainability means living within the carrying capacity of the earth. Sustainability is a call to expand consciousness.</O:P> Contents:<O:P> </O:P> A. Global Situation B. Possible Futures C. Sustainability<O:P> </O:P> D. Action Opportunities<O:P> </O:P> E. Summary<O:P> </O:P> F. Resources <O:P> </O:P> A. Global Situation<O:P> </O:P> Two drivers for sustainability: -
The demand curve / supply curve collision. -
Global heating ("Global Warming") The demand curve for resources is rising, due to rising population, multiplied by rising expectations about consumption and upward mobility.<O:P> 
Here's what's driving demand: World population 6+ billion, and growing: </O:P> At the same time, the supply curve of resource availability is falling (e.g. diminished croplands, wetlands, ozone layer, groundwater, forests, fisheries, fossil fuels, etc.<O:P> 
Example - Species Extinction: 
Facts on Resource Supply Curve<O:P> falling: </O:P> United Nations Millennium Ecosystem Assessment <O:P></O:P>  | 60% of nature's "services" are in decline  | "services" include: food, water, air | | | Potential for abrupt and irreversible changes (collapse)</O:P> | 
Click here to print the above image as a poster. http://www.hoopandtree.org/sustainability.htm#1.%20Global%20Situation |
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