S. Kelley Harrell's Blog: Intentional Insights - Ancient Healing, Modern Shamanism, page 93

Teen Spirit Wise Voice – Priti Sehrawat – Numerology: Divine Messenger Service

 I’m happy to host Priti Sehrawat, an international numerologist, and wonderful human being. 

How would you describe your work/path/art to a beginner?

Numerology to me is about understanding, exploring, empathizing, being able to choose (where possible) in an informed manner and making sense out of life’s twists and turns more than anything else. I could compare it partly to the lamps that help shed some light on a path, which may otherwise be completely unknown. Sometimes one is ready for that light and sometimes one is not.

How did this work call you? At what life stage?

At one time I was regularly visiting Barnes & Noble, trying to study some other material and as there was disturbance at home, I needed to be outside in an environment where I felt at ease. While taking breaks from what I was doing, I would wander in the different aisles, picking up a book randomly and skimming the pages. The disturbance at home had raised a lot of questions and confusion in my mind. When I tried to be practical and rational in my thinking, I was unable to find any answers, any clues as to why things were unfolding the way they were. During one such “journey” into an aisle of books, I picked up my first book on numerology, and then another. While reading a few parts, things seem to fit together like a crossword puzzle. Fascinated I finally ended up reading more about numerology than anything else during my trips to Barnes & Noble. This journey picked up speed and I found people and places that helped me understand this metaphysical science so deeply that I could use the knowledge to help others.

Describe your experience of spirituality as a teen/young adult. Discuss your blessings and challenges of that era.

I am from India and in the metropolitan city that I grew up in, there was absolutely no pressure to be religious despite religion occupying such an important place in Indian society. Being Hindu, I sometimes visited the temple with elders and only in school examination days, my mother would insist that I go and pray at the altar set up at home, to seek blessings. What I did enjoy was occasional inner journeys. Some friends would remark that I meditated while I walked. I could go into a deep, inner calm, even while walking from school to home with friends, which I sometimes did. Such ability to find my inner center helped keep me calm, truthful to myself and grounded through the years of being a teenager and young adult. I felt I had more of an obligation to be true to my conscience than to any god.

What’s your blessing to beginning seekers and youth exploring various spiritual traditions, today?

Everyday hug yourself and tell yourself that you love “say your name out aloud”. Truly mean it and believe it. Doing so will help you understand what you are truly happy in—whether it is doing an activity, any relationship you are not sure about or what your intuition says about any circumstance or person. It will also help you guard more easily against any kind of abuse or manipulation as you would be less inclined to allow yourself to be treated that way. Be true to your conscience and listen to your inner voice while remaining practical. Have faith that what unfolds in your life does offer you what you are truly seeking at that time, whether you have understood it or not. Believe in God’s messenger service.

About Priti

If I had to use a word to describe myself, it would be explorer. I can definitely add many adjectives but in many ways I am more of an explorer than anything else. It is interesting. Till I started writing this short bio, I never tried to describe myself in one word and for that matter, if I used a few words to describe myself, explorer was not used too often before. As I stand at a very interesting juncture in life, I realize I have done so much exploring and there is so much more to be done! I have explored my passions, books, writing, speaking publicly, being of service to others, friendships, relationships, places, cultures, communities, cooking, assuming different roles, fashion, the internet and so much more. Most importantly, at every turn I have reached within me to tap in to the next hidden chamber which revealed a different facet of me!

My book is .

Website: www.numbersofjoy.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Number...

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Available worldwide, Teen Spirit Guide to Modern Shamanism.

The post Teen Spirit Wise Voice – Priti Sehrawat – Numerology: Divine Messenger Service appeared first on Soul Intent Arts.

The Weekly Rune – Isa

Isa – ice- Keep cool is the message from this last of the winter Runes. Tuck in and be comfortable, because we’re not going anywhere. I like a message that emphasizes relaxation; however, there’s a more to it than that. At this time, we’re challenged to find comfort in something not so comfy, and that’s not as easy as it sounds.

Isa brings a ‘ring pass not’ sort of scrutiny. We all have our limits, through which we cannot move until we find the momentum to do so from our deepest reserves. Isa comes when it’s time to examine those depths. Insight may be lacking, or meaning, understanding, a solution to a problem. Whatever it is missing, now is the pause in which we find it, because nothing advances without it.

It’s perhaps more relatable to think of Isa as indicating that to get where we want to go, we first have to realize where we are. Whatever is occurring at this time must be dealt with, not just for the pragmatic benefits of doing so, but because what comes after cannot manifest until present enlightenment is found. “Enlightenment” sounds dramatic, but that’s exactly what is being called for.

Push internal boundaries. Go beyond what’s possible to expect from ourselves, and the world around us. Perhaps the need is to merely sit and reflect on what needs attention, or it’s to acknowledge something long-skirting the edge of awareness. Whatever it is, we all recognize that guttural gnawing sensation telling us that what sustains is no longer working, that we’re hungry for what authentically feeds.

Don’t try to push through this, or circumvent it. Likewise, trying to backtrack to the past won’t yield anything useful, either. Be now. Find a way to engage the stillness. What does it need to say? How can it help us be ready for what comes next?

This is the inner spotlight. This is a staycation of the soul.  Use it to examine what you are, what you are not, and just how much breakthrough awareness you can handle, because this is what’s called ‘the verge.’

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Would you like to support The Weekly Rune?  Pledge at Patreon.

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Teen Spirit Wise Voice – Lei Lei – Spiritual Crisis to Personal Triumph

I’m happy to have Lei Lei on my blog, today. She’s young, energetic, and ready to take on the world–all of them!

How would you describe your work/path/art to a beginner?

I am a multi-gifted medium whose purpose or path here on earth is to help others with their gifts, especially gifted youth. I have had psychic moments, but they are rare and not a gift I can control, so I am by no means psychic. I am able to see, hear, and speak to spirits and have since I was a kid, this makes me a medium. In addition to my medium related gifts I am also an empath, so I sense and feel things much easier and much more intense than the average person. I know when someone is mad or sad, even if they’re putting on a good front. I can sense liars and people with bad intentions well before I am proven right. I also can usually sense when I meet another person that is also gifted. I not only know the emotions of others, but I feel them as well, even characters on tv or movies that I know are fake still greatly effect me emotionally. All of this also applies to the mood, intentions, and emotions of spirits. I do have various other gifts as well, but these are my most prominent ones.

I’ve never felt a pull to do readings for people, but instead I feel my job is to be more of a teacher or mentor for others. I help others learn to understand, cope with, appreciate, and develop their gifts; that is what my book ParanormalPI’s Guide for Today’s Spiritually Gifted Youth is all about. =)

How did this work call you? At what life stage?

I was pretty much born with my gifts. I had a few experiences around age 9, but age 12 was when my gifts entered full swing. For years I looked at my gifts as curses and pretty much hid them from 98% of the world. When I was in my early 20’s I had a co-worker that convinced me to try and be open with my gifts and directed me to some paranormal communities. Initially I was anonymous, but then I gradually began to open up about who I was. I started commenting on forums and posting blogs and suddenly my inbox was constantly full with questions. Over the years my blogs and website grew a fan base and I realized my writing was helping people, so I decided to write the book. I continue to blog and answer inbox questions, but my main focus the past couple years has been getting this book out so that gifted kids that may need it can find it.

Describe your experience of spirituality as a teen/young adult. Discuss your blessings and challenges of that era.

My gifts came in pretty strong around age 12. My dad had passed when I was 10 and my mom was not having it. She initially believed I was having a mental break down over losing my dad and tried to have me committed. All the test results and evaluations came back that I was completely sane and they sent me home with my mom. After that she believed my experiences had to be works of the devil and evil and she had priests come in my room with holy water to rid me of my evil. All that did was make things worse for me, activity only picked up even more.

Eventually after a long while she told me that she hoped it wouldn’t have come to this, but that I needed to call my grandma (my dad’s mom). My mom and her did not get along and never talked, so I was very confused. When I called her she let me know that I came from a long line of gifted mediums on my dad’s side and that my mom ordered her to never tell me. Over the years my mom did let me contact her through the phone and written letters, she never learned the computer, but it was hard to stay in touch regularly.

My mom refused to let me discuss my experiences; she’d always say she didn’t want to hear it. After a while I realized by the looks I got from my friends when I tried to talk about my experiences that they also thought I was a tad off, so I pretty much had no one to talk to about everything. I did have a couple friends that were supportive and my grandma, but really I had to keep it in from 98% of the world. It was a sad, lonely, and very confusing time. I actually was pretty popular growing up, but no matter how many friends I had, a part of me was always hidden, so I always felt sort of alone.

It really wasn’t until my 20’s that I saw my gifts as gifts and became more comfortable with people knowing what I was. I’m grateful that times are different now and that kids today have more resources than I did growing up, I really hope my book can become one of those resources as well. =)

How does that experience speak through your work, today?

It affects everything I do today within my work, it’s the whole reason I do it. I didn’t have resources, people to confide in, or anything to help me feel normal outside of my Grandma and she lived far away. I wanted to offer kids today something I always wished I had growing up and I hope to do so through my book.

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Lei Lei , AKA ParanormalPI, is a mommy, wife, medium, author, blogger, mentor to spirituality gifted youth, and owner of a hauling company with her husband.

[image error]Find more info n her at:

Website: www.ParanormalPI.info
Facebook: www.facebook.com/PPI3rdEye
Twitter: www.Twitter.com/TheParanormalPI
Instagram: www.instagram.com/paranormalpi
Pinterest: www.Pinterest.com/ParanormalPI
Submit your story for her book, at www.facebook.com/GuideForTodaysSpirituallyGiftedYouth .
Find her blog at www.LiveParanormal.com/ParanormalPI .

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Available worldwide, Teen Spirit Guide to Modern Shamanism.

The post Teen Spirit Wise Voice – Lei Lei – Spiritual Crisis to Personal Triumph appeared first on Soul Intent Arts.

Teen Spirit Wise Voice – Karen Paquin – The Path I needed

I’m thrilled to have Karen here today. Not only is she a great lady to know, she’s a Rune sister. 

How would you describe your work/path/art to a beginner?

I describe myself as a humanistic heathen/pagan.  This is my path.  I believe in the energy and essence of the Norse pantheon of gods coupled with modern day scientific knowledge.  This path influences every aspect of my life in very clear ways, but the most important is that my gods and goddesses do not judge me; they walk with me, which I find far more empowering than the former idea.  The scientific influence is a bit harder to explain, but is equally important and, perhaps more specifically, refers to knowledge in general not just science.

I don’t have leanings toward one god or goddess over another in my pantheon, though many heathens choose Thor or Odin.  I do, however, connect strongly with Heimdall, Tyr, and Freyr on the gods’ side and, on the goddess’s side Idunn and Sif, and relationships with Sigyn, and Freyja that I am still working to understand.  Community has always been important to me, so maybe that is part of the reason why I relate so well to a community of gods and goddesses.  As Earth is the community that everything living on it shares, taking care of it and helping to pass on a healthy world to future generations is my driving force and the science knowledge plays a key role in this.

My art is writing, which centers primarily around two things – Norse Mythology/the Viking Age and taking care of and having appreciation for the planet.  This is what feels real and true for me.  Writing itself is one of the ways that I express my spiritual beliefs.

I will add that I was raised as a Catholic; even made my first communion in that religion, though the entire process was odd and uncomfortable to me.  I constantly got into trouble in catechism for questioning the things the nuns were teaching us.  I will explain more about that experience in my answers to the next questions, but if I could provide any insight to a beginner, someone searching for their true beliefs or questioning their current path, I would say, “Find and follow the path that feels right to you.  Don’t worry about what others say.  If they have a problem with it is theirs and not yours.  You do not have to solve that problem for them.”  I would also say that you do not need to wear your path/spirituality on your sleeve.  You can be proud of it without being confrontational.  That is probably the greatest peace I have found with my beliefs – I have nothing to prove.  They are mine and I don’t need to share them; I don’t need anyone else to believe the same thing that I do or express it in the same way.  I am just grateful that I found my path and embraced it, and that I can follow it in a way that works for me.

How did this work call you? At what life stage?

I think this calling reached out to me a couple of times, but it didn’t come together until I was in my 40s.  That may seem late, but I followed the path that I needed to to reach this point.  It was a long process, but one I had to go through.

After decades of questioning religion and deities, I began reading the Norse myths and the Runes.  Once these entered my life, there was no turning back.  These things felt so right immediately and I realized that I don’t care what other people think when I say that I believe in the Norse pantheon.  That lack of caring about what others though was my freedom and allowed me to open up and believe in and build a relationship with the gods and goddesses of that pantheon as it worked for me.  It was so empowering.

I think that much of my relationship to the essence of these gods and goddesses is communicated through the Runes.  When I spend time with the Runes, I feel calm and powerful at the same time and I use them to help me make sense of the world.  The Runes do not give you answers you don’t already have; they assure you of the ones you already know.  Although I do not identify with a single god or goddess, Jera is my Rune and, since I realized this, not only has this Rune helped me in many ways, but I also understand the other Runes better.

So, there it is.  My spirituality calls me through the Runes and, through this oracle, I have increased my understanding of my world and built relationships with my gods and goddesses.

Describe your experience of spirituality as a teen/young adult. Discuss your blessings and challenges of that era.

As I mentioned, the Catholic religion was odd and uncomfortable to me, even as a child of 7-8.  By the time I was 10, I was largely ignoring organized religion.  However, in high school I was friends with a girl who was a Mormon, so I gave that a try, because I had been conditioned to believe that I was supposed to believe in the Christian god.  That endeavor lasted just a few months, because I started having thoughts and feelings similar to the ones I had with Catholicism.  So, I dropped religion again.

As a teenager, I was largely clueless about the bigger picture, though pieces of who I would become lingered in the background.  Almost all I cared about was sports and boys, but I was a pretty good student and, much the way I tired of Christianity, I grew weary of American history classes and being force fed the patriotic version of history and the idea that nothing interesting happened prior to 1942.  To that end, I began looking for different sorts of history classes.  I took Latin, Medieval History, and Mythology classes.  I even learned a bit of history in my German classes.  I loved the medieval history class and learning about life in ancient Europe.  Yes, I know now it too had its short comings, but it was the first step to a different world.  The mythology class was far and away the most interesting, even though most of it focused on Greek and Roman gods and goddesses.  We did learn a bit about the Egyptian pantheon too.  However, the greatest impact was the two days we spent on Norse Mythology.  I was mesmerized by it and, after class on the third day, when my teacher switched from Norse to Egyptian, I approached him after class, disappointed, and asked why we couldn’t talk more about Thor and Odin and Freyr.  He assured me that we had covered all there was to know about them in those two days.  “They had no written language,” he said.  “We just don’t know much about them.”  Of course, I know now how wrong he was, but what’s more important is that, even though I dropped it back then and didn’t take the initiative I could have and done my own research on it, I never forgot those gods and goddesses.

By my early twenties, I had shifted away from any belief in the Christian god, but also away from spirituality.  However, it was stepping away from the latter that left a nagging sensation lingering in the back of my mind for another decade.  Still, I went about life calling myself an Atheist, not even agnostic.  I went straight into the ‘no god’ at all camp.

For many years, although I did not believe in a higher power of any sort, but especially a single higher power, I did believe (and still do) that there is energy, different kinds of energy, in the world; what I call free energy and it surrounds us constantly.  Stir a little scientific background/understanding into that idea and my spirituality was taking its basic form.  This idea morphed over several years, though I remained admittedly unspiritual.

To be honest, I didn’t become spiritual until I started studying the Norse gods in detail for my first novel.  I loved that they were flawed; it made them so much more relatable than the perfection associated with the Christian god.  Another truth is that I believe these gods not to be beings, rather energies or entities that represent the essence of ‘who’ they are.  This belief allows me to experience and feel the energy and essence of who they are in a way that fulfills me in a way that the Christian idea of god never did and never could.

My challenge on this path was twofold.  First, I had to find what I believed.  Second and more importantly, I had to embrace it and that is when I found the true blessing – experiencing a spirituality that is my own, that empowers me, and gives me comfort.

How does that experience speak through your work, today?

That acceptance, that realization changed my life on a very foundational level.  It reduced my stress, increased my comfort and confidence, and grounded me in a positive way.  All of a sudden, I had something that was my own, that worked for me, that I got to experience in my own way, and that is there always in non-judgment.

In many ways, the main character in my first novel is going through a similar process, but in a very different way.  I also write a weekly blog about the Runes for others who share a similar broad interest or belief in the Norse gods and goddesses.  That is how it affects my art.

However, it also affects the way I am in the world in everything from how I interact with others to the care and pride I take in planting and caring for my garden.  It has helped me focus and be consistent in my gratitude for and appreciation of thoughtful actions by others and Earth’s beauty.  Most importantly, it guides me forward and assures me that, if I begin to lose sight of the path I am on, I can find it again through the Runes.

–

Karen is an accomplished writer, speaker, and editor.  In June 2012, she published her first novel, The Son of Nine Sisters, and began the sequel.  She also started writing a series of young reader novels, called Grace Through Time, with her daughter.   Beyond creative writing, Karen has written numerous articles on sustainability and women’s issues and her writing has helped raise millions for environmental and social causes.

[image error]Karen also writes a weekly blog called The Wonder of Runes.  Through the blog, she offers readings and guidance using Runes as an oracle.

Blog – The Wonder of Runes http://ireadrunes.blogspot.ca/
(Novel) The Son of Nine Sisters – http://www.amazon.com/The-Nine-Sisters-Karen-Foster/dp/0988094002/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398333863&sr=8-1&keywords=the+son+of+nine+sisters
Company – The Jera Institute – http://jerainstitute.com/
Facebook – Runes and the Futhark – https://www.facebook.com/RunesAndTheFuthark
Twitter – https://twitter.com/KarenPaquin (@KarenPaquin)
Google+ – Runes and the Futhark – https://plus.google.com/communities/112884546418946926886
Pinterest – http://www.pinterest.com/karensrunes/

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Available worldwide, Teen Spirit Guide to Modern Shamanism.

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Wordless Wednesday

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Photo by Cuatrok77

The post Wordless Wednesday appeared first on Soul Intent Arts.

Teen Spirit Wise Voice – Jen McConnel – My First New Age Store

I

I wandered into Paganism when I was seventeen, after reading Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon and feeling like I’d found my home. I bought my first tarot deck the same time I snagged the book, and I started to teach myself to trust my intuition.

Even though I grew up in a small, fairly rural community, there was a fabulous New Age store nearby, but it took me awhile to work up the nerve to visit the store. Finally, I tagged along with an older friend and her brother, and I fell in love with the space. Housed in a hundred year old house, the store was both sprawling and cozy, and I lost myself in exploration. Armed with loose leaf teas and D.J. Conway’s Maiden, Mother, Crone, I left the shop a few hours later, determined to return.

The next time I ventured to the store, I went alone, and despite my nervousness, the kind woman behind the counter greeted me with a smile. I spent a long time sniffing the wall of incense, and I eventually sat down on the floor in a corner, snuggling with the store cats. While I was there, another woman come in, and to my “everyone’s older than me” eye, she looked like she was somewhere between my age and my mother’s. She started chatting animatedly with the shopkeeper, and I felt myself listening, despite good manners. I was desperate to know more about the path I’d started walking, and after a bit, the young woman sat down in a chair near me and smiled.

The silver haired shopkeeper leaned forward on the counter and looked at us, her eyes sparkling. “It’s a good day,” she said with a smile, “especially since we’ve got all three faces of the goddess right here.”

I sat up a little straighter, feeling sure of myself for the first time since I’d started exploring magic. I knew what she was referring to, and I felt a surge of pride to wear the maiden face of the goddess in that moment. The three of us shared a smile, and for a moment, I felt the bonds of magic connecting me to the two women, even though we parted ways shortly after. I still had a long way to walk before my feet would feel stable on my new path, but that moment, sitting in a homey store with two strangers, everything clicked into place. I set aside much of my earlier hesitation and fear of shying from the faith of my parents, and because the shopkeeper told me I wore a face of the goddess, I let myself believe her as I moved on.

Doubts still plagued me, and even after more than a decade on this path, I do not know everything; there will always be more to learn, and I’m grateful for that. I’m grateful, too, for the women I shared that moment with all those years ago, and grateful for the safe, warm support I found every time I set foot in that shop. Even years, many moves, and many shops later, I still think of that store as “mine”; I may not have gone through a formal initiation in that space, but it served as my first temple and witchy school all the same.

About Jen McConnel

Jen McConnel first began writing poetry as a child. A Michigander by birth, she now lives and writes in the beautiful state of North Carolina. When she isn’t crafting worlds of fiction, she teaches college writing composition and yoga. Once upon a time, she was a middle school teacher, a librarian, and a bookseller, but those are stories for another time.  Her first nonfiction book, GODDESS SPELLS FOR BUSY GIRLS, is out now from Red Wheel/Weiser Books. She also writes YA and NA fiction. Visit http://www.jenmcconnel.com  to learn more.

Connect With Jen

Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook | Blog | Website | Patheos | Goddess Travel

GODDESS SPELLS FOR BUSY GIRLS

Goddess magic is powerful magic: with the help of the right goddess, simple spells can yield amazing results. In Goddess Spells for Busy Girls, Jen McConnel offers 80 spells imbued with the vibrant force of 25 Goddesses from around the globe.

McConnel provides an introduction to 25 celestial ladies, to make sure you are asking the right goddess for help: Athena for memory retention, Aphrodite to gain confidence, Persephone to find you path, and Sekhmet to prevent illness. Each section includes the history and lore behind the goddess, and three simple spells to invoke her help.

For the busy young woman who wants it all but needs help getting it, Goddess Spells for Busy Girls can help you achieve love, balance, protection, and abundance in your life.

Learn More

Red Wheel/Weiser | Goodreads

Purchase

Red Wheel/Weiser | Indie Bound | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks

 

[image error]Jen has offered a signed copy of GODDESS SPELLS FOR BUSY GIRLS (18+), US only, to a random commenter. I told you she was awesome!

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Available worldwide, Teen Spirit Guide to Modern Shamanism.

The post Teen Spirit Wise Voice – Jen McConnel – My First New Age Store appeared first on Soul Intent Arts.

The Weekly Rune – Thurisaz

 

Thurisaz - thorn-  Thurisaz hasn’t been The Weekly Rune since fall of 2013. This rarity isn’t totally surprising, as this stave brings in energy of the Giants, and they’re a race not to be taken lightly–kind of a pun, since it represents Thor’s hammer.  We can only handle so many doses of their medicine.

When this Rune appears, blunt force is on the horizon, which in terms of life force indicates change. The third Rune in the first aett, Thurisaz sees us at the point that we’ve realized a need to take action, a point at which  we need to see the efforts of our own power. As such, it’s a Rune associated with masculine life force–the active  principle.

This Rune gets a lot of bad press, largely due to modern psyche not really understanding the role Giants played in Old Norse culture. When we look at the Runes as each stave comprising an element of a greater story, the Giants represent unconscious urges. As the power players in the creation of Earth from a mythological perspective, this is extremely significant, as Thurisaz indicates an abrupt modification of events, usually for the good, by our own choosing. It is that latter bit that distinguishes this Rune from the other “change” Runes; we have control.

The thing that makes control actually powerful is knowing what to do with it. In and of itself, control isn’t worth much, and having the discernment of how to hold it and enact it effectively delineates whether it’s useful.

When Thurisaz appears, it’s time to strike. Miss, and it’s over. The moment has passed. Of course, the only way to be assured of wanted outcome is to stay aligned with divine order. And the only way to truly flow with divine order is not to be attached to the outcome.

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Celebrate the Small Things – Gratitude

 My weekly gratitude post, in the Celebrate the Small Things [ongoing] Blog Hop.

I’m grateful to have shared Teen Spirit Guide to Modern Shamanism with a group of seekers on the most gorgeous summer evening I’ve seen in a long while.

I’m thankful for a relatively quiet week.

I’m thankful for clarification on what life needs from me.

I’m grateful for my family.

What are you grateful for this week? How will you show thanks?

This post is part of VikLit‘s blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things. Participate by following the link and adding your name to the Linky list, then post your gratitude every Friday.  Easiest blog hop ever!

Click here to hop on… the hop, and thanks for coming with me on this journey of self-empowerment.

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Teen Spirit Wise Voice – Sandra Ingerman – From Disempowerment to Spiritual Activism

Joining me today is Sandra Ingerman, a pioneer in modern shamanism, as well as devoted nature enthusiast. 

How would you describe your work/path/art to a beginner?

Shamanism is an ancient and universal spiritual practice. Many anthropologists believe that the practice dates back over 100,000 years.  Shamanism teaches us that everything that exists is alive and has a spirit. Shamans speak of a web of life that connects all of life and the spirit that lives in all things. Everything on earth is interconnected and any belief that we are separate from other life forms including the earth, stars, wind, etc is purely an illusion. And it is the shaman’s role in the community to keep harmony and balance between humankind and the forces of nature.

The practice of shamanism is more than just learning how to perform shamanic journeys. The practice of shamanism is a way of life. There are certain principles that go along with living a shamanic way of life. In a native culture from the time of birth each member of the community was acknowledged for the gift and the strength that they brought to the entire community. It was understood that every person contributed to the health of the community.

How did this work call to you? At what stage of life?

I was always a very spiritual child. I would sing to trees and the moon. I always felt the presence of the unseen worlds.

I grew up in Brooklyn, New York in the 1960s. I was introduced to mind altering drugs at an early age and had amazing spiritual experiences. But I did not know what to do with the experiences. And I had no formal practice that would help me to understand how to bridge all the spiritual lessons I learned into my life.

While I was going for my Masters in Counseling Psychology, I was introduced to the practice of shamanic journeying. I took a workshop on the topic on Halloween of 1980. I finally felt that I had learned a practice to incorporate into my life where I could receive my own guidance on how to improve my life and create the life I wanted to live.

Describe your experience of spirituality as a teen/young adult. Discuss your blessings and challenges of that era.

As I wrote previously I always had a strong spiritual disposition as a child. I felt very connected to nature and all of life. I felt that we came here as human beings to experience a life of joy.

I loved my parents, loved learning in school, and had many friends. I liked to write, draw, and play sports. So on some levels I felt very blessed.

At the same time I did not observe adults as being happy people. And I was deeply effected by watching how hard life was for so many around me.

When I was a teenager I participated in demonstrations against the Viet Nam War as I felt it was an unjust war. No matter how passionate I felt that the war should be ended my actions and beliefs had no power to create change. For many years after this I felt disempowered that I could effect positive change in the world.

How does that experience speak through your work today?

Where I learned that I do have power is with the spiritual work I engage in. I became empowered by living a shamanic way of life. From a shamanic point of view the invisible spiritual practices we work with do help to create a positive way of life and help us become positive changemakers for the world.

I write about this work and teach people from all over the world the practice of how to use shamanic journeying to work with helping spirits to get answers to questions and find healing help. I continue to teach the practices I learned to gain empowerment from living a shamanic way of life. I also share how we can work together as a global community performing shamanic work together to help all of life to heal the earth.

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Sandra Ingerman, MA, is a world-renowned teacher of shamanism. She is recognized for bridging ancient cross-cultural healing methods into our modern culture addressing the needs of our times. She has been teaching for over 30 years.

A licensed therapist, she is the author of 8 books including Soul Retrieval, Medicine for the Earth, Shamanic Journeying: A Beginner’s Guide, How to Heal Toxic Thoughts, The Shaman’s Toolkit, and Awakening to the Spirit World. She is also the author of 6 CD programs produced by Sounds True.

To read short articles that Sandra wrote and for more information on her work please visit www.sandraingerman.com.

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Available worldwide, Teen Spirit Guide to Modern Shamanism.

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Wordless Wednesday

Photo by Albright Garden

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